Work, colds, Liaden universe, and one of my fave manga!

4/1/11 15:14
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (Loveless Soubi)
 Of all the manga I letter, Natsume is the one that inspires me to create my own the most. Yesterday I lettered a flashback scene in vol 8 that brought tears to my eyes, it was so amazing. *sniffles*

Speaking of sniffles, the cold I picked up on my flight back to Oregon really kicked in. It's still hanging around, but at a reduced level. Yay! I hate being sick, especially when I have a great deal of work.

Natsume 8 and Skip 24 are both due at the end of the month, which means I'm lettering like mad. Wheee! Fun times, especially since I couldn't even mange a half amount of quota each day while I was sick. I'm back on track though, and making up for the lost pages. 2011 is off to a fun start, eh?? ^^

( Liadens and Loveless! XD )

And now, it's time for me to return to work, for I am not Kouga Yun, alas. *sigh* <:) Heywow, the perfect chance to use my one Loveless icon! :3
  • Mood okay
Tags:

Stumptown 2010: part 2!

29/4/10 14:38
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (chibi L)

Here's the second half of my weekend con adventure. ^^
 

( So much comes down to networking, doesn't it? )

 


  • Mood almost sick
Tags:

Stumptown 2010: part 1

28/4/10 23:42
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (Elegance with a sword)
This past weekend was Stumptown, the indie comic book festival held every year in Portland. Yes, I attended again! Things were different for me this time in two ways: first, I had comicking-friends to hang out with all three days; and second, I didn't have an agenda this time beyond just enjoying myself. ^^ The post ended up very long, so I have broken it into two segments. The 2nd half will follow tomorrow!

( Do YOU like comics?? I like comics! )
  • Mood content
Tags:

First Chapter Reviews #3

16/3/10 20:52
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (chibi L)

I've been talking about posting my third set of first chapter reviews, and here it is at last. ^^ Two Korean manhwa in this installment!

( First chapter reviews for Adventures of Young Det; Alcohol, Shirt, & Kiss; and Angel Diary. )

Past first-chapter reviews can be found on the Master Index Page.
  • Mood contemplative
Tags:

My original manga: pages 7-11

25/2/10 16:17
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (thumbs up)

Here are the next five pages of my first original manga!

These five aren't quite as sketchy as the first five and cover, though they are far from final. Speaking of which, I've decided to start finishing my early pages in addition to drawing the later ones. If I wait until the entire story is sketched before I begin the final version, I risk losing interest and never finalizing them at all. Or have it be a terrible chore for me to finish, and I sincerely hope my manga never turns into that. =O (In case you were wondering, yes, this decision is why I posted my webcomics poll, which is still up and available for more replies! I'll be posting my findings from the poll in a few days. There's still time to participate if you are interested. ^^)

Now, the manga pages!

Title: Still to be determined!
Genre: drama and horror
Rating: PG-13 for dark themes. These pages qualify as PG and are completely safe for work.
Length: 5 WIP pages out of 11 total so far
Concrit welcome!
Click here if you would like to read the previous five pages and cover.

( Pages behind the cut! Kyaaa! XD )

  • Mood genki
Tags:

First Chapter reviews: Master Index Post

22/2/10 22:33
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (I'd rather be reading...)

This the master index post for my First Chapter Reviews series, which is exactly what it sounds like.

( Click to see the list of titles I have reviewed so far. ^^ )

  • Mood accomplished
Tags:

Hikaru no Go manga: in my personal top ten

22/1/10 00:16
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (Default)
Reading HikaGo was a religious experience. A story that's original and manages to take a strategy-heavy board game and turn it into gripping suspense and action. Character growth, gorgeous art, rivalry, tension, humor, and awe-inspiring skill in the delivery.

Forget Death Note. HikaGo is my fave Obata-sensei title. And if I ever meet Hotta-sensei, the writer, I will have to grovel in her presence.

DAMN but this is the type of story I want to tell. I don't  mean in content, but in the reaction it can inspire. *shivers* I'm so moved I feel lost and don't know what to do.

Great, now I'm going to cry. <:| Tears of joy? Of frustration? Confusion? I don't know. It's probably a mix of all three.

