Year in Review

"I've become skeptical of the unwritten rule that just because a boy and girl appear in the same feature, a romance must ensue.  Rather, I want to portray a slightly different relationship, one where the two mutually inspire each other to live.  If I'm able to, then perhaps I'll be closer to portraying a true expression of love."   -Hayao Miyazaki

I always like to end my year with a quote, something that I want to take with me into the next one.  I thought this quote was exceedingly appropriate, because it encompasses a lot about how I want to make characters in stories - both in writing and in art.  Bryan Konetzko quoted Miyazaki after he publicly stated that Korra and Asami were a couple at the end of the Legend of Korra - that image of the two of them being not just the final shot of the entire series, but the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe (as far as Bryke has stated).

While I wasn't expecting them to be a romantic couple by the end of everything - personally, I just wanted Korra to have a gal-pal - I'm glad that Bryke did something completely bold in their storytelling to encourage same-sex relationships in kids' television.  It's not brand new, since Glee had Kurt & Blaine and Adventure Time has long hinted a relationship between Marceline and Bubblegum... but this is a main character!  It brought viewers to tears when the Korra and Asami held hands and stepped into the Spirit Portal, because it brought hope to this 21st century generation of kids that yes, LGBT relationships do exist and should be respected as any other boy-girl romance in stories.  It's also cute that Korra and Asami started out fighting over the same boy.  =)

Anyway... this year has been a tough one, to be honest.  Not as tough as 2011, but a lot of things have crossed my mind about adulthood and it's kept me awake at night with questions.  But I've had a great year with some wonderful highlights:

• ART/WRITING - not as much as I've wanted to do this year, but I did attend the Prairie Writer's Day Conference to network with a bunch of aspiring children's authors and illustrators.  It was a bit "cart-before-the-horse" for me, since I didn't have a real writing sample or portfolio to showcase for childrens' literature, but I did get to pass out some awesome business cards and get my art reviewed by Eliza Wheeler.  According to her, I just have to incorporate more of a background in my illustrations and show dimension with visual storytelling - no different from sequential art.  Highlight: I did an illustration for Lucy Knisley and her husband as a wedding gift!  Goal: write/revise/pitch a full novel, and to make weekly illustrations.
• FITNESS - running is still going strong!  Back in September I accomplished a second marathon, running non-stop this time in St. Charles, IL and cutting my marathon time by 2 minutes!  I also ran the hot-chocolate 15K, which was an okay experience in race organization-standards, but the chocolate was delicious.  I also did the usual Turkey Trot with Dad and friends for ThanksGiving, and it felt overall very nice to continue with running.  I'm a legit marathon runner now!  :)  Goal: work on my upper body, and prep for an international marathon in 2016 (place TBD)
• EMPLOYMENT - After 3 years of pursuing a full-time gig at a creative institution, it finally happened this summer at Columbia College!  Granted, it's in a department I didn't think I would ever be in, but I love the responsibilities I'm getting as an outreach coordinator for financial services, and after 6 months into the position, the job anxiety is slowly fading.  I just really need to "study" what I do and not feel intimidated about asking questions.  It's a lot, but I'm so happy with this job.  Second City is still going, a few hours a week, but I'm giving myself 'til the end of Spring 2015 to let it go so I can move on to other commitments. Goal: become more familiar with Student Aid & Marketing
• FINANCES - I paid off my student loans (yay!) and am finally starting to save $$ with the new job!  Goal: start researching on investments and buying a house.
• TRAVEL - I got to go somewhere unknown this year... Portland, OR... for my 30th birthday, which was definitely my kind of town.  I also flew to Colombia to spend time with relatives during the World Cup and watch our Team go as far as they've ever gone (yay James Rodriguez!), and visited the hot springs of Santa Rosa.  Good times!  And for the holidays, I road-tripped with the family to Virginia Beach to spend quality time with the Mazueras.  A good travel year, overall.  Goal: go somewhere new and warm, like Argentina.
• READING - I noticed that the trouble I had this year was finding books I wanted to read.  I liked Raina Telgemeier's graphic novels, as usual.  I tried Lord of the Rings, but set it aside, and also tried Ocean at the End of the Lane and Gone Girl, but they just didn't stick with me.  But... I finally got a hold of "Daughter of Smoke & Bone" by Laini Taylor and couldn't put it down.  I went through all three books in less than 2 months.  And now I'm back to Game of Thrones with Storm of Swords.  Goal: to read a non-fiction and a classic.
• HOBBIES - I got to do some voice work finally!  It started with a workshop at a studio in March, but then I started getting mentored by a Radio professor at Columbia College, and she's been coaching me ever since.  I'm putting my first Demo together, and I'll be taking a voice-over class in March!  Goal: to have fun with voice-over and to not see it as a profession, but a hobby.
• FAMILY - This is always the tough one for me.  I could talk more to them and not feel intimidated.  I did a lot of crying this year, mainly with adulthood just stressing me out, so I need to feel comfortable with them.  We're all going through life-changes right now, so I think it's best that we just stay in touch and support each other.  Goal: to call Mom & Dad once a week.
• LOVE - I take it back, THIS is always a tough one.  I've had a crush on this guy for 6 months to whom I've shared absolutely zero communication with.  I can do better than that.  Maybe I'm just not ready to fall in love.  Or maybe I'm just not the "falling in love" type?  I can't take any relationship seriously if I don't take myself seriously first, and that's what I've been working on for 30 years.  Goal: to bring out the best in myself next year so I can get boys to notice the happy me.

