huemanateedesign

[huemanateedesign]

That being said, hey look! It’s the art collective that mindtheglow and I are co-founders of! Granted, Marshmallow Dumpling is definitely geared more towards cute things and anime conventions, we still like the fact that we can operate under one umbrella.

We have some fantastic friends (who also have their own individual enterprises) so we figured we could all get together and be a unified representation at conventions.

We just wrapped up with our first con, Animazement, this past weekend and it was fantastic. I am so inspired and in awe of the talented individuals I was able to meet~

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I do not like the cone of shame.

Wow, I’ve been on an unintended haitus for quite a while, haven’t I? I offer sincere apologies -- Who knew that juggling work, school and an at collective would take up so much time?

That being said, I am going to try my best to keep up with more regular updates. I’m in Studio for the summer (yay, being accepted into Graphic Design!) so I may not post as much school-related work (unless it’s totally awesome) but I will try to post sketches, fun stuff, and other things that I create.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful evening, and that your Memorial Day was lovely! Or that your weekend was lovely, if you’re outside of the US or had to work today.

[huemanateedesign]

Oh, the HueManatee! Adventures

Schoolwork Hey there, everybody! This is the progress work of my second project for my Visual Data class! We are creating infographics based on a process that relates to the topic we chose for our first project (mine is Art Therapy). The first image was my begrudging attempt at an infographic. This past week has been fairly rough and it has definitely affected me, mentally and creatively. Thankfully we have critiques in class and I received a lot of awesome feedback! Tonight I went back to the drawing board (no pun intended). I am pleasantly surprised and excited with the direction I took and think thaty second iteration is much more dynamic and indicative of art and Art Therapy. Wednesday we are hanging up our revisions for another review and I can’t wait! As always, constructive criticisms, questions and comments are always welcome in my ask box!

[huemanateedesign]

Oh, the HueManatee! Adventures Accepted!

The other news I wanted to share was that I was accepted into the Graphic Design department at my school! I have been waiting for what seems like eons to hear back and I finally did!

All I have to do is keep up my stellar grades and come summertime I am going to get to go through an accelerated Studio -- basically condensing the entire first year studio into 2.5 months. It's going to be so awesome!

A lot of my friends were accepted for their transfers as well, so I have a feeling that this year is going to be a fantastic year! /knocks on wood

Anywho~ Back to the grindstone! I have a bunch of projects due this week and two midterms so I have to stay away from the internet!

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave any questions, comments or constructive criticism in my ask box!

[huemanateedesign]

Oh, the HueManatee! Adventures Schoolwork

Hey everyone! I have a few updates for you but I first wanted to talk about my next project for my Design Thinking class! For this project, we had to observe, record notes on and contemplate an object or behaviour. Certain questions we were to consider were:

What can be discovered when you document an everyday object or behavior, looking at it from multiple perspectives, needs and uses?

What can you see by looking closer at something that seems both routine and mundane?

How is the object or behavior used or enacted?

What did you see by looking more closely at it that you had never seen before? How did it change your preconceptions?

What are assets or problems with the current usage?

Where are some critical opportunities for improving or rethinking its use?

For my project, I chose food. More specifically, the choices of food and preparation due to influences and how different individuals approach the idea of food.

This was super exciting to do, not only because I am a total foodie and love cooking and baking, but I was also able to see how my friends react to food and their thought processes and approaches to it as well.

In the end we were to compile a 12-page photo journal detailing our process, insights and potential improvements.

This was the cover to my photo journal! I am very satisfied with how this turned out and it is even more of a reason to push myself to better understand layout design and grid systems!

[huemanateedesign]

Oh, the HueManatee! School Projects

Since I mentioned schoolwork in my previous post, I figured I would do a quick update before logging off for the evening! These are the final versions of the maps for my first project in my Visual Data class.

I'm going to end up splicing them together in After Effects to present them with smooth transitions (as well as a title page explaining a bit about the project).

I had a lot of fun making these and am really excited that I kept my older iterations so that I am able to track my progress. As always comments, constructive criticism and questions are always welcome at my ask box!

[huemanateedesign]

So in a twist, I’m prepping a portfolio to get my first convention table since 2009. I used to be pretty heavy into the convention circuit, but college and generally “being a professional” stopped me...

Hey look! So, in between all of my classes and classwork and normal work, this is what I've been up to! The super amazing and extraordinarily talented mindtheglow and I were accepted into Animazement's Artist Alley!

(In case you don't know what Animazement is, it's an "all-volunteer, fan-run anime convention in Raleigh, North Carolina, celebrating popular Japanese visual culture in all of its forms.")

That being said, the next three months will be packed full and filled to the brim with preparations! I will, personally, be making a few prints but mostly focusing on the craft end of things (earrings, necklaces, etc) as well as some super cute stickers.

mindtheglow will be making and selling some fantastic prints, some awesome stickers, giving me moral support and helping me out with crafty shenanigans and being an all-around amazing person.

We will also feature some crochet work from our dear friend Jen (who will also be helping us) so! If you're planning on attending, definitely stop by and check us out!

I'll be able to post more information (such as table location) the closer we get to the convention.

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Oh the HueManatee! Adventures School Projects

Hey everyone! So, yes, I know I said I would be super great about updating this again but wow has this semester gotten off to an intense start! I'm really enjoying all of my classes and looking forward to absorbing as much information as I can from them! (At least, as much as my brain can handle!)

One of the classes I'm taking is a Visual Data class. Our first project requires us to make three temporal maps: The first one is a map of 25 - 50 publications on a topic of our choice. The second map is a map of one specific article within the 25 - 50 that we have chosen. (The article I chose is Facilitating Artistic Expression in Captive Mammals: Implications for Art Therapy and Art Empathicism by David Henley and it's a pretty interesting read -- especially comparing those ideas of 1992 to more contemporary theories.) Our third map will dig even deeper, researching an article outside of our original sources and derived from something inspiring or interesting in the specific article.

