Amazin Arty Antics

Friday, July 18, 2014

A New Portrait Background!

So, I have been getting frustrated lately, and wanting to draw more, so I went back to where I started digital drawing (nine years ago) - Puzzle Pirates. I made my first portrait background entry in two years. (I used an alias to enter - this has to do with my recent confidence issues - and a change is as good as a holiday, right?)

Anyway, I started, as I always do, with a scrappy sketch. I then tidied it up, using Illustrator and Photoshop.

I added some layer effects (gradients, colors and patterns), and started to fine tune the sail.

I wasn't happy with the way that the sail was sitting against the... whatever that crossbar thing is called, so I pulled it down a little bit, and thinned the outline. I drew the little lines on the ropes, added, fixed up, then recolored the patches on the sail, and lightened the cloud outline (not sure if it is a bit too stylized for the game, but I like it =D). Lastly, I had fun shading the sail quickly, using little dots.

Lastly, I added some more shading and adjusted the ship rail. The final entry looked like this:

The image is based on the times when you're doing badly at the sailing puzzle, and the sail kind of hangs off its little stick on the indicator thing. Making the sail dark blue (like it is on the little indicator thing) looked too... dark/mingled in too much with the sky, so the sail is bluey-grey.

I was really stoked to win with this portrait background entry! (I think I was actually happier to win this time than I have been any other! =D) It definitely gave me the confidence boost I needed!

~Ad =)

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Snowy and Petri!

Last year, Ellenya and I adopted two baby budgies. Their names are Snowy and Petri! They are great company, and they are always happy and dancing. Here are some pictures of them :)

Fluffy Snowy!

Snowy and Petri love having a bath each day! Afterwards, they sit on their stick perch to dry off :)

Snowy and Petri love eating cucumber, and they also love playing with strings. One day Ellenya decided to make them a cucumber string kebab! They loved it!!!

We love our birds!

~AmazinAdrielle :D

Highs and Lows

Most of the time, I believe that I can bend the rules so that I can achieve my dreams and reach my goals. I have always been determined to prove myself - and to prove I'm just as able to do many things as other people are. Before I got too sick, I was a volunteer, and filled my every waking minute with fun extra-curricular stuff. I loved being involved with things, being part of a team, and being creative. Unfortunately, my world got smaller once my illness set in. I became mostly stuck in my house, with too many of my own thoughts in my head.

However isolated I can feel from the outside world, I'm extremely grateful to have access to the internet. It has given me access to study, and has allowed me to shop, see the outside world through photos and videos, chat with people, volunteer and make friends! It also allows me to meet and chat to other people who feel the way that I do, which is fantastic!

I have dreams of becoming an artist one day. I'm proud to have people feature my work anywhere, and I love to win contests. I want to learn everything I can - because with so much time on my hands - imagine the things I could end up knowing in my lifetime!

I love my family and my pets, and I am very grateful to live in my house. My life is pretty awesome, and I'm very happy most of the time.

However, sometimes living with my illness and disability can get me down. There are times when my optimism completely fails, and reality hits me like a sledgehammer. At times like this, I remember that I'm approaching 30 years old. I have certificates and a degree that I will probably never be able to use. I have run out of courses to study that are affordable and fully online. I can't attend classes, complete supervised placement hours, do an internship, or hands-on training. I can't find work, as I can't leave the house most of the time, and have bad patches with my illness where I might end up in bed for months at a time.

My sadness quickly snowballs. I wonder if I've reached the end of the line and learned all that I ever will learn, and achieved all that I will ever achieve. Knowing that my condition is degenerative frightens me, and the fact that I will probably never marry or have children makes me worry about the loneliness that the years to come may bring. I become terribly aware of the fact that it is unlikely I will ever have enough money to pay for the care I will need as I get older - and my future scares me!

At these times, it feels like my illness and disability have stolen all of my hopes and dreams for the future. It seems like I'm always watching life from the sidelines, powerless to do any of the things that I desperately want to do.

Luckily, my low points generally don't last too long. I have a fantastic support network of friends, family, doctors, and the other medical and healthcare people in my life, and I also have the support of my beautiful pets :). Difficult as it can sometimes be, I keep looking for ways to bend the rules of how things are, and I keep hoping :).

