RueLi

Selling Harlequinn Jack-in-the-Box (Assassin's Creed Brotherhood)

2011-01-22T07:11:57Z

!-- SOLD --!

Hey peeps,
Due to lack of space and need for transportation money,
I'm selling my Harlequinn Jack-in-the-Box
(Never used...I'm too anxious around Jack-in-the-Boxes)

It'll be $30US +shipping (which I estimate to be a little less than $10 for US residents).
And I'm packing it inside the collector's edition box since it came with secure packaging.
PAYPAL please.

Any takers...?

Goodbye 2010, Hellooooo 2011~!

2010-12-31T21:18:15Z

This year flew by pretty quick, didn't it? (Well, at least for me it did...)
I've been blessed to have a pretty upbeat 2010, with the exception of a couple of little bumps on the road.
(I was close to losing/having to quit my job at Disneyland at one point while settling in on balancing two jobs.)
There's been a little bit of stress of having to take in my grandma last year, but nothing that isn't being solved at the moment.

:: But lots of awesome things happened as well:

Graduated art college with a Bachelors of Science in Game Art & Design
Discovered my new fandom: Assassin's Creed
Went to E3 for the first time (and for FREE!)
Got selected to have my art piece printed in the upcoming Assassin's Creed Artbook, & getting paid for a buy-out of the piece.
Got a job at Square Enix as a game tester. Crossing my fingers that I can stay on more projects right away.

:: Things I learned:

PCs are a necessary evil. I love my Mac, but some things are still PC-only....(I hope my lil' laptop will survive another 2 years)
Final Fantasy XIII = huge letdown, overall sucked (with the exception of being eye candy), and will forever be on the back burner.
Public transportation is AWESOME (at least the trains). I get to work in 20 minutes instead of going through an hour+ of traffic.
Always look over your contracts. I almost got paid in Canadian dollars instead of US dollars cause of a typo ^^;;
I have a habit of buying games, and not playing/finishing them...(Ico, Shadow of Colossus, Prototype, Kirby....)
Gamestop sucks overall, gotta start buying games elsewhere.
I will grow up to be the comic/manga lady (as opposed to the "cat" lady)

:: Things I need to work on:

3D MODELING!! Oh gawd, I've been really lazy about it. I desperately need to update my 3D portfolio.
Losing weight. I've got my Weightwatchers book in hand, and now will apply it starting next week (once I buy the appropriate groceries).
I NEED TO WATCH TANGLED, INCEPTION, and TRON, DAMMIT!!!=

Get ready for another exciting new year, peeps~!

Working at Square Enix now!

2010-10-11T19:11:35Z

" WH@(#*$%^FOIEHW(@U*#R(YFWEOHI)*#@&!? "

...was pretty much the reaction I had when I got a call today saying I'll start working for QA at Square Enix.
QA (Quality Assurance) is the elaborate title for 'bug tester.' So my job is going to be looking for bugs and grammatical errors in any upcoiming Square Enix title in the process of localization.

Although it's wasn't the job I was initially looking for (3D prop/environment modeler),
this is great enough to hold me over for at least one project (a few months) guaranteed.
Square Enix is a HUGE name in the game industry,
so it helps open a LOT of doors once I try to find another job.
And Square sends a lot of its employees to conventions and conferences,
so it doubles as a giant networking gig.

What does this mean for the current Disneyland gig?
Well I have to talk to my manager today,
but if they can't accommodate me for weekends only, then I'll put in my two-week's notice and 'sayonara' Disney.

Carte Blanche AC Artbook sumbission - ACCEPTED!!!

2010-09-17T04:54:06Z

So, back in July, I had read on the UbiWorkshop site that they were going to release an artbook for Assassin's Creed.

I thought, 'Awesome.'

I read the same website about a week later, and seeing that they were making a call for contributions for the artbook for their 'Carte Blanche' section....

I thought, 'EFFIN' AWESOME!!! I'm so doing this!' (Even if I didn't get accepted, I had nothing to lose but a bit of free time).

The guidelines asked to make an assassin from a different period in any medium. I had so many cultures in mind at that time it was hard to choose, but since I had a month to complete it, I was totally okay with taking my time.

Some time later...shit hits the fan when I realize that I had 3 broken days (work in between all of them) until the deadline to create something for the Carte Blanche. I don't know how I could've forgotten about something so IMPORTANT!? (I blame the 50 hour weeks at work). I mean, Assassin's Creed is one of my FAVORITE GAME SERIES!! Why the hell was I doing NOT drawing!? And it was due at 8pm-ish...in ENGLAND! So that meant I had to finish it at 1pm-ish here in California (Pacific time).
Well, I drew feverishly for those three days. I had to go to one 4-hour shift the first day, a 7-hour shift the second, and had to go to a baptism at 2pm the third day. Since the submission was due right before I had to leave for the baptism on the third day, I thought I'd make the deadline.

Wrong.

The final day...I had 4 hours and was only halfway done digitally coloring the piece. I had overestimated the time.
I didn't think choosing a period/culture was so difficult. I had MesoAmerican, Native American, Samurai, and sleek Modern assassins in mind....but I figured those were going to be the popular ones, so I forcefully abandoned even getting near those types for fear that I would get over-looked for using an over-cliché theme.
I was at a loss for a few hours and mulled about it through my work shift. But, finally...FINALLY, I get inspiration from the form of a youtube video of a manga artist working on a drawing for her series. I noticed that her character wore the outfit of an Ottoman Turk, and how awesome they would look in white......
It was decided. I was going to draw an assassin from the Ottoman Turk empire.

But, ever the perfectionist, I took the first 2 days just doing the sketch and lineart. I obviously didn't pay enough attention to the youtube video in that Ottoman textiles were effing DETAILED little suckers. I was making squares and triangles that were millimeters small on an A4 paper. Then, I was irritated that I couldn't bring it to the job to work on it more, but since I was working in an area surrounded by water...well, water and paper are just not friends. I took way too long designing, which left me with 8 hours to color it. But once I scanned in the line art, I realized that I used the wrong kind of paper...it was SO so gritty when I looked at it on the screen that the lines were all jagged! I spent even MORE time blurring and cleaning up lineart as I colored.

My mom and dad were now furious at me. At first, they were rooting me on cause I had the air of confidence that I would finish in time. But once they noticed on the third day that I was still sleep-deprived, had been living off of Capri Suns and cereal bars, and still in my jammies, furiously making my hand fly over the tablet and keyboard, with only ONE hour until the baptism started, they started giving me crap.

"Why did you wait so long?"
"You canNOT miss this baptism!"
"Is this even going to help you find a job in the game industry?"

Flatly, it was irritating. Clearly, my parents and I didn't see things eye to eye in how much of an importance this was for me.
And, no matter how much I avoided looking at the corner of the screen, the clock was still winding down....1 hour...40 minutes....20 minutes....

Crap.

I chucked my wacom pen in frustration and went straight to the bathroom to start getting ready for the baptism.
Let me tell you, I'm not one to let my anger out physically. I usually just mull and mumble to myself and that will calm me down.
But this was different. I didn't make this a priority. I didn't put in the MOUNTAINS of time that I had to do this.
I think was frustrated me the most was that I COULD have finished it had I SOMEHOW reminded myself with something as simple as a damn STICKY NOTE on my computer. Of course, mom walks in and I'm practically tearing up since I was so pissed at myself.
She asked me why I didn't finish it, and I almost snapped at her for what she said before, but just told her the deadline had passed.
If I didn't have to go to the baptism, I would've stayed and tried to finish it and beg Ubisoft to accept it...but no, family comes first and I hadn't seen my niece for a couple of months. It was obligation at this point.

Well, 4 hours later I was sitting on a couch at my cousin's house. This baptism and the little get-together afterward was a blessing in disguise as I finally had loads of time to do some mulling over and deflate myself from all the tension from that morning. I decided that I was going to pull one more all-nighter and turn it in no later than 8am the following morning, even though it was late. Why not. Like I said earlier, I had nothing to lose and the worst they can tell me was, "no." But at least I would have another drawing to add to the portfolio.

