Well then. I know it’s been a long time, but life has finally settled in around me to the point that I’ve had the will and motivation to draw again. It’s been a rough couple of years (good grief, has it really been that long?) but it feels so good to have my art return to me.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been returning to my roots, so to speak, and pulled out my graphites and sketchbook from deep within my desk. A few struggles here and there, but the bug bit me again and I filled up several pages with random, rough sketches. Then, on a whim, I decided to get myself an Apple Pencil for my iPad and Adobe Sketch.... and the flood gates opened. I felt like I’d been reborn.

I’ll be uploading the sketchbook sketches to scraps later, frankly they’re pretty rough basic sketches and studies and not much worth looking at, but over the next few days, the sketches I did on my iPad will be uploaded for everyone to enjoy. My style has changed some, but to something I’m much more comfortable with. I’ve never really felt that the polished, inked comic style of art I’ve been attempting here has been natural to what my skill set is. Always favored a more sketchy, naturalistic, rough around the edges style that I feel allows me far more freedom to express myself. For now, I’m dealing solely in black and white, but once I figure out some more tricks of the devices and programs I’m using now I’ll be incorporating color in soon enough.

Thank you all for your patience and sticking with me through the unproductive times. Y’all are the best!

Sláinte!
Brock

Hello everybody. I know it’s been a while since I’ve been active and posting here, so I figured it’s time to say a few things.

First off, yes, I am alive and well. Nothing has happened to me, and I’m still around albeit in a much diminished capacity. Life just has a way of intruding into our fantasies that has negatively affected my participation in this community. Nothing has changed about who I am and how I present myself, I just don’t have the time or energy I used to be able to devote here.

Secondly, art and stories are on an indefinite hold until such time as I can give them the attention they deserve and I can produce material of a quality that pleases both me and my viewers. As much as I want to continue the various projects I have ongoing, I’ve kinda lost my muse and this coupled with my very limited free time means I just can’t produce.

I do still check FA almost daily and read journals and look at the art of those I follow, but I haven’t been interacting beyond that with the community much at all.

Please, I ask that you don’t worry about me or fear for my wellbeing. I appreciate those who have expressed concerns about my absence, but they are unfounded. I am in contact with a few very close friends and they know to inform the community if anything actually happens to me.

Please don’t take my silence as an indication of how I feel about any of you, it’s just a badger thing. I am an extremely introverted person in real life, and being social is a huge drain on my energy reserves. With my lack of energy, I just can’t cope with more interaction than I currently pursue.

Thank you for your time and patience, and I hope to return to a more active stance in the future though I can’t say when that will be.

Sláinte!
Brock

My niece is looking to get started with manga style art and asked for some copic markers for christmas. I've never used markers in art before (I'm a charcoal/oils artist), so I have some questions about the product that I can't quite figure out and could use some advice.

1. Is there a difference between Copic Sketch and Copic Ciao markers? I'm seeing both available for roughly the same prices in the same colors, and I don't know if there's a difference between them at all.

2. Is there a set or specific colors you would recommend for somebody just starting out with the process who has no experience with them or preferences at this point?

3. What other tools would you recommend to go along with the markers? There's a lot of stuff available, and I don't really know what is actually necessary or even useful for a beginner.

I finally understand why so many people seem to have these on their christmas wish lists. XD Holy hell, these damn things are expensive! :P

Sláinte!
Brock

Some of you may have noticed I've been pretty scarce recently, and I know a lot of you are wondering why (mainly cause you asked me. :P). Well, here's what's been going on with the badge for the last several months and why I've been so quiet.

To put it simply, I've been utterly exhausted. Right around mid June or so, there was quite a shakeup where I work. Basically half of my department was either layed off or quit, and my workload more than doubled over-night, much of it stuff I'd never done before. On top of this, it was right in the middle of a transition period where we were in the process of changing our procedures and work-flow to what we hoped would be a more efficient way of doing things. Managed to weather the storm, and in fact earned a promotion in the process (which is good news), but at the cost of nearly all of my energy and creative spirit being used up at the office. This, plus my almost 3 hour daily commute (about an hour there, hour and a half back if it's not too bad) means I just don't have any energy for anything more than playing a game for a couple hours or watching a video or two before I crash for the night.

