This assignment was to create a cycle with 4 elements... I thought the gears were the easiest part, but everyone was the most impressed by them, so that is probably an important lesson for life or something.
And here we have The Sneeze. I wasn't quite happy with the way this turned out. I really love the keys, especially on the sneeze itself, but it needs a lot more in-betweens at the beginning and end.
We're also spending the whole year in this class creating a complete short film. I'm VERY excited about this!!! I'm working on a story that I love, love, love. We've done our storyboards so far. Now onto the fun stuff!!!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Autumn in the Park - process
Well, when I was working on this thing I thought I took a lot more screenshots of the process, but here's what I have. It doesn't properly show how many times I redid those effing trees!!!
A couple notes:
-This one's all digital.
-I've always seen people using this technique on ConceptArt and stuff, of painting in black and white first to make sure you have a strong sense of value, but I always thought it was kind of overkill. However in school this year I'm really having COMPOSITION pounded into my head with a hammer, so I thought I'd give it a try.
It was fairly helpful, I think. It definitely made me use stronger contrast, which I tend to shy away from. The thing I really liked about it, though, was how when I added the color on top, it didn't exactly match up with the black and white underneath, which spawned some reeeally nice variations in saturation and color.
-I used separate layers when positioning the trees and buildings, but after I had that worked out, I flattened the image and only used new layers to paint over the whole image, flattening every now and then as I went along.
-I'm really getting to like experimenting with brush settings in Photoshop! I included a screenshot of the thumbnail of the brush I used for the whole piece once I got everything put together. It lends a nice thick smeary quality, don't you think??
-I used a couple textures from cgtextures.com and from my personal collection.
Enjoy!
A couple notes:
-This one's all digital.
-I've always seen people using this technique on ConceptArt and stuff, of painting in black and white first to make sure you have a strong sense of value, but I always thought it was kind of overkill. However in school this year I'm really having COMPOSITION pounded into my head with a hammer, so I thought I'd give it a try.
It was fairly helpful, I think. It definitely made me use stronger contrast, which I tend to shy away from. The thing I really liked about it, though, was how when I added the color on top, it didn't exactly match up with the black and white underneath, which spawned some reeeally nice variations in saturation and color.
-I used separate layers when positioning the trees and buildings, but after I had that worked out, I flattened the image and only used new layers to paint over the whole image, flattening every now and then as I went along.
-I'm really getting to like experimenting with brush settings in Photoshop! I included a screenshot of the thumbnail of the brush I used for the whole piece once I got everything put together. It lends a nice thick smeary quality, don't you think??
-I used a couple textures from cgtextures.com and from my personal collection.
Enjoy!
Friday, October 15, 2010
i spend a lot of time googling myself
I just Google Image Searched myself. And I don't know if they've improved the search since they changed the layout, or if I just looked harder this time, or if I'm just more popular now, but I found out I'm all OVER the internet. I found my art on blogs and in galleries in Chinese and in Russian.
It's a little overwhelming and I'm not sure how to feel about it. I'm pretty new at this whole people-actually-look-at-my-art thing. Nobody's selling my art or anything, and the few sites that didn't have a link to my DA or Etsy still used my name, so it would be pretty easy for someone to find one of my official websites if they wanted to. So I'm not really scandalized by these people sharing my art without my permission - after all, they're just sharing. I'm mostly flattered. It just freaks me out a little that the sharing of my artwork is outside of my control.
I feel like I need to take a deep breath and set my art free into the world... but just start putting my full name and website on every image, keep as careful of an eye on it as I can, and kick the ass of anyone trying to make any money off it.
I'd like the thoughts of my fellow online artists, particularly those who have been popular for a while - what do you do about this??!?
It's a little overwhelming and I'm not sure how to feel about it. I'm pretty new at this whole people-actually-look-at-my-art thing. Nobody's selling my art or anything, and the few sites that didn't have a link to my DA or Etsy still used my name, so it would be pretty easy for someone to find one of my official websites if they wanted to. So I'm not really scandalized by these people sharing my art without my permission - after all, they're just sharing. I'm mostly flattered. It just freaks me out a little that the sharing of my artwork is outside of my control.
I feel like I need to take a deep breath and set my art free into the world... but just start putting my full name and website on every image, keep as careful of an eye on it as I can, and kick the ass of anyone trying to make any money off it.
I'd like the thoughts of my fellow online artists, particularly those who have been popular for a while - what do you do about this??!?
