fredart : blogbits

you can’t tell that i really haven’t felt like blogging for the past month or so, can’t you?

a few things of note since my MT rant… im still working on the content, so there won’t be a MT comic for monday. Hopefully i can post a DPD of some sort, i have a few things i can use. I’m getting there, hopefully by the end of today i can burn thru a big chunk of what is left. Another thing i’ve done is change my decision about editing comic 763. After reviewing a lot of the feedback, and talking it over with several friends, i decided that the change brings more attention to the original error than the revision fixes. The final revision isn’t too much different than the original, and i probably won’t change the online version. You can review the final change here (and yes, i know there is a word bubble missing in frame 4, it has already been fixed).

What else is up? Plenty. I’ve actually managed to gradually catch up with Kanon again (i was about four weeks behind) and this morning i watched ep 21. Now we’re starting to get into Nayuki’s scenario, which i feel like i’ve been waiting a long time to see. So far, this has been an excellent series, even though there are a few things that i think were more dramatically handled in the first series (KyoAni seems to err on the side of subtlety, while Toei went for a more dramatic turn). Ayu’s disappearance, Mai’s trepidation in the hospital waiting room hugging the stuffed toy and Makoto’s functional breakdown to me were more moving and dramatic in the Toei version (dramatic perhaps not being better, they were just different and i always liked those elements of the Toei version - but those were the only things i really liked about that version anyway

Oh, and i did get sucked into one more PVC figure. Meh. That’s the last one for a while, but i just couldn’t pass on a nice Nayuki figure

One other thing before i go back to work - anyone here familiar with or have any experience with Adobe Acrobat? I’ve been trying to figure out how to do something, and i can’t seem to find a solution. I’ve posted about it here, but so far no replies. If anyone knows of a solution for this, please let me know

Y’know, i was going to say ‘where the hell did December go’ but i know very well where it went. It was one of the busiest months Sarah and I have ever had, and that’s saying something We’ve been working our tails off since Thanksgiving, and we’re still not done. I was not expecting to have to deal with a lot of shipping this week after Christmas and I was hoping to be able to focus 100% on the comic, but, uh… that didn’t happen It’s a good problem, of course, but it’s funny when your idea of a Vacation becomes ‘gee, wouldn’t it be nice to have an evening to just sit and watch TV together?” We have only been able to do that twice this month, and i tell you, it was more enjoyable than any trip The last thing we have to do this year is Inventory and year end accounting stuffs, which we are going to work on tomorrow. It’ll be a lot of work, but once it’s done we’re good for the year and I can turn my focus 100% to hitting my deadlines for book 5.

One of the reasons I haven’t blogged at all recently is that i’ve started work on moving the blog part of this site from Movable Type to Wordpress - it’s a lot easier to maintain the installation, and i am liking some of the features better. For a while, Movable Type wasn’t functioning on the server due to an upgrade - that’s fixed now, so i can post again

Yesterday I had one of the drives fail on my mac, but luckily i didn’t loose much - most of the content was backed up elsewhere (thankfully i had done a recent DVDr backup of the contents). I can scan and rebuild the two comics i lost. Still, it was a pain having to get a new production drive up and running so I can work. After dealing with that last night and then getting a new drive this morning and restoring contents back to it from my backup DVDrs, i decided that the writing was on the wall for 2006, and i’d push the comic posting to Monday and start the year off right. Almost done with the drawings, and it’ll be nice to be able to finish it up without the stress of trying to post a late comic.

As i’ve posted a number of times over the past few months, i’ve been enjoying my little Kanon fix every week whenever i can fit it in. I watched Episode 13 today, and it was full of much win. Mai’s character is filling out, and her personality has an interesting twist on it in this version. Her action scenes were great - Mai in full kick ass mode. Sayuri was amazingly super cute and awesome in this one… Sayuri and the anteater… I almost died, it was that cute. Seriously What tied the episode up in a little bow for me was the delightful little Nayuki scenes, from her look at Yuuichi in the opening scene to face down on the kitchen table to bumping sleepily into walls… wahhh, it’s so nice to see Nayuki not pushed to the side this time around.

