Sailor Mars

I did this for someone as a little end-of-school-year gift.
They really enjoy "Sailor Moon".
This is Sailor Mars from the show. I wasn't in the mood to draw Sailor Moon... she's pretty ditsy and annoying. Actually... all the sailors are that way...
Well, I like the colour red :)

Seigneurie

Here's some old pictures from a school project I thought I should get out there.

My group built a model of a 'seigneurie' for our history project (which got us top marks!)

It's a strip of land along the St. Laurent from colonial New France. Our model is about 2 metres longs and includes trees, rows of agriculture, an animal pen, a wind-mill (which spins around), and a little house.

I did most of the calculations for the model pieces and helped paint allot of it... actually... I did allot of just about everything...

Our drama presentation was... interesting.

We had to act as though we were a Quebec farm-working family, and to present information about each of our daily lives.

Everyone in my group knew we had really bad drama marks, so we decided to present our project... in song. My teacher recorded it... supposedly so that she could watch it at home and mark it.

Did I mention I baked some tortieres with my dad for the project? That's a kind of traditional Quebecois meat pie usually eaten at Christmas or New Years.

Between the huge diorama, the off-key singing and the free food we got an A+!

Katara Necklace

Oops! I almost forgot to upload this!

A poorly crafted attempt at Katara's necklace from "Avatar: the Last Airbender". My sister and I were REALLY bored. We also made a little forest spirit that you can view in my older posts.

Anyway, just an attempt at jewelery making.

Since it's technically art, I suppose it belongs on the blog.

Bring Me to Life

Yet another T-shirt hot off the press.

This time it features Astro Boy on the front and Pinoco on the back.

Both characters are creations of celebrated Japanese animator Osamu Tezuka. You can learn more about him and "Astro Boy" by following an extensive list of links in my previous entry titled "Astro and Beyond".

These characters have interesting similarities beyond being close to my heart.

1) When robotic scientist Dr. Tenma lost his son Tobio in a car accident, he was convinced of resurrecting him by creating a replica robot to replace his son. But when the robot was completed, Dr. Tenma soon discovered that no robot could replace his son. The new Tobio could never eat, nor sleep, nor grow to be a man as his son would have. He heartlessly sold the robot to a circus.

Meanwhile, the new Tobio had come to love the Dr., feeling in his heart that he was his dearest father, and perceiving that he was indeed Tobio. He went on to become Astro Boy.

2) I won't get into much detail about Pinoco. Please follow this link to now the specifics of her story: (link).

When Pinoco was little more than a bundle of central nerve and organ systems, and no body to carry her in the world, she sought the help of Dr. Black Jack to repair her. He brought the 18 year old a new life, giving her a synthetic body of a young girl to fit her nerve and organ systems.

But when Pinoco met her sister once more, transformed, she too, like Astro, was abandoned by her only family member. One that neither loved not cared for her.

Please follow this link to the first English subtitled episode of Black Jack that features Pinoco: (link).

Anyway... sorry for the rant. This T-shirt is a design dedicated to my love for both unfortunates and their similarities. Please enjoy :) There's more where this came from!

P.S. in some pics they look kind of... lop sided. It's only because of the way I was holding the camera.

Astro and Beyond

Recently, much like my long-reigning Disney obsession, so too has come a new one. Tezuka anime.
He was an animator who became famous for his children's' cartoons. They were a blend of imagination, darkness, reality, and the simple way of showing children the darker parts of life through creative and lovable characters. He went on to fabricate some of the most well known anime shows of all time such as "Astro Boy" and "Kimba the White Lion".

To learn more about this great animator with imagination and storytelling far beyond his time, go here: (link).

To learn more about "Astro Boy", go here: (link). To see the first episode in Japanese with English subtitles, go here: (link).

To learn about "Kimba the White Lion", go here: (link). To see the first episode in its original English dub, go here: (link). To see the first episode of the sequel series in its original English dub, go here: (link).

My love of Tezuka's animation prompted me to see the new Disney movie based on his "Astro Boy". It was... mildly entertaining. A lot of the concepts were unlike the original show, but it was still... alright. After seeing the movie I drew this picture from memory.

