I saw an interview where he talked about important moments in his life as an artist. I love how his style emerged organically from his lifestyle and experiences. He serves as a bridge between classical American cartoons and the faraway world of anime and manga. He is as reliable as one can expect from a busy, published writer but he always seems to be back again real soon with another video or project to share :)

I was inspired to illustrate for myself after finding willing teachers like Mr. Crilley and have been soaking up all the free know-how I can online! Check out Mark’s latest original video about drawing shoes for male and female characters:

I’m not even close to being good enough to do my final artwork for my novel but I thought it would be fun to post a few “learning” drawings and then come back to draw them again in a few months to show my improvement! Join along if you are interested and start doing your drawing-a-day in January! It is amazing what you will learn from each drawing. I am figuring out what materials I like and the techniques that work best for the effects I want. I don’t have a scanner so learning to capture the drawings is another interesting challenge!

Keep checking back for more (bad) drawings by blastedgoat and feel free to link to your own attempts at feet or any of Mark Crilley’s subjects. I would like to thank him and all other artists that take the time to teach others. I enjoy picking my professors and seeing how each person approaches their craft differently.

Who is your favorite artist/how-to-draw expert? Do you draw yourself and if so, what do you draw?

Again, feel free to submit those pictures and links so we can all get encouragement and improve our drawing skills! Now, I better get back to the drawing board… which is in the exact same spot as my writing desk :D

Reblogged from monochrome jade thoughts:

Dry leaves engulf flames signal sin miles away… Magma melts tangled roots leaves empty hallways hallowed veins wait to be full… My lips melt wax crimson beads unbutton a curved spine… Asylum eyed girl sits across a mirror making crisscrossed exes over hallow eyes, shallowly smiling…

Wanted to try this reblogging feature and what better to use than the poetry and photo combo I just posted over at my creative writing blog, monochrome jade thoughts dream wrathfully :) ENJOY! More poems and photos to come…

I’m twenty five and I think I get slightly better looking and thinner as the years go on but unfortunately I frequently wonder if that is a reversing trend… Maybe just a bout of adult onset acne and a slightly more food and less walking filled beginning of winter… Yeah, we’ll go with that.

I’m listening to songs I used to adore on YouTube. I used to adore these songs and bands when I was a yeah, I’ll say it. Christian. I was fundamental as fuck. I didn’t even say fuck. I wouldn’t even say ass or piss. Well look at me now mutherfuckers, ass piss, ass piss!!

If any Christian followed exactly what Jesus taught they would love the poor, all sinners and walk around drinking wine getting their feet cleaned with prostitute hair… oh yeah and they would be JEWISH! Be good, you don’t need a “sacrifice” to enter an imaginary state of mind called Heaven… you just have to use a little common sense and relax. If there is a “God” it put us here to learn and grow and not just about someone who lived 2,000 years ago.

That is what I would tell me about ten years ago… that is what I told a total stranger (and ass) on YouTube this morning.

Have you seen this fucking video?

Oops, comments are disabled now, guess this little poet can’t handle the truth!

If anyone is interested I can write an entry about my life growing up in a Baptist church in Iowa. I don’t call myself anything now, mostly because I majored in English and realize that words mean little. They only mean something because we have socially constructed them to. I choose to embrace nature and art and have opened my mind to all religion and none. The only ultimate truth I subscribe to is the fact that I am human. I can guess at what came before and what might follow me but living in this moment is what any god or universe would wish of me for our perception is limited from instant to instant and then–who knows? We’re gone.

After being harassed (or rather petitioned by his fellow Iowans online and on the phone) Chuck Grassley switched sides on the controversial SOPA/PIPA situation. I blogged about this the other day after blacking this blog out in protest along with web giants Wikipedia, Craigslist…

Google also censored its logo and many others placed banners on their blogs or signed petitions to keep the internet airwaves safe and free from over-regulation and the petty counterfeit and copyright claims of the overindulged, over-payed Hollywood movie and corporate music industries.

Well, this week Chuck got hacked. Not an action I would take or condone but an action that I chuckled at. I had to see what old Chuck was up to again andwas genuinely shocked he changed his mind after so many people threatened to passionately campaign against him if he backed these botched bills.

