Ok, we all know the Sporepedia is full of creations that are extremely mind-boggling, while some...not so much.
In this thread, I would like to ask the talented, awesome, creative designers that have so much to offer the spore community if they would consent to be interviewed. I will be pming certain creators and (if they are agreeable) post the interview up front. The interview will mostly contain questions about their creations, which is their favorite, techniques they find useful, and who they would like to see gain some glory. If a creator does not want to be interviewed, or asked certain question(s), I will of course, respect their desicion. This is intended to help bring out the best in all creators, known and unknown. With that, let the interviews begin!

(interviews may be posted fairly irregularly, for the conveniences of our famed friends, so check back often!)

Paramagnetic

Jezrhen-king: When you make a creation, what do you do?
Paramagnetic: Usually I like to think out my Creations before I get on Spore. Sometimes I will Draw a quick Sketch of it out, just to keep the Idea Fresh for when I get back Home. I'm not an "on the fly Creator", I find having a good Backbone of what i'm going to Create gives me a focused idea. This gives me more flexibility with detailing since I already know what to make. You can spend more time on the Detail Work & it wont take 3 hours to finish. When you work on the fly & throw something together, yes its faster, but you tend to drift from one idea to another & come up with a mixed Creation. This will lead to loss of Detailing since you focused more on different ideas on a single creation. But its all up to the Creators on this, some work better on the fly giving there Creations a Unique feel.

Jezrhen-king: I really liked your Joker mask creature. Can you explain the thing with the eyes? How is it that they follow you around in the editor?
Paramagnetic: Well actually that came on totally by accident. I Originally made the eyes with Wrottentails. But due to the Coloring Schemes with the Green Hair, the eyes turned Green as well. There was nothing I could do to change there coloring without changing the hair color. So I took them out & just left the pupils in, after that I noticed the eyes appeared to follow me in the editor. If you have ever been to Disneyland & taken the Haunted Mansion Ride there's a group of heads that appear to follow you around the room, its merely an Optical Illusion. All you need to do to re-create this effect is sink in the eye Sockets & place the pupils at the center, then as your creation changes angles the eyes will appear to follow you.

Jezrhen-king: What do you see in Spore that could be improved/changed/added?
Paramagnetic: Now this is a tough question, i've talked with dozens of people & i've heard many different ideas. What I would Improve is the Creature Creator needs a better Coloring Program. To be able to color individual limbs & details would make an Enormous Difference. There's a few things that Spore could Change, such as there Server issues & limited amount of Installations. The Sporums could use some Work as well, Spammers push out all of the Interesting Topics & Major Threads should have there own Topic Listing like MPT "Most Popular Threads" or something like that. This would allow smaller threads time to be seen & allow them to Grow, instead of getting pushed back into the Archives as all of the already Popular Threads get all the Attention. What I would like to have added is a long list ranging from more in game stages to more Editors. It would be so Wonderful if Spore was 100% Editable to each specific Users exact desires. Plus the Addition of Invisible Limbs would be Most Excellent!

Jezrhen-king: What is your favorite editor and why?
Paramagnetic: Definitely the Creature Creator, when I First started playing Spore I actually had a hard time with the Creature Creator so I mainly made Ships & Buildings. But once I got Online & started to see all of the Incredible Creature Creators out there I was Hooked on Creatures. It all started with TarsTarkas' "Fat Head" Creatures, he is an Excellent Limb Sculptor & I was Amazed at the Level of Expressions these Creations of his could give in the Editor Alone. Simply by placing limbs in a specific order gives the faces limitless expressions. I find Creatures have more Feeling to them, plus you can test drive them in the editor & play around with your new found creature. Its also more Challenging to make a Good looking Creature that also Functions Properly. Like Creature Vehicles, most of the time they will try to walk. But if you work with them you can actually get a Realistic Driving Effect, like with my "3000 Comments!" Creation.

Jezrhen-king: What creating tips do you have to offer the community?
Paramagnetic: Well im still New to the Community & always learning. So I will say pay attention to how other Creators make there Effects, whether its in the Building Editor like AapBurger or bayareaartist with her Amazing Coloring. Feel free to Download there Creations & take them apart to see how things tick. Learn about Advanced Tools, this way you can Rotate Objects in 3D to get Totally different Effects. Experiment with everything, all Objects have a different effect when Rotated or Extended. This Honestly is the best way to Learn, I could explain how to do Tricks. But if you don't really know when a Creation needs that specific Trick, its kinda pointless. It all depends on the Effect you're trying to get out. I find if I cant figure out the effect im looking for, I will do a search in the Sporpedia on creations I think would have similar effects. So pay close attention to what people seem to be attracted to, like in the MPN. If you're looking to make a Style of your own, & not become "another brick in the wall". Try to stay away from Repetition. Even if you make Excellent Creations, if they don't POP Out of the Screen people will generally pass them up.

