Celtic Dragon Studios

New Webpage / Blog site...

2010-08-28T21:21:00.001+01:00

Follow the following link...

www.celticdragonstudios.co.uk

It is unlikely that I will be posting further on this site, I'm keeping it available as more of an archive of older work.

Ann AKA Dragon.

Alternate blogging methods.

2010-01-12T23:38:00.000Z

Testing a new method of updating the contents of this Blog. Just to keep any visitors entertained here are some recent sketches from the last few weeks...

A sketch based on the concept of styles in the 1960's

Character doodles,

and more character doodling,

this one was done at the Garrick last thursday while chatting with some very interesting people.

Sometimes its better not to ask. In this case its coloured pencils on recycled paper

Followed by the natural hunter of the previous image, this one is coloured pencil on coloured card.

As is this. However this one is based on a gent who was on my train to work, admittedly the subject was'nt quite as grumpy looking.

This one is a planning sketch for the Illustration Friday theme, 'Refreshed'

This is as far as I have finished the image as the new one has been released, 'Contained' and I have more interesting plans for that.

Last but not least a piece of fanart for the character Rincewind created by the wonderful Sir Terry Pratchett, the character resides in the Discworld.

Hopefully this test will be successful and more posts will follow.

Over and Out,

Ann aka Dragon.

-- Post From iPhone. Don't you just love technology!

Flaws and plenty of them...

2010-01-06T17:42:00.002Z

....So the great Plan. Note the capital in Plan. was to use my new laptop (with windows 7) for all the web browsing and entertainment side of things, including the remaining portable side of things especially. This would complement the original laptop being reinstalled as a graphics only machine, and being static (remaining connected to the printers etc) since Vista disliked being disconnected and then reconnected later (really not sure why).
All was going well, the new laptop did precicely what was required and all files and data were backed up safely on an external drive. So I reinstalled Vista, this did not go as planned. It would under no circumstances format the drives so I ended up with 2 copies of windows running, on on each of the partitions. Wonderful.... on researching the issue I discovered that this was not unusual for Vista and that many others have had to deal with this aswell.
I even nipped into the local 'Computer tech' station in PCworld with the laptop to be told there was nothing to be done except reinstall again... using the Recovery discs made after purchace. These went missing about a month after being made.
Therefore, I have spent the day ransacking the house to find them, on locating them I made the discovery that Vista will not let me run them. Yay Vista, being its normal helpful self.
After a further hour researching on the internet, Vista finally relented and I am now watching it install yet again. perhaps this time it shall do as it is instructed.
I will update this later.
Ann.

Windows 7

2009-12-11T22:51:00.000Z

At this moment in time I have been using Windows 7 for about 2 hours and so far so good. My one program issue so far is that The Gimp ( an open source image manipulation tool ) won't install, I have e-mailed them for assistance in the hopes that they have a patch for this already.

More comments to follow once i finish installing the rest of my software etc...

Ciao laters aligators.
Ann AKA Dragon.

Aloha and good Evening =)

2009-11-25T18:19:00.002Z

Another random post is due I think. Firstly I'm reccomending that if you havent already heard them that you check out 'Banjaxxed' by Black-Sookie. I found it very entertaining, in other news they are having an album release night tomorrow evening, sadly I will be at work so will miss it, looks like fun though =)

For more information please Google them or Google 'Belfast Unbound' (the guys organising the evening).

The Children in need evening was a blast aswell, the Peter Kay Animated album really ought to make it to #1 for shear laughs value.

Finished reading 'Kingdom come' (Mard Ward and Alex Ross) heavy plot but wonderful artwork and once you get your head around the concepts a good read, if a tiny bit depressing...

Possibly will post again soon, possibly not. Its the run up to christmas and I work in a toy shop, i may have gone insane instead =)

Ciao later Aligators,

Ann aka Dragon.

Work in progress. Witch from Dr Sketchys.

2009-11-07T18:45:00.000Z

Based on this sketch from Dr Sketchys,

I have drawn up an ink outline on watercolour paper, below is the first layers of watercolour on the sketch.

The blue is actually a base for a black wash as I feel it helps give a bit of texture to the black.

Her hair was supposed to be black aswell, however I decided that would make the overall image a little too harsh so purple it was.

While I like the way the painting turned out I was a bit disapointed to have lost a bit of the feel from the sketch.

Also I haven't yet decided if I want some dark clouds behind her for a little more atmosphere. Suggestions and comments are always welcome :)
Back again soon.

-- Post From iPhone. Don't you just love technology!

Ramblings

2009-07-21T08:38:00.000+01:00

Good morning, afternoon, or night. All depending on where you are :) not much happening here, I'm currently on my merry way to work. Note scarcasim. If anyone wants a tip, google 'the temple of the seven golden camels' it's a blog that's well worth Reading :)

Don't you just love Dr who.

-- Post From iPhone. Don't you just love technology!

Dr Sketchy May.

2009-05-04T00:11:00.001+01:00

Just photos of the sketches for now,

-- Post From iPhone. Don't you just love technology!

Mural complete :)

2009-05-02T23:41:00.001+01:00

Stages 1 & 2 complete

Stage 3 will be Goofy and Pluto :)

-- Post From iPhone. Don't you just love technology!

Photo dump #1

2009-05-02T23:24:00.001+01:00

I do love my new camera, first outing was St Georges Market in Belfast this morning.

Busy old place really :)

The fishmongers have taken over one edge of the Market.

Are have shown signs of inventive product display.

Live music provided as standard.

More spices available than I was aware existed, smells fantatic aswell.

-- Post From iPhone. Don't you just love technology!

Achieved on my day off...

2009-04-29T22:08:00.001+01:00

... Mickey Mouse!
Sadly I didn't mannage to complete the mural, back on sat for that.

Progress shots

-- Post From iPhone. Don't you just love technology!

And another thing...

