Japan was Amazing

Japan.... WOW! I didn't want to leave, I feel home sick, can you believe that, I feel I belong so much in Japan that I feel Home Sick ><

Its where I believe I should be... That's my ultimate goal now, to live in Japan, with an awesome Art job and great Home with my boyfriend.

Anyway, I took pictures with my new professional Nikon D300 Digital Camera. Here's my Flickr account with my Photography: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sashaart/sets/72157608073053563/

Areas visited:
Ikebukero
Tokyo Tower
Asakusa Kannon Buddhist Temple
Nakamise Shopping Arcade
Harajuku
Meiji Shinto Shrine
Shibuya
Studio Ghibli Museum
Mitaka
Inokashira Koen Park
Nakano Broadway Shopping Mall
Odaiba
Manga University
Akihabara
Tokyo Game Show
Square Enix Show Case/Store
Shinjuku

And revisited various other places

I have more snapshot type photos and ones taken by friends and family, I'll have to post them another time, look for an edit.

Halloween, my favorite holiday, is coming up, but my trip sidetrack me, so I wasn't really able to prepare. But I'm looking into some events and parties, so hopefully.

The Halloween Shoot was canceled... so he asked if I wanted a refund or other, I asked for a personalized photoshoot, Burlesque style =P Supposed to be this Sunday, but may have to reschedule, got lots to do.

As for my art, lots have gotten in the way of me finishing the Piratess picture and I started my Concept Design Academy classes, so... yeah, but had time to sketch my original character Haiku and her sister. Here's a WIP of the Pirate Vixen:

Tribute to a Tigress

I was eating breakfast this morning, watching Animal Cops Houston, when I heard about a devastating story, as all on that show usually are. Turns out, its legal to own Tigers in Texas. As cool as that sounds, a lot of unworthy pet owners buy them, but don't take care of them and they die.

In this story, the Animal Cops were called in by neighbors of this guy who drove around with a makeshift trailer holding two Siberian Tigers, one female and one male. When they had arrived, both animals were in horrible conditions, but in particular was the Tigress.

The tigress, which has extreme physical evidence of malnutrition and abuse, had 5 fully formed cubs inside her, DEAD. They've been in there a while, that means shes been unhealthy for a while and not even well enough to birth her cubs. When both tigers got to the animal hospital, the doctors had no possible way of saving the Tigress, she was too unhealthy to get the cubs out with surgery, and leaving the dead cubs in there would kill her slowly and painfully, so they euthanized(mercy killed) her. She went peacefully, but her life wasn't much to remember, poor girl. The Tiger male pushed through the misfortune and now lives at a great animal reserve for exotic animals.

I just died hearing how such a rare and fascinating animal was so easily given to people who could destroy them, and that someone would do that. Now I know there are amazing pet owners who take great care of their pets, but those guys who misused those Tigers are downright EVIL.

So in Tribute, I drew the Tigress a picture, took me about 2 hours, but I had to be quick because I have a lot of work to do.



The halloween shoot I spoke of in my last journal was postpone to this Saturday, just for those who wanted to see the pics. I will be linked to them when available. I'm still losing weight and toning, now I'm 115 again!!! Unless my weighting machine is broken... Gonna go check again, but I can definately say I'm around 123lbs!!

And...
OMG I'm still going to Japan!!!! Yippy!! Look at my last journal for the details.
I'm still working on The Pirate Vixen, here's a WIP:

A bit of a life update for my blog viewers

**UPDATE!!: OMG I can't believe I forgot to state that I'm going to JAPAN!!!!! OMG Yes this October 6th I'm heading to Japan on a 9 day tour during the Japanese Game Show!!! OMG OMG *dies* I don't know how I forgot all about this but yea, I can't stress how more excited I am about this! If you'd like to join me, I believe theirs still open spots till Sept 20th i believe. And all this fun for a wonderful low price of ~$2,500 per person and comes with:

Hotel and Airfare
Breakfast Everyday
Paided Lunch in Harajuku
Tokyo Game Show
The Ultimate Akiba Experience
Unlimited Game Night in Odaiba
“How to Draw Manga” by Manga University
See Maximum the Hormone live in Japan!


