The Flash video player used on the My Brother website isn’t playing the animated clips at the right FPS in Internet Explorer. I’m trying to find a way to fix it/get around it/something.
Hooray world wide web for never working! -_-
Monthly Archives: January 2009
Sketchbook Monday #55
Can’t believe I actually forgot all about Sketchbook Monday yesterday. Good grief, I’m slipping.
Inspired by an avatar I saw someone using somewhere, though the who and where have since departed from my memory. Wasn’t quite as cute as the original.
Fuzzy, wild hair! He doesn’t seem to mind it so much, though.
Random cute girl #(insert random number for comic effect)
You can’t go wrong with Mario! He looks a little more “real” here than he usually does elsewhere, I suppose.
It’s Naruto! From the manga series of the same name. I seem to have been preoccupied with fan art this past week. Believe it!
Sketchbook Monday #54
I felt like drawing curly hair one day. Can’t remember exactly what he’s supposed to be for, but I’m pretty sure I had an idea for some game in mind at the time. Truth be told, I don’t like curly hair that much. Too bad I have a head full of it, I guess. :/
Eike, a character in Iccari’s story who makes his living as a bodyguard.
A snail boy. Wish I could say this is the wierdest thing I’ve ever drawn, but no, I’m sure I could dig deeper. Either way, even my sketchbook is baffled.
“I—Is this shell for real? Can I touch it?”
“Yes, but only if you promise not to pour salt on me.”
This girl first appeared in Sketchbook Monday #43 and I’ve drawn her many times since then. I like her cute design a lot, so I really ought to find a place to use her. And, for that matter, give her a proper name.
Iccari’s nemisis/rival/archenemy/I-don’t-really-know-anymore.
Sketchbook Monday #53
I’d been saving these things as super-compressed jpeg files, but I don’t think it’ll kill me if the files are a little bigger. Thus from here on out I’m upping the quality. Hopefully the quality of the sketches themselves will follow? 🙂
Here’s yet another version of Iccari’s friend Naomi. One day I’ll nail down the way she looks. …Oh, who am I kidding? 😛
Speaking of Iccari, it’s… well, Iccari. “Surprise!”
Just a girl.
The art of noses illudes me, but one day I shall conquer it!
Lamenting Off Days
I hate “off days”. Days when no matter how hard you try everything you draw seems off, your heart just can’t get into it, and all you can see is the mistakes you’re making. It’s all the more annoying when you’re just a moderatly-skilled artist like me and your work is sloppy enough begin with. XD
Hopefully insperation strikes me soon, because I really want Swordmaster Odyssey to look its best when it resumes on Friday. 🙁
January 2009 Digital Download Pack
This month’s digital download pack is finally up for those who want it, and includes a 720p .wmv version of the clip from My Brother.
Wherein Dale Belittles Himself
Swordmaster Odyssey has certainly been a learning experience for me. I tend to wing it when it comes to stories, starting with a general idea of where I want things to go and then coming up with the actual story as I work. SMOdyssey is lucky in this regard in that when I started, I actually knew how it was going to end. However, as time has passed and I’ve actually finished things I’ve started (or gotten close to as much), I’ve begun to rethink a lot of my writing techniques, and my shoot-from-the-hip approach is no different.
When I started inking SMOdyssey, I had a basic summary of the first seven chapters lying around somewhere (which became the first five chapters since some events were longer or shorter in practice than anticipated) and little else. I’d just storyboard about five to fifteen pages ahead and go for it. In the end, though, this has resulted in a narrative that just isn’t as tight as I wish it were. So, as of late, I’ve really started getting in the habit of doing full outlines for things. Not the scattered, disheveled notes a lot of people use, but a very clear and well-arranged summary breaking down major events and assigning them to chapters or whatnot.
To this end, today I sat down and began something I should have done two years ago: plan out the entire story, beginning middle and end. Granted, things can change as I go, but I’m tired of loose story threads getting lost in the shuffle, and the pacing not always panning out as well as it should in hindsight. Hopefully, this should prove for a better over-arching story when everything’s finished because I can stand back and see where everything should go and get a glimpse of whether or not it’ll end up reading like I want it to.
As for Sketchbook Monday, sorry about that, but I’ve missed it again. I spent all week writing a book and didn’t get around to drawing anything. I’m back to work this week, though, so there’ll be no excuses next week! (I hope.)
Correction
It says more articles this week, but I’m opting to enjoy my vacation instead. 😉
Sorry. 🙁
In any case, my vacation ends on Monday when I have to get caught up on everything again. Bah—I was just getting comfortable with not having to work all week.