tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63350283082091890382024-02-07T06:11:08.601-08:00Gina Draws . . .art, animation, imagination, inspirationGina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-24400761395224977252017-12-06T08:00:00.000-08:002017-12-06T08:00:14.589-08:002017 Update 3 - CTNx Round 2 (ding ding)<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I’ve
been to <a href="http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/">CTN Animation Expo</a> every year since 2013, but I’ve only gone to
shop around a professional portfolio once before, in 2014. (My recap
from that occasion can be found <a href="https://ginadraws.blogspot.com/2015/02/ctn-2014-recap.html">here</a>.) This was the 9th year of
the convention.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For
those who don’t know what CTN is or have never been to a convention of
any kind before, there are 3 basic components of the weekend - </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Individual artist tables, where artists and illustrators (generally
those working within the industry) are selling prints, enamel pins, art books
and various other Etsy-esque products </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Live art demos, Q&A panels, and workshops </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Industry Giant booths, AKA large sections of the floor where Disney,
Dreamworks, Sony, Nickelodeon and the like are set up to do portfolio
reviews and recruit potential new talent.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Essentially
it’s a giant networking event for the animation industry, with a side
focus on art for gaming and illustration. I’ve made acquaintances from all my
classes at the <a href="http://conceptdesignacad.com/">Concept Design Academy</a> over the years, but very few of
them were there, so it was a good 3 days straight of me talking to
people I don’t know for 8+ hours. (If you know me personally, you know this was hard.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I
was genuinely shocked, after submitting my portfolio for studio review in advance of the convention, to get a recruitment call-back from
Nickelodeon, who I almost didn’t even submit to because I
figured my stuff wasn’t their style. This meant that I had a
professional interview with them on Saturday morning of the convention
at their booth. Getting that email was the best kind of validation of
the past few art-focused years of my life - a professional at a major
studio had looked at my work and determined I was worth talking to. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Because
I hate drawing things out, I’ll cut to the chase and let you all know
that I feel like the interview went... okay. It was fast - they
roll people through there like Krispy Kremes on a conveyer belt.
(Mmm.) The recruiter was really kind and genuine, took his time
looking through my work, and gave me some feedback (more props,
especially vehicles, was my main takeaway.) I didn’t get the sense that it was
a “We’ll be calling you ASAP” type of situation, more of a “You’re on
the right track, keep going and stay in touch” situation. Which is a
great thing! I mostly wish I hadn’t gotten so nervous right beforehand
and done the entire 15 minutes with my face beet red. I wanted to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQwCMdq00ng">fly casual</a> and I definitely did NOT fly casual... just call me Tomato. Oh
well. <a href="https://youtu.be/FOBILqLviF4?t=19s">Acting Natural</a> is not my strong suit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I
had some other portfolio reviews throughout the weekend - you could
wait in line to meet with people from DreamWorks and Blue Sky, which I
did, and those were fairly positive (although again, not glowing. It’s a
competitive industry). I got quality, actionable feedback from <a href="https://www.drawntoitstudios.com/">Brett Bean</a> and <a href="http://www.justindraws.com/">Justin Rodrigues</a>, two great artists (and personal favorites of
mine) who I’ve gotten to know over the years, who both told me to
simplify and push my shapes - which was going to be my next directive
anyways. :) I caught up with <a href="http://www.kelseyeng.com/">Kelsey Eng</a>, a former CDA classmate whose work &
career have taken off, and attended a great panel about doing authentic
work, featuring presenters <a href="http://www.peterdeseve.com/">Peter de Seve</a>, <a href="http://cartergoodrich.com/">Carter Goodrich</a>, <a href="http://nickandzuzu.com/">Nick Galifianakis</a>, and <a href="http://www.johnkascht.com/">John Kascht</a> (whose name I initially didn't recognize, but who I was delighted to discover I knew of as <a href="https://ginadraws.blogspot.com/2013/03/funny-bones-short-documentary-of.html">I've posted about him before</a>). Most of all, it was truly wonderful to meet in person some of my
fellow Oatley Academy mentees from the summer - I had a great time hanging out with
down-to-earth <a href="https://falcigliart.squarespace.com/">Natalia</a>, hilarious <a href="http://leamonade.com/">Leanne</a>, super sweet <a href="https://www.melissalettisart.com/">Melissa</a>,
uber-talented <a href="https://www.amieillustration.com/">Amie</a>, and beautiful <a href="https://www.doozdraws.com/">Dooz</a>. You should make time to check
out all of their work, it’s truly phenomenal and I was privileged to be
in their company. Other notable new friends from the weekend include
fellow OA students <a href="https://www.instagram.com/craigrussellart/">Craig Russell</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/laurabelevica">Laura Belevica</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/laurabelevica">Abigail Kraft</a>, <a href="https://www.artstation.com/gabrielleal">Gabriel Leal</a>, <a href="http://www.rebeccawhitleyart.com/">Rebecca Whitley</a>, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_governora/">Nora Jirau</a>.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUv4OXoA1da5UmLYzAKOYFQnIYufC_jjnvt1Nb8Jcm1LZD4LUchaTti7CmBJQLf-crxLbffvbda-l_vDfzGfLnlrnFBOgwscmw_vuQ1ziLMXJkfvMeToQyKpf3bGzEkRYVhNsaHc9pmQ/s1600/IMG_1409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUv4OXoA1da5UmLYzAKOYFQnIYufC_jjnvt1Nb8Jcm1LZD4LUchaTti7CmBJQLf-crxLbffvbda-l_vDfzGfLnlrnFBOgwscmw_vuQ1ziLMXJkfvMeToQyKpf3bGzEkRYVhNsaHc9pmQ/s320/IMG_1409.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Photo from an Oatley Academy meetup at Simmzy's in Burbank</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Two
of my best interactions came completely out of the blue at the very end
of the day on Sunday. I just happened to strike up a conversation with
DreamWorks TV character artist <a href="http://www.ivanmendozaart.com/">Ivan Mendoza</a> at his table - I actually
didn’t even know who he was, but right off the bat he was extremely easy
to talk to after 3 days of exhausting, slightly awkward conversations.
He ended up taking a huge chunk of his afternoon to chat with me about
my portfolio and draw a personal caricature in the art book I bought
from him, which was more than kind. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Immediately afterwards, on a
whim, I decided to get a ‘portfolio’ review from renowned caricature
artist John Kascht (the one who I’d recognized in a panel the day before - I'd connected
with him briefly afterwards, during which he’d told me to come by and talk to him
on Sunday afternoon). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93IKaY9k2fGQhNkV5c2ltj6X6SGmGnSmSj2588EwnzyQkxaXBRmxhSicuiR0d5WegP6ppXxMieI2yZ7NSzyrt0FJsXlqbXRDbVMvAhlt8sxJDzX5BpMMF4cqJaip0dupedmPgxVCFZzs/s1600/IMG-0357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93IKaY9k2fGQhNkV5c2ltj6X6SGmGnSmSj2588EwnzyQkxaXBRmxhSicuiR0d5WegP6ppXxMieI2yZ7NSzyrt0FJsXlqbXRDbVMvAhlt8sxJDzX5BpMMF4cqJaip0dupedmPgxVCFZzs/s320/IMG-0357.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhok0xuGwJGoUDnyJHJ1PQhtzbvuRw0xBD3s2prhwyhC4hw11M0zALq1N1qdE8gQtBVt9QW8Nt4gYs94cczSH4w0rXeX2Ran5YI_221aP9nS9jvx7QOsTf46D1QbQL3mTBXH4soX-uyU/s1600/Hirschfeld+Girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhok0xuGwJGoUDnyJHJ1PQhtzbvuRw0xBD3s2prhwyhC4hw11M0zALq1N1qdE8gQtBVt9QW8Nt4gYs94cczSH4w0rXeX2Ran5YI_221aP9nS9jvx7QOsTf46D1QbQL3mTBXH4soX-uyU/s320/Hirschfeld+Girl.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBYnDG2FSpYDmmfEiqhUGTuGzCOALjvzQ-S8YU9HfDGamrUzuk-gaHz3FuRJJMNyQ_4Xb8j3YUXiY32ov8iIeupPKtQpaK9AS2ky1c14g3pqO7VMQwQ7PxzSApMSx_s9HA9kTX1aUq6Xw/s1600/IMG-0356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBYnDG2FSpYDmmfEiqhUGTuGzCOALjvzQ-S8YU9HfDGamrUzuk-gaHz3FuRJJMNyQ_4Xb8j3YUXiY32ov8iIeupPKtQpaK9AS2ky1c14g3pqO7VMQwQ7PxzSApMSx_s9HA9kTX1aUq6Xw/s320/IMG-0356.JPG" width="239" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I
