Entries tagged with art

Current Mood: sick

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Staying accountable

I'm trying to figure out how to get back into my New Year's goals, and, well, I've decided to try making more goals. Last year (prior to the new job), I got pretty comfortable making daily or weekly to-do lists, and that generally kept me on track with what I wanted to do.

Because I'm still feeling my way around regarding the levels of time, energy, and skill I can call upon, I don't want to make the goals to constricting, so I'm organizing them by category. Each category is something I want to engage in on a (nearly) daily basis, though the exact activity can vary. So I figure if I just set the goal of "one from each category" every day, that should guide me toward spending my time the way I want to, without bringing in an excessive level of obligation.

It's also a way of keeping track of how I spend my time. That's why I'm including activities like spending time with

ratzeo - these aren't "tasks" that I need to have "done," but they're worthwhile things I am happy to spend my time on, so I want to acknowledge that.

( More details below, probably tl;dr )

Current Mood: lunch-ing

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For the New Year

Welcome to 2009! Here's hoping that, however well or poorly 2008 treated you, your 2009 will be better.

I'm going to use the New Year as a time to formalize the goals I've been developing over the past few months (and post them here in order to make myself accountable), so here we go:

( This gets long )

Here's to a good year.

Current Mood: blank

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Return of the happy list

I've totally dropped the ball on my daily happy lists, though that's because ... er ... well, riding the emotional wave of the end of Warmakers has kept me consistently happy (if wooby) and distracted from most other things. <--loser

So anyway! Today's list of happiness! Which is ... only mostly about Warmakers!

1. Various time-sensitive things at work that were mostly out of my hands (and thus I was uncertain whether or not they would get done on time) have been resolved. That was a relatively minor stress, but I'm glad to have gotten it off my back.

2. Because of the rush of taking care of those work things, the morning has passed by quite quickly, and it's almost lunchtime.

3.

shadawyn has tempted me (yet again) with new shinies. :3 I'm dipping my toe into symphonic metal music because of songs she's shared, and have ordered Within Temptation's The Heart of Everything, Nightwish's Dark Passion Play, and Krypteria's Bloodangel's Cry. All of which have songs that were used for Warmakers fic and FSTs. XD;;;

4. I have been writing and drawing for Warmakers every day since the campaign ended. Okay, yes, that's horribly dorky, but - I'm writing and drawing every day! This has been helped by the fact that other people (mostly

shadawyn, but also the other players and GM) have been willing to keep talking with me about the game and develop a broad outline of the future plot developments, which keeps the characters alive in my head.

5. Tonight I get to go to

jfrog78's house and hang with almost all of the Warmakers crew!

Maybe I'll even get back to setting goals soon ...

Current Mood: determined

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This week's goals: Excessively Warmakers Edition!

Warmakers is ending this weekend, and I am unabashedly shelving all my other goals for the duration of this week. 8D

To be completed by Saturday morning
[ ] level 18 Khag
[ ] level 19 Khag
[ ] character sheet for Khag's mount
[ ] 4-koma (at least the ones in progress ... perhaps more?)
[ ] one final (yeah right) fanart: catgirl!Sae
[ ] one final (yeah right) fic or RP?

Constantly-being-updated schedule
Monday
-gym
-grocery run for myself
-finish coloring 4-koma

Tuesday
-grocery run for Warmakers
-

ratzeo's for leveling

Wednesday
-gym

Thursday
-cook dinner
-finish character sheets

Friday
-gym

Shoved to the side; must return to these next week
-Aer'inbar character
-NWSA outline
-Patricia Hill Collins book (either Black Feminist Thought or Black Sexual Politics)
-check NWSA schedule and decide what events to attend

Current Mood: busy

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Monday means goals!

This week should be a little less busy and structured, in terms of my to-do list. I want to maintain my productivity, though, so I'm still laying out my goals.

Fun goals (work on one of these every day)
-write fic(s) for Warmakers episode 24
-draw at least one 4-koma
-make Sae's new character design (hopefully to result in some substantial drawing, though that may have to wait until next week)

Less-fun goals (also work on one of these every day)
-gym x 3
-revise resume
-read NWSA write-up
-write my own NWSA write-up
-grocery shopping for weekend events

Tentative schedule

Monday
[x] gym
[x] revise resume
[x] ~~finish(?)~~ another thousand words on fic #1

Tuesday
[x] gym
[x] cook dinner for the week
[x] level 21 character sheet for Sae
[x] finish fic #1

Wednesday
[x] read NWSA write-up
[x] sketch out (or more) the two 4-koma that popped into my brain

Thursday
[x] gym
[x] meet

ratzeo for dinner ♥

Friday
[x] grocery run
[x] ink 4-koma

Saturday
[x] NWSA meeting
[x] birthday party

Sunday
[x] U-District Street Fair
[x] level Sae to 23
[x] ~~level~~start building Khag

Current Mood: grumpy

Entry tags:

Haven't done one of these in a while ...