Nrgh.
  • Mood awed
Tags:

First chapter reviews!

17/12/09 20:17
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (Bwa?)

I've managed to read three more first chapters in the past couple weeks, and so I am pleased to bring you all the 2nd set of my first chapter reviews project. ^^

( First chapter reviews of @Large, The 9 Lives, and 20th Century Boys. )

Past first-chapter reviews can be found on the Master Index Page

 

Tags:

A not-that-difficult rush lettering job and reflections upon my current prose book

15/12/09 17:50
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (dance in the sun)
This past weekend I ended up pinch-hitting a random chapter for Clay Editor 3. Not a chapter of Clay, but one of her other titles. I'm glad I was able to help her out, thanks to my current relaxed workload (relatively speaking, as always). Lucky for me, the manga in question had almost no sound effects, and the two that WERE there were the FX-in-word-bubble type, which of course means no background retouch. Heh. ^^V I can handle dialogue-only pages, particularly when the dialogue is rather spare. :D

This manga is serialized by Viz online, so I did my homework and read the previous five chapters. The title is House of Five Leaves by Ono Natsume, which you can read for free yourself here. It's a seinen title; its intended audience is men 20 years old and up. Women can enjoy this one too, obviously, since my homework didn't feel like homework at all! ANN says there will be an anime for this title next year. Sweet. :3

The story starts off okay, kind of blah but not boring, then we learn something about the other male lead that raised my eyebrow and suddenly made things rather interesting. It's fascinating to watch the main character through the five available chapters and the 6th one, which is what I lettered on Saturday and Sunday. Some very delicate character development going on here, I must tip my hat to Ono-sensei. *does so* I want chapter seven now!

House of Five Leaves is the first digital manga I have ever lettered. I think Skip might be toning digitally now, but it's still definitely drawn and inked by hand. All my other titles are definitely drawn, inked, and toned by hand. But not House of Five Leaves! Most curious. ^^

On the reading front, I'm about 150 pages into Fox, which is the sequel to Inda, both by Sherwood Smith. There are two things I really admire in regards to fiction, be it prose or comic: 1. character development. If the characters are just cookie cutters acting out gags or violence, then I quickly lose interest and find something better to read. And 2. unpredictability. I like being surprised by plot twists/bombs/unusual character development skews. Much to my delight, Fox is delivering, just like Inda did.

I do love me some good fiction, in all its forms. *happy dance*
  • Mood pleased
Tags:

general update, IRL and shigoto

9/12/09 14:22
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (GaaLee)
I'm back from Montana, and it looks like the cold followed me home. *pained expression* Not only was the temperature somewhere in the teens when I stepped off the Max for the 3/4ths mile walk back to my apartment on Sunday night, but there was a strong wind blowing, too! Brrrrr! I ran a third of the distance, hauling 25 pounds of luggage between my backpack and roller suitcase. It was that cold. Guh.

( Much writing about cats, trip details, book club, reading, anime, manga, Utena2, and movies. Wheee! )


And finally, a brief shigoto update: Naruto 48's conversion is coming along nicely, I'll finish the first half in about a week. I do have script for Natsume 3.2, and am about 12 pages in. Script for Nana 21.1 and Skip 22 are supposed to arrive sometime in January. Prolly the same can be said for New Title 5. It's all going to hit at once, looks like! Kyaaa! =D

Oh yes, and for a bit of an ironic laugh, I lugged Anthy, the drawing tablet I use with Usagi, to Montana with the plan of doing some work on my trip. However...I forgot to take the drawing stylus. And you can't walk into Best Buy or somesuch and pick up a replacement. So I lugged Anthy all that way as sheer dead weight. OOPS. *headdesk* I won't make that mistake again!

And now, minna, work calls. *salutes* (If anyone actually reads this whole post, I will be very impressed!)
  • Mood genki
Tags:

First chapter reviews #1

20/11/09 00:30
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (shades)

For quite some time, I've wanted to hang out in one of my beloved book stores and simply read. Read everything!! XD Of course that isn't exactly possible, given my work schedule and all, but I can at least sample as much as I can. So last weekend I began my personal manga project!

