Tablet Tiem!!!1!!one!!

So I tried out my old Wacom tablet yesterday, just to see one more time if I could get it to run right. Sadly, I think my computer's just too new for the software that runs it. Besides, the plastic cover has come off and  dust and crumbs are scumming up under there. Also, it's waayyy too small.


I used a medium Wacom Intuos 4 at the AIB Arts First event and was BLOWN AWAY by how smoothly it worked. It was huge compared to my tablet, tracked really nicely, and was so easy to use. I want it so badly! Sadly, the thing costs somewhere around $345. I guess I'll be saving my money for a while. I just have this feeling I'd have so much fun working digitally if I had a tablet that actually worked. :P


Anyway, wrapping up work for school and pushing on through to summer. I just finished all my driving lessons so I'll have my license soon, hopefully. Also, THURSDAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! I can't believe I'll be 17! Yikes! Next year I'm a legal adult. I still feel 8 years old...


Annnnnnndd I got an 'A' on my 5 page Helvetica paper. Read it and weep, Ms. Tass. That'll teach YOU to doubt me. xD

Illustration Workshop @ AIB

This above image is a mock CD cover I made for Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, in which my uncle Sam plays keyboard. My inspiration sprung from having seen Josh's concert just a few days previous (That's pretty much what he was wearing for the show), and also his song 'Lantern'. 

I created this piece in an illustration workshop at the Art Institute of Boston (which looks right out at Fenway Park. Looovee my little city!) Arts First event. We were told to create a CD or book cover using thumbnail pencil sketches and Photoshop. If I can find my thumbnail, I'll post it. Anyways, I loved the event. I went with my friend Emily and we made a new friend named Molly. I also got to know to talk another student from my school who I'd never really talked with before which was pretty interesting. I loved my teacher for the workshop too. She was really great.

I used the lasso tool to create geometric shapes which I filled with the paint bucket (a technique I learned here) for most of the image. Sometimes I used the elipse tool and for his mouth, eyebrows, and other detailing I used the paintbrush tool. I decided to blur certain stars in the background to make them appear to recede to give the image more depth. People often comment that my cartoon-y drawings lack depth because I favor a heavy outline. To create the lantern, I found royalty-free stock photography online which I referenced and built with shapes made by the lasso tool. I really liked making the crows. They're so silly!

My cartoon Josh doesn't really look very much like him, but that's alright.

Also, the drummer for the Royal City Band, Liam, who is also a puppeteer, handmade puppets and filmed the music video for Josh's song 'The Curse'. It's absolutely amazing as a music video and an art piece. I love the song too. Check it out!

Gosh I'm sooo busy lately! Hardly any time to draw at all! Finals are coming up, and I'm finishing off my last days of Tortur- *ahem* Junior year. So much to do!

Starry Night, etc.

I was in school in one of the PC labs and I finished a project I was doing for class early. I opened Paint and decided to re-create Van Gogh's Starry Night. I think it came out pretty well! I'm so happy about it. There's stuff missing because I was doing this from memory, but oh well. For Paint, I'm pretty happy.

School's almost over! Woo Hoo!

Helvetica

I love typefaces. Since my dad is an editor at the Boston Globe, we sometimes get into discussions about type faces. I love the idea that the way a word looks can determine the way a reader feels about it. I'm not into graphic design, but type face is fascinating. The image above is a comparison of two very similar typefaces, Arial and Helvetica. You've seen them both a hundred times. Helvetica makes up the CVS logo, the Target logo, the Staples logo, American Apparel, Crate and Barrel (except for the capitol C), American Airlines, the New York City subway system and more. Helvetica was developed in 1957 as a way for businesses to say "Don't worry, everything is okay." It's anonymous, it's unobtrusive, and it gets the message across quickly. It's a beautiful type face that many designers regard as one of the best ever made. There has even been a documentary made about this typeface, which I have seen, and loved thank you very much. In school I am writing a 6 page research paper about the change brought to the advertising world by this modern sans-serif font. 

But Arial and Helvetica look so much alike! How can I tell them apart? That's easy! Look at the capitol 'G' in Helvetica and compare it to the same letter in Arial. Helvetica's 'G' has a tail. Also, look at the ends of the 'C' in either capitol and lower case or the top of the lower case 't' in both fonts. In Arial, these spots are slanted instead of straight. Many letters in Arial end in a slant, whereas in Helvetica they are blunt. Also, the capitol 'A' is wider in Arial than in Helvetica.

Think you have the differences down? Take this quiz and let me know your results!

For more type-face-y fun, look on YouTube for Font Conference by College Humor, one of my all time favorite videos. Wanna talk fonts and type faces with me? I love having these weird, nerdy discussions.

May Sketches/Doodles

Hey all! I know it's been a while since I last posted. I've been experiencing a crazy school schedule lately, not to mention work and other stressors. I've been doodling a little, although nothing is finished. I just ended an 8 week pre-college course at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly that was designed to help my college portfolio so someday I may post some of those pieces.

Here are a few recent doodles I thought were fun.

Also, I recently found this video on another artist's blog and I love it so much! The band re-creates works by the masters and incorporates their instruments. It's so fun.

Lonely Stranger

It's been raining too much lately. I usually love rain, but it's been ruining my mood.

Drawn in pencil, then inked into my small white sketchbook. In the style of Edward Gorey, if you couldn't tell...

Carryin' Da Banner!

To all you Jews out there, Happy Passover!

I did this piece in my small white sketchbook sometime last week. I collaged newspaper right onto the page, then sketched out the newsie. I inked it right onto the paper, used white colored pencil on his shirt and socks, and erased the newsprint out of the drawing so it would stand out more. I'm really pleased with it.

Edward Gorey has been having a heavy influence in the style of my inking lately. I'm using more delicate, intricate patterning and some darker, more victorian themes which you may see more of. He's one of my favorite illustrators.

Also the musical Newsies really affected this piece. Ever since I first saw it, the songs have been stuck in my head. I love the atmosphere around the Newsies.

"Jack Kelly: Extry, extry, read all about it! Ellis Island in flames! 

David Jacobs: Hey, where's that story? 

Jack Kelly: Page nine. Thousands Flee in Panic! 

David Jacobs: "Trash Fire Next To Immigration Building Terrifies Seagulls"? 

Jack Kelly: Terrified Flight from Inferno! "