Laphoria

Happy (early) Valentine's Day!

2012-02-05T21:57:00.000-08:00

For some cute girls in Boston and their Valentines.

Two Caricatures :)

2012-01-20T16:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Lost and Taken for the textures.

Some Sunshine from Capitol Reef

2012-01-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

For the show: "Capitol Reef: A Private Experience in a Public Space" coming in January to...somewhere in Utah!

(Reference)

Millie and Mucha

2011-11-19T14:00:00.001-08:00

Savvy Abby

2011-10-24T15:57:00.000-07:00

For our super-hero wedding photographer, Abby and her husband.

I've been working on getting a higher level of finish and depth into my drawing. This is definitely an improvement from my usual attempts at painted caricatures. Further critiques and suggestions welcome.

SYNESTHESIA

2011-10-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

YELLOW:

I am sitting in our small, worn Louisiana kitchen. I am younger than three. The smell of butter melting on noodles subtly but firmly dominates the apartment. Our wood floors glisten like honey in the slanting light of the setting sun. Even though our apartment is surrounded by buildings, some drops of summer light escape to come to dinner with us. It sounds yellow: like contentment, peace, security. The sound of boiling water, of sizzling onions and the blip of bubbles through tomato sauce. Mom hums scattered segments of various Glenn Miller songs and chats with me as I play with my palomino ponies just outside of the yellowed linoleum. A lovely yellow melody. When I ask, she tells me we’re having angel hair pasta. I imagine angels as little blond girls with long white dresses who sing playful yellow songs on clouds and eat cinnamon toast for every meal. Their hair is golden and shiny and warm. I can almost see their halos in the curling steam. I wonder vaguely why angels’ hair is so much tastier than mine and who first thought to eat an angel’s hair? A yellow melody – my first memory.

GREEN:

Underwater is the purest sound of green. Dense, close, heavy with potential. Nothing is completely devoid of green. The second purest sound of green is crickets. Crickets or cicadas with the rustling of a thousand corn fields. I walk the hills of Wisconsin countryside searching for the sound of green. But there is no one source. It creeps like ivy into all life-sounds. I find that smearing grass on one's knees or cleaning horses' stalls can intensify the sound of green. Maybe being so close to dying chloroplasts gives you insight to the voice of green in other places. Sap is a nice accent. It plays harmony to green. Before Wisconsin, in Oregon, the smell of sap and mold is in everything. Listening to the pines' clicker of needle and the constant movement in the undergrowth – like I can hear the blackberry bushes growing – the smell of sap on mold and the voice of green become inextricable.

BLUE:

My first bike is blue. A bold, confident, patriotic blue. When I learn to ride on two wheels, I hear wind. I hate that sound when it was in the car causing my hair to do nothing but fly straight into my eyes. But here, on this bold blue bike under the forget-me-not blue of the sky and the song of blue in my ears, I love this! I spend most of the next several rides trying to tune into to the song of blue again. Blue is always moving though. Too much exposure rubs her azure gleam away. Now, I find her on mountain sides, the tops of a roller-coaster, the middle of Chicago or with the intoxicating smells of sea-salt and seaweed on the coast, the song of blue wraps around my ears and eyes and tingles my skin with the expanse of possibilities that wait within the endlessness of sky and sea. I catch a glimpse of an ethereal cerulean blur. Always changing, always the same. Periwinkle twinkles at me for less than a second before the song of blue and the breath of freedom escape me again.

PURPLE:

The lighter notes of purple are soft, whispered footsteps while passing under lilac trees – slowing down so as to savor the scent. It's in the sound of crunchy grapes and the crack-fizz of a newly-opened soda can. It’s charming in rocks. Adding a low, throbbing pulse to the otherwise lifeless grey. Purple can also be passionate. Raindrops’ patter preludes the rolling rhythm of purple in the thunder. The commanding sounds prompt us to drop everything and run to the biggest window. We turn off the lights and bundle together in a nest of quilts, ready to watch purple conduct a stormy orchestra. It rumbles in like a huge purr through the blackberry-flavored sky or suddenly clatters like fifteen rakes all falling simultaneously. Occasionally there's just one explosive burst of purple spattering the sky with oblong echoes of breaking clouds. Sometimes our ribs vibrate so violently in response, we jump or scream or giggle to release the pressure. Intensified patters of water on glass and thuds of falling pinecones on our tin roof are the undulating arpeggios that give depth to the power of the base. We ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ appreciatively at the storm’s artful plunges into deeper tones of wine and amethyst. Before dispersing into light puce, we beg for an encore. If it’s been an especially empowering performance, purple sends us one last eye-splitting crack before slipping humbly out of view behind the curtain of trees.

RED:

Bursting fireworks! Acceleration! Knees against asphalt! The high-pitched squeal while jumping from the top stair into a pile of pillows amassed on the landing! Red is the reverberating echo that bounces inside of the fuchsia kickball when it slams against the ground in a four-square game. The sharp, quiet gasp when the beautiful person in the red convertible looks my way but I can't tell if they're looking at me, but if they are, I don't want to look away. The ringing in my ears as I blush. Red sounds. They live on the border between fear and security, tingling with anticipation but empty of substance. When my brother was born, my mother found out that we were actually getting two brothers, not just one. We answer Dad's call from the hospital on a Mickey Mouse phone with excited giggles and questions. I scream when he tells us we have twin brothers. I can't stop screaming. When they come home they are both lobster red, but soon lighten to a healthy rose color. Their cries ring with crimson frustration. Intense for a time until subsiding with exhausted, intermittent sobs. Their laugh is equally intense and short-lived. They grow up into teenagers who like the thrills of racing down snowy mountains and singing in front of hundreds of people. Red is still ringing in their ears.

PINK:

The gravitational pull of pink is irresistibly fun. Pink dances about in tickle fights and the sound of mattress springs straining under the bouncing weight of five children at once. It is snap of the sweet, rubbery candy that we work all Saturday to afford from the convenience store. It is the musical playfulness of our favorite theme songs on TV, the tinkling beauty of flutes, the graceful forms of ballerinas, and the magical rip of birthday wrapping paper. It was the snap of bubblegum between our teeth. I told my third-grade class that my favorite color was pink and they laughed me to scorn. The fashionable colors were blue and green and sometimes orange – definitely not pink. Later in life, I would have pink coats and shoes and scarves and lipstick and wonder if anyone in that class learned to enjoy the lively company of pink.

ORANGE:

Orange is all about energy, intensity, strength. Between the explosive uncertainty of red and the soothing warmth of yellow, orange is vibrant and awake. The pleasant thrum of happy people talking and laughing together, the buzz of heat in your head. Orange smells seem more common than orange sounds, though. Probably because of their head start in associating themselves with citrus. My favorite orange smell is Krapfen. We are in Vienna for a month. We live in an apartment above a baekerei. Every morning we go downstairs and smell what's fresh. If it's a lucky day, they're making Krapfen. Powdered sugar sprinkled on squishy balls of fried dough concealing a juicy, tart, apricot center, they are a perfect beginning to a lively

day.

BROWN:

Brown might be the friendliest color. Brown will sing to anyone, any day, any time. It is passive and old, sometimes boring, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes sad, always present. Footsteps on a rain-warped deck, thudding stairs, squelching mud, chopping potatoes, a purring knife as it slices through bread, the chatter of dead leaves. Brown was the sound that accompanied me in third grade when recess became uncomfortably social and I sought refuge with a football and an old tree. Creaking trees, crunching gravel, fizzing flies, the snap of twigs, the soft, sandy rustle of dirt. I listened to brown. If I felt especially impatient, I would throw the football at the tree and listen to the heavy thump of leather on bark until I tired or a harsh bell’s cry called us inside. Somehow, I think brown understood me much better than I ever understood brown.

WHITE:

Pure white is very serene. It’s hard to hear because once you realize you hear it, you’re too conscious to continue listening. I find it only in the unique moments where I straddle the crevice between reality and untouched void. Where white transcends color and sound and becomes simply light – the combination of colors, the absence of sounds. Otherwise, less-pure sounds of white are usually more ordinary. Flipping paper. Crunching snow. Crashing waterfalls. The squeak of new basketball shoes in a gym. A crisp, cleansing sound. White will always be part of my Grandma's house. She made it a temple of white cushions, curtains and carpets and served us raw, pale brown sugar with cream to put in our white mush for breakfast. She wore white and black always. White was the sound of quiet, but earnest activity. For some reason, she wouldn't let her hair go white. It wasn't until she couldn't remember her own husband that its natural translucence peeked through the roots.

