I’m a big Futurama fan, and I was super happy that Comedy Central channel brought it back from cancellation, and are making new episodes.
The upcoming 26th and final episode of the present sixth season called ” Reincarnation ” featured 3 different segments , with each having Futurama “reincarnated” in a different style of animation. One was animated in “a black-and-white Fleischer and Walter Lantz style”, the second segment was done in the style of a low-resolution video game, and the third segment, known as “Action Delivery Force”, drawn in the style of anime
I saw this preview clip on the Youtube channel, so I just had to post it here!
Action Delivery Force
” Reincarnation ” is scheduled to premiere this coming September 11th….
I’ve been a huge fan of Fredy3D over at DeviantArt since I came there. I was amazed at his renders using Poser assets, along with his own 3D created ones – and since I also have Poser and Cinema 4D 3d software, that finally led me to getting the plug in that he uses, InterPoser Pro. InterPoser Pro is a live Poser scene and content importer plugin for Cinema 4D.
I’m still feeling myself around this thing, and I managed to do a few decent test renders using the plug-in, as you can see above.
It’s only $75 USD ( It used to be $175 ) after you send in your Cinema 4D serial number, but if you have that 3D software, and want to render Poser content much better than even in Poser 8 or Poser Pro, then I heartily recommend getting this!
( IMHO, It’s much better than that Poser Fusion plugin from Poser! )
Stay tuned…..I’m only just beginning to scratch the surface of this tool…
I’ve been busy these past months learning 3ds Max – This is one of the very first models that I made using this software. I eventually want to make more complex shapes, but as the saying goes, one have to learn how to crawl before one can run…..Or something like that ….
Artist Howard Hallis’s parody of Jack Chick religious pamphlets, “Who Will Be Eaten First?”, based upon the H. P. Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos.
( This actually resulted in Chick’s company, Chick Publications to issue him a cease and desist letter for Hallis to remove it from his website ).
But I managed to find it at another blog site and I hope I don’t get in trouble for posting it here….
Art by Howard Hallis
I think this is an incredibly ingenious work of art , and anyone else who happen to have a good working knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft’s classic “Cthullu Mythos” stories of the early 20th century. Howard Hallis parody of the pamphlets of the well known Jack Chick religious fundamentalist Christian evangelical tracts succeeds in illustrating the main ideas and themes ( not to mention the atmosphere ) of Lovecraft’s Mythos stories.
It’s 2011 already?
One year closer to the Apocalypse!
I think it’s also the Chinese year of the rabbit, or something. In that case, I should do a bunny girl picture or something.( I think that the Chinese New Year is sometime early next month, so that should give me more than enough time to do a picture or two ).
But I’m so incredibly slow with doing even one picture, that If I had to do this professionally, I’d probably starve to death out of poverty.
Anyway, one of my new years resolutions ( as it is almost every year ) is that to do more artwork ( I’m not getting any younger! ) – I have a whole bunch of pictures that I still have to finish. And to top it all off, my art skill doesn’t seem to have improved or changed any, I think. I must have about 100 + pictures and sketches in my artistic pipeline now, all in various stages of completion.
I really should at least post some up on my various art websites ( I have about four now, including this one, and they are mostly devoid of my art content for now ). I figure that if I concentrate and work on each individual picture, I should be able to post at least two completed pictures at week for this year.
I really should try to be more motivated to draw more. I recently got a small drawing pad for that very purpose, so that I will have the ability to. I just need the motivation and the will!
That’s one of the reasons that I like the DeviantArts website, there are so many great artiast there, it provides inspiration for me to do my own artwork. Demographic wise, It’s a site that pretty much has a younger ( and I mean under 30 ) membership, and not that many oldsters. The old people that are around are more than likely professionals, or talented amateurs. ( I know that I may never become the former, but hopefully the latter! ).
One of my other new years resolutions is to be serious and LEARN the at least some of the art software applications that I have ( ie, Photoshop, 3DS max, Sai, etc. ). It is getting to the point where I don’t have any excuse not to, even with my busy work schedule.
Modding Plans
I also plan to do some game development / Modding this year. I want to try and create my own character models to use in Crysis and Left 4 Dead. I have 3DS MAx 2009 and Maya, along with Photoshop CS3, so I should have no problem doing them.
I really want to try to do two characters from the Japanese Video Game franchise Onechanbara video game series , specifically from Oneechanbara VorteX ~The Descendants of The Cursed Blood ( which was released in America as Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad on the X-box 360 game console system ).
The first one… Anna: A special force soldier who meets and allies with the two sisters ( Main characters Aya and Saki ) early in the game. Her military background gives her access to firearms, explosives, and some (although not quite as sophisticated as Saki’s) mêlée combat techniques.
The second one…. Reiko: clones of the original Reiko Mizusaki. a bad turned good character in the series ( well, at least by the time of of the latest game, OneeChanbara:Revolution OneChanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers in America ).
I’d also like to make The main series protagonists characters Aya and Saki down the road, if and when my modding skills improves, and have the time.
Any other models I might be interested in ?
The Malaysian Gaming Modder ” XenoAisam ” has kindly provided his Miku model to the public that he created in 3DS max CG software.
I really want to see if I can try to add my own models, along with XenoAisam’s Miku model, in the games Crysis and Left 4 Dead. I’m sure it can be done…
Below is an exaple of an original creator model used in place of the original Crysis “NOMAD” character model in the Crysis game and the a few original charcters used in place of the original four for Left 4 Dead (2) characters:
Coon vs. Coon & Friends
” In the finale of this epic three-part saga, the Coon shows himself to be even more evil than the dark lord, Cthulhu, as he cruelly takes revenge on his former partners in Coon & Friends. Meanwhile, Kenny wrestles with the weight of his super power via his alter-ego, Mysterion. As the battle rages, it is left to Mysterion and the constantly underrated Mintberry Crunch to save the day. ”
Cartman and Cthulhu teams up to get rid of everything “evil” – First they started with Burning Man event, hippies and Whole Foods, but then moved on to their “most challenging and most evil opponent,” Justin Bieber .