Things are starting to settle down now and we've hired replacements for those we lost which has drastically reduced everybody's workload, but with the added responsibilities of my new position I'm still pretty wasted when I get home. I am looking for a place nearer to my office to reduce the stress of the commute and I hope to be in a better place early next year, but there's still a lot of work and planning that needs to take place before that can happen. I'm starting to feel more creative again, and hopefully that'll spark some more art soon as the itch to draw gets stronger and stronger and my energy returns back to more normal levels.

While I haven't been very active here during the last few months in terms of talking to people and commenting on things, I have been lurking and watching all of you guys, even if I'm not being very social. XD You are not forgotten or abandoned or anything like that, I've just been very badger (ie. hidey and not particularly social). I ask for your patience as I get myself settled back into a happier groove and more into my arts again.

Thanks for all of your love and support. y'all do mean a lot to me.

Sláinte!
Brock

In light of all the haters and mean people out there who want to make life miserable for anybody other than themselves...

https://youtu.be/aE8jaZETlus

Be like the badger. Fill the world with love! =3

Hey hey. Anybody out there play GTA Online on PS4? Me and some of my friends are looking to add some more peeps to our crew Mental Combustion) and get some new people to mess around with. XD

We really don't take the game too seriously, just like to derp around, do stupid stuff, and have fun. :)

So, if you're looking for some low-key fun and a bit of craziness, add me on PSN. KingKastchei. We tend to play for a couple hours most nights around 7PM PST. Comment here with your PSN name and we'll see if we can't get together sometime!

Or is it?

:p

Quite a season finale in Game of Thrones, lots of denouement and wrapping up a whole bunch of narrative story lines (some perhaps a bit abruptly, but handled with an utter ruthlessness that is actually kinda terrifying) and setting the stage for the final conflict to come.





*** potential spoilers below, proceed at your own risk!***





But anyway, back to the title of this journal... Yes, it does seem that Jon Snow's true parentage has been revealed, but as satisfying as that may appear to be, I can't in good conscious call R+L=J confirmed. For those who may not know, R+L=J is a theory in which Jon Snow is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryan, and that Lyanna convinced her brother Ned to claim him as his bastard son to protect him from the rebellion. In the finally, we finally see the events which transpired at Lyanna's death, and it does indeed appear to confirm the theory. However, the only thing that is actually confirmed is that Jon is Lyanna's son, not Ned's. No mention is made of Rhaegar. While the logical conclusion is that Jon is indeed a Targaryan and in fact the true heir to the Iron Throne, due to the fact that Lyanna was abducted (or ran off with, depending on who's telling the story) by Rhaegar, it is not absolutely certain that Rhaegar is the father of the child. Where's Maury Povich when you need him???

Anyhoo, excellent set up for the next (and final?) season with lots of great moments. Lyanna Mormont is a badass, Cersei has now lost anything that could be considered a positive attribute and has nothing left to lose, Arya is scary as fuck, and Jon and Sansa need to be VERY careful with Littlefinger. Gonna be real interesting to see how this all plays out in the future. :p

First off, I've had a ton of new people watch me in the last few weeks. Normally, I would come say "Hi!" To each of you personally, but I'm a bit overwhelmed by the numbers, so I'm gonna have to do it as a group rather than call out each one of you. So... Hi there everybody! I'm thrilled you've chosen to come along with me on this crazy adventure we call life. :) Hope you enjoy what I have to offer, and don't be a stranger. Feel free to comment, note me, whatever you want to do. I quite enjoy interacting with other people, and I'm always open to constructive critique and honest evaluations of what I do, so long as you're not rude or impolite about it. ;)

Now, a small update on Of Tunnel Rats and Badgers. Normally, I release a new page every Tuesday and Thursday, but I'm afraid I'm a bit behind at the moment (nobody's fault but my own) and I just finished scripting the next few pages and I haven't even handed them over to chuziku to sketch yet. Now, I'm going to TRY and get the first page of chapter 3 posted by Thursday, but I'm not entirely confident I can pull that off. At the very latest, we'll get things kicked off by next Tuesday though, so hopefully not too much of a delay.

Again, thank you all for joining me on this adventure, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Slàinte!
Brock

Well, chapter 2 is coming to a close, so I thought I'd open up the floor to questions again about the story and see where it goes. Again, I will answer in as non-spoilery a way as possible (which may mean no answer is possible).

So, shoot! Whatcha wanna know? Anything about characters, world, story, etc. feel free to ask!

