SPOILERS WARNING: I am about to talk about a few series', mainly Nisekoi and Monogatari, so be warned. Also, considering at least one of these shows, I'm about to face more ships than Kantai Collection.


So, there have been some things happening for the past few weeks in Nisekoi, which may or may not be the harbinger of the manga's end, or a way to shake up the current status quo of the series, or maybe a ploy by the author and the editors to garner attention. Regardless, it has rustled many jimmies.

To those of you who are not familiar with Nisekoi, it's a rom-com, harem-style shounen manga, but what distinguishes it from the regular ecchi variety, or even the meta takes on the harem manga, Nisekoi does things right by developing ALL characters, including its male protagonist, and not just a way to garner attention or titillate its audience with sexual fan-service. At least in my opinion, I like every single character, and I root for them all, and it gets me right in the feels when they face struggles and when they have to deal with their own flaws and personal weaknesses. And it does seem to be the same for many other of the fans, as the Shipping Wars are quite active in this show (though, in the circles that I hang out in, they aren't as vicious as in other series... at least, not yet).


So, what do I want to bring up? Kosaki Onodera. She is one of the protagonists of Nisekoi, and probably one of the main characters, in conjunction with the male protagonist (aka. plot drver) Raku Ichijo, and the other most prominent female character (and kick-off plot-device) Chitoge Kirisaki. It's easy to see why Onodera could be one of the main characters, considering how she's shown in most official art, her overall presence in the series, and her relation with Raku.
So why do I say "probably" one of the main characters? Even fans of other pairings can admit that it is unlikely that Raku would end up with any of the other member of the female cast, even though they all have an affection of sorts towards him, mostly because Onodera was in the story right from the start, and Chitoge is the reason why the series began (so to speak), as well as the female protagonist, and gets the most chapters and story focused on her (at least since the School Play arc). Onodera has been presented, from the start, as having strong feelings for Raku, and he harbors feelings for her (though both are unaware of the others' feelings), and as the series progressed, they have grown closer and closer, though still face their own personal flaws and struggles, internal and external. So it's easy to believe that her "claim" of success is as good as Chitoge's, but is she really?

Once again, I must warn you that I'm about to open quite the can of worms by tackling Shipping Wars and one of the most prominent pairings by Nisekoi fans. Worst still, as Onodera x Raku fan, I'm pretty much about to drill holes in the ship I'm sailing, and we have no planks to fix it.


I don't know if this is an actual THING, but Onodera can be classified as the "Ideal/Perfect Girl" archetype (not to be confused with a Mary-Sue, as the Ideal Girl can be CONSIDERED perfect by other characters, but we as readers know they have problems, weaknesses, and face personal struggles), as she's pretty much considered perfect by many other characters surrounding her (though her cooking problems are quite public knowledge xD), from both named and background characters alike, in particular by Raku, who, enamored by Onodera for a long time, idealizes her (even before the beginning of the series). And, as I've established previously, Onodera shares those feelings, to the point that before high-school, she abdicated going to a better school that was on another city, in order to stay close to Raku (ending up in the same class as him). Clearly, even regarding the relation and character progression between Raku and Chitoge, Onodera is still a top-tier contender to be Raku's final choice... right?

That's what I thought, until I had the realization that Onodera is in the exact same position as Tsubasa Hanekawa, a character in the Monogatari Series: both of them are considered near-perfect, by almost everyone around them; they harbor intense feelings for the protagonist, and in a way, the protagonist has those same feelings, but they are somehow ignorant of each other's feelings; they have flaws that they try to hide or overcome, including gaining the courage to confess how they feel towards the protagonist; and many other characters think that these characters and their corresponding protagonist are meant for each other, constantly making off-hand or direct comments about it.
In Monogatari, Hanekawa doesn't get the protagonist, Koyomi Araragi, but in that series, the very first story makes another female character stand out: Hitagi Senjougahara, who eventually "forces" herself to become Araragi's girlfriend, though he himself desires this relationship, making it clear that despite the harem genre of the series, shipping for Monogatari is impossible for canon content, as Hitagi IS Araragi's girlfriend. This, in turn, puts Hanekawa to the side, though she eventually grows as a character as well because of it.

