BK-81’s interview

BK-81 draws chapters about DBMultiverse Universe 3 (“Baddack’s”), as well as some Minicomics, and a lot of drawings.

You can also check her DeviantArt gallery.

Hello BK-81, it is an honour to have you for our first interview!

It's also my first interview ever, so... I'm fluttered! Thank you very much! Let's get it started!

First, can you talk about yourself in a few words please?

Well... I'm a girl (sheesh... okay, not a little girl anymore) from Northern Italy, from South Tirol to be precise. If you don't know where it is, google it, it's a quite pretty place. I'm 37 years old, working full time in a hospital, and I speak German (main language), Italian and English. So please forgive my errors here. And, of course, I like reading mangas and drawing.

How did you start to draw?

I'm a self-taught artist that started just for fun and discovered I was not that bad. My first fanarts where about Saint Seiya, I switched to DB only later and remained there. Because I newer followed real courses I may lack somewhere, especially in proportions, but... how do you say its difficult to teach an old dog. I try to improve every time. When I see my old work sometimes I'm ashamed of it...

What media do you use?

When I started to draw I used water colors and colored pencils, only in 2007 I (somehow) switched to digital. In 2008 I bought a  full graphic tablet (a Wacom 12WX first and the Wacom 13HD) and since then I draw almost only digital. For the programs I use GIMP and Clip Studio EX (the first part of my special was drawn with mangaStudio 4EX- you can see it).

How did you discover Dragon Ball?

It's a childhood memory. I remember seeing DB until the 22nd Tenkaichi in the early 90ies on a secondary channel with different cast and original intros and outros. Years later, it was re-broadcast on a mayor channel, Italia 1, with the known cast and the famous "sigle" (Italian intros). That was also the time I stared to read the manga, and I discovered that the story goes beyond the 23rd Tenkaichi, where the broadcast had stopped twice. And then came Dragonball Z... The rest is history. Ah, I saw the German dub a few times too, from DB until GT and the movies. And some episodes in English and Japanese subbed.

And Dragon Ball Multiverse?

I don't remember the exact page, but it was in the double digits. Maybe South Kaiohshin vs Butta? It was a link on Deviantart from another fan artist (I don't remember his/her name, sorry) and looked at it. At first, I didn't get the story- why was Vegeta wearing a cape? Cell? Buu? Goku?  BROLY Vs VEGETTO???

Who is your favorite character in DBM?

Uhm, tough question... You may hate me for that, but... the most interesting character for me is... Bra U16. Yeah, that awful arrogant brat. But I think she was written very well, like I would think a child of Vegetto would be in that upbringing. A real tsundere, who still has to have her redeeming moment (Ya know, when a tsundere admits to like the guy or to have a weakness... very clichè)

Second place goes to the whole Universe 19. Maybe it's the residual from my time as Star Trek fan, where I imagined ST merge with DB.

And the of course Vegeta and Goku and Bardock U3, There are so many. Some are "love to hate" like Babidi or Raichi.

Your favorite fight?

Main story? Duh... Vegeta U13 vs Raichi for sure, Or Freezer Vs Goku (the mental battle)

Favorite special?

Chapter 50 (Universe 13 brothers) and 56-57 (Universe 8) - oh, I forgot chapter 41, Universe 7.

How and when did you start to work in DBM staff?

After first reading it I saw the German version and it was... awful, google translate from 2008 awful. But because the story intrigued me, I wrote a mail and offered my help. Well, Salagir answered and I got an account... If i knew where it would lead..!

From translating it led to making some fanart, but it was nothing official, until Salagir commissioned me the cover of chapter 16 (Universe 17). Then came the fanfics. More translating (I may have written 1000 pages until now!) And illustrations for the novel. And then...

You’re writing the current special chapter, but before that, you did some « versus poster » and some drawings for DBM novels. Is there a real difference to you? If yes, what is it?

The difference is huge. One I did for fun, when I had time, without pressure. And it's in color. A comic is much more difficult, you have to follow the storyboard, but try to convey the emotions into the panels. And try to be consistent, even in the small details. Without color, you have to show the action only with shading and speedlines.

And of course, showing Salagir the sketches before drawing, because he has to give his OK and he can be quite strict. I have some freedom, but not as much as on a free illustration.

Why did you chose to draw a special chapter in this universe? What was your interest?

Well, to speak the truth I had asked to draw a special already in 2012 or so, but was rejected, I think because I still lacked skill (he wasn't wrong). Then in 2016 I redrew chapter 47 as a personal exercise - Salagir asked me why I did that, seemingly a bit ticked off - but then he asked me if I wanted to draw a chapter.  It was when he was very short on artists, so that might be the cause... XD.

Of course I wanted to do U13 (like many others- hey, drawing Saiyans it what I can do best), but it was already taken care of (shout-out to Ouv) so I had to choose between U3 and U11. Upon reading the rough outline the choice was easy.

BTW, There were already 2 pages done by a Japanese artist who jumped off... so it's true there are many unfinished chapters around..!

Except Dragon Ball Multiverse, are you working on other projects ? If yes, what is it and where can we see them?

Ah, no projects, only personal fanart... I don't have nor the time nor the persistence for more than that... I know, I'm a mess sometimes. Somebody wants to draw the comic for Dragonball SF? XD

Ah, if that counts, I'm contributing on the Italian WIKI about DBM...

Thanks for answering our questions, thanks for your great works, do you have some final words to say to our readers?

Well, thank you for the interview, I'm very happy to be able to contribute in this project. I hope my drawings are good enough to do the story justice and you'll enjoy it. It was almost 2 years of work, around 50 pages. I may make many errors, but be sure, I was trying to do my best. Because I'm a reader too...!

Grazie a tutti! Vielen Dank!

Interview by Ax-kun