Lonely

So, this past semester I dropped my computer and the flash drive ports on one side got all mashed up and unusable. Then my disc drive doesn't read any CDs I put in it. So now it's been sent off for repairs. The hard drive is still with me, but the rest of it is on the way to some distant land of computer tech support.

I . . . miss it.

Here's hoping it shows up in time, that is, before I get on the plane, schoolward bound. If it arrives after me, then my parents will have to send it on and it'll take days to get there and I will be without my dearly cherished laptop.

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Saw the trailer for Iron Man 2. I really, really want it to be May right now. If it were May then the movie would be out and I would have watched it twice.

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Obviously not much is going on right now, and this is a lackluster post. I suppose I'm not feeling very upbeat right now. You know, just general despair about life and art. Lack of people to talk to, away from my friends. Blah, blah, blah. The general mixed blessings of breaks from school. Sure, no class or homework, but no friends, movie nights or making dinner for a crowd. I'll go eat some of those Christmas chocolates and cheer up.

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That reminds me, Merry Christmas! And Happy New Year! Hope your holidays were enjoyable and that the coming year is even better than the last.

Meet My Friends

The imaginary ones, anyway. I've been doing some drawings of characters from the stories I write, and I thought they're turning out rather well. Keep in mind, these are all works in progress and not yet completed.

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First off, this is Vanessa Lynn.

She's friendly, I swear! Sixteen years old and a powerful sorceress, she is a supporting character in one of my stories. The story is going through a big overhaul right now, so it doesn't have a title at this time. Obviously a fantasy, hopefully an original one.

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This guy is called Matthew from the story, "Overdue". Which, by the way, exists in the same world as Vanessa's story.

Man, he doesn't look very friendly either. He's usually much more cheerful and snarky, and lots of fun to be around. He lives in the mountains and has a fascinating back story which I won't tell you about because it would give away all the twists.

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Now, for someone who actually looks cheerful, Andrew Furlen.

He's a wizard in my story, "Silent Stone". He has a rather deadpan sense of humor and usually pretends to be vague and unfocused so people won't bother him.

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Meet Gray, The Gatekeeper,

Also from "Silent Stone", he is a personification of the magical protection of the palace. He was created centuries ago and then someone lost the user manual, apparently, so not much is know about him or how he works. He is programed to intervene if the royal family or the other palace inhabitants are in immediate danger, but not until then.

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He's not Asian, by the way, I'm just trying out a kimono sort of outfit, trying to get a balance between them and the usual wizard's robes. And maybe give him a hat.

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So, how am I doing?

Something Different

It has been some time since I posted anything to do with my digital coloring and I might as well, since I have improved significantly in the intervening time.
First off, here is a picture I use as my ID online. Ignore the text, it isn't important and needs to be updated.

It's supposed to be a skin-like mask that makes the face look somewhat blank, but still have hints of the features underneath. It's rather fun to color. Here's another example of the same character:

I really liked how this one turned out (above), I think the face looks good and the hands aren't too bad either. I used to avoid drawing hands, so I always feel satisfied when my character has both hands showing and in fairly believable poses.

Now, for a bit of a dynamic piece:

These are all my original character, Currer Bell. He's not meant to be an author avatar of any sort, he's just fun to draw. At the moment most of my completed pictures are of Currer Bell, or of my sister's original character, Jay:

Or sometimes both of them together:

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These pictures are drawn by hand, scanned into the computer, then colored in photoshop. I've been doing this for about six months and having much fun.

How I Spent My Fall Break

Fall break was over going on two weeks now, so I thought I'd take a look at that long ago vacation and post some pictures. First off, an example of what I was doing during those blissful four days.

Yes, that is a skull in the middle of my painting project. I set up all my various painterly implements on a table and worked there on and off all break. The skull's name is Yorick, by the way. He's been a great help to me, especially with my current project. Speaking of the Grim Tea Party:

Here's the progress. Truthfully, I've done quite a lot of work since I took this picture. A couple of the pictures (strawberry and green eyes) are entirely different at this point. More pictures will be posted later, promise.

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My next project is probably going to be in the abstract. I decided to do realism for the tea party, since it took me outside my comfort zone and forced me to take a different approach. I was planning to do another series, a continuation of this one, but with time issues, I've decided just to do three abstracts. However, they're inspired by this series, for instance, there'll be one with orange slices and probably one with fruit loops.

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Honestly, no abstracts the whole semester? I'm going through withdrawal.

Fall Break

The break is Fall and Fall is broken. School is out until Monday. Both my roommates have gone home and so I reign supreme within my apartment, free to do . . . everything I usually do just without people watching. Really, I'm already bored.
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Midterms have come and gone with fairly good grades, of which I have no complaints. My graphic design teacher said I needed to be edgier in my artwork, and in Print Making he said I needed to be looser, less precise, as the medium (lino cut) isn't suited for precision. Here's some examples of my work.

