Illustration by Kristen Uroda

2012-01-24T15:00:00.000-05:00

Some editorial-ish related assignments from last semester.

2012-01-24T14:53:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry, I've just been a bit too lazy to upload and write about things.
But I realized that I never posted my printmaking work from my Black&White Illustration class.
Currently, I'm enrolled in an actual printmaking course, so hopefully I'll be learning some sweet stuff.

workin' hard

2011-12-01T11:01:00.000-05:00

I'm gonna have a buttload of stuff to post once these next few weeks are over.

2011-10-24T22:33:00.000-04:00

Judging bear is judging you.

Honestly, I just wanted to put that beacon of a finger down an entry.

99%

2011-10-14T10:38:00.000-04:00

So, in class the other day...

‎"Students in one 4-hour class period, had to read, sketch out their concepts and create finishes for an Opinion/Editorial piece from this week's New York Times. The story was Paul Krugman's article 'Confronting the Malefactors' which is a story about Occupy Wall Street's 'indictment of Wall Street as a destructive force' and opportunity of the 99% of this country to make themselves heard and facilitate change.
Frequently, because of the nature of the news world where news and issues happen quickly working for the New York Times requires a quick ability to take an article, break it down to a simple and concise image and execute it - often within a few hours."

Because I didn't know too much about the movement, it was a bit difficult to come up with a concept. I originally had just an open palm, but my teacher suggested a more...aggressive hand gesture.

It was a huge adrenaline rush to get this done in 2.5 hours, but I think it came out pretty well.

It really stands out like a huge beacon amongst the others though.

Afterlife Blues

2011-10-08T21:53:00.000-04:00

This piece was recently accepted into Space 242's 'Revenge of Freeky Friday Nights' exhibition that should be happening October 28th, at the Fourth Wall Project.

There are also some of my pieces hanging up in Toscanini's that was recently curated by Fourth Wall.

So along with the EARTH: Fragile Planet (Student Response) show that's hanging up at school right now, my work will be in 3 different shows this month.
I won't lie, I'm pretty excited.

So if you're in the Boston/Cambridge area, come to the shows!

Checking in.

2011-10-04T01:20:00.001-04:00

Kristen does cut-paper art.

Callisto was another maiden who excited the jealousy of Juno, and the goddess changed her into a bear. "I will take away," said she, :"that beauty with which you have captivated my husband."
Down fell Callisto on her hands and knees; she tried to stretch out her arms in supplication,-- they were already beginning to be covered with black hair. Her hands grew rounded, became armed with crooked claws, and served for feet; her mouth, which Jove used to praise for its beauty, became a horrid pair of jaws; her voice, which if unchanged would have moved the heart to pity, became a growl, more fit to inspire terror. Yet her former disposition remained, and, with continued groaning, she bemoaned her fate, and stood upright as well as she could, lifting up her paws to beg for mercy; and felt that Jove was unkind, though she could not tell him so. Ah, how often, afraid to stay in the woods all night alone, she wandered about the neighborhood of her former haunts; how often, frightened by the dogs, did she, so lately a huntress, fly in terror from the hunters! Often she fled from the wild beasts, forgetting that she was now a wild beast herself; and, bear as she was, was afraid of the bears.

One day a youth espied her as he was hunting. She saw him and recognized him as her own son, now grown a young man. She stopped, and felt inclined to embrace him. As she was about to approach, he, alarmed, raised his hunting spear, and was on the point of transfixing her, when Jupiter, beholding, arrested the crime, and, snatching away both of them, placed them in the
heavens as the Great and Little Bear. Juno was in a rage to see her rival so set in honor, and hastened to ancient Tethys and Oceanus, the powers of ocean, and, in answer to their inquiries, thus told the cause of her coming; "Do you ask why I, the queen of the gods, have left the heavenly plains and sought your depths. Learn that I am supplanted in heaven,-- my place is given to another. You will hardly believe me; but look when night darkens the world, and you shall see the two, of whom I have so much reason to complain, exalted to the heavens, in that part where the circle is the smallest, in the neighborhood of the pole. Why should any one hereafter tremble at the thought of offending Juno, when such rewards are the consequence of my displeasure! See what I have been able to effect! I forbade her to wear the human form,-- she is placed among the stars! So do my punishments result,-- such is the extent of my power! Better that she should have resumed her former shape, as I permitted Io to do. Perhaps he means to marry her, and put me away! But you, my foster parents, if you feel for me, and see with displeasure this unworthy treatment of me, show it, I beseech you, by forbidding this guilty couple from coming into your waters." The powers of the ocean assented, and consequently the two constellations of the Great and Little Bear move round and round in heaven, but never sink, as the other stars do, beneath the ocean.

Via online-mythology.com

This was probably my first time doing cut-paper art.
It was pretty tedious, but relaxing in a way. I had fun, but it would probably just stay as something I'd do for a hobby. There's no way I'd ever get at the level of someone like Michael Velliquette.

But I just wanted to take a chance to update some of the things I've done in the past week.
The one above is from my Black & White Illustration class. We're going to be doing different forms of printmaking in the upcoming weeks, so expect to see my more traditional hand.

My responses (and also a class assignment) to SoI's 'Earth: Fragile Planet' exhibition.
The second piece was picked to be in the responce show at my school coming up in about a week.

And a peek at a piece that I'm hoping I can make happen for my degree project.

Other than that, I've been keeping busy with trying to get my work in some shows and tinkering with/redoing my old story from last year.

Normally, I'd be much more detailed about my work and thoughts behind it, but I won't lie.
It's 1AM and I'm ready for bed~

Serious Business

2011-09-11T12:51:00.001-04:00

First day of school tomorrow!

I can't say if I feel like I'm ready to go back, but it is what it is.

I do apologize for the un-announced hiatus.
Even though I was working on some things, for the past month and a half I haven't been physically well, so it's been a bit difficult to concentrate on art when your priorities have shifted.
My landlord also told me today that he's selling the building I live in and my roommates and I might have to move next month.

So, my final year is definitely going to be an adventure.
But no matter what, I'm committed to keeping a sound mind and a joyful heart.

2011-07-21T23:40:00.001-04:00

I've kinda been working on this off and on for about...half a year now? It was a rejected idea for an assignment, but I wanted to still work on it as I had just started going digital and thought it would be a good opportunity to practice.
I had different ideas for it in the beginning, but eventually I stopped caring about finishing it.
It has changed quite a bit over time and served to be something to test out brushes, functions, or different techniques more than anything else.
It's not done. But I think I'm done fiddling with it and it's time to move on.

And then there's that.

2011-07-16T19:41:00.002-04:00

But I'm still a dog person, honest!

2011-07-11T19:29:00.002-04:00

I kinda feel bad for English Bulldogs.
They were bred mostly for fighting and sport. Like, you know. Dog fighting and bull baiting.
And their heads were made to be so large, about 90% can't give birth to a litter without having a caesarian section.
I wonder how they figured that one out...

Things I Like

2011-07-09T23:25:00.002-04:00

( Marimekko )

( Leo and Diane Dillion )

( Tatsuro Kiuchi )

( Yū Aoi )

( Oliver Jeffers )

( Mila Von Luttich )

I like things that make you feel cozy and magical.
I'm very terrible at naming and remembering the things I find and save, but I try.

2011-07-08T20:26:00.002-04:00

I was at work today, drawing puppies, when a regular stopped in.
He comes in every now and then to say hello and give me flowers.
He's like...82 or something, but I still enjoy his company and like hearing stories about his life and thoughts.
I remember the first time I met him, he just started telling me how he met his "first true love" in the store I work at.
Senile or not, it was still nice that he was open enough to share that part of himself.
It's those little things that make a person feel connected.
Something that extends further than "hello how are you nice weather isn't it have you seen this movie?"

2011-06-21T15:46:00.000-04:00

I miss Autumn.
Which is probably why I've been drawing acorns in my sketchbook.

2011-05-27T18:20:00.002-04:00

I thoroughly appreciate Caleb Wood.

Stay Home from caleb wood on Vimeo.

Little Wild from caleb wood on Vimeo.

Animation A Day from caleb wood on Vimeo.

MARS! from Joe Bichard on Vimeo.

SOUL MAN™ Teaser Guillaume Ivernel (Blacklight Movies) from Blacklight Movies on Vimeo.

Between Bears from Eran Hilleli on Vimeo.

Parallel Parking from Yum Yum London on Vimeo.

One Minute Puberty from bitteschön.tv on Vimeo.
I'd avoid this one if you're offended by bodily truths expressed in a, more or less, exaggerated way.

the silence beneath the bark / le silence sous l'écorce from joanna lurie on Vimeo.

Howard from Julia Pott on Vimeo.

Seedling from Lee Tao on Vimeo.

I'm a monster from Headless Productions on Vimeo.

This one is basically the cutest thing I've seen in the entire world.

And this is the best worst thing I've ever seen.

2011-05-26T20:03:00.002-04:00

A lot of cool things have been happening these past few weeks, but I really just wanted to wait for closure for most of them to just talk about it in one entry.

So, first of all, reviews went well.

For the most part, nothing drastically negative was said.
I'm proud of my work this semester though, regardless. I didn't feel like I was struggling or forcing something out of myself. I haven't felt like that in a while, so it was fun to...have fun. I made some really great progress and discovered a lot, mostly through my mistakes. But that's the best way to learn anyway, right?

Speaking of fun.
I got a chance to go to Rick Berry's studio the other week for a figure drawing session an organization in Boston has been trying to put together to help create more of a community for Boston-based artists. Which is a grand thing.
I've been a fan of his work for a while, so it was cool to actually hang out with him. Of course, my friend and I tried our best not to be complete annoying fan girls.

While I was there, my teacher and Rick collaborated on a piece and it was basically the coolest thing ever to watch.

You can check out the result they got by the end of the night on his site: rickberrystudio.com/

I really wanted to attend the drawing session again this week, but in between everything I've been working on a research paper about ego transcendance according to third world women/post-colonial feminist theory and indian philosophy in literature and promised myself no drawing until it was done. I finished last night, so I'm ready to pick up the pencils again.
So THERE.

While my larger sketchbook is just about full, I made a book back in school during a demo. I filled it with scrap paper, but it works so beautifully with colored pencil that I like it more than any $30+somthin' sketchbook.

About the width of a DS lite.

And speaking of school, the 8th Deadliest Sin project finally found a place to have the show (4th Wall) a few weeks back. There was a pretty good turn out and I think a good number of the decks sold.

Because we had a lot to sell.

I had two pieces in the show, one of which was purchased, which was a nice surprise, but I feel bad because I forgot to sign it. So, whoever got it, sorry!

For the Illustration All-School Show, my piece was picked to be hung at the entrance, which was a pretty cool and very surprising honor.

On the left! The left!

I attended an award ceremony last week where I received the 'Illustration Faculty Special Recognition Award' and got some nice swag.

Not that this means I get to pompous and air-headed, but you know, yeah, it feels nice to have your hard work achnolwledged once in a while.
And it makes you look super fancy when you put it on your résumé.

And, the Seniors had their portfolio exhibition which was a great event, as was last's years.

So much talent. It was great to see the seniors work, especially since unless you're good friends or just generally nosey, you don't get much of an opportunity to see work from the upper or lower grades. Even those in your own grade who you don't have classes with.
I'm sad to see them go, but I wish all of them success.

In other related news about success, I happened to find a book full of Mary Cassatt's prints my school's library was throwing away.

In my opinion, their loss. Kristen - 1. Library - 0.

Crossing the Finish Line

2011-05-11T15:45:00.003-04:00

Pheewwwwwww! Done!
This last month was quite a huge struggle for me, school and personal-life wise, but I survived!
I just have one last research paper to finish and then I can kick back with some video games and long-standing projects.
I haven't done any personal work (aside from a doodle or two) this semester, so I'm pretty ready to flesh out some stuff.

Anyway.
I'm finally done with a month long project in my illustration class. We were working with a Half Price Book store in Dallas, Texas to create children-themed illustrations to hang in their children's section.
These were my first batch of sketches:

But it wasn't until class came that we learned they wanted each student to do 5 pieces in a theme and they would pick 1 whole theme instead of 5 pieces from 5 different students as we all assumed was the case.

So, each student had to choose a theme off of their existing sketches. Mine became 'journey' after my teacher and the representative chose a sketch from an older assignment (not pictured above, but on the top right below) and I came up with more sketches.

Although I have my personal favorites, I was asked to choose between 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.
Honestly, I didn't care for 6. It was an idea that the rep and my teacher came up with when they saw 2, but I chose 2 over 5 as it was too similar to 1, they liked it, and it wasn't supposed to read as an exact narrative, but more series like.
I think my non-preference shows a bit in it as I don't think it's up to par with the rest of them. Is that bad to admit?

Although I began with 1, I finished 4 first. It was then that I realized that I should do all of the line work first and then do color comps for all of them at the same time instead of one by one to minimize the risk of each piece looking too detached (duh).

I first need to say that I absolutely love music. It's something that I can't go a day without and whenever I hear a really great song, I can just...like, see a story forming from the melody and emotion within it.
So while working on each final, I usually had at least one or two songs that I felt matched the image on repeat to make sure that I maintained that kind of happy, childlike energy.
Does that sound too New Age-y?

So for the ones that I was able to find, I'll post some of the songs I listened to below and maybe it'll match up for you too.

Without further ado.

Even though this was an incredibly stressful project (especially since I didn't hear from the rep for almost 2 weeks, so that put me way behind), and I complained a LOT (sorry to anyone who had to put up with my whining), I'm really glad I got a chance to do it. I've never really done landscapes or environments before, and since I just started using digital this semester, this project really pushed my limits about what I thought I was doing. I can see and feel a huge difference between what I did back in January and what I've done in the last month.
I learned a SO much and I was able to apply it to the other assignments I worked on while doing this.

As far as other projects go. This is a three part series about female genital mutilation for my digital illustration class. Originally, I was going to do a narrative inspired by a dream I had, but I had a long blunder with some brain-fog, so my first idea was a complete jumbled embarrassment, but my second idea, although I doubted myself a lot, went a little bit more smoothly. Mentally at least. Artistically, I learned a lot and I think it came out well.

And lastly, along with two other images that are "meh," so I won't post them, I was working on the piece from my last post for my senior thesis.

