I do not recommend the flu.

Or, how I spent the first week of 2018.  :|

2018 Resolutions (?)

I saw @preservedcucumbers​ make a really thoughtful list of resolutions, and was inspired to think it over.  I don’t usually try because I’m so good at failing, but it can’t hurt to make some goals; I’ll post these on tumblr and Blogger.  In no particular order:

-layout and print Cats Talking Words minicomic #2
-Finish “You Smell Like Pancakes” minicomic
-paint some fairies
-repair Winged Elf Girl website (even if it’s just a landing page)
-outline a concept for a minicomic about the witch in the woods
-Attend 3-5 comics/anime/scifi/whatever conventions (as attendee, not seller)

I’m keeping these fairly loose, because as I said, I’m not so great at completing things on time.  but with a whole year, maybe it can happen. :)

OC3 2018 Poster

THERE IT IS! :)  I had the great job of designing the poster for Oldham County Comic Con for 2018!  The reading kiddo is based on a kiddo that I know (though when he was this size he was much more interested in climbing everything than reading).

I will also have a table at OC3 in February.  It might well be the only comics convention that I have a table at for 2018; I'm still debating SPACE.  I've talked about this in person to some comics friends over the last couple months but not online - I'll be taking a vacation from the breakneck art schedule of convention tables for a year to try and finish up a couple long-term projects that have languished for most of 2017 because I burned myself out for many months doing 6 shows almost in a row this past spring.  With the additional health and stress issues that have resulted from that, I don't want to push myself more anytime soon.  Not that I don't like painting Pokemon, but it really has become a hindrance.

During 2018, I will continue to be on social media and can always be reached that way or via email. :)  I hope to come back refreshed and with an amiable vengeance (and hopefully a new book or two) in 2019!

POP ART CON 2017 and photos

Pop Art Con is Saturday 4/7/2017!! I'm excited because this is the ONLY hometown Cincinnati show I'll be exhibiting at this year.  If you're of the Cincinnati folk, please do stop by. :)

I also wanted to share a couple photos from the last few weeks, as I don't usually do that on this blog.

This photo of my current traveling watercolor setup is by Rob Walker, taken at SPACE 2017 in Columbus OH.

This photo of me was taken by Michael Boruff with the Underground Video Network at Gem City Comic Con 2017 in Dayton, OH. :)

Cats Talking Words returns!!

Cats Talking Words is back today! :D  My webcomic (which has been on hiatus since last May due to moving house) will update on Sunday and Thursday nights.  Our new old house still has part of a wall ripped out, and no art yet hung up (I haven't yet worked up the nerve to put nails into our ancient plaster walls), but it's time for this comic to start up again.  It feels good to get something done. :)

Speaking of getting things done, I re-printed many of my minicomics in the lead-up to SPACE this past weekend - including a new Cats Talking Words minicomic collecting the first 46!  As I already have over 200 made, it won't be difficult to make a second collection next spring, haha.  Other minicomics/other books reprinted include:

Encounters of the Radical Righteous Band Hippie
Swingin' Along
Winged Elf Girl Sketchbook: 2011-2013
Man on the Moon

And a new compilation of sketchbook portraits, called "Collecting Faces" (very creative title).  I had all of these with me at SPACE over the weekend, and also will have them at Gem City ComiCon and Indiana ComiCon in the coming weeks.  Woot woot!

A few of the newly printed and bound minis:

Custom watercolor artist trading cards available to order!!

I usually only offer these at conventions, but decided to make these available for a little while for the holidays!  If you'd like to order one, visit the Google form below!  :D

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8I9_R5jwTZEv0wwgzSKHeetJ3N1nfZ6b46N5Yvkz3-Rnn3Q/viewform

HAPPY 2016!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Thank you to everyone I have met and spoken to at conventions, online and other events in 2015 - here's to continuing in 2016! May it be full of creation and good discoveries.

A lot is coming up quickly... my husband Matthew Sparks will release two independent comics in the first half of the year, and hopefully in the next couple months we will be moving to a new home that better serves our love of creating comics and illustrations. It's going to be... INTERESTING, if nothing else. HERE WE GOOOOO ~

Every nice elf should have a nice squirrel pet, I think. :D (created in Manga Studio and Photoshop)

Buckrider #4: DARK MYSTERIOUS CHRISTMAS

CHECK IT OUT, the 4th issue of Buckrider is now available to download or read online (FOR FREE!!)  Peter Aquino has gathered a really great group of artists for this issue.  I submitted the second story, "Waiting", for your creepy Christmas pleasure. :D

http://issuu.com/buckrider/docs/buckrider04

Kickstarter of Printing bookmarks for original art- 6 days left!

