Being the secondary writer here I felt like saying an introduction, hyping up the idea and just generally letting go with whatever art related things I felt like saying today.

So since Copycat! has not been fully finished at this point I can't say whether or not it's the most awesome art site I've ever visited in my entire life, but I can say I'm extremely excited. Because Steph is the reason I got into drawing I love watching her grow more than any other artist, and because she's my friend I want to continue to push her just as she pushes me.

Okay, so I'm getting a little choked up right now but that's what happens when you combine two of my favorite things: 2D art and the internet, with one of my favorite people. So, forgive me for being dramatic.

Also, on the subject of Tria Markers-- $1700 is the full price for a set of 300 markers, however if you were to buy, say, 12 on sale, it would be around $40. I just bought 9 (individual) Prismacolor markers yesterday for $23. Markers are not cheap, but I love the way it feels to put down a mark of pure, flat color and just have to accept it-- it makes everything I do more spontanious and fluid. With colored pencils you can end up with texture that opposes itself to a different part of the drawing, and if you start out with a texture but make one part of it too dark and opaque, you have to go over the entire drawing again to make it consistant, which takes time and plenty of effort depending on the hardness or softness of the colored pencil you choose.

On to more important matters. I had an interesting week so far art-wise.
It started with the Theme Project that Steph and I started Tuesday. She and I were talking about how the both of us don't create enough art, and aren't really making enough things that can go into a portfolio. I had been talking about wanting someone to give me due dates and challenges on art for a while, but Steph needed the same sort of system up for herself so it worked out very well. I hope this continues on for a great deal of time, but we have to take it a week at a time.
So anyway, then on Wednesday I was in Art History class with three guys I'm friends with: Josh, Andy and Eric. I was drawing something in Josh's scetchbook with my new markers, and Eric was drawing in my scetchbook, and when I finished I gave Josh's scetchbook to Andy so he could draw something. Last Wednesday Josh and I drew in Eric's scetchbook, and before that we all drew in Andy's scetchbook. I still have Josh and Andy lined up for drawing in my scetchbook since Eric took most of the classtime. After class had ended I was asking the instructor (who I know as Rachel, but that's irrelevant) about my topic for my research paper when Josh announced that he and Andy really want to turn this scetchbook-trading thing into a project so that when we finish filling up our scetchbooks with our own art and the art of eachother we can turn them into the Student Art Gallery for people to flip through and see our progression. The student show would be next year, and Josh talked about meeting regularly three hours at a time over the summer and in the fall semester and drawing a while, stopping to eat and talk and then drawing again for another scetchbook.
So now I've got two long-term collaboration projects going on-- and both of them started within 48 hours of eachother. I'm really excited, because I checked the scedule for next semester and it doesn't look like I'll be able to take any art classes besides Photography, and I've been wanting this sort of thing for a while.
After we told our Art History teacher about it she sounded interested as well, because she was becoming curious how collaborative people are nowadays, since a lot of modern art periods are formed by a collaborative group of artists that like working together and playing off eachother. I think this is a good way to encourage myself to work on a daily basis and stay thinking about art even after I finish my only 2D studio classes I'll have for a while.

That was long, yes, I realize. But it's to get you thinking about collaboration. For me, I know I draw better for other people-- because when I'm drawing I can't shrug off something by saying, "oh, I understand that line isn't where it's supposed to be but because it's only for me I don't have to fix it." I create my art to be viewed objectively, and something I'd be too lazy to fix I wouldn't let pass on a drawing I make for other people. Of course, with these projects it will be a different sort of thing-- I'll be trying to push my boundaries and show the full range of what I can do. In a way, it's also a competition. So, if you know how you work, don't be afriad to go out and seek people to help you get what you want. I just started asking for it this week, and within two days I found more than I needed.