deviantART: by:Azurega http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:Azurega&section=today deviantART RSS for by:Azurega en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:54:36 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png Update/Robbery http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/25265731/ http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/25265731/ Fri, 12 Jun 2009 02:03:06 PDT
Basically, I got a new job toward the end of the school semester. A friend of mine got recommended to a local printer/publisher for illustration work, and when she got asked if she knew anyone else, she suggested me as well. We both got hired (awesome), but long story short, I also got hired for doing graphic design work (and now do that primarily.)

So that's awesome. I've been up to something much bigger this summer, but I'll talk about that in my next entry.

This LAST week, however, has been pretty insane and awful.
My boss is currently out on conference for the week. A lot of the time, I'm the only one working, so this early on, I frankly have no clue what I'm doing. Oh well. I worked it out.

But Wednesday was the real show stopper. I went to sleep around 2am Wed night (Thurs morning)...and about 2:30 I started hearing some bumping around a bit. It startled me at first, but I listened, and I was pretty sure it was just my neighbor above me (we have thin walls at my apartment building.) So I went back to sleep.

A bit later, suddenly a hear a loud crash from my living room and I hear someone swear and someone else say "Let's get outta here." I quick grabbed somethin to defend myself and got out there as quick as I could, but when I got out there, there was no one there, the glass slider was wide open with the lock bent in and all my stuff was gone. I ran out as fast as I could, but they were nowhere in sight, they pulled a car up close, I think (I'm right near the parking lot on the first floor).

I had called the cops, but of course, they came rolling up more than 9 hours later. I had to keep calling them repeatedly and stayed up waiting for them so I could at least file a report.

I was okay, and I do have insurance, so things could've been much worse. But it still makes me feel uneasy. Every slight sound I hear will make me paranoid for a while now, I'm sure.

They didn't get ALL my computer stuff, but they did end up smashing my hard drive by dropping it and it's no longer working, so...maybe no art for a lil while...

It's been a rough week. I just need to take a break sometime.


Anyway--More optimistic news coming next journal entry! I've got some cool good news!

]]> ~Azurega 3k hits, Coraline and Upcoming art http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/23140544/ http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/23140544/ Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:48:46 PST
==

Coraline!
Also, I saw Coraline in 3D the other day. I *loved* it. It was gorgeous and fun and really well executed, I thought. Interestingly, what I think impressed me the most is that they made it in 3D, but they resisted the temptation to abuse the technology and make something fly at the audience every 3 minutes. Instead, they used it to actually assist in the story telling, and to actually add a lot of depth to the movie. I've never seen a movie in 3d that uses it so perfectly and subtly.

See it if you get a chance. It's worth every penny to see it in 3D.
==

Upcoming art
Alright, and here's the deal with me not posting much in the way of art. Well, actually, it's the same thing you keep hearing from me, but just to let you know, I'm just very busy with school and life right now. I'm still working away at art, but most of it's school stuff, or stuff that's more like practice and roughs...And I really wanna keep this page for all my best stuff.

I think I'm still improving a lot, and it's really exciting for me. It seems like every big image I do is an improvement in my eyes. So hopefully I can keep pushing the envelope every time.

But soon I'll be posting some new stuff that hopefully everyone will like. I was working on 3 paintings before school took over that are just waiting to be finished, and I've got two more I did for school that are a lot of fun that I'd like to touch up first, so...some stuff is headin this way!

Just gotta wait fer it. =P

]]> ~Azurega Art http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/21549275/ http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/21549275/ Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:30:29 PST I'm happy in a way for the skills I gained, but I still have a bad tendency to start hating my art again after about a day. :\ I submitted a piece for an art gallery at my school, and I'm already really...iunno...unsure about it? :\

Oh well. I hope you guys like what's coming up. Been working hard to improve.

~Chad

]]> ~Azurega Upcoming Art/My Dream http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/21494498/ http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/21494498/ Sat, 15 Nov 2008 01:48:36 PST
I've got one piece that I've put many hours into. I just didn't know how to finish it, and I wasn't happy with it, so I sought the help of my photoshop teacher, who's just a brilliant artist and a great guy.