Ok, i gotta get back to working on the comic. Lots and lots of stuff to ramble on about, but this will do for now. I hope everyone had a happy holiday, and i wish everyone a happy new year - it should be a good one

pirotunes: “‘ve - 05 - Take on your will” from “Verge -I’ve Girls Compilation”

I’ve been mad busy on things for the past month, and over the past few days it’s been a mix of holiday stuff with family, working on the store getting things ready for Christmas, and other projects (none of which seem to include taking care of the leaves in the back yard) Monday is “Cyber Monday” (who comes up with these names?) which is usually the biggest online shopping day of the year, so next week should be busy. It seems that people really do like to give Megatokyo stuff as gifts for christmas, so we’ve done our best to be ready for them.

Of course, i also have tons of comics to do. If i wasn’t up against a deadline, i’d pass over friday’s comic, but i need to get it done to stay on schedule. Book 5 deadlines are starting to loom so i need to get cracking on things. Luckily the rest of this chapter is a lot of fun so it should be fun to draw. Also, still waiting for the go ahead to tell you about that little project i was working on last month. Hopefully, sometime this week.

Just sat down and watched Kanon, episode 8. Spoilers ahead, so don’t read on if you haven’t seen the episode yet.

Obviously, they are diving full into the Makoto storyline now. While it’s true that i’m a card carying Nayuki fanboy, Makoto’s story tugs at some pretty tough heartstrings. It is a story that works the emotive responses to some very difficult things about the world, about being put aside, being forgotten, about being too innocent to understand what is happening to you. It’s touching, painful, and actually hard for me to watch. I suppose it’s just me, but as an animal lover and for personal reasons, Makoto’s story hits home pretty hard. That’s what a good story can do, i guess. Kyoani is doing a wonderful job with the series so far, and i’ve been looking forward to new episodes each week.

Some of the best parts of this episode, of course, are were where Makoto is being ridiculously cute. “We become stupid together” was a delightful comment on how relationships work sometimes. Also, the naming of Piro is always fun, and Akiko’s aside to Yuuichi was hilarious. Akkiko is full of win in this version of Kanon, to be sure

Ok, enough of that. Time to get cracking on “friday’s” comic.

- pirotunes: 生まれたての風 from the album “Kanon ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK”

(this post contains spoilers for Kanon (2006) episode 5

One of the nicest things about the new Kanon is it’s release schedule. It airs on Thursday and usually by mid day Friday there are subs available for download, which means i can sit back and enjoy the latest episode Saturday morning (i am sometimes tempted to watch it raw, but usually im so busy on thursdays and fridays that its just as easy to wait till Saturday to watch them). Man, people don’t know how spoiled they are these days - back in the day of vhs subs, you were lucky to get the first episode subbed by the time the last episode aired This week I didn’t have time to watch it yesterday morning, but i did sit down this morning with a cup of Apple-Cinimmon-Slice herbal tea and watch it.

I’ve been meaning to do a MT rant about the new Kanon, but i’ve been too damn busy… ah well, i’ll be getting to it soon. For now, i will say that i am enjoying the new version of Kanon very much. What i like best about it is it’s subtlety - it’s a subtle take on the original story with much care given to that story as well as lots of little tidbits and treats for long time fans. As with any ren-ai game conversion, the story does seem pretty awkward with the attention the protagonist gives to multiple girls… but the structure of the story and the ways the girls are allowed to interact helps offset this issue somewhat. It also helps that Yuuichi is not a total dick in this version like he was in the Toei version. He IS a bit of a flirt in this one, but i’ll take that over ’self righteous dickwad’

There are some scenes that seem a bit awkward — the timing on the bath scene with Makoto was off, but it still worked, but so far the flow has ben pretty decent. His being somewhat creeped out by Nayuki’s offer of a massage was highly amusing too The main thing i found interesting is how quick they tied Mai and Makoto’s storylines together. That was suprising, and… it worked. I wont give any spoilers about this, in case you don’t know Makoto’s storyline, but it was a very interesting way to tie things together. Makoto’s storyline is, for me, one of the most potent in the story… we’ll see how it pans out in this version.

