__________________
__INTERVIEW_WITH__
__BAGGY_TROUSERS__
__________________
            Mop / Alcatraz


Talented graphicians can also be found
outside charts ranking areas.  This is
the case of Baggy Trousers, a talented
and  hyper active, 18 year old, German
graphician.   We  believe that most of
you  have,  at  one  time  or another,
heard  about  the  magic  pixelers duo
called  Groo  &  Rufferto,  who in the
past,   were   responsible   for  some
astounding    graphics   for   popular
productions  from Digital and Essence.
That  intrepid  pixeler  that  used to
call  himself  Groo,  is nowadays more
known  as  Baggy  Trousers  of  C.A.T.
Some  radical happenings have occurred
since that rainy November day of 1991,
when Baggy discovered the Amiga scene,
so  our  reporter Mop, decided to make
another  trip  to Germany, to discover
the  hidden  secrets  that  lie in the
magical mouse, of this future star...


  BAGGY TROUSERS
        OF
     ESSENCE!



- As  everyone knows, apart from being
  a  graphician, you also form part of
  the   C.A.T.    duo,   the  graphics
  subgroup  in  Essence.  When and why
  was C.A.T.  set up?

Essentially   C.A.T.   was  born  some
months   ago,   during  one  of  those
hardcore  pixel sessions.  Even though
both  of  us  knew that it is not very
advantageous  to  change  your  handle
when  you start getting more "famous",
we  did  it.   You  can  find the main
reason  for  all this in the beginning
of our cooperation work.

- In  the  not  so  far past, you were
  most   known   as  Groo  of  Groo  &
  Rufferto fame.  Under that label you
  contributed  to  various Digital and
  Essence    productions   with   some
  stunning  graphics,  not  to mention
  the  fact  that  you also reserved a
  good  place  in  the various charts.
  Then,  all  of a sudden, you decided
  to  change  your name.  Why was this
  move so necessary for you?

When  Rufferto  joined  Addonic he had
already been pixeling for 2 years, and
so he already had a lot of experience.
He used to teach me for a while and so
we  decided  to  cooperate  in drawing
graphics.   Years passed and so we got
better and better.  Finally we founded
Essence,  and  we  recognized  that we
were  not  the  old Groo & Rufferto we
used   to   be.    We  became  a  real
cooperation  and  we developed our own
style.   So  we  were forced to change
our  handle as well.  And due to those
internal developments we thought about
taking a real TEAM name and so we did;
Covert Action Team was born!

- It's  not  every  day  that we see 2
  graphicians  working  so closely and
  always  being  responsible  for  the
  same graphics.  How much time do you
  usually  dedicate  to  your pixeling
  activities,  and  especially  how do
  you divide your work with Rufferto?

Usually  I dedicate a little more time
to  our  pictures  than Rufferto does,
which  does  not  mean  that  I draw a
bigger  part  of the picture.  In fact
Rufferto mostly draws the bigger parts
of a picture, because I draw much more
slowly.   Nevertheless  it  is  always
different  from  picture  to  picture.
Sometimes  I  start  to draw a picture
and  Rufferto finishes it; Torso, from
ASS,  is  a  good  example.  Sometimes
Rufferto starts it and I finish it and
sometimes  we even draw a picture or a
logo  all alone; Ambush from the PARTY
3,  was  all  done  by  Rufferto while
S.E.X.,  also  from  the  PARTY 3, was
totally  done  by  me.  But usually we
draw in cooperation.  Normally someone
gets  an  idea  for  a new picture and
then  we  meet  and  try  to  draw  it
together.      The     advantage    of
cooperative drawing is that both parts
of  the  cooperation can specialize on
certain  parts  of a picture (Rufferto
on  bodies  and  backgrounds, and I on
faces  and  hair)  so  you  can easily
divide  the  work.  That does not mean
that  Rufferto is unable to draw faces
or that I am unable to draw a body; in
fact   both   of   us  prefer  certain
"parts".   It's quite difficult to say
how   many   hours  we  spend  on  our
pictures,  but  for  all  I know it is
much  longer  than  other graphicians.
Torso  took  us  about three weeks (it
was   our   first   medium  resolution
picture);  Android about two weeks and
S.E.X. nearly one month!

- What  do  you  mostly  like to draw:
  pictures, logos or fonts?

Usually  I  prefer large pictures, but
sometimes  I  like to draw a logo or a
font  because  on  one side it is much
easier  and  it  does not take half as
long, but on the other hand it is some
kind of holiday.

