OH MAN COMIC CON COMIN' UP SOONLIKE. Been really busy lately with all sorts of things, but at least I got the bulk of errand-running done today! Still need to update my website, print off LG samples and do room-cleaning, but a lot of stuff is done.

Also did our intern group project presentation today...nerve-wracking as all pitches + roasts are, but I think we came out of it with some good feedback. At least dudes liked the boards I did!

And reeeeeeally not looking to battling Carmageddon on Saturday morning. |D But it must be done, and at least my parents promised me a coffee for my troubles.

Now per the usual, just a bunch of stuff to share:

There's two new Lunargyros pages up for your readability!

And here is episode 10 of Kia and I's Let's Play Kingdom Hearts 2!



Some more waking-up drawings...

( Under-covers drawings 114-116 )

Aaaand also did an Okami fanart!

( Sun and Son )

Drawing: Got a small commish I need to do; may do another fanart watercolor this weekend...

Writing: Lotsa game planning, plus tags

So, awhile back I got challenged to write a crossover fic with little bitty!Terra and Chibiterasu. Just them being adorable and bitty together. I had to accept the challenge. @_@ This ended up a bit longer than I expected, but still, I finally finished it! So, here is a crossover of small adorable things that kick ass.

This is unbeta'd, so please forgive any mistakes (or just point them out to me in comments so I can fix them). And enjoy bitties!

( Child of the earth and child of the sun )

Since I had the time, I went ahead and finished off Okamiden! Below is the rest of my commentary for the game:

( Up through to the end )

So, since I've finished, here's my final thoughts:

( Includes SPOILERS for the game! )

And now, I should probably get to beds soon...

...Did I already post a Lunargyros update for Tuesday here? @_@ I can't remember. IT'S THE START OF THE FINAL CHAPTER, SO I HOPE I HAVE. Either way, there'll be a new update tomorrow.

First things first: first day of internship was okay! I ended up having very little to do, because they had just entered a big slowdown and my car got parked in so I couldn't do any runs. |D The most I did was help hang some corkboards, which was kind of an ordeal considering the tools and time we had available. But so far everyone there seemed nice enough. The layout of the studio is rather confusing and will probably take some getting used to. Also, I can't get to intern meetings since they're on days that I work. :/ Hopefully tomorrow will go well and I'll have more to do. I want to try and work on some more concept stuff there; starting to feel it more.

Aaaand here is more Okamiden commentary! I'm coming up pretty close to the end:

( The underwater sage shrine up through entrance to darkness )

Here's a few more waking up drawings:

( Under-covers drawings 52-54 )

Drawing: Sooo much LG, plus some other things

Writing: Challenge fic, and feeling the sudden urge to work on reindeer story more...

I start my internship tomorrow, and I have to admit I'm a nervous boo. I'm sure it'll be fine once I actually get going and get used to it, but just starting right in is always a little nervous-ing. And I don't think I'll be able to attend the weekly meetings either, since they're on nights that I work, which is a little mreh for me. -_- Still want to participate in the group project, though, since that's more good portfolio and resume stuff. I hope I'll get the chance to use some Maya and ZBrush; it's been awhile since I've gone modeling and I wanna do some again...

Here's some more Okamiden playthrough...I think I'm coming up on the end slowly!

( Escaping the demon market through entering the Sage Sanctuary )

And here's some recent waking-up drawings...

( Under-covers drawings 50-51 )

Drawing: LG pages, may do another color pic

Writing: Sporkage!

We have a new doggie around the house! We are going to be dogsitting for another faculty member for a few months. The dog is a black-mouthed cur named Josie, and she was quite happy to greet me at the door when I got home from work after midnight last night. (And then to follow me upstairs and steal one of my stuffed animals.)

It'll be really nice to have a dog around the place again; I think just having a dog here of some kind makes everyone happier. But it'll also be interesting since we were so used to Sunshine, and how she liked to sleep all day because she was old. Josie is much younger and craves more attention. She'll happily jump on beds and into laps no matter what you're doing, and she's only a little smaller than Sunshine was. XD She's also much more of a barker. When we take her for walks she'll have to be on a leash; whereas with Sunshine she had no leash and collar, and would just walk with us when we took her out. I may post a picture of her later. XD

Been playing a ton of Okamiden lately since I have all this free time at work, but haven't been posting commentary as frequently. So, here it is all in one big dump:

( Beating the Witch Queen up through second visit to Demon Market and Kazegami )

Here's some latest waking-up drawings...

