Artists Interview with WingedGenesis5!

WingedGenesis5 is one of my favorite artists here on this site. She has beautiful work, an attitude for helping people and the patience to put up with some interesting stuff. Her work is beautiful, colorful, skilled and nice to look at. Here are some of her works followed by an interview written by me and answered by her.


1. Would you give us a brief explanation of why you first joined deviant art and what inspired your username choice?

I had seen the site a few times before and really wanted to join so I could keep up with all of the artists I liked on there, but I was leery of joining anything back then but my curiosity got the better of me.  At the time I was just drawing for myself, no one else saw it and I have to say, there wasn't much motivation there and I hoped  by joining it would give me a bit of incentive to keep going.  I wasn't even into original art back then and drew mostly just fan art because I was still afraid to branch off on my own completely and needed things to look at, that and fan art was what got me into seriously drawing art in the first place.  I'm kind of ashamed to say that's where my username was derived from lol.  I was obsessed with FF Crisis Core back then and my username was because of one of the characters named Genesis who had a wing.  I thought the combination sounded neat and it was pretty childish but if I could go back and change it, I don't know what I would change it to lol.  It's kind of become my online identity now. *hides face in embarrassment*


2. How did you find out about deviant art and have your expectations of what you wanted to gain from the site changed?

I was looking up digital painting tutorials on google I think and found one on anime drawing/painting that led me to the site.  I don't think my expectations have changed much from first joining.  I did so to have motivation, incentive and get feed back from other artists.  Joining DA has been the best thing I have ever done art wise and don't think I would have improved as much as I have if I hadn't.  Getting feed back, critiques and suggestions, as well as a drive to keep up (or at least try to even touch the shadow) of the artists I really admire on the site have given me a lot of inspiration to set the bar high for myself and fight to get there.

3. What got you started into digital painting?

It started with doodling in MS Paint when I got my first computer and doing pixel art.  I thought digital art was all done by pixels going up one tiny shade at a time and it could take me forever to make a smooth skin gradient.  Then my uncle introduced me to GIMP about 8 years ago on a trip down to see us.  I'll have to say, it blew me away with what I had been doing pixel by pixel on Paint and I didn't know something like that existed.  I knew next to nothing about digital art back then.  I didn't use it much after that, only doodled on it every now and then and slowly started coloring my pencil drawings in it.  It wasn't until a few years later did I start working with it seriously.

4. Did you save your fist digital piece and if so do you still look at it sometimes just to see how much you've improved?

Yes, my first Paint drawings are still saved and they're atrocious considering my lack of skill and...well it's Paint.  My first pictures in GIMP are saved as well and I look back on them and it's plainly obvious I didn't know how to use the program, they were eye-bleedingly bright and colorful with an overuse of glow and dodge lol.  But it's fun to look back on them every now and then and see how far I've come and wish I had known about the importance of canvas size back then XD  Don't work on a 400x500 pixel canvas, just don't.   You will greatly regret it later.

5. What's one tip you'd recommend to anyone starting out digital art if they were just starting/taking up digital art in general?

Read your program manual!!  If it's a bought program, it should be on your CD if you have one or on the website if you downloaded it.  It may be long and boring but it will help you immensely in the long run if you actually know how to use your program rather than battling with it for a week trying to figure out what did what, freaking out when you hit a key that did something you don't know how to revers etc.  It will save you much pain and much frustration.  A lot of people I've talked to have given up on digital art so soon after they started because of their frustration in not knowing how to make the program work for them.  Take your time, sit down and make yourself read through that manual, even if it's speed or skim reading.  You will be so much better off and be so glad you did later.

6. Are there any really good art books/tutorials that you read that you would recommend to any newbie?

I can't really say there is.  For me personally, unless you want to look at "How to Draw Horses 101" and such when I was 8 or 9, I never got into art books, mostly because of a lack of a library or book store where I lived.  If I do look at tutorials, I just go for specific ones and not one in particular so I'm afraid I can't name specific ones.  But for your newbies out there, hunt around!  Find ones that work for you, try out several different ones or combine several different techniques from other tutorials together to create an entirely new effect.  There are hundreds of thousands of amazing tutorials all over DA.

7. Is there one big mistake that you made in your art that held you back for a long time that you would avoid if you went back and could start over?

That would be getting frustrated and not drawing for 5 years.  It really set me back a lot when I started drawing again and it took a while to get back into it so it was easy again.  If I could go back I wouldn't stop drawing and lose those 5 years and find something that worked better for me that I enjoyed more rather than stopping entirely.


8. What is your favorite part of the digital or traditional drawing process?

I think that would be the eyes and hair, drawing and painting.  The eyes are the most expressive part of the human body and the hair can be very expressive and artistic too.  I love drawing lots of motion in it.  I think lighting is one of my favorites too, lots and lots of lighting and multiple light sources.


9. What's your favorite piece from you gallery right now and why?

Ooh, that's a tough one.  If I had to pick I think I would say this one fav.me/d4ftxsz It's simple but Tai is one of my favorite personal characters by design.  I like the simplicity and the colors and while it's not my most detailed or epic looking picture, it's a special one to me.


10. Any final thoughts or words you'd like to share with everyone?

Don't get discouraged with your current skill and give up!  Everyone goes through it at one point or another but you can only move forwards, not backwards.  If you truly love art and have a passion for it, keep at it and you will continue to improve.  If you get to a point you're frustrated and find it's not fun anymore, change subjects!  If all you drew was people, try getting into animals or creatures and see if it works for you.  Find something you like and enjoy to draw and things will come a lot easier.

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Hope you enjoyed this!

AJ


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