#no other art style emulation will suck as much as this one did I know that for sure

[judgeverse]

After certain past mishaps in France, Crowley was reluctant to accompany Aziraphale back for a trip, but it turned out to be a perfectly pleasant Sunday afternoon.

[minijenn]

Just finished Breath of the Wild as part of my huge Zelda marathon to prep for Tears of the Kingdom, so I guess I might as well rank all of the games that I played for it! Keep in mind that was I bit pressed for time so I had to skip a few entries. For this marathon I did not play: Zelda 2, the Oracles games, Minish Cap, the Four Swords games, Triforce Heroes, or Age of Calamity. As for the games I did play... Here’s how I (personally) think they stack up: 

1. Breath of the Wild: Wow, completely not surprising that my favorite game of all time is my favorite Zelda game too! But honestly this game just... hits in all the right places. I love exploring its massive world, finding its little secrets, just basking in the immersive environment of it all. I love its story and how its told to you little by little, how we get such an interesting take on Zelda and her relationship with Link, I love the champions, both old and new, I love the gameplay, the atmosphere, all the little tools and tricks the game gives you to play with, I love almost everything about it! Only thing I’m meh on is the shrines but that seems to be everyone’s opnion. Other than that, its a fantastic game, still at the top of my list and the top of my heart. 

2. Skyward Sword: STOP BEING SO MEAN TO SKYWARD SWORD GUYS ITS A FUCKING MASTERPIECE I LOVE IT SO MUCH no but seriously Skyward Sword is sooooo special to me. It just... fills me with so many raw emotions in a way that few other video games can. It makes me laugh, it makes me cry, it makes me experience its beautiful, tragically simple story on such a lovely level. I love how it plays, how many items it gives you, how it has the BEST dungeon design in the whole series, I love Skyloft, I love Groose and Ghirahim and Fi and how this game probably has my favorite Link in the entire series (he’s so precious your honor I love him). It’s soundtrack is godly, everything about it is beautiful. If you dislike this game, you dislike fun and joy. I don’t make the rules. 

3. Wind Waker: Always in my top three, Wind Waker is such a delight. It also falls into the category of games that hit me in the feels. Its story is so simple yet it hits so right, its art style is simply lovely, exploring the sea is great, the dungeons are great, this version of Link and Zelda (or should I say Tetra) are great, the MUSIC IS SO GREAT (my favorite soundtrack in the series imo). I just love it so much. Only reason is isn’t #2 is bc I got hit so hard in the feels by SS this time around ahahah. 

4. Ocarina of Time: I know, very traditional. But the more I think about it, the more I just have to put it in the top five. OoT is just so fundamentally... Zelda, ya know? It established so much of what I love for the series, the lore, the asthetic, the gameplay, all things the series still follows to this day. Its story is honestly one of my favorites in the series, its music is just iconic in every way, its dungeons are (mostly) good, its overworld is really fun to explore, I adore it, always have since I first played it on a shitty emulator when I was 12. 

5. Spirit Tracks: Ok So hear me out please. I know this is an insane take but... I fucking love Spirit Tracks??? Like a lot? I love this version of Zelda so much she’s so FUN and I love that she goes on the journey with you. I love riding around on my silly little choo choo train, I like the dungeons well enough and the music? fucking peak. Honestly I just... got so immersed in this one while I was playing it? It just hits the right spot for me, I don’t know what to tell you. It gives me serotonin. 

6. Majora’s Mask : So I actually used to really hate Majora’s Mask? Crazy, I know. But playing it again this time... I don’t know. Something happened. It just geled with me in a way it never had before. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a bunch of problems with it. The time limit stresses me out too much, the dungeons are fucking awful, the bosses suck, the music is kinda meh, but then also like??? the sidequests are the best in the series, Clock Town is the best hub in the series, the masks are fun to collect and play around with. The game is fun. I can no longer deny it like I used to before. I like Majora’s Mask. 

7. Link’s Awakening: So this has and always will be my favorite top down Zelda. I love how it plays and I love the setting so much. It comes across as such a cute little game but there’s this underlying layer of tragedy that just... hits so well. Its music is great, the dungeons are fun, the sidequests are fun. What can I say? Just a really solid experience all around. 

8. A Link to the Past: Fun fact, playing ALTTP for this marathon was the first time I ever beat it! And I really enjoyed my time with it! Its much like OoT in that its a series trend setter but for the 2D games and it does a great job of that! The soundtrack slaps, the dungeons are very well designed, the story is nothing to write home about, but the overworld is very fun to explore. I liked it a lot! 

8. A Link Between Worlds: I gotta say I was... somewhat underwhelmed this time around with ALBW. Idk what it was it just... didn’t do it for me? Don’t get me wrong, I still like it, but it really did just feel like a Link to the Past but with a few new mechanics thrown in. And those mechanics are fun and well executed, but... idk. Underwhelmed 

9. Hyrule Warriors: I hesitate to say this even counts because its not a “traditional” Zelda game. But when push comes to shove, as much as I like the fanservice and sheer silliness of this game, the gameplay loop is very... samey and boring? Outside of this and AoC I’ve never played another Warriors game so idk if that’s a series standard but still, AoC does the concept a lot better and if I had time to play it before ToTk I would but... eh. 

10. Twilight Princess: Ohhhhh boy I can see ya’ll freakin out now. Just cool it for a sec and let me explain. My most recent playthrough of TP was... fucking abysmal. I did not have fun with it. I hated the dungeons, I hated how dry and dull the gameplay loop in general was, I was very bored with the world and the music. Hell, the only things I actually liked in the game were Midna (of course) and surprisingly, Wolf Link? Idk I just thought it was a nice break from the norm. But outside of that, i dunno man, it just frustrated me. By the time I got to the final boss of the game, I was so burnt out and ready to be done with it. Guess my grudge is lasting even still.

10. Phantom Hourglass: Oy. I was dreading this one and I can safely say its just... Ok. Not good, not awful, just... Ok. The Temple of the Ocean King fucking sucks asss, and the world as a whole is generally umemorable but there are other things about the game  I enjoyed like, uh... Linebeck. He was cool. And... that’s about it. :| 

11. Legend of Zelda: I don’t enjoy the NES Zeldas. I think they’re too fucking archaic and cryptic for their own good. There I fucking said it. Leave me alone. 

[0poole]

I LOVE No Straight Roads

Honestly it’s hard to keep me away from a game with great visuals and even greater character design. I knew from the INSTANT I saw these characters that I was going to love it. I just finished it because it’s (unfortunately) pretty short, and even though I cheesed the final boss through it’s very lenient death mechanics (Instant respawn at the cost of a good rank) I actually appreciated that it wasn’t a pure cake walk. I’ve yet to rematch all of the bosses, but since I had genuine trouble with the later ones I’ll hold off on that.

But who cares about gameplay, am I right? I sure as hell don’t. I would’ve bought the game no matter what the hell it was. I wanted the characters (and the music, although I realized that second) and that was it. 

First of all, I love any world that is super fantastical but cheesy in its concept, ala a city powered by music, and battles between artists using music. Ideas like this only spawn from a mind that wants to create a fun atmosphere, if nothing else, and it was sure as hell fun. I genuinely love when someone goes so far into a crazy idea and doesn’t waste your time explaining it with real world logic. Wanna know how a city can be powered by music? Shut up and look at the cute virtual mermaid. Lord knows I did. Every once in a while, it does you good to just let the player/reader/viewer just revel in the idea without having to go out of your way to make things seem realistic. It’s not about “turning your brain off” or whatever, it’s picking your battles.

Also, I can seriously love a world with great background characters to it. Any game with the right situation to insert the random nobodies you find onto the streets into the art in the credits really played into the greatness of the world’s less important characters, and that’s always a good thing. It’s technically world building. But, since I always love to pick favorites, I’d have to say my favorite background character is easily Mia, the NSR infodesk assistant. It’s funny, because you can literally search “nsr characters” into Google and she’s the third image result. I love how jumpy she is when you first interact with her, since NSR probably spread the word about B2J suggesting they’re rock thugs who’d beat up anyone, so for all she knows she could die right then and there with a guitar lodged in her skull. She’s probably just some intern trying to pay for college. She don’t want trouble.

Also, I just realized that 90% of the characters in this game have the same body structure that I always love, that being having arms/legs that sort of fan out in width into relatively large hands/feet. It’s a kind of limb structure I fall into so much because it just really hits me right for some reason. I really can’t explain why.

Anyways, I gotta talk about the big boys individually:

Mayday and Zuke are an amazing duo. I’m always a sucker for a cute and crazy girl, but honestly Zuke hit so many of the right notes too. I will say it’s weird to pair the martian Zuke with the humanly-skinned Mayday, but honestly it doesn’t even matter because he looks so cool on his own. I love his weird blocky blue dreadlocks, and his weirdly shaped shirt which bares his chest in the weirdest way... And, oh my god, Mayday’s weird Spongebob background flower eyes? It’s little tidbits like that that really make me jealous. How could I have ever thought of that? It looks so perfect, and I don’t know why. And her little booty jig she does in her idle animation? Adorable. I played as her as much as was reasonable not only because I’m a filthy button masher with little strategy but also because she’s so damn cute. I can also appreciate how she has a tough-as-nails persona while still keeping a semi-girly attitude, like with her falling for 1010 and Sayu. Characters are so much better when they’re a perfect blend of characteristics, instead of being all one-note, like how Zuke is the quiet one but gets heated against DK West, and all. 

Honestly the voice acting for every character is great, but I love when Mayday’s VA’s accent shows through. It’s a perfect twang to accent (consider this the only acknowledgement of a pun in this post) her snarkiness. 

DJ Subatomic Supernova was going to be an easy favorite since he’s all space-themed. Also, I don’t know why I always end up liking the egotistic characters. Not in the sense that I like their egotistic-ness, but in the sense that I like everything else about them and they just so happen to also be egotistic. The same applied with Empoleon (maybe like my 2nd favorite Pokemon) and Rarity from MLP, probably among others. Either way, I’ll never not love space themes. Not to mention he’s got a funky disco theme, and I’m slowly starting to realize that I am in extreme love with techno-funk styles of music. The instant I heard his music he cemented his place into my playlists. 

As for design, I still have no idea what the fuck he is. Clearly AI is at human levels in this world, but if he’s a robot why does he still have hairy legs? But, if he’s a human, is that weird orb his head? Is it just some sort of puppet which he controls from inside his giant jacket? I know I dissed explaining things realistically but I actually want to know with this guy. Even the wiki doesn’t say. Either way, he’s clearly the logical extreme of “being at the center of your own universe.” Even his jacket depicts a solar system, with his hood being the sun. Didn’t see that until I tried to draw him. I really wish this guy wasn’t so tied to his DJ stand so I could reasonably draw him without it. I don’t want to draw his hairy ass legs. It is a great touch for his design though (although I prefer his beta look with pants and long boots, another design trait I tend to gravitate to) since DJs could reasonably not wear pants, since they’re always behind a table.

Sayu is my favorite. It’s so plainly obvious. It’s weird to say that sometimes, because some characters like Sayu are so clearly engineered to be as adorable as possible, to the point where they’re basically a parody of whatever they’re supposed to be emulating, but then they do that so well that they are still likable for what they’re trying to parody. Also, even though I’ve never looked into any vocaloid superstars myself, the fact that they exist and are loved in real life is absolutely perfect to be used as a character design in a world like this. It’s so weird conceptually, but we all know it’s normal and realistic. But yeah, she’s a giga-cutie whom I’ve already drawn and I’ve listened to her theme on loop on many different occasions. Favorite character, favorite track, favorite weapon of choice (What did I say about Empoleon?), which, and I wouldn’t have noticed this myself, looks like the USB symbol you see above USB ports on computers. How crazy perfect is that?

Even apart from my unbridled love for cute monster robot(?) girls, her boss fight is probably the 2nd greatest of them all, at least conceptually. She’s just a hologram, so you can’t touch her, but you CAN disconnect the artists which control her in order to defeat her. It’s the kind of concept for a boss fight that could only work for this type of character. I’m a sucker for the cute girl that provides her voice, but I love how the animator (video editor? the yellow one) actually attacks you with a mouse and lowers the brightness of the setting once he appears. Also, the mocap guy being the deeply-voiced type but still providing the adorable movements of her body. It’s such a great combo of characters, and their little extra art in the credits makes me like them even more. I just wish we could interact with them individually.

DK West was probably one of the most interesting characters visually, especially since I knew of every other NSR member long before the game came out, but I only just heard of him closer to the release. I wasn’t sure where he was placed, but I definitely assumed his gig was the weird shadow demon we saw in the trailers. When I finally saw him in game, I was shocked to hear him speak an entirely different language most of the time, which was really cool. Also, finding out he was tied to Zuke and wasn’t strictly an NSR artist really made him more interesting. You know, if his fucking shadow clone magic didn’t make him crazy cool enough. Even though I suck at his game and am not especially fond of his raps, the visual of him rapping with this giant monster behind him and dozens of weird shadow wingmen by his side hyping him up was probably one of the coolest in the entire game. The dark way they were hyping him up too gave such a bizarre atmosphere, especially since it parallels his seemingly chill and smiley demeanor. 

I definitely hope they’ll introduce new bosses as DLC in the future, and make them sort of in the same vein as DK West, where they aren’t the biggest artists ever, but they want to pick a fight with B2J. I’d kill for any extra content this game can provide.

Yinu is obviously special since she was the subject of the demo they put out for the game. Even though I knew all her bells and whistles, she and her mom still beat me a few times in the full game. Considering she’s semi-tied to story-ish spoilers I kinda want to go more into her in a separate section. It is worth considering playing the game first since it’s not hard (with the easy going deaths) and it’s short length.