We got back home at 8pm that night and I went straight back to work with a refreshing aura of serenity.
'Just get it done.'

At 5am, I was semi-satisfied with what I had. It was cleaned, colored, had to chuck the idea of a real background but added a gradient stripe to break the white...
I emailed my submission politely (?) begging Ubisoft to consider the piece, even though it was late. Click, send, commence thumb-twittling.

Now I played the waiting game.

4 days later, I get an email from Ubiworkshop. 'Oh, here's the rejection letter....' I thought
I open it, and got a shock! The email said that they had to extend the deadline a week more because their inbox exploded from the sheer amount of submissions. So, technically, my submission was not 'late.'
I quickly write back, asking if it was okay to resubmit my piece so that I can make some much needed changes. They answered back quickly (thank God) with the okay to do so.

And now I'm thrown back into the hellhole. I had 2-ish days to redo a LOT of work.
I did some MORE lineart cleaning, added textures, added some better shading. Then resubmitted it on time.

Waiting game, Part 2!

A little more than 3 weeks later, I get an email from Ubiworkshop.
Thinking they had finally come to let me know that they rejected it (I had no confidence in myself at this point, lol),
I got the biggest shock in my life. Two little sentences was all it took:

"[...] we are interested in the artwork you’ve submitted. We think it would be a great addition in the carte blanche section [...]"

Ho.
My.
EFFING.
GAWD!

I had to re-read it a couple of times to make sure I was making it out right. Nope, no rejection mentioned in the email (I was REALLY looking hard for something that screamed that it wasn't a definite YES. Like a phrase saying, 'we MIGHT use your art').
I jumped out of my chair, wooping and cussing in excitement at this point (I don't do that squealing thing...don't have the throat for it). I ran to my parents and made them read the email (also to check if I overlooked something as well). I had just graduated in March, but I let my instructors know, classmates, counselors...

I was MORE than ecstatic, I was practically drunk on adrenaline, as if I was on a runner's high. Assassin's Creed is my favorite game series, and Ubisoft is one of my favorite and inspirational companies. And now I'm going to have something printed under BOTH those signatures that was made by MY own hands! I've never won something like this! I've now got a GIANT niche in my art record to prove that I did something worthwhile.

I can't show the piece mentioned since it has to stay confidential until further notice,
(probably until the book is published)
but I'll keep up to date on what'll happen from here on out.

Note that Ubisoft opened a Forum topic showing the images of those that didn't get selected.
I'm in shock. A LOT of those pieces are so bad-ass...how did they NOT get in?
They are awesome pieces, so take the time to look at them.

Links:
• UbiWorkshop: Homepage
• UbiWorkshop Forum: Forum page of submissions that weren't selected, but amazing nonetheless!

E3 Report + Pics

2010-06-22T06:34:11Z

Alright!
As promised, here are the reviews of all the video games I got my hands on at E3.
*PICS CAN BE VIEWED THROUGH FACEBOOK HERE: [DAY 01] - [DAY 02]

Reviews available:
3DS
Zelda: Skyward Sword
Kirby's Epic Yarn
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Multiplayer Mode)
Kinect
Epic Mickey
Tron
Toy Story 3
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
Little Big Planet 2 (Multiplayer Mode)

Titles not included:
FFXIV (limited to appointment only)
FF13 - Versus (not shown)
Deus Ex (not shown)
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (limited to certain individuals/press)
The Last Guardian (not shown)

Reviews: (by developer)
! -- Keep in mind, most of the games I played were prototypes/demo versions of their titles.
What I say about it from this experience isn't necessarily how it will be half a year from now -- !

Nintendo:

3DS - Waited in line 2 hours for this, but well worth it! Nintendo gave attendees 10 minutes to run around and take a peek at over 20 different demos. Most of them were just to watch the visuals, as I only demoed 3 titles with interaction involved. All the 3DS were either padlocked to individuals, or bolted to a long stretch of table with an individual booth babe per DS watching to make sure nothing happened.
But onto the review. Wow! And I mean WOOOOW!! I'm not at all into this 3D bandwagon that's been all over the place, but I think Nintendo has found out a way to take it up a whole notch. Looking at 3D without the use of 3D glasses...I couldn't wrap my mind around it. But it looks like the 3DS uses paralax projections. What I mean is that it's projecting 2 different views of the picture, so when you left and right eye look at both at the same time, the image is melded together to make certain objects appear with different distances. You can notice these dual projections when you tilt the 3DS away. (Which is also another thing...you can only experiences the 3D visuals when you look at it straight on. No one else will be able to see the effect from the sides)
Another thing to note. The 3DS offers a slider switch on the side that can control how strong the 3D visuals appear. You can play between 2D to 3D (to which I was grateful for, because the Resident Evil demo was KILLING my eyes).
The 3DS IS backwards compatible; I made sure to ask. But nothing on price and release date.
Zelda: Skyward Sword - Been waiting for another Zelda game greedily. But the first thing I noticed when I walked in...Skyward Sword had a cell-shaded art style. This isn't nothing that would deter me from the game, but it's a drastically different step from Twilight Princess' art direction. Because it's Zelda's 2nd title on the Wii, most of the general gist of the controls were around the same, yet different, offering more ways to use your weaponry. For example: you had to swing both wiimote and nunchuck to make a spin attack rather than the wiimote alone. And now you have the option to physically control whether your sword does a vertical or horizontal slice by swinging your arms accordingly.
Link also has a new feature: sprinting. Now, before y'all get excited and think that you can just haul-ass across fields without the help of Epona or warp points...sprinting is limited. By holding down one of the buttons (can't remember which), Link can take a sprint for about 10 seconds before his sprint indicator drains...making Link completely STOP to pant and nearly double-over on his knees for another 5 to catch is breath. (I don't know about the other peeps, but I really love this human aspect of exhaustion being added into a game) Sprinting seemed to be useful in the demo for climbing up a steep cliff that you couldn't just causally trek up. The only other thing I remember was that you were able to roll your bombs like a bowling ball (swinging the wiimote with the same gesture); giving you access to reaching bombable objects by simply rolling it through small tunnels and holes in walls.
Now, because of the tight 10 minute limit for the demo, I can't say much for the environment (since it was a small space), or give my opinion on some of the new weapons. I was more concerned about playing the 2 available bosses: A Stalfo and a giant scorpion.
Kirby's Epic Yarn - [Gameplay vid link] Once you get your hands on this game, any nostalgia from N64's Yoshi Story will come flooding back in full force. Denim sky, cotton clouds, plaid grassy hills....add a bit o' yarn in the mix and we have ourselves an awesome art style! Epic Yarn is a co-op platform which requires you and your partner to work together to reach a goal-point (in this case, a bell). Obstacles include pulling zippers, breaking through walls, among other things. Either of you have the option to grab a hold of your partner, and use them as a throwing projectile to break through barriers, or merge together (at certain points of the level) to become a humongous Kirby-punching-rocket shooting-tank! I got to play a dragon boss at the 3rd stage in which you and your partner needed to use a whip to tug on the dragon's tongue to put it into submission. And if you ever got to far, or fell away from your partner, you were conveniently transported by a 'bird' of some sort to wherever your partner is. Needless to say, I was never bored...even with the fact that you only use the wiimote sideways, giving you the Dpad and only 3 buttons to worry about. Will look for it when it comes out.

