Upcoming blog posts!

Although I must apologize for my absence due to school, I am far from gone!  To tide my readers over, I decided to write a short blog post about upcoming posts I hope to write in the near future.  Hopefully this list will pique your interest!  I'm really looking forward to them when I have the time.

So, without further ado, a sneak preview of future blog posts:

All the Right Notes: Everblue by Michael Sexton and the importance of color and lighting to create mood and atmosphere in art
All the Right Notes: No. 6 and the power of first impressions and expectations
All the Right Notes: Wreck-It Ralph and attention to detail in movies and shows
All the Right Notes: Hyouka and the Romantic love of the fleeting and the common man
Thoughts on writing that takes your breath away, featuring passages from The Lord of the Rings

Hopefully you'll see a blog post here soon!

Blog Plug: Another writer on the loose!

Do you enjoy blogs dedicated to writing?  (Hopefully you do to some extent if you like mine!)

My friend and fellow English major, Rachel, is starting her own blog which is still in need of a title.  We recently attended a seminar for careers in the liberal arts.  At the writing panel, many of the panelists encouraged starting all writers to start a blog of some kind to keep us writing and critically thinking.  I got that covered already, but Rachel hadn't thought of it, so she went ahead and started her own!

Rachel is an excellent nonfiction analytical writer (as is our lot in college), but (like me) she wants to be a published fiction writer someday.  I'm not sure what her blog will focus on yet (she's probably not sure either), but I'm sure it will be something with her own journey as a writer.

Also, she needs some people to push her to coming up with a name for her blog.

So if you're interested in writing, please check out Rachel's blog and support her writing endeavors!  Whatever she posts, it should be interesting.

All the Right Notes: The Hunger Games trilogy, Part 2

In Part 1 of my review of The Hunger Games trilogy, I talked generally about the idea of Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality, the idea that many readers nowadays get frustrated with some stories because the characters are not "likable" or act contrary to how we would like them to act.

In this part of my review, I'm going to delve specifically into the character of Katniss and why Catching Fire and Mockingjay suffer unfairly from Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality.

When I began reading Catching Fire, I found myself becoming frustrated.  The Hunger Games has the potential to be a high-politics war epic, full of intrigue and leaders who step up to urge the citizens of Panem to victory.

And yet, and yet, Susan Collins has cornered herself into writing this story from a first-person perspective.

Readers do not get to see the battles in the other districts or fully understand the motives of the leaders of the rebellion or the Capital.  Because of the first-person writing style, we only experience events Katniss experiences, and more than that, we only get to understand these events from Katniss's point of view.

Katniss's POV is one of--if not the most--inappropriate means to narrate the war between the districts and the Capital.  Katniss know nothing about war, but instead of exploring District 13 and its war efforts, Katniss instead rejects becoming involved at all, thus disabling the reader from doing the same.

I was frustrated because I wanted more details about the war.  I was tired of putting up with Katniss's inner demons: her distrust of everyone, her mental instability, her callous and unfeeling remarks.  I wanted Katniss to "get over it" and become involved in the war effort.

In short, I was falling victim to Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality.

And when I realized that, I had another realization: The Hunger Games is not about the war or who is victorious in the end.

What is it about?  Check out the rest of the review after the break.

Fighting art exhaustion during the school year

As I have mentioned many times in my various pockets of the internet, the school year is always very difficult for me because it takes away all my time draw.  Opportunities to work on my graphic novel, Everdusk, are few and far between, let alone any other projects.

Unfortunately, being forced kicking and screaming away from my art has some pretty hard consequences.  I have found that not drawing for days on end leads without fail to miserable art block.

I've found ways to help combat this.  Carrying around a small notebook to doodle and sketch life drawings in (which is just good practice anyway) helps a lot.  It keeps my eye and my hand in good practice when I don't have time to pull out the ol' tablet.

Even when I do have time to bring out my tablet, however, I have found that college completely sucks my artistic drive dry.  Between classes, schoolwork, and theater, I am exhausted in my free time, and feel like doing little more than scrolling around on the internet when I could/should be working on my art.

So how can I fight against this art exhaustion and still be productive, even if I'm not working on my larger projects?

Break out of your normal art and experiment a bit.

