I have the coolest fig study class ever.

So I have the coolest figure study class ever. My instructor was/is an associate of Ryan Woodward (the guy who made "Thought of You"), and is a brilliant teacher and friend. Our bi-weekly sketchbook assignments aren't typical things like "go out and draw people for an hour," but engaging and fun challenges/tasks such as "combine Japanese and Victorian fashion" or "Draw a Marvel character. Doesn't matter who." It's refreshing, really, because the assignments create a goal without limitation—we can draw them in any style we want, and the only real rule is to 'make it look good.' 

My class is filled with insanely talented students—many of which I can tell right off are going to get into the animation program (for which the application is coming up mid-May. eep!), and it's SUPER easy to feel discouraged when I can see how easily lines come out of the others' hands, but at the same time, it's encouraging to have a professor who is both optimistic and realistic at the same time. You can tell he cares, and if you're willing to do the work, he's willing to work with you and help you achieve your goals. 

I'll be honest. I feel kind of afraid that I won't be getting into the program this year, but I feel like I'm finally working into a slow but steady(ish) climb: My sketchbook has become vastly different in its execution over the last month or two. I'm not worried at all about my 2D animation, though I've been trying to stay on  top of it lately by spending time in the animation lab making stuff like Toboro, the In-Love Robot. It's simple and there are some volume issues, but I'm quite pleased with it, seeing as I sort of slapped it together in under five hours..

My weakest points at the moment are figure drawing and 3D. It's weird because I have a pretty good grasp on the human anatomy—I guess the difficulty is making good lines quickly and deliberately with permanent medium on large paper.. As for my 3D, well.. I'm getting the hang of it, but I'm gonna need some major awesome going down before May's end..

So. I'm glad I came to BYU. I'm disappointed in myself that I've developed such ill habits of lethargy and procrastination. I signed on to help work on the BYU student film, Bothered, though, and I feel like it's a good chance to set in and grind down on rebuilding some work ethic. I'm pretty excited to be a part of it; the characters are appealing and the idea overall is pretty clever. A story I think I'll enjoy helping to tell.. I'll see just how secret we're supposed to be with it, and if it's cool with the director, I'll post some stuff up here. :)

Anyway. It's 4:30 AM. Another terrible habit of mine. :P

Here's a katana-weilding Elizabethian/Victorian/Japanese/1920s Aristocrat for you:

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It was fun. :)