Quarter Over!

In less than 10 hours I will be on the road to home again! Whoooo! I'm quite excited.

This quarter ended nicely, I successfully packed up everything last night, so I was able to spend today helping out my boyfriend with his packing. I'm glad the quarter's finally over, mainly because I'm quite looking forward to summer events and activities (LASIK, new Wacom Intuos tablet, back at VisArts, etc.) I really hope to work more on digital painting, especially backgrounds, a subject I sorely need to improve on. I'd also like to create a few maquettes and play around with Sculpy jewelry (for stretched ears). Since I've got an oven handy and tons of old Sculpy lying around, I believe this is the perfect time.

Yeeerrrpp, Summer is finally here and I can't wait to spend it inside doing artwork!

Finding the Perfect School

After being in college for 3 years I tend to forget just how hard the search for the perfect school is for some people. In my case, I decided I wanted SCAD as my first choice back in Freshmen year of high school. I applied my Sophomore year and was accepted Junior year, so I never actually looked seriously for other schools. I'm a bit of an anomoly though.

Most kids have a hard time finding their dream school, or the other choices if they can't get in. However, there's myUsearch, a college matching service that is quite useful for the average high schooler. They have a Smart Questionnaire which narrows down matches based on objective criteria, which in turn saves time in searching for a school that matches their interests and personality. The best part: myUsearch is totally free.


Quite useful indeed.

Finals yet again

It's finals week, which means I'll be pretty post-empty for a few days. Sorry guys, gotta finish my art!

Two Week Countdown

Only about two weeks left in the quarter, which explains why I'm so busy >.<

Editors went well, I suppose. I kind of was told what I already knew I had to improve on...so...yay? That means I've got the right idea?

I really hope I can develop a good style next year. I seriously need to do that.

Oh well, the weekend has been moderately busy but we're working on our finals now, so hurrah. I'll be travelling back to MD before I know it!

Going to see an editor in less than 24 hours

Oh, I am nervous indeed.

My New York Non-adventure

Family vacations, no matter where you go you'll always have a unique time and memories that will last forever. Even though, in recent years, I haven't joined my parents on too many multiple day vacations, I still have fond memories of our past adventures.

I've only been to New York a few times in my life. I imagine if I lived in the east coast my entire life, I would visit it more often, but really I'm not a huge fan of the city. I do recall a few trips in recent years that were somewhat "wild" I suppose. Really, I'm a very boring person, who goes on fairly boring vacations. My idea of a perfect vacation is going to a location or staying at home and just relaxing. I don't feel a big need to go out and be all touristy of course. However, my parents feel a bit different.

One time, when we went to New York city to meet my mother's friend, we decided to eat at a little diner that was completely crowded. It was a pretty typical meal, lovely, loud, good food. Really, the whole trip was not very memorable, except for one little thing. On our way out of the restaurant, I literally ran into LL Cool J. Yep, I'm a non-focusing dork.

The last time we went to New York, we wanted to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a museum I haven't been to in years. Of course, this was right in the middle of the transportation strike that occurred a few years back so all we ended up doing was driving around in circle for many hours. The roads in front of MOMA were blocked, so we couldn't even get there. Quite lackluster really.

Yyyeappp...New York trips for me are fairly boring. I guess I rely on my parents for things to do in New York, or any other city we visit for that matter. Or I could always take a look at some sightseeing tours websites. The site is pretty easy to use, and there's even a newsletter you can sign up for that keeps you up to date with touring news so you'll always know of Things to do in Las Vegas, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and many others. Also, as an added incentive, if you sign up for Trusted Tours & Attractions newsletter (before May 31st, 2008) you are entered into a contest to win a $150 Itunes gift card.

I know my parents rely on sightseeing websites when they travel. I guess I'll just learn to do the same at some point.

Editors Day

Editors Day is coming up fast! I've got most of my portfolio together, and I'm just working on inking the entirety of Bartman and perhaps printing another image. Our limit is 12 pieces, so I've got several comic pages and a few standalone illustrations. Among what's in my portfolio:










yyyep

Bartman part 2

So, here is the continuation of the Bartman comic I'm working on. It's only three pages, but that's enough I'd say. Here are my finished pencils for the story:





Right now I'm in the process of inking these pages, and plan to have those done by the end of the week. I need to, as I want to include these pages in my portfolio for Editors Day.

