Wow..

I love how my last post was expressing that I haven't posted in 6 months, and yet here I am, my next post, almost a year later! Well I must say I've been quite busy. I've moved twice! Graduated from school, worked a bunch of fun new jobs and here I am. I really can't believe I've abandoned my blog for so long! I've adopted new 'blogs' while I was gone though, my tumblr page  and my facebook page both featuring my artwork.

Here's an example of what I've been working on....

Check out my facebook page to check out everything I've been working on the past few months :)

Six Months?!!?

Holy moly has it really been six months?! That just goes to show how bad I am at keeping up with a journal. Alright so let's see what I've been up to for the past while...

First off I am THRILLED to say that not only did I graduate from my Digital Animation program, but that I did so with honors :D /soproud.

Secondly I am now a month into a summer animation program learning more the 2D side of things and its been really great. I can't stress enough how important life drawing is. It's drastically changed the way I look at things and my drawing style. I must remind myself to continue with it after this ends.

Aside from that I've started up a fun Etsy page selling glass magnets which you can check out here .. http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/MaxinesMagnets

Hopefully I can get back into the groove of blogging again and post more frequent updates. But for now here's a link to some of my artwork

http://maxine-d.tumblr.com/

A new year

A new year is upon us. We made it through the storm of the December 2012 apocalypse and through boxing day madness :) . My new year kicks off my third and final semester of school. It's quite intimidating knowing that in a mere few months ill be finished. These past months have been a blur and I've learned so much, not just in school but alot about myself. It's been a journey of self discovery and really learning some hard life lessons.

I'm hoping to continue growing and learning as much as I can. Call me crazy but I may just go back and do some more schooling. Although I don't think I've taken as many bubble baths in my life as I have in the past few months.

This year i'm hoping to get into yoga. I started tonight and boy do my muscles ache. I don't want to say it's my "new years resolution" to do yoga because we all know resolutions about staying fit don't have a high chance of lasting. Instead i'm doing yoga to help clear my busy mind and strengthen my body and soul.

As always I've been painting, and have actually finished five pieces this year! I'm hoping to pump out some really beautiful pieces that I'll be able to show. But for now i'm focused on doing it to make me happy. I love getting into that state of mind where it's just you and the canvas using the paint to portray whatever you need it to.

Well it's officially 3 am and I have to be up at 830 for class.

Until next time.

Long over due for a post

I hope everyone is having an awesome school year. As you most know i've been taking digital animation and i'm now 7 months in. It's amazing how quickly time goes. In just 5 more months I'll be graduated! Its almost hard to believe. I do admit the stress of school is starting to wear at me as i'm sure it does for most people.

In recent months so much has changed I suppose this is how it feels to step into adulthood. Everything seems a bit overwhelming and stressful. My anxiety has been rearing its ugly face more frequently which hasn't been easy to deal with. Of course it's due to all these new changes and unknown territory and I just have to remember that everything will work out, and to have a little faith in the universe.

So in light of that I think it's important to remember the little things in life that make you happy.

Here's a short list of mine
The sound of high heels in a hallway
The fresh air after a storm
Puppies
Fresh bed sheets
The sound of rain
A clean kitchen
Finding joy in unexpected places
Star gazing on a clear night

I hope everyone remembers to stop and take a deep breath now and again, and remember what makes you smile.

<3

Back to school

Ahh it feels so nice to get my creativity flowing again! I'm back to school after a two week break and boy can I say I'm ready to get back to work!! What I'm most excited about is creating concept art for one of my classes. I decided to go with Disney princesses that have to fight for themselves. It's really fun re-imagining characters I grew up on. Then once we have a good concept we will be creating them in Maya as 3D characters! So here's one of the characters I'm currently in the middle of painting in photoshop.

What Happened on Christmas Eve

So I just found this old story I wrote when I was eleven and I thought I would share it with you. I mean who doesn't enjoy reminiscing and having the opportunity to see how you viewed things when you were young. Please mind the format and such, I mean give an eleven year old a break ;)

Also note that Narnia was my favorite book series...

