It’s 2011, and you know what that means. If any of you guys have big plans, you better get crackin’. You’ve only got a year left! Uh… you know, if you’re concerned about that sorta thing.
Which makes me wonder. The Mayans predicted the world would end in 2012… but what day? Like, is this something I can pencil in on my calendar? Y’know, for scheduling purposes?
Anyhoo. Here’s some New Year art.
Wow. Is it really November already? Wait. When do we turn our clocks back?
So I’ve been doing… things… mostly I’ve been trying to fit in drawing while I’m not working. It’s quite a struggle, let me tell you. To be honest, I’d be happy if I could just draw and write all day. But, the bills must be paid.
Anyhoo. Here’s an accumulation of stuff from the past few weeks. I don’t post works in progress much, but it may be a while before I get to post again, so I’m going for it dammit. But first, here’s the finished stuff.
In the future, sloths will look like this, and will actually be pretty awesome. Too bad the human race will be extinct by then so we won’t get to appreciate it.
I actually started this a whiiiile ago… like in 2006. I got it half-painted and then never finished. I’ve always meant to get back to it… and so randomly one night I broke it out. It’s probably better that I waited anyway, I’ve learned a thing or two about painting and color since then.
Around the same time that I finished that painting I realized I haven’t touched gouache in a while. This was highly experimental, and I’m not thrilled with it. The digital mockup I did looks better :p so I may revisit this sometime too.
My nieces tried out for All County Choir a couple weeks ago (one made it, one didn’t, but there’s always next year). And, well, it’s not every day you get an opportunity to draw children in an environment where they can’t really run off on you.
They can’t run off… but they can still squirm a lot, which made the girl at the top of this one a challenge. Man, anytime your nieces can pick out what’s wrong in a drawing, you know you’re in trouble.
This guy at least waited until I was wrapping up my sketch before he got up and started running around the cafeteria.
Okay, now the WIP stuff.
Some random (but not too random) panels from a storyboard I’m working on.
So I’ve got Google Analytics monitoring my blog, and one of my favorite pastimes is going to the search engine analysis and seeing what Google searches are leading to Foxes and Grapes. The most popular search, not surprisingly, is my name (and variants of it). Then there are keywords and phrases looking for specific information that my blog happens to hold.
Then there are the searches that are so completely random that I wonder 1) why in the world are you even searching for that and 2) why did my site come up??
But overall, people reach this site looking for answers to their questions, and gosh darnit, I feel kinda guilty when they arrive here and reach a dead end in the discovery of knowledge. So, I’m going to use this as an opportunity to take some of my favorite searches and provide information to help those poor lost souls on their way.
1. i don’t understand fishing metaphors
This is the third most popular Google search… and probably higher than that because there are other variants of the same phrase that rank lower.
In case you missed the memo, this is an awesome quote from the Sony Pictures Animation feature Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Its nation-wide theatrical release was September, 2009. It is a computer-animated film and was released both in 2D and stereoscopic 3D. It was directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who have written for How I Met Your Mother and directed an amazingly funny TV cartoon called Clone High. To date, Cloudy has grossed over $239 million.
2. character design prompt
Where you want to go is Character Design Bi-Weekly hosted by the talented Betsy Bauer. It’s not active right now because Betsy and many of the other participants are hard at work at school, but you can browse through previous prompts and try them on your own. If you’re looking for design inspiration, check out the Character Design blog.
3. is animation hard
…Yes, friend. Yes it is.
I actually address this in a previous blog entry. My thought on the matter is actually that no, animation is not hard. Animation is very easy to accomplish. What’s hard, however, is bringing life to your animation. Making it believable (not necessarily realistic; there’s a difference).
4. hardly working lip sync
And this proves my previous point. Here is a hardly working lip sync. Though in Nasonex’s defense, this clip is at least five years old.
…Just for the record guys, I’m up to the 60 mark in over 200 searches and I’ve encountered the fishing metaphor search at least three more times.
