Proofs! Yay!

I saw the proofs of the Surreal Botany entry today for the first time. Wow, it looks gorgeous!

I need to do some editing/proofing work on the text, though. I thought it was ok, but now I see at least one agreement problem, a poor word choice, and possibly an out-of-place semicolon. Well, that's what I get for writing at 10 pm two days before the deadline for submission.

Now, vegan ice cream and laundry.

Gorgeous Movie Ad for...Handbags?

So, this ad for Prada (yes, the uber-expensive fashion house in Paris) is a video--gorgeous and fae-like--by the same guy who does the art for Fables. Apparently he designed a bunch of fabrics for them this year.

However, am I the only one who sees this and thinks, "wow, this really reinforces unhealthy body images and gender stereotypes?"

But it's also quite beautiful--go look.

warning: streaming video

Icon Meme!

Stolen from gaudior

1. Reply to this post, and I will pick five of your icons. Pick five of my icons, too, if you so desire.
2. Make a post (including the meme info) and talk about the icons I chose.
3. Other people can then comment to you and make their own posts.
4. This will create a never-ending cycle of icon squee. Whoo!



Transmet

This is an animated GIF which I made from some scenes I like in Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan comic. I use it when talking about comics, or about cities, or about the extremely beautiful things to be found where they are least expected in people and in life (which is what I secretly think Transmet is about. Unless it's about keeping us aware of those things and able to experience them for what they are, unjaded). I forget what she's actually waving around there. It might be a big, big, gun. But I wanted it to refer to the city.

The text reads: "...one of those little pauses in the coversation of the city, then: a sudden unexpected quiet as everyone stopped to take a breath...these are the ways my green city moves, and I learn to read her every strange dance step." It's something Spider Jerusalem says when he's being introspective.


Kenya - Tigers do not live in Kenya.

This is a gif I made after I saw the animated "Kenya" video. There are multiple versions; pick the original one on the weebls-stuff.com site. I saw this with esglaith and her proto-husband (at the time), kassidynet, at about 2 am. It was great fun. Warning: catchiest song ever.
However, I then decided that tigers did not live in Kenya (I knew this from my fifth-grade world history project), and set out to educate the entire internet. Hence the last frame of the animation before the credits, which says "Holy Crap! Geography! tours," instead of "Holy Crap! Tigers!" as it does in the original.
I still think it would be fun to remake this with someone saying "China, Indonesia," etc. really fast to fit it all in the allotted time.


BMC

This is my "I am talking about college-specific stuff" icon. I made this one from an owl animal cracker I found in my bag of animal crackers from the snack machine in the Rhoads North study lounge one procrastinaty evening. It was in with all the camels, etc., and seemed odd. So I scanned it before I ate it and turned it into this icon. I tend to forget to use it, though.


Calienshan

This is the only Eredien self-portrait I've ever done and really liked. It's a scan of a pencil sketch I drew. I like the sketchy look of it; I like the angle of the ears; I like the wings even though technically they're inaccurate; I like the fact that it shows my namekeep (the object that helps remind me who I was, am, and what I can potentially become. Other people have other things, piercings or jewelry or tattoos; I have a necklace. This is why I won't get a tattoo, BTW, even though I think they're gorgeous and important. I don't need/want two namekeeps).
It's a little out-of-date in terms of where I now think dragon culture is going in terms of clothing (this was drawn back when I was pretty sure they didn't have any clothes/fabric ornaments, but I wasn't sure yet, and the drapey thing over my shoulders/down the back between the wings was from an older iteration of the story, where it was symbolic of my chosen profession as a storyteller. They don't have clothes, I've decided finally, and that item wouldn't be practical anyway, as it would fall off if I were flying), but the clothing so symbolically loaded the picture would be incomplete without it.
She looks kind of pessimistic, but I drew it trying to capture the mood of a certain bit in the story, which is pensive; resigned but happy--and I think I got that well.
My wedding dress, which is going to be embroidered with flowers, is going to adapt the motifs of the drapey thing, in the correct colors.
Er. "Calienshan" (rhymes with "alien pan") means something like "star-back," literally translated, but is actually a title, the name for the village storyteller. Which I am. Also, "Calien" was the name of a certain star. There's a story I could tell you, if you want to hear it.


I'm Not Smiling

I used to use this one when I talked about really upsetting real-life stuff or was depressed. I'm not using it so much anymore for that. I titled it that because if you look at the picture long enough, you can't tell if it's a smirking expression or about to crumple into a frown, and I liked that dual reading and the mask it implied. I still like doing dual readings and talking about masks--I'm a furry and an English major, help me before I close-read again!--but I don't like wearing them so much anymore.

I should use some of these more often, and retire some of the ones I don't use.

I should also get a better program for making animated GIFs, and redo the horrible old ones so you can actually read them. Any suggestions?