Maka shows Greg the proper way to get lei’d
G. Hello Maka... MPAR's resident citrus queen. How's life treating you since our season closed?
M. Citrus Queen, that’s a new one, has pineapple been reclassified as a citrus?
G. I think it always was? Googling.
M. MY EXISTENCE IS A LIE
G. No it isn’t!!
M. Oh thank god
G. So how’s life, Maka, MPAR’s resident queen of immediately showing Ifora to be a fraud?
M. Much better now lol. In all seriousness though it’s been super chill since the competition ended. It’s nice to just draw what you feel like drawing, rather than worrying about impressing the panel, or wondering how something will be received by the judges
G. That's super real. I still haven't shaken off the overwhelm if I'm honest so I'm doing a lot of non-drawing work instead. So you were super busy this whole competition so we didn't get to know each other that well so I'm looking forward to this. As a testament to that, I legitimately thought your name was a reference to Lake Macalania road from Final Fantasy Ten until... two weeks ago?
M. MACALANIA ROAD. THATS THE FIRST TIME ANYONES DRAWN THAT PARALLEL. I LOVE IT.
G. I seriously thought so for real
M. if you want the real origin though, Makanani Drive is like an actual road I lived on as a kid
G. What made you want to take that on as a drag name?
M. When I was thinking of names for my queen, I wanted to think of something that was like obviously Hawaiian, but also kind of tongue and cheek, so Makanani Drive is what I eventually settled on. Thank god I didn’t go with Pineapple Pizza.
G. Haha right? Banned from being cast. Speaking of being cast. As you know... remember.... don't care about... I wasn't here before the season to experience any of the dark period. That said, it seems like there was a lot of complicated feelings in the air that you might've been implicated.
Question 1: How were you feeling as you decided to apply and also when you were cast?
M. Honestly, by the time auditions came around I felt pretty good about myself. I think I had always been harder on myself than the other girls had been on me in the aftermath of season 1. I think they forgave me quicker than I was able to forgive myself, if that makes sense. I felt REALLY good about my audition look though. Like, at the time it was probably some of the most effort I had put into a look up until that point, and as of now it’s still one my favorite looks I’ve ever done.
G. Honestly I was staring at your audition look a lot when I was... beheading you. It's fucking amazing. Let's take a pause to talk about your design process for it cause I think it deserves.
M. To be honest, I don’t really have a really strict process I stick to when designing looks. But usually I start by going to Instagram (I really need to learn how to use Pinterest) and compiling a bunch of images that I like together like this:
G. Ok but what about this specific outfit. What was the point of inspiration for it and why do you still love it so much?
M. This photo was probably the biggest inspiration for my design. It’s from a local designer called Manaola, who makes these gorgeous fabrics based on traditional Hawaiian patterns. His 2017 Fall fashion week in particular, had these gorgeous gold and black prints, which fit perfectly into the color scheme of the promo look.
M. From there I tried to figure out how I was going to incorporate this fabric into something that really SCREAMED burlesque. So I took a lot of inspiration from Erté (who made an appearance late in the season) and a lot of Art Deco fashion from the 1920s and made this long flowing fur-lined cape shawl, and from there the character of the look really took flight. I wanted to make Maka into this Josephine Baker-esqe dancer, someone who has been at the club longer than any of these other girls and knows her way around the stage. I added the cigarette especially to add that air of “idgaf”. Like she’s done this same routine for years and today is just another day at work.
G. I think you really nailed it. This is a fantastic reference and I really appreciate how consistently and how well you integrate your culture into your drag!
Question 2: So you get the list and you're coming off the high of one of your best looks ever, what's your strategy as you think through the whole competition? Was there something specific you wanted to show?
M. I really wanted to show that I could do HIGH FASHION. Like in the prior competitions I had done, my personality had always kind of taken precedence over my looks. I was always kind of the bubbly funny girl who was fun to listen to, but always kinda meh in the looks department. This season I really wanted to prove that I could serve LOOKS.
G. Ooh ok. So were there prompts that specifically set the juices flowing in that regard?
M. Ironically, Circus was the one challenge I was HYPED for, and it’s the one I didn’t get a chance to do. Like I love really theatrical drag, and I knew I could take the circus theme and just be super extra. But we know how that turned out.
G. Did you playalong?
M. I didn’t finish mine unfortunately, but I can show some TOP SECRET sketches
Circus… Maka handed this to me later after searching so we don’t discuss
basically I was going to do a fortune teller and just have an overarching psycic circus theme.
G. LOVE. Let's talk about your first few weeks. Your hometown look got a safe but I really loved it. The level of personal connection was so obvious and lovely. By week 3 you and Ophelia win.
