What inspired you to take up graphics and begin playing around in ArcSoft Photo Studio and then later go over to Photoshop?
I first got interested by graphics after stumbling on some Btvs wallpapers through Google. It was something like 7-8 years ago, maybe. I made my first walls with Paint, but soon discovered that my dad had installed a graphic program on my PC, which was ArcSoft Photo Studio 2000. I worked with that program for four years, but in the early 2005, my PC crashed. We got it fixed by a friend of the family who had his own computer company, and though I begged him to save my Photo Studio program, it just wasn’t possible. When my PC came back to me, I found out that he had secretly installed Adobe Photoshop CS. He had no idea what his surprise meant to me, and thanks to him, I can now play with one of the best known graphic programs!

What drives you as an artist?
Emotion is my strongest muse. I had the chance to learn emotion expression with some of the best Theater teachers of my province during my 2 years of Drama school, and it really changed my perspective on life and arts. Nothing is more strong or human-like than Acting to me, and arting tv shows makes me feel like I can “capture” some part of what human life really is.

What are your fanart addictions?
I’m really into stock pictures right now, because they offer so much possibilities with different blending and texturizing effects. I still use normal textures though, and gradients ! I’m very addicted to gradients, they make such a huge difference, I just couldn’t work without them.

What will happen next for you as an artist?
Oh my, I guess that now that I’m a University student, my time for fanart will be more limited, but I really can’t tell what will happen. I just know that I’m not ready to give up fanart yet. It seems to me that I just finally started to learn real techniques!

Why Buffy and Angel?
Well, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Btvs when it started, I only got caught up during the 5th season and it was because of Spike’s feelings for Buffy. I’ve always loved difficult relationships, and especially the ones that will never work. I also loved how the characters’ humanity developed during this season, especially since they had to go through death, it seemed so real to me. I never watched Angel because, to be honest, I really don’t like his character.

Why Twilight?
That’s a funny story. I was very annoyed by the first Twilight fanart around the web, the one with Emilie Browning as Bella and Gaspard Ulliel as Edward, because I couldn’t understand how a book could be so popular ?! I got curious though and finally gave up during the early 2007 and read it… and loved it. I didn’t art it at first, it only became an obsession when I read New Moon and Eclipse and by then, it was already very popular in our fanart community. I decided to try arting it too and now I just can’t stop!

Which shows do your prefer working with today?
Supernatural, of course, it’s such a brilliant show. I’ve always loved to be scared, I was sometimes very disappointed by Btvs because it wasn’t as scary as I’d want it to be. But Supernatural never disappointed me so far. I’m also into Gossip Girl, though I’ve never really love that kind of shows before, except maybe for The O.C.. I guess I just really love how Josh Schwartz works.

Which Artist/Actor is your favorite to work with?
I’ve always loved arting Sarah Michelle Gellar but I mostly art men right now, especially Jensen Ackles and Steven Strait. I really love their facial expressions, especially their eyes. And let’s say it ; they’re both very handsome.

Textures or brushes?
Textures! Textures bring so much definition to a piece. I’m still not very comfortable with brushes, I feel like I have a lot to learn about them and I wish I could make some good by myself, but that would mean learn how to use the pen tool and… let’s not go there!

What do you think makes your art stand out among others?
Humm… maybe how I mix grungy effects with smoother and brighter ones. I also like to go a bit crazy with my art and sometimes try risky things such as inverted blending effects or keeping my caps’ natural shapes visible, etc.

Have you gotten any "real" education in graphics and HTML/PHP/CSS?
Not really. I did have a Graphic course during my final year of High school but it was ridiculously easy and I learned nothing more than what I already knew. The teacher wasn’t very competent, he would just let us do whatever we wanted. And I never studied coding, I learned through the web.

What tips do you have for new artists just starting out?
I think what’s most important is to work with high quality pictures. Some beginners work with what they find on Google, but it’s not always a good quality, and it really makes a huge difference on their wallpapers, especially when they don’t know how to improve their pictures. There are lots of amazing photo resources on the web that provide material for the fanartists ; it’s more secure and it really increases the graphics’ quality.

What kind of impact has working with fanarts made on your life?
I’m spending so much time fanarting that I sometimes forget that I have a real life outside of the internet ! It really became a passion and I’m not ashamed to say that I can’t live without fanart at the moment. It increased my creativity like nothing ever did before and it’s also a way to express my love to my fandoms, to thank them for all of the emotions and inspiration they brought me.

Icons or Wallpapers - if you had to choose to do one or the other for the rest of your life, which would it be and why?
Easy, wallpapers!!! I can’t do icons, it takes me so much time and I often get frustrated. I prefer the bigger canvas of wallpapers. And I love how wallpapers can somehow tell a story, because you can almost include an entire episode in one canvas. Icons are so limited. I feel claustrophobic when doing icons!

Who/What pushes you to go the extra mile with your art?
Tv shows and movies are probably what stimulate me the most, because nothing touches me more than a good actor’s work, as I already mentioned. I’d also never be able to push myself into trying new things without my closest internet friends, because they’re always there to give me honest criticism and tips.

