#I never did draw mario or sonic digitally did I?

[martinsaenz96us]

R.I.P. LittleBigPlanet

It's been a really sad year for "LittleBigPlanet". First the servers for LBP3 PS4 just shut down (servers for previous entries are also shut down), and not only the digital copy of LBP3 PS4 (digital copies of previous entries have already been delisted), but all the DLCs that's ever been released from LBP1 to LBP3 are being delisted from the PSN store. It really sucks that this once beloved franchise is being butchered to death in favor of bland realistic graphics cinematic games, live service games and catering to the so-called "Modern Audience" (*cough*cough "Concord" *cough*cough*). It's just not right how this franchise has been treated lately. The last game in the franchise "LittleBigPlanet 3" has been released about 10 years ago at this point. All the franchise has going for it now is just a spin-off named "Sackboy: A Big Adventure" released back in 2020, which is nothing like LBP (it's basically "Super Mario 3D World" but LBP themed). Sackboy, a worthy mascot for the "Playstation" brand in the PS3 Era is now gonna be known as Sackboy from "Sackboy: A Big Adventure" (a spin-off mind you) instead of Sackboy from "LittleBigPlanet" (where he's originated from). Sackboy has always been in a special place in my heart growing up, I even used to draw him (besides Sonic) in my journal a lot during high school. Back in junior high I was in special needs because of my autism (I even rode the bus and took field trips with special needs kids). I played a lot of video games and I was also a bad boy (I used to get in trouble a lot by giggling and misbehaving during class). My homeroom teacher had a Wii with "Wii Sports Resort" (great game) and even my all time favorite "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" (better than Melee, change my mind). He would let us play when we were done with our assignments (we even got to stay after school to play and eat pizza in homeroom if we had good behavior). I never knew about LBP at the time and if you've been following me through the years, you know that I've been a big fan of "Sonic the Hedgehog" ever since kindergarten. So when I first heard LBP featured Sonic the Hedgehog costumes as DLC, I immediately wanted to buy the game for that sole reason (the same way I first got into Smash starting with Brawl). I was also into games that would let you create your own character or levels, that factor also drew me closer to wanting LBP and even "ModNation Racers" (rest in peace) too at the time. But I had a PSP instead, I got both LBP both and ModNation on it and I was a bit disappointed. LBP on PSP was my least favorite version, it felt so limited customizing Sackboy (not being able to place stickers on him too was a drawback for me), or customizing in general (ModNation on PSP is in the same bane too). Once I beat it 100% I wanted to start creating a level, and oh boy it all went downhill from there. The options were limited, the game kept crashing at any given time while creating. So needless to say I did not like LBP on PSP at all, and all it did is made me want a PS3 even more that I kept begging my mom to buy one for me. Around maybe my 8th grade year, I finally got a PS3 (I think it was a birthday gift, I can't remember). I became so happy that I immediately bought LBP at "GameStop" (I also bought both LBP2 and ModNation Racers at the same time). Upon booting LBP for the first time I immediately got so hooked. I wanted to beat it 100% but the only drawback was that I only had 1 controller, and there's sections in the game that require 2 to 4 players to get the prize bubbles. I felt kinda let down since I wasn't able to obtain those prize bubbles without multiple controllers, but I some how managed to get through a handful of 2 player sections using only 1 controller (like the "Construction Site"), which took dedication and dying a lot. I was so proud of myself for accomplishing sections that were only meant to be played with 2 people. The other 2 player sections however I wasn't so lucky, so I begged my mom to buy me more controllers, I didn't tell her why thinking she wouldn't agree with me. Then after beating LBP 100% I became obsessed with making costumes for Sackboy and showing them off while playing online, even in LBP2 I did the same thing. LBP2 is easily the best in the whole franchise. During the release of LBP2, the franchise hit it's all-time peak (I got a PS3 soon after the release of LBP2). LBP2 has also the best story mode. They were difficult at times (mostly ACEING all the levels, even in LBP1 it was difficult), but I still had a blast playing through it all. I also 100% the story mode and went on to complete all the level kit DLCs (which I did eventually). Fun Fact: At the time of LBP2's peak, "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic" was also at it's all time peak (on the internet of all places). So while playing LBP2 I saw a bunch of levels related to MLP I got so annoyed by it. I played one of the levels I came across just for the sake of it, then I became intrigued and wanted to see what the whole fuss was about at the time. So one day I turned my TV to "The Hub" (R.I.P.) and the first episode I've ever watched was "Party of One" (you know, the one that featured Pinkamena who spawned a bunch of creepypastas). After watching the episode, I instantly fell in love with the show. The characters, the art style, everything about the show was so appealing to me. I've always been really really shy IRL, but then "Fluttershy" caught my eye since she's the one I can relate to, so she became my all time favorite pony to this day. I loved MLP so much I even drew ponies in my journals during my freshman year in high school (I was the quiet kid). And that is how I became a Brony. So back on-topic. I made so many memories with this game in particular that I will cherish forever. The community levels was a big step up from it's predecessor. Even when playing community levels online with random people made it so worth while (back when online play was FREE). All in all, LBP2 has become one of my most favorite games of all time. I loved the enjoyment of coming home from school to hop on straight into LBP2 (and also ModNation Racers) to play online with other people. Even one of my cousins enjoyed playing it, and would play together every time he'd come over. During my freshman year in high school, I heard about the PS VITA and I instantly wanted to buy it because LBP was on it. So eventually I got it with LBP (and because I love handheld gaming minus mobile gaming). I played it non stop, even between switching classes I would walk while playing. LBP on PS VITA was also great (not as good as LBP2, but way better than LBP PSP). I really liked it, and with the use of the touch screen and the back trackpad. The story mode was good, I liked how it had a slightly darker tone to it, compared to the previous entries. The characters were wacky and interesting (and some ugly tbh). And just like the previous entries, I 100% it all the way through. Online play was pretty cool too (but very laggy at times) and community levels were kinda good but a bit disappointing (not LBP2 good but it's passable). I also had fun making costumes everywhere I went (I even uploaded some on my DA page). LBP Karting however was OK (not up to LBP2 standards). I played through the story mode and 100% it too. The community levels were actually pretty interesting, there were even remakes of "Mario Kart" tracks that were spot on (but no custom music like LBP2). My biggest complaint however was the inability of customizing costumes like the previous entries (just changing outfits and placing stickers on doesn't cut it either), even the kart creation was barebones. Overall, the game just feels like a blatant rip-off of "ModNation Racers" (despite being made by the same developer "United Front Games" R.I.P.), which had better character and kart customization and you can even download custom made ones by other people and upload your own. LBP Karting does have better track customization however, but that's not saying much. And adding insult to injury, the fact that a full blown "ModNation Racers Sequel" got canceled in favor of LBP Karting is just a big punch in the face from Sony. A ModNation Racers sequel would've been miles better (pun intended) than LBP Karting in my honest opinion. Around probably Junior year, I got a PS4 with "LittleBigPlanet 3". From what I heard however it's been called the worst in the franchise, since the game was rushed to meet sales for Black Friday. So as a result, the game released with many bugs and glitches turning alot of people off from the game altogether (So I guess it's the "Sonic 06" of the LBP franchise). I bought it around maybe a month or 2 after it's release, and from what I played I really haven't experienced any bugs or glitches. In fact I really liked it, it felt more fleshed out and about as good as LBP2. Basically it's LBP2 but more expanded with new playable characters and creative additions such as expanded layers, new gadgets etc. I also liked how you had the ability to play every community levels ever made in both LBP1 & 2. I actually did play LBP3 on my PS3 first, but I then gave away my PS3 to my cousin to buy a PS4 (which I regret doing). What turned me off however wasn't the game itself, it was the fact Sony was charging for online pay (which killed online play for me) despite the fact it used to be free. At the time it costed $60 just for one year of online play, I could buy a full price game from retail then play & keep it for as long as I want. Paying for playing online is just a scam altogether. I did pay for one year just to play LBP3 online, then never payed again because what was the point. I did however registered my cousin's account to my PS4 to play online, so I played LBP3 online again then lost interest since the damage has already been done. Now I can't play it online anymore if I ever wanted to since the online servers recently got shutdown, and yet they still expect us to pay monthly/yearly for this (I did recently hear that Sony not only increased the price but added 3 tiers to pay for. The most expensive tier however is $120 a year, if that doesn't sound like a scam then I don't know what does). And recently I got myself a "Steam Deck" as a personal birthday gift about 2 years ago. Best decision I have ever made, and I would go as far as saying it's way better than the "PS5" (millions of games to play, it's a handheld, it's fully backwards compatible with everything via emulation, and best of all free online play). Lately I've been replaying LBP1 (and ModNation Racers) on a PS3 emulator and immediately fell in love with LBP all over again (although it's not perfect running on the Steam Deck with minor graphical issues and crashing every now and then). I've enjoyed every minute of it just like how I was when I first started played it back then, and now with a custom server is giving me the ability re-live those moments playing community levels and playing online without spending a single penny. Thank you "Media Molecule" for giving us a gem that will forever be in our hearts. Your love and passion that you created has brought joy to all of us around the world and will forever cherish the moments we spent playing your game. And lastly, thank you for giving us the power of playing, creating, and sharing our creations with the world. Rest in peace "LittleBigPlanet", you maybe gone now but will not be forgotten. Here's hoping for "LittleBigPlanet 4" in the near future (if Sony is willing to, and getting their act together) .

