Illustrator / Daft Punk Superfan Olivia on Feeling Overwhelmed & Inspired // Slashie Series

This interview originally appeared in the Slashie newsletter, which highlights creative 'slashies': people with multiple careers or a side-hustle.

There's being a fan, then there's being so much of a fan that you make an entire publication about your fave. That's what Olivia Fields did when she took on the challenge of creating her first ever illustrated zine, dedicated to French-duo Daft Punk. And she did it while still in university studying illustration. Where did she find the time? We sat down to chat to her about all this and more, starting with where it all began...

Q: What sparked your interest in illustration?

A: It started with drawing when I was really young. I was inspired by my first art teacher when I went to school in Park Slope, it was there that I saw my first gallery show. She showed us Ghibli movies and it was the first time I'd been exposed to that world.

When I entered high school I was so inspired by the students I went to school with, my friends there inspired me to take art seriously. Especially in my later years of high school, when we would go out to a tea garden that was nearby and draw for hours in our sketchbooks. It was the first time I kept one. That pushed me into the direction that I've gone with my work today.

Q: One of your personal projects that caught my attention was your illustrated zine entirely dedicated to Daft Punk! How did that come about?

A: Well, there weren't any zines about Daft Punk! I thought it would be fun to do because you get to make a body of work with a bunch of other people, and Daft Punk mean a lot to me. I love their music and style so I thought, maybe I can be the one to organise it! I had had experience doing zines but I'd never made a whole one myself. It ended up being a fun process because I was doing it about something I really loved.

Q: With your zine, the conventions you attend, and university, you have a lot going on! How do you juggle everything?

A: I try to take it one step at a time. I keep a planner and jot down a to-do list for each day so I can see what I need to get done. Sometimes I don't do as much as I'd like to, and sometimes I do a little more, but once I start something I try to see it through to the end.

Q: How do you unwind if you're feeling overwhelmed?

A: Sometimes it's just drawing for myself—not for school or a project—just for the fun of it. Or taking a moment to step away from everything, take a walk and come back to it later.

A lot of the times though, when I'm feeling overwhelmed, I'll just watch something. Especially something that inspires me. Like, right now, I'm watching the show OK KO. Usually I'll watch something like that, because the art style and the characters inspire me. I'll just do that for a while and then go back to what I was doing before.

Q: We've been asking everyone this, but we think it's important: on social media we see everyone's best work, do you compare yourself and how do you deal with that?

A: A lot of the talk is about the ideal of what you should have accomplished by a certain age. That's something I see a lot online. I see young artists coming up that are extremely talented. It makes me reflect on how I was at that age, and how I wasn't at that point. But, you have to consider where you are now, and where you're going to be. Art is always a learning process and even when you're older, you're still going to be learning and growing. That's something I have to remind myself.

Follow Olivia on Twitter, @tncts. Interview by Claire Petersen, @byclairep.