The real win in the series so far, of course, is Nayuki’s mom Akkiko. She is seriously one of the most underrated characters in manga/gaming/anime. Of course, i’m also quite happy with the Nayuki goodness so far (and they better keep it up, damnit). Kanon is an indulgence for Kanon fans, a chance to dust off a stock favorite on our shelves of ‘keeper’ stories, a chance to reinvest in and re-experience the emotive ride that the stories are. I, for one, am quite happy to devote a half hour each weekend for the next couple of months to it.

- pirotunes : Last regrets (Full Chorus Version) from the album “Kanon ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK” by Key Sounds Label -

It snowed! Wai!

The first snowfall of the year is always fun for me. For some reason, this time of year is usually when i feel the most creative and inspired, and i’m looking forward to the inspiration this kind of weather brings for me. It was really nice watching it slowly fall and gather lightly as i looked out across the top of my new drawing table.

Fort he past 5 or so years i’ve been using a 24″ x 24″ drawing table (it was a 24″ x 36″ table with a 2ft square area that tilted up), which worked fine when working on 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper. With the change to working on 11 x 17 sheets of paper i was finding it awkward to work on this small of a surface. We decided it was time to upgrade to something a little larger.

Last week, my new Mayline Forrester 30″ x 42″ arrived, and after assembling it and getting used to the vast working area, i’ve been enjoying using it. It’s just the right size. The particular pencil ledge i got for it is an Alvin ledge that is adjustable - you can raise and lower it as needed. It’s a really nice feature - i don’t typically install fixed pencil ledges because i lean on them and i get dents in my arms Of course, the problem with NOT using one is that my pencils and papers always end up on the floor. The new setup is nice, and I’ve been enjoying working on it (as you may be able to tell from my more recent comics).

Lots of stuff going on in the next few weeks, gotta get to work on a rant for monday, but first, i have to get out there and take care of some of those leaves before I end up having to deal with them in the spring

- pirotunes: Tricky - Makes Me Wanna Die -

heh, i should know better than to rant about stuff like like getting negative emails about stuff related to my schedule. My mailbox has been flooded - no idea when i’ll be able to get through all of them, but i will say i appreciate all the kind and supportive words. I really don’t let negative criticism hit me as hard as i used to. Much of it seems almost pointless, just part of the whole ‘its not cool to like MT’ thing that came from who knows where… actually, i suppose it comes from just having a certain level of popularity or readership - it instantly makes you less cool for some reason. Who knows. If anything when you step back from it and look at it all objectively, its been a pretty interesting run, the past six years.

It’s always interesting to hear from people who have been reading it from, say, comic 10. I also hear from some people who read it, then stopped reading for a few years, then came back and caught up but the people who astound me are the ones who just keep reading, and have been doing so since it first went up. When i think of all the things they’ve had to deal with, as well as all the growth and changes Megatokyo and I have gone through in that time… i’m glad that they found it worth sticking to.

Readership gain or loss is kind of hard to track, really. Sometimes people stop reading things just because they drift off to other things. I’m as bad as anyone. I have plenty of sites and comics i’ve read and enjoyed over the years, and with some of them i’ve just drifted away for a while and never actually went back. There is so much out there vying for your attention, so many things to dive into, more often than not loosing someone isn’t an act of them not liking it anymore, its just that their attentions led somewhere else.

Even for me, the focus of my work changes all the time, as has MT. For many people, its been fine, they’ve like where it’s gone. For others, its gone in directions that just don’t appeal to them. From a popularity point of view i probably should have analyzed things and picked the most profitable direction, but alas, my creative stuffs don’t seem to work that way.

