Q. Boy Eric!  You look so serious in your pic.  Are you that way in real life?
A. Nah, that's just my obligatory "intellectual artist" pose.  I'm quite silly in real life.  Honest!

Q. What do you use to make your art?
A. All the art I make is done on computer. I usually use a combination of the following programs to make them:
Bryce (by Corel): A 3D program most often associated with making landscapes; be it natural, fantasy or sci-fi. If my picture has any sort of background, chances are it was made in Bryce.
Poser (by Curious Labs): 3D program used to make realistic looking people and animals. All the women, children, dragons, unicorns and the like in my pictures were developed in this program.
Photoshop (by Adobe): The industry standard 2D digital art program. It's excellent for photo manipulation and digital illustration/painting. I mainly use it to touch up my 3D pictures (what is sometimes referred to as postwork) or to make custom textures for my models.
Wacom tablet: Although not a program, it's a must have for all my postwork and textures. This tablet allows me to simulate using a pencil or brush on the computer (a mouse is waaaay to clunky for that.) The pressure sensitivity it provides is a must for digital artists.

Q. Do you make traditional paintings or illustrations in addition to your digital art?
A. Nope. I have never even attempted to make a traditional painting (what?  You can make art without a computer?!?!?)

Q. Where did you learn to use all those art programs?
A. I learned most of them through trial and error (with emphasis on the word error).  In addition to reading the manual, I found many wonderful online forums who specialize in helping fellow artists learn and grow.  Foremost of these are Renderosity and 3DCommune. They are great places to see other 3D works of art and to find out which programs can do what.

Q. The 3D models you use in your pictures are fantastic! Did you make them yourself?
A. Most often, no. Some of the models I use are made for Poser by DAZ, others were made by talented 3D modelers who sell their work at Renderosity or 3DCommune. I find I often don't have the time required to make the same, high quality models that can be purchased, so I don't bother unless I can't find what I need. I usually try to "tweak" the models I purchase to avoid making my art look like all the other 3D images using the same models. My "tweaking" may include reshaping the model a bit, adding different "props" or "morphs", and almost always using custom-made textures.

Q. Are you a full time artist?
A. At the moment, no. I hope to one day make a living doing the art thing, but for the time being everything you see here was done in my spare time.

Q. Do you make money with your art?
A. Yes. I currently sell limited-edition signed and numbered prints of my work.  I also do an occasional commission here and there.

Q. Your website looks great! Who made it for you?
A. I did. I designed all the graphics and webpages for the entire Archetypal Art website. That includes the Realm of Xanadu cyber-novel I have hidden away here.

Q. What inspires you when you are creating an image?
A. I enjoy mythology and ancient history. The lessons learned from the past can not only teach us about who we are, but also give us a better perspective on the time we live in. I try to incorporate some aspect of this belief into all my work.

Q. What do you consider to be your biggest strength as an artist?
A. Simply put, my imagination. I just love to come up with new and interesting ideas for my work. Regardless of what other people think, I consider an artwork a success if I can get it out of my head and onto the digital canvas without compromising my vision of it. That is usually easier said than done however.

Q. Ok, a tougher question: what do you think is your biggest weakness?
A. I don't feel my artistic skill set is flexible enough to accurately portray what my mind comes up with. I am constantly having to compromise to make an image that works. Because of this, I have been working on improving in areas like digital illustration that can give me more flexibility as an artist. My goal is not to develop a style that separates me from all other artists; my goal is to develop a style that is both unique and flexible enough to allow me to explore many different things.

Q. Do you have a links page where we can exchange links?
A. I have a links page where I list other quality art sites.  I also have a set of banners you are welcome to use on your site (just don't link directly to the images on this site).  I tend not to do too many reciprocal links because it takes away from what limited time I have to create new art.  It never hurts to ask me though...

Q. I hear "rumors" that you are also a writer, and have an online novel. It is true?
A. Why yes. And thank you for the shameless plug! Thank goodness this FAQ isn't just me sitting here pretending someone is asking me questions just so I can plug my online cyber novel, the Realm of Xanadu. The novel is actually somewhat old (it was my first project on the web and was started waaaay back in 1993.) All the graphics and text for the novel were made by me quite a while ago.

Q. So what's in store for Eric Wadley in the future?
A. I don't know. And that's the exciting thing about it. I have tons of ideas I'm usually fleshing out at any given time (which usually include a few short stories, a novel, and at least a dozen images waiting to escape from this cranial prison I call my head.) The future is uncertain, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Q. So I have a question that wasn't answered in this FAQ?  How do I get it answered?
A. All you need to do is Contact me.  I'm always happy to get email that has nothing to do with penis enlargements, generic viagra, instant weight loss, mortgage refinancing or porn.