Year of the Dragon

Yeah, that "more or less where I'm still at" bit I pulled the other day in that art progress post felt like a cop out to me too. So here's a sketch of Nephyrem for 2012 I did. Enjoy.

Lookin' smug.

Feels Super, Man

I'm a big fan of the big blue boy scout, though perhaps not as much or in quite the same way as that last post may have implied. So, I'm glad I set that record (very) straight.

But in any case, Superman's a big inspiration of mine, as incredibly trite and cliche as that may sound. I'd like to pretend I've liked him since I was a boy, but that just isn't so. I never cared for him as a child (I much preferred Batman), and as a teen, I honestly hated him (I still much preferred Batman). He seemed a cliche, representing and fighting for dated concepts, completely over powered and something of a Mary Sue. But then I grew up a little, stopped being so bitter, and actually read some of his comics. Namely Birthright, All Star, Red Son, For the Man Who Has Everything, and so on. I found it to be incredibly powerful stuff.

Here was this larger than life figure, who had the power of a demi-god (or a full-blown god, depending on the writers), and all he wanted to do was to help, more than anything. And he didn't always succeed, but he never let that stop him. And he didn't always know what to do, but he didn't let that stop him either. And he also never asked for anything in return. Hell, on occasion, he'd earn the ire, or even the hatred of the people he saved, but he'd keep at it nonetheless. And this figure has endured 70+ years of popularity, burned into the public consciousness, and all for a very good reason. While alien, he embodies the best elements of humanity, but is not without our struggles and pitfalls.

And how could that not be inspiring? There's so much more, but it's difficult to properly convey. But it was inspiring, and frankly, it made me want to help, too. It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but a big part of why I'm planning to go into the career I want to go into is because of Superman, because I want to lend a hand every day as he does.

Were I at Comic Con

You know those comic fans who take things way too seriously, and get incredibly analytical? And you know the ones who ask really bizarre and embarrassing questions about pointless things in these fantasy worlds? In public, at a convention? I want to be one of those.
I want to approach the DC Comics panel at a convention, and ask just such an uncomfortable question, but in a very long winded way, the punch of which comes at the very end.


"So, unless it was a common, traditional practice on the planet Krypton(which I'd personally find highly unlikely, given the overall pointlessness of the procedure even by modern Earth standards, and the advanced scientific understanding of Krypton), or the Kents happened to do the deed just before Earth's yellow sun altered his physiology to the point that the procedure would be impossible, it's fair to assume that Superman is uncircumcised, right? Like, in all likelihood?"


Or something like that. 

The March of Progress

Hey, that wasn't an intentional omission. While I would say that I am more skilled in some dimensions, I fall horribly short to your own skills in many other areas.

But anyway! Today I'm going to show a little of my artistic progression, all via pictures of that lovable rascal, Nephyrem.

This particular image is from around... 2008, I think. It's hard to remember, and the image data isn't accurate since I moved computers. Anyway, the poor perspective and pretty boy look were pretty dominating factors at this time.

This one is from 2009, I believe, and shows my attempt to add a few more realistic elements to my art style, but it still hasn't escaped the pretty boy zone completely.

This image, from 2010, shows a return to a more stylistic, simple and clean (is the way that you're making me feel, tonight) style, but kind of a regression in many other ways.

This particular portrait appeared in 2011, and shows a newfound interest in the semi-realistic style, and does a lot to reconcile past issues. While not perfect by any means, it's more or less where I'm still at.

I hope you've enjoyed this walk down my memory lane.

Sailing the Five Seas

As tempted as I am to continue the little referential cycle I've got going with that pretty cool fellow on that other blog (and as flattered as I am by his comments and drawing of a Mission Spider, and as much as I've always found his creativity inspiring [in a totally manly kind of way]), I think it's best not to over do the meta-blogging too much.

Today's post will be a little project of mine that I've been idly working on for awhile now, and a very nerdy one at that. It's a conversion of the setting of the Elder Scrolls series of role playing games for use with Chaosium's Basic Role Playing system, or BRP.
It's not very fleshed out as of yet, but it's enough for my own purposes. Here it is.
My own purposes are, GMing the thing for my friends on occasion, a very nautical globetrotting sort of game. I scribbled up their characters in MS Paint not too long ago.

Click for the full, and legible view, please.

Across Lines and Barriers

As the subject implies, this is one of those posts. My pal Eric P referenced me the other day, and I feel I ought to do the same. While I don't necessarily agree with my amigo EP's view on friendship (I think some people have friends regardless of whether or not they feel cooler than them sometimes), I do agree in some ways, as I think my tomodachi Extended Play is a pretty cool guy.
But anyway, the other lines to cross, those of language! In pun form, of course. I was busy playing an untranslated Japanese fighting game today, and each match is called a "mission", and when you fail, the narrator will say "ミッション 失敗 だ/ 'Misshon Shippai da", which means, unsurprisingly, mission failed. However, "shippai da", especially when said dropping the long "i" in "shi" as the narrator does, sounds an awful lot like spider.
Let's just say those damn mission spiders hounded me to no end today, ruining my chances at success.

No, Not the Band

I enjoy living in a dry, sandy place for as many reasons as I dislike it. But, no need to be negative today. It was incredibly, tree-falling/shed-flippingly windy just the other day, and this powerful wind swept all marks upon the sand away. Looking out on the sand, to find only your own set of footprints marring the uniformity of the landscape around you is positively sublime. Calls to forth images of the moon landing, and of man's unique little place in things.

...Or, well, at least it does for me.