Question 3: Throughout that early period, how were you feeling about the work everyone was doing and the judging of the competition?
M. That week one look was one of my favorite looks of the competition. Not the most polished, but I put a lot of heart and soul into it, and I’m glad it showed. On the competition though, the level of competition was INSANE, especially in the first couple of weeks. Everyone was going in 110% and there was no real obvious winner or bottom 2. I remember absolutely biting my nails candy week because I was sure that I was going to be in the bottom 2.
G. That look was underappreciated imo. It's very satisfying visually and the colors are to die for. Which is I think a big talent of yours but I understand that you risked a confused reference with the fruit and got nailed for it. How were you feeling about judgement? Actually, specifically how did it feel considering... didn't you judge all three of these people in season 1?
M. Yeah, it was pretty odd in retrospect to be judged by three of the people I had judged before. But I always trusted their judgement for the most part, and never felt singled out or unfairly picked on by them. I found myself often times being more surprised and in objection to the critiques they gave the other queens more so than my own.
G. If you don't mind, I'd like you to try to lean back into the emotion of those moments a little more especially from the perspective of "I'm trying to be the best artist I can be." How are you feeling about your vision of "showing I can do high fashion" and did you feel the judges were receiving it?
M. It was kind of a double-edged sword for me. I think my looks this season were leaps and bounds better than those of seasons past, but at the same time, I feel like I lost some of the fun campiness that Maka represents. I used a lot more muted palletes this season, which I a stark contrast to the really bright over the top colors I used before.
G. One hundo agree bb. I think you had a really cool explorative journey but it's obvious that when you find that harmony between the two styles, the true Maka will emerge Makanani will become the Macalania within.
M. MPAR: BECOME MACANI
G. It's your netflix doc! Now that we have a good sense of where you were emotionally, let's get into my dig-in questions. Would you rather start by talking about a high point or a low point? or just complimenting me on being an awesome teammate?
M. Thanks for leading our team to victory bb. Well my high point by far was my wedding look win with Ophelia. I think a lot of people would’ve seen getting paired up with someone who had been in the bottom two twice prior as sabotage. I love me a good underdog story though, and was not letting this opportunity go to waste. It’s funny because I feel like Ophelia has a very minimalistic approach to drag, while I have a very MAXIMAListic approach, so we really balanced eachother out.
G. I agree! That's very cool. Can you talk about why that moment was so satisfying artistically? I usually try to clarify that when I talk about highs and lows, I really want to know about moments where in the former case, you felt like you... either grew or surprised yourself. We'll keep the low points for next. Also our team week was so fucking righteous and Bettie and I didn't talk about it at all so that's why I brought it up. Muddy waffle is my favorite thing ever still.
M. Muddy waffle ftw. Well first off, the Hades and Persephone idea was a moment of divine inspiration. I was absolutely terrified of wedding week when reading off the list. The idea of the little white dress was so scary to me, and in many ways it’s so difficult to really change up the traditional wedding look, and have still it read as wedding. (Not to mention the last time I had a wedding in a competition it got me eliminated.) So Persephone, and the idea of the reluctant bride, was a major lightbulb moment, and really helped guide all of the design choices made during that challenge. It was probably the most confident I felt about an idea all season.
Overall, it was just a really big validation to get a win that week and like, really put myself on the map after being safe twice. As I said before, it was the underdog wedding. A queen who’s only been safe and a queen who’s only been on the bottom come together and get a win. It was gratifying to say the least.
G. Yes that's an amazing feeling. Can you talk about that feeling of the lightbulb moment. I see so many people striving to find it among like pinterest links and, while I think you absolutely can derive some of that like you did with the incredible design you found for your audition, I find the lightbulb moment is usually the moment where you find what your personal passion and connection is to the prompt (or in a larger art context... to the subject you hope to design/depict). Why was reluctant bride so right and how did it lead out into all the rest of the decisions you made for your gown?
M. It just added a whole different story to the look. To touch on the design process before, it kind of helps me to put a kind of character behind my look, to help tell a story. For my audition look it was the tired-ass showgirl, for my hometown look, it was the goddess, the spirit of the mountains, and for my wedding, it was the bride who really didn’t want to be there. Having a character really helps with all the decisions from there. Her posture a little slouched, her face, although beautifully painted is pained, almost like “can we get this over with?” The garish flowers are piled high to distract from the discomfort, to hide this woman’s misery. The character gave the look character. It made a much more compelling story than the joyful blushing bride and added some stakes to the wedding.
