AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, today is black Friday, and I work for a certain large toy store chain. Unsurprisingly, I was asked to work today.

SPECIFICALLY, I had to work the 12AM to 8AM shift, so I got noooooo sleep.

It actually wasn't too bad at first. All of the customers and my supervisors were sweet to me, I had no serious issues or complications, and I was feeling good until about 7 in the morning when I cashed. I feel terrible right now, but I've been unable to get more than a couple hours of sleep. I'm just... too tired, and things keep distracting me. First I feel incredibly nauseous, so I got up and waited it out. Then I fell asleep for a few hours, and woke up starving, so I got food and ate, and by that time it was 2PM, and I figure it'll be easier to adjust at this point if I make myself stay up until at least 8-9PM.

LONG STORY SHORT, I'm in no shape to post or really do anything today. I'm on screensaver mode. I am drawing a little, though, because I've been finally really getting myself to read Death Note and I love the art style. Needed to try and mimic it for fun.

Okay... I guess I am going to return to sketching and... staring at my computer screen.

This is completely impulsive, but I might try to apply as Dr. John Seward, the psychologist in Dracula, as a doctor in damned. NEVERMIND THAT THERE ARE A MILLION OTHER THINGS I SHOULD BE DOING RIGHT NOW. I have a commission I was going to work on today, but now I'm thinking about rereading Dracula. I do think I'll go down to Beehive Tea Room, since it's been a while, and I need to do a good canon review for Howl.

In other news, I woke up at 6:30 this morning and I'm not sure why. I just had such a hard time sleeping, that I eventually just gave up and, well, started thinking about apping stuff I shouldn't app.

It's been a while since I've updated. I've been busy with school so I'm a little behind on posting. :[ I don't have anything of substance to say, but, uh, here are some doodles I did during lecture today. I've been messing around with techniques to remove lined paper lines, but if you look closely you can still kind of see them. XD

( Once again, I really hope no one was peeking over my shoulder. )

SPAMMING EVERYONE. SORRY.

I need to start working on my Oktoberfest entry, but I can't think of who or what to draw. I keep going over the lists of characters and I'm just completely overwhelmed by possibilities. I'm not very good at adorably hilarious comics, so I think I want to do some pretty portraits. Probably pretty, bloody portraits because it's Halloween after all. 8D Also, blood effects are fun to color. Maybe a scene... but scenes are tough, and I'm lazy.

Long story short, if anyone on my friends list has a suggestion, I can't 100% guarantee I'll do it BUT THERE'S A REALLY GOOD CHANCE I WILL. I feel like drawing tonight, but can't pick a subject.

It's been a crazy week. I've felt so busy, and I've had to deal with stupid little health problems and internet outages. I'm sorry if my replies have been inconsistent. |D;;;;

UHM, but yeah, it's been good busy. I've been working on getting my cosplay costumes for Anime Banzai into working order. They're both a little old and were missing pieces, so I waffled on whether or not to get them out, BUT in the end I decided to go for it. I still need to get/give contact info for damned people so I can meet you guys. ;3; There's also apparently an on-site art contest that I think I'll try out.

PS: I AM TRYING BUBBLE TEA FOR THE FIRST TIME. It's really good. I was worried at first, but I wanted to give it a shot.

Whoa. I can't believe it's app time already at damned. School blocked me this time around, but come January I am determined to get my application for Uhura done.

Anyway, point being, LOTS AND LOTS OF GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE WHO'S APPING!!! I AM ROOTING FOR YOU!!!

Also, if things work out how I am hoping they do, this is going to be the most awesome application cycle ever. My motivations for saying so are very selfish. 8D

I'm at work right now. I'm temporarily working for my parents, who are essentially electricians. I've been cleaning and organizing the shop, which involves lots of oil and dirt all over my hands and heavy lifting. Buuut my parents ran off to a meeting thing, and I finished my duties so I hijacked an office computer. Wally (their dog) is here to keep me company~

The How's My Driving? Meme

GIVE IT TO ME STRAIGHT.