Whenever I DO draw during the school year, I've found that it's often on quick side projects with styles and experiments that 1) do not take much time (maybe about an hour or so) and 2) are very different from my normal fare.

Just in the past two weeks, I produced three pieces of art in my spare time with some different techniques.

This is a wallpaper I put together for an anime promo that was released recently.  It's a French anime that's due to be released in 2013 that's already gathered a decent fanbase.  More info and credit for the images can be found on the deviantART page here.

A drawing of Merida from Pixar's Brave.  I actually drew this in permanent marker on a large piece of paper in my dorm hallway and was pleased enough to take a picture of it; I then colored it in Photoshop.  Credit for the textures found on deviantART here.

Both of these are very different from my typical style.  They weren't terribly time-consuming.  But they WERE fun to make and let me stretch my "art muscles" a bit!

So if you're feeling stuck or don't have much time for art, don't be afraid to try something different.  You just might find that it'll open you to new techniques and ideas and keep you from falling into the frustration of art block!

All the Right Notes: The Hunger Games trilogy, Part 1

...or, an alternative title: Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality in The Hunger Games trilogy.

I did not first hear about The Hunger Games until the fans of the books pulled the movie out of the mess of other movie trailers and into the spotlight last year.  Upon reading the first book before seeing the movie, I was duly impressed.  (I also believe the movie is fantastic, but since this AtRN is about the books and not the movie, that is perhaps a discussion for another day.)  I then resolved to finish the trilogy--even though I had heard some troublesome dissonance about the last two books--as soon as possible.

Well, "as soon as possible" turned into "months later," but I've finally gotten around to consuming the entire series.

I have heard many different opinions on the trilogy.  Some say the last two "suck."  Some say the second "sucks" and the third one is "better."  Many lament that the books are good "except for the damn love triangle."  Most people agree that the first is the best.

Before I delve into my AtRN thesis for The Hunger Games, let's just get my very quick opinions of the three individual books out of the way:

• The Hunger Games (the first book) is fairly superb.  It is engrossing, well-written, and overall has excellent balance to its numerous aspects.
• Catching Fire is certainly the weakest of the trilogy, and suffers the most from Collins's selected writing style for the series.  I would not go so far as to say it "sucks," but the book sadly places itself in the tired category of the "weak-but-unfortunately-necessary-second-book-in-a-trilogy."  It is in no way a horrible book, however.
• Mockingjay, though not as strong as The Hunger Games, surprised me with its satisfying end and left me with a pleasant association with the entire series.  In that way, I'd say it's highly successful, and a worthy end to the trilogy.

Although I have issues with the second (and somewhat the third) books, clearly I am far from condemning them as some readers have.  This is because I believe readers of The Hunger Games often suffer from what I am calling Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality, a problem I find increasingly in modern audiences and have even caught myself succumbing to.

What is Reader Expectation vs. Character Reality, and what does it have to do with The Hunger Games trilogy?  Read on after the break to find out!

All the Right Notes: Brave

...or, an alternative title: Why Brave is not a bad movie (and worth seeing in theaters).

OK, Anna, what's your deal?  Brave's been out for awhile now.  It won't be in theaters much longer.  You had the chance to write a review back in the summer.  Why, suddenly, are you taking the time to write about it?

Well, dear reader, it is because I find myself in an odd predicament.

When I first saw Brave awhile ago, I was, admittedly, disappointed.  I stated as such in a few-sentence-Facebook-status.  And quite honestly, I felt I did not have much more to elaborate on after writing that, so I didn't bother with an "All the Right Notes" review.  I did note the merits I thought the movie had, however, and I ended up happily seeing it a second time (in 3D), and actually enjoyed it more than the first time.

So, while I had (have) problems with the movie, it settled in my mind favorably, and even now I can look up and see my lovely Brave poster hanging in my dorm.

All of a sudden, however, even now when Brave has been in theaters for a month and a half, I seem to be stumbling upon some of my friends and acquaintances making the same sweep statement: "Brave is a bad movie."  And, just as inexplicably, suddenly I'm finding myself defending the very movie that I had previously spoken somewhat ill of.

