Influences In The Making of "Lively": Dragons & 2 Animation Colleges

During the last 2-3 years of the 1990s, dragons seemed to pop in & out of popularity.

And, by 1997-2001, there was even a popular fashion trend with Chinese dragons on EVERYTHING! Not just men's clothing, but girls as well! I remember in 1999 & 2000 walking around at The Gallery Mall in Center City Philadelphia and EVERYTHING in all the girls' fashion shops had Chinese dragons on them, and wanting ALL of them!

I think I STILL have a pair of pants somewhere in my closet from '97/98.

But, at the end of high school, I found I was suddenly CRAZY about anything, and EVERYTHING with dragons!

The majority of the sketches & doodles I did of dragons in high school I don't have... it's mainly because I doodled them on my math papers, or scraps of paper...

I was having difficulty sketching the dragons, because I wanted to draw the wings, but I wanted them to look better. (In case you didn't know, I'm kinda famous for my wings in my artwork)

Sometimes around 1997/1998 I was already dreaming up stories or ideas about dragons, but I didn't quite know what to do with them yet... as I would commute to Philly from NJ to my animation classes on Saturday mornings, I would play my Disckman (CD Player) and listen to techno music, and stair our the window of the PATCO train, and my day-dreams would play out... I didn't quite know what to do with it tho', yet, and didn't have a whole coherent plan or story yet... just more of a feeling... some images in my mind...

Then, in 1998, Blümchen came out with a new single which was a remake of Rozalla's "Everbody's Free" called "Ich bin weider hier".  (I am again here)

This was one of those Eurodance popular themes of proto steam-punk themes very popular in the 1990s. It had already been done by other Eurodance/Rave Techno bands like in Dune's video for the song "Million Miles From Home", or that Egyptian+Techno Fusion of the band "Pharao".

Not only did the Blümchen video have the whole steam-punk vibe, it had a very heavy influence from "Titanic" which I'd worked as a concessionist & usher at AMC during, which was CRAZY that year and went on & on forever... but, the video had a wyvern in it (a dragon). The video had loads of interesting visuals, special effects, very good quality cameras. And, it totally fueled my imagination...

So, I began inventing my own story, and developing characters etc...

At first it was Lively... and, I was developing the dragon character further... But, it wasn't narrowed down yet...

During spring break in 1998 of my senior year in high school, Wolfgang (from Germany) sent me a taped copy of EVERY songs from EVERY album by Scooter (at the time), and it JUST arrived before I left to go on vacation with my two school mates, and 1 of there girls mother.

(The whole thing was like a string of bad luck. Before I left, the day before I went to the bank and withdrew $300 cash to have fun in FL. I left the money in my satchel I a locker at AMC. AND, some new boys that JUST started that morning robbed my money, and left the building.That was also sort of the start of the beginning of the end for AMC for me. It was a great place to work, but management changed, and I got put through Hell once I graduated higschool and went to summer school at the U-ARTS)

Before we drove down, my friend decided she & I ought to ditch her mother, and the blond girl and "go in the basement to talk with her grandmother".  What that actually meant was I'm taking you to go smoke a joint with my grandmother and the blond is no fun, and she's getting on my nerves.

So, there were were smoking 2 joints with her grandmother, opening up a vent by hand, and blowing the smoke into a wadded up towel so as not stink like expensive perfumed cannabis kind buds. After that, she drove most of the way herself higher than I was because she smoke almost double what I smoked, and I smoked A LOT! I also have asthma... But, that was the most unqiue high of my entire life! Better than ANYTHING I'd EVER smoked with my drug dealing little bro'.

So, I was in the back seat, and the blond girl (sitting to my right) kept turning to me telling me how she was irked with the chick that I got high with every hour or so. I think she KNEW that chick was high, but obviously didn't know that I was... Man, I was HIGH AS A KITE!

The drive is about 12 hours from Southern New Jersey, and these folks dilly-dally and take forever to up and leave... I did NOT know that... until I went on that trip...

So, by the time it got dark, I popped in 1 of the tapes of all the songs by "Scooter" that I'd LITERALLY only just gotten about a day or 2 BEFORE we left, and I was saving them SPECIFICALLY to listen to on the drive down to Florida! Now, when you're high, there's a possibility that some songs can effect how you feel, your mood, or even (if you're lucky) give you euphoria... it doesn't always happen tho'... but there were 2 specific tracks that whenever I heard them they caused me to have these AMAZING emotional sensations, that seemd to make my VERY SOUL vibrate with utter pleasure, bliss, and ecstasy! 1 track was on 1 side of the cassette, and 1 track was on the other. Both sides had a number of really great techno songs, that I loved VERY much, but these 2 songs made me have these amazing feelings! Incredible!

So, when I flipped the tape over again, to start to play the songs all over again, 1 of the songs played again, and I found myself experiencing those feelings yet again! Just utter waves of joy, ecstasy, sensation! Same thing happened YET again when I flipped it back, played the other side, and heard the other songs! It was SO amazing to me!

So, finally after finishing that side, I didn't really feel high anymore, but I wondered whether, or not, if I tried to play those songs, would it still happen??? So, I Fast-forwarded the tape, found the song, and BINGO! It happened AGAIN! In fact it happened EVERY TIME! Both songs! Fortunately they almost lined up on both sides of the tape!

This went on ALL night, and I was up even until dawn...

But, unfortunately, the following day... those feelings never came back... and no other weed could ever give that amazing experience again... However, the very listening of the tape, and all the songs, was to me a very spiritual-like experience! (Yeah... I know... it was drugs... but, it felt more than that to me...)

Listening to those songs, filled my mind with inspiration, and many of the stories involving the dragons, and Lively, began to start to form, further and further...

(There was also a 3rd song, which also gave me some feelings and sensations as well, but the other 2 were the most moving. However, this song was on the tape AFTER 1 of the tracks, which is WHY I kept thinking it was 2 songs! )

As for that whole spring break thing, it was going well until the end. The chick that drove us down kept drinking too much hard liquor and did way too much drugs... I have my limits, ya know? She kept saying she was gonna do this, this or that, but would just lay around and not do it, and the blond, whom was supposed to be her best friend did nothing but complain to me constantly into my ear about how much she hated everything that girl did.

I was really confused, because the girl's brother, mother, and relatives in FL were all so very nice to us when we were down there, but the blond was never happy with any of it.

Towards the end, my asthma was getting really bad, and my friend began smoking in the car... she also seemed to do things on purpose to stress herself out needlessly... I didn't understand why she was doing that, and she was fighting with her mother, plus she didn't have any sleep for 2 days. I have NO idea why, and even her mother offered to drive.

