1. how did you learn to draw? when did you start drawing?

observation, patience, and practice, mostly.
i began drawing when i was very young; i don't remember a time in my life when i wasn't drawing. i began drawing anime art when i was about 13 or 14, and began using CG programs soon afterward.

2. what classes have you taken?

just public school art classes. 3½ years of graphic arts and 2 years of AP studio art in high school. i never went to college.

3. what materials do you use? where can i get them?

paper: strathmore 400 series sketchbooks, vellum and smooth bristol, deleter comic paper
pencils: 0.5mm bic mechanicals (2H and HB leads)
erasers: sanford magic rubs
ink: copic multiliners
colors: sanford prismacolor colored pencils, prismacolor markers
CG input: 6x8" wacom intuos3 tablet
CG programs: corel painter 7, adobe photoshop 7

(once upon a time, i would regularly use crayolas to color, and adobe photodeluxe to CG. remember that tools do not always make the artist!)

i buy my art supplies from dick blick . photoshop can be purchased from adobe, painter can be purchased from corel, and wacom tablets can be purchased from wacom.

4. how do you use (insert program name here)?

check out the tips section for a few tips and tutorials for photoshop and painter. (sorry, i don't use paint shop pro, so i can't offer much advice there.)
if you have a particular question about techniques, you can always e-mail me and ask, but please try to be specific -- a question like "how do you color good in photoshop?" is a little too vague for me to answer.

5. how long does it take you to finish a picture?

it varies quite a lot from picture to picture. stuff i mark as "junk" or "doodles" normally don't take more than 1-4 hours. larger, polished pieces with more detail can take days to complete.

6. will you draw/color a picture for me?

i'm sorry, but i cannot do any free requests or art trades.
if you are interested in purchasing a commission, please contact me for a quote.

7. where do you get inspiration for your pictures? what do you use as reference?

inspiration comes from almost anything...real life events, photos, catalogs, magazines, books, music, other artwork, other people, etc.
for reference, i sometimes use photos or real things (for example, if i need to draw a hand in a certain pose and i'm not sure how to, i'll pose my own hand in that way and and draw what i see.) i try not to copy entire photos or artwork, though, especially without giving credit!

8. why are your images so small? will you put up bigger, more detailed pictures?

sorry, but i will not post high-resolution, textless versions of my images; that makes it too easy for other people to make high-quality prints and possibly sell them. i (and many of my friends) have experienced too much art theft in the past. if you'd like to own prints of my work, please visit the store. thanks!

9. what are those numbers you always put into your image filenames?

the date on which the picture was completed, in YYMMDD format.

10. can i use your art for something?

if you would like to use it for a strictly personal (such as your computer's desktop wallpaper) or educational (such as a report for school on digital art,) non-profit purpose, then i don't mind, and you don't need to ask my permission.

if you would like to use it on another website, some form of printed material, or any other public use, i generally do not mind as long as it is non-profit and i am given visible credit. if you are unsure, please ask my permission first.

if you would like to use it for some sort of commercial material, please ask me for permission BEFORE using it.

if you would like to use my art for PSP groups, please visit mypsptubes.com.

thank you!