deviantART: by:cocowash http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:cocowash&section=today deviantART RSS for by:cocowash en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:29:45 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png I'm back!.... sort of http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/20710958/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/20710958/ Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:01:41 PDT
Life, as always, has been a bit hectic. I'm working at the school where I always end up working again. This time I'm doing Ed Tech support... which mainly involves plugging in printers and computers when the teachers freak out because they can't print/their computer's dead. It's quite amusing and entertaining, actually.

My husband and I have been house hunting and we have our eyes and hopes set on one house, but we have to wait till the end of October to know for real if it's going to be ours... I hate waiting.

On a separate note, back in July I made a bit of a breakthrough and made a 9 page comic book of sorts. Nothing extraordinary, mind you, but it was quite educational. It taught me I still have a long way to go XD I'd post it here, but I've been paranoid about dA being used as a clipart gallery for everyone and I never actually got around to finishing coloring it and adding the word balloons. It's hard to feel motivated to finish up something you already know is not great.

Other than that, I honestly haven't have much time for art lately. All my free time has been spent in house hunting/house research... and obsessing about not being good enough, of course =P

Anyway, I'd say I promise to log more often, but I better say I'll do my best :)

]]> ~cocowash Buried alive http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/17857303/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/17857303/ Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:18:05 PDT
To make a long story short, I'm back working at the school I used to work at. But what began in March as a temporary thing -just three weeks-, helping out at the school library, has multiplied and now I'll be there till the end of April.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the library. I love love love all the books and stories and seeing what the kids like and stuff. The problem is that I haven't had any time to do much of anything else (including logging to DA), and I'm still trying to do illustrations and I been feeling so utterly overwhelmed by it all. I need to have a great couple of illustrations by the middle of May, and I'm still trying to decide what I want to be doing illustration-wise.

I have piles of half finished things, TONS of ideas that haven't gone anywhere, plenty of techniques I feel I should be experimenting with, and not a lot of time to do much about it.

I'm hoping by the end of May things will get better and slower, but I really do need to make up for the time lost. I feel bad that I haven't replied to messages or commented on stuff here on DA, but my brain turns to mush if I have any free time at all, and I end up not even wanting to turn on the computer. I decided to post this just to let you guys know it might be a while before I reply to things, sorry :S

I need to somehow find the fun again and the time to for it. The more overwhelmed I feel the less time and energy I have.

]]> ~cocowash Fun no matter what you do http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/17172954/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/17172954/ Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:37:40 PST
I'm specially thrilled since I'm drawing characters I've had since I was 8 years old! (Trust me, that was quite a while ago) Sure, the stories have changed completely, but the essence is there! And it's almost like they are taking control of the drawings and a doodle turns into a whole scene.

Drawings coming to life in my head. THAT is what makes art fun for me.

]]> ~cocowash New year, new opportunities. http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/16231527/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/16231527/ Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:14:50 PST

So, I haven't updated this journal in quite a long time, and lots of things have happened since. I quit my day job and stopped working on December 14th (today was the first day of school after winter break, so this was my first "stay at home day") in order to pursue a career as an illustrator.

It just wasn't working for me, having to commute so far away to work at the school and then trying to come home to draw and deal with my personal life. I don't have kids, I don't have big expenses. Now was the perfect time to take a chance and quit. I would never ever want to live with the "What if?". What if I had decided to follow my dreams instead of being stuck in a job I think is okay? What if I had taken a chance before I had kids and can no longer afford to take it? No, sir, that is not for me. That would KILL me. Instead I have opened this door to endless possibilities. I might end up deciding this is not for me, but I'll try it anyway!

One thing I must say is that I'm excited to think of how I can improve my skills. I'm sick and tired of logging to dA only to see thousands of people younger than me making wonderful things. I might not be the best, but I want to give it my best to show what I can do, if that makes sense. I'll start slow, since I want to explore techniques and different styles, but I hope it will be slowly but surely.

I must say though, I will miss the people at my work. They are so sweet and nice. And the kids are lots of fun. BUT I will NOT miss some of the things my job involved, like yard duty. That is the worst thing ever. I'm supposed to stop the kids from doing anything that looks unsafe, and by school standards almost EVERYTHING that is fun is unsafe. I was a professional party pooper! Ugh, it was torture! I had to stop the kids from doing things I did when I was little (like climbing trees or being on top of the monkey bars) and always thought they were such fun things and those things were the ONLY reason I could withstand going to school. I was being payed for giving the kids reasons to hate school -and adults- more! And why? Because if the kids were to have fun and break an arm or something by accident, the school is liable. The parents would sue the hell out of us. So, since we fear what the lawyers would do to us, we, in turn, don't let the kids do anything fun so they hold big grudges against schools and authorities and then things get nasty if they don't find ways to release their frustration as they grow up.

I'm glad to be done with that. I can't believe all the freedom people trade in for the ability to sue anyone for anything.


Anyway, on a different note, I, of course, have TONS of deviations, messages and journals to read since I haven't logged for a while. I can't believe how many posts some people make! I'm like, "O_O! This will take quite a while...." I can't possible comment on everything you guys have posted, so I apologize in advance.

]]> ~cocowash Slumping rambles http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/14432912/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/14432912/ Fri, 31 Aug 2007 21:51:40 PDT
I made extremely tight plans to work on my art and finally evolve how I've been wanting to, but my hand feels heavy, my drawings look lifeless and stiff, I get distracted easily and I just don't feel like drawing.

On the bright side, I've been having good ideas for stories. One of my big "plans" is to now not only focus on drawing but on writing as well. I want to illustrate my own picture books, and, above all, I want to be able to illustrate my own graphic novels... So far it's not working out that well with the whole artistic slump, but it's been just a couple of weeks since I designed my schedule/plan/checklist to force me to achieve what I want, so I guess I shouldn't lose hope just yet...

I guess part of why I stay away from DA so much lately is because I get depressed watching so many great pictures and so many people making such good progress while I feel I'm just getting worse... but part of my plan includes logging to DA at least once a month which is better than I've been doing lately. I have good friends here and I miss them dearly every time I stay away too long.

]]> ~cocowash Can't talk, must leave! http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/13536116/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/13536116/ Fri, 29 Jun 2007 08:13:51 PDT

]]> ~cocowash Long time no see! http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/13004758/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/13004758/ Fri, 18 May 2007 21:06:14 PDT
Life Rambles


Wow... it's been long, REALLY long, since I last visited DA, let alone updated my journal. For me that time has been a roller-coaster ride. Everything from website problems (a long, horrible ordeal that lead to a severe artist's block and depression), day job pressures, being offered to teach an after-school class, preparing for it, then having it cancelled 5 days before it started, getting a grip, drawing more, having bad reviews, to losing the first months of the year in a black-hole as if somebody had pressed the fast-forward button in my life (really!).

It's amazing to realize how all of the sudden we're in May, about to be my birthday, when it seems only yesterday I had all this wonderful plans for the start of the year and decided to log to DA only when I had something to submit because I wanted to "motivate" myself to draw more.

Well, lets just say that didn't work very well. I did keep my part of the deal not logging before I had something to submit, but it took quite longer than I anticipated to do it. In all honesty, I've been doing a lot more sketching now than I was doing from January to the end of April, but I hadn't "finished" things until recently. Unfortunately, my finished drawings were a bit of a disappointment in my latest review, so it's back to the drawing board for me.... literally!

Now I'm facing the fact that I have to rethink my strategy, my focus and come up with new ideas and plans if I really want to have things work for me artistically. I'm hoping I'll be able to work something out. I have SEVERAL idea in my head and all sorts of grand plans and things, but usually my problem is not in the ideas, but in actually making them a reality.

I've been having some problems in my day job that have prompted me to decide I'll be switching to helping a new teacher in new grade level next school year. One thing I know is that I love the kids and really enjoy working with them. They are a constant source of inspiration for stories and drawings, plus they make me smile a lot.

