Can you please introduce yourself! (name / artistic pseudonym / what do you do)

- My name is Irina Victorovna Fedorova. My artistic pseudonym is Amnephis. I'm an illustrator and a writer. My favorite illustrator tool is an isograph.
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Can you please name a number of things / matters you enjoy illustrating the most?

- Humans and their relations. Towers, strange buildings. Cats, birds, fishes, imaginary creatures.
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A tagline that would draw a line through all the concepts of your illustrations?

- Oh. I think I can name his special tag «Mental Traveller» | «the journey of a Mental Treveller». All the illustrations I ever did were the landscapes seen by a «Traveller». In some worlds he's young, in others he's old, in some spaces he's a man, in another he's a woman. Someone, strange one, magic one, he's traveling through the different worlds: deserts of human spirit, sea bottoms of human soul, magic forests of human imagination, labyrinths of human fears, cities of human beings. May be he's looking for knowledge about what a human being is.
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Did you dream about anything last night? Do you remember your dreams? Do you see more realistic or sci-fi dreams?

- I did. Last night I've seen a routine labyrinth-like story about human relations. It was revolutionary and calm at the same time. One of the characters was Til Linderman, the vocalist of Rammstein
I try to remember every dream I`ve seen, but sometimes it`s difficult.
I see more realistic dreams.
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How often do you base your work /your characters on the visionary world of the dreams you ve seen?

- My writer work is often being based on the world of my dreams, cause my usual dreams are about complicated human relations with each other or with the world they are living in. Usually I see dreams with complex plot but visionary simple. May be because I'm day-dreaming so often! When I'm drawing it's like dreaming. I can hardly speak when I draw.
But I can base a picture on the mood or atmosphere of my dreams in my illustrator work.
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How does reality tend to inspire / influence your work?

- Reality inspires me by the feelings someone feels for me, or by the feelings I have Very often it's a reality of another human soul what inspires me the most. It's not seen, but it's existing.
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Talking about the characters in the world of your illustration, would you please tell me about the process of creating and developing a character from the first time they appear in your head to the communicating the character to the client?

- Oh. The character appears not in my head, it appears on the paper during the process of drawing. (Seriously) If I have to create the character for the client first I imagine character's personal way of feeling, his nature and soul, I don't imagine it visionary. If I imagine character visionary usually I can't draw him. It's funny.
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What does the first vision of a character / image looks like in your head? What influences the features / details / the final look?

- There is no first vision in my head, all the visions are on the paper. To draw is to think for me. I`m tuning myself in a special way to feel who the character is as if he`s alive, I`m trying not to see him but to see by his eyes. And that`s right.
The features and details are consequences of the character`s temper| composition of the drawing
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What is the space / place / objects that inspire / influence your visions / characters / creatures / landscapes from?

- My inner world, I think.
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What role does research play in your work? What is your research process? What is your favourite way of doing research?

- Research plays a great role To draw is to think and to draw is to do research. I make a research into myself and my client, my inner world and another inner worlds, a human soul in general. I'm my best test-tube!
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What kind of sketchbooks do you keep? More drawings? Writings?

- I was answering these questions inside my sketchbook Usually there are more writings. But as we know to draw is to think and I need some little thoughts to be drawn.
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What s your diary / journal like if you keep one / a couple?

- I keep a diary in reality where I write down the dreams I've seen. Also I keep Lifejournals where I publish fragments of my books and my illustrations I like most.
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What was the last amazing / interesting / touching / moving / funny thing you heard and/or saw?

- Hmmm. It was a touching discussion concerning socionics on diary.ru that I've read. It was interesting Hungary music I've heard. It was Lars fon Trier`s funny "Kingdom" I've seen. And I've seen my work, it was amazing! ))
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How do your personal experiences reflect/can be seen/ are hidden in your work?

- My personal experience can be seen in very many ways! It's hidden in details, in the plot, in composition, in the characters (in the illustration itself).
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What kind of music do you listen to while working on your illustrations?
What kind of music inspires you the most?

- The kind of inspiring music depends on the mood of the moment and on the feelings. I like many kinds of music, now my favorites are Tori Amos, Rammstein, Katie Melua, Keiko Matsui, Hungry for Hungary, Avril Lavigne. And I like to listen to the soundtracks from films and anime )
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What time of day do you feel more inspired and why?

- Night is very inspiring time of day ) cause no one disturbs me. But in the morning mood is usually more positive
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Do you have a favourite season of the year?

- No, I haven`t. All the seasons are contained inside of me
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Do you tend to get more inspiration from the positive content or dark matters , gloomy and creepy shadows? Realism of the days in its positiveness / negativeness?

- I'd like to get inspiration from the positive content only, but sometimes when I`m depressed I can wear so-called "black glasses". Nevertheless positiveness always wins
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Can you please name your main inspirations / heroes / names / things / objects that inspire you?

- The main inspiration is love I love many things. I love human beings. I love my friends, David Lynch, Franz Kafka, Vincent van Gogh, Lewis Carroll, Kunihiko Ikuhara, Karl Gustav Jung, Ursula K. le Guin, Milorad Pavich, Til Linderman, Tori Amos, Vladimir Nabokov, Hieronymus Bosch, characters from «Alice in the Wonderland», «A Wizard from Earthsea», «Wuthering Heights», «Naruto», «Revolutionary Girl Utena» and others.
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What do you do to have a break from work?

- I do another work )) Also I can read or eat or watch something or talk with my friends. Also I can sleep!
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What is the place / fantasy world / another world you mind goes to time to time away from here?

- Hmmm. I`d like to compile the map of inner world too! ) Then I will know exactly.
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