Sephirona

Who is Sephirona?

Hi! I'm Rona. I like tomatoes and avocados, and I love potatoes. I'm also a sucker for science fiction stories and some vidya games. Drawing's been a hobby of mine for as long as I can remember, and since I got my first Wacom tablet around 2009 I've been slowly teaching myself about digital illustration and design. These days I'm not always able to contribute as much as I used to because I'm working my way towards a computer science degree, so I'm sometimes gone from Smogon for a while. I'm not dead yet, I promise.

Smogon Biography

I first wandered into Smogon's wifi section in April of 2009 shortly after the release of Pokemon Platinum. I'd been spending way too much time trying to hatch a shiny Milotic, and while googling dejectedly about my prospects I discovered RNG manipulation. I really enjoyed doing that for a while, but wandered off again eventually, eternal e-hobo that I am.

Two years later, I returned when Black and White were released and discovered Smogon's Wifi IRC channel. The researchers were hard at work implementing BW RNGing into RNGReporter, and I was lucky enough to be able to help them test their programs a few times, which was oodles of fun. Sadly, I didn't get a response when I attempted to submit work to The Smog, and eventually I wandered off again.

Finally, in 2013 I came back after Pokemon X and Y were released to a refreshingly active Smog art community made possible thanks to the efforts of Bummer. I applied to be an Approved Artist almost immediately, and was at last able to contribute to the site. I tried my hand at all sorts of things - logos, full-on illustration, stream overlays and banners for the SmogonU Twitch channel, gif animation - and learned a lot while surrounded some of Smogon's most talented artists and writers. After 4 long years, I was able to earn my artist's badge, which, though now grey due to my long periods of inactivity, nevertheless brings back fond memories of all the years I spent here and all the fantastic people I've had the pleasure of meeting.

Art preferences

My preference is to paint in a style somewhat reminiscent of 3D rendering, and I enjoy carving out my paintings as if they are two-dimensional sculptures. I enjoy (gently) pushing my boundaries and trying new styles, and after a stint at Tumblr creating and animating gif graphics for various fandoms I find I particularly enjoy incorporating a small amount of animation into my pieces as well. I have the least confidence in my knowledge of color theory and human anatomy, so I try my best to be brave and experimental when tackling my projects.

And then there are the times when I'm overcome with the desire to pick up my tablet pen and fill a canvas or two with messy sketches of potatoes and small snorlaxes. Most people tend not to see the results of these escapades, and most people probably never will. Mumble...mumble...mysterious.