The end of the term is now here and I am a happy customer. Not because the term is ending, but because I am going to be able to rest and recuperate. There is a lot of hard work that goes into being a student in courses that run fast and furious, (ten weeks only). You either keep up or fall behind, and once you are behind...good luck catching up; especially if you work also.

I have met some interesting new people, made some new friends, (I think), and have learned some new skills. The gradient mesh tool is my newest discovery. I still need to learn some more techniques, but this is a start. Here's a look. Tell me what you think.

I love creativity.



Image: Created by mE. via AI (Adobe Illustrator)

Looking Forward

Looking forward to the things that I am about to accomplish, I hope and expect the best...it does not always happen that way. The incredible teaching and help that is given by my instructors is phenomenal. I usually do not give credit to teachers, but this is a great experience from my school. Everything is not easy, but the professors make it better.

I have to take a 3D class soon, and I'm a bit apprehensive because this will be the first time that I haven't read the book ahead of time. I usually try to play around with a program that I will be using ahead of time also. This gives me an advantage when it comes to class. By testing the limits of what I know and listening to what the teacher knows, then combining those two together, I get a pretty good understanding. I'm definitely looking forward to the new term.

By Simply Asking Questions

(Thinking of You was done using Adobe Photoshop. All others were done using Adobe Illustrator.)



As a video and animation student, I do a lot of work in illustrator. Not all of it is great, but I am learning more and more each day. Part of my creative goal is to do better illustrations and eventually great animation sequences. I have not made it into the core classes that teach 3D animation as of now, however, I felt that I could share a few of the things that I have learned by simply asking questions and practicing. I also do some graphic design, video editing, and web design. Here are a few of my designs that I've learned to produce with practice and creativity. Enjoy.

These are beginning attempts in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. In the fruit bowl, you can notice lighting in the incorrect place. This will be corrected. Any comments or illustration submissions are welcome. (Please contact for submission)

Just In Case

Just in case you don't remember this group, OK Go was one of the wow factor video sensations. Their newest video swept over the web not to long ago, but they weren't the first to make an amazing video. There are many others, but here are a few of my favorite picks that I personally think are pretty good. Check them out and see what you think.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Jamiroquai "Virtual Insanity"




Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling. It's a bit long, but still amazing!


Old Spice commercial: Done in one take.

I Just Want To Scream

Kim Hiott
Tiger Woods

Enough with the Tiger Woods issues! I normally do not care about the paparazzi feeding frenzy but, there is only so much one wants to hear. In the Chicago area, one radio host talked about Tiger Woods' face being rubbed in muck of not winning the Green Jacket, and the fact that Mickelson's cancer stricken wife made the journey to the final hole that Mickelson birdied giving him the win. The fact of the matter is that the radio host stated that 'even if Tiger would have won, Elin, Tiger's wife, would not have been there anyway.'

Now we all know that Tiger cheated so many times that we've all lost count. It is a bit puzzling to think about Sandra Bullock's husband Jesse James, being in the same boat, and how he gets less coverage than the hand over that guys mouth in the photo above. Perhaps Jesse James is not the celebrity he used to be, huh? I don't really think that is the case here at all. It's all a choice of paparazzi coverage. I just want to scream like this guy.

Honestly, who cares anymore? Cheating has become so common-place today that most would not know honesty, sincerity, or loyalty if it bit us. No body's perfect right?

Creatively, this is one more tirade that will go unnoticed amongst the many stories that drown within the Internet savvy world of poetic symphony and double standard. I search for the creative outlook in everything that I come in contact with [information wise], whether it is Tiger Woods, Fred Astaire, or the Food Network. Creativity is the emphatic search for the idea that will spark to ignite passion, fever, or longing for that certain thing that you can express in your own way. I love creativity.



Image(s) from: extremecentre.org via yahoo images; wp.me via yahoo images; allvoices.com via yahoo images. All searches were under: Elin Nordegren-safe search off.

Climb Those Rungs

The Africans built structures in perfect alignment with the stars and perfect measurements, the Greek's were divers before diving began, while the Mayans read the stars as if they were in them when they were placed; but, I would bet anything, that somewhere in those time spans, someone told the divers and the builders and the astrologers that they should just quit trying and find something better to do with their time. I'm glad they set a good example of not listening for me to follow.

