Carrie Q contrary is Full
time warrior woman and part time comics artist. Carrie is known for
her portrayal of strong and sexy yet huggable ladies, super and civilian alike!
While past works have been strictly "Adults Only", Contrary's true mission
in comics is to promote healthy body image through fierce, curvy women!
Inspired by the works of Frazetta, Los Bros, Battle Kittens and personal
experiences!
Banci: Thank you, Carrie, for taking
time to answer my questions. What's happening comics- wise for you at the
moment?
Carrie: This year has been a good so far in terms of
putting my work out there and getting a positive response. Most of that is due
to having a small-press publisher like Dexter Cockburn's The Comix Company
putting out my stuff and doing the follow up work in terms of submissions for
review and social media marketing. The rest is because of my own initiative of
online networking, buying a domain for my blog, and participating in (local)
conventions. In terms of projects, I have a few things on the go, including SuperSexy,
a comic parody starring PowerGirl, Starfire and Supergirl in a sort of
love-triangle. I'm torn between the amount of XXX involved, because I've
written an actual story (with a plot and everything!) for the three of them,
and the sex would come towards the end. PowerGirl and Starfire are especially
favourite characters of mine, that I feel have been mostly misrepresented in
the DCU. I wanted to give them a femininity that was already strong without
the macho posing. But I do think its important to create characters and titles
that are 100% creator-owned. That's why
I'm also working on Poor Little Fat Girl and my own superheroine, Buxom.
Banci: What
interested you into making comix?
Carrie: Well, I guess it started when one of my
brothers wanted to make comics. When he was about 18, he wanted to be an
illustrator for Marvel. He had the blue-line boards and everything, and he even
got a letter back from them with detailed suggestions for his panels, which I thought
was pretty impressive. He reworked those panels over and over, trying to get
what they wanted. I don't know if this was limiting to him, or what, but I
don't think he ever resubmitted them. Maybe that insight into the process of
potentially having to redo things over and over turned him off. It's a shame
because his talent and interest in the technical aspect of anatomy and
perspective has always been impressive. But the more I make my own comics, the
more I find that you have to be willing to make changes, big and small. You
just have to keep pushing yourself, keep growing, and keep drawing!
Banci:what made you
decide to go the route of producing sexual fantasy comix, and do you think you
will stay in this genre for the long run?
Carrie: I'd have to say that the sexual fantasy came
first, and the comix followed. I was into pornography from an early age,
through suggestive things seen on TV and finding discarded magazines on
abandoned dirt roads. Often there would be illustrated stories of wild sex orgies
and the like, and I enjoyed the comics more than any of the actual photos. They
seemed more erotic, more authentic. Even today I enjoy sex comics over
mainstream porn. In the future, I will probably continue to do sex comics, but
I would like to think that I will have the ability to explore other genres. I
just lean towards adding sex because sex is still fun for me, and is well
misrepresented in a positive light, despite its popularity! And I find that as
a woman making sex comics, it seems to add an extra bit of intrigue that may be
beneficial to getting recognition, but its hard to say. Its definitely not one
of the driving forces behind my comics-making, at least. It's just the icing on
the cake!
Banci: what
relationship does your painting have to your comix works?
Carrie: I would call it a sort of theoretical
perspective based on my comix works. I definitely get inspired by superhero
comics, and want to make them my own in whatever medium I work in. At the time
of my resurgent interest in comics I was majoring in painting, and I was
constantly trying to find ways to translate my passion for comics into my art.
Some of my results (WonderWoman(2010) series, Wood (2011) series)
yielded better grades and critique than my later works (Wrestlers (2011),
but I have to say I am equally proud of all of them. Whether the theoretical
framework was flawed or not simply reflects my general distaste for the
academia that surrounds contemporary art. The more I meet other artists with
similar passions and outstanding artwork, the more I see evidence of this as a
widely shared sentiment. It's fortunate that the differentiation in
art/illustration/craft/etc is being successfully thwarted by the rising
popularity of independent culture.
Banci: Was there a
turning point when you decided that you wanted an artistic career in comix?
