38: Rambling and sketches (NSFW?)

Oh poor neglected blogs. I'm so sorry. *hugs blogs*

Its been hectic over here. I've had my first couple of exams and they have been killer! (I aced my Math exam though! :D ) I have two more next week...Biology and an anatomy exam for Life Drawing. Ugh.

My arm has been steadily getting better. It's still sore but I am able to use it a lot closer to normal. My leg...well...I was starting to be able to put a lot more pressure on it that normal. I must have over-strained it because it started swelling even MORE than normal. I am now on a strict schedule of medicine, icing and/or resting every 3 hours, and basically keeping as much weight off it as possible. Bleagh.

I just want to be rid of them. My classmates and teachers have been so accommodating but I worry I'm wearing out their kindness. I can't wait to be self-sufficient again.

I've got a little painting in the works that I'm super excited about. I've got all the boring color-blocking done and now I'm working on the details. I love when a messy blotchy painting starts coming to life, looking more and more how I imagined in my head. No progress-shots, though! At least, not until I'm done with the thing.

Here's pictures of stuff I've been doing in Life Drawing class. I've found that a lot of times, I get very frustrated while drawing. I can see that the drawing isn't working but I can't tell what's wrong. Taking a picture helps me see it with fresh eyes. Usually, I can point out immediately what's wrong and go back in and fix it.

I think I've been improving. I know one of the problems I have (it shows most on my homework self-portrait) is shading. I usually end up with a dark line drawing where the shading follows the outline, not really doing much for the dimensionality of the form. Today, my teacher made us concentrate on the shapes of the shadows and lights, instead of just the contours of the body. After being very frustrated with it for a long time, I think something clicked today. I'm nowhere near good enough but I am definitely pleased with my progress.

What do you guys think?

(These are in chronological order from last week)

Wednesday

 

 

Monday

 

 

 

 

Wednesday (today)

35: Self portrait hw

For homework was a figure drawing assignment. I couldn't get anyone to model for me...but I do have a full-length mirror in my room.

Normally in Life Drawing class, we are not allowed to have our phones or cameras out. (Understandably  and rightfully so.) Unfortunately, I am not able to take in-progress shots. Since the model this time is myself, I figured I'd take the opportunity.

I started with vine charcoal. Just loose gesture drawings, trying to get the main masses down -- the head, ribcage and pelvis. Fleshed those out then added in the furniture.

First off, I realized the head was way too small. The left arm was too long, so that got shortened. The neck given a little more fleshing and the left leg fixed up. The boobs were also kind of lop-sided....fixed that! Just minor changes. Once I was satisfied with the over-all proportion, I went back in with a harder charcoal stick for the outlines. Defined the right arm a bit more, as well as the right knee.

Left the head pretty much un-touched for now. Started putting in some mid-tone shadows.

Finished! I wasn't sure about drawing in the face but I figured I might as well. I decided to leave the furniture lighter and more unfinished to keep the figure as the focal point.

33: Figure drawings

Work done for my Life Drawing class. It's nowhere near finished, though I doubt I'll be able to work on it again. I'm one of those people that really need a reference. I can't just draw off the top of my head. Unless I can get someone to model the same pose and have the same body type/size/shape...yeah, I'm most likely not working on it anymore.

Before the drawing above, I'd spent about 3 hours frustrated. Before this class, we had done sketches from a hanging skeleton. I'd memorized how the skeleton looked and was imagining how the model's skeleton looked underneath her skin and flesh. I would first sketch out how I visualized her skeleton looked, then drew the flesh around it.

All of these came out wrong. The torso was alright, but the pelvis/hips/butt region looked....off somehow.

I spent a long time staring at these and doing more and more sketches trying to figure it out. Then I realized where I was going wrong. I had been drawing from a skeleton, though a real one, that was hung in a way that the human body is not.

I was imagining the model's skeleton the way it would have hung. I was drawing the hips as if the head of the leg bone was hanging an inch below the socket....the way the skeleton's leg hung from a wire.

It took another half hour of sketching till I got it right. After that, we got a 45 minute block to draw one pose. the result is the first picture of this post.

What do you guys think?

24: On Art Theft Online

With me going on and on about posting my art on Tumblr, the most common question I've heard from friends is "Aren't you scared of putting your art online? What if someone steals it?"

