Attack_Laurel is a member of the SCA that uses a combination of snark, the clue-by-four, and excellent writing skills to deliver poignant commentary on both SCA and every day life. Although I do not know her in person, I highly recommend this journal for regular reading. The full text of the essay, “Do We Really Need [...]

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Part 3: Wax Casting! Materials needed: Your mold(s) A Brush, water, and a sponge to clean plaster molds Regular molding wax in chunks or pellets Wax additives such as: dye, scent, strengtheners or softeners, etc. (more) A double boiler and a thermometer and stirrer or: baking pans for the oven Gloves and potholders to help prevent burning (maybe burn gel too!) A safe place [...]

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I am a slacker. This is a well-known fact of the universe. I have had this wonderful interview with #1 Fan Ally for over a year. Now you all get to hear it! The introduction is disturbingly appropriate since the podcast has been on hiatus. Also, like all Otakon interviews there is background noise because [...]

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This time Nuri went to Dragon*con and recorded an episode with Andrea, a former professional seamstress. We talk about how she initially got into sewing, her decision to stop sewing for pay (although she still sews), and the pros and cons of commission work. We also touch on today’s market for handmade goods and the [...]

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Katsucon Interview #1! (This was done VERY late at night. We were both tired. Occasionally we had trouble putting words together…) Grace is a college student studying Computer Science and Fine Arts. She’s been drawing since she was in 3rd grade, where she was lucky enough to get private lessons. Her skills with pencil/graphite are enviable, [...]

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Topics: When should you use a background or scene? Should you start with the characters or with the background first? Are backgrounds just placeholders? What’s the difference between a background and a scene? What is an appropriate setting for your character or your idea? How do you give a scene depth? How do you give a scene consistency? When is a scene too [...]

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Michelle and I interviewed several people in the Artist Alley at Otakon. But not artists! We interviewed potential customers to see what they look for in the AA and what kinds of things they actually bought. There’s pretty loud background noise, but it was OTAKON. There was no where during the day that did NOT [...]

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Part 2: Clay Models to Plaster Molds Materials: Your model(s) Vaseline or something like it More plaster of Paris than you think that you will need Water (read the directions on the plaster!) Boxes or other containers that can be made leak-proof, have flat bottoms on the inside, and are not more than a couple of inches bigger than your model [...]

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Podcast is resuming it’s bi-weekly schedule now that NaNo is over. Nuri did not win, but got a healthy start! (15,000 words is not too shabby…) Also, the project we talked about with Christiana Ellis is now out! Check it out at http://www.spacecasey.com Otakon Trinoc*con Dragon*con Goal-setting! Mica: make something every weekend Nuri: write 500 words or ink or sketch something every [...]

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This series will describe the basic steps to converting a work of clay into a replica work of wax by using a plaster mold. Some important definitions for this series are: a) model - the model is the original work that you wish to replicate b) mold - the mold is a negative created from [...]

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This episode, we have Christiana Ellis as our guest, author of the Nina Kimberly the Merciless. Topics: Under what circumstances should you be handling the cover art? How does the title of the book & other text affect the artwork? What types of things should be on a book cover? Do scenes on the cover need to come directly from [...]

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Support Group for Arts and Crafts! How many of you out there have enough craft supplies to last you until the next ice age? Remember all the projects you had in mind when you bought those? How about the stuff you didn’t have anything in mind for, but got anyway? We have that problem to an [...]

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An interview with a friend in Artist Alley. Yeah, there’s pretty much nowhere quiet at Otakon during the day. Lots of background noise. But there are some good tips in here as well as some funny stories, so listen if you like. Links mentioned in this episode: applegeeks  - http://www.applegeeks.com/ http://bjutsu-san.deviantart.com/ <–not working. Getting clarification on username. conceptart.org MP3 or [...]

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This is gonna be totally friggin kickass

Watch Now: Play in Popup.

