tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13079405124980422112024-03-18T19:58:28.995-07:00Vanessa In The AfternoonThank you for being here! I use this blog as a place to share my illustrations and comics, and all the other cool stuff that inspires me. Hope you enjoy.Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-74810118521228609742019-12-01T12:58:00.001-08:002019-12-01T13:00:36.919-08:00This Past Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been while since my last post. Creatively, it's been a year rich with experimentation, a lot of trial and error, and a ton of self-education. I've been hard on myself for not finishing a lot of stories and projects that I've started over the years, however, something in that flurry of uncertainty gave me the chance to figure out what works best for me, what stories I really want to tell, and how I want to tell them. Even down to the simple yet complex question that has been haunting me for a long time; do I want my comics in colour or black and white? (I've decided. Why not both?)</div>
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I had the opportunity to draw some comics for my friends' magazine, Bandwidth, which was such a fun experience (not to mention cool to see my work in print) and I also made the big decision to quit my full-time job this year and work on my comics; build my creative portfolio, upgrade to a website soon, and hopefully create a viable business for myself. I turned 40 this year, which also made me realize how fast time flies! I'm grateful to be here. </div>
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Below is a small sampling of some of the stuff I've been working on. Playing around with colour as well. Some goals this year: get my stuff out there more and improve my lettering!</div>
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Thank you for reading! -Vanessa</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comic sample in Holbein Acryla Gouache</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Character Portrait in Holbein Acryla Gouache</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comic for Bandwidth Issue 003</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comic for Bandwidth Issue 002</td></tr>
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<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-38696464983288353122017-03-12T23:48:00.000-07:002017-03-13T11:32:00.862-07:00Family Tree<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
This illustration probably took me over a year to actually finish, because I gave up on it for a while and got busy with other things. But I'm very happy I got back to it. It was a lot of fun to add all the detail. I was definitely inspired by Jill Barklem's Brambly Hedge stories that I read as a child. If you don't know these books, I strongly suggest finding them. They are wonderful. Anyway, it feels likes it's been a long winter, and with spring around the corner (I hope) here's one last cozy, wintery thing to enjoy.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family Tree by Vanessa MacLeod</td></tr>
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Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-16082866098170835842016-10-04T14:15:00.000-07:002017-03-12T23:06:42.092-07:00Pennies - A comic by Vanessa MacLeod<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is a short comic inspired by something that happened when my sister and I were little. It's a story that my sister has a memory of, but honestly, I only remember being told the story <b><i>by</i></b> my sister, though, I feel like I can remember what the lawn looked like, the feeling of the day, the weather. It sometimes makes me wonder what is actually a real memory, and what is just some weird distortion that my brain has come up with; kind of like a dream you might have had as a kid, but it feels like something that actually happened to you. The older I get, the more my childhood is fading, and becoming more dream-like so it was fun to explore this story, my relationship with my sister, and put it down into a comic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is for you, Jenny!</span></div>
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<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-64964230692601049742016-09-03T14:19:00.000-07:002017-03-12T23:54:36.844-07:00Still trying to figure it all out...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This summer, while on a camping trip, I had the privilege of observing my niece getting into the "drawing zone." I had brought my paints and sketchbook along, and while doing a little painting on the beach she asked if she could do some after I was done. Of course, I happily obliged and she sat down, set herself up, and probably for a good hour (at least), maintained an amazing focus. Drowning out the world around her. She didn't stop until she was finished. It was inspiring. She did that for about three different drawings.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For myself lately, I've been experimenting with different drawing styles and techniques. Still trying to figure out what I really want to say. I know I often over-think everything, and sometimes getting too caught up in every line being perfect (it will never be), or wanting to start over if I'm not happy. This is all stuff I have to work on.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'd like to use my little niece as inspiration for the next time I draw. Live in the moment. Don't worry. Just have fun.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiClZaWHzXrMxqQ7sCl6s7yU_DAdDvZ8r1XCPACO4bBvIdgUqoa4im372pzLIRZrIAXvSbu9lhYtE-iZ8x_TE0lOW3Db1BUTnMQbXeR3Jk9yOSDRHaBAsWj3Hgw2m8ccJbIrRd1ykF21ro/s1600/IMG_8924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiClZaWHzXrMxqQ7sCl6s7yU_DAdDvZ8r1XCPACO4bBvIdgUqoa4im372pzLIRZrIAXvSbu9lhYtE-iZ8x_TE0lOW3Db1BUTnMQbXeR3Jk9yOSDRHaBAsWj3Hgw2m8ccJbIrRd1ykF21ro/s640/IMG_8924.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My niece working on one of her paintings.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0oB7hDnz-7Y0AN-G8kErFosic5rrk5WJ1SDt6yaU_83s7QSS_mRKRzF9Hi2yvarCM-Ol6TyNP6ahJwK2c5oWmifhfCXYKRSQ1BPw0YFO5q1XTqDLbvpljA1BbyOBNfj8EnPOIzBgAg8/s1600/IMG_8825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0oB7hDnz-7Y0AN-G8kErFosic5rrk5WJ1SDt6yaU_83s7QSS_mRKRzF9Hi2yvarCM-Ol6TyNP6ahJwK2c5oWmifhfCXYKRSQ1BPw0YFO5q1XTqDLbvpljA1BbyOBNfj8EnPOIzBgAg8/s640/IMG_8825.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I redid this page twice and still wasn't happy. Concerning myself with every line being perfect sucked the joy<br />
and soul out of it. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2sckXZLUMrbj3qHVselQQITLW2D3zvzWFy9HZxnIqyKeab-R_JkvG2h7gf4AjOERgJIsA6D_3nwBkVDXGHneZ49AqwBZu3fi8GfUhyX2iZLR3JZRpW56k6cRhHFiUMAC1dJ1pTRkZCk/s1600/IMG_8829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2sckXZLUMrbj3qHVselQQITLW2D3zvzWFy9HZxnIqyKeab-R_JkvG2h7gf4AjOERgJIsA6D_3nwBkVDXGHneZ49AqwBZu3fi8GfUhyX2iZLR3JZRpW56k6cRhHFiUMAC1dJ1pTRkZCk/s640/IMG_8829.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After feeling discouraged, I decided to try a more freestyle comic. Not concerning myself with<br />
perfection. It was fun, and a good exercise. Ink on watercolour paper.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8H2sHdwfWE40_rJM3k_kiPQd6okzy2AmEm2oG-dp44VKMXpeHp0lWzv-IOhSiy7YzlwG3QJ-SPxYEQiIPq_k5q9Imfdh0KjomwquNR1JzayUobBmRjwSNVAVNAcvvTw_3L7RZsNBfq_Y/s1600/IMG_9043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8H2sHdwfWE40_rJM3k_kiPQd6okzy2AmEm2oG-dp44VKMXpeHp0lWzv-IOhSiy7YzlwG3QJ-SPxYEQiIPq_k5q9Imfdh0KjomwquNR1JzayUobBmRjwSNVAVNAcvvTw_3L7RZsNBfq_Y/s640/IMG_9043.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This illustration was a fun combination of the cartoon style I've been enjoying,<br />
along with some of the more light watercolour for the background. Ink on watercolour paper.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsA6uAwyK2vt5jiPYjr_5vFCvPlsV6qCY7IxH2gRhJ3ggJLjq2gdKaGbBR5iMklDDdTl_zV2yrbLHpTQPvuj-auD71mJ6t-Q07kxZU0SGVSMSjHPXc1v4G6Z9IgMu1Yzt1q1S_auAoN8s/s1600/IMG_9047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsA6uAwyK2vt5jiPYjr_5vFCvPlsV6qCY7IxH2gRhJ3ggJLjq2gdKaGbBR5iMklDDdTl_zV2yrbLHpTQPvuj-auD71mJ6t-Q07kxZU0SGVSMSjHPXc1v4G6Z9IgMu1Yzt1q1S_auAoN8s/s640/IMG_9047.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I tried to pull inspiration from own cartoons as a kid and just have fun with<br />