2009-04-24T17:35:00.001+01:00

... The Lego delivery has finally arrived! It's only a week late =p

Cool beans, it even fits out on the shelf!

Anyone looking for the Power Miners range it's back in stock.

-- Post From iPhone. Don't you just love technology!

The windscreen.

2009-04-24T08:45:00.001+01:00

I suppose the best way to put it is 'I am not amused'
Fact1 : my windscreen suffered a crack when an evil stone hit it.

Fact 2: my insurance covers a repair but only if their guys do the job.

Therefore I arranged that as wedensday was my day off I would wait for the technition to call and tell me when he would be there. By 5pm no sign and I had been unsuccessful calling their office, about half an hour later I managed to get a human rather than a machine to talk to. It turns out that due to clerical error they never booked me in. Joy.

Many complicated negotiations later they are to fix it this afternoon, at my Aunts house.
I may be lucky and it will work this time.

In other news I have arranged to paint a mural next week and the next sketch club with Dr Sketchy is 3rd May at 8pm.

It seems spring has really arrived and is doing autographs.

-- Post From iPhone. Don't you just love technology!

Photo dump =)

2009-04-15T22:06:00.001+01:00

The most recent self portrait. Obviously slightly exagerated that's kinda the whole point!

My dogs chosen default position.

Stony beach.

Sun, sea, surf, and sand. Some of the reasons I love portnoo.

We tried teaching her manners but so far no sucess.

Good at the waiting game =)

-- Post From iPhone. Don't you just love technology!

Interesting the range of apps for the iPhone

2009-04-05T19:10:00.001+01:00

Nice little camera on it as well!

Hopefully more interesting images will follow

-- Post From My iPhone

Happy Valentines day ... late ... =)

2009-02-15T11:55:00.001Z

Dr Sketchys Drawings

2009-02-07T22:58:00.005Z

My drawings from the evening in no particular order. The poses ranged between 10 seconds to a maximum of 10 minutes.

Image Dump..

2009-02-07T22:52:00.002Z

images done on Fri 6th Feb while waiting to go to the Dr sketchys Life drawing/ Cabaret evening,

Random blokes spotted during the Day , followed by a completely imaginary pirate...

I think my Medusa enjoys turning her men to stone.

DRAGON, dragon , Dragon =)

2009-01-15T10:14:00.000Z

Some Colour changes ...

2009-01-14T14:55:00.002Z

So .... it was pointed out to me that I havent updated in a really long time. Hi! I'm still wandering about and drawing to my hearts content, Hopefully I'll even post some for your amusement =P

Living out of a suitcase.

2008-03-21T20:21:00.002Z

Is seriously overrated, much though the new job is fun staying at a B&B in the middle of nowhere is not. there is nothing to do and less people to talk to. Maybe I am being a little harsh... the Job training is Grand, I like the other staff and an enjoying the role, but I have no idea how to get anywhere else on foot, when I asked what there was to do in the area they laughed as if I had made some witty joke. Very odd if you ask me. Anyway must go and pack, i'm going home tgomorrow =D

Canary Fodder

2007-12-12T20:50:00.000Z

So ... Well.... No excuse really, Life got in the way. Since my last contact I have passed my driving test, changed jobs, scared myself silly driving around belfast in rush hour, and done a fair amount of painting. On the cards ... another Website redesign, 2 huge Acrylic paintings on request, Christmas at my Dads house, A whole lot of scanning, and possibly a fight to get my mums laptop back from the shop that have abducted it in the name of a warranty repair (over a month is excessive in my eyes) Anyway enjoy the canary and hopefully more to see soon.

Images post.

2007-06-17T21:59:00.000+01:00

Just a few doodles, coloured and not coloured =) Also i have some commission pics to upload, just waiting for permission first =P

26 really is no different to 25

2007-05-31T10:29:00.000+01:00

Another birthday, another year older.... And? no difference really still as mad as ever. Had a great weekend with a suprise parade (not just for me =P it was the lord Mayors one in Belfast on 26th) And even a few dragons. Went to see Pirates of the Carribean 3, V. amusant although 3 hours long, ouch. And anyone who hasn't seen it yet, yes there is an extra clip after the credits but how long are those credits! Overall Enjoyable although its a little difficult to keep track of who is double crossing who and when. And I want a pebble crab please.

I haven't been posting much recently, so i shall recap the last few weeks as neatly as I can:

*Driving test at the beginning of May... Failed but was apparently a good attempt, have rebooked for 5th July.
*Illustrations for Childrens book Commission going well planed to be finished by the 10th June.
* Web Graphics commission canceled. sadly, I was having fun with it. Its been ongoing since november'ish last year.
*T-Shirts painted for Balmoral Show : Done , Carol and Dad won a 5th two 4ths and a 7th. all very good for the first year apparently, I don't know enough about sheep to be able to tell.
*My Aunt has had her surgery and is now recovering.
*I have a Driving Lesson this saturday at 10am to see what I have forgotten.

I cant think of anything else just at the moment. so I'll get back to you if I remember anything else.

Facebook Profile...

2007-04-30T09:36:00.000+01:00

Click on the Mug Shot to be taken to my new Facebook page. =D

A friend of mine reccomended it.

Illustration Fridays Theme: Fortune.

2007-04-29T16:33:00.000+01:00

Rather late due to computer issues. Its a pencil sketch with a dead quick paint job =D

April's Update

2007-04-24T12:01:00.000+01:00

So I have been bad for the last while about posting, I have had several interesting yet possibly irritating happenings of late, the most difficult being both of my computers caught a bug. they have yet to admit where they found it, they have both now been formatted, a friend of mine kindly sorted out the laptop (Admin access always thanks!) and I have spent the weekend cleaning out the tower PC. Both having had an eventful week, they are now recovering well with regular software installations to bring them up to full health. (Not to mention a massive dose of security software =/) In other happenings of the weekend, I had another meeting with a lady who has commissioned me to do illustrations for her book, its mostly going well with only a few changes to be made for the next meeting, its hopefully going to press during the summer. =D

In case Alistair is reading this please get in contact I need to check some things for the work you wanted me to do. (and text messages aren’t working =/ )

So again I am doing yet more driving lessons, although this time my instructor and myself seem to be on a more similar wavelength, I had booked my test for the 11th May, he has suggested putting it off for a month but seems happy with my driving he is not sure we can perfect the 4 maneuvers in time for the 11th I haven’t changed the date yet as I am considering doing it any way as sort of a trial run... have to make my mind up by my next lesson hmmmn.

