Kooky Creations and Ideations @kookycreations-blog - Tumblr Blog

Posts

I do mainly small-scale sculpts because supplies is expensive and funds are limited. I dream of creating a larger dragon, 3+ part mold. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I made a kickstarter! More info to come, but it's a start. Please, PLEASE share this around. It's the only way I'll get funding, if people see this and like my work, and see that I'm serious about it.

Curious Dragonling: Tutorial on Silicone Mold Making

So this is my first tutorial, and moreso than a tutorial, it's a story of how I made my mold. What I do, may not work for you, or it may work better than other methods. You never know unless you try. One thing that I will say though is that I rarely measure. I hate math. That's usually not a good mix for mold-making or casting, but somehow it works for me.

The Curious Dragonling

Supplies I Used: Plastic Container (2) Plastic Tube Castline (Sculpting Medium) Pin (2) Milk Crate Utility Knife Hot Glue Gun + Glue Rubber Bands Mold Release PlatSil 73-20 (Silicone, from BITY Mold Supply) EasyFlo 60 (Liquid Plastic from BITY)

So naturally you must first have a sculpt to cast. This is my Curious Dragonling, with a quarter for reference to the size. Normally I would post my concept drawings with it, but I actually did this sculpt without a picture. I use Castline to sculpt my figures. Before getting ready to make a mold, I keep my figure in the fridge or freezer for a few hours because it solidifies the Castline better and stops the sculpt from being messed up in handling.

So, I put the sculpt in a plastic food container, and pushed pins through the bottom to hold the sculpt in place so the silicone won't lift it and so it won't dislodge when tilted to help the silicone get into all of the crevasses. Hot glue helps to secure the pins, and block the silicone from oozing out.

I use hot glue to secure a plastic tube to the container, surrounding the sculpt. This helps to cut down on the amount of silicone used to make the mold. Remember to spray your sculpt and the inside of the tube with mold release at this stage! I have double containers, so I use water to do a basic measurement of silicone in one container, and use the other for my actual pouring. I hate math. Don't get me wrong, math is useful and all... but when you're disabled and get easily mixed up like I do, it's best for me to use this alternative method. After I have the water measurement, I write it down for future reference. Also, note the milk crate: great for setting the container on, so the pins can poke through the grate!

Here you can see what it SHOULD look like but...

This is what happened. See that ring of silicone? Good thing I had the container there! It stopped the silicone from seeping everywhere, so only a little escaped from the tube. The glue had a tight enough seal that the ring easily pulled away from the container and tube, but wasn't tight enough to cease all seepage.

The mold release should allow for the silicone mold to slip from the tube, but in most cases you'll probably end up cutting the tube.

I use an exacto/hobby knife blade to cut the pour hole of the mold. A utility knife works just as good! With Castline, you can cut into the sculpt but if your figure is solid like plastic or something you don't want damaged, you'll have to cut very lightly. The silicone cuts easy, so be careful to not apply too much pressure.

Next, use your blade to cut a squiggly ~~~~ pattern down the sides along the mold. If you've drawn a center line, use it. The mold materials that I use make the mold transparent so I could see through it easy to carefully cut along my mold.

You might need extra hands here. It's best to use one hand (or a helper's hands) to part the sides of the mold, stretching the edges very slowly. Then you can go in with your blade and slice along the figure for the equal halves and to get into those nooks and crannies, as well as cut any areas where the mold creates negative space.

Now we have a finished mold! Just squish it together and it will create a false seal against itself to help minimize flashing. Flashing is the excess residue along the edges of the cast.

So you can use a number of things to secure your mold. I'm using a cat collar in this image, but I recommend rubber bands or using electrician's tape.

I was a first timer, and I want people to learn from my mistakes just like I did. My first cast was horrific. The resin set up too fast, and I had used way too much trying to guess how much I would need.

My next attempt went way better. I had smaller molds on the side to use for overflow. To do the main measure to know how much resin I would need, I used my water method of filling the mold and pouring it into a measuring cup. It worked great!

So I waited 15min to 30min...

TAH~DAH! With some minor flashing, which was easy enough to peel off.

You can see here my casted figure (white) and the original sculpt (gray) side by side. Using the mold release helped keep the original in tact for the photo.

An army of cuteness!!!

And there's my finished piece after it's been sanded and painted with acrylic paints.