BLACK:

Black is often doomed to dreary sounds of death or sadness, but it’s even better at the sounds of mystery and speed. We play wolves to the music of black. We dress in nightgowns and pajamas, turn off all the lights, twist up the volume on our parents’ stereo and run. High intensity violins in Yanni's orchestra playing a growing crescendo as the brass, drums and other violins come in. The patter of feet and gulps of breath as we race around the house reveling in the dim light that casts quick, morphing shadows behind us. Black is exhilarating speed and the dizzying spirals of overlapping music. Black bubbles through every chord of the triumphant trumpets, it sings through every vein of the violins. It is majesty in music so great that your eyes close just to see the black more clearly.

SYNESTHESIA:

“n. a sensation produced in one modality when a stimulus is applied to another modality, as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color” (Websters Dictionary).

[Apologies for the High-School-era art. But it felt boring without a little color. :)]

Hair

2011-09-20T21:32:00.001-07:00

CUT

No sucker. No bright colored polyester cape. No toys. I want to go home. I'm screaming and Mom is embarrassed. My hair is too long for me to take care of it and she doesn't have time to make up for me every day. I don't know that. All I know is, I can feel my hair screaming as it's sliced through by vicious, haphazard scissors. It's just a trim. She didn’t tell me it would be anything like this. So cruel and careless! Shaking my head only reveals how many tufts have already been severed. The poor salon lady looks discouraged. She opens and closes the scissors with uncertainty, searching for a space to cut my hair and not ears. I'm not thinking about that either. I can see my precious locks of hair falling to the ground. Some stray strands stick to my wet, salty, contorted cheeks. Why would Mom do this to me?

SHORT

Since I have independence now, and my own room with my own roommate and my own job and my own credit card, I decide it's time for a change. Moving 1000 miles away from home wasn't dramatic enough. A haircut! That's dramatic! I scout ideas for a while before sitting behind a girl at the football game with a cute pixie cut. It gels up to spunky spikes in the back with elegant sweeping bangs at the front. We're too far away from the game to see anything important and it's blisteringly hot. And I don't care about football anyway. Freshmen go to all the games to become true blue, myself included. I want to be true blue too. We all take pictures of ourselves in face paint to prove that they were there. Anyway, I spend the whole time watching her haircut and studying how it holds up against the wind, heat, her fanatical friends. Once in a while a roaring wave of sweat and spit and cheers interrupts my observations. I cheer along and then go back to jotting mental notes. I'm impressed with the bangs. Despite the boisterous breeze, they always settle back into place. Satisfied with the shape and drape of the cut, I finger my own hair contemplatively between more cheers and synchronized stomping.

After the game, my life of independence blossoms in front of my eyes and I'm empowered by visions of chic, modern bobs and that bangs that bounce and flutter with softness but always settle back exactly into place. Students drain out of the stadium as everyone goes home to wash off the face paint. I peel away instead to Great Clips and ask them to cut everything except some swooping bangs and sell me some gel to spike up the back.

It's one of those moments that people talk about your whole life and then it comes and you do everything that they talked about and it's surreally normal still and you can't believe you're actually living it. My hair has been long, then short, then long again. It's about medium length now. My mom is leaking a little bit. She dabs her eye with a tissue and surrenders the veil-adjusting to my adopted aunt. So proud. I'm glad she's proud. I don't feel anything out of the ordinary. Happy, sure. I'm usually happy. But not the elated, ecstatic, delirious kind of euphoria that people talk about in books or movies. Just calm, quiet, content. I guess that's what I should have expected. The only thing really strange is looking in the mirror. My hair is in an up-do for the third time in my life (the first was for prom, the second a practice for today). My stylist made it look longer than it really is. She used nineteen bobby pins and a 3/4 can of hairspray. She also starched my bangs so that they won't separate and stick to my forehead if the sun is too hot. An impregnable fortress on my head. In the pale yellow glow of the vanity lights in our preparation room, it looks very gentle and natural. Somehow, she hid all nineteen bobby pins. I smile at Mom who is sitting with a quiet, glowing grin on her face. I'm glad she's grinning.

The veil is done. Time for pictures.

[Inspired by the prompt - "Tell your life story through three incidents involving hair" from Burroway's Imaginative Writing]

Mr. and Mrs. Romeny

2011-08-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

For my spunky roommate and her new roommate/husband.

Kristen Randle

2011-05-17T11:59:00.001-07:00

First Draft: Final:

For my charming fiance's charming mother. Happy Birthday! :)

Romance

2011-05-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

P.S. Have I mentioned recently that I have the COOLEST PROFESSORS IN THE WORLD? Ryan Woodward did the Google-Doodle animation honoring Martha Graham today. It's so fun to watch that even google is having trouble handling all the traffic.

Pump!

2011-05-08T22:00:00.001-07:00

I was contemplating how much I love this piece from Brittney Lee and decided to try to emulate her yesterday but in the other direction. I LOVE yoga and have never felt confused or lost in a yoga session. CARDIO, however, is a whole different game. I'm still...finding my feet as it were.

I especially love Brittney's colors. and her painterly feel of drawing with or without outlines as stylistically required. Those are two things I've been trying to understand better.

Critiques welcome. :)

Cutting losses

2011-05-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

The semester is over and this was CUT (hahaha) from the film anyway, so it's probably okay to post it online now. Here's a little teaser for BYU Animation's ESTEFAN. Coming Spring 2012.

Coming soon to a mailbox near you...

2011-05-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

Invitation printing: SUCCESSFUL! Wooooooo!

Business Cards for Allyson

2011-05-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

I love it when stuff that I love to do matches up with what other people want me to do!

My friend Allyson is a talented cook and artist, but is still shy of drawing so she asked me to do some business cards for her budding cookie business. SWEET deal. Pun intended.

Her blog.

P.S. For anyone interested, I do the business card designs for $5 - and (for now) I'll print the first ten for free.

Tooth Envy

2011-05-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

The orthodontist just told me I needed braces.

argh.

Omni

2011-04-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

This is Omni. He was immortal for three years when he lived with Aileen Thomas. Now forever as a Klimt emulation practice.

hint: he's a goldfish!! :)

Disney Inspires My Day Every Day.

2011-04-12T18:25:00.000-07:00

Caution: Attending Disney Inspire Days AND Disneyland in the same week causes dangerous spikes of Disney fanaticism. If persons such as Glen Keane are involved in any way - seek professional restraint immediately.

Symptoms include swooning at Disney soundtracks, unexpected synchronized dancing, impersonating famous animators, and sacrificing health, comfort and friends' company to get front row seats at the World of Color.

I don't regret any of it. :P

Meredith has amazing hair.

2011-03-25T23:57:00.000-07:00

Thought of the day from Mark Zuckerberg's forum address today at BYU:

"You have to really love and believe in what you're doing. I think that's the most important thing. If you start to build something - large or small - it's hard and you encounter a lot of challenges. If you don't completely love and velieve in what you're doing, it actually becomes the rational thing to stop doing it...if you're going to take on any big challenge, it's important that you love and really have faith in what you're doing."

For Ginna

2011-03-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

Digital Storytime!

2011-03-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

It's incredible how much more enjoyable books are when someone reads them to you.

Goliath Gonzaga...got Jimmered.

2011-03-21T15:37:00.001-07:00

Michaelangelo's the Jimmer.

A Ferre Tale

2011-03-20T00:07:00.000-07:00

These are illustrations for Aimee Fairy of Olive Branch Design which designs cute things from paper, ribbons and ordinary scrap-booking materials to make magical eye candy that benefits business, events etc. Aimee herself is pretty spunky and adorable. It was fun to do this project with her.

Aimee commissioned me to illustrate a promotional called a "Ferre Tale" (pronounced like "fairy tale") which they could send to businesses and corporations and show them how classy they are.

The promotion ran about two years ago so I won't be spoiling anything by releasing them on the web now. :)

Business Cards

2011-03-16T17:52:00.001-07:00

Newfound passion: making business cards! I didn't expect it to be so much fun! But in the past two days designed these for Murphy and myself.

2011-03-15T22:53:00.000-07:00

Michael Flaherty, President of Walden Media came to BYU today! He earned the standing ovation that he got for his presentation "On a Story and a Prayer".

He talked about the powerful ability great art, songs, literature, films, have in helping us learn the essential things - compassion, service, faith, patience, optimism. He also acknowledged the flip side that these arts may intensify our darker natures as well.

But "the ultimate power of a good story is something that helps us discover what God meant for us to be."

I was impressed by Mr. Flaherty's friendly, approachable nature, but even more impressed at how courageous he has been in pursuing clean, uplifting media and how tastefully he has woven his faith into his profession.

I feel inspired.

Oh. He also mentioned the Kelly Loosli was the Jimmer Fredette of Animation. Just mentioning "Jimmer" won him (at least 50 :) points.