Goal list for this week!

Daily to-do list

Monday
[x] gym
[x] The Cult of True Victimhood ch. 2
[x] pencil sketch for one 4-koma

Tuesday
[x] grocery store
[x] make curry
[x] The Cult of True Victimhood ch. 3
[x] couple hundred words in Warmakers fic (it's actually starting to look like a story now ...)

Wednesday
[x] banquet (whee!)
[x] The Cult of True Victimhood ch. 4
[x]~~no other goals this day because the banquet will run late~~ inked one 4-koma ha ha!

Thursday
[x] gym
[x] The Cult of True Victimhood ch. 5
[x] colored 4-koma

Friday
[x] gym
[x] The Cult of True Victimhood ch. 6 and Epilogue
[x] couple hundred words of fic

Saturday
[x] shopping with

kyonkun
[x] level Sae
[x] finish fic

Free-floating goals
(i.e., do at least one of these every day, but I'm not dictating which one)
-write fic (at least 100 words)
-draw 4-koma (entirety of pencil sketching, inking, or coloring for 1 strip)
-draw non-stupid fanart XD (at least 30 minutes, however much progress that results in)

Current Mood: sleepy

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Happy Friday

1. The first thing that makes today happy for me actually came out of an unhappy thing - I finally sat down and read through blogs to find out why everyone was pissed off at Amanda Marcotte ... and, well. Once again I am disillusioned at the behavior of many prominent white (female and male) feminist bloggers. Once again an eloquent woman of color has been silenced so forcefully that she has left the feminist blogosphere. It's happened before. I continue to shy away from mainstream feminist blogs. I will not be buying Marcotte's book. At this point, I'm feeling cynical and kind of detached.

But the good thing that came out of this? Following the links and comments led me to rediscover Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." I first read this in high school, back when I still didn't Get It - but even then, the words stuck with me. And now, going back, I rediscovered the following passage, which still rings painfully true:

"I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: 'I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action'; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a 'more convenient season.' Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."*

People often forget that that MLK was a radical.

2.

ratzeo came over last night, and we just got to geek out together, me drawing and him DSing ... I like that we can have a good time around each other as well as with each other (as in, when we are actually doing the same thing). All in all, a perfect way to usher in Friday.

3. On a more frivolous and shallow note, my coffee maker shipped from Amazon today and is scheduled to arrive on Monday, whee! Now I just need to, you know, get some coffee to actually make with it.

4. I wish I could be home right now, drawing. I'm really glad I feel that desire.

5. I don't have any plans for tomorrow, and that actually makes me happy. It means I get to do whatever I want, and I don't have to figure out what that is until tomorrow.

* On a slightly irrelevant and totally geeky sidenote, this is a classic example of Lawful Neutral alignment. It is also the reason I dislike Lawful Neutral the most out of the non-evil alignments.

Current Mood: hopeful

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Yesterday was ... well, it was good throughout the afternoon, but then near the end of work things got bad enough that I skipped my trip the gym and went straight home, feeling unfit for human interaction. After indulging in spirit-soothing creature comforts (comfy sweats, nap in warm bed, caramel butter pecan ice cream), I was somewhat restored.

I still have a tendency to let work difficulties weigh on my mind at home. It wasn't as bad as last time something like this happened, but I need to keep working on it.

So I'm focusing on the positive things this morning:

1. I took a step towards fixing the work difficulty this morning. Additionally, outside circumstances are such that the difficulty will not last for much longer. (Sorry for the vagueness, but I don't think I should go into detail in a public post. I figure anyone who's actually curious can ask me in person.)

2. Emails from

shadawyn! She's actually awake and online when I get to work, so she provides most of my social interaction and makes my mornings more fun. Although she's also a bad influence on me and dangerous for my credit card bill. ;)

3. Poking my GM and having game info pour out! Great for someone as bad at character creation as I am, who needs extra inspiration.

4. Last night, I progressed from passive comforts (like sleeping and DSing) to more active comforting activities, like drawing. I now have two of the Warmakers 4-koma ready for coloring, and am sketching out a third one. Like I said before, it's slow going. I'm about as good at drawing "funny" or "cute" as I am at writing them, which means I have to try really hard even though they're just dinky little chibi figures. But I'm happy with how the first two look so far.

5. And finally, the big thing to remember: my life is good. Very, very good, in fact. I'm healthy, I have a house and a job, I have great friends, I have engaging hobbies, and I'm in love. I want to remember this - not to make myself feel like OMG a horrible ungrateful person for feeling down sometimes - but as a reminder that I always have something available to make me feel better.

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Today's happy list

InsaneJournal continues to be down, but should be restored today. In the meantime, here are the things getting me through the mid-week slump.