- Do  you  think that a graphician who
  only  draws  logos  and fonts can be
  still   considered   as   a  capable
  graphician?

Yes.   Look  at Color or Angeldawn for
example.   These  graphicians  used to
concentrate  on  logos  only.   In  my
opinion   full   screen  pictures  are
harder  to  do than logos, even if you
do a complex logo.  Anyway, these days
there    are    so    many    talented
graphicians,  that  all  of  them  are
capable  to  paint  harder things, but
today's  graphics  are  more  based on
good  and innovative ideas and I think
that  one  needs  a  good idea to do a
good  logo.   For  example graphicians
with  brilliant  ideas have my highest
respect,  even  though they have never
done something really hard.

- It would be a real treatment for all
  us  sceners, to hear you comments on
  the  following  logo  styles, all of
  which  can  be classed as being very
  original.

Well,  the SANITY logo in INTERFERENCE
by  COUGAR is a very detailed one, and
in  my opinion it's even too detailed.
Cougar  spent  a very long time on it,
and  I  do  not  know  wether  "normal
sceners"    (non    graphicians)   can
recognize  its true worth, because all
those   details  he  drew,  all  those
different    styles   and   tremendous
techniques  he  uses...   it's  nearly
impossible!

I  guess  that  FACET  wanted to do an
innovative   logo,  with  his  one  in
LEGALISE IT 2.  Sure, the hand is well
done, but somehow there is no sense in
the  way  the  logo glides through the
hand.   It  is not a bad one, but I am
not as astonished of it as others are.

The  TRSI  logo in WICKED SENSATION by
PEACHEY  is based on a funny idea with
all  those  figures building the upper
parts  of  the  letters.  Too bad that
the  T  looks  like  an  I!   Then the
colours  are  very  well  chosen in my
opinion.  Anyway, it could have been a
bit better anti aliased.

I think that it was HOF, who drew most
of the logo, in the ROMANTIC demo from
MELON.   Of  course  this  is  also  a
fascinating  logo,  featuring  several
tremendous "Hof techniques", but still
I think that it gets a bit over rated.
Cougar's  logo, for example, is, in my
opinion,  much  better,  because Hof's
logo is drawn in high resolution which
is much easier.  Besides that Hof only
uses  one  color  (grey) which is also
easier  than  drawing a very colourful
picture.

The  INTERPOL logo by RA is really not
from this world, just like his SCOOPEX
logo!   It  is for sure the most brain
blasting  and  tremendous  logo, which
has ever come under my eyes, just like
the  brain  bending  SANITY  logos  in
ARTE.   Today  most  of the famous and
liked  logos  are  respected,  because
they    are   combined   with   little
pictures, which sceners like, like the
work  from  Cougar of Sanity, but this
one  is  a  REAL  logo  in its classic
sense:   to  style a certain word in a
unified  way.   It  is very hard to do
this  today, because almost every kind
of  logo  has  already  been seen.  RA
dared  to  invent  an  absolutely  new
kind, and he was successful.

My   personal   rankings   would  look
something like;

1. Interpol logo
2. Sanity logo
3. TRSI logo
4. Melon logo
5. Decnite Klantro logo
6. Anarchy logo

- Until  some  months  ago,  we  could
  easily say that Deluxe Paint was the
  best  non-24  bit paint package.  It
  seems that nowadays with the release
  of Brilliance, most graphicians have
  decided  to change to this excellent
  drawing  programme,  although  it is
  much   more  expensive  than  Deluxe
  Paint.   What  does  Baggy  think of
  Brilliance?

Personally,  I  do not like Brilliance
very much, because if you have spent a
very   long  time  drawing  in  Deluxe
Paint,  then it becomes very difficult
to   get   used   to   the   different
functions, function keys and so on.














                  article continues...
...continued from previous article


- Usually most demo graphics are drawn
  in  low  resolution.   But  is  this
  really  the  best  preferred working
  resolution for the graphician, or is
  such  a  resolution  only  used just
  because  of  the various limitations
  often set by coders?

Well,  it  is  much  more difficult to
draw  a good picture in Low resolution
than  in  high  resolution, because in
Low  resolution  every  pixel  and its
color are very important for the whole
picture.  For example, try to draw two
big circles, one in Low resolution and
the other in Hi resolution.  Which one
looks  smoother without anti aliasing?
Besides  that  it  is  also  much more
difficult to draw small details in Low
resolution  than  in  High resolution,
simply  because  you  have less pixels
for the same space in Low resolution.

