I have been a fan of the Myst games ever since I played the first.  I loved the challenge of each puzzle, and for each game I refused to reference a walkthrough to guide me.  I used a pencil and a sketchpad, and I would say that due to these games, I was not only able to think through something, but to draw environments and creatures and things I wouldn't normally draw.

All of the games had wonderful stories and adventures that took you to gorgeous Ages.  It was always so inspiring, and anytime I get artist's block, I run to one of my Myst games and pop it into my cd drive.

In the first Myst game, the library is full of very interesting stories, all of which I have read.  I don't remember them all now, but I guess that just means i need to go back and read them again.

The one game out of the series that captivated me the most was Myst III:  Exile.  It stars Brad Dourif as the Villain, Saavedro.  Man, did he have a crazy past.  That is one game where I would say it's crucial to read the journal.  Sometimes you can get away with not reading a lick of the journals (but what's the fun in that?), but you lose so much story with Saavedro by neglecting his journal.

I try not to do much fan art, but I can hardly help myself when it comes to something so that has had so much impact on my life.

Christmas Break is Upon Me!

Intro to Sequential is over, sadly.  I rarely get to have a class where I have fun the whole quarter.  I think it also helped that I came into the class knowing almost nothing about sequential art, except for the duh stuff.  Honestly, I don't think I'd ever pursue it as a career, but I think I will keep it up as a fun personal thing to do in my free time.

My biggest fail with this class has been my backgrounds.  I've found that when I am restricted to black and white only, I can't figure out how to handle the background without it being too busy.  Maybe I should have just stuck with busy because I think it's going to cost me more than I want it to.

I'm starting to work in toonBOOM, though, so my focus is now back to animation.  After working in this program and being able to do frame by frame animation from rough tests to completed color, I get a sense of assurance that I am, indeed, graduating from the right major.  Everything from character design to animating seems so natural, and above all else, fun!  I am excited for my future.

WIP Steampunk Spidey

Work in progress of my Steampunk Spiderman. I'm hoping to submit it to Temple of Cartoon Mojo for the current challenge, but I'm sort of at a stand still with him. I don't know whether to keep the belts on the legs holding the extra cartridges, but it feels like he needs something on his legs.

And the spats are looking like leg warmers. I'm currently in the process of finding ways to remedy that.

Anyone out there...I have no followers...so I am calling out to anyone who stumbles upon this. I would like some feedback before I continue inking.

I wake up in four hours

I had a random burst of artistic flow. Expect a steampunk spider-man in the near future.

But until then, there is this:

more practice in style...

The first of many

I think I'm just doing this to pass the time, but maybe to also find a hideaway from my family. I don't expect anyone to read this, at least not in the beginning.

My family has infiltrated my online life, though. Two out of my three grandparents have a facebook, and I believe I am friends with every extended family member, because they all have one as well. My mother is also on deviantArt where I post all my artwork. That's all fine and dandy, but that was the one place I could go and rant about school life without her worrying.

I won't do that here, though. I need a different atmosphere for my artwork, so that's what this will be used for.

So without further rant, I shall introduce myself to the world of blogs. Some know me as Elorviel. Some know me as Bonds. But I just got married, so now it's Van Deusen. Rachel Van Deusen. Animation major at SCAD Atlanta. And I am petrified about life after graduation.

That's a new style I'm working on. For so long I was taught to draw what I see, and it was only just recently that I found that realistic drawings are very hard to animate. I think I'm getting somewhere, but I'm not quite there...