Summary of Steps 1 and 2
For my Genius Hour project I connected and reached out to ten experts on Twitter about drawing (online and by hand). These are their usernames and links to their Twitter pages:
Tea_Floof
Hanako Chan
Yuki
lil_janii
Milkoes
Francesco LO IACONO
Inky Illustration
Society Illustrators
Illustration Ltd
Artistz93
…However getting responces from only five: Tea_Floof, Yuki, lil_janii, Francesco LO IACONO , and Milkoes.
The people I have chosen are either illustration-specialized companies or highly talented and/or experienced artists.
As my genius hour project is about drawing manga/anime, I chose to look for experts on a less specific spectrum (drawing in general) to have a wider variety of experts to choose from.
As I contacted the experts I chose, I asked them about the tools and inspiration they use for their artwork. To ask them these questions, I tweeted publicly, @mentioning them, and asked them. In addition I made sure to like the original questioning posts I wrote so I could get notified when one of my experts answered.
From the five experts who answered me, most of the information giving to me would eventually help me out in my genius our project.
Reflection on the Process
After around three days all five of the experts who have answered me had answered.
Francesco LO IACONO had answered about inspiration. I had asked him what a good source of inspiration for art would be. He answered that family and friends would be a good place to find inspiration, or people we know in general.
I had asked lil_janii about an free downloadable software for virtual illustration, FireAlpaca. I had downloaded the program and asked her about how to use it. She answered and explained the whole process of how to use it.
I asked Tea_Floof about what makers she used for hand-drawn chibi characters such as this one. She answered that Copic markers are the cheapest and most descent to use, however she uses mostly alcohol based markers for blending and brush tipped markers.
Finally, Yuki (a video game and animation YouTuber which I have previously written about in another post) responded to my question about what tips could be given to a beginner animator, she along with Milkoes mentioned that a beginner should always learn by hand and not trace because it won’t teach them anything.
Two of my overall ten experts followed me back, one being amongst the ones who responded.
However none of my experts made contact again with me.
I might use this process in the future of my education as most of my top job interests involve drawing, one being manga/anime creator or even a cartoon creator.