This is an odd situation, and thus, I have decided that it is best for me to sit down and write my final thoughts on the matter.  Because after seeing this dismissive statement, I have been forced to really decide what I think about Brave, and, just as the title says, my opinion is thus: Brave is NOT a "bad movie," and it IS worth seeing in theaters.

Why have I finally come to this conclusion?  Read on after the break to find out!

FYI, this is the poster image hanging in my room.  It's sweeeeet.

All the Right Notes: Glass Mask

I am blessed with some fantastic friends.  Friends that recommend equally fantastic shows for me to check out.  I am not here to beat down bad shows, movies, etc. and point out all their faults.  I'm not even here to necessarily point out faults in things I like.  Because quite honestly, I dislike wasting my time on poor stories.  Anytime I bring up a praise or a criticism, I always try to make some sort of point with it.

Because what I really set out to do with these reviews is to learn.  The best way to learn is through observation.  Therefore, what better way to learn about storytelling than by observing the good and bad in the movies and TV shows that I watch and comics and stories that I read?

Sometimes, it can be difficult to come up with an angle to really focus on when I write a review.  This is why I don't write reviews on everything that I read and watch.

I did not have this problem, however, with the most recent anime I watched  consumed titled Glass Mask.  Actually, quite the opposite.  Because quite honestly, the show is just so damn good that the most difficult thing was determining the most interesting aspect to focus on.  Obviously, I eventually succeeded.

What aspect of storytelling can be learned from Glass Mask?  Check out the review after the break to find out!

The main cast from left to right: Masumi Hayami, Ayumi Himekawa, Maya Kitajima, Chigusa Tsukikage

Rory's Story Cube Adventures: The Arrow

Recently, I acquired a really awesome little game called Rory's Story Cubes.  I was at a game store in Washington, DC., and after playing one game with them immediately knew I had to buy them.

You can check out the website, but basically you roll dice with various pictures on them, and use whatever pictures come up to make a story.  (I have the basic pack and the Actions expansion pack; there is a new expansion pack called Voyages, but I don't think it's available in the US yet.)

Playing with these story cubes is an insane amount of fun, and actually surprisingly challenging.  The basic set-up has you creating a story from nine rolled dice, which lends itself to three dice for the beginning, middle, and end of the story, while also bearing in mind that classic English class chart of Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Denouement.

I've decided to start a new sort of series on this blog called "Rory's Story Cube Adventures."  Anytime I happen to play with Rory's Story Cubes, if I come up with a story I find amusing or neat in some way, I'll post it for you all to enjoy!

These dice are also fantastic, I think, for writers who are perhaps experiencing writer's block and just need something to push their mind out of the box or rut they're currently in.  As an artist, I've found one of the best ways to overcome artist's block is to completely change up my style via different color palettes, canvas sizes, subject matters, etc., and such practices would likely work for writers as well!

So let's get on to my first story in "Rory's Story Cube Adventures" that I have entitled "The Arrow."

In future segments, if possible I'll include what pictures I used to come up with the story, but I didn't think of it in time for this one.

----

The Arrow
by Annamarie C. Mickey
Created with Rory's Story Cubes (Basic and Action packs)

Once upon a time, there was a young man who was very depressed.  His life just didn't seem to be going anywhere, and he wasn't sure what he wanted to pursue.  One day, while he was walking to his very regular and very boring day job, he was suddenly stopped by a strange creature--a strange creature coming out of his shadow!  The creature introduced himself as Alan and said that he had been accused of a crime of which he was innocent in his world.  Alan continued to explain that the young man had been chosen to testify at his court hearing.  Before the young man could protest, he was suddenly (and painfully) yanked out of his world in a flash of bright light.

When the young man could see again, he was in a vast room.  Strange symbols were written all across the floors and walls.  In front of him, sitting behind a very high desk, was a distinguished and wise-looking creature.  The creature--presumably a judge of some sort--told the young man that he had been chosen to rule on the guilt or innocence of Alan.  He explained that, in their world, such matters were decided by outsiders who had no knowledge of the people, circumstances, or situation, because it was only through such pure unbiased minds that the truth could be discerned.

The wise creature told the young man to pick up the bow and arrow that laid at his feet.  Far across the wide room, down two long rows of creatures sitting and watching attentively, was a faraway target.  The judge explained that the young man's arrow would determine Alan's fate; a bulls-eye would signify innocence, whereas anything else would signify guilt.

