Today we’re joined by Hannah. Hannah is a phenomenal visual artist whose current focus is on digital art, though they have worked in traditional mediums as well. Hannah does a fair amount of fanart, but they also have a lot of original work as well. It’s clear they’re a passionate artist who loves what they do. My thanks to them for taking the time to participate in this interview.
Asexual Ace
WORK
Please, tell us about your art.
Currently I’m putting most of my focus into digital art and graphic design. I tend to sketch everyday nonetheless. I love acrylic painting, but watercolor definitely happens to be my favorite traditional medium. Most of my art nowadays is done in Photoshop with a Wacom Intuos tablet. My art is mostly about people, bodies, and the mind. I’m hoping to branch out and do more landscapes or animal based drawings, but I haven’t found the inspiration for it. Aside from fanart of video games, musicals, or shows, I like to draw a lot about personal struggles. I have a lot of pride themed art on my account as of this moment. 🙂
What inspires you?
Impressionist and expressionist style paintings have always been a key focal point in my art growing up. I’ve definitely branched out and taken aspects from comic books and even animated movies, though. On top of that, I especially love music. Whenever I’m in a funk, or have art block, music is generally the best way for me to slip out of it.
Pan Prince
What got you interested in your field? Have you always wanted to be an artist?
As a young kid I’ve always just been drawn to painting and art. I’ve always dreamed of being an artist, but that mentality has kinda slipped away over the years. I still love art, but I don’t think I could ever follow it as a full time career. Nonetheless, I am currently studying graphic design to keep my creative juices flowing.
Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?
When I did more traditional art I always tried to hide my name in paintings. However, this has gotten harder for me with digital art. I’ll probably start doing it again soon, but as of this moment my main signature is just my first name in Korean.
Red & Blue
What advice would you give young aspiring artists?
PRACTICE. I feel like everyone says that, but practice is the best way to improve your art and get better. It can be discouraging seeing amazing artists around, but you have to work hard to improve yourself. I like to take aspects of other artists’ work and see how I can mold it into my own. That’s not to say copy other people, but inspiration from already existing works can really help you take steps to finding your stride. Secondly, for anybody who likes drawing books and how to guides, do yourself a favor and actually read the words. The pictures are pretty and nice to look at, but reading the meat of the books is really helpful.
Depression in Blue
ASEXUALITY
Where on the spectrum do you identify?
I currently identify as demiromantic asexual. For me I personally use the split attraction model. I don’t experience sexual attraction to anybody, but I’d be open to dating someone of any gender assuming I have a decent relationship with them.
Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field? If so, how do you handle it?
I’ve met many people who find asexuality stupid or invalid. Some people have changed their minds upon further research, but others aren’t as informed or kind. There are certain situations where I do try to lay down some facts as one would with any other kind of LGBTQ+ style problem, but I have had to learn when to back off. Some people just won’t bother trying to respect aces. It sucks, but sometimes not interacting with toxic people is the best way to go.
Anxiety in Red
What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?
People tend to be inherently confused about asexuality as a whole. Often times people think I’m too young to decide, or I just haven’t met the right person yet. Other people don’t see how you can be asexual and like someone romantically; they assume the two attractions are tightly connected for everyone.
What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?
Sexuality can be fluid for many; at a younger age you might not have everything quite figured out. BUT DO NOT WORRY! What you’re feeling is valid and OK no matter what others tell you. If you identify as ace now, but don’t feel the same later, you’re still valid, and that’s ok! If you discover your ace and have sex or you feel like something has invalidated you, don’t worry. If you identify as asexual, you are 100% normal and valid even if you don’t feel like it. 🙂
Finally, where can people find out more about your work?
As of this moment my social media presence is tiny; I don’t have a huge following. Though if anyone is interested in finding my art I am _conspiracy_of_ravens_ on Instagram.
SpiderGwen
Thank you, Hannah, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.
Today we’re joined by Rachel. Rachel is a phenomenal artist who does a bit of everything. She writes both fanfiction and original work. She does a fair amount of visual art, mostly drawing using a variety of mediums. As if that’s not impressive enough, Rachel has also done quite a lot of work in theater, both on stage and behind the scenes. It’s clear she’s an extraordinarily talented and passionate individual, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.
WORK
Please, tell us about your art.
I do a ton of art! I write original stories and fanfiction for a variety of genres. I draw, mostly in the traditional sense, and I have a background in theater where I performed, directed, stage managed, was a set designer and constructor for anywhere around 12 productions.
What inspires you?
I am inspires by many things. My drawings are often spur of the moment. They could be inspired by fandom and I’ll create fan art, or be very whimsical and I’ll create some sort of abstract painting.
My writing is often angsty or very light and touching (there’s not much in between most of the time, haha). Fanfiction is inspired by the movie Rise of the Guardians, Spider-Man and Deadpool and occasionally Supernatural! I hope to have more content for these fandoms in the future, and maybe other fandoms, but I have been focusing a little bit more on my original content. I write short stories that are fiction or real-life event inspired. I also have some poem(ish) writing and I’m working on developing my voice. I never want to stick to just one genre because I find so much expression in several forms of writing.
