He’s a skinner that likes to tackle characters that don’t hover around the A-list area, and he does it with style. He’s a person that really likes his Russian heroes despite not being Russian himself. He’s a member with an avatar that threatens to hypnotize any and all those who watch. Who is this mysterious person, you ask? None other than Laughing Paradox, and FRP2 decided to shine a light on him to see what it’d take to make him love Iceman over Darkstar.

FREEDOM FORCE

Laughing Paradox (henceforth referred to as LP), your name is both unique and reminds me of an older member that is no longer around. How did you choose your username, and how did you come about finding the community?

My favorite word is paradox, so I figured I’d use that. Rather than just “paradox” though, I added the “laughing” in front of it because it sounded pretty cool. I came across the community because I used to frequent the Skindex a long time ago. The Skindex was forced to take down all their Marvel skins, and I remember following a link that led me to FR. The rest is history.

As a skinner, your style has undeniably gone through some changes over the years. How have you gone about changing and improving your style?

Practice, practice, practice. I would try to experiment with base skins and see different techniques with highlights and shadows. I would also check out how one skinner would skin boots, or another would do certain seams, and learn from that as well. I got a lot of great tips from Unkoman when I first started skinning that I still use now, just better utilized. Confidence was also a key factor in my improvement.

Speaking of style changes, how difficult would you say it was to find and define your own style when FR is full of diversity?

It’s hard because the base skin is always someone else’s work… so until I can create my own base skin, I don’t think I’ve fully got my ‘style’ down yet. I’ve done work on faces now, trying to make them a little different, but it will take time before I can really say that I’ve got my own style going.

Many get into the specialty of skinning in an effort to give back to the community. What got you into skinning and, eventually, skoping?

That’s exactly the reason why I started skinning. I remember making all these requests once and a fellow member, USAgent, really helped me out with it. It made me realize what a cool and friendly community this was, so that made me want to skin and give back.

I really got into skinning when Johnny Patches had arrived at the site as a fledgling skoper and I figured [that] I may as well skin these cool skopes and practice with them. I ended up skinning a lot of his skopes.

The other reason I started skinning was that I knew a lot of people weren’t going to do the characters I really wanted. Do you know how many requests I made for a Fantasma (of the Winter Guard) skin? No one was touching that one.

Inspiration and motivation can come from most anywhere and anything. What are the sources that give you inspiration?

I get inspired by old comics, characters that weren’t created, and other skinners. I’ll pick up an old Captain America comic and go, “Now who else is going to skin Blitzkrieger or an obscure member of the Femizons?” I also like checking out very old skins of characters and see if they could be updated. I’ll look at threads by Blobula, Murs, AA and many others and really be motivated to up my game.

FR is a community that has been around for years and has dealt with many shakeups. Why do you think the FF community has lasted as long as it has?

That’s a simple answer: everyone there loves comics and this game. It’s a good marriage. It’s also helpful that the members on the site are a good group.

LP, you once had a skinning type contest (challenge) that revolved around creating characters for an alternate Weapon X program, right? How did you come up with this idea, and will you eventually host more skinning challenges in the future?

When I was more of a lurker/request-maker on the forum, I would remember seeing all these cool skinning challenge threads and wishing I could skin and be involved. So fast forward to now, I noticed there were no skinning challenges anymore and I figured I’d start it up. I was reading an old issue of Exiles at the time, with Weapon X, and I figured what a cool idea it would be to take every participant’s submission and have them form their own Weapon X team to be used in Freedom Force. I’ve got a few ideas for another challenge, so it’s safe to say that it will return.

With skoping adding so much variety to what skinners can now accomplish on their own without a mesher, how would you rate yourself as a skoper, and how difficult would you say it is to learn the art of skoping?

If I had to rate myself from 1 to 10, I’d say I’m a 5 or 6. You have guys like Johnny Patches, detourne_me, cascarudo, Bevo and BlkCasanova doing some insane skopes that I couldn’t even dream of, and then you’ve got guys like me who are all “Hey, I added a wristband.. with NO CLIPPING!”

Skoping is most difficult at first… once someone understands how to take one simple piece over to another mesh, the hard work is done.

Recently, I know you’ve been pestering someone to make new Dazzler FX. Have you ever considered picking up FXing as a new skill? How about modding or mapping?

