Roo Character Test

Playing around in After Effects with a character I'm thinking of using in some upcoming shorts.  She's got a nice, simple design so I can spend more time working on my favorite part -- animating! (which, I'm finding, is a lot of fun in AE.)

Oh Roo, you're so zany.



Roo Character Test from Nicole Van Luvender on Vimeo.

Pocket Zombie

After making the penguin for my coworker, I went on a trip to Walmart to see if they sold the doll joints that I use as safety eyes in my projects.  Well it turns out that no, they don't sell them there.  As I strolled along the craft isles, however, I found this bag of tiny buttons and thought to myself, "I want to make something with these!!!!"  (I think I was the only person in the store to get that excited over buttons.)  I purchased a bag and journeyed home feeling very, very crafty.

At this time I had just completed the game Plants vs. Zombies on the Nintendo DS.  In the game, as your plants shoot peas and other things at the attacking zombies, they steadily lose body parts until they are defeated.  This inspired me to create a tiny pocket-sized zombie with detachable skin.

Without Skin



With Skin

I crocheted tiny pants and an exposed heart to finish off the piece.  The detachable skin is connected to the rest of the arm by a small piece of yarn so that it cannot be misplaced.

Cutest Zombie Ever

Pocket Zombies: If the zombie's in your pocket, he's not eating your brains.

Chubby Penguin

Some time ago, my coworker and I got into a conversation about my crochet projects.  She asked if I could make her a penguin and I agreed. I sent her a link to some images on Google that showed what other people had made and told her to pick out what she liked and didn't like. (for example, did she like the chibi style, or something more realistic? Maybe some hints of both?) 

She sent me this picture and said "Make him!!"


Penguin reference found on the internet.

And so I printed the picture and went about trying to recreate this chubby little bundle of fun. This is what I came up with:

My Penguin.  Success!!

   It was fun trying to figure out how someone else created their work.  I never saw their actual pattern (I don't even know if they posted it anywhere) but I think I got pretty close.  In any case, my friend was thrilled, so that's all that matters!

What's With All the Crochet Stuff?

Many of you may be wondering,

"Hey Nicole, you're supposed to be an animator.  What's with all this crochet stuff?"

 

That is a valid question, and it is one that I have been asking myself as well for some time now.  No, I have not given up on animation.  In fact, my desire to animate has grown progressively stronger in the last month or so.  There are several reasons why I haven't posted any new shorts on here in a while.

1.) My laptop broke.  Yes, my dear lappy, that has seen me through all of college and grad school, no longer has a functional screen (which is kind of important for seeing things).  So when I DID do art on it, I had to steal a monitor from a different computer and hook it up to my lappy.  Which would be fine (although inconvenient) but all of my memory and space and what-not was pretty much used up anyway from years of art projects and homework soooo.... it was kind of like EVERYTHING worked at dial-up speeds, regardless of if you were even trying to use the internet.  My beloved laptop had served me well for 7 years, but its time had come.

2.) Bye-bye workspace.  Without my lappy I needed to use the kitchen computer which meant the only time I got to work in silence was when I banished my parents to the other end of the house.  (They didn't mind, and even offered to banish themselves, but still.  THE GUILT.)  I hated basically kicking my parents out the house so I could work. I mean, it's THEIR house.  It made it so hard to concentrate.

3.) All of my programs were on my laptop. No programs = no new 2D art.  Yes Maya was on the kitchen computer, but yeah. See Point 2.


Okay, so that explains why there's no animation, but WHY ALL THE YARN?

1.) The first reason is that I love to crochet (which is probably pretty obvious at this point).  It became my way of being creative without the use of technical programs and computers.  I see something, or I sketch something and I make it 3-dimensional. It's like sculpting, with a different type of medium.  I get to think, and problem solve, and in the end I have this physical thing that makes people happy. 

2.) I've been really lost with my animation. Or maybe I should say, without it.  It has been genuinely difficult for me being outside of an artistic environment.  I started questioning myself and what direction I wanted to go in animation-wise.  My focus at SCAD was primarily CG animation using Maya.  But I kept thinking about my Animation Aesthetics and Practice class with Professor Simon and the shorts he showed us by Pes and other non-traditional animators.  Examples of stop-motion and pixilation.  Of people working with their hands to create these fascinating animations.  The question became, do I follow what I know (that being CG Maya animations) or do I listen to that little voice that leads me to the unconventional?

I've discovered that I love to work with my hands.  I know I've mentioned this before, but for the first time I've realized that maybe, just maybe, my love  of crochet could steer me into a career in a different type of animation than I had originally planned.  Why not take these two passions of mine and combine them into something awesome? (Especially since I just got a brand new desktop which I've already begun loading with my art programs.)  Just the thought of this gets me so excited and motivated.  I finally have a goal again and a direction to follow and it feels amazing.

So for now, look at my crochet projects as sketches or tests.  With each one, I learn more about building and designing and shaping this medium. And they lead me to ideas for animations using other mediums as well (I have several very basic storyboards sketched out already).

It's time to break out of the mold.  It's time to do what my heart tells me.  It's time to animate.      

Addy Cat

Addy Cat

 After making Spongebob for Anthony, I knew I had to make something for his litter sister, Addy.  I asked her what her favorite animal was and she said "kitty cat."  I knew her favorite color was purple so...."Addy Cat" was born.



An odd yet adorable couple

"Who Lives in a Pineapple Under the Sea?"

SpongeBob Squarepants!

SpongeBob was a special request made by my little cousin, Anthony, who just happened to stop by while I was working on Captain America.  As I showed him the Captain-in-progress, his eyes became wide and he asked,

"Can you make me SpongeBob?"

 

And so I replied, "Yes, I can make you Spongebob."

 

 

 The best thing about Nickelodeon, I discovered, is that it plays SpongeBob Squarepants constantly. I simply turned on the television and made a quick sketch of the character.  Then, if I needed some clarification while working, I just turned the television on again and there he was.  Constantly available references.  Could it get more convenient?
 



I think they would make a pretty sweet rock band, don't you?

Crochet Captain America!

Happy New Year!!

The holiday season is finally over, and boy have I been busy. And by busy I mean crafty.  I decided to make several of my relatives' Christmas presents (which they all loved, so YAY!).  The only issue was I couldn't exactly post pictures of them on my blog until after all the gift-giving was done.  Kind of ruins the surprise if they see their gifts on the internet ahead of time, you know?  And so, over the next several posts, I will share with you my many crochet adventures. Let us begin with...

CAPTAIN AMERICA!




 



 

 

 

When I finished the Hulk, my brother-in-law offered to buy him. My sister enthusiastically requested that I make Captain America. So I decided to be all kinds of sneaky and surprise them both by giving them the heroes for Christmas.



Fighting Crime with Yarn

The Captain took quite a while to make. Not so much the body, mind you, but the detail! I also learned how to crochet a star, so that was pretty cool. Oh, and please excuse my pillow in the different views of the Captain...it's really hard to stand upright when you have nubs for feet. ^_^;