Jezrhen-king: Who would you like to see featured in the interview?
Paramagnetic: There are so many Great Creators out there, the 3 i've already mentioned are Excellent Candidates for this, but ill have to say LabRatABC for his latest "Fight Club" Creations. Such Amazing Work ive seen from this Creator Lately.


Vektrix

Jezrhen-king: You've made some awesome creations. Which one is your favorite, and why?
Vektrix: That is very difficult, none of my creations really stand out as head and shoulders above the rest. I personally like my Medal of Honour, an experimental artwork that techno605 featured on his thread a few weeks ago. However, I will always have a soft spot for my two main empires, the Ergonians and The Krayven. As creations they are not spectacular, but as ideas and investment in time and effort, they have taken up a lot of my time.

Jezrhen-king: How do you tend to make creatures? (exp. what kind of parts do you use? do plan it out or just go for it?) Vektrix: I experiment. Sometimes I know exactly what I want to achieve, and other times I just load up the editor and go for it. If what coms out is great, then that is good, if not, so what? At least I've learned something. The only exception to this is my raptors, that I dedicate to various creators, I try to "mimic" that creator's style, and look at their stuff to see what parts they use a lot. They are highgly planned creations.

Jezrhen-king: What are some things you like/dislike about Spore?
Vektrix: I love the creativity it allowers players to show-off, and because it also a game, it means it can attract both gamers and creators to it's family. However, I personally find space stage very repetitive, and don't like the lack of a sensible fleet or dfensive options irritating. I must though state that the inventive ways you are forced to mke certain shapes and effects in all editors is very rewarding - especially if you find them indepently or manage to master them.

Jezrhen-king: What is your favorite editor and why?
Vektrix: I have no real favourite, but I don't really like the vehicle editors (except space). I find myself stuck in trying to recreate vehicles in a style that would not be amiss on Earth - I think that is more a psychological barrier on my part rather than the limitations of the editor. I can get a bit OCD in what I create in each editor, I really would orefer all my creations to be functional. I probably spend most of my time in the creature editor though, and recently nhave become quite a fan of the building editors. y?


Jezrhen-king: What would you like to see in future exansion packs?
Vektrix: Like almost everyone, I'd like to see the aquatic stage. However, simple things would interest me more, such as tackling the many glitches in GA gameplay. I would also like to see more parts for the creature editor, such as purely carnivorous avian mouths, venom that is purely defensive (i.e. you automatically secrete when attacked, so no matter what a predator does to you, they incur damage) and a probscis set of mouths in the creature editor that isn't just the early one.

Jezrhen-king: Last question, who would you like to see in the next interview?
Vektrix: Two people spring immediately to mind. I have always been a fan of Sakiara, she is an amazing creator, and very nice person to boot. I am also a big fan of techno605, his artwork is awesome, and I have learnt a lot from him by ripping his creations

Nicholas_Cap

Jezrhen-king: I've seen a bunch of your creations and have been impressed by them. Which one is your favorite?
Nicholas_Cap: Oh man, that's a tough one. Hmmmm well I'll try to pick my top five: Necrid(Marine), Angler Fish, I'll Give you my Heart, Nightmare Dragon, and...well..all my new fairies haha it is so hard to pick!!!
Jezrhen-king: How do you go about making creations? (do you have a pre-concieved plan, or improvise?) Nicholas_Cap: A lot of times I don't try to force it, I just take a break from spore and wait for inspiration to hit. About a week ago I cut myself shaving and thus created the creature, "Shaving Accident". There are many times however when I am desperate to make a new creature so I simply enter the creator, start playing around, and usually end up with something descent.
Jezrhen-king: What editor do you like best and why?
Nicholas_Cap: Well, you can tell that I have talked about nothing but creatures in the previous two answers. The creature editor has always been my favorite and almost only. I have only made one creation that wasn't a creature out of game.

