Saturday, December 10, 2016

Eyewitness: Wild Fox Character Designing WIP 001

Eyewitness: Wild Fox Character Designing 

I've been doodling, practicing, and sketching up all kinds of studies of foxes for a while now. My time is so screwy, because my kid keeps having off the wall medical problems EVERY DAMNED WEEK. Today, she got worms! Yesterday she had severe nosebleeds that grossed out the teachers, and they made her go home after the 4th or 5th gush. But, we fixed that up with VITAMIN C + antioxidants like I SAID, really fast, only to find out she got parasites, all that PLUS she her shipment of blood meds arriving the day before that, and a hospital visit the previous days before that... This is NOT the way I EVER planned to live, DID NOT expect, nor EVER intend to live, and yet it keeps ongoing... 

I just want to get my film done for UMASS which is supposed to be screened on the 20th, plus I have to take her to a doctor tomorrow, fit work in somehow, and THEN go to an event at night... 

If I COULD edit videos at home, I WOULD. But, my 2009 comp + video cards, plus 4 year old Apple laptop can;t edit HD videos in Davinci Resolve, and i don;t have Adobe CS. 

Honestly, if she doesn;t stop having these medical problems by next semester i WILL drop out. I CANNOT HANDLE THIS. I'm PAST MY LIMIT. This is EVERY FRICKIN WEEK MORE THAN ONE THING. Either her, or me, or SOMETHING else. Also, my credit card numbers got robbed this week as well.  

So,  since I can't edit videos at home, and can ONLY do it at school, and I was just SO tapped out today I couldn't go, I can;t work on my film until HOPEFULLY MONDAY. I say HOPEFULLY because the last 2 Mondays I COULD NOT MAKE IT TO SCHOOL.... because she's dying of whatever else... shock- horror- drama- I'm FED UP! Ergo, when I go through periods where I'm at home, stuck here, and can;t do ANYTHING, because those happen too... and I HATE feeling, or being unproductive after a certain point.... yeah, most of today I sat and watched YouTube & Snapchat... ERGO: I'm working on designing the wild fox character for the storyboards I HOPE to do after I'm done with my film...



Mostly I'm just practicing from various references, trying to come up with my own original design... I've been trying to sketch actual photos of foxes on Google, which too many are fluffy winter foxes. My scene is SUMMERY so I need a SUMMER COAT FOX which is slender.

When I reference other artists, animators, and cartoonists, they all tend to draw foxes with stubby legs, weasel-like, too dog-like, too cat-like, or some look doofy. Altho' I loved some really good designs out there, they just weren't true to what  fox actually looked like. Foxes actually have long, slender, spindly legs. many artists also try to portray the fox with their heads and necks down, but real foxes have upright heads UNLIKE a weasel, and their necks jut either strait up, or with a slight angle. But, ALWAYS upright.

Some really nice designs I found when trying to see how other artists interpreted a fox for animation was a nice one on a blog by Toni REYNA. And, a FAVORITE of mine was by TheUrbanFOX on DeviantART. But, like I said, i need to come up with my OWN design.

So, I'm still trying to go with the whole Preston Blair formula style with geometric shapes, stylized, yet still semi-realistic, yet simplified.

So far, most of the sketches I've done have been more of a practice sketching and doodling to try and get to know and understand what a fox is, how it looks, but also what makes it look cool as a cartoon. Real foxes also have a very strong personality, and every move and gesture is so full of its unique personalities, and foxes have this intense prettiness to them. I also haven;t quite nailed down the scale of their ears yet.

Here's a progression of what I've been practicing so far:


A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on



Well, that's it for the moment... I'm guessing that whenever I feel the urge, I'll probably be sketching more with this... I'm so annoyed that I cannot work on my film. When i went to AIPH I could work nonstop whenever I felt like it. But, going to UMASS Boston isn't anything like that, plus I have all these other responsibilities, and pressures.








Sunday, December 4, 2016

November Djehkäujaa Sketches

November was NON STOP busy for me!

I did get to do some sketching practice once in a while, whenever I wasn't doing something UMASS related or hospital related, because my kid could've bled to death, and still has this issue ongoing.

Djehkäujaa was especially on my mind for most of November. I would very much like her singing voice to be someone like the late Melanie Thornton (La Bouche), who's anniversary passing just occurred. It was interesting because I'd totally forgotten it was that time, and my art practicing with Djehkäujaa was way surpassing my expectations out of no where, and I kept thinking about Melanie. I know I'm such a baby over it, but it stings.
Miss u Melanie!



