Blog for Words and What Not
27 / 12 / 2024
I finished playing Metaphor: Refantazio. Overall, it was enjoyable, but the game felt a bit too drawn out or grindy in several areas. The story was interesting, but not unlike other typical RPG plot lines. The politics and philosophies the game presents to you are quite similar to how they present in Persona games, but they probably lean towards Persona 5 the most. After finishing P5R a year or two ago, the words don't feel as fresh or 'new' to me as they may feel to other players, but the central themes still invoke a feeling of 'justice'. Though at the end of the game, it boils it down to 'friendship power' in some way, like Persona 3, 4, and 5, and hundreds of other anime series. The willpower that comes from connections with people is certainly not a terrible theme— it's quite important for people to think about it, especially in an age where everyone is so disconnected from each other. But after being exposed to it so much, it personally feels a bit bland, and the message doesn't resonate as much as before. However, the Persona games— and Metaphor— also make the effort to show the individuals own conviction to do what they want, and to chase after their ideals, or the future they want. Yet that theme is also something I've been too exposed to for it to resonate.
Playing Bloodborne has replaced Metaphor, and I love the environment and atmosphere. Even if I don't fight anything, walking around and admiring the scenery is nice. Though every FromSoftware game looks wonderfully organic and beautiful. Compared to Metaphor which has wonderful illustrations made for it, yet fails to bring out the artstyle and texture in 3D form, Bloodborne takes advantage of texture painting, normals, height maps, everything. Yet even without some of those things, I think even older games look 'good' still solely because of good texture painting and artistic direction...
In the realm of art, I'm still stuck in a void of practice and experimentation, but once I feel more set in my style, and have a consistent drawing routine again, I want to start working on some more concrete projects.
20 / 12 / 2024
I had to go a few days without taking my medicine, and I started drawing furry or anthro characters again. Well, I wanted to draw animals, and fluffy things, I suppose. I always prefer the rough draft, for some reason...
18 / 12 / 2024
Watching a friend play Bloodborne and thinking of parody designs. I think Eigen would be an eldritch horror, but the design wouldn't fit into a reasonable cropping space...
12 / 12 / 2024
I've been 3D modeling lately again, and doing sketching pose/anatomy practice on the side. I accidentally made a new character duo.
04 / 12 / 2024
I turn 23 today. I still don't feel any different from the day I turned 18, and it doesn't feel as-if 5 years have passed since then. Regardless of how old I am, the time of day, the weather, or whatever else may happen, I'll still continue drawing regardless. I don't care if I 'get old' physically, but I'd hope I can still function properly. If my hands or eyes develop issues, then... well... I guess I'll just die. Before then, though... I'll continue into the future until the inevitable hour of demise tolls, and death personified comes and takes my mortal vessel away from this wretched yet wonderful dirt orb.
I baked a japanese souffle cheesecake for myself, and it tastes delicious, but after cutting out as much sugar as possible from my diet, it gave me a headache. It's a dangerous drug...
28 / 11 / 2024
I fixed the 404 page to be non-generic. Currently, I'm messing around with Neospring CSS. Other people are doing basic changes, like font, or background colour. Meanwhile, I'm rearranging the entire flex layout of the page...
27 / 11 / 2024
I had a colonoscopy, and my stomach is killing me, but I'm slowly recovering. I didn't know what to draw, so I redrew a meme. Here's the lineart, I guess...
21 / 11 / 2024
I always feel that my art looks better when I use a watercolour-like brush, and it feels nicer to draw as well, though I'm not sure why. Last year, I decided I wouldn't have 'sketch/doodle/etc.' art logs anymore, and would only post 'finished' things, but when I mostly just post unfinished, uncoloured drawings, it becomes a glaring issue. I'll figure something out. I also fear that my blog page will become laggy or unperformant again due to the nature of shoving multiple years worth of content into one page. Implementing an .html loading system might be an option.
15 / 11 / 2024
After spending too long on my character references, they feel too 'perfect' again, and I want to redo them from scratch. It's debilitating and frustrating, so for now, I'm just updating the icons and links to my social media, or whatever else. I'm not entirely sure on the design, but for now, I think it works. Bluesky has been added, and I'll find suitable replacements for the others eventually...
12 / 11 / 2024
Someone finally made a proper Retrospring replacement using the source code, called Neospring. I want to work on making a page there. Updating my social links, icons, and other things as well. In the meantime, I've been watching all of Arcane. The animation is amazing, particularly the way 3D and 2D elements are combined. Though everything down to the small facial movements, the painting of the models, the lighting... it's very well done. I don't know anything about League, but it's a great standalone series, even if you haven't played the game.
11 / 11 / 2024
Despite whatever is going on in the world, I feel oddly happy, and motivated for the future. No matter what happens, I'll continue to draw. I think there are always things to strive for and appreciate in life, no matter what else may be happening, so don't give up. I'm still working on character full bodies, and trying to render. I doodled a little bit.
02 / 11 / 2024
I suddenly realised that instead of making overlay layers, and then drawing over my lineart again to brighten or darken it, I can just duplicate my lineart layer, and then mask out the original lineart layer under it... I've probably been making things too hard for myself. I'm studying different rendering styles still, but I should just paint until I find something I like.