Jezrhen-king: What are some of the things you like/dislike about Spore?
Nicholas_Cap: One thing I hate about Spore is the fact that some people take it waaaaaaay to seriously! These people are letting their jealousy get the best of them and downrating great creations. I also don't like (I don't want to point fingers) how some creators are excellent, but show very little variety, all of their creations are fundamentally the same. Also, I got bored of GA pretty quickly, so I was dissapointed in that. A thing I love is all the innovation that went into the games creative aspect. I never though I could customize a creatures in a video game like this. I also love how kind a large portion of the Spore community is. I have made many friends on here and it is great to see people supporting eachother.
Jezrhen-king: What creation tips do you have to offer the community? Nicholas_Cap: You can't give up! Don't try to make a creature and expect it to be on the MPN right away, it takes time. No one knew about me until I made my "Phobie Series", that was my claim to fame. There's no shame in gaining inspiration from other creators, I do it all the time. When you find a creation you like view it in the editor, take it apart, and you can discover the various techniques used to make it. An important thing to do is to learn to use parts for reasons other than their intended purpose. Such as, snortles flipped upside down could be abdominal muscles and a distorted reapermantis could be a tongue. Just keep trying and gaining knowledge and technique. If you really try hard, you will get noticed.
PS: Don't think you haven't made it if you aren't featured, people. I've never been featured myself and I don't care!
Jezrhen-king: Who would you like to hear from in the next interview? Nicholas_Cap: I would love to see Reyes1 interviewed. He has some awesome creations!

Thank you Nick! Keep up the good work!

Copperlou

Jezrhen-king: You have many astounding creations, and have been top on the MPN list a lot. What (creation) is your favorite?
Copperlou: Hmmm, that's a tough one. However, I must say my favorite creation is Kysoran. That was my first creation that got to the top of the MPN list and earned me a lot of attention. It was my first real use of asymmetry and it taught me a lot about how to make an appealing creation (despite how funny he looks when walking, he hops on one foot!)

Jezrhen-king: How do you prefer to create creatures? What kind of parts do you find you use the most?
Copperlou: I tend to have a consistent method that I use to create my creatures. Normally, I have an idea in my head of what I want to create, however, the finished product rarely looks like the initial idea. When actually creating, I tend to make several slightly altered versions of the same creature, all with different parts and/or colors used. After that, I compare all of them together and decide which one I like best (sometimes it is a very difficult decision!) As far as parts go, I tend to use horrorlumps, knurl downs, heycorns, and feathers the most. I find that those parts are very versatile and can create some very original creations.

Jezrhen-king: What qualities do you look for in other people's creations that you were to rate/comment on? Copperlou: I can find something that I like in almost every creation, there are very few that I "hate." However, there are some that grab my attention more so than others. I tend to be attracted to fantasy creatures, especially dragons. However, any creation that has good coloring, detailing, posing, and/or sculpting will get my attention.


Jezrhen-king: What tips do you have for creators looking to add spice to their creations?
Copperlou: Take your time. I feel it is best to put a lot of care into placing the parts and finding the perfect coloring. If you find that you aren't satisfied with the finished product, then start over. Fantastic creations aren't made in just ten minutes. However, I feel that the best way to learn how to create a creation with a lot of "spice" is to look at and take apart other creator's creations in editor. Look at how that person put their creation together. That is a very easy way to get ideas and understand how that particular creator goes about creating. Also, one question that I frequently get asked is how I add so much detail on my creatures without going over the complexity meter. One common trick I use is asymmetry. For example, a mouth takes up a lot of room on the complexity meter. However, if you make the mouth asymmetrical, it would take up less room on the complexity meter, therefore allowing you to use more parts. I swear that I could write a book on this topic, but I'll end it here.

Jezrhen-king: What was your very first creation like?
Copperlou: Oh, haha! Very funny! So many fond memories about my first creation... Well, it wasn't much different from the average first creation. It was a dinosaur of sorts with maxis colors and pretty much every single weapon part. Feel free to look it up for lulz.

Jezrhen-king: Who would you feature on the Spore website?
Copperlou: I would love to hear what Doomnova has to say, as he has some very unique creations and seems like an interesting person.

Arastoph

Jezrhen-king: What is your favorite creation that you have made?
Arastoph:Hmm a tricky one to start with! I would have to say my favorite creation is Blizzaro

He was the first creation i ever made which got me a lot of attention and subscribers!! His general design came from a lot of experimentation with parts (the weapon parts mostly) and thanks to what i learnt making him i developed the style you guys know and love (?) today! His paint job is also rather awesome and glows!

