Creating a cover, with Elizabeth Peiró and Shannon Knight (ENG/ESP)

Elizabeth Peiró

1.- En primer lugar, ¿podrías presentarte para aquellos que no te conozcan? / Could you introduce yourself?
ES: ¡Hola a todo el mundo! Me llamo Elizabeth Peiró, pero me suelen llamar Eli. Soy una artista especializada en fantasía realista trabajando mayormente en juegos de cartas como Magic: The Gathering, portadas de libros y juegos de rol de mesa. Mis piezas suelen centrarse en personajes y me gusta potenciar cosas como la narrativa y el color. 
EN: Hello, everybody! My name is Elizabeth Peiró, Eli for short. I'm a fantasy artist, working mostly on card games like Magic: The Gathering, book covers, and tabletop RPGs. My pieces are character-focused, and I like to push things like narrative and color.

2.- ¿Cómo empezaste con el tema del dibujo y arte? / How did you start painting? 
ES: Siempre me ha gustado dibujar, desde que tengo uso de razón, pero no lo veía como algo a lo que me pudiera dedicar. Alrededor de los 20 empecé a tomármelo más en serio y pasar de sólo dibujar a dibujar con cabeza, estudiando y con la intención de mejorar. Parece que no, pero hay una gran diferencia entre ambas cosas!Hubo muchos momentos de crisis, de no querer seguir por este camino, periodos de apenas dibujar o no terminar absolutamente nada, pero siempre me recompuse y al final dio sus frutos.
Con el digital, uno de mis profesores me dejó una tableta Wacom para que la probara unos días en mi casa. Al cumplir 18, me regalaron una Bamboo Wacom. Adaptarme fue algo difícil, no conocía el programario, me tenía que acostumbrar también a dibujar en una tableta… Y tenía la sensación de que debería mejorar en el tradicional antes de saltar al digital. Pero bueno, fui haciendo y aprendiendo con calma. Y aquí estoy!
EN: For as long as I can remember, I've always liked drawing, but I didn't see it as something I could do professionally. Around my early 20s, I started to take it seriously and went from just drawing to drawing with intention, studying with the aim of improving. It might seem silly, but there is a big difference between the two! I had ups and downs, periods of not wanting to continue down this path, periods of barely drawing or not finishing anything at all, but I always got myself together, and in the end it paid off. With digital, one of my teachers lent me a Wacom tablet so that I could try it out for a few days at home.
When I turned 18, I was given a Bamboo Wacom as a birthday gift. Adapting was somewhat difficult; I didn't know the software, I had to get used to drawing on a tablet (which is not as easy as it seems)... and I had the feeling that I should improve my fundamentals and traditional media skills before jumping to digital. But I took it easy, went one step at a time, and now here I am!

3.- Aparte de portadas de libros, tu arte ha aparecido en cartas de Magic The Gathering, ¿podríamos contarnos más sobre esta faceta tuya? / Apart from book covers, you’ve also designed some MTG card arts. Could you tell us more about this?
ES: Al ser “freelance” eres un poco una mercenaria: si mi estilo encaja y me gusta el proyecto, allá que voy. Desde que empecé a jugar he querido trabajar para ellos, y supongo que eso, entre otras cosas, ha hecho que mi estilo se haya desarrollado en una dirección en la que puedo encajar allí. 
Me contactaron el primer año de dedicarme a tiempo completo al arte (aunque ya llevaba años trabajando de ello, simplemente que a tiempo parcial, ya que no conseguía clientes suficientes como para poder tener un salario regular) y desde entonces me han mantenido ocupada. Mis primeras cartas, para el set “The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth”, salieron hace unas semanas y no podría estar más contenta. Ha sido un crossover entre dos cosas que me apasionan y que me han inspirado toda la vida, y además dando vida a uno de mis personajes favoritos, Eowyn! 
EN: When you are a freelancer, you are kind of a mercenary; if my style fits and I like the project, I’m in. Ever since I started playing, I've wanted to work for them, and I guess that, among other things, has made my style develop in a direction where my art could fit the game. They contacted me the first year I started working full time as an artist (although I had been working on it for years, it was part-time since I couldn't get enough clients to be able to have a stable income), and since then they have kept me busy. My first cards for the The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth set came out a few weeks ago, and I couldn't be happier. It has been a crossover between two things that I am passionate about and that have inspired me all my life, and I had to bring to life one of my favorite characters, Eowyn!