And in here lies the problem with Onodera, in Nisekoi. This comparison between Hanekawa in Monogatari and Onodera shows that they fit into the very same archetype (the one I'm calling Ideal Girl, though the archetype might already have a name, and I'm just late for the analysis party). And, subsequently, makes it seem less probable that Onodera will be the one to end up with Raku, by the end of Nisekoi, whether it be in a few weeks, a few months, or even a few years.


I'm a fan of Onodera x Raku, but that's probably because of my personal bias. Onodera is a stable, normal girl, who still manages to have a strength within her, and determination to follow her goals, even if they are mostly focused on one person she is enamored with (some of these aspects might show why I am usually making the comment that Hanako from Katawa Shoujo is my waifu, even if I don't follow the whole waifu thing). But maybe it's time to face reality, that Onodera, at least in comparison to Chitoge, has not grown as much, and while Chitoge initially disliked Raku, her feelings towards him changed, and she has only developed more and more since then, while Onodera has stayed very much the same, even if growing closer to Raku.


Another example of an Ideal Girl archetype would be Charl in Infinite Stratos. Although that series is much more fanservice-y and sexual (at least in the anime), and the male protagonist is MORE than bland, Charl is the most comprehensive, the least forceful girl in that show, considered very beautiful and many characters like her.


Once again, I don't really care nor do I like to partake in Shipping Wars and the pairing obsession a lot of fans of a lot of shows have, but Nisekoi is EXTREMELY GOOD at making you care for all characters, and hurting inside when you realize some of them will not attain the emotional happiness they want AND deserve.
Maybe the most recent events in the Nisekoi manga are just a ploy, or, in the best case scenario, a shaking of the current status quo, and we'll have a lot more development for all these wonderful characters. And maybe Onodera will become more prominent again. But I am sadly not going to hold my breath... and it breaks my already-tiny, black, cynical heart to say this.


CURSE YOU COUSIN, FOR SHOWING ME THIS SERIES!!!! CUUUUUUUURRRRSSSSSSSEEEEE YOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day/Singles' Awareness Day/just another Saturday.

NO! Hell NO!!! Of course I'm not, don't be ridiculous (I apologize for using such a click-baity title, though).

Just because I've made three comic strips for each one, doesn't mean I'm all out of ideas. On the contrary, I still have a bunch of ideas that I've written down, from random "Lessons", to more categorical ones (like the recent "is/are OP" category, which I used for an FF Tactics comic strip). And I do kind of want to try and do more of them in the future, for the games I've played, and considering that I have Shaitning Returns as one of my near-future purchases, you can expect at least three fresh lessons once I'm done with that game (since I don't own and don't have any intention of having a new-gen console in the near-future, I am unable to be excited for Type-0 or FFXV).

So it is possible that I may do a new FF Lesson comic strip every so often, and post them whenever they're done.

Currently, I find myself occupied with a small gamejam, one which I have no idea if it will bear fruit or not, but it has only been a week and a half of the three months it'll be going on for, my team already has the basic idea and I already started doing my part, in terms of conceptualization of game mechanics, story and art. This might keep me a little busier than I've been since Summer, but I'll probably still post stuff unrelated to the gamejam on my pages.

In the meantime, how 'bout a little commission giveaway? ( and , you guys already got one, but feel free to participate even if you can't win)
It's open for anyone who I've not yet given a free commission to before, and it's open here on FA, on deviantArt, and on NEWGROUNDS. It'll be involving FF Lessons, to see if anyone can do them as well. Just leave your favorite Final Fantasy game down below in the comments, for a first step, and if I get enough people interested, I'll divulge more info.

'Till the next one.

This is another of those "more for me than you" type of journals. Having spent almost all of my "drawing time" in a week (with the exception of the last weekend) on the most recent comic strip, I figured I'd share my stupid work process for these strips. Maybe one day I'll forget how to do them, and then I can just go back to this journal, or you guys will be able to remind me.

So here we go:
-Plan it out and draw the basis (paper or digital);
-Adjust the base sketch;
-Draw the character lines in Paint Tool SAI;
-Export to Photoshop, prepare framing and clean-up;
-Define character base colors;
-Draw/Paint backgrounds on each panel;
-Adjust character colors based upon background and light sources;
-Implement flat shading (two colors);
-Draw shines and paint lighting;
-Overall adjustments;
-Write speech and draw speech bubbles;
-Add symbol and website on the bottom corner;
-Done.

