Author Archive
Friday, March 4th, 2011
This year got off to a real rough start. My grandfather was in the hospital over Christmas and came back in the middle of January. We missed him at both Christmas and New Years, something I’ve never had to deal with before. But, despite being cleared of pneumonia and any other illness, and seemingly on the way to recovery, my Grandfather has since passed away.
It’s strange to think about it, now almost a month since he left us. I do have a strong inkling that we’ll meet again, and again, because of how tightly wound our karma is. He passed away mysteriously in his sleep, the doctor thinks because of a heart attack. Whatever it was, I think he knew. He gave his rings to my Grandmother a few days before he passed. He had never taken them off before. I was standing there when he said “I won’t need them anymore”, and I thought nothing of it.
When I was leaving for G-Anime, I went to see him before we had to get underway on our road trip. He held my hand and smiled, and I said I’d see him when I got back. He said “maybe”, told me I was good, and I thought nothing of it.
A mere few minutes after I arrived back in Toronto on Sunday, around 2 am, I got a call. I still remember my heart stopping as I answered it, seeing it was my Grandparents. I didn’t bother to put on a jacket or anything. Kels and I just rushed to the car and back to the house as fast as we could. What followed… Well.
The first week after was rough. We held his funeral on that Thursday, and I was happy to see how many of his friends and students, old and new, turned out to wish him their best. He looked like a great warrior, finally at rest, and I could feel him watching us, overseeing things and giving advice in hushed whispers, as he always had.
The man closest to me, the greatest person I’ve yet known, and my teacher, all in one, and now I have to say a goodbye. It’s hard in one way, because I know he’s still out there. I just long for the day when I can see him again, and even if things are wildly different — if indeed we’re different people when we meet again, I hope I recognise him, or that he recognises me, and shows me the way again.
Farewell, Grandpa. Talk to me again soon.
Saturday, December 25th, 2010
I’m usually really happy for Christmas. I get to see a lot of my relatives (I thankfully come from a family that isn’t tripping over itself with obnoxious habits), I like giving presents to my friends, and I like the sense of community and happiness that washes over everyone. It’s usually really good.
At the centre of it, my Grandfather’s been an eternal fixture. He’s taught the majority of us something good about ourselves, and he’s always been a symbol of unity and benevolence. I wouldn’t be nearly half the man I am today without his guidance. Anything good about me is probably his responsibility, really.
This year, he’s in the hospital. (more…)
Thursday, December 23rd, 2010
While perusing blogland today, I realised that I have a tendency to read right instead of left when it comes to browsing archives.
What I mean is that when I hit the bottom of whatever page I’m on, I instinctively believe that the “previous” link or button should be on the right, and the “next” on the left. I’m not entirely sure why that is. In one way, it contradicts the Western reading direction I grew up with – an expectation that new material should appear on the right, and old material on the left. Somewhere, it got reversed in my head.
I became keenly aware of it today when browsing AddToDesign and being tripped up by their “older posts” link being on the left. By distinction, LifeHacker browses to the right. That somehow makes more sense to my instincts.
How about you guys? Which way do your instincts tell you to expect new vs. old content when browsing? Am I alone in this expectation, or is it de regeur?
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Thursday, December 23rd, 2010
I dunno what it is about Japanese RPGs in the last few years, but I find myself invariably disinterested with them lately.
Every new title seems very “same-y”, and I can’t help but question whether the companies on that side of the Pacific have just run out of ideas or something.
That can’t be it, right? Surely, with the thousands of creative minds in the bright nation of Japan, someone, somewhere near the top of an RPG developer has a bunch of great ideas and the power to implement them, yes?
I really hope so.
The Japanese market is emerging from the same crunch everyone else felt over the last three years, which has had a profound impact on how games look. With not a lot of money to go around, the rising cost of development, and the fact that North American companies have leapt forward in recent times, most Japanese devs are probably weighing their options really carefully. But there comes a time when you have to stop nickel-and-diming the creative process if you want to continue being ahead in the industry.
I’m not suggesting that a company needs to throw all its money into risk ventures. That’d be silly and irresponsible. But you do need to throw money at your production values and creative team so that your product either stands out as a unique experience, or a highly polished one. People don’t love Valve’s Team Fortress 2 for being high-end and having all the latest tricks. They love it because TF2 has vision. It’s a complete experience, from the memorable graphic style right down to the play mechanics. Even the voice clips have become part of the mythology surrounding TF2, and for good reason: They’re tightly integrated with the look and feel the game provides.
