In honor of my 700th blog post, I did absolutely nothing today! Okay, I did nothing because I just couldn't get up to doing nothing. So used to be slack that I can't unslack myself.
Forgot to mention that yesterday, Katie, Gabe and I went to Goodwill. Katie needed some stuff for a project. We were also going to go to a military surplus store but we spent too much time in Goodwill so that didn't happen. I found this great green corduroy jacket and a gray tiered with a tie to cinch it tank. Took forever to get a dressing room. Seriously, it is Goodwill. You only have to decide if it 1:fits, 2:doesn't have any stains or serious holes, 3:looks a little bit decent. Even then, 3 isn't really needed.
I got into the Illustration Juried Show!! My silkscreen Katie With Jade Plants was the only one of three to get in, which I'm fine with as the other two were digital and would have required that I find a way to print them out all nice like.
It took a long while to get out of bed. It was warm and all that.
I met up with Jason for a lunch date of sorts. It was misting a light rain but we still walked. A little rain never harmed anyone. We met at my place and walked down into the depths of the Pearl District to go to the Tea Zone. I had a black forest ham and cheddar panini and he had the vegetarian panini, it looked good. We shared a pot of green tea. I showed him how awesome I was at solving my Rubik's cube but I forgot a turn in the final step and screwed the whole thing up. Whoops. It was a nice long lunch.
When we went to leave we were met with a helluva sudden storm. We and the other patrons and staff just stood in awe. The door banged and one of the outside chairs was swept away. The rain poured in a violent horizontal and no one could be seen outside. A block away was absorbed in gray. It was really amazing. For about five minutes we chatted with the staff about thunderstorms. Jason bought some loose leaf green tea. It eventually diminished to a soft rain so we ventured over to Oblation so he could pick up a card for his friend's birthday. It had stopped by the time we left to return to the Goose Hollow area. We parted ways as he had a semi surprise party to get to and I had the alleged homework to do.
Which I didn't. I'll do it, no problem. You guys know me well. I think my semesters worth of panic was spent on the comic so right now I have none for my other projects.
Gabe and Katie have been gone for most of the day. Around 9pm it hit me that I'll actually have to cook for myself. Pasta and sauce it was then!
I'm just powering through Bangkok Haunts. Though right now it is reaching its grand finale and the book is leaving me feeling disturbed so I had to put it away. It feels good to read.
I responded to Rustin's email about an internship at his printing press this summer. Hopefully that goes well.
So I didn't actually do nothing today. Just nothing of the stuff that is due Monday or Wednesday.
hi
Saturday, May 2, 2009
May Day Soiree and the end of Focus Week
Didn't take that much to get up for Terry's, even though I was up till 3. I've been totally hooked on Bangkok Haunts. Just powering through it. It is a nice soft read. Anyway, got up for Terry's. Straightened my hair instead of washing it as a preliminary step for later prep for the school dance.
From Burnside, it was a semi drag race between my bicycle and Karen's new Rav4 (new to her, it isn't a new car). I had the benefit of having my lane all to myself so I could keep a constant speed. I beat her by a few seconds. Erin was also in a car but it wasn't a race.
Terry's proposal was that he is doing a series of concept illustrations for The Tempest. He is doing the concepts as a set up for a live adaptation so he will have full costumes and color schemes and all that. He totally killed it. His presentation was clean and clear and he spoke with insight. All the questions were answered in a way that made sense. His panel had Joe and Trevor and so they came at him with the illustrator questions and the literary ones. Morgan was there and just seemed to have fun. It was a lovely proposal. Professional but easy going.
After was the long loiter till lunch. I sat with Daniel, BT, Taylor, and Sean Carney. It was curry and rice and fortune cookie day. Mmm. We sat around for a long time chatting. Daniel has a Becky Cloonan tattoo on his side! I was so excited to see that. BT makes his own moustache wax and sells it. Eventually I rode my bike back home.
Groomed myself, picked through my clothes, read some of my book. Gabe made me a pasta meal that was delicious. I wore my red halter dress that is knee length with the white and blue flower print. I wore my wedge heels with that and just had a light sweater for the bike ride. It was a nice little summer number. The heels/wedges clashed a little with the dress but I made them more.
I arrived early to help set up. It started at 8:30 but it didn't really kick off till 9:30. Karen was in a saucy pencil skirt. Robin had a lovely ruffle top. Adam was in full suit. Natalie was in a white halter and she was born to dance. Katie and her friend Tom came, Katie was in a slinky gold dress and Tom in a little vest and scarf and hat. Terry wore what he had on earlier. He and Colin chilled. Nathalie wore a gold dress with a nice little cinch. Tabitha wore an old high school dance dress. A few people seemed to recycle something left over from high school. It was a wonderful mix of dressed up formal, summer wares, casual, and regular. Thom was in the regular. Matt had a photobooth set up and took Polaroids of people. I had some with Junko taken. Terry created a lovely unicorn backdrop for the photos.
The live band was loud. The beer garden was lively but not packed. The dance floor was far from packed but it was nice to have room. Some people just stayed in the beer section. I went back and forth but I only had one to start my night. There was free food out the wazoo! Pepperoni, crackers, cheese, cake, cheesecake, vegan cheesecake, gluten free cupcakes, cookies, and there was soda and iced tea and juice and water. Ohh so much! Way too much. A huge overestimate. But better to have twice as much. People got to walk away with some nice cakes for their personal consumption. I have two liters of soda and a cookie plate right now.
I danced with Tom (not Thom) and Katie. Did some twirls and some jigs. Lots of walking around. Lots of pain in the feet by the end but far better than if I had worn my heel heels. The party only lasted 4 hours and before we knew it, it was time to tear down decorations.
It was about 12:30 when I left. It was raining but it was a soft, warm rain. It was very nice on my bare legs as I rode home. It was also nice to use a different part of my leg. Lot of strain on the ball.
Ahhh the weekend. I'll sleep in and then take count of all that I have to do by Monday and then do it.
From Burnside, it was a semi drag race between my bicycle and Karen's new Rav4 (new to her, it isn't a new car). I had the benefit of having my lane all to myself so I could keep a constant speed. I beat her by a few seconds. Erin was also in a car but it wasn't a race.
Terry's proposal was that he is doing a series of concept illustrations for The Tempest. He is doing the concepts as a set up for a live adaptation so he will have full costumes and color schemes and all that. He totally killed it. His presentation was clean and clear and he spoke with insight. All the questions were answered in a way that made sense. His panel had Joe and Trevor and so they came at him with the illustrator questions and the literary ones. Morgan was there and just seemed to have fun. It was a lovely proposal. Professional but easy going.
After was the long loiter till lunch. I sat with Daniel, BT, Taylor, and Sean Carney. It was curry and rice and fortune cookie day. Mmm. We sat around for a long time chatting. Daniel has a Becky Cloonan tattoo on his side! I was so excited to see that. BT makes his own moustache wax and sells it. Eventually I rode my bike back home.
Groomed myself, picked through my clothes, read some of my book. Gabe made me a pasta meal that was delicious. I wore my red halter dress that is knee length with the white and blue flower print. I wore my wedge heels with that and just had a light sweater for the bike ride. It was a nice little summer number. The heels/wedges clashed a little with the dress but I made them more.
I arrived early to help set up. It started at 8:30 but it didn't really kick off till 9:30. Karen was in a saucy pencil skirt. Robin had a lovely ruffle top. Adam was in full suit. Natalie was in a white halter and she was born to dance. Katie and her friend Tom came, Katie was in a slinky gold dress and Tom in a little vest and scarf and hat. Terry wore what he had on earlier. He and Colin chilled. Nathalie wore a gold dress with a nice little cinch. Tabitha wore an old high school dance dress. A few people seemed to recycle something left over from high school. It was a wonderful mix of dressed up formal, summer wares, casual, and regular. Thom was in the regular. Matt had a photobooth set up and took Polaroids of people. I had some with Junko taken. Terry created a lovely unicorn backdrop for the photos.
The live band was loud. The beer garden was lively but not packed. The dance floor was far from packed but it was nice to have room. Some people just stayed in the beer section. I went back and forth but I only had one to start my night. There was free food out the wazoo! Pepperoni, crackers, cheese, cake, cheesecake, vegan cheesecake, gluten free cupcakes, cookies, and there was soda and iced tea and juice and water. Ohh so much! Way too much. A huge overestimate. But better to have twice as much. People got to walk away with some nice cakes for their personal consumption. I have two liters of soda and a cookie plate right now.
I danced with Tom (not Thom) and Katie. Did some twirls and some jigs. Lots of walking around. Lots of pain in the feet by the end but far better than if I had worn my heel heels. The party only lasted 4 hours and before we knew it, it was time to tear down decorations.
It was about 12:30 when I left. It was raining but it was a soft, warm rain. It was very nice on my bare legs as I rode home. It was also nice to use a different part of my leg. Lot of strain on the ball.
Ahhh the weekend. I'll sleep in and then take count of all that I have to do by Monday and then do it.
Friday, May 1, 2009
now that's what I call acti-oh nevermind
Today had a double dose of thesis defenses. Oh wait, triple.
