Ramblings of a Stupid Cat

Levi List

2010-11-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

That's right... I'm a leviathan Magistream junkie.

ROFLMAO.

As of this date, here's my lineage list of all that I own. Owned (*)

A Levis
Aquamarine*
Algine
Amazon
Aequoreum
Allsea
Abysm
Azure

B Levis
Blue
Bond
Bohemian
Bejeweled
Blue Waters

C Levis
Chavez*
Callidora
Cerulean
Chartreuse
Confections
Chosen
Crestedwave
Crystal Seas *

D Levis
Deep Sashelas

E Levis
Epic
Esi
Eyjafjallajokull

F Levis
Fisherman*
Forestsong
Falls
friend of John *

G Levis
-

H Levis
Hurricane
Huricain

I Levis
In a Teacup
Is a Silly Name*

J Levis
Jungle

K Levis
Kendii

L Levis
Leviathan
Leonhart
Larkspur

M Levis
Meme*
Marinemuse
MysticWave
Mariana
Marindo
Mother natures wrath
Miskatonic

N Levis
Niebieski
Numbers*
Namekian*

O Levis
of ONE PIECE*
OMG LIZURD
of Deep Oceans
Ocean Twilight
of the Water Tribe
of the abyss*

P Levis
Pastafarian*
Parley

Q Levis
-

R Levis
Royal River
Reflux

S Levis
Sketchit*
Sevenseas
Sealfriend
Snakeweed
Saint
Spring
Soulglow
Sea
Swalone
WaterBender
StormSea
Stormrider
Stormbringer
Stormracer
Stormchaser
Seaflash
Shanquil
Shadowwater
Sea Monster
Sea Monsters
Storms Never Last

T Levis
Tommyknocker*
Tradewinds*
the Fisherman*
Thunderson*
Teufelsauge
Tropiwave
Temperate
Tides of Love
Trench Warfare
Toxic Kiss
Tropicana
Typhoon
Tsunami
Tempest

U Levis
Ultramarine

V Levis
Vandslange

W Levis
Wavetide
Water Dipper
WaterLily
Watercrystal
Warmsea
Woodland
Weedy Depths*
White Squall*

X Levis
-

Y Levis
-

Z Levis
Zorome*
Zoro*

u suk LOLOL

2010-05-23T01:32:00.000-07:00

u suk. ur stupid and ur mean cause u attack us 4 no reason

I'm not talking to you personally.

I'm talking about the lazy person that gets all riled up when someone says 'literacy'. The person who knows English yet still spells "know" as "no" to save time. The one who misspells every other word in a sentence, sees the little red lines in spell check that denotes the errors and then posts it without fixing. It's the attitude that grates on my nerves.

"Who cares, it's only the internet. It's not school."

Well, how you act when you're not in a school environment is going to be who you are as a person. If you don't give a flying fig about how you sound, it's going to show. That's like saying "I don't want to wear clothes because they're restrictive". Well, you wear them in public for many good reasons. If you suddenly started walking around in your undies scratching at your butt and farting out loud, people would take offense, right?

How about a compromise? Wear looser, more comfortable clothing, but for God's sake don't walk around with your bits showing. The same concept goes for the internet. A few LOL's, some 'hai thar' for kicks. But don't just throw everything out the window and then get angry when someone complains!

I run a forum that used to be quite active several years ago. It will have been around for a decade as of 2010 and we've seen many multicultural friends come and go. The people whose native language was not English spoke better than who we are talking about when we complain about "illiteracy" on forums.

Personally, I'm dyslexic. Trust me, if I left every single error in my fictional work or my posts in forums it would be a glaring example for me to use right here. But the point is, I care. I proof read. I try. And one can tell that I take some small amount of time to look over what I've "said" before I post it. People get so huffy when folks complain about illiteracy. I believe it gets taken as a personal attack because they think their skills aren't up to par. But when someone complains it's not an attack against anyone that has a good will and is trying to make sense. It's a rant against the chat speak, misspelled words and acronyms that are encouraging kids to be faster-faster-faster.

If you're on a forum you're there to type words and have people understand them so that they can type words back at you. If you do this in a way that folks can't understand you then you're doing it wrong. I'm not trying to nitpick or come across as the hated "Grammar Nazi", which I am not. But how easy would this to be to read if I spelled like I've seen people do on forums I frequent?

Example of above:
if u do this in a way that folks cant understand u then u doin it wrng i'm not tryin 2 nitpck or come across as grammar nazi cause im not. but hoe ez is this 2 read if i spellt lik ive sen ppl do on the forums i freqnt?

...I'm serious. I've seen things spelled this badly. And this is what we're talking about when we say 'holy shit, illiteracy'. This is not someone who doesn't know English. This is a lazy ass kid that doesn't care and is talking ghetto-internet speak. You're smarter than that, or so you say. Why should it be so much of a pain to show it?

Please understand us when we say illiterate. We are not talking about a single 'too' spelled 'to' in a post. We're talking about glaring mistakes that keep happening.

I hate Bioware.

2009-11-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

It's official.

Herein contain Alastair Romance spoilers for the game "Dragon Age: Origins", if you do not wish to see them do not read further, please. There will also be the rantings of a bipolar artist that seriously gets way too into these games.

So, around 20 or more hours into the game I find I'm getting nervous about how people keep warning me about our love. We've made love, etc., and he keeps saying he loves me.

I get headaches worrying about it, so I look it up.

My worst fears are confirmed: if you are a mage of any sort, even human -- he WILL NOT marry you. He will not stay with you. He will dump you for his uncle's f-ing widow.

NO.

I deny this; I'm so upset I'm crying and now I can't stop. I have issues with Fantasy worlds, see, it's what I believe makes me a half decent artist and writer. I live these things very closely. I cried during the romance scene and all, and was so happy for several (um, make that two) days while he said loving things to me like "yes, my love" and told me he did love me. Well, my character would rather die than see him married to another. Let them stop the damned Blight themselves. I refuse to play any longer.

Childish?

Certainly!

But I'm hurt. I'm still a child at heart and I feel this very strongly, almost as if my husband is doing it to me. Truly, as a matter of fact. I am hurt, devastated. Instead of being happy like I was and hoping for a happy ending I ache. Just as if it is real.

I may simply quit playing the game entirely.

I did not enjoy many parts of it; I swore VERY OFTEN and despised the mage's quests in the Veil, etc. I even had to print out a guide for one! I never do that!

And now, what? I simply refuse to put myself through his rejection...and to see him married to that slut just because he needs an heir and I'm a mage that needs to go back to my fricking dog kennel "tower". No. I can't.

Man, I am weird.

2009-10-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

I've been getting into these interactive Fur Real and PlaySkool toys - you know the ones, the "hot" toys of the year. Kota the Triceratops, Butterscotch and/or S'mores the pony (ponies).

I want one.

FOR PONYYYY

Now, before you call me crazy - I know I am anyway, pbbbt! -- I want a cheap one, or, better yet, a BROKEN one. I actually want one that doesn't work. I like broken and mismatched toys the best, ones that have gotten love but now are cast aside.

Thing is, I can't find any! LOL. If anyone knows of someone that has a broken pony or dino, be sure to drop me a note. I'd be interested ;3 At least they'd be able to get something for it, if they wanted to get rid of the dear thing.

Ha, I promised updates

2009-10-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

...and here I am not blogging. Well, I tend to do that. *shrugs*

I've been playing Katamari Forever and the Godfather II game for the PS3 often, so maybe there will be some fanart coming up. Other than that I want to get back into writing for Colorford & Mister Zero, but I've been plagued with nasty headaches and that's sapped most of my desire to really do much literary work.

x_x

New Underhanded eBay Trick - negative feedback?

2009-09-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

eBay buyers, beware - there is an underhanded tactic being used by equally dastardly sellers to get around the system if you leave them negative feedback.

See, they're not allowed to leave you negative anymore. This is supposed to have us comfortable to give honest feedback - the threat of "retaliation" feedback is supposedly a thing of the past. Untrue, because a recent transaction left me irritated and once again shaking my head at eBay Customer Service - such as it is.

I purchased something. It arrived not as I expected it, and the seller wouldn't answer my messaging via the site. I was thus forced to go to Paypal's transaction center and submit a report. I made a partial mistake about the item description; it's true, so they filed against me. However, the lack of the "new" condition of the item in hand that I received and the seller's lack of communication forced me to leave a negative feedback. They seemed not to care that they did not hold up 100% of their bargain, so I stated such in my feedback.

The seller saw this feedback.

No matter that I have the item - it was shipped to me! -- they sent me an "unpaid buyer alert", claiming that I did not pay. I declared that I did and this was very "petty" of the seller, and said they were trying to "get back at" me for leaving them negative in this fashion. Very bad form, in other words.

Apparently this pissed them off further, for they declared I hadn't paid and we couldn't reach an amicable solution. This means eBay sent me an "unpaid item strike". Unlike negative feedback for sellers, I am unsure if the strikes go away - I don't think they do. Negative feedback, however, does after a certain amount of time. So I sent a copy of the Paypal email with headers and the strike was immediately removed, although the mail sent by the staff had a grave "warning" if it ever happened again.

Thanks for contacting us about the unpaid item strike you received.

Our records show this is the first time you've appealed an unpaid item
strike. Based on this and the information you gave us, we've removed the
strike from your account. Any future strikes could affect your account
status though, so take a few minutes to learn more about our unpaid item
policy. . .

[insert many URL's leading to things I already know here].

In short, be aware that this happens now and know how to appeal these disputes if this happens to you.

1.) Keep all Paypal receipts! I know it's just an email and if you purchase a lot they clog up your inbox, but keep them for a decent interval so you have it if this happens to you.

2.) Contact eBay again after the appeal. Keep at them. We want sellers to stop doing this and for the staff to be aware it is happening. They will put you off many times but they'll soon take notice if it happens to many people.

3.) Keep on leaving deserving feedback. Don't let the underhanded tactics of bad sellers cow you into abstaining or even leaving bland positive comments. Give them what they deserve. They have your money, they don't care what happens now except to make sure no one does it to them again so they can keep gulling more buyers.

Blatherings and emails and t-shirt designs.

2009-08-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

God.

I'm really tired of getting mail from my fansite (roronoas.com, roronoazoro.com) that asks me 'how much for ..?'

I'm not selling things, for the love of beets. NOT. The site is a fansite hosted from my main that simply lists merchandise you can buy with the character on it as well as info about him in general. Geez. Nowhere does it say 'you can buy things here'. On air-lobster.com, I try to sell things and tell people 'click here to buy' in neon lettering and people still don't know how.

;___;

I hope I've fixed the problem, however! With help and a little advice from a would-be customer (less than three) I've spruced up the T-shirt page and hopefully now it's a little clearer. I'll be working on the Dumples pages now, I think... making them more "cutesy" in the photos and incorporating a ruler in them so folks can see how big each of them are (they have small, medium and large sizes).

