Yet again, this year just keeps getting better, even despite setbacks. A few months ago my military ID expired, and with it, so did my health insurance, right around the time I need to get some teeth looked at (I have very bad teeth. I need prescription toothpaste just to keep them from getting cavities) so now I can't go in till I register and pay for my classes. This sucks, but it's not new to me.

So, the positive. I'm quiet sure my girlfriend doesn't read this, but I'll be surprising her with something later this year... I just need to get the right metals for the "sculpture" that can be worn. I took metals class awhile back and learned, aside from many things, how to make rings. So I wanted to push myself and make something very special. Once I make it, I'll end up asking her that question. She know I'll end up asking it, I just haven't yet because I haven't made the ring, so it'll still be a surprise. :3

Super Sculpey is amazing. I've been using it to make prop guns for Otakon, as we're cosplaying as Gunslinger Girl characters for our group cosplay.
So far, I've made a Sig P230, which is for Triela (my mom). I still have to make an FN Five seveN, and two Taurus P92s (similar to a Beretta 92 in function and design.)
I've got more than enough polymer clay left, so I might sculpt up a Danakai or something. I dunno. I may start to make the weaponry from my comic out of this stuff and sell it. Or just use it as reference props...
Any way, I highly recommend using Super Sculpey, it's very easy to manipulate, and it's fairly substantial. A pound of the stuff averages around $11.50, and it's fresh and moldable till it's baked in a standard kitchen oven. I haven't drop tested it yet, and I doubt that I will, because I spent easily over 10 hours on the P230 along. the FN5.7 will probably take a whole day to complete, so I'm tackling that next. Otakon begins for me on the 14th or 15th, we leave for Maryland early, so we can rest that wednesday night...

On to Otakon speaks! This year, I submitted a panel application. It was accepted a few weeks back, however, you won't see it on the list on their site. Why? It isn't a panel, it's a 3 hour long workshop! They've given me a great workable time slot, 1pm to 3pm Sunday, right after everyone's already gone to and done everything they want to do. So this will be fantastic. The workshop will be on Sunday, in Workshop 1, 1 - 3pm.
What is going to go on in my delicious slice of time? I'll be explaining how I go about making a comic page digitally. I'm sure my methods are not the best, but I want people to see a nice live performance of how a comic page is made from start to finish. This will be a great opportunity for anyone who has never touched a digital comic program or editor before. It'll even be new to me. It'll be great because I really don't think I've done something quiet like this before, but I've done enough panels to know how well it'll go. This is my 8th panel I've done at a convention, I've done 7 comic related panels at Animazement, and I can easily gauge how well a panel will go before it starts. I'm keeping high spirits up, but I won't let a sour workshop get me down either. I'm just happy as hell it isn't at some late/absurd time of the night.
My biggest loss is that my great friend, Hal, can't make it this year, his work didn't give him the time off. D: Such a loss.
Next convention he can go to, we'll make it like... twice the awesome (or we'll try real hard). The second sadness is that I has no table this year. It bites hard. Very hard. I'll bring a few posters I guess, but I'm not expecting anything amazing to happen, like the staff giving me a table after being on the waiting list. No, I really don't expect that at all. :<
And honestly, Otakon's Artist Alley is a bit of a let down. There's people in there that shouldn't be there at all. I enjoy fan art, but I'd love to see original things. And to me, that's what Artist Alley's are for, not for endless isles of cheaply made naruto fanarts, but for things that are truly original characters, stories, and things for people to latch on to.
One of the biggest appeals to me was the prospect that an Artist Alley would be similar to how things are in some Japanese anime conventions, where people are selling fan art, but the art is mostly original (to that artist/groups style) or in doujinshi comics (didn't bother looking up the spelling for that. I don't care really. I just love reading them.) To me the doujins are priceless, they're so full of innovation and creative verve. They carry a vibe to them that reminds me of anything fresh and new. These people are not fan artists to me, they're beyond that. They've transgressed into a plateau that many artists here should really try to reach. The lack of things for people to become engrossed by in the artist alley has always hit me sourly. I love a lot of the art and artists in the alleys, but it pains me to know or hear that things like buttons "sell well". Of course they do, they're cheap and they remind people of hilarious/cute/or beloved things from their favorite shows. However, that doesn't make it good. It makes it cheap. I prefer people being original. Little figurines that are hand made, t-shirts self printed (I've done this before, silk screening isn't easy), and anything like props or outfits. Things like that really make me smile. I love seeing that stuff. I love seeing nice, big, juicy prints (insert boobs, and it's fine too) that show off the artist's skill in color and form. I love seeing beautiful artwork all over the fan printed books of manga/comics that are in the alley, they have such a unique quality to them, and I tend to want to buy them up just for the sake of even having them. I love supporting artists. I do not really want to spend my money on a button or a sticker though. Quiet honestly, I have too many already. I don't want any more of those. I do want things like... comics to read/reference off of, new stories to enjoy, new artwork to dissect and enjoy. I want something NEW. I want a fresh, unique experience. I don't want to see another isle of nothing BUT Bleach and Naruto.
Yes, I enjoy watching those shows here and there, yes, the fan art can be fantastic, yes, they've made some spectacular yaoi/yuri/hentai/shota stuff, but I want something like... a doujin. I want something that isn't another print of BlondeyXEmo kid smooching or touching each other's adolescent man-boobs as if it's naughty. It's lost it's magic to me, it's not that impacting to me. It's boring to me. I'm bored of the trendy fan art. I want fan art of NEW stuff. Not mainstream "I saw that on Cartoon Network!" (though that doesn't happen much anymore. Ha ha... toonami died.) I want things like K-On! to be in my hands. I want some Vocaloid comics, or something along those lines. And what the fuck about Touhou? I see that shit all over Danbooru/the Overbooru all the fucking time, but I NEVER have seen fan art of it at Otakon or Animazement... Its like some weird... fan-vacuum. I seriously expected more.
But enough about my bitching on Artist Alley.
I'll enjoy it the way I can enjoy it. And possibly sneer at some bullshit-craptastic-not-really-an-artist person that I find along the way, thinking "That fucker took my table..."
I'm sure that'll be the most fun. Sure, they have a table. I got a workshop...
I just wish I had a workshop & a table.

