Slowing Sliding in from a Hiatus

Hey, everyone! I'm well aware of how silent I have been, and I can blame that on the last month of my semester with being incredibly busy putting together a portfolio show with my class.

Here are some pictures displayed below of my portfolio stand.

And if you're wondering what my overall mood was putting this together, well... here you go!

I'll be making this into a digital illustration when I have the time.

Because of all this, I am officially done with college! I was initially going to consider a transfer, but graphic design is one of those programs where the portfolio is what really matters in the end, and the degree I went for is an AAS degree, which is specifically a degree designed for going into the career you studied for right afterwards.

Other than that, my summer has been a bit of a lazy one at the moment, besides going to work obviously. I've mostly been getting into the idea of creating a cartoon block by watching a large variety of shows based on the day of the week. Currently it's Tom and Jerry on Mondays, Loony Tunes on Tuesdays, Felix the Cat on Wednesdays, cartoons by the Fleischers (Popeye, Betty Boop, Out of the Inkwell) on Thursdays, Cartoon Network's What a Cartoon! on Fridays, and more current cartoons on the weekends. This is meant to help expand what kind of cartoons I watch, and I want to bring a nostalgic vibe to my life. Why? Nostalgia is one of the main things that keeps me happy. It helps lay out my life in simpler terms which makes it much easier for me to finish anything I need to get done. Learning how to take some time out of the day for a scheduled cartoon I think will also help me manage my time better.

I also want to put time aside to learn how to do web design and animation better along with learning new languages, getting into a proper workout routine, practicing meditation, reading the books my dad loaned me for my Amazon Kindle app, and of course creating designs to sell online.

So I basically have a lot on my plate that I want to get to. I just got to get my room more organized so everything goes more smoothly. It's a lot to improve on, but because I only have work I need to focus on as opposed to college being in the mix, it shouldn't be too hard.

- Alanna

Holidays Are a Wonderful Time... And a Busy Time

Hello, everyone! I haven't been the most active on this blog, but I figured the best I can do is give an update. The holidays tend to always be a busy time for me. I'm finishing my classes this semester, my job requires me to work more hours because of more customers, and I'm of course busy getting my Christmas designs together.

Luckily I've finished almost all of my Christmas shopping a couple days ago (I might even be completely done, though I'm not entirely sure). I just need to get my Christmas stuff in gift bags, and send some of them to a friend of mine up in Northern Minnesota.

I am also making a personal goal to get the area around my bed clean so I don't end up in a chaotic mess that I can't properly store any gifts I've received away.

In addition to my digital designs, I've been wanting to start on a couple types of crafts. First is creating these ornaments made out of wrapping paper and balls of yarn. The second idea is using boxes I've received for my Seacret skin care products and making decorative boxes out of them by using ribbons and paint.

Other than that, I've been wanting to take the time to watch various Christmas specials for a list I am planning to put together for this blog. I have also been meaning to catch up on numerous cartoons. Lucky for me, most of them are currently on hiatus, which makes things easier and helps pass the time.

The following cartoons include:

• Steven Universe
• Gravity Falls
• Star vs. The Forces of Evil
• We Bare Bears (Just got hooked onto it)
• Bob's Burgers
• Rick and Morty
• Over The Garden Wall
• Possibly others I forgot at the moment

I need to still watch season 19 of South Park too.

Hope you're all having a nice December!

- Alanna

I Turned 22 Yesterday

Hey, everyone! Just checking in to let you know that the internet is back at my house officially. Actually it was for about a week now. I've just been dealing with the crash and burn of getting for the holidays at work, finishing assignments at the end of the semester, and putting together designs to sell for Black Friday.

Speaking of designs, here are some I've managed to put together.

They're available to purchase as various products on my art shops listed below.

Society6 / Paintcollar / Redbubble / ArtsAdd / MySoti

In addition to designs, I'm also selling skin care products through Seacret. There's going to be a huge Black Friday sale for what I'm selling so be on the lookout! Here is my online shop if you are interested.

Now I need to get ready for a 7 1/2 hour shift starting at 9:00 tomorrow. Yay...

- Alanna

SHE LIVES!

Hey, everyone, just checking back in to make a quick post. Yesterday and especially the day before have been pretty intense with my computer receiving viruses that have found their way in the hardware, which lead to me going through a severe freak out. I currently have Yet Another Cleaner to help me out, and I'm getting McAfee installed at the moment.

Anyway, one of my projects I've been quiet about is a forum I'm putting together called FusionFall Universal. It's based off the now deleted Cartoon Network game FusionFall and is serving as a tribute to the upcoming indie revival project FusionFall Legacy. It'll include not only the Cartoon Network characters, but also other fictional characters from all sorts of networks on both television and online. I am absolutely ecstatic about this game, and I figured putting together this roleplay forum would help keep me patient. You're free to become a member, but I would appreciate holding off on character/persona auditions until all rules and information are printed

In addition, I've been trying to sell skin care products through the company Seacret. If you're interested in checking out the products, you can view my shop right here.

Other than that, I'm heading out to the Mall of America to do some back to school clothes shopping! I'll post pictures of some of the sights there as well as the clothes I purchased along with several others I got at my local thrift store about a week ago.

See ya then!

- Alanna

Long Time Since a Post, Right?

Geez, it's been a while, but hey, guys! I've been occupied with all sorts of stuff, which I'll share with you, but first you'll want to know what Pennsylvania was like I believe.

I had an overall great time with my dad. I don't have time to go over everything, but here are a few pictures:

These are my dad's chinchillas.

A few sights at the state capital, Harrisburg.

And here's a look at the Hershey Factory.

I'll make sure to go over more in my video of the trip.

In other news, I have been primarily busy with selling artwork (or mostly transferring designs into products). I'll provide the links to my shops on this blog once I get all the products up. I've also been trying to sell skin care products, which I'm going to provide information about on a page on this blog.

Speaking of art, I've decided to do the 100 Palette Challenge. I'll be posting all the artwork I create for the challenge here.

Other than that, I recently discovered this website called Duolingo. I'm using it to brush up on my Spanish and learn German, Irish, and Polish as well.

In an unrelated note, I also got these sweet new headphones about three weeks ago:

Overall, I'll get working on the video of my trip, get my art uploaded, and update other future content. I have my own cell phone now too, so I can officially create my videos without hassle! See ya, then.

- Alanna