hannah elstad

Illustration

Hannah Elstad is a visual artist based in Denver, Colorado. Elstad is drawn to nature and animals which serve as inspiration and subject matter. She employs a wide variety of mediums-graphite, oil paint, and screen printing. Her digital renderings reflect an interest in art "coming to life" through animation. While her art style is realistic, she enjoys an eclectic interest in cartooning and stylistic mixes. Her animation showed at the Supernova Outdoor Digital Animation Festival in Fall 2017.

artist

statement


Stories and art have always gone hand in hand. A cave painting on a wall would often be accompanied by a grand tale of a successful hunt, a retelling of an experience, or a fantastical legend told for entertainment. As years have come and gone our means of portraying stories have shifted and evolved but storytelling is still very much alive and well. Now, in the 21st century, we have very different means for telling such stories. Many times, these stories serve as the much-needed backbone for books, movies and (my favorite) video games.

In “Judgement of the Gods,” I sought to introduce the viewer to the compelling relationship that art and story can achieve–by creating an original story, character, and environment concept art. Based heavily on my interests in Egyptian mythology and ancient history, “Judgement of the Gods” seeks to introduce the viewer to the compelling history of ancient Egypt and the inner workings of original characters and how they interact with the problems they face. A gripping story with equally captivating characters makes for an incredibly enjoyable experience which is what I sought to explore and strove to achieve. My thesis is conceptually designed and planned to create a moment for the viewer- to try and create a memory- to connect with a personal experience we all seem to have forgotten. A story one can remember, with characters one can relate to. I strive to create memories not just fleeting moments