the colouring and details. Pencil crayon, ink pens.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-85758573954435565762016-06-07T20:12:00.001-07:002016-06-07T20:12:39.639-07:0019th Century Daguerreotypes!<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It's so much fun doing research for my comic; which takes place in the mid-19th century. I happened to come across a really cool collection of Daguerreotypes from the Library of Congress website and thought I'd share a few of my favourite ones. I've attached a link to the site (at the bottom of this paragraph), if anyone would like to use it as a research tool. There's over 700 images available in this collection. Have fun!</span><br />
<a href="https://www.loc.gov/search/?fa=partof%3Aamerica%27s+first+look+into+the+camera%3A+daguerreotype+portraits+and+views%2C+1839-1864" target="_blank">19th Century Daguerreotypes</a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVaFa5dgObS_TF_m1jgqiwRMIxPQw_4lHyZDn2qtWaiz2AZ7qJzIN-sp-DWobI4MiC0MxfHYMbVqLMFJSxglDRDKvcU7p45i6dFbpuZqmBXNF6W2G-NoQogEI_Hgtobs-QerQtzmGyPc/s1600/Woman+Smiling%252C+1844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVaFa5dgObS_TF_m1jgqiwRMIxPQw_4lHyZDn2qtWaiz2AZ7qJzIN-sp-DWobI4MiC0MxfHYMbVqLMFJSxglDRDKvcU7p45i6dFbpuZqmBXNF6W2G-NoQogEI_Hgtobs-QerQtzmGyPc/s640/Woman+Smiling%252C+1844.jpg" width="513" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young Woman smiling, 1844</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOemlxnN0QTGqHGoMQ_6Gohx-RG9O4SzakLgBxcWPTabnyANSwRn4snIDYQwvyCjGXYpXbh3Jqvn3u41QBBakQkrxe7wj_a7iZCYjDVrBGM1Ajlp2VpPOYfoFFB9z-VfhciSUWdXuisKo/s1600/Man+%2528with+Mustache%2529%252C+1840.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOemlxnN0QTGqHGoMQ_6Gohx-RG9O4SzakLgBxcWPTabnyANSwRn4snIDYQwvyCjGXYpXbh3Jqvn3u41QBBakQkrxe7wj_a7iZCYjDVrBGM1Ajlp2VpPOYfoFFB9z-VfhciSUWdXuisKo/s640/Man+%2528with+Mustache%2529%252C+1840.jpg" width="532" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young man, 1840</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSefENzWtRY-rmL6zlojTg69zCBfJPikX0RD6kZXMIQy-MewBaPpNelyvdLPDoUn5kcpnlKfB9BtKf-DSklB6oT6YOUkB26w-TQ65vNKAadOIpEbwD0XRpmxizK0PC69TO2Wgy0L6Xrx8/s1600/Woman+about+20+Yrs%252C+1844+%2528Approx%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSefENzWtRY-rmL6zlojTg69zCBfJPikX0RD6kZXMIQy-MewBaPpNelyvdLPDoUn5kcpnlKfB9BtKf-DSklB6oT6YOUkB26w-TQ65vNKAadOIpEbwD0XRpmxizK0PC69TO2Wgy0L6Xrx8/s640/Woman+about+20+Yrs%252C+1844+%2528Approx%2529.jpg" width="488" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young Woman, about 20 years old, 1844</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibafSnMcFX-ndc1v78fmoNXfJot7GrKu6NvLFlvP1raW-rMa2kyQvTqds_pcKqhp4d7O92G4qZ8V99IJbVFcLd5lyhQ9z5P5FhZm-U8FCovtpHFJgsuiHCEUbJah1sSV6Nwzq-_wS3Was/s1600/Woman+In+Profile%252C+1844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibafSnMcFX-ndc1v78fmoNXfJot7GrKu6NvLFlvP1raW-rMa2kyQvTqds_pcKqhp4d7O92G4qZ8V99IJbVFcLd5lyhQ9z5P5FhZm-U8FCovtpHFJgsuiHCEUbJah1sSV6Nwzq-_wS3Was/s640/Woman+In+Profile%252C+1844.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woman in profile, 1844</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06hY1h1G0RX71gsJU_AEtObOLA9-SdqZUo0NolqsseBGqcFbJ3PiYgRDMEWoro8mqYItVirGvNv-FGHPooHzNfDW5q6RWen-iMNxEsDvjblDCSHN4DXw1ueKNu7qXWIWHlbDuy6BpglE/s1600/Man+With+Dark+Hair%252C+1844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06hY1h1G0RX71gsJU_AEtObOLA9-SdqZUo0NolqsseBGqcFbJ3PiYgRDMEWoro8mqYItVirGvNv-FGHPooHzNfDW5q6RWen-iMNxEsDvjblDCSHN4DXw1ueKNu7qXWIWHlbDuy6BpglE/s640/Man+With+Dark+Hair%252C+1844.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man, 1844 </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYN5H8EdZMcf87tzOOOJ2WED8AYM8kseM_KPGtyLY1DQhBlD3OOq9jTYuU4gpAaWW_SE_o4o6dLtR0bhhpB30yEIVTJBqZYSmluL5o3c9eNdWTNxGKfw9DEC9WhOMtkuFNxODht_3_q9g/s1600/William+Cranch+%2528great+head+of+white+hair%2529%252C+1844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYN5H8EdZMcf87tzOOOJ2WED8AYM8kseM_KPGtyLY1DQhBlD3OOq9jTYuU4gpAaWW_SE_o4o6dLtR0bhhpB30yEIVTJBqZYSmluL5o3c9eNdWTNxGKfw9DEC9WhOMtkuFNxODht_3_q9g/s640/William+Cranch+%2528great+head+of+white+hair%2529%252C+1844.jpg" width="484" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Cranch, 1844</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRxinTcxYKZBIb2sTiKKNmrRA5YaltFI1AulPgFCQnVH8njLGL4QBszi6EaWq0ulcZwNgmkzaO_wfTj2vhvLuEraZ9s7uFSyANvKASDF7tXOMpbBUBHlP7S3xaWge7rvFP_qX7Ce_X0RA/s1600/Man+about+30+yrs+old%252C+1844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRxinTcxYKZBIb2sTiKKNmrRA5YaltFI1AulPgFCQnVH8njLGL4QBszi6EaWq0ulcZwNgmkzaO_wfTj2vhvLuEraZ9s7uFSyANvKASDF7tXOMpbBUBHlP7S3xaWge7rvFP_qX7Ce_X0RA/s640/Man+about+30+yrs+old%252C+1844.jpg" width="484" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man in profile, 1844</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5FmYnOyJmZ6GoWT82eOiv7YVkrwlxMhpmnCuaT21PV-AHX0vqTLFAYgr5oHOPDbSET0SDysKXzSbb7N-A0xcm0FawWEFBns1XiNo7rGXBtRkkfQAGQMonOerxi7zL5ouv8ON2N_YfjQ/s1600/Man+with+Glasses%252C+1844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5FmYnOyJmZ6GoWT82eOiv7YVkrwlxMhpmnCuaT21PV-AHX0vqTLFAYgr5oHOPDbSET0SDysKXzSbb7N-A0xcm0FawWEFBns1XiNo7rGXBtRkkfQAGQMonOerxi7zL5ouv8ON2N_YfjQ/s640/Man+with+Glasses%252C+1844.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man with glasses, 1844</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyK3UB6yVfrwycTgHGbvckXnfMsAOphUh-qWV8MllTf-83Pp0-6TvmjWBUMZvTMCgMx5oi05B_HdLpov9Dyy67KXU9buPRqQRSWGZui6H86qBtmhv-sAEm3Zdns9-lE1rHrizFlcTyH3A/s1600/Woman+With+Book%252C+1846.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyK3UB6yVfrwycTgHGbvckXnfMsAOphUh-qWV8MllTf-83Pp0-6TvmjWBUMZvTMCgMx5oi05B_HdLpov9Dyy67KXU9buPRqQRSWGZui6H86qBtmhv-sAEm3Zdns9-lE1rHrizFlcTyH3A/s640/Woman+With+Book%252C+1846.jpg" width="556" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woman with book, 1846</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PyaeGBL39teAgH3wZv4nN4KkBxhnPB8llvHqNrukEvrUnI44Og9PJ2oXBCW1bdSe5MUqqPBYUs-7YGdLWidYpNoxzEC6gHE9n0pO_TIg8nSUpxB4P1L-9hJK6Zh9b-83iQI9JOZPWi4/s1600/Man+about+35+yrs+old%252C+1844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PyaeGBL39teAgH3wZv4nN4KkBxhnPB8llvHqNrukEvrUnI44Og9PJ2oXBCW1bdSe5MUqqPBYUs-7YGdLWidYpNoxzEC6gHE9n0pO_TIg8nSUpxB4P1L-9hJK6Zh9b-83iQI9JOZPWi4/s640/Man+about+35+yrs+old%252C+1844.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man, 1844</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3fsIYLPiMV6Fe0lw1ZsNtMWYpN-MdCvMYeYDvDhqsIGnwd0AQvyXr97FM6r_3WM0_wIzJ5LcwJ4b0i2KG53sta4eQ42m5CZrNrNSu5ZhDNShhwaLDTWIBUdOaVMCiW0RlkbnGdJD1Yc/s1600/Asher+Brown+Durand%252C+1845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3fsIYLPiMV6Fe0lw1ZsNtMWYpN-MdCvMYeYDvDhqsIGnwd0AQvyXr97FM6r_3WM0_wIzJ5LcwJ4b0i2KG53sta4eQ42m5CZrNrNSu5ZhDNShhwaLDTWIBUdOaVMCiW0RlkbnGdJD1Yc/s640/Asher+Brown+Durand%252C+1845.jpg" width="491" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asher Brown Durand, 1845</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man with his cat, 1840</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young man, 1844</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheperd Knapp, 1844</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man, 1844</td></tr>
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<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-33976474739928160532016-03-08T14:14:00.000-08:002016-03-08T14:14:48.606-08:00Baby Birds in Springtime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About four years ago, when I was still living in a small town in Saskatchewan, I happened to notice a little robins nest inside an old hanging flower basket. I was so enamored by the gorgeous blue, almost turquoise colour of the eggs. It surprised me, as the basket was hanging from an old laundry post and was quite low to the ground. I immediately worried that something would happen to the eggs, or the parents would be easy prey to cats or other predators. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> In short, I became kind of obsessed with these eggs and their parents, and watched them either from my kitchen window or from a spot outside. Because of their location, I was able to take a few pictures, but tried my best not to interfere with the parents duties and was sure to never touch the eggs or the nest.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was May, and over the course of that month, I watched the eggs hatch (one never did) and the babies grow, the Mom and Dad come and go; feeding and keeping their young warm, sometimes they'd squawk at my son if he was playing on the swing-set in the backyard (doing what bird parents do to protect), until one day the babies were no longer in the nest. I could see them standing among the grass, waiting patiently for their food to be brought to them; their Mom and Dad used the empty dirt lot beside our house to find worms and bugs.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And then, one day, I could no longer spot the babies in the grass. Or see the parents worm-hunting in close proximity.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">J</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ust like that, their distinct presence had disappeared; blending into the trees and sky from which they came.</span></div>