I know, flowers, boring. Give me a break, I was sick and creatively stifled. I'm reworking the plates, so expect great things.

I think orange slices are my new thing. I have a few shapes and objects I use a lot, including webbing and paper fans. Orange slices just got added to the list.

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In other news, I had the flu and it hit me real hard. Missed a lot of class, but I caught up with all of it and my absences were excused. All absences due to flu-like symptoms of excused since the swine flu/H1N1 scare is still in effect. Lucky me.

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My previously mentioned project (the painted series, The Grim Tea Party) is progressing very nicely and I should have photos of the works in progress by tomorrow or the day after. I keep forgetting to bring a camera up to the painting classroom.

Long Time No Babble

Hello my loyal Blog Minions! The lapse in posts was caused in part by my life being unnoteworthy and then by the business of packing my unnoteworthy life in hollow cardboard cubes and entrusting them to the You-Pea-Ess. Now I have returned to school and just finished retrieving all the cubes from the mailroom.

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This semester I am in Painting 4. This would be of no particular interest except that I am the only Painting 4 student on campus at this time. The rest are in either Painting 1 or 2. I've been dropped in among the number twos and told to write up a proposal instead of getting assignments.

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Just recently I had discovered the artist Wayne Thiebuad. His is the picture at the beginning of the post. Most of his artwork consists of cakes, pastries and other delicious food items depicted in luscious detail. Since I want to practice my realism and the more technical side of drawing, I found Thiebaud's work the perfect inspiration.

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But how to make it my own?

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What if . . . there was this cookie. Chocolate chip, I think, beautifully rendered. Moist, delicious . . . being held by a horrible monster shadow hand.

Now I'm calling the project "Grim Tea Party". There will be nine to twelve panels, all 8x10 inches, with corresponding images in all of them. The center panel will be a desolate asphalt road with a beautifully set tea table smack in the middle. There will be no color except for some bright lollipops in a vase.

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Pictures of my progress will be posted now and again. I'm looking forward to trying such a different project and doing it all on wood panels instead of canvas for a change.

News Flash

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Hello to anyone who reads this blog. Whoever you are, stop being so darn quiet and comment on something so I know you're there. It's kind of creepy not knowing whether you're alone or not. Darn lurkers.

I like to know if my cartoons make you laugh, or if you think they are perfectly horrible. So, please, if you have something to say, say it. Thank you.
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The actual reason for this post is that I am setting up another blog. I plan to post all my cartoons and stuff at that one, keeping this blog for my usual rants and artwork. Here's the address: http://theinjoke.blogspot.com/

This is another futile effort to keep my life organized. After I started losing track of which comics I posted and if I posted them here or on DeviantART, I decided it was time for a little reorganization. So far I've created the new blog, but I haven't posted anything on it yet. I'd better sign off and go work on it.

DMV Blues

Second time's the charm. At least it is as far as my drive test goes. The second time I've taken it and the first time I've passed. Huzzah. The first time I took the test I was woefully lacking in practice and very uncomfortable operating a vehicle. I focused so much on not bumping the car as I exited the parking lot that I did not spot the pedestrian on the sidewalk and . . . so much blood . . .

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That is, I gave the pedestrian a scare, but came nowhere near actually hitting them. Of course, I mentioned this to my mom when we discussed why I had bombed the test. In her repetition of the story she exaggerated the details until she was saying that I had barely missed running down a little old lady with a walker. My vague memories of that tragic drive test seem to tell me that the person was young, upright, and probably Hispanic. Possibly female.

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Right now I have my temporary license and my nice shiny one is coming in the mail. But I have no car. Or anywhere to go. Which isn't much fun. I want to drive somewhere all by my lonesome at least once before I head back to college and carelessness. My dad might let me have the car Friday, when he isn't working. My mom won't let me anywhere near the driver's seat of her van. In fact, she wouldn't get in the car if I were driving. We seem to have some trust issues.

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I suppose while I'm here I might as well talk about my roommate issues. Actually, I just lost the will to type, so I'm going to go color on photoshop. Ah, but first I must add another picture to this post. I already put it up on DeviantART, but I forgot I don't have it up here. Meet Trevor.

This is the beginning of the story of Trevor, the needy robot. I didn't put too much effort into the art this time, but look for improvement as time goes on.

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This was inspired by a true story, told to me by my brother. Somewhere scientists created an actual hugging robot. A lone female scientist was working late one night and when she tried to leave, the robot stood in front of the door and every time she got near it, it would hug her.

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So, trapped inside the lab, the scientist had to call one of her co-workers to come and turn the robot off. The switch was on its back, out of her reach. The robot had never done this to anyone else, just her.

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She doesn't work in the lab alone anymore.

Green Lantern

Everybody who knows who Green Lantern is, raise your hands. Oh, wait, nobody reads this. Well, I'll just pretend people do.

