Q:I have a food addiction that I want to overcome to be healthy. I'm a foodie, but I also binge on food when depressed or just to eat. I've had this since Middle School and its embarrassing. I've had an oral fixation issue since birth but this problem stems from more. Chewing gum, water and tea don't help much anymore. I don't smoke or drink alcohol much. I have a therapist, but I know its up to me. Its just hard because food is something you need to survive. Any advice? Thanks!
Anonymous
First off, you’re pretty awesome. You admit you have control over what you do and take responsibility for the changes you want to make. Great stuff!
Alright, that’s step one, step two is the whole taking-action bit. If it’s a matter of cravings, this chart might help you out; if you’re going to eat, may as well eat some healthy stuff, right?
I suppose, as you said, it’s up to you. When you’re about to eat something, try to catch yourself and think, “wait, do I need to eat this? Or am I just going to because it’s there/something to do?” Simple self-control. Simple, maybe not necessarily easy (at first), but simple.
Rooting for you though, kid. Determination, willpower, and all that fun stuff. Long as you put a conscious effort into making it happen, see no reason why you wouldn’t be able to curb your eating habits.
Q:This is a tad off-topic but I figure it's worth a shot... My friend is really unhappy right now and I don't know how to help her. It's really hard to watch. I've tried being there for her, buying her stuff to cheer her up, taking her out to dinner- but nothing seems to help. :( Any suggestions?
Anonymous
It’s a tough situation. Right there with you, a number of my friends and family were going through some stuff, and seeing it all happen does make you feel kind of helpless sometimes.
Take what I say with a grain of salt, because I’m terrible in situations like this, but I think you’re on the right track. When it gets right down to it, if someone’s going through hell, you can’t force them to be happy. But you can at least let them know they’re not going through hell alone. You seem to be doing pretty well on that front.
Sorry I don’t have any solid advice for you, but this isn’t really one of my strong suits. But keep at what you’re doing, and hopefully it’ll work out eh?
Q:How do you build real-world business contacts?
Anonymous
Go to meetups, conventions (ones related to your work, not just anime), and well…do a lot of work! Be forward and promote yourself. Hand out business cards. Offer up your advice if someone asks. When it comes to your professional self, skip no opportunity.
To be honest, I don’t have much advice on this since most of my freelance work comes through people I’ve met online, with the odd (read:very rare) real-world encounter. Maybe you’ll be able to kick some ass and show me how it’s done, eh?
Q:I'll bite. What kind of advice to have pertaining to getting into game design? I have an idea that's been persistently causing me to lose sleep, and unfortunately, I've yet to hear anyone tell me that the idea sucks, so I can't just kill it.
Anonymous
Losing sleep is terrible. First step, get some sleep. Sleep’s great. Nothing’s better than accomplishing something, than accomplishing something and being well-rested.
Slept? Yeah? Great. Now, you’ll need to gather a few things:
- Sketchbook. Keep track of everything in it.
- A good image program, Photosohop’s the go-to here. Texture and colour work is pretty much all done in here.
- (Optional) 3D software. Your game animations can consist entirely of 2D frames if you’d like, so it’s not necessary, but 3D characters and environments require something to make them, after all.
- A game engine to put everything together in. Unity is a great start for 3D work, and deals with C# as its main language (though you can do Javascript I believe), or Adobe Flash if you’d like something simpler/2D. Uses ActionScript as its main language, which is remarkably similar to Javascript.
Alright, now since you’ve got an idea in your head, you’ve got a start. Get those ideas on paper. Character designs, stories, key plot elements, throw it all in there. Then go over it, repeatedly, figure out what you like and don’t. Change it. Keep changing it. You’ll revise your idea loads of times before you bring it out of the sketchbook, and probably even a few times after! You’ll hate yourself when you have to, but it’ll (ideally) make for a better end product.
Also, tutorials are your friend. Tutorials for drawing, programming, animation, programming, your game engine, your 3D software, programming…everything. Look into Digital Tutors and Lynda, both offer amazing tutorials for a myriad of digital software. Photoshop, Maya, 3DSMax, Unity, Flash, tons of stuff!
Before you make your big game, make some smaller, simpler ones. Figuring out how to use your tools, and how you use your tools, is key to the whole workflow. The learning experience is fun and all, and you’re always learning, but you don’t want to be doing the bulk of that learning when you’re trying to make your raison d’etre come to fruition. It’ll just be frustrating.
As far as programming goes, look into Code Academy. I don’t believe it has any game-oriented languages, but if you’re unfamiliar with programming in general, it’d be great to learn one or two of these to grasp the fundamentals before jumping into something like C#.