Cartman said he had to kill Bieber “In order to save the Earth,” adding “this little butthole had to be stopped.”
I really liked the dialoge near the end, when Kenny (as Mysterion) confronts Cartman (as The Coon) after Cthullu kills Justin Beiber and his fans:
Cartman (as The Coon): ” I’m making the world a better place. ”
Kenny (as Mysterion): ” For you! A better place for you! ”
Cartman (as The Coon): ” That’s what superheroes do! ”
Matt and Trey ( the guys behind South Park ) really went all out for these three story arc episodes. And If you are a Lovecraft fan, it was a special treat. lots of ” Fan Service” things from the Mythos, like R’Lyeh ( shown not as a submerged Island in the pacific, but sort of a world in another dimension ) , The Necronomicon , Abdul Alhazred( unfortunately not as ” The Mad Arab”, but now as a Mad Prince!), The Elder Things , and not to mention the explanation of Kenny’s “Resurrection” ability, etc.
The Coon and Friends / Mysterion Arc is pretty much the highlight of South Park’s Season 14 for me , so far.
South Park is one of my favorite shows on TV. Sometimes there is an episodes suring a season that kind of stands out, and becomes my favorite. the recent “Coon and Friends”, s Three-episode story arc trilogy was one of them.
Coon 2: Hindsight
The Coon has expanded his justice league to include a team of crime-fighters known as Coon and Friends. But another superhero keeps grabbing all the headlines. Captain Hindsight becomes the Coons biggest challenge. While the nation looks for a hero to get them through a national disaster, dissention develops within the ranks of Coon and Friends.
Mysterion Rises
In the second part of this memorable trilogy, Coon and Friends, now led by Mysterion, work together to help save the people of the Gulf from the dark lord, Cthulhu. The Coon, scorned by his fellow super heroes and working alone, is out for revenge.
You could tell that they really reseached their superhero mythology, not to mention Lovecraft lore with these episodes.
I remember once talking to a friend YEARS ago, around the time South Park was just starting, and suggested that there should be a show where Cartman meets HP Lovecrafts’ “Dark Lord” , and the other “Old Ones”, that it would be a wacked episode.
But Eric Cartman actually befriending Cthullu— A Match made in R’Lyeh!
About two years ago ( February 0f 2009 to be precise ), a former co-worker sold me his X-box 360 system and a whole bunch of games included fo about 200 dollars. He said that he recently bought a Playstation 3, and was going to concentrate his time on playing that game console / platform .
I myself was planning on getting a Playstation 3 as well, but now I sem to be in the Microsoft camp now with this X-box 360. Here are the games that I’m currently playing on this console platform:
DEAD RISING
“Dead Rising’s story centers on Frank West, a photojournalist who ends up trapped in a shopping mall in the fictional town of Willamette, Colorado, that is infested with zombies. Frank must defend himself from zombie attacks, rescue survivors, contend with crazed psychopaths, and stay alive while still attempting to uncover the truth behind the incident.”
I started playing this game in February 2009, and stopped, then started playing the game again in July 2010.And stopped when I got to the crazy clown ( one of the “crazed psychopaths ” ) part. The seqel came out last month, “Dead Rising 2″,and it looks pretty good.
I’ll try to finish this game next year, hopefully. I’t pretty good, if you like Zombies.
BLAZEBLUE : CLAMITY TRIGGER
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is a traditional 2D fighting game. It also now has a recntly released sequel. I got this game around the end of last june, and I constantly played it all the month of July.
I stopped playing the game when I could not beat Hakuman in the ” Vs. Mode, no matter what character I had. MAybe I was just burnt out on it, and needed a break. Planning to continue playing the game again sometime next year.
ONECHANBARA BIKINI SAMURAI SQUAD
“The hack and slash gameplay involves the player controlling Aya, a Japanese cowgirl in a bikini who wears a scarf and wields a katana. The player is pitted against hordes of zombies and nightmarish boss creatures, who spill torrents of blood when they are attacked.
Aya is often accompanied on her adventures by several other warrior women, such as her younger sister Saki, who appears in most titles in the series.”
This game got very bad reviews in the American game magazine and shows when it came over from Japan recently. It is from a series of popular budget game titles , which this one is the third or fourth game.
Haven’t really played the game much, but I will try to play it more early next year. it looks like lots of fun.
DEAD SPACE
” Dead Space is a survival horror third-person shooter video game, developed by EA Redwood Shores for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows . The game was made available on Steam on October 20, 2008.[3] The player takes on the role of an engineer named Isaac Clarke, who battles a polymorphic, virus-like, alien infestation which turns humans into grotesque alien monsters called “Necromorphs”, on board a stricken interstellar mining ship named the USG Ishimura.”
I heard of this game since it was announced years ago, and always wanted to get this. Fortuantely, I got this game when I got the X-box 360! I was actually afraid to play this game at first, and when I actually did, I tended to die alot.
It looks very good though, I plan to finish it before the sequel, ” Dead Space 2 ” is released next year in January.
MASS EFFECT
” Mass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare.
The game takes place in the year 2183, with the player, assuming the role of an elite human soldier named Commander Shepard, setting out to explore the Galaxy on a starship, the SSV Normandy. ”
Another game I heard lots of good things about. I actually wanted to play Mass Effect 2, but I have to play the first game first. Now I first heard of ME when the whole “Sex in videogames”
controversy happened around the time of it’s released. So far, I only got to play the very first introductory campaign. Another game I plan to really get in to in the coming year.
GEARS OF WAR
“Gears of War is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The game focuses on the troops of Delta Squad as they fight to save the human inhabitants of the fictional planet Sera from a relentless subterranean enemy known as the Locust Horde. The player assumes the role of Marcus Fenix, a former prisoner and war-hardened soldier.”
Like Mass Effect, I really haven’t gotten much into this games so far, but it looks really great, It lives up to the hype I’ve heard so far.Another game that I plan to be playing alot more inthe coming year.
LEFT 4 DEAD
” Left 4 Dead is a cooperative survival horror first-person shooter video game that follows the story of four survivors of an apocalyptic pandemic. Set during the aftermath of an apocalyptic pandemic, the game pits its four protagonists—dubbed the “Survivors”—against hordes of the infected.”
