The Unpost

Hello everyone! just posting to tell you that I am too tired to post, and so will not be thinking if anything clever to say or posting about my PerNo progress. This may happen more than once, apologies. In the meantime, enjoy this lovely picture of my dream cat, a very handsome sphinx. Cheers!

(Per)NaNoWriMo Meme, Day 6

Day 6 - What is your one biggest stressor related to forcing yourself to write at least 50,000 words in a span of 30 days?

Distractions and obligations. These two tag-team me into submission, sometimes. Not this month. I'm determined, not this month...

(Per)NaNoWriMo Meme, Days 3, 4, & 5

Day 3 - Pick one of your female characters.  Introduce your readers to her, from her point of view and her words only.

Well I could use Greyblade for this meme (‘cause I love her and stuff), but she gets a lot of my time devoted to her already. Perhaps I should use Sky or Chloe… sorry, in text conversation with self. Gotta stop doing that…

Greetings. I’m Greyblade. Yes I chose that name myself. I was 5. Give me a break. Besides I like that name.

I suppose you want me to rant about myself. Don’t get me wrong. I can talk. About myself? Adequately. But blathering ‘bout me isn’t my style. So let’s keep this succinct, eh?

 I’m a young girl. Or rather, I appear as a young girl. Me? Inside? God knows.

I am a compilation. A composite of many. But I am one. Thousands of years of others’ minds, in taken into my own. But I am my own. Or so I like to believe…

You see? This is just asking for it. Complicated. Convoluted. But that aside.

My past is peculiar, my present particularly so. I shan’t go into detail; you’ll find out more later, I’m certain. Well ain’t this peachy? Me, chatting about myself, when really, I can say nothing. Nothing at all… nothing that make’s any sense, blech. But whatever.

I’m at least a century old. My mind is older, my body younger. I have a sister. Two actually. But I don’t talk about the other one.

I’m here out of choice. Don’t think for a moment that choice isn’t rescindable. And don’t think for a moment that I will rescind it. Point is I’m here. And for now, I’mm here to stay. God save the Cosmos.

Day 4 - What genre is your novel?  Why did you pick it?

It’s a bit of a genre buster (which I’m sort of proud of), so I’ll just list the elements: Science Fiction (the main, I suppose), Fantasy, High Fantasy (shades), Psychological Analysis/Thriller, Mystery?, Interpersonal (whatever the heck that is), Religion and Spirituality, it’s got some humor, some horror, some mental unraveling, etc., etc. I picked it…actually it really just happened. I knew it’d be a bit of all these things because these things just kind of happen when I write stuff.

Day 5 - Name two songs from your playlist that you feel are connected with your novel in some way, and explain how they are.

This one is tricky… I could use two character ones or one that works for the whole story…

In text conversation with self, again, sorry.

Well, I think Midnight and I by White Rabbit works particularly well because it not only expresses Greyblade’s personality (unsettling, ambiguous, dark, and alone), but it also expressed the creepier, more horrific side to my story. To the darkness inside ones heart, to the shadows that come to life and lurk about in the silent gloom. To the things that go bump in the night. It expressed the shadows that paint the blackest part of the world in my mind. And yet, simultaneously, it expressed the goodness wrapped up in all of this darkness, as there is goodness locked away inside of Greyblade’s stony, patched-up little heart.  

Falling Down by Oasis works quite well too, but with Jeck instead of Greyblade. Jeck is a sorrowed, broken young man, aged beyond his time and suffering from his past well into his future. The brokenness, the desperation, and the vulnerability coupled with wry hope and incredible strength of will are expressed quiet well through this song. There’s warmth and epic sense to it, contrasted by glacial lyrics and a despairing rawness of tone. It’s beautiful for Jeck’s character, and beautiful for the story.

Often I have struggled with the concern that I am a character first person and skimp on the plot. Well I can say truthfully that I’ve invested a lot in these characters; they are some of the most complex, fully developed, and (dare I say) real characters I’ve written. And I find no shame in that. They do not steal from the story, they are the story. The plot is an irrevocable part of them. And it is full and complex in its own right, both aside from and because of them. And I am satisfied.

