I have recently been inspired to Create Things. This isn't an unusual occurrence, but I'll try to give it an unusual follow-up by actually DOING SOMETHING about it. Having been sucked completely into the world of Warriors, I'm planning to make a lot of little cats of polymer clay and paint them to resemble the cast of aforementioned series. Imagine four tiny Clans romping about your desk! This thought and others like it propel me to great heights of ambition, and the only thing standing in my way is EYES.
I've been trying to research options for eyes: my best bet seems to be little taxidermy eyes, but do they come in sizes that tiny? Perhaps I can make eyes from clay and glaze them. I'll experiment with that. (Most of the things I make from clay happen not to have any eyes - oops.)
Blogger have updated their look yet again - but this time I actually like the changes they've made. Everything looks very clean and efficient, and once you've got the buttons figured out it's no problem to do just what you want in a few clicks. I like the new fonts, too: they're elegant and streamlined and unapologetically fine.
I have just chosen some yarn for my (first) crochet project! It is to be a lovely capelet - the pattern can be found for free here. Don't forget to print the errata, too - they can be found in a link just below the pattern download link.
Most of you will probably know by now that I rather enjoy practising songs on the pianoforte, and some of my sort-of-recent favourites include two of Chopin's pieces: 'Prelude (Op. 28, No. 4)' and 'Prelude in C Minor (Op. 28, No. 20)'. His music is wonderfully powerful and sombre, but one of the best bits is that he was apparently not afraid to use BIG CHORDS. This is lovely because it allows me to put my large hands to very good use.
This is probably a fairly abrupt ending to the post. Oh well.
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Saturday, 7 April 2012
Friday, 3 February 2012
Regarding Inspiration
To begin, we shall make two assumptions: firstly, that I am good at having ideas; and secondly, that I am good at carrying out. The problem is the bit in between those two things.
As it is a New Year, I have decided (in the manner which people usually do) that I am going to start doing that small bit in the middle and actually become productive. After analysing the amounts of time which I spend doing things each day, I have come to the conclusion that there is actually plenty of time to do almost everything I want. Expect to see some results soon.
But while you wait for that, look at THESE THINGS instead. Here are some special people and things. What is so special about them? They are influences which have burrowed into my mind and stayed there, filling me with new things to wonder at, and making me realise what I could be doing instead ofsitting here and blogging lying on the sofa and having a staring contest with the ceilings (which, by the way, I always win).
LOOK, and BE INSPIRED:
D. M. Cornish - The author of three books (so far) and over thirty notebooks (which I would love to go through entirely on a rainy afternoon), Mr Cornish never fails to pull something awe-inspiring out of nowhere. Plus, he did an ENTIRE POST in response to one of my comments once, and that totally made my day. (Okay, I can't deny it - I'm still coasting on that buzz.)
Dorothy Hearst - Wolf fiction. Need I say more? Promise of the Wolves and Secrets of the Wolves are her only books so far, but there's a third on the way. These books leave little to be desired (some delicious pencil illustrations would be quite welcome!) and it's great to see that the market hasn't got tired of wolves just yet. (I have plans of my own, you see.)
Erin Hunter - Well, she's actually several people, but they're all awesome. I'm working on getting through the Warriors series (at the rate of two books a week, I'll be well-prepared and ready once the final book of the latest arc comes out) and am awaiting the first book of the second Seekers series. The cast of characters for the former series is almost Dickensian in size, and is handled (with a few minor gender-bending exceptions!) quite smoothly.
Kathryn Lasky - I love the Ga'Hoole series to bits (OWLS!) and the companion series (WOLVES!) is fantastic. She's written much more than that, but I shall never outgrow my love of animal fiction, and these two series remain firm favourites.
Valve - One of my favourite companies on this planet (and that's saying a lot). They're the authors of the incredible videogames 'Portal' and 'Team Fortress 2', and their sense of humour matches that of my family so perfectly that I laugh out loud at 98.12% (or more) of what they do, even if it's a minor blog post or a description of an in-game item. Character design: they're doing it right.
