Bella's Brainthoughts

for old time's sake

2011-08-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

I still haven't entirely grasped the concept of Harry Potter being over.

And so, for old time's sake, I went and did some fanart.

Goofy fanart.

If Voldemort's told Bellatrix once, he's told her a thousand times - you don't spontaneously launch yourself into the Dark Lord's arms. It just isn't done. Alas. There she goes again.

Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIjuqDki4-4

sometimes as a writer, i have to inform my characters of awful things

2011-06-13T06:39:00.000-07:00

Imagine for a moment that you are a pretty young heiress named Michelle Laurentia.

You are engaged to a handsome young artist named Alphonse Gray, but your parents do not approve, because he is so dreadfully poor and not from a wealthy family.

(Your mother also has a another reason: she thinks he is rather lacking in character and far too full of himself. She would be correct, but you are too in love to agree.)

So he makes a promise to your father that he is going to travel the world, showing his paintings to all different people until he finally finds someone who sees his talent, at which point he will become rich and famous and able to provide you with a respectable home.

This takes a very long time, but you don't mind. You are one of those people who has never been exposed to bad things, and you sit in your family's mansion having tea and being beautiful without ever supposing that your dear Alphonse might be having affairs all over the world.

Because he'd never do that, would he?

Anyhow.

One day, ten years later (you were seventeen when you fell in love with Mr. Gray and are now twenty-seven), a glorious thing happens! Alphonse writes to you and informs you that, thanks to this painting he's done of his new artistic muse, he's become dreadfully famous in a City Very Like Paris! He now has piles of money, lives in a seaside manor, and is a member of high society. At last, he is ready for you to come and live with him and be his wife.

That part about having a new artistic muse is a bit worrisome. He had always used to call you his muse and paint you when he was around all those years ago. But.

Your poor mother is now dead. Your father is now senile. There is no one to disapprove anymore.

And so you pack up your dresses and your jewelry and travel to your fiance's seaside manor, and you're so dreadfully excited, and you run up the steps to the elegant front doors and give them a gentle little knock, and you're all ready to leap into your dear Alphonse's arms when he comes to answer the door, and then-!

Wait. Who is this?

Who is this skeletal little creep wearing some kind of an outlandish fur-suit-cape-disaster?

Well, well, well. This is Jezebel, Alphonse's new muse.

He goes to parties with Alphonse.

He uses a great deal of Alphonse's new money to pay for ridiculous outfits just like that one.

He lives in Alphonse's grand seaside manor, did you know that?

It's apparently all part of a deal: Jezebel is constantly available for being painted,

and Alphonse gives him a luxurious life in return.

Didn't Alphonse mention any of that in his letter? No. He didn't.

And likewise, he didn't see fit to inform Jezebel of your existence. You are a great big surprise.

Oh, well. You are a very optimistic (and a very naive) girl. You and this Jezebel will surely be the best of friends. And when you and Alphonse get married, Jezebel will surely be made to leave the house and find his own living arrangements....right?

Ah, you silly girl. You are counting your eggs before they hatch.

You are still assuming that you are going to get married and live happily ever after.

You have only just arrived, and so you've not yet become acquainted with Jezebel. You have no idea about his obsessions or his easily jealous nature or his addiction to being the center of attention at all times or those nasty little hallucinations he sometimes has.

My dear Michelle Laurentia, do you see that pale little waif standing before you?

I regret to inform you that he is about to ruin your life.

the muse

2011-05-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

I am currently working on a story which I like to describe as what would have happened if Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde had gotten together and decided to combine David Copperfield and The Picture of Dorian Gray into one giant book, and then they asked Franz Kafka and Salvador Dali to help them write it. Why, yes, this story is the most surreal, confusing, bizarrely hallucinogenic piece of writing I have ever produced.

To put it quite simply, it is about a young man who, among other things, travels to a City Very Like Paris, becomes the subject of a famous artist's painting, believes he's being constantly chased by a Dark Man in a Suit who wants to kill him, and completely loses touch with all reality. His name, by the way, is Jezebel, and there is a reason for that, but it shall be revealed later.

Anyhow, here he is, looking rather odd and ill, because that is exactly how he is supposed to look. I am finally getting over my bad habit of drawing everyone more attractively than they are in my head.

let there be light

2011-03-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

Today, I felt like doing some quick speedpaints in which I could play around with dramatic lighting, and that is exactly what I did.

Here we have some voluminous curtains, some abused windowpanes,
and a girl who looks rather like she takes after my best friend.

And here we have the scene which must always be drawn

whenever one decides to draw dramatic lighting:
the young demon Legion ascending into the heavens,

where she shall soon find God.

not gonna

2011-02-24T13:43:00.000-08:00

This blog has been woefully neglected as of late. I shall try my best to get back into the swing of things, I promise. Did you people know that I acquired a new job? Because I did indeed and I adore it.

In other news, this is the third piece of cover art that I have done for my autobiography. However, it is the only one out of the three that has made an appearance here. It is my favourite thus far. Someday I shall write this book and it will be the biggest and most terrifying piece of art I shall ever create.

I simply refuse to use one.

the giant watercolour project: day two

2011-02-08T12:21:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time*, I challenged myself to write a book in a week, and I did it.

Once upon another time**, I challenged myself to paint a giant watercolour painting in a week, and I'm currently doing it.

Unfortunately, I got the idea to take pictures of my progress along the way only after I'd done my work on the painting for today. Therefore, the picture you see below is Day One and Day Two's work combined. I am so dreadfully excited about this painting.

I am especially pleased with her hair.

* Once upon a time in this case means "last week".
** And in this case, it means "this week".

peacock feathers

2011-02-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

There is a reason why my poor blog has been so dreadfully neglected as of late, and it is this: I acquired a set of sketch pencils and a lovely sketchbook. Therefore, I have been drawing ferociously, but not scanning or uploading a single thing, and thus the blog remains bare. I am thinking of perhaps making an art video in which I film what is in my sketchbooks while I explain each drawing, which is something that I've seen a lot of artists doing lately. We shall see.

In other news, today I was researching Luisa Casati, who is the latest addition to my lineup of role models and inspirations. She was an Italian heiress who was about six feet tall and had peacocks running loose around her mansion and wore live snakes as jewelry, among other glorious things. She was buried with her taxidermied Pekingese dog, and her tombstone reads, "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety." (Which is a line from Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, if you did not know.) I absolutely adore her and I might have been her once.

Anyhoo, the point of all this is that I decided to dress up like her and take some photographs of myself. For reasons unknown, when I was doing my makeup, I spontaneously filled in my eyebrows with black eyeshadow, thus making them even more monstrous than they usually are, and...I quite liked how that looked. I just may start going around with tremendously large, dark eyebrows.

"I want to be a living work of art." - Luisa Casati

and the world spins madly on

2011-01-07T09:01:00.000-08:00

Once again, it is that time of year!
THE TRADITIONAL END OF YEAR MEME:
1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
I did a great many things that I have never done before, including (but certainly not limited to) playing the violin for the first time, attending a Civil War era dance dressed as a man, participating in a movie shoot as an extra, driving an automobile, and enjoying a school year in which there was no math. Not a single digit of it.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I never make New Year's resolutions; they are frankly ridiculous.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No, alas.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My Aunt Robin went to be with the Lord on December 6th. <3

5. What countries did you visit?
Every year that I've done this meme, the answer to this question has always been a very disappointing no. One day, I swear I shall change this! *shakes fist with great conviction*

6. What would you like to have in 2011 which you lacked in 2010?
Last year, I wrote that I would like to have a published novel. I would still like that, please.

7. What date from 2010 will remain etched in your memory, and why?
There are several:
February 19th - in which I began weeping inexplicably because we were on the Disney bus back to our hotel and I heard music from the Finding Nemo soundtrack playing, and it was "the part where they found him".
April 5th - in which I was unpacking my clothes after visiting my older sister and praying about my writing when God gave me a shove in the back and told me that I was going forward. I then checked my iPod and discovered that my book had won first place in a contest I'd entered. Going forward indeed.
May 23 to May 25 - in which I had the loveliest birthday celebration and birthday that I have ever had.
September 22nd - in which we found out the state of my aunt's cancer. I walked up the street by my grammy's house and vowed to remember that there was a black pickup truck parked at the end of the road, two boys throwing a football in the yard of the fifth house up the street, and that my aunt was wearing a blue shirt and jean capris. And I did.
December 6th - in which my aunt went home and I listened to This Woman's Work by Kate Bush approximately 5784965 times.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I drove my mum and little sister to the movie theater to see the new Harry Potter movie, this fulfilling a promise I made at seven years old that I would drive them to see that movie. That, and managing to write a 50,000 (and still unfinished!) NaNo novel despite having a mildly insane November and coming to the realization that I really should not write science fiction at all.

9. What was your biggest failure?
This was not technically my failure, but I did not get casted as a Nazi in a certain production of The Sound of Music. It was particularly disappointing. You would think when a person auditions by singing the Deutschlandlied, giving the Nazi salute, and goosestepping out of the room, the person would get the part. Alas, it was not so.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I was attacked by a mysterious neck infection which reduced me to even more of a basket case than I normally am, and I was attacked by it on Christmas Eve. I was not pleased. Then I went to the ER and they gave me heavy-duty painkillers, at which point I was still not pleased, but very, very calm about it.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
I went to the thrift store and bought a beautiful WW2-era military issue nurses' cape. It is grey and lined with soft red material. I adore it.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Everyone in my life - family, friends, the voices in my head - has done something this year that merited celebration.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
There were several, who shall not be shamed further.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Clothes and assorted little trinkets.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Winning that writing contest, going to Disney, seeing Alice in Wonderland while wearing my Mad Hatter hat, seeing the newest Harry Potter movie, participating in NaNoWriMo again, talking to God, and every single day of the year.

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
"Into the Light" by In This Moment.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: Happier or sadder? Thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer?
I am continually happier because I am sadder.
I do believe I am accidentally thinner due to being sick.
And last of all, I am still poorer, even though I do have an occasional job here and there.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?I always answer writing, because I always do.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Nothing. Everything was necessary.

20. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
That would be Little Joe. She and I have the ability to talk for hours upon hours, on a variety of topics, never failing to laugh until the point of hysterical tears at least three times during each conversation.

(For those curious, I do not event these strange nicknames just for the purpose of protecting peoples' identities on my blog. I tend to rename my friends as a matter of course, and refer to them as such in real life.)

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Certainly not.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
'Allo 'Allo! That show makes me weep glorious tears of laughter. I actually went as Herr Flick for Halloween this year!

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Not particularly.

24. What was the best book(s) you read?
The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It was beautifully done and it made me want to try writing in present tense.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I found In This Moment, The Weepies, Imogen Heap, Galt Aureus, Iron and Wine, Venus Hum, Josh Ritter, and many, many more. This was yet another year of beautiful music.

26. What did you want and get?
I did not want anything particular this year! Instead, I received a great many things which I didn't know I wanted until I got them. I love when that happens.