had only these three feeble Hirschfeld-wannabe attempts to show him,
but he was more than complementary, practically demanding that I
continue my pursuit of caricature (something I’d been interested in, but
putting aside for some time to focus on the animation portfolio). It was
the best kind of conversation with an artist you look up to -
meaningful, motivating, and fun. In the space of 20 minutes we managed
to get deep about what the art of caricature means and the ways in which
humans relate to each other visually. He told me when I get into the
weeds on a portrait that I’ve been working on for a while, to go back to
your very first, initial impressions of the face, and “hang on to them
like a life raft in a raging storm.” And he recommended me to two new
caricature artists’ work for reference - William Auerbach Levy and Ralph Barton - who both worked in
the simple, linework-focused, reductionist style that I’m trying to
achieve. It was a wonderful exchange, made more so because I could sense
that he was as delighted to talk to me as I was to talk to him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It was on this note that the weekend ended, and my fifth year at CTN came to a close. Going forward into 2018, I have a few directives: </span></div>
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</span><ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="m_7308779501706948524gmail-Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>Concentrate on creating characters and illustrations with simpler, bolder shapes and lines </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A new simplified-style portfolio story, tailored for my passion genre, kids’ educational TV (now that Pinga is leaving me alone) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A few personal mini illustration series that I’ve had in mind for a while </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Caricature study on the side</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Finally start pulling my weight in terms of house settling-in and decoration so that I don't get divorced</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But first... the annual Sous Family Christmas card calls. Happy holidays everyone!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><i>© Gina Florio 2017</i></span>
</div>
The Sous Hoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08116213734827685652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-66503861189029937442017-12-04T08:00:00.000-08:002017-12-04T08:00:01.456-08:002017 Update 2 - Oatley Academy Mentorship<div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: ".SFUIText";">Over
the summer, I was off of work for 4 weeks between July and August. That
hiatus happened to line up perfectly with ‘First Flight,’ a 5-week
online visual development workshop being run by the <a href="http://oatleyacademy.com/">Oatley Academy of Visual Storytelling</a>. I’d done some learn-at-your-own-pace <a href="http://oatleyacademy.com/mb2-beta/">Magic Box </a>
lessons over the years, but hadn’t taken an actual course with OA yet; I
decided to take the plunge and, after much deliberation and thought,
added on a personal character design mentorship with <a href="http://chrisoatley.com/bio/">Chris Oatley himself</a>, to be conducted alongside the First Flight workshop lessons. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: ".SFUIText";">The
workshop was essentially <a href="https://myoatleyacademy.com/ff-nl/">a self-directed portfolio development course</a>,
giving guidelines, tips and prompts to develop and create the art for
your own story as the basis of an animation or gaming concept art
portfolio. The addition of the mentorship meant that once a week Chris
would be checking in with me (along with 15 others) to see how the work
for my portfolio was coming along and give feedback... so I had better do it!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: ".SFUIText";">I
spent much of the first two weeks brainstorming, writing and doing
research for my story. The workshop advised taking a story already in
existence from fairytales or myths and altering it somehow - a common
practice was to change the location and culture of the story. Following
this directive, the Greek goddess Artemis became Pinga, a teenage
huntress in the Inuit culture (specifically <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalaallit">Kalaallit</a>) in Greenland in
the 1800s.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: ".SFUIText";">When
the course and mentorship ended in mid-August and I returned to work, I
had not much completed besides a ton of sketches. I dreaded the end
of my hiatus - in the past, I hadn’t had much luck carrying my artistic
momentum back into full-time job mode. But the fact that I had done so
much writing about Pinga meant that her story stuck in my head. She had
become somewhat actualized to me, as if I knew her personally, and every
day I didn’t spend time drawing more of her story, I could almost feel
her rapping her knuckles on the inside of my brain, yelling that I
hadn’t finished her yet and I needed to get back to work. (Since the major feedback from CTN 2014 had been that I didn't seem to really care about my characters or story in my portfolio, I considered this a very good thing.) I dutifully
found time to compile my best sketches into a series of pages and got to
work finalizing the work & fleshing out the story visually. Here’s
what I came up with!</span></span></div>
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<div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: ".SFUIText";">When
I finalized the last page, I felt tired but happy - my home life had
consisted of nothing but Photoshop for the two weeks prior, but I also
felt (and still feel) that this was absolutely the best work I could do
at this point in time, which meant that every other consequence was out
of my control. I could now, for the first time in a few years, relax in
the knowledge that I’d officially given it the old college try.</span></span></div>
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<div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: ".SFUIText";">I
completed the majority of the work on October 26th, just in time to
submit for professional recruiting for CTNx 2017. More on that in the
next post...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><i>© Gina Florio 2017</i></span>
</div>
The Sous Hoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08116213734827685652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-72236302338698832332017-12-01T18:10:00.000-08:002017-12-01T19:22:06.432-08:002017 Update 1 - New Personal Work & The Sous Hoose<div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Hi all- a very long, long time no see!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">It’s
been quite the year. I’m rather depressed about the state of the world,
but I’ve been very fortunate to have good things happening in my
personal life. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">My
husband Dave and I spent the first half of 2017 hunting for, bidding
on, and finally purchasing a house, and then of course moving and
settling in (the latter process is still happening and probably will be
for some time). </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrZtcogrDYpldldIpWlnpYPsH76HRSDHrYLjaYiXxF36lipILPa9pCrTqH2KK2OsvrOHxYpDwL39VTAZeAakpwdzd3Uo1a-reAYOAZTZF7XuOk6mhDCh5Mf1NaBKeFaKelnhVmN6bfBU/s1600/IMG_0521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrZtcogrDYpldldIpWlnpYPsH76HRSDHrYLjaYiXxF36lipILPa9pCrTqH2KK2OsvrOHxYpDwL39VTAZeAakpwdzd3Uo1a-reAYOAZTZF7XuOk6mhDCh5Mf1NaBKeFaKelnhVmN6bfBU/s400/IMG_0521.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPGQ0CJg8oZiMrOytnu-y0SQsEnFDAKOvmRQCc9oXcfI3k8bDWlNpkkPsIXzZL4ibGaU9-70J-QaNl8G1rRAdXSVz7gkQ_Dl1Vr-HjSDOO7MSL0RQfEoCfnFvwD8SBzrYQT5JvvK88Ejw/s1600/IMG_0534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPGQ0CJg8oZiMrOytnu-y0SQsEnFDAKOvmRQCc9oXcfI3k8bDWlNpkkPsIXzZL4ibGaU9-70J-QaNl8G1rRAdXSVz7gkQ_Dl1Vr-HjSDOO7MSL0RQfEoCfnFvwD8SBzrYQT5JvvK88Ejw/s400/IMG_0534.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">The
house is in L.A. county,
albeit the very northwestern edge. We went from our Hollywood,
city-centric apartment to extreme suburban living in one fell swoop -
