I'm still alive!

Just letting anyone that's still watching me that I'm still alive and that I actually have been working on things while at school. Here is one of a couple things in the pipeline.

Color progress of Edwin Huang's B/W Juri Inks

Minor update: Another image I've been working on.

Medusa Gorgon, referenced from LostLittlePuppet's cosplay photo

Oy...

Not really so much of a problem with the @HOME app for the PS3, but some observations of texture and joint issues for characters that show a lot of skin. Ignore this if you don't use @Home on your PS3. ;)

Minor update, if anyone is still watching...

I went and modeled the armbands and I am also experimenting with Lux Render for better rendering results. Next, I'm going to model a more accurate snake from the Soul Eater series that the character uses.

Also, I got an update for one of the game characters I wrote up for that long winded RPG I've been working on. 1 (technically 3, if you include Maya and Rad) full designs done, several more to go.

It's been a while

Yup, it's been several months since I've last posted anything here on my journal. Most of you have probably forgotten about me, and some may have not. Either way, it doesn't really matter, as I'm here now and giving updates.

First off, I've had my birthday and I'm currently 27 years old. Woo... I don't feel much different, but I am older and approaching 30.

Second, my family and I have moved out of our previous residence to one that's much, MUCH more livable and secure. The downside is that during the moving process, I've found that I'm in terrible shape and have begun a pretty brutal workout regimen to at least begin feeling better and stronger. So far, it's working! I just need to get my walk in sometime this afternoon.

Third, my plans in the game design space have been put on hold for the time being. Yeah, yeah, I know what I've said before; but, I've come to the sad realization that most people are not willing to help out someone in my position, regardless of how interesting the concept may be. Plus, I have yet to get any headway on the game engine needed to play the game in the manner I've envisioned.
So, for now, the super large scope game will be placed on hold and a simpler, already planned out game will take it's place until more work can be done with it. Once I've nailed down a couple of specifics, I'm going to get some characters designed and playing with the idea for it. More details to come!

Oh, lastly, I've come to the conclusion that it's best that I at least try to finish some of my outstanding requests and trades that I've somehow accumulated over the years. Some of them are really simple - which may be the reason they were skipped over, lol - and some require some real planning to get right. So, I'm going to be posting quite a few things over in my Deviant Art page and here on my blog as I finish them.

Next, I'm in the process of writing out a short sinking and sticky story/comic. You can see where it's going based off the initial render that sparked the idea below. Enjoy!

Another project update!

It's not much, but thanks to another online buddy of mine, Shin-Kensou, work on some character concepts have been produced! This one in particular is of Rad, with a mustache! lol

What I've decided, with the prompting on Shin-Kensou, is to make a smaller project that uses some of the characters in a way to explain their past, or their reason for being part of the story. As it currently stands, Rad is the furthest along in character development, and yes some of his information that I had previously posted here has changed. The next step will be to get some further in progress shots of him and finally get started on some plotline for him and a 3D model worked up.

I know it isn't a very large deal to many people, but work on my game project is finally underway!

Project Update

It's more of a small update really.

Anyway, I finally got Neverwinter Nights up and running, and I even managed to get my hands on the community expansion kit. Thankfully, the patches and other software were easier to install than they were to get. Ugh... I really need to get some high speed connection again.

Other than that, the tool set appears to be simple enough to at least plan around what goes where in the game world, and even easier to see if it looks alright before you setup the module. Thank goodness building landscapes are not as brutal as I expected them to be. At least not yet anyway. lol All I'd need to worry about would be making sure the scene at least closely matches what I'm working on.

The characters on the other hand are going to be more of an issue since the game has a weird way of generating characters that suit the ones I'm designing. Plus, it's not like the original game was designed with Asian flair to begin with, so costumes and looks may take a backseat until the next stage of the game is in progress. That, or I'll need to invest in Neverwinter Nights 2, maybe even Dragon Age when it comes out. I'll worry about that another time since that means extra money I don't possess at the moment.

So, besides all of the fun time to be had on this project, it looks like everything is proceeding full steam ahead! Expect some future posts relating to character profile updates, looks, envrionments and enemies as things progress further.

Moving Along...

I know, I know... I promised to update the blog in a more timely fashion; but, I just haven't done so as of late. BLARGH!

I've also been putting off other things, such as the requests, art trades, and game projects due to my unstable mood. I know I should not be doing things this way, but I have no idea on how to bring myself out of this rut. All I can do is move on and hope things get better.

