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Quick Drive-By Post

2/1/2017

Still working on getting to a place where I can animate. So nothing really to post yet, But I wanted to at least put something here so I don't completely forget to update this. Today is Feb 1st, which means a couple of things.

1. That FAWM (February Album Writing Month) is upon us. I didn't register yet, cause I wasn't sure I was going to try it. I think I will. I just need to get in there and register and get going on it. Now is a good time, because I am still waiting for a job. I can spend some of the waiting time writing music. I think I will try to post more about it this year. I vow to check in once a week at least for FAWM. Shall se see if that sticks? :P

2. Tomorrow is my birthday. I have no friends here yet. I turn 42. It kind of depresses me that I will turn an iconic number alone. I was going to try to go to an event going on where they are showing the movie Groundhog Day, with games and prizes, etc. Sounded nice and social for my birthday. However starting tonight there is a snow storm warning. Which means that once again, if it snows, the whole city will be at a standstill. I am living on a hill, which makes it even harder. I don't have a car, which also raises the difficulty level. The thought of looking for a place I don't know where it is, in a city I am still only vaguely familliar with, on a bus system I don't know yet, in weather that is possibly treacherous...Yeah, sadly, I will spend my birthday alone. I wanted to throw a party Douglas Adams would be proud of. But alas, moving too close to birthday and unemployment curtailed that idea months ago. Ah, well.

Life will settle in eventually, right? It will all fall into place and all work out, etc etc etc.

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Vampire Steampunk Silurian is the name of my cover band

7/22/2013

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So the creative bug had been biting me pretty hard lately. I really want to do some cool stuff, though I know a lot of it I just will need to learn how to do and it will be crap. I made a list of everything I want to do, and looking at it (it is pretty long) I think I am going to need to make a plan if I am ever going to get any of it done.

Warning: LONG post! Lots of bullshit! A bunch of pics! Feel free to read or skip as appropriate.

First thing, I have been working on a new stop mo. My camera has pretty much crapped out on me, so I am going to have to figure out how to do it without the camera. I have my iPad. I have figured out how to get pics from my iPad to my computer. I have found a few camera control apps for the iPad, though nothing that lets me control the focus the way I want. Also I need to anchor that sucker down somehow so it doesn't look like my characters are in an earthquake all the time.

Here is a quick pic of the set I built. Still needs some work but not too bad.

I plan to make a frame out of this PVC pipe that will hold my iPad and screw onto my tripod.

So I have designed a frame thing that is made of PVC piping and foam insulation tape. I had planned on cutting the PVC with my hacksaw and mitre box. The box is missing. I packed them together, because I usually do not use either one by themselves. One of these days I will either go get another one or find a friend who has power tools to help me cut them at a 45 degree angle and cut a slot in the top for the foam insulation and a place to rest the iPad. Then I will drill a 1/4inch hole in the bottom for mounting to the tripod platform. Project number one. :)

So last weekend I helped a friend move. As per usual she wanted to get rid of stuff, and as per usual I accommodated her and took it off her hands. The first thing was this awesome globe thing that lights up.

Yup, it lights up. It pretty much reminds me of the Ood from Doctor Who...

A face only a mother could love. :P

Now I have to figure out how to costume this bad boy. I can't sew, and I have other sewing projects I want to do. So I will need to find a place to find South Korean looking jackets and grey slacks. And of course the mask. I HAVE to take a shot at making a mask of that face. I have no mask making experience. I do have liquid latex. I have been looking online and if I do it in 3 pieces I may actually be able to pull it off. One piece for the face, another piece for the tentacles, and a final piece for the head. I am currently researching the cost of latex foam. I also need to get myself a few styrofoam heads to use as bases. I think I would make a thin latex mask for the face, a molded latex foam for the head, then attach the tentacles to a large mesh frame that attaches to the mask. that will make it easier to breath. It would also be awesome if I can find a cheap voice modulator.

On the latex mask front, I decided if I am going to do an Ood, I also need to make a Vastra mask.

This is Madame Vastra (picture property of BBC and Doctor Who). She is strong and beautiful and a warrior and everything I wish I could be. She is one of my favorite fictional characters ever. She is married to Jenny, the lady behind her in this picture. If you don't watch any other Doctor Who, it is worth watching the episodes she is in just to bask is this dazzling character. I have been waiting out the last few years of less than stellar storylines and Moffet's version of Psych! and a Doctor who doesn't really feel like the Doctor, but her alone has made this wait worth it. As masks go, this one looks like the most comfortable one to wear for long periods at a time. I would do her Victorian outfits, though. She has some gorgeous black dresses I really want. Though, my next project could conceivably be used for her character.

I also got a green leather coat. It is HUGE. It is very 80's. The shoulder pads are gone, but thiey have left thier mark in the shoulders of this coat. there is enough leather fabric in that coat to make a steampunky vest or two. A vest that would go with the brown leather coat I found last winter. It would also go with the Vastra mask. I also want to sew some aviator pants to use with steampunk.

I want this look, pants boots and all. Except I want to make them black. These pants could go with steampunk and Vastra.

I also was given several sets of vampire fangs. So....I can do regular vampire, steampunk vampire, or vampire Silurian (Vastra is a Silurian). OR Vampire Steampunk Silurian! Oh this is going to be awesome. :)

I can't sew worth a damn, so I will have to find someone to supervise.

So the list....

Not in priority order...

1. Latex Ood mask
2. Latex Madame Vastra mask
3. Build a more interactable stop mo set
4.Leather steampunk vest or two, depending
5.iPad frame with foam insulation
6.Button over aviator pants
7.Steampunk goggles
8.Crochet sweater and vests out of mounds of yarn I have laying around
9.Spin the fleece I have sitting around
10.Play with armatures and different materials to decide on puppets for stop mo.
11. Finish all writing projects (web series, 10 minute short, play, novel)
12.Finish filming current stop mo

I once told someone I am never bored. If I had a bajillion dollars, I would have plenty to do. They didn't believe me. :)

So now I have to decide what needs to be done with each of these projects, when I want to have them done by, and what I need in order to finish them. Then I will make a general plan to get them done.

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If you build it, you will have it.

12/3/2011

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So today I took a short field trip to WoodCrafters and got myself a $7 set of wood crafting tools. It's got 3 exacto knives, a sanding block, a mini planer, a balsa wood stripper, 8 different blades for said exacto knives, some scooping tools, a pair of flat head tweezers and 3 carving heads. Cheap, but will work. Because I am not working with hard wood it will work. I have decided to make the new furniture pieces for the stop mo out of balsa wood. That is about how sturdy I need em, and cheap to rebuild if I destroy them. And I know they will fit. I also stopped by the toy and hobby store to get some balsa wood.

After 3 hours work, I have 1 dining table completed, 1 end table assembled, the chairs designed and the foundation for the new couch is currently drying.

I didn't have any stain, and I don't really have any more money for stain. So I got creative. The stain job you see....that is a layer of brown eye shadow followed by clear nail polish. Hey, it works. And I don't need it to be fancy. The only thing I worry about is sparkles. By nature eye shadow is a tad sparkly. But it doesn't seem to be coming out in these pics, so I am probably ok. Here it is with all the place settings:

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Quick Drive-By Post

Vampire Steampunk Silurian is the name of my cover band

If you build it, you will have it.

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