- Some  graphicians  tend  to  start a
  picture  and  continue  painting non
  stop  until  it's  finished.  Others
  prefer  to  have a sketchy start and
  then  progress  slowly.  What's your
  opinion     about    such    working
  strategies,  and  in what way do you
  proceed   to  work  after  you  have
  started   a   picture,  for  example
  ATTAQUE from the Party 2?
It depends on the motivation.  If I am
really  satisfied  with  a motif or an
idea  I  try  to  finish it as fast as
possible,  but  usually  I  draw quite
slowly.   About Attaque; We started it
in  the middle of December 1992.  Both
of  us were quite happy with the motif
as a competition picture, so we did it
quite quickly.  Anyway, finally it was
a  real  hurry.   The  same  goes  for
S.E.X!  I started it some weeks before
the  W.O.C.   show,  but  I  could not
finish it in time.  So I thought about
releasing  it  at  the  PARTY  3.  But
still  I  was  too lazy to sit several
hours  in  front  of  my  monitor  and
finish  it, and as a result of this it
was  not  finished until the deadline.
The  version  shown  and spread at the
PARTY  3  is  a  PREVIEW; the finished
version   will   be  released  in  our
forthcoming    cooperation   slideshow
between D-sign and C.A.T.  called,

    ATMOSPHERE

This   slideshow   is  based  on  some
totally   new  ideas.   So  watch  out
because  it's going to be well wicked.
Furthermore it will feature once again
several anti scan proves for all those
"still non believers" out there!

- Some   graphicians  like  to  use  a
  little  piece  of  naughty  hardware
  called  a  scanner, and then work up
  the  picture  a  little bit.  In the
  past    we've    also   heard   some
  not-so-clear  rumours about you.  Do
  you  think that it is fair to accuse
  graphicians    without   any   basic
  evidences,    and   how   can   such
  accusations  effect the graphician's
  moral and career?

I  think  that  it  is  very UNFAIR to
accuse   graphicians   for   using   a
scanner, especially when the evidences
are  as  ridiculous  as  in  our case!
Nevertheless   some   well   known  or
"famous"   graphicians   often  use  a
scanner  to  improve  their abilities,
but  this  accusation must not be seen
as  any kind of revenge from our side!
Besides that, a very fucking friend of
ours,   Mount,   who   accused  us  of
scanning,  and  who also wrote that in
several  disk  magazines,  has already
withdrawn  his accusations.  But still
those  accusations  affected our moral
and  also  our  career  in a very mean
way.    It   is  quite  hard  to  hear
comments  like  "Scanner  Rules"  on a
competition  when  you have constantly
been  pixeling  the  last  10 hours to
finish  a picture before the deadline.
So, well done Kid Frost of Arise!  But
it  seems  that most of those who used
to  accuse  us have already recognized
that  they  were  wrong.  And if there
are still any non believers out there,
Steckt  euch  die  Finger in den Arsch
und  pult so lange drin herum bis euch
die scheisse unter den Nageln klebt!

- Is   it  easy  for  the  experienced
  graphician  to  detect  and spot the
  scanned  pictures  from  the  moused
  ones?

As   already  mentioned  quite  a  lot
famous   graphicians   sometimes   use
scanners  to  improve  their pictures.
Sometimes they correct it very well so
no  one  will  ever  think  that  this
picture     was     scanned.     Other
graphicians are not that clever.  When
you,  for  example, see a picture of a
semi  nude woman who has little snakes
on  her  head  instead  of  hair,  and
another  day  you  see  the  one Boris
Vallejo  drew,  you look at the snakes
and  you  recognize  that  EACH of the
tiny  snakes and even their teeth have
exactly the same position as the Amiga
version!   So  you start wondering how
the  graphician,  who put this picture
in  a  slide  show which is told to be
totally  mouse  drawn,  does  not feel
ashamed,  especially  when  he accuses
other people of scanning!

- Artists  are strange beings...  they
  never  seem  to be satisfied by what
  they  do, still I would like to dare
  to   ask   you   if   you  have  any
  particular  picture,  which  you are
  completely satisfied of?
Well,  Torso  from ASS, is the picture
that  both  of  us are quite satisfied
with  and  in  this  case it is even a
kind of praise to be accused of having
scanned  it,  because  if someone says
so,  he  must like it very much and he
must think that it is too good for two
graphicians, who had never entered the
Eurochart, at that time.

