Fat Kitty is back

.....and bigger than ever



Epic fail at 00:31 -_-"

Let's fill the world with Skies of Arcadia!

Because you should know that I LOVE Skies of Arcadia, even if I played only Legends for Gamecube (unfortunately I don't have a Dreamcast). You don't know this game? Well, just google It or look on the internet, I mean we are in 2013 don't be lazy! :P
For graphic design class we had to create our own book, design, text, everything, so I decided to make a fanbook. I actually drew a short doujinshi (comic) for the Skies Of Arcadia Legends 10th anniversary Fanbook sold at Comic Market last winter.

Front and cack cover

I decided to put the short comic inside the book, I wrote also a review, kind of a game description with all my opinions concerning the game. The most difficult part was actually write everything in japanese... well dictionary and internet helped me a lot^^

inside the book

I'm so glad I finish everything before the deadline...
If you have time and if you like RPG you should-no wait, YOU HAD TO play this game! Atmosphere, Story, Characters, setting, everything is just so amazing^^

Talking about games, I have recently bought a Ps3!
Tadaaaaan is Nino Kuni Special Edition!

Nyanko sensei not included

First thing I have done is... BUY JOURNEY. That's not a game, that's art! If you have a Ps3 you should buy It as well... BUY IT NOW.
Then I just try to play a psone game I bought the same day...

It works!!!

FFIX is another one of my favourite games. I like the cheerful world, and the funny characters in the game. Really unique in Its stlye, one of my fav FF with VI.
Playing the japanese version make me remember all the good memories I had when I played It many years ago^^

ポケモン Pokèmon Y and X

 ポケットモンスターの新作シリズが発表された！
なんか急にポケモンの絵が増えて来た気がするwww
A new Pokèmon game is coming! And then Fan-arts EVERYWHERE lol

描きたくなった。。。この三匹を描いてみた
I have tried to draw the new starters as well... during class.

Anime Studio

So, this week I went to A-1 Pcitures Studio for a fieldtrip with one of my professors, a great opportunity and It was really interesting. You probably know this Studio, it has produced anime like Tetsuwan Birdy, Ao no Exorcist, Tsuritama, Idol Master, Fractale, Valkyria chronicles, Kuoshitsuji, Fairy Tail.... and their last works are Brothers in space, Sword Art Online, Magi and Shin sekai yori (btw this last one is one of my favourite anime right now). We took just a quick look at the studio because of course everyone was busy on the studio's next projects.
Well speaking about the studio, the building is brand new not really big, but the space is well organized and each department is divided in 3 floors. The animator's conditions and their working space seems good as well. You shoul know that when you talk about animators in Japan, you usally think of poor working condtions and a low salary(100￥ for 1 drawing), everyone know the sterotype regarding animators that eat instant ramen everyday because they can't afford more than that. My animation's teacher said that animator's life is hard, you have to work a lot not only for money but because the job is like that, you won't leave the studio until you have finished everything. Now she is working for Sunrise's Gundam Unicorn episode 6, and she said that the Studio is a 戦場 (senjou) which means battlefield LOL but she loves her work, and I think that only that is just amazing.
Well the people working there reassure us about that. We have also the opportunity to talk with one of the producers of A-1 Pictures, I ask him something about the character designer's job. It looks like chara designers have a lot of powers corning creativity, that's cool.

Anyway, I'm still working on 3DCG. I haven't really decided what to do in the future (except being character designer), but I want to study both 3D and 2D technics! I will try to do both next year, even if It will be difficult... But I must say one thing.... I'm starting loving 3DCG!

New character! This time no fat, but still a cat

His name is Baldassarre, an adventurer cat-knight you can find an artwork HERE.
I made this character for my 3DCG class on second term. It took almost 3 months for modelling, UV, textures and animation settings. Also I need to add coat and feather, they will take years to render ARGH. Well I didn't want to use him just like an homework, so I decided to make a short movie with 2 other friends. The main character is Baldassarre, 2 more kitties and... a dragon! Next project will be taking part in a contest next july, hope we will finish in time!

学園際 School Festival!

So at the end of October my university had the school festival!
If you had watched anime, dorama or read manga, you will probably know about school festival.
It is known as a national event called Japanese Cultural Festival 文化祭 (bunkasai) or 学園祭 (gakuensai), two different words with basically the same meaning. 
It was the first time for me to actually take part at something like that (last year I went only to see a friend's school). Well, I must say that I love the atmosphere about It, most of the students are damn serious about the festival! The school staff, the students even the teachers help with the preparations, and the day before and after the festival there is no class. I mean, wow! Back to my highschool we had something like that, called "open day" for people that wanted to see our school. At elementary school I have done something fun, but during middle high and high school we have done pratically nothing (in Japan seems to be the complete opposite). In my high school just a few people were serious about it, and thinking about taking one day, or just one afternoon for arrangements was something crazy.

we sell postcards and pins with our 3DCG club's characters!  Then one of my senpai was playing the old Mother on the pocket famicon, it instantly got my attention lol

The festival was full of events. We had a japanese speech contest for exchage students like me. I created a small animation video for my chinese friends that were taking part in It, and one of them actually won the second place, cool! Then we had cosplay contest and photoshop-illustrator explanations and tutorials done by one of my senpai.
Since I've joined the 3DCG club, I stayed in the room for the 2 days of the festival and help with things. We also showed our short movies during the festival.
I created my short movie in like 1 month and half, 4 weeks for animation and the rest for modelling... I just realized that working on 3DCG is to damn hard, especially if you are alone.