Monday, October 04, 2010
back to school!
Well hello there!
I figured it's a new school year and a great time for a new start at blogging.
This is what I've done so far my 2nd year:
ta-da!!!
I figured it's a new school year and a great time for a new start at blogging.
This is what I've done so far my 2nd year:
ta-da!!!
Monday, February 22, 2010
writing letters - process images!
Look! I drew something new.
This came out of my recent reading of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, which is a really wonderful clever absorbing Austenesque fantasy about two magicians trying to restore English magic, which is in a sorry state, to its former glory. I might have to do an edition of THE BEST BOOKS EVER on it soon.
The whole time I was reading it all I wanted to draw was a nice Empire-waisted gown, and eventually a sketchbook doodle turned into this. I actually took a couple of screenshots in progress of this one, so I thought I could share them here!
These images are not really a clear step-by-step representation of the entire process, because I wasn't planning all along on putting them all together. If it seems like people are really interested, I can screenshot the different steps more clearly on my next project!
Here we go:
Step One: Pencil sketch. I hardly ever start out on the computer, because I love the grit and smudges you get from a real pencil or pen.
This is approximately my thought process when drawing something like this: "Hmm... I have no idea what this professor is talking about. Oh, here's some space at the side of the page. Let's think about my next drawing... I think the hair should look something like this... and eyes like this - oh hey, that looks cool. She kind of looks like she's sitting for a portrait. Let's go with that. Hmm, hmmm... doot de doo..."
Steps Two thru Two Point Five: Flat colors, background scribbles, beginning shading. This is the part that's like a coloring book. I thought coloring books were really boring as a kid. I still think this step is really boring.
The notable part of this image is step 2.5. Usually I do the obvious thing, which is to just color your shading as you go, but this time I did the reverse, which was to create a whole dark layer - usually set on Multiply or the like - and then erase the parts that should be brighter. If you use a layer mask for the job, it makes it beautifully easy to change the shadow colors in different areas.
Sorry this one's so cropped, I made it to show on Twitter as, like, a teaser. Lame.
Steps Three thru Four-ishhh: Ignore the hearts. Um. Finished the shading, started adding highlights on another layer, did the scene outside the window, cleaned up the drapes a bit so I could shade them properly.
Steps Five and Six: After finishing up the shading and whatnot, I started playing around with the color to see if I could get it to look better. A lot of times I stare at a picture for so long I don't realize the color is leaning precariously in one direction. At this point, I figured out that the whole image was looking awfully green and a little dull, so I fixed things up with a Selective Color layer.
After I get all the colors looking the way I want to - or sometimes before, it varies - I create a new layer to paint on and blend everything together. This is super fun because you get to smoosh colors around and stop worrying about keeping things on layers! Keeping layers separate is helpful when you're working on the "structure" of a piece, but if you keep it that way, it never looks quite as coherent as it could. This is when I fill in all the details, smooth everything out, and blend the lineart into everything. I also made changes like working on her expression very slightly, so she looked less sultry and more like my original drawing.
Step Seven-ish: Textures! You can see the result of these in the final piece at the very top. I use textures from sites like this and paste them in, then set them to a low opacity and whatever blending mode looks best. Using a few different textures, and using them subtly, looks a lot better than having an identifiable concrete wall smacked over your artwork, which is totally what I used to do. A texture can also affect the colors of the piece, and by playing around with its brightness, contrast, hue and saturation, you can control this effect.
Ta-da!!! Nothing to it, right? But seriously, folks, I spent years flailing around in Photoshop before I figured out there was a better way to do most things. I hope maybe I can help somebody else start flailing in the right direction!
I've used a LOT of jargon here, I know, so if there's stuff I said that makes no sense, ask and I will clarify! Like I said, maybe next time I'll show each step more clearly, and I can get more in-depth about the Photoshop stuff I'm talking about too!
Whew!!!
Dearest Mama,
I hope that this letter finds you & everyone at home very well. Cynthia & I have been having the loveliest time here at Aunt Violet's - despite all our protestations she took us into town earlier to-day to shop & I purchased the sweetest pair of cream-colored gloves. I think they shall go with my plum-colored walking-dress very charmingly!
Cynthia of course nearly filled up the carriage with all the ribbons, gloves, hairpins, shoes, &c. that she simply had to have!
