So, woke up this morning, went into the office to check e-mail.

My external HD is making an ominous 'click, click, click, SPROING, click, click...' noise. Which means the platter is probably not spinning, or the read/write head is screwed up.

On the plus side, any photos I had of importance were already moved off to the shiny NAS I bought earlier last year.
The downside is that my music collection, data archives, and ALL of my artwork that I had scanned in went *foomp*. Thankfully, I still have the stuff I've uploaded here, and the original sketches (hooray for still sketching in pencil and scanning! ;))

So, recoverable, for the most part... though the erm... um... 'pose and anatomy reference' archive will be difficult to rebuild given the wide variety of sources from which it was drawn. :(

So, it's been almost a month since I drew something. So when I go to draw today to shake off the cobwebs... I found myself staring at the page trying to figure out something to draw.

Worse, when I just started doodling, I was not at ALL happy with the results. Feel like I'm making a bunch of beginner mistakes. (even if I am still kind of an amateur)

Anyways, just bitching. Going to see if I can get more practice in...

Heading out of town for the next two weeks to attend a pretty intensive work-related training class.

Probably going to do some sketching for stress relief in the evenings, assuming I'm not completely exhausted. Or something.

Hope folks are doing okay!

Yes, I know everyone's doing it.

Hope everyone's 2013 is full of awesome.

Plans of mine:

Achieve a personal milestone in my professional career (passing a particularly nasty Certification exam).
Get Married (woo!)
Find a way to get out of the country for a week or so without spending three paychecks... :)

Taking a few days off, well deserved ones in my opinion.

To celebrate, I finally got off my rump and uploaded some of the art that folks had done with me in it recently. :)

Thanks again to all the watches, comments, and support folks have shown over the past year. It's nice to see the improvements to my work and the inspiration that others give here.

And now, to see if I can't squeeze in some artwork while I'm enjoying the week off. :)

So, I just spent most of my waking hours today catching up on Girl Genius.

And by catching up I mean 'I never read it before and I suck for not doing so.'

I'm now *only* FIVE years behind. :)

Seriously, if you've never read this? read it. Read it NOW. :)

It's good stuff. Plus, steampunk.

So, back into the swing of things at work, which this week means an unplanned emergency trip to Tennessee. Whee!

On the upside, I brought some of my art supplies with me, so if I have time tonight, maybe I can make something to post when I get back.

*hugs*

So, this is probably one of the few things I willingly subscribe to on Youtube (Miracle of Sound and Epic Rap Battles being the other two).

Nothing, I REPEAT, Nothing this artist does is bad, IMO. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG7ea3LBg2c

1. Spend 2-3 hours editing, cleaning up, and making alterations to a bit of art that you've been wanting to improve for sometime.
2. Accidentally hit a key on your keyboard that irrevocably reverts the picture back to the last save 2 hours ago.
3. Swear profusely.

So, back in 2004, a company named NCSoft put out the first MMORPG called 'City of Heroes'. Due to a small crisis a few weeks into open beta (about a month or two before launch), I had to work with their network administrators to ensure they had the stability needed for a portion of the network infrastructure that ran on equipment sold by the company for which I work.

Up until this point, I had heard vague things about the game, but was kind of 'enh... MMOs really aren't my thing'.

Then I went to their offices. The artwork alone sparked my interest, and I started looking into it. I bought a copy of the game when it came out, and was playing within in the first week with my local gaming group - zipping around the in-game world and cracking heads.

It was beautiful.
It was fun.
It was still an MMO, so grind-y as fuck.

Over 8 years, I played other games - but that game always had a little place in my heart. Even the successor superhero-genre games didn't really compare.

As of today, NCSoft has announced they will be shutting down the game for good before the end of the year. In many ways, this is just the way things are. Nothing lasts forever. But I'm still a little sad by it, and I have a lot of fond memories (and good friends) that I met running around Paragon City.

I've looked over my gallery, and I think I need to stop being lazy. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many items with the (WIP) tag on them.

I've got one sketch that I want to finish, but when I've got that done, I'm going to start either archiving or actually finishing some of the older art I've got.

Besides, I need to be better about cleaning this stuff up anyways.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkJdEFf_Qg4

I think I need to do more sketches that draw attention to Purity's ass... anyone have suggestions on what they'd like to see?

Can't think of too much to say, but I do want to lay out a few things:

1. Leg is getting better, and things appear to be stable. That's the good news. Bad news is I'll probably be on some form of blood thinner for the rest of my life, as per my hemotologist. Maybe I can get Maker's Mark in a prescription?

2. Life is doing better. Art seems to be improving. :)

3. Getting married next summer! Finally set a date with my fiancee! Of course, now there's planning to do.

Annnnd... that's all I've got. :)

So, bit of unpleasant news.

