Archive for Works in progress

Fearful of kindness

October 19, 2007 at 6:54 am · Filed under Pictures, Pre-production, Works in progress

I don’t take bad pictures of my stuff on purpose, but since there is little feedback here (and really, not a problem — this is mostly for me anyway) I just can’t be bothered to strive for perfection. If you want to see better pictures let me know or come to my house and see them for yourself. I am showing you these in the smaller size, because honestly they look better that way.

Scary treats (1)

Scary treats (2)

This is exploring the idea that people are more trusting of pre-wrapped candies from great big corporate conglomerates than of home-baked goods. Every Halloween there are articles about people who found needles in apples or caramels, and an equal amount of articles about how needles in apples are a myth and are disproportionately reported for shock value. I have an abiding memory of seeing a news spot about it when I was about 5, and there was a shot of candy going through a kind of candy x-ray on a conveyor belt. It was ludicrous, and kind of creepy really. Why bother going trick-or-treating in the first place if you’re going to be all creeped out by strange people touching your candy?

The the apprehensive one is saying “syringe”, which doesn’t show up to well yet as it’s in pencil. After the initial blocking is done I’ll need to go back and re-terrify her, and re-gender both of them, give them hair, make the eyes less stark. Make the hands tangible.

Scary treats (3)

Scary treats (4)

The sketches. The final composition — quite divorced from this stuff — turned out fairly effective I think, although I really loved the image of the person cowering by the window. There was just not enough visual reason as to why. It was too general: they were just afraid of their neighbor. Putting it out on the stoop has a nice balance to it, although realistically a person afraid like this probably would see the person coming (as in the sketch) and then not answer the door. But hey, this is illustration people. You want realism, take a picture. A boring picture.

And really, she’s not anti-social, just paranoid about food.

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The self-indulgent to do list entry

October 3, 2007 at 6:45 am · Filed under Works in progress

Nathan

To do:

1. I need a beefy portfolio. Let’s work all year on this. All dabbles need to turn into strong pieces for a portfolio. Eventually I’d like an online version of this, since that’s the cool thing to do, so I’ll also need to figure out, uh, how to do that. I am thinking at least begin with static pages here, but I’d like my own site and all that. Money though. Don’t really have money.

2. I need some sort of “corporate identity” for myself. Even if I’m just rubber stamping envelopes, I need something to make all my stuff mine.

3. Do more research into agents.

4. Get a big master list of all my favorite people and track down
a.) what they’ve been doing
b.) who’s published them
c.) any background on how they got started.
Consider writing letters to this effect. Hi I’m new how do you get started.

5. Do more more more. More art. More. More, more more.

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I could sit on this horse

September 13, 2007 at 6:40 am · Filed under Eye candy, Pictures, Works in progress

Well, things may actually be okay as far as that art class goes. Basically, I will still catch wind of the assignments and I have been invited to meet with all of the other design kids to share some ideas. My attendance policy is basically “show up whenever you can or want,” since I do have a class shortly after they meet, and uh, I’m not actually signed up for the class. It’s almost better this way I guess — all the perks and none of the penalty — though of course getting the credit and actually finishing my minor would be nice. Ah well.

Here is more work being done on the dancing people and the coffee cup:

Again

I don’t like the dark purple-blue in the background. I want to keep this more vibrant and warm, but first I needed to darken the background so I could start working on how the little globe lights look. They looked great until I remembered the background, so I need to warm that back up and bring the lights back in so I can use them as a proper light source here.

Ducks\

This is something I started not too long ago to use up extra paint on my pallet. I like where it’s headed. I also think the grey water is kind of compelling, so when I start actually doing ripples (following the surface lines I made) I may go with the whole white&grey thing I’ve got going.

File folder

A file folder I actually use at work. It’s colored pencil, “laminated” with packing tape so it wouldn’t smudge. Note the “window” that lets me know if something’s in there or not. If the folder is empty then the picture is seen as a unbroken thing, as I colored the inside in that spot to continue the picture.

This scene is a tip of the hat to how I spent a lot of my time senior year of high school — sitting on a big wall of the coffee shop downtown. I’m working on another folder that is a lot more purple and less lonely.

Stars

Ah, finally this idea

Stars sketch

makes it to canvas. I always feel like the sketches are far more compelling with these things than the finished product, but I’m stuck on how to capture that.

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I have tasted the wisdom of divinity, and the horrors of its sting

September 6, 2007 at 6:49 am · Filed under Text, Works in progress

Yes, I’m still here.

Yesterday was rather emotional as it marked the second time I have been told in so many words “funny that you tried, but get out of here, scum” by the art department at this school. There’s a lot more to be said about it, but I just don’t have the energy. Yesterday I spent a lot of the afternoon in a blind rage.

I still plan on doing the five projects I proposed to for the class, instead I will do them on my own. The guy who was going to do the class with me said he’d be okay with meeting a few times over the semester for feedback and critiquing, and I became dramatic yesterday and was telling people why bother but I’m kidding myself — the whole point of my wanting the class in the first place was to GET HELPFUL FEEDBACK on stuff, rather than just showing the silent web.

This is what I was working on, in fact what was sitting still wet in the easel upstairs
when I got the initial email about not being able to take illustration.

Dancing people in progress

If we set aside the talent question, which is subjective and something I don’t want to touch with a 10 foot pole, let’s just look at some duration. Let’s look at the endless doodles all over my spelling worksheets and math assignments in elementary school. Lets look at the art classes I took and eventually helped teach from 6th grade through about sophomore year of high school. Let’s look at the art teacher who essentially made up a new Honors Painting 5 for me so I could get some solid portfolio work done. Let’s, University of Northern Colorado, look at the fact that every day I come hope from work and dig from my pockets the numerous scraps of paper — receipts, envelopes and little torn pieces of paper — and spend several hours working them out in my sketch book, or transferring them onto canvas, or slowly, slowly chipping away at that image I thought of when I heard that piece of music or saw that color, because there is nothing else on this earth I’d rather be doing. If you are unwilling to sanction that time spent even with one measly “directed study” than you, Sir, do not grasp basic time management.

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