Wrapping up 2018 N Goals For 2019 MOVING FORWARD

So, this December, I'm FINALLY wrapping up an ENTIRE year FILLED w stupid setbacks N delays, as well as STUPID petty dramas of numerous folks, BUT I'M STILL GOING!

Watch Highlight: Jackalope N Animation Final Film Edits N Other News from blackunigryphon on www.twitch.tv

I look back upon a body of work of SO MANY GOALS completed, and IN THE MIDDLE OF COMPLETION at this very moment! Others about to start or re-do.

I got a 3rd Place Trophy at NewGrounds.com on Thanksgiving Day. :)

[I also did the audio on this which u can download for free]

I've actually been doing various versions of The Jackalope film because my ORIGINAL CONCEPT was actually all 4 seasons. So, each part I made a mini-film out of as well.

[I also did the audio on this which u can download for free]

The Making of: Whimsical Jackalope In Spring: Art On The Marquee Full 001 from Kandice Zimbleman on Vimeo.

[Incidentally, I know a lot of the kids out there need music n audio that's free & legal, so I have a number of music N audio clips in my New Grounds that is FREE, and YES I licensed them to Creative Commons. NO, you DON'T need my permission, JUST TAKE IT, and do whatever u want with it. YES, it IS polite to credit me, but NO I'm NOT coming to hunt anyone down if they don't. I have a LOT of sympathy for kids & students learning animation or various other projects they need stuff for, or even practice.]

 This is THE MOST WORK I HAVE EVER DONE on ANY animated film SO FAR, EVER!

I wanted to combine the 4 pieces (plus some other stuff, and OTHER variations) but like a a fusion of old vintage 80s-90s NES + SNES video games, N Arcade Games, as well as OLD vintage 90s CD-ROMS.

For this one I referenced CAPCOM's Street Fighter II.

This one is referenced from Nintendo's Double Dragon.

And, back in Spring 2017 I'd always wanted to incorporate this Sakura Waterfalls piece into my Film Final at UMASS Boston, but didn't know how at the time. So, I redid it for ASMR Visuals on NewGround.com. There's several versions on YouTube, but my NewGrounds videos are WAY more popular.

I did some other graphics to resemble old 90s CD-ROMS.

Especially THIS ONE:

Or, graphics loosely referenced from old Japanese Sailor Moon Video Games as well.

But, if you look at my "Movies" gallery on NewGrounds it's literally my Animation & Motion Graphics Goals for This year, but also some dating back until 2017. There's ONLY a few concepts left to do, finish up, or re-do.

I will be re-doing my 2016 film "Smattering Thoughts Also Flow" including the new Butterflies I did this year for Inktober.

I'll be moving onto the Butterfly puppet animation as soon as the Jackalope stuff is totally wrapped up. BOTH of these, including the other Jackalope films will be in my TV Show "A Spirit To Be Free".

The original concept for the original film I did incorporated my lanterns, including the one I made, and the Work-In-Progress Film I did for Cinema Studies/Experimental Film Class at UMASS Boston Fall Semester 2017 is HERE:

The full documentary is here:

I wanted to animate the butterflies with my lanterns B-roll footage and I've shot SO much since then. But, I'd also wanted to do the butterflies with some 3D After Effects compositions. I actually JUST did a Waterfall animation video this week, but I haven't uploaded it yet because its slow. (My internet STINX.) I've also been busy animating, making graphics, n editing audio + video.

But, I'd also re-shot the Chinese calligraphy story/art presentation multiple times.

My video instructor made me re-shoot it so many times, and including REAL ink instead of the water scroll. But, I needed guidance and never got it fully, because he often ditched us, or me especially when I needed him. he often would tell me he would be right back, then actually went home. I also wasted SO MUCH time N energy on commuting and re-borrowing equipment.

I actually have not only my own equipment now at home, BUT I also have WAY BETTER stuff now than the stuff at UMASS Boston because I ACTUALLY  NOW have my very own mini-camera crane! I will probably ALSO be turning my living room into my filming studio next month because I'm THE ONLY PERSON LIVING IN IT. Everyone else spends time in their bedrooms doing their work or leisure.

I'd also been working on a few rough concept art pieces at the end of August N Early September for part of my Ying Qilin Film which is eventually my BIG ultimate goal. But baby steps, 1 by 1.

At the moment THIS one is on hold because the other stuff I'm working on is THAT TIME now because it's not hot summer weather. And I can use my computer more frequently, and all day. So, it's on the back burner right now.

I also have ONE more Motion Graphics/Moving Picture Composition I haven't finished painting yet.

I need to update THIS picture to HD, but the amount of painting work I need to do for the HD version is OVERWHELMING.