4.- ¿Dirías que el ser descubierto como artista es más complicado ahora, con este ecosistema cambiante de redes sociales? / Would you say that being discovered as an artist is more complicated nowadays, especially with how changeable the social networks ecosystem is?
ES: Yo solo puedo hablar por mis habituales, pero ahora mismo, el tema de redes sociales es muy inestable. A muchos de mis clientes (incluido MtG) los he conseguido a través de Twitter, y es una aplicación que tiene los días contados (en el momento de escribir la entrevista, el icónico pajarito ha desaparecido para dar paso a la X), al menos de la manera en la que la conocíamos. Siento que cada vez llego a menos gente. 
Instagram ha querido dejar de lado el tema de las imágenes para implementar los reels, que para quienes hacemos imágenes estáticas no es la mejor opción. Y es una aplicación en la que siempre me ha costado llegar a gente tanto a quienes me siguen como a nuevas personas.
Artstation era un sitio más enfocado a tener un perfil profesional y no tanto una red social, pero el aumento de las publicaciones generadas por IA y la pasividad de Epic Games (la empresa madre) ante ello, han hecho que se haya generado un éxodo por parte de muchos. 
Las RRSS siempre han sido una lotería que poco tiene que ver con la calidad de tu trabajo, no lo veo tanto como que ahora sea más fácil o más difícil si no que es un momento de gran cambio, con muchas nuevas apps saliendo y muriendo. Creo que hay que esperar un poco y ver cómo avanzan las cosas para valorar realmente si tiene un impacto negativo a largo plazo o si se va a estabilizar. 
EN: I can only speak about the platforms that I'm on; however, right now, the entire social media landscape is in a state of uncertainty. I have gotten many of my clients (including MtG) through Twitter, and it is an app that's decaying (at the time of writing this interview, the iconic little bird has disappeared and been replaced by an X), and interactions are not the same as they used to be. I feel that each day I reach fewer people. 
Instagram has wanted to put aside images and replace them with reels, which for those of us who make static images is not the best option. And it is an application where I always found it difficult to reach people, either those who are already my followers or new people. I have very few engagements. 
ArtStation was a site focused on a professional profile and not so much a social network, but the increase in publications generated by AI and the passivity of Epic Games (the owner) about users' concerns made a lot of artists migrate and have their portfolios somewhere else. 
Social media networking has always been a lottery that has little to do with the quality of your work. I don't see it so much as if now it is easier or not, but rather that it is a time of change, with many new apps coming out and dying in a few weeks. I think we need to wait a bit and see how things progress to really see the impact of the current environment.

5.- Más referente a Wish Givers, es un arte que muestra un personaje de origen polinesio, lo cual siempre es un reto, ¿podrías hablarnos de cómo es el proceso de crear y dibujar a alguien no caucásico? / About Wish Givers, this cover shows a Polynesian character, something really challenging. Could you tell us more about the process of creating and drawing a non-Caucasian character?
ES: Los extremos son siempre más fáciles, es decir: Personas de piel muy clara, muy oscura, con rasgos faciales muy característicos, como podrían ser las personas autóctonas del este asiático…  Pero los personajes que nadan en las aguas intermedias son algo más difíciles de representar, sobre todo dependiendo del tipo de iluminación o expresión que tengan. Creo que el de Wish Givers es uno de esos casos complicados. La iluminación es muy contrastada -colores naranjas muy saturados del fuego, sombra y reflejos azulados de los fantasmas por el otro.- y es fácil no conseguir los subtonos correctos teniendo ese batiburrillo de colores. El ángulo y la expresión, con esa sonrisa pícara y mirada de ilusión, también hace que sea más complicado encontrar la referencia exacta para ello, pero con los años se aprende a coger un poco de aquí y de allí para conseguir el resultado óptimo. 
Para la expresión, me tomé una fotografía a mi misma y, combinándola con multitud de fotos de mujeres polinesias, la adapté para dar vida a Reva, el personaje protagonista. Shannon aportó muchas referencias para la iluminación, las expresiones y los rasgos faciales, lo cual agradezco mucho. 
Siempre intento dar lo mejor de mi misma, y espero haber conseguido representar al personaje y su trasfondo de la manera correcta.  
EN: Extremes are always easier. I mean: people with very light skin, very dark skin, with characteristic facial features, as East Asians... But the characters with traits in between are somewhat more difficult to represent, especially depending on the type of lighting or expression they have. I think the Wish Givers cover is one of those complicated cases. There's a lot of contrast—heavily saturated orange colors from the fire, bluish reflections from the ghosts, and hard shadows—and it's easy to not get the undertones right with such a hodgepodge of colors. The angle and expression, with that mischievous smile and bright look, also make it more difficult to find the exact reference for it, but over the years you learn how to take a bit here and there, mix it and get the result you want. 
For the expression, I took a photo of myself and, combining it with a multitude of photos of Polynesian women, I adapted it to give life to Reva, the main character. Shannon provided a lot of references for the lighting, expressions, and facial features, which I really appreciated. 
I always try to do my best, and I hope I have managed to portray her character and background in the right way.