I feel like an awful friend to my online friends because of my long absence, but if it makes anyone feel better, I constantly thought of you guys and cursed my lack of things to upload. I'll need some time to catch up and look at all the deviations you've made and read all the journal entries, but I WILL do it! :)

PS. My watch has been doing the weirdest things lately and today the band broke. I'm having to use an analog watch instead of my gadget-filled digital one.
That, in case you're wondering, is a tragedy for someone who is OBSESSED with time and yet has some problems reading the hands of a watch ^^; Plus, the tick-tack drives me INSANE!!! O_o

***EDIT***
Um... wtf? Deviant Art is weird, I had to switch to Firefox to upload my images because Safari wasn't working with DA, and now I keep having messages, favorites, deviations and journals disappearing from my message list and then appearing again. The thing on top that says the number of messages I have keeps changing numbers, and no, it's not because I keep getting new messages or I keep deleting them it's almost as if DA was hiding my messages in an extra-dimensional pocket and showed them to me at random... weird...

It looks like replying to messages and journal entries will be a much longer and daunting task than I thought... I have a friend who has 6 whole pages of journal entries I need to catch up on :O_o: (I had to go check on her own journal page because DA seems to delete old journal entries automatically?? or maybe it really is hiding them from me) I guess time and life didn't fast-forward for everyone...


Status


***Contests Entries***

Not entering any contests any time soon.

***Personal Projects***

Building my portfolio.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***

*jocarra 50% done

***Comissions***

Closed until future notice.

***Clubs I'm in***

http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/11083431/ Sat, 16 Dec 2006 21:46:00 PST
Life Rambles


I'm finally free for winter holidays and yet the time for myself started with a bad note: there was some sort of mixup between my old ISP and my new one and suddenly -after I sent out holiday cards with my website address on them- I seem to have no website! Grr! It should take only 24 hours to come back up (of course by now it has been more than 24 hours), but I got really really frustrated and disappointed to find out that they had screwed up the same day I was hoping for more visitors.... all I can do is wait and curse their ineptitude. This is, by the way, after the website had already been working for more than 15 days in the new ISP, so it was totally not expected.

Oh well, I hope going to watch Eragon today will help with my frustration.

I'll catch up on the messages later, I'm just not in the mood right now.

***EDIT***
Ok so after the website hadn't come up later in the day, my husband called the company again and they said, "Oh, it's already in process, it's just a matter of time". I was a little disappointed but there was nothing I could do. My husband then tried again 5 minutes later and, guess what? It was up! Which makes us think, of course, that they hadn't done anything about it, and when he called again they finally did, but decided not to say anything so they wouldn't sound more inefficient than they had already.... sigh.

Anyway, it's finally working again! It had been up for a while but I had been so busy that I couldn't make an announcement. It's designed to be compatible with most browsers and most computers, so it doesn't have fancy Flash stuff or anything, but I think I like it ^_^ Except the part where the code didn't do the effect I wanted it to and I had to make a simpler version of my thumbnails, but one day I WILL have it my way! :shakefist:

I will, hopefully, finish more images for my website next week since I won't have to go to work, but in the meantime visit my website

Eragon is one big trailer of the book, btw. It's a very cool trailer, but still, not really a movie.


I promise I will eventually read the messages, really ^^;


Status


***Contests Entries***

Not entering any contests any time soon.

***Personal Projects***

Building my portfolio.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***

*jocarra

***Comissions***

Closed until future notice.

***Clubs I'm in***



***Online Portfolio Site***

PolarTwilight.com ]]> ~cocowash Tired but determined http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/10553977/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/10553977/ Sun, 29 Oct 2006 22:40:02 PST
Life Rambles


I've been working a lot lately and I feel tired and worn out. I have lots of deviations to see and lots of messages to answer but I'll leave that for later.

I finally uploaded some images and hopefully I won't "disappear" again for such a long time, but I'll make no promises.

I went to a SCBWI conference last saturday and it was helpful as always, but now I feel like I'm taking way too long to get my act together and illustrate more... it's just with my job at the school, I barely have any time left to think and draw but I'll try harder.

I can do it!


Status


***Contests Entries***

Not entering any contests any time soon.

***Personal Projects***

Building my portfolio.
Building my website.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***

*jocarra

***Comissions***

Closed until future notice.

***Clubs I'm in***



***Online Portfolio Site (under construction)***

PolarTwilight.com ]]> ~cocowash I have internet again! http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/10218167/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/10218167/ Thu, 28 Sep 2006 17:49:46 PDT
Life Rambles


After several days (or weeks?) without internet, I'm finally able to log again! Woot! (Not that I have a lot of time to log nowadays anyway, but I felt seriously isolated if that makes sense considering that internet doesn't get you any closer physically to your friends.

I, of course, have TONS of catching up to do, like reading journal entries and looking at the beautiful deviations I have only peeked at as thumbnails. Now, however, will not necessarily be the day, since I'm short on time for the moment, but I wanted to let you guys know I haven't forgotten about you and I still enjoy all your ramblings, doodles and wonderful deviations... I just haven't had the chance to even look at them =P

My job is going ok. It has its ups and downs like any job does. Tomorrow is pay day so it's the one up that makes the other downs worth it :XD: Can't complain too much though; I get terribly amused by the kids in school and if anything, I find it hard to be strict with them. The school has a lot of rules I would've hated if I were a kid in their place, so I can understand them in a way =P

I've been getting a lot of inspiration and hardly any time or energy to actually use it... oh well... it'll get better once we settle in to our apartment, I think.

Oh, wait... had I mentioned before that we finally moved out and got our own apartment? That's the reason I had no internet, since we didn't even have a phone line, not to mention we had to sleep on the floor a few days (way better than the stupid air matress, let me tell ya).

Anyway, I'm rambling too much; I promise to catch up with you guys and your deviations later. I already saw some very cute and sexy thumbnails to check out ;)


Is it me or finding emoticons has become too complicated in DA? At least the mood ones, I haven't tried the ones in the comments...


Status


***Contests Entries***

Not entering any contests any time soon.

***Personal Projects***

Building my portfolio.
Building my website.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***

*jocarra

***Comissions***

Closed until future notice.

***Clubs I'm in***



***Online Portfolio Site (under construction)***

PolarTwilight.com ]]> ~cocowash Overwhelmed http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/9887630/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/9887630/ Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:33:00 PDT
Life Rambles


I got back from Mexico yesterday and I can't believe the amount of things that piled up for me while I was gone.

It doesn't help either that today was my first day at my new job as a teacher aide in 6th grade. I'm having some issues with my schedule and I hope they can be worked out. I was scared. I still am. So much to do and learn.

I had tons of deviations and journal entries waiting for me once I logged to DA... I went through the deviations but I still need more time to read journals and the like... sigh...

Jen, I'm glad to see you're doing more art and you're ok! I'll comment as soon as I can!


Status


***Contests Entries***

Not entering any contests any time soon.

***Personal Projects***

Building my portfolio.
Building my website.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***

*jocarra

***Comissions***

Closed until future notice.

***Clubs I'm in***



***Online Portfolio Site (under construction)***

PolarTwilight.com ]]> ~cocowash The conference and my life http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/9678478/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/9678478/ Thu, 10 Aug 2006 13:32:12 PDT
Life Rambles


I recently attended a conference held by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. It went rather well and I got great feedback and encouraging critiques! I'm really excited and now I have to draw, draw, draw! I can do it! I WILL have a book or magazine article illustration published!

Now I'm working extra hard to finish my forgotten website and doing more and more things for my portfolio. I don't think I'll upload everything I've done to DA, but at least one or two images... maybe :P

Time is really going fast and next week I'll be visiting my parents in Mexico. It'll be wonderful.

On the 28th I start my job as a teacher aide for a 6th grade teacher. I'm really nervous about that. I hope it all goes well.

