Thursday, September 3, 2009

John Vuycankiat



Tell me a little bit about yourself. Where did you go to school, and what extra-curricular activities did you take up? What helped prepare you to become the artist that you are today?

You could consider me one of the citizens who went to school as dictated by the norms. At a young age, I gained interest in video games, cartoons, comic books and music. These forms of art inspired me to start learning to draw on my own, enhanced by the hardcore criticisms of others. Moving on, I was never the type of person who liked to hang outside the house. I was a shut-in more or less during high school. Setting foot in college, I learned to enjoy more of the outside world. Blended with people and society beyond the castle walls, hung out at bars and enjoyed playing pool, experienced social problems, damaged my liver after becoming an alcoholic, enjoyed some puffs of brotherhood...
It was like a round trip overdrive to complete what I've missed for being too sheltered. The outgoing life coupled with its ups and downs had taught me a lot.


Summing these all up and I can say that experiencing life constantly is what fuels me to illustrate, create characters and conjure up a tale based on all of my experiences. It's what makes me the artist I am today.

What inspired or convinced you to become an artist?


That feeling of wanting to change the world by means of a story-driven art.


What is a typical day for you, and who are the people you work with?

Typical day? Sleep, work-out, chores, internet, illustrate(work at home for foreign client), eat, music, video games when vacant, bath. Before resigning from local employment a few months back, I worked and hung out with crazy, outgoing and fun loving people.

What are some of the things that you have worked on?


Years back, I worked on adult websites of UK clients by producing hundreds of image content monthly. Recently, I work for Ronin Studios as pencil artist for sequentials and character designs.


How do you go about an illustration, what goes through your mind, from start to end?

I start off with thumbnail sketches. Then get down to the actual draft and if needed, trace it via lightbox.


Could you talk about your process in coloring your art (if at all), as well as the types of tools or media that you use?


Adobe Photoshop would be my weapon of choice. On a scanned line art, I organize a series of layers each with a different role. I've become comfortable using a combined method of vector (via pen tool) and airbrush strokes executed by tedious mouse clicks (Yup! Plain old mouse).


What are some of the things that you do to keep yourself creative?

Hanging out with friends and listening to music. Constantly exposing myself to knowledge and historical stuff of my choice. Most importantly, I remind myself that there's someone out there who's 10 times more skilled than I am - helps me pump up the creativity effort...

What is your most favorite subject to draw, and why?


Perspective angles! Just love it when it feels like illustrated characters are about to pop out of paper/monitor.

Who are the top illustrators whose works excite you the most?
Frank Frazetta; Ogure Ito; Hiroe Rei; Obata Takeshi.

What are some of the neat things you have learned from other artists that you have worked with or seen?
Dynamic illustrations, realistic anatomy, color combinations and facial expressions.


What are some of your favorite websites that you go to?
Here are some:
www.onemanga.com
blog.plaync.jp/kanzeon.slog
www.francescadani.com
www.bekkoame.ne.jp/i/taka_tony/
shunyama.web.fc2.com/


What wisdom could you give us, about being an artist? Do you have any tips you could give?


Aiming for perfection. Going beyond the boundaries.


If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted?


Notify via
thebloodemperor[dot]deviantart[dot]com or through yahoo: blood_emper0r[at]yahoo[dot]com

Do you have any of your art work for sale (comics, prints, or anything)? If so, for fans of your work can know where and when to buy it?

Nothing for sale as of this moment. I plan on releasing an indie comic sometime later during Anime Overload Festival 09 at SMX Convention Center, Pasay City









If you saw Pandora's box, what would come out if you opened it?

Probably something I can't comprehend which can either kill me or help me.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Hyamei


Tell me a little bit about yourself. Where did you go to school, and what extra-curricular activities did you take up? What helped prepare you to become the artist that you are today?

About myself? Well I'm just the typical procrastinating dork studying in DLSU-M taking up Computer Studies. 20 years old,loves pandas and cats, and a gamer (unfortunately, I never owned a console in my life except for GBC!).

My extra-curricular activities aren't exactly art-related, right now I'm currently taking up Capoeira. If you don't know what capoeira is check it out --> www.wisegeek.com/what-is-capoeira

Both Nokomento (http://nokomento.deviantart.com) and Tomokii (http://tomokii.deviantart.com) are to blame for what I am today (peace hehe!) I learned a lot from them! I can honestly say I couldn't have been an artist if it weren't for them :)

What inspired or convinced you to become an artist?