He taught me a lot in a short time, so I'm psyched to get it done and show my progress. :)

--
My Dream....

I needed to blog this dream SOMEWHERE, and all other blogs I have always manage to get me in trouble with people.

There's someone who's kinda special to me lately that I met at the beginning of this year. We've not been terribly close, only rarely seeing eachother, but I swear I was lovesick from the first time I saw her. Her personality, her humor, her smile, everything... I love joking with her, she's got a pretty awesome sense of humor to match mine, shares a lot of interests, and is talented as a dancing fly with a top hat.

Anyway, it's been nearly a year, and there's not been many days that have gone by that I've not thought about her. But no matter how blunt I've been, I can't get her to stick around and talk, can't get her to hang out, can't get her to go with me anywhere or anything.

Well yesterday I finally came to a decision, after getting tired of constantly failing, to stop dreaming about it and give it up. I chose to leave her be and stop thinking about her. I was surprisingly okay with the idea. In fact, it was kinda relieving to think of the weight off my mind.

Well. Last night, I dreamed about a girl I met and told her I loved her. It kind of became a lucid dream after that, I was in control, and I met her friends and her family, we talked about a lot of personal things and joked, etc. And then we kissed, and of course it was heart stoppingly amazing...

Until she started to sort of get pulled away from me. So I tried to catch her, trying to remind the world around me that *I* was in control of that damn dream, so bring her the hell back this instant. My dream didn't listen. She kept getting further and further out of reach, and she asked me if I still cared at all, and I said yes, and before I knew it she was fading, and whispered 'good', only this time, she faded into the girl I'd decided that day to forget about for good...before disappearing. For good.

When she vanished, I kinda crumpled there, and everyone was just watching me in a circle around me. At that point my alarm clock went off, waking me, and for the first time in quite a good long while, I actually started to tear up. I'm not a "tough-guy", sure, but I'm really not one to cry unless something's really wrong. And I felt like my heart had just been shattered with a sledge hammer. Would've done anything to be back with her. Even when I realized it was a dream.



Think my subconscious is trying to tell me something. :\ Just hope it's right. :( Because it changed my mind bout letting go.

Just thought it was cool the message I received. I've always been a firm believer in the importance of dreams, and I always try to listen to them. The things you learn are amazing.

Not that it means anything prophetic, necessarily or that she's the one for me, or we'd even get along, but, even if it's just a stupid crush, maybe it's a good idea to hold on a bit longer and keep trying. Who knows, something good might happen.

But I guess, mainly, I'm not ready to let go. Yet.


If you read this, lemme know your thoughts. You ever have dreams like this? If so, do you act on them or listen to them, or are dreams just dreams?

]]> ~Azurega Not Dead. Honest. http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/20150196/ http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/20150196/ Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:38:38 PDT
first, and most importantly, I want to apologize to any of my friends, real life or of internetz fame, for not commenting, replying, or anything of the sort. I've been avoiding my art too long, and neglected all of you. I am however back now for the school semester, I hope.

I am working on my art again, after a near whole summer of inactivity. That was one of the worst art blocks I've experienced, and I'd lost interest entirely (no thanks to allowing myself to start playing WoW again. -_- ). I did, however, spend a month before getting back into the mix just looking at other techniques, other artists' work, and trying to figure out what I need to better my art.

I've picked up a few new tricks, and it seems like I'm picking up a few more tricks every piece I do. I feel I'm learning what I should be learning. Last year saw a marked improvement in my art, and I feel confident that this year, I'll improve even more. I want so badly to catch up to where I think I should be.

