Been under the weather..

I've been sick for a few weeks with what I guess was the flu. My homework suffered a bit. But I'll put up the stuff I've done.

Assignment 5 homework

Sinus infection this week. I feel I haven't produced my regular level of homework..but such is life. Inking is TOUGH! No wonder there are inkers extraordinaire in the world of comic books. It is a very specific skill. Oy.

Homework #4

This was a great exercise. Back to the fundamentals in structure. I, as I think a lot of cartoonists do, tend to cheat on these details. So... I am definitely going to keep doing this. Especially noses which I found I had difficulty with. It's has just been a great mental switch to think about this as a discipline and not as an automatic thing I do when I want to. You get out of it what you put in to it. No more laziness if I want to succeed in doing cartoon Illustration as a career.

No one said it was gonna be easy...

This is the first part of assignment #3 from the Stephen Silver Class. First draw from reference. Then, put away your drawing and reference and use basic shapes to caricature the man in the bowler hat. This was frustrating and fun. I have trouble getting loose. I was trying to be perfect but the looser I got, the better the drawings so, I am going to start doing this a lot.

A Latte full of life

Another afternoon of joe and drawing joy.

IF "Extremes"

Illustraton Friday - "Extremes"

I went to my college reunion up at Syracuse this past weekend. There were 8 people out of 3,000 + from the class of 1992. BUT the class of 1957 was there in all of their geriatric glory. It was a wild weekend.. walker racing, Triple E cup bikini competitions...
I actually saw a very old guy stumble out of a frat. Ah, Glory days.

Anyway, Rutgers- the dome- all of the alumni were sat next to the Rutgers' section..good times. We got our orange ass whupped.

My husband and I met the first day of freshman orientation, 1988. It was great to stand on the fourth floor of the dorm we're we had our first kiss. I shall always be indebted to the big orange school on the hill, he's worth more than the 80,000 in tuition!

Just before the Buzzer...

11:48- due by 12. Can't get the G** Damn second file up! I'm a computer looser. If something goes wrong I'm lost.
I drew a lot, and didn't put it all up. I can't figure out how everyone gets multiple pages of sketches up on the site. If you are in the class and reading this-HELP!

Final idea below:

WHO: TV host of daytime show. A Guru of homemaking (a-la martha Stewart)

WHERE: NYC, US

WHEN: Now

PERSONALITY: Type "A" control freak

APPEARANCE: Perfect, cleanly upper class suburban

AGE: Forty-something

MANNERISMS: Prim, Proper, Perfect

ATTITUDE: Superior, demanding

PHYSICAL DETAILS: Blonde, cardigan sweater-khaki wearing, sensible shoe chic, pearls

STORY: Her show gets canceled ...in a fury she goes on a decoupage binge and inhales too many glue fumes and turns her into a glue gun toting monster. The monster is insane about decorating & crafting and goes on destructively beautiful rampages and wants to take revenge on the TV execs who cancelled her show. They will be "Glue Gunned"!!


This is what I went with- cause I COULD NOT decide, so I just did something. I still like my first drawings a lot of the 1950's idea but it was too "Nutty Professor"- with Jerry Lewis not Eddie Murphy. Off to bed.

Homework

I am finding this "Thinking in silhouettes" very challenging. I am off to my college reunion. Will have to draw while traveling. Hope I get this assignment done.

Acorns are falling on my head.

It is hard in life to avoid all of the nuts. Last night a particularly big one hit me when I wasn't expecting it. I was up with a headache til 2 am.

Nana

Another idea...I'd better choose. Nana as Jeckyll. Nice jewish Grandma,living in Boca in a retirement community. Drinks some tainted ensure...and transforms into NANAMONSTER! The terror of Florida. Her massive breasts knock over large objects and she emits tremendous guilt. - disclaimer: I love my husband's Nana.

Token Halloween image

Seth Hippen, major talent... http://flippinhippenstudios.blogspot.com/ created a great sexy witch. Long ago, I drew this. I think it was 1995. I was a huge Archie Comic nut as a girl. So, it was fun working on that license. Dan DeCarlo, the longest running artist for that series was fantastic. I still think of him when I draw womens' legs, shoes, curves, lips. He's worth checking out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_DeCarlo

PS- the broom was originally BETWEEN her legs- my bosses idea.... nasty. pps: This was done in marker- back in the day when we rode our brachiasaurus to work. PPPS...how the hell is she staying on that broom? She must have shelf butt.

Homework

Next assignment. To interpret Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. Either literally or go nuts. It can be in the future,past,current time..I'm just doing mental spew right now.. I love the 1950's, so I had the thought of the nerdy girl who dreams of being glamorous. Much gratitude to Liz Taylor and Sophia Lauren... sorry for the scribble scrabble...must spew some more ideas...

Tuesday Doodles

Memory sketches. First Our Lady of the spray on tan from Starbucks. Second...Purple Lady from Pumpkin picking this weekend. She really had purple hair and all purple on...she was unsure if the picnic bench would hold her... It makes me wonder, what leads someone to do this? It certaily gets one noticed..but it is odd. One thing for sure, you could always spot her in the corn maze!

zoo day doodles again

Went to the Bronx Zoo yesterday, drew some ....

Zoo Day doodles

Doodles of the day

The first doodle is a memory doodle of a mother of another student at Mags' school. I walk my 8 mos old golden retriever, Jabba to school most mornings past her and her pug loving friend. They block the side walk. When Jabba was tiny, he endured butt sniffing galore by these two dogs whose owners encouraged them...."Oh look, they're letting him know who's boss..." So, this morning, the now 60+ lb Jabba happily wagged his tail and sniffed the poodle and pugs noses for a few moments when this treasure said"I think they've said hello long enough."- this drawing looks remarkably like her.

The next doodle was from a picture off of the American Girl Doll catalog. I was doodling, but it looks pretty good. Maybe I'll get to color it.

Lost (at Starbucks)

I love the show Lost..and am eagerly awaiting it's return. Today I gave myself 1 hour to sip a grande nonfat vanilla latte and draw...and think. As I sat in Oceanside Long Island...I started to draw parallel's between my being stuck in Long Island and those poor schmucks stuck on that island. I am totally for the theory that they are in "purgatory" and now am for the theory that living in Long Island is my metaphorical purgatory. And there may not be an huge polar bear running around...but have you encountered some of these charming individuals? And the invisible colossus killing people, well just read my post on all of the hummers around here.

The others: There was a woman who was brown. Not a woman of color. A woman of the spray on tan. She was like pantone 147 uncoated. (I guess she would be coated)...anyway, that has got to come back to haunt you some day. I HOPE it was spray on, and not pure tanning booth. My cells were terrified just looking at her.

Hurley: And then, this Mom who was wearing too tight clothes on a pudgy body. Oh, I wanted to take her shopping, since I couldn't, I drew her and her daughter who looked like she knew the deal.

Mr. Echo: And the big haired lady. The theory of big butt/big hair...I'm all for it. Being chubby myself, a little poof in the coif, well it doesn't hurt so you don't look like a pin head. But she talked soooo loudly on her cell phone...to Mike...who I now know has a hemmoroidal condition. Thanks Big Haired lady, I stopped sipping my latte about then....

Kate: I like the character of Kate, but the occasional unnecessary slow camera pans of her body in panties and a bra...not so much. T & A, it's at Starbucks too. This 20-something blondie walks in...looks at the table of men sitting together, then..poses. One hand in the hair, one hand on the hip, back arched, butt pushed out (ass crack pants) and gazes for about 12 minutes at the menu board.... until one of them notices. Then she orders , turns, sips her straw suggestively...and sashays out. Now if this is not some alternate reality.... then.. I might go insane.

Anyway, If this is my purgatory (which when I was young and catholic the church still taught)- I must try to learn from all of this. Perhaps tolerance, acceptance...to integrate better. I think it's supposed to be a transitional time for me. I am trying to better myself... maybe getting to "Heaven" or "Nirvana" is making a career in art again then moving to New England. Living in a victorian, it can have pearly gates...

IF "Blues"

The only thing better than listening to the Blues, is watching people listen to the blues.

You can take the girl out of animation...

But you can't take the animation out of the girl!
Yesterday I started my Character Design Course at Schoolism with STEPHEN SILVER. He's one of the best character artists (cartoonists) working today. Perhaps best known for designing Kim Possible. Anyway, I have been drawing since last night and all I can say is I'm clicking my chucky t heels and sayin' "There's no place like home...there's no place like home."

Our first assignment is to design this character from "The Long Voyage Home" by Eugene O'Neill. "The bar of a low dive on the London water front. At the far end of the bar stands Fat Joe, the proprietor, a gross bulk of a man with an enormous stomach. His face is red and bloated, his little piggish eyes being almost concealed by rolls of fat. The thick fingers of his big hands are loaded with cheap rings and a gold watch chain of cable-like proportions stretches across his checked waistcoat."

This is what I came up with.

Clarion books?...eat my eraser dust.

A conversation with a young girl animator...

http://magicscience.blogspot.com/

First...who the heck am I commenting on your blog? I'm someone who studied and worked in animation and was a licensed cartoon character artist. Stopped for a few years to raise my young daughter and now works freelancing as a character designer and illustrator. I suppose that's my disclaimer like.."the words you are about to read have a lot of experience behind them"....

I am an avid reader of John K's blog as well, where I found your post. Which lead to your blog..which I read...

