Desk Diary 9-18-11
This has been a busy month for me, and it is far from over. There are still several things coming up that will be keeping me busy. However, as far as my room and other goals go, I have started to make some changes and progress.
Since I got my Wacom tablet I don't really draw on paper anymore, and thus, I also don't really need my scanner anymore. On top of that, with the recent addition of my girls (dolls), I wanted to change my room around a bit to accommodate them. These two things worked out well for me.
First I packed up the scanner/printer. This freed up space on my desk for my girls. I then removed my little drawing table and added in my second matching bookcase. Yes, I actually have more furniture than can fit in my current little room.
Now I have a lot more shelf space, which quickly filled up with books, manga, games, and DVDs/Blu-Rays. A large chunk of shelf space is now being used for my two resin BJD girls. Overall I think it looks a bit nicer, though I hate all the brown. I still plan to "upgrade" all my furniture little by little, but for now this will do.
I'm still collecting items for the girls. I've been putting the new items in a little bucket as I've been getting them. With all the additional items the bucket is now too full to even close, as you can see.
And I STILL have another small order incoming. Lastly, to finish things off for them (for a while), I plan to order two stands next week that will be used on the now cleared off space on my desk.
I'm pretty happy about these changes. Next month, after all the busy things I have to do this month are over, I hope to really start moving forward with a webcomic. I want to get a webcomic started before the end of this year. I'll keep you posted.
Miku Append Figma
I finally received my Miku Hatsune -Append Version- Figma. I've been waiting to get this one for a couple months now. She is one of the most well known Vocaloids out there and I'm even listening to some of her music as I write this!
Vocaloid is the singing synthesizer program by Yamaha made popular by the set of anime inspired characters from Crypton Future Media. Combined they are used to make electronic/dance music with anime-sounding voices (in Japanese). Miku's music can be found all over the net and on iTunes. Her digital concert actually made its way here, to the US, at the 2011 Anime Expo. She has become very popular among anime / jpop fans. I missed out on her original figma version, and even her second release as well. However, I managed to pick up this new design of her.
The Append Version actually represents a software expansion for the original Miku software. The updated design is a more futuristic and really clean style with softer color tones. It matches the electronic/syth style of music that I tend to listen to with her voice. I almost like the Append Version more than her original design.
There are a couple examples of Miku Hatsune music using the Append Version found here.
This figma also represents Max Factory / Good Smile Company's 100th figma, which is a really great testament to how popular she has become -- a true virtual idol. The figma comes with all sorts of options, such as: three faces, optional arm parts, options waist parts, an optional torso section, several hand poses, and, of course,a figma stand. Her hair is also clear at the tips, which is a nice touch. Other details include her signature "01" number on her arm and in the reds dots on her waist attachments.
Like all figma, she is really posable and with the optional faces can show off various expressions. However, my favorite pose is the one inspired by the original illustration of the Miku Append Version, which shows her floating in a sort of peaceful, almost timeless, state.
So far I think this is my favorite figma. Not only because I like Miku Hatsune's music (voice?), but it's also a really "stand out" design. The floating pose I have her in is really unique. I think she makes a great addition to my slowly growing figma collection.
Dollfie Dream Airy!
Only a couple days ago I received my first limited Dollfie Dream, Neris. Today I got my second limited Dollfie Dream, Shining Hearts Airy! They are from the same game and were both sculpted by the same artist, so they go together.
I'm so glad I was fortunate enough to get both Neris and Airy. I won Airy through Kerbey Lane Doll Shop, which is why she took a little longer to arrive, but they shipped her out really fast - faster than I expected.
Here are some photos from the box opening.
This time it was a simple brown box, but a little bigger than the last one.
She has a cute "cat-like" smile. :3
She's finally out of the box and bag. Her eyes have a bit of a "pearl" effect to them.
She comes with a lot of items. A basket (like Neris), a book with real (blank) pages, boots, a white dress with a lovely coat and hat, and a nice blonde wig. Volks really puts a lot of attention to detail. The book is fully stitched with a working buckle/strap. The basket is real, not plastic.
Here are a couple quick shots!
Dollfie Dream Neris!
After much luck and waiting, my first complete limited Dollfie Dream has arrived, a Shining Hearts Neris! She was delivered safe and sound with a box full of goodies.
When the Dolpa 25 lottery started I didn't think I was going to be able to get anything. I figured I had no chance when I heard how popular Neris was. I entered for her twice. When I got the Volks email saying I won, I didn't know if it was real.
