DailyCreative

Blender? Let’s Learn Blender

stargrace August 7, 2022 No Comments

For a few years now I have been following some 3D artists who use Blender to render World of Warcraft scenes – and I have wanted to do exactly that. I love the idea of making a scene with all of my characters, or just creating little scenes for friends. Or just on a whim. The problem is it involves using a handful of programs that I know NOTHING about – the biggest one being Blender. I’ve been meaning to try to learn it for a long while, but I never made time. That’s the biggest downside to having so many interest and hobbies, finding / making time.

I am working out a schedule where I can dedicate two days (evenings) a week to this, and hopefully I’ll make a little progress. I’ve downloaded the programs required and started with the YouTube video above, and joined a discord owned by the same person. I know it won’t be a quick learn, but I feel like this is a natural progression from my digital art that I’ve been working on. OK maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but at least I’m hoping it will be interesting.

DailyCreative Real Life

How is the Drawing Going?

stargrace August 2, 2022 2 Comments

Last year I attempted digital art for the first time in 20+ years (after trying traditional art first, but my hands were having none of it). I completed roughly 50 pieces, and in December I set a challenge for myself to do at least 1 piece a week, or 52 pieces for the year in 2022. Of course then a cross country move happened, then my son broke his iPad so I gave him mine (and eventually got mine replaced), and dealing with life and all the rest. Still, I’m currently sitting at 26/31 completed so far, and that’s not too shabby. I’ve seen my skills growing with lots of room for improvement too but I’m proud. I appreciate the quiet time I spend with my iPad.

There are a ton of creative projects I enjoy. I knit, I spin my own yarn, and I cross stitch, to name a few. The problem is of course I also enjoy gaming and I have a family with two littles, so I finding the time to fit things in becomes an issue. I actively have to make time or else the project will just be neglected until I pick it up again for half a day.

When it came do drawing, I made sure I was setting aside time just for that. I usually draw when my husband is working nights, after the kids are in bed. Less distractions that way. It takes me anywhere from 1-3 hours to finish a piece, though some would argue that you’re never really ‘finished’ anything. I post most of my pieces on DeviantART but I’d love an alternative. There just hasn’t been anything that has popped out to me over the years. I know there’s ArtStation (I think?) but I believe that one also has a cost. I want to make sure I can apply watermarks to my work since I’ve already had some of my photography pieces stolen for NFT on DeviantART (they were older pieces where I had forgotten to add the watermark. I went back and fixed them after).

Anyway. Rambling post about creative endevours in the hopes that I feel motivated to draw sometime this week. We’ll see.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

DailyCreative Spinning Yarn

Alpaca, Merino, & Finn (3)

stargrace July 26, 2022 No Comments

It’s finally done, all chain plied and made into a skein, ready for when I decide to use it. I didn’t particularly enjoy spinning this fiber, it was a batt, and those are prone to neps (lumps) and it makes drafting quite difficult. Over the three years that I’ve been spinning yarn I’ve learned what sort of fibers I enjoy, and how I like them prepared. I do have a drum carder but I didn’t want to ‘ruin’ the batt that I had purchased from a vendor. Next time I might just prepare it the way that I prefer anyway.

I’m glad to have completed it, I’m incredibly thankful to finally have an e-spinner, and I am excited about all of the future spinning I’m going to be doing. I have an entire bin of fiber just waiting to be made into yarn. Of course then I’ll also have to figure out what I’m going to spin with it all.

DailyCreative Spinning Yarn

Alpaca, Merino, & Finn (2)

stargrace July 24, 2022 No Comments

In a single evening I managed to finish spinning the singles of the alpaca, merino, & finn fiber that I had. It was 3.5oz, which on my kiwi would have taken me a few weeks, at best. The fiber wasn’t the easiest to draft (as I already mentioned) and was quite filled with neps, but I’m hoping to learn how to chain ply using it. Chain plying is perfect for when you want to keep colours together, or for when you don’t have 2-3 bobbins of yarn to ply it with. In this case, I only have the one bobbin. I’ve never tried chain plying before, but it has been on my to-learn list for a number of years. It’s just a nice skill to have. I think using my Starling will be a good way to learn, I can keep the speed very low, and I can forcus on the hand motions required rather than focusing on my treadling. Hopefully the next update on this yarn will be the completed version.

DailyCreative Knitting Yarn

Cardigan (1)

stargrace July 22, 2022 No Comments

The yarn is just Lion Brand Pound of Love in worsted weight – but this cardigan is coming along nicely. Unfortunately I’m on the most boring part now – 14 inches of plain knitting. I’m hoping to do a row or two every day so I can actually see some progress, but it’s pretty slow. Especially now that I have the new spinning wheel to play with. The idea was to have this finished for fall, and I’m not confident I’ll even have it ready for then. We’ll just have to see!

Blender? Let’s Learn Blender

How is the Drawing Going?

Alpaca, Merino, & Finn (3)

Alpaca, Merino, & Finn (2)

Cardigan (1)

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