And well... now that my commitment to the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe has come to its conclusion after 7 years of nonstop cosplay/art/fanfiction... I can now fully dedicate myself to Game of Thrones!   Well, not exactly to that "fandom" extent, but I'm still reading the books and watching the show, and... it's awesome!  

Yeah, reviews - I wasn't kidding!

I know it's been exactly one day since my last post, but I still wanted to make sure I got these out of the way, because they're just as precious to me.

First off, let me tell you a little about this short called "Duet" by Glen Keane - a Disney Legend.



I happened to watched it online before there was all this hype to it, fell in love with the simplicity of the chalk-like animation, slightly forgot about it... and then a week later, at the start of a very rough work week, it shows up on my phone as an 'interactive 3D animated short.'  You have to hold your phone and move the phone to follow along with what the screen is showing you.  0_o   The whole story was the same, but something about this second time made it feel less cheesy.  More real.  And heartwarming.  I had tears in my eyes.

It's a tale as old as time in the span of 3 minutes: boy meets girl as babies, they grow up leading separate lives... but 'brush' each other in small, intricately special moments and you can tell they have a connection without a single bit of dialogue spoken.  There's curiosity.  There's affection.  By the end of it, they're together, and the universe is as it should be.  Whenever I have a rough moment at work, I think about this work of art, and it just gives me hope.  Brilliant work.  10/10.

Another thing I almost forgot to mention was Legend of Korra Book 4: Balance.  The Final Chapter.



Okay, I will say I had a couple gripes about this last season having a very lousy marketing campaign.  It's like Nickelodeon higher-ups had too many new shows to worry about and they wanted to toss the last few bits of this franchise out for the fans to move on to bigger, sillier, more Nickelodeon-y-er things.  And I get it.  It's a business.  You see that your target-age audience for your channel is not exactly the audience that's watching this show, and it's a bad investment.  And that's exactly what's going on with Korra.

I look at the ratings when Korra first premiered in April 2012 with over 4.5 million viewers, and things seem to have gone downhill since then.  Right near the end of Season 3 back in July 2014, with just over a million viewers watching per week, it didn't surprise me when there was an announcement that the remainder of the season would be shown online.  And I was like, "fine, okay, I can deal with that."  The ending happened, and poor Korra is left recovering from poisoned and incapable of being Avatar.  Just before I even have the chance to get back into regular life, there's a a teaser trailer for Season 4, which premiered in October of this same year.  And it would all be online.  0___0   Ratings didn't matter anymore.  Nickelodeon just wanted this show out as quick as a cold.

