Page 146 & 147 are Complete, and Kickstarter has Ended!

The Kickstarter project I ran has ended, and I finally made the funds necessary to purchase a tablet to help advance Zheph Skyre as a web comic. I am going to try to send out the rewards for those who have pledged towards my project as soon as I can. It will require ordering a few more prints of certain pieces of artwork and purchasing frames as well.

Here is page 146 of Zheph Skyre. On this page I just wanted to show the aftermath of all the destruction that has occurred in just a matter of hours. There is a little bit of text in the first panel where Jahovac is dragging Zheph to his hideout, but the rest is silent. I wanted the numerous deaths and despair to sink in for the audience reading.

I started Chapter Five with a flashback to Zheph's childhood when his house had been burned down by a large, angry mob. It appears that they are going to leave Heartrogard, but if that is the case, why did Zheph return to such a depressing, ignorant city?

Kickstarter Optional Prize for Pledge

Here's a video explaining a new prize for my Kickstarter Project. I am also thanking people who have already pledged towards my project, and wishing them Happy Holidays.

Page 144 and 145 of Zheph Skyre are Complete!

 Here's page 144 and 145 of my web comic Zheph Skyre! I am glad to say that I have only one last page of Chapter Four to complete despite not having a working drawing tablet. Chapter Five will begin after next week!

Vanessa seems happy that Zheph is alive, but from the looks of it, he is in no condition to fight anymore. If the devastating attacks of the dragon didn't break him physically, it appears that being swallowed whole broke him mentally...

The dragon recognizes that Zheph is very capable and wants to make use of him, considering that the humans here in the city as well as his own orc lackeys have proven to be very incapable. Whatever could this "Lost Treasure" be and how is Zheph supposed to find it in time?

On this page, the dragon finishes relaying his instructions to Zheph before flying off with the three princesses. Zheph seems to faint from exhaustion and someone familiar starts dragging Zheph away. Where is he dragging him to?

Zheph Skyre Page 143 is Finished!

Here's page 143 of Zheph Skyre in full color! I am very close to finishing this chapter and the Kickstarter crowd-funding project is ending in about three weeks! If I get the tablet, these pages will come out much quicker and in better quality!

Here we see Zheph using his grappling hook to get out of the dragon's stomach. How could this happen? My explanation is that the hook didn't have anything to penetrate into, and since the dragon's throat is coated in saliva, the hook just slipped with the curve of the dragon's throat until it finally exited the dragon's mouth. I had an alternate idea for this scene, but this is more interesting and funny compared to my previous idea.

If it seems that Vanessa appears powerless in this situation, I want to point out that Zheph is just about as powerless. He may have gotten out of the dragon's stomach, but in what condition is he to continue fighting?

Polarity Breach: The Divine Spark

The book "Polarity Breach: The Divine Spark" by Frankie Stevens is now available to order on Amazon for the Kindle. As I have stated in the past, I had been working on illustrating the cover for this book. I do not know when the paperback version will be available, but when I am notified I will write another post.

I have not read the series as of yet, but I will purchase a paperback as soon as it is available. The description sounds interesting though. The publishing company is Ravenwood Press, and they have listed me as one of their illustrators on their web page. I am so very excited at these recent developments!

"After a tragic event, Prince Ablias went from being the last born prince to being the crown prince of the wizards. As he is on the cusp of manhood, he is still deciding which type of magic to pursue for his studies. As he does this, he meets and befriends a tribal girl who shares his interest in plants and makes his life a little sweeter. Meanwhile, the man who massacred most of Ablias’ family has triplet nephews who each have unique ways of finishing what their uncle has started. Once his friend’s tribe becomes threatened by one of the brothers’ plans, Ablias must decide how to use his magic in order to save both the tribe and the royal family."

Page 142 of Zheph Skyre is Finished

Here's page 142 of Zheph Skyre! This had taken more time than it should have to complete. I know, but as I have stated before, I do not have a working drawing tablet which is why I am still running my Kickstarter crowd-funding project.

Zheph has been flung into the air by the dragon. Zheph figures his only chance to survive this ridiculous height is to use his grappling hook. Unfortunately the dragon just opens his mouth right under Zheph's falling path and catches him in his mouth.

I love how the solar glare came out as we see the silhouette of the dragon. I think it helps give the gravity of the situation.

There are only four pages left I have to finish coloring before I begin chapter 5, but I just wanted to assure you, I have been working on chapter 5 by hand for a while now, so new pages should be available soon!

ParaNorman

SPOILER WARNING!

