So i herd u liek interviews?? - Wooded-wolf
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By Synfull
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Welcome to the latest edition of So i herd u liek interviews??. This is the 22nd volume in a series of interviews aimed at finding out about emoticonists from the deviantART community.
This series links with the weekly volumes of 'so i herd u liek emotes??' which have now been running since October 2008


This volumes featured emoticonist is Wooded-Wolf. Originally known for is range of brilliant emote base packs, he has since expanded out to create a range of awesome emotes showing a range of great effects. I took some time to catch up with him for an interview



How and when did you get into making emoticons?
Just over two years ago - I wanted to get back into pixel art and animation but I didn't want to start off doing anything too complicated. I'd seen a lot of emoticon animations and they didn't look too hard so I picked something that wasn't in the legend and decided to give it a go.
When you first started making emotes, did you use any tutorials?
I looked at a few to see if there were any kind of rules to making emotes but once I worked out they were just 15x15 circles I decided I may as well work it out for myself. I did use this one to get an idea of where to start: jtcgh.deviantart.com/art/Emoti…
Are there any particular tutorials you have found/created since that you would like to suggest?
I've seen quite a few useful tutorials out there since I've started but I'd recommend some of the effects tutorials by bad-blood, such as bad-blood.deviantart.com/art/E… , and this tutorial by CookiemagiK: cookiemagik.deviantart.com/art… .
Where do you get your inspiration / ideas from?
Everywhere. Most of my ideas come from completely random or obscure situations - things I see, bits of funny conversations. Just looking at the sky or noticing something for the first time can create a whole series of ideas. Some of them just appear from nowhere so I try to note them down before I forget about them
Do you try to stick to one particular style and technique, or do you prefer to experiment?
I love to experiment but usually I just stick to the style I've always had. There's probably been a bit of evolution since I've started but other than some improvements with motion and special effects the only thing I've really changed with my emotes is the way I colour them

Are there any particular qualities that you feel can make an emote stand out from any other?
Physics.



Which programs have you used to create your emoticons? Are there any you can suggest?
I've always used MSPaint. It's perfect for pixel art and static emoticons but even for animated emotes it's a perfectly viable option if you have something to animate the frames with. At the minute I'm using Beneton Movie GIF to animate my frames but aside from loading my frames into it everything is done using Paint. It does mean I make huge documents full of frames but it's the method I know
Roughly how long does it take you to go from concept to finished emoticon?

What methods have you used for shading? Do you have a preference?
When I first started making emotes I did a gradient because that's what a tutorial told me to do


Are there any particular effects you've found difficult, or have been unable to create?
Everything takes a bit of time to get used to but really fluid effects defeat me. I'd love to be able to portray the elements in animations but effects involving fire and water can be pretty difficult to create. Fire especially because you have to think about how it effects light sources which I hardly ever think about.
Which are 3 of your favourite emotes from your personal gallery?




Is there a particular emote in your gallery you would you like to see get more attention. If so, why?
Not really but if I had to choose I'd pick

I rarely use Wolfwood well in animations and I'm pretty happy with the effects
Are there any particular emoticonists you would like to see get more exposure?
There are so many but I think ROBlNHOOD deserves more attention - his emotes are really well done especially their movement.
How did you come up with your emoticon character?
When I started making emote packs I thought I should make them more personalised by representing myself on them. I thought it was appropriate to do it in emote form so the original Wolfwood was born


Do you feel like the emoticon gallery has progressed during your time as an emoticonist?

Where would you like to see emotes go in the future?
Anywhere and everywhere - if they're capable of doing something they should do it. There are so many possibilities but I'd love it if they could be combined with other mediums somehow - as long as they still kept their original charm anyway.
Are there any trends or styles you'd like to see less of in the gallery?
As much as I love participating in them I'm going to have to say projects and collabs. When they're done well they can be amazing but there are so many that don't achieve that effect. There are also a lot of revamps of the same emotes

Is there any advice you would like to give to new emoticonists?
Trying to recreate what other artists have done can be good for practice but if you want to improve quickly try to do something that no one has done before. Even if it looks crap it's always good to find gaps in the gallery and create something new. I also suggest trying to hand shade and create a shading pattern as soon as you feel comfortable - finding a style is good

Is there anything else you would like to say?
Don't be intimidated by Ninjas - they may look fast but they're not so great : paranoid:
Also, the words 'bint' and 'blithering' are hilarious to say out loud

If










Emoticon starter pack V3 is still one of the most impressive starter packs ive come across on dA. The wide selection of colours and great range of expressions makes it an invaluable resource for any emoticonist needing a base pack.

Me no pea is a fine example of an emote intergrated into a piece of pixel art with brilliant and amusing results

Emotorised Mexican wave is an intricate and highly detailed piece of animation with great result and addictive to watch.


So I herd u liek emotes??
Volumes 1-55
Volume 56 - 22nd November
Volume 57 - 1st December
Volume 58 - 6th December
Volume 59 - 13th December
So I herd u liek interviews??
Interviews 1-15
Interview 16 - Sinister-Starfeesh - 16th September
Interview 17 - Marc-pHX - 30th September
Interview 18 - BlissfullySarcastic - 16th October
Interview 19 - nillemotes/zachriel - 29th October
Interview 20 - Gomotes - 14th November
Interview 21 - SparklyDest - 30th November
Published:
© 2009 - 2021 Synfull
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