Special OniSan Announcement

Today is the day! Launch Day!!

I have opened a Patreon to help me to finish funding OniSan and continue to fund similar stop motion/graphic novel projects in the future. All the existing updates are being tidied up and moved over and all new updates will get posted there first. (The newsletter will still exist for early announcements on the costume design book launch, my convention schedule, shop updates/sales, etc.)

I have two starter Patreon tiers: Designer and Fabricator. Designer patrons will get access to general, story and development art while Fabricators will also get technique/tool content as well. I have a few priliminary goals set up – as I meet them I will add special content or upgrade the content and tiers that I have depending on what my patrons want. I'm hoping to cram as many quality posts into a month as possible to make the tier levels worth it.

I really hope that you will join me over on Patreon. If you could give it a share that would be appreciated too!

Old Sequential Artwork

 I was sorting through old work and found these - the beginning sketched pages of Proposals and The Ugly Bug Ball in graphic novel form. Talk about a time warp. With that amount of pencil work I don't think I'll ever finish them, but I thought I'd share for those still here who might remember.

Much of my work these days is in puppet fabrication - which I try to post weekly updates over on Instagram. But I am still diligently working on OniSan which is both puppets and graphic novel. Normally I post progress to that on my newsletter, but if things keep chugging along as they have been lately...there may be more public announcement posts popping up this year. Exciting!!

Hoping you have all survived 2018 and are as thrilled as I am to be starting off 2019 with a renewed energy and optimism!

A New Day

Burnout can be a serious problem for me. Sometimes it's the physical limitations that entails, most of the time it's the overwhelming guilt about not being as productive as possible. This time it was the perfect storm. The longer I go without addressing the problem head on, the longer it takes me to recover. So it's been a while.

This tiny Sunbonnet Sue is about 5 inches tall. She is made of medical wrap, wire, beads, magic sculpt, acrylic paint, various fabrics and glues, raffia, latex rubber (which I didn't like working with, so I may do something different for the rest of them), and a plastic 3D printed head (Digital sculpt completed by my lovely husband). Time lapsed it probably took me about a week, but it's been spread out over many months.

I enjoyed making her and look forward to making more.

CTN Animation Expo 2017 Pre-Game Post!

This has been a year of serious ups and downs. I'm sure everyone can relate to that.
Shortly after returning from CTN last year we lost our Tito to heart failure. Recovering from that, moving apartments and starting a new training position at work made it hard to keep up with the early goals I had set. I rallied a bit when we brought home Yuffie and family started showing up for the Wedding. Work was challenging, but exciting and fun. I took a couple classes at the Portland Fashion Institute which were great despite the mind-numbing traffic to get across town. After the Summer of Discontent came a joyful relief of the intolerably high temperatures and finally I find myself approaching CTN...without a table.

While I don't have a table this year, I will be at the Expo and excited to see everyone. On Friday from 12:15-1pm I will be participating in a presentation in the Workshop room called "The Role of Costume Specialists in Animation, Gaming and Illustration". Chris Oatley will be hosting and my fellow Talking Threads gfs Gwyn Conaway and Jessie Kate Patterson will also be there. Updates on the book will undoubtedly follow. On Saturday from 1-2pm I will be doing a demonstration called "Translating Design through Fabrication" at the Traditional Demo Station 2. (Which I think is supposed to be inside the building as opposed to in the tent - but it is not marked on the map, so don't quote me on that) This will be me walking through my process of interpreting a costume design into a fabricated asset. I'm not sure how much I'll actually be able to do in just an hour, but I'll be open to questions throughout. Later on Saturday from 4-6pm I'll be doing Character Design portfolio reviews in the Portfolio Review Lounge. I will also be available for portfolio reviews at the Oatley Academy table (T243) periodically on Saturday and most likely Sunday too. I'll also be able to walk around and catch up with all my tabling friends!
I do feel a bit sad that Raul and I don't have a table...but it was just too expensive what with everything that happened earlier in the year. (And man was that wedding cake worth it) Next year we've discussed tabling again - at both CTN and DesignerCon. And who knows...maybe we won't just be there for a visit.

I'm hoping to update a bit more in 2018. Lots of exciting things coming up!!

CTN 2016 Preview

Well, this year has gone by RIDICULOUSLY fast. My last post was in March, so let's see...the remainder of spring and summer went to fabricating puppets for OniSan. A rare non-newsletter update can be seen on Raul's blog where he talks about the 3D printed parts that I had him help me with. I'm still chugging right along on that - progress to be featured this year at CTN.

In August Kubo and the Two Strings came to theaters - my first movie credit! I've been rolled over to the next film, presently still an RPQA. All the tiny faces!

The Costume Collaboration I spoke of last time is going strong. You can find out more about it now online through the Talking Threads Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Vimeo. We're really excited to launch The Story We Wear at CTN this year with a panel on Costume Design in Alternative Industries.

Hoping to see you all at CTN this year! :)

Collaborations and Complications

A quick doodle of me, Raul and Tito. 

My part on Kubo and The Two Strings is now complete. What started as a three month temp position stretched into a year's worth of crazy fun times - wrapping up with my department's Academy Award win! I have now rolled directly onto the next film.