ANNNNND. Speaking of Stories. Murphy and I are thinking of beat-boarding our story for the Gallery-reception-party-gig in September! WOW. It's going to be so much fun. I'm REALLY excited.

Okay - but seriously. He's the cutest. :)

And he fixes computers. SOLD.

Feeling Groovy!

2011-02-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

So there's this guy...

He asked me to marry him.

I said, "yes."

It's a good story.

A Thought of You

2011-01-23T17:19:00.000-08:00

Yay for Ryan! We already knew he was the coolest, but he just proved it again!

If you get a chance, go see his exhibit, "Conte Animated" in Gallery 303 of the Harris Fine Arts Center at BYU. It will be up until January 29.

Here's a sampler from opening night. 1 - Ryan, 2 - Masters Adams and Olsen, 3, 4 - Gesture Drawings, 5-7 - several comments that were left in response to the video on youtube. I took the ones I liked best.

8 - Last but not least: Cheryl Johnson! She's too cute!

Really, though. It's much better in person than through my phone-camera.

Sisters

2010-12-23T13:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes in middle of everyday bustle, we even had opportunities to do fun artsy-fartsy things.

Warm and on the Cutting Edge of Fashion. Win-win. :)

Pinyata! Gangsta, christmas penguin pinata.

Waiting to get into Sleeping Beauty the Ballet. (WOW)

The Plan of Salvation! So brilliantly simple that it can even fit in a simple chalk-drawn diagram in front of our church building!

Back on Track!

2010-12-23T13:07:00.000-08:00

Not that I was every OFF track, but at least now my blog will know about it.

.

pretty sweet, huh? I thought so too.

Doesn't get much better than job-shadowing the Spirit of God.

Fond Farewell

2009-06-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving TOMORROW!

Ohmygosh.

As for blog updates, the plan is: write letters home, hopefully including drawings, then once in a blue moon, they'll be posted. I'm not posting ALL of my letters though. I'd rather those not be open to the entire internet. If you want to read my weekly letters, you can send my mom and email at sue.m.smith@gmail.com. She'll put you on an email list and just forward it to you.

I'll be leaving my Post Address and such on Facebook under Info, if you want to write me traditional-like. If we aren't "friends" or you aren't on Facebook than:

Until Spet:

Russia Samara Mission

Provo Missionary Training Center

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604

And after that:

Russia Samara Mission

POB 30150

Salt Lake City UT 84130-0159

USA

^That's the pouch system. Photographs aren't allowed and neither are packages but sketches are!! :)

See you in eighteen months!

Laura

If Elmo were Emo...

2009-05-31T16:19:00.000-07:00

While we were in SLC, we went to Urban Outfitters and found out that my camera has a timer. And that Urban Outfitters has a lot of cool merchandise.

Partly because we all watched Alphabet-shows when we were younger and thus have a natural inclination to play with big letters, partly because Kristin is Typographoholic and partly just because the letters were pretty - we played composition games with them for approximately an hour and half before heading home. hehe

We're going to pitch to Sesame Street and see if they can't make the show a little edgier and more accessible to their young adult audiences.

This program was made possible by Viewers Like You. Thank you.

Sketchventure-sode in SLC!

2009-05-31T15:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Sketch adventure day in Salt Lake!

I went with these ^ two wonderful people to paint/sketch/photograph the cool houses in Northern SLC. Even though we didn't find the neighborhood we were looking for, we did find plenty of cool houses.

Ivy may be destructive to your house, but it gives the house such a rustic, lived-in look. I guess it's kind of like a house's sun tan. Bad for it, but so irresistibly pretty....

Look! They match! :)

^ This house was slightly to the right of the cool driveway below.

Sunlit trees are sooooo beautiful.

I can't even say how great it was to paint outside. I'm taking a plein aire class when I get back.

Sketchventure-sode in Provo

2009-05-31T15:09:00.000-07:00

At about 9:00p, Kristin asked me if I was doing anything. I guessed I didn't since I was done with Drew's graduation and we went on a little sketch adventure in Barnes & Noble and Gelato's.

SO fun.

Friends that sketch together stay together.

Jake and Anthony told me about these watercolor brush-pens and I can understand why they're so enthralled by them. I've got Kristin hooked on them now too. :P

PS. Jon J Muth and Brittney Lee ARE AWESOME.

So much to do, so little time.

2009-05-22T23:08:00.001-07:00

Funny thing about missions...

They kind of open you up to the possibilities of life. Even as a pre-mie, I can feel it happening. My mind is shifting, saying, "Well if you can go to Russia than you can certainly... swim the English Channel or Become a Concert Pianist or Go to Cooking School to learn Chef-ery. My mind is fizzling with the possibilities...

1. I come home in time to start school Winter 2011, I will start on the Senior film, make my own film, maybe learn French and take ALL ART CLASSES. Yesssssssss.

2. Following that semester I will a) get an AWESOME internship doing exactly what I want, or b) will thumb my nose at all internships and take off on a tour of Asia where I will work in the place I am until I earn enough money to travel to the next place.

3. Sometime after Winter Semester that has not been determined, I am spending at least three months in India searching out and learning from a real Yogi who will teach me yoga like no Westerner would or could.

4. SIGGRAPH 2011 where there will be all kinds of trippy technologies and cool animations.

5. Write an Honor's Thesis on Story - probably about Fairy Tales and Story Structure and stuff and maybe go to Germany on Study Abroad to get some first hand knowledge.

6. Ride my bike from San Francisco to New York and make a great painting every day on the way there. (Just like Eyvind Earl! It took him 42 days. I bet I could do it in 50, but I'd have to take Bob's painting class first.)

7. Seriously though, Cooking School really does sound cool.

8. Oh, and it probably wouldn't be so bad to get married either. But the possibility that I'll be in one place long enough for him to find me is getting very slim...

Groupwise

2009-05-03T16:11:00.000-07:00

In an effort to learn Flash, I accepted an offer from Film Student Asia Stryker to do this animation for the Novell Groupwise competition. It was fun and we might actually have a fighting chance at this thing! There are two different logo-endings. I like the first one better. It flows a little better, I think.
SO!...for your perusing pleasure:

UPDATE [5/22/09] - We got Fourth Place in the Competition. But that's only because there was some pretty rampant Nepotism going on. It's causing a mini-scandal in the Film Program right now. Just know, though - We WOULD HAVE gotten third. :P

ME-yazaki

2009-05-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

Sis and I watched "My Neighbor Totoro" last night. That film is phenomenal. And it was born the same year I was! If I could relive my childhood, I would definitely do it as a Miyazaki character.

Product!

2009-04-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's so satisfying to finish a semester and actually have something to show for it other than a report card.

This is our German/Scandinavian film Project. Created by Dane Christenson, Sarah Elliott, Rebecca Witmer and myself.

Der Himmel Über BYU from Laura Smith on Vimeo.
The film had to:
- Include a montage
- Include a shadow (as a significant part of the story)
- Include a close-up
- Be exactly two minutes (which we totally broke. oops)
- Recreate a scene from either Wings of Desire (German: Der Himmel Über Berlin) or Wild Strawberries (Swedish: Smultronstället). We chose the German one. Klar!

If you're having trouble understanding what's going on because you haven't seen that movie, this might help: I am an angel. Angels wear trench coats and have ponytails. Angels see things in Black and White and can hear people's thoughts. There's no voice-over of what DJ is thinking - it's implied through the montage instead. DJ is the real person. His world is in color. He cannot see/interact with angels.

We all dabbled in all parts of the filmmaking but two credits that deserve special attention: DJ is responsible for the excellent editing and Sarah bought us all Smart Cookies when we were burning out. mmmm. Cookies.

I hoped they would...and they DID!

2009-03-14T15:27:00.000-07:00

MY MISSION CALL FINALLY CAME!

(This is a bit belated, since it actually came the first Wednesday of March.)

Nevertheless! I leave for Samara, Russia on June 3, 2009. (That's less than three months!! Ohmigosh)

A pin passed on to me from Court which is now hanging out on my bookbag.

Another pin from my Mama. She also got the flag (above) for our flagpole and a miniature flag that I have at my apartment. (She might be more excited for my mission than I am. But that'd be very difficult.)

My little sister is the best thing about the opening-pictures. I think she'd just woken up from a nap when we called a war council to open my call.

Booya!

The Technicolor Phase

2009-03-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

The title has nothing to do with these illustrations. These are for a poem my Aunt wrote about her son who fought in Iraq and got home this summer.
They're also to fool you into believing this is still an art blog despite my incessant jabbering.

But seriously. Back to the title. Owl City is my new favorite band. I'm not the epitome of musical taste, but their stuff is just fun! Peppy, techno-jive and really luscious lyrics. Mock if you must. I've been listening to them for the last three days straight.

