What's this? Another journal so soon?

Like some people may have noticed, I like Spindas a lot. <3 When I joined the Raichu-Furs, I began to wonder if there would be a group for Spinda fans in FA, and so far my query has returned null. Do you happen to know of one?

In case there isn't one, I've been thinking I might as well found one myself. :3 I think I need to find another Spindaperson to take care of it when I can't come online for longer periods though. Another thing slowing me down is the lack of time; I would need to create an icon and perhaps some art to give the group a kickstart.

Soo~o. Would you be interested of such group; either just join or perhaps even help me with the task? Or do you happen to know someone who would? :3

tl;dr:
Is there an FA group for Spinda? If not, would you join one or help me found one?

My calculations conducted in the best spirits of scientific method have lead to a conclusion that it would be only decent and proper to let people who might be concerned know about my comings and goings at least once every six months, so here goes a journal! :3

I have been busy. Busy busy busy. With school. Since... When did I post the last jornal!? In addition to the obligatory courses I decided to study through the summer this year too, and while I don't exactly regret it, it has effectively chewed away time I would have spent on artstuffs. I have had a few chances to continue working on the commissions I have though, as well as start some small projects on my own. ;3

So. 3D. I've finally dabbled around with it a bit more; I find Sculpris a great source of motivation as it is easy to learn and use, and you can do pretty neat stuff with it. (Not that I could, yet. >_>) I intend to learn more about Blender and texturing with ZBrush as well. I will post results as soon as I get something decent enough done. x3

In another news, me and my roommates had to move into a new apartment because the old one was sheduled to get renovated. Everything went ok, but surprisingly I found myself quite stressed by the new environment at first, though not much changed from the old setting. I'm pretty much settled in now though, and things are looking good. :3

Whew, it's been busy week at school. Global Game Jam will be this weekend, and Mass Effect 2 is coming out... *drooool*
I haven't forgotten about my commissions though, working on them comes before gaming if there is a chance. ^^


Anyway, to the business. I would love to hear what you think, even if it's not pleasant. While I try to avoid requests these days, I love to hear ideas. :3

PRO:
1)I like when you draw _______________________.
2)I wish you drew more _______________________.
3)I wish you drew more fanart of these series/characters:
4)I wish you did more original art of these characters:
5)I love how you draw ________________________.
6)If you were to do a comic of/about I would be soooo happy!:
7)If I could get you to draw anything I'd get you to draw ___________________.
8)My favorite part of your work is __________________________.

CON:
9)I hate when you draw _________________.
10)I wish you drew less ___________________.
11)Stop drawing ________________!

OTHER:
13)When I think of your art I think ______________________.
14)If I had to describe your work I'd say ______________________.

Survey stolen from  ashi

 sen-en had this nice idea in his journal, so I decided to get in the line. Check it out here~


As a part of the deal, it's now my turn to feature people. ^^

Post here if you have some art you've done by yourself in your gallery or scraps, and I will pick some pics and explain why I like them. :3 Because my time is very limited this week, I can only feature three artists and three pictures from each. I might do more later, this sounds like quite fun.

EDIT: If you're featured and have time, you can always spread the fun by doing the same thing in your journal~ ^^ There won't be any obligations from my side though.

Featured artists:


 springstof's art:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2320275/
OMG watersports! *blush* Though I'm not usually a huge fan of anthro characters, I've always liked Matilda for some reason. The pose is interesting, and I like the nice, secluded scene... Oh well, it's pretty open to the viewer's direction. 0:3

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1999586/
I like that pose a lot, the tail moved to the side and all. ^^* The style used in background and foreground looks like it's quick to make (I may be wrong of course), but it fits in very well. Something I would like to be able to do, hehe. x3

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2899409/
This is just plain good, colors, layout... Again, I'm not a huge fan of anthro art, but I like this. :3



 jerryjack's art:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/34059/
She may be just a random bunny, but I like both her design and the way she's drawn and colored a lot. The lineart is a bit sketchy, but that's a plus on my book, makes the picture more lively. :3

