Spotlight on Lauren Raye Snow

Lauren Raye Snow is an award-winning artist and illustrator from San Antonio, Texas, whose work explores uncanny, ambivalent visions, both dreadful and cathartic. She has art directed four Nebula Conferences, painted queer saints and monsters, and most recently has been nominated for a World Fantasy Award. Her work has been featured in Apex Magazine, Mermaids Monthly, New Gothic Review, and Infected By Art – but the really juicy stuff is hanging in a secret attic, enchantedly rotting.

What was your introduction to working in the field of science fiction and fantasy art? What were the influences that drew you in?

My parents were huge SF/F fans, so I was fortunate enough to have incredible illustrated books already on our family shelves for me to pour over – Leo and Diane Dillon, Ian Miller, Brian Froud, and Alan Lee were early inspirations. I also have a vivid memory of peering around the corner to surreptitiously watch Bram Stoker’s Dracula past my bedtime. All of the ‘80s fantasy films were favorites, but especially Ridley Scott’s Legend. Dark Lily was my favorite part – that, and the ostentatious glitter covering absolutely everything in that movie. I still can’t help but put sparkling light in my work.

Talk a bit about one of your most interesting illustration or cover projects. What’s it like to illustrate an author’s work? How do you engage with the work and make it your own while still honoring the source material?

All my work starts as an emotional moment. As I read something I’m going to be illustrating, I’m zeroing in on the emotional and physical sensations that arise for me. That can be a certain expression, or pose, or lighting, but it starts as a feeling in the body. In my work I’m trying to draw that out.

The July 2023 Apex cover is part of a series of illustrations I’m doing for Carmilla, the 1872 queer vampire novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Carmilla is the only vampire (that I know of) that uses a butterfly metaphor to describe vampirism. I was struck by this image of her victim and companion Laura peering out from a flesh-like cocoon. The text of Carmilla is so effective at conveying the interplay between desire and disgust – those are the feelings I was aiming for in the piece. Portraiture is central to your work. Do you draw from life to get inspiration, or work from photo references?

Because expression is paramount in my art, I take care in creating all my own references. I’m actually working on a little behind-the-scenes video of this process now, which will probably be posted on my social media by the time this issue is out! I make ample use of props, costumes, and especially lighting. These items don’t have to be expensive or exact. I just got an inexpensive video light kit, an extra-large ring light, and some tripods, and it’s been suiting my purposes well. Lighting does so much to convey the inner world of the subject – sometimes as much as the person’s expression or gesture. I’ll have an idea of what the lighting should be like, set it up using myself as a guinea pig in my studio, and then bring in the actual model to shoot. In addition to your personal work, you are the Art Director at SFWA. Tell us a bit about creating the Star Deities and your other design work for the organization.

Putting together a visual identity for SFWA was an honor – the team and I explored ways of marrying the pioneering visuals of NASA’s JPL space tourism posters with an expansive, inclusive vision of the future. It’s been fun to riff on that every year with the Star Deities. How do you keep it fresh for yourself and keep learning new techniques and improving your craft? Have there been any recent changes or discoveries in your art process, or do you feel settled into something that’s really working for you already?

I am never settled and never satisfied, but I think that’s a benefit! One of the most effective ways I have challenged myself was by taking art mentorships through SmArt School, which has terrific instructors who work in the industry, and portfolio reviews by Art Directors who work in SF/F/H publishing, gaming, special editions, and cinema/concept art. It’s amazing to be exposed to how these pros work, but also just to be in a class critique environment with so many different artistic sensibilities and really kind people. It’s helped me to refine my style and my artistic intentions.

Cover and interview art and design by Francesca Myman, art by Lauren Raye Snow

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