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aoikiwi

aoi kiwi
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I think? Just realized that last entry was from December. THAT SEEMS LONG ENOUGH TO ME.

Okay, now I just have to think of something to say.

Uhh.

I have a tumblr? All I really post on there are homestuck fanart and duplicate speedpaint posts, plus reblogs of cool art tutorials and completely random things I like. It is basically your average tumblr, in other words. (I also have a secret tumblr for my embarrassing shipping art, which people are welcome to look for but I which I will never post the address of, hahah.)

Yep. That's all I've got. See you in 6 months. XD
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I was reminded of the merits of working hard and trying again while watching this youtube vid of a 4 year old gymnast.  

Yeah,  I know normally kid prodigies are not the people to watch when you want to encourage yourself.  It is a bit frustrating to see someone a quarter of your age doing better than you at something you've been doing longer than they've been alive. But this video is different. Really! (The trick, I think, is to watch kids who are prodigies at something you would be terrible at-- in my case, I know I couldn't learn gymnastics in a million years, so this video is totally nonthreatening, hahah.)

Anyway, this girl is a) adorable and b) obviously talented, and c) on the high beam unsupervised at age *4* which is kind of scary to watch. (Where are the adults??) But my favorite thing about this video is her attitude: when she tries something and it doesn't work, she just stands up and patiently does it again.  And again.  And again.  And gets a little bit better with each try.  She looks like she's having a blast learning.

For the past couple years, I've been so stressed out trying to turn myself into someone employable that it was refreshing to remember how much fun drawing can be.  I got especially overwhelmed by that pressure last year at school, to the point where I started mentally yelling at myself for not doing well enough (you know, the usual thoughts: 'I don't deserve to be in school' and 'I'll never do anything with my life' and 'everyone who is going to do well is already doing well, you're just pretending to be an artist, so just give up'.)  And that made it really, really tough to keep on trying and to finish projects.  Not finishing projects, in turn, totally butchered my self esteem and confidence.  I know a lot of my friends have been in this place, and it tends to hit you like a downward spiral, getting worse the longer you're stuck in it.  

That's why I love this video, though.  It reminds me, in a non-theoretical way, that I don't need to be talented to be an artist. I just need to keep trying, and trying, not getting discouraged at 'failure' but enjoying it for the valuable experience it gives.  

I am confident again that anyone who can draw can, given the time and effort, become a good artist.  Even myself, haha.  I really want to try harder this year and get better at art as much as I can and to enjoy the process, and I want to encourage other people to do their best too. (If you're on winter break from school-- join me in drawing horrible pictures! I bet if we draw every day we will see improvement by the end of the break. Unless you have, like, a two day break. That might be rushing it just a bit. :p)

Happy holidays to everyone!





PS: Deus Ex Deus Ex Deus Ex
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hard to believe

1 min read
RIP Satoshi Kon. :( I am a big fan of Tokyo Godfathers so this was shocking and sad to find out.




Today I was looking through old sketchbooks, and you know how you leave yourself notes sometimes? Well, most of mine make sense-- things like, "draw the arm longer!" or "film paper due tomorrow, stop putting it off." But then I found this rather cryptic note I wrote to myself last year:

"malfunctioning lightsaber

exploding room of therapy

cut out 1 extra frame."

What does it mean? I wish I could remember what I was thinking at the time, lol.
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Hey, just thought I should let people know I'm not dead again in case anyone's wondering. :)

I did a bunch of self indulgent venting in this spot earlier, but I decided to stash it in here so that people will only see it if they want to:
docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATe…

In other, less ranty news, animation school is going well! I've learned some really interesting things about gesture, character, and personality that I would love to try and apply to a comic or graphic novel situation (if situation's the word.) Probably won't post any new drawings any time soon, but I look forward to catching up on what other people have been doing. (Even if only in a lurker-ish way, sorry!)

plug:
everyone and their mom has heard of this webcomic, probably, but in case you're one of the... three who haven't:

The Meek: www.meekcomic.com/2008/12/27/c…

I really, really love the art style used here. There's, uh, a lot of female nudity in the first chapter because the main character seems to not like clothes, but I don't think it's in bad taste-- about on the same level as looking at the results of a figure drawing class. Still, I figured it would be worth warning about in advance. If that won't bother you, definitely check it out!
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So! I'm doing a bit of an informal poll, and I would be quite appreciative if you artistic folk would provide me with some of your insights. :) Basically, I've become interested in how people learn, and in how 'learning theory' applies to drawing. (What practices make us get more or less out of a drawing session? How long does it take to get good? Method vs. artistically-licensed madness? that kind of thing.)

So, I have the following questions for you-- feel free to answer just one, all of them, make up some of your own, whatever you like.


Kiwi's Super-Informal Art Questionnaire:

1) Talent or effort-- which is more important?
innate talent
effort
they're about equally important.


2) When you draw/paint/etc., do you usually
draw for practice, with a definite goal in mind (for instance, figure studies or drawing hands)?
just doodle whatever you feel like, for fun?
almost always draw for a reason (to work on my comic/fan project/school project)?
focus on setting down the cool image you've got in your head?
try to integrate all of these things at once?
duh, you missed my option, it's _____________.


3) When it comes to improvement, is it more important to draw a lot, or to be focused and attentive while drawing-- Quality vs. quantity?

4) Do you draw more from
life and direct reference?
your head, using a stylized method of drawing (like anime)?
about equally from both?


5) Is life drawing important, and optionally, why?

6) Do you feel like you learn better from classes, tutorials andor other peoples' input, or from experimenting on your own? Is peer interaction and a community environment like DA important to learning how to draw?

7) how many hours a day/week do you usually spend drawing?

8) And this one's just for me because I'm feeling cheesy: favorite art-related quote, if you have one. : )
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Featured

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