Interview: Ashleigh Nicole

Today we’re joined by Ashleigh Nicole. Ashleigh is a wonderful young up and coming visual artist who is currently studying illustration at uni. She specializes in character, concept, and storyboard artist. Her work is beautiful, showing an amazing use of color and line. It’s clear she’s a passionate artist with an incredibly bright future ahead of her. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

I’m a second year Illustration student and my work focuses on concept, character and storyboard art, but I also like to create random illustrations of my own. I also want to move into comics at some point!

What inspires you?

I’m inspired by plants, superheroes and fantasy- they feature a lot in my work. But I also watch other people’s work on Instagram and twitter and I enjoy getting inspiration from their work too whether its colour pallets that I didn’t think of exploring or a brush technique.

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I have always drawn, but I was actually set on becoming a fashion designer since year 7. I changed degrees before I started because I was filling sketchbooks more than I made clothes in my gap year and thinking about selling my art. I still like fashion so maybe I’ll go back to it at some point.

Friends Girls

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! I feel like I should though!

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

Learn anatomy, perspective and colour theory. I still haven’t done that to be honest but I’m on my way!

Rosa Signature Version

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

I just go by asexual- sometimes demisexual but very rarely.

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

I have encountered people (not in the creative sector just in general.) that think it’s a choice…I have no words. Asexuality is still a bit unknown in the wider world so it’s mostly a general prejudice towards LGBTIA+ people that I’ve seen.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

Many people don’t seem to understand asexuality as a spectrum. People have different levels, if’s buts and whys and don’t experience things the same as another person.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

Find people like you! Whether that’s online or in person, speaking to people who share similar experiences is great!

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

I’m on Tumblr, Instagram, and YouTube under the username mashmato!
My portfolio is http://ashleighnicole.myportfolio.com

Thank you, Ashleigh, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.

Interview: Ollie Martin

Today we’re joined by Ollie Martin. Ollie is a young writer and visual artist. They have posted a 36 chapter trilogy entitled A Vampire’s Travels on their blog and they really want to be a screenwriter in the future. Aside from writing, Ollie is an avid visual artist and drew the art for A Vampire’s Travels. They favor a cartoon style when it comes to drawing. It’s clear they’re an incredibly enthusiastic and driven artist, 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 do both art and writing. My art is mainly in cartoon style, simple but fun. I want to make TV shows and movies, and have to date written four TV shows and two movies. I stick to the horror, adventure, and superhero genres.

What inspires you?

My surroundings mostly. A lot of characters are based off of people I have seen while walking around my town (Eugene, Oregon) and my writing is based off of my own experiences. In terms of people and shows, I am heavily inspired by Rebecca Sugar, The Good Place, and 60s film (Hitchcock, Star Trek , cold war sci fi, etc.).

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I didn’t want to really be an artist until in 6th grade I got into drawing to impress a girl I had a crush on. I then discovered that I really liked drawing, and have been drawing ever since! As for writing, I have always written stories, but it never got serious until 9th grade. I wanted to make cartoon shows for a while, but then after watching Classic Star Trek , I wanted to make live action shows.

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?

Not really, I used to sign with my initials, but a) they were OC, which confused people when I signed art of characters that weren’t mine and b) I am working on getting my name changed. I have yet to create a signature that I am happy with.

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

For cartoonists, there are going to be plenty of crappy art teachers that are going to tell you that your art style isn’t real art, and they are completely wrong. For writers, you’re never going to know if your writing is good unless you start writing and learning

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

Asexual, I never want to have sex, as I find it gross. I still however want to a romantic relationship.

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

Where do I even begin? So many TV shows have a scene that goes from two characters arguing and cuts to them lying naked in bed together. I have never understood that. I find the show How I Met Your Mother especially acephobic because of how they had an episode saying that sex and romance are inseparable. Ace representation in TV shows is usually a person who is practically a robot/ is a robot and emotionless. My ace characters are vibrant and I can’t wait to put them on the screen.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

That we’re aro as well. I was talking to a teacher about how I needed a partner like this one movie character to which she responded, “I thought you were asexual and didn’t want anyone.” I said that I just didn’t want to have sex but still wanted to have a romantic partner to which she said, “Well you’re a senior in high school, it’s okay for you to feel that way now .”

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

If someone tells you, “You’re too young to decide that you don’t want to have sex!” Or “You’ll change your mind later,” Ask them, “Would you tell me that if I was straight?” It catches them off guard every time. There are people who are not going to understand, but they don’t decide your sexuality, you do.

