The Featured Artist of the Week-aly_zimm
This weeks featured artist is someone who completely amazed us with her recent fireworks animation. I still cannot watch that animation and not feel like I am sitting out on the fourth of July with the best seat watching fireworks. Then her clip about her Sister and her link to a site about Rett Syndrome, which her Sister has, is just beautiful and so sweet. (It is also her spotlight clip if you haven’t had a chance to check it out, it is awesome!) Our featured artist has inspired us through these and many other beautiful animations and with her being such a helpful part of our community. This weeks featured artist is aly_zimm. 
Tell us about yourself, what is a typical day like?
A day in the summer is rather lackadaisical; after work I usually draw or catch up on some pleasure reading book. The school year is much more structured, though. I get up, get ready and go to school(and I must admit, I am usually drawing in class! The teachers don’t mind as long as I can still answer correctly when they call on me and my grades are good). I’m not a very social creature, so I spend the bulk of my time with my friends goofing around at school. After school, I check… maybe about three or four sites for updates—of course DoInk is one of those. After that I pick up drawing again or homework or a good book.
How old were you when you started drawing? Ever animated anything before?
I remember doodling in my grammar books in middle school. Once, I used about 100 page corners as a flip book; the formation of a dot that branched out into a stick man. Then his head kept growing and popped… Hmm, rather violent now that I think about it.
Anyway, I really picked up drawing in 9th grade(13 years old). It was a combination of my artist friends Christa and Laurel who got me inspired to draw. Laurel, who is a user on DoInk (Kelila), drew these absolutely astounding pictures of animals and used a delightful array of colors. I wanted to match her in skill! Then, Christa introduced me to anime by showing me how to draw her version anime eyes. After those two opened the door for me, I took off at a full run and started drawing constantly. I pushed myself to draw the objects and details I had difficulty with and taught myself whatever I wanted to know. Now, even after four years of non-stop art obsession, I realize more and more the things that I need to learn.
As for animations, if you count that little grammar flip-book as one, then I suppose I did animate something. Other than that, my very first animation was on DoInk. And I’ve had endless fun learning and manipulating the tools on this site!
Do you have a favorite artist or animator?
Truthfully, no. I taught myself how to draw, so I don’t have any original attachment to an artist whom I might have studied. I do, however, admire the art of my friends. They each have their own flavor and vitality, and their art comes alive at their touch. I can see them in their art, and knowing the person himself makes it even more special.
What inspires you?
Any thing, really. The way the sun catches the leaves of a tree; a friend laughing hysterically at a funny comment; my own chaotic emotions; a phrase from a book… anything that catches at my heartstrings, really. If it makes my heart ache with any type of emotion, - be it sorrow, excitement, or love - you can bet I will draw it.
Do you have a favorite cartoon and/or anime character?
Again, there is no famous character I can point to and say, “You know him? He is my favorite.” I fall in love with my friend’s characters. The more they write about or draw or even develop their character, the more I love him. Because that character is completely of their own making, and because I know my friends, I can see how they pour little bits of themselves into their characters. Every original character reflects some part of his creator, and I love watching the correlation.
What is your favorite musician or band, what are you listening to?
I like a little bit of everything, but what really nuzzles close to my heart is instrumental music. Anything instrumental! From Celtic music to Apocalyptica. I do not, however, have a favorite band. I have specific songs that I adore and admire. The quality and emotion of a song register with me. I can tell you that minor is my favorite key, and that violins are my favorite instrument.
Just a few of the songs that are near and dear to me are “River Flows in You” by Yiruma; “To Zanarkand” by Nobuo Uematsu; and “Hope” by Apocalyptica.
What are your Favorite websites, outside of DoInk?
Another wonderful art website is DeviantArt.com (I’m here: http://aly-zimm.deviantart.com/). That is where I put up many of my drawings and a few written pieces. There are so many brilliant artists there, and they range from professionals who have been learning for years to people who have never even picked up a pencil to draw. They also have writing, photography, sculptures and any other form of art you could possibly thing of.
I also have a Facebook account; it is a wonderful and safe way to keep in contact with friends. No to mention the bazillion games and quizzes and other activities they have. I usually stick to talking to my friends, though.
And then there is a role playing forum dubbed “Toborri”, http://toborri.proboards.com/index.cgi. They have a dash of everything and I know almost every person on that site. We have a good, friendly community and lots of fun writing out our adventures.
What are your hobbies?
Need this be asked? Drawing, of course! Along side that is reading, writing and composing (I play the piano. Somehow, I still can’t read music, so I do it all by ear). Whenever there is opportunity, I act in drama productions. Just this spring, our school chose ‘Little Women’ as our yearly play; I, a through-and-through alto, quickly learned how to sing soprano as the character ‘Beth’. Now that was a challenge!
As for books, I enjoy science fiction and fantasy. I never used to like to read, but in 5th grade our teacher read ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban’ to us in class and I fell so deeply in love with it that I bought my own copy and read along with her in class. After that year, I started at the beginning of the series. After I ran out of books, I jumped to another series called ‘The Mars Diaries’ and my love for books was secured.
And writing? Oh, I wish I could write structured poetry more! I do mostly free verse poetry and short fantasy stories. In middle school, I wrote an entire book. Looking back on it now, I chuckle to myself. My writing skill was nothing short of embarrassing!
What are your favorite Computer Games?
Actually, I like war games. Very strange for a shy introvert like me. For several years, I played “Battlefield 1942” and even joined a “clan”. Just recently, a friend introduced me to “Halo”. It reminds me a lot of “Battlefield 1942”, so I caught on pretty quickly. Whenever we go to his house, we usually play a bit 1x1.
How did you find DoInk and what is your experience so far?
My friend Laurel (Kelila) turned to me one day in school and asked, “Have you ever heard of Doink.com?” Of course I hadn’t, so she told me a bit about it and insisted that I try it out for myself. She showed me one of her animations that she put on DeviantArt, and I had to admit that it was really good.
I created an account and played around a little bit, trying to master the tools of the site. When it actually worked, I was exhilarated! It was so simple and easy; I couldn’t believe it. I thought to myself, “Is creating an animation supposed to be this easy?” and I thought for sure that they had cheated somehow. Haha!
I saw a couple of other animations and gleaned a couple of really useful tricks. One such animation was “run away” by skit. I used her tricks for both my “Run and Jump” and “Boredom” animations.
After I got the basics down, I played with the tools and stretched them to their limit. I can’t explain how much enjoyment I’ve received from putting forth so much work and seeing it in action (in all literal senses)! I’m still learning, but I suppose that is a never ending process.
Any advice for other DoInk users?
Learn from other people. Don’t copy their work, but note exactly how they used a certain tool or drew a certain perspective or shaded an object in a really cool, unique way. Dissect their process and then use what you learned.
I consider art to be the physical manifestation of an emotion. Think of what you love or hate or any strong emotion and let it consume you as you draw. Show it so loudly and clearly that other people can not look away. Have a reason behind your art… that is half of the piece itself.
And, as always, practice. If you feel completely stuck and can not figure out how on earth to draw or animate something, then seek a reference. Have patience with yourself, and don’t exasperate until you’re so fed up that you don’t care. If it is taking a long time, then get up and take a break until you’re ready again. During that break, your mind will have time to calm down and subconsciously think through the process. You might even have an epiphany while you wait.
Your favorite clip that you have done?
Desire’ by aly_zimm, made at DoInk.com
