Bio

It suits her, actually. I really like it! Thanks!

[font=Georgia]^ claimed. I'll start it now.[/font] [B]EDIT:[/B] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/Archetype777/Keiichi.jpg[/IMG] [font=georgia]Dear God, our styles are so far removed from each other that I think a lot was lost in translation--I inadvertently made him probably ten years older than he looks in your picture. I still had a lot of fun doing it, of course. :p I'm really rusty with a tablet, so try to forgive it.[/font] --- [font=georgia]My character: Cerra I whipped up a quick sketch.[/font] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/Archetype777/cersketch.jpg[/IMG] [font=georgia]Nothing particular to say about her. If she were to be holding a weapon, it would just be a gun--with any luck, you can get some idea of her personality from the picture. Oh, and she [I]only[/I] wears business suits. You can find a more detailed picture of her on my DA page, [URL="http://levant-the.deviantart.com/art/Aftermath-68146858"]here.[/URL][/font]

[font=Georgia]I like the feel and design of "The Ragnarok." It reminds me of a medieval fresco or mosaic--and again, attention to detail and the consistent quality of each character is impressive. Keep in mind--I gave my earlier advice based on my own experience with digital art, but I do mostly traditional art. So if you're seeking advice I'd suggest looking at some coloring tutorials instead of listening to my blather. DeviantArt usually has good ones.[/font]

[font=georgia]In my bid to return to these boards with a vengeance, I'm posting some poems (which I haven't done for years).

[font=georgia]Unfortunately I've been bogged down with English reading, so I haven't had much time to read for pleasure. So if I have to recommend something I read [I]recently[/I], it'd be [B]The Scarlet Letter[/B], which was [I]extraordinarily[/I] dry until the climax. So I guess that isn't really a recommendation at all, is it? Let's go back in time, then. What sticks out in my mind is [B]Needful Things[/B], by Stephen King. I'm not one of his raving fans, and I'm aware that not everything he writes is of the best quality--but he's one of my favorite authors nevertheless, and I devour his books. I cannot possibly recommend just one of them; I'd have to recommend seven: the volumes of [B]The Dark Tower[/B] series, which seem to be hit or miss depending on who's reading. I personally loved every minute of them, but some people can't seem to get past the first twenty pages. I'd also highly recommend [B]The Book Thief[/B] by Markus Zusak, which--like so many books--takes place during World War II. Unlike so many books, however, it's about a German who has little to worry about in the way of persecution. The book is more about the power of words than the actual events of the war, and the author is very unique in the way he goes about describing things--perhaps because the story is narrated by Death. Can't get any cooler than that.[/font] :p

[font=georgia]Alright, I'm about to go on a rant, so brace yourself. I hope it doesn't come off as rude--but if it does, I'm not trying to be. I promise. :animesmil You have really solid drawing and lineart-cleaning skills--but, as one of my teacher's would put it, you're "dark challenged." Most people are one way or the other: they make shadows either too dark or too light. I think that the major problem with your coloring is that a) you're making the shadows smaller than they should be b) you're concentrating too hard on graduating the shadows too early in the coloring process, and c) you're not bringing the values dark enough. This is extremely common--I tend to do the same exact thing if I don't check myself. I think one of the reasons it's happening in your case is because you're coloring against a white background, which makes you, the colorer, ultra-sensitive to the differences in skin tone--which isn't necessarily a good thing, in this case; it makes the shadows seem darker to you than they actually are. So once you add the background, the skin appears really washed-out. To remedy this, I'd suggest making a temporary background layer while you color the skin--make it a dark blue or something. Either that or do the background first (I hardly ever do full-fledged backgrounds because I'm lazy :p). Not only that, but begin your shading with an even darker shadow (this -will- produce a more stylized look if you don't blend it afterward), and pay close attention to the way light should be interacting with your characters' features. For instance: I noticed in the lamia picture that the light source comes from below, but her nose doesn't cast a shadow upwards. I know it seems awkward to do certain shadows, especially with light from below; when you do it the way it should logically work, characters can appear to have mustaches due to the placement of shadows. But, in most cases, it only looks weird to you, the artist, and a third party will look at it and their eyes will register a shadow, not a mustache. I'd suggest (and this is what I personally do) practicing on very ugly or grotesque characters with prominent facial features, so that it's easier to shade them in ways that feel uncomfortable. It also helps to think of features as simple three-dimensional objects, so you have a better idea on how they should react to light. As far as composition goes, that comes mostly with experience. No one can really tell you what makes a composition good--it's something you get a feel for the more you draw. But I'd like to emphasize again that your drawing skills are really excellent--especially your attention to detail. Sorry for the length. I get kind of rabid when I talk about this stuff. All of it's conjecture anyway--I made a lot of assumptions about your method, so take what I said with a grain of salt.[/font] :animesmil

