I finished registering for my college classes the other day! This next semester is going to be pretty hectic for me, since my schedule is all over the place and I have to drive my brother to/from school. xD Not to mention my mom is taking classes at the same college I'm going to. Go figure. At least driving my brother shouldn't be too bad, considering the high school he's going to be attending next year is literally right across the street from my college. lol.

Here's my schedule, if anybody's interested (I really need to make a chart to organize all this):

COLLEGE ALGEBRA - TTh 04:30: PM - 06:50: PM
INT. JAPANESE CULTURE - M 07:00: PM - 09:50: PM
PRIN OF COMPOSITION I - MW 12:00: PM - 02:50: PM
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT - TTh 09:00: AM - 10:20: AM
DRAWING I - F 09:00:AM - 02:50: PM

I'm going to miss my friends from High School. :C

*****************

Also, I figured I should show you guys this gem off of Youtube, courtesy of the talented :
The Man Salad

Oh, and this is a video we did as a German project at the end of the year. It is absolutely FABELHAFT~
Gunter

Go check out his other videos, too! They're amazing.

Okay, so lately I've gotten SO MANY MESSAGES ABOUT THIS IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY. In fact, it kinda pisses me off, it's so annoying. So there's this message going around (I think you may have seen it) that's talking about some hacker named Simon Ashton. SO MANY PEOPLE have copy+pasted about him that it's really, INCREDIBLY annoying. The message in question is this:

<sub>IF A PERSON CALLED SIMON ASHTON ( SIMON25@HOTMAIL.CO.UK ) CONTACTS YOU THROUGH EMAIL DON'T OPEN THE MESSAGE. DELETE IT BECAUSE HE IS A HACKER!!

TELL EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST BECAUSE IF SOMEBODY ON YOUR LIST ADDS HIM THEN YOU WILL GET HIM ON YOUR LIST. HE WILL FIGURE OUT YOUR ID COMPUTER ADDRESS, SO COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE EVEN IF YOU DON'T CARE FOR THEM AND FAST BECAUSE IF HE HACKS THEIR EMAIL HE HACKS YOUR MAIL TOO!!!!!...</sub>

GUESS WHAT, PEOPLE? He's not real. Sure, the person might be real, but there is no Simon Ashton trying to hack into your computer via your e-mail inbox. Anything that says to "copy and paste this message to everyone" is most likely:

A. A chain mail.
B. Spam.
C. Going to annoy your friends if you send it to them.
D. All of the above.

Anyone remember Alfred Hundana? If not, maybe this will refresh your memory: [link] Read the artist's comments, people. The same thing applies to this situation here.

TL;DR: Stop copy+pasting stuff that tells you to do so. I know I just copy+pasted the message, too, but I had to get a point across. >:I

*******

In other news, my brother got arm surgery today. He's really grouchy because my parents keep insisting that he should just lie still (which he should) and let other people do stuff for him.

I'm doing this as a request from !thecreatorscreator.
Ask any of my OCs (or me) any question you want, and I'll answer in-character. ;D

Also, this is completely off-topic: I finally got my messages from almost-2000 to a single-digit number :'D

Heya guys, I'm back from Japan and (sort of) back from Hiatus. I still have like a thousand messages in my inbox, though, even after clearing a bunch of them out.

A lot has happened over the past two weeks, so I guess I'll give you what I hope is a brief rundown of what happened:

Segment I: Tokyo
Well, I took a flight from LAX to Narita, and then took a limousine bus to Tokyo. We (My mom, Sean, and I) stayed in a really cramped hotel called the Weekly Mansion and ate meals consisted entirely of stuff we bought from a nearby convenience store. While we were in Tokyo, we visited the Kaminari-mon (Thunder gates) which was a huge temple in Asakusa. We also visited Akihabara, which is famous for its electronics stores and huge population of anime/manga nerds. We even visited a maid cafe, which was INCREDIBLY disappointing... It was basically a bunch of high school girls wearing costumes working in a low-budget shop serving overpriced food and drinks. (600 yen [$6 USD] for a glass of Melon soda, yowza!) Then we took a riverboat tour and visited the newest prefecture in Tokyo, called Odaiba. We also visited the Tokyo Tower, which was fun. :3