In terms of quality, I will admit that Korra has had its weak points.  Multiple villains, toying with original Avatar Spirit World mythology, Varrick.... (x____x)... but you know what?  I kept watching it, and I love what Mike and Bryan have brought to this world in terms of visuals and action sequences and bringing a true girl protagonist to light with her strength and flaws.  Book 4 shows Korra running away from her weakness by pretending to be strong, fighting underground rumbles and then getting some guidance from Toph to lose that weakness to focus on her Avatar abilities, and to not be afraid of failure.  This season's villain is a dictator: Kuvira.  Her motivation is different from the anti-bending revolutionary Amon, the spiritually corrupted Tonrak, and the anti-authority nonconformist Zaheer.  What Kuvira wants is to make everyone part of the Earth Kingdom (no different than what Fire Lord Sozin wanted in Avatar) and she believes she can do it with exploiting spiritual energy.  She's a tyrant, but she's very convincing about not being one.

This final chapter is supposed to bring closure to a lot of questions about how the modern world will function with an Avatar, with the Spirit portals open, and with all the potential corruption that society shall continue to bring... but really deep down I just want to know who fathered Toph's daughters.  =)   I don't think we'll get any of those answers, but whatever.

It's been almost 8 years since I first committed to this Avatar universe, so it's nostalgia that's kept me going, and an appreciation for the Avatar world and hoping that by the end of it everything gets a decent ending.  Yeah, we know Aang and Katara made it, and their kids turned out alright (though I still don't get the purpose of Kya...) and maybe in a small distant universe Old Katara and Old Zuko might have a thing... but that's just my wishful thinking.  Anyway, I'm upset that Mike and Bryan haven't gotten the appreciation they deserve from this show/universe, but I'm glad they're putting together a decent ending with Korra for the committed Avatar fans.

Only a few episodes left to go!

=)

Lots of Reviews! Holy crap!!

I've been putting off the drawing lately, due to my being super stressed about the holidays, a writer's/illustrator's conference and my new job still being somewhat new to me, but you know what?  I've still been able to get tons of inspiration from animation lately.  

First, let me tell you about BIG HERO 6.

Oh my goodness.  Disney, how do you do it?  How do you make me get all the feels over some silly robot and its relationship with a 14 year old genius kid?  I went to see this on my own due to the hype being way too much for me to put it off any longer, and it all made sense.  Disney is luring away from its reputation of just being all about fairy tales and princess stories by giving the boys a bit to awe over.  Science.  Engineering.  Superpowers!   Not to say that girls can't be interested in that, but let's face it- it's hard to get boys into Disneyanything because boys are all about video games and phones and absolutely nothing cute nowadays.   So in this case, the main character is a boy, who is a whiz at video games and gets bored all the time because things come so easily for him.  He is finally pushed to do something with his brilliance by his older brother, who tragically dies too soon in the movie and gets you even more hooked on the characters.  This story isn't just about a boy, really, it's about a team of kids working together to make themselves superheroes through science and teamwork, but not forgetting about the heart of superheroism (represented by Baymax the robot): doing good.  The movie is also encouraging kids to study hard and get into the STEM fields.  Really.  I'd watch this again just for the action sequences.  Good job, Disney!  9/10.

Now, on to my second film: The Penguins of Madagascar.

I didn't know much about the Madagascar universe, but I can easily recall these penguins as being a highlight to anything I knew from that universe.  You have the somewhat-functional leader, the brains, the loose cannon, and the mascot... and they go on dangerous missions as penguins without thinking things through because they're "rejecting nature" and they want to have a hell of a lot of fun.  That's all you really need to know about this movie.   The story isn't that original, but the action sequences were great, the new characters were great, the villain was decent, and the dialogue was so much fun.  7/10.

The Book of Life review

Now in my thirties, I see animation differently.  There's no way around it.  I'm at the age where animation as an art form overpowers the way animation seen as that simple outlet for kids' amusement.  Characters can be abstractly-designed, they can be goofy and one-dimensional (to only serve one purpose), but really... when it all comes down to it... the visual story-telling is what grabs me.

