Tuesday 3 October 2017

Getting Ready For Inktober

Hello guys. 
It's Inktober. We are in it. How is your drawing going? 
I made a video last week about the lead-up to Inktober and the prompts list I'll be following:


The funny thing about Inktober to me is how stressed everyone gets. It's interesting to see the pressures people put on themselves to be creative. I saw a fantastic talk given by Elizabeth Gilbert about the pressures of being creative and how we tie it into our personality. As if doing a bad drawing makes you a bad person or untalented in all ways. This is such a hard hurdle to jump over. I only found a way over it by throwing all my drawings out there and realising that the world didn't disown me because I wasn't the worlds greatest artist. Here is the video ...it's really inspiring: 

I love Iinktober because it takes the pressure off and gives you the chance to put art out there without people judging you. People know you only had an hour or two to get it done and everyone is also putting work out there so everyone knows and feels how difficult it can be. 

I love Inktober as an idea. I think it is encouraging people not only to be creative but to be compassionate and enthusiastic artists. I also selfishly love looking at all the art that is around. So much to see!!!! 

Enjoy it, only do it if you want to or can and enjoy it. Enjoying creating things is really the only part of this that matters. If you do one drawing or 31...or even just get inspired by looking at the #inktober #intober2017 or #pinktobertime hashtags...that's all that matters.

Enjoy guys and happy doodling x

Monday 11 September 2017

How to Refill a Copic Marker Pen...Or At Least Try Too!



I love marker pens. I don't know why I only started using them a few months ago but I feel they are really helping me improve my art skills. You can't 'ctrl Z' a piece of art work that's really on the page. 

I love them so much that I used up all the ink in one of them. It's taken using it every day for about 5 months for this to happen so it's still impressive that it lasted so long but it was either time to learn to refill or to cop out and just buy another pen. 

I watched some great videos on YouTube on how to refill my pens and gave it a go. Links can be found in the video description if you want to watch the pro's that taught me to do it :) 

My steps summarised are: 
1. buy the correct refill
2. Take both lids off of your pen
3. Lay down a material you don't mind getting destroyed (just in case of spillage)
4. Slowly drip the ink onto the nib of the pen (I do it on the driest end) 
5. I'm still not sure the real amount of drips but it can be anywhere between 17 - 25...depending on how empty it is. 
6. When you think it's full drip one or two drops on the other end of the pen to wet it. 
7. Leave lids off for about 20 seconds to let the air circulate and the air pressure to normalise (not sure if this helps but it seems to stop blobbing...be warned...this is made up Tania science) 
8. Test on a piece of paper you don't care about
9. Use pen and be proud that you refilled it like a boss


I hope this works for you guys x

Wednesday 30 August 2017

What I've Learnt - Drawing Vlog

I love drawing. I always have but I also suffer from artists burn out. I wanted to see if I could change my way of thinking and get more creative.

In work, I work so hard that by the time I come home I'm so tired that I only have enough energy to watch some telly. This was getting me nowhere both creativity wise and it meant I always had a lot of washing today at once. I got annoyed by this. I have mentioned on here before that I have started drawing more over the last few months so it seemed about time that I threw myself at a drawing challenge. It was a month long challenge where I tried to draw every day. It's funny how something can seem impossible before you do it and afterwards it seems impossible that you could think it was ever going to be that hard. It was great fun. I got a drawing out each day and although I wasn't happy with the level of skill they showed, I learnt a lot.

Here is a video talking about the lessons I learnt while sketching. Hopefully, they can help someone like me to not be afraid to pick up a pencil and scribble something:




Sunday 20 August 2017

Pink Hair - The Lazy Vlog

Hi there ,
Last weekend I took the plunge and dyed my hair pink (and a little purple hidden underneath).
I really love it. I did it last year but chickened out after a week and washed all the colour out. This time I'm really enjoying it. Hurray to being a big kid.
I have some art videos coming out soon. I'm excited to start my next big art challenge. The next one is one I've devised myself. I'm calling it 'A Copic a Day'. It's going to be a different copic colour every day. I can only use the one colour. I'm excited to practice (and a little embarrassed that I have over 30 Copic colours).
I'm getting ready for Inktober and trying to practice as much as possible. It will be the first one I've done and I'm really excited. Inktober feels like the exciting illustration event of the year. It's when artists do an ink drawing every day for a month under the hashtag #Inktober. I'm happy that I'll get to be part of it. Hopefully I'll also be good enough at making videos to attempt Vlogmas this year...we will see. :D

What did you all get up to this weekend?What colour would you love to dye your hair?