Taking a breath, the young man took up the bow and arrow.  Although his fingers shook slightly, he found it was easy to string the arrow, although he had never used a bow in his life.  In a long moment, he slowly pulled back the arrow.  Gazing at the target, Alan felt the arrow fly from his fingers.  It soared straight and true down the aisle, embedding itself squarely in the center of the target.

Amongst the cheers and shouts of the creatures, the young man heard the judge cry, "It has been decided!  Alan is innocent!"  In the next moment, the world suddenly dissipated, and before he could catch his breath, the young man was back on the sidewalk in his own world, the bow gone from his hands.

He could never explain why, but somehow the ordeal changed the young man.  For once in his life, he felt that he knew where he wanted to go and who he wanted to become.  And eventually, after much study and hard work, he earned a reputation as one of the finest defense attorneys ever to grace the court system.

The End

All the Right Notes: Occult Academy

...or, an alternative title: How bad pacing can ruin a story.

When crafting a story in any medium, there are many aspects that must be addressed in order for that story to be successful.  Plot, characters, dialogue, and depending on the medium, animation, design, music score, etc.  There are plenty of good stories that satisfy--at least to a basic degree--most of these requirements.  Coming up a bit short on a few of them doesn't always ruin a story.  A good story can still have problems.

There are instances, however, when one aspect of a story can be so poorly done that it can change the image of the entire tale and completely ruin it.

A recent anime I checked out, Occult Academy, is the victim of such folly.

On the surface, I thought I would enjoy Occult Academy.  The art style is clean and detailed; it is well-animated, has a pleasant enough score, and its characters are initially compelling and enjoyable.

Halfway through the episodes, however, my opinion had completely changed, and I believe I can chalk it up to one sole reason (a reason you may have gathered from the fancy alternative title to this review).

Check out the rest of the review after the break!

Stop being so gorgeous, Occult Academy, you haven't earned the right!

All the Right Notes: Chihayafuru

When I was about halfway through Chihayafuru, I knew it would be the perfect show to illustrate what, I think, is a very important question for me: Why do I love anime?

Obviously, I don't want anyone to think that I uncritiquely watch and enjoy every single anime ever made.  This is far from the truth.  The word "anime" is basically a catch-all for all Japanese animation, a good portion of which I do not think is worth my while.  (I recently attempted to watch Chobits and was personally put off by it, for example.  Panty and Stocking, despite its popularity, is the same.  Not really my taste.)  However, I still confidently say that I do love the medium of anime.

Generally, Americans have a very strict view of animation.  Outside of America, however--notably in Japanese animation, of course--animation as a medium does not have the stigma and expectations Americans tend to give it.

So what does this all have to do with Chihayafuru?  Read on to find out!

This isn't your typical children's card game...

Check out the review after the break!

The spoken word?: The English Language

As new generations are raised on the Internet, the claim that English is steadily becoming a ruined language has become a popular one.  The idea of the English language dying in the face of colloquialisms and moronic speech is not new, however.  Authors such as C.S. Lewis and Mark Twain were also concerned about the status and quality f the English language as a whole.  As quality and scholarship falls, vocabulary is stifled and limited.  Sentences are poorly structured, arguments merely a tangle of unrelated words that say a lot and yet nothing at all.

"It would be very difficult to find a really clever 'situation' in Cooper's books, and still more difficult to find one of any kind which has failed to render absurd by his handling of it."

- Mark Twain, "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses" (1895)

One of my favorite essays; it is uproariously funny and beautifully written.

Check out the rest of the article after the break!

Behind-the-scenes on "the western woods"

Another speedpaint!  This was my last one before the week from hell known as "finals."  Unfortunately, I'm still not completely done--I'm taking a required science course over two weeks at my college to get it out of the way.  Yeah, it's not gonna be fun, but at least then I'll be done with it!  (Darn you liberal arts educationnn!)

My latest paint was referenced from RiNymph-Stock on deviantART.  She has a lot of lovely stock photos, so if you need references or ideas, be sure to check out her wonderful gallery!  (The photo I used can be found here.)

So let's get on to the step-by-step!  :)  Check it out after the break!

Behind-the-scenes on "all this and heaven too"

So in the wake of the disappointment of last environment speedpaint, I was far from finished with environment speedpaints.  If anything, I was more fueled and excited than ever to give it another go and improve my digital speedpainting.  And my latest speedpaint, "all this and heaven too," definitely shows a lot of encouraging improvement!  (The title comes from a song of the same name by Florence + the Machine.  <3)

This is going to be a short step-by-step process blog of "all this and heaven too."  I saved a few files along the way, so you can see a bit of how the final came to be.  (Next time, I'll save more pics along the way.  ^_~)  I also used this opportunity to become more comfortable with some of the brushes I have saved onto my computer, which was a lot of fun!

Before I begin, I'd like to state that I did use a reference for this picture.  I believe I got the reference from a friend's Facebook photo album I was flipping through.  Unfortunately, I was really stupid and forgot to write down whose album it was (it wasn't an artist friend; just a random friend).  If I ever figure out whose picture it was, I will, of course, credit them.

Check it out after the break!  :)

Blizzard Speedpaint: Knowing when to quit

Remember this picture that I speedpainted awhile ago?

Well, I did say I was going to return to it and finish it.  And I diiid...

Let's just that speedpainting this really taught me a lot.  Even if the final product is mediocre at best.

Environments are one of my weakest points.  Of course, as a growing artist I have to recognize this and, instead of shying away from them, only work on them all the harder.  As I have been trying to do... with, well, results.  Of some kind.

But hey, everyone's gotta start somewhere!  And now I know things like looking at reference pictures.  (Can we just say I was testing out brushes and that's why I didn't bother to look at a reference?  Yeah let's go with that.)  But it's okay, because I'm learning.  And that's what sketching is for!  And next time will be a whole lot better!  :)  So here's to more environments and better painting!

Also I'm trying to work without textures (besides just brushes).  For someone that abuses textures, that's no easy task!  But I'm getting there.  :)  This might have been a kind of difficult picture, but it didn't start strong, so it's no surprise that it ended on a disappointing note.  So finally you just have to throw up your hands (or tablet pen) and say, "You know what?  I've done my best.  Time to move on and try again!"

And try I will!

All the Right Notes: The Music of Puella Magi Madoka Magica

"All the Right Notes" was originally a title I came up with for a blog series that would deal with music in media (games, shows, movies).  Because ever since I was a kid, I have loved music.  (I also love the name, which is why I sort of convuluted the orignial idea of it in order to keep it.) Although I have realized that my passion does not lie with music, that hasn't stopped me from still appreciating it.  One reason that I truly love movies and videogames is because in order to be successful and meaningful, they must perfectly combine all sorts of different facets: animation, cinematography, lighting, storytelling, characters, sound FX... and of course, music.

Even without having an expertise in music and only an amateurish idea of theory from my years of playing trumpet and singing, I still think that I (and others in my similar situation) have the ability to look critically at music, particularly within media, and discern meaning and excellence within it.

This brings me to today's All the Right Notes review.  Today, I'm going to take a look at the music of the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica.  Now before you take a look at the picture and cast judgment, just stick with me on this; I promise it will be worth your while.  WARNING: I cannot assure you that there will not be spoilers in the following review.  In a show as short as PMMM, nearly every episode is a Wham episode; it is nearly impossible to avoid spoilers.  Although I will not point out specific events, I will discuss themes and ideas that are not initially evident just by appearances.

Check out the review after the break!

All the Right Notes: Ghost Hunt Review

Whenever people see what shows I watch, they usually instantly make assumptions about the genres I like.  Often, this assumption is anime.  That I, in general, am an anime fan.  Often this is a dismissive assumption.  It is not only dismissive, however; it is incorrect.  (I insist on stating that I watch good shows, no matter the genre or style; I may delve more into this topic in another post.)  Now I'll admit that I do have a soft spot for anime styles; my personal tastes find them appealing.  That is no reason to assume, however, that I completely disregard my critical eye when I watch anime.  In fact, because of my "weakness" per se, I am even more suspicious of anime than perhaps any other genre, as it is far to easy too slip into watching mediocre shows of any favored genre without even realizing it.

