Carmen's Art Blog

Figure Drawings

2012-01-12T05:37:00.009-05:00

Man, I haven't updated in a while, good thing I have some FANCIES! Check out my most recent figure drawing, I'm feeling rather psyched about them at the mo'.

New & Old Stuff

2011-05-14T19:24:00.024-04:00

This is old...this is an example of how bad I am at technical drawings... Give me some French curves and a Micron and it's like...well it's like this...
Danger dog fighting his nemesis Longlegs
So I made you a monster.
Dancing sausages are troubling...
Sister Mary Beary. Confess ye sins.
Meh...
Scribble dog, I quite like him.
Colin handed me a book of Mayan art, there were some dog sculptures he wanted me to draw so these are what I came up with.
More Mayan doggles.
It's a dog, I swear!
I started doing some faces in what I guess you could call "my style." They're not all successful but I think each of these have something about them, a nose, a feeling, a mood.
Sad face.
A gesture. Unfortunately this is not from life, but I think that it says something without much being there. (Which is what it's supposed to do.) I overworked it in reality so I heavily edited it in Photoshop to return it to it's original simplicity. (i.e. it has a head in the sketchbook).
Geisha: what she lacks in beauty she makes up for in spunk and wit.
I kinda like the raccoon eye effect here.
I love this doodle.
This, although being made up of some shaky lines feels like it has a lot of personality.
Oh, I was just a teenage Longlegs.
Old, old, old character design of myself... They're not very good, but may be worth revisiting.
More developed "me."
I named her Crimson...
I got bored in class many years ago and this mermaid happened... The anatomy is weird, but I still like the effort.
This is also old. He's not the greatest but I'm thinking maybe I could ink it in Photoshop. We'll see.

Random Stuff That I Found While Unpacking

2011-04-26T07:09:00.008-04:00

These should have been posted with the bear block print I was working on. These were just some sketchies, but they helped inform the final. Unfortunately, the final print/block were not as exciting to me as the sketches.

Lithography practice. You can see I'm not very good at it, the differences in ink thickness are really apparent. (But these were just tests...so...)

Sketch based on Colin's painting/drawings/lithos, "The Fates."

This guy is wonky, but I like him. His feet however, need work.

These cats be so crazy, Dogboy's all like, "Whatevs."

Eerie doodle I did with the last of the ink in my brush pen. I wasn't really planning on this drawing to appear, but appear it did.

I bet you have conversations with your boyfriend that end in this sort of thing...right?

Doodle Dump

2011-04-26T05:45:00.034-04:00

Yeah...I apologize if any of this crap offends ya.

This guy haunts my freakin' dreams man...

I overheard someone say this in a Carl's Jr. in Sunnyvale...

True story folks... I think I broke my toe. Colin kept saying, "It's no big deal" and poking me to distract me from the pain. Finally, after screaming for a full five minutes and declaring that it felt like my toe was giving birth to pain, he told me to draw it. Then he said, "If it's not giving birth to pain, what is it giving birth to?" Well duh, puppies! Toe puppies.

I'm SURRY!

This came out of the usual discussion about dancing. You know how it is.

Colin was like, "Use my pen." So I did...

I'm such a bitter old broad.

BULLY!

I like scribbling. I think the one on the right looks like Liza Minelli...

This is probably the best thing I've ever drawn. I think it's going on my resume/business cards. I'm serious.

Cutest Ever Pig. I loves his feets.

Where you get that 'stache man?

I dunno, I've done a similar doodle. I guess I just figure maybe this is going somewhere.

I love this freaky thing. Colin said, "OOPH, it shouldn't be!" I think it should.

Are you coming to my monstah pahtay?

YIPES! *sorry for the boobs*

Tell it Mr. Dog.

Kinda a silly drawing, but I thought it was fun.

This is one of the best doodle pages I've ever done...at least I think so.

Oh Mr. Dodo, you are looking rather dapper.

Colin owes his brother $Horse Dollars.

...well I am...sheesh...

Another true tale. Went to the Starbucks in the Castro that's known to be a Bear Cruising site and I saw a shavey headed bear carefully wipe his head with a bandanna.

...ew...

"L" is for "legs."

