The Tale of the Boy and the Butterflies

Hah. A lazy summer day. My attempt at a children's poem.


~

There once was a little boy of marvelous skill
He could conjure pretty butterflies by the strength of his will
Other little boys teased of his unboyish charm
While silly, girly girls squealed in alarm.

Before an unwanted trip to school, every day
Father chewing his breakfast would spray,
“Son, what is this foolish play?
No more butterflies from you, I say!
The neighbors point, the teachers complain;
No more butterflies from you today!”

Little boy with his head held low
Cried to Mother and begged to know,
“Why, oh why, do they not let me show,
Who I am, and what I do?
Daddy is cross and only says no,
Tell me, oh Mommy, do you hate me too?”

Mother said, “Hush now, go to school!
Nobody hates you, you are not a fool!”


Nobody understood how he felt
All they did was scold and yell.
So little boy, still feeling low
Walked to school, upset and alone.

And as he walked he thought of the unfairness
Bitter thoughts had made him restless
He stomped along, so much rage!
And as he did, the insects scurried away.

His anger was so frightening
The butterflies stopped fluttering
Oh the disaster that a heartbreak brings!
His fury took away the power from their wings

Everywhere the wings of butterflies crumbled
But somewhere close by, something tinkled
Out came a fairy from the bushes
She seemed the kind to grant children’s wishes

“I am the queen of the falling butterflies,” she sang
“You’re hurting my family, you’re hurting my clan.
I know what it is that is hurting you child,
You mustn’t let your sadness drive you wild!”

“Look around you, look what you have done
Your disbelief has caused so much harm!”
Little boy sobbed and said to the Queen,
“Everybody hates the butterflies I bring!”



“You are a special boy my child
Use your magic to wipe away their dislike!
Show them what beautiful things you can do
Show them what the butterflies mean to you!”

“Now run quick to school and do your magic
You can do it if you really, truly wish it!
In yourself you must believe
Use your will, all the troubles will leave!”

Little boy cheered up and thanked the Queen
He ran to school and to his teacher he beamed.
The teacher, however, didn’t look too happy
She sent him to the back, where he wouldn’t be distracting.

He sat in a corner facing the wall
Shut his eyes real tight and quietly called
To the flowers, the fruits, the rivers, the bees,
To summon the butterflies from the tallest trees.

And into the classroom, the butterflies flew
Yellow and green and shades of blue
Never before were so many seen
So many colors, the room now gleamed!

With colorful wings and magical things
The butterflies enchanted every being
The children leaped and the teacher cried
Gleeful cries of wonder and surprise




And one by one, as the butterflies came
Little boy no longer felt his shame
Word had spread and wiped all dread
Everywhere everyone called his name.

Such is the will of a little child
Unusual though he was, he didn’t mind
Everyone was delighted and will never forget
Every little boy and girl is of a special kind!

~

Boggle-dy Boogle-dy!

Ahh, here is my choicest photo from our weekend trip to St. Louis, MO. I love bathrooms and mind-boggling optics :)

I just watched the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie, and I am thoroughly disappointed with every second of it. The images in my brain are absolutely, completely different from those in the movie. Which is why I absolutely, completely hate the fact that I've failed to do my little set of HGTTG illustrations. Sad face.

I've been feeling irrevocably down lately. There's so much I wish I could say.

she's a laydayy!

With all the in-betweens for the legs. Now on to more! I'm gonna fix the feet now, then add the arms.




Again, excuse the quality. :S

Update

I did the arms and shoes!

continued.

I started working on a new walk cycle today. This time, I'm following the rules- one body part done accurately at a time. And I hope to add in details later on too. And color for fun.

It's not as feminine as I wanted, and I think it's because I gave her too much up and down movement on the pass pos and extremes. I was trying not to, but I guess even a little bit is too much. There's more leg movement than required too. I'm hoping, when I add the in betweens, and frills it'll look more feminine.