27. What did you want and not get?
I still do not have any puppies, small blonde children, or goons.
I also wanted another ball-jointed doll, which I also did not get.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One. I was so excited for it that I rose a few points on the autism spectrum.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old did you turn?
I turned seventeen years of age (what an old lady!). Cissy, Little Joe, Gala, Loki, and I all went out to dinner together, then came back to my house, watched The Producers, and had a lovely sleepover. Then I went to an art museum with my mum and my little sister, and saw a beautiful surreal exhibit by Marcel Wanders.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?If I had not contracted the plague on Christmas Day.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
An even-more-eccentric-than-last-year-steampunk-business-woman-mildly-1920's-quaintrelle. A quaintrelle, lest you've forgotten, is the female equivalent of a dandy.

32. What kept you sane?
I never was sane.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Dmitry Medvedev! Refer back to question #32 if you have paused and are wondering why a seventeen-year-old girlchild like me has been fancying the president of Russia.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
There was nothing particularly stirring.

35. Whom did you miss?
I always miss Rabby, and I missed my aunt.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
I did meet some new people over the course of a summer camp who were very nice, but I did not stay in contact with any particular new person! I think this was due to the fact that this was the first year I did not spend an inordinate amount of time rehearsing for plays.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson(s) you learned in 2010.
God is here. I did know that before, but I saw it more clearly.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:"I don't get many things right the first time. In fact, I am told that a lot. Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls, brought me here. And where was I before the day that I first saw your lovely face? Now I see it everyday, and I know that I am, I am, I am the luckiest."
- The Luckiest by Ben Folds

oh no you didn't

2010-12-23T21:36:00.000-08:00

This is Lashondra.

She acts and sounds exactly like she looks.

I keep saying that I'm going to draw her, and now I've done it.

Just for good measure, here's an enhanced version:

here comes the bride

2010-12-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

If I were the marrying sort, this would be my wedding dress.

Note: I almost made this into a silly picture and drew in a little terrified groom being dragged along by his leg. Then I almost drew a normal (but still little) groom standing next to me, but decided that his presence would ruin the artistic composition of the picture, which is a lovely metaphorical example of why I shouldn't get married.

late for a very important date

2010-12-15T11:03:00.000-08:00

I have decided to make a rather large project out of one of the pieces I drew yesterday. There are at least four more characters who have yet to be added to the line - and more may appear at random. I will be attempting to add a character a day.

There's nothing quite like running down the street to the Most Important Meeting ever, watching valuable documents fly away, with one boot in your hand and your tie untied because there was simply no time to deal with either of them properly. Especially when you have only three minutes to get there and when you were trying to prove to your superiors that you are the best to choose for a task because you are organized.

entirely unrelated

2010-12-14T13:46:00.000-08:00

Two pieces of simple concept art for two entirely different stories, which may or may not ever be written. I do like how they came out. Appropriate music links are included!

Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnJPUThNfq8

Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baHDMMrqP8c

firework

2010-11-30T07:46:00.000-08:00

I won with a total of 50,557 words.

Even though I was horrendously behind for a large portion of November.

Even though I was away visiting family for the whole first week.

Even though I lacked inspiration for the majority of the month.

Even though I discovered that science fiction is not what I was made to write.

I am proud.

The music that I won to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw

yes

2010-11-22T11:14:00.000-08:00

This is an improvement meme that I got off of DeviantArt. I had to fill it in with artwork from each year, write in my age at the time, and make a few comments about each year. This took me approximately one hundred years to do.

I am so very proud of this.

this band's music would be lovely

2010-11-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

I did this meme several years ago, and today I decided to give it another go. The rules are as follows:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random - The first article title on the page is the name of your band.
2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 - The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.
3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/ - The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result.

The last time that I did this, I was not exactly pleased with my result (it can be seen here if you're especially curious). This time, however, I absolutely adore it. It makes me want to write a book. However, I am in the midst of NaNoWriMo, and only allowed to write my NaNo novel (which is currently ahead at 9,033 words, by the way). Alas!

the high queen

2010-10-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

This is Nzinga, queen of Ndomba. She was in my little sister's history book today. My mother said to me, "You'll like her; she uses people as furniture." And, as she often is, my mother was correct.

tell

2010-10-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

When I was updating my NaNoWriMo profile for this year, I realized that the story of Asa Westenra had never been titled. I decided to call it Tell, just as a working title. Then I had a go at making a book cover and I realized that Tell is quite the right title. There will be no need for a title change at any time, let me tell you.

mr. savoy had an accident

2010-10-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

One last page of sketches for today before I go to bed! This one stars, in order of appearance: Lorraine and a fabulous diamond ring, Gerstein explaining how that knife got so very messy (Mr. Savoy just did not look where he was going!), an unidentified woman in a little black dress and a feather boa, and a little photograph which is an important piece of evidence. Remember that last one!

daily doodles

2010-10-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

I've decided to doodle in Photoshop every day in order to improve my drawing. I am focusing on drawing different poses, shading, and faces from different angles. Working in this looser style is very enjoyable; my new favourite thing to do is fill a page with little, unfinished things like this:

In order of appearance: Michael thinking about something happy, a sassy show girl named Jolie relaxing backstage before she puts the rest of her costume on, an unidentified lady who's very vain about that hair of hers, a dying soldier-esque young man, Jolie wearing her boyfriend's fedora and a fur coat, and a girl named Lorraine (one of Jolie's back-up singers) trying on a new dress. Then, an unidentified couple about to steal a kiss, a depressed guy who looks like a cross between Michael and Ribby, and the Guevars (husband and wife, he's older than he looks).

I'm going to try and post a sheet of these everyday. Have you noticed that there's a smoking epidemic amongst my characters? Ribby used to be my only smoking character. Alas, not anymore!

another go

2010-10-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

I just updated my NaNoWriMo profile with new author and novel information in anticipation of next month. I am so dreadfully excited! I do love this time of year.

i own that hat in black

2010-10-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

This is Audrey. She was supposed to be a blonde, but then she informed me that her hair was red. I am not pleased with this turn of events.

not you

2010-09-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

I've been working an awful lot on the storyline involving that young man called Michael. I am in that stage where new things are coming to light all of the time and I am learning all of the characters' little quirks, and I adore it.

Today it came to my attention that Opal Miglierina (you may remember her from that sepia-toned picture in which she was standing with her bespectacled all-purpose bodyguard/hitman Gerstein) is not only a flapper and a ruthless 1920's mob boss, but also a bit of an eccentric. She happens to have a strange obsession with the concept of families, and is utterly fascinated with the idea of being a perfect housewife, with a romantic husband, and a brood of dear little children. She still has all of her childhood toys in her possession and has them all sorted into families, all with different last names and personalities. One would think she had a traumatic childhood or grew up an orphan, but no: there is absolutely nothing in her past that could logically lead to such an obsession. It is utterly random.

Unfortunately, Opal has no children and no husband with which to fulfill her desires. Therefore, she makes do with what she has: substituting her little gang of criminals for children and Gerstein for a husband (although he remains completely indifferent). Every so often, she drags out a camera and declares that she must take photographs of "the children", which leads to a lot of forced smile-and-wave-at-the-camera snapshots of mobsters lying around her house. This is the badly-developed one she's taken of Michael:

When I began writing this story, I despised the character of Michael; when I was informed while writing the prologue that Michael does not survive the climax of the story, I did not care an inch. I thought Michael was an annoying character and I couldn't wait for him to kick the bucket. Every time I found myself writing about him, I thought, Not you again! Anyone but you! After spending some time with him, though, I changed my mind.

I do not want this young man to die. I am having difficulty believing that he will actually die in the story, even though I'm the one writing it. (Why, yes, I am insane.) I have never before had misgivings about killing off a character, but all the while that I was drawing the above picture, I was thinking, You're really going to die? No way, not you! Anyone but you!

extreme makeover

2010-09-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

Last night, I had a dream which involved the Joker, and it made me remember the girlfriend I made up for him many moons ago. Her name was Elena Lynch, and I quite enjoyed drawing her. Then, I moved on to other things as I am wont to do, and did not draw her for over a year. During that span of Elena-less time, while drawing other people and things, I had a nose revelation, and an ear revelation, and a whole bunch of other style-changing revelations which have since made my life as an artist better.

And so, I became curious as to what Elena would look like if I drew her with my current level of skill. The last time I drew her, she looked like this. Today, she got a makeover, and now she looks like this:

I wouldn't touch that girl's hair with a ten-foot-pole.

the definition

2010-09-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

Ribby J. Spriggles, age 9.

He is most likely thinking about going outside, stomping around in the mud, coming back inside, and jumping all over something white. Then again, he might be deciding whether he's going to put a pin on his nanny's chair or in her shoe. Or perhaps he's looking around the room for the most breakable thing he can find, so that he can promptly break it as soon as he's done having his picture taken.

Several people have tried to brush his hair. None have thus far succeeded.

If one were to look up the word "brat" in a dictionary, one would most certainly find this picture.

don't move or i'll drop it

2010-08-25T07:07:00.000-07:00

I drew that Michael boy again last night. I am trying to get a feel for his permanent design and figure out what he looks like from the front (I've only ever drawn his profile before). I am also trying to practice drawing full body shots with more dynamic poses. Hence this.

Michael has no idea what he is doing with that gun. He is the sort of young man who constantly imagines himself doing all kinds of daring, adventurous, and impressive things, but when it comes to actually doing them, he does not fare so well. If this picture were an animation, he would stay frozen like this for a moment, his hand shaking, before completely losing his cool and (forgetting that all he has to do is pull the trigger) throwing the gun at his attacker. Clever.

the most awful names in the world

2010-08-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I wrote a great many words. Fritz (whom I posted here a night or so ago) has been telling me his tale, and has thus far revealed that he and Michael live in the 1920s and are employed by a tiny little woman named Opal Miglierina, who runs an underground speakeasy and a small gang. She keeps her men in line with the aid of a rather emotionless, bespectacled fellow who is more terrifying than he looks, and who is known only by his surname, which happens to be Gerstein. Can you tell that all of these characters are naming themselves and giving me no say in the matter? I can certainly tell, because I would never name anyone Michael nor Fritz nor Gerstein if I had my druthers.

Opal seems to be very proud of Gerstein's ability to lean on his cigarette smoke. I am not entirely sure whether these two are good or bad, although I do think they are leaning strongly towards the villainous side of things. I shall have a better grasp of these two after I write about them today.

a dog's name

2010-08-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

This is Fritz, a large and rather intimidating young fellow who is quite certainly more than what he seems. He happens to be a dear friend of that annoying chap Michael's, and he has been assisting me in writing the tale of their adventures. Expect more regarding these two. Do expect more.

he's back

2010-07-31T18:14:00.000-07:00

I thought I was quite finished with him, but this Michael-boy has come back.

And he's aged a bit, and he's quite smug about it.

