Marshmallow

Did you know that the giant snowman that Elsa made is called Marshmallow? I really like the character because of his credits scene (shown below), but I didn't know his name until my recent trip to Disneyland California.

After drawing Marshmallow in the Animation Studio, my sister and I had our picture taken with him.

Rawrrr!

My sister is the big fan of Frozen. I've made a shirt design of the two Disney princesses in her honor.We each modeled for the hands. :) It's available at Neatoshop and Society 6.

"Sisters"

Watch Captain America 2!

If you have not already, then I recommend watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier!  Here's a photo I made promoting the movie to my friends. :)

Fun facts about the image:

1. I took it over 2 weeks ago and Rotten Tomatoes still has the movie at 89% fresh rating.
2. I posed twice as Black Widow and the Winter Soldier. :) It was a fun double take experiment I've wanted to try. Photoshopping the 2 images was easier than I expected! 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is my second favorite Marvel movie. The first is The Avengers because of the different interactions between the heroes.

I also prefer Thor's character in The Avengers than the two Thor movies.  He may have been my favorite in that movie. But who is my favorite Avenger based on all the Marvel movies so far? Hmm. It is still Iron Man.

From Madam Tussad's wax museum 2 years ago

The Lego Movie is Awesome

Hey guys, I enjoyed The Lego Movie this past weekend for plenty of reasons. I hope you found many as well.

Because I work at Legoland California, I was familiar with the sets and movie characters before knowing the story. I had wondered if the movie would feel weird from my familiarity with Lego pieces and working in a Lego gift shop. This question would apply even more to Lego fans though. Instead of feeling weird, I laughed even more from recognizing Lego pieces, their multiple uses, and their limitations. If you are a Mystery Minifigures collector, then you will enjoy appearances from different series.

If you have a chance to visit Legoland California, then check out the special exhibit called The Lego Movie Experience with Lego model scenes from the movie including the dad's workspace. The opening was Feb. 20, but the exhibit is available for a year. The location is next to Studio Store on the left side of the park.

The Lego Movie Experience at Legoland California

The Lego Movie had some humor similar to Muppet humor. It is not so much the literal vs. figurative meaning of words. I have not been able to label it yet. I do not want to list examples of this humor either so you can enjoy the moment. I also cracked-up over the sound effects and use of Lego pieces for special effects such as explosions.

An explosion example of a special effect with Lego pieces.

Those of you who have read my other blog posts know I love Meta and dystopias. Well, The Lego Movie has both aspects! :D

Two of my favorite characters are Metalbeard and Benny the 80s spaceman. Since I saw the Lego set Metalbeard's Duel, I thought Metalbeard looked cool with his many unique pieces. My friends and coworkers know very well that I like puns and cheesy corny jokes. Yesterday at work, I kept pointing out the chest pun in Metalbeard. He is great to watch and hear on the screen.

Metalbeard

I wish this "Spaceship!" tee had Benny's whole body.

My family knows I am drawn to funny-voiced characters such as King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph and Shrek the Final Chapter. This fact is one reason why spaceman Benny is a favorite character of mine. Thanks voice actor Charlie Day! ;)

The main reason I like Benny has to do with his attempts to build a spaceship. I will keep an eye out for a good shirt with Benny. By the way, he is based off of the Lego figure Blue Classic Spaceman.
Rumpelstiltskin in

There are more things I enjoyed and laughed over, but one last aspect I'll say is that the story's messages are awesome. :) I recommend watching it. If you have already, who was your favorite character?

Because They Struggle

I have been posting more on my art Facebook page than on this blog. Lately my thoughts have showed up in my art. One recurring thought is the 80s X-men cartoon show.

I even dressed as Jubilee this month. I'll post a picture when I get one from a friend.

X-men love triangle

One reason I remember the show is because of the drama like the love triangle with Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Cyclops. Whenever Wolverine was enraged from it, I thought "Ah! He loves her! But he might kill Cyclops!" Wolverine and Jean Grey were then my favorite two from the show. However, the love drama was not the only reason for liking those two characters the most. I felt they struggled most.

When I think of Jean Grey, I remember her as vulnerable. She often reached her limit quickly. Thankfully she could make a force field for protection or keep the threat away long enough. For the love triangle, Jean's vulnerability increases her appeal. Is the reliable boy scout or the unstable tough guy a better match for her?

Then we find out she has untapped massive power, but it is still out of her control.

Jean Grey's alter ego Phoenix

This stronger and more passionate side of Jean is a better match for Wolverine, but maybe he'll lead her further down towards destruction.

Wolverine's ability is instant healing, however, limited to only physical wounds. This scar-less warrior carries emotional trauma that his mind and soul cannot handle.

Jean and Wolverine's struggle with their ability and emotions keep these evolved forms human. Both need to stay human to be good forces. Sabretooth is a foil to Wolverine by being a more primitive mutant who threatens mankind.

Sabretooth vs. Wolverine

While I thought over Wolverine's healing limitations, I came up with this design:

"Wolverine at the Bar"

Tea Party and Manga

Shirt.Woot customers can vote for
my entry "Tea Party v.2."

I entered a Shirt.Woot contest for the third consecutive time. The theme was kawaii (cutesy and adorable).

I 'm skipping out on the next weekly contest. Whew! I tried some new techniques such as fading out the side of a scene on a shirt and alternating warm and cool colors in main areas.