5. how are we going to afford ringling college of art and design
Gosh, I don’t know. Ringling’s pretty darn expensive.
Well, you can do one of three things. 1) You or your parents can have loooots of money. In which case, affording Ringling is pretty easy. 2) You can apply for a lot of scholarships. If you’re considering going to Ringling in the next two years or so, you want to get started on this right now. Or 3) you can take out a bunch of student loans. The latter is not ideal, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil.
A combination of any two or all three could work. But more importantly, you should really do your research. Ringling’s a great school, but there are cheaper options.
6. i went to ringling art college and im working
…That’s great, buddy. Are you hiring? Can I send you my résumé?
7. how to draw foxes
Veeeery carefully.
But seriously. You want to know how to draw foxes… I’ll show you how to draw foxes.
I have a pretty good idea of what foxes look like off the top of my head – we have a small fox family living near my house, plus I draw them a lot anyway – but I want to be sure. So first I Google some image reference. I grab a nice enough photo of a Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes!) from this site.
As a kid, I learned to draw from these Draw 50 books I’d check out from the library. My method over the years, particularly for drawing animals, hasn’t changed all that much.
First, I start with a Cuban cigar.
That’s the torso, actually. I’m going to start by drawing a basic gesture of the fox – a sketch that represents the whole body. So to start, I’m looking for the most basic shapes in the animal. The torso – from chest to butt – is one big cylinder. I move on and add the head as a circle – for a fox head, a square would also work.
Note that I’ve left out the muzzle. I’m focusing solely on the main shape of the head. We’ll get to the muzzle later.
Okay, now to add on the legs.
I could’ve done what I did with the torso and head and made the legs shapes as well – maybe cylinders or rectangles – but more important to me was communicating how the fox is supporting itself. Its front legs are straight and centered under the ribcage. Its back legs are also centered under the pelvis, splayed out a bit. When drawing animals, and people for that matter, it’s very important to pay attention to balance. I didn’t want to distract myself from that by focusing on capturing the shape of the legs. I can do that later.
So now we start refining the form, starting with the head. We add the ears and the muzzle with new shapes: triangles for the ears, a cylinder or box for the muzzle. I also mark in the eyeline (the middle of the head) for later.
Next are the legs. Now that I’m set on their position, I’m adding shape to the forms, along with the feet and tail.
And we give it one more pass, defining the torso a bit, and adding the eyes, nose and mouth on the face. Now, our fox is ready for the last stage: refinement.
I use this opportunity to solidify all the choices I’ve made. For the most part the drawing stays the same; I’m just adding definition and detail to everything. Hatch marks to indicate fur help to round out certain areas like the neck and torso, so our fox looks less flat and a little more volumetric. This is where all those shapes from earlier help. I also reference the photo a bit to determine how the fur flows. If I like, I can color this bad boy in, or just leave the line art as is.
Mission: Draw a Fox, accomplished. 
8. i am awesome brett wharton
…I can’t tell if this is a keyword string or a statement. In any case, my friend Brett Wharton is pretty awesome. Go check out his blog.
9. is it hard to get accepted into ringling ca program
Meh. Not so so hard. Staying in once you’re enrolled is harder.
10. life drawing washington dc
If you’re looking for life drawing sessions in the DC/Baltimore metro area, check out the Figure Models Guild website. They have a handy Open Sessions page with a weekly schedule of open (to the public) drawing sessions around the DC metro area. They keep it updated pretty well, but always call the locations you’re considering to be sure.
11. my cupcakes bring all the boys
…Whoa. This sounds like something I would say. o_o Who ARE you? Anyway, my cupcakes DO bring all the boys to the yard! Well, they bring all the fairies, anyway. And only in my senior thesis.
Fairy Cake from Nilah Magruder on Vimeo.
12. Picture of mad grapes
Uhh… okay.
13. nilah mcgruder/macgruder/etc.
Let me help you out, guys. It’s M-A-G-R-U-D-E-R. No “C” The service agent at my car dealer wrote my name down wrong and has been calling me MacGruber. *sigh* I wish I was MacGruber.