Welcome to our three-part (that’s 3!!!) series on General Artist Alley Information. Lots of people go to cons. Some of those people are Artists who may want to sell things in the Artist Alleys. So, here’s a chance for those of you who don’t have much experience with this to get some tips! Framework provided by [Kako] [...]

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Mica’s utmost apologies for the week delay! Hey everybody! Today we talk about matting and framing. But first, Nuri’s car trouble and Michelle might be teaching kids to write. Our Comic: Seeing In Stereo Mike’s Comic: UnderMoose! Matting and Framing Why do it? ? Makes art more durable ? More visually appealing ? Higher [...]

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Mica bad for the late podcast D: <3 What’s up, guys? Vicki had surgery…it was awesome, and she has a purple cast. Mica has a new job! Otakon stuff, cars. Welcome to our three-part (that’s 3!!!) series on General Artist Alley Information. Lots of people go to cons. Some of those people are Artists who may want to sell things [...]

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Vicki’s having surgery shortly before this is released! However, we record a little early, so through the magic of the internet Vicki is here to tell you all what is going on. She has a condition called “Flexible Flatfoot” which basically mean the Evil got into her feet. Emails No emails this week. Send us one: artist [...]

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Argh, moving has fried my brain! We have several shows recorded that just need some editting and some front bit recordy stuff, and I’m going to try to get some of that done this upcoming week. Michelle and I both started new jobs at the same time, and in addition I moved 3.5 hours away [...]

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Oops…Nuri accidentally deleted this podcast, so we had to re-record it. Then the iRiver desided to reformat itself and without Vicki’s magical touch we couldn’t figure out how to make it work. So this podcast is a little late…sorry! Exams are over for all of us, and Nuri is graduating! That means more time to work [...]

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My internet was out because of the windstorm yesterday, but we’re back! This episode with have an interview with a distributor we met at StellarCon, Chris with Sci-Fi Genre. Take it away, Chris! MP3 or Subscribe to the RSS feed

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Sorry it’s late guys! My fault. Intro - We’ll be doing a series of podcasts on preparing for the Artist Alley at specific conventions, as well as a few on conventions in general. This time - Animazement! Email - OMG emails <3 Thank you Rachel Ross! No Featured Artist of the Week (Unless you count Animazement) Preparing [...]

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This is our interview with the three GravyBoy comic artists Brian, Marty, and Danny with Jack Rabbit Studios that were generous enough to let us interview them at StellarCon. GravyBoy is a comic about a super hero that, through an error in spellcasting, ends up with the ability to fight with gravy instead of [...]

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Intro - Vicki gets a Wii for her Twilight Princess We have an art contest for Convention Madness Emails - None! :O Oh teh noes! Interview - Mike Violette is a web and graphic designer with a lot of experience working for clients. AOL screen name: jerkwork Email: mikev@srcomgroup.com Mainbit - Basic Web Design - Decide theme/purpose - Design front [...]

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Intro: 1) ANNOUNCEMENT: moving to 2-wk schedule for the pod cast, that is, one every two weeks 2)Update on Card Game. Related Art Contest is Here. Not interested in Gaia but interested in the game? You can give us art to consider using for the card game Rant Segment: Alley on Art Theft [...]

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What’s up with us? Michelle - card game Vicki - MAGfest: promoting Lights of Myndell. lightsofmyndell@gmail.com Nuri - burning down the house Email - Ally’s rant NO FEATURED ARTIST XP -Protecting Your Work Online - Pre-emptive and Visual Watermarking Signature ON or IN the pic Sign it AND include a tiny symbol somewhere that may not be obvious for identification Low res copies online Posting partial pics [...]

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This is our Christmas Present for you all! Yeah, it’s kinda late. We were both out of state for most of the break and we couldn’t put this one up until we put the previous episode up! We thought that you would enjoy some amusing art theft stories! We enjoyed gathering and telling [...]

