Artslam - Adecia Day 13 Jek feels a little more on track, at least! I’m hoping to do some more… interactive or illustrative drawings soon, but I really need to do some clothing studies and then concepting before that. Hoping to focus on that this weekend because I have to keep putting drawing other things off until I figure out some clothing basics more.
Pop-upView Separately

Artslam - Adecia Day 13

Jek feels a little more on track, at least! I’m hoping to do some more… interactive or illustrative drawings soon, but I really need to do some clothing studies and then concepting before that. Hoping to focus on that this weekend because I have to keep putting drawing other things off until I figure out some clothing basics more.

Artslam - Adecia Day 10 (Desc continued from previous post) (This is hardly ‘done’, but I’ve been scribbling on it for a couple hours, aaand I really should be getting to bed)Jek isn’t all grim, though. He’s got a more humorous streak, and when the situation allows it, he opens up and is more laid back and sociable. He’s got a lot of heart and empathy, really, which is why the moral aspect of this job is so difficult for him: He was never meant to fall in love with the people and the country he serves, really. But it inevitably happened, over the years, and so he finds himself torn between how to best protect and guide them and their lives as conflict between neighboring human forces escalates. Dragons are increasingly being hunted down and butchered in order to fuel the materials of that human-to-human warfare, and it’s up to him to call the shots and choose how to exercise his considerable power.dracothrope was asking me some really great questions earlier this week, part of which summarizes Jek’s rise to power. I’ll link it here.
Pop-upView Separately

Artslam - Adecia Day 10

(Desc continued from previous post)

(This is hardly ‘done’, but I’ve been scribbling on it for a couple hours, aaand I really should be getting to bed)

Jek isn’t all grim, though. He’s got a more humorous streak, and when the situation allows it, he opens up and is more laid back and sociable. He’s got a lot of heart and empathy, really, which is why the moral aspect of this job is so difficult for him: He was never meant to fall in love with the people and the country he serves, really. But it inevitably happened, over the years, and so he finds himself torn between how to best protect and guide them and their lives as conflict between neighboring human forces escalates. Dragons are increasingly being hunted down and butchered in order to fuel the materials of that human-to-human warfare, and it’s up to him to call the shots and choose how to exercise his considerable power.

dracothrope was asking me some really great questions earlier this week, part of which summarizes Jek’s rise to power. I’ll link it here.

Artslam - Adecia Day 9 Today it’s Jekon’s turn to be focused on and rambled about! Well, Jekon, or Jekoon, or even Jekoor… Uhm. I need to figure out which variant of his name I actually want to stick with. (I also find myself in the sticky position of ‘is that his birth name or an adopted name?’ And I think I need to figure out more about Adecian names and some syllables or whatnot to figure that out, derp. Jekoon was the original name, though.At any rate! This is his actual appearance, probably when he is young and first starting out on all this. As his life goes on, he returns to his natural state less and less. I find Jek a difficult character to do justice with explaining or conveying properly, because he’s kind of complex. He’s got a lot of serious burdens to deal with managing, and his career and obligations to two different (and often opposing) sides causes a lot of stress and inner turmoil. He’s one of the lead Generals in Adecia, and is trusted as a right-hand man to the primary ruler, which means he holds a whole lot of influence. He wields that influence very carefully, and very subtly, but with a great deal of intention. Based on his own judgement and what he hears is going on both within Adecia’s movements and from the few dragons who are coordinated, he tries to plan things and push through rulings that help the cause of his people, sometimes at the hinderance of the country he officially serves. He’s something of a puppetmaster, really, and he has some very difficult moral decisions to make as tensions rise on all sides. His origin- and lack of humanity- is a great secret from everyone he lives and works around (from the entire population, really), and he has been very careful to make sure it stays that way.In truth, Jek has integrated tremendously well; there are is no known historical precedent for a dragon moving so completely into human society, and certainly not of one who eventually ceases to shift back out, lacking reason to do so. Truth be told, this is something that most dragons would likely find utterly strange and distasteful, and lacking in self-respect.(Desc continued in following post to spare you the length)
Pop-upView Separately

Artslam - Adecia Day 9

Today it’s Jekon’s turn to be focused on and rambled about!