( Under-covers drawings 47-49 )

Aaah internship starting in a few days...

Drawing: Lots of LG, some revisions to concept and board stuff

Writing: A challenge fic...

There's actually two new Lunargyros pages up from yesterday, and this marks the end of this chapter! Big ol' things will be happening in the next chapter...

So I went ahead and started Okamiden, and I may have to take a break from the levelgrinding and item-grinding in Dissidia 012 for awhile, because Okamiden is adoooooorable. And yes, had to spout off commentary while I was playing...

( Beginning up through entering the demon market )

And two more waking-up drawings...

( Under-covers drawings 45-46 )

Drawing: LG, little character practice, some more colorings

Writing: Notes mostly...

There's a new Lunargyros page up today; read it here.

Weekend with all sorts of friends and hanging out was pretty awesome. Been working most of the day on boarding since there's another employer preview days coming up, and I wanted new material to show around. So that's been taking up most all of my time.

Today I was cutting a slice of bread for myself for lunch, and I went and sliced up a nail on my left hand. DX ARRRRGH. Totally painful and blood everywhere and so completely not cool. I have it all wrapped up in bandages now, and I'm hoping the nail will heal, because there's a big jagged cut across it and it makes it really difficult to do anything with two hands. :(

Also, since I think I've pretty much come to a stopping point for them (for now), gonna post the Okami board I did! I was going to have it as an animatic with music, but nnnngh I couldn't get the timing satisfactory, so it's just stills. It's also probably the longest and most action-oriented one I've done. XD

( Lotsa images under the cut )

Will post second board tomorrow, likely.

Drawing: Whooooole buncha boards

Writing: Reindeer story

The heater in our house is broken, so we need to buy a new one. In the meanwhile, it is surprisingly cold for California in November, so I am going BRRRRRR over here and trying to wrap myself in blankets. 8< (Yes I know it's not true cold like some friends in Canada or the east coast or the midwest have, but I'm a wimpy Californian so I'm allowed to complain!)

...And I still prefer this to that extreme heat wave in September/October.

Have a few sketchy things from me:

( Another BBS cast style )

( Big Furball )

And finally, there's a new Lunargyros page! You can read it here.

To all my American dudes: HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Relax and eat delicious food! And go shopping on Friday if you want! I am not going to because I don't like shopping already and crazy crowds just make me like it less and I already got most of my shopping done! Exclamation points!

Drawing: LG, 10HAD, lots of various boarding things

Writing: Cards

I have never cared much about Marvel vs Capcom before, but DAYUM, I would sooo play the newest one just for THIS:



And man I want that sweet techno mix of 'The Sun Rises.' 8D

Last night yamikonumber7 and I went out to meet rebmakash at the Santa Monica Pier! I'd actually never been before, despite having lived here for years, oops. We had a ton of fun hanging out...ate at Bubba Gump's, walked all the way to the end of the pier and took photos, spent some time walking around the beach, played skeeball, whack-a-mole, pinball and DDR at the arcade, and just geeked around and had an awesome time. I'm super glad we got to go!


Also
I very suddenly have almost 20 pages written of ideas/plans for a new RP that would be really fun to do

But I don't have the time to play in a game, let alone mod a new one! AAAAH WHYYYYY ARE YOU DOING THIS, SELF
STOP ME *runs off a cliff*

Drawing: Now on to LG

Writing: That MADNESS

Days until BBS release: 40

( Whole lot of cursing about insurance here, watch out )

In barely-slightly-vaguely related news, I think I'm going to try and start swimming every day that I can. The weather's been pretty nice, I've got a good swimsuit that doesn't get nearly enough use, I like to swim, and swimming is supposed to be one of the best exercises you can do. Losing a little weight would be nice, but first and foremost I just need to be more fit. I just need to get off my lazy butt and do it. Maybe tomorrow or Saturday I can start.

Also, I now have almost 15 pages worth of notes for an Okami speed run that I ironically do not have time for. D8 SOMEONE PLEASE STOP MEEEEEEEE

Drawing: LG pages

Writing: Almost done with chapter ten

Days until BBS release: 102

What is this week already aaaaah

So yesterday I went with yamikonumber7 and her former roomie to California Adventure/Disneyland, and it was awesome despite crowds and an overcast day. I got peer-pressured onto the Tower of Terror again, but I managed to survive. The rosemary cornbread at House of Blues will never not be totally delicious. We lol'd a lot at various jokes throughout the day. What was significantly less awesome was the drive home. The 5 screwed us over again, thanks. 8| I got back considerably late and had some upsetting nightmares and slept way too late this morning. I don't remember all of the nightmares, I just remember there being something about a horrible infection, and I was trying to get this injured hawk to fly but it couldn't, so I was scrambling over this sandy cliff in order to catch it before it fell. And my brother was telling me not to touch it because it was infected, but I wasn't listening to him. D: Yuck nightmares.

Before I get into the rest, though, I HAVE A BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR YOU, KIA. And heeeere it is:

( Secret Agent Super Dragon )

AAAAAAND NOW WE DO HAVE A RELEASE DATE FOR BBS:
SEPTEMBER 7th

SQUARE

WHAT

WHY DO YOU HATE US

ALSO SO APPARENTLY THAT BBS ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRAILER THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN REAL IS ACTUALLY TRULY REAL:



SOMEONE CONFIRM FOR ME THAT THAT IS ACTUALLY LEONARD NIMOY, BECAUSE
HOLY CRAP LEONARD NIMOY

EDIT: ALSO MAYBE MARK HAMILL MAY BE DOING A VOICE
WHAT IS THIS MADNESS

Also what are Terra and Aqua's voices this trailer is sorely lacking and the game won't be out UNTIL SEPTEMBER

SQUARE YOU ARE FULL OF HORRIBLENESS why do you do this to us

THIS LONG WAIT BETTER BE BECAUSE YOU REALLY ARE PUTTING THE JUNGLE BOOK IN THE GAME

*breeeeeathes*


I have this unbearably strong urge to try making a Let's Play for Okami, and it's not going away

I also have a sudden urge to write up/draw up a story about the Enchanted Tiki Room birds a la what Disney did with POTC

What is wrong with me why can't I focus on the stuff I should be working on

Drawing: Gift arts, storyboards on Scratch assuming I get to them

Writing: Close to finishing chapter ten

I guess it's time to switch to the countdown counter, huh? IN THAT CASE... Days until BBS release: 112 (THAT IS NOT A SMALL NUMBER. THAT IS A BIG NUMBER. D8)

There's a new Lunargyros page up, you can check it here. ALSO, I went and made a Facebook group for Lunargyros, which you should all join! 'Cause it's shiny, and werewolves are awesome, and also I need help working out this groups thing. 8D But yeah, if you're on Facebook, please join! It's over here, and it's open to all.

Also, for this last mother's day I decided to do some paintings instead of buying something. I ended up painting two labradors, 'cause we all love labs.

( White lab black lab )

Visited gaelic_bohemian at her campus the other day, which was funness, even though my favorite shoes broke. D: (And they don't make those kinds of shoes anymore, sob...) I got to see her shiny new iPad, which is seriously one of the shiniest things ever. If they made that thing work with a tablet pen instead of just your fingers and someone made a drawing-in-Photoshop app available, I would be on that thing so hard.

I ALSO beat Okami again yesterday...this time beat it with all of the stray beads found, so I was awarded the String of Beads at the end of the game. HEEEEEEELLS YEAH I AM SO AWESOME. I swear, some of the quests you have to do to get all of the beads are insane! I also got S-ranks in all of the game categories, so I also unlocked all 9 of the karmic transformers, plus the video and concept art galleries. 8DDD Sooooo much shiny I don't even. This calls for a celebration of some kind. XD

/nerdy nerd mclamepants

Drawing: Buncha LG, might also try some more work for 'Scratch and the Tooth Troll,' if I have time...

Writing: Need to get back into the swing of it

Consecutive Days Gone Spoiler-Free: 72

In other geeky gaming areas, here is a pic of the Okami cookie I made, since I made a Sora cookie last year:



Ammy brings the sun! ~♥

I think it came out a lot better than the Sora cookie, but I'm still not at that the level of finesse and detail that my mom is with these cookies. Looking at it now, I think it would've been smarter to use piping for the outline and then fill it in with a thinner glaze, rather than use piping for the whole thing. (Also, my mom made a batch of black frosting RIGHT after I finished it with blue outlines, oops. :P)

Thinking about it, if I was able to get a lot more practice on these and got faster at them, it'd be fun to sell sugar cookies like these at a con. XDa


Also, I NOW HAVE DISSIDIA. HUZZAH!

Tonight I finally finished Okami! I didn't get all the extra stuff (like all of the stray beads, the Bloody Gate, all of the praise, etc. etc.) but my running around netted me about 2000+ more praise, some completed sidequests and some more moves from the dojo.

