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.

Aaaand POOF

Ever wake up in the morning and have a great idea? And then you do something and you completely forget what it was? But you do remember that it was a great idea? Well, that happened to me this morning.

I woke up, hair askew and excited with this going through my head "Ohmigod that is the best research idea EVER! This is such a great plan!!  I can't wait to do it!!" And then I turn off my alarm and....it's gone.

No recollection whatsoever.

I read this thing that said that within a few minutes of waking up you forget most of your dream. And then withing 10 minutes you forget all of it. That is if you did start pondering on what the heck it was about the second you wake up. Like yesterday, I had a dream. I remember waking up and being like "That was freaky." and I knew if I didn't concentrate on it, I would forget it. But now I can't remember it anyway. Just that it is likely it was a scary dream and something weird happened in it.

Why do good ideas have to come to you when you dream? You will only forget them and then you feel awful for the rest of the day. Dang it.

Just some trivia, the idea for my story came to me as I was falling asleep. I decided to get up and write it down instead of forgetting it....I'm not sure if the same thing applies to that situation but...anyway.

And good news! In the process of writing this, I have rememberd enough about the dream to be able to tell that there was something about publishing involved....OH MY GOD. I just remembered it all. Thank GOD.

The idea is to look up how to format a book so that it looks professionally done. Cause that is one of the deals with Lulu.com. You have to format everything yourself and then upload it in a PDF file...that....was awesome.

I am officially dubbing this the best Blog Post EVER.

So I'll be looking that up later today. :)

Sketching Progress

Did two sketches tonight. It's looking more more likely I'll finish the 12 pieces by May. Which is good.
In general, today was good. Inked two pieces (admittedly one had very little detail in the pen-work and most of it's coolness will come with the colors) and sketched 2 pieces. The ink was very mean to me. I have some clean up to do in photoshop before I can start coloring one of the pieces. Hopefully I will completely transfer them to the final paper so I can work on them over the weekend tomorrow. I have a field trip this Friday to a Print Workshop, which should be fun and interesting but probably won't help with my project. I guess I can use it as "research". Different prospective mediums to use for illustrating a book and all that.

In other news, I have finally looked at pictures of squirrels and learned how to draw them properly. I googled them 7th period and did 5 quick sketches. Which is really the only way to learn. According to Miss Gergley, this counts as Research. Which is awesome. I shall do a journal soon dedicated solely to how I use google to get a general idea of what I want to draw.  :D

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw....Blasted little buggers are in my ceilings. GO AWAY.

But the purpose of this is to learn how to draw them, which I have (Hurrah!) and now I have to learn to draw kangaroos and then draw a cross between the two which is adorable and terrifying at the same time. Of course I may just go with a giant squirrel. Hmmmm...Things to ponder.

Imaginism Studios

The way that I see it, this studio...is awesome. I've been following their blogs and stuff through a website for a few years now, and it's incredible just how amazing they are. The main guy I think his name is Bobby Chu. The studio is Toronto Canada. I feel like all these amazing artist are in Canada.

Like ktshy (internet name). Her stuff is brilliant and awesome. Check it out. http://ktshy.deviantart.com/

Or like Bryan Lee O'malley who wrote the comic book sensations Scott Pilgrim! Also incredible....and Canadian...

But to the point. Imaginism Studios...they are just too cool. I mean...look at his stuff!!

It's APPA. Who doesn't love Appa? (And for those who are unaware, Appa is a flying bison from the hit TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender. But how could you not know that?)

This is titled "Beam Me Up Scotty" What's not to love?

Winnie the Pooh Winnie the Pooh...Cuddly Fuzzy...What are the words?

They also have did the designs for a good number of the characters from the Alice In Wonderland movie from last year! I'm not exactly a big fan of the movie, but the visuals were indeed incredible.

Sooooooooooooo detailed...Just looking at the art is so motivational. I don't know what to do with myself...I've seen over live-streaming videos works in progress come to life with incredible detail that seems effortless...it's scary!