"Why, Mr. Bear, what troubles you so?"

Had Dim Sum for the first time...don't know how I lasted 26 years without eating it somewhere... Anyway, this resulted, because this is the totally normal response to Dim Sum.

Hella Dangerous.

Scibbles

2011-03-30T04:39:00.007-04:00

Like Wilfred Brimley.

Colin has a pot ghost, it poops belly button lint (every hour on the hour) and demands burgers.

Dentures!

Dumb little cat that I still kinda like.

Colin pooted and it sounded like electricity to me; I'm always saying he's a robot so...

I have no idea... Sometimes my hand just draws something and I have to live with it.

Uhh...yeah...cheesy fox, whatchu doin'?

Sketchies

2011-03-30T03:27:00.002-04:00

A couple of doodles. Colin really likes the style, I dunno...it's just my weird drawing...

Sad Robot

2011-03-30T00:23:00.002-04:00

His head is smoking 0s and 1s. Oh binary love.

Recent Doodles

2011-03-29T02:02:00.014-04:00

Here are some doodles I've been doing. There's more to come but I'm in a situation at the moment that makes scanning difficult.

This woman was eating at Dairy Queen... I couldn't stop staring... I'm an awful person...

These I did in the iPhone app "DoodleBuddy." They're so bad they're good. Ha.

Help Send Me to College

2011-03-16T03:29:00.002-04:00

I just received a phone call from my former college. They told me that if I want to finish my last two courses and get my degree in animation, I could do so without reapplying, so long as I do it in the Spring or Summer quarter. I cannot go for Spring as that is only a few days away, but two of my dear friends are offering their home to me if I attend the Atlanta campus in summer. The one hitch is that I am extremely poor right now and there are few options for me other than asking people for money. I'm thinking I should sell my car, but that will only get me about half way there. The courses are expensive, which is my fault, but I need this degree. I need to feel good about myself for once. I need to fulfill a life-long dream; one that may be tattered and one that may be panning out entirely different from what I had hoped, but a dream all the same.

I know Japan is really hurting right now and that there really is no reason why you should be donating to my cause, but I had to ask. This is something that I care about and am compelled to push for, regardless of all else.

If you wish to help me out, no donation is too small. I am quite literally living on the shoulders of my significant other and would really like to relieve the pressure and become a better prepared worker; someone who can enter the workforce with a fair chance. To be honest, if I ever want to pay down the debt I am already in for my schooling (which is impressive...to say the least), I must get this degree.

So, feel free to click the link to paypal (which is under my photo and info) and help me out. Also, feel free to contact me and talk to me more about this. If you donate I would be more than happy to get your info and send you a copy of my senior film when it is completed and/or a drawing of your description, or whatever other creative knick-knack you're in the market for.

Thank you so much for reading,

Carmen

Sketchbook Pages

2011-03-15T05:31:00.005-04:00

I will apologize preemptively for these drawings. I'm kinda a sick bastard. (Also, I like drawing what I think I hear people say. I'm sure you'll spot a few of 'em in there.)

My Very 1st Photoshop Inking

2011-03-06T05:25:00.019-05:00

Original Sketch

Ink with Sketch Underneath

Final Inking

Close-Up of hands because I like how weird they are.

HELLA VIKING!

2011-02-27T23:35:00.002-05:00

Long Time, No Draw

2011-02-26T04:50:00.005-05:00

I haven't drawn in about 5 months. Here are a couple doodles from recent days. (I guess I'm getting back on the horse). Unfortunately because I've been beating myself up as usual I can't seem to focus on a doodle for more than a few minutes... Oh well...

A Couple Doobins

2010-06-29T20:21:00.000-04:00

New Sketchum

2010-02-02T22:02:00.004-05:00

I did dis, I like it. You like it? Hokay Jack.

Pho'Shop? Yes? You like? Yes, you like. Is good. Praise me? Jes, praise me.

Woodblock: Square Bear

2009-09-21T00:03:00.002-04:00

This a wood block I'm about to carve for Intro to Printmaking. Thoughts?

Oldies

2009-08-09T21:14:00.001-04:00

I also did these for people a while back.