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/288555/
I just love the style in this one~! I have always liked pencil pictures a lot, and this one is really fine example. You did great job adding all the little details without making them stand out too much. Adding shading around the character makes her stand out in a nice way, it's not too pushy but does the job. I need to borrow that trick sometime, if you don't mind. x3 The character is really cute too~

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3185270/
I have to admit I'm partial because of the theme in this one, I can't help liking feral critters~ *blush* Though it may not be your best colored piece (Red Maids might be, I do like it a lot too~), it still looks very nice to me. :3

I'm very happy I got the change to do so before Purplekecleon decided to close her one hour sketching sessions for now. Thank you for having me, it was awesome! :3

You can see the page here, please leave her a comment if you like it~


I have been thinking about commissioning more artists lately, but we'll see. Though the temptation is great, money doesn't exactly grow on me. xP

Soo~ I got myself a new tablet. It's a Wacom Bamboo Fun Pen & Touch, size medium. Apart from little issues with SAI in the beginning, I've been happy with it so far. It's about twice the size of my previous Bamboo though, that takes some time to get used to. Surely the size will be an advantage after that. :3

As for other news, it's nearly Christmas as you have surely noticed~ I'm still writing this at my apartment, but me and Tiu should get driving back to home in an hour or two. I'm not looking forward to the ~4 hours on the road, the weather is lousy and from what I've hear the roads are extremely slippery. xP

We will return for a few days on 27th, I intend to continue my commissions etc. then. See you everybody, enjoy the holidays! :3

Hello people. :3

I'm thinking about getting a new tablet. While my Bamboo has served me well, the new Pen & Touch -line of tablets from Wacom sound like something really sweet with the multitouch capabilities and added precision. So far I've been unable to decide if I should get an A6 or A5 version: I've been happy with A6, and with the limited working space on my desk it might be more practical, and ~100e cheaper. But from what I've heard, most artists recommend the bigger one for drawing. Tough decision. x_x;

Here are a couple of links in case you got interested as well:
Wacom's official page
Video review (Youtube)
(They should give me a discount for advertising. :B)

Since my Christmas vacation has practically started, it's probably safe to expect at least some sort of art from me during the next weeks, unless Dragon Age Origins, Civilization IV and Mass Effect get me completely. x3 I will continue working on commissions though, of course~


Got my swine flu shot yesterday, feeling sore all over now. xP

Hewwo~ :3

Instead of just cutting off a few commission slots I though I might as well make the whole system dynamic, opening more slots when I'm less busy and vice versa. Took me over a week to think of that. xP

Also revised my commission information a bit while I was at it~ No price chances this time, except for the completely new additions of digitals sketches and inks. :3

Besides those, I added a description of the slot system and a few things to "How I work"-section. x3



I've been completely hooked to this curious song for two days now. oO (Youtube) I think it's the melody, especially on the chorus~♪

Hello people. :3

I have decided to reduce my commission slots from three to just one for now. It seems I have difficulty finding time for even that one slot nowadays, with all the school related stuff I need to work on.

Another thing. I know there are at least two people out there I promised to note when I was ready to work on a new commission, but I can't find the messages we exchanged regarding this. ^^" I've checked my FA notes, email, Wild Critters PMs and even some chat logs, and honestly I don't know where to look next. If you know who you are, please contact me with any of the methods mentioned~ FA note will probably be the quickest, though.

Other than that, I've been fine. My 3D modeling classes will begin in an hour, so maybe we can expect to see some of that stuff here as well in the future~ :3

I've had some serious bad luck with my computer lately. ^^'

First my 1TB hard drive had a hardware failure a few weeks ago, making pretty much all my photos and music inaccessible. And of course I had very little of all that backed up... I am planning to use a data recovery service when I get enough money to do so, which will take a while.

So, as if that wasn't bad enough, my power supply went down a little over a week ago and took my motherboard with it. I got the replacements over a weekend, but it was not a cheap deal as my current setup requires fairly heavy duty power supply and an SLI compatible motherboard. x_x;

As for the other things, school has started again. I still have a few thigns due to complete the summer courses, and we will have a couple of intense courses on this period. I've also caught a flu.


