Keilidh Bradley is an animated filmmaker from Scotland. The creator of the acclaimed animated short film Fox Fires, Keilidh’s work has been featured in many media outlets, including Digital Arts, Nerdist, and Bored Panda. A graduate of the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee, Scotland, she also holds a Masters in Character Animation and Animated Filmmaking from Gobelins School of the Image in Paris. Keilidh has worked as an illustrator, animation teacher, storyboard artist, character designer and as an animator for film, advertising and games. We asked Keilidh a few questions about her creative process.

Quarto Creates: How did you first become interested in illustration and drawing?

Keilidh Bradley: After a trip to the zoo, my aunt asked me to draw the animal I liked the most from our day out. She was generously impressed with my attempt at a gorilla and encouraged my interest in art ever since; gifting me art supplies every Christmas and copies of her published field journals, from which I would copy the illustrations. I find it quite interesting that they had pages and pages of botanical artwork, yet I always sought out the few sketches of wildlife to replicate. Unsurprisingly, my aunt went on to focus on botanical illustration whereas I've been obsessed with drawing animals ever since!

QC: What is your advice for those who want to try it but aren’t sure where to start?

KB: Starting out as an artist can be an overwhelming experience. I think that when advising beginners, the analytical side of art tends to be neglected. It's all well and good to study and practice the fundamentals but afterwards how is a beginner to know what to do with these new skills? So I suggest that when you see a piece of art that inspires you, ask yourself why! Is it the subject matter? Does the artist use colours and linework in an interesting way? Maybe there's something about how they draw faces that's very appealing to you? Is there anything you would do differently? By establishing the habit of talking about art in tandem with practicing the fundamentals, you will develop not only your technical skills but also your analytical skills. It will help you to find a sense of direction in your work as you progress.

I also think that every artist should take the time to learn about historical movements in art. I could write another book on why this is so important but to summarise; there are very surprising cultural and social factors behind certain art movements that may make them more interesting to you than you'd expect. For example, prior to studying art history in the West, I didn't realise that Realism of all things was so socially disruptive! It swiftly went from being my least favourite to the one I find the most fascinating. It is also useful to see how each movement is informed by the one beforehand, as it will help you to understand how to build upon the work you find inspirational.

QC: Who was your most influential teacher, and why?

KB: What a difficult question! All of my teachers have shaped me to be the artist and person that I am today. Though I think if I really had to choose (and given the subject of my upcoming book), my most influential teacher was Esther Morales Sánchez. Esther is a character designer at Cartoon Saloon who taught character design to my class while I was studying at Gobelins. She assured me that there is a healthy demand for animal artists in the animation industry at a time when I was worried I needed to shift my focus elsewhere. Her lectures and feedback were both so insightful too and really pushed me to do my best long after her two-week module was finished. I can confidently say that Esther influenced my motivation, my work and even the layout of my portfolio to be exactly what it is today.

I'd also like to acknowledge my late Gran, who taught me to read and write before I had even started at school. It's nice to think she taught me the very first set of skills that later led to me now becoming a published author and illustrator. My gran didn't teach me a thing about art, but she ensured I had access to all the paper necessary to keep practicing in between visits from my Aunt. I'm so thankful to her for being so invested in fostering my creativity.

QC: Where do you find inspiration for your art?

KB: Lots of places! It depends as I make a few different types of art. In general I'd say the main thread of inspiration in my work is very clearly pets, wildlife, mythology and folklore/art.

For my wildlife art and pet portraits I draw inspiration from the natural world. I also follow photographers and attend gallery shows of established artists, to study what I like about the work on display. I tend to also look at contemporary illustrators for this type of work, to see how I can add a modern twist to an otherwise very classical art form. I also spend a lot of time drawing in natural history museums to practice my draftsmanship and I sometimes find inspiration here, though it isn't the same as drawing living animals.

For my illustrations, it's a much more broad and complex answer. Illustration is a form of visual communication so I am quite literally always observing the world around me and looking for inspiration. When I see something that interests me, I'll ask myself why and then how I could depict that quality as a drawing. It could be that someone's outfit and posture communicates so much about their personality; it could be an interesting pattern in a tree's branches or it could just be an incredibly fluffy dog that I have to draw as a pom-pom immediately. It always comes down to observation and being so delighted by something that I just had to draw it in the compelling way that I saw it.

The above applies more to my personal work, though the skill of observation helps my professional work immensely. I'm always noticing how certain art forms make me feel and the common design themes within them - digital, traditional, ceramics, laser cut, wood carvings, folk art, tapestries, art from many different countries, historical art, modern art, jewellery and on and on. Illustration is design and I think it's very important not to limit your influence to only other contemporary illustrators. There is something to learn from all other designers if you look hard enough. This then helps me to build a strong mental library of visuals and the feelings that they evoke, which is helpful to pull from when working to a brief. It's a more methodical way of finding inspiration, as opposed to the above which is more spontaneous.

QC: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned from creating?

KB: Befriend your self doubt and accept compliments on your work. Get into the habit of complimenting your own art too if you spend a lot of time criticising it. Look back every now and then and see how far you've come, instead of always looking at how far you have to go. I think it's very common for creatives to suffer from imposter syndrome and I found this was affecting me so badly during art school that I almost gave up several times. I just thought it was a mistake whenever I achieved anything and that I'd never be able to make a living as an artist.

About halfway through my studies I decided to just make peace with that negative voice because it clearly wasn't ever going away. I started to view self doubt as my lifelong, steadfast companion who always will ensure that I never rest on my laurels as an artist. In doing so, I can hopefully keep on being creative for the rest of my life. I hope the day that I draw something and see nothing I could improve upon never comes.

Follow Keilidh on twitter @lynxspots.