What got you interested in your field? Have you always wanted to be an artist?
I’ve been drawing since I’ve learned to hold a crayon. Writing I’ve always loved and have wanted to create more of. I love reading and when I discovered fanfic, it was an instant attraction. In recent years, I’ve decided I’d like to make publishing a novel one of my life goals.
Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?
Honestly no, because my style is always changing and taking on new forms. From paint to markers to pencils to charcoal to fiction to poems I’m always shaking it up.
What advice would you give young aspiring artists?
Do it! Do it over and over again and take pictures of the work you draw because one day you can look at an old picture and compare it to your growth and see where you’ve come from and where you are now!
And write of course! Write anything. Your thoughts, your dreams, your observations, your ideas, write it all! Drown in your words. And remember you don’t have to write in order. Sometimes, writing the beginning is so hard, so write that middle part! Write down that action scene and big plot twist and get it out of your head to clear the clutter. Fill in the holes later after you get that burning inspiration to write that one scene because the rest might become easier after doing that.
ASEXUALITY
Where on the spectrum do you identify?
I identify as a cis gendered female with she/her pronouns and panromantic asexual.
Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field? If so, how do you handle it?
Absolutely, I had a long term relationship end because I began to ID as ace. My parents don’t fully understand my sexuality and I come across it in social media a lot. I just remind myself that I am valid, I’m not alone, I have support from friends, and that I can get through peoples ignorance because I know who I am.
What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?
I have been called a plant (as in I will only reproduce with myself, which never made sense) and that I’m prude. I’ve also been told that I just “haven’t met the right person” which is to say I’ll feel sexual desire and attraction when the right person comes into my life.
I’m not a late bloomer. I’m ace, and that’s okay.
What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?
Don’t let other peoples judgement and opinions weigh you down. Seek allies. We’re out here and you are a valid, wonderful and a real person. You are not broken.
Finally, where can people find out more about your work?
Today we’re joined by Schi-Lee A. Smith. Schi-Lee is a phenomenal artist who is incredibly versatile. She does a lot of visual art and even teaches painting classes. When she’s not doing visual art, Schi-Lee enjoys writing and writes both original work and fanfiction. Schi-Lee also has a passion for singing and even has some karaoke fans. It’s clear she’s a dedicated artist with an impressive amount of passion, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.
WORK
Please, tell us about your art.
Well, I paint quite often, I actually teach painting classes sometimes. I sing, a lot; I have some fans at karaoke. I draw with pen or pencil, too, and I write, both fanfiction and original works. My writing is usually like what I read, sci-fi ish, and I pride myself on making realistic dialogue. I like to paint and draw realistically, haven’t quite gotten abstract down. My singing can be just about anything, I can sing Creep by Postmodern Jukebox and Highway to Hell just as easily.
What inspires you?
When I was a child, it was my Dad. I still have his drawings and poems around my house, and when I was very young, he would record us singing on a giant cassette tape recorder thing and let me do skits in between songs. He was very artistic, and just about all my artistic tendencies stem from him. Now, it’s still that in a way, but also I just want to see the beauty in the world, and add to it if I can. Lots of people love hearing me sing, and love my writing, and love my artwork. If I can make someone else happy, then I’ve succeeded.
What got you interested in your field? Have you always wanted to be an artist?
Technically my field is Biology, that’s what I’m majoring in in University, but I’ll always consider myself a musician, artist, and writer. My Dad never put me down for any art I did, so I was never afraid to get into something I wanted to do, and it’s always been with me since childhood so even if I never get any recognition for any of it, I’ll always be an artist. Therefore it’s not as much something I want to do, as something I’m doing, even if I stay obscure.
Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?
I do, actually. My Dad’s signature was a heart with ‘LAB’, his initials, in the center, all interconnected, it’s really neat. I made one for myself when my initials were still SAB, but it looked really weird, so when I got married, I changed it to a kind of horns, or something, to match SAS. It’s hard to draw with a mouse, but it’s basically this.
What advice would you give young aspiring artists?
Don’t worry about what others say is art, art is what you want it to be. I have friend who play metal that people say isn’t music, but it is to them, and it makes them happy. Draw/sing/write/do whatever to make you happy, or to get it out of your head, don’t do it for others.
And don’t be put down if it sucks at first, most everyone’s first drawing of a person is a stick figure, just practice, and practice a lot.
ASEXUALITY
Where on the spectrum do you identify?
I identify as a biromantic asexual. I suppose if one goes for this part, I’m sex-positive.
Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field? If so, how do you handle it?
I have encountered some people that didn’t really know what it was, but my friends were very supportive and defended me before I could. I have awesome friends. Thankfully I have yet to encounter any prejudice or ignorance that scared me like I know plenty have, so I thank God every day for where I am in life.
What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?
That we hate sex, or we never have sex.
What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?
