ImagineFX

A new blog hmmm

Rey — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:13:00 GMT

Yes a new blog. I have another but thats for the normal stuff but one just for art that'll be nice, though I doubt anyone will read it. I've been working on getting my art to change styles and I've almost got it. I'll post some more later. I'm an artist wh is 17 and is hopefully headed for M.I.A.D., Milwaukee institute of art and design.

Sorry

Duane Falconer — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:15:00 GMT

Sorry for not keeping up with the posts. ive been working on a new website and its been pissing me off 'cause joomla doesent offer nearly as much freedom as html does...... gonna be diggin in for a while....

Scrib Man

Duane Falconer — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:07:00 GMT

A single line in art has the oppertunity ,when guided properly, to get to this.

(large smile streaks across duane's face)

still not to good, mindless scribbling, thats all.

im so excited i could just s**t!!!

(Duane then cop's a squat and parks a coily) lol :-)

Back from the Great Beyond

Jason Embury — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:19:00 GMT

been one of my longest breaks from blogging all year. Things have been super busy though with school starting up again for the kids, between volleyball games for my daughter, football practice twice a week for my son, in addition to a football game, and then watching the game film with the other coaches......oh, and I have tried to actually WORK this month for a change too, not to mention looking for more work. I've also decided I think that if I have to mow the yard one more time this month, cuz it's growing like it's on steroids, we might just landscape the ENTIRE damn thing with rocks, mulch and various shrubbery, flowers and more trees and call it done.

How busy is it really? Well I'm up at 4 or 4:30 in the morning the last 2 days because I can't sleep for thinking of all the *** there is to do when I get up. Which naturally leads to me dragging my arse out of bed, and starting to get said *** done so that I can basically stop working by 3 and start running around. Today though an honest to goodness nap might be in the cards (seeing as how the couch in the upstairs living room is just outside my studio)

Kind of feeling like I've got no time to work on any of my creator owned projects anymore either right now, which is creating a huge drag on my motivation to do any work. This whole financial mess that the country is in, seems to be affecting just about every industry, comic books included. I'm waiting on money here again this year, not the first time, probably not the last time, and definitely not a surprise. It seems that almost all publishers, with the obvious exception of Marvel or DC, are really struggling to make ends meet for themselves these days. I've even heard rumors that Diamond is having trouble paying publishers on time. Not sure of the truth in that, but boy if that IS true, and I've heard that from quite a few people now in the industry, it's no wonder so many publishers are struggling. Which in turn, makes it painfully obvious why creators are struggling as well. Maybe another good example of why the logic of one major point of distribution is faulty. If Diamond was to start struggling themselves, then everyone they distribute for would be boned (retailers, publishers and creators) Just seems like a real rough time for everyone outside of the giants of the industry, and makes it that much harder for guys like me, who've been making a living coloring now for over 2 years without ever having worked for said giants before. It's not impossible to find work right now, but it sure as hell ain't EASY for me either. Still, I think I'm pretty lucky to make the kind of money I make, have virtually NO expenses working from home, be able to set my own hours, and get to do so much family stuff at the same time (when I don't have a pressing deadline)

So, it's almost 5:30, and I didn't really mean to turn this into a big complaining post, because at the end of the day, I certainly have FAR less to be complaining about than a lot of other people. I think I'll try to get a couple pages colored here by lunch time so that I can fit in that nap I'm already thinking about now.

Elite Creativa (spanish)

xMx_BigBoss — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:41:00 GMT

Aqui algo extra

Los nuevos creativos.
Por: Cristóbal Rodríguez Hernández
La tecnología como medio de diversificación multidisciplinaría en el mundo de los creadores modernos.

Es ya el siglo XXI y como todos sabemos, las tendencias artísticas que con el paso del tiempo se han ido moldeando a las nuevas facetas que aquejan a la humanidad, mutan de forma curiosa y en ocasiones drástica.

Se debe recordar que en la mayoría de los casos, el arte con tendencias modernistas y/o Vanguardistas, siempre a tenido como pretexto la provocación; tanto a sus maestros regidos por la más recalcitrante disciplina casi-dogmática, como a los “eruditos”, que al no tener ni una pizca de talento en sus venas, se dedican a criticar lo que ellos piensan es ARTE. Estableciendo de forma grosera y petulante lo que ellos creen es arte.