(This image is from http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjA1OTU1NDM3N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjYxNTg0Nw@@._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg)

I was finally able to watch the movie ParaNorman on ABC Family last month. I heard good things about this movie, but I never got around to seeing it in the theaters. At first, I had doubts that this movie was going to be nearly as good as Coraline considering both movies were made by Laika, but I was surprised! For one thing, the animation was very good, which is no surprise from what this company has produced.

This movie has a lot of really funny jokes throughout it! I thought the scene after when they total the van, it falls apart, and the jock kid just presses the car alarm was just hilarious. There were various other humorous scenes mostly about ghosts and zombies.

This movie also had a very strong story which at times contained some very heavy moments. That surprised me as this movie was intended for children. It contained references to the witch trials in Early American history, and the fact that anyone could have been accused of practicing witch craft. The fact that this young girl was accused for practicing witch craft even though she just had a special ability like Norman's was very sad. It made a lot of sense for her to raise the dead as a curse. The curse wasn't intended for the town, but it was meant to force the villagers that hanged the girl to live as living monsters that were to be feared and hated just as she was. It was very deep.

I highly suggest watching this movie around the Halloween season. After all, it is the season of the dead, and this movie highlights certain aspects of life and death that speak a certain truth.

Guardians of the Galaxy

SPOILER WARNING!

(This image is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardians_of_the_Galaxy_(film))

Recently I went to the Elm Drought House Theater in Millbury, MA to watch the Marvel movie "Guardians of the Galaxy." I thought it was an awesome movie. The computer graphics were amazing considering one character was a talking raccoon and another was tree with sentience. I have barely read any of the comic books with these characters, but after seeing this movie, I have to admit, I am a little interested in reading more. I am also looking forward to more movies featuring these characters!

I was confused at first when the movie began with a young boy watching his mother die of cancer in the hospital. It seemed like a much different tone than the trailers led the movie on to be. It made sense as the movie progressed though, and it reminded us that the Guardians each had their own sources of despair that they could relate to one another.

I have not read many comics with Thanos, but I have a copy of the "Silver Surfer" where Ronan makes his first appearance! He didn't seem too interesting in the comic, but I knew before watching this movie that if this character could go up against the Silver Surfer, the Guardians of the Galaxy would have a difficult time, and it was very entertaining to see their struggle and their methods to defeat this foe.

What really surprised me was watching Micheal Rooker playing Yondu. It seemed funny seeing him painted in blue alien face makeup after seeing him as a human on "The Walking Dead". At first I thought he was just going to be a side character villain that would be killed off very easily, but he turned out to be very interesting with a ridiculously powerful weapon!

The only problems I had at the movie theater were the theater itself. I did not enjoy listening to country music and watching game shows before the movie started. Also, the sound quality of the movie itself could have been better. At times I had a difficult time hearing, and I find that weird because I have watched movies for free there before and the sound has been better then. Still, the prices for the tickets and food were very reasonable. I had a good time!

Connecticon 2014 Masquerade

Here is a video of the Connecticon 2014 Masquerade I filmed for WCCA TV13. These are some very good skits that fans came up with on their own and practiced beforehand before performing on the stage at the convention. These people had to also make costumes as well as record and edit audio clips because microphones are not available for every skit. I bet it would be fun to perform in one of the Masquerades at a convention, but I am far too busy with making art to participate in such things.

Also, the last performance was awesome! It was not competing against the other skits, but it was still an amazing choreographed dance group!

This video is also available to watch on my web comic series, Zheph Skyre.

Invader Zim Q&A at Connecticon 2014

Here's a video of Richard Horvitz and Rikki Simons at Connecticon 2014 that I filmed and edited for the local TV station WCCA TV13. These two are voice actors who played as Zim and Grr from the Nickelodeon cartoon show "Invader Zim." Ever since the show had ended, Richard has been other characters from other cartoon shows like "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" as well as "Angry Beavers," and Rikki has been writing.

These two were hilarious at the Q&A as well as the Press Junket. I loved the "Invader Zim" as well as the other shows Richard has been in. These two just kept everything ridiculously funny, even to go as far as delaying the audience's questions with singing from Le Miserable! I can't believe they brought a ukulele to the convention, and the songs they made up! It is an experience I suggest everyone who is a fan of theirs to experience.

They did answer some very well deserved questions, including "Why was the show canceled after such a short run?" The answer is that this show was surprisingly the most expensive show Nickelodeon ever produced, which is surprising because Avatar the Last Airbender seemed to look quite expensive to make! "Invader Zim" did have one of the cleanest looks to any cartoon show I have ever seen and it contained both 2D and 3D animation combined together, which explains it. These two did say that if the network did have more money, they would have gladly continued the series because they enjoyed making it.

This video can also be seen on my web comic site Zheph Skyre.

