Gninrom Art Feature

AG: What is your name?

Gn: My name is Matti Virtanen. Haha! I know it sounds weird to English ears, almost all the Finnish names does. Friends call me Masa or Max. In art I use Hc or Gnin/Gninrom.

AG: Where are you from?

Gn: I'm from Finland. The cold and expensive place behind god's back where the president looks like female version of Conan O'Brien lol!

AG: How long have you been drawing?

Gn: Since I was a kid! Don't we all Haha! I remember when I made my first smut pics and my mom found those... Embarassing.

AG: Is Art a chosen career choice or a hobby?

Gn: I would love it to become as a career but for now it's still a hobby in which I use very much of time =P

AG: Do you possess any formal training i.e. college, workshops, through work experience etc?

Gn: No I acturally dont. Everything I know I've learned myself. I remember how hard I tried when I made my first digital piece. After that I felt horrible. Of course it looked like a total mess. I wanted so hard to become one of the good artists and share my stuff to everyone. Then I just bit my teeth together and made a piece after another. Nowadays I'm actually starting to be pleased what I see, but of course there's lot to learn =).


AG: Which media do you most enjoy? Least enjoy?

Gn: I've always loved pencils cos you can take them anywhere with yo u=).
And I do enjoy of sketching very much. Drawing a super dirty gay smut pic while sitting in a bus when there's an old lady next to you is actually quite fun XD.
I apologize from all the shocked old ladies. Hahaha!

There's actually not much I don't like, except cleaning linearts and tight deadlines for commissions and such. I hate it when people fuss =P

AG: What is your creative process? Do you have one?

Gn: First I have to know what I wanna draw and how I want it to look, then I choose the weapons =). Usually I grab my pens and start making pre-sketches and then continue it digitally. Sometimes I just open a new canvas in CS4 and start to ink right away. It often takes a lot of cleaning which I hate the most.

AG: What is your main source of inspiration?

Gn: Oh wow! There's so many! Hahaha! Morning cartoons! Comics, Anime series lol
Mostly toons at the moment. It changes much, it depends which mood I'm on but mostly all these things inspire me very much, especially other artists fine work that makes me want to become better =)

AG: Do you have any favourite artists?

Gn: Yeah I have, MANY haha!! First the Historical. I love Michelangelo's art! Even women were muscular as hell! Though his males could have had bigger dongs Hahaha!!

And my most favourite modern artists are : Alex Ross, Patrick Fillion, Jacob Mott, Tom Of Finland and many many more! This list would just go on...


AG: Are you currently working on any projects?

Gn: Yes I am! I have huge pile of commissions and 2 comics under work.
One of those comics is a dirty doujin of Japanese Anime series Naruto.
And the other one is a secret!

AG: Has your work ever been published?

Gn: No not yet. But I actually have a big project i'm working on!
I'm so excited about it but I gotta keep my mouth shut! Sorry!
I'll make a huge deal of it when it's the right time, I promise=)

Oh! and I gotta thank Patrick for featuring my art on his Boytoons Mag.

AG: Any advice you would like to offer to our aspiring artists out there?

Gn: Yeah I do! As all the others have said also I'm gonna say it too! Don't ever give up!! You can always improve your stuff so don't feel bad if you didn't quite make it this time! It takes a lil time and practice to get better and I know it feels frustrating sometimes but you'll get there if you try as hard as you can =) And remember to NOT burn yourself out!

AG: Cake or Pie?

Gn: HAAAAAAHA!! Dirty dirrrtty hahaha! Or is it just me?
Well, I gotta go for the cake!! Cos we have these Karjalanpiirakat in Finland and they really look like... Okay, I'm not gonna go there XD

AG: Any other comments?

Gn: Yes! Thank you very much


Thanks Gnin!

You can see more of Gninrom's work on his blog and his Y!Gallery.

Images©Gninrom
DO NOT REDISTRIBIUTE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION!

Art: Francesco D'Macho & Damien Crosse by Chaz

Another commission but this time from Chaz.

This was done in December '08

Francesco & Damien is just the cutest couple ever!

You can see more of them and their work at their website, Stag Homme Studios.

Also don't forget to visit Chaz's blog too!

Art©Chaz

DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION!

Art: Black & Blue With Love by FallenMessiahX

A commission FMX did for me in May '08.

Money well spent.

Thanks FMX! <3

FYI, the flag in the background symbolises leather pride. It has the name "Black and Blue with Love" hence the title.

Character©Adam G
Art©FallenMessiahX

DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION

Chaz Feature

AG: What is your name?

C: Carlos, although I sign as Chaz most of the time.