Hmm... I can't say I'm in love with the new DA... I couldn't care less about how it looks but it seems rather buggy... and not as easy to navigate. Oh well, whatever.


Status


***Contests Entries***

Not entering any contests any time soon.

***Personal Projects***

Building my portfolio.
Building my website.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***

*jocarra

***Comissions***

Closed until future notice.

***Clubs I'm in***



***Online Portfolio Site (under construction)***

PolarTwilight.com ]]> ~cocowash Extra Busy http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/9331140/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/9331140/ Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:24:45 PDT
Life Rambles


I've been extra busy lately and yet I feel like I have not done enough!!

I got a new job that will start in September and I'm both excited and scared about it (long story). I have a portfolio critique next saturday and then one more at the beginning of August and I'm completely terrified and feeling like I don't have enough things to show. I'm going to visit my parents in the second half of August for a week and a half.

*hyperventilates*

Must.... keep... working...


Status


***Contests Entries***

Not entering any contests any time soon.

***Personal Projects***

Building my portfolio.
Building my website.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***

*jocarra

***Comissions***

Closed until future notice.

***Clubs I'm in***



***Online Portfolio Site (under construction)***

PolarTwilight.com ]]> ~cocowash Character profile http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/9065818/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/9065818/ Wed, 14 Jun 2006 11:08:07 PDT
Life Rambles


A lot of people are doing this quiz thingies about their characters and *jocarra said I should too, so here's my character, Alnek's profile thing. It's loooong.

The Basics

Full name: Kieran ( a different spelling of Ciaran "little dark one") O'Connor

Nicknames: Alnek (although if you ask him, he'll probably say his name is Alnek and the nickname no one uses would be Kieran).

Race: human

Gender: male

Age: 20

Height: 5'6''

Mass: 145 lb

Date of birth: June 8th

Place of birth: Ireland in a small (fictional) town called Sacred Cross (in Gaelic)

Nationality: Irish

Occupation: Magician

Physical description: caucasian with scruffy reddish brown hair, purple/blue eyes, slim built.

Distinguishing features: several scars one across his left eyebrow, another next to his right eye and one on the base his neck that he covers by using long neck clothing and several small ones across his whole body that are not usually not noticeable (he is self conscious about them so he hides them).

Notable skills/abilities: Powerful mage with the ability to summon and control magical beasts, among other things.

Personality and Values

How extraverted/outgoing/personable?: Extremely shy and preferes to be on his own (except, of course, if he can be around the love of his life, Aileen).

How agreeable/friendly/cooperative?: Not very friendly except with a few selected people he calls friends. Although he has been known to always "act tough" and have a softer side to him that wishes he had more friends.

How conscientious/responsible/mindful?: Very mindful in some ways and to some things but not so much to non-friends' human lives. He doesn't handle responsability very well. He's extremely defensive of women overall.

How neurotic/anxious/easily worried?: Very, his anxiety and low confidence have lead him to several small "breakdowns" or outbursts of rage.

How open/accepting/broad-minded?: He used to be accepting (to the point of making good friends with "enemies") until he decided the world was against him ^^;

How important are friends to him/her?: Extremely important. He sees them (specially Aileen) as the only reason to do anything at all, the only reason to try to be a more powerful mage to have them means to protect them.

What about love?: Again, extremely important but unfortunate; because even though he has loved Aileen since they were kids, she has never seen him as anything but a friend. Her eventual marriage to a rival of his, lead Alnek over the edge.

Power?: At first power just meant freedom to him. Then he learnt to wish for more power in order to be able to protect his friends. Eventually he became extremely power hungry when all he wanted was to destroy.

Spirituality?: Not a very spiritual person. The only "spirituality" he believes in is in nature and animals/beasts.

Does he/she believe in any Gods?: No, and can't seem to understand why people would.

What are his strengths?: Very loyal and protective of his friends. Learns very quickly and is not afraid of taking risks specially to help the people he cares about. Loves nature and has a special bond with the magical beasts he summons. He is a very capable and powerful mage and, until he flipped out, very trust worthy. His shyness and yet protectiveness make him likable (some would even say his grouchiness was cute too).

Weaknesses?: Emotionally he's not strong at all, which caused a whole lot of problems and breakdowns throughout his life. Low self-confidence and bitterness because of his childhood. Has a lot of anger too, even though at first he tried hiding it.

What is his/her religious/spiritual beliefs or philosophy?: He doesn't have religious or spirituals beliefs other than a lot of respect towards nature. His philosophy is to take care of those he cares about and those who he deems innocent (which is not a lot of people).

What is the most important thing to your character?: well, she's not a "thing" but Aileen is certainly the most important to him.

What is an ideal situation in which your character would be most happy? Why?: By Aileen's side, being able to have peace and calm and have someone love him and only him (in a way he's very needy =P). Also... ]]> ~cocowash Old art attack http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/8939907/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/8939907/ Thu, 01 Jun 2006 11:52:32 PDT
Life Rambles


I've uploaded several old drawings and sketches to my scraps. Why? Because thanks to my parents bringing me some old backup CDs I had access to some of my old drawings I have scanned. Also because looking at my old drawings is always soothing. Kinda reminds me of the path I've chosen and who I am and of quieter and more carefree days.

Besides, I thought I'd share them since they represent some of the things I've liked and like. Some sketches I uploaded are not THAT old but I missed looking at them. I had a great time making those...

*sigh* Those were the days.

I really should start uploading more than just scraps :XD:


Status


***Contests Entries***

Not entering any contests any time soon.

***Personal Projects***

Building my portfolio.
Building my website.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***

*jocarra

***Comissions***

Closed until future notice.
*paranoah

***Clubs I'm in***



***Online Portfolio Site (under construction)***

PolarTwilight.com ]]> ~cocowash Awesome birthday and other news http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/8843275/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/8843275/ Mon, 22 May 2006 10:02:50 PDT
Life Rambles


I officially turned a year older last saturday and it was rather wonderful. My parents decided to visit for my birthday and I've been having a lot of fun. Starting on Friday night when my husband and I went to see Over the Hedge (which is soooooo cute, btw), it has been a blast. Yesterday we went to Medieval Times, which I had always wanted to go to since I was little but I never had the chance. It was so cool, I loved the show.

Anyway, other than the birthday celebrations, life has gotten a lot better lately. My aunt finally did get her surgery and now is starting chemotherapy and so far the doctors say she does have a fighting chance and she's being very optimistic about it so we're hoping for the best. My mom had some analisis done and she seems to be ok so far, which is good since we were worried she could have cancer as well.

I finally have all my papers in order and I'm finally on the right track professionally which makes me optimistic and allows me to withstand some of the unpleasanties I've been facing with my living arrangement (that is after a few minor freaking out crises, but pay no attention to that).

In a couple of days I'll be facelifting this account in one of the steps I'm taking towards a better professional future. I had thought about giving up my present nickname and starting a new account (since my subscription expires in a couple of days) but I think I'll be sticking with this one afterall. I do apologize in advance to the people who watch me if I suddenly start uploading drawings again while I clean up this account.

After a few priority adjustments, my work on my website has been stalled for a while now but I hope to have the first version up and running by the end of June. I just have been rather busy with other things lately.

I joined the SCBWI (Society of Children's books Writers and Illustrators) and I'll have a couple of important portfolio reviews from here to August, so wish me luck!


Status


***Contests Entries***

Not entering any contests any time soon.

***Personal Projects***

Building my portfolio.
Building my website.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***

*jocarra

***Comissions***

Closed until future notice.
*paranoah

***Clubs I'm in***



***Online Portfolio Site (under construction)***

PolarTwilight.com ]]> ~cocowash Life and it's troubles http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/8458051/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/8458051/ Thu, 13 Apr 2006 10:45:02 PDT
Life Rambles


So.... I didn't get the job I had been wanting. It was not too surprising since I don't have too much work experience but I still would've loved getting it... it would've been a good source of income without taking my creative time away... oh well :shrug:

On Tuesday we had an interview about my immigration paperwork... I was hoping to get a straight answer and have it be over with but unfortunately I have to wait... again... I HATE waiting...

