Graphic tablets, drawing and change of course: meeting with Lauren Villers alias She’s Angry

Turning your passion into your profession is a tough decision to make. It’s like throwing yourself into the void without really knowing how to get back on your feet. It is, however, the choice of Lauren Villersalready artistic director, now professional illustrator.

At 31, Lauren Villers first he underwent a preparatory year in Fine Arts before studying visual communication for three years. After starting her professional life as an art director for agencies, she decided a few years ago to do it change direction and set up on her own as an illustrator.

Today, his main working tool is the digital tablet. In this highly competitive market, the brand Lenovo it’s doing well Present in 180 countries and number 2 for Android tablets, the brand constantly seeks to push the limits of technology to offer its users high-performance products and enable them to achieve everything they set out to do. Moreover, the new Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 tablet with Android™ 12 allows you to do illustration at a professional level like Lauren Villers.

Interview with illustrator Lauren Villers, creator of the Instagram account @sheisangry

To miss. When did you know you were destined for a creative career as a professional illustrator?

Lauren Villers. The history of this decision is a bit peculiar. I was at the Bataclan during the November 13 attacks. I walked out with an ankle injury and chronic PTSD.

Obviously I could not work. I couldn’t go back to my traditional business because I didn’t have any more inspiration. I was in the dark. Psychologically and physically, it was very difficult to recover.

What saved me was having keep drawing. I had no pressure, no bosses, no feedback, no complicated things to manage. Finally, with the freedom I could take at that moment, I said to myself: “Ok, it works, it doesn’t stress me, I don’t have a thousand questions to ask myself. I do what I want to do and people buy what I do. The pressure is no longer the same. It’s my thing”.

It also allows me to vary styles and projects. Really by chance it has become my job. Looking back, I realize that, without knowing it, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do.

Even though it’s tragic, I don’t see anything negative in what happened to me. I earned my freedom there. Sometimes there are events in life that force us to do this to change direction by obligation. But in the end it allows you to renew yourself and it is possible to see something positive in it. It teaches us what we really want to do or not, what we have deeply needed. Today, the freedom I have with my work is amazing.

Did you learn to draw directly on a graphics tablet or did you start using another tool?

I learned to draw on the computer, then digitally, in vector, at school. At the time I only drew never on tablets graphic. Shortly after I started drawing for my @sheisangry Instagram account, I found a tablet lying around the house that I had been given as a present.

It’s a tool I’ve never used, and to be honest, I have laziness get into it and have to learn something new. I thought it would be laborious. It actually is very easy to use and allows you to create content quickly And easilyperfect for example for social networks.

Looking back, I tell myself it’s strange. I did four years of art studies without really hearing about graphics tablets. Perhaps today tablets are more democratized among students, but that was not my case.

This tablet was given to me for Christmas because my relatives know that I like to draw. But I wasn’t there never worn seriously, because I thought it was too complicated for me, like old people who refuse to have a smartphone. Finally, this first it was a mistake. Drawing on a tablet seduced me with its simplicity.

Also, using a graphics tablet opens the door to imagination and freedom. In one click you can change color, brush, create everything that is possible and imaginable very easily. Everything is editable and correctable. It’s the perfect tool for creating content quickly, regularlyin a way efficient.

Is drawing on a graphics tablet your favorite way to create?

I wouldn’t say I prefer drawing on a tablet. All drawing techniques are very different from each other, like hand drawing. But they complement each other.

What I really like about the graphics tablet is the possibility of adaptation which she gives. In the world we live in, we need a great one production speed. The tablet allows you to be 100% “chameleon”.

How do hand drawing and drawing on a graphics tablet complement each other?

Often, Hand drawing firstly, to quickly visualize and realize what I have in mind. Then either I redraw on a tablet the sketch, or me scans to then edit it on my tablet. The mix of styles, I find it fantastic. For example, some combine drawing and painting. Myself, I mix the physical and the digital.

It depends on the profiles, but personally, I have to A lot of things different. I do photography, painting, I also had a great period of embroidery. I like seeing drawing on a graphics tablet like a extra rope to my bow.

Do you have any advice for an illustrator hesitating about buying a graphics tablet?

We must not say, like me, that this is a new binding learning. Finally, the initiation is very intuitive. You really have to approach it like a artistic technique to add to his repertoire, as well as screen printing or painting. Don’t demonize the graphics tablet. The techniques made possible by this technology are so varied that there’s no reason not to get started.

The tablet changes its relationship to the drawing

You will understand, using a digital tablet change the relationship with the drawing, and it is not necessary to have done Fine Arts to realize this. Lauren Villers’ words are quite revealing and in tune with the times.

A digital tablet allows you to go fast, that’s a fact. It allows for a production speed incomparable with that of drawing on any other medium. And in the ecosystem in which the illustrator evolves, it matters. Providing results immediately is a big plus, especially when it comes to current events.

In case you’re not a professional draftsman, owning a digital tablet allows you to get a quick overview of what you can imagine and bring it back to infinity effortlessly.

Looking for a tablet worth the detour?

The new tablet Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 with Android™ 12 contains more qualities than meets the eye:

• Bright and smooth screen, 11-inch 120Hz OLED panel

• Slim and light, with a premium aluminum design

• All-day battery life, up to 14 hours of video playback

• Powerful and versatile, for entertainment, creativity or the office: Lenovo Precision Pen 3 and optional keyboard