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motetusYeah, I suck at posting regularly, I know. Here's a million answers in one go, then!
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carmarthen asked: Your favorite character to draw and why
I'm going to cheat and give two answers. Neck up, Qui-Gon Jinn, because to me someone who's fun to draw is someone with really distinctive features that make it easy to capture their likeness no matter what angle I'm drawing them from or what expression they're pulling, and Qui-Gon has that fabulous hair and beard, Liam Neeson's prominent broken nose and all those beautiful wrinkles, and best of all, it doesn't matter if you end up with the eyes looking a bit wonky and asymmetrical because they totally are! Also, he's a rather fun character to stick into ridiculous bondage, vegetable, or Jar Jar-related situations. Sorry about all that, guys.
Neck down, Eames (I like his face very very much and it is usually a delight to draw, but I've had too many emails from my art beta telling me to sort his nose out to claim it's that much fun). Clothes on, his wardrobe is terribly fun and imaginative, and clothes off... I suppose he's a great deal of the reason I'm much more comfortable drawing smuttier fanart these days because damn, that's a body I can happily stare at for hours in the name of research - it's not perfect at all, but it has all the things that make it interesting and appealing to me. Those ridiculous traps, the perfect pectorals with their lovely fuzzy hair, the awful, hot, awful, awful tattoos (which I prefer to change because they really are awful, and also a bit too personal for me to assign them to Eames), the rather adorable squinty bellybutton - ticks all the distinctive features boxes and also all the, um, really fucking hot boxes. Let's have a reminder...
Very good, Mr Hardy. Very good indeed.
eames asked: What would your totem be, if you worked in dreamshare? :D
My Wacom tablet pen, because it seems like I have that wretched thing in my hand every second of my non-working, non-sleeping life, and so I know the balance perfectly. In dreams, the most beautiful and moving drawings would flow forth from it, and I'd create exquisite and tasteful and very hot smutty fanart that everyone would love... and then I'd know I was under because in reality it takes me two evenings to try (and fail) to get a mouth looking halfway decent, and when I try to draw sex and penises the poor wife hears GET THAT FUCKING THING AWAY FROM ME I NEVER WANT TO LOOK AT ANOTHER ONE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE a lot.
bauble asked: What sort of things do you like to read in fanfiction? Do you read fiction as well, and do your tastes differ between the two?
I suppose what I really want from fanfiction is an exploration of the canon universe and the characters in it, and I really don't care how the author goes about it - I like to be surprised, and nothing makes me happier than coming across an idea or plot or characterisation that I could never imagine working but somehow does. The one thing I am incredibly picky about is characterisation, because it doesn't matter how well written a story is, if the characters sound or act in a way that doesn't feel true to their canon selves to me, I'm never going to be able to enjoy it. The exception to this are AUs - I don't mind so much if the characters are quite different so long as they're well-developed, interesting ones, not, say, Hot Perfect Boyfriend Character A who's there to sweep Poor Stressed-Out Possible-Self-Insert Woobie Character B off his feet... god, do I hate those type of stories, I hate them so much.
My favourite things to read in fanfic include (but is not limited to): cultural differences, slow-build relationships, loads and loads of sexual tension, people being assholes to each other but also having feelings for them (hello there, Inception fandom!), dysfunctional relationships, betrayal and its consequences, canon-divergent AUs, people having to make difficult choices and decisions that don't have a right or correct option, and stories about older people, because older people are so much more interesting! They have the possibility of having so many more things happen that shape and change them than those young things do. And okay, I may prefer at least more than half of the stories I read to have a happy ending with my OTP/OT3 ending up together, but I am not someone who refuses to read anything that ends differently; I love bittersweet and ambiguous endings, and have no problem with the occasional sad or character-death-laden fic. I guess I really, really like variety, more than anything else.
I think I'm a lot less picky when it comes to non-fanfic - I like all of the things I listed above, but really, all I want is a captivating story. I'm not fussed about relationships like I am with fanfic; subtext and slashy overtones is fine, but I don't think I've ever read a book where I've found myself longing for an explicit sex scene. Maybe I do wish that more of the fiction I read had characters that I really fell for and more development... which is kind of funny, because I often find myself wishing that there was more plot in fanfic!
arvok asked: Could you please talk about one book that really influenced you? Even in small ways, but a book without which you wouldn't be the same, which taught you someting or changed your perspective. The if you really want to know me, you gotta read it kind of book. If you have one.
I think I mentioned this once before, or possibly more than once, so apologies if you've heard this before, but Carl Zimmer's Evolution. My uncle picked it up at a second-hand bookstore while I was on holiday with his family in Luang Prababng, Laos, the year before I started university, and it was this battered thing with the first few pages missing and oddly perfect circles cut out of the front cover. I still have it though, because it was really after reading it that I think I truly fell in love with biology - I was in the middle of applying to university to study it, but was still feeling rather half-hearted about it, like I was only going for it because it was the only subject I felt I could handle. And this book made me love my subject, really, really love it, and I remember being so angry that none of my high school teachers could make me feel a fraction of the fascination and enjoyment that it did.
bunn asked: Are there particular artists that have influenced your drawing style, or that you find inspiring outside of fandom?
Uh... boring answer, I'm afraid! No, not really, I don't think. Um, my favourite artist is Caravaggio, though I don't think he really influences how I draw that much? It's more lots and lots of different artists, both from or outside of fandom that shape how my drawing style changes - I'll see a painting I like and steal a little bit of it, like the lighting, or the colour scheme, or how they draw fabric, though I don't worry too much about stealing too much and it looking obvious, because I'm truly terrible at forgery and most things I draw end up looking completely different to how I thought it would.
weekend asked: Favourite people from ancient Rome
JULIUS CAESAR. I think I imprinted on the Asterix version aged six - oh, that marvelous nose and the swishy red cape <3. I'm still very much in love with him, because he's got all that arrogance and self-confidence that I really shouldn't find attractive qualities but I do, I really do. I also love Cicero - admittedly a bit of this is down to David Bamber's portrayal in Rome, but I adore how rather vain and pompous but also insecure he comes across. I don't know a great deal about the later ancient Romans because my podcast is only up to the end of Caesar Augustus (I don't like him, what a prick), but I have a soft spot for Hadrian because of his fondness for beards and walls, and he actually seems like a decent bloke, at least when compared to some of the others. Oh, and Catullus! I havesineala to thank for pretty much all of my knowledge of him, and he does seem like the entertaining sort. I want to go out for dinner with him, steal his napkins, and then have him write rude poetry about me.
the_little_owl asked: Favourite people from ancient Rome (or history in general) you want to paint or draw one day
Well, I did want to try Cicero for a while, and I got to do that for one of this year's holiday cards! (I shall post them all tomorrow, I promise.) I would like to try drawing Mark Antony and Lucius Vorenus from Rome one day, but time, I never have enough of it. :( I suppose I don't want to draw people from history as much as I do costumes (I have books full of illustrations of historical dress), so someone hurry up and give me an idea for a Byzantium-themed AU, please.
eames asked: Assuming all animals and humans are safe, what few items would you save, if your house was on fire?
Hm, hard one. I don't usually get very attached to physical objects, and nothing I own is too expensive for me to replace eventually. I suppose I'd go for my cello and a few handmade gifts people have made for me over the years that I couldn't replace, and then with my arms full, I'd trip and fall down the narrow, windy stairs up to my flat and break my neck.
bauble asked: Food related, because food is all important: chocolate or vanilla? Coffee or tea? Nuts or no nuts?
Damn right it is. I choose WHITE CHOCOLATE *AND* VANILLA so I can have both! Has to be quality vanilla though, the stuff with all the little black seeds in, though if I have a choice between milk chocolate and vanilla, I'll probably go for the chocolate. Dark chocolate is great, but I prefer it with things like chilli or mint. TEA, TEA ALL THE TIME. I like the taste of coffee in food (I have the wife slaving away in the kitchen at the moment, making me a delicious tiramisu) but cannot stand it as a drink - it's too bitter, and four hours later my stomach starts getting very, very grumpy. Shame, because I am a terrible morning person and it might help me be less of a zombie. Nuts: acceptable in moderation.
