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Jaxx Double Feature! | mrsmiley { December 17, 2004 }

Today's guest strip features one of my favorite Halo artists, Tina Leyk! Also known as Jaxx on our forums, Tina is very active in both the Halo Babies and the Halo community together! It seemed only right to sit down and find what drives her passion of drawing. Read on for an interview with Tina Leyk (a first as far as I know)...

Jaxx really exploded onto the Halo seen a while back. She absolutely dazzled us with her unique furry style of artwork, funny Halo comic strips, and incredibly detailed artwork! It has a been a while in planning, but I finally got a chance to sit down with Tina and see what makes her tick! Enjoy!

Online name: Jaxx / Jaxx BlackFox
Real name: Tina Leyk
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Location: Toronto, Ontario. Canada.

Where did you get your artistic abilities? Natural? Taught? Other?

I'd like to think it's natural, inhanced by being self-taught. I've been
drawing as long as I can remember, but haven't had much formal schooling.

So tell me, what fuels your love of drawing?

Everything! Music, games, books, movies. But Nature especially.

So what kinds of methods/programs do you use?

Practically everything. Real media such as watercolor, markers, colored
pencils, graphite, acrylics, ink. But as far as computer programs go, I
used Adobe Photoshop.

Wow! That's a broad variety! Who are some of your favorite artists?

Julie Bell, Boris Vallejo, Terry Isaac, Robert Bateman, Jennifer Miller,
Amber Hill, Samantha Whitten, and many others.

Ok, I know there are a lot, but which is your favorite self-made art piece?

Hmmm, that's a toughie. It's most likey one of my old dragon paintings
from '97, the one titled "Before The Storm." It's the one I remember most fondly. But as far as my Halo images, "Silent Guard." by far.

Woah, I haven't seen that dragon one before! *drools* So what pays your bills?

I worked as a Dog Groomer and Kennel worker, anything to just get by.
Currently I'm uh, "between jobs".

Hehe, I see where you get your "furry" ideas from. What made you decide to start the "Fur-Lo" comic series?

Playing co-op on the xbox with my younger brother Tim. We'd end up
laughing at random weirdness until our sides hurt. I made a single strip
one night just for the fun of it (I think it was "Get A Better Gun."), and
it just caught on and went from there.

That's awesome, but why did you choose the "furry" art style for the strip?

Animals are fun to draw, and lend themselves well to humorus comidic
roles; no one else was doing it in their Halo fan comics either. And... I
can't draw humans very well.

Haha, I can sympathize with that one! So do you think Halo 2 effected your art work at all?

It's not really changed or effected my art beyond giving me more awesome
subjects to draw. ;D

We all know you love art, but what other stuff do you like to do besides drawing?

Um, I like to read, play certian video games, sculpt, hike, and I love
cooking.

...And long walks on the beach... =P Anything you want to say to our readers before you go?

It never ceases to amaze me how wonderful a fandom the Halo Community is,
and how wonderful it's members can be. Thank you for making me feel
welcome in your midst.

Jaxx, you ROCK. Period. We're all priviledged to have you here on this site!

Be sure to check out the rest of Tina's art at her site!