The zoo project is being reviewed and there is no way of knowing if they'll accept it or if the won't and if they do accept it if they'll actually be interested in having ME as illustrator... more waiting...

The uncertainties in life right now have been taking a toll on me lately. I feel lost and even though I have TONS of ideas and make TONS of sketches I can never seem to make them into something finished. I love the looseness of the sketches but when it comes to the final drawing I start finding so many things to correct. So many things to research, so many flaws, so many everything...

All that has had me a bit down but what really got me sad was hearing some news from my family back home. One of my aunts was hospitalized and after several tests they've diagnosed her with cancer... and it seems really advanced. One of the doctors said that even though they are waiting for more results, from his experience she might not last 6 months.

My grandparents from that side of the family died of cancer, my great grandfather died of cancer. It is scary to know just how bad we have propensity to get it... now everyone in my family has to get a check up because my aunt's and my grandma's cancer started in the ovaries which is very hard to detect. I pray that no one else from my family will test positive... specially not my mom :(

Knowing the fact my aunt is going to die is really sad but what really makes me not be able to hold back my tears is the thought of everything around her dying. The people left behind grieving. The unfinished business she'll have to work on. The long family quarrels that have come to a stop because of the gravity of the situation. And the sadness that it had to come to this for that....

It made me think of what I would like better when my time comes. If dying fast so there is no suffering or dying slowly and painfully but being able to say goodbye to the ones I love and doing one last effort to living my life the best I could and letting people know just how much I love them....

I think I would choose the slow method... it would be more painful not to be able to say goodbye.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling with grim thoughts.


Status


***Contests Entries***

Not entering any contests any time soon.

***Personal Projects***

Building my portfolio.
Working on a zoo book project.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***

*jocarra

***Comissions***

Will gladly take commisions.

***Clubs I'm in***



***Online Portfolio Site (under construction)***

PolarTwilight.com ]]> ~cocowash Loooong quiz thingie http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/8284749/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/8284749/ Mon, 03 Apr 2006 18:03:33 PDT
Life Rambles


1. Your name: Cecilia Olivera-Hillway (that's my married name ;))

2. Straight/gay/bi?: Straight

3. Single?: Nope, married to the wonderful ~ihillway

4. Want to be?: no way, I'm really happy this way :D

5. Your birthday: May 20th

6. Age you act: Depends who I'm with. I can be silly and playful amongst friends I trust but I'm really shy and reserved with people I don't know

7. Age you wish you were: Um... dunno... I guess I like being the age I am but sometimes I feel old... specially art-wise

8. Your height: Five foot two

9. The color of your eyes: brown

10. Happy with it?: yeah

11. The color of your hair: used to be blonde when I was younger but now it's brownish

12. Happy with it?: Yeah

13. Left/right/ambidextrous?: ambidextreous but more bound to use my right hand since it's the one I've been taught to use more.

14. Your living arrangement?: with my husband and my parents in law for the time being

15. Your family: Loving parents back in Mexico, 2 brothers and 2 sisters all older than me. Two cats and 3 dogs back in Mexico (I miss my cat :sniff:)

16. What's your job: freelance graphic designer and illustrator

17. Piercings?: Yes, my ears although I never wear earings.

18. Tattoos?: Nope

19. Obsessions?: time

20. Do you speak another language?: spanish, obviously, since I'm mexican. English, of course and I tried learning french and german but I abandoned them long ago so I can't really say I speak them =P

21. Have a favorite quote?: not really... although I do love quoting movies, tv, books and everything. It's just not something specific

22. Do you have a webpage?: my deviantart account, used to have a cafepress shop and now I have my portfolio webpage under construction (www.polartwilight.com)

DEEP THOUGHTS

23. Do you live in the moment?: ugh I try to... but being so obsessed with time is sooooo harmful since I'm so busy living in the future, the past and in time itself even though it sounds weird.

24. Do you consider yourself tolerant of others?: yup unless they mess with my friends and my family or abusive to others (they can mess with me and I'll cower but I'm really defensive of others)

25. Do you have any secrets?: some but my husband knows most if not all of them

26. Do you hate yourself?: Sometimes...

27. Do you like your handwriting?: hahahahahaha :lmao: that's a good one!

28. Do you have any bad habits?: over thinking and procrastinating

29. What is the compliment you get most from people?: hmm I guess I get more compliments art wise than anything. It doesn't happen too often though

30. If a movie were made about your life, what would it be called?: hmm I dunno... who would want to make one anyway? =P

32. Can you sing: hahahahaha no way but I sometimes do when I'm with my husband (I'm way too shy to ever sing in front of other people other than him)

33. Do you ever pretend to be someone else just to look cool?: hmm not to be cool, no but I did try once doing things just to fit in... it was an utter waste of time

34. Are you a loner?: hmm sometimes although I trully enjoy good company

35. If you were another person, would you be friends with you?: heh now it all depends on what kind of "another person" I would be, right? if it would be sort of like me then of course since I trully enjoy being able to have a connection with someone who likes the same things I do =P

36. Are you a daredevil?: no way, I'm more of a coward.

37. Is there anything you fear or hate about yourself?: hmm I fear getting too caught up with doubts and fears and overthinking things and forgetting just to live and move on<... ]]> ~cocowash Dumped the store http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/8217591/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/8217591/ Mon, 20 Mar 2006 14:04:49 PST
Life Rambles


Ok so after careful consideration I decided to dump my cafepress store project because: It takes too much time to make things worthwhile and to have good sales and that time spent is not worth it because their printing quality is highly inconsistent . I'm disappointed of them, actually, but it's not like I didn't see it coming.

So, it was a short lived experiment but educative nontheless. Now I'm planning on better uses for the drawings I made for the store. I have even been browsing another kind of online store but I think for now I'll just concentrate on my own portfolio website which is under construction and sending out some mailers.

I also applied for a job that seems almost too good to be true. Enough steady income to keep some peace of mind and it's only few hours which won't get in the way of my illustration projects. I only hope I get it although it is highly unlikely but one can dream, right?

V for Vendetta is cool. I was afraid the Matrix guys would ruin the story but even though they did try hard, it's still good :)

For those who watch me, I may or may not update some of my deviations so they no longer have the link for my store. It will depend on how lazy I am. But if I do, I apologize for the inconvenience.


Status


***Contests Entries***

Not entering any contests any time soon.

***Personal Projects***

Several... coming soon.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***


***Comissions***

Will gladly take commisions.

***Clubs I'm in***



***Online Portfolio Site (under construction)***

PolarTwilight.com ]]> ~cocowash Remembering old times http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/8087027/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/8087027/ Mon, 06 Mar 2006 18:30:12 PST
Life Rambles


I've been reading and reading and reading lately. What? Well all sorts of Children's book publishing, illustrating, writting and the like books. I've been having a panic attack lately about not being prepared for being an illustrator. I am, after all, a designer who loves drawing so much that would rather be an illustrator, but I have no real formal training as one. Anyway, I always panic when it comes to being prepared to show my drawings to the world so I start obsessively "preparing" myself by reading and freaking out ^^;

Anyway, I might share some of the experiments I've been doing about kids illustration once I find one I'm actually happy with =P

For now I am left reflecting a lot on my approach to art and drawing lately. This morning I saw *jocarra's old sketches that she uploaded and it got me thinking about my own old drawings and I found this old collage I made that I uploaded to scraps ([link] ) with several of my old characters before college. But it got me reflecting since back then I kinda felt that I drew so much (and I still draw but it felt different somehow). In some cases I even see the characters and I still love the sketches. In college I did progress from this old sketches but now that I'm out of college I've found that I've been obsessing way too much more in the techniques with which I draw than the actual drawings. Proof of that is that I haven't drawn most of the characters in the collage for ages. And even though this old drawings were not perfect, they were more "loose" since I didn't freak out about trying one technique or the other.