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This Episode: Printers! and Mooky Intro: We have Vicki with us today! Feel the Magic — rub his tummy, rub rabbits Twilight Princess Yeah, we recorded this baby a month ago, so exams are long over. And Christmas is…coming? Actually, Michelle’s tree IS still up. EMAILZORz. Send us art stories! artist@candycornstudios.com Featured Artist of the Week: [...]

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Intro: Michelle sold a hat! Also, She finally received the earrings she has been wanting since Otakon. Nuri entered a conbook cover art contest for Genericon in New York. The prize is two free passes for the con!She’s probably not going though…we won’t find out who wins until 10 days before the con and their website is [...]

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Links and Images coming soon! Michelle’s internet is broken. ;_; Intro Michelle is crocheting a hat. Exams are coming! Anybody know how to filter comments on a WordPress blog? Email Ally sent us a picture to critique - next week! Have you ever given a critique and had the artist go crazy, or gotten an insanely stupid critique? Send us your stories! artist@candycornstudios.com Featured Artist Michelle [...]

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Today on ArtistAlley we talk about critiquing art, as well as taking it like a champ. Memai Shirosaki has some things to say, and we suggest some places to go for crits. What’s new: Scott Sigler, author of “Ancestor” and other podcast novels Emails: artist@candycornstudios.com Patrick Meadows commented on the blog! His email address is updated in the shownotes, too. What [...]

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Today’s main bit is about webcomics, and our Otakon interview is of two webcomic artists. Stay tuned for basic practical advice about creating your own webcomic, as well as a “case study” of Nuri’s and my webcomic attempt. What’s up with Us? What’s up with us should be up with every one — it was the [...]

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This is an interview of a fellow student, “shadowshyfter” or Erin Darling, who uses various media to depict her favorite fantasy subject, dragons. Shiney! Erin’s dA: http://shadowdragon252.deviantart.com/ This was the result of a chance meeting because she was working on one of her pieces in the hallway. I asked her some questions about her choice [...]

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Today’s main bit is about nature in art, particularly “Land Art” or “Earth Art“. Our featured artist is Shadsie from otakon, who paints on bone and uses other natural materials. We also have a guest, Ember, to talk about natural art and kids. Are you excited? I’m excited! What’s with us? -Michelle put [...]

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What’s with us? Michelle’s map Commission Nuri is a Dendrology TA Featured Artist: Kerry! And we have an interview! Kerry’s email Building a Portfolio: You want to have several pieces in your portfolio. There are 5 basic focus piecesEach piece should exhibit your skill using one of the following: 1) Light *hard, soft, blue, red, etc. 2) Multiple Bodies *complicated interactions *will take a lot of planning [...]

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Personal Anecdote: Our iRiver screwed us over. We recorded episode 13 last week, and it turned out to be a blank file. That’s why this is late. Sorry. ;_; Emails: Ally! - Ally’s sister’s website Featured Artist: Queen of Dorks Queenie’s website Queenie’s dA Queen of Dork’s unique art: *clay pendants *phone charms & necklaces *stickers Functional Art, especially Jewelry: *examples: QoD, dice jewelry, chain mail *dice jewelry pictures *use [...]

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all about trinoc*con email — pose ganking different body types give credit Interview with Trinic*con Guest of Honor: Patrick Medows! – Patrick does every thing, including court room sketches! Focus on: advertising & fine art – memorable images are important; so is persistance, networking (including self-promoting), and diversification – started with religious images as models, then comics – credits good art classes [...]

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This is our first Special…which basically means we wanted to get something up but didn’t have time to do a full episode, so we’re giving you coverage of some of the stuff we’ve been doing since the last episode. Trinoc*con coverage in Episode #12, coming soon! MP3 or Subscribe to the RSS feed

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Artist Alley’s Podcast # 11 brings you the ramblings of Nuri, Mica (Michelle), and Vicki as they talk about themselves and their art projects. Featuring an email about pose ganking and a new, cornier ending sequence. (28:03) Opening: Today our show is about US! We have an email! (psst, look for another one in [...]

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News and Anecdotes: Michelle is moving! Kat’s moving woes Oh my GOD I need a compressor and a good pop filter. Sorry for all the pops! Featured Artist: http://www.goldseven.deviantart.com Watercolor exellence and LotR! Realistic style Email! artist@candycornstudios.com 13 Pieces of Flair (part 2) Group Interaction: multiple characters in one picture and pre-planning, relative size Contrast between Planes: not Airplanes, geometric planes! Background, foreground, and main object should [...]

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Too long to put into podcast number 10, this interview is about 15 minutes long. So we put it directly into the feed. Hope you enjoy our interview with Alexandria, also known as Silencieux on Gaia and blue-vanilla on deviantART. MP3 or Subscribe to the RSS feed

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Finally got around to making a promo for our show. I guess since we’ve passed our 8th episode and we’re still recording more, we can start promoting ourselves, ne? So for those of you who want to hear it, or if you have your own podcast and you’d like to play it, here it is! Promo Thanks [...]

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So, we’ll soon have a podcast explaining our incredibly long hiatus. However, in the mean time here’s the first half of our promised Flair episode, complete with featured artist Alexandria. I’ll update the show notes when I find my paper show notes…they’re around here somewhere. ^^; In the meantime, I’ll be uploading a promo for the [...]

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You may hear some slight static in this one (#8) but the interview is worth suffering through fog horns in the background if you had to! I promise there are no fog horns because we don’t own one. So why is this interview so special? Why, because our interviewee is a special person, katherdante, touching on [...]

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No links for today’s show. Go to show #6 or the Featured Artist page for info on our Featured Artist of the Week. This was a nice, casual show where we talked about Michelle’s honeymoon and then launched into a rant about art theft. Vicki is a moderator on Gaia Online, so she explains the many [...]

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We’re back! We had a bit of a hiatus while Michelle wrapped up wedding odds’n'ends and all three of us got over various illnesses. Two podcasts this week to make up for our slacking off. So enjoy the new sound quality and enjoy! Light Source workshop soon to come under the How-To section. Animazement Convention in Raleigh, [...]

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This week on ArtistAlley Michelle is on her honeymoon, so Vicki and I took up the slack. Unfortunately, I then got sidetracked by Spring Break, so the show is uber-late. And, the sound quality is kinda so-so…but the interview sounds super! First we talk about my most recent convention, Stellarcon, and Vicki pimps one of her [...]

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Sorry for the lull in shows guys…work went crazy and then I had major trips for spring break. Show #5 will be up soon, once I finish editting it. Don’t worry, we’re not fading off the face of the earth or anything. Went up to New York and did an episode of Geek Nights (MP3) on [...]

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This week on Artist Alley the show is fairly short. What with Michelle’s wedding coming up, we haven’t had time to do another featured artist, so Luciole gets an extra week. First we talk about the relevance of Craig’s List to artists. Then, we read an essay on how to start out drawing as a [...]

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This week on Artist Alley our featured artist is Luciole Loong! As an added bonus, we managed to get an interview with her. The sound quality is a little iffy because of speaker feedback, but ultimately we did it anyway. If you need some extra help understanding it, there’s a transcript of the whole interview [...]

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This week on Artist Alley our main topic centers on art collectors. We talk about how to budget (supporting your art addiction sustainably), haggle without making artists feel bad, and some simple ettiquette for commissioning. In side notes, Michelle’s Wedding is coming up, and she’s trying to make a crazy custom cake. This is the baking [...]

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MP3 The very first ArtistAlley show ever is finally up! Which of the following do you NOT learn about in today’s show? a. History b. Pricing c. Networking d. Our carefully concealed plot to rule the world The first couple of shows probably aren’t going to follow the format very well. We’re just working on getting our recordings right, putting things together, [...]

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