The trouble is that hackers destroyed the finished version, so I need to repaint it from scratch BEFORE I can even do the HD video animation motion graphics.

I found the old B N W version, and I'd started painting it back in the winter BEFORE I went down to Florida in March. But, I never finished it. too many OTHER things came up N I totally forgot about it. 

It will be similar to THESE other ones I made back in December 2017-Feb-2018 which were originally JUST still images:

[Side Note: If you like this style of a semi-still picture that moves I HIGHLY recommend my friend Lizkay's animated work found HERE.]

But, moving into 2019, once I'm finished with the puppet animations, I'M MOVING ONTO TRADITIONAL ANIMATION FOREVER. NO MORE PUPPETS! ^_^

I will still be integrating puppet animations as motion graphics elements inside my traditional animations as well as Effects animation like particles.

PLUS, I got TRAPCODE SUITE 15 NOW! ^,^

So, what's NEXT?

Well, if you didn't know this, I actually hang out FREQUENTLY on AMB Animation's LIVE STREAMS on YouTube. And YES, I AM aware that some people strongly dislike him.... but, the thing is.... he's generally RIGHT. But, he's also opinionated and outspoken. But, a number of my friends hang out with him in his streams, and I gotta tell ya, he's actually a pretty nice guy, its just that he talks BIG in his streams as his marketing style.

If I had the money I WOULD totally invest in his Library option. I also like Aaron Blaise's streams n stuff as well.

But, AMB has some free stuff on his website, and I personally want to get back into animation basics N fundamentals.

However, I do have ONE OTHER concept piece that's also STILL on my mind, since Spring 2017 at UMASS Boston, and THAT one is Traditional Animation based.

I had actually created a number of concept sketches for it a while back, but basically, I'd wanted to my OWN Artistic re-interpretation of the ending graphics for an OLD 80s French Anime TV show called "Mysterious Cities of Gold.

This ONE:

In fact, I'd already done a few ROUGH animation bits back in Summer 2017 of that very concept, which I'd also recently re-cut for a Video Art Proposal back in September in Boston for Boston CyberArts. (-and, NO, I didn't get it.)

In fact, I have a few more proposals to submit to them in the next few days.

But, this concept has been morphing N progressing quite a lot in my head this year.

I want to probably COMBINE this concept with my own artistic re-interpretation of an old James Bond film into:

OMG! I just LOVE THAT! But, also, KEEP IN MIND, I JUST GOT TRAPCODE! ;-) Tee-hee!


But..... here's the thing.... the whole GUN motif... yeah... that..... so, I'm not anti-guns, per se, but.... guns just ARE NOT MY THING.... they just aren't..... like u won't see 'em in my art... maybe some swords N archery.... but that's it...

But, I LOVE those pretty nude lady artsy silhouettes.

So, I was thinking up different graphical concepts that were NOT GUN RELATED..... IDK, all the gun motifs just make me feel UNCOMFORTABLE....

But, I like LANTERNS.

So, I figured I'd remake mine with lanterns, candles, torches, and useful objects, or tools, that have more fulfilling meanings to me personally.I dunno, I've been a multi-times victim of sexual assault, rape, n violence multiple times that GUNS in my art bother me being paired with nude ladies, so try and understand that.

I'm NOT a New Age-y person anymore but I STILL love all the imagery, like "Love and Light" or "Enlightenment", and other symbolic motifs. Please remember that I am a Philosopher as well as an Artist. 
I'm generally NOT bothered by people legally owning a gun, or enjoying regulated target practice at a gun range. (and YES I HAVE fired firearms since I was at least 6 because my uncle wanted me to, at my Mom's old car, which ticked off my grandfather because he owned the car even tho' it was just sitting there for a few years... and yes, he was in all kinds of armed service jobs including military n police, among others; and as a teen I was a pretty good shot w a bee-bee gun and a 22 rifle, but it seemed like a waste because we shot small eggs on beer bottles.) Personally, I HAVE hunted game using a Compound Bow, so I DON'T view guns as sportsman-like for hunting at all, and they ruin the meat. But, I also get if you want to have a small gun if you're being stalked. I am a philosopher, so I'm more in line with the thinking of Bruce Lee's "The Art of Fighting Without Fighting" (or Alan Watts) and various other Shaolin & Taoist philosophies as well. 
But, for whatever reason people r so brainwashed into this stuff that I NOW need to list a whole bunch of family members that were policemen, military vets, and ALL the DUDES I ever banged or seriously dated or flirted with enlisted in the service, etc... please, don't. I'm a philosopher, I'm NOT pushing an agenda, so leave it at that.

