i love you, guenever.

So hiiii, it's only been like four months lul whut.

(Since then my PC crashed and now all my art is gone what boo hoo.)

(I'll put up a picture of Jordan's Christmas present once it gets to her.)

Just letting any of those who wonder know that I live! Sort-of. And that I'm currently re-doing my room so anything that can be used for drawing is packed away into boxes and scattered throughout the house, and my scanner is resting on top of a Japanese doll that I got from my friend Josh, over in my mom's room.

My biggest art project is about 16x7ft.

This is the potential my back wall will someday reach. It's going to take some painstaking hours on a ladder, lots of scrap clothing and white paint, but I'll probably finish it before Christmas. How hard can some random tree branches be? 8D

IN ODAH NEWSS.

Happy Holidays!

(Much lovins, Leyla!)

baby behave, we'll make make it work!

Just some character sheets.

Notes: Xiu's weapon handle is made out of two layers of bone, and the blades retract. Fully unsheathed, the light weapon spans 85", with the handle, 97". For some odd reason, she tends to do everything in four-inch heels. She has two arms, I'm just too lazy to finish the second.

i like mail.

Just so everyone knows, when this post goes up, I'll be in Virginia Beach (a mere half an hour from our dear Jordyn's house (and I'd go there if she wasn't on vacation!)), but I figure by the time it DOES the packages will be in their respective locations and it'll be okay to post them up online.

I'm sending two letters later this week (for all of those curious, this was written Thursday, at 4:07AM)- one to Jordyn and one to Jess (VA and AR, respectively), both including esclusive doodlebug sketches and letters (Jordyn's package will contain something from a few of my friends as well as me).

So, here are the doodleys!

JORDYN~

A lovely sketch of Eric and Dre working (in which I digitally corrected the angle so it looks semi-better.)

A pin-up of Ria in a martini glass. My scanner doesn't pick up colors, but her eyes and the liquid in the glass are colored in.

A hothothot Eries.

And also the original sketch for the Mrs. Toad art I did, as well as a little cover of me saying hi, a mix CD titled after this blog, and possibly a CD with a bunch of photos of me and my friends. Possibly. OH and a comic strip of Vlad and Ria fighting as usual, fufufu.

JESS~

The original sketch for this baby here.

This lovely ink doodle of our lovely couple, Anna and Mike. I messed up when penning her face, it's so sad. v_v
And a doodle of her Hatter in the Hearts outfit. There's another, but it's not inked or colored.

off to virginia!

Alright, so, I'm being pressured to clean and do stuff before we leave for VA. Mom says I have to be done by 6PM, but I'm curious as to WHY. Are we leaving at some obscure hour of the night? We better not be.

While I'm there I'll probably work on some character sheets and take some photos of the highway detour to Jordyn's town, which I shan't be visiting because she won't be there, boohoo. But I'll be back next week, hopefully with a tan and all set to go to school. Hopefully.

I'm upset that I wasn't able to pick up a Copic brush pen and some fine liners before I left, but that'll just have to wait. I leave you with this.

It won't fit, so you'll have to click this.

I don't know who made it, but they're a genius.

Featuring Tori Collis and Bulbasaur.

GOODBYE.

(Even though I'll be on MSN/AIM at night, lolol.)

i will make you a STAR!

Hi I'm Leyla and I just spent my night watching animated feature films, among which was Thumbelina. This is Mrs. Toad. She will make you a STAR! Gracias, gracias. ;D

Also, does anyone else think the ending of Thumbelina was possibly one of the most beautiful animated moments? And that both Thumbelina and Cornelius were possibly the most dynamic fairy tale characters ... ever? As well as the supporting cast? And the fact that they PROVE THAT PEOPLE IN ANIMATED MUSICALS REALIZE THEY'RE SINGING?!

