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.

DevArt Valentines

So, I saw there was this new feature on DevArt with Valentines, n I tried to make a morbid valentine with their on-site program artsy thingy, and NOTHING happened... I also found it frustrating...

But, my daughter figured it out, n scolded me for being dumb & lazy... :-/
Hey! I worked a lot on that dumb thing! Not my fault DevArt didn't let u do it on their own programs...

So, she made me MAKE ONE FOR HER.

So, I made this ULTRA SIMPLE one... since she robbed my WACOM again!!!!

It stinx, but people ACTUALLY LOOKED AT IT, USED IT, and FAV'ed it! WTF?

Heartness by BlackUniGryphon on DeviantArt

Boho Chic-ness Inspirations...

I've done stuff before that was very BOHO Chic inspired, etc...

I've been working on some knitting stuff since about may/June, and I need to redo the stuff all over...



So, I gotta take it apart... and rework it.

I finally got this necklace done... sort-of... but, now I think it might be better with a different chian, or better yet as a belt....



I'm trying to shoot for something more along THIS sort of vibe:

But, we'll see... I also have a number of projects to start or finish, and other things that need being done...

NJ BBQ Picnic Party Decor

As you may know, my father had a big Pig Roast BBQ Picnic Party this year in New Jersey.
I helped out quite a bit.

I worked pretty much the whole day just doing chores. This was all accomplished by the evening, which was when I shot these.

This is "the kids' table" which got moved further out when the waterslide was set-up.
It has bubbles for the kids to play with. ^_^

ALL of the cahirs you see were hand washed by me.

My father is on the side, if you look really hard, doing several racks of ribs in a smoker.

The portable fireplace was set-up.

A view of the greenhouse and a corner of the garden from the table I cleaned.

I worked really long & hard to get this table clean. It was filthy and covered in years of crud.

And the only thing next is the actual roasting of the pig, and the party.