Hey all So it was my birthday on the 17th~ It was a pretty decent day -- woke up stupidly early, played City of Heroes, had a shower, opened my presents, played Dragon Age: Origins, had lunch, met ~Kidura in town and spent a few hours with her, got a lift home from my dad, and then went out to dinner with my parents!
So far, I've had 5 presents from my family (big and small) and 1 from ~Kidura, all of which were very cool and greatly appreciated ^^ Perhaps the present I want to brag about the most was from my mother: Photoshop CS4 This was something I specifically asked for (and since it's so expensive, something that can only really be bought for something like a birthday), and I'm so happy, because now I can create some (hopefully) decent digital art, and try lining and colouring stuff on my computer... It's a very exciting development, art-wise ^^ And I wasn't entirely sure I was going to get it (since it's so pricey).

So, that was that I suppose ^^ Lots of love to those who wished me a happy birthday on here and on Facebook. I may be a year older physically, but for better or for worse I haven't aged much mentally for a while now ^^

Umm, so with a cosplay convention looming in just over a weeks time, I am (or should be) focusing on making that, rather than doing any art. I have drawn some things, both before now and in spare moments, but I won't have time to upload anything until after the event. So much to do, and in so little time!

I can't really think of anything else of great importance, so I will bid you adieu for tonight. Take care

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~JennyGodin's Challenge Status:
0 are coloured; 34 are inked semi/fully; and 7 are sketched, with 19 from Lightown; 21 from Darkness; and 1 ambiguous. For details, see [link]
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Dirge - Chronicles of Midghar:
Introduction to Dirge: [link]
Index of Content: [link]
Dirge Q&A: [link]
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Latest Story Page: [link] [73/79]
Latest Dirge Art: [link] [Chillin' - Lineart]
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So much has happened, and I've even been on dA, just haven't updated my journal... sorry about that ^^

SO... the last thing I mentioned was Kevin Smith, meaning I need to catch everyone up on both Expo and Halloween... which I can't really be bothered with, so I'll be brief.

Expo was awesome! SO many people and such excellent costumes! Sadly I wasn't able to finish my Link (Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Adult) cosplay in time, so I was stuck in regular clothes for Saturday. It was interesting and nice to be back at Expo, but in short Saturday sucked balls. So I had an idea to make Sunday better. During Saturday while I was there I decided to buy a costume for the next day... and the Akatsuki coats looked mighty inviting. So, knowing that I had wanted to cosplay Itachi at some point anyway, I bought a really nice Akatsuki coat, 'scratched' Konoha headband, 'Fire' ring and his necklace. Costly, perhaps, but I'm not sure I would have ever been able to make the coat anyway, or the accessories. So when I got back home I set to work cutting up a black vest and one of my mum's kindly donated fishnet stockings to make Itachi's semi-net vest; as well as cutting up a pair of long white socks, short black socks, and then stapling them to the pair of cheap sandals I bought for my L cosplay... and voila, ninja vest and Akatsuki shoes. Aaaand I had some pretty good pajamas for his trousers 8D So, after painting my finger- and toe-nails black (when I bought the nail-polish the night before I forgot what colour it was... I bought blue and green because I thought it was teal, and black just in case.... and it turned out to be purple u_u) and drawing lines on my face, I was ready! And Sunday ROCKED! I met a group of cosplayers at the train-station (not my normal one as the trains were down... so, fate perhaps?) and fell in love with them, so i basically stayed with them for the whole day, and I don't think I've had so much fun in my life

Fast-forwarding to Halloween, and this is the first time I've ever done anything for the holiday... ever! So I spent it with my new-found Expo friends in their neighborhood, since mine isn't very big for festivities. The morning kinda sucked, but that was mainly due to a massive group of their friends and my lack of social skills, but the evening was much better. In the morning I went up in a casual cosplay of Itachi (seeing as that's the only one I can do right now), which was more based on which 'his' casual might be, not mine.... so I bought my first pair of skinny-jeans (lawl) and a grey shirt. Nothing too impressive with the shirt you might think, but when I got home I went about embroidering (I'm not sure if that's what you would call it, but it gives the right idea) the Uchiha logo onto the front... and it turned out surprisingly well! And comfortable!
Long-story short, I had an amazing time with my new friends... high-points and low. You would think sharing a bed with four girls would be a lot more fun than it actually was... hip pain from the crushed position I was in literally kept me up all night... and I kept on getting kicked in the face 8D Good times... Oh, AND I left all my candy there >.< So I never really got to have any... but other than that, it was great! I'm so glad I went~

So, "what's up now?" you might be wondering? Well... my birthday is tomorrow... I don't want to not be a teen u_u I don't want to be burdened by the assumptions other people will have of me based on my age. But there isn't much I can do about that... besides lie about my age... and I suck at lying. Also, there's some other convention going on in London, I think, at the end of this month... Collectormania, i think. My Expo friends are going to that, so I thought I might tag along too! And it wouldn't be fun without a cosplay, so now I'm hopefully going to cosplay Zack Fair from Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. I've ordered a similar top (just need to remove the arms) and bought hopefully all the items I will need to make his shoulder-pads and leather belt/braces. My hair is about the right length, I just need to get it layered so I can make it spike out like his... and I'll have to make his sword... somehow. It'll be exciting to finish it all in two weeks

Also I would recommend two amazing games for any 'next-gen' owners: Saints Row 2 and DragonAge: Origins. The customization in SR2 is just incredible, and easily blows GTAIV away in almost all ways... GTAIV was too focused on realism to be fun, but SR2 hit all the right spots for me. DA:0 is shaping up to be the most incredible RPG I've ever played... the range of gameplay and personalization is just mind-boggling, as is the depth of interactive conversations and stellar voice acting. I've got almost 30 hours of gameplay on it so far, and I've barely passed the quarter-mark. It's absolutely worth the price!