Well, Jekon, or Jekoon, or even Jekoor… Uhm. I need to figure out which variant of his name I actually want to stick with. (I also find myself in the sticky position of ‘is that his birth name or an adopted name?’ And I think I need to figure out more about Adecian names and some syllables or whatnot to figure that out, derp. Jekoon was the original name, though.

At any rate! This is his actual appearance, probably when he is young and first starting out on all this. As his life goes on, he returns to his natural state less and less. I find Jek a difficult character to do justice with explaining or conveying properly, because he’s kind of complex. He’s got a lot of serious burdens to deal with managing, and his career and obligations to two different (and often opposing) sides causes a lot of stress and inner turmoil. He’s one of the lead Generals in Adecia, and is trusted as a right-hand man to the primary ruler, which means he holds a whole lot of influence. He wields that influence very carefully, and very subtly, but with a great deal of intention. Based on his own judgement and what he hears is going on both within Adecia’s movements and from the few dragons who are coordinated, he tries to plan things and push through rulings that help the cause of his people, sometimes at the hinderance of the country he officially serves. He’s something of a puppetmaster, really, and he has some very difficult moral decisions to make as tensions rise on all sides. His origin- and lack of humanity- is a great secret from everyone he lives and works around (from the entire population, really), and he has been very careful to make sure it stays that way.
In truth, Jek has integrated tremendously well; there are is no known historical precedent for a dragon moving so completely into human society, and certainly not of one who eventually ceases to shift back out, lacking reason to do so. Truth be told, this is something that most dragons would likely find utterly strange and distasteful, and lacking in self-respect.

(Desc continued in following post to spare you the length)

Artslam Day 4 Thearen’s looks/design is even more varied than usual, just now, since I’m in the process of updating such and am trying out different takes on his features as I try to find something that feels right. I think I’m getting closer but it still doesn’t feel quite like him yet.So, you know those characters that you kind of adore because they’re yours and you’ve had them for forever and all that… but you also know that they’d be just insufferable to be around? Thearen is kind of like that. He’s sullen and intentionally avoids most people because he doesn’t want to deal with them. Honestly, he wasn’t always like this- but he’s had a rather insecure upbringing and things haven’t really gotten back on track since then.Thearen had a single parent as a kid, who then had to leave him in the care of Jekon- a dearly trusted family friend- when duty came calling. Jekon made a great adoptive parent as far as moral guidance and instilling values goes, honestly, but his own job as an Adecian General made such tremendous demands of his time and lifestyle that he wasn’t able to always be present. If you participated in 2010’s slam, you may have seen this picture of a juvenile Thearen cooped up in Jekon’s office. Still, he managed to keep the kid hidden long enough to teach him to shapeshift, which made things much more manageable. Playing human at such a young age, though, meant that Thearen was raised in the space between species, knowing well of his blood and ancestry, but lacking the socialization natural to most dragons. Instead, much of his formative years were spent in human company, which resulted in an adolescent burdened with great pride and a sense of injustice at his people’s faltering state, but with no tangible connection to them outside of Jekon. He was raised and socialized amongst humans, but bears an anger towards them, and feels awkward interacting much with them due to his conflicting identities.And thus around his early teenage years, Thearen acted on his long pent-up desire to run off and seek out his natural parent, wishing to lend himself to their cause and aid the fight for his people. Like most adolescent plans to run away, this one did not go so well, but it didn’t really result in his returning to Jekon. He’s just sort of been wandering around ever since, drifting between the wilds and settlements in alternation. He’s still trying to sort himself out, really, as someone who truly doesn’t fit in quite anywhere.As time goes on, he finds himself entangled more and more in the increasing bloodshed between humans and dragons, but feels highly conflicted about killing anyone himself. His own inner demons are growing in presence, as are some literal hounds on his heels, and he really can’t keep on with his avoidance of decisive action for very much longer. He seems to be fated for something important, but how that will all play out for good or for bad is very uncertain.
Zoom Info
Artslam Day 4 Thearen’s looks/design is even more varied than usual, just now, since I’m in the process of updating such and am trying out different takes on his features as I try to find something that feels right. I think I’m getting closer but it still doesn’t feel quite like him yet.So, you know those characters that you kind of adore because they’re yours and you’ve had them for forever and all that… but you also know that they’d be just insufferable to be around? Thearen is kind of like that. He’s sullen and intentionally avoids most people because he doesn’t want to deal with them. Honestly, he wasn’t always like this- but he’s had a rather insecure upbringing and things haven’t really gotten back on track since then.Thearen had a single parent as a kid, who then had to leave him in the care of Jekon- a dearly trusted family friend- when duty came calling. Jekon made a great adoptive parent as far as moral guidance and instilling values goes, honestly, but his own job as an Adecian General made such tremendous demands of his time and lifestyle that he wasn’t able to always be present. If you participated in 2010’s slam, you may have seen this picture of a juvenile Thearen cooped up in Jekon’s office. Still, he managed to keep the kid hidden long enough to teach him to shapeshift, which made things much more manageable. Playing human at such a young age, though, meant that Thearen was raised in the space between species, knowing well of his blood and ancestry, but lacking the socialization natural to most dragons. Instead, much of his formative years were spent in human company, which resulted in an adolescent burdened with great pride and a sense of injustice at his people’s faltering state, but with no tangible connection to them outside of Jekon. He was raised and socialized amongst humans, but bears an anger towards them, and feels awkward interacting much with them due to his conflicting identities.And thus around his early teenage years, Thearen acted on his long pent-up desire to run off and seek out his natural parent, wishing to lend himself to their cause and aid the fight for his people. Like most adolescent plans to run away, this one did not go so well, but it didn’t really result in his returning to Jekon. He’s just sort of been wandering around ever since, drifting between the wilds and settlements in alternation. He’s still trying to sort himself out, really, as someone who truly doesn’t fit in quite anywhere.As time goes on, he finds himself entangled more and more in the increasing bloodshed between humans and dragons, but feels highly conflicted about killing anyone himself. His own inner demons are growing in presence, as are some literal hounds on his heels, and he really can’t keep on with his avoidance of decisive action for very much longer. He seems to be fated for something important, but how that will all play out for good or for bad is very uncertain.
Zoom Info