- We  sceners  often  forget about the
  professional  game  producing scene,
  which  also  has  it's  own share of
  talented graphicians.  Can you maybe
  mention  some  graphician  from this
  field,   who's   work   you   highly
  appreciate, and who is not active in
  the scene?
Most  of  the  games  are really poor,
when it comes to graphics.  Those game
playing  kids  just  don't  care about
perfect  pixels.   Anyway, I am always
astonished  by  the  graphics  of  the
Bitmap   Brothers   games,   by   Mark
Coleman.

- Have  you ever done any graphics for
  commercial   releases,  and  do  you
  think that drawing game graphics has
  more   restrictions,   and  is  thus
  harder  than  doing  graphics  for a
  demo?

No,  I  have  not  yet  drawn any game
graphics,  but  nevertheless  I do not
think  that  drawing  game graphics is
much   easier  than  drawing  a  usual
fantasy   picture.    Anyway,  I  will
hopefully   get   some  experience  in
drawing  game  graphics  in  the  near
future.

- Design   is  often  associated  with
  graphicians.   Do  you  believe that
  graphicians   are  really  the  most
  appropriate ones to handle this job?

This  is  quite  a  difficult question
really.  Anyway, I would say NO.  Look
at  Laxity  for example.  He showed us
once  again  that  coders are not only
horn-rimmed  glass  wearing mathematic
geniuses.   So  it  does not depend on
what you are, but on what you can do.
- Andromeda,   just  like  Melon  have
  developed   their   own   style  and
  design.  How important is the actual
  design  in  a demo, and do you think
  that it is still possible to come up
  with   a   totally  new  design,  in
  today's scene?

Design,  is in my opinion as important
as  code, music or graphics in a demo.
But   it  is  getting  more  and  more
difficult  from  day to day to come up
with  a  totally  new  and  innovative
design,  but  nevertheless some groups
sometimes  show  us  that  nothing  is
impossible.

                  article continues...
...continued from previous article


- Can  you  comment  on  the following
  pictures?

JOKER  (RAW  4 title picture) by FACET
is  an  over rated picture.  The motif
is  good,  but  the  technique is just
standard.
COUGAR  has  done  it once again, with
his    TRAIN    (INTERFERENCE    title
picture).   This  is  one  of the best
pictures  ever  drawn  on  the  Amiga!
Each  pixel  seems to be perfect.  The
same goes for his latest picture, from
the PARTY 3, called DragonSun!  Really
kicking pixels!
Unfortunately,  the  skin  from SHERYL
LEE  by  PEACHEY,  looks a bit wooden,
but  apart  from  that it looks great,
especially  for the contrast!  Still I
do not know how he drew the hair; that
is,  if  he  really  drew it!  Anyway,
Peachy   introduced   a  new  kind  of
pictures,   namely   photo   realistic
screen filling portraits.
The  GREMLIN  in  GUARDIAN DRAGON 2 by
RWO     is    another    graphological
masterpiece!   This is also due to the
fact  that, the original he copied his
one   from,   looks  quite  awful  and
contrast-less.
QLOUN (Live 3 Title picture) by RA has
some  great  contrasts.  It looks very
realistic  due  to  the  fact that the
colours  RA  chose  are quite dark and
the  reflections  are  very bright.  I
must  admit that RA is one of the best
graphicians.  This can be clearly seen
in his EINSTEIN picture from the PARTY
3.  Unfortunately when it comes to his
personal character he is only a small,
egoistic creature.
I  cannot  remember  the  CHIT  CHAT 9
title  picture by TITAN very well, but
as far as I do, it was quite good.  It
shows,  that  he  IS  capable of doing
something  more  besides  his great 3D
logos.
Personally  I  do  not like the SPLASH
pictures  by  SCUBA.  On one hand they
were  mostly  drawn in High resolution
and  on  the other hand they look very
similar  to  each  other.   Well, they
actually  look  nice, but they are not
as hard to do as most think.
I   think   that   JADE's  COMPETITION
PICTURES are the best ones.  It's very
detailed.   Besides  that  I  have  to
admit   that   he   is  one  of  those
graphicians,  who  REALLY  tried to be
original.    The  same  goes  for  his
picture from the Party 3!
FADE  ONE  is one of those graphicians
who will surely be quite famous in the
near  future.   Even  though this CHIT
CHAT  11 TITLE PICTURE is not his best
one  it  looks nice.  So watch out for
his forthcoming pixels!
Once  again  we  can  see an organizer
faking  through the NOT COPIED PICTURE
FROM  THE PARTY 3, by DEVILSTAR!  Fuck
that crap!

