Comics Camp Day Two

This was a fun, exhausting exercise we did in class today! If you'd like to see what I've been drawing for my personal projects, take a look at my Patreon page.

Each student got a large sheet of paper that was divided into twelve sections (we have 10 students and 2 teachers).

Each person had two minutes to draw the beginning of the comic in the first box.
Then each paper was passed to the person on the right, who drew the next panel in the comic.
The process was repeated until the papers each returned to the original person, who drew the final panel of the comic.

Some of these got REALLY bizarre! Enjoy!

(I drew Box #11)

(I drew Box #9

(I drew Box #6)

(I drew Box #7)

(I drew Box #8)

(I drew Box #10)

(I drew Box #4)

(I drew Box #2)

(I drew Boxes #1 and #12)

(I drew Box #5)

(I drew Box #3)

Meanwhile, Back in the Studio...

Here's another behind-the-scenes for a different project I'm working on.

Starting on January 1st this year, I gave myself the goal of drawing a Toy Every Day!
Then I added a few more parameters.

First, I was aiming for 5 out of 7 days - it's not always possible to spend the time necessary since I always overdo these things. And the week that I was in the hospital - I didn't do any drawings.

Second, I'd work on 6"x6" cards, and use materials, like alcohol markers, that I needed more practice with.

Third, the toys (I have thousands) would primarily focus on figures. So, not a drawing of an American Girl bicycle, unless there was also an AG doll on it.

Here is the process for the toy I drew today:

pencil sketch

inked

darker markers in the brown and gold shadowy areas

warmer browns and yellows, then darkest blues

blending the blues so it looks SHINY!

Finished!

And then I post them to Instagram. 

It is very satisfying to see the collection grow...

...if I can keep this up, then later this year, we can do another Kickstarter and turn the toy comics into a book!

Alrighty, Universe...

I take the melatonin. I take the Trazodone. I sleep until 11am. And I'm excited and start to think of all the cool things I had been working on and all the new projects I want to do and places to go and people to reconnect with...

And then I have a night like last night where I only sleep three hours then lay awake... thinking. And thinking...

I am incredibly exhausted today.

Yesterday I wore my mom out over FaceTime. Actually, I wore out both our phones too. There was just so much that I was worrying about and it all seems so impossible to solve. I know it's impossible to solve because no one wants to talk about any of it. Plus I'm tired and cranky.

Mom had no solutions. But then, right before she went to bed, she texted:

One thing we all seem to have forgotten.....The Universe!..... how 

about thinking of a request, like you’ve done in the past. This thought 

just came to me as I was asking for help from my end of things, 

as I was trying to get to sleep. Then I had to turn on the light and tell you. 

Now, goodnight!😴😘💤🌙 🙏😻💤💤💤

She's right. So I spent a lot of time overthinking that too. And then, I got out of bed and got to work.

Here's a page from the Quo Vadis calendar comic (my current Kickstarter project)

No, I didn't get all those things. But I have since learned that I was TOO specific on some of them which actually set me up to be disappointed.

According to Mike Dooley, who is an expert on the Universe and Manifesting, The Universe is always listening and gives you what you want. Unfortunately, WE don't know what we want and don't even realize that we are asking for it.

He suggests that we think of it more like a cosmic GPS system:
First, you have to get IN the car (decide you want something).
Second, you set the GPS with the destination. (What do you want? You don't need to know the directions to get there, just the final destination).
Third, put the car in gear and start moving! Just start. The Universe will adjust the GPS directions no matter what wrong turns you take, you just need to keep moving.

I also need to re-read to Danielle LaPorte's amazing book, The Firestarter Sessions. I'd forgotten how blown away I was when I first read that intentions, goals, etc. will lead to disappointment if they are based on wanting someTHING or to achieve some success. We need to think about why we want that and how it would make us FEEL. For example, I want a buttload of money so I can pay my bills and go to retreats. Definitely. But what I really want is the FEELING of abundance, and financial freedom, and security.

So if you combine the two theories, you'd get something like...

This is the Destination I'm entering into the Universe's GPS system -
"I want to feel financially secure and generous"
Then I start driving by rereading Ramit Sethi's book I Will Teach You to Be Rich.
I clean up my accounts, set up auto payments and auto savings.
I run into an old acquaintance who invites me to sketch-note a conference in exchange for admission and lunch. At the conference, one of the speakers notices my sketch-notes...
...and the GPS keeps readjusting to move me toward the Destination.