You aren’t alone, that feeling that you don’t understand what all the fuss is about? Other people feel it. It’s not weird to think that a ‘hot’ person isn’t hot, according to your body. You don’t have to pretend.
Finally, where can people find out more about your work?
Well, I have a YouTube channel, youtube.com/schihigh, where I’m attempting to post my singing and music videos I make on. I also have a Tumblr and a specific tag with my art on it. You can just search ‘schi’s art’ on schi-walker-locked.tumblr.com. If someone were to want commissions, they could message me on Tumblr, or email me at schihigh@yahoo.com. Just put commission in the subject.
Thank you, Schi-Lee, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.
Today we’re joined by Minerva Cerridwen. Minerva is a phenomenal SFF author and visual artist. For writing, she has a story published in Unburied Fables and recently released her novella, The Dragon of Ynys (which features an aro-ace main character). Visual art is more of a hobby for her, though she does do commissions. Minerva does handlettering and draws, using traditional mediums such as pencils and ink. It’s clear she’s a very passionate and dedicated artist, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.
Bianca (own character)
WORK
Please, tell us about your art.
I’ve always loved writing, and to my great joy I can call myself a published author these days. I mainly write fantasy and science fiction and sometimes dabble in poetry and horror. So far I’ve got a short story in the queer fairy tale anthology Unburied Fables and my debut novella, The Dragon of Ynys, came out in May 2018.
The Dragon of Ynys is a light fantasy tale suitable for all ages, starring aro/ace main character Sir Violet, the knight of Ynys. He helps Holly, a trans woman, to find her missing wife, the baker. They suspect the ever-thieving dragon who lives near the village might have something to do with her disappearance…
I also love drawing and handlettering, using traditional materials—mainly because I haven’t had the time yet to learn more about digital art. I like to experiment with different techniques: I’ve been using pencils, watercolour, brushmarkers and ink, both for original works and fanart. I wouldn’t mind taking this to a professional level someday, but so far I’ve mainly been drawing for myself and my friends.
What inspires you?
I grew up with fairy tales, both the ones my mother read to me as a child and all the Disney movies I watched so many times. It’s no wonder that I love writing fairy tales myself. However, the big difference with the tales I consumed at a young age is that there will always be queer characters in my stories. It’s so important to be able to relate to characters when you’re trying to figure out your own identity, and I feel like it took too long before I finally experienced that moment myself. Once you’ve seen your identity validated in popular media, it’s so much easier to accept who you are, rather than to believe those who say you can’t feel the way you feel or be the way you are.
I hope that my writing will make it easier for future generations to find stories that tell them they’re not alone, not broken, and that teach them acceptance towards others as well. In that light, I write the stories that I would love to read myself, with all the dragons and magic and hopefully wittiness that I adore in the works of Pratchett, Rowling, Tolkien and other masters.
For more specific inspiration, my friend Fie and I started a project in 2013, inspired by Erin Morgenstern’s Flax-golden Tales. Every week, she took a picture for which I wrote a ten-sentence story. These days we’ve dialled it down to two photo-story combinations per month, but Paranatellonta is still going strong after five years! Getting random prompts from friends is a great way to stay inspired at all times.
When it comes to visual art, getting an Instagram account has definitely done wonders. There are a lot of awesome artists out there whose samples inspired me to try new techniques. Every month there are challenges going around in different themes, for any kind of art actually, but in my case those mainly influenced my handlettering. Practice really helps! I also finished Inktober last year. It once again proved that an inspiring prompt doesn’t need to be more than one word or one image. You can see my Inktober drawings if you scroll down a little on my Instagram.
What got you interested in your field? Have you always wanted to be an artist?
I’ve been telling stories for as long as I can remember. As I said, my mother read fairy tales to me from a young age, and once I learned to read myself, my greatest joy was to discover more fun stories. There were never enough of them, so it only made sense that I wrote down my own as soon as I could. Surrounded by those fictional adventures, somewhere deep inside I knew what adventure I wanted to have myself, even when I was five years old: I wanted to be an author, like those wonderful people who’d given me all those beautiful tales to enjoy.
My drawing story is completely different. For a very long time I was convinced I couldn’t draw at all. I just didn’t have the talent. Looking back at art class in school, I feel like they never stressed the importance of studying references enough. I was always doodling in my school books for fun, but it never felt like that counted.
Fast-forward to when I’d finished university and my parents were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. I didn’t have much gift inspiration, and they joked about a “grown-up” child making a drawing for their parents—and the fact it was a joke tells you enough about how much the arts are respected unless you’re a Big Name. I often feel like our society expects people either to be a grand artist or talentless, and the fact that there must be a learning process in between is often completely neglected.
Anyway, I went through with it, and as I was drawing my parents from a reference photo, it turned out pretty okay (especially considering it was supposed to remind them of a child’s drawing). Most important of all, I had a lot of fun working on it. I’d been looking at a lot of art online since I’d last taken up a pencil, and combined with using a reference for the first time, I could see I’d massively improved since my last school drawing years earlier.