 I DID actually work on Tipsy TV this winter. So here's MY WORK including Camera work, MOtion Graphics n VFX + Editing:

Yes, I AM still very excited to be producing 2 of my very own TV Shows in my town, but I'm also going to be working on a show of my friend's as well which is a revised/redone version of "On The Scene" which he did a few years ago. I'll be shooting that this week, and also a few more times this month.

AND, I'm STILL the DP (Director of Photography) on the film "The Holy Maple Tree" which is NEVER ENDING for a short film.

Not only did I get promoted to Graphics and the Chief Editor, but I ended up becoming DP.

I had the DAUNTING TASK of trying to salvage and force a lot of stuff to fit together in what's called "the hike scenes" among crew. SO, I worked SO HARD to come up with this edit, which actually went well, and was received VERY WELL by cast N crew.

(Mostly shot on a camcorder, n various other cameras)

Unfortunately, this actor took his career goals very seriously to become an EMT, and altho' he was perfect to work with, and was our back-up for the 1st actor in this lead role, we found another actor in Rhode Island that was just the perfect match, and it was sad because we all still liked this guy as a person and liked working w/him.

Anyways, the previous footage of these scenes were not finished, and were fraught w/problems due to camera persons, the former DP, and cast N crew drama. Plus I have arthritis in my spine n this location is A KILLER.

Needless to say, I did manage to go shooting there this year a number of times, and WAY TOO MANY OF THEM. PLUS, I had personally invested in my own equipment, and upgraded the film by pushing for higher quality.

Suffice it to say, we've achieved it (CANON 70D EOS DSLR):

Kit lens w star cross filter/ This Actor is SO AMAZINGLY GOOD!

Kit lens w star cross filter

This lens is a $1000 lens: CANON 135mm F2 which we rented to achieve ultimate bokeh. NOT A ZOOM lens.

Kit lens

Shot on a camera crane w a kit lens

Shot on 50mm prime lens on low level light on the lowest F-stop. This actress is also VERY good on camera, and is also an Indie Film Director & Recording Artist/Producer, and all around creative type

[Also, nearly ALL of the costuming of Moonbeam, the Hippy character, including makeup supplies N jewelry, was done by me.]

As you can see my camera work has improved a lot, and I'd surpassed a number of things done by several of the Indie filmmakers I'd been working with since 2016. I was so dedicated to learning more about lenses, exposure, white balance, Prime lens, Kit lens, and Zoom as well as really cultivating a respect for things like Long Takes, L-Cuts N J-Cuts and even getting my own Video tripod as well as a Camera crane despite EVERYONE being hell-bent on drones, which makes NO SENSE because drones are for aerial shots.

The delays on this film made me SO GRUMPY. SO, once the summer ended I switched gears back to animation N drawing again. The heat waves made it impossible to use the graphics software(s).

I'd completed my film with my daughter also "Maple Bacon" in our brand "Titanic Panoramic" which also has a YouTube Channel:

I just tend to be more popular on NewGrounds this year, whereas my YouTube channel got screwed N demonetized n no one even seed my updates because they suppressed my content. However, she just granted a monetization last month, and is booming in views.

I now have a portfolio profile on ArtStation which I will probably be updating this month, but I'm rather busy at the moment.

I'm HOPING to get this FINAL Jackalope film DONE BEFORE Christmas.

OTHER STUFF I have IN THE WORKS Coming up:

I JUST GOT a new Green Screen Chroma-Key Lighting Kit! SO EXCITED! 

It arrived days ago, but I didn't open it yet because of my husband, Mr. Wang. I don't want to open it around him because he's a SPAZZ and he's got finals at MASS ARTS Boston because he's at Graduate School studying for his Master's Degree in Art.

I also ordered a plain Chinese Folding Screen... so u can't see my ugly living room, but ALSO so I could paint something on it!

I'm also going to be making a NEW PIRATE HAT/Bonnet. 

That will take a while to arrive here.But, I did get some bits for it already. I will retire my old Pirate hat back to a Witch Hat, which is what it ACTUALLY is.

I also FINALLY got my VERY OWN fake leaves. This was SUCH a pain in the butt to get, but I FINALLY got some. I need them for a prop on the film which I've worked on while on stream, but for the film "The Holy Maple Tree".

 I actually haven't finished it. I have a persistent pesky problem with hackers, and they targeted me SO HARD in September N October, and wore me out.

I was actually doing very well at my motivation to stream LIVE , but they kept hacking me.

So, I gave up and moved onto animation for a while. I was very upset that I couldn't continue w/Inktober N Drawtober, but they even hacked my modem, video card, iPhone, and my Abode Creative Cloud.