Just thought you would like to know about the success we had petitioning our local representatives. If Americans were more enthusiastic about being involved with the running of their own country rather than voting for the next American Idol we might just have fewer idiots running around with plastic Chinese scissors stuck up their snotty noses, with half-eaten Big Macs and $5 McMoca Rip-Offs dribbled down enormous double-mortgaged chins.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 22,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 8 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Here are some screen caps from the report!

I signed the reddit/PCCC petition to Congress…

PETITION TO CONGRESS: Don’t let big corporations use lobbyists and government regulations to censor the Internet and block innovators from inventing the next reddit, YouTube, or Google. Protect free speech and innovation online.

After you sign, you’ll get activism emails from the PCCC — including informing you when your representatives will vote on this horrible bill.

What I included with the petition: I have been using the internet since I turned thirteen and have made countless websites with various companies. What we need is education and comprehensive copyright laws including protection for fair use and creative commons users. This will not stop piracy it will stop people like me from having a voice. I am being ignored by Chuck Grassley of Iowa and I am tired of having my voice silenced. I have never used reddit but rest assured I will now. I will support those sites and politicians who support my right to free speech. Thank you!

I got this email in response:

Mandy,

Yesterday, we held a briefing for congressional staff about the bill that would stifle online innovation and free speech.

A whopping 200 Democratic and Republican staffers crowded the room and thousands of people watched online!

Plus, the top House Republican working on the pro-Internet side of this issue (Darrell Issa) dropped by, thanked us for our work, and accepted the petition — signed by you and over 155,000 others!

Can you take the next step and call your members of Congress — Representative Bruce Braley and Senators Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin — and tell them you oppose this bill? Click here for the number and a script.

(Then, share the petition on Facebook. You can also watch our briefing here.)

Today, you’ve probably seen that tech giants like Craigslist and Wikipedia blacked out their sites in protest of the anti-Internet bill in Congress.

In solidarity, we are blocking our site too — and so have over 340 PCCC members who own small businesses or websites! And we’re flooding congressional phone lines right now.

We’ll keep up the pressure so Congress hears our voices. If you haven’t already, please call your members of Congress today.

Thanks!

– Jason Rosenbaum, Adam Green, Stephanie Taylor, Michael Snook, and the PCCC team

P.S.  If you have a website, click here for directions on blacking-out your site today

I got 67 views on the 18th and each of those people (hopefully) saw this message in lue of the page they were looking for…

I used the contact information I got from Wikipedia’s protest page to contact the government officials in my state.

I contacted these guys, the first one (Harkin) never got back to me in any way… Bruce Braley spoke out against the bills and Chuck Grassley is a total ass. I have the screencaps to prove it…  See the end of this entry!

Senator Harkin > Contact Tom

http://www.harkin.senate.gov/contact_opinion.cfm

Contact Senator Grassley

http://www.grassley.senate.gov/contact.cfm

I got this response back from Chuck (Chuck.Gras​sley@grassl​ey.senate.g​ov)

Thank you for taking the time to contact me.  As your Senator, it is important for me to hear from you.

In your correspondence you expressed concerns with H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).  H.R. 3261 was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Lamar Smith on October 26, 2011 and referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.  A hearing was held on SOPA on November 16, 2011, and the House Judiciary Committee started mark up of the bill in December but has not completed action.

In your correspondence, you also expressed concerns with S. 968, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 (PROTECT IP Act).   This legislation aims to crack down on rogue foreign internet websites that are dedicated to the sale of infringing or counterfeit goods.  It will provide law enforcement with additional tools to stop websites that engage in the online distribution and sale of pirated content and counterfeit goods.  The Senate Judiciary Committee passed S. 968 by voice vote on May 26, 2011. S. 968 now needs to be considered on the Senate floor.  Majority Leader Reid has scheduled a vote to proceed to the bill for January 24, 2012.