THIS is the game I’m playing now – I’m so hooked! I finished the game a week or two ago, and I just recently downloaded the DLC ( down loadable content ) “Crash Course”, and “The Sacrifice “. This was one of the games that I got with the X-box, and for the longest, I didn’t play it because I thought it would be too scary and hard to play. I also downloaded the game on Steam for the PC, and also plan to play the sequel ” Left 4 Dead 2 ” soon as well.
I love this game!
That’s about it, these are the “console” games I’m more or less playing now.
As for the games I’m playing on the PC…. That will be for another post!
First, I want to wish you all a happy 10 /10 /10!!
( This unique date only comes along once a century! )
I managed to actually get into this years’ New York Comicon! I ordered the ticket online, got it a few weeks ago.
This year the organizers decided to combine the New York Comicon and the New York Anime Festival into one giant convention.
One would think that a huge convention hall would be more than enough room for a convention like this. But there were just too many people for my taste. I could hardly move around in the Dealers room.
I think the organinizers of this combined convention are trying to hard to make it like the San Diego Comicon, which unlike this one, had 40 years to grow naturally and gradually, with the resulting increasing organization.
I personally prefer small conventions, the huge ones are too overwhelming at my old age – Most of these con goers are around twenty years younger than I am. As it stands now, I really don’t know whether or not I will be attending next years’ New York Comicon / New York Anime Festival.
Here are some of the many pictures I took at the New York Comicon:
Witch “Special Infected” , from the video game ” Left 4 Dead ”
I’ve recently gotten really into playing the Zombie Apocalypse Shooter Left 4 Dead ( a game I’ve had for almost two years now before just playing it now.. ). I’ve recently played all of the original four campaigns ( “No Mercy”, “Death Toll”, “Dead Air”, and “Blood Harvest” ).
Recently, the folks at Valve ( the people behind ” Left for Dead ” ) just announced a new ” DLC ” ( Down Loadable Content ) for the game that takes place sometime after it’s last regular campaign, “Blood Harvest”.
The DLC for “The Sacrifice” was already available ( not to mention free! ) on my steam account ( along with other PC users using Valve’s Steam Network ) on October 5th , but I had to wait a whole day for it to also come on X-box ( Well into the following day, October 6th ).
The game was pretty good, I actually had set the Character assignment to “Random”, and I was playing as the “Zoey” character. It was this character that I actually “sacrificed” at the end of the campaign ( The goal of which was for any charcter to sacrifice their life for thier fellow teammate ).
Below is the trailer video for “The Sacrifice”:
“The Sacrifice” Trailer
Guess who bites the dust? Well, if you’ve played L4D2″ own recent DLC “The Passing”, you’ll know…..Since the cat’s out of the bag for months …..
Animation Legend Satoshi Kon Passes Away at 47 of Cancer.
It was a total shock to me when I first read about it over at Warren Ellis’sWhitechapel Forum thread about it. I won’t do a very complex eulogy about his work, I’m sure that there will be many other blogs that will do a much better job than I coould ever do, but I will pay my respects to this great man by briefly reviewing his past works.
Roujin Z (1991) Animator
He worked on this as an animator. I never seen this anime, even though I heard about it when it first came out, being an Katsuhiro Otomo Project.
Memories ( Magnetic Rose ) (1995) Writer
The “Magnetic Rose” section of “Memories” is I think ,the best of the three shorts that made up the film. If you haven’t seen it yet, I recommend doing so!
Perfect Blue (1998) Director / Animator
First Satoshi Kon work I ever saw. I think I first watched this in a movie theater in Manhattan. Loved it!
Millennium Actress (2001) Writer/ Director / Animator
I don’t remember where I saw this, it may have been on cable a few years ago. Many parts of this film were slow going, but parts of it was really cool. I think one has to be a big fan of Japanese Film history and Japanese culture and history in general to really understand and appreciate this movie.
Tokyo Godfathers (2003) Writer/ Director / Animator
I admit, I haven’t gotten around to seeing this movie yet, which after today, I’m going to try to do as soon as I can..
Paranoia Agent (2004) Director
First saw this series when It was shown on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim Late Night Block a few years ago. Interesting series, I liked it, especially the last episode. I now want to try and get the DVD’s.
The last scene of the closing credits is creepy cool!
Paprika (2006) Writer/ Director
Another of his latest films that I haven’t seen yet. But I heard very good things about it these past years. I even heard that Paprika was the inspiration for Christopher Nolan’s Latest Movie, “Inception” ( and not 1984 movie, Dreamscape ).
Satoshi Kon was in the middle of production of his latest film Yume-Miru Kikai (The Dreaming Machine) at the time of his death, and it was expected to be released sometime in 2011, but at the moment, it’s fate is uncertain.
Satoshi Kon was a very talented and visionary animator. If there is such a thing as Anime Heaven, I hope he’s doing well there now.
Newtek’s 3D modeling software Lightwave 10 is here!
It looks good, And I do like some of the new features ( the “instant real time Viewport Preview Rendering ” looks nice ) but it’s too bad I can’t afford it now ( I’m still recovering from my Egypt trip last May….
More info about the new Lightwave upgrade here : Lightwave 10
I really don’t need to upgrade to Lightwave 10 right now, I’m perfectly happy using 9.6 ( I’ve had Lightwave for almost three years now, and I’m still learning how to use the software.. )
Besides, I don’t think my present rig is up to spec to even be able to fully take advantage of Lightwave 10′s new CORE technologies…..
Speaking of CORE, they say that one has to get the upgrade \ buy Full lightwave package before the end of next month ( September 30th ), or they will not be able to join the Lightwave exclusive “HARDCORE” membership ( see link above ).
Even though $500 is relatively cheap, I still think that I only see professional and / or FX type studios that have money to spend for this upgrade for use for their cutting edge work.
I’m sorry, but I think I’ll have to miss this upgrade train for now…
Shunya Yamashita after a long wait of a few years, has recently released a new new Artbook Collection III ” One Voice ” on Jul 27, 2010.