Here's the sketches as I got them going last month:


A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on


A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on





A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on

A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on






If you want to see the full version on DeviantART of Djehkäujaa's nude sketch it's HERE but u need to be logged in because it's censored due to nudity.




Wild Fox Character Rough Unfinished Character Designing

I still want to continue practicing sketching, human anatomy, and continuing working on developing & refining the characters for "Zenith", but as things come to me, sometimes I need to take advantage of what is happening and go with it to make the most of my times. I definitely still plan on developing more with Djehkäujaa and Ao Xingtao, but I really want to try to push through these storyboards before February.

I'm not sure exactly how this this little wild fox character will turn out yet, since I just started last night by sketching from wild life photos on Google of foxes, but I need way more practice.

It's a VERY short animated short concept. So, I want the characters to look n feel exactly right. I am thinking about keeping Lively much the same, or similar to, way she is in the charcoal piece.


As you can see, the little wild fox is crouching beneath Lively, freaking out over the throng of flying horses landing in the savannah.

As I think about it now, I think I might've actually chosen BLUE charcoal paper due to Erasure's song "Blue Savannah". At the age when I worked on this concept, I owned a moderate stack Erasure CDs (and some tapes) and when I worked on the charcoal picture at home I was playing mostly Erasure's "I Say I Say I Say" album, along with Disney music probably Aladdin, as well as music by Real McCoy, and Fun Factory. I also listened to Soho's "No Hippy Chick", and tracks by Stereo MC.


I'm thinking I probably want to may the fox's paws & legs as black, or dark brown. But, I think probably black. The ears with probably be black. I'm not exactly sure what color i want the fox to be. I wasn't sure if I wanted it to be a brown fox, or a typical red fox. Or, should I go off the wall n make it cherry red?



Anyways, I've consulted my daughter to come up with some concepts & designs herself also for the wild fox. I like a lot of the designs she comes up with. So, I want input from her.

I want the shape & form of the fox to have more geometrical shapes to it. I don't know how to explain this. I want it to be pretty and somewhat cute, but not TOO cute. Not too round like a baby face, and not doofy. I also want it to dart around, and be streamlined.

This could take me some time.

The bulk of my time for now is finishing my film at UMASS this month. Also, today I have VIP tickets to watch The Moscow Ballet perform The Nutcracker in Boston w my daughter thanx to Yelp Elite (because I'm Yelp Elite 2016).

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Story Board Ideas Hopefully Comming

I want to Storyboard this short story and all the scenes in sequence, hopefully in a decent quality of the story I came up with when I was in Middle School in the 90s.

This Charcoal Illustration was exhibited in Congress ("Eyewitness") when I was 15 years old, and it's my most beloved piece from that time period. It's weeks worth of work EVERY DAY.

The story is STILL very clear inside my mind, altho' even tho' I made this on pale cyan blue paper, I think I would probably go with a warmer tone.

I also have a whole sequence in mind for the little fox with Lively. The fox is freaking out from shock & awe of giant  flying creatures coming out of the sky, and cowering beneath Lively's legs.


Even tho' I'm so critical, and so frustrated with 3D animation, this is something I would LOVE to do a hybrid using 3D modeling but with semi rhodoscoping over top in traditional animation.

It would NOT be long at all. It would be a very short story.

I've been mulling it over in my mind, and I'm divided on whether I would like this with electronic music, or more of a symphony, or a hybrid of both. If i went with an orchestra score I would want it to be similar in style to the film score by Klaus Doldinger and Giorgio Moroder (which DOES actually have small bits of electronic synthesizer fusion in it) for "The Neverending Story" but I could just as easily see/hear something just as nice done electronically like Erasure's "I SAY I SAY I SAY" album or their self titled album following that one. I am also fond of the hybrid sound in the 2 albums by "Akara". 


THIS:

I just LOVE the energy in that! The strings and the horns!

I also like a bit of the old Dune soundtrack by TOTO but, probably NOT that.


I do feel it would be better off if I went as much as possible with a higher grade of quality in my storyboarding as suggested by experts like this:



I know most people whom I PERSONALLY know actually have a deep love for THIS ONE:


I suppose I could stortyboard this one also, but I don't want it to be a total rip-off of the first one.


I'm hoping that once my semester is over by end of December, I can work on trying to come up with the roughs and thumbnails for the animated short. I do not know whether the short would, or could, actually EVER be produced, but it is my dream to do so hopefully before I die.


