Recent Deviations

I did not major in painting or illustration or graphic design. I majored in Performing Arts. So while I have an education in the fine art foundations and have learned greatly about design and color theory, being able to draw is kind of a bonus.


For a while after SCAD, I didn't draw at all. Because I teach preschool and constantly draw for kids at Art Center and for teachers (to decorate their doors) I've started drawing more. So here are 4 of my recent, more popular Deviations on DeviantArt.


1. The Elder Wand


The first of 3 drawings in my Tale of the Three Brothers series. This was done with a pencil drawing, inked with Medium Point Sharpie Pen and coloured with watercolour pencils. The black background was added in photoshop.

This is the first brother with the Elder Wand and Death looming as he casts a curse.

I will be printing these as decals.

Find full resolution here.

2. Owl Kill You


Athena as a Derby Girl. In a way it's fan art for Olympia Heights.

Favorite it here.

3. Casting

Photo by ~Stillreflection. Cosplay by myself (the weapons, earrings, and pauldrons in this pic) and Anna Heim (~Christadaelia). Of course you can't see the earrings OR the Pauldrons, or Rydia's whip in this pic. I made the hair piece in my wig and the mace. All the sewing and the fabulous green wig dye-job are Anna's master work.

These costumes won Best Interpretation at AWA 2011 along with the other 2 in our group. Kain and Edge, seen elsewhere in my gallery, are a lot more of my handiwork.

Some quick casting effects for our hot magician girls.

Favorite it here.

4. Comfort

I was browsing DA and feeling sad that there was a lack of George/Angelina fan art, so I made some. It's a loose digital drawing in a moment that I imagine happened as they mourned Fred together. 

George is dressed for work and his ear is wonkey because that's the ear Snape got. Angelina's shirt was meant to be a Montrose Magpies ringer T, but in the lighting effects it slowly turned more blue than gray.

This took about an hour and I modeled the gesture on a Prison Break still.

Full resolution found here.

NOTE: This Deviation is very new and by far my most popular.

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Your Modeling Profile Sucks (Here's How to Fix It)

A few months back I had the pleasure of casting a model for the cover of my 2nd book. I found Tiffany Britton Rell on modelmayhem.com. Sometimes I go there to find images of people to inspire characters. Back in my text-based RPG days, I mined that site for unusual Played-Bys.

I noticed a few things that drove me crazy when I was on my hunt for a young blonde with light eyes and a certain look. So many people had bad or misleading profile images or a collection of photos that cast them as a type automatically. Don't get me wrong, a type is not bad, but if you're at all open to trying to work outside of that type, you need to be careful.

Tiffany had a great portfolio and a really great profile image. I have some experience modeling, more experience acting, and I have the added perspective of someone who has given paid work to a model found on one of these sites. So today's blog is about just that-- how to set your portfolio and profile up to get paid work off of these sites.

1. Your profile image should be a clear shot of you and your face.
You might LOVE that picture you had taken of yourself dressed as Harley Quinn, you might think that a tantalizing shot of your pecs will draw people in, but when someone has a specific look in mind and they are sorting through 940 profiles, they don't have time to click on every portfolio to see what else they are missing.

Your portfolio can contain artistic images, over-the-shoulder shots, profiles, and extreme close-ups. Your avatar should not be any of those things. Make sure that it is current to your look, not a really nice photo of what you looked like three years ago when you had short hair. Your avatar should give a casting director and instant, clear picture of what YOU look like. Period.

2. Have someone else take pictures of you with a decent camera.
Don't have a decent camera? Get images taken outside in daylight to compensate for poor lighting. Refrain from using "the angles" in a shot you took of yourself. If you can't get anyone to take your picture for you, why would a casting director or photographer want to take your picture?

3. Don't type-cast yourself unless you want to be typecast.
If every photo in your portfolio is an image of you bent over a car in a bikini, that is likely all you will be cast to do. That might make for a lucrative career, but don't be upset if you can't get artistic or high fashion work if your portfolio only shows one thing.

It's like a job interview-- dress for the job you want to get. If you have a portfolio full of vampire role-play images, you will be limited to castings on covers of horror novels. If you are only photographed in sun dresses in a field, you will be cast as sweet girls and never get edgier parts.