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<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-92862951560371022015-11-20T22:26:00.000-08:002015-11-20T23:19:36.756-08:00Fall catch-up with Diary Comics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Well, it seems it's been a while since my last post. It's been a very busy autumn. Productive in many ways. I've been doing a lot of researching, drawing, experimenting, practicing, trying out different techniques and styles. Clearly, still trying to figure it out.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My goal is to one day feel settled and satisfied with a style. I think I just want to start feeling that there's a little more "smooth sailing" with my drawing process. That I feel a bit more settled in and comfortable with what I'm doing, I guess. Though, hopefully, you don't stop getting better!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: large;">Here's are a couple short Diary Comics that I did in the summer/fall. It was really fun to do these. I didn't worry too much about drawing everything perfectly which was quite freeing. And it was cool to write about my son, who definitely got a kick out of these. In a way, these two stories are a good "day in the life." When I'm not drawing, or procrastinating.</span></div>
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*For your reading pleasure, you can click on image to make it larger.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWphh_zeCiD5zcnSaEdLZJ8KmgYM8lJq2Gg5v7IZXfzfTWi4_L49behOu9jej3j6ZSy1IS6rfF-_pQI0uGiiIpFmuBvJhtxTP7tphAP2aVhmH1qcvSOohbZ769Pm7vBkk2NaaAC0AsWjQ/s1600/July16ComicPage4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWphh_zeCiD5zcnSaEdLZJ8KmgYM8lJq2Gg5v7IZXfzfTWi4_L49behOu9jej3j6ZSy1IS6rfF-_pQI0uGiiIpFmuBvJhtxTP7tphAP2aVhmH1qcvSOohbZ769Pm7vBkk2NaaAC0AsWjQ/s640/July16ComicPage4.jpg" width="492" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Vanessa MacLeod</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLgihnCOcZnVSmzDv3QwejzffU49lSj11q8O8vaXDmjdnqbvddzOIRuWjJjJVoXCvM3Ue3qKYrUvMclnaL3RNhF-HUGdrp4ZQjuvAhHoyGXWO_x4afGm0UyumHZwuwTv8n0EtqgKIg6w/s1600/Sept3ComicPage2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLgihnCOcZnVSmzDv3QwejzffU49lSj11q8O8vaXDmjdnqbvddzOIRuWjJjJVoXCvM3Ue3qKYrUvMclnaL3RNhF-HUGdrp4ZQjuvAhHoyGXWO_x4afGm0UyumHZwuwTv8n0EtqgKIg6w/s640/Sept3ComicPage2.jpg" width="466" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Vanessa MacLeod</td></tr>
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<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-84377542113585569102015-08-14T10:33:00.000-07:002015-08-14T10:34:58.231-07:00Lucy and Medo Illustration and Colouring Process<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">While I settle in to finish writing my second issue of Next To Nothing (then draw it), I've been having fun doing some stand-alone illustrations of my main characters, Lucy and Medo. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I thought it might be interesting to show some of the stages of my colouring process.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Photoshop is still a bit of a wonder to me, and I'm certainly learning as I go. For the most part, it's fun to do. And I think the better my understanding of the program, the more fun and creative control I can have with it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmwtSwGrXkwTjqNvl3m_De9yCSgVyxAvNRu8nYaJm9qdoUuMCTsnXs5npHm8_hM1bHtjBpleGt5AKvy2iz4FjWpuDB1HeGgeAJVRU2piTTvV9yS3EUBZOmtc23D7VLhzitiJMhxXNqAY/s1600/Lucy%2526MedoWaterfall1Reduced.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmwtSwGrXkwTjqNvl3m_De9yCSgVyxAvNRu8nYaJm9qdoUuMCTsnXs5npHm8_hM1bHtjBpleGt5AKvy2iz4FjWpuDB1HeGgeAJVRU2piTTvV9yS3EUBZOmtc23D7VLhzitiJMhxXNqAY/s640/Lucy%2526MedoWaterfall1Reduced.jpg" width="430" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Drawing started with blue pencil, then regular lead pencil over top of that, THEN inked with a brush. (for smaller details I used a Staedtler Fineliner pen)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzrUgQJpLqkC2zDLK0O9YS0tnqcLWoME94iTmPU-6ncGukr39rOEOJjKcdeqFSedVS0gt7BZlLrpvgKXg-2zaJlwvrLzAxYzFc5Jshmsumv92CUUEw25ANU_FZUiH4IyqECRu5bq3sNs/s1600/Lucy%2526MedoWaterfallReduced2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzrUgQJpLqkC2zDLK0O9YS0tnqcLWoME94iTmPU-6ncGukr39rOEOJjKcdeqFSedVS0gt7BZlLrpvgKXg-2zaJlwvrLzAxYzFc5Jshmsumv92CUUEw25ANU_FZUiH4IyqECRu5bq3sNs/s640/Lucy%2526MedoWaterfallReduced2.jpg" width="430" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here I tried to get the basic colouring done first, added some contrast on the trees. At this stage, I wasn't sure how I was going to tackle the waterfalls, and the water was (IS) a big challenge.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge09X1t0OMYA3WIAHaaAkpQX3KqUeSRwrAyxukpunMFp8HSns-MyDxnx6IcfGIWkJDilsovH1ho-WErFoxjTYGM6Z2wucfFNK_G1zkwtyX_7HTbtKxxYTQhs_gNwzmJBnfyI8x_leGsNY/s1600/Lucy%2526MedoWaterfallReduced3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge09X1t0OMYA3WIAHaaAkpQX3KqUeSRwrAyxukpunMFp8HSns-MyDxnx6IcfGIWkJDilsovH1ho-WErFoxjTYGM6Z2wucfFNK_G1zkwtyX_7HTbtKxxYTQhs_gNwzmJBnfyI8x_leGsNY/s640/Lucy%2526MedoWaterfallReduced3.jpg" width="430" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here I added more contrast (shadows, highlights etc), some water reflection, and detail on the rocks, as well as the background (behind the trees)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8L2gjL-5HliC6proqwJdooqGdxMZvXp5JNcOtHarDhTbrwdH7DPzMKuhpcZLCVkyMVds_2jUdFm_Qct7xMQim4h9CHfb3shAq5iHIKUgHjdL979ekf_9dvMBrL39ilP5s15tdMhn7CEk/s1600/Lucy%2526MedoWaterfallFinishedFlatPostReduced.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8L2gjL-5HliC6proqwJdooqGdxMZvXp5JNcOtHarDhTbrwdH7DPzMKuhpcZLCVkyMVds_2jUdFm_Qct7xMQim4h9CHfb3shAq5iHIKUgHjdL979ekf_9dvMBrL39ilP5s15tdMhn7CEk/s640/Lucy%2526MedoWaterfallFinishedFlatPostReduced.jpg" width="430" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wasn't happy with the overall colour, it was too cold, so I added a bit of warmth to it, as well as warmer highlights on the rocks, and on Lucy and Medo. I also tried to make the waterfalls look more splashy and watery. </span></div>