~Ad =)

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Messy Flower Nail Art!

Ever since I was about 11 or 12 years old, I have been experimenting with nail polishes and drawing little pictures and patterns on my nails. Sometimes my experiments succeed - and sometimes they don't, but I always learn things from what does and doesn't work out - and I always have lots of fun painting! (Some of my other nail art experiments can be seen on my DeviantArt).

A couple of weeks ago, I tried a floral nail art experiment =D. I started with plain filed nails:

Then applied a pale glittery background colour:

Next, I used pink and blue polishes to create sort of messy blobby flower shapes on each nail:

Then, I added two green leaves - in diagonally opposite corners - on each nail:

To finish off my blobby flowers, I added a dot of yellow nail polish to the centre of each flower:

Then, I added a clear top coat to seal the design:

Some of the flowers turned out better than others - but I was happy with the overall result =D.

It makes me really happy that nail art has become such a big trend lately! There are so many tools and paints available now! It's fantastic!

~AmazinAdrielle =)

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

All About AmazinAdrielle - Alphabetically!

So, I finished my alphabet today, and thought I would post one last blog post with links to each letter =). Here they are!

~Ad =)

All About AmazinAdrielle - W-Z!

After brainstorming some things relating to my life, I have created this lovely alphabet about me - so you can get to know me a little better! You can also find more information about me on my website =).

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W is for...

Wisdom teeth - I only ever had three wisdom teeth, and this year, I had all three taken out - one by one. The dentist let me keep the teeth as a souvenir!

I also use a wheelchair, love word games, live in a house that is draped in wisteria, have a website, and I also spend a lot of time editing wikis and wondering about various things.

X is for...

X-rays - I have had a lot of x-rays and scans in my lifetime - but so far, I have only had six x-rays this year.

Xena - I was a fan of the Xena and Hercules tv shows as a kid, and I designed a Xena barbie outfit for Nemesis from Puzzle Pirates once, too!

Y is for...

Yoshi - One of my favourite games as a kid was Yoshi's Island! Yoshi is just so cute!

Yohoho Puzzle Pirates - I played YPP for more than seven years, and made lots of fan art and contest entries related to the game. Some of my contest entries were included in-game, including egg, trinket, island and portrait background designs. These can be seen here!

YouTube - I have a YouTube channel =).

Z is for...

Zebras - are the mascots of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and other rare diseases!

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That concludes the alphabet of me! I hope that these posts have helped you to get to know me better =D.

~Ad =)

All About AmazinAdrielle - T-V!

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T is for...

Tightwire - I used to be a tightwire walker as a teenager. I could even hula hoop and juggle on the wire - it was fun! I also used to love doing handsprings and things on the big circus trampoline (and my own little trampoline - but it was a bit of a squish to fit!)

Turtles - Ellenya and I have two amazingly awesome three-year-old emydura macquarii macquarii turtles named Franklin and Shelley =D. We adopted them as tiny hatchlings - and it was love at first sight!!! ♥

Twitter - I have many wonderfully talented and supportive friends on Twitter! I also used to post pictures to Twitpic.

Traditional art - When I was younger, I made a lot of traditional art, but as my Ehlers Danlos symptoms got worse, it became more difficult for me to do this. I now mainly make digital art =D.

Trinkets - I used to design winning trinkets for the Puzzle Pirates game =).

I am also allergic to thrips, I like drinking tea (especially chai or earl grey), and I would love to travel some day.

U is for...

University - I did my Bachelor of Behavioural Science degree at La Trobe University!

V is for...

Victoria - The state where I live =D.

Volunteering - I have always liked to help out and to volunteer. Whether it was putting on shows at fetes and other local events, singing, teaching circus skills to other people, or sorting clothing donations for St. Vinnies, I loved being involved. When my illness became too severe for me to do these kinds of things, I began to volunteer online. I have mostly done work for various charities, gaming communities and artistic projects. (If you would like me to help out with anything - let me know!)

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The next installment in this alphabet will be coming soon!

~Ad =)