My Love Affair With The Harry Potter Books

So after nearly 12 years of avoiding the fandom, I published my first ever Harry Potter fanart to deviantART today. And I love it! All my life people have been telling me to read Harry Potter, ever since the first one came out. My friends, co-workers, even the kid I baby-sat for at the time told me it was right up my alley and with lines starting up the day before book releases, how could it not be?

Well, after never reading a book or seeing a movie for all that time despite the crazy involvement of all the people around me, I finally saw my first HP flick when my best friend pulled the whole "It's my birthday and this is what we're doing card" back in December when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 was in theaters. So I went and sat with hardcore HP fanatics, the 7 people I was with included. Now, out of a 2 and a half hour movie I had absolutely no idea what was going on for like the first hour and 45 minutes, but one scene in particular caught my interest (aka obsession) and I got caught up in the hype. Maybe it was the fact that that night was one of the most fun nights I'd had in a long time, or maybe it was because everybody around me was so excited that it was contagious, or maybe it was because I was just so deliriously tired from work that day, but something sparked inside me and the next day I bought the first 3 books. A week after that and I bought the next two. Not long after, I bought the last two.

I also ended up watching the movies right after I read the books. I would read a book, watch a movie and so on and so forth until I have just recently finished the 6th book and the 6th movie. And in disguise as a true Harry Potter fan, I went out and got the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 dvd the first day it was released. Although I haven't watched it yet...

I don't even remember anything that happened in the movie save for the one scene that caught my attention, and that's great because now I plan on reading the 7th book and watching the first of the last movies before I go this summer with my friends in Harry Potter fan fashion to the conclusion of the series. I should note that yes, I did watch the trailer when it was released the other day...

So, I had so much fun drawing the Harry Potter characters today, with no reference buy my imagination and my memory of the descriptions in the books, I might add, that I think it's safe to say that my obsession will continue long after the last movie is released. As a matter of fact, I'm planning on taking the character portraits that I drew this morning and turning them into an actual fanart scene. And that's just to start off with. =0)

ChristineCaton.Com Gets A Makeover!

After a few months of planning, I've finally launched my new website! ChristineCaton.Com has moved to a new server and is now hosted by Weebly. I'm super excited for this change as the site now has a fresh, simpler look and is much easier to navigate. I'm sure my artwork will be happily displayed in its new home for a long time to come! Please check out the new site at http://www.christinecaton.com and be sure to let me know what you think!

Introducing The Emma Collection: Fairytales Series!!

The Emma Collection: Fairytales Series features a unique interpretation of classic fairytale characters in the Emma Collection style. This series began in September 2010 and was first introduced at New York Comic Con. View the series here: http://www.christinecaton.com/theemmacollection/id30.html

Please Help Me Support A Friend And An Important Cause!!

Hello Everyone!

This Sunday, September 26, my husband and I will be participating in the Hydrocephalus Association's Walk 2010. I will be walking on Team Allison in honor of the daughter of one of my co-workers and a dear friend. Last year, with your help, my husband and I were able to raise almost $2,000 for the cause. I'm hoping you can sponsor me for the walk. Here is the link for my donation page. From there you can also find a link to the Team Allison page. http://walk4hydro.org.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=346211&lis=0&kntae346211=00FDC477279C4FC1A5CAC4AC9630B9FD&supId=304984623.

Even if you can't help out with a monetary donation, it would still be fun to walk together! The event takes place on September 26 at Belmont Lake State Park. The Walk begins at 10am, but registration starts at 9am. Your support in this cause is greatly appreciated!!

Thank you,
Christine =0)

New Website Design!!

I just decided out of nowhere to re-design my website. I'm a creature of habit and was really attached to the old look, but it's time for a change. Check it out here: http://www.christinecaton.com!

Oh, Tablet.. Where have you been all my life??

So.. I got a tablet yesterday. Best purchase I ever made!! Seriously, I wish I would've done this a year or so ago. Then I could have been practicing all along! But it's okay. At least with NY Comic Con to get ready for, I have an excuse to do nothing but play. =0)

Here's my first attempt at drawing with the tablet:



This was my second attempt:
Yay!! Toy Story Peas In A Pod!!















Here's my third attempt:

My First Ever Attempt at Making a Boy Doll

Of course would have to be Woody from Toy Story!



This one took about 9 hours to do (from concept to finished product) because of all the detail.... He's a 6" poseable doll made of muslin with polyester fiberfill and a small wire armature. I used the fibre craft pattern I use when making my Emma Collection dolls.

The shirt took a really long time to do. It's painted on, but there's tons of detail in the shirt. The boots, hair, and face are also drawn on. The pants, belt, buckle (with hand-drawn detail), vest (with hand-drawn detail), sheriff's badge, and hat (with hand-drawn detail) were all made of felt. The hat took the longest to make because I couldn't find a pattern for a hat small enough. It was a lot of trial and error, but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

I think the pullstring might be my favorite part... it's just a small white ring with a piece of string sewed to his vest.

Since Woody has really long legs to begin with, the next time I make this character will be using the 14" version of my Emma Collection dolls. I also plan on doing a 6" Jessie.