chaerforce-blog

[chaerforce-blog]

Little me loved art too

A long, long time ago…

Before My Little Pony stopped being the butt of everyone’s jokes…

My inspiration came from other media.

Shocking, I know.

If you expected my inspirations to be anything similar to My Little Pony, though, you’d spend all day wondering where my inspiration came from.

Aside from the obvious action-packed (and sometimes parkour) inspiration I got, the show Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) and the video game Assassin’s Creed (AC) both developed my interest in art.

How?

Well, it’s simple actually.

They both involved the Renaissance period, and the Renaissance was a golden age for the arts.

And besides, the art from that period captured my interest—and my heart ;u;—before I ever realized it.

The Ninja Turtles didn’t have much to do in terms of Renaissance art itself, but if definitely planted some roots into my brain. Leonardo and Michelangelo (improperly named Michaelangelo in the earlier years of TMNT) were my two favorite turtles.

Years ago an episode from the show explained the origin of the turtles’ names, and I got intrigued because their names were related to artists from the Renaissance.

It made me wonder why they were each given their names: was the Leonardo that the turtle was named after also a leader among people? Was the Renaissance Michelangelo as silly as the Michelangelo portrayed by the turtle?

The mind of a child really gets far.

So, because of all those questions running around in little me’s head, I decided to research them.

So while I researched the two artists, I realized that Renaissance art had a lot to do with realistic drawings and drawing from life. So, I studied their studies and tried to imitate their drawings because I thought it was something challenging but also worthwhile to put effort in.

As great as that idea was, I actually ended up spending waaaay too much time looking up work I wanted to imitate rather than actually drawing some of the images I found online.

Ah, youth.

But after realizing I didn’t actually spend much time drawing, I ended up feeling deterred and began to withdraw my efforts to improve my technique in sketching and black and white drawing.

Instead of practicing anatomy like I wanted to, I resorted to stick figures for my doodling. But that got boring. I mean, they’re stick figures. After a while it just gets way too simple for me to have fun with.

So, I ended up waiting for the next burst of inspiration to hit me. If it ever came.

And then, I discovered muses!

I began drawing people I found interesting, for obvious reasons of they’re interesting. But my interest in them was an important part of my inner motivation to draw. But soon I became irritated with the level of difficulty in drawing humans because I still aspired to be capable of creating drawings with the level of detail and precision that the Great Artists were able to conjure.

Rather than drawing, though, I dedicated my time to playing video games. I would never be able to play for long period of time because of motion sickness, but one game was an exception.

Assassin’s Creed was so fun for me that I played that game for hours and hours.

What was so fun about it? Why of course, the use of parkour!!

Although this game wasn’t my first introduction to parkour, it definitely encouraged me to actually look into what parkour was all about. I really wanted the agility of my favorite character. I wanted to be an Assassin.

With this desire, I did my best to travel all around the different cities of Italy within the game, and slowly I began to take a closer look at the different building structures I’d have to navigate through.

I realized that those buildings were actually constructed well, and I remembered learning about how Italians really made improvements in terms of architecture.

I felt more and more of a need to begin that practice of studying art through imitation, but instead of imitating another drawing, I’d sketch down an imitation of buildings that have been rendered. This encouraged me to try thinking about how I could draw characters within a landscape, rather than leaving them floating on the paper.

As I advanced in the game, I began meeting more of the characters in the storyline.

SURPRISE! Guess who became friends with the character I played?

Leonardo da Vinci, a great artist and crafter!

It was so cool to see some of the many things da Vinci was famous for rendered within the game, and I even became interested in creating physical creations on my own!

I researched what items from the game I could try to create, and found a website with a tutorial and a template for the hidden blade. I followed the pattern instead of printing out the template, and soon created a hidden blade out of paper! Sadly little me was bad at documenting my artwork.

But it’s really wild how all of this exposure through a show and a game somehow made my childhood more bearable AND provided motivation for me to continue pursuing art.

They provided the options by showing me how many different ways art can come through in someone’s idea.

All that was left for me was to figure out what kind of style I wanted to embody from my own ideas, and utilize anything I’ve learned from all of these sources into my work.

