God damn.  My art has really gone downhill since high school.

Guess when you don't use it, you lose it.  I know practice makes perfect, but it hardly seems worthwhile to spend that much time practicing just to catch up to where I was 7 years ago.  That puts me AT LEAST several years behind any sort of REAL artistic growth.  Sad.

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother.

I love the occasional comment war on DA.  Insert laugh track.  People are stupid.  Bored now.

This is just creepy.

Compare:

[link] to [link]

This is technically old news, but it still haunts me to this day x_x

[link]

Working on a new project: Fox.Net

I created a Blogger account today, and I'm working on all the CSS and template design to make it look awesome.  I also need to come up with some sort of logo.

Once I've got all that figured out, I'm gonna start using it as a personal post hub for all the interesting stuff I find on the internet... or maybe some sort of daily music cast?  I'm really not sure.  I guess I just want to pretend like I'm important for a little while.  If nothing else, it's a fun design project.

It's been way too long since I did any web design.  I'm so much more than rusty...

You can check up on my progress here: [link]
I'll probably update once I'm done with everything.


In the meantime, feel free to leave any comments or suggestions you might have.  Feedback is always appreciated.

My thumb has finally healed and I'm feelin' a little more artsy than usual.

As such, I'm opening this post up to you guys to hit me up with some requests.  I'm not quite sure what I feel like drawing, but I need to take advantage of this artsy streak while it lasts - so that's where you guys come in!

So please feel free to leave a comment with some of your ideas (reference images are always nice), and I'll see if I can't get to work on something!

I have this nagging suspicion that very few of my "watchers" are actually watching me.  Originally, I was going to use this journal entry to call out to all of you and see if I could get some sort of active tally... but then I realized that not all watchers may be watching my journal.  I know I usually uncheck that box when adding a new user to my watch list XD

So now I don't know what to do with this.  I guess if you're reading this, just leave me a comment to let me know.  You can throw down some sort of art request or something if you want.  I'll pick the most interesting one and see if I can force myself to follow through with it.

Working on my Halloween costume for this year... trying to go as Mighty Max.  I'm surprised there aren't more cosplays of this, or attempts to cash in on the simplicity of the design.  I couldn't find anybody trying to sell the hat or shirt, so I'm stuck making them myself.

I put the hat together on Zazzle: [link]

Gonna cost me like 22 bucks to buy this from myself to make my costume, but I suppose that's simpler than trying to hunt down a plain red cap and finding or making the M patch myself.  I saw a cosplay where someone just modified a white shirt with red tape, so I might just go that route.  Probably be cheaper than trying to use Zazzle again, and it'd be a lot easier to get the right size for the lettering.

If I manage to pull this off, I'll probably take a bunch of pictures and post them here.

This is it.  I've finally gotten around to taking the necessary steps toward bringing my Pirates vs Ninjas comic idea to reality.  After much revision and far too many brainstorming sessions, it is my great pleasure to present to you: SALTY DOLLS  <3

The mere fact that it has such an inconceivably witty title just makes me that much more excited about the project XD

Co-written by my beloved ~LeonineGypsy, and starring:

Peggy, the angsty emo pirate [link]
Billy, the lovable deckhand [link]
And the fearless Captain (Jolly) Roger!

Together they brave the open sea in search of riches and adventure, while constantly battling their eternal Ninja nemesis, (name undecided)

The rest of Episode 1 should be finished later today, and future episodes are already in the making!  Here's to hoping I can actually keep my promise this time...  I intend to use cleaner paper and possibly a scanner for future episodes.


AND DON'T FORGET THE SHAMELESS PLUG FOR THAT AWESOME MERCH I MADE BEFORE THIS WAS EVEN A THING!  CHECK IT OUT AND/OR SPEND MONEY ON ME:  [link]

Been playing around with the idea of seriously tackling some sort of webcomic project.  After seeing Scott Pilgrim, part of me REALLY wants to revive and revamp .G33K, but that would be a pretty massive undertaking, and I don't know that I could really provide the level of quality that such a project would require...

My other idea is finally bring my Pirates vs Ninjas idea to fruition, but somehow I don't quite see that having the same appeal.

Either way, the idea of starting my own website is terribly exciting.  I might have to refresh some of my HTML/CSS knowledge before I jump into it, but it could be way fun.  Now if only I had a way to attract readers... hmmm...

Since I'm no longer using FB (and NOBODY'S using Myspace), I don't really have a soapbox to share all of my cool finds on.  That's another thing I look forward to in regards to this potential website project.  I may end up treating part of the site as some sort of personal blog where I can share all the wacky stuff I come across.