instead of hipsters and walking-distance bars and restaurants, we now reside
in The Land of Big Box Stores and strollers - but on the flip side, it’s
a 30-minute drive south through the mountains to Malibu & the
Pacific Ocean. The house itself is wonderful - old school
craftsman-style, with a beautiful backyard, wood beams in the living
room, and an original stained glass window in the dining room. It took
me some time to adjust to homeowner life, but I’ve been embracing the
new normal lately.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX3TrN-SJ6kbWW83st6M0CRHJNEvnj2IY5AHaorTjntEgl9CejeCHty7xE-FI_TM2Wt4GCN90VbWLK6V0H5Rvj3DwQjFtIHrU7FlnNrrYj026LpbNiX1ZPGVZxOKkirRrt2MYtINzvmpA/s1600/IMG-1494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX3TrN-SJ6kbWW83st6M0CRHJNEvnj2IY5AHaorTjntEgl9CejeCHty7xE-FI_TM2Wt4GCN90VbWLK6V0H5Rvj3DwQjFtIHrU7FlnNrrYj026LpbNiX1ZPGVZxOKkirRrt2MYtINzvmpA/s400/IMG-1494.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">I’ve
also been fortunate to have a great art year. For those of you active
on Instagram, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_ginadraws_/">I post fairly regularly there</a> and have made my account
art-centric (no personal photos). Here is some of my personal work that I hadn’t posted on the blog quite yet.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="735" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVWH4YWrFRsdUqF_qFBjVPwzqQD3-QyXnBShX5xglG2FgLj0qak0hQVtwXZmmexCbgdFKQEHve8KSUJXKRFt96Wc5g9QK4YzTxa1aYNPJNTK1bW4hQVC59NZ7XfHqfIb7pKdcOZTLcgY/s400/gina+sous+self+portrait.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Self-portrait.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiju9VVFXYJYyqrCBCLu1hdbD1c1Zw6PhqRJoiiiPksk56_tYNhhNUze7r33FXOdwtoDJ26C0G4j2wMs9u70WgbXaeqJFMiyMwvyQpc0DJZquQdPmSZXltdJ7SSGhGOfyMA-n_4w9zoxqE/s400/the-little-prince-by-gina-florio-sous.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="285" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">RIP Prince.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="733" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDRQ4lTyDbq0pmTPKTyItjhYuxayHRdbAsY11Tqw0ZDPiCJi4hko3KhPbG0zWdRTnsPp8rOgKKo-zxsIdujGiFS6y2obRymDp7XITNOPOCr_weM-RNVwnNOkWI12qayGlcpBB2UfBK2Y/s400/gina-f-sous-mahvel-agent-cahteh.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="366" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">An inside joke between Dave and me... we got ourselves laughing one night imagining Agent Carter set in Boston (or Bahston).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsEpLg_T20NT_QG1IOC_M8-aLBK2PNmD29BkSeT07eZQwShbFBWJxy2oJL0faTTmGFhoLJi35ae1DUqgdr4FXn-e4B7aGZpILAUCSdij9tMsYNH5M7w_VOugU25S1OSJhlf8cxDfMXNE/s1600/biplane-v4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="650" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsEpLg_T20NT_QG1IOC_M8-aLBK2PNmD29BkSeT07eZQwShbFBWJxy2oJL0faTTmGFhoLJi35ae1DUqgdr4FXn-e4B7aGZpILAUCSdij9tMsYNH5M7w_VOugU25S1OSJhlf8cxDfMXNE/s320/biplane-v4.jpg" width="208" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Work from CGMA's Color & Light class, taken summer 2016</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtunn3RO_WOOmhHQ3wtjOE8gSqvJ7lGaBfv8kbtk3CEqikMf9yUrehiUvfwY8l3R5QRRJA5ftAJI2JLxjJTbnP3sHyhH_Q9-_gBdqNbktdcr5o8gkOyjUYybZQHCJfRLSmCP3TYVrlQkQ/s1600/flynn-rider-IG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1000" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtunn3RO_WOOmhHQ3wtjOE8gSqvJ7lGaBfv8kbtk3CEqikMf9yUrehiUvfwY8l3R5QRRJA5ftAJI2JLxjJTbnP3sHyhH_Q9-_gBdqNbktdcr5o8gkOyjUYybZQHCJfRLSmCP3TYVrlQkQ/s320/flynn-rider-IG.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Work from CGMA's Color & Light class, taken summer 2016</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkiL4D62ji1vuFXkDDmTvbIDTs2zEXJ_aOQ71m_YE5TXafakfyW3f3ztVNErrJEAo1X7JSdX-5fR3TI0mhopDHBZSTbKJuhKrg5hTbrqqd1qgru27S9nBcfOT8pCnCkj_oyL-AADKDrNc/s1600/girl-and-horse-moment-painting-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1575" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkiL4D62ji1vuFXkDDmTvbIDTs2zEXJ_aOQ71m_YE5TXafakfyW3f3ztVNErrJEAo1X7JSdX-5fR3TI0mhopDHBZSTbKJuhKrg5hTbrqqd1qgru27S9nBcfOT8pCnCkj_oyL-AADKDrNc/s320/girl-and-horse-moment-painting-14.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Final painting from CGMA's Color & Light class, taken summer 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2TA5l9DuiMmh09CZpFOVTZZp659cNsnIvc10j8oXVypQe8I2EaPyIU0w9hhzZtrx1YlMKtiZAb4O4qpJcP2AqhzJNsimrKWrebgJp244UxQPzQqUi_5Shy0Se6jBn0wRBQLVuWadSW8/s1600/weekly-outfits-sept-2016-gina-sous.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1600" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2TA5l9DuiMmh09CZpFOVTZZp659cNsnIvc10j8oXVypQe8I2EaPyIU0w9hhzZtrx1YlMKtiZAb4O4qpJcP2AqhzJNsimrKWrebgJp244UxQPzQqUi_5Shy0Se6jBn0wRBQLVuWadSW8/s640/weekly-outfits-sept-2016-gina-sous.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Model: Stacey Walker at The Drawing Club</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Peter Pan interpretation</span></td></tr>
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<div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">I
also finally, FINALLY completed a new professional concept art
portfolio for character and prop design, and I took it to CTN Animation
Expo two weeks ago. More on that in the next post...</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><i>© Gina Florio 2017</i></span>
</div>
The Sous Hoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08116213734827685652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-75375494380037258202017-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:002017-01-09T08:00:08.670-08:00Lyft Animated Short "June"Happy New Year!<br />
<br />
Cartoon Brew posted this delightful animated short back in December. I just had the chance to watch it and wanted to repost it here - it's directed by 'Paperman' director John Kahrs and a really beautiful example of branded content that achieves its purpose in promoting the product while still bursting at the seams with artistic merit.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v8nyGzOLsdw" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Check out <a href="http://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/paperman-director-john-kahrs-chromospheres-kevin-dart-combined-make-animated-short-lyft-146389.html">the full post</a>, including an interview with the creators, on Cartoon Brew, and watch the making-of below.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V7j8Aqxmbs8" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
I'm in full-steam-ahead mode with my portfolio and website, more updates to come soon!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>© Gina Florio Sous 2017</i></div>
The Sous Hoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08116213734827685652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-14580722663275674072016-09-28T18:00:00.001-07:002016-09-28T18:00:07.213-07:00Proko Video: Sketching People with Stephen SilverOnline figure drawing teacher <a href="http://www.proko.com/">Stan Prokopenko</a> recently produced this 15-minute video, wherein he observes and talks with acclaimed character designer <a href="http://www.silvertoons.com/">Stephen Silver</a> while Stephen sketches people in public. I found the whole thing informative, entertaining and chock full of useful tips - it got me just in the right mood to go out and draw people of all kinds in their natural habitat.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FNXIIf9xTwI" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>© Gina Florio Sous 2016</i>
</div>
The Sous Hoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08116213734827685652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-45095388261173950462016-09-21T14:50:00.001-07:002016-09-21T14:51:06.723-07:00Rebecca Rebouché on The Great DiscontentMy best friend and fellow illustrator <a href="http://kristenboydstun.com/">Kristen Boydstun</a> turned me on to <a href="https://thegreatdiscontent.com/">The Great Discontent</a>, a print and online magazine featuring interviews with creatives of all types. A recent interview with <a href="http://rebeccarebouche.com/">Rebecca Rebouché</a>, a New Orleans-based artist and designer, had a great section that I'd just like to copy and paste here for my own remembering purposes.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b class="q">What advice would you give to a young person who is starting out</b>?