AG: Where are you from?

C: I was born in Venezuela but live in Barcelona, Spain since 2006.

AG: How long have you been drawing?

C: Since I was a kid! I even won a couple of art contests in school. ;)

AG: Is Art a chosen career choice or a hobby?

C: Both. I'm a Graphic Designer and currently work for a company. I also do some freelance work in illustration and comics, which I really enjoy.

AG: Do you possess any formal training i.e. college, workshops, through
work experience etc?

C: Yes, I do. I studied Graphic Design, I developed my natural skills, learned techniques, and design foundations. My work experience is abot 20 years old. I've worked in both, illustration and design since I was studying design.

AG: Which media do you most enjoy? Least enjoy?

C: Nothing compares (to me) to pencil drawing. I really like sketching and then tightening those pencils.

What I like the least is coloring, specially laying flat colors on comics, but once I begin "sculpting" flat colors, lights and shadows come out and then I begin to enjoy coloring.

It's like a challenge to me, so I face it even if I don't like it at first and do my best to get killer colors.

The good thing is every time I begin a new project, I learn a lot from it, so it never gets boring.

AG: What is your creative process? Do you have one?

C: Not really. I just read a script or a brief idea for a commission, and then I just go for it. Sometimes I achieve a good shot from the first attempt, but there are several other times I have to make lots of sketches, try different poses and points of view, to get what I want.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist. When I see a finished piece after any given time, I feel like I could have done better, even if I like the results ;)

AG: What is your main source of inspiration?

C: Human anatomy, special male anatomy of course! Also nature, plants and animals, fantasy, magic etc.

AG: Do you have any favourite artists?

C: Most impressionists (Manet, Monet, Van Gogh, Matisse), art nouveau like Toulouse-Lautrec's, and also Dalí.

As for comics artists, I like Ed Benes, the late Mike Wieringo and of course, Patrick Fillion and Tom of Finland!

There are a lot of talented gay artists nowadays, such as Jozef Szekeres, Ismael Alvarez, Hokane, Humbuged, and so many others!

AG: Are you currently working on any projects?

C: Yes. As much as my daytime work allows me to!

I'm finishing the second volume of Brother to Dragons (Class Comics / H&O) and always making commissioned works for people everywhere :)

AG: Has your work ever been published?

C: Yes, my first ever gay comic is Brother to Dragons (Class Comics for English /H&O for French), and also some short stories in Handjobs magazine on 2008.

But I've been published lots of times since I've worked in newspapers, magazines and other media such as books.

AG: Any advice you would like to offer to our aspiring artists out there?

C: Just go for it if you really like it and feel you can do it, either as a hobby or as a paid job. It's hard living from art, but if you manage to put your skills to work in a decent position/project or client, then you've got it made.

Sounds old, but you can do whatever you want, as long as you believe you can and go for it ;)

And yes, try to be very professional! That's just as important as your artistic skills!

AG: Cake or Pie?

C: Cake! Thicker and bigger, LOL.

AG: Any other comments?

C: Just thank you for your interest in my work and everyone who have read this far!

Feel free to ask/comment whatever you want or drop by my blog and say hi anytime :D

Thanks Chaz!

Check out more of his work at his blog and his Y! Page :).

images©Chaz
Do not redistribute without prior permission!

FallenMessiahX Feature

AG: What is your name?

FMX: Joshua Marin is my real name. FallenMessiahX is my pen name. FMX for short.

AG: Where are you from?

FMX: Born and raised in Denver, Colorado. I am still living here. It's not too bad of a city, I think.

AG: How long have you been drawing?

FMX: Since I was a kid. I used to do a lot of unicorns and Pegasuses cause I was gay like that. LOL. I then moved on to drawing Sonic the Hedgehog during my video game obsession. After that it was American style comic superheroes, mainly X-Men. When I was 15 I got into anime and I kept that drawing style ever since.

AG: Is Art a chosen career choice or a hobby?

FMX: Both! My job involves doing nothing but animation and art work! I love it! I work for a well known company. *clue* Their mascot is some kind of rodent.

AG: Do you possess any formal training i.e. college, workshops, through
work experience etc?

FMX: Yes, I went to the Art Institute of Colorado. I took their animation program. I was disappointed a bit because they concentrated more on 3D animation. I strongly dislike doing 3D.

AG: Which media do you most enjoy? Least enjoy?

FMX: Well I like it all. Well for the most part. Not 3D though! LOL

AG: What is your creative process? Do you have one?

