Heathers Fanart- Magical Girl Veronica

EMMA # # # # # # # # #

Hello everyone! Emma here. I’ve been listening to Heathers The Musical a little too much lately, and while browsing Pinterest I came across Cafhune’s Magical Girl AU. For those of you who don’t know, AU stands for Alternate Universe. It’s like taking the story and changing something about it. For example, if you take Hamilton (or any other historical story) and modernize it. Modern AUs are very common. In this Magical Girl AU, the Heathers and Veronica were classic anime magical girls, like in Sailor Moon. I don’t watch much anime, but a bunch of my friends do, plus the concept is pretty familiar to me. Either way, I was hooked. I loved the designs Cafune had for the Heathers and Veronica, not to mention how incredible the art was. I decided to sit down and draw Veronica in the AU. Sorry for the kinda-bad-quality picture. I changed her design a little bit (that skirt was too floofy for me), but I still really like how this turned out. You can check out the AU for yourself here. Again, credit to Cafhune for their wonderful AU and designs.

If any artists are curious, I used alcohol markers, liners, and colored pencils for this drawing. The exact colors are Ohuhu brush PB6 and BR1, Ohuhu bullet/chisel 63, Touchnew skin tone 107, and Copic B41 (one of my few Copic markers). I also used a Sakura Decorese white gel pen, liners that I cannot read the name of on the packaging, and just regular Crayola colored pencils. I don’t know if anyone cares, but when I see art I like, I usually want to know what materials were used.

Thank you so much for checking out my blog! I hope you liked the drawing, I had a ton of fun making it! If you have any feedback (both constructive and positive), questions, or just something to tell me, leave me a comment, and a link to your blog! I would love to visit you!

Categories: Drawings, Middle School Musings, Posts with Personality, Uncategorized1 Comment

Inspiring Quotes to Get You Through Quarantine

EMMA # # # # # # # #

Hey everyone! Emma here. I know we’re all still suck in quarantine, and for Communications class, we were given a choice board of assignments to choose from for this week. I decided to make a quote collage, with seven inspiring quotes to help you get through quarantine. Thanks to this article and a little misadventure my class had back during week 1 of the 2019 Student Blogging Challenge (you can read about it here), I knew how to put the slideshow into my post. Most of the quotes in the slideshow are from musicals, but they’re still really inspiring, even outside the context of the show. I also highly recommend these musicals, the songs are really good! I really like all of these quotes, and I hope they can give you that little extra boost to get you through the day.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog! I hope these quotes helped cheer you up. Do you have any inspiring quotes you like? I would love to hear them! If you have any questions, comments, or just something to say, I would love if you could leave me a comment and a link to your blog.

Categories: Classwork Assignments, Middle School Musings, Posts with Personality2 Comments

19 Questions to Think About During Quarantine

EMMA # # # # # #

Hey everybody! Emma here. I know we’re all bored in quarantine, so today I wrote a quick listicle full of 19 random questions to think about. There’s a mish-mash of everything here. Hypotheticals, conversation starters, would you rather, and everything in between. Some of these I found online, some I thought of myself, and others are from friends or siblings.

  1. If a tree falls in a forest and there’s nobody around, who yells timber?
  2. What’s something you loved as a kid, but not anymore?
  3. If you could have any one superpower, what would it be?
  4. What are your top three favorite songs/albums? Why?
  5. If animals could talk, which one would have the meanest mouth? Which would be the nicest?
  6. Would you rather be a hero or a villain? Why?
  7. Do you have a favorite number? What is it and why?
  8. What would you do if you woke up one morning in someone else’s house?
  9. If you could be friends with any one character (movie, book, musical, etc.), who would it be?
  10. If you could have any one talent (not a superpower), what would you want to be able to do?
  11. Some houses have fences, yes? My house didn’t have a fence when we first moved in, we had to get one. Is that the case for all houses? If two neighbors don’t have fences, will their yards be conjoined until one of them gets a fence? I’m so confused.
  12. What was the weirdest dream you had recently? What about the scariest? What was it about?
  13. What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?
  14. If your shirt isn’t tucked into your pants, are your pants tucked into your shirt?
  15. What is your favorite school subject? Least favorite?
  16. If you were famous, what would you want to be famous for?
  17. If you could steal any character’s (movie, book, musical, etc.) wardrobe, whose clothes would you steal?
  18. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
  19. Is the ‘S’ or ‘C’ silent in scent?