Bobby Chu does these online classes where he gives a topic out over his feed and people have to draw it in a hour or two. Limited time frame is the point. And then he chooses which one he likes and he'll give them a the piece he was working on at that time as well. Sometimes it will be guest artists who are well known for the their styles in movies and such. They've had Chris Sanders who was worked on Lilo and Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon, and others I can't remember. (But that last one blew me away.) Oh and the guy who directed/designed for Ice Age. Meh. But anyway, there is a huge following...it's great..:P

Here's the Blog! http://imaginismstudios.blogspot.com/

And this is so brilliant as well...

Well...Good night. :)

One Day One Sketch

Page 16 Sketch

So THIS was completed today.

My tribal warriors look AWESOME. WHAT.

I really am in love with the staff. But to get to the point. This, was completed in one day of work. It doesn't seem like a lot. But it is to me. I'll need to trace this on to my good paper and then ink it, but it is progress. If I can do one of these each day for the next week, I'll have 9 pages in detail sketch. Then inked (because I won't want to stop) and then sorta colored. Still waiting on that...

Detail stinks, but I must learn to love it. Learn to love it....learn to love it. Guh.

MOTIVATIONAL POSTER.

It's a little sad because I'm not doing crew anymore....but the message is right. :D

The Drawings Are coming Along

So to show people I actually indeed am doing things, HERE are some pretty  pictures.

Sketch of a Page (I forget which one)

Inked Page

The Coloring for this last one is pretty much done (need to do some shading) but I think I will leave it incomplete until all the inking is done so that I can make sure the color schemes are compatible on each page. :) The Dragon was fun.

He Ran Away

Barry Deustch...Ran away. But that doesn't mean I didn't get some useful information!

Basically I went to his presentation (which was fabulously amusing) and then he was like "I see there are cartoonist in the audience, so feel free to come speak to me." And I was so going to go over, but then a friend asked me a question about AP Art. When I was done...he had his backpack on and sped out of the class room and I was like:







Yeah....Well anyway, I discovered that Mr. Deutsch and I had a lot in common. Such a procrastination. Best thing EVER.

Not really, but it's nice to know that I'm not alone.

His methods of completing pages using his Wacom Tablet (See Here) was cool but nothing I hadn't seen before. I really enjoyed his humore though! :)  Anywho, he apparently also has issues with completing work. I'm not sure if this is a trait of artists or just lazy people...probably the later. Which is bad. ah well.
Now back to doing work for this project.

Mentor Meeting 3/8/11

Had a meeting with Mrs. Spence today. It went super fabulous. We looked at my story board, while I explained the story to her. She had some suggestions about the view and angle of certain panels/pages. I'm still conflicted about using text in the story. She suggested that I use quotes. The one she had going through her head being from Alice In Wonderland. "Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Luckily...my story wont be half as scary as Alice in Wonderland. 

Actually wouldn't mind if I didn't intend this for children.

Just brilliant. :)

She likes that I will be combining digital and traditional media for the pieces. I will be inking the drawings on 8x12 pieces of watercolor paper and then scanning them to digitally color them. Experimentation is encouraged.


Mrs. Spence also suggested that I try and contact the Family Reading Partnership about getting some interviews. Apparently I can just drop her name...AND THEY WILL DO MY BIDDING. Well...I'm not sure about that, but they would be willing to help out. 


Also, she encourages me to check out Lulu.com soon so that I can get an idea of a deadline. Probably a good idea. Should do that tonight.

Clarrification

It has been brought to my attention that people may find it odd that I am working on my project during my art class. Due to this confusion, I feel the need to clarify some aspects for some people.

This year I am talking an AP Art course. This requires that you complete 24 works by the end of the year to be submitted for evaluation. Twelve of these pieces will be in the Breadth Section. A section where the artist is supposed to show their ability and diversity with works. Either with media or with the subject the works consist of. The other twelve pieces are part of the Concentration section. The concentration is where the artist takes an idea and creates a series of works that follow this idea. For this, I am it as an overlap. The theme I am using is the story for my book. The story about the over-imaginative little girl who has adventures when she walks home from school.

Twelve pages from my illustrated book will be part of my AP Portfolio. You must understand, my story is not 12 pages long. Nor is it merely 15. My story is, as of now, over 30 pages long. And I still feel their are gaps in my story board I may fill in later. So I am not double dipping. I will be working the same amount on each page and I will choose my favorite and most well composed for my portfolio. But this is an art project, and I am doing more for WISE than I am for my AP Art, which is extremely important to me.

