“It’s the gift that goes on giving!” Artist Emily Abeydeera on biros, experiences… And Disney Lorcana

Thank you so much, Emily, for making time for this. How would you describe yourself in terms of your art?
Oh, wow. That’s such an interesting question; I’ve never even thought about that before… I’d describe myself as quite a lively artist. I love storytelling. I love when things are really intricate and there’re lots of little details. I also try to make sure that all my pieces have a lot of vibrancy and emotion that make you happy when you look at them… I work on each piece for quite a long time in order to make them joyful. I also love if they’re conveying any kind of movement too, for it to be quite intense so that I can really feel the energy of the piece while I’m working on it!

Gosh. For someone that’s not thought about that before, that was a fantastic answer! Do you know how you do what you do, Emily? Where your inspiration comes from, for example?
Part of what I feel is important as an artist is to collect inspiration – but not just physical inspiration. I really feel part of the huge library and bank that you can create as an artist is just having experiences and absorbing all kinds of information… That could be music information, sound information, information around interactions with people. It can also be information from going out, living through different experiences, being in different places and from meeting different kinds of people…

Together, all of that just helps you have a really well-rounded visual library. I think, as artists, we tend – and I don’t know the science of this – but I think we tend to store all this information so that we can then bring it back. So a lot of the times when I’m creating joy, as you put it, I might think of different joyful moments that I’ve experienced and how I remember people reacting, or I remember that feeling. Then I try to recreate how I was feeling and put that into the piece.

Gosh and golly! It’s like a magic trick to me! So now: you’ve created five pieces for Wilds Unknown, the new set of Disney Lorcana here – and we’re looking at one in particular; Hamm – Piggy Bank from Toy Story! This is brilliant!
Thank you!

I love it! Honestly, I want to cry! Because it’s like magic to me… I can’t see how you illustrate with so much expression. I mean: there’s so much character in his little face!
Well, I really wanted to showcase all of Hamm’s different feelings here. Because he’s being held up by the vine and the flowers, and we can see Woody’s boots just about appearing – he’s coming to save Hamm! Hamm’s also pretty worried that he’s losing his coins – you can see it all trickling down there, look! So I wanted to capture all of this in the expression and body language, the feeling of ‘Gosh, I’m really in a mess. I’m quite stuck here.’ and also portray the hope that’s just about to arrive for him! You know?

I do. That’s how I feel when I’m in Milton Keynes. So in terms of how you approach the artwork, Emily, where do you start?
I love to deep dive into all the different characters, especially when I haven’t seen the film for a while, or it’s one of my favourites. So – honestly – the first thing I do is just get cozy on my sofa and watch the movie. I do this with all the illustrations I work on, immersing myself in the character’s personality, what’s going on and how that character interacts with others and their environment. That way, I feel I can really understand them. Then, because I still love to do everything manually, I have my sketchbook…

Love this! An actual physical sketchbook?
Yes! A little A5 sketchbook as I start with my pencils. Well, actually, I really love drawing with my biro! I’ve done that ever since I was a teenager, so I’ll just start sketching the character straight with my trusty biro… That’s where I’m the most comfortable drawing. I’ll make studies of the character and get to grips with their design, then I’ll usually start building out my ideas based on my biro drawings.

And this might sound like a ridiculous question, but I think I know the answer! Do you like to use a very specific type of biro?
Oh, yes! Ha! It has to be the right pen; absolutely. If it’s not, there’s something wrong. For me, I absolutely love a plain Bic biro. I just love its vibe… I’ve tried so many others, and they just don’t have the same feel. I think it’s the viscosity of the ink, it comes out really fluidly. Ha! So I always have a lovely smooth line…

I’m glad I asked! And you never know, maybe Bic will read this and send you a lifetime’s supply of their biros… Cartons and cartons of Bic pens!
Ha! And what pen are you writing with there, Deej? A Papermate?

Yes! I favour the Papermate FlexGrip Ultra; 1.0-millimetre medium point with a removable lid. Ha! Bic, Papermate: we await our deliveries! So… You’ve done an ink drawing in an A5 sketchbook. What next?
As I build out the idea, I try to make sure each character’s depicted in the most authentic way possible. I want to show the characters in ways that are true to their authentic selves, so that they feel believable, like that moment’s just been created as a glimpse into their world.

Fabulous answer. Because I suppose the challenge with something like this is to interpret the original character in a ‘Disney Lorcana environment’?
Yes, that’s a really fun challenge. And with this Hamm card as an example, I really wanted to show the scale of the toys… That they’re tiny in a giant world. So I did a lot of work to make sure that you can tell Hamm’s between the tiny branches inside a giant tree. That way we get the sense that he’s just so small, even with these spilled coins being so tiny on the small treetops as well.

It’s stunning. How did you come to be doing this, Emily?
I’ve been working in games for quite a long time now, across console games, mobile games, tabletop and indie games… So I’ve been on a fantastic journey, I absolutely love games. I’m super stoked to be working in Trading Card Games now specifically – as I really love TCGs, I’ve played them all my life and I always wanted to draw for one! I also really love Disney, so being on Disney Lorcana for me is a complete dream project.

I was fortunate enough to work with Disney Games, on Disney Illusion Island: Starring Mickey and Friends on Nintendo Switch. After that, I was really eager to continue drawing Disney characters and worlds. I just have so much fun with them – and I ended up being so fortunate to work with the Disney Lorcana team. It’s just fantastic; I’m so happy that it’s been so successful and the fans love it so much, I’m having an absolute blast!

And on that, why – given your unique insight – do you think Disney Lorcana IS the hit that it is?
That’s a great question. I think part of that is TCGs have garnered a lot of love. There’re lots of different ways to play with them. You can collect, you can play, you can admire the art. There’re loads of different ways to interact with them, which can suit many different people depending on what kind of joy you take out of something…

Then, with Disney Lorcana specifically, Disney has such special characters, doesn’t it? They’re beloved by so many people… No matter our age, no matter our generation, Disney touches all of our childhoods. You know? I grew up with Disney, my mum grew up with Disney, my grandmothers grew up with Disney.

Oh, wow. I hadn’t thought about that. It doesn’t matter how old you are, Disney was almost certainly part of your childhood. Amazing! Alright… We need to start wrapping this up, Emily. Before we do, let me ask you this: what’s the one question I could’ve asked you today but didn’t?
Hmmm. What’s the most beautiful part of working on Lorcana for me?

Fabulous question. And what’s the answer to that?
For me, it’s definitely interacting with people, going to shows like this, speaking to the fans, going to events, speaking to people like you…

Oh, you charmer! Keep talking!
Ha! I just get to speak to so many amazing, passionate people, learn about their stories, learn about what makes Disney special to them, learn about how the art helps them or makes them happy. I think it’s truly beautiful. I love to work on projects where I can get people to have such a personal experience with art. I just think that’s so wonderful, and it’s part of the reason I love making art. So I really enjoy that – and I hope to continue doing that forever.

Great! I love the way you brought us full circle there – it’s like the circle of life because – oh! The Circle of Life! Shall we sing? No, you haven’t heard me sing – it’s a terrible thing.
Maybe my voice will harmonise with yours?

Can you sing? Give us a little Circle of Life…
“The cir-cle of liiiiiife…”

Oh! It was good! Nice! You’re multitalented! So I was about to say: it feels like the circle of life because the most beautiful part of working on Disney Lorcana – interacting with people; all those experiences, all those conversations – then feed back into the artist bank in your mind…
Yes! It really is that; it’s the gift that keeps on giving. It gives me life.

It gives you life! Wow. Nothing’s going to top that! Emily Abeydeera, thank you so much. What a joy!

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