Hmmm... I guess I should start again trying to balance the technique, the freelance and the character development...


Status


***Contests Entries***

Not entering any contests any time soon.

***Personal Projects***

Several... coming soon.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***


***Comissions***

Will gladly take commisions.

***Clubs I'm in***



***Cafe Press Store***

PolarTwilightStore ]]> ~cocowash I'm still around http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/7703798/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/7703798/ Wed, 25 Jan 2006 11:54:23 PST
Life Rambles


Well, I haven't submitted anything in like forever... no journal entries nor art. Maybe it seems like forever to me because I HAVE been doing art and it's just the more things I do and the less time I have to upload, when I finally think about it, I have more than one and I get lazy and think "um... later". And that is actually even with the fact I've been having a inspiration block lately... more like I've been overwhelmed by the amount of things I think I should be doing and end up doing nothing at all...

My new year's resolution has been to be more professional about my work and to really transform my love for drawing into a career... trying not to be stuck with graphic design. So far? Well I at least have had a proposition to illustrate a children's book in a project that it's still on the making (meaning there is nothing written of the book so far, there are just ideas by the writer) so it might take quite a while for it to actually go anywhere. I have two other scripts for children's books made by my brother in law that I could work on. I've been trying to pull together a book of my own but got quite discouraged lately because I'm not much of a writer and my "oh so original" idea turned out to be not that much original since I found a similar book... le sigh... Being that my only work experience (and it hasn't been much) has been as a Graphic Designer and mostly just making Flash things work properly, I really need to show that I have what it takes to be an illustrator by either having a quick ass portfolio or by actuallly having a book to sell instead of waiting to be hired just because I draw "cute things".

My husband bought me a website name and stuff (www.polartwilight.com)... so far the only thing there is an automatic re-direct to my Cafepress store... I still have to work on the website, obviously. I'll turn it into my portfolio site and all that... I wonder how long I'll take to make something that pleases me?

Speaking of the store, well... it has been doing ok... just ok, not that I expected it to be a big hit right away but it takes up a lot of time and it really drains my energy but I guess it is at least something. I'm happy with my products but I need more! Sigh... The main thing that frustrates me with the store is that it gets me stuck drawing animals or cute things. Not that I don't like doing that, but it's just that I've been neglecting drawing humans and more of the fantasy stuff I like for a while now. So I have to find a way to squeeze more drawings that are not for the store of for any freelance thing into my schedule.

At least I finally got my bussiness cards the way I wanted them, they look nice. Now the thing is using them =P Yesterday I learned a new word to describe how I work: lackadaisical. You'll laugh but it's a big word for a non-native english speaker to learn :P

On a completely unrelated note, I'm amazed that Disney finally bought Pixar. Not that I don't understand their desperation to adquire Pixar it's just that I never thought Pixar would give in. But by the looks of it, the Apple-Pixar and now Disney guy got quite a good deal out of all this so it's understandable. I just hope they make Disney understand that it is not about the technology, it's about the contents and the story.... Although in my humble opinion, I think Cars will be the first Pixar dud... we'll see.


Status


***Contests Entries***



***Personal Projects***

Several... coming soon.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***


***Comissions***

Will gladly take commisions.

***Clubs I'm in***



***Cafe Press Store***

PolarTwilightStore ]]> ~cocowash Mrs. Olivera-Hillway http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/7124644/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/7124644/ Wed, 23 Nov 2005 15:32:28 PST
Life Rambles


I've been happily married for 11 days now. Everything was perfect at the wedding and I'm so immensely grateful for the day I met my husband and he offered tea and cookies while I crushed him with my evil spells... yes, we met in an online RPG =P Here's a pic from our wedding.


Ian and Ceci


Life has been sort of "on hold" for the moment since I've been busy with paperwork and stuff. The immigration people have been nice but I had to get a medical exam and dealing with the clinic has been literaly a torture so I'm worried about that delaying all the paperwork.

As for art I've been in an awkward "inspired but distracted" mood which allows me to come up with a lot of ideas and not actually do any of them... I really need to get a grip and get back to work.

On some completely different subject: Did anyone else think the whole xbox 360 thing was out of control? The consoles were sold out before 8 am. the day it came out. People selling it in ebay for more than it's worth... makes me wonder if the xbox is actually that "hot" with real consumers or it sold out because people bought them only to resell them...


Status


***Contests Entries***

*jocarra's
New contest. I haven't had time to work on the entry but it sounds rather interesting.

***Personal Projects***

Several... coming soon.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***


***Comissions***

Will gladly take commisions. Info on how much and all that coming soon!

***Clubs I'm in***



***Cafe Press Shop***

PolarTwilightStore ]]> ~cocowash Work, work and marry http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/6882247/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/6882247/ Thu, 27 Oct 2005 12:57:38 PDT
Life Rambles


I'm sooooo busy lately that I don't even know why I'm writting in this journal. I'm trying my best to find a balance between freelance work, the cafepress store, my wedding and life and everything.

So far the most complicated and frustrating thing from all that has been the cafepress store since it takes me so long to finish each drawing and then I have to arrange the designs and convert the files and then make the products and organize things and all that... plus I really need to do something about the store front to make it look better... the problem is, well, I have all the other stuff to do and finish and I'm getting married in 2 weeks and 2 days so I'll have less and less time to deal with it as my wedding approaches since my family will come and all that...

Darn, I really need to finish stuff for the store if I hope to sell something for christmas.


Status


***Contests Entries***

*nighttracker's

What do you know? I barely finished on time and I won. I was sooo lucky! There were awesome drawings in the contest too! I'm just glad I finally got to finish the entry and that she liked it so much.

*jocarra's
New contest. I haven't had time to work on the entry but it sounds rather interesting.

***Personal Projects***

Several... coming soon.

***Art Trades: Closed for now***


***Comissions***

Will gladly take commisions. Info on how much and all that coming soon!

***Clubs I'm in***



***Cafe Press Shop***

PolarTwilightStore ]]> ~cocowash Finally decided http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/6808607/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/6808607/ Wed, 19 Oct 2005 11:01:46 PDT
Life Rambles


After over a week of playing around with Cafepress, I've decided I'm going to keep the store I made. Yep, I made a store that will feature a bit more commercial art than I usually make. I uploaded a bunch of the designs I have there already but I have tons of ideas and works in progress that will hopefully be finished and uploaded soon.

I had been in doubt because I ran into some issues with the customer service and I was disappointed by the quality of a cap printing but I analized the quality of other things and it does seem pretty good so I'll keeo it for now.

I'm still new to this whole cafepress thing but I'm doing my best to organize, categorize and create the products. I'm determined to try my best to make it work out. This is step one on my plan to focus more on illustration and hopefully it'll be a good one. The next step might be having a printing account here in DA for more artistic drawings, we'll see. I'm currently way over my head with some freelance work I'm doing so I need to finish that so I have more time.

Here's the link for my shop [link] , I'll try to make a button for it in the bottom of my journal, but I'm not exactly a pro with html


Status


***Contests Entries***

*nighttracker's

What do you know? I barely finished on time and I won. I was sooo lucky! There were awesome drawings in the contest too! I'm just glad I finally got to finish the entry and that she liked it so much.

*jocarra's
New contest. I haven't had time to work on the entry but it sounds rather interesting.

***Personal Projects***

Several... coming soon.

***Art Trades: Open***


***Comissions***

Will gladly take commisions. Info on how much and all that coming soon!