Segment II: Osaka
After visiting Tokyo, we took another plane to Osaka to stay at my Grandma's apartment for a few days. Sean was so tall he kept hitting his head on the ceiling lamps, lol. We didn't do much in Osaka, all things considered. We went to the Osamu Tezuka museum (anyone who calls themselves an anime/manga fan should know this guy's name. If not, you're not worthy of calling yourself a nerd. For all intents and purposes, this guy INVENTED the anime/manga style in Japan.) and I got my hair cut. Like, 4 inches of it. xD My aunt and uncle also visited us and we went out to dinner. Aaaand we went to another temple near my grandma's apartment and visited Osaka Castle.

Segment III: Hot springs
YEEEEEAAAAAAHHH, HOT SPRINGS! 8D My mom booked us (Grandma included) a couple of rooms at a really snazzy hot springs resort spa. It was SOOOOO awesome, for realsies There was both an indoor and an outdoor bath (both of which have an incredible view of the ocean) and my skin felt so silky and smooth after bathing there There was also this treatment thing there called "doctor fish" that I tried. Basically it was a pool full of cleaner fish that you could stick your hands/feet in and have the fish eat all your dead skin off. It tickled a lot at first, but after a while it felt really pleasant. Plus the fish were kinda cute What else~ There was a manga corner, an arcade, a bunch of massage chairs, table tennis, and Karaoke rooms (I actually sang Lady Gaga, lol). Everything but the arcade was free to use. 8D Then we took a charter bus back to Osaka.

Segment IV: Kyoto
After taking the train from Osaka to Kyoto, we chilled at my Grandpa's house which was nice because his house is SO DAMN HUGE AND FANCY as opposed to my Grandma's apartment. I mean I love 'em both, but Japanese apartments WILL make you claustrophobic, even if you aren't already. Anyway, we went out to eat at a couple of restaurants, including a really fancy one where each party dines in a separate room, and a rotating sushi bar. Sean and I played with my Grandpa's 3 dogs a bunch, and we set off fireworks on our last day there. Staying at that house was really pleasant, especially since my grandpa's new wife is so friendly. :3

Segment V: Home again
Weeeeelllll, we drove from Kyoto back to my Grandma's Osaka apartment, where we packed up all our crud and stayed there one last night. Then my grandma, my mom, Sean, and I went to Osaka national airport to meet up with my aunt and uncle one last time for lunch, and we boarded a plane bound for Narita. Then we had to transfer over to another plane that would take us on an 11-hour trip back to LA. And now I'm back home typing this journal. Yay, jet lag! =w=;

*********

Other stuff.
I drew a lot during the time I've been gone, and I even finished Dreamworld (the IRL version). WTFAAAAAAHHHH. So, I know I've asked this before, but what do you want me to work on now? Granted, getting all the DW pages online will be a first priority, but I want to know what you want to see from me next. I'm considering:

Re-writing it so I can publish it so y'all can have nice, professional-looking copies if you really wanted to buy one (like anyone would actually want to buy my crap)
A prequel, so you can see all my characters' backstories (And I'll get to write my two favorite backstories: Raven's and Hechoton's. I really like Snowday's backstory too, even though he's a minor character)
Starta completely new story if you guys are sick and tired of Dreamworld. I've got an idea in my head that would work, too, but I could always save it for later.

So... yeah. Hopefully I'll be posting some art soon. I haven't uploaded diddly-squat since April. OTL;

Oh, and this is BAAAAAAWWWW-tastic, but my Neopets account got hacked. ;A; That was my first experience on the internet, not to mention the first place I ever used the name medli20. And whoever hacked my account got it frozen, along with my Royalgirl Zafara, my Darigan Kyrii lab rat, and Raven_swiftwing, my Lenny. ><;; And to add insult to injury, my very first Neopet, my unconverted Plushie Scorchio was put in the pound and now someone else has him. (I think that person might be the same person who hacked my account, but I don't have any concrete evidence. At any rate, I can't contact them because their account says they're under 13.)