I often find that young people are searching for a benefactor or
patron, or some big gig to set their careers in motion—someone to
believe in them, to quiet all of their anxieties and polish all of the
brilliant, but rough, parts. I’ve found this to almost <i>never</i> be the case. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
My best advice comes in two parts: First, bold delusion. It all boils down to that. You <i>have</i>
to believe in yourself in an almost crazy way. You have to be bold
enough to make something from nothing over and over again. And you have
to be delusional enough to think that your ideas are valuable, which is,
of course, not delusional at all. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The second: You <i>have</i> to build the ship to sail on. In
other words, you can’t tell people about the ship you are thinking about
building and expect them to buy tickets for the first ride. Instead you
must first put in the work. That often means heavy lifting, isolation,
heaps of doubt, and epic failures and setbacks. It’s a lonely place to
be when you are building your ship. But when you do it, and you set
sail, people will see how beautiful and majestic it is, and there will
be a line to buy tickets. This can be applied to any creative endeavor,
especially when you consider that the better you build your ship, the
longer you can sail before you have to make repairs and improvements. </blockquote>
<br />
Read the full interview <a href="https://thegreatdiscontent.com/interview/rebecca-rebouche">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>© Gina Florio Sous 2016</i>
</div>
The Sous Hoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08116213734827685652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-47457819693368177362016-09-09T11:49:00.001-07:002016-09-09T11:57:27.019-07:00Reflections on Hiatus 2016I've been very fortunate to have the past two months off of work to concentrate fully on studying and creating concept art and illustration. I go back to work on Monday, and as I wind down my final week, I wanted to share some reflections on what I've learned during this time off, where I think I can do better, and my goals for the future, to keep myself motivated and accountable to continue the art hustle while also maintaining a full-time job.<br />
<br />
Throughout this post, I've used pictures of some post-it notes that I've put up around my office that help to illustrate my current mindset.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>WHERE I STARTED</b> </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagcKWfJ2y-yl98rqctvvLBa4IScSVEvcdXfiXHFIHsQ-UP5L8mF1Rv2joa6JnJfCKBNkrtuY-ebD8DaOwTa7IMcaH8yiDjt7FsBHBaZrqNDcM1E5bEHl7i6aOgOkTmMmu4IS3FibrtK4/s1600/IMG_5360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagcKWfJ2y-yl98rqctvvLBa4IScSVEvcdXfiXHFIHsQ-UP5L8mF1Rv2joa6JnJfCKBNkrtuY-ebD8DaOwTa7IMcaH8yiDjt7FsBHBaZrqNDcM1E5bEHl7i6aOgOkTmMmu4IS3FibrtK4/s320/IMG_5360.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
My two goals for this time were (1) to gain the courage to make art
consistently (and have fun doing it), and (2) to level up my artistic skills. <br />
<br />
I haven't spoken publicly about this, but I feel it's important to know that at the beginning of this time off, I was just starting to recover from a long stretch of artistic burnout. I never stopped drawing, but my relationship with art was bitter, caused mainly by the pressure I had put on myself to turn my hobby into a full-fledged career. Fear was controlling every aspect of my approach to artmaking. Sitting down to draw hadn't been fun for a long time, and it showed. This had gone on long enough, and caused enough distress, that I knew I needed a major change of attitude if I was going to make another portfolio push, which is a time consuming and exhausting effort.<br />
<br />
Enter the campaign of Make Art Fun Again 2016. Over and over again I had encountered the idea that if you don't enjoy what you're doing, no one else will. So my main goal with this time off was to get loose, approach it with a sense of joy and fun and play, draw stuff that my six year old self would have requested, and generally just start enjoying the process again. With that in mind, I took all thoughts of my professional portfolio off the table for the first few weeks, and just made whatever I felt like, with the goal of not defeating my fear, but learning how to live with it and still create.<br />
<br />
Coinciding with this campaign was an equivalent effort to take my art ability to the next level, especially in the digital realm. I updated to Photoshop CC, bought <a href="https://www.kylebrush.com/">Kyle's Brushes</a>, and dedicated myself to truly learning the ins and outs of digital painting. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>WHAT WORKED FOR ME</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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1. Sketchbook habit<br />
I really wanted to start looking forward to time spent in my sketchbook instead of dreading the blank page. One thing that really helped kickstart this was discovering <a href="http://pomodorotechnique.com/">the Pomodoro technique</a> (I used an app called <a href="http://pomodorotechnique.com/">Be Focused</a> to help me with this). By setting a timer for 25 minutes of work followed by 5 minutes of rest, my brain immediately wrote off that time as "not so bad," and I was able to approach the sketchbook with much greater ease. I've done at least one set per day every day since I've been off, including weekends. Some days I literally scribbled black clouds because I couldn't think of anything else, but some days I ended up doing more than one set because I was having so much fun just playing in my imagination. I'm very happy to say that I found a lot of happiness in this practice, and I consider it the #1 best thing to have happened during my time off. It sparked a lot of the illustration and character ideas that I'm hoping to incorporate into my new portfolio, and I'm confident I can continue to find 25 minutes a day to sketch while I go back to work.<br />
<br />
2. Learning Photoshop<br />
It would have been easy for me to write this off as a way of avoiding making art, but I decided to really invest a good chunk of time each week into watching <a href="http://www.ctrlpaint.com/library/">Ctrl+Paint videos</a>, experimenting with brushes, and looking up digital painting techniques. This was huge. I feel as though I now have full command over the brush tool, and it has taken my ability to express myself visually to the next level. I even spent a few hours one day simply learning (and writing down) Photoshop's most <a href="http://digital-photography-school.com/photoshop-shortcut-commands/">useful</a> <a href="http://digital-photography-school.com/28-more-exceptionally-useful-photoshop-shortcuts/">hotkeys</a>, which has completely changed the game for me and I consider it one of my best-spent chunks of time.<br />
<br />
3. CGMA class on Color and Light<br />
A week into my hiatus, I signed up for <a href="http://2d.cgmasteracademy.com/art-of-color-and-light.html">CGMA's 'The Art of Color and Light' online course</a>, with lectures by <a href="http://www.tycarter.com/">Ty Carter</a> and feedback and Q&As by <a href="http://www.kristydraws.com/">Kristy Kay</a>, both favorite artists of mine. This was a big decision as I knew it would majorly cut into my artmaking time (and it has). But - and I do not say this lightly - I believe this class was the missing brick in my Wall of Art Education. I find it extremely fortunate that I chose this specific course over some of the other ones I was considering. I'm shocked that it took me this long to realize, but color and light is <i>everything</i> when it comes to creating narrative images, and the lessons I've taken from this class have helped tie everything else I've learned together. One note for anyone considering taking this or any other CGMA course - as with most of the other classes I've taken, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it, and obviously, student-to-student interactions are much more limited than they would be in an in-person class. I do wish you could save the lecture videos; it's a bummer that you can't.<br />
<br />
4. Saying no<br />
In the past, I've said yes to almost every major and minor project that came my way. Now that the people in my life know I'm an artist, I get a fair amount of requests for logos, greeting cards, T-shirts, personal cartoons, you name it. After realizing that I was never going to do it myself, my husband Dave strongly encouraged me to stop taking these on, even the ones with offers of compensation, in order to preserve time for my own work. This was one of the things that was the absolute hardest for me to do, as I am an intense people pleaser (and also I would rather put off the hard work of thinking about my own art in order to do the easy work of just drawing what someone else tells me to draw). But this has made a <i>huge</i> difference. Had I not consistently turned all those little projects down, this time would have been completely lost to classwork and other people's projects. I did do one (paid!) commission for a friend who works in animation and wanted a full-page illustration done for a animated feature film pitch that she's working on - I thought this lined up perfectly with my own interests, and it was a very fulfilling job. Also, last week I put a little extra time into one request, reaching out to former classmates of mine in order to help a coworker find an artist for a Save the Date card commission. The person who ended up taking the job was perfect for it, and I feel like I paid it forward all around.<br />
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5. Sources of inspiration<br />
Again, this may sound like a no-brainer to some people, but I began to value time spent just in pure inspiration mode - i.e. looking at art that speaks to me, and analyzing what I like about it, and why. When I made my current portfolio in 2014, I remember starting a Pinterest board (which is how I save all my art references) for visual portfolio inspiration, and just pinning tons of concept art to it willy-nilly, with almost no filter other than "I like this and it looks cool." This time around, I'm curating a very specific selection of art and artists that I love and want to emulate, and I took a few hours one afternoon at the beginning of the time off to write down a list of the common threads that I saw that I want to incorporate into my own work, which has been super helpful to return to anytime I'm starting something new or feeling lost in the middle of a piece.<br />
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6. Get physical<br />
From taking a few deep breaths to going for a walk, stopping down my brain and standing up and moving my body around was key to keeping my mental energy from depleting over the course of the day, week, and month.<br />
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<b>WHAT DIDN'T WORK</b></div>
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1. Time management<br />
One of the reasons I'm actually looking forward to going back to work is that I struggle mightily with time management. Having a limited amount of time to devote to art will help (I hope) to really focus what I use those precious hours for. Although I feel I've used my time off wisely for the most part, there have definitely been days where I've lost a few hours to distraction and procrastination. <br />
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2. Working harder instead of smarter<br />
This is closely related to #1. When feeling the pressure to get things done, it's often tempting to jump straight in and keep my nose glued to the computer for the entire day. It's hard sometimes to remember that the <i>quality</i> of my work <i>improves</i> when I take time to plan out what I want to do (and how I want to do it), or, if I'm feeling stressed and spinning my wheels, to take that time to physically step away and take a walk, have some tea, look at some art to get myself inspired again. But it's so easy for my brain to dismiss those activities as 'wasting time' (especially since I don't want to fall into the procrastination trap), and I end up working longer hours on sub-par content as a result.<br />
