Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Swamp Thing Ain't Got NOTHING on You!



Really not feeling it today. Had a topic in mind while at work but totally forgot what I wanted to talk about, SOOOOOOO I will just post a caption and talk a bit about it. This was made for Dani Colorado back when she was somewhat new to the Haven at the end of 2009. Captions I make for her now tend to be a bit naughtier, but I think this is a cute little caption, with a decent payoff, though I think I went a bit overboard with the explanation of how it all happened. Perhaps you readers out there might think differently, but I felt the need to make sure people got the science behind it. That made it drag a bit more than it should have. If I was creating this caption now, I'd probably have found a way to work around that. Well, MAYBE it works .. I am still bouncing between the two thoughts, so I guess it probably isn't as bad as I think it is. I definitely would've made the text background a gradient match of her painted skin tone.


Speaking of paint, I am sure that I would have been even happier than Bob Ross' trees if I got to paint this model up for the photo shoot. People liked the Mister Rogers remix I posted from PBS a few days ago, and the same person released another one starring the guy that was ALMOST as mellow as Fred .. Bob Ross. I can't tell you how many times I would be channel surfing in the 90's and just be riveted by how relaxed and zen he was while painting. I am not even the slightest bit artistic with paint and brush, but I would sit and watch the entire rest of the episode ... with happy little clouds. He'd say things like, "Relax, .. let it flow ..think like water" and make you just chill out. "We don't make mistakes, we make happy little accidents".


Believe it or not, but sometimes I can hear little snippets of his wisdom as I use my digital palette to create what is in my mind onto the screen .. and to paraphrase the song .. "I believe, I believe, everyday is a good day when you caption!" As I type this, I see a beautiful sunset with some great purple and orange peeking out through the happy little trees. Its like Bob Ross is working with nature now, and we still get to enjoy his work for free!

DISCUSSION QUESTION: In your life, what artists or creators inspire you? Not just works that they made that you enjoy, but really made you WANT to do something more? How do you hope to inspire others to do the same?

8 comments:

  1. Actually, I thought that "We don't make mistakes; we just have happy accidents" would make a great theme for captioning. I found it a bit odd--in a good way--that both the Rogers & Ross videos spoke to my inner child and my inner lady. When captioning in particular, I found that "This is your world, you're the creator" was especially powerful for me.

    As for drawing inspiration. Sometimes a picture and knowing who I'm making a caption for is enough. Other times it proves more difficult. I know before on the haven with some of the contests I've recommended mimicking other art forms in our captions. For example, I like using song lyrics and creating a parody that suits a TG caption. Some of them write themselves (Most recently I did one for Caitlyn-Masked using Masquerade from Phantom).

    I think another good source of inspiration is the internet itself. We had a contest a while back that focused on making "LOL Caps" in which we mimicked the style of the LOLCats (That was also a good challenge in brevity in captions). More recently, I created a facebook page caption which was essentially me a few years after the great shift--IE what would a facebook page look like in a universe like the great shift. Most particular, I spent a good deal of time detailing the page right down to the shift-related ads on the side bar.

    I suppose I am rambling now... I excel at rambling. In any case, I look for inspiration anywhere I can find it.

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    1. I remember the LOL cats contest. I think I came in 2nd for the "I WISHED TO BE >> MARTHA!" with the picture of Mothra.

      Both videos really touched me. I wondered who they will use next. My guess would be Julia Child. In the pantheon of Public Television, I think she's definitely up there with Bob Ross and Mister Rogers. Another guess would be Bob Villa.

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  2. Hmm. I find that pretty much anyone who creates anything is inspiring to me. The mere act of their creation and the fact that they share it means that they have done something that inspires me to go and do likewise. I have no idea how to inspire others through anything I create.

