Character Design - Inspired

While my ideas are my own, I can't help but admire and be inspired by fellow artists. I especially love KawaiiPandah's character designs and overall art style. It's light and refreshing, and the character sheets are organized so beautifully <3

Find more of Pandah-chan's wonderful artwork at their deviantart here

Character Design - Initial Thoughts

Haha, sorry for the delay! Things don't always work out as planned, ne? Anyways, that doesn't matter xP

What matters is this next project! I get to do whatever I wish (that has to do with printing) and after a list of suggestions from our instructor... Well, I was immediately drawn to *drum roll* character design! (The blog title sort of spoiled that, huh?;;)
Well, I've been forming an idea lately... I've run into some interesting people with very unique last names. Romantic last names ~_^ But really, it intrigued me and I couldn't help but think I wanted to take the people who I have met and throw them in a band with others that have names of romance. I've decided to call them "The Heartbreakers" =3
So, the next week or so shall be dedicated to making my fictional band's first poster. Maybe soon I'll put up preliminary sketches to get some opinions?

So excited~~~

Video Project - Complete!

And finally, it has come to an end! I do wish I could have made it better, but I'm also glad to be finished. I definitely think I learned a lot from this project and perhaps I'll stop griping about Flash since I understand it better. Haha ;;;
Anyways, the song I animated is the part in the opera when the mother expresses her concerns about her son and herself financially, but he sings this song to comfort her ails. Enjoy~

Video Project - In Progress

Ah! I'm so horrible at keeping up with these things! Anyways, as I've explained I am in the process of making a video to accompany a performance. So far, I have scanned my storyboard and am now polishing the images up to get them ready to go into Flash. So exciting! So nerve wracking! Anyways, I figured I could post some of my work before it's done. Hope you enjoy <3

Video Project - Inspiration

Well, I had trouble finding any videos that had exactly what I was looking for. This is probably a good thing, right? Haha, it's too bad that all the examples I found are creepy too ^-^;;; I promise I don't want to make it a horror opera! I'm just looking at the art styles, folks. Here is the first video I found:



Yes, I'm using Vocaloid videos xD A lot of them are very creative, diverse, and actually use animation to go with music! I like the parts where suddenly it leaves its chibi look to become more detailed. Switching is good <3 Next:



This video, while hard to understand, does do a switch in art forms that I can appreciate. I especially like the beginning where there are, what you could say are abstract shapes surrounded by nothing but darkness. In my work, I want it to be brighter though since it's a child's hopes ^^;;;; Perhaps abstract forms with white backgrounds =3

Well, until later~

Video Project - Brainstorming

Next project: Together with the music department (specifically opera), we will be creating a live performance. All songs will be from Gian Carlo Menotti in honor of his 100th birthday. The artists that will be helping this creation have been instructed to create a accompanying video to go with the opera singers' performances.

I was assigned to "Don't Cry, Mother Dear" from Amahl and the Night Visitors. It is a short song in which Amahl comforts his mother when she is feeling extremely stressed because of their financial status. Here are the lyrics:

Don't cry Mother dear; don't worry for me.
If we must go begging, a good beggar I'll be.
I know sweet tunes to set people dancing.
We'll walk and walk from village to town - you dressed as a gypsy, and I as a clown.
We'll walk and walk from village to town.
At noon, we shall eat roast goose and sweet almonds.
At night we shall sleep with the sheep and the stars.
I'll play my pipes, you'll sing and you'll shout.
The windows will open and people lean out.
The king will ride by and hear your loud voice and throw us some gold to stop all the noise.
At noon we shall eat roast goose and sweet almonds;
at night we shall sleep with the sheep and the stars.
Mother: "Kiss me good night."
The mother and son to each other: "Good night."

For the opening scene, I want a more clear, crisp picture of Amahl and his mother, perhaps him going to comfort her. Then for all the scenes in the middle, I would like a more faded or scratchy type of style to show that these are a child's thoughts rather than reality or premonition. In the end, Amahl and his mother come back to end in a mini-duet and I want to end with the clear images before fading to dark as they say "Goodnight".