VALOO45 WAS MY PRIZED BBY. I'MMUNA MISS HIM.

Other than that, I don't have much else to say. I'll work on getting my photos imported to my computer and posted on the internet. :3

OH HAI GAIS It certainly has been a while, hasn't it? It's been, like, over a month since I've updated anything at all. WHOOPS

But yeah. All kidding aside, I'm still on hiatus. I'm just writing this journal to let you know I'm still alive and kicking (even though I caught a nasty cold a little while back). I'm still working on my Zelda flash animation, and graduation... and stuff.

OH YEAH, SPEAKING OF WHICH, I'M GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL ON THE 23RD. 12 years of schooling, and I'm almost done with it all. ....And then I'll be off to the community college right across the street. JOY

ANDANDAND I'll be going to Japan on the 26th and I'll be staying there for 2 weeks. So don't expect me to be very active on dA anytime soon

Hmm... what else... Oh yeah, I'm almost done writing Dreamworld IRL. I'm working on the epilogue right now, akshully. ....I REALLY NEED TO GET THE ONLINE VERSION UPDATED. D: ...After my hiatus. IN THE MEAN TIME YOU SHOULD GO BUSY YERSELVES WITH OTHER WEBCOMICS. AND MAYBE SOME VIDJA GAMES. Like Portal. Mmmmm, Portal. Did I mention that has been distracting me, too? Because it is. Despite the fact that I get horrible motion sickness whenever I play FPS games. (For some reason this doesn't apply when I'm playing Left 4 Dead 2 on 2-player mode. Hmm.)

So yarr. I won't be checking my messages (WHICH HAVE ACCUMULATED TO OVER A THOUSAND BY THE WAY) while I'm away, BUT I'll be responding to comments in this journal entry for a while.

...Do I still need to prove that I'm actually doing something productive during my time away? Yes? I guess I could show you guys my work-in-progress as far as Flash stuff goes. Comment in my journal if you're interested.


I LOVE YOU GUYS.




medli20 awaaaaaayyyyyyyy!!

Well, I'm back from vacation, as well as the unforeseen hiatus that followed. My mom had banned me from all recreational computer-related activities because my grades were slipping in German. Whoops. Buuut I was able to make up all the work I had missed (even though my teacher hasn't updated my grades yet...) so now I'm back on. Yays!

Anyway, not much new going on for me.... The central coast was fun, but my feet were all covered in blisters because I had unwittingly worn toe socks and shoes that weren't made for walking long distances when we were hiking. My toes still hurt when I wear shoes... But I got to visit the tide pools, which were fun. Now that I'm taking marine ecology classes, I feel like I appreciate the ocean a lot more. I found a whole clam shell with both halves still attached, so I took that home with me (But it broke when I put it in my pocket. Baw. I also found a crab shell (Only two of its legs were still attached) but I didn't take that home with me.

ALSO My dad just found a morning dove that's nesting in our yard right now, eggs included. I hope it doesn't turn into cat food.





medli20 awaaaaaayyyy!! *whoosh*

_{(Also, 101 deviations and 228 messages!? I guess that's what I get for being gone for a week and a half...)}

HOLY CRAP, I died again. But now I'm back so I'm like a zombie.

So why in the world was I gone this time? Well, for a variety of reasons:

~The biggest reason was that I was busy working on a BRAND-SPANKING NEW FLASH ANIMATION that I hope y'all will enjoy. I'll post it after I'm done writing this journal, but it's actually on Newgrounds already. I didn't want to go on dA during the time I was working on it because I'm too easily distracted, so it would have taken FOREVER for me to finish. (by the way, it won daily 5th place on Newgrounds! )

~I've also been working on contest prizes. I've finished ~ZoraBanna's prizes, so I'll post those too. Now I need to start ~BloodCri's prize(s).

~I've been helplessly addicted to Left 4 Dead 2. I LOVE ELLIS, HOLYSHIT HE'S SO FULL OF WIN. I've been playing him so much that his southern accent is actually rubbing off on me... OTL Also I've been comparing the special infected to some of my friends. :devbloodmidnight-the-cat: is a hunter since she always wears sweatshirts and is prone to glomping people, my brother is a jockey since he's always hunched over and has big hands/feet, ~Lokislamda is either a charger or a tank because he's a friggin' wall of steel, and I haven't really figured anything out for anyone else. :I I'm probably either a witch because I'm a crybaby who has freakishly long fingernails, or a spitter because my TMJ device makes me drool/spit a lot.