Here is the covers to the collection, and a Japanese ad for the book as well:
I’m a huge fan of Yamashita’s work, I have his last Art Collection ( Wild Flower ), even though I do not have his first art collection : Sweet Dreams ( 2005 ).
Here are just a few of some of his amazing new pictures from his latest art book:
I bought the book while browsing at the Manhattan Kinokuniya store – as soon as I saw it, I just had to have it! ( it was a tossup between Tony Taka’s “Shining Wind” series artbook collection, and this one ). it put me back a good 49.00 ( I did get a discount of $4.90, since I have a Kinokuniya Anime / Manga Member card, so the final price was about $44 ).
I’m quite happy I made the purchase – Shunya Yamashita art, along with his fellow famous Video Game Concept art / Chara Designer artist Hyung-Tae Kim works ( which I also have ), will really inspire me and motivate me to try and do similar works of art.
Stay tuned!
“Bryce 7 is here! Create your own terrestrial paradise with this highly accessible and professional 3D landscaping and animation tool. With Bryce 7 you can add unbelievable realism with Image Based Lighting, true instancing, improved skies and clouds, and even particle emitters. Plus, the totally redesigned bridge to DAZ Studio allows for seamless integration of the entire DAZ 3D content library into any Bryce scene.
Save 65% on Bryce 7 Pro through August 16, 2010.”
It was on sale, and with my DAZ Platnium membership discount, I only had to pay $34 for the upgrade to Bryce 7 Pro.
I read that Vue 8 is the best 3D landscape software, next to Terrigen 2. but until I can sratch enough money to get those, I will have to make the best with this for now…
Update: For some reason, I can’t install the thing on my computer….Oh well….Mind you, I still haven’t learned how to you the previous version , Bryce 6 Pro yet…
The Hot G4 show Co-host and Goddess of the Geeks, Olivia Munn is 30 years old !!!????
It was a shock to me – I had always thought that she was in her mid – twenties ( around 26 ) at most.
( And that Alison Haislip that used to do “The Feed” portion of Olivia’s G4 “Attack of the Show” program – ( who is also doing co-hosting duties while Olivia is off shooting movies and pictorials somewhere ) is close behind her in years too! )
Yes, she’s no longer a Spring Chicken, but look at these pictures!
“30″ must be the new “25″!
Oh well, she really looks good for her age, I hope she can keep it up when she is in her 40′s, like Halle Berry does now….
Unfortunately, I have to work today AND tomorrow , Monday July 5th , ( when Independence Day will be observed nationally….).
Well, the good thing is that it will be nice and quiet here, maybe I can *try* to do some sketches at least..
I recently got a message from DAZ in my e-mail inbox that Carrara 8 was coming out.
“Carrara 8 is here! It’s the only complete, all-in-one 3D suite designed to be compatible with DAZ 3D content. This powerhouse will help grow your 3D world and enhance your 3D abilities. Not only can you manipulate existing DAZ 3D content in ways you’ve never imagined, but Carrara 8 gives you the ability to create your own custom content from scratch. What more could you ask for in an affordable, powerful, and complete 3D solution?
Here’s a list of the primary new features in version 8:
• Pro – 64-bit
• Pro – Bullet Physics Library (beta)
• Pro – Network Render Optimizations
• Pro – Negative Lights and Photometrics
• Pro – Editing of Posed Meshes
• Multi-Threading
• Improved FBX and COLLADA Data Exchange
• Plant and Vegetation Improvements
• Render Time Optimizations
• God Rays and Barn Doors
• Normal Maps
• Puppeteer for Carrara ”
Sale Reg. Price: $549.95
Platinum Club Price: $384.97
Reg price for Carrara 8 Pro is $199.95
Platinum Club Price – upgrade from Carrara 7 Pro $139.97Extended: Save 65% on Carrara 8 through June 15, 2010
THE UPGRADE TO CARRARA 8 PRO FROM CARRARA 7 PRO IS NOW 30% OFF!
It now has support for 64-bit and multi-core processors (plus multi-threading) and network render nodes, if you’re looking for those features..
Carrara 8 Pro is perfect for those non professionals amateurs that who want a pretty good 3D modeling program, but don’t or can’t spend the thousands of dollars for an expensive industry software like 3ds Max or Maya.
( My Blog entry on the last version, Carrara 7 Pro is here , if you’re interested…. )
To tell you the truth, I really haven’t used the Carrara sofrtwares much, It seems that most everyone who is even serious into 3D stuff uses 3ds Max ( for game stuff ), and Maya ( for Animation ).
But I’m sure that i’ll be using it for something one of these days….
I’m back from my trip! ( actually, I got back a little more than a week ago.. )
It was an interesting trip!
Saw alot of ancient Temples, Tombs, and Monuments!
I started my tour in Cairo, then made my way to Memphis, then to Saqqara in the south ( Where the Step Pyramid of Djoser is at ), then to the Giza Platau ( where the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx are located ). I then took a flight down to Aswan, where I started my Nile Cruise up river to Luxor , then back to Cairo and back to ‘Merica.
With the exception of the heat, and the bad food I ate over there, I had great time in Egypt!
I took alot of pictures with my new Nikon D5000 camera, I’ll post some of them here in my Gallery ( I’ll only post a few, I really don’t want to have a huge photo gallery here! )
LOST ~
The final series Episode of LOST was broadcast the same night that I came back to NYC, so I not only didn’t see it, but I had no idea it was even on at that time.
I did managed to finally see it online a few days ago.
What the Hell?
So the “Island” was Purgatory all along?
Still not sure what happened in that episode.
Well, at least it was better than the last Episode of Battlestar Galactica…..
So long LOST!
Now I gotta find a reason to continue to watch network TV…..
( Now, this is how I think LOST
*Really* should have ended: )
“Egypt! from whose all dateless tombs arose
Forgotten Pharaohs from their long repose,
And shook within their pyramids to hear
A new Cambyses thundering in their ear;
While the dark shades of forty ages stood
Like startled giants by Nile’s famous flood.”