My reviews are tomorrow and I'm really interested and excited to hear what the teachers say considering the large leap I've taken this semester.

With my essay, a gallery show, an award to get, and more competitions to enter, it should be an eventful summer.

So close. So close.

2011-05-09T13:23:00.003-04:00

Almost...done...!

Just my rambling thoughts on selling out.

2011-05-01T11:55:00.003-04:00

I've been thinking about this for a month or so, but wasn't sure if my thoughts were completely organized enough to bring this up.
But as I've had some sleep, and there's nothing but the quiet sun and morning birds to greet me, I think it's OK.

Maybe it's been noticed, maybe not, but this semester, with the exception of my first type piece and illustration, every single one of my assignments has been done digitally.

A while ago, I was showing one of my friends the book cover I did when he asked, "So, you've switched to digital?" and I excitedly said "Yes! I really feel like I can do things that I'd never be able to with paint."
But of course, he's a painting kind of guy.
And after a bit of dialog, I admitted, "In the beginning, I did feel like I was selling out" to which he said I was and went off to paint before I could give him my 'don't judge me' glare.

I sometimes feel that there's this unquestioned and unwritten law in my department that you have to paint as an illustrator. That only illustrators paint, and anything else is avoiding "superior" media or selling out.
And I'm sure every major has one. I was talking to a painting major at an event who said he gets flack for preferring acrylic over oils.

I can count on one hand the number of people I know that use digital consistently.
Then use the other hand for the number of people that try to use colored pencils or pastel.
The rest are watercolor and acrylic/oils. And I think it's one part, that's what they feel they have to use, and another part, that's all they really know how to use.

I think...that there's two unconscious approaches to 2D art: mass and line. Most people will prefer one more than the other and it's usually those who are the "painters" (the kind of people born with a brush and not a pencil) that really see the mass.
I'm a line person. And a drawer.
Even in my early years, I mostly stuck with:

Pencil.

Pastel. And colored pencil.

And at those moments, everything really sang to me. Some things may have taken forever, but most of my favorite pieces have been in these media. That flower piece is actually my second time using colored pencils. I never had to look up "How to use colored pencil/pastels/pencil" tutorials. My teacher explained the basics, and I just picked up my sticks and went for it. And it felt right.

Even with my digital work, I've been able to fool people into thinking it was done with pencil or pastels because that's what I like and I want that kind of texture to translate.

I've used acrylics, watercolor, oils. Clay sculpture, pottery wheel, plaster casting, collage. Metal/Jewelry arts, silk screening, gouache. Ink pens, ink brushes, etching boards, block prints. Blew some glass once. Charcoal, sanguine, markers. Pencil, colored pencil, pastel, oil pastel. And each one has been used in terms of line. Even my past work last semester, painting was just a way of coloring in the lines. Which is fine. If that's the way you 'do,' that's the way you 'do.'
But this is where I have the problem.
Painting was fun at times. I got some good results from it. But in the back of my head, I always thought of it in terms of "How long is this all going to take to clean up?" and not "PAINTING IS MY SOUL."

Experimenting is great. It's necessary. But when I feel that people are unconsciously pressured into using things that fight against their natural mental process, when they try to be "painterly" because it's paint, when using digital is "selling out," when certain media aren't used because no one else is using them, it's like...there shouldn't be this animosity towards media that isn't paint. Considering in the more popular and conceptual market where originality is more coveted and judged before how well you can render/paint, I'm surprised people aren't going crazy with whatever they can get their hands on, and finding what fits best for their personal voice.
Certainly, I can't expect everyone who's just starting out and still learning to "get it," but if those purist feelings are harbored for you know, 20 or so years, and someone who swears by charcoal suddenly discovers markers, how much sooner could that have been discovered if they were more open minded to different possibilities?

I don't want people to be in my shoes. It took a near-death experience and lung pain to finally admit, "Maybe I shouldn't be painting..." and then magically being in a digital class when I had a still open painting-geared class as my first choice.
The cosmos was trying to tell me something.

I don't use digital because it's "easy" or "faster." Digital takes me just as long as painting did, if not longer at times. It just compliments the way I work and think. And I'm actually excited when I pick up my tablet. I can't wait to sit at my desk and open up photoshop.
Or when I have my sketchbook. And I look at my colored pencils. And I start drawing with my colored pencils. I'm not fighting with myself. I'm not second guessing. The moment just is.
And I wish everyone could feel that way with the tools they use. Because it's just that. Tools. Everything you want to say is right in your head and heart. But if you're feeling frustration with what's in your hand, that frustration will be translated into your work.

A student in the class I'm a teaching assistant for saw a quick drawing I was doing in photoshop of the model they were working with.

He thought it was cool and said he's always wanted to give digital a try. And I told him to do it. Because it can be fun. It might be a struggle in the beginning, but with all of the functions you have to learn, it kind of just comes with the deal.
And I hope that my digital work will continue to be seen and get others in my department interested in it just like I hope other teachers will stop looking like the atmosphere collapsed when a student says, "I think I want to try digital."

W.I.P

2011-04-28T22:06:00.001-04:00

A little peak of some of the stuff I've been working on.
I should have at least 7 finished pieces to post by next week.
10 if I gain magical powers between then and now.

2011-04-24T09:36:00.000-04:00

To agree with a quote by my friend, "The cat is me. The treadmill is finals."

2011-04-21T20:11:00.000-04:00

Show this in "New Illustration Majors" presentation:

70% of students switch to Animation.

Blast from the Past

2011-04-16T22:09:00.000-04:00

I've been bugging my mom for a few months now to get someone to go through some boxes and look for some of the artsy-fartsy stuff I did as a kid. Unfortunately, no one has been able to, but my dad got a camera phone recently, so I asked him and he was able to send me what he has.

It's kind of weird looking at these because I hardly remember drawing as a child or any art classes even though I can remember a lot of other things pretty clearly.
There was the time we had to make snowmen out of some sculpt-y stuff.
The time my teacher took my pencil away and said I was drawing a circle wrong ("Your lines are too sketchy. Make a single line" she said).
The time I wanted to draw my mom's car riding off into the sunset, but the same pencil-snatching teacher drew the car for me.
The time I painted that clay sun above.
The time I had to draw a tree in each season.
The time my mom showed me how to draw a star without the lines in the middle.
The time my babysitter's brother drew Piglet from my "Te of Piglet" (Why was I was reading (and understanding) books about Taoism in elementary school? Because I thought it was another Pooh story.) book and I thought "I wanna learn how to do that!"
And that's about it.

Maybe because even early on, I was determined to become a veterinarian, so I was more interested in reading about animals than drawing them.

I stayed in the lines pretty well as a kid, eh?
And yeah, I'm still a dog person.

Meanwhile, it's the last month of school and I've got some series pieces I'm working on.

Unfortunately, the top one is 600dpi and 10,800 x 7200 px (which is like...18x12?) so my computer becomes like a deer lost in headlights every time I open it.

Guess I should start saving up for a desktop!

ABC's of the Bare Necessities: Camping Edition

2011-04-11T23:24:00.001-04:00

Other Ideas

Placement Tests

Color Studies

And voila, you have an alphabet illustration.

This past week, I had remembered that I had forgotten how to have fun.
In my work that is. Social life - I haz none.
I had been so wrapped up in the stress forming around me, and getting caught up in trying to have the "best possible image" that it was leaving me frustrated and grasping for ideas.

I've learned that...First and foremost, you should always try to have fun with what you're creating; the rest will fall in place.
It seems like something that you know you'll always remember, but it's actually terrible easy to forget.

Now that I've gotten a fresh perspective again, I feel guilty for all of the people who had to put up with my angry rants. Sorry!

But I did discover a new band that's quickly becoming my favorite.

2011-03-28T18:07:00.000-04:00

OMGSOCUTEICOULDPUKE

I'm working on an alphabet book (intended mostly for children, obviously) for my Word&Image class and this is a quick little sketch of a character idea.
The title and concept will have to stay a secret for now, but this little boy bear needs a name.

I'm thinking Ron.

In other news.
ANIMATIONS!
I was doing research, somehow got side-tracked and found all of these cool videos.

Meet Buck from TeamCerf on Vimeo.

Playing with light - Mon ami le robot from Cube Creative on Vimeo.

Garuda from Andres Salaff on Vimeo.

Gary from Gary on Vimeo.

(can you tell why I like this one?)

"A Kiss From Tokyo" Theatrical trailer from Stephane Coedel on Vimeo.

Yankee Gal from Yankee Team on Vimeo.

Rolled Up Sleeves.

2011-03-23T00:05:00.002-04:00

After running to Blick to pick my glass, running around for a hammer, putting the frame together, calculating and testing different sizes, more running around to get the right color and print of my image since my favorite printer broke, measuring and cutting mat board (bevel included, thank you!), and putting on the finishing touches... after 3 hours of labor, I finally finished framing my piece that's going into the 'All School Show.'

I do like being more physically involved and building things at times, so, even though this was my first experience with putting together my own frame, I had fun with it.
It's a lot easier than I thought. And it's much better to get your hands a little dirty by paying about $30 for the glass, boards, and tools than $100+ for someone else to do it in 2 weeks.

Excited for the show next week!

Critique went well for an assignment I had been putting a lot of effort in these past few weeks.
We had to create a Day&Night of a 'house' where you could either see inside it or outside from it within an environment and I decided to do an abandoned bus that provides a resting place for hobo-travelers by day.

And a resting place for ghost children by night.

I absolutely love how creepy this little kid's face came out.

BEN's relative? Did he drown too?

I'm really happy with how they came out and I am proud of myself. When I said that in class, I did hear some scoffs and giggles, and yeah, OK, it's probably once in a blue moon that you'll hear an artist (especially a student) say that without being completely arrogant, but...
I think we shouldn't be afraid to say "I dun gud" and allow ourselves to be proud of our work, regardless of what other people may think of it.
There's a difference between, "I'm happy with it because I put a lot of effort into it, I feel I reached a new level, and it came out better than expected" and "I'm great and I want everyone to think I'm great too. Because I am."
I personally am OK with it and I like hearing when people are really excited and happy about something they created.
When I was done with my frame, I probably showed 4-5 people saying, "Look! I put this together all by myself!" I really felt like I accomplished something; like a little kid coming back home to show their parents the gold star they got on a lesson.
It's like that.

At The Bottom Of The River

2011-03-21T22:11:00.002-04:00

For my 'Word & Image' class, we had to find a book with a bad cover design and redo it.
After some searching and thinking, I decided on a book I was reading in one of my critical studies class called 'At the Bottom of the River' by Jamaica Kincaid.
The original cover is this:

While, yes, it's not absolutly revolting, but not great either. It only gets worse once you find out that the book (or rather, 'stream of conscious' prose) was written by a Jamaican author centering around a mother-daughter relationship while serving "as a metaphor for the relationship between colonial powers and the countries they rule—between the powerful and the powerless and the mature and the struggling to mature."

To take an excerpt from the book:

I shall grow up to be a tall, graceful, and altogether beautiful woman, and I shall impose on large numbers of people my will and also, for my own amusement, great pain. But now, I shall try to see clearly, I shall try to tell differences. I shall try to distinguish the subtle gradations of color in fine cloth, of fingernail length, of manners . . . I swim in a shaft of light, upside down, and I can see myself clearly, through and through, from every angle . . . I am not yet a woman with a terrible and unwanted burden. I am not yet a dog with a cruel and unloving master. I am not yet a tree growing on barren and bitter land. I am not yet the shape of darkness in a dungeon . . . I am primitive and wingless.

...Not exactly the kind of writing that fits with a bland layout of caucasian women chilling in a field nor something I'd be interested in picking up by looks alone. At least in my mind.

I think I got close.

Original layout, flaps included. This is the "after-critique" version, so a few things
are different in the pictures below.

Jacket over original book.

I don't really know how to explain how I came up with the idea, to be honest (it wasn't inspired by the quote above, I just got lucky when googling for a excerpt), so I'm not going to try and pull some art-jargon excuse from thin air.
As I was thinking about the book in general, a water surface reflection of a clouded sky and a girl with no physical source embodied by the river itself just came to mind and it felt right.
So I went with it.

Here are some of my other sketches.

Whenever I saw this image of what I was trying to draw, I kept thinking of the Kingdom Heart's theme 'Dearly Beloved.'

This was the first book design I've ever done (on a more serious level where I knew what I was doing...) and, although I wasn't very motivated at times, I still had fun with it. There's a lot more freedom for conceptual interpretation in book covers and posters, it seems.
I'd hopefully like to do more in the future.

O beautiful for spacious skies

2011-03-17T19:04:00.005-04:00

For Illustration 3, the assignment instructions were:

The Statue of Liberty, symbol of hope and new beginnings, has inspired scores of artists to create images based on this Pop icon. Why? Because the Statue of Liberty has become recognized world wide as an iconic symbol which represents America. What does this mean for you? It means you can use the power of recognition that the Statue of Liberty holds for your own visual expression and your image will have instant understanding and resonance with your audience.

A lot of thinking went into this, so I shall explain.

My idea was how America seems to be taking the role of Atlas, the Titan from Greek mythology who has the duty of holding up the heavens/Earth. I think it's a beautiful thing that people look up to America as "a symbol of hope" and we are (well, usually) willing to lend a hand in a time of crisis, don't get me wrong.
But, when America is made out to be the Supreme Emperor of the World, (for example, when the riots started breaking out in Egypt, I kept hearing stuff like "Obama's problem" or "How will America fix this?") it kind of irks me. Since when were we solely responsible for handling every other countries' problems as well as our own? The United Nations is still active, right? Silly news reporters, yes it is.

I'm still trying to figure out what color I want as I've got some other versions.

Personally, I love the first one just because I like the simplicity of it (it came along as I was in the process of blocking things in), but I think someone might call me out on it, or my teacher will assume I didn't finish/didn't try.

Originally, I had a very straight-on view with the exact pose from a statue of Atlas.

But that was kinda boring, so I thought it would be more interesting with a more dynamic angle.

This angle would have worked out fine as well, but I personally think that the perspective was "stealing the thunder" of the concept. More "cool" and less "seriously in despair."
So.
In actual print, it's 8x17. I specifically played with the height when planning out the composition. The elongated canvas forces your gaze to travel vertically because I imagine this large print where, as you start at the top, you say, "Oh look, it's the Earth!" and when you finally reach the bottom, it's, "Oh snap..."