Aunt Violet wishes to be remembered to you & sends her love. I look forward to being home again, and to seeing you & Father. Until then, I shall be
Your loving Daughter,
Georgina
This came out of my recent reading of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, which is a really wonderful clever absorbing Austenesque fantasy about two magicians trying to restore English magic, which is in a sorry state, to its former glory. I might have to do an edition of THE BEST BOOKS EVER on it soon.
The whole time I was reading it all I wanted to draw was a nice Empire-waisted gown, and eventually a sketchbook doodle turned into this. I actually took a couple of screenshots in progress of this one, so I thought I could share them here!
These images are not really a clear step-by-step representation of the entire process, because I wasn't planning all along on putting them all together. If it seems like people are really interested, I can screenshot the different steps more clearly on my next project!
Here we go:
Step One: Pencil sketch. I hardly ever start out on the computer, because I love the grit and smudges you get from a real pencil or pen.
This is approximately my thought process when drawing something like this: "Hmm... I have no idea what this professor is talking about. Oh, here's some space at the side of the page. Let's think about my next drawing... I think the hair should look something like this... and eyes like this - oh hey, that looks cool. She kind of looks like she's sitting for a portrait. Let's go with that. Hmm, hmmm... doot de doo..."
Steps Two thru Two Point Five: Flat colors, background scribbles, beginning shading. This is the part that's like a coloring book. I thought coloring books were really boring as a kid. I still think this step is really boring.
The notable part of this image is step 2.5. Usually I do the obvious thing, which is to just color your shading as you go, but this time I did the reverse, which was to create a whole dark layer - usually set on Multiply or the like - and then erase the parts that should be brighter. If you use a layer mask for the job, it makes it beautifully easy to change the shadow colors in different areas.
Sorry this one's so cropped, I made it to show on Twitter as, like, a teaser. Lame.
Steps Three thru Four-ishhh: Ignore the hearts. Um. Finished the shading, started adding highlights on another layer, did the scene outside the window, cleaned up the drapes a bit so I could shade them properly.
Steps Five and Six: After finishing up the shading and whatnot, I started playing around with the color to see if I could get it to look better. A lot of times I stare at a picture for so long I don't realize the color is leaning precariously in one direction. At this point, I figured out that the whole image was looking awfully green and a little dull, so I fixed things up with a Selective Color layer.
After I get all the colors looking the way I want to - or sometimes before, it varies - I create a new layer to paint on and blend everything together. This is super fun because you get to smoosh colors around and stop worrying about keeping things on layers! Keeping layers separate is helpful when you're working on the "structure" of a piece, but if you keep it that way, it never looks quite as coherent as it could. This is when I fill in all the details, smooth everything out, and blend the lineart into everything. I also made changes like working on her expression very slightly, so she looked less sultry and more like my original drawing.
Step Seven-ish: Textures! You can see the result of these in the final piece at the very top. I use textures from sites like this and paste them in, then set them to a low opacity and whatever blending mode looks best. Using a few different textures, and using them subtly, looks a lot better than having an identifiable concrete wall smacked over your artwork, which is totally what I used to do. A texture can also affect the colors of the piece, and by playing around with its brightness, contrast, hue and saturation, you can control this effect.
Ta-da!!! Nothing to it, right? But seriously, folks, I spent years flailing around in Photoshop before I figured out there was a better way to do most things. I hope maybe I can help somebody else start flailing in the right direction!
I've used a LOT of jargon here, I know, so if there's stuff I said that makes no sense, ask and I will clarify! Like I said, maybe next time I'll show each step more clearly, and I can get more in-depth about the Photoshop stuff I'm talking about too!
Whew!!!
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
a good day!
1. Up is nominated for Best Picture! Now Princess and the Frog can win Best Animated and I will be completely satisfied.
2. My print was on the front page of Etsy this morning! I've had stuff on the FP before, but I dunno if I've ever had a response like this. The amount of new shop hearts I have is absurd. And the item sold too! That doesn't always happen! :)
3. LOOOOOOOSSSST
2. My print was on the front page of Etsy this morning! I've had stuff on the FP before, but I dunno if I've ever had a response like this. The amount of new shop hearts I have is absurd. And the item sold too! That doesn't always happen! :)
3. LOOOOOOOSSSST
Friday, January 29, 2010
we've come a long way, baby
This is a meme that's been making the rounds on deviantART and I had to give it a try because I love seeing how my art has improved!
The concept is simple: pick four artworks from each of the past seven years to represent where your art was during that year, and write a little description about where you were in your life.