Started off bright and early at 9am with Nathalie. She gave us storytime with her book and showed off her illustrations. It was a lovely little discourse about recreating a story and working through the pain. It was a cozy little thing. We cheered her on.
Killed time until lunch, which was sandwich and salad again. I had a lot of salad and a sandwich half. Their was gossip and nerd talk and rooting for the people coming up. Sat with Nathalie, Matt, Daniel, and Lacey. I had this test print of Luna that I was handing out and Craig saw it and found me in the computer lab and said that I had better saved one for him. I'm glad that so many people like my little poster. I'll have to do more.
Jason Powell's thesis was the hotspot to be. He has been installing it in the room all week long. Just bringing in plants and piles of dirt. Very hush hush and top secret till the time came. And it did! he did a large scaled installation of a dinosaur towering over you. It was set up in this little room you go into so it is very dark, moist, noisy, and suffocating and there is a strobe and you look up and ahhhh its a dinosaur about to attack you!! Very awesome. A big endeavor, more so because he is an illustration major. He talked about the role of pop culture in his work and movie effects and all that. My mind wandered a little bit but he had a lot to talk about. The room was packed. Easily 40 people, could have been 60.
Matt's was next. It was a crowd of nerds in his audience. The Robopocalypse crew was there, some upper level published people, Bryan, Nathalie, BT and the rest. His comic was drawn straight from his life and retold in a steampunk fashion. As he was talking about his family and how he related that to his current work, it got me thinking. Yeah.
Anyway, Powell's is having a nifty deal. Taschen books are on super sale and if you spend $30 you get a Powell's pint glass. Karen, Lacey and I tool a stroll in the nice sunny sun to Powell's after the thesis. I hard trouble finding the amount and wound up with Catcher in the Rye, Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch, and an encyclopedia about ways to die. And I got a couple magazines to push me over the amount. The glass was mine! Karen got a sweet deal on a Taschen book (none interested me). It was a nice ride back. Lounged.
Went to the Midnight showing of Wolverine with Karen and Adam. Hugh Jackman was sexy, Liev Schreiber was brutal, Ryan Reynolds was funny in the start, Dominic Monaghan was adorable. The computer graphics were often very noticeable. The story felt pieced together and in a hurry to get to the next spot. It needed like 20-30 extra minutes. It felt like a very short movie. I didn't get really overly excited or pumped while watching it. Had some cool sequences, sorta. Worth a rent down the line I guess but nothing really worth racing out to see. The bit after the credits was lame.
Tomorrow is Terry's proposal and the May Day Soiree.
Started off bright and early at 9am with Nathalie. She gave us storytime with her book and showed off her illustrations. It was a lovely little discourse about recreating a story and working through the pain. It was a cozy little thing. We cheered her on.
Killed time until lunch, which was sandwich and salad again. I had a lot of salad and a sandwich half. Their was gossip and nerd talk and rooting for the people coming up. Sat with Nathalie, Matt, Daniel, and Lacey. I had this test print of Luna that I was handing out and Craig saw it and found me in the computer lab and said that I had better saved one for him. I'm glad that so many people like my little poster. I'll have to do more.
Jason Powell's thesis was the hotspot to be. He has been installing it in the room all week long. Just bringing in plants and piles of dirt. Very hush hush and top secret till the time came. And it did! he did a large scaled installation of a dinosaur towering over you. It was set up in this little room you go into so it is very dark, moist, noisy, and suffocating and there is a strobe and you look up and ahhhh its a dinosaur about to attack you!! Very awesome. A big endeavor, more so because he is an illustration major. He talked about the role of pop culture in his work and movie effects and all that. My mind wandered a little bit but he had a lot to talk about. The room was packed. Easily 40 people, could have been 60.
Matt's was next. It was a crowd of nerds in his audience. The Robopocalypse crew was there, some upper level published people, Bryan, Nathalie, BT and the rest. His comic was drawn straight from his life and retold in a steampunk fashion. As he was talking about his family and how he related that to his current work, it got me thinking. Yeah.
Anyway, Powell's is having a nifty deal. Taschen books are on super sale and if you spend $30 you get a Powell's pint glass. Karen, Lacey and I tool a stroll in the nice sunny sun to Powell's after the thesis. I hard trouble finding the amount and wound up with Catcher in the Rye, Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch, and an encyclopedia about ways to die. And I got a couple magazines to push me over the amount. The glass was mine! Karen got a sweet deal on a Taschen book (none interested me). It was a nice ride back. Lounged.
Went to the Midnight showing of Wolverine with Karen and Adam. Hugh Jackman was sexy, Liev Schreiber was brutal, Ryan Reynolds was funny in the start, Dominic Monaghan was adorable. The computer graphics were often very noticeable. The story felt pieced together and in a hurry to get to the next spot. It needed like 20-30 extra minutes. It felt like a very short movie. I didn't get really overly excited or pumped while watching it. Had some cool sequences, sorta. Worth a rent down the line I guess but nothing really worth racing out to see. The bit after the credits was lame.
Tomorrow is Terry's proposal and the May Day Soiree.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Demon Hunter - what do you think?
I'm not sure about which crop. Full version seems a little empty. Not even sure if I am done. What do you guys think?
Photoshop.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
ahhh I forgot yoga!
Came before lunch for Daniel's thesis defense. He is reconstructing a three volume edition of the 1818 first printed edition of Frankenstein. He had a very clear proposal presentation. Twas good.
Lunch was an enchilada or something with rice and salad. Delicious! I grabbed tons of extra cookies. Sat with Matt, BT, Nathalie, and Karen. I solved my cube. We sat around for a while. Eventually we pulled apart and I went to work on my digital piece till Maddison's thesis defense.
Digital stuff is going along. Not quite sure what I want to do with it yet, coloring wise.
Maddison finished up his scroll illustration about the fall of Lucifer. While a little nervous but still aware of what he had to say, he gave a lovely synopsis of his work and the story and the symbolism. Some of the panel questions were hard and a little difficult to answer but he handled it like a pro. Matt asked a great question about how Maddison knows when a piece is finished (because he has a rough style). Some of the audience questions were out of place.
Got some toilet paper and headed home!
FORGOT ABOUT YOGA! Totally went right over my head, dang!
Gabe made burgers. MMmm.
Nathalie, Matt, and Jason have their defenses tomorrow.
Lunch was an enchilada or something with rice and salad. Delicious! I grabbed tons of extra cookies. Sat with Matt, BT, Nathalie, and Karen. I solved my cube. We sat around for a while. Eventually we pulled apart and I went to work on my digital piece till Maddison's thesis defense.
Digital stuff is going along. Not quite sure what I want to do with it yet, coloring wise.
Maddison finished up his scroll illustration about the fall of Lucifer. While a little nervous but still aware of what he had to say, he gave a lovely synopsis of his work and the story and the symbolism. Some of the panel questions were hard and a little difficult to answer but he handled it like a pro. Matt asked a great question about how Maddison knows when a piece is finished (because he has a rough style). Some of the audience questions were out of place.
Got some toilet paper and headed home!
FORGOT ABOUT YOGA! Totally went right over my head, dang!
Gabe made burgers. MMmm.
Nathalie, Matt, and Jason have their defenses tomorrow.
demon hunter - some dusk color added
Threw in some color once I finalized the figure lineart. Not sure how I really want to proceed.
Photoshop.
no more play, I mean it!
I've been into my Easter candy. Almost done. I got a package of the good stuff from Grandma and Grandpa on the Saturday of Stumptown so in the whirlwind of that weekend, I forgot to mention it. It was awesome! I like candy!
Slept in, but not for long. Arrived at school at around 11:30 and found out that some of the receipts for comic club have gotten lost in transit. Trying to sort that out.
It was sandwich day so I grabbed one and a couple cookies and sat with Nathalie. BT, Thom, Chelsey, Karen, and Jen also sat at our table. We ate a good, solid meal and decided to go see the children's book illustration lecture.
Deborah Hopkinson has written many historical fiction books and she talked about working with illustrators and how to get into the business (a little bit). It was a nice little starter lecture, I hope they bring in more illustrators to school.
I didn't see any thesis today, I just worked on stuff. From 2:00 to 5:30 I was in room 110 and just worked on my digital piece. Got a good chunk of the drawing done. Need to think about background and coloring but the focal point is nearing completion so yeah. I like working digitally because I can post, with greater ease, more of my process work.
After digital, I went to silk screen once the studio was open for pressure washing. With Diana's encouragement, I printed two of the stripes! Now I just have the last one, hurray! It looks interesting. The last layer is sort of make or break. I will think more about placement because it might look better with the cat away from the stripes. Hmmn.
Around 8 I departed and arrived home to an empty nest. Made up some rice and settled in. When they came back, we tried to watch Zoolander but it was too scratched so we watched Ghostbusters 2 instead. Relaxing evening. I have some illustration stuff but the photos need to be taken when I'm home and I've been gone. Uhm. Well that will be a busy weekend I guess. Oh well. I'm ahead in printing, at good pace in digital, and am a whiz at the cube.
