Irisz’s blog, which is an online portfolio of her watercolour illustrations, is full of talent and wonder.

Who is Irisz Agocs?

Irisz Agocs is an illustrator, living in Budapest, Hungary. I have been working as an illustrator since 2002. My husband and Ihave a small graphic studio, where we create graphic design for both offline and online clients

Most of the time, I made illustrations for online course, working with software such as Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, and Macromedia Flash. But in 2005, I started to work with watercolour, and to paint children’s illustration. My illustrations are being published in a children’s magazine every month, and I also have some other works that are soon to be published. Most of all, Irisz considers herself lucky to do what she loves the most to do.

Who or what are the sources of inspiration for your illustrations? What inspires you?

My curiosity is the main source of the inspiration for my work. I’m always up to see something fresh, new, interesting, artistic or just anything really. I am into collecting children’s picture books, I love to visit photo and painting galleries and exhibitions. And I also like surfing on the internet to find artist’s sites and blogs. Maybe there is a recipe here,that you have to see 30 or 50 new things on every day.

Until there is anything that can be visually new for me, I’m not afraid that I lose my creativity.

It is only in the last few years in which you began to do watercolour illustrations. What was behind you decision to start this form of illustration?

I tried different painting materials, and at first I found gouache the closest to me. But I have some favourite picture books that made with watercolour, and there was a contest for illustrators, and for that I started to work with watercolour. Then I found it very easy to use, as watercoulour doesn’t need to a big place to work. I can leave it on my table, I don’t need to always clean everything after it. I mean if I use gouache, I mix the colours for myself from the three basic colour on a ceramic tile, so I always have to decide how many paints that I should mix, and when I finish it I have to wash the tile and so on. So it was much more easier to start with watercolour.

I tried lots of different techniques, and different ways in painting, and I feel there are still lots of more new possibilities in this medium.

Would you say there is a unifying theme or message from your illustrations? If so, what is it?

Maybe there is some kind of message of my ideology. I would like to say that with my work, you don’t need to lose your sense of joy as you grow up. I feel lots of people think that because they are grownup they must be sober, and in the same time they are so funny. I think you can not enjoy your life if you are always serious. So I want to make people to smile, and I want to say to children: hey, I’m your friend! I love as you do!

Which is easier to receive and/or deal with, praise or criticism over your work?

I like both of them, but in both cases, I love when I feel there is honesty and there is something behind the words. Otherwise a praise is just too light, and a criticism just hurts.

I rely more on the criticism, and I always thinking a lot about it. I like the people who can tell their opinion directly and maybe I can handle the hard ones too. But at first I always feel bad, and I think “Oh, I’m not good enough to do this”. Then I get over it and criticism always pushes me forward to make the next step.

Which of your works are you the most proud of?

I’m not sure. I always have my own favourites. Maybe now I like my Christmas Card the best. I wanted to do something that is a card, and not too big or not too much on the page, but it was a short story. One night with a bad headache I had the idea of this card: Animals are going to see a tree which has a star on the top, like a Christmas tree. And there are few small funny situations in it. For example, all of the animals are native to this area, except the giraffe, so he has a scarf. Or on the first page you can find the end of the line, and the slowest animal is certainly the snail, and the next one is the turtle who is looking back, with some worry on his face, to the snail who is really really slow. And my favourite one is on the back side of the card, where one small animal has lost, and tries to find his friends who are on the other side of the page. )

You have a blog (http://artistamuvek.blogspot.com) where you feature much of your illustrations. What was behind your decision to put your works online? What has the blog done for you?

My colleague (and husband  )and I have an official site for our graphic studio called Artista Muvek (http://www.artistamuvek.hu). We made our webpage in Macromedia Flash which is quite difficult to update. I have lots of new work from my day to day, so I was looking for a better option. On the other hand I found that my friends liked to see any pieces of my work, even if it was a two lined sketch, or a small drawing on a busticket. I didn’t want to put things like these into my portfolio, but I wanted to show to my friends to make them happy.

I think that a blog is a perfect for these kinds of things. So I started one. Plus, there is no difficulty in the design and building of a blog, so I could make it for myself. I would like to do some more interesting and funny looking things to it, but I need more time for that. And the most important item to note is that we are working on the new version of our “Artista” website which will include my blog too. But until then I use Blogger to keep eyes wide open on my works. )

If you could put a slogan or saying on a t-shirt, what would it be?

I’m not too good at slogans and words at all. There is nothing that I really would like to put on a T-shirt. I would rather draw something onto it.

What are three of your favourite activities?

Drawing, reading, visiting galleries and cafes.

Name a book that you loved as a child.

All of our books had Hungarian writers and illustrators that I liked when I was child, but I can’t tell which was my favourite one. We had some wonderful poets and authors like Sandor Weores and Ervin Lazar or Eva Janikovszky, and great illustrators like Janos Kass, Laszlo Reber, and lots of others.

Maybe, maybe I loved Eva Janikovszky’s books, which were illustrated by László Réber the best. These books are still in my favourite ones. She wrote very lovely stories about situations that every children know, like when you find a dog on a street, and you take it to home, but your parents are not really happy with that. She had very great sense of humour, and as I child I felt that was really about me and my problems.

And I can tell which is my favourite picture book at this moment, which is The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers.

What is the most interesting/random fact that you know?

If you eat 16 kilograms of chocolate at once, it is the same dose of drugs as in a marihuana cigarette.

I don’t think that anyone has ever tried this. But it’s interesting to know that I have to be careful with chocolate.

What language would you like to learn to speak?

First I would like to bring back my English knowledge to a better level, because I forgot a lot. After that I would like to continue my Spanish studies.

Fraser’s style is sprinkled with loads of wit, smarts and, grammar. There are no “So did you ever notice…” jokes with Fraser. Canadian readers might also recognize Fraser from his numerous appearances on MuchMusic’s Video on Trial. Lucky for us, Fraser was good enough to spare some time and answer a few of questions for the Activitybook.

You can check out what Fraser is up to next on his Myspace page (he does tour across Canada and sometimes internationally) or his website.

Who is Fraser Young?
That is a question that I don’t really know if I have an answer for. Fraser Young is different things to different people, and I spend a lot of effort making sure that doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass. If you are a person who knows me, and you meet someone else who knows me in a different circle, please terminate the conversation immediately and go back to living unconnected lives.

How did you get into comedy?
I bought it a few drinks and whispered sweet nothings into its ear. Comedy’s aged quite a bit, and it is a lot easier to get into it now that it doesn’t have the high standards that it used to.

What did you do before comedy?
Pretty much the same shit I do now, but without getting paid for it. I’ve never had a real job or anything, so it’s hard for me to really understand the context of “before comedy”.

Continue on via this link to read the full interview. As well, you can see and hear some of Fraser’s material at the end of the interview.

You can check out what Fraser is up to next on his Myspace page (he does tour across Canada and sometimes internationally) or his website. As well, after the interview, you can sample some of Fraser’s material.

Who is Fraser Young?
That is a question that I don’t really know if I have an answer for. Fraser Young is different things to different people, and I spend a lot of effort making sure that doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass. If you are a person who knows me, and you meet someone else who knows me in a different circle, please terminate the conversation immediately and go back to living unconnected lives.

How did you get into comedy?
I bought it a few drinks and whispered sweet nothings into its ear. Comedy’s aged quite a bit, and it is a lot easier to get into it now that it doesn’t have the high standards that it used to.

What did you do before comedy?
Pretty much the same shit I do now, but without getting paid for it. I’ve never had a real job or anything, so it’s hard for me to really understand the context of “before comedy”.

How would you describe the Canadian comedy scene?
I would call it unappreciated. There are some of the funniest people on the planet in this country who never really get the respect that they deserve until they leave.

How does the Canadian comedy scene compare to those in the other countries that you have worked in?
I will give you a brief run-down of the other places I have worked.