Want to buy one? Check my etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KookyCreations

Also check out my DeviantArt: http://kookycreations86.deviantart.com

#how to make a mold #making a silicone mold #dragon

Old News and a New Beginning

So! Welcome to my pre-post for the first post of reinventing my blog. I won't be ranting about my dad anymore or the chaos of bad things. Good things have happened since my last post. I'll list some of them here, and you can bet that I'll go into detail in some posts!

I moved out. (Trying to repair relationship with my dad.. Key word: trying) I have a mold-making and sculpting job. I've made new friends. I've met my hero. I'm managing my Etsy shop. My family has expanded. Mom and I are still super close and hanging out despite I moved out. (I moved four blocks away, lol) My wrist has healed from Karma's bite to the point I can draw again. It still hurts, but I can do what I love with less pain.

See? Good stuff! So what can you expect from my blog's future posts?

* Tips and Tricks on Craft Projects * Reviews on Materials and Supplies * Posts of My Work * Adventures in House Fixing and Crafty Decorating * Cartoon and Movie Reviews * Toy Reviews * Reviews on Events * Anything else I fell like writing about!

So look forward to some fun posts and good stuff! Also, fell free to ask questions and I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability.

Purgatory

Some good with some bad...

Good: #1: Phone: I've got my phone cut on. I'm not so cut off from the world. #2: Classes: I'm up to date in all of my classes. #3: Money: I've been able to sell some things, and I plan to sell more. If I keep doing this, I should be able to save up enough money to move and say goodbye.

Bad: Dad (That says it all)

Well, I'm also sick. I've caught my dad's cold that he had prior. My dad's been ranting and raving, enough for me to send a message to my school counselor and to leave an emergency email in my personal email drafts box, just in case someone finds a bullet in my head. This way they'll know where the bullet came from because it certainly wouldn't be from me.

My dad of course missed his appointment with behavior health, just like I predicted despite I had hoped not. He's scaring me more and more. We got into it.. and I told him he wouldn't be laying a hand on me or anything mine (meaning my laptop or Duke mainly) because he was making threats. When I said that, he blew up, and things escalated form there. I stuck by my guns though. He will not be throwing me around anywhere, or anything of mine. And if he does call the cops to evict me, well... I'll show them my blog and my journal and my outreaches and cries for help and he'll wish he never called them, because then his abuse will be on record and it will have been his own doing. Until he strikes me or does anything real damaging, I have no intention of calling the police. I say until and not unless because I honestly feel it's only a matter of time.

Since I have nightmares of his dog, and him, it makes sense. His dog, Karma, attacked me.. twice in less than a day. She sprained my finger in the door while I was trying to keep my hands safe from her jaws in the first attack, which resulted in a finger splint from urgent care. The second attack wasn't as bad because she only got my fingernail, but she took a quarter of the nail off my thumb and I had to trim it down to be able to be comfortable again.

Sometimes I feel that if he doesn't kill me first, his dog will. I'm starting to get more and more fearful, but not yet enough to leave my mom here alone with him, or sacrifice everything I've got and have been working towards to get away from his roof. I just need to tough it out through part of the summer, and then I'm gone.

Cut Off

It's getting harder to find the good. A lot harder. I always try to start on a good note, but as you can see I haven't wrote in a while because there hasn't been much good. Let's start with a try at being optimistic.

Good: 1) My cousin is doing good now after surgery for his heart. It was complicated and dangerous, but certainly not my business to broadcast all over the almighty interwebs. All anyone needs to know is that he's stable and recovering and doing good. And that's all that matters. :) 2) I'm setting up another blog for my "Robin" animation to keep this personal blog separated from it, so I can present it for class and such. 3) I still have my dog Dukey. 4) I'm not in jail. 5) I've met a really nice and cute guy.