I also take comfort in knowing that I can both write plot much better that I first supposed, I can write character even better than I ever believed, and that I can indeed, veritably write. And in this, I am more than satisfied. I am blessed.

(Per)NaNoWriMo Meme, Days 1&2

I decided to do the NaNo meme, simply becuase you can't go and stalk me on NaNoWriMo so I thought I should keep you involved somehow.

Since my word count is shamefully low right now, I will begin posting the count tomorrow. ;P Yeah, I'm devious. XD

So, here goes:

Day 1 - Have you participated in NaNoWriMo before?

Yes, twice now.

If so, which years and what end result? 

First Year: 2011

Result:  WIN, 50000+

Second Year: 2012

Result: ...-_- (11000+)

If not (or even if so, for that matter), what’s your connection to writing? 

I've just always been good at it, attuned to it, ever since I was freed from the shackles of good grammar (take that Shirly English!*). And I've always created stories in my head, ever since I could form proper thought.

Why do you want to participate this year?

I just have a drive to write. And I can’t seem to fight it. I feel incomplete when I’m not... And the year before this one was super good for me spiritually. I was hoping for the same, I guess...

Day 2 – What’s the title of your story? 

Right now? The working title: The Deviant Begotten of God.

Why did you choose the name you did?

It’s about the contrary children of God. I’m still not sure I like the title, but it did fit.

 

*I think it's only fair to my mom and grammar and such that I do owe Shirly English for much of my understanding of grammar. It did, however, stifle my 2nd grade self and nearly instill loathing and frustration with reading and writing in all its forms. I was simply bored and not encouraged to create on my own, nor was I introduced to good (or fun) literature during this period, and as I can attest to, my friends, this is not the way to teach a subject. Any subject. Ever. There must be passion and love as much as structure and rules. There must be balance.



PerNoWriMo

Well, if you've been following my NaNo journey, you know that it didn't quite reach its destination.

Which is actually kind of weird for me, because if there's one commitment to myself I take seriously, it's NaNo.


So i spent the whole day sitting in an internal soul shark cage, waiting for the disappointment and anger and self hate and disgust to come biting.


Boy did it ever.


I couldn’t even believe myself. I had shortchanged myself, and I wasn’t even sure how it happened. Life crushed the breath out of me, and I completely allowed it.

Well, I can’t say I’m past those feelings, but I eventually realized that God loved me and I still had my family and friends and my pretty things and all my life and my soul (even if it was a self-abusing little numbskull), and it would all be ok. I asked myself, how exactly would this be ok?

I stared at my soul stupidly, and replied that I didn’t have an answer to that, but if I know God, this is not the end of anything.

Then my soul remarked that it was certainly the end of NaNo. Troll.

But then I thought, wait just a darn minute! It may be the end of National Novel Writing Month, but Personal Novel Writing month is just beginning!


And so, ladies and gentleman, December is now Personal Novel Writing Month, for all of you whom life knocked off your feet in November. Same goal, none of the formality. It’s actually a bit more of a challenge if you think about it; you have to rely on yourself for the 50% +/- of the focus you formerly gave to the constructs of NaNo. I do recommend, however, that if you feel like joining me and all, you let someone else know, so they can help keep you on track and celebrate with you when you succeed.

50,000 word novel, here we come. :)

Late

Well, it's late. I have no idea how things will turn out. I guess I just have to pray to God and hope for the best...

TMNT---The First Sketches

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are such an integral part of geek and pop culture, it's pretty difficult to imagine a world without them. Seriously, they've influenced a ton more comics and material than you may think.The turtles had some pretty humble origins, however. Back in 1984, a couple of cool but obscure artist dudes were joking around and one of them, Kevin Eastman, sketched a turtle standing on it's hind legs with nunchucks strapped to its arms. He titled it "Ninja Turtle".

 Kevin's fellow artist, Peter Laird, liked the idea so much that he drew his own version of the "Ninja Turtle".

