It's been ages since I've posted anything, but (at the very least) i should take the time to wish everybody a happy christmas.

I'm on holidays now, and so far it has been spent on rest and renovating my room (it's something I've been meaning to do for a while, but never had the time). Got an A+ for my final, so i suppose the extra effort was kinda worthwhile.

Um... the next thing i need to work on is my new book project with my artist circle, Hiyaku Studio. Decided to get it done during the holidays since i doubt i'd have the time later in the year (I'm crazy busy nowadays). Hopefully this means we'll be better prepared for the next Doujin Overload event.

Regarding commissions and such, I'm still not accepting any as of yet unless it's something simple like sketches. There's stuff i need to get done before i'm fully open for commissions again, so yeah. Just fyi.

Oh, and I also started a new blog. Not sure how often i'll update it, but i'm hoping to post artwork that falls under a broader spectrum than what's on my DA page (which is mainly manga based). If you're ever curious to see what else i'm up to, feel free to take a look: [link]

Alright, that's that. I hope everyone has a peachy holiday.

Figured i'd drop a line.

As expected, i've been busy as hell.. lol. Good news is i've got a 2 week break coming up, bad news is everything is due in this week; which means stressss boy stressss.

One of the papers i'm doing is bookmaking, which is pretty cool.. aside from the fact that it has completely taken up all of my time. Even my other subjects have been neglected due to the amount of work involved for this thing. Anyone who has been keeping up with my activities in Hiyaku Studio should know that making books isn't anything new to me, but i never had much understanding of the technical side of things until now.. In a nutshell, it's a lot of crap to take in lol. Good crap, though, mind you.

One thing which blew me away was the printing costs.. For my past projects with Hiyaku Studio, each of our books cost (a maximum of) $14 to produce.. this one stand-alone book i'm working on now cost $115. That's just for the pages, nevermind the cover and binding. lol.. ugh... Even if it all came out perfectly, it still wouldn't have been worth what i paid for it imo... which it didn't hahaha. Well, it is my first time getting into all the technical stuff, so i can't expect it to all go smoothly. The biggest kick to the nuts was the trimming, though.. i don't even wanna get into that.

Regarding the good points.. the print quality is pretty awesome. It's printed on 170gsm double sided matte paper (hence why it was so expensive); so at least the artworks look good. For once, the colour is bang on the mark. I used Hiyaku Studio artworks for my book, btw.

At first, i didn't wanna do this again for the next term since it's so buttload expensive... but, having fucked up here and there, now i'm amped to get this shit right. I really shouldn't be spending this much money if it could be avoided, but, god dammit, this needs to be done. I refuse to let $100+ go to waste.

That being said, i might be open for commissions for a brief period when the break comes around (starts this coming weekend), just to help me pay for this thing a little bit. I can't accept any jobs that are too time consuming, however.. the break ain't that long.

..... hm... looking back on what i just said, which was basically 'I need work during my break to pay for work after the break', lmao.. how i keep doing this to myself, i dunno.

Anyhow, i may post photos of this book when I've completed it. I've still gotta work on the cover and slip-cover yet.

Well, it's the day after DO, and i just finished getting stuff done for class tomorrow; leaving me with an hour or two left before i hit the hay. Figure i should use some of this time to update the old journal.

So, about Doujin Overload '09. We did pretty good i think. Sold out of our new artbooks ([link]), and also sold more of the old artbooks than we thought we would. Got a few prints left over, but oh well. We're still learning new things, and providing more attractive goodies is definitely on the to-do list for next year's event.

Don't think we had enough *sparkle* this time around though.. cos all the other tables were beaming. Seriously, in terms of skill i think there may have been a handful of artists/circles who were better than we were, but, regardless, nearly all the other tables seemed to cast a shadow over us. Of course, i could blame our shoddy table spot, but the fact of the matter is that our stuff was a bit pale and lifeless in comparison to everyone else. Not that i harbour bad feelings towards these other tables or anything of that sort lol, i love the fact that everyone is dishing out more attractive stuff. To all you artists who had a table this year, me and the crew are gonna learn from your example and come back strong for DO '10

Here's a pic of me and our table before the event: [link] (it's actually not that dark.. i think the it's the flash which messed up the lighting in a lot of the photos)

On the plus side, i sold half of the originals i brought along. That was kinda surprising, since i wasn't expecting them to sell at all lol (they were generally there for display purposes). I'm glad though.

Oh, and i actually bought something for the first time in the history of DO. Not that i wouldn't like to buy more, but i'm normally money-crippled by other upcoming expenses. This chick had the most awesome artwork though, i simply couldn't not buy something. [link]

Also bought a bookmark from this fella: [link]
This guy is the other artist i would say is my favourite out of the entire event. He had a table next to ours. Great guy, and he had one of these seriously handy contraptions which i will definitely get for myself of these days.

Even though i circled the event several times, there still seems to be some good things which i've missed out on, which is a shame. All in all, though, it was a good day. We didn't get to ascend to the next level as planned/promised due to time constraints, but we've already started planning ahead for the next event to make sure that we'll definitely have the time to produce something which will set it apart from our previous work.

Thank you to all those who bought some of our stuff. I can't believe how our table was raided before the event even started lol, it really did leave me a little speechless. I'm very grateful, you guys are unbelievable. You must be crazy or something haha.

Good job to all you artists; good job to the committee; and good job, team.

Well, I'm on my semester break, so i finally have some time to take it easy.. A good chance to let you guys know i ain't kicked the bucket just yet lol.

Normally it should be a 5 week break, but 2 weeks has already been spent on studying for exams, and another week crapping myself trying to finalize stuff for our artbook; so i've only actually got 2 weeks. It's the only time off i've had the entire year so far, so i am feeling a bit drained. It's kinda odd having nothing to do for once. I'm all paranoid cos i feel like i should be getting work done lol. Just been too busy i spose.

I know it's a waste of time bitching, since it won't solve anything.. but, god, the work they dish out is relentless, what the fuck.

Okay, that aside.. Doujin Overload '09 is coming up in a few weeks. My artist circle, Hiyaku Studio () is gonna have a table there, as usual. We're getting another artbook ready, but there's gonna be limited stock this time around. Um... be sure to drop by if you're in the area. Doujin Overload takes place on the 25th July at the Hyatt Hotel (Auckland). Sorry if it sounds as though i'm not too enthusiastic lol, i am looking forward to it.

Can't promise i'll be updating my DevPage much in the near future, since i'll be straight back into the crapper in a couple weeks; and i'd rather spend what free time i have taking it easy haha.

Next update will probably be after Doujin Overload. For now, i'm out.
Be safe, and stay classy.

Section 92a.. out the window, over the rainbow, get the frick outa here.

Ok, well it's no big surprise, but they couldn't figure out a way to make this thing work. It was broke from the get go. As a result, this ridiculous law (which was due to take effect in late February 2009) has been scrapped.

They are now rethinking another law in which to deal with online copyright issues, but for now, i'm just glad to have avoided what might have been a catastrophe. Props go out to all the protesters, and thanks to all you guys who've shown concern.

This country is, once again... a little less stupid.