Whitney Prevett's Blog + Sketchdump

This Is a Post About Makeup

2012-03-01T15:04:00.003-05:00

I thought I would play "being a girl" today. I did this because I don't really go out in public too often, so I tend to not wear any makeup. With the wedding coming up soon I thought I should make sure I still have makeup that matches my skin tone and the ability to apply it. Luckily I have makeup that goes well on both my pale and now freshly tanned face. Also, I didn't come out looking like an alien prostitute.

I'm working with bronze colors and I don't want anything to really stand out. Pretty much everything is from Clinique sans my foundation and powder, which are Neutrogena and Susan Posnick respectively. I'll be honest, that foundation is kind of old BUT it was only opened recently. Actually that Posnick powder is pretty old too... hmm. I hope I don't get face cancer.

Anyway here is my list of non-whore looking makeup (hurray for self-esteem!).

Face
Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion - $25
Neutrogena Skin Clearing Oil-free Makeup (Copper Sand 90) - $12
Susan Posnick ColorFLO (M3 Light Neutral) $65
Clinique True Bronze Pressed Powder Bronzer (02 Sunkissed) - $25

Eyes
Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Stay Matte (French Vanilla) - part of a two tone set $20
Clinique Soft-pressed Powder Blusher (Mocha Pink) << Being used as a blender between the two actual eye shadows - $21
Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Soft Shimmer (Rum Spice) - part of a two tone set $20
Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara (Black) - $15

Lips
Clinique Vitamin C Lip Smoothie (Mango-thon) - $18

Because I have a lot of allergies (no joke), I need this expensive hypoallergenic makeup. This is because I don't want orange peel skin and a constant need to hit the inhaler while begging for epi-pens. That being said a lot of this was free because it came in the "Spend $25 and we will give you a bag of free makeup that you just might use for your sister's wedding." Yay, Clinique! The Susan Posnick ColorFLO thing was free after my face was burned by a woman working in a dermatologist's office. Boo, facial scarring! So the actual cost of this makeup (specifically the moisturizer, foundation and bronzer) was ~$50. Everything else was free.

Before makeup

With makeup

With Glasses

Forgive all of the fake smiling and the change in lighting. Damn sun. I honestly don't know if I will be doing my own makeup on the actual day, but whoever ends up doing it will be using this exact makeup. I will not be doing my hair. I cannot for the life of me figure out that crap.

OH! And if you are going, "I don't really see any makeup on you! Wtf?" That is pretty much the point. Enhance your face; don't hide it.

This blog was mainly for my sister to see and approve of this makeup before I get there and she yells, "MORE LIKE A CLOWN!" *layers on red lipstick all over the mouth region while crying*

I Don't Even Have a Good Title for This

2012-02-29T17:29:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the lack of activity on here but I'm gearing up for wedding shenanigans. I've been trying to figure out jewelry for myself as a bridesmaid while also getting my tan on. I know that these things don't take a terrible amount of time but there are other wedding things I've been finalizing, mainly program design. I can't wait to take pictures of everything once it is done.

For now you will have to be okay with the ring(s) I designed for myself and my youngest sister as "DUELING MAIDS OF HONOR" jewelry. All of us bridesmaids (totaling four) are being given beautiful real pearl earrings to wear at the ceremony. I wanted to make something lovely that complimented them. This being an afternoon wedding and less formal I figure I can be a little more playful with the jewelry.

So I sculpted these and then layered acrylic inks for the painting.

I was going for a mother of pearl texture and I think I achieved it. After gluing took place I needed a pretty bead or something rather for the center.

How lucky is it that Hobby Lobby carries faux pearls that pretty much match the real earrings? Hurray!

Finally I needed a base and found a seller on etsy with filigree bases that were ultra cheap! Thank you, suppliesatetsy!

Now all I need is for the necklace to arrive. I ordered a necklace off of Ebay that I plan on taking apart and restringing for my own sinister needs. I let you know if that arrives on time and how well it goes.

Cornmeal Rolls Recipe

2012-02-22T14:51:00.001-05:00

This is a really good sweet roll recipe. These rolls tend to be dense, which I like but I know some people don't.

Ingredients:
1/3 C Cornmeal
1/2 C Sugar
1 t Salt
1/2 C Shortening
2 C Milk
1 pkg Dry Active Yeast
1/4 C Warm Water
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
4 C Flour

Combine cornmeal, sugar, salt, shortening and milk in saucepan; cook until thickened. Cool to lukewarm

Dissolve yeast in warm water then add cornmeal mixture. Add eggs and mix thoroughly.

Add flour and knead on a floured surface. Let rise, punch down and form into 2" balls. Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes.

Brush with melted butter and (if you like) lightly dust with cornmeal

Sorry About That...

2012-02-17T17:45:00.000-05:00

You know, when I said I would post a picture on Wednesday, but I didn't? Yeah. Well I'm here to make it up to you. TAH-DAH!

What you see is actually why I haven't posted the picture. I was enjoying the new furniture so much that I have neglected pretty much everything. What do you think about an oversized steamer chest for a coffee table here? We need storage for video game controllers and (me in particular) do not want one of those padded ottomans you can pull the top off and flip it over to have a hard surface. I think they look college student. We have upgraded to adult stuff. 'Nuff said. (I am aware I still play Pokemon, but I can at least pretend I'm an adult on the surface.)

VOTE FOR CHUPA!

For the rest of the weekend I will be working on my custom Mighty Muggs. So I won't be on here, but if you would allow me some self promotion. This is Chupa and he is my submission for a t-shirt design contest. I would love it if everyone I know, you know and they know would go and vote for my entry for this contest. I don't want you signing up for deviantART if you don't want to. But if you are already a member or have been thinking about it, I would be super appreciative. Go here and click "I'd Wear This!" on the top right side of Chupa. Please and thank you all!

Happy Valentine's Day Folks

2012-02-14T11:18:00.000-05:00

I received a beautiful 8-bit bouquet from Jeremy last night. We did it early. I gave him a super useful and not romantic hair trimmer set. We gave it a go on Sunday and his hair looks super good. So now he can save that money and put it towards fun things for him.

Also I received my first deck of black playing cards in the mail. This is the Bicycle Brimstone Deck designed by Russel Kercheval at Circle City Cards. I was having a really tough time getting my camera to focus on them so I had to borrow this image from jenX5 of the internets. She has a beautiful collection of cards on her flickr here: jenX5's Playing Cards

Hurray for neat cards and a fairly cheap thing to collect! Oh and tomorrow I will have a fun post after the arrival of our new couch and chair from Havertys, not Ikea. We are becoming adults or something like that.

Now I must go and distract myself from the noise coming from the elephants upstairs. They are dragging something heavy. Anyway, have a lovely chocolate filled day if you are in the mood for that sort of thing. And finally have this cute little drawing I made of Jeremy and myself as Goku and Chichi.

My Cute Monster

2012-02-10T10:04:00.000-05:00

I hate the way my clean lines look in comparison to the sketched version. Anyway, here is my monster design. I will be putting him in a different pose for the actual shirt design. Or maybe I'll do something to jazz up just the line art and use that. Who knows. I don't.

As Promised

2012-02-09T13:51:00.002-05:00

"Pants Cake"
(I call it this because I made the recipe flying by the seat of my pants)

Ingredients:
1 Stick Melted Butter
2 Eggs
1 Can Evaporated Milk
1/2 C Cocoa Powder
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/2 C Sugar
1 t Vanilla
1 1/2 t Baking Soda
1/4 C Hershey's Syrup (this is for a more moist cake, you could probably use vegetable oil instead)
1 1/2 C Flour

This is pretty much a mix everything together and then bake recipe. So combine wet ingredients and sugar. Mix well then add the cocoa powder. Finally add all of you dry ingredients and mix. Don't overmix this one because it will have a tough texture if you do. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350º F

Also I'm making a cute monster for a contest. Hurray for cute stuff!

Tomorrow I Will Post a Cake Recipe

2012-02-08T14:44:00.001-05:00

I've not done much in the past few days. I've been a sneezing mess. This is nothing new because I'm allergic to my cat. I just like cats so much that I don't care. I did order a couple books from Amazon (I say "Amerzon" because I think it sounds hilarious). I also like free super saver shipping so I had to find a cart topper to push me over the $25 edge. So I ordered a bad ass deck of playing cards. It is the Guardians deck by Bicycle. Hot.

I like to edit my recommendations list on Amazon everyday. This allows me to get items I want in my quick picks. For the past few weeks or so it has been ultra miss rather than hit. I had a power outlet converter, Keurig single coffe cup refills, dog toys (for that dog I will never own) and all other sorts of crap. Occasionally there will be a book I like for cheap and that is why I made a purchase the other day. Which is ultra great. Then this happened. Six books I don't own from a series I like. What the hell, Amerzon? I thought we were buds?

In the end I wouldn't purchase books from this series on Amazon. They are cheaper from Rightstuf.com. Amazon is strictly for Chi's Sweet Home, Sailor Moon and VizBig Editions. Anyway I will end this journal with a ridiculous image from a survey site I participate in occasionally.

Wedding Designer Extraordinaire & Naked Lady Drawing Expert

2012-02-02T16:47:00.000-05:00

Last night I designed a wedding program for my sister and her fiance. I would love to show it to you all but it is best to keep this all secret until after her big day. I promise there will be a big post with all the stuff I helped design for her wedding. It's just a little over a month away so hold your horses until then.

