May 2018 Featured Creator
May 2018 Featured Creator
What is a Featured Creator?
Write Way Studio’s “Featured Creator” segment is my way of showing appreciation for the creators of the world. Creative outlets are limitless because there is no end to human imagination. Every month shows the succeeding featured creator. If you would like to be a part of this collaborative project, contact me at [email protected]!
My eighth guest creator is the lady behind Midnight Poppy Land, Lilydusk!
Introduction
Known on the Internet by her username Lilydusk, the name was a nickname at some point! She was born in the eighties. She works a full-time job in a busy financial district, stuck to a desk. Her comic is actually made on the side, mostly nights and weekends! She earned an art-focused education while in college.
What Sparked the Creator Passion?
How It All Started
Her inspiration came early in life, with a love of picture books. Later, her interest involved manga in grade school! Sailor Moon, Fushigi Yuugi, and Inuyasha are only a few of the Japanese comic books that inspired her to create comics of her own. In terms of her artistic beginning, she began drawing once she used a pencil and it just progressed from that tiny start.
She always feels an inherent motivation to create something from scratch. Naturally, this need translated into the creation of art. Characters are her favorite subject to create, especially if they are good looking. So, in relation to her abundance of ideas floating about in her mind, she required an outlet to release them into the world. She feels massive fulfillment from being able to share her stories with people.
Other inspirations of hers originated from a multitude of romance novels, in both English and Taiwanese, and other manga. She also watched Korean romance dramas. With these influences, she hopes to create a comic that reads like a romantic novel but does not revolve around the lovey-dovey atmosphere. She wants it to have an actual storyline with plot twists and drama. She is particularly fond of the relationship between the two protagonists of the YA series Penryn and The End of Days because of how their love story is woven in between the main plot.
All about Midnight Poppy Land
With her current comic, Lilydusk mentioned how “the idea first came about in my early twenties. The character Tora came first and he was inspired by this guy I met, whose appearance and mannerisms intrigued me very much. Tora’s image (long black hair, baseball hat, and earrings) and street clothes are based on what this guy was wearing back then.” Later, the story developed to better accommodate Tora, with the character Poppy as a counterpart to him that represented the complete opposite of him.
To have a basic rundown of the story, look below for the summary!
Poppy is a shy book editor who makes a grisly discovery in the countryside and is plunged into a world of danger. Along the way, she falls in love with the gentle son of a mafia lord but finds her budding romance viciously crushed by Tora, his dangerous and unpredictable bodyguard - who can't seem to leave her alone or keep his hands off her.
Additional information: Adult Romance; Updates twice a month; Contains mature themes, violence, and coarse language
Her simple but profound message behind the story? Fate works in strange ways and connects the most unlikely of people at the most unexpected of times when they least expect it. Midnight Poppy Land is an urban gangster love story with dark and gritty undertones, just like life. There are funny bits, but Lilydusk suspects that may be because she is a goofy person by nature and it leaks into the story somehow.
It may also be categorized as a dangerous, tantalizing romance with a sweet and pure core, encompassing a pure-hearted girl and a bad boy who is attracted to each other in spite (or maybe because) of their differences. The first impression came from the concept of the studious girl-next-door next to a tough looking guy with crow-black hair and wild eyes.
Future Projects
There is currently a project floating around (besides Midnight Poppy Land, of course!). Lilydusk is also working on a paranormal fantasy story, even if it is still in the drafting stage. It is currently in more of the form of a novel but she wants to turn it into a comic, cautiously named “Otherworldly.”
Her summary (at the moment) is provided below:
Leilani is a lazy, delinquent Warrior Goddess who has managed to 'go mortal', and remain hidden from the supernatural world for centuries. But when the weight of saving the world falls on her shoulders, she is forced to seek the help of a fearsome but drop-dead gorgeous Demon God held in captivity...only to discover a deadly attraction between the both of them.
As I hope you realize, readers, nothing is set in stone during the drafting stage. So, keep up with Lilydusk’s work to watch out for more!
Where to Find You? Support You?
Lilydusk is available on Line Webtoon, Patreon, and Instagram. For more details, look below!
o Art and sketches on Instagram
o Midnight Poppy Land on Line Webtoon!
o Support her comic and get exclusives perks over on Patreon!
Last Tidbits
To conclude the wonderful May 2018 Featured Creator, here are a few side-notes on the artist! She is a bit OCD when it comes to her comic. The conditions have to be exactly right to create the perfect atmosphere for her, from the table being in perfect order, the house cleaned up, and showering every single time before getting started on the comic.
She is also an introvert and loves nothing more than staying home working on her comic! She is the biggest klutz and may be the most dangerous thing to ever step foot in a kitchen.
Yet, she loves to create websites just for the hell of it! She loves cats and most animals (excluding insects) and being one with nature. However, she cannot actually live in nature for long because she is a city dweller at heart. She has also been practicing meditation on a regular basis, or generally as much as she can, for four years as of now. She mentioned how “it helps to regulate my emotions and keeps me calm and at peace.”
Important Notice
Please understand that some information will not be shared by the creator’s request. If you cannot understand that, there is not much more I can do to help you. Safety is a top priority here, and I am here to help the creators, not instigate negative behavior.
Collaboration Disclaimer
The information provided in my Featured Creator articles is, in fact, from the real people, not some random Internet bot. I do not use random stock photos to fill an imaginary photo quota. Any photos in the Featured Creator segment are provided by the creators with permission to use them in this manner. I want to support the original person behind the work, not a random online copycat creeping around.
To Lilydusk,
I hope you had as much fun as I did working on this together! I know that it was hard to consistently connect for the collaboration, with your busy schedule and Midnight Poppy Land’s massive Q & A segment along with my finals rearing its demonic face at the same time.
But we still made it happen!
I appreciate this opportunity you gave me and hope we can work together again sometime! I love how dedicated you are to the intricate story of Midnight Poppy Land, not fan service. Until then, I wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors!
Sincerely,
Jasmine Love
{Write Way Studio creator and blogger}
MLA Citation (8th edition)
Lilydusk. Personal E-mail Interview by Jasmine Love. May 2018 Featured Creator Collaboration, 15 April – 2 May 2018