Thanks so much for stopping by! I would love if you could answer one or two of these in the comments, or just fill me in on what you’re doing in quarantine. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to tell me anything, I would love if you could leave me a comment and a link to your blog!

Categories: Middle School Musings, Posts with Personality, Uncategorized3 Comments

Life: Then and Now

EMMA # # # # # # #

Hey everyone! Emma here. Over the past month, everyone’s lives have been flipped upside down. We’re all trying to adjust to the quarantine, and everyday life as been very different. I’m here to share what my life was like before the quarantine, and what it’s like now.

Then:

Before the quarantine, my life was pretty normal. I went to school and did my homework. I took dance classes three times a week, and listened to show tunes and drew in my free time. I walked home with my friends on sunny days when I didn’t have dance, and probably spent too much time looking at memes on Pinterest.

Now:

These days, I come downstairs at 10:00 Am and start my schoolwork for the day. I eat lunch around 1:00, and I still draw and listen to musicals when I’m done. I’ve been watching way too much YouTube. If you’re looking for recommendations, check out Overly Sarcastic Productions (warning: some cursing) and Hilariously Scary (I have plenty more, so ask and ye shall receive). I haven’t gotten properly dressed since school let out, so I mostly sit around in my pajamas. Every once and a while me and my friends video chat, so at least I can hear people’s voices and see their faces.

Overall, I really miss school, seeing all my teachers and friends, even the people I don’t like very much. Although I miss school, I’m so glad we can still talk to each other through video chats, and I think the state made the right choice shutting everything down.

Thanks for stopping by! This was a bit of a shorter post, but I wanted to post something, given how inactive I’ve been. How do you feel about the quarantine? Are you doing school at home? If you have any questions, comments, or just want to tell me anything, I would love if you could leave me a comment and a link to your blog!

Categories: Classwork Assignments, Middle School Musings, Posts with Personality1 Comment

New Challenge, New Profile!

EMMA # # # # # # #

Hey everyone, Emma here. The 2020 Blogging Challenge is starting, and longtime viewers may have noticed a few changes on the front page. While I liked the look, my profile picture and banner were very old, and as I change my art style rapidly, out of date. I whipped up a new profile picture and banner, which you can see below.

For my profile picture, I doodled a little head-and-shoulders of me, because what else? I also used this picture for the website, right next to the words on the tab. It’s very small in both of those places, so I also stuck it on my All About Me page, which you can see here. I figured it needed something visual.

For the banner, I had a ton of ideas. I wanted to stick in a bunch of drawings I had already done, like what my classmate M did (check it out here) but that ended up very cluttered and unappealing. You couldn’t read the blog’s title, and it was very confusing. I had this sketch of Connor from Dear Evan Hansen sitting on my computer, and I decided I should us it for this. I realized too late that the 2000 x 600 pixel measurements for the banner are very small, especially if I wanted to put it in a post. So I put the sketch in a new drawing, redid the lines and color, and here we are!

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed that little update and drawings. If you liked this post, or have feedback, constructive criticism, or just want to tell me something, I would love if you left me a comment and a link to your blog, so I can visit you.

Categories: Drawings, Middle School Musings, Posts with Personality, SBC 20204 Comments

7 Things I’ve Learned in 8th Grade

EMMA # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Hey everyone! Emma here. Sorry about how inactive I’ve been. With the Student Blogging Challenge over, I haven’t been posting much. My class plans on participating in the Spring Challenge, so I’ll be posting weekly when that starts. Today in class, we were given the assignment to write a 7- 9- or 11-point listicle (odd numbers catch the attention of viewers) about what we learned in 8th grade.