I guess I got really into the tea party scene, especially after reading manga about cafes and bakeries. 

Cafe/Dessert manga has become one of my guilty pleasures. After reading about takoyaki at a New Year festival, I tried some at Genki Living. Takoyaki is like a ball of bread with octopus bits and veggies. I would order it again. :)

Takoyaki

This type of manga genre can be very simple, but I think it makes the attitudes more pure and heart-warming. The heroines usually want to create happy moments for others and have strong determination. I stopped reading Kitchen Princess when the plot got complicated and tragic.

Kitchen Princess

Little Guys Can Win

After playing Scrabble with my family, I advise to not take the little words for granted! Here are some of my bigger plays with short words:

Words "SIX" and "PI."
High-valued letters helped. 

Words "SITE," "SO," and "IN" scored one point more
with one-valued tiles and a blank tile with no value (the "T").

Simple words "Hi" and "He" proved
that it's about location, location, location. ;)

Scrabble is more than vocabulary. I think the games Blokus Trigon and Rummikub helped me with strategic planning.




















Happy New Year by the way.

SD Comic Con

Hello! Sorry I haven't posted for a while. This summer has been busy (such as working at Legoland), but great.  I want to share some photos and panel news from the San Diego Comic Con this past July.

I love how even the attendees are a part of the experience. In the photo below, I stand next to a cosplayer from The Green Hornet (2011):

Me with a Kato (Green Hornet) cosplayer!

Cosplaying is dressing up as a fictional character. I have cosplayed before, but now I just dress-up somehow. On the second day, I wore my Super Maio Bro's mushroom hat along with a blue vest and blue pinstripe pants. Next year I'll wear my new Luigi hat. ;)

More cosplayers:

Kiki and Tombo from Kiki's Delivery Service

Luna and Artemis from Sailor Moon

On the right: Frank the 6-foot bunny in Donnie Darko

Planet of the Apes

Angry Birds the game

Katniss from The Hunger Games

I appreciate the cosplayers who depict small details. The Katniss cosplayer is not only carrying her bow, but also the bright, orange pack used in the game!

Speaking of The Hunger Games, I stopped by their booth and got THE golden mockingjay pin as a freebie!

Movie posters as big as a door were also handed out.

Some Panel News

There were at least two panels that discussed fandom and cosplayers. I had hoped to attend one of the panels but I volunteered and had other panels as a higher priority. I also did not have a chance to stop by David Malki's booth to say I submitted to the Machine of Death anthology. Accepted entries are announced in October.

Anyway, here are some lines from the two panel descriptions:

Comics Arts Conference Session #1: Fan Studies

Scott Daniel Boras (Arizona State University) relates his experiences as "Ethnography Man," researching the world of cosplay at Comic-Con and investigating how cosplay both subverts and reinforces codes of conduct, and in the end is more about transcendence than escape. Beverly Taylor (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) presents her research into how the culture of physique athletes -- body builders, figure, and fitness athletes -- is influenced and inspired by superheroes, even to the point of considering their lives outside the gym to be their secret identities. ...

Obsession: How TV and Movies Go from Fascination to Phenomenon

 ...what does it take to turn a series or movie into something special that we can't live without? This panel from BuddyTV.com examines that topic from all points of view: the writers and producers who create the projects, the actors who star in them, and the fans who consume them. ...

Hopefully, the discussions can be found online or in print.

The IDW panel mentioned its program "Sparkles for Blood." You can trade a Twilight book for their comic "30 Days of Night" to learn what a real vampire is.

 The IDW staff even gave away traded Twilight hardback novels which can be traded back for the vampire comic.

Last bit of news I'm sharing is that even Football players co-write comics.

Lance Briggs at Top Cow panel

Lance Briggs joined the panel of comic-distributor Top Cow to discuss his comic idea, Seraph, which combines his Christian faith with his passion for comics. The comic is about of a man who committed suicide, and then he is given a second chance as a warrior for Heaven. He must follow God's guidelines in his battles.

Lance Briggs' comic pilot Seraph

Lance Briggs is a co-writer of the story and competing with other new comics in Top Cow's Pilot Season. More may  be stated Brigg's social network of comics at Lance's Comic World.

And Legos!

Because I'm working the summer season at Legoland, I had to check out the booth for Lego. I saw smiling, engaged children like I do at work plus Scrappy!

Scrappy cosplayer crawls over legos to his father dressed as Scooby-doo.

 Iconic figures made from legos were found in the whole exhibit hall.

Batman made from legos

Well, I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of my visit at SD Comic Con. If you are interested in going, then I have to warn you that this past year, tickets sold out on the first day of registration. So start checking for the day of registration in Feburary at www.Comic-Con.org. There you can also find out about a few other comic cons such as APE and Wonder Con.

Graduation Cap

I continue to have views on this post, but ANOTHER POST describes the process more.

 I had my graduation walk last week! =)  Here's a photo of my graduation cap that I painted:

I'm going to frame the cap along with its white tassel.

After the ceremony, my friends and family were able to find me because of the design. I painted an Art Nouveau portrait before it, and I looked at some Baroque and Rococo radial designs. Because radial designs are circular symmetry, you can look at it from whichever side.

I used a circle stencil and an oval-shaped stain glass for the linework. My next art tool to purchase is the french curve tool (shown down below) for longer arcs.