just a thought.

This post won't include any art, specifically. I've just been thinking a lot about a certain topic, and the thought won't leave me alone. And I figure if I write about it, I'll be able to wrap my head around the concept a little more. Just a warning, this is going to be a bit long-winded.

For as long as I can remember, I've been obsessed with characters and stories and themes. When I was little this manifested itself in the form watching and re-watching certain cartoons and movies and reading and re-reading lots and lots of children's books. (I'm pretty sure Disney's The Lion King directly influenced my ridiculous love for animals.) I spent almost all of my free time writing little stories and "illustrating" them, or drawing and creating characters, complete with names, designs, personalities and backgrounds. If I wasn't physically creating things like this, I would be daydreaming about them or analyzing the books, movies and cartoons that I loved. (Yes. I was analyzing the underlying themes of Disney movies and relationships between the characters on Hey Arnold in elementary school... I've always been a little mature for my age.) Also, the day I discovered there was such a thing as fanfiction was probably one of the happiest moments of my life up to that point.

Somewhere between elementary school and high school I realized that there were two things I really, truly cared about and wanted to be a big part of my life forever: animals and art. The first one was accomplished easily; I went to an agricultural high school for animal science and now work at an animal hospital. And if I ever leave that job, all I have to do is share my living quarters with some pets and I can check that one off the list. But art....is a little more of a challenge, and this is why: I consider "art" so be an extremely broad topic. Pretty much anything that can be "created" is art to me. So this includes drawings, paintings, clothing, sculpture, music, films, books...the list goes on and on.

There are a lot of different types of art that I enjoy. I'm going to apply a commonly used term here...there are a lot of different "pieces" of art that I enjoy. I look at a lot of drawings and 2-d illustrations, read of lot of books, listen to a lot of music, etc. But there are always certain ones that hit me with what I've dubbed the "Holy Shit Moment." The Holy Shit Moment describes the feeling I get when I've experienced something artsy and suddenly realize that I've transcended simply enjoying it, and I feel completely and utterly moved mentally and emotionally by it. Where I feel like it has changed something within me, and I'm never going to be the same person I was prior. Something that instills in me so much thought that I feel like my mind is going to explode with it all. There are a lot of things that have given me Holy Shit Moments: novels (for example, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee) films (Donnie Darko, The Sandlot) comics (Full Metal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa, Bleach by Tite Kubo) and television series (Cowboy Bebop, Psych.)

The thing that I've come to realize is that everything that has ever given me a Holy Shit Moment has been a story. Even the songs and albums that send me over the edge tell a great story through music. A single image isn't enough to do that to me.

Will I enjoy being an animal caretaker? Yes, I already do. Will I enjoy being an illustrator (if i make it that far)? I think so. But one thing I've always told myself is that I just want to be happy in life. And for me to be truly happy, I think I have to become a storyteller. I think I have to create a story that's going to give someone (and myself) a Holy Shit Moment. Whether I do this in the form of a novel, a children's book, a comic or a movie script, I have no idea. But I have an inkling I'm not going to feel content until I create it.

So, to summarize today's revelation: I need to create a story, and therefore I need to practice writing. Because the quote "A picture is worth a thousand words" is a load of crap.

the decemberists - we both go down together.

watahcolahs.

so Friday was my only day off from work this past week and a half and basically my last day off before spring semester started, so i decided to be productive and work on watercolors and humans a bit. i have a hard time with skin tone generally so i did this to get a little more practice in. i think the skin tone turned out kind of "eh" but whatever, i enjoyed myself.

and since this is a piece of Cowboy Bebop fanart (aka One Of The Greatest Works of Animation Ever) i figure i should explain the top three reasons why i love the series so much:

1. There is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi in it. I know a lot of series have dogs in them, but most of them are Japanese native or indistinguishable mutts (not that there's anything wrong with that.) But when there's a breed like a Pembroke Welsh Corgi in an anime and actual recognition of the breed in the dialogue...dog-nerds like me get excited.
2. The apparent wet-noodle-like consistency of Ed's limbs.
3. Bad-Assery Thy Name is Spike Spiegel.

Of course there are other things like beautiful animation, a very compelling non-linear plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and an ending that hits you like a mack truck as well. So basically if you haven't seen it, see it. It will change your life.

also, disclaimer whatever, character copyright Sunrise, not me.

augustana - where love went wrong.

hunger.

For my figure drawing class final we needed to create an image using the human figure (and drawn from observation) using two pieces of 22x30 paper that reflected a mood. I chose "hunger" and drew two drawings like the one above as two panels. I used vine charcoal, and I didn't really like how they came out. So I redid it on much smaller paper using technical pen and sort of combined the two panels into one, which resulted in this. I like it much better than the original.

I did use myself as a model, but I left out my face because I wanted the viewer to interpret the "hunger" (which the hands represent) anyway they wanted to. The hunger could be for actual food, love, money, power, sex, etc. Whatever you're hungry for, basically, you can apply here.

type o negative - love me to death

animal portraits :D

so as a way to make some cash on the side, i will occasionally do portraits of people's animals for them from clear photographs. i used to do these in strictly colored pencil, but i've found over the years that colored pencil alone is not only pretty boring to look at but its also boring to use as a medium as well. so now i include a watercolor base in my portraits, with colored pencil layered on top to create detail. i find that it makes the image as a whole more effective. and now, here are some visual examples of how this is done:

1. Sketch


I sketch in the animal (in this case, a dog) and make sure all angles and proportions are correct. I try to sketch as lightly as possible, because the pencil lines will show through watercolor. Also, erasing dark lines on watercolor paper can be a nearly impossible task.

2. Watercolor
I put down the base colors in watercolor. I do the lightest colors first and then gradually build up to the darker ones. However, even the darkest colors in the photograph go down on paper as a light shade. I will darken them with colored pencil after. If I go too dark to start with and have to lighten for some reason, I'm screwed. But I can always go darker. I don't get too detailed with the watercolor, I just do basic shapes. I don't get into any individual hairs or anything, that's what the colored pencil is for.

3. Colored Pencil


I put in all the detail with colored pencil.: eyes, mouth, nose and fur. I feel like the mix between the two mediums gives it almost an acrylic or oil paint feel to it. I also blend the different colors together with Prismacolor colorless blender to make it look less grainy.

Detail:

so that's pretty much it. i think i spent about 3/4 hours in total on this one. the amount of time i spend on each portrait can vary greatly, depending on the size and the amount of colors involved. i never do them in one sitting either - i'm not a very patient person, haha. getting a hang of doing fur in colored pencil and just using watercolors in general can be pretty tricky at first until you get the hang of it. at some point in the future, i might do a more in depth tutorial on using each.

RIP Rosie. <3

matt pond pa - summer is coming

we had a promise made.

jose gonzalez - heartbeats

i wish i could purchase motivation by the bottle.

it might make living a hell of a lot easier.

tegan and sara - the con