Hello readers and lookers!! FYI, I'm running a Kickstarter with my husband Matthew Sparks to raise money to print promo materials for our Artist Alley tables. In return, we are offering original art! There are 6 days left. Please check it out or share the link; any help at all is appreciated!!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wingedelfgirl/bookmarks-for-the-sparkses

Thoughts about Studio Ghibli, and also Walt Disney: an accidental essay

San and Ashitaka: two of the most badass cartoon characters ever. 

(Drawing by me- I don't recommend using sketch-and-wash on regular sketchbook paper, like I did.)

Did you know I love 2D animation?! I do. I LOVE it. The films of Studio Ghibli, primarily those directed by Hayao Miyazaki, were a huge influence on me when I was a teenager and an important factor in my decision to study 2D animation (for OBVIOUS reasons).  So I have been having many mixed feelings and stirred-up memories after reading about the state of Studio Ghibli lately.

There’s a thing about “idolizing” the things we love in high school- the work of musicians, authors, film stars, whatever we love; and I think it’s because we cannot fully appreciate them when we’re young.  When we grow older, and begin to learn the skills and working methods that went into creating those things which we idolized, our perspective changes.  We see how they were made, and they often aren’t very impressive anymore. We learn that (BIG SURPRISE) when we were younger, we may have had TERRIBLE taste.  But in regard to both the old and new films from Ghibli, I doubt there were many artists who would say “I liked them more when I was a kid” (the perpetual refrain of the Nostalgia Critic).  I can see now how the films were made, can take educated guesses at the techniques used, but my admiration isn’t lessened at all. There’s too much skill and control of the animation craft, both a deep maturity and childlike wonder in the stories, and relentless production quality from the artists at Ghibli, for the films they’ve made thus far to ever lose their high standing with me.

I'm not terribly surprised that Ghibli's production studio is being temporarily disbanded, restructured, whatever.  Reading about all of this reminds me of a person to whom Hayao Miyazaki is often compared – Walt Disney.  But MAN were they different.  Lots of people have called Hayao Miyazaki "Japan's Walt Disney", and hearing about the state that Ghibli is in without him has thrown a lot of those differences into sharp contrast for me.  I think the main thing that makes people pair them up is that both are/were leaders of 2D animation studios which strove to create imaginative, all-ages animated films and both were successful; but that’s pretty much the only similarity.  Well that, and the penchant for smoking that everyone wishes/wished they would quit.

For instance- Walt Disney worked as an animator when he started his first studio in Kansas City when he was in his early 20s. But by the time that studio went bankrupt and he'd moved to California to start up a new venture with his brother, he’d realized full well that his skills were in determining the structure and emotion of a story, not in drawing. And he gladly handed off those responsibilities to better artists. Miyazaki, though, is a FANTASTIC artist. He started as an animator in the 60s and worked up to the position of director in the late 70s, illustrating some gorgeous manga on the side. Miyazaki is very much an auteur in a way that Disney never was, though he doesn’t draw every frame of his movies* (he’s got a bit more of a realistic outlook on that point than, say, Richard Williams- hur hur**).  He does, however (from what I can tell) draw pretty much all the storyboards for the films he directs and works closely with the concept artists and character designers, drawing a lot of pre-production art himself.  Disney certainly reviewed his artist’s concepts and pre-production artwork, and made suggestions on them based on his artist’s strengths and specialties, but didn’t draw any of them.

I think this is the biggest difference between these two men – the difference in their direct involvement in the production of their studio’s films, and the HUGE difference in impact that their leaving had on their respective animation studios.  Disney’s involvement in animation went in phases depending on the other things he was simultaneously working on – the Disney TV show, the theme parks, the live-action films. (There’s another difference- Disney had his hands in SO MANY different entertainment projects; Miyazaki is solely a filmmaker.) He knew his artist’s strengths very well, and gave assignments accordingly; helping them to realize what they were capable of in the process.  He had the final word of approval on everything the studio produced, but towards the last decade of his life he was generally less and less involved in animated productions.  Because of this, the Disney studio had relatively few troubles in continuing to make films after he died (though their quality for the 20-ish years after his death is debatable). That's a strong contrast to Miyazaki's depth of involvement in his own films, which becomes quite obvious as we can see how the studio seems (to me, from what I have read) to be floundering a year after his retirement.  I’m intensely curious about the methods of production at Ghibli, but I haven’t found much reading material about it.

