No I'm not tagging you again, haha. I normally don't do those things, but I figured after that last journal my page could use something lighthearted. Thanks for putting up with it, though... I'm surprised how many of you actually did it.


First off I've gotta say:

GO WATCH CABIN IN THE WOODS! THEN GO WATCH THE AVENGERS! NOW!

Seriously guys, holy shit are these movies good. I can't remember the last time I went to the theater twice in a row and enjoyed both films THIS much. Cabin in the Woods I can't say much about, because it's one of those films that really hinges on the surprise factor... but I can't stress to you enough that it's anything but the mindless, generic slasher flick the trailers make it out to be. I strongly recommend it to all my watchers. And The Avengers... well c'mon, did you really think The Avengers would be bad? Haha. It's very epic and action-packed with great special effects, like you'd expect, but it's also got surprisingly great character development and humor. Emphasis on the humor... Marvel movies are never dry in that department, but The Avengers is especially funny. Tony and the Hulk totally steal the show.


Also, I suggest checking out Pyatt's Guide to Entomological Behemoths over at Daikaiju-Gateway. It's a very informative, but simply written and easy to read guide to the insect world and how you can use it to design unique kaiju. Definitely worth a look if you're thinking of adding some giant bugs to your 'verses!



Now, as far as what's up with me, I'll try to keep it brief since I go on too much about my personal life here (and I'm boring as hell anyway). The main things are:

1. My family's got a new dog, a puppy named Keelah (yes that's a Mass Effect reference) who we adopted from the SPCA. We think she's a mix of Golden Retriever and German or Australian Shepard, though the farmers who were fostering her claim she's part Border Collie. Either way, she's ridiculously fast and chews on everything in sight; I'm supposed to be keeping her from destroying everything by wearing her out with play, but so far I think I'm definitely the one being exhausted.

2. I made it into the college I mentioned last journal, which I might as well tell you is Virginia Tech. I'm not entirely sure what to think about that, how it'll work out for me, or what I should try to do while I'm there... but at this point I'm honestly just really stoked that I'll be doing something this fall instead of staying here in jobless, schooless limbo. If their program is as awesome as it sounds I'll at least be coming out of this with a strong (and 3D!) portfolio. I'm very uncertain about my future right now, but at the moment I'm thinkin' this is good news. Fingers crossed.



With that out of the way, here are my updates on deviantART stuff:



Savage Destiny is still on track, but might not be starting for a little while yet. I've got several drawings waiting to be uploaded for the big return, as well as plans for a few more that'll follow it up, but I'm waiting because I want to get the short introduction story finished first. That said, it is being something of a roadblock... the slower, human-centric stuff at the very beginning is really giving me a hard time, and since I don't have a strict deadline like I did in the fall I'm not writing very much. If I'm going to get this started I think I need to find someone who can collaborate with me on the first story; someone to read through my notes and write about half. So that said, if there's anybody reading this who likes to write and would be willing to help out, send me a message. I can't pay you for your service, but I'll absolutely credit you for your contribution and could do a drawing for you in return.


Since Theraga's return is being delayed, my main focus now is "Monster College", which I'll be giving a better and more accurate name soon. The floods of character sketches are probably done for the most part, but I will be putting up a new deviation in the next few days which'll give final, canon names to all the characters I'm keeping. The thing I'm probably going to do will be full color pictures of the main cast . Whether or not I do full profiles for them or attempt to start the comic I've been wanting to do is still up in the air. It's one of those things that I'd love to try, but will probably delay if Savage Destiny gets started first. I will go ahead and repeat, though, that this is a subject I'd really appreciate feedback on. Compared to my kaiju-related artwork it's basically gotten no response at all, so I'd really like to know if that's solely because I've been uploading it in Scraps or if it's because you guys aren't interested. If the audience for this project really is no more than two people, chances are I won't pursue it here. Maybe I need to start thinking about a second account or presenting it somewhere other than DA. No hard feelings if that is the case, of course, I'm just trying to get a feel for what my watchers are into so I can figure out the best way to handle each project.

Everything else, recent or old, has a secure spot on the back burner. I do want to elaborate on some things I said last time, though, about Godzilla.


Something that's been bothering me for a long time now is the fan fic / fan art series I did, Gojira: Code Red. Most of you know exactly what I'm talking about, either because you were watching me when I was doing it, or because I did a few pictures later on that were about looking back and defending my choices on it. The reason why I say it's bothering me isn't so much about how I'd do things differently as it is the fact that, much to my surprise, the Code Red artwork is still getting views, comments, and regular favorites. On one hand I find this very flattering, because there are a lot of redesign series' out there now and some of them have really phenomenal artwork... it's kind of an honor to be getting any attention at all when stuff like that is only a click away. It's also satisfying because, when I was doing CR, there were very few people who were actually interested or liked the direction I was going with it. If you'd asked me then if I thought people'd still be looking at and liking those designs five years later I'd have told you "no way in hell". So thank you for that, random passerbyers, watchers, and Godzilla fans.

But that said, I really cannot stress enough that the ideas I pushed then are not the ideas I hold now. 2007 sounds pretty recent, and relatively speaking I guess it is, but looking at it from the perspective of "how much have I changed since then?" I feel like it's ancient history. There's not a single redesign I wouldn't do differently now, I absolutely hate what I was trying to do with the story, and in general, honestly, I am ashamed of Code Red. There's actually an "animated" trailer I did for it that's only survived on my computer, and it's truly the perfect example of this. When I made that video I thought the scenes matched the music perfectly, the tone was very dark and serious, and it was basically one of the best things I'd ever made. I was very proud of it and the story it was for. When I watch that video now I absolutely wince, because the music makes it so over the top it hurts, it tries so hard to be serious that it's completely pretentious, and the whole thing is just really dopey and emo. It's like a totally different person made it, and that person is a dumbass.

So yeah- to those newcomers and random deviants who stumble across that stuff and like it, thank you very much, but please, please don't think that I still hold those opinions or think any of those monster designs are good. I hate most of them and the story (which like the trailer is no longer on the web) with a passion, and it IS a small personal goal of mine to do another Godzilla redesign series some day (probably just for the sake of it, not with a story or anything) to show how much my tastes have changed. The guy who made Code Red isn't here anymore and he's definitely no friend of mine.



I think that just about covers it. Keep an eye out for more "Monster College" art and the return of Theraga! Hope you guys are doing well and having a good year. Peace!

PS, because I want to concentrate on personal projects I am currently closed for requests. Art Trades are not completely out of the question, but I will be accepting them less often.