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3. Being overambitious<br />
I guess this one sounds like a humblebrag, but I really am way too ambitious when it comes to making artistic plans or figuring out what I want to get done in a given day. This only leads to disappointment when I don't finish everything to perfection. It would be better to make modest, achievable goals and just keep in mind that every step brings me closer, no matter how small.<br />
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4. Stress, pressure and fear<br />
This comes from too many places to name, and I feel it creeping back in with extra vigor this week, borne on the knowledge that my time off is coming to a close with "not much to show for it" (except, you know, a bunch of full sketchbooks, a major update in Photoshop knowledge, 7 weeks of classwork, a full-page animation-related commission, and a few personal oneoff illustrations). But sometimes I can't shake it. It happens to the best of us.<br />
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<b>WHERE TO GO FROM HERE</b></div>
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<b> </b> <br />
I'm happy to have accomplished my sketchbook habit goal; I can now make rough sketches until the cows come home, and I have so many ideas that I'm excited about. But the biggest thing I have left to work on is to <i>consistently take my favorite sketches and ideas to a finish.</i> This is something I didn't do a ton of during the time off - my sole disappointment is that I'm returning to work without many new portfolio-quality, finalized pieces to show off.<br />
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My other major goal is to <i>get a new, clean portfolio website up and running.</i> I'll be using Squarespace for this and I'm excited to have a blank canvas in which to arrange some great new art.<br />
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In the spirit of not getting overambitious, and of using my time wisely, I've made some modest goals <br />
to keep myself creating regularly while I go back to work.<br />
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<b>Daily -</b> at least 25 minutes of experimental, inspired, playful sketchbook time<br />
<b>Weekly -</b> Get out sketching in the world for a few hours - coffeeshop, interesting location, lifedrawing class<br />
- Take one small piece, like a character or simple illustration, to a portfolio-quality finish in Photoshop<br />
- Continue to stay inspired, curate favorite art/artists, and analyze what I like about them<br />
<b>Monthly -</b> Finish a larger portfolio-quality piece <br />
- Take time to verify that I'm still working towards my goal in effective ways<br />
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So these things are what I'll be focusing on for the next few months. As it gets closer to 2017 (eep), I plan on seeing where I'm at and reassessing what my next course of action is, but I feel good about my ability to accomplish these things with the time I've given myself. I'm sure life will continue to happen as it always does, and I plan on being forgiving and not beating myself up about missed deadlines, just shaking it off and moving forward.<br />
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One final word: my brain is obsessed with time, and it's pretty much constantly screaming that everything I'm doing is a waste of it. This can manifest in positive ways, like how I've more or less stopped playing videogames. But in other ways it can be quite unhealthy. For example - <i>Art is a waste of time</i> because <i>I'm not seeing instant results</i>. <i>Work is a waste of time</i> because <i>it isn't my One True Passion.</i> <i>Cooking dinner is a waste of time</i> when <i>we could just order something.</i> <i>Hiking is a waste of time</i> when <i>I could be at home getting stuff done.</i> It's telling me right now that <i>writing this blog post is a waste of time,</i> even though I <u>know</u> that it's helpful to gather my thoughts on what this time off has meant, and taking time to analyze and plan is always useful in the long run. My brain is very action-oriented, always wanting to jump right in without a plan, to <i>do-do-do</i> and <i>go-go-go</i> and get instant results. But, as usual, I'm striving to just be present, and remember that <a href="https://vimeo.com/58179094">the journey is its own reward.</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUM_xyjPq6A">Relax</a>. Everything's going to be ok.<br />
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<i>© Gina F. Sous 2016</i>
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The Sous Hoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08116213734827685652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-16957617126938398622016-08-18T16:02:00.000-07:002016-08-18T16:02:59.656-07:00SPA Studios Art and Process VideoLately I've really been digging the art coming out of <a href="http://www.thespastudios.com/">The SPA Studios</a> (SPA stands for Sergio Pablos Animation). They're an animation and visual development company based in Madrid that has contributed to <i>Despicable Me</i>, <i>Rio</i>, and the independent feature <a href="http://www.cartoonbrew.com/interviews/sergio-pablos-talks-about-his-stunning-hand-drawn-project-klaus-exclusive-113621.html">Klaus</a> that's been getting a lot of hype in animation circles.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://thespastudios.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/160713_sb_humpbackJump_color_V05_1800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://thespastudios.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/160713_sb_humpbackJump_color_V05_1800.jpg" height="215" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Szymon Biernacki </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://thespastudios.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/df_Audrey_Hepburn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://thespastudios.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/df_Audrey_Hepburn.jpg" height="232" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dany Fernández</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sergio Pablos</td></tr>
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I pulled all of this art from <a href="http://thespastudios.com/blog/">their excellent blog</a> (which I highly recommend following), where they also post process videos once in a while. I had to share today's step-by-step of a painting by <a href="http://www.balloontree.com/">Marcin Jakubowski</a>! Enjoy. <br />
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<a href="https://vimeo.com/179325941">The SPA Studios. Some tips and tricks from Marcin Jakubowski.</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/thespastudios">The SPA Studios</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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I'm currently enrolled in <a href="http://2d.cgmasteracademy.com/art-of-color-and-light.html">CGMA's Color and Light class</a> (more on that
later hopefully), and as I start down the road of moving beyond sketches
to attempt more full-scale illustrations, videos like these are invaluable. I'm learning there are many ways to tackle a painting and everyone must find their own way of doing things, but seeing a roadmap laid out so clearly like this does much to demystify the process... I stop hyperventilating and start thinking maybe, just maybe, I can do it too.<br />
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<i>© Gina Florio Sous 2016</i>
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The Sous Hoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08116213734827685652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-11209895877475338152016-08-05T16:27:00.005-07:002016-08-05T16:27:26.907-07:00Animated Music Videos "Ma'agalim" and "White Horses"Long time no see! I'd love to say you can keep your eye out for more posts coming soon, but the truth is that lately I'm trying to spend more time making art than writing about it. I have been going through some great artistic growth and hope to be almost completely revamping my portfolio in the coming months. <br />
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In the meantime, I wanted to share these two animated music videos that spoke to me, and reminded me of each other while still being distinct.<br />
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<a href="https://vimeo.com/162052542">Ma'agalim - Jane Bordeaux</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user3723898">Uri Lotan</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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A couple of other things that have been inspiring me lately - illustrator <a href="http://www.andy-j-miller.com/">Andy J. Miller</a>'s podcast <a href="http://www.creativepeptalk.com/">Creative Pep Talk</a> has been a godsend when I'm feeling lost or uninspired or just in need of a little... well, creative pep talk. And I love staring at the logo on my phone screen, because colors.</div>
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Also, <a href="http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/">Elizabeth Gilbert</a>'s book <i>Big Magic</i> is full of inspirational, yet down-to-earth, <i>practical</i> advice on the nature of creativity and one's devotion to their chosen craft. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone trying to uncover the 'strange jewels' within themselves. And I also love staring at the book's cover, because <i>colors.</i></div>
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Back to the (literal) drawing board...</div>
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<i>© Gina Florio 2016</i>
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The Sous Hoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08116213734827685652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-61327630020835419732016-03-07T15:24:00.003-08:002016-03-07T15:24:41.131-08:00Mark Crilley: "10 Ways to Get Better at Drawing"<a href="http://www.markcrilley.com/" target="_blank">Mark Crilley</a> is an author/illustrator of manga and children's books based in Michigan. I recently came across this 20-minute video of his advice for artists and found it to be helpful and insightful.<br />
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After the craziness of 2015 kept me away from studying art with any level of seriousness, I'm returning to it now with a fresh approach, as well as the wisdom that comes from having applied myself to it for several <i>years </i>now (I still can't believe it's been over 3 years since I started this blog and this journey!). In looking back over the blog, the various experiences I've had and things I've learned from, I'm realizing that certain pieces of advice that I've been hearing all along are hitting a new level of resonance with me now.<br />
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1. THE IMPORTANCE OF MINDFULNESS - When it comes to practice. You can't just decide "I'll draw 25 horses, and then I will understand how to draw horses forever." If that's your approach, then you'll rush through each drawing just to get it over with and get to that final destination of having done the drawings and thus having the 'knowledge' - which of course is not how it works at all. You have to be deliberate with your drawing, analyzing what went wrong and what went right and how best to move forward.<br />
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2. THE TOOLS DON'T MATTER - I see it all the time - the #1 question from aspiring artists to professionals is "What brush/pen/pencil/program/paper/etc should I use???" Mark hits on this in his video too - it really doesn't matter. You just have to try to make art with whatever you find, and keep experimenting with different materials. What works for one artist won't work for the next. Your favorite tools will introduce themselves to you over time.<br />
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3. PATIENCE - Mark touches upon this in the video with his #9 point:
'Don't expect progress to occur in a matter of weeks, or even months.'