Anyway the 4 maneuvers:

1) Bay parking (reverse slowly into the space indicated by the test instructor)

2) Parallel Parking (haven't started this yet)

3) Reversing around a Left hand side corner. (Need to spend some time working out markers on the car to do this properly.

4) 3 point turn. (The only one I did perfectly first time around.

Additional extras needed:

5) Hill Start. (Completed last lesson just need to keep practicing)

6) Emergency Stop. (I am great at this my mum wouldn’t get into the car until I had perfected them =D)

Anyway thats enough chatter, I plan to upload some sketches later this week so stay tuned =D

Sketch Dump for the last 10 days or so...

2007-03-01T22:43:00.000Z

feel free to comment =P

pic uploads

2007-02-28T21:07:00.000Z

Digital sketch based on the ipod adds.. Watercolour sketch ...

my Mums Birthday card this year ...

Digital Sketching Is Cool!!

2007-02-24T16:24:00.000Z

A rater late Valintines day image for everyone you likes it =) Pastels etc on coloured card (Traditional style)And a completely digital sketch, done just for fun, altough she seems to have ended up more 'busty' than I had intended.
More laters Peeps.

Ann AkA dragon.

Job hunting really is'nt any fun...

2007-02-24T16:12:00.000Z

I have been looking for a better job for the last 2 or more months (actively that is, looking in general for the last 12 months!). Its been unplesant, for a basic job I keep being told I am over educated and because of that am not asked for interview, then for the ones my qualifications are relivant I regularily get interviewed and have wonderful feedback but always am passed over for not having enough experience. Its begining to drive me mad. My current job is what you could call a dead end job, no possible ways to increase pay or get promoted, yet the ones where I could progress as long as I am happy to start at the bottom (which for the right job I am happy to start at the bottom) tell me I am overqualified. Its a good job that my view on all of it is Try, Try and Try again. My freelancing is going well and I am getting more commissions as time passes, Its a slow process but I feel its more than worth it. So to anyone else who is job hunting for whatever reason, The best of luck with it! and keep going you will find what you want eventually.

Ann AkA Dragon.

Sketch Dump for January 14th 2007

2007-01-14T13:33:00.000Z

A better late than never Santa. He may make it onto the 2007 Christmas cards, if I don't have other brainwaves by then. He is watercolor and ink on white card.

This one was my sisters birthday present, or at least part of her present. Its Pastels on coloured card, based on a photograph in the National Geographic.
Meet Maggie Gorgon, a medusa for the 21st centuary, (possibly for the 22nd?) the whole turning people to stone is so last centuary. She may make other apperances soon, it depends on how the script progresses. Anyway as always Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Ann.

AKA Dragon.

Housesitting

2007-01-13T18:21:00.000Z

So a new year and new temptations... the local art store has some fantastic new supplies and its a real effort not to go and spend all my money in there, however i have new responsibilities as i have just arranged to buy a car. Eeeks what have I done! This is a little out of the blue fror anyone who knows me as i havent gotten my licence yet (been halfheartedly working on it for about a year) so hopefully this will be my Inspiration for passing that damn test once and for all. I hope anyway. So due to weather conditions being Awful here in Belfast my car has been delayed a little. I hope to collect it sometime this week. Cool or what! but slightly scary moneywise.
So here I am on a saturday just mooching and playing with my computer, Mums away in dublin and I'm house and dog sitting sadly the gales have thrown off the Sky reception so I can't watch loads of cartoons. (probibly a good thing) I just spent about 2 hours colouring an image and then the PC crashed so really its a sign to save progress more often.

boxing day

2006-12-26T14:38:00.000Z

Happy Boxing Day! the day traditionally used to recover from eating vast quantitys over Christmas day =)

well a late Merry Christmas anyway, and looking forward to the New Year, I hope everyone has A good one =)

Todays image is a doodle from work i coloured this evening as practice. Comments are always welcome. =)

Catch you later Aligators. =)

More Ipods

2006-12-10T22:23:00.000Z

=) after playing with my ipod my mum has decided the are 'the bees knees' so I have pounced on the oppertunity to get a double present for her (christmas and her birthday in Jan) and have purchaced an Ipod Nano (Red) for her. she seems delighted with it and has been piling up CDs for me to put on it for her =) classical music etc... so what if i tunes is irratating, the pods themselves are cool.

Scribbles.

2006-11-23T22:22:00.000Z

So I,ve been experimenting with my new Graphics tablet =) and I actually really like this scribbly colouring =P I think I'll play with it some more .

The Great Relax.

2006-11-19T11:41:00.000Z

My first long weekend without anything major planned =) and it was great! although admittedly I didn't just sit around doing nothing, We Blitzed the house so we shouldn't have to do that again for a while. I arranged for a dog behaviourist to visit (later today actually) just to check if its something I'm doing wrong that's making Rosie bark so much, I've rebuild over 1/2 of my website and it should be online again by this evening =) long time no see or what! Additionally I have sorted out my room so that I can use the laptop in here in comfort (just testing the new layout this minute =P ) And lastly we finally put up the shelves we bought a few weeks ago. Its nice I feel like I really accomplished something this weekend.
So I didn't actually paint this this month, but I've not posted it yet and comments are always welcome. =) Its a sketch/watercolour of my dogs as I see them. Sam the white one is a bit of a scaredy cat but dos'nt like anyone to know, and Rosie (brown and fluffy) is the nosyest dog we have ever had, I swear she would jump off a clif just to see what was at the bottom. She has a bit of a barking problem that I'm hoping to sort out sooner rather than later.