  1. How to Art
    • In the past year, I’ve used my drawing tablet and computer more often than I used to. I’ve learned how to make clipping masks, use different shading and coloring techniques. I’ve also tried different mediums traditionally, like alcohol markers. I’ve really expanded my knowledge and skill in the art world.
  2. Pointe
    • Throughout 8th grade, I’ve gotten a lot stronger on pointe in ballet, and I’m a lot more comfortable than I used to be. There are a few things I’m not so good at quite yet (ex: I still cannot pirouette on pointe), but I’m getting better and am very excited for the spring recital, where I will perform my first dance on pointe.
  3. Broadway
    • I was introduced to the Broadway musicals Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, and The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical the summer before 8th grade. Throughout the year, I’ve been exposed to other musicals, such as Newsies, Beetlejuice and Mean Girls. I have been sucked very deep into the rabbit hole of musical theater. I also learned that Broadway merchandise is incredibly expensive (looking at you, $70 Hamilton hoodie).
  4. Random History Facts
    • This year, I’ve spent a lot of time scrolling through Pinterest, and along the way I’ve discovered some pretty ridiculous (and possibly untrue) facts about history. For example, did you know that Thomas Jefferson invented Macaroni and Cheese, and popularized the swivel chair? Also, Aaron Burr set himself on fire (twice!) when he tried to light a candle  with a gun. One of my personal favorites is that Peggy Schuyler once got an axe thrown at her head while she was saving a baby (that’s a long story, please ask me to elaborate!).
  5. Studying
    • This past year, I have learned a lot about studying. At my school, the 8th graders take Civics instead of History. Civics is one class that you must study for. You cannot be there, get the notes, and walk in on test day ready to talk your way through it. Whenever I have a test or quiz in Civics, I spend at least two days studying before it.
  6. Spirit Week
    • Over the past year, I’ve learned that my classmate Nature Nerd (check out her blog here) has the most colorful wardrobe of the entire grade. Nobody out spirit-week’s her. Need to wear yellow for spirit day? She’s got gold lipstick, eye shadow and blush, a yellow tutu, shirt, leggings and some yellow jewelry. Forgot to wear your blue? I’m sure she has some blue makeup on hand. Wait, we were supposed to wear green? Take her scarf! She’s got enough green to spare. It’s really fun to watch people try to beat her in the extreme sport of spirit-weeking!
  7. Writing
    • I’ve always had story ideas floating in my head, but I first really started writing in 4th grade. Over the past years, especially 8th grade, I’ve learned a lot about how to, as Jack Kelly puts it in Newsies, “write good.” I’ve started, restarted and deleted so many stories, and the one I’ve still stuck with has been edited, rewritten, and cringed at a lot over the past three years. I’ve learned how to write well, describe a setting or experience, and how to structure a story (plan, plan, PLAN), through Communications class, as well as trial and error.

Thanks for checking out my blog! I hope you enjoyed reading about what I’ve learned in 8th grade, and I hope you learned something, too! If you enjoyed it, I would love it if you left me a comment and a link to your blog so I can return the favor.

Categories: All About Me, Classwork Assignments, Middle School Musings, Posts with Personality3 Comments

Blogging Challenge- Week Eight

EMMA # # # # #


Hey everybody! Emma here, for the eighth and final week of the 2019 Student Blogging challenge. Sorry it’s so late! I really enjoyed the challenge and hope to participate next year. This was my first year participating, and I liked it a lot.

Over the course of the challenge I completed six out of the eight posts (this being the seventh). My class skipped week six to work on something else, but I otherwise completed all of them. My favorite post out of all of them is either week seven, week three, or week five. I love drawing (which was an aspect of weeks three and seven), and the creative writing aspect of week three was really fun. I also love Broadway musicals and video editing, which I got to do in week five’s post.

As of when I’m writing this, my blog has gotten a total of 22 comments and 462 visitors! I know it’s not much compared to people on YouTube or Tumblr, but it’s huge for me. Everyone’s comments were so fun to read. I think it’s really important to comment on others blogs. It helps us connect with each other, even if we’re not in the same part of the world.