I'd like to get myself to practice loose sketches more often, and I think that I just need to draw more often. I was looking at this artist and all of these really sweet sketches she just seems to produce effortlessly and I AM FILLED WITH JEALOUSY. ;_; I end up getting really obsessive over details and I think it hurts my sketches sometimes. So I'm going to try and make myself sketch or doodle at least one thing per day. Then I'll be forcing myself to draw quickly, and I'll be able to track my improvement to some extent. 8D

I'll probably end up posting a lot of it here. Ooooor I could make a special journal for it or a filter. Uh, either way, in case there's someone on my friends list who doesn't want to be spammed daily, I'll set up some way of organizing it soon.

For now, here's my first attempt, drawn mostly on the train downtown so the anatomy is pretty terrible. Kaworu fanart again, because I'm lame and uncreative. I SWEAR THERE WILL BE VARIETY ONE DAY. I should draw Howl more often if I'm going to be selfish and draw my own characters over and over again, but man, he's tough to draw. :[

( Very mild nudity. )

I've been really inconsistent with my activity the last few days. I haven't been particularly busy, but I had a little bit of a hard time sitting down to write. I think I'm back in the swing of things, though. SORRY TO EVERYONE WHO WAS/IS WAITING ON ME. ;___;

Who needs real journal content anyway? 8D

( Another D&D NPC. )

My GM rewards me for artwork by giving my character a Bonus Feat for each full-body colored piece of artwork I do for the game. I'm trying to qualify my character for a (really crazy) prestige class, so I needed to get a couple more Feats. I'M NOT USUALLY THIS PRODUCTIVE.

The moral of the story is that I'm easy to bribe. Also, I think nerds are totally hot.

I've been such a space cadet today. There's so much that I need to get caught up on, but I just keep wandering away and getting distracted. However, I did draw something, so at least I was slightly productive.

Uh, this is my D&D character's wife, Audrey. The guy from the last art post. 8D

( MODERATELY LARGE PICTURE )

I went and bought a moleskine notebook to keep sketches in when I'm out and about. I am well on my way to being obnoxiously trendy.

ANYWAY, this is Dr. Martin Lamprecht. He's my current Dungeons & Dragons character. Uh, he's a 9th level cleric masquerading as a medical doctor. The setting is steampunk. AND I AM A DORK.

( Sketch behind cut! )

I feel kind of sick today, but I'm in class anyway. I need to reply with Howl, but I may have to wait until I get home tonight. My head is spinning and I'm having a hard time focusing. I do feel a lot better than I did this morning, though. D:

I'm kind of sad it's not raining anymore, because I looove the rain. It wasn't too severe up where I live, so I just got to look down at the rest of the valley. It was beautiful. I hope we get more rain tonight~

I need to draw stuff before nightshift ends. I HAVE PLANS. But not very complex ones. :[

While rewatching Samurai Champloo, I've become really tempted to apply as Jin. However, I just discovered that the character is supposed to be only twenty years old, when I had been convinced he was almost thirty. It's impacting how I look at his character more than I thought it would have.

This is an exceptionally disjointed entry.

⇘ASK MY PUPPET MEME⇖
Ask them a question!

Ahaha there are only two people who play with me on my flist. OH WELL, IT'S FOR FUTURE REFERENCE? |D

I love the Beehive Tearoom. It's the cutest place in the world, and it makes me feel relaxed and artistic. Granted, I haven't accomplished much and it closes soon, but it's still a nice wind-down place.

Anyway... I'm trying to decide whether or not I want a third character at damned. I think I could handle it, but I just can't think of anyone that really makes me excited. I have a few ideas that I think, if I applied myself, I could get excited about. Uh, namely, I have tossed around thoughts about Uhura from Star Trek, Raiden from MGS2 and Luke from Star Wars. I love all three, but I'm not quite sold on anyone in particular.

