⁂ About Me

Meet the Artist

Name	Blurb
Names	Alex, Lutz
Hatchday	8/23/1993
Brain stuff	Biromantic Aegosexual / Autistic
Gender	Butch/masc Androgyne
Beliefs	Liberal Atheist
Exists in	Illinois, USA. Sometimes in orbit.
Likes	420, astronomy, being silly, birds, cults, criminology, extreme cinema, film, general oddities, glow in the dark objects, hiking, history, horror, liminal spaces, morbid and gross things, natural disasters, neon colors against black, outer space, poop jokes, psychological and body horror, psychology, psychedelia, so-bad-it's good media, taking care of my friends, tattoos, vintage ephemera, the human body, the night
Dislikes	Anti-intellectualism, censorship, chewing noises, right wing politics, screaming children, strong smells, and whinging
Influences	Bill Watterson, Edward Gorey, Fleischer brothers, Ghastly Graham Ingles, Joan Miro, Jhonen Vasquez, Junji Ito, Michel "Away" Langevin, Peter Max, Phillipe Druillet, Reid Miles, Roger Dean, Rory Hayes, Stan Sakai, Stephen Gammell, Victor Moscoso, Wassily Kandinsky

Favourite Things

Das Ding

Early childhood

I was born in 1993. I wasted too much time resting in the womb when I could have bought a house for $2.17.

I grew up in a Rust Belt town that’s infamous for smelling like burnt Cheez-Its. I spent my childhood searching for an escape and I found it in the world of stories and art. It has always been my refuge from pain, an uncharted universe for me to explore, a wellspring of strangeness, and a tool to examine uncomfortable realities. I’ve been drawing and writing stories since I was 4 years old. My head was overflowing with weird, imaginative ideas that I was compelled to get onto paper. I was an only child with undiagnosed autism, and making friends was difficult for me, so the world of fantasy was where I found refuge. I imagined elaborate animated scenarios of my characters going on adventures. I called them “my movies” and they were the driving force behind all of my creative work. They still are to this very day! Everything I have ever drawn and written has been an effort to make my inner world as rich and lifelike to others as it is to me.

The Art

I loved the painted worlds of picture books and I enjoyed making my own. I’d write 5 to 10 page story in Microsoft Word 97, leave room under the paragraphs for the pictures, print them out, illustrate them with crayons and colored pencils, and staple them together. I was so proud to make my own little books! Unfortunately, I don’t have many of them anymore. One of my Holy Grail of Holy Shit items was a crossover fanfic I wrote when I was 9. It was about SpongeBob falling into a time warp—which I called a “spinny time thingy”— and meeting my character Travis the Dragon. They spent the entire story going to the movies and eating at a Chinese buffet. I have been digging around at my parents’ house for this story for 20 years, because I KNOW I didn’t get rid of it, but no dice. Someday I will find it…mark my worms.

Even as a kid, I was always pushing myself to improve my craft so that I was able to communicate my ideas with the same level of vividness they had in my mind. I was fascinated with comparing my new work to my old work to see how I’d “evolved”, as I liked to call it. When my dad had band or orchestra practice, he would bring me along. The facility would always either be a church basement or a school. I’d always take my pink SpaceMaker box full of crayons and pencils, and I’d entertain myself by sitting in a back room and drawing. The area usually had extra printer paper lying around, but if it didn’t, I always kept a notebook to draw in just in case.

When I was a kid at home, rarely sat at a table or desk to draw. I often was lying on the floor on my stomach, kicking my little feet, surrounded by pieces of paper and art supplies. I used a large hardcover book as a clipboard. When I was 11, my dad built me a desk out of plywood and put it in my room. I used it constantly until I moved out. When I was about 14, I realized that it was ergonomically necessary to draw on a slant. I made an angled surface by duct taping a cheap $5 lap desk from Target onto the bottom legs of a locker shelf, which I’d duct taped together at a 60 degree angle. I duct taped this whole janky contraption to my desk and used it until I moved out.

