How To Be An Adult Human: Lesson 2

Laundry money



Note: I am hoping to update more frequently. I'll be starting small with little comics like this, and work toward doing full posts as well. 

The Cow Video

My art history class is too long. Now, I love art history - don't get me wrong.  But when it goes for 2 hours, and I'm one of 250 people crammed together in a dark room, I tend to zone out about halfway through. Most of the time I switch back and forth between taking notes and watching crap on youtube.

Yesterday went exactly like that...except this time, I found myself in the deepest and weirdest corners of youtube. You know. You've all been there. You're watching a funny and innocent cat video and before you know it you see something that cannot ever be unseen.

Sort of like the cow video.

Yeah. YEAH. 

After emerging from the depths of youtube, I began taking notes again hoping they would help me forget what I had seen. But it had already seared itself into my subconscious, because every slide the teacher showed reminded me of it. 

I couldn't stop thinking about the cow video. It was going through my mind. How did he create that? Is that what Hell is? What do I do now? The part where they turned into spider-cows...OH. WHY DID THEY ALL TURN INTO SPIDERS.

I may or may not have watched it a few more times.  I also made the mistake (or was it a fantastic choice?) to watch that guy's other videos. The sheep one...

How To Be A Hipster: Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 : LIFESTYLE

Read Chapter One
Read Chapter Two


Hipsters are particularly victim to persecution. The Writer Dan Fletcher says "Hipsters manage to attract a loathing unique in its intensity." Don't listen to Mr. Fletcher. He shouldn't even be giving you a label anyway!  He probably doesn't even recycle.

Such phrases as "pretentious a-hole" and "stupid hipster" or "moccasin-wearing douche bag" will sometimes be flung at you.

Just ignore it. Seriously. They're mostly just jealous of your sparrow tattoo on your inner wrist, or your awesome Jesus hair that is too awesome to be washed on a regular basis.

Don't let the persecution get you down. A lot of people might be "Hipster" but you have to remind yourself that you actually like all this stuff.

A staple of being a Hipster is consuming overpriced organic food. BUY ORGANIC. This includes such things as free range eggs, free range meat (that is, if you choose to eat the flesh of another creature), alternatives to dairy milk, and locally grown fruits and vegetables.  You will feel so much better about yourself! This guy feels great, see?

He might have an iron-deficiency, but he sure does feel good. But remember, don't stop at food. You need to start to buy everything organic. Soap, fair-trade coffee, make-up, chemical-free hair-dye...

On the same topic as eating healthier, you can also choose to become a vegetarian or vegan. This means that you don't eat meat or dairy anymore. Just think about all the awful ways those chickens and cows are murdered in the factory farms! They rip their heads off and eat their little animal hearts! They mash all the baby chickens into a paste and then they force feed them back into their mothers! Sometimes they even kill cats and dogs to put in your hamburgers. CATS AND DOGS!

Another thing that you should start to do as a Hipster is biking. You should probably just bike everywhere. EVERYWHERE. What's that? No bike? Get one! Buy a fixie, put on your Wayfarers and never leave that bike. Ever.

In fact, you could take your new fixie with you to the health food store! Get some of those neat "green" bags that look like this:

Stick your food and other all-natural items into the bag, and then put it in that nifty basket on the front of your bike and you're set!

I mean, look at that guy! He's the happiest person in the world! He's carrying his purchases in his basket and helping the environment by riding his bicycle. Plus he's building muscle in his legs, since Fixies tend to be absolutely miserable on the smallest of inclines.

To be a true hipster, you need to not only be involved in opinions relating to all-natural eating and living, but also in opinions of politics. (Well, it really depends on where you live, of course. In this case I'll be referring to American politics.) Politics are everything to a Hipster. They need to be everything to you now. Vote liberal (with some socialist leanings perhaps) even if you don't know what that means. Trust me. Just talk about how you're anti-gun, pro-universal health care, and that you wish people would stop fighting and just love each other.

Find areas in conversation to slip in a comment about how screwed up the world is, and how you are planning on donating to charities once your new EP starts to sell.

You're probably wanting to ask "How am I supposed to nonchalantly drop comments about my political opinions if I don't know how to make friends with a real live Hipster!" It's okay! Don't cry. The best places to find these highly selective groups of Hipsters would be at local bookstores and coffee shops, sipping their Chai tea and typing away on their sleek white computers.

"What are they typing?" you may ask. Most likely they are typing in the web address to Pitchfork Magazine to check updates on their favorite bands and pained singer-songwriters...or perhaps they are using the free wifi to tweet about all of the inexcusable examples of fashion and music surrounding them.

Other places that Hipsters flock to are "ironic" locations. Just go somewhere that you used to go as a kid. For example, the Planetarium, Aquarium, Playground, or Zoo.

Take a step within any of these places and you are sure to find gaggles of new Hipster friends taking lomo pictures of stuff with their Diana cameras.

Remember this guy?