Have a great day guys,
Tania xx

Wednesday 16 August 2017

The Lazy Vlog - A Bookfest & Brisbane Weekend

Happy People's Day!
Peoples day is when everyone in Brisbane gets a day off because there is a famous county fair type event that happens. It's weird to have a day off for this but ...hey...I'm not going to complain.

I managed to find a little time to edit this together. Here is a little mini Lazy Vlog for you to watch. This is what we got up to recently.

How did you guys spend your Wednesday?


Sunday 13 August 2017

My Art Haul - or Why I Love Etsy

About 5 months ago I was living a very minimal life . We'd moved to Australia with just two suitcases and I felt great not having 'stuff'. Then I decided, for reasons I'm sure I'll bug you with another day, to start getting back into non-digital art. This, it turns out, is an expensive hobby.

Why are markers so expensive?!?!?

Anyway , this one hobby has gotten out of control.

Of course this lead to me getting to know other illustrators, which lead to me discovering Etsy.
Oh jeez! So many things I want to own. So I started off by buying just one enamel badge. This lead to another and before I knew it I'd signed up to Patreon because I'd buy these people a coffee so why wouldn't I help out their art. It was dangerous rabbit hole.

I have it under control right now (not that you'd know it from this video). So I thought I'd show you guys all the things I got from the talented people I know and have discovered.

And yes....that is the Gilmore girls on in the background at the end.


Sunday 30 July 2017

The Lazy Vlog - Us Attempting To Taste Wine



Hello Lovely People! 

Last Friday Lee and I got home from work. We had no plans and decided to go a little crazy and get some nice wine for our dinner. We tried to buy a nice bottle but quickly realised we still knew nothing about wine, even after two wine tours that we recently went on in New Zealand and in Western Australia.
So we did what all good people who can't decide on one bottle do...we bought two. We wanted to test our knowledge and see if we had learnt ANYTHING.....just a heads up....the answer is: no ...no we didn't. 

What we drank: 
*Oyster Bay - Sauvignon blanc - $20
* Wahu - Sauvignon blanc - $7

Travel Doodle Journal - New Zealand Edition

I've always loved to scribble down doodles, normally based on weird things that happen through the day. So a travel journal was the next step. Here are the sketches from our recent trip. All were drawn in my handy Kmart A5 sketch book , which is surprisingly the BEST sketch book and only $2 ...yes it's shocking! I took a ton of Copic pens with me, my Copic multi liners in 0.4 and 0.05 , as well as my prisma colour pencils (which have no rubbers on the ends any more from over use...opphs)
If you have any questions about the certain colours I used, please just ask. I've bought all my colours by seeing other people use them and then needing to get it to complete my weird colour obsession:









Thursday 27 July 2017

A Lazy Vlog - Doodles and Breakfast

A lazy weekend with some doodling was had. Here's a short vlog of our morning. I'm working on a large illustration project at the moment , but I was lucky to squeeze in some time to do a silly doodle. 

Enjoy

Tuesday 18 July 2017

Our New Zealand Road Trip - Part 2 - Skipping Stones, Sketches, Fog Hidden Mountains and Lots of Adventures.

Here is the 2nd part of our road trip around New Zealand's North Island. It was stunning, beautiful and we laughed until my face hurt. Here is a video of us making fools of ourselves...sprinkled with some doodles I did along the way.







I'll post all of the drawings on here soon :)

Thank you for watching. I can't wait to see the South Island soon. Travel is addictive!!!!

Sunday 9 July 2017

New Zealand - Sketches and Wine (pt 1)

So here is part 1 of our New Zealand trip. This video is filled with a few sketches and a lot of film of me being a dope. I've never talked to the camera before. After editing this I probably won't again :)



Enjoy and I hope your weekend was lovely xxx

Sunday 2 July 2017

Our Day at Hobbiton !!!

Guys, guys, guys !
We went to Hobbiton. I feel it is almost criminal to go to New Zealand and not go to the rolling hills of The Shire. We are massive nerds and we loved every bit of it. I read The Hobbit when I was about 8 and The Lord of the Rings when I was 12 so I was raring to go.
It was expensive (about $79 each) so maybe decide how much you  love the books/films before you go but t was beautiful there any felt like the Welsh hills of the UK.

Here's us being 'filthy Hobbit-sis'








Some sketches to follow :D

What's in my art / travel bag

We are heading off to NEW ZEALAND!! Here are all of the deliciously lovely art supplies I'll be taking with me on our tour of the North island:




I'm trying to make a few more videos. I LOVE YouTube art videos and although I'm no where near as good as the hotties online, I'm gonna give it a go. If you follow my Instagram you my notice i've gone a little art crazy. I'm a cg animator but I really want to be a better drawer so I've been life drawing , filming , painting, sketching and editing like crazy....as well as animating. My poor old art brain hurts.  Improvement is slooooooow but really fun.

Fingers crossed some vids of our trip will be up on here soon.




Tuesday 6 June 2017

1 Minute Sketches


These are two little 'one minute' sketches. I had to really plan in my head what I was going to draw before I started and have my colours ready. It was quite stressful so I've moved onto two minute sketches instead.

This second little guy is meant to be a unicorn named Gary. It just so happens that I forgot the most important part of the unicorn... his horn..so he's just a pink horse that identifies as a unicorn. :)

Happy Tuesday Everyone xxx

Sunday 28 May 2017

Day Out Doodles - A Day at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

We've been trying lately to get out and about as much as possible. The travel bug has bitten us again.

This weekend we decided we needed our 'they're so cute and fluffy' fix. So we decided on Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.

We saw so many pretty colours and animals (and I squeezed in a few weekend coffees...of course). Even though we have been in Australia for almost 2 years, I don't think I'll ever get sick of cute koalas, kangaroo's and wombats.

The day was totally inspiring and had me itching to draw and edit.


This is still very much in the 'I'm trying to learn so please be patient' stage of editing and filming....and come to think of it, drawing too.

Hopefully you enjoy seeing these little cute animals as much as we did :)


Bye for now,
Tania

Friday 26 May 2017

May - update

Hello lovely people,

It is one of my favourite months , MAY  ! Although my birthday is this month that isn't why it's one of my favourites, although that does help. It is one of my favourite times because there are blossoms on the trees, the weather is great, the sky is blue and it makes me want to be active and creative.

I may have had some of the most creative few months i've had since I was 12 and my mum thought I must of been eating sketch books because I was getting through them so quickly.

We have had some down time in work and my incredible company set me the challenge to master cut out and 2d animation on the program Toon Boom Harmony. It's been eye opening. I realised that I'd allowed my brain to stop learning and I've become creatively lazy. Having to re-train and learn new skills has given me so much more get up and go. My cg has seen an improvement and I'm animating in my own time at home because i've got the creative bug bad.

My Copic collection has grown to a distracting level. I now own 39 ....opphs. All of them in various pastel shades. I'm a pastel addict.

So what is coming up on this blog due to my new nerdy creative streak:

* Lots more drawings - i've been sketching and trying to stick things on my Instagram daily. Minute sketches, 'what I did today' type illustrations and such...so hopefully i'll stick them here too.

* Some cg - i've been sitting on a cg idea i've wanted to do for ages. I've finally pulled my finger out and blocked the damn thing so I'll bug you guys for feedback soon.

* 2d -  All those books I read in uni feel like they finally make sense to me. Like the detective at the end of The Usual Suspects. I feel that a lot of lingering questions i've had about animation finally make practical sense. I've always understood timing and spacing but now I feel I actually 'understand' it ....if that makes any sense what so ever.

* Travel drawings - I'm off to New Zealand soon and almost all of my baggage allowance is being used up on art supplies and photography equipment. Who needs shoes anyway! Expect lots of sketches and me moaning about frozen fingers.

And that's it for now.







Animated hugs,
Tania xxx

Sunday 19 March 2017

Let's try 2D...and stop buying pens

This week I have been given a fantastic opportunity. My company has allowed us to learn the 2d software Toon Boom.
Image result for happy dance gif
This is a great chance to learn as much as possible about the origins of what I do in CG. I think that secretly we are all 2d-ers at heart in CG. We just arrived in the industry when computers were taking over. The thrill of seeing a pencil test gives me goosebumps.
Image result for pencil test gif
It's a terrifying challenge but I'm going to throw myself into the task and see what happens. I'll show you guys what I get up to . Maybe it will inspire you guys. You'll see what I do and think to yourself 'jeez I can do better than that'. :)
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As well as learning 2D , my drawing room in the new house has inspired me to draw more and my new ethos of 'send what you scribble' has really helped motivate me. I've challenged myself to post something online everyday no matter how rubbish. It's making me think about my work a lot more and really try to improve instead of just coasting. Today I disappeared into my new drawing room and did more artwork than i've done in years. About 90% of it was absolutely shite but at least its a start.

A post shared by Tania Vincent (@doodlezilla_) on

Happy Weekend Everyone xxx

Friday 3 March 2017

Copic Markers and Moving House

A post shared by Tania Vincent (@doodlezilla_) on
My sketchbooks have been feeling a little neglected as of late. I've been moving house . Since this is the 13th move in 13 years , I should be a pro by now. This is definitely not the case.
A post shared by Tania Vincent (@doodlezilla_) on

The benifits of moving house is that we have our first spare room. The day before we were moving in we were talking about what to do with our dining table. The place we were going to was partially furnished so we had a spare table...then it hit me...I COULD HAVE A DRAWING ROOM! When you think of drawing room you may conjur up images of old men in smoking jackets, drinking port and 'retiring to the drawing room' at 8pm. That is not what I'm talking about. I have all these art supplies that are in boxes and no where to go to use them. So my lovely Mr agreed that I could rudely take over the space. Don't feel too bad for him. He has converted the garage into a brewery. Our garage is a hops lab for beardy beer lovers.

This new room has invigorated my love of sketching and drawing. It also has coincided with the arrival of my first art markers *sqweeee* ...yes i'm far too excited about them.

Copic's were always the pens I saw in 'the making of' videos for comics and 2d animation . They'd sit in the background , in all of there colour glory and I wanted to get my hands on them so much. So I invested in a few of my favourite colours (pastel colours ..obviously) and as soon as they arrived I wanted to sketch everything I could think of. I'm already planning my next colour choices. hmmmm...what colours will I need to draw a red panda?
A post shared by Tania Vincent (@doodlezilla_) on

I'm now struggling with what paper to get. Copic or alcohol markers are so unique that they require the exact right paper to show their loveliness. They aren't like good old pencils that look good on the back of an old envelope. I'm currently trying to decide what sketchbook to get by trawling through the millions of art bloggers on youtube and instagram. There are so many inspiring artists out there and it's great to discover this little art community right at your fingers. Yes,  I do know what the internet is and I am very late to the game. I have been following artists in the past, but I never realised how many greats there were out there , and on top of that they are giving great advice.

My current favourite is Frannerd. She is adorable. Her work is charming and her videos are like listening to a friend over coffee. I'd recommend giving her a listen.

So watch this space because I will be filling my instragram with far too many annoying doodles. But hey, practice makes perfect right!

Happy Saturday everyone x

Sunday 12 February 2017

Meet the Artist

I've been seeing these being done by other people and I love them so I thought I'd give one a go.


Sunday 15 January 2017

Retro Geek Quiz



Image result for 80's

Hello there animators,so I'm a massive lover of all things geeky. I started listening to a great podcast called 'the indoor kids'. It is all about the games people played as kids. It got me thinking about all the things I loved when I was young:

What's your childhood era? : The 80's!!!!  

What was your first console?: My first console was an Amiga. I got it for Christmas when I was 4. It was huge and everything had to be done via Dos, but it was amazing.

 
 What was your favourite game to play on it? I loved Codemasters game Dizzy the Egg. I never finished it and it drove me crazy. There was a game with a bear where you had to paint a house. I LOVED IT! I also had a game where you had to repair an electronic circuit. I realise as an adult that it was trying to educate me. Maybe that knowledge has secretly been placed in my head for an electronic emergency.
Image result for dizzy the egg

What was the first comic you read? As a British kid my first comics were Twinkle , which was a little girl nurse who fixed wounded toys and also The Beano. The Beano was amazing. Billy Whizz and The Numbskulls were my favourite characters.
 Image result for numbskulls
Favourite movies as kid? The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast were watched so much in my house that I broke the VHS. My other favourite was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. There is a lot of embarrassing footage of me dancing 'the old bamboo' around my house when I was 5.
 
Mary Poppins was another favourite of mine..look at that bumbag

Favourite books as a kid? Every Saturday my mum, brother and I would head to the library. We'd leave with handfuls of books. There aren't many photos of me as a kid without a book in my hand. My favourite was Matilda when I was really young. I thought that I could definitely move things with my mind if I tried long enough...it was preparing me for my life goal of being a Jedi. When I got older I started reading Harry Potter. I was exactly the same age as him every time a new book came out so it holds a very special place in my heart. #TeamHufflepuff



Favourite televison shows?Anything Henson. Fraggle Rock, Muppet Babies and Sesame Street were watched religiously in my house. Sesame Street was the place that I first saw Luxo Jr and my mum explained animation to me when I was confused at how lamps were dancing.  Then again Raggy Dolls, Shoe People, Poddington Peas , Duck Tails, Rescue Rangers and Gummie Bears were all 'must see' Saturday morning watches. 5am starts were very common for my brother and I .... incidently this website is called 'marshmallowpenguin' after the little marshmallow moon creatures from one of my favourite shows 'Button Moon' . You gotta love those British animations.