I drew a creature of unknown origin. I'm also suddenly aware of how much my artstyle has developed from last year. There are traces of my old style there, still, but I wonder if it'll become more dilluted with time?
31 / 10 / 2024
It's already going to be November, though I'm not too concerned with the passage of time. I'm working on character portraits again. I wanted to draw something for Halloween, but since all my art is somewhat edgy and melancholy, I'll probably draw something befitting of 'Halloween' at some point.
At the recommendation of my friend, I'm watching 'Severance'. There's only a handful of live action movies and shows I've watched the last few years, and most of them are artsy, or abstract.
23 / 10 / 2024
After putting off watching it for 6 years, I finally watched Blade Runner: 2049. As expected, the cinematography was wonderful, and every shot of the movie feels like a painting. There's a consistent colour palette and visual feeling throughout the movie that creates an atmosphere which draws you in, yet gives you a sense of distance. I enjoy how they built upon the themes of sentience, and gaining, or recognising 'emotion' that were introduced in the first movie— I rewatched it beforehand to jog my memory. The same director worked on Dune, which explains why I was so immersed in the world. There's too much media now that tells it's viewers everything, without leading them on, or letting them connect pieces of the story together on their own, so seeing well made films that are maximum showing, and minimal telling is always refreshing. Having watched 'Her' last year, it reminds me of more themes I want to express, or dissect, in my work...
21 / 10 / 2024
Suddenly having a sense of urgency to draw more, or... wondering if I should work on finishing my character biography pages. I think my art is refined enough for it, but I'll always be improving, regardless of how much time passes. Rendering is what I'm the most undecided about, but I suppose it's also something you develop and learn over time. Maybe it's better to just do it, and then come back and revisit it later if I think it's necessary. It doesn't need to be perfect, but just enough...
18 / 10 / 2024
I've been playing Metaphor: ReFantazio, and it's been enjoyable. Considering it was developed alongside Persona 5, and a few other games, I'd expect it to have some more quality of life features, and fluidity, but it's oddly stiff sometimes. The combat is still enjoyable, and both the story and gameplay are definitely more SMT-oriented. I found Persona 5 to be easy on the normal difficulty, so it's nice to feel challenged. I'm only about 20 hours into the game, so there's much more to see before I form any stronger opinions. I enjoy it so far, though.
On another note, I've had a Bluesky account for a little while [with the same handle as this site], and while I prefer other alternative sites, it's better than staying on existing ones. I've never been someone who posts on social media, so I don't update any accounts I do have. I would like to post eventually, though...
08 / 10 / 2024
Existential, fatigued mood since returning from my trip last week. It's a difficult hurdle to get myself over, but I think I'll be fine. Eventually.
17 / 09 / 2024
I've been wanting to draw, but since I'm preparing for an upcoming trip overseas, I have a vague sense of fatigue... it'll be fun, though. My motivation itself hasn't waned. It's inconvenient that I won't be able to draw on my tablet while I'm away, but I still have pen and paper.
06 / 09 / 2024
Finished, but unsure what to do next...
05 / 09 / 2024
My Miku art is almost done, but I have to render, which might take a while. I think the lineart by itself is still good.
26 / 08 / 2024
Planning a Miku art for the end of August. I probably won't finish it before September arrives. I learned to relax my hand again, so drawing feels more fluid now. I drew a Miku quickly, without thinking about the lineart too much.
20 / 08 / 2024
It's been exactly a year since I drew them for the first time, and it was a complete coincidence I decided to redraw them today... they're very pretty, so I want to draw them more. Unfortunately, my 'main' characters take priority.
16 / 08 / 2024
Retrospring is shutting down next year, which is a shame... I liked the features it had. Existing alternative sites don't really have the same level of customisation either, which is always frustrating. Even though retrospring only allowed colour picking, it was still already more than most sites allow. The over-simplified, bland corporate UI design of modern social media sites all look the same, and you only ever get an icon and a banner. I don't know what site I'll switch to yet...
15 / 08 / 2024
I didn't forget about the heat haze. I have plenty of ideas for fanart, but since I decided to focus on my OC art, it'll have to wait, since I'm studying still. In regards to art, it's difficult. in the sense that some things are better to practice in repetition, and others are better to spend a long time focusing on. However, if I spend too long on one piece, my other skills will slowly degrade. Finding the balance between different areas, speeds, and forms of practice is hard to wrap my head around.
However, even if I don't draw, I feel comforted knowing that my overall level of experience is solidified, to a certain degree. There's plenty of things I can forget, though— did I apply all the overlays I usually use? Did I blend my colours? Did I adjust the opacity of specific lines correctly? There's a lot of things to remember. I hope it all comes naturally, eventually. But for now, I have templates with examples, so I don't forget my own style.
I'm redrawing an album cover for practice right now, but afterwards, I want to work on the alice-themed art I sketched out weeks ago. If I don't have other ideas for redraws, which I think would help me improve more.