So, she parked the car, and we were all supposed to sleep for a few hours in Virginia. Then, randomly she started smoking in the car with the windows barely even open. next thing I knew I was having an asthma attack, really bad. The blond allegedly tried to come over to help me. I remember her saying stuff, and being concerned about me, but they told people I beat or attacked the blond, or in some versions I pushed the bond, or slapped the blond, or that I slapped the blond... None of that happened... What DID happen, however, was the girl that was smoking had some kind of raging fit. She started screaming, opened her car door wide open, flew my door open, then reached in like a person with roid rage, grabbed me and dragged me out of my seat, began beating me up really bad too! She dragged me across the pavement which broke my sandals (both of them) and practically mopped the pavement with me, as my legs were scraped and bleeding. She also dragged me by my hair, picked me up to hold my up to beat me, threw me down to beat me, kicked me in my kidneys, my stomach, punched me in the face, and tore up my clothes that I was wearing. She also screamed babbling nonsense words, and every once in a while she would say "bitch". 

I was so scared for my life that the only thing I could do to defend myself was to scratch at her, plus at the time I was still partly a Christian & a Pacifist at the time (even tho' I was slightly dabbling in Wicca, the Occult, Gnosticism, and New Age + Philosophy) , and you're NOT supposed to fight back, EVER. Christianity is weird...

I ran away into a gas station, and asked people to help me, and they called the cops. the cops showed up, but they didn't believe me. Since I scratched her to get her off me, she had more blood on her than I did. and, bruises take hours to show... 

Then, after a while they suddenly wanted to take me home, and asked me to go with them... but, I had a terrible vision of myself laying dead in a ditch, so I was scared for my life to go with them...

And, I stayed in the Police Station and waited for my mother & her boyfriend to drive down to Virginia to come pick me up.

I was late getting back to school by 2 days, because I had to go to a doctor, get X-rayed, and was prescribed with anti-inflammatory drugs. My urine was pink or orange because she's kicked my kidneys so hard...

Then, before I even went back to school, I had to call the principle and have all of my classes re-arranged so I couldn't be in the same classes with her anymore. I was SO scared for my life! 

By the time I got back to school there were millions of other stories, and versions that she kept telling and re-inventing...and, no matter who asked her to tell about it, she couldn't keep the story strait... 

She even had my ex, and a group of people gang up on me by stopping my car from starting... 

I didn't know who to trust, because I KNEW she was gonna try to turn my friends against me... but, when I told my closer friends that I wasn't gonna talk about it, because I KNEW she would most likely slip-up, and tell weirder and weirder versions, and be unable to keep her stories strait that it would prove that she was the guilty person, and I was the victim... that's exactly what happened, then when I finally told my best friend at the time, she actually did me a favor and tried to fish the girl for details... and, she earned my trust back, so I told my best friend my version, which was the real version, and before long, people heard my version, and began to seriously doubt that girl's credibility...

The odd thing was that the blond girl, whom was supposed to be that girl's best friend, did nothing but bitch about how much she hated her. But, as soon as she beat the living crap out of me, she quickly turned on ME, and kissed that girl's butt so much that it was WEIRD. I'd never seen an evil side of the blond in my life EVER. And, even tho' the girl that beat me up was telling wild tales about the story, that she was somehow the victim, and I was the drug addict (so I kinda wonder what other secret drugs she might've also been doing), the blond began doing the same thing, but even WEIRDER! I NEVER even DID anything to the blond!

Then, there was senior prom! the BOTH of them ganged up on me, and followed me like hell-raising mosquitoes to harass me... before, when I was nicknamed "Pocahontas" those 2 were the ones whom openly said THE MOST that they loved the name, loved my style, and admired my courage, and even stood up to bullies on my behalf, or stuck-up for me. I'd worked on projects with them, and even got that girl in a special project with me privately funded by the school, and we even had our own perks because of who were were. But, that night at the Prom in the hotel bathroom, I was in the stall and they began acting like mad crazed women, and started saying stuff like: "What kind of person thinks they're Pocahontas? That's an insane and sick idea! What kind of crazy bitch would do that?"
Then, it was cheap shots about how I spoke German, listened to German music, or techno music, or thought I was Blümchen." They even acted out mock killings of me. Then, they threatened my life, and said: Oh that kind of girl should watch out because she might end up dead. 

Then, the guy I went to the Prom with got his car's tire slashed...

There was plenty of other weird and fucked up things that happened after that... 

But, those are the ones that stick out the most... 

Then, about a week or 2 before graduation we had this sort of Senior Picnic in which the class (or 1998) would all go on buses to some rented barbeque park, eat burgers, and do activities, or lounge around... My best friend at the time, had been telling me for a few days that she had been talking to the girl that beat me up, and kept insisting that I should go talk with her to that girl, that she admitted some things, and that she regretted it and she was sorry... I was so friggin' scared out of my mind, and I think I even might have had a restraining order against her. She had like super villain strength, and this person whom I'd believed for my entire high school enrollment was my very good friend, just up and snapped and tried to kill me, kept threatening my life, damaging people's cars including mine, so I wasn't buying it... I figured perhaps it was some kinda trick or something... 'cause I was against it... 

But, my best friend even got some of my other friends to also try and help sway me to talk to her... At the senior picnic, my best friend said to me: Look, she's really sorry. She was crying, she feels bad. You're gonna go talk to her right now! Even tho' I protested, she and 2 other girls got me to agree to at least hear her out. So, the girl came over to talk to me...

It was an odd feeling... You could just SEE her face, she looked terrible. Stressed, and odd... she looked like she sort of hated life, and she didn't seem like she liked me... but, she sort of bowed her head to me, and has submissive apologetic body language... even tho' her eyes looked angry and crazy, from her mouth she started to apologize to me... sometimes she would grit her teeth, and she even looked like she was chocking back tears... she didn't so much say "sorry", but she said she felt bad, she wished she could un-do it, etc... and she kept talking... 

My best friend told me that she felt bad, and probably deep down inside she actually was my friend, and that she was probably just making a stupid teenaged mistake. Odd words from my friend since I was usually the wise one... but, then, the girl started crying, and she hugged me...

So, my best friend was like: OK, so, are we cool now? 

I wan't entirely sure whether to believe it or not... but, since suddenly everyone was watching, I decided it would be better, and more diplomatic if I just played along with it...

The blond, however, was SO obviously NOT happy about this. She stood there scowling at me with the dirtiest looks. And, she would still keep up saying the weird crazy things like she was saying before like the cheap shots about "Pocahontas" and being crazy... At 1 point the girl even told the blond off!