I also have a new t-shirt design available in the t-shirt shop!

The Gamer-Chick Test

2009-07-24T10:54:00.001-07:00

Written solely by myself, plz credit me and my site (air-lobster.com) if you'd like to reprint.

Ladies that like to hold a game controller in your hand, raise it up and be proud! That's right. You're not as few as the male persuasion would believe. There are many, many females that play console and hand held games and not just "girly" ones, either. Men are blinded to real female gamers because they have visual standards. If it's not a top "Barbie" style model that plays the games, they don't see her (for the most part). Advertising clutches like those Asian ladies that are paid to play games all day simply because they are models ruin the real gamer reputation, too. Look beyond a tiny waist and surgery-enhanced features and you'll find the real gamers.

Are you a gamer chick? A real gamer ... or a wannabe?

I'm not trying to belittle casual gaming girls but the ones that swear up and down that they're "gamers" when in reality they just like to say they are. They can not escape my scathing tongue, for it's ladies like that that are ruining the real gamer reputations. They are the ones that cause their husbands to roll their eyes and ask for "your husband's" (or boyfriend's) gamer handle on xBox 260 or the PS3 because of course even though you state you need someone to game with they don't believe you. Of course the man plays games. You don't. They think this because their wife or significant other plays a certain way. Let's review this list of what could make you a big time gamer. My husband (who tests video games for a living, funny enough) and I have discussed this time and time again, so you know that at least one male agrees...and believe me, his co-workers (they have only a single female on staff) do too.

Take this in the style it's written in - tongue-in-cheek -- although if you're like me you'll be giggling and nodding all the way through. I've included brackets for "check marks" if you're so inclined to print and check 'em off as you go...

Do you dress for comfort when you play games (ie, pajamas in the middle of the day)?

[ ] Have you trimmed or hacked your nails completely off because "it was too hard to play" a certain game controller?

[ ] Tied up your hair because it might distract you at a crucial moment (even if it's really short)

[ ] Put off showering for more than an hour because you were "busy playing"?

[ ] ...didn't shower for the day because of the same reason?

- -

Have you played any game consecutively (straight through) for 2 hours or more?

[ ] Longer than 4 hours?

[ ] So long you got a semi-permanent "wrinkle" on your rear where the fabric of what you were wearing/the couch printed into your flesh?

[ ] ... your foot fell asleep?

[ ] ...several body parts went numb?

[ ] Made it through an all-nighter with several pots of coffee or energy drinks just to beat a game?

- -

Have you ever ''held it in'' instead of going to the bathroom because you were "almost to the Boss" or something similar?

[ ] ... held the 360 controller precariously out the door while peeing so you could start a match (hey, you're almost done)

[ ] ...hey, the PS3 controller works even when I'm in the bathroom!

[ ] Purposefully didn't drink a lot so you could "last longer"?

- -

Have you screamed obscenities at an unfeeling television set when you die in-game?

[ ] When you're about to?

[ ] When you think you're about to?

[ ] Do any of those include threats against the game developers/designers/beta testers?

[ ] ...and their unborn children?

- -

Have you hit your own leg or unfeeling couch arm, etc during a game?

[ ] In frustration?

[ ] With excitement?

[ ] Nope, you hit someone else.

[ ] So hard you yelped with shock.

- -

Have you thrown a game controller in anger or excitement?

[ ] The cord acts like a bungee, so you were safe (and so was the furniture)

[ ] Screamed "Oh, shit, those are worth $60 why did I do that!"

[ ] Yes: and hit someone across the street.

- -

Have you ever been "game-hunting" for something you want?

[ ] Through several different game stores?

[ ] Through all the game stores in the area

[ ] ...and not in the are (out of state)

[ ] ...along with a Wal-Mart or two

[ ] You peruse eBay and Amazon on a daily basis.

- -

Is "love of games" something you look for in a guy?

[ ] He needs to like gaming like you do.

[ ] Bonus: he comes with a game system you don't have!

[ ] ...and/or games you haven't played!

[ ] He'd better have a good sense of humor as well since you often beat people when you play against them.

- -

How many consoles and hand held systems do you own?

[ ] More than two

[ ] More than four

[ ] More than you can have hooked up to televisions in your house, even with spare TV sets and multiple-channel boxes

[ ] ...as well as several duplicate systems "just in case"

[ ] An out-of-region system (NTSC/ US, Japanese or PAL, whichever counts for you)

[ ] ...several of these.

- -

And perhaps the final question...

Does your husband talk about you, game-wise, to his buddies?

[ ] Brag about your skill in general?

[ ] That you're better than he is?

[ ] That his wife is "cool" because she doesn't complain when he brings home a game?

[ ] Complain that you're hogging the console when he wants to play?

Colorford Series has a spin off site

2009-07-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

Yep.

http://www.air-lobster.com/colorford/

I made a folder for it and started putting imagery and fiction up. Good god I love James. He's so "delightfully nerdy" as my friend Ome from the Brig put it. ;3

He's my first "darker" skin toned character as well I believe. He's got Hawaiian kind of golden skin and a larger nose and love of fishing that seems to suggest original Island descent.

I messed around with The Sims 3 and managed to create very accurate Elly Sketchit and James Colorford models!

Deviantart really does suck.

2009-07-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

You know, I used to think the site 'Deviant Art' was great. I met my husband there after all! What a fluke and yet here I am after moving half across the country and being happily married for four years. I had an extensive gallery of over one thousand images (if anyone visits my art website, air-lobster.com, you'll see I have something akin to writer-artist Turrets).

Everything seemed great until I got flamed several times. Annoying, but all right. I deal with that kind of thing - after all I'd been attacked more viciously than anyone can imagine online when I was only 23 or so. Nothing anyone can do online can faze me much after that, so I shrugged the silly attacks off. Then the reporting started. Several pieces got taken down because the admins thought they were "screenshots". Apparently they just delete anything that looks good when someone reports it.

Lies, of course.

They had no proof because I know I drew them myself. I sent the files in to show them and they were immediately reinstated on the site. Which made me wonder...weren't they deleted? The staff said they had deleted my pieces and yet there they were again. Hmm. That was odd. Uh oh - that's strike one -- your files are never really removed from the site. DA can use them in any way it wishes as long as they are uploaded? The way the rules are written and rewritten time and again it gets confusing. Taking a piece off is a bit tricky but can be done, though: submit a "blank" piece over your old one and write in the comments about your work that you "do not wish for it to be used or displayed on or by Deviantart".

That resolved, I took off hundreds of pictures and drawings and more. I left for awhile but people are like sheep nowadays: they love DA. It's a big massive art party! No one likes to look at individual art sites (or they're lost in the sea of DA submissions thhat are easier to read and get praised for when you stroke someone else's ego). So I went back for awhile to post fanart.

This is like a vicious circle.

I go back just to post some work now and then and eventually something of mine gets taken off for some "violation" or other. Take my fanart account for instance, named the same there as I am on Lemonfingers.

"The administrator who deleted your 1 deviation added the following:

Deleted in response to case #513463

The work(s) listed below have been removed by staff due to a violation of deviantART policy or because its theme or content was judged unacceptable. Your deviantART submissions must obey certain guidelines and restrictions.

If you are uncertain why the submission was removed or if you have any questions or believe this removal to be an error please contact the deviantART Help Desk.

Title: The Exhibitionists
URL: The Exhibitionists (on Lemonfingers: mature content)
Submitted: 2009-03-25 9:16:56 am"

Sadly, the way DA's rules are set up is an open invitation for anyone with power on the site to do as they please. The site rules clearly state you can not submit work that is:

"defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, obscene, harmful to minors, violations of child pornography or child sexual exploitation laws",

and apparently someone found that single piece I wrote offensive (and not any of the others, some of which are quite sexual in nature).

It's not that I am angry. My work is saved on this site (which I find much more friendly) and various other places on the internet including my own website(s).

The bullshit part is that if I were to read this same set of rules I see where it says you aren't allowed to post 'defamatory, libelous' work, either. Why exactly does this concern me? Because I've had folks submit rude artwork of my character before and when reported, the pieces are never taken down. 'Threatening', as well - where folks are screaming 'I want to kill her!', meaning kill me -- in the background as they stare at my character(s).

Bizarre things: I attract lots of psychopaths for some reason. It makes life humorous but it also means I see a very large hole in this "fair" website people proudly claim DA is...when it is clearly not.

The Brig is ad free again!

2009-07-15T16:29:00.000-07:00

Well, for awhile anyway, as I paid $6 for some 30k pageviews.

Check it out.

http://estrogenbrigade.yuku.com/

We'd like some new members. What iis it nowadays with no one wanting to post at a forum because it doesn't offer "pixels" or a "dressup" avatar piece of sh- well, you get the idea. What happened to having fun chatting? There are so many rules on all those other sites you'd think people would be bored or get finicky. Well, the Brig has one, basically... 'don't be an idiot'. You can mispell stuff and make mistakes as much as you want, double-post or even triple post, fool around with rpg characters, whatever. As long as you're having fun and not being mean-spirited everyone will welcoome you with open arms.

And no one's a "noob" there. Ever.

Good Gawd.

2008-09-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm back to Blogspot after all this time. The server I was buying space from couldn't handle phpBB after awhile and I figured the heck with it. A lot has happened since I last blogged here - I've drawn at least a hundred new pieces (no joke), sewed a few more things, bought a house, a new dog and bird.

*_*

I've also re-joined the website Roliana - http://www.roliana.com/profile/8000
That's me, user 8k, lawl. It's been fun and I've even won a lot of the art & design competitions!

So things have been hectic but fun. I'll do a bigger blog on some things and rant a bit later.

Janus the 2 Faced Monster Plush

2008-03-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

Awrrgh. Flip 'im around, either way, upside or down and he's either frowny or sad.

Oddy & Pencil Sketches

2008-03-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Bleah, I'm so sick it's frightening. But I managed to draw some things last night. Most likely my feverish mind had something to do with the subject matter: walrus-birds, hairy frog things that look like the Muppet "Animal" and chicken dogs. Oh boy.

Like the entire page of Oddy doodles that made my husband say 'WTF'?! (lol)

Ladybugs and Horses

2008-03-11T08:23:00.001-07:00

There's a new plush creation on those pages - a ladybug purse. Shhhh...it's for my mother-in-law's birthday on St. Patrick's day. She loves ladybugs. :3

Also, I've colored one of the model sketches for the horse sculptures/models. I think I like this, but I won't start painting until after my flu is gone. I'm a bit shaky at the moment.

Horse Painting

2008-03-08T16:21:00.001-08:00

Painting horses, gasp.

We shouldn't have bought these, but I got two Breyer horses the other day and I'm so painting them. This means I need to decide what colors they're going to be! *gasp* So...here's number one (they're both boys, by the way):

Air-Lobster Comics 7,8

2008-03-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry - I had these done awhile but hadn't posted them to the Blog. (Ha, we've both come down with the flu - or something similar -- and it's hard to concentrate x3)

You may notice I've revamped the images - the template BG is sort of the "watermark" now instead of the tacky actual watermark.