A simple photo in a black or white t-shirt is always a good standard for a portfolio. If you have sexy pictures, make sure you have something more conservative so that casting directors don't pigeon hole you as a sexual person.

Variety and simplicity are key. Let the creative people imagine you in the roles they want to fill instead of forcing them to see one extreme.

4. Be active in your photos.
Charisma is far more valuable than conventional beauty. Make sure that you are thinking and relaxed. If you are smiling, don't hold it so long that it looks strained. If your eyes are glazing over, close them and open them right before the shot. Breathe and think and you will become so much more interesting on camera.


5. Select your username wisely.
Putting your age in your username limits your profile to one year of activity. Likewise, putting something like "Vampiress"will type cast you and make you seem unprofessional. This is not an AIM Screen Name. If you want to be taken professionally, be professional. Some form of your name is usually the best bet.

What the following usernames say about a person:

19yearoldboi- Plans to drop out after one year?

nymphomama- Afraid to do porn

koolguy9119- Douche

vampiress- Only wants to do gothic shoots

6. Plan your profile, don't just type.
The profile blurb is basically your resume. It's good to show a little personality, but it's best to be concise and hit upon major hiring points. Hobbies are good in a list because someone might be inclined to cast you based on the fact that you actually play guitar, soccer, or roller derby. Experience is helpful and a list of desired photoshoots might entice a photographer to get a passionate model in front of his lens. It might also give someone ideas.

Lists are a great way to keep things concise and easy to read.


7. Supply as many details as possible.
Measurements, ethnicity, hair color, eye color, etc. should all be filled out HONESTLY. This will help you be found in an advance search like the Browse feature on Model Mayhem. If you have dyed black hair, don't list yourself as a redhead.

Sometimes advanced searches will exclude you if information is missing. If I look for a 23-26 year old brunette with blue eyes, and you don't list eye color, even if you fit that bill, I won't see your images! Fill it all out. Even your weight, ladies.

Also, pink and Kool-aid red hair are not "Red" hair in the sense that anyone would search. Those are "Other."

And I can tell by looking at your picture that you're lying. Don't say you're 190lbs of muscle when you clearly weigh 125. Don't tell me you're 33 if you look 43. Models are cast for what they look like, not the lies they tell.


8. Be clear about your comfort zones.
If you do not want to do nudity, state it clearly in your profile. Also, a great tip I got from Tiffany, if you are not comfortable meeting a stranger at their home studio alone (which you shouldn't be, be smart) you should state that you always bring an escort.


9. Be honest about your age and act appropriately.
Like I said before, if you are 43, do not lie and claim to be younger. Photographers will see, from your photos, how old you really look. If you show up for the photoshoot and you look ten years older because your images are all outdated, the photographer will be mad and it might hurt your reputation.

TEENAGERS-- please do not do overtly sexual images until you are 18. You do not understand how uncomfortable it makes someone over 21 to see a sixteen-year-old girl in a tube top licking a gun. Normal people don't want to cast real teenagers for sexual parts and you don't want those images on the internet in five years if you decide to do something besides model, tend bar, or strip.


10. Be honest. (Period.)
Don't lie. It will always come to light.

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Jumping the Shark: Bio 100

Thursday we went out to a swamp for Bio 100. I have to take the course as a prerequisite because SCAD never had me take science for my Bachelor's. So, I have to take biology with college freshmen for my Graduate Studies. My Professor gave us a simple assignment-- write a paragraph. That's it. It doesn't have to be about science, it's just about observations.

I might have overdone it when I put the poem into the shape of a beaver (the predominate wildlife species at the Ebenezer Swamp). Here it is. My husband suggested I post this.

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Music Review: My New Favorite Song About a Girl Named Amy

♫ She sees a black cat hanging 'round my doorstep/ I'll need all day tomorrow to recover from today... ♫


My first experience with the music of Andrew McMahon was from the wall of televisions at the back of the Target Electronics Department. I was 17, it was 2003, and As You Sleep from Something Corporate's Album "North" was playing in the loop. I bought the CD and immediately had to backtrack to the previous 2 studio albums, 3 extended plays, and countless other singles and compilations. "North" was the last album by Something Corporate, Andrew McMahon's successful high school band. 