I plan to read the first chapter minimum of any manga in the store that I have not already read or watched in anime form. Granted, it's difficult to appreciate all a series or even single volume has to offer with only the first chapter, but at the same time, first chapters are mean to grab the reader. Right??

For posterity--and since at least two or three of you will likely be interested in what I find--I plan to post my mini-reviews here. I'm not sure how often I will be able to do this. Ideally it will be once a week, but I think a more reasonable estimation will be 1.5 times a month or so. Heh! And hopefully the store employees won't notice me and start running me off after 15 min or so. *has shifty eyes*

I really do plan to read any book that is next in line on the shelf! I'm glad it's almost impossible to squick me. ^^ It's exciting to think what delightful diamonds I might find among all the dross!

Let us begin! Here are the first three first-chapter reviews. I started at the beginning of the alphabet (or symbols and numbers, if the bookstore chose to stock them in front of 'A'). Banzaiii!

( Age Called Blue, 100% Perfect Girl, and 07-Ghost first chapter reviews )

Past first-chapter reviews can be found on the Master Index Page

  • Mood cheerful
Tags:

My original manga: pages 1-6

13/11/09 19:23
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (dance in the sun)

Mina-san, I am very happy to bring you the opening scene of my NaNo project. I'd hoped to post these pages on November 4th, but better late than never. ^^ It's become quite clear I cannot handle two pages a day on top of my paid work, so my goal is no longer to finish 50 pages by November 30th, but by December 31st. That will be challenge enough, I think!

Title: yet to be determined, actually. Still thinking on it.
Genre: drama and horror
Rating: PG-13 for dark themes and one line of dialogue. SFW if no one else notices that specific word bubble.
Length: 6 WIP pages. Clothing and character designs likely to change! Particularly since I'm working without any model sheets, which means features and clothes morph from page to page. :P Backgrounds are pretty much nonexistent, too.
Concrit welcome!

( Pages behind the cut! Kyaaa! XD )

  • Mood pleased
Tags:

I've still got it! X3

29/9/09 15:00

Cue the evil villainess laughter, complete with posed hand at lips

3/9/09 12:16
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (shades)
I just sent SE2 a new list of test lettering pages for wannabes to show their stuff on, ranging in difficulty from yellow-with-orange-dot (not that bad, all in all) to purple (try it and DIE, n00b!). Mwa ha ha ha ha!! XD

It's so much fun to help cull the weak from the herd of applicants. *rubs hands together* As usual, I won't say what title or volume the pages are from, to make sure all wannabes are on equal starting ground. Fair is fair. And no, I'm no being too mean. For those who began reading my blog only recently, when I applied way back when, I test lettered pages from Angel Sanctuary and Naruto. All trial letterers must run the gauntlet!! MWA HA HA HA HA!!! XD

On less schadenfreude-ish news, I have yet to start the Naruto 47 conversion, as it's rather difficult to convert mag pages to GN pages when I don't have the GN pages in the first place. :P I don't think anyone noticed they were missing, either, until I mentioned I kind of needed them. They'll likely arrive next week. Let us hope I'll be able to Bambi-eyes my way into a 3 week minimum deadline when they do arrive! *crosses fingers for good luck*

ETA: And the pages just arrived. Goodbye, end of mini-vacation. You were fun while you lasted... *takes off her had in mourning, then ties on her hachimaki. BANZAIIIII!!! FAITO!!! GRAAAAAH!!!! *dives in*

Meeting Terry Brooks was awesome. What a genki, relaxed guy! He wasn't snobbish or withdrawn at all. I have pics, though I need to remember how to get them from my camera onto my computer, so it might be a while before I can share them. :B

I figured out how to convert the Deleter screen tone library into a format I can use with Photoshop for my lettering. It's tedious busy-work, but I can't help but think how much time this will save me when new titles 5 and 6 arrive. ^^;;; I wish Deleter ComicWorks came with a better selection of tones, but oh well. I need to buy the extra disc of tones. As well as a new scanner. Haven't done that yet.