***Clubs I'm in***



***Cafe Press Shop***

PolarTwilightStore ]]> ~cocowash Disheartened http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/6728240/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/6728240/ Mon, 10 Oct 2005 08:48:30 PDT
Life Rambles


I'm so sad... I've been sad since yesterday... I found out that for the second year in a row my work didn't make it to the Childrens book Illustrators' Catatalog back home in Mexico...

First time I entered this one this year I entered I can't help but feel that I'm not good enough and that my drawings suck. I was really really hopefull this time around... I do know that I have a long way to go art wise and that my drawings are nowhere near perfect... but I really hoped to make it... I hoped to have something to show that said other people recognized me as an illustrator, not a graphic designer...

My fiancé was so kind and supportive but I just can't help but feel like a big failure right now. I can't help but look at my entries now and think they are so crappy that it's no wonder they didn't make it to the catalog... no wonder at all...


Status


***Contests Entries***

*nighttracker's

What do you know? I barely finished on time and I won. I was sooo lucky! There were awesome drawings in the contest too! I'm just glad I finally got to finish the entry and that she liked it so much.

***Personal Projects***

I have an ever so long list of things I want to do, I just need time to do them =P Lets just say for now that I'll post things when I finish them.

***Art Trades: Open***

done
I received her half too: :)

***Comissions***

Will gladly take commisions.

***Clubs I'm in***

]]> ~cocowash Update http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/6620907/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/6620907/ Tue, 27 Sep 2005 21:36:23 PDT
Life Rambles


It's been a long time since I updated my journal but even if I log on to DA regularly I never seem to have enough time to write an entry.

I'm still busy with the wedding planning... as the date gets near it only seems that I get even more busy. Good news is we almost have everything planned, which is good... once we're done I can obsess again with the paperwork.... it's not easy being mexican and wanting to marry an american I tell you... they make things SO hard for you... I guess they just want to make sure they can avoid people getting married just to get a green card as much as they can.

Anyway, I've decided to focus more on my illustration career I'm not really satisfied thinking of just being graphic designer making logos and stuff like that... but I need a plan and I have an idea which hopefully you'll be hearing of soon enough.


On another note, today I heard that a friend of mine in DA had a drawing of hers stolen and uploaded by another person in DA claiming it was an original work. Art theft just makes me sick and sad. This is the third person I know and watch inside DA that has had part of their work stolen, which makes me think art theft is quite a common thing in DA since I really don't watch that many people and the three of them have completely different styles and stuff on their sites.

It makes me a bit paranoid about having my work on this site. I'm really glad I usually keep the best ideas outside DA or try not to upload big sized versions of my drawings that could easily be edited and stolen.... I'm still angry though, this place is supposed to promote art and artists and it seems to just to promote art theft.


Status


***Contests Entries***

*nighttracker's

What do you know? I barely finished on time and I won. I was sooo lucky! There were awesome drawings in the contest too! I'm just glad I finally got to finish the entry and that she liked it so much.

***Personal Projects***

I have an ever so long list of things I want to do, I just need time to do them =P Lets just say for now that I'll post things when I finish them.

***Art Trades: Open***

done
I received her half too: :)

***Comissions***

Will gladly take commisions.

***Clubs I'm in***

]]> ~cocowash It's hard work planning a wedding http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/6262756/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/6262756/ Thu, 18 Aug 2005 14:42:54 PDT
Life Rambles


I've been quite busy with the whole wedding stuff lately, so I haven't found to time or energy to really draw something other than random small sketches. I found out *nighttracker's contest was extended... I might finish the drawing after all... who knows?

My parents arecoming in two weeks and my brother was here last weekend. They all want to meet my fiancé's family and get to know him a bit more before the wedding in November (that's the downside of marrying someone from another country, you have to decide whether to be with him or your family, and if you choose him, your family doesn't really get to see much of you or him).

Most of my friends and family won't be able to come to my wedding because of the budget and/or getting a visa. It kinda sucks in a way, but oh well.


Anyway, I've been neglecting my drawings for quite a while but it's hard to concentrate on drawing random stuff when you're so busy with arrangements and stuff. I'll try to fight it and get some work done.


Status


***Contests Entries***

*nighttracker's
I doubt I'll finish it
(finishes August 2nd)

***Personal Projects***

I have an ever so long list of things I want to do, I just need time to do them =P Lets just say for now that I'll post things when I finish them.

***Art Trades: Open***

done
I received her half too: :)

***Comissions***

Will gladly take commisions.

***Clubs I'm in***

]]> ~cocowash Blah http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/6099690/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/6099690/ Mon, 01 Aug 2005 10:14:51 PDT
Life Rambles


I've been trying to do the entry for the last contest I was going to join but my heart is not in it... maybe it is because I took too long to actually start it and the sketches I had done don't work like I wanted them now as they would've earlier... or maybe because I'm housesitting again and I have no scanner and that makes me a bit lazy about the idea of going around that... or maybe because I have tons of other things to do like wedding invitations and stuff... blah... anyway, I think I won't join the contest after all unless I get some sort of divine inspiration to finish it before Thursday, which I doubt... besides, I haven't been feeling motivated towards deviant art at all lately so it makes it harder to think about drawing stuff for it.


Status


***Contests Entries***

*nighttracker's
I doubt I'll finish it
(finishes 4th of August)

***Personal Projects***

I have an ever so long list of things I want to do, I just need time to do them =P Lets just say for now that I'll post things when I finish them.

***Art Trades: Open***

done = [link]

***Comissions***

Will gladly take commisions.

***Clubs I'm in***

]]> ~cocowash Planning http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5987795/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5987795/ Wed, 20 Jul 2005 15:19:33 PDT
Life Rambles


I finally uploaded a new deviation. I've been too busy and distracted lately so my drawing production has been really affected. I never imagined planning a wedding was ever so complicated and thrilling at the same time, but we're finally making some progress which is nice.

In other news I need to finish one more contest entry and I'm done with deviant contests for a while. I also have to finish a drawing I have half finished and probably work on a commision soon. After finishing all that I'm thinking on working on improving some basics in my drawings and coloring so I might not deviate as often but I prefer quality over quantity so it should be a good step to take.

Deviant art has been a two edged sword for me because it makes me want to draw more and better but at the same time it makes me feel shitty when I notice my work doesn't get the results or attention I would like (I'm guilty of wanting people to like what I do :blushes:). It doesn't help that for the amount of time I have supposedly been here my numbers are crappy and while it's true I actually began using devart only 4 months ago, it's kinda sad looking at some of the numbers at times. Anyway, now I'm ranting and all, I was just trying to say that I've been too distracted and lost track of my ultimate goal which is just improving my skills because I've been so obsessed with numbers, so I'll try not to do that anymore.

Oh, I decided to upload a recent photo I loved of my fiancé and I. He's so wonderful...


My love



Status


***Contests Entries***

~Radinka's

Got second place! :w00t:


~Ship-Wreck's

Got second place again! :boogie:


*BLACK-WOLF-'s

Got 4th place! :clap:


*jocarra's

first place!! :giggle: :winner:


*nighttracker's
sketching ideas
(finishes 4th of August)


and of course the Illustration Catalog contest I mentioned
http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5846023/ Tue, 05 Jul 2005 10:21:40 PDT
Life Rambles


Yesterday was my first 4th of july "celebration". My boyfriend and his family took me to see the fireworks and all, it was rather exciting. Last year I was in San Francisco in the 4th of july with my brother and we went to see the fireworks but it was so foggy that from the point we were we couldnt see anything, so this year was nice to be able to sit and watch the display of lights.

I LOVE the lights... I kinda hate the noise though, so I always get mixed feeling when I watch fireworks.

Anyway, between my recent engagement and the fact that we've been sort of housesitting, I haven't been able to scan the things I've done so I can color them and deviate them, but I'll get that done soon enough.

I'll be working on my last contest entry (*nighttracker's) for this "contest participating" phase I've been going through the last 2 months and hopefully finish all the half finished stuff I have before trying to do new stuff. And as soon as I can scan it, I'll post the art trade I've been working on.