That's about it, enough whining~ I'm looking foward to spend more time drawing when I get the schoolstuffs settled. ^^

Also, I've become more interested in 3D modeling lately. I wonder if there are any programs that would be fairly easy for a n00b to learn and would, perhaps, fit modeling small fluffy creatures? x3

EDIT: Seems I had the draft version posted. :P

By average I have been pretty active in FA this year, but since the last few weeks have been seemly quiet on this front I thought it would be a good time for a little update. <:3

So. I've been busy. First there was all the stuff that jumps on you when a semester nears it's end; exams, papers to be finished + such.
Then it came clear that there wouldn't be any suitable summer jobs available, so I decided to study trough the summer "vacation" so I could at least get some € support from the government. This means that my summer will be pretty much booked (:B), though I can at least do most stuff at home.

Luckily there will be some chances for real time off in the midst of all the programming and writing; me and Tiu will leave on tuesday to have a 1-2 week budget roadtrip in northern Norway~ :3 In practice this will mean a lot of ocean fishing, photography and driving, all of which I enjoy, but most importantly time together with Tiu. <3

So, see you all later~! :3

================================================================

Chu for sale, aka commission information for Chuu

Slots:

You can see my commission slots on my User Page. The number of slots I keep open depends on how much other stuff I have going on at the moment, school, work, such things.

Even if I have no slots open at the moment, feel free to let me know if you're interested~! I can also let you know when I have a free slot. :3


Chu is cheap, they say. Prices:

Traditional medium:

5$ for a pencil sketch with a single character, example here.
7$ for a similar sketch with multiple characters.
Commish a few sketches and we can discuss a lower price for the bundle. :3

10$ for cleaner lines with little shading, example here.
12$ for similar pic with multiple characters.

15$ for pencil work like this one.
17$ for similar pic with multiple characters.

Digital medium:

5$ for a digital sketch with a single character, example here.
7$ for a similar sketch with multiple characters.

10$ for digital inks, like seen here.
12$ for digital inks with multiple characters.

25$ for digital colors. There is a chance that we will collaborate with Tiuhu on these, but that won't affect the price.
Sample here.

I am always willing to negotiate about the prices. If you have a special idea with gazillion characters, complicated background or something similar, we will probably need to. x3

I'm always curious to try new stuff. If you would like to commission something that's not on the list, say a badge or watercolor pencil pic for example, let me know.


Optional spices:

3$ addition to the price if you want the originals and possible sketches mailed to you.
2$ for a printed version of a digital commission along with possible original sketches, if you wish.
5$ for a roughly A4 sized print of any existing pic in my gallery mailed to you, even without commissioning, if you're interested. :3

If you want to, I can ink the 10$ traditional medium pic for no additional cost, for I need practice. Samples here and here, please specify which kind of inking you prefer.

Payment:
I accept PayPal and AlertPay at the moment. You won't have to pay until I've finished the final version of the commissioned picture. I will never give a you a nasty surprise; the price we agree before I start drawing will remain trough the process. :3


Do's and Won't do's:
I have practically no experience in drawing anthro- or human characters, but we can try to collaborate these
with Tiuhu for no additional cost, so please ask away.

As for fetishes and such, I am open minded and I will draw or try to draw almost anything, but if your idea contains extreme stuff there's a chance that I won't take it. But again, please ask away.

I will keep the right to display commissioned pictures in my galleries or imageboards and so on. You can always remain anonymous if you want to. If it's absolutely not ok to post the commissioned picture online, this can be discussed.


How I work:
If I'm not familiar with the character(s), I might do some doodles just to get a hang of it. After I've received the details I first draw a rough sketch or sketches and send those to you so you can give me further instructions or tell me about the possible changes. I will keep you up to date throughout the process if you wish, but I can also just draw the pic if you prefer. :3

I update the commission's status regularly next to it's slot on my User Page.

It is possible it will take quite long for me to finish a commission if there's intense schoolwork or something similar I need to work on at the same time, but I will keep you informed if such things happen.