The Death of a Sketchbook.

2009-02-12T20:21:00.000-08:00

This weekend I brutally murdered a monster sketchbook. These are some of the spoils of the kill.

Part of my continuing effort to be like Anthony Holden - who draws far better and funner than I do.
Izzy dominated this sketchbook. She won't look like this in the film, but I'm still kind of partial to the red-hair and pink skirt.

On off days, this model doubles as a stoplight.

Yet another self-portrait. Notice I discreetly close the eyes so that you would immediately suspect I'm drawing myself again...

Jake - trying to teach me composition.

Club 11! It spanned the crack and I thought that was cool.

Unrelated: Discovering new music is like discovering a new favorite food. But unlike food, which often inspires hoarding and binge-ing, music just makes me want to share! So if you're bored with your stuff, get a taste of Mika, Jay Newland, Owl City, Missy Higgins and Joshua Minsky. All of whom rock the house.

um. Wow.

2009-01-22T06:25:00.000-08:00

This is a really fantastic movie. No, really. The acting, the story, the music(!!), EVERYTHING.
Wow wow wow.

Oh! And I really have been making arts! I'm not slacking! There's just no time to scan and post them. Kind of silly, huh? This is supposed to be an art blog. Ah well. I'll get around to it.

[UPDATE (2/23): Slumdog Millionaire just won eight Oscars! Best Picture, Best Director (Danny Boyle), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Score, Best Original Song ("Jai Ho") and Best Sound Mixing. It deserved them.]

He's just a Bill

2009-01-04T16:18:00.000-08:00

This Christmas, probably my best surprise (besides Wall-E from you, Eve. :) was this 23-lb bulk of beauty.

Oh, sorry. Can you see that one?

How 'bout this:

or this

or THIS!

Not only does it feature full, gorgeous, colored illustrations, it also has an introduction from Bill Watterson and little dates at the bottom of each comic to show when each one was published! The introduction is probably my favorite part so far. I've already read every strip but I don't think I've ever read anything Bill Watterson has written about himself so getting his history was fascinating.

He had a really difficult period in the few years between school and writing C&H. He was designing gorcery store advertisements for a while and trying to develop something on the side that could break him in to the industry. A lot of rejections. Finally, he was offered a job (on a fancy shmancy all-expenses-paid trip to New York) to write a comic about a character that the company wanted to sell as a toy. To his credit, he rejected the job - insulted that they he would write around someone else's character as form of merchandising.

Later, he rejected all merchandising offers for Calvin and Hobbes too. He didn't think it supported the spirit of the strip and didn't want to hand over control of Calvin's and Hobbes' characters to someone who wasn't as personally invested in them as himself. It would have been unimaginably lucrative - even without giving away any rights, people still rip him off by making their own bumper stickers, shirts and what-not. But none of it is legal!!

After ten years of writing the strip, he decided that he'd done everything he wanted to do. He ended it then before its ratings could down and it pittered into rehashed jokes and half-baked strips. He could have milked it for many more years. People would have kept reading. But he didn't.

That's integrity.

Because of that, Calvin and Hobbes are still had strong and poignant characters today. And they're still saying exactly what Watterson wanted them to say.

So, as cool as it would be to have a C&H animated series, I'm glad Watterson protected Calvin and Hobbes like he did. The appeal of money has eroded a lot of great things. But this isn't one of them.

Yip yip!

2009-01-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

I have a confession.

The last three/four-ish days of break have been almost entirely devoted to watching all three seasons of Avatar: the Last Airbender.

I could have been productive: read a book, studied some animation, sketched or...I don't know, cleaned my room maybe?

But no, I devoured three years of Nickelodeon instead.

Turns out, once you start it's a bit difficult to stop.

And now, can I gush? THAT SHOW IS FREAKING AMAZING! As much as I distrust hyperboles - it is THE best, most gripping, most intense, completely fantastic show I have ever ever seen.

The corny sarcasm/American humor is sometimes out of place but I don't care.

The theme of the whole show is respect: Respect for self, respect for heritage, respect for friends, respect for the environment, and respect for life. It explores other areas too though: the duality of human nature, the importance of trust, the power of love, finding your destiny, the meaning of freedom - just to name a few.

The creators (Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino) obviously love their story. Character arcs are woven skillfully throughout the series. Each character has a different role to play and a different way of finding that role. Villains and heroes alike are rounded out beautifully and given real challenges and motivations that bring them to life.

They also did a ton of research! Each style of element bending is designed to corresponds with a different Martial Art that supports the element they're controlling. Hung Gar style Kung Fu for Earth, Tai Chi for Water, Northern Shaolin Kung Fu for Fire, and Ba Gua for Air. Each group of people is distinuished by different clothing and customs. Each culture has a unique set of teachings and characteristics that are apparent through their actions and speech. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Hayao Miyazaki and others influenced it a lot too. They did an excellent job of blending the legendary epic with magic and spirituality.

Bonus - it's so clean you could eat off it. This was especially apparent to me after watching several crime shows between my Avatar-sessions. Those were gross and seemed closer to horror than prime-time. Avatar went deeper into the human psyche, was funnier, taught me more memorable, valuable lessons AND looked better in only a third of the time. So eat it TNT. For all your shock-values passing as "drama", you still lose.

Anyway - this is grade A tv. I love love loved it and if you want, I'd be happy to nerd with you.

Funnily enough, I did a report/presentation on Avatar (and anime) all the way back in Fall '07. But mostly I just described parts of the characters and style and talked about the cross-pollination between the American and Japanese animation.

I never watched an episode though. Thought I didn't have time...

How absurd.

Thank you, Morgan Gibbons for showing me the light. Or...at least sending me the link.

Six Things

2008-12-30T21:09:00.001-08:00

My Frogger Kristin tagged me a while ago to reveal "six things most people don't know". Typically I don't do tag-items, but decided to make an exception for this one because I wanted to be vain and creative and play in the snow.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a cool, free, online gadget that would help me in my presentation so flickr will have to do.
Instructions! Click on the picture and then click on the slideshow icon just to the right of the picture (it looks like a little mini projector screen). You can speed through or just let it play, but you have to go in order or it won't make sense!

Also...this took a ridiculously long time (you can tell by the changing light) and I practically froze my hands off. I do NOT recommend this method to any logical, self-preserving person. Especially if they have bad circulation.
However, all irrational, destructive persons who love the snow and have some extra yarn and time - I challenge you to a snow-yarn-writing duel!

Winter Wonderlands

2008-12-29T22:07:00.000-08:00

Spring and Fall will always be my true favorites, but I really love having equal portions of all four seasons. Winter is very magical in its own muffled, chilly, haunting way.

The Advent Conspiracy

2008-12-25T21:31:00.001-08:00

I just found this on Kelli's blog.

It's the most inspiring commercial I've seen in years. Possibly ever.

The Advent Conspiracy Promo Video from theadvance on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas!

Short, Fat and Proud of That

2008-12-15T20:43:00.000-08:00

In honor of today being our last day of Artistic Anatomy, I have some very special things to record here in my blogger.

1) Appreciate the masters of Anatomy. The REAL masters: Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Leon Joseph Florentin Bonnat, John Singer Sargent, Pierre Auguste-Cot, James Tissot to name a very very few. But seriously - anyone who understands anatomy had to work freaking hard to get there. I spent a countless hours trying to copy this from books and a skeleton model. They can just pull it out of their heads! No shortcuts, but it's worth it.

(^I wish I could do that. This is John Singer Sargent's)

2) We're China-doll fragile. Anything can kill us. Changes in our environment, position in the solar system, atmosphere etc = death and destruction. How on Earth are we still alive? And how did we get to be the top of the food chain?? (Aethieism makes me laugh.)

3) Females are much more...cushioned males. That's not new, but I never realized how drastic the difference was. The comparative picture in my anatomy bookis almost comical. Males have a total of seven fat pads (not counting feet, hands or cheeks). Seven TINY ones - a couple around the knee, under the gluteus maximus, one over the pubis, and two on the trunk. Females have thirteen HUGE ones. Since they're colored in pink they look kind of like globual aliens trying to take over the body. Ergo - why the female form has gentler curves and more dynamic proportions.

And why it is phenomenally more impressive when a girl gets a six pack. They have to work through a whole extra layer of fat before they make it visible!
(^also ergo - why James Tissot painted only women. Although the fun dresses may have had something to do with it too...)

4) The ingenious mechanics of the shoulder girdle (i.e. clavicle, scapula, and maubrium) are what allow such great arm flexibility. Fun experiment: raise your arm until its straight out and your scapula won't move. Beyond those 90 degrees, though, your scapula takes over control of the movement.