Posted using PostyBirb

[thatcasualgamergirl]

When I was in my single-digits, one of my cousins was really into Dragon Ball. I’d go up to him and watch him play a game about a diverse cast of characters with powers I’ve never seen before. But I pushed it aside, as it didn’t look that interesting at the time.

I knew DBZ had a huge influence on the world. Most of the videos I watched at the time were 2d Sonic sprite animations with choreography and techniques were very heavily inspired by the anime (I mean, look at Nazo Unleashed for example or Super Mario Bros Z). But looking up “dragon ball fights” just to get a taste, I wasn’t nearly as interested in it as the fan-made Sonic fights.

Fast forward to about September 2023. I was 16. While watching YouTube, a short clip about a YouTuber named Lythero playing Dragon Ball FighterZ with his friends. The game looked really fun, so I watched his other videos, and with each one I slowly got more interested in getting this game, even though I barely know anyone the cast besides the one with the orange gi and the rival with the cool armor and the cool device on his ear. So I bought the game for my Switch, started playing it, and then…well…

Something just snapped…

I know through a video game is not the best way to get introduced to a franchise, but boy did this game really did it! It introduced me to so many new characters and aspects, like I didn’t know that this Goku Black and Zamasu were the same guy! AND THEY CAN FUSE?! That hairless cat can destroy worlds with just a finger?! A dude that can skip time itself?! And SO MUCH MORE! It was all mind boggling.

It even got me into actually learning the HUGE story and watching all the iconic fights. I even learned about DBZA and even despite its humorous tone, I could understand the story.

It even got me into drawing these characters and while I did struggle on them for a bit, Toriyama’s art style and how he drew these characters helped me in how to draw them.

I had a new hyperfixation. So when I heard about his death on this here site…

I didn’t know what to feel.

Actually, no. I do know. I should feel glad that I finally have been impacted by his work. I should feel glad that I now understand why is work basically impacted the world. Dragon Ball is at lessons thing that connects all of us. Case in point, I had a conversation about it with a grown man last night after he caught me playing Dragon Ball Legends. We talked about our favorite character (Vegeta), favorite sagas, best moments of the show. It’s convos like that that make it so timeless.

Here is my latest sketch related to Dragon Ball. A drawing of these two Saiyan warriors who have impacted the world.

So on behalf of me and everyone else in the world,

Thank you and Rest in Peace, Akira Toriyama.

- CAZ

[doggirldick]

i was writing tags on that last post and had a childhood nostalgia moment so here's a little storytime about my childhood and early games i played. ehem

imagine you are a little child. you have a ps2 that your dad left behind when he fucked off. your exposure to video games is shitty ps2 movie tie-in games.

your primary school is in a tiny village out in the english countryside.

they had an afterschool 'club' that was really just 2 mothers of kids at the school babysitting kids whose parents couldn't pick them up immediately. image you are there every single school day bc school finishes at 3pm and you are growing up with a working class single mum whose always working long hours to keep a roof over your head because your shitty father doesn't pay child support.

the club's in the school assembly hall so there's a lot of room to run round. they have a table with paper and pencils and felt tips so kids can sit and draw. they have a table with a box full of a mix of lego and mega blocks. there is one empty table just for whatever. in one corner, there is a little crt with a built-in vcr on the floor with some shitty old kids movies on vhs next to it, there are a few beanbags borrowed from the school library (a tiny room that can hardly be called a library but whatever) in front of the tv.

you're an undiagnosed autistic 5 year old that just moved to this school so you just sit in silence playing with lego by yourself and pissing yourself cause you're too autistic to ask to go to the bathroom.

one day. they get an old ps1 for the tv. 3 whole games and no memory card yippeeeee.

the games?

