Thread "Group 9 - Lilac interviews Aivilo of Animosity Sonata!" in forum "Interviews"

Posted at 3:08AM, Aug. 20, 2009

This interview is of Aivilo, whose comic is: Animosity Sonata!
(interview conducted by Lilac!)

1) Howdy-diddly-doo there! To get things rolling, why don't you tell your adoring fans a little bit about yourself. :3

Hello everyone! Well my name is Olivia Smith. I am currently 20 years old and I live in Northern California (near San Francisco, kinda) I am an artist and I am working my way through college to become an animator or illustrator.

2) Your screename, 'Aivilo', is very interesting. How'd you come about that name, if you don't mind sharing?

Sure I don't mind sharing! I'm bad at creating screen names so I created â€œAiviloâ€œ. Which is my name, â€œOliviaâ€ backwards :p.

3) What art styles/artists have inspired you in your work and your comic, 'Animosity Sonata'?

Anime style inspired me to as far as my art goes. I've been liking anime since I was like, psh 6 or 7. Maybe even before that but I just didn't know what the name was. And also I liked looking at old vintage photos so that also gave me an idea of the setting and the clothes. As far as artists, my most favorite is actually an animator named Hayao Miyazaki. And the artists from CLAMP. It was a while ago when I thought of Animosity Sonata, so I can't quite remember what other artists I was into at the time XD.

4) I've noticed that you seem to have a 'deck of playing cards' theme as the main focal point of the plot. How did this come about? Are you a major card player?

lol I'm not a major card player, I wish I was better at it and knew how to play more card games XD. Hmmm. I was always into jokers because I liked their outfits. And while I was developing the Big Joker, I guess I thought why not make the whole Spades kingdom my way as well? So I did :D and I blended it in with the other notes I had.

5) Is this card theme the reason why you tend to use the 'black-white-red' color scheme? Or is it because red is a really dramatic color?

Yeah it was because of the card theme XD, well both actually. It took me a while to create the color scheme. At first it was going to be in color but then I hated how the colors came out. Then I was just going to keep it black and white but I always thought red and black looked good together so I threw some red in it too.

6) You say on your profile that you used to play the piano, and your main character, Sadey, plays the piano (and ends up getting transported into a different world because of it) as well. Has your love for the piano greatly inspired the plot behind 'Animosity Sonata'?

Yes it did! I was never super good at the piano but back in high school I liked playing it and it's my favorite instrument to listen too. So I felt I had to add that to the theme. And I felt that the piano was a big stress reliever for me at that age. I figured it would fit well with Sadey since she's not an outdoors person and she's timid, she's usually indoors focusing on her piano skills.

7) Is there any particular music that you like to listen to while working on 'Animosity Sonata'?

I like listening to all types of music when I'm working on Animosity Sonata. Rap, Rock, alternative, metal, indie, foreign, soundtracks from movies or games, pop, oldies, smooth jazz, soundscapes, classical. Yeah you get the picture XD Just What I'm feeling at the time and what the scene calls for. But lately I've been listening to Michael Jackson may he rest in peace :c

8) Speaking of the plot, why don't you tell us a little something about it (or as much as you can reveal without spoiling it)? :3

Hmm, there's not much to say about it then what has been shown already. Just that eventually she meets up with the three boys on the cover and it will be an interesting momentXD.

9) At the beginning of the comic we witness the "Little Joker of Spades' Castle" being murdered by the ultra scary (and fantastically designed) "Big Joker of Spades' Castle." What inspired such a horrifying character?

I always had created Jokers in the past comics I made. So I thought since alot of Jokers and clowns look creepy anyway, I figured I should make an insane Joker that doesn't have morals and looks like a monster. Basically I wanted to create the most scariest and vicious thing that I wouldn't want to encounter. I also wanted to push my limit because I always draw things and people that are easy on the eyes and I wanted to create something opposite and ugly instead XD.

10) Oh! That reminds me! Do you think you can tell us a little about these card castles that you have set up? I'm really curious! :D

Yeah there is a Spades' Castle that is heavily guarded and Sadey has to find her way in somehow. But I haven't thought out the layout of it yet. I haven't thought out the other castles yet neither or if I would add other castles XD.

11) I think my favorite character thus far is MaryAnne. She just seems to have such a bright and jovial personality (especially when you take into account all that she's been through). Do you have any favorites amongst your characters?

That's a hard one. Because I love them all and all of them have a piece of me in them somehow. I can't decide, I love them all :D.

12) On average, how long does it take you to work on a page for 'Animosity Sonata'? I know I'm a slow comicker so naturally I'm curious. XD

I'm pretty slow too XD. There's alot of steps to creating a page. First I have to create a thumbnail with text that takes me about 15-30 minutes sometimes an hour, because I get side tracked. Then I have to sketch it out on paper and that can take up to 3 hours depending on how many panels and detail. The longest part is coloring it on the computer and I don't like timing myself on that because I might get depressed on how much time I spent on it XD. So I'll say about 12 hours a page give or take that I spend a week O_o.

13) How long have you been working on comics/drawing in general? You seem to have quite a bit of talent under your belt!

Thank you! At first I started making cheesy little picture books, that started at about kindergarten age. Then at about ten I made comics out of notebooks. Then at about 15 I got more serious with creating comics and started disciplining myself but never posted any online. Then at 17 is when I created Animosity Sonata, and here I am now with the same ideas. So it's been a while, well over 12 years when I was serious about it. As far as CG art, it's been about 4 years.

14) Now, tell the world why they must read 'Animosity Sonata'! I want you to be vainglorious and narcissitic about it!!

OMG! You Must read my comic Animosity Sonata! I had this idea bottled up in my head for about 3 years now. And now I want to share it with you for free! ( the best things in life are free right?*wink*) I work very hard on it and I planned out the whole story and scenes very carefully and diligently as well as the characters and their designs. The pages are smooth and easy to look at. And I won't disappoint you! It might even teach you a thing or two about life :D.

15) Haha, and now we conclude our fantabulous interview. :B Is there anything else you'd like to add before we go riding off into the sunset? :D

Yes I want to say thank you Lilac for interviewing me and thank you all for your time and thank you fans for reading Animosity Sonata :D *rides off into the sunset*

Posted at 1:08PM, Aug. 20, 2009

Greatest interview in the world, I say!!! XD

Posted at 2:08PM, Aug. 20, 2009

Very awesome. I should read that comic later!

Posted at 11:08AM, Aug. 21, 2009

Yeeeeah! Thank you for posting^^