Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: Why this site?
• A: The first era of domestic Internet was wild: web pages were simpler, their HTML language much more streamlined and easy to learn, hosting platforms mostly free of charge and abundant (Geocities and Angelfire for example, but also Altervista or Digilander for us italians). This meant that everyone could wake up one day and claim their own corner of the web, even kids; and that's what happened.
  Plethora of fansites, shrines and communities started appearing all curated by people of my (at the time) age and showing various levels of design prowess; I was incredibly enamoured by the busy world of the Web, which looked even more fascinating by the fact that I didn't have the resources to bring any of my pages scribbled with Microsoft Frontpage on some kind of host.
  Come 2005 and DeviantArt's success among creatives with their account service and userpage customization helped me build, in a way, my first own corner of the web even if it wasn't a proper personal domain. Things have been okay for more than a decade, during which, sadly, the virtual world evolved and changed leaning more and more towards social media than personal pages; DeviantArt fell victim to the Web 3.0 creative stagnation with its latest iteration, Eclipse, which toggled away any customization feature the old DA allowed. My account didn't feel "mine" anymore and I knew it was time to pack my things and move.
  With the knowledge that my art has always been inspired by Web 1.0 layouts and best wieved in that context, and both resources and money at hand to fullfill my childhood dream of a domain of my own, I bought webspace for ValyceNegative.it in 2021. And that's why we're here today!
  Are you interested in the Web 1.0 era when surfing the Internet was a real trip into cyberspace, without the overwhelming presence of social media and corporations? Here's some useful resources, documents and manifestos written by people that, like me, want to bring the old net back!


• Q: Why the site looks like THIS?
• A: Because the mid 2000s personal site look with multiple menus, full of life and interactivity, is simply the best way for an artist to express their own personality on the Web. I always found it very homely and comfortable, much more than the uninspiring, stagnant, corporative and cold layout trends of today.
  My main inspirations have been Suta-Raito.com and PikaSurf.com, two sites I used to visit a lot back in the day and have influenced my design tastes since then.


• Q: Why didn't you build your site on Neocities?
• A: Because I had no idea Neocities existed when purchasing the domain.
  Really though, while Neocites feels like the perfect place where old and new fans of decentralized Internet can start building their own page from scratch, neither their free nor paid account plans allow for enough space I'd need in order to store and display my galleries: I draw a lot and I like high res pics. The domain plan I got, instead, has unlimited image hosting for a reasonable price: how could I say no to that?
  I still have a Neocities account but I mainly use it for HTML experiments or nostalgic shrines.


• Q: Who made this site?
• A: VN's current iteration has been made by me (HTML and CSS, layout, skin design) with the help of my brother (Javascript, PHP and database magic). He's an insanely talented programmer, and I can't ever thank him enough!


• Q: Is this site expensive?
• A: VN's domain is a calculated yearly fee that isn't expensive at all, especially considering it allowed me for total freedom in building the site from scratch. However, if you do enjoy my work, you can support it with a tip at alkalinesparks @ hotmail . it or, even better, by commissioning me! I love working on new ideas, and you'd get some nice art in return. Win-win!

• Q: *Oak's Voice* Are you a boy or a girl? What's your real name? How old are you?
• A: My real name is Valentina (no, you don't need to also know my surname). I am a girl, despite having a history of being mistaken for a guy online (I don't mind!), and I was born on April 29th, 1991. I am old enough to know what to do with a pencil and a music tape.


• Q: What are your other online names?
• A: I've been using ValyceNegative and its short version VeeNegative both as brands and as online usernames since 2015; however, my first online name from 2005 has been Valery91Thunder and some accounts still bear it!
  My Tumblr blog and Discord handle respectively have BlastoiseMonster and BunOfThunder as names.


• Q: Is this site your main job?
• A: Art is my main job, but curating this site and working on pictures featuring my own characters is more of a past time and an excercise to stay on par with my art skills. I know it seems odd, but ask any freelance artist and they all will say that after working on an art project for so much... there's nothing more relaxing than working on one's own art. We truly are weird creatures.


• Q: Is art your only hobby?
• A: Of course not! I collect and research about Game Boy games, consoles and accessories; I also play a fair amount of videogames, both old and new; I really like board games of pretty much any genre; I'm addicted to detective stories; I make decorative and functional planner binder setups; I love going city trekking and looking at nice urban architectures.


• Q: How did you learn to draw and how long have you been doing it? Can you teach me?
• A: I've been drawing since childhood; I'm self-taught, and the only academic art lessons I took were during Tattoo School in 2010-2011.
  My learning process has been inconsistent, multifaceted and full of regrettable decisions, all because at the beginning of my "career" I was a stupid teen who just wanted to draw animals and monsters. As years passed and my skills developed I understood what my shortcomings were and started excercising for a more well-rounded artistic knowledge. I always think there's never an end to learning process when it comes to art, and I take everyday as an occasion to excercise, try something new, and develop my skills even further.
  I'd be a terrible teacher! If you're interested in learning how to draw and need guidance, consider enrolling to a professional art course.


• Q: What was the origin story for all your characters?
• A: During my high school years I started drawing comic strips with cartoony cats that would re-enact the silly things we did and said during class. Both friends and teachers loved the idea, and eventually suggested I could better develop the characters by assigning them different species, defined personalities, or even a world of their own. Most of the "main gang" was born this way; others started appearing later in order to fill up secondary roles. The rest is history. Wanna know even more about them? Come check their bios and ref sheets at the Characters section!


• Q: Are you a furry?
• A: I'm aware my characters catch the interest of such fandom, and I do regularly draw commissions for furries; however, I don't consider myself part of the fandom, and I'm interested in anthro characters purely for a design factor and storytelling purposes. Think of myself as a rather impartial content creator that enjoys drawing funny cartoons and meeting fellow open-minded artists :)


• Q: Why is your Valy character completely covered in scars, and do you have those scars in real life?
• A: This was a very frequently asked question mostly out of concern, because despite not recognising Valy (nor any other of my characters) as a "fursona", she does come in handy as an alter-ego if I ever need her as such. So, Valy has scars on her arms, and if she's my alter ego, does it mean that my arms are scarred too? Absolutely not! Valy's markings are just for design purpose and only to convey how stupidly clumsy she is. I have nothing on my real arms, despite being a total klutz myself... and regularly in need of band-aids while woodworking/baking/doing outdoors activities.


• Q: What do you sketch your digital commissions with?
• A: A few people have wondered why my sketch WIPs for stickers or digital commmissions have red lines; I always sketch with red ballpoint pens! Why? Mostly as a matter of habit.
  Way back in the mid 2000's I began sketching with light blue pencils so my inked scans would come out cleaner and ready to be coloured; I eventually figured that red pencils allowed for even cleaner scans, and ultimately settled on ballpoint pens as they were easier to ink over.
  Nowadays I ink everything on computer, but I still use ballpoint pens to sketch; I like how the ink flows on paper and with me being a lefty it helps me not to smudge my hand or the paper with graphite. Also, sketching with pen is a good exercise to improve on drawing speed and precision, since it's impossible to erase!

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