I got very very excited about this film back when I first saw the trailer for it this summer, and caught a glimpse of what this film's story would dub "the Land of the Remembered:"



Quick!  How many skulls do you see?  It's a stunning array of color and banners and candles, and at that point I didn't care how the story would be executed.  I just wanted to see the visuals!  Animation-wise, this film did a great job in combining 2D and 3D elements based off of flashbacks and character POVs.  You see dream sequences and montages all work themselves effortlessly into the story as it centers around three childhood friends.  Director Guillermo del Toro definitely wanted to incorporate his personal dark-fantastical touch to this animated kids' film but also make it an educational opportunity for American kiddos who don't know anything about the Day of the Dead.  It was pretty clever, actually.  Apparently Mexico is the center of the Earth?  :D

Anyway, my absolute favorite part of this whole thing - though I'll admit the film had its faults on it - was the conflicted relationship between Manolo and Maria.



Even though they'd been childhood friends and are very close, the conflict is that Maria has seen the world and read books and might not be interested in love at the moment, while sadly, Manolo can't stop thinking about her.  And the two of them have influenced each other:  Maria gave Manolo a guitar to follow his dreams, and Manolo gave her a baby pig to remember home while she went off to be an educated lady.  It's adorable, but still the conflict remains and Manolo has to prove his love to Maria.

He does it by not killing bulls, even though it totally contradicts his family's heritage.  He does it by attempting to join Maria in the Spirit World when realizing she might be dead... only to make his way out of the Spirit World (something nobody had ever done!) in order to get back to her in the land of the Living.  He does it by sacrificing himself to the biggest town bully, the Chakal.



By the end of it, Maria says "yes."  The elements that play out with the Land of the Remembered, such as never forgetting your family and not seeing death as a tragedy but as something joyful and adventurous... it all brought back the triumphant ending with good vs. evil.  The whole film was a bit silly in a way, with lots of one-liners from the "other" guy, Joaquin, but it really made due with the fact that Love is not all about muscles and heroism.  Sometimes it's all about playing a song to your lady.  :D

Tea Set

I've been pretty busy with work lately (celebrated my 2 month at the new job yesterday!) but I always find time to draw.  Commissions galore!  I'm also excited to say that I'll be officially attending my first professional childrens' writers and illustrators conference in November!  Now I really gotta put my skills to work on some sample pieces and manuscripts - stuff I need to get done on my own time.  Whenever I'm not working, or running, or eating.  Or reading multiple books!

Lucy and John

I've been admiring Lucy's comic work for almost 6 years, and she gave me the chance to show my appreciation!

Lots of Animation Goodness lately

"SIMBA!"

Being on a much-needed vacation these past couple of weeks gave me the perfect amount of rest that I needed before starting my new job tomorrow (!!!), and these past two days, I finally got some time to really dig into my love for animation by catching up on some cool stuff:

1) The LEGO Movie: 

Man, when a film has the perfect mix of comedic timing and voice acting talent, only great things can happen. The fact that this movie wasn't stop-motion animated doesn't surprise me, because it would've taken 10 years to get all those facial expressions and action sequences perfect.  The story?  Beautifully and cleverly done.  In the end it's all about the LEGOs - how they are perceived as both child & adult toys and how that becomes the center of the conflict.  The child sees the Business Man as the villain because he wants the LEGOs to not have imagination and keep things "glued" to order... wheareas the child just wants to have fun and build things without any conformity of what LEGOs should be built as.  It's a really cool concept for a story that really made me nostalgic.  That song "Everything is Awesome!" is still stuck in my head. 9/10

2) LEGEND of KORRA, Book 3

I finally got to my TiVo and watched the first 3 episodes, and man... the animation has definitely evolved!  The thing that concerns me, more than anything, is that Mike/Bryan are freely adapting their original Avatar universe in order to market the show for their 8-14year old target audience.  I can imagine someone from HigherUp said "look, I know the protagonists are older teens and need intense plot points, but can we please give the younger viewers stuff they'll enjoy?"  Cue the overwhelming amount of villains & action, funny side-commentary from Bolin/Bumi, and this new kid character named Kai.  -___-   I don't know.  All of a sudden airbenders pop up all over the place, and it becomes a semi-XMen situation of trying to find them and train them.  Didn't airbending deal with spirituality and peace?  The comic books implied that air acolytes were people dedicating their lives to learning the airbender cultures... so that eventually the bending would come back... but I guess, nope.  It just shows up again.  Ugh.  There are some things that I do like... such as Korra when she doesn't give a shit... and of course, ZUKO!  He's back and he has a fricken' DRAAAAGON!  So yeah, there are some thing that still keep me intrigued about the show.  Visually, it's just stunning - like a Miyazaki film in every episode! 7/10

