This year sure is flying by. Secret Santa events are starting to pop up already. I'll be participating in the Fan Art SS for the third year in a row. Since I've seen so many new anime this past year, I'd better revamp my wishlist.
Boy, this post derailed quickly. What I mean is, I'm not here to talk about SS events. I'm going to talk about events that I plan on hosting in the future.
The first event I have planned is an art project which will take place throughout all of 2015. It's an event with two different levels. "Level 1" is to pick a subject (anime characters, OCs, people, inanimate objects, whatever) and sketch one every week. "Level 2" is to sketch a subject every day. Yes, I know how crazy this is idea is, but the last time I mentioned it, there was some interest.
The second event is probably going to be a summer event. Unlike past summer events, this one is open to anyone-- not just artists. The only qualification is that you must have seen at least 25 different anime series. I'm going to keep you all guessing as to what this event is, and reveal the details sometime next spring. Why? Because I don't quite fit the qualifications yet. [Insert sweat drop here.]
Also, once I finish those Challenge prizes (I haven't forgotten about you, winners), I hope to host another Challenge. The one that I really want to host sort of depends on events that aren't within my control, but as soon as things fall into place, I'll start it up.
Finally, I want to make some more Worlds. I'm planning a World about music I like (as opposed to the World about MY music that doesn't get a lot of updates), a world of "want adds", and maybe a fan site of some sort.
Please let me know which of these you're interested in. Guesses as to what I'm going to reveal at a later date are also welcome. ♪
Now that I've found musical note symbols, I think I'm going to spam my posts with them. ♬
If you're a fan of Naruto, Attack on Titan, One Piece, Sword Art Online, Case Closed (AKA Detective Conan), or any combination of the above, there's a cute little thing sponsored by Manga-Anime Guardians going on that involves all five series. Manga-Anime Guardians, a site dedicated to cutting down on piracy, is looking for people to pledge to obtain manga and anime legally, and is featuring a page with characters of all five series interacting. If you (and several thousand others) click the "join" button, the site reveals more characters. There are twenty characters in total to reveal.
Because it's not DeviantART. That's why.
To elaborate, here's what theO has that DA doesn't:
- A tightly knit, friendly community
- The chance to be noticed
- The fact that all members have a common interest of anime and manga
- Submission categories based on fandoms instead of a whole bunch of different variables
- Fan work dedications
- Challenges
- Worlds (and lots of 'em)
- User input for site design/features
- A tagging system that doesn't involve mushingallkindsofwordstogether
- An admin team that isn't made of jerks
- Uncensored... things
Could theO be better? Sure. Lots of improvements could be made. But as things stand now, it sure is better than DA.
For those of you who have seen me on DA, I won't be uploading anything there in the foreseeable future. I'll pop in now and again, but I'll be sticking to theO for all my artwork-posting needs. Except cosplay. I need to find a site where I can post pictures of that.
I'm kind of irritated for a few reasons which I shall list below. Don't worry; they're all otaku-related, making things a bit more interesting.
Reason One
I have artist's block AND writer's block. Yesterday, I came on theO to find FUNi's amazing art of my OCs. It filled me up with so much creative energy that I wanted to do something productive right then and there. But I couldn't. I had to go to work.
After a messed up day at my new job, I came home drained. I haven't wanted to create anything since. Not fan art. Not original art. Not those requests that I owe people. Not my stories. Not even that long overdue ACen thing that I sated a month ago.
I have a tiny backlog of drawings, but they're kind of spoilerific for one of the stories I'm writing. Not sure if I wanna post those.
Speaking of my stories, I'm really out of practice writing them. I've even reached a dead end in Survival Instincts, and with my beta maybe-resigning, I don't know if I'll ever get anywhere with it. I have a clearer vision for my other stories, but I don't feel like writing either of them.
I'm forcing myself to work on the Challenge prizes. I don't believe that my art is at its best when it's forced, but I'm trying to do it anyway.
Reason Two
ART THIEVES ARE TAKING OVER THEO! I'd rant on and on about how bad of an effect this is having on theO's community, but you probably know all the reasons why art theft is bad already.
Reason Three
I wrote a long post about the fairly new (at least to the US) manga, The Seven Deadly Sins a few weeks ago. In the last paragraph I mentioned my excitement for the anime premiere.
Well, I waited for Crunchyroll to pick it up. And I waited. And waited. And on the date of the premiere, I was still waiting. Heck, the second episode aired earlier today and I'm STILL waiting for a simulcast.
Rumor has it that Netflix snapped up the series. Too bad for me because (a) Netflix ain't free and (b) Netflix ain't simulcastin'. Then again, this isn't a solid fact (though people are treating it as such). But if it IS true, then I won't be able to see the series until after it's aired in its entirety.
I am stressing over this WAAAAAAAY too much, but knowing that I'm making a big deal over an anime isn't helping me any.
Reason Four
I have to watch, like, 60 episodes of anime this week. While that in and of itself isn't a bad thing, I don't know when I'm going to find the time.
I checked four DVDs out of the library, and I got a notice that one of them had come in. I wasn't able to get to the library until a few days later, and when I picked up the DVD, I saw that two more had come in just then. I kind of hoped that I wouldn't have to check all three out at the same time, but that's exactly what happened. I'll have them for two weeks, but week one is almost over. I don't know if I can renew any of them.
Well, I know what I'll be doing on my day off tomorrow.
As many of you know, today is FMA Day. If you don't know why October 3rd has been designated FMA Day, you need to watch/read the series.
It's true that the manga and both anime have long since ended. The fandom is starting to wane. We won't be getting any new releases. Unless...
See this? This is a little treat for Fullmetal Alchemist nerds. Note how it says "Volume 1". After some research, I learned that there are actually FOUR of such books, although only one has been translated into English.
Being a nerd who sponges up information about everything I obsess over, but not knowing Japanese, I am at a disadvantage. I'm sure that many of you are in this very same boat. Whether it be interviews, character bios, timelines, or cute little comics, I'm sure we've craved this at one point or another.
I'd love to email Viz, the publisher of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga to make the other three guides available in English, but it seems that they don't have one for this sort of inquiry. Heck, they don't have any publicly displayed emails at all. But I clicked their "Contact" page to find that they have a P.O. Box. LET US BOMBARD THEM WITH SNAIL MAIL!
Now who's with me?
Coincidentally, I won a Premium on theO on this very day last year, and I have renewed it. That's how much I love this site.