It's not due till Thursday, so I have time to consider more color variations.

"Silent Screams and Hidden Cries"

2011-03-13T20:45:00.003-04:00

Seeing this kind of stuff is frightening.
Not frightening in a "WOW, SCARY LOL" way that shocks, and then you move on.
But it gives me this deep unsettling feeling in my stomach that's hard to shake off.

Seeing his sister's self-portrait doesn't look so bad on the surface.

But when you start reading things like:

The exceptionally long neck in this drawing alerts us to an area of difficulty for Lorraine. She strains to maintain control over her bodily concerns, impulses, and anxieties. In addition, play therapy sessions with her revealed incidents in which she had been sexually abused by her father. Although Lorraine is only six, the figure's elongated neck, the presence of the breast, the phallic banana standing erect next to the figure, and the broken phallic-like left leg all indicate her premature sexual preoccupation and concern.

You can't help but think, "My GOD..."

As fascinating as it is to learn about analyzing children's drawings as a means to understand and measure their mental and emotional development and conception of their environment...it can be incredibly depressing research.

Still. I think this kind of knowledge is useful and should be taught in parenting classes.

2011-03-06T00:18:00.000-05:00

Via Fuck Yeah Art Newbie Owl

Via Fuck Yeah Art Student Owl

Hipster Jokes via...can't remember.

I don't know.
I just enjoy a good art joke.

2011-02-26T15:47:00.001-05:00

A quick update to say I'm still alive.
It's been a steady-busy lately. Today alone, I'm trying to deal with being in 4 separate mindsets - The Designer, The Painter, The Conceptualizer, and The Psychologist.

Buuuuuut. For some quick news.
My 8th Deadliest Sin: Judicial Corruption piece was not only chosen for the 'deck', but will be in the group gallery show (wherever that's supposed to take place) and was also chosen for the 8th Deadliest Sin "deck cover". I'm not sure what that last part exactly entails though as it was mentioned quickly to me on an elevator by a teacher, but still. (ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ SCORE! ━━━★

I don't really have anything specific to show as all of my current assignment are in sketch-tweaking mode aside from an older Word&Image project, and something I've been tinkering with in my spare time.
Hopefully by next week I'll actually have some finishes of some cool stuff I've been cooking up.

Is it just me, or is it super hard to focus on homework when all you're thinking of is a nice big mug of hot chocolate?

Holy Cow!

2011-02-10T20:02:00.000-05:00

Got lucky with the community printers today too and got some really accurate prints.

2011-02-09T23:55:00.002-05:00

My department has this thing called 'Open Drawing' where models come in for a few hours and students from any major can stop by and draw them.
It's a beautiful set up as it's not a class, it's free, and really, once you leave college, how often will you be able to practice your figure drawing?
This time though, students from a mask making class modeled for us (clothed of course) with their creations and it was really a fun time. I only planned on drawing for an hour, but I ended up staying the whole time. Even my film major buddy had fun and plans on coming again next week.

Here are my sketches from the session.

( I'm also a teacher assistant this semester and the class was doing portraits.)

All the masks we super cool and you can tell everyone put a lot of time and effort in them.

My friend didn't really care for her mask, but I love it.

I think it's good to have these kinds of functions within the school, especially when there's teacher-student interaction.
Unfortunately, the turnouts aren't as good as they could be. It seems that people that say they're too busy to get involved with school activities...yet wish there were more things to do while, (and I can be guilty of this too) easily spending hours being distracted by the internet.
It's a difficult situation.

Yeah, you tell em!

Critique tomorrow. Different approach. Here's to success.

Yay! You did it!

2011-02-06T10:10:00.002-05:00

Last night was the Senior Illustration Degree/Thesis Project Exhibition.
The Degree Project is described as:

...the most rigorous in Mass Art’s illustration program. Students work intensely for longer than two semesters on projects that stretch them as artists— projects that often propel their lives after graduation in many ways. Each project includes a strong body of work, plus a bound graphic summary/artist book that documents the journey and creative process.

Basically, it's more or less a 'concentration' class. I'm currently taking it now, and will continue on with it until next Fall semester. But getting to see everyone's work, which was pretty much for the first time as sneaking around in the senior studios doesn't offer much, made me super excited for my eventual showing.

I was really happy to see it so packed. There was hardly room to move around when I first arrived. It did cut out my viewing time, but I can always go back. After some good laughs, chats, and a few friendly pat on the backs, I braved the ice&waterlogged sidewalks once more, glowing as I imagined all of the future possibilities. (人´∀｀)

De-Rusting.

2011-01-30T21:20:00.000-05:00

I think I've had enough oil, thanks.

I'm taking a, more or less, typography class this semester and although the process work is really quite heavy, it's still pretty enjoyable so far.
Now I can be like all of those super trendy graphic designers who take snapshots of themselves holding up the graphics they make.

Easy now, I'm still new at this holding thing, but I hope, with enough practice I'll learn all of the right gripping positions and eventually be good enough to be featured on posterholding.com. Then my wildest dream will come true!

In other news, some cool artists I've been checking out.

Maija Louekari who does textile work for Marimekko.

John Jay, an illustrator in New York.

Avert your eyes!

2011-01-29T21:40:00.001-05:00

I spent the last hour or so shopping for lightbulbs and going up and down a ladder to adjust the lighting in my room.

My landlord, bless his kind soul, had given me bulbs the last time mine went out. Unfortunately, they were those pure-white light ones so my room was always this super bright....whiteness, even after I took one out, which still didn't do much because my light cover isn't frosted, but this jagged rounded glass cap. Looks nice...when the light's off...But doesn't help to reduce glare or terrible headaches and eyestrain.

For now I have one soft light, one "natural" white light, and paper covering the cap. Job well done, I say.

You never really think about lighting, but it's definitely important, especially if you're doing heavy computer usage, like myself and nearly every other human being today.
I'm not going to bother getting into the specifics, because I have neither time nor the will and other people have already done it: Computer Screen Glare Prevention - Lighting Is Key to Avoiding Eyestrain and Neck Pain

Stretching is also super important. If you think you can't do it every few hours or so, keep in mind that 15 minutes of twists and lunges can save you from a future as the next Hunchback of (enter your school here) .
I'm no super yoga noodle, but doing this particular routine before bed helps out my back tremendously since I have a bad habit of scrunching up and putting my face an inch away from whatever I'm looking at.

Do I sound like you mother yet?

I will be an encyclopedia. I will.

2011-01-25T22:50:00.004-05:00

1st/2nd week of school and I'm already a busy little bee. But I love learning, so it's fun.

My Illustration class isn't until Thursday, but I exercised good 'Time Management' and finished my sketches today.
For the assignment, we had to take "seven animals with spiritual significance and the culture that reveres it" and basically do whatever we wanted from there.
I personally decided to take a more Editorial approach because...that's what I like to do.
This particular assignment required a lot more research from me than usual beacause I wanted to make sure I fully understood what it would be like if I was a part of that particular culture, but that was one of the most enjoyable parts of it.
So, this is kind of an insight towards my thinking process? Maybe?

India & Sacred Cows

In India, cows are considered sacred (but not worshiped) in the Hindu religion because they "give so much yet take so little." So, cows are not only off the menu, but allowed to roam wherever they please. Over the years though, this has caused a lot of problems as places in India become more and more developed and the cow population isn't..."regulated."
So, at times, you'll have one to a whole herd of cattle chilling in the middle of a busy road and all you can do is wait for them to move.
But the cows don't care. They're more interested in basking in the sun and eating from the nearest trash pile.

Japanese Ainu & Bears

I was really excited for a chance to do something Ainu related, so I jumped right on it.

For those who are gamers, if you look into their culture, it might remind you of a certain favorite Wii game full of Japanese mythology and lots of Ainu references...

The Ainu are the aboriginal people of Japan, and might have originally migrated from Russia and settled in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and most of Sakhalin. Unfortunately, they've basically experienced the same kind of treatment and assimilation that Native Americans have here in the United States due to some ethnic issues. After the Yamato people (the dominant native ethnic group of Japan) inhabited Japan and began trading, things started going downhill around the Tokugawa Period, and really heated up during the Meiji Restoration in 1868 where they were sort of forced to assimilate into modernizing Japanese culture and hide, even denounce if you will, their Ainu heritage.
It hasn't been until recently that they've been more vocal about their existence and attempts at recovering what culture has been lost.

Anyway. Their traditional customs and way of life is really quite different from the Japanese culture ranging from patterns, music, dance, religious ceremonies, tattoos, and beliefs about life and death.
And I'll admit, this is where accepting ignorance could have cost me.
I didn't know much about Ainu culture and only learned a little bit more after I played Okami. In the packet of information my teacher gave us, all it said about Ainu was:

In Japan, the Ainu people name bears kamui, which means "god." The Ainu would eat bear, as they believed that the animal's fur and meat were a gift from the gods.

And then, within the first few minutes, I found incredibly basic information of how they specifically went to a bear cave, killed the mother, took the bear cubs, raised it as if it were a child only to be tied up, killed, and eaten in about 2 years.
So then came the Judgmental Train and I went off in this tangent in my head about how horrible and barbaric it was and trying to figure out a way to make it completely ridiculous like bear cubs being breastfed and whatnot.
But then something told me to keep researching. And I did.
And I slowly came to understand how much respect they have for the bear and this ritual (called
Iomante).
To take a quote from a great blog with more information than I could ever give you by great people working towards making Ainu culture more widely known called Project U-e-peker:

The Ainu fully acknowledge that killing is involved. The village shares in the pain of the taking of life, and accepts with deep gratitude the gifts they receive at the cost of that life. This is what Iomante is all about.

The ritual differs from certain groups. Some use sharp arrows, some use blunt arrows and then suffocate the bear between two logs (yeah...) but, at the end of the day, is there really a difference between what we do in modern society?
Not really. Farm animals are mistreated and killed every minute in incredibly horrific ways and parts we don't use are scrapped or fed to the next slaughter. But we don't see it nor take part of it, so we're generally disconnected from the idea that life is sacrificed for our benefit. The Ainu on the other hand, make it a village-wide ritual, with lamenting and offerings and eventually use every last part of the bear - fur, meat, bones, and all. Nothing is wasted or taken for granted.

So in my sketch, I felt it was best to keep it super simple. Yes, they will not hide the fact that a bear is killed, but its blood, its sacrifice, gives life (there's unrecognizable flowers in the pattern, so sue me). Of course, I could easily wake up Thursday morning with a different or better idea and that'd be OK.
And now for some Ainu music. Lovers of Samurai Champloo will automatically recognize the voice and song.

Madagascar & Sheep

This was the hardest one to come up with and took a few days because there's virtually no information about it aside from:

In Madagascar, people were forbidden to eat sheep, as they represented the incarnation of ancestral souls.

Seriously.
Eventually, after wracking my brain, imagining everything from sheep-ghosts or sheep with human faces (because why not?), I kind of combined a little bit of what I already knew about ancestral worship in Africa and started thinking about Family Tree diagrams. Which got these.
While I think the top one is interesting, I kind of feel more attached towards the bottom one.

We'll see how critique goes. Regardless, (for now) I'm content with all of my ideas and as we have two weeks to finish the final, I think I easily have enough time to do them all and consider them for possible portfolio pieces.

And that's more information than I would ever be able to express during a critique...

2011-01-21T21:59:00.000-05:00

My aesthetic needs cannot be satisfied here alone.

Settling in.

2011-01-18T23:34:00.003-05:00

Just drawing fashion models today. Nothing special or planned. Goin' with the flow.

I've been feeling a bit haggard these past few days. Not cold haggard, but "ugh" haggard.
Today, I woke up feeling like my head had been resting between a boulder and a stereo all night.
Looking at my computer screen isn't helping, but I have a strange magnetism towards my tablet at the moment.

I need some fresh air.
And to unplug for a bit.
I hope my snow boots come early tomorrow so I can take a nice long walk. I don't like going out when it snows or rains because all of my walking shoes have holes in the soles and get my feet all wet.

In between some naps and...other things that I can't remember happened today, I finally finished watching Kagemusha.
Akira Kurosawa is hands down my favorite director, producer, screenwriter and editor, etc.
Kagemusha, although hard to sit down for 2.5 hours without my guilt badgering me, was a visual treat.
Most people would probably find the pacing incredibly slow, but if you pay attention to the compositions, the color, the environment, the details, the symbolism, time is nothing.

I wonder.

2011-01-17T11:48:00.003-05:00

Jurassic Park Theme (1000% Slower) by birdfeeder

I initially started planning this a few days ago.
But it wasn't until this morning that I saw this song. It was kind of eerie how similar they felt. For me at least.

Paintings and a Book

2011-01-12T18:32:00.000-05:00

If only snow storms were really this sentimental.

Some stuff I worked on today between reading, being snowed in, and such. Sorry, but I just really enjoy doing portraits. It's very relaxing for me and a lot easier to practice techniques on.
I need to take a break though. And maybe take out a lightbulb. My room feels super bright today and it's a bit annoying.

My 'Artist to Artist' book came yesterday and I love it. I like how they have a commentary by the artist, some of their earlier and current work, a drawn self portrait, and some kind of work environment photo. Everything that's included, though limited, really helps to give you a decent sense of who the illustrator is. Eric Carle's studio is hilarious.
I haven't finished looking at it all just yet, but I really enjoy a particular part of Robert Ingpen's little bio:

My art boils down to this: You can choose to be an artists and fly away with your creativity, or to be an illustrator and surround yourself with craft. You cannot be both. The great American illustrator N. C. Wyeth once wrote that "the artistic powers of an illustrator spring from the same source as do the powers of the painter; but the profound difference lies in the fact that the illustrator submits his inspirations to a definite end; the painter carries his into infinitude. Therefore, the work of the illustrator resolves itself into craft."

2011-01-11T21:55:00.000-05:00

What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after your own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Deep.

2011-01-11T00:01:00.009-05:00

And this is why, Kristen.
No matter how many bows and pretty shoes you wear.
You will never be taken seriously as a dainty lady.