5) The knee is pretty complex. The patella on top is encased in tendons and makes sure we don't pinch all the leg muscles that converge there when we bend/straighten our leg. There are a couple fat pads in that area to allow smoother functioning too. The combination - all the muscles, fat pads and bone is what makes the complex form of folds and furrows. All of it is necessary, though. It's a very important joint.

6) The last two ribs are just floating...apparently without purpose. heh.

7) The last bones of our cocyx are also completely useless. (Tail remnants maybe?)

8) The Pelvis is really just a basket of organs with the rectus abdominas holding them all in.

9) The swim suits models wear at BYU have become ten times more annoying. I never recognized how intrusive they were. An aside: The swimsuits is not a church thing. First Presidency is okay with it. It's a rule instituted because someone a while back thought that nude models were pornographic. Stupid person.

10) Overall - the Human Figure is just amazing. And the more I study it, the more amazing it gets. They really are divine designs.

If you like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the ribcage

2008-12-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

A t-shirt design for my Artistic Anatomy class.

If classes were fruits this one would be a pineapple. Thick, tough, prickly outside; meat overflowing with juice and sweetness on the inside.
And enough acid to burn your fingerprints and tastebuds off if you eat too much of it at once.

Thanks, Niki. It's been exotic and delicious.

There are a lot of tag lines for Anatomy t-shirts. I think that was the funnest part of this project:
--Artistic Anatomy: It's what's shows on the outside that counts.
--It's an inside joke.
--I bet I can find your Anterior Superior Iliac Spine before you can.
--Tibia or not to Tibia? That is the question.
--My Trochanter's Greater!
--It's better underneath.
--I'll Tensor YOUR Fascia Lata!
--I've been through Artistic Anatomy and back. And all I got was this lousy t-shirt.
etc.

Those are all rip-offs from other quotes, though. Think you can do better?
10 points if you make up another one and leave it in my comments.
50 points if its awkward.
100 points + a soda if I literally lol.

R is for Ridiculous

2008-11-25T22:50:00.000-08:00

This week I saw Motorcycle Diaries. It's a film based on Che Guevara's partial autobiography of the same name. Shown at International Cinema here at BYU.

Despite the historical inaccuracies, I thought it was a fantastic film. I actually walked out feeling I'd learned a lesson about missionary work.
Online later I found out it was rated R.
I double-checked my screen a full seven times before I believed it.
Really? R? It was less graphic than most PG-13s I see. Probably less than some PGs too.
Suddenly I felt sacrilegious. I learned about missionary work! Oh no! That's not allowed. Rs are evil...right?

Then tonight, in beginning The Fall with Scarlet, I realized that film was rated R too. It DID contain more blood than I expected. But it all had the super-saturated quality of Monty-Python blood and it was too unnatural in color and behavior to be disturbing. It was used for style more than anything.

The film was gorgeous throughout. The style followed Alexandria's imagination: intoxicating color, gorgeous scenery and fantastic costume design for each of the characters. The commentary on life, living and love was very very powerful. It really makes you think too. I loved it.

Which leads to my confusion. Why R? Because it's deep? Because of the violence?
Anything with Bruce Willis, most super-hero movies and any Bourne film is much more violent. The vast majority of romantic comedies (or action flicks - they apply too) are more sexually explicit. Will Ferrel (pick the movie) is ten times as crass and vulgar.

What then?

You're telling me it's more harmful for children to be exposed to a philosophical view of life and the reasons for living than it is to hear Ferrel spout expletives and crude sexual references for an hour and a half?

For practically my entire life I've considered Rs off-limits. Bad. Evil. Dangerous.
I remember being 14 and utterly mortified that a family I babysat for owned a couple R-films. I instantly judged them to be on the slippery slope.
But here I am facing my own movies and realizing that their ratings are completely invalid. Staying away from R-movies doesn't keep you safe. There's just as much garbage in PG-13s. R-movies aren't all safe and innocent, of course, everyone knows that's not true. But there are good, valid, wonderful things in Rs. Their rating isn't an accurate measure anymore.

Maybe I'm just spouting stuff you already know. According toJordan, this skewed rating has been going on for a while. But it was new to me. I didn't want to know, I suppose. It's harder to judge when you throw the standard ratings away - easier to take them as a given and feel safe within their diction. But to watch without thinking - trusting an ambiguous third party's recommendation- THAT may be more dangerous than any film.

So...I don't plan on renting every R at Blockbuster because of this realization. But it does give me some perspective on those who do watch R-movies consistently and it's prompted me to more critically analyze my films before I watch them. Not all that glitters is gold.

Thoughts from the Animation Program

UPDATE: It was pointed out to me that Motorcycle Diaries was rated for language not graphic-ness. I didn't really acknowledge that, but it's true. They had pretty dirty language. I censored it for myself since all of it was in Spanish (i.e. subtitles for me) anyway.

And then...I pounced her.

2008-11-06T00:14:00.000-08:00

Can you believe only ONE person guessed us correctly? I can't. We were dead-ringers!

On Halloween Stacey and I dressed up as Calvin and Hobbes and it was fan-freaking-tastic. Calvin and Hobbes are my one true comic-loves so to impersonate Hobbes for a day was a definite wish fulfillment.

We went to Scarlet's for her Halloween party and her roommate made stinking AMAZING pumpkin pie! From REAL pumpkins! I didn't even know people knew how to do that anymore. But I'm ready to learn how because the fresh stuff is fifty times more delicious than any of that poser canned pumpkin. Scarlet also made flower-water which was a new one for me, but actually pretty good. It helped that it looked like blood. It's fun to drink bodily-fluid-looking fluids on Halloween.

Oh, and to make everything perfectly perfect. We also played Calvin Ball and jumped in piles of pretty, yellow, crunchy leaves.
It's okay to be jealous.

This is right before I pelted Stacey with leaves.

I love Halloween. And Calvin and Hobbes. And Stacey for being willing to dress up with me!

Wait Until Dark

2008-11-01T01:16:00.001-07:00

I'm not a fan of horror films. Really really DISlike them, actually.
But in honor of Halloween and Audrey Hepburn and Stacey Bethers, I decided to make an exception for tonight night and watch one.

Note to self: late night horror movies are never a good idea especially on the creepiest night of the year.
I'm so jittery, I can't sleep. I'm checking my blinds regularly to make sure there isn't a pale blue van outside; I've compulsively locked the door at least three times; I'm blasting pop music to try and get the dissonant, violins out of my head; and I nearly jump out of my skin every time something moves or the heater goes on.

Still...
All I can see is that horrid image of the villain dragging himself with a bloody knife towards a screaming, sobbing Audrey. Ugh. I think my mind is exaggerating how terrifying he actually was, but that knowledge doesn't help much.

The film overall was quite good. Audrey did a superb job of playing a blind woman. It must have taken quite a bit of practice to get her eyes to stop focusing on her surroundings. I'm super ticked at Sam. His good-guy role forces me to think favorably of him, but what a turd! I thought he'd run up and clutch Susy with everything he had when he found out she was miraculously still alive. But no, he waits as she stumbles over furniture and uses Gloria's assistance before embracing her at all.
Jerk.
Susy's brilliant.

It's too bad "Mike" had to die. I liked him. He was the only criminal with a conscience. But that would have created complications with Sam so I suppose it made sense to kill him off. At least he ended on a high.

Gloria's character arc was fascinating: she was wretched in the beginning, but by the end I would have given her a halo and gold medal. So clever! Her character was very skillfully done.

Phew, feeling calmer now. In conclusion: I'm glad I can see and gladder that there are no dolls or music boxes or drugs in my apartment. Definite plus.

Thanks for listening!

Hallow's Eve

2008-10-30T21:37:00.001-07:00

When I carve pumpkins I feel like a mad scientist. Lobotomizing through the top with a huge knife? Digging out their innards? Carving all that thick gourd flesh? Don't tell me you don't feel it too.

FOUNNNDD!!

2008-10-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

Dan found my USB drive! Its brief vacation from my bag was stressful but finally OVER!! And I'm so glad.
Here's that final-ish animation I promised! I hope this one's clearer. Its still not inbetweened, but the second half is infinitely better.

Pitch

2008-10-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

Junior Pitch was today!
Pitching isn't exactly my favorite thing, but I survived. I had three concepts. None of them made it to the semi-finals, but...so it goes.
I still had fun with the paintings though!

Animation!

2008-10-24T16:49:00.000-07:00

This is the old copy of our first Animation for Cynthia's Animation Studio 2 Class. I just lost my USB, the final version was saved there.
Since I'm paranoid about losing even this back-up copy now, I'm posting it here before I can lose it or blow up the computer or something.