I want to draw expressive faces, and body language. I can imagine it clearly, but putting it on the page isn't easy. I think doing sketches with quick, thick brush strokes helps to form the naturality, of fluidity of my imagination more... meanwhile, for faces... it's back to studying. and looking at the structure of the face...
11 / 08 / 2024
Rendering practice, still... it's not as difficult as it seems.
03 / 08 / 2024
It was bunny day, and I wanted to draw Theo in a bunny outfit with tights, but then I thought an alice themed art would be cute.
01 / 08 / 2024
Summer delusions of height. I'm drawing at random, and strange things happen. And... I'm posting too much on my blog, and nothing in my art logs. Oh well.
31 / 07 / 2024
I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm doing something. It's happening. Maybe a bit precariously...
29 / 07 / 2024
Still practising, and spacing out, as every July seems to go. I'm wondering if being something other than human offers some kind-of relief, in a way I can't describe. [I'm thinking of the old mascot idea I had]
16 / 07 / 2024
I always tend to like my art with no colours and shading... I think I should focus on flat colours more, but I always want to add more detail. And... I tried recording a timelapse for the first time, since CSP has that feature.
08 / 07 / 2024
Studying muscles and bones is interesting, and I'm definitely trying to apply it more as I draw... I keep sketching up a lot of ideas without finishing them. I guess that's not uncommon. Drawing on a higher resolution canvas is also nice.
29 / 06 / 2024
I keep practising, but I'm not entirely satisfied. I need to learn to paint better.
21 / 06 / 2024
Still drawing, but finally bought Elden Ring. I never finished Dark Souls 1, so it'll be interesting. I also visited the Lain exhibit in VRC, though they're still adding more displays to it. It's nice that Yoshitoshi Abe drew a new illustration just for the exhibit.
16 / 06 / 2024
Never satisfied, still practising... aah. I'll be better at art. I will...
14 / 06 / 2024
I thought I was done, but I keep making too many small adjustments that probably don't matter. I want to work on character summaries.
05 / 06 / 2024
I want to practice rendering more. I guess most artists develop their line and rendering skills properly, but I feel like I've done plain line drawings for so long that I never put enough time into rendering anything. Studying other people's colours and how they render helps a little.
03 / 06 / 2024
After writing something out and looking at it the next day, I think it's stupid now... I want to forget about it and go back to drawing. Ahh. I did turn the site profile on, and unlike my old site, I added some tags. I don't have a need or want to be seen, or found even, but I also don't want to indirectly turn my site and art into some hidden, off the map place. But my anxiety also keeps me from putting myself out in the open...
02 / 06 / 2024
I'm currently writing, or trying to write, some thoughts on where I am, in regards to my art, and myself... this new site is already a year old, and I feel that there's been a lot of realisation in the last year and a half. I'll probably post it on the front page of the site, since I never do anything ambitious enough to update the site log. In the future, when I post more actively, I may update it more. It would probably be a good idea to put a generic "last updated" summary on the front page for my art logs, and my blog.
01 / 06 / 2024
It's June. I drew M as a RDM and Eigen as a DRK. I want to draw more, but despite getting over my sickness recently, I started feeling nauseous. It doesn't seem to end.
25 / 05 / 2024
I've been thinking of what job my OCs would have in FFXIV. Theo would probably be a WHM, M would be a BLM, and Eigen would be... maybe DRK. But I also want them to be a mount...
Finally set-up my new tablet. Drawing on it feels nice. Of course, the first thing I draw is Miku.
22 / 05 / 2024
After getting sick (again), I somehow time traveled through half of May. My new PC has been working well, and I bought a higher resolution tablet which is arriving soon... I guess I've upgraded my entire set-up now. Once I feel a bit better, I should be back to drawing finally. Not being able to draw causes some strange dissonance in my brain, and I become a little depressed. Thinking of everything I want to draw eases the depression from not drawing, but then knowing I can't work on it repeats the cycle. My OCs, and my undrawn OCs are sleeping in my head, unanimated and cold... I want to pick them up to give them life again.
08 / 05 / 2024
I got sick again. I've resigned myself to the health issues at this point. My new PC is finally built though— but... my drawing software and other related things are on my external drive, which I haven't connected to the motherboard yet. I've also been installing FFXIV, which may be a mistake. I can't do anything else right now anyways... I should be able to draw again soon once I replace some parts and cables in my PC.
30 / 04 / 2024
After two and a half years, my laptop finally seems to be having issues... for everything I've put it through daily, it held up quite well. It's having cooling issues, maybe related to the motherboard somehow, so I'll probably send it in for repairs soon. Thankfully, I'm about to build a new PC tomorrow, so even if it suddenly dies, I'll be able to continue working. It'll have much more performance than my laptop as well. My wallet is hurting, but it's a necessary purchase for the future.
Oh, and I'm still practising, but I'm trying to draw somewhat quicker by focusing on form and basic shapes instead of overthinking. That and shading...
16 / 04 / 2024
I don't know what I'm doing. Aaaaahhhhhhh...