There are probably other reasons, but I can't think of them off the top of my head at the moment.

ALSO ALSO ALSO BAD NEWS. One of my favorite teachers, Mr. Carlisle, is getting laid off. This really sucks because he's got ten year, so the district isn't allowed to fire him but they're doing it anyway, and he's been hosting the Japanese Culture Club all the years I've been at my high school. FUCK, AND HE'S LIKE ONE OF THE ONLY TEACHERS AT MY SCHOOL WHO IS COOL ENOUGH TO BRING PLAYSTATION GAMES TO MULTICULTURAL FAIRE. >8C So yeah, I'm pissed.

Anyway, that's about it. I seriously have like 300 messages in my inbox I need to get to, so apologies if I don't get to you right away.

~BloodCri in first place with her Melly/Chippin Flash entry, and ~ZoraBanna in second place with Triple M! Well done, guys! Be sure to note me with what you want.

Prize guide:
FIRST PLACE:
One free full-colored digital request of up to three characters (like this: [link] ), plus a traditionally-done chibi (like this: [link] )

SECOND PLACE:
One free full-colored digital request of one character (like this: [link] ), plus a traditionally-done chibi

***************

Anyway, apologies for the recent inactivity. I've been working nonstop on lots of things, including a Flash animation, bookmarks for the upcoming multicultural fair at my school, food shopping for the same fair, and homework. Needless to say, I've been really obscenely busy and haven't had much time to get on deviantART.

...plus I've been distracted by Newgrounds. Whoops.

Anyway, the result is that I've got a bajillion messages to go through, so if I don't get around to replying to you right away, please don't take it personally





medli20 awaaaaaaaaayyyyy!! *whoosh*

...And now it's time to do the judging. Well, if you've been watching me for about a year and a half, you'll know that the way the last contest I held was judged by your guys' votes-- and this contest will be judged the same way.

Listed below are the entries I have received for the "Couples' children" and "Growing Up" contests. I've decided to lump the two categories together because there was only one entry in the "Growing Up" category. Anyway, please vote for one entry you believe should win. You may either comment in this journal, or note me if you prefer not to let other people see who you voted for.

As far as voting guidelines go, Here are some things to consider:
Because this was a character design contest, try to pick the most creative design. A well-drawn entry doesn't always mean it's going to be the most original.
If you have entered the contest yourself, you may vote for your own entry. Keep in mind, though, that this may make yourself look a little conceited, haha. If you're worried about your image, you can note me in private. I won't tell anyone.
Tell me which entry you're voting for by listing the user's name or icon in your comment/note. You may only vote for one person.
Judging will end in a week, on February 19. (Providing I can actually get my ass on the internet on that day...)
(newly added) Getting your friends to vote for your entry is discouraged. If everyone did this, it would turn into a popularity contest.
Have fun!

ENTRIES
[link]
(Now !thecreatorscreator ) [link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link] (Ending image: [link]

Good luck to all the people who entered!

***********************

<sub>....Aaanyway.
What the frack, medli!? Why weren't you here when the contest was SUPPOSED to end!? >:[
Well, I've been pretty busy with things that, believe it or not, have nothing to do with being on the computer. :U Like, on the 10th when I was supposed to end the contest, I had my neck snapped.

....No, not by Solid Snake. (though that would be awesome.) By a chiropractor. xD
I was expecting that my appointment with him would be earlier, so I was doing stuff like working on Dreamworld IRL and reading Harry Potter, because I was planning on getting on my computer after I returned home, which turned out to be late at night. Bad planning on my part. Then Thursday the 11th, I was busy painting trash cans at school with ~KindaConfuzzled and two other friends, then we met at Howie's Game Shack with ~Midnight-The-Cat to play Left 4 Dead 2 because it was Ladies Free Night. Yes, I know this was not mandatory, but I do put my IRL promises in higher priority than my online promises. Sorry 'bout that. THEN TODAY ~KindaConfuzzled and I finished the trashcan we were painting (I'll post pics later) and I went to a doctor's appointment to get my TMJ treated, then I FINALLY finished reading the sixth Harry Potter book for the first time. (I know I'm slow, shut up.)