Technicolor Dream Bear

2009-08-09T06:40:00.001-04:00

His favorite song is "Come to Papa" by Bob Seger.

Bear on a Wire

2009-08-09T02:42:00.001-04:00

Inspired by images of actual bears on telephone poles, the infamous "Bird on a Wire" images as seen mostly on etsy, which came from Leonard Cohen, and the "Hi Bear, Bye Bear" image, I bring you: Bear on a Wire.

Fat Pan

2009-08-08T17:42:00.000-04:00

Pan always seemed like this little twinky European so I thought I'd bring him to America where he would gorge himself on potato chips, spend hours on the couch and become some creepy fat dude who spends hours fappin' to bad porn on the internet. He still tries his best to seduce but...you know...he's lost his edge.

Old Scribble of Me

2009-08-07T20:37:00.001-04:00

Maple Beaver

2009-08-06T21:28:00.001-04:00

American Pugly

2009-08-04T11:03:00.002-04:00

Wolfness

2009-08-04T06:50:00.002-04:00

Part Fox, Part Tiger

2009-08-02T21:39:00.001-04:00

...I feel like fucking Napoleon Dynamite....

Mr. Rabbit

2009-08-02T12:36:00.002-04:00

I based this off of another rabbit doodle, but it's a little different.

Colin Scribbit

2009-08-01T23:04:00.001-04:00

I didn't like the hat I drew on him, so I erased it and used photoshop to make magic Chinese hat happen.

Mr. Bear

2009-07-29T23:17:00.000-04:00

...and that's when Mr. Bear left forever.

Current Dooble

2009-07-29T06:34:00.002-04:00

No truer words have ever been written. And yes, I realize he's broken and missing a leg and isn't being suspended by anything, but I still like him.

Current Projects

2009-04-10T13:55:00.008-04:00

I'm still trying to get everything together for my senior project. Right now I'm taking Conceptual Maquette Design and 2D Production.

In 2D Production we were to create a background that set a mood and animate a bouncing ball within it. (The idea is to integrate a quickly, but well executed background with animation.) We haven't finished animating yet, but I thought I'd post the wacky things I've done for the background. It's where serene and psychedelic meet. Ha.

It began here, with the sketch below, and changed and changed. Thoughts? Comments? I don't know, I think they're kinda fun.

As for my maquette making class, I'm on the way to creating a likeness of the late transvestite "Divine." Keep an eye out for that!

Sketches

2009-03-20T03:53:00.006-04:00

Latest sketches that I like, though I have been doing some decent sloppy stuff.

Layout

2009-03-20T03:32:00.000-04:00

I can see all of the wonky bits with this image now...but I worked hard.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T23:24:00.003-05:00

I know, I know, no drawings for a long time and none in this post. I just wanted to tell you all what's been going on with me. I am now in Concept Development class, which means that I'm almost to the finish line of school and the starting line of my senior film. (Updates of which can be found on http://myseniorfilm.blogspot.com). So most of my work has been on that. However, I have work from last quarter that I am going to post once I get back to my scanner and a couple of drawings I'm very pleased with, that I've done this weekend. I'm trying to do one good drawing a day, but yesterday did 3 things that I like for different reasons. At any rate, I will post those ASAP. So don't worry that I've lost interest in blogging or died or got scared again, I'm just lazy...something else I'm working on.

Speaking of working on my problems (especially around creating) I am seeing a counsellor at my college who specializes in creativity coaching, etc. So I'm working to be a better, stronger me, and a better stronger artist. I've made leaps and bounds, though continue to hit snags. Today I spent a great deal of time crying because I'm working on my senior film's storyboards/animatic. I struggle greatly with compositions. I do much better when I have a camera, but the whole point of storyboarding is to do the work ahead of time. Anyway, I just thought that was important.

Take care,

Concept Development for Layout & Character Design

2008-12-14T20:58:00.004-05:00

Here's a Blue Tick Coon Hound I did for the Concept Development Assignment in Layout & Character Design. It's very much a doodle, but I like it a lot. For some reason the blue pencil was just working for me on this one. (In terms of rendering anyhow.)

Two Sketches I Forgot

2008-12-12T18:17:00.005-05:00

Two wolf sketches Colin and I did. Me left, he right. I don't know which version came first and which second, but Colin wanted both saved. This one came before most of the ones in the last post.

