Artistic Process and in all seriousness...Animation

I've been asked what kind of "Blog" Paperclip Hashbrown is. For the most part, it is an Art and Animation blog. Eventually, I'll be posting more of my Bunny Le Foo Concept Art and Production Art here in the coming weeks. 

However, since I am a full-service Creative Individual, I like to discuss other aspects of the Arts here from time to time. So, I suppose the official answer is...

Paperclip Hashbrown is a Celebration of all that is Creative. 

How's that? 

I'm now eligible to host my own swaps on Swapbot, so look for those in the coming weeks. 

Anyhoo, this post is about the Artistic Process, or rather, my own journey toward the wide realm of life on the creative horizon. 

I have always been a Creative person; I remember writing and illustrating my own comics as a child. My primary artistic focus for many years was Music. I was in the band throughout Middle and High School; eventually I went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Music Performance and Business. 

The Cartooning side of me was always there, skipping alongside Mr. Music and happy to get any chance at all to be noticed. I drew editorial cartoons for my high school newspaper and did some light cartooning here and there during my Undergrad studies, but focused primarily on my musical studies. 

I never really thought I could pursue an Artistic career, because I always felt like my drawing skills weren't up to par. I struggled with proportion, form and color. My drawings were good, but they weren't great.

Then came the day I had an epiphany. 

I was watching a documentary on Walt Disney ( imagine that...Kat watching anything "Disney" related ), and realized that I could do anything I wanted to, if I just worked hard and believed in myself.

Walt Disney started with the odds stacked against him. However, he was a genius, an idea man, a leader and had a can-do no-quitting attitude. Thanks to those qualities, Animation took its rightful place as a true art form, and we now have a rich and full Animation History. 

Unfortunately, there are those who believe Animation ( especially Computer Animation) is not serious art. I disagree wholeheartedly. Anyone who looks at the drawings of the Nine Old Men, Glen Keane, Andreas Deja, and the many Imagineering portfolios would agree that Animation is the most serious lighthearted business on the planet.

Animation is much harder than it seems. It's not just drawing a bunch of pictures and making them move. Animators have to wear many hats; we must be artists, actors, comedians, cinematographers, directors and writers. Our actors and actresses don't just show up and get ready; we have to create them from top to bottom. We have to draw every part of our films ( characters, backgrounds etc ), otherwise the audience would be staring at a blank canvas. The same Computer based Animation and Art. Most of those 3D films began with a team of concept artists and a ton of sketches. 

My own process with these storyboards and animatic has been a bit complex. Drawing takes me longer than others. For one, I am a perfectionist, and two, I have a bit of a problem with perspective. I tend to get stuck in self-edit mode, which is something I've had to get out of. Sometimes it's easier for me to just jump in and animate something using the straight-ahead method than it is for me to follow a plan. That's just how my creative mind works. And then of course, life interjects into our creative endeavors from time to time. Sometimes I have to put the boards aside to take care of family and family related issues.

 I've just been following the inspiration of Walt Disney and have kept plugging away, drawing by drawing. It's been a long, hard road, but I've almost made it to my destination.

Unofficial Swap and Why I enjoy Once Upon A Time

It's been a pretty exciting morning here. We've been up since five a.m. My little girl likes to get up early, play up a storm, and then take a mini-nap around eight am. That being said, early morning nap is almost over, so this blog posting will be pretty brief. 

As most of you know, I'm gearing up to host a Once Upon A Time ATC Swap pretty soon. We'll probably get rolling around the first of June, once everyone is out for the Summer. It will be pretty laid back, and I'm not sure if we'll host it on Swap-Bot or another site. 

Since we have a lot of talented folks in our midst, I might do more than just ATC swaps. Some Oncers out there are really clever with Photoshop, others knit and quilt, some draw, some are culinary wizards and so on and so forth.

The Oncer fangroup is very rich in diversity, as we come from all over the globe. 

I was conversing with my friend @RedRedShuz via DM on Twitter, and a thought occurred to me:

Why limit the swaps to *just* ATCs? Why not swap anything and everything?

I know that Summer can be just as busy for people with vacations, events, etc, but perhaps we could have a general swap for Oncers. We could trade anything from postcards to recipes to artwork to trinkets that represent our hometown/state/country, etc. 

We all have busy lives. Some are students, some work, some run a household and so on. I understand busy; I take care of my family and am working on my Master's Thesis, plus I participate in Swapbot Swaps and other Artist related events in the area, so my schedule is always jam packed. 

If something like this were to materialize, we could start off slow and see how it progresses.

The main thing I want to avoid is people being flaked on. Life happens and people get busy, but if the swap comes to life, anyone involved has to be committed to actually follow through with sending their item. 

Also, I realize we are living in tight times right now, so we might do some email based swaps to start off with ( think email penpals, etc ), and then we can do another swap those who are able to and feel comfortable with sending things via snail mail. This way, everyone can participate at whatever level they are able to and comfortable with.

Email or Tweet me if you're interested!

----- Why do I like Once Upon A Time? -----

As an Animator, Writer and former Disney World Cast Member, it's pretty much my job to learn as much about my craft as I can. Obviously, I enjoy a good story, otherwise I would not have gone into the field of Animation. I became an Animator because I wanted to tell Visual Stories. It's only natural that I would gravitate toward a show based on Fairy Tales that I have loved since childhood. 

I cannot recount how many in-depth conversations I have been witness to that revolved solely around some sort of Sporting Event, whether it be Football, Basketball, Baseball, etc. There are some people who can sit for hours and discuss game events, what they hope to see happen, etc. There are even some people who play "Fantasy Football," which is about as much of a sports fanperson as you can get. 

The point is, people have things they like. Some people like Football, I like Once Upon A Time. I don't think that I actually live in the show, or that it's real. I just enjoy everything about the show from the Art Direction to the Writing to the Acting. 

The show also inspires my Creativity. I, like any other Creative Individual, goes through creative blocks. I had been in a Creative block for some time and the show ( as well as the love and support of my Husband and Family ) sort of helped me through that. 

Also, it's always good to support your industry. Everyone enjoys Entertainment. Once Upon A Time belongs to ABC, which is a division of The Walt Disney Company. Supporting the show, means keeping jobs in my industry alive and well. And keeping shows like this alive keep creativity alive. Without creativity, the world would be a bland palette of greys, and who wants that? 

It's natural to have dreams and aspirations. We all want a Happy Ending. Even Woody Allen noted this in the film "Annie Hall." He lost the woman he loved, so what did he do? He wrote a play that featured the ending he preferred, not the real ending.

In a time where gas prices keep soaring up and up and where things are tight for so many families, we need something to keep our hope and our spirit alive. Shows, movies and plays like Once Upon a Time help us momentarily escape and forget our troubles, even if it is just for a brief hour. For that one hour, we forget about checkbook balances and recessions; we relax and enjoy ourselves. We get lost in the story.

And that's that. I'm off for now, as naptime is over! Happy Saturday!