I highly recommend following the links above. I am expected, because of my age, to watch garbage shows on TV like "Glee" that teach me nothing and are bleached and powdered to the point that virtually no reality is present.

Unlike those shows, however, Tezuka faces the dark subjects, like racism, abandonment and one's own inner demons. Though his shows are old, can be described as 'hokey', have annoying theme songs and old-style animation, past the first glance, there is a heart and soul to his shows that modern TV can not provide.

I'm sure "Glee" can not make me ponder my purpose in the world, destiny, or my own inner workings.

Mai in Red

More Airbender fan art :) tee hee!
Just doodling at the breakfast table while staying at my godparents' house. She sort of popped up as I was mindlessly scribling.
If you dont know, this is Mai from the Airbender cartoon series (follow this link to find out more about this great show: link)
I didn't really know what her outifit looks like, so I made one up for her. Personally, I think she looks good in red, rather than her usual black :)

Potterish

That's right. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" has just been cartoon-ized. (I know that's not a word...)

I felt a little Potterish (yet another non-existent word) and scribbled this in front of the TV. It should probably be coloured to finish the project, but meh, I'm busy as it is ;)

Anyone else pumped from Potter 7 pt. 2? I know I am! REALLY excited!

Arctic and Africa

Painted quite awhile ago, on two canvases I received for Christmas two years ago. This was during that large Disney loop I was experiencing. I found them tucked away and felt like showing them to you :)

The first canvas shows the grey-blue-greens of a frosty Canadian arctic, mountains peeking out from the storm, the Northern Lights shimmering in the sky, and the silhouette of Kenai and Koda from Disney's "Brother Bear". These characters are also featured in two other posts that you can find here in my older posts.

In contrast, the second painting shows the hot, blazing savanna, the glowing yellow sun up above, and the silhouettes of Simba and Nala from Disney's "The Lion King". You can find another "Lion King" related post elsewhere in my older posts.

I really like the contrast between frosty arctic and blazing savanna. I am rather pleased with them and I especially like their vibrant colours!

Obsession is Apparent

Whoa, that's allot of pictures!

For Christmas my sister and I received tickets to see "The Wizard of Oz" the musical, which was touring North America and would be stopping in a town near by. To mark the occasion, we decided to make our own T-shirts in the Oz theme and wear them to the production.

We bought our materials at Michael's (which included T-shirts and fabric markers) and were eager to start the project.

Here is my finished work I wore to the show. It features Dorothy Gale and the Scarecrow on the front, and the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion on the back. I also signed my name at the top beside the Tin Man, but for privacy's sake I covered it with a business card for the photograph.

Although on a T-shirt, this is probably one of my best works. I especially like the finished product of the Tin Man and Scarecrow.

It got me thinking... why shouldn't I design all of my shirts? Frankly, I am unimpressed with the wardrobe options available at retail malls, and if I chose to deck out my own T-shirts, I could customize them to my heart's content :) It would also be less costly, as I'd only have to buy a plain T-shirt and use the existing markers and materials I used for my Oz shirt. I've already started looking into this idea, now I only have to coax my mother into getting me a white fabric marker.

Now I can't wait for "The Lion King" to come to Toronto, 'cause I've got tickets and my markers are at the ready!

Two-Panel Kenai and Koda

A gradual two-panel facial expression transition between characters: Koda and Kenai from Disney's "Brother Bear".

This was part of my Disney cartoon experimental phase I had a while back. I was originally going to have about five panels, with the characters interacting, but I got lazy and side tracked. Maybe one day I'll complete the project.

Aw... these guys are just so cute :3

I had a lot of fun drawing them.