Slept in, but not for long. Arrived at school at around 11:30 and found out that some of the receipts for comic club have gotten lost in transit. Trying to sort that out.
It was sandwich day so I grabbed one and a couple cookies and sat with Nathalie. BT, Thom, Chelsey, Karen, and Jen also sat at our table. We ate a good, solid meal and decided to go see the children's book illustration lecture.
Deborah Hopkinson has written many historical fiction books and she talked about working with illustrators and how to get into the business (a little bit). It was a nice little starter lecture, I hope they bring in more illustrators to school.
I didn't see any thesis today, I just worked on stuff. From 2:00 to 5:30 I was in room 110 and just worked on my digital piece. Got a good chunk of the drawing done. Need to think about background and coloring but the focal point is nearing completion so yeah. I like working digitally because I can post, with greater ease, more of my process work.
After digital, I went to silk screen once the studio was open for pressure washing. With Diana's encouragement, I printed two of the stripes! Now I just have the last one, hurray! It looks interesting. The last layer is sort of make or break. I will think more about placement because it might look better with the cat away from the stripes. Hmmn.
Around 8 I departed and arrived home to an empty nest. Made up some rice and settled in. When they came back, we tried to watch Zoolander but it was too scratched so we watched Ghostbusters 2 instead. Relaxing evening. I have some illustration stuff but the photos need to be taken when I'm home and I've been gone. Uhm. Well that will be a busy weekend I guess. Oh well. I'm ahead in printing, at good pace in digital, and am a whiz at the cube.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
demon hunter - work in progress
step 1: sketches and thumbnails
step 2: collect reference photos
step 3: start sketching!!
step 4: add some red and blue to make your eyes bleed.
Marker in sketchbook, digital camera, photoshop. Thanks to Llyw for posing.
Monday, April 27, 2009
chat chat chat go team!
Barely a moment to rest and I'm back at it!
Well, sorta. I got to rest a little bit before heading out.
Only a minute outside and I knew I had terribly misjudged the weather. A hoodie, a scarf, a shirt, light jeans, and sandals were not enough for the gray. Not even the start of enough. Still, I dealt.
First up was Amanda Hamilton's thesis proposal! She is illustrating some horror narratives from her childhood favorite fairy tales and creating a few of her own invention. It was a late start because some of the discussion panel was very late. Most of the questions were about the medium and what it means for her as an illustrator to be using oil. Why the crap does it matter if she uses oil if she says she can use it? Seems like they are doubting our department.
It was a break from then till lunch. I applied and exposed my screen in a jiffy. It didn't come out so I left it to dry and redo once the thesis above was over (the power washers disturb the people presenting). I grabbed some lasagna and salad and cookies and sat with Terry, Matt, Amanda, Nathalie, and Kim and we all talked about how awesome meat was. Jen was going to sit with us but decided against it. We will declare war on Jen later, for now we will just tax her peasants.
I got down to it with my Screen and it seemed to work the second time around.
I sat in on this expert Googling yourself course ran by Dan at the library. Then it was time for the Thesis Finale of Paul Wagenblast and Aiden Koch.
Paul and Aiden worked together and did fashion interpretations of love poems. Each one was both a direct symbol and something deeper based on the adjectives and thoughts the poems conjured up with the creators. It was a collaboration thesis. There was even a little performance where models walked slowly, showing each of the garments. It made total sense as an illustration thesis as well. It was a clear visual projection of a conceptualization of a piece of text. They illustrated the emotions perfectly, so what if they were 3D? Aiden is already pretty acclaimed and sure in what she does (and she just turned 21, I thought she was at least 25).
It was standing room only when I arrived 15 minutes early. Thom, Amanda and I were stuffed in the back. It was a lovely discussion about collaboration and the tradeoff.
I am almost too 100% memorized cube solving.
I was pushing right up to the time for the next thesis when it came to washing out my screen. Two people came down at like 5 till to inform me. I was like, "Yeah I know but I still have 6 minutes" or something. They were very frantic but I guess that clock was ahead and it was probably very noisy. I got the initial Luna print, printed. It is two transfers pieced together and the line where I put them together shows. I'll get a better transfer later. Right now I have three colors to do, which once I started getting done took no time at all. I'm only doing 24 prints of the Luna Plaid. If I do a color a day, I'll be in more than excellent shape. Tomorrow I plan to get another one done and knock out a chunk of my digital project. Long work day, here I come! But it ain't so bad, I get a free lunch.
I was in sandals and it was raining heavily so I took the streetcar. 8 minute wait! Argh! And then it went from 1 minute left to 2! The streetcar was going back in time! Sure I wimped out but soggy sandals do not make for good biking shoes. On the ride back I ran into Travis, this AI guy I met at Stumptown. We chatted a bit (well we have been chatting online because we want to connect the comic communities of our schools).
I kicked up my feet, ate some of Gabe's pizza, and read some of my book.
Well, sorta. I got to rest a little bit before heading out.
Only a minute outside and I knew I had terribly misjudged the weather. A hoodie, a scarf, a shirt, light jeans, and sandals were not enough for the gray. Not even the start of enough. Still, I dealt.
First up was Amanda Hamilton's thesis proposal! She is illustrating some horror narratives from her childhood favorite fairy tales and creating a few of her own invention. It was a late start because some of the discussion panel was very late. Most of the questions were about the medium and what it means for her as an illustrator to be using oil. Why the crap does it matter if she uses oil if she says she can use it? Seems like they are doubting our department.
It was a break from then till lunch. I applied and exposed my screen in a jiffy. It didn't come out so I left it to dry and redo once the thesis above was over (the power washers disturb the people presenting). I grabbed some lasagna and salad and cookies and sat with Terry, Matt, Amanda, Nathalie, and Kim and we all talked about how awesome meat was. Jen was going to sit with us but decided against it. We will declare war on Jen later, for now we will just tax her peasants.
I got down to it with my Screen and it seemed to work the second time around.
I sat in on this expert Googling yourself course ran by Dan at the library. Then it was time for the Thesis Finale of Paul Wagenblast and Aiden Koch.
Paul and Aiden worked together and did fashion interpretations of love poems. Each one was both a direct symbol and something deeper based on the adjectives and thoughts the poems conjured up with the creators. It was a collaboration thesis. There was even a little performance where models walked slowly, showing each of the garments. It made total sense as an illustration thesis as well. It was a clear visual projection of a conceptualization of a piece of text. They illustrated the emotions perfectly, so what if they were 3D? Aiden is already pretty acclaimed and sure in what she does (and she just turned 21, I thought she was at least 25).
It was standing room only when I arrived 15 minutes early. Thom, Amanda and I were stuffed in the back. It was a lovely discussion about collaboration and the tradeoff.
I am almost too 100% memorized cube solving.
I was pushing right up to the time for the next thesis when it came to washing out my screen. Two people came down at like 5 till to inform me. I was like, "Yeah I know but I still have 6 minutes" or something. They were very frantic but I guess that clock was ahead and it was probably very noisy. I got the initial Luna print, printed. It is two transfers pieced together and the line where I put them together shows. I'll get a better transfer later. Right now I have three colors to do, which once I started getting done took no time at all. I'm only doing 24 prints of the Luna Plaid. If I do a color a day, I'll be in more than excellent shape. Tomorrow I plan to get another one done and knock out a chunk of my digital project. Long work day, here I come! But it ain't so bad, I get a free lunch.
I was in sandals and it was raining heavily so I took the streetcar. 8 minute wait! Argh! And then it went from 1 minute left to 2! The streetcar was going back in time! Sure I wimped out but soggy sandals do not make for good biking shoes. On the ride back I ran into Travis, this AI guy I met at Stumptown. We chatted a bit (well we have been chatting online because we want to connect the comic communities of our schools).
I kicked up my feet, ate some of Gabe's pizza, and read some of my book.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
crowdsurfing singers and menomenamenamenamenomena
Friday:
I took an earlier train(12:15) up because with seeing Bloc Party at 7, it was best to drop my stuff off at Llyw's apartment and meet him at work than rush from the station to his place and then the venue or deal with my bags at a concert. It was a gray day but a quick trip to the station (I managed to catch the streetcar). Amanda, not Townsend the senior Illustration major Amanda, was on the train and I showed off my cube solving skills. Grabbed my usual hotdog and waited.
The train ride up was uneventful. The movie was Valkyrie but I napped through it. Started reading Bangkok Haunts, the third in these Bangkok crime novels that Auntie Celia and I like. Picked up Bangkok 8 at Costco years ago, listened to the Bangkok Tattoo audio book during my car commuter days, and now I have this one. They are a nice easy read and them seem well researched. Very charming but also detailed and scary. Anyway, it was sunny and lovely in Seattle. Made my way to the new bus tunnels and caught the 73 Express to the U District. Llyw was text messaging me directions and information all day so I wouldn't get lost or worried. I did end up getting off the Bus early but only a little farther from his place. I lounged for a little bit, waiting to take the 5:11 number 30 downtown.