He also suggested that it be a "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle", for added effect. They both liked the idea and not long after decided to run with it and establish a story. Using it to parody the then-popular Superheroes and "funny animal" comics of the time through concept  (X-men [mutant], Daredevil [ninja], Cerebrus [turtles]) and execution (it was dark and gritty in style, similar to Daredevil, etc. One of my favorite stylistic parody aspects is the Noir-like narrative the turtles give as they fight the villains and roam the city. It just reeks of Watchman's Rorschach).

The original comic is rough around the edges, in more ways than one, but I personally love the style and the execution myself. Despite being a parody, it's an excellent story on it's own and the turtles have a quirky charm that makes them appealing. I think this element has been able to transcend the original material into other works of the TMNT, and thus lent to the turtles' longevity as characters, enabling them to survive several major shifts in tone, characterization, story, and style throughout the years. Whatever the medium, however, one things for sure; the turtles are cool, about as cool as it gets (even non-nerds typically end up agreeing with that in the end), and they're here to stay. Hopefully for a good long time.



Sketches found here along with the much of the story. More facts and such regarding the ninja turtles' origins can be located here.

Teengage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mirage Comics Era

Well, I really just wanted to let everybody know that some awesome person posted several of the original comics of TMNT (back when it was all  B&W and the turtles were rough tough, and not afraid to shed some blood) on Yotube, and I am now a fan.

I've posted the debut comic above (I do appologize that it will be hard to read at some points; if I find an online version in a different format, I will post it). It's incredible.

Some fans of more recent incarnations of the turtles (or of the 1987 version, in particular) who read the original comics are a little put off by the intensity of the older material, and the fact that the turtles, while they have some obvious differences amongst them, can be hard to tell apart, excluding Raph, of course; he's not easy to mistake (if you see a turtle rushing at anything that presents itself as a threat, even if he's way out matched, that's him). Me? I love the old comics. You get a sense of the original intention of the comics' tone when you read them and thus understand the turtles and their origins much better. Plus it's just plain cool. And I can tell the turtles apart generally; they all have different ways about them and the comic, though it doesn't focus on their differences in personality all that much, they do indeed have personalities that diverge form one turtle to the next, and it is aparent, in some cases more than others.

Also, did I mention that the comic's creators, Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, after sketching a silly drawing of an anthro turtle with nunchuks and making a story out of it, printed the first 3,000 copies with the money from a tax return and a $1000 loan from Eastman's uncle? (they called thier studio Mirage Studio becuase it didn't exist.) And that these first copies sold in the first couple of weeks they were out? If that's not chicken soup for the comicker's soul I don't know what is.

Anyway, the first is one of my favorites, though I've read multiple stories now, and it's, well, the first one. Another favorite comic which I had trouble finding on Youtbe but found on this lovely site called MirageLicensing.com is Raphael's "breakout comic" so to speak-- Raphael #1-- which introduces Casey Jones and elaborates on Raph's character.

http://miragelicensing.com/comics/mirage/raphael/pg01.htm

They also have plent of other original TMNT comics if you're interested.

...

Yeah, too late. I elaborated.

The Shredder...has been shredded.

Makes Me Smile--A Dug and his Pixar

Here.

Well, it's no secret that I love Pixar, no, I adore Pixar. I've considered aiming for an internship several times.

They inspired me, in a permanent, life-changing, dream-catching, band-aid-for-the-soul kind of way. They've introduced me to fantastic worlds and exquisite characters with their funny little problems in a manner nothing short of brilliant. In the most practical sense, they've taught me what truly good writing looks like. Maybe someday, Pixar, maybe someday...

To Combat Feeling Awful, Part 1

I feel miserable right now, and I have no ability to make the situation go away. So, I'm going to apply some battlefield medical tactics to the situation and see if I can cheer myself up. Hopefully it will do the same for you, as well, if you are indeed feeling as awful as I.

1. An Encouraging Word:  Favorite, upbeat, or plain old encouraging bible verses or quotes are always good for making your sinking heart feel a little less down. I first surf Quotes of the Day to find a daily generated list of four quotes that just might make me feel a bit better. Today's Quotes (all quite funny [excluding the third, perhaps]; hey, one's even the Brigadier from Doctor Who!)
   