I was having leg pain a few days ago, and it got worse as time went on. Went to the hospital last night, and was diagnosed with a DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis, aka a blood clot) in my lower leg.

The good news is that I am home, and I'm on medication to treat the condition. Next few days are the tough ones, but I am sure I'll get through them.

-Purity

Hey all,

I want to reach out to folks that I've not been communicative with the past week or so - my deepest apologies on that. Been pretty hectic around here RL, so I haven't had as much time to devote to things that require a lot of thought.

Thankfully, things seem to be improving, and hopefully I'm through the worst of it. I've questions that need answering, and art that needs drawing (thankfully, no commissions, I'm not NEARLY that good yet ;))

Appreciate people's patience, their support, and understanding. :)

So, yesterday friends and I subjected ourselves to the entire run of Marvel superhero flicks, with the Avengers at midnight. If you can simulate this similar experience in your own home with friends/loved ones/etc, I strongly suggest it. It was full of epic and win, and helped refresh all the story arcs and bring them together.

Also, search out the two Marvel one-shot shorts (included on Thor and Captain America, I think). :)

That said, if you enjoyed any of the first 5 lead-up films, I'm pretty you're going to enjoy The Avengers. As usual, sit through the credits like with all the other films.


And that's all I'm going to say. Send me a note if you want to 'squee' all over the movie with me so there's no spoilers. :)

Nothing like being in the middle of a game and having your keyboard flake the hell out.

Time to get a new one: TO FRY'S! :)

Passed my exam.
Now, to prepare for and schedule the even HARDER exam.

I need a drink. I'm willing to take suggestions. :)

So, I'm sitting in a hotel room, prepping for a pretty damned difficult exam for tomorrow. By prepping, of course, I mean 'procrastinating for a little bit.'

This isn't going to be the hardest exam I ever take, but it's going to put me on the path TO take the hardest exam almost ANYONE takes in my field.

Thanks to those who have shown support, or just plain like my work. It's far from perfect, but it makes me feel good, and that's positive vibes.

I'm all about the positive vibes.

*hugs you all*

If things go well, I think I'll try my hand at a 'victory' sketch. Maybe Purity astride some defeated villain or something... ;)

Status Update:

Good lord it's been a rough few months. Work trip, busy RL, ANOTHER work trip, more RL, and finally sick for 2 days this week (probably from stress due to work! ;)) On the plus side, I managed to dodge YET ANOTHER work trip this week.

Also studying for a job certification.

AND trying to relax.

"Tyrone, you know how much I love watching you work, but I've got my country's 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder and Guilder to frame for it; I'm swamped!"

---

Now, *that* out of the way, pondering ways to improve my work. Definitely need more practice with perspective, action-y poses and the like.

Also had an idea to start drawing some of my personal 'Rogue's Gallery' of villains. Suggestions will, of course, be happily accepted.

Flying out to California for a week on business. Debating whether to bring my art supplies and see if the hotel I'm staying at has a scanner in the business office.

Also, thanks to everybody who has watched, fav'd, commented, or otherwise been supportive of my budding art. It is great to hear feedback, and I'm hoping to do more as I practice and get better.

Celebrating another year on this fascinating planet we live on. I should probably figure out some sort of artwork to commemorate. Anyone have suggestions on what a heroine should draw for her birthday?

Started practicing hands. NOt too dissatisfied with the results, more practice needed, but hopefully soon I can have more than hands bound behind the back as Purity's default pose.

Thanks to the various watchers, favers, and friends that have been supportive and providing suggestions. It's appreciated.

Now, to get through this week so I can enjoy my birthday this Saturday. :)

Whew, okay... the past two weeks have been buuuusy - mostly work (and that's pretty normal for me).

Trying to balance time between:

RL friends/loved ones
Work
Studying for work
Art
SWTOR

I found some time this morning to whip up a new sketch (pr0n!) and I'm pretty happy with the results. I know it's still very unpolished and rough, but I love the effects.

Usually, I find myself using pre-existing photos/art as a reference for how things should look. Does anyone else do this? Anyone have recommendations on how to break away from that and be able to come up with a pose/scene whole cloth?

Looking for inspiration/ideas.

Also, props to ahzagothis who made some fantastic recommendations re: reading material to improve my skills. Thanks hon! *smooch*

So, did a little more sketching today, I put the results in scraps, and wouldn't mind some commentary:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7127361/

I love how the face and head came out, almost perfect. I'm pretty sure the body is too big for the head, and the breasts - while they're supposed to be fairly large (this unicorn is based off a draft mare) - just look... kinda wrong.

Ah well, tomorrow, I'll try again. Maybe leave the head off and try to do the body instead.

P.S. Bonus points to anyone getting the 'Coupling' reference.