Cat Walking and Running Reference

For the first project in my latest animation class, we have to develop a rig for a quadruped that automatically does the animation for a gait when you slide a controller across the screen. The tricky part, is that the one the animation reaches a certain speed, it has to seamlessly blend into the next gait of that animal's pattern. I'm choosing a Bengal cat for my animal, and now to do some research!

Characterization Portrait - Lynette

A while back I sold a Characterization Portrait to raise money for a charity fundraiser, and here is the finished product!  Good news is I'm getting much faster at these.  I believe this one took me right around 3.5 hours to complete.  Yay for progress!

Puppy Pebbles

 Ever since I graduated from high school my parents have begun putting all their care and attention into raising puppies.  I mean, my dad was never one for spoiling our pets, but this one here sleeps in their bed with them even though she is now a full grown American bulldog!  So for my mom for Christmas, I've decided to do a painting of Pebbles when she was still a little puppy.  Though the pup has certainly lost none of her spark or hyperactive overenthusiastic curiosity, she is still as cute as a button and still does this awesome little head tilt thing when she's interested in something.  In this pic I was playing the piano and she had never heard it before, and the pose was so perfect I had to take a picture of it.  I think she's gonna love the painting and I can't wait to get it printed! (and no, my mom is not on facebook so she won't see this before Christmas :-p)

Below you will also find a few process paintings if you're interested.

2012

And here is the short that almost killed me!  I have to say I've never gone with so little sleep for so long, even when completing my thesis at RIT's School of Film and Animation.  For those of you who have talked to me about this project, you know how close it was to not being finished with the last minute technical disasters I've had over the last week before it was due, but thanks to the awesome people in the Viz Lab and a week of sleeping in the lab and only going home to shower, here it is! 4 months of hard work and dedication! Hope you enjoy :)

New Etsy Additions!

These are two of my more popular pieces and they have been added to my Etsy shop for purchase!

Christmas Cards are now for Sale!!!

Hello all!!  I have opened an Etsy shop with some holiday related items to make  exchanges more effiicient. :)  I will add more of my work for sale over time and will keep and steady stream of new work as the year goes by.  I will most like post on the blog anytime something new goes for sale, so keep checking and you might find something you love!  To get to the shop you can click on the Etsy mini widget off to the right side of my blog or just follow this link:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RJPena

Happy shopping!

Lacanian Symbol

Lacanian Symbol from gunslingers19 on Vimeo.


    This project examines our need to display our lives through social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and other blogging type websites.  Millions of people every day post mundane statements and status updates with a desire that people will look and comment or "like" what they have written.  John Berger talks about an interesting psychological dichotomy within the realm of art history that we can apply to this phenomenon: the psychology of the audiences need to view, as well as be viewed by the object of their desires.  According to Berger, traditional European nude paintings played upon the wealthy owners, generally male, desire to be viewed by the woman (viewed in this sense as owned possessions), and also their desire to reveal to the world the wealth of which they own through oil paintings of their material possessions. 
    My question is how is this different than people in modern times taking pictures of themselves in various exotic locations and posting them, or taking pictures and tweeting about their latest new purchases or experiences which are often times exaggerated through syntax and superficial excitement or expression?  In reality we post post these updates of our daily lives with the eager expectation that these posts will impress, shock, or incite interest within those around us.  What's even more curious is our eagerness to look at our 'home feeds' and see what everyone else is commenting on or posting in relation to what we ourselves have posted. 
    There is a great sadness in the separation that has been created in technology between what people desire and what they actually receive. What we gain in turn is an odd lack of personal interaction as we respond to our peers through an isolated computer screen in an attempt to feel as if we are an active part of their lives, and they a part of ours in return, regardless of how empty and impersonal we have become towards each other.


For those interested in the formal and technical aspects of this project, I shot it with my iPhone in a mirror image of the medium most of us use to post such updates with FXF by JOBY app for the time lapse and an iPhone stand by Gorilla.

Lacanian mirror

    Check out this piece of work!  Officially my first completed art project for A&M's grad Visualization program.  The Lacanian Mirror refers to the works of Lacan, who believes in 3 stages of mental process named the Imaginary. the Symbolic, and the Real.  The descriptions of these are completely different than what you think they are.  This work represents the imaginary, which Lacan describes adeptly with the example  of a baby first realizing that its reflection in the mirror is itself, but not having the mental capacity to realize that its reflection is just an image of itself, and not literally itself.  The imaginary exists in the realm of intuition, the unbridled underlying emotions that drive us before we process what they are and what they mean. 
    This piece reflects the emotion of a human being viewing itself within a space in the world, much as the baby would.  I chose to do this medium because it creates the illusion of a 3D space by a combination of transparent flat 2D cross-sections, and the fact that the image is not understandable from all angles.  I hope to create the sensation of realization and mystery as the viewer comes around the piece and ultimately comprehends the image, yet still being deceived by the illusion of 3D reality, much as the infant sees itself in the world but does not understand the separation.
    Hopefully this piece will be accepted into a show sometime soon and you all can see it in action!  But for now I hope you enjoy these images :)