La sociedad, tan hipócrita, ciega y estupida como siempre, se traga lo que otros se atreven a mencionar. Logrando incluso opacar a grandes artistas de su época. Tal es el caso de Van Gog , quien iba más allá de lo que la escuela del arte de esos tiempos, dictaba lo que si y lo que no.
El pobre de Van Gog, vendió un solo cuadro, en toda su vida. Para colmo, es después de su muerte, que es reconocido como un gran artista. ¿Ya para que? Si el tipo esta podrido y agusanado.
Pero el punto de tocar a Vincent, no es el de preparar el terreno a los neo-incomprendidos del arte. El punto es retratar a los verdaderos artistas que no luchan por ser reconocidos mundialmente o tener los trillones en lingotes de oro. Incluso Vincent Van Gog provenía de una familia pomposa y adinerada. Y su obstinación por retratar al mundo de una forma propia lo orilló a tener que sobrevivir alejado de los ambientes tóxicos que siempre han estorbado al libre y prodigioso acto de la creación artística.

Dichosos los primeros, pues como en el caso de Maese Leonardo, su arte no se vio truncado por una bola de reglas y estándares artísticos, por lo que se vio libre de crear a sus antojo, de hecho él es quien creo la gran mayoría de los cánones del arte.
De hecho él fue un gran viajero de la mente y el espíritu. Es algo así como el santo patrono del nuevo clan de artistas que buscan la liberación de sus demonios por medio de lo único que los diferencia de los demás humanos comunes y corrientes: LA CREACIÓN.

Es tanto el mal que los artistas crean con sus obras, que incluso San Leonardo Da Vinci, es ahora nocivo para los modernos prometeos, pues estos al ser acomplejados por un compendio de reglas creadas siglos e incluso milenios atrás, se ven acomplejados y oprimidos en lo que ellos piensan que es el espíritu de su DON.

Es bueno conocer las bases, pero ya depende de cada quien el dejar que otros influyan en lo que a uno le agrada e incluso le llena hacer.

En el mundo religioso, principalmente el cristiano y católico - sin mencionar la demás bola de sectas oportunistas que hoy día cubren las calles como la mierda de los perros- el artista siempre ha sido satánizado, pues el Don que pocos seres han recibido es parecido al del supuesto creador de todo. Ese Don es el de poder deformar a libre demanda, el mundo como se le conoce.

Los artistas, que viven en este contexto, sufren un tanto más; pues al existir dentro de un círculo que es dominado por lobos dogmáticos, arrieros de ovejas pendejas y ciegas, su arte o espíritu libre, sus alas de ICARO y su fuego de Prometeo se ven apagados.
Es común encontrar tratados en contra del arte, pues se piensa que toda gran obra de arte esta patrocinada de inspiración por Satanás.
Esto tal vez por el ego del que se goza cuando se es artista, pues se tiene el poder de tomar la obra de dios y moldearla a gusto, se puede rehacer el cielo y las estrellas y se pueden modificar los caballos y las aves.
Prácticamente los artistas son un mini-Satán encarnado, pues tienen el poder y la belleza, la sabiduría y el buen entendimiento de las formas, el valor y la lujuria de crear.
Incluso se tiene y se goza de ese atributo único y hermoso de Lucifer llamado rebeldía.

Entonces, partiendo de aquí, el artista es un lobo solitario, libre y sin prejuicios; el lobo que come cuando debe y mata para ello. El lobo que hace del mundo su hogar.
La gente común y corriente no puede entender esto, ellos solo se limitan a ver y a aceptar lo ya establecido, son como muebles que miran como pasa sobre ellos el tiempo, llenándoles de polvo, son el mal necesario que ayuda a diferenciar a los creadores como raza superior.

Pero me he estado enfocando a las artes plásticas, lo siento.
También hay las artes oratorias, la danza, la música, el teatro, el arte del dolor, del sexo.
Todos ellos forman por igual, las huestes malignas de la libertad.

En la danza, las bailarinas retan los límites impuestos por las fuerzas de la naturaleza y la física, vuelan con sus saltos llenos de gracia y rompen espacio tiempo con sus gesticulaciones.
Los actores, por su parte, engañan al espectador y le ilustran un mundo en ocasiones distinto al de los tiempos en los que esta. Incluso parte de la gente llega a pensar que en realidad el actor es el personaje que representa.

En la música, los sonidos naturales se ven opacados por percusiones y metales, el constante y caótico orden de los sonidos de un bosque se ven rigurosamente ordenados por los de una sinfónica. Los músicos le hacen el amor a los oídos de quien los escucha.