Oh, if anyone is interested, if you capture my 1000th page hit I'll draw something for you.


Status


***Contests Entries***

~Radinka's

Got second place! :w00t:


=Ship-Wreck's

Got second place again! :boogie:


*BLACK-WOLF-'s

Got 4th place! :clap:


*jocarra's

first place!! :giggle: :winner:


*nighttracker's
sketching ideas
(finishes 4th of August)


and of course the Illustration Catalog contest I mentioned

(the results won't be out till October)



***Personal Projects***

I have an ever so long list of things I want to do, I just need time to do them =P
-Jedi pic
-2 long overdue gifts for my best friends.
-A drawing in memory of a friend who recently passed... ]]> ~cocowash Life is beautiful http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5780507/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5780507/ Tue, 28 Jun 2005 10:32:44 PDT
Life Rambles


So, I'm back home... well, if you believe in the phrase "Home is where the heart is".

I'm back with my boyfriend after visiting my family and doing all my paperwork. And well... since sunday he's not my boyfriend anymore, he's my fiancé!! :D :happycry: :blushes:

He proposed and now we're engaged and life is wonderful.




Oh, and it's nice to see that in all the contests I've participated and gotten results for, I've gotten a prize :nod:


Status


***Contests Entries***

~Radinka's

Got second place! :w00t:


=Ship-Wreck's

Got second place again! :boogie:


*BLACK-WOLF-'s

Got 4th place! :clap:


*jocarra's

first place :giggle: :winner:


*nighttracker's
sketching ideas
(finishes 4th of August)


and of course the Illustration Catalog contest I mentioned

(the results won't be out till October)



***Personal Projects***

I have an ever so long list of things I want to do, I just need time to do them =P
-2 long overdue gifts for my best friends.
-A drawing in memory of a friend who recently passed away
-Experiments with spray paint.
-Arlith close up with a stock reference.
-background for my Sandrian and Arlith pic


This last days I've been doing more paperwork and lines than I've done in my life so far and I'm still not done. But soon all the long due paperwork from my college will be done and all my documents in order to go back to my boyfriend without any problems.

I have a lot of drawings to finish in a few days so I'll be extra busy and this whole having go everywhere to fix my paperwork is taking away my time. grrr....

Oh well... :movingon:


Status


***Contests Entries***

~Radinka's

Got second place! :w00t:


=Ship-Wreck's

Got second place again! :boogie:


*jocarra's

(finishes June 30th)


*BLACK-WOLF-'s



*nighttracker's
sketching ideas


and of course the Illustration Catalog contest I mentioned




***Personal Projects***

I have an ever so long list of things I want to do, I just need time to do them =P
-2 long overdue gifts for my best friends.
-A drawing in memory of a friend who recently passed away
-Drawing for my brother's bday
-Experiments with spray paint.
-Arlith close up with a stock reference.
-background for my Sandrian and Arlith pic

-Experiments on lighting
-many more


***Art Trades: Open***



***Comissions***

Will gladly take commisions. ]]> ~cocowash So far so good http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5630261/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5630261/ Sun, 12 Jun 2005 19:16:39 PDT
Life Rambles


Today I found out the piece I sent to a contest and uploaded to deviantART (in a very small size I must say), was honored to be put in the fantasy daily news. I can't begin to say how happy that made me.

I certainly hope it's a good sign that will mean my drawing could actually win a place inside the catalog of the contest.

What it also means to me is that I have to keep working and keep trying hard.




I'm going to play a bit with the suscription features now, don't mind me.


Status


***Contests Entries***

~Radinka's

Got second place! :w00t:


=Ship-Wreck's

Got second place again! :boogie:


*jocarra's

(finishes June 30th)


*nighttracker's
sketching ideas


*BLACK-WOLF-'s
had technical difficulties


and of course the Illustration Catalog contest I mentioned




***Personal Projects***

I have an ever so long list of things I want to do, I just need time to do them =P
-2 long overdue gifts for my best friends.
-A drawing in memory of a friend who recently passed away
-Experiments with spray paint.
-Arlith close up with a stock reference.
-background for my Sandrian and Arlith pic

-Experiments on lighting
-many more


***Art Trades: Open***



***Comissions***

Will gladly take commisions. ]]> ~cocowash Whew... http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5602887/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5602887/ Thu, 09 Jun 2005 19:25:08 PDT
Life Rambles


Sooooo... I finally finished the illustration for the catalog contest... just one unfortunately :( I only hope that is good enough (minimum entry was one, max three and I wanted to make all three to better my chances but oh well)...

It was a bit difficult for me to finish it since I understimated my little obsessive self, plus I wanted to make the illustrations traditionally but I totally screwed the first one up and it shook my confidence a bit. So I repeated it with digital media instead but it took longer to finish since I can be even more obsessive (the big big zoom is an evil things at times)... I also forgot that since I had to fly back to Mexico, the whole trip arrangement and stuff cut my time even shorter.

Anyway, even though I'm a bit sad that I only finished one, I'm also happy that at least I get to enter the contest with that one and I think it's not bad so I might have a chance.

I'm still deciding if I'll upload it to deviantART...

Anyway, I get to be home for around 3 weeks and I have plenty of things to do before I go back to California. I have several ideas for deviations, I hope I have the time to do them.


Status


***Contests***

- finished [link] [link] - Got second place! :w00t:
- finished [link] - Got second place again! :boogie:
- finished [link]
- I have the idea and several sketches but since it has a longer deadline I'm afraid I have to leave it for later.
- working on it.

and of course the Illustration Catalog contest I mentioned before which I finally finished...


***Personal Projects***

I have an ever so long list of things I want to do, I just need time to do them =P
-2 long overdue gifts for my best friends.
-A drawing in memory of a friend who recently passed away
-Experiments with spray paint.
-Arlith close up with a stock reference.
-background for my Sandrian and Arlith [link] drawing
-Experiments on lighting
-many more


***Art Trades***

Hmm I guess they are open now. Not that I've had anyone asking me for one yet =P


***Comissions***

Trying to decide about this, I might not start these till after June 10th too but if you have any special requests before, drop me a line either with a note or an email to: coco_wash2000@yahoo.com and we'll talk about it. ]]> ~cocowash Second contest results http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5456144/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5456144/ Wed, 25 May 2005 09:58:45 PDT
Life Rambles


Ok so the results from =Ship-Wreck 's contest are in and I got second place, which is kinda neat specially since I didn't really think I would get any votes at all ^^;

I hope this getting second places at contests stays as a trend because I wouldn't mind getting second place in the catalog contest at all. I'm still working on the entries and if they do come out how I plan them it'll mean I finally took a step foward towards my career as illustrator.

I certainly hope that is true :meditation:


Status


***Contests***

- finished [link] [link] - Got second place! :w00t:
- finished [link] - Got second place again! :boogie:
- finished [link]
- I have the idea and several sketches but since it has a longer deadline I'm afraid I have to leave it for later.
- gonna work on it as soon as I finish the catalog contest entry, Black-wolf was kind enough to extend the deadline a couple of days for me.
and of course the Illustration Catalog contest I mentioned before


***Personal Projects***

I have several things cooking up, I usually post ideas on my scraps. But everything seems to be on hold right now so I might not upload personal stuff any time soon.
-Arlith close up with a stock reference.
-background for my Sandrian and Arlith [link] drawing
-2 long overdue gifts for my best friends.
-Experiments on lighting


***Art Trades***

Closed at least till after june 10th. Not that I've had anyone asking me for one yet =P


***Comissions***

Trying to decide about this, I might not start these till after June 10th too but if you have any special requests before, drop me a line either with a note or an email to: coco_wash2000@yahoo.com and we'll talk about it. ]]> ~cocowash draw, draw, draw... and vote? http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5439796/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5439796/ Mon, 23 May 2005 14:56:25 PDT
Life Rambles


I don't think I'll be posting any deviations for the next 3 weeks, I have to finish the illustrations I'm working on. Hopefully I'll finish quickly but I really doubt it.