In honor of that idea, I leave you with this relatively fitting anthem:

[link]

This is officially the only online profile page I plan on having for the next... long time.  No more Facebook, no more Myspace, no more forums.  I'm considering giving up on the internet entirely, but for the time being I'll be keeping this page active (not that that means I'll be uploading anything )

So, if you want to keep in contact with me, this is place to do it.

I've been trying to draw again lately... it's not coming out so well.

For the first time in years, I've felt a compelling desire to express my emotions through my art.  But I can't seem to get it out.  In my mind, I often create visual representations of intense negative emotion.  They aren't particularly abstract or anything... I just imagine myself doing or enduring things I physically would or could not... actions that seem to express my emotion better than I could ever hope to.  These representations always remain locked away in my mind, however, because I can never seem to find the words or imagery needed to actually express them.

I've been trying to sketch out some of those ideas, to no avail.  I can't ever seem to get the poses right, or the stillness and silence of a single image don't seem to capture the full feeling I'm trying to convey.  It feels like art without soul.  Instead of seeing my sadness expressed on paper, I see a hollow two-dimensional figure.  I don't know what I'm missing...

I want to be able to draw a character practically exploding with emotion.  I want to be able to look at him and see his torment.  I want to be able to draw something that looks as if he/it is enduring great suffering, not just making a squinty face.

It's funny how clearly I can see these things in my mind, and how I can't even seem to begin to put some of that idea onto paper.  This has always been true for me, though.  Emotional expression or not, there has always been a great disconnect between my mind and my hands.


How do you draw a character whose blood begins to burn him alive from the inside?  What kind of facial expression would he need?  What type of body language would best depict the agony of being burned alive?  How do you represent all of that with a still image?  How else can you depict longing?  I can never seem to draw anything more than teary eyes or an outstretched hand.  Perhaps my problem that I feel things in a more exaggerated manner than typical human actions can ever express.  I'm sure that explains a big part of why I've always gravitated more toward cartoon/anime art than realism.

It's very frustrating.  It's enough to make someone try their hand at poetry... but even then, I wonder if I would have the words to express what my pencil cannot.

I suppose I'll keep trying.  Maybe eventually you'll finally see.

EDIT: Normally, I would expect to get used to shit like this over time, despite all of its glaring failures.  However, in this case time has only seemed to prove that things are even worse than I initially thought.  The so-called "fast loading" they've tried to implement really only works for blurry thumbnails (which then slowly finish loading in a manner that reminds me of the 56k internet).  

Loading the full image now seems to take about twice as long when it actually works, and I frequently find myself having to refresh the page in order to make it do so.  Occasionally things will pop right up and load just fine, but more often than not I'm seeing a major slowdown in image loading.


I find it disgraceful that a website devoted to art would adopt such an obvious eyesore as its template for displaying other people's work.

I was almost willing to forgive the cliche scroll-down menus, until I saw the new deviation display format.  This is not an improvement in any way - it's just outright bad, unnecessary, and obtrusive design.  "More focus on artwork" MY ASS.  These big bubbly buttons and off-center deviation placement (not to mention the gigantic enlarged avatars and speech bubbles) do nothing but DETRACT from the actual deviation.

Throwing in a gallery bar at the bottom is probably the worst offense of this clusterfuck abomination.  And what's with putting all the regular links on the right?  This isn't fucking Asia here, reality reads right to left.

I am so disturbed right now.  What the HELL are these people thinking?  Hovery flash buttons?  Jesus Christ!  What do people have against the practicality of clicking an actual Goddamn LINK these days?


Great job, DA.  You have offended every artistic bone in my body today.  I've come to expect shit like this from Facebook or Google... but I would have thought that an artistic community like this, of all places, would be safe.

Every time I make a new Buddypoke avatar, I become immensely proud of my collection.  Proud enough that I would probably post it here.  But I wonder whether creative customization really counts as original artwork.  I already have a few Demotivational and LOLcaption style deviations posted, and I feel a tad guilty every time they get a favorite (partially because they're often the only ones that do).  While the creativity, humor, addition of text, and photo manipulation are all mine, the images being used to convey it are not.

And yet, there are artists who use things like stock images, pre-rendered photoshop brushes, and the like.  There's some copyright law that states that a likeness altered by a mere 10% can be considered original content.  Fonts are not something specifically created by the majority of artists that add text to images.  I have seen fan art of copyrighted characters be promoted to the status of Daily Deviation on this very website.  Where does one draw the line?  At what point is borrowing elements okay?