Los oradores se levantan furiosos e imponentes sobre los mismos espectadores y es aquí donde se ilustra mejor el punto central: Si no hubiera en todos los artistas un átomo de ego, una pizca de soberbia o un poco de poder divino, no se atreverían estos a cometer tales atentados contra el orden impuesto, no se hubieran atrevido a poner a sus familia como modelo de la ultima cena, no se hubieran tomado la molestia de intentar abrir los ojos a los demás con teorías y tratados vanguardistas. De nos ser por ese pequeño demonio llamado ego, no existiría tanta belleza artificial para admirar, más que ese caos reptante, ciego y destructivo llamado naturaleza, para otros dios.
Ese compendio de guerras que se libran a diario con el único objetivo de sobrevivir, ese trino de batalla por defender el territorio de los pájaros o la constante lucha del agua por sumergir la tierra.
El infierno esta aquí en la tierra y nosotros somos los condenados. De hecho, en nosotros se encuentra el poder de crear el paraíso deseado, aquí en nuestros corazones se aya el poder divino de la creación.

Si, se tiene el poder de modificar todo cuanto nos plazca. Es por esto que también los científicos son grandes artistas, pues van contra la vida misma, crean bombas y desarrollan armas bacteriológicas, crean tratamientos contra la vejes y curas apara enfermedades mortales -como la vida material- crean sub mundos como la Internet y se atreven a emular a dios mismo con la creación de seres y la mutación de los mismos.

Y vuelvo al punto de que si no fuera por esa pizca de ego, no se atrevería el artista a alzarse sobre las cabezas agachadas de los que no lo son, o no saben que lo son.
Se dice que dios nos hizo a su semejanza. Creemos entonces, destruyamos entonces, dominemos entonces. SOMOS ARTISTAS Y NADIE TIENE POR QUE AMARRAR NUESTRA ALMA CREADORA.

Es por esta apología al demonio artístico, que me atrevo a tachar de obsceno, todo tipo de arte que esta lleno de prejuicios y no es como naturalmente debería de ser, ese arte que es amarrado por la dictadura de las reglas impuestas, de los cánones y las etiquetas. Ese arte que es hecho solo para ser famoso o tener dinero; el arte regido y atado por los que no pueden crear sus propios mundos.
Las reglas y los cánones actuales de anatomía los propuso Leonardo Da Vinci, bien… que los use él; la forma de expresión es regida por paredes que impiden tocar temas “delicados”, pues si les ofende que se arranquen los oídos, si les mancha su conciencia pura un cuadro con un desnudo, que se arranquen los ojos.

Ahora entremos en materia. Pues lo expuesto arriba facilita el entendimiento de lo que a continuación sigue.

La tecnología, ha permitido a los artistas modernos, la facilidad para adentrarse en las múltiples facetas del arte. Y es que en tiempos pasados era muy difícil aprender tantas disciplinas; la pintura y la música requerían de aditamentos y elementos caros y difíciles de conseguir, la comunicación entre continentes era escasa y el orden social inferior era el dominante.

Hoy en día ya no es necesario crear música con una orquesta, pues en la computadora caben todos los instrumentos y todos los efectos posibles, a si mismo en software se puede prescindir de oleos y acuarelas, acrílicos y carbones. Y todo sin matar un solo árbol. También por esto se tienen hojas ilimitadas para el escritor y los tiempos que uno dedica a la creación se ven beneficiados por la rapidez de dichas herramientas modernas.
Las culturas se enriquecen y los artistas conocen de manera más accesible las tendencias de otros continentes; la expresión artística crece y se da el lujo de imponer su visión a los demás.

Es gracias a la tecnología que existe un Alexandro Jodorowski, quien es músico, compositor, actor, director, mimo, tarotista, dibujante, escritor; un Voltaire (músico Cubano) Que además de músico es compositor, dibujante, director; Tim Burton, director de cine, dibujante y escultor; Brian Warner, mejor conocido como Marilyn manson, quien es músico, compositor, pintor, actor. Y un sin fin de individuos independientes de pensamiento que nacieron para crear, sin importar el medio para lograrlo.

Este tipo de seres superiores son atacados principalmente por quienes pretenden ser artistas, escudándose en lo que creen es correcto, siguiendo lo que las escuelas dicen debe ser y opacando con esto sus dotes creadores.

No hay más que decir, estoy en total contra de todos los que entran en esta descripción, los artistas somos superiores a ustedes, en todo sentido.
Los artistas somos verdaderos dioses, que crean sus mundos y sus sonidos, sus imágenes y su alimento espiritual. Todo creador, por multidisciplinario o unidisciplinario que sea, ya es superior en si.

Ser así no es un pecado.
Ser así es volar sobre la mierda y no mancharse.
Ser así es ser artista, ser libre.