Now with some bad, let's list and elaborate on the above... #3 and #4: Our *sarcasm* wonderful *end sarcasm* neighbors opened my gate and let Duke out. The result was him being hyper playful and drawing blood in a small bite wound of a snag on a husky that a man was walking down the street. Despite giving all my contact info and making a payment on the bill, I was taken to court. The judge saw priors on my address record, none of which were mine or the household's but it didn't matter, so instead of this being treated as a first time accident, it was seen as a fourth time incident with priors of biting at adults and children! So I owe a hefty fine and was only able to pay enough to stay out of jail because a very dear person close to my heart wired me the money. Oh, and I'm on probation and responsible for all dogs in the household, with the threat that if there's ONE reported incident that's proven, I will be in jail for a minimum of 90days and all dogs will be removed from the household. Keep in mind that my dad's dog always tries to jump the fence and run away, and he doesn't do shit about it. #1: While dealing with court, I was also dealing with my cousin's situation and worrying sick over him.. and dealing with worrying about my mom to boot. Oh, and my dad's drunken rantings and only centering on himself of course. #5: I'm worried I may be in such a bad place and too screwed up to be much of anything to this guy, and not sure if he's even interested, let alone ready. Additions: 1) The tire blew out on the van, causing me to miss more school than I already have due to court and being at the hospital. 2) I can't even afford the supplies needed to do a lot of my school work and am barely scraping by. 3) My cosigner and one of the strongest and most respected people in my life has fallen on hard times and it's no fault of their own, which totally sucks that they're going through this. 4) I need new glasses, may have a collapsed ovary, may have diabetes, am having teeth problems and pain, am almost out of needed medications, and have already suffered six major breakdowns/meltdowns contributed to one of my medications. And I can't afford anything. 5) As of March 1st, chances are I'll have to close down my booth at the Tri-County market. Despite being there from day one and putting up with them shifting us all over the place, they're raising rent to the full market price and I can't afford it and they're no longer willing to work with people over it. 6) My dad is going back on his word again. No surprise there. And his drinking is much worse. 7) Our phones have been cut off.

I'm exhausted :( It's 3am and I'm sleepless. I was sleeping down the stairs on the couch because Duke's having stomach issues, which means he'll wake me up periodically throughout the night to be let outside for potty. However, when sleeping, I woke up startled to my dad standing looming over me talking at me, and I spooked... which he naturally turned into my fault for being there in the first place.... despite I was only there to help my dog. He continued on with taking back his word about he's not going to call the number I gave him, which he asked for, to be evaluated for stuffs.... which he made a huge deal about at the time about doing it for me, for our relationship. I had wrote the number within moments of him wanting it, and even wrote a small note on specifically what he should ask for, because he asked me to. What else can I do? Especially since now he's saying I didn't do those things for him.. when I did... and this is all somehow my fault.

But it's always my fault.

Always.

I feel like I'm floundering in this purgatory of a life, this never-ending struggle to survive and squeeze through the cracks as the walls close in around me. With the phones cut off, I can't communicate with anyone. We can't even make calls in emergency cases. Nothing. Honestly with how my dad acts and things he says, he seems to need something tragic in his life to give him entitlement to act such a way, to give him the right, and well... part of me wishes I was stupid enough and pessimistic enough to kill myself, to give him what he ever so desires. Thankfully I'm not. Though really, I'm invisible to him unless he needs someTHING to yell at or use to make himself feel better or is feeling guilty.

I need to get out of here, find a place to rent in Hamtramck or something. That's actually very ideal for me, some crapshot of a home there where I can squeak by and manage. I could take the busses to get to school, be safe with Duke there to protect me, and be far away from my dad. The only big problem is right now, I have no job and all money I've made in the past few years has gone into this household, including everything I had previously saved up. I've stuck around to help, and mainly to be here for my mom. I worry about her and her health, and I won't lie but I worry about her with my dad too. His behavior scares me, but she says it's nothing too bad. That right there scares me most. He's already escalated by far.

I wish I'd win the lottery.. Enough for me to move out, and settle debts I owe or help out those I want to. Life would be good if I had that sort of a break. So I keep wishing, as I keep truckin' along and trying different ways at making money. My biggest hope right now lays with my crabass and other characters and sayings I'm putting on t-shirts to sell. More updates on that coming soon.

Wish me luck, for tomorrow's another day. Let's pray for a good one, or at least one with nothing "bad" to pile on to things.

Just Don't

Well last night was certainly no picnic. My dad drank. A lot. I'm sure he's bipolar and I wish to the heavens that he'd seek help. Last night he went a bit crazy, ranting and raving, blaming my mom for things not in her control, telling us what we think, what we feel, as if he could dictate our very emotions and states of being. he certainly was trying. he told us how we never loved him how we hate him and think he's an ogre. I've never said such things, nor has my mom. I've also never ever called him an ogre but he always claims I see him as one, which just isn't true.. and he'll never believe it. Ever.