My   personal   rankings   would  look
something like;

1. Train by Cougar
2. Qloun by Ra
3. Tankard by RWO
4. Chit Chat 9 title picture by Titan
5. 3D Demo pictures by JADE
6. Sheryl Lee by Peachy
7. Chit Chat 11 title picture
   by Fade One
8. Splash by Scuba
9. Joker by Facet


- Do  you  have  any special favourite
  Amiga  graphicians,  especially from
  the past?

I  think that UNO is the best and most
innovative    graphician   ever.    He
invented    so    many   new   styles,
techniques   and  different  kinds  of
logos,  like  the often imitated glass
logo!   And apart from that, he is the
only  graphician  I know, who did such
big  improvements  on  the pictures he
copied.    Besides   that,   he   drew
pictures  in the past, which are still
"up to date" today.  My most favourite
actual  graphicians  are  without  any
doubt,  Cougar  and  Ra!  As I already
wrote  before RA's logos are the best;
Just look at Arte!

- Do  you  admire  any artists in real
  life   and  do  you  prefer  fantasy
  artists more than others?

I  USED  to  like Boris Vallejo in the
past,  but  I think he has been copied
too   often   by   Amiga  graphicians,
especially  his fantasy work.  Anyway,
his  science fiction work is very good
in  my opinion and you can expect some
of  it copied by us, soon.  Concerning
fantasy  art,  I  prefer  people  like
Frank  Frazetta  or  Ken Kelly.  Their
pictures  have  a  real style.  Boris'
art  is  just  based  on  realism.  Of
course it is easier for graphicians to
copy  those  pictures,  but  qualified
graphicians  should  consider  copying
more  stylish  fantasy  art.   Most of
Boris'  work  is  in  my  opinion  too
static.    There's   no   life  or  no
movement  in his pictures.  Well, what
else  do  I like?  Maybe I should list
some   names  like  Andy  Warhol,  Luc
Tonnerre,  Krueger,  Leonardo da Vinci
and comic artists like Todd McFarlane,
Sergio   Aragones,   Tex  Avery,  Marc
Texeira and Sam Keith.

- Most of the popular graphicians have
  developed an own pixeling technique,
  and  this enables one to immediately
  recognise his favourite graphicians'
  work.    What   are  your  favourite
  shading  techniques?  Or are you one
  who  always likes to experiment with
  new pixeling innovations?

I think that every graphician tries to
develop  an  own shading technique but
only  few  will  succeed.   Facet did,
(Jow  Martjen  and  Funky Bivas rules,
eh?)  somehow!   We also try to invent
new  techniques,  to take over foreign
ones  or  simply  to  improve them.  I
think  the  most difficult "technique"
was  totally  improved by Cougar; that
is  to  create  shapes  and depth on a
very small room, only by using colours
of  very  much contrast.  This is also
very difficult to explain.  Anyway, if
you place two pixels side by side, you
usually  choose quite similar colours,
but to achieve the aim of a high grade
of  detail  you  have to consider EACH
pixel's   contrast.    Furthermore  it
really  depends on what you paint when
it   comes   to   choosing  a  certain
technique.   There  are  generally two
kinds of dithering; The ordered one is
achieved  by  setting  pixels  in some
kind  of  chess  pattern,  and the non
ordered  one, which got famous through
Hof's  work.   But  I think that it is
not  fair  to  say,  that  someone has
stolen  Hof's  technique,  if  he uses
this  kind of dithering as well.  Just
look  at  our A.S.S title picture.  It
is also dithered in a non ordered way,
but  this  was the only chance to make
it  look  a  bit like skin.  If we had
used  the  other  technique,  it would
have looked like wood.

- You  have  also  tried  your hand at
  doing   graffiti.    I   think  that
  everyone  especially  remembers your
  Essence  logo  in ASS.  Do you think
  that  graffiti graphicians do really
  deserve  to be called artists?  What
  do you think of the various graffiti
  renditions that have appeared on the
  Amiga?

Well,   I   have   to   admit  that  I
personally   do   not   like  computer
graffiti very much.  Still we tried to
do  one,  but  I  think  we failed.  I
think  groups  like Jetset should make
graffiti demos, but you should not try
to  copy  this  style.  It is the same
when  you try to copy the former Melon
productions;  You  CAN copy the recent
Melon  demos through, because they are
just crap!