I remember an anime coloring book owned by my neighbor that I really love when I was little. I started "copying" it and eventually I got a hang of it after tracing it a hundred times. I guess that sparked up the artistic little demon inside me. and also I guess I was happy/giddy and became more motivated when people get impressed by my work.

What is a typical day for you, and who are the people you work with?

A typical day would be to wake up, go online, eat, sleep! Oh yeah..and draw.

What are some of the things that you have worked on?

Nothing in particular really. But I do remember I worked on doing some Perfect World Chibis for Level Up. I also do some small commissions for avatars in deviantART.

How do you go about an illustration, what goes through your mind, from start to end?

I daydream a lot so I guess the ideas come and go.

I think about the different colors I could use or any possible techniques I can apply to make it more pretty and sometimes I think about other artist's styles to help me get more ideas.

Also when in class, I also make a super weird doodle on how it should look like so I don't forget the poses and such.

Could you talk about your process in coloring your art (if at all), as well as the types of tools or media that you use?


I don't exactly have particular coloring style because I change a lot. I just use Photoshop (because I'm such a noob at traditional art and other programs)

What are some of the things that you do to keep yourself creative?

Look at other people's work and read books and such! It really triggers your mind and keeps your inspired.


What is your most favorite subject to draw, and why?


Girls because they're way easier to draw.

Who are the top illustrators whose works excite you the most?


TAKEHITO HARADA  and Guezav(http://gueuzav.deviantart.com) because they're just too awesome for words.


What are some of the neat things you have learned from other artists that you have worked with or seen?

So many things! Particularly different techniques and different color palettes that I never knew could work in a picture. I also learned the idea of contrast and lightning and never being afraid to be bold with colors because it can really help bring out the picture.

What are some of your favorite websites that you go to?

Most of the time just deviantart, art, crafts and game blogs, multiply and facebook (just so I can play games).

What wisdom could you give us, about being an artist? Do you have any tips you could give?

As cliche as this may sound, practice does help a lot. I'm saying that just looking at pictures, tutorials and reading how to draw books wont work unless you actually try it yourself! Remember the saying, Rome wasn't build in a day. and never be afraid to go outside the box!

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted?


I check my messages in devART. If anyone wants to contact me they can visit http://hyamei[dot]deviantart[dot]com

Do you have any of your art work for sale (comics, prints, or anything)? If so, for fans of your work can know where and when to buy it?

Nope I don't sell my stuff because I dunno how.







If you're going to make a comic about your life so far, what genre would it be (comedy, drama, romance, etc.)?

If my life would be a comic book, I'm definitely sure no one would buy it! lol but I could say I want to be a comedy because I want to highlight more about the good times with my friends rather than my sulking moments.


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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

FoxElie 17



Tell me a little bit about yourself, about your life? Where did you go to school, and what classes did you study? What helped prepare you to become the artist that you are today?

Hi there! The name’s FoxElie17, actually, it’s just my sort-of alias’ name in order to protect my identity (though some noticed me easily…) away from danger. Aww, just kidding. Actually, right now I’m currently a BSCS (Bachelor of Science in Computer Science) student studying in Xavier University located in Cagayan de Oro city.

And on the sad note, I’m having an unexplainable “pain” (one time, the doctor stated it’s CTS, but not in the critical condition yet) towards my hands, but in a good way, I’m glad that I’m able to do the things I do right now.

Also, what helped me prepare (to be the artist I am today) are the guidance and mentorship of some my friends both online and offline.

What inspired or convinced you to become an Artist?

All I can say ever since my younger years what inspired me to draw were the cartoons I’ve watched. That’s what convinced me to draw at first, from “horse-like stick people” (a term I came up when I saw my first doodles) to anthropomorphic characters (dogs, cats and dinosaurs).

And around that time, I was introduced in the world of anime, or when Ghost Fighter (the first anime I’ve watched) came out, that’s when I developed my anime/manga skills. Interestingly, all in all, these inspired me as an artist.

What is a typical day for you, and who are the people you work with?

Well, nice question. My typical day is during no class days, I usually spend time checking in my family’s computer, doing drawings in Photoshop, doing commissions and art trades and somehow managing to update my “art site” accounts after. Whew. But I also spend time in SM (sometimes weekly) to see one of my favorite “tambayan” there - Toy Kingdom - where I need to see the Transformers, if you know what I mean like LOL.

And people whom I worked with? Uh, all the people I know are from my university’s art club, that’s all.

What are some of the things that you have worked on?

If there’s one thing I could say that I actually worked on would be one of my “mini-projects”. But the sad thing is, they later turned to (deviantart) scrap for the meantime. Because of my heavy schoolwork, I didn’t have time to polish them. I mean, that usually happens a lot for me.

How do you go about illustration, what goes through your mind, from start to end?

When it comes to illustration, I have to start by “brainstorming”. If I skip this process, I’ll end up tearing up the paper I’m sketching on. And after that the process of converting my generated ideas, where I start sketching every line and curve based on how I feel about it. While the rest goes to careful handling of the inking and refining in the end (when it comes to inking I really do it in a careful and slow way).

Could you talk about your process in coloring your art (if at all), as well as the types of tools or media that you use?

So it’s about my process of coloring this time? I don’t know how to say it but it’s somewhat unique to me. Of course, you have to start coloring the bases first (for the meantime, I’m actually referring to the use of Photoshop) then after you have to add some shading and highlights (one of my favourite part in coloring, coz they give so much life, hehehe).

And the last is retouching but before that, I also make sure that I have enough layers to handle (and I do it manually on each layer as much as I could, like putting some dodge in each and selecting the area). No matter how many layers there are, they’re of great importance to finish up my work.

What are some of the things that you do to keep yourself creative?

Hmmmm... This is quiet complicated for me to explain, I also have this habit of looking at someone’s work and then I begai to draw it out. Literally, not copying, whenever I look at an artwork of my favorite manga artist, that’s what makes me go. And then to make it creative, I do my best to express “dynamic” expressions towards my arts or whatever the heck I’m talking about. =w=;;

What is your most favorite subject to draw, And why?

Currently now, it’s Transformers, it’s gotta be Transformers and lotsa sci-fi stuff dealing with giant robots. Aww, really, but I also liked doing some “moe” style art in either mecha or human. X3

Basta, all I want is shiny stuff!!! XD Ehem, why I like it, well, I just like it whenever I express myself, like making a Transformer fellow so “moe”. That is what I’m digging. Oops, sorry my bad, guess I don’t have any idea of what I’m talking about in here. LOL

Who are the top illustrators whose works excite you the most?

Oh man, there so many to mention them but all I know that what inspired me to draw moe style girls, is if weren’t for Koge-Donbo (creator of Digi Charat and Pita-ten, I just love her works so much!!!). Then when it comes to robots and mecha stuff, I instantly fell in love with the Virtual On’s dynamic robot designs done by Hajime Katoki (until I noticed he worked for the Gundam franchise). For now, I guess these are the artists I know a lot about. =w=;;


 

What are some of the neat things 
you have learned from other artists that you have worked with or seen?

Of what I’ve seen from them, they give a good amount of effort towards their works. Come to think of it, it’s one of the most important aspects of every artist, but one thing's for sure, I always end up not being able to exert it though. XD

Another aspect I’ve seen is how the artist puts some “emotion” towards his/her work, in which I also apply that too, in my life. I guess, you can say that every artist’s work has a hidden feeling towards it. :D

What are some of your favorite websites that you go to?

One of my favorite websites I usually surf the most are the following: Aethereality.net and E-Shuushuu. These are my favorite websites when I browse nifty and some gorgeous “moe” girls. (Pardon me for saying the word “moe” a lot XD) And they become my source of references too, y’know. ;3 And another, is DeviantArt. Well, it’s one of the websites that I always browse, where I can check deviations, chat friends, submit artworks, etc. And lastly, one of those Transformers-related sites.

What wisdom could you give us, about being an Artist? Do you have any tips you could give?

Ehh???? Now that’s one thing I don’t know how to say. XD Well, all I know that being an artist, you gotta have some inspiration (like I used to have from others . When you begin to explore more about your talent just by being inquisitive, your kind of potential will manifest from it (eh, got it???) And plus, you can learn from others (take for example, “How to Draw” books)as well. That’s where I also developed my skills as an anime artist.

If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted?

Well, they can either note me in DeviantArt or probably under my e-mail address, remaileen_roca[at]yahoo[dot]com.

Finally, do you have any of your art work for sale (sketchbook, prints, or anything) for fans of your work can know where and when to buy it?

Oh… Nothing at all, I guess. But remember what I’ve said previously? The one about my “mini-projects” turned into scrap? That’s what I was thinking about all the time in my life, if I have enough funds for it… Though I also had no idea what to do with DA’s print system currently…=3=

Thanks!

Hehe, Thanks for the feature! I do have a fun time answering one of the questions! XD Well, that’s it for now, and God bless! And also, Mabuhay!!! ^O^/










If you could transform, like a Transformer, into any machine what would you be and why?

One thing for sure, this is probably the most interesting (but somewhat complicated though LOL) question ever, but anyhoo, to the answer!

My choice would be of a land-type vehicle and let's picture it out as a Mazda model type of car of sorts. XD Why I chose to be of that alt mode (I'm sure you know it!), is quiet simple; All I want is to be open-minded towards the environment I have around where I can explore everywhere in a freely way of manner.

Additionally, it's best to be responsible towards traffic rules out there 'cause well, it's one of the important aspect I have to undergo as a car-type alt mode.

And if you're wondering why I chose this instead of an aircraft type where you can freely fly everywhere you ever wanted, but for me, it can be a hindrance. If I was meant to fly, there's no way this has some great aspect to me. I mean, still it's like exploring out there but whatever will happen if I fall down, and then can't get up? And what will happen to my seeking in life and how will I continue it? I hope you got my point, 'cause let's just say I'm an Icarus-portrayed Transformer who was once a Decepticon but later joined the Autobots choosing a form that which best suits me and what is right for my path I am creating.

This is something to contrast my life as well, where situations get worse when I handle it until I notice that finding what is right for me and my so-called "future" are something I have to make.

So there you go, me being a Transformer who chose to be a car alt mode instead XD. I mean, I did had a good time answering this despite how long and somewhat meaningful it is. XD So yeah, really, life can be like this right? Oh well, just make sure of choosing your path in a careful manner and you'll see what's best that makes your life easy and stable. ;3

Friday, May 1, 2009

Shiei



Tell me a little bit about yourself. Where did you go to school, and what extra-curricular activities did you take up? What helped prepare you to become the artist that you are today?

I’m Shiei. I studied Fine Arts at Technological University of the Philippines majoring in Advertising arts for 3 years; I stopped since I had to move to America. I met a lot of creative people during my 3 years of college in the Philippines and a lot of them serve as my mentors. I also took a few classes of figure drawing and studied graphic arts in CA.


What inspired or convinced you to become an artist?


It’s what I love to do; growing up I was already interested in drawing (much to the complaints of my parents of me wasting paper)


What is a typical day for you, and who are the people you work with?

Typical day ...hmm basically after I do my usual chores, I go online and start working till evening or usually till I pass out (the basic life of working at home).

What are some of the things that you have worked on?

I've worked with Seven Seas doing two of their manga/comics Aoi House and Amazing Agent Luna. Right now, I'm working on Avalon manga and novel also by Seven Seas.


How do you go about an illustration, what goes through your mind, from start to end?


First, I think about what story or emotion I want the audience to feel before I sketch. After the sketch was done I go ahead and ink and color it in Photoshop.>> Though it usually doesn’t come that smoothly since I’m constantly ending up with a pile of unused sketches XD


Could you talk about your process in coloring your art (if at all), as well as the types of tools or media that you use?

I only use Photoshop at the moment, coloring flats first before shading. I usually end with a ton of layers (sadly)


What are some of the things that you do to keep yourself creative?

I would listen to music, read manga or just customize dolls (pullips and BJD ) or just stop drawing for a while to refresh the mind.


What is your most favorite subject to draw, and why?


Chibis! They are cute, fun and easy to draw.


Who are the top illustrators whose works excite you the most?


CLAMP, they are just plain awesome.


What are some of the neat things you have learned from other artists that you have worked with or seen?

I learned to be patient and not to be so much of a pessimist. (I still am…>> somewhat… )


What are some of your favorite websites that you go to?


Deviantart.com, denofangels.com

What wisdom could you give us, about being an artist? Do you have any tips you could give?

Everybody keeps on saying this but…. PATIENCE is really needed to become a good artist. All of us had to start from somewhere, right ^^. Also, don’t be afraid of criticisms. Use them as a fuel to improve. Remain true to yourself, and be humble.


If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted?


They can note me at Deviant art (http://nekoshiei.deviantart.com) or by my email (shiei_blackfire[at]yahoo[dot]com)


Do you have any of your art work for sale (comics, prints, or anything)? If so, for fans of your work can know where and when to buy it?


They are for sale at Barnes and Nobles here in the US.





What song would you shake your head to?

My favorite song so far is “Let Go “ by Frou frou (I like most of her songs anyways ^^)

Got an Artist?

Do you know a Filipino artist who makes exceptional Japanese manga style illustrations? If so, leave his/her name and any other info about him/her on this post.