[chaerforce-blog]

My not-so-secret art playground

I wish I’d discovered this place sooner.

A phrase heard very often about the Craft Center.

Why? That’s because it’s AWESOME!

The Craft Center is a recreational facility within the university that offers various studios for students at the university and people within the community.

Basically, everyone’s invited to participate in one of our crafts.

And we have a lot.

We’ve got: ceramics, screen printing, wood, glass, jewelry, flameworking, welding, arts and graphics, textiles, and photography!

That’s TEN DIFFERENT STUDIOS!

One of my favorite labs is Ceramics (it’s also the most popular one), because I love making pottery. But not just any pottery; I seriously enjoy crafting pots around the size of a quarter.

Something about making tiny pots presents itself as a challenge to me. It’s very uncommon to see something made so small.

The pieces are so simple, but the process is actually complex!

They have a form that’s hard to create at such a size, especially if it’s something like a miniature bottleneck vase.

Working on less difficult forms like a round pot is not as difficult, but is also a fairly tough task. Size really does matter.

Ceramics isn’t the only reason the Craft Center is a great place, though. There’s so much more to it that just makes any visitor feel great to be there.

The community there is an integral part of what makes the Craft Center a lively place. Art majors or not, all the people there just want to make something that they can be happy about.

It’s a place where people who enjoy art and creating art can come together and engage in their activity all in one large, welcoming space.

We offer a lot of classes for each lab, and I can’t wait to take a class in as many studios as I can.

Actually, I’ve already started.

This quarter, I took the Precious Metalsmithing class in the Jewelry studio. It was great! I made myself a ring!! AND IT SPINS.

The cool thing about this place is that you don’t always need to take a class in order to use a lab.

With a few exceptions, the majority of studios allow participants to use one as long as they go through an orientation for that studio. If they pass that orientation (and they usually do), they pay for a quarter pass that works as your pass you use that quarter for any of the labs you’ve been given access to.

I haven’t taken a class at the Craft Center for ceramics or photography, but I’ve been given permission to use both the labs for it.

The darkroom there is actually pretty nice. They do things a bit differently compared to the one inside the Art Building on campus, which shows how important it is to get that orientation.

People do things differently, so it’s important that they understand how things work around here specifically, because you know, dealing with chemicals and potentially dangerous tools... so like, safety first?

But after understanding how the system works, you can CRAFT AWAY~

I love making little pots.

Miniature pottery is my style. It’s something I will happily do consistently. It feels like one of those mediums of art, or just art in general, that I can easily find inspiration and motivation for.

I just need access to it. And being a volunteer helps. I get free studio access while we’re open.

But if I were a manager.

If I were a manager, I’d have the keys. 

Just imagine being SMACKED with an impulse to craft something, anything. If I had that late night craving to create art, the Craft Center would be my giant playground of opportunity.

That’d be so cool.

I should try to be a manager at the Craft Center.

Yeah, I think I will.

[chaerforce-blog]

A Time the Internet Actually Helped Me Socially

I am often asked, “Who’s your favorite artist?” based on the fact that I’m in Art Studio.

As much as I’d love to reference my childhood favorites, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, my favorite artist is now Lauren Faust.

Then I get the question, “Who is Lauren Faust?” And I respond with, “she’s the person who created the reboot of My Little Pony”.

Cue the confused/shocked/slightly disgusted reactions.

At this day and age it’s STILL “not cool” or just cringe-worthy to others when someone proclaims any approval towards My Little Pony and the franchise.

But, SURPRISE!!! I’m a Brony!!!

Ewwwww! A brony! Those are gross! But… what are they?

Story time! 

There’s no set definition for the term “brony” and how it originated, but most agree that a “brony” is simply “bro” and “pony” fused together.

Typically, a brony is just a (usually male) adult human who actively supports My Little Pony and becomes invested in it.

The reason a brony is usually an adult is because the show is quite obviously aimed at children, but somehow gained huge interest among people 18 to 35, and many, many of them are male. 