Green Lantern is a DC comics character. A Green Lantern has a power ring that is charged regularly in a . . . green lantern, and the ring can do just about anything the wearer is capable of imagining, limited only by the user's willpower. A very powerful device. Of course, it needed its kryptonite, so the writers made it weak to the color yellow.

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Yes, the color yellow.

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Anything yellow could not be effected by the ring's constructs. Yes, the Green Lantern's weakness is Big Bird in a school bus. Or butter. Pineapple chunks. Buttercups. Corn. Lemon Gummi Bears. Also, in explanation of my picture, he was often hit over the head with yellow objects, such as the normally harmless household lamp.

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Thank goodness the writers eventually changed that. Though it is changed, I doubt any comic book reader has forgotten.

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The most well known Green Lantern is Hal Jordan, though there have been three or four others. Hall Jordan is the lantern chosen for the lead in the upcoming Green Lantern film. Right now it seems as if Ryan Reynolds has been cast in this part. My sister is not a fan of Reynolds and therefore much dismayed, as evidenced by the email she sent me, written entirely in caps. Why the outrage? Well, this goes back to the recent past. Also, to do with the fact that my sister is a huge fan of Deadpool and Hal Jordan.

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X-men Origins: Wolverine. Ryan Reynolds is cast as the "Merc with a Mouth", mercenary Deadpool. The only thing you need to know about Deadpool is that he never shuts up, is almost utterly insane, and is hilariously funny in a hyper way. Aside from the movie having Deadpool's mouth literally sewn shut, faithful Deadpool fans had their complaints. During the, oh, two minutes of Reynolds screen time with a mouth he was completely deadpan and calm. This caused many fans to cry, "This is not MY Deadpool!"

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Therefore the general trepidation about Reynolds in the Green Lantern role. I, for one, am keeping an open mind. This is a completely different role than that of Deadpool. Hal Jordan is a calm person, upright, and completely sane (except for that time he was possessed by Parallax, but never mind). Judging from how calm Reynolds was as Deadpool, he'll probably do well as Hal Jordan. Also, by taking this role he might possibly be unavailable to play Deadpool in the spinoff film. Win win!

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About the picture . . . I mainly did it to tease my sister. After finding a similar image in one of the Green Lantern comic books I decided to make this picture and its caption and send it to my sister. She says the colors are good, it looks like a centerfold, and she hates me.

On and on

Still working in photo shop. I'm trying to improve my coloring and shading, focusing on that and leaving fancy backgrounds aside for the moment. The coloring on this one shows marked improvement, I think, but not a lot of varied texture. I'll post a picture again when I can jazz up the textures a bit more. Maybe make the hair look different from the coat, you know?

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Right now I have two thick volumes of comics, Fantastic Four and The Green Lantern. They're older and these volumes were printed in black and white. However, they were originally in color. Black and white suits my purposes, though, as I'm copying poses from them for practice. Jay's pose here is thanks to Mr. Fantastic hanging onto a building for dear life. Mind you, I don't trace, I copy freehand. Also, I have to completely change the faces, outfits, and hair. Also, in this case, gender.

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Jay's design has been tweaked a little bit. There's a belt added, for more color, and the boots are higher, also for more color. Her imagine was getting a bit boring to color with only that orange triangle to contrast the blue. Have yet to get my sister's input on the changes. Hopefully she approve of what I've done with her character.

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Suppose I should mention, but Jay is falling not flying. Jay is impervious to most damage, strong, able to jump extraordinarily high, but she cannot fly. My sister and I have made a sort of rule about arbitrarily giving our heroes the gift of flight. Nearly every superhero out there has the ability to fly, one way or another and it gets a bit boring and whenever a character doesn't fly you feel as if they are at a huge disadvantage. So Jay doesn't get to fly.

Beware

Non-stop fun here, playing in Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 point 0. Coloring in a ton of sketches, and even drawing a few new ones. I'm playing with backgrounds and after I put the brick pattern in this picture I just had to add the graffiti. Now it sort of looks as if Jay and Currer are painted on there as well.

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I really need to work on my texture, though. Anyone know of any good tutorials for that sort of thing? Really, everything is beginning to look a bit alike, the clothes having the same smoothness as the skin.

Introducing . . .

Toothpick Man! A character belonging to my good friend Anna. Being such a good friend she has allowed me to do some sketches of him. This possibly isn't the finalized version of him, seeing as Anna requested he have "more toothpicks sticking out of non-painful places". Well, I added some, but she may want more. All I can think is that he must snag his cape a lot. I ripped off Superman and Captain America for costume ideas. Do you think it shows?

I have been having an absolute blast on Adobe Photoshop Elements. This might be my best shading job yet. I keep finding new ways to use the tools more effectively and hopefully my work is improving.

I must say, that cape rocks.

Now in Color!

Once again, I bring you the original characters of Jay and Currer . . . now in Color!

My mom kindly purchased a photoshop program for me when I got home this summer. It was only yesterday afternoon that I finally installed the program. Suddenly, yearning for color, I took a scan of one of my sketches and opened it in Photoshop. Some time later, this picture was the result.

My first ever use of the photoshop coloring. I may be addicted. I've used photoshop programs before, but only on actual photographs, for a class. Never have I done coloring or shading on it before. Now I'm wondering why I didn't install the thing sooner.

It turned out pretty good. My sister says I got the coloring wrong on Jay's jacket (she would know, seeing as Jay is her character) and that is "makes her question her faith". Really? Again?

A side-effect of my sudden and inexplicable photoshop addiction will be more colored pictures popping up on my blog. I may even start coloring the In Joke comic strips. Maybe good coloring will make up for poor line art and cryptic humor.

My Head. Scarey Place.

So, while I'm off at college I learn how to place some card games. Rummy, and another one I forget. Also, Uno. Never played it before. My roommate practically forced me to join the game and learn. Now I'm hooked. Had to buy my own set of cards when I got home this summer. So, naturally, I introduced my family to the game.

Uno can be a rather . . . bloodthirsty game. Those unfamiliar with the cutthroat way often times leave in tears. Then, however, they adapt and become the most fearsome predator in the game. Namely, my sister.

Now in Semi-Color because otherwise no one could tell it was blood!

And, yeah, always knock audibly when entering a sibling's room at night. Otherwise you get shot in the face. True story.

Says something about my childhood

The In Joke #9

My Internet friend (DarthVicky6) has learned how to push my idiot button. All she did was post a single word on my profile: "YOU" and this is more or less what happened. Except at the end she said, "Lol, that's awesome."

My Dad laughed.

Mom is wondering if she should be offended.
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Anyway, nothing much new with life. Doing some painting, some drawing practice, and gloating over my ten brand new painting canvases. They're about 8x10 and make a lovely neat little stack in my room. I almost hate to paint on 'em. I'll do it anyway, though. It's part of my get rich quick scheme which involves selling pictures of saints.

Progress? Yah, Really

I've been thinking about how much work I have to do before I could even begin working on a comic book. My skills with drawing backgrounds are nearly non-existent and my ability to convey motion in still pictures is still weak. So far I'm best at static poses with the characters pretty much just standing there, looking into the camera.
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Before I got too mopey I went and looked at some of my older drawings and sketches done about five months ago. The picture at the top of this post is one of them. Looking over them I realized that I am making progress. I am improving. Just glance at this picture then look over at my other posts and you can tell the difference. A very significant difference.
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This picture (of a fellow named Matthew) has so many problems. First off, this was done before I had any skill at drawing hands, so the poses usually served to hide their hands altogether. He does have one hand extended, but I barely scribbled that in and the other is hidden behind his back.
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Not sure what is going on with his shirt collar, which is way too high up on his neck. Then the hair. Oh, mercy me. It had no real shape and makes his head look flat. I do believe this picture was done before I started sketching in the entire head and not just the face before adding hair.
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There is a second picture, the bottom one. This one was done just the other day, of the same character. They are only a few face studies, not a full body one like the other, but I think it gets the point across. The whole shape of the head is improved and the hair has form instead of being flat. As well, the facial features are more detailed and expression more natural.
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I suppose it also helps that now I ink my pictures and scan them into the computer, rather than just taking snapshots of them.

SuperSpoof

Toothpick Man (left) and Zatman (right)

Toothpick Man belongs to my friend, Anna. After drawing this picture of him I think he's sort of a combo of Captain America and Superman. Upright, honest, do-gooder with a toothpick obsession. Naturally, this meant we needed a dark and edgy Batman counterpart. Therefore, we arrive at Zatman. No, not that guy, Zatman. To the Zatmobile! Really, the only reason we named him that was because Zat rhymes with Bat.

Not Just My Fault

My friends and I spent one night talking extensively about the subject of superheros and comic books. Poking fun at them was more enjoyable than whapping a piñata around. Many hilarious ideas were thought of, recorded in nearly incoherent and illegible scribbles in my sketch book.

Seeing as it is summer vacation and I have some time I thought I would do some sketches for the characters created that evening. Remember, these are not finalized characterizations. Already I'm planning to make better scalloping on T-man's shell . . .

These two are Tortoise Man (left) and Dashing (right). Tortoise Man is our universe's counterpart to Iron Man. T-man is indestructible and invulnerable when his personally designed Tortoise armor. The chink in his armor? He weighs so much he can barely move. Then there's the problem of when he gets tipped over onto his back . . . You know, Tortoise Man, after all.

Dashing is our speedy character. Such as Marvel comics Flash or DC's Quicksilver. Dashing is faster than the speed of light and would be a most efficient crime fighter except for one thing: He's a narcissist. If he passes a mirror, window, or any reflective surface he stops to admire himself.

Maybe someday we'll do a comic book about Dashing, Tortoise Man and all their friends in the Stupendous League.

I Just Can't Stop Writing

The In Joke #7

Never gonna ask my sister about her day ever again.

The In Joke #8

Which is the man and which is the mask, hm? And Stebbins is such a funny name.

I blame--dedicate this cartoon to my sister.

V for Victory

A for Arrival. Or Accomplishment. I've made it home and so the summer begins.

7:30 yesterday morning (Kansas Time) I checked out of my apartment and got on the shuttle to the airport. Got there about 8:30 for my flight that was boarding at 9:50. I was down with that. A little nap would be nice before I got on the plane, since I'd been up very late the night before. So I catnap in the lounge until 9:50 rolls around and they announce . . .

Flight Delayed.

Okay, I can handle that. There's a lightning storm going on between here and my layover destination, Dallas, and the plane can't fly through it. The speakers tell us that our flight will board at 11:15. Okay. Sooo, 11:00 rolls around and they announce over the speakers that . . .

Flight Delayed. Boarding at 12:00.

I call home to tell my mom I still haven't made it out of Kansas, even though I should have been in Texas by now, and thereby halfway home.

12:00 the lady behind the desk speaks into the microphone to tell use that the flight will begin boarding at 1:00. Everyone in the lounge laughs. We hadn't really expected them to keep their word. They still didn't keep their 1:00 promise, since we suddenly began boarding at about 12:15. Finally.

Oh, but this was not the end of the nightmare for me! While my connecting flight had also been delayed, the stewardess had no information about when or where it was. So the moment I was in Dallas I dashed to the monitors to check the flight information, hoping I would have time for lunch and a bathroom break. It was 2:44. The monitor told me my flight departed at 2:40 and was fifteen terminals away.

I zoomed through that airport like anything. Towing my little carry on bag I passed anyone, weaving my way through the crowds of travelers, leaving them all in the dust. I got to my terminal at 2:48. I asked a guy in line if my flight had left yet. He told me they had just done last boarding call. I gasped. Out loud. Loud enough for the lady behind the desk to take notice.

"Ontario flight?" she asked. I nodded and she grabbed my ticket, torn it and handed the stub back to me. She pulled the door open and said, "Go, run!" I did, saying, "Thank you very much!" as I vanished into the distance.
So, I made it. Without a second to spare.

My luggage, however, was not so fortunate. It decided to take a different flight out of Dallas so that it would arrive hours after I did. This required me to go back to the airport later that evening and retrieve the bag.

I feel so tired.

Procrastination at its Finest

Tomorrow I have to: Turn in my take home Graphic Design History test, go over my Graphic Design Portfolio, do my Literature presentation, and turn in my final painting.

Due to the influences of my History of Graphic Design assignment, I have switched my typeface from Arial, to Verdana. Arial is a cheap ripoff of Helvetica, which is an oft-used typeface, liked for it's comfortable neutrality. Arial made a few minor changes and then marketed it as something completely unlike Helvetica, but you can use in any instance when you need Helvetica! Verdana was created explicitly for legible type on computer monitors. Also, in hope of routing the evil Arial font.

Helvetica: God of Typeface.

Arial: Satan of Typeface.
Verdana: Potential Savior of Typeface.

Is basically how my paper breaks down.

Tonight, when my roommates hear me screaming in my sleep (as I am wont to do) . . . well, I probably won't actually be asleep. Whimper.

Excuse me as I go into a denial tangent. Why the heck doesn't anyone comment on my blog? I have exactly ONE comment and it's from my mother. Happy Mother's Day, by the way, and Happy Birthday. I painted a picture of all of us kids, but you might not like how I did it all in earth tones.

Okay, just took a loonng pause there and did a whole chunk of work on my GD history paper. So, what say you, International, Postmodern, or Contemporary typeface style? I thought so. I'm going to Postmodern, Psychedelic.

I WILL GET THIS DONE. I WILL PREVAIL.

Pray for me.

Prepare for a Fate Worse than Death

No, the title is not a references to finals week which begins oh too soon. It is a warning to my dearly beloved sister. See that picture? The Joker is in a cell being interrogated by the police. Then the police leave for a minute and Batman comes out of the shadows. In this image Joker has an expression of, "Hey, I think I hear a ninja coming." This thought will be quickly followed by Joker's head meeting the tabletop in painful impact.

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So, in this setup my sister is The Joker and I am Batman. Meaning I get to pummel her mercilessly all over town.

Why does she deserve this, you wonder? Did she, perhaps, rob a bank and make her getaway in a school bus? Or maybe she set a firetruck on . . . fire. Then again, she might have blown up a hospital. None of these. This was a crime that the law can't reach . . .

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It was four in the morning. I had been up late, getting stuff done, and it felt as if I had just drifted off to sleep. Also, I only had three more hours of sleep time left. Then, in the stillness of the early morning hours . . . my cellphone begins to vibrate on the far end of the desk; out of my reach.

Bzzzzzzzzz.