Over and Out for now.

Ann aka Dragon.

So my dog seems to be jealous of my laptop...

2006-11-16T22:35:00.000Z

I don't know if thats common in Jack Russle types, But she definately has issues with something other than her taking up knee room. She keeps giving me baleful looks from the end of the bed.

So Im hoping to post some sketches from the Challenge this weekend, I'm going to scan them in tommorow and as long as they havent got something seriously wrong with them I'll post then afterwards.

In other News we raised £50 in a coffee morning for children in need today. which was a lot more than i expected as there are only 10 people in the office =D

Catch you laters Aligators!

Ann Aka Dragon.

Opinions Welcome!

2006-11-06T22:48:00.000Z

Im posting this image with the hopes of feedback before I refine it, I have admittedly gotten a little carried away when colouring what is really a very rough sketch. I'm thinking I should expand the image to the left possibly doubling the width to make it more of a landscape shape, and add in the rest of the poker players and also the prize pile in the middle. A concept I like is to add all of the zodiac characters, although that could get cluttered. =/ anyway any suggestions are welcome and will be concidered during the later stages of the image. My personal Favourite is the Dragon, although the sheep has an interesting expression.

Catch you laters Aligators.

Ann AkA The Celtic Dragon.

A Challenge?

2006-11-01T10:13:00.000Z

I found this challenge in a few different places, but the one that
inspired me to have a go was on 'The Drawing Board' forums, see
link 'HERE'

This may take me some time as I have a few other commitments at
the moment as well, but I'd like to give it a go, just dont be
suprised if they end up being mostly sketched rather than finished
images.

I have copied the rules and list from that forum post to here:

The Rules:
1. Make 100 pics each pic having a theme listed below. Each pic
should have ONE and only ONE theme to it, for it to count.
2. No time limit so have fun.
3. The main picture should be drawn but not limited to. For all
fair purposes, people are allowed to use their paint programs and
photo shop to create the pic.
3a. Pics should be of own artistic ability. You may not edit
photos, or break any other rules set out in the dA etiquette
policy. Your pics can be anything from sketches and doodles to
great master pieces. Just have fun with it.
4. The list below is to be placed somewhere in your journal for
others to see that: A) You are in the challenge B) What you have completed.
5. Make sure to update this list and check off what is done and
make a link to the pic.
6. In the comments for your art work note if it is part of the
list and what ONE theme it is.

THE LIST:
1. Introduction

2. Love

3. Light

4. Dark

5. Seeking Solace

6. Break Away

7. Heaven

8. Innocence

9. Drive

10. Breathe Again

11. Memory

12. Insanity

13. Misfortune

14. Smile

15. Silence

16. Questioning

17. Blood

18. Rainbow

19. Gray

20. Fortitude

21. Vacation

22. Mother Nature

23. Cat

24. No Time

25. Trouble Lurking

26. Tears

27. Foreign

28. Sorrow

29. Happiness

30. Under the Rain

31. Flowers

32. Night

33. Expectations

34. Stars

35. Hold My Hand

36. Precious Treasure

37. Eyes

38. Abandoned

39. Dreams

40. Rated

41. Teamwork

42. Standing Still

43. Dying

44. Two Roads

45. Illusion

46. Family

47. Creation

48. Childhood

49. Stripes

50. Breaking the Rules

51. Sport

52. Deep in Thought

53. Keeping a Secret

54. Tower

55. Waiting

56. Danger Ahead

57. Sacrifice

58. Kick in the Head

59. No Way Out

60. Rejection

61. Fairy Tale

62. Magic

63. Do Not Disturb

64. Multitasking

65. Horror

66. Traps

67. Playing the Melody

68. Hero

69. Annoyance 70. 67%

71. Obsession

72. Mischief Managed

73. I Can't

74. Are You Challenging Me?

75. Mirror

76. Broken Pieces

77. Test

78. Drink

79. Starvation

80. Words

81. Pen and Paper

82. Can You Hear Me?
83. Heal
84. Out Cold
85. Spiral
86. Seeing Red
87. Food
88. Pain
89. Through the Fire
90. Triangle
91. Drowning
92. All That I Have
93. Give Up
94. Last Hope
95. Advertisement
96. In the Storm
97. Safety First
98. Puzzle
99. Solitude
100. Relaxation

How early is too early?

2006-10-23T15:01:00.000+01:00

Halloween is just around the corner and to my horror I have found that many of the shops have already got their christmas grottos up and running, Personally I feel its a bit early for it. I suppose sales are sales. =/

What do you think?

A few more links for interest. =)
http://darklieness.blogspot.com/
http://chewblog.blogspot.com/

Working On Everything at once =)

2006-10-19T19:14:00.000+01:00

This is a possible layout for a painting I am planning, If anyone has any comments about the layout specifically please let me know. Each character is going to have a themed costume so i dont want the image too overcrowded, yet i dont really want to paint an empty room either =/ suggestions welcome.

Well I have been Awol for a while now, My PC problems have been 1/2 resolved, not 100% yet but getting there =) and I'm getting a new router from BT we phoned up to ask about something else entirely and I mentioned I was thinking about going back to an older provider I had used (mostly so I could take over the bill from my Mum) and they gave us a great deal to stay and threw in the router etc as well. so I am going to pay the SKY bill instead =) the upgrade stuff should be arriving in the next week or so.