Buy Direct- Support an Artist!

2008-03-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

Buy Direct: Support an Artist!

I'd like to share a few thoughts about buying art if you've got a moment. I've never hidden the fact that I make mistakes just like anyone else but I am a professional when it comes to my work. If you're buying from me, you're buying from someone who works good, works hard, and has bills to pay just like yourself. Not someone that has ripped versions of software and charges $50 less than the actual professional that knows how to utilize them fully because they went to an art college or school. Same goes for factory-made items. I usually am ahead of the times and come out with things before they're popular - then the conglomerates of the world grab the idea and mass-produce it, literally putting me out of business each time.

I say this because today we're losing track of giving jobs to the qualified and throwing them to whoever does it "the cheapest". Good artists are "starving artists" because folks won't pay for their - our -- services. Why pay $9.00 for a custom made plush if the Toys R Us has one for $1.00? Because this one is made with love and care has gone into its every stitch and design. It takes me several hours to sew a plush that I sell for $5.00 - that's less than minimum wage! Please keep this in mind when you're looking at items to purchase. Contacting an artist (any artist) is ensuring that we have money to pay for items we really need, you get an item that is custom-made and original and everyone is happier.

Japan-Embroidered Pillow for sale

2008-03-05T10:53:00.001-08:00

It's up at Etsy - please have a look!

Fresh Sushi For Sale!

2008-03-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

It's up on Etsy for only $5 (that's a dollar apiece)!

Updated shop pages...

2008-03-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

They're all tabled neatly now, the art commissions page as well as the "main shop". There are also a few new T-Shirt images, so go check them out!

Also, many thanks to everyone that has purchased a t-shirt from me. I hope you'll enjoy it!

MUST...draw...MORE...

Red Ring of Death T-Shirts Up!

2008-03-04T07:16:00.001-08:00

Click the image to go to Printfection ~ nab a t-shirt and show Micro$oft exactly what is a suitable red ring of death for their gaming system!

On a side note, we discovered that I actually can access the gamer avatars, games and themes we purchased after the first RRD console swap we've had to do. Only if I log into the account that purchased the tons of shit, be online the entire time, keep his account on the second controller and then use the main controller to play as "airlobster" - what my gamertag is on the stupid system. Surprise - every time I log out of the game(s) though, it switches to his and it's a pain in the ass. It works though - as long as it doesn't crash (OOPS, happens often) or the internet cable doesn't get jiggled or anything. It's fun to lose your high score just because someone had to take the puppy out to pee.

>_<

Finley is now for sale!

2008-03-03T11:39:00.000-08:00

Finley the Fish Plush - $10

Finley is a medium-sized, one-sided polar fleece plush (like a pillow). He's fuzzy and lovable - don't let his GIANT TEETH fool you! He is approx. 12" from the tip of his tail across to his blunt nose. My plushes come from a child free, non-smoking home and are not meant for dogs or small children.

Finley is only $10 plus s/h.

Craft Sharing with Flickr!

2008-03-03T10:02:00.001-08:00

I decided to share the craft work I sew and sculpt (etc) on the Blog with a little flash widget. Isn't it cute? I'm working on about a million things at the moment; such as ficing up my Anime Forums and consolidating my fan site (I don't need that $11.95 a month charge now, do I)?

I should have more goodies up very soon. :3 Such as this Devilfruit fan art:

Whoops! Missed some updates!

2008-02-29T08:44:00.000-08:00

I've actually been updating but in the whole 'OMG HAY WE'RE ACTUALLY HOUSE HUNTING' craze of the past few days I err. Forgot.

So there's some more plushes:

An unidentified one-legged thing, a bunnylump, and a furry rodent that I don't even know if I can sell, he's so damned cute. *rofl*

Two original pieces have been added to the Gallery, the lobster logo because I have fixed my CafePress shop here to have merchandise with that image on it specifically. :3

And I redrew a (new) Splinter from TMNT. I'll have my own versions later. Just wanted to draw their style first, since I've never done that one.

FISHY FISH

2008-02-25T07:53:00.001-08:00

...shy fishy fish!!

He has teeths. And he's polar fleecey fuzzy cuddly warm. He's a one-sided pillow with felt and button accents. Yay for cutting things without a set pattern!

Air-Lobster Comics 2,3,4

2008-02-24T19:25:00.001-08:00

The comic pages 2, 3, 4 are inked for now...annnnd I have 2 more penciled and ready to be inked. Yep. Movin' right along now.

I'll try to be nicer if you try to be smarter.

2008-02-24T10:05:00.000-08:00

No really. Just a pillow made from an old t-shirt. And a new Dumple made from yet another t-shirt as well...

Rose Pincushion Basket

2008-02-20T07:15:00.000-08:00

On the Plushes page. Expect to see more from this lovely book as I experiment with the patterns inside to create versions of my own! This is only the first I tried (with mixed emotions from myself). I like it, but I'll try harder to make the next one better. :3

Nedikett & Fanart

2008-02-18T11:32:00.001-08:00

New comic: 800 X 600 IS NOT DEAD!

Oh yes. And salvaged old fanart. Yay.

Air-Lobster Comic Started

2008-02-17T20:31:00.000-08:00

Tadaaah. I decided to just start sketching it and not worry so much about how it looks. *shrug* The Fanart Page also has been split into 2 and there will be more available to view there soon.

New Nedikett Comic

2008-02-08T09:59:00.000-08:00

That's right, I finally drew a new Nedikett Comic. #5, and it's entitled, "A Tracer Does not an Artiste Make".

Wai hello thar, DA trace artists.

*snicker*

Katamari and an egg crate.

2008-02-07T12:36:00.000-08:00

My little puppy decided she wanted to anger her brother constantly, so we came up with a new toy on the spur of the moment.

EGG CRATE + PUPPY = WIN.

Internet Harassment & Me.

2008-02-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

This is a very personal account and pondering - a looking-back if you will -- on events that actually happened in my life some years ago. If you don't agree with any of it I can't stop your mind from running off the beaten path - but hey. I'm telling it just like it was, clearly as I can and without hiding any wrongdoing on my part (even if it was just standing up for myself while I was being attacked). It was a bad time for me when all of this happened, just so you all understand.

I'm bipolar. Very severely so: to the point of I have very real problems holding a job (I don't currently have one) and even leaving the house some days. I've been this way for as long as I remember and it's my way of life to battle every day as best I can without the mind-numbing drugs of my youth (my folks did "what they thought was best for me" back then). I don't say this to excuse anything, nor do I say it to evoke pity. Just to clear up some issues right at the start: ordinary things like someone saying "you suck" in an email can crash my day if I'm having a bad moment. Later on I might look back and laugh but when I'm in a severe down even the way I said goodbye to someone that morning may be an agonizing debate within my head all day as I try to sort out how I could have done it better.

The type of personality that usually gets hit the hardest from harassment like I suffered is the artistic person, a sensitive person. You have to realize that the person harassing you has no right to treat you that way at all. Don't try and look inward and reason with them and/or yourself. Don't think: "Did I really deserve this?" You didn't. No. They'll keep trying if they're as persistent as my attackers were and you can't afford the luxury of self-doubt.

What happened to me was simple. I had moved out of my folks' house and was living with a batch of people in a bad neighborhood. I was with someone that I later learned didn't love me at all and had no one to reach out to. I had no outlet except my artwork but no one to share it with.

And then I discovered the internet.

I found that I could vent all my frustrations by creating a pseudo-man that really did care for me and treated me as I wished and needed to be treated. Also I could have friends there: I didn't need to leave the house (and I couldn't, as my then-beau had 'stolen' my car). I focused on the current obsession of my life: Pocket Monsters, drawing small bits of fan art and creating a website with stories of myself as the fursona "L4J". This was my very first taste at any role-playing and story-writing for fun, although I had written professional erotica before and it seemed that that was where the fan fics were taking me.

Being starved sexually for months at a time from my "beau" - who liked to abuse me by doing things like that and who apparently never cared for me at all in any real way -- this was the only outlet I had. I wanted to be "faithful" to him, but if my needs weren't being met and I couldn't even get his attention by talking or throwing myself on him, what was I to do? Writing the stories helped but having others share them gave them meaning. As I was being abused at home, so the abuse crept into my stories: first the love interest of James (Kojiro) gave way to Butch (Kosaburo), who became violent to the point of physically hurting my character. But all in all, L4J was getting what Michelle wanted: notice. Not only notice and attraction by members of the fan community, who thought my concepts were interesting and liked my artwork, but by the characters within the stories and art themselves.

L4J gave way to "Elly" (notice the wordplay on the names there) and eventually I settled on a character that, for me, was the essence of what I desired. Calm, with a soothing voice and not a female-monger, I picked Tracey Sketchit (Kenji) as my ultimate "man" to write about. His very presence became one to hide behind, as things crashed down around my ears.

One of my most beloved pets died that I'd spent $1,000 trying to save
I started to faint from panic attacks again
My folks refused to take me back unless I got a job and held it for years
I had to quit several jobs before they fired me because of my illness
I didn't have a car to even get to a job if I got one (I'd had to rely on friends before)
The sexual abuse was worse and even when we did consummate, it was never for me, it was for him

...the list went on. Consequently, my attraction to (and obsession with) Tracey became stronger. I was quite arguably the largest fan on the internet, with thousands of screen shots of him on TV, quotes, merchandise I'd bought with eBay-sourced funding, and more. My rpg character married him on my ezBoard (bulletin board system, now moved to Yuku). That's when it started, I believe.

It began with emails. "Shut down your website".

Irrational idea #1: "I don't like it, so you need to stop."
Internet harassment usually stems from this plain and simple idea that someone has. They don't like what you're doing. They want you to quit doing it. There is no reason you should if you're not harming anyone else.

As if they had a right to tell me what to do on my own website. And truly, they believed it! That's the oddest part about this, and if you really want to understand the mind of a Troll or Flamer, that's where they're coming from. The ones that fight for a purpose really believe what they're saying and nothing can convince them otherwise. Don't think you can fight them, because I tried - not knowing that it's what they wanted. A game of sorts. Sitting at home in their cozy, comfy little mom-and-dad bought 2-story house, television with cable and everything they could desire, this is what they chose to do with their time. They harassed me. The emails got worse: they slandered my art, saying it was badly drawn and it really sucked, they read all my stories and said I also stunk at writing. They attacked as much of my art and writing as they could as hard as they could, feeling that surely, it would break me down into tears and I'd take it all down.

When that didn't work, the emails got more ominous.

Irrational idea #2: "I can reason with them."
The harasser(s) will not listen to you, even if you have infallible evidence that the world isn't flat.

