babygray

Happy Halloween!

I love/hate this time of year. Finances are low due to lack of full time summer work, and work has been... really draining lately, but the delicious fall food and the fact that it'll soon be FREAKING HALLOWEEN has kept my spirits up.

God, I love Halloween. I get to dress up and watch cool movies and toss candy at random strangers. (I really can't do much of the last one around here; trick-or-treating isn't really a thing in Japan. ... So I'll just throw the candy at myself?) AND I have a legit reason listen to Halloween music and people won't look at me like I'M the weirdo for doing the Monster Mash.

Next week is the start of NaNoWriMo, and I think I'll be participating properly this time. Spent a bit of time today cleaning off my work desk in preparation, in fact. (Though... I should have spent that time warming up my atrophied writing muscles by writing something for the Snarry Mini Games or finishing off an old fanfic.)

Today's doodle: I finished it up in the middle of the night... and it kind of shows? Bigger version posted on dA.

Current Mood: content
Current Music: Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation

This week has been busy. I have forgotten how to deal with work, and I might have hit an energy upswing. It's the only thing I can think of to explain the current need to do something everyday.

(The only other reason I have is freaking Tumblr.)

I went insane and drew up a comic based on a Supernatural episode. Insane because I... think I wasn't so much doodling as painting, and I don't even know how to paint. (I am still ridiculously proud of myself.)

Today's doodle is based on "The Prince and the Merman". I've been thinking of writing out another version of the first draft for chapter 2. (That sounds more complicated than it should.) But I'm a coward, so I drew a picture of Snape as a merman instead of, you know, actually writing.

... I think I'm improving...

Current Mood: determined
Current Music: BBC Radio 4 repeats

I kind of wish there was still time. Or maybe I'm write one more post this week, just so that I can title it "Hot Times/Summer in the City".

This summer... It had been years before I actually had a good summer. I worked a few hours a week, which meant I didn't end up staying inside my little house for days on end, sweating my way into depression and boredom. I spent too much money, but all for the good cause of visiting Harry Potter Land and getting my grasping hands on a Sailor Uranus and a Sailor Neptune mini-figurine... because you CANNOT have one without the other.

I do regret not working hard on my WIP-pile. There had been days where I floundered with nothing/too much to do. On the other hand, my output during vacation time is about the same as my output during work time. And I got some things done (even if those things happen to be related to Bioshock Infinite's trophies) and had fun doing it. So... win/win?

Sketch is based on Supernatural 9.02 ("Devil May Care"). I've kind of decided to sketch something for each episode of season 9 over on Tumblr. I wish I thought of it back in April, when I started watching the series, but... meh. That's just something to look forward to when I watch it all a second time.

Current Mood: lazy
Current Music: SF Debris reviews

Gosh... I wonder. What game have I been playing lately?*

The heat has been almost unbearable lately, but this summer hasn't been bad. I work for an hour or two every other day, which isn't a lot, but it keeps me from staying at home for weeks, going stir-crazy and depressed.

I have to get back to writing. I've been lazy, and reading/playing video games is easier. Hell, drawing is easier. Which means I'll have to spend the next two, three days writing, lest I start to feel really guilty.

But... that'll have to wait until I finish this, which I'm hoping will be the first "completed" drawing I've done since.... January?

Trip to Harry Potter Land is next week. A co-worker who had been to USJ recently said there was a 3-hour waiting time for the HP rides.

And here I am, planning to go at the peak of summer vacation. It's gonna be awful, isn't it...

*I love Bioshock Infinite's Lutece Twins, particularly Rosalind. ...I might have a weakness for "quirky" redheads in masculine wear. Honestly, I want her clothes, complicated underthings and all. (Does it look like she's holding that plate, or am I just being lazy again...)

Current Mood: guilty
Current Music: BBC Radio 4 shows

The next chapter of "A Series of Events" went up on Friday. It should not have taken as long as it did, but, stuff got in the way. (Mostly my own insecurities, I think). That said, considering my track record, posting anything at all is worth celebrating.

Today's sketch, of course, has Nothing To Do with the story. I stayed up all night trying to draw something, only for this pose and this image to finally come to me this morning. I'm still having trouble drawing Snape for some reason, but what little you see of Harry came out not that bad, right?