I had to take a week off though right at the end of January due to sciatica. For those of you not familiar with it...please continue avoiding it if you can. Take care of your body. Hydrate with water. Be mindful of what you eat. Don't skimp on stretch breaks. Stand as much as you sit and sit with good posture. Yoga and hiking are awesome. You do have time for these kinds of things. This might sound a little lecture-y, but seriously SCIATICA IS EVIL. 

Post-CTN I was approached by fellow Oatley Academy students to participate in a unique collaboration opportunity. Jessie Kate Patterson, Maria Kercher, Blythe Russo, and Gwyn Conaway Bennison are my partners in crime for this crazy costume adventure! I look forward to sharing more about that project later. ;)

Another thing greatly occupying my mind of late is a different kind of collaboration. Last year Raul Ramos proposed on my birthday and of course I said yes. After debating it we've set our ideal date a year from now and are in planning mode. My dress has been purchased. Venues are narrowed down for tours and will be hopefully booked by the end of the month. And the invite list is more or less finished...provided people stop dying. :(

We have also been discussing the issue of "co-branding." This would obviously apply to the big event, but include other events where we display or attend as a unit - such as our shared table at CTN. With our different areas of interest and specialty, it would visually make sense of us together as a unit. If we showing separately then we wouldn't need to pack everything along - we'd still have our own self-branded things. Raul's been working especially hard to streamline his presentation lately. But mine is another matter entirely.

This upcoming status change brings the chance to really do some necessary tweaking - starting with my name. For as long as I could write, my name has been a problem. When small I never dreamed of the various details involved with fancy weddings and such...I dreamed of ditching my needlessly complicated name for something simple or at least less likely to be butchered by everyone and their "standardized" software. But now that I've gotten traction - my first movie credit for one - should I change it? The arguments for and against are sometimes heated and I'm not looking externally for answers - this is definitely a personal decision I trust others to respect once I've made it - but it is certainly something I've been struggling with more than I thought I ever would.

Can we just fast forward to the part when I get to leave for the honeymoon please??

Post CTN 2015 and Does Anyone Remember...?

Well, CTN 2015 is over. It was a bit of a whirlwind this year...which is probably telling in that I am just now realizing it's over and writing this blog post about it.

Day One - Thursday
Our plane down to Burbank left very early on Thursday morning. Raul and I were able to check into our hotel room shortly after arrival which was nice. Then instead of the normal OA Day festivities, we opted to check out the La Brea Tar Pits. What can I say? I promised the man prehistoric dead things. Veronica and Desiree (Lovely ladies I work with) came with us and introduced us to Korean BBQ. When back at the Marriott we went over to the Main Hall, got our badges and started setting up. We sat between Meg Park and Brynn Metheney at T123 - and they were great neighbors. :)

Day Two - Friday
We finished setting up and the Hall opened at 12.30. Traffic was noticeably higher than it was the year prior and the air conditioning was a blessing. I talked to many amazing people - I think I might have been the only Stop Motion person with a table. I wasn't selling anything again, but I hope I can in 2016. Raul sold out of sketchbooks. He sold prints and a few sculptures too. We both collected emails for our newsletters - to keep everyone updated of progress and when new things became available. I didn't buy as much this year. I think this may be due to the fact that many people I regularly bought from decided to go to Designer Con this year - unfortunately the same weekend.

Day Three - Saturday
I got out and attended a panel that fellow Laikan Toby Froud gave on bringing puppets to life. He had puppets from his short Lessons Learned with him and they were absolutely gorgeous. It was a fantastic talk and I got the chance to chat more with him later that day when he was walking around the hall and passed my table. I was unfortunately not able to attend the Laika panel that Brian, Steve and Georgina gave. I spent time at the fire pits that evening to catch up with OA friends.

Day Four - Sunday
This day was calmer in comparison to the last two, which was nice because we almost lost our voices. The hall closed a bit earlier and while we were packing up they had champagne (which neither Raul or I drank) and cake (which both Raul and I ate). The disappointment of this day was that we could not immediately renew our table for next year. I like having things in place as soon as I can so that was a bit irritating. We had dinner with our friends Katherine and Owen which was great since we hadn't seen much of them since moving away.

Day Five - Monday
We flew back early that morning and picked up Tito from the vet/boarding. He seemed happy to see us in the waiting room. But as soon as we got him in the car he started in on us - barking incessantly until we all went to sleep that night. He even refused french fries! Unfortunately since then he's been sick. I don't think we'll board him again. Raul and I followed up with as many people as we could that day and napped intermittently.

It's such a rush - we're already stoked for this next year!! :D



So...straight up, does anyone remember fondly those holiday specials that come on year after year?
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town?
The Year Without a Santa Claus?
Jack Frost?

They were my favorite. I didn't even know it was Christmas most of the time until I saw those. (They seem to show them earlier and earlier each year) Until I was running around singing at the top of my lungs about how people called me Heat Miser. I was too much. Those were the days.

Rankin and Bass made many movies (Not all in stop motion - fans of The Last Unicorn or the animated Hobbit?) and shows (ThunderCats GO!) but the most influential to me where those stop motion features. I was always in awe of the magic in them.

So now that the holidays are in full swing, I'll be relaxing with my buddy Nostalgia as I watch those specials again - trying to say Burgermeister Meisterburger as fast as I can. 

Happy Holidays everyone!!