   Hell is full of musical amateurs.
   George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)
   
   
   Just once, I wish we would encounter an alien menace that wasn't immune to bullets.
   Unknown, Brigader Lethbridge-Stewart in "Dr. Who" 
   
   
   Any war that requires the suspension of reason as a necessity for support is a bad war.
   Norman Mailer (1923 - 2007), Armies Of The Night  
   
   
   Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen.
   Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914), The Devil's Dictionary
   
   I also try BibleGateway.com, because, they not only have a verse a day (the websites of Air1 and KLove also do, by the way), but free, search-able access to a myriad of versions of the bible, and I can search whatever verse I'd like to. Heck, I could read a whole passage or book if I wanted to! But I'm cutting it kind of close with this post as it is, so a single verse will have to do.

“Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” 1 Chronicles 16:8 NIV

1.  Listening to Soul-Healing Music (even if it's Black Betty): Though I recommend listening to Christian music, at least a song that reminds you of God perspective of the situation, sometimes rocking to the Foo Fighter's "Everlong" or singing along to "Musicbox" by Regina Spektor is really, really good for your soul. For me right now, I try playing Black Betty by RamJam over and over again (sorta visualizing the two things that pop in my head when I hear that song--the first time I heard the song, while driving int he car with my aunt long ago, and that scene in the TMNT movie where Raphael gets his shell kicked by a little red Tasmanian devil thing, while the song rages in the background). Next stop, Owl City! (You know, I think I should post about my favorite Soul-Food sorta music sometime; anyway, owl City is somewhere at the top of the list. It's like listening to rainbows and fuzzy kittens and Edward Scissorhands [which, for some reason his song "Plant Life" reminds me of...]. Seriously.) So go ahead; feed your soul.
   
   Air1, KLove, and tons of other sites can give you online music (though, not all free or Christian like the two afore mentioned) to jam to all day and night. Pandora, Youtube, Napster, CDs, Ipods, the world is filled with sound! Speaking of which, after you're done with listening to music, I recommend you consider taking out the earbuds or pulling off the head phones and sitting outside, or going for a walk, something to get you outside for a little bit. The world is chock full of sounds, and not all of them are unpleasant and clamorous. Birds, cars, people talking in the distance, other people's music (i mentioned all this in my other post, "The Carving of Life" [ooh, ccontinuity! ;P]), sometimes that's kind of music in and of itself. Or quiet. silence in an increasingly voluminous world. Whatever your situation, one of these solutions can and will no doubt suit you. So give it a try! Music is good. Very, very good.



2. Getting Work Done: A tough but reliable solution. If checking some pressing task off your daily check list of ungodly length isn't therapeutic, I don't know what is. I'm making some attempt to do so right now via NaNoWriMo, Christmas planning, work, and blog posting.



3. Daydreaming: Thinking about what your future may look like at its optimal, creating a new story, art piece, math formula, method of planting thistles, etc., or just thinking thoughts that make you feel good and/or are productive for the future, near or far, is just a good way to cut loose and make yourself feel like life can, indeed, go on in a very good sort of way. I file it away for later, but vow to come back to it before the night's end.



4. Thinking Good Thoughts: Go ahead, give yourself compliments, make yourself feel good about being you! It's better than the alternative. I go into the bathroom to find the nearest mirror and tell myself "You've got this." Much more effective than it gets credit for.



5. Prayer: He may not give you what you want, but He'll always give you what you need. And sometimes, that need is a miraculous solution. Other times, it's simply a warm, comforting, indescribable presence and a listening ear. Praying for someone else is also very reparative to the soul. I let Him know how I feel. And I feel better.



6. Being Creative and/or Doing Something You Love: Bringing something new into this world, something that wasn't there before, has an amazingly healing effect on the human mind and soul. It can be anything so long as it is your thing. Trying something new, doing something old and beloved, either is good, just do something that comes from within you. Art, Writing, music, gardening, typing, etc. Alternatively, just go do something that you love and call me in 10 minutes. It feel good, doesn't it? You feel waaaay better than before, and you're probably much more ready to take on tasks and challenges. But what if you have no time to do, well, anything, you say? Just do it for 10 minutes. Time yourself. Come back. Do whatever you have to do for a bit (10, 20, 30 minutes...) . Go back and forth if you must, just do something to make yourself smile so you can get back to work feeling a little bit better inside. Me? I just wrote a blog post. Here goes nothing...