Contact Chu:
If you're interested, please email me with the details, send me a note here on FA or contact me with Yahoo! or MSN if I happen to be online. Chances are that you will catch me fastest with a note or an email.

email: chuu83@yahoo.com
The same email also works as Y! and Live ID. :3

================================================================

Hello people~ :3

Things are getting good~ Tiuhu will be able to move here next week, and shool's being interesting for a chance. It's a lot easier to take even nine or ten hours of school per day when at least few of the topics are actually interesting... :3


Anyway, even though more of my time gets swallowed by school, I've been feeling like drawing lately. So people, I would be happy to draw a simple commish or two... <:3

Or perhaps just hear your ideas if you prefer, although there might not be as much of a chance of me drawing them that way. But let's hear them~! :3

I don't do much journals and even less memes as you may have noticed, but this one's way too interesting to pass, so here goes:


It sparked my curiousity.

Generally speaking, people tend to have a 'defining image' that comes to mind when they think of a particular artist. Maybe it's one you can relate to, maybe it's the image that first introduced you to their work, maybe you just feel it was their absolute best, so it sticks out in your mind. So when ever you think of a certain artist, this image pops to mind.

So, I am curious, which of my works comes to mind when you think or hear of me?
Not assuming that you think or hear of me outside of FA, XD but hopefully you know what I mean. :)

Don't know whose this was originally, but I stole it from  invaderpichu~ >:3

Yeah, it's been said a few times already. I still wish it for everyone reding this. x3

I'm spending the holidays with Tiuhu's fanily and I'm quite enjoying my stay~ :3 We'll have a LAN party with some friends in a few days, and then it's back to the normal stuff... Dont really want to think about that right now. >_>


So happy holidays everyone, enjoy your cake. :P

So, as I told in my previous journal (three months ago... >_>), I've moved to a new town and started studying in a new school. So far everything has been pretty much ok, although I miss Tiuhu a lot. I'm just happy to know that she'll be able to move here or at least spend more time here in about two months. <3

What else..? Hmm... Let me just list random things that pop into my mind next:

I've got dual display setup now. I always wondered why people wanted those, and decided to give it a try... I will probably get used to this, then hooked. >:3 (But damn you Nvidia, why can't you guys make dual displays to actually work with SLI!?)

Furniture is expensive. >_> I had to buy some for my new apartment, and although I went for the cheapest options, I just can't figure out why I have to pay so much for a few pieces of wood that isn't even real wood? ._.

Vista keeps killing my tablet. I already revived it once and I know it's a driver issue; I'll fix it as soon as I get over being lazy. xP

I'll get fat if I don't start eating proper food. >_>

...aand that's about it, see you again in a few weeks (or so), same time, same channel! :B

...on the next monday or tuesday, not sure yet. >_> The new apartment will be ~300km away from where I currently live, and moving from my parent's house to a dorm will be quite a change, and no to better I'm afraid. Tiuhu will stay here at least until she's finished highschool, which will be in 6 moths or so. However, I'm so lucky to get to share the apartment with two friends of mine instead of complete strangers. ^^

I will also begin in a new school in 28th this month, studying game development/programming. The two friends of mine will do the same, so this'll be a little bit easier for me too. x3

Soo~ Due these things I might have to spend some days offline, and I'm afraid there won't be much chances to draw for a while either. Of course you won't even notice the latter anyway, given the pace I usually post new stuff. <:3

...that I've been really wanting for manymany years. =3 It's a HP Pavilion tx2000, so not one of the most high end ones, but certainly enough for me.
I've already tried drawing with it too (although that isn't the main purpose I got it for), here's the result. lol I know it looks more like an inkblot test than a picture, but I haven't still calibrated all the settings right and obviously Photoshop doesn't like the tablet controls very much. And of course it's a matter of practise as well. x3

On another news.. Well, err, there isn't much to tell. I'm sorry I haven't been around too much lately, I think that's because the springtime is making me exited about all kind of rl stuff and my nose run and eyes leak with all the birch pollen at the same time. :P I think I'll try to put a bit more effort in drawing and such for a while now~ x3

So, I thought I'd just write down a few things here, for no spesific reason~ :3

First of, I'm finally back at home after spending the last two weeks at Tiuhu's place. Her parents were away so we practically moved in to look after Tiuhu's little brothers and take care of the pets. So that's why I have been more silent during the past two weeks, even though I had my pc with me and I did visit FA nearly every day, I just had less chances to actually do something here~ I might also draw (or doodle at least) something new when I get a grab of a pencil again. <:3

I also started working in a library again about three weeks ago, and will probably stay there till August. :3 This means about 100% more monthly income when compared to last year, which is definitely welcome since I have stuff like moving and school next fall.