FMX: Not too much, first I use a light blue color (digital) or a light blue colored pencil and do a under drawing to plot down where I want everything to be. I then flesh it out with pencil and if I like it I'd ink and color it. Pretty standard stuff here.

AG: What is your main source of inspiration?

FMX: Other really good art work! Movies, books etc. Pretty much any other source that involves some sort of creativity.

AG: Do you have any favourite artists?

FMX: Well I feel bad saying this but I don't follow any "fine" artists. But I love the old Greek/Roman statues. Also the old school religious ones. I love epic statues that have nude bodies, flowing cloth and dramatic body possitions.

As for comic/animation artits I love Clamp, Hayao Miyazaki, Naoko Takeuchi. For my fellow Bara/Yaoi artists I got to give my love to Patrick Fillion, Absolutblue, Masanori and Zannuf. I know there are many other artists I love but I am having a bit of a brain fart right now trying to think of them all.

AG: Are you currently working on any projects?

FMX: No, I never get around to devoting any time to them. I have so many I want to do but sadly they never get started.

AG: Has your work ever been published?

FMX: Well there was some contest entries I did many years ago for a "SwimSuit" competition for a no longer published magazine called Animerica. I also had some flyers and posters made for local events at night clubs. So I guess over all not a whole lot.

AG: Any advice you would like to offer to our aspiring artists out there?

FMX: Yes! Draw, draw and draw more. Practice make perfect. Hide old art work someplace and come back after a while and look at them. You will totally see a difference, that means you are getting better!

Also, don't trace!!! Use reference but never trace over other images. It's cheating! When you trace over a image of a real person, it shows. We can all tell!!! LOL

AG: Cake or Pie?

FMX: I am not too big of a fan of cake. I don't like birthday cake, the frosting is nasty. I love cheesecake, carrot cake (Got to love cream cheese frosting) and German chocolate cake. So in short, PIE!

AG: Any other comments?

FMX: Isn't this funny how this is all happening while Lauren is gone?

Thanks FMX!

You can check out more of his work on Y! page and blog :)

images©FallenMessiahX
Do not redistribute without prior permission!

Patrick Fillion Feature

AG: What is your name?

PF: Patrick Fillion!

AG: Where are you from?

PF: I was born in the Province of Quebec in Canada, but my family moved to the Province of British Columbia when I was 5 years old. I grew up in BC and still live here today.

AG: How long have you been drawing?

PF: I started drawing in my Momma’s womb! LOL! Seriously – I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember.

AG: Is Art a chosen career choice or a hobby?

PF: It’s kind of both actually! I feel really blessed that I can draw and make comics for a living – but honestly, if it weren’t my job, I’d probably be doing it anyway! It’s totally in my blood!

AG: Do you possess any formal training i.e. college, workshops, through work experience etc?

PF: I actually don’t. What I do is self taught.

After high school, I wanted to go the Emily Carr Art College. I had my interview with them, they looked at my portfolio, and they sort of dismissed me on the spot. They said I could actually be teaching comics if I wanted and that I didn’t need any formal training – (not sure I buy that, but that is what they told me!)

At the time, I did want to broaden my art horizons and learn about other things. I’ve always felt that the more you know, the better you get at what you do.

But their answer gave me a kick in the pants to just move forward and dive into comics professionally. So I guess you could say that for me, rejection worked out pretty well. HA! HA! HA!

AG: Which media do you most enjoy? Least enjoy?

PF: A lot of my fellow artists work directly on the computer, which is very cool. I’m pretty old school though. I pencil and ink everything by hand on paper, and I have to say that that’s really the part of my process I love the most.

Penciling is exciting because all that creativity can just flow through you. I find there is real raw energy involved in penciling an illustration. It’s not always about perfect lines – it’s about capturing something – I dunno – like a kind of essence you want to nail down and put onto paper. Sometimes that works really well, and those moments are so satisfying and very exciting.

Inking is the technical part I love most about my job. I love tight, clean lines and work really hard to make sure that everything is polished and smooth. The only real drawback to inking is that sometimes, because it is such a technical part of the process, you can lose the raw energy of the pencils when you ink over them. But I need to just let go of that sometimes, or I’d never be satisfied with anything I do.

There really isn’t anything I don’t enjoy about drawing comics. I love every aspect in its own way, because in the end it’s all necessary, and all comes together to create the final product.

AG: What is your creative process? Do you have one?

PF: I generally like to see where my imagination will take me. On some books, I write a complete script and follow it religiously from start to finish.

On other books, I have an idea in my head of what I want to accomplish, and then I just start drawing. Where that goes can be really exciting and sometimes, it’s more liberating that following a script.