He was screaming at us when we were in the basement, coming down the stairs just to try and pick a fight and yell. When i was upstairs, he'd come ot from the office to do the same thing to me... Such is a typical "conversation" if you can call it that:

Dad comes out from the office, I'm on the couch with my laptop, mom's in the basement... Dad: I'm downloading on my computer. I don't want you or your mom on there. Me: Umm.. okay.. Dad: Just stay off it. Understand? Me: I really don't go on it so I don't care... (while I'm on my laptop mind you, mom's in the basement) Dad: That's fuckin' right! You fuckin' don't care! You don't fuckin' care about me! You fuckin' don't care about fuckin' anything!! Me: No... I just don't care about your computer.

I try to handle things calmly.. logically, as such I suppose is stereotypical of a Libra such as myself. At one point he was exploding and my mom was in the kitchen, and I by the kitchen doorway. He made a comment about leaving us, and I replied something along the lines of "okay, whatever" and he went... Are YOU challenging me? *clenched his fists* Are you fuckin' challenging me?! *remove the gate and stomping-ly approached* ARE YOU FUCKIN' CHALLENGING ME?! .....At which point I backed away, when all the while I pointed out that no, I had been agreeing with him. Go figure. I shouldn't have stepped back. I was certain he was going to strike me. I nearly crapped my pants. When I took my steps back, he kinda laughed and went back into the office. I went into the kitchen, shaking and braced myself on the counter. Of course shortly after he came back yelling.

I'm afraid of him. I love him.. but I don't like the things he does and I HATE a lot of the things he says.

The next day he was quiet. Mom and I packed to go to the market, and he came out, gave her a kiss and told her to drive safely, then came to kiss me. I looked at him and said "Please, don't." I didn't want a kiss, false words of care. I want real love. I don't want his "I'm guilty and this will make it better" actions and words. He acts like he did and said nothing. He only apologizes to make himself feel better out of guilt. It's the same reason he goes to church, as he's claimed, "Going to church didn't fix me. I'm not a better person for it." Whereas going to church is not a cure.. it's a manner of worship, hope and praying. It's not about how much you donate, or how many times you go. Church is about what you take away from the sermons to better yourself and your life by your own actions and words in order to help you deal with the world around you. It is not a cure for being a bipolar aggressive and abusive alcoholic. By the way, I'm not religious, but that is my view on church and mass worship.

Just When It Seems Things Can't Get Worse...

THEY DO

Tuesday all hell broke loose... because my dog Duke did. We suspect our neighbors unlocked our gate, because our gates have been tampered with in the past, resulting in issues. Only with this, when Duke got out, he bit another dog, a husky that was on a walk with his owner. My mom was outside before I was, but I had zoomed past her to the dogs. The man kept walking forward and that made Duke jump around barking, reacting to it. I was barefoot and my feet were in ice slush and cut up from sharp rock salt, but I managed to grab Duke. As my mom was having an asthma attack, I had to pause to get my own asthma under control before I could walk Duke and my mom back to the house. The man, who's name I never got, said he was going to take me to court if Duke wasn't put down. I got my dog and mom inside, then snagged some boots and a coat and took my contact information out to the guy, so I could pay for the vet bill. His dog wasn't maimed and mauled, but had one puncture to the jaw and a tooth laceration on the head, so basically two wounds. He left, and I ended up called the police of my city to report the incident with animal control, you know, taking the pro-active initiative and taking responsibility. Naturally I had to tell my dad, which went relatively calm and surprised me. I actually felt a bit of pride and hope, like maybe because I told him calmly as an adult, he had changed and adjusted.

Wrong.

The next day, animal control came to discuss what happened. I had the dogs locked up and at that point in talking, it seemed our biggest problem was the fact that we have 4 dogs when our city only allows 3. We had 21 days to be ride of one of the dogs.

Today, Friday, my dad had Duke outside in our back yard when animal control came by and I was at the police station asking questions about animal control. My dad cannot control Duke for shit, because he's only once put in the effort to work him by attending one class, and refuses to do things the right way regarding Duke. This meant that he put on a very bad performance in front of animal control when trying to take the reigns on getting Duke to behave. Animal control told him the vet bill would be coming, and gave him an ordnance to give to me along with a ticket stating I'm being summoned to court at a "to be determined" date with a "to be determined" fine.

So for the past few days my dad has been on a bit of a drinking binge, ranting and raving, threatening suicide by shooting himself in the head, reminding my mom and I how this is all our fault, threatening to leave us, telling us what we think (Really it's what he thinks we think, but as far as he's concerned his words are the gospel truth about our thoughts) and making Duke's ordeal into all about him and how attached and heartbroken he is.