So, yeah. That's all I've been up to. Now I need to clear out my inbox and steal the photographs ~KindaConfuzzled took with her cellphone so I can post 'em in my gallery.</sub>


EDIT: HOLY SHIT CHECK THIS OUT! [link] I'm so glad I commissioned Laura... I don't have Paypal so I was able to pay her at school, not to mention she's a FFFFFFFFAMAZING ARTIST. /endfangasm edit


medli20 awaaaaaayyyy!!! *whoosh*

...For entries. For more details, click here.

Anyway, I might end up just lumping the two categories together if ~ZoraBanna wants to do that. The contest will close and the judging will begin whenever I check my computer on February 10. That means you hae all of February 9th to squeeze a last-minute entry in if you want.

...Of the contest, which can be found by clicking here.

So... yeah. I'm not providing any more deadline extensions, because it would be unfair to the people who actually entered the contest on time (which was supposed to be in December...ish?). Anyway, if I don't get any more entries, ~ZoraBanna will win the "grown-up" category by default, and I'll have two winners in the "child" category. (I was only going to have one because there aren't that many people who entered that category anyway, but I'm feeling generous.)

...aside from that, not much else is new, except for one or two things worth mentioning.

I finished finals, holycrap! I actually had fun with them this semester, too, because I brought an abacus to my Calculus final for shits and giggles, I wrote my English final in a haiku-chain format (most people wrote essays) and in German we showed the video ~shadowfox014, another friend, and I made, then we played board games for the rest of the class period. Or at least, everyone else did. I just drew the whole time, lol.

I did what I previously did not think was possible: I wrote a page-and-a-half (12 point font, times new roman, single-spaced) critique of a 1.5 second long animation.

The animation itself is here: [link]

And here's my critique, for those who are interested:
I like the way you drew the first part from a bird's-eye view, as well as his expression at the end. However, there's quite a lot you could do to improve this animation.

A bit of a warning: I'm quite blunt when I'm critiquing (As you may or may not have seen on Tri Do's work. I noticed you go to the same school.) so if you're not up to putting up to that, I would suggest that you stop reading this.

Okay, here goes:
The animation goes by waaay too quickly. You're setting up the story, introducing the conflict (if any), reaching the climax, then resolving the story all in a timeframe of about 1.5 seconds. This is not enough time to show Mr. Bean reacting to the situations he has been put in, let alone give your audience some time to digest what's been presented before them. Take some time to slow down and milk your scenes to help your audience actually understand what's going on. If you're introducing a new element (A new character, object, or setting) your audience will want about 2 seconds to observe and comprehend what has been introduced to them.

-It doesn't appear that you're actually animating that much, save for the walk-in at the beginning. I feel like I'm watching more of a slide show than anything. If this was a first pass, you'll want to add some motion during the most important parts. The walk-in at the beginning really isn't as important as the rest of the animation when the action happens, so try investing more of your energy into the conflict, climax, and resolution. As nice as an introduction is, it's not nearly as important as the "meat" of your animation, which is found in the middle.

-It isn't very clear that Mr. Bean is using a telescope. When I first watched your animation before I read the comments, I thought he was holding a giant toothpick, or a baseball bat, or he had a giant arm that was infected with elephantitis or something. You should try to establish the fact that is a telescope by showing him setting it up on a tripod or something; or you could even zoom in on the telescope or something. Try looking at pictures of various telescopes, and referencing off them to make yours look more telescope-like.

-Going off from the previous section of this critique, I showed your animation to a friend of mine and he thought that Mr. Bean turned into a hat. If you wanted to make it clear that he is looking at the hat through a telescope, you could draw the hat in a circle that has been shaded around it, like they do in cartoons. It would also help if the hat wasn't exactly where Mr. Bean was standing.