Frankly, I just think Naked!Harry glomping Snape from behind is a cute/funny idea. Nearly based a story on that, before it turned all angsty and serious on me.

Completely unrelated except it totally is, as I was trying to draw anything last night, I caught an episode of Momo Kyun Sword. Just my luck, it was the beach episode?, and... I did not like it. (I have nothing against blushing boobs and butts; it's the interminable parade of boobs and butts and practically naked girls and women of all shapes and sizes and heroines with NO BRAS running and having their boobs bouncing painfully up into their faces with each step packed into 20-ish minutes that I kind of have a problem with.)

That said, <insert hypocritical joke here>.

Current Mood: uncomfortable
Current Music: Sublime

When it comes to gettin' shit done during summer vacation, I have a terrible track record. This summer doesn't seem to be any different, but it's only been five days. Can't give up hope yet.

The first draft of the next chapter of "A Series of Events" was finished two weeks ago. I had planned to post the revised/edited draft by now, but I got distracted. (Oops.)

Harry Potter Land* over at Universal Studios Japan opened last week, which pretty much decided for me where I'm going this summer. The hotel's booked for mid-August/O-bon; I'm already dreading the peak season crowds and the timed entry tickets I'll probably have to buy.

*The official name's too much of a mouthful.

Doodle: I was trying something, and I failed/gave up at the last minute. It was very nearly some Snarry fanart, but I can't see Snape and Harry lying around like that. (I have a crappy imagination.) So they're expies of Snape and Harry? Totally different. ... I should have at least given them hands, huh.

Current Mood: lazy
Current Music: podcasts and BBC Radio 4

It's been a rough couple of months. May was just awful, but June went pretty well, despite lack of money and near-constant rain. Hell, I wrote 4 whole pages this past month. That calls for a celebratory drink! (Chocolate milk and vodka.)

Worked on "A Series of Events" today, but my heart still isn't all that into it. My mind kept wandering to:

- The Half-Blood Prince movie, the first Potions class, and how more and more flustered the makeup people made Hermione look every time they cut to her. I get that it's to show how hard it is to brew the Draught of Living Death, and how easy of a time Harry was having with it, but it was so ridiculous that Hermione's flustered hair is all that I remember.

- What story had Severus berate Neville for nearly killing Harry in class? And by "berate", I mean verbally flay poor Neville alive for his exploding potion. I hate it when I forget the name of a story I really liked (or was at least memorable). (But I refuse to actually try to find it right now. I have enough distractions as it is without adding "needle in haystack search" to the list.)

... Guessing from my stray thoughts alone, it's not that hard to guess just what the next update of this too-long, too-old story is going to involve. I wish I had finished this story years ago.

... I should get back to working on it instead of complaining about it here, huh.

Sketch is a quickie of Castiel from Supernatural. I've been watching a lot of Supernatural lately.

Current Mood: good
Current Music: Bleak Expectations

My spring vacation was long and, aside from the knitting and my new interest in Supernatural, utterly forgettable.

April has been so completely jacked for me. Work started up on the 14th, but two weeks in, I still hadn't been able to re-find my footing. Hell, I had trouble just remembering the date, and that the month was nearly 2/3s over.

What's more, just as I got used to the 5-to-7 again, BAM, a super-extended Golden Week: 5 days off, plus 5 more because I'm so amazing. Because what I need the most right now is More Free Time.

Today's sketch is pretty much the first bit of semi-serious doodling I've done since ~~January~~ March. I don't know if I should finish it, or leave it, or color it, or go all sexy monochrome on it. I'm trying not to think of why I haven't really doodled anything in months.

Or, for that matter, why I haven't been able to sit down and write something lately. The fact that writing stresses me out and I'd rather do ANYTHING ELSE than try to put words to paper shouldn't be an excuse, but I can't overcome this fear of filling the blank page with bad writing or, worse than that, editing the blocks of really bad writing into something remotely good enough for consumption.

Can I even call myself a "writer" when I refuse to write at all?

Hell, I started sketching tonight to put off writing for a little bit longer. Although, it was nice channeling what meager creative juices I have into something. I kind of missed that.

