As far as I can tell, I'm basically DONE at UMASS Boston. I have an exam on the 19th. And, I will still finish up my Work Study job in the Biology lab probably for Winter & Spring semester. But, basically I'm NOT enrolled in ANY classes. This stuff is so exhausting, and very expensive in both money and physical energy. I was trying to get an RA position job. But, they never called me, nor interviewed me, and I'm more than sure I was the 1st one. I got stuck with a debt of about $6K on my credit card which included a massive tuition charge and fees. I'd only JUST paid off my AIPH student loan from 2001 in July of this year.
Taiji Chuan Class at UMASS Boston
But, I ended up with so much B-ROLL, and I'm working on an independent film in Brockton, and 2 of my own Animated films with my daughter. So, It's all good.
This instructor had a film demo day, Eric Levine, in my Experimental Film Class and he had a comment about not just studying and majoring in Art, but BEING AN ARTIST, and he said don't bother doing it unless you really NEED it, because as an artist, the whole reason for doing art, and BEING and Artist, was because you really MUST DO IT, or you will DIE. WOW! That is SO TRUE.
Anyways, since I'd shot SO MUCH B-Roll and footage, and several ideas burning within me, I came back to an earlier project that I'd cut, re-cut, and re-edited so many times, due to sheer pickiness. Most of the footage was stuff I shot in the winter of this year (Jan-March 2017) . The Full story/stats are HERE.
I'd managed to finish it up in Sept/October when I was sick.
Production Still from my Video
I'd also managed to do a short animation based on some Ancient Greek Art: the Dipylon Krater:
And I also ended up making a Jack-'O-Lantern based on the Ancient Greek Artist Exikias' Ajax & Achilles:
I have no idea how the heck I pulled them both off, because I could barely even fit any of it in. imagine what they'd have been like if I'd had more time, and didn't rush.
Then, I got to also come back to revisit some older works and go from there in After Effects animation Experimentation:
Part of the reason I did these was because I figured I could use it in my Experimental Film Final. So, I did. The Full details are HERE.
Here's the Documentary footage:
Here's the clip I did for the presentation:
I also managed to go back to my old footage I shot in Fall 2016 (for UMASS Boston) and I edited it with some ambient music I made this year to make a mediation video which was a dream of mine for a few years. Full Details are found HERE.
I would like to also cut some of the other leftover footage/B-Roll and audio design a new version of this song for an evening setting.
I also managed to shoot a few photographic things also: Eclipse Bokeh (August 2017):
July in Mount Laurel New Jersey:
July in Weymouth, MA:
September:
New 6 point star/cross filter for SLR Photography
I also shot some Cosplay of WottyX ^_^ at the UMASS Boston Anime Club.
Taiji Chuan Class at UMASS Boston
I didn't do as much creative things as I would've liked. The muses were tugging on me a lot.
Some massive drama also went down on the Film I was working on. I'd started as just a Production Assistant (PA), and had been promoted to an Editor by Summer, and also Graphics, and often had to stand-in for the DP. Well, the DP fired herself in a blaze of glory because some bad stuff happened to her. It was another dramatic moment on the film, and we'd already had a number of those with cast. It resulted in my being Promoted to the Director of Photography (DP).
The entire drama was so traumatic for the Director, and since I was fulfilling the semester at UMASS, the entire film mostly went on hiatus. But, since being promoted I changed a few things. I can't disclose much, but I will be insisting on a Lighting Director hence forth. Production will resume in Spring of 2018, however, the Producer/Director & I will be starting to Edit footage soon. I'm also putting in a lot of creative input for audio as well now even tho I'm DP which is more visual. I'm STILL 1 of the main Editors.
"Ying Qilin" promotional Graphic
Barefoot at UMASS Boston
Doing Homeork Outside at UMASS Boston
Other than that, I still want to peruse more Life Drawing practice, and wish to also wrap up "Maple Bacon" animated short with my daughter for my Qilin Animated Film project I started in the summer to learn Adone's Animate program.
I also still have several experimental animation ideas I'd like to play with in Adobe Effects. I really want to get ALL of that stuff out of the way, before I can fully move onto my Qilin project.
UMASS Boston Art Department
I'm very much torn between working with cameras & video like Filmmaking, and Drawing and Animation. Animation and drawing is my GREATEST LOVE & PASSION, but I soooooooo enjoy cameras, and video editing, and all that stuff. I don't believe I will ever give them up. The other things I do creatively are just supplemental because I'm an artist.
I'm trying to produce my own animated short, which involves practicing all kinds of things, because traditional animation involves LOTS & LOTS of DRAWING! But, since it's the new millennium that means LOTS OF PROGRAMS TO LEARN, which also involved PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
It involves Qilin (Kirin or Kylin), Chinese unicorns, dragons, etc! Here is the Main BLOG: HERE The Facebook PAGE: HERE The Tumblr: HERE
I STILL haven't been able to get to doing Life Drawing, per se, but lots of OTHER DRAWING.