Tween years

When I was 11, I became more serious about practicing art when I bought How to Draw Manga books from my school’s Scholastic book fair. The books presented foundational art concepts that were easy to understand for a kid like me. I learned about using articulated stick figures to construct the human body, drawing using simple perspective, and how to shade. One of the most important concepts was how to build a drawing with a sketch, pressing lightly on the pencil, then inking it using fineliners. Before this Eureka moment, I had been pressing the pencil so hard on the paper that I gouged lines into it and couldn’t figure out how to erase them properly. I drew mostly anthropomorphic dragons and birds in my interpretation of the manga style. The characters all had huge, glossy eyes and flowing hair. One of my favorite subjects were bird magical girls. They held mystical wands and staffs, floated through the air, and wore short, flowing dresses in a rainbow of colors. I also enjoyed drawing superheroes who wore elaborate costumes.

The Art

I found furry art at this stage of my life. I had been drawing anthropomorphic animal people since I was barely able to hold a pencil, but had no idea that the art style had a name, or that so many other people were doing the same thing as me. I was fascinated! I didn’t make any accounts because I was too scared to post online—rightfully so—but I spent hours a day trawling through people’s art galleries on Deviantart and Yerf. I studied their techniques and picked up on style. The furry art world is where I learned about real art supplies. I was no longer content with using Crayolas and printer paper for my creations. I asked my mom to pick up Prismacolor pencils, Sakura microns, and sketchbook paper, and I used them for everything I drew. I liked the way people talked about their own work in the artist comments, so whenever I finished a drawing, I wrote down creator’s commentary in a Word document. It helped me think about my own work with a critical eye while still enjoying the process.

Around this time, I discovered electronica, specifically trance music, while scrolling through the CD sampling station at Circuit City. I was enthralled. I had no idea music could have such an intense, otherworldly sound, like the soundtrack of a dream. I saved up my allowance money and purchased various artist trance compilation CDs from Sam Goody’s all the time, never knowing what I was getting but always expecting something mind blowing. I discovered artists like Armin Van Buuren, Carl Cox, Kraftwelt, and Juno Reactor through these albums. Trance music fueled my artistic journey by giving me a soundscape for my inner world. The strange, trippy music brought out strong mental imagery in a way I’d never experienced before. It put my brain in a surreal fantasy land whenever I listened to it and it began reflecting in my art, albeit in a way that was limited by my unpracticed preteen hands. Despite being hampered by a lack of skill, my urge to recreate the atmosphere of music through visual art changed my life. From then on, music and art would be permanently intertwined for me, with music being a primary driving force behind my creativity. I am always trying to replicate the atmosphere I perceive in many genres of music.

Teen years: Part 1

My middle school years soon came upon me and many changes took place. For starters, I developed interests in darker subcultures and wanted to call myself a “skater goth” even though I didn’t own a skateboard and didn’t know a single thing about goth music. I just liked wearing black band t-shirts, masculine jewelry, and skate shoes. I would never be a goth, and I would never cultivate an interest in the alternative music of the 2000s, but I discovered one of my great loves instead: 80s heavy metal. I developed an interest in the music when I was about 12. I wanted something with a dark, intern sound, but didn’t know where to look for it. None of the modern alternative bands did anything for me. Korn, Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, Breaking Benjamin, and the like didn’t go hard enough. I wanted more. I happened to hear about this band called “Metallica.” Apparently their album “Master of Puppets” was pretty good. However, my parents had a problem with it and didn’t want me listening to it. They thought it might make me “a juvenile delinquent”, an opinion they had carried over from the satanic panic of the 80s. I was undeterred—the music now contained a forbidden mystique. My local library carried a copy, but it was always being checked out. Every time I went to the library, I checked to see if it was there. It usually wasn’t. One day my interest paid off and it was sitting there on the shelf waiting for a curious listener to take it home. I snapped it up without thinking twice.

“Master of Puppets” blew me away from the very beginning. I didn’t know it was possible for music to sound like this. It was complex, thoughtful, and musically accomplished, but also powerfully intense and dark. I became obsessed and listened to it nonstop. Thus began my love affair with 80s thrash metal that would last the rest of my life. Soon I would save up my allowance to buy metal CDs at Circuit City and sneak them home in my jacket when my parents weren’t looking at the cash register. My other favorite albums of the time were “Show No Mercy” and “Hell Awaits” by Slayer and “Ride the Lightning” by Metallica.

The Art

My art was becoming something different than anything I’d ever drawn. I wasn’t interested in drawing magical bird girls anymore. Instead I drew characters inspired by the iconography of metal, including demons, evil fantasy warlords, armored warriors, and motorcycle guys.

