About ME
Here it is, the "real" About me page I'm sure you have all been waiting for.
I'm making this page to post some general info about the one known as the "black rat" and to answer some typically
asked questions I get from those brave enough to contact me. (people think I'm scary, cant imagine why).
Remember now, all this is from my own unique perspective (which is the right one, of course :P) so you may not agree, or like any of my answers; but I'll say now
that it's all you're going to get, so accept and move on. At least until I update this page.
Ok first, the general info:
Weight: Too much, is out of shape
Home: Currently resides in Helltown USA
Likes: Mountain Dew, Art, Cartoons, Dew related art cartoons, Spaghetti, CD player, Music (for the CD player)
Videogames, Bladed weapons, Black, Blue, Microsoft Word, Writing, Imagining, Inventing Characters, Drawing, Practicing,
Kung Fu movies, Action Movies, Monster movies, Reading, Studying, Spaceballs, People who don't suck, Respect for the craft (sounds cheesy don't it?),
Andrew Loomis, the Baroque Period, JI'm Lee, Ken Sample, Rembrandt, Michael Whelan, Jen Seng, Somethingawful.com, Comic book resources forum,
Soul Calibur 2, Tekken (tag), Virtual Fighter 4 EVO, Metroid, Sonic the hedgehog (every incarnation...except 3d blast), Zelda (the princess is cute, sue me), A sense of humor,
OC remix, Poetry, History, Philosophy, Psychiatry/Sociology, Tifa Lockheart :P
DISLIKES: Interruptions, Green Foods, Boredom, Poverty, Sucking, Cartoons animated in Korea (apologies to any Koreans in the audience, but DAMN), Silence, Beets, Organ meat, Weak speakers/headphones, Papercuts,
Busybodies, Conceited folks, General assholes, My monitor, 56k modems, Hellsing, Pretentious crap, Spyware, HP Pavilion 6460, Windows 98, Windows ME,
"Rap" music, Orange Mountain dew, PB and J combo jars, Old Mayonnaise, Freezer burn, Meatloaf made of vienna sausages, RAMEN NOODLES AND ALL THEIR ILK,
Control freaks, Victim complexes, Dreamcast controllers, Social Conservatives, F-zero GX story mode (argh argh ARGH!),
Bosch, Disk Read Error, Regrets, Eraser dust, Spiders (must stay 2 feet away at ALL times), Fist of the North Star, Ninja Scroll, Alcohol, Power outages, AOL, MCI metro,
Bad art, Whiners, Attention Hogs, Cowards, Egg noodles, Eggs, Stubbing my toe,
Direct FINAL FANTASY sequels, Star wars AOTC, Danny Eflman movie scores, Throw away characters, BATMAN AND ROBIN, Obsessive fans, The Shield, Wasted potential.
Now for the FAQ. These are questions I'm often asked by people when they first run into me. I've picked out some gems to post here so I can write a nice long winded and rambley answer while i sit here with no internet service
for some unknown reason. First a few ground rules: I'm an extremely impersonal guy, emotions cloud thought and only get in the way (that basically means that I'm very hard to piss off, so take it as a universal warning NOT to do it)
and I'm not particularly sentimental, So don't expect weepy expose's into my childhood traumas and junk. Might see some rage tho, some say I have plenty of that. :P
Q: So, why do you draw Furry/Tf/sick twisted crap?
A: I like it... really, I suppose its partly due to my love of old horror/Monster movies, Love of nature and a healthy crop of 80's cartoons. AnI'mal-ish characters intrigue me not just from a design standpoint though (and it has very little to do with
sex, which I hear is odd somehow... @_@) I've written on this subject before on other sites, but it always resurfaces. Basically I enjoy characters, and spinning stories in my head about "random anI'mal guys doing random things" gives me a chance
to explore various characters with the added complexity their "animal" sides add to the picture. I'm curious as to how "furrys" (real ones not the delusional human kind) act and interact, and what choices an eight foot tall "weredragon" would make on how to
deal with, or use, his "curse/condition/whatever you'd call it". Its not about the "power of the change" with childish wishes of some sot of release from worldly responsibilities with phoney acceptance and joy or
"standing around looking trendy in a white void" . I'm more interested if weather polar bears really like klondike bars, or how a feline chef keeps hair out of the food. I always remember that life is just pain management, and every reward,
if you'd even call it that, comes with a price.