I've never played Katamari before (somehow, I only own DDR for my PS2...), but I'm still a fan of the overall...happiness of it all, the graphics, and the fanart.
Just listening to the music from the game makes me feel like a little kid.

A popular thing to do is make yourself into a Katamari cousin, so I guess this would be me...Aaaaand I just realized I used nearly the exact same colors that are on my blog layout...there I go again.

Every day, I'm finding more and more that I don't think I'll ever discover everything Photoshop can do.

I've been slowly (and by slowly, I mean I'm on chapter II) reading The Practice & Science of Drawing by Harold Speed through gutenburg.org (an excellent source for thousands of free/public domain e-reads) that you can find here.

It's not so much of a "how-to" book, but more theory based. The first few sentences basically sums up the angle that Harold takes for the purpose of his book:

The best things in an artist's work are so much a matter of intuition, that there is much to be said for the point of view that would altogether discourage intellectual inquiry into artistic phenomena on the part of the artist. Intuitions are shy things and apt to disappear if looked into too closely. And there is undoubtedly a danger that too much knowledge and training may supplant the natural intuitive feeling of a student, leaving only a cold knowledge of the means of expression in its place.

Personally, I agree with him. As much as I enjoy reading and learning about different things in art, I realize that if I learn too much, it'll do more harm than good so taking a completely academic approach is a very dangerous idea.
I see so many great artists and artwork every day, but the more I look, and the better I get at reading pictures, the more I find completely awesome and epic paintings...that feel emotionally void because it's so purely calculated.
I'm sure some purist will disagree, but I think the purpose and potential of art is more than just making a pretty picture.

Over time, I've tried to approach my artwork more intuitively - trustin' my gut n' all.. When I'm drawing I don't plan out my sketch by saying to myself "Ah yes, this angle on the hand will draw the eye over to this angle and then sweep around there, which is just enough negative space and etc..."
I first just draw what I'm visioning, I say "Does this feel right?" Then I sometimes ask myself "Why?" and proceed to analyze it or skip that step, give myself the thumbs-up, and keep going. Like all things in life, there should be a balance.

I think that's the reason you might have a fondness for your sketches over the finals. Why there's that strange bright feeling when you look over a quick study or a painting that you did when you were completely lost in the moment. Why some pieces of artwork latch on to you better than others. And why children's drawings are just so darn awesome.

Art...should be like improvisational jazz. Spontanous, but influenced by the foundations.
...Was that pretty deep?

Quick Colors and a Photoshop Trick

2011-01-10T00:34:00.004-05:00

Posting this everywhere like the creeper I am.
My buddy Ariel is leaving for Italy for several months and I'm so sad, so I had to draw her.
（ ´Д｀) (´∩｀。) (´；д；`) Poooooooooo. Now what will I do?

Well.
Aside from that business, I've mostly been tinkering away today. While experimenting on an old sketch of mine:

I accidently discovered an excellent and super quick way to color lines (and other things too).

I guess, first, you need to go through your personal process of making the lines on a transparent layer (inking them in digitally, or going through the channels > selection > inverse > etc process).
And then just hit "lock transparent layers" or "preserve transparency" (which ever it says for you) and doing that will allow you to just take your brush and color in whatever isn't transparent (aka: your lines).

Before, I mostly just selected it (hold ⌘ and click window on layer), but sometimes, depending on how it's done, it might not feather (is that the right term?) out enough, leaving white outlines or something.
So.
Much easier and faster and lines come out a lot cleaner.

Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

2011-01-08T22:02:00.002-05:00

Man-Oh-Man, why am I just finding out about this place now?
And more importantly...How can I get there without paying a 2 hour cab fare...
Anyone wanna drive me? I can pay in baked goods?

I was ordering some books for my Third World Women's Literature class I'll be taking when I got distracted and started browsing under "illustration."
While debating on cookbooks, and another Heller-Arisman (Marketing Illustration: New Venues, New Styles, New Methods anyone?) I somehow happened upon 'Artist to Artist: 23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children About Their Art' and noticed that it had recieved 12 5-star ratings and 1 4-star.
Then, I discovered the book was published through a "picture book museum in Boston", and, well, the rest of the story is easy to imagine, including visuals of me nearly wiggling my way out of my chair from excitement.

So.
I ordered the book. Expect a little blurb eventually.
In the meantime, I'll recommend an anatomy book I own that I may have mentioned once or twice. I finally got my family to mail it back to me.

I've read several other anatomy books, but I still consider this one my favorite. It was for a class at my previous college, which was seminar style, so it's...science-based art information...Which is what I like best about this book. For example, it gives you all of the scientific names for the muscles and bones, but will include a section of standardly accepted artistic proportions or facial expressions using specific muscles. It's also very straightforward, organized well, and has easy to read diagrams.

I apologize for the terrible scans. I bought a scanner a few weeks back, but after it started giving out a day later,

I returned it and I'm far too lazy to retake pictures.

As I personally learn best understanding the how, what, and whys of something (if that makes sense), once I started learning the placements, shapes, and functions of the skeletal and muscular structures, I saw an immediate improvement in my figure drawings.

So. It's a nice book to keep on the shelf for academic and artistic reasons.

Happy Birthday Miyazaki!

2011-01-05T23:27:00.011-05:00

Hayao Miyazaki's storyboards for Ponyo via Parka81.

I've been sitting on this entry for a while, waiting for the right moment to strike, and what is a better time than MIYAZAKI'S BIRTHDAY?

If you know me well, then you know I practically worship him.
Aside from watching his films, looking at his sketches and paintings are such a treat.

Both pictures found via Buttermilk Skies

Even though they're just quick and simple studies, he has that ability to put so much personality in a figure. And in the finalized work, the characters will have certain little quirks that makes them seem so real instead of a figure that's just static.
I'm still trying to figure out if I should save my money for more films or art books.

I recently bought and read the original 'Howl's Moving Castle' written by Diana Wynne Jones. While I enjoyed every page, and it may seem like a "Well, duh." kind of statement, I felt really impressed at how Miyazaki took an already existing (and award winning) story and created a such an original interpretation.
Like how Ponyo is loosely based off of The Little Mermaid.
This guys vision is amazing!

What sets him apart from other artists, in my opinion, is how he doesn't just focus on the entertainment aspect of his movies, but...in a way, gently takes your hand and guides you towards discovering a deeper, emotional, moral lesson.
Each story always has some kind of meaning behind it, that is both universal and timeless and blurs the lines between what is, traditionally "evil" (ex: the "villains" are human enough to recognize the error of their ways and change for the better).
You can still make a connection with what he's trying to portray, empathetically, regardless of how fantastical he makes his worlds. It's that ability that sets apart the 'Good' and the 'Best.'
Plus, a lot of his tales have female leads. (:
There's also the fact of a consistently fresh approach for each animation Studio Ghibli has created (unlike most Disney movies that rely on the same basic formula and even recycles animations...coughclickthelinkcough).

In Howl's Moving Castle, there was the power of love, gaining self-confidence, finding courage, and the pointlessness of war.

In Kiki's Delivery Service, overcoming the difficulties of discovering what your talents are, who you are, and your place/purpose in the world.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke have heavy environmentalism themes such as the struggles between destructive human behavior and nature.

Spirited Away, to take it directly from wikipedia:

Upon gaining employment at the bathhouse, Yubaba’s seizure of Chihiro’s true name, a common theme in folklore, symbolically kills the child Chihiro. Having lost her childhood identity, Chihiro cannot return to reality by the way she came; she can only move forward into adulthood. The following trials and obstacles Chihiro must overcome become the challenges and lessons common in rites-of-passage and the monomyth format. In her attempt to regain her self, her "continuity with her past," Chihiro must forge a new identity.

There's also more environmental themes, such as the 'Stink Spirit' scene:

Later in the clip, she and the workers in the bathhouse pull out lots of
random junk and pollution caused by humans, reviving a 'River God'
that was mistaken as the 'Stink Spirit.'

Just to name a few.
Not to mention, the music Studio Ghibli chooses for their movies are outstanding.

There's so much simplicity in what seems complex.
And, because I personally perceive different forms of art on a more emotional level, I might appreciate what he does more than someone who's more intersted in getting a, more or less, mindless action plot.
Unfortunally, that's more of the trend in America. There are several great Studio Ghibli movies that won't be released/dubbed in America (thanks Disney) because it's not "interesting enough" or deals with themes that are too "taboo." Like 'Only Yesterday' which is a realistic animated drama about a woman reflecting on her childhood, puberty, boy problems. You know. Totally vile things.

Avert your eyes! Hide your children!

For compensation, we get...raccoon genitals.

On that note, I think I'll finish up. If I keep on going, I'll never stop talking about Miyazaki.
I only hope that some day, I can be a storyteller as awesome and amazing as he is.
Happy 70th. Live long and prosper.

Also, I made it!
Fabulous exhibition. Such craftsmanship. Two hours wasn't long enough. I may have to go back again.

You're Under Arrest, Sugar.

2011-01-05T01:34:00.001-05:00

I felt a little bad leaving on such a negative note.

I was jamming to some disco when I was reminded of a movie I saw a year or so ago called 'Get Christie Love' starring Teresa Graves.
I don't remember how I came across it, but I watched it because it sounded interesting and Teresa looks like she could be my mother's sister.
This isn't an exact portrait of her, but I digress.

I never ended up going to the MFA, but instead took a better turn and had delicious Vegan-Asian cuisine with my buddy, Danielle.
I just love food so much.
But I will see that exhibit! I'm determined!

For added measure.

I'm gonna be in so much trouble.

2011-01-04T09:00:00.003-05:00

While I think that sketchbooks are key in fostering new ideas and creativity, there's a danger to developing artists who spend too much time working in them.

Years ago, I noticed that when I was pouring forth all my energy into the pages, it was my finished art that suffered. Not that my finished work was bad -- but it was clear which forum was more favored of the two.

If you're the type of artist who loves to work in your sketchbook, but can't seem to get your actual artwork to go anywhere, you might want to consider limiting your time spent in them.

Don't get me wrong -- keeping a sketchbook is, in my opinion, essential to developing as an artist. However, I think they are best kept private. They're for your eyes only, like a diary of your thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

- Frank Stockton

While doing some research, I came across his work and that quote from his blog/website. I wrote down his name after seeing the cover he did for CA, but forgot to look. Aside from just having completely awesome artwork, I was really enjoying reading how indepth he is about his process work. Definitely someone who has habits to emulate.
But when I came across that particular quote, for me personally, because I know everyone will feel different about this, it struck a chord as I think that's my biggest weakness.

It's something that I think I semi-consciously realized, but didn't know what to do about it because I didn't fully understand the "why" and, at my school, my department is constantly going/hinting "Sketchbooks! Sketchbooks! Draw in your sketchbooks! YOU THERE! WHERE'S YOUR SKETCHBOOK!"
At one point, I was so stressed about it, I had a nightmare where I didn't have anything in my sketchbook during a random check, so I had to run away before I was annihilated by the faculty.

Even though I have plenty of sketchbooks filled/ing up and things to paint in....

I still get stressed about it.

It's not so much the emphasis that's pressuring me, because I do enjoy working in my sketchbook and I know for some people at my school, that kind of requirement is necessary, but the fact that I consider them my private thoughts and ideas, whenever someone looks at them, I feel that it's not my drawings that they're focusing on, but directly judging a part of me.
And as I'm very protective about certain elements of myself, that makes me selective of what I put in my books because I know I have to show it eventually.
And then that just starts another bad cycle because, when school is up, I can't live a double life - keeping one sketchbook for myself, and one for school requirements while doing my finalized homework assignments.
And it also minimizes time I should spend doing (personal) finalized work because I have a completely different mindset and approach. I can sketch and play around endlessly, but when I have to commit to doing a final, I panic, my confidence goes below zero, and I don't know what to do.

Everyone is going to have a different way of operating and discovering how to achieve a balance.
I do it now because I have to, but I don't think I'll ever change, or get fully comfortable with showing my sketchbook. Not because I'm not being open-minded about it, but that's just who I am.
So. Any sketches that I do post, be glad.
And if I willingly let you look at my entire sketchbook, consider yourself to be special because 99.9% of the worlds population will never get that privilege.

So that's me. :T

I might take a walk and head to the MFA today. Maybe to sketch. Maybe to browse. There was the Fresh Ink: Ten Takes on Chinese Tradition exhibition that I didn't have a chance to see last time I was there.

2010-12-28T20:45:00.000-05:00

I kinda feel that feet don't get the proper creds that they should. Yes, hands and portraits are important, but hopefully, within the last year, one of your teachers said "Ok class. Draw 50 feet!"

Being stuck at home for two days due to high-winded blizzards gave me an opportunity to do some sketches and browse the interwebz for fun things like Happy Leo and cool artists like Ikenaga Yasunari.

Ikenaga Yasunari

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!
Such beauty. I always appreciate some nice portraits and muted color schemes.
If you can't navigate his Japanese site, check a feature here for more artwork and...English...

I also happened to find something called kuler.

It's basically a website where people make and upload different color themes. There's a way to connect it with your Adobe programs, but I've yet to explore it.
I think it's pretty nifty.

New Painting Muscles

2010-12-22T23:53:00.002-05:00

Several days of insanity and a 20 paged paper later...I'm pooped.
But my tablet came today, so I've been trying to calm my mind with quick sketches, playing around and making custom brushes and such. I'm so glad I'm a paper hoarder and saved everything from my digital class last year.

Now that I'm really done with school, I can start my vacation and get back to doing what I do best: Drawing and watching Asian dramas.

Ok. Ok.
Serious business tomorrow.

Reviews. Take...3?

2010-12-16T17:04:00.002-05:00

I wish I could take this time to joyously exclaim that I'm done with the first semester of my Junior year...but I have two more papers to write up.
Fabulous!

Overall, the feeling from my peers seemed to be pretty optimistic and I think everyone got something out of today. I got some good comments again this year, and I definitely have some things I need to start working on whippity-quick.
The first plan of action needs to involve getting away from using yellow so much.
I didn't really notice how often I was using it until recently. AKA: Too late.
It may be part habit/preference and part what the feeling for the piece called for.
Habit seems more likely as I tend to focus on certain colors for specific things in my life (too many blue clothes. too many brown shoes. too many white socks. too many black books. too many green electronics. etc.).
I digress.