(Continues in Part 2...)

(...when I write a part 2... ;D)

Know Your Enemy by Yoko Kanno

Good for writing (particularly Greyblade), but mainly just really, really pretty.

Writing Music: Space Lion by Yoko Kanno

Mood: epic, meditative, longing, ethereal, "laid back"

Type: Jazzy, chanting, mixed (basically, Yoko Kanno XD)

Scenes I've used it for: Right now? Just the synopsis (NOT against, the NaNo rules, by the way), just to get things going. Later, probably some more specific stuff.  Really, though a nice composition in and of itself, it's just a nice atmospherical sort of background sound. It's just got the proper kind of quality to it for my kind of story. 

Posting for Posting's Sake...

It is LATE. But I can't sleep, I have writing to do! I would sacrifice nearing everything for that. Sadly, sometimes my own impulsiveness and obsessiveness gets in the way.
*sigh*
Sometimes, I just don't like myself. I really don't. No, I despise myself sometimes, and it burns me up inside. My own skin scalds caustically into my flesh, flesh into bone, and sometimes I just sit still and wait for it to burn me all the way down to my molecules and atoms, and disintegrate me. Maybe it'd stop aching so darn much.

It's not like there aren't times when I'm positively manic with glee or truly pleased with being myself. But there are so many times when its just a dull sort of numb at best and at worst I just want to curl up inside of my shell and be gone (sorry, I've got TMNT on the brain* XD). I don't know if I have an answer to this situation. I really just keep praying and watching TV and reading and drawing and writing.

Yeah, just keep writing...



:)

*I'm currently craving 80's Cartoons, gritty b&w comics, turtle action figures, and pizza. Hmm, pizza...that would be nice right now...

Dory gif courtesy of this place over here and this one over there.

Pizza gif courtesy of this place right here...

Toy Story Forever.

Just revisting my Pixar/Toy Story love...

Doctor Who: The Lost Episodes

Do any of you know about the lost episodes of Doctor Who? The missing ones, you know, the junked, erased, or just plain forgotten about? If so, you may really appreciate these next couple of videos. It's a sort of a documentary commemorating and explaining rather thoroughly, with as much objectivity as can be mustered, the details of this less fortunate part of Doctor Who's history.

If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about (and have always wanted to learn more about Who's past as a television program in the Era-of-no-Sci-fi), you could watch it anyway, see what you think. I certainly enjoyed it. But I'm...well...me. o.O

Anyway, informational, enthralling, and kind of a thrill for Classic Who fans (probably anyways; no guarantees!), let's have at it, shall we?

Doctor Who 101 (the Actual Video)

Ha! Silly me. XD I just realized I could embed this video, even though I knew how to before (well, it hasn't really worked on the Ipad so far, but whatevs...). Anyway, Enjoy! :)

Whitby Gothic Style

Dance of the Perky Goth. Being a goth, and juuust a bit perky, I approve. :)

Manos: Hands of Fate

You'l laugh, you'll cry, you'll wish it was never made.

Seriously, the only good thing about this movie is that you can make fun if it. The MST3k crew are the sole reason I don't acitvely wish it would have traded places with the Evil of the Daleks. :(

Aw, great, now I'm gonna cry again...

Oh well, MST3k is just the remedy I seek. ;D

Radioactive by Imagine Dragons

I hate to be a trend-follower, espeically when it comes to music, but I just have thing for this song; I've pretty much been lsitening to it repeatedly, almost non-stop for the past few days. The sense of epic, of enormous power, purpose, and victory is incredible and suprisingly healing of the spirit. It's great for getting the creative juices flowing if nothing else (partiuclalry when writing sci-fi/fantasy epics and such). If you haven't already, try it. I think you'll like it...