P.S.: Some of this applies to non-painting or any other drawings that utilize solid lines.

Because Final Fantasy Lessons are back, yo!
Yes, I'm back on track. It's not going to be as big an amount as last time, because I'm only going to be tackling the last two FF games I've played, two spin-offs: Crisis Core and War of the Lions. Look, there's one there already (or more, depending on when you read this).

Currently I have the next two comic strips ready for backgrounds and the rest, but I haven't really decided on the FF Tactics ones (I want to do one in specific, but I still haven't made up my mind on two others). And once that's done... I dunno, I might be busy with a gamejam or a possible pony-themed project, depending on my luck.

After I'm done with Crisis Core, and I'm trying to decide on the FFTactics lessons, I may do some silly stuff in-between.

For someone like me, who doesn't have a job, doesn't have a social life, just stays at home almost all day, every day, the holidays, particularly in the winter, are the worst part of the year, because it means I either don't find the time to work thoroughly on something, or I can't concentrate because everyone else that's usually at school or at work, are staying home as well.

A special thanks and a BIIIIIIIIIG hug for all you guys, and all my love for Furaffinity as well. I may not click as well as others in the platform, but it feels like a proper community and everyone has been really nice and supportive, which I really needed. =)
So try to enjoy the holidays, in any way you can, and happy new year. Let's hope that 2015 is a better year for all of us!

Anyone with a US Nintendo 3DS that would like a code for this game?
I got one a few months back, from being a backer of Mighty No.9, but since I'm not from the US nor do I have a US 3DS, I can't really use it (screw Nintendo's region-locking, blablabla). And there won't be codes for other regions, so if anyone is interested, let me know.

Ahem... GODDAMMIT, STEAM! Both Battleblock Theater and now Stick of Truth as well??? Do you hate my "free" time, or are you in love with my money??!?!?!?... probably both...
Let's just hope that The Yawgh and Bastion don't go into super-sale as well...
And screw you too, GameFreak/Nintendo, for Pokémon Omega Ruby (that is on its way).

In case you can't tell, this is all just me joking with myself. And don't you worry, because I finally have a consistent source of entertainment that doesn't require constant visual attention, meaning I can finally concentrate while drawing for a longer period of time. And it happens three times a week with a schedule, so even better! 8D

I wasn't expecting to return to the FF Lessons before January, so at least now I have excuses. ONWARDS, ARYA!!!

WINNER IS DRACOLOGIST, PLEASE DIRECT ALL YOUR GREEN JELLY AT HIM!

Though I'm not yet "back", I do have time again, and before I get back into Final Fantasy Lessons again, among other things, I'd like to offer ONE free character commission (chibi or full-body). But who can get this free commission, you ask? Well, it's simple:
If you can be the first down in the comments to name the character that one could consider my "waifu", you win. Oh, and you have to be a "Watcher" (you know, the whole "Fan Appreciation" part of the title).
You can find this information in my gallery here, or if you need "extra" clues, you can visit my deviantArt gallery: http://henlp.deviantart.com/ (there are certainly more submitions there that might clue you in, if you need).

GOOD LUCK!!

And so, i've covered nine games in the main Final Fantasy series, three Lessons for each game. I've been at this since June, working weekly, in a process of planning, drawing in paper with pencils and inkpens, scanning, inking on SAI, and finishing off by coloring and doing the rest on Photoshop. It's been long, but it was fun. Most of all, it was productive and good practice for comedy writing and background work, since the characters weren't exactly under my control. xD

Now, it's time for a little break. It doesn't mean that I won't be drawing stuff and posting it here and in other places (in fact, I already have a lil' something planned to post on Halloween), it just means that, for now, there won't be any Final Fantasy Lessons for a while, and work will show up less frequently.

During this break, I have a couple of things I wanna do: 1) finally watch Space Dandy; 2) play DmC (don't worry, I got it used); 3) try to get more into SupportFreelancer, maybe get some paid jobs; 4) read all of these Song of Ice and Fire books!; and probably a few other things here and there (should definitely give more thoughts into the "leaving the country to study abroad" thing), but for now, I cool my jets.