Within the cross-hairs of my mind I see the goal of once again, reaching the President's List while in school. This is reserved for a select few that have reached for the straight A ladder and pulled themselves onto it. In the beginning that was a goal of mine, however, circumstances...to be on the President's List; now I have the ambition once again to reach above and beyond the normal limits of the mere student.

The reason that I am talking about the climbing of the ladder of the President's List is because I have found my creative "mojo" again, and I'm feeling good about the possibilities of the future. Never let it be said that you did not try and you failed, for if you did not try, the only true result would have been failure. Even if I do not believe honestly that I can prevail in any given situation that I come against, I will at least attempt to conquer the unbeatable foe. Watch me climb.

I have been inspired through colleagues at school and family members to reach up toward that ladder and pull myself onto it again. It is a lot of hard work to be able to do this and maintain it. Sometimes it feels as if no one truly understands the goal unless they have been there before, (my opinion). I never understood it myself until I reached it. It's a great feeling to climb those rungs.

Image from; mE. via Adobe Illustrator

Something About the Night

When it comes to getting work completed, there is something about the night time that helps to spark the creative smoldering embers and allows the flame room enough to breathe. It does not matter what is happening at this particular time, because there always blows a small breeze to ignite the kindle that awaits the flame; and when that fire finally burns, watch out for the backlash of sparks that begin to jump around. Anything becomes possible when the creative juices begin to flow.

Create and transform the life of an object into something that you value and enjoy. The beginning is just that...the beginning. The result is what you make from beginning something and completing that something to make life more profound.

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. (unknown)
"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." (James Dean)

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." (Maya Angleou)


Image from; http://ion.podzone.net/ via yahoo images.

How I stay Creative

Creativity...an incredibly difficult thing to capture, but even more difficult is the taming or maintaining of the art. Creativity is an art that many truly enjoy, and yet few complete. In my creative times I adjust to the technique of water by becoming free flowing, maneuverable, and adaptable. This means that when the stumbling block of boredom rears its ugly head, I find a way to use something to wrap my mind around to wiggle out an idea that will eventually lead to something I create.

This is, of course, easier than it sounds. Creativity, I find, is kind of like a growth of bacteria. It starts out small and insignificant until the right conditions occur to allow that growth, (an explosion of brainstorms and manipulators to influence things), to expand. When you begin catching a cold, you don't necessarily understand that you are coming down with a cold, nonetheless, the cold still comes. The harnessing of a talent, is pretty similar by means of the learning process. When a block occurs I don't know right away, but it still occurs.

A goal that I strive for in the creative process is to get the job done, and get it done right. When stumbling blocks happen, instead of fighting through them now, I find a way to get around them because some days the energy that I have to spend on creative processes run a bit low due to school, (you know, the whole burning candle at both end thing). I always try to think of that frog that is being swallowed whole by the stork...but, this picture above, is a good spin on that picture.

Image from: www.stock-channel.net/stock-board/showthread.php3%3fp=1203977; via yahoo images [never give up].

This Is Crazy

Every thing is a blur. I can't think straight, my hands don't type fast enough, and I'm creatively blocked. I believe I am having this block because I have been having so many issues with the Internet. The computer is not doing the things that I want it to do, so I have been getting very frustrated. It drives me into a tizzy. I just want to flip. This is crazy.

It seems that each time I need to get something done, the computer that I am on [at home or at school] begins to act weird. I have resigned myself to accept the ill fated performances that I have been receiving, and in doing so, I feel that I am blocked creatively. Although I am not one to give up, as of late, I have had the entire "world on my shoulders feeling".

I suppose my upcoming projects for class would keep the creative juices flowing, yet, it is still very difficult to separate items that are inter-twined as homework on the computer or any other type of creative homework, (i.e., sketches for story boarding). Because there is more computer homework, especially being an Animation and Video student, whenever there is a problem with a computer that I'm on, there never seems to be an easy way to solve an issue. (Sigh!)

The great thing about it all is that I may have these issues with different computers at school and at home, but I will not allow these small problems to affect me so much that I can't do something. This creative thing is impressive when you get it right, but I still have a long way to go. I won't give up.

Image from: www.mmarocks.pl/2009/08/11/anderson-silva-w-liczbach; via yahoo images.