Favourite characters? I thought Rainbow Brite was a hero when I was little. I did a mean Miss Piggy from Muppet Babies impression when I was a kid. Minnie was also a big love of mine.
I was really trying to make my brother like Rainbow Brite



Favourite toy? My addiction as a kid was Polly Pocket. Every Christmas and Birthday was a chance to get my tiny plastic pocket fix. This may be why I love my job working on the Polly Pocket TV show so much. Oh Penny was another favourite. My doll, called Christina, came every where with me, and I had a lot of older cousins so I did get lots of second hand My Little Ponies. I loved it.
Image result for oh penny

Mario or Sonic? I only had an Amiga , but my Nan had a Sega. This meant I was a sonic kid all the way.

DC or Marvel? I had two favourites , Wonder Woman and X-men...so it's hard for me to decide.

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First album you bought?My first album was on double tape. It was 'Now That's What I Call Music - 32'. The worst part was I just use to listen to one song. 'Golden Eye' by Tina Turner .....opphs

What geeky memory do you have that reminds you how old you are? 
When Lee and I were about 12 years old we use to play Doom together. We use to bring his whole P.C from across the road (including the screen). We would then connect them together and then put a big piece of wood between the two of us so we couldn't see each others screen. I'd then kick his ass. This was only because I taught him how to use a computer for the first time when we were 11. By the time we were 13 he was a computer pro. As soon as he started to get good I did a 'Bart' and retired from Doom victorious. Now we've been together for 11 years and have been friends for 22 years and he beats me at every game we play...apart from Othello....which weirdly he refuses to play :)  Related image

So that's my weird geeky confessions that shows you just how old (I mean 'retro') I am. 
How about you guys? What are some of your answers? 
   
This was the day a very kind man on the Disney animation tour took a long time to talk to us and gave me an application form for the future. I remember thinking 'whats a showreel?'























Sunday 8 January 2017

Felt Has Feelings Too

There is one thing you should know about me...I LOVE The Muppets.
If you know me even slightly you will have read that statement and scoffed at the crazy idea that I would need to tell anyone that. I am a little bit of a super fan. As far as I'm concerned, Jim Henson's Muppets are some of the greatest, most realistic and loveable characters ever created. There is something wonderful about watching people suspend their disbelief when they talk to a Muppet on screen. In CG we spend our entire careers trying to get as much emotion and love in a shot as puppeteers can get with a quick flick of the wrist.  
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Here is a fantastic podcast about Stephanie D'Abruzzo who has worked on everything from Sesame Street to Avenue Q. This great interview is about making an audience not only believe, but fall in love with a piece of felt. I think that learning how puppeteers sell their performances can really help animators add appeal to their work....or maybe I'm just using that as an excuse to re-watch all my favourite Henson films.


http://www.imaginaryworldspodcast.org/behind-the-felt.html

Enjoy

2017 - Animation Resolutions


 
Happy New Year! 
 I use to love resolutions when I was younger. I'd make big to-do lists and inevitably put too much on my plate and give up. (I'm sure I'm the first person in history to encounter this issue)
So this year I've decided to make my resolutions a little more focused and aim them toward my animation work.

So here are my hopeful aims in 2017:

. Finish a 11second club -
I've been following the 11 second club since it was 12 second club. I've animated a lot of clips for the site ,but never had the guts to post them. So this year I aim to put one online. Fingers crossed.  Any excuse to animate a dialogue clip! I love them.

. Create a horse run - I've animated so many animals in my career ,but I haven't created an animal mechanics shot purely for my reel since uni (back in the dark ages) . I've always been a very cartoony animator so doing some realistic animal stuff really excites me.
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. Finish a project I've been thinking of for years - I've planned it, I've done the thumbnails, I've even set up the maya files. I just need to get going on it.

. Animate something in 2d -
My sister has asked me to help her with an animation for her website so I'm think of animating it in maya and rotoscoping over it in photoshop. It'll be my first step into 2d and hopefully be a good stepping stone into some 2d projects.


 
 . Create a new showreel -
I love editing just as much as animation so I'm going to put together a new reel this year. Hopefully it will inspire me to make some new stuff for it too

Basically my aim is to animate more. After a 14 hour day in work it can difficult to motivate myself to don't own thing, but I love it an it makes me happy. So I'm kicking my butt into gear this year. Here's to a year of creativity.
Happy New Year lovely animated people xxx