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AMA - Who’s Your Waifu?
🕑 Added 2023-06-26 00:10:26 +0000 UTCQ: “Is there a particular character you haven’t drawn yet that you’d like to? Or better yet, a favorite hot toon waifu?”
A:
I have kind of a weird relationship with fanart: There’s lots of characters that I love, but I have shockingly little internal compulsion to draw other people’s characters.
Like many nerds, I became aware of girls in the way that young boys do when I found myself being exceptionally invested in the relationships of cartoon ladies.
As a kid, I shipped April O’Neil and Leonardo, Gadget Hackwrench and Chip, Maid Marian and Fox Robin Hood (everyone thinks fox Robin Hood is dreamy), Elisa Maza with Goliath.
Yeah, I watched a lot of Disney as a kid.
But then when I guess I was around 14, I was introduced to Anime. Specifically, Neon Genisis Evangelion.
While Asuka was my girl, it was Ms Misato that really did it for me. I’ll let you make of that what you will.
And then I proceeded to fall for seemingly every Purple Haired Badass Anime Lady.
There were no shortage of them at the time.
We’re magnificently in an era where we are SPOILED for good cartoons. So many great shows out of both hemispheres. Too many for me to keep up with them all. I’ve loved many many characters from many many many shows. Usually the spunky ladies who get shy around the boy they like and their whole relationship is this delicate will they won’t they, goddamnit please please let them fucking hook up already!
I’ve drawn a great many “toon waifus” over the years, but almost always because someone asked me to. I don’t know why, but I just don’t have a strong compulsion to draw characters I love if they’re not mine. I’m far more likely to discover a character and think “oh! How can I incorporate this thing I love into something new that’s mine” than I am to think “so hawt, gotta draw lewd Turanga Lela!” (I’ve been binging Futurama this last week.) for instance, I’ve been weirdly obsessed with Alice in Wonderland since forever, but I don’t think I’ve ever draw Disney’s Alice, or American McGee’s Alice even, but I’ve drawn multiple original-design characters based on Alice!
That said, when I do get requests for characters I like I’m usually really here for it! So clearly it’s not that I don’t enjoy making fanart, I just don’t have a strong impulse to do it.
And if I had fewer original comics to make, I’d probably spend some time doing something about that. But I’ve so many originals to draw, and boy howdy do I like drawing them.
If you have a question for me, feel free to leave it in the comments below or DM me and it may get answered in a post!
Comments
Aaron Hamrick
Loona from helluva boss!! :)
DM_5
If "Badass women with purple hair" is your thing, have you ever seen or played the Shantae games?
Garth Graham
Awww. Thank you!
Roku006
It makes sense that you don't wanna draw other characters on your own time. I don't wanna assume it happens, but Burnout Syndrome is a thing and not to mention you wanna make time for your own ideas too. Which the latter is great and that's how we get amazing things like Empress Marehsh, who I will never stop obsessing over. Although, with your creative mind it's also nice to see known characters in a new and sexy light with your style incorporated, I am still so in love with your iteration of Hornet from Hollow Knight, it's so beautiful and inspiring. Whatever you are doing I can't sing your praises enough, you do a fantastic job and thank you for your time and efforts, I am always looking forward to seeing more from you.
AyuVince
So you had a thing for purple haired cougars? (For a teenager, a 29-year old like Misato counts as a cougar) We have a real man of culture here!
Garth Graham
It’s real hard to not like a red head.
Nimrod009
Ah, April O'Neil and Asuka... Those, in particular, are the two characters I can trace my preference for redheads to, as well as other tastes, April always getting tied up and Askuas' tight and shiny plugsuit.
Jarl Matt of Thundroar Isle
Elisa and Goliath get my vote, lol. One of my favorite Disney couples. I love Gargoyles! I watched it on Toon Disney late at night.
Terrence S
Okay…the Elisa and Goliath one is amazing. And I find this awesome, given that I just started rewatching the series on Disney+ (the last time I ever watched it, it was still being aired on Toon Disney). I’m on episode 3!
