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Dive into Ez’s colorful world of imagination!
Discover the beauty of Ez Bray’s creativity and artistic landscape.
The talented artist shares her journey with us as we explore her inspirations, technique and how she overcomes challenges that come her way.
Welcome to the mesmerizing world of Ez Bray!
1. Hi Ez! Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an artist?
Of course!
Like so many fledgling artists I began dabbling with all kinds of varying styles and fandoms.
Starting as a strictly animal-only artist back when Deviantart was the big popular art site and then into trying Anime art, it wasn’t until 2019 that I started to develop the style that I have now.
During that time I started studying 3D Animation with a BIG love for fantasy games, but put myself into a box trying to make only “industry standard” artwork until I realized it was way more fun drawing my own characters and ideas!
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2. What drew you to fantasy art and Dungeons and Dragons specifically?
I’ve always had an undying love for the fantasy genre, the possibilities are endless when it comes to storytelling, character development, etc., leaving no constrictions when creating your own stuff which I’m all for.
Not to mention how stunning all of the art is!
Dungeons and Dragons specifically is such an amazing base for creators and myself to begin creating our own worlds and characters, even if it’s like myself just loosely using the pre-created races to support your own story making, there are no rules!
3. How do you approach designing otherworldly elements and creatures, and what factors do you consider in their creation?
When creating my characters and creatures, I usually start by considering their personality, any story or lore I’ve prewritten for them and then the environment they reside in!
For myself I found it easier to begin by building up a world for the characters to exist within, the regions where they would come from, the climates and place in society they would have, etc.
With all these elements I can then start to build on how the character would look, their preferences, and what they would wear, like wearing green for camouflage if the character lives in a forest environment.
For creatures it’s the same, thinking about what role they might have with other characters or where they live.
4. How important is research in your creative process, especially when drawing inspiration from mythology?
Researching and using lots of references is super important to this process!
I mostly use Pinterest when looking up images for inspiration and pull elements from media that have inspired me, like the art from Dragon Age for example, or deep diving into ancient Egyptian clothing and jewelry.
Researching differing mythologies and myths as well as real-world cultures, and combining all these elements helps in creating a wholly unique character is the most fun process ever.
5. How do you balance staying true to established fantasy tropes while also bringing your own unique vision to your artworks?
I believe Dungeons and Dragons helps to keep my characters and artworks tied to the classic fantasy tropes while I put my own spin on things!
While creating my characters, I wanted to keep the classic races but switch up their usual roles.
For example, in classic media, orcs are usually depicted as the rough types or barbarians, but I decided to make them more of an established society inspired by the Romans.
I also love costuming and playing with patterns to create things that otherwise wouldn’t exist in already existing media.
6. The interplay of light and dark is interesting in your works. How do you use lighting to evoke specific mood and emotion?
Thank you!
I find lighting is such an easy way to establish a certain mood or for simpler things like telling the viewer what time of day it is within the artwork.
Different colors can put off entirely different vibes, classic color theories such as blue invoking feelings of calm while yellow can be hopeful or happy.
Lighting can also bring your characters to life, making them feel more “human” rather than a flat 2D image.
I’m really a sucker for warm lighting, guilty of using rim lighting on a lot of my artworks and bloom effects but using blue or purple shades for intimate moments in artworks is a go-to as well.
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7. Are there any specific artistic techniques or mediums you prefer to use for your illustrations?
Digital art is definitely my preferred medium!
Being able to make lots of layers and abuse layer modes to blend colors — can’t go back to paper now.
I really enjoy layering patterns and using different-shaped brushes while sketching and lining artwork, which could fall under a collaging technique of building up an artwork with lots of differing textures.
Recently I’ve been experimenting with mixing photographic elements into artworks to create backgrounds.
8. What are some of the challenges you face when creating art, and how do you overcome them?
I think all artists can agree that we all dread art block or artistic burnout.
I’ve struggled a lot with these in the past and still struggle with them now.
It took me a long time to realize that sometimes you just need a break from creating and that’s okay!
Otherwise, something that you find fun can become a chore if you keep pushing yourself to mass-produce content.
I’ve also had challenges trying to keep up with trends or beat the social media algorithms, and forgot to enjoy the process of drawing.
Thankfully, I have lots of supporting friends and fans of my characters who helped me rekindle the love.
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9. What do you see as the future of fantasy art and how do you envision your role within it?
With more fantasy artists publishing self-created content such as art books or comics and fantasy at the moment seemingly having more of a spotlight in media, the future looks bright!
I hope artists will continue creating new and unique content without getting beaten down by the looming threat of AI.
As for myself, I envision continuing to build my following and expand into creating a store or perhaps a comic featuring my world-building!
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10. Can you share any tips for aspiring artists on improving their skills and finding their artistic voice?
For all artists, I can say the most important thing is to have fun!
Practice makes perfect and that art is a journey.
It’s important to start from the basics and work your way up, try different styles and techniques until you find one that sticks.
Most of all, don’t be discouraged by comparing yourself to others, everyone’s journey is different and all art deserves to be celebrated.
Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with BIOWARS, Ez! It was a pleasure talking to you!
If you’re interested in getting to know other comic book artists, check out these interviews with Ceren Sultan Ekinci, Emi Miller, Zuza “Spikulec” Grużlewska, Sean Damien Hill, Anthony Carranza, Marko Djeska, David Jacob Duke, Lucius Cross, Flaviu Pop, Gonçalo Lopes and Chrigel Farner.
