Good day,
mares and gentlecolts! I am Twilight is Magic, the guy responsible for making this
artist interview series happen. Previously, Calpain was the one to post them, but this
time I've been given the honour of presenting the interview myself.
Today our
guest is an artist whose works many of you will instantly recognize and “hnnng!”
at – Alasou! With his remarkable talent for cute and beautiful things of all kinds, there’s
no doubt most of you know and love his art. All the more interesting,
then, to hear what the man himself has to say about it!
Catch Alasou’s
insights, suits and Rarispiders beyond the break!
And if you –
yes, you there! – want to suggest some artists to be interviewed as part of this
series, go ahead and do so in the comments or mention them to me on my dA page.
- First, a
few general questions. How did you start making art? How has your artistic life
been going since?
I was always
attracted to everything drawn, but I was also way too shy and awkward to draw
myself. But when I dropped out from school in the middle of high school (because
of depression, social phobia and other funny things like that), I had nothing
to lose and decided that I wanted to be an artist. It was a bold move and my
artistic life has been very chaotic for years, until I started posting art online
less than two years ago. Since that, it's been great.
- How did
you originally get into pony? What attracted you and what made you stay and
make your many fine pony works?
I first
heard about ponies around when the end of the first season was being broadcast.
At the time I was watching “Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt” and I was
finding more and more ponified versions of “Stocking” (it was in fact Twilight).
I thought it was some kind of a meme and did some research. It turned out it
was a new cartoon, I tried it and loved it. I fell in love with it at a time
where I was feeling very down, so I guess it's why I still love the show now.
- You make
your works in a special style that is already visible in your very first
pictures and is still recognizable years down the line. You've further refined
it and evolved it well. What drew you to drawing this way, and what do you like
the most about it?
Honestly, I
don't have much to say about it. My only goal was to not draw in a style like that
in the show. With that in mind I, started drawing the way that was most natural
for me and continued that way since. Although now I have more experience and
have studied things better.
- Do you
have anything that inspires you that you could tell us about? Are there any
artists (pony or otherwise, modern or from previous ages) that you find to be
an influence or a source of inspiration to you?
I don't
know if I can tell something is an influence or not. But my two favorites pony
artists are Egophiliac and Atryl, and lately, my
friend Casy probably
influenced me a bit. But what inspires me the most – it's cheesy, I know – are
the artists that look up to me. Someone saying I inspire them is the most
beautiful thing for me.
- What
programs and other tools do you use to make your art? (Of particular interest
to me is how you make that wonderful soft shading.)
No tricks
of any kind, I only use Paint Tool SAI and an Intuos (Wacom) tablet with
vanilla settings. As for my soft shading, it’s just the watercolor tool, low
density eraser and patience. No trick to it.
- Is there
one character (or several characters at once) in canon or non-canon pony that
you can call your favourite, and why? Who’s your favourite character to draw?
It's hard
to choose one so I will go by categories. Favorite main character? Applejack,
because she's a strong and independent woman that you can relate to, trust and
have fun with. And she has a cool hat. Favorite male character: Big Macintosh.
He’s like AJ but more shy (something I can relate to) and more red. Favorite child:
Scootaloo. She’s cool looking, a cool friend and got a big potential. Favorite
background character: Derpy, of course.
As for
drawing, I would say “out of character Rainbow Dash” and, generally, probably
Fluttershy, Twilight and Derpy. Derpy is adorable and I like Twilight’s and
Fluttershy's designs.
- What do
you enjoy seeing from other content producers in bronydom? Any medium counts.
Art and
drawing in general. As long as it's not grimdark or grotesque, I can like it.
In the past, I was spending hours randomly searching for cool art on various
imageboards. Now it's the same, but with more ponies in it. And occasionally,
also the music.
- What is
your creative process like? Do you make art in long sittings in one go or in
shorter ones and with breaks? Is it spontaneous for you or is it something you
plan out ahead?
I try to
draw every day, even if I don't really want to (remember kids, practice is the
key), so I'm at my desk all day alternating between drawing and other, more or
less important stuff. Sometimes drawing is spontaneous, sometimes I force
myself, sometimes it's totally planned out and I draw for hours without taking
a break. And sometimes I'm drooling at my desk doing nothing.
- What do
you like the most about drawing ponies (whether pony-form or anthropomorphic)?
What is the most difficult part of it for you?
What I like
the most about drawing ponies... I guess it's doing my own version of
characters that I like most. I can't specify any one particular thing, I like it
overall. But the most difficult thing for me to draw is probably the legs. That
and keeping a constant style.
- Now then,
time for something different: You have done quite a bit of commission work over
the time I've been following your art. Can you share anything from your
experience as a commission artist with us? What do you find easy or hard about
it? Which parts of it do you like or dislike? Any advice for people wishing to
start doing commissions? I’m sure many would like to hear about it from your
perspective.
Doing
commission brings all kind of feelings. Someone is willing to pay for what you
love doing – it's a weird feeling, a mix of awesomeness and awkwardness. You
are very happy, it's like a dream come true, but also can't help to think the person
choose you by mistake. Working on one is stressing, as you want to give the
best you can. But the feeling of a job well done compensates for that well.
Now, as for
advice, don't lower your prices too much. If you can, take your time, you don't
want to rush it. Don't accept commissions for things you are not okay with,
either because of the content or the art level required.
- Many of
your pictures place our ponies in some sort of alternate setting or equip them
with various outfits. How do you go about designing them and choosing which
idea do you want to go for this time – is it something premeditated or
spontaneous?
Usually the
first idea is totally random, appearing while doing random doodles and
sketches. But if there is an idea I like, I want to continue doing it with
others characters. And then it becomes more premeditated and elaborate. But
sometimes I have bigger ideas planned that take a lot more time to work on,
time I don't always have.
- How did
your approach to anthropomorphizing the ponies come about? What influenced its
evolution?
I like to
have various ways to draw. Anthros are one of them. And it helps me study human
anatomy, which is an important step for every artist. And as for influence...
My mood, mostly. I like to change things once in a while, with or without any
influence.
- Is there
anything you want to try out or experiment with, art-wise?
Speed paints.
I want to speed paint and regularly try. And keep failing at it. But I'll get
it eventually.
- My
favourites among your exceptionally cute “ponies dressed in suits” are this and
this, for different kinds of suits respectively. What are the entries in those
series you are most proud of yourself?
It's a hard
one. What I'm the most proud of is way different from what people like in it.
But I guess it's Rainbow Dash in a suit. The whole idea behind the Mane 6 being
suited up lead to this particular one. I wanted to draw Rainbow Dash in a
classy dress and the others characters were made more as a set up for it. I really
like the idea of Rainbow Dash being the only one in a dress. And I was really
happy it turned out so well. She is classy, feminine and totally badass.
- Does
spider Rarity have an unlimited supply of silk for dressmaking purposes?
Of course.
And she dresses up at night to fight crime with it. But just wait till you see
Twilight Naga or Rainbow Slime (or Harpy Dash)…
- How can
you survive making so much cuteness without contracting adorabetes?
I'm immune
to it and overly adorable things in general. I give my blood to scientists so that they can
find and develop a vaccine for adorabetes. And I invest in it. And then draw
more cute things. So the vaccine gets sold and I became rich. It’s the perfect
plan.
- Thank you
for your interview, Alasou. I enjoy your art a great lot and I’m sure that so
does our audience. I hope you’ll continue to enjoy making it and have a
wonderful artistic path ahead of you!
Thank you
very much. I really appreciate it and it means a lot to me.
