Ah, you're here! Internet is such a fantastic tool don't you think? Be aware that, right now, people from the US, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Japan and Hyrule are reading this article at the same time as you are. Yes, the Internet is just fantastic; Julien and I aren't going to say otherwise. Last week we welcomed a kinky French artist; today we're exploring a brand new art style that we've never published before. The artist of the day is called La Nonette, well kind of, and she's a rising star of illustration. Her art is as touching as it is contemporary. In other words? We ♥ her. 

-What are your name, surname and nickname? 
-My full name is Manon Nanette Bijkerk. I work under the name La Nonette. 

-Why did you choose this nickname?
-I came up with it when my father ate these cookies that were called 'Nonettes' (I think they were traditional French cookies). I found the name funny because it sounded like my two first names combined, so it stuck with me. After a while I decided to make it my nickname. It took some time to get used to, but now it truly fits me. 

-How old are you?
-I turned 24 on March 26th!

-Where do you live?
-I live in Zwolle, the Netherlands. It's a small city in the center of the Netherlands where I used to study. I would really like to move to a bigger city like Utrecht, but living here is cheap and I can afford to rent a shared studio this way.

-What's your job? 
-Officially I'm an illustrator. But what I do balances more between art and illustration. I make a lot of my illustrations for myself and not for clients, but I wouldn't call myself just an artist. So it's somewhere in between; I think you could call it 'conceptual illustration'. I also make my own merchandise (like silk-screened bags) and I like to make little comics about my daily life. Sometimes I feel more like a brand than a person. I also make bagels and coffee at a lunchroom on a part time basis, just to make sure I can pay my rent each month. 

 

 

-What's your journey?
-My journey started in 2006 at ArtEZ Zwolle, where I went to study illustration. In my 3rd year in did an Erasmus (student exchange program) in Barcelona, Spain at Escolla Massana. This is where I found out more about what I wanted as an illustrator and it made me more comfortable with my own style. After graduating in 2011 I struggled a bit because it was really hard to find clients and it made me doubt myself, but I never gave up. I just decided to keep drawing, and if not for clients then for myself. Turned out I was looking in the wrong places and I slowly found my audience. I got my first exposition in the summer of 2012 and thing have been going up ever since. At the moment I'm really busy with lots of different projects. But I haven't started that long ago so I feel that I still have a lot to learn. 

-What are your inspirations ?
-My inspiration can come from everything: overheard conversations, pictures in a magazine, exhibitions, life in general mostly. Images just keep popping up in my head. I mostly try to draw a feeling, make it visible and let other people re-feel it. A lot of my work is about things that go on in my own my own life and I hope people can relate. People who meet me after they've seen my work always tell me I look a lot like my characters, I don't do that on purpose most of the time, it just happens. 

-Do you read webcomics? If so, which ones?
-I prefer comicbooks over webcomics so I can snuggle up with a blanket, tea and my cat and read them in the highest comfort possible, but I'm probably missing out. I love Pusheen the cat, does he count? 

-Pusheen the cat ALWAYS counts. Tell us more about your blog!
-My website runs on cargo because I suck at webdesign, I had to make a website for school, and I decided to stuck with it after graduation. It's simple and nothing fancy but it works for me. I update it regularly and the look changes sometimes. 

 

-How do you work?
-I work in layers, like you would if you make a silk-screen. I first draw the characters, then on a different paper color the clothes using a lightbox and so on. All the those layers are combined again in the computer. I try to do as much by hand as possible. I like to use my hands, and computers tend to make me dull so I also like to make actual screenprints and paintings. 

-Why did you choose this FML story ?
-I didn't want to make a literal drawing of the FML so after reading them all I chose one that made me see something different; it just made me see someone who is being followed around by elves all the time, so people would be surprised.

 

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ILLUSTRATED FML

 

La Nonette's website: http://www.lanonette.com/

La Nonette's facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/LaNonetteIllustration

 

 

If you want to be the next published artist, send an email to alice [at] fmylife.com including a link to your website/blog/DeviantArt. But DON'T send your illustration right away! You need first to get in touch with me, and I'll tell you what you have to do!