Intermixi Tokyo Japan Tour

I've been exercising the Pilates way for the last week because I have a photoshoot coming up this Saturday and I wanted to look my best... And I'm getting there!!

I lost 6lbs (129lb now, aiming for 115lb) in the last week from a combination of good diet and pilates!! I'm sooooo excited because I feel more confident and sexy that I KNOW I'll bring it to the shoot!

The Photoshoot this Saturday will be in Placentia, CA at 1pm with a theme I've been dying to do... A HALLOWEEN SHOOT! They'll have everything for me, from makeup and hair to sets of outfits as well as the a great photographer. All I have to do is model, and I get to bring my own outfit as well!!

I'm soooooo excited that I can't possibly express it enough in one journal entry!

As far as my career life goes, its still at a standstill... no job, no response from applications, and I'm beginning to loose confidence in my works. But fear not! I'm not giving up!! I want to move out! I want to become a famous and well-respected artist! I want to travel the world with the money I make!! I will become a Character Designer because I'm a greatly talented artist and strong gal!

I'm working on side pieces at the moment, and, as some friends have seen, I've had my art published in local newspapers to promote Mt. Sierra College, Thanx to my school. Here's a WIP of the piece I'm currently working on:



She will be colorful and bold because she is a Sky Pirate. The BG will be large and elaborate with airships and an amazing sky. A dynamic upshot(worms-eye) view to emphasize her power. It'll have a noticeable comedic feel in it as well.

I don't have any photos of the publications, but maybe soon, and I'll update accordingly... Hope everyone is doing great and so so sorry about the lack of responses back to comments, mail and such, I'll try to get to those as soon as possible.

A Whole Month Full

1) Anime Expo
2) LA Zoo
3) Comic-Con
4) Earthquake
5) Working on an a art job
6) Stumped

1) So Anime Expo and come and gone, and doing Artist Alley this year has completely taken up my time for my all time favorite place... the Exhibit Hall. Even though I shifted in and out with family watching the table and I skipped a day of working for my Graduation, I still manage to miss out on 95% of the Hall...

I redid the Fran piece I was working on way back because my Boyfriend, Diego, finished the background for me since he had the chance and I was so happy with it that when I got around to my drawing, It felt inferior, so I retouched it. Here it is:



I tole myself at least I have Comic-Con coming, up, there may not be a lot of Anime stuff but still some good buys. Next year for AX and Comic-Con I plan on getting a table and possibly with a group of friends where we'd have shifts so that we can all experience the cons and sell our work. Were also planning on making an artbook together.

2) I went to the LA Zoo with some friends and Diego all to go draw the animals, we were there for a while but had to go early. This was my first time here since I was 5 years old. Kinda run down, but still full of interesting animals.

Finished a current commission for a guy whos been waiting for a year now because I had told him I was busy with school, so the day I graduated, I get an email and hes like "Hey you graduated, you have time for the commission now =)" (not actual quote) Anyway, here it is:



3) Comic-Con and San Diego were AWESOME!! I've been to San Diego last year for Siggraph, but San Diego with Comic-Con was Incredible. So lively and fun, the people were inviting and shared the common love for comics, art, anime and more (both local and visitors). The day before Comic-con I remember thinking, "OMG Anime Expo is Huge and Amazing", after attending Comic-Con, AX looks feeble. I still Love AX and will still attend, but I realized how much more Comic-con is professional and gives more opportunities to artist alike. AX is more for the fan sells, Comic-con is good for that and business/networking.

It was quite a wild experience, but not as much as the big earthquake!! Been a while so this was a shock. I was on the 8th floor with Diego and my friend Alan when the entire room swayed back and forth. Kinda crazy how moving it was. Turns out it was larger back in the LA area, shacking up stores and buildings.

5) I've been trying to get back to work on an art job, but one thing after the other just continues to get in the way. I hope to get back on it as soon as possible.

