Homework, homework and homework!

Hey guys!

It's been over two weeks since my last update, so I guess it's time to finally write another post. I've mostly been doing homework here so whenever I take breaks I feel a bit lazy to write something.

But, what can I say about the classes at the CDA? Well, they're SUPER AWESOME. I'm actually having a lot of fun doing homework, even though I can get frustrated pretty easily too. At least that's a sign of a challenge.

The first week was actually very rough, my arm started to hurt after drawing so much. Luckily, Maaike, our personal physiotherapist, showed us a few exercises to prevent this. Plus, stretching really helps!

I think what I've been learning a lot here is how to break down complex objects into simple shapes. This has really helped me with all of the drawings that I've had to make. 

I've also been going to a figure drawing workshop once a week. I think this is really fun and I definitely want to continue going to these when I get back to Holland.

But anyway, instead of writing about it, let me show you guys what I've been up to these past three weeks with some bad quality pictures. I am not lazy at all!:

Vis Com 1: Dynamic Sketching

Head and Figure Drawing

Intro to Character Design

Drawing Dump 1

Some sketches sketches I made while being here

Countdown til hardcore training

Hey guys!

I'm forcing myself to blog a bit more, so here's a small summary of what we've done the past 4 days. We wanted to do as much as we can before the classes start so it was time for some adventure!

Day 1 - Exploring in Del Mar

On day 1 we met up with Wouter and he showed us where the Concept Design Academy is. It's a good thing he guided us there. Apparently, the CDA is very small and it even shares  the building with a hair salon, you can easily miss it.

We still needed to get some art supplies which meant shopping tiiiime! We had to get a lot of stuff for school, luckily it's a bit cheaper here than in the Netherlands. The store even gave us a card with 10% discount so I'm definitely using that for next time!

After that we went back home, BUT we got lost. It was funny because it was super hot, we were tired and we had to carry all our art supplies with us...Yeah, it wasn't that funny.

Day 2 - Walk of Fame to Hollywood

On Thursday we went to Hollywood! It was awesome, we walked around on the walk of fame and took lots of pictures. We also went to 'The Greatest Candy Store on Earth'. I don't really have a sweet tooth, but I did see something that I was very tempted to try out:

YES, BUGS! I asked the others if they wanted to try some too and we eventually went for the BBQ flavored worms. It was crunchy, tasted a bit like BBQ, but it also had a bitter aftertaste. Still, that's one thing I can cross off of my "things to do before I die"-list!

For lunch we had some awesome icecream and you can choose your own toppings with it. The crazy part is that they used their scoops to mix the toppings with the icecream instead of sprinkling it on top of it. It was delish!

When we got back to the South Pasadena station, we saw a farmer's market that's at the station every Thursday. Apparently they sell a lot of things that are cheaper there than at the supermarket. There was also a ton of food and I had an All Beef Hotdog! Definitely coming back every week!

Day 3 - Little Tokyo and Chinatown

On day 3 we went to the Little Tokyo District and I LOVED it. It's not as big as I thought it would be, but I really had to stop myself from buying so much stuff.

I did finally taste a melon-pan. It was good, but I'm a bit, just a bit, disappointed that it didn't taste like melon at all. Then again, we saw a different one that looked way greener so I'm going to give it another try next time. I WANT MY MELON SATISFACTION.

There's also this huuuuge store filled with anime and manga merchandise. It's probably one of the biggest stores I've seen and I really want to buy a lot of stuff from it (Don't judge me.).

We then went to Chinatown and the place was a bit more shady than the other places we've been to. They had some cute stuff and I liked the buildings, but to be honest, every store is basically the same so we didn't really stay there for long.

In the evening we had some awesome sushi! They served these on little boats that were floating on water. It wasn't very expensive and I'm so happy that the water here is free! Plus, they do refills every now and then, it's perfect for a chea- poor student like me!

Day 5 - A Clogged Block Party

Day 5 was...interesting. Our toilet got clogged so we were forced to stay at the cottage until the plumber arrived. In the meantime, we talked a bit more with the owners of the house. Apparently the own a motion design and live-action studio. They actually made the opening of Parks and Recreation, HOW COOL IS THAT?! Check it out, they have some awesome stuff on their site: www.colourmovie.com.

(Oh, our toilet got clogged by tooth floss from the previous guests by the way. Not poop.)

In the evening, Maaike and I went to a block party organized by a church close by our house. It wasn't super big, but it was very nice. Everyone was friendly and they had some awesome free food and drinks. I really like this about the Americans I've seen or met so far, they approach people faster than I'm used to and they're super social. This is good way for me to open up a bit more because I'm such a socially awkward penguin sometimes.

Maaike and I decided to get awesome tattoos by the way #YOLO.

At the moment, we're chilling at home and watching HBO movies while having some tea. I think I'm getting a bit more used to the idea that I'm staying here for three months. I really like talking to my family, my boyfriend and friends on Whatsapp/the internet, it makes me feel less homesick. Then again, in a few days I probably won't have too much time to worry about that because I'm going to work my ass off. SPARTA! I'LL DO MY BEST! *single tear*

Over and out,

Lin :D

Day 1 - Trip and Arrival

Hi everyone!

This is Lin, reporting live from South-Pasadena! Yes, we've arrived safely here with almost no troubles at all and are chilling behind our laptops at the moment.

Even though we didn't have a lot of trouble getting here, it was still a very tiring trip. Our plane had to leave at 10 AM in the morning, but we had a delay of 50 minutes. It has also been 4 years since I've been in a plane, so I kiiiinda felt like a little kid when we lifted off.

We each had our individual monitor in the plane which was AWESOME. They had TV shows, movies and even games that we could play. The selection was great too. A few examples that made me really happy: Gravity Falls, The Middle and Parks and Recreation.

I watched two movies in the plane too, but couldn't finish both of them. I fell asleep halfway Hotel Transylvenia and the system had to reboot when I was watching the Wizard of Oz. Oh well, maybe I'll try again on the way back to Holland!

Oh, BY THE WAY. The airplane food was pretty good? I can write a whole blog about food so I'll spare you the details. I've also drawn a few things to kill some time!

When we arrived in Houston, we had to stand in this huuuuge line for Border Control. They questioned us about our stay there and even though I answered everything honestly, I felt so suspicious. "What's your name? How long are you staying here?" SIR, I'M AN INNOCENT ARTIST, TRUST ME.

The line and the delay from Amsterdam made us miss our flight to LA, luckily we didn't have to wait very long for the next one. We arrived in LA at around 7 PM and by that time, I was getting really hungry. We took the public transport to South Pasadena, where Michelle, the owner of our little cottage, picked us up with the car. 

Michelle and her family are super sweet! She has a husband and two kids, a boy and a girl. They also have a two dogs, but we've only met Chloe (Apparently she's the sweet one of the two haha).

She then took us to In 'n Out so that we could get some dinner there. The menu's are super cheap here and you can even get it in different 'styles'! I had a cheeseburger menu, ANIMAL STYLE. Animal style is a mustard-cooked beef patty with additional pickles, cheese, spread and grilled onions diced up and mixed together on the grill before getting dumped on your burger. The ketchup is free here and the cups are HUGE (and you can refill your drinks!). I REALLY need to stop myself from going to fastfood places here.

Anyway that was my first day here. I'm not really much of a writer so it's going to take me awhile to update this blog, but I think I'll write something weekly to keep you updated with everything!

Cheers,

Lin :D