Airbender Funnies

Ya! I've finally succeeded at creating an original, half-decent comic strip!
A little comic I did featuring Zuko and Uncle Iroh (is that how you spell his name???) I did a few weeks ago.
It's hard to read in small scale, so if you want to read it, you have to click on the image. It will become larger and then you can easily read the speech bubbles and even get a closer look at the facial expressions.
I worked pretty hard on this one, but I do think Zuko's head is a bit ...round... in the final box, and I slacked off on Iroh's drawings towards the end.
Hope it's amusing, though :)

Warrior Girl

I don't know? Is she some kind of warrior?... I'm guessing so because of her sword...
Honestly, I just started doodling on my manga sketch pad and she sort of showed up. I really like her though, and I remember spending ages on her sleeves and collar. I think it payed off.
One of my more favorite anime-style drawings, then again, there's only a few...
Hope you like :)

Watching from Afar

An art project I recently finished at my after-school classes. The truth is, the image in a magazine that I was basing my figure off of had her hand behind another model, so I stuck a pillar in my scene, hence avoiding frustrating hand-drawing.
This is done in charcoal and grey and white pastels.
I rather enjoyed working on her, but I must say, charcoal is not my favorite media. I don't enjoy drawing hands either.

From My Manga Sketch Pad

Two anime-style characters I designed a while back after ready a manga called Kimi Ni Todoke (which I recommend to NO ONE). One of my best efforts at Japanese-style cartooning. Not sure who they are, though...

Airbender Fanart: 4

The fourth instalment of my Airbender fanart process. Katara's face has been reworked, as well as Zuko's. His posture has been changed (leg position), his shirt detailed, and i have added a wall (the place they are sitting on).
Zuko's legs might be too small for his body, and maybe Katara's head is STILL too big...? Hm...

Forest Spirit - "Princess Mononoke"

Recently I recieved three DVDs from my father, the three being from Studio Ghibli. Studio Ghibli was founded by Hayao Miyazaki, and is an acclaimed Japanese animation studio. The three movies I was gifted with include "Princess Mononoke", "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" and "Tales from Earthsea". Other favorites from Ghibli include "The Castle in the Sky" and "Kiki's Delivery Service".

I really enjoyed "Princess Mononoke", a tale set in a far away place with spirits, demons, and dying tribes. What really captivated me was the epic struggle between man and spirit told throughout the story, and the phenomenal artwork. I highly recomend picking up this movie just to appreciate the beautiful forest scenes.

One thing that my sister and I enjoyed about the movie was an ensemble of tiny white forest spirits, described as being 'a sign that the forest is alive'. Though many of the spirit characters in the film were beastly and sometimes looked terrifying, these little creatures were quite cute but strange and other-worldly.

I was bored the other day and sculpted one of my own, though in the movie they appeared much larger. Just one way for me to express how much I truly enjoyed the movie :)

Medals

Ya! I finally got my medals back from my art teacher!
Here's the two medals I won at the art show for second place, and the medal I won from the Royal Canadian Legion for my Rememberance Day poster; along with a closer view of my clay Easter egg from the show.

Remember

This I am quite proud of. There was a big Rememberence Day Poster contest across Canada which was brought to the attention of our art teachers. I was asked if I wanted to participate and I jumped at the chance.

This is a big poster I made for the occasion. It's April now, and we've just got the results. We had an assembly where a woman from the Royal Canadian Legion came in to award the prize winners. I was awarded 1st place in my intermediate branch and 2nd in another. I recieved a certificate, a medal, and some prize money. My poster was also in the art show the other day because of it.

Another girl from our school won in two levels, and was awarded justly. Our art teachers were happy to have some prize winners :)

So, it's not a great photograph. In a dimmer light, without the flash, and from a head-on angle it is justified. The soldier's face is... distorted... but otherwise I think the poster was a success. I believe the children's faces are some of the best I've ever done.
The top winners (whose posters are still running in the competetion) will hang in Ottawa for a year.

Clay Easter Eggs

Also at the clay station at the art show, our school showed off our Easter spirit!
We have a clay club at school, and in honor of this festive season we molded and painted some cute little eggs.
Mine's at the top- it's red and blue with green leaves. I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out :)
Also, I drew on the face to the huge egg in the middle because the girl who made it abondoned her egg, and the art teacher said it was okay. Also, the purple and yellow egg two to the right of it is my art teacher's, but I drew on the black design.