Ubisoft:

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (multiplayer) - Single player demo wasn't available, but discussed exactly the same as done [here in this vid]. I've been looking forward to the multiplayer for WEEKS ans finally got in a 2-hour line to get my hands on it and play an assassination game with 5 other players.
    You are able to choose between 7 different classes (doctor, courtesan, noble, butcher, barber, etc), and choose what pair of abilities they'll have (one for L2 and the other for R2; includes disguise, stealth, agility, etc.). As I played the demo, I noticed that there were multitudes of the same avatar running around, confusing the hell out of you. I'm not sure if this is done on purpose so that targets are harder to find, or what. (I didn't think to ask if the classes were a bit customizable.) But then again, making your avatar customizable would make it easier for your pursuer to spot you, wouldn't it?
    Back to the demo: After character selection, you are dropped into a city and given a target, which appears on your upper right with a mini-portrait. At the same time, you have to keep in mind that you have an unknown pursuer on you. Since, again, there are multitudes of the same avatar class running around, the only thing that'll help you indicate your target from the rest is a blue ring, a "compass" for lack of a better description, that appears on the lower center screen. The ring will fill in the direction of your target, and fill more when you get closer. If your target is within assassination range, the entire ring will fill with blue and your target will highlight.
    Depending on your stealth, you getting a different amount of points (aerial strikes seem to be the highest that I've found). Meanwhile, if you have been "spotted" by your pursuer (indicated by a red flash on the screen), it's your job to break his line of sight on you (+ more points) and hide from him (+even more points). So you can potentially win a round without having to kill a single person...but it would be harder. There are now touch-activated traps that you can set so that you can place obstacles in your pursuer's way. The demo example showed a character going through a pair of iron swing-gates that closed when you went through them, making the pursuer have to climb over, or wait til they open again. Your pursuer can also breach the "line of sight" and potentially kill you from a rooftop should they have throwing knives, disguise themselves as a different class, or walk ever so slowly towards you.
    * Note to mention that the controls are the same as in previous games (gentle push, assassinate, speed walk), with the exception of the added abilities you chose earlier.

Microsoft:

Kinect - As much as I wanted to try and kind of like the Kinect....I couldn't. And let me tell you why: so far, it's done the exact SAME GAMES that the Wii titles have already explored--except without a controller. I played a running game, a game that involved jumping and leaning to avoid obstacles, and a game where I played with a pet tiger. The only, ONLY game that made me want to play a bit longer was a kart racing game. A friend and I stood side-by-side and were told to hold out our hands as if we were holding a steering wheel. The car goes automatically when the race starts, so no worries on how to control gas. To turn, we rotated our hands just like we would for a steering wheel, and if we wanted to drift, we leaned in while turning. But a racing game can't be the only thing to hold my interest.
The Kinect has the amazing ability not only to identify your body's different limbs/parts, but separate them from your partner's. THAT is intriguing; I thought we would run into a lot of tweaks when both of us would overlap our silhouettes. But the Kinect was able to differentiate us apart.
If Kinect wants my attention, it needs to explore what they can potentially birth with this amazing piece of technology. It has AMAZING potential...but it's not worth my money with what they've got so far. All they're relying on at the moment is the fact that it doesn't require a controller to play with games that already exist.

Disney:

Epic Mickey - [Gameplay vid link] Sadly, this demo was all over the place; one of the Disney Interactive staff I talked to, who was in charge of some of the AI programming, told me that the demo was still in prototype, so I wasn't expecting much then. If you've ever played Kingdom Hearts, the 3D models have a similar, simple feel to them. What I rather enjoyed were the cutscenes, which were drawn in the style of the classic Disney colored storyboards. An added bonus! The cutscenes were short and to the point! (SquareEnix needs to take a lesson in this desperately!)
    Mickey had one weapon, a paintbrush, with two abilities: paint (blue) and thinner (green). The blue paint, which is controlled by the nunchuck, can add objects to an environment (such as a bridge or wall) and turn enemies into friends. The green thinner, via the Wiimote, can erase objects and destroy enemies. Mickey is also able to do something of a spin attack when you shake the Wiimote.
    I got to look at 3 levels in the demo. The "hub" or rather the "home base" was your shopping central, and kept track of what you've done. The "Steamboat Willie" level, which turned into a non-fighting platformer. And "Skull Rock" (from Peter Pan), which was a full-on action island level surrounded by HP-sucking oil with a mini-boss that looked like a robotic hermit crab with a giant teacup for a shell. The only other weapon Mickey could collect was a TV system. If these are placed near an enemy, the enemy would forget you exist and sit to watch the TV for a good 15 seconds whilst you wander around it.
   The controls seemed a bit touchy though (which is to be expected with a prototype). I had yet to run into another person who didn't die at least once from falling and failing to "bouncy away" from the oil ocean and try to hit land before dying. There was no "lock-on" function; Mickey just attacked whoever seemed closest, which irritated the hell out of me as there were points where I wanted to avoid the minions to get to the mini-boss. Hopefully, these will be addressed soon.
   I think it was the assistant producer that was telling me that a lot of levels were optional, as you can continue without finishing them, but are greeting with different obstacles in result to that. When I asked if there would be a large library of levels in respects to that, he responded, "Tons." Now that begs to question how big the scope of this game will be, cause he had made it sound like a larger universe than Kingdom Hearts had (for lack of another reference).
Tron - I know there are a few people who were worried about the "overpowering" glowing tracks and filaments that would obviously be present throughout the entire environment, but I was surprisingly taken aback by how balanced it all was. It wasn't too glowy or flashy, and didn't take your attention away from what you were doing or lose track of anything in the foreground.
    [Gameplay vid link: action ] - The first demo was to go through a small tutorial that lead to to a room that you had to clear out. The tutorial flowed nicely into the story, wherein you had to follow another character and copy what they do (jumping and running across walls). Some bit of free-running and parkour later, and you're made to clear out a couple of rooms filled with enemies. The vid shows a friend of mine button-mashing since I kind-of just threw the controller at her...but the controls seem very sophisticated, but not overly complicated. There were a series of 2 hit attacks, and 1 finishing move for the most part.
    [Gameplay vid link: Light Cycle] - I honestly didn't know what to think of this part of the demo. Every since Light Cycle racing was introduced in Kingdom Hearts 2, I was hoping for some similar action, but with better controls. But in this version, I'm suddenly thrown onto a light cycle, and have to run down an almost linear track (if not for the random falling debris). An enemy with another cycle constantly bumps into you, but it doesn't take much for you to whack him away and continue on your merry way. And it may have been the 'speed' of the cycle, but it was extremely hard to control. So if you couldn't make a split turn on time, there wasn't any chance of saving yourself before you're forced to crash into the wall.
    All in all, this looks to be a good game thus far. I'm a Tron nerd at heart, so I'm hoping that I can see a more flexible fighting mechanic for the light cycle aspect when the finished product comes out.
Toy Story 3 - Don't let the simplicity of the controls fool you, this game kept me AVID from trying not to die from General Porkchop's ufo rays! The only demo I got to try in this game was a train roof fight. Armed with that iconic , Pixar rubber Star Ball, Woody had to navigate through cart after cart of a moving train. The demo had you fight off some of the Little Green aliens, while trying to rescue some kids toys. Once you got to the end of the train, you were to face General Porkchop (Hamm), who would shoot laser beams that were HARD to avoid unless you swiftly navigated yourself behind some crates.
The controls were easy to handle, and the graphics reflected the same quality the movie has. It is very reminiscent of the Toy Story game that appeared in the Sega Genesis many eons ago in respect to how addicting these short, yet action packed levels are.

Square Enix:

Kingdom Hearts: BBS - First off, let me rant about the UNNESSASSARY LOAD TIME FOR UMDs!!! I swear to god the load times were just as long as the cutscenes! I saw spinning hearts for hours after I stopped playing!! </rant>
    Unless your knew to the game's mechanics, all I can say is same old, same old. The only thing I found reassuring was the fact that you didn't have to button mash like in KH2. Having to go through your command menu with your Dpad makes you actually think of what to do. And since those abilities take a while to charge before you can use them again, strategy once again reappears like it was in KH1. There is also an option to use what looks like a first-person shooter view to lock on a target and blast them away. (I didn't notice this action until late in the demo, so I have nothing to report on it)
    It may have been because I had to start with a new world, which always wound up being "Deep Space," but I would sit though 5 minutes of cutscenes. And not just 1, but it seemed like a cutscene every time I entered a room, so all I did essentially was go room after room of killing small-fry Unversed (the "Heartless" equivalent in this game). (This may be me being irritated at the fact that I'm sitting though cutscenes wherein I'm supposed to be playing a game's mechanics at these kinds of tradeshows...biased? maybe...)
    But, because I'm a loyal KH follower, I made my way through and was thouroughly enjoyign the fact that you got to see 3 different perspectives of the same game through the eyes of Ven, Terra, and Aqua. Granted, I only got to play with Terra and Ven (Ven seems to be the best balanced). I didn't get a good sense of the story since I only played for about 15 minutes for Ven and Terra, but I'm liking the direction it's taking thus far. *NO SPOILERS PLEASE!!