When I’m drawing, I visualize stuff in my head a lot and in great detail. I work pretty hard at transferring those images from my brain to the paper, but I don’t usually do a lot of different takes on things.

Another huge part of my creative process is music. If I don’t have some great rhythm blasting away at me through my headphones, I find it trickier to find my creative center. I call it “going under”. For me illustration and music have always gone together, and it’s very hard (though not impossible when necessary) to separate the two.

AG: What is your main source of inspiration?

PF: My characters are my main source of inspiration. Their lives fascinate me and their adventures consume me. I absolutely love being able to tell their stories and draw them for others to enjoy. Thinking of what my Boytoons will experience next is what fuels my creativity.

AG: Do you have any favourite artists?

PF: I’ve always loved Alan Davis’ work. It’s beautiful and damn near perfect. The man is a real genius and has always inspired me to do my best and to continually push myself to better my craft.

I’m also a huge fan of Dærick Gröss, Sr., Terry Dodson, Olivier Coipel and Kevin Maguire amongst others.

I consider myself really fortunate that my work permits me to collaborate and work closely with amazing artists of male erotica. I recently had the chance to work with the fantastic Jacob Mott on Naked Justice: Beginnings #1, and that was real thrill. The man is brilliant.

I get to play with Logan, Mike, Ismael Alvarez, HvH, Carlos Garcia, Mark Brill, Benoit Prevot and so many other wonderfully talented creators for a living. Honestly, what more could a boy want! LOL!

AG: Are you currently working on any projects?

PF: Yes I am. I always like to have more than one book going at the same time. It keeps me from getting bored.

Currently, I am working on Felinoids #3, Zahn #2, Stephane’s Funhouse of Fornication #1, and Boytoon Adventures #1.

I’m also writing several scripts for other artists such as Naked Justice: Beginnings #2, illustrated by Jacob Mott; Deimos #2, illustrated by Logan; and Space Cadet #1 as well as Ghostboy and Diablo #1 – the artists for those last two titles will all be revealed in time. It’s still top secret! LOL!

AG: Has your work ever been published?

PF: My partner Fraser and I created Class Comics together to publish my comics. We’ve put out a ton of my titles through Class, and there’s a lot more on the way!

My comics have also been translated in French and published by the France based publisher, H&O Editions.

My comics have been translated into German and published by the Germany-based publisher Bruno Gmunder. Through BG, I’ve also released several hard cover books such as “Heroes: The Men of Patrick Fillion”, “Hot Chocolate” and “Bliss: The Art of Patrick Fillion”.

AG: Any advice you would like to offer to our aspiring artists out there?

PF: Yup! If you’re trying to make it as a professional artist, be sure your work can cut it. What I mean that is that it’s always good to realize if you have what it takes. Look at what you like about the work of others. What qualities inspire you and what aspects of it you find appealing? Then ask yourself how you can achieve similar qualities in your work.

It’s really important to ascertain these things so that you are prepared for the professional art world.

That being said, NEVER give up on your dream to make it as an artist. I know that may sound a little corny, but it’s totally true. There is a way to make it – you just have to keep at your craft, keep honing your skills, keep knocking on the right doors and above all, never quit!

AG: Cake or Pie?

PF: Why choose? I love both cake AND pie equally... I have SUCH a sweet tooth!!! We are talking about dessert, right? LOL!

Thanks Patrick!

You can view more of his work on his personal website and at Class Comics.

Also check out his blog for previews and other cool features! :)

Images©Patrick Fillion
Do not redistribute without prior permission!

JC Etheredge Feature

AG: What is your name?

JC: Jessy-Clyde Etheredge. When I was born my grandmother declared that Jessy-Clyde sounded too much like a western criminal, and called me JC. That's what stuck.

AG: Where are you from?

JC: Queens, New York. When I was 13, my family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. BIG culture shock. Moved back to NY for college and have been here since.

AG: How long have you been drawing?

JC: All my life. There's home video of me putting paper up to the TV tracing SuperTed.

AG: Is Art a chosen career choice or a hobby?

JC: Um... Haha. I dunno, um both. I have a dayjob in home textile design to pay the bills. I guess that's art, right? But, yeah, it isn't the type of art i'd like to make a career out of (even though I've been in it for 6 years- lol!) I'd much rather make my living solely off my personal art. I'm not quite there yet, but working on it!

AG: Do you possess any formal training i.e. college, workshops, through work experience etc?

JC: I was always encouraged by my art teachers in elementary and high school. For my Bachelor's, I went to Pratt Institute, which is an art school. My major was Communications Design with a concentration in Illustration. I learned a lot of relevant art history and some of my professors were pretty helpful when it came to improving my technique. Shortly after, I had an internship coloring TMNT model sheets (my boss was such a hottie) and I'd say it was there that I learned digital coloring.

