Power User Profile: Imp

This week's "Power User Profile" features the winner of the second Friday Night Fights, Imp!

1. A photo (or drawing) of you in "real life":
   
2. Online name used in HeroMachine environs: Imp
3. Real name: Jim
4. Real city/state/country: San Francisco Bay Area
5. Real job: Optician
6. Real age: A decrepit 38
7. Gender: Male
8. Married/single: Single

9. Online archive of your creations (if any): http://forums.ugo.com/showthread.php?t=35078
10. The best piece of HeroMachine art you've created:I can’t really judge my own stuff accurately.

11. Favorite all-time geeky movie if any: I’d have to say Watchmen or Aliens.
12. Favorite all-time geeky book if any: Stephen R. Donaldson’s “Gap” Series, Lois McMaster Bujold’s “Vorkosigan” Saga, George R.R. Martin’s ‘Song of Ice and Fire’, and my absolute favorite, Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay.
13. Favorite all-time geeky TV show if any: The Walking Dead, of course. Although the original V is a close second. I also loved Xena, Babylon 5, and Earth: Final Conflict.
14. Favorite all-time comic book character: Aquaman. 😀

    Seriously, although I do have a soft spot for Arthur Curry, I think my favorites are Warlord, Arion, and Grimjack. Anything by Garth Ennis is on my instant-buy list too.

15. If you could have one super-heroic power in real life, you'd choose: Either flight or immortality.

16. In your leisure time you like to: I’m an aspiring writer, so nearly all of my free time is spent scribbling on the computer. My first novel (a South Pacific vampire story with drug-runners and cannibalism) is done and is currently making the rounds of various publishers.

17. Character design turn-ons (things you love to see that make for a good design):I love a good spandex costume design. I think the temptation is to cram as much stuff into an illustration as possible, but simpler is almost always better, especially in a superhero costume. Resist the Liefeldian urge to add as much extraneous and useless junk as possible! Color schemes play a big part in it too; nothing ruins a costume faster than weird and clashing color choices.
18. Character design turn-offs (things you hate to see that make for a bad design): Illustrations that look like they were slapped together in ten minutes, with no thought or soul put into them. Like Hammerknight, I’m really bugged by wrong-facing hands and stuff like that, things that could be easily corrected by a few minutes of study and thinking about the layout.
19. Best tip for a HeroMachine newbie:Take your time. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Accept criticism, but don’t let it rule your life. If the criticism offered clashes with your vision, throw it out the window. If you’re not happy with your work, chances are nobody else will be, either.

    Also, never ever mention the word ‘Apex’ on the HeroMachine Forums.

20. Any personal message you'd like to share with the HeroMachine community about Geek Life:As clichéd as it sounds, be true to yourself. So many people live miserable lives because they try to fit in with social ‘norms’. It’s really horrible when you’re younger. Many of us (most of us, I suspect) were or are geeks in high school, and it sucks to be the outcast. But the silver lining is, if you stay true to what you love and don’t bow to peer pressure, you will almost always come out the other side into adulthood better off than other folks. Those drones will lead soul-sapping, creatively stifled lives, all in the interest of ‘fitting in’ and being cool. You, on the other hand, will have an open mind, be willing to try new things, and lead a generally all-around happier life.