I would love to see friends fill this out. :)

TAG, YOU'RE PREGNANT:
 maya_chan,  signet_the_roo,  firing_mar


-=THE RANT-O-SURVEY!=-
ANSWER DESCRIPTIVELY.
no closed-ended or one-worded answers!

1. What/who would you describe as your biggest artistic influences, currently?
Currently I've been admiring  strype and  seely, as well as the outfit talent's of Pu-sama on dA. They've inspired me to get off my ass and start drawing detail again instead of purely doodles. As for recently,  maya_chan has inspired a list of ideas for things I'll be drawing in the future and colouring so as to hone my skills with my markers.

2. Were any artists or works of art (paintings, anime, comics, anything you consider at) an influence to you that originally got you interested in drawing or marked a turning point for you? If so, what?
Until I first discovered Miss Mab's artwork, I never took drawing seriously and usually just drew Link and a lineup of Rareware characters because it was fun, to me. It was when I first stumbled upon Mab's anthromorphosized Neopet fan-art (this was before DMFA or Mab's Land had taken off, as early as 2001) that I realized I really, really wanted to draw.

3. Do you think that your location or living arrangement has contributed to or shaped your growth and style as an artist?
I can't really say there's any "Californian" way of drawing. I think I've figured out why my art looks to have so much anime in it, though -- When my art style was still in the works back in middle school and had no defined form, often when I would get stuck on drawing anatomy or in a rut of having it all come out repetitively skinny and malnourished (reminiscient of JthM almost), I would ask a friend at lunch to borrow whatever manga they were reading (usally Love Hina or Cowboy Bebop) so that I could look at joints, get position ideas, etc... And I guess subliminally a little bit of anime style has stuck with me

4. Be honest - Are there any artforms out there you think don't deserve to be called art? Be honest - Your opinion is all that matters in this survey!
I think there is artistic repute to be found in many places, but that painting a canvas blue and somehow miraculously getting displayed in MoMA is NOT fucking art. Even Jackson Pollock is cutting it close, and I don't even want to IMAGINE how much cock Blue Canvas-man had to suck to get his fucking crock displayed in a museum I would KILL to be able to shoot for from my (admittedly low) pedestal at the tip of amateurity.

5. FICTIONAL SCENARIO! An art connoisseur asks you to describe your art style to them. This person has seen an example of every artist's work in the world EXCEPT yours, and recently has gone blind and can't see themselves what your art is like. WITHOUT claiming "lolz mi rt style kan only be dscribed as mi own wtf im original how dar yu", describe your art in such a way (reference any artists, works, etc) that this blind person can get an idea of how you draw.
Basic elementaries of Miss Mab and Benkyo Tamaoki (BLOOD), with a severe Masamune Shirow undertone while aspiring to be like Mythchan and whose surrogate mother and father are Seel Kaiser and Jhonen Vasquez, who is secretly seeing Hayao Miyazaki and learning to style hair from Akira Toriyama, who studies under Pu-Sama, who prequently watches FLCL simply for the absurdities of the art while struggling to pencil-shade like Cinquain.
Then I would watch said blind person's head go BLAM! :]

6. How important is proportional accuracy to you?
Very. I can NOT seem to stop with this ugly and horribly apparenty trend of drawing my characters' heads WAY TOO BIG. If it's intentional (see: chibis) I don't mind so much, but it's really bugging me. I understand that there are some artists out there who thrive on these discrepancies, though.

7. What is your outlook toward intentional errors in popular art, such as cartoon mascots having only four fingers and anime characters having oversized heads and eyes?
I have no problem with them, in fact I think they can be endearing in some cases (i.e. I've always thought the enormous shoes sported by Sonic characters are way cool.) But when it starts to become lack of artistic know-how, it will only hurt and stunt your growth to keep using the "Oh, that's not a mistake, that's just part of my STYLE" excuse.

8. What is your outlook on new/aspiring artists?
Charge forward and don't be afraid to learn. Referencing pictures does not make you a thief, it makes you a student. Tracing makes you a thief, and abducting art to only change some colours makes you a thief. It's okay to be new at something, as everyone has been once.