Oh, on manga news, for those who didn't know, Tokyopop has lost the licenses to all their Kodansha titles. I don't know anything more than the next fan, but you can see info and a handy chart of which titles will be left in half-released limbo, which ones have been rescued by other publishers, and which ones are permanently out of print until the unlikely event of a new license. Thankfully I'm in the middle of buying only one affected series, Remote, and I just ordered the last two volumes through B&N.com. After which they promptly sent me a coupon for my next purchase. *snort*

Now I'm entertaining day dreams of Viz landing the new rights to English Sailor Moon and me being able to letter it. *goes all starry-eyed* Ii na.... Exceedingly unlikely to happen, though, as I heard through the fan rumor mill that Kodansha is planning on releasing the books in English themselves, rather than licensing them to a NA publisher. Still...it's fun to imagine...*starry-eyed*
  • Mood evil
Tags:

Stumptown--s2m's report!

21/4/09 16:00
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (shades)

I must say, Stumptown was quite interesting. ^^ It was incredibly fun and fascinating! I'm so glad I went, and I was even a good girl and 1. didn't overspend and 2. didn't overeat. WOOT!! Best of all, Shoujo Editor 2 was there to hawk her original stuff, along with her SanFran friends, only one of which I've met previously. I went to dinner and an after-party with them on Saturday night and had a blast. :D

Those of you who know anime cons will understand when I say the main feature here was the single artists' alley ballroom. No dealer's room or viewing rooms, just three much smaller rooms for panels, and the massively big artist's alley. I'm so used to huuuuge anime cons with the Dealers Room from Hell and 15 anime viewing rooms and10 panel rooms and a small artists' alley stuck in the back room that only lasts for 6 or 7 hours before they kick it out to make room for Cosplay overflow. :P  It was nice to see the artists in the limelight, instead of the wares and goodies.

 

( Read more...a LOT more... )



On a side note, examining all those tables' wares really drove some comics versus manga points home. I hope to write a huge blog comparison about the art and design of the two in the near future.

So there you go, my Stumptown experience. If any of you read the whole thing, I will be very impressed. :D
  • Mood geeky
Tags:

"If Only..." Vampirates Doujinshi, part 2 of 3

10/4/09 22:40
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (Hassan Dance)

Minna, I am pleased to bring you the 2nd installment of my Vampirates doujinshi: pages 3 and 4. I actually finished them about a week ago, but I wanted to wait a bit to post. ^^ I'm rather nervous about this set, since they include the most popular character from the series, Murphy. He has some rather scary devoted fangirls. Heh heh heh. ^^;; I really hope they like my extra bishounen version. *fidgets*

Title: If Only...
Rating: PG-13 for suggestive themes.
Genre: gender switch AU, comedy BL/slash. The first page is still safe for any who might want to see my stuff but want to avoid teh gay.
Length: pages 3 and 4 of 6-page set.
NOTE: reads right to left, like manga from Japan, 'cuz I still like it that way. ^^

( Gimme pics!! XD )
  • Mood predatory
Tags:

"If Only..." Vampirates Doujinshi, part 1 of 3

14/3/09 23:30
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (Hassan Dance)

Here it is, minna! The first two pages of my 6-page practice doujinshi, done for the awesome webcomic Vampirates. I can find no more to obsess over in these pics....and I really need to stop obsessively tweaking anyway. It took me a year to make it this far. Even granting several bouts of Work Hell, and my 2,000 mile move, and giving the previous post's giftpic priority, it took me much too long to finish. I'm gonna have to work on my speed. T.T *headdesk* Another goal to meet!
 

( Deleter ComicWorks review revisited )

The spark of inspiration for this doujinshi hit me almost a year ago when I had Vampirates on the brain and tried to take a nap. Obviously this was before the truth about a certain character was revealed, which thoroughly Jossed my idea. T.T But I liked my story too much to change it, so my doujinshi is officially AU. Ah well!!!