[font=Georgia]It's definitely good to want to improve, but unadulterated hatred for your work isn't very productive. :p No piece of art is perfect--not to its creator. I always find myself looking at my work if it's hung up, which leads people to think I'm arrogant--but what I'm really doing is looking at the mistakes, thinking about how to fix it. You really should continue with your art, and if you want to improve then I'd suggest taking some classes if you haven't already. Local art museums usually offer some, and I'm sure your school does, too. [I]Every[/I] artist feels like you do at some point--that they're never going to be good enough. That usually comes from seeing someone who's absolutely phenomenal. But you have to remember that they didn't become phenomenal overnight. And although I definitely think that people have differing degrees of natural talent, it means nothing without hard work.[/font]

[font=Georgia]^ Claimed.[/font] [B]EDIT:[/B] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/Archetype777/IloveLamp.jpg[/IMG] [font=Georgia]Restrictions for the next image: - Must use two complementary colors (and their shades) - Must contain a face of some kind - Must use text: "Get those orphans away from the chemical fire!"[/font]

[FONT="Georgia"]So I'm not the only one who does this![/FONT] [IMG]http://s3.amazonaws.com/graffiti/7c1b9056d491f74201422541eda0be5b_580x270.png[/IMG] [FONT="Georgia"]^ My drama teacher called my friend saggy, and we'd just finished watching Pan's Labyrinth in Spanish. Viola.[/FONT] [IMG]http://s3.amazonaws.com/graffiti/dbcc10b62f38399c730557097133f11f_580x270.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://s3.amazonaws.com/graffiti/2914f669f3be85735770ee000338dea5_315x147.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://s3.amazonaws.com/graffiti/24acf8548144281f3f8f212573fb90f9_315x147.png[/IMG] [FONT="Georgia"]The "Bolmok" person is kind of an inside joke.[/FONT] [IMG]http://s3.amazonaws.com/graffiti/08a94001f000f8e7c8047041e5c5deb0_315x147.png[/IMG] [FONT="Georgia"]So's that. :p[/FONT]

[FONT="Georgia"]I've been away from these boards for a while--over a year, I think. In an attempt to reacquaint myself, I'd like to pose this question to you guys: how has Otakuboards affected you? I'm sure this isn't a novel topic, but it's an interesting one anyway. The fact that I'm even typing this shows that, after a year or so, it's drawing me back. Otakuboards taught me to write coherently. I first joined when I was either twelve or thirteen, mostly to talk about .hack//SIGN, which was the hot thing back then. I don't think my very first post still exists, but I remember looking at it later in my stay and thinking it was the most idiotic thing I'd ever read. Gradually (and probably to the pain of everyone who had to read my posts) I figured out how to turn my thoughts into something that was understandable--and which thoughts were relevant in the first place. Still, I shudder when I think back to the first few RPs I joined--not to say I was anywhere near perfect by the time I faded from sight; I like to think I've gotten better in the interim. :p So I guess this thread's just a thank-you thinly veiled as a discussion--and I really am grateful. When I was here before, I was very quiet. If I [I]do[/I] stay, then I'd like it to be different this time. So, now that that's done with, how has Otakuboards affected [I]you?[/I][/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]My school has a... [I]decent[/I] sex ed course. So I did learn a few things from it. But the internet [I]is[/I] actually a pretty good place to find answers to questions most people would be terrified to ask another human being. Assuming the information is legit. And assuming it's not porn.[/FONT]

[font=Trebuchet MS]Blooming, I closed another one of your threads for the same reason... [b]The Adventure Inn is for recruitment,[/b] and the Underground is for discussion. As such, I'm going to close this thread and nudge you in the direction of the [color=DarkSlateGray][url="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44323"]sticky[/url][/color]. Read it. [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/images/liquid/statusicon/thread_lock.gif[/img] [b]Thread Closed.[/b] [/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS]I'm not exactly sure what's going on here, so I'll just give you a brief overview of how things are done at the OB: The Arena is for the actual execution of roleplays, the Inn is for recruitment, and the Underground is for discussion. More complicated than that, however, is that fact that roleplays are done a little differently here than they are at other places; take a look at some of the current ones to get an idea of how they work. Due to the vague and recruit-y nature... [/font][img]http://www.otakuboards.com/images/liquid/statusicon/thread_lock.gif[/img][font=Trebuchet MS][b] Thread pwned with easy.[/b][/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS]Narutosanmikey, I beg of you, please refrain from double, triple, quadruple or quintuple-posting.In other words, [b]don't post multiple times in a row[/b]; there is an edit button at the bottom-right corner of your post. I just went through and (painstakingly) merged all of your consecutive posts -- please let me know if I accidently erased some information. Otherwise, the thread is perfectly fine. Thank you. [/font]

[font=Trebuchet MS]Certain people need to post more than just one-liners. A little bit of structure wouldn't really hurt either. I think only two posts here have kept me from closing this thread -- so please, try your hardest to up the quality here, k? As for the actual thread, a Samurai RP could be interesting, if done right. Good luck. [/font][left] [/left]