Tag: alex faq

alexheberling:

17: Favourite food

Spaghetti! Preferably with garlic bread.

49: Am I excited for anything?

I am excited for this dang Kickstarter to get funded. Hopefully this week.

73: Is there anything pink in 10 feets from me?

There is a pink Pocky tote bag in one of my cubey shelves.

alexheberling:

That’s correct. The Hues will turn 15 years old on August 27th.

It’s changed pretty dramatically more than a few times since its inception.  In the very beginning, it was essentially a Sailor Moon fanfic, then for awhile it was a pretty conventional magical girl series, and now it’s a love letter to the genre.  I’ve described this iteration of The Hues as a collaboration with my 12-year-old self, which is pretty accurate.

Garanos presented itself in my head during a time when I had convinced myself that The Hues would never get made, so that’s why I made it first.  TH had been my baby for a decade at that point and I had really kind of lost objectivity about it.  It just wasn’t ready back then, and I wasn’t ready to change things up in order to make it something more special.

alexheberling:

My machine is the Badge-a-Minit hand press, which I got for $100 about… 6 years ago?  I got the starter kit that came with 100 sets of button parts, which were my practice buttons while I learned how the machine worked.  I buy button parts in bulk from ButtonSafari on eBay, since they are much cheaper than BAM’s button parts.

I wrote up a whole button guide on my blog a few years ago, so go read that for more information.

A hand press is good for getting your feet wet, but a table-top unit with a lever will save your hands from dying.  I’ve been at the point where I should probably upgrade to a lever machine for the last couple years, but I’ve been putting it off and putting it off.

The nice thing about buttons is that whatever kind of machine you buy, it will eventually pay for itself in buttons sold.

alexheberling:

I have a bachelor of fine art from Ohio State. :)  My school didn’t have a cartooning program, so I concentrated in Art & Technology and learned how to make holograms and robots.

But before and since, the majority of my comics technique has been self taught.

alexheberling:

I’m glad you found it helpful!

The cover-sealing issue is a common one I had when I first started out.  I also have it sometimes now, as sometimes I get a slightly off/bad batch of parts now and then.

My best advice is to make sure you’re pressing the red disc in as flat and flush as possible.  Some of my friends use a sledgehammer. Look at the back, and make sure you can see the edges of the paper and plastic all around the button face. (See steps 20 and 21 of the guide.)

alexheberling:

23: Do you draw more fanart, or more original art?

Original.  I have a webcomic to maintain, so I’m working on that 90% of the time.  I wish I had more time for fanart, but only a few things strike my fancy enough for me to draw fanart of it.

30: What inspires you to not just make art, but to be a better artist?

I think it can be summed up by the biggest lesson/advice I learned from one of my art professors: there is always more to learn.

There’s always something new to try out and fold into my arsenal.

19: What is the most difficult thing for you to draw?

DUDES. Seriously, I just try to get their proportions down and my brain gets all wibbly wobbly. WHERE DO THE HIPS GO.  I’ve been drawing ladies for SO LONG, lol.

alexheberling:

1: Do you prefer traditional drawing, or digital?

I like both, but I tend to work in digital most of the time.  My comics are all digital, as are most of my commissions, but it’s also nice to unplug and use traditional media now and then.  My con sketch cards are markers, pen, and colored pencil, which are the supplies that I used most often as a teenager before I learned how to art with a computer, so there’s an element of nostalgia built in for me. :) I still have nearly every colored pencil I’ve owned since ager 14. ^_^;;

2: How long have you been drawing?

My mom would tell you I came out of the womb with a crayon in my hand. (ETA: If I recall correctly, the earliest drawing I did, as immortalized in my photo album at home, is from 1989 or 90. It was a picture of my mom.)  I always liked to draw and was usually the best artist in my class in elementary school and the like.

But really, I mostly drew cats up until around 1998, when I discovered Sailor Moon.  Then I started drawing PEOPLE, and I haven’t really stopped since.

I’ve been making comics since high school (2003ish), and I put up my first webcomic almost ten years ago.

alexheberling:

14: Do you ever collaborate with others?

Rarely, and when it does happen, it’s usually just for shits and grins.  For awhile, I was going to a weekly meetup of local comics folks and we’d do jam comics, for example.  In a professional context, I’ve KIND of worked with writers (on my first webcomic, which was a collaboration between me and my two BFFs) but not in a long time.  I’m A LONE WOLF WHO DON’T NEED NO ONE! jk. XD

22: Are you confident that you’re improving steadily?

Oh yes. Do something every day for a decade and you’ll go a long way from where you started.

24: Do you feel jealous when you see other people’s art, or inspired? (Be honest!)

BOTH. INTENSELY.

Going through my ask history because I knew there were a few things like this that would be good for my FAQ. :D