In Their Words: BrandGuild User and Resident Artist
Brand talks Art, the Guild, and his experiences with how the two relate.
Shon: Think back to months before Guild Fall. I was a manager for the AOTM, fairly new, and checking out the entries. Amidst the Private Messages I remember one from a name I didn't recognize, Brand. The painting inside was traditional, clearly the product of much effort, and definitely pleasing to the eye. Months later I know Brand a little better, but let's learn a little more, shall we?
Easy question first, what drew you toward roleplaying and the Guild?
Brand: My first steps into role playing were actually in another site called Quizilla. I had always really liked writing, and one day a friend showed me this site she used to write some god awful fan fiction, and I remember looking at all the different stories people were creating together and being interested. I lost interest in roleplaying for a few years, and when I wanted to pick it back up again i just googled "role playing forums" and this site was near the top.
Shon: So introduced to roleplay by a friend, but a long time literary lover all the same. Sounds like you had an introduction similar to quite a few of us. Were you already drawing and painting by this point? I bet that collaborative energy of so many throwing into a single roleplay must have thrown you for a loop. Did that ever find its way into your artwork too?
Brand: No, I didn't really start taking drawing or painting seriously until pretty recently. I'd say 2012 is when I started drawing or painting something on almost a monthly basis, or at least dedicated myself to learning more about things such as color theory or anatomy. Role playing has provided me inspirations sometimes, but i've never connected the two mediums in any serious way.
Shon: Is your passion for image-making similar to your interest in roleplaying? Ever find yourself mixing the two?
Brand: To be fair I'm far more interested in image creation than roleplaying anymore, but yes the two do intertwine. More often then not actually I find a lot of inspiration for my art in the RP's I'm involved with.
Shon: Perhaps its a struggle of creative energies, or do you think it's more a shifting interest? I'll admit, I'm definitely a doodler when coming up with characters. That said, I'd love to hear more about your inspiration. Maybe you could give us a little insight as to a couple roleplays you found particularly interesting and what that connection to your artwork looks like? Any chance you have a piece for an example?
Brand: Roleplaying gives me some inspiration, but most of my inspiration comes from music. In my gallery there's about 4 or 5 landscapes, and all of those were inspired by an RP i'm in now called "Legend of Renalta".. you're going to have to spell check me on that name. I always misspell it.
Shon: You've told us how you arrived to the Guild and have given us some a glimpse into how RP has inspired you. Maybe you've seen those roleplays that use images as well as text to tell the story. What you are your thoughts on them? Would you ever participate in one?
Brand: I don't see anything wrong with them, and I might participate in one if I wasn't the artist responsible for drawing all the images, haha. I do like it when roleplays have a lot of visual ques, especially if all the ques fit a certain theme, like all the landscape images are cropped a certain way and use a certain color border, or something along those lines, but I don't think I'd be fond of a roleplay that just threw in images straight from google every other post simply for the sake of having something to look at.
Shon: Oh, so you're not interested in producing several narrative paintings a week for your own pleasure? I'd say that sounds like a full-time job! I hear where you're coming from about the presentation of a roleplay. It sounds like you're more attracted to those that keep to a visual theme. Seems like something many of us might enjoy, kind to think of it, a visually coherent roleplay does sound a bit more appealing. You brought up finding other images for posts though. Does the idea of someone using a piece of yours for their character or as a post bother you?
Brand: No, not at all.
Shon: Alright, so let's switch gears. We've spoken quite a bit about your artwork and roleplaying experience. How about we talk about you and the Guild? I remember first seeing your work in the AOTM and we spoke a bit in the Irregulars. Can you tell me your experience with creative groups here? Have they had any effect on your attraction to the Guild?
Brand: They were both good groups, and I miss them both and their contributions to RPG. Honestly, I don't do much role playing anymore, and more or less I really only use this site anymore to talk to some friends i've made over the years or as a library for all the stuff I've done, so yeah, both of those things increased my attraction for the guild.