Artslam Day 4

Thearen’s looks/design is even more varied than usual, just now, since I’m in the process of updating such and am trying out different takes on his features as I try to find something that feels right. I think I’m getting closer but it still doesn’t feel quite like him yet.

So, you know those characters that you kind of adore because they’re yours and you’ve had them for forever and all that… but you also know that they’d be just insufferable to be around? Thearen is kind of like that. He’s sullen and intentionally avoids most people because he doesn’t want to deal with them. Honestly, he wasn’t always like this- but he’s had a rather insecure upbringing and things haven’t really gotten back on track since then.

Thearen had a single parent as a kid, who then had to leave him in the care of Jekon- a dearly trusted family friend- when duty came calling. Jekon made a great adoptive parent as far as moral guidance and instilling values goes, honestly, but his own job as an Adecian General made such tremendous demands of his time and lifestyle that he wasn’t able to always be present. If you participated in 2010’s slam, you may have seen this picture of a juvenile Thearen cooped up in Jekon’s office.

Still, he managed to keep the kid hidden long enough to teach him to shapeshift, which made things much more manageable. Playing human at such a young age, though, meant that Thearen was raised in the space between species, knowing well of his blood and ancestry, but lacking the socialization natural to most dragons. Instead, much of his formative years were spent in human company, which resulted in an adolescent burdened with great pride and a sense of injustice at his people’s faltering state, but with no tangible connection to them outside of Jekon. He was raised and socialized amongst humans, but bears an anger towards them, and feels awkward interacting much with them due to his conflicting identities.
And thus around his early teenage years, Thearen acted on his long pent-up desire to run off and seek out his natural parent, wishing to lend himself to their cause and aid the fight for his people. Like most adolescent plans to run away, this one did not go so well, but it didn’t really result in his returning to Jekon. He’s just sort of been wandering around ever since, drifting between the wilds and settlements in alternation. He’s still trying to sort himself out, really, as someone who truly doesn’t fit in quite anywhere.