I can understand he's upset about Duke, yes.. and it's easy to fall in love with the doofus giant that is Duke... However, I draw this dog, I went to training classes with him and got him to graduate, I worked him at home, took him on walks, and there were nights I've slept on the floor curled up to my dog. I have a bag that looks like him and he inspires me, protects me, and always makes me smile and even hops in the shower with me so he can have a bath and scrub down. He listens to me, respects me, and generally seems to know I'm a bit fragile so he's a touch more gentle with me than with others and h cuddles me and plays with me. This dog is a MASSIVE part of my life. The most my dad has done is go to one actual training class, Duke's graduation, tried walking him once or twice and bitched about it, and let him outside and fed him when I wasn't home. Oh, and play with him sometimes too. Or just bitch about the dog...

My mom has done waaaay more too, since she feeds the dogs mainly, has been to every training class with Duke, and she's gone with me each time to take him to the vet and to help me deal with him at home.

I honestly.. truly.. do not know how I'll get on with life if I don't have Duke at my side. The current gameplan is...

Do school stuffs first Prepare for court Wait for court and the judge's say about Duke Decide what to do from there...

As is, we do have to get rid of a dog. If Duke is removed or... worse... killed... then we're our one dog down.... But I want to try to get him placed somewhere until I can move out. There's another option too... Karma.. She's attacked the other dogs multiple times, including Duke, she's old and her body is riddled with tumors and she's in a lot of pain, she also forgets to go to the bathroom when outside and both inside and outside, she doesn't seem to know that she's going and she makes a lot of messes mainly on my parents' bed. When we took Duke in months ago, it was seeming like Karma was on her last legs. My dad seems to be holding onto her and prolonging her suffering because she was his brother's dog. So if she passes away via natural causes, yes I'll be terribly sad, but I'll also hold on to Duke if able. I don't want to euthanize her even though she's in such pain and has really no doggy life... I'd miss her.. but I know my dad would claim it was done so I could keep Duke, and he'd blame me for killing his dog and claim I never loved her, and for the rest of my life he would hold such over me like he holds other things over me.

I don't know who reads this... but I was tipped off that a member of my family did, and felt disappointed hearing these stories online rather than on a personal level. For you: I'm so sorry.. I've only recently opened up on these issues, and such has been at "family functions" or visits, and due to the separation via ID cards and what not, being a country away, I haven't been able to see you and talk to you. I also didn't want to just.. drop such a bomb out of the blue in an email like that. I use my blog kinda as a journal and an outlet, and it's a way for me to write with no real thought or destination.. so while it's connected to FB, I didn't think it'd be actually read. I am glad though that this helps us keep in touch, and I'd like to do emailing and all.. but these days I just don't. It's like... being tied to writing in email seems so sterile and forced, and I have to censor things and change my tone. Here, I don't. There's no worries, no pressure, no expected read... I don't expect anyone to understand it really. But it is what it is. Anyways, I can talk more on a personal level, but it may seem sterile and forced, and I'm not always sure what I can vent to whom or how I can pose things, and I'm always worried my words may be taken as literal fact when I'm venting or sharing an opinion.. Granted with most stuff these days, it's all fact and my reactions and outlook. In short, I'm sorry if you feel left out or excluded over the gap. I hope you're caught up now, and if ever, email me, write me, and I'll be sure to write back.

Oh, as for school, I'm caught up and doing well, even ahead in two of my classes. Being ahead will help me with getting done stuff for my other classes and of course, Senior Studio which comes first... I'm also thinking of entering a few writing contests being hosted at my school.

Just a Touch of Sorrow

My new start to my new day started with a bit of tragedy. Kinky passed away in my hands this morning. He was just too sick, but he did go in his sleep. He was crawling to the front of the cage when I went into the room, so I picked him up. He didn't cling to me like he usually did when I've held him prior times. Holding him, he looked up at me then flattened out. I let him just rest there since he felt cold, despite the warm temp of the cage. He seemed to have drifted off since his eyes were shut and his chest still moved as he breathed... but then I noticed his chest's movement slowing... and then he was gone...