In addition I have been off work with the worst Cold/throat infection I have had in years it was one of those sneaky ones that turned up at 6am on monday with no warning, I hadnt even seen anyone with a cold. I'm hoping to go back tomorro as it left my workmates kinda shortstaffed. Prior to this I have been looking at joining the Association of Illustrators as an Associate Member (meaning I have training but only a small number of clients so far, if I get more work I can upgrade to full meber status) And also after speaking with Shell Livewire ( a help resource for starting up your own business) I am hoping to get myself organised to actually trade as an Illustrator/Cartoonist officially (namely telling the correct people so I don't get fined)

I was hoping to go to a confrence about the Childrens book industry mid november but currently while I can afford the flights to London I havent organised somewhere to stay yet, I'll Blog more on that if I am definately going =)

Catch you laters Aligators.
Ann.

P.S some interesting Links:
http://www.chewingpencils.com/
http://roystonrobertson.blogspot.com/
http://www-hack.blogspot.com/
http://www.illustrationclass.com/

2006-10-10T19:34:00.000+01:00

A Halloween Theme for October =) A few friends will recognise this from last years cards.

Personification of the PC.

2006-10-05T09:05:00.000+01:00

Over the last few weeks, or really for the last few months, some of my less computer minded friends have been querying a habit I have of assigning a personality to my computer and other tecnical equipment. I have to admit I have no idea why I do it, but it seems natural to me to see a personality in these machienes. For example the PC at work seems sluggish and slightly petulant, it dislikes music and approves of word. It may be these traits are easily explained by the hardware and software installed, I just prefer to think in personality terms, it makes it easier for me to see how the PC could catch a virus.

Anyway, A few links of note,

BLOGS
www.anapproach.blogspot.com - a great art blog, well worth a look.
www.samuel-michlap.blogspot.com - Art blog.

WWW
www.audible.co.uk - for those ineterested in audiobooks.
www.illustrationfriday.com - a weekly theme to sketch, everyone welcome.

Ill be back with more laters =)
A.

Allo Again. PC has still died the death.

2006-09-26T13:43:00.000+01:00

long time no post =)
Sadly My home computer is still dead to the world it has resisted all attempts to resurect it. I have to say that this is not through a lack of trying to fix it and grateful thanks go to a friend who has been helping me on this as I still would'nt have any idea what was wrong in the first place if he had'nt helped me.
I have regretfully come to the decision that I need a new tower as my PC was bought in 2001 it has become difficult to get replacment parts ( I have been informed that the industry standards have changed.) There is the possibility of e-bay but I have no desire to risk money when the PC may still not work at the end of it. My software engineer of a cousin has reccomended buying a new Tower (only the tower as my monitor is still fab) this has yelded suprising results as in order to replace all the broken parts with the equivelents (to be able to run heavy graphics) it would cost me about £500 ish whereas if I get a base only deal from somewhere like PC world its only going to cost me about £300 and I can upgrtade that to be what i want for about another £100.... still less than the repairs were going to cost. Wierd.
On another note I have lots of work to post but until I solve the PC dilema its not going to get here anytime soon... well maybe this weekend I will get something organised...

Any recomendations for the PC dilema?

The Poor PC saga...

2006-09-05T16:44:00.000+01:00

Well as I mentioned in my last post my PC wouldnt turn on. so after replacing the case we have now discovered that it motherboard is dodo like, or should I say extinct. no scorch marks on it, just Dodo'd so a friend has been soursing a replacement for me, needless to say other than when in work I shall be offline, I can check my e-mail via my Mobile Phone (a neat trick I only just found out about =) ) and Shall return as soon as I can as my poor website is also in stasis for now, just when I promised it a new look. =/

Anyway catch you laters Aligators.

Ann.

Ah well...

2006-08-30T15:35:00.000+01:00

Have just discovered that 2 simalar posts actually have been posted. I'm going to leave them both up, when I tried to post on the 29th I got loadsa errors and thought it hadnt worked. Hence Attempt 3.

3rd Try Lucky I hope.

2006-08-30T11:46:00.000+01:00

Hoping I get to post this today =)

I am currently working on the site update, however my plans have been slightly stalled due to home computer problems. =/ this post has been added from my work PC. I got home yesterday to discover that the PC would not turn on. I have checked all the obvious ones like see if its plugged in etc, and have narrowed it down to loose wires in the on off switch in the tower. hopefully this will be easy enough to fix, I just have to get to the shop when it is actually open.

to the left is a taster of what the site will look like. =) although the font may still change as I'm not 100% happy with this one. while I was getting the stock photos for this banner type image I also took a few photos of my workstation/studio. Since I have been following the rather cool Blog : http://www.on-my-desk.blogspot.com/ where artists, designers and creatives of all types have been posting their studio photos. Its facinating to me

to see what everyone else has been getting up to.

so here we go, my studio =) I use my light box for everything from Animating to

watercolours to fabric painting, and anything else I get interested in aswell. Under the desk is mostly storage of older work any my degree stuff (including a few thousand frames from the final film project =P ) My prefered paints are watercolours, I use a mix of pan and tubed varietys. As you can see I have nearly covered the walls wilt both my own work and some which i find inspirational (actually only my own are visable for some reason)

I have a limited view as my neighbours hedge is impressive although its a great light source for checking colours. To the Left of the desk I Have another one set up with all my PC related Parafinalia, scanners etc. You can see under the art desk the scanner printer.

Anyway thats all for now and I'll be back once I get the On/Off switch working again at home. =P

For the moment anyway....

2006-08-29T15:37:00.000+01:00

I have removed the old site in its entireity from my domain and am still working on the new one, a taster is available below and at www.celticdragonstudios.co.uk

.

I have also been doing some random sketches that I thought I would add here in the meantime. the first was originally a sketch but I liked the layout so upgraded her to watercolours, the mermaid on the right was a sketch in my notebook, done in conte crayon, she has been scanned and then coloured in the PC, the ripple overlay is from a stock photo recently aquired free with a computer magazine.

