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E and CC are the talented artists behind the popular adult webcomic Teahouse. You can find it here (you must be 18 and over to read).
Questions and comments by Yukie are in bold.

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So to start, can you tell us a little about yourselves? Such as your work, daily activities, hobbies, likes/dislikes.
 
CC: I'll let E start.
 
E: Oh good.
 
CC: :D
 
E: So I'm E. :D I'm a freelance illustrator which means I spend most of my time working when I'm not sleeping, my hobby I guess is doing art which is also my work- I'm not very exciting hahah. I like manga and used to work in American comics before starting this little number up with CC :)
 
Oh nice, I could see a hint of Western influence in your art. What kind of work was it? Did you draw the comic yourself or were you helping someone?
 
CC: I'm CC, I used to work in the American comic industry, but now I've quit my job and started going back to school.  I adore comics, which is why I quit comics and yet still seem to make them in my spare time??? I'm just about as exciting as E, we're a pretty sad pair. XD
 
E: No, I worked as a colorist, CC actually got me into the industry after I graduated. So I was coloring other people's lineart and that's mostly why I got out because I wanted to be a penciller.  
A sad, gay pair.
 
CC: Very sad
Could always be gay-er
 
Aaahahahaha. And what about you, CC?
 
CC: Yeah, we both were colorists but E could draw and I could not.  And somehow I drew the short straw and ended up having to write the comic, even though neither of us have any experience writing comics either. :D
 
E: But as it turns out, CC can write :D
So it ended up working out
 
CC: If only I could write well. wah waaaah :D
 
I'm loving the Teahouse storyline so far, it's very exciting :p
 
E: If only I could draw well. Wah wahhhh :D
Aww thanks.
 
CC: The storyline is really both of us, btw.
E's just as responsible for this travesty as me.
And thanks :D
 
E: Dammit, don't out me.
But yeah, and then CC takes it and makes it into a script that makes sense.

CC: Sorta XD.
 
E: Mostly...
 
It makes sense to me!
So how did Teahouse start? Where did the idea come from?
 
CC: Uhhh
We wanted to do gay comics.
...
WHAT A TERRIBLE ANSWER XD
 
Brothel does seem to be a good setting :p
 
E: That was CC's idea.
 
CC: I figured it was the fastest way to sex :D
 
E: Which I was against in the beginning but she told me I got to draw penis.
 
LOL.

CC: Lots of it!
It seemed like the best setting for a bl/yaoi book.
The sex is built in.
 
E: I'm lying, I like it for the drama to be perfectly honest.
 
CC: Then you can cultivate the romance and complicated relationships.
 
E: And it's a great setting for relationships.
Exactly.
 
CC: there's no reason to force the sex in a brothel.
 
Lol! Makes sense.
 
CC: So that was awesome cause we're not super fans of too much dubcon.
 
Perfect way to mask it eh? :p

CC: Pretty much XD.
 
E: Well I don't mind dubcon but i do mind rape and you know. etc. LOL
 
CC: Although, some of those hos love sex, so they're gonna dive right in.

E: You are not wrong.
 
What about the characters? Did you base them on people you know? They have very...colourful personalities!
 
CC: Well half of them are E's and half are mine.
 
E: Which makes it a lot easier to collaborate and for each character to have their own voice.
 
That's actually a really good idea. Which ones belong to whom?
 
E: Let's see, mine are Axis, Rory, Atros, Argent and Mercutio.
 
CC: So she makes characters that I'd punch in the face and I make characters she'd strangle to death, it makes for a colorful crew.
 
E: Exactly.
 
CC: Mine are Linneus, Lilith, Rhys, Reed, and Claret.
 
E: It would work well especially if you're thinking in terms of what sort of character would interact well with one of CC's or something.
 
Oh hmm, I can picture myself strangling Lilith :p
 
CC: Hahahahahaah.
She loves you too :D
 
E: Notice that all of CC's characters are the assholes.
 
CC: ATROS
 
E: Yeah you're right.
 
CC: YOU HAVE ATROS.
 
E: ATROS TRUMPS.
 
CC: He's the asshole to rule them all.
While Rory is the ultimate bottom bitch.
Linneus would top him so hard and fast.
It's sad panda.
 
E: I dont know man I DONT KNOW ABOUT THAT.
Really!?
 
CC: God, yeah.
 
E: I think they'd just end up having tea and sitting on the bed hugging pillows and talking about boys.
 
You know, I'll hafta agree with E on this one.
 
CC: XD WHY ARE THEY SO GAY!?

E: HAHAHA.
 