    However, narrowing this down a little, I am inspired most and first of all by music. Jean Michel Jarre may be a fraud (search for Bill Bailey) but his Oxygene always inspired me (alright, it was to create a dystopic future world). There's also Vanessa Mae's 'Storm' and Kate Bush's 'Aerial'. Virtually any album by the Pet Shop Boys speaks a narrative to me (apparently not everyone) and they inspire me too. But there are also books, like K-PAX or 'Ender's Game' or 'Q'. And films, like 'The Constant Gardener' or 'Fifth Element' or 'Downfall'. TV series too, 'Life on Mars', 'Hitler: the Rise of Evil' and 'Heroes' to name a few. And there's bloggers too, whose blogs can lift me and take me with them on their journeys, I hope they know who they are and they are very dear to me.

    Also people that can caption. Whether or not individual captions inspire me is largely down to whimsy on my part, but the fact that you captioneers create so much is a constant inspiration and challenge.

    I attempt to inspire in my job, to varying degrees of success, but I would *love* to be able to write something inspirational. Alas, to do that, I'd have to finish something. To all those people who complete an artistic endeavour, be it visual or textual, I salute you!

    Also, creepily, might I add that you inspire me Dee? Sorry, but you do.

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    1. Well, I am flattered that I inspire you!

      Usually its a "if DEE can do it, so can I!" which I have no problems with. Its given us Petra, Caitlyn, and some other fine captioners!

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  3. Dee,

    I'm often inspired by other caption creators.... I envy them their artistic sense, their vision, their turn of phrase, their proficiency with their editing software of choice, even some of them on their ability to find a select powerful images :)

    I hope that I in some small way made someone feel better about being TG... Less guilty or ashamed. I hope that I gave a voice and/or vision to the Gurls out there that don't just read captions for a quick squirt. And I hope maybe I inspired people who hadn't thought that they could make captions to at least give it a shot. If I did any of those things, then at least my time was not wasted :)

    /hugs

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    1. I can see that. I'm sure that you've brought some people out of their shell with your blog, and maybe getting them to think about themselves a bit differently .. and that it isn't wrong to enjoy TG in all its forms.

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  4. I've been thinking about this one as I didn't know if I was supposed to talk about captioners or everyone in general.

    For starters, my first love is music. I'm sure that by now a decent bunch of people knows that I love music as well, but also many others fields like science So my inspiration has been:

    1. Pavarotti - not a cliche thing really, my parents used to put his music before I was born, and then after I found in him a great inspiration -

    2. Stephen Hawking - If there is anyone out there that can bring inspiration just by a single dizzy comment, that's him. A real brainer that had gone through many problems will being the object of critics that never gave a pound for him. HA! From this man I learned that there is no minimum objective and that you can always try it better -

    3.The Ten Tenors - If someone has done it before, try it yourself and do it better. This amazing opera/rock/musical/pop/rock/classical group is in my humble opinion one of the best group ever made. -

    4. Eduard Punset (Spanish) - In the same way as Stephen Hawking but not that mainstream and not that incredible intelligent. This politician/scientist has done a great research on the quest for happiness. This man is a great inspiration for me, due to his optimistical ways about we humans, and I find his speeches really soothing -

    5. Lang Lang - This chinese pianist is an incredible man that knows how to go one step further in each one of his plays. Saying something about Lang Lang that would try to bring his good deeds would be preposterous because he is already at perfection! -

    Those are five people that I found really inspirational in my life. Now for captioners

    1. Mistress Simone - I think that my style sometimes try to approach her own, but that's okay for me because her art is really impressive and sometimes she has done some marvelous and touching jobs for me, I feel like a fan whenever I see something new from her :) -

    2. Caitlyn - It's okay if I call her teacher? I mean from the minimum thing to the an aspect of writing not yet explored, I had asked her from time to time and she has gave me pointers whenever I showed her something new. -

    3. Dee - Of course is not just something said hastily. I mean I really found great stuff here and there from you, where I could draw new ideas and try on new concepts, as well as you have answered my questions on captions :) -

    And that would be my top three. I know that I would have more people from where I could rely on and that inspires me but that would make for a really long post *giggle*

    Hugs and Kisses Alectra

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    1. It was either/or Alectra, but I'm glad that a few people talked about overall inspirations in their lives. I am glad to see that music inspires you in its many forms. I try to take something out of every piece of music I hear.

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