Bits N Bobs

Hello Readers! Tonight we're talking with the artist Julie aka Bits N Bobs. Julie does wonderful figures and scrapkits. You can visit her main blog here and her tutorial blog here. You can also purchase her tubes at PICSFORDESIGN.
Thank you so much for talking with us Julie.

1) How did you become a part of the psp tube community?
By chance really.
I first got the internet about 10 years ago now and at that time I was heavily into cross stitching.
The very first group I joined was a cross stitch forum on about.com
Some of the ladies had these little signatures with small dolls and lots of glitter and being the sparkle fanatic I was had to find where they were all coming from so I could get some for myself.
That was how I came across my first signature forums which were over at delphiforums.
One thing led to another and I came across a wonderful site called The Guild where tubes were being sold.The rest as they say is history.

2) What does your artwork mean to you?
Everything. No matter what I create it is a part of my life.
Due to various illness I never go out much so the computer became a part of me very quickly.
Also I am a terrible hoarder when it comes to anything my family or I create whether it is on the computer or on paper so this has been an extension of that with numerous discs and hard drives.
It is amazing looking back at first creations just how far we progress.

3) What inspires you in creating your artwork?
Anything and everything. I especially love browsing around the internet or reading through books just for inspiration.
On occasion I will even dream of what I want to try next LOL

4) How long have you been selling psp tubes?
What I call proper tubes only really a few months.
Prior to that it was poser tubes.

5) How do you create your artwork? Is it by hand
or digitally? What tools do you use in doing the artwork?
All my artwork is created digitally.
It is just so much easier especially being able to create on separate layers and the eraser tool is a godsend.
Mostly I use psp9.
I have an intuos3 tablet and photoshop but I have been using psp for so long it just seems easier.
Main tools I use when creating tubes are the push and smudge tools as well as the pen tool.
Tool that gets the most use though has to be the eraser. smile

6)Aside from psp tubes, what else do you create with your artwork?
Apart from scrap kits I create greeting card sheets for people to make their own cards, cross stitch patterns, cards, Incredimail stationary and jigsaw puzzles.

7) As you have developed your style and artwork, which artists
have influenced you?
Very difficult to pinpoint just one or two but Cris Ortega, Jamie Kidd, Athur Crowe, Ismael Rac, Jose Cano and Alex Prihodko have to be amongst my favorites

8) Does the psp community help artists become more well known
with getting their names and artwork more visible?
Absolutely. Without the psp community many artists were and would remain unknown.
I think the likes of taggers and tutorial writers advertise the work of artists much more that most artists realise.

9) What do you enjoy the most about being part of the psp community?
The friendships have to be top of the list.
Such a wide variety of talent around especially in signature forums.
Many are happy to welcome you in and treat everyone like extended family.

10) What are some of your favorite art pieces which you have done and why?
My tastes change depending on my mood but at the moment 'Temptress' is my current favourite because here fingers actually look like fingers
instead of little fat sausages LOL

11) Do you prefer tags with your art tubes animated or non animated? Or are both great to you?
I think it all depends on the tag but I love all tags. I am such a siggy piggy.


12) Do you do commissions for taggers? How about ideas for tubes which taggers may have?
I haven't ventured into commissions at the moment and don't think I will for a while.
At least until I have more confidence in my own work but welcome all ideas smile

13) Is there anything which you don't allow to be done with your artwork? For example mirroring, animation, etc.
Not really in regards to tagging. I Am happy with most things.

14) Would you like to receive tags which our readers may do featuring your artwork? We often love to send the artists tags by our readers.
Oh absolutely yes please. I am particularly addicted to forum sets *wink*

Verymany Interview

Hello Readers! Tonight we are talking with the husband and wife team of Verymany; Ann and Alex. You can find their psp tubes at PFD.You can also find tubes at their store as well. Thank you for talking with us tonight.

1) How did you become a part of the psp tube community?

We've been working as a freelance illustrators for a several years. About two years ago we learned about the psp tube community and liked this idea very much.

2) What does your artwork mean to you?

We love our work and love to make taggers happy with new ideas. We're delighted with creation of our artworks so it means a lot for us.

3) What inspires you in creating your artwork?

One can say that we're inspired by the process of creating tubes.

4) How long have you been selling psp tubes?

About 1,5 years.

5) How do you create your artwork? Is it by hand or digitally?

The first tubes were initially by hand and then we finished them digitally using Photoshop. During a year and a half our skills have been advancing and now we do tubes digitally in full using Photoshop and a lot of its brushes.

6) Aside from psp tubes, what else do you create with your artwork?

We continue to work as a freelance illustrators.

7) As you have developed your style and artwork, which artists have influenced you?

We want to create our own unique style so we try not to come under influence of other artists.

8) Does the psp community help artists become more well-known with getting their names and artwork more visible?

Of course, we're more recognizable now than when we started in psp.

9) What do you enjoy the most about being part of the psp community?

Undoubtedly the fact that our work finds a broad response.

10) What are some of your favorite art pieces which you have done and why?

We don't have favorite art pieces, but we like more those, which was created not long ago.

11) Do you prefer tags with your art tubes animated or non-animated? Or are both great to you?

One can find a lot of beautiful tags in both.

12) Do you do commissions for taggers? How about ideas for tubes which taggers may have?

Yes we do. Taggers may have absolutely different ideas, except indecent ideas:)

13) Is there anything which you don't allow to be done with your artwork? For example mirroring, animation, etc.

No, we allow everything:)

14) Would you like to receive tags which our readers may do featuring your artwork? We often love to send the artists tags by our readers.

Certainly! It is always interesting for us to see tags with our tubes, it will be great! Also we have a facebook group called VERYMANYART, so we'll be glad if taggers post their tags there: http://www.facebook.com/groups/117944268288386/

Thank you for the interesting questions!

Ann&Alex aka Verymany

Anna Liwanag

Today we are visited by the talented artist Anna Liwanag. Anna has a unique art style that sets her apart from other artists. You can visit her website and purchase her tubes from CDO & PFD.

Thank you so much for talking with us Anna.

1) How did you become a part of the PSP tube community?

A former co-worker referred me to a PSP tube store and it started from there.

2) What does your artwork mean to you?

It's everything. Through my art, I earn, I meet people, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment and bliss.  It keeps me sane. So yeah, it's everything. I'm pretty bad at everything else.

3) What inspires you in creating your artwork?

I'm inspired by a lot of things and it's not very hard to get me inspired. One time, the sunray was passing through the kitchen window and it hits the rice in the rice cooker and it was sparkling. I thought it was the most beautiful thing that I saw that day so it inspired me to do some artworks. Random things, nature, and instrumental music inspire me the most.

4) How long have you been selling PSP tubes?

I think it's been 3 years now.

5) How do you create your artwork? Is it by hand or digitally? What tools do you use in doing the artwork?

I oil paint and do digital paintings but for artworks for PSP tubes, I do them digitally. Some of my old works were sketched traditionally then colored in Photoshop but I think just sketching straight in Photoshop saves a lot of time so I dropped the former process. Photoshop and Wacom tablet are my main tools.

6) Aside from psp tubes, what else do you create with your artwork?

Some of my artworks are available as prints over at PTE and I'm currently in the process of providing graphics for websites. I also used to provide artworks for a game company and do storyboards and animatics for an advertising studio.

7) As you have developed your style and artwork, which artists have influenced you?

I love looking at the works of oil painting masters---Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Waterhouse, Sargent, Zorn, and a lot more. Their works ignite something in me. They are paintings that refuse to be ignored.

8) Does the psp community help artists become more well known with getting their names and artwork more visible?

Yes, of course! My website have hits coming from PSP tube blogs and from google search using keywords like "psp tubes" or "tubes" so thank you all so much!

9) What do you enjoy the most about being part of the psp community?

I love seeing people getting their creative fix using my artwork. Their one finished work is a collaboration between two or more artists which I think is cool! I love how they can turn my work into something else!

10) What are some of your favorite art pieces which you have done and why?

For personal work, I'm loving "Peyote". It's my cell phone wallpaper and it grew on me. I think it's the stare. For PSP tubes, I like my "Butterfly" and "Pink" pinups because I love doing portraits. I like painting the face and hair the most.

11) Do you prefer tags with your art tubes animated or non animated? Or are both great to you?

I love them both! I collect them.

12) Do you do commissions for taggers? How about ideas for tubes which taggers may have?

I'd like to hear some ideas. I get brain dead and get stuck on what to do next sometimes. I will also do commissions when it's not a rush commission (like you want it asap).

13) Is there anything which you don't allow to be done with your artwork? For example mirroring, animation, etc.

Everything is fine. I support your creative juices so please keep them flowing~~~

14) Would you like to receive tags which our readers may do featuring your artwork? We often love to send the artists tags by our members.

Yes, please. I'd love to see what people did. I actually google them and save them in a folder. I now have a growing folder, they're all great! Thank you all so so so much!!!

Serg Grafik

Today we are visited by the artist Serg Grafik. He is selling tubes at Pics For Design or PFD.
Thank you for speaking with us today Serg. As Serg speaks Russian, I will also have this translated for him
and others who also speak Russian below the English verison.