Another reason is that people began posting My Little Pony content (memes and other fun stuff) on the website 4chan, a place where anyone can post just about anything while remaining anonymous. Most of the people who use this website are adults, as the contents within that site can range from safe for the public to extremely unsafe for work environments.

Of course, being a fan of the show is different from assuming the identity of a brony. There definitely are similarities, but a brony has gone slightly beyond simply watching and enjoying the show. Many bronies have actively supported the franchise, possibly by buying a few things here and there, either official products or awesome fan-made creations (like this).

Bronies differ a lot from one another. Some mildly invest their time and money into the franchise, and others try to collect as many different objects as they possibly can.

I would consider myself somewhere slightly more towards the ones who mildly invest, but I do remember going to a Brony convention twice in my life and spent way more than I intended to on both occasions. My budget was $80, but I may have gone over triple that. Autographs and photos with the show’s voice actresses and actors cost a bit, but they were worth it.

But why is My Little Pony so interesting to me and so many other people?

Although I can’t speak for everyone else, I believe that My Little Pony has gathered all of this attention because it’s a show that deals with actual social issues on a scale that ANYONE can understand (it’s a show for children—if you can’t comprehend a show meant for children, then something is wrong).

The first episode already presents itself as a story where the main character, a female pony (yes for more female protagonists!), is basically sent to a new town to literally make new friends. And while she’s trying to adjust to the new town, an actual villain appears that threatens to take over the world!

Enter second episode, where the main character (along with 5 other ponies who she met upon arriving at the new town) faces various obstacles in order to fight the villain. Throughout the journey, each pony (in their own way) shows that friendship overcomes hardships, especially together.

Those two episodes became a spark that led to a swarm of grown men rushing into toy stores and buying a ton of My Little Pony toys and figurines. No joke.

With this sudden wave of popularity among adult men, more people began taking note of the pony fandom. However, one of the websites people would visit was the 4chan domain for bronies. 

Within that community was a wide range of people, but the discussion threads that were the most popular just so happened to be some of the most controversial.

It mostly consisted of people trying to ridicule My Little Pony supporters with memes of My Little Pony. 

But the fans began to fight back with more memes and forming a group among each other, later developing the name “brony”.

Ultimately so much happened that the thread was actually shut down and 4chan banned any and all posts of My Little Pony, leading many bronies to branch out to other websites such as Equestria Daily and Fimfiction.

And now the majority of people think all bronies are creepy adult men with no social life.

But for me, My Little Pony is what brought me into having a social life.

As a child growing up, I disliked the idea of going out and having to talk to other people. 

But watching the show sparked something in me. 

It made me wonder if people could actually be friendlier than they initially seemed, and that kind of thinking led me to start opening up to others little by little.

I began researching more about the community of the bronies online, hoping to one day meet a fellow brony or pegasister (an adult female who enjoys the show, based off of “pegasus” and “sister” put together) in person.

While exploring the Internet, I discovered that a large amount of bronies actually made fanart of the characters. Some people drew the characters as they were depicted in the show as accurately as possible while others drew them as humans or some blend in between pony and human. 

With this new found fascination, I began drawing again after some months of artist’s block in high school.

I practiced drawing my two favorite characters, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, constantly. I first started off by imitating screenshot images of the two ponies, and slowly began drawing them by memory. There’s a basic system to how the ponies are drawn, just like how we draw humans or actual horses based on their anatomy.

Seeing all of the digital renderings of the show’s characters inspired me to try doing something of that sort myself. I began a small scale project, drawing my favorite pony Rainbow Dash without a background image. It took me about a week before I finished it, since I was so excited with this new kind of experimentation.

Months later, I found out about the convention that was happening in the SFO region, and I was determined to go. Andrea Libman, the voice actress for Fluttershy (and Pinkie Pie), was going to be there! I wanted an autograph from her onto a piece of my very own. I set out to create a larger scaled piece, and with a background. It took me two months before I finally completed it, and just two days before I went to the convention! But I printed it out and proudly had her sign it for me, and we took a photo!

My Little Pony used to be something that I intended to ridicule along with the rest of society. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t because something about it really made me think about the concept of friendship, and how friendship can potentially be life changing for someone. It made me think about all the possible good in life that I could learn to appreciate, and made me want to show my newfound appreciation through art.

