Updates (Thursday)

Almost done week one of semester two.

Thought it would be a good time to give the two people who actually read this a quick update on what's going on.

I'm going to be fairly busy.

And by fairly, I mean I expect to be working hard to stay on top of my schoolwork.

So, it's very likely that posts will be few and far between.

Sorry.

I am taking an art class, but, um, remember that post I did a while ago concerning art classes?

Yeah.

My teacher had us drawing pinecones...

I was really hoping that drawing foundations would be about shading, perspective, and similar things, but I seriously doubt that anything similar to that will be happening in the next few weeks.

In regards to my other classes, things are going ok.

Until I got to my Physics homework.

At first I was like, "Yeah, conversions, I can totally do that," but then they threw foot-acres at me.

FOOT-ACRES.

Is anything related to rainfall supposed to be covered in this class?

Really now.

Calculus B is looking to be daunting as well, but I'm signing up for the study sessions they have planned, so between that and my Dad's help, I should be ok.

Hmmm... what's positive?

...

AHA!

Bowling.

I like bowling.

In one class time I've already found where my problem areas are.

And if I show up to every class, there's apparently no reason I shouldn't get an A.

Yay!

I will try to update every once in a while.

Maybe I'll just copy some of my in-class doodles and post them for you to enjoy.

Until next time!

Go with God,

Allie

The Artist Writes a Review: The Hobbit (Tuesday)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

For the record, I'm really excited to be doing this review.

So yes, I'm gonna set up how this is going to work.

Things to Know:

1. I have not read the book, but I will before the next movie comes out. I have seen the movie twice, in 3D and 2D (I favor the 2D).

2. This is my opinion. I will acknowledge that you have one as well, but don't think that I will change mine to suit yours.

3. There will be my Recommendation, and then my actual Review. Only the Review will contain spoilers.

Got it?

Ok, now for the disclaimer:

I am not responsible for any plot spoilers that exist beyond the spoiler alert.

With all that squared away, let's get to the fun stuff!

Recommendation

See this movie. It's awesome!

However, I must warn you.

Some of the videography threw me off in the 3D version, which I saw first. They shot this movie in a much higher resolution than I've come to expect from this genre. I recommend that you go in to see this movie with an open mind as what to expect visually, or you're going to run into the same issues I did. It looked much better in 2D, but from adjusting my expectations I was able to see just how great the quality was. So don't let that deter you.

I would also advise you to not forget about the music, which was so spectacular, I bought the soundtrack as soon as I got home.

Now, go forth and see The Hobbit!

!Spoiler Alert!

The Review

You have no idea how thrilled I am with this movie!

I'm not going to waste time telling you everything that happened in the movie, I'm just going to highlight my favorite parts.

I will try to keep to one subject at a time, but I find I tend to ramble on and on when it comes to this story.

Yes, I did critique the videography a bit. However, that is only because the feel of the imagery was unexpected. As I said, soon as I opened my mind to a new look for the genre, it was a visual treat.

Now I'm going to rave about the songs for a moment here.

The fact that the dwarves actually sing is great. Tolkien wrote quite a few poems to describe the history of Middle Earth and to tell stories to assist the plot, so it was neat to have a little of that included.

'Blunt the Knives' was such a fun bit to watch, and it's a lively song that I love to hear.

'Misty Mountains' does a wonderful job of introducing the main theme of the movie. The singing is beautiful and whenever I hear the melody during the movie I'm thrilled to hear it. Every. Single. Time.

Now, the Unexpected Party is one of the outstanding scenes for me. It really introduces the dwarves as a group, rather than as individuals. This was nice as there are thirteen dwarves. THIRTEEN.

By the way:

I've seen a lot of complaining around the sites I browse about how The Hobbit has been split into three movies rather than the originally promised two, but I can see why they did. With thirteen main characters (more like fifteen, but we've met Biblo and Gandalf before) to make individual from the rest; it would be exhausting to cram all that into just two movies.

So on those grounds, I support their decision.

Back to the scene.