It might come as a surprise to you that even up to early last year, I was still somewhat staunchly an outspoken disliker of anime.  As a child, I grew up watching normal kid shows on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, but I also grew up on Toonami--Cardcaptors, Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z, Gundam Wing.  This was before I was even aware of what anime was.  Eventually, probably around the time I entered late middle school, I "grew up."  I became more aware of what I watched, completely threw out what I had indulged in as a child, and turned against anime completely.  (Except Pokemon.  I was always a loyal Pokemon fan, even when I stopped watching the show.)

Up through high school, the only anime that I watched and admitted was actually an excellent show was Trigun.

That, however, was only the beginning of my conversion back into actually accepting shows as I see them instead of foolishly disregarding an entire style.

Right now, we're going to look at one of the "conversion" animes that I was introduced to a little over a year ago by a friend.  There are other animes I could list as well, but of the ones I watched that finally forced me to accept that good and excellent anime do exist, this is one of the lesser-known and underrated ones.

 The main cast of Ghost Hunt, from left to right: Masako, Ayako, Yasu, Naru, Monk, Mai, John (missing: Lin)

Check out the review after the break!

Some kids just won't leave the nest: Pippin!

One of my favorite aspects of storytelling is undoubtedly character creation.  From the moment I picked up my first pencil and started doodling, I was creating characters and stories to immerse those characters in (I'm fairly certain that a lot of these old "books" I wrote/drew still exist somewhere in my house, probably under my bed).  My love of character creation really blossomed, however, when I joined Neopets around the age of twelve.  From there, I took up role-playing, and for several happy years my friends and I developed countless fantastic characters and stories.

Though I'm older now and I've mostly retired from role-playing, I still look fondly at the vast spectrum of characters I hold close to my heart.  I've no regrets about my role-playing; thanks to it, I learned a lot about creating well-rounded, believable characters that can truly touch someone.  If you go on my deviantART, you can actually find a link on my Journal that will take you to a Freewebs page that basically lists all my "canon" characters.  Although I do not draw or write about these characters anymore, I still like to remember they exist (which is why I have yet to retire that page from the public eye, I suppose).

There are other characters, however, that refuse to be simply set aside with fondness.  There are some that just somehow take hold of your attention and, no matter what you do, won't leave you alone.

Continue reading after the break!

Spoilers and Stories

As you might know, I am currently writing/drawing a graphic novel entitled Everdusk (which can be read here).   Really quick, here is a short summary of ED: "Everdusk is the story of Sol’aar, a country that has been under the whip of slavery by its southern neighbor, Galena, for nearly two centuries. Now, the pieces of revolution are falling into place. In the face of crushing oppression, four god-blessed heroes must come together in and overcome their individual bitterness order to obtain their country’s independence and learn what it truly means to become an everdusk."

Obviously, Everdusk is a fantasy-adventure genre tale.  I've always been a fan of fantasy, magic, medieval things, etc.  And just as obviously, as I work on Everdusk, I draw the cast of ED a LOT.  This includes drawing the magical characters using their magic.

Now I have struggled with one question constantly as I have drawn these pictures.  Should I post them on my deviantART (or the Internet in general, such as here), or not?  Is it spoilers to post some of these characters using magic?

I think there are kind of two circumstances here.  One is that the character already knows he/she is a magic-user.  In that case, I don't think it would be any problem posting pictures of them using magic.

What about characters that are introduced in the comic who are not initially aware of their powers, however?  In one way, it's almost as much as a surprise for the audience as for the characters when their powers are revealed.  To be honest, though, I think we can all admit that it's usually clear when a character is going to have magical ability of some kind.

Let's look at some pictures in question.  Both the following pictures are of Mai, the main character in Everdusk.

The one on the left was a speedpaint I just completed this evening.  The picture on the right is a commission by Hchan on deviantART (QUICK PLUG she is an awesome artist with her own awesome webcomic, dream*scar, and you should totally check it out!).  Both of these pictures show Mai quite clearly using some kind of magic.

At this point, it's silly to pretend otherwise as to Mai having magical ability.  Although Mai learns this fact early on in Everdusk, it still has yet to be officially "revealed."  (I have to add, though, that I have not yet revealed to anyone the nature of magic in Everdusk, so although you see this sparkly fun, I don't think many of you could accurately guess what it exactly is.)