Well, I think that about sums up everything that's been going on, at least what I'm willing to share with the world Thanks for reading, and I hope you like my latest art ^.^ Take care! x

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~JennyGodin's Challenge Status:
0 are coloured; 34 are inked semi/fully; and 7 are sketched, with 19 from Lightown; 21 from Darkness; and 1 ambiguous.
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Dirge - Chronicles of Midghar:
Introduction to Dirge: [link]
Index of Content: [link]
Dirge Q&A: [link]
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Latest Story Page: [link] [73/79]
Latest Dirge Art: [link] [Chillin' - Lineart]
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Omg, so I just came back from seeing Kevin Smith (or Silent Bob to those less informed ) and he was absolutely hilarious! I don't think I've ever laughed so hard before, or so for long! It was worth every penny, even if I had to leave early to catch my train

And I'm glad, 'cause I had an excellent time with ~DestinyEiko, who also loved it And I hadn't seen her in so long, so it was a really good day all-around (despite the stress caused by trains both there and back but that's life!)

In art news: I uploaded the new Dirge page, nothing really special there. I meant to do it last night, but after just coming back from a long-weekend trip to my sisters I was quite behind on internet things, so I ran out of time to touch it up on Paint Shop Pro. God, I miss Photoshop. Someone buy it for me?

That's about all from me for now

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~JennyGodin's Challenge Status:
0 are coloured; 20 are inked semi/fully; and 12 are sketched, with 14 from Lightown; 17 from Darkness; and 1 ambiguous.
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Dirge - Chronicles of Midghar:
Introduction to Dirge: [link]
Index of Content: [link]
Dirge Q&A: [link]
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Latest Story Page: [link] [73/79]
Latest Dirge Art: [link]
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Oh my gods... I finally cleared out my inbox of new deviations x_x; I had 600+ over a 6-month period, not mentioning journals and such. But now I'm finally done

In art news, I have coloured the next Dirge page, and the one after is half-done. Since no one answered my serious question about colouring them, I've decided to carry on but with less attention to detail. Many new sketches have been created, as well as some good pictures on their way to you soon.

~JennyGodin's Challenge Status:
So this is to follow the status of the challenge that set me a little while ago, to create a picture will 'all' my OCs on it. This is proving to be quite the challenge indeed, as I've only just realised how few of my characters have actually been drawn (strangely enough, more 'Darkness' members than 'Lightown' villagers). At the moment the current stats of the picture are: 0 are coloured; 20 are inked semi/fully; and 12 are sketched, with 14 from Lightown; 17 from Darkness; and 1 ambiguous ()

Well, I'm off to see Kevin Smith tomorrow night with a friend, ~DestinyEiko... I hope he rocks our socks off though I'm sure he won't disappoint ^^

That's all I can think of at the moment, so I'll stop talking for now!

Oh, and this is more for my benefit than anyone else's, but I found a very useful FAQ entry, which I though I would stick here if someone wants a look at some useful code
FAQ #81: How can I make links to other deviants, deviations, or websites?

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Dirge - Chronicles of Midghar:
Introduction to Dirge: [link]
Index of Content: [link]
Dirge Q&A: [link]
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Latest Story Page: [link] [72/79]
Latest Dirge Art: [link]
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Hi all

I haven't uploading much for a while, and when I do it's fairly spartan. (Madness?- *slaps self*) But I want to let you all know that I am currently busy drawing Quite a lot, infact! I've only uploaded up to Page 72 of Dirge, although I currently have up to Page 79 drawn in one way or another. 78 and 79 are currently just rough plans (the first time I've planned before drawing a page o_o but that's mainly because I was on a long car journey at the time with nothing but scrap paper and a biro ) but 73 should be ready soon...

I'm still struggling with whether or not to colour these new pages... production will go a lot faster if I don't, but I have no idea just how clear things will be to you, the viewer. Colours play a big part in character identity with this simple style, so i wonder just how well it will survive without. I really need some feedback on this, so please leave your opinion in the comments!

My biggest project right now was given to me as a challenge by my long-distance Onee-sama, ~JennyGodin, to draw a combination of all my characters! Anyone that's seen my gallery will know that's quite a list, so I've decided to make it an A3-sized project based on Dirge. I'll be getting all the well-known (... to me, anyway >_> ) characters in there, as well as some lesser-known ones too... expect some premiere appearances!
I estimate I have around 50+ original characters connected to this story (which was kinda dumb on my part... I need to strengthen the core cast, rather than keep on making new ones... It's the Heroes-effect: grand ideas that I just can't keep up with), but I certainly can't fit quite that many on, considering how much space has already been taken up... so expect something more around 20. Still, it's probably the biggest project I've ever undertaken, so it will take me a while, even without procrastination!

Not only that, but I'm still trying to make my cosplay for the London Expo. It's my first ever self-made costume, and the first time I've ever made clothing for that matter, so it's quite a challenge! Under a month left and I haven't even begun on the real thing, just practicing on a mock-up. I certainly won't have all the accessories ready, but I might be able to go in the costume on its own... so wish me luck o_o; I'll need it.

I don't really know what else to put. Still have over 350 deviations to sort through D: Please be patient... and I'd love to hear back from you, so please comment ^.^ Take care!

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Dirge - Chronicles of Midghar:
Introduction to Dirge: [link]
Index of Content: [link]
Dirge Q&A: [link]
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Latest Story Page: [link] [72/79]
Latest Dirge Art: [link]
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