- Many   Amiga   graphicians  tend  to
  re-copy   a  lot  of  pictures  from
  famous  fantasy artists.  These seem
  to  be  the most popular ones in the
  charts  too.  Do you think that this
  is  fair  enough  towards  the other
  artists  who  invent  their pictures
  from their own fantasies?

I  do  not  think  that ANY graphician
does   invent  a  picture  at  all  by
himself.   Everyone needs inspiration.
The  question  is,  who  can  know the
picture you got your inspiration from.
If   you   take  a  local  supermarket
advertisement  with, a semi nude woman
you  can be 100% sure that no one will
ever  accuse  you of being a liar when
you tell everyone that you invented it
all  by  yourself.   The same goes for
the  pictures  Jade  draws.  I am sure
that quite a lot of you, including me,
have  not yet seen any of them before.
Nevertheless    I   cannot   criticize
graphicians  who  draw  (copy?)  Boris
pictures because I did it myself, even
though  I think that in the meantime I
was  quite  bored to see another Boris
picture,  because  nearly every artist
has   got   Fantasy   Art  Techniques,
Mirage,  Enchantment or Trading Cards.
I  think  Boris  is  the  most  copied
Fantasy  artist  because he draws very
realistically.   It  is much easier to
draw  Facet's  Hardcore  title picture
than  to draw UNO's Stunner.  Have you
ever  seen Tim White's Stunner?  Well,
if you did, you have to admit that UNO
did  a  lot  of  improvements  on  it,
because Tim White's Stunner looks like
a  piece  of  shit.   Nevertheless,  I
think that nowadays, famous graphician
should  start to copy more complex and
innovative   pictures.    Photos   for
example are quite difficult to copy...
                  article continues...
...continued from previous articleðn


- What's   the  difference  between  a
  scanned picture and a re-copied one?
  After  all,  one  is  always copying
  directly from an original drawing in
  both cases.

The   main   difference  is  that  the
scanned  one  is scanned and the mouse
drawn   one  is  mouse  drawn!   Quite
logical,  eh?   Well,  if  you want to
draw  a  complex  picture  you have to
make  a  rough  proportion  sketch  at
first,  and  then  an  outline sketch.
After   that  you  have  to  define  a
palette and then you can start to draw
your  picture  pixel by pixel.  If you
scan  a  picture,  you press the power
switch,   take   your   video  camera,
digitize it, fix some bugs and, Fertig
ist der Obstsalat!

- Most    demo    lovers    and   some
  graphicians  are  really fed up with
  all  those  naked women, dragons and
  warriors  copied  out  from  fantasy
  books.    Do   you   agree  that  an
  original   &  interesting  model  is
  always synonym of a good picture?

As  already  stated I think that those
graphicians  who  are  capable to draw
more  complex pictures should at least
try  to  do  it.   But,  in  fact, why
should  you  draw a tree or a car when
you   know   that   you  won't  win  a
competition    unless   your   picture
features   several  semi  nude  women.
Today's graphicians are forced to draw
fantasy  pictures or at least pictures
of semi nude women just like musicians
are  sometimes  forced  to compose pop
tunes.   The  usual scener appreciates
them,  and  the usual scener votes for
you,  in  a  competition  and  in  the
charts  as  well.   So  you can choose
between fame and originality.

- If BORIS VALLEJO would ever have the
  possibility    to    see   all   his
  re-paintings     on    the    Amiga,
  especially   your  Attaque  picture,
  what  do  you  think  that his first
  reactions would be?

I  don't  know,  but  I  think that he
would  be  surprised that his pictures
are  so famous that nearly every scene
graphician copies them!  But after all
I   do   not   think   that  he  would
appreciate  our  Attaque.   The "Amiga
version"  of  this picture is not half
as  powerful  and  meaningful  as  the
original, perhaps because of a lack of
colourfulness, brightness and the very
low  contrast.  Maybe Boris would also
have   a  good  laugh  sometimes,  for
example   when   looking   at  Danny's
Forgotten   slideshow.   Most  of  the
pictures  are  really awful concerning
the  proportions.   Anyway,  Danny  is
much  more  qualified  nowadays!   His
parts in the Rink-a-Dink title picture
were  really  amazing!   The same goes
for his competition picture.