Sony:

Little Big Planet 2 (multiplayer) - I had never played LBP, as I had only ever watch gameplay videos. But as I played the multiplayer with a 3 other friends, I found myself having a bit of fun. We played a platforming level where you had to ascend to the top and collect orbs on the way. The only functions you had were a whip to hang and attach yourself to objects (as well as other players), and jump. So the point wasn't to fight, but to race through a multitude of obstacles (such as springboards and electric shock panels). If anyone should be too far away from the highest person, they were left in the dust until said highest person got to a checkpoint (then whoever got stuck below was automatically transported to that checkpoint.) There was nothing really to it other than being a fun get-together game.

The Move remote -........If I ever have to wave a wand and dance with a blue lightbulb to "Hit Me Baby One More TIme" again, or even pet an EFFING MUTANT DOG with a REMOTE via camera, I may have to chuck said remote or a hundred to a highly expensive HDTV!! Stupid, stupid games that were rehashed from the Wii. NOTHING intrigues me to the Move! Waste of my effing time! </rand pt. 2>

So that's all I could remember.
I'd review Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but since I had no idea what I was doing and had never touched the predecessors,
I felt it unfair to try and review.
If you have any questions, feel free to comment below.

Attending E3! Pictures and Reports to come soon!

2010-06-15T05:02:12Z

~~Mini-Earthquake about 10 minutes ago~!~~

So, tomorrow I'm gonna go fangirl and attend E3 in LA for the next 3 days.
I promise to take LOADS of pictures and report as much as humanly possible.

So be on the lookout for reports on:

Disney: Tron Evolution, Epic Mickey, Toy Story 3
Square: Deus Ex: HR, ~~FFXIV Online~~, ~~FF Versus XIII~~, KH: BBS
Ubisoft: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Nintendo: Zelda Wii
Sony: ~~The Last Guardian~~

*XIII Versus and The Last Guardian were not available to view at their respective booths.
**FFXIV Online demo was by appointment only....(?)

Most likely will touch base with other games when I get to play with/look at/hear about them.
(Plus, gonna nab every piece of swag I can lay my hands on)
But other than that...ONWARD TO E3!!!!

ASSASSIN'S CREED!!! HUZZAHH!!!!

fanart by doubleleaf: [found here]

Sketch Dump: Part I

2010-05-28T06:37:14Z

As promised, here are some sketches of anime characters I'll be selling at this year's AX.
Although, I did lie saying that there would be some Oofuri and KH...
Some people came over the house and I ended up playing mini-host, so they'll be next!

Why am I still typing?!
ON TO THE PICS~!!

- Mokona (Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles)
- Nyanko-Sensei (Natsume Yuujincho/Natsume's Book of Friends)
- Miku Hatsune (Vocaloid)

- Rei (Evangelion)
- Shinji (Evangelion)
- Asuka (Evangelion) - UGH!! I need to seriously fix her face before inking!!

and last but not least...

- Sawako (Kimi Ni Todoke)

and that's all for now.
I wanna try and get at least 5 more out (Mihashi, Abe, Sora, Kairi, Riku),
plus ink and color all the sketches by Monday so that I can get them out to print.
But we'll see how that goes.

Enjoy~!

Sketch Dump tomorrow night~!

2010-05-27T06:02:05Z

Stay tuned,
major sketch dump coming in tomorrow night as it will by my only day off for the next month!
(And I have to get them AX keychain prints up and going ASAP!!)
Will include Oofuri, Evangelion, and Kingdom Hearts chibis

In other news...
why the hell do some parties put GLITTER on the dining tables!?!?
I swear, I think I ingested a tablespoon of the sparkling crud from it flying everywhere and sticking to anything BUT the tablecloth.
The last thing I wanted was for my carne asada to effing SPARKLE as I ate it. >.<!!

rant done

Earthquake?! Like...right nao?!?!

2010-04-05T10:05:40Z

1) Earthquake? What earthquake?!

7.2 earthquake struck the MexiCali area (around Southern Caliifornia/Baja California) at about 15:40ish yesteray. Didn't feel a thing -- or more like 'thought I didn't feel a thing' -- since I was working at Disney's California Adventure, behind the giant ROLLER COASTER. I was walking inside our float's warehouse, when a friend of mine jumped out of her chair yelling 'Oh hell noez!' while she ran out. I kind of followed her out, thinking she saw someone that she was gonna glomp (NEVER want to miss those moments). Then someone pointed at our crane lift that was REALLY wobbling, and then to the swaying Maliboomer tower (Disney's version of the Supreme Scream)...it takes a LOT to make that thing sway. I must've been spacing out in other galaxies, cause I didn't feel a thing (maybe subconsciously thinking it was the vibration that usually comes from the roller-coaster next door).
Anyway, all of Disneyland resort evacuated their rides and closed them off for a couple of hours for tedious inspections. Everyone I've talked to said that it was a rather strange earthquake, since it made swaying motions rather than short, jerky ones. They all mentioned thinking that they were going to pass out or faint. Hopefully, everyone was safe!

2) Having a cold SUCKS!!

Nearly over it now, but GAWD help me! The damn thing came out of nowhere; I've been a shut-in at home what with work and paperwork. 4 days of uncontrollable coughing and hacking. And it all started with a stupid sore throat. I wasn't able to call in sick for work because I've already used up all my "sick days" without penalties. So off I went, tissue box in hand whilst driving floats XD
Even better part? My medical insurance ended the day I got sick.

3) Helloooooooo baseball season XDXD!

I don't think I've ever been so happy to see baseball on the TV. Maybe cause the 2nd season of Oofuri is on....? Kindof sad to see my perfect Angels team lineup from the previous season all butchered, but anxious to see what the newbies will bring to the table. Hideki Matsui (whom my brother affectionately nicknamed "Mat-zilla"), the new DH, is a new face to me, so I'll be very curious to see what he takes to the plate this season.

4) Hoooly Crap, here comes those damn Loan payments TT_TT

(P.S. Didn't get anything from taxes this year. Joi~!!). Sat down with my financial officer, who basically gave me my reason to live off of ketchup sandwiches and instant ramen for about the next 10 years. $250 a month to pay off a $21k loan...ouch. I mean, it isn't at all bad, per se, (I AM working a decent 16-20 hours a week at $10/hr) but now that I have medical insurance, auto insurance, gas, and other menial things to pay off (since I'm out of school)...it means ZERO fun for me. The only other way I can make money on the side is by selling prints at AX, and do some commissions on the side...or picking up random shifts at work that I'll have to sweet-talk my way into.

Ah well,
c'est la vie, as they say.

Kiki's Delivery Service - 2010 DVD version

2010-03-25T19:40:18Z

I didn't realize that Disney was re-releasing all their studio Ghibli titles in 2-disc DVDs this year.
So I picked up Kiki's Delivery Service yesterday.

So I just finished watching it, and felt somewhat disheartened.
The English vocal audio that it was originally released with back in...1995(?) had been cleaned up and edited to closely match the original Japanese audio. So where I expected some of Phil Hartman's (Jiji) cute little comments, and cute foley sounds to come in...all that was there was some awkward silence...

The musical audio had also reverted back to the original soundtrack has also been reverted back to the original Japanese soundtrack. So the English openings by Sydney Forest ("I'm Gonna Fly" and "Soarin' ") are M.I.A. and gone back to Yumi Arai's songs. Not to mention that some of the whimsical foley and overlaying musical scores in the '95 version is gone.

Now don't get me wrong...I'm NOT against keeping this film as true to the original as possible!
On the contrary, I applaud Disney for doing so!
But I kind of wished that Disney had kept the original English audio that I had grown up with as an alternative English Track on the DVD, regardless on how corney and unorthodox to the original as it was.