Title: If Only...
Rating: PG-13 for suggestive themes and (in-character) use of the F-bomb.
Genre: gender switch AU, comedy BL/slash. The first page is safe for any who might want to see my stuff but want to avoid teh gay.
Length: first two pages of 6-page set.
NOTE: reads right to left, like manga from Japan, 'cuz I like it that way. ^^

 That guy dancing in my icon?? He's in this. X3

( Gimme pics!! XD )
  • Mood artistic
Tags:

Artistic commentary: screentones

12/3/09 18:52
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (caffeine)
Toning my original pages of manga is very difficult. Not in application, but in deciding what to do! I have an infinite range of options, and it's rather difficult to chose what tones go where to accomplish which effect. But more than that, it's about deciding HOW to tone. Like painting, or sculpting, or sketching, every artist has their own way of toning. When in doubt, I look to the masters.

I know only the fellow artists who read my blog will find this interesting--and most of them have vanished since the new year started *looks around forlornly* but I'm really writing this for me. Laying it out really helps me understand what the greats have done. So!

( Here are my observations of my mangaka... )
  • Mood observant
Tags:

Hmm....

29/1/09 23:21
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (shades)
Installing Deleter ComicWorks on Usagi was a bit of an adventure. Oh, it worked fine, but upon opening the proggie for the first time, you have to enter the serial number before you can use it. The serial number is case-sensitive, and made up of numbers and letters. Can you see where this is going??? Oh yes, they did NOT chose a very reading-friendly font.

s2m: Is that a zero or an oh? There's two of them, and the first one is narrower than the 2nd. *enters the first as zero and the 2nd as oh"
DCW: Incorrect code!
s2m: Okay, I'll reverse them. *first oh then zero*
DCW: Incorrect code!
s2m: Nrgh. But waitaminute. What about this plain veritcal line? Is that an uppercase I, a lowercase L, or a one? *tries them all as uppercase I*
DCW: Incorrect code!
s2m: Grrrmph. Okay, then ones! *does so*
DCW: Incorrect code!
s2m: .... Zero, oh, all ones.
DCW: Incorrect code!
s2m: *headkeys*
DCW: Incorrect code!
s2m: FINE! *oh, zero, lowercase L, uppercase I, one*
DCW: Incorrect code!
s2m: ARRGHH! *grabs paper and pen to keep track*
DCW: Incorrect code!
DCW: Incorrect code!
DCW: Incorrect code!
s2m: @$#!^%&!!!!

[five minutes later]

DCW: Correct! Welcome to Deleter ComicWorks! =D
s2m: .....
DCW: .....
s2m: I am no longer in the mood. *exits*
DCW: Heeeeeee. X3

For the record, they were ohs and ones. :P I'm just glad the proggie didn't have a limit for serial number attempts, since I would have been screwed. X|

( DCW versus Photoshop, a comparison for the art geeks )

Oh yeah, and the icon for DCW is the face of a cute black cat that looks like Jiji from Kiki's Delivery Service. :3
  • Mood creative
Tags:

Today is a good day, so YAY!

26/1/09 14:23
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (Default)

Imagine my surprise when I checked my email this morning and saw someone asking about my Arslan Senki scanlation. Whoa! I haven't received en email for my scanlations in about 3 years. My my my. *is caught up in the memories* I need to buy a new scanner, then maybe I could pick Arslan and Zetsuai up again. And add Sailor V to the mix as well, since I'm translating it anyway for fic purposes! :P

Oh yes, I changed my journal layout. I chose a writing theme that reminds me of manga artists, mostly b/c of the bottle of ink and the classic-style nib pen. :3 I had hoped this would prevent the ugly blue default layout from appearing whenever I hit "reload" on my journal, but NO. If you ever do see that blue layout, it isn't supposed to be there. I wish livejournal would fix that. It certainly isn't addressed in their FAQ!

The first tanko of New Title 4 arrived today. X3 SE2 was quite correct in describing the art style as similar to Honey! On the difficulty level, it appears equal to Skip, which is fine by me. I'll know more after I make the key sheet. This title will preview in Shojo Beat and go directly to book form, like Skip, Captive, and Wanted did.

Oh yes, and rememeber my Gollum impersonation?? I bought it. :D Arrived Saturday. Muwahahahha!!!  *rubs hands together in much anticipation*

  • Mood excited
Tags:

Profile

slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (Default)
slr2moons

October 2024

S M T W T F S
  12345
678 9101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Page generated 17/7/25 02:48

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags