Hello, long neglected blog

Goodness me, so many projects, so little time. This is just a note of what is to come.
1. The product's of last semester's sculpture class. Three pieces I must photograph and post.
2. Pretzel and the Princess: I have not abandoned it. I just need to ink more pages.
3. Slipping Through: I have about forty pages drawn. Just need to find the time to color them all.
4. My paintings. Must post my summer's work.
5. I am currently in a print making class which means I need to scan my work and post it here.

My, I have let my work pile up. And as I make this list I observe two things: that I'm marvelous at procrastination and that I have quite a bit of diversity in my work. Not that anyone has been pointing that out recently . . .

Also, I am using the computer in the art lab. This keyboard is disgraceful. Maybe I'm just used to my laptop, but it feels as if the keys here are sticking more than a bit. That is my excuse for a lack of further eloquent elaboration.

And There Was Much Rejoicing

What once was lost is now found!
My laptop has returned unto me! It returned to me this afternoon and now sits on the kitchen table, eager for its hard drive to be reinstalled so it can once again join me in my varied and amusing Internet adventures.
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In other news, I return to school on Sunday. I'm ready to head back and see my friends, plan a meal for everyone, and threaten them with knives. I'll pop in the fireplace DVD and we'll all gather around the flickering digital flames and discuss what has come to pass since we last gathered.
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What's with the picture accompanying this post, you ask? Not sure. I'm feeling cheerful and that picture just made me feel satisfied, contented and all warm and fuzzy inside. Looking at it, I realize that I now need to mark any new pictures as copyrighted in 2010, rather than 2009, as I have been doing. Now, to the bat cave! I must prepare for my next glorious, action-packed adventure!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."