Also, this whole "makeup" thing was odd for me, because she just WASN'T the same person to me at all, it was NOTHING like before, nor the person I knew her as from before... yet, she would actually hang out around me, or near me those last 2 weeks of high school, semi-nonchalantly... but, there was just some odd vibe about her I couldn't quite understand... the blond however STILL had daggers for me, was VERY vocal about it. So, I wonder if maybe she was mad because that girl actually wanted to makeup with me to some degree, and even tho' they'd BOTH orchestrated whole lies, frauds, and vandalism against me, I guess she figured why stop now? Maybe it gave her some false sense of prejudiced based power trip. I don't know, and it's not really my place to judge. 

 I'd also had to attend award ceremonies, a number of them before we graduated, and I even had to do a speech and praise the girl that beat me up. The other girls on the project were scared of that girl too because they understood that she's actually beat me up, and that I was scared out of my mind from her.

Graduation sucked too... it didn't seem so much like the chick that beat me up was trying to ruin it for me, but the blond kept it up, in subtle, indirect, and direct ways. It was worse than "Mean Girls". At least she (if not both of them) had the guys whom were originally my friend heckle me.

Anyways, that was a long time ago... I have NO idea who they are anymore, what kind of persons they are, and even tho' I could judge them (very poorly) by their past actions... I don;t know whether I ought to hold it against them all the way, necessarily... I haven't even used their names either... But, you know me, if I wanted to go after injustice, and evil doers, it's no holds barred!

But.... I will say this... that MIGHT be the reason WHY I don't do BLOND characters, and if I do have them, they are villains... *shrugs*

Anyways, after graduation, I had a Half Tuition Scholarship given to me by the Animation teacher Lowl Boston, with award certificates, and everything. But, they wouldn't give me a scholarship to enroll full-time in the fall. Despite that, they CONSTANTLY called me PESTERING me to to enroll in the animation major there.

I'd already desided to enroll fulltime at AIPH (The Art Institute of Philadelphia) which had THE EXACT SAME TEACHERS as the U-ARTS, and for THE SAME associates degree that took 4 years to get there took only 2 at AIPH. Plus, AIPH supposedly garenteed graduates jobs in their fields...

Since there were NO other animation school in the area, and ANIMATION was NOT taught at ANY of the community colleges or Sate Universities in NJ, after reasearching as much as I could since I was 16 it seemed to me that AIPH was THE BEST choice, and I was VERY excited to go there! But, they screwed up my paperwork, and I couldn;t start in the Fall, but had to wait until Januray.

Meanwhile, not only was I attending FULL TIME classes that summer at the U-ARTS the new fucking managers at AMC kept fucking with my schedule! They would schedule me to work 8 days strait!!!! (there are ONLY 7 days in a week) So every 8 days I would get 1 day off, and I was exhausted! The hours they scheduled me for I also couldn't make it in time for, and NO ONE would ever bother to TRY to take up the slack for my hours, even tho' I ALWAYS did so for them (because I guess that's what ur supposed to do if ur a good Christian, be everyone's bitch to kick around, then forgive them and pray for them because you're "supposed to be the better man").

I got so flustered and frustrated every time the new schedule came out because I'd JUST told them I HAVE COLLEGE CLASSES from MON-FRI at THESE specific HOURS, plus stuff ON THE WEEKEND for about 6 weeks! Then, these assholes were like: well you need to submit that to me IN WRITING! I was like: I DID! I handed it TO YOU, TO YOUR FACE, IN YOUR HAND! I REMINDED YOU ON THE PHONE. YOU SAID EVERYTHING WAS FINE, and YOU WOULD TAKE CARE OF IT!
Yet, every week THE SAME DAMNED THING!

After the 4th time, I freaked the fuck out in the Lobby! Now, back then, I was calm cool, and collected... but, not only that, I was under tremendous pressure from the U-ARTS to go toe EVERY friggin' party, and EVERY event JUST because I got a scholarship award! They chewed me out almost every week over EVERYTHING!

Not only that but they had told me they were FINE with the fact that I couldn't attend THE LAST WEEK because I was going to Germany.  But, the bitch in charge of the Summer School program LOVED to rub that in my face! She would even LOOK for reason to chew me out!

WTF! I'd always been treated as an adult at the U-ARTS before, and this bitch talked to me like I was 12!

So, lets just say the year 1998 wasn't exactly a great year for me, and not only that but in 1997 the day before my birthday, just about 1-2 weeks before senior year started, my dad's girlfriend got my dad drunk and had HIM beat me up, brutally, then I ran away to live with my mother in my barefeet. the next day was my birthday, and I turned 18.

So, after I came back from Germany in August I was VERY sick, and had tonsillitis & step throat. I was too sick to work at AMC for about 2 weeks, yet they still kept pressuring me to sign up to be a supervisor, even tho' My mom and her boyfriend decided they were moving us all to Southern Delaware. They moved ON my brithday.

Lemme tell you, I am probably the the single most person on the entire planet Earth that has had THE WORST BIRTHDAYS throughout my ENTIRE adult life. (Last year sucked REALLY bad too!)

DRAGONS

It was during my time at the U-ARTS that summer that I really started to form these concepts for the dragon stuff, and also involving Lively...

They handed out these hard covered, square shaped, ring bound sketch books. Not standard sketchbook sizes, kinda small actually. But, we were all handed these. All majors, not just animation majors.

And, the bitch in charge of the whole summer school thingy was the type of artsy-fartsy weirdos that's more of a "crafter" than an artist. By that I mean "arts & crafts" not actual art... that and MODERN art... which is mostly SHIT and talentless, but they will try to spin it as tho' it's "the art of ideas", or "intellectual" art. Look, Duchamp in my opinion was a genius, and a number of the original movement in modern arts, and abstract art were the geniuses, and mind blowing... but, pretty much everyone else is a wanna-be, and it's because THEY ARE LAZY, and SUCK AT DRAWING! These are also the types that always go on & on about "texture" as tho' they were some kind of actual artist... "Oh, well, I like texture." Or they do or TEACH pottery, but they think that SMOOSHING it makes it somehow better. The idiots that slap paint around and call it art, and make REAL artists have a bad reputation... Or painted who ONLY paint "still life" like bowls of fruit, or flowers, even tho' ANYONE could do shit like that, and it would still look like fruit or a flower... 

Yeah, she was 1 of those... 

I kept winning awards and prizes while I was the U-ARTS which you could SEE on her face that she HATED. 

Look, I really was nice to her, and I was mostly still a Christian back then... so, if I come off as being snobby, or elitist, I'm sorry... but, I hate being put down, or told what I should or should do or be like, by someone that has less tallent and skills in their whole brain let alone their entire body than I did even at age 18 in just my pinky! This bitch could make or break me too... What? You STILL don't ike the way I'm kissing ur ass? Well, maybe she should tell me how my ass tastes?

(Can ya tell I'm angry in retrospect?)

Anyways in her misguided ideals she thought that since we were ALL artists that we OUGHt to "decorate" out sketchbooks. The covers that is... Da-fuck???