14. random story boards
…Why they gotta be random? Well… okay…
15. ringling school animation- old guy dragging stuffed dog
I’m actually shocked I found this one, because I’d never heard of this thesis before. But the film you were searching for is Mickey’s Buddy by Pete Paquette. He graduated from Ringling College (then Ringling School of Art and Design) in 2003. Back when they were using Maya 4.5 and Photoshop 7 holy crap.
16. where in mass did boy find spider in grapes
Let’s see… apparently it happened at a Whole Foods Market in Boston. A man and his son found at least two black widow spiders in a bag of grapes. o__o Refund please?
17. 
Yes, I even answer questions in other languages!
According to Babelfish, this guy wants to know animal anatomy. I’m a nature gal; I love animals, and I love drawing them even more. Uhhh, but “animal anatomy” is pretty loaded. What animals, specifically?
For animators, personally I think studying animal anatomy is equally important as studying human anatomy. And through the study of both, you’ll discover just how similar human anatomy is to bird, mammal, and amphibian anatomy (reptiles and fish are another story). If you’re confused about how to approach drawing animals, well, the mystery is easily solved if you think of an animal’s body in terms of your own body.
To understand how animals move, you must study them. Go to zoos, or farms, or dog parks, or even just study your own pets. Don’t draw them at first. Watch them. Observe. Animal Planet’s great for seeing a whole range of movement you probably won’t get at a zoo. Think about how they walk, how they run, how they sit and clean themselves, how they relax and sleep, how they move when they play, or get scared, or fight (haha, cats are great for the fighting part).
I could go on about this topic. It might make for a fun blog post, with visuals, later.
Well, that’s it! I think we’ve all learned a lot – well, I did, anyway. So, good luck and God speed in your Internet journeys.
I was at Intervention Con this weekend visiting my friend Kat and supporting her comic, CyberGen 2027. I think I’ll write up a report, since I haven’t done a con report in a while. But I don’t feel like it right now, so instead you just get a picture.
I meant to write this post last night, but I stayed up late and got sleepy.
Whoo! All of a sudden, strangely, I’ve got a whole lot going on and I’m trying to balance it all. The day job sucks up a lot of time that now I’m wishing I could devote to other things. In fact, I feel kinda guilty taking up valuable time to type up this post.
So what do I need time for? Cooking! I’m a casual cooking enthusiast – not to mention I’m trying to get more fresh food into my diet. One of the nice things about being home is I actually have time to plan meals.
So last night, I set off to the grocery store knowing I wanted to make chicken katsu for dinner. But when I got to the meat section, a cheap packet of lamb caught my eye. Lamb, eh? I’d never cooked lamb before. I couldn’t resist.
And yay, this was the first night I managed to cook the whole dish without having to glance at a recipe. I also sauteed a few vegetables just to add a bit of color. And to my… relief :p it was quite delicious.
I’m actually quite fond of baking too. Last week my dear friend Sarah posted a pic on Twitter of a mixed berry pie she and Roy bought while on vacation. I was so infatuated that I decided I must bake one of my own. Another first; I’ve never made – or eaten – mixed berry pie.
…There’s something flying around in here….
Anyway. So also on my plate is drawing, and this is where day and night really clash. I spend most of my time on the job thinking about all the drawing I could be doing… but then when I get home, I’m so tired that I end up lazing about until it’s time for bed. It’s a test in time management and keeping myself motivated… look how those Ringling battles don’t go away just because you’re not there!
I’ve got a few comics I’m working on – one of which I am currently illustrating. Luckily it doesn’t start updating until the end of September, and I’ve got the first two pages inked, but I’d like to get a little farther along than that. The other two I have a year to work on, but a year can easily come and go.
In the meantime, I’m also experimenting with illustration styles. On a whim I decided to come up with something and bring it into Illustrator. I started with a sketch and color key to get an idea of the look.