Abajo las reglas que atan la creatividad.
Abajo quienes las enseñan.
Abajo quienes se rigen por ellas.
Abajo el sistema.

Atentamente: Attlantic.

REDEFINE AL ENEMIGO.

Uploaded some of my work here

fuzzy — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:56:00 GMT

Hi, I haven't been here for ages, I got a bit burnt out with the internet last year and tried to downsize on the art communities I was uploading art to because it was difficult to keep track and I am useless with forums and things.

I've been trying to focus on many things including my painting and I think I'm back on track again now.

I hope you guys will enjoy looking at some of my work; some is quite old now but I have put some of my newer stuff here as well. I've been developing my painting technique quite a bit in Painter and I am more confident about painting than I was last year.

I have also created some custom brushes for use in Corel Painter, which are available on my web journal if anyone wants to try them out.

Custom Brushes Link

new wip

Duane Falconer — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 09:53:00 GMT

Hi All

There isn't much to say about this one but I've got a bit of artists bock as to what i must do with the rest of the pic, it's all a bit confusing. suggestions would be nice!!!!

You tube video time lapse traditional painting

earthtriber — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:32:00 GMT

Hi guys I dabble with my wacom tablet but normally I am a mural artist and paint ultra violet art work but here I filmed a more traditional mural I just created in Holland.... hope you like it as ever subscriptions views and comments most welcome helps the old work flow in better.....

thank you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp8EzzDRZFc

SiliCon, Etsy & Spore

katgirl studio — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:03:00 GMT

SiliCon

Updates on SiliCon: I’ll be participating in the following panels & workshops.

Standing out in a Sea of Awesome: Marketing for Artists

Saturday, October 4th, 2008
11:30 am - 12:45 pm in Monterey Room

One of the most important things for artists is getting your name out there but how do you do that and what on earth are art directors looking for? This workshop covers how to make mini promo books, promo sheet, post cards and why their important.

Digital vs. Traditional Art

Saturday, October 4th, 2008
2:30 pm - 3:45 pm in San Carlos Room

Some artists are doing all their work digitally. Others work with paint and canvas and/or air brush. Most use some combination of tech and techniques. Working artists talk about what they like and what they use.

Etsy

For those of you who didn’t read last week’s post the KatGirl Studio store is now open! Because it’s our Grand Opening the first 28 people to buy a print or Giclée get a free surprise print. Also in the coming weeks I will have some brand new special items up that I am currently working on. Curious to know what they are? Well you’ll just have to keep checking out my store to find out. If you’re also on Etsy drop me a convo I’d love to hear from you! TheBeadedPath just added me to their treasury take a look

Spore

I waited over 3 years and now it’s finally here! I was watching the Discovery channel(my fav channel) on Saturday and saw the Spore special they were playing spliced with an animal’s of the future show. Apparently this was the show he saw that inspired him to make Spore. So on Sunday we ran about trying to find a store that had copies of the game. We ended up at Fry’s where they had a nice little display table with all the different collections you could choose for the game. I got the Galactic Edition and Aleric got the art book pack so we got all the special features combine. I had a blast playing the cell part until I saw Aleric playing it and his had much smoother movements and that’s when I learned I had had my settings set to high and now that I set them lower the game runs much smoother. But how awesome is that if it was one the best games I’ve ever played and it was even working right when I played it? I keep toying with the idea of applying to EA since the office that makes all the games of theirs I actually play is just a couple cities over.

Con-X-Treme, Etsy & SiliCon

katgirl studio — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:41:00 GMT

Con-X-Treme

I’ve spend the last few days avoiding writing about the con since I don’t usually like to speak ill of anyone, but I can’t just let other’s fall into this trap if the con is still around next year. I’ve never seen a more mismanaged travesty than what took place at Con-X-Treme and I’ve been in student run school plays. The con was over pitched, they made it seem much more professional that it was and lied more than once about what was going to be there. Half of the things I went there to do never even took place including the charity auction. The staff there nice but basically forced to do the bidding of the one person in charge and as I found out later had to pay to get in just like everyone else. I felt worst for the attendee’s since they paid $30 for a day pass and there was almost nothing to do. We gave one attendee, Jeff Lee an impromptu art lesson after across the room silent hangman stopped being fun. All that unpleasantness aside I did meet some cool people Joey Jordan A fantasy/SiFi artist from Washington, Steve Savage creator of the blog Fan-to-Pro and the guys of the local band Phoenix Ash. I also re-met Jen of Juror2 who I had seen around our area at farmers markets in the past. Scott Aleric and I were also asked to be in a panel by Joey where we discussed design, color theory and layout. I could go on and on about why the con was a complete and utter failure but frankly I’ve got more important things to do.

Links to cool people:

http://thejefflee.blogspot.com/

Etsy

On a more pleasant note the KatGirl Studio’s shop is now open! I’m operating it through Etsy, though you can also get to it through my site. Etsy for those of you who don’t know is an online marketplace for handmade items. Unlike ebay they don’t charge you to open an online shop, just a tiny fee to sell an item plus it looks more like a cute boutique than a used junk warehouse. Currently there are only Giclée’s(fine art archival prints) and prints but soon there will be mini masterpiece wearable art, mini canvas prints, ACEO’s and other cool handmade items in my shop. Also I am designing plushy Kiki Kitties (our mascot) that will hopefully become available for adoption around the holidays. Please check out my shop if you’re bored, in need of a gift or tired of staring at plain white walls. www.katgirlstudio.etsy.com

SiliCon

KatGirl Studio will be at SiliCon October 3-5. I will be sharing a table in the Artist’s Colony area with Scott Aleric the creator of Hell Has Found Me & Lost Graphics Studio. You won’t be able to miss us with our shiny new 89 in. retractable banners. We went last year and had a blast I was even a last min. stand-in in the Lolita Fashion Show. This year Peter S. Begal the creator of the Last Unicorn will be there along with a lot of other cool people.

I’ll be offering the same images that are in my store at SiliCon so if you’re planning on attending save yourself the shipping and just pick one up there. If you are attending the con and want one of my images as a print and it’s not one of these please email me and I can see about making one for you. I will also be offering some buttons and maybe a few other goodies as well. So come by and ask me whatever you like or just say hi.

I will be part of the following panels and workshops at Silicon:

Saturday, October 4th, 2008
2:30 pm - 3:45 pm in Monterey Room: Digital vs. Traditional Art

Standing Out in a Sea of Awesome: Marketing for Artists

TBA

www.siliconventions.com

Thrilled but Frustrated Newbie! Help!

Red Ninja — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:21:00 GMT

Hello all,

I'm a big fan of ImagineFX. I've been reading the Mag here in US since issue 6. I've been checking in on the site off and on for over a year. I'm finally a member myself, hooray!

Ok so I'm thrilled to be here! Now onto the frustrating part. Perhaps someone can help me out?

Yesterday I uploaded 7 images into my gallery. All images are RGB jpegs. (Acutally 2 are png) I tried to keep the images small as well. I've used the default gallery...nothing fancy.

Ok here's the issue....now only 2 of images can be seen. A third one is in the main gallery under "most recent". But you can't see it in my portfolio. I deleted and re-uploaded everything this morning. The situation has not changed.

Under "Manage your Portfolio", I can see everything, and everything shows up how it should under my portfolio. But no one else can see them. HELP HELP HELP!

Can anyone help? Please, my Portfolio currently looks rag tag and un-organized. I would greatly appreciate any help offered.

Thank you!

:)-Red Ninja (aka:Valerie)

WILLIS KING

pixmaker — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:51:00 GMT

I'm a rock guy, i like musicians like Axl Rose and Robert Plant. I usually turn away from Rap and Hip Hop cause its just not me. But people like Willis King and his Album UNFADEABLE is not something i can just turn away from. Yes, the music is angry, intense, sometimes even violent. But its more than that. Its has alot of emotion and truth. It doesn't follow the "template" of other music played on the radio just to make a quick buck. I also like his rhymes and music and the way he delivers it.

For example, the song KILL YOU: which can be heard on his myspace page. Has a calm beat with a light piano harmony that contrast angry and descriptive lyrics. I find that genius. In rock music, the music matches the mood. Or at least most songs i hear. In this song Willis is showing both sides of himself, a cool chill dude and another side you just don't want to cross. In short, Willis has given me a new genre of music i can explore.

And his album... Aint gonna fade away anytime soon. check out his myspace page below. http://www.myspace.com/willspitz

Hello fellow creatives

Jennene Whiteley — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:30:00 GMT

This is the first chance I have had to say 'hello' and introduce myself since subscribing to the site back in April! hey ho that's just how my life is though! Work, Uni, Home, Wife, kids.... oh and somewhere in the midst of all of that my new discovered passion for this magazine and Photoshop... loving it!

I haven't yet figured out how to make my homemade mac webiste live yet so any techies out there I would ma it. I have however, managed to give myself a branding identity 'Jeminage' infact I have had it for some years but never got around to producing the art work to go with it!

I love all things fantastical, surreal and figuritive with a deep appreciation for the 1400's on wards!

Looking forward to my first blogs with you all, Jennene.

