We know him as one of the more prominent skinners and member of the FR/FF community and his style has grown and changed tremendously in that time period. He’s brought us top notch skins, great skopes, and enough Thor love to fill Asgard. Now, let’s really get some insight into the guy behind the H.I.V.E World.

FREEDOM FORCE

You’ve said in the past that characters and comics inspire what you’ll skin next even if you have a list. What about these characters inspire you as a skinner?

The art inspired me. Bad art usually means I won’t read and therefore never skin a character. Like I honestly had no real interest in skinning Noh-Varr until the Illuminati mini and Cheung’s art. I always feel like an arse because I say I’m going to skin something, I start it, and never finish. :(

You’ve become part of a triad with Heroforce 2.0. How is it working with Podmark and UE who each have a distinctive style that is different from your own?

It is great working with both of them. Now that I’m retired, I’m technically no longer a member, so there is an opening. I completely trust the guys’ direction and I wish them the best on finding a new member.

We know comics are a source of your inspiration, but does anyone on FR inspire or motivate you in any form?

Hands down DrMike and C6. Both of them inspired me differently; DrMike on creating characters who aren’t the standard spandex hero, and C6 inspired me artistically.

Miracle Man is said to be one of your favorite skins. Why is this and can you give your fans a bit of information on this character and his universe?

Miracleman is my favorite skin because it was the first of my skins where I completely rethought what skinning was and how I wanted to do it. As for who is he, he’s your typical 50′s Superman type that was reinvented in the 80′s by Moore

Though you may be retired, you left us a great collection of skins, skopes, and fx to play with. What were some of your most exhausting skins, skopes, or fxes to make?

I’m not sure which skin exhausted me the most, probably my avatar because I skinned and reskinned it so many times.

The H.I.V.E. World characters were some of the most unique skins to grace the FF circuit in a long while. What inspired their creation and did you have any long term plans for the characters?

My inspiration was DrMike’s take on my avatar and his HIVE. I did have the idea of a complete mod which is why I skinned so many of them but that will probably never happen.

Is there anything FF-related that you’re looking forward to?

Yes, but I can’t talk about it!

Last FF question, there are a few mods out there now. Have you played any yet? If so, which ones and which would you recommend to others?

I love Prev’s mods. They are funny and I always have a good time playing them. I also really love C4′s latest mod. The modeling and skinning is stellar and the story is really unique.

DEVIANT ART

Not many people may know this, but you also have a deviantart account where you show off some amazing work. How would you describe your artistic style?

Mixed media, I guess. I don’t think I’m really that good but thanks for the ego boost.

One of the pieces that immediately grabbed my eye on your account was a piece you painted for your mom, Longing for Freedom in Sudan. What message were you trying to portray with the image?

The Sudan piece was inspired by an article I read. I dedicated it to my mom because she’s always asking me to paint something for her. In fact, if I do something that isn’t pixel, cartoony, or ff, it was because of my mom.

Your gallery is made up of a lot of digital paintings. What got you into this artistic form?

I started digitally painting in 2000. It was always around the time I got into anime. The only reason I did it was because primsacolors markers were expensive and I hated prismacolor pencils. This is my first digital painting: Click

Did your paint work help you to better your skinning work at all?

I would say so. It really helped me get into skinning and ultimately become better at it.

You also have dipped into the pixel art realm. What drew you to it?

I love pixel art. Always have and always will. There is something about creating something so detailed in a small space that appeals to me.

How difficult would you say pixel art is in comparison to your other artistic endeavors?

Pixel art is easy as long as you are not animating them. I made a lot of smilies that were on comixfan for years and those smiley were so difficult.

What would you say is your favorite piece you’ve done and why?

A Liminal Disorder. It was the cover of my roommate’s senior seminar catalog. It was a honor to do that for him

MISC.

Out of the heavy stuff and into the fun, what’s your favorite comic out there right now?

My favorite comic book is Thor.

You’re a big Thor fan, why are you not reading Incredible Hercules?

I actually just pick up a couple of issue of Herc featuring Ares. I haven’t read through them yet, but I really want to like Herc. A friend described him as a drunk Thor and I find that hilarious.

There’s a lot of bad TV out there at the moment, what do you classify as “must see” TV?

I honestly watch more Youtube than anything else but “Lost”, “Top Chef”, and I’m ashamed to say, but “ANTM”. I know! “ANTM”! But I really like the photography.

As we all know, Benton is an Aquaman fan true blue, what are you a true blue fan of regardless of how bad they may or may not have become over the years?

Superman. He’s the SUPERHERO and a perfect example of the Hero’s Journey.

Art is a highly subjective world with many different forms to appease the masses; what’s your favorite art style, artist, or form?

My favorite art style is mixed media. I have alot of friends who are artists and they use a lot of found objects like old doors and window panes. I respect that type of art so much. Also eboy! His pixel art is fantastic.

Reading may not be cool, but we all have a favorite book, right? What happens to be yours?

“A Seperate Peace”, I can relate to the book and it was the first book I read that I actually felt a connection to in middle school. Also, I love “Saint Morrissey”.

Finally, what will you do with the extra time you’ve gained from retiring? The masses want to know!!!

I’ll probably be focusing on work and playing Xbox360. I just got one and I’m completely addicted.

And that concludes the first spotlight. Though he may not be active skinning wise in the FF community, AA left his mark and you can grab his and the other Heroforce members FF works of art from their site.