What Happened on Christmas Eve

Once on Christmas eve, many years ago I lay quietly on the couch.

Soon there was noises coming from outside. The noises sounded like voices but not quite. So I lay down thinking it was people talking to each other. BANG! WHOW! "Oh my goodness what was that?" I whispered scared.

I got up a little later hearing something again. Except this time it sounded like people arguing. Then I got up enough courage and went up to the door and opened it. AHH! A beam of light flashed quickly at me. I blinked. It was gone! All that was there were two animals. A horse that had wings and one ferocious lion. I was half way closing the door and then the lion talked. His voice was deep, loud, and clear. He exclaimed, "Don't go, come with us."

"Where?" I asked puzzled.

"Tooo the noorth poole oof coourse," whinnied the horse quite loudly.

"Why?" I asked, not understanding.

"You can ask questions on the way," replied the lion. I hopped on the lions furry back, holding on to the lions golden mane.

"What are your names anyway?" I asked curiously.

"My name is Aslan and his name is Strawberry," answered the lion.

"Why are we going to the North Pole?" I asked.

"Wee arre gooing tooo the Noorth Poole chuz Santa is gooing tooo give the first presents," neighed the horse.

"Why are you both here?" I questioned.

"We are here because if I get tired Strawberry will take over and we weren't allowed two, so we came to pick you up instead."

I looked up and saw people above me. I saw my friend Lauren. I yelled, "Lauren down here!" She saw me.

"Hello!" She hollered back.

"Meet you at the North Pole, bye."

"Not so loud," Aslan growled.

We where there. It wasn't very dark outside because of all the lights.

I got off Aslan and said "Thank you very much."

He said "No problem."

"Bye," I shouted.

"Bye," They both crowed back.

"Now for the first gift of Christmas," Santa explained. You there, come pick the first gifts of Christmas."

"Me?" Someone behind me asked.

"No, the person in front of you," said Santa.

"Me?" I pointed to myself.

"Yes you, come pick your first gifts of Christmas, come on I don't have all year," said Santa impatiently.

"O.K," I muttered. I went up in Santas sled thinking what I wanted. I thought real hard when I was sitting down in Santas sled. Then I asked "How many presents am I allowed?"

"Two," he explained.

"I want the two animals that picked me up please."

"O.K I will say that's one present."

"And I want powers so that I can go into books that I want, with people still thinking I'm there and only books I read to myself please."

"O.K" he smiled, "but only you can see the animals alive and to everyone else they will be glass, they will never be able to break and if they do they just go back together and if they get thrown away they will come back. I hope you like your gifts, Bye."

"Ho Ho Ho," he laughed "Merry Christmas."

I was home again. That was one of my favorite days ever!

"Wake up everybody," yelled my Mom.

"O.K o.k we're awake." There were lots of presents under the tree.

After we opened all the presents I found the two presents under the tree for me. I opened them quickly. They were two glass ornaments just like Santa explained. One ferocious lion and one horse with wings just like the ones I met outside. I loved the books that I got to see inside of :)

The End.

I hope you all enjoyed reading that as much as I did

Busy Bee

I suppose my blog is long overdue for an update. Let's see.. Well I've been super busy with school that's for sure. I'm almost at the end of my first semester and can now start breathing a bit easier. I have three classes left before the semester ends and get a short break before we start back up full time again. Classes have been tough but well worth it and quite enjoyable. I've had my ups and downs that's for sure. I think the toughest part has been learning to use all the new programs, but I have slowly become more and more comfortable with them. I'm still unsure if I want to become an animator or a modeler, as those are the main choices students make during their time in the program.

During this semester we have been using Maya, SoftImage, Mudbox, Zbrush, and Toonboom. I must say I'm the least comfortable using Maya. There's just so much to the program and I always seem to get lost. I do hope I become more familiar using it, as it is the main program we use.

We have learned many things about animation and programs. With SoftImage we have modeled a science lab, animated a character and learned how to weight an object. With Maya we have modeled an environment, created a head and a hand and learned how to texture and unwrap different models.


