rosemary - ADMIN INTERVIEWS

athenated's interview

hello! this is new admin athena. scroll down to know more about me and my affair with graphics & other stuff ♥

1. tell us something about yourself!

i'm on my final year in college and i live for films, series and books that drive me to the edge of new stories and characters. one piece is best anime/manga.

2. why do you do graphics or write?

i make graphics and write because i like exploring and creating a flavor i can deem that is mine. on graphics, i learned to edit and befriend softwares in a young age so... i get to see the magic embodied in visuals. since i read a lot, i cannot help but be inspired to be read someday, too.

3. what are your recommended applications for making graphics?

i use photoshop (mainly, for everything), photoscape (when i have photoshop issues) and sai (for drawing & coloring).

photoshop is pretty complex at first but learning to use it is like teaching yourself aesthetic witchcraft. it is flexible and i even use it for gifs!

photoscape has a simpler ui (user interface), nice filters, and offers a lot of features such as batch editing, custom collages, gif making and filters.

sai or paint tool sai is a program mainly used for digital artists. i use it for drawing and coloring manga.

4. what are some good fonts i should use?

i usually go for the simpler ones. serifs and sans serif like good ol' arial, tw cent and times new roman. fonts which are easy to read are the best, of course.

5. what colors work well together when making covers?

deciding on colors depend on what suits 1) your story's mood and 2) your base image. so it's really down to choosing the best image for the graphic and story (if it's a cover). another note is that you have to be consistent on your colors and make sure that, like fonts, they are comprehensive or at least, good on the eyes.

one way of doing it is making a mood board,  search for pegs or derive palettes from your background image.

6. how do i know when my story or plot is cliché?

your story is cliché when your characters are flat, and you don't shed light to what makes something ordinary extraordinary. for example, you have a school-based story and you don't put in details to push readers to actually read it, then that's cliché. your work can be anybody's, just with a different school name and set of characters with different names.

7. where/how can i find inspiration on coming up with a plot that's interesting?

to be writing something new to the eyes requires a lot of experience on reading, exploring works and research. it's tiring and a long process. but i suggest a fun thing to do that will boost that creative brain!

listen to playlists. i prefer 8tracks over spotify but yeaaah. aside from prompts from tumblr, this will help you think of something. you might even want to make a playlist and maybe write a story along those songs or lyrics? :- )

8. how do you keep your readers interested in your stories?

cliffhangers and a lot of angst in character developments. like, giving life and putting suspense on every decision the characters make? things along that line. having characters that readers care about is what drives them to want to know more.

9. what is the best way to earn attention on what you do?

love what you do. the heart of everything is everything of the heart. put your heart into want you are doing, and pay attention to yourself—admire your own craft. experiment, explore and find people of the same interests. have a dialogue with them, improve yourself by joining others who also improve themselves. it could be on cover contests or just simply by writing a story and tagging it under wattpad communities' advocacies.

you just have to be patient. as long as you enjoy yourself and you open up to others, surely you will find people who will adore what you are passionate about!

i know, i know. it's long and exhausting to read but to those who stuck up until this note, thanks! don't be shy to approach me if you have questions. just comment them below or pm me :-) stay rad ★