The 30 was a very long journey. No outright crazy people. Just normal Seattle looking folk. Fremont people mostly. It took some nervous walking from the place where I got off before I located the massive building Big Fish Games was located in. Nervous in that I didn't have a clear idea where I was heading. "Go down Denny several blocks till you see a big building with a 5 on it" is not as clear as I like my directions to be. But I found it. I loitered a bit outside and inside while he finished up. Then at 6:30ish or whatever, it was time to head to the Showbox for BLOC PARTY! WHOOO!!
Caught another bus downtown. The line for the venue was full of noticeably younger people. Three fourths of it was I would venture. A Vitamin Water promotional van stopped by and gave us all free little samples. Both of us being over 21 got us into the over 21 section. So we grabbed a table and chilled with a generally nice view of the stage. The teens were in standing room only. We stayed in our location the whole time. While the crush might have been fun, it isn't so nice on people who have shoulder bags or sweatshirts. The opening band was Menomena, which I haven't heard of but Chris Peeler and Katie knew. The lead had way too tight pants. Even I don't wear pants that tight. They were good but didn't get my blood pumping. They changing instruments a lot and were generally good on all of them. I wished that they had committed to either learning a few instruments REALLY WELL or just gone all out and had like, 50.
Bloc Party was awesome! They didn't come out till around 9:15. After every song for the first 20 minutes they demanded more energy and eventually the audience delivered. People jumped and clapped and hollered and things warmed up. The Dir en Grey show I went to was mental from the start but this kept a nice even pace. No one seemed to be elbowing one another. Hunting for Witches was the second song. I wish they had played it later when the audience was more engaged but if they hadn't played it maybe the audience wouldn't have become as engaged. Tricky to say. Near the end, Kele the singer and one of the guitarist, starting crowd surfing. He was singing Mercury and he kept it up really well while being transported over the packed youth. He made it into the 21 and over section on the left (we were on the right) and performed for them. It was just wonderful and all the staff and security were looking very very worried as he sailed over people. They came out for like, 5 more songs and it was wonderful. I didn't get really sweaty but we were pretty far from the core of the action.
The bus back didn't come for another hour so we just took a cab. Quick quesadillas and it was time to sleep!
Saturday:
A gray day but still overall pleasant. We wandered around the U District. The staff who took a long hard look at my ID at the Showbox came into the Sureshot cafe while we nibbled on cheesecake, hot chocolate, and coffee. Small world.
We walked up to Scarecrow Video, a two story video store that really does have everything and everything in multiple orders. There is a section for movies by country, director, horror with genres as specific as what type of monster or critter, and just. Well it was very very specific. It was a treat just to wander and look at all the many many titles. Some were so rare that they needed a $150 deposit. We ended up with Hold Up Down, a Japanese movie we both saw the trailer for when we were in Japan but never got around to seeing. There was a long list of maybe rental but Hold Up Down seemed the best.
After we went to Trader Joe's to get some much needed foodstuffs. Instead of making foodstuffs into lunch, we went to A Burger Place (not THE Burger Place, just A Burger Place)and got some really good custom burgers from their very straightforward menu (just check off what you want and they make it just like that). Very delicious.
Did I mention we saw some ducks outside of Trader Joe's? We saw some ducks.
Hold Up Down was hilarious for about the first hour and a half. A perfect whacky, if slightly bent, comedy about a heist gone wrong, some cops that don't follow the law, a frozen hippie, and a priest who has lost his faith. Then they go to a hotspring and get possessed and it breaks into a 20 minute fight scene that is really really weird. It ends on a happy note but seriously, no idea how to end it. Just, okay it got all spooky and now they are fighting. Still, an amazing black comedy for the most part. I was ready to call it one of my favorites but then the ending happened.
We also watched some Pushing Daisies. So sappy, so good. Llyw helped me out with some reference pictures for the digital piece that is due Tuesday (not this Tuesday, next one).
Showed Llyw how to solve the Rubik's cube. I have the formula almost memorized. Go me!
Sunday:
The weekend ended so quick. We wandered around the district some more. I got a really bad headache, which sucked. Took some medication and once I perked up, we attacked each other with nerf guns till Llyw had the majority of the Nerf ammo. We left early so we woulc grab some food at Uwajimaya. Pocari Sweat was nowhere to be found! We got some Korean food but in the end, all that meat/salad/rice combination food tastes the same to me. Just the sauce is different. Ehh. We got to the station with time to spare. I got one of the sucky seats where they normally combine family so I didn't have any leg room. Like, four seats with the pairs facing each other. I napped and read my book.
One of the ladies from my quad of seats walked with me to the Max. Her name was Malini and we chatted till my Goose Hollow stop. Everything at home was mostly where I left it. I had a great time. Now: sleep and school work.
I took an earlier train(12:15) up because with seeing Bloc Party at 7, it was best to drop my stuff off at Llyw's apartment and meet him at work than rush from the station to his place and then the venue or deal with my bags at a concert. It was a gray day but a quick trip to the station (I managed to catch the streetcar). Amanda, not Townsend the senior Illustration major Amanda, was on the train and I showed off my cube solving skills. Grabbed my usual hotdog and waited.
The train ride up was uneventful. The movie was Valkyrie but I napped through it. Started reading Bangkok Haunts, the third in these Bangkok crime novels that Auntie Celia and I like. Picked up Bangkok 8 at Costco years ago, listened to the Bangkok Tattoo audio book during my car commuter days, and now I have this one. They are a nice easy read and them seem well researched. Very charming but also detailed and scary. Anyway, it was sunny and lovely in Seattle. Made my way to the new bus tunnels and caught the 73 Express to the U District. Llyw was text messaging me directions and information all day so I wouldn't get lost or worried. I did end up getting off the Bus early but only a little farther from his place. I lounged for a little bit, waiting to take the 5:11 number 30 downtown.
The 30 was a very long journey. No outright crazy people. Just normal Seattle looking folk. Fremont people mostly. It took some nervous walking from the place where I got off before I located the massive building Big Fish Games was located in. Nervous in that I didn't have a clear idea where I was heading. "Go down Denny several blocks till you see a big building with a 5 on it" is not as clear as I like my directions to be. But I found it. I loitered a bit outside and inside while he finished up. Then at 6:30ish or whatever, it was time to head to the Showbox for BLOC PARTY! WHOOO!!
Caught another bus downtown. The line for the venue was full of noticeably younger people. Three fourths of it was I would venture. A Vitamin Water promotional van stopped by and gave us all free little samples. Both of us being over 21 got us into the over 21 section. So we grabbed a table and chilled with a generally nice view of the stage. The teens were in standing room only. We stayed in our location the whole time. While the crush might have been fun, it isn't so nice on people who have shoulder bags or sweatshirts. The opening band was Menomena, which I haven't heard of but Chris Peeler and Katie knew. The lead had way too tight pants. Even I don't wear pants that tight. They were good but didn't get my blood pumping. They changing instruments a lot and were generally good on all of them. I wished that they had committed to either learning a few instruments REALLY WELL or just gone all out and had like, 50.
Bloc Party was awesome! They didn't come out till around 9:15. After every song for the first 20 minutes they demanded more energy and eventually the audience delivered. People jumped and clapped and hollered and things warmed up. The Dir en Grey show I went to was mental from the start but this kept a nice even pace. No one seemed to be elbowing one another. Hunting for Witches was the second song. I wish they had played it later when the audience was more engaged but if they hadn't played it maybe the audience wouldn't have become as engaged. Tricky to say. Near the end, Kele the singer and one of the guitarist, starting crowd surfing. He was singing Mercury and he kept it up really well while being transported over the packed youth. He made it into the 21 and over section on the left (we were on the right) and performed for them. It was just wonderful and all the staff and security were looking very very worried as he sailed over people. They came out for like, 5 more songs and it was wonderful. I didn't get really sweaty but we were pretty far from the core of the action.
The bus back didn't come for another hour so we just took a cab. Quick quesadillas and it was time to sleep!
Saturday:
A gray day but still overall pleasant. We wandered around the U District. The staff who took a long hard look at my ID at the Showbox came into the Sureshot cafe while we nibbled on cheesecake, hot chocolate, and coffee. Small world.
We walked up to Scarecrow Video, a two story video store that really does have everything and everything in multiple orders. There is a section for movies by country, director, horror with genres as specific as what type of monster or critter, and just. Well it was very very specific. It was a treat just to wander and look at all the many many titles. Some were so rare that they needed a $150 deposit. We ended up with Hold Up Down, a Japanese movie we both saw the trailer for when we were in Japan but never got around to seeing. There was a long list of maybe rental but Hold Up Down seemed the best.
After we went to Trader Joe's to get some much needed foodstuffs. Instead of making foodstuffs into lunch, we went to A Burger Place (not THE Burger Place, just A Burger Place)and got some really good custom burgers from their very straightforward menu (just check off what you want and they make it just like that). Very delicious.
Did I mention we saw some ducks outside of Trader Joe's? We saw some ducks.
Hold Up Down was hilarious for about the first hour and a half. A perfect whacky, if slightly bent, comedy about a heist gone wrong, some cops that don't follow the law, a frozen hippie, and a priest who has lost his faith. Then they go to a hotspring and get possessed and it breaks into a 20 minute fight scene that is really really weird. It ends on a happy note but seriously, no idea how to end it. Just, okay it got all spooky and now they are fighting. Still, an amazing black comedy for the most part. I was ready to call it one of my favorites but then the ending happened.
