How did you discover your artistic talent?

When I was a kid I was terribly uncoordinated and didn’t do well at sports, dance, or other common activities at my school. In fact, I was so ungraceful my ballet teacher stopped the music in the middle of a class to encourage me to pursue something else. I always liked to draw and was pretty good at it so that sort of made up for the other things I couldn’t do. I explored several different mediums and when I was an undergraduate I started learning computer animation software. I really enjoy working in groups and collaborating, and during that time I found that animation was a perfect place to do that.

What is your favorite subject to draw?

Kids on a playground. They’re so expressive and dynamic which helps give a lot of energy to a drawing.

Besides computer-based imagery, what other mediums do you like to use?

My weapon of choice is the 2B pencil, but when I need to really focus I’ll go for Col-erase pencils because they’re more controlled. Sometimes i’ll use ink washes on a sketch, and when I’m feeling very ambitions I’ll bring out my acrylic paints.

What is your favorite WonderHill item you’ve created to date?

Shasta the Sheepdog and Samothet Camel. Also the hoppity bird on a branch.

What is your favorite type of item to create for our WonderHill games?

I love working on the quirkier animals with funny personalities.

What do you enjoy most about working in this medium (of computer animation/ online/ on screen)?

The versatility. You can combine several techniques to create an item and aren’t constricted to one method.

Meet Erin, one of our amazing resident artists here at WonderHill…

How old were you when you discovered your artistic talent? How did you get started with a career in art?

I’ve been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil basically! I developed a strong interest in animation art when I was young. Before that, even though I enjoyed making art, I didn’t know that I wanted to make a career out of it. I went to school at SJSU for my BFA in Animation and Illustration.  I’ve been doing artwork for casual games since 2007.

If your could be an animal, what would you be?

A fruit bat, so that I could fly and eat fruit all day, or an otter— otters seem to have a lot of fun swimming and playing!

What is your favorite subject to draw?

I’ve always loved drawing cute animals! And now I get to do it for a living!

Besides computer-based imagery, what other mediums do you like to use?

I love drawing in my sketchbook with pencil and inks or coloring with Tria markers. I’m also a potter and I paint animals on the pieces I make.

What is your favorite WonderHill item you’ve created to date?

Tickle-Me-Ty! He was so cute and fun to make!

What is your favorite type of item to create for our WonderHill games?

Baby animals! I love experimenting with animation too.

Please describe a typical day at WonderHill?

We have our art meeting in the mornings, and then I grab some coffee or tea and start sketching and researching for my items for the week. Then I’ll go into Flash and start creating the items from my reference and sketches.

Drumroll please….

Introducing our newest game, Enchanted Gardens on Facebook!

Enchanted Gardens is a community of friends who gather together online to create and share magical gardens with one another. Players put garden scenes together themselves, choosing from an extraordinary selection of fun and exotic drag-and-drop plants, animals, and decorative items. New items and Fursons are being added all the time!

One special feature of Enchanted Gardens is Magic Seeds that you plant in your garden, and need to be nurtured over time. Which juices you choose to feed to your Magic Seed will determine which plant you grow! There are many possible combinations and many possible results. Play Enchanted Gardens now!

WonderHill has some amazing artists who put the magic into our games by creating new items day after day. We will be doing a series of interviews with our resident artists, so you all can begin to see the work that puts the ‘wonder’ in WonderHill. First up, we’ve got Kate…

How did you discover your artistic talent?

I remember when I discovered I had an aptitude for art.  My sister used to draw this little man all the time.

She was five years older than me, and as a result, smarter, cooler, funnier, more sophisticated and more popular.  (I think at this time, I was about four and she was nine). Anyway, she showed me step-by-step how to draw him, and I did it right away, and to her horror, decided to give him a side part.  It was the first thing I could do better than her - and I was hooked.  Yes, that means I was motivated by jealousy.

What is your favorite subject to draw?

I like to draw lots of things, but when I’m not ‘concentrating’ I seem to draw uncomfortable looking people and animals.  I find background design more rewarding though - it’s very challenging, and in the end, it feels a little like you’ve created a world.  It’s pretty much my favorite thing on earth.

Besides computer-based imagery, what other mediums do you like to use?

Digital painting is remarkably similar to regular painting, so not surprisingly I like to paint with gouache and watercolor.  I also just love pencil and paper.

What is your favorite WonderHill item you’ve created to date?

BoJamma Flufferborn.  And the yellow chicks.

What is your favorite type of item to create for our WonderHill games?

