Bought David Attenboroughs new documentary series, 'Life'. I've only watched two episodes of it, but I love it! A worthy follower of Planet Earth.

Also, I've almost got my Alfred J. Kwak dvd-collection complete! Just 1 more dvd and I have all episodes. To off-set this tendency of mine to collect children's series, I'm also busy reading Cicero's defense speeches (very powerful) and Seneca's letters (thought-provoking and absolutely hilarious). I would love to have met Seneca.

Yes, yes, it's a few days early. But I will totally forget on New Year's Day, so here is my New Year's wish to everyone. May you have a good, healthy, productive 2010 in which at least one of your dreams comes true through your hard work and dedication.

Also, let's hope there's candy and that Mass Effect 2 is an awesome game.

Anyway, in my part of the world you are supposed to let know your 'good intentions' for the New Year. I know that in some parts of the world, you look back on the past year, but we specificially state things we want to do next year. Stopping with smoking is a favourite, but I don't smoke, so here is my list:

- Learn 5 Japanese kanji per week
- Start a small excercise routine (small, mind you: experience has learned that if you start the New Year with large plans, you will likely not keep true to them)
- Be a less confrontational person. Reality does not require that you believe in it, so people can believe the silliest things. Unless it affects me personally or society as a whole, I will try and not argue about it. I will only give my opinion when asked.

Also, I hope everyone had a happy Christmas!

Last week, I got the BBC's/David Attenborough's 'The life of mammals' on dvd. Good deal: 10 50 minute episodes for 10 euros. Totally worth it. It's been around for a few years (2003, I believe), so the image quality isn't that of Planet Earth (which I also have and which is amazing), but it's a great documentary nonetheless. I've only seen three episodes so far and I've already encountered three species I had never even heard. I also learned that pangolin walk on two legs, because their claws make their front legs unsuitable for walking. I feel really stupid for not knowing that.

In January, I will be painting a 3,7x2,5 meter (plus two bits of 63x250 cm) mural in my grandfather's nursing home. That's over 12 square meters. That's a lot. It will probably be a Provence landscape, because they've asked for something blue, so I'm going with lavender fields and blue sky. [/random info]

Even though I gave up on my first comic idea (or at least, the first one that got far enough to actually have a script and the first seven pages drawn), and think I don't have a long enough attention span to make a complete comic, I keep wanting to make one!

I think the secrets for me personally to finish a complete comic would be:
+ Have one with a definite storyline and ending. Don't just have it meander all over the place without it going anywhere; don't attempt 'character study comics' or webcomic-like things.
+ Don't try and make an epic comic. Just try for a short one first, with characters and a story you will be able to expand on later in a second comic if you want to.
+ Experiment with colouring and inking and lettering and stuff first, before you start on the first page.
+ First do all the pencils, then do all the inking, then do all the colouring.

I've got stories a plenty, that's not the problem. But I have problems with portraying a character consistently. Not because I can't do it, but because I often think after the first X drawings, 'Wait! This would be so much cooler if I changed it!' and then... I change it, continuity be damned. Shouldn't be doing that. Another problem is how to get the comic so that people can see it. If I do it on A4, it's too small to work on comfortably, and I have no clue how to paste two scans together (really, I don't. I do not know how to merge two images in one document. I am that much of a computer illiterate) let alone being able to do the panels on individual pages and then pasting them all together on the computer. Oh, and I still have to clean my scanner properly.

So... maybe I'm going to figure out a story that could be told in 30 pages or less and try my hand at it.

In other news, big-ass commission painting is about 50% done. Gonna spend a lot of time on it this week. Maybe do some fish inbetween. We'll see.

Back from holiday. England is a weird country. English people, how come you haven't all died of a massive heart attack already? Look at what you eat! On the upside, you make great comedy television, so I guess you are forgiven.

So... there probably won't be anything new up here for some time, seeing how it's the summer holidays which means I'm working on commissions, most of which contain nothing animal- or furry-related. Enjoy the summer, people!