-The staging could also use some work. I like the angle from the first part where he's walking down the road, but I sort of expect him to stop in the middle and prepare to do whatever he's doing. Right now, you just sort of interrupt him while he's walking and abruptly change to the next scene. Try easing the transitions between your scenes a little; I feel like I'm getting some virtual whiplash while watching this. All jokes aside, the middle/end could also use work as far as staging goes. The camera is very zoomed out from Mr. Bean, and there's nothing around him but the scenery from the first part (which you should remove after the establishing shot) to fill the space around him. Try redrawing those parts with Mr. Bean taking up more space in the future. You should also work on the way you position him in the middle/end parts. In the scene where we see him looking through the telescope, you could perhaps draw him a little to the left of the center of the screen, so he's taking up a bit more space but still has room to look off into the distance. Then you could center the hat on the screen and show his reaction from the same angle as the telescope scene, but zoomed in a little closer.

-The story itself also needs work. Why is he looking through his telescope in the first place? Why does he look at a hat when he could be looking at the stars or the landscape instead? How do we know the hat is magical? Why is he so happy about seeing a disembodied hat? You've left your audience with quite a few questions, none of which have been answered.

That's about it, I think. With a bit of work, you could make this a great animation; you've got a knack for drawing cute facial expressions. I hope this helped, and good luck! /end critique

...yeah, I can get pretty wordy when I'm critiquing animations...

So... yeah. I've been pretty inactive on the interwebz for the past week and a half. So where have I been, exactly? Well, I've been working on an english project that I hope you guys will like, which can be found here: [link]

...So yeah, I've been working on that thing for practically the whole time I was gone. OTL Any free time I had was used up by the making of that flash, which is why I haven't been on the internet. So I apologize if anyone has been expecting me to be on here lately, OTL;;

Aaaaanyway, while I'm writing this, I might as well write about recent stuff that's happened IRL lately...
Last Thursday, I went on a field trip with my marine ecology class to go WHALE WATCHING! 8D That was super-ultra aweseome; we got to see lotsa sea lions, pelicans, seagulls, dolphins, and a whale! :3 whee~! ...but then my motion sickness medication wore off and I got horribly, horribly seasick. So while I was dry-retching over the boat rail, a pelican came and landed on my back. I didn't even know it was there until my classmates pointed it out to me after the fact.... Oh, and my friend Trevor even got a video of it happening, but he hasn't figured out how to get it onto the computer yet. My train of thought upon finding out he got a video are as follows:

1. Initial disgust that he would actually have the balls to videotape me while I was trying to vomit.
2. amazement that he actually timed it right to get a video of it.
3. LOL at the fact that he has immortalized that moment forever.

So what else is new? Well, if you live in southern California like I do, you'll know that we're actually getting rain here now. And it's not just wimpy rain; it's like rain on STEROIDS. ...well, compared to what we usually get here, anyway. Tuesday was the most intense day so far; the wind was blowing so hard and the rain was coming down so intensely that the school actually went on lockdown. Apparently the animation room got flooded, too. And that's not a good thing, since it's full of computers... OTL; We even got a tornado here, which I never thought would happen.

Andandand~ on Wednesday, my animation teacher showed a Cyanide and Happiness short upon my suggestion. ;D My respect for him has risen tenfold, lol.

...well, going back to art-related stuff, I'm also working on another stand-alone comic (like 'Til Death Do Us Apart, but longer) so that's another thing you can look forward to.

Well, I should probably get around to answering my messages now. I have almost as many deviations in my inbox as there are first-gen Pokemon, and twice that number of messages in my message center.

Okay, so I just found out a couple of days ago that my US Government teacher plays the lead male role in a low-budget Persian music video. :U Wat. [link] <-- He plays agent Viper, just to clarify. Not the guy who gives Farideh her mission.

Also, I'm extending the contest deadline one more month, but that's the last time I'm extending it. If all I have is the four entries I have so far, there will only be one winner, because having three people win the contest and one person is left out, it would be really awkward for that person. If I get five entries, I'll bump it up to two winners, and if I get seven entries, there will be three winners. I'm trying to get it to all work proportionately.