6) Other than that, I'm completely stumped... Ive never had no project, homework, grade that I had to strive for, so now with graduation... I'm stumped, I feel like I have to DO something. Im trying to relax and take a real vacation for myself for once, but its hard. Now days just fly by and I don't know what to do.

Since I tend to procrastinate a lot, I need a deadline to actually get things going. I want to finish things to my quickest ability, which is pretty fast, but I leave it off for another time...

I have to also get back on my website and finish that. I've applied for jobs, but no reply. The house I was planning on getting has increased the price so we hesitate to buy. I want to start back modeling, but since I never got any attention before, I don't think I will now.

The only thing I look forward to now is the major trip I'm taking to Japan. Hopefully this will re-inspire me and I may even find better opportunities there. I sure hope Japan is all what I dreamed it to be, I've hoped it to be.

A Lot Has Happened

Update!! BTW My Artist Alley Booth is D41! That way you can find me on the map provided at the expo!

So I may miss a lot, but here's it all for the most part:

-Got my Website going: http://sashapalacio.com but still under construction, also, only email me at that email for business related messages.
-Graduated and Have my Bachelor's in Arts degree in Game Arts and Design
-Graduation Ceremony(Cap and Gown event) is this coming Thursday
-I'm attending Anime Expo and will be selling Art, Charms and Stickers!! Come by and buy something! Guaranteed you'll like it!!
-Haven't applied for any Jobs yet, but still unsure if I want to do Freelance or not...
-Had a Root Canal done and need another redone...
-Went to Raging Waters, that was FUN!!!
-And... uhh can't quite recall anything else but if so I'll edit this entry =P

Well I hope everyone is having a good summer so far, will update as frequent as possible =)

Seattle was Awesome

So I came back to LA at about 9:30pm and not only was it a lot hotter, but the air was noticeably thicker ><

Seattle was a gorgeous place, really cold place, but amazing none the less. I have plenty of pictures to show and stories to tell =P.



The environment was gorgeous! So lush in color and the air was soooooo clean. Not to mention the beautiful rain and sudden snow. It was freezing like hell, but worth it. I sure do wish I could've stayed longer. If a job is offered there by Valve, I'll probably more than happily take it, maybe =P



Valve was an awesome building. It lies in a large skyscraper with various other companies, but it holds the three high up floors to itself. The interior is all Half-Life themed, and I heard the hotel in the building holds Valve themed rooms!



We got a tour of the great workplace and got to see some upcoming Meet the TF2 Cast videos as well as test the talked about Gold Rush map with other Valve employees!! OMG it was an amazing trip and all of us had to restrain ourselves and keep professional the whole time. Diego even got his Half-Life art book signed by the creator/founder: Gabe Newell. We even got some free stuff:



The food at every restaurant we went to was really good. We visited a comic store named Zanadau and took some alley shots along the way, then we went to the Pike Place Market. We wanted to visit The Space Needle, but ran out of time, and it got too cold, seeing as it was now snowing ><. Our plans to go to Digipen were cut too, they had an event going on and we couldn't go... Also, Sakura-Con was there at the convention center... but no time ><



All the things we got to do is what made this trip sooooo fun. Now I have to go finish that DomWar character and finish my portfolio =P

All images can be found here: Valve/Seattle Trip

To the Valve mobile!

Going to Seattle Washington for a tour of Valve, the awesome game studio that created the amazing Half-Life series and many other incredible games.

I'm so excited!! This will be my first trip out of California(Farthest from Pasadena was two hours out!) and I just can't wait. The trip is from tomorrow to this Saturday, gonna be raining all that time >< But I love rain anyway =P just not the cold. I'll be trying to finish a lot of artwork on the trip as well, especially the Dominance War entry which will end soon.

I also just finished my 11th Term and am now on my Spring Break for two weeks. Next term is not only my 12th term, but my last term!!! I'm gonna be graduating =D I'm excited, stressed and nervous all at the same time! Gotta get a job and find a new house.

Oh btw, the guys selling us the previous house backed out without telling us and the way we found out was that there were people moving in...

