Stage Fright

Making art makes you vulnerable, kind of like being on stage. You try to envision the audience naked but then look down and realize you're the one who's stripped of all disguises. You put your art out there and you let the world take a peek inside your head - hoping to connect with another human being. Sometimes no one gets it though, and that's when you realize how strange you are...or how bad your market yourself.

Challenge of Balance

There comes a time during every semester when my brain crashes much like a computer. An overload of relevant and irrelevant information flood the mushy folds of my knowledge bulb until I can't sort out red from Cheerios or mustard from Lord of the Rings. It usually doesn't happen THIS soon into a semester, but it does occur eventually. As an intelligent reader, you've probably already picked up on my befuddled thought process as I spew incoherence from my finger tips. I almost don't even remember what I came here for...

Oh, wait, I remember now. I was feeling embarrassed about doing poorly in school as compared to my normal standards. You know, it's really not that big of a deal. I mean, yes, it IS a big deal (nearly a $100K deal!), but there is still time to fix things. I've only had a couple of slow weeks and there are about nine or ten to go. The only way to do better is to be positive!

*cough*...and stop procrastinating till the last minute *cough**cough**hack**cough*
*clears throat* Whoa, sorry about that! I've been sick the past couple of days.


Alright, so after all that gibberish I just threw up, this is what I really came here for - to share a drawing I did for fun instead of the homework I should have been doing.



Am I happy with the drawing? Kinda.
Could I have made it look better? Yes.
Was it worth putting off homework for? I think so.

I've been in a creative rut for a long while now. Every day I become more and more self-conscious about my abilities and less confident that I can do anything properly. The longer I go without drawing "just for fun," the worse it gets. Yes, homework is important, but when I forget to draw for myself, I forget the point of studying to be an artist at all.

...But from now on I need better timing for my therapeutic drawing sessions. Homework gets done from now on. No more excuses.

Storyboarding is Fun

I know I say this all the time, but it's been way too long since my last post! I'm getting worse and worse about keeping up with the ol' blog. There are just too many sites to keep up with these days - too too many. Oh well, it keeps me on my toes (when I remember to update said sites!).

Anyway, just wanted to post the first half of my storyboard homework while I'm thinking about it. We had to analyze a commercial and break down each shot into a storyboard. Fun stuff! The actual commercial can be viewed here.

On a side note, I think I start a ton of paragraphs with the word "Anyway." It has a nice flow, but I should probably looking into extending my vocabulary to give you, the reader, a more diversified and literary experience. Just a thought.

ANYHOW (you like how I did that?), here is the storyboard:

Playing with Flash

Just wanted to whip up a quick update since I haven't in forever. School is out for the summer, I passed all my classes with acceptable grades (yay!), and I have been feverishly searching for a job. Actually, "feverishly" isn't exactly the right word to describe my search - desperate yet laid back seems more accurate. Kind of an oxymoron, yeah, but pretty much the only way I can describe it.

Lately I have been having weird dreams starring people from my high school days in odd situations. The first dream in this "series" conveyed a strange mixture of emotions including regret, contentment, and doom. You wouldn't think those feelings would work together harmoniously, but they really did. I don't remember much of the dream now, but I was in one of the top floors of a building about ten stories high with two or three people from high school. It was night and we were all about to die. The building was collapsing or a nuclear explosion was imminent, I don't remember which one. I think it was the nuclear thing. The room reminded me of an old chemistry lab. There was a guitar and small amp plugged in to the wall by the beakers. We all took turns playing and reminiscing and gazing into each others eyes with regret. There was regret for the things we did in the past, but mostly for the things we didn't do. I think the most regret we had was not being able save ourselves, though. It was pretty intense!

Just last night I had a similar dream with another group of high school friends from a whole different phase of my life. This dream uprooted feelings of longing and invisibility that I haven't experienced in forever. No one was doomed to die in this manifestation of my subconscious, but I was so expendable I might as well have been.

Anyway, all these dreams stirred up some emotions I haven' felt in a while and have been strangely enjoyable. I actually felt like drawing today thanks to the overflow. I started drawing a gal trying to listen through a door and ended up with the following interactive flash...thing. I couldn't figure out how to draw her arm/hand so I just took it off and had fun with her hair. Click on the hair thumbnails under the girl to change her do.

Thanks for listening to my crazy dream stories! I was really wanting to tell someone and I feel better now, even if it's just my screen that I'm typing to. :)

(it cuts off some of the file, so you can check it out here for the full thing)

Final Stretch

These last couple weeks of the semester are going to be brutal. So much to do...definitely not enough time to finish everything. I've had my fair share of set-backs throughout semester and can't wait for summer break so I can focus on freelance. My brain is about fried and needs to recuperate. :)

Okay now random pictures:

Speed painting to loosen up and pretty much relax. He was bald but now he looks kind of like a monk or something.



Earthbound. Dnuobhtrae. Moonside is twisted and scary but I like it.

Vote if you like funny bunnies!

As you may know, I have been reluctant to submit my apparel designs anywhere other than Teefury, but that is finally starting to change. I still check Teefury every day because I love love LOVE the community and tees, but that doesn't mean I have to limit my artistic growth or success! I'm excited to say that I've been working harder than ever to get designs printed and work my way out of this debt monster I seem to have fallen into. Yay for being productive!

Speaking of productive, if you're interested in an inspiration article on the subject you should hope over to Jimiyo's blog!

Alright, so now to the necessary evil: shameless self-promotion. I've just submitted a revamped version of "Don't come in! I'm naked!" to Threadless in hopes of getting it printed. You might remember it from a previous post. It's much more muted now, very subtle coloring with a slight pop of color. I really like the change. Hopefully the design will be approved within the next day or so. When it is, you can vote and help make it a tee!

You can vote by clicking the image below:








Okay, now it's time to be productive on HOMEWORK! :D
Have an awesome day/night!

The Froggy and the Fly

This is what I'm turning in for homework RIGHT NOW!....or well..right after I finish posting this post. Ahhh I still have homework to finish! Gotta run! Enjoy!