Shon: For our readers who aren't familiar, do you want to talk a little about the AOTM and Irregulars from your perspective? It sounds like they had quite the impact for you.
Brand: AOTM was nice because it allowed everyone a chance to show off their work and get it critiqued by people who otherwise wouldn't critique it if say it was posted in it's own thread or gallery, and the Irregulars was a nice place to go when you needed technical help or red lines.
Shon: I just realized that we've been talking about these groups where you had to show your work. That can be a big step for creatives. What first inspired you to start sharing so openly? Can you talk about your experiences so far with putting yourself out there?
Brand: Ironically I've been sharing my work online and hiding it in real life for quite some time now. It hasn't been until recently that people in my life even knew I could draw, haha, and I think a big part of that was my decision to try to enrol is some art programs. Hopefully this fall I will be going to school for art, and something that had to come with that decision was being comfortable with my work, and not only being willing to put it out there but also have people review it, even people who I don't only know behind a monitor.
Shon: Even if you're still taking studies, you clearly have experience to share. Have any advice for our creatively young members?
Brand: Build your visual library. Good technique is also very important, but technique doesn't really mean anything if you can't do anything with it, or the things you can do with it aren't interesting. So find out what you're interested in, whether it's sci-fi cityscapes or character designs, and look all across the internet for other images your interested in. Take note of how those artists compose their pieces and draw from that what you like and don't like. If you want to draw a city-scape, look at example of city-scapes and look at pictures of buildings, so that while your constructing your image you can use this things as a reference. This applies to any kind of art you do; don't be afraid to draw references or emulate artists you admire. Eventually you'll get to the point where your visual library is so large you can construct scenes purely from your imagination, and creating those fantastical pieces you envision in your head will become that much easier.
Shon: Wise words every creative should remember, new and old. Okay, my last question requires a little soapbox. You've seen artistic communities here at the Guild and participated. Let's say you could introduce something to our artistic community here today. What would it be?
Brand: Some place for the artistic side of RPG to collaborate, and maybe get advice / help / critiques or simply somewhere to take their art for it to be appreciated. Some kind of monthly challenge similar to AOTM would be nice too.
Shon: Well thank you Brand for sharing your experiences with us! I know I'm not the only one who'll be watching out for updates in your gallery.
The Conversation: The one idea you really like but no one seems interested in.mizushinzui wonders if anyone else has ever experienced the phenomenon of coming up with an idea that they love, but get no responses when posted as interest checks.
Ask AwayDo formatting and aesthetics count when you are looking for a roleplay? Do you decide not to participate in an RP on the basis of how well organized the interest check and OOC look? Please feel free to post your answers in this thread!
Up and ComingInterest checks are often the first stage in recruiting players for an RP, and a really good one can net you a lot of applicants. These are some of the interest checks that caught our attention recently. Best of all, they're looking for players!
Free Interest ChecksCasual Interest ChecksAdvanced Interest ChecksTabletop Roleplay Interest ChecksNation Roleplay Interest Checks1x1 Interest CheckArena Interest Check
Current and CoolRoleplays on this list have already started (but may still be recruiting, please consult the GM) and also caught our attention; the hard work the GM and players put in to setting up the RP, writing their sheets and hashing out the details have paid off and now they're writing their in-character (IC) posts.
FreeCasualAdvancedTabletop RoleplayNation Roleplay1x1Arena:
On Display-Art:
Mizu's digital painting fan art -
Mizushinzui is just starting a gallery to show off and get feedback on their fan art of video game characters. There aren't many pieces up in this fledgling gallery, but we hope to see more of mizushinzui's unique style or art in the future.
-Writing:
Jett's Writing -
Jett Ryu presents an eclectic mix of creative writing pieces, ranging from poems to short stories to letters directed toward fictional characters. If you have any interest in reading a poem about the power of music and a short story about a baby Velociraptor's birth in the same sitting, this gallery is right up your alley.
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