From that point on I let my more artsy friend Fie convince me to take part in courses on Skillshare to improve my drawing techniques and handlettering. Now, almost five years after that anniversary drawing, I actually feel like I’ve made some pretty things!
Fiery Mushroom (brush markers)
Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?
As I mentioned above, you’ll find many fairy tale elements and queer characters in my writing. More specifically, you’ll encounter a lot of dragons and spiders. The dragons are a more conscious choice than the spiders, who just always happen to show up… Just like in real life, I suppose.
I don’t think I have any recurring elements in my visual art, but I’ve been using a signature since late 2016. It’s made up of the initials of both my pen name and legal name.
What advice would you give young aspiring artists?
I think it’s an important message that you can always learn and improve. That’s something I only truly learned from starting to draw. I’d always been “born” a writer: I started at a very young age and people told me I was talented. But I had to work to become better at visual art, and that made me realise that the reason why I’d loved writing all my life was that I’d been exposed to so many stories to learn from. Having played with words from a very young age, stories had never been the big “mystery” that a beautiful piece of art was. So what I mean to say is: people aren’t born a Grand Artist. They become them. And going down into history means you’ve worked hard, but also that you were lucky (or, in some cases, unlucky) enough to have your name picked up and talked about. But that luck, too, is something you can influence by promoting your work. Like doing interviews on awesome websites. 😉
Space Ace 2 (watercolour)
ASEXUALITY
Where on the spectrum do you identify?
I’m asexual and somewhere on the aromantic spectrum, but I usually go with “aro-spec” rather than a more specific label, because it’s difficult for me to figure that one out.
Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field? If so, how do you handle it?
There’s certainly a lot of ignorance. Even in some queer organisations, it seems the A’s are often forgotten. I can only hope that my stories will spread more knowledge, while still being entertaining rather than feeling like a lecture.
Violet (ink)
What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?
That asexuality would mean you never have sex. It can mean that, and I guess it does for me. There’s certainly nothing wrong with a life without sex. But for sex-positive aces it makes things all the more confusing to figure out their orientation when people keep asking: “But you’ve enjoyed having sex, how can you be ace?”
Aside from that, I think that asexuality and aromanticism are too often considered the same thing. This also makes it hard to find a label that fits you when you do experience romantic attraction but no sexual attraction, or the other way round. When different sources tell you that you need to feel things a certain, very specific way in order to identify as ace or aro, it can be a long search to find a label that fits. And of course not everyone needs to label their orientation, but in my own experience finding the names and other people who used them certainly helped to stop thinking I might be broken or wrong.
What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?
You’re not alone and you’re not broken. For me it was a massive help to enter queer spaces (in my case on Tumblr) and read experiences from other queer people. It made me discover terms (like asexual and aromantic) which I’d never heard of before I made a Tumblr account almost 10 years ago. It showed me that they weren’t some kind of theoretical concept, but a whole spectrum of people who experienced things in different ways—and some of their experiences were just like mine! Suddenly I was no longer “the weird one”. Which actually took me some time to adapt to, because I’d become quite used to being “just odd” and labelling myself that way 😛
However, in the long run, learning about all flavours of queer (be it through books, blogs, or directly talking to others) taught me to be more open-minded in general and made me more comfortable with myself.
Finally, where can people find out more about your work?
My website is http://minervacerridwen.wordpress.com/. There you find everything about both my writing and drawings, with links to my social media. Feel free to follow me!
Paranatellonta, a flash fiction project inspired by my friend’s photography, can be found at http://paranatellonta.tumblr.com/. It updates twice a month and you can read all the stories and see all the pictures for free.
My visual art can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/minerva_cerridwen/. I’m posting pretty much everything I draw on Instagram, showing my learning process with both the pieces that worked out and the ones that didn’t. Mainly because I find it interesting to track my own evolution and learn from that in turn!
Today we’re joined by Fishtanks. Fishtanks is a wonderful visual artist who also does some writing. They mostly do fanart, but also do original work. When they’re not drawing, Fishtanks is working on a webcomic and also does zines. They’re very enthusiastic, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to them for taking the time to participate in this interview.
WORK
Please, tell us about your art.
I am mostly a fan artist of a company called Rooster Teeth, but I also do Original pieces, Zines, animatics, and you heard it here first, I’m working on creating a webcomic right now!
What inspires you?
My inspiration for a majority of what I do is a mix of determination and stubbornness. If I want to do something someone tells me I can’t I work ten times as hard to do it! I have people watching me every day, and I want everyone who does watch me to know they can do whatever their heart desires.
What got you interested in your field? Have you always wanted to be an artist?
I actually never thought that I would be an artist in any capacity as a child. I was interested in engineering and medicine! What got me interested was in my sophomore year of high school, I started talking to my now best friend. He was always by himself drawing, so to get closer to him, I started drawing! Once I started, and my best friend encouraged me, I was hooked!
Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?
I sign all my works of course, but nothing particularly special!
