Artist Feature: Xeosia
Meet Xeosia: Summoning creatures from the secret places, and bringing them to life!
I first discovered Xeosia on Reddit’s r/ArtistTradingCards community, where I was dazzled by her playful creature designs. They take so many fun and unexpected shapes, with pops of vibrant color and big personalities that crawl right off the page. I didn’t anticipate how equally cool Xeosia’s creative process would be, and I’m so excited to get to know her with you — let’s get into it!
Welcome, Xeosia! Tell us about yourself and what you enjoy.
I’m an introvert who is devoted to a select few hobbies. Pokemon (cards, games, Flygon), my plants, art — currently ATCs — and I put my all into those things. It’s quite hard to pry me away from them, honestly. I’m very routine-oriented and I’m just taking life one day at a time in the best way that I can.
How long have you been creating?
I started drawing in elementary school, dragons, exclusively. In middle school I started drawing cats, and I got into simple animation through Flipnote Hatena on the DSi. I joined my first ATC group on DeviantArt in around 2013 while I was in high school.
I got back into creating ATCs after taking a 9-year-ish hiatus. I sell Pokémon cards on the side and thought it would be fun to draw something for buyers that made their favorites apparent in their order. I got tired of the limitations of the semi-glossy Pokémon energy cards, so I cut up some cheap cardstock in to 2.5” x 3.5” cards, and it spiraled from there.
What materials/supplies do you use?
I use watercolor or paint pens (or both!) on tan-toned or gray-toned Strathmore mixed-media paper. I adore my toned papers and keep a supply of them.
What parts of creating ATCs give you that awesome jolt of dopamine?
I guess it can be any time in the process, but especially the point where I can see the vision.
I have aphantasia, so when I start a drawing I don’t have any blueprint in my head.
I just throw lines on my sketchbook for a while.
Sometimes I never get to that point (a final vision), but I hang onto my drafts in a binder in hopes that I can pull them out and finish them someday.
Jenivieve: I love hearing about how artists’ brains work. I can totally see how your aphantasia and exploratory approach contribute to so many unexpected and wonderful character designs! Inversely, I have hyperphantasia and sometimes I suspect pre-imagining what I want to draw can be a limiting factor in the range of things I ultimately create. At either end of this spectrum-of-experience, there are trade-offs — and yet, no matter how our brains process visual things, creating art is possible and the results, absolutely unique! ❤️
Is there anything you wish your audience better understood about your art?
Nope! My head is empty and theirs can be too. I don’t seek a deeper meaning in what I make, it simply is. I enjoy drawing my own little creatures being themselves and they mean nothing, they just are. There is too much to worry about.
After art school I realized that finding meaning in everything I create means nothing to me.
Jenivieve: I love this insight. Sometimes we artists bog ourselves down with an urgency to create things that are “relevant” or “meaningful” to others, when the creation process, itself, is just as important and it’s meaningfulness could exist as both the process AND the product simultaneously.
Question: Do you ever subconsciously added meaning to your art, but only realize it after you finished creating it? If so, what kinds of meaning do you unconsciously manifest in your art?
I have a sketchbook that I filled while I was hospitalized for a few days. We did some art therapy work and I think my creatures were more dreary, overall. I created a new creature (Goose, the blue creature below) to represent myself while I was in there. I think she means a lot to me because of it. It started the same way my creatures always do, just kind of became me. I draw her when I seek comfort.
I have many characters that represent different parts of myself. I deal with numbness by drawing my rotten wolf (Myzel), curiosity and joy through my Sinosauropteryx (Jane), and so on. I tent to compartmentalize and I think this shows in the characters I create.
What are you learning in life, right now?
Lots of things. Focusing on art, I’m quite enjoying learning new ways to play with mixed media and bright colors.
Do you trade ATCs?
I’m still kind of worming my way back into the trading scene; I’m just going with the flow and it seems to be working. I’m a bit of a lurker, but I’ve had a great time chatting with people I’m doing trades with! I know there are some from the distant past that I can’t find, but I only have about 14 cards or so at the moment. I like discord and Reddit for art trades!
What are some of your artistic influences and inspirations?
My wife inspires me a ton, when she does art! Growing up I was inspired by a lot of my peers on Hatena and DeviantArt. Currently Tomokazu Komiya is one of my favorite artists!
Jenivieve: Knowing a bit more about you now, it’s going to be even more fun to look at the examples of your art that you’ve shared with me. Let’s take a look!
“Dart Frog Time”
This was one in a series of frogs created after visiting a reptile and plant expo and buying some of the first plants in my collection. I love the idea of keeping a terrarium of live plants and dart frogs! I had a great time painting the foliage on this one.
“The Horrors”
This one was a gift for a friend, drawn as he described. I enjoyed the process and loved how it came out! What horrors has he seen? What horrors has he caused? Who is to know...
“Jupiter”
This is my cat! She is a precious baby and I love her — what more is there to be said.
“Feebs”
One of the many cards I painted in a series to fill a binder page with my creatures!
Jenivieve: I love your creatures. Did I say that already? I hope so. 😆 The shapes and techniques you use are always so fresh and interesting to look at!
“Toonces”
This is my son — he is a bad boy, but I love him. I spent a lot of time on portraits of my cats, as you can see.
Mister Lister
I HAVE NOTHING ABOUT HIM HE JUST APPEARED ON THE PAPER ONE DAY.
Thank you so much, Xeosia!
I love your creatures, your cats, and everything else you create! It’s exciting to understand your influences and inspirations, and fascinating to learn how aphantasia influences the flow of your art processes. Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. We look forward to seeing what creatures appear on your pages, next!