Well, in 3 more days, it'll be my birthday (or two more days, since you'll probably read this the day after I write it, or the 11th if you don't feel like working it out). I can't say I have any strong feelings about it, which is probably a bad sign. Still, at least I just have the one class that day, so it's not like it will be an unpleasant day.

Yeah, haven't really been working on the 25,000 Pageview Comics. You know, boredom, short attention span, new idea for comics featuring Alan, all those myriad excuses. There's no guarantee that I will go back to working on it, but it's not like I actually have a duty to do it. Screw you guys, I'll do whatever I want! Well, not whatever I want. I do have some self-control.

Through a handy coincidence, ~dodoman1 did one of those "comment and I'll pick my favourite three picture" memes, which means I have to extend the same offer to everyone else. Except I already did a similar meme, but only 5 out of 15 people responded. So now, it's like I'm perpetuating the meme, except I don't have to do anything else.

Let's see, some music to mention:
-Symphony of Science by Carl Sagan (featuring Feynman, deGrasse Tyson & Bill Nye). Probably as catchy as A Glorious Dawn.
-Chocolate Rain (Serious Remix). I dunno, I like it.
-The intro to "Journey To The Edge Of The World". Admittedly, it's not the catchiest thing I've heard, but I happened to like "Journey To The Edge Of The World" and if it gets more people to watch it, that's okay with me. Also, I can't find the mp3, but a couple more people lookin'...

And that's all I have to say. For now...


-Only Awesome Website I Have-

Yep, finally got the laptop fixed. Actually, it's a bit weird, because he also got a lot of lint out of the fan and now there's an actual breeze coming out of the grates and it doesn't feel like my groin is going to melt. Very strange...

But besides the A Glorious Dawn by Carl Sagan (featuring Stephen Hawking), I also want to mention The Golden Age of Video, which is arguably more awesome. Well, I want to mention it, but the link doesn't seem to work. Just look up 'The Golden Age of Video' by Ricardo Autobahn.

Also, Canada's the fourth greatest country on Earth!* Booyah, bitches!

_{*Or, more accurately, Canada is fourth greatest in terms of life expectancy, literacy, education, standards of living, welll-being, that sort of thing. Good enough for me.}

-Only Awesome Website I Have-

Well, I'm writing this journal from school (in between classes, I must point out). Yeah, I could have mentioned it earlier with the whole "Oh noez, back to school!" thing I tend to do, but I didn't feel like it.

According to TV Tropes, the next series of QI will have David Tennant and John Hodgman. Or, if you like, Doctor Who and a PC. This concept is vaguely mind-boggling, especially if it was the same episode.

Hmm, I guess I don't have anything new to say. How did I used to fill out my journals?


-Only Awesome Website I Have-

So, tomorrow I'll be leaving for a trip to my grandparents and I won't be back until Friday. The hotel we're staying at probably has internet access, but it might not. Not that it really matters...

I'm putting some more thought into Alan's design, perhaps taking him into more of an organic direction. Maybe some more retractable quills, a new design for the sword/spine, maybe add in some stranger secretions, that sort of thing. The concept is inspired somewhat by the Cirbizoids Starshift Crisis/Starslip Crisis/Starslip, which were amusing for always showing bizarre new abilities on a regular basis. Of course, an earlier concept for Alpha had him developing mutations on a regular basis as well, so it's not entirely derivative. Still, I don't want him to develop too many powers and I don't want him too complex. Not that it really matters...

I just realized that those links that I put at the bottom of the journal are nearly all obsolete or unneeded. The Awesome Website doesn't keep track of hits anymore, I already have links and bookmarks to the Tardis Wiki and I just finished the 100 Picture Thing. I suppose Nearly as Awesome Website still provides important information, but just having the one link makes my journal look sparse. Not that it really matters...


-Nearly as Awesome Website-

100 Picture Thing

Yes, I have finally finished it. This reasonably epic (though not that epic) project is finally done.

I started this project way back in December, 2006 with Death. It's taken me so long I can't remember anything about the beginning. I probably had a whole speech thought out for when I finished it, but I have no idea what is was. I doubt there's many people who've been here from the beginning. I bet most people just thought I was randomly choosing numbers and topics and then making a picture out of it every so often.

Was it Fun/Interesting?
It was all right. If I was going to do it again, I'd probably would do it. Or if I did, I'd choose a meme with more interesting topics to do. But it was kind of interesting to start with a word and make a picture from it.

Was it Worth It?
Yes, but probably not for the reasons they intended. I didn't really plumb the depths of my creativity to create the pictures and I didn't push myself to try new subject matters. But I did pick up a trick or two for drawing and I was able to develop Alpha/Alair as a character.

What About Alpha/Alair?
Ah, Alpha. At the time I started, Alpha was a pretty poorly defined character with a bland design. Now, Alair may not be a good character, but he is definitely more streamlined, more interesting to look at and generally less of a Gary Stu. And now I've become attached to him again, so it's likely I'll keep on trying to improve him.

Have I Improved?
I would like to think so. The example I used before, namely comparing Evil and Clumsy. They both have a similar topic, two people sitting and talking, but there is a difference between the skill level between the two. The background is better, the characters are more defined and the angles are more realistic.

But besides those two, I still think there's an improvement. I rely on less copy and pasting, the characters are less stiff, the designs are more complex and I rely less on cheating with PhotoDeluxe. Now, I'm not a good artist by any stretch of the imagination, but I am a better one than I used to be.

How About Some Statistics?
Sure, myself!

Styles
Alpha, Large-Style: 15
Alpha, Chibi-Style: 20
Alair, Any Style: 65
You may have been led to believe that I had always use Alair...

Most Common Reoccurring Characters
Unnamed Illithid Professor: 6
Thrandûl: 4
Crab Lich: 2
So despite have created some interesting characters, I very rarely reused them.

Cameos and Fan-Art
Muppets: 2
Torchwood: 1
Predator: 1
Homestarrunner: 1
Pirates of the Carribean: 2
Dungeons and Dragons: 9
Starcraft: 1
Excel Saga: 1 (Sort-of)
xxxHolic: 1 (Sort-of)
Trigun: 2 (Sort-of)
X-Men: 1
Star Wars: 1
Pokemon: 2
The Red Green Show: 1
Sweeney Todd: 1
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: 1
Red Dwarf: 1
Futurama: 1 (Sort-of)
Wondermark: 1
Cthulhu Mythos: 3
Fantasia: 1 (Of course)
Now, this I find interesting. It doesn't seem to correlate to things that I like. I mean, I never used Doctor Who, for example.

What were Your Favourites and Least Favourites?
Thanks for asking, myself!

Favourite Pictures
Voodoo: It is pretty awesome...
Fly Me to the Moon...: The skill here is not originality, but accuracy. I nailed that Homestarrunner style!
Ice: Despite being one of the oldest and the Windigo not fitting my current conception, it's still pretty well done.
Internet: Man, the Internet spider turned out awesome...
Fire: I dunno, it just looks nice.

Least Favourite Pictures
Convention; Just meh...
O RLY???: Man, what a boring picture...
Soap Opera: Be fair, it'd be tricky to make that into an interesting picture.
Mecha: It's an interesting concept, but it just did not turn out right.
Video Game: You can barely even tell they're Zerglings...
(And also Failed Dance, which I just didn't finish)

So, Now What?
Dunno. I have a few more things related to the 100 picture Meme which I may or may not do. I'm probably going to scrap and re-do Alair again. But beyond that, who knows?