Sunday, October 30, 2016

Drawtober Sketching Practice n Character Development

Rough Concept Character Development
Many times this month I kept having strong urges to sketch, draw, or practice, and #Inktober & #Drawtober were a very popular thing this year way more popular that previous years. I didn't really have time to do #Vlogtober this year either even tho' I'm studying video at UMASS this Fall.

I was researching quite a bit of Mongolian stuff for some parts regarding Djehkäujaa's story line. But, I wanted to practice more anatomy, which I haven't always been able to do, but I was practicing trying to draw some stylized art, and practice my skills because I wanted to develop Ao Xingtao more. I haven;t really settled on his final look yet, but I often feel like I'm getting there.

When I was practicing male human heads I often felt I was getting close, and I didn't want to go to sleep.

So, I was trying to study some stuff from Hogarth, whom is amazingly good, but it wasn't really helping me do what I personally wanted to do. I also often referenced some work by Heise. And, some various actors or models online.




At some point I actually started looking for classic animation model sheets, and that was the best idea I'd had all month! Google had WAY more stuff than they'd available half a year ago, and I found so much good materials! I actually prefer animation artists' way of doing things, breaking stuff down,... well duh, I'm an animator at heart... so, that makes sense! 


Oh my! I especially loved all the Sinbad stuff! I just nabbed anything I could find on those! those were crazy good! And, those actually REALLY helped me out a lot! I want to focus more on structure, shapes, and form anyway. I also got other characters' model sheets from the Sinbad film! Yowsah! I haven;t seen that film in such a long long time! What a fun and sexy looking character! Right? 

Meh! I need to practice more!




Somewhere in my doodles this month some other content kept coming out of me, and it was on my mind, even tho' I was enjoying the Mongolian research, which I still want to find more stuff on, and I haven;t been back to Mongolia since 2008 briefly where I almost died of streptococcus in May. I was healed by relatives/in-laws of mine whom were all multi-scholars of not just Western Medicine, including the Russian versions and the Western European forms, but also were multi skilled experts in Chinese traditional medicines (there more than just acupuncture in case u didn't know) as well as their own personal studies... It also snowed, even tho' it was nearly June and all the crops had already been sewn. They also could talk to birds, and were friends with wild creatures... I kid you not. Many of the relatives were also incredibly tall due to high protein and calcium in the diet, and yes I ate copious amounts of MEAT MEAT MEAT MEAT MEAT and all kinds of dairy products including platters of cheeses and many kinds of yogurt anything and everything dishes and beverages.

Anyways, Mongolian tangent aside, I doodled stuff I wanted to develop, or at least set into images and design concept that had been in my mind for years.

I originally did this one a short while go:


And then I wanted to go further with it. And develop it more, and test out how it looks, how I want to depicted... still not totally there, but getting closer... probably because I still need to practice and improve my skills.


I've mostly drawn, or depicted this character as more pleasant, and romantic, but actually in the story he starts out rather scary at times, and is often impetuous. He often screws up, and does the wrong things at the wrong times, is brash, selfish, rude, arrogant, impulsive, insensitive. He's not always this way, but it just happens. His feelings override his ability to think clearly, and he doesn't think things through, which is messed up because he's actually very intelligent.

He will also be going through some changes and in a weird twist he will end up too strict, conservative, and in many ways the opposite polar end of this... that won't last forever either.

But, for my own life, I often found many men whom would grope me, or girls I knew, often when no one was around. I personally hated being treated that way.

It's different if someone is giving you attention you want but also WHEN you want it, and WHEN its appropriate. I find that usually younger men can't understand this, and in some older men whom have pushed and pushed and gotten away with all kinds of wrong doings they actually don't view view you as a person, but as a thing, and don;t have the ability to empathize, or feel empathy for you at all.

Altho' he's guilty, there's a kind of innocence with youth... but, Lively won't have it. So, she resists him when he's disrespectful, or tells him off. She has mixed feelings about him because when he's in his better side or moods he's so likable, and they flirt like crazy, but he often overdoes something, or becomes consumed by his feelings for her, like a brute or a brat. He's also very intense, and physically forceful, and he often regrets his impulses, yet also has trouble understanding her reactions when they don't go as he assumed they would.

She is actually quite taken with him, and if he'd just calm down, and adjust his pace just a little, it wouldn't have been a problem at all. But, his lack of self control often pushes her away, hurts her, frustrates her, annoys her, and aggravates her. She's also in denial about her feeling for him, which are still developing because he's so rude, impulsive, brash, and impetuous at times, that it forced her to rethink whether he's likable at all, or worth her time. yet, whenever he lets up, and calms down, and stops trying so hard she can't help liking him so much because he's very funny, and fun, and also very handsome.