In 2004, while I was in my freshmen dorm room, a friend IMed me to inform me that SoCo was officially over and that Andrew was forming a new solo project, Jack's Mannequin. JM debuted 2 singles for fans to promote and I was hooked. Andrew's upbeat piano and expressive vocals had me pimping the band wherever I could. There was a slight departure of the emotional, adolescent themes of Something Corporate, but the lyrics still verged on immaturity. That was fine as I was 19 and still happy watching The OC. But something happened before the launch that changed Andrew McMahon's music forever.


Andrew McMahon was diagnosed with Lymphatic Leukemia. The documentary, Dear Jack follows Andrew's terrifying struggle with cancer. His very near death and miraculous recovery changed everything. Dear Jack features video of Andrew, almost skin and bones and looking like death, singing with a weakened voice, but his hands still find the piano keys with grace. Andrew's Christmas single, Lights and Buzz, followed his recovery and expressed the sentiment of joy at being alive for another holiday.


"The Glass Passenger" was the next album and it was beautiful. My husband, who prefers metal and gothic synth-pop, was thoroughly impressed with Crashin. My personal favorite was Hammers & Strings. There was the unfortunate unintentional comedy of Orphan, but overall the album was a win.


So when I found out that there was a new album due October 4th, I pre-ordered it on Amazon. It came Monday afternoon in the mail and I leaped to my car to shove it in the CD player and drive.


SCORE: 4.5/5 ★  Read the Breakdown Blow the Jump

♫1) My Racing Thoughts ★★★★☆
The first track starts with a classic, upbeat Andrew Piano tune. It's everything you would expect lyrically and musically from a Jack's Mannequin tune. 

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♫2) Release Me ★★★★☆
Like American Love off "The Glass Passenger", Release Me is a bit more rock and roll with a slight 80's feel to the guitar. It's another musically strong, lyrically strong track. At this point in the album I was glad to have more JM music, but not thoroughly impressed, because I like to see evolution from the artists I listen to.

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♫3) Television ★★★★★
This was where I started to see a change. Previous lyrics by Andrew McMahon have seemed cynical about faith. Last Straw especially, implied that God was a convention of human sociology. Lyrically, in Television, I saw a shift towards a more spiritual side. It may still be uncertain, but at least the attitude is positive and humble.


Vocally, Television shows that Andrew McMahon has become more comfortable with his voice. His vocals do not loose the expression, but his belts become richer and more confident.

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♫4) Amy, I  ★★★★★
Amy, I is, hands down, my new favorite song about a girl named Amy. It has some decent competition with Elton John, Switchfoot, Pure Prairie League, and if you go with alternate spellings, Damien Rice in the running. Not only is Amy, I a great song musically, the lyrics have a special meaning to me. It's not just because my name is Amy.


Amy, I tells the story of a man who is living in a climate much colder than his usual, to be with a girl he loves. He's associating the bitter cold with the memories of new love. It's worth it to be there "trying to fight this freeze."


My now husband spent a year in Massachusetts during the winter with the epic ice storm that took out power across New England for days (in some places, weeks). We were engaged and he was looking for work up north. He eventually found a job in Alabama and we spent nearly a year long-distance before our wedding. With that context, it might be understandable why I cried when I heard this song.


The guy in this video even looks like Kyle with the glasses. :)

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♫5) Hey, Hey, Hey (We're All Gonna Die) ★★★★☆
Great title, right? After his near death and the brutally honest mortality of "The Glass Passenger", I had no doubt that this song would have autobiographical qualities. Indeed, this song is about his journey through his solo career and his struggle for survival. Andrew beautiful describes his diagnosis with this poetic lyric.


The label looked proud/ the New York show sold out/ but I noticed a change in the weather// it's getting cold/ could you hand me my sweater?


This song, in conjunction with "The Glass Passenger" tells a story. "The Glass Passenger" is filled with fear, fragility, and mortality. Hey, Hey, Hey (We're All Gonna Die) shows an acceptance of that fact. We are all gonna die, so we need to live.