Speaking of reviews.
Over Thanksgiving I went to check out the new wings they added to the MFA.

The "Salon" setup was pretty cool.

The new remodeling and rearrangements are sleek. No doubt about that. Especially in the Ancient Art section where they added Etruscan tombs. [/geekout]
And, I'm not sure if they were there before, but it was great to see another Rockwell and finally see Mary Cassatt's aquatint etchings in person. I am a fan of Japanese ukiyo-e, and I really think that Mary was able to capture and translate that same whimsical feeling in her domestic prints that the Japanese masters were able to create in their "pictures of the floating world." [/geekout2]

The contemporary art selections were interesting, and they're still working on another contemporary wing in the area the theater used to be in. But.
I got really bored really quickly by the insane amount of colonial portraits and furniture. Maybe because I feel that once you've seen one colonial room set up, you've seen them all. Maybe it's because I have very little interest and connection in colonial history. Or maybe it's because that's not particularly my preference of interior designing. But I also felt a bit slighted at the small and lacking Native American art section on the lower level...
So.
There's that.

2010-12-12T18:37:00.002-05:00

I was taking a dinner break from essays to watch a Ken Burns/PBS documentary about Jazz and I was reminded about a documentary about Impressionism that I watched over break and have been meaning to share.

Impressionism: Revenge of the Nice

If there isn't the playlist option, you can click here and watch it from the website.

As much as I love Impressionism, I still don't know everything about it, so this documentary gave a nice and entertaining rundown of how it started and some of the key players.
Because I haven't seen any others on Impressionism, I don't know if certain information is more biased (For instance, some consider J.M.W. Turner the first true Impressionist, but they didn't mention him at all) or left out, but it was still interesting nonetheless.

Currently Untitled.

2010-12-07T17:58:00.000-05:00

A few panels for my final in Narrative Illustration.
I'm probably going to go back into the first one a bit as there are some spots that I rushed on and want to fix.
Maybe add some more houses.
Although it was incredibly laborious, mostly because of procrastination, it's definitely something I put a lot of heart into because it's my original tale and I had fun making my first (and self-directed!) wordless story.

On a side note.
I easily listened to The Depreciation Guild non-stop while working out my finalized sketches.

Finals Week.

2010-11-30T22:22:00.000-05:00

BRBHWFML.

2010-11-23T20:27:00.000-05:00

I miss my childhood. Especially all of the cartoons and stories. It was a much more innocent time.

8th Deadliest Sin

2010-11-21T22:34:00.003-05:00

I'll be honest. I don't care for politics. Which might be surprising if you believe in the stereotypical idea about all artists being radical liberals who call out all of humanity's faults on a daily basis during their 3rd cup of organic fair-trade coffee....
But.
When the illustration department decided on the theme of "The 8th Deadliest Sin" for the card deck project this year, I immediately started to think about all of the things I strongly dislike. Because that's always a good place to start.
I'm still in progress of getting the right composition for my first idea (which is a secret for now), but my second idea was "Judicial Corruption." Basically, how judicial systems all around the world have been so...abused, controlled and "blinded" by money.
I get absolutely fuming mad whenever I hear the rich&famous or politicians getting less jail time or better amenities, name(and check)-drop their way out of a traffic violation, knowingly participate in illegal activities... What gives them the right to special privileges? Why do they feel they deserve to be treated differently? In the words of my old manager, "We all sit on the crapper."

So. Congratulations, viewer, for witnessing my first ever "political" piece.

It's on like King Kong.

2010-11-20T03:31:00.002-05:00

Latest Illustration assignment was to take the painting we made the week before and turn it into a mock-poster for a mock-gallery opening.

Even though I'm not looking forward to all of the work, I'm excited to take 'Word&Image' next term.
Making posters has been kinda fun, but I would like to have more confidence in my type abilities. Hopefully I'll survive.

But you know. Portraits are still kinda my thing.

Advance Drawing warm-ups. This model had quite the scowl going on. The entire time, I couldn't help imagine her thinking, "Effing art kids and their crappy hipster music. Can't I just sit and model in silence?"
(Our class TA was playing some music off his laptop. And it was quite hipster. Teehee~)

As I was drawing the model, I began thinking about my Figure Drawing teacher back at my previous college. She was quite a character, but could pump out a classical, realistic, sculptural drawing like nobody's business. Even though I'm happy with my work, I still sometimes imagine being surprised at the appearance of her little ~~poking~~ measuring stick, pointing out every miniscule mark that is horrendously wrong in her eye.
Ah.
Those were the days.

Anyway. Metamorphosis project. Origami Star Wars X-Wing turns into Origami Hercules Beetle. Colored Pencil. Done.
I used about 7-8 different colors for this...in case anyone was wondering...

I'm sorta excited for Thanksgiving. Not because I'm not going to see my family. Not because I only get one day off of school. Not because I go to work the next day.

But because I won't feel guilty when I take my only day off to marathon documentaries.

Go! Go! Go! Go!

How To Peel An Apple

2010-11-10T20:39:00.002-05:00

You scare it out of its skin!

I think this is the first time I've painted with green and actually liked it. Every other time makes me feel irritable and frustrated. Thank God for Green Gold.

I came across this article in NPR the other day, but I'm just getting around to sharing it now.

The Day The Internet Threw A Righteous Hissyfit About Copyright And Pie

So you might have heard a story yesterday about a little magazine called Cooks Source. Up until then, you might never have heard of Cooks Source. But maybe you've heard of "the Internet." Cooks Source now undoubtedly wishes it never had.

The short version is that this magazine took a story another woman wrote about apple pie, put it in their magazine without asking permission but still gave a little byline. She found out, complained, got a letter back from the editor saying the usual "the internet is 'public domain' and she should be honored to have been featured" excuse. Several site passing and a tweet from Neil Gaimen later...people had discovered several more articles and photos from places like Martha Stewart, the Food Network, Weight Watchers and even NPR.

I'm not going to act like I know everything about copyrights - there's still things I'm understanding and times when I may slip up, but I don't think I couldn't be that...well, retarded. Sorry, but there really isn't a nice way to put it.
Fortunately, written works are copyrighted too. Everything I write in this blog is copyrighted. I know some certain blogs that don't even allow small excerpts without asking permission first. Not a lot of people may realize that, so...hopefully with this issue coming to light, they will?

I haven't looked for any other or updated articles about the issue, but it does make me wonder how a magazine can be that ignorant and if there are others that have been doing the same thing.

There is a question about copyrights laws that I've been wandering about though. Do they apply to image macros?
Like, the can haz cheezburger, O Rly? Owl, 'Sad Keanu', "In Soviet Russia..." and the like.

Can I get sued for posting this?

They've been spread around so many times, it's nearly impossible to find the origin.
knowyourmeme.com has done a pretty good job, but...are publications allowed to use these? Are they all public domain? If so, why?

Just wanted to share, I guess.
Back to the grind.

Tekkonkinkreet

2010-11-03T21:24:00.000-04:00

Believe it or not (aside from the fact that yes, I still do watch anime), this movie (and manga) has always been a huge inspiration for me when ever I think about all the stories I want to do.
Especially this scene. Which is a bit weird, considering I tend to lean on the more happier side of things.
But just let it sink in for a bit.

I hope some day I can be on the same level as Taiyō Matsumoto and Hayao Miyazak.
Life long dream? Challenge accepted.

Round 1. FIGHT!

27 Vintage Ads That Would Be Banned Today

2010-10-31T02:29:00.000-04:00

Something interesting shocking I came across the other week.
You can check out the rest here at UFUNK.net.

Fickle Minded

2010-10-27T14:14:00.000-04:00

Is it OK that I just want to draw ridiculous people in ridiculous poses doing ridiculous things?
Drawing pretty stuff has become boring and predictable.

I was venting to my mom last night about some homework things. I always like to ask for her input (no matter how crabby I may act) because she's honest and if she, a person with minimal artistic knowledge, can't understand what I'm trying to say, then I need to hit the drawing board again.
But.
She was making suggestions about doing speech bubbles for something and immediately I thought "Pff! Who does speech bubbles? No professional does speech bubbles. Only political cartoonist who feel the need to label everything do that."

Ex No. 1: Did you really need to label ravening wolves as ravening wolves?

Then I thought,"Wait. Why are speech bubbles such a taboo?"

I can understand the point of illustrations being a visual expression, and they're usually better without words and should work without the use of words, but...even though I consider it to be a bit unprofessional, I've seen some great illustrations that used them successfully. Even if it was just a bubble with a "!" or something.
I guess it's just a personal preference and knowing if it will enhance the image...BUT HOW DOES ONE KNOW?!

Just a thought.

Pssst.

2010-10-24T20:38:00.002-04:00

I love trying to figure out people. Noticing the little subtleties that make them them. So, I always find it a lot of fun to see others workspaces. I think the things we surround ourselves with, especially in the places of rest or stimulation, really say something about our personality.

Take my space for example.

Compared to my friend's spaces.

I'm hoping to get a little plant and a calendar soon.
I'm never ashamed to admit that I don't fit the messy-artist-type personality unlike my friend in the second picture who said that if there isn't a mess, she can't work.
If there's clutter, I find it extremely hard to focus.
So, if someone asks me, "Kristen, what's your secret to success?"
I'll tell them, "Every day I get up, before doing anything, I'll make my bed. After all. Messy bed, messy head!"
From the moment I wake up to the time I tie in, everything needs to be in its place. And I'm OK with that.

Speaking of success. In my psychology class, we've been discussing character strengths and watched a bit of this video by a motovational speaker, Marcus Buckingham.

It got me thinking about this idea of "Maintain strengths and fix weaknesses or work on strengths and maintain weaknesses?" in terms of art.
Yes, as artists, we need to constantly grow and experiment and it's always important to be well-rounded/understand the basics, but at what point do you, or can you, stop and say "Hey. I'm terrible at landscapes/pencil, but I really enjoy portraits/paints. Why should I struggle to do something I have no passion for?"
Or.
When it comes to critiques...what is more beneficial for the student? To constantly hear they suck and everything is terrible or, have some of the "failures" mentioned, but more emphasis on encouraging growth in areas they're strongest in (composition, detail, conceptual, color, etc).

One classmate gave an example of how a teacher of hers handles critiques. He basically does both in that, for the students with more abilities, he can be more nit-picky while the others, he focuses more on what they're doing right and encourages them to bring that out.
And I think that's a pretty decent approach.

I really have no answer or a full opinion.

But.
I think the concept of building on your strengths while managing around your weaknesses to get and maintain success is interesting. Certainly, outside of an artistic career, it makes sense. I'm not going to go out tomorrow and start studying Geometry because I'm absolutely terrible at it and detest it with the burning passion of 1000 suns.
But because of the demands that are placed on us, how much leeway do we have to avoid certain things? Is that kind of approach limiting? Does it really matter? What's the best way to get the most out of a critique and art school?

Normally, I'm not one to brag...

2010-10-16T19:20:00.004-04:00

But it's still pretty exciting.

I just sent an e-mail to my high school art teacher that I still keep in contact with, recommending that she go out and buy a copy.
As I was doing so, memories of my Sophomore, Junior and Senior year of high school started flooding back.
The nights I struggled with balancing a job, Marching band practice and competitions, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, AP Portfolio, other art classes, advanced math and science classes. Preparing for the AP exam and Scholastics. Rolling my eyes every time we began the day hearing another speech about "time management." Scorning the words "ebony" and "still-life." Laughing at the jokes we cracked during critiques ("needs some lighter lights and darker darks"). Sneaking out the back doors into the field behind the school with friends and coming back with the excuse "Oh, we were in the computer lab the whole time..."

There were plenty of tears and breakdowns from stress. Plenty. Days where I thought about giving up and going back down the veterinarian medicine path. But overall, I feel grateful that I had such a great teacher that was always honest with me, even when it hurt, calling me out on my BS (because believe me, I did try) and always pushing me to settle for nothing less than my best. Those lessons really helped shape the kind of artist I am today.

You don't come across too many of those types, the ones that stick to their guns no matter how much you whine.
But when you do, hang in there. You'll value them much more than you think.

All Aboard The MassArt Super Bus

2010-10-15T22:08:00.000-04:00

Today, the Illustration department had a field trip to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and the New Britain Museum of American Art, both in Connecticut. It was my first time visiting that state, so now I can cross CT off my list.

There were so many amazing pieces of artwork, my brain is still trying to process it all. I took more pictures (with my phone since I forgot my real camera!) at the Wadsworth than the NBMAA because of the nature of the collections and me possibly being overly cautious. There was an M. C. Escher exhibition at NBMAA which was miiiiiiiiiiind blowingly awesome. That man was a beast.

I'll say now that I'm absolutely terrible at remembering to take names of the artists.

I don't usually care for abstract, but I really like this one for some reason.
"Sea Picture with Black" by Helen Frankenthaler.

Not another Frankenthaler.

Everyone can recognize Norman Rockwell.

Look Ma! A dragon!

Oh Wyeth~

It's unfortunate that only half of the people that signed up for the trip actually came.
And that the museum made us 50 bags of sandwiches. But at least they let us take them back with us...

I really don't feel like it, but I guess I should get working on my homework.
I'm sort of behind this time, even though I was rushing to get ahead last week.
These past few days have been very awkward for me and it has been hard to get things right.
I'm still remaining positive though.

Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. ~Henry Ford
There is no failure. Only feedback. ~Robert Allen
Nothing fails like success because we don't learn from it. We learn only from failure. ~Kenneth Boudling

Face-To-Face

2010-10-11T10:49:00.000-04:00

Invisible Children: WHO WE ARE from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

On Wednesday October 20th, at 7PM in Pozen Center, Invisible Children is coming to MassArt with a young lady named Brenda--who is coming straight from Uganda to tell us her story of survival. The event is going to be filmed by Halogen TV--meaning MassArt is going to be in a Documentary! Halogen TV makes empowering entertainment about people in service for humanity.

It's a free event and open to the public.

Pennies from Heaven

2010-10-09T19:09:00.002-04:00

Finished recipe for Illustration II.

I feel like I had a good deal of fun doing this piece.
This is the photoshopped version as I flubbed a bit on the actual painted piece in terms of text placement. I've been experimenting with under-paintings and dry brushing layers for the past two assignments. I'm still not completely confident with acrylic, but it's all a learning process. Slowly but surely.
Good thing I'm not taking Word and Image yet...
We're all encouraged to submit it to theydrawandcook.com/ that has tons of great recipes and illustrations to accompany them.

In other news, I (at least I feel so) hit it big when I came across a bunch of old Communication Arts magazines that my school's library was ditching.
One of them dates back to 1963! It's so amazing to be able to see a collection of what was considered the best of the best in those years.

Lisa French, an illustration teacher here, on the right.

And plenty of good oldies from my hero, Brad Holland.

I want to go through them all right now, but I'm trying to get all my homework done extra early this week.

My school had an opening reception for "Graphic Intervention: 25 Years of International AIDS Awareness Posters 1985-2010" the other day.

So much amazing stuff! I took a quick stop in with Ariel before getting some falafel wraps and greeted some old and new faces. I plan on going in again to take a longer look when my stomach isn't growling like crazy.

You Are An Armchair...

2010-10-06T11:22:00.001-04:00

You Are an Armchair. You are a supporting and caring person. It's likely that you are an old friend to many. You are inviting and welcoming.
You don't mind if people tell you all about their problems. You need to be needed, and you enjoy having other people depend on you.
You find meaning in being the rock. People can really let down their guard around you and say exactly how they feel. You know all of your friends extremely well.

Via Blogthings.com

Better than a stool!
For Advanced Drawing, our latest assignment is to do a self-portrait poster that "will convey an essence of your artistic personality" so I thought it'd be interesting to take some random FB personality quizzes for thumbnail ideas and see what pops up. I've been getting some good ones, so it's not a complete waste of time.
Sometimes it can be a bit of a hassle to identify your personality yourself without long moments of deep reflection. Most of the (good) ones I take give me those "OMG so true!" moments, which are helpful.

A WIP crop.
For the last hour of class, we had to do a 2:1 self-portrait that correlates with the poster.

Then we had to draw different parts of our body and such.

Sleeves, gloves, and folds.

This past Saturday, the Illustration department had the first "Drawing-En-Mass" event where we went around the
city drawing in different spots for 20+ minutes or so. Everyone had a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again.

Random sketchbook page.

Last week's 5x5x10. The previous ones I got stuck with were (sorry) rather boring.
Basically a girl sitting on a park bench reading then an old man approaching her saying "I've been
looking for you everywhere!" A little drama was needed.
This time, I have Snoop Dog. Thumbs. Way. Up.

Prelim sketch for Illustration 2 recipe assignment. Miso Ramen!

Last weeks Advance Drawing assignment about expressive hands.

Now that the huge dump is over...I've been thinking about something concerning the hands above.
When I was first planning it out, the first few words that popped in my head were "domestic violence" but, because I was playing with the scale as was suggested, it reads, to me, more like "child abuse".
The critique went well, but one main issue was that it looks "too beautiful" for something that is so violent.
I can see where that's coming from, and yes, the delicate/elegant nature of the lines and shading does add an unsettling quality (which may not be an entirely bad thing) but I've been thinking how people do it.
How some artists can draw aggression and terribly gory things and express that in their line and shading and texture. I've tried to do some more gritty work before, but I don't know if it's just a lack of experience or a lack of that quality in my personality. Clearly, I'm no Francis Bacon, nor will I ever be, but...how many different techniques should an artist be able to achieve?
In the event that I need to repeat something like this and I really want my audience to feel the emotion of violence, what can I do to make it successful? Do I have to adopt a different technique/style/approach, or is there something else I can do using my current way of drawing?

"Was that thunder?" "No, just my stomach..."

2010-09-28T13:15:00.000-04:00

I'm starving. It's so gross outside and I'm too cheap to pay for food from the cafe, so I'm just going to sit here for the next hour until class starts and pray that we get let out early so I can go home and chow down on a good PB&J or something.

For my narrative class today, I'll be presenting our homework assignments which were:

Create a character using the personality of one person you know and the physical features of another.
Create a character that is normal in every way except for one. This exception can me a super strength, weakness, etc.
Continue the 5-by-5-by-10 prompt you received from a fellow classmate.

I had more fun with the second assignment mostly because I did it about my old pet bird, Nayru. He passed away last summer, but I still miss his quirky self greatly. It's amazing how quickly 9 years go by.

For my story, one day, Nayru gets overly excited about a cup of strawberry pop my sister leaves on the counter. Constantly greedy for human food, he flutters over to take a sip. The taste of the carbonated drink overwhelms his senses - he just can't get enough! Too focused on gulping it down as quickly as possible, his footing slips and he falls in (this actually happened, by the way. He was red for over a week) and suddenly...!
He finds that he is transformed into a bird of fire! Donned with super powers and a sense of duty, he flies around the world righting wrong and being a symbol of peace and justice!

Cheesy, but whatever.

For the other one, I used my friend and cousin to make a rapping lumberjack.

And for the prompt, the one I got said "The next clue was more puzzling than the last three" with a picture of an envelop and words that say "What's red and blue and gray all over?"

For me, I immediately thought of directions and how complicated (and completely wrong) GPS devices can be.

I love my classes.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

2010-09-25T18:25:00.002-04:00

It seems that, with the fall season of school upon us, accompanied by piles of homework, suddenly everything interesting happens. I try to make time to get out to some events when I can though.
Today was the MICE (Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo) down at the Art Institute of Boston and it was pretty cool. Sweltering heat aside.

I went with some friends and got some cool cards and a book of cool rhymes written and illustrated by Kevin Shelly.

I wish I could get away with this kind of stuff.

I want to head back over there soon as a Sue Coe exhibit is going on till October.
There's also another gallery that I saw open up last week called the Green Side Up Gallery. It just looks interesting, so I might as well take a peek. It's also near my favorite pizza place, so... (:

But the MICE was cool and I'm bummed that I didn't have enough money to buy something from everyone.
Whenever I go to some comic event, memories of younger days dreaming about becoming a famous manga-ka artists living in Japan pop up.
Some days I still get an itch for doing comics, but most days, I'm not too confident about it.

To expand on my adventures, a new student gallery had an opening at my school a week or two ago, and I went with my old "partner in crime" to check out. I think we stayed for the entire time as it was a very pleasant opening.

So much to do and see, but hardly any time!

Something quick.

2010-09-22T11:10:00.003-04:00

We watched a movie of animated African and African-American children books that have won the Caldecott Medal Award in my Narrative Illustration class and this was one of them.
It's exciting too, because I'm taking an African Literature class and we've been discussing and learning about oral traditions. I love it. It makes me want to move over to Africa and become a storyteller.

Anyway. This tale titled "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears" (originally illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon) was such a visual treat, I had to share.

Hopefully this weekend, I'll be able to scan in some assignments I've been working on. It's been mad busy and I practically live in my studio.

A few days ago I sent this picture of my planner to my mom, saying "It's only been two weeks!"

She replied, "Yeah, you do have many many more days left until graduation."

Thanks for the reminder, mom. (:

Today alone I'm filling in at work, going to a meeting, and finishing a painting and hand sketches for tomorrow.
But I'm not complaining. Being busy is exciting!

back to the grind

2010-09-16T23:27:00.002-04:00

I don't think I have ever drawn these many hands within a 24-hour period...
This summer spent drawing with markers and colored pencils has payed off.
I'm much more confident with my lines, faster (to a certain point), and I often forget that I own an eraser.

I landed a studio space at school and I'm pretty excited about that. I'm in a little pocket with some friends back from my Illustration 1 class (that aren't with me now! boo!), so it'll be like old times again.

It's about that time.

2010-09-07T22:18:00.003-04:00

This past Friday, I got back from a trip to Michigan. I had a good time, but I had that "good day-bad day" exchange. One day I would have an awesome time hanging out with my friends. The next day I would slice my fingers open on hardened starch and the tire-rod on my car would snap. I'd have a smooth and timely flight, only to have the T ride back switch directions two stops before my home and thus force me to carry 70lbs of luggage on a 10-minute walk leaving me 15 minutes to get to work.
You know.
That normal stuff.

While there, I got a chance to meet one of my friend's friend who makes a lot of his own movies. He's still just a Junior in High School, but is such a professional and his work is really quite good. You can check out his youtube channel here. My friend Kristen and I helped and watched him film and direct a WWII-themed story.

Jonathan, the filmer/producer/story-boarder/script-writer/actor.

So there were these two Nazi's on a swing...

Unfortunately, having kids walking around in WWII uniforms sporting
swastikas garnered a lot of attention, but Kristen and I were there with the sign.

While at my sister's place, I was going through some old things and found this "inspiration" booklet I had to put together either my Junior or Senior year of AP Portfolio with artists and visual elements that we found inspiring. It was interesting to see how the things I liked back then were more or less, "highly decorated", but it hasn't been until recently that I've begun to make attempts at applying those elements into my own work.

Woooooooah.

2010-08-31T16:34:00.000-04:00

Breakbot - Baby I'm Yours (feat. Irfane) - HD from Ed Banger Records on Vimeo.

A music video made out of 2,000 hand-painted watercolor images.

I love seeing these kinds of collaborations.

Trying to keep it simple...

2010-08-17T22:10:00.005-04:00

I'm the little purple guy because things are looking up lately.
Or maybe I just like scaling the necks of outrageously tall deers for fun.

I've been cleaning up some pockets here and there and wanted a cleaner look.
2 days later...

Goodness me, as much as I sometimes enjoy making layouts from scratch, I wouldn't cut it as a web designer.
Aside from the inevitable increased decay of my eyesight, it took me over 2 hours to settle on the right font.
Palatino (Linotype) just wasn't working out.

Bad Dog No Biscuits

2010-08-13T23:38:00.004-04:00

I kinda feel like my childhood was just raped and then handed to me on a dirty platter with a bottle of prozac to accompany it.
Yeah. I just finished watching 'Where The Wild Things Are'.

I've been doodling a lot with colored pencils lately.

These colors shall be with me always and forever.

They're nice for something fast when you want to work in color, but don't have the right shade in a pen/marker.

News!

2010-08-07T17:22:00.004-04:00

HOT SNAP!

I'm a winner of CMYK's "Top 100 New Creatives" competition.
I submitted a few pieces and they ended up picking my lotus flower painting I posted a few months ago.
My friend Emily got in a piece too, so this is really great news!

Totally stoked!
I can't wait to buy a bunch of copies and mail them to my family. Aw man. I should celebrate with a cupcake. And then finish some paintings.

2010-07-28T14:55:00.002-04:00

A great message accompanied by great illustrations.
This is actually a subject I think about a lot when contemplating the ways of humanity. People just don't connect or care about each other like they used to. Until some kind of disaster happens.
And was happy to see a small article about empathy on one of my favorite sites The Art Of Manliness the other day.
Yes, I'm a girl, but I still find that site super cool.

I'm ashamed at not posting anything personal, but I'm almost done with a little thing called a constitution, so I feel a little accomplished. Ho hum.

2010-07-24T21:57:00.001-04:00

Just when you think life is getting heavy. And 2 (technically, 3) jobs are too tiresome.
You see stuff like that.
And go.
"Well dang."

I've got a fun DIY project in mind.
I just need to fully emerge myself in nature and go stick hunting.

Advice Post No. 5

2010-07-18T23:04:00.005-04:00

Well. I guess my quotes on all my blogs have decided to take a poo on themselves and become a garbled mess.
That's embarrassing.
Not sure how long that's been going on since I've been a bit inactive, but...I'll figure it out. For the mean time, please do not be alarmed or confused. There was once legible text there, that is still there, but not there once the post is submitted. Ya dig?
They...work...now...?

Anyway.
Funny story that I think is a good piece of advice.
My friend Emily and I have been making weekly trips together to the Haymarket for super cheap and fresh produce lately. Last week, we trudged through several inches of rainfall to get there. Because that's what we art kids do for you know, $2 watermelons and stuff we can make yummy things with.

This is getting off topic for the moment, but I got a huge bundle of basil yesterday for $2. Trying to find something to do with it, when I thought "If it's a plant, you can make tea out of it, right?" Logically, that doesn't apply to everything, but as I love making my own tea (I make a killer chai) I did some searching and lo-and-behold, basil tea.

I added cardamon pods, a teaspoon or so of sugar (for the whole brew) and some fresh lemon peel. Basil is a bit minty, and if you've ever tasted lemongrass, it's kinda like that. Supposedly, it's good for numerous things, including calming nerves and helping with insomnia. So, I will enjoy a glass before bed and we'll see if I can sleep at least 4 solid hours.
I guess the point is, if you've got some herbs and you're not sure what to do with it...make tea?

Afterwards, it was a nice day, so we hit up the library, got some smoothies, and walked through the park, talking about art stuff.
We were discussing finals and, more specifically, the last assignment from our illustration class. If anyone remembers, we had to do a three part story about something that happened or something we made up. She did one about an epic bird-eating plant.

If you can tell, the blues ARE a little off because she ran out of her Primacolor 'Deco Blue.' It was a very distressing moment. After class, I did my best googling only to link her to some sites saying it had been discontinued and several that listed some alternatives.
Yes, she used an alternative, but it's going to haunt her forever.
Because.
She told me that a few weeks ago, she was going through a bag of old colored pencils.
And wouldn't you know it. There it was. A deco blue. In all its full glory.

Honestly, I couldn't stop laughing because it was so completely terrible.
The fact of the matter is though, that media changes all the time. A formula here. A cheaper filler there. So my advice would be to, especially if you have one brand that you just exclusively love, stock and hoard it like WWIII is coming, make sure you always have enough of it to complete an assignment, or somehow learn to predict the future to tell if they're going to discontinue something.

While I would like to say, "Don't get stuck on one brand - always be looking for something better or similar" it's also the case of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
You just have to find a balance for yourself. Or suck it up and look for the next best thing when it's changed/discontinued. Not bitter about those erasers, Utrecht. Not bitter at all.

In other news, an interesting copyright issue has surfaced, this time involving an album cover for a current hipster favorite, Vampire Weekend.

It seems that the woman in the picture, now an older woman and a retired model is suing Vampire Weekend for 2 million for using this polaroid (which is stated to be non-work related) without her knowledge or permission. She said she's not sure how the picture got into their hands as her mother was constantly taking pictures, and apparently, back in the day, you could sell a bunch for a few bucks.
Nonetheless, a man who took the photograph has come forward saying that he has had the picture these past 25 years and sold it to VW.

The question here is if she's got a strong enough case or not.
On one hand you could say no because the man took the picture and therefore must own it so he can do what he wants with it.
On the other, it's an extremely intimate picture and I think, from what I think I remember, using photographs (and videos) containing people for commercial use is only allowed if it's a public/group setting and not something so isolated at this. You would have to (and should) get consent from the person(s) involved before it could be used.

I would like to keep tabs on this considering it's an interesting issue. There were a good deal of comments I read on various sites that made it seem that there's a general agreement or belief among a number of youths that all creative output is a grab bag for them to use as they please. One person went so far as to say that the woman should be thanking them for using her face for their album.

Uh...

I'm not fully knowledgeable about past lawsuits involved in the same thing or photography copyrights but because it's a very popular band associated with a sub-culture that is far to complicated to (or maybe it's all too simple...) analyze even the surface of their idiosyncrasies, I'm interested to see the kind of impact the outcome will make.

But, I think. Maybe. Perhaps. Mayhap. It's safe to say...Get yo money, gurl.

In the meantime. Kids. Fellow pioneers. Know your business.

2010-07-06T10:52:00.001-04:00

In order to truly control effect as much as possible, the visual composer must understand the complex ways the human organizer sees, and, through this knowledge, learn to influence response through the visual techniques.

- W. H. Auden

Books. Again.

2010-07-04T17:17:00.007-04:00

Heeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
So. Life. Is Life. Embarrassing and awkward yet completely hilarious as ever.
My roommates both have their mothers in from China so I've been entertaining. They don't speak a lick of English, but I can tell they like me. They make me food and tea and we're all going out on a picnic for the holiday.
Therefore, I guess Happy 4th.

I got an e-mail a day or so ago about a new book Steven Heller is coming out with titled 'POP: How Graphic Design Shapes Popular Culture' which looks pretty interesting and makes me wonder if the font was drawn last minute with a mouse.

Taking this all directly from Amazon...

Pop culture is often maligned as fleeting, but history shows that sometimes what is pop in one culture has time-honored resonance in later ones. This book is an attempt to show that pop culture, especially as seen through the lenses of design, illustration, satiric and political art (and other things), is integral to a broader understanding of who we are and where we are going.

—Steven Heller, from the Introduction

It certainly sounds interesting, in the least, and I've read several of Steven Heller's books, so it would certainly provide an interesting read. Just as long as Lady GaGa isn't mentioned...

I guess this would be a good time as any to do a final and long-put-off review/comment about A Primer of Visual Literacy that I mentioned a while back.
First off, I will say that my excitement did not make me blind and I agree with a review done on Amazon about how it was difficult to follow at times. There was really a lot of great information, but for certain chapters/paragraphs, I found myself re-reading several times, not sure if it was just my brain either wandering or unable to comprehend the mass of run-ons.

At the same time, it wasn't full of sensless art jargon like:

The viewer is allowed to challenge a counter-intuitive relationship while other artists are bogged down in redefining calculations usually seen as inventions of the fluxus movement.

That said.
When or if you can get passed all of that, it has some smart stuff. It's just a "primer" though, and it's far too small to go into a full detail, so on the whole, it's really just presenting basic questions, theories, ideas, psychological studies, etc. and anything afterward is discovered on your own time.
For me, it was exactly what I had been looking for to read, so I enjoyed it. The chapter about composition was one of my favorites. It gave some good information about how the eye follows a certain path and how the mind instinctively looks for balance, etc, etc, etc.
There was also a chapter describing "Techniques For Visual Communication"
Along with some examples and a short run-down, the list went:

Balance - Instability
Symmetry - Asymmetry
Regularity - Irregularity
Simplicity - Complexity
Unity - Fragmentation
Economy - Intricacy
Understatement - Exaggeration
Predictability - Spontaneity
Activeness - Stasis
Subtlety - Boldness
Neutrality - Accent
Transparency - Opacity
Consistency - Variation
Accuracy - Distortion
Flatness - Depth
Singularity - Juxtaposition
Sequentiality - Randomness
Sharpness - Diffusion
Repetition - Episodicity

Like 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain' there were exercises in it, but I skipped over those. I still plan on buying the book, so maybe once I do, I'll go back into it and complete them.
All in all, I know it's not the best book, but it's still pretty good and I'm happy I read it. (:

EDIT:

Another hour and I would have gotten the other half of the page. Fireworks and Mandarin conversations are pretty awesome.
But I need a scanner. Pretty badly. ANYONE HAVE ONE THEY'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND?

What is this generation?

2010-06-27T15:08:00.001-04:00

Desolee.

2010-06-24T23:36:00.002-04:00

Ugh.
I really don't like summer. Or hot weather. When the day comes, I'm saying "Florida? Bump that. I'm moving to Greenland."

Um.
In all honesty, access to a friends Netflix account combined with a knee injury isn't the best for staying focused.... :D I'm turning into a hardcore Akira Kurosawa fan.
I'm finally able to walk a decent distance though, so while I was at the library yesterday, reading some books, I found this quote that I thought was interesting:

Those who lose themselves in practice without any science are like sailors without a rudder or compass; they can never be certain of their goal.

-Leonardo DaVinci

I like quotes. And I feel like that's a rather true one.
Another I've been digging lately comes from one of my favorite musicians:

In our country it's desperately fashionable to be hopeless. Being positive is seen as showing naivety. But I don't feel hopeless. I feel hope is really necessary for us to evolve.

- Corinne Bailey Rae

My birthday is coming up in September, so maybe I'll put that on the quest list. Like "A book of quotes with wisdom I'll benefit from." I don't make a big deal about birthdays but if people insist, I prefer them to have fun when getting me stuff. A few years ago, I made a really strange list for my friends consisting of items such as "A leaf fallen from a broken tree," "A pebble from a gentle stream," "A flower from a hidden garden," etc. And I got all the items too. Except the pebble was more like a giant bolder that sat in front of my lawn....

Anyway. I remembered to scan this while at school.

Mostly just playing around. I hate how the green came out, but it's colored pencil on top of acrylic. I think I need to do a few pieces just using green because I can't seem to make it work. Whenever I look at it, I think of purple and when I think of those two combinations, I only see a certain green mass with purple expandable boxers.
This was for IlustrationFriday.com, but I didn't make the deadline in time. The word was "trail."
I can just imagine this little boy running up to his parents, "I didn't do anything! She just followed me home mom, I swear! Can we keep her? Can we please?!"

Humor

2010-06-15T23:09:00.004-04:00

via ffffound.

I'll admit. I pretty much know next to nothing about type aside from some jokes here and there.
But when I get it! I laugh!

Oh, but Comic Sans is fighting back... According to Timothy McSweeney's Short Imagined Monologues.

Taken From "I'm Comic Sans, Asshole":

Listen up. I know the shit you've been saying behind my back. You think I'm stupid. You think I'm immature. You think I'm a malformed, pathetic excuse for a font. Well think again, nerdhole, because I'm Comic Sans, and I'm the best thing to happen to typography since Johannes fucking Gutenberg.

Read the rest here »

I thought it was clever.

LOL, jay kay. You can't eat that!

2010-06-13T01:17:00.007-04:00

Ariel has been staying over at my place on the weekends since her job (well, now my job) is a 10 minute walk from where I live. We were truckin' the town last night and I suggested we try this place, Rice Bowl off Newbury street that I found a flyer for.

Dude.

If you know me, then you know that I am a sushi connoisseur and am always on the lookout for good food. All of that, for $7.50? Yeah. I can dig it. And it was good. I've had better, but I would certainly eat there again. Unfortunately for me though, there's only a handful of non-raw selections. There's always the full menu though.

I love how "food" is on its way to becoming a prominent word in my tag list.

Anyway. The last time I was at the library, I decided to explore around and found this little room that had a bunch of puppets and fun paintings.

I just thought it was nifty and I love stumbling upon random folk art.

Hm.

2010-06-10T13:30:00.005-04:00

trash it change it mail upgrade it

2010-06-07T16:56:00.007-04:00

Something quick, I guess. I really don't care for doing self portraits. I look rather bored. Maybe I'm contemplating the existence of the universe or how I just want to lay back and listen to Daft Punk all day.

This past week was basically one where you expect to do something, but it comes out completely different in an OK way.
Like the two whole days I spent coding a site.
Or the day Danielle, Gregg and I went to the park to sketch but ended up restaurant hopping and talking about Pokemon for 4 hours...And then directly afterwards, I met up with Ariel to go to "First Thursdays" down in JP.

I don't really know how long it's been going on, but I'm sad I didn't know about it sooner. Basically, a bunch of stores and galleries open up down in JP for a few hours. You can read more about it here: JP First Thursdays
But of course. We only made it to 3 places as we got there within the last hour because it was raining incredibly hard by the time we were ready to leave.

The only picture I got was of this one dude playing a banjo.

Come one, come all! Every Thursday down in JP!

Speaking of rain.
Yesterday, while I was at the MFA with Ariel and her friend to see a featured movie called "Peeping Tom" there just happened to be a torrential downpour. Which got into my room as I left my window open. And wet my bed, and floor, books on my desk, and a recent drawing I was working on. I set it aside to let the board dry, so hopefully it's still useable.

But the MFA had a new little wall up that was totally awesome. I can't remember the exact details, but some guy went to some schools and had a bunch of children make signs. And you know, whenever children and art are together, you get some real magic.

That Grand Valley Girl.

2010-05-31T10:56:00.004-04:00

This is my amazing friend Amanda. She was my neighbor eons ago and we have been best buddies since like, wut? 7?

As kids, we would play lots of video games, jump on my trampoline, and draw anime...We still sorta do that. Except I don't have a trampoline anymore. And we like to include books and romance as topics to our conversations.

She wants to be a news broadcaster and is currently doing an internship in Indianapolis. She also likes being a zombie every now and then. I am immensely proud of her and glad that we're still friends.

I (re)found this board that I had painted with left-overs forever-and-a-day ago and thought it fit.

Nothing really much else to say. I've been extremely tired lately, and I keep falling asleep whenever I try to buckle down on something. I took three naps the other day. And two yesterday. And still slept like a log last night.

Nonetheless, when I'm not falling asleep, I'm still going through the "A Primer of Visual Literacy" book and I'm still finding it very interesting. I have been wandering, considering it was written in the 70's, what would it contain or how different would it be if it was re-written today?

I added a "tags list" and am going back through each entry to make it easier to find stuff. Ho-hum.

Advice Post No. 4

2010-05-30T12:53:00.011-04:00

I'm a little disappointed.
And I feel that I need to share my disappointment.

I don't think you should have the right to call yourself "masking FLUID" if you're just going to sit there as a lump in my bottle.

Le sigh.
It's quite a problem considering I haven't even had that bottle for a year, I take excellent care of all of my products/materials, and it has one of those "tight" child-safety tops that you need to push and twist on.

For anyone who doesn't know what masking fluid is - it's basically latex in ammonia (so, use it in a ventilated area) that goes over an area that you don't want to be painted. I don't want to say that I use it a lot, but it's a very helpful time saver and keeps your work neat.

I don't feel like showing a specific demo, but here's a decently quick and good explanation about how to use it.

Some of my own personal discoveries:

Depending on the paper (like hot vs. cold press or illo board vs. watercolor paper) and how it absorbs the watercolor, if you put masking fluid on top of an area that you've already painted, it may end up lifting the color by a large or small margin. So. Plan accordingly.
It can be used for just about anything, even acrylic (if used in washes), but be careful as to how you go about getting it off. For example: depending on the kind of ink, it can smudge and ruin...everything, so you can use an eraser to go around the edges and then just peel it off if you want to be extra careful, but with watercolor, I find my finger works fine.
Because it dries quickly, it WILL ruin your brushes. My advice is to keep one designated brush for masking fluid and when using it, have a jar/cup of hot water and dishsoap to swish it in every few minutes and then another of plain water to get the soap out before you use it again. It may sound a bit tedious, but this is how I've kept the same masking brush for 3 years. Better than going out and buying more.
Even if it looks thin, it'll cover. But if it's too thick, it has a chance of bubbling over, creating holes for color to seep through, and won't dry as quickly which may cause even more problems.
It can be used with nibs! But make sure they're large-tip nibs! That's how I got my whites here.

So.
Here's my recommendation. For either the same price, or a little bit more, say 'Nay' to Utrecht.

And 'Yes' to Winsor&Newton.

ESPECIALLY their colorless one.
I don't know why they would even bother having two options as the colorless is the same price as the...non-colorless. But there is a difference, most noticeably between brands. The cheaper it is, the more yellow you're going to get on your crisp white paper. That can't be removed. No matter what.
So, go colorless. Unless you want yellowed paper.

I'm not completely ripping on Utrecht, because they do have some good quality things (like their brushes. Much better than Blick because the lacquer doesn't crack after one use...), but that's kind of a bummer, man.

This past friday, Ariel, Danielle, Kelsey, and I went to Space 242 for their latest opening.

Yes, hardcore. It was comic themed, and had some sweet work done by folks like Paul Ryan who does Batman for DC (whose work is most notably behind Ariel) and a lot of zombie themed things.
It was cool. We ran into Miss Dida Bee Quick who's doing an internship there as well.

But afterwards, we went to Allston to Peace o' Pie, and OMG. It's a pizza parlor. But a VEGAN pizza parlor.

I haven't been able to eat pizza in what feels like forever, so when I got a calzone the size of my head I pretty much ate it all. OM NOM NOM NOM!
So, my other advice. If you're ever in Allston. Check it out. Or if you're bored and willing to pay, let me know and I will be there.

On the way there though, we saw some pretty nifty things. Like plaques in the station made by children and another Shepard Fairey piece.

Oh, and also. I keep forgetting to post the result of my ink lightfastness test.
The first one was only the span of a month, while the second was...about a month and a half.
Before on the left and after on the right.

There isn't that much of a difference, but you can see how badly the last two suffered and the lack of brilliancy in all of the Winsor&Newton. Especially the green.

The blues actually held up pretty well, but they're starting to loose their intensity. I'm sure another month or so would gray them nicely.

Gonna get some more caffeine and get to reading and painting.

Not sure.

