Mad Doodles! by Tasha Kline

Drink N' Draw

2012-01-31T21:52:00.000-08:00

Half a bottle of wine + Photoshop = Crazy drawings!

Argh, I have so much stuff to scan in, but again, I am being lazy... Anyway...

Thanks for looking!

A Thought For My 70th Post

2012-01-24T16:37:00.000-08:00

Some good advice...

Not giving a fuck and just doing, despite what the negative inner (or outer) voices tell you is key to any art practice. People may think I suck, but who really gives a shit? Not me. I keep making stuff anyway. I don't want to confine my self-worth or habits to what society or critics deem necessary or proper. The most restricting thing you could ever do to yourself is listen to the trollings of other people. So... Make stuff! Make stuff for you, and make stuff until your house is filled with it.

Then post it on the interwebs so I can have a look at it, too! ;)

Make stuff, share it, talk about others making stuff. Rinse wash, repeat. I think this is the key to a fulfilling art life!

Painting in Progress

2012-01-24T13:21:00.000-08:00

Dogs in a field in progress! Big one- 3'x4' acrylic on canvas. I used to hate acrylics, but I'm starting to get used to them... I think it's all about layering fat over lean. I used to just go straight to big, fat swabs of color. I've learned what a mistake that is.

It's best to build everything up slowly, using lots of water in the process, trying color after color until you feel you've gotten it right.

Sorry for the crappy picture quality- I admit I'm not much of a photographer, but I'll have a nice photo taken when it's done!

More to come! Thanks for looking!

Eyeballin'

2012-01-14T15:10:00.000-08:00

A new post for a new year! I have so much stuff to upload/scan in, but I'm too lazy. So instead, I leave you with this limpy little feller:

Thanks for stopping by!

HO HO HO!!!

2011-12-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays, ya'll!

Hard Luck Doggies

2011-12-01T03:07:00.000-08:00

Poor fellas!

Burger Pizza Donut!

2011-12-01T01:25:00.000-08:00

Not necessarily in that order.

I made a bunch of changes to my blog in the hopes that a different look will inspire more posts from me... let's see if it works.

-Clammy

Massive Sketchbook Dump

2011-11-30T21:09:00.000-08:00

Yay, vacation's here! After slaving away for several months at work, I thought I'd kick off my new-found downtime with a sketchbook dump from September to the present. This round includes such family favorites as the not-suitable-for-children Sphincter Eyes, Old People Dancing, Dismembered Poodles, Super-Monkey-Geezer-Dog, Drawings of My Family and Co-workers & More. Hopefully you can make most of them out. I'm learning that I need to start keeping cleaner sketchbooks...

This episode also features a drawing of my brother, serenading woman and beast with his smooth country voice! Hi Derek!

This is more akin to the real Derek, though:

And finally, something suuuuper special, just for you- a collaboration of sketches by my dad and me. Bet you can't tell who did what! ;)

He wanted to be a cartoonist as a kid. I love his drawings! He and my mom are both artists, and are both reasons why I started to pursue art also.

Thanks for stopping by! More to come as my vacation stretches onward!

Sketchbook Stuff

2011-04-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

Hi guys :)

So I doodle a lot in class while taking notes. Here's a bunch of sketches from the last few months which include random notes, drawings of classmates and friends, and other odds and ends. Enjoy :)

I'm going back to work at South Park tomorrow, so my posts may be limited after this. Hopefully all this stuff will tide you over...

Thanks again for looking!

Save the Date

2011-03-29T23:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the brief hiatus! I've been working on this:

Me and my boyfriend Mike are getting married in June, and this is the Save the Date I sent to some of my friends. We're having a tiny wedding, so if you know us, don't be hurt if you didn't receive this; we're only inviting close friends and family!

Thanks for lookin'!

Dragon

2011-03-18T12:45:00.001-07:00

Here's a little favor I made for someone. It's for a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend, and it's pretty rough, but it looks much better in person.