However, here she is! Here are some quick box opening pictures.
You can see some of her face looking out from inside the box.
She came with a lot of items. Even a little basket. The hair is nearly impossible to get on her head as is her default top.
Here are a couple quick shots of her.
More Loot!
I got my boxes from Amazon today. They contained some anime, manga and camera items. A couple things I needed and some just for fun.
After reading the first issue of Cat Paradise, I wanted to read more. The style is really clean and expressive and the story is cute and interesting. I tend to collect a lot of the work of artists I like so I can study their style more. So I picked up the rest of the Cat Paradise series. If you love cats and students fighting monsters, this might be up your alley.
Next are a couple of Blu-Ray anime. Anime on Blu-Ray is becoming more common now, so I'm glad to see that. This time I picked up the second movie to the redone Evagelion series, Evangelion: 2.22. I was/am a big fan of the original series so this was on my wish list for a while. I'm eager to see this one since my favorite Eva character, Asuka, makes her appearance.
Ga-Rei Zero is a newer series for me. I watched it recently on Netflix and was hooked. I love this series! It's very well done, in my opinion. It's a friendship story surrounded by monsters and action with a little comedy. I certainly recommend it. Even though I have already seen it, I still wanted to have it for my collection. I'm sure I'll watch it again.
Lastly for the anime is High School of the Dead. I wasn't too keen on the manga, which I picked up a while ago, but I heard good things about the anime. I only watched a couple episodes and I must agree. It's much better. I really like it in fact. Can't wait to finish it.
Finally, I also picked up some camera gear. Thanks to a suggestion from a new friend, I bought a flash remote trigger set and a flash stand/umbrella set by Cowboy Studio. This will (hopefully) allow me to use my flash off to the side, instead of dead center, and have it diffused with the large umbrella. I'm still learning how to take good pictures. I hope this will help out.
That's it for now, but I have more coming up in the next couple days. Be sure to check back.
Desk Diary 7-21-2011
There are a couple recent items to mention. First, if you have a keen eye you may notice a different monitor on my desk above. A couple weeks ago my 24" Samsung LCD monitor died on me.
The monitor just went black with no fanfare. At first I thought it may be my video card, but after testing with a spare monitor, I found that wasn't the case. So for a while I was stuck with a small, old, LCD from years ago. It was also only 4:3, and after using a 16:10 (widescreen) monitor for so long, it was hard to go back to. After some online research, I picked up a new 24" Samsung LED LCD monitor. Two days later it was returned. The LED backlight gave a blue tint to the screen and no amount of adjustments could get it to a point I was happy with. Maybe it was a lemon or just a low quality item, but I didn't like it.
Working with pictures everyday, I need a monitor that I am comfortable with. So again, I went online to research a new monitor. This time it was for a regular LCD monitor and not LED. Reviews for an HP 25" 16:9 LCD monitor came up and seemed like a decent choice. It also happened to be on sale at Best Buy. Even more luck would have it that the Best Buy near me was the only one to have it in stock in the area.
In fact, it was the last one in stock! Was it fate? After getting it home and setting it up, I was much more pleased with the screen's colors compared to the LED monitor before it. So this will be a keeper. It's the first HP and gloss screen monitor I have owned.
Last month it was announced that the Dollfie Dreams would arrive from Japan before the original time-frame of August. Volks USA later announced that they received them on July 1st. They still had to go through all the orders before they could be shipped, which took a couple weeks. Yesterday I finally received a shipping notice for my DD Neris! She will be here on Tuesday the 26th. The other one I won, Airy, will arrive about a week later, since she was won through a Volks retailer.
I also picked up some other items. A couple books and a few items from Volks for my incoming Dollfie Dreams. I also have another package coming from Amazon and yet another from Hong Kong. Expect posts for all that soon.
One Year with Jaimee
One year ago I got my first resin BJD, Jaimee. It's hard to believe it has been a year already. Just last month I got my second resin BJD and I have two Dollfie Dreams on the way, but Jaimee was the first and will always be special to me because of that.
Ordering Jaimee was a big decision. At the time I was certain I was crazy! She was an expensive purchase. She was not sitting on a shelf somewhere, she was made because I ordered her. In essence, she would have not existed if I didn't order her. The same goes for my latest resin BJD, Alexis. It really makes them feel more special that way—more personal.
