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\nGood morning, one and all. It’s the first Sunday of the month (August already? WHUT), and that means I have a student or newly-graduated illustrator visiting today. In this case, it’s the latter. I welcome Amber Ma<\/a><\/strong> today. I love to pore over her detailed, beguiling artwork, and since she tells you about it below, as well as generously shares lots of art, let’s get right to it. <\/p>\n
Thanks again to Amber for stopping by today. …<\/p>\n
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Amber<\/font><\/strong>: I am Amber Ma, a New York-based artist and illustrator, originally from China. I received my MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from the School of Visual Arts<\/a><\/strong> last summer. This below is Little Diver and his weird friends, traveling different worlds. … Note for any new readers: 7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome.<\/p>\n 1)<\/strong><\/font> My very VERY favorite musician, Sam Phillips (as in, I’ve been a fan for over 30 years now), announced<\/a><\/strong> an upcoming new album, live album, and film of a live show, all coming in mid-August. BEST NEWS THE VERY BEST NEWS<\/strong><\/font>. 3)<\/strong><\/font> Learning that Song Exploder<\/em> even exists. I have some archives to explore. <\/p>\n 4)<\/strong><\/font> Author Jason Reynolds sharing this poem<\/a><\/strong> … <\/p>\n 5)<\/strong><\/font> Totoro<\/em> tees<\/a><\/strong> for my daughters for the start of a school year. Now I’m jealous and want one. <\/p>\n
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\nWhen I was little, I liked drawing all the time, but I used to think it was just a normal skill for every kid. Before I went to college, my mother asked me which major I really wanted to study and what my dream job was. The first word that came to my head was: Drawing<\/em>. After some research into majors related to that, I finally decided to study animation, because I like Miyazaki\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> animated films. Also, when I think about a story or a plot, the movement of the characters and visions of the settings immediately fill my head. So, I thought Animation as a major would be a good fit at that time.
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\nAfter four years of study, I felt that college didn\u2019t give me enough knowledge. I wanted more from art education; I felt my life and the world I saw every day was so flat. I asked my mother about taking a gap year to go abroad and to think clearly about what I wanted to do. I decided to switch to the Illustration major in 2011 and started studying illustration in the School of Visual Arts in 2012. When I studied in the School of Visual Arts for the BFA and the MFA, I think I learned so much about art \u2014 learning about mediums, visual storytelling, etc. This opened another window for me and showed me a different layer of human life. I realized that stories and inspirations come from everywhere; you just need to pay more attention to them \u2014 and respect them.
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2018\/08\/bubblesmall.jpg\")
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\nI normally work in pen and ink. In the past two years, I started using watercolors to draw and feel as if I’ve found a unique voice in it.
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2018\/08\/amberMa-floating-citysmall.jpg\")
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\nMy inspirations come from dreams and observing life. I can remember my dreams really clearly, both the good and bad ones. They are a part of my inspiration library.
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“I dreamed a weird dream last night. A cage and lots of colorful wooden birds sitting inside. Lovely but creepy. I smelled the damp smell. The door was slowly creaking open. Who put a new bird into the cage?”<\/em><\/center>
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\nThis below is from an accordion book, Dream Walker<\/em> (pen on a Moleskin Japanese album).
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\nObserving life also gives me lots of ideas to create stories and build up my fantasy world. Lots of my strange characters are from life. Normally, I like sketching the real building\/objects first, because when you start drawing the objects, you can understand and know them. And then I will take elements of those that I like and combine them with my characters or my story.<\/p>\n
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2018\/08\/frog+birdzz.jpg\")
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2018\/08\/Travellersmallvv.jpg\")
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(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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Amber: “Inspiration here comes from 8th Street \/ St. Mark’s Place in New York City,
as well as from the Kowloon Walled City<\/a><\/strong>“<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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Amber: “This is from a real experience of an earthquake I had in New Zealand.
I suffered about a hundred aftershocks. I was so scared, and since then I always imagine what it would be like if I were sitting in the bathroom and another earthquake came.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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\nBelow is Abandoned Park<\/em> (watercolor on BFK paper). This comes from a playground from my childhood. It was near an apartment where I used to live, a place that always impressed me. But it has since disappeared.
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2018\/08\/pg1small.jpg\")
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2018\/08\/pg2small.jpg\")
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2018\/08\/pg3small.jpg\")
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\nThis year, I had the opportunity to work with veteran screenwriter Anne Opotowsky<\/a><\/strong> for an epic graphic novel, The Walled City Trilogy: Book 3<\/em> from IDW\/Top Shelf\/Penguin Random House. Here are some sample pages:
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2018\/08\/am1.jpg\")
\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2018\/08\/am2.jpg\")
\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2018\/08\/am3.jpg\")
\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2018\/08\/am4.jpg\")
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\nAll illustrations used by permission of Amber Ma.<\/em> <\/p>\n
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\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/7pics\/2018\/08\/sam!!.jpg\")
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\n2)<\/strong><\/font> This episode<\/a><\/strong> of Song Exploder<\/em> with Neko Case. <\/p>\n