I ate 2 burritos this morning specifically so I wouldn't be hungry again until tonight after Taekwondo. This is already an amazingly beneficial learning experience for me, as I feel the best way to learn isn't just to acquire knowledge and information, but to apply it to real life, in a real life setting. From learning through trial and error experimentation, I've observed that it isn't just moving the outlines that capture and express motion through a series of still images, but also how the shadows change that depicts movement. Along with gaining another time saving technique, I'm no longer outlining in pencil first and then going over it in pen, but just doing ink first. Changing the shapes of shadows I suppose is technically changing the outlines, as the shadow shape is defined by it's edge.

Had to transfer the first image onto tracing paper. Going to only use one color for shading to save time. Goal is to animate 48 frames of this girl dancing by tomorrow night. Figure if I put a solid white paper behind each cell as I go, it'll really help by acting as a backlight. Figure starting out it should take me an hour per frame, and towards the end I hope to be down to 20-30 minutes per frame. 

Well I guess this will have to do. On the plus side it took much less time to complete than pointilism. On the downside shading with markers is poop

Either tombow markers suck or shading with marker in general sucks because there isn't much control over varying degrees of darker and lighter grays. And I'm too broke already to buy new markers to try to shade with until next month, so I'm stuck shading like a retarded child that sniffed the markers a little too much. If I try to darken the gray, it shreds and tears up the paper. And I only have N95 and N75, N55, N45, and N35, so I can't even adjust to say, N81. #shading

Adding detail to this first image of my personal animation, not a school assignment. Actually progressing in advancing my skill in this medium: used etching with the pen instead of dots, big time saver on the hair shading, and just going to use 2 light shades of gray marker to do the rest of the shading, which I'm outlining with pencil first, rather than a billion dots in my normal pointilism style. 

It seems there are forces in my mind that can seem quite powerful and overwhelming in determing choices, actions and behavior. This battle of my mind against itself is interesting. I believed this forces were external but they're not. It's forces in my mind that are like a wave trying to push me in certain directions and towards certain things. I once believed I was helpless and powerless against these forces, but am finding that even accepting that thought as truth was my mind deceiving me, deceiving itself. I've been fighting and winning these battles. There are external events that are contributing factors to the internal conflict, of course, but my mind can either amplify or reduce the influence and impact these things have on my thoughts and behavior. For example, I can't seem to quiet the voices and make them shutup. But I've been making progress in gaining control over what they say. This started a couple years ago with Dr. Albert Ellis saying we should examine and alter self-statements, the verbalized thoughts in our head. (Not my art)

Doing a paper puppet cutout animation as a required assignment for this course. What I got so far.

Paranoia voices spiking up. Is this all a setup? Am I being placed in danger? Should I run? Overcoming my mental illness means ignoring these voices in my head. Reminding myself everything is fine.

Finally animated something I enjoyed on digital. It's a child's drawing level right now, but this has unlocked my interest in the medium. Going to do more tomorrow. For some retarded reason it's not letting the file upload. Heck'd

Some marijuana junkie moved in next door and his smoke is setting off my schizophrenia. It's disrupting my art production, school performance, ability to focus and concentrate in general. I hate stoners so much, I hope they all die slowly and painfully.