More iScribble

2008-12-12T17:43:00.031-05:00

Two collaborations between Colin and I.

Two more.

He did the left, I did the right.

Someone came in and drew that fat Picachu, Colin added the sammich.

A face I did.

Here's the same face, plus the one on the far left is mine (the tiny one) and the weird one, bottom right, is Colin's.

Close up of tiny face.

This time Colin added blue and asked me to screen cap again.

I did the blue dog and the weird orange pig thing, Colin did the sideways dog with the lightbulb nose and we collabed on the "busty" dog...thing... That anime dog is someone else's.

Another close up of a face I did.

Undersea scene. I started doing the squid by myself, then some guy came in and did the diver, Colin came in and did the moon lander thing and the skill, some lame-o came in and did the scribbles and I did the seahorse to pass more time.

I did both the purple donkey wearing headphones as well as the goat, Colin did the brain in the jar (though he asked me to sketch the jar first) and the beginnings of a skull at the bottom right. Someone else did that little thing at the bottom.

Colin and I then joined the two characters and because I don't have the blur tool available to me yet, while he was meshing the two together, I drew "Onlooking Bear."

I drew the blue bunny and the little, weird, scribbly, purple one, Colin did the microwave bunny, this person "a-wes-ome" did the zombie bunny, far left, and someone who was in the room before us did the pink bunny, or "Bunny-Bunny." Bunny-Bunny had a weird, fully rendered eye that made it creepy as Hell. So, I drew this eye and had Colin blur it. Believe me, THIS is less frightening.

Then "a-wes-ome" drew wings and Colin and I drew the very phallic looking horn...woops...

Colin and "a-wes-ome" did the bunnies while I drew the sick Polar bear and added the text.

A head I did.

I did the purple one, as mentioned above and the black and white "Elvisy" guy. Colin did...well...you know who that is...lol.

I drew this tiger from a photo in a "Warrior Cats" room. I think this is one of my favorite doodles.

Another from a photo, Colin blurred. He was drawing "The Gorton's Fisherman." I did this next to it...

More "Warrior/RP Cats"... Colin and I collabed on the panther in the middle.

"Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Woo-hoo-oo-oo!" Colin and I collaborated again to draw a very weird and disturbing Little Richard...

This is "Pan" from an ancient fresco.

I did Ganesh. Someone else did the one on the right. There's a more finished version, but they changed the BG color and I picked that yellow with purpose...so it remains... It's in a "Best of" section though... :)

Most recent doodle, Marie Antoinette with ship hair... It's from and old illustration. Mine doesn't look much like the original and I didn't finish it, but I like it a lot. Some dude was hassling me while I was drawing so I got it to a place that I liked it and left.

iScribble.net

2008-12-07T02:45:00.003-05:00

Colin and I have really gotten into doodling on "iscribble.net" with our WACOM tablets...though his is much fancier. :-P Anyway, here's what I did tonight.

P.S. Sorry I haven't posted in ages!

The Old Man & The Sketch Book

2008-10-26T18:21:00.003-04:00

Here's that drawing that I mentioned in my last entry. I finally made it down to the Dyson Computer Lab where they have the big scanners. I dunno...whatcha think?

African Inspired Character Concept

2008-10-17T00:49:00.005-04:00

Here's the concept doodle I was talking about for an African inspired Stop Motion animation I would like to make. (Stemming from that doodle that everyone likes and one person wants to have made into a tattoo).

Here is the original.

And here is a version with a Photoshop filter. (Don't ask why, I honestly don't know...I assume it'll make sense later to me.)

My next post will be of a drawing that has gotten a lot of attention even though I rarely show it, it's in a sketchbook with other images bleeding through it and...well...the list goes on. It needs to be photographed because it's too big to fit in my scanner and that means lighting it, etc. So, I'll make sure to get that done ASAP, but for now I'm glad all of my back archiving is done and you can look forward to more posts in the future.

And please, leave comments!

Back Archiving: In My Own Time

2008-10-17T00:23:00.008-04:00

This is just random stuff that I've done in my own time.