1010 seriously grew on me as I learned more about them and interacted with them. I got their shtick when I first looked at them, but after seeing that animation of them touring the city on Youtube I was kinda falling for them. Then, I learned that they’re apparently repurposed navy war robots? I mean, maybe not them specifically, but it seems to heavily point in that direction, with the warship cars and “attention!”s and all. It took me a bit to get into their music too, but once I actually fought them and put their actions to the music I fell in love with it. I swear, Neon J’s weird dancing can has some of the smoothest moves in all of gaming. I don’t know whether they mocapped out those movements or got one of the greatest animators ever, but it looks so impossibly clean his part of the song gets me like 30x more hype than it would normally. 

Also, their little art piece of them looking at fan mail in the credits is probably one of the most adorable things ever. Even if they’re just Neon J’s puppets, that piece of art really makes it seem like they love every one of their fans. I’m not gonna lie, I might swoon a bit too if they picked me out and gave me some special attention.

Oh yeah, and the fact that Mayday was super sad in her showstopper against them was adorable and hilarious at the same time. The little tweaks they made to the showstopper for each fight were great.

Eve just has to be Lady Gaga, right? Like, an even crazier Lady Gaga. DJSS is Daft Punk (or any artist with a helmet persona, you know what I’m talking about), Sayu is Hatsune Miku, DK West is Kanye West, Yinu is a generic child protege, 1010 is a KPop boyband (just pick one) and Eve is Lady Gaga. That’s just how things are. But, again, this is the kind of boss fight that only this type of character could provide. It’s not just surreal imagery, it’s ARTISTIC surreal imagery. The fight is so mesmerizing in every way, especially by how it starts off so slow and calm and progresses to insanity, as well as the increased emotional investment in the fight making you feel so much more into it than just “That’s the boy band. Let’s fight.” Not only does it get you more invested, but it makes her artistic persona go deeper than just “she looks weird.” She is genuinely conflicted about her relationship with Zuke, and naturally that leads her to literally split him and Mayday apart. That mechanic specifically was the coolest, although I do wish they made it more obvious when you needed to switch over to a different side. I was getting pulverized by her fight too, since there were so many things to pay attention to. Her fight was definitely the best one. 

Tatiana and Spoilers:

Let’s be real with ourselves, the twist was so obvious. I do also think, though, that obvious twists aren’t bad if they’re just good reveals. At some point, a person just has experienced so many stories that “only pretty good” twists are easy to spot. It doesn’t mean that the twists are bad, it just means you yourself experienced.

I feel like her transition from rock to EDM was pretty understandable, even as a non-musician. She was so caught up in what she assumed was popular that it basically consumed her. It’s easy as an artist to want to forgo what you truly want to make in favor of what makes you popular, and clearly since her transition to EDM made her the CEO of the biggest company in the city (world?) that probably made her think she truly needed to change her outlook. Then, when she saw B2J try to bring it back, she sort of coined them as being as misguided as she was and knocked them down a peg. Plus, they were kinda being jerks about it.

It’s kinda like the Trolls sequel, where everyone pegs rock music fanatics as being too stuck up in their own heads to appreciate other types of music, which honestly seems more like the case than the alternative. When I first heard of the story of the game, I was seriously hoping they did put an asterisk on B2J’s ambitions because they were a bit sketchy from the start. 

That’s kinda where I want to talk about Yinu, because she was the true turning point in what they were doing. She’s literally 9 and yet she’s getting dragged into all this BS. When she said “I hate you all” at the end of her fight, and played a somber tune on her broken piano after the fight destroyed it, you kinda got a kick in the face to realize you’re kinda being an asshole to some of them. Sure, they fight back, but they wouldn’t fight in the first place if they didn’t have to. They are just people who play music under a joint name that B2J just so happened to get in hot water with. 

Then, of course, there’s Kliff, who also reeked of surprise villain, and who’s basically the embodiment of the bad side of B2J, where he just wanted to destroy for his own sake and not for the actual greater good. Once B2J realized their mistake, they backed off, but Kliff was so hard pressed to do what he planned on in the first place he wouldn’t stop. I kinda wish he got a bigger fight to his own since he’s clearly a big enough tech genius to divert a whole satellite into one specific building. Maybe the Elliecopter chase bit was his thing, but I do kind of wish he was there to fight against them too.

Even though Tatiana did kind of reform a bit quick, It’s still not too crazy to assume she could see that B2J was just misguided and the fact that they worked to revert their wrongdoings for her sake would make a pretty strong impressions. They clearly can hold their own, so it’s not like she wouldn’t want them to join NSR too. 

Oh yeah, and her boss fight was clock/time themed. If there’s a theme under space that I love, it’s clocks/time. 

And If I am to be respected by the internet, I must provide a negative opinion to balance out my positive one. I will say that the character model physics (like Mayday’s braids, DK West’s vest thing, Neon J’s fluffy neck thing, etc) got kinda funky at times. Especially DK West’s vest, which was completely messed up for every scene he was in... Also, even though the voices are mostly great, some lines felt a bit off. Just a bit. That good enough? Good.

But yeah anyway that’s another favorite game to add to the pile. Eventually I’m gonna have to compile a true list of my all-time favorite games/movies because I do kind of want to have a solid idea of what my all-time favorites are.

[antiloreolympus]

5 Anti LO Asks

1. you know what i noticed while skimming through the lo book at b&n? they didnt take the white buffer out (which is good for webtoons, its so single panels are the focus on a phone screen instead of jumbled or cramped) but when put into print it just makes it so theres an overwhelming lot of white space, which makes the panels look even tinier and cramped in. how did the designer not re-format this stuff?

2. Gotta love how Apollo and Hades are basically the same person in LO, but because RS says they aren't fans don't see it. I'd love to have that level of mind control over people.

3. I’ll say it, the beginning of LO was good enough for what it was. Art styles changes but it had a lot of personality, and that’s good for a comic. The story took a good turn from Hades kidnapping Persphone to driving her safely (i wouldn’t say it’s the best thing to do since he knew she was friends with Artemis and should have found her) but it worked out good for both characters. Like it was suppose to be just a over the top first meeting.

But then it got complicated. In the original pilot Minthe gets dumped pretty early and Hera tries to set hades and P up after a fight with Zeus and I forget what’s after that, but if she stuck with that I feel like it would have taken a lot of bs out.

Instead the story is built like a tower held on by glitter glue and rubber bands. Minthe and hades have their own problems that get worse with Persphones presence. Other female characters who don’t like the idea of Hades and P randomly try to push it but we see nothing that gives us real comfort that hades is good for Persphone or vice verse (even tho hades is with Minthe) persphone even admits to being a child about Hades and her feelings, but we don’t see her grow we just see the situation in her favor. She wants hades, hades breaks up with Minthe. The audience assumes it’s gone be the smack that does it, but they don’t even really talk about that, they talk about Persphone more and hades even sucks in that break up. Now all RS had to do was find a way to really get rid of Minthe without sacificing Hades’ “good guy” character. Which in my opinion went horribly.

There’s also just so many other elements in the story that just feels like Persphone is a passive main character, she’s thrown into her situations more often than doing something or learning a lesson. P falls for an guy in a relationship, she cries about and gets with him anyway. She gets an internship through Hera. And I know people might wanna argue Demeter made her that way, but now with flash backs P is just whatever character traits RS wants her to have for that chapter. The most I’ve seen her done for herself was telling Leto off, but honestly that scene was a little cringe. Like I get what they were trying to do, but why make a little humor pulling on the veil, when Leto could have been an actual scary villain.

With this trial arc also, persphone looks like hades spoiled rich daughter, which isn’t helping with the age gap. Like the story had an interring start, thought it was gonna be a basic drama but now it’s a hot mess

4. In terms of "style changes", the issue with that is that in most cases, it's the artist(s) getting a better grip on what works for them and evolving, with the art often improving. LO has had the exact opposite trajectory, especially with its high turnover rate within the art team who more often than not fail at emulating rachel's more boring style, much less her early more interesting one. You guys can admit the art isnt up to par with what it once was without making every excuse under the sun.

5. does rs not know or just not care that making her main character the most perfect person in the world who's better than everyone else on earth isn't good writing

[pkmnnovareset]

Do you have any major inspirations (storytelling, art, characters, etc.) when it comes to your verse?

I realize I don’t mention this enough, but pokemon Nuzlocke is #1 key factor in my verse. I love (but also hate) the fact that your Pokemon could fricKINGN DIE IF IT FAINTS IN BATTLE AND YOU CAN NEVER GET IT BACK!? THE BOND YOU HAD W THEM!? GONE!? FRICKIN, RIP MY HEART OUT AND BREAK IT INTO A BILLION PIECES GOD THAT’S TERRIBLE I HATE IT. yeah that’s messed up so I decided to throw it into my world lmao

for the whole Paladins and Champions (not to be confused w Champion of a Region) came from Critical Role Campaign 1. I won’t spoil since maybe not everyone watched/watches. But I will say that in the latter half of that campaign inspired me to do something similar to it. Where a character becomes the Champion of a Legendary God/Goddess (the Legendary Pokemon) and is granted their power for an amount of time until whatever the mission is done, that character will be erased from existence. You’re basically signing a contract w these Legendaries that if they give you power, you give them your soul. And when you disappear, you will be standing next to them in their realm as one of their Champions (and you know, everyone else in mortal realm will no longer remember you deal).

For characters, it’s really dependent on what’s around me, who’s around me, my friends, other characters from other media (Ciara, Light, and Mariana for example). But normally it’s just whatever character that pops up during the creation and then I go from there.

If you’ve browsed through the art tag on my blog, you can very clearly tell the different art styles haha. I don’t really have much of an art inspo. that I try to emulate. I mean it’d be interesting to try and draw all of them in the Pokemon style, but I suck balls at that so I just go default my style--which is... Honestly, I don’t know. I have a bunch of styles so I have no idea which I’ll stick closely with? Do I go with a more cartoony look and not give them noses? Do I keep their noses? Do I make their nose just a vertical line? We may never know.

I think there was one factor, where I was inspired by The Magicians... Unless that was for another thing and not this thing. I actually don’t remember, it’s been a while... But I FEEL like it did... I could be wrong...

But yeah, that’s pretty much it! Thanks for the question :D

[acaseforpencils]

David Ostow.

Bio: I'm a cartoonist and stay-at-home dad, not necessarily in that order. I came late to cartooning, because I thought I wanted to be an architect. In grad school, my professors were always hung up on the fact that I was more interested in drawing pretty pictures than in designing interesting spaces. Anyway, they graduated me, and should really answer for the disservice they did to the design industry. 

Find this print here!

I came to cartooning by way of illustrating some books for my sister who's an author. To date, my work has also appeared in and on a combination of print publications and websites, including The New Yorker, Mcsweeney's Internet Tendency, The American Bystander, Buzzfeed, and The Weekly Humorist. My work and I were also featured in a New York Times piece about artists addressing gentrification in their work. I don't know if that counts. Does that count?   

I live in New York City with my son and my wife, whose support is the reason I'm not drawing on grocery bags in my parents' basement, and raking their yard for allowance. 

Tools of choice: Where to begin? I got an iPad Pro earlier this year, and I've been using it pretty exclusively since. But finding and experimenting with tools has been an odyssey unto itself for me, and I'd be remiss not to give a bit of history. 

I started out employing a lot of the tools that I learned about in the architecture world. I went to UVA, and when I was there my sketching professor [fun fact: he was also the mayor!*] encouraged us to draw with Micron pens using a very loose hand. Check out the sketches of Michael Graves, and you'll see what we were emulating. My hand was naturally pretty shaky. Years of drawing have rendered it less so, but at the time, my peers teased me (in good fun) for being a teacher's pet with my wobbly broken lines. That introduction to sketching was definitely formative to the style I would eventually develop for cartooning. Sometimes I find myself trying to force my hand to be as wobbly as it used to be.  

Architecture school was also where I first began using Photoshop as a diagramming tool, and I became more facile with it when I moved into the professional world, where it's a common tool for rendering presentation drawings. Since then, Photoshop has been my go-to for applying washes and colors to my drawings, although now that I have an iPad and I'm experimenting with Procreate, the Photoshop era may be coming to a close. 

After taking a class on comics creation at The New School in Manhattan, I got up the nerve to add some ink and brushes into my toolkit, and while it was an adjustment, it was also fun to have a brand new way of making varied and expressive lines. At the height of my "pre-digital" period, I was using a combination of ink and technical pens. The accompanying photo shows my spread in more detail. All the tools pictured are easy to find, and easy to use, and I recommend them for anyone looking to take a stab at drawing cartoons or comics. 

From there, I waded slowly and awkwardly into the world of digital drawing. I had a hybrid moment when I was roughing my drawings in pencil, scanning them, using a Wacom tablet to ink in a program called Clip Studio, and then adding colors / washes in Photoshop. It was an incredible time suck, but, for what it's worth, the cartoons I produced that way were some of the first I sold to The New Yorker. So there's that.

Since getting my iPad I've been drawing with Procreate, which seems to be the preferred drawing application among my iPad savvy colleagues, and which I enjoy, but I feel like I'm still getting comfortable with it. When it comes to new technology, I have a habit of doing the bare minimum to educate myself, and every time I need clarity on a finer point I'll do a tad more research. It's called the "Dave Ostow Kicking and Screaming Method" and I recommend it to no one. 

Tool I wish I could use better: I've never had any formal fine arts training, so I lack the kind of mastery of many traditional tools that some of my peers have attained as a matter of course. One time I tried to use a dip pen, and was so overwhelmed by how hard it was to draw a single line that I put it in my drawer and just kind of forgot about it. 

I also used to own a set of Koh-i-noor Rapidograph pens, which make amazing lines, but require saintlike patience to maintain. The nibs are super delicate and If you're not careful, they'll break and leak (or — worse — explode) all over your drawing. 

In an ideal world, I would have the patience and time to master some of these more traditional and delicate tools, and I think I'd be a better artist for it. Maybe some day, but right now my schedule doesn't allow for much extracurricular activity.  

Tool I wish existed: Kind of a no-brainer: an iPad / digital tablet that felt almost indistinguishable from real pen and paper. Think the Beyond Meat burger of digital drawing tools. 