It’s a long and arduous road, really. Lots of trial-and-error, lots of testing, and lots of going, “why the hell won’t this work/is the program doing this/did that crash?” But if you really want to make this happen, then all that work should be worth it in the end, eh? Sorry if my advice is too vague, if there’s anything you’d like me to elaborate on, ask away and I’ll be happy to be more specific.
Q:i want to be a magical girl but i just don't know where to start.
Anonymous
Step 1: From what I know about Madoka, which is very, very little, you have to sign some contracts. I don’t know if the kind of contract matters, or who’s presenting it to you. Software license agreements don’t count.
Step 2: You’ll need a great outfit. Something with a lot of frills, some pastel colours (I’m a fan of purple, but go with what you like!), and a fancy prop like a staff or wand.
Step 3: Read everything you can on this website. Odds are, you’ll need to buy a deck of cards, a dove, some rabbits, some throwing knives, a table and saw, and don’t forget to keep some change handy. With enough practice, you too can be a magical girl!
Askbox Challenge: Do It!
Movies Cut Off For The Most Fun Endings
WALL-E: They return to earth, EVA replaces his parts, WALL-E gets back to work, and the movie ends there.
Paperman: In his office building, he uses his last sheet of paper on it (with the red lipstick marks) as a paper airplane. The wind catches it, it blows away, and the movie ends there.
Up: The movie ends after its first intro sequence, where Ellie dies.
Digimon The Movie: Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon get shot up by the thousands of Diaboromon. The end.
Pokémon, Mewtwo Strikes Back: Ash turns to stone, the Pokémon all cry, close-up of Pikachu, fade to black. End.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2: Harry doesn’t get revived after dying. The crowd of students, professors, and friends all weep. End.
How To Train Your Dragon: After the big fight, Hiccup and Toothless are found, on the ground, unmoving. Done.
Lion King: Simba runs off. Scar claims Pride Rock. Movie ends.
Tangled a) In the flooding cave, Flynn confesses his real name, the water rises, and the movie fades to black and ends.
Tangled b) After getting stabbed, Flynn and Rapunzel talk about how they were each others’ new dreams, Flynn dies, and the movie fades to black and ends with Rapunzel singing over Flynn’s corpse.
The Avengers: Tony redirects the nuke into the portal, his call to Pepper fails, and the credits roll.
The Iron Giant: The movie ends as soon as the giant takes the brunt of the nuke.
Wreck-It Ralph: Ralph destroys Vanellope’s cart, takes his medal, and goes home. Scene.
Hachiko Monogatari, Japanese version: Pick any time after the first hour, it’s all downhill from there.
Edit: Now with terrible images because I’m a terrible person.
Katsucon 2013, a set on Flickr.
Finally finished up my shots from Katsucon ‘13. Here’s a select few!
Q:Are you going to cosplay from swimming anime? I think that you should. For reasons. Shirtless reasons. >.>
Anonymous
All I know about that thing from my friends talking about it, is swimming and abs. In fact, I should go watch that trailer for it, shouldn’t I? Give me a moment.
…
Nope, not happening. Don’t have the abs and that’s all this thing is. And let’s face it, if I’m dressing up as anyone from any sports anime, it’s going to be from Overdrive. Bikes.
Remember when I said I was done with Journey wallpapers? I lied. Coming at you in 16:9 widescreen, ready for your desktop or TV, are 6 variations each on regular, enlightened, and frozen wanderer robe/scarf walls. Available in 1080p (58.7MB), or if you’ve got the resolution and bandwidth, 4k (207.5MB). Enjoy.
Update: Now included, versions without the scarf! Links are still the same, just re-uploaded the ZIPs.
Q:You seem like a pretty nerdy guy, how many vidya have you played? How do you get them? You have that gamer vibe and you seem like you would be fun to hang out with.
Dohoho, crafty lady. Well…4 systems. Yeah, rethinking that whole “gamer vibe” bit now, eh? I may buy used, but I pretty much never buy on release day. So, there goes any advice I’ve got on that front. Just play good games as much as you can, and if you make it to the ending, then there you go.
Q:"and afterwards I’ll make sure you get to the transit station on time so you can get home safe?" How dreamy~
That’s not even my A-game. I’ve got moves that’ll get a girl right into my bed. While I take the couch so that she can get a good night’s rest.
About
I work in illustration, graphic design, 3D modeling, and photography, originally from just outside Toronto and currently living in Chicago. I like cycling, climbing, adventuring, cosplay, awkward dancing, and pretty ladies with pretty voices.
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