Jezrhen-king: When you make a creature/vehicle/building, what do you do? (do you make it up as you go, or do you have some sort of plan?) Arastoph: I have a pretty big imagination. When i was only 8 years old i started making a video game (drawn out on paper) It was 937 pages thick when i finished it at the age of 10. The whole time i was making it i was not taking my ideas from anything i had watched or played they were all original thoughts i was drawing straight from my mind. So when it comes to Spore i tend not to look anywhere for inspiration i just close my eyes and imagine something that would fit a purpose and my style! I often have dreams as well which make me get up the next day and make something on here... usually the creators do not allow me to make it exactly as i wanted but i get pretty close!!
So the short answer is i pretty much never have a plan/plot/design i just go for it head first... almost literally!

Jezrhen-king: Do you play Spore as a game, or use it for creating awesome stuff like your Spectromis? Arastoph: I stopped playing the original game after one play through! unlike the actual stages in spore the creators provide the flexibility and freedom i love from a game rather than the senseless progression forward found within the actual game. I would say that the creature creator is my favorite just because of the extra outfits you can make once you have made the creature i love making body armour with big spikes and cannons! or the odd full body mech suit!
Jezrhen-king: What do you have to say to creators who are desperately trying to get featured? Arastoph: Getting featured is like winning the lottery but just like the lottery the more tickets you enter into it the more chance you have to win
Entering the contests within the sporum is the best way to get featured as long as you can beat the competition. The chances of winning a contest are still a lot higher than being picked from the millions of creations out there though. Though heavy advertising it frowned upon in the forums a small amount will help get you noticed by more people which means more possible subscribers in the future and more fame!
It is difficult to get noticed though i must admit it has taken me since the very beginning of spore to get anywhere near the glory such creators as Fotosynthesis, G3nji and Doomnova have
Never give up though your times will come!
Jezrhen-king: You have a lot of talent, and a lot of people love your creations. How do you handle your popularity?
Arastoph: NOT VERY WELL! like most people with over 2500 subscribers you get quite a few comments and i shamefully tend to only answer those who write more than just 3 words and expect feedback In the past a lot of people have said i dont look after my subs but they dont realise what i actually do for them! Outside of the sporums i hold daily meetings with a group of members who i have known for a very long time and we chose 4 creators who deserve a time in the spotlight and rate them up on the MPN. Ever since September last year we have been doing this anonymously not telling the people with have helped so they never know it was us. I also rate up 100 new creations a day but tend not to comment... im kinda like an all year round ninja Santa Claus!
Jezrhen-king: Last question, who do you think should be featured in the next interview? Arastoph: I would like CopperLou to have a chance to speak out!! They may be new to the sporums but they have amazing talent and their finished creations are flawless. I have much respect for them.

Rebecca1208

Jezrhen-king: Your creations have much detail and are very popular among the community. Which is your favorite? Rebecca1208: I have so many creations, it's really a hard pick... I guess my favourite would have to be an abstract creature called Maj'ei Blue, mainly because it's one of my earliest creations, and my first popular creation. It's simple, beautiful, abstract, an entirely new start and break through for me Jezrhen-king: When you are creating something, how do you go about it? (exp. do you pre-visualize it, or just make it up as you go along?)
Rebecca1208: Most of the time, I make it up as I go along. Sometimes, though, I do get a lot of inspiration from either TV, books, movies, games, other creators, or simply creatures/characters in a few books I write! I also make series, so I always have something new to create later, instead of exhausting every idea quickly. Adventures are slightly more complicated, but again, I usually make it up as I go along, except for my Valley of the Dragons adventures. Jezrhen-king: According to Vektrix, you have at least 2000 subcribers. How do you handle your popularity? Rebecca1208: 2300, last I checked. Handling it isn't very easy, to be honest. For a long time I've done my best to answer back to every comment earned, as well as giving a few extras, but the time comes when you receive more than you can give. I'm thankful I've reached the part where I no longer have to give comments to receive them, but I do not recommend to other creators that they simply accept comments and walk away. Answer back when you can, it's polite, it keeps your friends and subs loyal, and it makes you yourself seem like a nicer creator. Jezrhen-king: From your perspective, what is the best part of the Spore game? Do you use play it as a game, or use it as an outlet for your immense creativity?
Rebecca1208: The best part would have to be the creators, no doubt! For the first few months I had Spore, I'd play the game non-stop (I had over 80 games/planets!) but then, as did many other creators, I kinda grew bored and just enjoyed creating what ever I desired. I absolutely love art - Spore is another way to express that interest, which is why I barely ever grew bored of it!
Jezrhen-king: What do you have to say to those creators (me included) who are struggling to carve out a name for themselves in the Spore community? Rebecca1208: Hmm... Don't give up! You'll never gain anything by simply giving up. But, sometimes, it's easier to do nothing, or not try - back in January, Serevanth had featured me under his Unknown Creator Spot-Light. That was the start for me, the time when my name got out. I appreciate what Serevanth did for me, he gave me my first 100 subs and 100+ comments (a big number for me back then!). It's also very helpful to be friends with popular or famous creators - they don't have to be amazingly famous, but just a little known to make a great difference. Posting and politely advertising on forums is a good way to get your name out there, too; since I regularly started posting on the Sporum, I made many new friends, and my sub count began to grow! Participating in clubs, contests, challenges and more is also a great way. The most effective I have encountered is being featured by Maxis - my first feature helped me gain an additional 400-600 subs (can't remember exactly) so, perhaps try entering some Maxis challenges; they're often pretty hard, but very fun, and very rewarding!
Jezrhen-king: Last question, who would you most like to see featured in the next interview?
[color=blue]Rebecca: My closest friend, arastoph! If not him, then my second closest friend Cyana who may not use the Sporum alot.