Con-X-treme, Prints & Charity

katgirl studio — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:30:00 GMT

KatGirl Studio will be at Con-X-treme Labor Day Weekend Aug. 29- September 1. I will be sharing a table in the artists/vendors area with Scott Aleric the creator of Hell Has Found Me & Lost Graphics Studio. You won’t be able to miss us with our shiny new 89 in. retractable banners. The convention sounds pretty cool and is centered around animation and computer arts.

I’ll be offering the following images as prints (though they will of course be formatted to fit a standard 8x10 picture frame because I’m so nice (and I worked as a custom framer for a year). If you are attending the con and want one of my images as a print and it’s not one of these please email me and I can see about making one for you.

I will also be offering the following buttons and maybe a few other goodies as well. So come by and ask me whatever you like or just say hi. I’ll also probably be giving a demo of my working process at my table if space/time permits.

Lastly I am donating at least 3 items to their Charity Auction to benefit the Children’s Hospital of Oakland:

2-3 13x19 signed and numbered Limited Edition Fine Art prints.

A personal commission character illustration which includes a signed 13x19 Fine Art print and a CD/DVD of the high rez file for your personal use.

If you have ever wanted me to create something just for you this is an excellent time as it benefits a very worthy charity. If you have any questions about the personal commission or anything else mentioned above feel free to email me.

http://s272.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=http://w272.photobucket.com/albums/jj198/KatGirl_Studio/artwork/f67e4983.pbw

Con-X-treme, Prints & New Projects

katgirl studio — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:43:00 GMT

Been busy busy busy the last 2 weeks updating Katgirl Studio and the other art communities I belong to with my mini book dummy project, working on two sites for my mother’s organization and getting things ready for Con-X-treme. Katgirl Studio & Lost Graphics Studio will be in the Vendors/Artists area with our nice new banners so you can’t miss us. I’m having 7 prints made for the convention that will also be available online. I will also have 3 different 1.25 in buttons at the con and maybe a few other goodies as well. Katgirl Studio will also have items in the Charity Auction to benefit the Children’s Hospital of Oakland. So if you live in the greater California bay area and are into computer animation & computer art please check out the con!

http://www.con-x-treme.com/

I’ve also been working on a couple new projects one featuring the adventures of a yet to be named little girl and her stuffed kitty Misser Binks. Both of which were originally in two other projects that never got used. I’ve also been expanding the mini book dummy into a full length picture book since it was so well received at the SCBWI Conference.

Here are the final drawing and color study for a piece in the new project.

On being naked and picking up the pen again...

TijuanaTaxi — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:25:00 GMT

Somehow, somewhere I dropped my pen.

Slowly I'm starting to look around to see if I can't find where I left it.

Just what the hell is this guy talking about? Glad you asked.

About ten years ago, I "lost my pen" which has become a personal euphimism meaning that I simply quit drawing and have yet to figure out why exactly it happened. Lately I'm finding I need to find that pen again. Slowly I'm finding myself doodling on piece of scrap paper that I come across. What's amazing is that I'm wanting to draw again.

One thing that's ostracized me is letting people actually see what I've drawn. It's always been much safer for me to just scribble on something and either toss it in the recycle bin or just scribble it into oblivion. That's where being naked and Imagine FX's site are coming in.

For the first time, and with great hesitation, I'm actually going to start posting my work regardless of what I think it should look like. Making up excuses to not post my stuff has been a constantly returning hurdle and safety net.

While the images I'm currently posting are really old and not my best work, it was important for me to just get them out there and get some leverage on a self-esteem issue.

Please feel free to comment on my images whether good or bad. I'm a very firm believer in almost brutal honesty and would LOVE to hear criticisms and thoughts you might want to share.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Normally I'm not this serious. Being that I'd like to just some things out for my own benefit, I thought it was a fitting first post.

Now...I think I remember where I left that pen.

Take care,

Tijuana Taxi

Disneyland, Tar Pits, SCBWI & Adam Rex

katgirl studio — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:43:00 GMT

Back from vacation. It feels a little weird to be back and the weather is so much cooler here. In the coming days I will upload my trip photos to my photobucket and the videos to somewhere. I’ll also be updating my site with new artwork so keep on checking back.

Here’s a day by day vacation recap:

Day 1:

We drove down to Palmdale where one of my mom’s sister’s lives hung out and watched Vantage point.

Day 2:

We watched Ever After, The Eye and August Rush and I finished making things for the SCBWI LA conference.

