Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Prioritizing? Ha!
When it comes to me having Things To Do, it's almost always bound to be a trainwreck. Not only am I the world's worst procrastinator, but I'm also weird. Well, duh, you might say. But really, my weirdness knows no bounds - unless the stars are in the right position and the vibe of the room is just right to get my brain waves on the right track, I can't do jack shit. I have to be in the right atmosphere. I have to be wearing the right clothes and have my hair a certain way and be listening to the right music, or nothing is going to channel out of me. It's like that old game show where the kids have to go through this Temple of Doom type thing and open all the doors correctly to get to the silver monkey pieces. You miss a door? No monkey for you.
I can't believe I'm explaining my brain with Legends of the Hidden Temple.
Anyway, it's difficult when you end up racking up a to-do list for art. I've had a portrait on the go for my favourite pair of teachers for almost two years now. Two years. My mom has been at me about it like you wouldn't believe, but it's that I-have-to-feel-the-viiibe-maaan thing again. I'm like, "I'll know when it's time to work on this" or "I'll do it when I'm not so busy". Well, school is over, and I've sworn to myself that I'll finish drawing this kid before the summer ends.
But then there are other things! Like character sketches! And silly doodles for my friends! And I do those, and I feel bad, because apparently the doodle-vibe and challenging-myself-vibe is several times more likely to come around than the you-will-do-this-and-it-will-be-most-excellent-vibe.
First, though, before any of that, there is something I really need to get started on. Last year, on twitter, Gerard Way said that he'd be collecting fan portraits of his brother, Mikey, for the duration of the World Contamination tour. And I said to myself about six months ago that I was going to draw one and give it to him after the show on May 25th. Welp... I'm leaving for California in ten days, and it ain't done. But damn it, it will be. And I'll bring it to him after the show, and be like "Hey art hero, look what I did." And then... I don't know. I'll see what happens, and let you know - that is, if I don't die of embarrassment from doing something stupid in front of my heroes, which I'm 60% sure I will.
So. I need to get my priorities straight. Right now, it's Mikey, just because the concert is eighteen days away, then Liam, then planning and character sketches for Jack... although I may do some of those on the seventeen-hour trip I have ahead of me, I don't know. Maybe I can even work on Liam on the way.
... See what I mean? Prioritizing! I'm bad at it! I don't have lists, I have word-amoebas. Everything will get done... eventually.
I can't believe I'm explaining my brain with Legends of the Hidden Temple.
Anyway, it's difficult when you end up racking up a to-do list for art. I've had a portrait on the go for my favourite pair of teachers for almost two years now. Two years. My mom has been at me about it like you wouldn't believe, but it's that I-have-to-feel-the-viiibe-maaan thing again. I'm like, "I'll know when it's time to work on this" or "I'll do it when I'm not so busy". Well, school is over, and I've sworn to myself that I'll finish drawing this kid before the summer ends.
But then there are other things! Like character sketches! And silly doodles for my friends! And I do those, and I feel bad, because apparently the doodle-vibe and challenging-myself-vibe is several times more likely to come around than the you-will-do-this-and-it-will-be-most-excellent-vibe.
First, though, before any of that, there is something I really need to get started on. Last year, on twitter, Gerard Way said that he'd be collecting fan portraits of his brother, Mikey, for the duration of the World Contamination tour. And I said to myself about six months ago that I was going to draw one and give it to him after the show on May 25th. Welp... I'm leaving for California in ten days, and it ain't done. But damn it, it will be. And I'll bring it to him after the show, and be like "Hey art hero, look what I did." And then... I don't know. I'll see what happens, and let you know - that is, if I don't die of embarrassment from doing something stupid in front of my heroes, which I'm 60% sure I will.
So. I need to get my priorities straight. Right now, it's Mikey, just because the concert is eighteen days away, then Liam, then planning and character sketches for Jack... although I may do some of those on the seventeen-hour trip I have ahead of me, I don't know. Maybe I can even work on Liam on the way.
... See what I mean? Prioritizing! I'm bad at it! I don't have lists, I have word-amoebas. Everything will get done... eventually.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
I've been on tumblr for too long.