And I tried reasoning with them, you see. I know it doesn't work. Told them I was a 23 year old female that was an artist: I'd had things published and I knew my art wasn't that bad. I tried to tell them that if they didn't like what they saw, to please just leave and don't read or view anything else. Sent copies of internet "freedom" laws to them. Anything and everything within the ideals of human ingenuity I tried and tried and tried.

Don't try, if this ever happens to you. Just block their email after reporting it to their ISP - Internet Service Provider -- as harassment. Because when the emails got worse, they got incredibly bad. I was threatened to be reported to internet "safety sites" as a pedophile and even to the cops in my town at one point. They stuck very firm to the fact that I was a pedophile, you see. Just because of course I'd have to be, liking anime as I did. Because anime is for kids and Tracey was 11 years old.

Well. I saw (and still see him) as whatever age I wish him to be. And that would be legal, by the way. Nowadays I even draw him with a tiny bit of facial hair on his chin for further proof of his age. And even then he wasn't 11...not that it mattered because he's not real. That's another thing the attackers harped on: the fact that he's not "real", so I can't "have him". Not like it mattered on their fan pages, where they wrote copious amounts of self-insert fics. No, he was real to them, but just not for me because they were jealous.

This is something you have to also realize about abusers like this. They're jealous and want to hurt you. For the most part, this is true. In some way they are envious: whether it's because you draw or write well, or because you like the same character they like...whatever. Don't stoop to their level. Ignore them. I can't say it enough. IGNORE THEM. It works. It's the only thing that does.

I finally began to see the light and did just that: I ignored the emails. I ignored the guest book flames, the nasty comments on my ezBoard. I blocked all their email addresses I knew of and for a tiny while this seemed to stave off the harassment. Meanwhile, in real life, I'd managed to get a job and was struggling to earn enough to leave the apartment and move back in with my folks. The atmosphere was terrible: my "beau" and I had even invited a few people from my ezBoard over at one point and he'd ignored me and tried to hit on one of my friends! I didn't realize this was happening. In retrospect I do; he was a pervert and a true pedophile and I hope he's changed his ways. I lost that friend and a few others all because I was blind to what was happening, but I can only chalk it up to experience now.

Anyway, while I was at my parents, trying to convince them to let me back in and also getting a breather from that nasty hell hole I lived in, I turned on their computer to view my site.

I'd been hacked.

The front of it now showed a picture of Tracey giving "me" the middle finger, with a big holier-than-thou statement about how my site sucked and the smallest of them could draw better than me, so they took it over. They had hacked my email, which, at the time was my only email. I used that for my credit card, my eBay account, everything I needed. The little batch of 15 year olds had actually banded together to "get" me off the 'net. I was later told all of this by one person (the only male) in their group that actually had a twinge of guilt and gave me my password back.

Irrational idea #3: "It's become a crusade, and I have to fight to the end...to 'win'."
Who's the bigger person - one that drops something for a little while, until it cools down and they can have fun again: or the one that sticks it out and has his or her blood pressure go through the roof every 5 seconds?

Sadly, I kept right on going. I should have just given up the internet and relaxed for a few weeks until it all blew over (or hopefully did). But this made me angry. Angrier than I'd ever been. Crying at night over little things was normal for me but now everything was a "big thing". I'd been pregnant when the hacking had occurred and my then-beau hadn't let me tell me mother. I was suffering horribly because I despise babies and never wanted one and I was in mortal dread of actually having an abortion because I hate surgery. I had no one to turn to. No one...except Tracey. And these little brats were trying to take my one mental refuge away simply because they "didn't like" what they saw. Because they didn't want me to have him...even though they could just walk away and not view any of my pages again! They didn't have issues like I did. They could maybe have problems, but they were at least safe at home with their folks. They didn't have to worry about the kind of things I did all the time. So I fought back. I drew and wrote hentai - very explicit stories. I slammed the fact home that no one was going to stop me.

What happened next? Nothing exciting really. I eventually stopped bothering with it all. Lost interest, one might say. I let Elly Sketchit die because of the bad memories associated with her. I decided that I needed a new handle and lease on life, and you know what? When I did that I actually started getting better. I found a man that actually cared for me. We got married and I have accomplished a lot on my own and with him as well. I learned a lot from all the crap I went through. Sometimes "fighting back" isn't a good way to get what you want done. It makes things worse.

Besides, Elly's back. She never went all the way away, nor can anyone take her from me. She's a part of who I am.

Character Quiz

2008-01-06T18:31:00.001-08:00

1. Choose a few of your own characters. Five at the most.
2. Make them answer the following questions.
3. Then tag three people
(everyone I know has done it already!!!)
4. Feel free to go ahead and add some questions yourself!

OC(s): Elly (a.k.a. Angelly) Sketchit, Wasabi Airlobster, Loki, Oddendale

Q: How old are you?
Elly: *HISS*
Wasabi: I haven't bothered to count the years anymore; I suppose it's been quite a few centuries.
Loki: ...older than HIM.
Oddy: Oddy is three since purple lady made Oddy able to talk.

Q: What's your height?
Elly: Uh...5' 4"? 5"?
Wasabi: Six feet.
Loki: Depends on how tall I wish to be.
Oddy: Oddy taller than coconut.

Q: Are you a virgin?
Elly: I don't think you need to know that. *blushes*
Wasabi: *coughs* Iwanu ga hana.
Loki: *cackles* No. Hell no.
Oddy: -blink- ... -blink- Is like song lady with cone bra sang?

Q: Who's your mate/spouse?
Elly: What's with all the personal questions? *smacks herself in the face with her own tail* Shit!
Wasabi: It would be foolish for someone that lives as long as I to get attached to anyone.
Loki: Personal attachments? Me?
Oddy: *clings to Loki's leg while Loki tries to shake him off*

Q: Do you have any kids?
Elly: No.
Wasabi: None.
Loki: *rolls eyes*
Oddy: Lots of pink Oddys on lawns when Purple Lady come get me... *twitches*

Q: What's your favorite food?
Elly: MEAT. Oh, and ...beef. lamb.
Wasabi: I rather like salmon sashimi. Fresh fish is always good.
Loki: ...can I say a pretty young maiden? Can I?
Oddy: COCONUTS FOR ODDY! Give! Give to Oddy.

Q: What's your favorite ice cream flavor?
Elly: Um. Bubblegum. With the pieces of gum inside.
Wasabi: Red bean.
Loki: *lets his tongue loll out* Shaved ices are better.
Oddy: Pink. =D

Q: Have you ever killed anyone?
Elly: *shrugs* Eh.
Wasabi: Yes.
Loki: They asked for it.
Oddy: O__O

Q: Do you hate anyone?
Elly: I don't know. Hate's a strong damned word. I'm trying to get over that.
Wasabi: *glares at Loki*
Loki: *grins at Wasabi*
Oddy: *small voice* ...people throw Oddy out?

Q: Have any secrets?
Elly: Don't we all?
Wasabi: I keep them, yes.
Loki: Yours isn't a secret, Surf and Turf. We all know you want some ta-
Oddy: THE SHINY THINGS COME FOR ODDY AT NIGHT!

Q: Do you love anyone?
Elly: What?!
Wasabi: *turns into a lobster and flips around*
Loki: Told you.
Oddy: *clings to Loki's leg again*
Loki: DAMN IT!

Q: What is your job?
Elly: I save things that people infuse with life, love and happiness... and then forget about.
Wasabi: I guard her.
Loki: I piss him off. That's a full-time job.
Oddy: Oddy gatekeeper to Moy Mell.

Q: Do you play any instruments?
Elly: I sing...does that count?
Wasabi: The Mandolin.
Loki: Guitar. *pause* Bitches.
Oddy: -has two halves of coconut in his wings and is clapping them together-

Q: Where do you think you'll be in ten years?
Elly: Here. Like always.
Wasabi: *agrees by nodding*
Loki: I may tire of this eventually. We'll see. But I always come back to visit.
Oddy: *again clings to Loki's leg*
Loki: Get this plastic piece of shit off me~!

Q: Favorite animal?
Elly: Lobster.
Wasabi: *eyes get really wide* ... (gak)!
Loki: Isn't that cute. This dog lover's gonna go puke. 'Scuse me.
Oddy: *licks his coconut*
Elly: That's not an animal, Oddy.
Oddy: Birdie.

Q: Boy or girl?
Elly: Girl.
Wasabi: Man. *raises eyebrow*
Loki: Whatever. *wink*
Oddy: FLAMINGO!

Q: What do you do to relax?
Elly: I sing. Sometimes I take a walk around the castle grounds, usually the Japanese Gardens.
Wasabi: I tend the Japanese Gardens. Bonsai, cherry trees...you know.
Loki: I f- with him.
Oddy: Oddy swims in moat. With fishies. Oddy like fishy fish.

Cheap Anime Auctions!

2007-12-27T08:39:00.000-08:00

That's right - at the bottom of my eBay me page here:

I'm selling a special Darkstalkers Felicia figure, many, many Sanji items, One Piece stuff, Pikachu things, a Kyo backpack, and $1,000+ worth of doujinshi for $300.

Bargain time!! Most of them are $5 and up...some even cheaper. And yes I'll combine shipping <3

New Page: The Stuff(ing) of Life

2007-12-16T11:56:00.000-08:00

I'm still here/new bio!

2007-12-16T09:53:00.000-08:00

It's been hectic, what with ice storms and snow around the state I live in combined with my folks visiting for a week and a half...but I'm going to start adding new material again soon.

I'll admit, it would be easier to add more drawings and items if people chatted with me now and then! If you like my work (and I know folks do because the site gets lots of hits!) why not try and support an artist by talking with her or buying a thing or two? :3 I've edited the Shop Page to show the little guys that have been adopted (and are no longer available for sale).

New Bio!

Yep. I made a new Bio for Angelly (aka. Elly, or is that the other way around?!) the purple demon cat (nekomata) character I own.

Elly Sketchit (a.k.a. Angelly)

The original demon-cat character of air-lobster.com, sometimes used as a fan-pseudonym by the artist.

The lavender cat creature Elly Sketchit as seen on this website is what is known as a nekomata in Japan. It was believed that after a cat grew to be a decade old, it would develop profound magical powers, typically exhibited by either a tail split halfway down or even splicing into two seperate tails. By gesturing with this tail, a nekomata can animate and control the dead to do their bidding and other various types of magic. In a lot of the art drawn on the site Elly is hiding a section of her split tail behind the first fork as not to alarm others.

She learned the hard way not to show people what she is. Elly was born a long, long time ago in Japan when people believed Gods, Demons and Spirits roamed the earth. She was taken care of by a well-to-do family who were lower-class nobles. She lived to nine years old and on the eve of her tenth birthday the family threw her out, fearing what she might become. Sad and completely confused, she stayed where she was until a pack of dogs chased her into the streets of the town nearby. She would have been killed if a larger dog had not suddenly charged out a side street and chased the others off. This dog turned to her and all she heard an echo of laughter, tinged with bitterness.

