Elves ate my Ramen~! Yes, that’s what I said… Elves ate my Ramen! Well not actually? See freelance mangaka and fantasy artist Lindsey Henninger is better known as Elves ate my Ramen. We got to meet Lindsey while she was an honored guest at this years New York Anime Festival at the Jacob Javits Center. She visited the Ningin Booth and showed us her wonderful cosplay as Kallen from CodeGeass: Lelouch the Rebellion. Interesting facts about Lindsey, her art was voted the most popular by fans on TheOtaku.com, her Non-Anime related work have been showcased in galleries Ythroughout upstate New york and she has been a honoree guest for NYAF several times now. The fans that love her work (like me) always comment about her coloring technique and the softness she brings to her creations.

Date of Birth: December 21st
BirthSign: Sagittarius
Blood Type: O Negative
BirthPlace: Upstate NY
Favorite Things: My laptop, my books, my drafting table, my colored pencils, my baby blankie, and my kitty, FuzzButt.
Favorite Manga or Mangaka: Matsuri Hino (creator of Vampire Knight and MeruPuri) and Yun Kouga (creator of Loveless).
Favorite Drawing Accessories: Prismacolor colored pencils, colorless blender, and my tablet.

Q: When did you first begin to draw? Was it always manga/anime influenced?

-Nope, I actually didn’t start drawing anime till about 5 years ago when flipping through the channels one bored night and fell into the world of Inuyasha. Prior to that, I didn’t really know what anime was besides Pokemon (boy was I wrong, neh?!). I used to do mostly photorealism (making a drawing look so realistic it gets fooled to be a photo). I did very little illustration work besides when I was little and used to draw my fave Disney and Warner Brothers characters. Now, I love anime so much I don’t draw much else.^^

Q: You’re doing so much. I see so many influences in your work from Anime, to Celtic Themes, Fantasy worlds and original characters…Where do you begin concepting your work?

-They just kinda come to me! I’ll be driving to work and think, “hey, I feel like doing a fairy drawing” and so…I’ll do it! I absolutely LOVE fantasy books so that’s probably where a lot of influence is shown in my work. I love the outfits and feel of the Renaissance and other mythical-type times including celtic designs so that’s probably why my work mirrors that from time to time.

Q: Your work has this softness and depth, Can you talk about who or what are some of your influences?

-Thank you! Well, that’s hard to say…I guess I love to capture the “little moments” that make stories more-so lovable. I love attention to eyes and I really think eyes can express more in a picture then anything else. I think that’s why I love Yun Kouga’s artworks so much…she puts so much detail into the little things that it makes the pieces really shine.

Q: You have a really diverse pallette when it comes to your work. Acrylic Paint, Markers, Graphite Pencil. How do you know which tools to use when creating your art?

-I usually decide last minute what tools I’ll use. I have some sort of idea of what I want in my head but then go from there. I always draw the characters first and then finalize a background/setting from there. If I’m going to be doing a landscape background, usually acrylic paint is what I’ll dive into. Most of my characters are done in colored pencils…only a couple are done in graphite pencil. I’ve started doing more work on the computer now to expand my art palette even more!

Q: Do certain tools go better when creating certain characters? 

-Not really. It really depends on what mood you want to set for the drawing.

Q: Do you have any favorite characters that you rather draw than others? or any specific genre you rather work in more than others?

-I love drawing Inuyasha…probably since it’s so much fun to stylize him! There’s really no character I’m too bias towards and/or genre. The only thing I don’t really enjoy drawing is robots and futuristic settings. I prefer “olden days” settings.^_^

Q: More and more we are seeing female artists making up a great percentage of Manga art. Is there a different aspect that you bring to art being a girl?

-I think the only thing is the emotion put into it. I think girls tend to focus more-so on emotional drawings then males. Certainly, that doesn’t hold true for everyone but I think I tend to do that.

Q: Your portfolio on “theOtaku” has several comics. What inspired you to create these stories? Will we see more of them in the future, like a a webcomic or a manga series?

-I did them mostly just for fun…to try something new. The ‘Black Sun Silver Moon’ doujinshi that’s on Otaku won the go!comi award and is being published in the final volume of the manga!!! And yes, I do plan on doing more. Myself and a friend of mine (who’s a very talented writer) have a couple ideas up our sleeve for a manga.

Q: Do you consider yourself an Otaku?

-Not really. I mean, I LOVE anime and manga but that’s not ALL I think about and do in my spare time. Plus, people who know me in “real life” don’t know I like anime unless they ask about it after they see my artworks or something. So yeah, I love this stuff but I don’t know everything about it or try and lure more people into it.XD

Q: Your title “ElvesAteMyRamen” is so creative. How did you come up with it?

-Haha! I get asked this question a lot. It’s pretty simple really…I was walking down the street in China Town and thought, “hmm, I love Elves and I love Ramen…ElvesAteMyRamen!” It’s stuck ever since and has become my online identity…although some people have started stealing my username and creating accounts around the web. Grrr.

Q: Can you sum up for us your NYAF experience? Do you enjoy the convention circuit? Will you come back for the next installment?

-Totally awesome!!! Although I was disappointed there weren’t as many booths around as last year, I still had a great time. This is actually only the 3rd con I’ve ever been too and yes, I plan on coming back next year….hopefully, I’ll be asked to come back as a guest artist for a 3rd time.^_~

Q: How was it meeting your fans and peer artists?

-Great! It’s amazing that some people actually knew who I was!! I bought some artworks from some fellow artists as well and got to meet some that I knew from Deviant Art and such.

Q: When we met you at NYAF08 you were in cosplay. Can you tell us about your costumes for NYAF? Who were you? Did you make the costumes yourself?

-I was dressed as Kallen from Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. Unfortunately, no, I did not make the costume myself. A seamstress I know made it for me…I openly admit I stink at sewing. I was only asked once at the con if I made my costume and I was honest and told them no. I don’t take credit for other people’s work. I just wanted to cosplay and it was a blast!!! There were some amazing cosplayers I met too.

Q: What kind of Anime do you Watch or Manga do you Read?

-I admit I love shoujo mangas like Fruits Basket and Ouran High School Host Club. I’ll pretty much watch any kind of anime whether it’s romance or action. I don’t really care for reading action mangas though…I’d rather watch them then read them. I don’t know why that is…

Q: Do you have any upcoming projects?

-Oh my, yes. I have an endless amount of ideas I want to draw…only problem is, my full-time job prevents me from getting them all done as quickly as I want! However, I’m working on some more computer-colored works and will hopefully, start popping out my own manga soon.^_^

Q: Please tell us where we can check out your art!

-Please feel free to check out any of my sites and say hi! I love meeting new people!!

Homepage:
http://www.lindseyhenninger.com
Deviantart: 
http://elvesatemyramen.deviantart.com/
Otaku Sites:
http://www.theotaku.com/portfolio/elvesatemyramen
http://www.myotaku.com/users/elvesatemyramen