The iPad is great, and of course it's wonderful to have digital editing capabilities, but there's simply no hiding the fact that you're drawing on a screen that lacks the kind of tooth you'd get from dragging a pen across paper. Also, when I zoom in to do detail work, I'm always thrown by the pixelation. 

I'm sure the more I use the iPad, the better I'll get at tweaking the settings to my liking. Like I said, when change is involved, I sometimes drag my feet. But that's okay. As a good friend who's also really my therapist said, "Maybe that's just the way you work." 

Tricks: Not a trick so much as a suggestion: If you're drawing on an iPad or some other sort of tablet, get a matte protective cover. It will reduce glare, and soften the feel of the screen against your stylus, so you get an experience more like drawing on paper, albeit only slightly so. 

Misc: Yes, that is a Dan Smith Will Teach You Guitar flyer on my bulletin board. I found it on the subway and it just seemed like a fun authentic New York artifact that was calling to be preserved. I look at it every now and again, and find it oddly inspiring. That picture of Dan Smith has been circulating around the city for God knows how many decades. What does Dan Smith look like today and would he still teach me guitar?  

Website, etc.

Website

Instagram

New Yorker Link

Conde Nast Store

*Editor’s note: I went to Charlottesville High School with Mayor Cox’s son! I also went to UVA, though not at the same time as David. Small world!

Also, I happily do this blog for free, though there are a lot of hidden expenses that I take care of myself. If you enjoy this blog, and would like to help defray labor and maintenance costs, there is a Patreon! Or if you’d prefer to buy me a cup of coffee, there is a Ko-Fi account as well (which is essentially a PayPal donation)! Your support means a lot, and I'm grateful to everyone who has donated! 

You can also find more posts about art supplies on Case’s Instagram and Twitter! Thank you!

[cocofinny]

How long have you been drawing?! Your art looks so fricking awesome :’) If you could give some tips that would be high key appreciated, because I feel like I SUCK at doing aRt TT^TT

omg thank ur so sweet!!

drawing since i was a babbu!! but it wasn’t until i was in my final year of school that i decided to do it seriously :D 

the only advice that i can give is  p r a c t i s e!!!!

i know that sounds super lame, but seriously…draw, draw and draaaaw!!

the best tips i can give are based on what ive done in the past [under the cut for people who wanna skip-a-roo!]:

take inspiration from your favourite tv shows/films/games/comics/books/artists - sometimes by seeing what they do and how they do it and emulating it can help you to develop a style of your own!

practise the thing that you hate - seriously! i used to loathe drawing hands, but the more i did it, the easier it became! 

try something new! sometimes by exploring something in a different way can lead to interesting results, or you may find that it makes something so much easier! like…try a brush that you often ignored in favour of another, or try a new layer style, or colour pallette…try a pose that you wouldn’t dream of doing before - and even if it’s too much for you, dial it back to a point where you feel comfortable, then work your way back up from there are your own pace!

learn from criticism! if someone says that either ‘your legs are a little too long’ or ‘the clothes dont sit right’ dont take it as an insult! learn from it! think ‘how can i make this look more natural?’

USING REFERENCES IS NOT CHEATING!!!!! dear lawd its not!! references are good! references are your friends! yes, even pose references! yes, even hand references! yes, even that meme you thought was funny!!

talk to people! ask them what they do during the drawing process! watch speedpaints! look at tutorials!

and i know i said this already, but keep going! even if you dont like the end result, k e e p  g o i n g - you dont have to upload the finished result if you dont like it, but dont look at it and think ‘i cant do any better, so what’s the point?’ the point is you get better! with each drawing you dont like, you are teaching yourself! with each drawing you want to just throw away, you are getting better! even if the progress is small and slow, its still progress! 

ALSO! you dont need a super fancy expensive cost-an-arm-and-a-leg program to make art! hell, sometimes all you need is a pencil, an eraser, and some paper! but there are more and more free art programs coming out that give younger, or less loaded artists the chance to develop their skills! i am one of the latter so yaaaaay!

AND DONT LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO TELL YOU TO QUIT!! i had an art teacher in school who said i wouldnt get into university if i didnt do a foundation degree in fine art and design, [meaning she didn’t think that my art was on par with others in my class] so i said ‘ill show you’ and practised like mad in my own time, and bada-bing bada-boom i got into uni without a foundation degree also i didnt even want to do fine art i wanted to be an animator pffft

i really hope these help in some way! sorry i rambled on for so long! if you were looking for more specific tips like hands and faces uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu they may take longer cuz id have to actually draw them lol

but i hope that maybe by sharing some of my experiences that you can find confidence in your abilities too! 

now go forth and draw you funky lil artist!! i believe in you!!

[it took me ages to learn how to draw sams undertrain and even longer to learn how to draw papyrus!!]

[slifers-executive-writer]

A Overall Discussion About Godzilla: King of the Monsters 2019.

It has been awhile since I wrote an original piece on my blog, and while I’ve stated this is mostly for my writing and anime fandom, I cannot help but include one of my other passions. That is of course the movies. One topic that has been going around the internet lately is the potential flop that is Godzilla:KOTM 2019. I will put it out there right now, that while this movie isn’t doing as good as I would like, I’m sure it will make its money back and I certainly don’t think it is a flop. But my main reason for writing this particular discussion is to clear the air about where this film stands. I’ve been hearing a lot of reviews both top critical and various Youtubers complain about this thing and my overall observation is a lot of them claim to ‘like’ Godzilla and yet clearly don’t understand a goddamn thing.

A very similar thing happened with Detective Pikachu. Both movies not scoring that great on Rotten Tomatoes and overall critic/Youtuber reception being very mixed, yet the general audience seemed to enjoy both summer blockbusters. Both films suffered from a lot of ‘reviewers’ not doing even the smallest amount of research on source material before opening their big angry mouths and complaining why certain characters or concepts weren’t included.  

And example complaint on these films were:

Detective Pikachu: wHeRe Is TeAm RoCkeT?

Godzilla KOTM: wHy ArEn’T tHeRe OtHeR tOhO mOnStErS?

Yes these were real complaints.

Now in all honesty, I know neither of these movies are masterpieces as in terms of depth of plot or character arcs. If I had to choose one, I would definitely say it terms of the human elements, Detective Pikachu was a much better film. So I am fully aware that these flicks are complete nostalgia pandering hunks of cheese. 

And yet I still found myself enjoying both films to the point where I clapped at the end. The same way almost everyone and their grandmother did for the Avengers. So what is it about this hot garbage making so many people flock to the theaters multiple times to see them?

It’s the simple fact that we have had these Japanese properties in our lives for several decades. Pokemon (1998) & Godzilla (1954). If anyone grew up on either of these or both (such as myself) then we know that as long as these Americanized films are a loads of fun, we can forgive the lazy messy plots. But perhaps that is why these movies aren’t what we all wish they could be...because they are created on American soil. 

You see unfortunately, Hollywood has been in one of the most non-creative/reboot mayhem crisis I’ve ever witnessed. Big corporate studios have to pump out as many safe reboot/non original IPs as possible and it seems to have lost most it’s writing talent as well. If certain directors and producers aren’t behind a project, then the adapted movie (such those inspired by anime and other foreign film franchises) probably won’t have much substance. Not to mention Western filmmakers and our critics don’t seem to fully understand the culture shock of the growing popularity in these Japanese properties. Nor do they understand the appeal of these features, hence all the negative/angry reviews. We have seen this time and time again. And it is nothing new.

Now let’s get back to Godzilla: KOTM. It was a fun ride no doubt. The CGI was incredible, and with certain recent Marvel and DC films, this is a mark a lot of those films miss. So thank Godzilla that our beloved kaijus and other effects looked gorgeous. The cinematography for the monsters was also done very well. There are plenty of moments where we truly understand the grand size of these creatures. Overall the fights were awesome and mind numbing. And the music, oh my god the scoring was incredible. Done by Bear McCreary, who did the recent God of War installation did our Kaiju King a great service. Paying homage to classic Godzilla themes was the perfect icing on the cake. So what was the big complaint? 

Lol These dumbasses. The people in any robot/kaiju/creature feature seem to be the hardest thing directors cannot figure out no matter how hard they try. But let us admit that we as viewers are pretty hypocritical in this argument. On one hand we ask for a shit ton of monster brawls and on the other hand, we complain their are too many explosions and that the effect wears off after a while. We want human stories and then we complain that they are in the movie at all. Godzilla KOTM by no means has a good human story. Some moments with the military and Ken Watanabe were fine, but the idiots in the images above this movie did not need...like at all. I especially hated the father and mother figures. Like yeah Eleven (Milly Bobby Brown), I would run the fuck away too. I’m not excusing the writers for the shitty human plot, I’m just explaining as to why we still suffer from this problem. However, if you are a fan of the Godzilla franchise, you know for a majority of the films, the human plot is not much better than what we see here. Maybe that was Michael Dougherty’s point. He claimed that this was the ultimate film for Godzilla fans and quite frankly, maybe he is right.

Aside from the very first film (Gojira 1954), the human elements of these films were always lack luster, silly, and even forced. Yet so many people are quick to judge our American filmmakers for ruining what ‘only the Japanese can do right’ and in all honesty I’ve never heard such a false statement. The image above is from one of my favorites, Godzilla 2000. Japan’s fuck you to the terrible 1998 film. But when watching this, did you really care about this guy, his daughter, and his dumbass girlfriend. Or the scientists and their anime-esque villain. The answer is probably no. In any of these kaiju films, very rarely do we ‘really’ care about the people. We just want to see the action. The plots are always, cliche, predictable, and stuffing in some bullshit environmental awareness message. Nukes are bad and people suck. But we love Godzilla (practically a walking nuke) anyway. 

Godzilla KOTM, is the same shit we’ve seen before only with American styled editing and tropes. So lots of quick cuts and a focus on the family unit. But hey the special effects are so much better than anything we have seen previously. I don’t have to laugh when I see wires and crappy green screen, or using the same footage from a previous movie. Nope. All our favorite kaijus are in beautiful IMAX quality and are ready to wreck cities worldwide. This is the film fans asked for and we got it. Oh and before the next person complains that the Japanese can only do it better, here is what was done before this.

We got Evangelion Goji with AIDs and CG Tree Goji with Ramen Noddles Ghidorah. While Shin Godzilla was a masterpiece over seas, if you didn’t understand the political subtext, then this film was an angsty destructive ride by a guy who can’t even finish his own art thesis of an anime. (I totally don’t have mixed feelings over Evangelion lol). I didn’t hate Shin Godzilla. It had its moments, but I didn’t think it held the same power of the film it was trying to emulate. Not to mention the CGI and sound design at points were just dreadful. As for the Netflix anime Godzilla trilogy...just wow. Aside from loving the physical design of this new Goji and his new powers, this story was worse than awful, it was downright boring. Even hardcore Godzilla fans had a hard time defending this mess of bad CG. With a promise of multiple featured kaiju and Mecha Godzilla, we get a hunk of nano metal and the only other kaiju actually featured looking like a pack of Maruchan coming down to like ...basically have a staring contest with Godzilla and then evaporate. What a fight for the ages...

In conclusion, I’m not sure if and when either Japan or American will ever truly get it right. We may like certain aspects of one film but hate the rest of it and the cycle will continue on and on. But as far as KOTM goes, I’m happy it exists and hope it does well enough for Legendary to renew its licenses with Toho. I and many others just want Godzilla in the roster and to continue the legacy. Something for future generations of children and adults to enjoy the romping monsters and hear their iconic roars. We can’t let this current toxic and hating Internet culture bitch and complain about concepts and niche cultures it doesn’t fully understand. Like the anime community, the Godzilla fandom is a unique one and has a niche audience. But perhaps like what the Marvel movies have done for comic book fans, the exclusion will lessen over time and become more mainstream. But for now, Godzilla KOTM is meant for a particular group of people and it seems for that bunch, it has made them plenty happy. Myself included. 

So what are your thoughts on this movie and others like?

Feel free to share your comments, reblogs, and however else you would like to respond down below. 

[infjarts]

Get Out of Your Box: The Piece of Art Advice Everyone Is Afraid to Tell You

This has been on my mind for a VERY good while.

By that I mean at least a YEAR.

DISCLAIMER: This is coming from someone whose art improved at an alarming rate (according to my art major friend who gave me this advice). I also doesn’t know when to stop sometimes, so I apologize if this sounds a little insensitive or condescending. But the ONLY reason I am doing this is because it is the single most influential piece of advice I ever received and I would not be where I am today had it not been given to me. 

I’m just kind of frustrated here because I have seen the exact same thing happen to so many people, and it’s always due to the same epidemic that so often plagues beginners. And I almost got caught in it, if it weren’t for aforementioned art major friend.

See, the problem starts with beginner artists looking at fun, cartoony styles and falling in love with them. This is not a bad thing! It’s great to find stuff you like and want to emulate! 

The problem starts when they immediately dive into these cartoony styles, thrilled by the notion that they can skip doing hard realistic stuff and just stick with a minimalistic art style without having to learn the basics or how things look like in real life. Because either they shy away from hard stuff, or they have already decided that’s not how they want their art to look. 

This is a mistake. They are unknowingly locking themselves inside a box. That is not how style development works.

Do you want to know the secret to how I improved more in the past two and a half years than I did from second grade up to freshman year of college?

My friend told me I could not have my own style without learning and mastering the basics FIRST. And I ACCEPTED AND HEEDED her advice.

I was not advanced enough to have my own style. Not even close. So I sought advice from every source possible. I looked up references. I ditched my cartoony style and focused on how things look in real life. I sent pictures of all my work to my friend and listened to her critiques. I rigorously studied the human anatomy and proportions. I changed and evolved. I tried new things, but never planted myself in a particular style. 

This is my first digital piece of art. I am ashamed of it but I will not use other people’s art as examples because it’s beyond cruel.

