MS Paint Mondays 60

Hey, since I have returned from the void, despite it not being Monday I thought I'd "bless" this dying medium with another MS Paint Monday! I have drawn several paints since this blog went into hiatus, but I will still go in chronological order. With that said, get in everyone, let's go together into this week's MS PAINT MONDAY!!!!

--Thoughts of the day--

* I have been in an extensive training for my job for the past 3 and a half months, and despite learning a lot of amazing things applicable to both my life and work, and by doing so, my patience and communication has improved! (That said I cannot wait for this course to end.)

* As I alluded to above, communication has improved, and more than anything in the non-verbal sense. Did you know when working on a life project, whether it be for work/life, communication is 90% of what drives it to success, 55% of said communication is not verbal? Well you do now!

* Non-Verbal communication is louder than anything these days. One common example is when you meet with friends, have you noticed how sometimes a friend or colleague will whip out their phone and lay it on a table in front of them. Subconsciously they are putting the phone first, and their attention on you second. Doesn't feel very good eh? Well too bad! (Anyhow that's one of many examples, I won't bore you with more.)

* Aside from that, I learned that when we are given education/training, we are now pressured to succeed for certificates and the best grade point averages. However when we do that we lose the "fun" of learning a new skill, and only focus on the stress of passing said course. With this mentality I realized we see learning as more of a chore, than a fun activity, it's sad and honestly something I wish to improve on personally.

As usual, I bring a semi relatable doodle to go along with my feelings for the week, and in a weird way this older paint matches my thoughts. Today's paint titled "Kat when she is in Troubole", super inspired I know lol. This paint is inspired by an ex-coworker, whom would always gush about her troubles and stresses to me, and whenever I tried to understand and offer solution she'd sub-consciously ignore me and delve into the world of her phone. The cow, her favorite animal, was a representation of the "bullish" spirit she'd leave behind for me to "talk to" whilst her actual mind and attention was lost in her texts... again, that non verbal communication we may give off. Clearly, I was not a fan of hearing about her issues for too much longer haha. 

As always, I hope this exercise helps you ease that weekly case of the Mondays and inspires you to start creating new things, and really help expand the creative construct that is your brain! I encourage you to share/send me your own MS Paint Monday creations, if I get enough I plan to do an MS Paint showcase at the end of every week so we can enjoy each other's styles and imaginations.

Much Love, Wachi

Wachi's Rants: "Step in Inequality" and how one sees art.

Hey my readers (if any of you remain), I have another hot take that no one asked for and many will probably misconstrue for being a hateful opinion!(Though believe it or not it isn't meant to be.) This rants was inspired by the new She-Ra reboot and a piece of public street art created by the illustrious Japanese artist, Kazunori Shiina, adequatelly titled "Steps in Inequality".

Despite mentioning She-Ra first I don't have too much to say so let's first hop in to the steps of inequality stairs that have become semi viral online;

As you can see the piece is large, in your face, and the message should be quite self explanatory. The message I believe the artist was trying to convey was that Men have an automatic easy way to success whereas women need to climb higher in the same job. Now this is indeed a real issue, but also very cultural and industry dependent in a lot of times, however here' how I interpret the same. Yes, both genders have different routes to the top, but the way it is illustrated here, the women's path is the better choice. Let me explain, let's look at how the path's differ physically (not just talking about the colors baby), as you can see the man's path is narrow and only for one at a time, whereas the woman's staircase is broad and spacious which allows for flexibility in their growth. The man's path is on a set speed, implying that they compete to see who hops on the darn thing first so that they can be first in line for that juicy promotion, always on the move, always expected to continue growing at a decent pace. The women's path on the other hand differs in that they can go at their own pace, and still reach the same plateaus as the men, they can stay at a certain level should they feel comfortable not being pressured to move up as there is still space for others to rise, and if the women so choose to dedicate more time and effort, unlike the set speed of the escalator, they can run up to the top and achieve their goals, it's more tiresome, sure, but it's possible. That said, the way I viewed this piece I became envious of the woman's path, and more stressed to know the path a man must ride. Both are strong, and empowering paths, just as both can seem daunting, I feel in the end attitude and hard work will overcome gender stereotypes, even if it doesn't seem like it at the start.

Anyhow, that was my impression of the piece; What are you're thoughts readers? 
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My second to last topic is one that appears to be spamming my social media feeds as of late, and that is in regards to the She-Ra reboot that is apparently being made, behold;

Now,  I do not hate nor love the character so much for me to have any strong opinions on the reboot itself, however my irritation with it is the amount of people I see complaining about it online. To be more specific, people complaining about people complaining about the reboot. I see posts of people vilifying men for not loving this idea, or saying men are pervs as they only hate this due to the flat chested representation. Now, I can imagine there are some with those complaints as she is clearly not as sexy as the original design, however I doubt they are as explosively plentiful as the internet makes them out to be, at least through my personal experience I have seen more people defending this show than attacking it, which is why the constant defensive attitude is getting annoying. Listen, when you grab a beloved character, whomever they may be, you have one of 2 jobs. 1. Be true to the character that people know and love, expand on their existing traits to evolve them for future generations. 2. Don-t focus too much on silly things like "This is what REAL women look like!!" or "Big Boobs/Butt is not a real representation and exists solely for the male fantasy!!"; if you make a show, make it good and make it with respect, don't use a beloved character to virtue signal, as more often then not, you will get all the attacks you claim to be getting at this moment. Focus on making a good show, ignore the idiocy, please.