- Lord Byron (George Gordon Noel Byron),
The Age of Bronze (V)
Going to Egypt in a few hours!
I can’t wait!
Bought a new camera ( D5000 ) for the trip, but have no idea how to use it yet.
Well, I’ll have about 9 hours transit to read up the manual and the D5000 book I got.
Sorry for this being so short, but I gotta finish Packing!
Later!
I bought Corel Painter Essentials 2 a few years ago, and I really didn’t do too much with it, unfortunately. I signed up to their website a long time ago, and they periodically send me sales and update information about their products from time to time. Recently, they had some sort of special promotion about the latest Corel Painter software, so I decided to look at it closely, I might just decide to get it.This special promotion thingy said that it would end February 28th or so. The sale also seemed to imply that buying the software was now slashed down from $400 down to $200 or something, but that was not the case. The $200, or more precisely, the $199 price was really just the price of the upgrade from Corel Painter 10. Anyway, after thinking about it for a while, I decided to go and buy the thing. It was slashed down from the regular $400 though, but not by much – Ended up spending about $369…
Even though I also got the Painter 11 User Guide, and the included Jeremy Sutton instruction video,I really have no “real” manual for the thing yet, so until I do, I’ll have to slog through it somehow.
Maybe I can find some practical tutorial for Corel Painter 11 on Deviant Arts or something.
But I’m glad that I have it though. I now have all these major art tools, and I’m at the point where I really have to start learning how to use them!
I have several pictures in the WIP line art stage, and I really want them to look great before I post them here online. I also want to learn more Poser Daz Studio stuff , before I post any more Poser 3D renders as well. I’m really trying to find the time do focus on my artistic endeavors, but usually that’s the last thing on my mind when I come home from work about 8:30 pm…
I guess I’ll have to try and find some time during work…:P
What else…. I really haven’t worked on my art website that much, but I did manage to set up my three webcomic blogs…One will be mainly a sketch blog, another will focus on “American/ European” type artwork, and the third would be more for Japanese – Manga style pictures. I have to now generate content for those now….Well, it looks like I’ll have time to do it now, there is going to be another major snowstorm hitting us here in the Northeast again tonight and tomorrow…Snowcalypse III….Oh boy..
I had to work today anyway.
I did send my mom flowers ( They delivered them yesterday ),and she said that she liked them, so that was good.
Oh, I did get a card from my sister, so it was not all bad.
What else….Oh, it looks like my DA profile just past 1000 pageviews recently. Was I supposed to do that Kiriban thingy?
Maybe next time, I’ll do one for the 20000 pageview mark…
I am still working on several pieces, I’m taking my time with them, trying to do as much as many as I can when I can. Working on a dozen pictures at once…Hopefully, they’ll be done at the same time, sorta… I’m no professional artist, I wish I was able to knock out a finished picture in 5 minutes like most people here on deviantArts….
Presently on Carton Networks’s “Adult Swim” block,I’m looking at the time travel episode of Family Guy, when Mort accidentally goes back in time to Nazi era Poland via Stewie’s time machine, and Brian and he follows Mort, and they go on wacky adventures trung to get back to our time.
I think they use the popular Lightwave CGI software to do the Aircraft scenes……..I bet they use cell shading nodes, or something…..I have to learn how to to that, whenever I get around to learning how to use my own Lightwave software, that is…
I stayed home yesterday during the Huge Snowstorm here in New York City ( we were lucky to miss the first one that hit here in the Northeast this past weekend, but this time, we weren’t so lucky.. ). Earlier yesterday I spent the morning trying to shovel my sidewalk ( I have a snowblower, which I’m going to definitely have to use later this morning ). I don’t have to go into work today , but I have to come in tonight to cover for someone who can’t make it – I hate to go in, but I’ll do it only for the overtime!!
What else did I do during the snow in….Oh, I decided, after thinking about it, to finally install an upgrade to Adobe Photoshop ,to CS3.
I still plan to use 7.0 though – since even after five years of having the software, I still have not really learned how to use it. That was the main reason why I never upgraded from 7.0 and Illustrator 9.0 – I thought, what is the point of getting new software upgrade, when one doesn’t know how to use the one you already have!
I received the Adobe Creative Suite ( CS3) Design Premium bundle for a Christmas present about three years ago, but I never installed it ( I would have liked that I would have gotten the Adobe Creative Suite 4 (CS4) that was released around that very time,I would have liked to have had Adobe After Effects and Adobe Soundbooth, but hey, I think that CS3 bundle was on sale for that very reason! but I was happy nevertheless! ). I decided to install it today because I wanted to finally start working with the included Adobe Dreamweaver, so I can work on fixing my various websites and blogs ( including making a new custom template skin for this very journal! ). while installing, I decided, what the heck , I’ll install everything in the bundle, I might as well start learning to use the other stuff as well.
So I now not only have Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and Illustrator 9.0, but now I also have their CS3 equivalent upgrade.
Now, I have all these tools, I should really start to use them!
I have several 2D pictures in the WIP pipeline, and I plan to start doing some new 3D stuff soon as well!
I finally managed to fix the remaining problems with this blog after moving to this new domain!!
Many of the plugins that worked in my old WordPress version 2.5 just do not work in this new updated wordpress. Alot of them just could not be updated, so I deactivated many of them. Before I loged out , I checked the blog. It was ok, I had to configure the K2 WordPress theme again after moviing the blog to it’s new home, but otherwise it was visible and functioning….
That was last Friday Night. The next day, I loged into the Blog, everything looked ok in the admin section , but it was only until I checked out the blog itself, that I saw that there was a big problem….
There was the dreaded wordpress White Screen of Death!
I spent the better part of two days and nights trying to fix the thing. I used my “Google – Foo to scour the internet for advice on fixing this common WordPress problem. I tried everything, from deleting and replacing my Plugin folder, Editing my wordpress configuration file ( with the added result that I also managed to increase the security Keys on it , as well as the configutration files of the other blogs ), editing the wordpress settings file to allocate more memory to the PHP code for the blog , deleting and replacing my wordpress theme folder ( the skins for the blog ), to finally replacing all the wordpress files with fresh new ones, ( with the exception of the database, the newly configured configuration file, and the setting file ).