EDIT:
(Spoiler warning?) If you haven't read through my comic yet, please go do that, otherwise, this will not really effect you.






I forgot about the whole comic I do after that Alley rant! Oh boy...

So, the work i've gotten done with planning out each page in my sketchbook has come to the point where I'm done with Chapter 1's planning, so as soon as I can finish these guns up for Otakon, I can then go on with actually getting some drawing done. The best part of having the comic's already drawn and sketched out is now I know what looks like a working page. I sketched in enough detail to know where I want characters, and what I want them to look like. This means that each character will be drawn consistently for Chapter 1. This also means that I can now focus on solidifying those characters in chapter 2, and in the rest of the current chapter.
Chapter 3 is the Invasion of Vertum, the Danakai obviously are successful in their push, regroup, and overtake the planet's defenses after the battle for Midpoint.
So the story so far is:
Maia is introduced, conflict between Danakai & Vertum is remembered, Midpoint is lost to the Danakai, Danakai infiltrators destroy the missile capabilities of the Vertum missile defense ships (of which Maia is a captain of one, named the Chabalka), Danakai push for Vertum after surviving the detonation of the station MidPoint. So, the Danakai's losses are probably around... 10,000 lives, and the Vertum have lost roughly... 200 to 900 lives. Why? Well there are events taking place that are not really covered (yet), but also because the scope of the war is encompassing two entire planets. There are things going on that aren't even covered yet, which will be, so the life loss count is high. The Danakai lost a number of ships and lives in MidPoint trying to take out the Vertum's fleet, of which had just retaken MidPoint that day.
Previous to this happening, MidPoint was the contested ground, offering an unhindered view of either planet's space. If one force controlled MidPoint, they have full observation of the other planet at an ideal location. This means it is highly strategic. It also made it a death trap for anyone inside the base. The reason for this is that the base was made for observation, not for defense, so anyone inside the base needs ships to protect it, meaning that the base constantly needs a force deployed there while in use.
Before chapter one's events, the Danakai had taken the base from the Vertum, and that base was then fought for. The Vertum over take the Danakai externally, and then inside the base itself, clearing it room by room (now covered in the remake). So, even before the Vertum can begin use of their newly retaken land, the Danakai seem to appear to send another force to replace the force just lost to the Vertum attack. However, the Vertum didn't assume that force would be nearly all the known ships in the Danakai space navy. To put it into perspective... Imagine if you will, a force of roughly 5 to 8 ships, having just taken out a force of similar size in a battle for control of an island. After that battle is finished, that force that won then sees another force on the way, however, that force then becomes far larger than expected. Instead of an equal 5 to 8 ships again, its more closer to 10,000 or 15,000 ships. A far superior numbered force. The island would then be the only cover possible for the now defending force of a handful of ships. That is the situation behind Chapter 1.