First off, art theft is an awful thing to do. It is the swiping of someone's creative work, emphasis on work. Stealing any piece of art means also stealing the person's time and energy spent making the piece, their emotional and physical stress of thinking up something original, their possible financial gain from the piece, and their joy of having made it. A little on the extreme and emotional side? I think not. When someone's work is stolen, this leaves a sour taste. This person may opt to never again post their work, show their art to anyone, may even be so crippled with fear that they stop making art completely.

However, I believe there is a distinction between art theft online and art theft in the "real world." Art theft from a museum or gallery or your rival's locker in art school is clear-cut. It is a consciously malicious selfish act, it is an obvious crime with clearly stated laws broken. It is an act with selfish personal gains; financially by selling a rare or expensive piece, esteem in passing off a work of genius as your own, or maybe even just spite.

Art theft online is not always so clear. Many have internalized the ideal that the internet is practically a hippie commune. Everything should be free to share and if it isn't, then the person/company is evil. Once something is put online, then it is free for all. The person uploading it should have known better or should have expected it by now. This is propagated by free data that, in the past, would have cost a premium to access. (For ex. newspaper archives, medical information, pornography, music, television etc.) Whenever a company tries to institute a paywall, there is immediate derision followed by failure. (See article on Newsday's subscription attempt.) Others simply do not know that it is etiquette to attribute an image, song or video to the original creator.

Another difference is the outcome of art theft online. There are definitely instances where art is stolen for financial gain (ex. John T. Unger's firebowls). There have been (rumored) instances of chain companies (clothing stores and the like) stealing designs for mass production.  The majority of art theft, however, doesn't result in major losses. Most art thieves are kids in middle school who see a drawing of a fairy or a vampire, post it in their blog to share and forget to link to the creator. They may print the image out and say they drew it. In comparison to "real world" art  thieves, this is a mild case of un-educated misjudgment.

It is at this age that educational systems should be teaching people how to write essays with proper bibliographies, annotations and the results of plagiarism. On the part of the artist, there should be friendly but many reminders that works posted are created and owned by an individual. I think there should also be an encouragement for people to share the work by posting on their blogs, Facebook or Twitter....with a link to the creator. Make it easy for them. Provide the link in text form, have your website URL on the image itself.

Personally, I do not worry much about art theft. Mostly because my work is of an auto-biographical nature and it is difficult to pass off work like that as made by a different person. Also because I like to subscribe to the positive, even naive, side of art theft...if someone thinks your work is good enough to steal, make something even better. I like to think of it as not being naive but rather choosing not to be afraid of making art at all.

23: I'm a chatterbox today

I'm not gonna lie. Tumblr seems to bring out the hipster in me. Haha! Whenever I try to think of a name, I come  up with the fluffiest aesthetically-inclined-yet-devoid-of-content stuff. So far, I've got:

* FromMyHands
* FingerScribbles
* Stuffiate (already taken)
* Stuffidrew (most likely what I will go with)
* Whatiate (also taken)
* Lookatthisfuckingdrawing (can you tell I was getting frustrated at this point?)

Why aren't I going with something simple like my name or Sheikasaurus Rex? I think its the anonymity. I've begun and abruptly left behind many blogs in the past. If this one ends up on the scrap pile, it won't have my name attached to it. There will be no dredging up of old forgotten works, comments and photos.

Unlike others I know, I'm not bogged down by the idea of "Oh, just another thing thing to log in to and keep track of." I am endlessly fascinated by new blogging platforms, social networks and forums. Couple this with a need to ramble on random topics and I'm left with a long trail of abandoned accounts.

I think what appeals to me most about Tumblr is the very same thing that I love about Blogger: the connected-ness (Yes Matt, it is so totally a word!). The ability to re-blog something (similar to re-tweeting an interesting post or link) and to "Follow" blogs by others. I've been finding some amazing Tumblr blogs lately (Tumblogs?) that I want to bookmark and comment to but I can't. Best of all, is the community Tumblogs. These are blogs with a theme (like Eat. Sleep. Draw and Fuck Yeah Moleskins) where you can submit your posts to a pool of others' posts. Similar to Flickr groups but more accessible, I think.

