Horsies!

I didn't realize horses were in walking distance of my house!

Some Sketches About Town

After been cooked up in the house the whole day, I took a little drive around Shakopee (the suburb town I live in). You don't really have to drive far to have a change of scenery from convenient stores and strip malls to corn fields and cows. It was really nice just driving and listening to music.

Lately I've been thinking about after graduation a lot: what company I want to work for, what kind of job I'd like to do, and what kind of lifestyle I'd prefer. I still don't know. It seemed so much easier back when I was looking for schools. The goal was simple: build a nice portfolio, get into school. Perhaps it's still the same this time around: build a nice portfolio, get a job. But there just seems to be so much more pressure and competition. It seems that this last stretch is what determines whether you have failed or accomplished. I know art is a life-long endeavor but I can't help but feel what happens after graduation is what separates the goods from the greats, the amateurs from the professionals.

I hope I'm wrong; I hope a humble beginning doesn't mean you can't still be great in the future.

Well, I Feel Dumb...

Kathy

Yay coffee for keeping me up until 3am (and beyond?).
Here's Kathy the art director, inspired from a certain someone that offers wine and great food whenever I visit.

More Character Explorations

Compositions

So many choices! I can't decide whether to have my house on top of a mountain or have it propped up on stilts.

Good 'o Barns and Noble

Some Thesis Stuff

I need to start modeling but I still can't settle on a design! Anyway, any crits or preferences are more than welcome!

Character Design Bi-Weekly: Assignment 1: Cowboys with Alternate Modes of Transportation

Just got back from SD yesterday, good timing for this round of Character Design Bi-Weekly!

South Dakota Tomorow.

I'm leaving for SD on a five day family roadtrip tomorrow. My family loves to travel; considering the current economic situation my parents decided to go somewhere nearby. We'll be visiting Mt. Rushmore, the badlands, Walldrug (for those who don't know what it is, no worries, I don't think you are suppose to), and other places along the way.

Still no clear direction where to take the thesis. Here are some sketches.

The Transformation of 3D Yezi!

3D Yezi was once a courageous and confident little character...

whom enjoyed joking around with strangers during meal times,

...until her heart was torn to pieces by somebody she truly loved.

Now bitter with sorrow, she has resorted to a life of violence.

Special thanks to my talented classmates for using my model in their animations. You guys are awesome!

Thesis Time!

I can't believe I'm a senior already! Time flies! I made a production schedule for thesis and all the other stuff I want to accomplish over the summer and it sure seems like busy times ahead!

It's so nice to be back at home visiting old friends and chilling with the parents though. I'll have to make sure to balance out my time so that I'm productive and also having tons of fun. After all, it's this is the last summer!

Soooo! I figure it's time for a thesis dump. These here are initial designs for my story. I'm in the process of exploring with new designs this week. I want my thesis to be a bit more stylized and unique looking. We'll see where I end up. I'd love to hear feedback or any opinions!

Octopi in the Sky!

Digital painting for drawing for animators class.

As a RA, I work for a man who loves cake...

Happy birthday Chris!

The World Out There

It's easy to forget that there's a whole world out there when we are so wrapped up in school work. I was reminiscing about my summer in China and now I can't sleep. I laugh to myself when I think about all the awkward, surprising, unpleasant, and amazing situations I was in. Traveling is such an eye-opener; it would be great to be able to backpack around after graduation....or someday.

Mainwhile, thought I'd post this picture I took on the bus one night. It was not an easy picture to take as there was no elbow room and the bus was shaking so badly I had to dig the camera out of my purse with one hand while holding on with the other hand. It's always packed like this before the bus lines stop for the night. Sweaty times!

Thesis should be like this.

"Oh no! I pooped!"

Origami Coolness in the midst of Blendshaping Madness

Robert showed these awesome videos to me. Thought I should share :)

It's a Beautiful Saturday!

We had our first full faculty crit yesterday and it went pretty well. The faculty sat in a long roll at the front of the classroom. It was like the American Idol panel of judges: you give a run through of your boards then they pick it apart. I brought Robert's recorder to record my critique but being nervous I couldn't get it to work before I went up. I noticed the timer wasn't changing so I thought it wasn't recording but in actuality I was just too nervous to wait for even a second. It was working fine the whole time. I'm just dumb. I used it to record Don, Nilah, and Jess's pitches instead.... yay me.

But anyway, lots of work to do but nothing unexpected. Here are some rough designs. The monster is still under construction. Also, here's a great song with a great music video. It makes me think about what a beautiful day today is! Enjoy everyone!

Distractions

My new Monsters Inc. poster takes some getting used to. When I brainstorm I tend to stare blankly into the wall. The difference now is that it stares right back at me---equally surprised.