FACEBOOK: Thank You Contest

It has been almost a year since Mili Fay Art came into existence. To thank you for keeping my name alive on the Internet, and as a special treat, this Halloween I've created a contest with an

AMAZING MYSTERY PRIZE!!!

(Worth ~ $1000 CAN)

(However, since this contest is all about you, if you have something you would wish to receive as a gift from Mili Fay Art feel free to post a suggestion and I will take it under advisement as I make up the prize box.)


The contest is open to anyone, but to play you will need a Facebook Account because it is happening on Mili Fay Art's Facebook Page.

The Thank You Contest runs from today (October 31st 2012), until January 15th 2013.


HOW TO WIN:

Once a week Levinia (the sphinx pictured in the sketch) will ask a riddle.

The first person to answer the riddle correctly will receive a point.

Whoever has the most points by January 15th 2013 wins.

Have fun, and may the best Riddler win!


THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MILI FAY ART.

Mili Fay

Emperor Trajan

Well, the portrait is finally done.  Hopefully, tomorrow I can finish the game cards, and then I can return to AIMH until NG gets back to me.  Considering that I have had no word from them in weeks, I'm starting to think that they may decide to use another artist.

That is my problem.  There are too many things I want to do, and unfortunately I am only a single person.  If I was at least like superman...  Then maybe I could get tasks done much faster, though I doubt it would help with painting--unless it's digital.

You can tell I'm tired, since I'm going off on weird tangents.

Enjoy Trajan and wish me luck for Apollodorus.

If you have any suggestions on what an architect wore in ~ 105 AD, please, PLEASE, let me know.

Love,

M

See the progression of painting: https://www.facebook.com/MiliFay

PORTRAIT PAINTING--It's Been a While

I have not heard from NG after sending them my roughs, and I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps they cannot visualise the finished product from my sketches. So, I decided to complete the one painting I do not need the art director's input on, because I have only one vision for it.

If you would like to see the portrait progression, please visit my Facebook Page:
Mili Fay Art

The image included is my progress after ~ 10 hours of painting.

As always, questions and comments are welcome. :-)

M

Tiny Spider In My Teapot

The story you are about to read is true, and has happened....


...a few minutes ago.

TINY SPIDER IN MY TEAPOT

A tiny spider found a home
in my smallish yellow pot.
Opening the teapot's lid,
I have freaked the spider out.
In a frenzy to escape,
dodging shadows, dodging light,
in silly circles he did run,
the tiny spider in my pot.
As I brought the kettle over,
boiling water in to pour,
I noticed the tiny spider
and of one thing I was sure;
a tea bag will serve me better
on this tired autumn's day.
So, I closed my teapot's lid
and took the kettle far away.
Tiny spider in my teapot,
your useless struggles were hard to see,
because today, oh tiny spider,
we resemble Fate and me.

© Mili Fay Art

CHOIR PRACTICE

I went to choir practice for the first time in two years last night.

(For those of you who do not know this, I managed to bend my vocal cords by not breathing properly, and speaking using my throat muscles rather than my diaphragm. At the time I was under so much stress, and dealing with grief over my grandfather's death, that I was breathing really shallow for months. I had a sore throat all the time, and I could barely speak, let alone sing--I sounded as if someone was strangling me while I tried to talk.)

So, choir practice.

I am a first soprano (meaning I sing the highest of the high notes), but I have had no formal training. As a kid my parents could afford only one extra curricular activity and I chose art. Therefore, I know nothing about technique and I cannot read music; I can follow rhythmically, but I have no idea how high or low a specific note sounds.

Last night, everything was going well. As we were warming up with some vocal exercises, I concentrated hard on breathing with my diaphragm, and not using my throat muscles at all. However, as more time passed I realised that last night I was going to be one of only two sopranos present, and the ONLY first soprano.

I was terrified.

I am in a choir for a reason. I sing by memorising the melody of other singers. I need a trained soprano to pick out the tone, and then I latch on to it like a leech and follow along. I do not have the confidence to be a soloist, especially after not singing for two years, and as I already mentioned I cannot read music, but last night I had to do both!