12 / 04 / 2024
I'm still studying and practising when I can, though I don't have anything interesting to show for it. Besides the obligatory 'I'm studying' update, I started playing Honkai: Star Rail again recently... I've almost finished the story up to the most recent update. It's surprisingly F2P, but after a certain point, you're held back quite a bit by energy recharges or material collecting. It's not exactly a game I want to get overly invested in, since I think there's other media that are more worth my time, but my experience hasn't been bad so far. After I complete the latest update, I'll try to get back into reading a bit more, probably academic books...
02 / 04 / 2024
It's April already. I'm trying out a new brush set that feels quite nice to work with.
31 / 03 / 2024
Studying bones and muscles and other things again, I suppose...
28 / 03 / 2024
I've been working on full body art for my characters, so I can make them some sort-of character page. I have the lineart done, but I need to add colours and what not. I also drew rough lineart for younger versions of them as well, or alternative versions, but those will have to wait. I sketched out a design idea for M's friend, too. For now, they are 'P'. Or maybe 'K'. I haven't decided yet...
On another note, my new VR headset finally shipped after 4 months... I'm looking forward to using it.~
27 / 03 / 2024
I finally finished the art I started late last week. Something about cracking the world's shell... I'm sketching again, while also translating imported books... again.
25 / 03 / 2024
This morning, I read another one of Shuuzo Oshimi's manga. It finished last year, but I hadn't got around to reading it until now. As usual, I like the way they face such topics straight-on. People will always feel revolted, confused or put off by their manga because of the topics they touch on, but it's well done, I think. Humans aren't perfect— perfection is, in itself, unreal, or fake. But people still subconsiously expect perfection from others, and themselves. Yet everyone has their own experience with their own personal 'disgustingness', so when they read manga like Inio Asano's or Oshimi Shuuzo's, they see those aspects of being human that they hate about themselves, and push it away.
In this case, I read 'Okaeri Alice', which is a reflection of Oshimi's own experiences and feelings regarding their gender and sexuality; two very mystified, and shamed, topics. It makes people reject their manga even more, and even plenty of trans or nonbinary people dislike it. But discovering your sexuality and gender identity has been romanticised as well. There's a commonality between people's experiences, but it's different for everyone, and it's often ugly, and disgusting, and doesn't make sense. It can have dysphoria, or euphoria, or maybe nothing at all. I would rather read a story with characters who have shame, and confusing, disgusting, realistic feelings and thoughts than one with idealised, clean transitions. Whether it's transitioning genders, or sexes, or from youth into adulthood.
Aside from my micro-essay, I am still practising drawing more, despite my lack of posting drawings... my art has improved, but I'm still working out rough edges, I guess.
22 / 03 / 2024
Glasses.
18 / 03 / 2024
I didn't realise how much my pen being chipped near the nib had affected the pen pressure... I'm switching to a new, thinner pen which should help. I wonder if the thickness of the default pen contributed to the awkwardness of my transition from traditional to digital...? Maybe. Nonetheless, I'm quite motivated to draw lately, so I'm sure it'll help my overall productivity.
I started playing Unicorn Overlord a little. Vanillaware has great games, and 13 Sentinels was nice, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this game plays out.
13 / 03 / 2024
Finished Persona 3 Reload. Despite my issues with how they changed the story presentation, it was still nice.
05 / 03 / 2024
I did not forget. I don't know when I'll actually finish it, but sometime this month.
02 / 03 / 2024
I am cooking. For now, before I'm done drawing, a VRC meme video... I suppose...
27 / 02 / 2024
Feburary is almost over already, but looking at my older work and seeing the progress I've made makes me quite happy, and even energised... I'm glad I've been able to improve so much, not even a year later, without doing too much studying.
26 / 02 / 2024
I think I've got some kind of rendering style now that I like, though I'm simultaneously trying to improve my art more while I practice rendering. While drawing, I've been watching a friend play 'Lies of P'... it's a good not-Bloodborne, souls-like/inspired game. I was looking forward to playing it years ago, but then forgot about it, somehow. I'll continue to neglect my social obligations to draw for 6+ hours everyday.
This is the "I want to practice colouring but don't know what pose to use" pose, I... suppose.
23 / 02 / 2024
I'm unsure if I like it or not, but I'll keep messing around until I definitely make something I like.
20 / 02 / 2024
I've been trying to practice rendering, but I'm so used to doing flats, it feels strange, no matter how I colour it. Maybe I need to lower the dedicated braincell percentage even more. More practice... ah...
For imminent rendering and lineart practice, I drew Rei.
13 / 02 / 2024
Phone doodle that simply shows the damage my perfectionism does to my drawing time. Turning brain off is ideal for getting things done, it seems...
12 / 02 / 2024
I've drawn a handful of things, but none of it has passed my brains quality control, so I suppose it'll sit on my PC and slowly dissolve from eventual data rot. I want to keep practicing until I can say with certainty that I like [almost] everything I draw.
I reread the entirety of Vampire Knight in a week, and it feels like there aren't any edgy shoujo that take themselves seriously now. It has a general atmosphere that gives me similar feelings to mid-late 2000's FF7 media. Yet, not as over the top. Maybe I'll end up making something similar in nature...?
