1. For those unfamiliar, who is Dubtastic?
Dubtastic is a Laotian word meaning Allen Iverson. I thought it would be easier to register Dubtastic.com than AllenIverson.com. I do not want too many people getting confused.

2. Can you take us through your typical day?
Lately, I have been an exercise freak... I get up and hit the gym for about an hour. I get back and get ready for work (working at home makes this an easy process). Right now, I have a good boss who is more impressed by managing my time and being done at 5:00p rather than working massive amounts of overtime. After a fun day of graphic design and web development, I take a few moments to relax and catch the local news. Then it is time for more exercise. I have been running here in the neighborhood and find that it gives me a great workout at the end of the day. When I finally get back in and manage something healthy to eat, I try to work my way back into the home office and work on personal projects. Sometimes that is difficult, especially after doing similar work during the day. When I am burned out, I usually veg out in front of the TV.

3. What exactly got you into art and design and web design for that matter?
I have always been interested in art, since as far back as I can remember. My father gave me my first computer back in the day. It was a new 386 and only had Windows 3.11, Quattro Pro and Word Perfect on it, but I was consumed by new technology. Combining my love of anything artistic with computers was a natural marriage. Lately, I have had a strong desire to get back into more traditional work. I want to combine the traditional and digital media as much as possible.

4. Who and/or what inspires Mr.Dubtastic?
I have a lot of inspirations, actually. damnengine, steeldolphin, epoxy5, eyesuckink, angryblue, raster, etc, etc

5. What are your tools/programs of choice?
Photoshop. I hate Illustrator with a passion but will soon be forced to finally get as familiar with it as I am with Photoshop. I would love to learn Painter, because of some of the great works that I see created with it, but the time to sit down and learn that program on my free time is not enough.

6. What things do you do to try and push your self farther as an artist?
Basically doing what I want to do and try new things. I used to worry so much about what people on message boards thought about my work but it does not bother me that much any more. People will always have an opinion. As long as I am paying for the domain and putting the time in, I will create what I want to create.

7. Are you currently working in a graphic related field? And if so, what advice would you give to aspiring designers trying to break into the field?
Yes, I work in the field. The best advice I can give is to look for other work. I hate this industry. By the time I get done with work I have little drive and energy to do creative work with my free time, especially after sitting in front of the computer all day long.

8. You have started up a new site called Graphic Junkies, What is the idea behind the site and what future plans do you see for GJ?
Well, I have had the domain but never did anything with it. I thought it would be nifty to have a friendly contest site where artists and designers could stretch their creative legs and pick up a few prizes. The goal is the eventually have the site pick up enough interest and sponsorship so that the contests will continue, get better, and improved prize packs.

If it doesn't work out, we can just call it quits. However, I really liked the idea of having a continual art competition. This first contest has a pretty decent prize pack as well.

9. You've been featured in a few Photoshop books for your unique style and technique. What first got you interested in this style and how did you master your technique?
I believe it was damnengine, who has been endless inspiration for a vast amount of other artists. I just really enjoyed his still of portraying his thoughts and emotions. I liked the "darker" approach, if you will. Granted, not all of his work is dark, though I am sure he is labeled that way too often.

As far as mastering the technique, I think the main thing is persistence. Once you learn the tools you are no longer limited by how to achieve a certain effect. You are then only limited by your imagination. That is quite a nice freedom to enjoy.

10. Your photography has won some awards as well, what do you think makes a great photograph?
I believe an artist sees the world through a different filter. What is boring and uninteresting to an average person, might be really special to an artist. I believe in composition, colors, etc, but I also think that focusing too much on everything except the focal point can be too distracting. Sometimes it is great to just go take pictures. I have found that the photos that have been the most candid, people enjoyed more. The ones that I planned out did not seem to get as much attention.

11. Designers are always going through ups and downs - creative blocks, can't find enough work and then become overloaded with work, dealing with the stresses, how do you handle it?
Unlike Justin from Angyblue, I cannot just listen to Rod Stewart while rubbing grape jelly on my nipples in a Carrot Top wig. That just does not work for me. The best cure I have found is to get away from what you are trying to create. If I am stuck on a digital painting, I get away from it and get outside.

Stress will mount and weigh you down. It is important to find another outlet other than art. For me, I enjoy art immensely, but I have to have other outlets

12. Like everyone else, I'm sure you get your fill of pointless emails, how do you deal with them and what pointers would you give to people writing emails to have a better chance of being responded to?
Great question. Here are some steps that people should follow when sending an email to me, or other designers that they do not know for that matter:
1. Do not email me and treat me like some graphic deity. I am a person just like everyone else.
2. Introduce yourself. Is it that difficult to send something other than "d00d i wanna xchg linx with u."?
3. Also, it is best to use something other than "elite" speak. That was funny a few years ago but it is annoying now.
4. Read the FAQ! I get tons of questions that are already answered in the FAQ section.
5. Be patient. I have other things to do than reply to Dubtastic.com email. I read every email and try to reply as best as possible, but sometimes I get backlogged when life gets busy. Hang in there.

13. Ripping, everyone's been victim of this in one way or another. What are your views on rippers and your techniques to get back or to avoid being ripped.
I can understand being heavily inspired by someone's art and wanting to create something similar. Many times, that is how we learn. What I cannot understand, or forgive, are those that spend so much time on a rip that they could have easily created something new on their own that was not a direct copyright violation.

There is no easily explainable way to go about not getting ripped. There are too many of those retards out there who simply take

14. What are your views on current online art communities and where they are headed?
I used to post at as many bulletin boards as I could. I wanted to see what people thought about my work, interact, and also gain additional traffic to my site. What I did not really consider was that more traffic means more bandwidth, which in turns means I have to pay more for hosting. When I first registered Dubtastic.com I got away with a simple hosting account. Now, I have to account for the transfer rate due to traffic.

Regardless, some of the communities are not interesting to me any more. As my free time became limited, I had to limit the number of communities that I was involved with. I felt bad doing it, but I had to get to a point where I was able to manage my time better than I was. It just was not realistic to be a part of every community.

I am not sure where the communities are headed. Some have survived, and others have turned to total garbage. I think it depends on the people who own the forum and how they want that community to develop. I absolutely love the concept of sites and communities like Raster. What a great idea, and they are constantly producing top notch work

15. What does the future hold for you, your art and your website - Dubtastic Design Labs?
My goal when setting out was to have the site pay for itself, either though sponsored hosting, merchandise sales, or some other avenue of generating revenue. For the year 2004, the site is paid for, which is a great thing.

I am excited that my work and site is being noticed. Being asked to author a chapter for the upcoming "New Masters of Photoshop 2" book was extremely flattering. I was excited about the project and cannot wait until June when the book is released. Lately, I have become involved with a local art group about getting work promoted and involved with the community. The local events have been really interesting to say the least. It is great being recognized by my local peers.

16. Thanks for taking the time to sit down with us, we wish you great luck in the future with Graphic Junkies and your other projects!
Thanks man!