Now, TF2 is an FPS, and I’m talking about RPGs, but in terms of product vision and brand recognition, I think it makes a strong point.
RPGs are supposed to be giant, sweeping adventures. I don’t care how many maids and catgirls you throw into your product, if it doesn’t hold up where it counts, no one is going to remember it. Does anyone care about Star Ocean 4? No. Have any NIS products besides Disgaea been memorable? No. Because they’re either poorly made, heavily dependant on formula, or just plain boring.
It’s not all bad, of course. Atlus is still doing good stuff, and the new Golden Sun looks promising. But overall it feels like the big ticket console RPGs are really lacking in substance these days. Final Fantasy XIII was… awful. Being an entry in a series known for adventures of epic scope, it gave its players tiny, linear corridors to run through, both in terms of physical design, as well as story. Completely superficial characters (with one important exception – Sahz), a huge step backwards in battle system integration, and generally poor voice acting all hurt it really badly, and it’s from a major Japanese publisher. What a shame.
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
Having misspoken recently about a person who is both a dear friend and colleague, I’ve decided to reexamine where I stand with design. My significant other’s also been harassing me with the idea of “settling” and the ills therein.
It feels as though when last spring passed, a big chunk of me went with it. I just don’t feel like the last year has been up to spec where I’m concerned, and I think it’s a good idea if I change that before the new year rolls around.
Probably a good time to head down to Swipe Books and get my head checked by the design doctors down there.
Thursday, September 23rd, 2010
Well, it seems my automotive troubles may be at a more-than-temporary end. My white, 1998 Pontiac Sunfire, affectionately known as “Banjo I” (due to her license plate), is finally going to the great junkyard in the sky. She’s had a run of troubles this year, from a dead alternator through to corroded tubes that feed her power steering, and now to top it all off, a smashed windshield. “Banjo II”, her successor, is awaiting me on a lot (hopefully) tomorrow, in the form of a blue, 2005 PT Cruiser.
I’m rather excited.
A car like the PT Cruiser is something I’ve wanted for a long time. One of the advantages of a hatchback, after all, is being able to put down the seats and have both a wide and tall trunk at your disposal. A PT Cruiser is just such a car, and it looks like a bit of a 1920′s gangstermobile to boot. I’m lovin’ it.
In other news, I’ve started re-watching an old favourite of mine, Maison Ikkoku. I know some of the kids out there think very little of anime, but even for the naysayers, this’d qualify as a pretty touching romantic story. Watching it makes me miss a lot of things, including the days when traditional animation meant there was a human grit to the production.
Tonight is shwarma time now. Delicious.
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
Drawn at Drink n’ Draw. Dude be gullin’.
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Tonight’s our little Drink ‘n Draw gathering at the Black Bull pub in Toronto, right across from the Silver Snail on Queen St.
I’m gonna get me a brand spankin’ new sketchbook for it.
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Well, what can I say? The site’s back in working order, after an absence of a good year now. As a man who hasn’t been satisfied with his work since graduating, I suppose it’s a good sign for me that I finally finished something like this.
It’s been a long road of rediscovering myself and what I want out of art. I recently went over to India ink and brushes for my linework, and I’ve learnt a great deal about digital colouring from Eva Cherney and Ty Dunitz. I have to thank the both of them for being a continual help in this process.I’m definitely in a happier place now; more satisfied with each piece I lay down.
My work’s nothing particularly special as far as anyone can see. But I hope for it to be, at least one day. To that end, this meagre catalogue is meant to show off what talents I do have, and what I’ve cultivated thus far. I hope you enjoy it.
Sunday, October 25th, 2009
Got a new piece available. Many thanks to the talented John Cullen for his inks on this one. The piece is of an original character garbed in half of his battle dress. He’s lacking shoulder and head armour, but that’s about it. Otherwise, this is pretty much how he’d look. Did a couple of passes at the colours, and this is the version I think works best.
As to the website, I know it’s sat here for about two weeks. I am going to be doing work on it shortly though, and before December hits it should be done. Cheers all.