Since I'd launched my GoFundMe campaign I have been able to purchase Adobe Creative Cloud. I've been practicing that a lot. I also NOW can contribute as an editor and graphics creator on the the independent film (The Holy Maple Tree) I've been working on since November with my very good friend whom is the Director/Producer. I'd mostly been a P.A. doing mostly audio, but also prep for opening/closing film sets. I am truly lucky to have such a good friend! I've also made a lot of new friends and connections which have been SO encouraging, positive, and helpful to my life, creativity as an artist, and so on.
I've also been able to purchase many things that I NEEDED, which I budgeted for, including a condenser microphone kit! ^_^
I'm also still very grateful to my video teacher at UMASS for having opened up all of these opportunities for me.
I have also re-opened my Etsy. Nothing on it right now tho'. And, I ended up getting some paid freelance work (nondisclosure) from a very good friend of mine, going way back, and I was very happy to do this work. ^_^
Unfortunately, at the moment, my financial aid got stalled, and I cannot return to UMASS unless it can be resolved. I can't do anything about that until Mr. Wang gets back from Japan/China. I believe he's in China at the moment.
Also, an elder gentleman hit our minivan about 1-2 days before Mr. Wang had to leave to go to Japan. this had been a constant frustration ever since! The elder gentleman was so upset that he hit us, and was shaking & quivering, but he'd admitted he was guilty, and set up his very good insurance coverage for us. meanwhile, auto body shops are all on vacations lately. I did manage to get EXCELLENT coverage out of the medical aspect, and now I have full paid visits to the chiropractor! I am SO GRATEFUL!
I had to monitor my visits to the chiropractor, and I was almost halfway through my yearly coverage, which isn't much. I didn't know what I would do, because I hurt my neck really bad! Luckily, the insurance gave me medical coverage! When I got the statement for how much they decided to award me, I was happy! I just didn't know how to work that out! SO, I hobbled over to the chiropractor, and told them my situation. When they found out how much I was getting awarded, they dropped everything, started making calls, and even started either helping me with paperwork, or doing it for me!
So glad that had been taken care of! Apparently my neck had some tissue tears, and had healed wrong. I get to go 3 times a week now! ^_^
Here's the animation stuff I've been practicing:
Studio Ghibli's OpenToonz:
Notes:
I had pretty big hopes for this program. It's Studio Ghibli's open source animation program OpenToonz, which is entirely free.
Unfortunately, I found it to be SO ENTIRELY BACKWARDS which is much like how I feel trying to drive a Japanese car after growing up driving only American cars. It's just SO BACKWARDS, it often felt awkward. I was frequently lost. updates weren't making it better. It lagged when I drew. There was no precision in drawing. I constantly had to source tutorials on YouTube, but they often didn't help out.
The main thing I wanted to practice is a number of horse/equine walk cycles. It just makes logical sense. I want better quality animation, so the ONLY way to do that is to just PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!
Toon Boom's Harmony Advanced Version:
First Hair Cycle:
With 2nd Cycle started:
With both hair Cycles and tweens:
2nd Hair Animation with it's 1st Animation Cycle:
Finished Version with 2 hair cycles and a head turn at the end:
Notes:
I mostly wanted to focus MORE on the motion, movement, animation, form, and timing, and not so much on the actual perfection of drawing, because it was making me crazy. I'm not accustomed to drawing with my WACOM "Bamboo" pad, I only use it for coloring the drawings I hand drew, then scanned. I like the feeling of real pencils and paper... but, I LOVE digital coloring. Toon Boom Harmony (Advanced Version)
So, I gotta tell ya, I have ALWAYS loved TOON BOOM, and I HATE Flash! HATED IT! I remember when in was Macromedia, and I also remember Macromedia had this GREAT program called Director, which was pixel based and I LOVED IT. I could even do scripting/coding like it was breathing! I ONLY liked working in Flash, honestly, whenever my friend Kyle was with me, because he's like MAGIC. But, when he wasn't there, the magic vanished...
The kicker is this: I SO WANTED to actually BUY this program. I figured the Advanced version (since it comes in 3 versions now) would suffice.... BUT, none of the versions EXCEPT the Premium version do audio! WTF! I can't do the monthly subscription, because my spouse is a control freak, and would veto that, and I can't guarantee I can have enough income each month to pay it, so I prefer the bulk 1-year payment of programs, which are a better deal. The problem is the Premium version is almost $900! WTF! So, not going to happen.
Anyways, I already have Adobe CC now... which has their NEW version of what USED TO BE Flash... Heidi says she thinks it's more like Toon Boom.... I hope that's true. *pouty face*
Fixing up my Vintage Animation from UARTS Phila and AIPH in Adobe Premiere Pro CC:
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Qilin Character Designs:
I have done SOOOOOOOOOO MANY sketches of new Qilin sketches! I'm NOT even gonna post them all here. You can catch them ALL in my GALLERY! Or a DIRECT LINK to the Gallery's Blog POST.
