I hope you guys haven't forgotten, but the deadline for submissions to the Winter Art Contest and the One Piece Contest is
March 6th! If you still wanna get in, it's time to hurry...make sure you don't miss it! ;)
Now we're back with another interview from an Autumn Art Contest winner. Now we'd like to introduce you to
Waking_Dreamer, winner of the Autumn Coloring contest! Let's see what he has to tell us. =]
His winning piece, The Gem King Kiric.
1.Please introduce yourself to us!Well on most forums my name is
Waking_Dreamer or some variation of that, people usually refer to mewith a shorter version such as W_D, Dreamer or Waking - whichever its all good. My RL nickname is Mike and Im a design graduate so you could say Im visually inclined.
2.Have you participated in any Arts Contests before?No cant say that I have...lol
3. Tell us something about your winning piece. What inspired you to color this panel?Well the entry wasnt specifically done for the contest, I think I completed it a few months before. Though when I first saw it, I was so inspired by it I thought it would be a total crime if it only ever reamined in black and white.
Something that I find challenging is the cleaning of the panels like removing speech bubbles or text over the image and redrawing in the art. Another tricky part is chosing the colour scheme as I usually dont have reference in the colour since the anime version ended years ago.
Anyway I first started with the base colours (what the colour of the main parts of the image will be), and then on different layers experiment with the shadows and highlights. Aspects like that really add another dimension to the image! Finally I go into the details like glows, and overall touch ups. Thats a bit simplified by those ar the main steps with trial and error added in...
Grand Fang Fire Bird and Rising Up to Fight Again!
His other two submissions to the Autumn Art Contest.
4. Any tips for our aspiring artists?Always continue exploring different sources for inspiration whether their from professional mangaka or other fellow users - yet at the same time dont be afraid to develop your own style, and practise and practise - dont get too down if it doesnt end up not so flash in the beginning.
5. Which is the mangaka that inspires you most? Why?When it comes to artistic aspects I would have to say Oh!Great is pretty much up there! Theres not an aspect I dont think hes at least great at!
Hes awesome with fashion - check out his characters there always wearing the most stylish and detailed clothes. (id like to own some of his sets)
Fantasy - check out Air Gear's shadow designs (like my contest entry) he always has epic ideas and whether their cliche ideas or not his execution always makes you go - damn that looks good!
Technology/mech - whether their accurate military vehicles - futuristic motor bikes - high-tech roller blades or even mech suits he does them all!
Background/buildings - whether its a virtual fantasy world or a complete cityscape and harbour - he wont skimp on the details and give you a landscape to awe at...
Character design/Presentation - Im really into his character designs and he only refines them more and more as the manga continues. Hes not just good at close ups and "model type poses" - he'll draw his characters in great action shots and movements that will draw you in!
6. Where did you learn and how did you begin to draw/color/write manga?As mentioned before, being a design graduate software tools such Photoshop and Illustrator arent new to me, though the first time I was inspired enough (and had the time) to have a go at colouring in a panel was with my piece called "The Sky King - Awakens" (I think thats in my photoplog too).
7. Are you satisified with your artwork? What are you trying to accomplish/improve?My entry turned out much better than I expected. I actually learned a lot of little techniques and tricks with that one - that has helped my future ones.
As for improvements, I usually do very anime/vector type colourings - one day I hope to be good at the more painted, gradual tones too.
8. How do you like the MH community so far?Its a good community, I havent gone through all the forums but the ones I frequent have nice posters who like to discuss and give feedback while there isn't any trolling and bashing of ideas - which is great!
9. Leave a message for the fellow users!I'd say have a go at checking out all different types of manga! Dont limit yourself to say the standard shounen. A lot of scanlation groups work hard at releasing chapters for other manga and you owe it to yourself to not miss out on those stories and experiences - it'll give you a lot more to talk about on the forums and not wait restlessly for the weekly few too!