He's at the zoo right now.  Taking pictures like this (this is before he spotted the sickly looking black bear behind the chain-link fence):

Now that you know where they all hang out, you need to learn how to approach a Hipster. This is a delicate process, as they will run away if you ambush them. When approaching, you need to be able to make a good first impression. Say "Hey, I couldn't help but notice you [insert activity here]. By the way, [Insert compliment here]!" Perhaps subtly flash the David Sedaris book you are currently reading.

Once you are engaged in conversation, it's always good to agree with them. Here's a good example for you to learn from.

Another important thing to remember is that you should also try to relate to the Hipster. But not too much, or else they will feel like there's someone out there that is too similar to them. (Think about it. How would you feel if someone else dressed like you and liked the same music as you?) Find a few things you both like.

Remember your iPod?

Take it out of your messenger bag and show it to the Hipster. Talk about how you like the newest Band of Horses album, but you still prefer their first one. If you've done your studying, you'll be able to mention things that only a Hipster would understand. Do so. This will entice them to trust you even more.

After making some Hipster friends, invite them over to your tapestry-draped apartment/house. Hipsters love tea. What? You don't like tea? Learn to like it. Beautiful foreign teas are like life-fluid to a Hipster. If you cut a Hipster, they will bleed tea. You don't believe me? Go stab a Hipster and you'll see.

Yep.

After your friends arrive and you make them comfortable, introduce them to your cat. You don't have a cat? Well, get one. Hipsters love cats, and so should you. They're adorable, and you can give them funny and witty names. All you have to do while naming your new cat is to point randomly at a book in the philosophy section of the bookstore or library and then give your cat the name of the author/philosopher.

Your friends will laugh, and really respect you for being so well-read.

Here ends the 3rd installment of How to be a Hipster. This is only the beginning of your journey into Hipsterdom. Remember: Never give into mainstream things. Never eat processed foods. Never own a Creed album (or else the Hipster police will come and murder you).

I'll see you at the next Best Coast concert.

Love,
Hannah

Margaret's Pets

My friend recently scanned these and put them on his blog. I had actually sort of forgotten about this little story. I think I did this in 2007, before I had been accepted into the Illustration program.

So, here it is for you to enjoy/be disturbed while I finish up the next post.

THE END

Artist Crisis

I'm having an artist crisis.

I keep thinking things like "I'm never going to make it as an artist. I'll just die alone with my mediocre illustrations. Maybe I should just do Linguistics. Or just drop out of college. Wow, I suck! My linework is lacking. My colors are amateur. "

I know I'm supposed to be doing this. It's what I've always done! I've been drawing since I was wee. It's what my hands do! I've done other things, but nothing brings me as much joy as art. When I paint I feel like I don't have to worry about anything else in the world. All there is is creation, and I'm in control of what happens on the paper. Without art, I don't know how sane I'd be right now.

As an Illustrator, I also strive to be a storyteller. I love telling stories. I love telling people my stories, and I love how it makes people feel. I love to make people laugh, or think about something they've never thought about before. I love to question, and then answer my own questions. I love to present new ideas in visual form.

But right now, I feel a bit like I've gotten myself into a profession that I won't succeed in. I'm in my 5th year of college. Shouldn't I have had this crisis 3 years ago? Maybe not. I think I've always been very confident with my art. Until now. I've never felt this vulnerable about my craft. I've never felt the weight of Illustration as a profession. Everyone always tells me it's competitive. I've never thought about it until now though. It really is competitive.

If I stop for just a moment, I'll fall behind. I have to be constantly open to learning new techniques and styles. I can't give up on promoting my work. When I doubt myself I need to just keep going. I think this is natural for every artist. I'm pretty sure all the greats felt this at some point. I know N.C. Wyeth thought of himself as a failure, even though he was a fantastic artist.

No you know what...I KNOW that every artist feels this. Often. On a weekly, yearly, whatever basis. It's part of it.

What I need to do is live and breath illustration. I need to research the artists out there. I need to emulate the masters.  I need to tell stories with my paintings, and I need to put the time and work into each and every one of them. I need to draft, sketch, research, destroy, start over, color, color again, delete, erase, try again, and most importantly....do it all for myself. When I can do that, people will believe in what my art is trying to say.

That's all.

I'll have a real post soon. :)

*cries*

Sometimes I wonder if I ever actually store information.

What do I even say?

HEY.

Besides having bizarre dreams and sweating a ton from no air conditioning in our house, my life has been pretty uneventful.

OH! Except, my family is moving back! Have I already said that in here? Anyhow, I'm really excited for them to be back here. I've missed them a ton since they moved. But, I admit, I think I needed the three years to grow up. Even though I didn't really grow up very much. I still suck at money, school, and getting things organized.

Uhhh...I have a new job! I work as a web designer. I can't believe how much code I really remember from when I used to make those Lord of the Rings fansites when I was 14. The code I know is a bit outdated, but dreamweaver is really smart, so it just changes it to the correct stuff automatically.

I've been stuck on the next piece i'm doing from His Dark Materials. It's from the Subtle Knife this time, and I keep getting incredibly frustrated with it. Oh well, it'll work. I'll just keep on sketching. :D

I don't have anything else to say, really. Except I'm burning hot.