Artist Focus: Hazal Avcı

Hello, I'm Hazal.

I draw in a small corner of the living room of my house in Zonguldak. I spend all day at this table. I like to work in simple and calm environments.

When I have book projects, I start the day very early. I immediately go to my desk and finish the pages I need to do that day. I feel more comfortable working on a planned schedule. On busy days I stay late, but I prefer to finish all my work by the evening.

Depending on my mood during the day, I choose between audiobooks, music and podcasts. Audiobooks are always my first choice for long-term projects. I get immersed in the stories and can sit in front of my computer for long hours without getting distracted. Although I love listening to music, sometimes it can be tiring. I have a very mixed taste in music 😊

I start my book projects first as a reader. Scenes come to life in my head. In my second reading, I take notes and the details become clearer. I make rough sketches on paper and do research on the time and place where the story takes place. When the character designs are approved, I work on the pages.

My favorite color palette is always dark and dark tones. Over time, I gave it up for my target audience 😊 I use more vibrant colors.

Magical fantasy universes, time travel stories are the subjects I enjoy drawing the most.

It feels good to get away from drawing after the work is done. Just for a while 😊 I like to be in production. I make time for things I can't do while working. Poster drawings and abstract visuals are very relaxing to draw. I love to use the lyrics of the music that affects me in my visuals. Sometimes I hang them on my wall, sometimes I make phone wallpaper.

I make small objects, pen ornaments and badges out of clay. I get away from audiobooks and read a lot of books and watch short series. I’m interested in diorama but unfortunately I haven't gotten to the stage of making it yet, I just watch it.

I've been watching F1 for a long time, following the races and playing the game. It's an old version but it's fun.

I used to say that I get inspiration from life, from what I experience, from my surroundings. Since I got used to working at an intense pace, I don't expect inspiration.

Of course, from time to time I don't want to draw, I lose the motivation to draw. I try to feed myself visually, I look at a lot of artists' works, read comics, and try to distract myself by taking a walk by the sea.

I have a small notebook. I jot down the drawing ideas that come to my mind. Whenever I have time, I choose from the subjects and make drawings.

I prefer to draw on Photoshop, Procreate is a program I'm trying to get used to, sketching is comfortable, but I return to Photoshop for painting.

First I make a rough sketch and plan the scene. Then I make a detailed sketch over that sketch and move on to the clean. Blue, purple, orange and pink tones are the colors I use the most. I try to change my choice of brushes, I am in a constant search. Sometimes I use pressurized brushes and sometimes flat brushes.