For now have some Sake Queen done up in digital watercolor. Thanks, Painter, for rocking! I included a zoomed in close pic as well, so you could see how nice the textures are for the watercolor brushes.

Sorry, Other Poor Artist Wanting My Skrillz

2012-02-01T11:12:00.000-05:00

I was working on this for a contest sort of thing... but when I thought about it I like making money for myself, not other people. So sorry chick that wants to go to Japan off of my earned dollar. She's compiling a book and keeping all the proceeds. While it sounds nice being published in a fancy art book, I want a cut.

Anyway the theme for the contest was make a food or drink gijinka. For those that don't know, this is basically a personification of said theme. I started drawing a gijinka of sake. Here is a peek. I will probably just finish it as a nude drunk chick falling over and sell her as a fairly cheap print for my own profit. I will even sign and number them.

EDIT:
Further work. Just messing with color before I do actual finished line art. Having fun with this one.

Ninth Doctor

2012-01-31T19:08:00.000-05:00

He wanted to feel like he was lying on a cloud. So I ~~used my~~ borrowed Amber's blanket for the photo shoot. Hurray for sherpa!

Look at what we did with math!

2012-01-30T16:12:00.000-05:00

Yep. Now that geekery has once again been established would you like some actual art by yours truly? I know you do. So have a little of THIS!

That is indeed a drawing of myself as Sailor Moon. I recently received volume 3 of the fabulous Kodansha US reprint so I needed to get some ridiculousness out of my system. There is more to this drawing but I'll reveal that later... if I feel like it. Tomorrow I will have a finished Ninth Doctor to show you and maybe even an Eleventh Doctor. Yeah, you know you love me.

Tenth Doctor

2012-01-24T22:52:00.000-05:00

Yeah... I will never be painting pinstripes again. Soooo if I end up making another his suit will either be solid brown or navy. Despite the stripes looking a little messy, I think he looks okay.

Dr. Who Fan Art?

2012-01-18T21:03:00.000-05:00

Yeah... I guess so. I'm not exactly a fan of the show, but I've been watching it the past week and thought people would surely enjoy some Dr. Who Mighty Mugg figures. So here is a nice reminder of what the Mighty Muggs of myself and Jeremy look like, followed by my 9th and 10th Doctor designs. I will also being making Doctors 11 and 4 as well as companions Rose and Amy. They will be on sale through my Etsy account as well as the upcoming ApolloCon. I don't know if I'll do any others from the series unless someone specifically asks for them.

Custom Raffy: Space Cow

2012-01-10T23:43:00.002-05:00

This is a custom Raffy I made of the ApolloCon mascot, Space Cow. I will be finding him a suitable helmet this weekend. He will be up for sale at the next ApolloCon... probably? I'm not sure just yet. Anyway, love him.

Whitney's Food Hack

2012-01-07T20:45:00.002-05:00

Black Forest Cake Recipe

This one is pretty simple to bake but a little long on the assembly process. I will call it semi-homemade because I used a boxed cake mix

Cake Ingredients:
1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix
3 T Hershey's Cocoa

Prepare as the box directs, just add the cocoa powder when you are mixing it up. Bake it in two 8" or 9" round pans. Let cool and then divide into four layers.

Whipped Cream Ingredients:
1 1/2 pt Heavy Whipping Cream
2-3 T Sugar
1 t Vanilla

You pretty much just whip this all together. You want the consistency to be close to spreadable butter. Not stiff but not runny. Just right (said baby bear).

Cherries & Cherry Reduction Syrup/Sauce:
2 jars Stemless Maraschino Cherries (I think they were 10 oz jars)
1 bottle Mike's Hard Black Cherry Lemonade (I used this in place of Kirschwasser)
2 C Sugar

Chocolate Shavings... just 1-1 1/2 cups chocolate shavings. I just chopped up semi-sweet chocolate chips.

You can sub in fresh sour cherries and they would definitely taste better, but I was going for a look and the Maraschino cherries were definitely the bright red I needed. Pour everything into a pot. I left out the juice of one of those jars. If you use fresh cherries add about 1/2-1 cup of water. Let boil for about 2 minutes then remove from heat. The reduction needs to be the thickness of maple syrup. You may need more or less heat time. Just experiment. Worst outcome you have cherry beer candy.

Assembly:
First, I assembled my cake across two days. It is a lengthy process putting this together and the amount of cleanup would be enough to warrant the two day assembly. As I said before divide each of your 8" or 9" cakes so that you have four layers. Before you start making your first full layer, reserve half of your whipped cream for frosting the outside of the cake as well as some of your cherries.

If you want you can drizzle a little of the Mike's Hard Black Cherry Lemonade onto the cake layers. I actually drizzled some Hershey's Chocolate Syrup over each layer (not a lot). Layer onto your cake whipped cream and then the cherries and cherry reduction syrup. I know this sounds like a bad idea in that order but trust me it isn't. I honestly don't think it matters. I just wanted a definite divide between the chocolate syrup and the cherry syrup.

... Congrats! Your first layer is done. Repeat until you have a plain cake layer on top. I then wrapped my four layers in cling wrap and froze them. This made it a lot easier to handle while I was frosting it.

Frost the cake with most of your remaining whipped cream. Then you take the chocolate shavings and coat the outside. To finish it up, dollop some whipped cream in a circle around the top and dress it up with your remaining cherries. Eat.

Jeremy's Birthday...

2012-01-06T21:16:00.000-05:00

... came a little early. His birthday is actually on Monday but I thought we could make it a full on birthday weekend. Because we recently finished Portal 2, I made a Portal black forest cake. We were having a hard time finding the long white candle so I actually taped two small white candles together. Can you tell? For his gift I painted two Mighty Muggs to look like us. He had to go on a treasure hunt to find them. I hope you all get as much joy out of seeing them as he did!

Me Begging and My Big Haul

2012-01-05T11:48:00.002-05:00

For the love of God, someone please license the "Kuragehime" (Princess Jellyfish) manga! I have been waiting for any news of US publishers getting in gear and making me happy. Vertical should be all over this. You do a fabulous job with "Chi's Sweet Home" and "7 Billion Needles." Get on it guys!

In other news, I said I would share with you what I got for my birthday and Christmas.
Preamble:
I don't like making people feel jealous or uncomfortable so please remember this wasn't all for Christmas. My birthday is a week before and sometimes it looks like I have twice the gifts. Other times I get combined birthday and Christmas and I have half the gifts or fewer (like the year I got from my entire family a washer and dryer). Also, my mom and sisters are the best at bargain hunting so don't think for a moment these books were purchased for more than half price. Sooooo here are a lot of pictures because I wanted to show all rather than a few.

These were from my sister, Melanie. The first three (going from top left) were for my birthday and the others were for Christmas. She got me caught up on "Battle Angel Alite: Last Order." Thank you, Mel!

These three were from my sister, Camille. She finished off "Parasyte" for me (finally!) and got me the most recent volumes of "Eden: It's an Endless World" and "MPD Psycho." Here's to hoping Dark Horse continues translating both of those series. They were both on hiatus for quite a long time. Thank you, Camille!

My grandma always wants me to open something on Christmas other than a gift card or cash, so my mom snagged this volume of "Eden: It's an Endless World" off of my wishlist. The remaining "Grandparent Funds" were given to me in a card. Thank you, Granny & Papa!

These were strictly for my birthday from my parents and Camille. I recently sold my Ranma 1/2 individual issues (they were ultra heavy and took up so much space). I wanted to replace them with the graphic novels and my family helped me fill in the gaps (only missing volumes 7, 18 & 19 now). They also completed "Maison Ikkoku" and "Dr. Slump" for me (I forgot to include Dr. Slump, Vol. 18 in the picture). Thank you, family!

Jeremy is super awesome. He purchased me Atelier Totori (JRPG) and a wireless mouse for my birthday. The game was awesome. I actually got it a few months ago and beat it already. So the mouse was a big surprise. I really love my new mouse. The scroll wheel doesn't click or anything obnoxious like that. So good! For Christmas I received this epic Lego Star Wars Millenium Falcon set. It was really fun putting this together. Thank you, Jeremy!

These were from my parents. My mom could only find Dumbo in the DVD case (it has both the Bluray and DVD). She also got my cat a Bluray with her Disney Points. I'll make a post about that later. Thank you, Mom & Dad!

These were from a family friend/former girl scout leader and her daughter to me. A long time ago Sue Ellen bought me a devil ducky (I named him Francisco) and ever since she has been finding crazy ducks to give me. These three actually squirt water out of their mouths! I also received devil Hello Kitty and this awesome reusable Mario bag. That bag is awesome. I actually fits a DiGiorno pizza box perfectly with room to spare. Thank you, Sue Ellen & Amy!

I received a lot of gift cards and money from other family members. I've already spent some of it on purchasing more blank Kidrobot figures (I got another Trikky as well as a Raffy that I will be turning into Space Cow). I also ordered some books and a cake platter from Amazon. I may make a post about the things I purchased with gift cards later. So thank you, Aunt Deidre, Aunt Jan & Uncle Mark, Aunt Patti & Uncle Donald and Aunt Tammy. AND thank you to Jeremy's family, Jennifer (Jeremy's sister), Miss Pat (Jeremy's mom), Parker (Jeremy's other sister), Jeremy's dad (Dean), Grandma Gretta & Kenneth, Aunt Pam, Nana and Delores. I hope I didn't miss anyone. If I did I will make amends to this post!