Here's something I think I'd like to do. Every Friday, I'm going to post a journal opening the floor for questions regarding the new comic for Of Tunnel Rats and Badgers. Anything you want to know (other than future plot points, of course), about the world, the characters, or pretty much anything, feel free to ask. I will answer to the best of my abilities without divulging any spoilers (though obviously I've already posted the actual written story years ago, but I don't think a lot of people have read it, so...) XD

So fire away! What do you want to know?

I was thinking about this while I was tossing and turning trying to get to sleep at 1:00 this morning, and I've decided that the goal I'm setting for releasing the upcoming OTRAB comic will be to release 2 pages a week, on Tuesday and Thursday specifically. That will give us plenty of time to complete pages in a timely manner and keep things flowing nicely I believe. So... that means page one of the comic will be posted either tomorrow or thursday (I haven't decided that just yet)

Sláinte! Brock

You may have noticed there hasn't been a lot of activity on my account recently. Well, there's a good reason for it. (or at least a good excuse, but I'll let you decide which is which :P)

Some of you have read Of Tunnel Rats and Badgers, a few of you were there for the live-stream where I read the story while  chuziku drew stuff that I was reading. A lot of you have expressed interest in a more accessible version of the story that doesn't require a lot of sit-down and reading or a huge time investment on your part.

Well, your wish is my command. :P Not really... this is actually something I've wanted to do ever since I wrote the story, just never had the means or ability to do it. That's right, folks... there is going to be a comic version of Of Tunnel Rats and Badgers!

Thank's to  chuziku who's agreed to partner with me on this beast of a project, things are now under way and will soon begin to appear in your inbox. I already have chapter 1 fully laid out and chuziku has most of it sketched, and the first couple of pages are completely done with full inks and color. I'm not sure how quickly I'll be able to get the completed pages done (I guess that depends on how we lay them out) but I should very easily be able to put out at least one page a week, if not more.

I'm going to wait until I have a few more pages in the can so I can space things out in such a way that nobody gets impatient or bored waiting for new pages to appear, but starting some time this week, OTRAB will be coming!

Today is a special day. It's Brock's birthday! X3

3 years ago today, I launched this crazy badger character into the Ethernet to see what would become of him, and 3 years later... here we are.

I don't want to get all introspective and stuff at this point, cause I'm at work and typing on my phone, but maybe I'll post some more of my thoughts and things later when I get home.

Btw, today isn't actually MY birthday, just Brock's. :p

Sláinte!
Brock

About a week ago, I finally got an opportunity to do something I've been meaning to do for about 5 years now.

Lemme explain. I know a lot of people have commented in the past about how quickly I've improved on my art since I started here almost 3 years ago, but as I'm quick to explain I have a pretty extensive art background from my university training. I was able to move forward so fast because I had quite a bit of a running start. Drawing Brock for the first time wasn't a matter of learning how to draw, but rather a matter of developing a new more minimalistic cartoon based style and adapting to a new medium (digital drawing). So, please, don't use me as an example of artistic development, I make a very inaccurate measuring stick. :p

Before diving into here, I spent the previous 2-3 years delving into physical arts at the university level. Drawing, painting, design... all that stuff I took courses in until at least intermediate levels. I had really wanted to continue on further with my study of the fine arts, perhaps even earning a second minor to go along with my Graphic Design one, but sadly I ran out of financial aid and had to cram the last few courses I needed to graduate into one final semester.

So anyway... Tl;dr, I have a pretty extensive portfolio of art prior to all of the Brock stuff I've done.

Back to what I'd been meaning to do. Last week, we had a family friend visit, and he convinced me to dig my art out of storage and show him (he's an artist and collector himself), so I did. He loved it, but most importantly (to me) I finally took the opportunity to photograph the majority of my pieces! =3 Something I've been wanting to do, but never really took the time for. I didn't photo everything, but I did get what I consider to be my best work, my charcoals and some of my oil paintings.

There's a few I didn't get because they were either too large to easily photograph or too awkwardly shaped, but for the most part... Here they are. :D

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B.....UlvOEJMWUxaSm8

Just wanted to share these here, cause several of you have expressed a deisire to see these in the past. I'm not going to post them on here because they're not furry related, but they do now live in my google drive for your perusal.