Weta Workshop - The Lord of the Rings film series is probably what they're best known for, but this design and prop studio have credits all over the the film world. They've done some collaborations with Valve through their 'Dr Grordbort' division (ray guns and mounted alien bugs, anyone?) and are quite responsible for the glorious-looking Tintin film, which appears as though it will do many justices to the wonderful books on which it has been based.
Jen Yates - Cake and crafts? I'm in. EPBOT has plenty of geeky references mixed with jaw-dropping DIY plans for incredible things. I couldn't begin to list all the things I've found through this blog. (Plus she's a fellow Sherlockian. Win-win-win!)
Many of the artists I admire do not have website galleries to do them justice, but here are their names:
JC Amberlyn - The author of two books. One of them is fantastic - if I had to pick one art instruction book to bring on a Desert Island Holiday, it would probably be Drawing Wildlife. Every one of the animals in her drawings glows with life, and it's not at all hard to give them stories in your mind while flipping through the book. The style is one I hope to achieve - almost pure realism with a touch of stylised liveliness.
Richard Cowdrey - Responsible for the covers of Kathryn Lasky's 'Ga'Hoole' and 'Wolves of the Beyond' series.
Wayne McLoughlin - Cover artist for Erin Hunter's 'Warriors' and 'Seekers' series. I wish he would do an instructional book or something - I like to stare at the jackets of our books and wonder at the pictures.
Terryl Whitlatch - Unfortunately, she seems not to be present on the wonderful world of the Internet (although she seems to be a contributor to the art academy blog to which I've linked), but that shouldn't stop you from hunting down her work. She's done creature designs for loads of animated films (and STAR WARS!) and has a seemingly flawless grasp of anatomy. I admire her for drawing real birds even when it doesn't matter to most other people, like in the background of some pages for her incredible collaboration 'The Katurran Odyssey' (which was the first book of a proposed series, but unfortunately stands alone so far) - oystercatchers in the distance, and loads of other birds which I recognised but cannot recall, as I do not have the book in my possession!
This is by no means a complete list of my inspiration sources - I'm always finding new things to stare at. But it's a start, and everything has to start somewhere. . .
As it is a New Year, I have decided (in the manner which people usually do) that I am going to start doing that small bit in the middle and actually become productive. After analysing the amounts of time which I spend doing things each day, I have come to the conclusion that there is actually plenty of time to do almost everything I want. Expect to see some results soon.
But while you wait for that, look at THESE THINGS instead. Here are some special people and things. What is so special about them? They are influences which have burrowed into my mind and stayed there, filling me with new things to wonder at, and making me realise what I could be doing instead of
LOOK, and BE INSPIRED:
D. M. Cornish - The author of three books (so far) and over thirty notebooks (which I would love to go through entirely on a rainy afternoon), Mr Cornish never fails to pull something awe-inspiring out of nowhere. Plus, he did an ENTIRE POST in response to one of my comments once, and that totally made my day. (Okay, I can't deny it - I'm still coasting on that buzz.)
Dorothy Hearst - Wolf fiction. Need I say more? Promise of the Wolves and Secrets of the Wolves are her only books so far, but there's a third on the way. These books leave little to be desired (some delicious pencil illustrations would be quite welcome!) and it's great to see that the market hasn't got tired of wolves just yet. (I have plans of my own, you see.)
Erin Hunter - Well, she's actually several people, but they're all awesome. I'm working on getting through the Warriors series (at the rate of two books a week, I'll be well-prepared and ready once the final book of the latest arc comes out) and am awaiting the first book of the second Seekers series. The cast of characters for the former series is almost Dickensian in size, and is handled (with a few minor gender-bending exceptions!) quite smoothly.
Kathryn Lasky - I love the Ga'Hoole series to bits (OWLS!) and the companion series (WOLVES!) is fantastic. She's written much more than that, but I shall never outgrow my love of animal fiction, and these two series remain firm favourites.