I wish SOOOOO badly people wouldn't get animals if they're not going to care for them. Pets are a commitment. They're not accessories, they're members of your family. They're basically animal "kids" that you have to care for, give attention to and clean up after. I still thank the young woman who handed him over to me. We both tried to do right by him, and although Kinky died, our efforts weren't in vain. I like to think his last few days were good ones, where he had a caring home, loving hands, good healthy gutloaded bugs, and a cage made for his needs with the proper environment. Still.. the loss is a sad one, and even though I didn't have him long, I took him in with the intentions of having him for his natural healthy lifespan and I cared for him and cared about him a lot. Losing him was just as bad as if I had lost one of the animals I've had for years. At least now thought he's not suffering, and he died being loved and knowing what real care felt like.

R.I.P. Kinky the Gecko

A Good Start to a New Year

New Year Resolution: Look at each day as a new start, stay optimistic, and believe in myself.

Things have been good! I'm back in school for my final year, I've cared for baby raccoons, I'm set on my "Robin" project and it's progressing well, and I've found a true love for ceramics.

Along with all of that, I'm hoping to get a job working with ceramics and molds through my business partner. Our business is going alrightish and we're working on new avenues and advertising. I plan to save up for one of the "big" craft shows to get us in there and I have new products to put out, including reptile hides and rock walls.

Speaking of reptiles...

Meet Kink, or Kinky as I call him/her. Kinky is a rescued baby mack snow morph leopard gecko who suffers from MBD, or Metabolic Bone Deficiency which was caused by starvation and lack of calcium. I love reptiles and I've been rescuing animals all my life. Recently I've been rescuing reptiles and Kinky is my latest pick-up from Ohio, where thankfully the person (not the owner) who handed him over to me was willing to meet me part way there. I don't know Kinky's gender and the markings and blue "mascara" eyes remind me of Tim Curry from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and well.. due to that theme and the kinks in the tail, the name Kinky just seems to work! I'll keep updating Kinky's life for better or for worse, but hopefully it's all uphill from here. After the initial force-feeding, Kinky began to eat on his/her own. I'm hopeful!

As for my school work... I'm loving my ceramic class. A lot. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to bring in my animation work and combine them, especially since we get to make molds! I'm so excited that I may be able to use my mold that I made the semester I had to take medical leave. Beyond that... I'm taking a writing class (woohoo!) where I plan to focus on my faerie tales. Now for the best part... I'm taking two animation classes. One is I'm re-taking the Maquette class where I make clay (sculpty) figures based off drawings of my own characters. I have one in process that I'll be finishing and one in mind to start. I'm also taking the almighty required "Senior Studio," where I'll be producing "Robin" and doing all of my character creation and animation in full. Thankfully it's split into two semesters and I have the summer to work on it as well. I have all of the basic write-up work done and come Tuesday I'll be showing my storyboards, design sheets and having my production book looked through.

On a note about family... my cousin Bobby Pierce passed away. I've always loved him even if i only knew him for a short time due to the divide of the family. I'm thankful for the time I did have with him, and it's good to know we shared artistic tastes and styles. He had some amazing work. Unfortunately my dad is threatening drinking again after quitting, trying to goad my mom and I into giving him permission by being upset, or at least that's certainly how he comes across. He's escalating, and has thrown food across the house and left it for my mom and I to clean up, and by breaking a dish, sent the shards everywhere. Naturally when he throws these tantrums and refuses to clean up messes he makes or that one of the dogs have made, mainly his dog, I shoo my mom away from cleaning it and try to handle it myself. She doesn't deserve what she goes through and regardless of how bad work is for my dad, he has no right to put her through the things he does or be so controlling. I'm still hoping he'll seek help soon, but it seems more and more unlikely. On top of that, I'm having escalating nightmares about my dad. They worry me, and I wake up screaming and crying and I yell in my sleep.

BUT! Back to the good stuff!

I got my first character copyrighted!!! I'm so excited about it and I'll post pictures soon, especially when I get it submitted for T-shirts. Yes, I'm making T-shirts and I'm hoping I have the next "Happy Bunny" phase, even if this one is geared more towards adults of all ages.

Bed calls to me, and tomorrow I have class at 8:30am... So wish me luck and if anyone does read this, I wish you a good day as well. I also wish the non-readers of my blog a good day too.

In loving memory of my cousin Bobby...

~Propah

Rough Times Behind, What's Ahead?

My medical leave was denied, and bills began pouring in along with debt.... until a letter from my doctor fixed it all. But shortly after that I fell down the stairs to the porch and face-planted in the rock-filled driveway... after giving up my upstairs for a week to my mom's friend, my "aunt" as I call her. Again I damaged my left side and now something is wrong with my nose. On top of that, my pup Duke was neutered but since then has become overly aggressive towards people and other animals. To top even that off, one of my other dogs, Cody, the eldest and nearly blind attacked Duke and tore up his ear. Duke did not fight back strange enough and the vet bills drained what little I had in my bank account. Oh, and Duke would have torn the vet's face off it he hadn't been muzzled.