Poster Exposure - Completion

Ahh~ I had lots of fun with this project, perhaps because I actually had an idea of what I wanted. For the most part, I usually jump into projects without too much thought or inspiration. I have no clue why this inspired me, but here it is:

Absolutely love it x3 It makes me so happy ;-; And for perhaps my own silly reasons, here is an alternative which was collectively voted against:

Hope to see you at the auction! ~_^

Poster Exposure - Help Always Wanted

As this project is coming to an end, I have realized that I never posted about the wonderful tutorial video that helped me make it! It's just a quick, simple and awesome way to make a sunburst on Photoshop from designtuts. Enjoy ^-^

Poster Exposure - Art to Inspire

So, I found a few posters that have similar ideas, colors, styles to what I hope to do for my poster for the upcoming art auction. Let's cut the talk short this time and see 'em~

Love love love this one. The colors and the way they made the focal point caught my eye. The background is too dark for what I want, though. Not sure if I want bright or pastel colors...

I almost didn't see this one! It has an awesome motif and beautiful design~ This one will definitely help me figure out how to put the title, time, place and whatnot on my own poster <3 Also, I really love the bubble-like shapes x333

The way that the characters (child and teddy bear) were styled is pretty close to the way I envision the way I'll place my own 'characters' on the poster.

This is a bit far from what I want, but also similar. I like the colors being surrounded by the speakers, drawing the eye to them.


And while I realize this next one isn't a poster, I love the bright cheerfulness of this video, aside from the few displays of, ah, unpleasant images:






Here be the links to the sites of all these posters and more:
First and Second poster, plus 28 other awesome designs.
Third poster which is a blog of another artist =3
Fourth poster which was on Shutterstock~
Random site that I could not figure out how to post pictures from.

Poster Exposure - Which Event?

Aaalrighty~ So, onto the next project. This time, a poster for an event! Ah, but which event? It didn't take me too long to think about it, actually.

See, recently-ish I attended a meeting for an organization participating in an art auction (yay!). The auction is more of a charity/fund raiser kind of event. The two causes being supported will be for the local Animal Shelter and the other is Rainbow Room, a resource center specializing in the needs of children and infants.

When it was first discussed that this event would need a poster, I was immediately filled with inspiration. Most of the time, though, my actual work doesn't meet my vision ;;; But hopefully I can make it just as cute and colorful as I saw it then ^-^

For now, here are the links to Rainbow Room and the Animal Shelter:

Rainbow Room (in Dallas)
Animal Shelter

CustomizedLove

This time I am shamelessly promoting my employer's goods~ CustomizedLove is a crochet shop set up by the cheerful Chloe Gardner. She makes dolls for all sorts of occasions, but they are all adorable!

Just a few examples ^-^ Of course, each doll is customizable to fit the buyer's wants/needs (thus the name) I am the official photographer for the shop, including other artistic skills Ms. Gardner uses me for. Perhaps next time I can show some more of my work =3 For now, please visit CustomizedLove in all it's locations! http://customizedlove.blogspot.com/ http://www.etsy.com/shop/CustomizedLove Also check us out on Facebook! Until then~

Magazine Spread

I have completed my first ever magazine spread~ Used the vectorized Flo as instructed and took the first part of the article from Austin American-Statesman written by Chris Garcia. If you'd like to read the rest, it's right...here!

^Picture One	Picture Two^

Making this spread was both easier and more difficult than the picture itself ;;; I tried keeping it simple in color. I guess I tried to put Flo in her Progressive store environment? Everything is sort of blue and white (but you can't forget the spot of red from her lips!)

I'm sorry! So sorry! I realize the circles look like Target's logo in blue, but I realized it too late and honestly didn't feel like going back and fixing it all. Rather, I would have preferred to have made a variety of that pattern... Maybe some with four blue circles and such =o=

By the way, hardest part of this post? Aligning the two pages! Please enjoy it~

Music Painting from Smile Lab

A collaborative effort to make amazing work. It's sort of hard to describe, so just watch:



This was a top video some time back and it is definitely not hard to understand why. A beautiful marriage of music, story and art to make something truly spectacular! Calming jazz, simple yet appealing art, and an admirable message make this video an inspiration for anyone in the arts.