CC: Well, to be fair.
We've discussed this and Rory's like baby Linneus.
So as Linneus is older Rory, Linneus, by experience and age, would be the top.
Even if it were for just the tip.
 
E: Hahahahaha
Just the tip.
 
I really can't picture it. I'm trying, really hard. But it's just not working.
 
CC: Hahahahahahahaha
They're so good at being bottoms
 
E: It's a crack pairing I hope nobody ever does anything with.
Both of them are just meant to be topped.
 
CC: *PUKE*
 It would be the grossest sappiest pairing ever.
 
E: I'm with Yukie though, I really can't even imagine it.
 
CC: They'd bring each other flowers, comb each other's hair, and give manicures while complimenting each other.
 
E: All I can see them doing together is how I said hahaha.
Oh god.
 
CC: Hahahahahahahahahaha

E: They would basically just be Sex in the City.
 
CC: Those women are more manly than these two XD.
 
E: So sad.
 
I'm sure that's part of their charm.
>_>

E: Hahaha.
 
Who's your favourite character?

CC: Linneus XD

E: Axis :D

CC: I really like pink hair.
 
It really helps with the manly appearance, you know.
 
CC: I know, right?

E: My favorite ones to draw though would probably be Linneus and Rory, because Linn is so purty.
 
Oooh, he is. I get really jealous.

CC: My favorite to write is Reed.
  
E: Which isn't apparent yet as to why.

CC: Because he's the world's biggest asshole, next to Atros, but verbally, he just says whatever the hell he wants.
 
He's a really special guy. Really special. Are we going to get a backstory as to why he's so...
special?
 
E: We were even talking about having a short section in the back of the books from now on where its just Reed saying horrible things to Rory.
 
E: I think that's just his personality, but there will be more story with him.
 
Oh my god I need to see this.
 
CC: Oh you'll see it.
It'll be excellent.
 
Excelleeent.
 
CC: Yeah, Reed is one of the main characters in the ensemble so you'll see more of him and learn more about him.
Issue three has a lot of Reed.
 
E: Yeah it's pretty Reed heavy huh? That and Linneus.
 
What about Mercutio? Will his relationships ever be featured? I mean, they must be preeetty interesting.
 
CC: Nah
 
E: To be honest I never pictured him as a main character, he was always this gross character that lurked around the house in the background, so I don't think we'll be giving him much screen time.
 
CC: Mercutio is a secondary character.
Yeah, he's mostly comedy, he shows up at the worst times.
 
E: Or the best times.
 
CC: But he's not really a deep character.
THE PERFECT TIMES.
 
I can't wait!
To see him in action, that is.
 
E: Haha
 
Do you two have the entire story planned out? Or do you decide what happens next as you go along?
 
CC: Well
There's no ending?
Well I mean we have a ton of story planned, just no like, THIS IS THE END POINT.
 
E: Yeah we pretty much have their lives planned out until death.
 
CC: So it's kind of set up as an ongoing.
 
E: So it'll end whenever we feel like it I guess LOL right.
 
CC: We'll keep doing Teahouse till they die or we get bored
or get bored and kill them.
:D
 
E: You jerk.

CC::D

Please don't ever get bored.
 
CC: XD Everyone's gotta die at some point!!!
 
E: If the drawing style changes you'll know its because I quit because of CC's horrible ideas.
 
CC: Shit, I think that's how we planned out their deaths, one of us was like "I bet this person would die like this".
And that was it.
 
E: Yeah.
Then we of course had to figure it out for everyone.
 
CC: They'll all be walking talking dicks.
 
E: Who would die and who would be left behind.
It was depressing :D.
 
CC: But AWESOME.
 
I really want to know, but then I'd ruin it for myself :<
Could you tell us a little about the whole process involved in making the comic? How does an idea evolve into fully coloured pages?

CC: It starts out with me doing a loose outline of an issue.
Then breaking it down into scenes.
Then page by page.
All the while E's reading it and telling me it all sucks.
Then I script it, and she does thumbs.
 
E: Don't worry, she gets me back later.
 
CC: And then it's my turn to tell her it sucks.
Then she punches me and turns the page in 5 minutes before it's due.
 
LOL.
 
CC: And then I take my sweet ass time and color it hours after it should go up.
 
E: Then CC turns the page in two days late.
 
CC: Then she kills me.
:D
 
Aw, sounds like the perfect illustrator/colorist relationship!
 
E: But in all seriousness, it goes: outline, script, correcs, thumbnails, correcs, final page, correcs, flats, then colors.
 
How long does it usually take to draw, outline, and colour one page?
 
CC: Pretty much XD.
...
God
A long time.
 
E: It takes me about 1-2 days per page.
 
