Oh, what the hell: may as well let everyone know what I'm up to. :)

Summer started a week ago and I'm still trying to get used to the idea that there's nothing I have to do. I mean nothing. When you spend 9 months waking up and worrying about some assignment, it's very hard to deprogram that anxiety, wake up, and not worry about some assignment, even if it doesn't exist. But that's neither here nor there.

My first plan is do whatever the fuck I want, which I have excelled at. I'm reading and drawing and eating and watching everything On Demand (since I don't have that special feature at my apartment.) It should get the juices flowing. :D

Aaaaaanyway, I'm going to be doing some illustrations for Nosferatu in Love; I have one already:

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I really like it even though I haven't heard anything back about it for two days at DA. :{ (I'd like to disable favorites, I really would. They are not legitimate feedback.) This picture is actually going to be a follow-up to another picture, which, if all goes right, will be in a sort of experiment for the visual side of the audio episode I'm trying to get together? I don't really know what I'm doing yet; nevermind... Well, the point is, the first picture will be Ellen among her plants and kind of in a dark corner, holding Montgomery. Monty's eyes are going to glow in the same position in the photo as Orlok's, so they should connect. I just thought it'd be a good type of irony - I relate Orlok to a cat at times, Monty and him both have blue eyes that show in the dark, and yet Ellen loves Monty dearly but thinks Orlok is the foulest creature on the planet. She can't really escape from being close to him, though, because he has burrowed into her safe zone. Aghhh, well it's just an idea.

Once I've drawn enough to get excited, Nosferatu in Love and He's There will be the flavors of the season. I'll write them as much as I can. You know, in between doing whatever I want. :) Or who knows, maybe I'll be up for designing some type of rigorous schedule or goal. The "I have nothing to do" novelty might wear off any day now.

Okay, it's breakfast time, and I'm sitting in front of Starbucks using the wireless internet because we do not have internet at home. I gotta go back there and heat up a yummy croissant. (they're the reason I live)

♥,
J

I thought I'd make a quick entry before I leave for school. The break is over, but I'm hoping hoping hoping that the schedule I've given myself leaves room for more progress. I have only a feeling that philosophy will be light on homework because I've had the teacher before, but we'll see.

Anyway, I did what I said I was going to do, which is pretty cool. Most of my break I've just had a jolly good time thinking about the Crystal Palace series, even movies way ahead, like CP6. I know that it's never going to be as complicated or creative (or liked) as series' like Harry Potter are, or long-running TV series' (Futurama comes to mind, I ♥ it), but I guess I feel really proud of CP anyway because it is something that has been around so long and gotten so lengthy. Whether I get to do much with it or not, it brings me lots of joy and laughs. I see Akira, Crystallina and Cosmo as my family in a weird sense, and I can't think of another group of characters where I would want to come up with all these things for and have multiple movies. Sometimes I get urges to do sequels (He's There has a few ideas that don't really add up to a reputable plot), but it just can't compare to CP's ability to make me prolific.

I'd better wrap this up before it turns into some long muse, because I'm running out of time, but I did three illustrations in a week, which is pretty hardcore of me. XD


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I'd still like to do more in the coming week. I know that the script has a number of older illustrations, but I really want to wrack up the image count so the website can be really extravagant. CP2 had some really nice graphics, but I was clearly limited. I only did about 5-6 pictures.

As for the website I put in my 2011 Resolutions, I can't decide if I want to do it after I have all my illustrations while I've still got the flame under my ass or wait until summer when I have lots of free time. If I did it now, I'd have to be dedicated and not move on to AIW or He's There, which are both things I'm desperate to get back to. I'll probably wait. :)

BY THE WAY, I made Crystal Palace (the series) a FB so that I can do some advertising. Please "like" it here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Crystal-Palace-Series/173120272738006!! Pretty please.

Okay, gotta go!

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I wanna do more illustrations. I really do.

I just noticed that she looks a shit-ton like me here. I think it's because her hair is curled and pulled back and lately I've done the same with mine. I gave her a set of earrings I have and I also used to wear a grey coat like that.

But in general, she just looks very different here. Winter Formal made her go all out, I guess. x3

I love putting the Phantom in pictures this way. It makes you nervous for her! Even though she's well aware he's there.

WATCH OUT, HE'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!



I said I was gonna do it, didn't I?

I guess the inspiration is coming back after the "hiatus", since I'm drawing phanart when I should be doing my homework. For the longest time, he's needed a profile on the site, and the idea just came to me yesterday night! Standing, cool, collected, head slightly tilted, you can't quite tell what he's looking at, unrealistic shadow under the edge of his mask, and that glowing stereotypical phantom-y rose. Thornless, for him.

I was thinking some day in the future, Lily will find a rose that has all but one thorn removed, and she pricks herself. He must be angry with her?

Anyway, it's up on the main site now. Yayyyy~!

I took a picture of Michael the other day, speaking of which...



Cool, right? :)

I began work on both HT chapter 34 and UATW part 7, but I sort of swayed out of inspiration, I think because I lost that in-the-moment-ness after putting it off so long. A terrible terrible way to feel when such a great thing is happening in the plot! It'll come back to me.

In the mean time, I made this illustration, chapter 33,
http://mrs-crocker.deviantart.com/art/HT33-Trust-Me-153432430

I was just suddenly dying to draw the two together! (Perhaps after watching the awful Twilight movie. Yes, I subjected myself to it to see if it was better... No... in some instances it was even more embarrassing.) Had to draw a couple I really liked...

The Phantom looks so serious, though.... XD And so feminine. It's really difficult to make a long-haired guy in a mask look masculine, I've realized. He's still... kinda hot though. If I were her, I'd just sort of reach around and... nevermind.

I have not started chapter 27 yet, but it's mostly because I finished a second illustration for the site. Ah~ The joy of working on hardcore sites. They take forever. I'm so pleased at the moment though, because this scene and angle has been on my mind for ages, to be like a "movie screencap" on one of the home or about pages. I didn't think for the life of me that I could pull off my vision, but this actually came pretty close.

I have a hard time portraying the Phantom, though. I think he is really meant to be 3-dimensional and sharpened by a group of designers, because me trying to draw what I imagine seems to always be tough, namely the shape of his mask, which in the past few years has reminded me of Black Plague doctors. I'm kind of fascinated with his physical body, though, which is probably why I don't attempt it. He is very black and white, thin, and sharp. When he moves about, it's smooth, but his extensions (mostly his arms) end up in rather pointy positions, since I relate him to a spider so often. It being this particular, I guess I don't have the highest faith in myself to reach those standards, but I'll practice more for the illustrations, because I really would like to show everyone.

Anyway, under cut along with sketches. (WARNING: IMAGES LARGE. They will definitely stretch your layout.)

( Illustrations + Sketches )

In other news, I'm so excited we're doing CP3 tomorrow.~

These are the illustrations I have for the site so far : { this | this | this | and this }

I figure the illustrations will not take quite as long, seeing as part of HT's style is the pencil sketchiness, unlike Crystal Palace 2, where everything had to be done with precision on the computer. (I honestly can no longer do it. My dad bought this mouse that's way too small and I haven't been on the desktop hardly ever in the past few months. I don't have a steady hand anymore!)

Yeah and I don't like half of the older drawings I did for the story anymore. They're just... funny looking.

I'm hoping for the site to have a mixture of purples and browns with a little forest green. And since I cannot draw structures for the life of me, I will look for pictures of buildings that look like the theater on the outside and in. :3