Doug Walker at Connecticon 2014

Here's a video of Doug Walker at this past Connecticon I filmed for WCCA TV13. He is known as the Nostalgia Critique as well as many other humorous characters in various videos on That Guy With The Glasses. I have this video also posted on my web comic site.

I stopped by a few panels he attended and I went to the Press Junket where he was more than willing to answer questions. It is always cool talking to this guy because he gives you his honest opinions on things, and he doesn't judge others on their opinions. He might make fun of you for your tastes, but he respects people's opinions nonetheless.

He was not the only person from That Guy With The Glasses to make an appearance at the convention. He also brought his brother, Rob Walker, along with him. Rob has written a bit for Doug's videos as well as acted in them. There was also Lindsey Ellis, also known as the Nostalgia Chick, made an appearance with two of her friends from Team NChick. Lindsey and her friends provided some very intelligent opinions about feminism in today's world.

Connecticon was an awesome time with the help of these great people and the very well planned events!

Kickstarter Project Restarted & Page 141 Finished!

I had to restart my Kickstarter Project yet again. I was 39% from reaching my goal, but unfortunately the people who had told me they would pledge were not able to at the time. This time I am going to have the project up for 60 days. If it does not work this time, than I will switch to Indiegogo.

I also uploaded the finished version of page 141 of Zheph Skyre. I apologize if it has been taking a while for me to finish up these pages, but I am currently working on multiple projects.

On this page, the dragon gets angry at Zheph, but Zheph tries to maintain his courage nonetheless. The dragon finds this amusing, and he let's Zheph go... that is he throws Zheph soaring into the air high above the city!

Pinky and the Brain Q&A Connecticon 2014 Video

There was no new update of pages on Zheph Skyre. However, here is a video of Maurice LaMarche and Rob Paulsen at the "Pinky & the Brain Q&A" at Connecticon 2014. These guys were a hoot to watch! They even swore, though I don't think this panel was supposed to be 13+, but who cares! It was awesome! I grew up with their characters!

Page 140 of Zheph Skyre is Complete and 5 Minute Video of Connecticon 2014 is up!

I have uploaded a five minute video about Connecticon 2014. It is also posted on the main page of my web comic. It includes clips of people in cosplay, famous  people in panels, the Artists' Colony, the vendors, the masquerade, the food available at the convention, and some other things. There will be more videos available soon.

Here's page 140 of Zheph Skyre. I still have a few other pages left of chapter four to complete.

On this page the dragon seems content at first with playing with Zheph as it appears he is helpless. Vanessa tries to hurt the dragon, but normal blades do not appear to be capable of puncturing his thick skin. Somehow though, Zheph's really hot blade manages to pierce the dragon's claw. Most likely the combination of Zheph's blade being made from a tough metal and the fact that his blades heat up to ridiculous temperatures must make it possible for his blade to burn through the dragon's flesh. Maybe there's more to it though...

This attack of Zheph's appears to only have angered the dragon. This dragon throws Zheph aside, sending him skidding on the ground. Zheph's day just gets worse and worse...

There are currently 10 days left of my Kickstarter crowd sourcing project, so please remember to donate soon if you are planning to donate. Currently, the funds are at $270, and I know of a few people who are going to donate, but the project must get to the goal of $800 before the deadline. Just letting everyone know.

stART on the Street & Sudbury Library Show Video

This past Sunday was stART on the Street in Worcester, MA, and I had my artwork on prints for sale at the Genesis Creative Arts Committee's table. I was not able to attend because I had to work, but I definitely  should have gotten the day off ahead of time from what I heard. One person bought a print, someone was about to buy 4, and many people looked at my work and asked the price. Next time, I will try to get the day off.



I posted the video of the art show "Three's Company" I was a part of at the Goodnow Library in Sudbury on my web comic website Zheph Skyre.  I started editing the video with Elizabeth Swallow and Richard Lagueux because I respect them, and I wanted to mention my web comic series at the very end. We still have our show at the Gale Free Library in Holden, MA until October 15th.

I will be on a hiatus from making new pages for Zheph Skyre, but I will be updating the previous pages that are not finished.

Restarted the Zheph Skyre Kickstarter Campaign

I had to start my Zheph Skyre Kickstarter crowd sourcing project because I did not meet the goal of $4000. I decided to change the goal to $800 because there is a new computer tablet that runs Photoshop that is not nearly as expensive as what I was about to try to get. It came out after I had already begun the project.

(This image is from http://liliputing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/split_00.jpg)

Please feel free to support my project! I would very much appreciate it!

