Thoughts on a Library

My life has been crazy the past few weeks. Well... if I'm being honest, my life has been crazy for the past few months, but the craziness has escalated drastically in the past few weeks.

To give a short run down:

I was offered a new, full-time job in Salt Lake City. So I quit my beloved job at the Orem Public Library, started a new job, and moved to Salt Lake. All of this happened in approximately a three week period. Lightening speed.

I have a lot of emotions about this abrupt change in my life; excitement, enthusiasm, anxiety, stress, sadness, eagerness. It's all happened so fast but it's all fallen into place so easily. It feels like the right change for me but it's still a very hard transition.

Oddly enough, the thing I'm most sad about with all of this is having to quit my job at the library.

I LOVE the Orem Library. I always have.

I remember going there on a weekly basis with my best friend, Aimee, and her mom as a kid. Aimee would check out 20-30 books at a time... I would check out one (it's called pacing yourself, Aimee). We would head back to her house and read for hours in her room. Maybe not the typical behavior of 10 year-olds but it worked for us.

As I got older going to the library became a habit of life. Sometimes, as an angsty teenager, I would (ahem) ditch school and go hang out at the library with my friends. We were all about sticking it to the man for the sake of REAL knowledge, yo! It's how I became friends with Jack Kerouac and Ken Kesey.

I have lots of friends who go for drives up the canyon or to the temple when they're feeling upset. I have always gone to the library to calm down when I'm feeling anxious or when I need to work through some emotions. I like to go to the Storytelling Wing and look at the beautiful puppet stage there and think.

So, two years ago when I applied to work at my beloved library (for approximately the sixth time in my life) and they actually interviewed me for a job AND hired me I was overwhelmed with the honor. I could finally work at the Happiest Place in Orem. During my entire time working there I have never had a day when I dreaded coming to work.

To give a small example of how much I've loved working there: in my entire working career I have ALWAYS made sure that I had the day off for my birthday. It you don't know, my birthday is kind of a big deal. I always ensure that I do whatever I personally want to do on that day because it's a holiday all about me and I'm going to celebrate. For the past two years I've gone to work on my birthday because the place I wanted to be was at work.

Why has working at the library been so special for me? There are lots of reasons for that. The people who work there are among the friendliest, most accepting people I have had the privilege of working with. My eyes have been opened to all sorts of books and knowledge I would have never thought to pick up otherwise.

I think the biggest reason I have loved working at the library so much is because I can see that I am making a quantifiable difference in the lives of the people living in the city of Orem.

A library is a magical place. It is the most accepting place in the world. It is a place where thoughts and ideas and opinions can mix together without fear. This is possibly the cheesiest line possible (but it also holds a lot of truth): as long as there are libraries I don't think we have to fear for our future.

Thank you to the Orem Public Library for giving me the opportunity to be with you and get to know your secret inner workings (spoiler alert: librarians use Google just as often as the rest of us). You will always be the standard to which I compare all other libraries to. I wish I could have stayed with you longer but your budget won't allow for my current needs. It's ok though, I forgive you.

No matter where I go or what I do, going to the Orem Library will always feel like coming home.

Reflections on School

I officially graduated from college last month. After nine years, two colleges, and three (very) different majors I've finally joined the masses of underemployed college graduates.

Hurray!

To put it simply, it has been intense. The past five years have been especially harrowing. To give you a sense of just how much work has gone into this I went through my closet and pulled out all of my sketchbooks from my years in the illustration program at UVU....

In case you can't tell, that's 32 sketchbooks.

I also pulled out every assignment, project, and painting I've done over the past 5 years (give or take, since I've sold some of them)...

I didn't bother counting these ones but to give you an idea of how much work that is I know there are over 60 of those small paintings on the top alone.

Needless to say I have dedicated my life to this. Every hour that I haven't spent at work or sleeping has been spent on art. I have sacrificed weekends and every social engagement possible to work on improving my craft. 

Now that school is over I feel tired, worn out, despondent, and slightly terrified. I've come a long way but I still feel under qualified to enter the professional work force. Nevertheless I am excited for what comes next! The great thing about the art world (and probably most decent human beings) is everyone recognizes there is room for improvement and that you don't stop progressing the second you have a diploma in hand.

