Sunday, February 26, 2012
The Teenage Artist - Makes a Vlog
You can follow me elsewhere by going to:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMoonlitHowl?feature=mhee
Flipnote: http://flipnote.hatena.com/5852D3501E2E4D53@DSi/
DeviantART: http://chirinwarrior.deviantart.com/
Saturday, February 25, 2012
A Burial of Roses
Tremble in fear of my traditional art! You are now impressed. Admit it.
This, my friends, has been one of the most fun pieces of art I think I have ever worked on. I have had this idea floating around in my brain for quite a while, and I was quite happy to get it out on paper. The style of shading you see here is called cell shading. You most commonly see this method in both Eastern and Western comics. The thick, bold shadows can add a very dramatic air to the piece, but they can also be difficult to handle. If not done properly, the shadows will merge with the outlines of the image and make it look far too blotchy. The best way to avoid that is to leave a small white gap unshaded so that the original lines are still visible.
Fun fact: The eyes and mouth are shiny because I used a red gell pen instead of a felt tip one.
Theme:
A Burial of Roses depicts the dramatic death of a wolf, using the rose petals symbolically in place of blood. This gives a much more ironically sinister air to the picture - as roses are usually regarded as something lovely and beautiful.4/5
Content:
The character used here, Cyriis, is a very monochrome character to begin with. Therefore, the perfect selection for this mainly black-and-white piece.
5/5
Originality:
While dark characters are not by any means original, and cliché villains are far too numerous, I find that this one depicts not only a dramatic death contrasted by beautiful roses, but also a sense of desperation.The shading is dark and dramatic, and the expression is sorrowful, but the roses (again) contrast very well with such a saddening image.5/5
Execution:
Anatomy and proportions are great, a slight perspective is well executed, the shading is near-perfect, and the red roses stand out against the blacks and whites. The few flaws in the shading do not inhibit the drawing, and are not overly noticeable. The two small places being at the arm and the fur near the shoulder which seems to be slightly disconnected.
4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Your turn!
I really, really want your opinion on this! It was amazingly fun to do, and I think very highly of it so I therefore want to see how it can be improved. Thank you!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Sculpting With Gears
Sculpting! New Mediums! Tape! Gears! Buttons! Owl! What is that thing?
As one of my most recently attempted mediums, my hand is weakest at clay. If you're not an artist, here's a translation: I'm new at clay.
That said, it would be pretty obvious that I'd be bad at it, right? Well, it seems that - thus far - this little guy is the only sculpture I've made that has survived. I tend to have issues with blending two peces - but we'll get to that later... for now, the intro.
INTRO:
The critter you see before you is what I have dubbed a Metail. Metail are unique clay-and-metal creations, each with their own flair and purpose. While every one of them is unique they all have the same chain-like tail - hence the name of the species. Each individual is named for it's own purpose. This one specifically is Host. Host is a kind and welcoming Metail. He loves throwing parties and seing people happy. Host can most frequently be seen chatting away in the center of large groups of friends.
Theme-
With a mix of critter, alien, steampunk, and something else, the 'Metail' species created here is a cute little mix of metallic and organic.
5/5
Content-
Shark teeth and a gear on the shoulders, leaves for ears, a "belly-button", and gears for eyes, all mixed nicely in a simple animal-esque form solidly into a unique creature of pure imagination.
5/5
Originality-
While there have certainly been many clay "critters", the pseudo-mechanical touch really adds originality.
5/5
Execution-
While most of the rest of the sculpture is wonderful, here is where the fault lies. While it is noted that I am quite new at sculpting, there is still much more attention to detail that could have been payed. The figure of Host is cute, but notably warped at places - mainly the feet. The symmetry of said feet would have added more unity to the piece.
While it may not be clear in the photo, the clay is unpainted - therefore dirty. The white baking clay picks up much dirt and smudges in the sculpting process and can leave quite a muddled look. That is what happened here.
3/5
Total-
4/5 - Great
Your turn! Critique, yell, bash, rant all you want - that's what this blog is for!
- The Teenage Artist
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
FUS RO DAH!!
Oh, Skyrim... No, for your information, I do not play Skyrim because I have a mac that lacks the capability. I want to, though, and so I've done my research and know the ins and outs of most of Skyrim. Also, my friend just so happens to play it, so I have the opportunity to watch.
If you don't know what Fus Ro Dah is, it's a spell in the aforementioned game. It's a shockwave type of spell that's one of the more powerful ones in the game.
