Final Fantasy Collab

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Monk from Final Fantasy I

This week I joined a mega-collaboration! It's really fun to work together with others, I am looking forward to when we are all finished and get to see our accomplishment. The project is organized by Edward Recinos(http://edtertainer.tumblr.com) and we will be drawing nearly all the characters from all of the Final Fantasy games, and they will be put together when every artist has finished drawing his/her character. There are a few more characters available and nearly anyone can join, so rush to the previous tumblr link and grab yourself a character! I joined the effort later than many others so I had to race through the selections until I got a slot, which I was quite happy about. My character is the Monk, from Final Fantasy I. The earliest version I played was Final Fantasy II so I'm glad to have expanded my knowledge of the series.

There are loads of characters and just as many artists involved in this project and while the concluding picture will be really big, we are each doing a little piece of it. This is a wonderful reminder of how powerful we are when we utilize teamwork! Let's keep up the positive buzz so we can create a richer community.

Thank you again goes to Edward for putting in the time to organize this and giving back the community.

Have a good day. :)

A Kaayla Christmas

I made this for people to enjoy

it was enjoyed upon creation

much like opening a new toy

If I did it again

it would have the same spirit

Although both would remain unique

about how one would feel it

I'm an artist

if I couldn't create

then I would miss this

So I seize holidays

to procreate

and say Merry Christmas!

Genesis of denz

I think the beginning of this story may be similar to many others but I used to only draw Dragon Ball Z! Surprised? Probably not.. Around year 2000, when Toonami introduced me to DBZ, I was hypnotized and would spend much time drawing what I saw from the awesome series and dreaming of the adventures that were taking place. All my drawings revolved around DBZ for many years, so I wanted to show off some of my genesis into the art world:

It took me seven scattered days to finish the one on the right, haha.

This one was done on the day I turned twelve, dedicated!

I thought this one was EXTREMELY cool when I did it.

I didn't want to spend the time to draw Trunks' face, so I hid it behind Gohan's hair=). I still like this one though.

At the time I made these, between 2001 and 2004, I was happy with the results, but now what I am happy about is that I got these out of the way! I enjoy seeing my old work, and I enjoy seeing others' too, so maybe you can show yours off as well. Do it.

I'm not much into fan-art, I only do it on rare occasions, but I don't want to leave you with those pictures as your last thought, so just look at this one more time:

Thank you all and have a good day.

Sometimes I Get High

In the pursuit of a long term goal, we all experience the draining lows and the dizzying highs and one of the most important things to do is stay on the correct path during both seasons. Both states of mind have their way of presenting temptation to wander away, but confronting the situation head-on has always helped me to continue moving forward. 

This may seem cold, but I have found that maintaining a certain amount of indifference is a key to perseverance. Because working alone can feel lonely, having less concern for the effects aids in moving past it. That is a difficult thing to do sometimes because it feels torturous, but this reminds me of a statement made by my favorite comedian:

"Find the torture that you are comfortable with." - Jerry Seinfeld

Let's take notice that I am a visual artist and he is a comedian, these are very different roles, but the path to reaching excellence is so similar. We all get high and we all get low, yet we keep working, how? Each person has to make their own way, and build their own ladder. No person that I look up to can make me them and I cannot make any person looking up to me me. Here are five top tips I use for staying focused:

- When the work is all good, I receive positive energy and I can spend it and flaunt it on some fun activity, until I need to work again. Instead, I reinvest it by putting all the positivity back into the work, to make it better and promote a greater return in the future.

- Love the lows: How can anything be positive, if there are no negatives? I dream of the greener grass when I feel down, I know it is just over the hill and me attaining it is inevitable.

- Surround yourself with what is good for you. Just like food, whatever we put into ourselves, becomes a part of us. If we eat loads of fat, we get fat. If we fill our vision up with other people who are positive, kind, and peaceful, all that becomes a part of us.

- Analyze from the inside and from the outside. When I am judging my performance, I think about it as my own actions, but then I also look at myself as if I were a different person. This simply provides two points of view.

- Always keep in mind that past success is in the past, we have to make new successes to enjoy in the present.

Beautiful Mistakes

I want to share my thoughts about mistakes. The ones I am referring to are not so much having to do with life in general, but those made on the path to success. For me, that is being a great creator. I love what mistakes have provided for me, even when they cause so much headache. I don't intend to do things incorrectly, but I am aware that they are inevitable and help me become a more efficient version of myself.

Here is a specific example: I am a beginner in 3D modelling, so as I am working on it, I know what I am doing may not achieve my desired results, but is necessary to do so I can make grand discoveries. This process can seem frustrating, but it is part of the 10,000 hours. Keeping that in mind, the difficulties can actually become a delight! If what we are doing is uncomfortable, then that may be a sign of growth. Thinking about this reminds me of the movie Meet The Robinsons, by Disney http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0396555/. In that story, the main character, Lewis, is an inventor who eventually goes onto create things of magnificence, but during the path, he kept on eating dirt until he was finally able to stand up. The philosophy of embracing mistakes is really displayed in him and his family. Essentially, they throw parties when each other messes things up:

 

I am always aware that I may be making mistakes, but as long as I remember how to handle them, there is no negativity.

CTNX 2013 Summary

Saturday, the 16th, I attended CTN in Burbank, CA, and had a wonderful time! I met so many fantastic artists, it was wild. It would have been difficult to walk around and not be impressed with the work that was being displayed. And not only did the artists' booths look amazing, but many people brought some of their own gallery with them, which was great. Every person I met was kind and offered to show their work and would ask to see others'. There was a pleasant amount of diversity available to the attendees, so I'll give you the run-down, from the beginning:

 We road-tripped from Stockton, CA!

And I saw a 1-pound Snickers on the way...

As I was walking around I saw these on the side of some buildings and learned that there is a team of artists that painted this and paint new pictures here every month, that's pretty wild!

Waiting in line...

10:00 AM, finally entering!

I was instantly smacked in the face with a rich atmosphere of raw and creative talent! It felt like a dream being around so many artists at the same time, these are the same people whose work I view online, but it feels so different in person. It was thick, like I had to squeeze in between all the skill in front of me.

Throughout the convention center there were various areas to observe live work. Here was a station where some artists were showcasing and teaching about traditional animation.

Next to that was another station where a tablet was streaming on a television while various artists took turns working so people could watch.

Just behind those two, was one of my favorite features of the convention: the live model stage. For the entire day, this lady and man would skillfuly hold poses and change costumes for artists to draw them and work side-by-side. I love this! 'Tis a very nice way to approach others, because the work is already out and ready to show around.

This was a surprise to me, and a big one! Here, we got to question Drew Struzan, the artist who has been in the entertainment industry for a very long time, making many iconic pictures that nearly all of us know. The conference was about one hour but mostly open to audience questions, so that was nice. Here are some of his recognizable pieces:

LUNCH

Sean "Cheeks" Galloway had art displayed that I quickly recognized. I have seen his work online but it's nice to see the person. He gave me a quick critique and we talked about one of the stories he did the art for called Pearl of Pandaria! Him online: https://twitter.com/cheeksgalloway

J Scott Campbell is another artist who I immediately wanted to meet. I've seen his work all over online and was delighted to have a brief conversation with him. He told me about his experience in the creation of art before we had the internet as a tool. Him online: http://jscottcampbell.com/

Near the center of the alleys was another staged display of an artist having his work streamed for people to see, while being interviewed at the same time. It was nice to listen to him talk and work simultaneously but I started feeling for him when one of his answers to a question was explaining how difficult it was to focus on the work and questions at the same time!

This was one of my favorite parts of the entire convention. The Z-Brush area was constantly full of 3D artists showcasing the numerous capabilities of the software and providing us with techniques and answers to questions. One of the artists was telling us about his 3D printer that he recently acquired and the models he was able to print with it. They are different colors, because there are different types of materials that can be used for printing. He also told us about certain ways models need to be created so that they have the ability to even be printed. From this, I got the feeling that 3D printing is still infantile and will be getting heavily improved upon in the near future. This was a special thing to witness, because I think 3D printing will be huge. 3D Modeller - Robert Vignone: https://twitter.com/polysculpture

I was really happy to visit this booth! I loved the atmosphere of this area because these folks were particularly nice and relaxed with good conversation. Not only was Chris there but many of his students too, which was very cool because they ranged from beginner to advanced. This was helpful to passers because they could have conversations from various perspectives. Chris also provided me with a nice critique. Him online: http://www.chrisoatley.com

I had spent so much time walking and talking that I didn't even know it was dark outside, so I said my goodbyes to the people, for the time being, and shoved off.

As I was leaving, my buzz was still really high with the spirit of creation. I am very glad that I started attending CTN and plan to continue as long as I can. Overall, my favorite part was simply meeting other artists, we all may be on similar paths, but it seems like we are far apart when we don't work together and communicate. I will still be contemplating my attendance, but for now, what I learned from this convention just backs my belief about how important commune is. Work becomes loads easier when we are together. I am thankful to all the people who put this wonderful event together and to all the people who attended and made it how awesome it was! I urge anyone who can to be a part of CTN 2014 =). Now back to work.

CTNX Bound

This weekend I will be attending Creative Talent Network Expo(CTNX) in Los Angeles, an art convention with emphasis on illustration and animation! This will be the first convention I make appearance at and have high hopes. Taking my first steps into the entertainment industry, mingling with other dedicated creatives, and being able to add my own ideas to the mix has me really psyched to jump into some work. Nearly all that I have done has been a solo effort and I constantly dream about being in a creative-rich environment, not only to get some fantastic work done, but just to enjoy the company and conversation of other open-minded and innovative people.

I have a very small amount of friends who are artists, so I get very excited whenever I get a chance to meet new ones. Not to just conversate similar interests, but to feed the flames of ambition. Sometimes, when I work alone for a long time, I get the feeling that no matter how skilled I get, nothing will change or it gets difficult to gauge how much I am improving. I absorb that which is around me, so if I am in a lazy and apathetic environment, I will be spending all my time in pursuit of greener grass.

So let's get juiced up for CTNX and I look forward to all the wonderful people I see there, and to those I meet in the future!

I'll be posting my activity via Twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/denzelajackson