Thank you all for your love and support over these years. =3

Sláinte!
Brock

So. I went and saw Zootopia tonight. First off, let me say this. For all the hype, for all the buzz generated around this community about this movie, for all the fan art that's already been pouring out... none of it lives up to the movie itself. Zootopia is one of those rare movies that is actually better than any trailers or leaked footage can hint at. Better than any expectation I had for it, and I left the theater deep in thought and doing a lot of self examination on the hour long drive home.

What makes this movie so great? Yes, it's beautifully animated, and the art direction is incredible. Yes, the voice acting is spot on and it is extremely well cast. Yes, the writing is excellent with good pacing, plot twists and plenty of humor both for the younger crowd and the adults watching as well. Yes, the characters are deep and very relatable and every one of the major (and some minor) characters have development arcs that compliment the story well. But what makes this movie truly stand out is it's ability to make you ask yourself hard questions, and to examine your own actions and beliefs.

***minor spoilers ahead***

This movie is not just a cop story or a buddy flick, or even a typical Hero's Journey. it's a deep examination on the nature of prejudice and how it infects and feeds upon a society. And yet, despite taking a seriously unflinching look at this touchy subject, it doesn't point fingers, it doesn't get preachy, and it doesn't pander to any one group. Disney has a habit of being pretty heavy handed with it's "points" at times, often being as subtle as a blow to the head with a 5 pound sledge hammer, but this time... it's much more subtle. There are moments of obvious prejudice displayed, but thats mostly to play off of stereotypes and make the much more subtle point that prejudice flows both directions. It even dares to make the point that those who are victims of prejudice are just as guilty of prejudice against others themselves.

And it is absolutely heart rending when this becomes clear.

There may be an ultimate "villain" in the movie, but frankly, that's not important. The real villain is each character and the way they're blind to their own prejudices until it's too late.

The real power of this movie is that it makes you ask yourself "Am I just as guilty as these flawed characters?" and those of us who take the time to think about it and are honest with ourselves will have to answer "Yes."

I am guilty of prejudice. If I'm going to be honest with myself, I make snap judgements about people all the time. I may not make judgements based on their biology, but I DO make judgements on the conscious choices they have made. In the way they present themselves, how they dress, how they talk. I spent the hour long trip home examining this aspect of myself, and have come to this conclusion. I may make snap judgements, and this may effect my initial interactions with people, but it doesn't stop me from getting to know them and forming a more educated opinion of them later on down the road, so I don't believe this makes me a bad person, just like (most of) the characters in the movie aren't bad people either.

I judge people by what they do, not who they physically are. Who am I to judge? I am only me. I don't expect others to make the same judgements I do, nor do I expect them to abide by my judgements. Am I going to stop "judging" people? No, I don't think that's physically possible. We all make judgement calls every day on everything we see and interact with. It's part of our thought process and and the way our brains work. I'm not going to let my judgement process effect how I treat other people though. You can't really help the way your brain works, but you can definitely affect what you actually do.

So. Bottom line. See this movie. Enjoy this movie. Let this movie make you take a closer look at yourself. Be honest with yourself and learn from what you see. Improve yourself. It's worth it.

Sláinte!
Brock

Ok. Just got back from seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Just want to get a few of my thoughts on the film down before I go to bed. I'll do a full review when I have a little more time.

What I liked:

- excellent casting of new characters. Not only do they fit the parts, they have incredible chemistry together on screen.

- far less flashy and bangy than I thought it was going to be. At its core, this actually feels very Indiana Jonesy. Also quieter than usual for an action movie. Sound affects are more subdued and actually take a secondary role to the music. Which leads to...

- John Williams does it again! Excellent blending of old themes and new music. Feels familiar and fresh at the same time.

- Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren Kylo Ren Kylo Ren. What an excellent performance from Adam driver, and what a character he created. I'm not going to go into much because Spoilers, but... Kylo Ren has become by far my favorite movie Villain.

- BB-8. Technological marvel. It's almost distracting to have it in the background cause you want to see how exactly it navigates a flight of stairs, or is just looking around, or whatever it's doing.

- Returning cast. Fit into their old roles beautifully, still have the same chemistry, and feel like they've lived 30 years more life than last we saw them.

- NO CLOWN CHARACTERS! Thank you JJ for realizing that comic relief can come from the main characters and their interactions rather than extraneous clown characters with no other true purpose.