[chaerforce-blog]

Artist’s block sucks

Ah, the skies are blue and the grass is green. It’s a good day, what could go wrong?

You take out your favorite pencil and grab a nice, smooth piece of paper and begin to start sketching your next project.

But wait.

What is the next project?

You try and try but you just can’t think of what to do. You scratch your head in confusion, give up for the time being, and make yourself a nice snack. You come back to your desk to begin the new project (again). You grab your pencil, connect it to the paper, and—nothing.

NOTHING IS COMING TO MIND. WHY???

You have access to all the materials you need right now, and you started out in a pretty good mood! You have that awesome feeling that you want to create something! But you can’t.

Welcome to artist’s block. I’m sure you’ve had some sort of experience similar to this before. (And if you haven’t, well, lucky you. I wish I could relate.)

Artist’s block is definitely an issue that most, if not all, artists have dealt with at some point in time.

But more importantly: is there a solution?

Well, maybe. 

Something like artist’s block can really stop people from getting work done if there isn’t any quick fix to get back to work.

It’s even worse if an artist has artist’s block on a commission for a customer. Having a lack of inspiration despite having all the necessary tools, and on top of that a time crunch to create something to present to the customer, is extremely difficult.

Luckily, I haven’t personally dealt with something like that because I just haven’t commissioned anything for anyone.

I already know that my flow of inspiration comes and goes—no need to make that harder right now.

But regardless of that due date, it’s always ideal to try to overcome that creativity block so that the artist can get back to fulfilling their passion.

One idea to overcome this state of despair is to try new mediums every now and then because it opens up doors to new work being created. That idea has been supported by many art professors, and my friend who is extremely invested in art.

OK, new mediums!

My photography professor is already heavily encouraging me to write more for the writing component in class, so I’ll just change mediums from drawing to writing!

How convenient for me, to be given another chance (besides this class) to change up my pace!

Anyway, my film professor believes the writing portion will help bridge language and words with my photos.

So, what does that mean? For me, it means that I will be writing plenty this quarter with the aim of alleviating my artist’s block of drawing!

I wish I could say I could switch to photography as my medium to get out of artist’s block, but it seems like my inspiration has been drained from that craft too.

But for the photography class, my professor wants me to dive into the writing portion of the weekly assignments, to explain all the little choices I make and why I make them. His teaching style is actually a lot less constrained than I expected it to be.

But he also expects our final project to have a very clear constraint.

In my writing, he hopes that I will learn more about what kind of art I want to make, and what direction I’ll take for my final installation of prints. Basically, he wants me to write process logs.

This type of writing is actually useful.

Artist’s block is often a result of not knowing what kind of art I want to make. The problem was that I never really thought about combatting why I couldn’t think of anything. I just accepted the fact that I couldn’t and waited for another wave of creativity to come by.

But instead of waiting, writing a process blog is in a way a new medium that also acts as a journal that can help me develop that motivation to eventually get back to crafting something.

So I guess I’ll just dive into the writing and see where it takes me.

[chaerforce-blog]

Hardcore Parkour! and art.

The Office has probably been the most influential bridge between parkour and the rest of the world, after that one clip aired of Michael and Dwayne jumping around the office.

What many people don’t realize is that the parkour community is actually more than just humans running around doing flips and extreme jumps.

Parkour is a type of movement technique that aims to get from one point to another through obstacles in the fastest and most efficient way possible. 

It’s about learning to effectively use your energy to navigate your way through a certain space; it’s about movement and the flow of movement.

Parkour is an art.

Parkour is definitely not something typically associated with a field like art, but it really is an art in itself when exposed through a different perspective. It’s like a visual and physical performance that relies on discipline and creativity.

Discipline because you have to train consistently to really memorize and become more comfortable in performing a technique. 

Just like an artist needs to practice using a certain tool, say a paintbrush, before knowing to control the strokes, a traceur needs to practice with their bodies to perform the same maneuver before developing a smooth beginning to end.

Creativity is having the option to apply various techniques towards the same object. 