It’s been years since I’ve used Illustrator, but I’m pleased to see it hasn’t changed too much. In fact, it’s just as tedious a process as I remember it being. This took four hours, and I haven’t even gotten to the background.
I’ve started listening to showtunes, which just makes me wish I could sing and had more acting experience. I’d run away to the theatre right now, dammit.
Makes me want to draw more, too. Wish I could draw faster. But as it is I’m very slow :p so it’s only one idea at a time, for now.
This was fun to do. I’ve been experimenting with CG painting. The conclusion is… I need to keep experimenting. XD But I feel like I’m getting closer to what I want to see in my art.
I keep wanting to be able to post more than just one image at a time, but I don’t draw fast enough. ;.;
I also keep wanting to write an actual update… so why don’t I do that, right now? To start us off, here’s a very useful bit of advice for upcoming and recent art school grads.
So I graduated Ringling in May, and I’ve been at home for just over four months now. The plan was to spend the summer focusing on getting a studio job – and with luck, to have said studio job before September. But as I’ve learned, there are some things in life you can plan for, and some that you can’t.
At the moment, I’m working at a publishing company helping to convert and distribute e-books to electronic vendors (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, what have you). It is in no way art-related, and that drives me nuts. It is related to my past degree and work experience, which is why I got the job – and even that came as a surprise, because I haven’t had a single call/e-mail back all summer.
All the same, I find many days at work are spent daydreaming about all the drawing and creating I could be doing if I was at home. It seemed that the smarter thing – and what had been the plan – would be to stay unemployed a bit longer and focus my attention on improving my work, updating my reel and portfolio, and marketing myself.
But then I discovered that my student loans had kicked in. Not Ringling’s. The ones from my last school, that I deferred to attend Ringling. And apparently I’m a month behind (thank goodness the late fee isn’t as astronomical as credit card late fees tend to be). So, not working is no longer an option. I have bills to pay.
I’ll need the money anyway, if I want to move to L.A., or decide to try freelancing. In this economy, I just can’t take a chance on maybe finding a job elsewhere.
So it’s frustrating, watching my friends get hired at various studios around the country, feeling like I’m stuck. I try to keep my whining to a minimum, because at the same time I’m happy for them, and at the same time I want to be positive and encouraging to other friends who are still job-hunting. But I’m not going to sugar-coat it. I’m frustrated. I can be happy and sad at the same time.
It’s the nature of the industry. It’s incredibly competitive, and there are no guarantees. Talent’s important, but so are networking and the right timing. It could be that I get a call tomorrow, and I’m off to my dream job. It could be that I never get the call at all, and I’ll have to move on to the next thing – not saying that I’d give up on animation, but that I’ll just have to find a different avenue to reach my goals.
Last year I experienced a windfall. My grades were good, I had an amazing summer internship, and all seemed right with the world. This year, I often wonder if I deserved any of it. Ups and downs. That’s how it is, sometimes. Right now, I’m feeling down. I’m in a rut. So the next course of action is to climb my way out.
One of my favorite lines from An American Tail: “Hope for the best, work for the rest.” That’s all you can really do. Like the link says, be open to opportunities, and be persistent.
Annnnd apparently my word count is nearing 700, which was the typical length of my articles back when I wrote for the local paper. o__o I just made you read a whole feature article. Sorry. I’m done now.
And it’s back to the werewolves. Though to be honest, give me enough time and it always come back to werewolves.
This is why you don’t go asking rivers for anything.
I could be doing anything with my time right now. I could be drawing. I could be writing. I could be watching movies.
Instead, I am modeling a cat.
And I’d be worried that this could mean I actually enjoy modeling… but really I think it’s more an indicator of how much I like cats.
But I am getting a bit of 2D experimentation in…
I just read a novel series called The Queen’s Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. It’s so, so good! It makes me feel so inspired, like I need to be writing and creating great stories.
I just haven’t figured out what I want to say, yet.
Yep. I’ve graduated!
I’m at home, and the job search continues.
But for now, I’m just having fun working out the ol’ drawing muscles…