M. I one hundred percent agree. I think a lot of people think character in fashion or drag is suggesting it has to be like... not your queen or not fashion. Really though, character helps align all your choices and give them depth! I love that point about the flowers distracting from her discomfort. Like I didn't see that... but I definitely felt it! Coming off that win, did you feel like your experience that week made you pivot at all in your approach or did you just keep taking it week by week? The next one was architecture.
M. I was riding the wave and it kinda fell flat at architecture XD
G. Bitch don't worry me too.
M. The win was kind of a double edged sword as it was a HOORAY I WON, but also a moment of oh shit what now. Architecture week was really difficult, because I wasn’t sure quite how much architecture to incorporate, if that makes sense. Like do I make a look inspired by architecture, or do I straight up make my queen a building.
G. Yeah for sure.
M. I fucked up and did neither XD
G. At least you didn't put a building on a dress. 2 out of the top 3 are quaking.
M. Shady Eyes emoji
G. Ok so it's sounding to me like you kind of have competed so much that maybe the week by week wasn't... such a crazy impact that you had to reorient. Let's see if my theory holds true.
Question 4: What was your lowest point and how did you overcome it emotionally if you in fact did? I'm interested in what it takes as an artist to fight to stay true to your vision and as a competitor to not give up!
M. Makeovers was a bit of crash and burn(out) for me. Like I knew what I wanted for Granada’s look, but I just could not for the life of me figure out mine and to top it all off my computer had died the night before submissions were due, so I was just like “whelp this is my life now.” I honestly was ready to throw in the towel with my lipsync, I was just so frustrated.
G. I really thought that was the case too. Those my computer crashed or death in the family moments bizarrely happen to like every single contestant and then the viewers are like "YOURE SO FUCKING LAZY STUPID COW" and you're like... I'm glad I'm reading this at this funeral. Did you find a way to reignite after that? and how?
M. RIGHT?!? It’s like “I fucked up and now I’m going to have to read every critique saying I fucked up.” I really didn’t get the spark back until beards.
G. Not just critiques but critiques that overtly accuse you of being lazy or like... not caring...it's like... ok thanks for knowing my life sloot. How about taking this wasted time, hitting the fashion book section at your local bookstore and finding an actual critique with your no drag knowledge ass?
M. I had REALLY phoned in my Politician look like that was pure “fuck it we’re doing it live.”
G. Bitch you really did. Ok so you hand that in and inexplicably dont get kicked off.
M. The nice thing about rock bottom is that you can only go up from it. Beards was the week where I was finally having fun again. I accepted that I was on the chopping block, and probably going home unless I delivered something spectacular, so that’s exactly what I gave them. Honestly the best part of the beard challenge was the pure freedom.
G. Go on.
M. Like, it’s great to work under constraints, but especially around robots I started to feel a little constrained. It turned into “how are the judges interpreting these challenges and am I interpreting it the right way” Am I supposed to be a robot? Or am I supposed to wearing one? I found myself doing a lot of second guessing. So to get a challenge where the only guideline is “it needs a beard” was so refreshing. I got to just go wild and fufill my Botecelli PUSSideon fantussy... I’m not repeating that. Do you ever just make yourself cringe sometimes?
G. Oh all the fucking time. I accept that it's the price of genius... and by genius I mean being an asshole who likes puns.
M. Whats the difference?
G. Literally there isnt any. Ah ok so you feel like the categories got ya! I said somewhere... probably the finale interview with SallyTM, that coming in with certain set goals was the only thing that saved me from that and I really do think people who are cast for next season need to sit down and write themselves real guidelines about what they came to do because category and judgements made... literally everyone feel that way. I think resiliency with regards to that confusion is an underappreciated part of what it takes to win. I also think thank god we all bonded cause all by my lonesome I would've gone completely insane.
M. Or you end up like season one yelling at people over discord... but that’s in the past now.
G. Lol omg can we please talk about the state of the sub past, present and future at the end? I think you're in a special place to speak to that if you have the balls to.
M. Oh yeah, I’m down.
G. Ok back to the regular programming. I really like to look at the finale at this point. Everyone really stepped it up and made a statement and you're no exception!
Question 5: Talk to me about your final look: why that look, how that look and what was this final statement about Maka as a season 3 contestant?
