Digital artist will bring her trade to Nittany Con

The best way to paint a picture of illustrator Dani Kaulakis is to just let her do it herself. After years working as freelance digital artist, she certainly has enough experience to qualify for the job.

Kaulakis, a Bellefonte resident and graduate of Penn State, has done design work on the Team USA Roller Derby logo and contributed illustrations to the various role-playing games produced by Evil Hat Productions.

On Sunday, Kaulakis will be one of the guest artists in attendance at Nittany Con, a comic book convention that will be held at the Ramada State College Hotel & Conference Center.

Below, she talks more about the perks of working as a digital artist.

Q: What was the first thing that you ever attempted to draw?

A: My mom has this picture I drew of my rocking horse when I was 2. I don’t recall it personally, but she was impressed enough to keep it.

Q: If you could draw the cover for an issue featuring any comic book character, who would it be and why?

A: I like a lot of graphic novels and comic books — Lady Mechanika, for instance. But for me personally, I would rather draw for something of my own creation. That’s not to say I haven’t or wouldn’t do covers for other lines, I just find it more exciting when you get to do something new and original.

Q: How many hours a day do you spend illustrating?

A: I keep a standard 9-5. But I’m self-employed so if I need to take time off, I take it. Likewise, if I need the cash and I have the jobs coming in, I can work past normal hours.

Q: When was the first time you got paid for something you illustrated? What did that feel like?

A: It’s hard to remember — I’ve won money in exchange for jobs I’ve done throughout school, but I’m not sure those count. I can tell you that I didn’t start working professionally until my undergrad in college. I had been making ends meet as a waitress at the time and hated it. When I started pulling in enough to support myself from illustration, I discovered I could really do this. I quit the service industry and haven’t looked back.

Q: What have digital tools opened up for you as an illustrator?

A: For me it’s practical. I can just save my work at the end of the day instead of having to clean up my mess. Also, working in vector and digital paint saves me a few extra steps in exporting my work for commercial uses.

Q: As an artist, what do you think is freeing about working in the fantasy/sci-fi genre?

A: I love that you group those two genres together, because they really are the same in that they are all about what the world could be. Fantasy takes more a tone of looking to the past — which as a history nerd I just love. Sci-fi, on the other hand, looks toward the future. They both inspire and excite me because it’s a step beyond the mundane, but I can still use those two aspects to ground me.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

A: If you are good at something, don’t do it for free.

Q: What’s the first thing you want to check out at Nittany Con?

A: What my fellow artists have been up to since last year.

This story was originally published September 24, 2016 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Digital artist will bring her trade to Nittany Con."