]]> ~Azurega Almost Over http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/17945930/ http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/17945930/ Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:31:07 PDT Ah the school year is almost finally over. It'll be nice to have an end to all the work. And maybe now I can have more time to work on improving my art since November. In a way, I'm pretty glad to be almost out of school for the semester, but I'm gonna end up missing the people, I know. But like I said, I need the time to really work on my art. I'm still killing myself over it. Nothing I do ever seems quite up to my expectations for myself. But! But but but! I've been looking back, and I DO feel I've learned a LOT since November, and learned to color at least a LITTLE better already. If I keep moving at this pace, mebbe I'm not so hopeless. Being surrounded by students with so much talent can be both inspiring and depressing/intimidating.

But I just keep plugging away as best I can.

Please, if you stop by, leave comments and look through my gallery! I appreciate all my views so much, and I love those who comment! I can use all the comments I get, as I don't often get to share my art!

Hope everyone stopping by has enjoyed my recent stuff, and I've got more coming! Just pray I can continue to ward off the dreaded artist's block! >.< *wanders off to find some wood to knock on*


Some of my favorite artists on dA! (in no particular order) Check them out sometime, please:

:iconadonihs::iconrahll::iconlindalisa::iconakizhao::iconartgerm::iconjohnraptor::iconmorbi::iconjujika::iconlolita-art::iconoogiboogi::iconblueundine::icontattereddreams::iconudoncrew::iconbluefley: ]]> ~Azurega 1,000 Hits! http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/17614941/ http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/17614941/ Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:06:19 PDT
Wow! I got 0ver a thousand hits today. That makes me really happy. I love making art, but I rarely get to share it with anyone, so I appreciate every single deviant who comes through and looks. So...Thanks for the 1000 hits, everyone! :D Here's to the next thousand!

Also, I'd like to especially thank everyone who's commented on my work, and helped me out. I love the comments, keep 'em comin' guys! I've got so much new art coming...I'm just trying to get clear of the quagmire of homework I'm in for now. I'll return soon, I promise!




Thinking about my visitors made me think of something else that I kinda wanted to rant on about. That being a certain level of kindness and friendliness and its impact on who you are as an artist. When we get on the internet, that certain anonymity just...changes people. But what bothers me is seeing it in the DeviantArt community. What's worse is seeing it coming from otherwise WONDERFUL artist.

I mentioned a few times already, I know I complimented a few deviants on their friendliness and openness to community. Largely, this is because their personality really reinforces the beauty of their art for me. When I see a gorgeous piece of soulful art, I want to know the artist really meant it. But alternatively, when I find a wonderful artist, and discover they're little more than cold bullies, it truly and honestly depreciates their artwork so much. I find it hard to see their work as art any longer.

It just...boggles my mind. I came across three examples in the past couple days of really remarkable artists being....well...pricks. (pardon the bluntness) One was accusing a photographer of manipulating his (wonderfully done) photo in photoshop and going too far with it. When the artist replied he didn't edit it, he told the artist he was lying. This is neither constructive, nor is it friendly or useful in any way. I looked at it personally and saw no evidence of manipulation. To me, accusations of lying and cheating on a picture are VERY serious. But they never seem to stand behind their statements. If you have a problem, ask the artist about it and leave it be. Don't cause a scene on their gallery and accuse everyone of being less intelligent and observant than you. His art to me is so good, but now I know what he's like, and I can't see the warmth in his art anymore. When I see art I ALWAYS wonder what the artist is feeling/thinking while making it. And I want to be comforted knowing their soul matches their art.

Do you see what I mean at all? I don't buy into the idea that art is a lie. Art should have a kernal of truth to it. Critiques are wonderful. But attacking others and calling them liars because you know how they made the art better than they is over the top. How long do you think you can make it as an artist if you go in with an ego the size of a blimp? It wouldn't even fit through the door.

And artists who remain kind and show their appreciation for their viewers by replying to comments and commenting back are...just amazing to me. It really shows their personality and makes me fall in love with their art. Knowing the artist behind the art...is just amazing. Don't you think?