After doing another wordpress update, a forced one, I thought I was in the clear.
Unfortunately, that was not the case….
In my researching of the problem, I read that sometimes the WSOD is caused by a faulty wordpress theme. So I then went to the “Apperances” section of my admin panel, and on that page, I noticed that my old K2 theme was not activated, instead, it was the default Kubrick WordPress theme. Before I chose the K2 theme again, I activated one or two of the other WordPress themes that I had on the page. The I went to see it they worked and I could see my blog.
For each one, I was able to see my blog again!
That left me to re – activate the K2 theme which I tried to do at first – I kept on getting a ” You do not have permission to configure this ” error message. Then I realised that I was clicking on the theme’s” “configure link, not the “activate” link…
Fortunately, the other four blogs that I recently installed three days ago at the Shadamachaeon domain were ok….. Now all I have to do is configure those as well…..That should take me awhile……. Then I will have to start putting some artwork up there as well!
BTW, Speaking of artwork, here are some of my latest stuff posted up over at my Deviantart Page:
Yes, I managed to do it!
I finally managed to move this blog from my old domain to my new Shadamachaeon.com domain.
The old host was more or less a test domain that I’ve had and used for the past 10 years. I really didn’t do very much with it, except using it to host a few of my own personal picture website, etc. I wanted to have a more dedicated website domain where I could use more for my artworks and things, and to also use what I learned from the first website domain.
Wow!
It’s now 2010! A New Decade!
Ten Years after the turn of the millennium!!
I have so many plans for this coming year! I hope that they will be fullfiled…
For one, hopefully, I will be able to do much more artwork this year than I did the year before. I already have several dozen W.I.P. pictures in the process of being done.
First, I have to move this blog to my new Shadamachaeon site……I hope that won’t be too difficult.
I’m also thinking of adding two more Blogs to the new domain,
1) One that focuses on my own planet planet project that was greatly inspired by Furaha and Snaid projects.
2) Two or three comic-themed wordpress blogs , or in other words, “Webcomics”. I’m not sure if I’ll use Comicpress, Inkblot / Webcomic, Wpcomic, or all three. I’ll have to see…
I’m not sure what content I’ll put in it , but I’m sure that it won’t be too hard! : )
Let’s see.. Time for doing new years resolutions for 2010, but first, let’s see how this year’s resolutions panned out…
1) “One of my new years resolutions and goals are to learn how to use , and master, all the 3D applications I bought this year.”
a) “Quidam 2 Studio” – Nope
b) “Maya 8.5 2008” – Nope
c) “3DX MAX 2009” – a little bit
d) “Cinema 4D ” – a little bit
c) “And I upgraded to Lightwave 9.5 from 9.3 ”
This year, I actually upgraded to Lightwave 9.6 this year, not that I really did anything with it either…Unfortunately..
d) “I now have a ton of stuff for Poser – half of which is cataloged.”
Most of it is now cataloged, not all of it , unfortunately…..I wonder if I’ll even use a tiny fraction of the stuff I have now!
“I am not planning on getting any new 3D software this year, maybe upgradee Terrigen 2 3D terrain software, and eGeoControl 2 MaybeAdobe Aftereffects and some other Adobe movie making software. I’ll have to see…”
No, I wasn’t able to get any of those programs this year, maybe next year?
2 ) “I also want to go back to doing 2d type artwork, like drawing on paper, as well as learn how to use Photoshop (I still have version 7.0, I want to learn how to use it before I upgrade up to CS )”
I started to do allot of drawing last January, but for some reason or another, the output tapered off tremendously. I only started to do more artwork this and last month, and hopefully, it will continue into next year without stopping any…
I actually have Adobe Photoshop CS3 for a awhile now, but I haven’t installed it yet, since I still trying to learn Adobe Photoshop 7.0. I’ll probably install it, Along with the rest of the Adobe Premire Design Suit 3 Bundle that I have sometime early next year ( I really need the Dreamweaver and Flash components! )
3 ) “Anyway, now that I have most of the bugs worked out of this blog, I expect to post more offten here, and hopefully show some of the stuff I’m doing art-wise.”
I really haven’t fixed all the bugs out on this blog, and haven’t got around to doing the things that I really wanted to do with it…
But most noticeable change here is that I changed the name from “Galactamaeon” to “Shadamachaeon”, since the latter is the name I used first on my Youtube Channel ( which I don’t yet have anything up there at the moment ) and also at my DeviantArts profile page. This is to focus all my sites into one consolidated Art – Name area, at my soon to be activated Shadamachaeon web site domain!
I’m going to have to move this wordpress journal over to the new place, as soon as I figure out how…
And once I do, to change my posting name to ” Shadamachaeon as well!
Anyway…What are my New Years resolutions for 2010?
In addition to some new things added, they’re pretty much the same as last years, I guess…. And then some…
4 ) “So, to everyone reading this ( all two people! ) I wish you a Very Happy New Year!”
So, to everyone reading this ( all *six* people now! ) I wish you a Very Happy New Year!”
Late last month I got an e-mail from a friend that the Asahiya Bookstore is closing it’s one and only flagship store here in New York City , over between 5th ave and Madison.
October 1st was the first day of the Asahiya closeout sale, so I tried to buy as much as I could. I wanted to get some Japanese language books that I had my eye on for a few years, but they were all sold out, It seemed.
Gothic Lolita Punk Brand Catalogue Magazine ( July and August )
and
Figure King Magazine ( A fantastic magazine for collectors of all kinds of toys, figures )
I spent a total of $104.67 that time – which , on my meager budget, was the maximum money for entertainment expenses for the rest of the month ( Or so I thought… )
But they were clearing out the store, and slashing prices. Alot of books I had put off getting in the past were now in my price range.
I then decided that I was going to make an effort to get to the store before it closed completely and for good by the end of the month.
I managed to return on the 27th…And the prices for most of the remaining books were reduced even futhrer..
On this trip, I got:
The Comic Artists Pose Book Vol. 1 ( Girl home poses ) Originally 2500 Yen, now $3.00.
