Yeah, so I'm not dead. I'm just not sure what's up with me lately. Things I've drawn aren't coming out even close to the way I want them to, so I haven't drawn in months again. The new pic of Ida Rose is the first one I've drawn, much less colored, in a very long time. I"m actually kinda pleased with it, though the coloring shifted in the transition to jpeg. Ah well.

Though this shouldn't be an excuse. I have a sketchbook and a half to scan and put up before I even get to my current one. *sigh*

Actually, I've taken up crochet and that has been very good for me. I think learning a handicraft has significantly helped me with lots of things, particularly calming down from stress. I'm only on my second project with it (another scarf), but the improvements I've made are pretty darn obvious. I'll try and have pictures taken of the first and second scarf and post them. I'm trying a shawl next, after practicing a few different stitches so that the shawl will be a bit more interesting. Change it up, as it were.

Was bored, yoinked from

100 Questions for an Artist!

01. What is your pen name?
Adarhysenthe

02. What made you choose this name?
It's the name of one of my characters, no one else has this name, and everyone who knows me well know that this is me.

03. Do you use PC or Mac?
PC!

04. What programs do you use most often?
Photoshop 7.0, I think.

05. Do you use mouse, or tablet?
Tablet.

06. What color or color combinations do you find yourself using most often?
This would be more informative if I colored more often.

07. What part of a picture do you put most effort into?
The anatomy and the expression. But, often, once those are down...clothes. I love inventing outfits and jewelry.

08. How long does it take you to draw a picture?
It depends. It could take me ten minutes. It could take me three days.

09. Do you keep your rough drafts?
Yeah.

10. What font do you use most often?
Arial or Times New Roman. I keep one more called Magik, I believe, for the watermarking. But I could be wrong. Been awhile.

11. When you scan your image, what DPI do you use?
300dpi.

12. Do you do anything else when you're drawing?
No, because then I'm not drawing.

13. Approximately how many pictures do you draw in a month?
Lately, like none. >.< When I get going though, anywhere between 5 and 10. Not a lot.

14. What kind of paper do you draw your pictures on?
Sketchbook paper?

15. What kind of paper do you use for rough sketches and drafts?
Same.

16. How long does it take you to ink something?
About two hours.

17. Do you do comics, or fan comics?
Comics sometimes.

18. Do you like comics? Are they fun to make?
They are only fun to make when I'm in the zone. They take a lot of effort.

19. Have you ever submitted anything to a magazine?
I had some work published in a high school art magazine once.

21. Who are your favorite artists?
Todd Lockwood, Alan Lee, John Howe, I could go on forever...

22. Do you like anime/manga? If so, what are your favorite series?
One Piece and Death Note are the current loves. Anime of the first and manga of the second.

23. Do you like cartoons/comics? If so, what are your favorite series?
Yeah I do, though it's hard to pick just a few. I watch over a hundred webcomics, I love watching old school Disney, Pirates of Dark Water, Alvin and the Chipmunks, etc.

24. Any artists that you wish you could draw like?
I wanna draw like me, but awesome!

25. Do you read a lot of books?
Not as much as I used to, but more than most.

26. Did you ever buy a book to inspire or teach you to draw?
Duh. I was actually gifted one such book last week because it inspired me so much I was crying in the bookstore.

27. Any video games you enjoy?
No, I really don't play any.

28. Any favorite characters from video games?
Kinda hafta play to have a favorite.

29. Do you have a favorite writer?
David Eddings, Terry Pratchett, and Robert Asprin.

30. Any books you really enjoy?
Belgariad.

31. Do you draw fanart?
Ahh...no.

32. Do you listen to music while you draw?
Sometimes. Lately I have been a lot to get my ideas flowing.

33. Any recommended songs?
I tend to need musicals to inspire me, so check out Phantom of the Opera (if you haven't, something is wrong with you) or Les Miserables (same dealy).

34. Any other art websites that you really enjoy?
I don't really find many art websites that do me much good anymore.

35. Are there any websites that you go to everyday?
Deviant Art, livejournal, scads of webcomics, a couple rpg forums I frequent...

36. What is your dream website like?
Oh man...It's hard to describe. We'll just have to see.

37. Do you like your own art?
Most of the time yes, but sometimes I want to actually take classes and truly learn and see what I can produce then.

38. What do you enjoy watching on television?
When I have it, Law and Order (Reg, SVU, and CI), NYPD Blue, CSI, Cold Case Files, Foresic Files...No, I don't like crime/cop stories at all...

39. Favorite celebrity?
Vin Diesel.

40. Favorite color?
Teal!

41. Favorite food?
Mah spaghettis!

42. Favorite drink?
Water, the elixir of life!

43. Do you like to go shopping? If yes, where? And for what?
YES. BOOKSTORE. FOR BOOKS. AND MOVIES. Can has?

44. Can you cook?
Tch, yes!

45. Any devices you use often for email? Any electronic pets?
No and no.

46. Are you tech-savvy?
Not really.

47. Do you want to become a professional artist?
I want to learn. We'll see how well I manage that.

48. Are there any other jobs you're interested in?
Music, art, history related work...Oh, and nummy foods. I could do all of that.

49. Any other hobbies or skills besides drawing?
Singing, roleplaying, being a smart alek...

50. Do you like to watch movies?
Ahhh...yes.

51. What's your favorite movie?
I don't have one. Too many lovely movies.

52. Have you ever entered an art contest?
No.

53. When did you start drawing seriously?
I was six, doodled my way through high school and didn't actually take a real class until a year ago.