I'm gonna go back to crying now. ;^; 'Cause this was beautiful.

portrait study I

So I've been on a bit of a facial anatomy kick, and I honestly think I'm getting somewhere! Take my pencils if I'm wrong. Anyways, I tried going for a character I was comfortable with and working on her with a new outlook on faces, in this case, Ria. I'm satisfied with her mouth, after figuring out that the one on the original sketch was not only too small, but too far over to one side. I really think I'm getting there with skin tones!

Here are some things I just spotted, and decided could have been much better. First of all, by laws of head shape, her hair placement is too flat, and I decided only recently that her hair isn't curly enough as I draw it. I should study some of Jordyn's sketches, she always seems to get it right. Hm.

Also, her eyes are now too big the way I draw them. She looks like a dying rat to me, and that needs to be fixed. And noses? Man, don't even get me started on noses. :( Her face shape isn't satisfactory to me, either. =3= Back to Anchor and Braille... and the drawing board!

If you wanna know what the lyrics say, I'm gonna link you to the original jam first, and then quote the chorus, ktx.

And the war came with a curse and caterwaul!

And the war came with all the poise of a cannonball!

And they're picking out our eyes by coal and candlelight,

When the war came, the war came hard.

PS: Anyone else notice that I got the second line wrong on the original? P:

harper's bazaar & w magazine studies

I love using these for (female) anatomy. If you know a good, trendy male fashion mag, please, please tell me!

Study I (Harper's Bazaar)

Study II (Harper's Bazaar and W Magazine)

Iduno why I colored that one eye in the corner. P: Butttt. These are my studies for today! Not much improvement, I think, but I have a better understanding of face composition. Now onwards to studying poses~ ! >D

we have a map of the piano.

So, as a random two in the morning inspiration, I started to doodle, and it endured being crappy into being the first artwork I've ever done to bring me to tears. How egotistical is that?

Well, anyways, feel free to tear me apart. I'm posting the process for this piece here because I would LOVE suggestions! This is a crucial time for me, bouts of inspiration like this sometimes lead to good things.

I started sketching this on a pad of somewhat rough paper, then traced it with pen on a sheet of tracing paper and scanned that in. I fixed up the lineart with the eraser tool, and set up a nice little playlist to set the mood. It consists of the following: Mum - We Have A Map Of The Piano, The Decemberists - Of Angels and Angles, and Imogen Heap - Hallelujah.

This is kinda easy, I just fixed her eyelashes, applied a "mood background" and a basic skin tone.



Step three's just doing the face. You can see all the little imperfections in the lineart this close up, but I'll be fixing those again later. I changed the background color a little and started with yellows and pale reds to shade the skin, and went back in with a purple. I may go back in with a blue later.

Same steps as the previous one, except on the whole body. I used this as a tool. Shading vs. Less Saturated Shading. :DD

This was one of those parts where I didn't know what to do. Finding a scarring tutorial deemed impossible, so I found a legit picture of a scar and went from there. Mine look pretty decent zoomed out, so I'm not going to try much with them. Zoom in, though? They look terrible. XD

Applied a nice, heavy base for the hair. Notice the god-awful scars.


Now just to figure out how to place this so it looks good, and add some textures...

i would really love if you pulled this thread,

I pretty much leave you with this sketch and a word of a project that I may or may not finish. (:

(The first doodle is a doodle I did on no sleep. It sucks, ktx.)

if there's anything,

So, I understand it seems like I died. I didn't, really.

Actually, tomorrow's my last official day of school. After that, it's three exams and I'm out for the summer, and as soon as Mr. Morrow cuts off the last note at the graduation ceremony, wherever I may be, I shall no longer be a freshman. And yet, I shan't be a sophomore either since you're not really one of those until school starts up in September, and so I'll enjoy the state of limbo and just call myself a high-school kid.

But if there's anything I've learned this year, I'll state it here and now while I'm still conscious and able to procrastinate on my art project.

