RULES:

Answer each question in as much detail as you like. Skip anything you don't know or would prefer not to answer.

How many usernames have you had? (You don't have to share them!)

A few. Nightshade314 -> RefinedRaven -> and now Magutts

What does your current username mean?

Apparently some people don't know that it's just an alternate spelling of maggots!!! But it's meant to encapsulate my love of parasites and the grotesque. Maggots are a little strange though, as they aren't really known for being traditional parasites in the U.S. but they can be

What is the first program you used to make digital art?

Ms paint with a mouse babey.

Where did you first start posting your art?

DeviantArt!

What is the first piece of media you drew fanart for?

Definitely warrior cats. Before I had any sort of online presence, I was drawing full illustrations and making AMVs that have been lost to time just with ms paint, a mouse, windows media player, and a dream just like god intended. All for fun!

Who was your first self-insert/persona/fursona? What did they mean to you?

So offline, it was a siamese cat named Calemore based off the siamese webkinz that I still have to this day, but online it was Nightshade, a purple and black wolf with raven's wings, peak 2010's sona. They both meant a lot to me for different reasons. Calemore gave me a way to embrace inhumanity in my real life with my friends because we would be in perpetual RP mode all the time, like, I WAS Calemore at school essentially. And Nightshade allowed me to do the same online.

Who is your current self-insert/persona/fursona? How are they different to your first?

So I guess it would be Guttz the worm cause I don't consider the sheep a fursona so much as that's just literally how I conceptualize myself. Guttz is way more self-indulgent and creature than my first sonas. Love that thing.

What phases/styles has your art gone through? (e.g. Did you have an anime era, a cartoon style, a watercolour phase?)

Omg I've been through a few.

• When I first joined DA I was just drawing random OCs with no real story attached. Just drawing for the sake of drawing tbh.

• Self shipper and fan artist era with OCs mixed in.

• Decided I wanted to pivot into being a creature artist and made monster adopts for a hot second.

• Got with my ex and realized I wanted to do something similar to him and go for a muted color vintage aesthetic with my OCs since it looked fun.

• Broke up with my ex and realized I love color too much and I was forcing myself into a box so my art pivoted to being SUPER saturated. Also was a full OC artist at this point.

• Went to art school and learned there is a such thing as too saturated which made me reel it in a bit and find a happier medium. Also learned more about composition, values, project management etc. I started applying the things I learned in college to my art and really settling into an art identity. I also discovered textures and became obsessed with them.

• Currently learning how to stop lining things and just clean my sketches. I want my art to have a more intentionally unpolished look to it if that makes sense.

What/who do you think has influenced your art style the most?

The books I read, the shows and movies I watch, nature, my friends and the people I follow.

What/who inspired you to be an artist?

I became an artist out of spite lmao. My mom would always go on about how good at drawing my cousin was and my jealous kid brain just wanted to be better than her at ONE thing (totally don't still have weird hang-ups over being compared to her throughout my life) so I kept at it and never gave up until I "won". But tbh that was just an afterthought cause art had started to mean way more to me than that. It became my primary way of expressing my feelings and understanding myself since I struggled wording how I felt.

What tools are integral to your current workflow? (e.g. Programs, brushes, references.)

Gotta have Clip Studio Paint with my TrueGrit brush packs at the very least.

What improvements have you made recently?

Getting more loose with my art and trying to get better with color and texture application. I want to not always feel like I'm winging every piece.

What steps would you like to take in the future?

I want my bgs to be where my character art is which means I need to do them more and make them just as loose and fun!