I found a site not long ago which I loved the idea of,
http://www.on-my-desk.blogspot.com/
so I have taken a few photos of my own to show my workspace. =)

firstly the general clutter shot showing the Lightbox, just to the left of this shot I have my PC set up however my Mum was using it at the time to check her email so its been edited out at her request. I may post more photos later.
Another shot of the same space along with the wall I use for display and inspiration.
My beloved Lightbox and watercolours etc set up beside it. I use this for almost all of my drawing and painting work, once you get used to working on the slope it is far more comfortable to work on these, also its primary purpose was animation in its traditional form from my degree, now it gets used for just about everything.
a selection of my painting meterials, primaraly watercolours (some acrylic hiding at the left edge).

In general my desk is reasonably tidy and tends to get cleaned often due to my habit of spilling watercolour mixes. =)

Well I hope any readers have been suitably amused,

Ciao laters,

Ann.

Site will take longer than planned.

2006-08-24T09:40:00.000+01:00

Yes even though the first run through of the site is currently running, I have recieved some good advice regarding how to deal with the layout and design, and to overall improve the viewing experience. so while I am working on that the temp site will remain up. =) hopefully it wont take me too long to finish.
A.

SITE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS =)

2006-08-16T10:58:00.000+01:00

Just wanted to add these images =)

August Rains and Rains =)

2006-08-16T09:18:00.000+01:00

Well its been a soggy month hasn't it, as a motorcyclist this has meant a lot more washing as I have been being soaked more regularly. As a dog owner it strangely means I have to force the Dog out of the house as he doesn't like getting his paws wet, rosie as always is happy as long as there are birds to chase particularity Sea gulls.

Did you know that a large proportion of the population may be wheat intolerant and not know about it? It seems I am one of them, it severely limits what you can eat (especially for breakfast) but the difference to my energy levels and such has been amazing,within 2 weeks avoiding wheat I've gone from being permanently half asleep to reasonably alert =P , I feel its worth cutting it out alltogether. Although I will miss Pizza.

I have now completed a first aid course with St Johns Ambulance, so am the official first aider within my workplace, when at home it is more likely to be my Mum who is the trained professional. Ironically the course I have done has just been updated so I'm already out of date.

I have been trying to organise my Graphics/Illustration freelancing more effectively so am thinking of registering/starting up a company so I can keep those sort of payments more seperate, and hopefully I will then be able to tell if I can afford to cut down on my 9-5 job to increase the freelance stuff. hopefully more on this later.

I have fallen in love with Tablet PC's the ones which look like a normal laptop but the screens twist around to be used like a graphics tablet, I've even sorted out a saving schedule to try and get myself one. =) I'm hooked.

I am currently working on a new website design for www.celticdragonstudios.co.uk although I haven't quite ironed out the bugs so not all of it is properly online yet, so watch this space. I plan to have completed it by this weekend so that I can then do a bit of a upload for new images in the gallery, I have a folder full of them waiting on my PC.

One of my Best friends has moved into her new house (after months of redecoration it seemed) and she is having her moving in party this saturday so hopefully thats going to go well for her, i'm still working on a Pressy for her.

Anyhow thats me mostly up to date so,
see you laters Aligators! =)

Ann.

A Quick Recap...

2006-07-24T09:02:00.000+01:00

... A lot has happened since my last post. Not all of it good either.
I lost my Gran to her cancer, and even though its sad and I miss her a lot, she was in so much pain it was nearly kinder for her to slip away when she did. Yet I feel guilty for even thinking that. She was a wonderful old lady although she did have a good temper when annoyed. Not to mention she made the most wonderful cakes and pavlovas. =)

I live in Northern Ireland and on the 12th of July every year the Orangemen March, depending on how political you are this takes on various meanings, however I find it entertaining as its sort of a parade and always makes me think of going on holiday as we either went just befor the 12th or just after.

I saw Pirates of the Carribean 2, wonderful special effects but an abrupt ending, hopefully it wont take too long before the 3rd one is released.
Incedentally 'the break up' is very disapointing not to mention I found it very dull, and rather predictable.

Sill to see: the new superman, the lake house, and stormbreaker.

Madness strikes, I have already started to make my christmas presents. hopefully I will complete them all on time this year =D.

I'm currently planning out if i can afford to go to Annesy next June for the animation festival, hopefully my sums will make the ancwer yes. although i'm not sure yet.

Passed my car theory test on 14th waiting for a practical test date at the moment.

have 3 possible comissions in acrylic, more on this later.

Motorbike doodles finished. Watercolours &cg.

2006-07-06T21:52:00.000+01:00

Kitty Cat on A motorcycle. =) this was done for a friends Birthday present so I hope he got it in the post safely(his birthday was around easter time so it was done a while ago =P) .

Tuesday Blatherings

2006-07-04T19:43:00.000+01:00

So my scanner is droning on in the corner attempting to import the pictures I want to post here. and Man is it going slow.

While I'm waiting... The Suprise I mentioned in the last post, it was a party for my Aunt and Uncle (Ruby Wedding Anniversary) and my Cousin (their Daughter) Organised a suprise Garden party which was a resounding success, all the guests had their tasks allotted as to who brought food who drinks and who the chairs and plates... My Aunt and Uncle are the only people I know of that you can spring somethiong like that on with less than 12 hours notice and the garden is still going to be perfect. stunning even.

On to todays Sketches...

Image 1.
Pencil Sketch and I'm pretty happy as to how this one turned out, even with her killer Grin. =)

Image 2.
Based on a character from the book Wicked
(regarding the life and times of the wicked witch of the west)

and lastly copies of the presents I gave my Aunt and Uncle:

And a few doodles too...

The I-Pod Saga.

2006-06-12T11:15:00.000+01:00

So I got an I-Pod 30gb last thurs.
First impressions were good, the apperance is slick and well designed (down to the very swish packaging), there are a few niggles I'm not so happy with.