This has a weird story... I know it's not the best thing ever, but there's something about it I like. I found several plastic easter eggs in the Weston House quad, one had a tiny yellow chick in it, the others had W.W.J.D. (What Would Jesus Do) bracelets; I found six. I wanted to dye them black so that I could wear them. I coated each in black ink as they sat on a piece of paper, when I went to move it, the bracelets shifted and this was the out come.

This was both meant to be a Valentine's Day image as well as a T-shirt. Yeah, I know...it's off...but I did this without reference one day while in the worst class I've ever taken: Survey of New Media Arts. Gouache background with graphite lady. (I have since been asked TWICE if I'm going to finish it...thanks...) (Ink it, etc.) (I have also since been asked who I work for, a little more complimentary.)

This is a block print I did for my mom's old job. The hope was that it would be made into a postcard... I don't know if this will happen.

This I drew for a friend. I based it on him but made him a child. He was a culinary major at his community college and then came to SCAD for animation. We worked on a stop mo project together. The background is lame, but I love how he came out.

This came from a joke that my alter ego was a super hero named, "Arachna-tit." A woman who could "F*** a man in half." It's all wonky but it was the first drawing I had done after a dry spell. (Though art school teacher you a great deal and would seemingly be inspiring, it can also be very taxing emotionally and creatively).

Back Archiving: School Work

2008-10-16T23:40:00.031-04:00

This is a collection of school work I'm proud of (not including animation, I'll see if I can dig that up).

This is my maquette for little, "Me." I just turned this in today for a 96/100. Though both the professor and I could agree that it still have some rough spots, it turned out really nice.

This is a maquette I made for Stop Motion II class. I named this little one, Xoie. (The reason why this maquette is colored is because in Stop Motion you use a maquette to work out all of the details before building a puppet, while in 2D Animation, you paint a maquette matte gray so that you can see how light hits the forms, thus making animating that much easier. I need to sand mine to both clean up the rough bits as well as make it matte).

Here's a photo of Xoie that I took with my cell phone...

This was the original character concept. I "cuted her up" by making her a little rounder and a little younger looking.

This was drawing for Layout Design. Fully rendered drawings made with blue animation pencil is an interesting experience. I know that the shirt isn't perfect, etc., but I like this doodle a lot.

This was the original Character Turn-Around for little "Me."

This is a gouache painting I did in Color & Design at AAU. Had I really kept my paint application consistent, this could have gone into the AAU Student Show.

This actually did make it into the AAU Student Show. My teacher said that this was the most original Repeat Pattern project she had ever seen. She also marveled at the fact that unlike the other students who masked off their work with Frisket or Tape, I freehanded it. (Don't worry, I used a ruler to loses place things but beyond that... I just went for it.) I was not awarded any prizes but out of several thousands of students I was one of maybe 20 students to be shown.

This was the original concept doodle for Mr. Bear, "Me's" friend.

This was the final Character Turn-Around for Mr. Bear. My professor and I agree that I should push this because we really think there's something hiding underneath these drawings.

This is Mercedes Bends, Japanese Pearl Diver. The side view is realllllly weird, but I still like her. This is the Japanese Noh based character I mentioned in my last entry. I didn't realize I categorized it as such.

One of the poses for the first "Me."

Here I was seeing how I could push "Me's" original design.

Another example of "Me" and "Mr. Bear."

The final turn around for "Me." Not perfect but much better. I hand inked this in...I want to say...under an hour...so there are imperfections (I am out of practice) and her freckles smudged on the straight-ahead pose.

The Great Warrior. A found object puppet for Stop Motion I. From top down: feathers, head is a pencil sharpener, wings are earrings, bit on forehead came from an eyelash curler, one eye has a cog from a can opener around it, the other has a weird cog thing I got at Home Depot, shoulder adornments are buttons, red fabric cape, the chest plate from a fakey Ken doll, an old watch courtesy of MacD, the skirt was made from a black and white striped purse that had fallen into disrepair, I used a hole punch for the alternating black and white dots, one arm is made from two chicken bones I found and a Ken hand, the other arm was one of Ken's arms with a Dremmel tool hand, more of the black and white purse for the arm band, hair roller shin guards and portable ashtray feet. Few...what a mouth full.