I feel like I've forgotten how to write a proper blog entry. I'm so used to gifs and caps lock expressing my feelings, so I go to use my words and I'm like... WAT? Yes. My point exactly.
I'm not sure what this is for, exactly. About a year ago I started a blog with the intention of talking about my journey into art college, because at the time I was in a rut and having a difficult time actually psyching myself up for putting my portfolio together. That sort of died, though, because it seemed like all of my entries would be melodramatic laments about my brain not working properly, so... here I am again, I guess. Inspired, finished my first year of art college, and a lot more positive (not at the moment, though, because I'm sick and have been bundled up in bed all day, which does not a positive Ace make). I'm excited about the things I'm doing, and the things I plan to do. This, of course, is all thanks to having awesome friends.
So I guess this blog is going to be a blog about progress (god, say blog some more, jeez). I want to talk about the work I'm doing, with writing, illustration, and even with my band. (I say band, of course, but we need a drummer, and so far everybody has flaked out. We've got some pretty boss songs on the go, though!)
I have a couple of novels on the table, and I've vowed not to forget about them. One day, when Flurry - my best friend, whom I'm going to California to visit in ELEVEN DAYS! - is finished school and I've got some kind of arts degree, we're going to get a place together and finish the zillions of storylines we've come up with over the years and publish novels for the rest of our lives. That's it. As a bonus career, I've already got plans to illustrate (and in some cases, help write) stories with my long-lost older brother Jack, as well.
These things kind of sound like crazy dreams. I like thinking about them as definite plans, though - because they're not crazy; they're what I absolutely, positively want to do with the rest of my life, and as long as I'm sure of that, I know it can happen. It will happen. I've seen it happen for so many of the people I admire, who are all doing great things because they believed they could.
Today I started reading the part of Jack's manuscript that I'm going to try and illustrate. We were discussing the characters' appearances over text earlier, and aside from the fact that my head cold seems to have killed my ability to draw for the time being, I'm really excited to build on this. I'm excited to see how much I'll learn from this, and how much I'll improve. I'm already way better at this than I was six months ago.
Writing like this already feels good. I can't wait to see where this goes.
I'm not sure what this is for, exactly. About a year ago I started a blog with the intention of talking about my journey into art college, because at the time I was in a rut and having a difficult time actually psyching myself up for putting my portfolio together. That sort of died, though, because it seemed like all of my entries would be melodramatic laments about my brain not working properly, so... here I am again, I guess. Inspired, finished my first year of art college, and a lot more positive (not at the moment, though, because I'm sick and have been bundled up in bed all day, which does not a positive Ace make). I'm excited about the things I'm doing, and the things I plan to do. This, of course, is all thanks to having awesome friends.
So I guess this blog is going to be a blog about progress (god, say blog some more, jeez). I want to talk about the work I'm doing, with writing, illustration, and even with my band. (I say band, of course, but we need a drummer, and so far everybody has flaked out. We've got some pretty boss songs on the go, though!)
I have a couple of novels on the table, and I've vowed not to forget about them. One day, when Flurry - my best friend, whom I'm going to California to visit in ELEVEN DAYS! - is finished school and I've got some kind of arts degree, we're going to get a place together and finish the zillions of storylines we've come up with over the years and publish novels for the rest of our lives. That's it. As a bonus career, I've already got plans to illustrate (and in some cases, help write) stories with my long-lost older brother Jack, as well.
These things kind of sound like crazy dreams. I like thinking about them as definite plans, though - because they're not crazy; they're what I absolutely, positively want to do with the rest of my life, and as long as I'm sure of that, I know it can happen. It will happen. I've seen it happen for so many of the people I admire, who are all doing great things because they believed they could.
Today I started reading the part of Jack's manuscript that I'm going to try and illustrate. We were discussing the characters' appearances over text earlier, and aside from the fact that my head cold seems to have killed my ability to draw for the time being, I'm really excited to build on this. I'm excited to see how much I'll learn from this, and how much I'll improve. I'm already way better at this than I was six months ago.
Writing like this already feels good. I can't wait to see where this goes.
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