RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 7, Episode 13

So, the "RuCap" week of each season always offers a break from the frantic pace of the show. It's a chance to reflect on the highs and lows of the past few months, and most importantly, to get a whole lot of catty commentary from all our favorite queens of past seasons. Has Season 7 felt a little weird? Yes. Do most viewers really care who wins? I don't, not really. But over the course of the season, we have gotten to meet some really stellar characters on this show, and I wanted to take some time this week to reflect on my own experience drawing them.

In past years, I've used the RuCap episode as a chance to go back and illustrate any of the important runway looks that I might have missed. But this season, I illustrated a lot of them, and there's only one outfit left that I was dying to draw:

Kennedy
Kennedy

I actually had a ton of fun illustrating Kennedy's look. Crazy feather/fur stuff! That mug! The blood! It may have been a totally crazy choice, and her story for the runway might not have made any sense, but it sure burned an image into our minds that will stay crystallized forever. (do you see what I did there?)

max-heartless-color
max-heartless-color

There have been plenty of complaints about this season's emphasis on scripted acting challenges, and rightfully so. But looking back, there were some legendary runway themes, too. Both the "Death Becomes Her" and "Bearded Beauty" ones just gave me life, so many stunning concepts and costumes that inspired some of my favorite Drag Race illustrations ever!

The "Conjoined Queens" and "Dancing Queens" challenges were trickier for me to draw, but I loved them. Such crazy creativity and just, well, craziness on that runway.

With a season of so many stunning creations, I wish their actual construction would have been more of a priority. I wanted to see these queens come up with them, or discuss their collaborators at home. It seems to me like the emphasis in editing was on interpersonal conflict rather than costume construction, and that we rarely saw the best looks being put together in the workroom so that they'd be more of a surprise on the runway. Which is fair, but it seems like a disservice to queens like Max and Violet who display such extraordinary vision and skill in their craft.

violet-breathless-process
violet-breathless-process
Trixie-icon-sketch
Trixie-icon-sketch

I felt like the season's focus on scripted comedy was a challenge for Trixie, too. Her strength is writing her own comedy, or improvising the bullshit and banter that's so special about live drag performances. It seemed like the show never knew what to do with Trixie, but I'm so glad that she won over so many new fans in her time on it.

I adore the queen, and I love depicting her shrink-wrapped aesthetic. When she was kicked off (the first time), I wanted to really boil down the essence of Trixie, to commemorate the quirky, ridiculousness of it all. And I'm thrilled that she uses that image on her official tank tops, which you've gotta break out for Pride season!

pearl-death-sketch
pearl-death-sketch

Someone remarked that my best work this season has been of Pearl's looks, and I can't really disagree. Going into this season, I wasn't quite sure what to expect of Pearl -- I knew her from her time in Chicago, and although I live for her look, I didn't know whether she'd bring much diversity to the runway or character to the workroom.

Pearl_death
Pearl_death

But she delivered. I mean, not always. She wasn't the most polished queen, and she didn't have the most gorgeous gowns. But there's something about her deranged approach to beauty that I find irresistible. She might not always pad, she might not always perform, but I always love what she's going for.

katya-collage
katya-collage

As I've mentioned a few times, Katya was my BenDeLaCreme this year -- my personal favorite, the one whose comedy and approach to drag just meshed with my own preferences the most. But in both cases, I struggled throughout the season trying to capture their likenesses! Katya's usual look is so striking, but so hard to pin down -- what makes her look like her? Obviously, it's SO much easier to depict the crazy characters she embodies so well.

Whenever I tried to depict Katya seriously, I struggled. Especially when trying to draw her incredible "Jet Set Eleganza" lip sync performance.

katya-jetset-process
katya-jetset-process

In my first few hours working on that illustration, I was trying to capture both her emotional intensity and her legendary legs as they did those slow-motion splits. But it just looked more and more awkward, and I was sure the piece would be an embarrassment.

Katya_jetset
Katya_jetset

I only turned it around at the very end when I realized I needed to crop her illustration differently, focusing solely on the arch of her back and her emotional intensity. But still, I was worried it was too simple, or the colors were too crazy, or.... I don't know. It was one of those pieces that put me through the wringer, questioning whether I should even share it online. Aside from its own merits as a piece of art, Katya's actual performance was so magnificent and memorable that it seems to have charged this fairly simple portrait with some of that same intensity. Or maybe it still sucks, I don't know.

