Interview with Artist Nikole Jones aka Spooni
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Interview by: Geek Girl Jillian Ryan
Smart, sassy, sexy and SUPER talented... allow me to introduce our newest featured lady Nikole Jones. Cosplayer, seamstress, and a jack of all trades when it comes to anything artistic. She was kind enough to take a breather from creating to answer some questions for us and give us a peek inside her amazingly creative mind.
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1- Ok Nikki, your portfolio is -epic-, give us a little insight as to how long you have been doing the ass-kicking art deal?
Well I've been doing art since 89 but only officially a comic artist this year. I was doing graphic design, with very little illustration, for the longest time. My passion is storytelling though so I'm glad I'm starting to work in comics and games.
2- Geek Girls recently met up with you at VACOMICON (and you were so much fun to chat with), what conventions do you try to hit every year and how long have you been hitting the con scene?
Now even while doing graphic design I went to conventions, first ever was Katsucon 4 back in (cough cough) '99... I've tabled at nearly 35 over the years and attended many more...so me and conventions are really good friends. In fact some of "us" are even enemies because of bad experiences LOL. On the regular I hit every VAcomiccon I can, since it is my HOME convention. I go to the east coast staples; heroes, Dragon*Con, NYCC. This year I’ll be adding two Ohio cons and a Kentucky con; Gencon, Cincinnati, and lexicon!!! (Yeah lexicon--not sure if we'll be reading the dictionary for three days or what? Ha-ha little linguist-humor) I also have Ravencon, VA beach con, and RVAcon on 2014's list. Yeah...ALOT...too much in fact!!
3- So you do some fantastic "fan-art" prints, tell us do you have anything exciting in the works? HOOOOOOHHHO YES.
Ok so there's this Game. You may or may not have heard of it. Called ...the Witcher. I'm doing a series based on characters and scenes from it. Best Action/RPG I ever played--mainly because of my play style and storytelling desires for an adult game. I’m sending a few pieces to Poland to thank the game developers for their hard work. Oh did I mention...I’m one of "those" fan girls. When I fall in love with something...it's forever. I also have a crap-ton of "tiny" marvel and Dc character pieces I’ll be posting as collectable badges on my website starting Dec 21st called "Short People Win Too!"
4- If you could start your art journey all over, what would you do differently?
On the serious: I'd believe in myself. Too many times in life when the easy road is presented, we take it. I've taken many....too many. Never again. I'm 37 and just starting the career I’ve always wanted....never do that to yourself. Answer the call, be brave, take all the sucker punches life throws and just walk tall with your busted up lip. It's GONNA hurt and you're going to be tempted to quite or worse yet, NEVER start something but for God's sake NEVER give up on yourself....ever............never.
Sorry...it's something I don’t know if I’ll ever get over regretting. On occasion you'll hear me spew my mantra: “Life is war. Anyone telling you different is selling you something." It reminds me to keep sword in hand and courage in heart.
5- What is the hardest thing about being an animator/artist in the geek culture today?
Indecently I have animated only a few things but will produce more in the near (2014) future. As an artist, sifting thru rubbish. So many directors/writers/story-creators claim membership in some fandom or another, they swear up and down they've been into this or that since "way back before your time" it's hard to know who's real and who's posing, until they talk business. You're either serious (rubsfingerstogether$$) about me illustrating your story or not.
6- With the con scene being so flooded with artists and people selling their wares, what are some keys you use to keep your booth from fading in with the rest?
Hmm without giving away trade secrets...keep your presentation homogenous, simple and be yourself. I'll go to a con in costume (because I LOVE DRESSING UP) and SIT behind the table working on commissions. I play the part of attendee and vendor and DONT care about it LOL. People seem to appreciate that, "oh can I take your picture" and then the subsequent..."oooo, can I commission you for a ______".
"Sure," I say. Best thing you can be to your customers and fans...is yourself.
7- Your color and line work is stellar. What materials do you typically use for your work? Which materials would you suggest artists stay away from?