Here's my list:
If you can't read that, for which I don't blame you at all, just click on the image! It'll take you to the page on DA, then all you have to do is click on the small image there to see it full size!
The concept is simple: pick four artworks from each of the past seven years to represent where your art was during that year, and write a little description about where you were in your life.
Here's my list:
If you can't read that, for which I don't blame you at all, just click on the image! It'll take you to the page on DA, then all you have to do is click on the small image there to see it full size!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
best books ever: the book of flying
This, along with several other works-in-progress I'll hopefully be posting soon, was directly inspired by my rereading of one of my very, very favorite books of all time. And guess what! I'm going to tell you all about it, in this first installment of THE BEST BOOKS EVER!!!
Volume 1: The Book of Flying, by Keith Miller.
This book is possibly the closest thing to a perfect story I have ever read. This book helps you understand what real magic is. This book makes me have to draw, because this book is brimming with paintings turned into words.
The story is about a lonely librarian named Pico who lives in a city by the sea where nobody knows how to read. He falls in love with a winged girl who can never be with someone who can't fly, so his sets off on a quest to find the mythical "morning town" of Paunpuam and gain his own pair of wings. Pico's journey is episodic; he travels through deep forest, over mountains, and across a desert. As he meets each new character, they tell him their own story, and then move out of the tale as he journeys onward and eastward. One review called it "a book about books, a story about stories," which I think is charming and accurate.
The writing is like poetry, full of images and metaphors. It's flowery, but not in a pretentious way, just for the sheer love of words. For someone who loves books and adventures and magic as much as Pico does - namely, myself - it's everything I wish I could express in my art.
My very favorite part of the story, the part that has inspired all these doodles I'm working on, is the city in the mountains where Pico rests for a few months and nearly gives up his quest altogether. I don't blame him. In this nameless city that's kind of a rainy cobblestoned Bohemian Paris-London mashup (in my mind, at least):
1. It rains all the time, and
2. Everybody reads all the time.
So of course... I would be very happy living there.
"A city of squalls, foggy mornings, intervals of blue and white so immaculate the eyes ached. A city of readers, coffee drinkers, kissers on sidewalks, sad faces at wet windows. A city of umbrellas, woolen scarves, raincoats, cigarettes, wineglasses, cognac."
swoon.
READ THIS BOOK!!!!!
*My most recent Etsy treasury matches this theme and artwork very well, although the correlation wasn't intentional.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
haiti earthquake relief
Hey everyone,
I'm going to keep this short, because I don't want it to get sappy, but I just wanted to let you know I decided to donate all the profits I make from both my Etsy shops for the rest of the month of January to UNICEF to help their relief effort in Haiti.
Basically, I don't have any money to donate myself at the moment, so the way I'm thinking of it is if I can get some other people to help out, I can at least send those people some pretty jewelry or prints as a thank you.
If you want to help out on your own, here's a good list of organizations that you can donate to.
Thank you, and I hope you find your own way to give!!!
My shops:
Prints
Jewelry
I'm going to keep this short, because I don't want it to get sappy, but I just wanted to let you know I decided to donate all the profits I make from both my Etsy shops for the rest of the month of January to UNICEF to help their relief effort in Haiti.
Basically, I don't have any money to donate myself at the moment, so the way I'm thinking of it is if I can get some other people to help out, I can at least send those people some pretty jewelry or prints as a thank you.
If you want to help out on your own, here's a good list of organizations that you can donate to.
Thank you, and I hope you find your own way to give!!!
My shops:
Prints
Jewelry
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
new semester, new shop, new shoes
Back to school! Today was my second day of classes. Most of my classes are the same, but I did have one new one today - History of Typography! Yeah, it fills an art history requirement, but I would have wanted to take this class anyway. I looove type and fonts and all that - it's sort of an interesting connection between my artistic side and my passion for linguistics. (Not being sarcastic. Fun fact: I almost went to school for linguistics instead of art!)
Along with getting back to studying, I'm spending a lot of time creating jewelry for my new Etsy shop! I just started listing stuff on Sunday and already sold something, which sure beats the weeks I waited in agony for my first Etsy sale the first time around! Boy, have I learned a lot since then... mostly how to make things that people will want to buy, and just as importantly, how to take decent pictures of them.
As a grand opening celebration, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on everything from now through January 20. Dude. Did you get that? FREE SHIPPING. That is pretty awesome.