Carrie: I suppose it has just been a slow but steady
realisation that “I can do this!”. I have been making my due share of mistakes
in terms of drawing, storytelling, etc, in order to start yielding the sort of
results that I want. That, on top of the steadily growing and amazingly
supportive comics community that I have been networking with, allows me the
sort of encouragement to keep going. Whether I'd call it a “career” however,
remains to be seen. Comics are the one thing that I never seem to grow tired
of. That and the unaccountable support from the comics community, who are an
amazingly talented group in and of themselves (this includes you, Banci!).
Banci: growing up what comics did you first get into are
you a big comix fan
Carrie: Haha, embarrassingly enough, when I was growing
out of the Archies I ran smack-dab into the Liefeld/McFarlane craze of
the mid-90's. Spawn and W.I.L.D.C.A.T.S. were two of my
favourites. They were the ones my brothers were collecting, so I didn't really
go out and buy any myself. Three of my older brothers were big on the comics
collecting, so I had a lot of exposure to comics once I started taking an
interest. Unfortunately, their collections were pretty much limited to
mainstream stuff of the 90's. Its only recently that I have rediscovered my
eldest brother's collection that he started when he was a kit in the 1960's
that I have found some real gems.
Banci: How much of ClamJuice
and Hot Little Cut is autobiographical?
Carrie: I would have to say that NONE of ClamJuice is
autobiographical! And as for HLC, (hot little cut) it's just the portion of “Shameless”.
Speaking of which, I have recently gotten some steam from early-underground
creators regarding that particular issue. They were complaints that took my
work into an inappropriate context that I do not appreciate in the slightest.
Future plans for “Shameless” will be in a standalone issue with a disclaimer
for the intellectually-impaired.
Banci: What sort of people like to read
your comix and do you ever get any strange requests from people?
Carrie: Requests? I suppose I almost got invited into a
three-way with a couple, but that may be it so far. I get the question on
sexual orientation quite a bit, but I suppose that's just comes with the
territory. When I make comics, I don't try to over-analyse the why so much, I
find it inhibits what I'm trying to explore. A lot of my stuff begins with an
urge to draw something a certain way, or to exorcise pent up thoughts and
energy. As for the people buying them, I have both men and women buy them for
different reasons, but mostly because they say they get a kick out of it, or
because they don't see many comix like this by women. However, I don't
generally focus on a political, or gendered agenda when making comics: I just
draw what I like. My paintings, however, are rife with agenda! Gaze at them at
your own risk.
Banci: Have you ever got any hate mail
or any thing like that from any extremist groups etc
Carrie: Just the aforementioned controversy surrounding
HLC that has since been diffused. I have zero patience for individuals
who project themselves onto the creative works of others. In the case of
independent comics, and especially autobiographical comics, I think that the
interpretation of the work is not in the hands of the audience: it
belongs to the creator.
Banci: Describe the process and what inspires you to make
your comix
Carrie: I get inspired by anything from a person I
meet, to a picture, or something overheard. I tend to have lots of notebooks
and sketchbooks with different ideas in various stages, and at least a hundred
different '.docs' on my computer with stories, blurbs, and single sentences. I
have to say, the ideas I feel the strongest about I will come back to over and
over again until I fashion them into something viable. But I'm never entirely
done with any of them. I've been reinvigorated by old ideas, or have reworked
them in some way with new sources of inspiration. Usually all it takes is a
single cover photo of a comic I like, or a certain style of art or story to
start my brain working. I definitely come up with more ideas for comics than I
have time to make them! But I think its important for an artist in any medium
to be open to ideas, wherever they come from. You should trust in your own
ability to find a way to work from that inspiration.
Banci: Has your family or loved ones ever seen any of your
comics?
Carrie: Haha, a bit by accident, they have. The
consensus was laughter and maybe some slight embarrassment on their part, but
basically positive I think. They're the kind of people who enjoy a good laugh,
so they take it in stride. Living far away from them and having a pseudonym
certainly doesn't hurt either! I tend to keep my day-to-day life and more
imaginative, comics-persona separate, unless I'm confident that the person
would be comfortable with that side of me. I generally like people to be
comfortable in any given situation, if possible.
