Interview with GotGame’s deviantART Contest 2008 Winner

The winners have been selected for GotGame’s DeviantArt art contest. There were many submissions that wowed us. After careful deliberation based on style, game atmosphere, composition, and overall skill, we have chosen the victors. The winners and their submissions can be found at the GotGame deviantART page. As part of his prize, we’re doing a feature on the Grand Prize Winner: Nicochi.

Here is his winning piece:

GotGame: Congratulations! Your rendition of Samus really impressed everyone and we are pleased to award you with the grand prize! Now, a few questions for the masses.

You mentioned that Samus is your favorite character because of her mysterious nature and the creepy alien world she is forced to explore alone. Now that Samus has been represented in a not-so-mysterious way, do you think that takes away from her charm?

Nicochi: Yes and no. Before Fusion, Samus rarely talked, and they never really went into great details about her backstory, except for the major details. There was a lot left open for the player to imagine, and I kinda liked that. For example, in the first one, you didn’t even know that she was a woman unless you got the best ending! So in that sense, when they started fleshing it out a bit more, some of the mystery and the initial appeal was lost.

However, what they’re showing is still an awesome character, so in that sense although it took away the initial appeal (which I guess was bound to happen, otherwise the games would grow stale if they never showed anything new), they really did make her a great character. So since the “mysterious aspect” was replaced by something good, I don’t really feel that it hurts the character at all.
However, I do feel that they’re giving a bit too much importance to Zero Suit Samus (the jumpsuit version without armor).

How did you become interested in art? Have you taken classes?

I’ve been drawing ever since I was a little kid. I remember playing Sonic the Hedgehog on the Genesis, when I was about 6 or 7. I’d sometimes pause the game and draw what’s on the screen! So I guess you could say, games are what originally made me interested in art! I also tried really hard to reproduce what I was seeing in cartoons or comic books. A bit later, I started drawing my own characters and making some small comics. Lately though, all I’ve been doing is fan art… but I’m thinking of starting my own original comic soon. As for art classes, I graduated from College last year in the “Illustration & Design” program.

How long do you spend on an average piece?

Many people ask me that, and every time it’s really hard to answer. That’s because I never draw a picture in just one sitting… I’ll sometimes start a sketch in the evening, clean it up the next day, ink it a bit, continue later… so I never really calculate the time. Plus, I’m always doing something else at the same time, like watching TV or a movie, so maybe that makes it seem like time is passing faster than it actually is… And, of course, every image takes a different amount of time. Well, for the contest picture, for example, I’d say it probably took about 20 hours… but I really can’t say for sure. It could be more, it could be less! (Actually, probably more.)

Yowzas. Well, all the effort definitely paid (pun!) off.

In terms of aesthetic design, who is your favorite character?

There are so many… if I must name only a few, I really like Ulala from the Space Channel 5 games! I also like Crono a lot (as well as every Chrono Trigger character). Weird how I never drew him! And I can’t forget to mention Sonic… but that’s only the original Sonic, not the one they’ve been using since 1999! You know… the tall one with a smile in the shape of the Nike logo and green eyes. …hehe, sorry. I think I won’t get started on how much I hate what Sonic has become, or I’ll be writing at least 10 pages.

I understand the passion; we definitely all have our causes.

Where are you from originally? Where are you living now? What do you do when not winning contests?

I’m originally from Quebec, and my mother tongue is French. Right now, I’m living in Japan; I came here last year after finishing college. I’m still a full time student: I’m studying the Japanese language in a school for foreigners. I also have a part time job as an English teacher for children. It’s a lot of fun!
I also do online commissions once in a while, whenever I get requests. If someone wants a pic drawn, all they need to do is ask!

Canada! Japan! Two of my favorite places. I will definitely take you up on the request offer. It’d be cool to see an Ulala image, since you mentioned you liked her and she’s finally kind of back in the spot light due to Sega Superstar Tennis.

You mentioned you really like Metroid, but what is your favorite game of all time?