1. I made a giant batch of soup last night, using this super-easy but tasty recipe. (Just a note - I find it a little too salty, so you may want to add plain water.)

2. I made a semi-impulse buy and ordered a coffee maker and coffee grinder yesterday. I don't drink coffee on a regular basis, but I have been drinking it more lately; and this way I won't have to make a trip upstairs to the coffee stand every time.

3. Work on the Warmakers 4-koma continues. It's slow-going, because I'm so not good at humorous art ... but hey, it's a new skill to develop.

4. My BPAL order arrived! I still have to go pick it up from

nekokoban, but ... my BPAL order arrived! :D Also, I'm wearing Bengal today, and while it's not my one of my favorites so far, it's still quite nice.

5.

ratzeo is running game on Sunday!

Current Mood: optimistic

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Goals for the week
[x] gym x 3
[x] make dinner for the week
[ ] character creation
[ ] find one book, or multiple articles, for NWSA research
[x] finish current Warmakers fic - possibly split into two different fics (but finish both if that's the case)
[ ] ink current pencil sketch
[ ] color current inked drawing
[ ] kick emo-ness in the butt

( Progress )

Current Mood: accomplished

Entry tags:

art,
warmakers

I like to do things in marathons

DONE.

*collapses*

The past few hours were mostly made up of this:

"Coloring six Japanese teenagers' skin is kind of monotonous."

"... So is coloring four Japanese girls' long black hair. At least Nariko is bald."

"Hey, this coloring effect is pretty nice - OH GOD THE MARKER FELL AND DREW A LINE ACROSS KYOKO'S FACE WHY IS THERE NO UNDO FUNCTION IN MARKERS?"

"I hope Gaia doesn't end up looking like the Jolly Green Giant."

"... Hey, I can't discern the smell of markers anymore. Uh-oh."

Bed now. Man, am I going to hate work tomorrow.

Current Mood: determined

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Today's to-do list

Okay, so I dropped the ball this past week on fulfilling my goals. Setbacks happen, and I need to move on.

For now, I'm starting small. Here's what the next, oh, ten hours of my day will be like (curse you, Daylight Saving Time!). This list includes both things that I need to do, and things I want (and therefore need, in my own way) to do.

~~Level Sae~~

This will not only be fun, but will hopefully get me back into the mindset of thinking, "Okay, how did Sae change after last week's adventure?" so I can get to thinking about the fics I want to write before the next game.

~~One post for NWSA community~~

Really, really need to do this.

~~Get calendar art to inking stage~~

From there, inking and coloring are relatively easy. They still take time, but it's not as hard to motivate myself to do them as it is to draw something on a blank piece of paper.

~~Dinner reservation at 7:30~~

FYI for anyone in the Seattle area, Dine Around Seattle is going on, so you can get a fancy full-course meal at certain Seattle restaurants for $30 per person.

Current Mood: sleepy

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Goals for the week

This week's set of goals is, like, 90% about Warmakers.

I'm okay with that. 8D

These are subject to change as I decide what my creative projects are going to be, and also which ones I want to do them this week as opposed to next.

Upcoming deadlines
-Wednesday, March 12: NWSA planning mini-meeting
-Friday, March 14: calendar due date
-Sunday, March 16: next Warmakers adventure

Practical stuff
-gym x3

Writing
-[placeholder as I figure out exactly what fics I'm going to write]
-surprise addition of: RP with ratzeo (I ♥ my boy)

Drawing
-get calendar sketch to inking stage
-start drawing 4-koma instead of just thinking they'd be a cool idea

NWSA stuff
-at least one article write-up

( Here's where I make myself accountable )

Entry tags:

Goals for the week

I'm at the point where the idea of making goals for myself feels encouraging rather than draining. YES.

I've been moving toward this point for a while, but what really cinched it was this past weekend, during which I: met with my NWSA group for our first official planning session (which was also the first time I'd seen any of these fabulous women in many months), went downtown with

kyonkun, met up with

mahokiwi and

laylah at

ratzeo and

zinjadu's apartment (also the first time seeing them in a while, though luckily not months), and played my first session of

casaval's Harry Potter game.

The NWSA meeting was crucial for lighting a fire under my ass and getting me back to work. These are some of the most amazing, intelligent, powerful women I know, so being in a room with them, and feeling their energy and support, went a long way towards making me feel capable of taking on this conference. And, from there, taking on anti-oppression work in general. (I've started, for better or for worse, thinking about grad school again ...)

The rest of the weekend was more about making me happy enough to keep going with this productivity, rather than being productive in and of itself, but that is also important. :D

( And now, my goals )

ETA: ( Current progress )

Current Mood: full

Entry tags:

Shinies!

I'm taking the last couple of minutes of my lunch break to note why today has been awesome, despite the stupid, stupid, stupidstupidstupid people at work:

-

ratzeo dropped by my office during a break between his classes. ♥ He also brought my DS, which I had left at his place on Sunday.

