I actually have some time to make a new post today :) I've been wanting to do a little movie review for Ponyo and Inglorious Bastards. Seriously, some of the best films that I saw all year. Two completely different genres but both great films.
Ponyo: Again, Miyazaki performs his witchcraft and delivers another fantastic film. Ponyo, though not as epic as Princess Mononoke or Naussica, is truly a sweet story that has the same feel as Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. It is about a goldfish/ girl who wants to become human. The story is not hard to digest at all. It is sweet, simple, and really feel good. (Good date movie ;) So I don't have much to say about it. It surely met my expectations. Miyazaki never fails to make you laugh, gasp and fall for his characters. Highly recommended :)
Inglorious Bastards: Great movie, great story, great music, great characters. Overall, great great movie! This film is very impressive. I highly recommend this movie to people who love action and quirky characters. Inglorious Bastards definitely has a very talented cast of people. I think one of the most impressive aspects about the movie is that you'll find that some actors in the movie are multilingual and can speak up to 3 or 4 languages. I don't know about other people, but I appreciate the variety :) Another aspect of the film that makes it so great is the suspense in the movie that keeps you guessing. I think it's Tarantino's magic that makes you feel like you don't know what is going to happen next in the movie. I don't want to say too much about this movie either because you just have to see for yourself. This movie is not boring and will keep you at the edge of your seat.
Some thoughts: Recently, I've been having some thoughts about applying to Calarts. I still want to apply, but there is a part of my brain that is nagging at me and is making me think that because I am already attending Otis, Calarts would not want to accept me. I got some advice from my fellow animated buzzers and so far, 100% of them have told me that attending Otis is not a reason why Calarts would reject me. I agree, that it shouldn't matter. I guess it's because I tend to put art schools on a high pedestal and I end up thinking strange thoughts like this. I don't know much about the factors that make an applicant worthy of Calarts, but I do hope that already attending an art school doesn't hinder that in any way.
Other then that, I must go art supply shopping now. So far, I'm having a good time at Otis. I have some homework due next week. I really have to get back into school mode and remember that I have homework :P
My camera is having issues right now. I hope to resolve that soon so I can post up the work that I've been doing.
until next time! (by the way, boondock saints II is coming out? hmmm....)
Today was my first day of school at Otis. My first class was Media in Motion and it is a 6 hour long class with a lunch break. I never had such a long class before and I thought I wouldn't survive, but I did :P I'm pretty excited to finally be attending an art school. It really is a different feel knowing that your peers are interested in the same things as you are. I haven't been a full time student in a year, so it's kind of a rush to be back in the flow. (Though I do miss my part time student days -___-) I just finished buying some course books and such online and I thought I would just post a little something. I've been pretty frazzled lately with all the moving and the hot weather. But I finally settled down into my new place in Los Angeles and I'm looking forward to settling down in art school as well.
I included my school schedule in this post. I have mostly night classes now which is something I'm not really used to. I'm still a little overwhelmed by the first day of school. I'll be keeping this post pretty short. I did want to do a little movie review of Ponyo and Inglorious Bastards. Maybe even post some recent work. But I have another class to attend at 7. And I just want to rest right now :P
I was watching this clip from Ponyo and damn... it's just the cutest thing ever! I still have yet to watch the movie. But this trailer has got me hyped up even more! I don't know what witchcraft Miyazaki possesses, but he always creates the cutest characters that make you smile :) I guess if I watch it in the movie theater it will be dubbed over with English. Usually I prefer Japanese but Princess Mononoke was dubbed really well. I think Ponyo will be too.
I've embedded the clip that I've been watching and it works! It's quite awkward on my blog and blocking some stuff on the side. But that's ok :)
I know I may be repeating this a lot but... I really feel like I don't have much time to do all the things I want! And school is coming ever closer. I'll be following a pretty busy schedule once I start school. School sounds very exciting :) I'll also be looking for a part time job once I'm fully moved into our new place.