This was a pretty epic birthday/Christmas season for me. I received a lot more than I deserve but appreciate it all. Thank you everyone so much!

It's Been Too Long

2011-12-30T14:52:00.001-05:00

I should probably do new work in the near future. I'm super tired from all the celebrating and have decided from this point forward I don't do artwork between December 1st to January 15th. I'm just too freaking busy with things for other people. I have been working on something, though I can't show it to you until January 9th. It's super secret Jeremy birthday stuff.

Speaking of birthday, I had a pretty good one. I received comic books, a new wireless mouse, a video game and some cash. What I didn't get but wanted is probably borderline illegal (the sudden disappearance of my noisy upstairs neighbors). I hate them and I've never met them. I'll be honest, I want to keep my human contact as minimal as possible. So I will probably never meet and tell them to be quiet.

Because I'm inside most days I feel as though I'm slowly but surely becoming agoraphobic. I have slight anxiety attacks whenever I hear too much going on outside my door. And if someone knocks on my door I just freak out. (I actually had to stop writing this to answer the door as I was typing that last sentence. I really hope I type everything correctly from here on.)

Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanza, Winter Solstice or whatever you celebrate or don't celebrate, I hope they were great and that your new year starts out on the right foot. I think I'll start mine on the left foot. I'll also post some pictures of a few gifts from my birthday and Christmas, but that will have to be later. Right now I'm going to read on my new Kindle Fire. Thank you, Mom & Dad!

Trikky: Haru

2011-12-13T22:24:00.003-05:00

I really wanted to include my step by step but for some awful reason my phone and computer do not want to connect to each other. So I just emailed the final pictures to myself. Maybe I can upload the step by step tomorrow. Anyway, here is my custom Trikky "Haru"

Custom Vinyls In My Future?

2011-12-11T10:57:00.005-05:00

I bought a DIY Trikky Munny yesterday. I was thinking about how to paint it while finishing up those shoes. Part of me just wants to make it into a cute cat. Then there is a part of me that wants to turn it into an anime/manga character and sell it. If I do a good enough job I may paint more of them for myself or profit in the future. Anyway here are two of my ideas. Chibi Moon or just Chibiusa (I can't decide) OR Tomoe from "Kamisama Hajimemashita." I personally think Tomoe will look better in the end but I know more people know who Chibiusa is.

EDIT:
Instead I will be painting the cat as a kimono fabric pattern I found and like. It's always nice working on intricate pattern stuff. It's well worth the time and effort.

Cookie Monster Custom Shoes

2011-12-10T19:55:00.006-05:00

Yay they are done! I hope the recipient of these shoes loves them. I know I'm glad with how they look. Forgive me for not taking a picture of the shoes in their "blank" state. I just forgot. Oops!

Cookie Monster Shoes

2011-12-09T14:03:00.003-05:00

Working on some Cookie Monster shoes for a family friend. She is hilarious and wanted a pair of "Whitney Originals" for her niece so of course I said yes! I plan on getting these bad boys started and finished either today or tomorrow.

2011-12-06T12:58:00.004-05:00

Adding some designs to her obi and I suppose it would be a haori done up like a kimono. I really should think about finishing her other hand and perhaps shifting that fish up so it is actually in her line of sight.

Thoughts on Skyward Sword

2011-12-05T20:26:00.008-05:00

Heads up, this is mainly about the controls but there are some other things.

I started writing this when I was 13 hours into Skyward Sword but decided to wait until I finished it. I finished it yesterday and I really hated it. I've had major issues with the controls not working, and I mean at all. We spent lots of money on a big disappointment, my wrist in pain and a POS controller. Epic fail on your not intuitive controls, Nintendo. PLEASE understand this is not me saying "I hate motion controls!" I don't hate motion controls, the sword play worked really well. It's all other aspects of the game controls.

It seems ultra wonky that you have to continually recalibrate your controls in game (No joke, for me it was every 30-45 seconds. Also this isn't calibration every time I draw a weapon. It's after I've had the weapon drawn and already calibrated it moments before. I think I would be considered an experienced gamer, not your grandma or kid cousin, so this is a big issue). That is poor development with the hardware and seems to me that Nintendo was trying to gloss over their subpar new controller by making it an absolute must have to play the new Zelda game. I'm really disappointed by that. Skyward Sword's menus feels spongy at best and any weapon that involves aiming feels really slow and forced. Also I'd like to say that using "B" to equip and unequip didn't feel natural either. "B" is essentially a trigger. I tried several times using the "trigger" to fire my slingshot or bow. This was not helpful when I really meant to fire instead of unequip.

More on menu crap. What the hell were you thinking when you had the Wiimote snap to options, Nintendo? That is definitely not a 1:1 experience and it never helped me. "But Whitney, why didn't it help you?" Well, Nintendo, as I said before my calibration issues caused me lots of issues with aiming. So when for some reason the Wiimote thinks I mean "up" when my arm is hyperextended all the way to my right I can't tell what the issue is when all that is happening is snapping, not smooth motion of the cursor. Luckily you can use the analog stick to go through most menus, though this is a much slower process.

Speaking of analog stick. How did you guys like that crawling through tunnels (first person, not overhead underground crap)? You know where they treated the analog stick like a D-pad. Yeah, I love 8-bit on the NES but not on my Wii. So where were the brains on that day? Seriously, I want to know. "Well you can only travel on one axis or rotate but not at the same time. You know, like in real life. Derp." Uh huh.

While I had plenty of issues with the controls (how they were mapped and worked) the sword fighting was pretty top notch. It would mess up every now and then but otherwise I like that part of the game a lot. I didn't care for the stamina crap but that's just a game mechanic I never got used to. Though after finishing the game I feel as though it could have been integrated differently for a better gameplay experience. Perhaps you could have just used it for the sword and not running/climbing?

I'd like to touch on a few things involving Fi and the game difficulty overall. Because of Fi you do not need to purchase a walkthrough. Dowsing makes this game pretty much play itself. While you are easily given the straight path you need to follow by Fi, some of the later puzzles would not be easy, if solvable at all, for small children (which I assume that is who this game was made for, because Fi frequently telling me how to wipe my ass makes me feel like kindergartners should be playing this).

The art was meh at best. I felt like they married all the wrong parts of the cel shading and realism. Honestly that may have been one of the nicer parts of this game for me other than the sword play. I was kind of disappointed in the music but I'm an elitist ass when it comes to that anyway so I'm probably not the best person the average consumer wants to hear from on that front.

Overall I feel like this was a waste of my money and time. I'm very upset with how small the world felt in this game. I really loved the expansiveness of Twilight Princess, which Skyward Sword felt like a small compartmentalized box in comparison. I feel like this was a game that probably would have been a better experience on my DS. It felt lesser than. It felt forced. It felt like they were trying desperately to squeeze $50-100 out of consumers. I love you Nintendo but this is a steaming pile of crap. I'm a super fan and you really let me down.

But hey, I got half of a subpar cd. Thanks?

Hamsters and Creeps

2011-11-22T12:58:00.004-05:00

I'm pretty sure I can show you stuff from the current project I'm working on with a friend but I don't want to give away too much. So how about I just show you some initial sketch stuff for it? Also if I'm asked to take this down I will. So look while you can folks.

Also I really dislike going to Wikipedia anymore. (Speaking of I'm not sure I like the word "anymore"... nowadays?) Mainly because of this thing. Or man to be exact. He is creepy to me. Always starring into my soul when I'm just trying to find out the name of the actress that plays Jenna Maroney on 30 Rock. Or when I'm trying to find out how many graphic novels are in a series, that way I can determine if I want to be financially attached to it, there he is. Telling me to donate to Wikipedia with his doughboy eyes. I don't want to donate money to you Wikipedia. I'm cheap. Also the "Creep" as I call him lately (I am aware he has a name but it isn't Robert Paulson [It's Wikipedia's own Jimmy Wales, sleaze extraordinaire.])makes me very uneasy. I feel like, should he move next door to me, he would be obligated to knock on my door and tell me about his devious past of pissing next to an elementary school in broad daylight. He may be a lovely man in person but I don't like how he asks for money by terrifying me.

Just some thoughts.

Behold!

2011-11-18T03:01:00.001-05:00

Aliens shoes... and an angry cat. She was upset I used her bed as a studio for my shoe photography. Oh! And I grease burned my arm last night. Nothing major, just a few little splash marks, but it still hurts nearly 10 hours later. I'm just an accident waiting to happen!

Aliens

2011-11-15T15:04:00.002-05:00

Working hard on those shoes. Here is the sketch I decided on. I'll post the entire process when I'm finished with them. I'm thinking that will be either tomorrow night or Thursday. Then I will move into hardcore hamster mode. Oh yeah!

Barf.