Thanks for looking :-D

Crazy

2011-02-27T15:45:00.000-08:00

This is a wall sculpture I made for the upcoming WIA show at the Animation guild in Burbank. He's crazy! Sorry for the lame scan- He's much bigger than my scanner, so i had to patch him up a lot. What should I name him? I'm open to suggestions. I was thinking about "Bekkin Weggs" because he reminds me of breakfast.

Hopefully some of you can make it to the show- I'll post details about the reception later.

2811

2011-02-14T00:42:00.000-08:00

This was observed as I was slugged out on the couch in the throes of food poisoning. It's been a rough week!

2511

2011-02-14T00:19:00.000-08:00

Please forgive this messy comic! I was trying a new technique. And... um... I drew it drunk! Bwaha :) Enjoy and thanks for reading!

T.K.

2011-02-13T23:50:00.001-08:00

This is a painting that I'm thinking about submitting to the Women in Animation show that's coming up. It's my first attempt at gouache, and also the first piece I've ever signed with my future "married" name! I think I'll just start signing stuff "T.K." I think it has a nice ring to it 8-) It probably doesn't really matter, but I always did hate the Helton part of my name. It's just so damn clunky! I used to hate signing my work. "Natasha Helton" just doesn't have a nice ring to it.

That said, I'm going to be updating my blog soon with my new name and with a new color scheme. Any suggestions are appreciated :)

I'm going to do 2 more of these! Keep an eyeball out, and thanks for reading!

2411

2011-02-05T00:33:00.001-08:00

This one is for the devoted... It's gonna take a while for you to decipher this thing! ;)

Thanks for reading!

2011-02-03T22:43:00.000-08:00

So, I got a kick in the butt today! And thus, a new comic. I hope you'll enjoy it :-)

Happy Holidays

2010-12-23T23:05:00.001-08:00

From the demented holiday head!

Ugh. Anymore I hate drawing on a Wacom tablet. It's so hard to control...I've been spoiled by my setup at work! Anyone have a Cintiq they wanna sell for cheap? ;-)

I hope you all have a wonderful new year!

New Stuff

2010-10-31T02:17:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus, I give you... fashionable old people.

...and a self-portrait, too!

More to come :-)

2010-01-25T21:51:00.000-08:00

So Busy....

2008-10-10T00:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates lately...Work's been so busy!!!!

Basically, I've been re-learning how to draw. So... sometimes it feels like I'm drowning and not being able to get my head above water. It's been a lot of work so far...but I'm learning SO MUCH!!! The people I work with are insanely talented. I've been working on drawings of them, so I should be able to share those with you soon.

But hopefully one day it'll click, and then I can get back to updating! :-D

Wish me luck until then! Oh, boy...!

I hope everyone's lives are going great! Write me an email and tell me all about what's going on with you...

Ps- the first episode I worked on aired last night...what'd ya'll think of it?

Awesome

2008-07-14T01:42:00.000-07:00

Possibly the best comic panel ever inked:

Don't forget to go see The Dark Knight!!!

And buy me a ticket, while you're at it...

7-7-08

2008-07-10T03:49:00.000-07:00

7-6-08

2008-07-10T01:49:00.001-07:00

Oops...

2008-07-10T00:53:00.000-07:00

I guess it's already tomorrow! So sorry...Although I doubt anyone was burning up the internet to get at the new comics...

Here's the first one. Enjoy!

Crazy Bear Resume

2008-05-02T04:20:00.000-07:00

Wowee Zowee!

I made a brand-new resume for this job fair thing I'm doing next week.
Check it out:

The only problem I can foresee with it is that I lost my old resume, so I had to go by the seat of my pants thinking about what should be going on here...

...Ever get that feeling that you've forgotten something?

::Yawn::
I'm exhausted!

Full update to come soon.

Love from Natasha

CalArts Experimental Animation Showcase 2008

2008-04-27T02:55:00.000-07:00

Hi!

So much has gone on since my last post! But I finally have time to update...

First of all, my first short film made in 2006 titled "Lullaby," was selected to be shown in the Experimental Animation Showcase for this year!!!! Yay! I'm so excited to see it on the big screen...

