Almost Normal

Summer Quarter is finished! I’m sad to see it go. My confidence in my abilities has grown tremendously this quarter. I really pushed myself on the last three projects in my Drawing for Sequential class and I surprised myself at how well I did! The two images above were my last two projects in the class. With the final project, the Boar’s Head Inn drawing on the left, I fell back into my old habits a bit, waiting till the last minute to get everything done. In doing so, I reverted to my more toony style, especially in my figures. My professor says it’s important to have at least two distinct styles you can draw in so I really pushed myself to develop a more comic book feel this quarter.The previous project, the courtyard at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in NYC, was much more successful in what I’d been trying to accomplish in this class.

I think my biggest eye opener at how much I’ve improved was our final in class assignment. We were given less than 2 hours to do the drawing below and I surprised myself at how quickly and easily this image found it’s way to my page. I even finished early!

Sadly, I don’t have much art to show from my Game Design class. I put a lot of effort into the mechanics and text of the games, which netted me some sweet grades, but I let the ball drop on the artwork. I think this was due to the class being online. I know I tend to work much harder when I’m in a classroom setting. I know I should be looking at every project as a portfolio opportunity though, grades aren’t what’s going to get me hired.

I found myself falling back into old habits of procrastination, especially near the end of the quarter. I was beating myself up about them until I pulled back and reminded myself how much I’ve improved overall. Change does not come overnight, it a long term process. I’m getting better all the time, and I will always have areas to improve in.

I worked really hard this quarter and I’m really proud of the work I did. I hope I can carry this momentum into my fall classes!

*cough*

Hello, my name is Lonnie DiNello and I am not a complete failure! I have spent the last couple months filled with regret because I didn’t keep up with the 100 Days Project and because I haven’t updated Almost Normal. Today I came to the realization that regret is a useless emotion, just like guilt, and all it does is hold a person back. So, I have come here today to tell the world that I forgive myself for not posting comics the way I wanted to. It’s ok, I can let go of the past and start living in the now.

Now, with that off my chest, here’s what I’ve been up to since I got back from Connecticut.

1. I got Kittens! That’s right, Kittens!

This is Zuko chasing his little sister Pixel!

It all started with driving my friend and her cat to the vet and falling in love with the most adorable little rescue while I was there. After a brief campaign through Facebook and Twitter my boyfriend could no longer say no and my beautiful little Pixel came home with us. Yay!

Three weeks later Pixel returned to the vet for her second set of kitten shots and I was informed that her brother was still there, the last of their litter without a home. After a whirlwind of black market high pressure tactics and a botched negotiation on my end, I found myself out side the vet, dazed and confused with TWO kittens in the pet carrier! Martin was very surprised as well.

Pixel was not happy to share her home or her family with her brother, Zuko. Our little runt of a kitten bullied her larger sibling into hiding behind the couch and under the bed. After a few days though, things started to settle down and now we’re a happy family of four. They kittens are a very happy distraction for me.

2. I started my summer classes! I’m taking Drawing for Sequential Art with Tom Lyle, former artist for Spiderman. He’s totally awesome and very encouraging. He’s even got me thinking about possibly working for one of the Big Two someday, living that childhood dream of drawing the X-Men or something like that. It’s good to have someone telling you they believe in you, especially when he’s been there and done that himself. I know ultimately its how much I believe in myself that’s going to determine whether I succeed or not.

I’m also taking Intro to Game Development and Interactive Design as an online class. I was supposed to be taking a professional class working with Zynga, but the class was postponed to next quarter, so I picked up the Intro class last minute. Unfortunately that means I have to take it online, and I hate online classes. I’m doing well though. I already created a board game that my play testers thought was lots of fun. I’m going to finish it eventually and make it available to folks. Now I’m working on an Interactive Pet Feeder for my next project. It’s a very geeky project.

3. I got a part time job! I’m working in The Cage at the film and digital media building on campus. I’m surrounded by expensive equipment, games and game systems! I get to do some school work while I’m here (when I’m not making blog posts) but it’s still a job and takes up a bunch of time. Money is a nice thing to have though, even if it is minimum wage. Networking with all the future film directors and game gurus is a plus too!

So, I haven’t been updating my comics like I wanted to, but I have been busy living a pretty full life. I probably shouldn’t mention that I’ve reached level 30 in FrontierVille though, but oh well.

Hope you’re all doing well! I miss hearing from you!