Rude, I say.

how rude

2010-07-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I create a character, and then an entirely different character comes along and changes everything. For example, "Asa Westenra" was originally an unimportant side character in a short story set in the Victorian Era, but then this little bank teller came along and explained that he lived in the future and had joined the revolution and that he, not this Victorian bloke, was actually Asa Westenra. I was all right with that. My current Asa Westenra is much more interesting than the original Asa Westenra, and his story is much better.

However, sometimes my characters change things up in a way that I am not pleased with. For example, last night, I was happily drawing a new character of mine named Justin, when all of a sudden, I was informed that I was not in fact drawing "Justin", but some chap named Michael. Who is Michael? Well, I don't know; he won't tell me. All I know about him is that he is rude, very rude indeed. He stole the character design of poor Justin and then he had the audacity to be named Michael, which is not a name that I would generally choose. Rude. Rude, I say!

And here he is. I don't know where he comes from or what his purpose in life is or anything at all. I have a vague inkling, however, that he lives in a time period more modern than the clothes that he's wearing, and just likes to dress up in old-fashioned things. I am exceedingly annoyed with him. Now every time I try to draw Justin, I will be thinking, This is not Justin, this is Michael. Right now, the character of Justin and the character of Michael are facing off inside of my head, about to start a miniature war over who gets to inhabit the picture I drew. And I feel like Michael is going to win. Darn it.

a quick self-portrait before bed

2010-07-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, I woke up in the morning, feeling very unlike P. Diddy, and I heard a snippet of an interview in my head. It went like this:

Woman's voice: How did she appear to you?

Man's voice: She was tall, she was really tall. Taller than me.

Woman's voice: You know that we've looked through her things, and we have her clothes, and they were all children's sizes. She was really quite small.

(Here there was a pause. Perhaps the woman handed the man an article of clothing to examine.)

Man's voice: I...I just thought she was really tall. We all did. We all thought she was really tall.

Someday that may come to pass.

alice

2010-07-27T05:23:00.000-07:00

My little sister recently had an Alice in Wonderland birthday party, and she dressed up as Alice. Today is her real birthday. She is ten years old, a very old lady indeed.

Happy birthday, Lou! Don't ever forget that this world is a Wonderland. <3

unafraid

2010-07-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

Once, about three years ago, I was at the beach with Rabastan. We swam out so far into the ocean that we couldn't touch the bottom, and when the waves came over our heads and we came back up behind them, we couldn't see the shore. It was as though we were out in the middle of the ocean, with nothing but water and sun and each other; the waves were very gentle, so very gentle. I have such a vivid memory of being in that moment, and seeing him smiling and the waves coming over us and my hands in the water.

Normally, I would have been terrified of being out so deep; I am terrified of large waves and the tremendous size of the ocean and of not being able to touch the bottom. I will never go out that deep again, but I was not scared then, when I was out there with Rabby. I was utterly unafraid. I have never been more unafraid in my life. There was not a single fear in my chest - of anything.

Music for listening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O3dV2iwdJw&fmt=18

in the eyes of the lord

2010-07-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

I am now planning to write the story of Asa Westenra for this year's NaNoWriMo. However, November is rather far off, and so I've decided to draw a great many scenes from the tale while I'm waiting. Today, I've done a little black-and-white speed paint.

In the underground headquarters of the revolutionaries, there is a wall on which every member of the resistance has a mark signifying their height. For the greater part of the story, Asa is under the impression that his mark is the lowest on the wall, and that Henry's mark is almost touching the ceiling. After Henry's death (yes, Henry does indeed die for a short period of time; he is a Jesus figure, and so it's quite necessary to the plot), Asa is asked to take over his position as leader of the revolutionaries. He goes to the wall to think, and realizes that he is actually taller than quite a few of his comrades - and the same height as Henry was.

rise with the sun

2010-07-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

I am experimenting with a new way of colouring, and also a new way of creating lighting. My goal for today was to create a picture with sunrise/sunset lighting. I do believe this goal has been achieved.

Here you can see Magdalena, a female revolutionary from my Asa Westenra storyline, as she leads a rally with her hand covered in red paint. Imagine a sea of people below her (she is standing upon a stage), all dressed in strange assortments of ragged clothes and jewelry, with a wide variety of massive, tangled hair styles (the Government requires all citizens to adhere to a strict policy of very short hair for both men and women, and so revolutionaries generally have big, long hair in protest), all holding their crimson hands up. The sun is rising, as is the revolution.

coming loose

2010-07-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I get a panic attack, and it is not pleasant. When I have one, I acquire a feeling which I have illustrated above to the best of my ability. It's the sensation that I (meaning my soul/creative spirit) am floating out of my physical body, except I am trapped just above myself, half-way out and half-way in. I am not sure what would happen if I theoretically floated "all the way out"; all I ever know is that I want to get back into my skin. It feels as though I could at any moment come loose and float up into the sky, and then my body would just be left behind, an empty shell. And that is not a comfortable thought.

wise child

2010-07-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

I have been so very bad about editing doll photographs as of late, and as a result, I have possibly over a hundred of them waiting to be edited. Well, perhaps not quite that many, but there are indeed a great lot, and so I have begun to go through them and give them the good editing treatment that they deserve. This particular batch was from a few weeks ago, when Lainie's new wig came in the mail. You didn't know that Lainie had gotten a new wig? Of course you didn't! That's how very behind I've gotten when it comes to photos.

In other news, the first photo in this lineup is one of the best photographs I have ever taken. I am so pleased with it. I went out into my yard with that shot in my head, and I captured it exactly on my camera.

My goal for these pictures was an antique sort of look, which I think I've achieved. I also think that Lainie's new wig makes her look a lot less human and a lot more creature, which is exactly what I wanted. She is supposed to be a very otherworldly, wise little being.

the favourite child

2010-06-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

I have been creating characters since the first time I played pretend as a little girl. Which means that I have created hundreds and hundreds over my lifetime - quite possibly thousands. I do not love each character equally; I do indeed play favourites. And right now, out of my current line-up of many, I have an ultimate favourite.

I have characters that are deeper than him, characters that are ten million times more attractive, characters that behave in much nicer ways, and so on, but Ribby J. Spriggles is still my ultimate favourite. He is my one and only chain-smoking, womanizing, obscenely short, sleazy 1920's gangster, and I absolutely adore him. I haven't any idea why. I just do. ♥

our greatest fear

2010-06-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

Once before on this blog, I introduced you to a young man named Asa Westenra. It's been quite a while since then, so I shall refresh your memory: he is twenty-something years old, works in a bank, and lives in a futuristic dystopian society, where every aspect of life is controlled and constantly watched by an all-powerful totalitarian government. Mr. Westenra has been a very good, obedient, brainwashed citizen thus far, but quite soon, he will join a revolution and discover that he has a great talent for public speaking. He will become the voice of the revolution, speaking to crowds of millions and inspiring them to rise against the Government. Does he know it now, as he sits at his little desk in the bank, in the standard government-issued uniform that every male is required to wear? I think he might, deep inside of his mind.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?'

Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

~ Maryanne Williamson

listen, buddy

2010-06-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

I browse through a lot of art during my daily travels throughout the Internet. On occasion, I will find a piece of work that looks like it was so much fun to draw, it inspires me to try it out for myself. Usually, it's the posing of the characters in the art that makes me think, "Goodness gracious! I've never drawn a pose like that before! I have to see if I can do that!" Today, I found one such drawing: someone had drawn two of their original characters in a pose that just tickled me pink, and so I ran upstairs to my computer and began drawing my own version of said pose, with two of my own characters. This was the result.

Ribby has a plan which he simply must expound in great detail to his fellow con-man Adelio; however, Adelio may or may not be giving Ribby his full attention. It's hard to tell.

self-unibrow-esteem

2010-05-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

I've always loved Frida Kahlo, and since the book that I'm reading lately (The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver) has her as a main character, I've been thinking about her quite a bit. We are in fact very similar: I am a small, dark-skinned artist with a unibrow, and so was she. I admire her for many reasons, one of which is that she always left her unibrow on her face instead of plucking it out like I do. Someday, I may just gain enough self-unibrow-esteem to leave mine be, too.

"Painting completed my life." ~ Frida Kahlo

ladies

2010-05-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

I discovered a way to change the settings on my brush in Photoshop so that the dynamics are similar to drawing with a regular lead pencil. Everything comes out very sketchy and soft, which is nice because I don't always want hard, clean lines. In honor of this lovely discovery, I sketched four ladies, one of whom hasn't any face, and added a dash of colour to all of them. I shall definitely be doing another set of sketches like these in the near future; they were very enjoyable indeed.

In other news, I am now seventeen years of age! I am an old lady now!

crimson silk

2010-05-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

I am still practicing drawing African women. When I feel that I've mastered them, I shall move on to Asian women, which are very hard to draw indeed. Before long, I plan to have all races covered!

Whatever it is that she's wearing is very soft and silky, and I want to try it on.

dust to dust

2010-05-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

I was sitting downstairs in my living room yesterday when the sun started setting, and all the light shone through the window and lit up a huge amount of dust particles. I happen to love floating illuminated dust particles, and so I was inspired to draw a picture including them.

I've decided I need to learn how to draw people of all different races, so I began today.

festival arts

2010-05-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

I went to a festival of the arts yesterday and did two workshops (one for sewing and one for painting) while I was there. Here's what I came away with at the end of the day:

A little bird made out of scrap fabric and stuffed with old plastic shopping bags.

A painting of a blue woman, done with acrylic paints over top of someone else's painting which they had thrown away. I should paint more often; I really enjoy it.

don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing

2010-05-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

I am very into the 1920s as of late! I have a special swing jazz radio station on my iPod that I listen to an awful lot, and I decided to put it on today and do a speed paint of a flapper girl while listening. I was dancing in my seat quite a bit while drawing this.

I really wish that I'd been born in time to be part of the Roaring Twenties! The 2000s aren't nearly as much fun.

halo in the morning light

2010-05-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

Several weeks or so ago, I found within my many files of writing a short piece in which Callahan was described as wearing a blue flowered sleeveless garment with his golden chain and black boots. This reminded me that I'd always wanted to do a photoshoot of him wearing that outfit in real life, and so I sewed the garment, waited for a nice sunny morning full of free time, and finally took the pictures.

One of the photos from this shoot refused to upload. Hopefully, it will be seen eventually.

Note: This is my 222nd post upon this dear blog. How lovely!

golden afternoon

2010-04-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

I ordered eyelashes for Callahan a while ago, and then after much distressing over whether I had enough courage to actually put them in, I took a deep breath and just did it, and it was fine! They went on with no complications whatsoever, and I'm really pleased with how they look. Take a peek for yourself and see!

It is a beautiful day today. :]

we arise

2010-04-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

Last night, I dreamed a song, and it was perfect for my dystopian-society storyline. It also inspired me to draw a picture, and so I did. The lineart took me millions of years, and I'm now old and grey as a result, but I'm quite happy with it.