This is the most significant thing that I think I've truly come to
understand recently. Some of the first books I picked up when I started wanting
to improve were Andrew Loomis's books on figure and head drawing. I'll
always remember reading the introduction and coming across this passage:
"May I add one suggestion? Whatever your motive, try not to be
impatient. Impatience has probably been a bigger stumbling block in the
way of real ability than anything else... Skill is the ability to overcome obstacles, the first of which is
usually lack of knowledge about the thing we wish to do... Skill is a result of trying again and again, and
applying our knowledge as we gain it. Let us get used to throwing away
the unsuccessful effort and doing the job over. Let us consider
obstacles as something to be expected in any endeavor: then they won't
seem quite so insurmountable or so defeating." I read that, way back in 2012, and thought: <i>Yes, I will remember this! And I will never be impatient with myself.</i> Oh, past Gina... you're so cute and naïve.<br />
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4. FUN - It has to be fun. Otherwise why are you doing it? Studiousness is all well and good, but the study of art is something where I think the motto 'work hard, play harder' applies very well. The study should be in service of all the great creations your playful, imaginative, creative self wants to bring to light.<br />
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I wanted to share one last quote from Stephen King, whose part-technical prose manual, part-memoir 'On Writing' I read sometime in the past year, during a period when I was often feeling frustrated with the lack of time I had for art due to our wedding planning, family obligations, traveling for friends' weddings, or what have you. In the memoir sections of the book, King had a number of passages devoted to his family life, and one in particular really touched me. For years, he said, he’d dreamed of owning an amazing writing desk, a ‘massive oak slab that would dominate a room.’ He finally got one and he put it in the middle of his study, and used it during the worst years of his alcohol and drug addiction, ‘like a ship’s captain in charge of a voyage to nowhere.’ After he sobered up, he gave that desk away and put in a living room suite where it had been, where his kids would hang out sometimes. He got a smaller desk and put it in the corner, under the eave. “It starts with this,” he says:<br /><br />“Put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn’t in the middle of the room. Life isn’t a support system for art. It’s the other way around.”<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>© Gina Florio 2016</i> </div>
Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-59585271824572015282016-02-11T14:06:00.001-08:002016-02-11T14:06:03.694-08:00Student Short Film "Ed"This short was animated in Photoshop by Sheridan College's <a href="http://neyestaha.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Taha Neyestani</a>, and recently won the Annie Award for best student film in 2015.<br />
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There's not much I can say that will add to this beautiful film, so I'll just let it speak for itself. Enjoy!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/141734077" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe><br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/141734077">ed</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/neyestaha">Taha Neyestani</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>© Gina Florio 2016</i> </div>
Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-30075147652185257042016-02-06T11:00:00.001-08:002016-02-06T11:00:23.490-08:00Wedding ArtI've been wanting for some time to do a post on all of the art I produced for our wedding this past September. I particularly enjoyed designing our Back to the Future themed invitations as well as our program, which surprised me, considering they were more graphic design than illustration.<br />
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By the way, all professional-looking photos in this post were taken by the illustrious <a href="http://marycostaphotography.com/" target="_blank">Mary Costa</a>, a fantastic L.A. based photographer as well as a friend.<br />
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I also did a number of 'fictional couple' illustrations to use as table markers to showcase some of our favorite films, books and videogames - Dave and I share a strong love of good stories!<br />
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Finally, I made a Calvin-and-Hobbes-style illustration as a Thank You card. I used Photoshop to mimic watercolor, an experiment I'd been wanting to attempt for some time.<br />
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Bonus actual wedding photo! It was truly a happy day.<br />
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<i>© Gina Florio 2016</i>
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Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-19732537377769941082015-12-14T08:35:00.003-08:002015-12-14T08:35:24.697-08:00Bachelor Party ShirtsWeddings?! I love weddings! Drinks all around!<br />
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We've been to six weddings this year (invited to eight), most of which were for very close friends or family members of either Dave or myself. (I realized at our most recent one on December 5th that it was the first wedding this year that we'd actually arrived at together, having been involved in the bridal parties of all of the others.) And these weddings came with all of the assorted sub-wedding events - engagement parties, bridal showers, and of course, bachelor and bachelorette parties.<br />
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This year I did four bachelor party shirts (which we then screenprinted onto blank T-shirts with the help of our friends Jessica and Jack).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For my friend Steve, codename: Dennis the Menace.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For my husband. This took forever. He owes me.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_avRZoD7EGBVWTOJrAsfA9y46oee1bwUttdZOBaCg2PtXshPFiY0-HBdKj27oq2Ey6Clc0-pagkQS4BiE0eaWaYMLBjUkeQOGXnoYrWsCj99yl2wg899utV043n5wtqhs98J10bypcNU/s1600/general-washington%2527s-last-stand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="531" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_avRZoD7EGBVWTOJrAsfA9y46oee1bwUttdZOBaCg2PtXshPFiY0-HBdKj27oq2Ey6Clc0-pagkQS4BiE0eaWaYMLBjUkeQOGXnoYrWsCj99yl2wg899utV043n5wtqhs98J10bypcNU/s640/general-washington%2527s-last-stand.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For my good friend Thaddeus, aka Thadd Washington, aka Pastor Thadd (he did my husband and I the great honor of marrying us).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7QVqHBLGXFDuOpsXc7KvwQyMVfcFNUTPHBN6qmGHGxcHqPRpZIEkULkmQbU56SaaPwclMiOEXBsP32JEnyAuBpzPKqx1n75Z6mDPR64WQ3BOgduVVr172mrt-fhTRG5Wg6ricnuEu24/s1600/captain-heinz-hollywood-hijinks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7QVqHBLGXFDuOpsXc7KvwQyMVfcFNUTPHBN6qmGHGxcHqPRpZIEkULkmQbU56SaaPwclMiOEXBsP32JEnyAuBpzPKqx1n75Z6mDPR64WQ3BOgduVVr172mrt-fhTRG5Wg6ricnuEu24/s640/captain-heinz-hollywood-hijinks.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For our friend Heinz, who holds the record among our friends for biggest smile and most owned articles of American flag clothing.</td></tr>
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While I'm not going into a career in T-shirt design anytime soon, these were all good exercises in graphic design as well as caricaturing people I know, which used to make me super nervous but doesn't anymore. Also, due to the nature of screenprinting, every design had to be black-and-white only with no gradients or shading - a limitation that I hadn't had to deal with before but that led to some interesting artistic growth.<br />
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Most importantly, all the guys were super happy with their shirts. Happy clients = happy artist.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>© Gina Florio 2015</i>
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Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-28477302189176397552015-11-09T08:00:00.000-08:002015-11-09T08:00:02.351-08:00NYT Tackles the Creative EconomyThis article was sent to me by my friend Jack, with the promise that it was worth its reading time. It's a good look at the creative culture of today, examining income statistics and sales rates to determine if the outlook is bleak or bright for people who create and produce art and entertainment for a living.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/08/23/magazine/23culture-opener/23culture-opener-superJumbo-v2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/08/23/magazine/23culture-opener/23culture-opener-superJumbo-v2.jpg" height="379" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration by <a href="http://www.andrewrae.org.uk/" target="_blank">Andrew Rae</a></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/magazine/the-creative-apocalypse-that-wasnt.html?_r=5" target="_blank">The Creative Apocalypse That Wasn't, by Steven Johnson</a></div>
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The answer, of course, is complicated. My TL;DR synopsis is that technology and the internet have made it both easier and harder for creatives. Yay! Sort of.</div>
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But two things give me heart: firstly, the fact that, even in the digital age, consumers still appreciate and seek out handmade things and tactile, real-world experiences. <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2012/12/image-parsing.html" target="_blank">As James Gurney said</a>, "Other humans will always enjoy
works that are filtered through the human consciousness and the human
hand." And secondly, Johnson's observation that "The profound change lies at the boundaries of professionalism. It has never been easier to <em>start</em> making money from creative work, for your passion to undertake that critical leap from pure hobby to part-time income source." </div>
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Whatever the outcome, I believe that easier and more affordable avenues that pave the way for more creative people to do what they love will never be a bad thing. </div>
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<i>© Gina Florio 2015</i>
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Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-76122320923060694022015-11-05T08:00:00.000-08:002015-11-05T08:00:02.187-08:00Drunk Literature: "Game of Thrones"One of the many benefits to not posting for almost a year is that I now have a nice buildup of my own work to post!<br />
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For realsies, though, I'm sorry for my absence, but this year has been certifiably insane. In a good way. But still insane. I'm happy to report that our wedding was great, A++, 5 star experience, would get married again. Also very happy that life is finally starting to resemble normalcy now.<br />
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Right after CTNx last year, my friend Ellen (who blogs for <a href="http://garlicmysoul.com/blog/" target="_blank">Garlic, My Soul</a>, among others) contacted me to see if I would be interested in working with her fiancé Aaron, a DreamWorks TV writer, on one of his side projects, a 'Drunk History' spinoff called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DrunkLit/feed" target="_blank">Drunk Literature</a>. They'd done a full first season on YouTube that included <i>The Catcher in the Rye, Hamlet, </i>and<i> 50 Shades of Grey,</i> and they were gearing up for season 2. They had me in mind for their epic 'A Song of Ice and Fire' (aka Game of Thrones) episode. Being a huge fan of the book series and the show, I couldn't say no. <br />