... I really like her hair that shade of blue. Maybe a limited palette sort of thing? Blue, black, and a bit of red? Though I should clean and line it first, huh...

Current Mood: uncomfortable
Current Music: a lot of mashups on random

I've been on vacation for over a week now, and it's been good. I've gotten around to working on a few of the many half-finished projects lying around the house. Writing, sewing projects, stacks of books to read and closets to clean out... I have a lot to do.

... Which is why I've spent most of my time on my ass, knitting a vest.

When I think about how much time I've spent on it this week, I feel terribly guilty (though not as guilty as when I spend several hours playing video games). Knitting is easier than making sewing patterns or sketching. It's something I can do while listening to the radio or my stupid telenovela. If the repetition didn't make my hands, shoulders, and eyes hurt so much, I could literally do it for hours on end.

Considering how much knitting I've done so far, I can safely say I have been doing just that.

I know that I'm using knitting as a way to avoid doing everything else. Writing demands too much, cleaning is boring and allergy-triggering, and that stack of books is downright formidable. There's just too much to do, and if I didn't focus on this one thing, I'll probably spend my time either flittering from one task to the next or staring off into space, too indecisive to do anything else.

...

That said, I made some progress with "A Series of Events" (Yay!), only to get sidetracked by, well, everything (Boo!). I am having trouble with the scene,, specifically the moment Snape and Potter face each other, each waiting for the other to speak, before they're interrupted, romcom-style, by a wild Weasley.

My doodling just gets better and better!

Considering the trouble I'm having with this precise moment, I wonder if I shouldn't just scrap the scene and try again. Cleaning the slate has helped my writing a lot more times than I can say. However, I don't think the whole scene is completely awful. It just needs work.

And I have to stop knitting to give it the attention it needs.

Current Mood: good

I worked on A Series of Events this week! Calloo callay!

I would have written more this week (and maybe finish the next chapter by now), but I was doing other things, such as:
- watching over 50 episodes of La Mujer del Vendaval (A telenovela I don't immediately hate? Yay!)
- trying to speak Japanese with a bad Mexican accent
- celebrating my birthday with way too much pizza (so much pizza that I was in actual physical pain)

Speaking of my birthday, years ago, I decided to celebrate it with a bit of fanfic/fanart crossdressing. Maybe, back then, I thought the idea of men in dresses was funny as-is. (Though Banana Yoshimoto's Moonlight Shadow and the teen boy wearing his dead girlfriend's school uniform in-story probably played a part...) I don't do it every year, but sometimes I do, which is my excuse for tonight's doodle.

Well... not the only excuse. Hina Matsuri is on Monday, hence the Heian period dress. I also like putting Snape in female clothing. If I do it one more time, I get a free cauldron cake!

... I wonder what they're saying...

After wondering where the hell she went off to for the past month, my muse showed up, drunk on Snarry-a-Thon prompts and more than a little fighty. "OMG, I finally figured out how to do that police procedural, and I have the best idea for prompt --, yadda yadda yadda."

I, on the other hand, got so sick of waiting for her (and I've become so afraid of being a disappointment) that I've only been writing a lot of notes based on her ramblings. She mostly talks about location scouting for some photography, but she's insistent that I write, too. I, on the other hand, am still afraid of my writing and can't seem to put these ideas into actual prose.

Doodle tonight is me procrastinating. Will force myself to get at least a thousand words on "paper" before going to bed. I should get right on top of that if I want to go to bed before dawn...

Current Music: MST3K - Hamlet

"Past performance does not guarantee future results."

Comic City was last Sunday, and it was... okay.

I sold nothing. However, I did finally start reading Casket of Souls, so that's something.

Have you ever read any of Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner books? They are fantastic, yo. Heroic fantasy, all sorts of magic, fun characters, and political intrigue. Plus, all the Bi the Way and UST. Casket's writing was a bit weird in the first couple of chapters, but by the time I got to the climax, I was crying and pumping my fist and cooing over love blooming, though not at the same time.

... Did you notice how I sidetracked from Comic City? It's almost like I don't want to talk about it.