Delain at Worcester's Palladium

I went to the Sonata Arctica concert at the Palladium last Saturday. The guest bands that were included were Chronologist, Xandria, and Delain. Delain has been a special guest at the Palladium before, and at the time I didn't think it would be worth going to see unless if they were the headline band. At the time I didn't think a band would give much of a performance as a guest band compared to a headline band. Thankfully when I went to the show, I was wrong in my assumption.

I found Xandria very enjoyable, quite so much that I bought two of their CD's. Their band's vocalist, Diana van Giersbergen, has quite the voice, and the rest of the band members were awesome too. Chronologist was enjoyable even though they have no lyrics and vocals whatsoever. I had to war up to Sonata Arctica, for they played their instruments with awesome talent, but I was a bit hazy on the lead singer's voice, Tony Kakko, though that maybe because I usually prefer female singers in symphonic metal bands. Maybe I was just expecting more of a deeper voice from him or something, but at least he doesn't growl like certain vocals in certain bands. Some shouting/growling is all right in music sometimes, but not all the time.

Honestly Delain really took control of the show the best. They were the only band to set up anything in the background before they performed, and they were the only band that used fog machines. Sure, Sonata Arctica used the technicolor lights, but I found Delain more visually entertaining. Their vocalist, Johanna Charlotte Wessels, sang beautifully, and she had this remarkable energy to her despite the fact that the room was hot! With that rare energy and that intoxicating smile, she got the crowd pumped up and even jumping at times! The other band members also played their instruments awesomely. They also performed some of their best songs including Get the Devil Out of Me, We are the Others, April Rain, Breathe on Me, and Stardust. This was a show worth seeing, and there were even people outside who tried to buy people's spare tickets or tried to sneak in!

I am really looking forward to seeing Within Temptation and Ameranthe at the Palladium next month!

Page 139 is Completely Finished!

I have finished coloring page 139 of Zheph Skyre! I am still very far behind with a few of the latest pages of my web comic, but I am plugging away at it! The Kickstarter project is taking up a lot of time too and that only has 11 days left.

Zheph's ass appears to be handed to him by this dragon. His retractable shields have broken apart from the impact of the dragon's tail, but it just barely saves him as he crashes into a stone wall. Zheph still appears determined to rescue Vanessa, but the dragon doesn't appear to be done with him yet.

I originally was going to have only six panels on this page, but I decided to split the panel right before the last one because I wanted to show Zheph is still pushing himself forward despite the fact that things look grim.

Another hard part was trying to decide what sound effects should go where as there is a lot going on.

Page 138 is Finished, but Page 142 is still in the Works

Because I have a bunch of pages that still require color and the fact that I have this Kickstarter crowd funding project, page 142 is still being worked on. However page 138 is done!

On page 138, Zheph manages to miraculously shield himself from the dragon's burning breath, and then a freezing breath attack. However, the stinger tail may prove to be a different matter...

I am a bit annoyed at having to draw the background. I am hoping that after my Kickstarter crowd funding project, there will be someone willing to assist me with those details.

Kickstarter has Officially Started!

My official Kickstarter project has begun! I have started it in order to get a new drawing tablet, the latest version of Adobe software, and possibly hiring certain friends of mine to assist me with my project. I have various prizes lined up for anyone who donates, including mugs, t-shirts, postcards, magnets, canvas prints, and more!

I decided to go with $4000 in order to get a decent percentage to spend on what I need. I have to pay the IRS, shipping, and Kickstarter will take a portion of what I make, so it is better to have a large goal than a small one.

I decided to have my dog in the video because he is cute, funny, and a good portion of my inspiration. I was hoping that he would be appealing to watch.

I also decided to speed up the video and audio because I wanted the video to be at least 5 minutes long and I thought it would be funny. Anything for entertainment!

The latest page of Zheph Skyre is still in the works. I have various pages I still need to color as well.

Page 137 is Finally in Color!

I finally finished page 137 of Zheph Skyre. Page 140 is still being worked on and I am trying to finish up the Kickstarter video, so things might be a little slow for a while.

Here we see Vanessa getting captured by the dragon. She might be very skilled with swords, but it appears this dragon isn't that threatened by the capabilities of normal humans. Zheph charges after her, which goes against his nature, but considering the situation now is the time to get angry. It looks like anger isn't going to help against this dragon though...

That's Entertainment Godzilla Double Feature 2014 & Latest Update about Zheph Skyre

I decided to change the date my web comic update because I was always updating by Wednesday anyways and it will be easier for me in the end. The latest page still needs a lot of work.

Last week on Monday July 14th, it was my 28th birthday. It also just so happened, it was also the night of That's E's annual Godzilla Double Feature, so a few of my friends agreed to come along! We had an awesome time!