Figuring it is a wrong number (it was 4am, for goodness's sake!) I let it ring and hang up. I turn over and settle down again.

Bzzzzzzzzz.

Ignore it. Ignore it. I pull the blanket over my head. It stops. Realizing it might be an emergency at home, I reach over and pick up the phone. There is one voicemail message on it. I dial my voicemail and listen to the message.

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It would seem my dearly beloved sister had gone to the midnight showing of X-men Origins: Wolverine. Since she is going to a college in a time zone two hours behind, it was 2am there. The message was somewhat incoherent. Maybe I was just too sleepy to understand. I caught "awesome!" "epic" and "Deadpool! Deadpool! Deadpool!"

Okay, whatever. I put the phone down and adjust my pillow for maximum comfort.

Bzzzzzzzzz.

I pick up and say in a tired, annoyed voice, "Hello?"

My sister, brilliant, asks in tones of realization, "Oh, did I wake you up?"

What does she think I do at four in the bloody morning? Play solitaire?

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So, be forewarned, endearing sibling, and prepare for a Bat-Beating.

Too bad she never reads this blog.

Unbalanced Scales

I was doing a little writing this weekend (sparked by my ponderings of Mary Sue-ism) and I realized I really need to work on my villains. I have over a dozen ideas for stories typed out on my computer, some of them even have a chapter or two written. Then they sit there. Every so often I go in and add a couple more lines of dialogue. It continues to sit there, unwilling to budge. I stare at it and it stares back with an unblinking gaze. The heroes laze around, generally being awesome and deathly bored because they have nothing to do.
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A hero is not a hero without a villain to match him/her. It's like the Batman stories are always saying about Batman and Joker being two sides of the same coin. Equal and opposite. The reason why Lex Luthor never dies (permanently, anyway), because what would Superman be without evil plots to thwart? The conflict of the opposing forces is what creates the story. Whether Batman caused Joker or the Joker caused Batman, doesn't matter (though it makes for heroic internal conflict), just that they both exist and play off each other.
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So now I'm working on channeling my dark side. When I'm not working on homework, anyway. I don't think I'll go the way of the method actor, however . . . Just seeing what pushes me to the edge, what pushes my buttons. Take that info and multiply it by . . . evil.
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I notice a trend, relating to the "two sides of the same coin" thing. If the hero is humorous, than the villain is deadly serious. The hero takes himself too seriously, then the villain is mocking/comically insane. (See Batman vs. Joker). I kind of like the villains who are laughing up their sleeves, but since most of my heroes have a well developed sense of humor the villains are automatically solemn.
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The picture on this post doesn't have anything to do with the topic. But I put it in before I began writing, so I'll just leave it be.

I Think I May Have Created a Monster

Mary Sue, sometimes shortened simply to Sue, is a pejorative term used to describe a fictional character who plays a major role in the plot and is particularly characterized by overly idealized and hackneyed mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as wish-fulfillment fantasies for their authors or readers. Perhaps the single underlying feature of all characters described as "Mary Sues" is that they are too ostentatious for the audience's taste, or that the author seems to favor the character too highly. The author may seem to push how exceptional and wonderful the "Mary Sue" character is on his or her audience, sometimes leading the audience to dislike or even resent the character fairly quickly; such a character could be described as an "author's pet".
"Mary Sues" can be either male or female, but male characters are often dubbed "Marty Stu", "Gary Stu", or similar names.[1] While the label "Mary Sue" itself originates from a parody of this type of character, most characters labeled "Mary Sues" by readers are not intended by authors as such.

So spake the great Wikipedia. I was reading the descriptions of various Mary Sue characteristics on Tropes.com the other day when I was struck with a horrible realization. I have written a Mary Sue.

I swear, it was entirely unintentional. Then again, it usually is. At the age of fifteen I began to write a story.

• Of course, it was fantasy set in a Medieval-ish world and the main character was fifteen years old.


• Beautiful, smart, a powerful magic user, and actually hundreds of years old.


• No one could beat her in a fight or argument.


• She always knew what to do in any situation.


• Always cheerful even though her Past haunted her.


• Of course, she was a master sword fighter.


• Supermodel looks. Exotic, supermodel looks. Purple eyes with gold and green in them, namely.


• Even though the story was technically about three girls new to their magical powers everything turned out to be about HER.

Oh, yeah, her name was Vanessa. Drakesin. That she chose the name herself probably says something about the character/author/me.

Any event that occurred in the story she could deal with her right hand tied bed her back (she was probably ambidextrous, too) and without breaking a sweat. The only reason any other characters got any action was because Vanessa had to go off on convoluted quests for vague reasons. Her quests usually ended up being more important.

Fifteen is just too young to have a Tragic Past, so while she looked (and effectively was) fifteen she was actually a powerful enchantress centuries and centuries old. In the past she had saved the world on multiple occasions. People even talk about her previous incarnations. Usually she was around, grinning smugly in the background when they discussed this.