2011-11-10T17:29:00.003-05:00

Yeah I didn't get better. I woke up feeling really peppy, but tired?
I felt great. I was cleaning and taking care of stuff around the apartment. Then it hit me. Or rather it left me. All of my nutrients. So I've been sick twice in the past month or so? Thanks immune system or lack there of. I'm going to lay on my stomach and read Dr. Slump, because I need poop jokes to mend my broken... I dunno. I hope I spelled this all correctly because it was typed on my phone.

Don't get sick folks! *PSA*

Ugg.

2011-11-06T16:49:00.003-05:00

So much pain. I woke up Saturday morning feeling like I have a migraine in all of my joints. Does anyone know what that could be? Just sudden, overnight, full body joint pain. I can't pick up heavy things. It hurts when I'm still. It hurts when I move. Hot/cold water makes it worse. I've tried all OTC pain killers and none of them work.

Should I just go out to the pasture and wait for someone with a gun to come along?

Looking Forward To a Future Visit to Chickfila

2011-11-02T15:00:00.004-04:00

This week I'm working on some custom shoes. They are "Aliens" themed and I look forward to making them awesome. Trying to decide on a good style for them is difficult. Guess I'll be drawing a lot of Queen Alien and Sigourney Weaver tonight and tomorrow. I think I'll go for cute.

Oh and I just really like Chickfila.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:59:00.002-04:00

Grammar Nazi Batman

2011-10-24T23:56:00.000-04:00

Oh Em Gee! A Pony!

2011-10-24T14:00:00.002-04:00

A belated birthday gift for a deviant artist. Love making these ponies.

2011-10-23T20:34:00.001-04:00

Working my color magic.

Further Background Development & Lines

2011-10-21T16:13:00.004-04:00

This feels pretty good. She's in an ovoid room so it was a little hard deciding how things hang from the walls and how furniture is placed. She has so much crap that I still need to put on the shelves and floor but I may just wing some of that with color and no lines. Love her.

Background Development & Lines

2011-10-20T20:15:00.002-04:00

Background stuffs.

Witch in a Bath WIP

2011-10-19T09:42:00.009-04:00

Just an update on progress for my witch taking a bath in a cauldron. I'm having fun with this one. I may even make a print of it. There isn't anything sexual about this picture so if you are offended I hope it's only because I didn't show you the background. Tomorrow I will be working on another pony. OMG!

Oh! And any suggestions for what her familiar should be if I decide to add one? I was considering a linsang. Look it up if you don't know what it is, 'tis cute, Looks like a weasel-cat. Or maybe a fennec fox?

Update with some of the ultra rough background elements. I want to mess with then fireplace some more. I'm not happy with the bit her cauldron is on.

Work Work Work

2011-10-18T17:29:00.005-04:00

I'm working on quite a few things this week. Lots of commissions and gifts to occupy my time. Here is a peek at what I'm working on right now. Oh and sorry for the week of nothing. I was not at 100%

Commission Pony: Ginger Snap

2011-10-07T12:45:00.002-04:00

I was commissioned last night to make a pony. This was actually my first commission piece from Deviant Art so I was extra thrilled. I had fun making Ginger Snap and I hope you all like her!

My Pony OC, Fireworks

2011-10-06T14:02:00.003-04:00

I made a pony! I actually love her lots. Yay for MLP:FiM!
I had intended with all my being to make her legs furthest from the viewer darker but flash started crapping out on me. It does this thing where colors begin to disappear for no reason. Once flash begins this, there is no turning back. I turned her into a symbol and left her alone. She is safe now in symbol land.

I Feel Not Well

2011-10-03T15:39:00.005-04:00

I have accomplished nothing today. I've been anxious about a couple of the items I sold on eBay last night. Someone from Brazil had the winning bid on one of my dolls when it clearly stated in my auction that I only ship to the US. Also someone in the US wants me to ship to Russia. My face is hot and my stomach hurts. Forgive or ignore the complaining but I feel so sick from it all. The good news is that I will ship 3 packages from those auctions to here, in the US, where the auctions plainly stated I would only ship to.

I just wanted to make some money to buy a few gifts. I'm gonna lay on the couch and play video games while wallowing in self pity. I might even eat a Kitkat bar. I'll be better tomorrow and actually accomplish something.

On the upside I won that contest I entered last week. So that's very nice.

Girl Update & Prayer Beads

2011-10-03T08:22:00.003-04:00

Update to the image I'm working on. I want to finish this sometime this week.

AND prayer beads for muh sistas!

She Needs a Better Name

2011-09-30T11:30:00.003-04:00

Something to do with river or water spring. Mermaid doesn't really suit her. Well it suits her fine but I don't want to have an aneurism because I'll get ridiculous people saying, "She doesn't have a fin so she can't be a mermaid. BAH!"

Throwing in some shadow glazes. I'm actually impressed with myself for once. Sorry if that sounds pompous but I think we are all allowed that feeling once in a blue moon.

Sketchy Woes

2011-09-29T09:49:00.005-04:00

I've been trying desperately to get the right face for this sketch. I have to walk away a lot because I get frustrated with it. I need to get this image out of my head but it still isn't quite right. I think this is pretty close with the face. Just a girl on a swing with glowing fish floating around her. I can't decide if I want to give her a short skirt or knee length skirt. In my mind she has a lot of bead work adorning her accessory type things. I should reangle that swing she's sitting on. I need to walk away from her again. Wish me luck putting down a base color field with her TOMORROW.

I'm calling her the "Mermaid Nymph."

UPDATE

Whiplashed Whit

2011-09-26T16:00:00.005-04:00

I think I gave myself whiplash trying desperately to get away from a spider today. I was drawing on the couch and noticed I had a "friend" with me. In an attempt to be brave I went to grab a shoe to kill it. I lost sight of him and now can't sit on the couch for fear of my life. So for the past few hours I've been sitting on the foot stools.

I thought a lot about Henry this weekend. He was a very pretty fish but I don't think I ever want another betta. I think if someday I were to get a new fish I would really like a pair of Ryukin goldfish. They are pretty and very lively. I suppose I need a fulltime job before that day. Having tank fish is much more involved financially.

Have a video of some, though I beg you to mute your speakers and ignore the crappy transitions.

Oh! And for those of you that didn't jump on the "Buy Whitney's Crap Now!" train, it's on eBay. So buy some of my crap.

2011-09-23T13:40:00.002-04:00

My fish, Henry, died today. I'll draw something about it I suppose. I have a scene sort of posed out already in Maya. I just need to draw it now. Maybe tomorrow.

I'm not ultra sad about him dying. He lived for 3 years and several months which is great for a betta. I don't know if I want another fish. Perhaps I will just make this picture extra beautiful and place it in a frame where his bowl once was.

Minako Is Late & Artemis Is a Jerk

2011-09-21T23:39:00.004-04:00

Bleh. Deviant Art stalkers creep me out. I'm not very popular on there, so perhaps I am just taking extra kindness as creepy... but I quite prefer it if only people that know me use my actual name. Perhaps it is time to migrate to a new dA profile.

Anyway! Enjoy some Minako! She is extra late for school.

Not Darcy

2011-09-20T11:04:00.005-04:00

Thought I'd take a side trip. I believed I was fan art'd out but when I saw that the Sailor Moon group I'm part of on dA wasn't getting enough submissions for a contest I started this. The contest theme is "back to school with Minako" and this is the beginning of my entry. I'd love to finish it today but I know how that works. I'll post again when the piece is finished.

Darcy Turnaround

2011-09-19T10:34:00.006-04:00

The rough turnaround that took me too long to hammer out. I really don't want a set model for her. I'd like an idea of the shapes she should have but I want the silhouette to be perfect. So if that means in some shots her butt is bigger and her legs are a bit smaller that's okay as long as she looks natural. Also I'm not too fond of her face in profile. I don't plan to ever have her in profile but I should probably decide if I want floating facial features in profile or set positions. I'm particularly not pleased with her lips. I'll figure it out with more drawings.

FUN FACT: I like drawing in purple

Darcy

2011-09-16T14:15:00.005-04:00

I've been working a little on Darcy. Unfortunately my efforts have been interrupted for the day by a needy cat. She keeps pushing things off of my desk so I NEED to pay attention to her. If I don't my stuff will all be on the floor. So enjoy a very small amount of Darcy. Seriously this cat won't let me complete anything. I'll put up pose sketches and a turn around later if I'm allowed by Princess Kitty Cat.

Doll Sale!

2011-09-14T18:03:00.011-04:00

It's time to say goodbye to my Little Apple Dolls. We've had some good times. They stared at me. I stared at them...

I guess we didn't really have good times, just times? Ehh. Anywho, I would really like to find them a new home. They have all been removed from the boxes BUT, as I am a responsible adult, they still look gorgeous and have all of their apple accessories, books and boxes.

I spent a long time today doing a little photo session of them for your viewing and hopefully buying pleasure. Aside from Mentis, their boxes look to be in general good condition with a few scuffs and scrapes. Mentis's box arrived to me in the sad condition you see. Remember that scene from Ace Ventura? You know. Where he is kicking the box down the hallway and letting it get hit by the elevator doors? Yeah. That's what the shipping box looked like for Mentis when I received her.

If you are interested in adopting one or all of my dolls feel free to message or email me. I'm asking $25 for each doll. Shipping on a single doll is $14 (US). If you want combined shipping I'll need to know what dolls you are interested in and I'll get back to you asap. I also have the CC exclusives Creo & Pestis. I will not let these go for less than $80. Shipping is still $14 for them. These dolls come from a smoke free home and were admired from a distance, not played with.