Recently I've had this terrible feeling that I've digressed as an artist. I've fallen into the especially dangerous trap of comparing my work to other people's work. So it was a bit reassuring to find the very first drawing I did way back in Drawing I during Spring semester in 2011 and compare it with one of the last drawings I did during my last semester. The first one is a tricycle and the last one is a nude figure (fair warning for people that have issues with naked people). It might have been a better idea to compare a figure with a figure but whatever... 

I had TWO HOURS to draw this tricycle and THIS is all I did?!

I took this picture on my phone and had to tilt the camera to get the whole figure in the shot so the proportions are a little skewed.

This blog post is a bit unfocused (this is due in part to fact that I'm also watching the Great British Baking Show) but I'd like to take a moment to sincerely thank everyone for their support during my school days. It has been an arduous journey and I have not always been a pleasure to be around during that time. Thank you for your patience, encouragement, occasional purchases, and love. I'm so grateful to all of my teachers, my friends, my fellow students, and my family. I have learned so much from you and I feel a profound sense of joy to be associated with all of you.

Now... before this starts to sound too much like an award show acceptance speech....

It's time to get back to drawing! 

Much Love;

Virginia May

Star Wars: the Poster Awakens!

I've been an utter flake with the whole blog thing this year. What can I say? I've been... busy. I should have figured my blog would go the way of my journal: sporadic and impatiently written on a perhaps twice yearly basis. Whatevs. I'm not all that torn up about it since this blog was originally started as a place to word vomit opinions that didn't belong elsewhere (it may have since devolved into a crazy person ranting about certain giants of the animation industry but that's beside the point). The only thing that makes me regret my inconsistent blogging habits are you devoted fans who sit at home sighing all day long, just waiting for a new blog post from yours truly. I'm sure there are many of you out there whose only ray of sunshine in your dreary lives is the occasional rantings of a bizarrely impassioned animation enthusiast. To you poor people I humbly apologize and make the friendly suggestion that perhaps you find a hobby. Preferably one that allows you to breath fresh air and interact with other humans.

Now, this year's goal was to watch all the Studio Ghibli movies and I'm sad to say I failed. I don't even think I made it half way through. In my defense I've been preoccupied with many other more pressing matters. Namely graduating college (FINALLY) and this.....



And by this I mean this actual poster and not the movie (although to be fair, I did wait in a line for approximately 20 hours at SDCC to see the Star Wars panel so it's not a far stretch to say I've also been preoccupied with the actual movie).

Let me explain....

There is a magical illustrator in the world by the name of Drew Struzan. He is the most famous illustrator that everyone knows but no one has heard of. He is the artist behind just about every movie that came out in the 80's and 90's including (but not limited to): Back to the Future I, II, and III, Indiana Jones, Hook, Harry Potter, An American Tail, Ducktails the Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, The Goonies, Hocus Pocus, Hellboy.... have I made my point yet? Oh, and he also did the posters for Star Wars I, II, III, IV, V, VI.

He was also commissioned to make a poster for episode VII. It looks like this:



Mr. Stuzan's poster was commissioned as a teaser. It wasn't intended to be the official movie theater poster. So why am I so peeved?

Because the official movie theater poster sucks.

Listen. I am officially a graduate with a BFA in illustration. I'm allowed to be pretentious about this. But I'm also inclined to explain my reasoning so let's talk about the specific issues I have with this poster

Leading Lines

The direction that lines are facing is important to the success of any composition. Line work (both actual and implied lines) usually points in the direction the artist wants the viewer to look. Instead of pointing to the action like they should, most of the lines in this poster are leading the eye off the page... the number one place that lines should never lead the eye.



I get wanting the lines to radiate from the center and in some places that works but that whole right side of the image does not work for me.

Tangents

A tangent in art terms is a space where the eye gets stuck. Instead of gliding through a composition effortlessly the viewer gets caught in an awkward artistic traffic jam and ends up fixating on parts of the image that are irrelevant. This can happen with weird line intersections, awkward overlaps, or lines that are too close to each other. If you're an artistic genius like Gary Kelley you can use tangents to your advantage and totally rock it. That is not the case with this poster. Here are some of the places where my eye gets stuck:

 

And I don't even think I found them all.