Action Man: Destruction X (anyone remember action man? i had this one doll that came with a snowmobile he could ride that fired giant snowballs out the sides and he had a hole in the back of his head so you could see through the visor on his helmet, it was the COOLEST toy when i got it).

Tweenies: Game Time (if you were a british kid in the early 2000s too poor for cable or whatever, chances are you grew up watching cbeebies and cbbc, maybe citv. my memory is vague but back before the digital switchover and the reign of freeview, when all we had was like 5 analogue channels, when i was young enough to watch cbeebies, i'm pretty sure they had like a cbeebies block and a cbbc block on bbc two in the morning before school)

RAYMAN. finally. a game that wasn't a tie-in, and not only that but it offered passwords in addition to saving so even though we didn't have a memory card, we could write a password down.

rayman was magical. beautifully drawn and animated. to my little child eyes it was just like a cartoon. it was also hard as balls so even with our passwords, we never got very far at all but i was obsessed. whiling away the hours after school fumbling around the first few levels every day. one time an older kid who was actually good at video games was at the club and made some actual progress while i watched mesmerised, had my mind blown when he got the helicopter hair powerup thing.

i later got a ds lite and the first game i got was rayman ds which was a ds port of rayman 2. fucking awesome. got stuck for a while until someone told me that if you let the walking shell chase you in a circle, it gets tired and you can ride it. COOLEST SHIT EVER. got stuck again cause i always got lost in the fire temple place and then on time i got jumpscared by one of those fucking scary bastards popping out from behind a rock and i didn't want finish it until years later when i got an action replay lol.

i stopped playing rayman bc someone let me play new super mario bros on their ds and then i got obsessed with mario until pokemon entered my life and platinum released here may 22nd 2009, the day before my 10th birthday and guess what my dad got me in one of his many attempts to make me not grow up hating him.

there. i'm done. i did make friends with other regulars at the club eventually, that's how i got into pokemon. we'd pretend to be pokemon and i had a sonic oc in like 2007 i would pretend to be sometimes. my exposure to sonic was sonic gems collection for ps2 but in 2007 my dad got me a psp and sonic rivals. sonic gems collection had a museum with unlockable art and sonic rivals had unlockable cards with art so i learned about other sonic games through these images until i got internet and watched the cutscenes on youtube lmao.

[sakuramoussy]

i just finished organizing my art folder and... Maaaaan some of this stuff is old as shit

[yougotcrit]

I usually reserve my Tumblr for reviews and comics about film, but it’s Inktober, the new Super Smash Bros. is nearly upon us, and I happened upon this drawing I made 17 years ago.

It was 2001 and Super Smash Bros. Melee had just dropped. I was 15 and I was obsessed. The expanded roster set my imagination into gear as I dreamed of potential characters for future sequels. I wanted to draw my dream roster for those games.

I wasn’t a very good artist (I’m still not). The only way I could accurately draw any of these characters was to reference and copy from the box art of many of my games, or my collection of Nintendo Power magazines, or Google, which, in those early formative years of the internet, did not yet have its extensive library of images to access.

Done in pencil, I copied most of the characters, freehanded a few (Diddy Kong and Qbert), and downright traced others *cough* Mario *cough*. You may notice many of them are completely out of proportion to one another, their lower halves are suspiciously absent, and many are missing their pupils (I had plans to finish them later). I’m impressed to see how many characters that my 15 year-old brain had correctly predicted to appear in future games, yet saddened to see that some still haven’t (Waluigi) or probably never will (Banjo-Kazooie). I intended to add more, but I lost the sheet of paper with my work somewhere down the line and forgot about it.

Jump to the future. I’ve found the missing sheet (faded and stained in some places), but now I’m armed with a scanner, a drawing tablet, the internet’s limitless supply of images to reference. and slightly improved drawing skills. Now I can clean up, ink, add more characters, and even add color, which 17 years ago would have been too difficult or near impossible for me.

I realize there’s rules for Inktober and you’re supposed to draw something for whatever the day’s theme is and use actual ink on paper, but I’m just happy to contribute anything at all. Happy Inktober.

[askbrvrandcompany]

alright, the munday questions have been cleared off the blog and put under the cut here to keep the blog tidy! (with the exceptions of the two long ones...) thank you all for sending in your questions!

my deviantART says i’ve been a member for nine years…. so i guess that means i’ve been drawing for that long?? holy cow i’m getting old…

i can’t really give much advice besides generic things, like practice, use references, and use the curve tool for your lines if you’re drawing with a mouse. it’s my best friend.

also don’t start with MS Paint like i did, as it only has one layer and it is very limiting. i use Paint Tool SAI, it’s pretty simple and easy to use.

if you’re more used to drawing traditionally, that’s fine! most of the time i sketch my art on paper and line/color it digitally.

truthfully though, artistic skill comes from experience and hard work, so just keep at it!

just be sure to take breaks and stretch your hand every so often…… i cannot stress this enough because periodically my hand will hurt from drawing for too long. please don’t mess up your hand.

nope! i use a mouse! so i’m no help there, sorry.

i’m doing good though! my birthday’s coming up in three days and i’m feeling good!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!

yep, that’s right! the linework layer is very very helpful. sometimes i want to answer a question with lots of dialogue, but don’t want to draw an entirely new picture for a simple question, so i’ll use free deform to move the lineart slightly, so the character doesn’t stay completely still while they’re talking. (that’s not relevant to the ask but i love to talk haha)

i currently have no plans on getting a tablet though, but star is trying to talk me into it. i’m just not ready to make that change yet and i like my art style where it is right now. i’m worried that when i switch to a tablet, my line size won’t be consistent, which is an aspect that i like a lot about my art right now.

