Good Vibes Corner

 I just purchased a very cool-looking chair for my studio. It will be next to my bookcase and under my "good vibes" neon sign. Again, I'm using my Home Depot account; they sell all kinds of interesting stuff on their website. With the chair here, it will be a nice spot to have coffee or shoot videos.

Only for the video section, I was thinking of abandoning my blog train and giving semi-philosophical existential talks instead of art tutorials. Maybe the chair or the spot where it will sit calls for more elevated content. I don't know. I will see once it arrives. 

Finished Bunny Sculpture

 This is how creativity works. Let your imagination run wild, and you will find answers. It turns out this strange bunny was a cupid technician. He wears a heart-shaped symbol on his chest and has some tools to fine-tune love. He has his mouth taped up because he is demanded absolute discretion. Does it make sense now? February 14th? Saint Valentine? Go wash your mouth with soap right now if you are a conspiracy theorist spilling nonsense. I'm just joking; please don't do that. Just say you are sorry to the universe, and that will suffice.     

Bunny Progress

 This is where I am thus far. As some of you may know, I rideshare, so after I return from driving people all day, I sit in front of my work, thinking about what to do next. I have an idea of what I want but never follow a plan, so I'm open to changes. That's why I take it easy, adding small details at a time.

As I mentioned before, this character does look weird, anthropomorphous, and even androgynous, since I can't tell if it looks like she or he. I'm also thinking of adding something disconcerting, strange, and unexplained, like an old-style living room lamp or whatever. The idea is to break expectations and be creative because why not.

Testing New Clay

 I'm using another type of polymer clay from Sculpey, which has a more firm consistency. So far, it's working much better. I'm also taking a few freedoms by doing something more of a character design and modern game-style concepts. An androgynous bunny-like creature. It's just coming out of my imagination and some Pinterest images where I'm exploring for influences. Still, I have not yet conceived a meaningful explanation just because it simply serves to test my new clay. 

External Monitor Installed

 The external monitor just arrived, so I did the initial tests of connectivity and image display, and it works as expected. This will help me to better control what the camera sees. The next step is resuming the artwork. There is a square mounted over the camera, you may wonder what that is; it's a teleprompter to be used when I'm doing scripted tutorials.

Setup Almost Complete

 The YouTube studio setup is ready for all practical purposes. I'm not going to lie; I'm not happy. I couldn't create the magnificent, super-cool, magical man-cave art space I wanted, but it is a humble, reasonable, and acceptable start. With more time, more resources, and more ideas, I will set up a better space. I know content is king, but for a reason, I'm obsessed with having the perfect studio space. I just want to feel like I'm in a movie or in a dream. That's something that comes all the way from my teenage years and watching 80s movies. 

By the way, I'm informed the 15-inch monitor will arrive tomorrow, Sunday 26th. Two days faster than initially estimated. Thank you, Home Depot!

Rearranging my studio space

 After a few days in my new studio space, I am no longer satisfied with the desk arrangement. This is mainly because I had trouble sitting at a good angle for the video camera. Also, when I finally located a possible space for the camera, I realized the video background wasn't that interesting. 

On the other hand, I used to have a small TV that served as an external monitor. This allowed me to see what was showing on the camera and helped focus the lens. However, I no longer have that TV, so I just realized that I needed to order a new monitor. This time, it is just a tiny, portable 15-inch TV monitor that will serve well. It will arrive on the 28th because it's coming from California, so I must wait a few more days.

I also ordered two 120-watt, color-changing app-operated light bulbs to add some color to the background. I'm ordering both the monitor and the spotlights from Home Depot.

It may take me a few more days to assemble all this; rearrange the space, and start producing art. This time, as suggested, it is supported by video. The videos are 60-second shorts, or, who knows, I might do horizontal tutorial-type videos or both. 

Painted Sculpture

 I had to really consider what I wanted to convey here. Do I want this to look like an art toy sculpture or more like a classic sculpture? I knew the decision would have consequences for all future projects. Going for the toy look would make my projects look artificial and 3D-printed. So, I caved in and gave the guitarist a more rough metallic patina appearance. I had to coat everything in black and apply a metallic finish with red acrylic to achieve that. 

There is no going back. I even ordered more clay, this time a more professional one, so all my future sculptures in this series will be originals without reproductions. However, I changed my mind and will sell this one because the work looks and feels more solid after baking and painting. Reasonable care of this piece can make it last on any collector's shelf.

Finished Guitarist Sculpture

 I just completed the first phase, sculpting, of the guitarist. It's made with polymer clay, which means it needs baking, and after it cools off, I may or may not sand or polish it a little bit. It will also be painted. I may apply a full black coat and use random neon colors for the details.

There was a big problem with polymer clay working with the hands and other parts because polymer clay is not hard enough and won't allow for finer details. This sculpture's entire body is only 12 inches, but one possible solution for adding better details will be making larger sculptures. Another road could be working with another type of clay, which is better for finer work, but that other clay doesn't dry and requires making a mold to produce reproductions with resin. which implies much more work, but that would benefit lower-priced sculptures and future sales. I promised my wife that I would make this sculpture thing pay for our rent, so I have to try my best.

This first sculpture won't be for sale due to internal structural defects in the aluminum wire. It wasn't properly joined. So, next time, I will reinforce the structure to make it shake-proof or go the extra step and make it one solid resin piece. We will see.

By the way, since I'm suddenly more business-minded now, I just created a new e-mail available on the "about" tab.

Guitar Player Progress

My wife is starting to like the current results, and out of a good mood and inspiration, I told her, more like I promised her, that sculpting would pay our rent. She believed that to be true, and that's an excellent sign from her because my wife has a good eye for things that might work out. I'm feeling a renewed sense of purpose. I see myself going somewhere with this.

This is the current progress in a realistic style, albeit with a reasonable degree of caricaturization, which is expected because I tend to do that with some of my vectors and line drawings. The final work will be painted in more than one color, but not in a realistic way. I would use more abstract, interpretative, and expressive colors, graffiti-style.