I’ve actually had some interest in map making, but every time I try to start it, I get perplexed and lost. Skinning and skoping is so much easier for me. I’ve done some very meager FX’s for myself, but I get dizzy when I think of all the things I need to add for a pack to release it. And by the by, Dazzler and Jubilee need some FX’s. *cough*

Freedom Force is a game that nurtures many skills ranging from voice acting to writing. Have you found that something you’ve picked up in FF has been used in your real life?

Yeah, before skinning, I would use Photoshop for some really basic things… using FF has caused me to really get into Photoshop and understand it a lot better… even though I still have a long way to go. I’ve considered taking a graphic design class because it has sparked an interest.

Mods are one of the many things that give this game life. Have you found yourself playing any mods? Which mods would you recommend to others?

Yeah, I’ve definitely played my share of mods. I’m a fan of mods like Exiles by Premv, LSH by John Jr, Suicide Squad by Saracen (even though it’s impossible) and The Reformed by C4. Patriot City Tales is a lot of fun, too. I’m sure I’m missing a few others that I really liked.

Finally, if Freedom Force were to finally get a sequel, what is one thing you’d like to see done or introduced into the series?

I would love to see an aerial melee system and a good way to utilize water and sound as different attack types.

MISC.

You and I have a long running rivalry over Darkstar, who’s dead, and Iceman, who’s not, do we not? What is it that you like so much about the character?

It’s just that Iceman is a loser’s loser. He’s always whining that he’s weaker than his teammates and needed someone like Emma Frost to show him how to use his powers. Did you see in that recent Winter Guard one-shot, that Darkstar’s DNA is still used to create new Darkstars? Do you think anyone would do that for Bobby? Heck no. She’s just more loved and has a significantly better costume. Iceman is a drip.

Countless changes have occurred in the comic industry, especially in regards to talent and character usage. Do you think comics are on the correct path at the moment or not?

This is my take on Marvel comics, in general. Marvel decided to take out all their major characters so that the comic reader could be left wanting them back. It’s a lot like “Heroes Lost” to me, the storyline after Onslaught… and then we’ll get “Heroes Reborn” again. Instead of waiting a year, we’re waiting forever. I like that Marvel took a risk, but it’s not really keeping my interest, and I really just want a classic Avengers team back. Scarlet Witch, where are you?!

Onto other forms of media, books can really take your mind to unheard of places, no? What are some books or authors you enjoy reading?

David Sedaris, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Oscar Wilde, Piers Anthony, Clive Barker, Franz Kafka… I enjoy a wide array of authors. My favorite novel is The Great Gatsby. I also love World War Z by Max Brooks… it’s about zombies, which I’m a huge fan of.

Music is a very subjective area where tastes seem to vary widely. What are some artists you find yourself enjoying?

Deftones, Portishead, Tool, Sade, Team Sleep, Sleater Kinney, Alien Ant Farm, Queens of the Stone Age, Radiohead, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Stevie Wonder, The Oranges Band, Nirvana, Melt Banana… the list goes on. I would say my iPod is a bit eclectic.

You know several different languages, correct? How many languages do you know, and do you plan on adding more into your repertoire?

I can speak English, Spanish and French, and I am sporadically learning Japanese. Right now, I know ‘shinbun’ is newspaper. Impressive, n’est-ce pas?

If I were a villain that attacked others with adjectives that were true to their character, which three words would stick to you?

What kind of villain hurls adjectives as a power? The Insulter? I guess I’d fall prey to “procrastinating,” “sardonic,” and “talkative.”

There are many people that inspire us in our every day lives. If you had the chance to meet someone that inspired you, dead or alive, who would you choose and why?

This is one of those “Behind the Actor’s Studio” questions. I’d have to say Emily Dickinson. She was agoraphobic and stood in her home for most of her life, but wrote this amazing poetry that truly displayed the human condition. I’d like to step into her mind for a little while.

Finally, if you had the chance to pass on wisdom to a younger version of yourself, what knowledge would you share?

Tomorrow is better than today. Actually, I’d totally give myself some winning lottery numbers. Paradox be damned.

So the things we learned about Laughing Paradox are very simple. 1) He still inexplicably likes Darkstar over Iceman, which is a sure sign of insanity, 2) He knows at least three languages and is working on a 4th, and 3) He’d create a paradox just to make himself richer. How shameful, right? :P . If you want to check out some of LP’s skins, you can scoot on over to his site and download them to your heart’s content.