It was frustrating.  They also hacked my streams, and deleted my streams in Salem Mass on Halloween.

So, I hope to finish that also. It's on the back burner at the moment tho'.

I also got a Prism for trendy photography N video effects.  I'm sure u've seen the stuff on Instagram all over the place. (BTW I'm NO LONGER ON INSTAGRAM)

Well, thanx for for coming to my Blog. 

Nixies (Double Tailed Mermaids or Undines) Concepts

So, just in case u didn't know about my Nixies, it's not anything new. They are called any number of names in antiquity, anything from Nixes to Nixies, to Melusine, to Mermaids, to Sirens, to Water Nymphs or Water Elementals, and even Water Djinn, or Jing. Whatever... it's a mermaid with double tails. or, just a mermaid if you prefer....

I first became enamored with the idea when I was living in China just before the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. What a strange year, a whole bunch of strange surprises and so many things going massively wrong for me, including the economic crash, I wanted to be a volunteer for the Olympics but that didn't happen, because even tho' I'd wanted to apply early, they wouldn't accept my application yet, and then once it was time, they not only filled up with applicants, but they suddenly got snobby about whom to choose. too bad, I wouldn't be an excellent volunteer.
I also went to Mongolia that year, and I was so sick from the AC & the unsanitary conditions in Guangzhou, and some weight and got accosted by a creepy beggar in Beijing with "I love you! I love you! I love you!" and my spouse still heckling me about it to this day, and also getting mocked by people for being  (the Chinese idea of) fat all over Beijing as tho' I was some sort of freak.

It's been pretty depressing for me on the art front. I couldn't go to CAL-ARTS due to the so-called Recession. And, all my dreams of anything went up in smoke. To top it all off, a number of persons whom I'd thought, unquestioningly, were my friends, turned out WERE NOT. Ouch! What happened? I questioned it, and them, and my brain worked...

2009 was especially difficult for me. A ton of anguish, sadness, and so on... I would just stay in bed all day weeping, and sobbing because my heart hurt so badly. But, I had to play all happy for my daughter... I never felt so alone in my whole life. Alone, unwanted, unwelcomed, disrespected, betrayed, and tossed aside like I were trash...

I would sit at my sketchbook, trying in vain to sketch, and nothing happening... it's the most painful thing any artist could ever go through. And, haunting dreams.... terrible. I kept trying to sketch. And, I couldn't! It was just all coming out like scribble-scrabble!


Well, anyways.... 

Since last month, these Nixies have been on my mind again.... it seems like everywhere I look around something is reminding me of them, and I often find myself in a daydream.

I started to watch those Australian Mermaid TV shows "H2O" on Netflix, and altho' they can be silly, something in those triggered my inspiration... altho' I must say, MINE IS NOTHING LIKE THEIR CONCEPTS AT ALL!

My original concept that I'd come up with in 2008, while in China, was something of a musical number animated short set to music... I wanted it to be sort of like a water ballet, and sort of like Fantasia.

It was intend to be a small piece for my "Eyewitness" project. (ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

However, it has been morphing in my mind, and it keeps on growing, and expanding, like a concert, or a live show.

I have quite a few versions of how I want it to be produced, sort of like how Macross will produce multiple variations of different versions of the same project, like "Macross Plus" which has a Mini-Series version, and a Full Length Feature Film version, as well as different language versions. And "Macross Frontier" also did this. I also like the whole modern concept of "remixing". And, also how the "Macross Frontier" also inspired live show performances as well, or even Disney does this with their films and puts them on Broadway.

Well, with my empty pockets now, I doubt I (a total nobody) could ever get my work preformed in Vienna at the place I currently am now.... As if! 

But, I can at least sketch out the rough concepts...

It is so strange, because when it comes to art, the whole inspiration stuff comes from somewhere... but I don;t know how, nor where... and it just flows into me, and through me, and floods & fills me up... after a while, I just couldn't contain it any longer, and stuff began to come out. It just sort of writes its self... and amends it self as well...

I spent several moments today, and yesterday just crying big tears because the emotions are so intense.

It's really overwhelming, and kinda gives me some major anxiety... and nervousness... but, I just had to publish some of the sketches, and I couldn't stop sketching either...

I'm out of practice, but I can still sketch.... it's terrible, but at least the concepts are THERE.

I spent so much time last week searching for reference materials, including shipwreck photos, artist paintings, and so on...

I am VERY confident that NO ONE has ANYTHING like my original art. Sure, it has influences here and there, but I am making/creating something entirely all mine.

But, I'm also incredibly paranoid of it getting robbed, or ripped off before I can even get a chance to do anything with it.

