Liebster Nomination

Hey folks! So, my really good friend/fellow artist Josh Cotton nominated me for a Liebster award! The way he described it, it's a blogger to blogger award and to help spread the word about various blogs. He nominated my blog, which means I must do as follows: Answer cool questions, tell you guys random stuff (which I already do, so that's normal), and nominate five other blogs.

Without further ado, let the answering begin!

1. What do you hope to accomplish with your art?

I want to promote wholesome, family entertainment that can be enjoyed by all ages. If I can move people to bettering themselves, then I've done my job.

2. Who is your greatest art hero?
Argh, I have too many! I've gotta say, though, that Walt Disney is my hero in EVERYTHING, especially in animation. If it weren't for him, animation would most likely not be the core of quality family entertainment that it is today. Without his innovative ideas, normal animation processes like storyboarding would not be the same. He was also one of the first to really put depth into his pictures and make animation an art form, not just a cheap way to get laughs. Also, I admire his tenacity and "keep moving forward" attitude. The guy had the worst amount of setbacks (losing jobs, losing animators, losing characters, losing health, losing children), but still stuck to his guns because he had more important things to do than fail.

3. What is your favorite thing to draw?

Expressions and faces. I can't get enough of them. I'll sometimes draw my faces and expressions, mainly as a form of therapy when I'm frustrated or something. Drawing out my frustrations in a humorous, animated way relieves a lot of stress and helps me laugh.

4. What is your philosophy about sketchbooking?

DO IT. JUST DO IT. It is the best possible way to practice. Take your sketchbook with you everywhere and just draw whatever inspires you. I'll be walking through a clothing store and see a really well-designed shirt and draw it out in my sketchbook for later reference. I'll be walking through Barnes and Noble and notice a neat book illustration and quick sketch it out because the composition was really cool. I'll be in Disney World and notice the way the roof curves on a building and I'll sketch that out and maybe use it for a story idea. You never know when inspiration will strike, so it's best to always be prepared.

5. What do you feel is your greatest strength as an artist?
 Despite all the hardships and setbacks I've experienced with art and being in an art major, I've never stopped drawing, and I never will.

6. What do you feel is your greatest weakness as an artist?
I don't experiment all that much with design. I tend to get comfortable in certain areas of visual design and just stick with it. To counter this, I'm always looking at art books and blogs to give me inspiration and help me think differently about design.

7. Who is cooler, MacGyver or James Bond?
MacGyver. I can probably conceivably make some of the things he invents. With James Bond, I have to have too much money in order to even think about touching one of his gadgets... 

8. Do you feel physical condition (fitness, sleep, nutrition) impacts your artwork? If so, how?
YES! I find that if I'm too tired or hungry, I'll get grumpy or sluggish, and I wind up not producing the quality artwork that I normally would. Also, as my tendinitis story suggests, your body can get fed up with drawing. Ever since I got tendinitis, I've been more aware of taking breaks while drawing and get up, move around, and rest my arm so that I don't overwork my muscles. 

9. Do you feel spirituality factors into art? If so, how?
Sure! I do what I can do draw things that are pleasing to my Heavenly Father. Also, I'm often inspired by the stories of the Book of Mormon, Bible, Mormon history, and my own spiritual experiences when drawing. I've actually been working on a story now for the past couple of years that basically chronicles my spiritual journey in coming closer to my Heavenly Father. 

10. You have one sentence left to live. What do you want to tell the world?
Don't be afraid to be yourself.

11. Eleven random facts
1. The tendons in my ankles are slanted, not perpendicular to my foot, which means that my feet and knees naturally point inward. Basically, it's not entirely my fault that I didn't grow up to be a ballerina.

2. I've had the opportunity to sit in on lectures with Glen Keane and Marty Sklar (head of Imagineering when EPCOT was being built)... and I got to ask them questions!

3. I'm a clogger. Basically, it's a combination of Irish and tap, with a lot of stomping. It's a pretty good alternative to ballet. (I prefer fiddles and bagpipes with a techno sound to classical, anyways.)

4. Because of the aforementioned weird tendon thing, I can sit with my knees touching and facing inward. It's the only way I can sit for a long period of time; crosslegged is too uncomfortable!

5. I can play a portion of Rhapsody in Blue on the piano.

6. I reread the entire Harry Potter series at least once a year.

7. Before settling on being an artist, I wanted to work with animals, particularly in wildlife conservation. I've worked with veterinarians and wildlife museums. Even though I chose a different path, my knowledge of animals has helped me a lot in my drawing (remember kids: life experience is the best kind!)

8. I've seen a solar eclipse.

9. I've been with the Walt Disney Company for nearly three years (!!!!!!)

10. I can quote Disney movies and spew Disney facts like nobody's business.

11. I've spent the past three years living in three different states: California, Utah, and Florida. As in, each year was spent living in each state at a time. And I wonder why I'm exhausted.

Next part: I get to nominate cool blog people! You should check them out! They're all awesome artists!

Claire Gordon
Alyssa Petersen
Wesley Tippets
Kendall Hale 
Christina LeBaron

My 11 Questions:
1. What inspired you to keep drawing?
2. Who is your artistic hero?
3. You're in an art rut and need to get out. What do you do?
4. What is your ultimate artistic goal?
5. What is something you'd like to improve upon artistically?
6. Where do you go for inspiration?
7. How do you like to go about art projects: Several straight hours' worth of work, stretch it out with breaks, etc?
8. Do you have any preferred art materials (could be digital and/or traditional)?
9. Dragons, griffins, unicorns, or Batman?
10. Any advice you'd like to share after all this art experience you've had?
11. Random fact about yourself :)

Thanks for reading this novel! Now go look at some cool artwork by all these people I've mentioned!