It turns out the Gods were hanging around with mortals. The strange red dog was Loki, taking a cruise around Japan for a change. He found it enormously amusing (and ironic) to change her into the creature her former family had feared so much. He gave her the form and powers associated with the nekomata - the ability to control the "dead" with a wave of her tail. She could also now change form to several different variations, including one so human she was able to walk around undetected in the streets.

Elly didn't go back to her human family. She shunned humans, preferring the closest form to her original cat body that she could achieve, but soon found the people wouldn't talk to her in that guise. She grudgingly began to change back and forth and enter the strange people's world from time to time. Castles lay abandoned from time to time when superstitious people thought they were "haunted", so she raised a few dead humans and emptied a castle for herself. Loki (who had been hanging around for awhile) named it "Moy Mell", (properly Magh Mell) which means 'The Pleasant Plain', one of the three ideas connected with the ancient Irish conception of the 'Happy Otherworld' or Pagan Paradise.

The nekomata woman lived many years, seemingly immortal. She endured visits from her 'protector' from time to time, fending off his spurious advances. It was around the year 1976 when she discovered she could also raise inanimate objects like she could dead ones. Technically, it's the same thing, but she never realized this. The discovery led to her travelling around and "rescuing" thrown-away toys, objects and neglected pieces of family heritage and such. She brings them back to Moy Mell where they can live life happily instead of feeling the pain of rejection and loss like she did.

New Fanart

2007-11-27T06:13:00.001-08:00

I pulled all the stuff from The-Otaku and picked some of my faves for the site...

There they are ^^ I may add a tiny bit more later. From now on, I'm spurning all crappy "fan art" sheep-sites (it's not worth the childish hassles, arguments and bad moderating) and all my fan work will be placed on the site under the appropriate gallery.

Later on I'll be adding a credits link list for the art that appears here as well.

Gone from The-Otaku

2007-11-26T11:37:00.000-08:00

Wow.

It took longer than most fan art sites to piss me off, but this place finally did. It seems they got some new moderators! Wow, so finally they'll be able to crack down on all the blatant art theft, right?

You guessed what's coming.

A whole batch of MY OWN IMAGES were moved due to them being in the "wrong category". They needed to be under fan characters (not crossover, as I had marked some), since Sanji and Zoro, etc being in the image wasn't good enough for them to be placed under the category ONE PIECE.

Hey, more art might be coming to the air-lobster servers soon ~ ha ha ha.

Silent Hill Origins: Fanart Avatar

2007-11-21T12:47:00.000-08:00

I don't like the game as much as SH2 or 3, it's hella unnecessarily hard...but the chickendogs make me laugh. They totally look like little floppy chickens.

Or maybe it's just me.

xD

We have a new puppy and I've been going crazy to find some time to draw more art that's been piling up in the sketch pads around the house! But I promise to get back to everyone that has emailed me and start work again soon.

Grapes and a new Tshirt Shop!

2007-11-16T05:53:00.000-08:00

Grapes! I'm working on even more fruit, too.

Remember the Angler Fish?

So many people told me they wanted a t-shirt of this gal that I redrew her, here:

(She's eating a fairy. LOL.) And I started a shop specifically with Angler Fish designs on all the t-shirts and tops! I only get a $5 commission, despite the fact that the t-shirts seem overpriced, so if you like one please purchase it!

Angler Fish T-Shirt Shop

Canine Commissions - doggy love

2007-11-15T05:46:00.000-08:00

Good lord I love dogs.

^_^ And happily for me, so do their fur-parents! This is the adorable Moree!

New puppy in the house

2007-11-12T05:54:00.001-08:00

...she's named Katamari and she's a handful of tiny whining silver poodle terror! Pictures soon!

ANTHRO TIGER YES.

2007-11-07T06:44:00.000-08:00

Oh yes. <3

Aw, and I won third place at the Roli Halloween Art Contest with Elly's pic. Love love.

We are completely W3C Verified!

2007-11-05T13:02:00.000-08:00

CSS and XHTML now. :3

Two new cartoon illustrations are up in the Main Gallery!

Roliana Art and Elly Sketchit Pics

2007-11-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

For a friend at the Roliana Forums.

I've also done contest work for the site:

And sketched a few pictures of chibi Elly Sketchit forms!

I AM Sorry I haven't been around.

2007-10-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

...the fan site has been eating up all my time. I'm obsessed. *cough* But hey, look - new art.

Hamster has found a new breed of game-riding bird and it's much better than a chocobo. Zombie Rooster (errr...yeah, rooster) to the rescue. And also, as an aside: "air lobster" is now #1 on Google when you search those words! Wahoo! We reached the top - even over the Austrailian company with the same name. Wow, thanks guys and gals. I love you.

Even hamster loves you.

...ignore the squeaking in the background ^^;

Everyone remember the Invisible Watermark Tutorial?

2007-10-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

It got taken off my DeviantArt account for a "violation" of rules...since I didn't draw the Zoro image.

What hypocrites. I swear that's why I got rid of as much art I could off my "airlobster" DA page. The sad thing is most folks just herd there. They don't go to websites anymore that have original content. It has to be an 'ass kissing' site. You know, where you can get comments as well as give them. Collect "badges". Win virtual "trophies" and get "kudos" - OMG WHO CAN GET THE MOST?!

Sad.

What is being an artist? It's being non-conformist. Not joining the herd and moo-ing or baa-ing right along. I tried joining those sites because of the extra hits I'd get for this site - but it never works that way. See, most people won't leave the site to click my website link. Why should they? My site simply has some nifty art, games, tutorials and stuff you'd find on DA ...but there's no back-patting for them included. It's another person's site, that's all.

DA has really gone downhill. For this person that reported my tutorial and stabbed me in the back (thanks for letting me know, dude, I could have fixed it, I can draw) ~ he or she is one of the vindictive folks out there. I put that tute up to help others, and they had it removed for a petty reason. Why doesn't DA remove all the "stamps" on their site? Because too many people use them and they're "popular". However, all those things are is a base for sticking a screen shot (like the tute had inside it). All of them should be deleted then....but no, just my tutorial (which had a lot of work put into it) got banned. Those will forever stay up.

I say to those that are on DA and never left: go outside in the world wide web for once! Go to a site that has original work on it. Go someplace else. Look at things and let the artist know you like them. Air-Lobster.Com gets plenty of page views and hits ...but no one speaks to me. Why is this? It's not hard to see my email and send one off. I will reply, you know.

Oh.

Because I won't stroke your ego.

Sorry.

Invisible Watermarking Tutorial

2007-10-14T13:01:00.001-07:00

Aha!

I've made something again. This time it's an invisible watermarking technique.

This shows you how to make an invisible watermark that shows up in IE based browsers if you select the image (ctrl + a for instance). It works in all layer-based imaging programs (I used PhotoShop 7).

Sorry for the lack of updates!

2007-10-09T11:10:00.001-07:00

I've been busy as heck with my new fansite, a Roronoa Zoro shrine. It's sucking the creative out of me like I have Artistic Turret's...everything I think of is Zoro related.

I've still got lots of Fruits to finish and there are actually some plushes laying about that I need to sew up and stuff. :3

Fanart Page - Shonen JUMP art

2007-09-27T08:40:00.000-07:00

And new images!

Actually they're old images but I wanted them in my gallery so I didn't lose them over time. If anyone has any SHONEN JUMP mags that have fanart by any of these names:

Michelle Mango
M. Mango
Sanjisangel
airlobster
Michelle Taylor

...it's me and I would love to get a scan or even buy a copy from you <3 I sent in oodles more after these 3 got in and they said I was becoming their "fave fanartist" - and then they changed Zoro's name and I stopped my subscription. x3

Oh, and...

Pumpkin. <3

Gallery Changes

2007-09-26T07:50:00.001-07:00

I noticed the Gallery Pages get more hits if they're separated, so they have been split again into several offshoots. The "new" pages are:

My Internet is not The Suck?

2007-09-22T09:33:00.001-07:00

Okay yes actually, it is. It's been on and off, and I'm lucky today that it's an "on" day so I can post some of my work.

I rather like the "WORMS" picture.

My Internetz is Crazy

2007-09-21T12:35:00.001-07:00

...no seriously.

I may not be able to log in or update with new art for awhile: my ISP has been going haywire. I might have the internet and then POOF. Nothing for a few hours to a day. Until then I'll still be drawing, so when I'm firmly connected again I'll have tons of updates!

Girls Love Anglerfish.

2007-09-19T07:46:00.001-07:00

T-shirt design with a back story: I got angry at seeing all those crappy "Tweety Sweetie Bird Cutie Wooty" t-shirts for us girls (and especially older women) and not a single Venom or game shirt or anything when we go to the stores ... so I designed that big girl above. Much cuter.

Oh, and 3 new Fruits have been added to that Gallery.

Elly Dressup and Cartoons

2007-09-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

Elly Sketchit Dressup "game".
Hint - check out the TV channels. There are mini buttons in this one that are sort of 'hidden' as an added bonus. And yeah, that's kind of what our apartment looks like, sans the clothes hanging above my head. xD Toys, game consoles, posters and stuff. <3

I got enough stuffing to complete the dragon pillow!
IT IS HUGE. O_o

And two cartoons.
I love the Gummibears one.

Paper Folding Freebies

2007-09-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

Raspberries!

I fold like butt, so I first tested the "Paper Elly Basket" on b/w copy rather than her glorious lavender color :3 Here's the actual printout:

...annnnd, another thing. I used to make these little "paper fortune tellers" in Elementary School. Shit. They were fun as hell. So I thought, do I remember how to do it at age 31? O__O And I did.

There's the tutorial for them. <3

Toxic Frogs, Man-Eating Plants and Ffruit

2007-09-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

- 2 new fruits are in the <3 Fruit gallery.

THIS is Audrey II from "Little Shop of Horrors". I used to draw little cartoons of her all the time and I don't know why I hadn't drawn another until now!

after some trepidation I placed one piece (*cough*) of fan art of a Pocket Monster on the site. It's for my friend Clubba on the Brig. :3

Fruits and Chibi Dark Helmet

2007-09-14T06:35:00.000-07:00

Someone suggested to me that I get these published after I do so many of them. My husband is a doubter and thinks no kid would like a book on fruit...but the kids aren't the ones who'd be buying the book now, would they?

drawn on September 13, 2007

Oh, and Chibi Dark Helmet, as promised, (dated because he was drawn before the Spaceballs cartoon that is supposedly in the works has even shown images of what he looks like there). I was NOT inspired by the cartoon, I like Rick Moranis and am going to be doodling all kinds of caricatures of the dear, some of which may appear on his biggest fan site. The webmistress is a lovely woman and we've been chatting for some time now. ^_^

Oh, and ...boof. Elly picture.