We unfold

We arise

We speak out with our mouth and our hands and our eyes

This is one of the female revolutionaries; her name is Magdalena. She is at a night-time vigil/protest in memory of her sister, who was killed by Government soldiers. At this vigil, everyone's eyelids, lips, and hands (even though you can't see them) have been smeared with phosphorescent paint. I have such a vivid, powerful picture of this in my head, and this drawing is the closest to it anyone will ever get to see unless they make a film of it someday.

i despise these types of books

2010-04-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

An interesting fact about myself is that I despise any and all books dealing with utopian/dystopian societies in futuristic settings. Another interesting fact about myself is that I am now apparently writing such a book. Oh, dear.

This is Asa Westenra, the protagonist of the book that I am apparently writing that I would never want to read. He lives in a totalitarian state similar to that shown in 1984; everything is under complete control, and Big Brother (or in this case, a group of leaders referred to as the Government) is always watching. Asa has been a good little brain-washed citizen of this state for his entire life of twenty-six years: he stays in line, he stays quiet, he doesn't ask questions, he does his job (he happens to be a bank teller).

Then, one fine grey and oppressed day, Asa is accidentally caught up in a protest lead by an infamous, charismatic revolutionist named Henry. Through a strange series of events, Asa is brought up on stage and asked to tell the Government exactly how he feels. And he does, and promptly gets thrown in jail for his trouble. However, he does not return to his monotonous life after being released. Oh, no, sir. Asa is now completely devoted to the cause and will stop at nothing to be heard.

Asa Westenra, former good citizen, now has a microphone. He is not afraid to use it.

point and stare

2010-04-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

Today I would like to share with you a little animation, but before I do, I feel compelled to give you a warning. This animation involves Nazis. It is very humorous, but it does indeed involve Nazis. This was originally a private animation created for a specific person, but I find it so hilarious (and consider it to be my best animation ever) that I just can't help broadcasting it to the world. You can decide whether you wish to see it or not. I would highly recommend seeing it. :]

~ CLICK FOR THE ANIMATION ~

For those curious, this was inspired by the original Producers movie, which might help you make sense of it.

sharing is caring

2010-04-05T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I have not posted in what seems like eons. I seem to have had an extremely busy month! I began rehearsing for a new play, waded through a swamp of geography assignments, had a moderate case of drawer's block, and did not post once after the 2nd of March. Oh, dear. I am back now, and plan to begin posting at normal intervals once more. And I am glad about that.

Here, have an adorable set of pictures from the last time my dear friend visited and brought her little girl Estelle along. They should make up for my disappearance from this blog. :]

Estelle is a B&G Leile, and is at that age when sharing is particularly difficult. She is still waiting on her wig and faceup.

Lainie is a Soom Glot, and is at that age when she's finally mastered the concept - to some extent.

imagine some hilarious harpsichord music to go along with this

2010-03-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

Quite some time ago, I began drawing cover art for a few different books of mine (I think I did two or three pieces) and it was rather fun, so I decided to do another one. This is for The Snippings Guild, a tale of absurdity and odd schemes surrounding a club of con men. Two of the the men silhouetted below have been seen on this blog before: the top hat wearer is Adelio Hester, the Guild leader, and the little gray man is Ribby Spriggles. The last fellow is Herbert Granger the Fourth, and since I generally cannot draw fat people, he has yet to show up in full colour.

I'll have you know that this was one of the most fun things to draw that I've ever drawn. Every moment of creating this was just so amusing. This is probably because I've always loved and wanted to draw silhouettes, especially amusing ones.

this little light of mine

2010-02-25T14:19:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to take any new doll photographs as of late, so today I looked back through my endless folders of photos and found an old one that I was rather fond of, but had never edited properly. This was originally part of an entire photoshoot that I did for a contest (which I did not win), but I dislike the rest of the pictures because Callahan has his old acrylic eyes in, and they look so dreadfully plastic compared to his new ones.

I really do love this photograph. It's so light and soft and...floaty, I suppose. His hair looks almost as though it's underwater. Someday when the sun comes back from wherever it's gone, I might reshoot the rest of the pictures from this set.

happy valentine's day

2010-02-14T05:25:00.000-08:00

I hope that you all eat something pink and sugary, and feel surrounded by love!

CLICK FOR ANIMATION!

Although their names did not appear in my floating heart of joy, I also love a mad weenie-dog named Francine, a narcissistic parakeet named Skye, and a sticky gecko named Renfield.

Note: I drew this quite late at night, and have just realized now that there is something wrong with little cartoon me. What is it? Why, my hands are on backwards, that's what. Ah, well, I do think my family loves me anyway.

into the woods

2010-02-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

I found these lovely flowering vine brushes on DeviantArt, and so I decided to have a go at using them in a picture. I think they're my new favourite brushes - so delicate and soft and pretty! They make me want to look into learning how to make my own brushes in Photoshop; I know people do it all the time, but I haven't any idea how to begin.

She is walking into the woods to meet her lover, who is half-bird or something odd like that. I wanted this to look like a still from an animation, which I think it does. If this were in fact animated, all of the vines would be moving and growing around her, and reaching out to touch her face. I should try to make that happen someday.

grace

2010-02-10T10:30:00.000-08:00

Ever since I first saw The Secret Life of Bees, I wanted to buy the song that plays just before the funeral. It was soft and beautiful and vaguely sad, but I could never remember the lyrics and I could never find it - until a few days ago! It is called Mary, it is sung by Joe Purdy, and it is now on my iPod. I am so happy to have it; it's been helping me draw things. The correct song is necessary for drawing in my world.

While listening to the aforementioned song, I finally managed to draw this character, who I've been trying to draw since before Christmas. His name is Grace Brown, and he is a seventeen-year-old un-medicated schizophrenic. His father, a rather odd artist who makes mobiles out of junk much like Alexander Calder did, believes that his son's hallucinations are art in themselves and sees no reason to take them away. Grace does not usually see frightening things, but he has been told to fly out of windows and has tried it a few times, which did not end well. For the most part, though, he enjoys his "friends" (there are five distinct characters that visit him; they might get drawn if they're lucky).

Grace is interesting because he acts very much like a shy little kid: he hides behind his father when meeting new people, he still wants to hold hands with his dad out in public, etcetera. It looks odd, though, because Grace is a big, tall person, and his father is a small, wiry man. This looks so terribly sweet and sad inside of my head.

His design is extremely similar to my Nero design. The only differences are that Grace's hair is neater, his eyes are green instead of blue, and his face is thinner.

the tall chairman

2010-02-04T08:59:00.001-08:00

After much procrastination, I have finally finished colouring the Snippings Guild leader. He is lacking an arm because I didn't care to draw one, but I do like how his face and hair came out.

This is Adelio Hester, a young lad of twenty or so with a great love of adventure and style. He was made Tall Chairman* of the Guild upon the original leader's death, and has since directed a large number of cons, schemes, capers, and heists. He is a mischievous rogue who doesn't wear his seatbelt when riding in automobiles and who likes jumping out of dirigibles. Dirigible, by the way, is a much better word for blimp.

I feel like purchasing a private dirigible now.

*Tall Chairman is the title given to any leader of the Guild, and no one quite knows why the word "tall" is affixed onto the front of it. It is an utter mystery to even myself.

little blue flowers

2010-01-29T19:18:00.000-08:00

I still seem to be incapable of editing most of my Lainie pictures in a way that satisfies me, but this one came out nicely in my opinion. I experimented with more colour-adjusting than I normally do, which was interesting. I do think this is one of my favourite shots of Miss Chatelaine.

Tomorrow is going to be a pleasant and droopy sort of Saturday for me. I plan to attempt to sew Callahan a particularly complicated pair of pants and drink excesses of tea, as well as write a long-winded page or two. I have recently fallen in love with adding footnotes to my writing, just as a way to add more quirky madness to each page.

ylang ylang

2010-01-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

I finally ventured out of doors and took doll pictures for the first time in a very long time! It was very enjoyable indeed - not too cold and not too bright, just right. I had both Callahan and Lainie out there with me, but for now, I shall just give you the Callahan shots, seeing as there are only a few and it seems as though it's going to take me forever to edit all of Lainie's photographs. They had some beautiful sunset lighting going on in them, but Photoshop seems intent on getting rid of the pretty golden glow. I'll just have to figure out a way to preserve it somehow.

In the meantime, here is Callahan, alive and well as a doll can be. He recently got a scrubdown with Magic Eraser because he was awfully dirty. I don't know what he gets up to when I am not looking, but it must involve dirt, because somehow there was a tremendous lot of dirt all over him.

Callahan makes me think of Enya music, autumn, and ylang ylang. How oddly lovely.

once upon a time, a bowhead was strolling

2010-01-22T20:08:00.000-08:00

...and whilst she strolled, she wished my father a very happy birthday indeed. Click for the animation!

♥ HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY! I LOVE YOU! ♥

mademoiselle madeline

2010-01-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

I am having such a good drawing time as of late; since my nose revelation, everything seems to come out just exactly how it is in my head. I've also had a lineart revelation, and it is this: just because I've drawn something in pencil does not mean that the pencil lines should be my final lines - I should actually go over them in Photoshop with black to make them pop. And that is just exactly what I've been doing, and it makes a world of difference (to me at least, perhaps you don't even notice any change). Furthermore, the Snippings Guild story arc provides so many interesting characters to draw, of all different shapes and sizes, and I'm really enjoying trying to get all of them down on paper.

This is Madeline Bessette, a very interesting woman indeed. She is French, as you might have guessed from her name, and she bears no relation whatsoever to the red-headed, appendix-lacking Madeline. Instead of walking about day after day in two straight lines and breaking her bread and going to bed, this Madeline has had something of a wild life: she was in three different circuses (as a trapeze artist, a sideshow contortionist, and a lion tamer), she was a can-can dancer at the Moulin Rouge, she posed in the nude for paintings (oh my!), and she inherited a large fortune from her father and then moved into England.

There, she became acquainted with the various members of the Snippings Guild at a party, during which they originally intended to make off with all of her money. Instead, she became wise as to what they were all up to, and decided that she'd rather just give them her money voluntarily to help finance a jewel heist. She'd always wanted to be part of a jewel heist, you see. She is now the closest thing to a female Guild member that one can get; while she is not actually considered a full member, she contributes money to the various plots and helps out in other ways too - usually by being her beautiful self and convincing rich old guys to tell her their secret passwords/codes/safe combinations/etcetera.

She also happens to be the object of Ribby Spriggles' affections; he's had his eyes on her for quite some time, although he doesn't appear to be getting anywhere at all. Which is mostly likely due to the fact that if Madeline accidentally sat on him, she would crush him. He is, as you may remember, only 4' 11", and Mademoiselle Madeline is on the opposite side of unusual heights at 6' 3". Goodness.

Coming next, hopefully, is the leader of the Guild. I tried to colour him yesterday and it didn't work out like I wanted it to. I shall try again very soon!

we have a visitor!