I've been addicted to playing Monster Hunter: World, along with P3RE... I've never played Monster Hunter myself before, so it's been fun. It feels like a less punishing Dark Souls with MMO elements. P3RE has gone well, though I've had plenty of criticisms about changes to art and story direction. The new BGM tracks sound nice, but after modding in the original BGM, it changed the feeling of the game a lot. Like the art and colours, the new tracks sounded a bit watered down, in a way. Several of the maps like the dorm and beach also look like over-saturated, unshadowed Unity scenes... I'm hoping in the future somebody can mod the game to fix that. If I ever wanted to replay P3 again, I'd probably go with a modded version of the original— while the remake is nice, it feels like it's missing a lot of charm from the original.
04 / 02 / 2024
Missing from reality while playing P3RE.
Practice doodles.
31 / 01 / 2024
I like half of what I draw, and I hate the other half, but I'll keep drawing until I like all of it. I want to colour well, so I won't end up making everything monochrome when I'm inevitably dissatisfied with my colours...
[Coloured version of art]
22 / 01 / 2024
In preparation for the release of P3RE, I've been replaying P3FES, and I can't imagine playing without QoL mods now... I played it years ago without any mods and got pretty far, but ended up having to watch a walkthrough for the rest of the game. For the new release, it'll be interesting to apply my knowledge from the old game, though I don't think time dependent aspects will carry over 1 to 1. I also drafted up some art for P3 I'd like to get finished before March, at least, but I'll still be focusing on practicing and drawing pages when I can.
18 / 01 / 2024
I've been practicing painting a bit, messing around with colours and texture... studying art, thinking about things...
08 / 01 / 2024
Working on comic as much as possible. I'm fighting my perfectionism...
02 / 01 / 2024
It's a new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new, new year. I want to lie in bed for 9 hours without doing anything at all. Aaahhhh.
Blog for Words and What Not
31 / 12 / 2023
Working on a new years art when I have the energy for it... I've had a extended period of health problems that popped up suddenly, but thankfully I've still been able to function. I have a lot of motivation for the upcoming year, so I'll do my best!
21 / 12 / 2023
I've been trying to draw, but more health issues get in the way. While I'm rolling around on the floor, I'm rewatching Harry Potter movies and Ghibli films.
16 / 12 / 2023
Vaughen has been part of the story I'm playing out in my head all the time, but I only sketched out my mental image of them last night, very poorly, on my phone... I'll incorporate them into the story at some point, though they're more of a supporting character. I'm still figuring out their color scheme...
14 / 12 / 2023
Over the past few months, I've finished some comic page drafts, but since my art has already evolved, even if only a little bit, I'm already redrawing some work I've done. There's certainly nothing wrong or strange with seeing an art style evolve or improve over the course of a comic, but I want some consistency to start with, at least.
08 / 12 / 2023
I've been experimenting a bit with how I draw facial features and shapes. Well, I'm trying to practice applying some things to my art in general, lately... half of it is studying other people's art, and the other half is seeing what aspects I like that I can incorporate into my own art style...
Nose study I did in a little while. Like the eyes, it's a very defining feature, so changing it makes a big difference.
04 / 12 / 2023
It's my birthday once again. I've been focusing more on drawing and working on projects less than posting about them, or thinking about posting them, which certainly helps with being productive, I think. I hope I'll be able to keep doing the things I'd like next year as well!
29 / 11 / 2023
Messing around with Blender to make mock-ups for art... maybe.
26 / 11 / 2023
I experimented with cutting a wig to cosplay my OCs over the weekend, and it was interesting. Cosplay takes a lot of skill and effort... styling hair, making clothes, and constructing props are already their own form of art, by themselves. Though my characters all have relatively simple designs, thankfully, so I can just use my own wardrobe.
22 / 11 / 2023
I sometimes wonder if I should try changing my artstyle, but I suppose whatever it ends up looking like, now or in the future, is fine...
Something I kept repeating in my head in the middle of the night.
21 / 11 / 2023
Tasting a new flavour of existentialism recently which is certainly interesting... still trying to draw despite that...
17 / 11 / 2023
I watched most of the Scott Pilgrim anime today... whatever they decided to do with the plot is good... instead of cramming the entire comic into 8 episodes. Science Saru did a great job animating it, and it has plenty of little nods to the game and movie as well.
15 / 11 / 2023
Since I've only ever used Blender for 3D modeling, I never considered using it as an art tool... it's an extremely versatile program, so posing models in it and applying dynamic lighting and camera angles would certainly be possible... I could potentially create mock-ups for locations in my story as well, but that might be a bit too much effort. I've been updating Theo's model a little bit everyday, and ever since I added a sweater, I can't stop thinking about Monster... the glasses don't have any transparency added to them yet, so it looks like anime smart glasses.
13 / 11 / 2023
For practice, and also since I felt like it, I've been drawing NSFW or risque art lately... I've drawn some in the past, but I always feel strangely embarassed about it, so I never upload it anywhere. It's less embarassment for the art itself, since I have no qualms about drawing it at all, and more that I have a sense of 'feeling' for my characters when they can't feel anything themselves. I'll probably upload it at some point, somehow, anyways, though I don't know how I'll go about it. Maybe I'll post it on my blog with a protected URL? I'll think about it.
09 / 11 / 2023
I've been working on my comic everyday, or as much as I can lately. Since the legs that come with the Cintiq 16 are pretty useless, I bought myself a nice tablet stand to draw at a 75° angle. I don't need to bend my head anymore, but holding my hand up might be worse...? Either way, it's made drawing feel a bit easier. But I'm making the mistake of working on my warm-up sketches until they're not sketches anymore... again...
02 / 11 / 2023
Paranormasight has been great so far. It gives off the feeling of an old ADV game, which makes sense considering the director/writer's previous works. The story is intriguing, and feels involving. The mechanics serve the story well, and everything down to the camera movement plays into the overall atmosphere and feeling of the game. While the game has some 'jumpscares', I'd say it doesn't rely on them to seem scary, or classify as horror. The feeling of the environments, the set-up of scenes and occasional added music— when it's needed— creates a tense, anxious aura that sort-of sucks you in. The game is clever, and while it nudges you towards certain solutions, it never gives you an outright answer, expecting you to think situations and puzzles out yourself. While there doesn't seem to be any penalty for messing up or dying [so far], you feel a sense of urgency to get things right. It reminds me of Zero Escape a little, with the way it handles information. Overall, so far, it's definitely a good game.
I've been trying to work on comic drafts again today, but my brain feels vaguely heavy and distant, so I probably won't be able to finalize anything again today. Over the past few weeks, I've also been building a playlist themed around my OCs dynamics and feelings... I'll probably add songs to it slowly, over time. [This is the image I used for the playlist]
01 / 11 / 2023
I ended up turning my practice sketch into a proper picture, again. I was going to upload it last night, but fell asleep. I recently read the entirety of Monster in the span of a few days, it was quite good. But I couldn't stop thinking about this one image I saw...
I haven't drawn that many grinning faces before, so I spent awhile trying to get it to look right. There's definitely a lot of details I need to keep in mind while drawing...
I heard good things about it, so I decided to play Paranormasight...
31 / 10 / 2023
It's Halloween, but I only have a few Halloween ideas in my head right now. I've been working on comic drafts again— once I start drawing, the panels and art sort-of just lay themselves out in my head naturally... it's fun. I'm also trying to practice a bit more...
29 / 10 / 2023
Sky Halloween pictures...
28 / 10 / 2023
I've been wanting to make a small animation, but I've forgotten to draw again, and my brain won't cooperate, so I'll have to kick it until it functions properly.
27 / 10 / 2023
I hope I'm done dealing with health issues so I can draw properly. Today, I bought RGB lights. I may be 'cringe', but I am free...
24 / 10 / 2023
After recovering from being sick, I can finally draw, but I need to get into the routine of drawing again... again. I'm looking into importing a screen protector and some pen nibs from Japan to see how they feel. I don't need a 'paper-like' feel to draw, but I have to wonder if it'd improve the experience somehow. For now, more artstyle experimentation, I guess.
Some unfinished drawings, and a practice Theo doodle... [The same angle I have drawn 50 times by now.]
I have been listening to a lot of MCR again, lately.
22 / 10 / 2023
I haven't really been sick for about 8 years, so when I seemingly caught a cold or something recently, I was surprised. I've had a lot of drive to draw and write lately, but being sick has ruined all my weekend plans. Sigh... I'll try to work on it more next week I suppose...
21 / 10 / 2023
I've been thinking about how I draw eyes, lately. I was experimenting with drawing them a bit differently on paper, but I'll have to see which way I like the best.
19 / 10 / 2023
I finished Pikmin 4 finally... not sure if I'll finish the endgame. I probably would've gotten 100%, but I forgot to kill the butterflies. Or, something else small.
I was bored, so I made a little video...
17 / 10 / 2023
Mental illness is certainly troublesome... even though I feel pretty good lately, it seems to continue hitting a big 'SHUTDOWN' button in my brain, despite everything being fine, actually. On-top of that, I have some extra health issues occasionally, which might actually be a weird side-effect of the mental illness somehow, but I wouldn't know. Regardless... I will attempt to work on more pages, even if slowly...
16 / 10 / 2023
I've been using CSPv1.5 to draw for a while. I updated it a few times, but never really thought about new features. It's not necessarily an image editing program, but a lot of basic features like hue/saturation change are a bit out of the way, or require some extra steps to get working properly [I wasn't even aware there was hue change until a month or so ago]. Since a lot of artists don't have much time to draw, I understand the need for shortcuts or efficiency, but I still like colouring by hand, among other things. Having layers and being able to transform lineart is incredibly useful, but part of me also wonders if it's taken away some skill I had when I drew traditional...? Either way, I'm trying to not think too much while drawing, again.
Added the first page. I'll try to work on it at a somewhat reasonable pace...
14 / 10 / 2023
It took me over 60 hours, again, but I finished the updated 3D model... I'll probably need to update Theo's in the future to match more. I hope I have energy to draw next week...