As time goes on, he finds himself entangled more and more in the increasing bloodshed between humans and dragons, but feels highly conflicted about killing anyone himself. His own inner demons are growing in presence, as are some literal hounds on his heels, and he really can’t keep on with his avoidance of decisive action for very much longer. He seems to be fated for something important, but how that will all play out for good or for bad is very uncertain.

One of the paintings I did for the senior show. Mixed media, 8” x 10”. Somewhat autobiographical; my caique had trust issues when I adopted her, and when I went away to college out of state and left her in the care of my parents, she soon grew angry at me for what to her seems like repeated abandonment. Initial attempts at re-taming her left me with a couple scars. I graduate next week and so I’m finally going to give taming her back another go, now that I’m going to be back in the state and able to take over her care again.
Pop-upView Separately

One of the paintings I did for the senior show. Mixed media, 8” x 10”.

Somewhat autobiographical; my caique had trust issues when I adopted her, and when I went away to college out of state and left her in the care of my parents, she soon grew angry at me for what to her seems like repeated abandonment. Initial attempts at re-taming her left me with a couple scars. I graduate next week and so I’m finally going to give taming her back another go, now that I’m going to be back in the state and able to take over her care again.

fororchestra:

McDonald’s Theory — What I Learned Building…

andrewdcox:

This is a fun article that I know I could internalize. My favorite quote:

The next time you have an idea rolling around in your head, find the courage to quiet your inner critic just long enough to get a piece of paper and a pen, then just start sketching it. “But I don’t have a long time for this!” you might think. Or, “The idea is probably stupid,” or, “Maybe I’ll go online and click around for—”

No. Shut up. Stop sabotaging yourself.

If you make art, stop and read this article. This is in-line with exactly what I’ve been saying about chasing a muse. When I’m stuck for musical ideas it’s usually because I leave too many options on the table. To have no boundary is what causes writer’s block, paralysis through analysis, or stalemate reactions for demanding an answer to something.

For example, if someone says to me “write a piece of music” then I’ll likely never come up with something interesting. But if the challenge was “write a piece of music using only 4 notes, between 1 and 2 minutes in length, only using legato arpeggios” then not only would it be more fun to see if I can conquer the obstacle, but the result would be easier on my mind to write, and a better musical piece as a result.

The reason why this McDonald’s Theory works too is because to say “pick a restaurant, any restaurant” is leaving too many options to capture our imagination. So the second someone suggests McDonalds’s then you’ve created a box or variable for other people to work inside of.

The only way you’re going to think outside the box is to first make the box.

Nice, I like this approach! I agree that the first step is often the hardest- It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with possibilities and to dismiss things out of hand. Self-criticism to a degree is natural; otherwise we wouldn’t know when things are good. But I find that once something is out of my mind and on paper (or what have you), then you can turn that critical eye into knowing how to adjust things for the next, better iteration, and from there things really get rolling.

The more I just let myself draw out whatever comes to mind, even if the relevance isn’t immediately visible, the more I find myself with pleasantly unexpected results. Sometimes these serendipitous outcomes wind up being the best solution.

(via bonyfish)

Source: andrewdcox

For anyone interested, ArtSlam!

schizostories:

Hey all! For those unaware, I help to mod Artslam on Tumblr! It’s basically a little community where lots of artists get together and draw, with the goal being a drawing a day pertaining to a certain concept (whatever you choose!) for 1-3 months. I’ve used it for comic development, general concepting, and even just practicing my technical skills, and is really great if you feel you need something to inspire you to get some work done. Everyone is really supportive, as well as willing to help each other out and offer feedback.

If you’re interested, you can sign up for the tumblr version, here, or the livejournal version, here. Or you can sign up for both!

Just as a general announcement should anyone be interested in that sort of thing.

Hey folks! Time for the annual artslam plug- this is a great community to participate in, and is in fact where I’ve met most of my online artist friends over the years. I’m excited to be participating as a mod this year as well!

I highly encourage you to check it out. It’s basically a huge art/worldbuilding/studies fest (whatever you choose to make of it!) and one of my favorite parts of the summer for going on 4 years now. I hope to see you there!