OOOOOHH wow...big question. I am, on the serious, a multimedia artist. If you see an original piece of mine it's got; pastels, charcoals, acrylics and marker thrown in. Digitally speaking, I use what everyone else uses....Painter and Photoshop and a Wacom board. I try to stay current but CS is killer-expensive I'm running CS 5 on my quad core with a Bamboo board. I also freaking love Autodesk's Sketchbook pro for starting most drawings I do. But NOTHING beats paper and pencil! I hate to be that person to tell an artist not to use something because you can do some pretty sick pieces with "rose art markers" LOL but ....keep it as industry standard as possible. use sable brushes, use TRUE India inks, use cold press papers, use thicker pulp papers, use solid Masonite, use professional grade charcoal, use a rapidograph set for fine detail inks. If you want to call yourself a professional...use what we use. They are top of the line for a reason. I had to amass my collection of materials over years of making little purchases and researching. (I’m old remember...noamazon.com
reviews when I started doing art). Best advice I ever received about being an artist was: "when someone pays you for completing a job, you take that check and go STRAIGHT to the art store; buy one more tool. Always buy one more tool than you had last. Even if it's just a tube of Yellow Paint. Then go spend the rest of the money else place."
8- What is your -favorite- piece that you've done so far? Least favorite?
Least Favorite. The former is my most recent work which took about 8 hours to do and is really working for me and the LATTER is an older piece I did which took about 100 hours to complete and ended up being a digital DISASTER! This is what happens when you think of a poster idea, start drawing it up in separate files all nice, color up the characters all pretty, and then put them together in one file like the World's Worst Puzzle. It turns into a jumble of mismatch colors, a garble of light scales, a generally confusing composition and a miserable un-uniformed collection of line weights....just draw it all together start to finish. That's what I did with this favorite piece I recently completed. This was all done in one digital file 20hrs. :) K.I.S.S.
9- Let's talk about your original characters and creations, where do you draw inspiration from? (No pun intended!)
LOL. How long is this interview...you've got nowhere to be in the next two years right? I'll keep it short. Ok let me answer this by showing. This is from my novel coming out in just a short few (in fact you can pre-order it on the 21st of DEC. perks included.) It is a tribal fantasy story. I say tribal because, in it, are influences taken from Native American tribal life, Celtic tribal life and African tribal life. Why? Because I share blood with all those cultures. There are towering castles made of brick, mortar, mud and salts. Ornate royal fashions with eagle feathers, pearls, mineral dyes, and laces. Shamanistic, Semitic and Druidic philosophies. Mechanisms worthy of the Afro-asiatic speaking mathematicians of old. All mixed in with GARGANTUAN creatures that take some hella doing to hunt down and kill. ..........Oh and a beautiful Persian looking Immortal who is the only "living gear" inside an inter-dimensional device his grandfather built.....in short I take my inspiration from theology, histories, science, people and cultures that resonate with me. In fact in EVERY work you'll ever see released by Nikole McDonald-Jones, there will be influences from her Black, Red, and Pale peoples. Teehee’s.
10- What advice would you give up and coming new animators/artists that are ready to go out there and grab a booth and try to sell their wares?
My first booth was at Otakon some years ago. Encouraged by my boyfriend. Fun Time, receptive crowd, good money.
I say; Pick a Con you like. Table at it. Be yourself. Be honest. Talk to neighboring artists. Sign up for another Con while you're there. :)
11- Something that really strikes me about your artwork is the body positioning and poses of your characters. They are dynamic, fun to look at and give off a vibe that sets the scene for the photo. Many artists claim this is their least favorite thing because it is very hard to get the body to look just right. What classes do you suggest people take/ videos they watch to help with learning such a skill?