Firstly the only Instructions I recieved with the I-Pod was a 'Quick start guide' and it leaves a lot out if you have not Had an I-Pod before, Or have not used I-Tunes in your life. (Previously I was a windows media player junkie, it had everything I required at the time =) )

As I was saying I-tunes.

It took over my pc for 3 days while it converted all of my normal music files into ones it could deal with. And unamusingly it cant seem to recognise if it already had imported somthing, if for example the PC crashes half way through the conversion, it starts from the begining again and you end up with lots of duplicates, and I mean lots.
So once everything was converted I tried to cleanup the files. this caused the actual files on the harddrive to get better as there were no duplicates anymore but i-tunes still had them in the library file, so far I havent forund a cleanup option the only way to solve it seems to be manually removing each duplicate track from the library list. Be warned that this happens and is a pain to clean up after it.

Also the strangest glitch I have found is the lack of a delete function on the I-Pod itself so if you want rid of a track you HAVE to connect it to a PC/MAC running I-tunes. Originally I thought this must be a fault just on my Ipod, until I discovered masses of data on the internet detailing the same problem. This hasnt made me any less pleased with the Ipod as a device just baffled regarding the programming.

True to the publicity the I-Pod has my entire music collection from the PC and is not yet half full so far so good. the external drive option works like a charm, and the screen quality for slideshows of photos is unbelieveable. I have yet to test the Video function as I have not yet discovered a video file that the Pod will play ( needs to be a specific format apparently) and am still looking for a way to convert the videos I already have to the correct format. I'll report later on if its a success or not.

Overall the I-Pod is great, its got a lovely slick design and a brilliant quality to the playback. the Complementay case is fine but will be replaced asap as its difficult to get the Ipod out again =) nice looking though. the I-Pods own interface is nice and intuitive it takes literally 3 second if that to work out how it works. I-tunes is a different story =) but i'm working on it.

One of the cool side effects which I hadn't known before I got the Pod was with a simple connector a camera can be downloaded into it when traveling. a definiate plus point =)

Happy with the Pod and dealing with Itunes.

More later. =P

SOME INTERESTING LINKS

2006-06-09T14:41:00.000+01:00

Todays forcast

2006-06-07T12:31:00.000+01:00

Question- Who doodles on the phone?
Ancwer - Nearly everyone I know.

I feel I need to change jobs, the one I am in is driving me mad. Its not that its difficult more that there are no calls to deal with during the summer and we literally sit staring at the phone in case some one calls. Sounds like a cushy job right? not so. we are not permitted to browse the internet while waiting, nor are we allowed to read a book or simalar, and my only method of retaining my sainty, doodling, has now been banned as well. so either I change jobs soon or slit my wrists from abject boredom.Its not even as if doodling was interfering with my job preformance, if it was I could understand a little better, no apparently its untidy. In an office where customers never actually appear and the place is falling apart anyway, I cant draw because its messy. personally I feel it may be more to do with the fact that out of the 10 people working here i am the only one who can draw and my doodles are generally recocnisable so perhaps its envy? its really annoying. The agent in questiuon who has made the decree is making my blood boil as is seems to be fine for her to sit and read Hello magazine but I cant doodle to keep myself alert. Bugger that.

Enough of my rant, it was something which had to be said somewhere and since no one reads
this its safe enough to leave my temper tantrum here.

Anyway, in other news....

I am hoping to start a sketch club in Northern Ireland, specifically within the Belfast/Bangor area, and i was out last night at a cafe in Bangor scoping it out as a prospective starting site, its good for the idea has nice big windows so that the next taregt can be spotted etc, however its a smallish place so a group of artists who buy 1 coffee each and then take over all the seating for the evening might not go down too well with the owners, a good and easily accessable starting place but not a venue. more research is needed. I'll post the sketches I did there once they are scanned, I was actualy happy with them for once. =)

Again for personal development I am thinking of doing a life drawing session this weekend, although not so sure if I should go to a class or just take myself down to the seafront here in Bangor, since the forcast is for a heat wave I might do that and save myself £40 quid from the lesson.

Also the sea front path has the most beautiful flowers at the moment, see photo for an example, this is one of the first ones out.

So this is an older sketch done with coloured pencils on a blue/grey page, Chicken Licken? can anyone remember the story of chicken licken? all i remember is the name. =)

Half the family's birthdays within 1 month.

2006-06-05T08:50:00.000+01:00

Hi again, this very poor fuzzy photo shows the painting I gave my dad for his birthday, I shall endevor to get a clearer shot the next time I visit him.

2006-05-30T19:33:00.000+01:00

My depressed genie for commentary please, on the offchance someone has found this site. =)

2006-05-29T11:53:00.000+01:00

29/05/06In other news....It was my birthday on sat just gone (27th) and I have to say it was the strangest one I have had (in my memory), not bad, just odd. First off we had to take my dog rosie to the vets to have her stitches removed, appointment at 10.45am, we didn't get to see the vet till after 12.00. so all that time was spent loitering in the waiting area and restraining rosie when she saw a cat, although that ended well for the cat and badly for rosie, I think it was the first cat she has met close up. once we got to the vet it took her less than 3 minutes to deal with the stitches, and we escaped outside to discover there was an orangeman parade in town that day, around about an hour was spent avoiding that. =/ An interesting day so far. the evening went far better, a load of friends and family over for pizza and then 6 of us scarpered to the cinema for X-Men 3 (Opinion is yet to be finalised on the film) overall a good day if slightly odd.
I set up a DVD rental on Amazon on friday, and I was pleasantly suprised to find the first dvd arrived early on sat, exceptional service so far. =)

Acrylic painting is progressing although its proving more difficult than I thought it would be since I have used the medium extensively before, admittedly previously I have always used a very large scale on walls and such, so working smaller was a challenge. I may retreat to watercolours for the next piece.

Over and out.....

