Sign: Gemini
Base of Operations:
Michigan (U.S.A.)
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About Me |
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Name: Mark Patraw
Sign: Gemini Base of Operations: Michigan (U.S.A.) « Back to the main page |
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1. How long have you been making art? As long as I can remember. Even from my earliest memories, I was always creating things. An example: When I was a young boy, I used to make "fake" toys, (which were really little more than drawings, cut out of paper, based on existing "real" toys), package them up, hang them up on my wall, and run my own little toy store, selling them for pennies to my siblings. If you've already had a look at my work here on the web site, it's not hard to see how that developed into my sculpting 3-dimensional toys/figures as I grew older. 2. What kinds of materials and media do you prefer to work with? For drawing: I like to use pencils (graphite and colored) and ink. For painting: watercolor. For sculpture/fabrication: newsprint and cardboard. I often get asked why I don't use clay for modeling, computer art programs for drawing/coloring, etc. All materials have their own distinctive advantages/disadvantages, depending on what you're trying to do--I use the things I enjoy working with the most, pure and simple. Over the years, I have come to prefer some over others, as most artists tend to do. There's really no right or wrong way to go about it. 3. What kinds of art classes have you taken? General art classes in elementary and middle school. A couple of illustration classes, physical and visual concept classes, and a course in American architectural history at N.M.U. (Northern Michigan University). I'd say I've had a fair amount of professional instruction in drawing, but I'm mostly self-taught in regards to sculpting. 4. Do you do commission work? Yes, but very seldom--I generally like to work on my own projects, rather than someone else's. That said, commission offers should be e-mailed to me, preferably with as much information as possible to help me make an informed decision regarding the matter. Please put something relevant in the subject line of said e-mail so it doesn't get deleted as junk mail. The price I quote you for a commission will be based on several factors, including, but not limited to: The size/dimensions you want the piece to be; the complexity/simplicity of the project; how much money it will cost me in materials as well as shipping and handling to get it to you (there are no shipping costs if you commission something digital that I can simply e-mail to you); and how long of a deadline you give me to complete the project. Once all the details are hammered out and we come to an agreement, fifty percent of the commission price, along with a signed contract, must be submitted to me before I begin work--this 50% is non-refundable, except in the very unlikely event I can't finish the commission. The remaining fifty percent is to be paid on completion. IMPORTANT: I will not entertain any offers to do commissions for licensed/copyrighted characters, only original pieces. I believe it is both illegal and unethical to profit from someone else's intellectual property without their permission/compensation. None of the figures/drawings on my web site that depict copyrighted characters are for sale, so please don't inquire about purchasing them. 5. Do you take requests? Not very often, but once in a while. There are some pieces on this site that stem from requests or suggestions from others. It depends on what the nature of your request is, my temperament at the time, how much work it would take to accomplish your request, whether or not I'm already working on other projects, and several other factors. In the event that my answer to your request is 'no', before you get mad, disappointed or whatever, ask yourself what your honest response would be if a stranger asked you to spend many hours, maybe even days, making something for them. Oh yeah, one last point: Excessive sucking up/praise/pleading will not increase the likelihood of me making something for you, in fact, it will have the opposite effect. 6. Will you help/participate in my art project, contest, etc.? Maybe. It depends on many of the same factors mentioned in my answer to the previous question. I generally prefer to work on my own stuff and alone, but I have participated in a number of group projects and other such things in the past. Be realistic - I'm far more likely to agree to commit to a small project/event than I am to a huge undertaking. 7. Can I link to your page? Yes, but please only link to the main page. I sometimes have to delete pages, consolidate them, rename them, move them from one web space provider to another, etc. Otherwise, you may find that the page you linked to no longer exists at some point down the road. I would also appreciate being notified that you intend to link to my site, as a courtesy if nothing else. 8. Can I take an image(s) from your site and use it on my web site, as an avatar for a message board, etc.? Probably, but you need to have my permission first and I should be given credit, where applicable. I almost always say 'yes' to such requests. That said, if I see my artwork used somewhere without my permission, I may take steps against the person/group responsible to correct the situation, particularly if it's being used in any type of profit-making venture. 