About
Hi, I’m Rheanna! If you’re here, you probably already know that I draw artwork featuring witchy women, black cats, and demonic babes, so let me just expand on that!
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, but decided to focus on graphic design in my teens since it seemed like a way to be creative and gainfully employed. I went to Emily Carr University where I got a Bachelor of Communication Design, and over the years, I’ve come to specialize in logo design, lettering, and commercial illustration for unique small businesses.
I never stopped creating art in my own time though! I’ve been showing art around Vancouver for an obscenely long time, and am proud to have participated in a ton of fun lowbrow and underground art shows.
I love animals, and was one of the co-founders and board members of Neuterhead: Ace of Spays, an NPO that used heavy metal concerts to raise funds to help fund spaying and neutering endeavours around BC. I also served on the board of BC Reptile Club.
Although they aren’t with me now, my cats Bellatrix, Mistral, Alvina, Whiskers and Shadow are dearly missed, as is my darling best boy, my dog Ulfi.
In my spare time I like reading scifi and fantasy books, comics and manga, playing indie video games and d&d, and watching fighting games and sumo wrestling… I’m basically just a big nerd in gothic clothing.
Bellatrix
I am often asked if the cat I draw is my cat… She is! The fluffy black cat in my artwork is Bellatrix (aka Babytrix, Bella, The Baby, Princess Puffy Pants, Jellywellybelly Bean… Honestly the list goes on)
I adopted Baby from the SPCA when she was ten months old on September 2nd, 2005. I had to say goodbye to her on August 11th, 2023. She collected incurable diseases like it was something to be proud of, but we did our best for her for as long as we could. She was my constant companion and glued to my side every waking moment, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without caring for her as I navigated early adulthood.
Many people know me from art markets now, and in truth, it’s because of her loss that I started doing them just to keep myself distracted. I often joke that instead of spending money on therapy, I spent it on market table fees.
So to every person who has bought art with Bellatrix face on it, thank you. Getting to share her with people helps me keep her alive and with me ♥
Frequently Asked Questions
I get asked these a lot when I stream art or do markets, so I figured I might as well include it all here too!
What software do you use?
Drawing
Adobe Photoshop
Mixoos
Adobe Illustrator
I need to use the Adobe Creative Suite for my day job as a freelance graphic designer and commercial illustrator. I’ve also been drawing for like a billion years, back when Photoshop was the absolute best option. I feel like if I was starting my digital art journey now, I’d be looking into Clip Studio Paint, Krita, or Rebelle first.
References & Resources
PureRef
VirtAMate Content warning: Nudity, sex
Pexels
Unsplash
Video Editing
Adobe Premier Pro
PhotoMosh Pro
Handbrake
Streaming
OBS
Kruiz Control
StreamElements
Screen Recording
OBS
System
Windows 10
What equipment do you use?
Art
Wacom Intuos Pro S It will be 10 years old in 2023 and still working great!
Streaming & Recording
Elgato Stream Deck
Elgato Master Mount (desk clamp)
Logitec Stream Cam
Shure USB Mic
Computer Specs
CPU AMD Ryzen 5 5600x
GPU AMD RX480 with 8 gigs VRAM
RAM 32 gig DDR4
Monitor
It’s an LG, and it’s old. That’s all I can tell you.
Do you do commissions?
I do, however most of the time my flat rate commissions are closed because a lot of my art time goes to creating monthly rewards for mail clubs on Ko-fi! Ko-fi supporters always get first dibs at flat rate commission spots. Flat rate commissions do not include a commercial license.
That said, I am freelance commercial illustrator and graphic designer, so commissions are always open at my day job rate ($60 Canadian per hour) because the hourly rate enables me to work on commissions during my work day. If you choose to commission me at an hourly rate, a commercial license is included.
Did you go to school for art?
Yes… and no? I went to Emily Carr University of Art + Design, however I graduated with a Bachelor of Communication Design (my school’s pretentious way of saying graphic design) although my first year of university was in the general fine arts program. I also was lucky to have a very supportive mom, who sent me to an art-focused high school and let me take evening painting courses when I was a teenager.
If you’re wondering if post secondary art school is right for you, I only have my own experience to go by. In the programs my university taught, the focus was more on learning how to write essays and talk about why what you made is art or design. We didn’t learn practical things such as technique, marketing yourself, or business practices. I actually ended up needing to do a business mentorship program after graduating to compensate for a lot holes in my education.
I feel like university was good for graphic design, since a large part of that is explaining your work to your client, but for the art I make, a fine arts degree wouldn’t be relevant. Being self motivated to improve, learn and grow will always take you farther than a degree.
What's your best tip on how to improve my art quickly?
There isn’t a magic trick to improving quickly (and that goes for ANYTHING in life) but in my experience, choosing something to improve on, then doing studies from references is the most effective way to grow your skills. I regularly do studies that never see the light of day. In fact, most of the time I don’t even save the file!
Studies can look at the macro, like colour or composition, or the micro, like specific body parts or textures. You can also do studies of artists you admire, which is another thing I do regularly. I rarely ever redraw full pieces, but choose elements from a master’s work to focus on. This could be breaking down pieces into basic shapes, trying to replicate how an artist draws a particular element, or making colour palettes inspired by their work.
Doing a study with an open mind- not thinking of how it might look on social media, not trying to turn it into a finished piece- and being able to look at it critically without feeling bad or discouraged is an important part of it.
Another thing that helps is making friends with other artists! It’s easier than ever to do this online, especially on forum-like platforms like Discord. Asking for feedback and even helping others with feedback will help you grow.
And try to remember that no one improves without many failures. Nothing in life is a straight, even progression, so don’t be discouraged by failure and keep on trying!
How do you deal with art block?
One of the following three things usually helps me out:
- Doing studies on things you want to improve on. And sometimes a study can end up becoming inspiring and turning into a finished piece!
- Participating in a Draw This In Your Style challenge. DTIYS are art prompt where an artist posts a piece of art, usually an OC,and invites others to draw it. Sometimes there are prizes, and the artist hosting it should be reposting the art! You can find challenges like this all over social media using the #dtiys hashtag.
- Fanart! Drawing a character from a show or game you love takes out the stress of character creation and can be a good breather (If you’re primarily a fanartist, doodle an OC? Or disregard this completely and pretend there are only two tips!)