I have had more cards arrive to hang up on my (freshly-painted, oh my god my flat is finally starting to look like it's mine) living room walls! Thank you very much toarvok, lezzerlee, obi1mcgregor and honscot - they are all lovely! :)
carmarthen asked: Your favorite character to draw and whyI'm going to cheat and give two answers. Neck up, Qui-Gon Jinn, because to me someone who's fun to draw is someone with really distinctive features that make it easy to capture their likeness no matter what angle I'm drawing them from or what expression they're pulling, and Qui-Gon has that fabulous hair and beard, Liam Neeson's prominent broken nose and all those beautiful wrinkles, and best of all, it doesn't matter if you end up with the eyes looking a bit wonky and asymmetrical because they totally are! Also, he's a rather fun character to stick into ridiculous bondage, vegetable, or Jar Jar-related situations. Sorry about all that, guys.
Neck down, Eames (I like his face very very much and it is usually a delight to draw, but I've had too many emails from my art beta telling me to sort his nose out to claim it's that much fun). Clothes on, his wardrobe is terribly fun and imaginative, and clothes off... I suppose he's a great deal of the reason I'm much more comfortable drawing smuttier fanart these days because damn, that's a body I can happily stare at for hours in the name of research - it's not perfect at all, but it has all the things that make it interesting and appealing to me. Those ridiculous traps, the perfect pectorals with their lovely fuzzy hair, the awful, hot, awful, awful tattoos (which I prefer to change because they really are awful, and also a bit too personal for me to assign them to Eames), the rather adorable squinty bellybutton - ticks all the distinctive features boxes and also all the, um, really fucking hot boxes. Let's have a reminder...
Very good, Mr Hardy. Very good indeed.
eames asked: What would your totem be, if you worked in dreamshare? :DMy Wacom tablet pen, because it seems like I have that wretched thing in my hand every second of my non-working, non-sleeping life, and so I know the balance perfectly. In dreams, the most beautiful and moving drawings would flow forth from it, and I'd create exquisite and tasteful and very hot smutty fanart that everyone would love... and then I'd know I was under because in reality it takes me two evenings to try (and fail) to get a mouth looking halfway decent, and when I try to draw sex and penises the poor wife hears GET THAT FUCKING THING AWAY FROM ME I NEVER WANT TO LOOK AT ANOTHER ONE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE a lot.
bauble asked: What sort of things do you like to read in fanfiction? Do you read fiction as well, and do your tastes differ between the two?I suppose what I really want from fanfiction is an exploration of the canon universe and the characters in it, and I really don't care how the author goes about it - I like to be surprised, and nothing makes me happier than coming across an idea or plot or characterisation that I could never imagine working but somehow does. The one thing I am incredibly picky about is characterisation, because it doesn't matter how well written a story is, if the characters sound or act in a way that doesn't feel true to their canon selves to me, I'm never going to be able to enjoy it. The exception to this are AUs - I don't mind so much if the characters are quite different so long as they're well-developed, interesting ones, not, say, Hot Perfect Boyfriend Character A who's there to sweep Poor Stressed-Out Possible-Self-Insert Woobie Character B off his feet... god, do I hate those type of stories, I hate them so much.
My favourite things to read in fanfic include (but is not limited to): cultural differences, slow-build relationships, loads and loads of sexual tension, people being assholes to each other but also having feelings for them (hello there, Inception fandom!), dysfunctional relationships, betrayal and its consequences, canon-divergent AUs, people having to make difficult choices and decisions that don't have a right or correct option, and stories about older people, because older people are so much more interesting! They have the possibility of having so many more things happen that shape and change them than those young things do. And okay, I may prefer at least more than half of the stories I read to have a happy ending with my OTP/OT3 ending up together, but I am not someone who refuses to read anything that ends differently; I love bittersweet and ambiguous endings, and have no problem with the occasional sad or character-death-laden fic. I guess I really, really like variety, more than anything else.
