Essex rock band sketches & happy sunflowers

Last weekend me and my boyfriend Rafe went down to Essex for our friend Phil and his ex-house mate Chris's joint birthday. It was great to get to see Phil and Liz again, the problem when friends are dotted all over the country is how little you get to see each other because everyone works and most free time ends up clashing. So the Essex house parties are usually those few pin-pointed opportunities during the year where everyone is back together and gets to have a good time with silly costumes and alcohol a-flowing.

I'm a Sunflower from plants and zombies and Rafe is a bio-mech warrior from a game thats name escapes me. Both our costumes were a bit quickly made, last year of uni doesn't leave much time for art attack moments, so there was a lot of quick fabric paint and tin foil.

Here's a more forward shot so you can see my sun flower. I spent most of the night with wine dancing in the corner like a little sunflower. If you haven't played Plants Vs Zombies I fully recommend you do, I bought it on Steam for £4 and it is the most over played game in my collection.

During a rock band session my camera died so I decided to sketch a few people to remember the mass musical session.

Phil - manic on the drums to the left.

Tom - tentative with the keyboard on the right

Grum to the left on the bass or possibly the guitar with leanne to his right.

The lovely Liz to the right with a pair of ears from someones costume

Finally (my lovely) Rafe while he was singing to Deftones.

Presentations and snippets of work

Just got back from presenting the work in progress to the 2nd years, it was nerve wracking yet exhilarating, I love our idea for 'The Full English' its all planned out and I think our idea is unique enough that it will be remembered at the festivals. I'm feeling really positive about this now and we already have 4 assistant animators  : )

Here are two of them, our stop motion girls. So feeling a good vibe from their work and I think we can make a really beautiful intricate set with these guys.

http://vimeo.com/user5481393

http://vimeo.com/user5378742


There is also one more girl who has shown interest and with all three of them I think things will flow a lot easier on the production side. I love the amount of small details that make up stop motion sets, like the texture of the bricks or the small painting hanging on the wall.

Here is where my designs are so far, I think I need to pull a few more long drawing days. Just me, a large coffee, my wacom and series 8 of project runway playing in the backgrounds.

My Egg and she lives and shimmies.

First version of the club logo, I'm probably going to work more detail around the edges and the front doors. I love the the metal work on the door it's my version of some original art deco doors from a cafe in Ethiopia. The top of the doors will have a stained glass motif incorporating cutlery. 

A page from my sketchbook full of random little art deco sketches, parts of architecture and accessories that inspire. Note to self : scan, collage, sketch.

These are two of the stronger frames from the start of the storyboard, where the Toasty soldier goes backstage to try to talk to Eggie. Leaving her a mysterious envelope shouting "I know who you truly are!"




On a more personal tone I've been getting loads of books out of the library on fashion, textiles and garment construction. It's always been an interest of mine but not a strong enough one to make it a career. Maybe it will be my little side project that keeps me sane when I get sick of staring at a computer screen.

I've also been making my first ever bag as a place to store my crafty things, it has a beautiful print on it called "Afternoon Tea". Hopefully I will complete it soon and post up pictures.


TTFN

Sarah

Material, storyboards and long caffeinated talks

Hello Blog world,

so far my new year has been  pleashant mix of active and slothful. For example today I have spent in my pyjama's but I've also been sitting infront of the computer with my lovely boyfriend getting my Mom's face painting website done. Not completed yet but getting closer to completion, Rafe scripts and programmes, I design and push things around the screen till it looks pretty.

Here it is so far *drum roll please* ......... Powwow Face Painting

*Pause*

I think Rafe is watching a weird cult/ telecommunications advert dvd O_O ..... beware they are every where ..... sounds like a pyramid scheme...... I don't trust his happy expression..... its Telecom plus : S

*update* its either a pyramid scheme/ scam or the job of a telecommunicator 20 minutes of people saying how they made money and not saying how, you have to contact the person who gave you the dvd to get any info"

*un-pause*

Back to the point I've been buting fabric to create my own little craft bag (a bag to fill with wool, felt, half complete projects and spools of thread) I bought a great pattern called afternoon tea which is dotted with cups, teapots and sugar lumps. I'm going to buy the rest of the fabric back in stoke as there are no fabric shops left in wolverhampton.

I also had a good catch up with Liz from college, it was really great we sat sipping caramel coffee and updating each other on what had happened in our lives. Now we're both on our final year social intereaction just got that little bit harder but we're gonna try and have another catch up before graduation or shortly after.When we went shopping it was just like old times, getting each others opinion in the changing room moaning about ridiculous prices on the tiniest piece of sparkle. Nice to know that the good friends you can just hang out like no time has passed.