Anywhoo… the real reason for that MT rant was to clarify what my ’status’ bar really represents - goals i set for myself. It’s kind of dumb to post them that way, maybe - in the end, when i miss one, its not just me that gets bummed but lots of readers. My hope is that for the readers, the the disappointment of missing a goal is balanced by the satisfaction of getting a finished comic. There are times i struggle more than others, but its always worth it - otherwise i would have given up on this adventure long ago.

Oh, and no need to email me. Please. ^^;;

In other news, i got snagged again… damnnit, Asmodeus, you bastard. I ended up letting him pre-order this for me. I just can’t get over how much she looks like Kimiko to me. there are several Saber figures that look like Kimiko, there is some kind of odd similarity they have. Yes, it’s Saber, but to me i’m getting a cute PVC of Kimiko with this preorder. I dont have room for lots of figures, so aside from some fantastic Nayuki figure coming down the line in the next year or so, this is it for a while.

pirotunes: Dj Krush & Toshinori Kondo - Sun Is Shining

There aren’t many anime series that i put down the debut date on my calendar, but Kyoto Animations reworking of Kanon was one (Thursday, October 5th). Of course, I don’t live in japan so its not like i could turn on the TV and watch it on BS-i, but a high quality torrent of the raw came up pretty quickly once the show was over.

I didn’t open it up and watch it right away - i was working on Friday’s comic - so i saved it till i had time to watch it. I was not surprised at all when a very nice mkv fansub of it turned up the next day (so i downloaded that too). Did i watch it right away? No, i waited until this morning, and it was worth the wait.

I actually have a MT rant forming where i talk about a few things regarding Kanon, the new version, popular attitudes about it, etc, so i’ll save my comments for that. One thing it did make me think about was that Anime in general is not something i always have streaming in the background, either on the TV or on my computer. I am very selective about when i watch things (which, of course, means that i don’t watch anywhere near as much as some people). For me, this keeps the experience of watching a favorite show what it should be - something rather special, something enjoyable, something to look forward to.

Even after all this time and the overexposure and generally overdone saturation only the japanese anime / manga / game market is capable of doing, Kanon is still my favorite … what? story? game? property? emotive entity involving characters, story, mood and visuals that it seems i will always have a special place in this old melodramatic heart of mine? Ground breaking but by now overhyped and overexposed game full of snow and melodrama that makes the elite minded turn their noses up at it?

Sure, whatever you want to call it, i don’t really care. I love this show, i couldn’t be happier with how nice a job Kyouto Animation is doing with it, even if I do know the story backwards and forwards and can even watch it unsubbed without diffuculty — stories are about experiencing them. The details are just that, details. Emotive responses come from watching and experiencing stories, as they unfold, as they happen. Thats what this ‘remake’ is. It may be considered by some a waste of time and resources by remaking something that was made only a few years ago, and total pandering to Kanon fans, and so what? I’m going to revel in it and not feel an ounce of shame. Not a single ounce.

pirotunes: Last regrets (Full Chorus Version) - “Kanon ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK”

Just a quick update on two things going on with MT right now. First off, we are bouncing back and forth between the two main servers (some of you may have got a ‘login window’ or something when hitting the site earlier today) We’re working to get the damn server stuff under control. Hopefully by tomorrow all of you will be hitting MT on the new server (Mishio) and it will be going lighting quick for you. Hopefully we can keep the splats to a minimum.

The full page approach to creating these comics is actually a real headache at first for me. I’m not used to nailing down the layout BEFORE having finished drawing. It’s forcing me to think more than i like to This may not be the most stellar comic you’ve ever seen, but in the long run it should lead to far more interesting layouts. In fact, i’ve been looking at a lot of layouts in the process. I’m actually looking forward to mastering this approach, i feel it’s something that’s helping me grow as a comic creator.

Oh, and those of you who, after reading my current rant, keep emailing me these belittling snitty emails about how i need an editor to kick my ass, please… go to hell. Thank you.

Also, sorry about the fact that comments are closed here on Fredart for a while. Because of a certain fucktard who keeps spaming my comments (and even tried to spam the forums) i can’t allow comments until i get a newer version of Movable Type installed and some better tools to control fucking idots like that. Feel free to email me if you have comments. Thanks for your patience.

