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Hello All. Welcome to my very own Q and A Self-Interview! I will be asking myself several questions regarding both who I am and about the Ongan Region Project (O.R.P). I hope your answers are both..well..answered and additioonal questions to be answered will arise!
Q:What got you into Pokémon and the fakedex community?
A: I have been playing Pokémon since '98 and have been addicted to it. Around that time I started my first actual fakedex. My relationship with the franchise has been both love and hate; especially when I was a teenager since it was not considered "cool". Fast forward to now and I still enjoy it; especially since I bought Black and White. More so though, I enjoy art and drawing. I have been drawing even earlier then Pokémon with no sign of stopping. I have always been working on some type of art project regardless if it's graphic design, ceramics, manga, 3-D modeling, etc. This is just another fun, filled venture in the world of Pokémon. Contrary to popular belief (maybe), I actually do have a life and just consider this as a hobby; a fun hobby. Though, who knows where a path will lead you. While it may be a hobby, this could be a start in a career.
Q: What made you get back into Pokémon?
A: A girlfriend at the time thought the entire thing was stupid (video games in general; I suffered greatly because of it). So, in order to please her, I dropped most of the hobbies and such (drawing, videos, . When I heard about Black and White, I couldn't help myself and started creating what is now the Ongan Fakedex.
Q: What is the Ongan Project?
A: The Ongan Project is a Fakdex project that I started that started branching into its own. I am trying to put as much thought and effort into creating something real instead of a "oh this is my fakedex!" idea. I want to create culture, history, and a backstory involving the Ongan region.
Q: How do you come up with fakemon ideas?
A: A lot of it ideas that I had previously. Ongan is a mix of old ideas and new ideas; old fakemon and new fakemon. For example, Genmashi, the Bug and Ghost type fakemon is one that has been with me since '98 whereas Burrodori hit my like the bulldozer it is one day while riding my bike to work. I drew up the design when I got to work and drew lineart for it that night. I also come up with type combinations before I come up with a pokemon thought this isn't the most popular way I go about it. I also surf Deviantart or the web to get ideas or inspirations. I also do my own research into various animals, plants, historical figures, myths, fables, legends, and mythology to come up with new fakemon.
Q: On that subject, what is your process of designing a fakemon?
A. When I come with an idea, I first sketch it out in a small notebook. A very rought sketch. Next, I transfer it over to a larger sketch pad where I draw it out in various poses, gestures, and expressions. I also drew it from the front as a battle sprite as well as the back sprite. Next, I draw it as I would on the computer. The next step is doing the line-art (by mouse) of the fakemon. This goes pretty quick (my record is 5 within the day) but it depends ont he complexity and size. After I finish doing the lineart for it, I begin the coloring process. I usually do a very rough coloring job first. I then clean it up and begin doing the shading of darker colors; usually doing one or two shades. I then blend the colors together (I know Sugimori does not blend too much but...I'm not Sugimori). I then save a PSD and a PNG format of it. I usually then create a thumbnail of the fakemon and a miniversion of it for forums and such.
Q. What is the Ongan Region?
A. The Ongan Region is located west of Johto and north of Hoenn. Much like previous regions, it is based on the island of Shikoku and the Western part of Honshu in Japan. Shikoku is a mostly rural, mountainous island underneath the area of Chugoku with the Inland Sea Seto dividing the two. This where Ongan's name comes from (two) "distant shores". Birdges connect the islands together with two mountains on either island and a giant shrine in the middle. The first island, which has yet to be named, is the most populous which is opposite to the real Shikoku. Cities such as Takamatsu, Tokushima, Kochi, Okayam, Hiroshima, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Miyajima will have correlations in Ongan.
Q: How many fakemon will be in the Ongan Project?
A. Well, as of right now, NEradagon is the last Fakemon in terms of numbers that has been released (#150). I hav eyet to give the final number but to give you an idea, it will me shorter then Isshu but more then the other regions.
Q. Why did you decide to make entirely new fakemon (much like how Isshu is) despite Ongan being part of Johto and Hoenn?
A. I often wondered thus myself. I felt inspired by Isshu's introduction of so many unique and interesting pokemon that I wanted to try this out too. My cover up that Ongan is protected by a barrier on both sides haha. There are vast mountain range son both islands that connect Johto.
A. Will there be evolutions/pre-evolutions of pre-exisiting pokemon?
Q. Yes and no. Not in Ongan but in the far future, look for an additional "expansion" of Ongan that will contain evolutions/pre-evolutions.