Some favorites so far:

* Indistinguishable from Magic. A Tumblog by Aaron Diaz (webcomicker, creator of Dresden Codack) where he shares sketches, drawing demonstrations and really interesting comic tips. http://dresdencodak.tumblr.com

* P.S. I made this. A Tumblog where the writer looks to fashion magazines for the latest expensive clothes/styles/accessories and makes it out of the simplest things (ex. paper towel tubes, plastic bottles, ribbon, duct tape etc.) She's practically the McGuyver of fashion and DIY! (Did that reference just age me? Yes. I loved watching McGuyver as a kid. Shaddup!)
http://psimadethis.com

* Lunch Bag Art and Lunch Bag Dad. These two dads pack a brown-bag lunch for their children everyday and turn them into amazing drawings/paintings. I would have loved something like this as a kid.
http://lunchbagart.tumblr.com and http://lunchbagdad.tumblr.com

* Fuck Yeah Moleskins. A collection of peoples' moleskin sketchbooks.
http://fuckyeahmoleskines.tumblr.com

* Eat. Sleep. Draw. A drawing/art tumblog open to all.
http://eatsleepdraw.com

+ The hundreds of inspirational Tumblogs. I end up clicking through hundreds of peoples' blogs in the space of a few minutes so its hard to find just one or two.

22: Musings on blogging platforms

I've been doing a lot of reading, researching and comparing of  blogging platforms lately. Mainly because I'm trying to find the best home for the comic, but also to keep up with what's going on in the technological world.

I've been with Blogger a long time simply because, for a while, it was the only free platform. Then I got to know it inside and out. I could customize it endlessly and learned HTML in 6th grade just so I could write up personalized templates for it. Blogger feels like a comfortable old apartment. It's pretty run-down, has a few creaks and leaks, its nothing like the fancy new lofts going up everywhere....but its mine and I'm used to it.

WordPress holds no appeal for me other than the ability to use ComicsPress. From what I've seen, this is THE theme and platform for webcomics unless I go through the trouble of creating a site completely from scratch. Almost every webcomic uses ComicsPress and common opinion seems to be that it is a pain to set up but is smooth afterward. Until a different platform is made, I will most likely be moving my comic to WordPress. My biggest concern is that I will miss the inter-connection of the Blogger webcomickers I've come to know and love. There's a whole slew of top-notch artists still using Blogger and I love the ability to "Follow" them and have them show up in my RSS reader.

Lastly, Tumblr has been intriguing me more and more. I'm violently opposed to anything new, so initially I despised Tumblr and the idea of micro-blogging. It seemed to me as an excuse to just re-link and re-post random crap from the internet...and a lot of tumbleblogs are just that. There are a few, though, that are pretty interesting and some with original content. The ease, both in visual aesthetic and in posting, of images is what hooked me in.

I think I'll be making a Tumblr account soon. Perhaps make a Tumblr just for posting daily sketches. I love that I can host files directly on Tumblr, so no more uploading to Photobucket then linking. I will most probably keep this Blogger for my lengthy ramblings and musings.

21: Photography ramblings

In a previous life, I was a photographer. I did some freelance work for small-time newspapers, some editorial work for local magazines, and worked in a portrait studio/lab. An old friend messaged me today asking for advice since he's recently become interested in photography. I figured I'd copy my rather lengthy response here.

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Ahhh! Those aren't "the basics." Most people spend their entire lives trying to figure that out what makes a good angle and whatnot.

With photography, you have to learn the rules, learn the systematic techniques, read your camera's instruction manual backwards and forwards, follow the numbered directions, the mechanical recipe of a "good" photograph, all the un-creative boring stuff. Once you've got that down, then can you figure out what rules to break and what directions to ignore to make something completely original.

Stepping away from my little highfalutin rambling, here's some specific tid-bits that come to mind right now:

1. The quality of the camera does not = the quality of your picture. The "lil thing" you keep in your pocket will be just as good as an expensive camera in terms of angles/composition/visual aesthetic etc

2. Frame the picture IN CAMERA as close as possible as what you want the finished picture to look like. (as opposed to taking a picture then expecting to crop/edit in Photoshop later.)

2.5. Frame the object/subject as tightly as possible. Zoom in. FILL the frame with the object. Even if the picture is of a landscape, a deserted horizon, a tiny object in a vast emptiness...I don't care. Basically, every single space of your frame should be part of the image...as much as possible, nothing empty or useless meant to be edited/cropped out later.

