silly little art blog

black and white

2011-11-25T12:34:00.001-08:00

It's not quite done, but I've hit a roadblock. So I think I'll let it sit for a day or so until I figure out what's bugging me.

progress...

2011-11-17T11:44:00.001-08:00

I get all my drawing done during baby nap time :) I am going to finish this. Dammit!

black and white sketches

2011-11-16T12:07:00.001-08:00

Just trying a couple things out. I think I like number 1 right now.

just stuff

2011-09-19T11:49:00.001-07:00

that I probably won't finish ;)

Eowyn and the Nazgul (finished)

2011-09-13T09:49:00.001-07:00

I realized I forgot to post the final version of this. Still not happy with the end product - it's a color issue, I think.

More flies

2011-08-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

Update on previous fly picture, with different flies. These are for my husband.

Eowyn and the Nazgul

2011-04-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

Something for the ArtOrder challenge. The challenge will be to see if I can finish it.

And, progress...

harpy chick

2011-03-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

Time for some art. Here's an image I did for ImagineFX issue 68:

Lots of fun to try to explain my (boring) process in a workshop :)

Snow thing sketch

2011-03-13T11:18:00.000-07:00

Small update to this one. Obviously, I didn't finish in time to enter. I might come back to this later, but it's one of those pieces where I like the sketch better than the finished product.

'Recent' things (or Lazy artist checks in)

2011-02-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

Having a baby (and taking care of her) takes up a lot of my time. I thought I'd just dump the last few projects I've worked on here. Some of these are pretty old now, but what the hey!

I have something coming up (art is all done, etc), but I can't post it yet. Will updated when I can.

the wolfman

2009-11-08T15:54:00.001-08:00

sketchington

2009-11-07T18:34:00.001-08:00

nibru

2009-10-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=171264

Wild Thing

2009-10-10T18:25:00.000-07:00

Finished!

Wild Things

2009-10-04T17:56:00.000-07:00

I started two different Wild Things tributes and kind of messed around with each until I'd run them into the ground. Or... smeared them into the ground. I think I like the horribly ink-smeared one the best. The first one just isn't doing anything for me as far as composition - the farther along I got, the more I didn't like it.
I might finish both, but I think I'll start with the second one and see what happens :)

Artses

2009-09-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

So many anatomy/perspective issues... But it's done and I'm posting it :)

trip to Georgia

2009-05-23T13:09:00.001-07:00

Picspam of a recent backpacking trip to GA:

A lot about science, a little about art...

2009-02-18T06:23:00.000-08:00

Because that's kind of the story of my life.

I get asked a lot about trying to juggle a career in science (or graduate school) while still keeping up with art as either a job or a serious hobby. So I thought I'd make a post that basically sums up my thoughts on both.

First, I am not a professional artist, and I'm not a professional scientist. Yes, I have a PhD in biology, but I don't currently work in research (and probably never will again). What I currently do is teach science to high school students and teachers. I work in science outreach at a large university, and it's a good compromise for a lazy jerk like me.

See, science and art are similar in one way (okay, probably more than one way, but I'm trying to make a point here...): you really have to love them to do either as your professional career. Really love it. Art people, you know what I'm talkin' about! It is hard to convince yourself to pick up a pencil and draw when you don't love it. And when you're your own boss, sometimes the only thing getting you moving in the morning is your own boot in your butt (that, or the fact that the rent is due). Well, science is the same way: you determine your own success. There's no 9-5 job in science. There is the constant struggle to get funding, to publish more and better science, to come up with better questions. If you don't absolutely love it, you will absolutely hate it. And you won't get far.

Let's say you're thinking of a career in science... There are two basic trajectories you can take beyond the particular subject you might be interested in studying: basic science or applied science. Don't let the name fool you - basic science rocks! This is what you do if you're working in academia: paleontologists, evolutionary biologists, botanists, theoretical physicists, virologists, ecologists, typical mad scientists, etc. Sure, you might be asking questions and doing research on subjects that some people think don't matter, but you're doing stuff that interests you. That's not to say your work won't have applications for the 'real world', they just won't generally be the main focus of your research. Basic researchers work at universities. They tend to teach a lot (depending on how many grants they have and how big they are), and they get to run a lab full of PostDocs, grad students, and undergraduates. It pays badly at first, and then very well. And there's the struggle to get tenure, which can gut-wrenching.

Applied scientists work in government labs, or in the biotech industry. I don't have much experience in this area. It pays better, generally, and sometimes it's more like a 9-5 job. But, again, I don't know much about it.

Either way, the path to each of these careers starts in graduate school. So what's graduate school in the sciences like? Well, it's nothing at all like your undergraduate degree. First, you will not take very many classes, which was great for me because I hate useless class work. Second, if you do take classes, they will most likely be designed for graduate students - e.g., small panel-type discussion groups. Third, you will probably teach. A lot. And you will have almost no idea what you're doing at first. Last, you are responsible for your own project (that you either come up with on your own, or get assigned to you), so you need to be prepared to manage your time. And you will need to publish your work. There's a lot of writing in grad school. Yes, even in the sciences.

So how do you get into graduate school? The most important thing to keep in mind when applying to graduate schools for the sciences is that you're not looking at a particular school so much, but a particular professor who is working on projects that you find interesting. There's some leeway, but generally you'll have more freedom as a grad student to choose your own projects if you enter a lab in a basic science department. And don't 'just apply': you've got to contact the professor, talk to him/her, visit the lab, to have the best shot. The most important thing to keep in mind when applying to graduate schools for the sciences is that you're not looking at a particular school so much, but a particular professor who is working on projects that you find interesting.

Anyway, I love science and I love doing research, but I found that the grant writing and the constant competition for money and to publish and to be the best just wasn't for me. You've got to be a little insane to get really, really good in science. Maybe you have to give up a little too much of your life. I think I'm happy where I am right now. And I can still live vicariously through my husband, who's a full-time scientist.

So the art part... You will still have time to do the things that you love. I made quite a lot of (really bad) art while I was in graduate school. I think if I wanted to push myself now I could probably build a career in art. But I don't. Because I know I would face the same problems again: to get really good, you've got to give up a lot. You've got to be able to pick up that pencil and draw even when you hate the subject (or are just mildly bored by it, which could be worse). And I know I don't want to do that. Maybe that makes me a pussy (probably), but I don't care (I care a little, but not enough to do anything about it).

Well, that was rambly... Time to get back to work!

portrait of Kan

2009-02-01T08:54:00.000-08:00

For GorillaArtfare's 1st birthday bash! We were randomly assigned another GA artist to draw. I had a lot of fun with mine:

Last dragon for me for a while - I need to move on to something else!

the bitter end

2008-09-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

It truly is. Last Man Standing was a lot of fun, and I'm really glad I managed to make it to the final round. This is my last entry (Photoshop 7, with texture overlay):

Unfair Advantage

2008-06-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

My entry for Last Man Standing 3, round 3. Hopefully, the last time I win my match ;)

the lovers

2008-06-03T06:35:00.000-07:00

This was done for the 'girl's only' thunderdome on conceptart.org. Traditionally, The Lovers features a man and a woman (or two women!), and some sort of outside force, generally a cupid or angel. Of course, my mind immediately went to Octopus!

Anyway, lots of nice entries. Check out the contest thread.

the Queen's Herald

2008-05-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

New blog! Yay!

I'm going to try to keep this for art only - I say 'try' because I tend to ramble sometimes. Here's a slightly older piece that I still like a lot, the Queen's Herald: