New website up and running!

Welcome to v0.7 of the new Nightengailart.com. The layout I kept simple and clean for a starter website, but I have ideas in the works to integrate my illustration and the website layout. The links page should be operational soon, and the home page might change a bit, but we're pleased with the website so far.

Please let me know what you think, and if there are any glitches or suggestions, tell me.

Interviews and more

I've been sending out resumes like crazy and working on my website, in hopes of getting it up and running. Been going on a few interviews and have a few more scheduled for this week and next.

The new website is coming along well. At this point we're making minor changes to the appearance, and tweaking details. Version 0.1 should be up and running within two weeks, but hopefully sooner.

This weekend I have my niece's baptism to attend. I am one of her two godmothers, and am very happy to be one. I'm looking forward to playing with her and spending time with my sister.

I am sick...blah

Everyone's been getting sick except me, and I was happy that all I had was a sore throat and stuffy nose. But yesterday I managed to get more than that and now I'm not happy...this is when I wish I had a working bathtub.

Portfolio rework

Today I started really reworking my portfolio, and I got 9 pages in it done. I still have 2 major projects that I need to fix up and then a few additional projects that I'm going to start from scratch and create to add to my portfolio. I've been printing and reprinting pages to make sure they're up to my standards of acceptability. The image I'm posting is one of the best pages in my portfolio (according to Eric) because I've made the layout look all three-dimensional. I've also been using many tutorials and guide books to learn more and more tricks and techniques to the programs I've been using to get the most out of them.

Postcards Finito!

After good feedback from my illustration group today, I have finished the final version of the first postcard mailers. Although only one front illustration is show, I have designed fronts for all the colored pencil illustrations I've done so far. I won't order them all at once, but space them out in hopes of attracting attention to my artwork. Now as far as illustration stuff goes, I need to do a quick redesign of my website (just so my artwork could be on the main page) and update my portfolio. But before that, more graphic design in preparation for my interview on Wednesday.

Friday work

I think i'm fairly happy with my design I came up with on friday for my postcards. I used the layout that I've been using for my illustration portfolio, which I enjoy the look of. This will keep all my work cohesive looking until I work with my friend Stephanie on redesigning our logo/stationary package. I didn't get a chance to post last night as I was working on installing Photoshop CS3 Beta (thank you Eric!) and also cleaning up my files, since I had at one point less then 1 GB space on an 80 GB harddrive. Today, I'm at Connie's house, so the updates are probably going to be only text until I get back home.

I'm going to Carol's house for the monthly illustration meeting on Monday, and I'll be bringing samples of my postcards to get feedback from everyone there before it goes to print.

Postcard A

Postcard B

Postcard C

Here are three options for my illustration mailer postcards. Three fronts are given, and three backs. Let me know which ones you're liking more, the first of each being A, the second B, and the third C. Two things to note about these postcards: 1. They are NOT done. as a work in progress, there are some good things happening, and some crap still remains. 2. The text design at this point remains simple to match the font I've chosen for my portfolio/resume. I am supposed to be teaming up with my friend, and we're going to design each others stationary packages, so until then, I just keep it simple.

Errand day

Today I drove all over the valley running errands. The good things that came from these errands: more copies of the illustrated holiday card I did, and I filed the paperwork for my DBA. The announcement will be published in a little valley paper called Warner Center News, and I can now put NightenGail Art on my postcards, business cards and mailers. yay! Hopefully I can get some work on those postcards done tonight so I can have a visual to post as well tonight. But until then, this will do.

Alphabet

Today besides more diet prep-work I finished all but one of the letters and about half of the titles for the workbook. I didn't finish letter "R" (or for that matter, X and Z, but I don't think they'll be used). The post is kind of late tonight, but we also slept in late (until 10:30) so I didn't get a full work day during the day.

I also have an interview set up for next Wednesday! It's not for a full-time position, but for possible freelance graphic design jobs. Anything that will be work for me will be nice. I'm sure I'll be more nervous next week, but I'm just kind of excited about it now.