We also watched some Pushing Daisies. So sappy, so good. Llyw helped me out with some reference pictures for the digital piece that is due Tuesday (not this Tuesday, next one).
Showed Llyw how to solve the Rubik's cube. I have the formula almost memorized. Go me!
Sunday:
The weekend ended so quick. We wandered around the district some more. I got a really bad headache, which sucked. Took some medication and once I perked up, we attacked each other with nerf guns till Llyw had the majority of the Nerf ammo. We left early so we woulc grab some food at Uwajimaya. Pocari Sweat was nowhere to be found! We got some Korean food but in the end, all that meat/salad/rice combination food tastes the same to me. Just the sauce is different. Ehh. We got to the station with time to spare. I got one of the sucky seats where they normally combine family so I didn't have any leg room. Like, four seats with the pairs facing each other. I napped and read my book.
One of the ladies from my quad of seats walked with me to the Max. Her name was Malini and we chatted till my Goose Hollow stop. Everything at home was mostly where I left it. I had a great time. Now: sleep and school work.
Friday, April 24, 2009
grease is the word
Another day with a tad misjudged weather. Dressed in light short pants and shirt and a hoodie and I should have worn full pants and maybe a thicker coat. Anyway, I stayed inside most of the time anyway.
Solved my cube for real for the first time! We got more group theory (closure, identity, associativity, and that other one). We also got the grading rundown. If it takes us under 10 minutes to solve the cube without notes, we get an A. With notes it is a B. I can do it real fast with notes. Well, I haven't solved it again since. It kinda broke open during a twist and I think I put in a piece upside down (which I didn't think would matter). Anyway, trying to solve it. I solved Madeline's cube so I know I can do it.
I wasn't feeling too good so I mostly just sat at a table in the library and talked to who came and went. Mostly Jon and Terry. Well, mostly Jon. Cool guy. We both agree drawing ladies is much more fun.
Had some meager lunch munchins. Didn't have much of an appetite, I just had to get something in me.
Digital tools was goofy. We went over thumbnails an rough sketches and joked about ideas. A lot of people were just in a laughing mood (or a weird car discussion mood). I left a little early because Madeline called and said she had an extra ticket to see Grease at the Keller Auditorium! It is the travelling version with that Taylor Hicks fellow who was on American Idol a few years back.
Anyway, changed into much needed warm clothes and pedaled down to 3rd and waited for Madeline to show. We had balcony seats but she came with binoculars. It was a fun show. NOT the high school edit. The binocs allowed me to see the actual expressions and sheen of sweat as they performed under the lights. I do hope Madeline has extra tickets in the future for shows. Whee musicals! Made me think of Ma.
Anyway, when I got back Katie and Nicky were watching Fatal Attraction so I sat with them and watched that. Okay, if the police tell you that a crazy stalker lady can't be found, why do you leave your wife alone for longer than a minute? Like, go on vacation or something. I get that you don't want to show that you are afraid of the crazy stalker but come on! It had some lovely direction.
I'm going up to Seattle for this weekend. Going to see Bloc Party, going to hang with Llyw, going to kick back and relax before returning to Portland for final projects. It is focus week, which means everyone is giving Thesis so I get a few solid days to just work (with exception of the proposals that I see).
To do:
Digital Illustration! (just need references, a tablet, my headphones and I am good to go)
Screen Print! (three of the transfers are on one screen and the final just needs to be applied, four colors in an edition of under 38? Please, I could always add a few more stripes if I see fit)
Revised sketches, color compositions, light passing by paintings for Illustration! (a little more tricky, I just need to sit and work)
Rubik's cube practice!
Anyway, like I said. I will be up in Seattle so I probably won't be blogging. Full report Sunday night.
How to solve a Rubik's Cube (or what I have to remember, in order, so that I can):
R'D'RD
URU'R'U'F'UF
U'L'ULUFU'F'
FRUR'U'F'
RUR'URUUR'
URU'L'UR'U'L
R'D'RD
Solved my cube for real for the first time! We got more group theory (closure, identity, associativity, and that other one). We also got the grading rundown. If it takes us under 10 minutes to solve the cube without notes, we get an A. With notes it is a B. I can do it real fast with notes. Well, I haven't solved it again since. It kinda broke open during a twist and I think I put in a piece upside down (which I didn't think would matter). Anyway, trying to solve it. I solved Madeline's cube so I know I can do it.
I wasn't feeling too good so I mostly just sat at a table in the library and talked to who came and went. Mostly Jon and Terry. Well, mostly Jon. Cool guy. We both agree drawing ladies is much more fun.
Had some meager lunch munchins. Didn't have much of an appetite, I just had to get something in me.
Digital tools was goofy. We went over thumbnails an rough sketches and joked about ideas. A lot of people were just in a laughing mood (or a weird car discussion mood). I left a little early because Madeline called and said she had an extra ticket to see Grease at the Keller Auditorium! It is the travelling version with that Taylor Hicks fellow who was on American Idol a few years back.
Anyway, changed into much needed warm clothes and pedaled down to 3rd and waited for Madeline to show. We had balcony seats but she came with binoculars. It was a fun show. NOT the high school edit. The binocs allowed me to see the actual expressions and sheen of sweat as they performed under the lights. I do hope Madeline has extra tickets in the future for shows. Whee musicals! Made me think of Ma.
Anyway, when I got back Katie and Nicky were watching Fatal Attraction so I sat with them and watched that. Okay, if the police tell you that a crazy stalker lady can't be found, why do you leave your wife alone for longer than a minute? Like, go on vacation or something. I get that you don't want to show that you are afraid of the crazy stalker but come on! It had some lovely direction.
I'm going up to Seattle for this weekend. Going to see Bloc Party, going to hang with Llyw, going to kick back and relax before returning to Portland for final projects. It is focus week, which means everyone is giving Thesis so I get a few solid days to just work (with exception of the proposals that I see).
To do:
Digital Illustration! (just need references, a tablet, my headphones and I am good to go)
Screen Print! (three of the transfers are on one screen and the final just needs to be applied, four colors in an edition of under 38? Please, I could always add a few more stripes if I see fit)
Revised sketches, color compositions, light passing by paintings for Illustration! (a little more tricky, I just need to sit and work)
Rubik's cube practice!
Anyway, like I said. I will be up in Seattle so I probably won't be blogging. Full report Sunday night.
How to solve a Rubik's Cube (or what I have to remember, in order, so that I can):
R'D'RD
URU'R'U'F'UF
U'L'ULUFU'F'
FRUR'U'F'
RUR'URUUR'
URU'L'UR'U'L
R'D'RD
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Fortune Cookie Concept Sketches
In class, Joe gave us a fortune cookie to determine our next assignment. Mine was "The next full moon brings an enchanting evening" or something like that. Here are my initial idea sketches: me getting attacked by a werewolf, dusktime demon hunter who looks a lot like a certain friend, pretty lady, pretty lady about to assassin a guy with a fortune cookie.
Marker and micron in flimsy moleskin.
rumbly in my belly
12:30 already? Oh they day just went by.
Woke up early and sat around on the computer while waiting for things to happen.
Left at 10:30 to get paper. Bought 13 large sheets of Stonehenge paper, which later turned out to be twice as much because I misunderstood what a "half sheet" was. Now I can do twice as many prints! Or do the amount I was thinking of and save the paper (that was Karen's suggestion, been thinking about it more actually even though I blew it off a little when she first suggested it which was mean. I think I've been more mean lately. Maybe stress, maybe irregular eating habits).
Printmaking was half productive but half counterproductive. I have my transfers and stencils cut and ready. All that is good to go. I just had a lot of trouble getting the flat color to work. In the end, after about an hour or twos worth of effort and piles of newsprint, I decided to nix the idea of a flat background and just go for the stripes and Luna design. Yeah, I'm doing Luna art. Actually people really did my representation of her and her recent weight gain.
It was mellow. Had a mellow little lunch in the library. Talked to Jim. Worked on my cube.
I got some silkscreen ink on my favorite shirt but I caught it just in time and washed it off. I just changed into my yoga shirt for the rest of the day.
Yoga was nice but my tummy was hungry.
Gabe made lamb thing. It was tasty.
I did two loads of laundry, now I am set on clean tees and pants and everything else. Hurray!
Finished Arrested Development. Yeah I liked it but it got so disjointed in the end. Now I have to put my laundry away if I wish to sleep in my bed tonight.
Oh, I also entered a couple things into the Illustration Juried show. I totally failed at how to submit things though.
Woke up early and sat around on the computer while waiting for things to happen.
Left at 10:30 to get paper. Bought 13 large sheets of Stonehenge paper, which later turned out to be twice as much because I misunderstood what a "half sheet" was. Now I can do twice as many prints! Or do the amount I was thinking of and save the paper (that was Karen's suggestion, been thinking about it more actually even though I blew it off a little when she first suggested it which was mean. I think I've been more mean lately. Maybe stress, maybe irregular eating habits).