Whatever hasn't been purchased by 9/23/11 will be put up on eBay. Speaking of eBay, you can see my feedback here:
bloody_weasil_kick's feedback

EDIT! (12/13/11)
The following dolls are still available:
Animula
Erro
Mentis

As of right now I will no longer ship outside the US. The process is too involved and I am very busy with a lot of projects.

Today I'm Tired

2011-09-12T10:13:00.003-04:00

October is coming up pretty fast and I haven't even started my witch animation like I said I would. I want to have that animation done by Halloween while participating in the Scared for a Day Challenge. Therefore, I should probably get on that. So today I will make some headway with character sketches and turn arounds.

But first I need to be killed by my workout. Here I come sumo squats and traveling push-ups!

Camille's Finished Shoes & Process

2011-09-06T12:11:00.010-04:00

These are some shoes my sister commissioned me to do. She wanted some Sailor Venus/Sailor V shoes to wear this year at school. I've customized shoes for her previously but none that look this good. This was all done with acrylic paint. Sharpie markers run and if you plan on customizing your own shoes I suggest staying away from Sharpies. I always think it is cool to see the process for pieces so I included my process for you to enjoy.

If you would like me to customize a pair for you feel free to email me at "whit @ whitneyprevett.com" (remove the spaces) and we can talk business. This level of customization costs $60. You have to provide the shoes you want to be customized as well as pay for shipping. I put a lot of love and care into customizing shoes and promise every dollar you spend is worth it.

Prayer Beads Update

2011-09-06T12:05:00.004-04:00

I received my beads from China the other day. I'm pretty pleased with the quality so I will go ahead and order the other beads for my sisters' strands as well. I also made my mala and I think it turned out really well. If anyone is interested in these they aren't too difficult to make. However, If you would rather someone else make it for you I charge $25 + shipping, though you will have to wait awhile because I get my beads from China.

And yes, I did make that tassel by hand.

Why I Dislike Preteens

2011-08-27T11:55:00.006-04:00

It upsets me when people don't treat books well. Even library books. Graphic novels are treated like coloring books by idiots. Either their parents never taught them anything but to be an idiot OR they were too young to be checking out the book in the first place. Thankfully when I see this it is usually only on a single page. Strangely it is always someone "censoring" nudity. I get it. Women can't have nipples or it is evil and pornographic. How shameful that someone draw anatomy. Anyway here is what I'm talking about.

"OMG! That nipple is obviously causing famine and war! I must destroy all traces of it!"

"There! Now no one is going to hell. You're welcome, world. Eff you, artist! Now everyone can see why I should be the one making comics, because I'm so talented"
*gag*

Prayer Beads

2011-08-22T17:57:00.004-04:00

I had posted a little while back that I need to learn how to meditate. I feel like meditation should have a tactile aspect to it. Prayer beads/worry beads are something a lot of different religions use. I really like the look of malas so my prayer beads will probably be based off of that. I sketched up some designs for myself as well as my sisters.

Parasol

2011-08-11T16:11:00.003-04:00

In the event of feeling ultra girly one must watching lady tv and draw girly images. So I watched wedding shows and made this. It seems like everyone I know is getting married and for some reason there is a little part inside of every girl, probably one of the 12 year molars (that's right, this blog has dental humor), that makes you go, "OH! I'M A PRINCESS TOO!" So this was my healthy way of dealing with that.

"Exploding Princess: Let the Girly Out"
-Jeremy's horror movie about my "episode"

Princess Jellyfish

2011-08-02T10:43:00.003-04:00

Kodansha USA,
Thank you so much for giving the "Sailor Moon" manga a proper translation for the US as well as finally bringing the "Sailor V" manga here. I'm so thrilled for those upcoming releases. Could you please translate "Kuragehime" as well? I would like that very much and I'm sure others would too. I'm counting on you for superb things in the future!

The New Upstairs Neighbors

2011-08-01T13:55:00.004-04:00

So some woman has tried to get into my apartment multiple times today. I was sitting on the couch watching "Gone with the Wind" because I've never seen it before and I started hearing the door handle jiggle. I look out the peephole to see a little Indian woman trying to open the door. I then heard a man yelling from a different level for her. This happened a second time so I put a note above the deadbolt that says "You don't live here!" Unfortunately she either doesn't know how to read English or she is too stupid to look at the note. Also she doesn't seem to know Arabic numerals because those are clearly posted next to the door. I also got to hear her put keys into the lock and attempt getting in. Hilarious now but I was scared earlier that I was present for a burglary. So little lady from India, please pay attention and stop giving me a heart attack.

Oh and the loud neighbors have moved out to be replaced by these quiet but oblivious ones.

Amber's Swollen Face

2011-07-11T13:25:00.005-04:00

I love my cat a lot. So when there is something wrong with her I tend to worry a lot. Over the weekend the right side of her face became swollen. She is still eating food and doesn't seem to cry or get angry at me if I touch her swollen cheek. She does scratch it a lot like it's itchy. I'm really hoping she just has a bug bite but I'm worried about it and feel like a bad pet owner because I can't take her to the vet when I don't have a car. I'm doing the best I can to take care of it myself. I'm cleaning the area and have applied a little Benadryl ointment to it. Her fur is so thick right on her cheeks though so I'm not sure the ointment is even helping. I love this cat more than I love most people and want her to feel good.

This first picture is of her face not swollen. The second two are of the swollen face. It looks like she got into a fight but she is a lazy inside cat that only has contact with us and the occasional bug that gets inside.

It's been a crappy day and I want it to be over. May I wake up tomorrow and her face be okay because that last image makes me want to cry.

Official Save the Dates

2011-06-27T17:47:00.001-04:00

These are the actual Save the Dates for my sister's upcoming wedding. It's very cool for me to see the final product of something I designed! I look forward to taking pictures of all of this stuff together but for now you will just have to enjoy this!

I Should Learn How To Meditate

2011-06-17T13:32:00.005-04:00

I feel so anxious lately and I really don't like it. That might not be the right word for it. All the symptoms of anxiety but not the same mental feeling. I'll be sitting on the couch relaxing and all of a sudden my heart just starts beating really fast and I get very shaky. My body becomes very heavy and it takes all my strength to just hold my head up. It's a little scary and similar to a panic attack but I've had those before and this is different somehow. Before with panic attacks I had uncontrollable crying fits but this is a very quiet sad feeling. I hope it goes away because I am not sad and I don't like the feeling of whatever this is.

Circuit

2011-06-15T16:38:00.004-04:00

I wrote a song a long time ago and I'd really love to record it but I have no electric guitar to do it justice. It is not an acoustic song but has a punk (a little pop) feel to it. I'll share the lyrics and do my best to record a decent acoustic version of it in the near future. If anyone is interested in recording this with me I would absolutely relish the opportunity. This song wasn't written for younger viewers so you have been forewarned.

"Circuit"
All these things that you give to me
I gladly accept them
But I'd much rather give than to take

And every time that I feel alone
You're there in my thoughts
Preventing this heartbreak

I'll shield you from harm
Put little kitty cat band-aids over the scratch on your arm
And kiss you in places there were never visible wounds

Show you the me no one sees
And threaten to slap you when I've been teased
And laugh because we got drunk just a little too soon

We talked for seven hours straight
And I finally convinced you to masturbate
Hearing your voice, I've never felt so high

I wonder what you dream about
Is it me? Do you shout my name out?
Is the orgasm so good that it makes you wanna cry?

Collapse, gasping hard
Writhing from memories we've shared so far
You cover me, how you cover me

And every time I speak your name
Or see you face
Or hear you breathe
Or watch you read
It's as if the World's color belongs to only me

Manga Graphic Novel & Comic Sale

2011-06-14T10:52:00.015-04:00

I've been listing a lot of my comics etc on eBay. I'd like to thank the bidders on eBay for purchasing my Oh My Goddess lots. Also thanks for the prompt payments :D

As my Ranma 1/2 comics didn't sell I would like to offer a deal of 5 comics for $3.50. You select the issues you want and I send them to you. This is a pretty sweet deal as they originally cost $2.95 a piece and the going rate for most of them on eBay right now is $0.99-$3. If you would like to purchase them all, I will sell them to you for $50. Once again the issues I have available:

Part III
6
Part IV
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10
Part V
2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12
Part VI
1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Part VII
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
Part VIII
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Part IX
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Part X
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Part XI
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Part XII
1

I also have Part I (1-7 Complete) of the Ranma 1/2 comics, which are in mint condition. As these are pretty hard to find I am asking $50 for the entire set of Part I. Some added awesome about issues 1-3 of Part I is that they are in full color.
To sweeten the deal, if you purchase all of my Ranma comics, including Part I, I will pay for shipping (US only). If you live outside the US I will either pay half of shipping or throw in some extras. It's up to you.

Graphic Novels:
~~Alive, Vol. 2 (Very Fine) - $3 + shipping~~
Basilisk (Complete series/Very Fine) - $25 for the set + shipping OR 7$ each + shipping
Battle Angel Alita (Second Edition), Vol. 5 (Good/from a library collection but otherwise in very good condition/OOP) - $25 + shipping
Battle Angel Alita (Second Edition), Vol. 9 (Mint) $7 + shipping
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, Vol. 1 (Good/a section of pages are warped at the top due to something sitting on the book, otherwise very good) - $3 + shipping
~~Chobits Omnibus Book 1 (Good/a crease on the spine but otherwise great) - $8 + shipping~~
~~FLCL, Vol. 1 & 2 (Good/normal shelf ware) - $6 for the pair + shipping~~
Maison Ikkoku (Second Edition), Vol. 5 (Near Mint/OOP) - $25 + shipping
Maison Ikkoku (Second Edition), Vol. 6 (Near Mint/OOP) - $25 + shipping
Maison Ikkoku (Second Edition), Vol. 7 (Good/from a library collection) - $3 + shipping
~~Ohikkoshi (Like New) - $5 + shipping~~
Ranma 1/2 (Second Edition), Vol. 2 (Good/several scuffs and a few dings on the cover) - $2 + shipping
V for Vendetta, Hardbound 2005 (Mint) - $40 + shipping
X (Complete series in Japanese/Fine) - $35 for the set + shipping OR 3$ each + shipping

If you are interested in anything feel free to ask me about it. I'm willing to haggle a little with you on price, but not by much. I feel these are reasonable prices. I also will to do partial or full trades. So you send me a book or books from my wish list (depending on which book(s) you might not have to pay for anything but shipping) and I send you some comics. I also have no problem combining shipping. I send media mail but if you prefer a different shipping method tell me and I'll look into pricing. Most of these items are in great condition and are being sold because I need to pad my bank account. If you are interested comment.

My Wish List
Battle Angel Alita (Second Edition), Vols. 1, 3 & 4

Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, Vols. 8-13

Chi's Sweet Home, Vols. 5+

Cross Game, Vols. 2+

Dr. Slump, Vols. 17 & 18

Eden: It's an Endless World, Vol. 11

Gunsmith Cats Burst, Vols. 1, 2, 4, 5

Here Is Greenwood, Vols. 4+

Maison Ikkoku (Second Edition), Vols. 10, 11 & 15

Nana, Vols. 2, 3, 5, 19-21

Parasyte (DelRey), Vol. 8

Tokyo Boys & Girls, Vol. 5

Cake Topper Progress

2011-06-07T15:27:00.003-04:00

Furthering my work on the cake toppers. I've decided not to show the finished product of these until the wedding. I think a little mystery is fun. Trust me. They are adorable!

ARG!!! WHITNEY SMASH!

2011-06-06T17:33:00.005-04:00

To put my day quite bluntly, it started sucking right around the time I wanted to use the internet. The connection kept failing and then when I did get a connection I couldn't get the Kinkos website to cooperate. I want to yell many four letter words but I think instead I will settle on eating a spoon full of chocolate icing. That's healthy and dignified.

Working for Cookies...

2011-06-02T13:37:00.002-04:00

...and they are damn good cookies.
It was requested I make some magic happen in Photoshop for my cousin in law. I made that happen and it was okay but the real magic happened when I drew him as Wolverine. I'm not a huge X-men fan nor am I a fan of the super hero drawing style. So this is my best interpretation of Jono as Wolverine. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. The manliest drawing I've ever done.

Takin' Care of Biscuits

2011-06-01T12:53:00.004-04:00

So I tried to blog from my phone but apparently doing that will break my blog. I'm not sure how but whatever. The pictures looked terrible anyway.

What I've been up to as of recent:

I've started working on a website for a friend from high school that also went to SCAD. She was a fashion major and has some beautiful designs in both clothing and textile work! I'll be sure to post a link to her site when it is up and running.

I've also been working on that cake topper for my sister and soon to be brother in law. Right now I'm shaping the tops of the wooden eggs so they will accept the heads. The plan is to drill a hole down the middle for a dowel rod so they can be attached permanently. I'm feeling pretty confident about this project so far. Here are a few shots of the progress thus far as well as the finalized version of Brad. Yes I will be making a felt top hat for him

Welcome, New & Loud Neighbors

2011-05-31T10:23:00.004-04:00

My piece and quiet at the new apartment has been ripped from me by the new family living upstairs. They have a teenaged daughter with a tv in her room. She must be deaf for the tv to be this loud. Is it wrong to ask politely for them to keep the noise level down? I'm always afraid it will just backfire and make things worse. I don't know how they will react. I mean no offense if I do ask. I just want my office to be quiet when I'm working at the computer.

I will say when they were moving in I saw the family and the mom had a bit of an attitude. That could have been just stress from moving. What are your thoughts? Should I talk to them and run the risk of it getting worse? Or should I live in misery like I did at the last place where I got to hear this crap everyday?

Stuck

2011-05-25T23:18:00.004-04:00

It's been a rough day. I've been in a crappy mood for a good majority of it and I can only attribute that to being a female. I hate feeling like I need to cry, scream and beat people up. It's so confusing. I gave myself a time-out. It actually was the best part of the day. Just laying on the bed and staring at the ceiling. I think I'm going to model some in Maya. Nothing original. I think my problems in modeling stem from not being confident in how I work with Maya. So rather than focusing on a character design and then modeling it I'd like to get in some solid modeling time with existing characters. It is also a good challenge working with other artists' styles. I may try to give Gally/Yoko of Gunnm a go. I've seen people model her before and felt like they did a poor job by making her too photorealistic. Kishiro's style is pretty inspiring and I think Gally should remain true to his style in 3D. So I'll probably go down that route this weekend.

Angel Band

2011-05-11T17:53:00.002-04:00

So for some reason I can't get a music player embedded in the post. I've tried. I'm sorry about that. ANYWAY, I really love the song "Angel Band" and recorded this some time ago. It's been a favorite of mine ever since I first saw O' Brother Where Art Thou? (Perhaps my favorite movie). I'm singing all the parts and playing guitar. If I could have any ninja technique it would be the ability to split into several separate people so I could form my own singing group. For now I'll just have to use separate tracks. I hope you enjoy it. Maybe I'll follow through with previous threats of posting my own songs on here.

"Angel Band"

Website Completion!

2011-05-09T22:33:00.002-04:00

I finished working on my aunt's website. Go check it out and tell me what you think!
http://pattiprevett.com/

I'm about to start work on another site soon. I hope I keep getting these website jobs because I like doing them.

Working Hard On New Things

2011-05-04T14:37:00.006-04:00

For awhile now I've been working on some awesome stuff for my sister's upcoming wedding. If you know her please do not hassle her about this stuff. It's her and her fiance's business and no one else's opinion really matters. I can't tell you who is or isn't invited, mainly because I do not know. And once again it is none of my business. What is my business would be taking the reigns in the design department for their save the dates, invitations, thank you notes and as of recent a wedding cake topper. A lot of these are still in the planning stages but she gave me permission to show off a little of the behind the scenes.

These are the designs for their Save the Dates. I thought it would be pretty awesome if we could get ahold of a lot of 7" 33s and use those. Ebay has been kind and it seems that enough were located for a pretty cheap price to make these very memorable. We also located thick sleeves and envelopes to place them in for mailing. I designed a stamp that my mother used to add a little embossing magic to the sleeves. When I have the actual product in hand I will take a picture of it as well. They will hopefully begin assembling these this weekend.

This past weekend my sister and mother went looking for cake toppers. My sister was pretty put off that most toppers she found were ugly or the women were blonde. Also seeing as how this is something for a wedding they are ridiculously priced. I will be making their cake topper out of some simple wooden pieces. These are the rough designs that I drew up last night. They are far from finalized.

Commissioned Fan Cels

2011-04-29T10:42:00.003-04:00

Commissioned fan cels by a good friend. I'm sure he will love them. First is Ichigo from Bleach. I'm not really a fan of that show so it was a challenge. Second is the hero himself, Link, specifically from Twilight Princess. I had fun making Link's background.

Mokuren

2011-04-28T12:14:00.004-04:00

Needed to take a moment and draw something for myself. The character isn't mine but from a very old comic. When she sings plants grown. Her name is Mokuren which means "magnolia." I just drew her off the top of my head. I may do more with this when I get a chance. For now I'm finishing up a fancel commission. Does anyone else want to commission me? Whitney needs funding to buy comics.

Haruko Cel... Done

2011-04-18T21:50:00.002-04:00

Yeah... Sorry I didn't update with more of my cel process. It seems that blogger really hates my pictures as of late and I couldn't be bothered with it. So rather than getting angry I just put them on my facebook. I may put the process up on my deviant account. But you can still enjoy the final product here!

Haruko Full Cel Process

2011-04-13T15:36:00.011-04:00

Thought I'd show the painting process of Haruhara Haruko. This cel has a high amount of detail and took about a week to complete. I mixed all of these paint colors by hand. So the bulk of my time was actually spent getting the correct color mixed up rather than painting.

The Swap Revolution

2011-04-12T09:24:00.006-04:00

I recently joined an online book swap club called Paperback Swap (PBS). It works on a credit system. You can request a book from another member for the cost of one credit. To get credits you send a requested book to another member. When they receive the book you get a credit. You can also buy credits. The only money that has to be involved is shipping cost. The person sending the book pays for shipping. So really as long as you request books you break even on shipping costs.