6.- En el caso de Wish Givers, ¿podrías hablarnos un poco del proceso entre lo que te entrega/pide Shannon Knight, y cómo a partir de ahí creas esta pieza? / In the case of Wish Givers, could you tell us more about the process between Shannon Knight’s request, and how from that base you created this art piece?
ES: La verdad es que Shannon tenía sorprendentemente clara la idea, incluso me hizo un esbozo con la composición que quería! Hice esbozos con otras composiciones, ya que es algo que siempre me gusta hacer, pero optó por la primera idea. Lo cuál me pareció genial. 
 Como dije en la anterior pregunta, Shannon se encargó de darme muchas de las referencias necesarias para crear la portada, y su concepto era muy conciso, así que hacer el esbozo, tanto el preliminar como el limpio sobre el que empezar a renderizar, fue relativamente fácil. Muchas veces esa es la parte complicada, así que aquí fue pintar, pintar, pintar. 
Los fantasmas fueron lo que más problemas me dieron. La portada tenía que expresar “fantasía” no “terror”, y Reva tenía que ser el punto principal. Los fantasmas nos llevaban a ella, no debían opacarla pese a ser de su mismo tamaño o incluso más grandes. Debido al formato y al poco espacio que deja, al ser vertical y estar tapado por el título en su mayoría, esa parte me dió bastantes problemas. Pero entre las dos lo conseguimos solventar. El proceso suele ser bastante colaborativo, yo pinto y tomo las decisiones al momento, pero el final debe satisfacer su idea también. 
EN: Shannon had a surprisingly clear idea in mind. She even sketched the composition she wanted! I made a refined version of that sketch plus two other options since it's something I always like to do, but she opted for the first idea. Which I thought was great. 
As I said in the previous question, Shannon sent me many of the references necessary to create the cover, and her concept was very concise, so to make the sketches, both the rough one and the clean one, was relatively easy. Most times, that's the tricky part, so here it was painting, painting, painting. 
The ghosts were what gave me the most trouble. The cover had to express “fantasy” not “horror,” and Reva had to be the focus. The ghosts had to create a path to her, not overshadow her, despite being the same size or even bigger. Due to the format being vertical and mostly covered by the title, placing the ghosts gave me a lot of problems. But between the two of us, we managed to solve it. The process is usually quite collaborative; I paint and make the decisions at the moment, but the end result must satisfy her.