This is the first Character sheet I ever made. This is Dag, he's a Duckbilled Platypus. Though a little odd, I like him. You can see the Disney influence here.

This I did for Perspective for Animators at AAU. Though I used a Photoshop filter on this, the original's fun too. Values need to be pushed, etc. but I feel like this is a fun location.

At AAU our 3D Design class was spent sculpting the figure. One of our last projects was to sculpt a head from a live model. Though this looks very little like the model we were lucky enough to have, it was my first try at sculpting a head and unlike everyone else's, mine actually turned out looking semi-realistic. My professor, however, didn't seem to like women even though she was one, and decided to give me a C for the class. So disappointing...women hating women...

Back Archiving: Doodles

2008-10-16T22:35:00.044-04:00

Here's a collection (a rather large collection) of sketches I wanted to share that were floating about in my sketchbooks. Originally I wanted to put these in a particular order but for some reason blogger places photos in reverse order that you attempt to load them in... I'll give a little explanation of each. Partly because I like typing, partly because I like explaining myself and partly so that you might connect images that are to be placed together and place each image in a loose timeline; important for me because I feel that each time I create, my new piece outshines the last.

I'm very light handed so Colin said, "Here! Draw with pens!" He gave me some of his favorite pens, the Mars Staedtler watercolor pens. (I had worked with Copic Brush tipped pens a little, you'll see those drawings later.)

Here's a sketch of a tree I did while waiting for the SCAD Shopping Shuttle. I drew this in a Utrecht Sample Sketch book that I accidentally stole from the Art Supplies Trade Show here at SCAD. I used a Carbon pencil that I legitimately got for free from the Trade Show.

More of my practicing with Mars pens.

This is from an inside joke I have with Lily and Diana. I originally set out to make Lily a tote bag with this image on it several years ago...I finally drew it out over the summer.

While at Colin's mom's house I continued working with those Mars pens and got to play with sparklers! I've come to really like drawing myself; I think I've finally found some facial landmarks that make it easier to draw myself. I also tried to draw everyday and experimented with drawing what I did during the day.

Here I was trying to see how much visual information is needed to identify an animal.

SILVER BEAR!

Part experimentation with Pilot Pen, part truth...

I need to loosen up and am always seeking the best way; most efficient way to represent something. This is no masterpiece but an attempt to loosen up. Oh yeah, and not lift the pen from the paper.

More scribbles.

More from drawing what happened during the day. We sent our first rent check and I got underpants.

I love drawing women. They're much easier. I was experimenting with exaggerating proportions and line weight.

A character design? I dunno...

This doodle has a fun story... On the way to Kroger one day (Colin donning a pair of yellow House Wife gloves), we ran into a man who wanted money and or food. He claimed to be a concert pianist; someone who rattled off a list of music you'd play as a bar player... He said he came to Savannah for an audition, he said he blew everyone away at the audition by playing John Lennon's "Imagine." He claimed he was staying in a mission and wanted to discuss a great many things over a Power Bar, which we soon found we would be buying for him. Other extraneous details: he saw Colin's Marilyn Manson T-shirt and said, "He's an amazing performer." He wanted many Power Bars, we ended up having to lay down the law and tell HIM how many we would be buying for him. He seemed to have a stolen bicycle that he didn't want to leave out front. (It had a lock on it but he kept saying, "Should I leave it out front? I don't know...I guess I could...Should I? I...don't know..." The eerie thing is that this doodle is probably the most accurate depiction of this weirdo either of us could create.

Colin and I collaborated on this weird thing while sipping drinks at Blaine's Backdoor Bar... The local Bear Bar.

Here's the second half of doodles based on Japanese Noh masks.

The first half of sketches based on Japanese Noh masks which were originally inspired by a character you will see later in this entry.

MOSQUEEDLE!

Here I'm working with line weight. This was one of the first pages I did with a Copic Brush tipped pen.

I want to say this was a Mars pen again. Line weight tests again.

Bad doodle but funny all the same. The tag line here is: "You probably know Jesus' face better than you know your own." In other words, you're more likely to be able to draw Jesus' face from memory than your own... A scary comment on how Christian imagery is just burned into your brain.