The people that come to mind when I talk about this are people like...:iconkirqarts: and :iconlindalisa: (who I've mentioned for her awesome personality before.) Really cool people and it's so nice knowing they care about other people viewing their art. And by default shows they care about their art itself. These people should be the ones praised. Please send them some love. :) And tell em Azurega sent ya! ;)

Hope you all keep this in mind as you do what you do best. Art is not just about making pretty shiny pictures. If you don't put some soul into it, that's all it is.
Stay beautiful. ;)



Some of my favorite artists on dA! (in no particular order) Check them out sometime, please:

http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/17502668/ Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:55:24 PDT
Alright, so for those of you that read this, I have a quick question for you...

It's nothing life altering or big in any way, shape, or form, but, I was just thinking of transforming my old account (~draconagena) into an account for my writing.

The upside to that being that it'll help with organization, keeping my visual art in one place, and my writings seperate (because I'm a weeee bit OCD and mixing artforms in one gallery kinda annoys me...ish) Not to mention, I'm really not very good at writing, and just wanna be able to practice and get feedback without worrying about it stinking up my main gallery...lol

Downside is kinda obvious...separate account to just look at what I do...etc.

So what do YOU think? Would it be worth it to keep from getting my writing in between my drawings/paintings/photos? Or would you just as soon have it all in one gallery? Do you like that kind of variety in a gallery, or does it kinda tug at your seams a bit?

I'm not sure either way. I can see it going both ways just as easily, so let me know what you think please!


Some of my favorite artists on dA! (in no particular order) Check them out sometime, please:

:iconadonihs::iconrahll::iconlindalisa::iconakizhao::iconartgerm::iconjohnraptor::iconmorbi::iconjujika::iconlolita-art::iconoogiboogi::iconblueundine::icontattereddreams::iconudoncrew::iconbluefley: ]]> ~Azurega What's Coming Soon! http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/16906802/ http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/16906802/ Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:50:20 PST

Hello, Deviants!

Just got a dA subscription today. Figured I'd try it out for three months and see if it's worth it, and so far, it's kind of nice. So I'm kind of playing around with different looks for my journal as well. (To those subscribed to me, I apologize if I just accidentally spammed you with blank journals earlier...accidentally kept hitting the wrong button. My bad.)

Lemme know what ya think, please. Kinda reminds me of oreos. :D Ahhh I'm so childish. :lol:

Anyway. I just needed to get that last journal off my front page...I feel it was coming across a little more..emo-ish than I intended.


So what have I got coming up?

I've gotten pretty busy with school and all, but I'm still working on some art. I've got one larger piece that's taking me some time that should be finished somewhat soon. I'm just currently hung up on how to draw a field of grass from directly above and have it look good...
I also have one cartoony drawing I made years ago that I'm re-doing and coloring just to keep myself entertained (ADD...good stuff :) )
The other projects I have coming are: character designs for a webcomic I'm doing for class (more on this later), some logos(?), and maybe a submission for the way-with-words contest-thingy [link] (need more time! ack!

Finally, I've got several photos I've taken for my photo class that are pretty nice. I may be uploading those. The only problem is that the OCD in me kinda almost doesn't wanna mix photography with my other drawings...iunno. I'm weird.

Anyway, keep an eye out for that stuff. Sorry my last couple posts were a little bleh...But I needed to stay active.



]]> ~Azurega So THAT'S what "frustrated artist" http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/16817814/ http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/16817814/ Sun, 10 Feb 2008 13:36:48 PST
I stopped seriously doing art a couple years ago. I doodled as always (no white space is ever safe. Ask my roommate.) but I'd quit trying to really improve. I didn't feel my parents wanted me to be an artist, and I didnt feel anyone close to me did either. And going to art school for a semester didn't motivate or inspire me and I sure as heck didn't learn there. (Our midterm for one class was to glue fake fur to a picture frame, for crying out loud! They were too busy trying to come up with new abstract ways to express our inner most emo-ness to actually focus on the skills needed for art!)

I started again last november. It was right when I started this new dA account. Everything you see here is my attempt to improve myself as an artist. All it took was a single graphic design class at a small little COMMUNITY COLLEGE with a great teacher, and I decided it was where I need to be and I decided leaving my dreams and goals behind because other people don't believe in them is sheer stupidity. That class was the best choice I've made in a long long time.