1. Misjudging people is definitely something I learned I'm capable of. The biggest, most annoying jerk in orchestra has turned out to be a good friend of mine, and the kid who always skipped earth science is actually one of the funniest people I've met this year. I guess I need to bring myself back down to human level.
2. Honors is a weird thing. I appreciate the opportunity, but my motivation levels are so low that doing my homework becomes more of a chore than usual, and my grades end up slipping because of that.
3. Orchestra is probably one of the only reasons I stay at my school any more.
4. German class is a joke.
5. It's good to know how to keep something to yourself, be it your own secret or someone else's. Likewise, it's good to keep certain opinions to yourself, and sometimes it's just nice to shut up and bear something.
6. I find it helpful to not bear a grudge against teachers for the way they do things, but instead take my education into my own hands and attempt to keep up.
7. I'm gonna miss Newman's class.
8. Things take time. Feeling uncomfortable is a commonality, especially in a classroom. Don't be afraid to make new friends.
9. Swearing is useless.
10. Jealousy is useless.
11. People are useless.
12. Art is a way to sustain the soul, and therefore is the reason I must keep my hands in tip-top shape.
13. Don't spread yourself out too thin.
14. There is no such thing as 'dorky' or 'cool'. There is only right and wrong. You wanna join some kids for a game of D&D? Cancel plans to study? Cancel studying for plans? As long as everything balances out, you're fine.
15. Be nice to everyone. Grudges are irrelevant, people change.
16. Stop not waiting 'till college. Enjoy high school while you can.
17. Don't bother calling yourself fat or ugly. You don't like something about yourself? Change it.
18. Yes. You do have the power. And it is your choice.
19. Mind your own business.
20. Dr. Seuss is always right. "Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

So, to conclude Leyla's top 20 things she learned freshman year, I'd like to just thank everybody for being patient. I know I'm not perfect, and I can be annoying and weird and lazy, but I clearly have some friends sticking around.

Thank you.

See you all after my summer hibernation!

ich bin tot, bringt mir nicht auf.

my german title is probably wrong. 

self-explanatory. 

bottom lyric is from a regina spektor song.

time for finals. 

unstoppable

So in art, we have a project that entails using the human form and negative space to show some form of motion. This is my doodle page and three references I'm heavily lenient towards (the last is courtesy of Tori).

This is the first project I'm taking seriously. Title from E.S. Posthumus song, Unstoppable.

&everybody: 1, 2, step.

My three favs of a consistency exercise I did with Eric.

scientific breakthrough

They were so close.

wait for me you've gone much farther, too far

one step at a time,

I solemnly swear to find balance, and through balance, love, and through love, health.

all i need is just a love to make it worthwhile

Yes, yes, I am very much still alive, and I do pick up my pencil once in a while! It's been a busy first year of high school, my friends, but I do believe I'll be alright sooner or later. So let's start off with some of the things contributing to my business: commissions. The images above are Gaia commissions for TrinityCowgirl and P u r p l e K a r l a respectively. They definitely challenged me, the first pose-wise and the latter with its complex design. I've still yet to figure out half of the items on there.

The next is more of a personal half-project I've been working on. It's (a currently faceless-because-I-fail-at-Vlad) Vlad and a kissyface equally-copious-amount-of-fail Ria. Because I can, kay? C: And they don't have enough cute in their lives. Poor sods, I don't show either of them enough love, even though Ria's my baby and Vlad has auto-love for being wonderful&married to my baby.



This last thing is also kind of a personal thing. It's just an unfinished doodle of Ella from Happily N'Ever After, which is a fabulously addicting movie that you all should go out and see, fufufu. It'll be done when I have the time to finish it, for other things come first. C :





Last on my list is actually something even more personal: my classes (but not in proper order) for next year! I shall be taking English 10 Honors, AP World History, Chemistry, Algebra II/Trigonometry Honors, Art History, Health, Art 2 (Drawing&Painting), Orchestra, and a PE/Lab/Study Hall period. I gave up my lunch to fit in Art History and Health, because Art History is stupid and required, as is Health. :C

beauty all around you, tongue tied in awe.

<-- Me trying to look cool.