i appreciate that. i do agree with you, one day i will have to pick up a tablet and start improving.

but i like the consistent lines right now. it gives off a cartoony vibe, almost like a tv show animated in flash? having a consistent line size makes it easier to make subtle tweaks which is very helpful for answering asks. (heck, it’s the reason my talksprites look so consistent!)

if i picked up a tablet, i would have to start over with my artistic process, and re-learn a lot of things. my coloring methods would have to change, i’d have to make my hand steadier (which is why i’m using curve tool in the first place, my lines are very sketchy), a lot of things like that. that’s a lot of stress to think about, and i like art being easy and fun right now. when i’m ready i’ll definitely make that change, but it’s not necessary right now.

my favorite games are pokemon (obviously), paper mario, kirby, sonic adventure 1 and 2, NiGHTS journey of dreams (nostalgia reasons), and certain indie games! (OFF, undertale, oneshot)

i’m not really that interested in playing new games usually, i just like playing my old favorites over and over.

as for music it’s a lot trickier to pinpoint my specific music tastes? i like english vocaloid songs sometimes, like karma, amygdala’s rag doll, things like that.

i also like, uh? edgy rock songs? usually i just have one song from one band that i listen to over and over and nothing else, but if i had to lump all my favorite songs together, that’s a common theme among them…

i’ve never heard of those??

i literally cannot give you band names i listen to a lot, because i only ever listen to one song a band has, and listen to it on repeat until i get sick of it.

it’s, uh… kind of embarrassing… maybe i should put together a playlist of my fav songs…

IAMX!!!! holy cow that just came to my mind while i was writing!!

I LOVE IAMX!!!

lots of sushi! 

the-mew-in-the-stars submitted:

So this happened on my dashboard

NOT THAT KIND OF SUSHI

that’s a relief at least?

but like i said, i don’t have a steady hand, my lines are really sketchy when i draw by hand, and that’s why i use the curve tool to keep them straight and clean. having a consistent line size isn’t my only concern, there’s also that.

at least i can keep that in mind whenever i decide to make that switch.

ask-andante replied to your post: There are probably settings that you can use on…

if u ever wanna try it out btw, you can set pen settings like thisgyazo.com/a1fb207…and the stabilizer will make sure your hand is steady ;oc but you 100% dont need to use a tablet if you dont want to tbh, i think yer art is fucking amazing and yer improving so much even without it..! \o/ It’s less of a necessity than people make it out to be haha

aibou u are a lifesaver ilu

that means so much to me tho tysm…..

that’s so nice, thank you so much??

curve tool is my best friend!

that means so much to me, thank you for enjoying the blog!

the same reason i went back to writing pokepastas in the first place: nostalgia. pokepastas are a very important part of my life, and if star hadn’t created these characters, i’d be somewhere else entirely.

i also thought it would be fun to pick them up and write for them now that i have the art and writing skills to portray these characters better than we ever could before.

either way, i love characters like that!

because i’m one of them.

arms open wide! there’s no knife hiding in my hood, nope!

[orbyssarchives]

A Brief tl;dr

This is probably a lot to say for 20 unfinished webcomic pages and I know I can be fairly long-winded so if you just wanna skip ahead and click through the pictures I’ve put up, I understand.

The TL;DR is

Hello and welcome to Mage Punk Archives! My name is Tables and this is some of the work that I’ve done over the last few years and what I’ve been up to in my little corner of the world. This is the third and last of a series of posts, outlining a number of updates that I completed on the site.

Included are some of my inspirations and a little of what I’ve learned so far about myself as an ever growing artist up to this point.

After this, I want to keep the content more focused on the actual art and story.

  I’ll post to this site as often as I am able.

    Thanks for reading!

  ***

Long Ago, Before the miracle of handheld internet searches and Instagram

When I was but a young, internet webling, I was heavily into shitty online flash games and looking for anything even remotely related to my interests at the time. From Mario and Sonic to various comics, videos games, anime and things never to be said aloud (pornpornporn). My love of the likes of Super Mario Bros and Sonic the Hedgehog (big fandoms for me at the time) would later lead me to sprite comics. Today, my feelings for the little hodge podge collage strips of old video game sprite sheets and backgrounds are a little mixed.

(They were beautiful and I’m gonna make one someday)

Then, in Highschool, I took a basic Web Design class. It was a VVoid World Web of Notepad and Internet Explorer where a kindly old crone passed on to those of us there, some knowledge of the ancient runic language which forms the foundations of the World Wide Web: HTML. Tables, frames, css, oh my! This knowledge would eventually prove invaluable.

Throughout our studies we were occasionally allowed to venture out into the Wider World Web. It was during these little adventures and travels across the Web that I happened upon the magical land of Webcomics. It was also during this time that I began break free of the enchantment of sprites. Even though I would probably never return to them, they would always hold a special place in my heart.

  The Internet is for [Comics]

    Webcomics – Synonymous with “Masochism”

At first, I had no idea just how grueling webcomics could be. Most webcomic artists pump out pages one to three times a week. At the time I got into them, MegaTokyo, then still partially a video game webcomic, was just releasing its third printed book; 2-3 updates a week with a loosely set schedule. Evan Dahm was wrapping up his surreal fantasy epic, Rice Boy; with updates consistently going up Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The various sprite and drawn webcomics that I was following at the time were updating all the time. Seeing all the great work going up, I felt encouraged to try it myself.

I drew these closer to the end of my junior year of high school.

Desu

Taking major inspiration from a lot of the manga and anime that I was enjoying then, I used pen and ink to make my comic pages. I liked working in black and white because it felt direct and skipping on color made it easier to finish faster. I figured I could work faster if I didn’t have to worry about the extra step. When I did want to use color, as is typical for the early pages of a new manga, I used markers.

At the time, I had no idea that mangakas used assistants. That’s messed up.

Not to say that it was completely unrealistic, but back in the real world I could only average one black and white page a week. If even. The spider webs I was drawing all over were so that I wouldn’t have to use a ruler to draw my panel proper borders. I thought it gave the comic an “old archive”. In the end, I concluded that the spider webs should have their place and not be all over.

This time, I decided to work a little more carefully and deliberately.