Editors Day is an event where various editors from comic publishing companies come to my school to review student's portfolios and give us tips on what we need to improve on. I desperately need the advice from someone who could be my boss one day.

Dita Von Teese as inspiration

Ahh fashion. I've never been one who particularly follows fashion trends. I'm such a laid-back person when it comes to how I dress myself or what I look like. My personal style could probably only be described as an art student. I really don't know what style I fir into, I typically wear guy's shorts or skirts with very basic t-shirt like tops and usually a light hoodie. Oh, and my footwear is pretty much flip flops all year round. I dislike closed-toed shoes when I know I'm going to be out walking for long periods of time. As far as makeup goes, I rarely wear it. In fact, a few days ago I wanted to pretty myself up and I couldn't find all my makeup. It was quite sad, and I hope this just means I left most of it at home.

My hair is always pulled back, but it is also muti-coloured. I've been dying my hair unnatural colours for over 6 years now and have no intention on going back to my natural, boring, shade of brown. I also sport a centred lip piercing and small streched earlobes, but that's it. That's as fancy as I get!

Even though I don't dress fashionable, I do enjoy looking at attractive women and their personal fashion. At the moment, I really like the style of Dita Von Teese.


I'm aware that she's gained immese mainstream popularity in recent years but I've always loved her style. To me, she has kind of a weird face but she's also transformed herself quite a bit from her high school days:



She's always dressed to the nines. From what I recall, she doesn't like going out without looking her best, which is quite nice. Her corsets are simply amazing, and even when she's completely nude, she stil holds a graceful style most of us wish we could pull off. Dita's fashion is actually quite modest considering her career, and I like that dichotomy. She isn't prancing about in skimpy outfits outside of her show, for that I hold quite a bit of respect.

While I know I could never pull off her style, I do wish younger girls would take a hint from Dita and realize there's a difference between sexy and slutty. Dita's classic look is perfection with modestly. This is a key element that a lot of young women don't pay attention to any more, and that is quite sad.

You know, I think I would love to see someone embody Dita's 1950's style for that Dockers contest I mentioned a few posts back. That really would be pretty cool to see a Dockers ad showing the same sort of classic fashion.



If anybody does enter into the Dockers contest, no matter if your commercial has anything to do with Dita's style or not, let me know. I'd love to see it!

Just a few more weeks 'till summer

Oh good, the week is almost over. Just one more class to get to and it's free sailing for three whole days. I finished the Bartman pencils today, and I'd really like to ink them for Editors Day. Hopefully I can scan them in to send to my professor and just keep my original pencils.

I'm both nervous and excited for Editors Day. I know I'll have a really terrible portfolio, but at least I'll be getting some very useful critiques!*

*I hope.

On the Frontier of New Horror

Bloodlust, it's a trait that is present in every animal's soul. Humans, especially, have a taste for it, even if all of us may not openly admit it. If something particullary violent occurs, all of us will feel at least a little pang of curiosity. This simple fact is why we still produce and watch horror films.

I'm not a huge horror fan, mostly because I dislike movies that take themselves too seriously, but I do love my guts-n-gore. I'm no expert on the subject, but I have seen my fair share of horror flicks. It seems like films made in the United States have a different aesthetic from those made in Europe or Asia. In terms of pacing, Asian horror movies move far slower than our American gorefests. European ones tend to have their own, somewhat more fascinating, subtle take on the subject. However, since pretty much every horror film tries to build off of others we get an entire amalgam of features now, where it doesn't matter what country they were produced in.

Bah, I'm babbling. Like I said, I haven't seen enough horror films to really be a great critic but I do know what I like!

A new foreign horror flick is going to be released this Friday that I am curious to see because it's a decidley European take on the genre, Frontier(s). This film carries a bit of controversy with it as it was supposed to be released along After Dark's annual 8 Films to Die For for Horrorfest 2007, but due to its MPAA rating of NC-17 (i.e., the rating that all films fear but audiences look forward too), it was held back and is now being released in select American theatres under "unrated".

You can view the uncensored trailer on the official Frontier(s) website, along with other little clips to get your bloody palate salivating. It does look like quite an interesting film, as it involves great horror/thriller staples:

1.crappy, tenuius relationships
2. hicks
3. a group of shady 20-something kids
4. Neo-Nazis

Sounds like a proper horror film to me! I do want to check out all 8 films to die for anyway, and Frontier(s) is on that list.

Along with checking the select theater listings for Frontier(s), be aware that the DVD will be released on May 13th, so you won't miss out because you're local theatre isn't playing it.

Is there anything more satisfying than watching people get brutally murdered over ~2 hours? Why, yes, yes there is. For one, you could do it yourself. However, due to our basic moral standards, most of us will not decide to go down that path. For good reason, this is not a socially acceptable option as most of us don't want to go through all of that gorey mumbo jumbo. We do have video games! Like the great Silent Hill series...ooo yeah, nothing like staying up all night watching horror films interlaced with horror games!

For other general horror film news, the website Bloody Disgusting looks like a great source for reviews and information regarding all things horror. Just don't visit if you have a weak stomach and can't handle a whole lotta' gore at once.

The Simpsons make it all better.

Mhm...it's the little things in life that make me happy. Knowing my schedule for next quarter is one of them, another is watching fabulous Simpsons episodes.

I've watched all of Series 4 a few times and it's definitely up there among my favourite seasons of The Simpsons.
Here's one of the great Treehouse of Horror episodes. The Simpsons 405 Treehouse of Horror III

Hosted by the wonderful, Watch The Simpsons Online, the best website I've found to find streaming videos of all of The Simpsons episodes.

Oh, also, this isn't from Season 4, but it's probably my favourite Treehouse of Horror story:



Homer: No Beer and T.V. make Homer go...something...something...
Marge: Go Crazy?
Homer: DON'T MIND IF I DO!!!BBWWAFDAKJKJKLDAHK

See more awesome random screencaps at the LiveJournal community, Simpsons Fix

Dockers Contest!

Ahh, jeans. The fall back pair of pants that almost everybody owns. From the cultured runways of Paris, to Aboriginal tribes of Australia, there are few clothing items as ubiquitous as jeans. Well, everyone except me that is. I grew out of wearing jeans once I hit that certain age where a girl gets lazy and doesn't feel like tight-fitting women's pants really accentuates her assets. Main point is that I never feel comfortable in jeans, or women's pants for that matter. I tend to buy my pants in the men's section, favouring khaki loose cargo style over straight-legged denim. But I'm probably a minority in this sense, but just because I don't wear jeans doesn't mean I can't appreciate their commercials.



Right now, there is a Dockers contest taking place at NBC.com for a great commercial spot to be shown during the Jay Leno show on June 13th. Pretty exciting to have a commercial you made appear on national television eh?

All you have to do is submit a 30-second advertisement for Dockers, pretty simple right? Surely this contest would look great on a resume, or maybe even an addition to a portfolio reel for those film students out there.

Below are what other entrants have submitted. My personal favourite is the "Historically Pants Have Had Many Names" one. Perhaps I just love hearing old words. Oh trousers, what a lovely description of pants.



If commercials are not your thing, take a trip to the Dockers website anyway, they've got a great Dream Vacation contest going on now too. However, while you can have a lovely vacation, you won't get a chance to show your fantastic and creative commercial on t.v. Hard decision, right?

Bartman Part 1, pages 3-5 of Crime Spree on Springfield 2

Here are my tight roughs for The Simpsons comic we're currently working on. I do love The Simpsons, but I have a really hard time drawing in Matt Groening's style:

I tried to clean them up a little, but this is pretty much how dirty my drawings end up getting anyway.





We're drawing pages 3,4, and 5 of The Simpsons comic Crime Spree on Springfield 2! Sorry, that's apparently the best link I can find pertaining to the story. The pages are broken down like this though:

Page 3- Bartman and Houseboy swing heroically down the zipline into Bart's backyard and follow Bartdog through a fence.

Page 4- Bartdog goes into a sewer pipe and Bartman and Houseboy follow. Houseboy, being the nerd that he is, is afraid and fantasizes about unicorns and waffles as they walk through the nasty pipe.

Page 5- They exit into a bizarro Springfield, wander around and try to understand this new, oddly familiar, place.

Our finished pencils are due next Thursday so I'll post those when I get a chance as well. They'll also be much cleaner and hopefully easier to understand than these roughs.