red and black

Enjolras is THE BEST. I just love him so much. Idealistic, fiery, heroic characters who want to Do The Right Thing are always my favorites, and Enjolras is definitely one of the best examples of this in all of literature! He truly understands why they're fighting as well as the price they might have to pay, which makes his unwavering commitment to liberty even more impressive. And he inspires me so much to fight for right in whatever small way I can in my own life as well. 

I've been learning to use Photoshop, and after half a year of Illustrator it's kind of an awkward jump. I'm starting small with learning how to use the background eraser tool :) so I practiced on this drawing of Enjolras from way back when. 

Also, I'm on Twitter now! I'm @theannamator and I'm looking forward to trying out some new social media. If you want to follow my personal account too, it's @anna_marie919. I haven't done much on there yet, but Amy Dashwood retweeted me this one time! That was pretty exciting ;) (she didn't follow me but I am choosing to ignore that fact because I want to think we're best friends now. Let me live in my delusion.)

P. S. A happy birthday shoutout to the lovely Nina! Go read her blog!

jane eyre

I was working on some Jane Eyre character designs a while back and I want to pick back up on them, so here's something I did quickly to test out a different way of drawing Jane's hair.

I also worked on some designs for Blanche and Bertha, so maybe I'll show you some of those later. I'd like to work more on this project, so you may be seeing some more new designs in the future! Have a lovely week, everyone.

calamity // "the past is another land"

You know nothing about me
And care even less.

How could you understand our emptiness?

You've plundered our wisdom,

Our knowledge, our wealth. 

In bleeding us dry,

You long for our spirit

But that you will never possess!

The past is now another land

Far beyond my reach

Invaded by insidious

Foreign bodies, foreign speech

Where the timeless joys of childhood 

Lie broken on the beach.

The present is an empty space 

Between the good and bad 

A moment leading nowhere

Too pointless to be sad 

But time enough to lay to waste

Every certainty I had.

The future is a barren world

From which I can't return.

Both heartless and material,

Its wretched spoils not my concern

Shining like an evil sun 

As my childhood treasures burn

Shining like an evil sun 

As my childhood treasures burn.

I recently finished reading Calamity, the last book in the Steelheart series, and I was thinking about the song "The Past is Another Land" from Aida and how the song works well for the character Megan from the Steelheart series. So I did some fanart and a process gif for fun. I hope you like it! And if you've read the series, let me know what you thought! 

hallelujah

"So today we celebrate the gift of victory over every fall we have ever experienced, every sorrow we have ever known, every discouragement we have ever had, every fear we have ever faced--to say nothing of our resurrection from death and forgiveness for our sins. That victory is available to us because of events that transpired on a weekend precisely like this nearly two millennia ago in Jerusalem.

Beginning in the spiritual anguish of the Garden of Gethsemane, moving to the Crucifixion on a cross at Calvary, and concluding on a beautiful Sunday morning inside a donated tomb, a sinless, pure, and holy man, the very Son of God Himself, did what no other deceased person had ever done nor ever could do. Under His own power, He rose from death, never to have His body separated from His spirit again. Of His own volition, He shed the burial linen with which He had been bound, carefully putting the burial napkin that had been placed over His face “in a place by itself,” the scripture says.

That first Easter sequence of Atonement and Resurrection constitutes the most consequential moment, the most generous gift, the most excruciating pain, and the most majestic manifestation of pure love ever to be demonstrated in the history of this world. Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, suffered, died, and rose from death in order that He could, like lightning in a summer storm, grasp us as we fall, hold us with His might, and through our obedience to His commandments, lift us to eternal life." (Jeffrey R. Holland)

I am thankful today and forever for the atoning sacrifice of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ! He bore the burden of all our sins, pains, and sorrows. He broke the bands of death and rose again on the third day. He lives! And because of His mighty act of love, not only will each one of us live again, but we can receive divine help and forgiveness every day from the One who knows how to heal every wound and mend every hurt. Hallelujah!

The garden tomb might be the most meaningful place in the Holy Land, and I hope one day I might be able to see it in person.

This video is extremely meaningful to me and truly captures what Easter is all about.

This is a wonderful Easter song and the little girl who sings it is so sweet! I love how the simple words of a children's song can convey such a powerful message. 

The hardest thing that ever was done

The greatest pain that ever was known

The biggest battle that ever was won

This was done by Jesus!

The fight was won by Jesus!

Happy Easter, everyone. I hope you have a wonderful time with friends and family, but more importantly, that you are able to spend some time pondering our Savior and the incredible gift He gives to each of us. We are so blessed!