Lost My Drive... No, Not That One, the Other One.

I know, I haven't posted for a whole month.  Again.

The funny thing about a gap this large in posting is that when I finally sit down to write, I have nothing interesting to post.  It's like all the interesting things that happened over the last month mash together and cancel each other out so I can't remember any of them anymore.  Hmph.

Well, ok, I have Elf the Jackalope freaking out:

That was animated on paper then lined in Toon Boom.  Ok, there's something to talk about.  Toon Boom is -- according to my teacher -- the industry standard for digital painting in animation (or something to that effect).  At least in the west (again, according to my teacher, the Japanese has better programs, but they aren't available in the U.S.)

But then again Toon Boom seems to be a pretty intuitive straight forward program and I wish I'd bought a copy when it was on sale for $150 instead of waiting too long and having the price jump.  Live and learn.

Earworm of the Day: A Whisper and a Clamor by Anberlin

I don't remember if I've posted that one already, but I've been blasting it to stave off the end-of-college-beginning-of-fall-too-long-away-from-family depression I've been wrestling with lately.  (Don't worry, I'm getting help for that.)  The artwork may be few and far between until I can relocate my creative drive.  I think I dropped it somewhere.  Maybe it's hiding in my subconscious under the philosophical inquiries, or the dismembered Motion Builder actor guy, or the 2 ton chunk of self-doubt in the corner.  I'll find my drive eventually.  Hopefully by Christmas (this Christmas will be fantastic, I can feel it.)

20 Days To Graduation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Recalling the Rhinoceros and the Reindeer

Today was fun.  Mom and I went to see the remake of Total Recall.  Despite my trope-literate mind noting everything from product placements to focal-length shifts of the camera, I did indeed enjoy the movie.  My only qualm was that there was no cut longer than 3 seconds (or so it seemed) which after the first hour was giving me a headache.  The film makers made beautifully grundgy CGI landscapes, then gave me no time at all to just... enjoy them.  When it comes out on DVD, I will rent it and use the pause button liberally.

We also went to the Lincoln Park Conservatory, which is also free and filled with plants.  They have the sensitive plant which is loads of fun to play with because it folds when tapped.  They had banana trees with bananas growing on them.  They had plastic dinosaurs hiding out in the fern room, which was hilarious.

Then, just because it was next door, we stopped in at the zoo.  This time I got to see the beaver, an american kestrel, and got a picture sitting right next to a sleeping black bear (there was glass between us, chill).  Also, we saw rhinos.

sketches of the zoo's white rhino (I think he was getting tired of people by then)

In other news, I meant to post this Monday to go with the "out of my mind" concept I was in, then realized I hadn't scanned it yet.  Another Animalburg ninja character; the only one that might be truly insane.

Snow is scary.  All the other ninja are terrified of Snow.

And while I searched my binder for that image, I also found this...

No, I wasn't sure how to spell "Rudolph".  I write, the spell-check spells.

...which I drew while finding a (hopefully clever) way to incorporate the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer mythology into the world of my Twiggy and the Jackalopes story.  Initially I was going to have Rudolph be a complete myth or a "the ghost" but then thought it'd be fun if the whole "had a very shiny nose" was just exaggerated/mis-interpreted.  My version of "Rudolph" is the head reindeer who wears a very ornate red halter to display his status.

Earworm of the Day:  10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) by Matt Redman

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.

Mashup

I am reading a book on animals that went extinct within human history, and it's got me thinking of Twiggy and the Jackalope again.  Part of the story involves a Rare/Extinct animal zoo at the north pole. There's also an entire army of vengeful dodos, descended from those who escaped their home island long ago.

Of course the Dodo Army is an equal opportunity employer, and has therefore picked up a few other animals over time.  For comedy's sake, one of these is a chicken.  (and yes, I didn't look up the spelling of the name "Meredith" until later.  Note to self: always spell-check the names.)

DoFranklin, DoMeredith, and DoTreena; members of the Dodo Army.

Character detail of DoMeredith the chicken.

All the dodo names are ["Do"(as in dodo) + Some actual given name] and they earn a second name later in life by doing something unique.  For example: DoDonald Cleaver (favors a meat cleaver as a weapon), DoElla Dial-Tone (spent years in the north pole zoo pretending to be empty-headed), DoMaynard The Bard (self explanatory).  Oh, and did I mention that the dodos wear hats?  It's a cultural thing.

"And now for something completely different!":

EY's Spaghetti-Fish-n-Veggie Meal
--or--
Too-Lazy-To-Go-Buy-Spaghetti-Sauce Meal
Ingredients:

• 3 to 4 servings spaghetti noodles
• A cup or so of frozen mixed vegetables
• 2 breaded fish sticks (fully cooked)
• 1 Tbsp butter or margarine (I use butter)
• Handful of shredded cheese (two singles slices work ok in a pinch)
• Enough water to cook the spaghetti, 1-2 Tbsp for the vegetables, and a 1/4 cup for later.

How To:

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.  Use a 2 quart pan (trust me, you'll need the space).
2. While that's cooking, put vegetables in medium-sized microwave-safe bowl and add a tablespoon or so of water.  Cooked covered for about 4 minutes on high.
3. Remove vegetables with a hot pad or oven mitt.  Immediately add butter and cheese and stir until mostly melted.
4. Reheat fish sticks (0:45 to 1:00 will work fine)
5. Break fish sticks into smaller pieces.  Add to veggie-cheesy mixture.  Stir.
6. Cover and place in microwave for another minute to make sure everything's melted together.
7. By now the spaghetti should be done.  Drain and return to 2 quart pan.  Dump in the veggie-cheesy-fish mixture and stir.  Add 1/4 cup water and keep stirring.
8. Serve with a side-dish of fruit to make a meal.

Makes 3-4 servings.

Nutrition Facts:  More nutritious than a bowl of ramen, but would never be endorsed by Dr. Oz.  Fish and vegetables are good for you generally, but I would not recommend eating this if you have qualms about fat or carbs.  The fish, cheese, and butter do add salt.  It's college student fare; use your better judgement.

Earworm of the day: Nothing springs to mind.  Have a nice day.

Twiggy and the Jackalope

I've been kicking around the idea of putting my long dormant 50Webs account to good use and creating a web comic. Granted, I'd probably need some help and a new graphics tablet. Mine broke recently. Sigh. You can't really do drawing with a mouse. It just doesn't work that way.

So the comic in question would be Twiggy and the Jackalope, a silly adventure story about a Christmas reindeer-in-training (Twiggy) and a tribe of mythical antlered jackrabbits (jackalope) who need some assistance reclaiming their homeland (an inter-dimensional patch of land that fills in the Grand Canyon). The adventure rambles along on a few twists and turns and includes evil Christmas elves, a guy in a hot-air balloon, skeptical white-tailed deer, a female bigfoot, and a tasmanian tiger.

Oh, and did I mention the army of blood thirsty chupacabres?

I need to play with the style a little and see what works. I might do a little mixed-media to save drawing time. I'll have to see how it goes.