Celebrity Vector

Another Vector! 'Tis Flo, The Progressive Girl. Did you guess right?

It took me awhile to choose a 'celebrity'. I thought of doing Joseph Ducreux, Xzibit, and Aishwarya Rai. No one seemed to recognize those people, so I had to find someone a bit more mainstream. I love Flo's quirkiness, and her look reminds me of the 50s. I had trouble deciding a background. I may delete it... Someday. Still, I love how the face and her left hand came out. Glad her skin doesn't look flat or dead like mine did ;;;

Enjoy and see you next time!

Watercolor by Mark Crilley (Part 3)

Sorry! It appears that this video has no audio. But please enjoy/observe the work of Mark Crilley:



I'm sure this one will help me out a lot. I'm not very good with backgrounds, let alone in watercolor ;;; But I like seeing the process. They say artists are visual learners, right?

Well, that's the last of this watercolor set from Mark Crilley that I'll be showing (at least for a while). Later this week I should have at least one project done. Mainly thinking about my celebrity vector x3 Can you guess who I made a vector of?

Vector Self Portrait

Another project complete! This time I had to, well, make a vector self portrait.

It took a bit of work, but I spent a lot of time just checking out patterns on Adobe Illustrator*. Overall, I think it took about... 6 hours? That's just an estimate, of course. The skin tone appears to be a little flat, but that's okay. It's probably more accurate that way ^-^;;;

Next time: Vectors! But this time of someone you might actually know.

* 'tis not mine.

Watercolor by Mark Crilley (Part 2)

As promised, here is part two of the previously posted YouTube video by Mark Crilley. Once again, you may need to change the video to 240p or add "&fmt=18" to the end of the address:



Did you catch that at the end? He's going to demonstrate backgrounds! Haha. I know, I'm slightly evil. Really, though, I appreciate his videos greatly. After the third video, I'll find another artist to stalk. Promise.

Watercolor by Mark Crilley

Got a video that I think can help me out for two classes at once!

Oh, by the by, sometimes the audio on Mark Crilley's videos go haywire. You may have to add "&fmt=18" or change the video quality to 240p. I'd suggest watching it both ways so you can see the art and hear what he has to say =P



I think this video really could help me with whatever it is that I'm trying to achieve. I draw in a manga/anime style all the time and it's truly inspiring to see someone doing something similar to what I wish to do. I think it's interesting to see how he mixes media to get just the look he wants. Also, the shading is beautiful to me, which is sort of funny since I usually hate shading things! It makes me want to try it, though ^0^

Anyways, I'll be posting the second part next week (but I can't stop you from watching it now ^-^;; ) Until then~

Logo Design~

Alright! Now it's time to brand myself. It's a basic design with minimal flair, but with enough there to keep your interest (...hopefully)

My name with a custom font. I always sign CJ Pritchett on my art. I like the ambiguity of my name where it is not masculine or feminine. The two t's at the end are always double crossed to create a spiritual gate very prominent in Japanese lifestyle/culture. The three moons were an image I found as a girl and it has stuck with me since. I did find out what it was though! They represent basically everything:

"...the three [...] figures are frequently described as the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone, each of which symbolises both a separate stage in the female life cycle and a phase of the moon, and often rules one of the realms of [the] earth, underworld, and the heavens."

You can read more about it here.

Creating a 'Brand'

So, for my first post I get to celebrate my new blog banner! 'Twas an assignment. I did take a lot of liberties with this though ;; I ended up not asking for much of my professor's opinion on it, but a few fellow classmates helped me decide whether it was good enough or not.

I designed the look for the blog first and basically stretched from there. The banner ended up being organic with a twist of futurism, and I have to say that I really do love it. The handmade 'font' still needs a little work, but for a beginning I think it'll serve me well.

Shinjite means Believe in Japanese. It is my absolute favorite word in the world (of course, I don't know every word, but it is how it is for now). I think it works out well since the main style I use for my art is anime. Hopefully it can convey some of my interests as well as my skills =3