I personally couldn't give a SHIT what the cover of my sketchbook looks like! I'm not some dumb-assed scrap-booker crafter HACK! I'm and ACTUAL artist! I didn't want some gaudy shit all over the cover! I happend to LIKE the simplistic elegant plain BLACK hard cover...

and, almost NO ONE actually WANTED to "decorate" the sketchbook. The purpose of the sketch book, is TO PUT YOUR ART INSIDE OF IT! And, the cover protects it! Especially if you were a GUY why the FUCK would he want to glue tissue paper, fabrics, or dorky paper on it? THEY ARE DUDES!

But, to get this Bitch off my back, I used a Blümchen sticker and "decorated it". pretty much EVERYONE just put stickers on their sketchbooks. Bands, like Wu-Tang, or heavy Metal bands, or hardcore Punk, or Disney movies like The Lion King...
If you had a corn-ball fucked-up weirdo looking cover, that looked like something a Kindergartener would do, somehow in her opinion that was THE BEST!

Man! In retrospect, I ust look back at my younger self and I think: WHF? I actually used to "respect athority" and still play this whole "everyone's opinion has some validity sometimes" bullshit! 

But, today, i'm NO LONGER a Christian, and on reevaluating this whole thing I've come to a conclusion. That chick was A BITCH, on a Power trip. She thought that since she was in charge of the Summer School Programs at the University that it somehow validated to her that she was some sort of "Success", a great artist, a strong woman, etc... No. it went to her head! 
I got ZERO respect for people like that. I've had some REAL leaders to look up to in my life time, true alphas and they WERE NOT bitches like that! And she was an Ageist hack that deserves me to look down at her! 

But, in that sketchbook was where I started to dream up, and sketch out most of my concepts for my dragon characters, specifically Djehkäujaa.

I do still have a number of my earlier sketches and concept work. And, I just found them, so I WILL have to scan and publish them...

But, I think this blog entry has gone on long enough for 1 entry.... and, I feel SO much better having let it all out! ;) Creatively & constructively!

So, look forward to me publishing those sketches in my next blog entries... 

The Euro Influence on The Creation of Lively, and The Rave Princess

So, remember how I told you I was very "into my heritage"? Yeah, well you see, as it turns out, most Americans have, oh... you know.... European Heritage... Funny thing about that... yeah, well you see, I'm ethnically MOSTLY European... actually SEVERAL...

On my father's side, via his father, they were totally German, and my name "Zimbleman" comes from the original name of "Zimbelmann" which means the "Zill player" (Zimbeln is usually German for "Zills") or the "dulcimer player". ;)

So, of course, I had an interest in that... if I had an interest in my British side, I could just call me grandmother and ask her, or easily look it up... I mean, after all, it was in English, and sure sometimes I was interested in Celtic or Druid things as well... But, Germany seemed so different and far away in the 90s...

But, in 1994 we got our first computer. A Macintosh Power PC 6200 connecting to the internet via E-World! Oh WOW!

I used it to look up unicorns, and music, like bands from Europe such as ERASURE, and techno stuff. I loved Techno music, but in 1994 there were no MP3s. Just AIF & WAV. 1 time I got a theme song to X-FILES! Yeah!

But, sometime around 1995 or 1996 E-World shut down, and we got a deal to go on America Online alias AOL. So, we did!

That's when I met this really nice guy named Wolfgang. He was 85% deaf, and had hearing aids. BUT, he gave me lots of attention, and sent me presents from Germany ALL THE TIME. Fine chocolates like Milka, Ritter Sport, and the ultimate: LINDT. Back then there were NONE of those in the USA.

I liked SOME Hip-hop, house, but more and more I was CRAZY about techno music! I also liked Synth Pop. Eurodance HI-NRG Bands like: Real McCoy, 2 Unlimited, Corona, Abigale, Reel 2 Real, and some Freestyle like Lil' Susy, or Denine & Collage!

So, Wolfgang often made me mixed-tapes (or CDs), and thats when I went crazy for a genre known as HAPPY HARDCORE!

I loved music by Scooter, Dune, and Das Modul... but, my ULTIMATE FAVORITE was Blümchen! (Blümchen means mini-flower)

Before I knew it, I became a super fan of Blümchen! I knew everything about her that I could find! I even could read in German! My high school didn't have any German classes, so I had to learn it all on my own! It was actually SOOOOO easy!

In 1996, Blümchen was known as die Rave Prinzessin on the German AOL.

But, she eventually changed her style to Pop/Techno by 1998, because the whole Pop music movement went crazy by the late 90s. 

But, I was ALL Hardcore Techno! And, I liked Eurodance too!

Blümchen's real name was Jasmin Wagner. Not only was she a singer, but she was a Television show moderator for talkshows, contest, shows, and even a VJ. She also was an activist like I was, she did acting, modeling, and even designed clothing when modeling it got boring for her. She did seem to get bored too often tho'... and then she started to want to write the songs she did, which were rather good. She also did 2 albums in English under the name Blossom, and even toured in Asia.


I like Jasmin's whole outlook on things, even tho' she was younger than I was. I liked to know what the whole fashion trends were going on in Europe, because 1/2 the time I liked whatever she was wearing ALOT. Big platform shoes, tight vinyl pants, form fitting clothes, etc... I just didn't care for the miniskirts she often wore...

But, when Jasmin was on screen she has a kind of energy, or look to her, that was very inspiring to me, not just as a young person, but as an artist.

So, there is SO much of Jasmin as Blümchen in Lively!





I got a scholarship, and then many many more after that, to go to animation classes on the weekends at the U-ARTS in Philadelphia. My teacher was Lowl Boston, and he kept giving me bigger & bigger scholarships, so I kept going! I just LOVED animation!

So, after having done the basic "bouncing ball" and "morphing" lessons, what do you do after that???

Well, you do walking and run cycles...


So, I based my run cycle on an interview Glen Keane gave of Pocahontas (on his wall was sketches of 3 full run cycles front, profile, and behind) that was a tiny little shot on video, that I would pause and try to sketch thumbnails of, over & over, until the VCR would shut off, then I had to rewind, try to find that spot on the video again, pause it and RUSH to try sketching it again!

But, once I'd already DONE the run cycle, in 3 variations of it, profile, head on, and behind cycle, then the profile pan, the moving background, inked & painted cells.... I wanted to do something MORE!

So, I used a Quicktime video of a Blümchen's "Herz an Herz" and made quick thumbnail sketches of each video frame.

But, I was also inspired by when Blümchen threw her shoe in her "kleiner Satelit" video.

Then, putting them all together, in a rather surreal music video 90s style, I put all of my animation together like an animation reel, with music from the album version of "Boomerang" by Blümchen.