9. What is your advice to them?
Don't be hurt when you find out that the art world is a dog-eat-dog place where it becomes more about making money and less about sharing great art with the world. Don't sever ties with people who inspire you just because you feel they will never notice you - Even if they never do, you can still learn from them.

10. At what point do you think the "constructive" criticism goes too far and becomes a jab at the artist in the guise of providing feedback?
There's always that one person who says "This isn't art. I'm sorry, but this should be deleted or moved to your scraps.", and there are always people who decide to sling profanity around like the world will starve without it. This is not helpful. I find that The Sandwich is helpful -- [positive feedback] [negative feedback] [way in which you can improve].

11. For that matter, give us an example, in comment form, of your idea of a constructive, useful critique.
"Your characters always have a unique range of expressions you have a real talent for making real, but you need some serious help with outfits and clothing. What really helped me when I first started was taking pictures of myself and using those as reference for which to draw folds and creases in fabric. Your sense of anatomy and perspective is great, so you could also try sketching the body lightly and then drawing clothes on afterward, that way you can get an idea of how to make the clothes fall based on the joints and curves."

12. Let's talk about originality. What do you have to say about an artist's struggle to "be original" in a world where so many ideas have already been used?
I see a lot of persecution because someone's character looks "too alike" to another, and therefore must be a copy. But you have to figure that after a long time of different characters going into and out of circulation, no idea will ever be original anymore. It's all been done before.

13. What do you think should happen if two artists have characters that are quite alike, and rumours are circulating that one artist has copied or stolen from the other?
The two artists should settle it in conversation and then clear up the rumours themselves, and determine if the character is truly a mass of stolen ideas or a mass of common interest.

14. What is your view on art thievery, and at what point do you think inspiration becomes character theft?
I think it's one thing to be inspired by a piece, even to look at it and draw it freehand just to learn how it's done. Tracing, however, is copying the artist's lines and moves, and requires no talent to achieve. Ditto with changing a character's colours in Photoshop.

15. FICTIONAL SCENARIO RELOADED! :D A disgruntled artist has recently taken a piece of yours and changed the colours/added small details, and is now claiming creative ownership. When you speak to them, this person admits to their crime but expresses grief about being such an amateur artist that they can't see any other way to ever get recognized or get better. Sweet or sour, what is your advice to this person?
I understand that the art world is hard to move forward in because everyone is trying to do the same, but stealing will not help you get better. Even if you stole something and everyone believed you, what would happen when it would come time for you to actually draw the picture with people watching? Go learn and built up your own empire instead of stealing the hard work someone else has put into theirs, you little punk.

16. Clear your mind of anything in it. Blank slate. Blank slate. Blank slate. Simon says think of nothing. Think of nothing. Nothing. Now who is the first artist who pops into your head?
Rensis -- I suddenly noticed, sitting on my wardrobe, the Christmas card he sent me with the demon turtledoves and the partridge with fangs and a head held on with only a bow. And I always did fancy the morbidity of his characters. :P

17. Why do you think you immediately thought of this artist?
I just mentioned it, ninny D:

18. Photomanipulation: Art or fart?
Certain pieces involve a great deal of artistic skill. Airbrushing some smoke around a naked lady's feet does not.

19. Almost done! Which would you rather have and why?: A. One single refined style of drawing in which you can make no error, or B. Many different interchangeable styles of drawing you can switch between fluidly, but which may still be rough around the edges or have some minor composition errors.
B, because even then I could still improve on those skills, couldn't I? Drawing in one set style gets so mundane after a while... Look at my gallery T_T

20a. And the last one: Last thing you had trouble drawing the way you wanted?
Zilla's sneer in the most recent thing I've drawn.

20b. Did you ever get it down perfectly?
Yeah. I was using the villain form's portrait on the cover of Fable as inspiration because I love his facial expression, and then realized that for Zilla I had to make that smile smaller in order for it to retain her innate femininity. :P