Hey! It’s been a minute since I made a post, so I thought I’d make a little blurb about what I’ve been working on!
As you know, the Covid pandemic has impacted everyone in every industry. This summer, I finished some classes and got a degree that I probably won’t use (accounting), because I was feeling inadequate about my art degree. What the accounting degree did most for me was show me that A) everyone should learn this stuff in high school, and B) Yeah, I can do math (and I love spreadsheets), but I really NEED to do something creative or I lose my mind. Haha.
I always thought it would be awesome to work behind the scenes in film, but I never really saw it as an actual possibility. It was just this magical thing that happened somehow. I discovered last year that there is actually a decent film industry around here, and after being a background extra for a Netflix show a few times (so I could watch everyone work haha), I made it my goal to find some art department work after finishing my degree. Well, I finished in July… And now the film industry is at a complete standstill. Pretty depressing, as I had finally felt like I found something for ME… So, now I’m taking some time to work on some skills that I’ve been wanting to level up for a long time – improving my illustration abilities, particularly in rendering 3D objects/environments, and 3D modeling. I touched on these things briefly in my art school days, but I’ve gotten super rusty.
However, just learning how to use software wasn’t quite enough to push me to start on anything. I ended up tying this in to my previous work with dollhouse miniatures, so I would have a goal and some framework of where to get started. I wanted to do set design for film, but I can’t right now, so why not design for mini sets? Interestingly, the dollhouse miniature industry does not seem to have taken a hit from Covid at all. I was pretty surprised to find that sales had increased rather than decreased in a time when people are tightening their purse strings due to uncertainty. I guess quarantine made a lot of bored people dig the houses out of their attics and get to work! That’s great for me! I hope I’ll be able to create some things that people will love.
So anyway, now that you’re caught up, here are a few things I’ve been working on!
Animal Crossing-Inspired House
My husband is a mechanical engineer, and has been helping me figure out Fusion360 – a CAD program. My first project was to make a miniature Animal Crossing-inspired house kit! We’re still waiting to receive the laser-cut pieces to test-run (turn-around from the company is about a month right now 🙁 ). Hopefully I can get this done, tested, and re-ordered in time for Christmas!
In the future, I plan to make some 1/12 scale miniature furniture kits, so although this kit is not 1:12 scale, this project was helpful in that I learned about piecing things together and whatnot (also I love Animal Crossing hahaha).
The Witch’s Cabinet
This project is primarily focusing on 3D illustration for me. I have some miniatures that I got at an estate sale that aren’t quite nice enough (in my opinion) to just sell as-is. I wanted to spruce them up and make them more unique, but I have trouble just “going for it.” I have to plan things out and draw so I can visualize. This is just a simple little mid-range, manufactured china cabinet. I drew it out as-is, and with my idea of how I’d like to finish it. Of course, it has to have some kind of fantastical element to it, so it’s going to be a witch’s cabinet! We’ll see what the final product turns out to be. I will have to essentially make/design everything that goes in there, so… side projects incoming!
Bespaq Coffee Table
This project is not too far along, as you can see. I drew the cabinet in Photoshop – the program I go to for pretty much everything by default, because I’ve used it for about 15 years now haha. For this one, I realized “oh, these are lines, I should probably practice using Illustrator,” so that’s where this was made.
I recently scored a sweet deal on some unfinished Bespaq pieces, and now I’m trying to figure out exactly what I want to do with them. I’m still not 100% set on anything, just practicing drawing them at this point. Of course, I will have to incorporate fantastical elements! I think this art deco coffee table might become something witchy too – we shall have to see!