But I wanted to take note about the visit that I made to Calarts last week to visit Libby Hux. It was a very good visit and I left with some very constructive feedback. Libby also suggested that I make another appointment with her before I turn in my portfolio. I'm so glad that she's super nice and is willing to help. I didn't feel like I was stepping on anyone's toes or anything. I made some notes about my old portfolio. - drawings were a bit too formulaic - the sequence of the portfolio was a bit uneven - experiment! take risks! show them who I am! - put in some personal pieces - most importantly... put more of ME into the portfolio!
About 300 applicants apply to the character animation program. Only about 40 - 50 get in. Will next year be my lucky year? I really hope so. I feel really good about my work right now and I also feel that I'm going in a good direction. I'm a bit overwhelmed right now because of all the work that I have to do. So I'm going to keep this entry short. I was rendered useless by that horrible stomach flu this week. So I gotta make up for my loss of time.
Until next time!
Oh, and I wanted to post this lovely picture of my dog :)
I am currently in the process of moving to LA with my boyfriend. Living in Irvine for 3 years has really created a comfort zone and I will be really sad to move away. I will miss the area, the people, and my dance classes :( But LA will be a new adventure and as always, I must move on. Too bad Irvine and LA are kind of far away from each other. I'm also excited at the same time because it's a new chapter in my life. Going to art school will definitely be fun and challenging. And who knows, if I get accepted to Calarts, it will be a whole other chapter as well. I do like moving though :) Gives me the opportunity to clean up some of the junk I've been collecting. And moving into the new place will be fun too. Redecorating and such. So I am looking forward to that. It really is bittersweet.
I have a pretty busy schedule ahead of me. So while I'm packing and such, I've been making some monster silhouettes. Or I guess I should say I'm drawing them :P My instructor advised me to try this exercise because silhouettes read well and you don't have to worry about the detail. It kind of makes you use your own imagination. So that's always fun. The next time I post, I might be moved into my new place already! And also, tomorrow I'll be meeting up with Calarts admissions counselor Libby Hux. She's going to take a look at my old portfolio and give me some feedback. I'm pretty excited about that.
As always, I'm posting up some more artwork that I did within the past few weeks to add to the collection within my blog :)
I've been trying something different with my gestures by using the side of a piece of charcoal or conte to create shadow. But at the same time, I still have to capture the pose. I'm really feeling it and I would like to improve.
The ones below were drawn with my left-hand. I like drawing with my left hand and I really should try it more. I think everyone should try it :)
Back to right-handed drawings
I finally finished my painting of the man with the missing head. To complete the wind chime, I used silver string. I think the silver string really adds some interest. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. It stills has some inconsistencies among the paint, but that's ok. The picture shows that the last section of the string is missing, but I added it in already.
This is my oil pastel still life of my doll collection! Do you recognize some of the critters? I'm almost finished. The kiwi doll towards the middle left is driving me crazy. -_____-
I still have yet to hear back from Libby at Calarts. Turns out, she mis scheduled a few things and we have to plan another day for this week. Hopefully everything will turn out ok.
I feel like I've had no free time lately. And If I did, I had to use it to make meals so I have energy for my classes. :P I'm either in dance class, vision 21, or doing some Chinese painting. But I guess a busy schedule is better than doing nothing.. like I was before.
On Tuesday the 28th I'll be going to Calarts to pick up my portfolio. At the same time, I scheduled an appointment with the admissions counselor Libby Hux to get some feedback on my portfolio. Wow... the portfolio that I turned in is so old. The stuff that I'm doing now in class is so different from before. But nevertheless, I'm glad she agreed to meet up with me.
I've been having a lot of fun in figure drawing. I usually do :) Next post, I plan to post up some of the work I've been doing.
Until then, I'm going to post a picture of Miyazaki's next film Ponyo I believe it will be out in theaters in August. How exciting :) :) :)
Some thoughts: Recently, I've been having some thoughts about applying to Calarts. I still want to apply, but there is a part of my brain that is nagging at me and is making me think that because I am already attending Otis, Calarts would not want to accept me. I got some advice from my fellow animated buzzers and so far, 100% of them have told me that attending Otis is not a reason why Calarts would reject me. I agree, that it shouldn't matter. I guess it's because I tend to put art schools on a high pedestal and I end up thinking strange thoughts like this. I don't know much about the factors that make an applicant worthy of Calarts, but I do hope that already attending an art school doesn't hinder that in any way.