In any case, I wanted to make one last, iconic portrait of my dear Katya. Something befitting her stupid talents and talented stupidity. And this happened:

katya-gross
katya-gross

I collect my favorite art from each season in little art books, (you can see all the previous season collections here) so I've been working through some ideas for who and what should be on the cover for Season 7. One of the final 3? I love Ginger, but I've been having a hell of a time capturing her likeness this season. Maybe Pearl or Violet? But which one? And then my personal favorites are Trixie and Katya, so.... well, here, take a look at my different sketches and let me know which one you'd like to see on 70 QUEENS!

cover-montage
cover-montage

Right now, in all honesty, I'm leaning toward the Katya one.

Regardless, I'll be putting together the book collection over the next two weeks, and I'll make it available for pre-order soon! While you wait, you can check out all my other Drag Race art on Etsy!

Or, if you'd rather not cover your walls with drag queens, you can support me viaPatreon!If you're not familiar with how that works, it's a way to support your favorite artists by sending a few bucks their way every month. I've just set it all up, so I'm going to keep it pretty simple right now, but I'm hoping to offer exclusive sneak peeks and sales to my supporters soon!

Patreon will be an ideal way to help me out once the Drag Race season wraps up, because I'll be turning my attention to The Cardboard Kingdom, a new collaborative comics project! I'm currently taking story submissions until June 15, then I'll pick a bunch of them to illustrate as fun, imaginative, socially-conscious kids' comics!

cons
cons

And FINALLY! If you're not sick of me after reading all this, you should come meet me at two shows coming up in June! CAKEin Chicago is a totally free and amazing indie comics show, full of talent, incredible art, and cool workshops! It will be June 6-7 at The Center on Halsted!

And FLAME CON is a new queer comics convention in Brooklyn! It's Saturday, June 13, and it will have SO MANY cool creators and special guests and stuff. Get tickets here! 

RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 7, Episode 10

Oliver Sava joins me this week to talk Drag Race! He's been covering the show for years at The AV Club, where he's a contributor on everything from comics to reality TV. 

Chad: So, you've written about the Drag Race for a number of years for The AV Club, and you've covered So You Think You Can Dance, so I thought you would be great to chat with about this week's challenge and what's been going on in general this season. Even if you're not a drag or dancing EXPERT, you know what makes good TV.

Oliver: It's perfect, because my dance knowledge is about as extensive as most of the queens on this episode. I got to see a lot of professional dance working front of house at Harris Theater, and that combined with SYTYCD and some college dance classes has given me a pretty solid foundation.

Chad: So what did you make of this week's performances?

Oliver: The actual dance performances were all entertaining. Nothing was a trainwreck. I absolutely agree with the judges and think Violet and Katya were the strongest, but I also think the Vogue Tango is probably the easiest of the three styles. Just because these queens probably have some basic knowledge of voguing, and tango gives them a very specific attitude to play.

violet-tango
violet-tango

Chad: Right, Katya and Violet were sleek and sexy as shit. But who the hell can pull off "country robot?"

Oliver: Country Robot and CHARLESTON TWERK

Chad: How do you think the choreography handled the double-gender aspect of their costuming?

Oliver: I don't think it took advantage of that very well. I didn't see the correlation between the look and the dance beyond that they both combined different things. But I would have liked to see a stronger connection drawn between the two.

Chad: I thought there were moments of wit -- during Katya and Violet's routine, when one pushes the other down as "the man," and then they switch roles. But yeah, I felt like the divided drag looks were more distracting than anything. Wouldn't that concept have worked better in a photo shoot, where it could be more precisely arranged?

Oliver: Maybe something even bigger than a photoshoot. Something that really forces the viewer to look at the relationship between the male and female halves. It's a visual that speaks so directly to the dynamic at the center of the show that I wanted it to get more attention

Chad: Maybe a segment like Stephen Colbert used to do: "Formidable Opponent!" Where he literally argues with himself over some topic, with just the camera orientation (and tie color) switching with each "side."

Chad: But it sounds like, overall, you enjoyed this week's challenge, right?

Oliver: I thought it was solid, but far from my favorite this season. It tries to do too much. And I don't necessarily mean in terms of the work the queens have to do.

Chad: I feel like that's a recurring theme this season. The producers get so caught up in their own clever concepts and shove the queens along to get it all shot for the episode. My general feeling about this season is that the challenges are just too heavily scripted, where the comedy is baked into the challenge, rather than forcing the queens to bring their own inventiveness to it.

Oliver: I totally agree with that.