One more link to my shop: The Spaces in Between
Keep an eye on it, cause the best stuff is still being listed!!!
Oh yeah... mostly I wanted a nicely rounded title, but I did get some pretty sweet new shoes over break. I treated myself with my Christmas money from Grandma to a pair of gray Blowfish hobbit boots.
I didn't own a single pair of boots except for rain ones, and I've learned that in NYC in the winter, bootless is a very silly state to be in. The situation is now remedied.
Along with getting back to studying, I'm spending a lot of time creating jewelry for my new Etsy shop! I just started listing stuff on Sunday and already sold something, which sure beats the weeks I waited in agony for my first Etsy sale the first time around! Boy, have I learned a lot since then... mostly how to make things that people will want to buy, and just as importantly, how to take decent pictures of them.
As a grand opening celebration, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on everything from now through January 20. Dude. Did you get that? FREE SHIPPING. That is pretty awesome.
One more link to my shop: The Spaces in Between
Keep an eye on it, cause the best stuff is still being listed!!!
Oh yeah... mostly I wanted a nicely rounded title, but I did get some pretty sweet new shoes over break. I treated myself with my Christmas money from Grandma to a pair of gray Blowfish hobbit boots.
I didn't own a single pair of boots except for rain ones, and I've learned that in NYC in the winter, bootless is a very silly state to be in. The situation is now remedied.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
happy new year!
Wow! It is not just a new year... it's the end of a DECADE! 10 years ago, I was in 8th grade, and we danced around to RAZE at our new year's party. wow!
It has been a good year though. Every year at this time I like to go sentimental and look back at how far I have come in the past 365 days!
On January 1, 2009, I was sitting on my roof in Windermere, Florida, drinking cheap champagne and watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks with my roommates. (Have I told you about how we were less than a mile behind the park and the fireworks would shake our house every night and we could watch them over the trees easily? Yeah. Be jealous.)
Since then I:
-Summoned the motivation and self-discipline necessary to apply to art schools. This was hard for me. I'm glad I did it.
-Visited New York for the first time to visit SVA.
-Only got a little bit lost on the subway the first time I went on it by myself.
-Got accepted to said art schools!
-Got scholarships to art schools that made it possible for me to attend!
-Turned 23. geez!!!
-Killed another hermit crab. Sigh... I just love them to death every time.
-Worked a 17-hour shift. It was awesome.
-Worked 24 out of 32 hours the next week. Also awesome.
-After a lot of agonizing, decided I was going to SVA!
-Worked my last day at Disney. This was very, very difficult... but-
-Bought my ticket to fly back to Florida on January 2nd!
-Packed up two years' worth of junk into a little car. Not fun.
-Decided "what the hell" and went on a date with a boy a week before I left Florida.
-Went out with said boy every night until I left.
-Parted as friends, expecting to move gradually out of each other's lives and meet a hot new art school boy as soon as I started school.
-Drove home to Missouri.
-Flew to New York!
-Moved into my lovely little box of a dorm room.
-Ended up declaring a 'seasonal relationship' with Florida boy. It's working out pretty well so far.
-Saw my first real Broadway show!
-Saw my second real Broadway show!!
-Was pretty nastily betrayed by two good friends.
-Learned a very important lesson: Always, always get it in writing, even if you think you've got it all worked out with someone you can trust.
-Went back to class for the first time since 2006, with a bunch of kids 5 years younger than me.
-Figured out I LOVE ANIMATION EVEN MORE THAN I EXPECTED
-Spent like twelve thousand hours slaving away in the animation lab and loving every minute.
-Started my SUPER AWESOME BLOG
-Pulled my first all-nighter at SVA, and the first one ever where I've had to get through a whole class instead of turning in a paper and going straight to bed. Ended up crying over a Disney documentary. Funny story, actually.
-Finished my first semester at SVA with pretty darn good grades, if I do say so myself!
-Flew home on Christmas Eve and finally got to spend it with my dear family!
I think that is a pretty good list! Even the not-so-pleasant things were very important learning experiences. I am not even being sarcastic.
What's the most important lesson YOU learned this year?!
It has been a good year though. Every year at this time I like to go sentimental and look back at how far I have come in the past 365 days!
On January 1, 2009, I was sitting on my roof in Windermere, Florida, drinking cheap champagne and watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks with my roommates. (Have I told you about how we were less than a mile behind the park and the fireworks would shake our house every night and we could watch them over the trees easily? Yeah. Be jealous.)