Contest details: [link]

EDIT2: Deadline extended to February 09 to try to rake in some more entries. I've only got four entries so far, so I'd like to see if other people would like to enter as well

So, I decided to actually go with hosting another contest! Yaaaayyy!! Introducing...

medli20's Ultra-sexy, Super-Sparkly Pseudo Character Design Contest!!

So, what are the criteria for this contest? Well, there are two categories for the contest this time around, and each category has its own criteria:

Create an older version of medli20's OCs!
-This is pretty self-explanatory. Take any one of my OCs and draw an older version of them.
-It might be easier to stay away from Hechoton, though, because he's already old enough.
-If you want to draw an older version of my OCs that already have older versions of themselves (Like Bjorn and Anabar [link] ) You may draw an alternate design for those characters. ;D
-I have lots of original characters, and most of them are in this gallery: [link] ...so you can use that for reference. :3
-Be sure to say which character you're using.
-Entries so far: [link]

Create a child character for a pairing from my comic, Dreamworld
-For this category, you get to use a pairing of any of the characters from my comic, Dreamworld ( [link] ) and create a child from that pairing.
-Pairings can be as canon as DwightXMelly or as cracked-up as MannyXHitler, and anywhere inbetween. (Yes, this means both heterosexual and homosexual pairings are acceptable.)
-You may pair your own OC with my OCs. xD;
-You may draw the "child" at any age.
-Be sure to say which characters you're using.
-Entries so far: [link]

You may submit up to three entries maximum.
You may enter both categories.
Entries may be done using traditional or Digital media.
Judging will be similar to the system I used last time; that is, there will be a vote on whose entry will win. Judges will be encouraged to judge entries by creativity; not artistic talent.

DEADLINE:
This will be open to change, but for now I'll set the deadline to a month from today, February 09.

Prizes:
FIRST PLACE:
One free full-colored digital request of up to three characters (like this: [link] ), plus a traditionally-done chibi (like this: [link] )

SECOND PLACE:
One free full-colored digital request of one character (like this: [link] ), plus a traditionally-done chibi

THIRD PLACE:
choice between a digital request of one character or a chibi

...That's it for now. If I think of anything else, I will edit this journal.

...I just wanted to be popular. :U

So yeah. 2010 is here in most parts of the world already, but not here because I live on the west coast. I'd say something deep and thoughtful about reflecting upon the past and wishing for prosperity in the future, but right now I'm sleepy and full of sushi.

...So here's a video about a dancing cat instead. [link]

EDIT: I've downloaded the driver from the HP website, and the scanner is working fine now. The only problem is that it's an updated version of the old program I used, so the layout is weird and not what I'm used to working with. OTL And those of you who know me probably know that I'm a stubborn mule who refuses to even download the newest version of iTunes. >:T Oh well, I guess I can't have everything my way, lol.

My scanner apparently "cannot communicate with my computer." And I can't find the driver disc that came with it.

I think one of the programs that came with my tablet might have messed it up. I haven't scanned anything since I got the thing, and it was working perfectly fine up until then. So I'm either going to have to:

A. Stop posting traditionally-done pictures on deviantART altogether and stick solely to digital art. This means I'm going to have to put Dreamworld on permanent hiatus until I can find a solution. Or:

B. Uninstall everything that has to do with my tablet and see if that helps. This isn't even guaranteed to help. Or:

C. Scour my room until I can find the disc. I've already searched my "tech stuff" drawer, which is where I keep all the CDs for the important programs I use. It might have gotten misplaced, though.

If anyone who is infinitely knowledgeable about the HP Photosmart C5280 All-in-One printer/scanner/copier can help me fix this issue, I'd be more than happy to draw a request to the best of my abilities. ...That is, if the advice that is given actually resolves the issue. ><;; Thanks...

Enter my contest!

