(Late...) Welcome 2014!

I've been losing sleep, driving myself crazy (er)... and wracking my brain over my lack of artistic inspiration and drive... and I still haven't figured it out! (Bet you thought I had an answer huh?.. Nope!)



I decided I'm going to change up a little bit of this blog instead of just randomly posting things I've worked on or completed, but I'm going to try to work through my issues on a weekly basis through routine. That's where the blog comes in. I want to have something to post.




First things first, I have many inspirations in my life. My husband, my family... but the major obsession is manga, anime and Japanese style cartooning. There's something so emotional and expressive about it and it seems to be lacking in today's United States cartoons.... among other things. When I was growing up (geeze, I sound old... back in my day...) cartoons had feeling, story and expressive faces. They were challenging and amazing to me back then but the older I got the less appealing they became. So I found myself turning to Japan cartooning and manga and it was like the magic happened again.



The first anime I was exposed to was Dragonball Z. Akira Toriyama's anime was at first strange and I was unsure, but the more I watched the more captivated I became. I even bought the Dragonquest 8 and Swords, just to see more of it. I was mesmerized by his ability to stretch the human form, but still maintain a realistic feel and show such expression at the same time. The anime turned me to the manga which I also fell completely in love with.



Then came along the more popular ones like Bleach, Naruto, Soul Eater, Blood + and Samurai Champloo. There are literally hundreds others that I could mention, but I would leave them for another time. Needless to say, Kubo Tite (Bleach) is among the strongest of my heroes, but I could not deny Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto) or Atsushikubo (Soul Eater). All of these inspire me and I desire greatly not only to make my own manga, but to do them justice. (Please forgive me if I do your names injustice... I am less than a novice when it comes to the language. Something I hope to remedy soon.) Lastly, but certainly not least... I have to say that Mark Crilley has been a great inspiration as well. His youtube videos are marvelous and easy to follow and his learn to draw books are turning out to be a fabulous lesson for me. Thank you Mark Crilley.

My rambling has gotten a bit long-winded, but I would like to change the blog up to try talk myself through my issues on this blog. If my rambles help someone else, I would be happy. If not, I hope they do not bore anyone too much. I am sure I am not the only one on the planet who's been in this spot.

I plan to remove clutter from my home and work space, focus on my art and immerse myself again. This time I'm using this as a way of keeping me honest by posting something at least once a week. If you don't see something, post something. Keep me honest!

p.s. Check Mark Crilley out on Youtube, just search Mark Crilley and you will find him. Also Amazon sells his visual novels and lesson books in paper back form and as well as kindle book form. Just put his name in the search and you will find him. Mastering Manga, Mastering Manga Level 2, Brody's Ghost and Miki Falls.
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