So, is it a spoiler to post art like this about things like graphic novels you're working on?  Should you keep all this kind of art from the public until it's officially been introduced in whatever you're writing/drawing?  Why or why not?  What d'you think?

All the Right Notes: Pokemon Indigo League Retrospective, Part 2

Time to finish up my retrospective on the Indigo League episodes of the Pokemon anime!  In my previous post, I discussed some of the odd things I noticed in the show that you tend to miss when you watch it as a kid.  With those in mind, I'm now going to address why exactly Pokemon has become such a phenomenon, especially against other similar franchises that have attempted to do the same.  To do this in the most organized way possible, I'm going to actually discuss the two main reasons I think are key to Pokemon's success despite a shakey first season.  So, let's delve right in!

Check out the review after the break!

All the Right Notes: Pokemon Indigo League Retrospective, Part 1

I love Pokemon.  I'll admit it outright.  I watched the show obsessively as a kid (even up to most of the Advanced Generation and a few of the Diamond/Pearl episodes), have some of the cards (because they looked cool), and love the games (playing Yellow via Pokemon Stadium for the N64? I think so).  Recently, just for kicks, I started watching the episodes again from the very beginning.  And it's been a very interesting experience.  Becaues let's face it, while many of us have fond memories of the original Pokemon, how many of us have actually watched some of those episodes recently?  Memory is a funny thing, as I discovered when rewatching Pokemon!  So, without further ado, let's head into today's AtRN: A Retrospective on the Pokemon Indigo League!  Part 1 will focus on the oddities I ran into while watching season one, while Part 2 will be a discussion on the success of the anime in America.

The first Pokemon opening.  Just as catchy now as it was then!

 

Check out the review after the break!

Behind-the-scenes on "stars from my heart"

As a sort of celebration to finally getting my Photoshop CS2 installed on my beautiful desktop (<3), I decided to work on a painting I thought of last night while listening to "Cosmic Love" by Florence + the Machine.  When I finally made myself stop, it was about two hours; a pretty solid speedpaint.  (I saw "finally stop" because this was one of those pictures I feel like I could have kept tweaking for hours if I'd have let myself).
Here is a first "final" version I completed, then a second finished version I completed after tweaking:

Now, I want to address some of the thought process that went into this painting.  I had an initial idea in my  head, and normally I probably would have just plowed into it.  However, I thought better of it.  Recently, I've been reading the newsletters from Disney Visual Development Artist/Character Designer Chris Oatley.  One of his recent newsletters talked about the "The Starting Buzz"--something I'm sure every artist has felt.  "The Starting Buzz" is when you get an idea for a picture and are so excited you just leap right into it, only to find shortly that you just lose interest.

I am definitely a guilty of practicing this.  After reading Chris's newsletter, I really took a look at my art process and decided to make some changes.  What I'm going to talk about here is my decision to take more time in "pre-production," the beginning of the drawing process when you figure out things like composition, maybe some basic colors, etc.

It took me several tries to figure out exactly how I wanted to frame "stars from my heart."  When I was finally pleased with the composition and started laying down some base colors and values, I'll admit I almost lost faith.  I was having trouble seeing the finished product and felt like I wasn't making progress.   Once that happened, I actually decided to slap some drastic colors and textures onto the picture, just to sort of make a big leap and see something new.  And you know what?  It really helped!  It kind of refreshed the picture for me, and I carried on.

Two hours later, and I had what you see on the screen.  I'm not saying it's perfect--far from, of course--but it was a joy to draw and I really felt like I learned a lot during the process.

So remember, guys: Pre-production is one of the most important--if not the most important--part of the drawing process!  Don't plow through it--embrace it!  :)  I really think it makes the end product much more satisfying!

All the Right Notes: Angel Beats! Review

I make it no secret that I love all forms of visual storytelling, whether it be graphic novels, animation, games, etc.  But perhaps more than I like watching these things, I love talking about them.  In an effort to improve my critical eye and learn from what I already enjoy, I've decided do occasional, unprofessional reviews of things I'm watching/reading/playing.