From now on, I'll be breaking up my reviews into parts. These parts are:
Theme:
Content:
Originality:
Execution:
Sound: (if qualifies)
Animation: (if qualifies)
On to the review of this little one!
Theme-
Just a basic little animation. A wolf saying the words "Fus Ro Dah" then using said spell. Nothing much to gripe about.
4/5
Content-
It could do with a little more color. While it is my first time on a new animation program, more could have been explored during the first go to better find a grip on that program of animation-ness. The flash in the middle does add a some liveliness to the animation and give it some extra energy, and the build up for the shockwave near the wolf's mouth is also a good touch. Color would have been nice. Even a paint bucket fill of grey, or some detail in the eye.
4/5
Originality-
With the growing popularity of Skyrim, the popularity of the Fus Ro Dah spell has also skyrocketed. A simple search on YouTube for those three words will yield roughly 13,200 results according to the built-in result counter. That noted, I have yet to see a wolf using Fus Ro Dah. The closest I've found is a clip from the movie Bolt where the main character - a dog - has been tied to the Fus Ro Dah audio.
3.5/5
Execution-
This is not, by far, my first animation. I've posted one other music video here on The Scribbling Corner, but this was my first animation on a new program. Personally, I really like this animation. I find it pretty smooth - albiet a bit slow - but the art could stand being better. The sketchy lines and poor consistency degrade on it a bit.
3/5
Sound-
There is no sound, silly. :P
0/0
Animation-
I've already touched on that in the execution section, so I have no more to say. It gets it's own score this time, though.
4/5
Overall: 4/5 - Great
Your turn! You can use these criteria if you want, but you don't have to.
- The Teenage Artist
Oh, Skyrim... No, for your information, I do not play Skyrim because I have a mac that lacks the capability. I want to, though, and so I've done my research and know the ins and outs of most of Skyrim. Also, my friend just so happens to play it, so I have the opportunity to watch.
If you don't know what Fus Ro Dah is, it's a spell in the aforementioned game. It's a shockwave type of spell that's one of the more powerful ones in the game.
From now on, I'll be breaking up my reviews into parts. These parts are:
Theme:
Content:
Originality:
Execution:
Sound: (if qualifies)
Animation: (if qualifies)
On to the review of this little one!
Theme-
Just a basic little animation. A wolf saying the words "Fus Ro Dah" then using said spell. Nothing much to gripe about.
4/5
Content-
It could do with a little more color. While it is my first time on a new animation program, more could have been explored during the first go to better find a grip on that program of animation-ness. The flash in the middle does add a some liveliness to the animation and give it some extra energy, and the build up for the shockwave near the wolf's mouth is also a good touch. Color would have been nice. Even a paint bucket fill of grey, or some detail in the eye.
4/5
Originality-
With the growing popularity of Skyrim, the popularity of the Fus Ro Dah spell has also skyrocketed. A simple search on YouTube for those three words will yield roughly 13,200 results according to the built-in result counter. That noted, I have yet to see a wolf using Fus Ro Dah. The closest I've found is a clip from the movie Bolt where the main character - a dog - has been tied to the Fus Ro Dah audio.
3.5/5
Execution-
This is not, by far, my first animation. I've posted one other music video here on The Scribbling Corner, but this was my first animation on a new program. Personally, I really like this animation. I find it pretty smooth - albiet a bit slow - but the art could stand being better. The sketchy lines and poor consistency degrade on it a bit.
3/5
Sound-
There is no sound, silly. :P
0/0
Animation-
I've already touched on that in the execution section, so I have no more to say. It gets it's own score this time, though.
4/5
Overall: 4/5 - Great
Your turn! You can use these criteria if you want, but you don't have to.
- The Teenage Artist
Thursday, January 26, 2012
I had seen the familiar look of silent exasperation on his face as I had come trotting up to his desk with that big stupid grin on my face which I know he dreads. I had seen the more inward frame of him barley tolerating me, like he does, turn into an awkward aversion when he had seen the cover. I had watched, with what I swear must have been the creepiest stare of giddy apprehension possible, as his mind connected the pensil behind my ear, to the sketchpad tucked beneath my arm, to the title of the giant tome-like book in my hands, to what must be the contents of said book, and finally to the spastically over-excited grin on my face.