Here's an example of a scene I had to light, texture, model, and animate
http://xmaxinex.deviantart.com/gallery/38550537

Review: The Secret World of Arrietty

You may also know this movie as "Kari-gurashi no Arietti."

In this film adaption of the story "The Borrowers" Studio Ghibli brings to life Arrietty a young adventurous girl curiously pushing the limits her family has set to keep their existence hidden.

During the film I was amazed with the amount of detail gone into the design, bringing to life the characters and their environment. The setting of the film brings forth feelings of comfort and warmth, as it takes you to a place where the cottage is surrounded by an over grown garden of flowers and creeks. The animation itself evokes feelings of adventure and suspense as Arrietty explores the house in order to provide food for her family.



I cherish the work Miyazaki produces as he always keeps the art and animation traditional, amazing us with the skills and talent of true art. I'm happy that he has chosen to stay with the feel of traditional hand drawn 2D animation, instead of the common 3D CG animated movies. I find the traditional style is easier to relate to, and makes it feel real. It's similar to reading a book and imagining the story yourself.


Although the story is nothing compared to say 'Howl's Moving Castle', I recommend watching it even if its just for the animation and artwork. I must also recommend watching it in Japanese with subtitles (unless you can understand Japanese of course), to get the true feeling of the film.

School, Music and Apple Crisp

Well kids I've managed to survive my first week of classes and I must say it's pretty intense. That being said, it's also a lot of fun, and a lot of information. In my first week I've started to learn Maya, Mudbox, and Softimage.

Creating 3D art is a huge change from traditional paper and pencil art, which is of course to be expected. I'm currently taking 6 classes which is a heavy load but it's not as bad as it sounds, most of the classes are there to blend what you've learned and show you how these programs work, and compliment each other. It's nice to really immerse myself fully into school and art. There's no joking around with this program, which is good because it shows us the reality of the business.

So aside from school I've also been baking, which always helps to clear my mind and de-stress, so I thought I would share with you one of my favorite recipes.

Apple Crisp.
This is best served warm a la mode.

2 cups Brown Sugar
2 cups Flour
3/4 cup Rolled Oats
1 cup melted Margarine
2 tsp Cinnamon
4 cups diced Apple
(you can add any fruit, I added blueberries and it turned out fantastic)
1 cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 cup Water
1 tsp Vanilla

Thoroughly mix Brown Sugar, Flour, Oats, Margarine and Cinnamon; press 1/2 this mixture into greased pan (you can make with a 9x13 or it also fits into 3 loaf pans, of which you can freeze nicely). Cover with 4 cups Fruit. In saucepan, combine Sugar and Cornstarch. Stir in Water. Cook until clear and add Vanilla. Pour over Fruit. Top with remaining crumb mixture.

Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes. (If you use small loaf pans check after 45mins).

Serve warm with Vanilla ice cream. Caution sugar overload.


Well apparently it's bedtime as Jupiter has passed out beside me. But before I get to sleep I must link you to my new cover. http://love-squid.bandcamp.com/track/skinny-love-bon-iver-birdy-cover Enjoy.

Lana Del Rey

I love Lana Del Rey. Her look and sound is just so different that I'm constantly drawn to her. I decided to cover one of her songs after a friend told me about her.

I need to look into getting a better recording mic so it doesnt sound so terrible when I go louder, but this is all I have for now, and it does the trick.
Enjoy the video!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPjWBpUFaBw .

Also here's the full outfit I have on today <3

School update

As many of you know I've been talking a lot about going back to school recently. I am proud to announce that I've been accepted to a Digital Animation program, and start in a couple weeks. This last month has been very busy getting everything together for school and working as much as I can before I leave, hence why I haven't posted in a while.

So let's see what's new.. I've given my leave of absence at my job, which means I have a full year to decided whether or not I'll be returning. Always good to have a backup plan. I have also been drawing more then usual to prep for school.