What advice would you give young aspiring artists?
If someone says you can’t do something, do it anyway. Prove them wrong. Work harder to get there. Know you can do anything you want when you work harder and look at things from a new perspective.
ASEXUALITY
Where on the spectrum do you identify?
Regular ol’ asexual
Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field? If so, how do you handle it?
I have had a few times I have had to stop talking to people I enjoyed messaging because they either said aces aren’t real, or they don’t belong in the LGBT+ community, as well as left group chats.
What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?
Me complimenting a person or saying “She’s cute” and someone responding “But you’re ace.” Ace people can think someone is cute or attractive
What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?
It’s totally okay to be confused and questioning, and I even encourage it! Do not worry about saying you are something and then change it if you think it is wrong. Also, it is okay to not have a label for who you are, you are you, not a sum of labels!
Finally, where can people find out more about your work?
Today we’re joined by Orion. Orion is a wonderful visual artist who does both original and fanart. They’re currently doing a lot of work with ink and watercolors. Their work has a delightful sense of whimsy and playfulness to it. Their characters are so expressive, as you’ll soon see. My thanks to them for taking the time to participate in this interview.
WORK
Please, tell us about your art.
I like to try many different types and styles of art, though at the moment I’m focusing on inked and watercolour fanart and original visual art.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by my desire to see more positive representation of LGBT+ people in art and media. And by the desire to continue to develop my artistic skills.
What got you interested in your field? Have you always wanted to be an artist?
My grandfather is an artist. Throughout my childhood I loved to visit him, I’d look through his hobby room at the artworks on the walls, the huge painting station, the sketches and canvas spread throughout and I loved it. I’d draw with the art set (a plastic half oval case filled with pencils, crayons, etc.) he had for his grandkids and a drawing I had done as a child of a girl in a dress (me? I cannot remember) was always proudly displayed in Grandpa’s study.
I’ve been interested in art since childhood thanks to Pa’s influence, and messy drawings with crayons slowly turned into something better.
Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?
I don’t have any intentional things like that, though at the moment, binders have been featured in a lot of my works.
What advice would you give young aspiring artists?
Be a good consumer of art.
Learn to give reviews to other artist’s works, even a short sentence explaining what you like about it. It helps to encourage a culture of interacting with art and sharing it rather than just letting it go by unnoticed and it’s a nice thing to do for the artist.
Additionally, if you learn to see what makes an artwork good (e.g. “Hey! This is a great work and I really love the detail put into the hair and freckles!”), you’ll know what to put into your own work to make it better (e.g. Detailed hair/freckles).
And keep practicing, create as often as you can, and, if you feel comfortable with it, show as much of your work as you can to the world.
ASEXUALITY
Where on the spectrum do you identify?
I am an asexual nonbinary person. The romantic part is slightly more complex as I go by many terms, grey-biromantic, aromantic, and cupioromantic.
Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field? If so, how do you handle it?
I’ve gotten hate mail and death threats on Tumblr for being openly ace but overall most people are okay with aces and if they’re not (or send hate mail) I block them immediately.
What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?
That asexuals just don’t like sex or haven’t found ‘the right person’.
What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?
Understand that if the issue is figuring out where on the asexual/aromantic spectrum you lie there’s no rush. There’s no real reason you need to have that figured out by a set date, just let yourself explore and eventually you’ll figure it out.
And if it’s becoming comfortable with your orientation that is the issue, firstly try to find other aces to talk to about it and then try to remind yourself that there’s absolutely, 100% nothing wrong with being asexual.
Finally, where can people find out more about your work?
Today we’re joined by Jordan S. Brock, who also goes by Kryptaria. Jordan is a wonderful author who specializes in queer romance. She writes both original work and fanfiction. Jordan is currently working on a book she describes as “a kinky m/m asexual romance.” She is obviously an incredibly passionate writer, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.
WORK
Please, tell us about your art.
I’ve been writing all my life, though I spent forty-plus years trying and failing to muster the courage to submit to a publishing slush pile. For years, I read and wrote sci-fi/fantasy. Then I found fanfiction and fell in love with romance in fanfic — which is strange. I was never able to connect to mainstream romance, to the point where I could reasonably say I hated romance novels.
“[F]anfiction has nothing to do with using other people’s characters, it’s just a character-driven *genre* that is so character-driven that it can be more effective to use other people’s characters because then we can really get the impact of the storyteller’s message but I feel like it could also be not using other people’s characters, just a more character-driven story. Like, I feel like my original stuff–the novellas I have up on AO3, the draft I just finished–are probably really fanfiction, even though they’re original, because they’re hitting fanfic beats.”
This is the original fic I write. It’s marketed as romance, and the focus is on a happily-ever-after ending, but the romance is organic. It grows step-by-step, as true to the characters’ motivation as I can get, without heavy-handed external machinations to cram the characters together.
