The Dreaming: Vol3 is due in November 2007, and I’m 2/3 of the way through inking already. Paul and Katie is helping with the toning (yea!), so hopefully I can get it finished quickly and move onto the next project!
Random Art: Some stuff I just realised I haven’t put up anywhere.
A self-portait of me, for "The Australian" newspaper. Ironically, this was inked by the G-pen, though it shows me holding the Saji pen.
Stuff I drew at Supanova last October, and completely forgot about until now.
The Dreaming v3: Up to chapter 5 for the pencils, and almost finished inking chapter 3. Am pumping it out like there’s no tomorrow!! Meanwhile, Volume 2 is out, it’s on Amazon.com. Oh, Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year, by the way. I don’t get a break, so no festivities for me. *sigh*
Zelda Fan Manga: Here’s the second part, while the previous 5 pages is here. As per the previous poll, option (b) won out, and you can see it in all it’s glory.
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Voting for this poll ended on the 25th December. The winner this time was again (b), though (a) got a fair number of votes and for a while, was neck to neck. The options and votes for “Right now, Link is thinking:” are as follows:
You may not have realised when you voted, but the last poll served a real purpose. It was to determine Link’s base personality. For the curious, I have made a list of the voting options, including what would have happened if that option had won out, and what Link’s personality type would have been.
Option A: Get all teary-eyed and emotional (12 Votes – 14%)
Result: Link gets all teary-eyed and emotional. Zelda gets all teary-eyed and emotional. Ruto couldn’t flee the room fast enough, so she gets emotional too.
“Earnest Warrior” Link: The most idealistic of all the Links, this Link is very open with his emotions, and very serious about his pursuit of truth and justice. While he knows that he should probably exercise more emotional restraint, he knows and appreciates why he feels the way he does, and considers it a positive attribute. He gets on best with the ordinary folks, and always puts their welfare first. Unfortunately, there are people out there who tends to take advantage of his nice, giving side, and Link finds it hard to say “no” to their requests, even if he knows he’s being taken advantage of. He also has a tendency to take other people’s business on as his own, which, curiously enough, also makes him the best physical fighter out of all the Links. The fact that he cares so intensely also means that his endurance and stamina is higher than the other Links. This Link is also the least interested in adventuring, with the most appreciation for the simple life.
Option B: Bow his head, gallantly kiss Princess Zelda’s hand, and greet her with a gentle smile (53 Votes – 61.6%)
Result: You’re looking at it.
“Romantic Soldier” Link: This guy has emotions like everyone else, but trusts his head over his heart. He is the most strategic when it comes to fighting, and also the most emotionally-guarded of all the Links. As a result, he is always polite and affable, but there’s no telling what he actually thinks of something or someone. This is a great help when dealing with sectors of society he may not necessarily like – his understanding of protocols and good manners make him the Link that gets along best with nobles, aristocrats and the wealthy. Certainly, he gets along fine with the ordinary folks as well, but he’s holistic enough to see that the common folk tend to be at their happiest when the ruling classes are doing a good job. Not particularly idealistic, this Link has an appreciation of all the greys in the world, and deals with all of its complexities by following the knight’s code of honour as much as he can. At the same time, he’s also most likely to be a smooth talker, and to use his looks to his advantage. He’s a guy who’s constantly sizing people up before he even speaks to them.
Option C: Smile in relief, pull up a chair, and slap her on the back (14 Votes – 16.3%)
Result: After Link slaps Princess Zelda on the back, he’ll be immediately slapped by Ruto on the head. Didn’t he hear her say that Princess Zelda has been injured?! Don’t slap injured people on the back until you know what’s wrong with them.
“Laid-Back Adventurer” Link: This Link enjoys saving the world, but the travelling and adventuring parts are also highly enjoyable. This Link has wanderlust, is something of a risk-taker, and gets along well with just about anybody because, well, he’s just an affable guy in general. In terms of personal relationships, he’s probably the most shallow of all the Links, and the least-likely to become emotionally attached to something or someone. That’s not to say he has no beliefs or ideals. He does have the same set of core beliefs as the other Links, though what he really loves and appreciates is the diversity of the world he lives in. He just loves experiencing it. As a fighter, he is the most fearless of all the Links, but not necessarily the most courageous. He’s the guy that assasins can never track down because he speaks a dozen languages and knows all the local customs of whichever place he’s already been to. An experienced bargain hunter, this Link has loads of street-smarts, and deals best with tradespeople, wandering merchants, travellers, thieves, bards, and the like.
Option D: Forget Princess Zelda!! Let’s hit on Princess Ruto!! (7 Votes – 8.1%)
Result: Anyone who behaves like that in such a situation is bound to have a weird sense of humour. He’ll be rejected by Princess Ruto, and will annoy both princesses. He’ll then go on the charm offensive to win them back.