I think I'm a lot less picky when it comes to non-fanfic - I like all of the things I listed above, but really, all I want is a captivating story. I'm not fussed about relationships like I am with fanfic; subtext and slashy overtones is fine, but I don't think I've ever read a book where I've found myself longing for an explicit sex scene. Maybe I do wish that more of the fiction I read had characters that I really fell for and more development... which is kind of funny, because I often find myself wishing that there was more plot in fanfic!
arvok asked: Could you please talk about one book that really influenced you? Even in small ways, but a book without which you wouldn't be the same, which taught you someting or changed your perspective. The if you really want to know me, you gotta read it kind of book. If you have one.I think I mentioned this once before, or possibly more than once, so apologies if you've heard this before, but Carl Zimmer's Evolution. My uncle picked it up at a second-hand bookstore while I was on holiday with his family in Luang Prababng, Laos, the year before I started university, and it was this battered thing with the first few pages missing and oddly perfect circles cut out of the front cover. I still have it though, because it was really after reading it that I think I truly fell in love with biology - I was in the middle of applying to university to study it, but was still feeling rather half-hearted about it, like I was only going for it because it was the only subject I felt I could handle. And this book made me love my subject, really, really love it, and I remember being so angry that none of my high school teachers could make me feel a fraction of the fascination and enjoyment that it did.
bunn asked: Are there particular artists that have influenced your drawing style, or that you find inspiring outside of fandom?Uh... boring answer, I'm afraid! No, not really, I don't think. Um, my favourite artist is Caravaggio, though I don't think he really influences how I draw that much? It's more lots and lots of different artists, both from or outside of fandom that shape how my drawing style changes - I'll see a painting I like and steal a little bit of it, like the lighting, or the colour scheme, or how they draw fabric, though I don't worry too much about stealing too much and it looking obvious, because I'm truly terrible at forgery and most things I draw end up looking completely different to how I thought it would.
weekend asked: Favourite people from ancient RomeJULIUS CAESAR. I think I imprinted on the Asterix version aged six - oh, that marvelous nose and the swishy red cape <3. I'm still very much in love with him, because he's got all that arrogance and self-confidence that I really shouldn't find attractive qualities but I do, I really do. I also love Cicero - admittedly a bit of this is down to David Bamber's portrayal in Rome, but I adore how rather vain and pompous but also insecure he comes across. I don't know a great deal about the later ancient Romans because my podcast is only up to the end of Caesar Augustus (I don't like him, what a prick), but I have a soft spot for Hadrian because of his fondness for beards and walls, and he actually seems like a decent bloke, at least when compared to some of the others. Oh, and Catullus! I have
sineala to thank for pretty much all of my knowledge of him, and he does seem like the entertaining sort. I want to go out for dinner with him, steal his napkins, and then have him write rude poetry about me.the_little_owl asked: Favourite people from ancient Rome (or history in general) you want to paint or draw one dayWell, I did want to try Cicero for a while, and I got to do that for one of this year's holiday cards! (I shall post them all tomorrow, I promise.) I would like to try drawing Mark Antony and Lucius Vorenus from Rome one day, but time, I never have enough of it. :( I suppose I don't want to draw people from history as much as I do costumes (I have books full of illustrations of historical dress), so someone hurry up and give me an idea for a Byzantium-themed AU, please.
eames asked: Assuming all animals and humans are safe, what few items would you save, if your house was on fire?Hm, hard one. I don't usually get very attached to physical objects, and nothing I own is too expensive for me to replace eventually. I suppose I'd go for my cello and a few handmade gifts people have made for me over the years that I couldn't replace, and then with my arms full, I'd trip and fall down the narrow, windy stairs up to my flat and break my neck.
bauble asked: Food related, because food is all important: chocolate or vanilla? Coffee or tea? Nuts or no nuts?Damn right it is. I choose WHITE CHOCOLATE *AND* VANILLA so I can have both! Has to be quality vanilla though, the stuff with all the little black seeds in, though if I have a choice between milk chocolate and vanilla, I'll probably go for the chocolate. Dark chocolate is great, but I prefer it with things like chilli or mint. TEA, TEA ALL THE TIME. I like the taste of coffee in food (I have the wife slaving away in the kitchen at the moment, making me a delicious tiramisu) but cannot stand it as a drink - it's too bitter, and four hours later my stomach starts getting very, very grumpy. Shame, because I am a terrible morning person and it might help me be less of a zombie. Nuts: acceptable in moderation.
I have had more cards arrive to hang up on my (freshly-painted, oh my god my flat is finally starting to look like it's mine) living room walls! Thank you very much to
arvok, lezzerlee, obi1mcgregor and honscot - they are all lovely! :)
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Date: 2013-12-26 04:56 pm (UTC)