From that scene alone, I saw a fun-loving bunch of dwarves who, despite their poor table manners, are decent house guests. They clearly respect their leaders, Thorin and Gandalf, but aren't above causing a bit of trouble. And again, I really love the songs.

Then there's Radagast the Brown. A notable character, not just for his personality, but his sled pulled by rabbits.

Another thing I appreciated was Rivendell. Not only were the sets familiar, but the music also brought on some Lord of the Rings nostalgia.

After this was the Thunder Battle.

Wow. This scene was amazing for two reasons. One; the thunder, great stone giants fighting one another with hand-to-hand combat as well as throwing huge chunks of mountain. Really visually impressive. Two; the moment when they realized they were standing on the knees of such a giant. Kili and Fili made this scene for me. As the giant goes to stand, the ledge the party is standing on splits in two. The brothers were in the middle, and as they see each other on the other side of the gap, you can tell they are scared. Since they arrived at Bag-End, Kili and Fili have been by each other's side, and I believe that this is the moment they realize that they could lose one another.

I may have looked too deep into this, but I felt it was important.

The final battle of the movie and the confrontation that follows was wonderful.

Thorin sees his mortal enemy once again, not as dead as originally thought, and there's flaming pinecones. The pinecones was a neat element. The fire added an extra layer to the combat, particularly when the eagle uses its wings to cause the flames to flare up at the wargs. Also when Bilbo protects Thorin, it really cements why he is there. He's not just there to pick up the Ring and give his companions a headache, he actually shows what a benefit he is to the party.

Also, when Thorin confronts Bilbo about his actions after the fight there's a moment when you believe he really means it, but he turns it around and accepts Bilbo as one of them.

Then there's the brohug, which makes me happy.
Seriously, I've been devastated by movies that have shown perfect opportunities for bros to hug and not taken advantage of them. It's sad, really.

So yeah, really excited for the next movie to come out and I'll be getting this one on DVD as soon as possible.

Hope you enjoyed this review.
Go with God,
~Allie

Wrapping (Thursday)

Every. Single. Year.
Hope to have something a bit more festive for you later.
In the meantime, Merry Christmas!
~Allie

Public Service Announcement(Tuesday)

Door Decorating (Wednesday)

Just to prove that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, and that what skill I have has not abandoned me.

Since this was for a Halloween decorating contest, I thought it was appropriate.

My awesome roommates and I worked way too hard on this.

Good thing we won the contest!

We're planning to leave it up through Christmas.

---

More detailed info!

We started with a bedsheet and spray painted it grey (it took like 3 cans of paint).

Michelle cut it and taped it to the actual door so that it would still open/close/lock; you know, important door stuff. She also provided to cobwebs.

The two demons are Steve (the one crawling out of the door) and a void rabbit (yet to be named).

I sketched them out and painted the lines in a glittery black (which is darker than the regular black), and Michelle and Kaitlyn helped fill them in (with the flat black and red).

Some of the details are missed here because paper rolls. There are spines on the rabbit's back, and the one hand on Steve has these really long nails.

Tiffany helped with hanging things, which was great because it was really a two-person job.

We used a lot of tape for this.

The sign was made of scrap paper left from cutting out the demons and the cell window and rust were painted on last.

---

Admit it.

My roommates rock.

Mostly because they put up with the disaster area that was the common area that happened while we were working on this.

(It got cleaned up, don't worry.)

So, yeah.

Aside from school, that's what I've been doing.

Not much going on otherwise.

I'm going to open up suggestions, so feel free to comment with an idea for a drawing, keeping in mind not every idea will be used, and please comment here if you do.

Go with God,

~Allie

P.S. From now on I'll do the process information like I did this time, with the '---'s, so that those not interested can just skip through it.

Avengers, Agreement! (Sunday)

Odd day to post.

Oh well.

Meant to post these a while ago, but I got distracted.

So yeah.

Apparently some of our neighbors have been having arguments, so all the rooms were assigned roommate agreements.

Our room hasn't had any problems, and we communicate pretty well, so we all thought it pointless. However, we got a sample with it that had Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, Thor Odinson, and Steve Rodgers as the roommates and I got inspired. The original was fairly straightforward and simply brought up things that people could use in theirs, but I thought it very out of character for some of the "roommates" and decided to fix it.

First I replaced Steve with Loki (who is much more entertaining) and just went from there.

I know there's some inaccuracies, particularly with the armor (the person who designed Loki's costume was an evil mastermind), but I did my best and I'm not going back to fix it.

This one won't be colored.

I am leaving this alone.

It took me 6 hours to finish the drawing alone, I don't even know how much time I spent on the written agreement.

Don't know what I'll start working on next, so stay there on the edge of your seat and hope for the best.

Enjoy!

Go with God,

~Allie

More Nymph (Friday)

You know, Friday used to be the busiest day of the week for me.

Now I only have 1 class in the morning.

Yay!

I'm also trying to get a good rendition of an idea related to a different class, so ... maybe I'll get around to it.

Anyways, NYMPH.

I'm liking the colors, but not so much her outfit.

I like her legs though, they turned out nice.

And I've seen that glow done somewhere before (if you find it let me know), but it looks kinda cool. And it gets the point across... I think.

If you noticed the whiteout... I hate that stuff.

It made my lineart look better, but it did a pretty fine job of messing up my colors.

Grr.

I'll also have to change her staff. At the very least it should be taller, but at the moment it's a bit quirky looking.

So yes, things to work out (still working on a style to get those princesses to look right) and an idea still in the works.

...

Plus school.

Lots and lots of school.

Go with God,

~Allie

Make this quick (Thursday)

So I've recently gotten back into DragonFable.

(I don't play all the time, schoolwork comes first.)

It's pretty fun, and this is based off one of my characters, Nymph.

Can you see where I was holding the sketchbook?

So her armor looks nothing like this, I may even change her design again so that she looks... better?

I dunno.

Favoring the mages right now, so I may draw the other one as well.

Go with God,

~Allie

Headache (Tuesday)

Scanner apps.

Yup.

Not the best, but hey, pictures.

I should tell you guys that I won't be doing anything more often, turns out that's when I get things done.

I very much had a day where all I could draw was dragons.

They're alright.

The top one is chasing his tail.

He also has a little beard.

Next time I do this I'll try to have better lighting.

It took way too long to figure out how to get this on the computer...

I'm gonna go... you know.... chill and stuff....

Classes start tomorrow.

So.

Yeah.

ugh, headache....

Go with God,

~Allie

Hiatus? (Thursday)

Well, I'm moving into my dorm tomorrow.

So, no posts for a bit.

At least no pictures.

The only scanner I know I'll have access to is here at home, and I don't know how often I'll be here.

Classes start next week, so until I settle into my schedule, I'll likely not do a lot of drawing.

So, yes, hiatus until I get going in the right direction.

Go with God,

~Allie

So I Lied (Thursday)

So things didn't turn out as well as I'd like with my prototype, so I'm having to make another.

However, I'm secure enough in my process to tell you about what I'm going to be doing.

Mostly, mold making.

I'm going to try to make a blank from some miscellaneous items and use that to make a mold. I'll be making said mold from Plaster of Paris, and casting the final piece in resin (hopefully, a lot clearer than the first thing came out).

It's a lot of sit and wait for things to dry/harden, so please have patience with me.

In the meantime, I'm getting ready to go to college. Just over a week from now I'll be moving onto campus, and then about a week after that classes start.

I feel kind of bad for just leaving my readers (the glorious few) hanging, so I will leave you with a drawing of Princess Luna.

Humanized, obviously. Her look is influenced by a drawing I saw on deviantart, a bit military. I like to think of her as the more regimented type, while Celestia is more relaxed. Princess Cadance is just the people's princess; doesn't do much in governing, but is loved by the people.

...

I really put too much thought into that...

But the look is... rough to say the least. I've already got ideas for improving on it. This is one of a few little doodles I did last night, so please excuse the quality.

If this My Little Pony kick keeps up I may do all three of the princesses.

We'll see.

