I feel like the runaround for Facebook is much less than the same for Instagram. As this is an art blog, after all, I’m going to be reposting these with better images on there.
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Mad mad mad week
UncategorizedAnd just like that, I missed two days! So much for the resolution… this week will probably be shorter posts like this- consider it kind of filler for bigger posts to come. Maybe I’ll do a panel a day – we’ll see what I can’t manage.
August is rehearsal month for the Maryland Renaissance festival. If you want to see some of my acting, you can find me there from the last weekend in August through to the weekend before October. I’ll the lone Scotsman in a field of silly English types 🙂
I’m also posting content on Thursdays over on my Instagram, @kcassady87. I should have a post up there about some Monks I made/ drew, and a little tutorial on drawing hands… by hand!
Excelsior,
Keegan
Watercolor and Fresco
UncategorizedI want to talk tonight about Fresco and how watercolor practice can translate to the app.
So a week before I started finalizing the backgrounds for page 1 of Light Reaper, I dove into some water coloring practice with Tony Couch’s Watercoloring: You Can Do It! I found it really helpful, especially in terms of getting my basic watercolor techniques to work better. I didn’t take on the exercises he had at the end of the book, but I did use his example images in many of his early chapters as modeling tools for my own mini-exercises.
Using what I learned about value, balance, composition, focus, and harmony, I set to work on the backgrounds for page 1 of the Light Reaper. I posted these on Facebook some months ago, but here’s a few again.
This one is pretty fun. I pull from some older techniques when it comes to dual imagery in black and white. This image is all about negative and positive space. To know how rats play into our larger story and our world, you’ll have to find out on Patreon…
This one is a section of a bottom panel- dodging some spoilers – but it showcases some of the principals from Couch’s book applied to Fresco.
Like Fresco, I’m writing this post on my phone. Fresco lets me do my art literally wherever I am. There are several limits to the free app- storage space, number of layers, accuracy of the lines (using my finger versus a stylus), as well as issues with making shapes (there’s no line shape tool, only a shape mask tool).
That said, the brush features in Fresco have a ton of customization, including (most importantly) brush opacity and size. I’ve found that by reducing the opacity to around 10-20 and having a large brush size, I can digitally recreate watercolor effects.
From here, it’s just a matter of applying Couch’s principles to my images.
Resolutions
UncategorizedToo Long, Didn’t Resolve
I’m writing here with a resolution to be a consistent blogger- specifically, to focus on my work for The Light Reaper Comic. We’ve got a Facebook page here, a newsletter you can follow here, and a Patreon that helps pay me for my art here.
I’m resolving to post on here daily, and to repost from this blog to my Facebook, rather than posting on FB proper. I’ve been inspired by other writers promoting their content on that app, rather than promoting the app with their content.
Here’s my likely writing schedule:
- Mondays – Wednesdays – Light Reaper Art Thoughts
- Thursdays – Western DnD Art/Gaming Thoughts
- Friday – Sundays – Light Reaper Art Thoughts
The Deeper Download
Why this resolution? Why this resolution?
I just got married. It’s a life changing event, and I keep thinking about what about it changes me.
I got there by focusing on one person and that person’s need. So now I’m focusing, bringing things back.
I’m tired of just posting things on Facebook. I’d rather be building a blog.
So here we are again, back on this old blog. I’ve cut the funding on the fancy blog name. That’ll come back when I earn it. And I’ll earn it by being focused, and by cutting my worst bad habit.
To say the least, I’ve been inconsistent.
My last “blog” proper here was a post about Bar None, a podcast I worked on nearly three years ago now. That project exploded into two brilliantly produced seasons, and helped Greg Benson build himself a solid resume for his new career as a podcaster. He’s done great work with that entire experience, including consistent appearances on the Speakeasy podcast, and I’m really proud of him for it.
As for me, I’ve been… all over the place. I’ve had a ton of projects hither and yon, but my biggest focus has been cobbling together education work. That should be complete this November, when I wrap my master’s degree and finally become a licensed teacher in Maryland.
Why that focus? It pays the bills 🙂
But as for my art, it’s been more… scattershot.
I’m an actor… when I get the work, and can afford to take it. That’s been a bit here and there.
I’m an artist… I’ve got some friends who have bought my art, and I’ve put some things up here and there on instagram. I need to be better about putting up samples and stories on that app. It got me linked with The Light Reaper Project, and has helped me sell some art pieces and commissions. But I’ve been inconsistent on there as well.
I’m a writer… I’ve got three Nanowrimo books in the can, one of which I semi-published on a small facebook group. I’m in rewrites for two of those – one on Witches, one on Captain Hook. I’ve written a third one on a haunted house. To give an idea of the rewrite stage – the first book of the witch series has been in rewrites for now…seven years? And the Hook book is coming up on year two of rewrites. Rather than perfect the first witch book, I’ve written its sequel as well (1st draft).
I’m a tabletop game designer… I’ve got a massive world I’ve built for a Western d20 system on Foundry. I create art for it in game tokens. This is the closest thing I’ve got to being consistent about – this and the Light Reaper Comic. The trouble is, I’m not showing to you, world. There’s some great art I’m brewing on these projects, and you don’t know about them! Oy.
So right now, I’m an artist. I’m working in Krita, learning through Youtube, and trying to execute this awesome project. See you all again tomorrow.
A New Creative Endeavor
art, Theatre Business, UncategorizedSo after three months of hard work, Greg Benson and I have our first big podcast episode out there. It’s been hard work, but we believe that this thing really kicks ass. Check it out:
https://barnoneradio.com/2016/06/04/sazerac/
As always, thanks for reading!
-K
Their Eyes Were Watching Dog
art, comedy?, UncategorizedHaving run afoul of public opinion, the international society of meteorologists (ISM) has decided to start using popular pet names.
“We figured it would avoid controversy,” said ISM head, Gene Ianesco.
This new choice has sparked immediate controversy, especially within ISM.
“Names that once sounded deadly will now instead sound kind of compensatory,” said P. Darlinquest, head nomenclator for ISM, who was opposed to the change from the start, thank you very much.
“Hurricanes like ‘Killer’ and ‘Destroyer of Worlds’ will obviously be associated with smaller hurricanes that make more noise and dampen the rug. However, gentler, calmer names like ‘Fluffy,’ ‘Pumpkin,’ and ‘Cuddles’ will likely be met with great fear, crossing the street, and vinegar spray.
Local pet owner bloggers have recently taken issue with Darlinquest’s comment.
“That is absolutely outrageous,” claims blogger dogluver1555. “As the owner of several pets, and a prominent member of the pet owning community, I can assure you that pet owners by and large lack a sense of irony.”
Dogluver1555 is known for his intense allergy to dog fur.
“Furthermore, claims like that don’t take into account simple descriptor names, like “frisky,” “furry,” “red,” or “dog.”
In response to these comments, Harvard p.h.D candidates Marco Salisbury and Paulo Stake conducted a rapid big data analysis to find a proper regression model.
“It took a ton of red bull and a couple cases of beer,” Stake said, “but we got some pretty conclusive evidence.”
Salisbury revealed a model at 12:15am to the Internet, showing a graph that only upper level academics could understand.
“It’s actually very simple, and thoroughly damning,” Salisbury claimed.
“Pet names like Fluffy, Sparky, or Nibbles were far less deadly than names like He Who Must Not Be Named or Harbinger.” Salisbury stated, jittering a little.
As this was a Harvard study, PhDs from other Ivy leagues quickly posted another 32 studies attempting to disprove its validity.
However, after intense all-night research, the host of slapdash studies found curiously conclusive evidence:
It turns out that psychologically, people do have an inbuilt sense of irony, especially when naming pets.
To this, dogluver1555 simply tweeted, “I don’t ):/”
Ironically enough, this naming system has guaranteed that in fact, unless pet naming culture changes, future hurricane names, unlike pet names, will no longer be ironic.
This was a response to the following post on hurricanes:
Jellyfish is done!
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…But the show rolls on. I owe so much thanks to Mary Myers, Johnny Day, Alex Alferov, Kate Dooley, and Kristen Pilgrim. They made my play look good. They made it look darned good. Also, a huge thanks to the craftsfolk of the show: Tim Nielsen, Katelin Lee, Mary Keegan, and Adam Johnson. Finally, a huge high five to Jon Jon Johnson and Liz Hansen for their first full season with Avalanche Theatre Company.
Thanks, everyone, for helping this show come to life!
If you missed it, then you should really read the script. It’s available at http://blur.by/1eMxxa1, which is a pretty excellent self publishing site. I’m publishing this as the ‘world premiere edition,’ though I fully intend to keep this thing circulating and improving as I do so. We’ve come a long way, and I think we can get even better.
Drifters-in-the-sea: salps bloom off the coast of New Zealand. Credit: Seacology
Alright, back to making DVDs of the show. Thanks again to everyone who came, who read for the show, who acted, who directed, who helped turn this text into something alive and real.
You all rock.
-K
Second Weekend Starts Tonight!
UncategorizedDrifters-in-the-sea: salps bloom off the coast of New Zealand. Credit: Seacology
Tonight at 6:30, check out the World Premiere of The Immortal Jellyfish!
You can nab tickets here before 5:30: https://www.capitalfringe.org/fallfringe-2013/shows/265-the-immortal-jellyfish
I’d tell you more about it, but I think Hunter Styles does a fine job here:
The Immortal Jellyfish Opens this weekend!
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Tonight at 6:30 and tomorrow at 1:00pm, you can catch my latest play, The Immortal Jellyfish, presented by Avalanche Theatre Company as part of the FallFRINGE!
Starring Mary Myers, Alex Alferov, and Johnny, this sci-fi take on an ancient epic combines romance, madness, humor and horror in a 75 minute thrill ride through the human genome… and beyond! Directed by the illustrious Kristen Pilgrim and Stage Managed by the incredible Kathryn Dooley, this piece is the culmination of nearly a year and a half of work and revision.
We hope to see many familiar faces tonight and tomorrow!
Scripts are On Sale!
UncategorizedScripts are On Sale!
actor | artist 