Kolorful Palette: Question & answer

by Fanderay

[For this weeks’ Kolorful Palette post, we thought it would be illuminating to ask Fanderay about her artistic process in coming up with ideas for scenes to draw, and how she executes each drawing. Being completely un-artistic myself, I’ve been fascinated with her work from the beginning and always find myself looking forward to seeing what new image she’s conjured up this week, and I’m never disappointed with the outcome. So we’ve conducted a question-and-answer session to address all the burning questions we’ve had thus far. We hope you enjoy as well! -javabeans]

Dramabeans: What’s your artistic background? Did you study it seriously, or is it more of a hobby?

Fanderay: I grew up with a love of drawing and pretty much anything crafty, although I tend to have too many interests so I never spend as much time on any one hobby as I should. I was probably the most devoted to drawing when I was a little girl. I used to pause my Disney movies at my favorite scenes and spend hour after hour meticulously drawing them (as my family would attest to, I’ve been a hyper-anal perfectionist since birth).

I graduated from high school early and after working on a sailboat for a year and a half I went to university for a joint major in visual art and computer science. I took classes in pretty much everything, but my main focuses were drawing and photography. Unfortunately the actual teaching was a pretty huge disappointment. There was very little focus on anything technical and instead the classes consisted of little more than unguided practice, art discussion, and assignments. Even assignments were marked almost entirely based on “meaning” and unfortunately that resulted in almost every student just making up a bunch of BS and half-assing the art itself. I’m all for meaning and creativity, but without technique you have no tools at your disposal and that only limits creativity. I would have much preferred more classical training in Europe, and feel like the only class that truly benefited me was Life Drawing (nude models). I also went on to study 3D character animation, but unfortunately I don’t live somewhere I can work animating. At some point I’d love to take classes in light and color theory since I feel like that’s what limits me the most.

Which media do you work in? For Kolorful Palette, you’ve used a variety so far — watercolor, charcoal, pen and ink, and more. Do you have a favorite?

I primarily work in Corel Painter on my computer with a Wacom tablet, although I still prefer to do my initial line drawing on paper and scan it in. I also occasionally do actual watercolor sketches but they only work well with certain scenes, and are much less forgiving (no undo button!). Although most people prefer Photoshop, I don’t find it very fun to use and Corel Painter mimics every artistic medium and brush you could think of, so it’s a much more natural and intuitive process. My favorite Corel Painter mediums are digital watercolors, chalks, and oils.

How do you choose which medium to work in for each scene you draw?

It primarily depends on the dynamic of the scene, although occasionally I just feel like doing something different. For example, if there is a dark scene with some bright highlights I might decide to start with a dark canvas and use chalk to create the highlights while bringing forward the texture of the canvas. Other times I won’t use any texture at all because I feel that it distracts from the image. There has been more than one time that I’ve regretted my choice of medium, and it still something I’m always learning more about. A couple times I’ve even restarted drawings because I felt a certain medium just wasn’t working well enough.

How does inspiration hit you? Do you watch a scene and think, “I want to draw that”? Or do you set out thinking, “I’d like to work with charcoals today” and think of what might suit?

I wish it was that easy for me! I find choosing a scene by far the most difficult aspect of doing a weekly drawing. Some weeks I’ve watched 20 hours of dramas without finding a thing. If I could just pick moments that were particularly memorable or resonated emotionally it would be pretty easy, but ultimately aesthetic comes first and it’s not very rewarding to work on a scene that is visually drab. Sometimes I’ll be watching a drama and I’ll see a perfect moment that hits me in all the right spots and I know in an instant that I have to draw it. Those are my favorite weeks. Most weeks I flip-flop back and forth between various scenes, weighing their pros and cons (like lighting, color, emotional weight, popularity of characters, etc.). Occasionally I’ll just draw something because it’s badass (meaning be damned) or I’ll force a mediocre aesthetic because it features a particularly touching moment. Other times I’ll choose not to draw something great simply because I drew something too similar the week before. It’s not a very formulaic process overall, and some weeks are much more organically inspired than others.

How did you come to watch Korean dramas?

Discovering Korean dramas was a bit of a fluke for me. I was self-teaching myself Japanese (AJATT method for anyone familiar) and was looking for Japanese TV shows to watch online. Everywhere I looked I kept seeing Korean dramas, and although I flippantly ignored them at first I finally caved and watched one after a few months. I hate to admit it, but my first drama was Boys Over Flowers. It’s hard to believe that such a drama got me hooked, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t ashamed! After that I became a complete drama zombie and spent pretty much every waking minute catching up on all the great (and no so great) dramas I had never even realized existed. I actually miss those days; back then, every K-drama seemed amazing.

Never be ashamed of dramas you like! That drama gets a lot of flack but it was such a gateway drama for so many people. Do you have favorite drama-based drawings? What are they?

I knew there would be at least one question I wouldn’t be able to answer! I’m actually the sort to draw and forget, and I almost never look at any of my creations once they’re finished. For me, it’s more about the challenge of completing something, but I literally don’t have a single piece of my own artwork on my walls (unless you count photos of my dog and husband). Probably one of my favorites is this drawing of Daniel Choi [below] from The Musical in 2011. It wasn’t a very good drama and looking at it now there are problems with the drawing itself, but I remember a strong sense of accomplishment when I finished it and a satisfaction I almost never feel. I loved the scene itself and really wanted the drawing to work out, so it was great to feel like I pulled it off.

I read a few comments that thought your original artwork was just a screencap with a Photoshop filter applied to it. What’s your response to that? (I would totally take that as a compliment — and testament — to your awesome skills!)

I take it as a compliment and don’t find it personally insulting, but it doesn’t make me happy either because I’ve never been the type of artist that I’d like to be, and those comments drive home that fact. Believe it or not, I actually love abstract art and more impressionistic representative art, but my brain is my own worst enemy and I always find myself drawing far more realistically than I actually intend. Those commenters actually helped me to loosen up my style a bit (I still have a looong way to go) but deep down I know I’ll never stop being nit-picky when it comes to getting a character’s face just right, especially when I feel like recognition is important. My backgrounds are often not particularly accurate and I don’t fret over details like clothing, but if I have to, I will spend hours on a nose. My initial line drawings are usually off their mark by a fair margin (and end up being mostly erased by the time I’m finished) but once I start adding color and contrast it’s pretty easy to spot my mistakes, and then I can’t help but fix them. It’s also much easier working from 2D video than it is from real life, so my skill ends up being exaggerated as a result. Overall though, comments like those are primarily motivating.

Do you do other kinds of artwork?

I’ve dabbled in all of the obvious visual arts like painting and pottery, as well as some of the less obvious ones like fabric dying and and leather etching. Usually I have a specific project in mind or just want to try something new, and I’m not very good about creating artwork just for the sake of it. I also dabble in pretty much anything crafty, like sewing, knitting, jewelry-making, wood-working, candle-making, and DIYing pretty much everything I can. At this point it’s almost become a bit of an ego thing, and if I know that I hypothetically could make something, I feel like I have to try it. All my closets are full to bursting with arts and crafts supplies at this point, but at least I never run out of ideas for gift-giving!

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