CC: E and I put a lot of hours into the whole process.
 
Whoa, lots of correcting.
 
E: CC, it's probably what, a day for colors?
That doesn't count flatting though.
 
CC: Yeah, we have a check and balance sorta system.
Yeah it's about a day for colors.
 
E: They're all our babies and we're both very opinionated.
 
That works in our favour, the comic is really top notch.
 
E: Thank you :)

What programs do you use for the lineart and colouring?

CC: Photoshop.
 
E: We live our lives by it.
 
CC: We both work on Cintiqs too.
So really it's a Cintiq and Photoshop created book.
 
E: Yeah I honestly couldn't work without my Cintiq now.
 
I've never heard of Cintiq. Does it come with the tablet?
 
E: Well the Cintiq is its own tablet, it's basically a monitor you can draw directly on.
 
Ooooh, I see. That does sound useful!

E: So instead of having the weird disconnect between the monitor and tablet, it's more intuitive, like drawing.
 
CC: Yeah it's fantastic.
 
E: All Teahouse pages are completely digital from drawing to finished page.
 
Oh, even the roughs?
 
E: Yeah :D
 
Cool :0
CC, how do you colour? Do you have any special tricks you could share with us? Like do you use a specific tool for the shading, etc.

CC: Well
With cel I use the lasso tool and fill.
Teahouse is a combination of cel and whatever the hell else it is that I do though.
The backgrounds are more painted.
And in those cases I'll use the airbrush and pencil tools.
 
E: And the lines are held with color, CC wanted to do a more "animated" look :)
 
CC: Yeah.
And that's so time consuming XD.
 
I've noticed! I like the effect it creates, it makes everything more colourful.
 
E: Yeah, you pretty much have to go through every piece of lineart on an object, select it and fill it with color, so she spends a lot of time on colors :D
I love her palettes
I like how colorful everything is :D I'm such a girl
 
I love them too! Just staring at the colours make me happy.
When did you first start drawing, and what or who inspired you to do so?
 
E: Oh god, I've been drawing ever since I can remember so I want to say like.. 23 years? when I was young I was inspired by the Disney renaissance movies (Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast).
 
Oh really? And what got you into manga?

E: When I got a bit older I got into anime and I think shoujo anime/manga is still a big influence for me, now I like a lot of different styles of artists from Mucha to some amazing painters on dA and in the industry.
uh... Sailor Moon. HAHA
I woke up early to watch that shit every day!
 
E: Which led to my love of Shoujo Kakumei Utena which I think is the biggest manga influence for me that you can actually see in my work (I think).
  
Aahahaha. Sailor Moon had a huuge influence on me too, and I'm sure a lot of other people.
 
E: At least I think CC told me that when she first met me hahaha.
 
Really? I haven't read enough of it to see a resemblance.
 
CC: Oh God.
 
E: More than anime than anything, the manga is kinda bad even if the art is pretty.
What? LOL
 
CC: I love Sailor Moon and yeah, you've got Utena influence XD.
 
E: Do you remember saying that?
I was so excited.
 
CC: Hahahahaha.
I do!
 
E: Haha.
 
What about you CC? What inspired you to start?
 
CC: In comics in general?
I just have always loved them.
I grew up in Asia.
 
E: In art I think.
 
CC: so I would watch anime after school on TV and stuff.
 
Oh, which part of Asia?
 
CC: Korea.
I decided to do art for a living after my first year of college.
I had to move to the US for college.
And it was my first comic convention where I showed my stuff to another female comic book artist and she was like "You should draw for a living!"
And I was like "YEAH!"
And then it just sorta went from there.
I stopped drawing so much and just started focusing on coloring because I really like coloring and I somehow stumbled my way into comics.
It was awesome :D
 
E: Hahahah.
 
That really sounds like a success story they would make a movie about 50 years down the road.
 
CC: Hahahaha, not really.
I know a few people with stories like "I met Jim Lee at a toy store and then I tried out for a job and BAM, I got into comics."
 
E: LOL.
 
CC: Waaaay cooler stories :D
 
Yeah that sounds awesome :(
And I've run out of questions! Do you have a message for all your fans out there and/or tips for aspiring comic artists?
 
CC: Just DO COMICS XD
If you wanna do comics, do them!!!
 
E: If you want to do something, DO it.
You don't have to have the job for it to do it, I wasn't a penciller and CC wasn't a writer.
 
CC: Yeah!

E: If it's your passion go for it anyway :D.
 
CC: YEAH!
 
Aww, that's really inspiring. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions :)
 
E: Thanks so much for asking us D:
 
It was my pleasure!