Aside from that, I've updated the art trade I've been working on! They're test renders for the most part, but it shows that I'm on the right track. If nothing else, it's been keeping my spirits up just working on it. So, without any further delay, take a look at the 3 shots below.


So, when it's finished, it should prove to be an interesting image, or set of images.

Next, I previously stated that I would be building my game project using the Blender Game engine, which is part of the recent version of Blender. I've been thinking hard about that and may experiment with either Blender or Neverwinter Night's Aurora game building engine. The case of using NWN's game building engine would allow me to test out the branching storyline I want to create for the finished product, get a general view of where and how the game world would look like, and even test out some of the gameplay elements in a similar regards to how RPG Maker XP does. Granted, I haven't booted up NWN in a couple of years; but it does give me a reason to reload it on my laptop. lol! Plus, I've been playing Bioware's Jade Empire for the past week or so and how found a new found appreciation for how the developers craft their stories. That, and I've read in a recent Game Informer that their next game, Dragon Age, used the same game builder for a similar purpose of fleshing out the story for that game. It makes sense, so that may be a possible route for me to take.

So, I think this is it for the time being and I'll make another post soon!

Later!

Projects Update

Well, I'm not to sure if this is an update. It's more of a what's happening... I guess.

First off, obviously, I'm currently revising some of the characters, their actions, and etc. so they don't clash and outshine one another. The reasoning behind it came from a discussion I had with a buddy of mine about one of the character's event scenes being fairly cooler and more interesting during that event than in most of the game. I concede that; and, as a result, will retool how each of them work together and separately from one another. Silly enough, the whole process is not so far off that this would take very long to do. It's just a small tweak, if anything. I'm also playing around with other names for Salaria; her name currently feels like how one would say Malaria. Ack!
The other issue that I'm currently working on (and after a talk with my friend again) are expanding the characters in a similar pattern with Rad. In writing him, I somehow managed to work out a ton of stuff specific to him and then neglecting the other characters, namely the main one Maya. I guess she should be more of a newbie to the world, rather than know it all, or something to that effect, and is capable of growing as the story progresses. Technically, all the characters will grow and change over time, but none to the extent of the main character, as it should be.

I'm still working on other projects such as the Poser renderings. I'm not totally sure why I'm stalling with them; but, for whatever reason, I will get them done. ARGH!
I'm also trying to figure out how to redo my blog page. Ah, I may make a picture or something, I'm not too sure. Maybe a logo for the game, whenever I get around to naming it.

I guess that's it. This isn't much of an update, but meh. I'm still trying to figure out what to post here since I'm fairly new to this and I'd hate to ruin everyone's opinion of the game with TMI (to much information) and loads of promises that I may not be able to deliver on. It would be great to get more reactions from people on this, but I figure this will not be the case.

Later!

A Small List of Characters

Hey everyone, it's me again, posting another small update on some of my projects over on my side of the globe. Today, as if the title has not already give that away, are a small sampling of characters that are going to be available for play. There's a good chance that most of these characters will change quite a bit through the process, not to mention once I get the overall look for them some things could be tweaked visually as well. Oh yeah, majority of these characters have, at one time, come from a Chinese styled monestary that has yet to be named. I'm still working on it and will update this blog as appropriate. And away we go!

1. Maya Naress - This is obviously going to be the main character of the group. During and after a brief tutorial, she's playable throughout most of the game. I say this as the plan is to let the other playable characters take her place at certain plot moments where it makes sense to do so. Sadly, she's also the only character that has a preliminary visual mockup available. Not that I hate it or anything, I just believe it needs to be changed before I can actually say "it's her," if you know what I mean. A visual of what I am talking about can be seen here. More details on her backstory, abilities, and etc when finalized or properly typed up.
2. Salaria Tesmit - This character is the second one to be introduced in the game and will be playable only until after the first dungeon/adventure area. She's also going to be the first candidate to a name change as I just realized that her name rimes with Malaria. lol That and her last name is that of a character from Final Fantasy 8. Sad how things just click when you are reading the lengthly notes you wrote a couple of days ago. Saltes, the nickname I made up for her may be a better alternative and a new last name.
   Besides that, she's to be Maya's close friend and, usually, a walking tome of info, especially in the area of archeology and of things that make no sense to anyone. Also, she's a part-time instructor at the monestary that they both attend, or attended. More on this later.
3. Sarin Tao Ming - She's to be your semi sterotypical prodigy. I say semi only in the regards that she does not always appear to be that way and for good reason. She is the best friend of the next character, Eneko, since they were children and are often seen together while out adventuring. The plan for them to meet up with Maya is to introduce them while one, or both of them, are in a predictament thanks to Sarin gettin in over her head. Once again, more on this later.
4. Eneko Matashi - My ninja girl, who has also trained in the way of the monk arts at the same monestary that my three previous characters have. Best friends with Sarin since childhood and her ever frequent adventure companion. She's also to be a bit more careful than Sarin and tries to keep her out of trouble, when possible. Obviously, when Maya meets up with them, things did not end up well. Work in progress...
5. Radderic "Rad" Yanis - He's techincally the third character to be introduced in the game and only becomes playable after an event or dungeon/adventure area. He's supposed to be a "Jack of all trades, master of some" type of character, but if anything, he's to be more of my mouthpiece on the way RPG's are made and some of the silly, random crap that majority of them force you to do while playing them. For this reason, he is extremely aware of his environment, story/plot elements, and other random things in the game; often to guide the player to a different line of thinking or action, rather than to force a linear approach. Think of him as a walking, talking walkthrough, with a very sarcastic view of things.

