Hello everyone! Welcome to yet another AB Creator Feature~ In these articles, we take an artist and drop them under the spotlight to learn more about them as a creator, and about their history in the Anthro community. Today's guest is probably a big mystery to lots of us, but I can tell you first hand that WhisperingForNothing (WFN) is one of the sweetest out there! I'm sure you're all just as curious as I am, so let's get to it~

1. Please introduce yourself! Tell us about your sona, or main character, and what inspired them into your life.

Heya ! My name is WhisperingForNothing or WFN for short ! I'm most known these days for my animations and my most popular character is my mascot, Latte ! She's a gentle cow maid who mixes her own fresh milk with the coffee she serves. You could say my followers are her clients in a way~ I have a big obsession with just about all cow themed eroticism in general, for reasons I cannot explain.

2. How long have you been drawing in the general sense?

Oh my lord, I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, ever since primary school really. I've always wanted to make a career out of art in some shape or form, and so it led me to pursue different paths. The most important being animation. I've worked and studied really hard in a 3D animation school and even managed to win prizes in festivals with my graduation short film!! However it was so hard to actually land a job in this field (as well as carrying student debt on my back), that I had to give up on it altogether. But I never stopped drawing the entire time!

3. Do you prefer digital or traditional art more?

I most definitely prefer digital art now! Although it wasn't always the case. Even though I first got to use a tablet at a fairly young age, I was terrified to get rid of paper and simply used it to color lineart I would prepare beforehand; using ballpoint pens. It wasn't until just a couple of years ago that I finally made an active effort to get rid of paper entirely, and develop my skills enough to be able to make everything digitally from A to Z. I was working like this until the end of 2019 or so. If you look back around that time, you'll see a dramatic change in the quality of my lineart, that's why. Ahah.

4. What art program do you use? What are its best and worst features?

I use Adobe Photoshop for art, Live2D for animation/Vtuber modeling, Adobe Audition for sound work, and Adobe After Effects for video editing/vfx. As a side note, I am well aware Photoshop is frowned upon in the art community for many valid reasons. I mostly use it out of habit alone, because I am now terrified of yet again losing my landmarks while trying to learn another software. I wouldn't say Photoshop is the best at making painting or shading feel natural, but I am in love with its liquify and warp tools. They help me a great deal.

5. What brought you to the Anthro community?

I got into the Anthro community very early on, during my stay on Deviantart. I was absolutely obsessed with the little chao characters from Sonic the Hedgehog and the video game Okami. I made my own OCs, all of which were obviously extremely edgy of course. At the time, I was making one fully colored piece a day for free to anyone who would simply ask me to. I realize now how silly of a practice that was, considering I was essentially working for free. But it was a lot of fun, and it gave me daily opportunities to test my limits. I've always been more inspired by art's power to make fantastical creatures come alive, and anthropomorphic characters are a big part of that. I wasn't so drawn towards portraits, still life, or things of that nature, but this entire community was always bubbling with new worlds and visual ideas. I think that enthusiasm and passion got me hooked.

6. Tell us about an artist that inspires you!

My god I have far, far too many artists I could fanboy over, this question is cursed. (Hey! None of my interview questions are cursed!!) Surprisingly, a lot of them actually operate completely outside of the Anthro community. I draw most of my inspirations from anime and manga artists, in terms of aesthetic and appeal. Although it might not directly reflect on my art, Tokiya Sakba/7ZEL has had a big impact on me. The dark, street wear, gruesome aesthetic clashing with the colorful, cutesy proportions of anime really stood out to me. I'd love to take this direction for more serious projects in the far future. As for hentai artists, Pija, Jagayamatarawo, Mizone and Sasamori Tomoe are just a select few of what I aspire to reach someday, in terms of sexual appeal. But some of my favorite artists among the Anthro fandom include Cervina7, Chelodoy, MilesDF, Inax, Aomori, Chunie, Shermugi... but I'm purposefully missing many from that list. Believe me, we would be here all day.

7. What are your current art goals?

I believe my priority right now is to sorta keep doing what I do for as long as I possibly can, and survive! I'd love to find new ways to improve my animations. Maybe manage more than just one scene or angle of view in a single animation, create bigger projects involving the skills I already have on that front. I've been drawing manga for an anthology I'm a part of, currently sold in Japan/Comiket and although I'm still so inexperienced and slow, I would absolutely love to develop my skills enough to make comics and enter the doujinshi world as an author. I've also created a number of Vtuber avatars now and am getting more comfortable with the process. I'd love to introduce the technology to the Anthro community as I believe we could greatly benefit from it. It's essentially just like a digital fursuit if you think about it!

8. If you could master any skill overnight, what would it be?

Anatomy and line control. I really wish I had stronger foundations so I could just... feel comfortable drawing. No matter how much I love it, art is always a struggle and it never seems to let me feel at ease while doing it. I constantly have to think hard about what I do, concentrate and fine tune/correct proportions here and there. I wish I could rely on muscle memory to carry me forward, but that doesn't seem to be possible as of now.

9. If you could give one piece of advice to new artists, what would it be?

I think the one thing we should all embrace as artists (regardless of skill) are our own obsessions. Find that one thing you cannot get out of your head, seek new and interesting ways to illustrate it, put it to motion, and give it life. Allow yourself to dive into the things that resonate with your mind, find out what pops to your eyes in the things you see. It will surely push you forward and make you starved for information and documentation. Contrary to popular belief, I believe it is necessary to compare yourself to others in order to carve your own path. I think frustration is a sign that we deeply care about these things, but it's up to you to turn it into an inspiring, positive experience instead of a negative one. Make this pent up energy your own and use it to charge forward.

10. What prompted you to begin taking commissions? How was it when you first started out?

I first started taking commissions simply because I was already drawing for strangers free of charge, and suddenly realized I could actually do it for money instead, ahah. My family did not approve of it at all, so I kept doing it in secret, building my presence in the community bit by bit. As it turns out, it was worthwhile. Especially since I had something to fall back on after failing to start a career, and people were still interested in the things I was doing. I'm really grateful about that.

11. What advice do you have for artists that are thinking about beginning to take commissions for the first time?

PLEASE don't undersell yourself. We all deserve to be paid accordingly for our work, regardless of who we are. I am aware you'll be facing great competition, and you might have to cut down some of your rates at first if you want to attract an audience of your own. But remember this should always just be temporary. The time you put into your creations has its worth, don't underestimate it.

12. What's your favorite thing about the Anthro community?

A lot of us are open about our sexuality and never hide it out of shame. We find ways to celebrate it and embrace these parts of ourselves. I know it personally helped me a whole lot to discover who I really was. There is such a vibrant positivity surrounding it and it led me to make strong connections with people. Still, be careful out there ! I also believe I benefited a lot from opening myself to this community, it was a warm welcome and introspection that led me to become a better person in the long run.

13. Tell us a little known fact about yourself!

I actually have a male fursona of my own !! I just don't draw him enough and I'm really ashamed of that.

14. Where can we find you online?

You can find my work on Twitter (https://twitter.com/WFN_Art) ,

or Furaffinity (https://www.furaffinity.net/user/whisperingfornothing)

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And there we have it! Another wonderful interview with a very talented and kind artist. I wanna thank WFN for participating and letting us into his life a little bit! I know it can be difficult to share things about yourself, but it's always so much fun to learn about the creators that power our community by sharing their talents and skills.

As always, if anyone would like to participate in an artist feature, please reach out to me! I can be found on Discord, Telegram, and email; all of which are located on the AB home page. These features are totally free, open to all creators in the community no matter what you make, and I am more than happy to send the survey to anyone who wants one.

Thanks for reading!