09 / 10 / 2023
I've been 3D modeling again lately. Whether I'm drawing or doing some other creative hobby, I always end up hyperfocusing on it for 6 to 10 hours... I got into the habit of dividing up my day more, but then I fell into this hole of 'Do one thing all day' again...
02 / 10 / 2023
I was messing around with some OC charts or templates over the weekend. I have all the lore for my characters stored in my head, but I haven't made pages for them yet, so it's been collecting dust. I've wanted to do one of those charts for awhile, but it feels strangely out-of-character to put them on a chart. Oh well...
28 / 09 / 2023
I've been rewatching Sonny Boy lately, and I'm definitely absorbing the plot better this time, versus when it was airing. Sketching out scenes to animate is also speeding up my drawing, somewhat... I feel like I take too long to finish a drawing sometimes, so I'd like to speed up my process if possible. Clip Studio isn't too great when it comes to effect generation, so I'm hoping I'll be able to figure out some dynamic lighting in another program. I enjoy drawing lighting and shadows by hand, but it'd take a while for multiple frames...
25 / 09 / 2023
Trying to decide on colour schemes...
24 / 09 / 2023
I wish it could stay fall forever. I would use the cold weather as an excuse for not getting out of bed, but I can always turn my heater on, so it's no good...
I made 3D models of my OCs for VRChat, but I never considered using them for reference until now. I guess being able to draw things without a reference is a good skill to have, though. I think...
20 / 09 / 2023
Playing Pikmin 4 everyday lately. So far it feels easier than most Pikmin games, but there's definitely a increase in difficulty as you progress newer areas. The gameplay feels very smooth and is definitely my favourite 'feeling' game out of the 4... some areas I feel like I'll need to come back to later when I have more Pikmin and upgrades, but the nonlinear progression in the game makes it more interesting! I don't mind a few sacrifices, but I love my multi-coloured carrot children so much that I don't want to see them get eaten...
I also dabbled in music creation using soundfonts lately... now that I understand the program, making music isn't difficult at all, so I'll have to reconsider composing for my own projects...
15 / 09 / 2023
Really surprised when they announced a remake of Another Code... it was always a really niche game, so I never expected it to get a remake. The DS's functionality was vital to a lot of the puzzles in that game, which made it feel special, and the Switch lacks that functionality, so they'll probably end up doing something similar to the Nonary Games version of 999 where they changed the last puzzle entirely...
11 / 09 / 2023
Messing around with compositing related things in AE... I haven't used it before, so I'm attempting to learn as I go. Instead of doing a handful of doodles for practice, I keep turning one doodle into an entire overblown piece of art.... aaah...
07 / 09 / 2023
Animation is fun, but time consuming...
04 / 09 / 2023
Doodle while I try to remember how to draw for the nth time. Thinking of how to make the suit a bit more unique while retaining the form...
Komaeda because I didn't know what else to draw for practice. Their hair is difficult to draw...
31 / 08 / 2023
Obligatory Miku for the fading summertime...
Life may be fleeting, but Miku and VOCALOID songs are forever... I didn't actually expect to draw a Miku today, but it just happened, I guess.
28 / 08 / 2023
I should be able to start drawing again now... things have been hectic lately, and it's troublesome when I have the willpower to draw, but no time.
21 / 08 / 2023
Despite various IRL circumstances, I've still managed to advance to Super Danganronpa 2... the PS Vita has a plethora of underrated games... it'd be nice if we could have Gravity Rush on PC.
14 / 08 / 2023
Maybe I'll become one of those artists who hyperfixates on their own OCs...? I think it's good motivation to draw more...
Characters always look a lot different when you remove their glasses...
Some tomato sauce, as a treat... [doodleish]
13 / 08 / 2023
I've been replaying Danganronpa over the weekend... the music is great as always. It's nice being able to play games on a PC when they were hard to access before, and weren't easily emulatable...
10 / 08 / 2023
Test animation. I think it turned out well... I'd like to animate ina 4:3 area, and switch to 16:9 for certain shots, maybe... or for other artistic purposes...
Wish current anime would have faded colours and low contrast again like early 2000's anime... I miss grunge. I also miss varied line thickness in anime... it seems like all anime have thin lineart now, even if it's an adaptation where the source material's art has thick lines...
08 / 08 / 2023
I'm thinking that an animatic-like style may be a good idea. I can pace the story to my liking and add detail with movement and sound without spending hours animating multiple frames for every shot... kind-of like a cutscene movie. I'll likely get started on it after doing some drafts and practice.
頑張ります。
Tried drawing in a higher resolution with a new pen... aaaah.
07 / 08 / 2023
I still can't decide what kind-of project I want to work on... I thought a game would be fine, but maybe I really should create something more mixed. There's various ways to tell a story, and just one may not be enough. I'll have to think over it a bit more...
03 / 08 / 2023
It's August, so some obligatory Mikus need to be drawn... ever since I discovered vector layers, I haven't stopped using them just for the convenience of being able to change the colour of lineart so easily. Though I'm still colouring everything by hand, which can be tedious...
Ah, I'll just draw a little Miku doodle.... I thought, and then I drew an entire Miku....