As an artist, what are your pet peeves?
Art theft, of course. I’m not as upset about unauthorized redistribution as I was before though, because I think it will always be there, no matter what. But I’m still very offended by copycats, especially the ones who copy the entire wallpapers details by details. I found it very sad that they would do something like that deliberately. As for art itself, I don’t think there’s something I dislike, I actually love to see all of different styles around the community, I found them very interesting.

As an webdesigner, what are your pet peeves?
I really don’t like these mp3 thingies that automatically starts when you open a page, it always startles me! Same goes with these shiny pop-ups that ask for votes or whatever. I just hate that kind of things that jump into my face before I even got the time to read the site’s name.

What is your favorite tool to work with?
Blending effects! I love using them on caps, especially the " weird " ones such as Difference and Exclusion, they really bring interesting shades of color and light. Gradient maps are also my favorite because they can do color-miracles and saved my pieces more than once!

If you could be another artist for one day, create what they create, who would it be and why?
It would be Chris because I’m dying to know how her concepts come to life, how her minds work! I’m very impressed by her imagination, I wish I could be that smart.

What gets you going with every piece?
I sometimes listen to music while arting, it really helps me "emotionally" speaking. I try to choose songs that make me think of the scenes I art, it creates a whole atmosphere around me and it keeps me focused.

When making wallpapers, what is your process? Idea first or just browsing through caps and suddenly finding a scene you just have to make?
I used to browse around caps’ sites and wait for the inspiration to hit me but now I only art when having an idea first. I like to take my time and art the right things, especially for the text. I usually blend my pictures, textures and stocks together and take a break to think about what exactly I want to "say" with my piece. Sometimes it takes days - even weeks - before I find the words that would explain my concept.

What draws you towards light bursts in art?
I love their powerfulness, I feel like they can tell so many things with no need of words. I’ve always loved colorful and bright things and I think it just reminds me of life and emotions, especially love. I often use light effects on my Jacob and Bella pieces because Jacob reminds me of the sunlight and their love is something very bright to me, almost blinding. I also use light effects to give a kind of "strength" to some parts of my walls, to make them pop-out. They also help me with my compositions because they create a nice balance between the dark and light parts of my walls. They’re both a technical and emotional tool for me.

What would be the ultimate event or award for you as an artist and webmistress?
I think a fanlisting would be the top, and I was lucky enough to receive one this year, as a birthday present from my closest internet friends. It’s just incredible, this feeling to know that you’re being loved and have actual fans!

How does it feel to be a veteran and being an established artist who inspires others to do art?
To be honest, I’m still very surprised when people talk about me as an inspiration, but it touches me to know that they appreciate my work and think so highly of me. It really is a wonderful feeling to know that what I do encourage them to art.

Who are your own inspirations today?
Ehlwyen has always inspired me, I think she reaches emotions like no one else and through such talented eyes, her approach really impresses me, and her way to work with colors is amazing, almost surreal. Chris and her Supernatural art actually got me into the fandom, her concepts always leave me breathless and her compositions are so perfect. Matilda amazes me with her unique style, it reminds me of the surrealism movement, it’s very different from everyone else and yet so like herself, just a bit crazy but beautiful. And there are so many others, I would probably fill an entire page if I don’t stop myself now!

After having been around art for 7 years now, do you feel like you still have much to learn?
Absolutely! I just got into gradients and stock pictures and such, I’ve learned more in the last year and a half than I did during my first 5 years of fanarting. I know I still have lots to learn and I’m really looking forward to it!

Where does the name "Shadow of the Day" come from?
It’s the name of a song by Linkin Park. I loved “Shadow of the Day” because of the contrasting aspects of this sentence : something very dark (shadow) and something normally bright (day). I’ve always loved to mix bright and dark effects while arting, so this title was just perfect for my site’s name. And Linkin Park being my favorite band, it was like adding a little part of myself to my site.


I asked Marilyne to choose three wallpapers to be featured with this interview and below you'll find them together with an explanation as to why she chose them.

	Mother's Milk This is one of the the first times that I worked with blending effects and kept the caps’ natural shapes. I think it really brought a new dimension of emotions to my art and I haven‘t change my blending technique since then. I just really love how macabre this looks because it’s exactly how I felt while watching the real scene.
	Love Is Just A Game I love mixing colors with black and white and I developed a special color effect during the last year that I just recently explained through a tutorial. It makes me proud and happy to know that I found a special effect by myself that other fanartists seem to enjoy as well.
	Chained Beast This is one of the rare pieces that I’m completely satisfied with. I think it reflects my style because it regroups the dark, light and inverted effects that I adore. It’s also my own personal approach of Buffy and Angel’s relationship. The text is completely mine and has a “read between lines” effect that I absolutely love to create while arting.

MONTH AND YEAR	WINNER AND SITE	INTERVIEW
January 2009	Marilyne @ Shadow of the Day
February 2008	Nikki @ Misplaced Moments	Read the Interview
December 2007	Bre @ Infinite Illusion	Read the Interview
October 2007	Amber @ Reflection	Read the Interview
September 2007	Jenni Lou @ Daydreaming
June 2007	J.J @ More Adventurous
November 2005	Slayer @ Slayerverse
September 2005	Ehlwyen @ Quicksand

Be kind Rewind