<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-80443857860231391882015-06-30T15:22:00.002-07:002015-06-30T15:22:59.775-07:00Next To Nothing by Vanessa MacLeod ~ Read the first five pages of issue #1<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi34aPEu8cGN_jRsSO-JxCmkFWr_IvRe1tuWww0SMKLRNwfPneLKzFAKP2HAbeK6sx83IPp-PyqlAuRD9x0jvkA7rxkgNo9iIewpbnU3HnewhbCCxOmXiAG-UnBGEnRATG0_12Wu8Uji7k/s1600/NextToNothingFinalPage1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi34aPEu8cGN_jRsSO-JxCmkFWr_IvRe1tuWww0SMKLRNwfPneLKzFAKP2HAbeK6sx83IPp-PyqlAuRD9x0jvkA7rxkgNo9iIewpbnU3HnewhbCCxOmXiAG-UnBGEnRATG0_12Wu8Uji7k/s640/NextToNothingFinalPage1.jpg" width="462" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyLphtkaZ2VJgivf8oKsXrvIm6tJPHuLyeyVsC0vAlf-cilFfx1cXnlK3qnxXBU5uRHJJFVGG8O63bH_84nzQ-cHVpRj_jTyKG8LYdfAh2_i1w5Y2ieFr7Dz4kVjfeBwQ0TXB8OABNvAo/s1600/NextToNothingFinalPage2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyLphtkaZ2VJgivf8oKsXrvIm6tJPHuLyeyVsC0vAlf-cilFfx1cXnlK3qnxXBU5uRHJJFVGG8O63bH_84nzQ-cHVpRj_jTyKG8LYdfAh2_i1w5Y2ieFr7Dz4kVjfeBwQ0TXB8OABNvAo/s640/NextToNothingFinalPage2.jpg" width="462" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivw0DIcDq_tfsET_UlXvLi8O8Oe4rh2LIaMZ4l-odjG_wwBGp3StgOIpLvIzt1H_Q_zjtoDTnFItXbdrJhPx_IaptpKyoLFD90A-QAIBZ9gIlby9N2ANYE89xWr9s7uBgefwAKA-6pH20/s1600/NextToNothingFinalPage3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivw0DIcDq_tfsET_UlXvLi8O8Oe4rh2LIaMZ4l-odjG_wwBGp3StgOIpLvIzt1H_Q_zjtoDTnFItXbdrJhPx_IaptpKyoLFD90A-QAIBZ9gIlby9N2ANYE89xWr9s7uBgefwAKA-6pH20/s640/NextToNothingFinalPage3.jpg" width="462" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMycTixhm4TmMb6Q564bMePH_9QbrgRBubcXMClAg65eMvwf0hbfU081aRdF4VjzPI2w1UnVTOXUoSGESNeG4wsDXirrcBwJ25pIUHEA4m0DcUy8jVjOQoqBtgCwkZTnf9fLRXz-oC7eE/s1600/NextToNothingFinalPage4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMycTixhm4TmMb6Q564bMePH_9QbrgRBubcXMClAg65eMvwf0hbfU081aRdF4VjzPI2w1UnVTOXUoSGESNeG4wsDXirrcBwJ25pIUHEA4m0DcUy8jVjOQoqBtgCwkZTnf9fLRXz-oC7eE/s640/NextToNothingFinalPage4.jpg" width="462" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwrGGOKulb9Z3XaMs2bbgCbv9ASKc57atibyol6d9D6azQRNegUGm851VX_2-KRg0xTPwlgQhEfnubOFqLFa3Yp-m7KYmNe6oZghgqJs3WfAOLcqHZDuIPeDTtykjxdiYNCIW43vuRBE/s1600/NextToNothingFinalPage5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwrGGOKulb9Z3XaMs2bbgCbv9ASKc57atibyol6d9D6azQRNegUGm851VX_2-KRg0xTPwlgQhEfnubOFqLFa3Yp-m7KYmNe6oZghgqJs3WfAOLcqHZDuIPeDTtykjxdiYNCIW43vuRBE/s640/NextToNothingFinalPage5.jpg" width="462" /></a></div>
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If you enjoyed this comic and would like to buy a copy of the first issue, please follow this link below to my Etsy shop. Thanks for reading!</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/237226927/next-to-nothing-issue-1?ref=shop_home_active_2" target="_blank">Buy the first issue here!!</a></div>
Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-30006809484103644862015-06-30T14:59:00.000-07:002015-06-30T14:59:23.007-07:00My first Comic Festival Part 3 (the exciting conclusion)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">So, it all seemed to be coming together. VanCAF was the next day. My art was printed, my comics had arrived, and I was feeling pretty good. I even managed to go to bed at a decent time!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I awoke the next morning feeling refreshed, got my stuff together and headed to the Roundhouse down in Yaletown.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">When I first walked into the space, I felt like maybe I didn't belong. Like I had somehow lied and cheated my way in. Of course, it was all in my head. Everyone was friendly and when I found my table I was greeted warmly by my table mates. It was all good. I started to relax and set up my stuff.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Then, I started feeling weirdly over-confident. I was thinking, "Yeah! Awesome! I'm gonna sell ALL my comics! Everyone is going to think I'm super talented! There's gonna be a buzz about me and my work!" (Ok, I don't think I really believed this, but still.) I was just thinking in extremes. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">So the doors finally opened to the public. The festival was two full, busy days. I met some great people, got to talk to writers and artists that I really admired, and even sold a few things. When it was all done, I was wiped out. I tried to sleep that night, but my brain was buzzing! The last two days were swirling around in my head and I couldn't stop them. The best I can compare it to is when you're a kid and you do something for the first time, like going on the waterslides or a roller-coaster, and when you go to bed you can't stop thinking about it? It's like you keep sliding down that slide or rolling down that steep coaster track? That's kind of what it was like for me. Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep and it was making me feel anxious, so I went downstairs and watched a movie to take my mind off things.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The next morning I felt better and was able to analyze my experience a bit more rationally.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I think the greatest thing I learned was that it's important not to invest in the experience too emotionally (does this sound impossible?) or base your self-worth or talent on how many sales you've made, or how many people stopped at your table. The fact of the matter is, you do the art or the comics or whatever because you love it (hopefully) and all you can do is keep at it, continue to learn and get better as an artist. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Of course, w</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">e need people to read comics and love art, and buy it sometimes, because that is certainly part of it too and it's kind of partly why we do it, right? So people can enjoy reading/looking at it as much as we enjoy making it? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I guess it's probably impossible to leave the ego out of what we do, but it's a good lesson to be learned. Just do what you do, try to get better, be appreciative, and don't lose sight of why you do it in the first place.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I realize writing this, I sound like I've made a mountain out of a molehill in some ways, but when you get involved with things relating to what is important to you, I guess it's easy to get carried away and put a lot of pressure and expectations on them. I suppose it's all about finding that balance.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">And yeah, I may not have sold all my comics, or created a buzz, but that was never supposed to be the point, was it? I learned tons. Made new friends. And despite my nervousness, had fun too.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I'm looking forward to the next time. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdTQJMp3pCWHgBUVhFmPF-YrL26uNTcrlVrIviC6wYShycG5Sg42vkXQ0sgR7hFdIFjoMOEmZZPFpnaApFr2NfXRBFLqns94a1yOtz71GA3Bcmyo1-HIdGwqOMZKArBz-KeJzTuw5nYU/s1600/IMG_4679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdTQJMp3pCWHgBUVhFmPF-YrL26uNTcrlVrIviC6wYShycG5Sg42vkXQ0sgR7hFdIFjoMOEmZZPFpnaApFr2NfXRBFLqns94a1yOtz71GA3Bcmyo1-HIdGwqOMZKArBz-KeJzTuw5nYU/s400/IMG_4679.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm looking pretty chill, hey?</td></tr>
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<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-55028266285344554872015-06-19T14:22:00.001-07:002015-06-19T16:03:00.389-07:00My first comic festival Part 2<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">...(continued from previous post)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">*Okay. Little recap. So VanCAF is less than two weeks away. I'm hoping that my comic will arrive in time, and I start to get everything else ready (business cards, illustrations to print, prices etc.) I also get to work on some new illustrations that I can sell, especially because I'm really tired of my old stuff!!*</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I should also mention, within this time, the comic proof arrived in the mail. It is basically a real, saddle-stitched finished copy of my comic! And it was in my hand! I had to go through it, make sure there was nothing I needed to change, sign a proof-approval form, and then they would print it for me.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I flipped through it. I hoped so badly that I didn't see a really dumb spelling mistake. Because I knew that if I did, I'd have to fix it. And then I'd basically be out of luck. I read through every page. I felt kind of proud, but weirdly underwhelmed. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Maybe seeing it in my hand for the first time was odd. The pages and panels were so... small. Maybe it was from staring at the original art for so long, and then seeing it reduced to a smaller size. I don't know. I couldn't quite figure it out. Maybe I didn't want to get too excited, because if I was feeling really good about it, then I'd be even more disappointed if it wasn't ready on time. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Other than the unexplainable emotion I felt about seeing my comic printed for the first time, I was really happy with the actual work the printers had done. Colour, size, paper quality. It was all great. And their customer service was wonderful. Leaving me with no other concern. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Thankfully, no spelling mistakes! I signed the proof approval form.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Finally, the last week rolled around. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">And then suddenly it was the day before the festival. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I went out to pick up my business cards and a few other last minute things.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">When I got home, there was a box waiting for me. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I won't deny it felt great. To see them all there. The feeling that I actually FINISHED something. Me. After so many years of wanting to be this and that. Starting stuff and never finishing. 28 pages of a story. A first issue. Beginning, middle, and end. And it only took me about eight years to figure it out.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Not to be too hard on myself, I guess. The road to figuring out what you really, really love is an unpredictable one. But the satisfaction in myself was kind of short-lived. I began thinking about all the things I wished I had done differently.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">In my head, I was already working on issue #2 and thinking about how much better it would be....</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBbBTgzoPiVTT9lC9SlkCdkvjlWI0QRTYDYu7UoynzH5gm7Em6AIcAr6Vz4oZHx2f1JkfdGQorXbWZeSnM0wNO2InblZYCzKS-wR7HZHBNGe3OFlsEal3o8pZrdA4RtZOrDUOB8z_XiU/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBbBTgzoPiVTT9lC9SlkCdkvjlWI0QRTYDYu7UoynzH5gm7Em6AIcAr6Vz4oZHx2f1JkfdGQorXbWZeSnM0wNO2InblZYCzKS-wR7HZHBNGe3OFlsEal3o8pZrdA4RtZOrDUOB8z_XiU/s640/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-5509427284755600242015-06-18T14:07:00.000-07:002015-06-18T14:07:26.355-07:00My first comic festival Part 1<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">It's been almost a month since I had my first table at Vancouver Comic Arts Festival. It was an interesting experience for me. I learned a lot, and I hope I'll be able to do it again next year too. But, being my first comic festival, and in light of the craziness of the months leading up to it, it certainly wasn't without weird emotion too.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">With everything that was going on, I had very little time to finish my first issue and get it printed before the festival. Basically, two weeks to ink, letter and colour everything (in order to have my comic printed in time) All I had were my pencils done, and most of the dialogue figured out. Now, I knew it wouldn't have been the end of the world had I NOT finished in time, but in my head I really, really, needed to get it done. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">When you are working on something you really love, and it's really important to you, it's easy to put too much pressure on yourself; you want it to be amazing, and you want to be proud of your work. And you want other people to love it too.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Working 13-15 hours a day, while I practically ignored my family and other household duties wasn't ideal. And as much as I can appreciate a deadline, the life balance was way off for a while. Also, there were so many things I didn't really know how to do, so I had to learn as I went (things like lettering, page prep for printing, inking-none of which I've mastered yet, of course!) I worked my ass off.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Finally, all my pages, were inked, lettered, and coloured. Long hours, but in a weird way, I would soon find out, I had just finished the "easy" part. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Almost there. It was the night before my deadline. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I went to a place to have my pages scanned since they were large pages and I didn't have the time to scan them on my smaller scanner. (That would mean scanning each page into sections and then stitching them together) Time consuming to say the least. And I also didn't know how to do it seamlessly. It would have taken me a very long time. I got home with my pages scanned onto a little hard-drive, feeling like I was gonna make it! I looked at the scans on my computer and then I realized something...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">When I first started drawing this comic, I decided to use the paper that already has the margins/bleed/safe-zone lines on the page. I thought they would save time for me so that I wouldn't have to do the measuring myself. That's all very well, but what I didn't realize ~ and if you're a comic artist I promise you will cringe reading this ~ was that those blue margin lines would show in the scans. Of course they would! They don't magically disappear once you're done with them! Especially on the pages where my art was full-bleed (for those who don't know, this is where the art runs right to the edge of the page), if nothing was to be cropped, then you'd see those little dashed lines running up through the page and through my art. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">My heart sank. I couldn't believe I had done such a stupid thing! That would basically mean cropping all my pages AND I couldn't have any pages with bleed. And it would all take TIME!! I was so pissed off at myself.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I worked hard to fix and resize all 28 pages. And getting everything print-ready was so new to me. And I didn't quite know if I was doing it correctly; if my page sizes were okay and the margins were correct. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Then my printing deadline came and went. And I wasn't done. I wasn't really close to being done. And I was devastated. I wanted to give up.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">After a good cry that night, and a restless sleep, I woke up the next morning feeling a bit better and decided I would do the best I could do, and hope that there was still a small chance my comic could be done in time. If not, fine. I'm an adult. It's okay. There would be many more opportunities, and I'd still have my art I could sell anyway. Fine. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">So, I kept working on it. And finally, about a week later it was all done. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I'll admit I wasn't 100% happy with it. I was disappointed that I had to crop the pages, and my cover wasn't what I wanted it to be, but I knew that if I let myself I probably could've worked on it forever and still not be totally satisfied. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I emailed all my files to the printers and crossed my fingers. But I couldn't just chill out now. I had all the other things I had to do to get ready for the festival. It was less than two weeks away...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_FYmFEVG9S7_Gtm8PrUD7R3jaADU9rNvHgJgU_grgaWKOj9rw1QNgJPVXQA0pIYE_y_h6HCATmj7dcIh9UlYDZkEOc0TaO1ZNv87e1wRq1m8DhhfA3wnNOtkc8FAQX0WX2HqkgGlIfw/s1600/IMG_4521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_FYmFEVG9S7_Gtm8PrUD7R3jaADU9rNvHgJgU_grgaWKOj9rw1QNgJPVXQA0pIYE_y_h6HCATmj7dcIh9UlYDZkEOc0TaO1ZNv87e1wRq1m8DhhfA3wnNOtkc8FAQX0WX2HqkgGlIfw/s640/IMG_4521.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Still working on the dialogue here.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUKuKOw7uZDnzlhSEbumfE8sE5bMRPSbrl-8JI1q_nSK7Bz_x5ud_TWyKqM-1Xiz1Oz5F2CvdFamHzVb5chsw6ne-rKuwBB-z-m6jGKTYUJ4BRCZwoluTolgzRy7t7HMnUxUbuCoq-_w/s1600/IMG_4526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUKuKOw7uZDnzlhSEbumfE8sE5bMRPSbrl-8JI1q_nSK7Bz_x5ud_TWyKqM-1Xiz1Oz5F2CvdFamHzVb5chsw6ne-rKuwBB-z-m6jGKTYUJ4BRCZwoluTolgzRy7t7HMnUxUbuCoq-_w/s640/IMG_4526.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Everything is now ready to be inked and coloured.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitDkATy3kC-xQ-nbMzQ0csu0RClu33RiL7FIgAOsfj67pkasVnUsxNr_qR7U46GZcy2zypJiFS3Je3eMF4uUKPLrKO0NOX08Vf_NHMWjSo7ZZVHHzMpIa5UQktWoaEJOECtg3uQU_OfhY/s1600/IMG_4527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitDkATy3kC-xQ-nbMzQ0csu0RClu33RiL7FIgAOsfj67pkasVnUsxNr_qR7U46GZcy2zypJiFS3Je3eMF4uUKPLrKO0NOX08Vf_NHMWjSo7ZZVHHzMpIa5UQktWoaEJOECtg3uQU_OfhY/s640/IMG_4527.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">All my tools to get it done.</span><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvU2V9dVJc6U2BkLadyCkY-KlBCySnxN5AbR6NXfnK9HbEs_MW415oQI-smyLXdGXHQNvDdEYJPMWWaIC6YO6JVkaQAjmOFShybvLL3mS53ss6A1yHI1xcgPhjAZyJZ-vor47gYIarCA0/s1600/IMG_4528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvU2V9dVJc6U2BkLadyCkY-KlBCySnxN5AbR6NXfnK9HbEs_MW415oQI-smyLXdGXHQNvDdEYJPMWWaIC6YO6JVkaQAjmOFShybvLL3mS53ss6A1yHI1xcgPhjAZyJZ-vor47gYIarCA0/s640/IMG_4528.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Colouring with watercolour pencils.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVq81VwkgHug1pN00PLYH9rq_yp_LstrgmNToDzoHReeqBt9dOMLp3Grj6WKGpWkMpNMEUIVnW6d4WakaA9NeoJUcltpAsgwlZMh68-jSwm2g09oxe0Nk1fY1GwgUUr_mXppGOpeBfQ4M/s1600/IMG_4561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVq81VwkgHug1pN00PLYH9rq_yp_LstrgmNToDzoHReeqBt9dOMLp3Grj6WKGpWkMpNMEUIVnW6d4WakaA9NeoJUcltpAsgwlZMh68-jSwm2g09oxe0Nk1fY1GwgUUr_mXppGOpeBfQ4M/s640/IMG_4561.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A page</span><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Getting there...</span></td></tr>