It took me a bit to get over my disappointment. I put myself out there, and left feeling very sad. It's obvious that my skin isn't thick enough, not if I felt like I (and not my work) had been rejected. I try to take solace that it was my first time, the venue was very small, the people across from my table had about as many customers as I had, and people did look. They didn't buy, but they looked. Not what I hoped for, but I can take that.

I have to. It's all I have.

Aside from the lack of sales, it wasn't too bad. I sat for three hours, read nearly half of my book, and tried not to stare at people walking past lest I scared them. I've wasted my time in worse ways.

I have until mid-February to decide on whether to try the bigger, appropriately-named Super Comic City. I'll see I can handle more protracted sleep deprivation and ego-bruising by then.

Writing this week. I thought of joining in on Month of Letters, but postage is nearly $1 a letter around here. Screw that noise. I came up with a better plan.

Current Music: MST3K - The Girl in Lover's Lane

I am exhausted. I think I've gotten too old for back-to-back-to-back all-nighters. This won't do at all when I have to go back to work tomorrow.

I finished the bookmarks... sort of. Luna's book should be a Quibbler, and Tonk's button was a complete rush job. But, except for a few extra bits (words, stickers and whatnots), they're pretty much ready for printing. (Maybe. Hopefully.)

I don't exactly like how Snape came out (he looks too cool?), but I think I did okay with Tonks and Luna. Although, looking at Luna, I wish I had gone with a different pose than my Default Pose no. 2. God, the more I look at it, the more things I want to change...

The paper and laminate sheets I need for later came in this morning. I was still in bed and had to sign for them in my pajamas and coat. I don't want to know what the delivery guy thought of that. (To be fair, he had probably seen it before...)

Current Mood: hungry

You know, I think I'm getting better.

Slow week. I kind of took a two, three-day break from doing anything after New Year's. I did try to sew something up (a pouch that looks like the traveler from Journey), but it wasn't exactly working.

There's also the problem of getting ready for Comic City.

So far, I've tweaked the bunny!Snape picture and redid an older picture of Harry for the postcards. AND, I've been working on some bookmarks.

Work is a bit slow-going, though. I'm still having trouble starting, but once I start, I have been pretty good at staying on target. At the same time, I still get hung up on occasion, particularly when I have to start the next step. (Example: I sketched today's doodle... then stopped for ages before the linework... then stopped again before starting the color... then stop again to think about whether my art has improved at all...)

If anything, I'm definitely getting a lot of practice. My hands are still ~~a bit~~ crap... and does Harry look like a Disney prince to you, or is it just me...

Tomorrow's the semi-officlal end of winter vacation, and only, what, three weeks left to get everything done? (I'm not panicking. There's no time to panic...)

No writing this week. Maybe later.

Happy New Year.

I've had a busy few days. Comiket was this past weekend, and I went out there on Sunday and Monday. My legs are still a bit sore from all the walking.

I had a strange time there. I didn't buy much (I think I've lost my taste for fan comics) and dealing with the crowds got really irritating really fast (silent, impatient, unyielding pressing, especially around the more... exploitive stuff), but I had a bit of fun, too. I even talked to people! (This is a great achievement.) My best conversation was with a couple of ladies selling some gag comics. (I was a bit shocked that they were Arthur Weasley/Lucius Malfoy shippers; they asked me to get onboard; I told them I'm too in love with my own ship to get on another. I hope I'll get to meet them again, give them a gift of candy or something...)

I also got my circle passes for Comic City. After the initial excitement and fear, I've mellowed out enough to not run around screaming "Don't Panic" at the mere thought of it. Although, I think I should. I only have a week of vacation left... and Comic City is in 26 days... oh god... don't panic! Don't panic!!!

...

I posted two things over at deviantart: a doodle of Snape in bunny ears and a pic of my 2014 greeting card.

Plan for the next few days: Getting my shit together for Comic City (sewing and drawing and more drawing and maybe finding a print shop? How bad is it that I don't even know what I want to make?), getting through a Twilight/Rifftrax marathon, and patiently waiting for the new episode of Sherlock.

Current Mood: good

I posted the next chapter of A Series of Events this morning. It both took too long and no time at all to write. Too long because the previous chapter was posted 10 months ago, no time at all because... once I got past the first scene, everything else spilled out.