On the bright side - this girl is based on Giselle from Disney's Enchanted and just in case you haven't seen it, the animation and music on that film are drool-worthy!! This was a awesome excuse to watch the beginning sequence and listen to the soundtrack repeatedly.
If I ever find the final I'll try and post that one too. It's much better.

Monkey's Aunt

2008-10-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

Remember that song? "I love the monkey's uncle"? Disney? From their old school live-action stuff? I'm not sure which show exactly, but I used to dance around our living room to that song all the time.
It really has nothing to do with this Physics simulation, but it's what I think of every time I see it.
Here's a sampling of the 200-some concept-sketches too.

Oh yeah - and I couldn't kill the monkey. It's implied that he's hit off-screen, but that's not true, I put up a bullet-proof barrier to protect him right off camera. So rest assured, no fictional monkeys were harmed in the making of this quicktime.

"I'd live in a jungle gym - in order to be with hiiiiii-iiiim. I love the monkey's uncle and I wish I were the monkey's aunt!
[monkey's aunt!]"
Yay classic-Disney nostalgia!

Quick Draw: Audrey Hepburn

2008-10-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

"Pick a day. Enjoy it to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come...the past, I think has helped me appreciate the present and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future."
~Audrey Hepburn

I like Audrey Hepburn. (Well, seriously - who DOESN'T?)
Not only did she set style standards that are practically immortal, she was also really good as a person. She was pretty wise in what parts of her life she made public and private and she really cared about the people she came in contact with. She was smart. She thought about a lot of things very deeply. As her friend Rob Wolders said of her, "In my experience, Audrey was the most introspective person I have ever met, always trying to discover, self-discovery. On the other hand, she had an extraordinary ability to laugh, to try to enjoy life. So she would be very determined to get to the essence of an issue which required study and application, but then afterwards, she had this tremendous need to laugh, to amuse."
She was conservative in her personal presentation - beautiful but not showy or gaudy. Though she was filthy rich she was still very resourceful and generous with her money. Her childhood was definitely not the best (growing up in WWII) and she got stuck in two horrible marriages (though she gave them both her best shot) but she was still really even-tempered and wonderful to be around. I admire that. With all the prima donnas in the media now who spend their time whining about what the world owes them...it's refreshing to think that at one time celebrities had more depth than their superficial, on-screen personas.
She wasn't a saint, of course, but still a really great public role model. Too bad SHE can't be running for president...

Here's to you, Audrey!

Fun fact: Alberto Grazia de Rossi, Audrey's lifelong make-up stylist would use a safety pin to separate each of her eyelashes for her signature knock-out eyes.

I got my information from the book "What Would Audrey Do?" by Pamela Keogh. Which is rad, just in case you were wondering.

[An aside: I know my Quick Draw doesn't do her justice at all: much too surly and the colors aren't right. Sometime when I have time I'll do a more in-depth study. She has fabulous bone structure and I love drawing her eyes!]

Interpretation

2008-09-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

I saw 'Hero' the first time today.

Wow.

I didn't even know films could BE that good. What an amazing movie. Visually it was incredible: colors transcended their usual background-role. They were practically characters they were so powerful. The martial artistry was beautiful, the scenery was gorgeous, the composition of each shot was inhumanly perfect. I don't know how Zhang Yimou did it. The music was gorgeous, the acting: amazing. The story was deliciously twisted yet refreshingly simple. The themes are still settling into my mind, and I don't feel like I absorbed even half of it. The self-sacrifice theme was powerful, but the emperor's sword-symbol analogy was very profound. I loved that.
I need to see it again (and again and again) before I'll really start understanding all of its layers, though.
But wow. WOW. What a great, great film.

Finishing it, I felt like I'd just been led past an enormous gourmet buffet full of delicacies I wanted to try, but before I could sample more than one or two items, I had to go. It was over. I wanted to restart it immediately, but my brain needs some time to digest.

While I was having my catharsis and wrestling with the irresistable desire to become Chinese just so that I could claim that movie came from my country, a girl behind me started asking questions like, "So...who was that 'Sky-girl'? I don't get it. What am I going to write about?"
AUUUGHHH! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! How does that happen? How could she sit through two hours of 'Hero' and so completely NOT get it??
It was like watching someone taste the (exquisite!) bread pudding from the Commander's Palace in New Orleans, put down their spoon and ask for Dairy Queen instead.

It was just...sad.

I've been thinking about it more and more lately - how films are so completely unique to each individual viewer. It's a fascinating phenomenon. And I like comparing it to food because the same thing happens through taste and food. Films (and all media, really) are mental food. And what we're eating mentally is affecting our health. Affecting us even more than our physical food, really, it's just not as easy to measure...

2008-09-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

Today we tried the bird thing again. And I DID try to exaggerate the first time! It was even funny! But my drawing skills haven't caught up with my ideas yet, so it wasn't very pretty. Instead, I did a little more shape-play with the Stacey-technique. I don't think she invented it, but since she uses it a lot and I learned it from her - 'tis what I'll call it.

Oh, and it's Friday. YESSSSSssssssss.

Good morning, Fall Semester!!

2008-09-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

I found out today that Google is continuing their peaceful world takeover with the creation of their new web browser: Google Chrome! The funny thing is, even though I know they're expanding with no sign of capping off - I just keep buying it! Or rather...not buying - because it's free! But, heck, Google seems to know what's what. If people ran countries the way Google runs business and handles their users...the world would be a better place.

School's started again though!! And while that means working out some fantastic schedule headaches, it also means that EVERYONE'S BACK! It's great! It's like watching a star form (not that I've ever done that...) - all this energy amassing in this one place - bursting with ideas and ambition and hunger for knowledge! I love it!

It's kind of stressful, though. I could really use some yoga.

Quick Draw: If Elvis were blond...and a bird.

2008-08-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

We were going to try and exaggerate birds today, but no one ended up REALLY exaggerating. We'll have to try that again.

Quick Draw: Geisha

2008-08-28T09:33:00.001-07:00

Today: Only adjusting the value and Saturation and drawing a Geisha. Al's idea. :)

Oh, and Ty Carter is kind of my hero. Congratulations, Ty! Someone's been paying their tithing.

Quick Draw: Artemis

2008-08-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

Today's topic: Emulation of Heidi Smith crossed with Greek Mythology!
Cool, huh?
It took me much longer to finish this than Al and Stacey, but it was really fun! I couldn't help myself.
I don't think this is anywhere close to finished either. Hopefully, I can try again later too.

Quick Draw: Some black and white

2008-08-20T08:56:00.001-07:00

Today's topic: Black and white clouds.
...
If you squint really hard and stand back it KINDA looks like clouds...?
Ah well, here's another one to experience and stylus-mileage.

Quick Draw: Monkey business

2008-08-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

We're starting a new project at work that involves monkeys! They're a lot of fun. We did some concept stuff for it today. Stacey has a wicked cool technique that she used for her piece. I decided to test it out too. It was definitely an exercise in shape.

Quick Draw 8: Stonehenge

2008-08-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

Today's topic: Stonehenge.
Oh my gosh, I feel like I just vomited into photoshop and saved it as a jpeg. Gross. But... the clouds were fun! And... I learned a bit about brushes. So it wasn't a total waste, I suppose.

One day, I'll be a real artist! No, really.

Quick Draw: Negative Space

2008-08-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

Today's theme: Using negative space to draw an animal.
We drew for close to an hour today. oops. This was stinking hard, though! I have so much respect who can actually do this kind of art. Negative space is a tricky beast.

Quick Draw: Still Life in Bleu

2008-08-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

"Still Life" was our topic today. All this crap really IS lying around my desk, and all of it really IS blue.

Quick Draw: Bubble Prince

2008-08-05T12:53:00.001-07:00

Oh! and this my bubble prince from last week. I didn't like it at first, but looking back again at it now...he's kind of cute!

Quick Draw: Mussel Beach

2008-08-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

Quick Draw Number Six!!
I don't know if mussels can actually grow/foster/whatever it is oysters do with pearls, but THIS mussel is breaking the barrier!
booya.

Quick Draw #5

2008-08-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

After a slew of dismally unsuccessful Quick Draws, today I think I had a little breakthrough! I actually like it.
Theme: "The Tree of Life" suggested by my boss-man, Rob.

Quick Draw: Construction Animal

2008-07-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

Quick Draw Episode 2! That squirrel is about to enter a very hard-knocked life.
Today's theme: "Construction animal."
Obviously...I still haven't learned to paint. Or draw. Or pun. (Is that a verb?) But it makes you smile at least a little bit, right? ...Right?
Oh, and Stacey's playing now too! So check out hers and Al's. They're rad.