This one here, has been on my mind all month. Altho' it is rough, it's kind of close to what I was trying to figure out how to make a a scene look.... I am still developing this scene and/or concept... so please do not use my work. I really do not want any major corporations ripping off my stuff.

And, much fund that I need are still stuck on a perpetually pending status much to my frustration. For crying out loud, I'm on food stamps, and I still haven't been hired for any job at all yet...

However, mark my word, should anyone rip off my work, I do not care how much of a mega corporation they are, hen I'm all set with my fundage situation, and my legal/financial team, I WILL COME AFTER YOU. This stuff I have here IS DATED, and I WILL COME AFTER YOU IN LEGAL WAYS YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT YET... That is a promise!You don't even know the meaning of the word vicious yet until you have vexed ME! You won't even be able to sleep!

I very much want to showcase the prehensile nature of the tails, with exaggerated muscular movements.

But, I am still working out how I want the tails to be... they might end up being even longer than they already are... but, I haven't worked out a formula/design yet.

I do, in fact, very much want an electronic fusion musical style. It is still forming inside of my mind, but it's coming along much further now. But, after reviewing music all month, I am quite sure that I want to incorporate synthesizers and modulator transistors to give a whimsical "watery" sound or mood. I am VERY amendment about this.
But, I also want to incorporate orchestra/symphony and ethnic/folk fusion.

Each animated short or performance I already have a very close idea of how I want the music to be, and sound, and in one case, I almost have the words, in my head, coming to me for a singing part.

I've had similar experiences with other shorts I'd created for my "Eyewitness" project in the past also, which I also want to strongly incorporate music, especially THIS ONE HERE.

The rough sketch to the left is another concept. More and more, I feel this one might actually be already becoming it's OWN individual performance piece. This one is meant to showcase the muscular ability of the double tails, like yoga, gymnastics, ballet, and bellydance floorwork as well as contortionist and acrobatic performance arts. I also want to have the dancer coming out of the water onto either the shore, or cliffs/rocks, and specifically SHOW that the hair is WET. This one will be a REALLY excellent challenge!

I realize the anatomy and proportions are off quite a bit, but I am out of practice... I would like to go practice a lot more in life drawing gestures classes, but I am so broke that it;s just not gonna happen yet, unless my funds are ready.... of if some major charitable benevolent person swoops in out of the kindness of their heart and- oh who am I kidding?! It's 2015! That kinda stuff never happens except on TV!

And, this lovely rough sketch over here is my Diva Nixie, Melusine!
She is still being developed. I think she isn't plump enough yet. I want her to be very voluptuous, curvy, round, and full figured. And, she isn't there yet. I also want her to have very defined biceps & triceps, and well as wide hips, and I want the tails to resemble thick thighs.

I want everything about her to be big, broad, plump, and stable. She will have CURLY BIG HAIR and she will be BRONZE skin toned, with some kind of dark hair... maybe black... haven't decided yet.
I haven't decided which color to make her scales yet... I was thinking orange and gold... but, I haven't decided yet.

Her animated performance part will have minimal movements, because she is so detailed, and will require several layers of animation. 

I think I would also like her to have a voice like, or very similar to, Alison Moyet.

I will say this: THERE WILL BE NO BLONDS, and NO CHERRY RED HAIR, and NO EMERALD OR REPTILE GREEN scales ANYWHERE in my productions! NONE!

I also want to make my Nixies to NOT all be Caucasian. NO WAY! Just a few...
I WILL also have a piece with extensive PEARLY BLACK mermaids, and some Pearly White. But, I will be breaking ALL stereotypes, and boundaries it those!

AGAIN: IF YOU STEAL OR RIP OFF MY IDEAS I WILL FUCK YOU UP! OKAY? 

The rough concept art sketches are found in my DeviantArt gallery SCRAPS.

The Complete Portfolio of Belly Dancers Artwork (Digitally Colored) By "Black UniGryphon" 2003-2011

Here is the COMPLETE List/Portfolio of Black UniGryphon's Belly Dancers & Exotic Maidens
(The finished Digitally Colored Versions)
(All Colored in Adobe Photoshop 6.0) 

They are original hand drawn pencil sketches which are cleaned. these are ONLY the Digitally colored/finished works:

Artwork by
"Black UniGryphon" 烏獨角獸
Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman-Wang 任思麒












 Sketched in 2005-2006:
(Colored in 2006- 2008)

2008:

2009:

2010:

2011:

Misc. Other:

Drawn in 1996, Colored in 2000:

2003 Furry:

For larger resolution versions & prints of artwork by "Black UniGryphon" (Kandice K. Zimbleman) visit the gallery on Deviant Art.<----->