Here we have the elusive Frequently Asked Questions! Please take a gander at this if you have any questions which you might think have probably been asked, but are to shy to ask-- or know that I probably hear it every day, so don't want to ask.

THINGS BE RELATING TO ART


• What materials do you use regularly?
  For sketching - non-photo blue pencil, .07 mechanical pencils for details, HB woodless graphite for everything else. I also like breaking out the ballpoint pen and scribbling around with it-- but I don't really post anything that comes out of that. I just like how it looks.
  For inks and colored pieces - It can be any combination of the following: Bombay black ink, Sumi Ink for ink washes, Winsor Newton Series 7 round brush #2, 102 crow quil, B-6 quill, Nikko No. 357 quill, Sakura micron tech pens 01-08, the graphic pen (and on occasion the Sakura brush pen-- but I'm really starting not to like it), watercolor (cake), Copic sketch markers, Waccom Intuos 3, Photoshop CS3 and Painter IX. As for paper, I generally stick to Strathmore, being the sketch (recycled) or bristol (300 texture and 400 smooth). But I also occasionally use DELETER Kent paper, but the stuff is so expensive, I rarely use it.
  
  
• How do you work?
  With music really loud. LOL, no seriously. I first start with thumbnails. I generally do at least three thumbnails, but have done many more before to try to get the idea just right. Then I do what is called a "tight rough" (or at least that's what the professors call it) 9 x 6 in which everything is laid out. Then I start laying down vanishing points and make a "grid system" ( [link] ) pretty quickly in non-photo blue pencil. If I really like the thumbnail, sometimes I'll scan it in to Photoshop and blow it up to 9 x 6 and print it in a faint red (as to tell the difference from the blue pencil) and just draw on top of what I printed and work from that.
  From here I sketch in the people, bg, what have you-- depending on the project. This is where I deviate depending on what the project is-- if it's a pin-up or something that I'm just going to color in PS and slap a background on, I'll lightbox the pencils right there-- or maybe scan them in, enlarge them slightly, and print it out in a very light blue and then ink ontop of the blue line (which then is erased when scanned in).
  If this is a comic page or something for an assignment at school, I'll scan in the tight pencils, blow it up to 10x15 (our working area and the comic industries standard working area), print it out on two sheets and tape the two together, and then trace it on a sheet of 11 x 17 bristol (which I cut down from 14 x 17).
  
  
• How long have you been drawing?
  Manga style? About ten years. In general? Sixteen.
  
  
• What techniques do you use when you want to improve in drawing?
  Sketching from life. I used to do a lot of eying work from other mangaka, but I've pretty much stopped that now. I cannot stress enough how important drawing from life is.
  
  
• Do you consult magazines for your drawings?
  KERA, Zipper and Men's Non-No are always on hand for clothing ideas.
  
  
• What do you do when you have artist's block?
  Pour through manga and artbooks for inspiration. I'll also just flip through my fashion magazines or the collection of stock photos I have on my computer.
  
  
• How about commissions? I really would like one!
  Occasionally I open commissions, but it's not really something I do while school's in session because my time is filled up already. Just frequently check my journal, because I'll announce it if I start to take them.
  
  
• Where do you get your supplies?
  Akadotretail.com, the school store here in Savannah, AC Moore, but when I went to Japan I picked up a boat load of things
  
  
• HOMG, is like everything you draw fanarts?
  Actually, no. I only post fanart here on DA because there have been so many art thefts here that I made the personal choice to not post original stuff that I really am attached to, or wish to use in the future to, you know, get published. If you want to see other stuff I do, either check out my website or my artblog.
  
  
• You go to that SCAD place, right?
  Yes I do. In a few weeks, I'll be a senior in the sequential art program. If you are considering going to SCAD ask yourself something: Do I really love art and drawing so much that I can do it for 10+ hours everyday? Because if you are thinking about majoring in SEQA, you will be drawing THAT much when you get near the end of your run. I AM NOT JOKING. There have been weekends when I will wake up at 7AM Friday, Saturday and Sunday, in which I'll work until 11PM taking breaks to eat and maybe like two other hour breaks. They are long and tiring. And when you graduate and try to get a comics job, hey guess what? You're going to be drawing for that long everyday, if not longer! You have to dedicate yourself to comics, or really there's no reason to go to a school that costs 120K+ for four years. You could go to a cheaper school and take some art classes on the side. Sure you wouldn't get the same experience or teaching, but if you aren't going to use what's available to you in the first place, why do it?
  But for those of you who can live and breathe drawing and comics and expanding your art, I highly recommend SCAD. Our professors have worked in the field and teach you how it will be to work in the real world. But you have to try, listen, and be open to expand your horizons. The more you soak in, the more your art will improve. Oh, and then there's the age old thing: You have to practice. Practice. Practice. Practice. The professors here suggest you be filling a sketchbook of 100 pages every month on your own, in addition to schoolwork. Do I do that much? No, I fill 100 every three months, but I'm trying to work up to 100 every month.



THINGS BE NOT SO RELATED TO ART


• Zutara? Seriously?
  Everyone is entitled to their own ship! And while I don't necessarily like uhh ANY other shipping in Avatar, I'll look at art from any ship. I'm not really biased when it comes to art, as long as it's well drawn. But liking enough to draw myself? Yeah, only Zutara.
  
  
• I hears you like Visual Kei...
  That's a dirty, dirty, lie. For the record, I really don't like Visual Kei. I think the most VK I get is old school L'Arc~en~Ciel and the occasional MUCC track. But when I saw MUCC perform at Otakon 06, I was terrified of some of their songs. I like the more pop and R&B stuff, sorrys! Now if you want to talk Aijiankan, let's talk my friend!
  
  
• Is your name really Aja or is it a penname?
  Nope, really me.
  
  
• What does ku-mel mean?
  It's a joke my friends had like six or seven years ago. I loved the scent Cucumber Melon (and still do, really), and a friend of mine always thought it sounded like a character from Strawberry Shortcake. So he drew me in that style. The rest of my friends thought that was so funny, and my best friend joked that her Japanese cute nickname would be cu-mel. Well since there is no "cu" in Japanese, I changed it to "ku". Of course there's no L either, so I kind of botched that one, but yeah that's the origin of the name.


Any other questions you might have, feel free to leave them as a comment here or note me