3) How to Train your DRAGON 2

Oh boy... talk about an overwhelming amount of action.  I'm not disappointed, I was just expecting a good flow for a story sequel.  It's like people in the writing room discussed various ways they would continue Hiccup's journey and then decide, "hey let's just put everything in and see what works!"  Cue all the emotional turns and twists I had to endure to make any sense of this film's conflict.  So... Hiccup meets his mother, Valka (after 20 years thinking she's dead!!) and he has a wonderful time catching up and realizing they share the same bond for Dragon-Training.  But, there are villains who want to capture Dragons and train them specifically for an Army to Conquer Things.  Stoic reunites with Valka and their love rekindles.  Toothless becomes brainwashed by the evil Alpha Dragon that the villain controls, and kills Stoic.  Hiccup is devastated and turns Toothless away... but then changes his mind (???).  Together they defeat the Villain from conquering Berk.  Toothless becomes the Alpha Dragon, Hiccup the Chief of Berk.  Everyone's happy.  The End.  -_____-  So many questions, so many emotional turns, and way waaaay too many action sequences.  I do like how the other characters somewhat kept their personalities, but they were definitely not shown enough.  I could've gone for a much smoother story like Hiccup meeting his Mom, bringing that conflict of "should I travel the world with Mom?  or stay in Berk and be Chief?" into Hiccup's mind.  I liked Valka, but part of me wished she stayed as that adventurous woman among dragons rather than just coming back to Berk.  I dunno - I ask for too much!  Good news is there'll be another sequel, but I'm sure gonna miss Stoic.  6/10.

Legend of Korra is back in a WEEK!

Book 3 is almost here!  Too bad I will be out of the country when it premieres (and I feel like they just rushed into the marketing and execution of this season, but whatevs) but I'm still really excited to see what Mike & Bryan have set up for Korra and the Gang!  Nickelodeon released the above epic Book 3 Trailer!

My Reactions:

1) Combustion Man has a PEOPLE!!!??

2) So many villain-looking characters.  But who is the REAL villain?

3) OMFGSDISYFDJDGY ZUKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4) Lava-Bending?  =S

5) Lots of crazy bending action scenes!  YESSSSH!!

I'll be putting my TiVO on schedule with much joy to watch everything I missed.

In other news, I GOT A JOB!!!  A real full-time, real salary and benefits, watch-out-world-because-I'm-a-BIG-Girl job!  It deals with student financial services at a university, doing a lot of coordination between education and outreach, which means I'm feeling a bit over my head about the entire position right now.  That's okay.  After months and months of just applying and waiting and interviewing and waiting some more... I got that phone call and realized that after 3 years of wanting to work at this university, I finally FINALLY got my foot in the door.

Of course, this means my artistic projects will have to be made slowly next year, but you know what?  I am on the brink of a career and I can finally be proud of a job title.  I can finally not feel broke or in debt, and I can save some money and start my 30s the right way.  I can still draw and write and get into animation, eventually opening another door, but honestly... it feels so good to start a career path.

Getting my Voice to be Heard

This was taken back in March during a voice-over workshop downtown!

Not since high school have I had the opportunity to test my vocal chops in a real recording studio, and I loved it.  I got to learn about the different types of mics and how a pop-shield and mic distance really makes a difference with voice quality.  I still have that semi-childhood-dream of voicing for animated characters, or even getting an audio-book deal where I can really let my natural pleasant speaking voice shine as a young 20/30-something making it as an adult yadda yadda.  It's fun!

In other news, I'm officially STUDENT LOAN DEBT-FREE!!!  ...til when?  Who knows.   It's such a tempting thing to not go back to school and deal with this stuff ever again, but I know myself.  I have that life-long passion and desire to learn, and right now, I want to go back to school for animation (again) and learn to do things that I've been intimidated to do for the longest time.  Stay tuned!