I do not know if nor when I'll be fully able to work on more with this, since I have a project due on Thursday for my video class, then I have a final. And, everyone seems to have some dire issue, like my daughter almost dying, my daughter getting sexually harassed and assaulted, killer flu, the US VP in town screwing up traffic for days, multiple injuries to myself, government paper work, doctor appointments, hospital appointments, 911 calls, ambulances, minor fights, and tons of other crap that just turns up EVERY FRIGGIN' WEEK!

So, whatevz...

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Art As The Sky [Poem]

By Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman Published HERE on DeviantArt
Art As The Sky


Art is sometimes like The Sky.

And yet, sometimes I feel myself floating and flying through it.
Like daydreams that find you,
And suddenly saturate the mind upon your person,
Flowing as currents that move,

Floating,
Flying,
Motion.....

There is no time,
You are completely free.
You are there, and always there...

Until you are not.
And, just as I reach it,
or be it,
or, am it...
Carried upon my person,
Filling the pockets upon my person,
What seems like forever.....
.....becomes fleeting.

The pockets become empty,
Pockets full of silence,
The empty pockets upon my person...

No pockets upon my person...
No sky within that which environs me...
For what would seem like a crash,
There is no crash.
Inertia is blunt.

Art is like The Sky....

And, yet, I can never reach it.

The confines of what environs me within it's pockets,
upon its person...
The Nothingness which prevents me restitution,
Is the Somethingness  which vetoes my recompense hence.

And, altho' I feel myself as The Sky...
I am The Sky.
I was The Sky.

Art is as The Sky...
And, tho' I could fly...
I couldn't reach it.

Art was as The Sky....
Inertia pressed me to cry,
Thus, I could never reach it...

Like a drop of color into the stream,
I dissolve into mass of flow,
But, it was beneath The Sky....

Didn't you know?
Sometimes, Art is like The Sky....
Tho' I flew,
I could never fully reach it....


The Willows that flow in the breeze represent my mind.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Impetuous Xingtao n Lively Sketch 敖兴涛

Concept Art: Rough Sketch
敖兴涛 Ao Xingtao grabs Lively frightening her

 浮躁敖兴涛抓住 Lively
 急躁, 急性病,愣头愣脑,孟浪,卞,鲁莽的,欲望,要,

Since its October, that means the ever popular #Inktonber, only I don;t really care to use inks all the time (altho' I did do a butterfly yesterday) I felt several urges to sketch between working on my video project(s) for UMASS in my Video Workshop. But, then I found out through a child of my friend, whom I also somewhat view as a little friend (but getting BIG n tall) n friends' with my daughter, that #Drawtober was a thing also! #Vlogtober is also a thing, however, I'm unsure as to whether I will do it this year, or not.

Anyways, this was the first thing I actually intentionally used #Drawtober for.

I'm rather torn, since I quite enjoy video editing, and shorting video, as well as photography, and I apparently also like editing audio since I've done lots of it lately. But, I often find I wish to sketch, but since it's fall now, every second counts on good weather days, plus I'm borrowing the equipment from UMASS which often needs to get returned within days.

If I start sketching now, I won't stop.... but, I figured I'd blog this before I forget.


I'm still sorta developing Xingtao, so he's still not completely set yet. 

At first, Xingtao is actually VERY SCARY at times, often impulsive, impetuous, brash, and inconsiderate. One of those instances of smart intelligent persons whom do completely stupid things, act without thinking, foolish behaviors, self sabotage. 

I still want younger teen aged Lively to have a number of male interactions. But, this guy will weave in and out. She won't really like him at first, and be interested in other guys. But, these 2 will get into a lot of flirtations, fun times, antics, and more. However, he can't often cope with his own intensity, because he's a very well liked person by so many folks, but his feelings for Lively will be a huge monkey wrench in his gears, that he often can't deal with properly, or correctly, and will comepletely screw things up. 

I think every girl has experienced the over zealous guy whom can't contain himself, or looses his self control, and on a whim disrespects the boundaries on his own selfish whims and impulses and also doesn't understand why you're reacting not in the way he wants.  

Here's what I wrote on Deviant Art when I published this there:

Lively: It scares me when you do that! 
Ao Xingtao 敖兴涛: My feelings scare me too.