If I insist on the incredibly specific money intentions I wrote in the comic above - I will be disappointed. Not only because I won't/didn't achieve them, but because I am so focused on those that I am overlooking much better opportunities that the Universe is tossing in my path. That's self-limiting. Like driving your car into a wall rather than taking the turn suggested by the GPS.

What do I really want? I have to think some more about it - but at the moment - I want financial stability, a healthy mind and body, and I want to feel like I belong with other creative, inspiring, funny, loving people.

I removed all my silly intentions from the comic (seriously - how can I get a man to ruin my lipstick - if I don't even wear lipstick!?) and made a blank mini-print:

I just added it to the Kickstarter campaign too. If I can get the pledges up over $1000, then everyone who chooses a Reward, no matter the amount of the pledge, will get this mini-print! Then you can write out your own intentions and stick it where you can see it and remember what you really want.

OK - so please go back the Kickstarter and remember to "Follow" so you can get comic updates.

Animation Reflux

I'm so glad I decided to take the Animation workshop with Alec Longstreth at the Center for Cartoon Studies -- AGAIN! I enjoyed it last summer too, but I didn't get the concepts, techniques, etc. firmly planted in my brain in a way that would let me actually USE them.

This time, I think I'm getting it. And Alec is such a great teacher that he found new ways to present some of the material, so it makes more sense.

If you want to see all the GIFS I've created so far (including a few of last year's), take a look at my Patreon - click HERE for all the animation posts.

I had forgotten how difficult it is for me to be in class all day - physically and mentally. Especially since I don't live here anymore. Lilah (she's in Comic Camp) and I both miss our apartment terribly. It is not easy "living" in a tiny hotel room, eating breakfast on the bed! But, it is convenient to be so close to the school. I think, just about the time we get the hang of this again... class will be over!

Alec really packs a lot into the classes and I'm trying to make sure I push myself a little bit further with each assignment. Right now, there are so many unfinished projects - each one I hope to go back and finish, but I have to move on to the next...

Today's big "AHA!" was the "Squash and Stretch" project. It's a basic circle (ball) that stretches and squashes as it bounces (harder than it looks!)

Since I did the basic project last summer, I decided to try using a Lilah Bean instead of the ball.

Halfway through, I started wondering what kind of insanity had possessed me!?

I finished the pencils with ten minutes til critique time.
I finished filming (with Stopmotion software), five minutes later!

When I got back to my hotel room - I imported the pencils into Photoshop and made a cleaner looking GIF:

Still pretty rough, but worth the pain! Notice her little hands and feet flailing away as she bounces through the air?

Tonight I need to come up with a few characters that I can try to animate tomorrow when we do Walk Cycles!

It's Not Like I Just Sit Around Coloring All Day!

Coping Skill #165 - It Is Better to Color Than to Curl Up in Bed and Cry

Shocking, but true.
The last few weeks have been really difficult for me. Because Depression. Sure, there have actually been Things that have been giving me trouble (see recent posts) and I am perfectly justified in being cranky and unlovable.
But, also, Depression.

I recently watched an interesting TED Talk about Depression by a 19 year old guy. A lot of what he said really resonated, and I felt bad for him that he still has his whole life ahead of him - to be Depressed. I liked his simple explanation of Depression...
When everything is going Wrong in your life, and you feel Sad - that's Normal.
When everything is going Right in your life, and you feel Sad - that's Depression.

I can spend an entire day trying to climb out of my own head. There were two days that I actually made it -not only out of my head, but out of my house. I got all the way to my Studio in Concord!

And I sat and stared at the wall.
Luckily - and this is on purpose! - my walls are filled with inspirational quotes. One kept catching my eye... "Get out of the briar patch."

So I took out my friend Judith Moffatt's coloring book (mandalas for kids! I wrote a review of it a few years ago), and my long neglected Prismacolor pencils. I filled my cat-shaped oil diffuser with Bergamot. I switched on my SADs Sunlight. Smeared some peanut butter on a few dark chocolate Kisses. Stuck my noise-cancelling headphones on my ears and turned on the final book, FYRE, in the Septimus Heap series.