I <3 Fruit

2007-09-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

...the page. :3

So far there are several different kinds of fruit available:

<3 enjoy.

Jesus and the Star Trek Ninja Turtles

2007-09-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

I decided to start drawing fruits, all in the same style and with little factoids about them in a poster-like image. The first is up: watermelon.

I love watermelon.
Fanart News: Hey, the Pyramid Head Plush is back on the site. :3 I decided to keep a handful of my fan art here if I really like the pieces. The reason for this? I may leave The-Otaku, where I am also known as airlobster and have hundreds of pieces of fan art up already. Why? Why would I leave such a place?

Same reason I left DeviantArt and Sheezyart. There are copy artists and tracers out there by the ton. None of these little kids (mostly) understand that tracing art is the same as copying someone's book down, word for word - it's theft. Plus the admins of this site are among the dumbest I've ever seen (either that or they don't patrol the site at all). One peek at the "greeting card" and "wallpaper" section will show that, although the rules clearly state everything used must be your original artwork, all I see are blatant screen caps of anime shows. I went through the entire ONE PIECE wallpaper section and I saw 3 pieces that weren't PhotoShopped screen caps and thieved imagery from the manga/anime itself.

TWO WERE MINE. *roflmao* And I don't know if the one other I saw was actually art by that person or they ripped someone else's art, so there you go. I also find it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth when the tracers get more praise than I do, though I draw original ideas and concepts/art and they steal things. They're offering a contest right now and the wallpaper part is riddled with nothing but ripped imagery and lavish praise of "wow, that artist is so wonderful". Yes. Yes, ''they'' are. ''They'', however, are certainly not the 14 year old that submitted the picture but someone that lives in Japan. Bah. The links where my stuff (old art and such) can be found are still all in my "About Me" page here on the site though.

Jesus Ninja Turtles?

You can find all 10 pics here!

Oh yes. I bought my husband a set of these for his birthday a month or so ago and he had so much fun with them.

Almost forgot: new wallpaper. It's the King of the Cosmos from Katamari!

Free Stuff Revamp!

2007-09-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

The Free Stuff page has had a major re haul, making it easier for people new to the site to pick their tutorial. The Tutes all have preview images that describe what they are about, like the Lobster Origami:

Wallpapers have also been fixed, the Samurai one being the most notable (I changed it and added a quote).

new Samurai with Quote wallpaper

new Angler fish wallpaper...made from old art in the Gallery!

I've also added images to the Shop, updated the banners and buttons on that page and also slipped some targeted links in again so there would be easer navigation. I'm working on some more lobster images and - get this -- a surprise game and batch of illustrations that might shock some of the air-lobster denizens. :3 I'll admit to being a nerd myself that loves the typical "nerd" stereotype actor. When I was a teenager I didn't have a crush on Patrick Swayze or Tom Cruise like my classmates did.

Can you guess who I had a crush on then? Images will be up in the gallery soon!

Bioshock Fan Art and free Wallpaper!

2007-09-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

Bioshock's "Big Daddies" own me. I swear. Even the Brigade has its very own "pet" Daddy, of course nicknamed Mr. Bubbles (what else)? So it was only a matter of time before I drew fanart:

free wallpaper
the colored fanart

Holy shit. Literally.

2007-09-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

Sick for another day. That makes it around a week or so this stomach flu's been working on me, so please excuse my lack of updates. I did manage to update the "About Me" page on the site though.

If you're ever looking for someplace to role play without any strict rules and want someplace that feels more "like home" than the sheep websites of today (like Gaia Online and all that) try the Brigade. It's been online for 7 years now and still going.

The Adventures of Mr. Bubbles and Nemesis!

2007-09-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

As told by my husband after he'd borrowed someone's Xbox for the Labor Day weekend so he could finish Bioshock. (I wanted to as well, especially seeing as this game is the kind I like more than he does but I prefer a more leisurely pace of gaming). What happened was I drew Mr. Bubbles there as a sketch while he was killing a Big daddy and he laughed and said I should totally draw the Nemesis from Resident Evil in there.

They're like...little chibi buddies. :D

He went on to describe their day at the movies together and I quickly sketched it with the sharpie I had in my hand. All in all I was pleased and the experience left me wondering why I don't draw more with my hand...until it started to ache from my arthritis.

Ohhhhh, that's why. =__=

PhotoShop also started bugging on me. Two of these images were perfectly fine but ended up sending to my FTP as "invalid format". I had to tweak them horribly to get them to show up, even taking a screen shot of my computer-colored one! Dammit. How am I going to manage if I lose my PhotoShop? I already lose ImageReady for some unknown reason.

The 430+ Item Dressup Guy is Here!

2007-09-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

Tadaaah. Finally spent an hour or so on the last items and finished him. :3 He has around 430+ items to move around, several different colors, heads and accessories.

Go take a peek! And if you like him, do remember I can be commissioned to create one of these just for you!

More artwork

2007-08-30T20:21:00.001-07:00

There's a new lobster in the Lobster Gallery...isn't he cute? I think it's a crayfish though. Heh.

I also liked the new piece I did for the Roronoas site (the edited version is on DA and The Otaku with a blank BG and watermark):

...I liked it so well that I added a cropped version to air-lobster on the Main Gallery!

My Rock was a Turtle

2007-08-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

It's also up at the Main Gallery page; I might consider adding a "Prose" link just for writing later.

Everyone remembers the Peanuts Halloween special "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", right? It's a holiday classic at our house. Do you recall that everywhere Charlie went he got a rock at all the houses? Poor ol' Charlie Brown - he always tried so hard and what did he ever get in return? A rock. What good is a rock, really? My answer now is very different than it was when I first saw the show years ago. Because I had a rock and still have it in my heart.

My rock was a turtle.

He was a tiny bamboo turtle with a sticky bottom. The little thing was decorated in black with a Japanese kanji on his shell. His tan feet and head wiggled back and forth hinged by bits of wire inside. He wasn't even as big as a quarter; maybe a little bigger than a nickel. I got him at some museum in the tri-state area when I was relatively young. I was certainly a preteen, maybe six or seven years old. I don't remember. What I do remember is that the museum was my first field trip ever and the first time away from my parents like that. I had no friends back then (and rarely had any through all my school years as a fact) so it was a little lonely having no one to walk with or sit next to on the bus. But it was interesting. Even back then I loved culture, especially anything Asian.

We were shown all around the place and then at the end shoved in front of the "tourist trap" area all museums have. Gift shop, ahoy! It was only a small glass case but it held a surprising array of fake plastic weapons, toys and those little paper yo-yo's that are so much fun to flick out at people. All the kids jumped up and around, snatching at these giant stuffed things and swords, the ninja stars and jewelry. I sat there, numb. My parents were not rich, after all, and I had been given a dollar to spend. These toys cost five dollars and up (in the early eighties that was a big handful of cash for something like that). I remember how I felt at that moment. I held my breath at last after everyone had gone and the adult behind the counter was staring at me. I was asked countless times what I wanted and I didn't know how to say I didn't have any money - not enough, surely. But as it turned out I did have enough for something. At long last someone pried my dollar out of my grip and the frustrated person behind the counter gave me that tiny little turtle. It had been scary - there's nothing more frightening than an exasperated, loud adult to a small child that hadn't been taught how to handle herself in "worldly" situations such as buying anything by herself yet.

Shaking, I slowly walked back to where the gang of children were waiting for the bus and sat down - alone, of course. They had their toys out and were having fun and playing. Most were running about in the nearly empty waiting room hall, getting yelled at by the teachers and generally having a good time. I looked down at that minuscule turtle and saw no one else had anything so insignificant. Not a single child had anything that wasn't as big as their hand or bigger, and most had thought nothing of running up to the adult and screaming "give me that!" As for me it had taken all my courage just to end up with...this.

I was ashamed of my little turtle. The trip felt wasted and useless to me. It hurt a lot. I didn't want to carry this home as my big prize for traveling so far away from home with no one that liked me and buying something "by myself" for the first time. I'm sure I was ungrateful to my parents when I got home but I don't remember much about what happened afterwards. I just remember that turtle. As I grew older the turtle became bigger in my eyes every year, the first step I had taken to something so difficult to me as independence. He was adorable with his little swinging legs and head and no matter that he was small because I was too. I have tried very hard to accomplish what I set out to in my life and I have always been rewarded with a turtle. Nothing large, significant or worth a lot of money.

In the end of middle school I suddenly began to grow faint and pass out up to twenty times a day (it was more like 10 on the average). After a couple years of home schooling and doctor visits everyone said that I was merely depressed. I had always been treated badly by people around me for "faking" all those fainting spells. A year ago, however, I had another spell. This time my husband was close by to take me to a clinic that finally discovered I have extremely low blood pressure. It's a kind of disease and it's not my fault.

I struggled to work a night job and also go to school for graphic arts when I was around 25. The school rewarded me with a high grade score and I was considered the top of my class but I didn't receive any further help: the school went bankrupt shortly after.

When I tried to earn money and be "productive" like my parents always wanted me to be I was just as lucky. My co-workers turned on me and I was dumped from a shelving job to putting returns back on a shelf. I worked harder still, feeling that in the end all would be rewarded and one day I picked up a frozen turkey the wrong way. I injured my self for life but I received a ridiculously low settlement the store offered me.

There were many more experiences like this but they never dragged me all the way down. They're all turtles, in a way. Bittersweet and not what you would want to receive as an achievement or award but they're what life gave me. Good things happened because of the bad and I wouldn't be where I am today, married to an awesome guy that takes care of me like I'm a queen. I'm working at the other parts like I always do, trying to make more of a name for myself in my profession and still struggling with that crippling depression that will always be a part of me. I have the turtle in my heart to guide me, even though somewhere along my travels I lost the actual figure. I don't even know when he disappeared from my life. That dear little dollar turtle I so despised all those years ago means more to me than any hundred dollar turtle I could buy now. I mourn for him but he'll always be in my memory, a symbol of everything I tried to do in my life.

Others can have their fame or their fortune, their money; whatever.

I had a turtle.

Roronoas Fanart

2007-08-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

Yeah, nothing new for air-lobster (I'm still working on that 'ultimate dress up guy' flash) but there's a few new pieces on the Roronoas site.

Fanart and A new Nedikett

2007-08-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

Did some doodling a ways back and posted it only at The Otaku:

There's some more new Roronoas art:

And a new Nedikett Comic (#4):

New Shop Interface/Comic

2007-08-26T08:04:00.001-07:00

We're back to the simpler "email me if you want to buy". In the long run it's faster since it cuts out the e-shop "middle man". Plus, we now have an "Adopted" page where it shows all the air-lobster critters that have found homes across the globe :3

Nedikett #3 is up...and it's an RPG'er's Nightmare.

Oh and, btw - new wallpaper. roflcopter <3

Thunderstorms = Ink Sketches

2007-08-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

It was stormy, so I drew with a pen rather than on the computer. We've got a new character for the site though - introducing Ebi the sashimi. <3 Isn't he cute? Little headless shrimp with eyes FTW.