*Sigh* Anyhow, I know this is an odd take to come back with, and due to my life being so hectic I don't know if/when I'll upload again, but if you took the time to read this, I hope you are doing well and that you are having a beautiful day. Love what you love, and don't let people ruffle your feathers, we are all able to interpret art as we see fit. 

Much love,

Wachi

MS Paint Mondays 57

What's good 2017 readers (if any of you stuck around the 3 months of complete silence that is lol)  I have returned to do MS Paint Mondays!! (because to be honest I haven't stopped doing them, just posting them, and for that I am sorry.) So despite it not even being Monday, let's get ready to welcome this week's  MS PAINT MONDAY!!!

--Thoughts of the day--

* So first and for most, my apologies for being completely inactive for so long, I have just had way too much on my plate this new year that has broken my focus on hobbies like this blog completely.

* That said as I mentioned in my introduction, this doesn't mean I haven't been doing weekly paints since then, I have made a plethora of them, so I thought why not start to post them? You see reasers, as I have mentioned in past posts I am often very critical of my drawings, but that is why I made this challenge for myself in the first place, you see how else can I get my art out in the world, it may not be GOOD but at least it is out there.

* This is something that I can stand behind, whatever your craft, if you are the only audience to your gift(s) then it will always be bad, but when you put it out there on a consistent basis, you will find someone who can appreciate your unique flavor, and therefore in order to encourage you all as well as myself, I will start to publish my art daily if possible. (But I'll still keep the title as MS Paint Mondays since it clicks so well with my nonsense subtext, that and well I'm lazy :D)

With all that said and done, I give you the second attempt at drawing my original anti-hero squad of lame-o's the Losa Brigade in the uniquely named piece "Losa Brigade Color". Now I am aware my character design still needs work, but this is my way of owning my new revelation when it comes to art, just put it out there, if you can't perfect it the first time who cares, just throw it out there, you'll find your style and technique speeding up the mroe often you do these things.

As always, I hope this exercise helps you ease that weekly case of the Mondays and inspires you to start creating new things, and really help expand the creative construct that is your brain! I encourage you to share/send me your own MS Paint Monday creations, if I get enough I plan to do an MS Paint showcase at the end of every week so we can enjoy each other's styles and imaginations. 

Much Love, Wachi

MS Paint Mondays 32 (and 33)

Viva my readers! Viva my readers!! Vivaa Vivaaaa MAH READERS!!! So sorry for missing last MS Paint Monday readers but I was off on a family vacation to Las Vegas (I may blog about that trip later), and despite the novelties, the wifi accessibility left a lot to be desired, however fret not for this week will be a double MS Paint Monday or a Mon-dos if you will (since it's 2 in Spanish).

--Thoughts of the day--

* As I am sure you have noticed in my past few MS Paint Mondays, I have been drawing a lot of "fan-art" of already existing characters whether it be people I know, creations of friends, or those in popular media, however when one wishes to break down creative barriers one should exercise their own imagination.

* That is to say create original characters, maybe you have an image in your head or maybe just a name or title for a character or piece, well work with that, as that is how a lot of new intellectual properties and mascots are created.

* With that in mind however, don't make it perfect on the first go, otherwise you will never finish it, trust me on this, instead let lose make it simple, fun, and maybe a little crappy and finish it! After which you will have a foundation to further build upon this new idea or character, and that will make perfecting them a heck of a lot easier than trying to get it right from the very first moment.

So with that out of the way I give you my first original character idea paint, "Mosquito Fairy Princess" now I know it's not much of a fairy princess, what with a hook instead of a wand, and nothing too princess-y about him, but you know, why stick to the name, maybe the juxtaposition between name and actual character can become an entertaining trope, who knows.....?

That thought brings us to this second paint that came from an idea for a name I had, which just happens to be this paints title, the "Sea Cow Saboteur" which similar to the Mosquito Fairy Princess paint, this character is not a sea cow at all, but a walrus. I don't know, I had fun with both of these characters but I am not sure if I will continue on these ideas, still I encourage you all to try creating simple yet original ideas for your own creative progression!!

As always, I hope this exercise helps you ease that weekly case of the Mondays and inspires you to start creating new things, and really help expand the creative construct that is your brain! I encourage you to share/send me your own MS Paint Monday creations, if I get enough I plan to do an MS Paint showcase at the end of every week so we can enjoy each other's styles and imaginations.