Unfortunately, I've waited those two or three years that I needed so badly. Since November, I feel I've learned so much and improved a lot. Getting better with the Wacom, getting better with Photoshop...And I keep thinking how great I'd be right now if I'd been improving like this for the last three years rather than the last three months.

And it frustrates me.

Getting good with design, but I want to be as good with illustration and art. I love to draw and paint, and every time I can't draw what I'm trying to, it kills me.

But I just keep trying to strive to be the best at it that I can be. I'm just getting busy. I have two half finished digital paintings sitting on my computer since December because I've not had much time to work on them. I try to dedicate a very bare *minimum* of 5 hours to art daily. But it gets hard to do when I've got so many obligations.

So why'm I postin' this? I'm not saying I'm not better than the average person my age. I'm not looking for "Aww *pat pat* there's a good emo artist" :D I'm alright at art, I know it. Just that I'm still trying. And I'm still kicking. I just have to keep buckling down and ride it out. I'm continuing to work hard at it and all your feedback that you can give me helps a great great deal.

Design and art is what I want to do for a living. My career. Other college students with other majors don't always understand what the fuss is. They don't necessarily always have to eat breathe and live their majors every day and practice it on a daily basis just to be able to get the job they want. You get business majors confused about why I have to keep working so long on art when they only have to do the 50 problem worksheet homework and then they're free for the evening. :D

Anyway. It's frustrating sometimes. That's all I'm getting at and I really just felt like posting this. Maybe someone else somewhere can understand what I'm saying. I'm always amazed when I see everyone I know around me just...do the work asked of them and that's it. I used to just do my homework and the rest of the time was in video games or something. I've been there, and I'm not going back. And I've not really come across anyone else who's understood how I feel about it.

Always do your best at what you do. If you're going for something, it's not enough to just go for it, you need to strive to be the best in your field. Because in the end that's what sets you apart from everyone else on the planet. Not the money, not the connections you have, or even your charisma or looks. You gotta work at it.

You wanna see what I mean?

There are some artists right here on dA that I really look up to. And I'd suggest you look at their galleries. Seriously amazing people.

:iconadonihs: and :iconrahll: These two I've been watching for a while. Absolutely unreal amazing artwork. They're going a long way with their skills and they very well deserve to. They both work hard at it and have grown and both are friendly, open people that from what I've seen share their skills and help others selflessly,... ]]> ~Azurega So Much to be Done... http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/15874726/ http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/15874726/ Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:52:13 PST
Unfortunately, the next drawing I was working on coloring was on photoshop, and for some odd reason, when I open the picture, the preview looks fine, but it opens as a solid black background layer and nothing else. So I lost that and either have to restart or give it up.

I've tried all the obvious stuff. Can't resave it, can't open it in another program, no setting changes have fixed it...etc. Has anyone else had this problem and know what to do?

]]> ~Azurega New Start, New Uploads, and New Job http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/15433679/ http://Azurega.deviantart.com/journal/15433679/ Fri, 09 Nov 2007 12:02:00 PST
So I went with something that's hopefully a bit easier to recognize, put in mah new logo-thingy, and I'm hoping for the best.

I became active again largely because I finally got a new, working scanner and I'm working on digital art more and more. Here's why:

I got a new job just a bit ago. Well...An internship. But I'm doing graphic designing for a local company where I live. I'll be working on brochures and magazines and ads etc. as well as webpages. And I really want to grow and get some skill doing art on the computer. Which means everything, especially coloring on the computer (which I'm not good at), and I want to share some of my stuff with others.

Now that I'm pretty sure where I want to be in the future with my career etc., I need to buckle down and start practicing. The last couple years, I've barely done any art, really.


============
As for what's coming update-wise: I'm working on re-uploading a select group of my old art from the last account. I also have about 5 more pieces that I'm doing on my computer (must...learn...to color...) that I will be uploading one at a time soon. So that means guaranteed uploads for a while at least. xD Keep an eye out for those and comment! :)

]]> ~Azurega