2010-01-11T13:23:00.000-08:00

It seems like forever since I've done any doll photography! For those of you who weren't aware, I am a very large wimp about going out in the cold, and so that keeps me from doing much in the way of pictures (I can work in indoor lighting, but it's more frustrating and I much prefer to be out of doors). However, a week ago or so, one of my dear friends came to visit and brought her two new girls that she got for Christmas: a B&G Eleanor named Mirabelle and a little B&G Leile named Estelle. It was very exciting to have other dolls around my house, and to be able to take pictures of an adult girl. I've only posted one, since the rest didn't take kindly to Photoshop, but it should give you an idea of what a pretty girl Miss Mirabelle is.

I absolutely adore her; I think she's just gorgeous. She seemed very small next to Callahan - he was taller than her by a noticeable difference, and his hands and feet were much bigger. With her sitting next to him on my dresser, he actually looked masculine. It was quite funny to see how her presence made him appear a bit more manly than usual!

I hope Mirabelle will show up again on this blog sometime in the future, and that her little cousin Estelle will eventually show up, too. At the moment, I know she's without a wig and has no faceup whatsoever, so I shall just have to control myself and refrain from photographing her until she's ready.

a revelation and a ribby

2010-01-10T17:17:00.000-08:00

You haven't any idea at all how frustrating this picture became in the space of a few short hours; everywhere I turned, there were obstacles preventing me from doing the most trivial of things to it, and the whole Internet was in cahoots with Photoshop to drive me up the wall. However, I was determined, and I triumphed, even after erasing the whole colour-and-shading job once and the background twice.

In other news, before you scroll down, you should take a moment to prepare yourself for how much better the nose on this drawing will be than any other nose I have drawn before. This is because I have had a nose revelation (or a revolution, take your pick) and have suddenly learned all of these nose secrets which are now enabling me to draw noses the likes of which you've never seen before. (That is an exaggeration.) You see, for a very long time, I was jealous of other artists' noses and secretly displeased with my own noses, and considered them to be quite lacking. Now that I have had my nose revelation, though, I am so happy with my noses that I want to run outside and tell someone all about it. Let it be known all over the planet: I have finally grasped the secrets of the schnoz.

This man with the revolutionized nose is in fact Ribby J. Spriggles, who happens to be a con-man belonging to a specialized group of swindlers known as the Snippings Guild. All members of the Guild are rich young men under the age of thirty who have nothing better to do than have fun, dress stylishly, rip people off, and occasionally stage outrageous jewel heists (yes, I do plan to draw other members; they are coming soon!). Ribby is the Guild's Senior Undersecretary (no, I don't know what that involves), and also happens to be the shortest member at a modest height of 4' 11", the poor small thing. He is also distinctive in that he is my only smoking character to date, and in that he in fact has a real-life twin. I didn't hallucinate his existence, by the way; I have several eye-witnesses.

To go on, Ribby is here depicted in front of some wallpaper that it took me forever to paste into the background, and he is wearing a pair of Snippings gloves, which are given to all members so that no one leaves any incriminating fingerprints behind on anything. I believe he is looking at an attractive girl who has just walked into whatever room he's in. Ribby is in fact somewhat of an infamous ladies' man, if you didn't know.

I have just now realized that his coat buttons are not coloured in, and I have just had a minor conniption fit over that. Alas, I am dreadfully done working on this picture, so that is just too bad. Someday, I may go back and put it to rights - but not now, by gum, not now.

a grand year

2010-01-01T08:46:00.000-08:00

Another year has passed, which means that it's time once again for this. :)

THE TRADITIONAL END OF YEAR MEME:

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
I wrote an over-50,000-word novel in one short month.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't and won't make any; I think they're silly.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No, alas.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank goodness.

5. What countries did you visit?
None (the same answer as last year). This is terribly frustrating.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 which you lacked in 2009?
Perhaps a published novel! We shall see how that goes.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched in your memory, and why?
That would be March 28th. I saw Rabastan again for the first time in a year, and we played with a jump rope. It was more beautiful than it sounds.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
That would be my novel, Cadence.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I am not sure. I never took the mathematics CLEP test, even after studying all summer - perhaps that qualifies?

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had a nasty, nasty flu in February, and then over the summer, my hair fell out for no reason whatsoever. Well, not all of it, but nearly half of the original volume of it. It is now growing back in odd little sprouts.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My iPod Touch! It is the most useful, mystical, magical, musical little square of mechanics that I ever saw.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I feel I must say that everyone in my life - family, friends, the voices in my head - has done something this year that merited celebration.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
There were several, but I won't shame them further by alluding to who they are here.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Towards my new iPod.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Receiving Lainie for my 16th birthday, participating in NaNoWriMo again (and winning!), seeing Rabby again for the first time in a frighteningly long time, Christmas Eve, and living.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
"On an Ocean" by Lisa Gerrard. According to my iTunes counter, I have listened to that song eighty-six times so far.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: Happier or sadder? Thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer?
I am sadder, but happier because of it (I am still a paradox).
I am neither thinner nor fatter (what I wish I was is taller).
And last of all, I am poorer (I haven't gotten a new job)...and not particularly happy about it.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Writing. I always wish for more writing, even when I do mountains of it.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
PMSing. Alas, it happens.

20. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
A boychild appeared and tried to take this prize, but then he disappeared, and the answer is Cissa as usual.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Not particularly.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
NCIS! In my family, we wave our hands about wildly when that show comes on the television.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Not exactly.

24. What was the best book(s) you read?
The Pirates' Mixed-Up Voyage by Margaret Mahy. It made me laugh until I cried. How toothsome.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I found Owl City, Yael Naim, Olivia Ong, Jack's Mannequin, Marie Digby, Little Wings, Paul Cardall, and many others. This was a year of beautiful music.

26. What did you want and get?
My little Lainie, a new iPod, and a top hat. Yes, I finally own a top hat! I also received a time-travelling box, which I didn't know I wanted until I got it.

27. What did you want and not get?
I still do not have any puppies, small blonde children, or goons.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
9. It was steampunk and gorgeously animated and stunning. And I cried at the end.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old did you turn?
I turned sixteen years of age (dreadfully old). Cissa and Augustus and I went out to dinner, and then Cissa slept over, and we watched The Duchess.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If I had gotten a new job this year, that would have made everything much more delightful.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
An even-more-eccentric-than-last-year-steampunk-business-woman-quaintrelle. A quaintrelle, by the way, is the female equivalent of a dandy.

32. What kept you sane?
I was never sane.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Michael Arden - and nobody knows who that is, so I will tell you. He is a strange little high-voiced baby-faced young man, whom I find incredibly adorable.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
There was nothing particularly stirring.

35. Whom did you miss?
I always miss Rabby.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
We knew each other before from the horrific ant play that I was a part of in 2008, but this year, during an entirely different play, I got to know a girl who I now consider myself to be close friends with. I call her Little Joe, for entirely complicated and odd reasons, and I am exceedingly glad that we're better friends now.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson(s) you learned in 2009.
Praying in rhyme is the best way to do it. You should try it sometime, it's really quite enjoyable.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"Far, far, there was this little girl, she was praying for something to happen to her, everyday she writes words and more words, just to speak out the thoughts that keep floating inside, and she's strong when the dreams come, they take her, cover here, they are all over, the reality looks far now, but don't go - how can you stay outside? There's a beautiful mess inside."
- "Far Far" by Yael Naim.

It's been a decade since I was seven years old, and I am still the same person, although matured slightly. I feel amazed!

washing the dishes

2009-12-27T14:02:00.000-08:00

At long last, the second Children Running Free comic is here! It took me a very long time to draw it and get it right, but in the end, it came out exactly as I had envisioned it. It is also special because it is in honor of my mother's birthday, which is today. ♥

WASHING THE DISHES

LET'S DO IT LIKE FRIENDS DO IT

laughing all the way

2009-12-19T13:39:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've done any quick, sketchy speedpaints, so I supposed I had better do some. Lately I've been doing very stiff black outlines, and while I love those, I rather miss the rough and grungy look. And who better to draw in a rough and grungy manner than everyone's favourite partners in crime?

They are all worn out from long hours spent causing mass destruction to the poor city of Gotham. And quite soon, they'll wake up and start all over again in the blink of an eye.

Some people think it romantic to kiss underneath a fireworks display. They think kissing in front of explosions is much better. Elena has apparently lost her shoes. An interesting fact: pictures of kissing peoples' feet, in which the girl is standing on her tip toes to reach the guy, are a secret obsession of mine. I absolutely adore such pictures.

Oh dear, judging from the lights, the police appear to have arrived on the scene. The Joker and Elena do not care. You see, it's much more fun to get caught and then escape than to simply run away. Therefore, they have decided to merely stand there and giggle to themselves. ♥

a magical place with magical charm

2009-12-16T12:12:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, there came a sunny day after a period of rainy days, and I, being me, immediately leapt on the opportunity to have a doll photo session out in the yard. And so I went out into the glorious sun, with my iPod playing Celtic Woman softly into my ear, and found a nice spot to set Lainie up for pictures. I snapped away happily for all of three minutes until a big gust of wind came and blew my girl over, causing her to land facedown in a pile of scratchy-looking leaves. ACK! I proceeded to have a miniature heart attack, and then pick her up and inspect her closely. And, thank goodness, there were no scratches or nicks to be found in that gorgeous little completely expensive limited edition faceup. I moved to a place of more level ground and went on with my photoshoot for all of three more minutes until she was blown over again, this time onto her back, into moist-ish dirt. At which point I had my second miniature heart attack, grabbed my doll, and fled from the apparently dangerously windy out-of-doors into the safety of my home. And then I promptly ensconced myself and my Lainie girl in a corner and sang the Indoors Song from Spongebob Squarepants. The end.

Epilogue: Lainie is perfectly fine, and so there was no harm done. However, during those six minutes or so that I was out of doors with my camera, the lighting changed about 3456 times. Hence the wide variety of darks and lights in the photos below. Also, as a note of interest, just check out Lainie's eyes in the second to last photo! My goodness, those things look bright and very, very wet. And you can just see the outline of my reflection in them. How interesting!

Lainie is very excited about Christmas this year, since it will be her very first Christmas. To add to the Christmas joy, a dear friend of mine will be getting her first dolls as gifts - a B&G Eleanor and a B&G Leile, respectively. I can't wait to see both of them; I am possibly just as excited as if they were my dolls.

the right way to travel

2009-12-09T14:24:00.001-08:00

I don't know if you knew this or not, but when I go to my mother's art class, I am in fact Salvador Dali. And I have a wife, Gala Dali. I tell you this because tomorrow, Miss Gala is travelling to Hong Kong, where she will do all sorts of adventurous things and take many pictures and bring henceforth many tales of greatness. In honor of her departure, I have drawn a picture of her travelling to Hong Kong in the utmost style and fashion.

Yes, she is indeed getting there in a limousine filled with CAULIFLOWER, because that is the way we Dalis like to go places. And she is bringing a pink flamingo with her. And it is all very surreal and artistic, I assure you.