M. Going back to the battle of HIGH FASHION Maka vs Camp Maka, this was kind of a merger of the two. I was originally going to do this huge caged ball gown and come out looking like Queen Elizabeth after narrowly escaping a Swarovski factory, but a) I didn’t feel like drawing rhinestones until my eyes bled, and b) it just didn’t feel very like something Makanani Drive would wear. So I sat back, took a breath, watched the music video for After The Storm by Kali Uchis, and really kinda stripped Maka’s finale look down and took her to her roots. I was inspired by Donna Summer’s “wash that man out of my hair” look with the gigantic wavy hair and oversized plumerias (which I’m assuming was an inspiration for Kali Uchi’s flower hair); It just gave me this really fun campy yet fashionable vibe that I’ve been trying to get from Maka lately. To not distract from the MASSIVE hair, I gave her a simple sheer cocktail dress, and put her in a really flirty sitting pose, as if she was taking a seat to be interviewed ala Willam’s finale interview. She just oozed fun and flirtatiousness, and I’m really happy with the end product.
M. Also, bam look at that glow up:
G. Wonderful explanation. I really do think you struck that balance perfectly and the glow up is honestly too real. I love the scale of it and the editing is so smart. Also a subtle detail but the pink you chose for the flowers is just perfect. I guess this is probably the time for us to talk about what you're gonna do to get ready and then on All Stars... but of course... something must come first. This is quite a dramatic shift from the elegance of your finale look. But let's see what you think:
International Haus of Pancakes
In honor of my beloved muddy waffle comes... drippy hotcakes.
M. Oh my god I unironically love this
G. So this really isn't just a joke... let me explain why I see this as one future for Maka. I adore your sense of humor and I really did feel a longing to see that in your work throughout the competition. I was glad to hear about your agenda in this interview cause it made me understand why you made the choices you made. That said, I think I'm an outlier in that I think there's space in this competition for well done camp and I really want to see a queen or queens come through and kill it so much that that can't be denied. That's the Maka I'm imagining but there's a couple of ways I think you would need to shift a bit to make that possible and they're demonstrated here.
I'm loathe to suggest anyone change their style because I LOVE stylization but you specifcally have such a love and talent for graphic pop arty, campy and just cartoony concepts that I think shifting your style to be somewhat more realistic will allow the cartoonyness of your designs to show more as opposed to melding into the character as if they're a cartoon overall.
The other thing is I think you should focus on the smaller details of clothes because that's how you take camp and make it fashion. These drawings I'm doing aren't particularly refined but you can see that her little maple syrup purse has stitching and beading to make the pour. I think by focusing on touches like stitching, you take the camp elements and add that element of construction that makes them feel like fashion pieces. That's what I personally would like you to consider!
M. Thank you for all this! Honestly I never really thought of going with a more realistic approach with Maka honestly. I think I always get stuck on making something really cartoon and stylized like Sartana and Gretel’s faces, and kind of tried to mimic a more cartoony stylized look. As for the details, that is a major thing I’d like to work on before All Stars. I actually am a super detail-oriented person, but I always worry about my detail work looking sloppy or over complicated, and end up cutting myself off short.
G. I feel you but honestly remember my insanely detailed high heeled timbs?
M. FUCK YES I DO.
G. Those didn't even look like timbs until I added the stitching. Like I didn't even know that and was just drawing from reference. So when I talk about detail I kind of mean that specifically, the crucial details, not that it has to be Ira (season 2 winner) level of detail. Especially if you're doing camp you have to ask yourself: how do I bring the fashion? Oh I have a good example right here: the fork top seemed so cool but looked... cartoony and not fashion and I was like wtf and then I realized it had to be sequins or something so that it had a cloth element that was as important as the camp element. That kind of thing.
M. I like that Ira level has become a new benchmark for detail
G. Ira’s terrifying. "I got carried away and drew five billion perfectly symmetrical swirls. Skweeee"
M. God I hate her.
G. Me too I hope she dies.
M. I HOPE YOURE READING THIS IRA
G. IRA DEADSCENT. Ok so...
Question 6: why don't you take a moment on the mic to discuss your thoughts on the past, present and future of the sub like we said!
M. HEY HEY HEY PUT YOUR PINEAPPLES UP! MAKAS IN THE HOUSE OwWWwW. So much has changed since season 1 it’s crazy. To take us back to the past and analyze why season one was such a shitshow, we have to go back to the OG shitshow AFS.
AFS, or Artist’s Fantasy Season was the problematic mother of Ms. Paint, replete with favoritism (Favorites of the judges got to be in the cool kids discord chat had ENTIRE LOOKS designed for them) questionable decision making (the winner and eliminated queen were decided purely by audience vote) and of course the bullshit twists (3 in, 3 out, that’s all I’ll say.)