*Sarcasm* To make everything even better */sarcasm* My dad is back to drinking. Wonderful, isn't it? Though he blames his job for it. Wonderful excuse. At least he still has one... for now. He's already had to be advised to take a day off due to his temper and then attend a meeting with his bosses.

At least I did realize one thing... Minus being terribly lonely, most of my own issues are caused by the medication I'm on, I think. Gabapentin.

* I've got those wonderful suicidal thoughts I won't be acting on. I'm at least too smart for that crap. * Clumsy and uncoordinated! Yea, that's a side effect and is probably why I walk into things and fall down a lot. *Accidental Injury! See above ^ * Fatigue and lethargic tendencies.... Yeup... Aside from my immune system being shot from that throat infection, I got the lethargic issue down along with sleep issues. * Insomnia. See above ^ * Immune System Deficiency. Yeeea.. see above the one above. ^ * Memory Loss. Yes, I have that horrifically and I ca-... Uh... What was I typing again?... No, really. This scares the crap out of me. I forget things quickly and easily and so I'm always making lists. It's scary how fast I can forget things, and what all I manage to forget..

There's a whole lot more crap too, including my issues with my skin conditions, appetite, metabolism, testosterone and more!

Ugh... I'm a bit tired of it all really. If not for the fact it takes away the pain in my neck and back and issues with my arms (which is what it's for) I'd switch to something else. But I'm afraid to do it, and doing so takes time and has lots of risk. Like seizures. How much do you want to bet that with my luck I'd get that too?

BRIGHTSIDE!!! Yes, there is one... and it has cookies... ...actually I lied.

No cookies.

I'm closer to being online with my business,which is good. I just need to get over my fears and be more confident in the matter. I'm just afraid I'll screw it up somehow. That worries me. Nobody in my family has ever been successful. Usually REALLY bad things happen shortly after success. I've been selling things by cleaning out the garage, which I hope to make another workspace out of for ceramics and woodworking. I'll need the room for my set building for my animation, which even though I'm miserable and sick, I'll be doing soon.

I have a wonderful inspiration in my life named Cynthia. She's like a mentor to me, a friend I've discovered for the first time but feel like I've known forever. She paints and draws realism, real people and animals and other life drawings and her work is amazing. When we talk, I become inspired and motivated, creative and optimistic. She's a wonderful friend and despite the difference in age, she treats me like an equal and not a student or a mere child. I like that a lot.

Projects.... Oh my oh my... I'm revamping my storyboards AGAIN and tweaking my character designs while I have the opportunity before doing puppet-building now that I have most of my supplies and materials bought and gathered. This helps to pass time while I get space for things to be built. On top of that, I'm experimenting with new techniques for my designs and as a side-project just for a break while still being creative and getting my writing urge done, I'm creating a RPG (Roleplaying Game) that contains stuff I like form multiple gaming dice systems and my own tweaks to fix things I don't like. It's about zombies and strange enough... my mom is helping. I'm fascinated that she's actually interested in this and she thinks I should do the illustrations myself and try to market the game after doing test-runs with groups to see how it plays out.

I'm also losing weight. It can be a combination of not eating, my medication, my low carb diet, and my sugar-free-ish-ness. I stick as sugar free as I can and I watch my carbs, but I don't always eat. I honestly forget to, which is a problem. I'm just... not hungry usually. It's a good thing though, to lose weight. But I'm not sure if it's being done properly.

I'm trudging along though. I'm still making people smile, infecting them with my charisma and bringing a bit of laughter and entertainment to their lives. That makes me happy and feel useful, especially since I have a hard time doing much else due to my health. So long as I can get some work done, I think I can rebuild my confidence in order to do what needs to be done and then take it from there and make things improve further. I'm hopeful and remaining cheery, and I think that may be one reason people oddly flock to talk to me sometimes, even if we don't always keep in touch. If I can make a stranger smile or even laugh, I know I've done my job.

I'm an entertainer. I'm an animator. I am animated. ~ Jessica Pace 11/12/10

Medical Leave and a Brightside

Well... I had fully planned on getting through school a-okay.. Unfortunately yet another medical problem will keep me from that. I have to take a medical leave from school because of my throat, the stress and the medications and tests and appointments. Sadness.