Here's the invite information if you're interested in attending:

It's FREE ADMISSION!!! :-D

I've also been HORRIBLY busy designing the invites, posters and programs for the showcase...
It's been a lot of work, and one day, I'll post all of the good stuff I've been up to for that up here.

In other news, the show at the Wignall that I talked about in my last post went great! Sold a painting , a few DVDs here and there...and took lotsa pictures that I'll post up here soon!

There's been lotsa of posters, too...and new sketchbook stuff.

Gosh, all I need now is the time to upload...!

Well, be on the lookout for all these new developments when I have time on summer break.
See you in a couple weeks!

Love from Natasha

Jennifer Reeves Poster

2008-03-05T02:18:00.000-08:00

...and no new comics, still. Sorry! This whole "school and work" business takes up too much time!

The Other CalArts Film/Video Showcase Designs...

2008-02-20T15:17:00.000-08:00

These are the VERY rough first designs I came up with, after much sketching away on a pad of paper.

They picked the one with the crazy bear on it, which was cool, because I liked the crazy bear.
Godzilla would have been good, too.

I've re-adjusted the design so that it's way more dynamic. I'll post it later when I have time.

Thanks for reading!

Ulrike Ottinger Poster

2008-02-19T20:02:00.000-08:00

Man, time flies when you're having fun.
I realize that I haven't been posting my everyday comic, and I'm quite sorry for that. I've been drawing it, but haven't found the time to upload it to my blog. So one day, there will be a flood of comics to this site. Until then, please enjoy a new poster I did today for Ulrike Ottinger's upcoming residency at CalArts.

Thanks for reading!

Back and Better than Ever...Sort of...

2008-02-13T03:31:00.000-08:00

Hi!

Apparently, I'm still experiencing technical difficulties when I try to upload pictures, but I was able to get one on.

Here's a sample of what I've been working on lately for the CalArts Film/Video Showcase.
I have a lot of others, but I guess I'll have to post them later.

Also coming soon:

More comics and animation!

Thanks for reading!

Tales from the Couch!

2008-02-01T01:20:00.000-08:00

Spots of Ex-Cat-Poo

2008-02-01T01:17:00.001-08:00

General Wickedness!

2008-01-30T23:00:00.000-08:00

2008-01-29T14:37:00.001-08:00

Here's a couple of characters I designed... I didn't really spend that much time on them, so maybe when I get some free time, I'll go back and re-draw them They're a little rough for now!

Here's a couple more that are very rough, too, even without color. but hopefully you will enjoy them still.

Both the first color image and the last b/w image are references to my dad, who I'm creating the graphic novel about for my thesis. He's a shy subject, which makes it a little tough sometimes to get information for my comic.
Thanks for reading!

The Internet!

2008-01-29T03:29:00.001-08:00

The Yellow Snake Underground

2008-01-28T01:40:00.000-08:00

New Poster!
Made with love for the Betzy Bromberg/Kris Malkiewicz showing at CalArts.

Migraine....Again!

2008-01-28T01:24:00.001-08:00

Here's the first of the everyday comics that I hope to post (time willing!)...
Enjoy!

Ad for CalArts

2008-01-28T01:20:00.000-08:00

Here's three versions of a new ad for CalArts to be run in Ann Arbor.
I'm thinking I might make one of the Showcase versions one of these.

Pure Awesomeness

2008-01-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

Oh, wow!

The school just asked me to do the program, posters and advertisements for the 2008 Spring Showcase in Film/Video!!!!

It's funny, 'cause I always looked at those posters and wondered how one got to do the designs. It looks like they give the designer complete creative control... except for those pesky committee meetings, of course... ;-D

But still, I can't wait! I'll post the process I'm going through up here...

I'm also thinking about starting up a journal comic, much like James Kochalka's American Elf, which you can navigate to from the link at the bottom. He's awesome! Check him and his funky music out, too.

I want to start something like that to prepare for my thesis, which is going to be half film, half comic book. Lately, I haven't really been doing comics, so I want to start dedicating myself to it more by doing an everyday sort of thing.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

Gary the Mime!