Resumes and Letters

Today was good and bad. I didn't get the outlined letters for the layout I'm working on totally done. What is posted is the start of the lettering. I drew my own alphabet freehand, and I'm now tracing it on the computer so I can make all the titles for the children's workbook. I did, however, update my resume, prep all the food for the week for the new diet, and start work on updating my portfolio for graphic design. I also sent out two resumes for potential job opportunities for graphic design.

For those providing me feedback, i'm emailing my resume for review.

New Years Resolutions

I have created two New Years Resolutions for 2007. One pertains to my personal life, one pertains to my artwork/career.

The first is to follow a budget we established a couple of months ago. While I was in school, we didn't follow the budget very well, opting for convenience and time savers over money savers. Now we HAVE to follow the budget (and the fact that we're also going to follow the South Beach Diet for Eric will probably help, since we have certain foods we shouldn't be buying.)

The second is posting every day to this blog showing something I've worked on for art/career. It doesn't have to be a finished piece by any means, but any progress is good for me. This will also help me get feedback I would normally get in a classroom setting, especially when I'm stuck on a project and don't know what to do. A new perspective is always useful.

Test

This is a test using my performencing editor to write my blog. So far, what i don't like is the erasing feature. If you misspell, it's annoying to correct it. But i'll give it a try  for a bit.

powered by performancing firefox

Busy but happy

I've noticed over they past couple of years that I LIKE being busy. I can easily STAY busy once my semester is over, since I already have enough projects in mind to keep my time filled for at least a few months. The other problem I find is that I like interacting with people and working on my art in conjunction with other people working on their artwork.

The problems in my observations is that I have adopted the viewpoint of the home as a haven. This viewpoint evolved in America as it grew out of the rural, agrarian lifestyle and into a more industrial life. In the agrarian lifestyle, a person's home and a person's work coincided: the home was the central workplace, and often a family would work together. As men began leaving the home to go to work, the home began being viewed as a haven and a place for rest and relaxation, rather than work.

With the numerous books, movies, and games around my home--not to mention the internet in and of itself--the home is a place of fun and distraction. I also manage somehow in that space to forget everything I've been training for in illustration regarding using references and sources of inspiration and then I stare at the blank page and shake my head in frustration and aggrivation when I can't think of what to draw or why my drawing isn't turning out right.

I like it best when I'm in school and I can spend all day AT school, away from home and those distractions, and then go home at the end of the day, relax for a bit, perhaps get some more art done, relax some more and go to sleep. This bodes well for my work ethic, but unfortunately poorly for my future if I were ONLY persuing freelance illustration. I need to try to find a shared studio or something where I can get out of my home and get work done. But that also entails that I'm already making enough money to pay for renting studio space.

I am much happier now that I have started working with colored pencils, for many reasons. First, I can work fairly small--which I can't seem to break the habit of yet--and still achieve a level of detail that I am satisfied with. Second, I don't need to spend countless hours mixing paints in the hope that I might achieve the correct portions of the color that I mixed days before. Finally, I am able to take my colored pencil illustrations ANYWHERE and work on them. I have already taken up that habit in such a way that I have worked in airports, on a plane, outside, in classes, at family and friend's homes, etc, etc. Indeed, I have taken to carrying around all my colored pencil supplies and one illustration at all times just in case I get bored/find myself with nothing to do.

I'm kind of rambling here, writing my thoughts as they come. On a slightly unrelated topic, I think that in the years to come, webservers such as blogger.com will become important to historians as documents in studying the way of life of people at the beginning of the 21st century. I feel that for the most part, blogging has replaced much of diaries as emails have replaced letterwriting. The 'archaic' means are still available, just less prevalent.

I have finished up a tedious yet fun illustration for my sister, which is also going to be used as the holiday card for the university. I saved a low-resolution copy and thought I posted it to the website, but now I think that the file may still have been too large to post, as it hasn't appeared... either that or i still had it saved as a TIFF. That is the more likely of the two, I think. I'll have to check when I get home.

Current Projects

I have already completed a few projects this semester and have many more current and upcoming projects. I've done a pen-and-ink illustration and 1.5 scratchboard illustrations. This was the first time I did scratchboard ever and I wasn't liking how the scratchboard was turning out on the first one. However, Eric says that I have to complete that scratchboard piece, because he liked it. I am currently working on a pencil fabric rendering and finalizing the layout for the illustration i'm creating for scott (which i need to be ready to start rendering on Oct 16th). I also have in limbo my mechanical nightengail for my website, if I can ever find time between all my projects to complete that. And next week, we're starting to work in colored pencil (my favorite!).