My first published romance novel, The Longest Night, is actually a nearly word-for-word copy of my Sherlock (BBC) fanfic, Northwest Passage [http://archiveofourown.org/works/531662/chapters/943040]. After I posted NWP, a senior editor at Sourcebooks contacted me on Twitter and asked if I’d be willing to scrub the fic and change it from m/m to m/f. After forty years of wanting to see my name in print, I agreed and signed a two-book contract.
Never let anyone say that fanfic isn’t real writing!
These days, though, I’m much happier to be writing queer romance. In October 2016, at Riptide Publishing released Change of Address [http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/change-of-address], an #ownvoices story about PTSD, a service dog, and a Jewish character — who, unlike me, is a fantastic cook. The sequel, tentatively titled Building Bridges, will be written as soon as my brain cooperates.
For now, I’m very excited to be working on a kinky asexual m/m romance. It’s an awesome challenge, writing an asexual character who’s sex-neutral (bordering on sex-repulsed) but also has a mile-wide dominant streak. He’s learned to navigate kinky spaces in various ways, both healthy and unhealthy, but he’s never found his happily ever after — until now, though it doesn’t come without a whole lot of stumbling blocks in the way. I hope to have the first draft done before May 2017 so the book can be released this year, but no guarantees. Real life keeps getting in the way!
What inspires you? What got you interested in your field? Have you always wanted to be an artist?
I’ve always needed to write, for my own mental health. I’ve noticed a direct correlation between periods when I don’t write and times when I’m depressed or unhealthy.
As for inspiration, these days I look to the unusual romances: ones that sneak up on people from unexpected connections, ones that are realistic, ones that don’t fix the world or cure a character’s problems but that make life a little happier for everyone involved.
That’s what I love about queer romance. I’m not shoehorning or stereotyping my characters into “male” or “female” roles as they’ve become traditionally defined in the romance genre. I can let my characters develop as they will, without fear that an editor will redline a character because of breaking those gender-based molds.
Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?
Animals! I tend to sneak in animals, especially dogs or cats, wherever I can, because they’re so important in my own life. I have a service dog for PTSD — two, actually, since my senior service dog, Darian, has retired due to bad hips and I’m now working with Bucky, my service dog in training. Isn’t he gorgeous?
In Change of Address, I gave Michael, who also has PTSD (from combat), a service dog named Kaylee. She’s a German Shepherd Dog who’s a mix, in temperament, of Bucky and Darian. She’s not perfect, but she’s the steady rock that Michael needs to anchor himself as he finds his way in the civilian world — and the reason that he and Josh eventually end up together.
In my next book, one of the characters has an adopted greyhound. She offers her human unconditional love in exchange for long naps on the sofa. Really, what more could a person want? And I have plans for a golden retriever puppy to take a starring role in Building Bridges.
My fanfics, whether solo- or co-written, also tend to have pets of various types, whether it’s a pair of ferrets, a basket of kittens, or an over-dramatic saluki.
What advice would you give young aspiring artists?
Remind yourself that art isn’t a zero-sum game. Other artists aren’t your competition — they’re your colleagues. Cheer their successes, because every successful artist brings new consumers into the fold, whether it’s a Big Name Fan writing a breakaway hit fanfic and bringing in new readers who eventually discover your fics or a New York Times bestselling author bringing new readers into the sub-genre in which you write. Yes, sometimes success is a matter of luck, of connections, of timing, but mostly success is a matter of talent and hard work.
Consume other art in your chosen field. If you’re a writer, read all the books you can in your genre — and a few in related genres. For example, I’ve learned a whole lot about writing humor in romance by reading historical m/f romances, even though I don’t think I’ll ever write a historical.
Study the market if you want to turn your art into a career. Learn the formulas and what made the big names successful. Study the fundamentals. Learn all the rules, whether grammar or color theory or whatever applies to your art. You can’t know which rules to break until you have a deep understanding of those rules.
Then feel free to break the rules. Be true to the art you create. You’ll find a market somewhere.
ASEXUALITY
Where on the spectrum do you identify?
These days, I come closest to identifying as autochorissexual.
Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field? If so, how do you handle it?
I’m fortunate that I haven’t, though I suspect that’s because I’m working with publishing professionals who are from all over the queer spectrum, including an ace senior editor.
What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?
Any sentence that includes the words “all aces” is bound to be 1) “commonly” believed or taken to be true and 2) actually flat-out wrong.
When it comes to my next book, I’m actually bracing for backlash from outside the ace community from people telling me I can’t write a kinky asexual character because “all aces” don’t like sex and therefore can’t be kinky.
What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?
A few things:
“All aces” don’t exist. Every asexual person is different. Sex-positive, sex-neutral, sex-repulsed. Kinky, vanilla, or none of the above. Masturbates or doesn’t. Experiences arousal under whatever circumstances or none at all.
If someone tells you “you can’t be ace because…” or “you’re not a real ace because…” walk away and don’t look back. Nobody elected these gatekeepers, and nobody has a lock on knowing everything about asexuality — not even other aces. We all live in a continuous state of self-discovery, from the day we’re born until the day we die.
