Well, the progress on the ctsg collab seems to be going along ok, but I've quite a laundry list of things to do still. ...However, it is a really weird but good feeling when certain parts of your animation can actually make you blush with pride. ^_^
After I get this done, I might try to make a quickie animation for the Metal Gear collab and then get going on making a website. I don't know what I would put on it that would keep people coming back to visit, but for now I just need some spot to call my own and possibly show more of my day-to-day sketches and doodles.
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Tomorrow there's going to be a fundraiser and party downtown involving Oprah's Big Give and the local park trail association. From 4 different locations, people are going to walk, run, or bike to Headwaters Park and meet up at 2 PM for free food, prizes, giveaways, and entertainment. Obviously I'm going, but not just for the freebies. I like going on walks, and I want to help out with the trail expansion project since I plan on using a bike to get to places so I won't have to spend so much money on gas. I also think this is a good time to try to get out of my comfort zone and make contacts with local businesses. *crosses fingers for impending employment* ...oh yeah, and the K9 unit will be there, too. (doggies!!!<3)
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On a final note, I don't know if anyone else eats the generic version of chocolate Lucky Charms, but Chocolate Marshmallow Mateys has the funniest marshmallow shapes ever. XD

(Note: I'm writing this as an impromptu rant, but I'll try to watch how I word things in hopes to avoid angry responses.)

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Collabs. They're an inviting haven to beginners and experts alike, providing an interesting challenge without the cumbersome task of doing an entire project solo. Collab threads populate the forums like dandelions, sometimes spawning entire off-site forums in some cases. Collabs introduce you to new music, new users with potential, seasoned animators you can now claim as contacts, and new ideas for future projects.

In other words, collabs can be a good thing. ...However, my question is this: How can you tell when a collab is truly good, and when a collab is just a decorated turd?

Now, there are all sorts of steaming piles out there with good scores, so don't assume I'm picking on "your collab" or "your favorite collab". Hell, you can even point your finger at me and say "You've done it as well!"...
Yes, I have participated in a collab that was in dire need of cohesion and talent, but I am proud about the work I've done, and I have full faith in my drawing skills. Any high score made on a collab I've participated in and any good compliments I receive is not because of me brown-nosing the crowds or by intimidation, but because I worked hard to make a piece I felt was worth watching.

But what do you say to the people who clearly do a half-assed job, or even trickier, the people who work hard and intend well but have horrible drawing/animating skills?
My usual tactic is to just say nothing at all, since I can't think of anything nice to say... but that seething disgust quietly festers as the weak links continue to brag about their high scores.

The worst that I've seen so far is where 70% or more of the collab participants have done a part ranging in quality from okay to downright blammable, but the remaining 30% or less of the participants have enough weight in their animations to carry the collab into not just passing scores, but into the high scores. If that weren't bad enough, they build up a wall of empty compliments so that ANYONE with a differing opinion or constructive criticism will be targeted as useless or abusive.
If that isn't cheating the system, I don't know what is.
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Gggggggghhhh. It's 5AM and I haven't fallen asleep yet. Same thing happened last night, and the night before, and the night before that, etc. This has been going on for about a month now.

Insomnia is no stranger to me, as it's plagued me for most of my life, but this bout is extremely... EXTREMELY IRRITATING. It starts out with the usual overactive brain thinkies, fine, but once I start actually getting sleepy, my right eye feels like it's being glued to my eyelid. I try to blink, but it just won't go away.

I eventually get to sleep somehow, but when I wake up between 10:30AM-1PM (yeah, it's late, but I can't help it until I can get steady employment), my right eye is caked with greenish goo and usually bloodshot as well. It clears up during the day, but at night it comes right back again.

-_____-x Going to the doctor is not an option right now, I do not have the money/insurance for it. So I'm just. going. to. have. to. DEAL WITH IT.

^^; I had mentioned in the Heavy Metal news post that I only liked the music and the Taarna storyline from the 1981 animated film Heavy Metal. Actually, the "only" in that statement is a lie. I enjoy the B-17 storyline, the Captain Stern one, Den is pretty funny with John Candy voiceacting, and the tail ending of So Beautiful Yet So Dangerous, where they have the Star Trek Enterprise and McDonald's arches cameo. :3 Harry Canyon was pretty much the one I liked the least, but even then I enjoyed the bits where people died by melting. XD Den and So Beautiful Yet So Dangerous I also dislike because of the obvious excuse to titillate the male viewers, but that's what the fast-forward button is for. And of course I also fast-forward through similar bits in Taarna, but ANY animation that has the female lead hacking heads off and punching bad guys through the face is a bonafide favorite in my book!

