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| Empyreon; SE Interview #3 | |
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| Topic Started: Sep 18 2010, 05:15 PM (880 Views) | |
| Pando | Sep 18 2010, 05:15 PM Post #1 |
Obey or I'll send you to the moon
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This interview is from our Empyreon and Pandorasaurus. The bold is from Pandorasaurus (me), the normal text is Empyreons answer. 1) How did you first get interested in speculative evolution? That's going to be hard to pin down, since I've been thinking up weird critters since I was little. Over time the desire grew to make them more plausible, and eventually I was putting quite a bit of thought into their development. At some point I watched The Future is Wild and read Barlowe's Expedition, which both fascinated me, and after which the concept of speculative evolution really began to crystallize in my mind. The interest really came to the foreground in my life about a year ago, when I started my project, and I scoured the internet to see what kind of resources I could find. 2) How did you come up with the technique that you use to make the pictures of your Nereids? I think the initial inspiration for the style that I use to present my nereids was one of those Eyewitness videos about animals. I liked how many of the different creatures were isolated on a white background; it really made them stand out to me. My technique itself, that of building each species three dimensionally in Google SketchUp then using that as a model for traditional 2D artwork and Photoshop coloring, probably came from familiarity than anything else. I've been very pleased with how user friendly SketchUp has been in comparison to other 3D programs, but I wanted to see if I could make things more organic than the myriad spaceships I'd done up to that point. The program certainly has its drawbacks (I doubt I'll ever see a realistic rendering out of it) but it's suited my needs just fine. The pencilling and Photoshop is something I've been doing for years. I had graduated away from stick figures before I could read, and my first acquaintance with Photoshop was love at first sight. I'm always looking to improve those core skills, and the Nereus project has challenged me from time to time. 3) What's your favorite Nereid? That's a question I frequently ask myself. When I've completed all of them then maybe one will stand out as the all time champion nereid, but they're all so appealing to me in their own ways that picking a favorite has always been difficult. From time to time one will stand out to me as particularly interesting (right now it seems to be the tiger kupala) but I have no doubt that my interest will shift to many other nereids. 4) What's your favorite speculative evolution project besides Nereus? I'm going to have to say Furaha. The aliens are so imaginative without stretching plausibility too far, and the artwork is light-years beyond my own! 5) Who is your idol in the Speculative Evolution field? My all time hero when it comes to fascinating and plausible life forms is Orson Scott Card, for his work in Speaker for the Dead. Nothing has opened my mind to possibilities more than the life cycles of the Pequeninos, and Card's masterful storytelling brings his creations to life. 6) Why did you choose Xenobiology instead of Future or Alternative evolution? The truth is actually a lack of knowledge on my part. For future or alternative evolution an almost comprehensive knowledge of the source species is required in order for ideas to be plausible. Projects in xenobiology are much more flexible as I see it; if I want to make something with a particular bauplan I can build an appropriate evolutionary path from scratch. One day I'd like to learn enough to do an alternative or future spec project, but I'm having so much fun with Nereus it will be some time in the future. 7) Do you participate in any projects besides Nereus? I did a Creature of the Month once, and I've given input in a lot of other projects, but I'm not actively involved in anything other than Nereus. Sadly, my schedule doesn't permit me to dedicate much more time to the community. 8) Why did you join the Speculative Evolution board in the first place? As I was gearing up for my Nereus project I wanted to find a place where I could bounce my ideas around. I never thought I'd find one as rich and imaginative as SE, though. There are lots of brilliant speculators out there with amazing ideas and talent, but there's only one place where they can all come together! Okay, this wraps it up. It was a good interview! Awesome! |
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| Sliver Slave | Sep 18 2010, 06:36 PM Post #2 |
I'm going back to basics.
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Great interview! Goo to see someone who likes Furaha. Nereus is a worthy successor. |
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| Holbenilord | Sep 19 2010, 02:51 PM Post #3 |
amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin, monotonous whine of accursed flutes
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Furaha isn't dead just yet. |
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| Sigmund Nastrazzurro | Sep 25 2010, 04:56 PM Post #4 |
Curator, Institute of Furahan Biology
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Furaha dead!? I know Evan Black (Empyreon) knows better, and I thank Holbenilord for stating that Furaha "isn't dead just yet". Ha! Just try to find another speculative biology project that's been alive for as long as Furaha: there isn't one! What's visible nowadays is the blog, but there is more than meets the eye... |
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| Holbenilord | Sep 26 2010, 10:40 AM Post #5 |
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amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin, monotonous whine of accursed flutes
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Good to hear it! Furaha still has space for expansion. |
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| El Squibbonator | Sep 26 2010, 10:59 AM Post #6 |
The Third Child
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How did Nereus get to be so big? |
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| Dragon wasp | Sep 26 2010, 01:45 PM Post #7 |
Prime Specimen
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it just, you know, did.
Edited by Dragon wasp, Sep 26 2010, 01:45 PM.
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| Holbenilord | Sep 26 2010, 02:00 PM Post #8 |
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amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin, monotonous whine of accursed flutes
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Dedicated effort and a lot of feedback. |
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| Pando | Sep 26 2010, 04:07 PM Post #9 |
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Obey or I'll send you to the moon
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And the fact that he has the best "artwork" in SE, detailed species descriptions, and a website with a taxonomy system for the creatures. |
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| El Squibbonator | Sep 26 2010, 05:33 PM Post #10 |
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The Third Child
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Oh, great one, I wish to learn at the feet of a master! |
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| Dragon wasp | Sep 26 2010, 05:35 PM Post #11 |
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Prime Specimen
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wait did he draw the pictures himself??????? |
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| Pando | Sep 26 2010, 05:50 PM Post #12 |
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Obey or I'll send you to the moon
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The answer is in question #2. |
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| Dragon wasp | Sep 26 2010, 05:51 PM Post #13 |
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Prime Specimen
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oh cool |
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| Empyreon | Sep 26 2010, 07:35 PM Post #14 |
 
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I pride myself on having 100% original artwork on my website. And the reason Nereus got so big is because I always set out for it to be rather sizable. The feedback from everyone has been invaluable and helped me to refine my material, but I think the biggest secret behind the project's size and longevity has been my own interest in seeing what I can come up with. |
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| Fakey | Oct 11 2010, 06:52 PM Post #15 |
An unreasonable man. Post Rank: What The?
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Wish I had that kind of motivation. |
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