Makes Me Smile---Batman and His Villians

From the top left, Clockwise: The Bat himself (of course), The one and only Clown Prince of Chaos,
the Scarecrow, and Killer Croc

No, seriously.

Why? Because I really, really want to be Batman (indeed), but also I'm very impressed by his villains. His villains are (often) as enduring as the Dark Knight himself, in spite of the goofy costumes, the wacky evil schemes, and the Comic Book Code. Why? Because Batman's villains aren't just nefarious evil doers in ridiculous getup; They're ideas. They are the personifications of concepts that Batman must overcome and defeat, and the best work on Batman (the work that doesn't just involve another new Bat-ray pulled from hammerspace, though that's kinda nice in its own way ;P) shows him overcoming what the villains represent as much as the scheme they've planned. A lot of them just get locked up only to break out again,  like so many of our demons. But when they come out to play? They've got the Caped Crusader to contend with. :)

Oh, yes, and because of the Joker. I love the Joker. ;D

Makes Me Smile---Sokka's Art

*******

Because the poor guy tries, he really, really tries, and I have much respect for that. 

He also mangages to crack me up on a regula basis and still be awesome.

Marvelous SteamPunk C-3PO

Not According to Plan

Right now I'm in a state. Yes, one of THOSE states. Don't look at me like that. All sorts of people have states. Mine just tend to be...ugly, sometimes.

Basically, 8 days into Nano and I have not even a day's worth of words, I'm having trouble doing my work, life is frustrating, confusing and kind of, well, melancholy, and things just don't seem to get better. What's a person to do?

Oh well, press on I guess. Life's worth going forward in, I'm sure. who cares if there's monsters? If Doctor Who has taught me anything it's that there may be things hiding in the dark, but courage is having the strength to face them, even if they win sometimes...
Or you could run until you come up with a plan, that works too.

~rrc


"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV1984)

Just a Thought (or Two or Three...)---The Carving of Life

Here.

I was walking along the trail behind our house, way out in the back where there's a little patch of naked hill and untouched trees and a little park bench by the concrete path that runs all through to the end of the little backway. I was going to listen to music, I really was. I had Lazy Eye, by Silversun Pickups* all ready to go. And I played it a couple of times going up that empty, wild hill. But then, looking down on the path and the trees and all the silly little houses and silly little people going about their stupid, wonderful little lives, and all this beauty, empty, empty natural beauty just a mess of it everywhere...

Well, I finally took them out and didn't end up putting them back in. I just... listened. listened to the wind blow through the hillside and the trees the rustle to leaves and carry the cawing, chortling magpies from tree to tree. Listened to the music drifting up from someone's open window as they practiced some sort of wind instrument. listened as someone sheared their yard with some noisy power-tool. And I just began to think.

Now, don't get me wrong, I think constantly; my brain won't stop yapping. But, truth be told, sometimes I just get so lost in my mind and all the little things and people that go on in there that I forget that there is an outside world, or at least one outside of dismal prospects and irritating people who can't possibly comprehend what plagues my cranium relentlessly--all day, everyday-- and foolishly insult it with their pestering. But here it was, unavoidable. No, that's not quite right; my brain has the power to block out most things (unless it's to my convenience, of course, like at social events with crowds or balloons -_-. Stupid popping balloons and crowds...), but here I was, fighting for this beauty, this healing God made with his very whisper. And I thought a lot of things, because really, I realized and felt I could think of anything, and that freedom I very well indulged myself in. And one little, silly, trivial thought that I thought was...

Music, it's just ordered sound. Just sound made in a pattern which sounds good to us (or not so much...). But the wind, the birds humming and cackling, the leaves rustling, the buzzing of the weed-whacker and the sweet melody of a wind instrument through someone's window-- the sounds of nature, the sounds of life, those are music in their own right. but instead of human beings ordering it, God is ordering it, according to what sounds best to Him, and we just happen, sometimes, to catch a glimpse of its beauty.