(Oh well, this just means I have to find the 2003 DVD version~!)

Stress over, I've effing GRADUATED!!

2010-03-22T03:55:36Z

~~(well, except that I still have to wait for a passing grade on another class, but I'm pretty confident that I'm not FAILING that class)~~ NVM, passed that class, too!

but otherwise, I'm FINALLY DONE!!
Ho-Lee-CRAP, it's been a stressful 3 months.
What with getting told that I have to double up the contents my portfolio, have it done 2 weeks earlier than normal for the Game Developers Conference, having to GO to the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last week and job hunt/network, and now getting ready for my portfolio show this Wednesday...

Out of a panel of 5 judges, 4 passed my portfolio. The only reason the 5th one failed me was simply due to lack of more content. So, otherwise, my work was well-received by the faculty. (Thanks for stressing me out Johnny! I was half-ready to retake the class with your strong critique ^^;)

What's gonna happen now?
Well, first things first, I have to print out a physical portfolio for my portfolio show on Wednesday,
then job-hunt like no tomorrow after that (IF I already haven't been offered a job that day *crosses fingers*),
start on some 3D modeling that I've personally wanted to do,
and, of course, GET GOING ON PRINTS FOR ANIME EXPO!!

Later tates~!

PS
Nujabes, noted as the composer for the Samurai Champloo soundtrack, passed away from a car accident not too long ago.
RIP Nujabes, your music will live on.

BATTLECRY - from Samurai Champloo

</lj-embed>

SONG OF SEASONS - feat. MINMI

3D stuff...hustling to get it done for portfolio!

2010-02-23T21:18:39Z

This is the kind of stuff I'm hustling to get finished for portfolio.
I'm giving myself about 2 weeks because GDC is coming up, and I'd like to have a portfolio to show the industry by then.
I have to note that I'm aiming for companies such as Disney, Papaya, Blizzard, Nickelodeon...etc.
Anyone who concentrates more on painted and stylized models.

previews:

The first one is a pirate ship environment, but I need to populate more it cause it looks VERY empty.
So I need to put in a lot of the roping and finish texturing.
VERY low poly, and made to rely on simple silhouettes and color textures. (a'la Nintendo)
The 4th pic is an example of how low poly I'm aiming at, and the flat coloring I'm using.

(CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGES)

This one is modeled after the concept art of Traverse Town (from Kingdom Hearts).
Doing this allows people to see that I can translate 2D into 3D. (But this particular concept art was VERY deceiving, and I had to play the game to actually see how some of the beams on the building were arranged).
At the moment, I'm only doing Cid's jewelry shop/Moogle Synthesis shop.
Scaling the building was VERY HARD! It's technically 2 stories high from the inside, but appears to have an attic as well.
If I can get this done by Saturday, I'm gonna expand on it.
The first 2 pics are just the 3D model from 2 sides.
The 3rd pic shows a bit of the painting I'm doing for this one.

(CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGES)

The checkers on some of the parts are there to help me align the textures correctly on the model.
(They're currently blurred because I'm working in low resolution.)

And there you have it, my last 3 years of school in a nutshell.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some carpal tunnel to acquire!

Because Beaker makes ANYONE's day a bit brighter

2010-02-11T08:22:01Z

I can't help but crack up whenever I watch Beaker.
Come and laugh along with me~!

Manga Collection to date

2010-02-11T08:17:10Z

As per an online buddy, here's a photo of my manga collection as of February 2010.
(By the way, the shelf was originally made for DVDs/CDs. But since manga are conveniently the same size, viola!)
So...I've been collecting manga for the past...decade?
and decided that I've come to the point where I need to document my mini-library for my own sake before I lose track of them.

Total count: 312+
~~Don't ask me how much money that estimates to; I'm too afraid to find out.~~

Contrary to the number listed above, I'm very cheap when it comes to buying manga.
If possible, I buy manga as cheap as I can get them (usually online or with free store credit).

There were a lot of things that I've realized as I was documenting these...

I have a lot of "starter" volumes. That is, I have a lot of the first volumes of a handful of series that I'll most likely never pick up from. Bleach, Prince of Tennis, D.Gray Man...etc.
There are some series that I haven't completed. Even though I'm missing like...the last 1 or 2 volumes. Most of the time, it's because they are old series and harder to find in-store.
I'm missing random volumes. Usually, like 1 or 2 volumes in a span of 5 books.
There are some that I hate. Usually bought as a result of impulse, there are a handful of manga that I bought blindly because they were sealed. Therefore, all I had to rely on is the cover and summary on the back (which are usually quite elaborated).
I've been boycotting TokyoPop. They've upped the price another dollar, and lowered the quality of the paper (including the cover) to this sad, almost sheer tissue. DNAngel and Lagoon Engine are the only exceptions because they are ongoing series that I started years ago before the price/quality change.
Sailor Moon is the first series I ever bought. But because the series is quite old now, it is insanely hard to find (cheap). Kind of regret not buying more at the time.
I REFUSE to buy the entire Naruto series. I've only picked up the volumes that contain my favorite chapters/arcs.

Here's to hoping I graduate in March

2010-01-26T18:20:20Z

So I got the talk...by 2 different instructors.

Lemme back up.
The "talk" (as in relation to school) is that moment when an instructor looks at the portfolio pieces you plan to submit in 5-6ish weeks, and tells you, in a nutshell, that he doesn't think you're going to pass the portfolio to graduate.

My schools sets portfolio classes up so that you have three consecutive classes (so...9 months) to make said portfolio. The first is to plan and block out our 3D models, and the other two classes are to get them done. I've always been under the impression that I needed to make ONE environment for my portfolio...but then my new teacher gives all the graduating seniors a smack in the face by telling us that the judging panel now wants not one, but THREE environments!

Our school panel now decides that they won't pass anyone's portfolio class (aka graduating class) unless they can show "A+++" work. So basically, you're either gonna get an "A" or "F" in this course. Pass or Fail. Graduating in March, or try again for June...(not to mention more $$$)

It's kind of hard to make a portfolio to please the tasts of five VERY different people. I've had instructors who love my work, and others who don't know how I passed my previous courses. To sum it all up, it's so goddam frustrating! I'm trying to aim my portfolio to game companies like Disney, Nickelodeon, and Blizzard (they make World of Warcraft), and there's this one instructor I have to absolutely HATES cartoony-looking stuff. He insists that I make a realistic environment in order to appease him before midterms hit. (If this particular instructor doesn't like your work by midterm, you're automatically failed).

So after the "talk," they try to sugarcoat it and tell you that you need to work very hard (aka, you have 1 week for me to change my mind) in order to have a clear shot in graduating. One of the instructors even tells me that my work reminds him of a girl he failed 3 times...yeah, cause THAT'S gonna make me feel oh so good!

I love the criticism when it comes to portfolio. Really, I do!
(I'm a really anal perfectionist)
I'd just love to have that criticism, oh, at least 2 months in advance!
Let me have a CHANCE to show the panel what I can really do...

But then, I have to admit, although I'm a perfectionist...I get distracted easily.
So I usually leave my work until the last possible moment. (I work well under pressure).
But now that I have to do a LOT of work, it's kind of hard for me to get into the rhythm of constant mouse-clicking and photoshop-painting for more than an hour at a time...

image: sanctioned @ deviantART

Okay, I'm done.
</rant>
Ranting won't make new 3D models appear.

RueLi's report: Utada IN THE FLESH TOUR 2010 -- Los Angeles

2010-01-20T23:41:22Z

Here's my LONG report on my breathtaking experience at Utada's concert in Los Angeles
Please forgive any vagueness since I didn't write this until the afternoon after the fact.

