https://artfight.net/~Shalmons
makin a last-minute poor decision to join;;
but i need help pickin my revenge style! :v
leave a comment on which of these 2 wepons i should use:
(no "both" since then i'd have to deduce what every attacker's preference is & that would take too long lol)
-the pixelizer:
your OCs will be pulverized into a single bit (AKA: 1-bit portraits)

or
-the pinisher:
your OCS will become flattened enamel decorations for an ita bag (AKA: fake pins)


Also here is my ArtFight strategy/TOS:
-i don't initiate attacks!
-but i will revenge any attacks of reasonable effort!
(meaning i won't revenge things that appear to be 2-minute joke scribbles relative to the rest of your work)
-i will double revenge attacks of extraordinary effort!
(3D stuff, animations that are more than just 2-frame bops, etc)
-you can attack me more than once if u really want to, i'll revenge it all! 😤
-if i get attacked a whole lot (like 15+), i may have to make some deliveries after the event officially ends, but i do intend to revenge all that warrant revenging! <3
-that being said, i will not revenge post-AF attacks (i gotta cap it somewhere lol!), so if u want to attack me, be sure to do so while the event is still going!
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!)
not counting any related variations, i think 3?
i will not share the other two lol;;;
but i would categorize them as: baby internet era, edgy internet era, and current era
What does your current username mean?
a portmanteau of my name & a fish
Where did you first start posting your art?
meriko's oekaki board, i'm pretty sure??
Who was your first self-insert/persona/fursona? What did they mean to you?
oh geez i don't even want to name them 😂 (but it was my baby internet era username)
they were a super special all-elemental dragon, such power, much wow
Who is your current self-insert/persona/fursona? How are they different to your first?
the li'l hoodie chicken w/glasses
they are wildly different lol
zero edge, just wants to be silly
What phases/styles has your art gone through? (e.g. Did you have an anime era, a cartoon style, a watercolour phase?)
hmmm i'm not sure on stylistic eras, since i've kinda settling on not really having one lol
but i definitely had some subject matter phases
pokemon & related self-inserts
cringe edgy story era
long exploratory era after that
i think i may be on the cusp of a new era now?? i'm starting to have a lot more ideas for original characters and stories, so here's hoping 👀
What/who do you think has influenced your art style the most?
i never know how to answer this, there's too much stuff i like 😭
What/who inspired you to be an artist?
i distinctly remember a kid in 1st grade who did cool art & i arbitrarily wanted to be better than them lol
thankfully i have grown to get my own enjoyment out of it~
What improvements have you made recently?
not sure in what ways exactly, but i have noticed that i no longer like most of my art that is over 5 yrs old?
so i guess that means i made a lot of general improvements in recent years
(it does seem to align with the time that i started getting into 3D stuff, which is interesting!)
What steps would you like to take in the future?
make those characters & stories i alluded to!
do some merch attempts
3D print something successfully 😭
keep on learnin'
• ART MEME •
How would you describe your art?
i suppose "versatile" is a nice way to put it 😅
as you can clearly see in my gallery, i have a very difficult time sticking to one thing!!
Are you self-taught?
i would say partially, yes??
i was technically schooled in graphic design and took some art electives, but uh;;; i eventually realized that i just don't retain information well in group settings (pls don't look at any of my graphic design work)
(i will say that one of the few things that really stuck was a watercolor class i took)
other than that, post-school self-teaching is 100% where i experienced the most improvement! 3D in particular i'm completely self-taught in (and still have way more to learn)--never touched that in any of my "official" schooling.
Do you prefer to make digital or traditional art?
digital will probably always be my main thing, but in more recent years i've been trying to maintain an interest in traditional stuff as well. i keep a ton of sketchbooks & would like to do more real watercolor painting sometime.
i've also been wanting to try more needlefelting--i've only slightly dabbled & it is so therapeutic lol
Why do you draw? What’s your goal?
i'm happy to say that at this point in my life it just feels good :')
as for goals, i have, like;;; a bajillion projects/ideas;;;; finishing any fraction of them would be great lol
in particular i would love to finish my game or at least put out a demo so ppl know what it's like to some extent 😅
What inspires you?
nature is a biggie for sure (there is so much wild stuff out there, it kinda boggles my mind how a lot of fantasy stuff actually pales in comparison lol)
late 80's to early 00's games that are heavy in pixelart or lowish poly 3D (esp any games that combine those -chefs kiss-)
How do you feel about your own art? Do you find it cool, or bad, or something? Is there something you want to change?
i've learned to not be so negative about it anymore, and instead turn that negativity into the philosophy that improvement has no ceiling 😤 i try to learn every day! (ok, one break day each week to prevent burnout lol)
that being said, areas that need improvement:
-my technical side has always been a huge weakness & this shows a ton in my 3D stuff lol. i can make something nice to look at, but as soon as you ask me to make in function in a game or make it printable i'm completely lost 😭 i find that type of thing very intimidating, but i'm hoping to force myself to learn more of it later this year for an IRL thing
-backgrounds of any kind!!! i even already enjoy creating components of scenery, i just get intimidated trying to put it all together lol
-expressions!!! i work in a lot of styles/subjects where facial expressions are not really the focus, so idk maybe i should try making a little comic or something?
• YOU AND OTHERS •
How old were you when you first published a drawing?
🤔🤔🤔🤔
i think
it actually goes further back than dA--meriko's oekaki board probably???? so like 11ish?
shouts-out to all the older ppl there who were nice to me even tho i was probably being horribly cringe lol
What attracts you to others’ art?
my tastes are as versatile as my own art, so that can be hard to nail down lol 😂
but if i had to try, i guess i would say:
vibrant color (although B&W can be lovely--i especially enjoy grayscale pixelart)
strong shapes
diverse character/creature design
What do you like/dislike about the art community?
Like: the general "indie spirit" of it. i love venues where unknowns can get a chance to shine!
also the general boundlessness of it. every day i see dozens of ppl i've never seen before creating fantastic stuff & that's exciting to me. the good art never ends!!
Dislike: Any snobby gatekeepy type stuff. For every "don't do ____" statement about art technique, there's a 98% chance someone has broken that rule in a wonderful way.
(This is why I'm so picky about tutorials--the second the attitude start getting too absolutist with the do's and don'ts, i'm outta there lol)
I also dislike the elements of social media that have made it hard for artists to enjoy art for art's sake. I'm very grateful to have reached that state of mind already, but I feel terrible for those who aren't there yet & are having to contend with the nonsensical pressure to "contentify" everything and compete with obtuse algorithms.
• BONUS QUESTIONS •
Your most vivid memory connected with art/with the art community?
tbh, any "senpai noticed" moments lol :')
i have a dedicated screencap folder for any time a dev shares my fanart of their work or stuff like that haha;;
Could you leave art forever?
not voluntarily!!!!
didn't want to spend a whole lot of time on this so i ended up w/a disproportionate amount of videogame/non-lyrical stuff lol
S- ing When No One's Around -The Reign of Kindo
H- alfway Right -Linkin Park
A- ntarctic Oscillation -Chris Christodoulou
L- evel 1 -Tim/Geoff Follin (kinda cheating w/this one, it doesn't seem to have an official title lol)
M- ind of a Dreamer -BeaT
O- pus No. 1 -Tim Carleton/Darrick Deel
N- evermore -Sanxion7
S- ky is Falling -Amberian Dawn