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Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-62946908415272287432015-05-16T17:30:00.001-07:002015-05-16T17:31:19.096-07:00A Strange Spring<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I suppose there's a lot to say but I don't really know where to start...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">First off, my Dad died in February.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">It was sudden and unexpected. When my sister called around midnight to give me the news, all I could say was, "You're kidding!" An expression more often used for general bafflement or less tragic circumstances, I suppose. But that's all I thought to say.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">In a way, it felt like a big joke. My Dad was a force of nature, an artist to the core, a writer, a poet, a teacher, and a great operatic singer. But he was also my Dad and he wasn't perfect. And I certainly had my issues with him. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But despite all that, he was a good man and a kind man. He taught me a lot about art, and poetry and singing. He always encouraged my sister and me to follow our dreams and never tried to tell us what to do with our lives. He respected our choices and he respected honesty. He had a tremendous impact on the lives of his friends and his singing students. And I know, without a doubt, that he loved me and my sister more than anything and never stopped trying to be a better person and a better father. I miss him.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXov7pOFMOaKNY7QRqss-sTVrhWt1elLbmYZWI5mUtP7ykEIGLG_qNUytYX-xALy0O945VHL7iuQ93-WXvrj9BXT49TJtaVFyV5p2OM2_8nHtggXOg9YN1gtuattiCu4Gwfi2CAvO4A4/s1600/Newest+Pics+Of+Dad_0088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXov7pOFMOaKNY7QRqss-sTVrhWt1elLbmYZWI5mUtP7ykEIGLG_qNUytYX-xALy0O945VHL7iuQ93-WXvrj9BXT49TJtaVFyV5p2OM2_8nHtggXOg9YN1gtuattiCu4Gwfi2CAvO4A4/s640/Newest+Pics+Of+Dad_0088.jpg" width="395" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration by my Dad, not sure when he did this. Probably in his twenties or thirties.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qhVMslFsRzyiy_7JwiEUifiaWn_2V_Cjo-ktUAL24WDUt3dA2iuKDyUmKGsD8rGiZYYBnOXPK5Ne2MFDJa_oQt97q1Axt7EKNG3X1FeItj6DapM2y4qkJPTZ4ldvFho6GQgWfZDNFYg/s1600/Newest+Pics+Of+Dad_0085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qhVMslFsRzyiy_7JwiEUifiaWn_2V_Cjo-ktUAL24WDUt3dA2iuKDyUmKGsD8rGiZYYBnOXPK5Ne2MFDJa_oQt97q1Axt7EKNG3X1FeItj6DapM2y4qkJPTZ4ldvFho6GQgWfZDNFYg/s640/Newest+Pics+Of+Dad_0085.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Dad loved his boots (and his hats.) </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpr5sEo-yfSp9wXbxBT-sjF2i_5vMAjyv7X85e_zwF0lUrZb0e3-YIeM8z7eskuyMOFsyBB7P_Pqbv44BbX9Qu3YzU4zK8aZdS2xpfjAwo_0SD8ijeyrYcPczy23TsqO-NV_mFts1zn-s/s1600/Newest+Pics+Of+Dad_0082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpr5sEo-yfSp9wXbxBT-sjF2i_5vMAjyv7X85e_zwF0lUrZb0e3-YIeM8z7eskuyMOFsyBB7P_Pqbv44BbX9Qu3YzU4zK8aZdS2xpfjAwo_0SD8ijeyrYcPczy23TsqO-NV_mFts1zn-s/s640/Newest+Pics+Of+Dad_0082.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Self-portrait. College days?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCs4QAhGBoyvfhEYsZAxDyEKFTAJcaLGkJSpgwPFp8PyFjIn_7H3o64HxRoMqDsjOsQ3umqfljwMLb-3J4oi-lJ2BxFHOHJPcfCe-iqAMi1jI0OMUDSSlbRcmamBpouNczmJ1wEffLnRg/s1600/IMG_4539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCs4QAhGBoyvfhEYsZAxDyEKFTAJcaLGkJSpgwPFp8PyFjIn_7H3o64HxRoMqDsjOsQ3umqfljwMLb-3J4oi-lJ2BxFHOHJPcfCe-iqAMi1jI0OMUDSSlbRcmamBpouNczmJ1wEffLnRg/s400/IMG_4539.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Dad in his art studio.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEq9X0BdSOVd2irp56dVolrCJhwiihQ89zB8SW4MPRt7obsBPRExNtEorV-0etR0EfMqx54Dm15QvEqEWucv6tCDJ4-kzWjUn2AQp1yC1ePxuzKc6C0rQdthw4ohzV6mKJoNcPrxeJRe0/s1600/24868_1311302977571_405928_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEq9X0BdSOVd2irp56dVolrCJhwiihQ89zB8SW4MPRt7obsBPRExNtEorV-0etR0EfMqx54Dm15QvEqEWucv6tCDJ4-kzWjUn2AQp1yC1ePxuzKc6C0rQdthw4ohzV6mKJoNcPrxeJRe0/s1600/24868_1311302977571_405928_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oil painting of my Mom, by my Dad. She is probably in her twenties.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bJs_ud48HIySvTNe6GjRIicK4UgnytFs4boV6WY_BmtOnaL3JBr0RWKvkarqH20duEC0R75r3SfU8wb4_OioG2_lWXa6AIGqqf7e0OffLD7bIApUVVwt__I_ihKU78OgNlj3yuqhB7w/s1600/Newest+Pics+Of+Dad_0070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bJs_ud48HIySvTNe6GjRIicK4UgnytFs4boV6WY_BmtOnaL3JBr0RWKvkarqH20duEC0R75r3SfU8wb4_OioG2_lWXa6AIGqqf7e0OffLD7bIApUVVwt__I_ihKU78OgNlj3yuqhB7w/s640/Newest+Pics+Of+Dad_0070.jpg" width="507" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is probably my favorite photo of my Dad. Early college years, I think. Loving the glasses and the haircut.</td></tr>
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<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-5260225750500299592015-01-29T17:34:00.000-08:002015-01-29T17:35:29.938-08:00Vancouver Comic Arts Festival<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">A while ago I applied for a table at the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival; a yearly event that showcases wonderful artists, illustrators, comic book writers and artists. Basically, all the stuff I love! I checked it out last year and it was great! I talked to so many talented people! And bought tons of cool comics and art!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Anyway, luckily, I was put on the wait-list for a table and turns out I got in! This is definitely my first art-centered festival and I'm excited to be part of it; especially since I've been working so hard to finish my comic, if I can push through then it would be great time to get it out there!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Here is the link to the Festival website. It's on in May. Check it out! And if you go, please come say hi!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.vancaf.com/" target="_blank">Vancouver Comic Arts Festival</a></span><br />
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<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-75030723957589295432015-01-13T13:32:00.000-08:002015-01-13T13:32:44.585-08:00Happy New Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbM34RjMlGYeZwMapWyZNnEtrZmIzndwmOA9q9SF8nGf-7Z-LjPLJp9eyq2n7jZNnLDnQ9qI0As8TSSzy6SoHimhqeybqxAw9dJ-rqlPbt1VfNQ7oO9qE7gqSKKwN3ycDblq37PbkQ5sw/s1600/GirlInSnowglobe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbM34RjMlGYeZwMapWyZNnEtrZmIzndwmOA9q9SF8nGf-7Z-LjPLJp9eyq2n7jZNnLDnQ9qI0As8TSSzy6SoHimhqeybqxAw9dJ-rqlPbt1VfNQ7oO9qE7gqSKKwN3ycDblq37PbkQ5sw/s1600/GirlInSnowglobe.jpg" height="640" width="494" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPgbrnAyq7pcYXO75Rvfyyp6-8KvTsDQLCKKTLz-gK0JDVG56spxm19_r8YuJEjcmjsiMmiibZyvOID6h-FhvUYS5qm3UG9p484vrlLIZZEmouwSiqaunJkFvcXbC9DeWWE7a_KzNpm4/s1600/Ice+SkatingFinished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPgbrnAyq7pcYXO75Rvfyyp6-8KvTsDQLCKKTLz-gK0JDVG56spxm19_r8YuJEjcmjsiMmiibZyvOID6h-FhvUYS5qm3UG9p484vrlLIZZEmouwSiqaunJkFvcXbC9DeWWE7a_KzNpm4/s1600/Ice+SkatingFinished.jpg" height="640" width="466" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Wow, Christmas time is always such a whirlwind. Lot's of fun, but a pretty surefire way for me to lose any momentum I might have with my drawing schedule. My self-discipline is sill a work in progress! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The new year for me will hopefully mean getting more drawing done! I've given myself a personal goal to finish the pencil portion of my first issue of a comic I'm working on by the end of this month! Fingers crossed. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">This comic is not something I've really posted very much about. I haven't shared any of my work on it thus far, but I'm excited to be able to do that soon! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Here are a couple illustrations I did before the holiday madness! Brush pen, gouache, and coloured fineliner pens.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Hope everyone will have a great 2015!</span>Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-51414417174314358012014-11-24T13:14:00.002-08:002014-11-24T13:14:46.835-08:00Fast Forward<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpLSt2QETqbzaY3mXmBJV4eljMwH2sl2tavyMuwVYsUeN_moKHI8rv-NTXMe9BiAaRl_t7eiE54M7mJClcQGXSoliC2q_3zCsm_191MhnUhaM1dhbvnQdjT4JQrb-vc6DFoJry7F_yFI/s1600/Seasons+of+a+Tree+Colour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpLSt2QETqbzaY3mXmBJV4eljMwH2sl2tavyMuwVYsUeN_moKHI8rv-NTXMe9BiAaRl_t7eiE54M7mJClcQGXSoliC2q_3zCsm_191MhnUhaM1dhbvnQdjT4JQrb-vc6DFoJry7F_yFI/s1600/Seasons+of+a+Tree+Colour.jpg" height="640" width="494" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seasons by Vanessa MacLeod</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I've always loved comics that explore the passing of time; the changing of one particular spot over the years. Robert Crumb's Short History of America comes to mind. Chris Ware also explores the passing of time in his amazing graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid On Earth; in fact Ware often explores this theme, which is one of the things I love about his work. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">It is sometimes hard to accept how quickly time passes. I feel it every day. When I look at my son's face; suddenly he's a 24 year old man and not the 7 year old boy. It also makes me think of my own aging; all the things I still want to accomplish in life. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">It's amazing how easy it is to imagine your entire lifespan in the time it takes to pour a cup of coffee.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Here's my own version of the passing of time. Inspired by a tree that I pass on my way to my son's school. </span></div>
Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-76741136286911808912014-11-03T19:59:00.000-08:002014-11-03T19:59:55.160-08:00Rain!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">We've been seeing a lot of rain in ol' Vancouver these days, which inspired this cartoon. Splashing someone while driving has become a legitimate fear of mine! Or being the one getting splashed!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5g7xwKb4GOEa5Gtlll1BzRDFX3-ewET8W_3-OeX9gAnzD7C_5HzPiTaJQ0HirPsrBvg4-F8SIqKRWW-7H4uqFhf2t24Oenzow4jKxMDYZ-14wx2CqBGBNS8vLwnBFf94p5OuJiHhxPs/s1600/Puddle+Comic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5g7xwKb4GOEa5Gtlll1BzRDFX3-ewET8W_3-OeX9gAnzD7C_5HzPiTaJQ0HirPsrBvg4-F8SIqKRWW-7H4uqFhf2t24Oenzow4jKxMDYZ-14wx2CqBGBNS8vLwnBFf94p5OuJiHhxPs/s1600/Puddle+Comic.jpg" height="640" width="624" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Puddle" by Vanessa MacLeod</td></tr>
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<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-52109896352493109592014-10-26T12:48:00.000-07:002014-10-26T12:58:22.344-07:00A little Halloween comic<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Halloween is in the air! Well, I did a little comic about what I think might be a bad costume choice?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2tquyVRGPkrle24CBQsl4Sl_lzqlkiTUmuifsTM-thAzN9obQ6uApx2Z9v2nD9TRqJW121fp7sDbqRo7X16X_iFOc5t7-PuT9ELa_K_NGnGuCZEMAIgczi1xQyYfkCdiGmenoLEfsAR0/s1600/Hobo+Costume+Comic+Reduced+Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2tquyVRGPkrle24CBQsl4Sl_lzqlkiTUmuifsTM-thAzN9obQ6uApx2Z9v2nD9TRqJW121fp7sDbqRo7X16X_iFOc5t7-PuT9ELa_K_NGnGuCZEMAIgczi1xQyYfkCdiGmenoLEfsAR0/s1600/Hobo+Costume+Comic+Reduced+Image.jpg" height="640" width="624" /></a></div>
<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-78773252568426452562014-10-25T14:09:00.000-07:002014-10-25T14:09:18.846-07:00Etsy Vancouver<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">In September, I had the opportunity to be a vendor at the first Etsy Vancouver Marketplace, downtown at Robson Square. It was a gorgeous, sunny autumn saturday and a great turnout. I learned a lot through the preparation process and had a great time chatting with people. I even sold some stuff which was great!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Here are a few pics from the day. Thanks to anyone who stopped to talk to me, or bought something or grabbed a business card!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2T_IC1dD71nm312H9nGJ1JlL7a9sW1z7P06Kj47-LIfjGfwA9qGNWtBp-Pg9mC_jCq95RBgkNcAg2m4vHqjod_DlZb7A-KJEGppg5Q-1zbcDKufTrZSdh37wyfd6AKrbofS70q5JMWLE/s1600/IMG_3840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2T_IC1dD71nm312H9nGJ1JlL7a9sW1z7P06Kj47-LIfjGfwA9qGNWtBp-Pg9mC_jCq95RBgkNcAg2m4vHqjod_DlZb7A-KJEGppg5Q-1zbcDKufTrZSdh37wyfd6AKrbofS70q5JMWLE/s1600/IMG_3840.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My table and wares.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuxfn4jGdkiChiHHuX3aQ5UO2Zj5wQ8Br4vIrAPpRBguNgD0MZO67GeaSMDJaaz3tREgLvdOMDMleL4Iu64Ukn9m4n48-9mxBYxy1jkjlTGIkLXdWDFTLYWPTkDY9FRMz4UsbzH0mN6JA/s1600/IMG_3841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuxfn4jGdkiChiHHuX3aQ5UO2Zj5wQ8Br4vIrAPpRBguNgD0MZO67GeaSMDJaaz3tREgLvdOMDMleL4Iu64Ukn9m4n48-9mxBYxy1jkjlTGIkLXdWDFTLYWPTkDY9FRMz4UsbzH0mN6JA/s1600/IMG_3841.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another table shot.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd3KaHGng9Q-kl4ym-qb8kOMCf2LVq02jlSS4IHCyqDoDb9ZfHcE9K23ZT24BvO-AYvsE5UnHo-nh0k9CFpjYDQv24E1_Sl6N8FkuCxvemHOi3akoB3TNmo3Q0MTPLQ22b6zQ06UPVrtY/s1600/IMG_3843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd3KaHGng9Q-kl4ym-qb8kOMCf2LVq02jlSS4IHCyqDoDb9ZfHcE9K23ZT24BvO-AYvsE5UnHo-nh0k9CFpjYDQv24E1_Sl6N8FkuCxvemHOi3akoB3TNmo3Q0MTPLQ22b6zQ06UPVrtY/s1600/IMG_3843.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from my table; Vancouver Art Gallery in the background.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1bu76kmMUhYXknlNnD7kTV40LFa5kUF0HlQ9wGdvQYFS6XwdiBzmnK43HCYIqziXUu1py6YeULZO6pkjzPCkRo29otatOF3INYp0bmMTb5BHq9wUCsdS-e8VEyplI-omZogqel4iM0lE/s1600/IMG_3844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1bu76kmMUhYXknlNnD7kTV40LFa5kUF0HlQ9wGdvQYFS6XwdiBzmnK43HCYIqziXUu1py6YeULZO6pkjzPCkRo29otatOF3INYp0bmMTb5BHq9wUCsdS-e8VEyplI-omZogqel4iM0lE/s1600/IMG_3844.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I sold a button!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqkmSbbvSXxdp7B3OjkPTSjSnqeHYjFMe9Ww2tPHplAcvJI9BPYCgPIpSzwOOaxM1-9RFFPNZaBnbYNa4dCQXh9dQ8s8oL6h3b3_qnJOSZ_qsJU5BXuMMZshdD6cJyormeWZ6KjFzd48/s1600/IMG_3845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqkmSbbvSXxdp7B3OjkPTSjSnqeHYjFMe9Ww2tPHplAcvJI9BPYCgPIpSzwOOaxM1-9RFFPNZaBnbYNa4dCQXh9dQ8s8oL6h3b3_qnJOSZ_qsJU5BXuMMZshdD6cJyormeWZ6KjFzd48/s1600/IMG_3845.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I did some quick sketches of people as they wandered by. </td></tr>
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<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-36049277001960846312014-09-23T16:18:00.000-07:002014-10-26T13:01:13.213-07:00Bird<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicrghsyXcpgr9HLDECmV7i9xsc_iGk8P8g2E2MvJfWhWxGqtA9o0bUoNrTrtbx7c2xSTMzZdRwJpFsMoXihW_IbJj9wf-9JcT2dX8QHbT8CtYYoRMBnDmYvtMGFi-NiijpstZueCeSf74/s1600/Comic+%232+BIRD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicrghsyXcpgr9HLDECmV7i9xsc_iGk8P8g2E2MvJfWhWxGqtA9o0bUoNrTrtbx7c2xSTMzZdRwJpFsMoXihW_IbJj9wf-9JcT2dX8QHbT8CtYYoRMBnDmYvtMGFi-NiijpstZueCeSf74/s1600/Comic+%232+BIRD.jpg" height="492" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click for LARGER image!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I've been doing a lot of experimenting with different styles, colours, pens, techniques etc. Sometimes I feel weird being all over the map but then I think, That's OK! Sometimes it takes years before a person can really get comfortable; if they ever do. In any case, I'm having so much fun trying out different things. This comic is one of a series of 6-panel comics I'm doing in a new sketchbook. My goal is to fill the whole sketchbook up with these random little stories! All the drawing and colouring is done by hand; I used a Pigma brush pen, Staedtler fineliner pens in various colours, and a blue mechanical pencil. I find these satisfy my need for instant gratification all the while working toward a larger goal.</span>Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-24155324159288280832014-09-07T17:05:00.000-07:002014-09-22T23:37:32.988-07:00Travel Comic #1<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgexiNY422EDNufGEzCiGQL_Jb__sTLFmBEcnbZz1pNZWfFEq9SPobfLN1cbfWzPhbfT9M8AT0HX_o7qvCMhrHAo3jporh5u1PgMrYI2scvkeWhKMmhqIonjUpZNNs_8GSUhBlmAW_kQg8/s1600/Diary+Comic+Page+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgexiNY422EDNufGEzCiGQL_Jb__sTLFmBEcnbZz1pNZWfFEq9SPobfLN1cbfWzPhbfT9M8AT0HX_o7qvCMhrHAo3jporh5u1PgMrYI2scvkeWhKMmhqIonjUpZNNs_8GSUhBlmAW_kQg8/s1600/Diary+Comic+Page+1.jpg" height="640" width="522" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Travel Comic Page 1 by Vanessa MacLeod</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">For the last five or so years, I've been sporadically working on a comic about the European backpack adventure I went on when I was 21. At the time of my travels, I kept a journal and wrote nearly every day, along with poems, drawings and little bits of memorabilia that could be taped onto the pages ( empty sugar packet from a cafe in Spain or train ticket stubs, for example.) Thing is, after 200 or so pages of "story boarding" (stick figures and word bubbles, basically), I became extremely scared of drawing the real thing. I didn't know how to start! It's so easy to get caught up in over analyzing everything, not feeling like you're good enough, and getting caught up in "perfection." Yes, it's great to have standards. Yes, it's great to continue to strive to get better and to learn and grow as an artist. But sometimes you get to a point when you need to let go of all that; just have fun, not be too precious about everything, and don't be afraid to experiment and try things out.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Well, so here it is. Page one of my travel comic. I used paper, pencils, ink pens and gouache for this. Denied myself the temptation of doctoring it in Photoshop. Plain and simple. It's a lot different than my regular full-page illustrations (where I mostly do digital colour.) But I really went with the flow and I feel pretty good about it. Of course, I'll probably end up hating it in some way. Even as I write this, I see flaws and little bits I could change. But that's ok! Sometimes it's good to just do it and then move on. </span>Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-23335865023663578992014-06-20T17:29:00.001-07:002014-06-20T17:37:49.176-07:00Roller Girl<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1aXxq4Zow0ci4vFnOSdjAMB-eAM9UDv561NHNYkRDJltBB7_j4GzAZeCRrTSjvKfuAxO7uKDFM9u7nmIQlMjR5XCz90HmstKJ9jTGq0cVi80R3hEI3ZN_VYnWWIZYSmwEZTC1FIIjwXQ/s1600/Roller+Girl+New+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1aXxq4Zow0ci4vFnOSdjAMB-eAM9UDv561NHNYkRDJltBB7_j4GzAZeCRrTSjvKfuAxO7uKDFM9u7nmIQlMjR5XCz90HmstKJ9jTGq0cVi80R3hEI3ZN_VYnWWIZYSmwEZTC1FIIjwXQ/s1600/Roller+Girl+New+3.jpg" height="640" width="494" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roller Girl by Vanessa MacLeod</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I had so much fun with this one! Not hard to see what inspired me here; a bit of grunge, a bit of punk, springtime, loads of colour. Her sly smile remains a mystery to me though. Not sure what she's thinking!</span></div>
Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-11611030079408807522014-05-22T12:15:00.000-07:002014-05-22T12:18:55.096-07:00In Paradise<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46YOy7KkzH7gPC3CfoMRAgSGUNE4uhaiMIvYQJGwlh2yRrmI8mBqTZKoF2cgi4ihDc7SuaRNH-6_3i90N8C6IaJgglPsrfa5uvo539jwDr7MXh5RaAIWZvxEd4s5qKMmFhrgKDP4_eA0/s1600/VMMauiGirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46YOy7KkzH7gPC3CfoMRAgSGUNE4uhaiMIvYQJGwlh2yRrmI8mBqTZKoF2cgi4ihDc7SuaRNH-6_3i90N8C6IaJgglPsrfa5uvo539jwDr7MXh5RaAIWZvxEd4s5qKMmFhrgKDP4_eA0/s1600/VMMauiGirl.jpg" height="640" width="494" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Paradise By Vanessa MacLeod</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">This illustration was very summer movie influenced; a little bit of Blue Crush, Pauline At The Beach, and Gidget. Also inspired by the beautiful French actress Anna Karina. If you haven't seen the 1965 film Pierrot Le Fou, please watch it now!</span><br />
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Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-86289909386599593192014-05-12T22:12:00.000-07:002014-05-12T22:15:28.435-07:00Miss October<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAW1DZYlcqRm6elbmYdjARdaR8RYOeeavtEjQCP2jVl3A8p_Fobkb5II30cRgyTQeK6R3GDCXvucGbzndO4AzRENW74lUwrGehkiCaG26StvGcZ1mXeBawPAD6IWMELQmA8CjhEglOiOI/s1600/MissOctoberFinished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAW1DZYlcqRm6elbmYdjARdaR8RYOeeavtEjQCP2jVl3A8p_Fobkb5II30cRgyTQeK6R3GDCXvucGbzndO4AzRENW74lUwrGehkiCaG26StvGcZ1mXeBawPAD6IWMELQmA8CjhEglOiOI/s1600/MissOctoberFinished.jpg" height="640" width="494" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pin Up of Miss October by Vanessa MacLeod</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">As of late I've been working on some character Pin Ups while also trying to getting better using Photoshop. While I still draw everything by hand, I like to colour digitally. It's a lot of fun, but also forgiving. Allowing me to learn as I go without totally destroying my work.</span>Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307940512498042211.post-1197130187068095272014-03-05T17:37:00.000-08:002014-03-05T17:37:58.933-08:00A Couple More Rachel Rising Contest Submissions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Here are a couple more entries for Terry Moore's Kill Me Zoe contest. I was inspired to put the image on a couple of large cans and take a few pics at the grocery store. I did ask for permission but still got some weird looks! Worth it.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The other image was, of course, inspired by Minecraft. Might as well put a "mild" video game addiction to good use. It was fun setting the scene, and pasting the images together. Here is a link to the tumblr site featuring mine and other contest entries: http://terrymooreart.tumblr.com/ Please feel free to comment or like it!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUq87QTuaq-OS1xDdygmE_xSbFE4CFQnw5ozifMO7yK5dygQC-dT8tz0UMuISOsnPdmsTEft2o-c0irNb9uS9k_9VRLC3q4x9DmWTm75B4HBW3d2hP6YoEM6ktys-dJ2x3cnUquQhPAVA/s1600/photo-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUq87QTuaq-OS1xDdygmE_xSbFE4CFQnw5ozifMO7yK5dygQC-dT8tz0UMuISOsnPdmsTEft2o-c0irNb9uS9k_9VRLC3q4x9DmWTm75B4HBW3d2hP6YoEM6ktys-dJ2x3cnUquQhPAVA/s1600/photo-10.JPG" height="261" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whole or Diced? Photo by Vanessa MacLeod</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7HSQXzoQGO0lTIotEKYx4I65Iu-IOfeZpY9j1TTVQ6VJUfU8logqBDGBePciFTWD1bBXHPeEDZKml4Shli-wOHQWFKkfVwTYKv4yULl0A9617gbXIjazoPKDJXau77TwCQUrZAX4kMq8/s1600/Rachel+Rising+Minecraft+ver3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7HSQXzoQGO0lTIotEKYx4I65Iu-IOfeZpY9j1TTVQ6VJUfU8logqBDGBePciFTWD1bBXHPeEDZKml4Shli-wOHQWFKkfVwTYKv4yULl0A9617gbXIjazoPKDJXau77TwCQUrZAX4kMq8/s1600/Rachel+Rising+Minecraft+ver3.jpg" height="640" width="496" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Survival Mode! Image by Vanessa MacLeod</td></tr>
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<br />Vanessa MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10596553075998192226noreply@blogger.com0