Chad: Just let Ginger, Katya, or Trixie riff in front of a crowd, and you'll get comedy gold! Or even give them a talk show challenge, like Season 1 and Season 6! We're not getting enough improvisation challenges, and we're not getting fashion challenges. So we're not able to see the queens' wit (a la Trixie, Ginger, and Katya) or their visual creativity (Pearl, Violet, and Max.) That's the end of my rant, sorry. I was annoyed by this week's challenge.

Oliver: I think you're totally right, though. Lots of the queens reading lines. Or singing lyrics. Or dancing choreography. That is given to them by someone else.

Chad: I would have loved a more thoughtful "split gender" runway theme that wasn't catering to the challenges of dancing in the outfit.

Oliver: I agree. How would they interpret the male half if they didn't have to wear a tux?

Chad: Well, if you noticed, pretty much all the tuxes were actually just spandex bodysuits. I'm guessing that was for convenience and versatility. And what if they didn't have to divide the drag looks right down the middle? What kind of edgier, androgynous looks would we have gotten?

Oliver: The costuming confused me. I wrote about it in my review, but I just didn't know what the queens had to sew, and if they had to sew, what they were using.

Chad: I heard on reddit that Trixie said at a viewing party that they did, in fact, have to construct the garments in the workroom. Which sounds correct, given that each queen had a look catering to their dance style. In your review, you also had some interesting thoughts on Ginger and Trixie's issues on the show. You think Ginger is playing a pretty nuanced game, don't you?

Oliver: I get the impression that her struggles aren't as real as she makes them out to be. I went to the Season 7 premiere party and got to talk to Ginger, and she explicitly mentioned being a musical theater performer, and doing a little digging online revealed that she's also a costume designer. You've gotta dance and sew to do those things. You don't have to be an expert at them, but you need to have a basic knowledge to excel.

Chad: Yeah, she's been in the game a LONG time! She had this fabulous interview on Feast of Fun where she describes acting in a Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast for more than a year when she was 19!So right, when she says, "I'm not a dancer," that's not exactly true. She may feel insecure about dancing, it might not be her strength, but she makes a living as a musical theater performer and drag queen. You think she's playing up her vulnerability to be more likable to the judges and the viewership?

Oliver: I definitely think she's exaggerating her weaknesses. But I also just get a performative vibe from her in general.

Chad: I'm still pretty sure she's being set up to win the season, but I'm not rooting for her, yet.

Oliver: I'm all about Katya.

katya-housewife
katya-housewife

Chad: The issue is that Ginger comes across incredibly well in interviews and in her performances on Youtube. But something about her depiction on the show just isn't sticking with me.

Oliver: I don't really have a great idea of who the Ginger Minj character is. But a lot of the queens this season don't necessarily project a strong personality in drag.

Chad: The feeling I get is that the show has been depicting her as folksier and shadier than she really is. In interviews, she comes across as very well-grounded, smart, sweet, and hilarious.

Oliver: Is it the show, or is it her, though? They can't edit it if you don't do it. If you've been watching a show for six seasons, you know what works and what doesn't.

trixie-country
trixie-country

Chad: Well, right, I really have no idea. I do know that Trixie and Katya both LOVE Ginger, which is good enough for me. Because, yes, I love Katya, too, and I was very sorry and frustrated to see Trixie go. It felt like a very arbitrary decision. Like they just didn't know what to do with Trixie after they brought her back!

Oliver: Ginj beat Trixie in that lip sync, though.

Chad: Yeah, I dunno. I hate the way they edit those lip syncs. I just want a split screen that shows both queens in a medium shot. Because I am a boring old man who wants to see his queens.

Oliver: They should do that as an online exclusive thing.

Chad: Yup!

Oliver: Lip Sync Split-Screen, sponsored by SquareSpace.

Chad: Ha! So, speaking of SquareSpace.... What do you think of Untucked this year?

Oliver: I'm a few episodes behind, which should tell you how high of a priority Untucked is now that it's online

Chad: What, really??

Oliver: Yeah, I don't love it. I get what they're going for, but it doesn't have the same energy as before.

Chad: Okay, I think that's fair. I'm sure the response to its stylistic change has been divided. But I LOVE it. So much. Here's my take on it: I think they had barely any budget for it this year. So they tried a ballsy approach, tried something different.

Oliver: I miss the tight space. It was like putting animals in a cage, sticking tired drag queens in the Interior Illusions lounge with alcohol and watching them claw at each other.

Chad: But I think it's so intimate, crazy, and unstructured. There are moments of hilarity, of poignance, and of Katya just twerking in the parking lot.

