Minor Blog Updates

Hi folks, just a little update to let you know some changes I've made to the blog.  I've removed the Personal Projects Page and replaced it with a Party Animals page.  Since Party Animals now occupies most of my personal project time it made sense to make the switch.  Party Animals is a deceptively cute political strategy game.  If any of that floats your boat why not read more about it on our devblog?

I'm also happy to say that some of my illustrations are now being sold as royalty free stock art by Misfit Studios and I've updated my illustrations page to reflect this.  They've actually been up there since January but since I finally made my first sale I thought I'd finally announce it here.  I've been thinking of selling stock art for quite some time now to satisfy the itch to draw and paint while earning a little extra cash on the side.  This will never be my primary income, but a couple bucks here and there sure can't hurt.

That's all for now, hope to have more updates soon!

Urban Sketching : Japan and Hospitals

My last post on this blog was a couple of months back, when I was excitedly preparing to attend Bitsummit 2014 in Kyoto, Japan.  Since then I've been mostly bedridden with a knee injury that simply refuses to go away.  I've been keeping myself busy,but I thought it was high time I updated this blog.

The first sketch was just a guy in the plane.  I got bored because we were delayed 30 minutes inside the plane. I did the second sketch in the basement corner of a bar called Chikuya (sp?) in Kyoto.  I was tired as hell and but the energy in the room full of game developers was intoxicating.  My only regret is that I didn't go around to chat up more people, but I'm glad enough to have met awesome devs like Alvin and Yuji, both of whom are in the sketch.  Sorry other guys, I don't recognize you.  

Coming from a tropical country, I always romanticized snow in my mind as beautiful and far more comfortable than the burning tropical heat.  I've experienced snow a few times before but for some reason this trip really soured me on it.  The old Japanese machiya that I stayed in had no insulation and it was a pain to have to dress up in three layers just to go to relieve myself in what might as well have been an outdoor loo.  The first sketch is of the machiya garden, which was lovely but also a terrifying window to the outside world being blanketed with snow.

The second sketch is rather poignant for me, since it's the last sketch I made while still being able to walk normally.  I thought that it was funny that it was me and two senior citizens hunkering down in this corner of Yodobashi camera resting our old bones.  I had no idea it would soon get worse.

These sketches were made more than a month later during a Saturday visit to Makati Medical Center to see my doctor about my knee injury.  I only thought of this now,  but the guys in the first sketch has a very typical  male Filipino pose.  I'm not sure I've ever seen someone in that position in other countries.

These two sketches were done just last Saturday, in what is becoming a weekly ritual for me.  The baller dude on the right had the most interesting outfit in the hospital.  Also, he was walking around with a half-inflated basketball.  What's up with that?  As I noted, I was very tempted to spoil Marley & Me for that lady reading it.  Am I a better or worse person for not saying anything?

These last two months have been very trying for me, and I'm only now getting my sense of humor back.  I've kept myself busy since I first got the injury, working on Prison Architect and Party Animals, but when I'm not busy the worry sometimes seeps in that I may never walk properly again.  I'm hopeful that this isn't the case and that the worst that will be needed is some minor surgery and rehab Wish me luck!