On the shopping front I have purchased many pretty things but my most recent favourite is a purse with enough pockets to hide the time space continuim in (oh yea someones been over dosing on doctor who) it also appeals to my bohemian side, the side that wants to dress like a hippy and eat tofu, until I remember I like meat : )








However on the work front there have been many scribbles and here's the first few frames of the storyboard for the amazing animation I will be collaborating with the awesome Emma Bulpitt about the forbidden love of a toastie soldier and his beloved egg. Set in a burlesque theatre ofcourse :D

TTFN

Sarah-mon

Misty Road

A misty road from stoke-on-trent to Edgmond. Well what I can remember of it as I was driving along whispering "Silent Hill......Silent Hill!" in a weird voice.



HAPPY NEW YEAR PEOPLE OF THE BLOGGING WORLD.

New years resolution:

(It's a 3 part resolution)

• To draw each day
• Finish my crafty projects instead of just starting them
• Launch my own website

Ciao 

Birthday presents and the such like

A few days late as it is no Christmas day, a wonderful white christmas with cars sliding to and from every where quite dangerously. Any way here is my birthday joy in picture form.

 The overwhelming joy of birthdays above.
I received:-

• Robot necklace
• Pyjamas
• Oriental serving set
• A mouse from the Gruffalo
• A sailor-esque t-shirt
• Art deco mug
• A zombie guide
• The first walking dead comic
• Bunny suicides book
• How to live safely in a science fiction universe
• A pencil ring
• and finally some chocolates (can't have a celebration with out them)

 This is also a hand - made card by my good friend Emma (also known as Teacups and joy) she knows my love of the clangers ....

sorry just had a pause to have an arguement about Doctor Who with my dear mother and her inability to tell the difference between volume and channel selection. >_<

so she decided to make it extra special for my birthday. Which is really nice because when your birhday falls so close to a major event people tend to overlook it. Not on purpose but it just happens when there;s so much going on.

To end I shall just say Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Till next time x

Waiting for my birthday ... : )

Just popped a few more logs on the kithcen woodburner. The Beagle was shivering, little mite.

I've just got home today for Christmas, packed more clothes than I could physically wear in three weeks and transported my P.C in its entirety back from Stoke-on-trent. I find it really hard to start writing now a days I used to write so much when I was convinced I'd be the next J.K Rowling, maybe I should try writing 500 hundred words a day then I'd find it easy to translate my scribbly thoughts.

Any way back home and its my birthday tomorrow so pretty excited, I'm turning .... ba ba baaaaaa .... 22. So much more sophisticated than 21 I believe, but its not that much of a difference really, I never have many big plans with it being so close to Christmas. A lot of people have spent their money on presents,  decorations and giant turkey's, so very little is left for paintballing or laser questing. Though I did get to see the new Harry Potter with some friends, it has to be my favourite one so far cinematography wise the imagery was just breath taking. Yet there was a scene of a certain sexual nature which never should have been and involved bleaching of my eyeballs shortly afterwards.

I finished my First semester of my final year. Though I learnt alot about time management, the more I look at it the more I think I could have done so much better, ah well onto the next semester.

Here it is:
The Beagle and the Shoe

Sorry only displays youtube vids for some reason :(

For  the rest of the night I believe is to be based around wine and comedy on BBC2.

Shall be posting soon about a project involving a burlesque egg called "Mistress Ouef"

sleepless nights so close to deadline

I have about 6 days left till a massive hand in and such little animation done (and so much left to do)it would make an industry professional qualm at the very sight of my schedule.

I am one of those people who is very good at making lists yet I either under estimate or over estimate the amount of work I can get done in a day, so my notebooks are full of so many to do lists the only one that doesn't make me feel inferior is my grocery list.

A few days ago I decided to get my sleeping pattern in order, to get my full 8 hours and lose the excuse of late nights for late starts. It lasted a day O_O as you can probably tell as I'm posting this at 2.32 a.m. Damn that one day of getting up on time was good, maybe thats why I don't want to go to sleep, afraid I'll sleep in and miss my Animation futures hand in. Thats the minor project which I've been slaving over the last few days and though it looks awesome and brought my folder to a quite substantial size (so much so I think it could be used as a deadly weapon if the situation ever occurred) it has left me irritable incomplete and sleep deprived.

I can't even drink till after my hand in because one glass of wine and my animation turns very questionable :S

Here is one visual achievement, I love my little business card design.

Top = back
Bottom = Front

P.s yes it is me and my mussy hair

I shall now love you and leave you. Sleep tight and appreciate those 8 hours if you are one of the lucky few getting them :)


Over and out x