Ladida...not much to say this week.

Painting of my brother for photoshop.

Painting of trees for comp and color
Drawins of two characters from the book I am writing
Aaaand some figure draw-uhns. We've started doing tones. It's weird. I hate charcoal. Too messy.

Schoolwork Dump

Sooo I finally got around to getting some images put together of stuff I've been doing in school this semester. Let's dive in, shall we?

The following are 4 hour gesture sculptures. I gotta tell you, I wasn't sold much on sculpture until we started doing the full figure. Much more enjoyable, to say the least. Also we got free pizza on our make-up class on saturday, and only 7 people showed up. It was much nicer to have some space to work.

I do wish I had more time with these...they're not nearly as developed as they could be. It's obvious some views I pegged down better than others. 4 hours is not enough! I can't wait to delve into longer poses. Right now we're doing a 2 week pose, next will be our final 5 week pose. It's miraculously made me want to take more sculpture classes, which I never expected myself to say.

Before we did the full figure though, we did a 5 week portrait. I hated this. It didn't help that the model had very...rotund features, which are even harder to nail down than you would think. Easy to draw, hard to sculpt.

However after all these projects I managed to get an A- and be one of my teachers more favored students...wtf?

Ok anyway, photoshop. I love the teacher, hate the projects. They are just painfully boring so far. It's mostly been making selections and manipulating photos. Sigh...I guess its important to know.

Here's a really creepy head swap I did with my roommates friend Gabe. I just look like I am wearing a yellow tshirt, and while that is uncharacteristic of me, not that special. Gabe on the other hand has some creepy neck hair thing going on, as well as bra straps. Attractive.
This is our latest project, where we are supposed to make something look like it's been graffiti'd with our personal work. I used really old drawings of mine circa 10th grade. It looks kind of cool, although I'm not sure quite how believable it looks. I did everything my teacher suggested... the problem is he never demonstrates anything super, he just shows us what he considers "decent" work. Its very hard to determine what he wants.
We also did this cyborg manip that I would post except I can't find the jpg and I also used a lot of images off the web without permission, so I really shouldn't anyways.

Here's some of the more creative assignments we've had in composition and color. I love that class. I love illustrator in general, actually. Vectors are full of win. Also my teacher is hilarious, and really good at teaching. He breaks it down extremely well. Finally, someone who knows what they're doing.

One of our first assignments was to create images demonstrating the principles of design using only the letters in our full name. Thank god there is an I in my name...I don't know what I would have done without it.

Our latest project consisted of creating a propaganda poster (without using any real language) and explore different color relationships. There were 7 in total, but there were my favorite 3.

7 weeks of figure drawing class...not a lot I'm pleased with. Frankly I'm just really sick of doing it, and also hearing the same shit over and over again for years on end. When do they teach me structure?? I've been a bad art student and only going to class, no weekend workshops for me.

So it's October and I bet you all are wondering "Meri, where are those super amazing drawings you promised us over a month ago???"

The answer is: I don't know.

Have I apparently dropped off the face of the blogging planet?

According to my standards: yes.

Don't ask me why, or I will disappoint you again my friends. My mind is scattered today and I feel lost for words so I will be brief.

I really love it here at LCAD. Laguna Beach is super pretty, as long as you pretend there aren't all these other people here around you. The school is full of awesome teachers and legit classes. The weather is downright pleasant at worst. I like it here, and I don't want to move again, so I will not be putting together anymore entrance portfolios. I am staying.

What do I seem to be doing these days? Cutting a lot of things out in photoshop, and arranging lots of rectangles in illustrator. I'm sure the actual art bit will come eventually. But I am learning things, mostly. Well, not in figure drawing (big surprise) but everything else is worth my time. Oh ho ho, don't even get me started on figure sculpture. It hurts my brain.

Let's not even mention the going to the beach every weekend, preparing for NanoWrimo (which will be epic and decent this time around), looking for job (had an interview with coldstone today), cooking, cleaning, exercising several times a week, and someone who makes me feel like a stupid shy blushing little 13 year old girl again, not that that's much difference from the stupid, shy little 19 year old that I am. Whoops, already did.

BUT I have managed to do a bit of art here and there, so enjoy what you can, if you can:

1. Because I am a dork and have decided to fangirl hardcore about something because The Hunger Games is so totally worth fingerling about. Finnick4life!!! <3 So here is some fan art, for the first time ever. NEVER BACKLIGHT ANYTHING AGAIN.

2. Because the idea of Raindance Maggie is so sexy I can't help but draw a super implicative pin-up.

3. Because astronauts are cute AND NO I AM NOT A HIPSTER. But I am apparently a noob who types in all caps and talks to myself. Yea...it's bedtime.

pretty art things up and coming

so!

I got done with my summer job and vacation, got a new mac, and moved out to california, where I will be starting school at laguna college of art and design in just a few days. I had orientation yesterday and not only did they have spectacular catering, but I also met quite a few cool people and staff as well as saw the campus and got all the loose ends squared away.

I am so ready to start drawing again, this small hiatus/art block of mine has gone on for waaay too long but being back at a school makes me so excited to start things up again. And this year I actually get to start animating! Woohoo!

So expect pretty art things in the near future.

druheeng ah meez yew!

I can't seem to draw anything, for the life of me, since I got back. I hate it! I really want to do stuff, but I just can't! I feel like a lack of private work space is partially accountable for this (i.e. I have no desk anymore, besides the tiny pink and white one meant for an 8 year old...) but also my daily routine is so fucked up right now I can't seem to get anything in order. So I guess this is what an artist's block feels like.

IT SUCKS.

what do I dooooo?

Throwback

Well I'm home again. It's weird to be back. I miss all my friends back at Sheridan, and I miss my room too. It was so much bigger and well organized! My room here is a mess, as is my life.

Anyways, let me tell you a story.
Once upon a time in 8th grade I had these characters I drew, and I had personalities for them, and a whole world set up (they were basically just geometric shapes with faces) And I had this notebook in which I wrote up whole scenes and scripts about stories that took place, and I had an overarching story about taking over the world involved even.
Anyways, this notebook became lost to space and time somehow, probably because I was making it around the time my parents got divorced so it was very tricky, especially with all my stuff because it was moving all over the place all the sudden. And now I greatly miss that notebook. Because I am convinced that everything I wrote in there was completely hilarious (as I thought at the time) and it is probably some of the funniest stuff I've ever written (probably not) On occasion I start thinking about it and go on a man-hunt to find that notebook, but I always fail. It's probably been thrown out, but I can't quit looking, because there is such a multitude of STUFF in both my houses that its just impossible to give up hope.
Today I thought maybe it got mixed in with the schoolwork boxes my parents kept (unfortunately they did not keep one for the year I wrote it, due to the divorce) but I checked my 7th grade box anyway. I did not find it, but I did find all the art projects I did that year. Oh what fun. They're pretty bad. But here are some self portraits I did in the middle of my 13th year of life that might entertain. All I remember is that we had to do them ON a mirror. Tricky.


Sad part is...I still have all those clothes.



Anyways, here's a portrait I did for class awhile ago. Proof that being hungover makes you try new things because you're really not even thinking about it. It's not perfect, but I liked my color work.

Anyways, I hope to one day find that notebook and laugh at how awesome I was (seriously, 8th grade was an amazing year for me creatively speaking) In the meantime I can keep myself entertained with all the other things I wrote (I'm a writing maniac...I'm sure my blog doesn't help disguise that at all) and hopefully write more things. I'm becoming increasingly interested in comedy. Although I've never found myself a very funny person. I'd like to work on that.