Links to the Past

I missed last week’s weekend posts so there’s a lot to catch up on this week! Enjoy!

• I can’t applaud this Texas town enough for what they did with an abandoned WalMart building. I wish all abandoned property had this happen!

• I need one of these Piggyback Riders STAT. It would make hiking trips with the little SO much easier, and she would love the view.

• Media for Misfits had this great post on different contemporary comic artists and their art.

• This article from the Frozen Moon about being an Anti-Mommy Mom sits near and dear to my heart. It’s long, but it covers the feeling that for her, being a mom isn’t enough – she has to be her own person too. I struggled with that (and the guilt that comes with it) around my daughter’s first birthday, and I can so relate to her post! A fave quote from it: “I want to BE a bigger picture, one where motherhood is just the part of the color scheme in the art of my life.” SO MUCH YES.

• Celebrity guests on Sesame Street rarely disappoint – Hello Giggles rounds up some of the best!

• Minor confession: I have been SUPER disappointed with the Final Fantasy games since FFXII. (I’ve never played FFX, so I can’t judge those). This article about why it’s okay to (possibly) be excited about FFXV, and pretty much describes my exact feelings on the subject of FF.

• Mirrors + trees = this amazing photography. Seriously, check this out.

• The new trailer for Insurgent is up and I am actually really disappointed. Maybe it’s because I am always cynical about book-to-movie adaptations, but this was just a disappointment. I feel like it’s entirely catered to 3D, doesn’t actually give any sense of the story, and as far as I can remember (though it’s been awhile), this ‘scene’ has NOTHING to do with the book. I know it’s a teaser trailer, but really? Grumble frumble. Your thoughts?

• One of my favorite YouTubers Mary Doodles has started a new series called How To Art! I know this may seem like a weird pick, as I consider myself pretty competent in the how-to-art department, but I love seeing other artists process and thoughts on the subject. I feel you can never have too much info on a subject you love. Part 1 and Part 2 are up, with more to come! I really like Part 1, and her thoughts on art in general.

• Lastly, what I feel is the most important link this week, is this post from KimiWho about boycotting Black Thursday. I feel Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate family and friends, and that’s IT. Definitely read her article, and share the graphic she provided!

And now, some spectacular Sailor Moon fan art.

AHHHHHHH! I am dying of joy over here. Art noveau is one of my favorite art styles, and this series by DA User eri-phyle is just spectacular!! Click her username to see her gallery, which has lots more individual Sailor Scout artwork.

5 Fandom Friday

This week’s 5 Fandom Friday, hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick is all about Thanksgiving!

Characters I Would Invite To My Thanksgiving Feast!

Seriously, there are SO many choices for this!! Ahhh!! So many characters I’d love to meet in real life. I can’t pick JUST five, so some of them are groups.

1. The Doctor. Ideally the tenth Doctor, but really any would do. I just adore the Doctor and I can only imagine the stories he’d have to share, and how he would interact with everyone else.

2. The Sailor Scouts. I couldn’t pick just one! I just think they’d be a riot all together, and I have always wanted to hang out with the Sailor Scouts. Plus, I would totally recruit Makoto (Sailor Jupiter!) to help me with the cooking! XD

3. Dean Winchester. Dean is just hilarious. I very much appreciate his sense of humor. And I would love to see how he and the Doctor get on. I feel hilarity would ensue in some form. Plus, he would appreciate all the pies and baked goods I’d make, which is never a bad thing.

4. Merry and Pippin. You can’t have one without the other! Well you can, but then it’s heartbreaking and makes me cry (I’m looking at you Return of the King….). Anywho, not only would the two of them love to sit down to a massive meal, I just love them. Plus they could lead us all in fabulous songs.

5. Fred and George Weasley. Yes, I realize Fred died in Deathly Hallows but it’s my fantasy dinner so too bad! 😀 Seriously, the two of them would just complete this mix. I’m picturing massive amounts of pranks, them joining in song with Merry and Pippin, and doing all sorts of magic to Dean. It’d be a riot.

Despite being an introvert, when it comes to the holidays I love a loud, boisterous get together full of laughter! That’s just how my family has always done it – we all talk across the table, and laugh a LOT. We just love to have a good time, and that’s the vibe I’d want at my Thanksgiving feast!

Links to the Past

• I am in love with this Christmas stocking holder from Etsy shop Mom With A Saw. And in a more relevant holiday, this kitty set would be perfect for Halloween!

• As someone who loves to thrift shop, I am really liking this new-to-me website Twice. It’s the beauty of thrift shopping without ever having to leave my house, or sort through endless racks! Perfect. My first purchase was a skirt, which I love! I’ll be shopping again for sure.

• As an introvert, being pregnant was unbearable sometimes with so many people thinking pregnancy entitles them to invade a woman’s personal space and make remarks about their body. This article explains just how wrong that is, and also helpful things you can say to a pregnant woman. (Hint: It’s NOT, “Are you having twins?!”….)

• Jess over at Bookworms in Dresses shared this fabulous list of adjectives to spice up your vocabulary. I love words, and especially learning new words! A few of my favorites from this list: heuristic, jejune, and sagacious.

• Katie from Punk Projects just posted an amazing resource for tutorials/tips on using Copic markers! I’m so excited for this, as Copics are at the top of my list to try out!

• I want ALL the Sailor Moon jewelry from Etsy shop Starlight Deco Dream! Especially this one. And this one. And this one.

• And lastly, every Johnny Depp character in one cosplay = best cosplay ever. Just fantastic.

I know I usually post some Zelda fanart at the end, but seriously I just can’t get over the above cosplay so that will have to suffice!