Go with God,

~Allie

So Close! (Monday)

Only time stands between me and knowing if my project will work.

....

We're thinking about a day...

Just a day.....

. . . 

A whole day....

.  .  .  .

Well... In the meantime....

EPIC MUSIC

...

That is all.

Go with God,

~Allie

New Logo (Monday)

It was never meant to be this complicated, but I like how it turned out.

So, represented here;

Legend of Zelda

Super Mario

Pokemon

3DS

Wii

Legend of Korra

Doctor Who

Gravity Falls

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

and some random dragons and music.

This looks a lot better in person... oh well.

It's a bit more current than my current logo.

Ok, a lot more current.

This piece took ~3 hours to complete.

Started with the full silhouette, and sketched the characters, inked them, freehanded the thought clouds and colored everything else.

Really fun to work on.

Oh, and I really didn't look up references until I started coloring, so if things look off, that's why.

In other news, I recently started playing Pokemon Black and I named my starter Pippin. (About 5 more levels and he'll evolve into Serperior! So excited.)

Go with God,

~Allie

Guessing This Is Something (Sunday)

This one is based off something my pastor said during the sermon today.

So don't say I don't pay attention just because I'm doodling.

(Please excuse my lack of knowing how to draw skulls and don't correct me on it.)

And this was bigger, but I didn't like how I drew the angle, so this is all you get.

I liked the face.

I may work at this more cartoony style a bit, see how it turns out.

Read somewhere that you should draw something five times (seriously) before you give up on it.

Oh, by the way, that's me. I got my hair cut.

So, to review, if you see this character (the girl, not the skeleton) in any of my future drawings, it's me.

And I'm getting full-swing into a project, if the prototype works, I'll let you know what I'm doing.

Go with God,

~Allie

*Running Around Like a Maniac* (Monday)

Those of you that think I know what I'm doing... think again.

I have all this time and nothing to do with it.

Apparently having nothing to distract me results in no arts to post, meaning what I have drawn, I haven't finished, and what I have finished is unsatisfactory. I think I should take art classes, but for some reason I doubt their effectiveness on my style. I also doubt my ability to actually draw what my teacher would tell me to.

I can see it now;

"Draw this pumpkin."

I think for a moment and start drawing a pumpkin fairy.

"What are you doing?"

"Drawing a pumpkin fairy."

"Just draw the pumpkin."

"...Ok."

Start drawing the pumpkin.... 

...get bored and start drawing a sword through it.

"What- Why are you drawing that?"

".... Because it adds ... interest."

"I told you to draw the pumpkin."

"The pumpkin is right there."

"Yes, but the pumpkin you're drawing does not have something running through it."

"Yes, but it is also boring."

"..."

"I could also give it a sad face, and pumpkin guts coming out this side..."

"I told you to draw the pumpkin."

"I am."

---

And this would go on till class ended.

...

So yes, I think I'll try to do ... something.... productive.

Suggestions are loved, but please remember what I am actually capable of... and that I will not draw everything suggested.

Go with God,

~Allie

Update (Sunday)

Yeah, one of those odd Sunday posts.

But hey, I learned something!

I can (kinda) draw from life!

(Don't ask who it is.)

I was proud of myself.

So yeah.

A lot of things have been going on lately.

Well, not a lot of things, just quite a few, all one after one another, but soon that will all be done and I can get on with summer things.

A few summer things planned, so not making any promises in case I don't get to do them.

....

And that's about it.

Go with God,

~Allie

Opinions (Sunday)

Apparently, because I'm an artist, no one cares if I have an opinion.

(Yeah, looking at you!)

So, here.

ART.

Be.

Happy.

Cause you're getting nothing else.

~Allie

Worth Mentioning... (Sunday)

Again, a no-art post, but this may address an issue I'm having with creating material.

So, if you feel the need, disregard this post in all of its complaint-filled glory.

---

Time put into an art-including post:

30 minutes (min): Drawing the art

30 minutes (min): Scrutinizing art so as to fix/acknowledge flaws in drawing

1 hour (approx): Deliberating whether or not the artwork meets any expectations that may be held by audience, deciding how much I care in regards to specific piece, and thinking more on whether or not this will have any negative effects on my dwindling social life.

