FAQ

EDIT: Some answers have been updated. If you have any questions, just leave a comment and ask away I'll try to answer each one.

Here's the FAQ I promised! I hope this answers all of your questions and if not, please feel free to comment and ask me ^_^

AyumiNazu♥
Ps, Every +watch, comment, fav or even a view means a lot to me, thank you very much!!


Art Related:
How do you get inspired?
I listen to music and study other people’s artwork. Watching movies and series helps too~

How long does it take you to finish a piece of artwork?
As long as I need~ Usually above 10 hours to make sure everything is the best I can make it to be.

Which part do you hate doing: brainstorm, sketch, line art, coloring, adding a background (if there is one), adding final touches?
I think I dislike most the planning of the idea and also trying to make it look perfect all the time, but as soon as I get the whole image in my head, I have a lot of fun drawing it out and coloring it!

What motivates you to draw?
Either I get inspired with a new idea from music/shows or I see other artists who are so amazing that it makes me want to practice so that I can be as good as them one day! Another would be setting up goals/deadlines for drawings or thinking about how I want to improve so that I can get into a great art course and get a great art-field job one day ^_^

How often do you draw?
Just drawing? Every second of the day! XD Ok, that’s exaggerated, I often sketch even during classes or while watching anime/movies. If the sketches becomes really good, I re-draw a good copy of it or clean it up to use as a final copy (if it’s drawn on good paper from the beginning). So whether it’s doodling or really putting effort into a piece of artwork, I draw as much as I can when I can ;D

What do you do if you make a mistake on your drawing?
If it’s small I try to cover it up with a darker color or editing it on photoshop when I’m done the drawing. But if a whole stroke of color went across the page or something, I dump the drawing and restart or I leave it to one side to calm down on the sadness of a ruined drawing before deciding whether to trash it or redo it completely.

Can you tell us how you color? (Digital)
I scan my drawing onto the computer and use Photoshop to color. For every new color or part of the drawing I would make a new layer. I always start with light colors then add a rough shade on top. To make it look smooth, I use the smudge tool to blend the colors together.

How do you make your lines so smooth in your pieces. (Inking)
I used to have really swiggly lines too. My tip is to not be afraid of putting the pen down. Put the pen down with confidence and with speed. If it goes a bit crooked, don’t panic and don’t fix it (every time I tried, it made it worst). Try to make that line look like it’s supposed to be there.

Is Sakura pigma micron pen good or is there a brand that's as good but not as expensive?
Sakura Microns are good. The ink flow is nice and the ink stays black after it dries. However, it is expensive as you said and doesn't last for a very long time. An alternative, I'd say, is Muji 0.38. It's a gel-like pen, but sadly it's not waterproof and it's only avaible in stores in HK, USA, EU and JAP (or online). If you're looking for water resistant liners I'd suggest Steadtler or copic multiliner.

Do you think there is a wrong way of doing art?
As long as it doesn’t involve killing/hurting something or someone, I believe there aren’t any wrong ways to do it. Everyone’s comfortable in doing art their own way. So I don’t think there is a “right procedure” to do things, just a “better one” lol.

Where do u buy your material?
Well there is only one art store in my area called "Deserre" I get a lot of my stuff from there. I've been to HongKong once and my brother bought a ton of stationary/pens from a store called "MUJI" for me! ^o^(Awesome Store, I use their pencils/pens/notebooks everyday XD) There's also a store called "Curry's" which I get basic Copic multi-liners and paper from, but there isn't one near my place so I rarely ever go >_< My sister bought me my copics from HongKong and also other useful things like an airbrush system and origami paper ^_^ *edit: I found a new amazing artstore, it's called "Above Ground", it's now my FAV art store ever~

Where do you get your star paper?
I got them when I was on a trip to Hong Kong, but they can most likely be found in small asian shops.

Traditional Materials I’ve used and/or still use:
-Derwent Colorsoft Pencils 72 Full set
-Sakura Microns 005 - 1
-Staedtler Pigment Liner
-Copic Sketch 72 B set
-Copic ABS-2 Airbrush system
-Copic Multiliner
-Borden & Riley Pen-Ink paper
-Fabriano Cold Press Watercolor paper
-Blank ACEO cards
-Reeves Watercolor tubes
-BASICS Acrylic tubes
-Muji 0.38 pens

Digital Media I’ve used and/or still use:
-Hewlett Tablet-PC
-Photoshop CS5
-Wacom Intuos 4
-PowerShot Canon Camera
-Nikon DSLR

Manga Projects:
How did you manage to get yourself into the whole "anime/manga" scene??
I actually didn’t know what Manga or Anime was until I started high school (omg I started so late DX) when my brother showed me an anime called Prince of Tennis. It was the first time I ever watched an asian animation in a foreign language and I absolutely loved it! After that, we cut the satellite wire (therefore no more tv shows—parents though I watched too much TV, lol) and instead I got to learn more about using the internet to find things to watch, like anime~ I read manga to study the art and flow of comics and sometimes just because the manga doesn’t have an anime yet, but other than that, anime is more my thing. I like seeing things in motion and I totally love the Japanese style.

