Misc Lively Sketches January 2017

Some misc. sketches and doodles I did of Lively since I got tagged for the Seven Days of Artworks Challenge. 

It just sort of happened. Lately, Lively, has been having the BIG HAIR going on. It's kinda because i never really got as far as a I wanted with the storyboards I intended to do. 

Anyways, here they are:

Lively Raver Whimsy 001 by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

Lively Is Bored by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

#7daysofart #sketchbook #doodle #sketch #drawing #Lively is #bored. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. #cartoon #comics #anime #manga #gurl #lady #woman #maiden

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on Jan 10, 2017 at 7:05pm PST

WIP need to sharpen my pencils #skechbook #7daysofart #sketch #drawing #cartoon

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on Jan 8, 2017 at 11:25am PST

#7daysofart challenge #sketchbook #sketch #drawing #Lively ALL RIGHTS RESERVED #rave #raver #clubber #whimsical #whimsy #cartoon #girl #lady #woman #maiden #tribalfusion #boho #bohemian #freespirit #clubbing #anime #comics #manga #art #artwork #DJ #dancer #gypset #sexy

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on Jan 8, 2017 at 2:36pm PST

The Dragon Flies: I Found This Techno Rave Video That is SO ME!

This is what happened to me last night:

This might sound strange (to a non-artist) but, sometimes when I want to FEEL something, like inspiration, it's like I do this thing... this something... and I just kind of put my intention out there, that I would like to find something that will match what I feel, or what I want somehow... I'm sure it makes zero sense to a non-artist, but it's been going on often in my life...




Back in the winter 2013/2014 I came across this band "Akara" which really "vibed" with me, but with a very whimsical, bohemian, fantasy kind of vibe... if you catch my drift... So, for Christmas time, and winter, I was very inspired by that, and it gave me hope, especially since I'd been working on something important, which has constantly been pushed back & stuck in an eternal pending mode, needlessly... and quite unfairly...


It had this kind of dreamy, whimsical, New Age, Bohemian, fantasy feel, with tribal & rave & orchestra (and I used to play classical violin music as a kid, so you know me)... but, then, my vibe sorta made this switch as spring approached despite the never ending snows... and I got sucked into a flow of my own yearning... and, then I stumbled back onto Discogs, and I went INSANELY NUTS for my techno! I found lots of RARE 1990s Hi-NRG, Eurodance, Happy Hardcore, and all that lovely stuffs!

So, I went nuts acquiring several tracks online, and setting up playlists on my iTunes or my WinAmp. (Yeah, old school! I know!) I actually call those my "techno binges" because it's like I don't know when to quit... so, I actually have to ban myself from getting too much all at once, because I can't possibly sit through I enjoy them all to the fullest... And, I save the links so that when I've had my fill, and want to find more on a later date, I can pick up where I left off...

Not only that, but it seems like looking into old lost 90s techno (which was an underground thingy back then, mostly) has a new resurgence these days. And, I'm NOT just talking 303-Acid. I mean just like me! Finding the RARE out of print vintage records, discovering stuff that never went main stream dance charts... and I even got obsessed with finding the late Melanie Thornton lost tracks that was more well known for her "La Bouche" band, and died during her solo career in 2001 in a plane crash. That's what really triggered my new obsession back, yet again, into my techno...

Techno music is like my first and only one true love (artistically). I can live without sugar, candy, alcohol, drugs, sex, etc... as long as I still have my music. And, I gotta tell ya, I CAN'T live without my techno! NO WAY! NO HOW!

I think that's the ONLY thing I've listened to too since about Feb, other than some new Agey Stuffs, and Akara... and also Beats Antique's new recent albums.

I went on this job interview thingy in which I had to "shadow" this chick, and she played techno the whole time in her car, because it was this door-to-door-salesman job, even tho' they lied and said it wasn't... so, once I realized there was ACTUALLY a radio station AGAIN, FINALLY, in Boston that played the latest techno, and even some old stuff from the 90s, I was like: OMFG! TECHNO!

And, I have it on my car radio now!

Anyways...... like I was saying, back to the whole looking to be inspired thingy.... which takes me back to LAST NIGHT... so, I went to "Akara", which has been alot of inspiration for some of my dreaminess, and artwork, and so on, that would take forever to write about, and I started to search on YouTube to see if they had any new video footage, or whatever... well, they didn't... So, I just sorta let go, thinking with a very strong intent to hopefully FIND something new, or different, or unexpected, that would just delight & surprise me! Something that was SO ME!

And, after clicking whatever thumbnails for videos that caught my eye, hoping for some kind of techno I was fiending for... I saw something!

It said "The Dragon Flies"

So, I klicked it, and the rest is History!





Is this not SO ME or WHAT????

I sware I didn't make it!I don't even know them!

But, it's VERY ME!

I LOVE IT!!!!!

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....