HOLY COW...that's a lifetime of practice. Practice that I’m still working on vigorously every day! I'm not even close to master-level anything but "Practice...there is no other way!" The body, anybody, be it creature or humanoid is a SUPREMELY complex machine. But it is just that, a machine. It has parts. If you study where and how the parts fit, you'll KNOW how to operate the machine. Learn the parts. Anyone who says dynamic posing, lighting, composition, or storytelling is their least favorite thing about drawing may be in the wrong field or may lack the courage to tackle learning the machine. Sorry to say. You have to care about it enough to get the "body" to look just right. It can be intimidating but it’s my passion so I love to visit the challenge of drawing something "hard". Once you conquer it you can tell a better story with your art. Truly it all breaks down to how much you care. I love detail. I love storytelling. I love making the fantastic feel real, yet still remain wondrous. So I dig in and study hands, feet, athletes, dancers, emotional people, architecture, weather, animals. I Study 50 year old Anatomy books. Watch old Frank Frazetta films/interviews. Pause favorite shows and do a quick sketch to see if I can learn something. Watch clips of Andy Serkis and Rowan Atkinson in action...try to draw them and capture facial expressions...that'll learn ya quick about dynamics! I watch vids on YouTube of other artists who share my viewpoint on art like Clayton Crain.
12- Batman or superman?
Really? I'm detail oriented....Batman.
13- What do you see trending at booths recently aka what is being requested most? Superheroes? Disney? Sexy game heroines?
If I get one more ironman request I might don the WarMachine suit. Why NOW he's so very popular is beyond me. :winkwink:
14- What has been your best convention experience so far? Worst?
Woooo...to protect the names of the innocent I’ll not say the name of my worst:kaffWizardWorldkaff: My boyfriend and I left early it was so bad! Never doing another one. Indie artists, writers, creators got no love. He**, even some of the big names were treated like JoeSchmoes by the rude staff. Best...hmmm...toss up VAcomiccon and Heroes. :) The people that come to my table to take time to talk to me. :)
15- As an animator what would be your DREAM Company to work for / show to work on? As an animator?
Nickelodeon. Avatar/Korra. I've got a few friends working on it now. As an Illustrator? I’d remain Freelance but would kill to be contracted out with CDPROJEKTred, Darkhorse and Wizards of the Coast.
16- You wear some AMAZING outfits and I hear that you make some of them yourself! Tell us, what is your specialty when it comes to such bad-ass stitching??? Tips and tricks?
Uuuum, safety pins are your friends, a little glue on the skin never hurt anybody, and you can always dye your hair back close to your original color LOL. My specialty? The details. It’s the little details that make you LOOK like the character. If it's a super tall character take the time to figure out risers, if it's a fat character consider the weight so you can lumber like it does. If it's a super complex dress, take the time to study each element. Know your skill level and what you have time to learn. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Seriously, there’s nothing worse than half-@$$in' an outfit. Even if you wear one costume all that year because that's all you had time to make....do it. There's a show segment my beau and I came up with called "Oh, my God?! The Con is today?!" It’s for folks who half-@$$ their costumes. Don't end up on that segment. We're merciless.
Oh and go to the DOLLAR TREE!!! I could write a whole dissertation on costuming but the best thing to remember is ALWAYS KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN. There’s a piece of your costume in every shop you visit...even the grocery store. Right now, I'm prepping, drafting and planning out my costume for TRISS MERIGOLD, replete with magic hands :) I'll be premiering her at LexiCon in March. I've also got Aveline de Grandpré and Zshandiryieth (original character from my novel) on tap for NYCC and Dragon*Con respectively...............................yes I’ll be in black latex body paint.
17-As a BEAUTIFUL woman of color with a sexy goddess figure, what advice can you give to girls who are down and out about their ability to wear kicking' outfits due to their figure?
Beautiful. HA wow thanks. But I'll be the first to say, chin up BBW...not everything is for us...but the word is figure for a reason...everyone has one, thus everyone has the right to adorn it in a BADASS fashion! Big Barda, Granny Goodness, ANY AMAZON, bit**** TROLL chicks, She Hulk, Extravagant Edwardian Ladies (they were NOT small women), Brothel Madam's from the Old West, Belly Dancers (again traditionally NOT small). You are limited by your creativity...you'd be surprised what your "figure" gets you. (And I don't mean having your boobs all hanging out.) My booth babe is a size 20some'em and she was Ursula at one Con. Think she didn't get "holla'd" at? Think again.
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February 25 2014