still working on papercraft and etc

I am working on this Howl's Moving Castle papercraft and it is nearly done. My entry for Jerk and Draw is now going to be late. :CCCCCCCCCCCCCC

You will see some roughs and etc by the end of the night. Fighting Chuck E. Cheese and a Russian Juggling Bear awaits.

Also purchased art books at a book sale. I LOVE BOOKS.

Keep evolving.

It is now the end of freshman year at CCS and I have much to do to become an illustrator. The biggest challenger I face is myself- for the next 2 months, and forever after that. I have learned a great deal from the people I have met.

I am slowly packing away my life at CCS and it is very sentimental. The immense freedom I have to become myself personally and professionally has been summed up in this statement:

"In life, you are not discovering yourself as much as you are making yourself."*

and with that, I have a few photos to show my progress.

*this is paraphrased from this quotation:

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."

George Bernard Shaw

painting some more!

So I finished up the ol' Kilpatrick thing.... here's some photos:

and now I'm working on this (starring my friends Joni and Brian):

Late night painting with my best friend Nescafe Taster's Choice + Hazelnut Creamer!

Printing video!!! :D

so a professor in my department, one Don Kilpatrick III, has a video documentary up for how he makes his letterpress prints. :D

just thought I'd share the clip:

A Portrait of Don Kilpatrick from Nick Ferguson on Vimeo.

and you can also see more of Don's stuff on his drawger blog.

sunday trip and scams

I had a great little trip to downtown Detroit on Sunday to take some photos and hang out. :D pretty nice for the most part, until your legs give out and you wanna teleport back to the ACB.
I should sketch the buildings and etc for perspective. The interior of the Guardian Building is all Art Deco and very elegant. While we were taking photos outside, a guy working the lobby motioned us to come over and I assumed we weren't allowed to take pictures.... but it's totally not the case.I wonder how much brunch is at this joint. Probably more than I can afford. Or any art student, for that matter.

Anyway, the other thing sort of art related is just a warning about what you can receive in the mail. Besides spam mail, there is also scam mail. As a heads up, don't sign up for anything suspicious that offers "free membership" or etc. I got a letter in the mail today for a free year of membership in the National Association for Professional Women...

NAPW is a major SCAM and you should be able to notice some red flags in their distribution mail. Aside from the second-rate "wedding style" graphic design that compose the layout of the flyer and card, you get some sketchy looking print marks on what looks like Xerox paper and an issue number ( for example, ####-A)on the right bottom corner. There is no liability/legality fine print that you see on most "official" organizations or a BBB certification. If any official organization in their right mind would send out papers offering freebies, they should at least work on better presentation.
Let's have some nice embossed paper and various credential blurbs or something. and try not to crowd the mailing card with type. Also switching from something that looks like a skinny Impact font to Arial is not classy. Let's keep it classy 'cause we're a legit women's organization. -__-

Currently working on my des con project and more painting related stuff; I will post pics soon.

Toyota Lecture series on Design...

I have to admit that sometimes I don't take advantage of lectures at CCS... or rather, I get informed at the last minute and realize I have stuff to do. D: but the one last night was pretty sweet.
Tim Flattery talked and showed us some slides of his work as a concept artist, vehicle and costume designer. Occasionally designing the look of theme park rides as well as sci-fi/fantasy movies. :D I think he graduated from CCS with a BFA in Design back when it was called the Center for Creative Studies. He later got Teacher of the Year at Art Center in 1994 (if you must know, CCS and Art Center are majorly competitive for auto design in the states). Hmmmm and we currently have faculty that come from Art Center and vice versa.
The last part of the Toyota Lecture Series on Design is on April 28th and April 29th, so mark your calendars!

The College for Creative Studies and Toyota Motor Corporation present:

2010 SPRING TOYOTA LECTURE SERIES ON DESIGN
featuring speakers on April 28

All events are free, open to the public, and will take place at the following location:

College for Creative Studies
Walter and Josephine Ford Campus
Walter B. Ford II Building
Wendell W. Anderson Jr. Auditorium
201 East Kirby, Detroit, MI 48202

Wednesday, April 28 at 6 pm
Niels Diffrient
Renowned industrial designer

Thursday, April 29 at 6 p.m.
Scott Robertson
President of Design Studio Press
Chair of Entertainment Design, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA


Looking at classes and stuff for next year is super exhilarating. I am looking into vis comm classes, sculpture/modelmaking in process and materials, and even some printmaking.

Speaking of vis comm, I checked out a library book out called Presentation Techniques by Dick Powell.... its really great stuff from the marker days! Very detailed step-by-step guide on various rendering techniques. Originally printed in 1985 in the UK, it has been reprinted 8 times since publication, with the revised edition from 2005.

I am so excited for next year it is ridiculous.
In other news, I have a lot of stuff to draw and a painting to finish for tomorrow evening (I have to work on it some more, but it is getting there). This hand drawing is actually finished, I just don't have a photo of that yet.
I do have a closeup shot of Don Kilpatrick III....

Art history

What I learned in Art History yesterday:
Mary Cassatt was a classy lady. A real go-getter in times that women were expected to be demure and stoic.
Monet and Renoir were close pals... they even lived together on a house boat. BROMANCE BOAT PARTY! :D

I wanna draw comics for these images in my head.

Speaking of comics, have you checked out Matt Forsythe's work? I dig Ojingogo!

After hearing about it for years, I finally go around to reading Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow... and find it a bit messy in pacing, but at least more clarifying than the movie.

I finished reading Jiro Taniguchi's A Distant Neighborhood Vol. 1 and now I really want to read Vol. 2... figures that a 3-time Eisner nominated mangaka knows his storytelling (correction, I have read both and highly recommend it for people who enjoy slow-paced, mature artwork). There's an interesting review of Vol. 1 and Taniguchi in general on Read About Comics, a comics review site by Greg McElhatton. A French movie adaptation is currently in the works.