3. Composition > angle. Don't confuse a fancy/crazy angle for a good composition. You can come up with an angle no one in the history of photography has ever used before and it would be pointless if the composition was lacking. Vice versa, the most amazing photographs are composed beautifully and taken with the most mundane angles. (Some people would even say that a fancy angle is just compensating for poor composition.)

3.5. Learn the basic rules of composition. Rule of thirds, rule of diagonals, triadic composition, use negative space, figure-ground confusion, framing etc.
Some useful links:
http://www.galitz.co.il/en/articles/composition.shtml
http://digital-photography-school.com/rapid-composition-how-to-compose-a-photo-quickly
http://www.digicamhelp.com/taking-photos/advanced-techniques/composing-photos/

4. Learn photography terms/tools. Not everything...just the most common and important. A good starting list:
http://www.arecintophotography.com/blog/photography-tutorials/common-photography-terms-and-usage-examples

5. Use as much natural light as possible (unless it night-time. Then use a tripod or stead your arm/body against a wall/railing/table.) When shooting indoors, use light from a window/door/etc. Indoor lights leave an un-natural yellow/blue glow and using a flash over-exposes everything and leaves harsh shadows.

6. LOOK at photographs. LOOK at good photographs (this is subjective...but a general idea of what is considered "good" is a start). LOOK at bad photographs. Compare and contrast.

7. TAKE PICTURES. I cannot stress enough how monumentally important this is. Photography really is one of those things that you learn just by doing. Specially in these days of digital cameras where you can take hundreds at little to no cost. Think of it in these terms: You have an unlimited number of amazing photographs inside you just waiting for you to take them....but you only get ONE per 100 shots you take.

20: Birthday notes aka. The Happy Post

As most of you know by now, I can be pretty two-sided about everything. I can be very upbeat and positive while at the same time be actually rather depressed and whatnot. I didn't want a post that stretched to forever, so I'm splitting up my catch-up/birthday review post into a Happy post and a Sad one.

Feel free to only read this one. Haha!

The day started out with a crummy Dr.'s visit but drastically improved when I returned home. In the mail was a wonderful package from April Nash of introducingapril.blogspot.com

It was a deceptively small mailing package. There were a mini-comic that I read 5 times over as soon as I pulled it out, a set of quote pins, stickers, 2 post-cards of my favorite illustrations by Ms Nash, a gorgeous cow-print portrait birthday card and a Koi portable watercolor set!

I especially loved the birthday card. Not only did April do an amazingly flattering drawing of me, it is from one of my favorite pictures of myself! (How does she know these things?!?! Seriously, its like she's a mind reader or something.)

Micah and I went out for a lovely lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Mary Ann's. If anyone is ever in the high desert/Hesperia area, this place has the best fresh-baked desserts and breakfasts. For food porn and lots of pictures through-out the day, you can check out my Birthday Album on my Facebook.

The day ended on a bit of a down-note but we decided to treat the next day as an extension of my birthday. I forced Micah to take me to the cheesiest silliest girliest chick-flick out right now. I won't even say which one it was, it's too embarrassing. Afterwards, we went to my favorite little coffee-place near his house and did some experiments and sketches with my awesome Koi watercolor set.

I've been so absolutely worn out by the last few days that I've just been sleeping in since. Hopefully with this post, I'll get my momentum back and be producing comics and minis again!

17: Future studio space and musings on success as a working artist

Last semester, I was introduced to oil paints. I fell in love with the medium (that is, after I got past the first month of cursing it) and worked with it exclusively for a while. I plan on returning to it once I'm healed.

The biggest problem, however, was that I quickly realized the dangers of working with oile paints and the necessary spirits and chemicals. Painting in a room that is inadequately ventilated led to awful dizziness, nausea, flaring asthma and other harmful side-effects. I'd asked my dad if we could convert the un-used garage into a studio space for me. We hadn't talked about it since 4-5 months ago so I assumed he'd forgotten about it.

I woke up this morning to hear banging and crashing and hammering going on in the backyard. My dad loves to do home-improvement type stuff and he had spent most of the summer laying brick-work and a cement patio, so I thought nothing of it. Later in the afternoon, he had me come and take a look.