My friend (Who I'll refer to affectionately as 'B') and I arrived at HOB around 11:30am. We were trying to park in the valet section at HOB, but since there were no employees working the valet booth yet, we just decided to park across the street so as not to run the risk of being towed.
It wasn't quite pouring yet, but we still had to use umbrellas and I was carrying a 15lb bag of stuff to kill the time with (ie sketchbook, DS, PSP, iPod...), things to keep us warm and snacks. Arriving at the HOB, we realized that the employees were letting people line up inside the building due to the rain, which I thought was sweet. There were only about 15 more people ahead of us anyway. EVERYONE had a DS out...which I thought was even more hilarious when 'B' and I pulled out our DS's.

There was a really sweet guy from Japan who was dressed like Utada in her CBTM cover (sweater, shoes, and all) carrying this large bag. He kept attempting to ask everyone (with the little English he knew) to sign an autograph placard that was later going to be given to Utada as a present. Later, he came back to show us the teddy bear that would go along with it. Every time a new person would join the line, he'd go back and ask them to sign the placard, too. I really wish I had gotten his name and picture TT_TT.

Once the rain let up 20 minutes later (it became a very light drizzle), the employees asked us to line up outside, so the small group of us moved to the downstairs line under an awning (which we later found out was the "Pass the Line" line--aka priority entry). The only way you could get in the Pass the Line was to either have purchased $15 worth of HOB merchandise, or buy an entree/sandwich from their menu and have a signed receipt as proof. General Attendance line was on a hill along the outside of HOB. 'B' decided that we should just wait until the restaurant opened at 3:30 to get lunch so that we could spend $9.99 on a sandwich (that we could eat) rather than get random merch. We also needed to leave space for 'B's' sister and friend, since they were coming straight from school and would arrive around 5pm.

As we waited, B and I talked and made buddies with the guys in front of us (Erik and Ken, I believe?), who had prepared a Birthday sign for Utada. On the back they wrote something like, 'sing Heart Station please.' Some suspiciously black cars were pulling up to the parking near the stage entrance, so all of us in line kept staring at them to see if Utada would appear from one of the vehicles (the guys behind us looked like they were about to hyperventilate, haha). No Utada (we assumed she took another stage entrance, and at one point made fun by saying she snuck in through the Budweiser truck that had passed by earlier), but we did see her entourage and Mr. Utada himself. He looked to us and asked, "No more rain?" to which I replied, "I hope not!"

Nothing very exciting happened during the wait. We heard some sound tests of FYI with Utada's singing coming from the venue. Employees only checked to see if the people already waiting in line had receipts to Pass the Line at around 4:30. And silly people decided to start standing up at 6:00 (I stayed sitting cause I knew better, the kids were probably anxious and tired of sitting).

At around 6:45ish, HOB employees began scanning tickets and stamping our hands.
15 minutes later, they made another round to give bracelets to 21 and over.
They also stressed their 'no cameras' policy, but they didn't pat people down. (so, many were snuck in)

A little after 7:30, security started checking people with wands and allowing people in the venue.

Once inside HOB, 'B' made a mad rush to the front. We scored some spots 2nd row in, but a little left of the center. And since all of us in the front made good friends with each other in line, we gave ourselves enough room to breath so that we wouldn't be pressing up against each other when the room filled. (Although one girl behind me insisted on trying to push me to get closer, so I pushed back)

8:45 rolled around, and DJ Rizzo (didn't know it was him right away) began mixing some sounds up for us. I was very irritated to hear people booing him, impatient for Utada to make her entry. But the more they boo'ed, the more my group and the people around me shouted at Rizzo for more. (Shame on your people, especially the guy in front of him who shouted 'UTADA' in Rizzo's face).
Rizzo made his exit at around 9:15, and the techs came out to test the instruments and mics for the next 10-15 minutes.

For some odd reason, a crowd prematurely started singing Happy Birthday to Utada...oh well.

And finally, her band started filtering in. It looked like the guitarist was having a bit of a sound issue, but that got fixed right away. And in the darkness, Opening (the opening track of Exodus/Crossover) began playing, and the crowd went wild as Utada strutted in, in a gorgeous magenta leopard printed dress and star-studded heels and black nylons, hair in a rocker mess.

The lights blast on, and Utada begins singing On and On. It had a bid of rock behind it, pumping up the crowd even more.

I think it was around this time, that the crowd sang Happy Birthday to Utada. She thanked them for the song and for coming out here. And was hoping that everyone would enjoy the show.

She transitioned to Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - FYI

Poppin'. Not my favorite song, but it sounded awesome live.

This One (Crying Like A Child) was very nice and mellow, people kept swinging their arms side to side.

Utada asked if we'd like to hear some Japanese songs, and the crowd shouted in response. So she began with Passion. She even added the bridge, sang the inverted verses, and switched to English (Sanctuary) after the bridge.

Techies set up her piano so that she could sing Sakura Drops. (She introduced the man in charge of all the Techie stuff) I don't think she was up to the high notes, because she switched to low notes when she sang the verse "kore ga saigo no heartbreak." Not that I thought it was bad, on the contrary I actually enjoyed the change ^^

She continued on the piano to play Stay Gold. GAWD her voice was GORGEOUS!! Both her piano pieces were eventually joined in by her band.

As the piano was being moved to the side, the band started playing Happy Birthday for Utada. (To wich Utada responsed "What the--?" accordingly). The crowd, once again, sang Happy Birthday along with the music. A cake was brought out by one of the staff, and Utada blew out the candles. On the last verse, Utada joined in singing, 'Happy Birthday to me!" Everyone chuckled. She then says, "I knew something was gonna happen."

Then Devil Inside began. This was similar to the Utada United version, starting slow and then building up after the first chorus. This one got the crowd fist pumping.

She immediately went into Kremlin Dusk , the crowd went nuts when they identified the song. Although, she did sing the high notes for this one, and perfectly I might add! And just like at Utada United, Kremlin Dusk transitioned into You Make Me Want To Be a Man. At the end of the song, where it's just the instrumentals, Utada grabbed a pair of drumsticks and began banging a couple of drums to the last few beats. Everyone in the crowed joined in by clapping along with her.

A brief pause, and the band began playing a rock melody. I find out later that it was a cover of Placebo's The Bitter End. Utada sang it wonderfully and started aggressively head rocking so much that her hair was flying everywhere.

Apple and Cinnamon. Again, she didn't sing the high notes on 'like Apple and Cinnamon' (rather, she let the background voice take it). Her little hand gestures for this particular song were neat to see. So subtle yet unique.

Come Back to Me came right after. I'm sure more of her newer English-speaking fans were the ones that were shouting for this one.

Gawd, people were REALLY shouting when they heard the piano of First Love begin to play.
After that wonderful ballad, she was recalling that she wrote the song when she was fifteen. She even used the Olympics to refer to how long ago it was. ("Like 3 Olymics back") If I remember correctly, she was asking if everyone was being nice because no one mentioned her age (27 for those that don't know). She continued by saying that this venue was very memorable for her. She had seen another artist 5 years prior, but couldn't remember who it was! (She hoped that the same wouldn't happen to us 5 years from now). Someone from the back shouted, "Say something in Japanese!" Utada was surprised herself that he hadn't yet, and began to ask (in Japanese) if anyone from Japan was there.(The sweet Japanese guy from before was jumping up and down like crazy, raising his hand) That was about all I could figure out, I don't speak Japanese. She also asked if we thought she sounded different between speaking English and Japanese (referring to the difference in pitch, and how she sounded manly in English, lol).

She then backtracked to Can You Keep a Secret? Which was the only verse people were chanting in the crowd, haha.

Then she did the awesome and sang Automatic. Everyone kept fist pumping with her every time she got to 'It's Automatic!"

After that, she announces that the next song would be her last, and the crowd "aww'ed." She presents it as her newest single that was already playing on the air. It turned out to be Dirty Desire, another than I presonally don't like as much, but sounded best live. Utada and co. quickly exit.

And, of course, the crowd wasn't gonna leave it at that. We kept shouting and hooting ENCORE, eventually syncing up and chanting "U-TA-DA, U-TA-DA!" until her band came back out. Utada reappeared, thanking us for calling her back out (and mentioning that we were loud, haha). She then takes the time to introduce her band members. (I feel bad for not remembering their names, but she referred to her guitarist as 'the Brazilian guy' and her keyboards as 'the regular white guy.' Lolz all around.