What kind of skills have you acquired from starting your manga?
Well, my writing skills have improved A LOT. I mean, I look back at my old stuff and I have no idea what my story was supposed to be about anymore o_o I also learned character development, plot setting, flow of the story…and a lot of other literature/writing related things (though this doesn’t include stuff like grammar and spelling, lol).
Reading manga carefully also made me realize every small bits of detail that no one else would see while considering the flow of panels, layout of artworks and the art of black and white toning. I probably also learned to draw a character several times while being able to tell it’s that character. (I used to have so much trouble drawing the same character twice. DX)
Something you probably wouldn’t have thought of, is that I learned marketing through making my manga: Attracting/Knowing the audience, Cost of publishing/printing, How to advertise it, How much I can make out of it? All sorts of stuff like that have been planned out over and over again as I am making my manga. Overall, lots of stuff can be learned through this experience! So I suggest to all you manga lovers to try making your own comic one day ^_^

How far are you on your manga?
I'm done! More information and instructions on how to purchase can be found here: ayuminazu.deviantart.com/art/M… have more manga projects in mind, stay tuned for more )


What is Kenta (OC) like?
I haven’t fully developed Ayumi’s partner yet, though a general idea can be that he’s somewhat tsundere, the kind that’s really harsh and cold, but towards the one he likes, he shows his warm/kind side. He often acts like he doesn’t care because he’s stubborn, which causes a lot of problems. Kenta dislikes loud crowds and acted like a lone wolf ever since an incident that happened when he was a kid. He’s a very protective guy, which is why Ayumi feels a safe comfort while she’s with him, …I’m not going to say anymore, since some parts of his personality changes due to events that happened in the story and I don’t want to give it away ^_^”

If Ayumi and Kenta ever got married, how many kids would they have and what would their name(s) be??
Haha, a very futuristic question, funny enough I had actually thought about this before the question was asked ^_^” Ken and Ayu will have twins, one girl and one boy. Since Ayumi lacked parental love, she will name her daughter “Aiko” for beloved child. The boy’s name will be “Akai” for red, a passionate color, which represents the color of Kenta’s love OR “Akio”, made from a play on the letters which also spell “Aiko”, beloved child, when the letters are mixed up. I can’t decide DX Any opinions?

Would you ever consider teaming up with a writer to create a comic?
Yes, if the story is good and the person is not only trustworthy, but is also the type of person who would not give up a project half way, I would actually be quite interested. If you want to team up with me, there’re only a few standards: must be a SHORT story and something that I can actually draw out and take interest in. Because there’s no way I can be motivated enough to finish drawing out an entire manga if I don’t like the story. D: Oh and also if my hands aren’t tied with other works XP

Deviantart Related:
When you started out, how did you advertise yourself/get popular?
I updated the most on my first month on DA, updating frequently helps you get views. Of course I’m talking about totally finished work that you’re proud of. I also went to welcome new member to DA and posted on some Forums~

How many hours do you spend on dA per day/on average??
A lot, lol. I’d say around a min of none (when I’m away on vacation—no internet) to about a max time of 5 hours in a day just surfing DA, posting comments, giving favs and studying other artists’ work~ Though averagely, I spend at least 2-3 hours per day on DeviantArt.

Average time you take on a regular DA drawing?
The least amount of time is probably around 3-4 hours, but some do take up to 47 hours or so (I think that is my record for now...)

Would you like to do an art trade?
I’m quite busy at the moment, so I can’t randomly accept every trade asked. Right now only with close friends or if I like your art style, sorry!

Have you thought of ever creating your own group(s) on dA? If so, what would the group(s) be focused on?
I don’t own any groups due to the fact that I don’t know what kind of group to make D:

Who are your top five favorite artists on DA?? Are they all connected (similar) in some way in your opinion??
Oh my, this is kind of hard >_< Here it goes (in no specific order): CartoonGirl7, Emperpep, Laverinne, Kaoru-chan and Rannsama.
Yes, if you know them, you’d probably realize that they are all traditional artists. I adore their talent for Copics, Watercolor and Paintings and I wish to be able to draw as well as them one day ^_^


Miscellaneous:
Where does your user name come from?
Ayumi Nazu is the name of the first ever OC I made. In the beginning, she was heavily based from my image but as time past I re-modified her personality and changed it a bit. Her name eventually became “Ayumi Nazue”. I kept the original name as my own to use online at various sites including DeviantArt, RatemyDrawings, EkaniStory and others. AngelAyumi is a mirror version of the original Ayumi, which is used to represent me in my “slice of life” short manga project. Though if I could change my usernames, I would call myself Ekani as my new pen name as it is also the name of my company online XD (EkaniPlush & EkaniCharm)

Favorite type of music?
I listen to all kinds to get inspired for new artwork or stories, but mostly Pop and Ballads, sometimes even instrumental/classical. Funny thing is that I rarely listen to English songs. My mp3 is full of Chinese, Japanese and Korean songs XD

Best anime you've watched?
Hard to decide, I’ve watched over 150 series XD I guess I’d have to choose Ouran, DnAngel, DeathNote, Full Metal Panic and Prince of Tennis (being my first anime).  

Worst anime you’ve watched?
Uhh there are a few, but I don’t want to point out animes that other people might like.

Favorite animal?
My fav would be the white wolf or white tiger! I'm also a fan of red pandas, they are sooo cute <3 I wish I had a pet husky though~

During your summer vacation have you stayed home more or went out more?
I’m an indoor person, so I stayed indoors a lot. However I did go out to some places and also an outdoors art exhibition!

Which kingdom hearts game is your favorite and which character would you draw from that game?
I only played Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days DS game and tried the Kingdom Hearts I on PS2 for a short while at a friend’s house. So I can’t be sure. I like the character designs, so I’ll definitely do some fan arts in the future! Which character? You’ll see ;D

Hopefully this was entertaining enough for you to read up to the end ^_^" Have a great day!! ;D