Comickers Art Style ( ” Color Technique book Issued Semiannually Visual Supporter ” ) magazine, Issue # 2 – 5 ( origianlly 1800 yen, Closeout sale price, now $2.00 ) Quarterly.
Hisashi Hirai Illustration Works 2 ( ” hh2 ” ) Roman Album . He was the Chara Designer for Gundum Seed, I think. ( Originally 1905 Yen, before the sale, now $2.00! )
And Hiderou Horibe Colors Art Works 2 ( Originally 2480 Yen, now $3.00 ). He did art mostly for PC Hentai Games. I think that the first Art works book was called ” Yours “. I read that he is now unfortunately deceased…..He was a promising illustrator and character designer in the Japanese PC scene ( was mostly known for illustrating the covers of the adult oriented magazine PC Angel between 1993 and 2006 ), who died a tragic death of a heart attack at age 36 back in 2006.Too bad, he was a great artist… As one can tell from the image below from one of his previous Artworks books…
Total expediture this last trip to Asahiya :$84.11 total.
I’ve been going to Asahiya Bookstore since 1993, when a friend took me there to get U-Jin manga. Back then, it was in a different location, just two blocks east of where it was now. It moved to the present location in 2003, I think it had a ten year lease or something.
Below is a picture of the site of the original store ( which once was home to the New York Savings Bank ), at 45th and Vanderbelt, across from Grand Central Station :
( You can still see the outline of the old Asahiya sign that was once there. )
And thus a passing of an age. The Japanese bookstore count in NYC is now down by one. A victim of these tough economic times…
Now it looks like I’ll have to make trips to Bookoff ( A famouse Japanese Used Bookstore ) and Kinokunya now……Both on or near 42ns street, and so they are pretty out of the way from my path home from work.
Oh well, I’ll probably be able save alot of money now ( I was often dropping about $60 average at Asahiya weekly! ).
I haven’t written anything here all summer. I have no excuse – I’ve been lazy!
Anyway, It’s fall now, and It was the time of year for The New York AnimeFest. I had to work part of that weekend, so I was trying to figure out whether or not I could go on the last day of the con, that Sunday. I figured I could swing by Javitts Center and check it out.
Then I found out that on the same weekend of the Animefest Con, there was the Octoberfest at the Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden in Astoria (aka Archiebunkerland), Queens.
About three weeks or so before that weekend, I got an e-mail from my friend Taeko , who does American promotion for her NYC – based event media production and marketing communications company, “newyork-tokyo” that there was going to be a concert at Webster Hall featuring some sort of a Japanese Girl Group that I never heard of before, called “AKB48”
The only Japanese Idol Supergroup that I am remotely familiar with is Morning Musume. I never heard of this AKB48. But then again, I don’t follow the Japanese Pop Music scene.
But Cute Japanese Girls + free event?
Definite WIN all around!
AKB48
U.S. DEBUT CONCERT IN NYC
SUPPORTED BY SKY PerfecTV! HD
SEPTEMBER 27 (SUN) 5:00PM
WEBSTER HALL NEW YORK CITY
GRAND BALLROOM
125 E. 11TH ST.
FREE 18+ EVENT WITH RSVP:
www.newyork-tokyo.com/wp/akb48
” We are happy to announce the US debut of Japan’s popular music group AKB48. AKB48 will perform at a full concert at Webster Hall in NYC on Sunday, September 27.
AKB48 is a very unique, theater based, all-female music group created by famed songwriter/producer Yasushi Akimoto in 2005. AKB48 consists of 66 female members ranging from ages 14 to 26 (as of Sep. 2009). The group is divided into four groups – A, K, B, and Trainee. With the concept of “Idols you can meet everyday”, the group practically performs almost every day at their own exclusive AKB48 Theater in Akihabara, Tokyo. Their stage presence is an eye candy to the fans due to their multiple costume changes throughout the show. These busy pop stars take on diverse challenging work by hosting their own TV show and appearing in movies and commercials. Not to mention their multiple collaboration work with artist Takashi Murakami. (Their recent single CD cover was illustrated by Murakami).
AKB48′s first international appearance was at the Japan Expo in Paris this past July. Now they are set to arrive in NYC with select members preparing for the best possible US debut! They will show what Tokyo girls are about in show business. In addition you will get to experience their cute fashion and full smile power. ”
“SEP. 27 (SUN)
Full Concert at
WEBSTER HALL NEW YORK CITY
GRAND BALLROOM
125 E. 11th St., NYC
Doors open at 4:00 PM
Concert starts at 5:00 PM”
Free 18+ event with RSVP
I sent in my RSVP, and I also told my friend Adamonkey about it as well – he also like Japanese stuff, even went to Japan ( Unlike me.. ). I sent him the AKB48 link too.
I did manage to go to the Octoberfest at Bohemian Beer Hall event that Sunday when It opened at noon, and it was raining, so there was not very many people there. I was supposed to meet up with my boss from work there, but he was running late. I passed the time talking to a friendly old Irish guy for a while. After I had my second pitcher of some nice tasting dark Czech beer ( that I didn’t get the name of, unfortunately… ), my boss finally showed up. But it was nearly time for me to leave to go to the AKB48 concert ( it was 3:30 PM, and the doors officially would open at 4:00 PM ). I didn’t want to leave my boss high and dry at the Beerfest, considering that he wasn’t feeling well that morning ( he ate some bad food at some street festival the day before, so he wasn’t up to drinking any beer ). But then I remembered that on my e-mail confirmation for the concert, it said that I could bring one guest.
All I had to say was ” Japanese girls”, and my boss said, “Yes”!
Hehehe..
We managed to get to the Webster Hall around 4:20 pm, but it seemed that they didn’t let anyone in yet. I saw my friend Adamonkey on line, and I introduced him to my Boss.
The show was supposed to start at around 5:00 pm, but they didn’t start to let people in until almost that time.