Quick Draw: Treeman

2008-07-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

Al and I are resurrecting the quick draw! Today, our theme was "tree creature."

White as Snow, Black as Ebon, Red as Blood

2008-07-23T15:43:00.000-07:00

Snow White was never my favorite princess. She was kind of a sissy. Screaming at the trees? C'mon. Her voice was kind of grating too. Usually I fast-forwarded through her singing in the beginning so I didn't have to listen to that sappy prince-stuff. The dwarfs were much better, anyway. All those roly-poly, bearded, mining men? They were hilarious! Grumpy was especially funny; Doc was my favorite. :) His half-moon glasses were cute. The truly terrifying scene in which her wicked step-mother-sorceress falls off the cliff was an intense part too. Then, when the vultures start circling down with evil glints in their eyes - that creeped me out. But at least th good guys won, right?
Now that I look back on it, I thought of Snow White mostly as a prop. She was just...there. The story followed her, but I didn't. I watched the movie for the dwarfs and the witch.
It wasn't until this year, with a renewed interest the classic fairy tales, that I deigned to look up the real story of Snow White; which is much darker and more powerful than most people give it credit for. When the Brothers Grim compiled their fairy tales from the folk tales they'd collected around the country, they tweaked some of them. Changing Snow White's evil queen nemesis from mother to step-mother was one of those changes. That change completely alters the feel of the story, though ultimate moral(jealousy is bad) stayed the same.
Personally, I really like this older version. It makes Snow White's plight so completely heartbreaking, I can't help but love her! I feel like I have to make up for the love that she's been denied by her own mother so I invest myself in her survival. It's such a small detail of the story, but in my mind it completely changes Snow White's character.
So I found a stylus and devoted a couple hours to honoring Snow White. I'm sorry I never appreciated her when I was little, she really is quite an impressive character.
This is a poem by Delia Sherman that really brought another dimension to Snow White. It's short and sweet, but pretty poignant. I like it.
Snow White to the Prince by Delia Sherman
The Grim Brothers' version.
Really Great Article with some cool Illustrations to boot.

Story stories

2008-07-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

Everyone is a little obsessed with story. They swirl around us everywhere in acquaintances, strangers, objects, papers, movies, food - everything has a story!

Some are little more obsessed than others. Everywhere they go, everything they do - there's a magnifying glass in front of their eyes as they dissect the world around them and find the stories that are dripping from every corner of life. It's a talent, it's a gift, it's....really really really cool!!

I haven't reached that level. YET.

But every day I get a little better at it. And this year I am planning a full-scale invasion of story (via an Honor's Thesis)! I want to dissect it: find out what makes stories fly and what makes them flop.
What sends it straight to the heart?
What makes it so compelling that people will sacrifice sleep, food, and human contact to stay inside?
What makes cliffhangers so wonderfully annoying?
How do the stories we absorb change us?
How do some storytellers make even the most mundane things interesting while others make amazing exploits sound drab?
What does it take to make a good story?
How can I do it?
(etc)

To find out, I just shopped way too much on Amazon. hehe. I'm not feeling guilty yet either. :)

REAL stories:
"The PIXAR Touch" is a really awesome book! It tells the story of Pixar's early years. I knew they had hard times in the beginning, but I didn't know there were so many of them! It just makes me love them more.
Anyway, very well done by David A. Price. If you feel like spending some bucks on Amazon too, I'd recommend.

Kites is tantalizingly close to being done! Technical problems keep popping up, but we're rendering hardcore. There are only about five people left to work on it. haha, but it's only a matter of time.
Sorry about no art-posting lately, too. I haven't done anything but render and pitter about with non-artistic stuff on the computer, and I don't feel like scanning in my traditional stuff.

In other news: My friends Jake and Anthony have just finished they're first comic book, Peep Show! They know a LOT about story too. I love watching them observe - it always teaches me something. You go guys.

Declaration of Flexitarianism

2008-06-25T23:27:00.000-07:00

On the computer, June 25, 2008

The singular Declaration of Flexitarianism as presented by Laura Smith.

At some point in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for a person to decide for themselves what they will and won’t eat. For some this happens early on as they throw their mashed veggies onto the floor, for others it comes later, when their doctors tell them their cholesterol is too high. Most, though, have multiple periods of change throughout their life in which their tastes and dietary morals evolve to form some kind of consumption-mantra.

According to D&C 89: 10-15:
“…all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man –
Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.
Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;
And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.
All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;
And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess hunger.” (emphasis added)

For eight months, I interpreted these scriptures as instructions to be vegetarian unless absolutely necessary. i.e. Unless we were dying of hunger on the plains of barren Antarctica, we were not to eat meat.

Then this morning, in 1 Timothy 4: 1-5, I read:
“Now the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving:
For every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving;
For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” (emphasis added)

Thus, the revision and moderation of my views.
I believe that (the world in general, but particularly) Americans eat too much meat. I believe that they/we would be better off nutritionally, environmentally, and economically if we were to moderate our consumption of meats. During my time as a vegetarian, I experienced a marked increase of energy and stamina that allowed me to function better overall. I plan on keeping that improvement by maintaining a plant-based diet, but not at the expense of cutting meat out entirely.

It’s all about balance.

I'd also note that in only this small sampling of scripture it mentions eating the the food (whatever it may be) with thanksgiving FOUR TIMES. So regardless of the edible: do it gratefully.

GREAT talk by Mark Bittman on the diet of our society now, how it's changed over the past few decades, and how it needs to change if we plan on preserving ourselves and the environment.

Lighting C_11

2008-06-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

Lighting takes for-officially-EVER.
I blame it on my hideous rendering abilities. If I knew more about it I might be able to speed it up somehow.
In any case, this shot finally made it to the finish line. It hasn't quite crossed that threshold because Jed still needs to approve and the buildings in the background are still having issues, but heck! I wanted to post.

And for general entertainment purposes, and to feel good about how far I've come in lighting knowledge: this is how it USED to look.

Lighting F_8

2008-05-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

Well, the never-ending story that was f_8 has finally ENDED! haha! Passed OFF, my stubbornly lit friend. Luckily, I didn't put you through the tedium of the rest of that story, so you just get to see this: The happy ending part.

This is somewhat similar to what it will look like in the final film. The Background will probably be differently placed, and Grandpa's eyes won't be silver slits either, but otherwise -- this is pretty much it!
Voila.

P.S. Huge thanks to Al Bradshaw who helped me a lot! :)

Just Because

2008-05-13T22:46:00.000-07:00

I miss posting. Now that I've stopped using the Cintiques as a supplement organ, I hardly ever do traditional stuff! I literally spend a good 10-12 hours a day on the computer. It's valuable time, of course, and I enjoy it. But I'm still homesick for some traditional stuff.

On the other hand, yesterday I found an amazing lighting tutorial! This is it: Amazing Lighting Article. I learned all about diffused lighting and such so could attempt replication. That didn't go especially well...mostly because I was trying force my will upon the wrong lighting rig and it rebelled.
So tomorrow I'm starting again with the RIGHT rig. Hopefully that won't be as insanely frustrating. And if I'm lucky it won't take ten stinking minutes for every render either.

In other news: I'm in love with google reader. It's supplementing my animation education via blogs which is way cool. And also free. :P

An Entire Class in ONE Post.

2008-04-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

This is a photo-dump (hmm, that sounds so low-class. How about Photo arrangement?) of everything I did for Photography. Minus the first two assignments because those were done with a real-live film camera and their scanned-in computer quality makes me twitch a little.

Right then, this is:
PORTRAIT ASSIGNMENT
Thanks to my models: Stacey Bethers <3 onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_EZ23gZn1oIc/SA1Mk3s7EAI/AAAAAAAAATo/GMIU2HNUNA0/s1600-h/stacey.jpg">

NATURE ASSIGNMENT
Not exactly sure what the point of that assignment was. Apparently, I thought the assignment was to utilize sun flares in as many ways as possible. Or maybe that was just my way of bleaching out my shoddy photography skillz.

TAKE THREE PICTURES OF A PENCIL ASSIGNMENT
uh... He was pushing us to be creative? I guess it worked. An hour before they were due, I was exploding with ideas for weird ways to take pictures of pencils. Only about 10% of those ideas were logical/possible though.
Oh! And no joke! Jaren told me this first picture was "so good it looks fake." I think it was a compliment, but I'm still deciding.

The end!

Murphy's Gesetz

2008-04-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

Translation: Murphy's Law.

Implementation: This morning in Ryan's class when my USB flipped out and corrupted right before I needed to present my March project! Gah! Lame!