That is where Lively REALLY took shape & form!

At the U-ARTS in Philadelphia!

Mind, you I was STILL in high school! Imagine how much I got bullied just for that too!

Anyways, you can see my references compared to my animations.

This head turn was based on Blümchen's head turn in "Herz an Herz".

It was around the time when I made this head turn animation that I really started to realize I had something here! There was really a unique character coming along here!

And, this dance was based on the dance Blümchen did in the same "Herz an Herz" video.

I usually had Lively, by this time depicted in a shiny vinyl or leather catsuit, when before I had her dress more like Herdrol.So it was influences from Comic Books and Euro Rave!

But, at AIPH, some guys used to tease me, and called her "Naked Lady". That really annoyed me. }:-(

But, here, you can compare the animations to the Blümchen videos: 










You can also check out the videos for her songs: "Bicycle Race", "Boomerang", "Blau Augen", and "Heut' ist mein Tag".

It's all that sort of same vibe I like to utilize for Lively...


But, it was around that time in 1997-1998 that I named her... while I was working at AMC Marlton 8.

In case you missed it... 1 of the translation to English of the meaning of the name "Pocahontas" means "Lively & Frolicsome"... and since this character is very playful, fun, and happy... and I consider her very beautiful, and LOVELY... as I was trying to find a suitable name for her, Lively just stuck.

And, even tho' I have loads more to say about Lively, and her origins & beginnings, that's pretty much how she started out...

Oh, but, I didn't tell you about the dragons yet... 

AND, from Lively sprang another character which has to do with dragons as well!

But, that's yet another blog post for another time....

Lively's Name: Of Native American Princesses & Comics

So, here you can see probably THE last sketch I ever did of Kestrel & Hedrol, before I was ready to have them totally merged, and her personality totally developed... It was a transition...

I know it's THEM, but to me, the 1 in the lower corner is more of who Lively is. Both of these figures were drawn on separate pieces of bond paper, then rubber cemented to another paper, and I hand drew the background. Then I edited this illustration in Photoshop 5.0 or 5.5 in college when I 1st learned the program.

Also, the top female figure, I think, might've been inspired by a Michael Turner drawing... I honestly don't remember. But, the wings were drawn separately on the paper she was rubber cemented to. The figure on the bottom was actually drawn WITH the wings, and was a challenge to cut out with my exacto knife.

I made this picture in high school, if u can read the date on my signature, but I played with it a number of times in various versions of Adobe Photoshop....

Let's talk about 2 Native American Princesses:

Princess Pocahontas, and Sacajawea

PRINCESS POCAHONTAS: 
Anyways, like I said before, my nickname in Middle school was "Pocahontas" because I was very into learning as much as I could about my heritage. Many kids went through similar things, only they never got picked on, or bullied, as much as I did. And, since, back then, I was a  Christian, I wasn't supposed to fight back, and just forgive them, bless them, and pray for them. But, I did a report on Pocahontas in Middle school, and I found a really great book by Jean Fritz. She seemed to be the 1 author that actually did the best, and most thorough research. Her book was called "The Double Life of Pocahontas". And, this was BEFORE Disney ever anything Pocahontas....
The first time I ever read the book, it was the hard cover version in my library. But, someone actually GAVE me their paperback edition, with a VERY lovely painting on the cover!

I'd done loads of research on Princess Pocahontas, so I knew lots of trivia about her. I knew what her real birth name was (Matoaka, which meant "Little Snow Feather), I knew her Christian name "Rebecca Rolfe", which she was named after a story in the Bible when 3 tribes of different races were united because Isaac married Rebecca. I knew stuff, like the place she was buried in England, the name of the town she grew up in, in Virginia, and things she liked to do, such as play with English boys & do cartwheels, or taught them to play follow-the-leader. In older source materials such as those by Jean Fritz, (before Disney) they translated the name Pocahontas to mean "Lively" or "Frolicsome", but if u watch the stuff by Disney, they seem to think it means "Little Mischief". 
When I did the research, I came out with what Jean Fritz says. So, I don;t know where, nor why Disney has it their way... but, ever since Disney put it out there as that, people think that's what it means. 

But, since I lived American Comics, and art, I used to save my money and buy art supplies. I even made my own Posters of what I thought Pocahontas might look like. I did several versions, and hung them on my bedroom walls, or doors, some I colored with markers, or paints... And, I searched the local municipal library for ANYTHING I could find of her. Books, encyclopedias, articles, whatever... and, that was BEFORE I even had internet in 1994... but, evn the internet barely had any info on her... I've found better intel on my own, honestly... 

But, Princess Pocahontas was a REAL person. She lived, and died. She was married twice (that we know of). Her 1st husband literally WAS named Kokoum, whom was a scout for the British military, and he got killed. But, this person did so much in her VERY short life. She lived to be only about 21 years old. 

In the 1990s, even tho' I was a Christian still, I was starting to switch more to be not only more secular (because I was an environmentalist) but also very New Age.... It was a popular movement at the time... TV shows like "Unsolved Mysteries", "X-FILES", or "Crossing Over With John Edward" were very popular, and I became very open to Pagan cultural ideas, or "Free Love", modern ideals, all clashing and crashing into each other... so, I was very curious about ESP & Psychic phenomena, which runs in my family, but also caused me lots & lots of trouble in my personal life.  

There seems to be an uptick in popular culture with The Paranormal and The Super Natural, which were very popular. When I was a teenager, I used to have dreams about Princess Pocahontas, or that I was making my own cartoon movie about her, and it was very action-comics like, similar looking to "Batman The Animated Series". I started to read books about Dream Interpretations, ESP, Edgar Casey, Nostradamus,  and other New Age topics as well... so, since I valued my Native heritage, it all seemed very meaningful to me as a young person. (However, I've since then cut ties with so many of those groups, or communities, due to too many liars, frauds, charlatans, lunatics, and so on which have poisoned the pool, and have shined such a negative light on it, that even credible folks, or genuine events have becomes so tainted with stigmas. When I got more involved with politics, I realized associating with those topics, or groups ruined my credibility. But, even among well meaning folks in those groups, they refuse to do real due diligence. ) 

Sometimes in the mid 1990s, around the time when Aladdin came out, there was an article printed in The Burlington County Times (NJ News paper) and Disney had put out a statement about their newer projects coming out, or being worked on. Back then, the usual time to release films was Thanksgiving & Christmas time... juts like: Oliver & Company, The Little Mermaid, Rescuers Down Under, Beauty & The Beast, and finally Aladdin. I was a HUGE fan of Disney animated films! (And, I idolized Glen Keane. I used to try to find stores that would sell issues of "Animation Magazine" hoping to find some mention of ANYTHING about him!) In the article, they said they planned on putting out some films, and even named their NEXT 2 films as "Pocahontas", and then "China Doll", among some other ideas, which I don't even remember anymore... 