The two movies were Godzilla Vs Smog Monster and Godzilla Vs Destroyah. Both movies had similar premises where Godzilla was facing a devastating kaiju that starts off as many smaller creatures that combine into one giant form. In both movies the kaiju Godzilla was facing had certain abilities that threatened the world, and his adversary could fly. Man also helped out with the disastrous situation.

The first movie was funny considering the design of the monster, the way the Smog Monster killed people, the way the monsters moved, the animated clips, and certain other funny parts that this older movie had. Destroyah was much more intimidating, and in that movie it had a sad ending where Godzilla melts away from his own nuclear power. However, more people preferred the hilarious cheesiness of the first movie that was shown that night.

Connecticon 2014

Last weekend, from July 10th to the 13th, I went to Connecticon 2014, and I recorded a ton of footage that I will compile into various videos for WCCA TV13. I had an awesome time, and as a special treat, here's something awesome from the masquerade that I filmed:

I also got to see guests like Diedrich Bader, Janet Varney, Maurice LaMarche, Noah Hathaway, Richard Horvitz, Rikki Simons, Rob Paulsen, Walter Jones, Beat Down Boogie, Doug Walker, LittleKuriboh (Martin Billany), TeamFourStar, and many others! I also bought a few cool things and got to see some interesting things around Hartford. More will be available later.

Page 135 of Zheph Skyre

Here's page 135 of my web comic Zheph Skyre in full color. It had taken a while to finish coloring it due to many events this summer. I'm hoping to get caught up in my work as soon as possible.

Zheph threw an explosive grenade. As he has stated before, he doesn't want to kill, so he usually doesn't resort to using this particular grenade. Vanessa seems shocked at this. Though she seems confused when Zheph gets nervous while holding her arm. She doesn't seem to get Zheph's real feelings for her.

On top of everything, the dragon finally finds them! Perhaps the grenade wasn't the best way of dealing with the orcs, but it is too late now!

As you can see, the dragon's speech bubbles are different from everyone else's. I wanted to give the feeling that his voice is much different from humans and even orcs. There's just something about dragons that separate them from other species. I originally had a "Chiller" font for the dragon's speech bubbles, but the more I looked at it, the more I was convinced it was not that legible, so I decided to change it.

I didn't originally have the humorous panels with Zheph getting nervous at grabbing Vanessa's arm, but I felt that it would help lighten the mood right before the catastrophe that is bound to occur soon. It also leaves things unfinished between the two...

Goodnow Library Art Show

I have an art show at the Goodnow Library in Sudbury, MA. I am sharing the space with Elizabeth Swallow and Richard Lagueux. I myself have nine digital prints on display, Richard Lagueux has about nineteen acrylic paintings on display, and Elizabeth Swallow has various pieces of artwork in different mediums hanging on the walls as well as in the display case.

As you can see from the flyer above, we have very different art styles in different mediums on display.

 We currently don't have any descriptions on display, but I have left some business cards and flyers for both the show and my web comic.

 We pretty much have outside and inside of the meeting room at the library, however we wanted our pieces to have enough light on them, so we had to condense many of the pieces together.

The three of us are currently or have worked at the Worcester Art Museum.  We are all also participants in the Genesis Club's Art Committee in Worcester.

The library can not post prices for our artwork, however, if there are any art pieces anyone is interested in purchasing just contact me. I can redirect your questions to Elizabeth or Richard depending on which piece you are interested in buying.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I finally saw "Captain America: The Winter Solder" yesterday at West Boylston Cinemas. It was an awesome movie! There are still a few movies around that came out recently that I still want to see, but I'm glad I finally got to see this one!

(This image is from http://www.scifinow.co.uk/reviews/captain-america-the-winter-soldier-film-review/)

SPOILER ALERT!!!

I wasn't expecting SHIELD to have been influenced by Hydra secretly for years. We have spent numerous movies in the Marvel Universe believing SHIELD was completely a source for good, but there were some subtle clues towards the beginning that not everything in SHIELD was all it seemed. There were many good agents within SHIELD that were good, but they were never told the truth until it was almost too late. I find this very interesting and different from a good number of super hero movies. It has some spy aspects in it like Pixar's "The Incredibles." 

The Black Widow proved to be a more useful character to the plot in this movie (as well as in "The Avengers") around than in Iron Man 2. She wasn't just eye candy, and if she was ever a romantic interest for Captain America, it never really came to full fruition as they both seemed to have a playful friendship at times where she would try to hysterically try to convince Steve Rogers to got out with certain women.