15 minutes (min): Scanning, uploading, and writing accompanying text to round out blog post and post a link on Facebook

Time it takes to quote me on Facebook:

3 seconds (approx): Hear funny/witty phrase being said

1 minute (approx): Come up with idea to put it on Facebook and think it a good idea

1 minute (max): Typing, tagging, and hitting the 'Share' button

That moment when I realize that the quote gets more likes/comments than my blog does in a month:

....

Priceless...

---

Do you see what I'm getting at here?

I'll admit, this is a bit of a shameless plug to get some attention, but come on!

Just a little acknowledgement that you actually looked at what I've been working would mean a lot.

Seriously, if you actually read my previous post (which I wouldn't know if you had), you might have come to the realization that giving your opinion could give someone (particularly beginner/amateur artists and the like) the courage to continue their work.

Sure, in the end, I'm drawing stuff that makes me happy, but all that work and no recognition, to be honest, doesn't make me happy.

Everyone wants to be told that they're doing something worthwhile.

Everyone wants to know that what they've put time and effort into, is actually being seen.

So why, even though we all want this attention, that little pat on the back, do we ignore the work of people around us?

Seriously, hit the 'like' button, it won't kill you.

And if you don't like it, comment, and try to be supportive.

At least they'll know you were looking.

Go with God,

~Allie

P.S.

Time it took to write, review this post for clarity, then post it to blog and link to Facebook:

~30 min

Expectations (Tuesday)

This is a not-very-amusing-serious-type post where I bore you to tears about my personal life.

Not really personal, but I guess I don't often make things like this public.

Eh, either way.

Expectations

I'm quite tired of people having them of me.

I don't mean, the first time someone meets me, they judge me by my appearance, but the ones who know me set expectations.

And I don't like them.

I enjoy getting compliments like, I'm smart, or talented, but they don't really help me.

Sure it hurts my pride to hear that I haven't done well enough or that I should've tried harder, but it gives me something to work for.

I can critique myself all day and night, but it really won't give me motivation to try harder.

There's something about someone else's opinion that makes it matter.

I guess it sounds weird, right?

I'm complaining that the expectations set on me are actually too low.

And it really bugs me.

Do people honestly think this is all I'm capable of?

Is this all they want of me?

You can tell me I'm wonderful a hundred times, but it would mean next to nothing compared to a critique that helped me improve.

And it's not just art I'm talking about.

It's anything I'm involved in.

I mess up in band, but the director doesn't have me go over it again.

I get congratulated for making a stupid mistake, but getting a good grade none the less.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with my accomplishments, but I sometimes wonder if I could've done better if I was expected to.

One of the reasons I'm looking forward to college is the challenge.

Each professor will challenge me in a different way, and the things I get involved in will demand more from me.

I will be pushed to be the best I can be.

And I want it.

I need it.

So, what could you accomplish if people just started expecting it of you?

Honestly, what have you really wanted to excel in?

Could someone, simply by expecting a certain level of skill, push you to become better than you already are?

Now look at your own expectations of the people you know.

Are you building them up, or holding them back?

Be honest, now.

You could change someone's life.

---

Go with God,

~Allie

The Artist Writes a Review (Monday)

Ok, here's the deal UP FRONT.

I am going to give an honest, to-the-point review of this book.

If you don't think you can handle having the down side of this particular book pointed out to you, by all means, don't read it!

I'm not to be held responsible for "ruining" your favorite book for you. If I'm capable of destroying this story for you, again, don't read this!

And another thing, think before you comment. Seriously, I don't want a single post flaming about how "You're wrong, I'm right, and you're a horrible person for thinking this."

And if you do disagree with me, feel free to make your point, just don't start ranting, and take a stab at proper spelling/grammar (makes it harder for me to mock you).

One last thing, I will try to keep this to a spoiler-minimum, but I may mention character names and personalities, so if you haven't read it, I'd advise you read carefully.

So, onwards!