Low Contrast

Our eyes are naturally drawn to points of high contrast. That's why in this poster the first thing you notice is Rey. The next thing you notice are all the lightsabers. These are bight points against dark backgrounds. The issue here is in that point directly below Rey smack dab in the middle of the image where everything is smooshed together and it's hard to separate one character from the other. I mean, Han's hair meshes with Leia's hair which meshes with Chewie's hair. And it took me forever to notice that C3PO is in there along with R2D2. Poe Dameron also starts to blend in with the explosions below him as well as BB-8.



Oh, and I guess Maz is in there too...

Noise

This is just straight laziness now.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Photoshop there is a filter you can add to an image called Noise. Basically what it does is create a layer of what looks like TV static over your image. I will admit to having used it in some of my own images before but I don't like it. It looks cheap and lazy and slightly amateur. Noise also has a tendency to make things look pixelated even when they aren't. It's things like Noise that make people think that digital art is somehow easier than traditional art.
Well, this little poster is brimming with Noise.



Noise, like tangents, can be used rather expertly from time to time but this is not one of those times.

To conclude, I am whole heartedly an art snob (and I have a degree to prove it!) and I think this post above all others illustrates that point. But that doesn't negate the fact that I am right (DANG IT!)! This poster is an embarrassment to the legacy of Star Wars poster art and the moral of the story is: when given a choice, stick with Struzan.

The Difference Between American Wildlife and Japanese Wildlife

I am getting WAY behind on my blog posts kiddos! The last movie I blogged about was My Neighbor Totoro and since then I have watched an additional four movies. I think that means it's time to play catch up!

Kiki's Delivery Service



I love this movie because I am a functioning human and it's impossible not to love this movie if you fit that criteria.

Kiki is a charming 13 year old witch who has moved away from home in order to complete her witches training. It has always tickled me that she decides to open up a flying delivery service. The idea is so far fetched and anti-stereotypical of a witch that it breaths fresh air into the very concept of witches and witchcraft. And what's additionally phenomenal is that Kiki acts her age! She's crazy awkward with boys and really self-conscious about her appearance. She carries around a lot of self doubt and insecurities. I think a big reason why she's so endearing to the general public (really why a lot of Studio Ghibli characters are so endearing) is that her character is so believable.

Mr. Myazaki has mentioned that he created the town Kiki goes to as a sort of generic European town borrowing from a lot of different architectural designs ranging from Sweden to Germany to Italy. He also created the timeline that Kiki inhabits as a place where WWII never happened. So I guess in a world where The Great War really was the war to end all wars zeppelins are still a cool and viable mode of transportation and not a gigantic hydrogen bomb waiting to explode. Although I suppose that Kiki's utopian society still discovered that travel by balloon isn't exactly a sane option.

Only Yesterday



A 27 year old woman who has been dubbed a hopeless spinster takes a two week summer vacation in order to work on a farm harvesting flowers to be made into dyes. She tells a local guy boring stories about when she was 10. Then she has an awkward conversation with his family where they try to convince her to move to the country and marry the guy which she ultimately decides to do. I kid you not, that is the entire plot of this movie.

There's a reason this is the only Studio Ghibli movie that was never translated and distributed in America.

Porco Rosso



This movie will always remind me of a tedious road trip I took with my family to California and my then 2 year old nephew who screamed "PORCO ROSSO" every time we tried to play a different movie in the DVD player and who then proceeded to fall asleep when we finally turned it on, but if you tried to put in something else he'd inexplicably wake up and scream for Porco Rosso again.

Fond memories.

The movie however, is fun and lighthearted about a man who has been cursed to look like a pig. It never explains why he was cursed or how/if the curse can be lifted. Nope. He's just a pig man and that's that.

I would really like someone to explain to me why he is a pig.

Pom Poko



A delightful movie about a group of raccoons who attempt to sabotage a housing development that is threatening to take over their natural habitat. They fail and then disguise themselves as humans in order to live among them undisturbed. There's a moral in there somewhere too... I'm sure you can figure out what it is.

I love this movie. I think this is my favorite Studio Ghibli movie thus far. The animation style is the most creative (in this person's most humble and 100% accurate opinion) and the characters are simply delightful. It also deals very strongly with Japanese folklore....which means I probably should have watched it in Japanese but there are a myriad of reasons why I didn't. None of which I'm going to elaborate on.

And speaking of Japanese mythology... if you aren't too much of a prude to watch this movie you'll notice a stark difference in animal anatomy between a Japanese raccoon and an American one (at least in regards to the opinions of the animation industry and not actual physical raccoon anatomy). However, said anatomy is necessary in order to maintain the accuracy of the Japanese folklore being portrayed. I could lecture as to why this isn't inappropriate but I think this post is long enough as it is.

Until next time...

My Neighbors are WAY More Interesting Than Yours!

You know what's a great thing to follow the world's saddest movie with? The world's happiest and most child friendly movie!


And if IMDb is to be believed Grave of the Fireflies and My Neighbor Totoro were actually released as a double feature in Japan because Studio Ghibli didn't have confidence that Totoro would bring in enough money as a stand alone movie. Coincidentally it didn't do well until they started mass producing toys from the movie two years later. I have a theory that the real reason it didn't do so well in theaters is because it was shown as a double feature with THE WORLD'S SADDEST MOVIE. But that could just be me.

Oddly though, I think My Neighbor Totoro actually does make a good follow up to Grave of the Fireflies. Totoro portrays a historically ambivalent time period that could easily be considered the early to mid 1950's. Hard times have come and gone and the future is bright and optimistic. There is what could be considered a residue of said hard times (i.e. mom stay's in a hospital for the duration of the movie) but there's still a permeating feeling that everything will work out ok. It could also be argued that this movie is a reflection of Miyazaki's post-war childhood experience. His mother did spend many years in and out of hospitals as she suffered with tuberculosis and he has admitted to the semi-autobiographical nature of this story.

Anyways, I'd say the best word that could be used to describe My Neighbor Totoro would be enchanting. It so perfectly encapsulates what it is to be young and still unabashedly believe that the world is full of magic. If at all possible I would recommend watching this movie with a little person. I watched it with my 4 year old niece and it was delightful.

One thing (among many) that I especially love about this movie is the parent-child relationship between the two girls, Satsuki and Mei, and their father. When little Mei discovers soot monsters in the house they've all just moved into and runs to tell her dad about it he doesn't huff at her and say "Hogwash! There's no such thing as magic!" Like so many other parental figures do in these types of movies. And do you know why he doesn't correct her four-year old idea that there's little pretend creatures living in the house? Because in a reality based world parents don't generally get angry when their children believe in make believe things. In fact, they encourage the use of their child's imagination and in many instances goad them on (Santa Clause anyone??). It's little details like this that I like so much in a Ghibli movie, they don't add much (if anything) to the plot but they do add a level of realism to the 2-dimensional world being created on the screen.

And can we talk about character design for a moment? I am 100% certain that the reason this movie did so well from it's merchandising is because the character of Totoro was designed so well he was basically screaming to be made into a giant plush toy.

Speaking of the character of Totoro, Mr. Miyazaki has actually mentioned that the character is not based on anything in Japanese mythology or folklore. He wanted to create a creature that could be universally embraced by all world cultures. If he actually succeeds in this endeavor is up for debate but it did make me feel justified in watching it in English.

Up next: enter a world where World War 2 never happened and witchcraft is a lighthearted and whimsical entity.  

The Saddest Movie You'll Ever See

Sigh... I've become quite the shoddy blogger as of late. There are many factors that have contributed to this influx of lackadaisical writing habits of which I won't get into but I think the main factor that has made me put of writing this particular blog post is the subject matter.

For those of you who haven't been following this year's blog theme I'm watching Studio Ghibli movies. Studio Ghibli is known for their charming stories with whimsical and fantastical settings that take your breath away. However, Ghibli also has a very melancholy and dark side that a lot of fans of the studio have a tendency to judiciously overlook. That rather depressing side of an otherwise lighthearted animation studio is made manifest in the movie Grave of the Fireflies and as far as sad movies are concerned this one takes the cake.



I first saw Grave of the Fireflies when I was roughly nine years old at my friend's house. I got away with seeing a lot of movies and TV shows that I wouldn't have otherwise seen at this particular friend's house but I honestly wonder how I ever got away with this one. It's probably because the movie is animated that it was initially branded as a harmless thing to exploit a child to. And this movie is the number one example I site when explaining to people why animation is not a medium that should be relegated strictly to the realm of childish entertainment. It is a very serious film that details with very serious ideas and it is unforgiving in its presentation of those ideas.

Here's a brief synopsis of the movie:

Two children are living in Tokyo with their mother during WWII. Their father is in the navy and is stationed on a ship somewhere in the Pacific. The children get separated from their mom during a firebombing raid. Shortly thereafter the mom dies from the severity of her burn wounds during the raid and the children are shipped off to distant relatives that they barely know and who are not at all pleased to have two extra mouths to feed.

The older of the two children is a boy, about 12 years old. He struggles to take care of his little sister and due to constant antagonisms from the woman they're living with decides to move his sister into an abandoned shelter/storage area positioned next to a lake. This is where things get really hard for the two kids. Food becomes harder and harder to come by, especially for two kids living "off the grid" and the boy resorts to stealing food and raiding people's houses in order to take care of his little sister. Eventually he learns that his father has died in an attack some months earlier. Then his little sister dies of starvation and he follows shortly thereafter.

The End.

Is everyone good and depressed now?

Listen, my intention with this particular post is not to bum everyone out (although that will probably be a side effect) but I have a couple of things to point out that I've learned from this movie.

1. Animation is a very powerful medium that is significantly undervalued. 

Because a character is being presented as abstract (i.e. animated) and not tangible (i.e. live-action) it creates a sense of universality. The kids in Grave of the Fireflies could be anyone, they can more easily be related to children that you personally know. And this story is an unfortunately common one for citizens of war torn countries.

Not to mention since animation is a medium that is usually relegated to the realm of children's entertainment it works well to heighten the horror of the story. Think about the juxtaposition: a terrible war story told through a child's medium. It works incredibly well to elevate the sorrow of the film.

2. War effects everyone. 

I think popular media has worked well to give us the impression that war only effects the army, or those people that deserve it. But that is hardly the case. The opposing army is only a fraction of the people involved in a war. Every soldier fighting on the front lines has a mother and father and many of them have children and spouses. Those people not only have to deal with the absence of a family member but they also have to worry about their own safety, where their next meal is coming from, where they're going to sleep at night. And what happens to the children when the parents aren't there to take care of them?

I don't mean to sound so despairing about all of this but I'm an American and these are issues my country has only had to deal with minimally. We're an amazingly blessed nation that has never been invaded and has only minutely had to deal with war caused disasters on our own turf. Very few of us have seen what sort of effect this level of conflict can have on a community. I would say it's fair to compare America as a nation to a teenager: we think we're invincible, the world is our oyster, we have a very optimistic perspective on the future, etc. All of these things are really great but I would say that as a whole we are also a very naive country. We think we know everything but on the grand scale we haven't experienced much.

Now, I'm not saying America deserves to be invaded so that we can see what it's like from the other side. No one ever deserves that. Ever. And I'm not saying we shouldn't have entered into conflict with Japan during WWII. I'm just saying we should maybe be a bit more prudent in why we're picking a fight with someone.

Anyways, I would not recommend showing this movie to any nine year-olds that you might know. But if you are an adult reading this blog post and you haven't seen this movie yet I would recommend that you watch it. Not so much for entertainment value (does anyone every consider movies like this entertaining?) but possibly to give some extra perspective and compassion. And maybe raise the question of what it means to go to war.

Good thing the next movie Studio Ghibli came out with after this one was My Neighbor Totoro!

Oh, and as an extra note: this is my 50th blog post. So hurrah for me! It only took 3ish years to get here.

A Letter from a Beleaguered Fan

Dear Disney Corporation;

Let me begin by expressing my deep gratitude and admiration for all the hard work and wonderfully artistic talent you've inspired throughout the years. I'm sure I'm not alone in expressing this, and I'm positive you get this all the time but, I know I wouldn't be the person I am today without many of your beautiful and uplifting movies. I know I am truly blessed to have grown up during the Disney Renaissance of the 1990's. I was inspired everyday as a child by the idea that with kindness and determination I could do or be whatever I wanted. What a profound honor that has been.

Animation has mesmerized me my entire life. As a child I used to watch my Saturday morning cartoons with a touch of amazement and wonder "How do they do that?" I remember going to see Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin in theaters and I felt that I had truly found magic in the world and that that magic was created in the fantastic world of animation. So thank you for enchanting my childhood.

I am now in my senior year of college finishing up a degree in illustration. I have made it a hobby of mine to study animated movies. I like to consider how well a story is told, what point is trying to be made, and how well the movie elevates the art form of animation. I don't consider myself by any means an expert but I do have loud opinions on the subject and for the most part I consider those opinions viable.

Now, my dear Disney, you've had your Renaissance, you had an awkward transition phase as you tried to figure out how digital animation works, I feel now that you've moved into a Rococo phase in your progression of the art of animation. I say Rococo because I feel like many of your recent movies are full of needless opulence and that they greatly lack substance. They are formulaic and slightly mundane (granted, the storylines of the 90's were also very formulaic but each movie was very stylistically unique). They're just a bunch of fluff. Your characters no longer come across as really feeling anything. They've become actors portraying someone else's emotions. Take for example the absolutely stunning scene in which Pinocchio finally becomes a real boy. That scene was so carefully created that I was convinced that animated drawing was truly a 3-dimensional boy who had gained something significant and who deserved it. I could feel his joy at the accomplishment he had earned.

I haven't seen that level of a character's conviction since maybe Mulan.

What's happened to you Disney? Have you become so confident in your successes that you no longer feel the need to push yourself? Are you no longer interested in growing an art form? Do you feel that you have deserved the privilege of resting on your laurels?

I feel as though you're no longer interested in further innovations in storytelling. Sure, you're still trying to experiment with animation and pushing the technological advancements of the medium and for that I applaud you. But you no longer seem interested in telling important stories in an unapologetic manner. You seem to have lost the part of your soul that cares about saying something that matters. And that fact makes me deep and miserably sad.

And now it looks as though the only thing you're interested in doing is rehashing your previous successes. I see these ads for your live action Cinderella and I wonder "Why?" There's nothing there that hasn't been said before. Then I see that you have a live action Beauty and the Beast in the works and the same bitter question rolls through my mind. Then comes the announcement of a live action Dumbo, a movie that really had something significant and special to say and that took the art of animation to a whole new place and I lament the lack of creativity I see seeping out of your corporation. You won't make any of these stories better by retelling them, you only diminish some of their splendor by sheepishly admitting you think you can do them better than their creators did.

And then this afternoon I come across this most egregious of announcements and I have to admit it's made me nearly give up on the future of my most beloved art form:

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/frozen-2-is-official-110332.html

Why Disney? Why do you insist on doing this? Here is the most shallow, opulent, lacking in conviction, Rococo-esque movie I believe you've ever come out with and now you've seen fit to expand the vapidness by creating a sequel to this mess. As your continuing greed mounts the one thing I've consistently held to is the fact that Disney creates so few canonized sequels to their movies. Dreamworks and Pixar seem to create nothing but sequels but not you Disney, you've got a loftier goal than high box office returns. But now you've gone and announced this embarrassment and my confidence in you sinks further and further into the void.

If the only aim to your enterprise is to create commercial success then please stop lying to the public and telling us that your sole desire is to uplift the masses and give them bright shining hope for the future. You aren't doing that; you're padding your retirement fund and buying private islands in the Caribbean and referring to that as good for everyone.

You've made me very sad Disney and I'm tired of watching you sink into vanity. Please reconsider the work that you're doing and the purpose for doing it and raise to the challenge of creating something better.

Sincerely;

A Concerned and Wavering Fan