9. Will you put my artwork on your site? Sorry, no, I don't take submissions. This site is intended to be solely for my artwork. However, I'm usually willing to temporarily host images for individuals if they ask (for contests, showing their artwork on a message board, etc.), but their artwork does not become part of my site and it eventually gets deleted to make room for my stuff. I strongly suggest you look into acquiring some web space of your own to showcase your work--it's easy to do, and, in the long run, I think you'll find it to your advantage to have complete control over your own web site and files instead of relying on the goodwill of others. 10. Can I edit your artwork? Maybe. It depends on what exactly you're going to do to it and for what purpose. You need to ask my permission first and give me credit for the original work, where applicable. 11. Sometimes when I visit your web page(s) I get an error message about bandwidth, what gives? I get this complaint relatively frequently. If all of my allocated bandwidth gets used up at any given time, parts of the site will go down for a brief period (usually an hour) before becoming available again. I apologize for any inconvenience, but it's just one of those things that happens with free web space. My files are spread out onto different web space accounts now, so the site doesn't go down as frequently as it used to when I had everything on one account. 12. You jerk! I e-mailed you, but you didn't respond! I do my best to answer all e-mail pertaining to this site and my artwork in an expedient fashion. If you didn't get a response, here are some possible reasons why: (1) I didn't receive your e-mail for some reason, or, when I did reply, you didn't receive it, or my response to you was returned to me as undeliverable. (2) I generally delete any e-mails that get directed into my junk/spam folder without ever looking at them, so, if your e-mail ended up there, it's likely history. (3) It may take me several days to respond to e-mails, so be patient. I usually only go online 2-3 times a week, sometimes less. 13. Why is the quality of some of the photos on your site so poor? For many years, all I had was a cheap digital camera (I definitely got what I paid for) and my scanner for capturing images. That said, I recently (8/23/07) received a better digital camera, via a donation, so, you should see an increase in the quality of the photos from now on. Additionally, I've been going back and re-taking photos of my older figures with said new camera. So, eventually, I hope to replace all of my old photos with better ones (with the exception of the few art pieces I don't have anymore and can't photograph again). 14. Why are the dimensions of many of your images so small? To conserve space. I have tons of stuff on my site and I'm always adding more, so I tend to avoid large files unless it's absolutely necessary. 15. Your web page design is fairly basic, why don't you spice it up a bit? To quote one of my former college professors, "I don't like all sizzle and no steak.", which is to say, content is what makes or breaks a web site, not flash. I'm more concerned with having a functional, easy to navigate web site than making it pretty. Additionally, my knowledge of HTML is intermediate at best, so I tend to stick with the basics. 16. I get an error message when I click on a link, what's up with that? You've probably found a broken link (that, or it's the bandwidth problem described above). If it is a broken link, please send me an e-mail about it and I'll fix it right away (be as specific as you can about the location of the bad link). I'm usually fairly thorough about testing all my links, but when you've got as many files, etc. as I do, some are bound to slip through. NOTE: With Yahoo! closing Geocities down in the near future (Oct. '09), expect to see tons of broken links. 17. I want to make some paper/cardboard figures too; can you show/tell me how to do it? It is somewhat difficult to describe and explain the techniques and methods I employ using only words, nor am I particulary patient when it comes to instructing others. To be honest, I really believe you'd get more out of discovering your own "path", rather than trying to specifically emulate me. One of these days I might make an online how-to/tutorial with photos, but for right now, the closest thing I have is this. Additionally, many of my figures have mid-construction photos near the bottom of their respective web pages, you could try looking at several of those to get an idea/feel for the process. If you're really interested, I recommend you do some research at your local library and/or on the internet concerning the subjects of 'papier mache' and/or 'paper/cardboard sculpture'. There may be artists (professionals, teachers, etc.) in your geographic area who could help you out. Also, just experiment--it's not rocket science. Nobody taught me how to sculpt (other than the basics almost everybody get in elementary/middle/high school--pinch pots, snakes, and all that good junk). I learned most of my techniques through experimentation/trial-and-error, and picked up other random bits from books, the internet, and other artists. Experience is the best teacher--instead of thinking "I'll never be able to do this", get some materials out and start sculpting. And remember: There's no "right" or "wrong" way to sculpt (despite what others might tell you), make whatever you want using the sculpting medium(s) you like--if you're not happy with what you're doing, then what's the point? 