54. Do you use references? If so, for what?
Yes! For anatomical correctness, inspiration, ideas for poses...all sorts of things.

55. Are you a subscriber? If so, are you a beta-tester?
Subscriber and no.

56. Do you have a lot of net friends?
About as many as real ones, which is quite a lot.

57. Do you have a lot of friends that also draw?
Half and half.

58. What time of the day do you usually go online?
Whenever I don't have anything else to do.

59. Do you like to go to chat rooms?
No.

60. Do you have your own computer?
Yep! I loves my Zoro.

61. What would you say to the person that you admire?
ZOMGYOUDRAWGOODCANIHAVEJOHNHANCOCKOMGOMG!!!1!11!

62. Does your mind wander when you draw?
Yes, usually within the subject matter and hopefully making me wanna draw other pictures.

63. Have you drawn poorly because you think too much?
Yes.

64. Do you have any friends who are professional artists?
Not yet.

65. Where do you often hang out?
At home.

66. Are there any popular artists that you don't like much? (no need to name names if you don't want to)
You have no idea...

67. Are there any situations in which you really don't like being an Artist?
Heck yeah, when I can't actually get myself to put pencil to paper. Like the last month or so.

68. How about situations that make you love it?
Sometimes I just like looking at it, knowing I was able to convey close to what my mind saw. I like the praise that I sometimes do well enough to receive, the encouragement also helps.

69. What's the one thing that makes you grateful that the internet exists?
Having so much reference right there where I can find it is amazing, meeting people I'd never have had the chance to meet, having whole new ways of communication with them...

70. Is there anything out there that makes you wish the internet didn't exist?
Slash. Noobs, basically all the idiots out there.

71. What's your first drawing?
I'm not sure, but I do remember a drawing of myself and my teacher, with a heart used to make our torsos (female...boobs...hearts, yeah, anyway), goofy faces and no concept of anatomy. It was a silly pic all in pink, purple and blue.

72. Any art you did prior to that?
Probably plenty.

73. Has your style changed a lot since then?
I should hope so!

75. Have you experienced artist's block before?
Still am. >.<

76. If so, how do you usually get out of it?
Finding the right inspiration.

77. What do you do when you can't get out of it?
Stress.

78. Any people that have influenced you a lot?
My roommate

79. What made you want to start drawing?
The images in my head needing an escape.

81. Has anything ever made you want to quit art all together?
No.

82. What do you think about netiquette?
Neti-what? You mean people use it? WHERE??? Send me to them!!

83. Have you ever been spammed or trolled?
In email, yeah.

86. Do you upload high quality versions of your art submissions, or do you prefer to upload a lower quality?
Lower quality.

87. Do you have custom CSS? If so, did you make it yourself?
Nope, no reason for it.

88. Do you have good vision?
No. I'm so nearsighted it's pathetic.

89. If you can get anyone's autograph, whose would you get?
Oh geez...I'd probably want to go for Jesus Christ's. I might as well go for the highest I can, and getting His autograph would mean I could meet him. I have lots of questions.

91. Do you like to draw on Oekaki BBS?
Nope.

92. Do you have a job?
Yep. Candy store, ftw~!

93. Did you take art in school? If so, did you do well? Are you still taking it?
No.

94. Have you taken art lessons outside of a school setting?
Define school setting.

95. Have you ever drawn something just because it was the cool thing to do -- the hip new fad?
Sorta, I was into the anime style for a long time. No worries, I outgrew it.

96. What's your favorite phrase/quote?
"Goodniiight, my someone, goodniiight my love..."

97. Do you present yourself differently online than you do in your real life?
I don't think so.

98. What's your goal now?
Survive the holiday season. Don't get sick.

99. What do you have to say to yourself?


100. Lastly, what do you have to say to everyone who read this?
You. Were. Frickin'. Bored. Now go do this too.

I just really wanted to share this article with all of you: Five Thoughts on the Popularity of Steampunk. I am slowly falling in love with this genre/subculture/what-have-you and this article gleefully explains why.

The idea is to enter the word into the search engine on dA and use thumbnails to answer the questions

1. Your first name:

2. Your birth month:

3. Your birth year:

4. Your Zodiac sign:

5. Your Chinese Zodiac sign:

6. Eye colour:

7. City you were born in:

8. Place you live now:

9. Favourite Season:

10. Favourite colour:

11. Favourite food:

12. Favourite drink: These but juice.

13. Favourite book:

14. Favourite flower:

15. Favourite singer:

16. Favourite movie:

17. Favourite TV show:

18. Favourite animal:

19. Favourite actors:

20. Favourite video game:

21. Where you want to go on vacation:

22. Dream car:

23. The last food you ate:

24. The last drink you had:

25. The last movie you watched:

26. The last place you went on vacation:

27. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex:

28. The cutest guy (or girl) on earth: ?

29. The next movie you want to watch:

30. Yuckiest food on earth:

31. Biggest phobia:

I've put up the first in a long series of pics. I actually finished it just now, and the rest will be from over the past few months. People just really wanted to see this one right away--who am I to refuse?

Anyhoo, I'm hoping this'll be the end of my quiet art slump. I haven't drawn for weeks. So glad I'm out of that phase.