I guess I thought a lot of things. Another thing I thought was, I suppose the wind does have sense, order, yes? because it really describes everything it touches--it was describing the hill and the trees and the birds and the fences and the houses. It describes life itself as it carves it out through sound. And some creatures, with their brains wired a certain way, Like bats, they can hear how sound describes life. And how deaf are we? thinking wind is just wind and sound is just sound and music and all those other things are so irrelevant, when in reality...
they're so very beautiful, and so very, very signifcant.




*(which, in all fairness, I did learn about in Rock Band, BUT later fell in love with and now own an album of, so HA!)

24 Hour Comic Sketches: Automaton

Here is the automaton sketch from my 24 Hour Comic attempt. This is the one I am most pleased with out of all the automaton sketches. I wanted him to appear more clockwork, similar to the automaton in Hugo and the book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, upon which it was based, starkly contrasted by the ray gun gothic, retro-futurism zeerust feel of the rest of the robots and machines. I wanted him to appear "old science" so to speak, nearing Frankenstein and alchemy and a 9 sort of feel. Note that his face seems bolted on; I was thinking it would be a malleable metal that could show facial expression uninhibited, demonstrating that he was a very advanced and complicated device, despite his primitive look. Sorry about the rest of the sketches, but really these were the very best in my opinion.

© rrc, some rights reserved

24 Hour Comic Sketches: the Alien

Here are a few of the sketches I did for 24 Hour Comic. I'm sorry this isn't all of them, but the scanner I'm using right now is messing up and potentially ruining my work, so all I have right now are these two and the third of the automaton. Oh well, these were pretty much my favorites.

The top sketch was the first I did. I planned an alien invasion force, (note the helmet and weapon [the design of which I wasn't entirely pleased with...] below the creature), complete with grotesque aliens (figures right? scary aliens and sad robots; can we all say "author appeal"? XD). The idea was that the alien was tired of killing other races in an unoffical war and decided to take pity on the automaton and, ultimatety, the family of humans holding the automaton captive (and perhaps any survivors in the immediate area; I don't know, didn't get that far -_-).

 © rrc, some rights reserved

24 Hour Comic Sketches--- Technical Difficulties

Sorry I haven't posted my sketches yet, but my scanner isn't exactly available right now. As soon as it is, you all will be receiving sketches from me! Thanks for waiting. :)


~rrc

24 Hour Comic (5)--- Finite

Well, that went pretty poorly. Curse my inability to say no to people! Maybe if I had stayed at home all day...

Anyhow, I have concept sketches, a not-so-wonderful plot sketch (no dialogue, therefore no "script" in the traditional sense; just fragments that make sense to moi and moi alone), and sketches of the first two pages (the rest were not up to my standard -_-). So, yeah, i wasn't ready. I suppose I still could have done it, but... No such luck. I am tempted to do it tomorrow, but then I suppose I couldn't submit it and it just wouldn't feel the same. Oh well, at least i still have OctPoWriMo...

I think I will, however, take pity on the story and finish the "Window scene", paint and all, just because it was quite nice a scene and I rather liked it. 

Oh well, better luck next year! I'm actually rather pleased, truth be told; I had a lovely time today, met some new people, invented a new species, world, story, and cast of characters, and got a taste of what I'm capable of. I realized that I may very well be able to skip steps because of my ability to do several processes (such as visualize a story unfolding, and the perspective angle through which it goes about, and the panel placement) simultaneously. And I can apparently create a fascinating group of characters and snippets of a story in a very short period of time.

I just have really, somewhat, really poor time management and a lack of ability to refuse to do cool stuff. 

But I can do it. And I will do it. Just not right now.

Anyways, good night all, I will be off to sleep.

Thank you for putting up with me. ;)

~rrc

24 Hour Comic (4)--- Eureka!

Brilliant, I think I've got it! Well, I better hurry off now; I kind of slept in and the comic's not going to write itself!

24 Hour Comic (3)

Well, I'm off to bed. Got some decent sketches, some usable ideas... Now, for sleep...

24 Hour Comic (2)

Alright, so for plot, I either do something new or something I have. Jeck would make an interesting subject for a 24 hour comic. I could even do his life by 24 hours. He only sleeps, like, three of those...

