Meet Justyne Gurley | Visual Development and Background Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Justyne Gurley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Justyne, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’ve always been creative. and ever since I was little I’ve been doodling and making crafts wherever and on whatever I could. I would create elaborate stories about my stuffed animals and draw them as characters, giving them dramatic worlds to inhabit. My passion and interest in art as a career really started with animated TV shows I watched as well as video games I played. Lauren Faust’s My Little Pony inspired me to create my own characters and worlds, as well as Zelda: Twilight Princess with it’s evocative art style. After working retail job after retail job, I realized I didn’t want to stay in the same place for the rest of my life. I wanted the freedom to live in any area I wanted while still keeping the same job. So, while I was working a dead-end job at a thrift store, I decided to get a degree in something I actually liked: Art. I decided to attend the Academy of Art University because out of all the schools I looked at, it had the degree I wanted to pursue the most: Visual Development. A career that is the most visually creative in all of animation/games./and film. It’s a role that has you creating concept art of characters, environments, and anything that might be needed for the project. This includes background art for animation, which is what I focus in. For me I chose this because *I realized that of all my options, this was what I wanted to pursue the most. It’s the career that I felt I would have the least amount of regret pursuing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I currently work in the animation industry as a freelance background artist. This means I work by contract for smaller companies doing the environments and scenes you see animated characters interact with. I currently work with Spindlehorse Toons on an adult dark comedy called: Helluva Boss. I enjoy doing the creative part of backgrounds, which is figuring out what interpretation the storyboard artist wanted, as well as keeping it in line with other shots from the same scene. I have to keep a consistent style with all the other backgrounds other artists do as well. Initially it was a challenge to try and do a style that was not my own. It didn’t take me long to readjust, and soon I was able to match the show’s style. While layout, aka the sketch/linework, is my favorite part to do, I really enjoy seeing the drawing come to life when I add color. Seeing the full finished piece I did is something that gets me excited about what I do and motivates me to take on more work and do more complicated shots.
Initially, I hadn’t really considered doing background art as a career. I had focused on character designs before that. However through this job I’ve realized that it’s where my passion, career-wise, lays. I plan on continuing to do background art throughout the rest of my career.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As much of a tourist area as it is, I really enjoy Santa Monica and the beach. It’s s0 interesting to people watch, as well as just enjoying the (typically) amazing weather.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
For me I’ve been most lifted up and supported by the team of amazing artists I work with at Spindlehorse Toons. As an indie project based in LA, they’ve all been so incredibly supportive and have helped me improve in my art so much. Specifically my background leads: Sam Miller, Amanda Heard and Savannah Mckendree. All three of them have been so inspiring and fantastic to work with.

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/justynegurleyart/portfolio

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justynegurleyart/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justyne-gurley-ab57ab202/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FloofieDrawz

Image Credits
All images are my own