Modest Returns

I got a feeling I'm getting back on track with... well I just need to get back on track hahaha. I admit I've been slacking for quite a bit but, without trying to make excuses, I have good reason. Other than what my daughter brings home from daycare (I've been sick for... God knows how long), I really feel like I can get back on track with some new work here.

Steppin' on the toes of Procrastination

Typically I have a long, drawn out story that narrates each scene I'll illustrate but right now I can't really bring myself up to speed on that for some reason....

I am actually picking back up on the habit of something I've wanted to start on for a while now and that's to change my Facebook cover from time to time with my own illustrations to keep myself busy and not lug around till I "feel" like I need to get to work on something.

I'll probably get around and update this with the narrative I intended on pulling out but right now I'm gonna go see if I can preoccupy myself elsewhere, on something else.

Suicide Sex Club

I'm a bit conflicted when it comes to having completed this piece...

Not because I don't like it, that's not it. I do.

I LOVE this piece, in fact.

But I've mixed feelings because of the circumstances lying behind it:

It was about 3 weeks ago when my wife and I were hanging out in the living room when she brought up this odd factoid about ferrets. Female ferrets, specifically. Apparently, if a female ferret in heat does not mate, or at least performs the physical act of mating, then the ferret dies from some strange phenomenon that female ferrets are afflicted by.

Somewhere down the line, in whatever span of time it takes, a female ferret simply DIES because it does not mate... I thought this was both hilarious but tragic at the same time, more tragic than hilarious (I'm not a monster...) Which got me thinking about the prospect about anthropomorphized characters... and the concept of fictitious bands again.

I thought, "How about a female ferret group that calls themselves Suicide Sex Club?" And ran with it.

With painful coincidence, in the first week I started on this piece, I discovered that a coworker of mine who was also an amazing friend... had commit suicide.

No lie.

While I was working on this very piece, someone I knew personally had commit suicide.

I won't get into the details of that because it's very drawn out and profound, but it did conflict in the process of completing this piece and I had every intent of using it as a Facebook wall cover... but I think I'll have to hold out on that for some time, because I do not want to offend anyone after I'd sent condolences to some close relatives and friends who'd read this heartfelt message I sent about this particular friend now lost.

In the end, I am happy about this... but in the same stretch, I'm conflicted about how I feel about it considering what went on during the development process up to the finished product.

Not only does this piece mean something to me, it's also a reminder in a scope of time which'll always recall a close friend I lost... I could, and maybe should, dedicate this piece to that friend...

But this piece is originally built upon the foundation of satire about female ferrets... and the tragic "suicide" that goes along about them...

Very confusing and... well... I'll just leave it at that.

Dreamchasing

A consistent motif with me is that idea of dream chasing.

I've actually built up a story around the motif and hope to actually work on it as a series of graphic novels some day.

Until then, the closest thing I have to chasing this dream is conceptualizing Facebook profile photo sized banners which I plan to pump out at least once a month and change up ever so often. This'll help keep me in shape as far as artwork goes and keep me preoccupied in the meantime.

-Added/Updated May, 6, 2013-

League of Legends Pre-Season 3 Art Contest

I remember having a bad bit of luck with the last contest... it was a comic-based deal and perhaps I didn't fulfill the critera well enough to even have it progress further than it could.

But I'm willing to give another shot at Riot's art contest.

The guidelines mention to "accomplish the goal of showing champions truly 'training' for Season 3", whatever that might truly mean...

Because initially, I had this getting worked up as soon as I found out about the contest: 

But now I'm second guessing here wondering again, if this even fits into the criteria for the contest... I'll found out I suppose; check out the forum and see what's up, perhaps.

=====
01/20/2013 Update

Checked back on the guidelines and it did ask for something a bit more 'specific' though the details themselves are a bit vague at the same time... seems there IS a need to depict a kind of 'training/preparation' scene with their character(s) so I had to push the other one off and pick something else up:

I might work a couple of other ones out after this one. Got a few other ideas in my head worth working out so we'll see what happens then.

(P.S.) Not entirely sure why I'm so fascinated by the idea of Dr. Mundo holding Wriggle's Lantern as an accessory... I don't even know if that's a viable choice for any build people might use, using him.

Entry #1 (Finished 01/26/2013)

===== 01/30/2013

Kind of slow on the up take, procrastinating and all :(( but here's how the second entry is coming along:

Space Cowboys (A Star Fox pet Project)

I've alot of dreams which bounce around in my head.

Some of them seem outlandish, others, out of reach, and most, if not all, none under my control.

They're my dreams though, how can this be?

Well it's more of like a depressing fandom; a sort of "If I were given the privilege to..." and be able to work on some amazing franchises/ideas/concepts that have since been forgotten.

Jem comes to mind actually: that REALLY old animated tv series with the chicks, the singing, big-hair, money... well anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.

About 2 years ago I had this crazy idea of exemplifying my mind's eyes of what Star Fox would be like... at least how I sort of imagined it in my head ever since I was a kid who'd laid his wondrous eyes on the game back in 1993.

I was 8 at the time and I thought Star Fox was (and still is) one of the coolest concepts a gaming franchise could ever be.

Sadly, Nintendo hadn't really done much else to else to it except some curious, eclectic continuities and... well there were dinosaurs, I guess?

And they put some strange, blue fox chick in which ended up becoming some sort of mockish-sex appeal later on which I thought was a strange move to have started in the first place... but that's me.

Ironically, there was a Star Fox 2 about to be made for the SNES but that never happened; and it was there I think Nintendo went off the rails and had pretty much trashed what could have been the expansion of all ready amazing franchise which could have been better, bigger and louder.

They had a whole slew of characters ready for the second installment, characters I wish had become reality, but in doing so, that never happened... and so I still remember them, mostly out of backlogging and digging for old references but always thought, "This would've been SO cool if they used them."

As I said, it was 2 years ago I was thinking about a non-canon approach to the Star Fox universe in the mind's eye I'd always seen Star Fox for what it was and apply my long driven appeal for the game along with my added wisdom of story telling and concept development.

I salvaged some old characters, introduce some of my own into the universe but with the respect that I made sure it would be as canon to the universe as it was while... still being non-canon? Again, this is my own reimagining. But man what an exiting reimagining it would be if I could bring it to life...

I nicknamed the project Project Space Cowboys, but there is in fact a title to the whole idea.

It's been over 2 years since but I still believe this concept is very much alive... just in my own personal development hell.

Greasing the Gears

A little rusty... I think, but definitely immobile as far as progress has been.

I've been SO busy too! There's no eloquent way of putting this, and I've been meaning to get around to doing something to celebrate this fact, but I'm a dad now!

Still feels a bit surreal but I think I'm filling into the shoes pretty well, albeit a little strange to walk in from time to time... it's the sleep deprivation that gets to me when I'm not careful.

Anyway, inbetween some free time to myself I pick up a game of League of Legends here and there with some friends when I can... and I recently decided to pick up on the remaining week of an art contest that's being hosted; doing a 4 sequence single page comic strip.

It's an art contest and I'm always up for a challenge, and I'm feeling pretty good about this one so far!

We'll see how far this piece takes me, all I know, is that it's a step in the right direction to get me out of this procrastinating funk... plus it's always nice to know there's something to strive for; victory, a goal, some sort of golden trophy to reach out to.

We'll see what happens this coming 24th.