I couldn't concentrate on breathing, and I was so nervous that my breathing became automatically shallow. I tried to pretend that I was alone practicing, and sometimes I managed, but I could feel my throat muscles constricting more often than not. It also did not help matters that the soprano bit for the music we were singing was opera singer high. Most of the notes were in the second octave from the middle C (the middle of the piano), and several times I had to sing G5. Trust me that is high for sustained singing. Even "Think of Me" does not have that note in the song, Christine only goes higher at the very end, but that is vocalised, without a lyric, which is easier.
(Note: Sarah Brightman I think sang G6 when she performed in Toronto.)

My fellow soprano did not even bother to sing the highest notes, so I had my solo there and I think I sounded too much like a train whistle, since my fear was choking me.

Conclusion: I have to get some training.

I will look into finding myself a coach, as soon as my work load is easier. Until then, hopefully I can do something with the CD exercises I picked up a few years ago.

Now, I'm off for a walk, since I'm sick of being shut indoors.

Later!

M

PROJECTS, PROJECTS, PROJECTS...

Well, who would have thunk it, but the moment I returned from my surprise vacation, a few interesting job opportunities landed on my desk.

This of course means that I will have to postpone my own book yet again.  However, these new projects are something I just could not say "no" to.

The first is a job for a friend.  He came up with an amazing new card game, and he wants me to design the cards.  This is another one of those jobs where I will get paid only if the game sells, but I believe in my friend, and I feel this is a reasonable risk to take.  Since these images are supposed to be very graphic, I taught myself some Adobe Illustrator, and borrowed the program so that I could finish the job.  In the past, I have worked exclusively with Photoshop, but I think Illustrator is better for graphic images, because it gives you wonderful crisp lines, and the zoom function is next to endless.  I completed most of my images using the Pen Tool, and some simple shapes tools.  The next bit will be trickier, because I have to draw figures, and I'm not sure how to "clean-up" in Illustrator, but hopefully I'll figure it out.

Unfortunately, I cannot post the images here, because they are game sensitive.  However, once the game is printed I will definitely post some advertising.

The second job is something I have been waiting for so long, that I cannot believe I actually got it.  Thank goodness for connections.  What I need to do is illustrate a reconstructed scene of an ancient bridge ruin, and make it look like it was back in 105 A.D., as well as a portrait of the Roman Emperor Trajan and Apollodorus (the architect).  Do you know where these illustrations will appear?

National Geographic!

OMG!

I'm almost expecting some sort natural or unnatural disaster to happen and squish this opportunity as well.

I've been working my but off, since I finished school and so many projects I've done have come to nothing, that I'm starting to believe I'm cursed.  What good is my talent, if only a small circle of individual ever gets to see my work.

I'm impatient for my career to begin, not just to have work.

Seeing as how this is the biggest job I have ever had, I'm determined to create something so magnificent that people in posterity would seek out those images.

The article should appear in February and I have to get everything done by December.  I've e-mailed very rough images for inspection (very rough--hopefully they will not look at them and think I'm incompetent, but I do not see the point in wasting time on creating several images if they will only choose one--if they need me to create several beautiful mini images, I will do so, but it's waste of time and money).  Hopefully, I did not make a mistake :-I.   So far, my roughs have worked OK with other clients, but THIS IS NG!

I think I fainted a little bit.

So, the article will be published in Easter Europe (since that is where the bride is), and if it gets a good rating (4/5 stars) they will publish it in all the magazines around the world.  The text is really well written, and I will make the illustration so amazing that everyone will just have to have it.

So...

Wish me luck!

On another note, this past Friday, I spent the entire day in front of my computer watching the Free International Freelancer Day Conference.  It was amazing!  I got quite a few excellent tips, and some sources for further study.

I'm dreadfully behind on my Art Help blog, but I hope I can write another article soon.

Tomorrow I'm meeting my fellow IDE members to discuss our fantasy writing.  The way we are going, I think I will have my book edited in about 5 years. :-)  However, I love those ladies, and my fantasy book is the one thing I will not rush.  I love that story so much, and I want everyone who reads it to see it the way I do, and at the moment my writing is just not matching my vision as well as it could.

Well, this has been a long post.  Thank you for reading it.

Love,

M

Meet Nini!

In honour of my sister's birthday I created a new character for my Horsing Around Series.  Of course, a print will not be available for sale until I'm able to create a watercolour drawing.

Nini is an aspiring vet, who is always there to fix all the hurts, kiss them and make them better.

M