Sophy Tuttle

Sophy Tuttle has been sculpting since her mum bought her some Sculpey to keep her busy at 6. Since then, her style has become a little bit more sophisticated, but she's still using the same materials. Currently, Sophy is living and working out of Baltimore, interning at Puppet Heap in Hoboken, NJ and dreaming of moving to Tuscany. She was most recently selected for the Society of Illustrators show in Los Angeles.

How did you start working dimensionally?
I took a class my freshman year at RISD called 3D Illustration. It opened my eyes to the fact that illustration didn't have to be just drawing or painting, and it was a big reason why I chose illustration as my major. I still work in 2D a lot, but more often than not a project just calls for a 3D solution, and it's fantastic to be able to do that.

What or who has influenced the way you work?
When I first started out, Red Nose Studios was a huge influence, as well as Dave McKean, the Brothers Quay, and Henry Moore. I also had a few very influential and helpful teachers... Melissa Ferreira, Jeff Hesser, Jon Foster, and Nick Jainschigg, to name a few. One other major influence is Julie Taymor, although it may not be very obvious in my work. When I need inspiration I go back and watch Titus or leaf through a book on her Lion King characters designs. Her creativity is incredible! The list goes on and I discover new artists that inspire me everyday.

What do you enjoy the most / least about working dimensionally?

I love the freedom to be able to play with layout, color, and focus in a way you really can't do with 2d illustration. Being able to move around my characters and view point is extremely helpful in deciding the look of the final illustration. I also love being able to build things with my hands, rather than on the computer, and have a final physical product. The downside, of course, is the time each piece takes to complete. The work usually takes much longer than a drawing, but you get the same deadline.

Please describe your working process.

I start out with many sketches and ideas, and then narrow them down to a solid concept. I do a very loose sketch of what I think the final will look like and then build from there. I like things to be lose and develop organically, rather than having everything totally planned out before completion. I generally work in either Super Sculpey or Paperclay.

Sophy Tuttle

www.sophytuttle.com

http://sophytuttle.blogspot.com

sophy.tuttle@yahoo.com

images and content © Sophy Tuttle