Hmm... Oh. I beat Company of Heroes a few hours ago. I quite liked the game, even if it doesn't really get into my top 10. x3

...

I'm curious to see if anyone actually reads this far... x3 I ordered some cheap photo paper (14€ is not too bad for 60 sheets :3) and to see if it was any good, I printed out the finished version of the Kirara pic I drew a while ago... And I will mail it to the first one who replies and then sends me his/her address with a PM, if there's anyone interested. :3 I'd love to get a post card or something similar in return, but that's optional. <:3

Edit: ShenHibiki shall receive the print~ :3

Also, I almost forgot; Happy Easter everyone!

Yay~! First of all I want to give my most hearty thanks to a friend whom plenty gift made this purchase possible for me; thank you very much one again~ =3

My brand new Pixma MP610 arrived yesterday~ I must say I'm verry happy with it so far, not only the scanner is great, but I can now print high quality stuff! Not to mention all the other handy features Canon has managed to pack in quite a compact form. :3

So, you can expect some uploads now that I have a way to present them again. Actually there will mostly be just sketches that have piled up since Christmas, but hey, at least I've got something. <:3

Tomorrow I will start my month as a trainee in the local computer helpdesk/repair/installing service. After that there will be another two months of working in the library and then... I hope I will have found myself a summer job. :P

Soo~ I will try my best to draw new stuff and finish my few commissions in time. Lately I have been more in the drawing mood anyway, so I guess there's no need to worry. :3

Anyway, I consider these 1½ months of freedom I had well spent; I was able to finally finish Graedius' commission and draw other stuff as well, and I had time for gaming~<3 Enough to beat the whole Half-life 2-series (I wonder when Episode Three will be released oO), plus my playtime in Final Fantasy XII is around 67hrs so far~ x3

Edit: FF playtime updated to 73hrs... x3
Also, I'm not feeling too well, maybe the flu practially all my friends have been trough during the last month has finally caught me too. Let's see what that does to my working plan... o_o;

First the printer section of my Canon MP150 started groaning about a paper being stuck in the printer a while ago (of course there was nothing jammed for real) and now the scanner blew up.. So, I need to get a new one.

The problem is, now that my civil service is over, I have no steady income. I _should_ get some money within two weeks, but I have no idea when exactly and worse, how much it will be.

...bleh, I just felt like writing a few lines about this. xP Anyway, I was thinking about getting MP220, if anyone out there thinks it's a bad choice, tell me before I do it! x3

Now this is the kind of meme I really like to fill in. :3 Stolen from Dragon-chan, aaand I admit I took some artistic liberties. 0:3


NINTENDO:
[X] You respect Mario.
[X] You know who Shigeru Miyamoto is.
[X] You believe the DS is superior to the PSP.
[ ] You hate Sonic for being a cool whore, as well as SEGA fanboys.
[ ] You love cartridges over CDs.
[X] You feel sick whenever someone mentions "CD-i"
[X] You still like Pokemon...even a teeny tiny bit.
Score - 6* (I love Pokémon enough to get an extra point, hm? ;D)

SEGA:
[ ] You respect Sonic. More for his cartoon references (Felix the Cat, Roadrunner, etc)
[ ] You know who Yuji Naka is.
[ ] You weep for the Dreamcast.
[ ] You dream for Shenmue 3
[ ] You hate Mario for being so lame and fat, as well as Nintendo fanboys.
[ ] You love harlequin clothes for reminding you of NiGHTS.
[ ] You love the Virtua Fighter series.
Score - 3* (But I _have_ to get extra 3 for being able to sing along the full japanese Segata Sanshiro-theme! :D)