I remember that when I was younger and didn’t know what asexuality was, I thought I would have to force myself to have sex to please a partner. You never have to do that, ever. If you don’t feel sexual attraction but still want sex, you’re just as ace as the rest of us, welcome to the club of people who were made an outcast by their peers in 2014 for not finding Bendyman Crumpersnitch hot.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

On my blog at film-focus-mind. I wrote a trilogy of novelettes called A Vampire’s Travels about an Italian vampire. The main characters are an aromantic man and a nonbinary person. I also have all of my art on there too, and if you go to the tags page you can find links

Thank you, Ollie, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.

Interview: Tanya Lisle

Today we’re joined by Tanya Lisle. Tanya is a phenomenal author who writes mainly supernatural YA fiction. She has a number of books available and is currently hard at work on a couple series. She loves the horror genre and there’s brushes of that in most of her work. It’s clear she’s an incredibly passionate artist who loves the written word, 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 tell stories, largely with a supernatural bent (Urban fantasy, superheroes, general supernatural elements) and with a horror edge to it, usually with some queer content as well.

Currently I’m working on two sequels to White Noise, which is an older YA series, and The Looking Glass Saga, which started as middle grade, but has gotten older as the characters age. I’m also looking at writing one more book for Tales from the Twisted Eden Sector, which is for an older audience, as well as the next book in Cloned Evil, which is more in the New Adult range.

What inspires you?

A lot of things inspire me. I tend to get the majority of my ideas when my mind wanders during stressful periods of my life looking for that escape. Coming up with interesting concepts to explore always seems to happen when I’m neck-deep in the middle of another project, so I end up jotting the ideas down and come back to them later when I have more time to flesh them out.

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I have been writing since I was little. Originally, it was asking teachers if I could write an essay or do a project as a story instead, or adding a narrative to the project in a way that still got the requirements across. When I got into high school, a friend of mine wanted to do a comic with a bunch of us in it and asked me for a backstory for my character, which she ended up really liking. After that, I just kept writing stories without needing the excuse of doing it for I have been writing since I was little. Originally, it was asking teachers if I could write an essay or do a project as a story instead, or adding a narrative to the project in a way that still got the requirements across. When I got into high school, a friend of mine wanted to do a comic with a bunch of us in it and asked me for a backstory for my character, which she ended up really liking. After that, I just kept writing stories without needing the excuse of doing it for homework!

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?

It doesn’t always make it into the final version, but every draft has a scene where a fridge is thrown. It’s a long standing joke and, if you know me, you know that I cannot let a joke die. And sometimes it ends up being necessary to the plot, so it’s not all bad! A little ridiculous, admittedly…

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

There’s already been a lot of great advice, so I’ll stick with this one: Know why you’re doing it and what success means to you. Your success might look different from other people’s and you don’t need to compare yourself to other people in order to determine if you’re on the right track for your artistic journey.

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

I’m asexual aromantic. It took me a very long time (Until I was 26!) to figure out that was even an option, but once I did I was so happy I found something that fit!

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

It’s less prejudiced than it is a lack of representation. Like in other places, some people don’t think of it as legitimate, but I’ve also heard that it’s boring to have a story without romance. I’ve seen more books with asexual characters, but less on the aromantic side. There’s a sense that without that romantic subplot, a book won’t sell and therefore you must include some romance.

I’ve admittedly fallen into this trap as well. More recently, now that I’m getting more comfortable talking about my own asexuality, I’m starting to make it more of a point to make various character’s sexualities more explicit and to not walk so carefully around it in fear of not gaining that larger audience. The Looking Glass Saga is a series with an aro/ace lead that I’m going to be making more explicit, and I’m working to include more characters on the spectrum in upcoming projects.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

It’s either that I just haven’t find the right man yet (Because really you’re straight dontcha know?) or that it’s just that I don’t like sex.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

It’s okay to not know exactly what words fit you, and sometimes it takes a while to figure those out. It’s a spectrum and you might not fall neatly into one box or another. And, of course, you may find out later that one word doesn’t fit you as well as you thought it did, and that’s fine too!

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

You can check out this link, which has all my books and will redirect you to the store of your preference: https://www.books2read.com/ap/nlzBXx/Tanya-Lisle

And if you would like a sampler of books, you can check out the mailing list here: https://mailchi.mp/506eec46f344/get-your-free-book-now

And, of course, the blog and social media links:

http://tanyalisle.com/
https://twitter.com/TanyaLisle
https://www.facebook.com/ScrapPaperEntertainment
https://www.instagram.com/tanyalisle/
http://tanyalisle.tumblr.com/

Thank you, Tanya, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.