This was before I accepted I did not have the tools to have my own style.

More early art:

Yes right when I finished Undertale I had a weird obsession with drawing Sans. How is that any different from the next guy?

Now here are some of my more recent pieces, long after I accepted I did not have a style yet:

As you can see, I now have an obsession with lighting I have improved immensely.

The reason no one tells you this (or seems not to, I’m not sure, I just see a lot of people with this problem), is because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. They are afraid that they will sound mean and you will be discouraged and stop drawing. Which is a valid point, but at the same time, the problem remains unsolved. The artist remains in their box.

Now, I have tried to tell people this information in the nicest way possible. I notice, however, that so far it has only been in vain. No one has gotten mad at me yet, but whenever I say, “Well maybe you should try this,” the response is almost always “I’m happy with the style that I have, but thanks!” 

Okay, that would be all well and good, but as a person who has been at that stage and surpassed it by heeding the advice of others, it’s kinda hard hearing the same response again and again, watching beginning artists trap themselves in this box that they have no idea even exists. They have so much potential, but ironically they deny themselves fast, substantial improvement because they think they don’t need it. This isn’t to say that improvement doesn’t exist, it’s just that the things that need to be fixed either aren’t getting addressed or are being ignored.

I know change is a scary thing. I know the thought of trying new things is unappealing. I know switching from sticking to cartooning to learning realism is a long and tedious process. And it sucks. It really does. But it’s worth it, I promise.

If anyone has made it this far into this accidental essay, I ask you to take a look at your art and ask yourself, “Have I locked myself in a box?” If the answer is yes, I highly recommend you to go back to the basics. Practice drawing how things look in real life, even if you don’t want your style to look like that. Accept critiques, even harsh ones. Step out of your comfort zone and try new things. Look at other people’s art; try to incorporate something you think they did well into your work. Punch a hole in your box, let the light of possibilities shine in. You might be surprised at where it takes you. I was.

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Im curious as to why you hate Makoto for ripping of p3pfemc's looks but consent to Royal-chan for the same thing? ( I know you hate Makoto for a lot of other reasons, like her personality and such, but it seemed like you disliked her since prereveal/release?) If Royal chan ended up being a completely unrelated character to femc, will your opinion of her change ? (no hate really, i jst wanna know. \V/m )

It's no prob! In all honesty I didn't even think about this kind of question, but the answer came right away, so I guess time for a not so deep reflection.

So like full stop, if Poniko isn't connected to the FeMC and it's just Atlus messing with me, yeah I'mma be PISSED. Will I rip on her looks like no tomorrow? Maybe, depends on how it’s handled (like how bad they burn me, and even then I might wait for a spinoff cause they might go into the connection there rather than Royal). I think it's obvious I went harder on Makoto because I don't like her for other reasons, and so any small thing about her annoys me (tbh Yusuke's design annoys me too, but not as bad cause....I kinda just don’t care about him and who he’s copying as much, but I'll get to that in a bit)

Anyway I think we need some historical context, because I think it’s important. When Makoto (and Yusuke) where first shown......FeMC had been ignored for A LONG time. We had a non-canon play (which no one really talked about), and that was it. No game related stuff, not even featured in the game where people were getting ripped out of timelines. FeMC were BURNED. I’ll be honest, when Yusuke appeared......While the parallels between P2 were obvious (not just with him) he reminded me of Minato as well. It annoyed me we had to have the token blue hair character since the rule had been made since the P3 era (kinda enforced with some black haired characters from P1/2, combining P2 games together that is, if you want to include them), Atlus said they’d be trying new things..... but like....whateves. But my association with him as Minato increased....when Makoto came along. 

Ngl I wasn’t pleased with the reveal of the last three girls (even didn’t like Haru, for ironically now what I love as an alt rewrite for her as, as I thought she’d be a mean and person full of herself due to calling herself ‘beauty thief’....Yeah all types of crazy here, I do love sweet Haru tho. And the reason for my opinion changing on the alt non-canon personality rewrite is just I.....see the appeal in it for the group dynamic now, while at the time I was afraid of disliking any of the characters or having them be disliked by the fandom.....which big laugh now haha :’D .....I want my happy P5 self back ;w;). Anyway back to the three girls, ngl one of the reasons I wasn’t happy was how they just dumped 3 more characters on us (too big a cast so can they handle it?, silly has to do more VA videos, I want the smaller cast back oh god don’t screw this up, and so on and so on). As for the characters, while Haru’s appearance in the trailer mislead me on her personality (for whatever reason)..... I just.....there was something about Futaba and Makoto I didn’t like. Futaba just rubs me all the wrong ways for reasons I can’t describe for back then (maybe the fact she looked like she’d be a troll and she kinda is), but Makoto it was clear...... She was ripping off FeMC’s look. The brown hair and red eyes.....the fact that Yusuke looked like Minato.....it felt like they were trying to draw them as expies of the P3MCs. And it pissed me off. I didn’t want an unrelated character look and remind me of the FeMC, I wanted FeMC herself! Why are you stealing her look????? And while some FeMC saw this and rolled with it as a joke (Hamu/Minty/Shin dressing up as Makoto/Yusuke/Goro to get into P5), other’s didn’t know who the FeMC was and thus.....didn’t see the blatant expy/rip off design. Seeing people be like “her character design is so original and cute and blah blah blah”.....it annoyed me....obviously (it didn’t help she grew in popularity doing absolutely nothing too, so initially it was all about her looks, and then I’ve been told a lot of her fans, at least male, has been mostly them saying the like her design and her hair and her eyes, and no everyone who likes Makoto is an FeMC fan so....yeah.....I mostly hear how it’s just about her design so I’m very focused on that in regards to her specifically BECAUSE of the fans). And yeah I know it was a bit petty/shallow reason, but I didn’t outright hate her atm, she was stepping on my toes badly but I was holding out till the game (where it finally cemented my hate for her, and now I legit hate her for petty, shallow, deep, and complex reasons). And lordy lord lord, it did not help Makoto’s name was Makoto, because that was a name some FeMC fans gave Hamuko (cause Makoto Yuki was the closest ‘canon’ name we’d get to P3MCs, and some people adopted it for both MCs cause it was gender neutral, so Niijima coming along and taking THAT away sucked ass, and I know different kanji, it still sucked tho). It just....felt like Atlus was spitting in FeMC fan’s face..... But anyway, I kept it in....for about....2ish years. Even when I was trying to stay positive.......and even when I was slowly starting to come out with negative opinions. I tried to keep it in. 

Finally I decided to make it framed as a joke, because I started to see Makoto ripping off more characters than just FeMC (FeMC, Aika, and Naoto in the detective novel to be precise, but what got the ball rolling was realizing that it was Aika who Makoto ripped the hair and motor vehicle from with the FeMC’s color scheme). That’s where my brain started going other places than just being restricted to FeMC, and I started being more critical of Makoto’s design outside the FeMC (tho that still burned me). Because, imo, it’s not original, it annoyed me people would say she was original when she was really just a Frankenstein rip off of other characters (other loved characters, FeMC and Aika were pretty popular in their own right). It only continued to cement in my mind that....anything ‘original’ about Makoto was a farce, she just copies while the original gets left behind.

Tldr; FeMC had been snubbed for years, along comes two design expies that remind you of P3MCs (3 if you wanna include Goro/Ken but Goro looks different enough imo), Makoto is named Makoto (a name some used for FeMC), and Makoto is praised for her design for being original and blah blah blah when it’s not (for multiple reasons besides the FeMC, kinda more the fans reactions fault but I was already having design issues so it just bugged me more when they’d say these things). So yeah it felt like Makoto stole aspects of the FeMC, and it’s not like FeMC has a lot for herself, which really just stepped on my toes. Combined that with legit hating the character when I finally get to see her in action (and it’s because of her actions and writing that I hate-hate the character, but prior to that it was just her stepping on my toes while trying to keep an open mind into liking her), the stuff said before gets amplified more than before.

But months later, after the first post of me ripping on Makoto for taking FeMC and Aika’s design (tho my later posts were in drafts I just didn’t post them till later), something amazing happened on Aug 4th. FeMC finally came back to us. And holy shit obviously I was happy, but it doesn’t dismiss the fact I was aware of how much of design rip off/expy Makoto was, and it wasn’t just FeMC anymore. But gdi if the fact that the FeMC wasn’t being ignored anymore didn’t change the outlook for me as an FeMC fan. FeMC was back, she’s loved, care was put into her character in PQ2, just.....skdfalf;a so happy ;w; But also so hopeful, she was acknowledged again, she had been cut from the 20th anniversary event in official art, and that hurt us, but now she’s back back. And she was a main character in PQ2.....which leads to you questioning, what next? 

Which brings us to Poniko, the one post hopeful outlook. Obviously she’s not starting in the same place as Makoto. Poniko has been revealed post-PQ2 FeMC....which means Atlus isn’t ignoring Hamuko (in fact a lot of the creators were stating they WANTED her back), we know the creators do love Hamuko. There’s also the fact.....Poniko looks less like an expy like Makoto (who imo looks like Soejima trying to emulate Kaneko’s art style, esp the eye shape, same with Yusuke too). Poniko? It goes beyond ripping off a design, she looks like she’s almost fully lifted from Hamuko, it just looks like Hamuko wearing a different outfit. Just straight up copy and paste. And would I have been pissed if she was revealed alongside Makoto? Maybe, or I might be theorizing that she is Hamuko herself like now (tho I think it’d get more push back due to Hamu being in Atlus’ basement for so long so it just being claimed as delusional and unlikely), or both (and then pissed when it’s revealed it’s not Hamuko). It’s just....she looks SO MUCH like Hamuko it can’t be a coincidence, and after PQ2 it feels less like one as well. Just.....the posture, the cinematic parallels, the hair color, the eye color, the eye shape, the eyelashes, the face structure, the way she stands.....Poniko just screams “I AM Hamuko” not “I just look like her because.” And it helps that other people in the fandom also see this too, some are hoping she’s a new person, but it seems people at least acknowledge that very obvious similarities between Hamuko and Poniko (while that didn’t really happen with P5 with Hamuko/Makoto). 

And....tbh I feel like I might sound like I’m splitting hairs (at least with the words I’m using). And it might sound weird that I think Makoto ripped off enough Hamuko it pissed me off, but Poniko just.....is a copy and paste of Hamuko, just straight up Hamuko in a different outfit and hairstyle but it doesn’t. But it’s the historical context I think that sheds that light. And the fact Poniko might just BE Hamuko, and so it’d make sense if that was the case for them to look like each other (while it doesn’t make sense for Makoto to look like Poniko). 

I guess it also helps that I personally had the headcanon Hamuko and Minato weren’t related (just strangers on the bridge in two separate cars), and they both survived the bridge accident but one became the leader of SEES and the other went on to live and do their own thing (until maybe a spinoff game pulls them back in). And while I.....well recalling it now I considered a reincarnation once in a hc scenario (opted for time travel forward cause that makes sense 8U I won’t go into it I had my reasons 8U), but looking at the 1st year symbol on Poniko (and reincarnation in other MegaTen works, I mean c’mon reincarnation is in the title) it feels plausible. And it works for Poniko because of the time the incident and the time to be reincarnated takes place (1999 being the accident and April 1 2000-April 2 2001 being the time frame she was born), which wouldn’t ever work for Makoto because she was born in 1998 (so even if I HAD considered Makoto it wouldn’t have worked, esp since they never tell us she jumped grades, it’s not possible....and while I’m all for hc and grey areas, this is something that WOULD be explicitly told because it’s not common in Japan and Atlus has been explicit about characters not in the ‘right’ grades before, just an fyi there 8U). 

I dunno I feel like there’s distinct clear reasons that I can fit them into separate categories. And yeah if Poniko isn’t Hamuko I’mma be burned too, BUT I’mma wait till a spinoff post-Royal before I get pissy.....cause I don’t expect clear answers to other past games in another game’s mainline entry (I only expect shallow shoutouts tbh). So yeah, just so you know where the deadline for my expectations are. 

[celebrate-the-clone-wars]

I’ve been seeing this question floating around and I personally felt it would be important to address...

Should Padmé Amidala have been cast as an Asian woman for the Prequels Trilogy?

The important thing to think of when determining the answer to this question is that it is a matter that is more than just a preferential choice. Of course, the answer and the question are now hypothetical since the movie is already a thing, but it’s still worthy of discussion.

Also, this isn’t necessarily a critique on Natalie Portman herself as much as it is about questioning the creative decisions behind her character by the Casting Director -- Robin Gurland, the Concept Artist -- Iain McCaig, and the Costume Designer -- Trisha Briggar, specifically for The Phantom Menace. And let’s not forget the man at the helm -- George Lucas.

Now, the main reason why I feel it is relevant to bring these people to light is because it is very clear that they all share one common trait -- they are all white. A relevant fact because, however unintentional in the hiring process, having a room full of white people creates a lack of perspective which can forward careless work practices involving things they are not familiar with. By things, I mean specifically cultures they are not intimately familiar with.

You have people who find themselves trying to create the scifi feel of the foreign and the unfamiliar -- they see cultures that are fascinating and beautiful and feel inspired. But that’s when things get dicey. After all, if a white person is not actively looking for it (as it is not an active part of their life to worry about), how will they understand what can be potentially disrespectful or not for the poc cultures they borrow elements from?

Which brings us to remember that...

Cultural Appropriation: Historical Context is Important

One thing that can determine whether or not cultural appropriation harmful is when the people borrowing from the other culture possesses historical baggage in which they have a history of taking from those people to begin with.

This is why white people wearing Native American headdresses is considered immediately harmful. Even without the added context of the fact that the headdresses are being misused and disrespected, the fact is that white people have had past transgressions stealing from Native Americans with consequences that still exist today.  

So, what is the historical context involving Padmé Amidala and her wardrobe?

I’ll get there, but let me explain a few things first involving the development of her noteworthy red dress ensembles when we first see her (ok, Sabé lol) on the throne and later in the movie.