Printmaking was half productive but half counterproductive. I have my transfers and stencils cut and ready. All that is good to go. I just had a lot of trouble getting the flat color to work. In the end, after about an hour or twos worth of effort and piles of newsprint, I decided to nix the idea of a flat background and just go for the stripes and Luna design. Yeah, I'm doing Luna art. Actually people really did my representation of her and her recent weight gain.
It was mellow. Had a mellow little lunch in the library. Talked to Jim. Worked on my cube.
I got some silkscreen ink on my favorite shirt but I caught it just in time and washed it off. I just changed into my yoga shirt for the rest of the day.
Yoga was nice but my tummy was hungry.
Gabe made lamb thing. It was tasty.
I did two loads of laundry, now I am set on clean tees and pants and everything else. Hurray!
Finished Arrested Development. Yeah I liked it but it got so disjointed in the end. Now I have to put my laundry away if I wish to sleep in my bed tonight.
Oh, I also entered a couple things into the Illustration Juried show. I totally failed at how to submit things though.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
blarg
I solved my Rubik's cube for the first time today! All though it happened by sheer happenstance. I didn't use the last algorithm to solve the thing. We got all of the little codes in class to solve it. I can the first few memorized to solve one layer and I am getting better at solving the second. I'm happy I have a slick cube that moves. Trying to work with Karen's is a pain. It is so herky jerky and stiff.
During the break I worked on the cube. Robin and I took a walk to get a free cone for Ben and Jerry's free scoop day. It was a brilliant and sunny day. All warm and perfect for ice cream nibbles in the park blocks.
Upon return to school, I sat with Nathalie at the fancy table and benches. Amanda came and joined us. Then Karen. Then Bryan pulled up a chair. Jim lingered. It was neat.
Critique went well for me. Mostly nitpicks and questions about weighing the importance of the bus versus the larger meaning of the cars. It was a brilliant day and we were given the option of staying in or leaving early. I was going to stay in but then I got an invite for Margaritas from Ursula, Amanda, Karen, Nathalie, Terry, and Erin. I decided to go for it. I've been so good.
Karen, Ursula, and I rode our bikes over to Mazatlan and were the first to get there and spent some time pushing different tables together and irking the waitstaff. I should not listen to people when they suggest orders for me. I started with a Fiesta which was a nice cocktail. When the second round came up, I was urged to get this drink that came in a bowl. And came in a bowl it did. Nathalie helped but still that thing kinda knocked me on my butt. It was a long meander back to the Goose with Karen. Long long long. A sad little baseball game was playing at PGE Park.
And then I crashed on the couch. I got some teasing from Gabe and Katie but they were overall nice and gave me some Ibuprofen and chilled ice water. Spring focus week is almost here. I don't have much due this week (if anything). Just have to work on my screenprint. Will probably head out early and get some paper. Also need to document some work for the Illustration Juried Show.
During the break I worked on the cube. Robin and I took a walk to get a free cone for Ben and Jerry's free scoop day. It was a brilliant and sunny day. All warm and perfect for ice cream nibbles in the park blocks.
Upon return to school, I sat with Nathalie at the fancy table and benches. Amanda came and joined us. Then Karen. Then Bryan pulled up a chair. Jim lingered. It was neat.
Critique went well for me. Mostly nitpicks and questions about weighing the importance of the bus versus the larger meaning of the cars. It was a brilliant day and we were given the option of staying in or leaving early. I was going to stay in but then I got an invite for Margaritas from Ursula, Amanda, Karen, Nathalie, Terry, and Erin. I decided to go for it. I've been so good.
Karen, Ursula, and I rode our bikes over to Mazatlan and were the first to get there and spent some time pushing different tables together and irking the waitstaff. I should not listen to people when they suggest orders for me. I started with a Fiesta which was a nice cocktail. When the second round came up, I was urged to get this drink that came in a bowl. And came in a bowl it did. Nathalie helped but still that thing kinda knocked me on my butt. It was a long meander back to the Goose with Karen. Long long long. A sad little baseball game was playing at PGE Park.
And then I crashed on the couch. I got some teasing from Gabe and Katie but they were overall nice and gave me some Ibuprofen and chilled ice water. Spring focus week is almost here. I don't have much due this week (if anything). Just have to work on my screenprint. Will probably head out early and get some paper. Also need to document some work for the Illustration Juried Show.
Monday, April 20, 2009
time to rest
Back to school after such a very long but wonderful weekend.
A brilliant and beautiful day greeted me this morning. It was all sunny and warm and stuff.
It was a quick little sum up of the color studies and thumbnails. Not a lot of people were able to get them done. Robin did. Hers were excellent and photorealistic from a distance. We teased her a little and then I felt bad. We were only teasing because she was totally awesome and we were totally projecting our own anxieties about our performance. Yeah. We all adore Robin, we mean no harm.
Anyhoo, lunch greeted us early and I got Yo's chicken and sat with Daniel and Vanessa on the loading dock. There was quite a bit of wandering inside and out and all about. And oh shoot I just realised I left half the paper I bought for today's assignment in the classroom. Oh well, I don't think anyone will nab it. Anyway, the rest of class was this rather fun mixed media assignment where through the course of it she would instruct us to switch mediums and switch the orientation of the piece. Mine turned out cool but I liked the initial sketch much better. But it was a nice day and we got out early.
The Goose Hollow people FINALLY found the package that Aunty Celia sent me for my birthday. It has this amazing hat which is now a little out of season, but only because it is wool. It is too neat to not be in season:
Also my hair is getting so long. The longest it has ever been in my life and probably the healthiest it has been in years.
Kevin bleached his hair and now looks like me, crica 2006 when I tried to bleach it by hand. Remember? My graduation? Yeah. Well, I think he can rock it. He has some good looks in his closet.
Anyway, yeah we collaged and the fair weather bikers came out in droves. And moron bikers. Who text and wobble while biking. Dumb butt. So many bikers being all la la la when it is sunny. Where are they when it is cloudy and cold and raining? No where! Probably driving a car.
I spent the rest of the day resting and recuperating from the intense week. Ate a lovely dinner from Gabe, watched Arrested Development. Solved the top part of my cube, again. I can't wait to learn the second part!
There is an Illustration Juried show. I needa document some work and submit. Or else Thom will just grab it all. Hmmnn.
A brilliant and beautiful day greeted me this morning. It was all sunny and warm and stuff.
It was a quick little sum up of the color studies and thumbnails. Not a lot of people were able to get them done. Robin did. Hers were excellent and photorealistic from a distance. We teased her a little and then I felt bad. We were only teasing because she was totally awesome and we were totally projecting our own anxieties about our performance. Yeah. We all adore Robin, we mean no harm.
Anyhoo, lunch greeted us early and I got Yo's chicken and sat with Daniel and Vanessa on the loading dock. There was quite a bit of wandering inside and out and all about. And oh shoot I just realised I left half the paper I bought for today's assignment in the classroom. Oh well, I don't think anyone will nab it. Anyway, the rest of class was this rather fun mixed media assignment where through the course of it she would instruct us to switch mediums and switch the orientation of the piece. Mine turned out cool but I liked the initial sketch much better. But it was a nice day and we got out early.
The Goose Hollow people FINALLY found the package that Aunty Celia sent me for my birthday. It has this amazing hat which is now a little out of season, but only because it is wool. It is too neat to not be in season:
Also my hair is getting so long. The longest it has ever been in my life and probably the healthiest it has been in years.
Kevin bleached his hair and now looks like me, crica 2006 when I tried to bleach it by hand. Remember? My graduation? Yeah. Well, I think he can rock it. He has some good looks in his closet.
Anyway, yeah we collaged and the fair weather bikers came out in droves. And moron bikers. Who text and wobble while biking. Dumb butt. So many bikers being all la la la when it is sunny. Where are they when it is cloudy and cold and raining? No where! Probably driving a car.
I spent the rest of the day resting and recuperating from the intense week. Ate a lovely dinner from Gabe, watched Arrested Development. Solved the top part of my cube, again. I can't wait to learn the second part!
There is an Illustration Juried show. I needa document some work and submit. Or else Thom will just grab it all. Hmmnn.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
My First Stumptown (as a seller)
Stumptown Comics Fest: 2009. Third year attending, first year selling. First time EVER selling my work for reals.
Saturday:
Rolled out of bed after such a long day working on the print. I hopped on the Max and arrived at a little bit before 10am. I stood in line for a little while before realizing that exhibitors can go right on. Got my badge and found the PNCA tables. Tables. Two. Two whole big tables for Lacey, August, PNCA stuff, and myself. No one else was there. I spread out my comic on half the table and showed many different formats. Lacey showed up just a little after I did and set up. No one else was there still. Daniel came with the PNCA pamphlets but there was no one coming with a set up. NO ONE! We had a couple comics spread out across a full table. Some people stuffed a half table with more than we were offering. It was a rather silly looking display. Very weak. But we still sold. Lacey would edge a comic along every now and again. She sold minis. I was selling mine for $2 so it sold really easy. People were impressed by the format and the colors and how unusual it was. I made a lot of on the spot sales. Sure I got the, "I'm just doing the rounds" line and the "I'll come back later because it is big and I don't want to crush it" stuff. And about four people did come back and buy it. So great. It sold. It sold well. I made about $45 the first day and about the same the second. It was a nice little return and it felt good to get my stuff out there.