- Sceners  always  seem to turn out to
  the  most  popular charts, to decide
  who   is  the  BEST,  in  our  case,
  graphician.   Do you think that this
  is    fair    towards    the   whole
  graphicians  community,  and  do you
  believe  that the average scener can
  really  judge  how good a graphician
  is, just by looking at his pictures?

In my opinion you have to consider the
usual  scener  when drawing a picture.
When  you think of a motif you have to
weigh  whether  others  will  like it,
too.   It's  the same in the "real art
business".     It's   not   just   art
connoisseurs  who  buy  a  USD 100,000
picture.   Nevertheless  I  am  of the
opinion that the average scener is not
able to judge well.  I think that they
do   not   judge  the  picture  itself
without  prejudices; they just look at
the  activeness of the graphicians and
that's absolutely not fair.

- You   have   competed   in   various
  graphics competitions.  At the Party
  2, you placed yourself 3rd with your
  Attaque  picture, and at the Party 3
  you  placed  yourself  6th with your
  S.E.X.   picture.  Do you think that
  the  party  people  were fair enough
  with  you,  or  do  you  think  that
  maybe,   both   of   these  pictures
  deserved to be placed higher?

The  ones who enter a competition with
big expectations are quite stupid.  In
my  opinion competitions are more like
a  lottery  instead of a comparison of
skills.   When  you  do a really great
picture  and you think "I will win for
sure!", it is possible that you'll end
on  place  33,  or similar.  The third
place   at  The  Party  2  was  a  big
surprise and we never thought of being
unsatisfied  with  it.  Concerning The
Party  3  we  should  maybe  have been
ranked   5th   instead  of  6th.   Not
because our contribution was so great,
but  because Devilstar, who was ranked
3rd,  faked  the  competition,  in our
very  personal  opinion!  The audience
was   not  impressed  at  all  by  his
picture  and  in  that case I can tell
you without feeling arrogant, that the
picture  is really a piece of shit!  I
saw  Devilstar  running  around with a
Main    Organizer   T-Shirt   at   the
Information  desk,  so  it should have
been  no  problem  for  him  to  fake.
Anyway, no hard feelings!

- Would   you   maybe  prefer  to  see
  graphic competitions being judged by
  a    selected    team    of   expert
  graphicians instead of the the usual
  party people?

In  my  opinion  this  is  not  of any
importance, because expert graphicians
can  also  fake a competition, if they
know a contributor very well.  I think
a fair judgement by average sceners is
alright,  especially  on  big parties,
because  it  is much more difficult to
cheat   if   there  are  thousands  of
voters.  Anyway, sometimes I wish that
the  judgements  would  be  done  on a
computer  monitor,  because  even  the
best high quality party screen manages
to  make great pictures look weird and
bad ones look fantastic.

- How   does  it  feel  to  see  one's
  picture on the big screen at graphic
  competitions?

It  is  of course a great feeling, and
it's even greater if you feel that the
audience  likes  it,  but  anyway I am
usually quite fed up with a picture if
I  have  just  finished it, because if
you  look  at  it for such a long time
then you discover more and more little
mistakes.

- In   the   last   time,  some  party
  organisers  have  set out a new rule
  in graphic competitions, and that is
  to  force  graphicians  to provide a
  series  of steps for their pictures.
  Do you think that pseudo-graphicians
  will  still find some ways of making
  their scannings look real?

As already mentioned it is possible to
find  a way, but I do not think that a
graphician   of  that  cleverness  and
competence  is not willing and able to
draw  a picture by only using a mouse!
And if any clever graphician will ever
use  a  scanner  to  finish  a picture
quickly  or  so, no one will ever find
out  that  it  had  been scanned!  But
besides  that,  I  think  that it is a
great idea!

- The  A1200  is surely a graphician's
  dream:   256  colours,  HAM8 mode, 8
  bit  planes and various combinations
  of     high    resolutions.     Some
  graphicians have already got hold of
  one,  and  even produced their first
  256  coloured  pictures.   This  can
  also be seen from the high number of
  AGA    pictures   at   the   graphic
  competition  at the Party 3.  Do you
  think   that   this  will  become  a
  standard in Amiga demo graphics?