31 / 07 / 2023
Messing around in Renpy a bit... it should be well suited for making a point-and-click visual novel. Maybe it's strange to say, but I wish I didn't have to meet my biological needs sometimes... I never really know what to eat, so I end up eating the same food all week, and sleeping feels like a chore sometimes. It'd be nice if I could just draw and write uninterrupted... even though those things don't take much time at all, my brain drags them out and procrastinates on them, despite being such menial tasks. Neurodivergency really is troublesome...
24 / 07 / 2023
My brain is bluescreening again when it comes to thinking about what I want to draw... maybe July is a cursed month for art...? I've been playing a lot of Sky lately [again!]. I didn't know they were already rerunning the concerts, so it was nice to rewatch it again this morning, despite the connection issues...
I drew my Sky kid...!
17 / 07 / 2023
Feeling like I've unconsciously been incorporating Avila's facial features into Theo's face... I guess my muscle memory is just used to drawing them. There are a lot of traditional sketches I haven't posted, though they're all messy and unfinished... I'll likely just take the concept and redraw it digitally when I'm bored, or something...
I had a realization...
13 / 07 / 2023
Recently, I started to imagine my OCs while listening to music again... it makes me want to animate more, but that takes a lot of my energy....
I love Eigen's design, but it's hard to draw... I'll probably get better at it in the future... maybe. I've been listening to siinamota's music a lot, as per usual during this time of year... I want to draw something inspired by it. Or, something for it...?
11 / 07 / 2023
Doodles from a week or more ago I forgot to finish/post...
10 / 07 / 2023
The middle of July is always strange... every year, I'm overcome with a strange burn out, but it doesn't feel like the normal kind-of burnout I get occasionally. I want to do various things, and I'm in a good mood, but my brain just doesn't seem interested or satisfied in anything at all. It's a fickle lump of electric meat, I guess... I hope it'll cooperate with me soon.
13 / 06 / 2023
I never thought I would, but I've been playing DARK SOULS the past few weeks... it's frustrating at the start, but it's enjoyable once you get past that first hurdle. In essence, it's a game of patience and observation... sort-of methodical. I hope one day, Bloodborne will be playable on PC.
Still writing a lot every day... a few big anime conventions are coming up soon, and I'm still debating with myself whether I should go or not...
08 / 06 / 2023
It feels strange to be in 2023, but then having a Persona 3 remake is even stranger... I know it was due to the age of the game, but I hope they make the colours a bit more dull or faded. It adds to the feel of it, I think... it shouldn't be saturated and bright like Persona 5.
I'm looking forward to Pikmin 4... I've never played a Pikmin game before, but I've seen the gameplay of the previous ones. I want to try playing it for myself! The 'We Love Katamari' remaster also looks nice. Ghost Trick, too. It makes me happy that these more nicher [or unheard of] games will finally get the attention they deserve!
06 / 06 / 2023
Made a mock-up menu... mock-ups are always fun as a 'what-if', but when you actually have to implement it, it can be annoying...
Was trying to draw another full-page illustration of my other main character, but my brain wouldn't work properly, so here's a doodle of them I guess. I need to learn to draw them digitally...
05 / 06 / 2023
I've been writing a lot over the last 4 daysー I had forgotten how much I enjoyed writing in general! Brainstorming has also been filling up my time... I'm thinking of making my game point-and-click now. The aesthetic of old point-and-click games was always interesting to me... I used to play a lot of them. A bunch of my favourites are point and click, too. Like 999, or Hotel Dusk. I'd like to combine VN elements with that sort-of style... thankfully, RPGMaker MV supports mouse input, and there's nice plugins for it, too.
I was also playing around with composing music, though it's likely that I'll just borrow music instead... there's a lot of songs I'd like to use, but copyright is something I have to consider... not that I'll ever commercially sell my gameー I'd want it to always be free.
I'm also wondering if I should release my story in separate parts... I'll try to host it on my site if possible. Telling different perspectives or lore through different mediums is also something I still want to do....
Made a mock-up UI since I was bored... will probably change things here and there, then implement it into RPGMaker MV...
28 / 05 / 2023
Uploaded an image to LOG1. Hopefully I'll be drawing more from here on out.
I;ll probably make a section for fanart eventually, when I actually draw fanart again...
I've been watching my friend play TOTK for about 8 hours everyday while I do other things on the side... it's a really fun game with interesting mechanics. Unlike Elden Ring last year, it feels like the map will actually never end. I like Link's design as well— Link with long hair and Zelda with short hair is nice. Though after doodling some 2010ish design[?] Links a few days ago, I can't help but like the short hair with long side bangs. The long ears also add to the design... it frames the face well!
26 / 05 / 2023
Finally uploaded the new site. I've been working on it on and off for about a month, and I've been drawing a lot on paper again. I'm writing concepts and bits of story down as well... I'll have to decide if I want to make a comic or a game again, though. I'm sure I'll figure it out with time!
I guess I didn't really think about it, but I won't be posting anything on my old site anymore. That should be obvious, right? But... it's unreal in a strange, distant way... huh. Anyway, I've become a Neocities supporter, so I'd like to look into the new features I have access to later.
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