Friday, February 28, 2014
Lucha Cheesecake
I'm wrapping up the Queen of Spades, and am thrilled with the results. The Ace and Jack were definite beefcake images, which is all well and good, but needed a generous helping of cheesecake for balance. Now to post the image and test the waters of the Facebook photo submission policy.
Waiting for RENT
I'm backstage right now waiting for the opening night's performance of RENT to draw to a close. I've got a few moments to spare so I'm giving a quick update here. OK. You know the truth of the story. I've got LOTS of time to spare because RENT is a play that takes forever to end. So I'm free to make this a lengthy update without worrying about missing the final number.
Wow, this play goes on for longer than 525,600 minutes.
I finished my painting for the lobby. VVC did a call for art which specifically requested pieces to be inspired by RENT in some fashion. I couldn't resist this call. After thinking it over for a bit, an image occurred to me which captured my particular take on the production. A fresh canvas and some brush strokes later, and I was done.
I'll post a picture of it here, if I haven't already. It features two cartoonishly middle-class audience members clapping in ecstasy while watching an actor draped in a Gay Pride flag. The actor is performing a song from the musical while standing in a garbage can. The title of this piece is "Refuse Mediocrity". I'm very proud of this piece.
If you are one of the lucky few dozen people who have had no experience with RENT, the setting centers around the antics of a group of New York 'bohemians' complain about how their dysfunctional relationships aren't working out. The play is the epitome of surface-deep emotion. A parade of the mundane. The songs are hastily written dialog purposely mistimed to any attempt of melody. A more capable playwright would have been able to match dialog to music, but failing that was only able to swear that the end result was intentional. I'm not blaming him. We all have to pay our bills somehow. Everyone except the cardboard characters on the stage.
There is a cast party right after tonight's performance, so at least that will be a highlight for this crew's hard work and dedication. But I'm leaving the moment someone launches into a song from the production.
Wow, this play goes on for longer than 525,600 minutes.
I finished my painting for the lobby. VVC did a call for art which specifically requested pieces to be inspired by RENT in some fashion. I couldn't resist this call. After thinking it over for a bit, an image occurred to me which captured my particular take on the production. A fresh canvas and some brush strokes later, and I was done.
I'll post a picture of it here, if I haven't already. It features two cartoonishly middle-class audience members clapping in ecstasy while watching an actor draped in a Gay Pride flag. The actor is performing a song from the musical while standing in a garbage can. The title of this piece is "Refuse Mediocrity". I'm very proud of this piece.
If you are one of the lucky few dozen people who have had no experience with RENT, the setting centers around the antics of a group of New York 'bohemians' complain about how their dysfunctional relationships aren't working out. The play is the epitome of surface-deep emotion. A parade of the mundane. The songs are hastily written dialog purposely mistimed to any attempt of melody. A more capable playwright would have been able to match dialog to music, but failing that was only able to swear that the end result was intentional. I'm not blaming him. We all have to pay our bills somehow. Everyone except the cardboard characters on the stage.
There is a cast party right after tonight's performance, so at least that will be a highlight for this crew's hard work and dedication. But I'm leaving the moment someone launches into a song from the production.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Lucha Libre Cards Update
I've been able to use a format which allows each "pip" on the card to be clearly seen and not run into the other objects on the card. This is just a technical way of saying that I found a way to put everything on the card so that it will fit. Using logic, I started off by designing the two of clubs. Of course, what looks good on a two doesn't necessarily look good on a ten. Two masked faces on the two look clean and tidy. 10 masked faces on the 10 can look cluttered and messy. I avoided this by keeping the color ranges to a minimum so the eye doesn't become confused when looking at the card. In addition to this, I made sure that the faces were organized on the card and not placed randomly in a chaotic pattern. Finally, nothing is occluding the numbers and suits in the corners.
The results are positive, and the next step is moving on to the face cards. Wow, this project really took off quickly!
The results are positive, and the next step is moving on to the face cards. Wow, this project really took off quickly!
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Just a little taste of the magic to come
There is no kind way to say this, but posting multiple images on this website is possible, but not easy. It's more awkward than hard, but just awkward enough to make me want to dump a bunch of photos here and then come back to tidy them up later.
Yeah. That sounds like a good plan. Enjoy!
Yeah. That sounds like a good plan. Enjoy!
 |
| 2 of Diamonds |
Lucha Libre Deck, what does it mean?
A Lucha Libre deck is past due. Far past due.
Before embarking on project I check the Internet to see if it's been done before. As my Loteria deck, it's surprising that it hasn't been created before now. Lucha Libre lends itself to a deck in multiple ways and the more I thought about it, the more natural it becomes. Now comes the hard part... the art.
This deck is a little easer than the other ones I've designed because the format that I'm using came together nicely from the start. Usually I spend a lot of time tweaking and modifying a layout to use that is visible on a small card but still with a unique flair. This design I've decided on fulfills those criteria nicely and looks amazing. I've already completed cards 2-9 for clubs and will be starting on the other suits tonight.
The real heavy-lifting of this project will be the face cards. I want to have something that has a Mexican flavor but is specifically targeted to Lucha VaVoom. THAT is going to require some skill!
Before embarking on project I check the Internet to see if it's been done before. As my Loteria deck, it's surprising that it hasn't been created before now. Lucha Libre lends itself to a deck in multiple ways and the more I thought about it, the more natural it becomes. Now comes the hard part... the art.
This deck is a little easer than the other ones I've designed because the format that I'm using came together nicely from the start. Usually I spend a lot of time tweaking and modifying a layout to use that is visible on a small card but still with a unique flair. This design I've decided on fulfills those criteria nicely and looks amazing. I've already completed cards 2-9 for clubs and will be starting on the other suits tonight.
The real heavy-lifting of this project will be the face cards. I want to have something that has a Mexican flavor but is specifically targeted to Lucha VaVoom. THAT is going to require some skill!
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