-> I have finished the upper armbands on my costume, and spent 3 episodes of Stargate Atlantis sewing 3 buttons on each of them, and also sewing a total of 12 buttons on my pants. Next is the gauntlets, but they'll be tricky because the red fabric I have left from the vest is irregularly shaped. I can do it, but it will take a little ingenuity. Or another trip to the fabric store.

-> Surround sound speakers on my computer are very cool. Roommates, sorry about the subwoofer. I promise not to use it after 2am.

-> I spoke with my manager and have gotten permission to extend my housing contract through August. This allows me to not stress out about landing a new apartment and packing before SDCC. Also, it prevents me from being homeless like Fi and Ki for two weeks between contracts, in case I can't find one to fit my needs that's available any sooner. (The homeless people are still welcome to stay with me and stow their stuff if they need to, when the time comes. Best case scenario: I find a contract that starts *beginning*ish of August, and can spend the month moving leisurely, which means that there will be room in my new place for you[r stuff]. Will keep you posted.)

-> I am officially rewarding myself for the first 50-point milestone in my art chart. While I'm monstrous behind on Artslam (because of laziness and working on my costume), I tallied my points from January through June and came out with 63 (half of which were in June itself). My reward is a $15 iTunes card, because it's the only actual prize in my grab bag so far (I thought I had gotten more. Oh well), and because I want to buy some music.

-> You are all awesome. Thank you.



-> OH!! Also, new camera! I mentioned I want to get a nice Nikon digital SLR, but the timing's still not right for it. I want to make sure I pay deposit/etc on housing before I make a hefty purchase like that, for one. I also don't want to get a supernice camera and put myself (and it) through a trial by fire at SDCC, when I will need to use it and won't know how, and where it could get lost, broken, or stolen. Also, it will be heavy and bulky, and I'll already be laden with swag. So I went with a lighter, more compact, cheaper alternative and got this to use in the meantime and for my less serious photography needs. It's pink, it's cute, it fits in my purse/pocket/whathaveyou, and it's easy to use.

-> As you were.

aimo brought to my attention that some of the Comic-Con programming is up...

On Friday there's a panel on the making of Star Wars: the Old Republic (the game), and a screening/Q&A of "The Big Bang Theory" at the SAME TIME AND I HAVE TO *CHOOSE*...!!!!!!?!??!?



With all the stuff they're offering, I'm going to have a heart attack before I even get there.

Still haven't been drawing lately (except for a short stint today while my office had a gas leak or something, and I couldn't work in there), but here's what I've been doing instead. I have less than two weeks now before Comic-Con, and still a lot left to do on this costume. But I'm feeling pretty good about it (as long as I keep up the momentum).

( Hope the Hordies don't gank me just for being dressed as Alliance )

So you may have noticed that I haven't posted any Artslam stuff in a few days. I blame this mostly on watching 23 or so episodes of Buffy this weekend (I think I love Spike), and at least 3 actual movies. Apparently I can't draw while I'm watching stuff. And for three days off work, it contained remarkably little quiet time. Heh.

I'll catch up, though. I did sketch some stuff yesterday, but it was during Church and therefore didn't get finished. And also I needed to do some research to finish it. I was designing costumes. Ajax's, specifically. And in trying to be logical and practical about it (I know, *practical* superhero costumes??), I ran into some dilemmas.

First of all, they don't have to wear spandex. My flyers generally do (Diomedes and Castor & Pollux), for aerodynamics. Diomedes has a cape for several reasons - because he's the leader, because it's a sort of throwback to the mythology, and because I said so. Diomedes is also armored because of his super-strength - he deals with heavy stuff and physical situations that would hurt a lot. My heroes' toughness is higher than a normal person's, and the super-strong heroes' toughness is higher than non-super-strong heroes, but they're NOT invulnerable. They have to be careful.

Ajax's power is uber-strength, so I figure he should be armored as well. (I need to find another style of Greek armor that's not the same as Icarus' or Diomedes' - that's what the research was that I needed yesterday.) But does he use gloves or not? Would the added protection of gloves detract from his ability to grip said heavy stuff? (Hmm... I suppose he could always use gloves and take them off when it was necessary..)