For example, if I wanted to get across two different walking rails, I could jump over them individually, jump over both, or even use one rail to jump over the other.

It’s been two years since I started parkour, and I’m still a beginner. 

During this time I’ve physically learned that much of my ability to complete maneuvers is directly related to the amount of time and effort I put into it (you’d think it’s obvious but apparently not). My progress (or lack of it) really shows when I go to a parkour jam, or a meetup of parkour enthusiasts in a designated location.

That doesn’t mean I spend hours and hours every day working on parkour. I’m naturally lazy. But there is a need for some consistency in order to continually progress in training. 

Showing up to a parkour jam once every month for a couple of hours definitely provides better growth in training than showing up to a few jams for four or five hours straight before “taking a break” and disappearing for three months.

So really, it’s not about how long you train compared to how often you train.

Once you’ve developed enough muscle memory to perform a trick, you can choose when and how you want to apply it. You can even choose either to plan out a route, or just slowly navigate your way through a course by feel; by intuition.

Just remember: precision is key.

Over time, being more comfortable with a technique allows you to slowly apply more speed to it, and maybe even a new technique.

One good example, and the most basic vault in parkour, is the safety vault. 

To perform one, place a foot and the opposite hand onto a narrow platform/rail about waist height with space in between, and carry your other foot through the space in between and land with momentum to move forward (speed is not yet important). 

After working on a safety vault over and over again, you can start moving on to other vaults, like the thief vault. The thief vault is a progression of the safety, where the leg that previously stepped on the surface to give yourself support during the vault is now carried above and over the platform instead.

You really don’t need to be all that strong or flexible to become a traceur (pronounced “tray-sir”, not “tray-sewer” or some other form that I can’t think of), or a person who practices parkour.

Also, please don’t call a traceur a “parkourist” or “a parkour” (parkour is the actual physical act lol). 

During one of the weekend jams, a man walked up to the group of enthusiasts and said that he had a friend who is also a “professional parkour”. 

I’m still conflicted on how I should respond to that because it’s sounds so ridiculous to me.

Anyway, to become a fellow enthusiast, it really is just the time and willingness to engage in your surrounding.

You don’t even need to set a specific time of day to train. See a handrail while walking on your way to class? Try walking on it a couple times. Then go to class.

Exposing your body to those movements will allow you to slowly get better and better before realizing that you’re actually able to do it. 

When I began learning how to walk on rails, I spent about an hour every week for a month before I could consistently walk on it. 

Fast forward a whole summer’s break (I like to be lazy during the summer don’t judge) and I couldn’t walk on rails anymore. I kept falling off as soon as I got on! :( 

So, I started spending a bit of time during my lunch break a few times a week to practice walking on rails. And guess what? I re-learned how to do it in 2 weeks!

The wonderful aspect about parkour is that you learn different techniques so that as you improve, you can apply different techniques together to create your very own path.

Parkour is an integral part of my life that proves there’s more than one way of doing things. That mindset can also be applied to art; there’s so many different approaches in that field. 

I can learn to use different techniques, like improving my skills with photography or sculpture instead of always drawing in black and white.

So basically, I just need to keep training. And be open to trying new things.

[chaerforce-blog]

Fall Again

Fall is here again! Yay!

WAIT. That also means school is starting again. Yikes.

My name is Aero, and with school starting up again, I am now a third year in college majoring in Art Studio.

But! I don’t look like a third year, I don’t act like a third year, and I’m probably behind on the requirements to be a third year. It feels like despite the effort I put into catching up, I am still a step behind my non-existent to-do list in order to graduate on time.

It feels like I’m starting all over again, even though I can clearly recall the previous two years I had at Davis. 

Maybe it’s just that I have to find my classes all over again while winter is coming. A beginning and an end of different things, colliding into one large feeling of confusion.

I have no idea.

However, I do know that as a third year (or just a responsible human in general) I somehow have trouble remembering what day of the week it is. 

I also still have trouble being an adult; specifically, I struggle with the responsibilities one usually assumes once they move out. Cooking is one of those responsibilities.