Her actual strength and power was poorly defined as: anything-that-needs-doing-or-that-the-author-ever-wanted-to-do. And do it better than anyone else. Little teacher's pet.

It has been several years since I created this evil and I have rewritten her story several times. However, the vestiages of her Mary Sue-ness still lingers. I recognized her in almost every Mary Sue catagory listed online. I do think the character has improved, however. She is no longer omnipotent, for one, and she is often wrong about things. Other characters get equal amounts of spotlight. I think Vanessa has stopped being my exclusive favorite.

I was reading through the story just recently and realized how much my writing skills have improved. The characters actually feel like real people sometimes. I also realized that several of the best characters reflect certain aspects of my own personality.

I'm not talking bravery, intelligence, or that sort of thing, either. The most obvious example is the character Selina whoe is constant Silly Mode. The kind when you're with your friends and you do very silly things to make each other laugh. It's so funny everyone does sillier and sillier things. Selina acts like that, only she is being serious. And she never stops. Ever.

Also, Vanessa's last name is Jackson now. Vanessa Jackson. Much better. She still has Mary Sue eyes. I quote myself:
"She had these amazing eyes, something like hazel, but with purple instead of blue and amber sprinkled at the edges. "
That won't make the final cut. We'll take it down to hazel, shall we? I didn't even realize that was still in there until I checked just now. I had been writing under the assumption that her eyes were hazel for a while now.

I blame Eragon. I was writing before I read it, but after I did it caused delusions. If this guy could write this epic book at the age of fifteen, then so could I. If Eragon could do everything, so could my character.
Hurm. I think the author is about my age now. Maybe older. His latest book proves that he still can't write. Darn good thing my parents weren't publishers. His were. Thus, got published. And, apparently, decided he didn't need to learn anything else about writing.

Mah Muzak

Edit: April 17 2009
I find this post a touch ironic. My current project in my Graphic Design class is to design a CD cover. I'm doing one for Skillet's album Comatose. Yes, very ironic.

Why is it that I work better plugged into my headphones, music blaring? I can't work well when the apartment is quiet. Soft music is about the same, even though I enjoy listening to it. Classical and Celtic in particular. When I have a paper due, or I'm just sitting on the bed sketching I need to have my rock music on.

For instance, right now I have BarLowGirl's "Let Go" playing. Oh, just changed to "Jesus Freak" by DC Talk. Check them out on iTunes. Guitars, drums, pretty loud. Nowhere near anything like hard rock or heavy metal, but still pretty noisy.

Maybe it's the influence of too many movies. How can you tell a person is working hard and making progress when you're watching a movie? The soundtrack will start playing fast, loud music while the sceen shows flashes of work and closeups of the actors' faces when they're thinking particularly hard. In one word, a montage.

So, in my head I've associated hard work, definitive progress, and ultimately, success, with fast-paced rock music that dwindles away to silence in the scene's climax. And who doesn't want to have their own soundtrack? Right now mine is Emery's "Ten Talents". Will I stand my ground and hold? I'd like to think so . . .

On a similar note, who doesn't walk along plugged into their iPod pretending it's their personal soundtrack?

Happy Easter

I made a rather rambling complaint yesterday about how the media shys away from saying "Merry Christmas". This came up because I was wondering if they still bothered to say "Happy Easter" or if it were just "Happy Holidays" or "Happy Bunny Day". While at Christmas time it is almost impossible to find anything that explictly says "Christmas" on the label, during Easter there are still packages that say "Easter" on them. There were even chocolate crosses in the candy aisle, which surprised me.

Anyway, I was saying this to someone and they told me that it would be more important if Christmas and Easter weren't "stolen holidays" that the Christians replaced with "less sinful" celebrations. I really wanted to respond to that, but I know it would just start a small war in the chat box. So I'm over here instead, preaching to the choir.

It isn't so simple as stealing holidays. In fact, there were no holidays before Christians. Holidays=Holy Days. Well, maybe pagan Holy Days. Definitely Pagan festivals. Christians did schedule their days of celebration to match up with the Romans', but not just so we could have "less sinful" celebrations. Anyone who knows a little bit of history about this time knows that the Christians weren't so popular with either the Romans or the Jews. There was a lot of persecution happening and it was hard to practice the faith openly. So having Christian celebrations on the same day the Romans were having their winter bash was a really smart move. Who would question the little get together going on at Uncle Peter's when the whole town was getting their groove on?

It did, however, serve to eventually "steal" the "more sinful" celebrations through the clever tactic of double-booking. To honor this ancient achievement Church secretaries of today constantly pay tribute by booking the church fair for the same Sunday as the Knight's of Columbus fund raiser.

What in the world is "less sinful" supposed to mean, anyway? The whole point of any Christian celebration is to not sin at all. We prefer elimination rather than moderation on this point. I can just imagine the committee of Christians way back in the when. Going over to the Romans with a petition.

