Breaking News!

Written by Amanda

Hey folks!  It has come to my attention that I've been somewhat neglectful of this site recently.  Some might shrug and think this is nothing unusual, but unlike all those other times when I'm not posting for months at a time, it's usually because I'm swamped in school or haven't been up to doing much art.  However, I really don't have an excuse this time.  It's summer, I've been doing art basically everyday, and I have so much exciting news!

Last semester I somehow managed to make a pretty big life decision.  And the amazing thing is, I barely even realized I was making said decision.  (If you know me at all, you'll know that decision-making, even in small amounts, is something I horribly dislike.)

I decided to switch my major.  To be honest, I'm not even sure how I made this decision.  One day I was just all "man, Studio Art is kind of boring, I don't want to keep taking those classes" and then I was like "hey, maybe I could talk to an Academic Advisor and some of the faculty from Illustration and see if I could do better over there".  Even at that point I don't think I had decided to switch, but all of a sudden I found myself scrambling to put together a portfolio and sketchbook.  As soon as that decision was made, I realized I wanted nothing else.  The thought of having to continue in Studio Art was paralyzing and suffocating.  Have no fear; I was accepted.

And just like that, I knew I was in the right place.  I'm sure things are going to be just as difficult in Illustration, perhaps even more so, but I have more passion for this kind of art.  I suddenly find myself wanting to draw at every moment.  I work on stories and characters with no more fear that I'm wasting my time.  I'm trying all sorts of new things and I'm incredibly excited to see what my future will now hold.

I don't regret my time in Studio Art.  I went on a Study Abroad that changed my life and had the most memorable experiences so far of my young adult life.  I made friends and I learned new ways of thinking about and looking at the world.  I gained a respect and appreciation for contemporary art as well as a distrust of Post-Modernism.  I like to think of the past year as a brief foray into an unknown part of the world.  I went, I discovered, I brought back artifacts, and now I'm ready for something new, something bigger.

That being said, I still don't exactly know what I'm doing with my life.  I'd like to tell stories, but there are a million ways to do that, all of which sound extremely fun and exciting to me.  I could be a costume designer for films and plays, I could be an illustrator for children's books, I could write webcomics, I could make doll houses.  The possibilities keep going.  Maybe I'll do them all.

At the moment I actually am working as a costume designer for a friend of mine.  I have this friend from high school who has a passion for film and storytelling and he recently recruited me to help with his current project.  It's a short film that's intended to develop into a sort of online miniseries.  The setting is post-apocalypse and from what I've read of the script, the story line is pretty awesome.  It follows the story of Lydia, a scavenger, and the young girl Annie whom she's caring for.  But strange events start to happen and Annie seems to be at the center of it all.

Anyways, it's pretty awesome and I've been pretty excited for the chance to be a part of this and challenge myself to step a little out of my comfort zone.  While I'm a fan of the grungy post-apocalyptic aesthetic, as well as the ethereal Sci-Fi look, I don't have much experience in designing, let alone making them.  However, as I began the design process I was pretty pleased with what my pencil was churning out.  Here's the first of my finished designs for a character named Miren:

I'm pretty stoked about the look of things and I really need to get around to finishing the other designs soon.  However, I do have the basic plan for the rest of the costumes and I even finished this piece of Lydia's outfit just this past week:

This was an absolute blast to make.  The material comes from two different shirts I got from an army surplus store along with the beautifully tarnished buckle.  All I did was take a seam ripper to the shirts and then pieced them back together in this cape shape.  Afterwards I had left a few holes which I went back to and closed up with various hand-stitching.  Personally, I think this is one of the coolest things I've created thus far.  I'm very excited to see it on the actor.

I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm thrilled to be working on this.  It's like a little glimpse of what my future could possibly be like.  Except I'd actually get paid to sit at home and draft patterns and cut fabric.

Which brings me to my final point.  Most of you have probably seen me post this several times already, but the deed must still be done.  My friend, the director/producer of this awesome project, has set up an IndieGoGo campaign.  Everyone who's working on this film is a volunteer and we're paying for everything we need (props, filming equipment, fabric, etc.) out of pocket.  Probably everyone involved with this project is doing it because it's what they love to do.  The money raised from the campaign isn't going into any cast or crew pockets, it's going to quality filming and editing equipment, food for the actors, and any other expenses involved in making a film.

The campaign only lasts for two more days and it would mean a lot to all of us for people to donate, even if it's only a dollar.  Or, if you can't (trust me, I understand being short on cash) then even just sharing the link on Facebook would really help.  So far we aren't very close to our goal, but that doesn't matter, because honestly we'll be happy with whatever we can get and we're all going to put in just as much energy and effort as we already have been.

Here's the link: Verona

Also, if this is something that would interest you, prints of my finished costume designs are being offered as one of the perks.  Just sayin'.