Taka Nuvia

Got back into Shadow of Memories (Shadow of Destiny in the US, if I remember correctly), and I can only recommend it (if you like games from around 2001, that is). Time travel that is imo done really well.

And/or the usual "hey world! I'm still alive!" post So where have I been? Mostly busy with life, and finally with a stable internet connection at my PC so expect some more activity from me, I guess. Occasionally, anyway. Other than that, I missed this place, a lot. And can't help but get nostalgic about the old times of lots of daily activity. Regular display name changes, especially around April 1st (my, what a coincidence) or with whatever tiny trend floated by. (On a side note, I'm delighted to see that the old emoticons are still around. Love these ) Hope you're all doing well! I'll see you around. ^^

Super impressed by the amount of care, work and attention to detail that went into this! (And thank you for including the link to the Miramax storyboards, these are super intriguing.) Your storyboard looks cool! For the Matoro/Hakann sketches, I think they could even be simplified/stylized even further, right now they still feel very set-like to me (but that is definitely a matter of personal preference) - what's the style you're aiming for for the final result? I'm afraid I can't help with this, but I'll definitely keep an eye on this project

aw, that is lovely, thank you! and thanks for the birthday wishes, too <3

Aw, thank you so much! And yea, that's by me, albeit a slightly older painting. Still, gouache is so much fun to use...

Seeing all of these covers side by side is really cool! And shows how many of these games you've run already - super impressive!

The best thing I can say right now is that the breaks between my blog entries are much, much longer than the breaks between my artistic endeavours (please imagine those two words in a more sarcastic tone). Wish I knew what was the problem, but sitting down to draw is no longer as easy nor natural as it used to be. Mostly, I am afraid, I think. Afraid of what I create not lining up with what I had in mind (a given, if I rarely try my hands at it.) Afraid of only being able to produce slightly off, slightly nightmarish vent art when really all I want to do is draw pretty things to distract myself from what's causing the vent arts in the first place. Especially the latter point. So what am I doing to combat that, and the accompanying feelings of hopelessness? Two things, mostly. One is working on my mental health and resilience. Times are bad still, but I don't want to let that crush me. The other thing is moving to other creative things to do in the meantime - I've taken up crocheting, darning and other mending techniques, and painting. To keep my hands occupied, and have something to show by the end of the day, something tangible, a proof of my tiny existence in that miniscule time frame that I'm around for. Because things will get better again. They always do.

oh my goodness, these are all so adorable! I admire your craft, creativity, and all those many many plushies!

I remember your previous name, and the leeches! It's been a while... As for me, finished my master's degree in physics, now moved on to computer science. Well, and found a job. I'm still drawing on the side, but that is and has always been my 'personal project' space. Game development sounds cool!

maybe it got so good at hiding that we just won't be able to find it anymore

The artstyle is fantastic! Love the line-weights, colour, and general shape language.

<- now that's just me these days ^^ Anyone else have a new favourite that they didn't like so much (or even notice, tbh) back in the day?

oh this is delightful, thank you so much!

Lonely (Acoustic) - Deine Lakaien

Happy birthday to you! Enjoy your break

same to you! I'm always thrilled to see people around that I remember (wish that was an exaggeration. it really isn't ^^) But yea, I doubt I'll have gotten used to it by the time the (then) new version is introduced... we'll see ^^

I did, because it didn't let me publish the blog entry otherwise :> As for favourite look, I just have an endless nostalgia for the original boards. As far as I know that changed in the previous upgrade already. Sadly.

and still have to get used to the new look but that's okay. (I have no idea what entry categories are for though. this will take some getting used to...)

Hey there, thanks for the nice comment! As for drawing characters - I'd suggest getting used to observing the people around you, especially when out and about in the world. How they move, howw their proportions and bodies are structured, how they interact with their environment and vice versa. (obviously, I don't mean to say "stare at everyone for prolonged stretches of time", but that should be clear anyway). If you feel awkward studying irl people, that's fine. Movies and TV exist too. ^^ Personally I like to use a sketchbook to have a chronological overview of the things I've drawn, as well as note down things I noticed. I carry something to draw wherever I go. As for Bionicle characters, it depends on what you want to do? If you want to lean in a set-like direction, make sure you either have the set around or look for images online so you have a reference to help you. Stylization is a harder one to comment on. I'd say dare to try new things, and keep in mind that not everything will always work out, and that's okay! Using references also helps a lot. Say you want to draw a character that's associated with Plant Life, and you have the idea to add leaf textures somewhere in their armour. The illusion becomes a lot more believable if you look at images (or ideally, a real leaf ). Personally I like to model the characters on the human form, so I just sketch that out first, then use the set to figure out the shapes for the armour. For a while I even used to draw the characters completely humanized/as humans - that wasn't quite popular ^^' but I liked it back then, so yea. Draw what you like, what you enjoy. Figure out what inspires you, draw from that. Study it, too. Look at art you enjoy and figure out why - is it the poses? The stylization? The lighting? Try to analyze that and finally - don't forget to practise, but also to have fun! ... okay, this was a lot more than anticipated. I hope some of it was helpful.

that is super impressive! Also, you used coloured pencil, which imo can be a pain to work with for bigger things (because it takes for-ever) - as said, impressive, and I really admire the dedication. The way you kept the designs set-like, yet somewhat stylized also caught my eye. It's nice! Goes without saying that you should be proud of finishing this, really. ^^

Once a week seems like a good pace to me, and to be honest, I'm glad you're taking things in a direction that you can keep up with without getting burned out. Seeing this site around after so many years still means a lot to me, and I'm really grateful you're still running it!

Onwards to another adventure, it seems

Somehow the font looks a little resized