I hope that clarifys some things.

Leo Lionni Research

For you Gwen.

So, Leo Lionni has been recommended to me, by my lovely sister. :)

And to tell the truth, I thought I had no idea who he was. But now that I have seen his books....I REMEMBER!!!

Though I don't remember the stories, his style is burned in my mind. Here, have a video!

I feel as though I am Frederick....HE is poet and he knows it. :D Though....I'm not a poet.

And this one is very good too...:)

Inspirational works are very important...:D

I'm being productive. I swear.

Sooooooooooooo.

I really need to get a move on. I finally redesigned my character.

The girl was like this first:

First Design (This is a girl. Just FYI)

I actually liked the design...but it wasn't going to work with how I wanted my story to go. :/

So here is a redesign (IN COLOR!!) that I like more. She has freckles. :D

It works a lot better. I'm not sure about the colors (I had lots of issues) it seems too bluuuuuuuue. Ah well. still I got it down. I upload designs of the father and squirrel this weekend. And perhaps of the knights in the story. I am not looking forward to drawing armor. I better get references.

Does anyone have name suggestions?

Convinced

For the last week I've been teetering on switching to a new tangent for a story. I sort of wanted to go the more dark story thing. But my sister referred that to be like graphic novel-ish. I don't want to do a graphic novel....So I need to stay with my original story.

So what was my original story.

My original idea was to tell a story about how a girl's imagination got away from her as she walked home. It would be full of fantasy and armies of squirrels...but I couldn't find a plot for it. So I decided to abandon it.

The reason I couldn't find a plot for it...mostly has to do with how I designed the main character. She was designed based on me as a kid. I used to walk home and imagine things to entertain me, make up stories for why the white picket fence was falling apart and so on. So the reason I couldn't com up with a plot has to do with it being to closely related to my actual experiences. So I need to distance it from me. I am currently working on redesigning the character and actually giving her her own personality.

My sister Clair was here this past weekend, and we started talking about it. She was the one to convince me to stay the course and make the plot. If I were to not write a children's book, it would make a lot more of what I'm reasearching a lot less meaningful. I intend to use children for feeback. I'll tell them the story, show them some pictures, and maybe they can give me some suggestions. It will be great fun.

So the story...(I actually have something!! YES!!)

It suddenly came to me during Econ today. With much inspiration from my sister's suggestions...yeah.

Here we go:

It starts out with a little girl walking home from school. She's got her back pack full of books and is in about 3rd or 4th grade. As she walks, she starts to imagine things. Like all the houses are castles, the dogs in the yards are dragons and the cats can talk and they sit in the sun with jewelry decorating them. Things are suddenly magical. I hope to have reminders of reality every once in awhile.

Anyway, she ends up rescuing this squirrel creature (I have him designed from my previous attempt at the story, he's very cute.) She either rescues him from a trap, or awakens him from a sleep he couldn't wake from on his own. This thing is a lot bigger than her. In reality, he either doesn't exist at all or is an actual squirrel. I want it to be an actual squirrel. Suddenly they are attacked by the sky/water knights! They come down from the sky, and the girl and her squirrel friend must best them!! It might be through might or perhaps some trickery, I'm am not sure yet. Or they might just runnaway. Considering that in reality this is just rain, I would assume running to shelter would qualify as winning. Or perhaps use of an umbrella sword? I don't know.

Finally, they arrive at the goal, her (house) Castle! But as they are appoaching they go under the gate (perhaps this is where they escape the rain) and go up to the courtyard (front porch) and are ready to open the castle doors...when a ferocious monsterous BEAR appears. And there is no hope what so ever as the bear throws a bag over her...then black. It then reveals a scene of a bemused parent (father or mother? I want it to be father! Then I can make him humongous, cuddly, and adorable. As well as squinty.) who is drying off their daughter after she got caught in the rain. She is protesting. The End. :)

And perhaps there will be an extra page showing surprise at the squirrel who is either freaking out or relaxing in a rather humane way. Maybe perhaps a hint that what she imagined could be reality. Yes. I like this. Now to physically design her, her dad (yes, I have decided, and the fuzzy creature). I must remember to make her have an actual personality!

Be prepared for art dumps sometime soon.