Slowly Improving. =)

2006-05-23T15:06:00.000+01:00

News Bits:

*One small brown furry dog has been to the Vet and now has purple feet and a white Lampshade like contraption on her head. Photos Coming soon.
*The car has broken down due to damaged front breaks. think we get it back on friday 26th.
*YAY it’s my birthday on Saturday and I am Dragging some friends to x-men 3. (they may resist =) )
*Acrylic painting has been rediscovered in the Celtic dragon studio and a learning curve has been established, photos to follow.
*Plans have been made to get back into Life Drawing, as I feel I need to get the practice in, although in the meantime I am thinking of going into town on sat am and drawing random pedestrians who will hopefully be unaware. A coffee shop may be involved somewhere here if it rains.
*watercolor sketches are in progress to get me back into the swing of things and so I can
finally get Urd's painting finished (am feeling v guilty its taken so long)
*Considering applying for a place in a 5 week Course run at the Ulster university which
seems to want to help start up your business or at least help you help yourself start up.... I feel I need to read more on this before progressing any further.

In general life is getting better, for a while there I felt EVERYTHING was jinxed but I realized that all needed was to concentrate or focus on an objective, what exactly I want to do. I want to improve and I want to make my art profitable or at the very least to pay for itself, in order to do that I feel I have to be more single minded and paint/create more regularly and professionally. Since I graduated I have been applying for any graphics post I see which fits my qualifications, sadly I am faced with catch 22. they all want experience, how do you get experience when all the starter jobs are looking for you to already have experience.
A tricky one methinks.
So any suggestions are welcome, particularly if they are constructive. =)

Returning to the Rat Race...

2006-05-10T08:37:00.000+01:00

After 4 blissfull days off, i have returned to work to discover, due to nice weather the phones are dead quiet. so I may resort to tidying out my desk to pass the time.

A quick update on my activities for the past few days,
*Complete re-design of my main site, www.celticdragonstudios.co.uk although this is not yet perfect it is an improvement, and I am continuing to work on it.
*My skills at canine therapy are improving as I have been looking after my Mums dog while she is on holiday, he was not originally very happy about this (he is really a 1 person dog) he has come to terms with his loss and has stopped howling.
*Watched 'Howls Moving Castle' for the third time and I swear it just gets better.
*Made a start on cleaning the house for Mums return on Saturday.
*Scared off a door to door sales man using a jackrussle who conveniently was barking *lots* from behind the door.

Anyway today is a beautiful day, strictly speaking too nice to be indoors working, so providing that it stays sunny I am going to take the dogs to the beach when I get home. =)

Over and out for now.

Ann.

2006-05-04T16:37:00.000+01:00

Today has been a combination of ridiculously dull and really irratating mixed up and rolled out again. To start things off with I slept in, only by 15 minutes but it always throws me off my stride, I made it to work fine and the mornings calls were fine nothing terrible, but just enough niggles that you couldn't relax. the afternoon however has been a mess mixed with a disaster, its not even worth talking about here, Office politics are an anoying and unessasary thing and normally only cause more problems and grumbles that there were before the politics became involved.

In other news I am shattered and due to the nearly torrential rain and thunderstorms for the last few days I have been soaked on my way home every evening so far, which I will admitt is mostly my fault for driving a motorcycle (which I love) and since it is open air transport it is an obvious fact that when it rains I get wet.(although lorry drivers could TRY and mis those deep puddles beside me instead of laughing their heads off )

Anyway the evening should be better i am going to watch Howls moving castle again.

Over and out.

Redecorating Trauma

2006-05-02T16:57:00.000+01:00

Apoligies for the lack of updates I have been delayed because of my dog. this sounds, I know, like the traditional 'the dog ate my homework' so I shall explain. We have 2 dogs, both are rescued hounds, the first one is Sam who has a few portraits in my gallery here and is exceptionally well behaved, he is my mums dog (naturally) then more recently my mum heard about another dog who needed a home and knew I wanted a 2nd dog, enter Rosie. Now Rosie is a wonderful dog and everyone loves her on sight, she and sam are inseperable and devoted to each other but in no way could you say she is well behaved. so far the most noteable of her destructive fits have occoured when we are out, and this has cost us the hall carpet and 1/2 of the kitchen lino (shredded) ironically even if given dog chews she prefers the lino.This means that I have spent all my spare time and money for the last 2 weeks redecorating the hall and attempting to dogproof our flat. yet I still adore my dog, she is too cute not to adore her, and she is getting better as we have been letting sam set an example and are nearing success with the whole house training idea (btw she is a very small mongrel who looks like an Alsation which has been hit with a shrink ray) The whole exercise has put me extreemly behind schedule on several personal pieces such as updating and improving my website and working on my proposed webcomic (to be) Our hallway actually looks better for the face lift and now has sanded and stained wood floors (also waterproofed) which should hopefully be less appitising to Rosie. Anyway thankyou for your patience and I'll be back soon.

grumble grumble

2006-04-25T13:50:00.000+01:00

I have to say today has not been the best of days, so far anyway, at my workplace we suffer on tuesdays from those 'irratating' or 'nigglily' callers who normally are just waisting time, While monday is by far the busiest in call volume tuesday is worse in stress levels. not the best of days. Any how I have been sketching away in my spare time and will be posting some updates later on. Until then any curious visitors are welcome to check my homepage, http://www.celticdragonstudios.co.uk or my deviant art web page, http://morag.deviantart.com comments or suggestions are welcome as always.

Hello, Hi and Aloha to any visitors.

2006-04-21T21:12:00.000+01:00

Hi, Im Ann and This is the first post on my Blog, i feel i should warn you that while my spelling has been improving i have never really come to terms with grammer, hopefully this too will improve, Primarialy I am an Animator/Illustrator, however due to these nasty things called bills i also work in a tepephone sales team while i wait for my chance to blow the socks of the Northern Irish art industry, Until then i'll keep trying =) anyhow i plan to post random sketches here and all feedback is welcome.
Cia,

Ann. (aka Celtic Dragon)