18. Why don't you make your figures larger/smaller? It's kind of funny, when I made larger pieces, people would ask me why I don't make them smaller, and now that I make tiny stuff, people ask me why I don't make them bigger. I can't win. Regarding making them larger, there are three important factors: Cost, practicality, and time. A larger figure will require more materials, so it will cost more (granted, the materials I use can be purchased fairly cheaply in comparison to other mediums, such as clay, but still, it does make a difference). Why use up an entire bottle of paint, a whole bag of hot glue sticks, a stack of newsprint, etc. on one large figure, when you could make many smaller ones with the same quantities? A big figure takes up a lot of space and can cause numerous problems because of it (for example, it might not fit easily through doorways, its dimensions may make it difficult to work on, it could become too heavy, etc). The numerous figures I have made are piling up on one another as it is, so making bigger figures is only going to make the crowding/storage problem worse. Lastly, all things being equal, a large model is going to require more time to make than a smaller one because it requires more work. However, that being said, there are situations where making an item larger does take less time, simply because it may be easier to do what you want to do on a bigger scale. As for making them smaller, paper is not the best medium for tiny detail work--it can be done, as I think many of my pieces illustrate, but it is more difficult to do than it is with other modeling materials such as clay. Generally speaking, the smaller the paper figure, the more difficult it becomes to make fine adjustments. The advantages, as I see them, are that they take up less physical space and significantly less materials (I can make an 8 fluid ounce bottle of paint literally last for years at the scale I currently work, whereas a single larger figure might use up one, or several bottles). 19. Your site has too many pop-up advertisements, do something! Out of my control. All of my files are hosted by free web space providers. They're not making any money from me, or anyone else who gets free web space from them for that matter, so they make their money from advertisements. If I paid the providers for my web space, I could get rid of the ads, but I don't have the funds for that. I know they're annoying, and I apologize, but you'll just have to live with them if you want to view my web pages. 20. What the heck does '2.5D' mean? A halfway state in between 2D and 3D. In terms of relevance to my web site and work, 2.5D refers to figures I've made that consist primarily of 2-dimensional pieces/objects arranged in a 'pseudo' 3-dimensional fashion. My 2.5D figures are generally 'flat' in nature, but usually have several areas designed to give them some depth, or at least the illusion of it. A 2.5D figure only looks 'right' within a very narrow range of vision (think of a piece of paper, the front and back are rectangular in nature, but if you look at the side, all you see is a narrow line). A 3D figure looks correct from any angle because it is a 'true' 3-dimensional object. Keep in mind that all of the above explanation is relative, because all objects in our world are 3-dimensional, even a piece of paper; so, in that sense, all my figures are 3-dimensional, no matter what I label them. I first became familiar with the tag '2.5D' when it was used to describe early first person shooter video games (such as DOOM, Heretic, Hexen, etc). 21. Where do you get the information for your figure descriptions? Do you make it all up? I look for official and unofficial sources of information when I can for reference (history, anatomical/mechanical data, instruction manuals, F.A.Q.s/guides, monster encyclopedias, mythology, etc.) If the character/creature is from a video game, I will generally use my observations from actual gameplay, whenever possible, to describe attributes and behavior (i.e., if a given creature jumps in and out of lava in the game it's from, I would probably write in my description that molten rock is its natural habitat and that it is immune to extreme heat, and might go on to further describe physiological attributes that make it possible to live in such a harsh environment). Some of it I do just make up, for the purposes of expanding on the background or making things more interesting, particularly in cases where there is little, if any, official information to base a description on. However, even when I'm creating original content, I try do so in a manner that is consistent with what one could reasonably expect of the character/creature in question (I'm not going to say something can fly or shoot laser beams out of its nose if there's no evidence or likelihood that it could do so). 22. What happened to "..."? It's not on your web site anymore. I probably took what you're looking for down because: (A) I needed to make room for newer stuff, or (B) I just didn't want it on my web site anymore. If you're looking for something in particular, drop me a line and I can probably dig it up for you. I may also be able to provide a larger, higher-resolution scan of illustrations if I still have the original art. 23. I signed your guestbook; why doesn't my entry show up? All guestbook entries need to be checked and approved by me before they're published. Unfortunately, I have to do this because I have problems with inconsiderate people using my guestbook to advertise pharmaceuticals, dating services, etc. Be patient, so long as your entry is 'legitimate', and doesn't contain profanity, I will allow it to be posted--just keep in mind it may take several days or longer for me to do so (I don't always remember to check my guestbook for submissions when I'm online). With Yahoo! Geocities going bye-bye soon, the site won't have a guestbook anymore--you'll have to e-mail me if you want to comment. |