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Q & A time! Let's see if I can cover the usual bases...
So who the heck are you?Name : Jason Wages, also known as BENARES and Olethros et Teleute (and formerly as GM Zhien the Ayonae Ro Aggie to the denizens of EverQuest's Ayonae Ro server) |
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Q & A time! Let's see if I can cover the usual bases...
So who the heck are you?Name : Jason Wages, also known as BENARES and Olethros et Teleute (and formerly as GM Zhien the Ayonae Ro Aggie to the denizens of EverQuest's Ayonae Ro server) |
Why is BENARES always capitalized?
What can I say, I like to live the life of excitement and say my name loud (honestly, I have no idea why -- always have, and who am I to argue with tradition?)
So which is it : BENARES or Olethros?
BENARES |
Whatever venue you contact me regarding, really. Like I said, BENARES is for my writing (and can include my non-EQ artwork, too) and Olethros is for anything EverQuest related. Or you can just call me Jason =) |
Olethros et Teleute |
I like your artwork. Will you draw a picture for me?
Thanks! And sorry, I really wish I could take commissions, but my time lately is just so utterly tight that I have little time to do my own artwork much less anyone else's =(
How do you do that coloring?
I use a program called Photoshop to do all my coloring work, and due to the many requests on this one I have even set up a tutorial page for everyone to see. Just click on the CGI Tutorial link on the bottom menu, and remember that it just takes practice and experimentation, so have fun!
You're a professional artist? How did you become one? How do I get to be one, too?
Yup, I'm (by official records, anyway) a professional artist -- I've been making a living through my art since I graduated college and have been drawing since I was a little kid (though I have a loooooong way to go before I feel I'm truly comfortable and as fluid with a pencil as I'd like to be). To become a professional artist yourself, all you really need to do is practice. Practice, practice, practice. And draw lots of stuff, not just superheroes. Being able to draw is not something you can do overnight, it's a process that not only your brain adjusts to through learning but you must also get your body physically used to the movements to the point where it becomes instinctual. All the big comic artists and such out there are great because they draw so much that they don't even have to consider body dimensions or three-dimensional physics anymore, they just picture something in their head and translate it straight to paper -- like I said, I still have a ways to go, partially because I don't draw as much as I should ^_^. Most places out there that need artists in the end aren't really too solidly set in your education, they are mostly interested in what you have in your portfolio (what good is a degree if you don't display the talent they are looking for?). That's not to say that a degree is a bad thing, far from it : a company will be more likely to hire someone coming from CalArts or the Chicago Art Institute than someone with equal talent but no degree, and coming from a college background shows you have put in time and effort into your craft and may have a stronger work ethic. I myself went to Texas A&M for two years (not sure what I wanted to do with my life but at least I got my basic college courses out of the way there) where I met Alan Nepumucimo who showed me some animation cels he painted himself, which I thought was so coll that I decided to try and do myself, thus getting me finally directed towards art becoming my profession. I then went to the Art Institute of Dallas for two years where I got my degree in Computer Animation and Multimedia Programing, then I just shopped around my portfolio and resume to every single place I could find until I got a few freelance jobs, then a full-time job at a company called Paradign Entertainment (now bought by Infogrames) building 3D terrain and characters for Nintendo games, and recently I got a job at Verant Interactive as a part-time texture artist and full-timed as a GM (online customer support representative for the EverQuest-impaired out there) waiting for an opening in the company's art department to show up. The whole process takes effort and patience, but if you really want to be an artist for a living then it's all worth it -- hell, I feel like I play video games and read comic books for a living, it's great!
What got you interested in writing fan fiction?
I first discovered internet-based fan fiction (writings by fans of various TV shows/comics/anime/fictional works based on those works) when I first dicovered the net back in 1992 at Texas A&M... nothing like an ASCII interface, ugh ^_^. I found a bunch of newsgroups and such where people would write these hilarious and cute stories based on stories like "Ranma 1/2" and "Urusei Yatsura" and I thought to myself, "Hey! I want to do this too! This looks fun!". So I thought up a little story based on Ranma 1/2's Chinese character Shampoo and pulled a kind-of "Lady and the Tramp" plotline with her and an alleycat I named Yowza, and after three days behind a computer my first fanfic "Shampoo 1/2 : Cat's Cradle" was written. Since everyone also had neat internet handles, I decided I wanted one representing one of the two major villains I liked in anime, which was either the immortal Benares from "3X3 Eyes" or the robotic Largo from "Bubblegum Crisis" -- in the end I (obviously) took the name Benares. I then got so much praise from that story, I decided to start writing more, and eventually I got up to seven fanfics before I just ran out of time or creative juices. Wish I could finish some of those unfinished parts in the stories, but as always time just has a way of catching up with you and POOF goes your schedule, heh heh.
What got you into anime?
I was first introduced to anime through a bootleg copy of Bubblegum Crisis #1 and Project A-Ko #1 a friend showed me at his place when the movies first came out in 1987. Of course, I'd been exposed to anime before (Star Blazers, Battle of the Planets, Speed Racer), but this was the first time I was introduced to the un-Americanized versions, and I've been hooked ever since. Granted, I feel a little disappointed now that anime has become mainstream (kind of nostalgic for the days when no one knew what the heck you were talking about and it was just "your thing"), but oh well, them times they's a-changin'.
What do you look like?
What, did you miss the picture at the top of the page?
Wait a sec, you're a guy! Why do some folks address you as a "she"?
My EverQuest alter-ego Olethros is a female character, so when I'm being addressed as OIethros I stay in character. No, I'm not a pervert.
So what are your interests?
Like I said, big into anime, comics (both American and Japanese), drawing (of course), video games (addicted to long storyline types like RPGs), and I love travelling though since I've been working the majority of my travels have been from home to the office and back ^_^. Now that I'm on a sabatical maybe I'll get a chance to do some long-distance driving again (I hope, I hope). My big favorite things should be found in the Cool Stuff portion of my Extras section.
Why is your site called Formula 119 Presents...?
I came up with that about my freshman year in college. It's based on a Japanese comic called Ranma 1/2, where in one issue this Chinese girl who had a crush on the main character (named Shampoo) decided to literally brainwash her competition (Akane) by shampooing her with shampoo formula #119, leaving the other girl with no memory of the main character. Since I had started writing fan fiction based on this story (back when the net was land of geeks and little else) I decided to make my "company" Formula 119, "where we brainwash you with fiction, literally!". After that it just sorta stuck as my banner and though it really means nothing now, I still call my website "Formula 119 Presents..." in honor of what got me started in the world of the internet, and because I like to pretend I'm clever and deep ^_~.
Okay, if anyone thinks
of any other questions just toss them my way and I'll
do what I can to answer.