Like breaking a seal.

One of the scenes is of Snape in a bath chair, being pushed along by Poppy Pomfrey. That, obviously, is not what I ended up doodling. I really did think about drawing Pomfrey, but my Snarry-lovin' heart could NOT pass up the opportunity for some mild hurt/comfort comedy.

Snape hates it, but he's blushing, so maybe it's okay...

Current Mood: hungry

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Current Mood: restless

Winter vacation's started for me today, which is excellent. I have a lot of stuff to do, and only a few weeks to do it in peace.

I finished the coloring for this today. Well, I say finished. I kept stopping and starting over every stupid little bit of shading. I threw the background down just to get it done, and... I think I should shrink Snape and Harry down a bit. Or make the Moai a bit bigger... Or delete the linework around Snape's Dark Mark...

(I'm getting the feeling that it's not finished at all...)

But, hey. I properly used Illustrator for the first time, so that's something.

DeviantArt copy here, or click on the thingie below.

( The Thingie Below )

... I think Photobucket shrunk my picture a bit... damn...

Current Mood: cold

I haven't been working as hard as I should have been this weekend. I always feel a little guilty when I spend my days off doing nothing.

The picture I'm working on: very slow progress, and not just because I only spend a couple hours a day on it. Half-finished with the coloring, and I find myself hating Harry's face. I didn't particularly like it before, but now, looking at it cropped out of the picture, I hate it, maybe enough to a) redraw his face, again, or b) stop altogether.

Do I push on, considering that I'm already 1/2 done? Or do I start all over with his face... and shirt... again...

... I'm just going to ignore it and push on.

That aside, I'm not sure what to put on Harry's shirt at the moment. I thought, "Let's go with the obvious, why not?" but my griffin turned into a chupacabra. (Have thinking of keeping it. Why the hell not.)

Three more work days before the holidays. No word yet from the comic market people. No writing at all this weekend. I think I'm waiting for the holidays to get everything done. Which means nothing will get done. (Crap.)

Current Mood: confused

I'm not even exactly sure what's wrong with me sometimes.

I spent an hour mentally composing an essay on the use of pens and quills in Harry Potter fanfiction (complete with a bibliography). Maybe it was something my subconscious had been ruminating over for some time now and just needed to let me know about it. (And who am I to argue with my subconscious when it's in a sharing mood?)

I signed up and paid for half a table at Comic City Tokyo last Friday, which means I've been spending all my free time this week playing Skyrim working on things to sell and whatnots. A table in the handmade goods section is too big and too expensive for my first time, so I applied for a spot in the parody:paper goods section. (No Harry Potter spot for me, mainly because that place is for fan comics, and I... can't draw... and I am drawing stuff for my section... Craaaap.) I have yet to get a spot number, but they did send me a confirmed applicant number, so... yay? Only 45 days left to get my stuff together... if I get the spot after all, that is... hopefully...

I've been thinking of making a cloak based on the game Journey for the winter Comic Market. Not the costume (which is basically a hood and cloak), but a... cloak... with a hood... Maybe I should just make the costume? It really is basically the same thing, only with a zipper attached.

Writing-wise, I worked on the merman story last month, but I got stuck. I've been re-re-re-rewriting the next chapter of "A Series of Events" whenever I'm tired of playing Skyrim doodling, and that's pretty much it...

Current Mood: ready to... go... maybe. Kind of.

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babygray

November 2014

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Entries tagged with doodle

(UN)Happy Halloween!

I Think I Need Rest

(Not So) Cruel Summer

How is it ONE in the Morning!?!

Summertime/Doin' Time (and the Livin's Easy)

Summertime (Time to Sit Back and Unwind)

Blankity Blank Blank

Self-Trippage

Knitting

Hinamatsuri/Doll Festival Snarry

The Fighty Muses

Past Performance ≠ Future Results

Bookmarks... clear? Hurray!

Disney Prince Harry

Pass the Grapes

Wanted: Bath Chair

Naked!Harry and the Year of the Horse

Moai!Snape

What's wrong with your FACE?!?!

BUNII Demands Color!