I will be reviewing (*drumroll*)...

The Hunger Games

(Lord, help me.)

Ok, So this book has gotten really popular lately, and I can see why.

I read the book in 6 hours.

Yup, six hours, hardly putting the thing down.

I was glued to it.

Then, after getting over the shock of reading such an (at the moment) zomgawesomebeyondbelief book, I mentally berated myself for jumping on the bandwagon while it was still in town.

I really hate doing that.

Then I began to evaluate what I just read, and the glitter began to die down.

Here's where the hard part begins.

I saw the issues.

First off, this hit while reading it at the start, the writing.

It was... ok.

Better than Meyer (by a good bit), but not in the neighborhood of Rowling (at all).

There were some glaring grammatical errors which really threw me, I mean, the author should've let me proof-read it and I could've fixed it.

Then there were parts that were, in a way, amateurish. I mean, I've read short stories on Deviantart that were better worded than this.

I know this seems harsh, but it's the truth as I see it.

So, here's where there would be a possibility of spoilers.

Now for the storyline.

...

I really didn't find much issue with the story itself.

It was well paced, engaging, and developed enough where you could understand it fully without having to think everything over more than once or twice.

But again, I ran into the amateur bits. 

Some parts could've been drawn out longer, some could've been shortened, but there weren't too many of those, so it wasn't that much of an issue.

It was a lot of the dialog that got to me. It just seemed like the author was just too eager to get information out there. I mean, some things I just saw coming, others were a little surprising, but I felt a little more suspense wouldn't have hurt.

But the story was my favorite part, I loved it, so don't say I'm a hater yet.

Now for the characters.

um...

My favorite character is one we only see a few times and has this air of 'I'm going to be important later in the plot.'

Yeah, Cinna's my favorite. 

He's really the only character that intrigued me, although, those who've followed me for a while know that it takes quite the character to impress me.

For a quiet, understated character, he was, in my opinion, the best.

Now, I'm kinda forgetting the guy in the beginning, if that tells you anything about him.

Rather forgettable.

As was Peeta.

So, that's all I have to say there.

Now, Katniss lovers, look away now.

I mean it, you really don't want to read this.

I don't like her.

Actually, as a lead character, I hate her.

She's got Mary-Sue written all over her.

All. Over.

The problem begins with her tragic backstory and unstable family life.

These things I am willing to overlook if the character has depth and great personality, but Katniss didn't.

She was... shallow.

One thing that I really trip over is, despite how much we learn about her, how little I actually got to know her.

The entire book she's hiding her emotions, and despite us being in her head the whole time, there is little revealed there as to her feelings during this whole adventure.

There was also something else that lacked in her.

Character development.

She didn't change.

She was still ... hiding her emotions.... at the end.

Yes, this is a problem.

She expresses a desire to return to her family, like she promised, but there's really no change in her. We don't get the opportunity to see her feel hopeless. There's no true realization that she may die.

And if there was, I must have missed it, but it should've been a crucial part of the story.

One reason I say she's Mary-Sue'ish is that... well, how do I put this... she's hollow.

A kind of vessel we can just step into and live in this new, exciting world.

You may be thinking "Allie, this isn't a bad thing," well, I say it is.

You shouldn't have to play a part in the story you're reading; you should be a passive observer. You should be able to get drawn into the story easily, but not get that 'I've been on vacation in someone else's head' hangover when you finish.

And yes, hangover is the appropriate term.

Not that I've had one, but if the complaints are true, then it would be similar.

I want to get to know this character. She should be my best friend at the end of the book, not part of me.

That's just too close for comfort.

So, overall, the main character was a disappointment, and many of the secondary characters were forgettable, but the story was fantastic.

I would recommend this as a good weekend read.

So, yes, The Hunger Games is good. Not great, but good.

ONCE MORE FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO COMMENT!

No flaming!

and

Be polite!

The ignorant few who break these simple rules will have their comments deleted and politely asked not to do so again.

Repeat offenders will be banned/blocked/ect.

Go with God,

and

Have a Nice Day,

~Allie