I saw Keith Knight speak about the comics business. Jeff Smith was giving his lecture at the same time so Knight's was a tad vacant. Which actually worked out well for me because he recognized me afterwards and we talked and he bought one of my comics! Farel bought one. Jesse Reklaw bought one. Greg Means, who edits Papercutter, bought one. He was apparently showing it to other people all over the place. Some people came to my table looking for it because they saw it around.
I traded some and gave some away with chocolate. I'm not all that attached to it.
August took his sweet time showing up. Lacey and I had our pitches down. We would do one and the other and pimp each other out and trade off. It was a nice little enthusiastic show. August was shy or whatever and we didn't really sell anything when we left the table. I sold one when we took a half hour for lunch. You gotta make eye contact and smile and talk and talk and talk and show off the wares. I got some great reactions when I opened the whole thing out to its unfolded glory.
Jason (Dagit, not Powell) stopped by to support me and he got a comic. That was nice. He invited me out for drinks with him and a couple friends later on.
A lovely lady with the last name of Yanow and I chatted a lot.
Jim had a cozy little nook, he bought a comic. Bryan over payed but I bought one of his first, as well as 1-4 of BT's Otto Zeplin comic. I stopped by Farel's table a bunch. He had a lovely set up and was one of the honored guests.
Talked to Martine Workman, who was delightful and lovely. Dame Darcy was there and I was giddy. I love her work!
Kenan Rubenstein loved my comic so much and we traded. He had this epic calendar style format and the comic unfolded over a year and you turned the pages like a calender. It was really nice. He was super nice. He had a sort of fold out comic like mine, just smaller. He really loved Lacey's work as well. A lot of people did. The people that connected with it really loved it. It was awesome.
Thom and Dom showed up and sat at our table and brought some of the late afternoon energy. They also payed paper money for my comic. So awesome! I love being supported by my friends.
We stayed all the way through till 6pm, when things shut down. I had invites to the Cosmic Monkey party but I decided to chill with Jason instead. I met them at Lompac at 7:30. I rode my bike there as it was at 23rd and Raleigh. We had pitchers. I had fish and chips. Me his friends Sandeep and Chris. We drank and talked and laughed and were loud and I think some of the other patrons didn't like us. But we were making fun of them. Well mostly this one girl and guy. The guy wanted nothing to do with this girl but she was pawing him and sitting in his lap and all but throwing herself at him. He just sat there and ignored her and pretended like she wasn't there. It was kinda funny. We finished up there (I waved to my friend Michael on the way out, he was far from us and probably didn't notice me because I was with math majors and forestry chris). We went to the Matador for a nicer drink in a nicer place. I don't know how it happened but we left at 1:30am. It became a sudden long night. Sandeep lives a block from my place and Jason and Chris were crashing at his place so we all walked to the Goose Hollow region together. I really should have payed better attention to the time because 2am and 7:40am wake up do not go together.
Sunday:
UHG! So horrible getting up. It was a slug and a trudge and crawl. I stuffed some stuff in my face that made up some semblance of a breakfast and was late out the door. I got there right at 10:00. Not early but not late. Not late as I was the first one there again and Lacey the second. I brought blankets so now our setup looks a lot nicer and a little less pathetic.
I managed to make some rounds to creators and really talked to people. Talked to Jon Chad and he had some awesome format comics. One was about descending into caves. We traded. I talked to so many people and got such a wide variety, some of what happened is going to blur together. Most of the Greg Means stuff happened today I think. Today was fueled by sugar and adrenaline. Bought the set of Ouija Board Interview comics from Sarah Becan. She came by and got my comic as well. He talked and it was lovely.
Karen stopped by. She got my comic for free because, well duh, I couldn't have finished it without her screens. Farel gave her a print to give to me. He also gave her one. What an awesome fella!
Madeline was there and picked up a comic. So awesome! She said someone mentioned to her that she was walking with an awesome comic (when they saw her with it) and she hella name dropped me as her friend. Ha! She is so cool.
Talked to these lovely fellas with a castle set up display for their comics. We traded. Will Iversen and Dan Bouse I believe they were.
It was great to feel like my comic was being shown around and considered awesome. I traded a lot. I wanted a wide range of people to have it. And it seemed like they were eager to take it. Greg said cartoonists thought it was awesome. Some bought it as an inspiration for printing. It was, well, wonderful. I was this ecstatic feeling. I sold really well. I am at about 10 copies right now. I sold around 46. Gave away or traded maybe about 20. Hard to say. Didn't keep the best of track.
A guy gave me a card asking if I was interested in an internship. He said I seemed to know what I was doing. Lacey sold all of her comics and had a strong interest from local bookstores who might carry it.
Now I just need to think of a new, cool format. Or keep doing it like this. Make a niche for myself as the massive format comic girl. Cheap and creative. It also helps to talk and smile and network and introduce myself.
I was in a daze. Flustered and stuttering and it was so hard to get my pitch but I still sold. In the end I made $93 and Lacey made around $172. Pretty awesome for our first go.
August showed up for barely 2 hours. It was frustrating having to have to trade off the whole day. You don't want to stay at the table the whole time.
Oh and one of the models at school was selling her comic, Erika, she was really cool.
There were just so many awesome people who were psyched. I've used the word awesome a lot of times but that was what it was: AWESOME! My friends came and supported me, strangers liked my work, editors and professionals dug it.
Now I just need access to a screenprinting studio. Gotta get into the comic GAME YO!
Went back home on the Max with Lacey. Gabe made dinner. I am exhausted but have to pull up the stupid freaking Illustration assignment that was impossible for me to do half of it (how can I take pictures of the same inanimate object at noon and 3am when I'm at school or printing or selling my wares?). Argh. I'll do as much as I can but my heart just isn't in it. I WANNA SELL MORE AND PARTY! So much went down this weekend. I wish I could write it all but it is hard. I met so many people.
Saturday:
Rolled out of bed after such a long day working on the print. I hopped on the Max and arrived at a little bit before 10am. I stood in line for a little while before realizing that exhibitors can go right on. Got my badge and found the PNCA tables. Tables. Two. Two whole big tables for Lacey, August, PNCA stuff, and myself. No one else was there. I spread out my comic on half the table and showed many different formats. Lacey showed up just a little after I did and set up. No one else was there still. Daniel came with the PNCA pamphlets but there was no one coming with a set up. NO ONE! We had a couple comics spread out across a full table. Some people stuffed a half table with more than we were offering. It was a rather silly looking display. Very weak. But we still sold. Lacey would edge a comic along every now and again. She sold minis. I was selling mine for $2 so it sold really easy. People were impressed by the format and the colors and how unusual it was. I made a lot of on the spot sales. Sure I got the, "I'm just doing the rounds" line and the "I'll come back later because it is big and I don't want to crush it" stuff. And about four people did come back and buy it. So great. It sold. It sold well. I made about $45 the first day and about the same the second. It was a nice little return and it felt good to get my stuff out there.
I saw Keith Knight speak about the comics business. Jeff Smith was giving his lecture at the same time so Knight's was a tad vacant. Which actually worked out well for me because he recognized me afterwards and we talked and he bought one of my comics! Farel bought one. Jesse Reklaw bought one. Greg Means, who edits Papercutter, bought one. He was apparently showing it to other people all over the place. Some people came to my table looking for it because they saw it around.
I traded some and gave some away with chocolate. I'm not all that attached to it.
August took his sweet time showing up. Lacey and I had our pitches down. We would do one and the other and pimp each other out and trade off. It was a nice little enthusiastic show. August was shy or whatever and we didn't really sell anything when we left the table. I sold one when we took a half hour for lunch. You gotta make eye contact and smile and talk and talk and talk and show off the wares. I got some great reactions when I opened the whole thing out to its unfolded glory.
Jason (Dagit, not Powell) stopped by to support me and he got a comic. That was nice. He invited me out for drinks with him and a couple friends later on.
A lovely lady with the last name of Yanow and I chatted a lot.
Jim had a cozy little nook, he bought a comic. Bryan over payed but I bought one of his first, as well as 1-4 of BT's Otto Zeplin comic. I stopped by Farel's table a bunch. He had a lovely set up and was one of the honored guests.
Talked to Martine Workman, who was delightful and lovely. Dame Darcy was there and I was giddy. I love her work!
Kenan Rubenstein loved my comic so much and we traded. He had this epic calendar style format and the comic unfolded over a year and you turned the pages like a calender. It was really nice. He was super nice. He had a sort of fold out comic like mine, just smaller. He really loved Lacey's work as well. A lot of people did. The people that connected with it really loved it. It was awesome.
Thom and Dom showed up and sat at our table and brought some of the late afternoon energy. They also payed paper money for my comic. So awesome! I love being supported by my friends.