"Hello. We're the Christians. We're new. We noticed that your parties get kind of rowdy around here and we were wondering if you could tone it down a bit? Little quieter on the drunken singing, please, and maybe water the wine about 10% more? Oh, you don't have to stop, just be a little less sinful. Thanks awfully."

Vainly attempting to care

Someone remarked (after I threatened to create a blog devoted to hating on them) that I couldn't even keep up my original blog. I shrugged and told them to check out the name of my blog again. This apathy isn't just for show.

Recently I've been doing a lot of figure drawing. Seeing as I am constantly painting abstract images I thought I would challenge myself with some realism. So, over Christmas break I started sketching faces and figures. I pause videos when I watch them so I can sketch a certain pose or expression. I even started watching old superhero cartoons on youtube. These are surprisingly good sources for figure drawing basics. They're all wearing spandex so the shapes are simple and clear. The only problem is that I would like to draw someone who isn't over six-foot and absurdly over-muscled.

Haven't had much time for youtube cartoons lately, though. Too busy with school.

Anyway, as I watched these cartoons and read wikipedia entries on the various characters I kept thinking, Good grief, how many times can a character die before they actually stay dead? And how many superheroes will stumble in the pitfalls of cliche? And most importantly, do all the female heroes have to dress up in lowcut, mini-skirt, swimsuit outfits? They can't be getting much protection when they're fighting. They don't even have different outfits for Fall and Winter. They must be freezing! It must be a superpower that their legs are always shaved and their hair is absolutely perfect.

Then there is the problem that Marvel, DC and other comic book companies crank out the issues as long as they are making a profit. Writers are frequently changed and the character's origins, personalities, and even their deaths, are constantly changed to raise sales. So, what's canon? Um, all of it, really. Wait, it's canon that guy died? Three times? Uh, well, yes. You see, there was this alternate universe/dream sequence/mass hallucination . . . clone.

And would somebody please take off Clark Kent's glasses and realize that he is freakin' Superman?!

The point of this ranting is that I would like to write and draw my own comic books. Well, I suppose I would be doing Graphic Novels. Comic books are ongoing without a foreseeable end. I would like to have a story with a beginning, middle, and resolution that does not change. Mainly, though, I want to draw a female hero who wears a really cool outfit that is at least semi-practical.

Have a Blessed Easter!

Midterms Over: Await Doom

I have no idea what this picture is from, but it feels like midterms to me. Or maybe I should reserve this image for finals, seeing as they are . . . well, final. The sealing of your fate with superglue and two rolls of ductape.

Just feeling the doom lately. The danger, growing nearer every second. Unavoidable, inescapeable, inevitable . . . Run, hide, scream at 3am, nothing helps. It bears down on you . . . (ellipsis to increase tension)

Aaaand then you dodge at the last second and just get grazed. This is because you are the protagonist and the protagonist can't get crushed, at all, or at least not until the end of the story.

Hmmm. Sounds right to me. Oh, that means I've got a 50% chance of direct hit by inevitable doom during finals week.

So, about midterms. Three of five classes come in as "passed with grades above D" Finalized grades as yet unknown. Two are still pending.

Last two midterms [in haunting wails]: Dooooom. Doooom.

One Midterm Down

Photography midterm is over.

I feel really unmotivated to write anything else. I think it is because the background music is so ominous.

*Checks iTunes*

As I suspected, from the Passion of the Christ soundtrack,

Flagellation/Dark Choir/Disciples

Wikipedia, here my plea and give me the exact defintion of Flagellation so I may share it with the two people who sometimes read these posts even though they probably already know what it means.

*And Wikipedia doth replied*

Flagellation is the act of whipping (Latin flagellum, "whip") the human body. Typically, whipping is performed on unwilling subjects as a punishment.

Charming. No wonder I'm feeling so absurdly cheerful.

My fellow students and I gathered in the photography lab, hastily finishing up last minute tasks before the teacher arrived to look over our portfolio. Sensing the mood of extreme desperation both printers rose to the occasion and refused to print. The teacher was already closeted in his office critiquing a student’s work and therefore could not fix it for us. There was some wailing and gnashing of teeth.
That was sorted out.
Eventually.
Before anyone harmed themselves.
Much.

Each of us would go into the teacher’s office, one-by-one, and go over our pictures. The teacher assured us that if anyone failed to return after his critique it was not due to foul play. More likely they had left by the other door . . . because they were in tears.
I got through it dry-eyed and was told that my work was not a complete loss (in so many words). So there’s one class that I’m not failing. Yay.

Every action has an equal an opposite reaction. Right?

My mother has a blog.

My sister has a blog.

I have blog envy.

So here we are.

I need a theme. Something less . . . apathetic, maybe? Or I'll just roll with the apathy motif and fill this blog with dull, gray posts about how dull and gray my life is. There will be recurring appearances of the phrases, "Who cares?"

"Why bother?"

"What's the point?"

And

"Meh."