Since then I:
-Summoned the motivation and self-discipline necessary to apply to art schools. This was hard for me. I'm glad I did it.
-Visited New York for the first time to visit SVA.
-Only got a little bit lost on the subway the first time I went on it by myself.
-Got accepted to said art schools!
-Got scholarships to art schools that made it possible for me to attend!
-Turned 23. geez!!!
-Killed another hermit crab. Sigh... I just love them to death every time.
-Worked a 17-hour shift. It was awesome.
-Worked 24 out of 32 hours the next week. Also awesome.
-After a lot of agonizing, decided I was going to SVA!
-Worked my last day at Disney. This was very, very difficult... but-
-Bought my ticket to fly back to Florida on January 2nd!
-Packed up two years' worth of junk into a little car. Not fun.
-Decided "what the hell" and went on a date with a boy a week before I left Florida.
-Went out with said boy every night until I left.
-Parted as friends, expecting to move gradually out of each other's lives and meet a hot new art school boy as soon as I started school.
-Drove home to Missouri.
-Flew to New York!
-Moved into my lovely little box of a dorm room.
-Ended up declaring a 'seasonal relationship' with Florida boy. It's working out pretty well so far.
-Saw my first real Broadway show!
-Saw my second real Broadway show!!
-Was pretty nastily betrayed by two good friends.
-Learned a very important lesson: Always, always get it in writing, even if you think you've got it all worked out with someone you can trust.
-Went back to class for the first time since 2006, with a bunch of kids 5 years younger than me.
-Figured out I LOVE ANIMATION EVEN MORE THAN I EXPECTED
-Spent like twelve thousand hours slaving away in the animation lab and loving every minute.
-Started my SUPER AWESOME BLOG
-Pulled my first all-nighter at SVA, and the first one ever where I've had to get through a whole class instead of turning in a paper and going straight to bed. Ended up crying over a Disney documentary. Funny story, actually.
-Finished my first semester at SVA with pretty darn good grades, if I do say so myself!
-Flew home on Christmas Eve and finally got to spend it with my dear family!
I think that is a pretty good list! Even the not-so-pleasant things were very important learning experiences. I am not even being sarcastic.
What's the most important lesson YOU learned this year?!
Monday, December 28, 2009
here is the news!!!
Okay! I can't hold it in any longer!!!
I'm opening a new shop on Etsy so I can sell my jewelry again!!!
I left all my supplies at home when I went to school, but I have really, really missed making my jewelry, especially my paper stuff. And I have really missed spending all my money on beads. So I'm back!!!
I wanted to open a separate shop because I always thought having my jewelry mixed in with my art was kind of messy. I named it "The Spaces in Between" because that's the name of my favorite song, and I also thought it was a nifty little reference to the layers of paper in my jewelry.
So on January 11, the day I'll be back in New York, me and my jewelry will be back and better than ever! I'm very excited to open a shop now that I know what I'm doing, and not spend so much time flailing around posting bad photographs of uninteresting items like I did when I opened my Kecky shop! (We all did that, right?)
I can't wait! Stay tuned... I'm hoping to have some sort of contest or giveaway to promote my grand opening!
I'm opening a new shop on Etsy so I can sell my jewelry again!!!
I left all my supplies at home when I went to school, but I have really, really missed making my jewelry, especially my paper stuff. And I have really missed spending all my money on beads. So I'm back!!!
I wanted to open a separate shop because I always thought having my jewelry mixed in with my art was kind of messy. I named it "The Spaces in Between" because that's the name of my favorite song, and I also thought it was a nifty little reference to the layers of paper in my jewelry.
So on January 11, the day I'll be back in New York, me and my jewelry will be back and better than ever! I'm very excited to open a shop now that I know what I'm doing, and not spend so much time flailing around posting bad photographs of uninteresting items like I did when I opened my Kecky shop! (We all did that, right?)
I can't wait! Stay tuned... I'm hoping to have some sort of contest or giveaway to promote my grand opening!
happy winter!
I hope everyone had a very merry whatever-you-celebrate!!! I had a VERY lovely Christmas. Since I sold my soul to Disney, I've spent most of the past several Christmases working and trying hard to make the day magical for everyone else. Now that I actually get a break, it was so, so nice to come home and have a proper holiday.