Crayons, anyone?

2007-08-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

I found a pack of Prang brand crayons in my mail holder next to the computer last night, so while hubby was playing various PS2 games (courtesy of our Xbox having fried itself) I doodled.

This 800 x 600 wallpaper of a demented Pacman and Blinky (poor Blinky) is up on the Freebie Page. As always, you may place it on your desktop or use it in any way as long as you don't tamper with the watermark(s) or claim you have drawn it yourself. (Not like you'd want to, but eh).

These four pieces are up on the Main Gallery ~ all crayon drawn. Damn those reds. My red snapped in the middle of the lobster and I was coloring the dude with a stub half the size of my finger towards the end. Ah, memories...

New Games

2007-08-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

Yepperz. One's just a goofy little 'move the lobster around' thing I did for fun and to get back in the swing of Flash 5. The other is something I have up on Deviantart and the fan art site as well as here, a dress up doll of Roronoa Zoro.

The Zoro doll has a surprise in it. ^_~

Lactose Intolerance Sucks

2007-08-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

Ouch. If you're lactose intolerant you know what I'm talking about. I got the idea for this whilst I sat on the Royal Throne for around a half an hour contemplating why I felt it was necessary to eat all those cream puffs.

New Lobster art and more

2007-08-17T17:47:00.000-07:00

The first image is a new lobster for the Lobster Gallery ~ this one is a Purple Reef Lobster. He's so cute. ^^ A favorite of mine because of his tropical colors in fact.

The second piece of art is a ship design, a "Cutter" style ship. The third is a "punk" art kind of style advertisement graphic I created for the hell of it.

Anger Blog Added

2007-08-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

Oh, and a new image added to the Main Gallery. "X" off that Xbox, biznatches. We're getting a PS3.

Ranting and Raving @ LJ

Everything that I post when I'm furious goes here, from bad movie, TV and musical reviews to people trying to irritate me IRL or on the computer. Should be taken with a grain of salt since I'm furious when I write most of these.

The most recent entry is a terrible blather about how I was treated differently than all the guys I know that called xBox Customer Support because I am female. Highlight of the conversation?

"Wait. While...you were playing Bioshock?!"

-_-

Yes. Me. I have breasts. This doesn't mean I don't play games, know how to change the oil in my car, watch anime or do anything else you might think girls can't or don't do.

The Red Ring of Death (and more images)

2007-08-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

Our 360 died.

Right when my husband had nabbed a copy of "Bioshock" days before it was supposed to go on sale from Toys R Us (which, by the way, is going to have to pay 2K Games $10,000 or so for every copy they sold out of date). Right then. I popped it in, played it a bit and right as I'd gotten 2 achievements from hacking one of the bots it froze.

Rebooting ended up giving us the dreaded Red Ring of Death. We've had this since December '06 and have kept it well-ventilated and never played it 24-7, though we do use it a lot. Now we have to send it in and all that business...thus, a new picture was drawn.

I also drew a few other things earlier today:

Well, painted the one anyway. I'll probably be on the computer drawing more than usual now that the 360's going to have to be sent out and be gone for 2 months or more, so expect a flux of art and writing.

But I Don't Like SpamALot!

2007-08-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

And now for something completely different: a review of sorts. You might call this a warning to Monty Python fans more than anything else, though.

I went yesterday to see a production of the musical "Spam a Lot". I've been a giant fan of the Pythons and their films and show for years, as has my husband. The tickets were a gift from his mother and father to us for the holidays last year. The older couple actually joined us because my sister in law is out of the state right now and she couldn't use her two tickets they had also purchased her.

The musical started out famously with the opening scene I remember and love so well. Coconuts, sparrows - what more could I desire? It seemed this was going to be a wonderful show and I settled back to enjoy myself. What was my horror on finding the rest of the plot completely skewed and twisted from the movie and, worse yet, Americanized.

I do realize the production would not have "made it big" in the United States if they used entirely British humor, for it's an acquired taste. What I do oppose is the flagrant warping of everything the Pythons were about in some slapdash musical that had no qualms about luring fans in with promises of "Python goodness". It was abominable. The plot was twined together in as smooth a way as they could do I suppose, with making the knights people that were otherwise minor characters in the movie. They "find" these people in the case of Sir Galahad, making use of the political Denis in the movie (surprise, that's really Galahad). They then tart things up with the Lady of the Lake in a song all about "making him a man" when Galahad is supposed to be chaste.

This is a trend throughout the musical. 'Scantily dressed girls for the win' seems to be their idea, but it was done in such a way that it wasn't funny. It saddened me and even made me angry to see the constant flesh for flesh's sake bits. The song they actually sing in the movie during the Camelot scene is ruined, among other things, by jiggling mounds of jello shaped like breasts carried by Vegas Showgirls ("round" table, get it? Camelot is a casino, of course).

I noticed my mother in law (who dislikes Monty Python) was laughing - at the non-Monty Python parts. Key point, there. This is why they added all those scenes with "Jews", half naked girls and oh yes, let's not forget the (surprise again) gay Launcelot, complete with sequined crotch piece and flamenco dancers. The addition of these parts had this "Monty Python Musical" tasting like a Mel Brook's film from start to finish than a good solid Python fling.

Disgusting.

I had to wash my mind to get the flavor out. Thank goodness that "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie Colon Film for Theaters" came out that same day.

It was much more satisfying.

In short, "Spam-a-Lot" ruined my love of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"; I won't be watching it for some time because all I can think of is the inane musical numbers and boobs flashing in front of my face.

Art Gallery: Page 12

2007-08-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

New page in the Main Art Gallery. I had to add another because the first was too crowded again! And here's the piece that slipped it over the edge:

An animal cartoon caricature of my husband as a lion. Originally this was going to be part of a web comic that we collaborated on but the dear doesn't think anyone likes my work enough to be bothered. -_-

The Computer Adventures of Nedi and Kett

2007-08-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

New comic. :3 Nedi is the brown-haired stick guy and Kett's the blond.

Interactive Sketchbook

2007-08-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

...doodles in a Flash "sketchbook".

I finished up my sketchpad with random critters. Then I thought I could mash them together in a flash interactive rather than clog the Main Gallery with b/w sketches! Ha ha. Enjoy. I could use family photos and make the sketchpad a book or whatever, if someone wanted to buy this for their website.

You know. It has potential.

The Last L+A Comic is Up

2007-08-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

Yep. The very last comic I did of that group is up (#4, on the bottom). It's all about poor Andi and it's called 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?', a title some SciFi fans will understand. That's a book by Philip K. Dick (and a great one) every scifi fan that loves Blade Runner should read. That's what the movie was based on.

The comic's black and white and not even shaded, but like I've said before, these guys are nostalgia for me. <3 So I decided to put up the very last one as well to round them out.

I'm still deciding on whether or not to continue them in my new, better style. We'll see.

Hamster and ...poodle.

2007-08-11T07:23:00.001-07:00

That one pose hamster had in Whisper Valley #9 was too cute. I had to make a piece out of it. I also added a photo some may recognize: it's my toy poodle "Mr. Prince". He gets his hair dyed - with non-toxic easter egg colors -- every now and again and dressed up for cosplay pictures. He loves it :3

Mr. Prince is dressed up as Zoro in this picture. He usually plays Sanji (hence his name) but we wanted to see if he could branch out a little. His expression always fits whoever he's "imitating", as you can see!

Did-a-chick? Dum-a-chee?

2007-08-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

The lobstrosity from Stephen King's Dark Tower Series, Book II: "The Drawing of the Three" is in the Lobster Gallery.

A Few Thoughts on Critiquing

2007-08-09T22:44:00.000-07:00

Just a few thoughts on critiquing for those that want to listen to a professional artist that has heard it all, gotten furious sometimes and in general laughed a lot over the years.

Constructive criticism is nice if you want it but when somebody picks at your piece too much it drags you down. I know the people who love to critique like to say the point of it is not to to "nitpick". This is, however, what usually happens. If you point everything out about a picture that you believe to be wrong and then do not say one good thing about it that is too harsh. There are always better sides to all artwork. This applies to writing as well as drawn or painted work.

Of course there all always the 'that sux lol' people. Those don't hurt at all, no matter how much they think they're damaging my self ego. I know I'm good. I make a living off of what I do. And notice I said good - I don't think I'm "great" by any standards. But after many years of publishing and creating my website I have a firm handle on what I can and cannot do. And I've heard so much.

Comments like "the nose is ugly" are simply are not constructive criticism. They are hurtful instead. If you take a few seconds out of your day to comment, then you can surely pin down why it's so "unattractive" to prompt you to say that. And if you don't like a piece at all maybe you shouldn't comment. The phrase 'if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all' works on the internet as much as it does in real life. If you simply hate something do not critique it. Hate is, as I have said before, a strong negative emotion that should not be involved during a critique. If you hate a piece there may be jealousy involved or some other emotion that will be damaging to your impartiality. "Dislike" is about the closest thing that you should feel.

I usually get "hate" comments when I draw fan art, because I rather like inserting my character with the male one I'm in love with from another series. The fact that the artwork is good causes some of these people what appears to be physical pain as they struggle to insult me by any means possible. I once opened up my fan gallery (on a certain site) and saw someone had reported about half my work. Good thing I keep all my files: there was no copying on my part (my pieces were all original) and everything was reinstated. The funny part is that the people who trace and copy things on that same gallery site are much more "popular" than me and get tons of page hits. Interesting.

Onward.

I've gotten comments from people less than half my age that thought they were "Art Majors" that tore apart a piece I really liked (that had gotten published). Let's examine this idea. Anyone can seriously pick something - even a Master's classic piece (Michaelangelo, James Ector, etc) -- and critique it. But sometimes it's not needed. If it sets out to do what the artist wanted it's complete. Sometimes these critique lovers feel the need to "judge" art. This drives them to eagerly read or click on everything in a person's gallery. But what is good to one person is bad to another. It's all relative and hardly matters sometimes. I've also rendered figural drawings that someone will say 'the forehead looks too big' but it is based off an actual picture. The measurements are perfectly correct. Maybe the forehead does look too big. But that's just what size it is and if you try to explain this some people wig out on you and say you're 'too sensitive'.

I get that a lot.

I'll admit I am touchy about this because my art is my entire life. I love my work and it's a part of me like no one that is not an artist can comprehend. It's as if tiny little 2D children run around that are each so dear to me that I can barely stand it.

But even worse than regular "bad" critiques is what one of my friends suggested: snide comments on gift art. I just had this happen to me and it hurts a lot. The problem is when I was drawing the art I decided to style a part of it as I normally would in a simpler way. It didn't mean I couldn't render something. My form is usually very "easy" with flowing lines. The art got drawn the way it did because it was how I decided to do it. I didn't even think about it; it flowed on the screen and was completed that way.

