For those of you too lazy to waltze over to my DA page, you can see a few of my latest design attempts below. I’ll be updating the gallery soon (as well as FIXING the gallery, it’ve let it sit like that for a deplorably long time…) but ’soon’ really translates into ‘god knows when’ with me. It might just happen with the pasties for now. Anywho, I’d like to add that all of the below examples are available as prints if anyone wants to help a starving artist!

Posted: October 21st, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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So, I’m about a month and a half into my Design program and I have to say I’m loving it. Like, a lot. Like, I’ve never been so sure of my life choices before. The next step of course is to get enough free time so that I can really focus on what I’m doing and hand in the quality I’d like to produce. Nex step of course is to start producing a new portfolio (a lot of the stuff I have here is old and not up to my current level). If any of you watch me on DA, you’ll see some of my latest attempts, which are…shall we say indicative of a learning curve. Not wholly satisfied yet, but it’s coming. I’ll post some here later, but I have a feeling this page is gonna get redesigned soon anyway (yes, it’s that time again!). I’m gonna play with the CSS, and next semester we start Flash, which is a good 60% of the reason I’m taking this course. In the meantime I just found a new apartment that couldn’t be more convenient and it only $10 more, which has me very excited. All in all things are good. Had a bad week but I’m recovering. We’ll see how it goes.

Oh, and if anyone is dying to see what I’ve done so far and is too lazy to go to DA, just let me know and I’ll post them here.

Posted: October 10th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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I had no idea I’d let this blog sit for so long. It’s not that nothing has happened in two months so much as….well, I’ll be honest, I’m in a rut. But for once I’ve managed to do something about it. I’m going back to school.

And I don’t mean in the ’some time in the future when I’ve got th money and the free time’, I mean in two weeks. Why? Well, let’s be honest, I’m never going to have all that much free time–we’re adults, we traded our free time for working ‘personal growth’ exercises (or in my case random bouts of alchoholism) and money isn’t going to come until I get a better job–which isn’t going to come until I get more schooling. So, time the bit the bullet, accept the debt increase, and get ‘er done.

Of course, the debt won’t go up that much, such is the glory of community collage after university. The bills just aren’t comparable. I’ve actually got it worked out that I should have most of my tuition paid off by the time I graduate, and since I’m going into a field with lots of job opportunities and my course involves a work term, I’m looking at a much better start than with my BA.

I’m studying Graphic and Print Design, which will give me a lot of the technical knowledge I haven’t acquired on my own. As my Argosy peeps will attest, if I can do this sort of thing for 20-30 hours a week (mostly pushed into 2 days) for no money, surely to god I’ll do it on a regular schedule on a salary. And not hating what I do for a living is pretty damn high on my list of life goals.

Which is not so say that I’m rejecting my writing side. Far from it. I’ve finally started writing the story that’s been in my head since high school. Of course it’s changed a lot over time, but I’ve gotten a good start. I spent a lot of time trying to decide if it should be a graphic novel or just prose, when eventually it came to me–do both. An ambitious but very rewarding medium for creation, at least if you’re someone like me that has to have it all.

We’ll just have to wait and see how all this pans out. Certainly you can expect to see more art here (actually, it should be noted that the portfolio does get periodically updated with no notice here, the same with the links section), and I may start a journal of sorts of how my story progresses–outlines and character sheets, that sort of thing.

Posted: August 24th, 2008 under Blog, News.
Comments: 2

I’ve added a bunch of new links, a few more web comics and a new section for artists that really inspire me. Definitely worth checking out if you’ve got the time.

As for me, besides the fact that I got woken up on my day off to the fire alarm (which apparently goes off anytime the power turns off …or flickers briefly as the case may be), and then a hornet decided to join me in the shower, and it went from being so hot yesterday I was sweating just sitting around and now after walking my dog I can barely feel my hands, the days is looking up. I think it’s going to be one of those days where I get a lot of random little things done, like finally getting my wall planer organized, finalizing my living room furniture, and getting some art done. Hopefully I’ll be updating here soon with some results!

Posted: June 10th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 2

Well, as those of you who read my Naruto doujinshi have already noticed I have updated with the first chapter of Volume (Christ, how did I let it get this far? Now I can’t stop…), which you can read here. No flashy first page this time but the last page ain’t bad (if you can ignore the blatant fan-service).

Also, I’ve updated my portfolio–if you keep up with my DA page there will be some repeats but there’s also a tone of images added to the ’sketch Dump’ section, some I might rework later. Thought I’d update since I’m about to start looking for a new job in earnest again now that I’m settled (mostly) in my new apartment and suddenly have an extra two hours a day that I used to spend sitting on a bus.

Posted: June 3rd, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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I really haven’t been abusing this soap box as much as I should (or have).  Well, maybe that’s a good thing for some of you as I am prone to ramble. However I feel inspired to produce an update on my situation. Also, I would like to submit a disclaimer before you proceed–my current writing is heavily coloured by my role as a contact center agent who has to write emails in a profusely apologetic manner and am to be extremely all encompassing (to prevent accusations of withhold information) in my replies. Concurrently I’ve been re-reading a lot of Anne McCaffry as of late, who’s prose has a definite style which I adore. Essentially if it seems like I’m writing in a manner that is strange, it’s because I can’t help it.

As for my life at the moment I have finally succeeded in securing a lease until the end of December on a wonderful one bedroom located with in (not entirely easy) walking distance to work.It’s veryconveniently priced, spacey and with excellent light with what has so far proven to be a very accommodating. The area is also rife with dogs, which is fortuitous (that’s a word that doesn’t get enough use these day, honestly). The only issue is that I must wait for the beginning of May before I can more in. The result is an increasing discontent with my daily 3 hour bus commute.