Happy Easter everyone! :)

Elf-Yoda-Avatar Cup

Earlier this year, we had a project to create a 'unique' clay goblet.
He has gone by many names among my friends. One guy says it looks like an Elf King (he's a fantasy nut), someone else claims it's Yoda and a few people agree it's a Yoda-Avatar hybrid. ???
I thought it would be fun to put a face on my cup :) A pain to mold, and a pain to paint, but in the end I really think it's cute.
He got into the second art show at a booth where kids from our school were demonstating how to mold clay. I went to go pick him up in the art room today after the show, and he is now adorned with clay splats along his backside :( Oh well, I'll just have to clean it off, though I do hope no paint rubs of!

Myself: Mirror Image

Okay, picture's not great.
Another from both the art shows. I also won a medal for this one too :)
It was a long school project. We had to draw ourselves realistically using their methods (it was hard to follow their techniques because they wanted us to construct our faces in a spacific way). Then, in part two, we drew ourselves abstarctly using coloured pencil.
It was a pretty cool project and I'm glad they thought it worthy of the art shows :)

I Wish...

Another school art project that was entered in the first and second art show. At the first I got a cool medal which I'll upload soon. It's one of the first non-merit awards I've won (patheticness) :)
The project was to make a one-point perspective dream bedroom and fill it with stuff. It took me ages and the smudging was murder! I guess it came through though, because my art teacher entered it in the art shows.
If I could have my real dream room it would probably be ten times the size of this place...

Stand Together (Collab)

My school's art program likes to enter their students in little regional competetions so they can earn some bragging rights if their kids win. I found out I was already entered in a competition out of town the day before it happened! :(
A few of my school art projects got entered into the show, and I went for a quick peek with my mum before my sister's soccer meet.
This an anti-bullying poster me and another friends from school did. The school put our actual projects on hold so they could deck the walls with feel good anti-bullying posters before parents came for teacher-parent interviews.
It's sort of a weird poster... but my classmates seemed to like it :)
A second art show also took place just the other day. The whole school turned out as well as schools from across the boards, and yet again, this poster was on display. I got to see what other art programs were doing and the great talent from other kinds below and beyond my grade level.
Photo's not great... so just imagine it without the glare :)

Cake... art?

Okay, I guess this kind of counts as art...

Katie turned ten recently, so I got the job of decorating her cake while she was out at a soccer meet. I must say, I'm not Cake Boss standards, but it's not the worst looking cake in the world. It tasted pretty good too :)

Airbender Fan Art: 3

If you look closely, Zuko's body is now in proportion, and I've finsihed the raw drawing for his face (I'm quite happy with it now). Also, you may have noticed Katara's face has changed. I tried to re-draw it smaller but now she looks unlike herself. I'm going to try it again, but in a different pose to make it easier for myself.
Hopefully it will all come together in th end :)

Airbender Fan Art: 2

Zuko's face has been reworked a bit, but his head is still too large for his body, so is Katara's.

Airbender Fan Art: 1

Here's a new project I've started. I've decided to take a picture every time I work on it, so you can see the progress. This is the first image.
The picture will be concerned with the anime show "Avatar: The Last Airbender". Right now I've got Zuko and Katara, and I'll draw in the others later. Right now I'm focusing on the subjects to the right.

Zuko looks unlike himself, and Katar's head is larger than it should be. Then again, I just started, and there's still much work to be done.

Sorry if the resolution is bad, it's just done in light pencil so far.

Simba and the Sky

More Disney art. This time, Simba from "The Lion King" is the subject. I spent FOREVER slaving over this, and the pictures I took just don't do it justice. Sorry about the glare, but without the flash the picture was hazy and grainy. In regular light, the colours are richer and more vibrant. I used images from the movie and other sources to construct his body, and used the new coloured pencils I got for christmas for the colouring.
The first picture is a bit hazy because I didn't use the flash, but I wanted you to see the face more clearly.

Dorothy and the Lion

Completed quite recently, this was done in pen and is a copy of an illustration of Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion by John R. Neil. I'm very proud of its outcome and consider it one of my best (out of the few that I've done).
This will be the second peice I've done in pen, both being related to The Wizard of Oz. You can see the previouse on another page of this blog to compare my progress in using pen as a media.