Slamming his pen down on the desk, he had bolted to his feet to stand with such force that it sent his chair screeching back a half-foot before toppling over backwards to smack wooden and hollow on the equally wooden floor below. I had only once before seen his eyes flash like the way they did then, and it had not been directed at me, but at an unfortunate werecat. Scared, I had pulled the book closer to me in defense and the all-too-bubbly smile had disappeared completely from my face.
More terrifying when soft spoken than he could ever be yelling, he had seemed to loom towering above me as my own shoulders had shrunk in as I had quailed away from him, looking from the metallic gleam and focusing my own eyes on the brown stripes of the wooden floor. He had explained to me in a single word his exact feelings toward the changes the idea had suggested. Though the room was quite stocked full with my own things, that four-letter string of utter refusal had seemed to somehow echo throughout the room and reverberate back into my mind where it had bounced in the empty, thoughtless hollow.
Through the corner of my eye I saw him visibly lower his shoulders and step back. Daring to look again, I saw the disgruntlement on his face - a clear sign he had relaxed - and so I decided to risk tempting fate and try again. Blue-green eyes met silver and I took a breath, my face begging, pleading for a consent. "Please?" I asked, taking a step forward. He frowned, much more annoyed than ever angry. "Nein." He repeated firmly. "Please?" I almost whined. "Nein." Came his reply; and his voice began to raise. Flopping my shoulders and the book my tone changed to that of incredulity, "Come on, Doctor, please?"
Spreading his arms out wide in disbelief, as he rambled with this stubborn, unreasonable child, "Nein! No! How many languages do you vant me to say it in? I know vhat you're asking because I know what's in that book. I absolutely refuse to be a part of dass. It vould not be interesting, it vould not be intriguing, it vould not even hold mein attention. Utterly bland und entirely pointless. I do not wish to be anywhere associated vis dass blank, empty, overused, und absolutely uncharacteristic commonplace act which has been countless times before!"
Poking my lower lip out and hunching over, I gave up the vain idea and plopped the three-pound book on the desk with a simple "Oh."
The book's cover as it fell shone with the cursive golden lettering that spelled out it's title that had so disinterested him. Bound in dark leather and pinned with silver studs, the writing of the ancient writer's guide red a single word for it's heading: Clichés
Woo! Long story!
Well... not really. For a blog post, yes it is long, but for an author's standpoint, this was really quick to make.
Now you may be wondering what this is all about, so before I start my review, I need to give a little history. The two characters here consist of me and my own character Doctor Gabriel Fleischer. Dr. Fleischer is a character of mine who I often use in my animations. He's German (hence the accent) and spends most of his time studying those of the canine family. He also happens to be my most favorite out of all my characters I have, but that's a secret. So shh...!
The setting here for my story is my own bedroom where the Doctor happens to be borrowing my desk as he works out some equations for his current study. The "world" I set this is in, is that little place in the back corner of any author/ artist's brain were they imagine their characters as if they were real. If you're not an author or an artist yourself, you may have a hard time understanding this, but if you happen to have an artistic friend - ask them. I promise you they'll tell you that they've imagined their characters were real at least once.
On to the review!
You may notice a sudden change of tense mid-story. That was purposeful. I wanted to add a bit of something extra to set it appart from my other writings. Also, I wanted to use that past-tense to describe what Dr. Fleischer and I might have as a relationship if he were real - given the fact that I, as a teenager, am the artist and he is the character.
On that note, I think that the same relationship is covered quite well in this particular piece. I did another, and admittedly quite darker, story regarding what relationship he (the character) and I (the artist) might have, but I do like this one much more. I admit that I do give him much more attention than my other characters, so I decided to work that into the short story here. Given his personality, I imagine that having a teenage girl fawn over you when you're trying to work would be quite annoying.
I don't want to necessarily praise my word choice, as that would sound far to egotistical, but I do want to say that I did spend some time and put a fair bit of thought into what words were used to add more color to this. Thesaurus, I love you.
Negativity:
This is one of my more favorite works of literature, so I find it a mite hard to critique it. One thing I will say, though, is that I have a problem with run-on sentences. Several of my friends commented on that when I showed this to them, but I left it in here. Also, I notice that I can sometimes go on a bit and detail things that might not necessarily need to be detailed. The chair falling, for example. I described the push, I described the sound of the push, I described it's decent, I described how it hit the floor, I described the sound it made, and I described the floor it hit. That seems like a bit much, dont' you think?