Thank you Rebecca!
And to all of you who have been interviewed or have posted here!

ok

Err...I guess it's just because I have a natural talent at art
*everyone stares at Tyrron*
oh!...errr...sorry...I thought you were referring to me

A lot of famous creators don't really post on the forums, or don't play Spore anymore. But, good luck with this anyways!

I am interested to know what famous creators you have in mind actually. And what responses, if any, they give. Exactly how do you define "famous" in this context anyway?

Vektrix wrote: Exactly how do you define "famous" in this context anyway?

I'm curious about that too.

You can always leave a comment on a creation for the ones who don't come on the USA or ENGLISH versions of the sporum and ask if they would be interviewed.

Some (most) of my favorite creators are dutch, german, greek and south african. Many of them post on the german sporum frequently, but are only rarely on the english version.

Leaving a comment on a creation would be a good way to contact them. Most of them speak perfect english, as well.

WHY CAN I NOT BE FAMOUS?! DR. OCTASPORAPUS BLAH!!!!!!!!

Vektrix wrote:I am interested to know what famous creators you have in mind actually. And what responses, if any, they give. Exactly how do you define "famous" in this context anyway?

If you've had at least one feature, have at least 50+ subscribers, or enough people suggest you.

edit: I've asked Rebecca1208 for the first interview. I will be looking through the sporepedia, sporum and most popular creations list for interviewees.

Dijio wrote:WHY CAN I NOT BE FAMOUS?! DR. OCTASPORAPUS BLAH!!!!!!!!

That is not my call, it's yours. I hope you will be someday.

Jezrhen-king wrote:

Vektrix wrote:I am interested to know what famous creators you have in mind actually. And what responses, if any, they give. Exactly how do you define "famous" in this context anyway?

If you've had at least one feature, have at least 50+ subscribers, or enough people suggest you.

Then all animals are famous, but some are more famous than others....

I'd like to get some new talent as well as extoardinary in here so there can be more stars to shine in the galaxy, if you know what I mean.

ashkelon wrote:

Jezrhen-king wrote:

Vektrix wrote:I am interested to know what famous creators you have in mind actually. And what responses, if any, they give. Exactly how do you define "famous" in this context anyway?

If you've had at least one feature, have at least 50+ subscribers, or enough people suggest you.

Then all animals are famous, but some are more famous than others....

Pretty much this.

Jezrhen-king wrote:

Vektrix wrote:I am interested to know what famous creators you have in mind actually. And what responses, if any, they give. Exactly how do you define "famous" in this context anyway?

If you've had at least one feature, have at least 50+ subscribers, or enough people suggest you.

edit: I've asked Rebecca1208 for the first interview. I will be looking through the sporepedia, sporum and most popular creations list for interviewees.

Wowsers, a low couple of numbers, Becks is above both of them (2 features and 2,000 subs +). She is very likely to anser your questions as well. I certainly would have thought to be famous you'd need more subs than that actually, but it is your definition.

I look forward to Becks' responses.

This is a neat idea. Hope it works well!

You may want to increase your definition of 'famous'; there are many creators out there with 50+ subs or a feature, who most wouldn't consider 'famous'. My definition would probably be 200-300+ subs (though that is just my opinion).

Once again, good luck, and I'm looking forward to the first interview.