When it was printed in the news paper, EVERYONE told me about it! I FIRST heard about it from my MOM! She even cut out the article and gave it to me! 

Then, next thing I knew, people (adults) were calling me at home just to tell me they read about it in the news! Then, I went to school and the TEACHERS were like: Kandice! I just read about Disney's new movies coming out in the news! They will be doing POCAHONTAS! 

I walked around in school, and the hallways, and in the lunch room, and people would run over to me calling me by my nickname "Pocahontas" and saying: I just heard about Disney doing their next movie! It's gonna be Pocahontas! The funny thing was, even the bullies whom were always so eager to make my life a living HELL actually came up to me and said: Hey! Did you hear that Disney's next movie is gonna be Pocahontas?

So, when Christmas came out and NO animated Disney film was in the theaters, I was really bummed.... Next thing I knew, that summer, from out of NOWHERE came: THE LION KING....

Wait... What????

Talking lions???

But, somehow, that film got SO MUCH hype that virtually EVERYONE I knew wanted to SEE that film! EVERYONE had the soundtrack CD before it was even released into the theater... and, back then, most people were Middle class, so going to the movies was IN, and going to a see a film multiple times, was something to brag about. I knew kids (and adults) that went to watch The Lion King multiple times, and collected special ticket stubs... (That was before Titanic, which was even crazier...) 

So, I STILL had all my hand made, original, American comic book looking Pocahontas posters on my walls in my bedroom... (I honestly wish I still kept those... they probably suck compared to what I could do now, but everyone gotta start somewhere...) 

So, then, I was, of course, drawing animals, like Lions from The Lion King, but, I would get bored... and I drew X-MEN, including men or male figures. I drew Wolverine, The Beast, Sabertooth, and my favorite Nightcrawler. 

Meanwhile, at The Cherry Hill Mall (NJ) there was a "The Disney Store", and I couldn't always go there, unless someone drove me there... but, most people only drove as far as The Moorsetown Mall, which sucked, because more than 1/2 of that mall had burned down in a fire, and was constantly under construction, plus I even had a job there at 1 point... so... why would I ever get to go to the Cherry Hill Mall? -which was further down that same highway... 

But, 1 day, I happened to be at that mall... I think it was because I'd lost my job, and my Mom & her boyfriend wanted to "go bumming" as they called it, which was usually window-shopping, looking for deals/bargains, and often involved drinking a soda or eating something like a pretzel and sharing it... 

The 2 most popular things FOR ME to do RIGHT AWAY were: Tower Records, Taco Bell, The Comics Book stores, Suncoast Video, Wild Pair (the shoes store), The Limited, and then there was of course The Disney Store... 

As we got to the mall, we all split up,  and decided to meet back up later, at a certain time, and probably eat something...

The funny thing about The Disney Store is that most of the products in the stores were made for adults... but, today, it's mostly for little children...

But, that day, I headed STRAIT to The Disney Store, because it was THE ONLY one in that WHOLE area, and NO OTHER SHOPPING MALL had one.  

Among rows and rows of glass shelves covered with bricka-bracka, all sorts of Disney items, figurines, or rows & racks of clothing, like jackets, T-Shirts, and more, the place was packed. It was difficult to move around in there, and I'd ONLY ever been there (at the time) perhaps 3 or 4 times EVER... 

Walking into the store was like: WOW!

In the back of the store was this giant wall that was a video screen, or maybe it was made of several screens stacked together in a grid... or a projector... I don't remember specifically... I just remember that there was this GIANT video always playing in the back of the store. It would play everything from trailers, to interviews of Roy, to musical clips of the songs from any given Disney film...

As I was walking into the store, which was massively huge, I looked at some things with Aladdin characters, or The Lion King, which was EVERYWHERE... I heard 2 girls talking... apparently they worked there, but 1 was not on the clock. The girl that walked in said to the girl who was in uniform "Did they play my song yet?"
And, the other girl said, "No. It hasn't played yet. It's probably coming up next. Stick around." Then, they all laughed and chatted, and walked around the store...

In my former religions, as I was raised, it wasn't considered nice, nor good, to eaves drop... but, I could hear their joyful jokes & laughter all over the store. So, I felt odd... Yet, I wondered what they meant... 

Then, as I turned, as if by fate, and faced the wall with the large video screen... and my eyes beheld THE MOST beautiful thing I had EVER SEEN, and HEARD THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONG EVER! At that moment "The Colors Of The Wind" began to play from the new Pocahontas film! It was my VERY first time ever seeing it! And, the workers in the front of the store began to holler to the other girls and said: 
"Oh my God! Tell her, her song's on!" 

Then, both of the girls began singing along with the song! The girl that was off the clock had SUCH a lovely voice as well! 

I came back to the store again, after I ate, and the song JUST happened to play when I brought my mother with me, and ALL of The Disney Store employees were singing the song too! 

The artwork of the Disney character of Pocahontas was so UNLIKE anything I'd EVER seen! 

Here was this strong looking, very ethnic featured, beautiful woman. 

Then, began my mad dash, obsessive search for ANYTHING I could find about the new film! 
 I watched The Disney Channel day & night... Why? Because a few times I would go to the bathroom, only to miss what I was looking for, then obsessively watch for WEEKS hoping to ever see it again! 

I watched the News Papers & magazines like crazy! 

Then, when I found out that THE supervising animator & designer of Pocahontas was none other than my idol Glen Keane I blacked out and fainted! When I finally woke back up, I started crying & jumping around screaming, or laughing! I sort of lost my mind from excitement! 

Then, my MOST obsessive, most admired, most enthusiastic ordeal with ANY Disney film EVER, had begun! 

I bought almost EVERY magazine I could that had photos, and info in it! 
I bought the Marvel Comics version based on The Disney Film. 
I had the "How To Draw" book of Disney's Pocahontas! 
I watched EVERY TV promotional special ABOUT the Film! 
I CRIED because I couldn't get a ticket (or a ride) to see "Pocahontas In The Park" which was the world premiere of the film in New York City! I cried because my (little brother) drug dealer brother got to go to concerts like Lollapalooza to sell drugs, but I wasn't allowed to see a great work of art. 

I drew the Disney Pocahontas on EVERYTHING!: 
My math papers, my books, my napkins, my yearbook, on the bottom of 1 of my shoes. 
I bought stickers, shirts, jewelry. 

And, people would give me their magazines, and Pocahontas stuff. It was so funny, because even people that didn't like me, would have Pocahontas stuff, and come to me and give it to me, saying: Well, I know you like this, and I don't want it, so I thought maybe you might like it... Honestly, human beings are so strange and confusing sometimes, especially in NJ.... *shrugs* Anyways, I still have some of my old vintage Pocahontas memorabilia. 