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Clocking in at almost 8 minutes, it was their longest episode yet, covering the first three books in the series, which meant there was a lot of drawing to do (and there would be no time for polishing). I definitely utilized my skills from my Intro to Storyboarding class with <a href="http://www.louiedelcarmen.com/" target="_blank">Louie del Carmen</a> here, especially when it came to the animation effects that I wanted to achieve.<br />
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Obviously, spoilers for Game of Thrones abound below.<br />
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<i>© Gina Florio 2015</i> </div>
Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-26502675629977060652015-10-16T16:53:00.000-07:002015-10-16T16:53:31.796-07:00Married<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwHHPuRJjv3zA67Xm_m1oKHTi0JTI5Wl5tdfrstkB26vLawHhxFFhZFpL-5vgkThYMI8PhlAiuBfzq3j4YltbkZJ07Tn79F3lRKSGOdC5Xr0kJ0PpEMqjUuZBiOZdY6RkA8-qa_vH-RM/s1600/12006121_10100477111661331_2748141763466831459_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwHHPuRJjv3zA67Xm_m1oKHTi0JTI5Wl5tdfrstkB26vLawHhxFFhZFpL-5vgkThYMI8PhlAiuBfzq3j4YltbkZJ07Tn79F3lRKSGOdC5Xr0kJ0PpEMqjUuZBiOZdY6RkA8-qa_vH-RM/s400/12006121_10100477111661331_2748141763466831459_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9.12.15</td></tr>
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Regular updates to resume soon.</div>
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<i>© Gina Florio 2014</i>
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Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-38817379204942513862015-02-05T14:52:00.001-08:002015-02-05T14:52:25.586-08:00CTN 2014 RecapHeeeeeeeeeello everyone... I'm just going to pretend I'm Phil the Groundhog today, poking my head out to see if it's really, actually 2015 and I really, actually haven't posted in 3 months. (Two and a half if we're being really precise so put down those pitchforks already.)<br />
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I wanted to do a recap of the 2014 <a href="http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/">CTN Animation Expo</a> before it got too far away, since building a professional concept art portfolio to show at that convention was ultimately the goal that I've been driving towards for... the entire time I've been writing this blog. To start off, here's a cute little recap video shot by artist <a href="http://www.anthonyvu.com/">Anthony Vu</a>. (You can even see yours truly from 2:03-2:12!)<br />
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For anyone who doesn't know, CTN Expo (stands for Creative Talent Network) is a 3-day convention held every November in Burbank, primarily for the creative side of the animation and videogame industries. The convention floor mainly consists of artists selling originals, prints and books from their booths, but the major animation studies (Sony, Disney, Nickelodeon etc.) all have representations there as well. There are professional portfolio reviews that you can apply for ahead of time, as well as art-related panels and demonstrations that are constantly going on. It's almost frustrating to be there, because at any given time, 5 different things could be happening, all of which you want to be present for.<br />
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This was the fourth year of the convention (started in 2010). I had been the previous year, in 2013, but just for a day to walk around and see what it was all about. This year I went all out. I bought a 3-day pass and made reservations for a couple of art demos that I didn't want to miss. And most importantly, I worked really hard, for four months, to get my portfolio in order so I could have something at least mildly professional-looking to present for reviews. <a href="http://www.ginadraws.com/">My completed portfolio can be seen here</a> (or by just clicking the 'portfolio' tab above).<br />
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Firstly I just want to say that the energy at this convention is insane. It's a growing event in a fairly small space, so it can reach Comic-Con levels of crowdedness - but it's so awe-inspiring to be in a place where you know everyone else is just as much of an animation and concept art geek as you are. That said, it can also get incredibly taxing, especially if you enjoy your personal space as much as I do. My first day there (Friday) was an extremely long 8 hours of waiting in lines and jostling with crowds, as well as approaching artists I had been admiring over the internet for years, introducing myself, and asking them to look at my vastly inferior portfolio and give me feedback (which feels about the same as vomiting in front of an attractive stranger). I also had a professional portfolio review with Disney and with <a href="http://www.bentoboxent.com/">Bento Box</a> (the producer of Bob's Burgers. Interesting side note, I found out they operate out of the same office building as 51 Minds, the reality TV production company I work for. Hollywood is a really small town sometimes).<br />
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I got really wonderful portfolio feedback - in that I have a fairly clear direction for what I want my next steps to be art-wise. I had several people say "Your skills are in a great place, you could be working as a prop designer right now, no question" (which got a little frustrating after the 4th or 5th time, because of course the ideal response would be "Okay, so... here I am!!") <a href="http://thedreamercomic.com/">Lora Innes</a> and <a href="http://jusdog.deviantart.com/">Justin Copeland</a> of the <a href="http://chrisoatley.com/category/paper-wings-show/">Paper Wings Podcast</a> literally freaked out over my portfolio, giving me a huge boost at the very start of the convention. I was able to meet <a href="http://pascalcampion.blogspot.com/">Pascal Campion</a>, <a href="http://coryloftis.tumblr.com/">Cory Loftis</a>, <a href="http://2dbean.blogspot.com/">Brett Bean</a> and <a href="http://jtownsketchhouse.blogspot.com/">Justin Rodriguez</a> (both of whom I knew from the Drawing Club), my former character design teacher <a href="http://desoluz.blogspot.com/">Jose Lopez</a>, Oatley Academy helmer <a href="http://chrisoatley.com/">Chris Oatley</a>, <a href="http://www.cliochiang.com/">Clio Chiang</a>, <a href="http://www.silvertoons.com/">Stephen Silver</a>, <a href="http://www.imaginismstudios.com/artists/Bobby%20Chiu">Bobby Chiu</a>, and <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/">James Gurney</a> (!), the author and illustrator of <i>Dinotopia</i> which I have loved since I was four. In addition, I was able to ask most of the above for a portfolio review, most of which were, at the very least, favorable. Almost everyone said something along the same lines - that I need to imbue my characters with more personality and I need to work on my storytelling. They all said this in different ways - some more specific, like tailoring environments to fit the characters more - and some more vague, like “It’s all in the line - you just have to find the line that speaks to the personality of the character.” They all asked for more action poses and more expressions, and more process work, like silhouettes and rough sketches, and they all encouraged me to do more plain observational drawing, painting and sketching. But the true revelation came when I talked to Dutch artist <a href="http://rhemrev.weebly.com/">Edwin Rhemrev</a>, and he said “Character Design isn’t about <i>how</i> the character <i>looks</i>. It’s about <i>who</i> the character <i>is</i>.” He showed me a page of sketches he’d done for a single character and said “See how these all look different? Here he’s old, here he’s young; here he’s fat, and here he’s skinny. But they all have the same <i>personality</i>. And you can tell.”<br />
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<i>Ahhh</i>. The clouds parted. I don't know that I've ever felt such sudden clarity in my life.<br />
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But the best thing about the convention was that by the end of the third day, I felt like I wasn't a lone little fish swimming against the tide anymore. Just from the sheer amount of time I spent there talking to people, asking questions, being polite, generally networking, I felt like I belonged there. My normally overactive imposter's syndrome had faded. On Sunday afternoon, I made the rounds to revisit the artists who gave me portfolio reviews, to thank them and buy something from their booths (the least I could do after the free advice they'd given me), and they all recognized me and greeted me warmly. I no longer felt, or feel, like an outsider in the Los Angeles animation community. Since the convention ended, I've been to several of the drop-in lifedrawing sessions and sketch clubs that I know of around LA, and almost every time I recognize someone and am able to quickly strike up a conversation. Even though I'm just an amateur artist, and it looks like I'm going to stay that way for the time being, I no longer feel like a phony sitting down to draw next to professionals from Dreamworks or Disney. And that feeling is priceless.<br />
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<i>© Gina Florio 2015</i> </div>
Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-91912128306521149362014-12-02T15:04:00.000-08:002014-12-02T15:04:37.382-08:00Song of StormsIt's a much-needed rainy day here in Los Angeles - it's been coming down all day! - so what better time to share this delightful piece of artwork I found on the interwebs a little while ago.<br />
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I don't often share / showcase individual pieces of art by other artists on the blog, but this one really spoke to me for some reason. I love the style, the lighting / mood, the color palette, all the little narrative elements. It's an illustration that rewards looking closely. The artist is <a href="http://mrockefeller.tumblr.com/">Matt Rockefeller</a>, a recent graduate of the Maryland Institute of Art. <br />
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CTN recap coming soon!<br />
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<i>© Gina Florio 2014</i>
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Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-72008430228144744442014-11-18T15:09:00.000-08:002014-11-18T15:09:30.670-08:00CTN Expo 2014 - I'm Off to See the Wizard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hey everyone!<br />
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Just a quick note to say I'll be at CTN Animation Expo all 3 days this weekend! Besides going to portfolio reviews, there's a great lineup of workshops and panels that I plan to attend - notably, <a href="http://chrisoatley.com/ctnx2014cd/">an "all-star" character design panel</a> helmed by <a href="http://chrisoatley.com/">Chris Oatley</a>, <a href="http://2dbean.com/#/">Brett Bean</a>, <a href="http://www.silvertoons.com/">Stephen Silver</a>, <a href="http://www.animationinsider.com/2013/09/tony-siruno/">Tony Siruno</a>, and <a href="http://jeffwamester.deviantart.com/gallery/">Jeff Wamester</a>. I'm also excited to visit the many artist booths and meet some of my favorite artists like <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/">James Gurney</a>, <a href="http://www.tycarter.com/">Ty Carter</a>, <a href="http://jigokuen.tumblr.com/">Mingjue Chen</a>, <a href="http://coryloftis.tumblr.com/">Cory Loftis</a> and more. I'll also be going to a <a href="https://www.uniiverse.com/events/drawing-party-open-house-tickets-burbank-T5J9P">"Drawing Party" opening night event</a> at the <a href="http://www.silverdrawingacademy.com/">Silver Drawing Academy</a> on Thursday night. It promises to be a busy but exciting weekend!<br />