Lastly, I apologize but the obligatory "pimping-of-my-shit" is happening: you can follow me on my deviantArt henlp.deviantart.com, on NEWGROUNDS henlp.newgrounds.com (though, to be honest, I pretty much post the same stuff that I do here on NEWGROUNDS, and I only use dA for Portefolio puposes at this point).
And, of course, break from personal work means comissions (I wished), so if you're interested in helping me out in exchange from some drawing-y stuff, my comission guide is still accurate and up-to-date: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13328167/

Thank you very much, everyone. I know I'm not the regular work-producing demographic here on Furaffinity, but y'all have been super cool and real nice. Guess it's the benefits of a smaller website, there's still the feeling of community around. HenLP out.

Hurry, you might still catch it. It's first come, first served.
http://henlp.newgrounds.com/news/post/910063

Any of y'all would be interested in watching me stream some drawings and stuff?
If you would be interested, leave a comment with your location and your preferable day/hour to participate (I'm GMT Lisbon, BTW).

So, here I was, trying to do the three FF Lessons for FFXIII, had already drawn them, scanned and inked the lines on SAI, ready to begin giving them the base colors.
But then, my uncle let me borrow his PS2, and I wasted 40 minutes to walk to my dad's to get a controller that worked in the morning. And now, I lost the open first-half of an afternoon beggining another playthrough of Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, probably the best rip-off/movie tie-in/movie parallel game EA has ever done and will ever do. Soooo, yeah... xD

In all seriousness, though, I will be attempting to have at least the first FFXIII lesson done before the end of the week. It's just that after finishing doing everything I could by myself on Castle Crashers last week, I was now out of a game to play in the mornings, so it was either LotR: The Third Age, or buying Stick of Truth (because Smash 3DS is too expensive for me right now, and there's no benefits to getting it early).

Also, this journal is mostly for me, than it is for y'all. So disregard my ramblings. @_@

So... yeah, that. Do you prefer your content whenever, or do you like to know when it's possibly coming?
Since I've been sick last week, and most of this week has been used to prepare the next set of FF Lessons, I began to wonder if it would be better for me to have submission days. That way (particularly how it's going right now) I could finish stuff quicker, and they'd be set to go for certain dates.

I'm cool with whatever, actually, I don't think I've got constant content or that it's sequential enough to benefit from a schedule, but if that tickles your fancy, I wouldn't mind doing so.

What're the consoles that you own/have owned? Which ones were gifted to you, and which ones did you buy yourself?
This is how it went for me:

GameBoy Color (GIFT) -> Playstation 2 (BOUGHT) -> GameBoy Advance SP (BOUGHT) -> Playstation Portable (GIFT) -> Playstation 3 (GIFT, for house) -> Nintendo 3DS XL (BOUGHT);

And currently, as for hypothetical future purchases: Playstation Vita -> Nintendo Wii U -> A PS3 for myself...

Follow this formula, I'm eager to know what's your console run.

Played Final Fantasy 4? Great! Didn't play it? That's okay too.

As you can see by giving a look in my gallery, I'm currently working on a series of comic panels entitled "Final Fantasy Lessons". And since I've not played any version of FF3, it's now time for FF4. The thing is, I played that game a few years ago, and I kind of powered through, not even giving the "After Years" part a play, so I don't remember much about the game.

So, I'd like to ask you for your opinion! I've already made up my mind on 2 of the 3 panels I do for each game, so here are some of the ideas for the third "lesson", and I'd like you to choose which one you'd like to see:


-Dragon Kings come from the Moon;
-Shoulder balls make you evil, neck balls make you good;
-Turtle Demons are masters of disguise;
-Doctor Frankenstein got screwed in Pop culture;



If you've got other ideas, I'd love to hear them! =D

Putting aside the two characters I've prepared to draw and color next, which of these two sets of drawings sounds better:

- A set of Protagonists (aka, lead OCs of my multiple, unrealized projects), which you could then choose of which series you'd be most interested in seeing more of;

- A set of designs of the multiple forms of my self-Character, where it's pretty much just an illustration with a short description;