Right before we went upstairs to the Grand Ballroom, where the event was going to take place, I had to go to the bathroom (all that beer I drank earlier!). Afterwards, I checked the merchandise at the AKB48 sales table – lot of the stuff was just too expensive and the ir posters were $16 dollars ( something like $ 6.oo for a picture of each girl or something… ). Their CD music was like 35 dollars apiece ( must be Japan prices! ).
But I did like the big Webster Hall Promotional Posters of the event, I would have bought them.
I think.
Anyway, I went upstairs to the Grand Ball room, and talked to my Boss and Adamonkey. We three seemed to be the oldest people there, the rest seemed to be mostly people in their 20′s. Alot of them seemed to have come from the NY Animefest over at Jacob Javits center that was just finishing that day. The hall was not as filled as capacity, but they were pretty enthusiastic – They looked like dedicated Japanese Idol fans. They are more known in the industry as “Wotas“, which is another name for “Otaku”, but to differentiate themselves from them, they altered the spelling somewhat.
My Boss was chatting with a Japanese girl for a while, before her friends dragged her away (hahaha ).
The concert itself was interesting, I later found out that the sixteen girls that came to America were combined members from two of of AKB48 three component “Teams”, “A” and “K”. I personally liked the opening number when they were all in their Schoolgirl uniforms costumes ( Because I like that… ). My Boss wasn’t feeling well, and had to leave a half an hour in, and my friend Adamonkey left a half an hour after that ( He’s married, so I was surprised that he managed to stay as long as he did…LOL! ).
Before Adamonkey left, I ran into one of my old Metro Anime friends there, so I hung out with him for the rest of the concert, which had one or two encores, I think.
The girls were cute, in a Japanese kawaii sort of way, but the one that really stood out for me ( I mean, not acting or looking typically Japnesese ) , was a girl from “Team K”, named Sayaka Akimoto. Not only was she the tallest , oldest, and most-in-charge girl there (frontwoman?) at the show, she had the best command of English out of all the girls there. And she was the sexiest….( besides, I’d feel far more comfortable drooling over her, than AKB38′s other mostly underaged Moe-type team members – hey, this isn’t Japan! LOL! )
Nevertheless, I think Akimoto-san made another American fan that evening…. As you can see below..
( Unfortunately, she didn’t wear this at the American concert….. )
Now, as for AKB48 itself, personally, I think they would do very well in the American Anime convention circuit ( Time out New York referred to them as kind of the ” Japanese Spice Girls (!) ) , but I don’t think they would make a dent in the greater American music market. But there are some talk of opening an American branch of AKB48 girl group here in America ( “Team C” ?.
If this ever happens, I don’t know if they will have imported Japanese girls, or will use local talent and do some sort of “High – School Musical” thingy for American tastes.
Here is a video of the concert:
AKB48 NY WEBSTER HALL
And here is another….
AKB48 @ Webster Hall – Member Introductions
I would have taken my own video ( let alone pictures ) but the e-mail from newyork-tokyo said that no recording devices were allowed. But at the concert, almost everyone had a camera or videocamera.
So much for me followig the rules…
After the concert, I hung out in the basement concert events for a while, There was a really nice local New York City “Japanese horror-comical freak” punk metal(!) band called GELATINE ( I needed an antidote to all the mostly sugary goodness of AKB48 hahaha ). the lead singer, Seiko is pretty intense! I bet she could / would eat the AKB48 girls for breakfast! ( no double entendre intended… )
I would definitely check this group out in the future!
After their set ended, I stuck around for a while, then my age started to show, and I was getting pretty tired ( I just cant hang out at concerts like I used to when I was younger.. ). While exiting Webster Hall, I had to go past these huge bouncer type security guys on the steps ( they seemed to be more concerned about people coming in, than going out hahaha ) and I saw the huge white tour bus outside the place, on the street. Must have been AKB48′s bus. If I was twenty, or even ten years younger, I would have stayed, and waited around to take a picture of the girls leave and stuff, but I was tired, not to mention hungry (and just simply not in the mood to be a Wota stalker LOL! )
That was basically it. I liked the event ( considering that it was free, and I would have had to pay a pretty penny to see them in Akihabara in Tokyo ) and I was not creeped out at all going to a Japanese pop Idol group concert which half consisting girls under the Age of Consent in NY state.
But that’s just me….
AKB48 seems to be pretty popular in the Japanese Idol world – There is even an internet forum for English speaking AKB48 fans :
Those Stage48 forum people seem to be / are pretty hard core WOTAs It seems. Maybe I’m just too old, and / or not that fanatical, ( I don’t think I’ll end up like these Japanese guys…I hope… ) but I’d rather stick with Anime and Manga stuff, personally. and the only Japanese Idols I be interested in would be the Gravure kind…
Here is a free Poser Character called “Decoo” by a Japanese Poser Artist named Akatora at his site here.
It comes in two versions, a thin, regular version, and a more voluptuous model, as seen below…
There are clothes made for the Thin Version, but I have not found anything yet for the bombshell body version.
There is also a younger poser charcter that he has called “Decoco” located on that same page.
I haven’t posted anything here in weeks……I have to admit, I’ve been busy doing other things…Namely fiddling with POSER. I learned lots of new stuff in just these past weeks, considering that I have had the software for more than a year now..
I’ll try post some nice renders that I did here soon.
Anyway, I used most of my tax refund money to get Autodesk Mudbox 2009. It’s pretty good!
I’ve always wanted to get in to sculpting – even went as far as getting sculpting tools and clay, etc. But just have not really done anything with them yet. But now there is software that emulates sculpting and even painting models now.
I was originally going to get Zbrush, I saw heard of it before , the first well known and quite popular digital sculpting and painting program that many people in the CG world works with.
But I read that Mudbox has better features ( I’m not sure what they are right now ). But it is a little bit more expensive – Mudbox is $745.00, while Zbrush is $595.
I really haven’t had a chance to really work with it in depth, but I have been fiddling with it for a bit. The first model that I created in Mudbox is , like I did with the Lightwave and 3ds Max software, a simple cube, as seen in the picture above.
Well, it’s a start!
Here is a very good instructional Mudbox video off of Youtube, if you are interested..
, Monday July 5th , ( when Independence Day will be observed nationally….).
