I usually don't do these meme things (BECAUSE NO ONE EVER TAGS ME) but this one seemed pertinent to artwork. I caught JerkDouglas doing it, and I found his to be pretty informative, so I thought maybe I could do it too?


◆Your name?

Brian "Okk" Raddatz

◆If possible, your age?

Legally I'm 27, but I was never a child, so some of those years count for double.

◆When did you start drawing?

As soon as I could pick up a pencil. My earliest existing drawings are from age five, and I've been drawing comics since before I could read. The dialogue wasn't very good back then.

◆Which hand do you use for drawing?

The right hand.

◆Which is easier to draw - male or female?

Female. I have a hard time drawing men with convincing posture.

◆Which is easier to draw - long hair or short hair?

I guess I'm going to go with short hair, just because there's less of it, and the physics isn't as much of a problem. I don't really have much trouble either way though.

◆Is it easier to draw the head facing towards the right or the left?

You'd think there wouldn't be a difference, but things just go smoother when the character is facing the right side of the canvas. I think this is the case with most of my characters, but is particularly true of Okk, due to his asymmetrical hair.

◆Is it easier to draw the side view of the face or the front view?

Facing forward. Things sometimes look strange in profile, especially when I'm in "I HATE NOSES" mode.

◆What do you have problems in drawing?

NOSES. No, I'm kidding. The thing that I have the most trouble drawing is backgrounds. I don't want to make them draw too much attention from the subject matter, and I usually end up undercompensating.

◆What do you like to draw?

Horrifying monsters are the most fun to draw. I usually just draw people, though.

◆Are you a traditional artist or a digital artist?

I used to do most of my work in graphite, but these days I work almost entirely in vector graphics.

◆Where do you start drawing from?

I start with a very very rough sketch to place the characters and get a sense of posture and composition. There's no detail to it at all; it's usually just ovals for the heads and a few meaningless lines here and there. Next, I start with the eyes and work out from there, which is a terrible habit.

◆What is your drawing habit that you are aware of?

Aside from the previous answer, just flat out laziness.

◆Any tips for coloring/shading?

I'm colorblind, kid.

◆How long does it take to finish a piece of art?

Usually, one or two days, sometimes three. Recently, though, I've been having a hard time focusing, and it takes me longer and longer.

◆What music do you listen to while you draw?

Doesn't matter, as long as I like it. Whatever's on winamp random play. Sometimes I toss on some Smallville DVDs and watch from the corner of my eye while I draw, or just leave the TV on Cartoon Network.

◆How long does it take you to come up with an idea?

Coming up with new ideas is more of a state of being than an activity for me. Developing these ideas, though, can take any amount of time, and usually involves a lot of pacing.

◆Your favorite drawing utensils?

Wacom tablets.

◆Your favorite color/the color that you use a lot?

My favorite color is plaid. In my artwork, I tend to use all kinds of horrible colors without even realizing how bad they look.

◆Your favorite style(s)?

I like a lot of different styles, but I'm particularly fond of styles with fluid and exagerrated senses of motion. It's amazing how much emotion you can express by giving somebody bendy arms.

◆What kind of artist are you aiming for?

A productive artist.