This is the key frames test. (done with my webcam by balancing my lightbox on my chest in front of the computer, so excuse the quality and the shakiness)

lessons

I bought Christopher Hart's How to Draw Animation a few days ago. Started reading it, and it felt like an easy read. It is an easy read. But then I started drawing with reference to it. And realized I have a long long way to go.

Maybe I just haven't been motivated enough recently.

Face angles:
(it took me a while to get the face-up and face-down positions right. I need more practice)

I've been getting countless brochures from SCAD since I applied there last to last winter, and I keep wondering whether I'm in the right place- I like it at RIT, I feel rather comfortable now, and switching over would be a great expense. I just don't know if I'll be able to live up to my own wishes or not. So far, I've been doing well at school- but is that enough?




I need some morale boosting. And maybe some time away from guilt. Of spending so much of my parents money on this.

I'm so scared.

polar plans

I've been doing some sketches of polar bears from pictures, evidently. Been trying to get the realistic feel before I make a more creative (or less realistic) character from them. But I realized they're just a bunch of circles and ovals. I mean, yes, I know, all drawings can be broken down into those basic shapes, but the polar bear is seriously amazingly all circles. I'm having a hard time making them look more than just basic!




Also realized they're bodies' are made of rings- so there's more than just two circles for their main bodies.

I had fits while drawing these- they're so adorable!!

Ooh, and almost done with The Animator's Survival Kit. Yay!

provoke, evoke.

So my mum discovered Big Cinemas yesterday- a cinema hall that shows Hindi movies in the appropriate release dates =P. So we went to watch the newly released New York movie (although I rather would have watched My Sister's Keeper, or Transformers). So anyway, I had a lot to say and discuss about it yesterday, but the movie ended at 2 am and the thoughts I have thereafter usually escape me quickly =/

Anyway, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I mean, John Abraham is okay; Katrina Kaif, I felt, was more of a model than an actress, and the Neil Nitin Mukesh dude was new, and I have a habit of underestimating newcomers in Bollywood =)

But no, they weren't so bad actually. I mean, at first, even when they were gallivanting around New York State University showing off all the happiness and friendship in the world to background music (or song rather) and showcasing how prettily they can smile and laugh in slow motion, I was only slightly put off by it - which is amazing because I give up on Bollywood movies easily these days.

Okay, so back to the point (wait, what point?). The movie was actually enjoyable while I watched it- it wasn't a full on suspense/thriller with exaggerated twists (like in Race, for example...blegh)- but it was sufficiently engaging (in comparison). But I realized after the movie that I was pretty confused. I mean, this seemed to be a movie that would end with a moral, or at least hint on one. Okay, maybe "moral" isn't the right word. More like a message that "things are not the way you think they are", or "things will always be the same". But it gave out mixed messages. Ok, first of all, here's what the movie was about (let me try to google it to save the trouble of writing a synopsis)- ok here's one-

""New York" is a contemporary story of friendship set against the larger than life backdrop of a city often described as the centre of the world. For most of us, larger events in the world are just headlines in the newspapers but these events can change our lives... forever. "New York" is one such story of 3 young friends whose beautiful lives are turned upside down by larger events beyond their control."

"The large event beyond their control" is 9/11. One of the friends, Omar, who lost touch with the other 2 friends (Maya and Sam, who're a couple) due to love triangle issues (again, thank god- it wasn't greatly dramatized) is brought back into their friendship by the FBI because they suspect Sam is a terrorist (which is true) and they want Omar to spy on him while remaining their friend.

Anyway, I'm not gonna rant with the details of the movie, but back to the mixed messages- sometimes they say that foreign nationals are still looked upon dubiously, owing to 9/11 and terrorist attacks and such; other times they say that foreign nationals/brown-skinned people are incorporated as equals in the US and given as much importance as US nationals.

I mean, maybe both is true, but then it was weird because the mixed message was coming out of the same Muslim figure who, I suppose in this case, represented the whole of the FBI. Actually, he was pretty steadfast in his thinking- he was a Muslim representing the FBI in trying to capture Sam, the terrorist, except, he wanted to prevent him from doing what he was going to do instead of hold him in detention again and torture him again (the first time, Sam was tortured because he was suspected as a terrorist when he actually wasn't- they did vile things, and this is actually true- urinate on their faces covered with cloth and keeping the cloth on their faces the rest of the day with their hands tied, tying them up with a dog leash, stripping them naked and hanging them from the ceiling- you wouldn't expect these things in America, but they happened, to innocent victims, and it turned them vile and against the Americans. They were creating their own enemies). The fact that he was a Muslim and he was put on this case gave him faith on equality and human rights and what not. But at the same time, they were the people who put innocent people on detention and they were the ones willing to kill him off at the first chance they got.

It's interesting that the movie is being allowed to play here.

But anyway, if this was supposed to be an open-ended film, it still leaves a strange after-taste.
I don't know how I feel about it myself. I mean, I've had extra security checks in airports compared to other people standing in the same line. And it probably is justified. But at the same time, it's not like that at all. It's so confusing.

Maybe that's why I couldn't interpret the movie properly. I wish there were critiques on these movies to help me find a train of thought. Or maybe I'm still an amateur at these things.

But hey, I cannot deny, there were a couple of continuity errors and technical errors in there- even my mom noticed!

I think, this movie draws a few elements from Crash. It even borrowed on the police-officer-feeling-up-a-foreign-lady-passenger scene. In fact, on looking back, that scene was what triggered the rest of the plots in the movie. It angered the man who was driving the car, who was not yet a terrorist, but put through the same torture as suspected terrorists were put through before. He killed the police officer, and there you go- there's your threat. And that's how everything else started.

It kinda goes in a full circle. Which is why the closure of Guantanámo Bay helps. It should break the circle.

Hopefully?

ho hum

Heheh. I'm listening to linkin park screaming out of my speakers. It feels like I've been dipped into the past. Reminded me of when I used to listen to them a lot.

I used to listen to Green Day a lot too. And I'm actually going to their concert! My first ever concert! Although I feel immensely guilty about the money spent on it, and immensely awkward about going with my parents! :/ :S Well I can't help it because I don't know anyone here, and my dad really wants to see a concert. It's only fair. I guess I have the rest of my life to freak out with my friends at concerts.

Incubus is going to come to Chicago too, but I'll spare my dad the expense. Plus, I wouldn't take my parents to see Incubus- they wouldn't like it. At least they're familiar with Green Day. I'm not that crazy a fan of them now, but I was, which kinda puts me in a relationship with them, and hence I must go see them.

Am I blabbering? Yes I am.

Ok, so here's my visual babbling (?) that I spent half of today doing. I got a little carried away :P



I realized I have such a long way to go if I want to be like other well-known animators. And I sort of do want to be like them. Not saying I want to be well-known and crave all the fame and honor. No. What I mean is I want to be able to tell people when I'm old and wise that I spent this many years learning this fundamental lesson and that many years developing that particular technique and what not. I wish I could articulate what I mean. I wish I had the experience by the time I'm old with grandchildren and still animating- but starting at 17 just seems too late. Oh well, one can only hope.


Also realized that my parents still wish I had gone for something "normal" as a career choice. Apparently I still have to prove people wrong.

Hard Work?

No.




This didn't turn out right at all. I guess the limbs move okay, but the head is still all over the place, and don't get me started with the ears.

The tracing box doesn't give enough light.

I guess if I did it continuously in one go, it would have been better. When I did my first drawn animation, I did about 40 drawing every school day. This is only 24 drawings and I spread it out over god knows how long. I forgot what the movement was each time.

Oh well. It's for practice. I'll be doing more stuff.

Hopefully.