monthly recap (december 2024)
it's the new year already. my sense of time is really fucked beyond belief and i don't know what i'm doing with this blog or my internet presence in general! it's too messy to write about.
whangārei trip
took a trip up to whangārei with my family. mostly stayed the basin— there was plenty to fill the morning with the clock museum, whangārei art gallery, and hundertwasser art centre all in 5 minutes walk of each other.
hundertwasser art centre is definitely one of the most unique buildings in new zealand and well worth the $25 entry fee if only because hundertwasser himself was a very interesting person with a strong, dedicated ideology.
it seems like he was the first european master to have his works translated into japanese woodblock. to be honest, i prefer the print work even more than his originals because the medium allows for the smoothest gradients and pastels. the holographic finish is really beautiful as well.
lately i've been thinking that high-quality mini-prints are the best type of anime merchandise and seeing a real nice quality print up close solidified that. these two pieces were so immediately inspiring that i couldn't wait to go home and make shinsoku new years cards based on the colors... but my execution wasn't great. once i print them, i plan to paint the snake(s) silver.
nyanzieks model painting
finally painted the nyanzieks model by a3DKiwi.
tips on painting him:
- remove the base attached to the model so that it's easier to paint
- prime the model by using white paint to fill in the gaps and sandpaper to smooth it out (repeat this step multiple times)
- use nice quality paint or at least use shitty quality colors mixed with nicer white or black as a base
- 'overpaint' gaps; you can always paint on top of it afterwards. the colors showing through can even contribute to more of a painterly look if you're going for that instead of a clean-cut look
- to paint the flowers on his cloak, mark out the two flowers on the front. then, wrap a piece of paper or string around his cloak and mark out the same points. use a ruler to divide the distance by 7 and determine where the rest of the flowers should go
- i painted the flowers by mixing silver paint with yellow/umber, but it's probably smarter to just use a gold pen
recent goods
got the idolmaster expo goods! matching amana and genbu are toooo cute. the height difference is incredible.
i also got a copy of three DGS zines from black. i'm impressed by how big the TGAAI and genbaro zines are, but i'm too embarrassed to read my comics haha. this is one of the eleven copies of in camera in existence! i don't know why i have it.
plus, black sent a doodle of shinsoku ikkon!!! isn't nyako adorable?
art log
media log
- ipw nightmare before christmas: i felt proud of jospeh kruz for getting an IPW contract! vinny dunn getting betrayed by the rest of the dapper dynasty was too good. everyone felt so bad for him! i know that jayrilla effortlessly beating people is a common gag, but i think jamie tagataese shoud've been able to take him on. the jayrilla fanclub was hilarious though, wtf was that? the three-way streel cage match was awesome. horus really is the people's prince!
- idolmaster relations: it was pretty good, but definitely rushed since it was only 2 volumes long. even though miki was the main character, it felt more like it was about chihaya and producer.
- idolmaster wild wind girls C1-C4: BEST IDOLMASTER MANGA EVER. i can't believe i didn't read it earlier— the producer and main idols and supporting characters are all too perfect. the story itself is really good and well-paced compared to other iM@S manga too.
- idolmaster after20 C1-C4: it's definitely good but it's also definitely just a CGDCT (cinderella girls doing cute things). the way it plugs IRL alcohol from sponsors cracks me up. it's just like that one drew gooden video.
- 4chords: wasn't as long as i expected for how infamous it was. the comics themselves didn't have that many notes either. the scene where karkat calls gamzee after gamzee and tavros start dating was kinda crazy LOL.
- the catcher in the rye: a great story for people who haven't read books in a long time. it's so conversationalist that it feels more like experiencing a blog or a youtube video rather than reading a novel, and impressively engaging despite its lack of plot. i like how hypocritical the main character is and how ugly his emotions are.
- punctured sky: the style was pretty engaging and funny. you rarely see multiple people sit down to watch a film at an art gallery all the way through. but all i caught of the conclusion was that it was basically candle cove.
- the great gatsby: it starts off slow, but the drama unveils itself halfway through. it's crazy!!! if i was in the 1920s i'd be on the edge of my seat!