Welcome to this week's Deviant Feature!

To read last week's Feature II-02 visit this: [link].

This week's feature of ~AlexandriaMonik (   ) has a background story! For the last two months I have been searching out fanart of Lily and Severus in hopes that a Deviant would get back to me. In order to give my fanfiction's cover art (without overusing my Logo) I have been contacting Deviant's.

The deal:  For the use of the fanart (in this case I'm Counting the ways to where you are) I will give a Deviant Feature Spot to the artist - as well as credit the artist in the Author's Comments. This also means that in the Key Words - attached to my deviation entry - is the name of the Author whose art is my cover image.

I'm hoping to make new connections with artists as well as promote Deviants who don't seem to get recognition or who bet lost in the larger community! Alexandria was the first to respond back to me. You can find my Deviation Nothing's Changed (for UniqueAngel5) here: .

Without further Ado:
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ALEXANDRIAMONIK (   )



1. Give a brief 3-5 Sentence description of yourself.

I'm 17 years old. I'm one of those shy but crazy when you get to know me kind of people. I'm also a total film junky and I plan on starting a studio someday and making animated films.



2. What is the first thing you remember that gave an interest in art?

I was always interested and I've always drawn nonstop. But I never really noticed how into I was until I was around 8 or 9. I got into the comic series called W.I.T.C.H. And shortly after that, the InuYasha manga series. Those really kicked off my need to be an artist and improve my skills.



3. Who first prompted you to explore your interest in art?

My parents really encouraged me, my mom in particular. They were/are always very supportive.



4. A majority of your traditional sketches center around Disney characters. Were you inspired to draw, at an early age, by Disney films? Is there something specific about the drawing style you like?

It's funny because I never intended to turn to Disney. I was all about anime, it was my everything. Lol But as I progressed, I realized that I needed to branch out in order to improve. So I studied the Disney style. I have always been head over heels in love with Disney animation, but when I began to study it where no going back. There are so many things I admire about it (Glen Keane and Mit Kahl's work especially) such as the expressions, the line work, the perfect combination of realism and cartoon. Just studying that, I improved immensely in a short amount of time.


5. What would you say is your biggest source of inspiration?

I'm inspired by a lot of different artist and films/TV shows when it comes to style and learning by example. But When I'm coming up with pieces, my inspiration is almost always music. It affects me deeply and a lot of the time I have to represent it in a drawing somehow.



6. You work with watercolors and in traditional methods. Do you prefer one over the other? If so, what brand of watercolors or pencils do you prefer using for your art?

I use pencils the most often. I think I prefer them just because it only requires one tool as opposed to painting. As much as I'd like to, I've never had the money to be picky or develop at a taste in any kind of brands. I've always used whatever kind of pencil happened to be near. Usually it's just a 0.7 mm mechanical pencil.


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7. Your work From What I've Tasted of Desire seems to capture the vulnerability people, specifically girls, feel in relationships. Is there a story behind the piece? What prompted you to use a introverted pose – that of a girl hugging herself?



I had actually never seen it that way. It was a commission based off of a style the client had in mind. Though I have no doubt that the piece is reflecting some buried emotions I had, even though I didn't realize it.



8.  Your focus, right now, seems to be with FanArt. Is there a specific quality you look for in animated films or characters that prompts you to create FanArt in tribute to them? Or, is the FanArt more experimentation with different artistic styles?

It's both. I draw any character I feel connected to or find interesting in some way. I draw Severus Snape often because everything about him intrigues me. His background story, his emotions, the way he looks, they're all things that make my imagination run wild. But I also like trying new styles. It helps me grow as an artist and can be a lot of fun. Sometimes I try to replicate a style (Toothless, Jim Hawkins, Lackadaisy) and other times I try to adapt a style to my own (Tack, Inuyasha characters, Paranorman).



9.  There is some experimentation with photography in your gallery. Is there a specific story you were hoping to tell with Waiting?



Not really, but I'm sure people could come up with some fantastic ones. The actual story is that I had to take photos for my Photo class. I have my little brother and sister watch YouTube videos while I took pictures. I caught a picture of my brother in that great pose while he was watching for the next joke in the video. Lol. It's strange that I go such a solemn pose when all he was doing was watching NigHiga. XP



10.  Aside from traditional art, you also appear to be into cosplay, or at least giving tribute to characters you like through costume, specifically Black Widow. Is there a specific reason your chose Black Widow? And, is she the only character you'll dress up as, or are you planning other costumes?



Haha well I don't really cosplay. That was just a picture I took in my Halloween costume that I thought we be fun to photoshop. I picked Black Widow because I had the hair cut for it. I would LOVE to cosplay as her for real though! With the cool photos and all :-D I'd love to cosplay as a lot of characters, I would really get into it. If only I could afford the costumes. Or make them like a lot of the incredible cosplayers on DA. Oh well…. Someday perhaps. ^_^

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As you can see ~AlexandriaMonik is talented and versatile in her interests! She's a very interesting girl to talk to! I hope you take the time to visit her gallery and comment/critique her work.

You won't be disappointed! There's many influences on her - as you can see from her fanart!

Stay Connected!

~ *H-A-Cooke