Finally, I do have a hard time balancing the Doctor's accent. When I first created him, his accent was so thick it was hard to even read what he was saying. Later on, I started creating some mental rules for when and where his accent should appear, but I still wasn't happy. Now, I'm starting to pull off just a touch more, but it seems I'm backing off too far. So, help with the accent would be appreciated.
That's it! Expect to see this guy more in the future, he is my favorite character, after all.
Your turn! Critiques from the audience, GO!
Slamming his pen down on the desk, he had bolted to his feet to stand with such force that it sent his chair screeching back a half-foot before toppling over backwards to smack wooden and hollow on the equally wooden floor below. I had only once before seen his eyes flash like the way they did then, and it had not been directed at me, but at an unfortunate werecat. Scared, I had pulled the book closer to me in defense and the all-too-bubbly smile had disappeared completely from my face.
More terrifying when soft spoken than he could ever be yelling, he had seemed to loom towering above me as my own shoulders had shrunk in as I had quailed away from him, looking from the metallic gleam and focusing my own eyes on the brown stripes of the wooden floor. He had explained to me in a single word his exact feelings toward the changes the idea had suggested. Though the room was quite stocked full with my own things, that four-letter string of utter refusal had seemed to somehow echo throughout the room and reverberate back into my mind where it had bounced in the empty, thoughtless hollow.
Through the corner of my eye I saw him visibly lower his shoulders and step back. Daring to look again, I saw the disgruntlement on his face - a clear sign he had relaxed - and so I decided to risk tempting fate and try again. Blue-green eyes met silver and I took a breath, my face begging, pleading for a consent. "Please?" I asked, taking a step forward. He frowned, much more annoyed than ever angry. "Nein." He repeated firmly. "Please?" I almost whined. "Nein." Came his reply; and his voice began to raise. Flopping my shoulders and the book my tone changed to that of incredulity, "Come on, Doctor, please?"
Spreading his arms out wide in disbelief, as he rambled with this stubborn, unreasonable child, "Nein! No! How many languages do you vant me to say it in? I know vhat you're asking because I know what's in that book. I absolutely refuse to be a part of dass. It vould not be interesting, it vould not be intriguing, it vould not even hold mein attention. Utterly bland und entirely pointless. I do not wish to be anywhere associated vis dass blank, empty, overused, und absolutely uncharacteristic commonplace act which has been countless times before!"
Poking my lower lip out and hunching over, I gave up the vain idea and plopped the three-pound book on the desk with a simple "Oh."
The book's cover as it fell shone with the cursive golden lettering that spelled out it's title that had so disinterested him. Bound in dark leather and pinned with silver studs, the writing of the ancient writer's guide red a single word for it's heading: Clichés
Woo! Long story!
Well... not really. For a blog post, yes it is long, but for an author's standpoint, this was really quick to make.
Now you may be wondering what this is all about, so before I start my review, I need to give a little history. The two characters here consist of me and my own character Doctor Gabriel Fleischer. Dr. Fleischer is a character of mine who I often use in my animations. He's German (hence the accent) and spends most of his time studying those of the canine family. He also happens to be my most favorite out of all my characters I have, but that's a secret. So shh...!
The setting here for my story is my own bedroom where the Doctor happens to be borrowing my desk as he works out some equations for his current study. The "world" I set this is in, is that little place in the back corner of any author/ artist's brain were they imagine their characters as if they were real. If you're not an author or an artist yourself, you may have a hard time understanding this, but if you happen to have an artistic friend - ask them. I promise you they'll tell you that they've imagined their characters were real at least once.
On to the review!
You may notice a sudden change of tense mid-story. That was purposeful. I wanted to add a bit of something extra to set it appart from my other writings. Also, I wanted to use that past-tense to describe what Dr. Fleischer and I might have as a relationship if he were real - given the fact that I, as a teenager, am the artist and he is the character.
On that note, I think that the same relationship is covered quite well in this particular piece. I did another, and admittedly quite darker, story regarding what relationship he (the character) and I (the artist) might have, but I do like this one much more. I admit that I do give him much more attention than my other characters, so I decided to work that into the short story here. Given his personality, I imagine that having a teenage girl fawn over you when you're trying to work would be quite annoying.
I don't want to necessarily praise my word choice, as that would sound far to egotistical, but I do want to say that I did spend some time and put a fair bit of thought into what words were used to add more color to this. Thesaurus, I love you.
Negativity:
This is one of my more favorite works of literature, so I find it a mite hard to critique it. One thing I will say, though, is that I have a problem with run-on sentences. Several of my friends commented on that when I showed this to them, but I left it in here. Also, I notice that I can sometimes go on a bit and detail things that might not necessarily need to be detailed. The chair falling, for example. I described the push, I described the sound of the push, I described it's decent, I described how it hit the floor, I described the sound it made, and I described the floor it hit. That seems like a bit much, dont' you think?
Finally, I do have a hard time balancing the Doctor's accent. When I first created him, his accent was so thick it was hard to even read what he was saying. Later on, I started creating some mental rules for when and where his accent should appear, but I still wasn't happy. Now, I'm starting to pull off just a touch more, but it seems I'm backing off too far. So, help with the accent would be appreciated.
That's it! Expect to see this guy more in the future, he is my favorite character, after all.
Your turn! Critiques from the audience, GO!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Defining the Abstract
Defining the Abstract
Catching a cloud
Timing the timeless in the
Blinding Shroud
Temporary Eternity
Dark as day
Falling to Freedom as the
Death dies away
Screaming a whisper
Killing the Dead
Your heart fills with Love as your
Eyes see the Dread
A gray, neutral midnight
Not a Place nor Alone
A loving, hating deep-fright
Is the great twilight zone.
This is coming from the 8th grader who loves paradoxes. Paradoxes, oxymorons, nonsensical contradictions and the like. Even now, two years after this poem, my love of paradoxes remains firm. The self-contradicting endless mind-bending loop of a true paradox will entertain me for hours.
As you can clearly see, this poem was born from my love of said reality-bending strings of wonderful nonsense.
On to the critique!
You may notice some odd capitalization choices here. That comes from my own poem style of capitalizing words that hold weight in the meaning of the poem. This has gotten me in trouble with a number of grammar teachers who also happen to be grading my poems. "But it's my style!" I'll complain. "But it's incorrect." The would reply. So I would then return to my desk with an 80% and theatrically pout until my friends came to see what was wrong. I then would tell them in an overly-dramatic voice that "The teacher said it wasn't right". I was clearly not taking it too harsly, but wanting (as usual) for an excuse to pull a funny face or speak in an odd voice.
Negativity:
The second half of the third stanza. I'm not too fond of it, as it seems to grate against the general rhythm of the poem. Nor am I fond of the words, but really I was desperate for a filler.
Using the words 'twilight zone' in the poem at all.
Some of you may be familiar with the wonderful black and white television show that went by the same name. It specialized in odd, abstract concepts such as the mannequin really being the one in control of the ventriloquist or a boy with Godlike powers who would turn anyone who upset him into giant toys.
While the show does fit the theme of my poem, I really don't think that using a show name helps the poem in any way.
Granted, most people may not have even heard of the show, but for those that have, that blight stands out.
Here we are, it's your time again!
Critiques from the audience.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
My Ebony Wings
My Ebony Wings
They carry all my dreams
Safely through
The torrid storm
They carry all my dreams
And Myself
Through the storm
With each beat
And Myself
Is safely through
With each beat of
My Ebony Wings
Hoora! Poetry!
This was done as a school assignment in 9th grade. It's a type of stanza repetition to which I have forgotten the name. The point is to repeat half your lines from the first stanza, then half from the second, to create a third stanza made up of words from stanzas one and two.
It was a style I tried and will not be repeating. It's not my favorite. Being somewhat of an odd purist with poems, I more enjoy the structured rhyming of your "standard" poem over the repetition of this form.
Now about the topic. Flying has been one of my dreams since I-don't-even-remember-when, and recently the thought of a pair of gigantic black wings has oddly intrigued me. So here's me, in a poem, about big black wings. 'Nuf said.
- The Teenage Artist
They carry all my dreams
Safely through
The torrid storm
They carry all my dreams
And Myself
Through the storm
With each beat
And Myself
Is safely through
With each beat of
My Ebony Wings
Hoora! Poetry!
This was done as a school assignment in 9th grade. It's a type of stanza repetition to which I have forgotten the name. The point is to repeat half your lines from the first stanza, then half from the second, to create a third stanza made up of words from stanzas one and two.
It was a style I tried and will not be repeating. It's not my favorite. Being somewhat of an odd purist with poems, I more enjoy the structured rhyming of your "standard" poem over the repetition of this form.
Now about the topic. Flying has been one of my dreams since I-don't-even-remember-when, and recently the thought of a pair of gigantic black wings has oddly intrigued me. So here's me, in a poem, about big black wings. 'Nuf said.
- The Teenage Artist
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