-light saber combat. Away from the Hong Kong Kung fu theater of the prequels and back to the kendo style of the OT. there's some real weight and menace to them now, and you just cringe at the crushing blows Kylo Ren rains down on those he's fighting, brutally over powering them. It really feels like they're fighting for their lives rather than dancing.

What I'm ambivalent towards:

- The story. The plot line basically mirrors New Hope and it feels kind of like a McGuffin movie. It's not bad, but it's perhaps a little bit cliche.

- The First Order. Aside from Kylo Ren, it feels a bit generic and there's little said about their motivations, where they came from, what they're trying to do. Maybe that'll be explored more in depth later on in future movies, but for now, they lack true menace.

- The pace. Despite it being full of action and being relatively well paced, I almost felt that there wasn't a sense of urgency about anything. In the OT, there always felt like there was a ticking time bomb. They had a very limited time to get the plans to the alliance and destroy the Death Star before it destroyed them, time to evacuate the base on hoth, getting the shields down at Endor before the entire fleet is destroyed. Just didn't feel that same pressure.

What I didn't like:

- under-used characters. I really felt that there were characters that could have had way more to do, especially on the First Order side. For god sakes, would SOMEBODY give Gwendoline Christie the screen time she deserves??

- Deus ex Machina. Sometimes coincidence is stretched just a bit too far. Why does this character have that object? How did they find where they'd disappeared to so fast and arrive just in time? Things like that are just a little too ham-handed sometimes.

- Too many characters. I think that they're asking us to care about too many faces. This coincides some with under-used characters, but is a bit more agregious. I feel like some characters were put in just to tic off certain boxes in the formula. Hot-shot pilot, check. Slightly skeletal fascist brit, check. You get the general idea. Heck, give most of General Hux's job to Captain Phasma, and you'll have a much more compelling story, I think.

- Threat level. Do we REALLY need another planet destroying super weapon? Seriously? And why should we care about the system it destroys. There's no connection to anybody we care about! The First Order feels far more threatening when they're razing a small town searching for a droid than they are sitting on a distant super-moon shooting random places.

Initial verdict:

I quite enjoyed the film, despite its flaws. The primary character arks kept it interesting, especially the personal relationships between them. Stylistically gorgeous without being over-reliant on superfluous CGI. It's at its best when the stakes are personal, rather than on a galactic scale. A very good movie that falls just short of being excellent, and a worthy continuation of the saga. I will most definitely see it again. Several times.

Yeah, this last one hit really close to home. I'm talking of course about the San Bernardino terrorist attack from yesterday. (I know it's not OFFICIALLY a "terrorist" attack yet, but if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, smells like a duck, and leaves a huge stinking mess like a duck, you know what... it's a duck.) This time, though... it hit quite close to home for me.

I live about 15-20 miles from where the attack took place. I know that area fairly well. Not only have me and my family purchased a ton (literally, TONS) of building supplies right around the corner from there (there's a stone and construction material yard we frequent), but I've also played golf right across the street from that building many times. Seeing places you recognize like this in the news is shocking to say the least. When I got home last night, my folks weren't home, and I was initially terrified that they might have gone to the construction supply yard to pick up some materials because we're re-modeling the master bath in the house. My first thought was that they'd gotten caught up in the mess that was going on down there. Let me tell you, suddenly fearing for the safety of your loved ones like that is absolutely terrifying. Fortunately, they'd gone to a concert that afternoon (they'd told me earlier, but in my panic I forgot where they had gone) and were completely safe, but still... scary stuff.

More news today about the crazy SOB and his wife. Apparently, I went to college with the guy. He graduated from the same university as me about a year before I did. While I don't know him and doubt I ever had any classes with him (he was in health studies, and I was in the arts), once again that small connection is chilling. Also some of the victims were from my home-town. My original home town, where I grew up in the mountains and still have a small vacation place up there. Again, I don't know them, but it's a small town up there and it's possible I've run across them before in stores or restaurants or wherever.

Suddenly, the world feels smaller and scarier.

This wasn't supposed to happen again. Evil monsters attacking innocent people in an act of mass terror. Massacring them as they go about their every day lives, for the simple reason that they don't believe the same things.

I wasn't supposed to have to feel this way again. Mourning the deaths of countless strangers cut down for political or religious reasons. There is no reason that can justify this. No god would condone these heinous acts, not true man or woman of the people would sanction these deeds.