I had already been spoiled that Bucky was the Winter Soldier, but I was confused about a few things until I saw the movie. I was wondering how he would have managed to jump through to this time frame like Captain America, but I should have guessed that he was in cryogenic stasis for some time as well. I was also wondering why he would want to fight Captain America, but they go with the classic wiped memory scenario. It has been done before, but I did like it in this case, as it pitted Captain America against his friend. I also liked the fight scenes these two shared even though they were few and far between. The Winter Soldier was a much better opponent than the Red Skull.

I'm a little confused at the mid credits scene after the movie. It appears from what I have read that Magneto's children "Quicksilver" & "The Scarlet Witch" are part of the Avengers story line which confuses me because I thought the X-Men plot line was going to remain separate. Ah well, if that's the case, I'm looking forward to the next few movies from Marvel!

Game of Thrones Comic

This week I made another funny comic. I didn't have enough time to color it in, but I might post it on my website again later with color and use it in t-shirt designs. I won't be able to sell it in my CafePress store, but I will sell it in my Kickstarter.

I thought it would be funny if Tony Stark a.k.a. "Iron Man" made an appearance in the Game of Thrones universe to save Eddard Stark from being executed.

The normal story line of Zheph Skyre shall resume next week.

Page 134 & Last Week's Comic

I finally finished coloring in page 134 of Zheph Skyre! I don't know why it has been taking me this long to finish these pages, but I'm just hoping to get up to speed on my own web comic series.

On this page Vanessa breaks Zheph out of his horror struck awe as the orc he incinerated falls apart. After that, they decide to run to Zheph's hideout. Unfortunately they have to fight off many orcs along the way across the city. It appears that they are both growing tired and have sustained many injuries as they make it to the last stretch to Zheph's underground home. Try to guess what Zheph throws into the crowd of orcs...

I had to add the panel of Zheph grabbing Vanessa's arm to improve the transition between the previous & next panel.

This past week's page was just a funny one. I incorporated a picture I took at the Worcester Art Museum of the Batman suit from the Tim Burton movie that Micheal Keaton wore. On this page Zheph and Vanessa are looking at the suit. Vanessa makes a comparison of Zheph to Batman, which Zheph finds hard to believe at first, but than accepts it. I find it funny.

I had to make this funny comic in order to give myself a chance to finish making the next page in the story line, and to color in pages 134 and 135. I am making another funny comic this week and then it will be back to the main plot.

A Song of Fire & Ice: Game of Thrones

I have just finished reading the first book of George R. R. Martin's beloved "A Song of Fire & Ice" series, "Game of Thrones."  I have not seen much of the HBO television series, but from what I had seen of it and heard from many people, I was at least very anxious to start reading the first book.  I am thoroughly impressed with this series so far!

(This image is from http://www.georgerrmartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/GOTMTI2.jpg)

This series has so many interesting characters, both within the main cast and the side characters that only show up once in a while. Tyrion, Jon Snow, Arya, Daenerys and so many others have compelling personal histories and develop in interesting ways.

There are quite a few interesting aspects, for instance ice-like zombies that are held back in the north by a giant wall barely holding, dragons born into the world after supposedly being extinct for centuries through such ill mannered magical means, and various forms of bounds being forged and betrayals.

I think what draws a lot of people into this story is the fact that it is not like many stories people are now used to.  It is not simply a story of good triumphing over evil, as there are quite a few characters that have good qualities to them yet also have despicable qualities too.  Many times, it appears that the truly evil characters will win and many of the characters with noble intentions end up suffering and dying horribly.  A happy ending does not appear to be that clear on the horizon.  Even if there is a happy ending to this series, there will be so many scars left over from many of the horrific events that play out. This is not like many fantasy movies we see where there is a clear protagonist who we root for and wins out in the end. There is more of a brutal reality to this epic.

If there is anything people seem to complain about in this series, it is the pacing.  It appears that Daenerys will take forever to get over to the main continent and actually interact with the other characters in the storywith her dragons, King Joffrey has yet to have any sort of appropriate comeuppance for his despicable existence along with the rest of the Lannisters, and who knows when the ice zombies are going to break through the Black Wall.  I was surprised to find out that the author of this series, George R. R. Martin, is still working on another book in the series!  I'm not sure, but I believe the HBO series is on the fourth season & I think it might mean it is partly into the fourth book. There are already five books out each over 700 pages long each!  There is a ton to this story!

Page 135 of Zheph Skyre still in Progress

I was not able to get page 134 and 135 of Zheph Skyre finished completely yet. I apologize. I kept trying to draw the wings on the dragon on page 135, so it was delayed. Next week I will post a funny side comic with less detail as I need to finish up these two pages.

Spinnerette

I just caught up to date with the web comic series Spinnerette. It is a good comic series with interesting characters and story line. I discovered this series at this past Anime Boston after going to a few panels about web comics.