Awaiting on the internship opportunity with Blizzard, also trying to get in those fanworks. Also waiting to see if my Pepper piece gets into Stanley Lau's Pepper Project artbook.

Will be trying to get my works into ImagineFX magazine, its a great digital art magazine from England.

Blizzard Entertainment

So Blizzard Entertainment came to my school Thursday and gave a presentation on the game industry and Blizzard itself. They also informed us that they are open for internships and the deadline to apply was Friday(Yesterday). So I, and some of my other classmates, applied before 5pm yesterday for an internship in our desired field. I went for the 2D Illustration Internship.

I'm sooooooo excited, I do hope I get the internship, and if so, I'll be updating my portfolio with plenty of Warcraft inspired/themed pieces. I'll be asking my siblings for their WOW characters and draw them out in the Warcraft style. It would be such a great opportunity for me if I make it.

Aside from that, I've entered the Dominance War III in the 2D Character Design competition. It's a widely known contest and will give alot of great prizes aside from fame. Heres my entry so far: DWIII-SashaP-Lilith



For the term so far, I've been making character designs, based on classmates ideas, for my portfolio.

Heres my first two, I'm working on the 4th one now. The 3rd design was the Dominance War entry.



Well thats all for now, I'll be moving in shortly and will update then! Hope everyone is doing well!!

Moving Out!

So obviously school has started back up for me, and boy is it more intense now that I have this and one other term left. I have my Senior Thesis I class which has me developing a portfolio to hopefully use to get a character designing job, or at least an art related one.

Alot has happened lately, including that I've got a house! I really gorgeous little cottage like home, cozy and with a wonderful garden. Both me and Diego will be moving in the begining of March, we hope to have a House Warming party mid March to early April.

I've finished and submittd my fan piece of Pepper:

for the Pepper Project and I really hope it gets into his book. I also am submitting to have my work in the next Ballistics Expose book. Hopefully I get in there too. I want to also submit my work to the wonderful magazine ImagineFX. All to help promote myself. =P

I never went to Las Vegas, things came up so I had to cancel, maybe another day. I'm very excited about moving out, and the fact that I finally have a room to dedicate to mine and Diego's collection of figurines and statuettes. But the Disney trip was fun, except for the missing of my baby.

I'm also happy my kitty, Kira, will have room to roam.

Was going to dye my hair like my Miss Pasadena piece for Valentine's Day, but chickened out =P May reschedule for another day.

Well thats all I can remember for now, if anything is remembered, I'll edit.

2 Weeks Gone in a Flash

Exactly as the title states, well, anyway, my two weeks vacation was filled by family time for Christmas and New Years.

News Years was interesting, but would've been more fun if Diego came with. My family decided to spend practically a week at Disneyland. Fun, but I was missing my baby =P

Christmas a typical family event, though I spent the later half at Diego's house with his family.

January 9th 2008 was Diego and I's 6th year Anniversary. Originally, as stated before, we were supposed to spend in in Las Vegas seeing as I won a free trip there with 6 free show tickets, $100 for Dinner, 3 nights at Casino Royale and $50 in Chips... But no, Diego darling didn't want to go to Las Vegas(because the only thing we had to do was drive there) and canceled it at the last minute, resulting in a $129 fee to be paid...

He says he'll make it up to me... because he better!! =P

Anyway, we did have a nice lunch, saw and movie, and dinner that day either way. We saw "No Country for Old Men" Great little movie, a bit casual of a film, but the action scenes were cool. His birthday was Jan 11, and hes now 23 =) Happy Birthday again babe!

I'm currently working of a fan picture of Pepper for an artist's artbook, all info could be seen here: Pepper Project

Heres a quick Work-in-Progress shot:

Info for PepperProjectWIP

I hope I get to finish it before the end of this week, because I've started school back up and I'm also attending my Senior Thesis class, which is like a portfolio development class, so a lot of art is going to be done.

Well, if I remember any thing else, I'll be sure to update, until then, thank you for reading.