Colors Gallery, meet Toffeera
@Toffeera's fantastic painting and rendering skills made it an easy and not so tough choice to have them featured as artist of the week! Their drawings have drawn our attention and have us fully alert like a brain that's had a large helping of caffine! Now let's help ourselve to learning about them!
I'll try not to make the questions too tough, Toffee! Now for your first question, what should we know about you? Who is @Toffeera ?
"I'm Lailah or Lai for short. I'm based in Pennsylvania, PA and have been living here ever since! I've started my digital art journey on colors! Ever since then, I've been drawing digitally and traditionally."
It's been a hot minute by Toffeera
You gallery... it's spectacular! I especially love how you do hair. Your line art is so crisp and your coloring is noteworthy too! What inspired you and pushed your current style?
"Thank you! Though these crisp artworks are a bit older, they still bring fond memories to me. Though I don't remember all the artists on colors who influenced my art, it was mainly the people I interacted with who influenced my art. [ @fortunata, @Theunknownkohai, @Deku_face, and much more] Most I've just experimented on my own."
Bubble gurl by Toffeera
I see that you've been with us since 2014, so over 10 years! Your style has advanced so much! What's been your journey on Colors Live so far? What are your fondest memories and what keeps you coming back? How did you discover the gallery?
"Actually, I've been on colors a lot longer than 16 years! Near when it first came out on the 3ds. My journey on colors so far has been a ride haha. The first few years I've been on there were rough, to say the least."
"It only started getting calmer once I started to mature haha (I believe I was around 15-16), that's when I started to grow fond of colors as a whole. One of my fondest memories was joining Febi on colors. It was one of the few groups that got me into character creation and fantasy roleplay! I loved the interactions I've had with other characters, as well as with other creators I'm still in contact with! It helped me form bonds with others despite it being a while ago."
"I think the users were the reason why I kept coming back. Everyone is so warm and welcoming, and their comments showed! Interacting with my followers was the main reason why I've stayed for so long haha. I just loved being on there."
Happy 4th of july by Toffeera
Do you use any other software or mediums? How does Colors Live fit your process? And what future features do you want to see?
"I've been using Clip Studio Paint [CSP], Krita, and even Procreate in my downtime. Colors Live is something I could use to get my ideas out to the community and Interact with others with the same interests. Though I wish there was a stabilizer, rotator and blur brush, I think it's fine as it is."
Which piece(s) of yours are you the most proud of that you've created over the years? Is there anything you'd want to do over since you've grown so much?
The artwork(s) I'm most proud of are "A character I just made lol"
And "internal happiness"
"These two pieces showed my art progression. Internal happiness is the first shift in art style and the other is the shift to my more current style. Both hold great significance to my art journey."
Top 3 favorite Colors artworks?
et patientiam by Lady Ama
sleepu by Wohoo
Aurora by Acchan
Favorite artist on and off Colors Live?
@dyarikuu and @ccroquette on Twitter!
What advice would you give young artist? What would you say is the most important thing you've learned on your art journey?
"Personally, my biggest tip for young artists is to enjoy the process. Only start to challenge yourself when you feel that you're ready. If you're bad at hands but you want to learn the basics of drawing one, you will have to keep in mind that it will be uncomfortable. And it may be infuriating from the start."
"But I can guarantee you that if you keep on trying, and keep on studying your favorite artists, you'll surely get better! Also, do not overload yourself with all the stuff you want to learn. Start with one and roll with it. When you feel that you want to learn something different, then proceed!"
You draw such lovely characters! What's your process when creating them? Do you have any lore or is it more of you come up with stuff on the spot and think of their background later?
"When I started character creation, they were made on a whim. For example, Aideen: I never had much of an idea for her, all I knew was that I wanted her to deal with 'fire'. That one aspect of her allowed the creation of her design, her key design being her flame-like hair."
"At other times, I have an initial design in mind and just change it up the more I flesh out the character. An example would be Tnela or T'nela. She was originally supposed to be just a mysterious water dragon, but the more I used her and figured out her personality, the more I was able to figure out her design. It's either one or the other."
If you could incorporate an aspect of anyone else's style into yours what would it be and from who?
"I would incorporate @ccorquette's rendering style into my art. I always loved how realistic yet stylistic she was able to make her art look. So I definitely would choose her."
What're your biggest strengths and weaknesses? How do you push beyond the limits of your current strength and overcome your weaknesses?
"From what I could tell, my line work would be my biggest strength and the female anatomy. Being able to know where each line goes and having the knowledge of which muscle goes where always makes the process SO smooth."
"Though, I can't say the same for rendering and the male anatomy. I lack the patience to do extensive rendering and the experience that comes with it. But I've seen that I've been getting better at the two. Looking at references, drawing and rendering things as often as I can has helped with my improvement."
What are your goals and plans for the future?
"I'm planning on making a Twitter and welcoming! Though I know one of them is possible, the other is still in the making!"
What's the meaning of life?
"I think that the meaning of life is to experience all the good that comes with it. To learn from the lessons that come from our mistakes and others. I think that's the beauty of life, the interactions, the bonds, and all that comes with it make the experience more enjoyable."
chilling by Toffeera
Do you ever get burnt out ? How do you handle it if you do?
"For the longest time haha! It took me more than 3 years to get out of it. The only way I was able to get out of it was to integrate myself back into the art community. I've learned that the more I hang out with people who have the same interests in drawing, the more willing I am to draw for others and share my art!"
nehhh by Toffeera
Anyone you want to shout-out?
" @Lost.wish/ @Lostwish on twitter and Colors! 3d."
That wraps up our interview with @Toffeera ! The Colors Team would like to thank you for your time! Their art isn't so tough on the eyes so keep up with them!
Check out all of our previous interviews here:
http://colorslive.com/page/Artist-of-the-week-interview-list
For those who may need a reminder
The Artist of the week will be posted every Friday so be sure to tune in! Prior to that, the artist may be contacted via email or other means at least a week or more in advance so be sure to check your emails( and spam) so you don't miss out on a chance to be featured. If you don't reply within 48 hours another artist may be chosen to be featured for that week instead and you will be in a future artist of the week update.
The announcement of who is the upcoming featured artist will be announced at least 2-3 days in advance or eariler so look out for that too! If you would like for any of your questions or comments to be featured in an upcoming interview please check out colorslive.com/discord and visit the official artist of the week channel to submit questions/commentary for a chance for those to be answered before Friday.
Suggest a new artist for artist of the week on the forum post on my gallery or by posting with the #heyzyik tag.
Show your appreciation for the natural world in #wc575 "Mother Nature"!
Stay creative!
Zyik & The Colors Team