I shouldn't have to be afraid like this. If it can happen there, it can happen here, it can happen anywhere. Maybe when I go to lunch on monday? Go to the movies next week? What's next? Where will it all end? I don't wan't to have to look at those around me with suspicion and fear, but I'm losing the ability to do so.

I don't want to hear any more about how they're just misunderstood, how they just want to be left alone, that we're no better than them, that we started the war. I'm sick of the apologists who try to justify the actions of monsters by blaming the victims. If it's a religion of peace, why does it tolerate these wicked deeds. You can tell what a tree is by the fruit it bears, and this tree bears fruit of intolerance, hate, and violence, far more than anything else. The same can be said of many trees, and it doesn't matter if the tree calls itself christian, muslim, or anything else, what it really IS is evil. If you're truly a part of what's good and right, truly a person of peace and love, you stand up against these things, and I know plenty on all sides who do, but is it enough?

Don't ask me for an answer, because I don't have one. It's not enough to sit back and hope some grand pooh-bah does something about it, that some treaty or agreement will make things better. I have no solutions, only sadness, no false hopes, only fear. I pray for the comfort of those who've lost somebody in this heinous act or been a victim themselves, and I pray for an end to the violence. But it's not enough...

This wasn't supposed to happen again...

I'm about 3 1/2 - 4 hours into the game, and struggling VERY hard not to call in sick today. Thought I'd share a few initial thoughts.

1. My god, I've created an ugly character! Sculpting is harder than you think. Looked good in the mirror from the front and side when I was creating it, but now that I'm out in the sunlight, it looks like a cube with a massive nose on it. XD

2. Duct tape! Must... find... more... duct tape! Crafting and supply scavenging are going to take up a HUGE amount of my time in this game. Much more engrossing than I thought. I STILL haven't made it to the first alive human in the game yet.

3. Holy crap, mole rats are ugly mofos! In 3, they were just kinda blobs of... stuff. Didn't really look like much. Now, they're wrinkly, skinny, hideously stumpy tailed horrors that burrow into the ground and come up where you least expect them to.

4. The environment and location are freaking gorgeous, the character models? Not so much. But hey, it's Bethesda, I kinda expected that. I play these games to stare at the scenery, not ogle digital people.

5. I like the changes to VATS. Combat feels MUCH more urgent and perilous than it did in the previous games.

6. Need more RadX. Letting an enemy get close to you gives you radiation damage now, which actually has consequences MUCH earlier than before because it reduces your maximum health. no more 150 rads before radiation sickness kicks in. That first rad is gonna have an effect. Really makes you think twice about how you approach things. Run across that radioactive puddle real quick to get the thing now and reduce your max health by 10 points, or come back with better radiation gear later? hmmmm... I'm gonna risk it. XD

7. Not sure about the dog yet. Only been in a couple scrapes with him so far, and he's been fairly useful, but I'm worried about shooting him too much. I know enemies can't "kill" your companion completely, but is this like Skyrim where YOU can? Dunno yet.

Final thoughts for now: Yeah, this is gonna be a HUGE time-suck for me for at LEAST a couple of months. :P

I got my new monitor today yaaaaay! And it's gorgeous. Not quite the one I wanted (we were out of stock) but it's very nice nonetheless.

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my calibrator home from work, so the colors are a bit off at the moment, so i can't quite draw on it yet (yes, yes, perhaps I'm a little bit picky about color, but I'm a graphic designer. Sue me!), but I will be bringing it home tomorrow and should be back in the drawing saddle again very very soon. I'm itching to draw again! =3

Got the idea from  yookey and thought it would be fun.

So, what are some assumptions you have about me?

Such as my music taste, personality, favorite foods. Etc. whatever. Anything at all.

Throw it all at me! :P But be serious about what you actually think, instead of making up some bull about me being an alien from a far away planet. Unless of course you actually do think I'm an alien from a far away planet...

Again, it's been a while since I've been openly active here (as opposed to lurking around in the background and just kinda stalking those I watch) and I feel like I get back out into the open again. XD

So, what's been going on with me that's had me so hidey and secretive? Frankly, I'm simply exhausted. My company moved to a new location (further away) about a year ago, which added an extra half hour plus (each way) to my previous commute. All of that in the notorious Southern California LA/Orange County traffic. You'll notice that it was about a year ago that I started getting less active here and been struggling with art block and lack of creative energy.