So, Ideas:

----previous characters/stories

-Jeck

-Sky (she gets, like, no coverage from me)

-Greyblade, an obvious choice

-any of them, really (Dracco, Drew, Teino, Chloe? That’d be interesting)

-etc.

----fan work? Naw...

----Something new, just for the heck of it.

-steampunk

-math

- etc.

24 Hour Comic (1)-- What the heck am I doing?

Ok, I was sooo unprepared. And I've pretty much blown two hours. And then there's the family event to contend with...

But enough about the challenges, the obstacles. let us commence and go forth unto victory!

24 Hours and 13 Days

Here.

Well, this is kind of a rotten time to mention either of these, since one's over halfway over and the other is two days away, but yay, I'm doing October Poetry Writing Month (write a poem a day; don't worry, I have plenty of catching up to do as well) and 24 Hour Comic, where you write a 24 page (plus cover, so 25 page) comic in 24 hours!

Yes I am crazy. And you can be too! Join the madness!

Just kidding (sort of), but seriously, you should check it out. It's not too late just yet...

Here.

Doctor Who 101

Well, in case you haven't noticed, and I really hope you have because if not it means you neither read my blog nor surf my pinterest boards and that hurts a bit, I've gotten into Doctor Who recently. And I do mean recently, as in maybe a couple of months ago. and I do mean I've really gotten into Doctor Who, in the I-jump-at-sounds-that-could-be-the-TARDIS-rematerializing-I-know-facts-about-every-era-I-own- a-plush-TARDIS-keychain-that-makes-the-VORP-VORP-sounds gotten into.

And it has come to my attention that not all of you are exactly aware of just what Doctor Who really is. May be you vaguely recall a zany, curly haired man with a very long striped scarf from your childhood (as I did), or maybe you've heard your fellow nerds and geeks discussing it during lunch break at various gatherings (again, as I), or perhaps you just spend too much time on the Internet (...yeah. -_-), or perhaps, and this is certainly the worst of the possibilities, you've NEVER heard of Doctor Who. (In which case, I pity you. I dearly pity you...) but not to worry, because there is much to learn and much to be said, and I know many of them the direction in which I may point you.

To put it simply, Doctor Who is a British Television Sci-fi Drama (the longest running Sci-fi drama in the world, with over 32 seasons of television cannon and spanning over 46 years of time. Since 1964, baby.) about a human-like alien known simply as the Doctor, who travels in space and time in near-magic-like blue police box called the TARDIS (a Type 40 TARDIS, to be precise, the last of her kind), a super advanced time/space ship that is far, far bigger on the inside. He hops around the cosmos, doing his best to fix things that go wrong and save people. He travels with passerngers known as companions, often humans (as they are his favorite species), whom he shares his adventures
with, and who protect the Doctor as much as he protects them.

It's completely and utterly awesome. 

I could on and on about the show, but instead I am going to recommend what I feel is the best introduction pretty much anyone could have to the series--this ten minute video by SF Debris, which explains everything you need to know to get started. Enjoy!  (sorry I can't post it directly on the blog, since it's not on YouTube. But here is a link to his site and blip.tv, his chosen video hosting site.)

To the SF Debris site.
To blip.Tv.

Found here.

Another Doctor Who Post

Because I could.

Found here.

Found here.

Counting

So one day, while I was eating salted almonds, I was counting and arranging them, like I do from time to time, and getting a huge thrill out of it...I'm sure all of you have done that on occasion too, right?

Anyway, I decided to take a picture on an impulse, just so you get an idea of just how...me your author is. Of course, I chose the number 13, because it is one of, if not my outright, favorite number. Why? It's such a twisted, misunderstood, so-ugly-it's-cute type of number. I've always thought it's pretty, but there is a reason why it doesn't come up as often as 9, 3, 7, etc; it's a bit awkward, and often passed up in favor of its much more streamline, divisible neighbor, 12.

13 has some nice properties and relations to society and the universe-- it's the number of Archimedean solids in existence, the number of notes (via inclusive counting) in an octave, and it has a spooky, unluckiness to it that no other number can compete with (though not in Italy XD).