AG: What media do you most enjoy? Least enjoy?

JC: I really like just a simple mechanical pencil with white paper. I also enjoy inking, which I do by hand with microns. I least like digital coloring. It's tedious for me-- that's why Ive outsirced it for my books! ^___^ I'm also not an amazing painter, so I shy away from paints and brushes, although I'm recently forcing myself to tough it through.

AG: What is your creative process? Do you have one?

JC: I have a vivid imagination, so ideas are coming to me all day, every day. I try to jot them down on my phone when they come to me. Or if I'm at the dayjob, sometimes I'll sneak and sketch them out. I usually go though 1 or 2 sketches before I come across a layout I'll like. (a layout that gets me hard-- hehe!) Then I ink and scan and play with it Photoshop for a little bit, asking my partner for input during the process, just to get another artist's viewpoint before I make the piece live on the Internet.

AG: What is your main source of inspiration?

JC: Life. Hot boys. Sexy men. My bf-- hehe! Like I said, I have a vivid imagination, so it's not hard for me to stick hot naked cartoon boys in anything that comes to mind.

AG: Do you have any favourite artists?

JC: Charles Shultz, creator of Peanuts, is my all-time favorite. In terms of more historical, I'm into Michelangelo, Caravaggio, & Norman Rockwell. My contemporary idols are comic artists, Dave Cockrum, Marc Silvestri, Jim Lee, Joe Madureira, & Greg Capullo. And in terms of gay erotica, Tom of Finland, Etienne, Patrick Fillion, and a host of others I talk about on my blog.

AG: Are you currently working on any projects?

JC: Too frikkin' many. Right now, the next thing I want to put on my site is Persuasions Phase 2, which is almost done. Then I'm working on another erotic book, Omega Phi and of course, Anti-Heroes #4. In addition, I have a few other non-erotic titles I want to publish, and some new web projects.

AG: Has your work ever been published?

JC: Anti-Heroes 1, 2, and 3 I've self-published, although 1 & 2 are sold out and only available now as digital downloads. And I've had a few short excerpts in a few collections here and there.

AG: What is Anti-Heroes?

JC: Anti-Heroes is my first and only (presumably) ongoing comic series. It follows the sexploits of a trio of super-powered former badguys: Caleb, a cyborg powerhouse, Tai, a bulging martial artist, and Zeke, a psychic giggolo. Anti-Heroes also generally refers to all the gay erotica I draw. My characters all tend to have a bad boy / superhero edge. So my main erotic website is called Anti-Heroes.net.

AG: What is Persuasions?

JC: Persuasions is the first and only illustrated gay erotic web soap opera! Like any soap, we have the super-couple, the mega-villian, the psycho, and a bunch of other pawns who somehow entangle themselves in the drama. Unlike Anti-Heroes, this series has a clear ending in sight.

AG: What is Omega Phi?

JC: Omega Phi is a series of hot characters I drew a while back that were so popular with fans, I decided to make a story out of it. It'll be about a fraternity of gay studs who are all reincarnated Greek deities. I'm writing this a a one-shot comic book.

AG: Any advice you would like to offer to our aspiring artists out there?

JC: Stay outta my way! Haha! Nah, psyke. The best advice I never got is practice. The more you practice, the better you get. Explore different techniques and styles. Seek feedback from other artists.

AG: Cake or Pie?

JC: Apple pie is my favorite dessert ever.

AG: Any other comments?

JC: Thanks for the interview, Adam! I hope whomever reads it gleans a little more about what we porn artists are like-- hehe. Now I'm off to an orgy.Haha-- j/k!

AG: I'll bring the cream ;) Thanks JC ^^

Check out more of JC Etheredge and his work at:

His Blog
His website

Art©JC Etheredge
Do not redistribute without prior permission!

Ted Fusby Feature

When Ted Fusby found himself bored with his architecture career, he began taking courses in drawing and painting and spent increasing amounts of time making art in his spare time. He first tried making non-gay art which might interest galleries, but when that work was largely ignored, he moved on to using openly gay subject matter, to please himself, if no one else.




With some encouragement from the Tom of Finland Foundation, he began to find a gay audience, and with the advent of the internet, he was able to reach an audience all over the world.




Today he uses a combination of watercolor and colored pencil on paper to make all his artwork, and he deliberately keeps the size of his works small, to keep his prices within reach of many people.




You can view more of his work on his site

All images ©Ted Fusby
Do not redistribute without permission