I do hope she remembered to pack her leather rhinoceros, so that she has somewhere proper to sit on!

sweet, sweet, sweet victory

2009-12-02T07:50:00.000-08:00

Well, I have done it!

I finished NaNoWriMo this year with a grand total of 51,810 words (my profile on the site, however, gave me fifty extra words for no apparent reason), and therefore have WON, if you can believe it! And, to make things even more fantastically outrageous, I actually made it to the required 50,000 words a day before the deadline - and my story wasn't finished! I added the remaining 1,810 words on the next day. I feel a great sense of achievement, as I have written in my Currently box on the sidebar. Also on the sidebar, you may bask in the glow of the NaNoWriMo 2009 Winner button.

I'm feeling quite accomplished right now.

TA-DA!

he has something he shouldn't have behind his back

2009-11-24T08:58:00.001-08:00

I'm really quite enjoying drawing all these Miss-Northways-related characters that have popped into my head all of a sudden. Here's the next one, a small boy who is one of the cutest things I have ever drawn and who is wearing an argyle sweater (always a good thing). You may, upon first meeting him, wish to steal him away on account of his being so darn adorable, but when he starts screaming, you will quite certainly change your mind.

This is Miss Northways' second child, and the half-brother of her daughter Aviator. His name is Nathaniel*, and he is five years old. Whilst Aviator was still away at school, Miss Northways had an affair with a man because he had something she wanted (I am not sure what this something was, but it was very expensive and there was only one of it in the entire world), and after she had gotten what she wanted, she broke off the relationship. She was not at all pleased when she discovered that she had not only gotten what she wanted, but gotten pregnant as well. What a scandal!

When Nathaniel was born, Miss Northways promptly decided that she didn't very much like him. I mean, really. He cried an awful lot. A crying baby! Goodness, what next**. It was at this point that Nanny #1 was hired. Her orders were laid down quite firmly: she was to take Nathaniel all the way over to the other side of the house, where Miss Northways hardly ever went, and care for him there, making sure to stop all irksome crying as soon as it began. If any crying was able to be heard in any other part of the house, Darling and Precious would be sent over to examine the situation (and possibly eat the nanny***). Nanny #1 lasted a very long time - three years, actually, during which she raised Nathaniel using the technique known as IIGHWHWTPHWBSHTHWNC****. At the end of those three years, there came a time when she stopped to count how many temper tantrums she had had to deal with in the space of an hour (there were six), and realized that she had created a monster. She then quit, ran away to Tibet, and became some kind of a mute priestess.

Since then, Master Nathaniel has gone through a great and shocking number of nannies, all of whom have tried to make a reasonable, well-mannered boy out of him, and all of whom have eventually given up and adopted the infamous IIGHWHWTPHWBSHTHWNC technique. Subsequently, all became exhausted and fed up, and then quit. Two or three are now in sanatoriums, all wrapped up in straitjackets. Nathaniel, on the other hand, is quite blissfully running around the Northways' house breaking things, kicking people in the shin, eating obscene amounts of candy, refusing to allow his hair to be brushed, and shrieking like a banshee if anyone dares to try and stop him.

*Thankfully, it is not pronounced in any cruel and unusual way. I was going to give him a word name like Aviator, but then he decided to be named Nathaniel. And for a while, I ignored that, and looked around for different names, but no. His name is Nathaniel, and there is nothing I can do about it.
**Miss Northways was mystified by the phenomena of normal crying babies on account of Aviator having been silent and squinty even as a newborn.
***Not really. Well, maybe. You never can tell with those two.
****If I Give Him Whatever He Wants Then Perhaps He Will Be So Happy That He Will Never Cry.

she cuts her own bangs when she is bored

2009-11-23T15:54:00.001-08:00

It has recently come to my attention that Miss Northways (who was introduced to the world in the post directly before this one) happens to be a mother. She has two children, apparently, one of which I have drawn for you today.

This is Miss Northways' daughter and the oldest of her two children. Her name is Aviator*. She was the result of Miss Northways' first marriage, to a relatively frightening man who is now missing and presumed dead. Aviator was sent away at the tender age of five or so to St. Caedwalla's School for Young Ladies, a fascinating place where one's daughter can be trained as an assassin, which is always useful for a girl. Especially one whose mother is some kind of a crime boss.

To continue, Aviator was expelled from this school when she was eleven for practicing on her fellow students, at which point she became very bored and, rumor has it, practiced on her father. Hence his missing-and-presumed-dead-ness. There is now a rule in the Northways' household that Miss Aviator must only practice upon mice, in order to avoid any more such debacles. There is another rule, however, that if she is "provoked"**, the mice rule may be temporarily lifted. Therefore I would advise you to watch what you say if ever you have to visit the Northways family, which I sincerely hope you don't.

I will soon draw Aviator's brother (half-brother, that is), who is not nearly as dangerous but is the kind of child who has gone through about 45,868 nannies and is about to drive the 45,869th one mad as we speak.

*It is pronounced Ay-vee-ah-tore, for no good reason.
**Mispronouncing her name qualifies as provoking her, which is a real pity for you if you're a person who has never heard of her before and only seen her name written out.

northways

2009-11-18T19:37:00.000-08:00

I have recently created a character known as Miss Northways. She is an elegant woman of great style and wealth, most of which is probably ill-gotten. I really don't know much about her since I'm in the middle of NaNoWriMo and therefore forbidden to write things that aren't my NaNo book, but from what I gather she is some kind of a high-class lady mobster, at the head of some kind of Mafia-esque crime family which is rather prominent in whatever universe she lives in.

She is here depicted sitting in her parlor with her lackeys, Nicholas Darling (brown hair) and Jonathan Precious (blonde), better known by their surnames only. Darling and Precious do all sorts of lovely and terrible things for their mistress, including but not limited to functioning as her bodyguards, intimidating her enemies, performing assassinations, and acting as creepy little human lapdogs for whatever reason. Making decisions about how dangerous they are based on their appearance is a very big mistake. They are older and scarier than they look, and they hold claim to an interesting variety of unexplainable abilities: they never blink (nor do they ever sleep), they can move frighteningly fast, and they are also able to walk up walls and stand on the ceiling. They also have exceedingly pointy teeth hidden behind those cute (or not) little smiles.

Whatever they are, they are most definitely NOT vampires, so do not even go there. I am thoroughly done with vampires and as of today will never again include them in any of my fiction. So there.

Note: There are all sorts of freakishly wacky proportions going on this picture, and at one point while doing the line art I fixed it all so that it was a lot more realistic, and then suddenly I loathed the picture. With the wackiness, it somehow looks exactly like what's in my head, but once the wacky was taken away, it...did not. And so, I changed everything back. The end.
Second Note: Miss Northways' hand, the one which is hanging over Jonathan Precious' back, is my favourite hand I have ever drawn, even if it is super-tiny as compared to its owner's head.
Third Note: Speaking of this year's Nanowrimo, I am currently at 30,006 words and going to write more momentarily. I am very pleased with this progress. :)

gaga ooh la la

2009-11-13T08:19:00.001-08:00

You may not know this, dear readers, but Lady Gaga has been designated the Official Elena of Real Life. I wish desperately that I had a picture of her with Heath Ledger. Alas.

To continue, for a long time, I've wanted to draw Elena wearing Lady Gaga's silver triangle dress, but I never got around to it - until yesterday. I listened to Lady Gaga's new song Bad Romance yesterday, and while it is just as annoying and horrific as all her other songs, I liked it an awful lot and got it stuck in my head, and it inspired me to finally draw Elena in the triangle dress.

And there you have it. I'll have you know that it was immensely fun to make the triangle sparkly. I love to use sparkle brushes in Photoshop, you must know this.

neither have i wings to fly

2009-10-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

I seem to be having a bit of a drawing block these days; I keep starting pictures and not finishing them. However, I am having the opposite of writer's block (I think I've got writer's diarrhea - I wrote a 14-page saga of eccentricity set in ten-point type just this week), and I've got no lack of inspiration when it comes to doll photography, so I'm all right. Just as long as something creative is gushing out of my head!

In other news, I have for you today a small Callahan photoshoot.

When I first took these pictures, I really did not find them remarkable at all, and was considering not even posting them, but I edited them anyway and I really am pleased with how they came out. Also, when I was editing the second one, Carrickfergus by Celtic Woman came on my iPod and for some reason the combination of that song and that picture made me get teary-eyed (???). And then, out of respect for that random-emotion-causing song, I looked up the lyrics and picked my favourite line to be the title of this post. How strange.

Note: A dear friend of mine just ordered her first doll! I think everyone should know and be excited by this.
Second Note: I really am so done with Blogger making my photos all static-y. Please, Mr. Blog, stop.

i went to china

2009-10-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I feel like I haven't made a post since forever. My life has been completely taken over by rhetoric, world literature, and then I was absorbed into a four-page China report (I haven't gotten out yet, but I'm close), and I haven't had the time. That makes me very, very sad indeed, but these things do happen occasionally. After this Monday, though, I think I'll be a little less overwhelmed by my schoolwork. I have doll photos waiting to be editing and drawings waiting to be coloured, I promise you this!

In other news, NaNoWriMo approaches! Click the button on the sidebar to be taken to my profile, which I've updated by clearing out all the Caesar's Girl stuff from last year and replaced with the title of what I'll be working on this year (synopsis coming soon!). I'm very excited and I plan to write an awful lot more (and an awful lot better) this year than I did last time. We shall see how I do.

And one more thing: my dog smells so terribly bad that I keep pausing and looking down at where she's lying in order to make a disgusted face at her. She is really that bad; her smell is interrupting my blogging. Goodness.

flower child

2009-09-27T13:04:00.001-07:00

I swear to you, these pictures were beautifully clear when I uploaded them, but Blogger is doing something odd and making them all static-y. In any case, I really love how this photoshoot turned out. The lighting is exactly how I wanted it, and Lainie is too cute. My little flower girl! ♥ I have all the pieces cut out for a new dress for her, and I should really start working on it.

A new cartoon should be on its' way, if I ever draw it. I keep going to sketch it out and then feeling very blah about it. It's this grey weather. Come out, dear sun!

what to do, what to do

2009-09-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

A To-Do List

Upload, edit, and post the pictures from my most recent photoshoot with Lainie.
Create the header (complete with real words) for Children Running Free.
Draw that comic which I was planning to draw over the weekend, but then did not draw.
Stop being a silly writer. And what I mean by that is this: I am writing a certain scene in a certain book of mine, and I am so tempted to play around with it and make a certain character say idiotic things all the time, but it is supposed to be a serious book. I need to stop making this character say dimwitted things just because I can, and instead, I need to write something that makes sense.
List an enormous amount of rubbish on eBay.
And more!

I do think this is going to be a very busy week for me. I want to do everything that I listed, and then I have my schoolwork, I have homework, I have rehearsals for a play that I'm in, and a few other things as well. My goodness.