When looking at FORCE OF FASHION: QUEEN AMIDALA’S THRONE ROOM ENSEMBLE, an article that is posted on the Star Wars official site, you see that they talk about the Behind the Scenes work on Amidala’s main wardrobe in TPM and the inspirations revolving around that.

[The] design borrows the striking reds of traditional Chinese regality and mixes it with the complex, beautiful golden designs of Korean and Mongolian wedding dresses...”

“[the] massive headdress strongly recalls that of a traditional Mongolian wedding...“

“Here in this galaxy, the white make-up and red dotted accents on Amidala’s cheeks resemble the Yeonjigonji, a style of make-up used by brides in traditional Korean weddings...”

The issue here isn’t that they take inspiration from multiple cultures as much as they pick and choose, mix and match certain aspects of wedding wear that is worn from those cultures and put them all into one style of dress to emulate a certain aesthetic. 

Intent and the tradition become changed and disregarded for the fiction that is played in the story. The context is lost and it is then displayed towards an audience where many do not know the original origins. It all sums up to what they intend: to portray an alien culture.

To move forward creatively in this way -- taking bits and pieces of a culture mainly for the aesthetic while disregarding the meaning and symbolism -- is to assume that these cultures have interchangeable traits that can be taken and altered at whim. And that’s simply not the case. Cultures are not to be treated the same as arranging a flower bouquet. Especially if it comes from cultures that belongs to people who are still alive and thriving, to which their culture is an active part of their livelihood and identities.

Which brings me to talk about....

Orientalism, Why it Sucks, and How it Affects Us Now

It is during the 19th century that there was a spark of interest and fascination with the the far East for the British Empire. With the modern technologies that allowed for travel across oceans, it made things steadily easier for foreigners to meet and explore new cultures and people. It was a time of learning built on curiosity and would escalate and devolve when findings were taken back to British civilization. Stereotypes and a disdain for foreigners would fester among the white populace despite them hypocritically finding fascination in their art.

It should also be remembered that during this time, the West had already been introducing “western practices” to other cultures, which included drugs and weapons. The one specific thing I’ll reference is the “Opium Trade” being started in China and how that thoroughly crippled the nation -- causing millions of addicts but also a wealth of trade/commerce in which Britain thoroughly benefited from.

So, on one hand, you have the white people taking artifacts and treasures back to their land for the aesthetic. On the other hand, we have those same white people ruining the people they are stealing from and taking advantage of their misery (often caused by said Imperialistic white people) for money.

And all of the art of these people from multiple cultures: Middle Eastern, Asian and North African would be put under the giant umbrella to be referred to as “Orientalism” that would inspire a time of thievery, gaudy misunderstood imitations, and an even worse mistreatment of the people of those cultures. 

To them, these “people of the Orient” did not have any valuable distinction other than the fact that their works were foreign, fascinating and beautiful.

It didn’t matter to them that these cultures existed on their own and possessed a long developed history that determined who they were as people. To the colonizers and thieves, they were all the same -- to be stolen and furnished in homes as trophies. 

They picked which assets would be considered valuable about these cultures by taking these beautiful culturally important things out of context.

And this, is the historical baggage that I consider when I look at the cultural appropriation that is Padmé Amidala’s regalia and the fact that white people were behind the conception and designs. It’s not a matter of the negative cultural appropriation being intentional or not, but rather, from their situational ignorance, they acted unknowingly and created something potentially offensive to those of Asian descent.

They took beautiful features, but left behind the significance and cultural symbolism. They have unintentionally removed the Asian people from the designs despite it originating from them.  

It’s one thing to be inspired, but a creator needs to understand that when you are inspired by any culture, you have to bring forward the people as well. 

A good example of this would be the Avatar: The Last Airbender series and how they were inspired by multiple South and East Asian cultures but did not remove the Asian people from the story at all. They also kept all the clothing designs faithful to what they based off of (no mixing and matching certain aspects into one clothing) and kept the context for wearing them proper (ie. they did not design regal wear based on wedding attire as though it were interchangeable).

But does this mean that we hate Padmé and everything and everyone involved with her design? 

Not necessarily, but at the same time we shouldn’t excuse it. 

When it comes down to it, it is always important to acknowledge what can be done better to improve in future works. Action needs to be taken but...

Remember that when problems are being pointed out about something you like, no one is telling you not to like it anymore.

Rather, it is important to discuss all creative media, old and new, and work towards actively thinking on how they can be improved. For example, it is these kinds of discussions and acknowledgements that have brought the majority to accept that racist caricatures like Mr. Yunioshi from Breakfast at Tiffany’s are unacceptable in current modern media.

So, the question isn’t just “Should Padmé Amidala have been cast as an Asian woman?” Unfortunately, though we know that it would have been definitely more respectful considering the thoughts behind her costume, there still lies the issue of white creators being in charge of the costuming and design of Naboo and approaching it in a way in which did not actively involve actual Asian creators in their development process.

So, consider asking: “What should we do for similar characters like Padmé in the future?” What should we do when a character’s identity is based on an Asian culture for aesthetic? 

What should we do to make sure future creators and developers will take more careful measures to be respectful in their portrayals of new fictional creations?

How does a creator make something original and exciting without ostracizing what it is inspired by in real life?

If you got this far, thank you for reading. This has always been one of those things I’ve had strong feelings about. I don’t normally write essays about the Clone Wars or Star Wars, but this was just one of those moments where I felt I couldn’t ignore the discourse. As always, our blog is open for discussion and questions. Going to tag @diversity-instarwars​, you are welcome to add any thoughts you may have on the matter.

[onestowatch]

Frames on Pop-Punk, Sex Work, and Their Debut Album ‘Every Room’ [Q&A]

Richmond, Virginia's very own Frames, have released their heartfelt and hard-hitting debut album Every Room. The record is a nostalgia-charged piece of art full of reflection and retribution, turbulence and tenacity. The band, comprised of Sarah Phung, Carter Wahl, Blake Layman, and Alex Wilson, joining on guitar, bass, and drums, respectively, comes alive with their intense and intimate emo drive and captivating passion.

Ones To Watch caught up with Phung to talk about the transition from being a solo artist to a band, the inspirations that fueled the album's creation, and legitimizing sex work.

Ones To Watch: In an interview with Brooklyn Vegan, you talked about how you intentionally made the music video for "Table Top" compressed and pixelated, wanting to capture the nostalgia and energy we felt from music videos we grew up watching on TRL. Can you talk a bit more about this process and how you went about executing this idea?

Frames: So the video is done by my friend Gavin Stout; we go way back. We've been hometown friends there for a decade, and he's excellent with video. We sat down to talk about treatment and plots, and we threw a lot out there, and I don't know why it came to mind. I was like, “I think we should have some skateboarding B-roll,” and he was asking me for ideas and references. I just couldn't stop thinking about every single video I ever watched pre-2009, and I just really miss real MTV and Fuse, and I'm really bummed that that era is over, because I'll probably never get to live that dream of mine. One of my biggest music-related dreams is being on one of those music video programs on TV, but that culture is over. So I was like, “Well, why don't we bring back that visual of an afterschool music video show with this.” So then the rest of the band all dropped in bits of the idea and formed it together. Gavin's idea was to have the performance take place in his garage, and it has that very homey and throwback feel. We jokingly were like, “Oh, this needs to be shot at like 120p,” and we talked about how it needs to be the lowest resolution possible.

That whole, recorded with a potato kind of vibe.

Exactly! Gavin went out thrifting to look for an old camcorder or something, and when he got back, he had some old hand video camera, and he goes, “Guys, I have bad news. This thing is like kind of good quality for an old camcorder.” It was an old Sony flip-out camcorder, but it was still kind of nice. So he said he'll do what he can to make it look the way we wanted. So it was kind of tricky, because he is good at what he does. I mean, he's a corporate video editor and did commercials and stuff, so it was hard for him to intentionally make it bad quality. It was really funny to have to continuously remind each other that this has to look bad but not like bad because we suck and like we're not good at what we're doing. It has to look intentional, and that's hard to do. We kept looking back to the video “Make Damn Sure” by Taking Back Sunday as inspiration. It's just one of those weird performance videos where they're in some room, and all of a sudden, there's a car crash test zone type of room. So, we were looking at that video and asking ourselves how they did it because watching it now, you can tell that it's not up to industry standard these days, but we can tell that it's the best with what they had. So we figured out that it's not in the resolution, but there are other ways to make the video look very professional and high quality, but this was made in 2004. So yeah, we were just really hyped and hyper-focused on making it look exactly like you're coming home, you throw your bookbag on the floor, turn the TV on, and then hey, it's us.

It feels like every detail is purposely made to capture the spirit and genuineness of the project, and that energy seeps through the whole record.

We try to be intentional in that way. I think you're right. I hope you're right. We try our best to, you know, being a smaller and not super established band with not a lot of known history, of course on the business side of things, we want to make the right moves so that we can get to a place where making art can sustain us, so we can dedicate more time to it. That's every musician's dilemma where they want to stay true to their craft but also need to make a living, so we have to juggle that a lot. Luckily, when it comes to the creative direction, most of the time, what we want, tends to be like, this is going to work because it has to. We're not going to emulate anything out of thinking that it's going to bring us success. We're doing it purely because I like what we are. I miss the Ashlee Simpson, Avril Lavigne, Paramore, Hey Monday days. I wanted to be a part of that, but I didn't get to be because I was young. But now, I'm going to start my own era of that. So hopefully, that works, and hopefully, it sticks, and people get what we're doing.

Frames originally started as a solo project, but recently it's now expanded into a four-piece. What made you want to make that transition, and how has that adjustment been for you?

Pretty much every aspect of the Frames origin story leads back to some early 2000s nostalgia. Pretty much everything leads back to me being 10 years old and loving Avril Lavigne and Paramore, who are pretty much the two greatest female pop-punk artists, and I just knew that I always wanted to have a full band to write with, to play with, to be friends with. I wanted everything that came with being in a band, musically but also personally and socially. I want to share the creative control, and for a while, I didn't have a lot of music friends, and I wasn't deep enough in being a musician to know how to work with the band, but I knew that I wanted to just start getting things out. So with the Frames EP, that was just me, and I already knew then that I would eventually find a full band. Frames is named after my best friend Framers, and I forgot why I thought of that, but I think it came down to picking a name. I hadn't thought that hard on it, but I wanted it to be some sort of tribute to someone or something really important to me, and then I thought, well, he's important to me and also important to my music, because he's been my number one fan since day one. He's always been pushing me to start putting things out because, at that point, he was the only person that would hear stuff that I was writing, and it was just phone demos. So I guess that the two core points of the Frames origin story are me living out my childhood dream of being a power-pop singer and naming my band after my best friend.

That sounds like a good friend right there.

He also introduced me to most of the musicians that end up being my influences.

Like who?

Daughter, Lucy Rose. It's funny I don't talk about Lucy Rose nearly enough, but she's fantastic. Everyone knows Lucy Dacus, but this is my Lucy. She has a song called “Shiver,” and I really liked it, so I learned to play it. It's in an open tuning, so I learned that song in that tuning and that tuning and the general progression of the song is what I used to write last year on the EP and then this year on the album. So these songs are a direct product of listening to Lucy Rose.

How did you meet your current bandmates?

My guitarist Carter Wahl and I met six or seven years ago through mutual friends during Richmond's house show glory days. So he was the first band member from very early on, like well before the rest of the band, because between him and the rest of the band, I had a lot of rotating friends for like, shows and weekend tours. So Carter's a core part of Frames because he writes solid parts, although I write most of the material. And then, Alex. I was asking around, and there were a few drummers that I knew and liked, and I had known Alex through mutual friends, so I reached out to him and asked him if he wanted to play in my band. He is also in this other band called Twin Drugs, and they're like a shoegaze band. At first, he said he didn't have enough time to take on a new project, but after listening to some of our music, he decided he wanted to be in something much different than what he was in. He wanted to, in his words, "I just want to play 4/4." He was like, "I just want to play a simple beat, and I want to be in a pop band," and I was like, "Well, here's a pop band." So he came along, and then I asked if he knew any bassists, and he said he would ask his bassist from Twin Drugs, Blake Layman. I was a little skeptical and kept thinking that this needed to work because we would be spending so much time together, and we would be sharing so much control. This needs to be someone that everyone has to get along with, and it just worked out great. Blake is an actual angel, and we all get along really well.

Sounds like everyone in the band was made for each other.

Yeah, and it's nice that we all have the same ideas, visions, goals, and styles pretty much. So I write my parts, and I give them my thoughts for what I want the song to come out sounding like loosely, but for the most part, they write their parts, and I don't think that any of them have ever come up with anything that hasn't matched exactly what it sounded like in my head. So that's awesome.

What is your songwriting process like?

I'm definitely a very lyric-heavy person. When I was younger, poetry and lyrics were some of my biggest interests and the main focus of my music writing before I became a stronger guitarist and just a better overall composer. Now and then, I'll just have lines or ideas that I'll write down, so I stitch together the lyric scraps when I have music. Other times, I feel the writing rush, and if I have time for it, I'll sit down and just start playing something or start babbling something, and usually, when I do that, I like to sit down to start a song, and I finish it. I don't like to leave it and pick it up later.  

What story does Every Room tell? Is it a chapter in the life of Frames with a set beginning and end, or is it more of an anthology series where every song is a separate story?

It's a little bit of an anthology, but with an underlying theme throughout all of them. A lot of my lyrics tend to be talk therapy for me. This collection of songs is from a very emotionally turbulent time but a different type of emotional turbulence than the one I would describe with the EP. The EP was like, pre this specific relationship, and then this album is like all of the emotions that came after that relationship that I was unprepared for, so a lot of it is anxiety. I haven't gotten to talk about "Body Kicks" very much, but that entire song is about anxiety, and if you read the lyrics, you'll know for certain. So a lot of these songs are about me processing a lot of things, not just talking about them. I'm breaking them down and figuring out why I'm feeling them, what I'm supposed to do with these feelings, if I need to just like sit with them and then let them go, or if I need to learn something from them and if I should even be having them, if it's healthy to and how I can communicate them to other people. It's hard enough knowing what you're feeling, but then you're like, well, what now? What do I do with it? 