I’ve also sent of my computer (who shall hence forth be known as ‘Gigiboo’) to be repaired upon discovering that Future Shop did indeed have a record of my overpriced warranty. The result is that I will spend 8-10 days without Gigiboo, a trauma which makes me die a little inside every time I think about it.

Emotionally lately I’ve noticed a rather prevalent schizophrenia in my behavior, fluctuating between extreme cheerfulness (especially with the slowly improving weather, my poor body hasn’t received this much vitamin D in months) and absolute annoyance with everything that lives and has the misfortune to communicate with me. This is a rather obnoxious state of being when you’re a call center rep. For now I’ve attempted to focus on the happier side of my emotions while thinking up some sort of non-computer related project to occupy me for the next week and a half. Expect to see a perforation of sketches at that time.

Also, check out my latest print:
Hunting the Red Swan by =scruffykitty on deviantART

Posted: April 15th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
Comments: none

Disapeared again! Sorry folks, I haven’t had much to post here lately since I was putting most of my energy into updating my Naruto Doujinshi. I’ve finished the final chapter in volume one, updated the website (and by “updated” i mean added more options than an outdated links page and an option to view the doujin) AND there’s a contest going on. check out the main page if you want to participate.

 Now that that’s done it’s taken quite a bit out of me. Match that with being screwed over several times when trying to get aparment (like when people say they’re going to meet you to view the place and then just not being there and telling you later that they’ve already rented the place out, etc, and see last post for the most extreme example to date) has left me feeling a bit depressed. I had this creative surge a while ago which seems to be absent. I’m not so cranky today, and I’ve got two possible places lined up, so keep your fingers crossed for me if you’re reading and you care.

Posted: March 19th, 2008 under Blog, Random Rants.
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So, I really, really thought I had finally found an apartment, and it was as perfect as one can expect, but that fell through. Largely becuase my potential landlord and the guy that actually owns the property (who lives in another part of the country, of course) are complete clusterfucks and told me two weeks ago that I had a room and they’d let me know when my ref checked out so i could move in immediately, and then when I finally got a hold of them yesterday they told me that “uh…actually we might be selling the place and we don’t know if we want two dogs and blah blah blah we were gonna let you know at the end of Feb.” WHAT?!! Jesus, some people make me so mad I can barely see straight. And since I stopped looking for two weeks (’cause I thought I had a place) all the other leads I had have gone cold and I’m at square one. This has been going on since November and it’s really, really pissing me off. And my poor puppy is not handling me being out of the house for 12 hours straight (only 8 of those are me working, the rest is spent on the bus and god forbid I want to go anywheres on the way) and has started tearing apart every bag of garbage she finds. If i had my own place I could puppy-proof it, but my dad’s house is basically torn apart and filled with boxes of my stuff, his stuff, my dead grandparents stuff, my brothers stuff…you get the idea.

*sigh*

On another note, I’ve been very productive with my Naruto doujinishi; if I continue at my current rate I should have it finished by the end of next week (this chapter, I mean, not the whole thing, that’ll take years).
However, today I forgot my pens, and so can’t work on it at work like I’ve been doing. I did of course bring a pad of paper. I’ve had an original story in the back of my mind for some time, with some fairly well developed characters and some ideas I’d love to explore. Yet I’ve never really sat down and tried to peice through an outline before. Well, a few hours later and I have over three pages done, and more coming. The damn thing seems to be writing itself. Of course, now I have to decide whether I want to write it or draw it…or maybe both? Hmm…must put by brain to work on that one….

Posted: February 8th, 2008 under Blog, Random Rants.
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I have so much crap it’s not even funny. Honestly, I think my donations are what keeps the Salvation Army afloat.
Every time I move I tend to not just pack my stuff but to go through a sort of purge. First step is to put my entire music collection on shuffle, which usually results in me not only listening to music I haven’t thought of in years, but singing in the hallway at the top of my lungs. The second step is to usually get rid of half of my wardrobe as I brutally analyze which items I wear all the time, only when I’m running out of laundry, and never. I then go through random nick knacks and so on, usually producing at least two-three bags for donation and at least two bags to just throw out (no one needs my old floppies).
This time is a little more intense since I’m finally cleaning ALL of my stuff out of my dad’s house. Always before I could leave the stuff I wasn’t sure I wanted to part with there, but my dad’s getting ready to retire and he wants to fix up the house he has now so he can sell it and move to the country (ie as far from other people as possible). As such I’ve been going through sketches –nearly– as old as I am, little horse models people bought me when I was six, etc. There’s tones of things I used to like when I was young that six years later are as opposite to my style as possible. Getting rid of them was nice, like a final acceptance of what I have become. And not throwing them out, but giving them to someone who will want them is better, like a way to accept what I was.

Just a thought I had while looking at a porcelain sculpture of a cherub riding a pony version of a Pegasus.

Posted: January 28th, 2008 under Blog, Random Rants.
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I need to start drawing more pictures for other people, ’cause I always seem to do a better job than on the ones I do for just myself (probably ’cause I hate disappointing people, I guess). Like this one:  Certainly there are mistakes (like her stupidly long left leg, which I really need to fix somehow) but it’s probably one of my most finished pictures. Strange. Well, if anyone has some suggestions, I guess I’ll give them a go, it’s probably good to draw things besides the same old, just to flex your artistic muscles once in a while.

Posted: January 22nd, 2008 under Anime/Manga, Art.
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