Valve - One of my favourite companies on this planet (and that's saying a lot). They're the authors of the incredible videogames 'Portal' and 'Team Fortress 2', and their sense of humour matches that of my family so perfectly that I laugh out loud at 98.12% (or more) of what they do, even if it's a minor blog post or a description of an in-game item. Character design: they're doing it right.
Weta Workshop - The Lord of the Rings film series is probably what they're best known for, but this design and prop studio have credits all over the the film world. They've done some collaborations with Valve through their 'Dr Grordbort' division (ray guns and mounted alien bugs, anyone?) and are quite responsible for the glorious-looking Tintin film, which appears as though it will do many justices to the wonderful books on which it has been based.
Jen Yates - Cake and crafts? I'm in. EPBOT has plenty of geeky references mixed with jaw-dropping DIY plans for incredible things. I couldn't begin to list all the things I've found through this blog. (Plus she's a fellow Sherlockian. Win-win-win!)
Many of the artists I admire do not have website galleries to do them justice, but here are their names:
JC Amberlyn - The author of two books. One of them is fantastic - if I had to pick one art instruction book to bring on a Desert Island Holiday, it would probably be Drawing Wildlife. Every one of the animals in her drawings glows with life, and it's not at all hard to give them stories in your mind while flipping through the book. The style is one I hope to achieve - almost pure realism with a touch of stylised liveliness.
Richard Cowdrey - Responsible for the covers of Kathryn Lasky's 'Ga'Hoole' and 'Wolves of the Beyond' series.
Wayne McLoughlin - Cover artist for Erin Hunter's 'Warriors' and 'Seekers' series. I wish he would do an instructional book or something - I like to stare at the jackets of our books and wonder at the pictures.
Terryl Whitlatch - Unfortunately, she seems not to be present on the wonderful world of the Internet (although she seems to be a contributor to the art academy blog to which I've linked), but that shouldn't stop you from hunting down her work. She's done creature designs for loads of animated films (and STAR WARS!) and has a seemingly flawless grasp of anatomy. I admire her for drawing real birds even when it doesn't matter to most other people, like in the background of some pages for her incredible collaboration 'The Katurran Odyssey' (which was the first book of a proposed series, but unfortunately stands alone so far) - oystercatchers in the distance, and loads of other birds which I recognised but cannot recall, as I do not have the book in my possession!
This is by no means a complete list of my inspiration sources - I'm always finding new things to stare at. But it's a start, and everything has to start somewhere. . .
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Regarding My Musical Endeavours (and a Recently Acquired Book)
I have been playing the pianoforte for extended periods of time during the past few days. The result of this is that when I now close my eyes, I see the notes and keys in my mind as though they are before me once again. But another result is that I can now play a particular new piece quite well, stumbling only two or three times during the song. I hope to soon have it memorised to the point that I may play it and think about other things simultaneously. If I can manage to serenade myself as I compose poetry in my head, it may improve my productivity. I shall look into this.
On an unrelated note, I have recently begun to read the book 'Foundling' by a D. M. Cornish. It is the first volume in a series entitled 'Monster-Blood Tattoo' and is quite to my liking at the time of this writing. I hope it shall continue in just as pleasing a fashion. The author's illustrations in pencil are rather aesthetically appealing, and this adds to the overall charm of the book. It has also inspired me to attempt some graphite drawings of my own invention. Perhaps these will be available for you to view here at some near future time.
On an unrelated note, I have recently begun to read the book 'Foundling' by a D. M. Cornish. It is the first volume in a series entitled 'Monster-Blood Tattoo' and is quite to my liking at the time of this writing. I hope it shall continue in just as pleasing a fashion. The author's illustrations in pencil are rather aesthetically appealing, and this adds to the overall charm of the book. It has also inspired me to attempt some graphite drawings of my own invention. Perhaps these will be available for you to view here at some near future time.
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