I'm sure that's a situation many people can relate to and find comfort knowing they aren't the only ones who've experienced something like that.

I try consciously to write about aspects of relationships that aren't sung about very much, or we've heard for the most. So we've heard all the heart-achy, gut-wrenching stuff, and we've heard all the butterflies infatuation songs, but there's like something in between that doesn't get explored. I think because maybe either writers don't know how to write it, or they just don't feel that it's as glamorous of a topic to talk about. I think that's where I naturally am most of the time in my head anyway, kind of in between the best and the worst feelings.

Are you describing the grey area of relationships where you're sad but not heartbroken?

Yeah exactly. Sad but not heartbroken. So I'm like, “Well, if I'm not heartbroken, what am I sad about?”

Can we expect music in the future from Frames to dive more into themes like anxiety and relationships, or do you feel like, in the next album cycle you would want to change it up?

I don't know if we'll get to bring it up in this album cycle, but the sex worker part of me has been very briefly mentioned in relation to the band. I definitely want to explore that more as a facet of my musicianhood. I don't know how I'm gonna write about working at a club, but they're definitely connected in some way. So I'm gonna find how they're connected.

How did you feel about the influx of people diving into the world of sex work on OnlyFans when the pandemic first hit?

Early on, when a bunch of previously non-sex-worker women were going to OnlyFans because of COVID, of course, I was like, "You're not a real sex worker," and I thought taking nudes wasn't sex work. But now I'm like, "Who cares? Whatever." I believe if you do sex work, you are a sex worker. If you perform any sort of sexuality in return for money, that's sex work, and I do not want sex workers' money to be messed with.

Right, because sex work is work and shouldn't be delegitimized.

Right. I guess I don't look like I would be a stripper. I don't really show it, and it's not that obvious to the music people around me, but I do talk about it a lot. I think that even people who mean well and believe that they're allies, and are in support of sex workers and sex work, are not even aware of how much they have this idea of what a sex worker should look like, should sound like, or should act like. So I think that me being who I am and doing the things that I do, I like to be very open and transparent about sex work, because then it gives more exposure to the fact that we're just ordinary people. I want to remind people that you never really know who you're around. People love to say that they're an ally or supportive of something when they're not even aware of those people around them.

What would you tell your nine to fourteen-year-old self about the art you're creating now?

Nine to fourteen-year-old me was what I envisioned for my music process, playing music, being a musician. But, unfortunately, I was focused more on the external factors and the whole "being a rock star" thing and not nearly as focused on my actual music writing. I knew how to write a song a little bit, but I was caught up being world-famous and filthy rich as a kid. So, I guess my answer would be don't worry about the external things because they will come naturally. The fame and fortune part is just a Hollywood dream, and even if it could happen, it doesn't always end up nearly as satisfying as just doing what you love to do.

[stephdrawsjohnlock]

Hi:) I’m new to digital art, and I just purchased a Wacom tablet (the intuous draw because I’m just a beginner!) and I’m kind of hesitant. What if I completely suck at this?? What if this is going to end up being 10X worse than what I imagined it being?😓 I’m a traditional artist, and I’ve never been so good w tech, but everyone in my family has been telling me to try digital art out, and honestly... I’m really nervous:/ I’m scared my tablet will end up being a waste of money bc of my skills🙃

Hi Nonny! *hugs*

Firstly, CONGRATS! Getting a new toy is so much fun, especially when we are venturing on something new!

Secondly, Hi hello, traditional artist here!!

And therein lied my big problem: Digital is a COMPLETELY different medium with its own rules and the only limit is your imagination. Once I clued into this, It became a bit easier, but I still struggle with settling on a style I like, because it’s just like learning how to draw all over again.

How did you become good at traditional art, at being able to pump out art without thinking? PRACTICE. And this sounds counter-productive, but hear me out: STOP THINKING TOO HARD. This is my biggest problem, because I find I’m frustrated because I’m NOT good right away, that stuff isn’t going to turn out on the first, second, or one hundredth try. It’s going to take time, and THAT’S OKAY. You’re allowed to experiment and play with your tablet. I’ve actually learned, once I have finally just allowed myself to enjoy my art regardless of how shitty it looks, that I always want to keep practicing and trying out a new pic! I’m not fast and constant envy people who can get stuff done quickly and make it look amazing, but I also need to realise that I’m starting new, and that once I become comfortable with the tools, only THEN can I finally develop a style.

I’ve been trying digital work for 2 years. I’ve only recently finally found the will to “let go” and just “ink” my art and stop trying to make it look like my traditional stuff. It’s not going to look like it. But I’m experimenting every time I draw with new brushes and styles and pen pressures, and somehow I come up with something I’m satisfied with. And it keeps my art fresh and new; I’ve had a few people come to me privately and tell me that they love watching my art grow and change as I learn how to do digital work, and it means SO MUCH to me. Encouragement goes a long way into helping us grow. 

So Nonny, DON’T think you wasted your money. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE! You didn’t become a traditional artist in one day, just as you won’t become a digital one. I KNOW it’s frustrating, I feel you, but it will click and you will find something you like. Try experimenting with brushes and pen pressures (there are LOADS of free brushes online), and you will soon find The Set that works for you! Watch tutorials on how to use the features of your program, and read how other artists do their work. It’s immensely helpful, and you learn things about the programs you didn’t know about. 

Wacom also has an app that comes with it when you install the drivers that allow you to change the mapping, pen pressures, handedness, touch capabilities, and all the shortcut keys on it, so make sure you familiarize yourself with your tablet. It is going to be your best friend in your digital art toolbox, and you should learn how it reacts to how you draw. ALSO, a tablet is NOT a piece of paper; be GENTLE with it. This was another thing that I had to learn, because I was wearing out my nibs monthly. Experiment with the nibs on your pen, and DON’T push hard or you will cause damage to the both the tablet and nib. AND nibs DO need to be changed, just if you’re going through them monthly, you’re pushing too hard. These are my favourite nibs, and think they work the best AND I like the rubber tips on them. The spring in them helped me with my pressure issue and helped me learn to be gentler with the pen, and now I don’t push so hard and scratch the shit out of my tablet. These ones are my next favourite. I love the rubber tips on them. Just make sure when you purchase nibs they are FOR YOUR TABLET. As far as I know, all Wacoms come with extra nibs, you just have to find out where they are. Mine’s a Intuos Pro, and they’re in the base of the pen stand. The tablet I have at work is just a standard small Intuos, and I found the nibs hidden in a compartment on the back of the tablet (right at the top, there’s a cover you can pull off, they’re in there). ANYWAY, try out different nibs and you will find one you like too! The felt ones were great too!

Also learn the basics of the programs you are using: LAYERS ARE YOUR FRIENDS. What I love about digital art is that I can forever try out different “blueline” layers and keep them all to maybe refine later or just delete it! Layer Groups are the BEST thing ever, and learn to use them. I always have my layers grouped into “bluelines”, “sketch”, “lineart” and “colours”, all with groups under those (I should seriously show you guys one of my pieces’ layers palette) and sorted and named so that I can find what I need. Learn about Layer Masks; they’re EXTREMELY helpful in colouring. And play with the brush stroke features. It’s so daunting when you first start, but you’ll figure it out!!

I BELIEVE IN YOU NONNY! You and I can learn together, and watch our art change and develop into something beautiful. And yeah, it would be nice if it were sooner than later, but we can’t win them all!! Practice every day so you can get used to the paper-to-screen aspect of it (it weirded me out for awhile) and so you can get used to judging distances and how your pen reacts to your touches. STOP THINKING, and just do it, Lovely!!

Good luck, Nonny!!

[shylaxgameblogs]

Shylax’s Top 10 Games (Played in the Year) of 2017

Yep, it’s the return! You’re going to be here a while, so...

10. Mario Golf World Tour (2014)

Yep, that’s right, a golf game. It wouldn’t be right without one, and here it is.

I really wanted to play this game because @pawelcyril kept gushing about it, but I don’t really play it anymore. It’s not a bad game, it wouldn’t be on this list if it wasn’t, but it could have been a lot better than it was. There are a lot of 9 hole only courses, which is disappointing. The single player story mode is fun, but short. Online’s loading times are disappointing. Being able to create and customize a Mii golfer is fun, but the Mii’s driving distance sucks compared to Star Mario. The tournament system is fun, and solves World Invitational’s cheating problem by just letting you go as many times as you like, but...Hot Shots Golf World Invitational was so much better. That game had so much more staying power, even with its own flaws.

9. Fire Pro Wrestling World (2017)

I remember playing Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium on a SNES emulator. That was my first experience with Fire Pro, and it was so much different than any other wrestling game I had played before. Probably the closest that comes to the Fire Pro experience are the aki wrestling games, most notably WWF No Mercy.

If you’re a fan of American-style wrestling, this game will probably disappoint you, because even though you can create your American favorites and have them battle each other, this game doesn’t feature the wild and crazy antics that make American wrestling tick. There are no storylines here, and no cutscenes. This is pure puroresu. Japanese wrestling is treated more like a legitimate sport, and so does this game. It’s all about the competition.

This game has no license, but it has a robust Create-a-Wrestler system, allowing you to create your favorite wrestlers, characters outside of wrestling, or original characters. You can even create bear wrestlers if you’d like, which is a major plus in its favor in my book.

However, the meat of the game is its robust wrestling engine. It’s 2D at its very best, relatively unchanged since the SFPWXP days, although it does look much better. The action is displayed in a 3/4 isometric view, and the grappling system is unique, and unlike American wrestling games, punishes button mashing, instead of rewarding it. There are three styles of grapples - weak, medium, and strong. You have to build up with successful weak moves before moving up - if you try to go for medium and strong moves too early, you’ll get countered.

The only reason I don’t play it more is it’s still in Early Access, and more features are being added and refined. Online play is there, but the netcode is pretty laggy. There’s not a story or career mode, so unless you have friends who are ubercompetitive at this game, its only other real use is as a supreme @tangobunny Watch Mode game.

8, Parascientific Escape Gear Detective (2015)

The sequel to 2014′s Parascientific Escape Cruise in the Distant Seas, which was a refreshing take on the Zero Escape formula, adding in powers you could use during “escape” sequences, and being able to backtrack to rooms you already completed, was a huge improvement over the original. The first game felt like a teaser for a much larger story, and felt pretty generic and cheap (the localization didn’t help).

Gear Detective (the Parascientific Escape games are eShop only games for 3DS) wasn’t anything groundbreaking either, but it was a much better use of your $5 than the original. While it seems to abandon the story the original set up, it is a more fully fleshed out story, feels more complete, and has multiple endings, which the original did not feature.

It still doesn’t compare to more full-budget and full price titles like the Zero Escape series, but the escape room genre is pretty limited, and this game is well worth your $5. I’m hoping to play the third game in the series soon so it can be eligible for next year’s list.

7. Pokemon Moon (2016)

This game was a mixed bag for me. I really enjoyed it, but there were some annoying decisions that prevented me from playing it more.

First, the good. I really liked the character designs in Sun/Moon. I enjoyed Alola more than Kalos, I enjoyed the new Pokemon in Alola more, and I appreciated that they tried to do something different with the Trials instead of the Gyms. I liked that they tried to breathe new life into old Pokemon with Alolan forms.

The downsides: Breeding is still a hassle, even with quality of life improvements, so competitive is still a hassle. Online was a huge step back, no more Super Training, no more being able to access online features while playing, you have to go to a separate screen. For its flaws, the PSS >>>>>>>>>> the Festival Plaza. Let us be able to chat via text and speech online, you cowards! There was a golfer character, but no golf minigame.

6. Pocket Card Jockey (2016)

Pocket Card Jockey was an unheralded 3DS eShop game that combined horse racing and solitaire. But while I played it, it was oh so addictive. I loved raising my horses, racing them, and naming them after obscure video game systems. If you don’t have it, you should definitely buy it. It’s a great way to pass the time.

The art style is incredibly cute as well, you’ll love your horses.

5. Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator (2017)

I almost forgot this game. @hopeies would have killed me if I had, so I put it on the list. I’m not super keen on romance-based visual novels, although I did put Katawa Shoujo on there last year. Being a heterosexual male, I did not think I would enjoy this game, but I was pleasantly surprised. I got to enjoy meeting and getting to know the various dads (Damien and Hugo were my favorites), but the game got some things right with the whole visual novel experience (and some things wrong).

My favorite thing about Dream Daddy, is that you can romance who you want. You can just go, “I want to romance that guy”, and YOU CAN FUCKING DO IT. No decrypting mysterious route conditions, no looking up a guide. And if you don’t know who you want to romance? You can get to know the various dads before committing to one. It also makes it very clear when you’ve pleased or displeased a dad, and pleasing or displeasing a dad is obvious if you’ve paid attention to what they like and don’t like. It takes a ton of the crypticness out of visual novels, and other VNs should take heed.

On the other hand, it doesn’t feature basic visual novel features like being able to backtrack or see a chat log, which is disappointing. DDADDS manages to mix up things by including minigames, made possible by the Unity engine. It also allows you to create your Dadsona, averting the typical blank slate protagonist of most visual novel games.

4. Mystery Chronicle: One Way Heroics (2016)

I bought the original One Way Heroics for 78 cents on Steam and loved it. It was a delightful hybrid of 16-bit JRPG and roguelike, and I was so excited when I heard Spike Chunsoft was doing an enhanced remake of this game. I haven’t played it as much as I want to, but it’s the original game but better, and that’s all I wanted.

To keep you from dawdling, you have to keep moving forward, or else the left edge of the screen will consume you. You also have to keep track of HP and hunger levels. Once you die, that’s it - but you can transfer items between playthroughs and gain perks that will help you do better in future playthroughs.

It’s such a delightful throwback to the old days, and a fun roguelike.

3. Love Live! School Idol Festival (2014)

This is the first ever mobile game to make the list. I knew I wanted to download this once I joined the mobile world - Cute girls, trading cards, and music? What’s not to like? The rhythm game aspect is very good. It’s very responsive, and fun. The visual novel aspect is kind of hit or miss, but I love the girls, so it’s all good. It’s basically just the characters being themselves, and no real story of importance. I wish the game was a bit less stingy with love gems, but otherwise, I love it.

2. Nier (2010)

Nier is kind of punching above its weight here. While the game itself isn’t anything special, it’s wrapped up in this awesome music, beautiful graphics, and innovative storytelling that makes it something special. Besides, Yoko Taro is just a great guy. I can’t wait to get a chance to play Automata, so I can surely put it on a future list.

1. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

This is the video that convinced me to give SOTN another try:

It truly is a masterpiece, but some of my own thoughts: It’s a shame Sony discouraged 2D games on the PS1, because the 2D games on the PS1 are timeless. 2D is timeless. 3D ends up looking like shit later, and the PS1 3D games surely do look like shit.

[sleepytoycollection]

SpacePops: A Review Part 2

Part 1: Here

Well, here I am again, this took me longer to get around to than I intended, but hey, I had four times as many dolls to look at. Not to mention how much drawing I’ve been doing for my main blog lately, so yeah I’ve been busy. 

Anywhoozle, as my first review can tell you, I found my Luna doll to have a certain amount of charm through all her cheapness, and if you can still find one from your local TRU; you might be lucky enough to snag them for round $2 bucks each as I did. And I def recommend getting one if you can, if nothing else for a nice, articulate spare body and some MH sized shoes. Just don’t let your self pay for than $5 for one. They’re not that fun. 

I was lucky enough to manage to get a hold of all five characters, so let’s see how they measure up to Luna. To avoid being too repetitive I’ll try to focus on their unique features only.

Let’s start with Rhea:

Rhea was actually the one I liked the best from her art work. I mean look at it, she looks amazing here, the boots, thigh high stockings, the layers, gloves and chains would’ve made for an amazing doll of the effort had been put in. 

I won’t ramble forever about the what-ifs, but it’s just so much of a punch to the stomach to know we’ll never see the real potential these had realized.

I’m not gonna go through the all the profiles, but if anyone’s interested I could scan them in for better visibility. 

Gremlin #2.

Getting her out of the box, the first thing that struck me was her hat.

And I mean that literally as there was nothing helping it attach to her head. Much as I’m grateful these dolls lack those plastic ties shot into their heads that mattel’s become so fond of; I don’t think a rubber band would’ve too much to ask for.

Here she out of the box:  

She’s...something.

After how much Luna has surprised me by simply being less bad than I feared; Rhea on the other hand was everything I’d worried these girls would be. 

Her hair is terrible, it’s the cheapest, nastiest of all the dolls, it’s literally the same stuff the Midnight magic dolls used. It had a gross, greasy feel and wants to pull away from the scalp if I dare try to run a comb through it. 

Ugh. On top of that, it became quickly clear I’d gotten a Rhea with a defective hand. Instead of the normal back and forth movement almost every other doll has, she’s got side to side movement. 

Except, her hands still have the dents in the molding indicating it’s not meant to turn that way. I’m at a loss. I really can’t tell how this happened, or how her hand isn’t falling off. 

It could’ve been worse in that regard, but there’s not many good uses for side to side movement that look natural. 

At this point I’d only opened the one doll prior, and so was extremely worried I’d simply gotten lucky with Luna. 

sigh. 

Her outfit is super cheap, made cheaper looking by how complex a design they were trying to emulate. It’s all one piece and gives the impression of a store bought Halloween costume in miniature. 

I will grant however, all the dolls having their name on their tag is cute. 

But it’s a wasted detail on something this cheap. The black band on her waist is a sort of flimsy, felt-like material, and the knit of her shorts is thin. I feel like I could easily tear a run in it if I pull just a little too much, especially being unhemmed as they are. 

She’s got a slight blue tint to her pale complexion, as you can see her here next to Catrine. 

The socks are made of paint, and I’d have rather they be left off entirely. Her left knee also doesn’t bend, and I have not been able to fix it yet.

As you can imagine, after Rhea I lost a lot of energy for these girls. She was the doll I’d wanted the most, and was just disappointing in every way, despite me already having incredibly low standards. 

Still, I was going to have to open these girls up eventually. So this time I decided to go for the design I’d liked the least with Athena: 

Every time I look at her dress I can’t help but think of the Flintstones. Not in a cute way either. 

It’s like if, after their crossover, a member of the Jestons universe tried to make a fashion version of their cave clothing as a cheap cash in, and just doesn’t work for me that much. Maybe it’s partly the colors used. 

It’s a little better art wise, but eh. Maybe if she wasn’t he same color as Rhea..?

Blah blah profile. 

Gremlin #3.

Despite my opinions on her look, out of the box she struck me as a pleasant increase in quality if nothing else.  Nothing falling off, no visible defects.

It was around this time tho I was starting to realize there seemed to be a decided aversion to hair gel. Her spiked updo’ is translated as a short ponytail here.

Can’t say I mind too much, but lack of gel means her hair gets pulled pretty easily, especially where her glasses are. She’s got nothing on Gilda Goldstag that’s for sure. 

Her tie is made of the same cheap fuzzy stuff Rhea’s belt was made of, for that matter her gold belt is the only new fabric type here. 

But to my great surprise her skirt has a separate over lay! 

And it’s even lined, I’ll admit it improved my opinion of her a good bit. It feels sturdy.

Her netted sleeve too is competently made. 

..but left a stain on her arm. 

With out the overlay her outfit looks a bit less flinstone-y, so I’m just gonna leave it off. 

Under her dress she has some pink tights, which I appreciate as they become less and less common in the doll world. Even if it makes me wonder why Rhea couldn’t have had socks. Just one of those things I guess.

Her glasses are held in neatly with, of all things, the help of tiny plastic bobby pins! 

!!! I’m sorry but that’s adorable, tiny pins! And they work! Amazing. 

Her hair is the same quality as Luna’s, thank goodness, and is easy enough to brush out.  

But to my dismay, her glasses don’t fit her face. If you put the arms over her actual ears, they set waayyyy too low. I can’t get them to twist so the bridge will set on her nose. But if I place them high enough so the lens can cover her eyes, they get stuck from her head being too wide and wont’ touch her face. 

That said, I like the shape and look of these, and I’m sure I have plenty of other dolls who can rock them. But it doesn’t say much for your line if your accessories can’t be used for the doll they were made to be used on.

Still, Athena was a huge improvement to my energy for these girls, so let’s hop over to Hera. 

I wanna take a sec to apologize for the quality of several of these pics, my camera’s very old and staring to kick the bucket. 

Hera’s pretty cute, if you like Draculaura. Which I do. The fact the lime green specifically reminds me of Snow Bite, which is my fav version of Ula helps make it a pleasant comparison. 

Gremlin #4. 

Yay! A different fabric! And hemming! It’s a dream come true~

Now if only I had the same excitement over her hair.

It’s the standard for these dolls tbh, but being curled has not agreed with it. I’m kinda afraid to touch it. She’s got a head band in there, but it’s very hidden.

even if it wasn’t, it’s just a plain ribbon, no where near the flower crown of her art.  

The dress is really the star here, of all the outfits so far it’s the one that feels the sturdiest, and no printed details. 

Her tag. 

Her tights are different fabric to the other ones we’ve seen. It’s not as stretchy, which is why you see it sagging around the knees. It’s the kind of netting you’d see as a tulle petticoat. 

It looks alright, but it makes me concerned with how durable these would be in the long run.  

Now,you may have noticed me not making any comments on the shoes. Well I have a very good reason for that:

They’re all the same. They reused the same shoe mold for all four of these girls, leaving only one who doesn’t have these heels. 

That girl being of course, Juno. 

She was my second favorite of all the girls when I saw their art all that time ago. 

Aside from how much I love the colors used, she has pants! And a shaved head! 

...And another Gremlin.

And last but not least, here she is:

Of all the girls, she’s the one who comes the closest to looking like her boxart. 

So not too surprising her outfit is to be my favorite of the bunch. 

She’s also the only one to use any kind of styling product. Fairly lightly, but it’s on there. Yet, despite how little there was used they still managed to get a good bit on her face. 

 Can’t have it all I suppose. 

But the flocking looks good. 

I also appreciate how she has the most unique face paint of all the ladies.  It’s not much by usual standards, but with every girl using the same face mold, they can use all the differences they can get.

Without her Jacket you can bein to see just how had that top is, but she can put her hands in her pockets, so if there had to be a trade off, I’ll admit they made the right one. 

Her jacket is nicely sewn, only her collar sporting an unfinished hem, but I don’t know how you’d really hem those jagged edges anyhow. It’s usable and looks alright. 

Her boots tho, no complaints there. By Spacepop standards these are the best shoes you’ll ever see. By normal doll standards they’re still not bad. 

I very serious when I say I love these pants. I feel like most of their clothing budget went into that fabric. Almost like someone was trying. 

Sigh. But then you get this. 

It’s garbage. The worst piece of all the clothing I’ve seen here, and there’s no way this would’ve held up to a child.

Now what else have I not covered..oh yeah. The gremlins. 

They suck. 

Like the shoes, the reused the same mold 4 times. Unlike the shoes, I never thought they were cute. 

Only 1 dared to use a different mold, Athen’s gremlin: 

...Who might be the only one that comes close to being endearing. The combo of a cute hair style, cute paint details, side glancing eyes, make Roxie almost a nice accessory. 

Whew, well, now I’ve gone through everything I could think to talk about. 

Having gone over every doll just cements that the execution of this line was a huge misstep on the part of Madame Alexander. Tho I can’t be sure.I get the impression they made these to compete with Monster High, but they company simply waited too long.  

By 2016 MH was going into the reboot, and with Mattel’s sales and quality going down MA seemed to lost faith in these ladies and gave up before release. It’s a shame too, Maybe the weren’t the most original idea on the market, but They could’ve been a nice solid competition. Instead we got these; and it leaves me with a sense of melancholy the more I think about the ways things are going. With new lines and experiments coming to a standstill nowadays, doll collecting has been less and less exciting. 

And now, less than a year after their debut Spacepops have gone the way of Pinkie Cooper and Novi Stars. In their own way, the last remnant of an era of collecting that’s now gone as styles shift to something else.   

Still, I plan to have fun my new new set of ladies, I haven’t completely decided how far I’ll go, maybe leave them as-is for posterity. Their flat face ups have grown on me. Maybe I just miss the bright, harsher colors that are going out of style. 

All that said, I bought a spare Athena to experiment with, so I’ll def have some follow ups with how these ladies look with a good repaint. 

Anyway, I’m tired and out of thoughts for now. Hopefully you found this somewhat informative, and as always thanks for reading. 

[h50europe]

Scott Caan Interview for JUICE Magazine September, 2009

“AGGRESSION JUST FEELS RIGHT. IF YOU GO UP AND JUST KIND OF HIT THE LIP, IT DOESN’T FEEL THE SAME AS WHEN YOU GO UP AND THROW YOUR WHOLE BODY AROUND THE COPING AND HEAR THAT SOUND.”

Why some Hollywood actor type, you may ask? Well, because, the kid does more than just act. He truly loves skateboarding, for all the right reasons, because it’s just like surfing. And surfing, well, it’s kind of like skateboarding in the water. Photos, what do you think? Chicks, people, action, artistic expression. Writing, to let it out. Check it out, then you can judge away, yes or no, but who cares anyway, it’s just another skate/surfer type doing something with his life.

Oh, my God. Is this thing on?

How’s that Jack Daniels, man?

It’s brilliant. So tell us your name. Wait.

W-A-I-T? Are you related to Tom? [Laughs] My name is Scott Caan.

Now I’ll really get to know you, which is scary. [Laughs]

What is your deal? What’s my deal with what?

What is it that you do in life? I do a lot of different stuff. I’ve never been too focused on one certain thing. I like to do a lot of different stuff. Do you mean creatively, or sports-wise or fun-wise?

How about bitches? [Laughs] No comment.

[Laughs] No comment? You’re not married. No.

Do you have a girlfriend? No. I do not.

Well, we’ll not go to that question again because we already know the answer. [Laughs] Yeah, okay.

What I mean by ‘What do you do?’ is where did you come from? [Laughs] I come from Los Angeles.

You were born and raised in LA? Yes, sir.

Did you ever live anywhere else? No more of that Jack Daniels.

It’s going to be gone by the time we’re done. [Laughs] I love it. I’ve never left LA for more than a few months at a time. I spent a few months in New York and a few months in Texas. I’ve traveled a bunch, but I’ve never really called anywhere my home besides Los Angeles.

When did you start surfing? I started surfing when I was about 12 or 13-years-old.

Why did you start surfing? A buddy of mine lived in Santa Monica right across from the beach near Patrick’s Roadhouse. He lived on the other side of the tunnel. He’s the guy that first got me into smoking weed when I was a kid. The first time I ever went surfing was at night. We would go out there, smoke weed and surf.

What was his name? Timmy Corcoran. I don’t know where he is now.

Is his dad an art dealer? Maybe. I don’t know. He used to give us weed, if it is.

[Laughs] It’s definitely him then. So anyway, you were surfing. What year was this? 1988. Twenty years ago.

When did you start skateboarding? It was around the same time.

Why? When I was a kid, I was always an athlete. I played a lot of sports. I played football, basketball, baseball and soccer. My dad was super into athletics, so that’s what I did as a kid. I played sports. Around 11 or 12, I started not wanting to be involved with organized sports any more and I started getting into…

So… Can I answer the question or are you going to interrupt me every time?

[Laughs] I already forgot my question because I’m so flabbergasted at that comment. [Laughs]

So your Pops was completely into sports? Right.