So I really am alive! It's hard to believe, but that picture proves it all. I am still a fleshy, carbon-based being who wears crazy red cardigan sweaters and Claire's glasses (because I have 20/20 vision, hah!). I just thought a picture would help you get an idea of what I spend my time doing nowadays. Taking pictures and procrastinating.

I've actually been told that I have a "new picture on facebook every week," which might be true, seeing as I take my crappy Kodak everywhere. Oh Canon, how I long for you. ;o;

(I might take my parents' to Chicago with me. It's debateable.)

So, in more interesting news, here are some things to show you that YES, I DO STILL LIVE AND BREATHE AND DRAW AND PLAY MUSIC OH GOD WHAT.



A failed landscape is all I have left to show. :C
Unless you want to read my essays. Which I doubt you do.
But if you actually care about what goes on with me, here are a few landmark dates that I have sitting on my calendar!

March 27th-30th
Musical! My high school is performing Rodgers&Hammerstein's Cinderella. I'm part of the cast, thanks to a failed singing audition and my freshman-ness, but it's still an enjoyable performance.

April 3th-5th?
There is a very slight chance of my attendance at Tekkoshocon 2009 in Pittsburgh, PA. Very slight. I'd be going with Tori.

April 7th
I do believe one of my friends is performing at a concert. I'm considering going.

April 23rd-26th
I shall be going to Chicago with my orchestra for the Dixie Classic Music Festival. If you are attending, or know someone who's attending, that is where I'll be!

May 2nd
I'm going to see 3OH!3 live. No one can stop me.

May 13th
Orchestra concert. We're performing Tchaikovsky's Serenade in C Major (Movements III and IV) and Hubert C. Parry's Lady Radnor Suite in F Major.

May 21st
Our first Chamber Orchestra/Concert Chorale performance of (the majority of) Mozart's Requiem!

May 22nd-24th
I may or may not be attending Anime Boston with the lovely Sarah. Believe me, you will know if I am. I'm a very easily excited person.

May 31st
Another Chamber Orchestra/Concert Chorale performance of the Requiem. This time we're at this big beautiful stage downtown. I'm excited.

June 15th
Last day of school!

Just 24th
Last day of exams. O:

June 25th
I get to go see my cousin and a few of my music friends graduate. I will be a bawling mess.

August 17th
Field Hockey pre-season starts. Goodbye freedom.

September 9th?
First day of my Sophomore year.

There will be random events thrown in, I promise. C: These are all according to my personal and school calendar.

ich muss durch den monsun,

Yeah, something like that.

not so tough found out, found out.

So only after discovering how much of a pain editing Blogger can be, I have decided to pull through and actually make a post for once in a while. I swear I'm starting to become like Jordyn- ninja-like and never seen.

So this is my sketchbook cover. Ziegte. She can dismember her own body in streams of crackly magic. I might finish it if I feel up to digitizing the deal.


This is Arthur and Beluga. Arthur is my gay flowershop owner who loves his partner Zeke and his baby Beluga, who's a cracked-up man-eating plant and we all love her blahblah. She's phenomenally acidic and deadly and ... wonderful. C:







This next trio of images is actually the separated duo from my would-be webcomic type thing which I should really get back to doing 'cause it's been a while and I'd like to improve. Clearly, Evie and Claudius got a makeover. And I like it that way. Bwhahahahahah!















And this... might be my lovey-dovey belated Valentine's Day picture if I feel up to finishing it.

durch den monsun

So I took up the September issue of W magazine and decided to work on some anatomy stuffs. It's all crooked 'cause I was drawing on my lap, but clearly, I am doing some work. :B

we were sixteen, maybe less, maybe a little more

So I decided it might be about time to do some facial reference sheets for my characters. Make sure half of them don't look exactly the same and stuff. So I started with Ria 'cause my hand's really accustomed to drawing her, and worked out things like her eye and face shape. That nose looks too dramatic for her, but it's a good nose, so I couldn't bring myself to erase it. :B

I love how the only colored part is the one that lacks any facial structure.