When I was in college, many people would comment that my work often looked very Pocahontas-ish... or Disney-ish... but, when I'm among people whom mostly do Disney-like art, that tell me my art looks very Marvel Comics-like.... or Comicbook looking... Whatever... they're the same company now... 

But, actually, if you look at Pocahontas, and Lively, they are nothing alike... I didn't want Lively to BE Pocahontas... 


But, as I mentioned, as all of this Pocahontas stuff was going on... Lively didn't have a name yet... 

But, I'd stopped doing Kestrel & Hedrol because of the Disney Pocahontas... I was crazy about it!

Sacajawea:

Now, let me tell you about the OTHER Native American Princess.
Before Disney's Pocahontas came out, when I started high school at BCIT Medford Campus NJ (which was a high grade Vocational school that you had to take tests to get approved to attend) I'd heard of Sacajawea briefly in Middle School. BUt, not much... 

When I started at that school, my MAIN reason for attending that school was the Graphic Art program which was called "Advertizing, Art, and Design". But, that teacher has a horrific car accident, so I couldn't take the exploratory classes, nor the tests to get accepted until January. 

Meanwhile, I had to take at least 3 exploratory classes anyway. A number of teachers really wanted me in their "shop". A difficult one to get into was the Veterinarian shop, and strangely enough not only did a number of the  older girls in there like me, but that teacher, whom liked NO ONE also liked me... But, something about being there just felt off to me... Then, I'd observed how the older students treated to younger students, and even tho' they CHOSE me as someone they deemed that they liked, I felt like I was dying inside... So, I think I made up some excuse to switch to a different shop for the final exploratory like: Oh, my asthma is bothering me here... 
The teacher liked me because, lets just say, I sometimes have a way with animals, and leave it at that... She wasn't happy that I left, tho'. 
Then I switched to "Printing" which involved old school printing presses, plate making, old school photography & dark room processing, as well as computer text graphics. The other exploratory I took was Horticulture.

Even tho' I would still be allowed to take the Art/Design exploratory in January, I still had to pick a final shop as my "Major".  It was a no brainier for me, even tho' all of my exploratory classes' teachers wanted to keep me really bad, I'd already made up my mind after the first day of being in Environmental. It was EVERYTHING! Ecology, NASA, Meteorology, Biology, Biosphere, cutting edge technology. The students were the MOST diverse! We even had a very strong-headed, mouthy, opinionated Muslim girl in there. What a character she was! *memories*

So, for 1/2 a year, I studied all aspects of Environmental sciences. I honestly LOVED it! We had so much freedom in there, and my teacher was very respectful to me. He treated me often more as an adult, even tho' he knew we were all kids. But, he still would get peeved that some people wouldn't step up and be responsible. He said if they didn't do their work (because he wouldn't make them, very much how it is in college classes)  that they would be put on "Project Wow". (That means you get kicked out.) His favorite lecture that he used to say almost every day was this analogy of the train at the station, and if you weren't there when it arrived, it would leave without you. Back then I thought that was a great motivational ideal... but, when I got older, as the world economy began falling apart, it was that sort of thinking that caused me to have a nervous breakdown, because I was so hard on myself thinking I need to be more perfect, and wasn't good enough, and would beat myself down mentally every day... 

Anyways, it was 1 of my friends in that shop (Environmental) that told me he was also part Native American too. (There were a number in that school just like me, and even in that shop, whom have Native American Heritage. Most people had Cherokee ancestors, or Shawnee.) But, this particular friend of mine had done much research into many Native American famous figures in History. He told me he also liked Pocahontas, but that he liked Sacajawea better... So, since he was older than I was, I respected him, and whatever he said. 

I'd already had a boyfriend in the Environmental shop, but it just wasn't going well, and I felt unhappy & uncomfortabel with it. So, I ended it, and I never wanted to date another person in my shop again.... except, after I left Environmental to go be in "Advertizing, Art, and Design" having passed the exploratory, the tests, and got accepted, I started to like my friend more and more... 

He used to hang out with me in school, and talk. But, he had a girlfriend. But, then, one day he dumped her... after that, he began flirting with me, hugging me, and he even asked me out to go shoot pool with him and his friends (guys from the varsity soccer team). He liked so many of the same movies I did, including action movies, Jackie Chan, etc... So, at spring break, he told me he was working on a (sophomore) project, and he was doing Sacajawea, and he asked me if I could draw something of her for him. He even told me he wanted to take me to see Disney's Pocahontas when it came out in the theaters in the summer.

So, that whole Spring break, I was at my local municipal library searching for images of Sacajawea. It was VERY difficult to find. Then, during the last 1/2 of the break, I was sketching the drawings. I did 3 of them.

Then, when spring break was over, I gave the 3 drawings to him. He was so impressed that he showed everyone, and everyone knew about it. And, I really couldn't help myself, but ever since that happened, my heart started to really fall for him. It was the very first time I'd ever felt anything like that before. I'd never had such feelings for a guy before...

Next thing I knew, after a number of weeks, he kissed me in a locker room, and suddenly he was my boyfriend! I couldn't have been more happy in my whole life at the time! I was so enamored with him! He was hugging me, and holding me, and when he kissed me, I had all these emotions & feelings that I'd never experienced. (Not even with my previous boyfriend.) It just seemed so perfect! He even called me "Dear" or "Darling". He stood in the hallway with me before school would start for homeroom, and he even put his jacket on my shoulders. He kept mentioning his ring... so, I thought he was going to ask me to wear it on a chain on my neck... 

But, then.... on the 3rd day, just after everything seemed to be getting better and better, and was SO PERFECT, he just up and dumped me.....

He said he still liked me, but that he just wanted wanted to be friends....

It hurt so badly... I think I cried every day for about 3 months strait from the heart ache... about a week or 2 later... he had a new girl friend... and a year later that girl dumped him to be a with a woman... 

But, he wouldn't even BE my friend, even tho' he'd insisted to me, and looked in my eyes, and said he still valued me & my friendship... For the rest of high school, he just really wasn't my friend at all... he didn't even talk to me... and, the rest of that year, I actually redid my entire rout to my classes so I wouldn't have to pass by him in the hallways, or stairwells, because if I saw him, I would experience this very physically painful sensation. It hurt, everywhere. My neck would tighten, and my throat would constrict. My stomach would hurt, and I felt like crying... 

Oddly enough tho' I ended up working with him at a movie theater in my Senior year, and we actually DID become friends again. I was even friends with his wife at the time. And, I still consider him a friend, and I respect him very much. But, I'm just SO glad I don't have any more of THOSE kinds of feeling for him... I'm SOOOOOO glad they wore off! :D Ha! 