What did I get in return? You'll love this.

I received a comment back about how 'hard' it was to draw that certain thing, wasn't it? (Insert wink emoticon here). ;)

I gaped at the screen, astonished.

And then I decided I've trusted people too much. I'll never draw gift art again, it's more of a waste of my time than it is anything else. It never seems to be appreciated. I usually get my art spanked when all I do when I get a gift is say "My goodness! THANK YOU." Anyway, after my hormones had cooled down and I vented to my husband a bit, I was calmer. The next day I sat down and in exactly 5 minutes fixed the thing that was "so hard to draw". Obviously it wasn't that hard. The hard part was my heart after that incident. I had drawn something for someone that had given me a surprise piece of gift art themselves. They didn't expect the return gift, it was just my way of thanking them. They had responded with the usual 'thank you' but also that hurtful jab that hovered on the very verge of insult. Please people, think before you comment.

What would you want people to say to you?

Whisper Valley #9

2007-08-09T19:53:00.001-07:00

Sorry it's been so long. This comic introduces Elly at last. She usually shows up in some form (eventually) in all my works.

Button Changes and Art

2007-08-08T08:05:00.000-07:00

Changed the banners: they're much sharper now with better imagery. I also changed the Lobster Gallery page so that it holds a pet project of mine: lobster species, all drawn in one certain style. Regular Lobster Art can still be found within the pages of the Main Gallery.

Nekomata Elly art. Els is seen here with one of the few bugs I can actually tolerate: a ladybug!

New Art/Anime Illustration

2007-08-07T06:03:00.001-07:00

That was a gift for my friend Moonxtal for re-animating an adorable .gif for me. (You can see the .gif on the Roronoas Blog)!

My Art is Better Than Yours

2007-08-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

My Art is Better Than Yours
~ a little rant from the artist of air-lobster.com

I have heard this so many times that I felt that something needs to be said about it. I'm a little rusty at writing essays, but felt maybe the need to unburden myself was too great to pass this topic up. Recently someone claiming to be an 18-year-old or so was quite rude to me and mistakenly jumped to many conclusions about my fan art. In doing so they proved themselves to not be the seasoned artist they think they are (they claimed drawn pictures were screen capped and one can always tell a CAP from drawn pictures).

In my tightly controlled fury I mentioned that I was 29 (at the time) and a professional illustrator. While I like to draw poses that come from actual scenes and shows for fan art, I have no need to copy and paste like some of the younger folks do. I even offered samples of my work but they were blind to everything and would not even look. After they discovered their mistake (as of course they did) they apologized, and I was thrilled to let the matter drop.

That was when they typed what sparked me to write this: "and don't 29 year old pro me please, Im an 18yr old pro artist with my own god darn company, age isnt any matter in this" (sic). They went on to (just as politely) tell me that they've seen 15-year olds that draw better than both of us, and that basically I should shut up.

It got me thinking.

Okay. Technically...it got me thinking after I stopped capering with malicious glee. See, the user actually had broken a very large rule on the site where this had occurred and she got reported for it. Funny enough, she was advertising she would draw the game characters she didn't own for real money on the site. Nice big company one works for when they have to do that on a gaming site that doesn't allow it, eh?

After I stopped pondering how the person was small-minded and probably jealous, I realized there was something in their simple statement. Not 'thoughts from a Troll', but ideas on how 'better' is defined. I can draw many different styles and use different media to create pieces - I'm not locked into one mode all the time. I draw on DeviantART for fun and camaraderie: I don't have any of my actual pieces, book illustrations or commissioned works here. I tend to like drawing anthros styled after my favorite shows, and I tend to draw certain ways here only. Many folks would be shocked to see some of my realistic pieces, but this is not the place I've deemed appropriate to display them.

But who is to say a piece of Snoopy art is better than a picture drawn of Roronoa Zoro (did it surprise you that I used him as reference?) just because one is an Anime Cartoon and the other a Western Syndicated Cartoon?

Or is one better because the one is a painting and the other computer-rendered? Does a computer-drawn image cheapen the feel of the art? Does lack of shading or coloring? Because let me tell you I've seen gorgeous unshaded, black and white pieces.

Some folks believe so. And yet it can achieve the same feeling as a painting and if the artist desires it to, even mimic it. Also, is the Snoopy painting 'worse' for any reason because Snoopy is a 'simply drawn' character? Who in their right mind would say this? Snoopy is one of the greatest Comic Strip creations of all time, and I doubt anyone would disagree on that. Is Snoopy lesser because he is drawn differently than the Zoro of "One Piece" fame? Just because the swordsman has a slightly more difficult composition?

Here's my suggestion.

Everyone has different styles. Say it with me: styles. Let it roll off the tongue. Pretend you have an AAA Meeting: Addicted Artist's Anonymous or something and are repeating something for your health benefit. In a way, you are.

STYLES.

It's all about different styles and the way people draw. If I saw a Rembrandt and an anime portrait side-by-side, maybe I'd choose the anime portrait as being the 'best drawn', since I love anime. It's personal preferences and taste, not 'Well, obviously Rembrandt was better'. One can compare the Masters of various mediums, but who is to say what's 'best'?

Some folks would look at me oddly if I were to say I believe Hieronymus Bosch was the most fabulous painter and he 'pwns' all other painters. Bosch was internationally celebrated as an eccentric painter of religious visions who dealt in particular with the torments of hell. I believe his depictions were marvelous and creative, but are there not some who would argue this point about their favorite painter?

I have a friend that likes minimalistic art. They'd be willing to stand by their opinion that a small swatch of blue on a white canvas is 'better' than Bosch's finely detailed work.

It's a matter of taste and style. I wish I could have explained that to the person who was chasing after me before, but I doubt they would have listened or believed. Obviously a picture with twisted anatomy and/or bad shading or coloring isn't as well done as one that has these factors straight but who is to say one type is better than another? If one can't draw exactly-true-to-life portraits but they capture all the important features and feeling of the person, who's to say the photo-realistic person is 'better'?

They're different. We're all different.

And for this one who has much to learn, let me simply add this: with age comes something different than anything you can imagine. Wisdom, as I'm sure you've heard before. Patience, as I have been while dealing with you. Skills (because if I have been practicing longer I've picked up secrets and tricks of the trade you did not). And above all, have a lot of fun when you are my age and someone younger does the same to you. It will happen. And you'll end up thinking, more than likely, the same thing I wondered about here.

Are these trivial updates...?

2007-08-06T08:53:00.001-07:00

There's no such thing!

There's no new art on air-lobster main (the fan art shoots all have new pieces). But what we do have is a few little changes to the site that make it even better.

Save This Page ~ you can now bookmark air-lobster on del.icio.us right from the main page! Zoro has been helping me out there, he's grumpy but very dependable. So far most of our fan art and air-lobster site(s) have been cataloged. Oh, and if you didn't know: del.icio.us is a social bookmarking website -- the primary use of del.icio.us is to store your bookmarks online, which allows you to access the same bookmarks from any computer and add bookmarks from anywhere, too.

The Blog Page ~ the one you click on to get here as a matter of fact, has been updated. The text has changed that make a world of difference. You can get to all three of the main Blogspot Blogs (and thus all my websites) right from that page.

Updated the Bio

2007-08-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

I found that many people didn't really understand what Elly, my purple cat-character, was. So I wrote a new little blurb on the bio page. I'm hoping to draw more art to reflect her more mischievously than I've been for some time now; in the beginning she was downright impish.

About The Character Elly Sketchit

In fan fiction and art the character Elly is generally drawn as an "espeon" Pocket Monster (Pokemon) because not only is the espeon purple, but it has the split tail and psychic powers.

Free Wallpaper and Takofruit

2007-08-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

That, my friends, is the Takofruit. Beware its tentacled goodness on the Main Gallery Page.
There's also a new 'free' desktop wallpaper. I was searching through my old discs for artwork I forgot to use and found a little clip art thing I had done a year or so ago.

There it is!

New Art: Lobsters and Fantasy Illustrations

2007-07-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

Yepperz.

I'd been spiffing up a few old fanart pieces (you can see those on the Roronoas page) and then I decided it was time to update the main site. I scanned a few critters out of my sketchpad. One remained just a marker doodle -

- a Lobster creature on the Lobsters Page, and another -

- got pulled into Flash for a bit of coloring and finer line art. This guy is a 'dark genie'. I have more sketches I've been scanning as well as new Whisper Valley art that needs to be formatted to .jpg for the site, so there will be more updates soon.

Oh, and there are 2 new pics up on the Flick'r Gallery. One is a new lobster plush and the other is my Zoro "shrine", lolz.

Several Fansites Expanding

2007-07-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

I haven't been working on anything "original" lately for the air-lobster site, but instead have been tooling around in fandom this week!

I created some new concepts for my anime forums, "the anime estrogen brigade" and have started a character blog for my fan character Elly Sketchit on Blogspot. You can read her continuing adventures here. There will be a new story every day for 16 days, and then I'll hopefully start catching up on some more of the revised fiction.

I decided to post the banner to my fanart Blog and site on air-lobster, for good or ill...mostly because the work I do on it is very detailed and I love it.

There we are!

Chibi Elly

2007-07-23T08:11:00.001-07:00

...a variation of what I've been feeling like lately.

These damned female hormones. *hits them with a stick*

Lobster Love

2007-07-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

I've drawn poor, lonely Wasabi again. I've also updated the Lobsters Page. Wasabi art can now be found in the Misc. gallery, while "misc" lobsters are found on the "lobster" page. I've also been toying with the idea of adding the Air-Lobster Fiction back into the site, under a new name with a slightly different premise. We'll see. It seemed people liked what I wrote - I get a lot of hits on the stories -- but never a single comment.

Flickr Photos Added

2007-07-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

New lobster collection imagery in the Flickr Album.

Oh yes. And something that I found while tooling around the web: LOBSTER EAT BABY. I love this lobster. So very much. *sobs*

Fearsome, eh? I should totally whip out my chalk again. Sadly, the heat has been so bad that I wouldn't last 2 seconds out on the pavement here. O_o

Whisper #8 and More Art

2007-07-15T23:09:00.000-07:00

Whisper Valley #8 is up.

I've also updated the "new" page of the Art Gallery with a few pieces:

The first is a pillow made from an old t-shirt we had laying about the house. Of course I can sew pillows from your t-shirts too, just let me know if you're interested in plushes or pillows.

The second is an old logo for an internet store that doesn't exist anymore. The logo for "Pokemom.com" was drawn in 1999 or so. I worked for two boxes of unopened cards, worth about then at $100-200 each.

The last image is a new little character I drew called "Socket". He's a demon that goes into your wall outlets and messes with your electricity inside your house. So if your lights ever flicker and you wonder why...heh heh heh.

New Wasabi art in the Lobster Gallery. I feel like he's been neglected so I'm adding a few more.