I grew up, as you did, a Disney fanatic. By the time I was four, I wanted to work for them. Eventually, I was trained by them as a character artist for merchandise and freelanced regularly. It was a realization of a dream in some ways and an eye opening experience to the Dirty side of Disney. BUT... I have never lost my "awe" of the art. Today, they are not what they once were, but I have high hopes seated on the back of John Lassiter.

As I got older, watched more and more different kinds of animation, my knowledge of techniques..styles...GENRES grew. I love Hanna Barbera and Warner Bros and Terry Tunes and Jay Ward and Walter Lanz.....Aardman...Colossal Pictures, "Aeon Flux" I drool over Miyazaki and Pixar...and I freakin' love Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends. BUT .... my love or dislike of one has no effect on my feelings on another. Cause I see them as seperate styles and genres. I don't compare Norman Rockwell to Rauschenburg. But I like them both. There's plenty of art that's not my cup of tea, but all of it, I respect. Because that's someone's soul up on that canvas or at least their sense of humor. Or someone's three+ years of sweat and skill in that film.
And one can debate anything...on and on..Skill vs. Style...Story vs. Comedy...Cartoon vs, Animation. The actual word "cartoon" comes from Italian cartone "pasteboard, a sketch of a planned drawing or painting done on heavy paper," from carta "sheet of paper," from Latin charta "piece of papyrus". Da Vinci's and Michealangelo's sketches and studies are called CARTOONS. Cartoons are not by definition funny. They are a reflection of life which is all things...funny...touching, sad , grotesque, sarcastic, weird, heartbreaking.. magical.. satirical..political...and damn it, I'll say it....sweet and CUTE.
If you can love Robert Crumb...you can believe that the Frank and Ollie boys existed. Because Robert Crumb is a reaction to that culture. The man lusts after the early twentieth century. Unfortunately for him, he was born too late and into a wacky family...but we all benefitted...from his..kookiness.
I had the pleasure of meeting Chuck Jones while working on some Warner Bros. merchandise. He was his work. He was sweet, funny, mischeivous, flirtatious and so kind. I also had the greatest thrill to correspond with Charles Schulz. He was as dry and subtlely funny as Peanuts. Artists of that era poured their whole beings into their work. And if there is something horribly wrong with cartoons today, it's that young cartoonists/animators don't get that. When I read your blog... I read a dismissal of an entire generations' work. And that sucks. Take from everything...draw from every artistic expression available..put it in your mental blender and consume until full...then pour out what you don't want. But be nourished by some parts of all of it.

John K- I respect him..I love Ren and Stimpy... I'm not a huge fan of his ego, remember: He is only one source. Choose your mentors carefully or mix and match them. He shows only his way...or the highway. That's fine if you want to be like him. But he took so much from so many....I think the best way to follow him is by following all who came before him. And they...were all classically trained artists. So draw...draw...draw and draw some more. And best of luck. I love to see young women aspiring to be cartoonists..there weren't many when I was aspiring....Kelly

Juggle

IF "Juggle"...it's a wonder I even had time to do this.... I'm still trying to figure my time management out.

at 17....

Inspired by a post on Tony Diterlizzi's blog...and humming that Janis Ian tune, I look backward in an attempt to help me look forward:
1987. At 17 I was a junior in high school. I was a cartoonist for the school paper, yearbook and drew on anything that remained still for 2 seconds. I had always drawn...and I knew long before others did what I wanted to do with my life. I had an unusual affinity for Hawaiian clothing. I wore anything and everything with palm-trees,pineapples and "op" on it. I didn't dress like the other kids. Most being extremely preppy , some what we called in NJ "Cheesesdogs" they were trampy and then there were the smoking kids, they were the metal heads. I was shy with everyone but my friends, which I suppose I have to say we were nerdy. Somehow, I was either in total denial at the time, or believed so completely we were just us...that I never realized I was a nerd. I just so desperately wanted to be recognized as a an artist. So, this pic is me..looking not too thrilled...being awarded the National Art Honor Society Award - SECOND PLACE. Behind Dave Cook, the guy I worshipped for four years.(???) He went on to Cornell, studied Law and the last thing he ever drew was his Fraternity's T-shirt. He never intended to pursue art, but I never intended anything else. I was robbed! My art teachers were wonderful, Ms. Haness and Mr. Herb O'Brien. I found ways to spend lots of time in that art room. It was the one room I owned. I owned that room...and when you're awkward and shy..that means everything.
I was a vegetarian. I was a nut. I painted peace signs on everything, especially cows. "Peaceful beef"...Ai-Yai-yai-- yeesh...
I plastered my walls with art and Beatles posters. I was in a bubble of naivete...I was probably filling out all of my school applications. I wanted to go to the Rhode Island School of Design or the University of Honolulu...
At 17 I spent a summer in Brazil. My Grandfather took all of his grandchildren in a VW Bus through the country to meet his family he left behind. It was one of those life defining experiences. To find out you belong to another culture.. you have history that goes back on hundred year old plantations...
At 17(in 1987) I had thick, curly brown hair and bushy eyebrows that had never been waxed. I was chubby(still am), I had never had a real boyfriend. I was pretty. Although I never thought that then, I see it now. I told everyone I was going to work for Disney some day(eventually I did freelance). At 17(in 1987)the whole world lay out before me...every possibility artistic or otherwise...and I was scared. Scared of failure, of disappointing people and letting myself down.
If I could tell that kid of 17 somethings, they would be, believe in yourself, trust your instincts, boys will eventually notice you focus on your art lunkhead!, Dream it, Believe it, Be it! -'cause you can.

I will tell my daugter these things. I will tell her how I met her Dad and how he was the first boy who was sweet and kind and cute who treated me wonderfully and that's how I knew he was the one. I will tell her to follow her passion whether it's art or animals. I will tell her to be a little selfish with her time. Take care of yourself first, so you can take better care of others...after. I tell her now, how I want to do children's books. I told her about rejection already with the Clarion Publisher...and I told her I still believed in myself no matter the opinions of others... Twenty years is a loooooong time. Life's quite a ride, isn't it?

September

This was my point of view of the manhattan skyline from 1993-1996. My apartment gazed across the river over the path of the Staten Island ferry. I had the best view in the whole freakin world. I could see to the left as far as Hoboken and to the right clear to Coney Island. And center, the Twin Towers.

What can one say that hasn't been said? The pain's still there, the tears still flow. My hatred for the president is incalcualable. I close my eyes and I can feel the 18 mos old Maggie I clutched as I huddled alone with her in my house in Long Beach as F16's passed overhead. I drove up the hill of Lawson Boulevard today, where dozens of us stood outside of our cars and watched as the first tower collapsed.

My fears today are greater than that day. Maggie is seven. What have we become America? What will you be for her?

New ideas

I've got a new idea for a book. This is the first character sketch. It looks too animated...I will get away from the computer for a while...crack open the paints and pencils. This idea was born out of the sleepless night I spent after the meeting with the Art Director at Clarion Books. She said I was "mass market", "appealing", "commercial" which I liken to being called the artistic equivalent of cheese whiz. I was not right for Clarion , due to my drawing style being so heavily influenced by my animation and licensed character background. She said I draw "too" well. The eyes are too big. The palette too "happy". I need to "mess things up." I have since digested her comments...some were hard to swallow, some were much needed in a medicinal kayo-pectate kinda way.... and others..well, I just purged. I am me. I draw from the place I exist... it's a happy place. I shall forge on in this pursuit of childrens books...

what's happenin'

This morning, 7 1/2 years old, my daughter went off to second grade. She looks 10.She picked out that outfit all by herself...I can't just shop for her anymore. She has good taste in sneaks. She is sooooo like me...it hurts. And then, she is so not like me in other ways, and those are the ways that amaze, intrigue, perplex and confound me. She's incredibly imaginative, to the point of having to do reality checks on her... which I could say is all me. But she's very interested in facts of all kinds, which I 'll give to the husband. Then there are the uniquely Maggie, maggie-isms. And these are what I hope bring her through life, and more immediately this year at school. She arrived today to find all of her pals were in another class together. She had Paul in her class. Paul was her "Guy freind" last year. We'd much prefer Paul and some of her girl friends sprinkled in, I felt nauseous all morning about her not having playdates this year... And then I thought, I bet she'll come home happy as a clam. 'Cause that's Maggie's way. So, we shall see....

I'm kinda art stymied here. I'll have to get some inspirational fibre and get things flowing again.... This morning I let Jabba, the 7 1/2 mos old golden retriever out into the yard...only to hear a strange sound a few minutes later, clump, clump. clump shwooosh! Clump clump clump...shwoosh! He was climbing up the ladder of the playset and sliding down the slide!!!! Stupid pet tricks here we come!!!!

One Crazy Summer...

September has come.... School starts this Wednesday..my class ended, the publisher meeting is past, freelance..almost over(hopefully) ... Husband's company barbecue in the backyard...came and went.... what's left to stress out about? My birthday.

It has been one crazy summer. It went by faster than any in memory. I've wanted to work for years...becareful what you wish for. I've discovered a new appeciation for the working Mom. I will go in to the meeting with the publisher another day...It's worth a long post or two... But for now...as I prepare to turn ........ thirty-#@*&%seven..................... ??? I'll put on the Clash and de-stress the summer away...bring on the Fall! Bring on 37....

IF Alphabets

Old stuff...Kid's wall art. Done for a friend's baby room. I collect old coloring books,birthday cards and tin toys...and was inspired to do this. I thought it could have been turned into prints....