How long have you done art? What mediums have you tried?

I’ve been drawing since I was little. When I graduated high school, I went to college for Studio Art where I studied and worked with charcoal drawing and oil painting. My friends worked with digital illustration so I began passively working on drawings in Procreate. Now I still try to develop my skills in digital illustration on the side while I’m in grad school for art history.

How would you describe your style?

My style is always changing! But for sketches, digital drawings and character designs it’s somewhat characterized by rounded shapes, hatched shading and somewhat cartoonish. I aim for dynamic body forms and facial features somewhere between Western cartoons/comics and Anime.

Why did you decide to do interpretations of classic art in your fan art? Did the inspiration imagery mean something special to the Lore Olympus characters you depicted?

I’m an Art History graduate student, so I’m always working with historical paintings, and it’s fun for me to mix those two interests. I picked paintings that were by popular artists, like Ingres and Manet, because I know them and I think other people might know them too.

I first got the idea when I saw Rachel post a take on Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss.” After geeking out, I thought ‘hey, I have a lot of art historical knowledge and some drawing skills, I could totally have fun doing that.’

The first one I did was “Olympia” by Manet. It’s a breathtaking painting to see in person. Also, I felt that the meaning could translate well to the characters.

In “Olympia,” the sitter is a woman who is confined to a very strict role (in her case, the gender role of an escort so to speak) yet despite the adversity she meets the viewer’s gaze with dignity. Persephone definitely has that spirit also.

I opened up for requests in the Discord, and the Ingres was suggested. I knew that one would be fun because it has a good composition, and I could play with effects.

Tell us your Lore Olympus story. What got you into Lore Olympus? What made you stay?

I kept seeing ads for the story on Facebook, so one day when I was on a long car ride I downloaded the app and started reading it.

I was immediately struck by the visual qualities; the way the different colors represent each character’s personality was so compelling, and I was sucked into the rich blue of the city as Hades drove to the party, and again when Persephone discovered the Underworld.

If you could body snatch one LO character for a day, who would it be?

Probably Hera, because then I could be anyone!

Which Lore Olympus fan art are you most proud of and why?

I’d say either my take on Zeus in Ingres’s “Jupiter and Thetis” or my collection of character wallpapers. For both I’m just proud of the amount of work I put into them.

I love to draw but I struggle with creativity, so LO gave me reason to really push my drawing. It was both inspiring and the subject matter was there.

Are you part of any other fandoms? What makes Lore Olympus different/special?

Not really! I’m a big Tolkien fan and I love fantasy in general, but I’m not really a part of those online communities. I just kept wanting more LO content, and I found that in online groups and fanfic/fanart as well as Rachel’s patreon.

Any advice for someone looking to build their art skills?

Buy a book on bodily anatomy.

Draw something every day, whether it’s a sketch or working on a longer piece. And importantly, learn how to develop from criticism.

It may hurt but ultimately it will help you improve. Your work will be criticized in people’s minds anyway, so might as well rise to meet it with your work right?

Just for fun: Who did you get on our Hades' dog character quiz? And do you agree?

I got Cordon Bleu and I can be an angry princess sometimes so I’d have to say I agree.

Hayla May is a graduate student with a degree in Studio Art. She works in many media, including charcoal, oil, watercolor, digital, and photography.

You can follow Hayla at:

https://haylagmay.wixsite.com/home

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hayla_/