Oliver: It does feel more real, which is fun.

Chad: I just think it's shot in such a fresh way, where you really get the feel for what it's like to spend twelve hours with a bunch of tired queens, and honestly, I wish they'd approach the whole show the same way. I don't think they WILL, but I can wish for it.

Oliver: There have been some solid moments. I really liked Violet's "I get it, I'm a bitch" moment. But I don't think I want a raw, grounded RuPaul's Drag Race. I like it silly and overblown. I just think this episode lacked focus.

Chad: Yeah, and you're probably in the majority with the rest of this show's fans. I just feel like most of the episodes this season have felt too rushed, too arbitrary, without any room for the queens to breathe and to shine.

Oliver: Is Violet the only queen that hasn't lip synced?

Chad: Hm. Seems so! What do you think of Violet?

Oliver: There's also not much interpersonal drama this season. I appreciate Violet because she was stirring shit up! That makes for interesting TV.

Chad: Although we've seen her deal with the "bitch" characterization, we know next to nothing about her personal life or her history. Where are her childhood tales of adversity? Parental acceptance?

Oliver: Maybe she didn't have to struggle.

Chad: Right, maybe there's no drama to mine. Do you have any other thoughts on this season, this episode, or any particular queens?

Oliver: 1) Two thumbs up for boy-Pearl with facial hair. 2) Flassez-da. 3) Rachael Harris' face when RuPaul pulled off her skirt. That is how I would look the entire time if I was a guest judge on this show.

pearl-divided
pearl-divided

Chad: Agreed, I love a scruffy Pearl. Too bad it was painted on!

Oliver: It was a good week for Pearl, who I'm shocked is still in the competition.

Chad: Why are you shocked Pearl is still in the game? Because she lives her life in slow motion?

Oliver: It definitely feels like she's coasting her way through, but it's not bad. That's just her personality

Chad: That it is.

Oliver: She's managed to keep that aloofness, but there's more energy behind her performance now. She's starting to have fun, and it's making a big improvement.

11208723_10101201207951631_1246758568_n
11208723_10101201207951631_1246758568_n

You can find Oliver's weekly write-ups of the Drag Race right here! You can also check out all his other writing for The AV Cluband for The LA Times Hero Complex! Oliver is also on Twitter.

If you like this week's art, check out the posters, prints, and postcards available on my Etsy store!

RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 7, Episode 7

Hello! Due to scheduling conflicts, I wasn't able to do an interview discussion for this week's episode. The Snatch Game is always a hot mess, but usually there's at least one shining star who emerges above the fray. In Season 5, it was Jinkx, and in Season 6, BenDeLaCreme stole the show, but Adore and Bianca were both magnificent, too. This season, I thought a lot of the performances were solid, but not stellar. I would have picked Katya for the win, but that's true pretty much every week.

I was very surprised and sorry to see Max go. Some queens seem to get second and third chances on this show, but Max didn't. Although I think she has the most intriguing aesthetic this season, she was perhaps too reserved a character to make for good reality television.

As always, you can find all my latest art on Etsy!You'll also be able to find me at C2E2 in Chicago next week! I'll be in Artist Alley, Table A4.

I'll also be announcing a super-exciting new comics project tomorrow. So stay tuned!!

Katya-Suze
Katya-Suze
Max-Black Widow
Max-Black Widow
Pearl-Big Ang
Pearl-Big Ang
Violet
Violet

RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 7: Episode 1

So, it's been a long, long wait for Season 7. Will we ever hear an explanation for why we had to wait until March? I doubt it. My best guess is that Logo wanted to pair the Drag Race debut alongside some of its new shows. But regardless, the wait is over, thank the glamour gods. It was rough for me, because this is the first season where I knew two of the girls before they made it onto the show: Trixie Mattel and Pearl! And I was dying to see how they did when thrust in front of a camera and told to be clever or whatever. Now, I love Trixie, and I was hoping Drag Race fans would dig her, too, but I didn't expect her to be the breakout star of the pre-season. Back in January, during my "Week of Ru" voting contest, Trixie won by a landslide. She's travelling all over, booking international gigs, and reddit is abuzz about her.

And boy, are you going to be disappointed.

Trixie_1st_ep
Trixie_1st_ep

No, I'm kidding. Although her aesthetic screams "character queen," she's actually really grounded, resilient, and funny. (And a Wisconsin boy, like me!) I thought she handled the "nude illusion" challenge particularly well this week with her "Barbie doll" realness. In fact, I think she really lucked out, because her runway look establishes what she's going for, that slightly deranged take on drag. I'm disappointed that her look was "safe," though, since I would have loved to hear the judges' comments.

