It's a Hailey! Tell us a bit about yourself!
It’s me! I make illustrations and comics and zines and things! I use too many exclamation points when I type things!
Can you walk us through your process for creating The Ordinary Epic's logo and banner images? What were your inspirations, and how did you land on the final graphical look and feel of them?
We did a lot of different sketches and thumbs for possible logo and banners — and the vibe I know you wanted was to make it both ordinary, yet epic… did you see what I did there? Anyways! I felt like the banner image with the desk and fantasy imagery came pretty easily, whereas the logo was a bit trickier!! It’s certainly my weaker area as opposed to straight up illustration, so it was an exciting challenge to capture the feel of the project! I think what Brandon ultimately chose fit the fun but fantastical vibe of the story nicely! Not too heavy! The fiery flames are my favorite part!
You also created wonderful illustrations for each episode. Do you have a personal favorite? Was there one that was a little trickier to tackle than the others?
Thank you!! I think the first episode was the hardest, just in the sense of it being the first! So I felt concerned on making sure it was a fitting the aesthetic and was a good jumping off point for the next batch of illustrations. But I actually have a few favorites! The pieces for 2, 3, and 6 were particularly exciting! The illustrations for 2 and 6 were especially dramatic and great to get into, and I felt that the illustration for Episode 6 had a really great, moody vibe. I love that vibe.
Your website (https://www.haileythurrott.com/) is full to the brim with such amazing artwork. I love the vivid, striking colors in all of your stuff. I don't talk the artist-speak so well, but how would you describe your art? The aesthetic, the style, the inspiration? I'm such a fan and am curious how you think of it.
Ahhh thank you so much!! I feel like I tend to make a lot of textured, moody digital paintings and I really enjoy breaking things down in shapes. For me, shapes help me think! Patterns help me organize, so being able to break things down to that point is really satisfying to draw! And for inspiration, I have tons of books around my room — lots of encyclopedic and reference books on ferns and flowers and moss! As well as a lot of quilting and embroidery books — the texture in all these are so beautiful and hype me up a lot! I’m also super inspired by video games and anime too — it’s too much to list them all here, but there are so many beautiful and fun stories that make me excited to create too! There’s just so many things to enjoy! I’ve been having fun using the power of the internet and streaming platforms to finally watch anime I never got to see as a kid.
Alright, the obligatory nerdery question: what are you into? If that's a very long list, how about: what are you really into now?
It’s a long list — you hit the nail on the head!! But right now I’ve been jumping around a lot of games when I have downtime. I’ve been playing Final Fantasy 9 and I’m so charmed by it! I was so surprised honestly!! I knew nothing about it and have had such a blast! Breath of the Wild has also been really beautiful and fun — I’m such a sucker for games with a lot of exploring these past few years. I just love collecting things and leveling up and doing side missions.
What's next? What projects are you working on now, and what do you hope to be working on in the future?
I work 5 days a week at another job, so I don’t have enough time to tackle anything until the summer — but for now I’m having a great time just making illustrations to share with folks on the weekends! I hope to start cracking on some comics of my own someday! Maybe this summer I can make it work — we’ll see! : - D
In closing, what's a question that you wish people asked you more often?
Hmmm, I’m not sure! Maybe if people wanted to know more about my stories/characters? But I tend to just share that anyways! So unfortunately, my closing answer is pretty unexciting! Dang!!
Thanks so much for talkin' art shop with us, Hailey! If you haven't yet, definitely check out Hailey's website, and if you like supporting crazy talented artists, her Patreon is one of the best out there — she floods her patrons with great content, sometimes several times a day!
Hailey Thurrott is an illustrator and comics artist currently based in Connecticut. She enjoys creating rich and expressive digital paintings and stories with elements of the supernatural, tournament arcs, and the undying power of friendship and love. If she's not working on art, you can usually find her flipping through botanical books or grinding to fight a boss. haileythurrott.com | Twitter: @ROBOGART
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