We stayed all the way through till 6pm, when things shut down. I had invites to the Cosmic Monkey party but I decided to chill with Jason instead. I met them at Lompac at 7:30. I rode my bike there as it was at 23rd and Raleigh. We had pitchers. I had fish and chips. Me his friends Sandeep and Chris. We drank and talked and laughed and were loud and I think some of the other patrons didn't like us. But we were making fun of them. Well mostly this one girl and guy. The guy wanted nothing to do with this girl but she was pawing him and sitting in his lap and all but throwing herself at him. He just sat there and ignored her and pretended like she wasn't there. It was kinda funny. We finished up there (I waved to my friend Michael on the way out, he was far from us and probably didn't notice me because I was with math majors and forestry chris). We went to the Matador for a nicer drink in a nicer place. I don't know how it happened but we left at 1:30am. It became a sudden long night. Sandeep lives a block from my place and Jason and Chris were crashing at his place so we all walked to the Goose Hollow region together. I really should have payed better attention to the time because 2am and 7:40am wake up do not go together.
Sunday:
UHG! So horrible getting up. It was a slug and a trudge and crawl. I stuffed some stuff in my face that made up some semblance of a breakfast and was late out the door. I got there right at 10:00. Not early but not late. Not late as I was the first one there again and Lacey the second. I brought blankets so now our setup looks a lot nicer and a little less pathetic.
I managed to make some rounds to creators and really talked to people. Talked to Jon Chad and he had some awesome format comics. One was about descending into caves. We traded. I talked to so many people and got such a wide variety, some of what happened is going to blur together. Most of the Greg Means stuff happened today I think. Today was fueled by sugar and adrenaline. Bought the set of Ouija Board Interview comics from Sarah Becan. She came by and got my comic as well. He talked and it was lovely.
Karen stopped by. She got my comic for free because, well duh, I couldn't have finished it without her screens. Farel gave her a print to give to me. He also gave her one. What an awesome fella!
Madeline was there and picked up a comic. So awesome! She said someone mentioned to her that she was walking with an awesome comic (when they saw her with it) and she hella name dropped me as her friend. Ha! She is so cool.
Talked to these lovely fellas with a castle set up display for their comics. We traded. Will Iversen and Dan Bouse I believe they were.
It was great to feel like my comic was being shown around and considered awesome. I traded a lot. I wanted a wide range of people to have it. And it seemed like they were eager to take it. Greg said cartoonists thought it was awesome. Some bought it as an inspiration for printing. It was, well, wonderful. I was this ecstatic feeling. I sold really well. I am at about 10 copies right now. I sold around 46. Gave away or traded maybe about 20. Hard to say. Didn't keep the best of track.
A guy gave me a card asking if I was interested in an internship. He said I seemed to know what I was doing. Lacey sold all of her comics and had a strong interest from local bookstores who might carry it.
Now I just need to think of a new, cool format. Or keep doing it like this. Make a niche for myself as the massive format comic girl. Cheap and creative. It also helps to talk and smile and network and introduce myself.
I was in a daze. Flustered and stuttering and it was so hard to get my pitch but I still sold. In the end I made $93 and Lacey made around $172. Pretty awesome for our first go.
August showed up for barely 2 hours. It was frustrating having to have to trade off the whole day. You don't want to stay at the table the whole time.
Oh and one of the models at school was selling her comic, Erika, she was really cool.
There were just so many awesome people who were psyched. I've used the word awesome a lot of times but that was what it was: AWESOME! My friends came and supported me, strangers liked my work, editors and professionals dug it.
Now I just need access to a screenprinting studio. Gotta get into the comic GAME YO!
Went back home on the Max with Lacey. Gabe made dinner. I am exhausted but have to pull up the stupid freaking Illustration assignment that was impossible for me to do half of it (how can I take pictures of the same inanimate object at noon and 3am when I'm at school or printing or selling my wares?). Argh. I'll do as much as I can but my heart just isn't in it. I WANNA SELL MORE AND PARTY! So much went down this weekend. I wish I could write it all but it is hard. I met so many people.
long day, late night
I had a long day and afterwards I went out for drinks and I just got back and its 2am so I don't feel like trying to recount the whole day right now.
But I'll say this: it went very very well! I sold a lot of comics and made like almost $50. Which is good for this type of thing. I'm selling it for 2$ so the price is right.
It's going good. Full recount tomorrow.
But I'll say this: it went very very well! I sold a lot of comics and made like almost $50. Which is good for this type of thing. I'm selling it for 2$ so the price is right.
It's going good. Full recount tomorrow.
Friday, April 17, 2009
broadsheet comic
Photos of me(Trillian) holding up my freshly printed broadsheet style comic. Massive format. I'll find a way to document the actual, you know, written stuff later.
Left over silkscreen ink, newsprint, 17 hours hard labor, 5 hours soft labor, countless hours writing, sketching, drawing, inking, lettering, cutting, pasting, and photocopying.
master puller
Never did I think I could have so much success and have so many prints! I got up at 7ish though I really didn't wanna. Stuffed myself into the shower and prepared a bag full of snacks. At 8:00am I left the house. It was gray and cold but the weather report said it would pick up.
No one was in the lab at school. Lots of people said they would show up for early printing but no one did till like 10am. Which was good. It gave me time to get my dibsies in on the table space (which I needed a lot of). And I got printing! And it went smoothly! I got better at pulling and knowing which ink to do twice before lifting the screen. After the halfway mark I just stopped loosing pages. I was hoping to have 50 but I ended up with around 70! Palmarin was around, Rainbow said hi, Matt said hi, Sandra worked on her project, Anthony was working, Christy (Kristy?) printed his thing that he is collaborating with the teacher who looks like a healthy Nick Cave. I shared my riddles and worked. At my top speed I got a series of prints done in about an hour. It helped when I could set them on the table behind me instead of the one across the room.
I only took breaks when my screens were drying during the transition point. I removed the emulsion as I cleaned the ink and reapplied all the emulsion and exposed the transfers at around the same time. Just easier to not have to do the running around of those steps. I had another burrito for lunch. Not the delicious one I had yesterday (it was a limited time offer).
Most of it went off without a hitch. Sure I did have to toss some due to being illegible but in general, they look really great. And when they are all piled together, ohhh that makes me happy. The last screens to print was the cover and that I had to apply the emulsion on another screen because the screen it was on had an odd mesh count. Something was weird. But redoing it only set me back 30 minutes.
A group of people were printing shirts when I was doing the cover so I had to set them on the table far away from me. So that final part took a little long. Still, I got it done and it looks GREAT! I gave one away to the people printing and one to, oh I forget her name but she is nice. People are so delighted when they give you art, specially if they know HOW MUCH WORK IT TAKES! DID I MENTION THE PAIN I'M IN? Argh I hurt all over. Shoulders, knees, feet, just ow. Something panged in both my hands when I was doing the last pulls. Like a sprain. I just had to keep going. I can feel the Advil now. I also used the foot massager that Rubie and Nate gave me for Christmas. Sooo good.
I got out of there at 9pm. 13 hours. The ride home was nice because it was actually working my legs and reliving the stress put into my feet. It was nice when I got past the point of feeling my callouses. I have about four. Damn squeegee.
No one was in the lab at school. Lots of people said they would show up for early printing but no one did till like 10am. Which was good. It gave me time to get my dibsies in on the table space (which I needed a lot of). And I got printing! And it went smoothly! I got better at pulling and knowing which ink to do twice before lifting the screen. After the halfway mark I just stopped loosing pages. I was hoping to have 50 but I ended up with around 70! Palmarin was around, Rainbow said hi, Matt said hi, Sandra worked on her project, Anthony was working, Christy (Kristy?) printed his thing that he is collaborating with the teacher who looks like a healthy Nick Cave. I shared my riddles and worked. At my top speed I got a series of prints done in about an hour. It helped when I could set them on the table behind me instead of the one across the room.
I only took breaks when my screens were drying during the transition point. I removed the emulsion as I cleaned the ink and reapplied all the emulsion and exposed the transfers at around the same time. Just easier to not have to do the running around of those steps. I had another burrito for lunch. Not the delicious one I had yesterday (it was a limited time offer).
Most of it went off without a hitch. Sure I did have to toss some due to being illegible but in general, they look really great. And when they are all piled together, ohhh that makes me happy. The last screens to print was the cover and that I had to apply the emulsion on another screen because the screen it was on had an odd mesh count. Something was weird. But redoing it only set me back 30 minutes.
A group of people were printing shirts when I was doing the cover so I had to set them on the table far away from me. So that final part took a little long. Still, I got it done and it looks GREAT! I gave one away to the people printing and one to, oh I forget her name but she is nice. People are so delighted when they give you art, specially if they know HOW MUCH WORK IT TAKES! DID I MENTION THE PAIN I'M IN? Argh I hurt all over. Shoulders, knees, feet, just ow. Something panged in both my hands when I was doing the last pulls. Like a sprain. I just had to keep going. I can feel the Advil now. I also used the foot massager that Rubie and Nate gave me for Christmas. Sooo good.
I got out of there at 9pm. 13 hours. The ride home was nice because it was actually working my legs and reliving the stress put into my feet. It was nice when I got past the point of feeling my callouses. I have about four. Damn squeegee.
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