30 for 30 for 30

Today is April 30th, and my big goal of accomplishing 30 of my favorite things for 30 days to celebrate my 30th birthday, unfortunately, was missed by a few.

THE MONTH OF APRIL, 2014

1. Game of Thrones
2. See some Improv Comedy
3. Run Outside
4. Shakespearean Tragedies
5. Sushi!
6. Journaling
7. Broadway Musicals
8. Live Story-Telling
9. Baking for others
10. Yoga
11. Graphic Novels/Children's Books
12. Chicken Tikka Masala
13. Drawing
14. Florence & the Machine
15. Traveling
16. Karaoke
17. Salsa Dancing!
18. Stationery shops
19. Chocolate Chip Cookies.
20. Writing Letters to Friends
21. the Goo Goo Dolls
22. Kitten-snuggling
23. Meryl Streep
24. Swimming
25. Grimms' Fairy Tales
26. Coffee Shops
27. Learning to say "Hello" in new languages.
28. Voice Acting
29. General Life Coaching/Counseling
30. Animated Films

I will admit, this month was a terribly busy one, and I even caught a stomach bug smack in the middle of it while travelling to my dream destination of Portland, Oregon with my sisters and best friend... but in the end the real accomplishment is that I turned 30.  The day was beautiful and sunny, I got to run outside along the Lake in shorts after 6 months of dreary winter, and I spent quality time with my family and some of my closest city people.  

There is a lot about me that I am proud of having as a 30 year old woman, but I still believe that I have a lot of growing up to do - particularly in understanding how to be a leader and how to present myself as a strong, confident, ambitious, professional woman now that I have absolutely no excuse to look lost.  I can't just let myself be the "new girl" with everything that I do, as much as it is comfortable to stay that way: starting new jobs but not a career, making friends with the new people who come as revolving doors, and then just having all these hobbies but not making them valuable assets to my being.

According to a radio poll I had heard a while back, women see themselves as their most beautiful at the age of 30, so I'm making it a point to do what I want this year and not stall on my ambitions any longer.

I miss drawing.  I hate the fact that I didn't have anything NEW to post as an illustration with this post.  I hate that while I feel I have been working so much, I haven't found the time to really draw and put my skills out there in conventions/art shows as I did last year.  It's going to be a tough set of months now that my day job might change this summer and travel plans are in the works, and I'll be applying for a graduate program in animation to bring myself back in the grind after 3 years of regret.  I need to keep my drawing abilities fresh for any project - a graphic novel, an illustration portfolio, animation concept art - so I can find a great foot in the door to that industry.

I'm 30, and God knows I need a push right now.

Anne McCarthy's "Big Macs in Paris" Cover process

  A pencil sketch of the final image she wanted, later inked.

 

I added color with various pencils and water-colors.

I added a bit more color digitally to finish the piece.

Happy Hearts day

So... Cold...

I finally watched the newest Disney Animated film a few weeks ago, "Frozen," and let me just reiterate how a movie trailer misleads you tremendously.  In this case, it was such a surprisingly good story.  Two sisters, princesses...one who's withdrawn over her incredibly dangerous powers, and the other one wishing she could have a playmate again.  For the first time in a long time, Disney decided to make the love story an unconditional love story instead of a romantic one.  You see Elsa choosing to isolate herself in order to obey her parents' wishes and keep from harming her little sister Anna... and Anna, in return, has no idea what's going on, and grows up lonely.   One of my favorite montages involves the two sisters growing up with a door between them, and Anna constantly knocks and pries her sister to "let her in."  Even when they become orphaned, you can see that Elsa has drifted apart but Anna persists in keeping them close.

Such incredible storytelling.

In other news, I feel like I have a new boost of confidence this year to go further in art, to actually do what I to do professionally.  I want to work in an animation studio and feel less intimidated by the technology that comes with it.  My biggest fear... which has remained idle from the past three years... is debt.  I'm almost done in paying off my first student loan from the Academy of Art, and now I'm ready to get back to school and commit to a program I feel more comfortable with.  I'm almost 30, so it's now or never!

Anyway, that's how I feel right now.  I'll be checking out some schools and saving my money, as usual.  Can't jump into this yet.

Mardi Girl