I know that in past years Miyazaki and Isao Takahata (the other main Ghibli director) have expressed concern about finding directors to replace themselves, to "pass the torch", but have had trouble finding the right people (Not finding good enough animation directors to take their places, IN JAPAN?!!).  I don’t know a whole lot about this situation and search for talent, but it seems pretty evident that they’ve had trouble with it if, without Miyazaki, they do not have the correct mix of artists required to continue making films.  (If anyone else knows more about this lack of directors/artistic leaders at the studio after Miyazaki’s retirement, I’m glad to learn more about it).  If they have had trouble finding leaders they approve of, that leads me to believe that either: A. They were being more picky than is practical in choosing new directors; or B. they were unsuccessfully looking for someone who could continue to create films like Miyazaki (or Takahata).

I can easily understand the route of being overly picky, and am inclined to think that’s the issue at hand. Miyazaki and Takahata started the studio and have directed the majority of its films!  Of course it must be difficult to hand over control to someone new!***  And to try and find someone to continue making “Miyazaki-ish” films is pointless.  That's like Wes Anderson saying he's going to retire and look for someone to continue making "Wes Anderson-ish" films. There is no point in trying to forcefully replicate the strong artistic vision of one person after they have stopped; you have to move on to something/someone else.

There’s nothing wrong with moving on from admiring one artist to another – it happens naturally throughout our lives, whether the artists continue to work or not.  Think about the style of music you enjoyed in middle school compared to now; it’s very likely that your taste has changed. :)  The retirement of Miyazaki and the possible stop of production from Studio Ghibli is definitely sad, but I wouldn’t call it TRAGIC – compered to, say, the loss of Satoshi Kon.  It’s been a great several decades with Ghibli, and I’ll miss Miyazaki’s presence there, but - to be honest - it won’t be difficult to move on. Cheers to all the great memories, Ghibli!!

I’ve read in a couple places that Hayao Miyazaki may return from retirement (yet AGAIN!) to help with production of a new short film for the Ghibli Museum.  At this, I can only shake my head and grin – it’s like he can’t stay away.  Maybe another similarity between Walt Disney and Miyazaki will appear if he keeps this up: if he passes away in the middle of working on something. I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest.

*Though he evidently did re-draw about 80,000 frames of animation for Princess Mononoke. I kind of doubt he ever did that again.

**I am NOT poking fun at Richard Williams. 

…OK, yes I am. But I LOVE his work. He’s one of the few animators alive that I would say are on the same level of mastery as Miyazaki, and he did animate the better part of an entire feature film with his own hands (The Thief and the Cobbler) - over the course of 30-odd years.  There are other auteurs, Bill Plympton, Nina Paley, Don Hertzfeldt etc., who HAVE animated a whole feature by themselves (MULTIPLE FEATURES in Plympton’s case) - but their respective techniques of animation lend much more readily to that feat than Williams’ or Miyazaki’s.  Plympton/Paley/Hertzfeldt’s styles are all very different from each other, and miles away from the work that Miyazaki and Williams have done; it’s comparing apples and oranges.  TLDR: It’s good for one  to know the realistic limits of their technique.

***But Ghibli is quite obviously BRIMMING with great animation artists, surely one of them could step up to directing??!! Maybe there are artists willing to step up, but aren't allowed for some reason?  It just doesn't make sense, from any angle.  Does Ghibli have much going on in the way of training up younger story artists under Miyazaki and Takahata so that they might build up the experience to be able to direct films for Ghibli as well? It seems appalling to me that they would be shortsighted like that.  That’s how it appears things are done in the story departments at Pixar, and seems really practical to me; somewhat like apprenticeship.  It's sure to be a much more complicated situation than that.  But then, it does also seem like Miyazaki drew the majority of the storyboards for his films; I guess that’s not very conducive to giving younger artists more experience.  Eeeeh what do I know, I’ve never actually worked for a big animation studio; I’ll have to ask some friends to find out more about that. :P

A couple of articles I’ve read lately about what’s happening at Ghibli:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/11018226/Studio-Ghibli-Miyazaki-may-return.html

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/japans-studio-ghibli-envisages-short-break-not-imminent-closure-1201274707/

Goodbye American Elf

Sigh.  Today's "Fanart Friday" isn't altogether cheerful - more bittersweet.  American Elf has been a part of my comics-reading life for 5 or 6 years now, and a great inspiration.  James Kochalka, if you happen to come around, Here's a message for you:

For fun, here's the sketch of James (also on Instagram):

Fun fact - the funky circle was made by drawing around a funny bowl I got for 50 cents at a thrift shop.  Useful thing.