The final series of boss battles weren't that bad. I used a bunch of exorcism slips on Ninetails, so that helped things go a lot faster. (Also finally figured out how to kill Blight faster than whatever I did last time.) The final boss battle was time-consuming, but honestly, I suffered worse injuries fighting the canine warriors. |D

I totally teared up at the end of the game, when all of Ammy's friends were praying for her because of all the good things she'd done for them, and it grants her the power to raise the sun again. Also, just the whole bit of Issun spreading his drawings out to all so that they can believe in her. So much BAWWWWW. (And I'm correct in thinking that Issun was the narrator all along?)

Overall, the game was so much fun to play, absolutely beautiful to watch and listen to, and the ending was satisfying. I think the gaming world needs more like Okami: not just for a different kind of play style, but also because it wasn't afraid to be a positive game, with no dark-gray-morality-grizzled-antihero sort of business. Your job is to save the world, and you do it by feeding animals and planting flowers AND kicking ass, and it's fun! It was just a great feel-good game that was also just challenging enough. I'd recommend it to all. :D


Slightly related, I have a question to my flist and others, although sadly I cannot create polls with this account so I just have to ask without a poll. Question is: who got you into gaming in the first place? (And when?) Was it family members, such as parents/siblings, or friends? Been discussing the gaming industry as a whole with dudes, so I'm curious. As for myself, I never had consoles growing up because my parents didn't like video games, so basically I got into it because of friends.

Drawing: Assignments and sketches

Writing: Nuttin'

swyrel, I got your card today! Thank you so much! ♥ ♥ And thank you chicanery for the adorable snowflake cookie!

There are in fact two new Lunargyros pages up today; and I've officially hit 200 pages! @__@ Still can't really believe it!

It's gotten much colder here, and with it has come a bit of seasonal gloom. I kind of just don't want to do anything, and yesterday was a pretty rotten day all around. There was a bad accident in the canyon, and I was fast reminded why I end up doing all my shopping online instead of actually going to a mall and why I'm terrible at window-shopping. :| Today I was more productive so I'm feeling better.

Speaking of, more painting practice that I completed! Wanted to do a few expansions on the old sonata warmups, so I did a full picture for ( Flag in the Ground )

Because of this seasonal blehness, I've been spending most of my time playing Okami. Really enjoying the game also helps, too. XD I had a bad time keeping up with commentary (it's a little harder to do commentary for a game that's not a handheld, I've found), but I did get pretty far. I've beaten the twin owl demons, and pretty much am just running around doing extra stuff and getting more praise before the big final battle at the end!

( Commentary up to crazy ice temple, where I then forgot to do it )

Sooooo looking forward to Princess and the Frog on Friday!...

Drawing: Comics comics comics

Writing: Stuff

Got to hang out with gaelic_bohemian a bit yesterday, which was fun 'cause we haven't hung out enough! Went to Malibu Seafood for an early dinner 'cause I had work, and had some pretty good discussions.

And as if dudes couldn't tell, I was all EEEEEEE YAY at all the new BBS stuff that was released yesterday, naturally. 8D HOLY CRAP ZACK. Soooo I had to draw a quick lil' pic of Aqua holding baby!Kairi, because they are just soooo adorable together!



And here's a little more Okami playage from the other day; I've been busy lately so I haven't gotten to it as much.

( IT'S A SNAAAAKE )

Uhh, there was something else I was going to mention...now I forget what.

Drawing: The rest of commishes, storyboards for that one project, and other things

Writing: Little

Well, got some stuff done today! Most of it was work in the morning, a teensy bit of errand-running, and then nabbing yamikonumber7 from the airport and having dinner with her at Islands. Good times!

Also got in a little more Okami playing, so some more of that!

( Lost somewhere in the moon cave now... )

And uuugh, for some reason I've been thwapped over the head with the tired stick, so I'll probably stop now. @_@

Drawing: Commissions and LG

Writing: Not much

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE! I hope all dudes had delicious food and hopefully a not-too-stressful Black Friday. My Thanksgiving was pretty dang good, we got some delicious foods and a bit of chatter with family. Mom and dad stayed later while us kids came home to take care of the doggie.

Dudes said I should do another running commentary while playing Okami, like I did for Days. XD; Aaand I gave in! Even if it is starting late.

( Okami commentary start! )

BTW: Does anyone know where you can get the Okami soundtrack?

Drawing: Finished up a drawing/paiting today!

Writing: Caaaards