  Moving Forward

It was going pretty well but by the time page 7 rolled around, it was time for midterms and I had become too self-conscious and uncomfortable with the way I was drawing my comic pages then. Then, it was time to take finishing high school seriously and before I knew it, I was a freshman at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. I did a lot of growing in the next four years that I attended there. Unfortunately, I never revisited those pages. Instead, near the end of my sophomore year, I took a Sequential Art class where the Final was a full-color, 5-page comic.

These are the ink-wash versions of the 7-page Final that I submitted. I’d originally colored them digitally to meet project requirements but I don’t want to post those just yet..

  In the End

I wasn’t satisfied. The truth was that I waited until the last minute, rushed it, and over-reached on a re-draw that wasn’t much fun for me to work on. During the course of that Sequential Art class my professor turned my attention to artists like Moebius and Mike Mignola. I also came across Katsuya Terada’s stuff around this time.

  And school went on…

    I worked on Mage Punk when I could between assignments.

    Between thinking I could possibly work on a for-print comic…

    …and a webcomic at the same time.

  The End was Near

Most of these were actually made towards the end of my four years at Ai. Those of us graduating were tasked with compiling our work from the years past in accordance with the requirements for obtaining our degrees. I believe that we were given two semesters to gather our pieces and do any revisions to previous works to get them up to date with the rest of the portfolio piece. Illustration Graduates at AiFL were typically required to gather a required selection of their work into an on-demand printed book. The year that I graduated, my department decided to change things around a little. Specifically, we were given the option to collect the requirement work into a plain black binder portfolio and make the printed book more geared towards our pursuits. I opted to make a Mage Punk/Orbyss Archives “Zine” as my main portfolio piece.

  And Then College was Over

I drew a few more pages of the comic until I became employed full-time. These days, there aren’t enough free hours in my days for me to keep up with any typical webcomic’s update schedule so for a long while I stopped working on the comic altogether. I’m squeezing as much work out of every second that I’m not there; with whatever energy I can muster. This includes planning, writing, sketching and drawing. Before I got back to work on the site, I was posting fairly regularly to my Twitter and Instagram; those posts took time to do as well.

  Most of this post was written in separate sessions on my commutes to work.

“Shortcuts”

Even though I always wanted to present Mage Punk as a webcomic, I always worked on it like it would go to print eventually. This created a confusing mindset for me when working on the comic, where I had to work on a whole book, but I have to rush to finish every page. If I wanted to put out pages more frequently I took shortcuts at any point I could to be done with them. Even if I created a good buffer of finished pages, I’d still run into that same pitfall eventually. I wasn’t enjoying my project because of a pressure I applied on myself to finish it in a way I wasn’t necessarily comfortable with. I didn’t even get that much done in the end.

It’s important that I work on it at a pace that lets me show the best of my ability. I would love it if I could be properly finished with the pages before I post them but if I wait before it’s all good and done I’ll just never get around to posting anything, forever floating, aimlessly, throughout creative internet limbo.

Instead, if I have to work on my comic in piecemeal, I’ll just post it up in piecemeal. Mage Punk will still be presented as a webcomic but, until the end of the book is done, certain changes are still a possibility. Editing is an important part of producing any book and I’m going to make its presentation reflect that.

  Cue Rhidiculous shouting “I told you so!” from some nearby bushes.

  A Webcomic in Presentation Only?

Those Two Images are the Same Page

Instead of trying to finish things at breakneck speeds, I’m going to work on the comics at a more reasonable pace. I’ll try to work on it mainly Chapter to chapter instead of page to page like how a webcomic normally is done (buffers aside) This gives me the opportunity to take a step back and get a broader look at the story while still putting out content in enjoyable chunks.

It’s difficult for me to wrap my head around drawing a comic on a start-to-finish, page-by-page basis. While I was working on the later pages in the chapter I kept finding myself jumping around and making changes to previous pages to make some things more consistent with later parts of the story. Instead of working page-by-page, I was editing the chapter as a whole to try to strengthen the narrative I’m trying to tell.

To that end, I still want to present it on this site as a webcomic; if only in name and archive.

The Process

At the VERY longtime behest of my editor, I’ll be presenting the comic as a work in progress at various points in the following production stages.

Writing

I’ll post dialog excerpts here and there. Nothing that can spoil the story too much.

This step will be kept largely behind the scenes.

Thumbnails

I do these on index cards in ballpoint pen to figure out the sequence of events that I most prefer.

This is the step where I’m prone to overloading a page with information.

First Drafts

Full size roughs of the earlier thumbnails. This step helps me get a better sense of how crowded or unbalanced a page might be early on.

This step also helps to prune out any strenuous scenes or dialog that could otherwise have their own pages.

If it isn’t working visually at this point, it’s not going to work in the next step.

Pencils

This is where the real drawing happens. Drawings in this step are made by either digital or traditional means depending on when or where I’m working.

Inking

This step is exactly like the drawing step but in pen and ink. Despite my affinity for real pen and ink, I’ll mainly be working this step digitally.

Color

This step is wrought with indecision but it also one of the faster, more fun steps to do.

Lettering

I’ve removed the dialog from all the pages currently up, opting to keep that out until a chapter is completed; it’s the thing I’m likeliest to change the most frequently until the end.

All lettering is currently done digitally but I’m considering the possibility of hand lettering.

Drawing dialog can be quite fulfilling but it takes a lot of practice.

Editing

This part will be happening all throughout. Page re-orders, panel redraws, changes in dialog.

Until the book is done.

  Here We Are

I’ve already made some revisions to a handful of the pages that are already up; if you browse through the comics you can see the revisions noted in the comic descriptions. I’ll make blog posts for any major revisions or series of revisions that I do. I have a few ideas for some smaller projects that I can work on while I work on Mage Punk. Whether they be illustrations, stories, or even mini-comics like this silly thing down here.

      Moving on

I might have also mentioned before that I have a few other drawings that I wanted to make for the site. In particular I have a neat idea for some social media icon illustrations. I wanna make something that takes advantage of what I’ve learned with using CSS. It’s nothing too fancy.

All that said, future posts will be a bit more brief than these last three were. I’d much rather write and post about the work itself, but I feel like I’ve hit a personal milestone and felt the need to ramble on about it a little.

    Until next time,

  Thanks for reading!

    The Big Site Update (Part 3) A Brief tl;dr This is probably a lot to say for 20 unfinished webcomic pages and 

[returnerofthewrites]

Thoughts on Sonic Mania

This review/essay assumes that the reader has kept up with the social media releases in regards to the game, such as the reveals of Flying Battery and Stardust Speedway, the videos on the Special and Bonus Stages, gameplay videos of some zones released by Youtube accounts, and so on. However, it will not have any spoilers about zones, mechanics or things beyond this.

Everyone out there who’s already put out a review or video or whatnot on Sonic Mania has already started off by going into Sonic’s history, ups and downs and so on, so I won’t bore you with that. Everyone already knows about Classic Sonic, Sonic Adventure, Sonic 06 and Boom. There’s more interesting (and relevant) ways to do an intro for this anyway, and the 06/Boom stuff doesn’t bear repeating.

What does bear repeating, then? The fact that Sonic Mania is a very, very good game.

I’ve been a Sonic fan all of my life, starting with renting VHS tapes of both cartoons (AoStH and SatAM, not Underground) from the local Blockbuster, then eventually ending up with the PC versions of Schoolhouse and CD, and I’m willing to admit that, up until very recently, I was never particularly good at the games. As a child I always got stuck around Collision Chaos, and as I grew up and found out about emulation, I never exactly beat any of them, but it didn’t matter to me, because frankly, moving so fast, shooting through loops and the general feeling of momentum was so much fun.

The whole videogame news website meme of “Sonic was never good” thus understandably grates on me. The Sonic social media construct and everything else cracking jokes about his less-than-stellar outings and so on was cute at first, but it quickly gained that poisonous ironic tinge to it, like Sonic would never be able to step back out of the shadow of its own mistakes. Like when you see people on here or Twitter or whatever call themselves “furry trash” or “(X fandom) trash” or so on. Stop doing that. Don’t settle for acting like mediocrity.

Sonic Mania is the opposite of all of that. It feels like the freshest, most interesting, but most importantly, most earnest Sonic game in a long, long time. It was obvious to most people when the game was revealed that the game was going to be something special, and I think the hype for it only grew as time went on, even in the hearts of anyone who managed to be skeptical at first. There were no jokes, no self-deprecating wisecracks or memes, none of that. They simply stood up, head held high, and showed off gameplay after gameplay.

This game is exactly the game that Sonic has needed, now more than ever. This year in general has been great for games (between Breath of the Wild, Nier, Persona, and many other upcoming games like Mario Odyssey and the like), and Sonic Mania is another excellent chip to add to the pile. The sheer amount of passion and love for Sonic as a franchise that the developers (Taxman, Stealth, Tee Lopes and the rest of the Sonic 2 HD crew, and so on) have is palpable, and more importantly, it’s wonderful.

I have experience with Taxman’s work through the excellent Sonic CD port from back in 2011, so when I booted up the game and started a save file as Sonic and Tails, I felt right at home. Controls, as expected, feel very natural, and the physics and momentum are virtually unchanged from the CD port, which itself was already about as accurate as you could possibly get to the originals. I have the Switch version, which meant that I was primarily using the left buttons to play rather than the control stick, and while I would have preferred a normal d-pad, it worked just fine anyway.

There’s something to be said about how easy it was to pick up the game and slip into a groove. I had gone in intending to look at the same the way I had when I streamed Sonic 3 and Knuckles a while back (my first time completing that game, no less), looking at the level design and seeing how the game itself worked. Instead, I ended up getting completely sucked into each and every level I played, and I was completely enamored with the game as a result. While I could see the machine and its cogs all working together, I needed a couple days to cool off and some more time to play it after the initial rush to get my thoughts in order.

I suppose that, more than anything, is what speaks the most to the sheer quality of the game. The levels consist of a mixture of:

Recreated zones from older games, oftentimes with new mechanics or mechanics pilfered and repurposed from other games in the series

And entirely new zones like Studiopolis and Mirage Saloon, with their own unique gimmicks, setpieces and visual themes

And while it’s very easy to organize those things like that, the game itself is far more than the sum of those parts. Mania’s levels absolutely ooze with love and attention to detail, so much so that it took at least two full playthroughs for me to pick up on everything (and knowing me there’s probably more stuff I missed). The game feels like a best-of game, where it takes many of the fan-favorite or memorable things from all four of the classics (1, 2, 3&K, and CD) and mashes them together in order to get the most out of them.

Chemical Plant is probably one of the easiest examples to point to, and it’s just the second level. The second act’s arguably “major” gimmick is the chemical pools that can be altered into bouncy gel (both light blue and green), but it’s not the only gimmick the stage has on offer; there’s also sticky platforms that move on rails, pink bubbles that lift you from one area to another, as well as the classic pipes from the first act and the original zone.

That’s four different small mechanics, and I can happily say that all of them are integrated into the level design in very sensible yet surprising ways. The levels aren’t massive, but there’s still plenty to explore, and thankfully exploration isn’t quite limited to only Tails thanks to the addition of a carry ability you get when playing with Sonic and Tails.

Thankfully, the exploration never feels like it becomes the main focus (partly since the Special Stage rings are the only major thing to find, and partly because the game has a save system), and there were times during my initial playthrough where I was trying to explore but accidentally stumbled into a high-speed place, only to decide to just roll with it (hah) and see what I could find in the next section of the level I ended up in. It speaks to the heart and soul of Sonic as a game and as a character, and it’s a very, very happy feeling.

The game’s difficulty is also worth noting, mostly since it’s probably the smoothest difficulty curve I’ve ever seen in a Sonic game. I’m rather curious to hear how the developers picked the old zones to remaster that they did, since it often feels like they were chosen not just for their memorability and mechanics, but also for where they showed up in their original games. Zones like Green Hill and Chemical Plant are obvious choices; some of the ones that show up later on, when the game starts getting harder and nearing its finale, are not quite so expected, and personally are very welcome surprises.

This also goes for the bosses, which often feel like they were designed more to be interesting and engaging rather than simply difficult. None of them are all that complicated per-say, but around the end of the first third of the game, things start to become much more challenging, and by the final act everything reaches its peak.

That said, I never got a game over and actually ended my first run with my lives in the double-digits, despite having a few deaths in earlier zones and dying a few times to the final boss. I attribute this to the quality of the level design more than anything else, though. Bottomless pits are beautifully rare (aside from a couple sequences in Flying Battery, naturally), and all of my deaths were due to my own recklessness rather than unintentional crushes, spikes or enemy placement.