A Sword of Mist and Memory: COVER!

Last year I embarked on a trip to make as many illustrations as I could for the book A Sword of Mist and Memory by Stan Davis.  Now, it finally looks like the ball is rolling to get this thing printed and published online!!

Here is the cover design, in honor of the occasion:

(and illustrated by Lauren Sparks.)  :)  I shall post more info on this release as it comes to me!

Rain Dance Trailer!!

OH MAN!  I completely missed this - the wonderful Tyler Kupferer of Base14 posted the trailer for a film that I painted backgrounds for!  (Holee cow, was that a whole year ago??)

Check out this sweet sneaky peek at Rain Dance:

Rain Dance - Teaser Trailer from Base14 on Vimeo.

Waking Sleeping Beauty – a rambling, ranting review (since that appears to be the only kind of discourse I’m capable of creating.)

By Lauren Rasmussen, 4-14-10

The last movie review that I wrote was for The Secret of Kells. I wrote that review because Jacques told me to. This one I’m writing because I said I would.

I saw Waking Sleeping Beauty at the Lucas Theater in Savannah; the screening was sponsored by the Savannah College of Art and Design, the wonderful and expensive school I attend for 2D animation and sequential art. I went to the theater with a group – we were rather early. I stepped out to the entrance of the theater to make a phone call, when a friend poked me in the arm and said “do you see Don Hahn standing outside?”

I instantly commenced quaking in my proverbial boots (literal tennis shoes). Don Hahn? The producer of Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame? HIM? HERE??!?! Well, there he was; on the sidewalk talking to Professor Moorshead. As I continued to quake, Professor Jantze walked out to join them.

I’d only seen Mr. Hahn live (sort of) once before – a webinar that the Animation Mentor school did a year ago about the release of the Walt Stanchfield duo of books that Mr. Hahn and compiled and published. Over the webcam, he gave a presentation on the importance of gesture, clarity, and solid drawing skills that are gold to a good animator. (I took notes). All the other times I’d seen him were DVD extras. But now, here he was IN PERSON, standing outside the slightly-scruffy Lucas Theater talking to my professors. I quaked and geeked and squealed to Professor Jacques in the theater lobby, until he finally got impatient and said “so go and say hi to him!” So I did.

I must’ve acted like such a nerd; oh well. I know Don Hahn is just a normal guy, like my fiancée and my dad and everyone else. So I’m not really sure WHY I was so nervous. No matter. At some point in the short conversation I said I would write a review, so I am, starting NOW.

Waking Sleeping Beauty is about the changing state of Disney animation between 1984 and 1994. The changing state being, of course, going from a ragtag and nearly doomed department of really old and really young artists to a huge, flourishing animated movie house that the world would not be the same without.

The documentary uses nothing but archive footage, both professional and personal, to tell the story of the time; with voice-over interviews by the players. The use of only archival footage and voiceover with not one present-day “talking head” in sight was immensely refreshing and effective. It both saved a ton of screen time and effectively put the audience into the mindset of the film – a reminiscing; a looking back. The film overall also did a wonderful job of staying neutral – I think in the largest part because the views of the people who were all butting heads at the time were each allowed to say their piece, and they do so with feeling, but not with anger or animosity. I guess time is a good healer.

The film is informative in a way no DVD extra with an animated movie could be – it examines the politics of the studio throughout that 10 years, and the animated films produced serve as almost bookmarks to note what year it is as the artists just keep working and getting better. It also takes time to step back from the politics and talk about technological breakthroughs that shaped the animation department, while the whole time managing to be genuinely funny and entertaining while the people from the animation department have genuine fun themselves. (That is to say, if the artists are having fun, so are we.)

In summary, Waking Sleeping Beauty is a great memoir, documentary, drama and work of art all rolled up in a truly entertaining movie. (Be aware, this is coming from a certified Disney Geek, so I could be biased. Possibly.)

There was only one thing I wished as I was watching – as archive video and photos were shown on the screen, often the person narrating at the time and anyone they talked about would be labeled in the images, but nobody else. I’m beginning to think this is just my geekiness taking over, but I wish that the other people in the photos and video had been noted somehow – especially that photo of the first graduating class from CalArts. I just think it would be fascinating to be able to know who everyone was, because so many of them are still well-known in the industry today and it’s so fun to see where they started and know where they went. (And for recognition purposes. That 80s hair makes people look so different!) But who knows, maybe that will be an extra option on the DVD. I sure hope so.

Go see the film if you can! It’s wonderful! And shake Don Hahn’s hand if he’s there.