Plus, the music video has ROLLER DERBY, and I'm a Derby Girl.

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♫6) People, Running ★★★★☆
People, Running continues that story. We're All Gonna Die. That fact has been accepted. But let's not think too much about it, this song says. You can't dwell on the meaning of life and death if you are going to live your life.


We are only chemical and skin/ barely strapped in for this air-conditioned ride/ we are tired of waiting/ still we stand in line


We are just these people running around/ and I am in no hurry to figure it out


It's upbeat and well-written. The drums are really solid in this song.

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♫7) Amelia Jean ★★★★★
Amelia Jean is another song that shows Andrew's new-found vocal comfort. It's also one of the first where he relies heavily on background vocals to create his music. There are hints of it in other songs, but for the first time in my memory, he really uses vocal harmony to add to the song.


Amelia Jean moves on to another personal theme. Andrew McMahon married after his recovery from cancer. He's also a touring musician, so it's not hard to imagine that this song is close to his heart. Amelia Jean is about traveling and being constantly away from the one you love. 


It's a wonderful, beautiful song. It's one of my favorites to sing along with when he belts, too.

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♫8) Platform Fire ★★★★☆
This song is has some of the richest piano on the album. As an artist in a family of supportive artists, this song also carries a very touching sentiment. You don't talk me down/ you're talking me through.

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♫9) Hostage ★★★☆☆
Hostage is a fun song, but overall I'd say it doesn't stand out against the rest of the tracks on this album. Don't get me wrong, it's a great song, but when this album isn't so new to me I'm eager to hear Amy, I again, I might press next.

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♫10) Restless Dream ★★★★★
A sleepy, sincere song, Restless Dream comes back to the theme of being away from the one you love. Andrew McMahon is a piano player, but this song is predominantly acoustic guitar. Other stringed instruments work their way in after two minutes and I'm pretty sure I hear some woodwinds as well, but the piano, if there at all, is incredibly subtle.


It's a perfect melody to showcase the unrivaled emotional expression from Andrew McMahon's vocals.


It's funny how the words we never say/ can turn into the only thoughts we know

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♫11) Casting Lines ★★★★☆
There is a quality I cannot quite pinpoint about Casting Lines that reminds me of the great piano pop men-- Elton John, Billy Joel, etc.  On the regular album, this is the last track. It's a perfect wrap-up for an album, a song about coming home.

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BONUS TRACKS (iTunes only)


No Man Is an Island ★★★★★
Ten Days Gone ★★★☆☆
Dancing With a Gun ★★★★☆
Broken Bird ★★★☆☆

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6 Things I Learned at AWA 2011

I spent the weekend at AWA this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I came back so jazzed on awesome fun-time energy that my roller derby coach asked me last night if I'd had a lot of caffeine before practice. I said yes, but really I was just hardcore nerding out, still.

I learned a lot this year and I'm already preregistered for next year. So here it is. 6 Things I Learned at AWA 2011.

1. Get an early judging or you'll wait in line FOREVER.
Last year we were super rushed and running between hotels in uber-hot Cosplay to make judging, so we decided to get the latest judging time possible. Bad idea. They were so far behind at 1:45 that we didn't get out of judging until almost 3:30. We lost so much of our day. Here is a photo Kyle took of Kain, Rydia, and Rosa (me) texting and primping because we were so bored and tired of standing.

2. More people know Team Fortress 2 than Eden of the East.
My husband was dressed as a character that would have been obscure if he was not standing next to me, it's true. The show we cosplayed Friday, Eden of the East, is new. The 2nd movie JUST came out in English and the 3rd isn't even out in Japan. Still, a few people knew I was Diana Kuroha and someone even said "Poor Johnny," indicating that our joke wasn't too niche to be understood by anyone.

Kyle was "Johnny", otherwise known as my victim. I was Kuroha, a side character in EotE who is a serial killer. That said, far more people screamed "SPY!" at Kyle and he was dragged into photos with Team Fortress 2 Cosplays. He went along with it and found out from our friend Ryan what kinds of things he could say. Kyle gave up on making sure people knew who he was and just shouted "GENTLEMAN!" in reply. He was a good sport.