I do kind of want to join an established cast, though. I've been flying solo with Kaworu and Howl, which has been cool, but I'm curious to see what it would be like to play in an established group. IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, I am really new to canon RP, and so this whole ~castmates~ thing is mysterious and alluring. Sadly, I'm so out of the loop that I just don't know many of the series that are big in the game.

I'm also still feeling a little unsteady with Howl. I don't think I'm doing a terrible job, but I'm still getting the hang of him. I think I've just reached the point where I feel really good about my Kaworu, though.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT, I GUESS.

( LOOK HERE'S ASUKA. )

I am finally getting the hang of coloring in Photoshop. Yay for not having to spend money on a new art program! 8D I'll probably try to do the same for the Asuka and Kaworu doodles since this went so well. And... I really need to learn to draw Rei. It will bug me forever if I don't include her. :|

( That Shinji doodle from earlier, turned into a digital painting. )

I WONDER WHAT WAS ON RYU'S MIND TODAY.

( Doodles behind cut. )

I hope no one looked over my shoulder and thought "Oh my god this girl has issues. D:" Although I do have issues with anatomy. Seriously, why do people have arms??? Or hands??? Or torsos????

Tragically, I can't draw Rei from memory. .-.

OMG the man sitting next to me in class was wearing really heavy cologne. It was not fun. DDD:

I should be paying attention to the lecture, but I'm a bit distracted today. I was just thinking about how, when I decided to apply as Kaworu and Howl, I was pretty resigned to having no castmates. They're both iconic characters from iconic pieces of fiction, but their canons are old enough that they've become kind of obscure. I was just fine with that prospect, but it makes it that much more exciting when I do hear people might want to play someone from their canon. I'm not counting my eggs before they hatch, but I am happy just to know it's not impossible. I'm particularly (and pleasantly) surprised by how many times I've heard rumors about people applying for Sophie, since I thought that was less likely than getting some of the NGE crew, what with Rebuild coming out and reigniting a little interest. XD

UHM, anyway, point being that this tickles me greatly, and I have my fingers crossed. ♥

I thought about actually getting my ass into gear for nighshift at damned, but instead I fought with Photoshop CS4 for six hours and made this. D:

( Artwork behind cut. )

I really need to sit and outline where Kaworu's character is currently at. I also really need to eat something. I don't think I've had anything all day, but then I started drawing and I just... forgot. 8DDD;;;

But now that I've gotten a little more comfortable coloring with PS, I can go back and look at some of my other sketches and decide if I want to color them.

Also, ow, carpal tunnel. .-.

I FEEL A LOT BETTER NOW. I went and spent all afternoon at this tea house and I did a couple of the fountainofcod prompts I got. Because I hate writing exercises, I'm drawing them instead. I'll work on the others soonish, but I'm really pleased with what I have right now. I think a nice atmosphere helped me out a lot. I drew way above what I perceive my skill level to be. XD

( Howl - mirror )

( Kaworu - regrets )

Lately I've been hearing a lot of people say my style is very "interesting". I don't think these people mean it in any sort of negative way, but it's a very, well, interesting descriptor. I'm not exactly sure what it means.

During the past few months, I've had an influx of comments from all over the place with people saying "Your style is interesting" with no further elaboration. These aren't the only comments I get, and I don't dislike them, because really, anyone commenting on my artwork with just about anything is super exciting. I'm just curious but also too shy to ask these people what they mean. 8D Is my artwork strange? I know it's not the content of my art, because it's all moderately conventional fantasy artwork. The strangest thing I draw is boys kissing, and most of the people who look at my artwork appreciate that kind of thing.

I guess my style is currently straddling this line between anime and... something else. I'M NOT SURE WHAT.

In other news, thanks to geminion's brilliance, I have Paint Tool Sai working on my Mac. It has some bugs on my OS (no surprise), so I can't really CG with it. However, I can actually sketch stuff straight into it and not be horrified with the results. I can also do pretty colored lineart, which reminds me of some other art style I've seen before, but I can't remember where. :[

( Practicing with Martin as the subject. )