(I have to take a second to let you know that due to the fact that I haven't written anything in so long, my mind is drawing complete blanks right now. Which is unfortunate because so much has happened recently. I suppose it serves me right, taking so much time to blog about it. )

Alright back to whats new.. I have a singing recital coming up in a few weeks, where I'll be singing "Bluebird - Sara Bareilles." I have also been working on "On My Own - Les Miserables." Which has been a nice change because singing classical music is much more structured, and it's showing me a different way of singing.

I suppose I should stop myself here and leave you with a new drawing. I'll write more when my minds a bit clearer.

New Painting FOR SALE!!

I've been keeping myself quite busy these past few weeks, mostly trying to put together a portfolio for school. With that being said I have new paintings and luckily for you, they are up for sale! Starting with the newest addition 'Squishee the Squid.' Since this is the first time I've listed a painting online before, I've only listed one and will continue to list more once I get an idea of what people are looking for.

So here is the listing, take a look and who knows maybe you'll fall in love and want to take him home.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95086467/vivid-squid

7 Deadly Rings

So I was browsing the web, and stumbled across an amazing concept for the 7 deadly sins turned into rings. Now Stephen Webster released only 7 rings in each of their respected category, wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony. I could tell you all about how beautifully crafted each one is, or I could show you...



Let's start with Envy.

With a 360 view you can see
that there are four eyes to be seen
glaring at you. And of course this ring is green with envy. How fitting.

Greed.

As you can see this ring is piled
high with stacks of what seems to be gold coins.
Which is perfectly fitting for Greed.

Lust.

There is no better way to convey
this sin than with arms tangled around a brilliant stone, encrusted with diamonds.

Wrath.

The hands on this ring
rope themselves around a
stunning ruby as if they are
choking the life out of this stone.

Gluttony.

Now this ring is fat with jewels.
It's almost as though it has
consumed precious stones and
is looking for more.

Sloth.

A blue gem rests itself
atop a cushion fit for a
queen. Sleeping beauty
herself would not awake
from such a bed.

Pride.

This is by far my favorite
of the seven rings. Maybe it's
the color that draws you in. Or
maybe it's the setting of the jewels.
Either way I would be more than proud to be seen wearing this ring.






Stephen Webster did a beautiful job designing these rings. Be sure to take a look at his website to see more great pieces. http://www.stephenwebster.com/collections.asp

Ooh Baby Fudge Me

After finishing up a long day of work I decided I would attempt to make some fudge. Now this is my first time ever making any form of fudge and let me tell you, it was super easy. I can fully understand why it's so expensive in store though, the chocolate alone cost me $15! But a small sacrifice to bring joy in the form of fudge.


So here's the recipe, remember to keep a low heat when melting chocolate.

• 3 (170 g) packages bakers white chocolate baking squares
• 1 (300 ml) can regular eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups crushed Oreo cookies
  
  

  Directions:

  1. In a pot on medium heat melt the chocolate in the milk.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in the crushed cookies.
  3. Spread evenly in a parchment lined 8x8 square pan.
  4. Chill 2 hours or until firm.
  5. Cut into small squares
     
     
     http://www.food.com/recipe/oreo-cookie-fudge-149026
     

Happy Valentines Day

Well it certainly has been a while since I've had an update. So here I am, better late then never.
In most recent news I've decided to go back to school. I'm going to be applying for a Digital Animation program, and hoping to be accepted for this April! It's all coming together quite fast, but why waste anymore time right? I'm hoping to eventually end up working for Pixar but of course that's going to take a lot of time and dedication to get to that level.

It's going to be a big change going from working full time, to studying full time. But I'm excited for something new, and something I'm actually passionate about.

Also I recorded a cover of Taylor Swifts new song 'Safe & Sound' from the Hunger Games movie. It's not exactly how I wanted it to sound. It was my first time recording with Adobe Audition and I had to use a youtube tutorial on how to master the song. So I'll leave you with the band camp link for you to check it out.

http://love-squid.bandcamp.com/

and the original

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFEDTtKaFzU

I hope all of you had a wonderful Valentines Day, and that it was filled with love and happiness.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Found this AMAZING recipe from
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/09/caramel-apple-cheesecake-bars.html

I highly recommend it




Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apples:

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel topping, recipe follows

1/2 cup caramel topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or 2 forks) until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Streusel topping. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy!