This series follows a college girl who becomes a six armed super hero and everyone she comes across both including super powered beings and regular people. There are some strong topics that this comic dwells upon like gay relationships, racism, what constitutes as good as well as what constitutes as evil, and other topics based on reality.

The art style is very good, though at times it is blatantly obvious that there is another artist assisting with certain chapters.

The humor sometimes isn't that strong though sometimes. The joke a super villain makes about Spinnerrette requiring a ton of armpit deodorant makes me imagine a cricket chirping in the background. There are some times the humor is good, yet it seems like the artist is just really fascinated with female busts.

Overall, I highly recommend this series to anyone who like Anime and the superhero genre. 

Page 134 Still in Progress

I have uploaded page 134 of Zheph Skyre, but it still has a lot of work. Some of it is still in pencil because it has a lot of detail I wanted to include. I just hope this doesn't set me back too far. I will post updates about it later.

Page 133 is Finished! Also I have a Project Wonderful Add Space...

Here is page 133 of Zheph Skyre finished! I still have a lot to do on page 134, so it definitely will not be in color tomorrow.

Zheph's staff is suddenly roaring with flames far larger than what was produced earlier in the story. He is shocked at this unpredictable event. He also just confused when he suddenly feels a rush of fatigue, but he suddenly feels an adrenaline rush when an orc tries to slice off his head from behind. Zheph ducks in time and manages to use the destructive power of his blade on the orc. However, Zheph appears disturbed to see the orc incinerate before his eyes.

I have a Project Wonderful add space at the top of my web comic site. I recently joined this website in order to get more out of having advertising on my website and advertising my web site. I was highly recommended this from a few very popular web comic artists at Anime Boston.

Page 132 Finished & Possibly Showing Art at Chessiecon 2014

I posted the finished version of page 132 of Zheph Skyre. I am thrilled to be finished with this page and am now one step closer to getting up to date on this web series.

On this page, Zheph appears to be in trouble as two orcs attack him simultaneously. Luckily, Zheph has two retractable shields, and a tail that can at least stab with gun blade.

Usually in battles, multiple opponents will attack within short times of each other, so there may not be a good chance to go on the offensive. This is where many series and movies get to be unrealistic. The heroes always have one opponent attacking them after the other, but what if three opponents got wise and tried attacking as well? Would the hero be able to block despite having a limited number of limbs and brain capabilities that all humans share? I might explore this even further later on.

Vanessa manages to lend Zheph a hand, and throws him his staff, despite the fact that they are all currently fighting. It appears Zheph's staff is finally ready to produce burning blades.

I have been invited to display my artwork in the art show at Chessiecon 2014. It is a sci-fi/fantasy convention in Baltimore, MD. I doubt I would be able to afford going down there myself to hang my artwork and take part in the convention, so I might mail my artwork down there. I must get more information before I decide.

Page 131 is Finished!

I apologize for the wait, but I finally got page 131 completed! It has been very stressful trying to get all of my pages up to date lately. I hope things will go smoother.

Here Zheph copies the fighting move from Mortal Combat's Scorpion with his grappling hook and blade gun. Pretty much any fictional character that is armed with a grappling hook should be capable of doing something similar to this. However it can clearly backfire, which would be funny to see in the video game. Zheph manages to adapt to these sudden changes in a fight.

Latest Page of Zheph Skyre

So far the latest page of Zheph Skyre now has text, but still no color. I will have a new page up next week and in the meantime, I will try to finish up all of the coloring I have to do! It has all been very busy for me within the past few weeks!

Page 130 of Zheph Skyre!

I finished coloring in page 130 of Zheph Skyre! I have been very busy this past week with work and social events, but I am going to buckle down this week to catch up with myself! I still have a lot of hours at my job, but I am focusing my free time on this comic!

Here you can see a very odd foreboding character in the background as the orcs continue to discuss their next phase. Truly I want to introduce this character as soon as possible, but it is not within the story line for him to make an actual appearance yet. I have been conceiving this certain character for a long time, and I am quite anxious to bring him to life! It will have to wait though.

Meanwhile, Zheph runs out of bullets. Vanessa suggests him to use his staff, but Zheph is reluctant. He knows his combat skills are not that good, so he tries to find another plan of attack. Apparently he found one utilizing his grappling hook! What comes next I find to be really funny...

Page 129 of Zheph Skyre is Finished!

I finally finished coloring in page 129 of Zheph Skyre! It was taking a while because of my very busy schedule. Hopefully I can still get pages 130 and 131 colored in before I post 132!

