nuclear waste aerobics
If you have a question, check out FAQ tag first
comic
portfolio maarialaurinen.com
twitter @maariamph
e-mail maaria.laurinen@gmail.com
tags
#FAQ #phantomland #original works #fanart
You are amazing and you write amazing comics, so you have GOT to have amazing taste in comics as well (hopefully). Are there any comics you can recommend?
Garfield
Thank you anon, I’m very flattered but TRUTH BE TOLD I’m not as big of a comics nerd as I probably should be. I read a bit of manga once in a while because it’s convenient (cough… internet…), also I’ve lately been more immersed in books/games/tv series
But here’s a couple good titles I recommend!
- Shingeki no Kyojin - read it ASAP, the fandom is at it’s peak! Creepy shit, intense action & badass ladies A+
- Dorohedoro - cool weird setting with the coolest weirdest characters
- Peepo Choo - I wrote about it
- Pluto / Monster / 20th Century Boys - Naoki Urasawa has a knack for creating very real and sympathetic characters
- Emma / Otoyomegatari - cute love stories with costume porn and gorgeous women
- Vinland Saga / Historie - if you like historical settings these are pretty enjoyable
- Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou - the most serene and happy thing
For western comics I can’t think of much to recommend besides the obvious classics like Maus and Watchmen… yeah I’m sorry for my ignorance :(
For Finns I recommend works by Jyrki Nissinen (Borgtron, etc) because that guy is a comedy genius
It’s confirmed now! I’m gonna give a lecture at Fanfest about A:TLA! Ohhh this is super exciting. Please drop by if you’re interested and watch me make a clown of myself
And get your tickets online while they’re still cheap!
I love the “remake your old work” meme! I recently found this 7th grade art class drawing and gave it a shot. Gosh what a hideous design though……… I guess I was inspired by Disney’s Atlantis at the time
aletraidi: Don’t know how big Jon is, but according to the height chart -thing (and snk wiki, but don’t go there if you don’t want spoilers, it’s full of them without warning) Reiner weights 95 kg and he can easily use the 3DGM. Maybe if you go well above 100 kg then it would be an issue?
Haha well if you wanna bring logic to it… he seems to have similar measurements with Reiner but he could weigh like 30kg more for all we know :-D different muscle density or something. Ghost anatomy, man
Not that a thing like 3DMG could work in the real world to begin with…
Trying to stay awake. Doodling silly things helps
I don’t know if there’s a canonical weight limit to 3DMG but I’ve heard discussion about it
Sorry I just… I got two of these in one night. I gotta share these gems
This just in: people go fucking nuts when you question the absolute perfection that is Harry Potter. Shine on you crazy diamonds
ok this is gonna be really embarrassing but as i was looking through your blog i started to bawl because of all of the amazing things you said defending your views and feminism as a whole. i'm always too scared to stand up to anyone and i just really admire your toughness and intelligence! you've been one of my biggest inspirations since probably 2010 and seeing your art makes my heart flip flop around too. aah. anyway i think you're incredible! have a nice day! ;u;
Awww don’t cry poor baby ////;;
Hahaha truth be told I don’t see myself as particularly tough; I tend to keep my head down and avoid conflicts as much as possible, but… I figure some things are more important than my comfort level, and some things are worth saying no matter how much shit I might get for it! Luckily I have followers who are lovely supportive darlings such as yourself :)
In any case thanks for writing your message, it made me really happy! I’m glad you dig my artwork as well ahhhh such kind words
retardi said: Onks aikaisempia Phantomlandeja myynnissä Traconissa?
On juu! Ykköset vaan on viittä vaille loppumassa, toivottavasti kerkeän teettää uuden painoksen ennen sitä :>
I have till the end of this month to finish part four if I plan to have it printed for Tracon. A couple months ago I was still confident I could do it, but… this is taking longer than expected. Damn thing always takes longer than expected (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ every time
Even though I’m drawing full steam every day, I’d need to start rushing like a mofo if I wanted to meet that deadline… and nope, rushing is not an option. This chapter is too cool for that kinda treatment. I’ve rushed my comics in the past and it’s just such a big regret later
TL;DR: Phantomland 4 won’t make it to Tracon. Sorry for the letdown! :( I’m not too happy with the decision either; I was really excited about showing off a new comic there
But the good news is that me and leppu will have a table at Fanfest (5.-6.10.) which is one month later! So I hope I’ll have a shiny new thing to sell you fresh off the printers by then!
How do you come up with character designs? Do you start from character's personality or appearance when designing them?
Hmmm that’s a good question! Long reply incoming…
Personality and appearance go hand in hand with me when I draw characters. Even when it’s a throwaway image of a throwaway character, I still like to imagine a personality for them and try to express it somehow. It’s one of the reasons I don’t do commissions; if I’m not familiar with the personality of the requested character, I feel really lost when trying to draw them :I
I have a background in comics so I tend to make my character designs fairly simple and practical but aim for a sort of “iconic" mix of shapes and colors; meaning that if someone were to cosplay the character, I should be able to recognize them instantly. A generic t-shirt + jeans combo won’t do (unless the palette is really good). There needs to be some kind of idea that makes each character stand out.
There’s the question of whether you want your character to look very “obvious" or not. People associate glasses with traits like intelligence, kindness and maturity, for example - but what if you had this glasses-wearing character who’s really ignorant, graceless and violent? What if the valley girl covered in glitter turned out to be the most strong and virtuous member of the group? I think a lot about that, about what impressions certain details give to the audience, and how I’d mess around with those impressions to create something interesting.
Phantomland has really straightforward designs though! Everyone looks 100% their type - innocent girl, tough guy, nerdy guy, mischievous gal, classy lady, etc etc. It’s intentional because I don’t want to confuse the reader at square one; I want them to glance at each new character and instantly know what to expect. Not that I don’t plan to betray some of those expectations, of course ;D
That said it’s been many years since I created the majority of my characters, and some of the designs strike me as quite boring now haha……
I just noticed that Jon has this wrist-watch. For some strange reason I got the feeling that it has some sort of deeper meaning to his character... pretty sure I'm wrong, though.
Good observation but nah, he’s just oldschool :D also it’s p much the only accessory he can wear without looking out of character