In other news, I am currently conducting a test to see if this video clip (embedded below) from a Nero documentary is universally funny. You see, when I first saw it in the documentary, I laughed, but I thought it was because I am who I am. Then I found it on Youtube, which meant that one other person out in the world had found it funny, too. And then I showed it to Cissa, who cried tears of laughter upon my bed after viewing it. The next day, I showed it to Loki, without any explanation, and she too laughed passionately over it. And today, I showed it to Augustus, who went into convulsions of laughter as well. That is five people so far, four of whom are not me.

So, do I just happen to have strange friends, or is it really funny? Did you too find this clip so inexplicably hilarious that you nearly peed yourself? See for yourself.

If you laughed, I suggest you go to this video's page on Youtube and write, "I LAUGHED" in the comments, so that we can see how many of us strange laughers exist in the world.

a quick post before lunch

2009-09-17T08:18:00.000-07:00

Why, hello. I am not dead, in case you were wondering. However, it has been very rainy, and that has been making me feel rather dull and uncreative. I have also started school again, which has been making me feel like I don't want to do math. But do not fear. The weekend approaches and hopefully when it comes, I will have another comic for you. I have named my comic, by the way! It is now called Children Running Free, and I plan to make a spiffy header for it soon.

In the meantime, do have a picture of Callahan. I took several others, of him and Chatelaine together, and then one of Lainie alone, but unfortunately they didn't come out right. The sun was only shining for approximately two-and-a-half minutes before it went away again and made Lainie look all grey.

And now I must flee and eat something before I have to read King Lear.

doing laundry

2009-09-03T16:24:00.001-07:00

I have decided to do a comic which is about my life and my family and all the wacky stuff that goes on in my lovely house. I am not sure what it will be called yet, but here is the first one (it's just one panel, but later on, I will do longer ones). Another thing that you should know about this comic is that I am never going to explain anything. Here goes.

DOING LAUNDRY

OH NO
WILD UNTAMEABLE STALLION

Note: I got my hair cut, as you can see from this illustration.

i shall steal him and squish him

2009-08-26T17:28:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDPvwg_Hu9I

The embedding function was disabled, so you'll all just have to click the link and watch it at Youtube instead of enjoying it in the comfort of my blog. I promise it'll be worth it. And you'll know right away whom I want to steal and squish, because you shall want to steal and squish him too. ♥

writing appetizers

2009-08-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

Post a single sentence from each WIP you have (or as many as you want to pick). No context, no explanations. No more than one sentence!

A lot of the people who've done this on their blogs/Livejournals/whatnot have cheated and posted paragraphs instead of sentences. I shall be doing the same. Paragraphs are more interesting and they have more words. So there. I'm also going to put the titles of the stories after the paragraphs, just to further mutate this meme into a shadow of its' former self.

Note: My paragraphs tend to be obscenely long.
Another note: Sometimes I squish two already huge paragraphs together into one colossus of a paragraph, all for the sake of cheating at a meme. This meme, specifically.

1. She looked up and leveled Micah with an intense gaze. One of her eyes was brown, and the other a startling blue. She was wearing a white eyelet sundress with yellow flowers embroidered along the lower hem. Her bangs were uneven; on one side, they were cut bluntly across and too short, high above her brow line, and on the other side, they hung long and layered into the girl's brown eye. "Want to see?" she said, tapping her sketchbook. "Want to see what I drew?" Her voice was innocently high and sweet, like a little girl's, with a slight hint of a British accent. (from Micah & Tea)

2. "You know what I mean," he snapped. "I know they've told you. Don't ever lie to me, Sphinxie. I can always tell when a person's lying." Everything about his face was narrowed when he said that, then he smoothed his hair back and composed himself again. "Anyway, that's my secret. The doctors - they only diagnosed me because they don't understand me. When doctors don't understand something, they have to label it, but that doesn't mean it's true." (from Cadence's Last Toy)

3. He did not adhere to the custom of wearing dresses, but he was very vehement on the subject of not using electricity in the home, and upon hearing so much as a word on the subject, would stand up from whatever he was sitting on and screech, "NO ELECTRICITY, OH-NO-NO-NO!" This was sometimes accompanied with a waggle of his forefinger in the face of whoever had the gall to start talking about electricity in his presence. It was quite uncanny; since Dhavel was blind, his blank eyes would stare off in whatever direction while he was doing his shouting, and for a moment you would think that you were safe and he hadn't a clue where you were, but then his arm would snap around and come to a halt with his long spindly forefinger mere inches from your nose, occasionally prodding it slightly. And it would, quite frankly, never fail to scare you half out of your wits. (from The Ellory Family)

4. Another time, Octavia said we should hide behind things and jump out and scare the servants when they walked by, so we hid around a corner and jumped out at the first one who walked by, and guess what - she was carrying about fifty bajillion plates all stacked up, and she screamed and dropped them and they shattered all over the floor, and then we got a lecture. And yet another time, Agrippina fell asleep in this chair in the sun, and Octavia said we should get some ink and draw a mustache on her face, so we (well, Octavia and I - Nero ran off and probably hid under his bed) started drawing, and guess what - we had half of a mustache down when she woke up and started going ballistic. Then, instead of lecturing us, she grabbed an ear from each of our heads and twisted them both about 360 degrees, and then she yelled at us until I wished that I'd run off and hid under my bed, too. Ouch. (from Britannicus)

5. "Yes," said the man, straightening up again. "But no one has told you." At this pronouncement, his shoulders shook slightly, and he drew a rattling, strained breath, as though preparing to let out a wail. Instead of wailing, though, he merely let out the breath again in a hoarse whine, and began to silently cry tears which were just as bloodred as his lips. They dripped down his face and neck, leaving red trails in their wake, and seeped into his shirt collar and into the lace jabot; this was apparently a habit of his, for the tears dried brown like blood will - this was the cause of the jabot's brown stains. Chatelaine watched the process with a detached sort of vague fear; she had never been the sort to feel ill at the sight of blood, but, oh, it was so strange to see someone cry tears that weren't clear! She felt that she must stop his crying somehow, so she went over to him and took his spindly white hand in hers. (from Elizabeth Marten's Dream)

6. "No," he said, and then repeated, "I don't have enough." He paused, and his hands shook. "It only comes out red. I thought it would come out all different colours, but it only comes out red." Pauline's own eyes widened. She came forward swiftly, reached out, and grabbed Jack's thin wrist. He grimaced, and she pulled back his wet sleeve. "See, it's red, it only comes out red," said Jack. (from Jack)

7. Our apartment belonged to someone named Jerry Abbott. We paid his rent and heating and electric bills so nothing would look suspicious, and nobody ever came to visit us. We got mail addressed to him, though: junk scams promising money if only he'd invest, store catalogues, and sale papers for the nearest supermarket. For a while right after we'd moved in, we also gotten People magazine until the subscription ran out, and that was addressed to Katherine White (Jerry's girlfriend, I guessed). Once, at Christmas time, we received a card from a Mrs. Abbott, wishing her son a happy holiday and saying she hoped he was all right and would call soon. I put the card up on the refrigerator with one of Jerry's magnets, and then I went out and bought another card and wrote back to her: Merry Christmas, Mom. I'm fine. I'm moving to a new place. I'll call when I'm settled in. Love, Jerry. I copied Mrs. Abbott's return address off of the envelope she'd sent and dropped the card in a mailbox on my way home from the store. I supposed it was better that way. If Mrs. Abbott started getting worried about Jerry, she might come to check on him or something. Besides, I thought she deserved to feel like he was okay. The thing about Jerry Abbott, though, was that he wasn't okay. He was dead, actually, and so was Katherine White. (from Why Did Elena Cross the Road, my Joker/Elena fanfiction)

Fin. :]

faerie princess

2009-08-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

I strung Chatelaine's hoof legs on a couple of days ago, and while they are adorable (and important to her character), I think she will only be wearing them for pictures. She can't sit on her bum while wearing them, and since her strings are pulled tighter when she's got them on, her posing dynamics are different. Yesterday morning, I did a little photoshoot with her in her hooves, and then I changed her right back into her human legs. Which was easier than I thought it would be: I can get her legs switched out in ten minutes or less.*

She is really just too cute. The dress that she's wearing belonged to some doll of my sister's, but she has completely stolen it away. I absolutely love the pastel colors on her.

*I do not own a restringing tool. I string with a piece of white ribbon, a pair of tweezers, and a popsicle stick. Go figure.
A note: My blog is doing something odd to my pictures. When I click on them, they don't get bigger, and they look all grainy. I do apologize.

welcome home, chatelaine

2009-08-20T15:24:00.001-07:00

Chatelaine arrived on August 17th! When I checked my shipping status on Sunday, I thought that she had only just shipped out, but then when I put my tracking number in at the postal site, it said she was already in my area. And that was a big surprise indeed. She came in the next day's mail, about twenty minutes before I had to leave for a birthday party, so I barely had time to open her and put her eyes and wig on before I had to put her back in the box and rush out the door! Extremely frustrating, yes, especially after waiting six months to see her!

When I came back home, I got the little dress that I'd made while waiting for her and got it on her successfully (I tried to dress her before leaving for the party, but her hands wouldn't go through the armholes - I had to rip out a few stitches and then they fit). Then I took her out into the yard and snapped a few pictures. They're not the best: the lighting wasn't very good, and I'm also not used to photographing such a small doll yet. I had to lie on my stomach in the grass to get these. There's only two real pictures, the other two are for showing her sheer small-ness and the detail of her faceup (which is gorgeous, I could go on for hours about it).

Alas, I am rambling. Here is my precious little Lainie:

She looks so tiny sitting in the grass! She is really small, but I like it; she fits perfectly in one hand and I can carry her everywhere without my arm feeling like it's going to drop off.

And here you can see her face more clearly. It's a very soft, pretty faceup; the colours are really nice and there is a bit of golden sparkles around her eyes. Very cute indeed. She also came with eyelashes which I love (eventually I'll get around to putting eyelashes in Callahan). I am completely in love with her. She's an amazing poser, too. Today I glued the magnets into her horns and wings, so soon I'll attempt to get her faun legs on and take some pictures of her in her other form. ♥

the goods which i ordered is deliverying

2009-08-16T16:51:00.000-07:00

Yes! In other words (and translated from Soom's Engrish), my Glot has been shipped out! I am leaping out of my skin with excitement. She should be home this week!

And it only took about six months.
Superfast, that Soom.
:]

a year since

2009-08-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

Callahan's "birthday" was August 4th, so he's been with me for an entire year now! I almost can't imagine what it was like not having him around. He has been worth every penny I spent on him, and has inspired countless photoshoots, plenty of writing, and heaps of clothes I didn't know I could sew. I love my little sulky Sapphira, yes, I do.

This post is a fair bit delayed for several reasons: 1) I took pictures on his actual birthday, but it was a grey day and they didn't come out, 2) The next few days were also grey, so no good lighting was available, and 3)I put a pair of glass eyes on order, and then I wanted to wait until they came in to take new pictures. So, they came in a few days ago, a good sunny day filled with free time came to me, and I took the pictures that were meant to be all along. His new eyes photograph brilliantly, and they respond to Photoshop even better. Speaking of which, I Photoshopped his face in the first one, just for fun.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CALLAHAN!