LA: Garbage. The clubs are rarely filled, and often feature actors who are trying to get noticed in the industry by doing hack material you’ve heard a thousand times. Every independant bar night has 30 comics and 0 audience members, so the comics are really only developing material to make other comics laugh. Some of it is extremely funny, but most of it is self-indulgent.

London: Fantastic. This is the best scene in the world. Every show is absolutely packed to the tits with people who love comedy. It is less cut-throat over there, partly because there is enough work to go around, and at the same time, there isn’t the same kind of golden apple that everyone is shooting for, and trampling on everyone else to get it.

What do you find most rewarding about doing comedy? And don’t say laughter.
No problem, laughter is not rewarding at all. If there was to be some sort of contest, and people were told that the prize was laughter, you would find a LOT of room left over on that sign-up sheet.

I would say that the most rewarding part of comedy is that I make my living by having fun. As a comedian, your job is doing what regular people do on their own for enjoyment, but because you are better than most, you get paid for it. It’s like professional athletes (on a slightly different pay scale). Every day, it’s like “I can’t believe I get paid for this.”

How do you prepare for a show?
I find that comedy is a lot like chicken, and I think it shows in my preparation. My ritual goes as follows (with ingredients):

1 comedian (me)
1 lemon
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon oregano
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 egg
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/4 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese

Peel the zest from the lemon (the zest is the yellow portion of the skin which does not contain any portion
of white).

In a food processor, process bread, cheese, lemon zest, paprika, herbs and cheese until combined (except
parsley). Empty contents to a bowl and set aside. Rinse food processor bowl.

Squeeze lemon juice into food processor bowl. Pour in olive oil and garlic; process until garlic is minced.

Pour liquid into a ziploc bag and marinate comedian for 45-90 minutes.

Beat one egg and add chopped parsley. (A dash of paprika can also be added for extra color, if desired).

Dip comedian into egg mixture, then coat with bread crumb mixture.

Sauté comedian in 1/4″ of olive oil until browned, flipping once or twice, about 2-3 minutes. Note: Add
extra flavor to olive oil by adding a few whole cloves garlic; remove from oil when they brown. Extra note:
if comedian begins screaming, immediately remove it from heat.

Sprinkle with mozzarella, provolone or Parmesan cheese and put in front of microphone for 5 to 45 minutes.

Works every time!

What are your best or most frequent sources of inspiration for material?
I wouldn’t say that I have a ‘go-to’ in terms of material. A lot of my stuff is just anecdotes from my
life. It’s sounds a little egotistical to say that I am my own inspiration, so I will give credit to the
Lord God, and His earthly son, Jesus Christ. Also,rapping grandmas.

If you could put a slogan or saying on a t-shirt, what would it be?
“I’m not clever enough to come up with my own slogans.”

What are three of your favorite activities?
I’m going to assume you mean outside of comedy.

1) Watching sports. I really enjoy it, and screw you for judging me.

I wish I had two more things to put here. Basically my life is comedy, sports, eating, and drinking. I really
do like eating and drinking, but it seemed kind of snarky to put them down as 2/3 of this answer. I would
say that a little more than half of my eating, and almost all of my drinking is done outside of my house,
so there is a social aspect to it at least. I like going out to eat and drink with friends, does that
count as two activities?

I don’t really have any hobbies, and I’m not looking to pick any up. I don’t care what you think, I’m very
happy with my C, S, E & D combo. It’s served me well.

Name a book that you loved as a kid:
The Hockey Sweater. Let me tell you something, that kid had it easy. Try living in Toronto as a Habs fan.

What is the most interesting or random fact that you know?
There is only one fact. I know that I exist. Everything else is just perception. Oh yeah, I also know that Rene Descartes stole all of my good ideas.

Do you own a thinking cap? If not, would you ever consider using one?
Never! I am against performance-enhancing cranial dressings.

What language would you like to learn to speak?
Body language. I am totally unable to pick up any sort of subtext from people.

Fraser Young in Action