Streusel Topping:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. I like to really combine it by using my clean hands to thoroughly combine the butter into the mixture.

Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Mmm I love pineapples especially in cake form! So when I came across this recipe from 'My Kitchen Snippets' I had to try it out..



Ingredients for topping :

6 slices of can pineapple (drain)
6 maraschino cherries
4 tbsp of butter
4 tbsp of brown sugar

Ingredients for cake :

3/4 cup of sugar
1 1/2 stick of butter (3/4 cup)
3 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of vanilla
1/4 cup of pineapple juice (from the can pineapple)


1. Pre-heat to over to 350 degree F. Grease an 8" round cake pan. Prepare the topping by melting the butter in the microwave oven and pour it into the baking pan.
2. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the butter and then arrange the pineapple slices over the brown sugar. Place the cherry in the center of each pineapple slice. Set aside.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4. Cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
5. Add the flour mixture in three parts alternately with the pineapple juice, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat well after each addition. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
6. Bake cake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge, and invert the cake onto a plate. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature.

Hayao Miyazaki

I love Hayao Miyazaki. I am almost satisfied leaving this blog entry with only saying that one statement. Does it really need to be explained? His work is tremendous. Every story he creates is just so beautiful. With his artwork accompanying his tales it really gives you a glimpse into his world. Can you imagine the dreams he has? Or having the privilege to peer into his sketch book? One could only dream.

I recently watched a movie directed by "Makoto Shinkai" who has been referred to as "The New Miyazaki." It must be such an honor to be given such a title. But I must agree that his films do carry that same emotion and art that Miyazaki films have.


I highly recommend the film "Hoshi o Ou Kodomo" also known as "Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below." It reminded me of a mix between 'Spirited Away' and 'Atlantis : The Lost Empire.'

You can check out the movie trailer for "Hoshi o Ou Kodomo" here

Citra Photography

I must say that a new post is long over due. I got my photos back from my recent photo shoot of "Trash the Dress" with Citra Photography, be sure to check them out http://www.site.citraphotography.com/ . Turns out we did close to 400 pictures that day! Which is pretty great but does make it hard to pick out the best ones to show you.


I have been asked to do another photo shoot next Monday with a different photographer. It seems as though I have opened a door to modeling again, and I'm pretty excited to see what it will bring me.

I also ended up doing a recording of "Somebody I used to know" with a friend of mine, so be sure to come back when it gets posted.

So it's a new year, almost February wow! Time sure does fly. I've decided to give myself a new look this year. It was actually very spur of the moment decision making but I'm quite pleased with the result. I went into the salon to get a trim and came out 3 hours later with rich red hair. It's always nice to change it up, and I love how bold this color is.

Snow Day &Trash the Dress

Well it appears our white Christmas came a tad late this winter, and here I was dreaming of summer. Looks like we'll have to wait this one out because it's suppose to snow all week! I must say, that aside from being stuck at home (there is no way I'm attempting to drive in this) it really is beautiful when it snows. I love when it is freshly snowing in the middle of the night, and the air is crisp and the streets are quiet. It makes me feel as though I've stepped into a fantasy world like Narnia. It make time stand still and you forget your day to day life, and really take in the beauty of the world.


Yesterday was Friday the 13th, which also meant that I had my photo shoot! It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad we didn't have to deal with the snow, as it was sunny all day. For the shoot we did a "trash the dress" where you get your prom dress, wedding dress etc. covered in mud, dirt, paint, pretty much your choice of how you want it "trashed." Throughout the shoot, as I was dressed in a wedding dress, we had many people stopping their cars, honking, waving, and congratulating me. I was quite the belle of the ball, little did they know I was just a model and not actually getting married. It was a great time though, and I'm really excited to be modeling again.














So here are two preview photos from yesterday, and don't forget to visit Citra Photography to book your own photo shoot!

http://www.site.citraphotography.com/