And no, his costume is not made of tweed.




PS~ I've been listening to the MoTab's "The Sound of Glory" album, which my boss brought in, and it's got me feeling all sunny and good. I was never a huge MoTab fan, but this album is awesome. (I suppose it helps that I've sung at least FOUR of those arrangements in various ward choirs, and that's always a good memory.)

I'm counting these as three days because there are three images and they're actually more than sketches.



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Dude, I get a 2-point sticker for this, cuz it's colored, rather than a 1-point sticker for drawing! Woot! (Or do I get 3 points..?)

The internet hated me last night (and still did this morning), so I had to wait til I got to work to post these. :(
Will do two more tonight, ftw!



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Ironically enough, the internet didn't have any problems connecting to WoW last night.. I hit level 70 and got my flying mount. ^_^ Too bad I can't use it outside of Outlands.

So I'm playing WoW, and I've had Moosebutter's "Star Wars" song running through my head for an hour. I'm playing my rogue, who is 2 bars away from level 70 (woot!!!!) but, in the interest of exploration, quest finishing, and wanting a flying mount, I'm still in Outlands. Tonight I've been exploring the Blade's Edge Mountains.

The line "I was gonna go to Tosche Station for power converters" had just played in my mental stereo, when I leave one part of the area and head to somewhere new. I see a town in the distance, and it's full of friendly gnomes! I run through the gates.

I have just discovered Toshley's Station.

The first quest is a request from Toshley himself, who asks you to get him some power converters.

Another quest there is from the twins Tally and Rally Zapnabber, who want you to test a machine of theirs. It sends you flying through the air for thirty seconds or so, and when you land, this is what you find:

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Heh.

Been pretty busy/unmotivated the last week. :( I've fallen behind again. We'll see what I can do to catch up in the next couple days.



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So I was feeling uninspired for today's drawing, and finishing designs on the Pleiades requires imagination with their costumes and hair (and faces).. I can't make them all look the same, right? Well, I called on the interwebs to give me ideas on Greek dress, and somehow a website of this man came up in the search.. I'm not sure how it happened.

( Some pics here )

I just wanted to share with you.. pretty much the exact coloring, face, and physique that I had in mind for Castor and Pollux. He matches nearly perfectly (a few tweaks, such as his ears) the pictures in my mind. In case you were wondering. Who knew that there was already a Greek model like that? I wonder if he secretly has a twin?

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Quote for the day:

The artist doesn't have time to listen to the critics. The ones who want to be writers read the reviews, the ones who want to write don't have the time to read reviews.
- William Faulkner



Also, my little sister just called and told me that her boyfriend opened his mission call last night. He's going to Ghana. How cool is that? XD

Also, my mom should be in Spain by now. Apparently she hasn't called anyone to tell them she landed safely - I hope she's alright.. :( I don't see any articles about plane crashes in Madrid or Malaga, so she's probably fine. Maybe she's just having phone trouble and can't figure it out. *crosses fingers*

It's official. That singer at the Yanni concert, Nathan Pacheco, IS a BYU grad (vocal performance, 2005). XD We were there at the same time. I might have seen him perform!

Here's an article about him in the Deseret News from last week. XD

Also, apparently he's a Washington, DC native - you folks know any Pacheco's? Can you put in a good word for me?

XD

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And now it's bedtime.

PS~ Fi, his name is Nathan Pacheco, and, according to Wikipedia, he studied opera at BYU... I seriously need to marry that man.

I could have played WoW tonight, but look! I drew instead!



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(You all know that this is Orpheus, but I'm thinking I don't want to give away all my spoilers, and I wasn't drawing him in costume today..)
Also, I need to figure out what he wears onstage, because this is not it.

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I'm hoping to get back to the *writing* part soon.. I miss it. I think the flashback scene where Nick intercepts [Medea, at this point] attempting to steal the Item from the university library would be a good scene to use for my pitch. It's more action-y than most of the early story.

I'm caught up now!!!!! WOOOO!!!



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ARGGGHHH - for some reason, the images aren't loading from MY WEBSITE! I had to upload them to Photobucket and change the links, grrr... Maybe the server's down or something. I'll check back tomorrow.