Check it out, yo! [link] (tinyURL'd to prevent random emoticons from appearing in the url) ~shadowfox014 did the filming, directing, and editing, our friend Keith did half the voices and a sound effect, and I wrote the script. ...'course, my German grammar is horrible, so I apologize to any fluent speakers whose ears bleed upon listening to the dialogue I wrote. OTL

Some background info: We were supposed to act out a part of a radio drama we were listening to that included these characters in a mystery-detective setting, but Shadow and Keith were awesome enough to think of making a machinima instead. Also, the Jew thing was something that sprung up from our class when I misspelled the German word for "illegal jewelry dealer" (Juwelenhehler) as "illegal Jew dealer." (Judenhehler)

...THUS, AN INCREDIBLY RETARDED JOKE WAS BORN.

Click here to enter my contest~!</b>

One of my friends, ~Rursus is steadily losing her eyesight. If she continues to be untreated like this, she may be blind by the time she reaches 30. However, she is eligible to receive corrective laser eye surgery to reverse this. However, because it costs about $8,000, she is taking commissions to help pay her medical bills. She is a very good artist and offers great work for low prices, so please help her out. You can read the details in this journal: [link]

Help her out, and spread the word.

***

In other news, I went to ~shadowfox014's house with another friend, Keith (who doesn't have a dA) today and voice acted for the first time. We're making a machinima using Little Big Planet for a German project, and it's going to be FABELHAFT~ I wrote the script, Shadow did the tech stuff, and Keith voiced for two characters and helped position the characters in the game. If we get it on Youtube, I'll be sure to post a link in my journal.

Keith and I had to leave early because Shadow's family was having dinner, so Shadow is probably still editing the machinima now, if he hasn't finished yet, so I haven't gotten a chance to see the finished product. We're presenting it tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to that.

ANDANDAND. I was finally able to get a new(er) copy of my FFFFAAAAAVORITE book, called Willard by Stephen Gilbert. It's actually a used copy that was originally a library book from Ketchum, Idaho that my mom ordered from Amazon, so the pages are kind of yellow and there are random food stains inside it. But it's still in WAY better condition than the old copy that I have, which my dad bought when he was in the fourth grade. So now I'm happy because I get to re-read it without any worries that the pages will disintegrate and the book will fall apart. C:





medli20 awaaaaaaayyyy!!! *whoosh*

Enter my contest! ;D</b>

Heya guys! I need all of you who have a tablet to help me with something. I'm planning on getting a tablet sometime in the near future, because using a mouse to do digital art is starting to get a little tedious (especially when drawing hair, grass, etc) and I wanted to broaden my horizons a little bit. Problem is, I don't know diddly-squat when it comes to graphics tablets, so I want you guys to answer a few questions for me. Namely, these questions:

1. What brand/model/type of tablet do you have?
2. How big is it?
3. How much did it cost?
4. What did it come with?
5. What do you like about your tablet?
6. What do you dislike about your tablet?
7. Are you happy with your current tablet, or is it a piece of crap?
8. Any other commentary?

For those of you who don't have a tablet, you can answer these questions for the lulz:

1. What is the air velocity of an unladen swallow?
2. What is your favorite color?
3. What is MY favorite color?
4. Which was better, the original first-gen Pokemon games, or their remakes? (Fire Red, Leaf Green)
5. Can you name all the Spice Girls?

On a completely unrelated note, I just finished baking pumpkin cookies. They're delicious, but they're too soft and come apart easily. :C Next time I bake some, I'll try adding less pumpkin so they're firmer.

Contest stuffs >3< </b>

My mom just told me she's officially making plans to take me and my little brother to Japan during the summer. I haven't been there in six years, so I'm really excited. 8D 'Course, if we do go, I'll be missing out on AX, but I guess I could miss that and go to Comicon instead. :3

BUT COMIC BOOK-RELATED SUMMER CONVENTIONS ISN'T WHAT I WAS WRITING THIS JOURNAL FOR; I WAS WRITING ABOUT THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN.

My mom said this time we're most likely going to be able to go to Tokyo, and cruise around districts like Harajuku and Akihabara. <3 I'm most excited about Akihabara, because we were supposed to go there two years ago, but my brother had to attend summer school and we ended up not going. I HOPE WE REALLY GO THROUGH WITH THE PLANS THIS YEAR, THOUGH, BECAUSE THEY SOUND AWESOME.

<sub>Also, [link]



medli20 awaaaaaaayyyy! *whoosh*</sub>