Fanartist Focus #3 - Froggie!
Presenting Froggie!
In this installment of "Fanartist Focus" we are proud and honored to feature the excellent froggie. If you aren't familiar with her art, you have a treat in store for you today! froggie has a generous number of twin-inspired works within her impressive collection of fanart, all done in her individual, graceful style. She has a very different take on Fred and George than what we have seen thus far, infusing the twins' personas simultaneously with both boyish lust as well as lithe delicacy. Few other fanartists have the vision to interpret the twins as she does.
Twinspiration's mrsrittenrotten asked froggie our regular set of questions plus a few extra, so we can all get to know her, gain an insight into her thoughts on twincest in fanart, and enjoy her lovely twin creations.
froggie, welcome to Twinspiration! How did you first get interested in doing fanart in general and slash/twincest art specifically?
I've loved drawing since I can remember being able to hold a pencil. I've been doing "original" art for a long time. Fanart happened when I discovered online fandoms in the summer of my last year of junior high. I started tentatively drawing fanart in my freshman year as a break from "serious" art. Now, many years later, here I am.
What is your favorite media in which to work?
I love natural mediums. When I'm working on original art pieces, I try to be diverse: pencil, ink, watercolor, acrylic, charcoal, etc. I haven't been able to work with oils yet because the setup is very inconvenient for my current living situation. When I work in fanart, I tend to stick with pencil, ink, and watercolor - or some combination thereof. They're the fastest to work with, and I work the best with them. They're also very easy to scan, and they translate well to illustrative work.
What most inspires you to draw your fanart? Do you prefer creating art suggested by a scene in a specific story, or inventing your own original scenario?
It really depends on what I'm feeling. My fanart tends to be on the "erotica" side, so whatever side emotions I may have get incorporated into what I'm making at the time. If I post fanart and I'm feeling violent, you'll probably know it from whatever's depicted in the picture (hooray for S/M?). It's transparent, but I wouldn't change it if only because those works seem less stiff that way. I will be the first to admit that I pay no attention to canon whatsoever, except to make my characters recognizable if I feel the need. I've illustrated fanfiction before, but mostly my fanart just comes from my head.
How do you approach your composition? Where do you prefer to get image reference material? (photos, live models, etc)? What is the average amount of time you spend on a piece?
A lot of times my fanart is just kind of a side idea. It will occur to me in the middle of making breakfast, "I want to draw fanart/smut today!" And I will. There's not much organization involved with whatever I'm doing. I spend more time on trying to get the poses of the figures just right because anatomy is an important element in my work (and backgrounds are often bad because of this). I'm not so good at drawing clothing, so that's often forfeited. As far as reference goes, I have a folder of reference photos that I collect from random places on the internet, but that's mostly to get the gist of what the figures look like in certain poses. I rarely copy verbatim from a reference, and if I do, I try to make note of it. If I'm working on a piece for myself, it might take 1-3 hours for me to finish. If it's a piece for someone else, I spend a lot more time thinking about composition and tweaking everything just right, and it could take twice as long.
Do you paint other twins or just Fred and George?
I like dualities. I don't know if I've ever painted any other specific twins, but I'm sure I have. I'm always fascinated how twins are viewed as a single entity. It must be difficult when two different people are considered to have only one consciousness.
Do you agree with the conception of the twins as a single unit, and try to depict them as a unified team of two with a singular mentality, or do you see that as a misconception, which oversimplifies how their characters might be depicted in art?
I'm not sure if I have any one preference for how they're portrayed. In fic, for example, they may seem like a unified person from an outsider's point of view because they both look the same and finish each other's sentences. In the canon, they are depicted as such. In art, I like to use that quality as a way to create an eerie sort of feeling. Even though they're not the same person, it's strange to see them as such. If there's fic being written about them, I do prefer if they're depicted as different people at least to some degree. I would imagine it to be frustrating to be a twin, and to be seen as only half a person.
What are some of your main goals when painting twincest pieces? Do you have any problems or preferences you notice while you are creating your art?
I think the above kind of answers this; I'm interested in exploring the dualities of twins, and how they're viewed as one person twice instead of two people. The problems I encounter are pretty average; I don't think they're exclusive to any of the twincest pieces I do. The difficulty in creating my work is usually based in regular problems, such as composition, anatomy, and frustration with my own drawings. I have a bad habit of making very boring compositions, so I try to work on that, but since I don't have live models that I can pose, it's very difficult to create good compositions and be anatomically accurate at the same time.
Do you ever have trouble keeping the twins looking identical?
Not really, since all of the people I draw tend to look the same anyway. I have more of a problem making characters not look identical than the other way around.
