Following up on the last journal, I finally took the plunge and commissioned a proper dragon partial suit, based on Terry's design. It's about halfway done and I can't wait to see the finished product! It's first public debut will (weather permitting) will be at the Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins in mid-September. It's two weeks before Rainfurrest, so if you're in Washington state drop on by!

In other art news, I'm still working away on those ref sheets, and have a few new characters in the works. I really need to get back in the swing of things with sculpting, since I haven't done any of that in a while.

So E3 is happening, which usually I don't care about. Games have been so stagnant and unoriginal lately, it's just generic FPSs, war games and MMOs the past decade. It amazes me that they're still so popular, especially with the bad economy. Fortunately this year at least, with Pokemon Black/White 2 and now Pikmin 3 coming out, I actually have something to look forward to for once!

So while I don't have much room for it, I finally found a huge dragon plush that I've been searching AGES for (the same one as the link below). Glad to finally have 'im!
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/221035896552

Speaking of giant dragon plushes, this one takes the cake:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7813717/
Made by Hansa, it's 8 feet tall and costs thousands!

So this past weekend Vancouver had its first furry convention- Vancoufur. I didn't end up going unfortunately since I had prior commitments, but I was seriously considering it. Although the fact that I've never met anyone from the Vancouver community in person (or been to a convention at all), coupled with how terrible I am in social situations, probably would have resulted in a festival of awkwardness. Hopefully I can work up the courage to go to the next one!

With that in mind, by next year I really would like to get a proper dragon suit made (full or partial, although I'm leaning toward the latter). The one I have is good but uncomfortable if worn for extended periods of time (like over 10 minutes!). Plus, I want a suit that matches my current 'sona design. Currently I'm looking for suit makers to commission- if any one has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them.

In other news, I'll be entering the Pokemon '2012 International Challenge'. I'm still a rookie at competitive battling, but we'll see how it goes!

I finally hit my 30th birthday- Geez, my 20s just flew past. I'm sure I'll be getting a few 'old man' comments from my friends (even though two of them turn 30 next month!)

Nothing else really exciting to report on, other than that I bought that large 3' tall Maleficent dragon plush I mentioned in an earlier blog post. I found one for less than half the original ridiculous $360 price tag, which is really lucky considering how rare they are!

I got a few more character ideas kicking around (will post some sketches over the coming days), and I'm currently thinking of more things to sculpt.

Oh, if I could please ask a teensy favor to anyone reading this- Vote for Arceus!: http://www.pokemon.com/us/vote/

*Goes to eat cake*

As previously mentioned, I was at two pumpkin catapulting competitions last month in Washington (one in Snohomish and one in Burlington) and had a blast. Due to bad weather I only brought the dragon suit to the second event.

There were a few film crews there, including one from the Weather Network(!), who were filming for a special called 'Pumpkin Palooza' (featuring events from around the US where pumpkins are used in unusual ways). The special will air on Oct 17 (I think) although I won't get to see it :C

The other film crew (TalkItUp TV) posted their report of the event on Youtube. They wanted some footage of me chasing them, which you can see near the end!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex6VOy4jHlo

Now that Halloween is coming up, I finally get to debut my motorized wing-flapper. Hopefully nothing shorts out, I don't want to catch fire in front of a bunch of kids! The local skating rink is holding a costume competition, which I may enter provided it's for all ages.

In other news, I'll be turning 30 next month, which I find hard to believe x.x Where does the time go?

Been a bit busy lately, mainly getting ready for the annual Snohomish Pumpkin Hurl. I'll be on one of the teams competing to throw pumpkins as far as possible using catapults. If you saw the Discovery Channel special (hosted by the Mythbusters) on 'Punkin Chunkin' last year, it's basically the same thing but on a smaller scale.

I'll hope I can bring my dragon outfit as the crowd (especially the kids) seem to really enjoy it. Space in the vehicles is really tight so there may not be room but we'll see.

http://www.facebook.com/SnohomishPumpkinHurl

If you're in Washington state, stop on by! It's inexpensive and there's lots to see and do. It's on the weekend before Rainfurrest.

Just got a 3DS today- here's my code if anyone else wants to exchange:

Pendragon
3437 3112 5348

This is I think the first time I've ever bought a console within a year of its release!

So I've been on this site for a year now, and in that time I've seen a lot of awesome artwork and met a bunch of great folks.

I want to say a big Thank You to all who have watched, faved and commented- all of it helps me strive to improve!

So as previously posted, I finally finished a mechanism to flap the wings on my dragon outfit:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4945787

It still has a few bugs in it but overall, I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

After having my tail stepped on twice on one outing, the next modification I'm currently thinking about is something to keep it from "draggin'" (heh) on the ground. Since the tail (made from dryer hose) is hollow, maybe some sort of internal wire frame would work.

So that's one project for the winter/new year- other things I plan to work on is getting better reference sheets done for all my characters, doing more sculpting and trying out more art techniques.

In other news...

OMFG ME WANT SO BAD:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Maleficent-Drago.....item2eb1606af0

That thing is HUGE (over 3 feet tall!!) If only it weren't so expensive... maybe I can find one for less.

It's my 29th b-day today- even got to celebrate it a day early too! I can't believe next year I'll officially be in my 30s.... I feel really old!

In other news- the ongoing modification of my dragon suit continues. I attemped to make a motor-powered mechanism to flap the wings before Halloween, but ran out of time. I'll post pics once it's done (provided it actually works!).

Another smaller alteration is to replace the piece of tinted see-thru plastic (the port in the neck I look through). It's biggest flaw is that it fogs up in cold weather and blocks vision. I'll be changing it to a mesh, which I believe is what traditional fursuits use.

*Goes to eat more cake*

Lately I've been thinking about adding some sort of mechanism to flap the wings on my dragon suit. I've seen it done before, although as far as I know no 'plans' exist, but I think I can work something out. This is also be a good excuse to make a new wing harness, one that isn't so uncomfortable!

Speaking of wings, one annoying problem I'm having is that the black/silver paint job is flaking off, even after all of the prep work to the plastic. Fortunately I found another plastic that is already black so I don't have to paint it. It's weaker than the clear stuff, but I have a lot of it so I may double-layer it.

One big project I'm helping out with is a short independent film being produced by a small group of friends entitled 'Dragon History'. It'll be a fantasy/action/comedy, and will be wrapping soon. More details to follow, and I'll post the link when the first part is up (probably sometime in late August / early September).

Ok, so I've been on this site for a few months now and so far it has been a very positive experience.

I want to say thanks to all those who have watched, faved or commented on my stuff, it means a lot! It has been very encouraging- I have probably done more things art-wise in the past 2 months than in all of 2009!

I also want to thank two very talented artists I have commissioned.

The first is by Oli_Snowpaw, who made a very saucy pic featuring Dora and Demona:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3939125/

The second is by Draconium, who designed a feral version of my Pendragon character:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4192842/

Go visit/comment/fave/watch their galleries now!

For those on you who live in northern Washington state, my dragon suit and I will be at the Snohomish Pumpkin Festival on Sept 18th (weather permitting). My friends and I will be competing in the pumpkin catapult competition. It's quite the sight, I guarantee you won't be dissapointed!

http://www.festivalofpumpkins.org/