2008-01-17T01:46:00.000-08:00

I'm in a Directing Class right now in which the goal is to make a 40 second film in 3 weeks with help from the other students in the class. I'm a little worried, having never worked in a group on a project before, but I'm also excited to see what the result is going to be.

So far, I've just made visual development and a rough storyboard for the people I'm working with to convey the idea of the film I want to make. Here's some samples of what I'm working on...

I was heavily inspired by UPA cartoons when I was designing this stuff.
If the end result is good, I'll post it up here in a you tube box.

:-D Can't wait to see the results!

Characters!

2007-12-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

Hi!

Here's some characters I've been working on lately, all done in cut out construction paper style. They're all fully animatable, too, ranging from circus folk, orges, horses...and some santa clauses.

Wowee Zowee!

2007-12-09T04:53:00.001-08:00

I stayed up all night doing these color combos for a new ad that's going out in a few days, and I thought I'd stay up a bit longer to show 'em off.

Cheers!

A New Poster for a LACMA Showing

2007-12-08T15:58:00.000-08:00

I have a bunch of friends in this showing that's happening on Sunday...
But I couldn't help but wonder why a few others, including myself, weren't invited to show our films as well...

I mean, honestly, what filmmaker today ISN'T inspired by surrealism?

Oh well...at least I got to do the poster!
(That's such a Mexican point of view, though....!)
Damn my roots!

So many posters!

2007-12-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

...It's hard to keep up!
Here's a new one for a Jeanette Lindsay showing at CalArts:

Cheers!

More Programs

2007-11-23T03:22:00.000-08:00

Here's more color schemes for the program below, all presented in photobucket goodness to preserve the color!

I have a lot more, but for some reason photobucket isn't working for me anymore...
Hmmm...I wonder if they no longer like me...?

Anyway, doing these programs and other stuff for the institution has definitely been an eye-opener for me.

On the one hand, I'm gaining work to put on my resume and in my portfolio, but on the other hand, it's a little tough creatively...the whole "24-hour turn-around" thing kills me. It's hard to make something well-designed when I only have a few hours to do it. Not that I'm complaining, because it's nice to finally have a job that allows me to use what I went to school for...

But sometimes I wish they would give me a little more time so I could try a few different ideas, especially for the posters.

Okay, sorry, complaining time is over.
Thanks for stopping by!

New Designs

2007-11-19T03:05:00.001-08:00

Remember that ad I did for a CalArts event in San Francisco?
Maybe not...?
Well, anyway, they asked me to do a program for the function as well, which I worked on tonight.

Here's some color samples:

More to come!

R. Stevens

2007-11-13T05:11:00.000-08:00

I want to take a sleepless, early-morning moment to say how much I love Diesel Sweeties by R. Stevens.
It's smart, it's sexy, it's colorful. It's everything I've ever wanted in a man and more!
And he gets relationship matters so RIGHT ON...

I mean, I actually dated a guy that not only smelled like pizza, but had a year's supply of hand lotion on display in his bedroom.
Although now I have to ask myself who the bigger pervert was...him, or me for knowing about the lotion and still kissing him in public...

Thanks, Mr. Stevens, for getting life's truths so...truthfully!

Another Thesis Style Test...

2007-11-13T02:30:00.000-08:00

...This time with sound! Yippee!
Feedback, anyone?

Cardboard

2007-11-13T02:17:00.000-08:00

This is a character I made at the request of a director friend of mine who does a lot of stop motion. She looks a little weird because he shot her on a "green screen" and cut her out in photoshop. The actual puppet doesn't have such a green tinge. He used a color key effect in After Effects that really worked well to get rid of the weird color.

She animated beautifully, by the way. Then, later, her hand broke off of the pipe cleaner I used to attach her arms.
Welp, I guess it's back to the drawing board!

You gotta love...

2007-11-05T01:50:00.000-08:00

Frank Frazetta.

Only he seems to truly appreciate the...ehm...more voluptuous woman!
I think most "pin-up" artists today could take a lesson from him.

Cheers.