Who are your favorite fanartists / favorite websites for fanart?
I really like hill_. I've been watching her artwork since I first got into fandom, and she seems to have so much fun creating her work. There are few artists who can make me laugh as hard. She also did a really beautiful H/D [NWS-nudity/69] that I'm pimping here because I think it's awesome and it reminds me of illustrations you'd find in old books. I've also recently discovered blackboggart's work, which I think is very beautiful and artistically sound. I look forward to seeing more from her.
'Kay, now that I've gotten the fangirl part out of my system... I spend more time looking at old art than fanart. I have literally piles of old art books that I've scavenged from used book stores, or from my grandmother, or as gifts. The only fanart websites that I visit (apart from LJ, of course) are y!gallery and deviantart(blegh).
Heh, why do you say (blegh) about DeviantArt?
My "blegh" comes from the attitude of DeviantArt. They have a whole section for "fetish" art, but it's apparently only fetish artwork if the subject is female. Naked men on deviantart are apparently obscene. The double-standard gives me a stomachache, and it also makes me see why there's so much focus on "akdkfjafskCOCK" in other circles; it's not like it can be expressed many other places.
What aspects of the twins and their relationship with each other or another character do you most like to emphasize in your work?
Again, for me, it's about the dualities. It fascinates me that two individuals can have such a deep connection initially at birth, and are seen as one person because of the way they look. It's a sort of eerie element, at least to me.
Who are your favorite characters to paint, if not the twins?
I tend to think of characters more compositionally than whatever's in their nature. If I want to draw red and orange with freckles, I'll draw the Weasleys. Red and black? Harry and Ron. Yellow and Black? Harry and Draco. For a darker piece, I can go with Snape and Harry because they both have black hair and people will focus more on their skin and faces instead of the differences in their hair color.
Might you do more twincest fanart in the future?
That's a definite yes. Considering the amount of fanart/smut that I churn out in a year, it's bound to happen.
What in your opinion can be improved upon in the fanart community overall?
I don't know, this is kind of a tricky question. Maybe less attention paid to random parts of the body (read: the abundance of "OMG COCK" everywhere). Although it's pretty understandable, since places like deviantart have ensured that it's perfectly fine to post naked women in ridiculous bondage gear, but never any naked men (no matter how artfully done). I guess I always wonder if fanartists make original art aside from their fanart. I've always wanted to see that. I don't know if that's a criticism of the fanart community, it's more of a curiosity.
You mention the overabundance of cock everywhere in fanart. In your opinion, is there too much of a concentration on overt explicit sex in fanart? Smut for the sake of drawing smut, with the emphasis on the sex rather than the art as characterization and storytelling? Does that (smut for smut's sake) somehow lessen the impact of the artist's work for you?
I'm a big believer in "modest" erotica, where things are implied. However, that's my overall preference for my own work. It's good to have smut for the sake of smut (which is a wonderful thing in itself!). I have trouble drawing that myself, but I admire others who can draw it so well. I love plotty fics and deep works as well. I think as long as people are creating things, that's what matters.
Do you do "regular" art outside of fanart?
I do a lot of "regular" art, and I plan to make it my career someday, or at least a big part of my life. There's a section in my main gallery for original art that I've created; some erotic, some completely unrelated. I have a particular fascination with humans and gender, which shows through my work a lot, and I favor natural media in both my regular and fan art.
Where can your art be seen online?
You can find my work at my livejournal gallery, with fanart and original work: http://pics.livejournal.com/froggie
And I also have a y!gallery: http://yaoi.y-gallery.net/user/frog
May we have permission to post/link to your twincest art in this interview?
You may link to the twins, yes :)
Dualities (it's about a year old, and I was drawing nothing but guys in skirts at the time<--hasn't changed much) [partial nudity/crossdressing]
Twins/Hermione [NWS-nudity/light bondage]
Twins/Harry [NWS-nudity/S&M]
Three Twinceststudies: One [nudity], Two [kiss], Three [nudity & a lovely lil' grope]
I can't recall having any other F/G art, but this has made me aware that I should make some more recent artwork, especially since my style has changed a lot since then.
Wonderful! Your twins really are things of beauty. Thank you so very much, froggie, for such a thoughtful, enlightening, and honest interview. It's been a pleasure to get to know you a bit, and to be able to enjoy your gorgeous interpretations of the Weasley twins. On behalf of twinspiration and its members, I thank you for letting me interview you, and I'm looking forward to seeing your next twin creation!
Be sure to check out froggie's art galleries to enjoy all her art, twinny and otherwise!
-- Mrsrittenrotten