Day 3:

We got up at 5:30am packed everything into the car and drove to Disneyland. My mom’s other sister brought two of her daughters and we ended up with about 12 or so people. We got to watch the Jedi Academy show during lunch and Aleric pointed out the inaccuracies in it and the fact that Darth Vader would have demolished all the kids in reality. We went on Indian Jones which promptly broke twice while we were on it. The ride’s just not as cool with the lights on and the snake was broken. We got stuck in the dark in the part where the jeep stalls while surrounded by bats or mice (it’s hard to tell which). It was hysterical because the jeep would rumble and buck and the things would squeak but it wouldn’t continue. They did however let us go on a second time but the ride seemed to break after that and didn’t work the rest of the time we were there or the next day for that matter. We then went on Pirates, I had been worried that they would take out my favorite part. Don’t ask me why but as a kid my fav thing in the whole park was the parrot that talks to you in the line of Pirates of the Caribbean. They had replaced the old one with a parrot that was closer in color to the one from the movie and much more lifelike. He was canned awesome so I took a video clip. When the park was about to close we went back to my other aunts home in Luguna Hills.

Day 4:

We are in the parking lot of Disneyland waiting for the tram when I notice that all the rides in California Adventure Park suddenly screech to a halt as the ground begins to sway. The surrounding cars begin to bounce and the air fills with alarms sounding. Yes I happened to be at Disneyland when the earthquake hit on Tuesday the 29th. We finally get in and try to walk down Main Street as the Mass Exodus fights to break us apart. I have never seen so many people flooding out of anything. Everywhere people seem to be having no luck with cell phones (they didn’t work for 2 hours). We get to and ask the girl at Star Tours when she thinks the rides may reopen, of course she has no idea. We end up sitting in the shade in front of the Tiki Room eating pineapple whips. A lady from Canada voices her surprise that all the buildings didn’t fall down and we have to explain the California building code to her. All the rides a closed for about 3 hours and then only some reopened. We ended up sitting outside Space Mountain under a tree and talking to this cool guy Brad Stone about art, and life. The only rides we actually got on the day were The Jungle Cruise and the Hall of Innovations which isn’t so much a ride as a moving room of canned awesome. We got to see the worlds move advanced AI and yes I got a video clip which I’ll post soon. Though I tried really hard to find her at Fantasmic I never did find my friend Brianna :iconbri-chan: I blame the earthquake. We finally left the park with these goodies in tow: 2 plush keychain Stitch’s, 2 Stitch as Emperor Palpatine action figures, a Squirt the turtle plush keychain, an Apprentice Mickey car antenna topper, a Star Wars Clone Pilot Republic Gunship and At-at that turn into transformers, a green Tinkerbelle “Little Miss Sassy” t-shirt and a build your own Lightsaber (which I built and proceeded to carry around the rest of the time we were there) that lights up blue and makes noise.

Day 5:

Aleric surprises me by taking me to the La Brea Tar Pits which somehow I forgot was even in California. It’s a pretty cool place if you find museums fun (which I do). It’s kinda weird since it’s a green park with a giant lake of tar surrounded by sky scrapers but hey that have Saber Toothed cats! In fact they have the largest collection of Ice Age bones in the world, an observation room and working pit where you can see Paleontology students wallowing around in tar muck. When we were done we drove back but stopped to drive down the street I was named after, Alicia pkwy. Every time we would go visit my aunt, my mom would point it out but somehow we just never drove down it. For someone with an uncommon name it’s a little weird to see your name on everything. We got back and worked on making banners. My aunt owns a scrapbooking store (among other things) that also had printing services one of which was banner printing. Though the store is closing they still have the printing equipment and so KatGirl Studio now has a 89inx33in retractable banner. If you’re looking for a banner for shows or cons for $250 (half the price of other companies) I can hook you up. I finish my art first and decide to go out and pet Hot Shot their miniature horse (apparently completely different than a pony) who lives in a cute little corral in their backyard. He’s almost the size of my parents German Sheppard and also gets taken for walks in the evening.

Day 6:

We pack up everything and head to my aunts store to get the banners printed. It’s sad that when I actually get to see it its closing, then again I haven’t seen them in about a decade so. Aside from the banners, they bestow upon me a bunch of gifts they make or import. Which I’ll share with you all later. After we go back and get the banners assembled we head out to Beverly Hills were the conference is being held and check into our inn thing. Not to complain but I wouldn’t recommend the place since the air conditioner was loud the shower was badly lit and poorly designed and the parking garage was a pain to maneuver through and we have a Honda Fit, I don’t even want to think what it would have been like in a normal car or hell an SUV.