My middle school years soon came upon me and many changes took place. For starters, I developed interests in darker subcultures and wanted to call myself a “skater goth” even though I didn’t own a skateboard and didn’t know a single thing about goth music. I just liked wearing black band t-shirts, masculine jewelry, and skate shoes. I would never be a goth, and I would never cultivate an interest in the alternative music of the 2000s, but I discovered one of my great loves instead: 80s heavy metal. I developed an interest in the music when I was about 12. I wanted something with a dark, intern sound, but didn’t know where to look for it. None of the modern alternative bands did anything for me. Korn, Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, Breaking Benjamin, and the like didn’t go hard enough. I wanted more. I happened to hear about this band called “Metallica.” Apparently their album “Master of Puppets” was pretty good. However, my parents had a problem with it and didn’t want me listening to it. They thought it might make me “a juvenile delinquent”, an opinion they had carried over from the satanic panic of the 80s. I was undeterred—the music now contained a forbidden mystique. My local library carried a copy, but it was always being checked out. Every time I went to the library, I checked to see if it was there. It usually wasn’t. One day my interest paid off and it was sitting there on the shelf waiting for a curious listener to take it home. I snapped it up without thinking twice.

“Master of Puppets” blew me away from the very beginning.

I didn’t know it was possible for music to sound like this. It was complex, thoughtful, and musically accomplished, but also powerfully intense and dark. I became obsessed and listened to it nonstop. Thus began my love affair with 80s thrash metal that would last the rest of my life. Soon I would save up my allowance to buy metal CDs at Circuit City and sneak them home in my jacket when my parents weren’t looking at the cash register. My other favorite albums of the time were “Show No Mercy” and “Hell Awaits” by Slayer and “Ride the Lightning” by Metallica.

My art was becoming something different than anything I’d ever drawn. I wasn’t interested in drawing magical bird girls anymore. Instead I drew characters inspired by the iconography of metal, including demons, evil fantasy warlords, armored warriors, and motorcycle guys. Much to the sheer horror of my parents, I developed an interest in satanic imagery and put inverted pentagrams on everything. One of my fixations was on the concept of the Antichrist. I created an evil character who was the son of Satan and took over the world by turning it into Hell. He wore black leather and spikes, had long black hair, sported an inverted pentagram on his forehead, and carried a pitchfork. I became obsessed with this character. I couldn’t come up with a name for him until I looked over at a DVD copy of the veggietales short film called “Gideon: Tuba Warrior”. Thus began the story of Gideon. His original concept is undeniably grandiose and silly, but something about this character grabbed the folds of my cerebral cortex and never let go. I dedicated most of my spare time to figuring him out and he would go on to become my first highly developed character.

I did everything start to finish on a slab of watercolor paper back then, from the sketch to the final product. I inked my sketch with microns, erased the lines, colored it with watercolor pencils, and sloshed some water on them with a brush to blend it. I was prone to making mistakes and often wore through the paper trying to fix them. Working with digital tools never occurred to me because I did not want the family computer to make art. I didn’t like the idea of my parents walking in on me drawing a blood-soaked demon at 2:00 AM. We had one working computer, laptops were expensive, and smart tablets weren’t a thing yet. I was content to mess with traditional media alone in my room where nobody would bother me.

Teen years: Part 2

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

College years

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

Young adult years

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

Young adult years: Part 2

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

Now

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

The Questions

Do you make art for a living?

No. I used to pine to be a career artist, but after seeing firsthand how overworked industry artists are, I didn’t want it anymore. I did try being a freelance artist for awhile. It was fun for about a month. Then I had to worry about taxes, finding my next clients, not knowing where my paycheck would come from next, and scammers. I couldn’t handle the lack of structure at all. I need a preset routine, which is why I have a normal fulltime job around which I build my artistic endeavors. I enjoy the security of having regular work.

What are your artistic values?

Above all else, I stay true to myself and my vision. This means no bandwagons, no trendy art styles, and no social climbing. I make art for self-enrichment and the love of the craft.

What are your favorite brushes?