-I went to the post office on my lunch break to pick up some packages, which contain (even more) goodies from my online purchases. My hair jewelry collection has exploded. XD

-On the way back, I stopped by the U Bookstore to use up a voucher I've had sitting in my wallet. I decided to hit up their Prismacolor marker display, and of course ended up spending twice the amount of the voucher. Because, see, first I needed to find a good color for Asian skin, and then I needed a dark gray to give me an option between light gray and black ... and then I remembered that I only have one purple marker (Violet, which has too much red in it for my tastes) and need different hues ... and then, well, that navy blue is so pretty ... XD;;

-Today's lunch is (homemade) breaded parmesan chicken with (from a box) stuffing. Yum.

And tonight, I will not forget my thumb drive at work, so I can go home and work on Warmakers fic. Woo.

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Promise/demand for myself

I just made a Dick Blick order on impulse. Originally, I was just going to browse the website, get a feel for it, and see what I wanted to order in the future. But then I saw that they're having a holiday sale, and anyway

coramegan gave me a gift certificate for Christmas, and I thought, if I want to pick up drawing again, I might as well equip myself from the get-go. So.

I've got markers, paper, pens, and pencils coming in the mail (hopefully arriving before I leave Seattle to visit my parents). And I need to tell myself to actually use them.

See, normally I'm doubly thwarted by my Type A desire to hoard things (if I get shiny things like art materials, I'm tempted to keep them rather than use them), combined with my paralyzing lack of self-confidence (the nasty voice in the back of my head says that I'd just use them poorly anyway, so why bother). I could, without exaggeration, keep the markers that

shadawyn gave me, all nice and pretty in their case, and let them dry out without ever really using them.

So here's my little message for myself: Self, you are going to use these things that you just plunked down a nice chunk of change for. It doesn't matter if you might suck at using them. Because right now, you do suck. But you used to be kind of good, back in the day, or at least you had potential; and you could be kind of good again. If you try. And in order to do that, you've got to actually use the stuff. You're buying enough quantities that you can mess up, use them up, and still have leftover to try again. And it's okay if you mess up and use them up. For reals.

And now it's time for sleep.

Entry tags:

art,
socializing

Hot date!

... and

ratzeo was nowhere in sight. XD

shadawyn,

kyonkun and I went out to dinner last night at The Ram, and stuffed ourselves full of burgers and salad.

Afterward,

shadawyn came home with us and then she and I had our drawing date. <3 I actually did more coloring than drawing, as I experimented with the Prismacolor pencils that

coramegan lent me.

shadawyn also graciously provided her Copic markers for me to try (as well as instruction and encouragement as I poked around with them). I actually found that I really like markers. They're a little intimidating, because of how permanent they are - especially since I've been using magically reversible digital coloring lately - but I like the look, and they felt easier to use than the colored pencils. (I think using pencils, and using them well, requires more skill than I have.)

So now I know what my next art purchase will be. 8D Though I think I'm going to hold off on Copics for now, and go with the much more affordable Prismacolor markers that

miss_arel recommended to me.

... And speaking of hot dates,

ratzeo and I are actually going to try to do that date thing again, for the first time in ... what, six months? ^^;; But our anniversary is next week, so now we have a reason/excuse. (It'll be three years. Part of me feels like that's a long time, part of me feels like it's no time at all. o_o)

Entry tags:

art,
squee

MY COMPUTAR WERKS LOL

So now that I have some starting tips on digital coloring (thank you guys a ton!) I decided to give it a shot.

Now, since this is my first try at this, EVERYTHING is a source of joy and awe for me. Down to the basic act of erasing the white background of my original scanned lineart -

maho_kiwi showed me the secret by introducing me to the wonder of the Multiply function.

Me: Fine. We'll see if

maho_kiwi's magical trick will work. Frankly I'm skeptical and can't believe it would be that easy. *clicks*
Computer: *works*
Me: NO. WAY. XO

Me: *fills in color* Now let's try shading ... *uses lasso tool*
Computer *works AGAIN*
Me: I AM DIVINELY TOUCHED.

And so on.

Entry tags:

Help?

I just scanned in a bunch of my recent drawings and would like to try coloring them digitally, so I'm begging for help from the people out there who have (any) experience with digital coloring. What advice would you give to someone who has decent knowledge of pen-and-paper techniques, but is a total newbie when it comes to digital media?

I'm hoping, primarily, to find out what (Photoshop or equivalent) tools you use. I'm talking super basic - like, say, "Using Paint Bucket will not give you realistic shading" or something. :P

Anything else you can think of that I should keep in mind? "You'll tend to do ______ a lot so try _____ instead"? "Punching through your monitor out of frustration will hamper progress"? etc. Thanks!