To start the process you need to post books to your "Bookshelf." This is a way of letting the PBS community know what books you have available. Books are added by ISBN so the exact book is displayed on your shelf and not a different version of it.

Requesting books can be done in a few of ways. You can wait until the book is posted and then request it. You can also add books to your wish list. The wish list is basically a way to reserve the books you want. When you add a book to your wish list it's like standing in line. If you aren't in line you probably won't get the book. It's also a first come first served system. So I wish listed a book but two people already had it on their wish lists as well. So now I am third in line to get that book. It's really a very fair and good system. I like fair! Another way is to recommend books to other people from a certain member's bookshelf. They see the recommendation and can request the book from that member.

So far I have sent out five books and requested two. My books have gone to California, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Alabama.

If you are looking for a way to get rid of your old books and perhaps get your hands on different books for just the cost of shipping, I highly recommend PBS. It's been a very nice experience thus far.

The Fan Cel Process

2011-04-10T17:24:00.014-04:00

I'm getting ready to start working on some new cels and finishing up my Haruhara Haruko of FLCL cel and Lufy of Gall Force cel. But I thought it might be neat if I show off a bit of my process. I'll be showing Akane from Ranma 1/2 and the steps of going from screen cap to finished product.

I start with a screen cap that I like. Akane is one of my favorite characters of all time.

I then make line art from the screen cap. I like using Flash for this.

Next I look at the highlights and shadows and make an underdrawing

showing where those begin and end.

I do a color test on the computer to make sure I have the underdrawing correct.

I make a background. Then I head to the printer and print my line art on a transparency.

I paint the back of the cel and it looks something like this when I'm finished.

This is the front.

And here is the final product. Cel over the background. Because I have to use the underdrawing during the process and I don't like throwing it away, I hide it behind the background.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my hobbies. Akane is Rumiko Takahashi's character, so I can only take credit for the process involved in making this fan cel.

Cheese in the Trap

2011-04-08T15:19:00.005-04:00

I found a beautiful manhwa by Soon Ki. It is called "Cheese in the Trap" and I must say that I love the story and the art. Her style is refreshing. The main character has a very believable personality and the format is quite nifty. Everything happening in the present is on a white background, whereas everything in the past happens with a black background and muted colors. Speaking of colors, this manhwa is a full color webcomic. The comic has a very natural color scheme. Beautiful. Check out a few random screen grab samplin's! Also I've been reading the translated versions HERE. You can find the raw versions with better image quality HERE.

Views of the New Apartment

2011-04-08T15:07:00.007-04:00

I finally took pictures of my apartment for the world to view.

Spring Cleaning Manga Sale!

2011-04-04T23:42:00.008-04:00

I know those of you that follow me probably aren't interested in my used manga but I'm sure someone out there is. Here it is folks! I need to downsize my collection of graphic novels. For your consideration are the following:

~~Alive: The Final Evolution, Vols. 1-4 (all VF)~~
Blade of The Immortal, Vols. 1 & 7 (F & VF)
~~Blame!, Vols. 1-10 (all F/VF)~~
~~Erica Sakurazawa's Angel (VG/F)~~
Erica Sakurazawa's Angel Nest (VG/F)
~~Erica Sakurazawa's The Aromatic Bitters (VG/F)~~
Erica Sakurazawa's Between the Sheets (VG/F)
~~Erica Sakurazawa's The Rules of Love (VG/F)~~
~~Monster, Vols. 1-12 (all VF)~~
~~Portus (VF)~~
~~Suppli, Vols. 1~~ & 2 (F)
~~The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls, Vols. 1 & 2 (VF)~~

These have all been read once and then put on the shelf. I would sell these at $3 each aside from Blame! Vols. 4 & 6. These are out of print and hard to find, so I would like to get around $50 for each of those. If you don't like the price for those two volumes of Blame I'm willing to work out a trade for either equally rare manga or a couple common manga. I also have the first 5 volumes of Bride of the Water God. I'd be willing to let those go for $7 each. Oh and if you purchase everything I'll pay for shipping

A Long Post To Make Up For No Posts

2011-03-29T09:25:00.006-04:00

Hello, World! I've been not excessively busy this past month but busy nonetheless. I've dabbled in helping Jason with his film, assisting my sister at the Running of the Brides event where we found her a beautiful dress for a wonderful price AND I've been working on a redesign of my aunt Patti's website. Unfortunately these are all things I cannot show you until they are finished. Well I guess I can't take credit for the dress but I will eventually show you the wedding invitations etc.

The past 9 days I've been doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. OMG! What an insane workout! For someone blessed with a chest it is a little painful to do the cardio parts but I can tell I am losing inches off my waist. These last few workouts my pants won't stay on when I do jumping jacks which is exciting for me and embarrassing for the cat. Anyway, I didn't take measurements before I started this fitness program. I always do that and find myself discouraged by the results. Feeling that I failed in some way. So this time I opted for feeling the results. The feeling is always more important than the numbers. I know I have better stamina and am stronger after just a few days. I also just feel good.

I'll show a picture of myself at the end of 30 days and another one at 60. AND I promise I will take pictures of the new apartment too. The ceiling fan business in the living room has yet to be resolved and I feel it's important for lighting the room for a picture.

Finally there is this business about Venture Bros. Season 4 finally making it to Bluray this past week. HURRAY! I absolutely love this show. Thank you Doc and Jackson for pouring so much love and time into something that truly makes my heart happy. For those of you that are out of the loop please get into the loop. This show takes all the basic plots and characters from Hanna-Barbera golden era cartoons and puts those into more real life situations. At it's heart, it is a show about the failures in life that propel us through the day to day. I could go on about this forever so I'll spare you and just show the Venture awesome that is hanging above the TV in the living room.

Slowly But Surely Making My New Home

2011-03-02T09:10:00.003-05:00

Since I last blogged I have finished two of the 4 remaining cels. I've also continued to unpack and make things tidy in the new apartment.

Last year I was working with a friend on his film. I was rotoscoping one character and I recently got the last shot of her. So for now my projects have been put on hold. I'd like very much to finish the shot for him soon. After that is done I have a website project for one of my aunts. I made her current website and it's time to update the look and content.

If you speak to me often you know that I love Lady Gaga. I don't care if you dislike her and nor does she. She is a genius when it comes to writing and performing music as well as getting people to talk about her. I really look forward to her new album this year and would like to add a Lady Gaga piece to my list of things to do. I'm not sure if I want to animate something or just do a digital painting. I'm really drawn to the animation because I know all of the choreography to "Bad Romance" and it would make for a fantastic challenge. But along with that project I would really like to model and rig a character. I'm not quite sure my skills in that area are up to snuff for those dance moves. I may edit the Andy rig to fit my needs.

Tell me what you think.

Greetings From Alpharetta

2011-02-11T16:56:00.006-05:00

It has been awhile blog world. I've been moving from one apartment to another and soon that will be done. I want to do so much art but other things need to get done first. The office is a bit messy right now so it's not the best place to "do." I'm going to make a list of things I want to get done for myself and the order in which I'd like to do them. This is for me, so I'm sorry if it's boring:
Finish cels
Draw strange dream image
Finish Jerry (the stormtrooper)
Character turnaround of Darcy (the fail witch - she is named after a statue in an awesome episode of Top Gear)
Thumbnail storyboards for "Project Darcy"
Start modeling joepi's awesome Sagittarius image

Moving on.
I've been replaying Bayonetta in my down time. It's a pretty raunchy game but hilarious and ultra fun to play. If you haven't played it and own a PS3 or 360 AND are 17+ you should go pick it up. The soundtrack is pretty amazing as well. Here's to hoping Platinum Games gets the Bayonetta 2 ball rolling.

I promise to put pictures of the new place up soon. I have a little more to clean from the old apartment and then it's all about this place. When the pics do go up, please don't ask why my comics are in the dining room. They won't have a home until my mom and sisters come to visit in March. They will have a van and therefore space for me to bring bookshelves home. Just know that I'd like to have them in the office.

Henry, my lazy, fabulous and flamboyant fish, says "hi!"

Having Fun In Lady Design Land

2011-01-15T23:09:00.003-05:00

My sister recently got engaged to her boyfriend Brad. I really look forward to participating in their special day. I'm heading up the design of invitations etc. I won't post anything on here involving that until they either say "go for it!" or after the wedding. It is quite an interesting area of design. Trying to incorporate two personalities into color schemes and design is a fun problem to solve. I think the most fun I'm having with it is the fact that they are so open to ideas I have to keep their Save The Dates unique. It is so much fun in fact, that I may look into this for pay.

Just wait a little while. I'll be sure to post some actual art soon. I'll be moving in a couple of weeks and then I'm back on the production train. It is probably time to do a short animation with a certain witch I drew.

Kahlua Brownies Recipe

2011-01-04T17:26:00.004-05:00

My friend Gillian wanted this!

Kahlua Brownies
Praline Crust
1/3 C brown sugar
1/3 C butter
2/3 C flour
1/2 C pecans

Melt butter and mix all ingredients together. Pack into the bottom of a 9"x9" glass pan. I suggest spraying in a healthy amount of PAM. This stuff refuses to leave the pan. I don't like using the nuts because I'm allergic to them. I subbed in roughly a 1/2 cup of crumbled up cooked pie crust and left out the flour. It tastes different but very good.