At the same time, it'll be good for me to get some rest and recover instead of having my body ransacked by the infection as I strain and stress myself to do things. While I am taking a break, my work is my hobby... I write, I craft, I create. I plan to do those things still, even my school projects... Just at a much slower pace and what's comfortable for me, with no strain of "falling behind."

Brightside! There is a bright side in the darkness.

Trying to dwell on the "good" going on, I had a fantastic experience with one of my projects that I just had to share.

I made a mold in my ceramics class. It was supposed to come out tonight, but I took the clay out yesterday. The first image is the board with my design on it. I had to fill the clay in to the design. The second image is the clay that is the positive. See the plaster around the clay? That's because the clay that was used to make the mold popped right out and stuck to the board. I thought I did something wrong at first because I know some people had to dig their clay out. However, apparently mine popped out because I'm lucky and the mold came out perfect so there were no undercuts to hold the clay in! YAY! The third image is the end result, a mold that I can use to reproduce my dragon claw design. I'm rather proud of it. It's the first thing that's gone right for me in a while and it looks fantastic. I just wish I knew the best way to actually clean the mold!

Beyond the Horizon

It's tradition for my teacher, Steve, to take his Senior Studio class to the presentation room and have us just.. stare out the window..

It's beautiful, really.

Look to the horizon At one little city A city that is one of many Somewhere in the midwest Look to the horizon For one day that will be a different window A different window for everyone Opportunity Life

It was an inspiring thought. I think I'll make a habit of looking out the windows of the buildings I go to, the companies and familes I get to be a part of. It's a unique, special sight, to gaze at the world beyond and know that one day your work will have the potential to affect the lives of others.

New to Tumblr

Well.. I originally had to sign up to this for my Ceramics class, however I'm finding I REALLY like the layout and setup and I think I'll use this for a LOT of my thoughts! Granted, I'm not sure if anyone will be reading my thoughts really, but it's nice to get them out there all the same.

This is my last year in college for Entertainment Arts, or as I prefer, Animation. I'm going to have a full work load, but I know I'm going to love it in the long run even if I hate the stress at times. It'll be fun. I tend to have the best luck when I'm rushed and "on the clock" so to speak. I look forward to the work and time I'll have to focus on what I really want to do. This is my big Huzzah-Hurrah, my final piece (while in college) that will show EVERY technique, method, and all know-how and everything that I have learned. All my time in college has literally lead up to this.. this animation. My animation.

Well, now I've posted what I "do" so I guess I should post about what I like as well.

Likes 80's Cartoon Theme Songs Fruit (Yum!) Everything about the medieval age and fantasy (Dragons included!) Crafts (Ceramics, Hand-building, Slip-casting, Mold-making, Metal Puppet Construction, Stop-motion Puppet Construction, Wood Burning, Naturalistic Creational Crafts, Concrete Stepping Stones, Props and Plasti-crafts and soooo much more!) Drawing! Mainly my characters and dragons, mostly animals and creatures. Kinda sorta working on humans... STORY DESIGN! (I love, LOVE, LOVE writing. I love making characters and bringing a story and concept to life. I love being the person people come to for loopholes and twists in their stories, for ideations and more. I love to write. I love to create. Writing is the oldest form of creationism and communication. Writing is made of symbols, images that represent something, and that is what I love.) Animals

Dislikes Humans (Humanity in general as a populace.. I can explain on that one later) Making Self-Portraits (Up until recently I never considered myself anything more than ugly but as I've noticed the world reacting to me, observations have come together like a puzzle. While I may not be beautiful, since people say I'm cute and think I act cute and charismatic, I have concluded that in the world of appearance socialism, I must be "cute" by general consensus. Hey, it's a step up from ugly!) Drinking/Drugs (Even if it's not substance abuse necessarily, I still don't like it. I just don't do it and don't like being exposed to it.) Lack of willingness to listen (Yep.. I think everyone IS entitled to their own opinions, but I also think that if someone's opinion is different, they should still be heard and it should be tolerated, not necessarily accepted. When others are unwilling to listen to another's words to hear them for what they are, ideas get squashed and that intolerance grows and fuels their own anger when their own opinions are not heard and ideas get squashed. It's a cycle and I just don't like it.)

Oh and on a side-note about me, I also do animal rescues and run a small craft business with my mom. Yay!

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Kooky Creations and Ideations