 |
| Latrice Royale |
The question became, how do I tackle this? Do I just write about how much I love his artwork, and leave it at that? And, then, during an overnight, the thought hit me...I learned of Chad Sell through Facebook, so I could probably contact him the same way. I don't know exactly what it was about the work that I loved, whether it was the cartoon feel of the illustrations, or just the graphic way of capturing the costumes and personality quirks of the queens, but from Roxxy Andrews's fringe dress illustration, I was hooked. And I've looked forward to each new season, for the new illustrations.
So, in the middle of the night, I took a shot in the dark and sent him a message. I honestly didn't think that I would hear back from him, so I was very surprised when I got a response a few hours later. Even more so, when the answer was a yes, both to being able to use some of his artwork in a blog post, and to answering some of my questions.
With the beginning of Season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race, being just around the corner, and the fact that I put in my requests right at the end of his annual Week Of Ru (when he posts daily, two of the queens from the new season, until the whole cast is revealed) , I wasn't concerned with how soon I got back the answers to my questions. I was still basking in the fact that my hero actually answered me.
Immediately, after sending him the questions, I remembered that he has a blog on his website, and went to it immediately, to try to ascertain that I wasn't asking questions that he had already answered on his own site. (After about 3 hours of trolling his site, that night, I didn't find anything that was quite what I asked, so I figured I was safe.) I also reinforced my love of his artwork, by checking out his older blog posts. There are so many illustrations that I am in love with, and would have loved to feature here, but, I'm featuring pictures that I got his express permission as an artist to use.
After what felt like a year (and was in fact only about 2 weeks), I got the response to my questions. I'm sure that he's probably asked most of these questions on a regular basis, but he was very gracious about answering them all for me. So, here are the answers, to my most burning questions.
When the episodes start airing, how do you decide which queens to draw?
After I watch each episode, I start sketching out ideas for my favorite runway looks and moments. I tend toward the more theatrical, outrageous outfits with bold colors and shapes which lend themselves to my style the best.
I often start with rough sketches for a lot of the queens, but I winnow down that number throughout my day of drawing as I run out of time. There are frequently queens and outfits I *wish* I had drawn, but I just couldn't figure out a cool way to draw them in the time I had!
(Because I draw some myself, I'm always most interested in finding out how other people's artistic process works.)
What does your process look like? (Do you sketch on paper, or do you do it all on the computer?) From initial sketch to final product, about how long does it take you? And, what program(s) do you use?
Depending on my moood, I'll either sketch out my ideas in a sketchbook or on my computer. My process has changed a lot over the years, but these days, I do most of my work on a tablet monitor attached to my desktop. I draw in a program called Manga Studio 5, which I love and evangelize to all my artist friends.
Following the Monday night airing of each episode, I give myself all of Tuesday to work on that week's pieces. I make final touches the next morning and try to post my work by around noon Wednesday.
Some pieces come together really quickly, and other frustrate me endlessly. I fuss over likenesses and color palette at the end. The self-imposed deadline helps me keep things in perspective, though, and it helps shut up my inner perfectionist.
The most important question, of course was: Were you surprised by how popular the RuGirls' portraits have become?
Yes. It's awesome.
I have my own favorites, including the Latrice Royale picture at the start of this post. So, I was curious: Do you have a favorite portrait?
I'm always my own worst critic, so there are usually little things that bug me about a lot of my work. That's true of even some of my most popular pieces! I'll always be particularly fond of the very first Drag Race portrait I ever finished of Delta Work's first workroom look. Something about my All-Stars portrait of Latrice Royale still sticks with me. And, I was really happy with how BenDeLaCreme's "Black and White" portrait came out -- she's one of my all-time favorite queens and I was trying to depict her with a sense of grace and intensity. It's definitely not one of my most popular images, but I love it, anyway.
Any responses from the RuGirls, that I've seen online have been overwhelmingly positive, so I had to know, if there have ever been any negative responses from them.
I feel supremely lucky to have been embraced by the Drag Race queens and community -- every season brings new thrills, excitement and favorite new queens.
I don't recall any negative responses from the actual queens on the Drag Race, though. I think their approach to fans making art of them is to appreciate the effort, even if the final result isn't always very flattering.
As he had just finished the Week of Ru, with the new Season 7 girls, I had to ask...Any predictions or hopes for Season 7?
I HAVE NO IDEA. This is the first season where I personally knew some of the queens before they were cast. So, that's weird and crazy. (Trixie Mattel and Pearl have both performed extensively in Chicago, and I've gotten to meet both.)
To me it's not so much important that all my favorite queens make it far in the competition. I just hope that they're depicted well and get a chance to show what they've got!
When it came to advice for budding artists, Chad's advice was this:
1. Get good.
2. Don't expect to be the best before you put your work out there.
3. Find others who are excited by the same stuff you are. Make art about that stuff, and they'll be excited about it, too.
