We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gwenevere Marchant. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gwenevere below.
Hi Gwenevere, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
While I do love a great deal of the projects that I work on, I think it is the fantasy taxidermy pieces I love the most. I have always been an artist, after all, my parents are artists and they have always supported my interest in such things. But for a long time I decided my goal in life was to pursue the sciences and I actually went to school to go into biology and environmental science. While those were short lived due to covid, I was able to incorporate my interest in the sciences into my work as a fantasy themed artist by creating “taxidermies” of fantasy creatures both that I created and from different media. The first ever fantasy taxidermy I created was a little dragon head mounted on a wooden shield, the whole thing could fit in your hand. I actually made a silly mistake calling it the “Lesser Fauna Drake” when it really should have been called the “Lesser Flora Drake” but at this point I already made the field guide page! The concept came from the idea that dragons “still” exist in our world but are hidden within nature and you have to look closely to find them. It was just a simple design created with tin foil, air dry clay, some beads, and some fake plants but it eventually led to several other dragons just like it and I think they might really be one of my greatest joys when I look at past work. Eventually I would like to create enough field guide pages based off of each piece that I make, to create a full book.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am Gwenevere Marchant, better known online as TwinStarStudios! I started off drawing artwork primarily for a minecraft server called Mianite Members (this was a Mianite fan server). They supported my work with loads of commissions and let me draw their minecraft skins and server plot lines. It was through their support that I grew as an artist and started a Deviantart, officially becoming TwinStarStudios. Eventually I started creating TTRPG props and fantasy taxidermies, with the support of my family, which led me to attending local conventions and creating an online store. I became well known as a fantasy artist locally to the point of having a small fan base that visits me regularly at the conventions (I love when they run to my table yelling “trinkets!” or “shiny!”). The kinds of pieces I create range from homebrew magic items, shake potions, D20 liquid dice potions, letters, fairy tale artifacts, maps, fantasy taxidermies; if you can imagine it at your table during a Dungeons and Dragons game, I can probably make it for you. I believe that having props or dice potions during a game like D&D really elevates the play and helps to keep the players engaged. Not to mention it is just really cool to bring out something in a dramatic moment. I think what sets me apart from other artists is that I work closely with my clients to try to create exactly what they envision for their game and I also use primarily thrifted materials in a lot of pieces which makes it very hard to recreate any one piece completely. I am proud of the work I create, the feeling of the magic it brings both to the real world and the table when we play. I love the feeling of discussing my work at a convention to a crowd of people and seeing everyone light up both at my work and the stories behind it, so much so that I almost always lose my voice. So I guess it isn’t just the artwork and props I create, or the trinkets that everyone always runs to my tables for, it is the magic that comes with that I love the most. It is a truly great feeling to say I am TwinStarStudios.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me it is the interaction with my audience. I don’t have a large online audience but speaking with crowds at local events is truly remarkable. At the Thespians festival I have literal swaths of students crowding around my space to get a look at the things I make and it is such a fun feeling seeing how excited they get when they see something like a glowing mushroom or a shake potion that shows the laminar flow in it. At a convention I was stationed across from the local renaissance faire and a little girl that was part of their group came to my table. She was probably anywhere from 8 to 12 but she was so delighted with all of my knicknacks that she spent the entire day there. She actually bought a little earth elemental I made but broke the glass bottle it was in before the end of the day. Since I knew that she or her parents would be back the next day I took the earth elemental home and found a plastic corked bottle to replace it. I filled it with some moss and fake flowers and a little note from the earth elemental that reassured her that it wasn’t her fault and that he loved his new home. I gave the new bottle to her parents the next day and I often think about that experience because the idea of bringing some magic and joy into someone else’s life. I really think it is the best part of my job and I get to do that with every show and every sale I make.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I knew about some of the online resources I am using now versus when I originally started. Examples such as: I have a beacons account which allows me to conveniently keep all my links under one link that I can share or have a QR code for. I have a wix website which allows me to have a free, nice looking website that I keep updated with my upcoming events. I have a square so I can take payments at events and send invoices. I’ve learned to use companies such as Vistaprint and Stickerapp when I need large scale print jobs or stickers. I even learned to use programs such as Blender, Cricut, Canva, and Paint.Net to help elevate my work. If it weren’t for the knowledge I have gained through the years of experience and tips and tricks from other artists, I don’t know where I’d be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://twinstarstudios1.wixsite.com/website
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twinstar_studios/
- Other: https://beacons.ai/twinstarstudios
Image Credits
Gwenevere Marchant (TwinStarStudios)