And best of all, the Special Stages aren’t annoying. In fact, I’d say they’re probably the best in the series, taking the best elements of the previous games’ Special Stages and mashing them together. They get tough, but still quite fair, and are rather exhilarating. The Blue Sphere bonus stages are quite nice as well, though I do kind of prefer the 3&K ones which get you shields and extra rings and lives. Mania’s bonus stages only give you a medal if you win, which counts across all saves towards unlockables, like the sound test and other, more gameplay-related specialties (which, unfortunately, can only be used in the No Save mode).

Also, have I mentioned the presentation? I talked plenty about the attention to detail in the gameplay, but the graphics! The music! Sonic Mania has catapulted itself into my top pixelart-y games ever. It is to 2D Sonic what Symphony of the Night is to Castlevania: rich, colorful, smoothly animated, and full of vibrant details and lots of foreground and background elements that are just as much fun to sniff out and spot as actual secrets in the levels. Seeing all of the goofy EGG TV things in Studiopolis, or spotting the ever-recurring Eggman face logo in various zones (stylized, of course, in the look of classic Robotnik’s face), had me smiling the whole way through.

The music, much like the rest of the game (as I keep repeating) feels like a mixture of the good of everything that came before it, and it’s often the highlight thanks to how the old zones, new zones, and their remixes/music respectively shake up the genres and moods. It’s very similar to Sonic CD’s soundtrack in that regard; the final zone’s music gave me a similar sense of foreboding that Metallic Madness’ US track did, and there’s the obvious, funkier comparisons to draw between something like Stardust Speedway and Studiopolis. And classic tunes remixed, like Chemical Plant and Flying Battery, amp things up nicely.

If there’s one aspect that I do feel like nitpicking, though, it’s the stage transitions. The game has an intro cutscene and does transitions between the acts and zones quite a bit during the first half of the game, but after a certain point things slowly start to go more of the Sonic 2 route of just going from zone to zone, with little tying them together aside from being in older classic titles. Like I said, though, it’s a nitpick, and certainly not enough to really put a damper on how good the game is.

On the whole, Sonic Mania feels like an absolutely triumphant thing, not just for Sonic fans but anyone who loves videogames. It really is like a bolt from the blue (heh), coming at just the right time to remind everyone, fans, non-fans and newbies alike, of just why Sonic was such a massive hit in the first place. By the time I finished my first run, I immediately had the urge to play it again, and the only thing that stopped me was the fact that I really needed to go to bed and get to work early the next day.

As for right now, though? I think I’m off to play through another zone or two of my current Tails run. Gotta speed!

[pixelsjoy]

I’ve been tagged! By the one and only @claraknight! Let’s hop right to it!

1. Answer the new questions given by the previous person

2. Write 11 new questions

3. Tag 11 people

Questions

1. What’s your main fandom?

Super Mario is a fandom I’m always in! But right now, I’m also into Sonic, Dark Cloud, Voltron, Overwatch, and a couple of others. I’m always changing though haha

2. Favourite villain?

Bowser boy! I also love Lord Hater and Dr Neo Cortex.

3. Chinese or Japanese food?

Chinese! I have’t tried enough Japanese Food though~. I really like both tbh

4. Traditionnal or Digital art? (even if you don’t draw, which one do you prefer?)

I love both! Art is art! I’ll admit though, I’ve been spending more time with Digital Art nowadays. Traditional is always a good way to start off though. I need to get better with traditional art as well.

5. Have you ever been to a anime/gaming con?

One with my best friend, but I think we both can agree that it wasn’t too fantastic. Very small. Maybe another day we’ll go to a better one!

6. Cats or Dogs?

Cats, but I own and love both of them!

7. Your thoughts on the Crash Bandicoot remake?

I feel bad I don’t have the same feelings as original fans. I never played the original trilogy. BUT I’m still super excited! The remake is looking absolutely amazing!...But I really need to get used to N Tropy’s design.

8. Are you hyped for the upcoming E3?

HECK YEAH!! BRING ME THE GAMES I’M TOO POOR TO BUY!

9. What time is it as you’re typing right now?

8:04 PM!

10. Cinema or Netflix?

My brothers and I have been hooked on Netflix recently watching old and new shows alike. There aren’t too many new movies I wanna see. But I did see GotG Vol. 2 recently! It was fantastic!

11. Coffee or Tea? (rip me I’m lacking ideas)

Soda

I actually like both, but it depends on how they’re prepared!

Alright! Now that’s done! Let’s get to my questions since I actually feel motivated!

I’m tagging @kzumekenma, @reym0, @kattlup, @videogamefangirl-world, @drbonezy, @mr-stakes, @kumarikat, @mikis-bizarre-adventure, @mistersaturn123 and gosh dang it I give up. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to! If anyone else would like to, feel free!

My Questions

1. Fantasy or Sci-Fi?

2. Favorite kind of chocolate/thing to have with chocolate?

3. If you could be a fictional/mythological/fantasy creature, what would you be?

4. Favorite video game system?

5. If you could hang out with one fictional character for one whole day, who would you choose?

6. What kind of activities would you do with this said character?

7. How many blankets do you sleep under?

8. Show/Video Game/Movie/Books/etc. you are currently into?

9. If you could dye your hair any color, what would it be?

10. Last song you listened to?

11. If you could describe dragons in three words, what would you choose?

And that’s it! Have fun!

[workreveal-blog]

Using computer games to teach your class : Tips

New Post has been published on https://workreveal.biz/using-computer-games-to-teach-your-class-tips/

Using computer games to teach your class : Tips

We communicate to Ollie Bray, the Countrywide Adviser for Emerging Technologies in Getting to know at Education Scotland, about how gaming may be utilised in Training. With a fruitful and varied profession as a trainer, head of branch and college leader, uses computer fun games,to teach her class. Ollie believes that one of the many advantages gaming brings to Education is giving instructors a danger to innovate and do matters in another way. Here, he tells us what he hopes the future holds for video games primarily based Mastering, a way to convince a reluctant head teacher of its potential and recommends a few sources for Learning more. You could observe Ollie on Twitter @olliebray.