I love cooking. Why? Because I have to try not burn anything in, on, or around the stove; despite the fact that I have little understanding of what exactly I’m doing at the time. I love cooking so much that in my lifetime, I have burned instant ramen at least 3 times. 

Burned as in I had to aggressively scrape the pot clean because the ramen tried to become one with the pot.

Anyway.

I thought being an Art Studio student would actually be really simple—which is probably not a good assumption to have, now that I think about it. 

But it turns out sometimes people just expect more out of me than I imagined.

What I mean by that is that Art is so subjective—there’s a fine line between style and laziness or mistakes. 

Yet, somehow instructors have to decide whether a certain piece of art is representing someone’s unique style (or not) and then try to fairly grade someone based on their understanding.

Just imagine grading someone’s artwork. 

It’s difficult to objectively grade someone because you’ll never truly know how much effort was put into a piece, and if the end result is as intended or not. Every artist uses their own set of tools and techniques that brings out their unique style.

Many artists first begin with simple tools such as pen and paper, and slowly work their way up. Paints, brushes, and palettes are other tools that provide a different style in art. 

However, artists don’t always rely on tools that people associate specifically with art. I didn’t grow up associating industrial and trade skills to be useful in an art situation, but there’s actually a lot to do with those tools. 

I always assumed that the art world was following the advancement of technology and that one day traditional drawing would be a rarity. However, the reality is that traditional art is alive and well! 

Another great thing is that the physical world of art, such as sculpture, is also still doing well! Although it is not as popular as 2D art, 3D art involves the use of many objects and various mediums, not just clay. You can use wood, metal (JEWELRY IS ART. YES. RINGS. AND NECKLACES. WONDERFUL THINGS), glass—the list goes on.

Makes me kind of sad I didn’t take woodshop in middle school. Oh well. If I can’t make a living out of being an artist, I’ll just hone my trades and become a carpenter.

I’m kidding; I don’t have the physical endurance to pull off a full-time carpenter career. It’s just not me. Would you want to become a carpenter if you were all bones and no strength? I don’t think so.

That gets me thinking though. Art majors always have to answer/deal with this question: How are you gonna make money? 

People ask this question as if it were the most important question for an artist. 

Despite how many artists will live an extremely profitable future filled with cup noodles and insufficient art supplies, our main focus is the passion, not the money.

Which reminds me.

I think just a few days ago someone said to make your passion your backup plan for your future, so that you can maintain an art job on the side while still having a main source of income. As much as I love that idea, I’M ALREADY AN ART MAJOR. A BIT TOO LATE FOR THAT ADVICE NOW, EH?

Or is it? 

The future of a person isn’t determined by the degree that they get. 

I could still find a full-time gig and then work on my art in my spare time. That is, if my regular job doesn’t exhaust me past the point of creativity. Some people can only work a job for so much before it starts consuming them. I’ve seen it. 

I know that becoming an accountant or some other plain money-making laborer is not who I want to be. It terrifies me that so many people work those kinds of jobs and live a cycle that they might not actually be happy with. They look like they have nothing left but faint reminders of what was once a bright flame of passion. 

So I’m thinking of making a compromise. 

I actually think being a bartender/barista is a type of job I would enjoy as my main source of income. It’s not necessarily a passion, but it’s definitely an interest. Something about the glory of hand crafting and serving drinks to people is just really attractive.

Really, though! At some point in your life you had the thought of becoming a barista and that it was actually pretty cool, didn’t you?

Me too. So I became a barista. Well, sort of. I work at a café. Sometimes I get to work as a barista. 

There’s a certain reward to making customers happy by providing them with a product that you handcraft (with or without constraints). It can make your day when someone compliments your work or even you.

I wonder if I can apply that to art. I do like seeing my work bring smiles to people, but I’m not sure if I can completely cater to their wishes. I want to keep some creative freedom as an artist.

I think I’ll stop here for now before I fly off-topic. 

But who knows? 

Maybe my artsy beginnings will lead to some interesting ends. 

Maybe I could come back to this later on and reminisce about my scholarly struggles once I’m out in the real world working my butt off as a bartender.