And that means sometimes you change, whether from biology or circumstance or because you simply learned a new word that comes closer to resonating with who you really are inside. There was a time I identified as het, then bi, then pan, then gray-ace, then demi-ace, then back to gray-ace/aro. It took me something like 43 years to get where I am now, and that doesn’t mean it won’t change again. That’s okay!
Finally, where can people find out more about your work?
These days, I tend to be most active on my Twitter, https://twitter.com/jordansbrock/ for original work or pictures of Bucky. I’m terrible at keeping up my website, jordansbrock.com, even though it’s a Tumblr. You’d think it’d be easy!
Today we’re joined by Shaylee. Shaylee is a wonderful visual artist who works mostly in digital mediums. Her work is beautiful, displaying a wonderful amount of emotion and an artist with a great eye. When she’s not drawing, Shaylee also enjoys writing and does some cross stitch. It’s very apparent that she’s a passionate artist, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.
Self-Portrait
WORK
Please, tell us about your art.
When I was a kid, I loved crayons and glitter glue and little homemade story books made out of stapled together printer paper. As a preteen, it was all about colored pencils and pens and some really embarrassing fanfictions. Then it shifted to watercolors and poetry and some really depressing song lyrics. Now, I work with digital art and both original work and fanfictions. I like to use Paint Tool Sai and haven’t found any other programs I particularly like just yet.
What inspires you?
It’s a bit of an eclectic mish-mash to tell the truth. I love the look of more historical styles like Art Nouveau, but also the cartoony styles. There was also the love of anime as a preteen that fueled some of the first drawings. Often, I find that my style will not match an inspiration that I pick, because it always changes itself. Often times, it’s just techniques that muck together, such as a particular type of gradience or color choices. I’ve been experimenting with line thickness and colors more recently.
For my writing, I find that I love to put twists on more common tales and tropes. I love fairytales, and there’s nothing like giving new information and twists to it. It may be the same old trope, but if you change some aspects, it will become something entirely new and different. Everyone’s heard the original, so the challenge is to keep them interested!
Curls
What got you interested in your field? Have you always wanted to be an artist?
I’ve been drawing and writing as long as I remember. I was reading out loud to my cousins when I was three, and later on I would illustrate and write my own stories that were carefully stapled together and put on the bookshelf. Shockingly, most of them ended with a marriage, four children and a happy ending. Later on, it was fueled by manga reading and a want to tell stories with what I made. I have yet to actually make a comic, but there are several storylines that I have built up over time to tell.
Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?
One thing that I do is to particularly outline the lips and to usually only color the top half. This started because of a love for the artists Mothsbymoonlight and Dyemelikeasunset. They both have several beautiful styles and techniques, and I always loved the ways that they drew mouths.
What advice would you give young aspiring artists?
My best advice would be to work with what you know and then expand. When you get good at color, then start up with the next thing. If you just jump into something entirely new, there’s a good chance that you might feel flustered because you don’t have a frame of reference. You don’t always have to jump in the deep end, it’s okay to wade in a little.
Girls
ASEXUALITY
Where on the spectrum do you identify?
I’m an asexual with a vague hand wiggle for romantic inclination. A lot of things are more circumstantial and fluid for me for romance.
Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field? If so, how do you handle it?
I’ve thankfully have only faced the confused questions towards myself, but I have seen some stark examples of acephobia, especially when the ace community is trying to step up and out to be noticed. My tactic is mostly education. Sometimes hate can stem from miscommunication or from not understanding. Of course, it doesn’t always work, so don’t be afraid to just turn away either. There is no harm in placing your own health and mind in priority.
What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?
There’s the very common ‘you mean like reproducing by yourself?’ kind of science questions. It’s annoying, but usually it’s not mean but misguided. Not everyone knows about asexuality outside of high school biology. One of the other big things is about asexuals not having sex. You can have sex without a sex drive, and some do it as they wish. I prefer no sex, but I have engaged in it for reasons of my own before and it really surprised people when I told them. Everyone is their own mishmash of tastes and preferences, just like anything else.
What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?
To be honest, it might be difficult, because there’s not always clearcut signs. It’s like looking for the absence of something you haven’t seen. It can be hard, but I say to embrace the label as long as you see fit. There’s no harm in finding out that a different label fits you better later on. I saw myself as several different identities before asexual, and each of them were completely valid at the time.
Finally, where can people find out more about your work?
Today we’re joined by Rae. Rae is a wonderful visual artist who does both traditional and digital art. She does a lot of fanart but also enjoys doing original work as well. She’s incredibly passionate about her art, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.
WORK
Please, tell us about your art.
I do a lot of fanart as well as my own original creations. I do both traditional and digital art. My favorite thing to do is character design, and I’m always coming up with random stories in my head and developing characters to go in them.
What inspires you?
I find a lot of inspiration from my fandoms and the internet. Just browsing around random sites, I suddenly get interesting ideas. I also have weird dreams that make me think, “hey, that could be a cool story,” and I just kind of roll with it.