And because this is an incredibly long post already I’ll post the Conference half on Monday =^.^=

maybe you want try also

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Featured Mistake

joeslucher — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:49:00 GMT

Issue #34 of ImagineFX is hitting the shelves right now and I'm on the FXPose on the CD. My Courtyard of Fate image is even the background image for when you click on FXPose. Next I just have to worm my way into the actual magazine. :)
I'm very happy about the feature.
Just realized I made a big mistake. I forgot to turn off a layer when sending them the baby in a robot pic so the surroundings around the baby are all screwed up. I had started to re-visit it (based of some feedback I got on these forums) to make it look more like there was liquid and the baby was floating and I got caught up in work and wasn't able to come back to it. Forgot I'd even been fooling with that and just flattened and e-mailed. Another reason I so rarely use layers because I either do stuff like that or I paint something on the wrong layer and ruin the purpose of having separate layers.

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Sample Book Dummy, Dollectable & LA

katgirl studio — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:05:00 GMT

I finished transferring all the drawings for my mini book dummy yesterday so all that’s left to do is alittle cleaning up and painting the cover. After that I have to put together the dummy for the art show at the conference and make a few mini ones to pass out. I also have to print and mount 2 copies of my portfolio for the conference. Asaide from that I’m waiting to see if my re-print biz cards get here in time (the first ones where the wrong color)and waiting for the print shop to call me.

On another note, I went to Dollectable on Saturday and met a ton of cool people, learned new things and bought much needed items for my BJD (like hair). After watching the basic face up class I am considering trying my hand at one since apparently you can use pastels (I have a 90 piece Rembrandt set that is currently seeing no use). If you know anywhere that has useful info about face-ups preferably using pastels please email me, note me or otherwise leave me a message. I’ll have to look more into that when I get back from LA.

Which reminds me, I will be gone in Southern California from this Saturday morning till really late Aug. 4^th. And since I will be at Disneyland next Monday and Tuesday there will be no studio update. I will have my laptop and the trip but I don’t know about internet.

What no comments

Paul — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:28:00 GMT

Just wondering really, as much as i check on my artwork, and i only have five pieces on the site at the moment granted, why does no one leave comments? I always try and leave feedback on other artists when i get the chance both on IFX and on Deviantart and i had hoped to get the same in return. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for heaps of praise or ass kissing(not likely to either) just honest critique, "like what you did there but why did you color her hair blue". I'd be happy with. At the end of the day we all draw,paint etc with the need for others to look and get a reaction. Can i have some reaction please????

Recent Stuff

joeslucher — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:55:00 GMT

Things are pretty busy at the moment. Finally beginning to finish some of the children's book pictures for my mom while I'm still doing a lot of illustrations for RPGs plus now I've got the full-time job creating concept art.

I'm going to be on the DVD for ImagineFX issue 34. Very excited and proud of that.

Should be getting my prints for my Gencon portfolio shortly. My presentation is going to be heads and shoulders above last year.

Side note to publishers. You guys have to hire artists as your art directors. Hiring anything else is like hiring an illiterate to be your editor. You want somebody who understand what a sketch means and how that will look as a final piece. The non-artist art director is often won over by more polished sketches with worse ideas and composition. Artists will often put less work into a piece that they feel couldn't be a portfolio piece and artists seem to be least enthusiastic when they've been unable to come up with a good composition. A good art director can help their artists to create good compositions and this means their artists tend not to just put in the minimum.

BBQ, Proofs, Promo Book & Dollectable

katgirl studio — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:49:00 GMT

Sorry I didn’t update yesterday by the time I got back from checking the proofs for my promo materials for the SCBWI LA conference my mom called to remind me about their BBQ (my mom’s sister, my uncle and my cousin and her friend were staying the night on their way back down to Palmdale) and I didn’t realize somehow till I was there that it was a Monday. Ya silly I know.

Still working on my mini promo book, which is more like a mini book dummy in all actuality. It will have a fully painted cover but the inside drawings will be just line and will demonstrate I can illustrate action and keep the character consistent throughout. It was be posted on my site when it is complete and probably here too. If you haven’t checked out the new site please do and tell me what you think. There are even 9 avatar icons in various sizes for you to use. Prints will be made and put up in the store after I return from the SCBWI conference. If you want a particular piece as a print let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

Also I’ll be attending Dollectable this Saturday if you’re going to be there let me know and maybe we can meet up. I need to buy shoes (Mary Jane style mostly), wigs and find a good face up artist but also they have to cool workshops I wanted to take.

hello im madirishman

madirishman — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:02:00 GMT

this is my first time doing this internet thing .please look at my art let me know what ye think.all done bey bey