{"id":25955187,"date":"2026-07-06T14:45:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/?p=25955187"},"modified":"2026-07-06T14:45:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:45:19","slug":"create-your-world-with-wacom-an-interview-with-artist-stephanie-shaw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/create-your-world-with-wacom-an-interview-with-artist-stephanie-shaw\/","title":{"rendered":"Create your world with Wacom \u2013 an interview with artist Stephanie Shaw"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the most amazing things about art is that you can create anything you want! Many artists recreate things they've seen in the world in hyperrealistic or abstract fashion \u2013 or any style in between \u2013\u00a0but other artists create fantastical worlds, creatures, and people that don't or could never exist in real life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephanie Shaw<\/a> is one of those artists! She's primarily a background and matte painter for animation, but is also a visual development artist and illustrator who creates fascinating and peculiar people, worlds, and creatures. She also created the artwork you see above and will be seeing across our social media this summer! We interviewed her to ask about her background, process, and inspiration. Note: the interview below has been lightly edited for clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When did you realize you wanted to become an artist? Were you a creative kid?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I always knew I wanted to be not just an artist, but an animation artist! Growing up I was really into crafting, and as I got older I shifted towards drawing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Steph
An example of Steph's work from her portfolio<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You went to college for Animation. How did you know getting an art degree was the right choice for you?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I chose to get a diploma in animation because at the time there were no other options. Today, I\u2019m not sure what I would do! There are very important drawing fundamentals that a formal education can offer, though which I think is really important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What inspired the artwork you created for Wacom\u2019s Create Your World campaign?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The theme of my Wacom painting was \"Summer.\" I thought of tropical plants, and was inspired by Disney's Peter Pan backgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Steph
The artwork Steph created for Wacom's \"Create Your World\" campaign.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Your style balances a very painterly feel with cartoony character designs. How did you develop your own personal style as an artist? What advice do you have for young artists trying to figure out their own style?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My advice to young people trying to find their style is that it will come \u2026 in 10 years; so be patient! In the meantime, keep learning, practicing, and being inspired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Steph
Examples of Steph's work from her portfolio<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You work primarily is as a background \/ matte painter in animation. That\u2019s a creative career that we don\u2019t often hear about! How did you get into that position, and to which kinds of artists might that job appeal?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Production positions like Animation, Layout and Background Paint are a great way to get your foot in the door at a studio. Matte Painting is a great option for those background painters with more experience. I just applied to a bunch of animation positions and Background Paint turned out to be a great fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Steph
An example of Steph's work from her portfolio<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What hardware and software tools do you use for your creative work, and why do you choose Wacom products specifically?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I work on an iMac and use Photoshop for everything drawing and paint. For editing I use After Effects. I grew up with using Wacom. Wacom was always the most accessible option available. I had a little Bamboo Wacom Tablet and it was a great entry point to drawing digitally. Every piece I've drawn or painted digitally has been on a Wacom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any advice for young artists pursuing a creative career?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My advice to young artists is to remind them it\u2019s a long journey and to be kind to themselves along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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About the artist<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Stephanie Shaw is a Visual Development Artist and Background\/Matte Painter. She has worked as a Background\/Matte Painter on various television shows for Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, and Disney. She lives in Ottawa, Canada with four cats and a chihuahua!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow Stephanie's work on her website<\/a>, on Instagram<\/a>, or on LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steph Shaw is primarily a background and matte painter for animation, but is also a visual development artist and illustrator who creates fascinating and peculiar people, worlds, and creatures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":25955189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2481,2326,2568,2317,6151],"tags":[6192],"class_list":["post-25955187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artist-feature","category-animation","category-careers","category-digital-drawing-painting","category-interview","tag-stephanie-shaw"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25955187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25955187"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25955187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25955198,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25955187\/revisions\/25955198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25955189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25955187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25955187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25955187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}