And as a special bonus, I have here a picture that my mum took of a mushroom in our front yard. The mushroom has since ceased to look like this and now resembles an inside-out umbrella.

Callahan is a one-year-old B&G Sapphira.
Mushroom is a mushroom.
Yes.

an overload of pink

2009-08-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

This fellow's name is Mardi Delagrand. He enjoys stealing silverware, Rococo decor, expensive hats, those plastic flamingos that people put in their yards, and those panoramic Easter eggs made entirely out of sugar. He happens to be the flamboyant trickster-villain of the imaginary world inhabited by a certain Miss Tallulah Faraway. Which is interesting, considering that he is related to Tallulah! He has changed his last name to something that he finds far more superior, but he is obviously a Faraway - just look at that pink hair!

one of their more elaborate plots

2009-08-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

I tried to draw something else, but it didn't come out the way that it should, and so I went looking for inspiration elsewhere. At which point, I found a doodle of Elena with a note next to it that read, "One of Joker and Elena's more elaborate plots". And I found that doodle quite amusing, and so I redrew it, in a new and improved fashion.

I am not quite sure why she is wearing a frilly dress and rollerskating about carrying various drinks, nor am I quite sure what sort of plot might involve her doing this. Ah, well. I am sure Elena knows what she is doing.

dark below the boughs

2009-08-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

Recently, my mum got The Shropshire Lad by A. E. Housman out of the library. It is a strange little book of mostly depressing poems involving dead young men and the overuse of the word "lad". Anyhow, I did not really enjoy these poems for the most part, but there was one poem called "The True Lover" which I really liked. It's really exactly like most of the other poems, since it too involves a dead guy and the overuse of the word "lad", but for some reason it made me want to draw. And it was more creative than the other ones, in my opinion. Blah, blah, blah. So, anyhow, here is my concept art.

The lad came to the door at night,
When lovers crown their vows,
And whistled soft and out of sight
In shadow of the boughs.

"I shall not vex you with my face
Henceforth, my love, for aye;
So take me in your arms a space
Before the east is grey."

"When I from hence away am past
I shall not find a bride,
And you shall be the first and last
I ever lay beside."

She heard and went and knew not why;
Her heart to his she laid;
Light was the air beneath the sky
But dark under the shade.

"Oh do you breathe, lad, that your breast
Seems not to rise and fall,
And here upon my bosom prest
There beats no heart at all?"

"Oh loud, my girl, it once would knock,
You should have felt it then;
But since for you I stopped the clock
It never goes again."

"Oh lad, what is it, lad, that drips
Wet from your neck on mine?
What is it falling on my lips,
My lad, that tastes of brine?"

"Oh like enough 'tis blood, my dear,
For when the knife has slit
The throat across from ear to ear
'Twill bleed because of it."

Under the stars the air was light
But dark below the boughs,
The still air of the speechless night,
When lovers crown their vows.

the emperor's new clothes

2009-07-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

Might I present a quick, scribbly Nero cartoon for your enjoyment. I watched a wonderful documentary on the weekend and I was just watching Quo Vadis on Youtube a few hours ago, so I am all Neroed out. Which is a good thing in my book. Anyhow, Nero wants to show all of you good citizens of Rome how handsome he looks in his new outfit:

Fun Fact #1: The-Emperor's-new-clothes-story actually started out as a story about somebody fooling Nero with a lyre that didn't actually play any music.
Fun Fact #2: The above outfit is a simplified version of this one from Quo Vadis.
Fun Fact #3: Posing Nero (the third one in) is possibly the cutest thing I have ever drawn.

teatime

2009-07-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

My grammy sent me a little teacup in May for my birthday, and it happened to be the perfect size for Callahan, so he decided to take advantage of that and have tea. He quite enjoyed it.
(Note: The light changed several times while I was taking these pictures, so they all look different.)

And a bonus shot of the teacup, because it's so pretty:

Callahan and I thank you for the teacup, Grammy. ♥

beginnings

2009-07-20T17:57:00.000-07:00

I've decided to do a 100 Prompts challenge for Callahan and the events in his story. Simply put, there are 100 one-word prompts, and you are supposed to write one short piece inspired by each prompt. Here is my first one.

Title: The Cutting of the Rose
Prompt: Beginnings.
Summary: The Queen takes a young Callahan from his parents, beginning his new life as her pet.
Notes: Callahan is about four or five years old in this story.

Click here to read.

i'm in love with your ghost

2009-07-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

Just a few simple pictures against a white background, but I really liked how they've turned out. Something about the lighting in them is nice. And I never knew that Callahan could rest his head on his hand before this photoshoot. I listened to 'Ghost' by the Indigo Girls while I was editing these. ♥

Other doll news:

Callahan's "birthday" is coming up in August. I plan to buy him a pair of boots and a pair of new glass eyes for the occasion. Wouldn't it be interesting if I could get different coloured eyes for my birthday? I would definitely ask for them, if I could. I'd ask for greens, and purples, and yellows, and blanks (just white all through, no pupil or iris).

Chatelaine is supposed to ship on the 20th. We shall see about that (I hope Soom sticks to that date!). Her hair and eyes and patterns for her clothes shipped yesterday, so I should be receiving those quite soon.

Bella news:

I am a mad doll lady, and I think Callahan wants something, but I don't know what, so I am going to sew him a green kimono. They have torn up the street in front of my house and are now using machines to re-street it that are vibrating my room. I recently dream that Rabastan and I were wild forest children who lived in an impressionist painting. And I quite like Regina Spektor's new song 'Eet', and I am going to see about putting it on my blog.

The end.

an unanticipated book cover

2009-07-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

I sat down to make another book cover, and ended up creating one for Legion, which wasn't something I planned on doing. Legion is a very controversial book (<--- a family inside joke) about a demon who finds God. It will be published someday, but nobody knows exactly what I mean by someday. Perhaps someday will come within a few years, or perhaps hundreds of years from now when a man riding on a chrome hoverdisk (no, I don't know what a hoverdisk is, they haven't been invented yet) excavates my grave site and finds it still clutched in my moldy hands, and then sells it to a publisher for a majillion dollars, because it is the legendary lost work of the famous Miss Darkweaver, dating from back in the 2000s. God knows when someday will come. And I mean that literally.

Anyhow, I will probably create several more covers for Legion, and also have several different illustrators make covers as well, because I like the idea of all different versions floating around out there. I have posted here a version without words and one with words, for your enjoyment. Without words:

And with them:

*clutches it in her alive, un-moldy hands and mutters, "Someday" to herself*

a faerie

2009-07-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

This is a simple doodle that I happened to like. And when I like something, as of late, I tend to use my sparkle brushes all over it. I think it looks like she is floating, preserved, inside a glass jar in a curiosity shop, or perhaps lying on a frozen pond with snow coming down around her.

mistress of the castle

2009-07-09T19:25:00.000-07:00

My little Soom Glot, Chatelaine (who I have been waiting for - for 4 months and then some), is due home in a matter of weeks! I am extremely excited. And I need to order her hair and eyeballs, I haven't done that yet. Anyhow, what I have done is draw a picture in anticipation of her arrival.

I am quite loving my sparkly brushes lately. They add just the right amount of whimsical to every picture.

jack fell down and broke his crown

2009-07-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

A very long time ago, I drew cover art for a book I was writing (it was The Golden Line; click here to see said cover art) and fantasized about the book eventually being made into a movie, and the art being replicated with a photograph of a real live human actor. It was all terribly fun and exciting. Anyhow, The Golden Line has since been dumped into my This-Was-A-Strange-Idea File, and I've moved on to other things...however, the fun and excitement of doing cover art (and imagining real live human actors taking its' place) remains! Which made me decide to do art for all the books I'm currently involved with. Coming attractions include The Ellory Family, Elizabeth Marten's Dream, and The Univira...if I am inspired to do them, at any rate.

Jack was almost my NaNoWriMo novel, but Sloane Verding and her ghostly Roman friend butted in with their story, Caesar's Girl. To explain more, Jack is the story of Jack (no! really?), a strange young man who is obsessed with colours. In fact, if he doesn't wear at least seven different colours, he starts bashing his head (or other people's heads) against hard things. He also happens to drift dangerously in and out of reality far too often for the likes of normal society, which has landed him in a psychiatric hospital. He believes his eyes are the source of art and all evil in the world, accessorizes his outfits with candy bracelets, and likes to draw on the hospital's walls.

I created him in August of 2008 and promptly forgot about him once he did not turn out to be my NaNo project. I remembered him all of three days ago, and started writing him again, which has been very nice.

Note: There are some strange-nesses about the way his arms are drawn. I do not know why.

what you shouldn't see on your security camera

2009-06-23T12:56:00.000-07:00

While I do love scribbly drawings with lots of blendy shading, this sort of look is what I always wanted from Photoshop - very crisp line art, very crisp, flat, cartoon colours. Yes. Moving on, it is the habit of Joker and Elena to always take a minute or two to detach the security camera from the wall of where-ever it is that they just committed a crime, and take a nice shot of their faces to leave behind for the authorities, who can't ever seem to catch them.

Note: I am not sure what it is above Elena's head that the Joker is looking at. I am sure, however, that it is nothing good, due to how smiley Joker seems to be about it.
Second Note: Either all the victims of their crimes have very unsanitary homes/businesses, or they just like to roll in dirt.

a hundred if i wanted

2009-06-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

My mum and I sewed Callahan a new skirt together out of some wonky silk, and it turned out looking just like the skirt inside my head. I am very happy with it, and want one in my size. It's one of those things that's important in Callahan's storyline, and seeing it in real life is brilliant! There's still a few more "story" things I need to get for my boy: mainly, black lace-up boots and a doll-size sword. Anyhow, after we finished the skirt, I went out into my backyard woods to take pictures, and Mum came along...and ended up taking a few pictures herself! Yes, one or two of these are my mother's work. She may soon become a mad doll owner herself.

Callahan is a B&G Sapphira boy.
The story of the tattered skirt can be read here, and will explain the post's title.

a happy father's day animation

2009-06-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

This animation is of a beloved family tradition. Someday, I will figure out how to put music to animations and then this will be truly complete. Also, I seemingly cannot get Blogger to accept my animations anymore, and so I had to upload this one via Photobucket. So, please do click below and enjoy!

♥ I love you, Daddy! ♥

miss faraway

2009-06-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

Why, look, another speed paint! This is the imaginary friend of a character who I've never talked about (but who will show his face eventually!). Her name is Tallulah Faraway, or Miss Tallulah Faraway to you if you are not her creator. She can turn 17-and-a-half cartwheels in a row, has naturally pink hair, and a fondness for bright clothing, plastic dress-up pearls, fruit jewelry, strawberry lip gloss, confetti, and anything covered in sugar.