It's 5 to midnight on the East Coast as I type this, so technically it's still Artsy Monday! Sorry this is going up so late, but I was out all day at Day One of Social Media Week. Lots of fun, but I came home to much work! :)
You might know JUANITA MARTINEZ as the author of "Prototype," but she's also a very talented artist! Not only did she illustrate her own story, but she provided a lovely sketch of Amanda Graystone for the second part of "Vengeance is Mine!" As you've read the answers to several of the usual Artsy Monday questions as part of her Friday Five interview, here are her answers only to the art‐specific questions. Enjoy!
1) What do you enjoy about fan art?
Fan art is great because it's sort of like cheating. There are lots of topics and images available to choose from, so much of the thinking is already done for you. When I create fan art, I already know I'm going to love the end result regardless of how technically good it is. I've made some regular art that has given me negative reactions, so much that I have cried about it. True story - I almost quit painting forever because of my last painting of some high waves crashing on a beach. I guess it disturbed me. It seems this Caprica art has brought me back.
2) Least favorite/most difficult thing about creating fan art?
Well there is always a flip side to the coin. There is a pressure of creating something super good for the fans. I feel that, unlike original art, fan art doesn't belong to the creator, it belongs to the fans, and you want to give them something worthy of the subject which they love.
3) How do you decide on an element to focus on? Is it motivated by characters you enjoy, a storyline you enjoy, both?
I am glad to approach both the fan fic and art from any possible direction, it depends on where the inspiration starts. For the Amanda portrait, the inspiration came from a beautiful scene in "The Shape of Things to Come" where Amanda is holding Zoe on the couch and caressing her arm. The mother finally has her beloved daughter back. I paused the video to contemplate this. They are both watching Daniel on TV. I took some screen shots of this and printed them out so I could study their faces. Once I drew Amanda's face, I felt that Zoe, who was resting on her neck, wasn't necessary for this drawing. I drew Amanda because she is very beautiful as well as intelligent. Her hair is blond and soft, and I love her glasses. As drew from my printout, I realized how serious her expression was. She is not smiling or squinting. The lighting was harsh and her clothes are plain and she is holding her attention to what is in front of her. To me, it's not just a portrait it's a glimpse at her soul and her experiences. Her look is classic. This could be a portrait of any woman generations before her or after. So for this drawing, I was motivated by the character, not necessarily the scene she was in. This is why it works for this weeks story. In contrast, the art I did for my story "Prototype" was motivated by the scene. It is strange because the story was originally motivated by Amanda operating the Zoe regeneration in "The Shape of Things to Come" (giving birth a second time?), so Amanda was at the beginning of it all for this drawing too. In starting this artwork I knew I wanted to draw Leah and Megan in the moment of truth of regeneration, mostly I wanted to capture Megan's soul as she is watching it. I felt that this landmark experiment needed lots of witnesses and helping hands, so Dr. Susan Murphy's character was created as I drew her. Her chosen hairstyle is one of my top favorites, Lady Gaga's hairstyle on the cover of Rolling Stone holding her bra guns. In summary, the Amanda portrait for "Vengeance is Mine pt. 2" was motivated by the character and the "Prototype" drawing was motivated by the scene I invented, while Susan's character was motivated by the drawing itself as well as something completely unrelated. Sometimes art just happens, so it's really important to just let it but its just as important that you don't force it as I did with my Ocean painting. There is no color in these drawings because that would be forcing it for me. However, I know full well that the observer of my art may focus on something else and not see my motivation, but that's OK because they may be seeing something I missed.
You might know JUANITA MARTINEZ as the author of "Prototype," but she's also a very talented artist! Not only did she illustrate her own story, but she provided a lovely sketch of Amanda Graystone for the second part of "Vengeance is Mine!" As you've read the answers to several of the usual Artsy Monday questions as part of her Friday Five interview, here are her answers only to the art‐specific questions. Enjoy!
1) What do you enjoy about fan art?
Fan art is great because it's sort of like cheating. There are lots of topics and images available to choose from, so much of the thinking is already done for you. When I create fan art, I already know I'm going to love the end result regardless of how technically good it is. I've made some regular art that has given me negative reactions, so much that I have cried about it. True story - I almost quit painting forever because of my last painting of some high waves crashing on a beach. I guess it disturbed me. It seems this Caprica art has brought me back.
2) Least favorite/most difficult thing about creating fan art?
Well there is always a flip side to the coin. There is a pressure of creating something super good for the fans. I feel that, unlike original art, fan art doesn't belong to the creator, it belongs to the fans, and you want to give them something worthy of the subject which they love.
3) How do you decide on an element to focus on? Is it motivated by characters you enjoy, a storyline you enjoy, both?
I am glad to approach both the fan fic and art from any possible direction, it depends on where the inspiration starts. For the Amanda portrait, the inspiration came from a beautiful scene in "The Shape of Things to Come" where Amanda is holding Zoe on the couch and caressing her arm. The mother finally has her beloved daughter back. I paused the video to contemplate this. They are both watching Daniel on TV. I took some screen shots of this and printed them out so I could study their faces. Once I drew Amanda's face, I felt that Zoe, who was resting on her neck, wasn't necessary for this drawing. I drew Amanda because she is very beautiful as well as intelligent. Her hair is blond and soft, and I love her glasses. As drew from my printout, I realized how serious her expression was. She is not smiling or squinting. The lighting was harsh and her clothes are plain and she is holding her attention to what is in front of her. To me, it's not just a portrait it's a glimpse at her soul and her experiences. Her look is classic. This could be a portrait of any woman generations before her or after. So for this drawing, I was motivated by the character, not necessarily the scene she was in. This is why it works for this weeks story. In contrast, the art I did for my story "Prototype" was motivated by the scene. It is strange because the story was originally motivated by Amanda operating the Zoe regeneration in "The Shape of Things to Come" (giving birth a second time?), so Amanda was at the beginning of it all for this drawing too. In starting this artwork I knew I wanted to draw Leah and Megan in the moment of truth of regeneration, mostly I wanted to capture Megan's soul as she is watching it. I felt that this landmark experiment needed lots of witnesses and helping hands, so Dr. Susan Murphy's character was created as I drew her. Her chosen hairstyle is one of my top favorites, Lady Gaga's hairstyle on the cover of Rolling Stone holding her bra guns. In summary, the Amanda portrait for "Vengeance is Mine pt. 2" was motivated by the character and the "Prototype" drawing was motivated by the scene I invented, while Susan's character was motivated by the drawing itself as well as something completely unrelated. Sometimes art just happens, so it's really important to just let it but its just as important that you don't force it as I did with my Ocean painting. There is no color in these drawings because that would be forcing it for me. However, I know full well that the observer of my art may focus on something else and not see my motivation, but that's OK because they may be seeing something I missed.