Banci: what types of tools, paper etc do
you use to make your comix and did you study art or have any formal training
Carrie: I generally use my trusty Pentel brush pen and
Faber Castell pens (M, S, F) for my inking, and Crayola erasable coloured
pencils for my initial line work. I love the Crayolas because I tend to draw
heavy-handed, and I find that non-photo blues make too much texture on the
page. They're a stronger lead I think, slightly waxy, and not the easiest to
erase. The sketchbook I use religiously is the Pentalic Utility Sketchbook,
perfect-bound. I can't stand those spiral guys anymore, I need my spines solid.
For 'fancy paper', I've really gotten into using this 11”x15” Canson
watercolour pads that have a slight tooth to them. I guess I'm nervous around
the popular vellum-finish bristol, it's too smooth for my hard pencilling.
However, for HLC I did Attack of the Giant Libido on 11”x14”,
20lb computer paper, so I don't really adhere to any specific rules. I like
finding new favourite tools. And I use white ink (just the basic FW
brand), because I find whiteout too cakey, and tends to have a glossy surface
that is unfriendly to brush pens. It can also layer up quickly when you have to
redraw a single face or eye again and again! You need a flat, opaque ink that
the paper can handle. And the watercolour paper is good for that. As far as
formal training goes, I did recently complete a BA with a major in art, though
the majority of my skill was developed during my diploma at a more
technically-sound college. There we studied how to draw well, which has
served me well since university art doesn't focus on technique in the least. I
can't tell you how many times I was grateful for the industrious days of my
college training. The formal training is not necessary for everyone, but I have
to say I believe it has helped me. It was the first opportunity I had to push
myself as an artist, and I grew leaps and bounds in those two short years. In
drawing, we were basically doing lessons directly from Drawing From The
Right Side of The Brain by Betty Edwards, which is widely available online
and in print. An excellent workbook for any artist, or aspiring artist. While I
experimented with things like ceramics and sculpture, most of my classes were
in drawing and painting, and to this day I find 3D arts and screen printing
difficult! And as far as drawing goes, technical detail, backgrounds and
perspective are things I am determined to develop further. My line work was
suffering until a helpful, and kindly, critique by Robin Bougie really stuck with
me. His critique has been immensely helpful in getting past the frantic, thick
brushstrokes of HLC and ClamJuice, to the more meditated and
solid lines I'm putting into SuperSexy. I hope to undertake perspective
and background and yield similar improvement, because I know I can do
better! Right now I am far to comfortable with quickly sketching them in or
avoiding them completely.
Banci: who are your favourite cartoonists that are around
today
Carrie: Oh, tonnes! Locally, it would be all of
my friends in the comics community like Robin Bougie and Rebecca Dart, my
fellow perverts at The Comix Company, local artists in Canada and online: too
many to list! Others include Oscar Bazaldua, Los Bros Hernandez (very
influential in recent years), Crumb, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Phoebe Gloeckner,
Dori Seda, John Howard of Horny Biker Sluts, Jab Comix, Adam Hughes,
Alex Ross, and so many more.
Banci: what’s your favourite quote
Carrie: It's a doozy! It's by Ira Glass, and I saw it
floating around Facebook awhile ago, and I have to say I feel less critical of
my work since having read it:
"Nobody tells this
to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative
work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the
first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be
good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you
into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints
you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know
who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work
doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through
this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you
gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of
work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story.
It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and
your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out
how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal
to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through." ---Ira Glass
Banci: what advice would you offer young girls starting
out in the comix game
Carrie: I would suggest to commit yourself to the
process, and not worry too much about where you are as you start out. It's
going to take awhile, you just have to keep doing it! Seek out people who support
your work, and whose work inspires you, especially other women comic artists.
The more networking, studying others' work and drawing, drawing, drawing that
you do, the better your future in comics will be. Don't let rejections or
criticisms slow you down! Take them in stride, and try harder next time! Your
work can always be better, and if you keep working at it, it will be.
Banci: what’s next for you and your plans for the future
Carrie: I've got some definite goals regarding my work,
but I'm also open to whatever may come my way. I have my immediate comics
projects that are currently in the pencil/inking stage as well as concept work
(eg, Buxom) which I would like to bring to completion within the next
year. Aside from that, I want to look into live performance, doing the
convention circuit and getting some global recognition for my work. You know,
the usual!
You can Keep up with Carrie and her goings on buy clicking the site below:
