Naomi "West" Jeys

Clusterf#*%

2008-12-18T09:08:00.003-04:00

So, when I said updates every Thursday, I guess i really meant updates every first thursday of the second month. But who can remember that?

I was rudely awakened this morning by a non stop orchestra of car alarms, and as I am typing this, it remains constant. Oh, by the way, I woke up about 6:20 this morning.

Some new things happening this month: I am working on a few commissions, mostly story-boarding for animation companies. I got the chance to actually get behind the camera last week. My friend was shooting a student film and he asked if I'd like to play the girlfriend who gets beat up. Being one to never back down on an opportunity to do fight scenes (It's as close as I'll get to doing an action film) I accepted. I did the story-boarding as well, but that turned out to be rather ridiculous.

I am currently working on a graphic novel I've been doing since about '06. I am half way through colors, and doing some lettering. It took a long time to decide on a style to use, I am sort of picky when it comes to that. I am bored to death of seeing the same black outlined, shitty glossy coloring that most comic books have these days. It was time to try something new. And with no spandex.

Also: Tom Cruise is Bat shit insane.

Some like it hot

2008-11-17T16:51:00.006-04:00

This is a Marilyn Monroe colored pencil sketch I did for a friend. I included some in-process pictures too. Enjoy!

An Introduction to Fear: The Substructure of My Influence

2008-07-06T20:35:00.008-04:00

When I was a child, most of my daily television watching consisted of cartoons, old westerns and Audrey Hepburn like movies. That was in the daytime, when my mother could keep track of what I was watching. But at night, I snuck into the living room to watch Alfred Hitchcock at midnight, Tales From the Crypt and the late horror movie showings on AMC. The best TV for me was during Halloween, when they played James Whale's Frankenstein, Dracula, and Creature from the Black Lagoon. But the movie that started my love for fear was JAWS. The sound of John Williams' dramatic piano introduction had me hooked from the beginning. I had never been so scared in my life. I remember not wanting to go into the pool for months afterwards. I'm sure I must have had a few nightmares, too. It wasn't to long until I stumbled onto George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead, and I learned to love being scared. I still get a thrill seeing a movie that adds it's own style to the ever changing genre.

A good horror movie gets jumps, chills, screams and makes the crowd nervous. That's all good, but it can't be thrown into one movie. You can try, but it's gonna end up with a "SCI-FI ORIGINAL MOVIE" stamp on it (no one wants that). To be more than just 'great', you need less. If Romero has taught me anything, it's that less is more. You need primal fear, nausea, paranoia and at least one cold sweat coated dream. The idea is to play with the feeling of safety. You let them have a little, only to pull it out from under them. If you plan an entire movie off of this list, it's visual gold. To much gore can offset your intentions. You don't want the audience immune to it. Basically, less is more.

Though it may be easy to scare a child, I still experience a lot of my childhood fears. I remember when I was afraid, even if I can't remember anything I laughed at or cried over. I don't want that amazing feeling of being so alive to disappear. Which is why I feel compelled to write my own perception of fear. Please check back for more updates on my writing and artwork for the film.

Movie update

2008-04-24T21:11:00.002-04:00

It has been a looooong Thursday to update, but I think I have it down. Huzzah.

After having a spout with phenomena this week (and the week before, and the week BEFORE), I realized how much time I really had on my hands. So I continued to write my movie one page at a time. After stocking up on yellow legal pads and a plethora of blue pens, I set about the task of re writing my film chapter by chapter. I realized how much of my original script was loosely based off of nothing more than another zombie film. The original idea came to me in a dream. When I awoke, I had the worst case of shakes since I seen JAWS. I am assuming it was either pure genius, or the effects of Red Bull and Tylenol PM.

So far, my friend Ben and I have accomplished the notion of making a new breed of horror film. One influenced by Ramero's old classics, with a new virus twist. I don't want to display a lot of information on the film, but I do want to divulge in some new ideas I have for kicking it off. New wave style.

Most films in the horror genre have left little to the imagination. Usually sloppily placed together and not well though out. I, and my film companion Ben, plan to completely 180 this into an orgy of intense emotional distress, fantastic scoring and amazing effect shots. I feel like vomiting whenever I see a trailer for a new horror film, if you even consider blood and guts horror. The constant use of obscenities is also irritating. I don't like it one bit.

So, in the long run, maybe making a new genre might jump-start others into doing the same. Steer away from Hollywood eye candy, and move onto something revolutionary. If it doesn't make you stay up at night, it was unsuccessful.

Moving, and why it's lame

2008-02-05T18:09:00.000-04:00

I am NEVER moving again. Period. The amount of time and effort it took to get all of my stuff on to the 2nd floor might as well be used for something that impacts the earth. Not manuvering a 70 pound couch up three flights of stairs. With all the technology in the world. this place still does not have a large enough elevator to fit furniture in?!

On the plus side, it is a very stylish apartment, and my art desk looks quiet stunning in the living room. They heat the place to a good 900 degrees every morning, so I have to open all of the windows to maintain consciousness. The kitchen is, well... A closet. But it's not all that bad. I will post pictures up as soon as I have finished unloading the plethora of boxes in the place.

Surviving off peanut butter and red bull.

2008-01-31T15:19:00.000-04:00

Jesus H. Christ, I am exhausted. Thinking about spelling the word makes me tired. Boxes here, boxes there. HOW and WHERE did I get so much crap?! Packing up my office has been the worst thus far. I have so many, many things attached to my Mac, it's insane. I included a picture of my art desk, just so you can see the sheer Insanity I am going through. I mean, c'mon... Where did all of this COME FROM? I don't even remember buying any of it.

Brooklyn is a complete ump, but at least it's not the street. I guess I still got the starving artist phase to go through. As if I haven't done that already.

As the title suggests, all I could find in my cabinet that has not been packed up is my best friend: a jar of peanut butter with the spoon still inside. It was like finding $20.00 in my pocket. I have been eating that and drinking what's left of my Red Bull supply for roughly a week. I needed to have as little to move as possible, and that meant 5 cases of Red Bull. Well, I can't sleep from the sugar and my insides feel like burning, but you have to take some bad with some AWESOME

On the plus side, I've lost at least 10 pounds this month. Not sure how that happened, but whatever it was, I like poking my boney hipbones. I didn't know if it was this crazy good concoction, of lack of vitamins and natural sunlight. Maybe a little of both.

One hell of a hiatus

2008-01-31T06:53:00.000-04:00

I finally decided to get off my my lazy ass and update this jazz. I hate to say it, but even I catch a bit of what we referred to in high school as "Senioritis". The inability to meet deadlines because of stress and not knowing where to start.

I was looking though my "TO DO" Commissions folder the other day and I was overwhelmed. Needless to say, I have been avoiding it like a plague. I don't look at it, I don't touch it. I just let it rot and fill in my Work file. The less I deal with it, the more I start to actually talk myself into believing it does not exist. Of course, it never goes away. Instead it gets bigger and bigger and bigger until it is practically unmanageable.

My biggest problem with working at home is that I get sidetracked. I will start a project which might not be due for another week or two, and then remember I have ones that might need to be done first. But here's the kicker, they ALL need to be done. AT ONCE. So I spend a good six hours switching back and forth between photoshop files, trying to do the impossible.

I figure, "Why not just put it off and avoid the whole thing altogether?" I have never been one for logic, but I have to say, it is not quiet working for me just yet. I don't have time to find a new solution, so it will do.

The good news is, the more I put off real work, it adds to my time I can spend, say, updating this blog twice a week. Don't hold me to it, this might get pushed off like the rest...