2010-05-28T01:28:00.007-04:00

So, yesterday, after I got myself a library card, purchased some tea, and dropped of my New York-Illustration trip photos to be processed, I spent time sitting in the bookstore.

And oh my gosh.
David Weidman.
Seriously? Seriously?

I am still in absolute awe.
And love. And guilt that I haven't heard of him sooner.
I was crazy not to buy his book while I was there, but I guess I can save about $5 if I order it offline.
I lovelovelovelovelove his use of color and just how playful and happy everything is. Just woah.

This is extremely random, but I think it's awesome how my thesaurus uses Cary Grant to describe the word 'epitome' and 'debonair'.
It's funny because it's true...

Um.
There were some others I wandered through (as I had an hour to kill) including one about some Japanese illustrators and Betty Edward's most recent book which is about color. I didn't get too much into it, I was distracted by something else, but I read her other two books which were very helpful. For me at least. After completing like...half of one, I saw a drastic difference in my drawings.

Two more books finally came in the mail the other day though, one of which was 'How To Grow As An Illustrator.' I'd been hearing things about it, seeing it pop up every now and then, so I decided to give it a go, and wouldn't you know who I saw within the first 13 pages.

Yup. My teacher, The Great Bakal himself.
I think this calls for a high-five.

I always get excited when I see people I know in publications and such.
Recently, my digital illustration teacher was featured in a local paper that you can read about here: Hull artist creates a ‘painting a day,’ for art’s sake.
She deserves a high-five too.
I dunno. It just makes me super stoked.

Anyway.
I was hesitant to get my film processed, because most of the places around that do film now a days process digitally which doesn't get the best results, but...for about $8 a pop, it's not too bad, I guess. And I can get a "fancy" matte finish with borders at Ritz Camera.
I'm no professional, and I've got a Nikon point-and-shoot that's almost as old as I am, but I love it because it's simple and you get something unexpected. Like how the colors come out as it makes up for the lack of light.

I need to find some mountains to photograph.

There's something really important I wanted to share, but I can't remember.
Maybe some sagely advice about life?
Um.
Life. It's like this.

Cover Art

2010-05-24T21:20:00.010-04:00

So, I need to geek-out one more time.

I just finished watching "Une Femme Est Une Femme" (which was totally ace and needs to be on my shelf) as I've been on a Criterion Collection kick for a while.
Aside from having a great collection of films, their cover art. WOW! If only every movie could have such great designers for their covers, we wouldn't have so many fails showing up on Photoshop Disasters...

Anyway.

More Books!

2010-05-23T23:59:00.011-04:00

OK. I need to geek-out for a moment.
So, I'm only on page 13 of this book, A Primer of Visual Literacy, that I picked up from school and I'm just so stoked already, I need to share.

Art, and the meaning of art, the form and function of the visual component of expression and communication, have changed sharply in the technological age without a corresponding shift in the aesthetic of art. As the character of the visual arts and their relationship to society and education has shifted dramatically, the aesthetic of art has become more fixed, anachronistically locked into the notion that the primary influence in the understanding and forming of every level of visual message should be based on non-cerebal inspiration. While it is true that all information, input and output alike, must be strained at both point through net of subjective interpretation, this consideration alone would make of visual intelligence something of a tree falling noiselessly in an empty forest.

And that's just the preface!!

They make it clear that the point of the book isn't to "propose that a simple or absolute solution exists for the control of a visual language" but rather to "suggest a variety of methods of composition and design that recognize the diversity of the structure of the visual mode."

Like I said, I'm only on the 13th page, and have discovered some really great points.

The contemporary view of the visual arts moves beyond the polarities of "fine" and "applied" art to the questions of subjective expression and objective function and again has tended toward the association of the individual interpretation with creative expression belonging to the "fine arts" and the response to purpose and use belonging to the "applied arts." ...Frequently, an artists or a sculptor must modify a work because he has received his commission from a patron who knows exactly what he wants. Michelangelo's long wrangles about his commissions from two Popes are the liveliest and most descriptive examples of the problem an artists as in controlling his subjective notions in order to please a patron. And yet, no one would consider "The Last Judgement" or "David" commercial works. ...Who would question this mural as authentic "fine art," and yet, it has a purpose [to tell the Biblical stories to those who were illiterate] and utility that contradict the definition of the so-called difference between fine and applied art: "applied" art should be functional and "fine" art without utility. This snobbish attitude influences many artists on both sides of the fence and created an atmosphere of alienation and confusion. Oddly enough, it is a fairly recent development...This attitude removes art from the mainstream, gives it an aura of being special and petty, reserves it for an elite, and so negates the true fact of how it is struck through our lives and our world. If we accept this point of view, we abdicate a valuable part of our human potential.

But wait! There's more!

Perception and kinesthetic forces, physiological in character, are vital to the visual process. How we stand, move, keep our balance, protect ourselves; the way we react to light and dark or to sudden movement are factors in how we receive and interpret visual messages. All of these responses are natural and operate without effort; we do not have to study them or learn how to do them...There is a basic, perceptual visual system, one that all human beings have in common; but the system is subject to variations, variations on basic structural themes...One thing is certain. Visual literacy cannot ever be a clear-cut logical system similar to language.

If I keep going, I'll end up retyping the whole book.
Basically, everything I have been thinking about and looking for to study, but unable to put it into words, seems to be in this book. I am absolutely fascinated with understanding how to use those unconscious, (for most), psychological, visual cues, especially when it comes to color and composition. There's so much information that the eyes see, the brain processes to understand, but doesn't bother to clarify to your conscious. It's like...why you feel a certain way wearing that colored top or being in a room painted a certain shade. It's like reading body language, the directional focus of a glance, and the dilation of a persons eyes to tell how they feel (or hey, if they're lying to you). You know it, and you see it, but you don't know that you know, so it just is. You dig what I'm putting down?
Considering the function of illustration, having that knowledge is sure to make your work that much more successful. I don't think it's safe, or smart, to always rely on intuition. If I was to ever write anything about visual literacy, it would be everything that's already in this book.
I'm really excited about finishing it and I really hope that it doesn't disappoint. If anything, it'll be an interesting read, but so far, it definitely has been serving it's purpose as a "primer." Even if we were only required to read the first chapter, these are the kinds of theories, practices, questions that should be exposed to students, especially art students, early on in school. In my opinion at least.

It's pretty straight-forward and not full of Art Jargon, which it good..
A month or so ago, I was trying to read about this "movement" called "Novorealism" [<- click if you dare] and just got completely lost. Maybe it was because I was half asleep in Digital, or because it read rather l33t, or every time the word 'Novorealism' came up, it was in all caps, but...It wasn't working out for me.

It had a nice painting attached to it though.

"Maasai Woman" by Scott Burdick

Anyway. I should get back to reading.

something a little new.

2010-05-21T23:33:00.006-04:00

So, I decided to pull out my rust HTML skills and do some re-vamping.
Nothing major though.

But! I finally got to the ICA yesterday with Ariel.
The exhibits were pretty cool, but I expected it to be much bigger.
Still, I got some fun shots hanging out near the water using my panorama setting.

My split-top desk finally came yesterday too and I felt a little bored, so I put it all together with a pocketknife.

Yes.

There's something liberating and refreshing in simplicity.

I seem to be on a roll too, because I scored a sweet job with the History and Liberal Arts office at school.
It starts in July though, so that means I still need to be looking for something else.
Poopoo, I just want to be lazy. ):

Success!

2010-05-16T15:10:00.002-04:00

Hehehehehe~

I haven't really done much these past few days. After about 12 trips from the dorms to my new place, I finally have moved in and since then, it's been busybusybusy. On my first day, I spent several hours organizing (which isn't done) and my new roommates, Niki and Ivy, made me dinner following a movie afterwards. Then yesterday, Ivy and I went around shopping after I went desk-hunting and she had some friends over where I taught everyone how to make sushi.
It was delicious.

But it was a beautiful day out. A very clear sky.

And while we were browsing and window shopping, we came across some gallery, called the Rolly-Michaux Galleries off Darthmouth and Newbury Street.

Surprisingly, there's tons of really small galleries up and down Newbury street, so I plan on getting back there soon to stop at each one.
The Rolly-Michaux was rather small, but, as I found while I was shmoozing talking to one of the gallery owners, they house and showcase a lot of Joan Miro work, some of which I was able to get a peak at in their office.

Hopefully, I'll get to do some painting/drawing soon. I'm in search of a desk first as the floor isn't the best place to paint, but I think I found a good and decently priced one to order offline.

Ok, it's officially over.

2010-05-12T22:29:00.013-04:00

So. Reviews were today. I personally find it funny how much people freak out about them. It's not that I don't care, because really, I do find it helpful to get more input on my work, but...I guess I just wasn't worried about them.
I did get some good feedback though.

But, I braved up and included my lotus painting.
I've kinda been keeping it under wrap, for more personal and paranoid reasons, but I digress.

So, this is my "happy accident" painting that I did last month or so ago that Bob Ross could be proud of.
Intending to do something completely different, I was painting over a failed watercolor&gouache painting with white when some blue and purple underneath started to bleed through. Deciding that it kinda looked interesting, I just went with the flow and started adding in some yellow and magenta. Eventually, this huge, towering, pink blob took form and kind of reminded me of a lotus, so I just went with it again and it ended up looking pretty cool.
For me, it says 'spontaneous' and...being the analytical person I am, it's something that I look at often as I want to try and understand how to re-create that feeling without exactly being spontaneous. I think I've been getting pretty close to understanding it though. Only more painting will tell.
I'm not sure if I'm making sense with my words, but it makes sense in my head.
I guess this is me agreeing with Degas when he said, "In art, nothing should look like chance, not even movement."

There's just that feeling. And I've been keeping my eye out for anything similar. I don't know if it's something I'd use consistently, but it would still probably help me get more "movement" into my work.

(Last 2 are Bob Peak)

While I'm not trying to pick on their process of reviews, I think it would be more...effective for us students if we had one-on-one's with the Illustration Faculty.

If you really think about it, what sounds more logical: making judgements on what you see or what you hear directly from the artists?

Personally, I find that I have a much deeper respect and understanding of a persons artwork after hearing them explain their process and their thoughts behind it.

Aside from that, I've spent most of the day hanging out with Emily and Danielle as Danielle had some hours to kill before heading out to a burlesque. I do find it a little sad that within these last few weeks, I've been making more connections with people, but Danielle and I both agreed that if we were better friends earlier on, we would be so much trouble in class that we'd have to sit on opposite ends of the room. But we'd find ways around it...That may or may not involve cans and string.
It was hilarious today because Danielle did a drawing of Scott in her sketchbook (all in good jest, of course, in her own special way), and I mention that he's probably going to see it. So, she kinda freaks out, and said that she should start running away now. As she was mentioning that he'd catch up as she probably weighs more than he does, we suddenly see him walking out of the elevator and loose it. I'm on the floor laughing and everyone's just staring at us.
We were so goofy today, I love it. But, uh. Sorry Professor.

Anyway.

I've just been seeing random things around the city and we took my first trip to the Boston Public Library. SO COOL. Sadly though, the area that had a bunch of Sargent work was closed off. But there was still some nifty art and architecture to be seen.

Metaphorical Music

2010-05-11T02:51:00.004-04:00

I feel like I've spent more time outside than inside these past few days.
Which isn't a bad thing, because it has mostly been artistic excursions and I like getting out when I can.

Friday, I, more or less, accidently slept in and found my way to Park Street station with my friend Ally to meet up with my other friend Danielle and then mosey on over to Space 242. 4 hours later, I'm sitting in the Pozen for a SIM show, playing Mario Kart 64 on a broken screen, full of curry fries from a local pizza joint, and aching sides from laughing all day.

But the show at 242 "Get Your Freak On" was really cool.

I still have a goal to see and photograph every Shepard Fairey piece I can find around Boston. So far, I've found 4.

A sweet mosaic at Park Street station. Totally a good one for my "Boston Art" folder.

Don't know who's been doing it, but I've seen many more of these up and down Huntington.

Some of the performance art of the SIM kids.

Luckily for me, it rained all day the next day, so I was truly forced to stay inside and finish up my Illustration assignment.

Over-all, while some things could be tweaked, I really like them. I feel that I would have gotten it done sooner if I wasn't struggling so much to see what I wanted to do though. But a big shout-out to Google Maps! I was way excited to be able to find my old house that I was at when the storm happened.
When I finished, it was about 9PM and I ended up taking a walk to stretch things out...which landed me at a 'Pho and I' for some great take-out. Nothing like a good meal for a hard days work!

I'm sad that Illustration 1 is over, that school is over, but we had a good last day. I got pizza for the class and made Scott-Bakal-Facial-Hair for everyone to wear. Good times. Still waiting for Sam to upload the photos.
But yeah. It still really hasn't registered with me that school it out. I don't know why. But I do know that this has been the best school year ever and for once, I enjoyed every second of it. I'm really glad that I took a chance and applied to MassArt. I still can't recall exactly how I found out about this school, but good thing I did!

The Senior Illustration show was going on today after class, so I stopped by there with Ariel and spent a good hour and a half talking to people and looking at artwork.

...I miss this.

But Ariel, being the SIM kid she is, invited me to some experimental beat show going on down in Cambridge. I hadn't eaten since 11AM though, so we stopped at this Indian market/restaurant called 'Dosa Factory'. Waaaaay good.

Hanging out with Ariel is always an interesting experience. She can be such a child sometimes, in a good way. I never know what she's going to say or do, but I think that's what I like best about her. But I think she only likes me because I play bass guitar and she has some uncanny fascination with bass players. Ha, ha, ha.

But the show was pretty cool. Lots of very experimental videos and hip-hop beats. I'm beginning to meet more people within SIM than my own major though! I did a quick sketch of the environment as it had a nice setup, but I'm too tired to bother uploading it.

All the beats have gotten me in a good mood, so here's a song by one of my favorite beat mixers, Nujabes. He's Japanese, but has done some great work with American underground hip-hop artist like Five Deez and Cyne. I just absolutely love his music.

You know how you always have that "The Soundtrack of My Life" list? Don't lie, I know you do.

Well. Nujabes can easily fill mine up. Unfortunately, I'll no longer get to hear any new beats as he passed away in a car accident back in February.