So yes, I'm not a completely narrow-minded, man-hating feminist, but a mostly mild-mannered one with a bit more of an open mind than the usual fare.

What? another collab? I thought I swore those things off... :o

Oh well. If you want to know where I come in, then start from page 13. In case you're too lazy to search the forum for the link to my part, then here it is.

Cross your fingers and hope this doesn't take nearly as long as Boulevard did!

I know it's months away, but still I just wonder how many people know that Indiana's having an anime convention...

The first and last anime con I went to was in 2002, and since then I've kinda drifted away from the whole anime scene. Still, what I'm interested in is finding local cartoonists, graphic artists, and other possible potential contacts such as voice actors and musicians. Hopefully I can get over my social anxieties and start asking questions, passing out business cards (meaning scraps of printer paper with a url on 'em), and giving demonstrations on my marker board. :3
Unfortunately, rumor says that it's just this year and next year that it's going to be here, then it's gonna move back to Ohio. >:( Cripes, Indiana barely has any good conventions going while it feels like Ohio has one every other month.

I really need to move out of this state. :P

I suppose I could use my excuse of having caught the flu recently, but it doesn't explain month(s) of inactivity and also... being sick didn't pan out as badly as I thought it would. :/ Just a few days of having a sore neck/sore glands, a mild sore throat, occasional headache, and mild yet oddly persistent stomach pains/nausea.
Heh... truth is, I've been caught up in the daily mundane activities- mostly watching TV, washing dishes, cooking/baking projects, and laundry. Damn that dreaded stereotypical housewifery business! >:(
I'm trying to pull myself out of the rut, though. Gonna fill out more job apps and do some drawing exercises on the morrow.

Oh yeah, speaking of jobbyness, every time I look through ads it seems like a lot of employers are looking for someone who enjoys "working in a fast-paced environment". Hmmm, isn't that an environment for ulcer breeding and nervous breakdowns?
Now, I'm not advocating laziness or sloth, but I just can't help but feel inadequate when I'm asked to do 11 things at once and do them all perfectly in less than 3 minutes.
Unfortunately, I am one of those people who gets easily distracted by little details and I miss the main goal. "Huh... there's still some gunk on this rotisserie spit. I guess I'll scrub some more... Huh? There's a dozen more to do and I've only got ten minutes left? Oops..."
I try to speed up, but that makes me nervous. When I get nervous, I get clumsy and make mistakes, which makes me even more nervous and clumsy. By the time I get done what needs to get done, I've got a huge mess to clean up and people are waiting. So trying to speed up only makes things go even slower with me. :(

And that's why I have the real-life nickname of Sluggy.

FINALLY! Jeez, it's been a long wait. The first part I did for it was finished in... January '07 I think, and the 2nd part was finished after I quit my job, which was sometime after March. Man, I was having some serious back problems when making the 2nd one, which is probably why it's the crappiest of the three... At least the 3rd part was done around November/December and I thankfully planned that one out more carefully than the others. Yeah, I hate relying on motion tweening, but I felt I could get away with it if I had the artwork look nice enough. :P

What I'd like to know is if it would be better for my future productions to be mostly tweened or if I should go whole hog on the frame-by-frame, or alternate a bit.

Man, I'm getting booted from my job sooner than I thought. At first I figured they'd keep me until January, but I'm working the 20th and the 22nd and that's it, no more until possibly next Christmas season.

Crap. I'm not sure which is harder, winning the lottery or landing a full-time job with *gasp!* BENEFITS.

I hate society, and society hates meeeeee....

I couldn't help but laugh when I first saw the ad for it...

"Yes, you can have protection 365 days a year!! ... unless you get pregnant, then you won't know that you are until the 3rd month. Also, symptoms include headache, nausea, upper respiratory infection, bleeding, and a general sense that this just isn't worth it."

Eh, but who am I to judge? Some people will probably swear truth on the box the pills came in. I just find it funny that there isn't a line of chastity belts available called "Consyrvatevs".
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As for actual animation news, I have the final part for the Boulevard Collab done, but I'm waiting for word back from the collab leader. I guess I should just send it regardless. :x
No other animations to account for, but I have had the mind lately to do a House parody. Seriously, I need to find out if there's a drinking game for that show, because you can easily get piss drunk from every misdiagnosis made, every time House gulps down some pills, and every time "drilling into their brain" is suggested. Oh yeah, and every time the episode ends with the patient having some kind of typical disease like chicken pox or diaper rash... or erectile dysfunction.

Any thoughts?