Basically, I spend close to 3 hours a day driving to and from work. By the time I get home, I'm just so drained and exhausted that even if I have the desire to draw or do something creative, I simply don't have the energy to do anything. I find myself just playing video games or chatting with friends to unwind a little and then crashing hard and starting over again in the morning.

While I've been looking for a new place to live closer to work, the california real-estate market and rental market is ridiculously over-priced and it's not really feasible to make a move just yet. Hopefully that'll change soon, but I just don't know at this time.

As far as art goes, I'm starting to get the creative bug back again for the last week or so. BUT, because life just can't be that easy, my monitor on my computer is going on the fritz now. XD Fortunately it's still under warranty so it won't cost me anything to get it fixed or replaced, but without it I can't really draw much of anything on my tiny laptop screen. Hopefully that issue will be clearing up early next week and I should be able to start producing some arts again. (stares longingly at my dormant stylus)

Some of you have been waiting for arts, I know. Thank you so much for being patient, and hopefully I'll be able to get those pieces done soon. They're currently in various stages of completion (from sketch to ink to coloring, etc) so they have been worked on, they're just not done yet. :P

I know some of you were present for the story stream I did about a month ago with  chuziku. I have the video files for those, but again the exhaustion has prevented me from processing them and getting them uploaded to Youtube like I promised I would. Those are close to the top of my priority list though, and once I get my monitor situation straightened out I'll be hopping right on to those and getting them done. I really enjoyed the process of reading my stories to y'all and seeing Chuz doodle the action. Keep an eye out for those. ;)

Thank all of you for your love and support. A lot of you have been talking with me on Skype and have helped me immensely getting through a lot of the stress that's been going on in my life. I've missed y'all though, and am really looking forward to getting back into production with things again soon.

To all my new watchers who have watched me recently for no apparent reason I can figure out since I haven't been uploading anything, welcome! Glad you took the time to find me and follow me. :P

Sláinte! Brock

That's right, everybody. I know I've been quiet recently, but I'm trying to get back in the swing of things and all that. So, here's what's going to happen.

I know a lot of people have expressed interest in my story, but have been unable to read it for various reasons and whatnot, so I've decided to make it easier for you to find out what's behind the Badger. About a month ago, I read the story to  chuziku over Skype, just for the heck of it, and it was a lot of fun and we both really enjoyed the experience.

We've decided to do a joint stream where I read the story, and he doodles the scenes as they're being read. =3 There used to be a PBS television show when I was a kid that did this same basic thing, so I think that it could be a fun and interesting experience for all involved.

Stream will be going live Saturday, August 29 at 8:00 AM PST / 11:00 AM EST / 3:00 PM GMT (for those of you in Europe) :P. We're trying to schedule things so it'll be most convenient for as many people as possible, hence the earlyish morning time on the West Coast US.

So set your alarms, mark your calendars, and get comfy, because "Of Tunnel Rats and Badgers" is coming to a Picarto stream near you soon! =3

Sláinte!
Brock

P.S. If you're unable to make the stream, don't worry too much, we plan on recording the stream and posting it to YouTube once I get a chance to edit the video and stream-line everything for proper consumption. =3

I'm still here, still browsing the site and keeping an eye on all my friends and stuff, just been really really really really lazy recently and feeling kinda hidey, so been not uploading anything or even talking much. Gonna try and remedy that though, and try and get back into drawing and all that other stuff.

In the meantime, I've got a bunch of commissions, gifts, and other stuff that I need to upload, so expect a bit of a badger flood today. XD

Must be getting into mischief somewhere... :P

But thats not the point. Point is, I'm still around despite being as quiet as I have been. Just been busier than usual is all.

Anyhoo... Here's a little something to keep y'all interested and something to make you think. Found a pretty good online personality test (why? Just because. No particular reason) and took it.

INFP-A Personality
http://www.16personalities.com/infp-personality

Yup pretty much me in a nutshell. Sometimes it's spooky how accurate these things can be. While it's not 100% accurate, it still gets almost everything about me right. XD

I'd recommend taking the test yourself. It's enlightening and interesting. http://www.16personalities.com/free.....rsonality-test Comment with your personality type and I'll include you in a raffle for a free drawing based on your type. =3