I flew home early in the day on Christmas Eve, and despite lots of rain in Branson I landed safely and on time. I just barely had time to drag my suitcases into the house before it was off to church for the Christmas Eve service! I have gone to the same church my entire life, and every Christmas Eve for my entire life, we have brought our bells from home and jingled them along with everyone else while we sing "Joy to the World" as a finale.
Traditions are nice.
We also had the traditional Christmas Eve lasagna dinner with grandparents and cousins, and of course, the most sacred Kemper tradition of all - the Christmas Eve viewing of the Muppet Christmas Carol. I am serious. If we don't watch this movie, it is not Christmas. It just doesn't count.
What's your favorite/most unusual holiday tradition?
And of course, what was your favorite present? I got a LIGHT BOX!!! So I don't have to drag myself uptown to the animation lab every single time I want to draw an inbetween! Hooray!!!
I flew home early in the day on Christmas Eve, and despite lots of rain in Branson I landed safely and on time. I just barely had time to drag my suitcases into the house before it was off to church for the Christmas Eve service! I have gone to the same church my entire life, and every Christmas Eve for my entire life, we have brought our bells from home and jingled them along with everyone else while we sing "Joy to the World" as a finale.
Traditions are nice.
We also had the traditional Christmas Eve lasagna dinner with grandparents and cousins, and of course, the most sacred Kemper tradition of all - the Christmas Eve viewing of the Muppet Christmas Carol. I am serious. If we don't watch this movie, it is not Christmas. It just doesn't count.
What's your favorite/most unusual holiday tradition?
And of course, what was your favorite present? I got a LIGHT BOX!!! So I don't have to drag myself uptown to the animation lab every single time I want to draw an inbetween! Hooray!!!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
ALL DONE!!!
I finished my last class today! It was my totally worthless literature and writing class, but I couldn't skip it because I had to give a presentation based on the paper that I turned in last week. I threw together some PowerPoint slides in 20 minutes at 2AM last night and did a pretty decent job of BS'ing my way through 10 minutes, if I do say so myself.
It's nice to be done, but now that I don't have to spend 7 hours every day after class working on animating, I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do with all this time.
Well, I've been drawing a lot, and I'll post the results of my efforts as soon as I can. But I've also got something VERY EXCITING in the works - stay tuned for more details!!!
It's nice to be done, but now that I don't have to spend 7 hours every day after class working on animating, I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do with all this time.
Well, I've been drawing a lot, and I'll post the results of my efforts as soon as I can. But I've also got something VERY EXCITING in the works - stay tuned for more details!!!
Friday, December 18, 2009
the HORROR!
As of this afternoon, I am almost officially done with school for the semester - next week, I have to show up for three classes and BS a presentation based on a paper I already wrote. Whooo!
I spent this afternoon finishing up my final animation project, (I know I said the last one was my final, but that was a final as in the biggest project of the semester, and this is the final as in the last one) at least as much as I had time for.
For this one, it could be anything we wanted, but it had to be 15 seconds long, begin and end with a blank frame, and fall within the "horror" genre. My first instinct with this requirement was to spend the whole time sulking about how I hate horror, because I do, but I decided I would sit down and figure out what I could do within those requirements that I actually WOULD enjoy doing. I established that I don't like horror, but I do love Halloween, and one of the best parts of Halloween is the parade at Disney. And the best part of that parade is the Dead Waltzers in the Haunted Mansion Unit! They are so awesome.
Here is the result:
I spent this afternoon finishing up my final animation project, (I know I said the last one was my final, but that was a final as in the biggest project of the semester, and this is the final as in the last one) at least as much as I had time for.
For this one, it could be anything we wanted, but it had to be 15 seconds long, begin and end with a blank frame, and fall within the "horror" genre. My first instinct with this requirement was to spend the whole time sulking about how I hate horror, because I do, but I decided I would sit down and figure out what I could do within those requirements that I actually WOULD enjoy doing. I established that I don't like horror, but I do love Halloween, and one of the best parts of Halloween is the parade at Disney. And the best part of that parade is the Dead Waltzers in the Haunted Mansion Unit! They are so awesome.
Here is the result:
brrr
I think Mother Nature must be laughing spitefully at my Treasury theme from last night.
IT IS SIXTEEN DEGREES OUTSIDE WHY DID I MOVE HERE
IT IS SIXTEEN DEGREES OUTSIDE WHY DID I MOVE HERE
Thursday, December 17, 2009
treasury time!
In other news, I made a new treasury on Etsy!
