The following is a list of questions I frequently get asked by people who have made my acquaintance.

While I (almost always) enjoy the curiosity and inquiry of other ethically acting humans (since I am after all, myself a very curious person), I have after many instances of answering the same question (often to different people of course, to whom the answer probably wasn’t known up until that point, or perhaps they simply forgot and so asked again) felt it somewhat necessary to just collect these questions and their respective answers here. Consider it, in some way, an interview with myself. Enjoy!

🎨 How did you learn to draw and paint like you do?
I picked up a pencil when I was a kid and always kept practicing. My mom and various people who raised me taught me a bit more here and there, as did art teachers at school, particularly about fundamentals like perspectives. After I had left school (at around 16 years old) I also “taught myself” digital art methods and software, thanks to freely available online tutorials put up by various other artists. The rest is just more applied practice.

🎨 What tools do you use to draw and make art?
As for digital tools and software, I’ve been using CLIP STUDIO PAINT for quite a while now. Before that I’ve also been using Krita. Recently, in 2024 that is, I also got very fond of Leonardo (a most fabulous name by the way), not least because it has the amazing “infinite canvas” feature.

Another really useful software is PureRef, which I use to have various visual references and moodboards all in one place, and look at them on a secondary screen.

When it comes to graphic design and vector art, I’ve been using Inkscape in the past, but have mostly been using the Affinity Suite.

I also use traditional and analog art tools like pens and pencils, and paper sketchbooks of various sizes. Mostly for, well… sketches and drafts, especially if I’m not at home and traveling (I’ve become quite fond of small Moleskine notebooks), but sometimes also for finished drawings. As finished as any drawing can be anyway.

Do you use any AI to create your artwork?
No, lol. I don’t see why I should use an artificial machine agent to do something that I’m fully capable (at least I think so) of doing without it. I pretty much only ever use tools (or agents) when the one’s I have and know how to use already don’t do what I want to do with them anymore, or if versions come along that really benefit me in my process, without causing harm in some other way. With drawing and painting in particular, I wouldn’t be training my own brain, mind, soul and body if I were to use an AI agent for those tasks, which is how one becomes better at their craft after all. Apart from that, various issues about datasets being full of “stolen art” scraped from the Internet without permission of the original human artists, real humans using AI to create fake images to incite real violence and conflict, create false narratives, historical forgeries etc., and the high energy cost of keeping the server farms running are part of why I want little to do with AI when it comes to being used for such purposes.

🥁 You say you’re a drummer. Why haven’t I ever seen or heard you drum? And why aren’t you in a band?
Well, here’s the short story. I started to play drums after high school, at about 16 years old or so. I had no drum kit of my own, so I saved up money to buy one (which was a lot for 16 year old me). Turns out that playing an acoustic drum kit in a city appartment comes with some auditive difficulties (it being quite loud, and the neighbours not being into that so much). I couldn’t play it as much as I wanted to for a pretty long time. I kinda got stuck in a sort of catch-22, of not being able to practice much, and without that not getting to a point where I’m good enough to play in a band. Besides, few people ever asked me if I wanted to join their band. Even musicians I knew that I mentioned to that I played drums. They either kept forgetting about that fact, or simply had no need of a drummer. I dunno, I can’t literally read other people’s minds and their intentions, and unfortunately for me, being a drummer is not something that is easily discernible from my looks (I don’t run around with a hat that says “Hi, I’m a drummer, do you want me in your band?” after all).

What do you think of Elon Musk?
What a peculiar little question. Well, I think many things about him. I was at a store recently to buy some art supplies, and just so happened to come across this:

That for instance, made me think about him. Maybe this answers your question, maybe it doesn’t.