1) How you did become the part of the community of the plug of psp? My friend Of eugene Of rzhevskii invited me to [pouchastvovat] in his project picsfordesign.com This was approximately one year ago. In this time I drew a certain number of artistic works and I continue to make this. I hope many artistic works in front:)

2) What your artistic work it does mean to you? First of all drawing is this enthusiasm and the profession of my entire life. This the possibility to make the fact that can please people, I hope. This is self expression.

3) What does inspire you in to create your artistic work? [O], much that is what can inspire me! You will not transfer in all. Certainly beautiful and interesting people. All possible works of the syn. book, films… Hardly I can name the concrete that.

 4) How long you did sell the plugs of psp? Approximately one year with the small interruptions. This is the my basic form of activity.

5) How you do create your artistic work? It by hand or is digital? What tools you do use in to make artistic work? Everything begins from the idea in my head. Pravda sometimes idea is born directly on the paper:) Sketch I sketch by usual pencil on the paper or into adobe of photoshop, sketchbook of pro, sai. Then I work with the color in adobe of photoshop or sai if this scanning drawing. If this vector drawing I use adobe of illustrator. I count that the main thing not tool, but he is the fact that obtained as a result.

6) Besides the plugs of psp, such as others you are created with your artistic work? I sell my artistic works and photographs on the sites of istock, shutterstock, fotolia. Therefore designers use my works. Still I sketch and photograph to order.

 7) In proportion to you did begin your type and the artistic work, to which the artists did influence you? To transfer names there is no sense! Them much and in each artist exists to what to learn. But it is not possible to copy strange style and handwriting! In no case! Unfortunately such sometimes is encountered… Concerning my style. My style constantly changes. I always search for the new that. And as each artist I am not very contented by my works. Otherwise I would stand on the spot and anywhere it did not move…

8) The community of psp does help artists to begin more known to obtain their names and artistic work those more seen? Certainly! Aid it is difficult not to note:)

 9) To what you do delight in by large part about to be the part of the community of psp? I learned so many people! This is healthy! To me pleasantly that people pleases the fact that I I make!

Сегодня мы навещаны художником Serg Grafik. Он продает пробки на Pics для конструкции или PFD. Вы для говорить с нами сегодня Serg. По мере того как Serg говорит русского, я также буду иметь это переведено для его и другие которые также говорят русского.

1) Как вы стали частью общины пробки psp?

Мой друг Eugene Rzhevskii пригласил меня поучаствовать в его проекте picsfordesign.com

Это было примерно один год назад. За это время я нарисовал некоторое количество художественных работ и продолжаю это делать. Надеюсь много художественных работ впереди :)

2) Чего ваше художественное произведение значит к вам?

В первую очередь рисование это увлечение и профессия всей моей жизни. Это возможность делать то что может нравиться людям, надеюсь. Это самовыражение.

3) Что воодушевляет вас в создавать ваше художественное произведение?

О, много чего может меня воодушевлять! Всего не перечислишь. Конечно красивые и интересные люди. Всевозможные произведения искусств. Книги, фильмы... Вряд ли я смогу назвать что то конкретное.

4) Сколько времени вы продавали пробки psp?

Примерно один год с небольшими перерывами. Это не основной мой вид деятельности.

5) Как вы создаете ваше художественное произведение? Оно вручную или цифрово? Какие инструменты вы используете в делать художественное произведение?

Все начинается с идеи в моей голове. Правда иногда идея рождается прямо на бумаге :)

Эскиз я рисую обычным карандашом на бумаге или в adobe photoshop, sketchbook pro, sai.

Затем я работаю с цветом в adobe photoshop или sai если это растровая графика. Если это векторная графика я использую adobe illustrator. Я считаю что главное не инструмент, а то что получается в итоге.

6) Кроме пробок psp, какие другие вы создаются с вашим художественным произведением?

Я продаю свои художественные работы и фотографии на сайтах istock, shutterstock, fotolia. Поэтому мои работы используют дизайнеры. Еще я рисую и фотографирую на заказ.

7) По мере того как вы начинали ваши тип и художественное произведение, которому художники влияли на вас?

Перечислять имена нет смысла! Их очень много и у каждого художника есть чему поучиться. Но нельзя копировать чужой стиль и почерк! Ни в коем случае! К сожалению такое иногда встречается...

Что касается моего стиля. Мой стиль постоянно меняется. Я всегда ищу что то новое. И как каждый художник я не очень доволен своими работами. Иначе я бы стоял на месте и никуда не двигался...

8) Община psp помогает художникам стать более известный с получать их имена и художественное произведение более видимыми?

Конечно же! Помощь трудно не заметить :)

9) Чему вы наслаждаетесь большой частью о быть частью общины psp?

Я узнал так много людей! Это здорово! Мне приятно что людям нравится то что я делаю!