XBOX/MICROSOFT:
[ ] You love HALO.
[ ] You bought at least one multi-format game on Xbox.
[ ] You know who Blinx is.
[ ] You are proud of your Gamerscore.
[ ] You smile at how everyone complains about the PS3 MORE than they did at the 360.
[ ] You find such a thing as having a full memory store to be inconceivable.
[ ] You have been on Xbox Live.
Score - 0

PLAYSTATION/SONY:
[ ] You have a PS3.
[ ] You believe the PS2 has the greatest game library ever.
[ ] You believe the PSP is superior to the DS.
[ ] You hate the Xbox and the 360.
[ ] You bought the PS3 as soon as it was out.
[ ] You know who Ken Kutarugi is.
[ ] You consider Resistance: Fall of Man superior to Gears of War.
Score - 0 (I will buy PS2 Now that it's cheap tho! :P)

RETRO:
[ ] You know what an Atari console looks like.
[X] You played Space Invaders, Pong and/or Pacman.
[X] I'm finnish and I know what a Commodore 64 is.
[ ] You wish you didn't know of E.T the game.
[ ] You love point-and-click games.
[X] You emulate.
[X] You despise anyone who can't respect the old skool.
Score - 4

SHOOT-EM-UP GAMER:
[X] You played Time Crisis and/or Virtua Cop.
[X] You consider HALO inferior to Goldeneye 007.
[ ] You consider Goldeneye 007 inferior to HALO.
[X] You snort in disgust at the idea Columbine was caused by playing too much DOOM.
[ ] You have played Counter Strike and fragged merrily.
[ ] You know why everyone hates medics yet you've never been in the army.
[X] You've done Grand Theft Auto and yet never been in jail.
Score - 4

RPG GAMER:
[X] You love at least one Final Fantasy game.
[X] You cried at least once during any RPG game.
[X] You named at least one videogame character after yourself.
[X] You equate videogame music of RPGs to the artistic level of Wagner or Beethoven.
[X] You know that even the most effeminate villain can become badass with a brilliant theme song.
[X] You believe that your heart is the most powerful weapon.
[X] You've dreamed of having an RPG adventure with your friends/family, level upgrades et al.
Score - 7

BEAT-EM-UP GAMER:
[ ] You do a Hadoken.
[ ] You know at least one Fatality.
[ ] You mash buttons like Chun Li kicks.
[ ] You have calluses on your thumbs.
[ ] You've injured yourself mimicking at least one move from a game.
[ ] You know kung fu.
[ ] You know of, or play, M.U.G.E.N.
Score - 0 (Err... I do like Soul Calibur? :P)

IMPORT GAMER
[ ] You know more titles of games in Japanese than others do.
[ ] The Dreamcast is still alive to you.
[X] You despise the NTSC/PAL divide.
[ ] Money is no object to you.
[X] Customs can go to hell.
[X] You pity the average continent-bound gamer.
[X] You praise emulator hackers.

Score - 4


Score: 27 ...and I'm going to start studying this next fall!? :o

So I finally got the new tablet, an A6 Wacom Bamboo.

First of, I'm surprised of the quality of it. (That might partially be because I first had an Aiptek and then I was two months without one, but still. :P)
The feel is very nice, not as 'slippery' as the ones I've tried before, but what really got me is the sensitivity. I can't really describe that, so I'll just say I'm happy with my purchase and recommend Bamboo over the more expensive Graphire4. x3

I'd also like to know if anyone knows any paintchats (I'm new with those) that would allow the kind of stuff I do, or anyone who'd like to OC with me sometime..? =3 If so, read the warning:

1) I'm still no good at all with tablet, I need a lot more practise.
2) I tend to be too busy almost all the time, it might be difficult to find time to draw together, but I want to try. ^^;

I will need to get a new tablet soon, before I completely forget how to use one...

So: I'm certain that I will buy a A6 Wacom tablet, but should I go for the new Bamboo or Graphire 4? Or maybe the wireless Graphire?