Choose now, while I still have something to do, because I need to keep myself occupied with things! D8
...or, you know, you could always comission me, for your own characters... I mean,... if you'd like... *squirm*

This a little experiment I've been messing with since last year, on account of my semi-obsession with A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones. I've been seeing which characters (particularly in the books due to greater information) fit into one of the Seven Aspects of the God represented by the Faith of the Seven, the prominent religion in Westeros, i.e., how these characters could cyclically be considered the embodiments of those aspects. My list so far is short, but:

.Father - Eddard Stark;
.Mother - Joanna Lannister;
.Maiden - Rhaenys Targaryen; or Lyanna Stark;
.Warrior -
.Crone -
.Smith - Bran the Builder;
.Stranger - Nobody, embodiment of Death.

Have ya read the books, or if not, think of any characters (deceased) that fit into any of the seven aspects?

At long last, my "Twenty Primal Demon" set of paintings is complete!!! HUZZAH!!!!!! 8D
I still think that if I had not been sick in January and February, I would have completed the first batch (of sixteen) before March. Regardless, it is done, I've learned a lot and improved as well. So... what follows?

Well, I need to clear some stuff up that's sitting on my desktop right now, some stuff will pop up here, some won't (at least once it's finished, eventually it might). After those are done, a comission guide, a GOOD one, is going to be my top priority.
Once completed, I need another one of these "sets" to keep me occupied and with a goal, and I think I know what to do next: focusing more on drawing, linework and character design, I'm gonna pet my ego, so prepare yourselves for "Alter: The Many Faces of Hen", aka, drawing myself (or a cooler animanga version of myself xP) in a multitude of my heteronym forms and "costumes". So BE WARNED, because they'll be posted individually here, and in relevant compositions on my deviantArt.


A big thanks to everyone that's been supporting me and leaving comments and faves on the stuff I submit here. Y'all are awesome. =) Be sure to check out some of my older stuff on my deviantArt gallery: http://henlp.deviantart.com/

I don't like doing this after the last one being to tell of sixteen pieces being complete, but the situation at hand demands it.
Now that I've completed nineteen paintings of my "Twenty Primal Demon" set, I've still one to redraw, which I've been working on, but it's harder than I thought, so I'll be doing that in my off-PC "downtime", and while on PC, I'll be sending some applications to places, binge on Kill la Kill at last, and, if you're interested for some reason, I'm opening comissions:
-Chibi: 5$;
-Full-Body Character: 10$;
-Painting: 25$;
(These are just holding prices, they may vary depending on a multitude of details)

I'll try to have a personalized and "fun" comission guide done eventually, with more details and such.
If I don't have that last demon drawn soon, I might just end up playing FFXIII-2 after Kill la Kill, so don't be surprised of my absence... even if it's considered a crap game. xD

THE SECTION BELOW IS CLOSED, WE HAVE A WINNER: TURBOBEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!! 8D




-Also, I HAVE A VERY SPECIAL AND EXCLUSIVE TO FA-ONLY THING (I'm sorry for the people on deviantArt):
If YOU can be the first to guess what is the name of the last remaining Primal Demon, be the first to post your answer below, you will earn yourself A FREE CHIBI COMISSION! (I must of course inform you that I don't really do genitalia, so your choices may be a bit limited, sorry =C)-

Howdy. So, with the submission of the last piece for my "Twenty Primal Demons" set, I'm now sixteen done out of twenty. Although I had already drawn the last remaining four when I did the others before January, I wasn't content with their design, so I decided to redesign those and redraw them. This means that the next Demon in the set might not come for a wee' while, though I intend on having them ready for painting this week.

In the meantime, I'll be submitting here some OC sheets (that I already had on my deviantArt), to let you know some of my not-secret characters...that aren't giant, primal demon-monsters.

And after the Demon set is complete, comission guidelines may open, if anyone's interested. =D

Hi y'all, I was super-jelly of some friends of mine already on the site, so here I be.
For the forseable future, I'll be posting some more Primal Demons, from a set of 20 I'm working on, like the three I already submitted.
My stuff is SFW, even when I doodle some nudies, but you can check my big gallery on deviantArt, where my past and future stuff can be seen. http://henlp.deviantart.com/