And I colored.
For hours.

I love coloring.

And it helped. I felt calmer. And I started thinking about the projects I had been excited about. Lilah and I had started working on a coloring book before I went to Cartoon School. I think we had about 70 plus pages! I had forgotten... And I had been working on a revised version of The Tangled Fashionista... and of course, the projects I was supposed to be working on RIGHT NOW! The Gorilla picture book, the Science Comics for Montshire, and two of my own picture books... and the comics... OMG! I don't have time to be Depressed!

Lego My LEGOs

Thanks for all the encouraging emails!

And this one...

loscann has left a new comment on your post "Catharsis": 

Sending love, positive thoughts and lots of hugs. LOVE reading your list of goals and things to do...might just be the nudge I need to do the same. And where do you get your LEGOS??? I want...no...I need! a LEGO city! 

OK, I agree - let's take a little break and I'll show you my passion!

This is one of my LEGO streets:

It starts with the Haunted House and ends with the Palace Theatre. On the lower level is part of my old Harry Potter world and bins with destroyed sets (mostly Friends and Elves). The rule was that the kids could mess with the lower shelves, but NOT my city!! If you have seen the LEGO Movie (It's actually VERY funny!!) - then you will understand the reference... at a certain part near the end, my kids yelled, "That's just like YOU, Mom!"  My response: "No! I don't glue my pieces together!"

On top of the Haunted House, the Ghostbusters are... busting Ghosts!

Meanwhile, at the Palace, Marilyn and Darth are arriving for the Premiere!

If you look closely - you can see Batgirl running across the rooftop of the Parisian Cafe to join Wonder Woman in a battle with the Penguin, above the Shop (a fancy department store, like Macy's). Epic Battles like this are common and remind me of those I witnessed in the dressing rooms at Filenes Basement (when I was a kid). Bargain hunting women are merciless!

Across the street is the Old Fire Station. They haven't updated their Eagle to a Helicopter yet and the chore of scraping bird poop off the roof goes to whomever loses the Ping Pong challenge.

(Look closely at the window below the "1932" to see the Ping Pong game in progress.)

Between the Fire Station and the Green Grocer is a lovely Art Park. I constructed it out of leftover pieces and it is popular for families to walk their dogs and push carriages.

The Bakery is run by Gertrude (with the Pretzel) and Cookie (with the red coffee mug). They met at culinary school. They provide snacks for the neighboring Hotel.

It reminds me of the Coolidge Hotel in White River Junction, VT.

And, finally, in the middle of my dining table sits the recently finished Bank with Laundromat (for laundering cash!) and the Detective Agency, Pool Hall, and Al's Barber Shop.

I may need to do a Kickstarter to raise money to buy the other sets for My Town. I absolutely MUST have the brand new Diner!

Seriously - besides the little juke boxes, it's got ELVIS and a pink cadillac! It's on my priority list to buy once I've sold the Wingdoodle building.

 And since I'm fantasizing with you all - this one, Assembly square...

Although it is absolutely, ridiculously expensive, so it's not really ever going to be part of my Town. Sigh.
And this Carousel would be lovely next to the Art Park...

No, I don't get any money from LEGO. I would take it, of course, if they offered. Or free sets...

I have a lot of other sets from... well... a while back - like the Islanders, Movie Monsters, Egyptian Adventure sets. And a bunch my kids don't even know about - like the Robin Hood series.

The one thing I love MORE than the Town sets, are the MINI-FIGURES!

I have hundreds. I used to have them lining the tops of most of the windows in my house. I got some of that amazing new LEGO tape and I'm going to put that on the windows and then set up all my Mini-figs again. That way they won't fall over every time someone slams a door!

I even made mini-figs of Me, Lilah, Minou... and The Fireman!

OH - and the tables that the town is sitting on were built for me. I painted them with stones so I could set up my Hogwarts LEGO sets on there. But the castle got bulldozed to make way for the new Town. That's progress I guess.

I need a third table...

Additional Note:

Since Joyce mentioned (below in the comments) our LEGO experience at Mall of America, I thought I'd find those photos too!
Coolest store ever!!

Joyce - we should have asked Woody to take a group selfie!