MORE JESUS! The doodle on the left is of a Jesus Comic Book Colin and I picked up for a dollar in Mt. Dora.

More of me.

More work with line weight. More mars. More fun.

This, for some reason, is a popular doodle on mine. I've been told that people want to get this tattood on their skin. This lead to a concept for an animation that I want to make. I forgot to scan the character concept I made, but will put it in another entry and remind you of this.

Line weight and silliness!

Chat de Jambon.

Here's the second of two drawings based on a dress I own. More work with pushing proportions and was initially going to be a concept for a character of myself. This was created as a relief from the first drawing (which is below; you can see the charcoal around the edges, I used this to define the edge with a Copic pen).

Here's the original drawing. Sadly you cannot see that it's shiny.

Colin doodle. He said, "This is the best drawing anyone has done of me." A sad thought in my opinion...

More drawing from the day.

This...is kind of self explanatory...kind of... Someone was throwing out a TV with a VHS slot at Boundary Village (one of my dorms). I went and grabbed it and immediately felt like the rat from Charlotte's Web.

What does it take to make a bunny? Bits.

Here's the only sketch I liked that I made with a Pentel Brush Pen. I love what this pen does but I'm not very good at controlling it yet.

This comes from a selection of "Rules" or "Truths" I've come to understand while living with my boyfriend in our first apartment. (Another you saw earlier: The birth control one).

Do you like how I misspelled "squirrel"?

Introduction

2008-10-15T12:37:00.002-04:00

For a while now I have been saying that I want to make an art blog. So many talented people are inspiring me with their work and I would like to share my work as well. Part of this comes from the idea that I need feedback, but beyond that I need to learn how to take criticism. Here's my deal, I have a real tough time showing my work withanyone. I am a perfectionist and am fairly OCD about the creation of my art. Even showing a doodle to my boyfriend is a terrifying experience. Just the other night I did a redo project for a class and had a nervous break-down in which I became Rain Man; sitting on the toilet, rocking back and forth repeating a psychotic's mantra, "It has to be perfect, it's not going to be perfect, it has to be perfect..." and so on... To clarify, it actually did have to be perfect for this teacher, but that's a different story. In general I just need to learn how to be "ok" with my work and so this is part of many exercises I'm putting myself through in hopes of relieving some of the stress involved with my work.

I suppose you may be interested in my back story. Here's the extremely abridged version: born into this world wanting to be an artist I am living my dream as a 23 year old art student. (This, of course, does not come without a hefty set of loans I will be repaying for the rest of my sad little life). I study Animation at the Savannah College of Art & Design in Savannah, GA and am an off and on Film & TV minor with a serious interest in writing... I'm training to be a "story teller." I have also attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA. There I got a really strong foundation that focused more on the figure than SCAD's lean toward "design aesthetics." I also was able to get my hands into experimental animation as opposed to more commercial animation which, again, is what SCAD is known for. Now, that may have you asking, "Then why are you at SCAD?" This, in part, is due to the fact that AAU is too close to home and that SCAD has access to all of the industry standard software and equipment; so I get the "arty" from AAU and the "technical" from SCAD. Then, once I have that nailed down and get my silly degree I want to do Grad work at Cal Arts where I can get my MFA in experimental animation, win an Oscar (student or otherwise) and move onto a magical career in animation. Having my own studio would be nice as well but we'll keep my dreams to a dull roar for now.

So there you have it, my life in a nut shell. I may include more later, but the long and short of it is that I have my hands in everything creative and have since I was a little girl. Even if I don't finish a project I am always fiddling with something; one day it's painting another day it's sculpture, which explains why I like animation so much. Animation can and does involve every kind of art there is. Stop Motion animation can be captured with photography, there's film and editing involved (ah editing, how I love thee), sculpture, painting, drawing, it's all there, but then the magic happens and it moves! I don't know, there's no end to my fascination and excitement involving animation. I'll never forget my first animation, seeing that bouncing ball lazily bop across the screen was an amazing moment for me. I can't wait for my degrees but really can't wait to see my name in the credits of something exciting. *sigh*

And with that, I shall go so I can scan all that needs to be posted here.

Happy Creating,
Carmen