Protecting intellectual property rights is crucial to promoting innovation, creating jobs, and advancing economic growth.  You should know that while I strongly believe in property rights and the need to fight online infringement, I do not want to do harm to the internet, the Constitution, or the ability of businesses to grow and innovate.  I’m concerned about provisions in the bill that could adversely impact cybersecurity and the First Amendment, and result in abusive litigation.  These are important issues that need to be addressed.  I am committed to trying to resolve these issues, and I believe the legislative process should be slowed down to make sure that Congress works on a bill that protects intellectual property while maintaining the freedoms provided by the Constitution.  In fact, I sent a letter with five other Judiciary Committee Republicans expressing concerns with the bill and urging more time to address these concerns in a responsible and deliberative manner.  Unfortunately the Majority Leader denied that request.

Rest assured, I will keep your views in mind as we proceed on this bill.

Again, I appreciate your input.  Please keep in touch!

Sincerely,
Chuck

I sent this message to Bruce Braley:
I want to know where you stand on SOPA and PIPA, two bills that are being proposed that would inhibit the free exchange of ideas on the internet. As a recent college graduate looking for a job I use the internet to experience the world (with little money or time for travel) and get all of my news from a free and open internet. Can you guarantee that you will do what is in your power to protect our right to free speech by pushing to get these bills off the table once and for all? I have censored my personal website today to show my opinion of SOPA and PIPA and this is the first time I have ever contacted a member of government. For poor and working citizens the internet was one place equality seemed more possible. I never thought I would see the day I would have to stand up and defend it but without it I would be cut off from my family, friends and every bit of news save the radio as I can’t even afford cable in this economy. Thank you for your service to our state and I hope you will take the time to consider my opinion and stand with everyone who is protesting these bills today.

He responded to my comments via his contact form and on Facebook.

Dear Mandy,

As someone who’s expressed concern over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), I thought you’d be interested to know my position on the bill.

I am strongly opposed to SOPA.  Hundreds of Iowans have contacted me regarding this bill and I get it. SOPA is a flawed bill that would stifle innovation and has serious technical faults that would not effectively combat online piracy.  America’s great strength has always been innovation built on the open exchange of ideas, and I believe that limiting that free exchange will stifle technological progress and put our nation at a competitive disadvantage.  While I am still committed to combating online piracy, SOPA is not the bill to do it.  I appreciate your input on this issue, and I’ve heard you loud and clear.  I will be voting no on SOPA if it comes to the House floor.

Thanks again for contacting me.  I occasionally provide electronic updates on issues I think my constituents might be interested in.  If you would like to receive my E-newsletter, please sign up at my website at http://braley.house.gov.  On my website you can also view my voting record, and get information about issues important to the First District.  If I can be of any further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Bruce Braley
Member of Congress

Note: Please do not reply directly to this e-mail.  To better serve the constituents of the First District, I have posted a Feedback Form on my website.  If you need to contact me with any concerns, please click the following link and I will respond shortly (http://braley.house.gov/Contact/).

Here are a few of the comments I saw floating around Facebook and more screenshots of the blackout. The war for the internet is just beginning but together we can protect the instant transfer of ideas by not taking what we have for granted. New technology is great but it can only be as great as the person who uses it. Don’t be in such a rush to control a market or put out a product that you forget what innovation requires, freedom of thought and freedom to share those thoughts with the universe.

We saw some wintery sights on our walk the other day…

These were taken yesterday for my drawing series. One of my subjects was so relaxed he fell asleep on me :)

Here are some snapshots of works in progress :)

This is a mash up of clips that influenced me as a kid. I loved Alice in Wonderland, The Nightmare Before Christmas and many other strange stories and films.

Below is a poem I wrote and set to a short film of myself hanging out in my old apartment with Ginger who is no longer with us…

And lastly a look at my life a few years ago. It is funny to watch old videos on my YouTube account because it reminds me of where I’ve been and what I have left to do. I will make many more videos and snap many more photos… utter many more words. Thanks if you’ve been listening and thanks for your continued interest in the future. I had a feeling from a young age that I was meant to tell a story. I don’t know if I will chose photography, filmmaking or writing as my main tool but I will be sharing my experience with you on this blog along the way :)

Please check out my official YouTube channel to see all of my videos.