Well, that's all I have for the moment; the rest is being cleaned and typed up inbetween other things in my life. If I get a chance, I also plan to draw out the characters on my own, until I can find an artist interested in helping out. This may take a while, but like I said previously, I have plenty of time at the moment.

Oh, and if anyone is waiting on a request or trade via DeviantArt, I am letting you know that I cannot get into my account from home to check my messages. It appears that DA does not like my dial-up connection and until DA fixes it on their end, I'll just post updates here on my blog.

Till my next post, take care!

Random Musings

Well, I don't a whole lot to talk about here. Never been much of one to post a blog. lol

Aside from that, I will be using this blog to report the status of some of my projects. Some of them are requests to create images via renderings in Poser, an art trade, and a video game project!

On the side with the image projects:

1. one set is partially done or should I say 1 of 4 are done. The characters have been created and properly textured, I just need to setup the rest of the actions to accommodate the request itself. Bleh! I think I'm just being lazy or depressed since I could have done it sooner.
2. The second request requires a rendering of a female centaur caught up in an odd situation. I believe it's more on the bondage side of things, but I'll need to finish some tests to see how to make one from scratch or via DAZ's V4 and their Millennium Horse. Some sort of weird morph may be in order.
3. An art trade with a gifted artist, you can see his web page on Deviant Art. This one is really intriguing as the request is along the lines of some of my older works; which is VERY cool to begin with. Also, I've finished about half of it (look just below for a sample) or so. I think all that's left is the need to work on a character and add SLIME! BWAHAHA! *cough* Anyway, so that's on it's way.
   

On the side for my other projects:

1. GAMES! Well, playing some of the ones that I have yet to finish are on my to do list as well. I just have WAY to many to list here at a time. So, next game up is probably Shin Megami Tensi: Nocturne and Person 3/FES. Awesome games and great study material, especially Nocturne for it's ways of using the story and game play elements to change varying outcomes with your enemies and random encounters.
2. My video game project! Technically, it's #1 on this list, but they are both related since I'm in the process of making a Role Playing Game (RPG) in a similar vein. Well, to some degree anyway. What I really am shooting for is something close to Kingdom Hearts as for game play and Jade Empire, or Mass Effect, for story and/or branching process. The reason for this is I want a more combat focused rpg with a great story. I'm not knocking the great stuff that has come out over the years, but I feel that the standard way of rpg gaming needs a boost, or change of pace. Granted, the test run of the game I'm working on is planned for a 2 dimensional version to workout various areas of the game, like characters, enemies, plot, overall story, and so forth; it's the goal I want to reach with making this game. And, in another journal posting on Deviant Art here, the game and story development will more than likely be done solely by me. It's not because I am some sort of arrogant bastard that wants to alienate people, it's due to people usually not wanting to work with me. A wide variety of reasons can be given, but at the end of the day, I'm usually alone on how to approach the idea. I'd love to work with other people, and I may, or should, be contracting out some of the character and enemy artwork with some artists that do commissions. It sounds silly to suggest this line of thinking, but who the hell is going to do any work for someone that's usually broke or for free? The answer is that NO ONE really will! The same will be said for the music, which I may just pull out my sister's digital synthesiser and make something usable or contract out for. Meh... not much else to say about this, until my next posting. That should contain some sneak peeks on some of the characters.

So, that's all I think I have for the moment. Like I said about, be on the lookout for some upcoming details on some of the characters for my game project and the other things I'm working on.

Till next time, I'm out!
Ayane Matrix