What got you interested in your field? Have you always wanted to be an artist?
I always drew as a kid, but I was never really into it. I started identifying as an artist in 8th grade when I took my first art class, and I’ve just been in love with it ever since.
Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?
No, nothing in particular.
What advice would you give young aspiring artists?
Remember, there will always be someone better than you. But just because someone might have “better” art doesn’t mean yours isn’t still amazing. Follow your dreams and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not “good enough” to be an artist.
Shadows of Doubt
ASEXUALITY
Where on the spectrum do you identify?
I identify as a demiromantic asexual. I also think I might be sex-repulsed, but I’m not 100% sure.
Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field? If so, how do you handle it?
Fortunately, not much. Mostly, people just don’t know what I mean when I say i’m asexual and I have to explain it to them.
What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?
That asexuality is a biological term and can’t be applied to humans.
What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?
It’s okay to not know. I was questioning for a long time, and when I heard about asexuality, I was still confused. Keep searching until you find what works for you.
Finally, where can people find out more about your work?
Today we’re joined by Laura. Laura is a wonderful artist from France who does a lot of traditional drawing and also writing. She publishes both original work and fanfiction online, both in French and English. Laura recently started getting into drawing and her work shows an artist with an incredible eye. She’s obviously an incredibly passionate artist, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.
WORK
Please, tell us about your art.
I struggle with considering myself an artist, I think I just dabble, but I’ve been writing for… ten years now? Both Fanfictions and original works, short stories. And I draw, although I really started this year to get seriously into it (I did a “one drawing a day” challenge and held up to it pretty good). I draw traditional drawing, mostly black and white, but I’d like to get more into painting when I have the time.
What inspires you?
For fanfictions, my ships haha, and what I want to read in fanfic and can’t find. For short stories I mostly write for contest, so I follow the theme! I write fantastic and sci-fi and I’d like to write for a living some day. I think I put a lot of myself into it too.
For drawing, it can be anything, what happened during the day, an event, the places I visited or the people I met. I do fanart too, portraits, landscapes, typography… anything really. Life inspires me, music too, the world in general.
What got you interested in your field? Have you always wanted to be an artist?
When I was maybe ten I started writing the stories I imagined about my favourite characters and show, and when I discovered fandom later I fond out it was called fanfiction. I’ve wanted to be a writer for a very long time, even if I admit it only just now. Writing makes me happy.
I’ve been drawing for even longer I think, back when I was a little girl, but I gave up on it on the way. Then I went to architecture school and it made me want to go back to it. I never wanted to be an architect though, it kind of… happened. I didn’t plan on doing anything with my drawing either but now I don’t know, maybe?
Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?
Hm, I don’t think so. But my pseudo have been Inrainbowz for almost as long as I’ve been on the internet and I’d like to keep that as a symbol, be it in a signature or a penname. I’m thinking about it!
What advice would you give young aspiring artists?
Not too look too much around, at least not for comparison. Of course it’s great to be inspired by others, but you’ll always find someone better than you. It doesn’t matter. It’s actually an advice I try to apply to myself, because I always look at those who do better than me, have more comments, more feedback… The internet can be tricky with this, can make you feel like you don’t get recognition because you’re not good enough, but the truth is it’s mostly luck. And if there is just one person who likes what you do, just one who felt something, who was moved by your art, for whom it changed something, then it’s worth it. It’s enough. Even if this person is you.
ASEXUALITY
Where on the spectrum do you identify?
I’m asexual and I identify as panromantic, but I’m thinking more and more that I might be aromantic too, it’s a work in progress.
Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field? If so, how do you handle it?
Yeah, of course. I’ve had people, acquaintances and friends, thinking I (or ace people in general) just “hadn’t met the right person” and that “when you fall in love you’ll want sex then”. I don’t think I’m very good at handling it, usually I just shrug, because what do they know? Truth is I used to have those opinions too, so I know where they’re coming from and why they say that. I rarely feel like educating people and I don’t come out that often.
What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?
That it will pass, it’s not real. And also that it dooms me to a life of celibacy. It’s actually a little sad how people think a relationship absolutely can’t work out if you don’t have sex regularly. Once again I used to think so when I was younger, but even out of the ace spectrum, relationships are way more complicated than that. And there are people understanding and cool about it still, they exist.
What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?
Don’t deny yourself. I know it’s scary and you might think that it’s something bad, that you don’t want it, but you have to be at peace with yourself, and you can’t do that if you force yourself to do things you don’t want to do, and if you lie to yourself. It will only hurt you. And it’s a bit cliché, but you’re not alone. Find others like you. I can’t say how much Tumblr helped me on that matter, what a relief it was to find blogs and people who shared similar experiences. When you read enough you can finally be convinced that there’s nothing wrong with you, just like there’s nothing wrong with all those people you get to interact with. There’s more to life than sex and romance, there’s plenty left to discover and experience.
Finally, where can people find out more about your work?
Asexual Artists 