Man, lighting is so baaaaad rofl And everytime I moved the cat I had all sort of problems lol
Next time I'm gonna work with other 2 friends from the 3DCG club, and we are going to make a short clip for a contest next year, gonna do my best!
Right now I'm creating another cat, a knight cat for my 3DCG class, I have just discovere mudbox and MAN I LOVE IT. I have loved 3DCG since i was a kid watching the CG cutscenes in videogames like FFIX (I will never forget the opening and the opera scene), but I like hand drawing animation as well.
I'm studying 2D animation too, It's difficult as hell but I love It... and that's also because of my teacher, she is amazing and really LOVES her work. Even if the pay is low, the work hard, LONG, and she usually doesn't sleep for 2 days, she keep doing It because she likes animation, and she is proud of that. Even when she was young and animation studios said "we don't take women because they will get married someday" she kept her dream and realized It, she didn't give up. I really admire, respect her.. and all the good animators around the world.
Aaahh, but someday I will have to choose between anime and 3DCG.. T_T
Well, now I go back to work, I'm way too busy.. lately I have done also a short comic for a Skies of Arcadia 10th anniversary anthology (It's an old game for dreamcast and remake for gamecube, one of my favourite games EVER) because the founder of the project asked me,  It will be sold at comiket this winter^^
So, see you next post for updates ;)

Tokyo Game Show 2012

Phantasy star online is back!

I went to the Tokyo Game Show for the second time.
It was overcrowed as hell like always....but I must say that It was pretty fun, also I met a lot of friends there! YAY! Of course It was impossible to play games like Monster Hunter 4, too much people, and the tickets for the demo were sold out 30 minutes after the opening of the TGS. Even if I get there early, I had to wait almost one hour in line. Anyway, I saw MH4 presentation (Yian Kut-Ku is back!), then I bought some MH and Gyakuten Saiban stuff at the Capcom shops, and somehow I spent 80 minutes in line for LaytonVS Phoenix Wright, totally worth IT (?). Not kidding, the game looks pretty good, and Shu Takumi was working on It, so ok!
I couldn't play MH4, but I took a look at the stand, It was like a little village full of MH things... and the feline, ywah THE KITTY WAS SO CUTE I COULDN'T RESIST*^*
Gyakuten Saiban V (Phoenix Wright) stand was probably the most amazing of the TGS, take a look here...

I mean, what the hell! It's a real courtroom!

Probably only the Biohazard 6 could have been at the same level... well done CAPCOM!
The cosplayers were pretty cool, I was happy too find also characters as Pit or Palutena!

amazing monster hunter armor!

You can't even image how tired I was after a day like this...!^^" But as I said, It was really fun.
I think that from now on I will have time for NOTHING. I have just started the second semester and guess what, I'm at univeristy from 9AM to 9PM almost everyday. For lessons of course, but also for some project that I need to finish for the 文化際 (Bunka sai, aka School Festival), 3DCG movie is one of THESE. 頑張ります！

helloooooo, summer holidays are almost over and that's really sad... especially when you had exams on the first week of August, geez -_-
I finished my first 3DCG project....THE FAT KITTY PROJECT


Is nothing special at all, but It took me like 3 weeks, many hours for rendering... and I'm proud of It!

Actually I need to thank my senpais because they help me a lot during this project, they were amazing really, I couldn't do It alone.
Also, when I created the video I opened everything in After Effects, that was a BAD IDEA- the problem is that AE is made almost for special effects, there a lot of different settings, and of course I got lost with all of them lol

simple concept for the fat kitty

Anyway, I'm glad that I finished my project in time,  I can't wait for the next one ^^

3D Computer Graphic

Ok, I was going to talk about E3, but after seeing how TERRIBLE all the conventions were, I just gave up :S seriously, this E3 was ridiculous, nothing interesting at all! Oh well.. let's change topic.
Working on 3DCG is pretty difficult. Not pretty, It is really difficult. I'm using autodesk maya, which is an amazing program, the problem is that there are so many options! I always get lost @_@
My first work with polygon was kind of stupid

just a little kitty/fox face and bubbles

In the first project (assignment) we had to do, was to create your own room, with furnitures, lights, textures, and everything. The main purpose of this work was to create a "livable" room.

I tried to create my room

It took like 2 weeks to create all the room. The most difficult part for me was to create the light.. shadows were a big problem as well.

nerd corner

 Then the first week I went crazy with the texture mapping, but now I get used to it fiuuuuu (the gamecube is made with texture). AND XENOBLADE ON THE TV, I KNOW RIGHT. There was also a Skies of Arcadia poster but I didn't render that part WOOOPS.
Now I'm working on another project, an animation project. I hope to do It in time for the deadline!
...And yes, I'm still playing Fire Emblem, but I will finish It soon because I'm at chapter 25th (probably the last one?). It's a bit short but there are a lot of side quests and characters! That's nice.