I usually end up designing the ‘look’ of the games, (Not Enchanted Gardens/Green Spot, but the mini- games) minus the menu items and dialog boxes (something we call “UI” that falls to Bill.) but I love to do that.  I make a quick design of the basic shapes and colors and make sure it all ties in.  It’s very creative and fun.  After that, I paint most of the backgrounds for the games - and I love that too.

What are you inspired by? What do you turn to for inspiration?

That’s a hard question to answer.  I’m a very observant person, who registers the world in a very emotional way.  I can be inspired by breeze, or sunsets, or a tragic story … it really depends.  I think what motivates me underneath it all is that I’m searching for a way to draw a utopia for myself.  I love the world, but I also want to escape it.

If you were a tree what kind of tree would you be?

I didn’t have an answer for this, but my husband assures me that I’m a sturdy and robust sort of tree.  I’ve got it down to cypress or Joshua tree.  I just love the desert, but I am from a woodland sort of place.

Things are sure getting festive around here! We’re carving our pumpkins and dressing up our Fursons in the name of all things spooky. Join us in our games as we decorate for Halloween.

Green Spot is holding their First Annual Halloween Contest! Voting has begun and lasts until the 29th of October. The results will be announced on the 30th! The top 3 users will win Rubies and a sparkly, new trophy to display for all to see. Come one, come all- if you dare!

Spooky Overgrown Victorian Mansion

At long last, the Fursons have arrived!  These adorable, animated creatures are all packed up and ready to move in to your garden.  You can dress them up, build them a home, or send them on vacation with one of our exotic backgrounds from the store.   Every Thursday you’ll find new outfits and accessories, and maybe even a new Furson waiting for you. Start building your Furson family today!

Alright, here goes!  With all these games and apps and this website, it’s finally time to hire an actual UI Specialist to join the art team! As Lead Artist at wonderhill, I can promise you with absolutely zero bias that this is the best art team in the business.  We have fun, we are friends, and we support each other and each other’s work.

As you may know, the goal of Wonderhill is to create a fun, safe, and beautiful place for friends and family to play games and connect online.  But as a member of the art team, you may choose to partake in one of our artist-specific side projects, including but not limited to:

1. Burning a hole through space-time by creating the cutest thing in the universe,  so cute that it develops it’s own infinite, inescapable and benevolent mass.

2. Causing grown men to involuntarily giggle and/or wave their arms around like schoolgirls when they see our art, resulting in their temporary abandonment of any hard-won masculine exterior.

3. Slowing the heart rates of our users to a perfect, meta-rhythm that is so relaxing that they will no longer be bothered by traffic, screaming children, back pain, or boring jobs.. but instead, float through life on a pink cloud covered in daffoldils with that perfect breeze…

Do I sound sickening right now?  I hope so.  That’s what this place does to you… and you will LOVE IT.  Of course, as UI Artist, your *primary* job will not be to create these cute things so much (unless you are so inclined) as to deliver them to our users in a clear, elegant, and fun way… but you know that. That’s why you do what you do.

So, If you want to join one of the best art teams in social gaming, and help us bring some of the cutest, funnest (i don’t care if that’s a word, it suits my needs just fine) and most addictive games on the planet to life, mosey on over to this job posting I wrote.  Wow, writing at work, crazy!  This feels like time off!

Apply here!

http://wonderhill.com/about/jobs_ui_artist

Kate B

The talented artists of our WonderHill Team have created several new “Autumn-related” items this week! Now your gardens can reflect the beautiful change in seasons that we are starting to see in our own backyards. Visit our Green Spot and Dog World games on MySpace, the new items are in the store now. Here are some featured items for the latest item release:

Orange-Red Maple Tree: It changes colors and has falling leaves. Check the store for 2 more similar trees that change different colors.

Newfoundlander: A new dog is the perfect addition to your garden

Sleepy Cottage Shores: Our new background for the week depicts a North Eastern shoreline with ominous grey clouds and colorful Autumnal trees in the background.

Our artist Bill wants us to keep up with the times, so we are now on Twitter.

Start following us at http://twitter.com/wonderhill to get daily updates about new items, features, and general status reports.

This week we launched our WonderHill forums.  We’ve created a forum for Dog World on MySpace/Facebook and Green Spot on MySpace.

We hope that these forums will make it easier for the WonderHill community to discuss the games.  The forums will also be one of the best places to stay up-to-date on changes to the games and while discussing them.  We’re striving to make it easier for everyone to give us feedback and share their ideas.

Visit the forums at: http://www.wonderhill.com/forums