“Oddball Swordsman” Link: This Link has an appreciation for the weird little moments in life, and that’s just putting it nicely. Sure, he saves the world too, but don’t expect him to act like a hero or even a swordsman. The number one thing people will remember about him is his strange sense of humour, often on display when you least expect it, and tempered with a mild dose of charm afterwards (so people won’t blacklist him from their parties). People have no idea how to react to him, or whether to take him seriously, because he doesn’t SEEM to be the kind of person who would have such a personality. In fact, he is normally a quiet guy. Why he has such a prankish sense of humour is a mystery, even to himself. Out of all the Links, he has the greatest appreciation for the banalities of life, and hangs around some very strange people, mostly for the shock value. Oddly enough, when he is motivated to care, he can form very strong emotional attachments, the strongest of all the other Links. It’s possible that deep down, he’s the loneliest of all the Links, and feels that loneliness most acutely. As a fighter, however, he is unrelentingly creative and full of surprises. Very apt for a guy who’s life seems to revolve around doing the unexpected. This Link gets along best with circus performers, crazy inventors, fortune-tellers, and various other weirdos and outcasts. It’s his appreciation for the off-beat.
The Dreaming v2: Volume is out, it’s on Amazon.com. I also finally found out which European company it was picked up by – actually FOUR companies. Akileos of France picked up “The Dreaming” v1 for a Jan ’07 release, while Italian publisher Counter SRL also bought it. And it turns out that there was a Spanish and the Netherlands version all along… which explains why I’d gotten fanmail in Dutch (That was a big head-scratcher…). TOKYOPOP will probably continue to sell “The Dreaming” around the world, so perhaps I should keep an eye on it. It’s nice to know that other countries have picked it up though.
My Zelda Fan Manga: On the brighter, more fun side, I’ve been waiting for the Nintendo Wii to come out over in Australia (6th Dec), so I can play The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I’ve been a long-time Zelda fan, so I decided to draw a manga to celebrate the release. Now, this was originally started as drawing practice, but because I don’t sketch much and I never draw anything that isn’t manga, I turned it into something story-based. You get to vote for what happens next though (scroll down to the bottom).
This actually starts halfway through the story, but there’s enough to know what’s going on (we’re in Zora’s Domain, folks). The story’s not based on any of the Zelda games in particular, because then you might as well play the games. It’s set in the same universe, with the same characters, and has the usual Zelda lore in it. It’s fun drawing these characters… Ruto was annoying in Ocarina of Time, but then she’s got some real personality and attitude. She also has an odd nose, which I’ve changed (into something equally odd, but at least different-looking).
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Following four pages after these five are up here.
Vote for what happens next. This will NOT determine any plot points, but it WILL determine how the characters interact with each other (possibly with permanent consequences). The poll closed on the 9th December, 2006, and the voting results were quite clear. Option #2 was the clear winner.
I didn’t draw this manga in the usual A4 size, which made it fun and interesting. I drew it on 15cm x 10cm page (approx. half an A4), and doing it that way is FAST. WAAAAY faster than drawing a page for “The Dreaming” is, believe it or not. I thought I’d have trouble making a story flow with those page dimensions, but not at all. It makes me want to experiment with other page types. Circle? Triangle? Square? 3-triangles? I also love using dot-tones and cross-hatching. Love it!! It’s not much work compared to what I have to do for “The Dreaming”.
I gotta do something about the font too. Anyone recommend anything?
To Marcella: I have an email from Marcella, asking me to reply, but unfortunately I can’t because you didn’t give a valid email address. Anyway, I hope you get outta your troubles soon.
“The Dreaming” vol2 is coming out on the 7th November in stores, though for some reason it’s already available at Amazon.com. It also seems to be already out in some bookstores. I thought I’d jump in on the fun, and release the first chapter of book2 for a preview, both on my website at at my new DeviantArt account. Now, there’s no reason why a single person should have a personal website, a livejournal, and a DevArt account – how many things can I manage anyway – but I was convinced otherwise by a Canadian cosplayer at Supanova last weekend. It seems that DevArt is a good place to dump all the doodles I do that I don’t post up on my site or LJ.
A Real Interesting Music Clip: My musician friend Yunyu has done something amazing – she’s got a music video of one of her songs out that is filmed in a way that is quite unusual. Basically, it’s “Live Stop-Motion” – something that combines real film (and real people) with stop-motion techniques. The song is “Lenore’s Song”, and the video was basically made using over 16,000 still photographs, all done by getting the actors and Yunyu to move very slightly while shots are taken of them. And the final effect is interesting and unsettling – as you can see on this YouTube Video.
Anyway, this video has been chosen as a finalist in the Sunscreen festival.