5 Fandom Friday: Gateway Fandoms That Made Me Who I Am Today

The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick are hosting a link up for Fridays in October all about fandoms! Since I love any reason to talk about my fandoms, I’ll be joining in and moving Links to the Past to Saturday for this month. It’ll be back next Saturday so stay tuned!

This week’s topic is the 5 gateway fandoms that made me who I am today. Let’s see. . .

 

1. Sailor Moon
So much of my life has been shaped by Sailor Moon funnily enough. It kicked off my love for drawing and is what got me seriously into art. My walls were pasted with pictures I’d printed out to draw. I owned every VHS movie (I’m 95% sure I’d still cry watching Sailor Moon R: Promise of the Rose). I discovered so many other animes and mangas I love because of it. And it made for some amazing memories in middle school – me and my group of friends playing Sailor Moon at recess! I still love watching Sailor Moon Crystal (though I’m behind by an episode!). It just brings up such wonderful feeling of nostalgia.

 

2. The Legend of Zelda/Final Fantasy
(Click the pic for the artist’s website – most amazing mashup EVER!! :D) I’ve already talked these games to death while doing the Video Game Blog Challenge last month, so suffice to say they made me realize just how amazing video games can be.

 

3. Pokemon
I met my best friend of now almost seventeen years because of Pokemon. I was into the games and trading card game, and she was the go-to girl for card trading. We started talking, hit it off, and have been best friends ever since! I can’t imagine my life without her, so I definitely can’t leave Pokemon off this list. I remember the cards being banned in school, and it was the first experience I ever had with adults thinking games/video games were a negative thing.

 

4. Farscape
This was the first show that made me enjoy the sci-fi genre. I grew up watching the original Star Trek and Doctor Who with my dad, but I was never really into them. I was always a fantasy gal, and just couldn’t get attached to anything in sci-fi land. Farscape changed all that. I fell in love with every character, every storyline, and have enjoyed a lot more sci-fi since then!

 

5. Harry Potter
Although I didn’t start the series until Book 3 was out, I became immediately hooked. I attended the midnight release for each book thereafter, and holed up for a day just so I could read it in one sitting. I cried reading the final book. I couldn’t believe such a monumental series was over. It’s still one of my favorites to re-read!

WIP Wednesday

Welcome to my first ever WIP Wednesday! This is another step for me in breaking out of my super shy shell (yay alliteration!) that I am stuck in when it comes to my artwork. I have no problem sharing my finished portraits, but sketches, doodles, personal artwork – the idea of showing that to the masses freak me out. But, it’s time to do it! I’ve been sharing WIPs and things on Instagram to break me in, but now every other Wednesday I’ll be sharing my current art projects here!

First up isn’t actually a WIP (boy, I’m off to a great start). It is, however, the piece I drew for the winner of my blog giveaway at the end of June! So much fun to draw – made me happy just looking at those happy faces!

This piece I’ve had started for at least a month, but haven’t finished it yet…for no apparent reason! I tend to hop from project to project when I don’t have a commission, and sometimes things just end up sitting around for awhile. This is one of the first pieces I doodled without a reference for it, and I’m liking it a lot! Still figuring out watercolors, but I’m having fun with it.

Next up is a bookmark for my hubs (who rarely reads my blog, so I’m hoping he won’t otherwise I’ve ruined the surprise). The character, Kiora, is from Magic the Gathering and I just love her color scheme. Having lots of fun layering in her colors.

This is a sketch I whipped up on Sunday after seeing Guardians of the Galaxy. Wheee fanart! Hoping to turn this into a watercolor. As you can see, I definitely struggle with sketching in too many details when I’m planning on doing a painting. This sketch took about 15 minutes and I had to constantly stop myself from sketching in a whole lot more. But, it’s all a process.

And lastly, another non-WIP! I made these Sailor Moon bookmarks a couple weeks ago, and want to have a giveaway for them! Right now I’m stuck on two things: how to laminate them, and then whether or not to have the giveaway on my blog or on Instagram. Normally when I laminate I just use packing tape, but these are wider than the tape, and I’m not wild about having a tape seam on them. However, I really don’t want to spend any money on another method. Thoughts?

The only other big project right now is that I’m completely revamping my art area in our master bedroom. I’ve taken everything off my desk (and disassembled part of the desk!), I’m moving shelves around – it’s quite the task. Most of my art supplies are currently in piles around the room, but it’s coming along!

Do you draw/sketch/doodle/make any form of art? What’s your favorite medium?

A Throwback Thursday

Do you remember my post about my art from awhile back? Well, luckily my mom is absolutely fabulous and has saved basically ALL of my childhood art. So we trekked into my Grandmother’s attic searching through boxes of my old art so I can show you these gems:

Yay for some Sailor Moon love! I was obsessed back then. . .

Some of my first ever ‘serious’ drawings, by which I mean I had taken a real interest in drawing at this point. These are all from when I was 11. So much fun to go back and look!

Currently, I’ve got three works going – first is this commission for two lovely ladies. It’s going to be a wedding present from the woman on the left to her soon-to-be wife!

Then I have my just-for-fun piece. It’s a montage/poster of Pentatonix (the most AMAZING a capella group ever – go YouTube them immediately if you’ve never heard of them; you will not be disappointed!) My refs for this one were all screen grabs I took from their Radioactive video with Lindsey Stirling. I just loved the costumes in it, and that they all look totally badass! New life goal once it’s finished: someday meet them so they can sign it.

And then I just started a new piece for a contest on DeviantArt. The contest is called ‘Nightmares’ and if my piece goes according to plan it will be my first ever self-portrait. . .and there will be spiders. Freaking out a little bit about drawing them as I truly get uncomfortable just looking at pictures of them. AHHHHHH. *Deep breaths* I can do it!

So with all of that, plus some wall art paintings for my daughter’s room, I have some serious art on my hands this week! Wouldn’t have it any other way.

Until next time,

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