But, anyways, it was during that time when I did the research to find the images of Sacajawea, that a number of very interesting things happened to me! Many many synchronicities...

As I started doing the research, for which, at the time it was SO difficult to find any info, and MOST encyclopedias had the INCORRECT versions of her life, or versions & translations of her name, that I began to have (what to me, at that time, I'd felt like it was a spiritual & psychic experience) many many dreams of her...

The dreams I had of Sacajawea were unlike dreams I would normally have. They were far more vivid, colorful, and filled with these very emotional sense of bliss & euphoria, or a feeling of ecstasy. 

In the dreams, she came to me and she talked to me. She dressed in beautiful Shoshone formal clothes. Often white buckskin, or brown, and ALWAYS with a beautifully woven blanket, in many colored stripes, of some sort. She would move her hands, and make signs (sign language), but also dance with it... 

Each night I would go to sleep, and I would have a NEW dream of her. After the 1st week, she would start to arrive in my dreams by singing to me. Her voice was absolutely beautiful. 

Then, more and more her songs, and performances of these songs became more & more elaborate. At 1 point, she came to me in a dream standing on some colorful cliffs, and behind her were colorful clouds, with different colored lightning flashing, and moving to her music, and her song. She had her blanket, and she wore her hair down.

When I would sit and talk with her, I found she had a very friendly, and helpful disposition. She was very calm, and even tempered, but also very sweet, and kind. 

She told me a story about a "big fish" on the beach, because she was known for the Journey West in The Lewis & Clark Expedition, and in my mind I saw a carcass of a rotting beached whale, bones & all, and seagulls. 

She told me that she knew I liked to see the hair down and long so she didn't wear her hair in braids for me. 

Then, she told me other names she had, other ways people would speak her name, and different meanings it had... And, she would show me a large medal with a man's head on it. She also said that she made things, and taught other people how to do it too.

She also told me that she was very old, but she looked younger than she was, and she didn't die young like Pocahontas... 

She also sang for me in different languages, but I couldn't understand any of them... 

The songs were so beautiful, but almost haunting that I could hear them in my head for almost 1/2 of the day, but then I would forget them...

She also told me she was a Princess, but also a slave.... 

I even dreamt of her the week when Pocahontas had it's World Premier in NYC in the park. She said she was happy for me that I valued my heritage. 

At the time when I'd had the dreams, I didn't know what to think of them because none of what she was telling me was in any of the encyclopedias I'd read. 

But, about a year later, I had to do my (sophomore) project, and I chose Sacajawea as well... But, I found a more in-depth investigative book, in our high school library (hard cover). It turned out that most of what she told me was TRUE! 

She did have multiple names & variations, and even Lewis & Clark couldn't figure out how to pronounce her name, let alone spell it! When the expedition got to the Pacific Ocean, there was a dead beached whale. The Corps of discovery ,as the expedition group was called, DID in fact give out medals to the Tribes on behalf of "The Great White Father" which was President Jefferson, and HIS face on the medals. 

Sacajawea is also sometimes spelled Sacagawea. It generally translates to mean "Bird Woman", but in another Indian language it means "Boat Pusher" which is what she did, because the Corp. would try to use boats or water ways to go West when exploring the Louisiana Purchase Frontier. 

It also turns out that the young girl who died in the fort that was believed to be Sacajawea wasn't. It was her French Canadian husband's other wife, of which he had many. 


She herself actually went to live with the Comanche nation  which speaks a similar language to Shoshone (leaving her French Canadian Husband). She lived to be about 100 years old, looked much younger than she actually was, and had several generations of children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc, and she even had 1 of the Jefferson Medals, and told the story of "the giant fish" (whale) on the beach as accounted in Lewis & Clark's journals. 

On the expedition, they brought their own music, and played music that was similar to square dancing, and folk music. So, I don't know if that's what the musical connection was. *shrugs*

It also turns out that even tho' she had been abducted and forced into slavery, her brother became the Chieftain of her Nation, which means, Sacajawea was a Princess. 

I was pretty blown away when I read the book and found out that what someone in my dreams (Sacajawea) was telling me was true. Yet, I had no way of knowing was actually true when I had the dreams, and they didn't make sense at the time, until I read the book.

I kept dreaming of her off & on until I was about 20 years old... then, that was it... No more dreams... 

But, she influenced me as an artist... I felt that I had a difficult time trying to really capture her in my art...  I could get close... but, for a long time, I couldn't quite do it.... 

But, when I became so obsessed with drawing the Disney Pocahontas, that actually helped me... 

-and, after a long time of drawing Pocahontas, I wanted to draw Sacajawea... I wanted to draw what I saw in my dreams... but, I felt frustrated... I do actually have SOME of the old drawings I did of her somewhere... 

I've always wanted to do a short musical of Sacajawea, which is why I did animation projects of Sacajawea in college, which won awards...

When I was younger, Sacajawea was more meaningful to me... 

I'd even designed my own version of a Dollar with blue ink in "Advertising, Art & Design" shop... then, when I graduated high school and went to college the government LITERALLY put HER face on the new Dollar! 

The Golden Dollar! 


I had a number of Sacajawea synchronicities back then!  

I won a bookmark contest at BCIT, and my PRIZE for first place was THE paperback edition of the Sacajawea book I read in the library! 

I was blown away by the librarian! I think she was partly Native American too, and I think she secretly had ESP as well... it was this kind of thing that was OK to talk about back then... but, today, it's not... So, I don't talk about it... anymore...

But, I remember when she handed me the prize. There was a small party of the participants of the contest, which included pizza, cake, soda, and a large salad thingy on the table that you could pick & choose from, as well as plates of various cookies & pastries. 

Usually prizes were gift certificate's to fast food & book stores... But, not only did I get those, she handed me this wrapped present, Because I won Grand Prize, and I'd even had my work exhibited in Congress, and had 2 NASA medals for my paintings.

So, when I unwrapped the gift, I was floored. "How did you know?"

She looked at me and smiled: "I just know."

So, I gave her a big hug! I honestly, barely even knew her, so I was REALLY shocked. I didn't even think she liked me.

Human beings can surprise you sometimes, ya know? 


But, those were the 2 influences which helped me in the making of Lively... AND HER NAME...


But, at this part of the whole ordeal... oh dear, LIVELY still doesn't have a name yet! 



If you didn't catch it by now, there's a HINT in the Pocahontas section of this blog entry... Most artists catch it... but, not everyone else does... ;)

But, I haven't even gotten to THE OTHER BIG influence on Lively yet!

The EUROPEAN ONE! 
Rave! Eurodance! Germany!

U didn't know THAT, did ya? 

Well, Lively is quite a mix of EVERYTHING... but, that's yet another blog! ;P