My favorite game of all time is by far Shenmue on the Dreamcast! It’s kind of a mix between RPG and Adventure… This game has it all: great plot twist, an amazing intrigue, the best music I’ve ever heard in a game, a world that is very detailed and fun to explore… and characters that really make me care about what’s going to happen (I think that’s probably one of the most important aspect in this kind of game). It’s kind of a slow paced game, but it never gets boring because there’s so much to see and do. I can’t get enough of it! One time when I was still in high school, I played the first Shenmue for 26 hours straight. I wish I still had the free time to do stuff like that! I’ve probably beaten it a good 25 times, and that’s if you don’t count Shenmue 2…

What about in terms of aesthetics? What do you think is the best looking game?

I’m not impressed by 3D graphics, and never have been, no matter how realistic they are. I mean, we see reality all the time, so I never understood what was so great about realistic graphics! So, what does it take to impress me? Aside from good looking character design, recently, I’ve been blown away by the graphics of “Wario Land: Shake it!” on the Wii (it came out in July in Japan). I think it’s pretty much the best looking game I’ve ever seen… without even pushing the console’s hardware one bit! It makes me feel like I’m looking through somebody’s art book! There is a lot of variety in the environments, and the animations on the sprites are beautiful, too. For me, there’s no way any 3D could ever top that. Plus, it was so refreshing to see a well made 2D game on a home console rather than a tiny handheld screen!

I also really, really like the look of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on the Dreamcast. Oh and Odin Sphere on the PS2. That game is SUPER well drawn.

Yeaaa. Odin Sphere and MvC2 are two of my all time favorites. It’s unfortunate that the 2D genre is fading, oftentimes I think it looks better than 3D.
What are you playing these days that you love?

Well, other than Wario, I haven’t really bought any recently released games in a while. However, I’ve been collecting Dreamcast games for the last few months. There were several old games that I missed when they originally came out, so I’m trying to catch up on some old classics… last week I completed Ecco on the Dreamcast for the first time, and right now I’m really into Mars Matrix and Ikaruga (both shoot-em-up games). Haha, I’m sorry I can’t give more examples of more recent games, but I really haven’t bought any in a while. However, I do want to get Fatal Frame for the Wii eventually, and I’d like to get a 360 for Soul Calibur 4 (I love the first one on the Dreamcast). I’ll probably get one with Resident Evil 5 next year.

A solid lineup. With the exception of Wario (since it’s not out here yet), those are all favorites of mine.
Who is your favorite artist (contemporary and/or historic)?

Akira Toriyama inspired me a lot back in the early 2000s! I love Dragonball, Dr.Slump, and I probably wouldn’t like Chrono Trigger quite as much if he hadn’t designed it!

At the other end of the spectrum, I also like Da Vinci’s drawings and paintings a lot.

Do you have a favorite piece of yours that you’ve created? What is it? Why is it your favorite?

I’d say it’s probably the Metroid image that won the GotGame contest! I really went all out for the details on that image, but I was still surprised that I won the Grand Prize, because there were several other entries that really impressed me.

What is your favorite medium to work with?

I usually ink my work on paper and color it on Photoshop. 2 years ago I switched from color pencils to Photoshop when I got a tablet. I do love the look of something that is completely non-digital, but Photoshop is just so convenient…

Do you have a personal website with a collection of your works?

I upload my new drawings on my deviantart page, nicochi.deviantart.com . I don’t have an actual website of my own.

Any tips to all the young artists out there striving for motivation?

I think the best way to improve, other than the obvious “practice anatomy from photos or real life models”, is to copy the work of artists you like. By copying, you will notice small details that you might have missed otherwise. You will also learn from their technique, and soon your skills will evolve to resemble the art you love, and yet your style will also develop its own uniqueness.

Also, keep every single drawing you make. Back home in Montreal, I have a folder where I’ve been putting every drawing I’ve made since 2001. I’m very embarrassed when I look at some old ones, but I think that this is the best way to see how much you’ve improved over a given period of time. Start right now!

Which is better? Cake or Pie?

It depends on which flavor If it’s a strawberry pie, then pie all the way!

The man knows quality, in the food world and in the art world. Thanks you for your time and once again, congratulations on your win.