Chaos Hour

Artist Spotlight : Anastasia Catris

From The Adorable Totoro To Gears Of War 3. We Check Out Anastasia Catris At Bristol Comic Expo

Name : Anastasia Catris

As Bristol Comic Expo comes to an end, I had time to catch up with a friendly face from Chaos Hour, Miss Anastasia Catris. Busy with requests from the customers of Bristol, the lady herself has been hammering through request after request and was finishing up an amazing sketch of Power Girl. We wanted to know more about the master behind 'SuBo’s Cat: The Imaginings of Susan Boyle's Pampered Pussy' and she was happy to oblige.

Anastasia has been working freelance for the past four years. She was lucky enough to study at The Kubert School, which is world famous when it comes to comics. Working at Harper Collins also gave her the opportunity to publish her first book SuBo's Cat, a wild and furry comedy based around Susan Boyle! She loves everything from 80’s cartoon shows, writing to your occasional hard-core gaming session.

Drawing before she could talk, Ana managed to finish her GCSE with flying colours, but sadly failed her art AS-level. After this knock to her confidence, she put drawing off for a while, but gradually developed a whole new love for graphic novels after a childhood reading comics. She applied to Joe Kuberts School of Art in New Jersey, USA, and has been drawing ever since. Now she sits proudly as an experienced graphic artist, illustrator and writer amongst the many comic book artists of the future.

Ana has a very polite and welcoming manner when it comes to people who are interested in her work. She takes time to talk to everyone who visits her stall and ensures everyone leaves with a smile; even if they don’t buy anything. I was lucky enough to have a showcase of her latest work which included: a fantastic range of DC themed playing cards, which depict a modern and classic version of popular characters; a superbly drawn and coloured Gears of War print which has been very popular amongst the gamers; a comical Skyrim print; and finally a cute and adorable Totoro print, which has been favoured by almost everyone this year at Bristol. “I Enjoy drawing Totoro, he's so cute, lovable and definitely seems to be the most popular!"

Ana gave us some insight on her future projects. She is currently working on a project with a writer from 'Stiffs' named PJ Montgomery (if you haven't checked this dude out make sure you do now!) It will be a fantasy adventure comic series aimed towards both children and adults. Although a title has not yet been confirmed, these are two forces which when combined should form something pretty special. While on the front lines of the comic world, Ana is also working with Tamsin Silver on a graphic novel based on a book in her 'Living Dead Girl' series: 'Moon over Manhattan'; an urban fantasy action novel. Both projects will hopefully see the light of day towards the end of the year.

To finish up we talked 'Avengers' and with Ana, being a big time Marvel fan, had this to say: "I thought it was absolutely amazing! It's about time Joss Whedon got some recognition for being so kick-ass!" and I completely agree with her. Before the day was over, Anastasia had some advice for those of you who would like to exhibit your own artwork: "Draw as often as you physically can. You have to keep on drawing. The more you draw the better you get. No artist is perfect. No artist thinks he or she is perfect. So if you think your stuff isn't good enough, just remember: there is always someone out there who will admire you. Be sure to take criticism and learn from it"

Anastasia is a lovely person to meet so if you see her at any future conventions make sure you go say 'Hi!' If not check out her excellent blog and make sure you follow @acatris on twitter as big things will be coming from her real soon.