Much Love, Wachi

MS Paint Mondays 31

Hey Readers!! Hope you are well!! Soooo, just like last week I've really been getting back into anime, though let's be honest I can't draw it very well haha, even so let's start this week like the start of an explosive anime episode, where an ominous announcer screams out "MS PAINT MONDAYSSS!!!" Yes? YES!!

--Thoughts of the day--

* So like a continuation of last week's post I have gotten back into my love for anime, and found myself pondering the designs and styles; aside from the crazy hair and abnormally big eyes I mean. I mean most anime's make a game of "spot the protagonist" waaaay too easy on us.

* But aside from that I love seeing how many artist's represent alien lifeforms, creatures or even other cultures, seriously it shows how free they are with their art, even when they are being careful with it.

* One thing I have to greatly applaud is also the imagination of places and scenery, no offense to the western creators since they have pretty awesome set pieces from time to time, but anime has a weird way of making something known completely fresh and interesting. But relax I'm not transforming into a lvl 70 Otaku prince, simply taking a brief moment to enjoy the artistic side of the eastern anime is all.

All that said, here is today's MS Paint, regarding characters with interesting designs a colleague of mine suggested I draw Majin Buu and Jynx (original, not purple version) in my style so I did, and not to toot my own horn, but I feel this is a much better endeavor tan my attempt at Cell and Frieza way back in the early MS Paint Mondays lol. In the end, Jynx as well as an older character like Cyborg 008 of Cyborg 009 fame were both conceived as cultural representations that the west dubbed as racist, so it's interesting to see how designs changed based on other's receptions and misconceptions.

As always, I hope this exercise helps you ease that weekly case of the Mondays and inspires you to start creating new things, and really help expand the creative construct that is your brain! I encourage you to share/send me your own MS Paint Monday creations, if I get enough I plan to do an MS Paint showcase at the end of every week so we can enjoy each other's styles and imaginations.

Much Love, Wachi

MS Paint Mondays 26

Happy New year all!! For many vacations are ending, the slow relaxing days are speeding back into gear, and now it's the first Monday of the new year (rhymes!!) and as such we are going to start it right!! 2016 MS Paint Monday!!!

--Thoughts of the day--

* So I couldn't help but wonder, is New Years like Earth's birthday? Because 2016 isn't an accurate age, however maybe during the time it was being created it was like a fetus so this is a correct age in terms of it being fully born maybe?

* But what about Earth day? Or is Earth day like the equivalent of Mother's/Father's day but for the planet, where we just appreciate it?

*I wonder if other planets celebrate their own New Years/Birthdays... yeah...

With that said, today's paint is plain and simple yet nostalgic to me "Alien Hominid" it's a fanart of a very fun game of the same name. But more than that it's about an alien who crash lands on earth and we attack it causing him to retaliate and kill our secret government operatives, also he collects hats... The way I see it, maybe we are all aliens to our own lives, but with this new year we should stop killing those we don't trust and collecting hats to up our vanity, and instead, share our hats to attempt to give a better view to those we once found insufferable. #NewYearNewMe


As always, I hope this exercise helps you ease that weekly case of the Mondays and inspires you to start creating new things, and really help expand the creative construct that is your brain! I encourage you to share/send me your own MS Paint Monday creations, if I get enough I plan to do an MS Paint showcase at the end of every week so we can enjoy each other's styles and imaginations.

Much Love, Wachi

What challenges do we face creatively?

Aughh, readers, just "Aughh"!! You know what I'm saying? No? Of course you don't I can never ugh... I'm so frustrated..!! *Screeches into the heavens* Have you ever wanted to MS Paint on a Monday and you just can't? That creative frustration that we all face from time to time, not just with paint, but anything creative that you enjoy. You know the one, don't you?

OMG, I even spelled frustration wrong I'm so frustrated!! :P

There's always those fears and frustrations, such as fear of never getting noticed or recognized for your work, or perhaps (one i personally fear on the regular) not being good enough at what you love to do. Maybe you found a creative passion later in life and you feel you are simply too old to be good at it, or perhaps you are just getting started and you feel you are too young to get any attention. Another frustration of mine is due to the internet as a whole, sometimes I will have a thought or idea, and will work on it, only to find 20 other people have done something online displaying the same, killing off one's originality, and frustration of being unoriginal is one of the worst feelings.Or when you don't feel like you are actually progressing in your art (or craft of any sort), where you are even to the point where you are too ashamed to practice because of how awful you see your own art, and that in itself is another frustration that just ruins ones creativity...

As these are a few of the many self-criticisms and frustrations I layer onto my own creative self-conscious on a daily basis I thought many others may do the same as well, and that is when I conveniently stumbled onto this video, a TED talk in fact, and it was a breath of fresh air as far as creative motivators go, so I thought I'd share with all of you, my creative readers who find themselves frustrated and/or out of ideas, whether it be just a hobby or your career.

I'll put a couple of links to the same;

https://vimeo.com/130898948

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG-ZXiYtLy8

With this I leave you all today, hope this talk spoke to your creative selves as much as it did mine! I can't wait to see what all our future creations will become in the coming year!!

Happy Holidays!

Much Love,

Wachi