How did you get into games primarily based Studying?

Years ago, I used to be teaching public improvement and, frankly, locating it quite dry once I realised we had this thrilling Recreation, Sims Town. The belief Here is that everybody starts at the same point with the equal give up a goal, which is to construct a Metropolis. Anybody takes a unique path to getting there, and that turned into the part of the technique that captures and engages the imagination. This Game has day snapshots, actual stimulation and encourages aggressive Learning.

We would send domestic Learning responsibilities and each week for the duration of an evaluation session the kids might tell me what they’d learnt. This ranged from stepped forward understandings on pollutants and drainage to higher insights into nearby authorities re-elections. The proof of their Mastering wasn’t just in productive dialogue, the class would additionally share screenshots of what they’d constructed, and We would have a top Town of the week.

How can game from the experience of Mastering more widely?

I’ve coined the word ‘contextual hubs’ for Studying. You are taking a Recreation, possibly a commercially available Recreation, and it is up to the instructor to create educational ability around it. The Studying and learningfrom the game itself, however, will become the context for Mastering. If you think about Guitar Hero, it has no educational value in any respect, however in the hands of the proper instructors, it all of sudden becomes an assignment approximately tune, designing CD cases, advertising the band, there are all kinds of links to it. They play zombies games,shooting games , cars games etc.

studying

We did a major challenge in 2010 when the Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics play  Game become released, and we had a video assignment with a college in Canada. The Canadian teacher we spoke with stored her kids in college all night time for a kind of sleepover, and when they related to us at 6 am their time, it changed into three.30 pm, and we had kept our children back after near. The interesting issue approximately this was that our kid’s concept it evolved into a venture about the Olympics, however sincerely it turned into about connecting rural groups internationally, with all sort of classes approximately citizenship. The academics then implemented the enjoy to training on time zones, which is something kids only struggle with. All of this got here from the contextual hub of the laptop Recreation. The Studying had little to do with the Wintry weather Olympics Sport however it furnished a stimulus to get youngsters enthusiastic about Studying and define grasp.

In case you’re a trainer who can see the capability in gaming however you are not confident with the era, what natural recommendations should you provide to assist introduce it into their lecture room?

If a trainer can receive they want the youngsters to set up the console for them, the rest will contend with itself. Games are tremendous due to the fact they produce information; one instance might be Mario and Sonic at the 2012 Olympics for the Wii. After the break, You can get the kids to turn the console on and play the hurdles, which takes mins. You’ve got kids writing down rankings and instances, and that they supply this records to the trainer. What they have got done is create wealthy, accurate statistics inside the context of a numeracy lesson. The instructor at no factor has come into contact with the technology and simply does what they’re excellent at, that educates the learner.

You may feel relaxed within the domain of being a teacher, and the children can sense at ease within the area of computer video games; while these overlap it is while it turns into an undoubtedly thrilling space for Studying. You do not should take a leap out of your comfort region; it is approximately taking a little little bit of a threat and trusting children with the era.

What do you keep in mind the maximum positive result or achievement story to return from games primarily based Getting to know?

It is given hundreds of humans throughout the United Kingdom permission to try to do things a piece differently. If you’re trying to introduce a new subject matter in class, you are searching for aid from another team of workers in a faculty. However, this is a vertical relief, and often it does not produce new ideas. With the use of video games consoles in the closing three years, quite regularly there’ll handiest be one teacher in a college looking to push the limits. They must look horizontally for his or her help and expert development, and attain out to peers throughout us of a and around the sector. They haven’t been offering each other with the solutions due to the fact it is almost impossible, but they have got been sharing ideas, and taking some of these, using them, adapting them or ditching them. It is all approximately effect within the school room, and I think it’s been the maximum fantastic stuff that’s pop out of all of this, is that human beings have permission, to innovate and do matters in a different way.

If you’re raising towards a head who would not assume video games based totally Mastering is appropriate, how may want to you attempt to make them see in any other case?

First of all, we can display them the studies which prove it has a high-quality impact. Secondly, we will place them in contact with different head instructors who’ve it off their schools. In instances of financial drought, why are we continuously investing money into ICT gadget while definitely, we recognise kids have were given matters at domestic they might convey in, and parents are inclined to allow them to.

The 1/3 aspect is to remind head teachers that, apparently, what we’re talking about is not PC video games, it is played. While you get a room full of teachers to play with consoles, they may feel silly at the start, but they get into it! I’d never say, anyone, however with most people; you see this lightbulb moment. In case you’ve forgotten what it is want to play and be a baby, it is hard to speak, and therefore it ‘s hard to improve their Studying. Lots of these teachers are mother and father themselves, but they have not the idea that what they have at domestic might be beneficial in colleges. It’s pretty much drawing up the dots.

teaching

Are there any e-books or assets You could suggest for teachers and heads interested by Gaining knowledge of extra?

• Jesse Schell spent seven years as the innovative director of the Disney digital reality studio and has written an interesting e-book called The Art of Recreation Layout.

• Professor James Paul Gee has a substantial involvement in literacy studies and is a member of the Countrywide Academy of Schooling. His e-book ‘What Video games need to train Us approximately Gaining knowledge of and Literacy’ is worth a read.

• Mark Prensky, has lately released an e-book, ‘Teaching Virtual Natives: Partnering for Real Learning’ which explores how we can engage kids in Gaining knowledge of using the social internet and the net.

• I’ve just finished studying, ‘truth is Damaged’ by way of US social technology researcher, Jane McGonigal who talks approximately how encouraging people to play extra video games, and the right games could remedy some the world’s problems.

game

• Subsequently, I have created and which may be determined on the Dad or mum Trainer Network. This explains more about the contextual hubs I have cited and how to triumph over those first demanding situations involved in getting started.

What do you wish the destiny holds for video games primarily based Studying?

I’ve just been doing this task, and I’ve called it ‘impressive Mastering’ due to the fact I do not assume games based Studying is the be all and give up all. Top teachers use tools correctly, and occasionally that’s a Game, sometimes it’s taking the youngsters outside, and from time to time it’s a test on a piece of paper. What I want to look from this, is that this concept of permission, and that I need to see governments and local government and especially head teachers – because I think it really is wherein a number of the block is – giving instructors permission to do what they assume is best for those kids they’ve got in front of them.