Click on the image to go to the actual Treasury on Etsy and link from there to each individual item, before it expires!!
If you're not familiar with Etsy's Treasury, you can check out my own enthusiastic explanation or Etsy's official and possibly somewhat more reliable one.
Click on the image to go to the actual Treasury on Etsy and link from there to each individual item, before it expires!!
If you're not familiar with Etsy's Treasury, you can check out my own enthusiastic explanation or Etsy's official and possibly somewhat more reliable one.
i wonder what this means
Guys. I have to tell you about this dream I had last night.
I realize that dreams are like #4 on the list of Things Not to Tell People About Because They Are Not Interesting to Anyone Besides Yourself. But this was just so ridiculous yet relevant that I just have to tell people about it.
In my dream, it was a month or so before I was supposed to leave for SVA. Then I got this phone call from the school, and this horrible woman told me, "We accepted too many people this year, and you're at the bottom of the list, so you're un-accepted. Too bad."
Then there followed a very extensive, boring and frustrating sequence of me walking around, crying and pleading with this bitch on the phone, while people around me were all loud and I tried to shut them up. Horrifying. Finally I was like, "But my art is so good!" and that bitch LAUGHED at me and said, "Yeah, right. You have a series that's the four seasons with FAIRIES," super meanly. (For some reason that was part of my dream portfolio.)
After I argued with her for what seemed like HOURS, and probably was, I finally, finally woke up and remembered:
I AM ALREADY HERE!
and
PEOPLE LIKE MY ART EVEN WHEN IT IS TOTALLY FAIRY-FILLED AND RIDICULOUS!!
The end. It is always nice to wake up from dreams like that, isn't it? My dreams are usually just weird and personally I find them fascinating and I always mean to start keeping a journal for them but I never have. Maybe I will soon. Ha!
I realize that dreams are like #4 on the list of Things Not to Tell People About Because They Are Not Interesting to Anyone Besides Yourself. But this was just so ridiculous yet relevant that I just have to tell people about it.
In my dream, it was a month or so before I was supposed to leave for SVA. Then I got this phone call from the school, and this horrible woman told me, "We accepted too many people this year, and you're at the bottom of the list, so you're un-accepted. Too bad."
Then there followed a very extensive, boring and frustrating sequence of me walking around, crying and pleading with this bitch on the phone, while people around me were all loud and I tried to shut them up. Horrifying. Finally I was like, "But my art is so good!" and that bitch LAUGHED at me and said, "Yeah, right. You have a series that's the four seasons with FAIRIES," super meanly. (For some reason that was part of my dream portfolio.)
After I argued with her for what seemed like HOURS, and probably was, I finally, finally woke up and remembered:
I AM ALREADY HERE!
and
PEOPLE LIKE MY ART EVEN WHEN IT IS TOTALLY FAIRY-FILLED AND RIDICULOUS!!
The end. It is always nice to wake up from dreams like that, isn't it? My dreams are usually just weird and personally I find them fascinating and I always mean to start keeping a journal for them but I never have. Maybe I will soon. Ha!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
people actually do animation in the real world? wow!
I found out something SUPER exciting today - my animation buddy from way back when at MSU, Brian Moore, recently created the official music video for MuteMath's song "Backfire."
Let me repeat that - the OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO for a MUTEMATH SONG.
How freakin sweet is that?! Brian was working hard to actually finish the animation program at MSU while I was sitting around whining about there not being a traditional animation department and not doing any of my homework. Clearly he learned enough to make a pretty kickass video, so perhaps I shouldn't speak of my first school so harshly!
And can I just state, for the record, that I liked MuteMath first? I liked them before they were MuteMath, when I was in 8th grade and danced around my living room in my sparkly pants and jelly bracelets to Earthsuit whenever "One Time" played on the local Christian radio station. Oh man. Those were the good old days.
Let me repeat that - the OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO for a MUTEMATH SONG.
How freakin sweet is that?! Brian was working hard to actually finish the animation program at MSU while I was sitting around whining about there not being a traditional animation department and not doing any of my homework. Clearly he learned enough to make a pretty kickass video, so perhaps I shouldn't speak of my first school so harshly!
And can I just state, for the record, that I liked MuteMath first? I liked them before they were MuteMath, when I was in 8th grade and danced around my living room in my sparkly pants and jelly bracelets to Earthsuit whenever "One Time" played on the local Christian radio station. Oh man. Those were the good old days.
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