3. Adventure Time gender-bent is way more popular than the rest of the show in its entirety.
Adventure Time with Finn and Jake had ONE gender-swap episode. It starred Neil Patrick Harris and was amazingly funny. I saw far more Fionnas than Finns and 2 Prince Bubblegums, compared to the one Princess Bubblegum. This group pictured won my heart because they had a Monochromicorn.

4. Speaking of Adventure Time, if you can't sew, make giant cardboard costumes of beloved cartoon characters and you will be just as epic!
We ran into a super-cute pair of Peppermint Butler (who I suspect is a secret badass) and Beamo (the adorable portable game system) from Adventure Time with Finn and Jake.

They had to have a handler to make sure that doors were not a problem and to make sure that lack of peripheral vision and auditory perception did not take away photo ops, but I saw TONS of pics of them in people's albums on the AWA boards. They were amazing and epic and I give them mad props for thinking of these characters to Cosplay.

6. Yaya Han is Appearance 5, Charisma 5.

We met Yaya Han last year at her booth on Sunday. Some time since then, my friend Anna ran into Yaya and some friends at Eddie's Trick Shop in ATL. She suggested a bakery to her, because the ice cream place was closed, and so Anna got to go have cupcakes with Yaya Han. She gushed about how friendly and nice she was. This year we were winners in the Cosplay contest and had our picture taken with her. She was incredibly friendly, answered my question about her light-up wings, and the guys with us were rendered nearly speechless.

Yaya Han is an AMAZING costumer. If you are unfamiliar with her work, you need to go check it out. What brings her above and beyond other epic Cosplayers is that she not only has the figure to carry off anime proportions, but a personality that shines through every costume. You can't help but like her. 

Of course there are some immature girls on boards that hate on her out of jealousy. I say that if you have met her in person, it is impossible to not like her.

6. Dr. Who is really popular. OMG.

For an anime convention I saw a heck of a lot of Doctors. I also saw a metal, mobile K9 unit being dragged about by a classic Doctor, an Angel, and a few companions. This one was a pretty good resemblance to the current (11th) Doctor. We assume he was there to flirt with girls.

I'll leave you with one last picture...
We had the opportunity to have some great photos taken by Ken AD at AWA. He offered his services to Cosplayers for free. We are going to have a mass of epic, beautiful photos of our Saturday Cosplay for Anna Heim's costuming portfolio.

Check out his work at his DeviantArt and check out a photoshop I did of one of his images, below. I am Rosa; Rydia is played by Anna Heim.

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Sunshine's Night Out

I will have an AWA update on Tuesday (can you wait until Tuesday?) Right now I'm dead from a great weekend and a long commute home, so I'm going to share old (3 day-old) news.

Learn more about the cute, falling hamster by clicking below the jump!

The video above is the complete version of Sunshine's Night Out, a picture book my husband wrote that my sister-in-law illustrated. Carly did the graphic design work on the Olympia Heights covers and she did the layout for the book interior. I put together this video to show off her work.

You can get the book, soon, via Amazon and later via Barnes & Noble. Right now you can go to http://matterdeeppublishing.com/sunshine and click on the Goodies Page to print 7 free coloring pages. They're great for keeping kids busy!

If you liked this book you can sign up for the mailing list at http://www.matterdeeppublishing.com/news-room to receive a newsletter when books are released. We hope to send out an update in October when Sunshine is on sale.

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Anime Weekend Atlanta

Anime Day is over because AWA is here! I am packed and on my way to Anime Weekend Atlanta. I will be home Sunday and posting photos on Tuesday's post. This Sunday's post will be something that's ready, in case I get in late and am tired from partying hard all weekend!

To anyone else attending AWA, have fun, bathe regularly, and I hope to see you there!

Cosplay Schedule Recap:

Friday- Eden of the East, Diana Kuroha
Saturday- FFIV (Amano), Rosa Farrel
Sunday- Death Note, Light Yagami

Find me to get the Olympia Heights ad in the program autographed.

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