I enjoy this class not only because I love data distribution and visual displays but it's challenging! It tests my Illustrator skills, my ability to convey multitudes of data in an interesting/appealing way and taking on learning a programming language (R)!

Everyone in my class is very awesome and inspiring and insightful and our critiques are something to look forward to!

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to drop me a line! I'm extremely new to any and all of this so any guidance or constructive criticism is very much appreciated!

I hope everyone has a great night!

[huemanateedesign]

Sketches

I am feeling the end of this week pretty hard, but I’ve gotten so many things accomplished! So, even though my brain is telling me to be super productive and motivated I feel a lack of imagination.

Sketching baby animals seems to be helping, though. ♥

I hope everyone has had an awesome week and planning an even better weekend!

[huemanateedesign]

Good evening (morning?) everyone!

Just wanted to make another quick post to let you know that my official portfolio is now up-and-running! Feel free to stop by and take a look. As always, I welcome comments and critiques. You can leave them in my ask box!

Thank you again for being so patient with me.Have a wonderful night and sweet dreams!

[huemanateedesign]

Hello everyone!

I plan on coming back from hiatus soon enough, with a New Year's resolution to work even harder at personal projects (on top of school projects).

Classes have started in full swing and I am nearing completion of my portfolio and application! Next week I will begin posting again, so keep an eye (or two!) out!

(In the meantime, check out some awesome art blog such as Mind the Glow, K. A. King Illustrations, The Very Worst Thing and Tiny Paint)

Much love, stay warm!

[huemanateedesign]

Also! Here's a more dynamic view of the preview screens for my dA App. I love the fact that just a simple change in how you present something can make it look all that much better. 

[huemanateedesign]

Hey everyone! Just a quick and dirty update form me (I know it's not Wednesday and I know I've been behind in updating!).

School is keeping me extra super duper busy with this being the last week of classes before exams. I have a total of four projects and one cumulative math exam to do/study for so I hope you can understand why I've gone on a bit of a hiatus.

Anywho! Here are some mock-ups for the CD cover I was working on. [Special thanks to Pixeden and GraphicBurger for the mock-up templates, you guys are serious(ly talented) life savers!] T-shirt and poster are coming soon, so keep an eye out!

No, back to creating contour lines and assembling them so they can be laser cut...

Have a wonderful week!

[huemanateedesign]

Oh the HueManatee! Adventures 04: Album Art

So, I have to admit. As much as I admire and respect and love album art of all sorts: it really takes a special, talented person to create the great covers. Something that really speaks to a band, to their sound.

Hopefully, one day, I can get there.For now, however, I will just try to play around being inspired by a few different covers (see: Tycho). The final image is one I've been working on longest, born from the middle four. I extracted the colour scheme from a different beach picture I took (on the same trip as the top three).

As always, comments/constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated! Just message me here! I hope everyone's been having an awesome week.

[huemanateedesign]

Oh the HueManatee! Adventures Something Personal

Hey everyone! So I know that I forgot to post last week and I apologize for that. I've been pretty busy with schoolwork and working on my portfolio and trying not to stress out too much.

In lieu of feelings of stress, anxiety, and other negative feelings (that we more often than not cannot help and feel overwhelmed by) I am starting a little side project for myself. I call them Progress Stars. I'm going to challenge myself to make at least one a day, to represent small goals and feats that I have overcome, despite feeling not-so-very-good.

I was inspired by the post that went around a while ago (and is probably still going around) in which the OP made similar stars with the same idea behind it.

Feel free to use these or save these or get inspired by them. I know that they may be too personal to relate to and some may be pretty broad but they are a reminder that, no matter what, everything you do is something to celebrate. Each step you take and each little victory is something to be proud of.

I won't be posting these every day but maybe on a weekly basis (or bi-weekly).

Also! Some important information. If you feel like things are getting to be too much to handle on your own, or if you feel like you can't go to a friend or family member to talk -- you are not alone and there are others out there that are caring, kind and compassionate and will listen to you. (Including myself.)

Here are some resources:

Depression Hotline: 1-630-482-9696

Suicide Hotline: 1-800-784-8433

Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386

LifeLine: 1-800-273-8255

Sexuality Support: 1-800-246-7743

Eating Disorders Hotline: 1-847-831-3438

Rape and Sexual Assault: 1-800-656-4673

Grief Support: 1-650-321-5272

Runaway: 1-800-843-5200, 1-800-843-5678, 1-800-621-4000

Exhale: After Abortion Hotline/Pro-Voice: 1-866-439-4253

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Oh the HueManatee! Adventures 03: deviantArt App

So, it's been a little while and I've done a whole lot of work on my dA app. Sample screens have been put together, Real-Life Photo Example created, blood-sweat-and-tears have been shed.

The final thing I have to do for this is put it all together in a nice-looking, wire-frame happy presentation.

And, of course, as soon as I finish the app design I pop on over to deviantArt's website to check some final things and lo and behold after almost ten years of not doing any major updates to their layout and design, they've changed.

It's alright, though. No biggie. My app is still relevant!

As always: comments, questions, and constructive criticism is always welcome in my ask box!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week, and happy Wednesday!

[huemanateedesign]

Oh the HueManatee! Adventures 02: Elementary Mural

And we're done! Mostly. All of the stems for tiny little hand prints have been added and butterfly bodies for the teachers and staff. Everyone is very excited and happy with how it turned out (myself, included). 

I plan on heading back in the next few weeks to get some final (and better) photos taken. 

Hopefully by then they'll have the new airplane up, along with the banner. Thanks for joining me on this journey!

Mural: Fin.