I cleared out the storage space in my room (at my parents') yesterday and made up an inventory. I haven't even checked inside my drawing folders yet, and I've already come up with the following numbers:

- Many, many drawings that are not good enough to hang somewhere, but good enough for me to keep
- One series of four big paintings that I want to keep
- Two portraits of my parents that I obviously painted, but cannot remember at all
- An ink drawing that is deliciously macabre and I want to hang somewhere asap
- A painting of Pouncival (from the musical Cats) that I have no idea what to do with
- 12 blank canvasses and 6 blank canvasboards
- 6 canvasses or canvasboards that are going to be completely repainted (among which a sexy painting of two gay vampires from a novel I wrote, which I am sure my mother saw at one point because she is the one who put all the paintings in storage. This is one of those things you have to pretend never happened)
- 4 paintings that were so ugly and had already exhausted the canvas so much, I threw them out
- 20 drawings/paintings, or series of paintings, ready to be sold

If I somehow manage to sell those 20, I could be looking at quite a bit of cash. And there could still be some worthwile drawings in some of my folders. I know about two, for sure.

All in all, I had completely forgotten how much I've painted over the years. Because apart from this, I also have a score or so paintings that have been sold or given away, plus paintings I brought as gifts to Brazil, Australia and Japan, and in my parents' home there are two murals and 8 of my paintings, plus two murals, a glass painting and a normal painting in my grandparents' nursing home. And then there is the legions of drawings I make. (among which most of what appears here)

Gee... where do I find the time to do these things?

I forgot that today is national holiday. The supermarkets are closed. I might starve.

... well, it's not quite as bad as that, but it does rather upset my schedule. On the other hand, now tomorrow becomes a true shopping day. Objectives: food, chemist, shoes, dress(es), getting my hair cut and getting my fur coat fixed.

(*gasp* 'You have a FUR COAT? Murderer!' Yes, I like to be surrounded by dead foxes)

I'm still undecided about what I'll buy myself for getting my bachelor's degree. I don't actually have the degree yet, but I'll get it next month. I'm either going to buy a new animal skin for my floor or a proper custom-made corset. None of this gothic cute lacey shiney stuff, but a proper corset that will keep my tummy under control while reducing my waist, for (semi-)daily wear. My natural waist is pretty much non-existant, so I could do with one. Though I'm not looking to reduce my waist to a ridiculous size. When the tape measure hits 65 cm (25 inches) over corset, that's the limit for me. Did you ever see pictures of that woman with the 15-inch waist? That stuff is creepy.

I am absolutely psyched for Mass Effect 2! I know it will be another year before it gets here, but I can't help it. I loved ME, both because of the gameplay and because I absolutely love sci-fi. I have a thing for aliens. Though so far, all I've really heard about improvements (apart from things like texture pop-in) are combat-related. I really, really hope it doesn't turn into a shooter. I hope they also expand on the conversation system, or at least offer more chances to talk to people and learn about aliens or cultures or technology etc. through conversation. Also, I'd like to see more 'living' planets. In ME, they were all pretty much the same rocks with a different colour tacked on. Fingers crossed that ME2 is gonna be an even better sci-fi RPG than ME!

Let's see, what else... I'm working on a commission for a 100x140 cm oil painting. Lots of work. Lots of fun. It's gonna take forever, but so be it.

I managed to get my hands on one more Alfred J. Kwak dvd. Now I just need three more to complete my collection! But they're unavailable, even from the manufacturer themselves, so I'll probably have to keep an eye open for them at junk sales. Unfortunately, some of the best episodes (like the Second World War-saga) are on those missing dvd's.

And finally, I watched Soylent Green last week. There's a classic worth watching. I cried my eyes out when Sol went home, and it ended on that perfect sci-fi 'what happens next depends on human nature' note. Well worth my time and money.

So, I think I may have found a new favorite charity (along with the World Wide Fund and my country's Alzheimer's foundation): the EDGE of Existence programme. They try to conserve those species that are most unique in terms of evolution. Many of these species I had never even heard of. I like both that they are trying to preserve not just the big and popular animals like tigers (in fact, I don't think I've seen tigers on the list. Elephants and rhinos, yes) but small, unknown, unique species; and that their focus is on mammals and amphibians. I love amphibians. They're a vulnerable bunch and they deserve attention. Be honest: have you ever heard of the 'gracile mouse opossum' or the 'inquisitive shrew-mole' or the 'Chinhai spiny newt'?

So, I'm contemplating supporting them with a small monthly donation, but I'll need some time to figure out the details surrounding foreign charities etc.

https://www.edgeofexistence.org