It was suggested to me, a number of times to try LIVE STREAMING myself sketching, drawing, or coloring. At the moment, my ability to do this was rather limited. Live streaming on YouTube isn't always free anymore, and you need to download a private party client/application.
Also, my ability to stream content outward is capped by my ISP broadband (Verizon) even tho' I've been using them since GW Bush was president.
Regardless, a lot of my coloring process is up on YouTube right now. I can ONLY get it to recognize the old vintage Photoshop 6.0 tho'. Almost no programs can be viewed in the live stream.
So far, this sort of thing wasn't going very well for me.... so, I might not continue with it. I will, however, continue coloring the Qilin, so don't worry.
Other Stuffs:
I may, or may not, have been looking into a certain potential position out West... possibly doing a portfolio of that. I was inquiring to a close friend of mine in Burbank, about their thoughts on it, and it was pretty honest, and encouraging. I have pretty bad anxieties over it... but, I had been suggested to this certain thing (potentially) regarding me reaching out and submitting some sort of a portfolio. I had previously been rather depressed (and this goes back to at least 2015) so I just wasn't open to the idea, and had a very bad attitude towards it. But, I had been suggested this by multiple persons, a number of times, and even this year. I had been on my mind a lot.
I'd stumbled into it, yet again, recently because the specific thing is a sequel of sorts to a well known film from the 1980s, which I absolutely loved which is whimsical, fantasy, but also dark, and very in line with the type of things I would LOVE to work on. Even my daughter got wind of this suggestion, when I was talking to someone about it, and was like: Mom! That is so perfect for you! You should at least try it!
I am also doing some graphics for the film I'm working on. We're often on this '90s stint. So, we wanted cheesey 90s looking graphics. We we actually shooting stuff at BTV, and going back again.
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There's an actress on the film, Sissy, whom you may recognize from some major mainstream films, but much of the acting talent is pretty good, and some are quite established.
This film is SO MUCH FUN! I gotta tell ya! But, after an entire day of shooting, I'm so drained. It's kinda like when you were kid and played all day at a Theme Park... except we were doing serious film making... serious for sure. But, it's SO FUN!
We've shot in several locations, including Rhode Island, all over Massachusetts, and even at the Director's house. We did stunt car scenes, lumber jacks, 90s party scenes, Heaven & Hell, and love scenes.
I'd also done some spontaneous acting. I'm NOT AN ACTOR, per se.
So, the Director was like: Kandice, you wanna be a nurse today?
If I'd known I'd have lines, I'd be like: NO!
But, next thing i knew, I had 1 line, then 3, then, a whole part.
Since, literally, THE very first day of the semester I got SLAMMED with a spur of the moment project with an ABRUPT DEADLINE, and a TON of pressure to preform. The BIG thing was a competition for Art On The Marquee which is this MASSIVE, HUGE, building made of gigantic screens.
I had to come up with a proposal, demonstrate it, and I was so scared of failing, and especially scared that my original idea wouldn't go over very well... that it might be TOO WILD & WHIMSICAL, that I came up with a 2nd idea... which I was also forced to keep, and also submit.
The whole ordeal was nerve wracking, and THE MOST intimidating thing I'd EVER had to do. If he hadn't made us do it mandatory, I'd never have tried, because it's SO massive & scary. I had to REALLY reach & dig down DEEP into my past experiences and see what I could come up with. He was very hard on me, and wouldn't accept anything less than whatever he believed was better. I even contacted the curator, and he helped me.
This project has NEVER been done at our university, and this class I was especially invited to be in by the instructor. Not only was my best & favorite project chosen, but 2 other students (all girls) from our class.
I have been SO BUSY, that I had almost no time to do anything accept watch a few films with my daughter on the weekends.
But, despite how busy I have been (and I've only NOW gotten a bit of a break) I'm actually VERY happy with my life. I've been networking, building relationships, and I feel valued. I have not been happy in my life, at all, in years... I don't even know when the last time I was actually happy.
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I got free tickets to BOSTON WINE RIOT 2016 because I'm YELP ELITE but Mr. Wang refused to go. SO, I asked my friend, and he was like: YES.
Then, he was like: Hey, come work on my film.
So, I was like: OK!
The film is called "The Holy Maple Tree" and it's a lot of fun!
We JUST started filming last Sunday, and we will film every Sunday. The first scene we films if the 90's party scene(s). I actually brought a lot of my own stuff, makeup, lighting, props, etc.
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I wouldn't have done ANY of these things if it hadn't been for my instructor at UMASS Boston. I really did NOT have the confidence to do anything anymore, until he pushed me. And he pushes me a lot. He totally changed my life. I'm very grateful, and very lucky.
I also have a contract with a company to do a jewelry photo shoot soon. The necklace finally arrived! But, i need to get a model soon!