She's been with me for a year and it's been great having her around! I'm glad that I took the chance and clicked that order button. I thought one would be enough, but it seems I'll need more space soon.
Mirai Suenaga Figma
Danny Choo is just your average guy that started a blog and created his own mascot. He's a fan of anime, manga and Japanese culture. He also collects Dollfie Dreams and anime/manga figures. He shares photos that he takes of Japan and provides a lot of information about the country to those that follow him. He has become so popular that his mascot/character, Mirai Suenaga, was recently released as a figma by the Good Smile Company. Mirai is just a "forever young" 17 year old girl and Danny is currently working with several people and companies to spread her all over the place, from clothes to games and more.
Danny is a hard-working guy. He's gone from a simple blogger to someone that many people follow around the world. It's not his popularity that I find interesting, or even so much that his mascot has become popular enough that she has had a toy made after her. If you read his posts or see some of his seminars he tells you about how he came from nothing, had a not-so-great childhood, deals with a condition and yet he never stops pursuing his dreams. He pushes himself, stays focused, learns, and does what he needs to do. He's determined and ambitious. He tries to tell others that anyone can do the same. He tries to share what he's learned and inspire others. I think that's pretty rare today. He seems to be such an average, fun-loving, down to Earth guy that loves life, no matter what it throws at him. Danny is one of the few people I look towards to inspire me to keep moving forward. Looking at his posts, seeing his journey and progress, is really inspiring and it sometimes gives me that kick I need to keep going.
To help remind me I ordered his Mirai figma. I think it just shows how anyone can succeed if they keep at their goals. The Mirai figma is cute and fun to play around with, but having her on my desk is a great reminder of what is possible if you work hard enough.
Lazy Day
Since the box opening photos for Alexis didn't do her justice, I've been eager to get some better photos of her. This time with better light and less bangs in her face. Yes, that's a big hair-clip.
Mastery over taking good pictures is still a challenge and a constant learning experience. I haven't had time to really play with my camera as much as I'd like. However, with each photo session I pick up a little something different. One problem is good lighting. So this time I set out to take photos with a single light source. In this case, the sun. I setup near a window and didn't have any other light. I also took some with the window open. Her hair took a long while to tame, and even then it was far from perfect. Poor Alexis.
Anyway, it's only a couple of shots, but I think it worked pretty well. I'll have to try it again. I hope you like them.
Let's Get Digital!
At first I wasn't completely sure how long it would take me to transition to fully digital illustrations, but after a week of using my Wacom Cintiq, I'm now pretty addicted to it.
Paint Tools SAI has really been, I think, the main reason I've been able to jump into this with little trouble and enjoy it as I go. SAI might not have all the bells and whistles of PhotoShop, which I've been using for the better part of 15 years, but what it does do, it does well, which is draw.
The interface of SAI is nice and simple and it has some unique features for drawing. I was able to assign one of the Wacom's side touch-strips to rotate the canvas. This way can use my right thumb (I'm left-handed when I draw - right-handed with the mouse.) to quickly slide up and down the touch-strip when I need to rotate. I also assigned buttons to reset the rotation, zoom in/out, and on the pen undo and move the canvas. It's a really simple setup, but it works well for me.
Another great thing about SAI is the stabilization setting. With this, it slows and smooths your pen motions—making it easier to make smooth lines. For sketching I turn stabilization off, but for inking it's a great asset, especially for long curved lines.
Once I got everything set, and after a little playing around, I started to try and draw some real images. I learn better by doing, so doodles weren't going to cut it. When sketching, I quickly realized how nice it is to be able to select something and move or resize it. If the head is too big I can just select it and scale it up some. This is a whole new sense of freedom I didn't have with pencil and paper!
Inking is pretty easy with the stabilization. With my traditional inking pens I was always a little limited by how thin the pens could get. Thick and thin was never really as easy to control as I would have liked. With the Wacom I can manage to get some nice, thin, smooth lines, though it will take some time to get used to it. Unlike paper and pens, you don't have any real friction on a Wacom's smooth surface.
The sky is the limit for coloring digitally. After watching the great SAI videos on YouTube by really talented artists I realized there are so many different ways I can color now with the Wacom. Before I would just use the selection tool in Photoshop. The mouse is way too imprecise to color with. Now I can color using the same motions I use to draw. Almost like coloring an image in a coloring book!
The possibilities seem endless and I'm excited to see how it improves my illustrations.