This is copied from my Journal on deviantART; it's the only review I've done so far.  Next on my "list" is a retrospective on the first season of Pokemon (the Kanto league), as I'm currently rewatching the Pokemon series, and it has been very interesting.

Check out the review after the break!

A Year with Frog and Toad: Make-up sketches

I'm make-up chief for my college's production of the musical "A Year with Frog and Toad," based on the books of the same characters.  The musical looks really cute and fun, so I'm really excited to work on it.  :)  I really enjoy doing stage make-up, so I jumped on the opportunity to be make-up chief.

Obviously, all the characters in the show are animals.  The show is more interpretive, however; I don't think characters will be dancing around with tails and stuff like that.  Because the show is so colorful, though, I really wanted to see if I could have a bit of fun with the make-up.  (I also don't want to freak the kids out, though, so I don't want to have the make-up be too drastic.)

Here are some highlights from my prelim sketches.  Keep in mind that these are a first pass and definitely not final.  I'm going to be buying the make-up next week while I'm on Easter break and experimenting on myself, so I'll have a better feel for what looks good and such.  I'm going to kidnap some guys as well, because I'm not sure how colored make-up looks on a guy versus a girl, since people are more used to seeing make-up on girls (and again, I don't want this to look weird; I want it to be fun).

The first unlabeled one is Turtle; the second unlabeled is Mother Frog.

Pen Sketch!

Was listening to Owl City tonight and just felt like whipping something up real quick with my pen.  No references used--probably obviously.  |D  It was still fun, though!  Texture used from Ransie3 on deviantART.

Mad About: New Textures and Brushes!

As any of my art friends will tell you, I ADORE wasting time by browsing deviantART looking for awesome brushes and textures (especially textures) to download and use (or abuse!).  There is really nothing more exciting than trying out a new brush you just downloaded, seeing what you can do with it, what new look you can give your drawings that you had not been able to achieve before.

For my most recent picture, "words," I used not ONLY new brushes I had downloaded, but a new texture as well!

The new brush that I tried out for the lineart was created by Kecky on deviantART.  I have been following Kecky for awhile, and her art is truly some of my favorite.  So when she created some brushes to download, I got really excited!  And a first run with them did not disappoint.

One of the best things about using new tools is that it takes a few tries before you really figure out how to use them properly.  While I used one of Kecky's brushes for the lineart in "words," I am sure that I will be using all of the brushes in many pictures from now on, and I have no doubt that I will discover new and better ways to utilize them!

The new texture that I used came from Ransie3 on deviantART.  The paper/word texture was absolutely perfect for the background, and really pulled the picture together, in my opinion.

Here's to discovering new brushes and textures to further feed our creative juices!

Sources:
words by myself on deviantART
kecky's magical brushes by Kecky on deviantART
Big Textures 11 by Ransie3 on deviantART

more doodles

Some sketches I had lying around!  Most of these are from March, but there are some from February as well.  :)  I'm particularly fond of the fruit in the glass bowl, myself.  Click to view fullsize.  Enjoy!

Notebook Sketches

I recently compiled the sketches I've done in my AmLit and CivLit notebooks for fun.  Normally I don't show these to anyone--I won't even say I doodle them for myself, because honestly I doodle in class just to give my hands something to do when I'm not taking notes.  It keeps my hands preoccupied and helps me pay attention.  But why not?  Enjoy!  :)

Words WIP

I'm working on an entry for my school's art/writing magazine, The Echo, for its cover.  (Before you ask, no,  none of my art was accepted for publication.)  Here's what I have so far.  :)

Colored Sketches

Here are some more pictures from my tumblr blog--this time, colored sketches!  This will be the last "from tumblr" post.  After this, new stuff!  Yaay!  =D  Also, if you're wondering about all the Pokemon doodles--I was doing a "favorite Pokemon from each type" meme, which I plan on continuing when I get the time.  :)

Old Sketches

Hey, all!  Welcome to my new sketch blog, Flock of Flamingos!  :)  I hope you enjoy your time here.  First things first--I'm going to post sketches that I have already posted on my tumblr.  I have since left tumblr to opt for here, but for the sake of recording I'd like to repost here some of what I had previously posted there.  New stuff will come soon!