G. 3 in 3 out is heinous. Go on.
M. When the equally problematic head mod in a meltdown nuked the sub, and left it for dead, we, the queens, were pretty much abandoned in the wreckage. It was from these ashes that Ms. Paint’s Art Race rose; a competition that would be AFS, without all the bullshit. Except, we ran into different problems. Communication became the biggest issue. After the gross favoritism of the AFS, it was decided by the judges (un-unanimously) that we shouldn’t be allowed to talk to the contestants outside of the main sub. Which was a dumb idea, but as we all know hindsight is 20/20.
G. Sure.
M. I specifically took the no communication rule seriously, and didn’t talk to any of the girls personally, only to the judges which left me in a nice little echo chamber where I was only hearing one side of the story. Because of this was convinced that Malaria was a self centered egomaniac and Sally was a huge fucking bitch (which tbh she still is but now I love her).
G. So you were obviously right about those two. What happened next?
M. I really let these perceived notions reflect how I saw contestants and the sub as a whole. I kind of imagined the whole sub as this kind of cult with Malaria and Sally as their deities and kinda was under the impression that everyone was looking to pick a fight with me, which turned out to be grossly untrue. I just became this really salty, paranoid bitch that was just not pleasant to talk to. So after a couple of rants and a full blown argument with u/OnyxEnvy in discord (which if you’re reading this Onyx, I’m still super sorry for, you did not deserve any of the hate I flung towards you) I decided to sit down, and actually LISTEN to what they had to say. Which was eye opening, and really helped me see the the queens competing not only as croquis, but as human beings
G. Wow this is legit fascinating. Sub = lord of the flies.
M. Really tho.
G. Hopefully never again though.
M. NEVER AGAIN. But to finish my thoughts, I’m so pleased with what this sub has blossomed into under new management. It’s not perfect, but my god has it grown, and I imagine it’s going to continue to grow as new queens join and bring in their own personal perspectives of drag.
G. MichelleFingerWaving.gif… Anything specific that you'd hope or dream of for the sub?
M. Honestly I’m just super excited to see what kind of talent season four brings. We already have established queens like Hologlam, VoidHo Spacesmashed, and Plorf who I see in the running, and we have a lot of really promising newcomers like Selecta and Oriana. I can’t wait to see what kind of wildcards (like you and Bettie) are going to come out of the woodwork.
G. Oh total same. People always disparage drag race like "I only watch for the queens" or like "the only good thing about the show is the queens" and I'm like... yeah wtf. The queens and the way they evolve and react to what other queens have done is exactly what pushes the show forward… that’s not an external factor. That is the show. So similarly I just really hope people bring the passion and try to make us look obsolete. There was really a discourse on the sub that season 2 was untoppable and people still feel that way I'm sure but I'm like whatever my season and I brought fucking fierceness and a whole different energy.
M. Oh yeah. I think you specifically brought a really cool controlled chaos with your style. We were so used to seeing pretty fashion queens, to see someone like you who’s a little more alternative and #edgy come in really shook up the competition. The same goes for Ophelia who really had this strong, almost masculine style of drag. Don’t forget what the U in C. U. N. T. is.
G. Yeah true and on the opposite end you have literally a couture designer in Bettie
M. Oh don’t get me started with Bettie the bitch is fucking Flawless.
G. I do think that there's like a certain expectation of what these contests are like beyond MPAR. For sure everyone was like Sartana the illustrated drag queen goddess will crush all but our season brought so much chaos which I love!! I credit the judging for really taking it week by week and being open to wow moments rather than trying to crush contestants into their expectations.
M. Oh for sure, I was shocked when Sartana got sent home on WEEK 4.
G. Yeah I really do want to see Sartana on All Stars or at least for her to apply. I think she's such a high water mark for what she does.
M. There are so many people I want on All Stars it’s not even funny
G. I know isn't that so amazing.
M. It just really shows what kind of raw talent we have on this sub
G. It's a thrilling thing. Ok I always end by giving the floor to you guys.
Question 7: What do you want to say to the sub? One note to everyone, feel free and encouraged to ask Maka questions about this interview or his run in the comments! It's a great place for them! Ok Maka, shoot.
M. OKAY LISTEN UP BABY BITCHES MAKAS ON THE MIC NOW.
I just wanted to say how much I love you all and enjoy seeing all the ART that comes from this sub. To all you Season 4 hopefuls, keep doing playalongs, they help a lot. Veterans, be welcoming to the new girls. Even if their art isn’t at a polish level you’d like to see, be nice, and find constructive criticism to give them (key word is CONSTRUCTIVE). New girls, don’t be afraid to talk to us in the comments, we don’t bite. And when the going gets tough, just keep drawing.
That’s All. Aloha, bearded kisses etc. etc. Love you guys!
Submitted August 31, 2018 at 04:48PM by IforaNye https://ift.tt/2PkrHSj
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