Why that's annoying? Well, I obviously, just lost all my USB information but the thing that miffed me the most was that I've spent nearly a week of sleepless nights trying to get some good revisions in before our actual presentation. I finally got some good ones last night at approximately 3:00 in the am and saved them immediately to ensure their safety. Little did I know, my USB was plotting their demise behind the scenes only unveiling its nefarious plot a second before their debut!

How annoying.

Still annoyed about that, actually.

But at least I found all the first drafts on my home computer. This earns major points for my PC. I was getting a little snobby with it after all the Linux and Mac touting that's been going on in my Figure Drawing class, but...heck. Anything that manages to save my files and not corrupt my USB gets SOME credit.

So now I'm putting these online before anything else horrendous can happen to them.

About the paintings themselves: I tried to employ a little impressionism into the painting style. Wasn't fully successful, but it's coming! I love painting in Corel, too. So hopefully when I do the revisions (again) they'll be a little more impression...ed.

Overcast/stormy

Winter

Summer

Nighttime

Afternoon

Morning

Noon

Fall

Spring

Sunset/Evening

yay springtime!

2008-04-14T23:47:00.001-07:00

this was how I felt today when I found out I could go the entire day without a third layer. :)

2008-03-19T21:12:00.001-07:00

Re-Vamped Character designs! I like these much better.

Thanks for the background goes to http://www.thefreedomsociety.com/images/Parchment_202.gif

2008-03-15T16:04:00.001-07:00

The greatest part is that she actually DID look like that. I exaggerated only a very little.

2008-03-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

I realized today that I officially stink at competing. In anything. Pixar's internship application wsa beyond dreaful. If I could I might just recall it so that they don't blacklist me or something. I did, however, get my first shot at a demo reel out of the way -- it can only go up from here. Hopefully, I can make a better reel now and convince some other studio to let me glean knowledge out of them over the summer.

Sketchbooking (+ a little Photoshop)!

2008-03-11T21:51:00.001-07:00

Character Designs for Ryan's class.

2008-03-08T22:00:00.001-08:00

This was what Timpanagos looked like when I walked in to school on Thursday. i.e. gorgeous! unfortunately, I haven't learned to draw like nature yet. I have fun anyway though.

2008-02-24T20:50:00.000-08:00

Sketchbooks are so great. Even though I didn't compete much during our ballroom dance lab, I still got to watch the upper level classes and sketch like crazy when they busted out their moves. It kept me occupied and impressed the other peoples even when I couldn't impress them with my beginner-dancing. Samba is definitely one of the coolest dances I've ever seen! The Pasa Doble comes in as a close second, though. I hear that the whole idea behind that one is bullfighitng...He's the bullfighter and she's his cape. There were no bulls on the dance floor, but there were way too many dancers who weren't watching where they were going. The collisions made it more authentic, I think.

...I need to find a bigger scanner.

Pixar Worship

2008-02-18T20:20:00.001-08:00

I'm not exactly sure what my relationship to Pixar is; somewhere below zeal for the gospel and somewhere above zeal for my education. Not the same level as deity but they strike awe, wonder, and intimidation into my heart all the same.
When they were here a few weeks ago, I went to Dylan's animation workshop and it was amazing. I learned more in that one hour than I had in the last month! Which is not to say I hadn't learned a lot in the last month, but that he packed a ton of tips and information into his lecture.
These are my notes. They're somewhat transient where they are, and I'd like to give them a more permanent home.

Dylan’s Animation Workshop:

Take as many acting classes as possible if you want to be an animator! It will teach you about yourself and how to act through your character.
Bad acting is presenting: it doesn’t tell anything about the character or build their performance.
Modern Acting is all psychology
The nice poses come AFTER the acting. Everything is motivated by that connection.
The line doesn’t matter. It’s all about the SUBTEXT. *Listen to the line and write down all the subtext for the character, scene, atmosphere etc.

Tracking Character Arcs across a Sequence:

6-10 animators will work on any given sequence. There needs to be a plan beforehand about what is happening in all the shots together, so that you don’t mess up your plotlines.
*Status is important – who’s in a dominant position in the narrative.
Character Arcs – the development of a relationship between characters. [Ex: Linguini and Collette as she teaches him to cook.

On inspiration:

Whatever speaks to you – go after it. Don’t go after other peoples’ dreams/muses/ambitions/inspirations etc. T
Trust yourself. It’s what matters to you that counts.
2D requires more discipline because it takes more thought to create a moving/living character in 2D than 3D. So learning a lot of things from a traditional animation and art will strengthen what you do virtually.
Look through lots of art – find things you like and then figure out WHY you like them.
Find what speaks to YOU!
Distill down the fundamentals of any scene you’re animating. Nail those fundamentals and you’ll be successful – what causes it, what comes after it, etc. Think big picture but simplify.
You will (probably) never nail a shot in one try.

On getting into a studio:
Show your personality in your animation. Animation without soul is worthless. Pixar can teach you mechanics.

And a warning:
With success can come complacency. TAKE RISKS! Do NOT become complacent.

Late nights and long weekends

2008-02-17T00:31:00.000-08:00

Strawberries are coming into season! We got our first carton today at Costco. They were gone within three hours. It was a big box/carton thing too.

Provo temple! Is beatuiful. And looks wonderfully bright and clean in comparison with the grey of winter.

First animation for Ryan's class! Not only did I learn about movement, I actually used timing charts! For the first time...ever! And they worked! It was like magic! Do you like how I'm exclaiming all of this!?

Anyway, enjoy.

P.S. sorry the audio didn't work. I should've known something had gone wrong when it didn't make a fuss about loading the darn thing. The audio along with it says, "I'm a chemical SUPERfreak, actually...but I still need a gun." [From "the Rock" or so I'm told.]

Happy Birthday, Bro!

2008-02-04T19:43:00.000-08:00

Drew, my weight-lifter brother.

It was his birthday.

So I drew him a plethora of pictures! Straight from the heart! (and free too.)

If he were a rocker he would definitely have a virescent guitar.

Because he plays football and is basically the biggest Y-fan I know.

Smith, Drew Smith.

2008-01-31T23:33:00.000-08:00

I think my ride forgot to call me before they went home. That means I'm walking...in the cold. Ugh.

2008-01-31T22:48:00.000-08:00

...and I'm still playing with the stylus.

2008-01-31T19:49:00.000-08:00

Tonight my stylus and I were reunited. After many a long week. :) And since none of my other recent artisitic ventures have been very successful...this is what you get.

Miscellaneous Catchings up

2008-01-22T11:05:00.002-08:00

My sister. She's pretty adorable. And smart. And weird.
Stephanie and Tyson! One of the cutest couples I know. Also by request.
Sketches from one of them drawing sessions.
And a couple more...
Tyson as the Green Lantern.

Roommate Jasmin as she worked on a project for class.

Procrastination doesn't make things happen

2007-12-14T18:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming! And now that it's finals/crunch time, of course, I've lost all of my focus. In the meantime, I made a pretty Christmas card thingy of me and my rommates. Two of them will be leaving next semester too. So it's a tribute to them too, I guess.
From left to right: me, my roommate: Rebekah, Kristie (getting married), Jasmin (our RF), Denisse (switching apartments), and Stephanie (who makes amAZING cookies).

Bust a Move

2007-12-13T13:15:00.000-08:00

We had our Insect critique yesterday. I would not by any means call my bug "done" especially in comparison to some of the other bugs yesterday but...it wasn't a complete waste. I did learn a lot about Photoshop and Maya and 3D paint and such. I've definitely learned my lesson on saving too...after two or three mishaps in which I lost three or more hours of work and had to start over it finally clicked. Now I don't go more than 45 minutes or less without ctrl+s-ing.
Well, that's that. And now we're officially done with classes and only one sweet week away from break!

2007-11-19T20:10:00.000-08:00

Some sketches from our Friday drawing session and just sitting around campus last week. I think I'm getting better! Compare and contrast to post number 3. Definitely some improvement. :)

2007-11-15T16:41:00.001-08:00

My second pretty picture ever done with a stylus! Only this time, it's MY stylus. I spent all day on it too. When I SHOULD have been working on my insect for 3D design.
Ah well, it was fun.

Raw

2007-11-09T11:40:00.000-08:00

'Raw' is an interesting word. It sounds like what it is, really. When I say 'raw' I think of fresh, bleeding steak. . . But these sketches are raw too. Which is the real reason I'm talking about this. Now you can see them and think of fresh, bleeding steak.
cheers!

Gobble Gobble

2007-11-08T22:06:00.000-08:00

This was meant to be my first post on the Quick Draw, but I still haven't been added as a contributor there, so this will have to do for now. I'm calling it "The Escape." And I'm dedicating it to Rose Ledezma who graciously loaned me her stylus and photoshop know-howand exposed me for the first time to the wonders of computer sketching. :)