7.- ¿Qué opinas sobre las IAs generativas, y el impacto que pueden tener sobre los artistas? / What do you think about generative AIs, and how do you think they will impact artists?
La IA puede tener aplicaciones interesantes en muchos campos, incluso en el del arte, pero en el caso concreto de lo que estamos hablando aquí, no creo que pueda decir eso. Se alimenta del trabajo robado de cualquier persona que haya subido una imágen a internet, sin opción a dar o revocar consentimiento. Su uso es innecesario, ya que no está resolviendo ningún problema humano, nos está desplazando y devaluando todavía más nuestra profesión -incluyo escritura e incluso al gremio de actores, actualmente en huelga. Cualquiera que se pueda ver afectado. 
Además de la pérdida de trabajos -sobretodo a niveles bajos e intermedios, y harán que sea muchísimo más difícil entrar en la industria. Al fin y al cabo para el sistema somos desechables y el dinero manda- y la pérdida de riqueza cultural -ya que el arte en cualquiera de sus formas es un reflejo de las personas, su cultura, los lugares y los contextos que viven- promover y desarrollar sin barreras una tecnología capaz de emular a la perfección (quizá no todavía, pero tiempo al tiempo) voces y apariencia de manera hiper-realista, es muy peligroso. Suplantación, fake news, difamación… Todo con soporte visual/auditivo y en un solo click! Necesita regulación.  
EN: AI can have interesting applications in many fields, including art, but in the specific case of what we are talking about here, I don't think I can say that. It feeds on the stolen work of anyone who has uploaded an image to the internet without the option to give or revoke consent. Its use is unnecessary since it does not solve any human problem. Instead, it is displacing us and further devaluing our profession. I include other artistic fields, not only illustration and concept art. Anyone who can be affected.
Besides the loss of jobs, especially at low and intermediate levels, it will make it much more difficult to enter the industry. After all, for the system, money is what matters, and we are disposable. It also means the loss of cultural richness, since art in any of its forms is a reflection of people, their culture, and the places and contexts in which they live. And promoting and developing without barriers a technology capable of perfectly emulating (perhaps not yet, but time will tell) voices and appearances in a hyper-realistic way is very dangerous. Impersonation, fake news, defamation... All with visual/auditory support and in a single click! It must be regulated.

8.- What made you choose such an unusual setting as Polynesia for inspiration?
I wanted to write something that felt very different from the fantasy I had read. I was brainstorming at an outdoor table at a coffee shop that had a tattoo parlor above it. Customers kept coming and going from there, and I started building the idea of tattoo magic. Polynesia was the next step, along with the history of tattooing, including the tapping method used in traditional Polynesian tattoos.

9.- Why did you decide to pick Elizabeth as the artist for your cover? How has the process of working with her been?
I chose Eli because I love her work. Particularly, I’m drawn to her use of colors, light, and character expression. I knew that with her style she could create a fantasy cover for me that looked both traditional and cutting-edge new. And she did.
Eli has been a wonderful communicator. I always know what to expect. She has also gone above and beyond at each level. For example, I thought I’d only be able to afford the front cover, but Eli offered me a full-wrap option within my budget. Eli is excellent at finding artistic solutions. She brought me in at each step of the process, offering me opportunities to confirm that everything was developing in a way that matched my goals. I strongly recommend Eli as an artist to work with.

10.- Writing non Westerner characters is always a challenge. Could you tell more about the research process behind this?
For Insiders, I wrote non-Western characters. For Wish Givers, my intention was to simply create a fantasy world. This is my oldest book, so I see my youth in a lot of the choices and how I handled them. 
I started with the library, researching tattooing. I purposefully blended styles. I used the Polynesian tapping method but the Japanese tattoo art style–which is impossible, really, but I liked the idea of using the impossible. I brought in elements from all over the place, which is not something I would do now. I reworked the story many times, changing many of my base concepts, including using mostly Hawaiian and Tahitian names for characters and titles. I worked with a Māori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary from the 1800s.
I used to travel a lot, and in retrospect, I was almost always on islands. I crewed a small ketch for about a month from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Christmas Island, Australia. I was supposed to crew till Cape Town, South Africa, but the situation was a mess! The main mast was cracked. The drinking water supply had taken on seawater. The captain switched to drinking hard liquor only, and I took my first possible exit after the first ocean crossing. 
Some of the encounters I had on Thousand Islands, Indonesia, strongly influenced my ideas for Wish Givers. Later, I took a university Anthropology course on Ancient Oceania, which was fascinating. I read additional texts related to that time period. I also traveled to French Polynesia and had several experiences on Mo’orea that influenced the story, especially one character’s driving desire to have a child. I ate the delicious sea urchin sauce with vanilla on Mo’orea. There’s also a tourist attraction there called Tiki Village, which includes a re-creation of an ancient Polynesian village with artisans demonstrating crafts, including the traditional tattooing style. I got to watch an earth oven demonstration and eat the meal later. I also learned that my pronunciation of Tahitian words is incomprehensibly bad.