I think that even though the Blogging Challenge is over, I’m definitely going to keep blogging. I’ve really enjoyed the experience and I want to keep going with it.

Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a comment and a link to your blog so I can return the favor!

Categories: Middle School Musings, Posts with Personality, SBC 2019Leave a comment

Blogging Challenge- Week Seven

EMMA # # # # #

Hello everyone! Emma here, back for week seven of the Student Blogging Challenge. Can you believe we’re practically done with the challenge? My class skipped week six so we could work on something for the sixth graders in our school, but I’m here now! The theme for this week is holidays and festivities, and I decided to talk about Christmas (and Thanksgiving)!

One thing I’ve noticed is that people like to forget about Thanksgiving. The excitement goes from Halloween straight to Christmas. I really like Christmas, but I wanted to take a moment to give Thanksgiving a little love. I know some of you aren’t from the U.S. and don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, so if you don’t know, it’s a holiday near the end of November where we get together with our families and eat too much food and be thankful for things. It’s pretty great, and people forget about it. There are barely any Thanksgiving decorations, no Thanksgiving lights shows, nobody celebrates Thanksgiving eve, and I just think it’s a great holiday and deserves some appreciation. Thanks for reading that PSA. Back to the regularly scheduled program.

Recently I remembered my tagline includes “DRAWINGS,” and I’ve barely posted any art. I love art (and I need to use my drawing tablet more often), so I decided to draw a little picture for Christmas! I was really inspired by this video by Cetrece on Youtube and tried drawing lineless. Go watch their video (after this, I don’t need that kind of comparison), the art is amazing. I think the lineless style looks really cool in the end and saves a little time, especially because I spend a lot of time on lineart in my digital drawings. I wasn’t really sure what to do for shading on it, though. I didn’t know what color to use (I ended up using a pinkish purple), and I couldn’t decide between cell shading or airbrush shading. I just need to experiment more with lineless art and shading. Let me know if you have any suggestions. I also hid a quick Hamilton reference in it. Tell me if you find it!

Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a comment and a link to your blog so I can return the favor!

Categories: Drawings, Middle School Musings, Posts with Personality, SBC 2019Leave a comment

Blogging Challenge- Week Five

EMMA # # # # # # # # #


Hey everyone! Emma here, back for week 5 of the Student Blogging Challenge! This week’s theme is music, and like the Broadway nerd I am, I made a “Guess the Song” quiz for a few Broadway musicals I’m into. I made the videos below with WeVideo. It was super easy to use and it works very well, not to mention it’s completely free (I think. Don’t quote me on that. Everything I needed was free, though). It’s overall just a great, simple video editing software.

How to take the quiz:

Watch the video below. You are given a five-second clip of ten songs from popular Broadway musicals. Then, leave me a comment with your guesses. If you don’t know all of them, that’s okay! Just try your best, and don’t feel like you need to guess for all ten of them.

 

Challenge:

See if you can guess this song. It’s from a musical that is not on Broadway, but it has an awesome soundtrack and was one of the first musicals I got into. This might be a little difficult if you’re not a hardcore musical fan, so I’ll give you two hints, plus an extra five seconds of it.

HINT #1: Theater fans and book nerds alike may recognize the musical this song is from.

HINT #2: Kristin Stokes sings this song

 

 

Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a comment and a link to your blog so I can return the favor!

Categories: Middle School Musings, Posts with Personality, SBC 20192 Comments

Blogging Challenge- Week Four

EMMA # # #

Hello everyone! Emma here! It’s crazy we’re already in week 4 of the Student Blogging Challenge. This weeks theme is free choice, and me, as the Hamilton fan I am, decided to make a Hamilton quiz. If you know Hamilton characters and lyrics, you’ll do great. Let me know how you do! I’m curious to see how well you guys know Hamilton lyrics!

Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a comment and a link to you blog so I can return the favor!

Categories: Middle School Musings, Posts with Personality, SBC 20192 Comments