Well, Xingtao is kinda scary at first. Despite bold flirtations between them, at times his emotions get sudden, and abrupt, and he's impulsive, brash, and acts without thinking. In the front of the theater by the parking lot, after work, after dinner with coworkers, they are walking to their cars, and after everyone has already driven off, as they walk to the other end he brashly grabs Lively and pulls her close to him.

It's utterly uncalled for, and inappropriate, and frightening. He's so overcome with the intensity of his own selfish feelings, longings, and desires that he doesn't realize he did the wrong thing, even after her frightened reaction. The totally wrong move in such a  WIDE OPEN situation, and so vulnerable. All of the security guards had already left the theater as well.

Too fast! Too sudden! Just because flirtations were going well earlier didn't make this the right time to do something that dumb, and thoughtless!

Trying to stay composed, yet still overwhelmed and frightened, Lively resists Xingtao, even tho' he's pulling her close to him.
The exact wrong thing! Bad move!
She liked you so much just a while ago, and now you go and pull a stunt like this? Idiot!

Lively, altho' nervous, and panicking, stays as calm & composed as she can, but begins pulling away, and listing a number of reasons as that she must leave.

She's not a thing, and not an object for you to use at your whim, and whatever it was you desired she definitely doesn't want anything to do with it now... and she'll try to stay a distance from you now... probably won't walk alone with you again...

Idiot! Why do you do these things? She actually liked you, and you're hot & sexy. You're so smart, but so stupid! Tactless! Clueless!


But, before long..... by a week or so, they'll be flirting all over again...
Maybe you'll get it right some day, you idiot!

If you'd just calm down, she'd melt all into you, the gravity and magnetism is already there.








I would like to develop this, and these interactions a lot more.

I've still never finished working on some stuff with Djekäujaa, but also I'm still working on my skills (if I have time) and still thinking up catsuit designs for Lively.

I have other concept designs for Xingtao later when he's older. , with the long hair.

i also wish to have the interactions with Xingtao to be the sexiest, but also a mixture of some of the strangest, and also most fun parts as well.
He's the most likable, yet the most infuriating, perplexing, but also he will have an aspect of mystique (which can be aggravating) because he can't entirely remember his past... or should I say, he can;t remember his past correctly, and had different identities as different roles in his life... he becomes so absorbed into whom he is in this world and life, and ambitions, that he doesn't even think the same way he once did as his original self....

He rationalizes this to himself, but also others view him apologetically, as being a foreigner as the excuse as to why he's odd at times.  It's similar to how adopted children, or kidnapped children, often completely forget their life before, and who they were, and become fully absorbed into their new identity, new life, and even entirely new personality... only to come to a shock when they start to remember things that don;t make sense, or are presented with the sudden, abrupt reality of being someone else, or that they had some other life way in the past.

I also want him to have a slight clash, but not so much, here n there with Djehkäujaa. Those 2 will never become intimate, because Djehkäujaa is, despite being highly sexy n desirable in her humanoid form, completely celibate. Djehkäujaa is a dragon through n through n feels no such attraction to human beings, at all, ever. Xingtao has the strange feeling that Djehkäujaa is somehow familiar to him, but unsure. But, Djehkäujaa scoffs at this idea. However, she will start to sense something about him also....

Ao Xingtao is all about Lively, even tho' he often flutters off into oblivion....

I would like him to start to become more mature, towards the end, but he will unfortunately become a bit rigid in some ways, because that's what happens to most men. He will eventually decide he actually wants to be a lot closer and more solid within Lively's life, and regrets all of his foolishness regarding her, and wants to completely be with her, pushing away any other men.... and despite her skepticism, he starts to sweep her off her feet hard.

The ultimate ending will, of course involve the main antagonist villain... Xingtao will of course be involved, because he's all about Lively now, and I will write it to make it seem as tho' Ao Xintao will be most likely to seem to be the victor, or hero... however, he will fall short by accident. NO, he's NOT the HERO.

Lively is actually a much stronger character, and just when you think she's the victor. NO! Not Lively! Djehkäujaa is! Because Lively & Djehkäujaa will have become like best friends.

Despite all of the surprises I have in store for Xingtao. Djehkäujaa will have ALL of the best ones, but they will come at towards the end. Xingtao's will be sometime past the middle.


 敖兴涛



I have one more surprise about Xingtao which is somewhat inspired by a very well known, and very creative, hoax done by a well known French artist of 2 mummified women found on the Moon, and the fake Apollo 20 Mission.

It's just the right kind of weird, much like "Eyewitness" my other story of Lively, that I'm looking forward to it.