An Interview with Ilse 'Lhune' Gort

Ilse Gort (aka Dragoness77) is a friend and very talented classmate of mine at the HKU. I really admire her work, because she isn't your dime-a-dozen fantasy artist. She is able to create very realistic work, yet incorporate so much imagination and original ideas. Ever since I met her at the toelatingsdag at school, I've been inspired to work on my realism and to look to the natural work for inspiration. I interviewed her at school and asked her a couple of questions about her work.

What do find important when you are designing a character?
What I probably find most important when I’m designing a character is to make it both appealing and easy to read to the public. That doesn’t necessarily mean realistic, but it has to be memorable. Having said that, I definitely prefer realism over any other style. To me it’s important that a character is anatomically convincing and I also prefer simplicity over extremely detailed designs. The impact a character has should not depend on its accessories but on its base design.

Why did you choose to study Game Art?

I chose to study Game Art because I’m passionate about creating art and I’m passionate about games which lead to Game Art being the perfect direction for me. I’d love to improve my drawing skills with the help of trained professionals, I feel I could really use the guidance. At the same time I would enjoy learning more about games and how people experience them, as well as how to create that experience.

What games influence you?

The games that influenced me both in my art as well as my preferences are Heroes of Might and Magic II and III, Black & White, Warcraft III and Call of Duty 2. I played many more games but I couldn’t name a particular favorite, because my taste in games changes over time. I named these four however because they stuck with me the most and had some kind of influence on either my art or my taste in games. The first three games I listed influenced my artwork in the sense that they got me into designing characters, creatures and environments. They were also a great inspiration to me. I simply had to add Call of Duty 2 to the list due to the many hours I spent on that game, as well as the fact that it was my first ever shooter (a game type which I always swore not to play) and it opened up my eyes on different game types. It taught me not to judge a game too quickly and got me into trying and discovering different games which I would not have played otherwise.

Ilse Gort is a fantastic artist and a lovely person. If you haven't already, I highly reccomend you check her stuff out! You can visit her deviantART account here. She is also active on Conceptart.org under the name Lhune. (Her account is here. )