Tomorrow I'll log to check =Ship-Wreck 's contest results, it seems people had to vote for the drawings. I'll have to see how that went, I'm not much into voting myself so I might not even be mentioned =P


Status


***Contests***

- finished [link] [link] - Got second place! :w00t:
- finished [link]
- finished [link]
- I have the idea and several sketches but since it has a longer deadline I'm afraid I have to leave it for later.
- gonna work on it as soon as I finish the catalog contest entry, Black-wolf was kind enough to extend the deadline a couple of days for me.
and of course the Illustration Catalog contest I mentioned before


***Personal Projects***

I have several things cooking up, I usually post ideas on my scraps. But everything seems to be on hold right now so I might not upload personal stuff any time soon.
-Arlith close up with a stock reference.
-background for my Sandrian and Arlith [link] drawing
-2 long overdue gifts for my best friends.
-Experiments on lighting


***Art Trades***

Closed at least till after june 10th. Not that I've had anyone asking me for one yet =P


***Comissions***

Trying to decide about this, I might not start these till after June 10th too but if you have any special requests before, drop me a line either with a note or an email to: coco_wash2000@yahoo.com and we'll talk about it. ]]> ~cocowash Status + bday http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5393213/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5393213/ Wed, 18 May 2005 15:10:30 PDT
Life Rambles


I'm still working on the illustrations for the contest I mentioned before, I've been having the hardest time concentrating lately but I'm doing my best.

My birthday is on friday... I'm feeling old already :P Fortunately a trip to the San Diego Zoo this weekend will fix that ;)

I might be able to squeeze some time to do the entry for *BLACK-WOLF- 's contest, I'm not sure though, we'll see...


Status


***Contests***

- finished [link] [link] - Got second place! :w00t:
- finished [link]
- finished [link]
- I have the idea and several sketches but since it has a longer deadline I'm afraid I have to leave it for later.
- not sure if I'll participate, the deadline is soon and I have to work on the catalog contest :hmm:

and of course the Illustration Catalog contest I mentioned before


***Personal Projects***

I have several things cooking up, I usually post ideas on my scraps. But everything seems to be on hold right now so I might not upload personal stuff any time soon.
-Arlith close up with a stock reference.
-background for my Sandrian and Arlith [link] drawing
-2 long overdue gifts for my best friends.
-Experiments on lighting


***Art Trades***

Closed at least till after june 10th. Not that I've had anyone asking me for one yet =P


***Comissions***

Trying to decide about this, I might not start these till after June 10th too but if you have any special requests before, drop me a line either with a note or an email to: coco_wash2000@yahoo.com and we'll talk about it. ]]> ~cocowash New journal and status http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5330079/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5330079/ Wed, 11 May 2005 13:51:10 PDT

Life Rambles


I've been very nervous and excited at the same time lately. When I finally decided to use my deviantART account 2 months ago after having suscribed long ago, I got a rush of feelings: I was enthusiastic to have a place where people could see my drawings and comment on them; I was insecure seeing so many people having so many talent feeling overwhelmed by it; encouraged to work more, better and faster; Sad because I couldn't meet my own expectations as soon as I wanted them.

Well, fortunately for me, no matter how insecure I am I never completely stop doing things, so I decided to start participating in contests inside deviantART with my mind not on winning but in getting to know more people and get people to know my art. Although I'm still not sure if that is working so far, I must say it's been really exciting and again, encouraging to draw other people's characters or try my hand at fanart.

But soon I will have to face the most important contest yet. It is a contest back home for children and young adult books illustrators. There are 3 first places which are hard to get BUT there is a prize easier to get: if your work gets selected from the numerous entries they have, you get to be inside a catalog of illustrators among the winners and the other people who got selected but didn't win. That catalog and the contest for entering the catalog are one of the biggest deals in illustration back home. Last year I participated with this illustration:




making sketches and tries first:

and



I didn't get selected but it only made me think of this year's competition. This time I'll do something more focused on children and I'll hopefully make the 3 entries you can place on the competition. This contest is due 10th of June so I'll have my hands full working on that.


Status


***Contests***

- finished [link] [link] - Got second place! :w00t:
- finished [link]
-currently working on it
- I have the idea and several sketches but since it has a longer deadline I'm afraid I have to leave it for later.
- not sure if I'll participate, the deadline is soon and I have to work on the catalog contest :hmm:

and of course the Illustration Catalog contest I mentioned before


... ]]> ~cocowash Getting there http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5266476/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5266476/ Wed, 04 May 2005 15:41:34 PDT I'm thinking on how to make my journal look better, put on the typical art status, trades, commisions and such thingies and I think I'll make a new deviant Icon thingie too.
For the time being I'll still be struggling to finish all the contest entries I need to for contests inside and outside deviantart and I really need to work faster to build up my portfolio for june, so hopefully you'll get to see more and more drawings.
Life is good right now. I still have doubts and confidence issues about my art but my personal life is going great so I can't complain at all.




Hmm I really need to do something about my journal, it kinda sucks... and create polls... and shouts... and the list goes on =P

]]> ~cocowash An unexpected suscription http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5206146/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5206146/ Thu, 28 Apr 2005 12:56:06 PDT We had talked about it before, he said I should suscribe to deviantART to do a better job showcasing and promoting my work and I agreed but I asked for more time to finish several things I need to finish like several contest entries I have half started and after I came back from my trip home to Mexico on June. Well, he decided not to wait and he bought it anyway, which I'm really really grateful for but now I feel like I have to work extra hard to make new and better things to make the suscription worth it.
I really wanted to finish all the contest entries and commisions I have before suscribing because I wanted to work on more of my own stuff before being ready to show it off in a suscription...
Now I'm both excited and panicked and I can't seem to concentrate enough on the two drawings I had set myself to finish today... I guess I'll post them tomorrow...
I AM really grateful and I think it's a great gift and once I get over my panic attack I'll be able to explore the new goodies a suscription brings but until then I'll just have to do things and journal entries the old fashioned way.


**EDIT: so I finally uploaded the images I was trying to but for some reason I can't make the first contest entry be viewable in the preview! I don't know how to fix it. It's a jpeg so I don't need the preview image but it still won't work and I've tried everything! I even deleted it and uploaded it again, I've saved several versions and with different extensions of the file and it won't show! grrrr...

]]> ~cocowash Getting a grip http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5120291/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5120291/ Mon, 18 Apr 2005 11:55:39 PDT It's been a month since I really joined deviantART and I don't believe I'm doing all that bad so I have to stop worrying and hopefully get more pieces done and finish all the drawings I have half done. ]]> ~cocowash Sigh http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5078155/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/5078155/ Wed, 13 Apr 2005 12:32:45 PDT ~cocowash One week http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/4902210/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/4902210/ Thu, 24 Mar 2005 16:47:33 PST
For now I'm still amazed by the talent of the people in this place and I just think to myself how I have to learn more and learn fast. There are so many things to try, so many things to draw! I have to make up for all that time I should've been posting and drawing! ]]> ~cocowash Still learning http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/4845756/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/4845756/ Fri, 18 Mar 2005 12:38:52 PST
I'm amazed by how many good artists from all over the world are inside this online gallery, makes me want to try harder and get better and better.

I'm so excited to be part of the deviantART community, if I had known it was this cool I wouldn't have cowered from it a year ago :P ]]> ~cocowash New but old http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/4837454/ http://cocowash.deviantart.com/journal/4837454/ Thu, 17 Mar 2005 13:44:40 PST
So, anyway, some of the things I'll be uploading are old, some are new and some are excercises I've been doing to learn how to color with the computer. Feel free to make any comments or suggestions as long as they are constructive. ]]> ~cocowash