Dear blog,

Here's the first image of the illustrations to accompany Pleiades. It's just the sketch, but it'll give you some idea of what the finished art will look like.

This is the drawing for "City, Part II."

Remember, you can help fund this project (and learn more about it) at Kickstarter.com

Dear neglected blog,

Thank you for waiting for me. I've been very busy lately, but I finally have something new and exciting to show you.

It's a book. Yes, a collection of short stories set to be published in December 2012.

That is, if I can get it funded. I'm hoping once I launch the Kickstarter page, and people read the sample chapter, I'll get some online support. Or at least some financial support from relatives. So far I don't have any fans, and no one I know of follows any of this.

But to be honest, right now, I'm kind of down about it. I love this project so dearly, and I've been so excited about it. But now, on the eve of its launch, I feel a little disheartened. Except for two people (one of whom I've never met in person), none of my friends or family seem to share any of my excitement. They don't seem very interested in it at all. Which would normally be okay, but I'm looking forward to having no one with whom to celebrate, save my grandmother, and I don't know why.

The people who read it say they like it (or love it, depending on which you ask), and I'm pleased with it (which is saying something. I wouldn't post or publish something I'd be embarrassed of). Maybe it's just the people I hang with. I'm so afraid of becoming that "artist" who can't write worth a crap but is always publishing and trying to push her new 'creative endeavor.' So I don't push it on the people I know personally. One refusal to read it is enough.

So, off to cyberspace, where I'll hopefully find people who enjoy what I write.

For now, I'll be breaking the champagne bottle by myself.

[ /angst]

Paper Cut-Out Animation

Here's something new to add to my List of Things I've Learned from this project:
I hate drawing on the computer.

About two weeks ago, I realized I had come to hate working on this video. So close to the finish line, I decided to sit down and figure out why. After all the time and setbacks that've gone into this so far, why now? Having finished filming the puppets, I was then working on the computer (moving between Adobe -which I tend to hate- and Gimp -which I tend to like), mouse-drawing frames for the two dimensional animation portions of the video.

Rather than gritting my teeth and trudging on, I listened to some good advice, and decided to alter the situation that I had come to dread. So, I chucked a couple weeks' worth of work out the window, sat down, and started physically drawing instead.

I love it.

Not only did I do more in A DAY than I'd accomplished in the week beforehand, but I enjoyed it. A couple weeks later, I'm still enjoying this new animation process. Aside from the sketchbooks I made as a young 'un, I'd never animated drawings before, and didn't think I could. In just under two weeks, I've gotten pretty good, if I say so myself. Better than I ever thought I could, anyway.

Here's an picture of the raw beginnings.


Today my grandmother reminded me to take my time (i.e., do it properly) and enjoy myself when I told her "I'm ALMOST there!" She's right, of course, but I continue to feel nervous about my progress and my ability to not sabotage myself. Still, if I'm rational about it all, I have to admit everything is coming together.