By the way, the "nude illusion" challenge was pretty weird, right? Given the ridiculous censoring, it was hard to tell what the queens were actually showing, what was tucked or not, what was scandalous or simply... cheeky. Most of the tearaway outfits were pretty forgettable, and most of the reveals weren't even worth it. The worst were the queens who just stripped down to a badly painted bodysuit. It just wasn't funny, or scandalous, or glamorous, or even very sexy. Really, I think Kennedy had the best approach with her gorgeous, revealing outfit. It showed just enough to be sexy, but it had style, and she worked it. I totally would have drawn it, except that I would have been way too embarrassed to bring it down to my local print shop. (Also, that sheer, shiny fabric is hell to draw. Seriously.)

Pearl_1st_ep
Pearl_1st_ep

Pearl did well, too, with her high-waisted panties and angular golden chains. What I love about Pearl is that she's able to paint for the gods and bring this stunning beauty to life, but then she really likes to fuck with it. She's got an arty, subversive edge to her looks and to her character. Which could be good or bad for reality television--she can come across as aloof or just over it, but she can also be really frank and funny. So however that ends up, I'm dying to draw whatever she brings down the runway.

Speaking of the runway, what about the mini-challenge? Again, I thought it was weird. The whole episode was kind of weird. I loved seeing so many stunning looks so soon, but I would have rather seen the girls in an unconventional photo shoot, where we see a bit more of their character, how they reacted to whatever ridiculous scenario the producers had cooked up this time.

I was at the Chicago Premiere Party with my boyfriend during the screening of this episode, and during the mini-challenge, you couldn't hear much of the commentary. It just felt like an endless runway sequence, and my boyfriend--new to the Drag Race--asked me, "Is this the whole show? Just wearing different outfits?"

Violet_Tartan
Violet_Tartan

Luckily, Violet saved the show with her sick, ridiculous look. The flip from the black dress to the tartan pattern was so slick and fast, so unexpected, it was perfect. I'm not sure about the matching cap, but still. So far, Violet's among the top runway queens for me. And right now, I'm digging her cockiness and swagger, but we'll see how that goes.

I had to draw one of Jaidynn's looks, too--I just can't resist a sexy sci-fi superhero. And really, I've been down to draw Jaidynn since she was first announced. She's got so much character and confidence without much of a filter, which makes for great reality television, right? I feel like she could be this season's Alyssa Edwards.

Jaidynn_1st_ep
Jaidynn_1st_ep

I guess I'm working backwards through the episode, since I'm getting to the first workroom looks now. Sure, whatever, okay.

So, I'm not afraid to say it, but Katya's one of my favorites so far. I knew nothing about her before the "Meet the Queens" videos, but frankly, she stole the show with hers. Like, the absolute funniest, wittiest bitch on the block. Read her tumblr for proof. It's a gold mine. Full of gold teeth. (It'll make sense later.)

Katya's humor can get incredibly dark and twisted, but she brings a perfect playfulness to balance it out. She's the George Saunders of drag.

Katya_1st_ep
Katya_1st_ep

Yeah, I should have made her look goofier and more sparkly in this, but I wanted it to feel like a Soviet poster or something. Rest assured that any other drawing I do of Katya will be silly and likely obscene.

And finally: Fame. Yes, she comes into the competition with an ego and a reputation. Yes, she will probably be the Courtney Act of this season, struggling to exceed the expectations and assumptions we've already placed upon her. But there's no doubt that she's a stunning beauty, and that she embraces a variety of interesting styles. Both her mini-challenge outfits were jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Her first workroom look didn't feel quite as polished or elegant, but did you really think I could resist drawing shiny purple horn-tentacles? Don't you know me at all?

Fame_Beyond
Fame_Beyond

I wanted a chance to blather by myself about some of my favorite new queens this week, but I'm planning to bring back my "drag dialogue" format with some special guests next time!

You can find most of this week's art on my Etsy store, where you'll also find all my prints, posters, and postcards from previous seasons. You can also check out all my other work on tumblr, and you can read my comics right here.

Since Logo made this first episode available early, I was able to spend more time on this week's portraits. I'm aiming to finish 3 or 4 pieces for each future episode and to post them by Wednesday.

So... see you back here next week? Wednesday, around noon? Yeah?