As you may know, Josh Sussman is one of the fine actors from Glee (he's the guy who plays Jacob), and he was willing to take part in a few video FMLs. Welcome Josh! He teamed up with Ben and Ray, they then set about reenacting some famous FMLs that you'll probably recognize, or get to discover as you sit back and enjoy the video. Josh is the one with the puppy dog eyes and the shyness in his voice, halfway between Jimi at Monterey and Beaker from the Muppet Show. Conveying lots of humor and warmth with no extra BS makes him a great actor, and we're glad to have him on board.

Hi gang. I’ve always wondered what a flying octopus would look like. You know, because the sea is full of weird things, whereas the sky is missing a few original, flying things. Imagine if we were surrounded by strange winged porpoises, the sky would be much more fun to look at. Especially when you live in Paris and where the sky is grey most of the time. Anyway, as you know, the weekend has to start off with a cat gif so here is one who is ready to star in the next James Bond movie. Also, if you hate squirrels on your porch, here’s a solution suggestion.

It’s time to move on to this week’s illustrated FML. It was created by someone we very nearly never got to see on the website; he contacted me in 2009 and we tried to do something together but it didn’t work out (I feel like I’m talking about a love affair). And now, well, as you can imagine… can you imagine what? Yes well, as you can imagine, I contacted him last January, and he was willing to give it another go and this time it worked straight away.

So here’s Tristan, recently 30 years old (happy birthday!), lives near Paris, and works as a “Swiss army knife at I-Breed & Associates, a digital design studio.”
“What I like about my job it’s that I can justify asking my boss for a second monitor for my workstation, even though it’ll mainly be used to watch TV shows while I work. I don’t really need anything else since my demands have been met.”

Tristan is thus a happy man, but also a man lacking spare time. His news mainly consists of “dirty nappies and bibs.” This means that Tristan has a lot of trouble muddling through time spent between work, his family and drawing.  “I have a project I’m working on very slowly with the most patient screenwriter in the world, and you won’t hear more about it for the moment… But it’s going to be good!”

You won’t get to know much about his school days or work, due to the fact that he replied, “Yeah, I did some stuff.” And what about project? “I plan on becoming rich and famous. Then I’ll work on becoming immortal.”

Next bit? Next bit.

Cats or dogs?
I’ve got a cat. But I’ve had dogs. And I’ve had other cats. And I’ve hung out with my sister’s hamsters. And her guinea pigs. And her fish. I like all animals; I come in peace.

What are the latest things you liked in movies, music, books and comics?
Erm… Answering that question would imply that could manage to sort out everything that I get enthusiastic about and I’m not sure I could do that properly. So I’ll pass on that.

Who are the main artists that you like and whose blogs you check out frequently?
There are none, I hate them all. Especially people like Pierrot and Jibé, even if it’s clear that Jean-Paul Pognon is even less talented. And I’d strongly recommend that you avoid checking out stuff by Alexandre Arlène, le Burp, Piratesourcil, Stivo, Luchie, Dragib, Tim who are all bad at drawing, even though Antoine Kirsch, Louna, Pascalum or Jul are worse. Don’t waste your time. There, I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone…

Tell us what you enjoy in life, your passions, pastimes, vices, everyday pleasures.
That’s a pretty wide question, I’ve been trying to answer it for two days… it took over my brain so much I could write a book: the story of a thirty-something guy who takes a long look at the meaning of his life through the spectrum of his occupations; the moving story of a man who loses himself in the meaninglessness of his pastimes, who’s afraid of losing his humanity to the vices eating away at him; the story of a soul about to discover that happiness feeds on the everyday pleasures that enrich the lives of those who know where to find them… something like that…

Can you tell us a crap joke? Possible joker: if you don’t have a joke, you can tell us your worst FML.
Two friends are forced to share the same bed. During the night, one of them is woken up by the other guy who is shaking frenetically. “Jibé? Are you wanking?” The other guy, embarrassed, says, “Oh, Pierrot… Yes, sorry”, to which Pierrot gets annoyed and replies, “I don’t mind, but I’d rather you did it with your own cock!”

Do you have a phobia, if so what is it?
Erm, yeah, I’m very afraid of butterflies. Yes, I know, it’s ridiculous, but very true…

To finish off, ask yourself a question that you would’ve liked to have been asked and choose whether or not to answer it.
Question: Why do certain illustrators choose to methodically draw characters that only have 4 fingers on each hand?
Answer: I don’t know, it’s absurd, it’s stupid, and these people are crazy! Perverts!