Again, lights blared out and Simple and Clean was played. EVERYONE had their hands up swaying back and forth. And similar to the Utada United version, she added the La dee la's toward the end. The perfect song to have an encore of!! Everyone was DEFINITELY happy to hear it.

But all good things must end, and Utada left us with her last song of the night, Me Muero. While the ending notes of Me Muero were playing, Utada took a bucket of signed foam baseballs and started chucking them into the crowd. (I had no chance, everyone was much taller than I was). A really tall guy behind me was able to score a ball, and I asked if I could look at it. It had her signature, and a doodle of Kuma-chan. I told him how lucky he was, and that I was envious!
Utada finally thanked everyone, and thanked the crowd, bowed, and left the stage. It was around 11pm.

The drummer (Samson? I cannot recall his name) tossed his drumsticks into the crowd. B's sister was able to claim one after a struggle on the floor. We weren't sure if his signature was on it or not, since we couldn't decipher it to tell if it was the brand logo of the drum stick, or his actual name....^^;

An announced on the speaker system said that anyone with a laminated tag was to come upstairs for the meet and greet.
And as we exited the venue, I noticed a LONG line forming outside. If it was a line for an attempt at an autograph, I don't know? It was too long regardless and our knees and feet hurt WAY too much to stand any more. It's not as if that line was going to move soon anyway because Utada was going to be at the Meet and Greet with the VIPs for awhile.* EDIT: it was the line for valet parking (thanks, ___f8)

After we left, we notice that she sang straight through without an intermission, and were VERY impressed ^^
It's kindof sad, but I can't write the words to describe how AWESOME and BEAUTIFUL being live in front of her, hearing her sing.
(Although, we were kind of sad that she didn't take a request like in Hawaii...but that doesn't matter! She rocked!!)
I remember saying that there was nothing I'd love more in life than to at least see Utada live in the US, and sure enough she did.
I hope, HOPE, this encourages her to come back soon!

The only thing that always ticks me off...

2010-01-05T21:54:33Z

Usually, I'm a laid-back, happy-go-lucky person who can't hold a grude for more than 5 seconds.
But there's one teensy little thing that indubitably ticks me off...

People who sit in aisles. ESPECIALLY at a bookstore.
Yesterday, some little punks were sitting all over the graphic novel/manga aisle.
I make it obvious that I'm looking through the books by grabbing some near their heads.
That rarely works, so sometimes I drop a book near them, or get uncomfortably close to get the idea.

Some of you may be wondering:
But Liz, why didn't you just tell them to move?

Why? Because the little bastards just move 5 inches over, or look at me and don't care at all!
And it's not in my position to tell them not to sit against aisles because
1) I don't work there,
and 2) Effing bookstore offers seating in the store, so I can't tell the little brats off about not reading in the bookSTORE.
Sure, I can suggest it...but what little snotty kid is gonna listen to me when their parent's aren't around.

Effing parents need to learn not to use bookstores as a daycare,
Effing teens need to be considerate of others,
and effing employees need to make sure to do their job.

Okay! Rant done~!

Why, hello there Winter!

2009-12-24T09:06:21Z

image: hangdok
(http://hangdok.deviantart.com/art/Cold-47896122)

Why, hello there Winter!

You know, living in Southern California my
whole life has almost made me forget you exist!
...except for the tiny fact that I can see
my EFFING BREATH in my EFFING ROOM!
(it was only a couple of months ago that I was
complaining about the heat!...crazy weather)

Thank GAWD I have some tea to retaliate...

Nothing like a good ol' cup of chamomile tea and honey
to thaw the fingers ^^

SubaSeka/TWEWY Keychains and Phone charms for sale

2009-12-22T09:33:10Z

Hey guys, I had an art table set up during the summer and have some leftover TWEWY keychains and phone charms to sell.
They are printed with Laser Jet ink on card stock paper, laminated, and one-sided only.

click on images for a larger res

$$ PRICES

Keychains (2.5in/6.5cm):
Neku, Shiki, Joshua, Rhyme, Beat
Price: $1.50 each
SPECIAL: $6.00 for all 5 keychains!

Phone Charms (2in/5cm):
Neku, Shiki, ~~Joshua~~, Rhyme, Beat
Price: $1.00 each

DIRECTIONS
1. Paypal only, please
2. Leave zipcode (and country if not U.S.) in comment to calculate shipping (I'll combine shipping charges for multiples)
3. I'll reply with total payment
4. Send payment to RuezgaLizette@gmail.com

They will be sent out within 2 business days of received payment.
HOLDS: Yes, I'll take holds since I have a handful of these.

wish I could have the time to draw...

2009-12-13T09:13:13Z

What to do, what to do?

I wanna draw something...and all I've come up with is this doodle...
My college major hasn't really allowed me to pick up a pencil for about...2 years, it seems?
Can't help it, but then again, I haven't done any decent 2D work because of it.
Once I graduate next March, I'm gonna have a field day for making COMPLETE 2D illustrations
Gawd knows I miss the feel of a pencil/ink pen/wacom pen/copic marker on my callused finger!

Hard to find games and the J.O.B.

2009-12-07T08:48:05Z

[ICO]
I want to play Ico sooooo bad...
it's a bummer that the game is now near impossible to get so easily.
I've been ebay hunting for the past 2 weeks,
but the biddings go up to about $50+...yikes.

I'm just gonna have to be patient and pounce in during a bidding war these next couple of weeks.

EDIT: FINALLY won the game today on eBay! Can't wait for it t arrive soon.

[WORK]
Did I mention that I work at Disneyland?
Can't remember...but anyway, I get to drive floats and stuff.
Cool job cause I get good pay,
and I don't have to deal with tourists cause I'm backstage.
(But i DO have to deal with fellow driving peeps who take their job MUCH too seriously)

Out of nowhere this morning, my manager calls me to ask if I wanted to work from 1:30-7:15 later this week,
it was a little longer than my normal 4 hour shift, so I was like "hell yeah!"
I find out at today's shift that she meant 1:30 AM to 7:15 PM....

....

crap, I've never worked an 18 hour day in my life,
I've hardly ever stayed awake for 18 hours on a normal day.

Well, story goes that they need people to move floats for a photoshoot or somethingorother.
And it has to be done before the park opens...so joy.
I don't drink coffee or energy drinks...let's see how it goes, shall we?

Kind of long post

2009-11-19T20:39:43Z

Alrighty then!!!
(sorry, just finished watching Ace Ventura.)
Been thinking about so many things lately...
MANY many things.

Novel Koushien
Oofuri Novel!? I really wanna participate in this!
I'm slowly brainstorming different scenarios with different character pairings
(since there's like...a bajillion different kinds of pairing that can happen)
But since I don't write yaoi/shonen-ai, most of the stuff I'll do is either fluff or strict and simple interaction/admiration.
I'm secretly hoping to claim an AbeMiha fluff...I've been thinking of a AU fic with them for awhile now,
and this Novel Koshien will be the boost needed to make it happen.

Anime Expo prints
Artist Alley was also on my mind lately.
Last AX, I gave myself 3 patchy months to come up with 10 prints by July...only to have 4.
(then again, school took priority over prints)
So I may redo my current 4, and add AT LEAST another 4 to the lineup.
Here's what I'd like to try for:

Evangelion: Shinji & Rei
Kingdom Hearts: Sora & Roxas
Mushishi: Ginko
Nabari no Ou: Miharu & Yoite
Naruto: Naruto/Sasuke
Natsume Yuujinchou: Natsume & Nyanko-sensei
Oofuri: Abe & Mihashi
Tsubasa: Group

We'll see how hectic my life gets in order to do ALL of these...