Brownies
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 C shortening
2 eggs
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 t vanilla
1/4 C Kahlua
1/2 C flour
1/4 t salt
1/2 C pecans (or leave them out if you are like me)

Melt shortening with chocolate. Beat eggs with sugar and vanilla. Combine egg mixture with melted chocolate and liquor. Add flour and salt then pecans. Pour over crust and bake for 25-30 min at 350.

Kahlua Butter Cream
2 T butter
1 T Kahlua
2 C powdered sugar
1-2 T cream

I melt the butter for this but I'm not quite sure if it's supposed to be melted or just room temperature. Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Spread over cooled brownies and refrigerate for an hour.

Glaze
2 squares semi-sweet chocolate
1 square unsweetened chocolate
2 T shortening

Melt all ingredients in saucepan and pour over brownies. Refrigerate.

It's quite a lengthy recipe. My mom got it out of a little cook book that Oklahoma Natural Gas put out a long time ago before I was born. I get a laugh out of looking at the original recipe because it mentions all these things being cooked specifically with natural gas.

(Missing gas stoves)

Why Arms Are Awesome

2010-12-29T16:14:00.004-05:00

Christmas was pretty spectacular in both the company and the gifts. I enjoyed Christmas with Jeremy's family. We spent the morning at his Mom's house. I brought cinnamon rolls and then we opened gifts. A little before lunch both of us went to Jeremy's Grandma's house. She was still cooking food for everyone coming over. We were the first to arrive there and claimed our spot on the love seat in the sunroom. There was so much good food. We munched on chocolate covered pretzels, croissant ham sandwiches and various pies and cakes. Then it snowed on the way home. It was a really nice Christmas and I feel as though in the gift department I made out like a bandit.
These are the the gifts I received in order of when I received them except what Jeremy got me. I saved it for last.

An awesome KitchenAid standing mixer from my Mom & Dad
Lego Batman from Camille
A lovely Visa giftcard from Melanie
17 piece set of pots and pans from my Aunt Jan & Uncle Mark and Granny & Papa
An awesome giftcard from Aunt Patti & Uncle Donald
6 bamboo spoons and a new heavy duty muffin pan from my Aunt Deidre
Money from my Uncle Robby & Aunt Callie
A slew of giftcards from Jeremy's Mom, Keith & Deloris and Grandma & Kenneth
A full date night from Jeremy's Dad (dinner, movies and popcorn)
A really pretty glass bead bracelet that Jeremy's Aunt Pam made

AND Jeremy got me an Ergotron LX Desk Mount LCD Arm 45-241-026 for my Cintiq. So now it is attached to my desk and I can pull it down into my lap to work on it, rather than resting my elbow on the edge of the desk and giving myself "tablet arm." (Tablet arm is my arm going numb from working on my Cintiq with my elbow on the desk.)

So how was your Hanukkah, Solstice, Christmas or Kwanzaa (I'm aware it isn't over yet)?
I hope you have a good start to your new year as well.

More Justification For Why I'll Be Moving Next Month

2010-12-21T11:37:00.006-05:00

So last night while I was trying to wrap up this rotoscoping gig I heard a bad series of events. First I heard a car revving it's engine and then I heard a man screaming in pain. I ran to the window and saw a woman get out of a Nissan 350Z. Then I looked about 15 feet to the right and there was a man doubled over and sobbing loudly. The man was begging for people driving past to help him. The woman kept yelling "It's your fault!" and was throwing her keys at him and then shoving him. I didn't think it was a life or death situation so I didn't call 911 because we have a courtesy officer at this apartment complex. So I called the courtesy officer and was told to leave a message. I've never called a courtesy officer so I'm not exactly sure if this is normal or not. I left a message explaining what I heard and saw. I thought something would be done in moments because the officer lives here.

Fast forward to just about 30 minutes ago. I get a phone call from the leasing office. I am told that I should have called the police because we don't currently have a courtesy officer. WHAT? So now I'm stupid for not call 911 in the first place, and the lady I'm talking to paints it that way. How am I supposed to know that there is no courtesy officer? You didn't put out a flyer informing us that currently there is no courtesy officer.

So to the gentleman I tried to help last night, I'm sorry I didn't call 911 and get you some real help. The leasing office and it's infinite inability to keep it's residents safe and informed has made me into the idiot. I hope you're not injured too badly and that you get away from that crazy woman that drives like a bat out of hell.

The Thing I Miss Most

2010-12-08T09:45:00.005-05:00

I had a pretty strange dream last night. Strange in a good and bad ways. The good ways were really good. I got to sing in front of people again. It was amazing. Just the feeling of your heart beating fast. Knowing that everyone in that room is listening to you because you have the microphone, not that I need it to be heard singing. Strange part of it was I had backup singers that comprised of what I think were clones of me. I don't really want to talk about the bad. It was really strange and unfounded weirdness.
But the sensation of singing for a crowd again was indescribable. If you are a good musician you might know what I mean. It's that feeling you have when you are playing with other musicians that just get "it." You can start playing a song that they have never heard and they just jump in as though they have been playing it their whole lives. I miss that feeling.

I left my music behind when I went to SCAD. It was music or art. I chose the path that was more difficult for me. I was born a musician. I had to work very hard to become a decent artist.

Update On What I'm Up To

2010-12-06T19:13:00.003-05:00

It's been quite some time since my last post. Forgive my neglect but I am ultra busy working on other projects that are not mine to show. I can assure you that once my part of this large project is complete I will get back on the personal art train. For now it is very cold in Georgia and I wish my extremities would have a little better circulation.

Rotoscoping & Fan Cels

2010-11-15T12:33:00.003-05:00

Sorry I haven't really done anything on here lately. I've been working on other projects that take priority over my little illustration challenge. Firstly I have a rotoscoping project for a friend that I have committed my time to. It has been going slowly because of little hiccups caused by my cat or the weather as well as some family things. The family things weren't all emergencies. I just tend to put my family first when it comes to certain requests.
I've also been working on some fan cels during my late afternoons and weekends. I will post my progress on those when and if I get a chance. There are certain shows that I'd like to have real animation cels from but I just cannot afford them or cannot find them. I decided to try my hand at making them myself and they have come out lovely thus far.

Anyway, I need to get back to rotoscoping. This was just a small break to keep my head clear

New Challenge Idea

2010-11-06T20:15:00.004-04:00

Whew! What a week. My sister had a situation yesterday that sucked. She is fine but some people need to get over their very entitled attitudes.

It's getting colder here in the greater Atlanta region and about time for heaters to start running. I love this weather. It means curling up on the couch and reading, playing video games or watching movies. I think I came up with a new challenge for myself and anyone else that might like to join in the fun. I was reading an article yesterday that highlighted adventure books with hilarious names and even more ridiculous cover art. My plan is to pick a title and make a cover illustration for it. It can be a just as ridiculous nonsensical cover or one that goes with the title. I would love it if people would actually send me titles so that I don't get a chance to see the cover art.

I won't do these every single day but I'd like to do at least two a week. I think this will be fun!

Day 31 (late): Calavera Catrina

2010-11-04T18:38:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry that I didn't post these on the corresponding days. I've been under the weather, lazy and busy all at once. I hope you can forgive me and still enjoy the picture!

Day 30 (late): Medusa

2010-11-04T18:36:00.003-04:00

Medusa and mixers don't mix. I like Medusa alone. I'm terrible at drawing men. I need to work on that.

Medusa WIP

2010-11-03T22:37:00.003-04:00

I give to you work in progress for part of my Halloween Challenge. I'm feeling really under the weather right now. I wanted to finish this tonight but my stomach is telling me "NO WAY!" I've been feeling yucky since Sunday evening but today is the worst. I guess I'll be playing Pokemon in bed tomorrow. My plan for a productive week has gone down the drain. I look forward to being in full force again.

A Letter To Lionhead Studios

2010-11-01T09:19:00.004-04:00

Dear Lionhead Studios,

Please fix all the buggy bits in the Fable games. For example, poor collision. I dislike getting stuck on a character that is standing in my way. Maybe make it to where the hero can gently nudge or push NPCs out of their way. This also happens with inanimate objects so your collision detection is pretty awful.

The dog is okay. I don't care whether or not I have it, but if I do have it please fix how difficult it is for the dog to find dig spots (some collision issues in this arena as well). The dog starts barking and it just stands there or walks into a rock. I don't know if you were trying to make it more realistic by having the dog walk around cluelessly while barking, but it seems like poor testing.

Please fix lag. I shouldn't lag when I'm playing offline. It's unacceptable. Don't tell me to "install the game" because I already have. Even if it weren't installed the only "lag" I should experience would be longer loading screens.

Finally if you are going to have a path that leads you to your quest it should work flawlessly. I keep being led off of cliffs that I cannot vault or through a lake just to be lead on land in the direction from where I came.

I agree with some gamers that story elements could be better but control and interactivity should be fixed before the game hits the market. It is awful. You sell these games to consumers broken and it makes me mad.

Sincerely,

Whit

Day 29 (late): Some Costumes

2010-10-31T00:46:00.003-04:00

Sometimes you just have to be Shaggy and Velma.

Day 28: Trick Or Treat

2010-10-28T21:26:00.002-04:00

My friend Morgan helped start this idea. Thank you, Morgan!

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes