How much time did you spend on your project?
10 on coloring.
What did you do for hands-on?
Digital Coloring. Water color texturing.
What Research did you do?
None.
Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?
Yeah, she is suggesting it would be better and more time conscious to print the book out at Kinko's or something and put it together myself rather than Order it from Lulu. Possibly a good idea.
Were you in class this week?
No. Supposed to write a short thingy though.
What do you think your fulfillment of WISE requirements was?
Going through the muck. Muck it out.
What are your plans for next week?
Almost done. Complete images and format them.
This is a blog about my experience and progress as I work on my project for WISE, a English class in which for the second semester we work on self designed projects. My project is to write and illustrate a children's book.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Water Color Texturing
There is this wonder thing called water colors. They make coloring REALLY easy. And I'm not using them to color my pieces. Do you know why? because Digital Coloring is much easier. But that does not stop me from doing water color texturing.
Basically, I am bored with the non-textured backgrounds of Digital art, and so I have spent a couple days making interesting patterns with water colors, scanned them in, and use them in various places in ze finished images.
Here are some examples.
Admittedly, mine aren't nearly as wispy and un-solid-like.
Using for various backgrounds. Super.
Basically, I am bored with the non-textured backgrounds of Digital art, and so I have spent a couple days making interesting patterns with water colors, scanned them in, and use them in various places in ze finished images.
Here are some examples.
Admittedly, mine aren't nearly as wispy and un-solid-like.
Using for various backgrounds. Super.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Another Weekly Review
How much time did you spend on your project?
9-ish hours.
What did you do for hands-on?
Inking. Rinse and repeat.
What Research did you do?
Nada. But I have nine out of 10 research journals, the next one will be the interview Journal entry.
Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?
Yes. Stuff. Discussing short cuts for finishing.
Were you in class this week?
Yes. We signed up for our slots.
What do you think your fulfillment of WISE requirements was?
Just working through the mess of stuff. Doin' it.
What are your plans for next week?
I have the interview scheldueld for next week. that'll go well. :D And more inking.
9-ish hours.
What did you do for hands-on?
Inking. Rinse and repeat.
What Research did you do?
Nada. But I have nine out of 10 research journals, the next one will be the interview Journal entry.
Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?
Yes. Stuff. Discussing short cuts for finishing.
Were you in class this week?
Yes. We signed up for our slots.
What do you think your fulfillment of WISE requirements was?
Just working through the mess of stuff. Doin' it.
What are your plans for next week?
I have the interview scheldueld for next week. that'll go well. :D And more inking.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Weekly Review...Yeah.
How much time did you spend on your project?
9 Hours coloring pages. NINE HOURS OF ONLY COLORING. And another hour on Journal entires.
What did you do for hands-on?
Coloring. Lots of coloring.
What Research did you do?
Research on relevance of technology effecting children's books (as well as regular literature) in the future.
Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?
Yes. Just to get on top of the work and just keep popping it out.
Were you in class this week?
No.
What do you think your fulfillment of WISE requirements was?
Nooooooo idea.
What are your plans for next week?
Arranging a meeting with the Family Reading Partner ship, they are supposed to reply sometime this weekend. More inking. Research.
9 Hours coloring pages. NINE HOURS OF ONLY COLORING. And another hour on Journal entires.
What did you do for hands-on?
Coloring. Lots of coloring.
What Research did you do?
Research on relevance of technology effecting children's books (as well as regular literature) in the future.
Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?
Yes. Just to get on top of the work and just keep popping it out.
Were you in class this week?
No.
What do you think your fulfillment of WISE requirements was?
Nooooooo idea.
What are your plans for next week?
Arranging a meeting with the Family Reading Partner ship, they are supposed to reply sometime this weekend. More inking. Research.
Done with the Special Twelve
So, twelve pieces done.
I'll add the picture once I have access to them. I forgot to add them to my Flash drive....but they're there!
But alas, I still must go and be a machine and just keep popping them out. Sketches are ready to start inking once I get the paper ready today. Need to cut it to the right size. The nib tip for my inking pen is getting crusty as well....should probably replace it. Or learn how to clean it properly. The repeated layering of the ink onto it is making it impossible to use the ink properly and efficiently. The coloring process is down and made easy, I might go back and adjust things before the final product though...
I'll add the picture once I have access to them. I forgot to add them to my Flash drive....but they're there!
But alas, I still must go and be a machine and just keep popping them out. Sketches are ready to start inking once I get the paper ready today. Need to cut it to the right size. The nib tip for my inking pen is getting crusty as well....should probably replace it. Or learn how to clean it properly. The repeated layering of the ink onto it is making it impossible to use the ink properly and efficiently. The coloring process is down and made easy, I might go back and adjust things before the final product though...
Monday, May 2, 2011
Always Deny the Apocolypse
"Always deny the apocalypse, John. You’ll usually be right, and when you’re wrong, no one will be left to say, 'I told you so.’”
A brilliant quote in an article I read on the evolution of technology and how it will effect reading in the future of our society.
It is called:
The Future of Reading: Don't Worry. It might be better than you think. By John Green
and is a very intelligent ramble that comes from many directions at once and addresses them equally and satisfactorily. He compares the future of books to Youtube, which I found strange at first until he used examples, such as "Charlie Bit Me", to scare the hell out of me. Basically he predicted that it is likely that there will be billions of books with very few readers and very few books with billions of readers.
If one has explored the world of Youtube in depth they will discover that this analogy is very accurate. But in no way do these numbers equal the quality of which these videos or books are! I know for a fact that there are a number of videos out there that are worth viewing and they don't have the recognition. This is true for a number of websites as to how they operate. It is hard to find good/interesting things unless you dig, and often the ones with the most recognition will always pop up first, leaving other works that are either equally deserving--or more--of recognition in their big black shadows.
And it's scary. To think that we will be reduced to reading books of equal quality as this:
This is cute. Really. But I do not look forward to reading books that are of...THIS...'quality.
John Green then went on to address the importance of a story in relative to how Video Games and Blockbuster movies.
He makes an excellent point when saying when you read the the written word, a story, you are in a way making it your own. Either with how you imagine the characters or in the way you relate to it. It makes me wonder about children's picture books.
Am I cheap for wanting to express something without words? Do I take away that something which makes a connection between the story and the reader that make reading worth while? In one section Green compare the The Very Hungry Caterpillar with a book about a really cute dog. The title described exactly that, and I couldn't help but grimace at the idea that that book might be real. My Puppy Is Adorable and These Illustrations Prove It. UGH.
But does that lower the quality of my book? Yeah, the story kinda sucks, I got that...I don't really like the idea of writing an actual story....Ah well. But was it bad I focused on the illustrations? Was I focusing too much on myself rather than if the reader could understand the story?
I guess I should just accept people are going to interpret my book in different ways since there is no clear cut definition. I hope that is good enough.
God...I look back on these journals and I'm like "what do these have to do with my project again?" And then I read and I'm like "Oooooooh~" So all this did have a point. :D
A brilliant quote in an article I read on the evolution of technology and how it will effect reading in the future of our society.
It is called:
The Future of Reading: Don't Worry. It might be better than you think. By John Green
and is a very intelligent ramble that comes from many directions at once and addresses them equally and satisfactorily. He compares the future of books to Youtube, which I found strange at first until he used examples, such as "Charlie Bit Me", to scare the hell out of me. Basically he predicted that it is likely that there will be billions of books with very few readers and very few books with billions of readers.
If one has explored the world of Youtube in depth they will discover that this analogy is very accurate. But in no way do these numbers equal the quality of which these videos or books are! I know for a fact that there are a number of videos out there that are worth viewing and they don't have the recognition. This is true for a number of websites as to how they operate. It is hard to find good/interesting things unless you dig, and often the ones with the most recognition will always pop up first, leaving other works that are either equally deserving--or more--of recognition in their big black shadows.
And it's scary. To think that we will be reduced to reading books of equal quality as this:
This is cute. Really. But I do not look forward to reading books that are of...THIS...'quality.
John Green then went on to address the importance of a story in relative to how Video Games and Blockbuster movies.
He makes an excellent point when saying when you read the the written word, a story, you are in a way making it your own. Either with how you imagine the characters or in the way you relate to it. It makes me wonder about children's picture books.
Am I cheap for wanting to express something without words? Do I take away that something which makes a connection between the story and the reader that make reading worth while? In one section Green compare the The Very Hungry Caterpillar with a book about a really cute dog. The title described exactly that, and I couldn't help but grimace at the idea that that book might be real. My Puppy Is Adorable and These Illustrations Prove It. UGH.
But does that lower the quality of my book? Yeah, the story kinda sucks, I got that...I don't really like the idea of writing an actual story....Ah well. But was it bad I focused on the illustrations? Was I focusing too much on myself rather than if the reader could understand the story?
I guess I should just accept people are going to interpret my book in different ways since there is no clear cut definition. I hope that is good enough.
God...I look back on these journals and I'm like "what do these have to do with my project again?" And then I read and I'm like "Oooooooh~" So all this did have a point. :D
The Tools
So. I guess I haven't really explained the wonderful tools I use in my trade.
There aren't that many truthfully, but I decided to explain them anyway.
First in the Pen and Ink:
I use a special ink called India Ink. Often used by artist and such. It is fast drying and doesn't bleed with water. I work on water color paper for texture and so that the ink doesn't seep through. I can use various sizes of different pen tips to get different types of lines, but mostly I stick with one. Issues I have with this tool is when it screws up, it makes a BIT BLACK MARK. Not fun. But that's what photoshop is for.
Then I use a scanner:
Simple as can be. Stick a piece of paper on it and it transfers it into a digital file. I put this at a very high resolution so that I am capable of adding lots of detail to the work.
After that, I use Photoshop to add color an clean up the picture, removing mistakes and finishing the piece:
I wish I had CS4...that would be so sweeeeeeeet. I have an older version, but it works just as well. It takes time and with a Tablet (above) coloring is much easier as it allows the size of the mark I am making to change with pressure as if it were an actual pen or pencil.
It allows pics like this:
to be awesome sauce. BOOM BABY.
There aren't that many truthfully, but I decided to explain them anyway.
First in the Pen and Ink:
I use a special ink called India Ink. Often used by artist and such. It is fast drying and doesn't bleed with water. I work on water color paper for texture and so that the ink doesn't seep through. I can use various sizes of different pen tips to get different types of lines, but mostly I stick with one. Issues I have with this tool is when it screws up, it makes a BIT BLACK MARK. Not fun. But that's what photoshop is for.
Then I use a scanner:
Simple as can be. Stick a piece of paper on it and it transfers it into a digital file. I put this at a very high resolution so that I am capable of adding lots of detail to the work.
After that, I use Photoshop to add color an clean up the picture, removing mistakes and finishing the piece:
I wish I had CS4...that would be so sweeeeeeeet. I have an older version, but it works just as well. It takes time and with a Tablet (above) coloring is much easier as it allows the size of the mark I am making to change with pressure as if it were an actual pen or pencil.
It allows pics like this:
to be awesome sauce. BOOM BABY.
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