 

To see this week’s illustrated FML, click here.

 

Tristan is good, he’s GOOD! I have to include some good videos to go with this good interview and illustration. This week, we’re teaching you how to avoid a train. And remember that no matter what happens, Vegeta will always love you. See you next week!

 

If you want to be the next published artist, send an email to alice [at] fmylife.com including a link to your website/blog/DeviantArt. But DON'T send your illustration right away! You need first to get in touch with me, and I'll tell you what you have to do!

Loneliness is a curse. It’s only slightly less as bad as cancer; cancer earns you sympathy from complete strangers when you wear a tie-dye scarf on your wispy-haired head. Loneliness just garners scorn and odd looks from people down the post office when you start crying from having nothing but your phone to talk to. It makes you do stupid things like acquire 15 cats, sign up to dating sites in the vain hope of meeting that special someone and then end up having passionless sex with some toothless guy on a drinking binge after a 2 hour conversation about turtles and shopping trolleys in a crummy bar.  Here at FML, we celebrate the lonely, the disenfranchised, people who’ve been left behind by society, the socially awkward dweebs who have trouble striking up conversations with their own reflection. Embrace the curse. But seriously, get out there once in a while, talk to humans, eh?

Directed by: Logan Burdick
Starring: Ben Giroux and Ray Chase
1st AC / Gaffer: Alex Darke
Grip: Matthew Little
Location Supervisor: Aaron Ehberhart
Art Department: Karissa Barney
PA: Elissa Weinzimmer
Edited by: Logan Burdick
Creative Director: Didier Guedj

Welcome everybody! Please take a seat, make yourself at home and enjoy today's comic. Bénédicte, our artist of the day, fell in love with this story, and created this wonderful illustration before you even knew it. Now, let's get to the interview to get a chance to know her (and believe me, she's one hell of a gal).

 

 

-What are your name, surname and nickame?
-My name is Bénédicte Moret. My nickname is Bloutouf. It's a french pun, it almost sounds like "bluetooth" and at the same time, it means "blue tuft". And no, my hair isn't blue.

-How old are you?
-I'm 29 years old. I'm lucky, I'm still in the age bracket where I can answer this question without blushing - or lying.

-It's a good thing we're welcoming you this year. Where do you live?
-I live in France, near the ocean, and near Spain.

-What's your job?
-I'm an illustrator, graphic designer and webdesigner. I've got a preference for illustration, of course.

 

 

-What's your journey?
-I did an animation school in Lyon, France, but I didn't like animations (except when it comes to watching them). So I simply started to learn to illustrate. Then I did a web programming school, but once again, I didn't like it, it was so boring! So I simply started to learn webdesign. In short, I ended up doing what I really like.

-So what are your next projects, that you're planning to drop?
-Good question! About all my personal projects, there's a website, a book I'm doing with the love of my life, and a game about pathetic french behavior. Otherwise, when it comes to professional projects, I always finish them in advance. (Don't bother trying to understand, there's no logic.) But the BIG project, the next one to come is a comic about a chicken. 

-How do you work?
-I'm mainly using Photoshop. Sometimes Indesign and Illustrator, but I don't like those two. Before, I only worked with paper, pencils, and stuff like that, but then I started to work with a computer and I bought myself a huge graphics tablet with a screen included and it started to become magical! Oh happy day! On the other hand, I'm always trying to "ctrl+Z" in real life, but it doesn't work.

 

 

-Do you have a "connection" with your fans? Are they a source of inspiration for you?
-I've got a Facebook fan page, but it's not very active. I've got so many things to do, I don't have time to take care of it! But when I feel that the readers love my creations, it gives me the energy to do more. I especially love it when I make them laugh. Anyway, if, among you FML readers, there are new fans, let me know! I love you already!

-Last question now! Why did you choose this FML story ?
-I imagined 1000 ways to destroy this door (and I'm still wondering how they really did it). I really enjoyed doing this illustration, so thank you for having me today on FML.

 

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ILLUSTRATED FML

 

Bénédicte's website: http://www.bloutouf.fr/

 

 

If you want to be the next published artist, send an email to alice [at] fmylife.com including a link to your website/blog/DeviantArt. But DON'T send your illustration right away! You need first to get in touch with me, and I'll tell you what you have to do!