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I've been hard at work on a new chunk of portfolio pages which I'll put up soon! <br />
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If any friends/readers will be in attendance let me know! Hope to see you there!<br />
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<i>© Gina Florio 2014</i> </div>
Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-4624823948959878852014-10-28T16:37:00.001-07:002014-10-28T16:37:11.034-07:00New Portfolio PagesI'm currently keeping my head down working on a portfolio for this year's <a href="http://ctnanimationexpo.com/">CTN Animation Expo</a>, which is happening at the end of November. However, the deadline to submit a 12-page portfolio for their specialized recruitment event was today, and I'm happy to say that I just submitted.<br />
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After two years of taking classes and going to countless workshops and art events, it's a bit surreal to be finally submitting my portfolio to actual animation and game studios. No matter what happens, I'm proud of the work that I've done and the skill level I've achieved, and I'm excited for whatever the future holds.<br />
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Here's some of the recently completed portfolio pages I made to go along from my work from Jose Lopez's Character Design class. You can view my entire portfolio by clicking on the tab above, or just <a href="http://www.ginadraws.com/">clicking here</a>.<br />
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I had a lot of fun with these if you can't tell! Props = good times. Although I am officially over attempting to do solid linework using a tablet... yeesh... whose idea was <i>that</i>.<br />
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<i>© Gina Florio 2014</i>
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Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-34077238672818053562014-10-09T16:01:00.001-07:002014-10-09T16:01:21.395-07:00School's Out: Character Design wrap-upI recently completed my term in Jose Lopez's Character Design class at the <a href="http://conceptdesignacad.com/">Concept Design Academy</a>. I relished the opportunity for a class that built on the foundational skills I had already gained, but also pushed me to think about how to best communicate the things I had in my imagination. I already see such a difference in my sketches from before the class and after. Here's my compilation of work for the class.<br />
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I've now been continually taking classes for 2 years straight. When I started going to CDA, I wrote down the classes I wanted to take on a post-it note, stuck it on my computer monitor, and have been crossing them off one by one as I go. 'Character Design' was the final class, and I had a real sense of accomplishment when I recently crossed it off, and was left with a 2-year-old post-it note full of dark lines.<br />
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I've decided for the first time in two years to <i>not</i> take another class at CDA this upcoming winter semester. My reasoning for the break is twofold: firstly, I'm not gonna lie, I'm a bit burnt out. Character Design was the 8th class I've taken. The classes themselves are only 3-4 hours a week, but combined with driving and homework, it's been a huge time commitment for the past 2 years on top of already having a 50+ hr/week job. And secondly, I'm preparing my portfolio for CTNx this year and I need all the art-time I can get to go towards that effort.<br />
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Unfortunately this also means I won't be taking a class again for at least a year, which is strange to think about - CDA feels like a permanent part of my life at this point. But next spring we're doing a fair amount of traveling, and next summer I will be swamped in wedding planning hell, drowning in tulle and sparkles (there are worse ways to go). In the meantime though, I'm planning on taking advantage of the many online learning options that are available in this golden age of internet education, particularly <a href="http://chrisoatley.com/">Chris Oatley's</a> self-paced <a href="http://chrisoatley.com/digital-painting-in-photoshop/">Magic Box course</a>.<br />
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At the end of the day, all I really have to say is this: I don't kid myself about the reasoning behind why I've improved so much as an artist over the past 2 years. I've worked hard. But the <i>only</i> reason I've gotten to where I am is because I've benefited from quality education. My unparalleled teachers and incredible fellow students have given me invaluable feedback and pushed me in ways that I never thought possible. If it weren't for them and for CDA, I'd still be buying new pens thinking *this* is the one that will make me a good artist, and doodling dejectedly in spiral bound sketchbooks for 15 minutes before giving up. I'm no Rembrant. But I have more confidence in myself as an artist with each passing day, and that growing confidence has been a really great joy in my life.<br />
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<i>© Gina Florio 2014</i>
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Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-12247322027446683162014-10-03T10:00:00.000-07:002014-10-03T10:00:02.301-07:00Friday Fun: Musical ChairsSteve Jobs famously said "Creativity is just connecting things." So, what happens when you connect J-Pop with Heavy Metal music?<br />
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The answer... <a href="http://en.babymetal.jp/home/">Babymetal</a>. I like to call this the internet's ultimate "Wait for it..." video.<br />
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In the same vein, musical group <a href="http://gangstagrass.com/">Gangstagrass</a> has been combining bluegrass and rap. (They were nominated for an Emmy for "Long Hard Times to Come," <a href="http://vimeo.com/10465795">the opening theme song for FX's <i>Justified</i></a>.)<br />
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I love both of these ideas in that they take two seemingly diametrically opposed musical genres and mix them together, with - in these examples - great results.<br />
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Happy Friday! <br />
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<i>© Gina Florio 2014</i> </div>
Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-36661880947526101092014-10-02T13:50:00.002-07:002014-10-02T13:50:54.176-07:00Teaser Trailer for Pixar's New FilmThe teaser poster and trailer for Pixar's new film, 'Inside Out,' has been released!<br />
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I typically try not to watch trailers at all since they tend to give too much away, but teasers are usually fine. Of course, there's not that much to say about it yet either, except that this looks intriguing and that the premise is pretty bold - I'll be curious to see how they pull it off for an entire movie. Here's the film's writeup from Pixar:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it’s no exception for Riley, who is
uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San
Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions – Joy (Amy
Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling)
and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The emotions live in Headquarters, the
control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through
everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new
life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy,
Riley’s main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive,
the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and
school.</blockquote>
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'Inside Out' is due in theaters June 19, 2015. <br />
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<i>© Gina Florio 2014</i> </div>
Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-40786701363245077462014-09-26T15:11:00.000-07:002014-09-26T15:11:51.808-07:00Expectation vs. RealityConcept artist Matt Kohr's free digital painting resource <a href="http://ctrlpaint.com/">ctrlpaint.com</a> is a site I go back to again and again when I'm using Photoshop artistically. His instructional videos are clear, concise and entertaining, and <a href="http://www.ctrlpaint.com/library/">extremely well categorized by topic</a>. However, he also makes videos with advice about the less concrete aspects of being an artist; the psychological side. This recent post was a video I really could've used when I was first getting back into studying art again.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Please note: this is not the video. Clicking on this picture will not do anything. Sorry.</td></tr>
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Right now it seems like he's not allowing people to embed this video which is a real bummer BUT I encourage you all to <a href="http://www.ctrlpaint.com/videos/expectation-vs-reality">click this link and read his original post</a> where you can also see the video. <br />
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Until recently, I was constantly beating myself up over my art not turning out how I wanted or expected it to. But at some junction I just got really tired of it. What's the point? I'd rather be happy with the competence I've already attained and comfortable in the knowledge that I'll continue to level up my skill as long as I keep at it. I still work hard but I've been giving myself a bit more of a break instead of persistently driving myself crazy with negative thoughts. Negative thoughts cause stress and stress uses up energy and I need that energy to get shit done! So be good to yourselves. :)<br />
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Have a great weekend everyone! I'm going apple and pumpkin picking this weekend which I am very excited for. Here's a Happy Fall sketch!<br />
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<i>© Gina Florio 2014</i> </div>
Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6335028308209189038.post-52732229509093670412014-08-26T14:34:00.003-07:002014-08-26T14:34:40.497-07:00Real-Time Facial Projections<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/103425574?byline=0&portrait=0&badge=0&color=cfcaca" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/103425574">OMOTE / REAL-TIME FACE TRACKING & PROJECTION MAPPING</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/somethingwonderful">something wonderful</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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I don't think there's any better way to say this than: this shit be cray. <br />
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<i>© Gina Florio 2014</i> </div>
Gina Florio Soushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00860061435464635000noreply@blogger.com1