Our backyard

The garage

Old exercise equipment, an extra bed, and a table/shelving unit my dad built

Walls painted pink by the previous owners

I'm pretty darned excited! From what I could gather about the previous owners, this garage had been rented out as a bedroom. This means the walls are very well insulated from both heat and cold, there's pretty bright lighting, windows with curtains, multiple electrical outlets and plumbing. There's also some built in shelving and a mini-bookcase. Oh, and the walls aren't the ugly bareness of a garage. I'm not crazy about the pink, but its better than nothing. Haha!

We have a giant round table we'll be moving in so I'll have a surface to draw and sculpt, while having space to set up my easel for paintings. I am seriously so stoked about this.

I've always held to the idea that be what you want to be, you have to believe and act as if you were that person. That is, if I want to be a talented, connected, professional and productive artist....I need to believe I am and act like I am. To that end, I impose on myself a 9 to 5, 6 days a week schedule of painting/drawing/creating. I talk and introduce myself to people as if I already am a successful artist. I carry myself online, set up my shop and website as if I already am a successful artist.

Most importantly, I try to WORK as if I am already a successful artist. Unfortunately, working on my bed isn't the best way to get myself into a productive mindset. When I had my own apartment, I had a designated space meant only for working. I think eventually your mind recognizes this differentiation and snaps into work mode the moment you sit at your work-table or wear your work-hat or put on your work-music...whatever it is that takes you from goofing off to working.

I'm hoping that with this designated studio work-space, I'll be a lot more productive. I think there will be something about actually leaving my room and entering what is essentially my job that will make sticking to my (rather un-glamorous) 9 to 5, 6 day a week, working artist schedule.

10: More silly songs

So it seems I've been a little too eager about getting better. I am now able to put some weight on my leg and because of this have been rather active, walking around the house and sitting up a lot. This resulted in my leg and foot swelling up massively last night. So now, I'm confined to the bed again...or to at least prop my leg up when I sit.

 My left leg looks like an overstuffed sausage!

I can't wait for tomorrow. We're heading back to Victorville, just for a few days, but at least I get to see Micah! It's been a while and I miss him a ton (even though I'm usually cranky whenever he's around...)

Anywho, another silly song I made for a friend, Deb. You can watch it here or check it out on Facebook.

The URL as promised: http://OnCupcakeMoon.blogspot.com

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I spent this morning bawling my eyes out. A friend linked me to a website containing Jamie Livingston's Photo of the Day project. If you've never heard of it, Jamie took a picture every day of his life from when he was 18 in 1979 to his death in 1997 of cancer at age 41. It is heart-wrenchingly beautiful and funny and sad, a collection of memories.

When people take pictures, often its because something "worthwhile" is happening....a wedding, birthdays, a special occasion in lifetime of "ordinary." Jamie's pictures are of those ordinary everyday moments that we often forget are so absolutely beautiful in their simplicity.

I think that is often the reason I falter in my own auto-bio comics. Every few months I'll resolve to do it daily, I stick to it for a few days and come up with comics that are funny or interesting or visually appealing. Then I run out of steam because "nothing important happened today. What do I comic about?" I'd like to try and re-evaluate how I view my life and the things going on around me.

See Jamie Livingston's photo project here: http://photooftheday.hughcrawford.com/

When I got near the end of the project, where Jamie is visibly weakening and succumbing to cancer, I started getting freaked out. We all know we're going to die, that's inevitable. But we, or at least I, often have this mentality that...I'm immortal until the day I die. I start taking for granted that I'll be awake tomorrow, that I'll have time tomorrow to do all the things I want to so I can just waste today. When I read about people dying young, I think "that could happen to me...but it probably wont."

Like getting hit by a car. Its one of those things I just never thought would happen to me. The cops and Dr.'s kept saying how lucky I was to be alive, that there is an 80% chance of death when hit by a car going faster than 30mph (the car was going 40-45 ish). If I hadn't been able to take a step back at the last minute, I'd be badly injured if not worse.

I'm just....freaked out. The reassurances I tell myself when I read about bad things happening to people...just don't work anymore. "That would probably never happen to me." Yeah...it happened to me. How do I know I won't get hit by lightning? That the house won't be swallowed up in an earthquake? That I won't get stabbed to death in a mugging? That I won't contract a rare deadly disease? It sounds absolutely ludicrous but it *is* possible (if not probable.) I dunno. I'm not sure how to deal with this.