Happy Dino Invitation

2007-11-05T00:58:00.001-08:00

Ain't he cute? I just love when I get creative freedom. This invitation still needs work (like the line under "you're invited" looks a bit jumbled to me...), but for now, I am satisfied with the colors and character.

Tierney Gearon

2007-11-01T00:15:00.001-07:00

Cranked this out in a couple of hours. Maybe that accounts for the misspellings on the poster. Well, maybe they'll get the information to me faster next time. Here's hoping they can forgive me! :D

I've also got A LOT of character designs that I have yet to scan...maybe one day I will.

New Paintings

2007-10-24T04:04:00.000-07:00

Oh, and here's some new paintings...very new, considering that I never paint...

My brother calls this "The Coconut Tree."

I made this for my sister as a birthday present.
Each are about 3'x4'.

Good night!

Thesis Style Test

2007-10-24T03:35:00.000-07:00

This is just a test!

It's for my experimental animation thesis project at Calarts. I'm trying to develop my animation style so that it will look more like my drawings... Usually, I rely so much on the computer that it ends up looking too "slick," for lack of a better word. Hopefully in making a lot of tests, I can create more of an edgy look, like in my drawings.

Comments would be appreciated, especially if you've been through this same battle and have come out on the winning side.

Cheers.

Witchy-Poo

2007-10-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of characters I created for a character design class.

Doing stuff like this makes me realize how little I know about character design and color. Especially after looking at old Disney animation stuff.

Gee-whiz!

Some Old Sketchbook Stuff

2007-10-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

Here's some old images from a sketchbook I filled during the beginning of this year.
It shows a few things about me:

1) I have a minor wolf obsession.

2) I like to draw sick people:

3) I have a thing about girls and monsters. Or monster girls:

4) I'm obsessed with the decapitation and mutilation of animals:

5) And I'm just a generally creepy person:

6) But with a sense of humor:

And making this blog also proves: 7) I'm self-obsessed.
Thanks for hanging in there!

My First Poster On the Job

2007-09-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

For a showing by Nina Menkes of her film, "Phantom Love."

More Food Money.

2007-09-25T02:00:00.000-07:00

I made this for the amazing Suzan Pitt and Kirsten Winter showing at CalArts.

Come if you can! They're great!

Poster Influences

2007-09-25T01:56:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to love this whole poster scene.
Especially the ones other people do. Like these:

Most of these are from HAMMERPRESS, an amazing print/graphic design shop.
Others are from random google image searches I've made.
More to come!

Cheers.

Another Poster, Another Dollar.

2007-09-14T03:14:00.000-07:00

This one's pretty tame, but it's a tribute to Ousmane Sembene, so it had to be kind of classy looking.

Cheers!

Posters

2007-09-07T03:08:00.000-07:00

I work at the Film/Video office at CalArts, making posters and graphic design.
Here's a couple of my first posters, for which I was not paid, unfortunately. These little beauties, featuring animation great Paul Vester, got me the job I have, though. Yippee!

Enjoy!

An Oldie, but a Goodie.

2007-08-31T02:06:00.000-07:00

Something I made in a comic book class in a galaxy far, far away.
Isn't he just the cutest little vampire you've ever seen?

Or terrifying.
Terrifying is good, too.

Cheers!

Some stills from my most recent film.

2007-08-31T01:57:00.000-07:00

I called it "The Lonely Twilight." It's about a man that goes nuts, digs up his dead daughter, and reaps the consequences after she is re-animated.

Enjoy!

Do you feel lucky?

2007-06-20T02:14:00.000-07:00

Well, do ya, punk?

Old Sketchbook Stuff

2007-06-20T01:59:00.000-07:00

Some colored in Photoshop...

And some not...

That stuff is really old. One day I'll get around to scanning and posting some new stuff.

Graphic!

2007-04-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello.

I'm an aspiring graphic novelist, and recently, I've been working on a series of short, illustrated stories that have a common thread: they all occured in California. Each of the characters, who are all actual people, are given the namesake derived from the city they grew up in.

Here's a few samples:

This is an on-going story, as people keep pressing me with new ideas for a comic everyday.

Cheers!