Of course, I'm going to pretty ridiculous extremes here (MUST A PAINTER MIX HIS OWN PAINTS?), but that's the kind of guy I am.  I have to know the limits of the rules.  Guesswork makes me uneasy.  Where some might say that a photo taken by another and then edited counts as an original work, others may not.  Where some might say the use of a stock image is okay with given permission, some extremists (like myself) might question the artist for using someone else's art as a foundation for their own.  An even greater extreme might suggest that photography is not a valid art form in general, as the photographer has not actually created anything but merely captured it from a particular angle.

Such is the dilemma surrounding my Buddypoke cosplays.  I did not create the program, or the customizable options.  In fact, I did not even create the characters I am attempting to replicate via a different medium.  I merely had the idea to arrange those pre-rendered textures within the limits of a program in order to simulate the likenesses of familiar characters.

I was originally going to use this journal entry as a preface, and then link to an off-site collection of my questionably original work.  But after having thought about it while writing this, I have managed to flesh out a reasonable justification I feel good about (as far as the Buddypokes are concerned), and will use that as my grounds for posting some of them here.  I will also be going through my current Deviations and removing the ones I feel I do not deserve artistic credit for.

I still don't fully understand the boundaries and where to draw the lines on creativity and originality.  I find it rather fun to think about.  Feel free to share your thoughts on the subject, and whether you believe I have a right to post what I have posted.


EDIT: Deleted Deviations

Waffle Man [link]

Secret Identities [link]

With Super Size Fries [link]

Sometimes I forget why I don't draw.  Thanks for reminding me just how bad of an artist I really am <3

I love art.  I respect art, in all forms (so long as it's tasteful).

But it just seems to me like 90% of nude photography these days (especially here on DA) is rooted either in vanity on the part of the model, or mere hormonal desire on the part of the photographer.  Rarely do I see "artistic nudes" that I feel are genuinely artistic.  Instead, I see a bunch of dolled up whores in generic Playboy poses.  I can read their thoughts as clear as day.  "I am beautiful.  I am sexy.  Look at me!"

The photographer's probably thinking the exact same thing, and not much more.  Most of the time, the shots I see come from photographers who seem better-suited to finding sexy new angles for pornographic videos than any form of genuine artistic expression.  There should be so much more to art than finding a pretty girl and taking her clothes off.

It's all just so generic, it's all just so vain.  And the worst part is, they hide behind the genre of "Artistic nude" so that they can bask in the pretentious air that surrounds it, while calling the honest rest of us ignorant prudes.

PRESENTING: My inevitable foray into the world of T-Shirt design!  It's been a long time coming, and hopefully this will be the first of many future projects.

Peggy [link] my beloved Emo Pirate from a failed comic strip series (I'LL GET AROUND TO IT SOMEDAY, I SWEAR!), is here to tell the world you're not going to take it's crap anymore!

For those of you who love me enough: Now you can actually BUY HIM @ [link]

Let me know what you think!  Hopefully this will spark some serious creativity on my part, so stay tuned!  lol

This website pretty much sucks, but it provides a decent place for me to host my ever-increasing horde of myspace layout projects.  Since these aren't technically original enough to count as Deviations, I figured I'd just post a link to them here in my journal.  Design is a form of art too, after all.

I couldn't even begin to remember all the names of the deviants whose art makes up the background images for most of these, but credit belongs to them nonetheless.

Anyway, enough explanation.  Here's a link to my "gallery"

[link]

Enjoy


ps. for whatever reason, DA won't let me change my mood =/
I AM NOT JEALOUS!!!  >.>

Master of none.

I kind of like the fact that my gallery is so completely random, sticking to no particular style, media, or format.  I enjoy being creative, and sometimes it strikes me in the oddest ways.

All the same, I admit to finding it a bit bothersome that while my so-called "talents" span across many a category within DA's horrendous system... I'm not particularly or uniquely gifted in any one of them.

This fact is proven by my semi-recent deviation "With Super-Size Fries" which has already become my most popular and favorited piece.  Neither the original gag NOR the actual screenshot itself belong to me (though I claim creative rights over their combination and composition).

It seems that very few people have any sort of interest my normal work, and making familiar jokes about familiar (and popular) characters is the only way to get myself recognized...  Not that that recognition would be deserved.

It's painstakingly sad to me that DA has become so... cheap, for lack of a better word.    This so-called "artistic community" has really been split into two main sects: the professional and established artists and the pop. fan-art whores.  It often feels like there is no place for real artists like me.  Creative souls with so much to express but without many means to do so.

My recent poetry uploads.

I realize that there is rampant misuse of the hyphen and dash.
I was in high school when I wrote most of these, and I was just discovering their usage (on my own, of course.  God forbid they teach this stuff in English class).

Anyway, I'd go through and edit them... but I'm too lazy.  I figure this disclaimer should relieve me of any and all responsibilty for my adolescent ignorance.