I   have   to  admit  that  I  do  not
appreciate that Commodore invented the
A1200.   Next  year, or the year after
next  year,  most  sceners  will  have
bought  an  A1200, and that means that
those  who  have  not  yet bought one,
will  be  forced to do so.  So it will
be  more  and  more difficult to win a
demo competition with an average A500.
Look  at the C64 owners.  Do they need
264249572  colours at once on a 184844
*  293933  pixel screen?  No!  this is
the  sense!   To achieve great efforts
with little means, to draw a colourful
picture   with  a  few  colours,  even
though it is not comfortable, you need
skill.   The same goes for the coding.
Perhaps  we  will  see  15  Rgb  light
sourced  Dot tunnels in 1 Frame in the
near  future,  but that will no longer
be  the good old Amiga scene.  It gets
more  and  more  difficult from day to
day  to invent new routines, to create
an  effect  which no one has ever seen
before on the good old A500.  Remember
those sceners, some years ago, who had
said  that  they reached the frontier,
that  they  can't go any further.  Did
they  know  that someday, someone will
invent  a filled vector?  Sorry, but I
think that the A1200 is just a more or
less  intelligent excuse for twits, to
hush  up  their  incompetence  because
TALENT   AND   SKILL   WILL  NEVER  BE
REPLACED BY ADVANCED HARDWARE!







                  article continues...
...continued from previous article


- You  are  surely most known for your
  work  in ASS.  This demo stunned the
  whole  scene immediately, especially
  since  it was released outside party
  time!  ASS shooted directly into the
  charts,   although  it  didn't  work
  properly  on AGA machines.  How long
  have  you  been  working on ASS, and
  are you happy with all this success?

The  original  idea  for  A.S.S.  goes
back  in  1992.  We had already joined
Digital  and we had also thought about
a  demo  called  A.S.S.   with  a nude
woman in the beginning.  We started to
write  the  design  and  when  we  had
nearly  finished  it,  we left Digital
and  joined Delicious Designs.  But we
did  not  make  the  demo in Delicious
either,    because   it   was   nearly
impossible to cooperate with the coder
and  the musician because both of them
were  living in the UK!  In the spring
of 1993 we decided to do a trackmo and
started  with  the  demo.  But besides
the  main  idea  of A.S.S.  we did not
use  anything  from the Digital A.S.S.
design.   So  Rufferto  had to write a
totally  new design all alone, because
I  was  fed  up  with  the whole scene
because  of  those  already  mentioned
accusations  right  after  the Party 2
and  I  was  about  to quit the scene.
But   as  you  can  see,  I  did  not!
Anyway,   the   graphics  were  mainly
drawn,  Rufferto  rewrote  the design,
Touchstone  and  Roman started to code
and   Dascon   and   WOTW   were  busy
composing.    When   the  design,  the
graphics,   the  music,  most  of  the
effects  and the intro part were ready
Touchstone started to code the design,
in  the  summer of 1993, but he had no
time   to   finish   it   because   we
originally  wanted to take part in the
competition  at  the 680XX Convention.
So   we  got  the  whole  demo  ready,
without  any  design, except the intro
part,  because  Touchstone had no time
to  finish  it and as a result of this
we  released  it  outside  party time,
because the effects were getting older
from  day  to  day  and  if Touchstone
would  have  coded  the  design, A.S.S
wouldn't have been released before the
winter  of  1993.   So  it  is easy to
understand  that  we are not satisfied
with  A.S.S  at  all and that we won't
finish a production in a hurry, again.

- What  can  we expect to see from you
  and ESSENCE in the near future?

Well,   there   are  several  projects
running  right now.  At first there'll
be   Atmosphere,   the   graphological
galore.   Several  small  Intros  will
follow,  the WOTW ROOLZ Intro, to show
that  WOTW  is  not just a lame sample
ripper,  HOWIE's  new pack series, the
new  Talktime, featuring a totally new
design  and  some  new ideas.  Perhaps
DENTRO  OR  DIE will be released but I
do   not  think  so,  because  someone
deleted  Roman's  sources at the Party
3.   And last but definitely not least
the  biggest  Essence production ever,
called  DREAMING  2  will  be released
around Christmas 1994!

- Every  interview  must  have an end,
  and I must really admit that talking
  with  Baggy was a real pleasure.  We
  hope  that  you  enjoyed  being  our
  host,  and we sincerely wish you all
  the  best  for  your  future, and to
  have  the  possibility  to show your
  pictures  more  often  to  the whole
  scene.   In  the  meantime, we would
  like  you  to  end this interview by
  putting down your last comments.

Jau,  ich  muss  jetzt  sowieso essen,
deswegen,  danke für das Interview und
halt ihn hoch...
Watch out for Dreaming 2, because it's
going to be well wicked!