Friday night sarah and i were downtown Ann Arbor and wandered into Pinball Petes just for the hell of it, and played a bunch of random games. It’s always fun to do that from time to time. While playing Dead Or Alive 2, i was thinking to myself that i hoped no one was actually watching how crappy i was at playing the game. It was at that point, of course, that two fans recognized sarah and i and came over to say hi. ^^;;; Oh boy. I think i need to practice more (and so i’ve pulled out my copy of DOA2 Ultimate. It’s been ages since i’ve played fighting games, and i forgot how much fun they are. Of course, Sarah totally kicks my ass in them… still… (sigh))

I was doing a lot of creative spelunking yesterday on tshirts and other dye-sub related product ideas. I’ve been trying to loosen up creatively recently, stop being so damn stiff about what i produce, and its helping.

I’ve been doing some COPIC coloring here and there (nothing worth posting yet) when i ran across my first problem marker yesterday. I was coloring with it when suddenly ink started to pool up on the nib. This is the first time i’ve had this problem with any of these markers, and unfortunately i wasnt watching for it so i got a huge bleed on the drawing i was coloring which ruined it. Not really sure why it pooled on the nib like that, i assume that it was a marker i had not used yet and it might have been overful of ink - i am going to try to keep an eye out on the problem and see if it crops up again. This is, of course, one of the problems with analogue media, there are no undo buttons.

Spent a little time this morning going over various podcasts looking for something to listen to. I’m a big listener of audiobooks (i get good mileage out of my Audible.com account :P) but i really haven’t delved into podcasts too much. There are the standard ones to poke at, like NPR’s Science Friday and stuff like that, but i also was looking for some more specific ones to some of my newer hobbies. There doesn’t seem to be a decent sea/touring kayak podcast of any note (the ones there are are all whitewater kayaking and thats like a totally different sport, imho) but there are a few good mountain biking ones. I’m giving Gear Noise a listen right now, and it’s pretty laid back… just what i was looking for.

oh, and in case you are wondering what could possibly be interesting about kayaking, here’s an interesting site to poke at. It will be a while before i’ll be doing any actual sea kayaking (there’s plenty of lakes and rivers here in michigan to keep us occupied) but there is some alure to costal waters that fascinates me…

Recently Bare Bones Software released an really nice upgrade to their workhorse text editing software BBEdit. Ever since i switched to the mac, i’ve been using BBEdit for most of my text editing needs. Some of the changes in the new version, version 8.5 are really, really nice - in particular a ‘check spelling as you type’ and other small things that just make the interface that much nicer. I also got tired of looking at the Monoco font, and wanted a nice, new, monospaced san serif font that would be pleasant to look at and read, so i purchased Avant Garde Mono EF (before you get on my case about paying for fonts when you can find so many out there that are free, i believe that you get what you pay for, and sometimes buying fonts that you rely on is a smart thing.)

Over the years, i’ve bounced across many programs trying to find the right balance of usability and transparency (in other words, where the program itself doesn’t get in the way of what you are trying to do) and i keep coming back to text based lists and writing tools. Of course, there are tasks that require a little more robustness when it come to working with larger amounts of writing data, and for that Omni Outliner Pro is like, the best program there is for that. This new version of BBEdit, however, really seems to work better for me in little ways that are almost hard to quantify. It’s nice when a program does that.

My only issue with it is printing. For some reason, when i print, the text on the page gets word wrapped at about the half way mark on the page, sort of like the right margin is 4.5 inches or something. This is really irritating when it comes to printing lists or text. After doing some digging and playing with a lot of settings, i decided to email support and see of they can help me figure this out.

Hawk got himself a nice new Mac Pro the other day, and while there is a part of me that wants to strangle him and take the thing, my old G4 tower is still puttering along. I do need to do a rebuild of it one of these days just to clean up the system. I’ve gotten out of the habit of rebuilding my computer ever six months since i switched to mac. Bad fred.