How’s everyone doing? Welcome to the first blog of March! February is such a weird month so we've technically skipped what would of been one or maybe two more blogs if this was a month with 30 or 31 days.
A High Octane Set of Car Photographs
It’s time to rev up those engines and
hit the road! I go out on trips with my family a lot and this previous week we
seemed to of hit a jackpot when it comes to finding awesome and vintage cars
along our way. First off we got this super sexy (Am I allowed to use that word
on here?) silver race car.
I really don’t know if this is a specific model or some sort
of custom built kit car but it’s absolutely awesome. It’s so sleek and looks
like it could tear up a racetrack somewhere in the world. It’s got a nice soft
top and I would love to get the chance to drive behind the wheel of this very
badass car.
On the same day, surprisingly I came across this incredible
Plymouth Roadrunner.
While Roadrunner is one of my all time favorite Looney Tunes
this car is even more of an absolute favorite. I’ve always been a huge fan of
the Plymouth Roadrunner. This is a Plymouth Roadrunner is a 340 model. I don’t
exactly know the year but I’ve been learning a lot about cars since starting
this blog up so with a little looking up I can say this would roughly be a
1960s car. Though if you know the exact year please let me know, let me know on
that kit car as well my curiosity is killing me and I can’t find an exact match
online.
Earlier on before I found these two beauties I came across
this incredible Shelby Cobra.
Approximately this is a 1966 model, though the metal piping
around the grill is missing compared to other photos of 66 models… Hmmm… Anyway
this is an incredible car and once again if anyone knows the models of these
cars please let me know via the comments, contact field or social media! I
actually took this photograph while we were in the car moving, thanks camera
ISO speed and shutter speed for making this possible.
So we’ve crossed the finish line (Of this topic, not the
blog, no worries.) and I can safely say these were some awesome cars. I would
love to be able to get behind the wheel of these cars and drive them one day.
I’m a huge car fan so be sure to keep an eye out, I talk about cars on here
every so often, just click cars at the top of the blog to see the blog posts
with car topics in them!
So due to Monday’s blog being a huge Pokemon celebration (Go
check it out at http://zakentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/02/my-life-as-pokemon-trainer-generation-1.html, it’s a big trip down memory lane, my memories of the first
generation of Pokemon.) I didn’t post anything knitting related on that day as
Pokemon took up my entire blog writing space (2,500+ words, did I go
overboard?) so to make up for it I got a brand new knitting pattern to share!
Famous for her Monkey Socks pattern and her free No Purl Monkeys sock (Also that awesome giant mannequin leg and foot she uses) and just having a whole load of awesome sock patterns in general
this pattern I’m featuring today comes from knitting designer Cookie A. Mum has
been a favorite of her socks and patterns in general for a while now and I’m eager
to try some of them out myself in the future. Though this one pattern is
actually a pattern Mum didn’t know about until we researched it for today’s
feature… The Baudelaire Sock Pattern.
Photos provided by Ravelry
At first glance? These socks look incredible and stylish and
looking deeper into the pattern only proves my point. This sock is an
incredible mixture of Lace and Cable working it’s way up the front foot and
body of this wonderful pair of socks. What caught my eye was the fact that this
actually has both Cable and Lace work in it. I’ve become quite a bit of a cable
knitting nut lately I absolutely love cable knitting and Lace isn’t far behind
on my top favorite knit stitches list. Looking at the chart it seems to make
sense to me I seem to be getting better at understanding charts lately.
Photos provided by Ravelry
Oh yeah something else that sets this sock part from socks
I’ve already knitted before… This is actually a toe up sock. I’ve never
attempted a toe up sock before so I’m eager to give it a go and this pattern
looks too irresistible for me not to. The pattern itself is an 8 repeat so it
should be easy to memorize as you work your way up this piquant sock(s). I
definitely recommend these socks to those itching to knit a pair of elegant
looking socks like these. The Lace and Cable combo is really attractive. Anyway
check out the pattern on Ravely as well as Knitty. You can check out Cookie
on her Ravelry designer page and cookiea.com
Unboxing the XP-Pen Star05 Wireless Art Tablet & Pen
So we’ve talked about this art tablet quite a bit over the
past month. Mum and Sis were both searching for new art tablets, Mum because of
her new computer and Ann because her old Wacom Intous 5 will not work on her
new Windows 10 computer. After scouring the market we came across the XP-Pen
Star05 Wireless Tablet. It’s only $69.99 on Amazon which is incredible considering
how the equivalent Wacom tablet is 200+. Actually this XP-Pen has MORE then
what Wacom offers. Before I go into details though check out this new video I
put together! I missed the opportunity when my sister’s tablet arrived but I
took it when Mum’s arrived and thus this unboxing video was born! I’m an
unboxing noob so forgive me if I don’t know what I’m doing.
I'm really proud of this thumbnail for some reason despite it's simplicity.
The XP-Pen is really awesome. It’s sleek and the pen feels
so comfortable in my hand, it’s very similar to a carpenter’s pen. Like I’ve
mentioned a lot already this tablet is wireless, meaning after a 2 hour charge
via USB you can use this completely wirelessly in any position you want. Want
to draw upside down? You do that. Like I mentioned in the video the drivers on
the disc didn’t work on Mum’s and Annie’s computers so I recommend you go on
the website and download the Star04 drivers. I know it’s the 04 but apparently there
are bugs with the Star05 drivers that cause cursor errors with programs such as
Krita. The awesome people at XP-Pen are working hard on a fix so keep an eye
out on their twitter. I’ll keep you guys up to date as well. I definitely recommend
this tablet to those seeking a cheaper but actually BETTER solution to Wacom!
So still speaking of art related stuff…
Unsuppressing my Artist Drawing Urges
& Introducing Aeris Eclipse (An OC.)
So as some of you may know my sister, who runs the blog
ladyannavintage.blogspot.com is definitely the more artistic one compared to
myself but I think I’ve just unlocked a
bar on myself that I’ve been suppressing for years. Yes I’ve been doing some
artwork lately. For the most part, Vector Art. I don’t know why I stopped myself
from drawing all these years and as a kid I drew all the time, mostly comics. I’ve
grown tired of having these ideas in my head and not doing anything about them.
I know I’m a writer and filmmaker first but I have an urge to draw and make
art. I have to admit I’m a tad nervous about sharing all this what I’m about to
show you is a vector art piece of a character that’s been in my head for years.
So with Ann serving as a huge inspiration for me, here we go.
I know it looks amateurish and well I am an amature but hey its good for a first attempt, right?
This is a complete Vector Art piece done in Krita. The tree
and the buildings? Vectors. The Character herself? All vectors. Not just that,
I did this all using a mouse. (I really need to get an XP-Pen of my own.) Anyway
the clouds and background was not done using vectors but I used blending tools
and brushes in Krita using multiple shades of blue and white. It probably seems
amateurish but this is my first vector drawing in YEARS! I’m serious when I say
the vector work I’ve been doing was more so graphical related. I’ve always been
a huge fan of character drawings, anime, manga, Bruce Tim and art in general so
the inspirations always been there but I kept putting it off. So I’m going to
persist with this new development and start doing artwork, as far as digital
art until I get hold of an XP-Pen tablet I’ll continue with vector mouse art
but I do want to start doing hand drawings, so begins a new journey, of art, which will becoming a mainstay topic on the blog as I dive deeper... and somehow learn how to do poses other then face forward, 3/4 angle here I come.
Now you’re probably wondering, who is this dashing young
girl in this piece of vector art? This is a character I came up with roughly 8 years ago and
has gone through a LOT of changes and molding, mostly in the past couple of
years. Her name is Aeris Eclipse. She’s the star of a story I’ve been
formulating called Dream Eclipse. The plans are to write a novel series but I’ve
also been considering perhaps doing comics. Dream Eclipse is kind of my “Dream”
story, all puns intended. Aeris Eclipse is a 16 year old girl who lives in the
town of Puente (May not be the final name, who knows.) a quite country town
where a river runs flowingly under a crisscrossed bridge. Her life is pretty
ordinary aside from the strange dreams she has every night, each dream feeling
more and more real every night. Eventually she gets wrapped up into a thrilling
tale in a world where Dreams overlap reality and those who are chosen can weave
them into reality. The Dream World, the world our minds wander off to when we
sleep, plays a huge role in this story. (Its fiction, I don’t actually have
scientific proof that a Dream World exists… Yet.) Dreams play a big part in
this story but how they play a part I’m not sure if I have enough time left in
this blog to describe the full setting. Aeris is only one of many OCs I’ve come
up with over the years that link to this story. I do have other characters and
stories in mind that would be completely separate stories/novels and I’m
itching to draw all of them just as much as I’m itching to write. (I also have to learn 3/4 angle drawing, side view, action poses... OH BOY I got a lot to learn, but I want to learn so that makes it just a little easier, maybe.)
Aeris has been in the works for quite a while and my sister
aka Lady AnnaVintage has actually been helping me design some of the characters
for Dream Eclipse. If it wasn’t for the reference sheet she made I wouldn’t of
done so well on this drawing. I won’t post the ref sheet here, that doesn’t
seem right to me to be honest so I’m sending you all over to her blog
ladyannavintage.blogspot.com Annie hasn’t actually posted the ref sheet at all
yet (Which you can now, if you want, I’m sending everyone over to you.) but she
has just as incredible artwork as well as photography on her blog so go check
it out! She’s a way better artist then I am and will ever be anyway, though I
do want to improve.
Uh I’m trying to decide a good place to post my art I do
other then here on the blog. I got Instagram but for full artwork, I’m not
sure. Deviantart? Tumblr? Any suggestions?
That’s a wrap folks!
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