Be sure to check out his website, www.chadsellcomics.com, during the Drag Race season, because he'll be featuring lots of fun interviews about the show, as well as his own thoughts and illustrations of the queens.
Books, postcards and prints of all his best Drag Race work are available at his Etsy store, https://www.etsy.com/ChadSellComics
And, aside from his illustration work, he's also written and drawn a ton of different comic stories, which can all be read at http://www.chadsellcomics.com/comics/.
You can also follow Chad on Twitter and Facebook.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/panja57
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chadsellcomics
If you're not following him and his work already, I suggest you do. It's fun. And, now that you have some of the inside secrets of what goes into the illustrations, keep an eye out for the Season 7 illustrations.
Chad, thank you again for your cooperation, and for being so sweet and responding to a crazy fan interview.
With the beginning of Season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race, being just around the corner, and the fact that I put in my requests right at the end of his annual Week Of Ru (when he posts daily, two of the queens from the new season, until the whole cast is revealed) , I wasn't concerned with how soon I got back the answers to my questions. I was still basking in the fact that my hero actually answered me.
Immediately, after sending him the questions, I remembered that he has a blog on his website, and went to it immediately, to try to ascertain that I wasn't asking questions that he had already answered on his own site. (After about 3 hours of trolling his site, that night, I didn't find anything that was quite what I asked, so I figured I was safe.) I also reinforced my love of his artwork, by checking out his older blog posts. There are so many illustrations that I am in love with, and would have loved to feature here, but, I'm featuring pictures that I got his express permission as an artist to use.
After what felt like a year (and was in fact only about 2 weeks), I got the response to my questions. I'm sure that he's probably asked most of these questions on a regular basis, but he was very gracious about answering them all for me. So, here are the answers, to my most burning questions.
When the episodes start airing, how do you decide which queens to draw?
After I watch each episode, I start sketching out ideas for my favorite runway looks and moments. I tend toward the more theatrical, outrageous outfits with bold colors and shapes which lend themselves to my style the best.
 |
| Delta Work's First Workroom Look. |
(Because I draw some myself, I'm always most interested in finding out how other people's artistic process works.)
What does your process look like? (Do you sketch on paper, or do you do it all on the computer?) From initial sketch to final product, about how long does it take you? And, what program(s) do you use?
Depending on my moood, I'll either sketch out my ideas in a sketchbook or on my computer. My process has changed a lot over the years, but these days, I do most of my work on a tablet monitor attached to my desktop. I draw in a program called Manga Studio 5, which I love and evangelize to all my artist friends.
Following the Monday night airing of each episode, I give myself all of Tuesday to work on that week's pieces. I make final touches the next morning and try to post my work by around noon Wednesday.
Some pieces come together really quickly, and other frustrate me endlessly. I fuss over likenesses and color palette at the end. The self-imposed deadline helps me keep things in perspective, though, and it helps shut up my inner perfectionist.
The most important question, of course was: Were you surprised by how popular the RuGirls' portraits have become?
Yes. It's awesome.
I have my own favorites, including the Latrice Royale picture at the start of this post. So, I was curious: Do you have a favorite portrait?
 |
| BenDeLaCreme: Black and White |
Any responses from the RuGirls, that I've seen online have been overwhelmingly positive, so I had to know, if there have ever been any negative responses from them.
I feel supremely lucky to have been embraced by the Drag Race queens and community -- every season brings new thrills, excitement and favorite new queens.
I don't recall any negative responses from the actual queens on the Drag Race, though. I think their approach to fans making art of them is to appreciate the effort, even if the final result isn't always very flattering.
 |
| A Self Portrait by Chad |
I HAVE NO IDEA. This is the first season where I personally knew some of the queens before they were cast. So, that's weird and crazy. (Trixie Mattel and Pearl have both performed extensively in Chicago, and I've gotten to meet both.)
To me it's not so much important that all my favorite queens make it far in the competition. I just hope that they're depicted well and get a chance to show what they've got!
When it came to advice for budding artists, Chad's advice was this:
1. Get good.
2. Don't expect to be the best before you put your work out there.
3. Find others who are excited by the same stuff you are. Make art about that stuff, and they'll be excited about it, too.
Be sure to check out his website, www.chadsellcomics.com, during the Drag Race season, because he'll be featuring lots of fun interviews about the show, as well as his own thoughts and illustrations of the queens.
Books, postcards and prints of all his best Drag Race work are available at his Etsy store, https://www.etsy.com/ChadSellComics
And, aside from his illustration work, he's also written and drawn a ton of different comic stories, which can all be read at http://www.chadsellcomics.com/comics/.
You can also follow Chad on Twitter and Facebook.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/panja57
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chadsellcomics
If you're not following him and his work already, I suggest you do. It's fun. And, now that you have some of the inside secrets of what goes into the illustrations, keep an eye out for the Season 7 illustrations.
Chad, thank you again for your cooperation, and for being so sweet and responding to a crazy fan interview.
No comments:
Post a Comment