My favorite inking brushes are all from The Rusty Nib brush pack by True Grit Texture Supply. I use both Rusty Nib 4 and Cleaner Chisel Nib for general line work, and I use Micro Nib for small little details. They have a good balance of realistic dip pen texture and tight control of line weight. I came from a long history of using dip pens for traditional work, so these brushes were perfect when I made the transition into digital. Link

My favorite general rendering brush is the Daub Gred Dry from the DAUB Verve pack. It mimics the look and feel of acrylic paint on canvas. I’m able to build up layers of color and texture quickly by using glazing techniques and dry brushing. Link

For stippling, I use a free brush pack called ST Stipple. They’re perfect for adding old-school texture to monochrome work. I used them all throughout “Is This You?” Link

I do use other brushes and digital tools, but I use these brushes more than any others.

What are your favorite subjects?

I enjoy creating dark, surreal stories about nerdy, strange people wandering into bizarre situations. Nearly everything I’ve written involves a socially awkward, nerdy, but mundane character falling down a rabbit hole of insanity where the laws of reality can break. I like to send an Everyman into a waking nightmare so that the reader can connect with the feeling of disorientation and horror. Anything can happen in the realm of thought. Dreams leak into the waking world. The mind becomes a physical place that can be explored, exposed one’s darkest secrets. I also like to find humor in the weird little mundane parts of life. Crooked pictures, sarcastic advertisements, smiley faces on dangerous objects, comically-timed accidents, and awkward social interactions can all be found here. I also focus on the beauty of quiet moments, often lingering on environment shots, unspoken interactions, and small details to immerse the reader in the story.

What other websites do you use?

I tried using social media, but I did not have fun on them. They are distracting and I want to prioritize my craft. Posting to my own website is great for my mental health because it gives me autonomy. I have full control over how I present my art. It’s difficult to browse art on social media because it gets buried, but having a gallery makes it easy because it’s all on one place!

It is impractical to expect there to be a perfect art website that is similar to old deviantart. Old Deviantart wasn’t even that good—it had major problems. It had rampant flame wars, unfiltered fetish content all over the entire site, inappropriate contact with adults and minors, and nude bathroom mirror selfies. The moderators did not do their jobs. I can’t name even one person who got banned from the site. What people are nostalgic for is a sense of handmade community and a home base. We don’t need to wait around for a perfect art website. We can make it right here, right now.

You can make your own website. Learn to code, or find someone else who does—my best friend Pearlnight codes my site for me. It doesn’t have to be beautiful. It is allowed to be ugly! Everyone has to start somewhere.

What program do you use?

I draw exclusively with Procreate on a 13 inch iPad Pro. I like to call myself an iPad baby. I used to be a fully traditional artist and worked with mixed media. My most recent traditional media was done with India ink and markers, but I have also worked with oil paints on canvas, charcoal, acrylics, watercolor, and ink wash. I did not pick up on digital art until I was 26 because drawing with a standard tablet felt unnatural. Drawing on the iPad feels almost exactly like drawing on paper, and Procreate is capable of reproducing the textures of traditional tools. I liked it so much I stopped drawing with physical media altogether because Procreate gave me everything I wanted.

Where do you find reference material?

I have a variety of sources for them! I often use the 3D mannequins in Clip Studio Paint. They’re easy to pose, and you can recreate almost every body type with them. They even have options for anime/stylized perspective, head proportions, and simple lighting.

JustSketch.me is a good free resource for creating pose references with a generic 3D mannequin. If you want a wider variety of body types and character styles, you have to pay for it.

I also search stock photos on Google Images for basic references and Frankenstein several of them together to give myself an idea of how things should look.

My favorite reference material is Roomstyler. It is a free, browser-based program that lets you build interior rooms with premade 3D assets. All of the materials are drag-and-drop. A child could use it. You can move the camera around at any angle, with a choice of wide-angle or normal lenses, and take pictures of your rooms. It gives you a choice of day or night lighting, along with levels of ambient brightness. It is a lifesaver for drawing complicated perspective shots. They even give you generic people (not posable) that you can add in to get an idea of scale. I personally trace over the pictures, add my own touches to the furniture and styling, and use the generic people as basic reference for where to put my characters. I’ve built the houses of all of my characters with this program.

Where is your shoutbox?

Managing a shoutbox would be too intensive because I’m too busy to moderate comments from anonymous internet users. Send me an email instead!