A: No... :P I'm just a guy with a very low BS tolerance. Truth be told I don't like people much, they tend to be more trouble than they're worth. Sadly there are a large number of hopeless social misfits online, and a lot of the people I meet reinforce my already
low opinion of the general populace. As such I am very guarded when dealing with people. I don't offer up information about myself or talk about the depths of my "soul" as experience tells me that people will try to manipulate you if you show even an ounce of
weakness. So generally, no, I'm not "mean" but I don't show emotion much, don't get attached to people much and I TRY not to let it influence the things I do, but I do have my breaking point as some of you out there know. I will not now, nor will I EVER hesitate to take someone's head off
if they earn it.
A: I get this one A LOT. It seems to stem from the fact that I have no problem drawing guys of the animal persuasion (or becoming that way) while almost No one else who happens to be male will. All I have to say about my sexual orientation is... Thursday. :D
Q: I heard you are an art "snob"
A: LOL hardly, I suck (can one be a snob to oneself?) But, I have a Great deal of reverence and respect for Art as a whole, and sometimes my demand for 110% (i never demand more from others than i do from myself) comes off as a bit... crass :). To me giving less than your all insults everyone who has ever worked their damndest to become competent
in the many forms or artistic expression. The skills that some take for granted or hold no respect for have taken many people a lifetime to develop and apply. I have no real concern about current skill levels, as long as you care about the work enough to try your best but still understand that the criticism of others may help you find flaws in your work that
you aren't able to see just yet. Ask for help, don't listen to fans. People don't like to hear that there are just some things that a beginning artists will not understand at first glance (and many artists are weary of this and it makes getting useful crit tough to get out of them). People will gloss over errors that they don't know are there.
I think it should be up to more experienced artists to help in every way they can to raise the general quality of ALL art within their field of experience (lofty i know)
Older, more experience folks have been where the newbie is now, they know what pitfalls to avoid and can point a rookie down "the road" to greater technical skill. Alas, some recoil when they learn how hard 'the road' is, and look for quick fixes and easy tricks to make their art "good" (explains all the bad photoshop color jobs the world over).
Ego also gets in the way, people hate to hear that they don't know what they're doing @_@, regardless of who tells them.
Cries that, 'It's My style!!", ('style' is earned through the application of technical knowledge combined with personal tastes, its basically your own artistic handwriting, as such it CANNOT be copied. Bad is not a style BTW. You cannot adjust and streamline the basic rules of construction, and they are rules, when you don't know them.) may cause me to bite your head off. When your
goal is improvement, and you go to a more experienced person to try and learn, check the ego at the door. If you wont, or can't then don't waste others time.
Q: But its art, who's to say whats bad?
A: The lazy mans excuse, heh. It's true that you can find an audience for anything But that's ultimately a weakness. If you, as an artist, are only concerned with getting "fans" then there is no impetus for improvement (depending on how, "famous" you want to be of course). For some, art is just a means to attract attention to fill some sort of emotional hole in their life with online "friends"
(more often cronies, thats all one sided relationships produce really). That, however, seems to be self defeating (I know, remember the blackdragon? he did that). When your only desire is attracting attention from the lowest common denominator (in my case it seemed due to the subject matter alone... bleh) you will not improve UNLESS you have
that inner drive to do so. You can never look to others for your own self worth or for the will succeed!! The moment you find yourself saying that one of your creations is "good enough", I suggest you take a moment to think about WHY you first chose this "hobby" and if your effort measures up to the passion YOU have for your work, if its the best you can do, an if not (not every pic is a
masterpiece) take a moment to look at whats NOT right and do what needs to be done to
fill that "technical void" that's holding you back from TRUE greatness. My drive lies in the desire to bring my characters and the worlds they inhabit to life in nothing less than the technical perfection that I envision them with my
minds eye. Nothing less will satisfy MY artistic energies. I could care less if I'm 'famous" I don't feel I deserve it "yet" (thanks anyway tho :P). My will to succeed is internal. If people respond to and like my ugly scribbles then I'm glad, but their absence will do nothing to deter me.
A: No, I'm indifferent to them, theres a difference :P. I'm glad I produce things people like. Getting, "that pic ROCKS!!" emails is nice on occasion (even when I disagree). I am against putting too much stock in the opinion of others. I don't draw "for" the fans. I draw for myself. If others like it, yay me. If not? Meh.
To be continued: