we were warriors

day 157

color version:


These are my brothers, William and Nicholas. They so kindly agrees to model for me and as you can see by the photos below, they followed direction completely. :)

diy shoes

Be warned, this probably isn't the best diy in the world as my creation started cracking after a few wears. This would probably work better with a pair of cloth shoes. Just so you know. Anyways!



You'll need: shoes, obviously. I chose to paint over my old fake oxfords to make them super pretty. I saw these shoes on amazon and decided it would be super easy to recreate them myself, even if I would only be able to wear the shoes once more (I had a hunch the paint would chip as my shoes were made of cheap material).

You'll also need spray paint, painters tape, sandpaper, and paint brushes. The glitter and glue I thought about using for the centers of the flowers, but I ended up not doing it.



Step one: wash and sandpaper. You need to wash your shoes to remove any grass and dirt that may be on them. After drying them, sand over them lightly with some sandpaper to remove the paint/whatever is on the shoe so that your paint can soak in.



Step two: tape. Be wary that sometimes painters tape doesn't always work. I suggest pressing hard on the tape to ensure no paint soaks through. Also you'll need to remove any shoelaces that may be on the shoe.



Step three: protect. Stuff the inside of the shoe with paper towels, newspaper, or plastic bags to make sure the shoes keep their shape as well as to protect the inside from any paint.




Step four: spray away! Follow the instructions on your spray paint and have at it! Keep in mind any wind that could affect the direction of the spray so that it doesn't get on your clothes.




For my shoes, I did two coats of white paint, making sure each coat was dry before moving on to the next. Then I let the shoes continue to dry overnight.




Step five: add details. (Ack! Forgive me, this is the first time writing with my tablet so I got off track with the numbering, haha. Silly me.) Now that the shoes are dry, you can paint on any details that you like. I even added white ribbon to serve as shoe laces.




And that's all! Again, there are a couple little cracks in the paint after wearing them so much, but I think my shoes still have a little bit of life in them, and with this fresh coat of paint, they've regained just a little bit more stamina.

I have my company

day 156


(what a handsome prince!)

Today marks the first day I used my wacom tablet. If you're a photographer or graphic artist, you HAVE to get this. After using it for just a little bit in photoshop, I know it's going to change my life. Even with just working with curves it is a ton easier than using a mouse. Plus I added some keyboard shortcuts to photoshop, so now I can switch tools just by pushing a button. This, along with recruiting models for photoshoots, I am beginning to get super excited about the 365 project again. Now there's really no excuse for me not to create crazy awesome images like these people. (Don't know if they actually use tablets, but I hope my talent will one day come close to theirs.)

Also today, I finally finished the Inheritance Cycle. I didn't start crying until I read the acknowledgements, but then I just started bawling (ack, crying over a book how silly). Though I can't take the title of 'biggest fan,' that series has been with me for much of my life and has influenced my writing style more than I know. If you ever want to get sucked into a good book, these are the ones to read. Ugh, I'm about to start crying again ... These are books I'm going to be rereading for the rest of my life.

skin

day 155

Yesterday I bought a sketchbook so I can get back into the swing of being creative. It smells like leather and I think I spend more time smelling it than I do drawing and writing in it.

Today I killed my first dragon in Skyrim. Yeah, I'm basically a master.