The colored pencil piece and the next 3 will be original compositions, and not photo reference renderings. (although some references may be used for various elements of the compositions). The only one I don't have a specific drawing/image planned out in my head is the colored pencil piece, but i'll think of something. I want to have fun with that one, since it will definitely turn into a portfolio piece. I think i'll try out colored pencil over digital coloring for that piece, just to see if I like it.

Imagine That Gallery Show

The Gallery show is going well. I am at my third day of sitting in the gallery, 'guarding' the art work. Not the most exciting work, but it's a seat indoors and I can plug in my laptop and surf the net to my heart's desire. The only problem is that I don't really have much to surf right now. I'm up to date on the two webcomics I still read, and email inbox is pretty empty. I left my scratchboard peices at home (one is almost done, and the other eric is going to make me finish, even though i'm not fond of it at the moment). I actually did my graphic design homework when I was supposed to, so that's done for the moment, and I left my illustration board at home as well, so I can't start on my graphite project. I guess that just leaves mindless net surfing, working on my mechanical nightingale for my Nightengail website redesign, or working on the sketches for my upcoming materials and techniques projects, which will remain nameless to be a surprise for some. Now that I have my photo reference for scott's piece, I need to finalize the drawing, so I can still have a month or more for the rendering. (that is due on Dec 9th, Scott's b-day).


The pieces in the gallery look good, although we really did make use of every available inch of space to hang stuff. Dismantling and patching the gallery isn't going to be fun, but i'll put on music and make it fun.

New year...new fears...

New school year that is. I guess since I haven't posted since the birth of Isabella, I was a bit overdue for a post on my blog. Ah, well. After a summer of lots of family and drama, a whirlwind tour du' force of Kyoto and Tokyo and catching the flu, I have begun my last and final semester at CSUN. Theoretically. I only need two gen ed history classes to graduate (one being a 6:30 AM class, yay) and yet I'm enrolled in 3.3 art classes and am the charter president of the illustration club. 3.3 because I'm enrolled in an independant study in illustration worth only one credit. I think that the illustration classes will be a lot of fun, and the graphic design classes will be a LOT of work. Why do I do this to myself? If I don't burn out, it will be a very productive semester, to say the least. I'm nervous about the illustration club and getting enough activities/active members, and I'm nervous about the packaging design class, since it is THE hardest graphic design class offered at CSUN. I just want my last semester to be good for both myself and both of my portfolios. I hope that will be the case.

Baby Isabella

I am now a proud auntie! Baby Isabella Lillian was born on July 7th at 11:08 am, and she is a cutie with a full head of hair!

bundle of joy....someday...soon.....very soon.....

I sit here and wait impatiently for the phone call letting me know that my sister's in labor and the baby will be born soon! Come on little Isabella! You want to come out into the world!

I have finished an illustration of a cool knight with a big nose, temporarily called "Knight in Armor" for lack of a cooler title. He's the second of the small colored pencil illustrations that I love working on, as it should be for an illustrator. Instead of saying "how long can I procrastinate?" I say, "Oh! I can work on this AND watch tv...or listen to music...or eat (as long as the food doesn't contain oils or messy red sauces)." The only thing I STILL haven't found how to do is read and work on art. And yes, I have heard of a thing called books on tape/cd. 3 inherent problems with them: 1) They are about 2-4+ times as much as a normal book, depending on whether you purchase paperbacks or hardbacks. 2) Not all the books I am interested in reading are considerate enough to provide themselves with the oh-so-convenient book on tape. 3) The library, where I can check them out for free, has an incredibly poor collection of sci-fi/fantasy books and I always forget to return them and end up with $10.00 late fees (granted that was for 5 books...)

I must go now and begin my new conquest.....er.....illustration. (and finish some...many...unfinished illustration projects I have currently) Where's that magical wand to go bibbity-bobbity-bo! so they're all done?