Yılmaz Aslantürk Talked About The NFT Theft He Experienced

Do they say ‘Things that have no explanation have humor’ saying. That’s exactly what humor magazines did. The lines that came out of the hands of master pens have made us laugh and make us think for years.

Here is one of these illustrators. Yilmaz Aslanturk. Most people own her beige overcoat and endless tales of licentiousness. Otisabi’s recognized as its creator. However, Aslantürk’s life as an illustrator includes much more than that. Without further ado, let’s leave it to our guest, Yılmaz Aslantürk, and listen to him from himself.

‘I wanted to live by doing what I love’

• Who is Yılmaz Aslantürk to you, what does he do, what does he like, what does he dislike? Why drawing profession?

I wanted to live doing what I love, it wasn’t easy, but I did it. This has nothing to do with luck. It was with hard work, perseverance and patience. Like other illustrators, I was a humor magazine reader first. The adventure began by saying ‘I can draw too’. Because the artist is jealous. I define myself as someone who tells a story with lines.

• We have seen you in very important magazines for years. What are you doing now, where does Otisabi continue?

I drew it in Baked Kelle, Penguin, LeManyak and the longest in Sleepless magazine. In 2017, I left Sleepless, where I worked for the longest time, and drew it in Bavul magazine. Now I only publish a new page on the Patreon site once a month. In addition, I share the tape cartoon I have drawn called ‘I Have Blue Lines’, in which I describe the events I have experienced and observed in Datça, on my Instagram account and publish it on the Patreon site. Especially my readers living abroad were very happy to be able to read online. (by Yılmaz Aslantürk) Patreon You can find the page here)

‘The sloppy lines, the drawing of the first jokes that come to mind do not please the reader’

• We are now in a digitalized world. Do you think humor magazines could keep up with this digital world? How do you see your future? Perhaps it is not correct to attribute the falling circulations to this alone.

The decrease in circulation is the problem of all print media, readers access news and comments on the internet in the easiest and fastest way. They even listen to newspaper columns on YouTube. However, the situation in humor magazines is more about content. The sloppy lines, the drawing of the first jokes that come to mind do not please the reader. Another factor is the lack of new illustrators. Humor magazines were also schools, young cartoonists were given one day a week to teach drawing techniques, and jokes were criticized. Later, those who were successful were given a column in the magazine. I gave this training last in Sleepless, and this tradition ended when I left.

‘I’ve been drawing digitally since 2007’

• So how did Yılmaz Aslantürk keep up with this digitalization, what technologies does he use while drawing? While reading Otisabi, we saw that you always reflect the development of technology and the age in your stories.

I was using a brush due to the character of my line. I was scratching my breath holding every detail – so that my hand wouldn’t tremble. Especially in the summer, I had a harder time, the ink at the bottom of the brush was freezing fast from the heat. Each time I would thaw the frozen parts in the water in the glass, dry the brush, and dip the ink bottle again, scrape off the excess ink, and go over what I had drawn with the pencil on the paper. Guess how many times I’ve done these for a page. Then I discovered the Wacom Cintiq, which can draw on a screen connected to a computer. It was so expensive here that it was cheaper to commute to and from New York. So did I.

I’ve been drawing digitally since 2007. The ink does not spill, the brush does not freeze, and of course there is “undo”. Since I use a vector program, I can enlarge or reduce it as much as I want. I even drew Otisabi’s car from various angles and put it in the archive. I copy and use it from there when needed.

How did Otisabi come about? ‘I managed to make those who don’t like read it’

I was drawing detective stories in the Pişmiş Kelle magazine in the early 90’s, then Engin Ergönültaş asked me to draw stories about my own life and he made the scale on a full page. At first, they were stories based on the methods used by a young university student in Istanbul to make his life easier. He wanted to hold on to the city with petty evils and cunning. A young man had relationships with the opposite sex, of course, imagine Turkey in the 80s. A single man in the neighborhood is already a potential danger, his every move is watched by the shopkeepers behind the curtains. All these looks will disappoint your expectations, that is, you will convince them that you are the “master boy”. Then you have to convince her that nothing bad will happen in the house. I found it more fun to draw relationships rather than the interesting things in his life at university.

‘I read women’s magazines to understand what women want and don’t want’

I was reading women’s magazines to find out what women wanted and didn’t want, it was a great resource for me. Of course, I also used my own experiences and observations. By changing the names, of course. There are hundreds of stories, novels and comics written on male-female relationships, but the reader discovers that you say different things when you use elements that the previous ones did not dare and add details. I tried this and insisted on drawing for years. Of course, not all of the reactions were positive, but I managed to get people who didn’t like it read.

‘The main backbone of the stories I draw is the hypocrisy in relationships’

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The main backbone of the stories I draw is the hypocrisy in relationships. I am trying to explain with all its nakedness how different what is said and what is going through, what is wanted and what is planned. Both men and women don’t want to see them like that. This is why Otisabi is bothered. Although I draw a successful male figure, he stands at the same distance from both genders. However, I attribute his love to his sincerity and confession. These are the only things that have not changed in Otisabi over the years. What has changed is that people are more accessible to each other thanks to technology.

Otisabi series: ‘I learned the hard way that all the details should be written in the contract’

• Otisabi’s series was shot for a while. As far as I know, the original cast that was planned has also completely changed. I think the series is not for you. What are your thoughts?

I learned bitterly that all the details about Otisabi should be taken out and written into the contract one by one. It was just a series called Otisabi, that’s all. Let me not say more and arouse the curiosity of the readers.

NFT world: ‘The thief was stealing my Ethereums while I was learning like a curious kid’

• We see that illustrators and even magazines are taking steps on NFT. What is your view on the NFT world? An unfortunate incident has happened to you. Could you talk about it if you wish?

I was excited to set out to explore a new technology and a new medium. He had his own money, aesthetic sense and even jargon. A thief was stealing my Ethereums from my virtual wallet while I was watching/learning with open mouth like a curious kid. My loss was not a huge amount, but if they can blow up the account of someone like me, who takes security measures to the level of paranoia, it seems like there is a big security hole. The work did not end with drawing and uploading it to the site, it was necessary to work with professionals.