Final Fantasy XIII
Is coming out March 9th, FINALLY!!
And I think for the first time,
SquareEnix changed the original japanese theme song...to an english theme song (My Hands by Leona Lewis).
This has caused an uproar in the Final Fantasy community cause a lot of people are STRONGLY against the change.
(To the point where they're making petitions to Square about reverting the song back to the Japanese counterpart).
Gawd people, get OVER it. Square made their decision, and I'm sure they're well aware of what they've done.
Letting a song decide whether you play a game or not is just plain retarded.
Let's not forget what else makes the game amazing...
like the modeling, texturing, rigging, artwork, enviornment, programming...have I hinted at anything yet??
I can't talk about it from the frustration, you can see for yourselves how stupid this all sounds at the next couple of links.
http://finalfantasy-xiii.net/forums/showthread.php?t=9467
finalfantasy-xiii.net/forums/showthread.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov_rhOkOthA

Disney Imagineer Contest
A friend and I are gonna try and create an attraction for this contest.
We'll be creating this in 3D, and there's no limit to the polycount (squeals in joy).
I'm so used to making everything low poly for use in video games (since hard drive space is limited, naturally)
You have NO idea how hard it is to make objects from a low poly models, and make them LOOK awesome and hi-poly.
I've had to get super creative at points...even to make something like a stupid cardboard BOX look awesome!
Since since my friend's most likely graduating this December, and I'll go down to my last 2 classes, we should have adequate time to pull something off...

Utada Concert
Oh my EFFING GAWD! I almost had a heart attack when I heard Utada was coming to L.A.!!
And I got my EFFING tickets at a surprise presale. (But a $10 convenience fee on top of the ticket price? That's kinda harsh)
I'm still kind of sad that it's in such a small venue; that means my friend and I have to get there early to get in front!
Surprise #2...the concert is on her birthday, so I wanna take a drawing or something for her.
We also wanna make small 11x17 signs that say HAPPY BIRTHDAY and 誕生日おめでとう! (Otanjou-bi Omedetou)
So, so excited...but not excited about getting up early to wait in line for like...7+ hours.

Random Anime/Manga Stuff

Natsume Yuujinchou's english manga is being released January 5th. YAY!
(Saves me money cause I was going to get the Japanese version originally ^^)
Got Evangelion 1.01 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE
Not a huge fan of the series, but this movie was EXCELLENT
My inner animation geek made me go frame-by-frame through certain scenes.
The $24 was so worth it! Thank you Mike McFarland, for directing the wonderful voice acting.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Toki o Kakeru Shōjo) was a wonderful treasure to stumble across.
I've been meaning to buy it, but since I was unfamiliar with it, I rented it first.
And OH MY GAWD, inner animation geek PART 2!!
MadHouse studio has always served stories justice with their insane dedication to the artwork.
Mushi-shi: I kind of laid off this series because everyone was jumping on the bandwagon.
So I finally began reading it this weekend, and was pleasantly surprised.
It was similar to Natsume Yuujinchou, but had a different vibe.
Might consider buying the series now once the holidays are over.
Ooku:The Inner Chambers was a 'wtf' kinda manga...a friend (who doesn't really pick up manga
unless I give it to her) read it and recommended it to me. In this story, women make up 3/4 of the population
in Edo Japan (due to an epidemic) and gender roles are reversed in order to protect whatever men are left.
The most beautiful men are sent to serve in the Shogun's Inner Chamber.
[Abuse your imagination here on the awkward scenarios that occur when you isolate men from women]
It's an awesome story, and I highly recommend it.

And....that's all, folks!
Sorry it was long, haven't posted anything in awhile.

Oofuri with Spanish Subs?!

2009-10-02T06:31:27Z

Wow, I found episodes of Oofuri with Spanish subs!
That's freakin' awesome~!!
I can finally show this anime to my Spanish speaking cousins, and not look like an idiot trying to explain it XD

Yo puedo hablar suficiente español para hacer una conversación...más o menos.
(No tengo mucho confianza a hablarlo, mucho menos escribirlo).
Pero hago el mejor que puedo con lo que sé!

Aquí pueden encontrar los episodios de Oofuri con subtítulos en español:
www.youtube.com/user/daisukekun18

I'm so excited that it's getting through another language.

[Anime & Manga Garage Sale]

2009-09-21T22:04:23Z

Hello~! I've gathered some anime, manga, and other goods that need a loving home.
I take insanely good care of my stuff, so it should be spiffy with hardly any wear!

Titles include:

Manga: Code Geass, Di Gi Charat, Heaven's Will, Million Tears, Pick of the Litter, Princess Ai 2, Silver Diamond, Soul Eater
Anime: Eureka Seven, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, Fullmetal Alchemist, Sukisho!, Mini-Goddess (Ah! Megami-sensei!)
Light Novels: .hack//Another Birth, Code Geass
Manhwa: Boy Princess, Demon Diary

Manhwa:

•Boy Princess Vol. 1 - Seyoung Kim
•Demon Diary Vol. 1 - Kara/Lee Yun Hee
•Demon Diary Vol. 2 - Kara/Lee Yun Hee
---Price: $5.00 each (retail: $9.99 each)

Manga:

•Code Geass: Suzaku of the Counterattack Vol. 1 - Atsuro Yomino
•Code Geass: Knight (Anthology for Girls) Vol. 1 - Various Artists
•Di Gi Charat Vol. 1 - Various Artists
•Heaven's Will (1 Volume manga) - Satoru Takamiya
•Million Tears Vol.1 - Yuana Kazumi
•Pick of the Litter Vol.1 - Yuriko Suda
•Princess Ai: The Prism of Midnight Dawn Vol.1 - Misaho Kujiradou
•Silver Diamond Vol.1 - Shiho Sugiura
•Soul Eater Vol.1 - Atsushi Ohkubo
---Price: $5.00 each (retail: $9.99)

•Lady Snow Blood Vol.1 - Kazuo Koike & Kazio Kamimura (*contains Explicit Content)
---Price: $7.00 (retail: $14.99)

Light Novels:

•.hack//Another Birth Vol.1 - Miu Kawasaki
---Price: $4.00 (**fold on corner of cover)
•.hack//Another Birth Vol.2 - Miu Kawasaki
---Price: $3.00 (retail: $7.99)
•Code Geass: Stage -1- Shadow Vol. 1 - Mamoru Iwasa
---Price: $4.00 (retail: $8.99)

Anime DVD:

•Eureka Seven Vol.4 (Ep. 15-18)
•Eureka Seven Vol.10 (Ep. 39-42)
--Price: $7.00 each (retail: $19.95 each)

•Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2-Disc Special Edition)
--Price: $10.00 (retail: $19.94)

•Mini-Goddess: The Urd Files (Mini-Ep. 25-36)
--Price: $4.00 (retail: $14.99)

•Fullmetal Alchemist Vol.1 (Ep. 1-4) SOLD
•Fullmetal Alchemist Vol.12 (Ep. 45-48)
--Price: $7.00 each (retail: $19.95 each)

•Sukisho! Vol.1 (Ep. 1-4) *small 1/2" section of the cover image (top upper right) peeled of from price tag
•Sukisho! Vol.2 (Ep. 5-8)
•Sukisho! Vol.3 (Ep. 9-13)
--Price: $7.00 each (retail: $19.95 each)

Directions

1) PAYPAL ONLY please
2) Leave zip code and country to calculate shipping (combined for multiples)
3) I'll reply with total payment
4) Send payment to RuezgaLizette@gmail.com

Purchases will be sent out on the Saturday after received payment.
(*Will ship 2 days after payment if I'm not working day shifts)
HOLDS?: 1 week from asking date

Update on Oofuri fanart...

2009-09-17T03:30:38Z

I lied about that Abe doodle...
I got REALLY picky about it and now, being the perfectionist that I am,
refuse to leave it alone only to fix MORE shading errors.
(Not to mention that I'll be busy with finals for the next 2 weeks...blarg!)

BUT!!!
Here's a preview WIP shot to pacify any curiosity.

Sad thing is that it's only 800px tall TT_TT
(Why am I putting so much detail into a small piece?!?)

I may give in to reality and post up the finalized version before the weekend.

And here's a screencap from a cute litte Oofuri vid I found of Abe, Mihashi, and Tajima.
Their little "chu" faces are too hard to NOT fawn over ^_^.
(Screencapped in the middle of a flip!)

Later taters!