Okay. I remembered my question, and I wasn’t trying to interrupt you, but did you start to do individual sports because you didn’t want to listen to someone tell you what to do? Well, when you first asked me about when I started surfing, I was thinking, ‘Why am I talking about smoking weed?’ But it kind of went together for me. It was the anti-establishment deal. When I was 11 or 12, I stopped wanting to play football, basketball and baseball and I started smoking weed and hanging out with the ‘bad kids’. I wanted to do anything that was rebellious. My old man hated skateboarding and surfing. He was a team sports player. The individuality of it is what drew me to skating and surfing. I know that skateboarding and surfing have been around a long time, but it wasn’t like it is now. Surfing now is like a high school sport. Everyone surfs and everyone skateboards. Back then, if you skated, you were definitely one of the bad kids. If you surfed, you were a stoner, so you were one of the bad kids. At the time, I wanted to be like that. I wanted to be rebellious. I didn’t want to fit in. I wanted to be a punk. When we’d go off and skate or surf, we were doing our own thing. There was nobody standing over our backs, watching us. There was no one judging us. It was just about one-upping each other all the time.

Where does your Pops come from? He comes from Queens, New York.

That was not a surf and skate environment, especially back in the day, so you can’t hold it against Pops. No, not at all.

I did the same exact thing because my old man came from Duluth, Minnesota. It’s more about you becoming your own individual. Yeah. Sports and creativity go together. Not that I was doing anything innovative at the time, but skateboarders were originals. The people that I looked up to were guys like you, Scott Oster and Christian Hosoi. Those are the kinds of people I wanted to be. I didn’t look up to Michael Jordan. I did, in a way, but more than anything, the people that I wanted to emulate were surfers and skateboarders. At the time, it was more skating than surfing, but now I’m more obsessed with surfing than I ever was. I’ve always been a skateboarder. Now when I skate, I try to emulate surfing.

Do you ever surf and try to emulate skateboarding? I try to do both, but I think my skateboarding has more of my surfing style. When I skate, I’m definitely trying to surf a little bit. There are things I can do on a skateboard that I wish I could do on a surfboard. I’m just a little backwards.

Don’t even go there. No, it’s true.

Don’t open that door. You know Pandora’s Box? Don’t open it?

[Laughs] Yeah. So what do you think it was that drew you to surfing and skateboarding? I think it was the style. I think it was the people. I think it was the rebellious aspect of it at the time. Nobody in my school skateboarded. There were only four of us. We were also the same kids that did graffiti and ditched school. All the other kids were applying to good high schools and we were skating, surfing, smoking weed and trying to get in trouble.

It was the easiest way to not have to go to school? Yeah.

But you’re not against education or learning? No. I just hated school. I couldn’t pay attention. I went to a private school and got suspended once for bringing my skateboard. I wasn’t even riding it. You weren’t allowed to bring skateboards to my school. You couldn’t even put it in your locker. I brought my skateboard to school and me and my friend Max Hunt got suspended. What’s funny is that I just went to a demo at that high school the other day. The whole high school was there watching kids skateboarding.

Who was skating? It was little kids, no pros. It was a skate demo for charity, but I guess now you can take your skateboard to school.

[Laughs] Let’s go back to the question. What is it that drew you to skateboarding? I think it was really the people. It was guys like Hosoi, Block and Oster. I’ve known Block my whole life and the people that were around him were the kind of people that I wanted to hang out with and be like. They had style.

How did you meet Block? Block is one of my favorite dudes ever. I met Block when I was fourteen or fifteen. That’s when I was in the music business.

Let’s elaborate on that. What do you mean you were in the music business? That’s another thing that went along with surfing and skateboarding for me. I dropped out of high school in my tenth grade year and got into music. I hooked up with the guys from Cypress Hill and House of Pain in ’91. Block was down with them. Block was our road manager.

No way. I was fifteen-years-old and I was hanging out with Block.

What was the name of your group? The Whooliganz.

Who was in The Whooliganz? It was just The Alchemist and me. He’s a big producer now. He’s still one of my closest friends. He kept going in that game and I went a different way.

So you were white kids rapping? [Laughs] Pretty much.

Society sets up these rules and rap is predominately for African Americans and then there is the exceptional white rapper. You guys were going against the grain again. Absolutely. I was into anything to not have to go to school. I wanted to be a musician. I was writing music and rhymes when I was twelve-years-old. All of the stuff that’s considered cool now wasn’t cool then. Being a B-boy in the late ’80s and early ’90s was rebellious. Today, the whole hip-hop culture and skateboard culture is a way to dress. Back then, if you were a B-boy, you B-boyed. If you were a skateboarder, you skated. You didn’t just dress like a skater.

What year were you born? 1976.

You’re a bicentennial baby. [Laughs] That question is too general.

No, it’s not general at all. It’s going to be pinpointed right now. [Laughs] Okay. Please.

Your dad is James Caan. Yes, sir.

Everyone knows Jimmy Caan. If they don’t, they’re idiots. That’s true.

Your dad is totally wild and I dig him. It had to be rad growing up with a dad like James Caan. Yeah. Well, my dad didn’t work on a lot on movies when I was growing up. He stopped working for fifteen years. From the time I was five until I was fifteen, I didn’t know who he was as an actor. He was just my dad. He wasn’t off on movie sets when I was a kid. He hung out with me. He was also a rebellious guy. His whole life had a lot of ups and downs. To answer your question, yeah, he was the shit; but to me, he was just my dad. I didn’t know him as James Caan, the big movie actor. As a kid, I never got to see any of his movies because they were all rated R.

No way. I didn’t see The Godfather until I was 11 years old. When they shot him, I was like, ‘This sucks.’

How was that though? It was weird. I turned it off. It bummed me out. Now I look back and watch his movies and I’m like, ‘Damn. He was great.’

I cried during Brian’s Song. Everyone did. To answer the question, he was just my Pop. I didn’t know much about his life.

Well, besides everything else, he’s a rad actor, not to use Valley words. He was an excellent actor. You’re from the Valley aren’t you?

Negative. [Laughs]

So as a kid, you’re growing up with this dude who is really quite amazing. Your dad is out in the world and doing things. He’s not some carpet salesman. He exposes you to a lot of things. Absolutely. He’s a creative dude. He inspired me to be creative in everything that I did. Being creative was something I felt stronger about than going to college and being a doctor or a lawyer. I was skating or surfing, or being in the music business or being a producer, a writer or a photographer.

I know you shoot photographs. I shoot a lot of photographs.

You’ve been in the music business. You’ve written rhymes and produced music. You skate and surf passionately. And you also do films. I write movies and direct films.

You also act in films. Yes, sir.

I am so not a sir. [Laughs] Yes, you are.

[Laughs] You have a variety of things that you dabble in. I’ve always been like that. Sometimes it bums me out and I wish I could focus more on one thing.

Are you a Virgo? I’m a Virgo/Leo.

That means you can do whatever you want. Yeah, but I have dabbled a lot. I’m a jack-of-all-trades more than a master of one.

[Slurs.] I totally disagree with that. You’re not master of none. I didn’t say master of none. I said master of one.

I understand that, but that’s insane. [Laughs] You’re right. I shred.

You’re master of all. I’m so sorry. I would never be able to live if I could only do one thing. Me neither.

That bottle of Jack is almost gone. [Laughs] Is it really?

Yeah. Okay, my question is this. How did you get into photography? I was directing my first movie.

What was the movie called? It was called Dallas 362. My cinematographer, Phil Parmet, is a great photographer. He got me into film cameras, movie cameras, lighting and all the different aspects of making films. He taught me about lenses and how cameras work. I really got obsessed with it. Then my old man gave me this old Nikon. Phil showed me how to use it and it just took off from there. I never left home without my camera. I started traveling with it and shooting pictures everywhere I went. And I had rad opportunities to be in cool places. I was in positions that a lot of people don’t get to be in, so I would photograph that a lot of the time.

Is that bad to be able to share your situation with the public? Oh, no. It’s great.

You actually have a good eye for photography. Thank you.

You’re totally welcome. I’m going to break it down for you right now. You are very passionate about whatever you’re doing. Where do you think your passion comes from? Well, we talked about my old man.

Is he a Virgo? [Laughs] Virgo? No. My old man was very strict about if you were going to do something, be good at it. Be the best at it or don’t do it. Anyone can work hard and have God-given talent, but it’s a shame when people have it and don’t use it. You have to use all aspects of it. You have to be good at it and work harder than the next man. He always instilled that in me. Even when I was a kid, he’d say, ‘If you’re going to do something, do it right, do it hard and be passionate about it. Do it good or don’t do it all, because there is always someone else that wants to play harder than you.’

Okay, let me ask a question about that. That applies to all sports in general, including surfing and skateboarding. You’re passionate about everything, but you really love skateboarding. Yes, I do.

When you skateboard, you’re in it to win it. Where does it come from when you rip the coping off the pool? That’s a good question. I guess it has to do with the people I grew up watching skating. There was that aggression. It’s a different level of going harder and doing it better. Aggression just feels right. If you go up and just kind of hit the lip, it doesn’t feel the same as when you go up and throw your whole body around the coping and hear that sound.

What’s that sound? Ksssssssssh.

What about when you go surfing? That’s different. It’s the same feeling, but there’s something about being in nature. When I’m surfing a real up and down wave and I’m just trying to hit the lip or go fast or do a gnarly cutback, it’s very similar to the skateboarding mentality. A lot of times, I’m just cruising when I surf. If I’m having a miserable day, I can get in the ocean and everything goes away. Here’s the corny part. There’s something about being a part of nature. I think that surfing is one of the hardest sports to learn. There are a million people that can try it, but there are only a couple of thousand people that can actually do it. It’s finding that attunement with the ocean. When you find that perfect part of the wave, and you’re just cruising, it’s like nothing else exists. Surfing is my spirituality. If I want to choke somebody, I go surf and then I don’t want to choke them anymore. You drive to the beach going 100mph and you drive home going 30mph. You can’t wait to get there, but then you have a good session and you’re just cruising on the way home.

You’re stopping to talk to the chick in the car next to you. That’s true.

Then it comes down to the pump. [Laughs]

Let’s get into acting. How do you prepare for a role? It depends.

I only bring it up because of the commitment and the passion you have. It’s as good as it gets. A lot of times, you pick a role that’s really right for you and you step right in and you’re comfortable. I think that’s when you’re at your best. But if you do that enough times, then you get bored. That’s when you say, ‘I have to try something different. I have to go outside the box and do something different. I want to do something where I sweat and die a little bit.’

What about writing movies? The reason I started writing movies was because I kept getting parts that I just kind of stepped into. I didn’t have to do a lot of work and I ended up getting sort of bored. When I first started acting, all I did was work on plays and spend a lot of hours in the theater. I was immersing myself in what I was doing. I wanted to be the best at it. I was like, ‘I’m going to do this and be the best actor in the world.’ Then I got into the movie business and maybe once every three years, I’d get a part that I could actually sink my teeth into. The reason I started writing was because I didn’t always get those parts. I figured I could write myself plays and perform things that I felt strongly about. That set me off on writing and directing. I ended up thinking, ‘I can do this too.’ I got really passionate about writing and directing. And now that I’m in my early 30s, I’m getting parts that I can really sink my teeth into it. Now I can go back to what really got me into acting when it was something that I was super passionate about.

That’s sick. Who got you into acting? When I was 17-years-old, I was in the music business. I was out on the 1993 Soul Assassins Tour and there was this director named Mitch Marcus who had heard about me, so he came and saw the show. He thought I’d be right for a part in his movie. He said, ‘Do you want to come and audition for this movie?’ I said, ‘No, that’s not my thing.’ Then I read the script. It was about this 17-year-old punk kid that gets out of juvenile hall and rides his motorcycle and carries a gun. Then I was like, ‘Okay. I’ll come in and audition.’ I ended up getting the part.

What part was it? It was a movie called A Boy Called Hate. It’s not the greatest movie ever made, but once I got on that movie set, I was like, ‘Okay, this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life.’ I was going to be a grip or an actor or writer or whatever I had to do to be on a movie set. Then I went straight to a theater school and studied for the next ten years. I started studying at Playhouse West in the Valley when I was 17-years-old. I started writing and directing plays. That’s been my center for acting for the last fifteen years.

What was it that got you so hyped on it? Being on that set, I felt like I was around people that thought the same way that I did. There was something new every day. It wasn’t school. I felt like I was home. This was at the height of my music career and I completely forgot about music the second I got on a movie set.

From that point on, you’ve done a lot of work. You’re very focused. Yeah.

When I go skate, I only want to go skate with you and a couple of other guys. It’s only fun to skate with other guys that are totally into it. It’s not like a competitive thing, it’s just like, ‘Here we are. We’re going to lay down the law and we’re going to hit it and we’re going to hit it as hard as we can.’ The competitiveness in skateboarding is more like everyone is on the same team, but it’s still competitive.

You’re rooting for other the guy to hit it and make you jump to the next level. Yeah. There are certain people that I like to drop in right after because they get me so hyped.

In the Hollywood world, and the movie business, is it the same deal? I guess it can be.

It’s a team effort to make a movie. Everyone has to have the same goal. Yeah. It takes everyone to be a part of it. I never thought of it like that.

From the gaffer to the grip to the electrician, everyone has to do his or her thing. You have to work for the same goal, but when you skate and surf, it’s more of an individual thing. If I’m skating by myself, I’m not going to skate as hard as when I’m skating with you and the boys. I go off harder when my boys are around to push me. It’s the same with surfing. When we’re all out in the line-up, and I’m coming down the line and everyone is there, I’m not just going to take that section, I’m going to try to do a big ass turn here and there and everywhere.

You’re working for the admiration of others. You want to be good so your peers think you’re good.

INTERVIEW BY STEVE OLSON

INTRODUCTION BY STEVE OLSON 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAN LEVY AND SCOTT CAAN