Drawings Everywhere

Kids these days.  They expect me to be updated on the latest Pokemon.  Well I'm not.  Kid in question replied "Just make some up then".  So I took his advice.

Three mons from my own brain. 

At some point I turned my attention to three Kenlilian cousins.  It's hard to tell them apart without fur-colors to keep them straight.  Perhaps I should color these in.

From left to right: Ve'an (5), Zaav (16), and Gen (10).

After Zaav says something snarky to Gen.  Ve'an's just trying to keep up.

And finally, I must complain about Facebook's "Timeline" thing they're apparently forcing on us.  It's far too visually cluttered for my taste.  A mono-tasker's nightmare.  Ugly as anything.

And yet... they give me this blank space called a "banner".  I simply can't pass up the chance to personalize my virtual space.  Being an artist, a simple photo won't do.  No, I'm plotting out an epic character collage.

Thumbnail of epic character collage

Lemons and lemonade.  Fun will be had.

Earworm of the Day: The Rescue by Adam Cappa  I've mysteriously had this stuck in my head these last few days.

Don't Release Invasive Species!

Earworm of the Day: "Pizza is a Vegetable" by my classmate, Ian.  Our entire class will be bopping our heads to this for the next few days probably.

Superhero's Girlfriend

Just had to post this doodle.

Scooter is feeling very out-of-the-loop right now.

I don't like the trope of heroes not being able to have a steady romantic relationship just because they're the hero.  Yes they have dangerous jobs and collateral damage is going to happen, but you've got to give them a break at some point.  I'd imagine love interests with combat/self-defense skills would be in very high demand for superheros.  Saving the same girl over and over would get old after a while.  My character Click decided to take a level in butt-kicking after her first stint as a hostage, so now any bad guy who tries to capture her gets his tail handed to him by a computer nerd.  This is one of the many reasons Fleet the Super Gerbil loves her so much.

Earworm of the Day: I'm a Little Airplane from Sesame Street.  Yes, it's a song from a kids show, but it's an awesome song from a kids show.

Nerves and Excuses

Pardon me while I loose my marbles.

Yesterday I was a twitchy bundle of nerves.  I feel so behind on my animation homework, and it's not my fault, really.  Well not completely anyway.  You see there's this animation kit and check-out policies and...

I'm feeling better today with my other 3 classes over and behind me and the weather so nice I could sing about it, but I still can't shake the feeling that my world is collapsing around my ears.

It's the same feeling I get whenever I have a doctors appointment actually.

Sort of feeling like this too.

Earworm of the Day: The ending song to Cyborg 009.  This was one of the few anime series I tried to keep up with as a kid (and failed miserably, but at least I can say I wasn't anime obsessed.)

Daylight Savings? That was today?

Who forgot Daylight Savings Time today?  I did!  Thankfully at my church no one gets mad at people who are late (as long as you're quiet about it).  Now if daylight savings started on a Monday... .

Here's my final project for Cinema & Art class.  Went over a lot better than I thought it would (people who don't have to stare at animation every day are more easily impressed by it methinks) so I thought I'd post it.  Just because.



Also made a style-frame for the PSA animatic posted a week or so ago:

Lots of birds, a smallmouth bass, and... what's this?  Kudzu!  Agh!  Kill it with fire, quick!

Earworm of the Day:  Eh, already posted the one that's actually stuck in my head, so random pick from iTunes.  Sticking With You by Addison Road  Kid you not, I think of this song every time I pass Wrigley Field.

Rush to the Finish

'Tis the week before finals at DePaul, and I have hours worth... no, days worth of homework to complete by quarter's end.  The good news is I don't have any papers to write, just a lot of arts & crafts.  I'll keep this entry short, but here are a few pictures of what I've been creating.

Figure in Composition for figure drawing class.  The guy in the picture is completely fictional as is the room.  Discovered the wonders of blending nubs on this one, what a difference!

A paper forest for my PSA Animatic.  Exacto-knives are nifty.

Expressive Drawing for figure drawing class.  Both characters are fictional, though I did use reference photos (as in more than two).  Thanks bunches to my friend Katharine for the Prismacolor Art Stix.  I could not achieve this with Crayolas.

Earworm of the Day: The Upside by Newsboys  Drawing a grinning tow headed girl with a hamster has put me in a very positive mood.

PSA Link Storm

Step 1 on my animation final this quarter.  It had to be a PSA.  I'm thinking of doing stop-motion paper cutouts so I can work at home.  I'm getting tired of sitting in front of the computer.  I want to make something a little more tangible (and a little less accidentally-erasable.  That's another lesson I reviewed recently).  More info about the featured invasive species can be found at The National Invasive Species Information Center.

I considered doing cain toads and rabbits too, but rabbits are in fact native to North America (though I've heard there quite invasive in Australia), and how do you animate the devastation caused by cain toads under a time limit?  Have a dog lick one and die with x's over the eyes?  That's some dark comedy people.  I think I'll stick to funny sound effects, thank you very much.

While researching for this animation, I also learned that starlings are sometimes kept as pets.  Let me just say that I have nothing against keeping starlings as pets, provided they stay that way.  In reality they're probably safer for your neighborhood wildlife than a pet cat.  Domestic cats can wreak havoc on delicate ecosystems (poor Stephens Island Wren).  It also turns out that starlings are capable of imitating human speech.  It's kind of creepy but cool at the same time.

Earworm of the Day: Remind Me Who I Am by Jason Gray

Portfolio? What portfolio?

In-class boredom can yield interesting results.

Ever have one of those days where life has drained you of creativity?  I feel like I'm having one of those days.

It has come to my attention that in order to be taken seriously in the animation field I need to have my own website.  Still working on how to accomplish that.  What would I possibly put on a website you ask?  Why my portfolio of course!

I'm sorry, did I just imply that I have a portfolio?  Haha... huh... hmph... .

Yeah, I'm going to go work on expanding my collection student-grade abandoned-after-due-date projects now.  Maybe I'll find time to polish them to completion over my 5 day spring break... unless the school labs will be closed... .

... And right after I find time to create a website... .

Earworm of the day: Freedom is Here by Esterlyn  Can't remember if I've done this one yet.  Oh well.