On this page, Zheph realizes he has no other options and is forced to kill orcs. Vanessa seems to sympathize with him, but doesn't show nearly as much emotional pain as he does as she strikes an orc down herself. Clearly she has trained herself to fight, but what occurred for Vanessa that makes her less bitter about killing?

Meanwhile the orcs everywhere are starting to run into problems. After they have ransacked the wealthy sector of Corthon, they have found a ton of resistance from the humans. I wanted to show that even if an invading force manages to break into a fortified area that they will still face resistance. People will band together whenever necessary in order to survive. The orcs are also not receiving any assistance from the dragon, which may tell you how well this partnership is...

I decided to keep the background red because everyone is now fighting and I think gray would just make things look dull. I also didn't bother putting sound effects in the panel with the collage of fighting because it is way too busy as it is.

This weekend is the pre-release of "Journey into Nyx" for Magic the Gathering. I enjoyed "Born of the Gods" so I look forward to this.

Page 131 of Zheph Skyre in Black and White

As much as I would have loved to get pages 129, 130, & 131 of Zheph Skyre done for yesterday, I'm afraid I was a little too busy to do so. Pages 129 and 130 are almost complete, & I have started coloring 131. All of these pages should be done within the week.

I will show some interesting pictures I took during Easter in a later blog post.

Arisia 2014 Video

Here's my video of Arisia 2014 that I filmed for my internship at WCCA TV13. I uploaded it to my web comic site and my Youtube channel. I'm just glad I finally got to upload this because it is another chance to show my artwork.

There's no web comic page this week. I am trying to get all of the pages that are behind done as soon as possible.

Blue Exorcist

I have recently begun watching the Anime "Blue Exorcist" on Toonami. So far I have been enjoying this series. It has a good artistic style, contains a lot of good animation, and has some very humorous scenes. The only thing I don't like about this series is the blue flames, as the animation for that doesn't match the rest of the animation. I think it would have been much better if they took a little more time to animate the blue flames. Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood at least animated the fire in that series and it looked awesome!

(This image is from http://www.freepresshouston.com/wp-content/plugins/bj-lazy-load/thumb.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freepresshouston.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F08%2FBlue-Exorcist-02-660x466.jpg&w=618)

This series is about a teenage boy named Rin Okumura who is the son of a priest named Shiro Fujimoto with his younger brother Yukio. It turns out Rin is the son of Satan and possesses demonic abilities with the help of a sword that distorts his features. When Satan kills Shiro trying to get to Rin, the son of Satan decides to become an Exorcist himself to battle the forces of Hell. Rin goes to a school for Exorcists where there are tons of surprises ready for him.

There are so many Anime series where the protagonist has some dark power of some sort in them and they try to battle against the urge to become monsters. At times, I am tired of this repeated scenarios, but sometimes there is a different spin on the thought and seems interesting in a way.

Space Dandy

(This image is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Dandy)

I enjoy watching Space Dandy on Cartoon Network's Toonami. I have to admit, it isn't the best Anime show I have seen by far, as there have been plenty of Anime that I have seen that have made me laugh harder. Also, plenty of Anime shows have similar mixes of really good and sub par animation. However, this show definitely beats out Bleach as that series has been going downhill for quite some time now, Naruto at times when the series just drags on, and even One Piece as that series doesn't appear to be ending for another century!

This series has no consistent plot as it is mainly a parody series that makes fun of various topics. Once in a while it may have a certain new idea that might not have been seen in other science fiction shows, but for the most part, it is all for comedy. My favorite episodes are the zombie one, and the race one. Both of those episodes contain some of the best jokes by far in the series.

My biggest surprise about this show is that it premieres here in the USA in English dubbing before it does in Japan in it's native language. I find that superbly awesome! This could mean that the animation studios in Japan are realizing how popular Anime has become to the rest of the world, especially here in America and they are trying to branch out even more. This could be the beginning of a lot of interesting advancements for Anime in general as well as other media!

I uploaded pages 127 & 128 of Zheph Skyre are in full color finally! Pages 129 & 130 are also uploaded, but are still in black and white. I'm not sure whether or not to take a break next week in order to finish the two pages that are not in color.

We can see Zheph is struggling with the choice of killing orcs even as they are charging at him. Vanessa seems to have a different opinion about the whole situation. She knows how dangerous the orcs are and is ready to face them in order to protect herself and her best friend Zheph. It appears Zheph realizes this and is trying to bring himself to kill these creatures.

I wanted to use certain colors in order to portray the emotions that Zheph is going through and the violence that occurs around them. As Zheph and Vanessa get closer to combating these foes, the scenery gets darker and redder. I know a good number of comic artists usually draw the background out, but I am always limited on time. I want to make up for it with certain details.