comic 001 [thick skull]

Special full-page comic for everyone, in celebration of my first (official) pencilswordfish comic strip. Just click on the thumbnail on the sidebar to see comic strip. Worked on this one all night, hope everyone likes it. Worked out the characters and their names already, I'm hoping for this one to really hit it off and become an official series here on [pencilswordfish]. sana lang :D

[pencilswordfish ver 3.3]

Took me a couple of all-nighters to finish this new blog layout. I'm honestly not too fond of the overall outcome, but it'll probably grow on me sooner of later. I went through all the trouble of drawing all sorts of portaits and designs, scanning, coloring - but still end up with using the old portrait for the banner. Dami ko na-drawing (like the one on the left) tapos di ko rin pala gagamitin.

Blog Updates:

• added a [GALLERY] link in the navigation bar which leads to my deviantArt gallery. It's temporary though since I plan on making it a direct link for my webcomic archive. Wala pa naman akong webcomic na maa-archive eh, so for now deviantArt gallery muna siya.
• I've put all links to other blogs and webcomics in the [LINKS] section.
• designed the banner specially so I can changed the design with anything I want without having to re-design the entire blog.
• other than all that, not much has changed in the blog.
  
• [WEBCOMIC] coming soon!

Anyway, Friendster has been turning psychic on me again. Nagpaparinig e, sabi ba naman:

"Today's Forecast
A deadline may seem like it's sprung up on you out of nowhere, but is that really the case? If this is one in yet another series of things you've procrastinated on, it's time to look at how you use your time."

Time to go back to work. Ayoko ma-suspend.

[pencilsword ...fish]

I couldn't access my blog the entire day, something about the browser not being able to "open a file /". Was about to give up and admit that the blog has once again been "murphed" having tried everything I could think of to fix the problem to no avail. I had a feeling it has something to do with the URL but changing the domain name was the last thing I wanted to do but since I was left with no other choice.. I changed the domain name. I viewed the blog and poof, problem solved.

Couldn't think of anything else, first thing that came to mind was ...swordfish, for some odd reason. So there. My blog's URL is now pencilswordfish.blogspot.com. ...I'm starting to think this blog may be cursed. hmm..

[like a friendster infestation]

I wouldn't normally put something like this on my blog, pero sige. Para sayo Louis, langya ka.

three names i go by:
1. Andrew
2. Drew
3. Anchan

three screen names you have had:
1. grael_18
2. anchan
3. shogun

three physical things you like about yourself:
1. um.. eyes, with the glasses on.
2. my right arm
3. agility

three physical things you don't like about yourself:
1. weak lungs
2. thin midsection. I look like a corpse
3. bad posture.

three parts of your heritage:
1. Chinese
2. Spanish
3. Indian (sabi ni papa may lahi raw silang bombay e)

three things that scare you:
1. that death is just blinking out
2. pitch dark, and the devil behind me - speaking in the darkness
3. losing my right hand.

three of your everyday essentials:
1. more food than most people think I can eat
2. mechanical pencil
3. my portfolio or sketchbook

three of your favorite musical artists:
(how it pains me to write just three)
1. Smashing Pumpkins
2. Urbandub
3. Jamiroquai

three of your favorite songs:
(right now it's..)
1. Coldplay's "The Scientist"
2. 311's "Amber"
3. the Gin Blossom's "As Long as it Matters"

three things you want in a relationship:
1. being on the same wavelength
2. everything under the L-word
3. and a certain kind of ...freedom

three lies and truths in no particular order:
1. if something can go wrong it will.
2. I've had sex with more than 50 cute chicks on campus within the span of 2 years.
3. I'm gay.
4. the Sandman sucks and Neil Gaiman is friggin gay.
5. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone was the first novel I've ever finished reading.
6. I enjoy watching chic-flicks.

three physical things about the opposite sex that appeals to you:
1. smiles.
2. hips.
3. eyes.

three of your favorite hobbies:
1. sketching on ...almost any surface.
2. wandering around the net.
3. reading.

three things you want to do really badly now:
1. escape. disappear for a while.
2. eat. again.
3. get the Mishka Adams CD.

three careers you're considering/you've considered:
1. WebDesigner.
2. Beta tester. or professional gamer.
3. Indie comic book artist making no money at all but enjoys what he does.

three places you want to go on vacation:
1. Middle earth. haha
2. Singapore.
3. ok. Paris.

three kid's names you like:
1. Ezekiel.
2. Ramil.
3. and I dunno.. Arwen.

three things you want to do before you die:
1. this country, purged of all shits like de Castro.
2. write and draw a bestselling comic book.
3. have a family, grow old, see my grandchildren.

three ways that you are stereotypically a boy:
1. cute schoolgirls with short skirts. haha
2. trashtalking.
3. not paying attention to hygiene.

three ways that you are stereotypically a girl:
1. chick-flicks.. entertain me. sometimes.
2. puppies.
3. rats (and other icky creatures) staring-at-me-point-blank scare me shitless.

three celeb crushes:
1. Mishka Adams.
2. Angel Locsin.
3. Natalie Portman.

three people that i would like to see take this quiz:
1. Marck (sige, lagay mo to sa blog mo. haha)
2. Dianne (para magka-laman blog niya)
3. Nicole (isa pa to. updates!)

[mishka adams]

Local jazz has been sent an angel. with a sax, and a guitar. Yeah.

[maki-monster]

Komeshi, a local Japanese restaurant here in LB had an eat all you can maki day today For P128.00. I didn't bother to count how many I managed to eat but I DO know that I finished 6 plates. Since each plate holds around 8-10 pieces of maki (15 if you pile them up - which I did), methinks I ate roughly ...well, I know I had two maki-mountain plates (which makes around 30) and the rest I just filled normally (around 40) so... I ate 50 to 70 pieces of maki. Haha. Also had lots of iced tea, which explains how Brian (a pseudo-housemate in unit H5) beat me by finishing 7 plates. The cheater didn't drink iced tea (daya mo Brian! dammun you! arr).

[webcomics update]

I can't seem to start off my webcomic. But i DO seem to find more time for reading lots of other webcomics. I think I just need that push... Anyway, added a new links section to my favorite webcomics, check them out and enjoy (I highly recommend BoltCity's "Copper"). I also moved the tagboard up so it's easier for everybody to tag.

[raul roco]

Dies at the age of 63. And everything that was good and righteous and all the hope I tried to believe this country still has seems to have went along with him. It's a sad day for this country.

This is the man who should've won in 1998, in 2004. This is the man who should've been President. The man who should be President.

The possibility of that is now lost. I don't know where this country is going to go to anymore.

[pusoy dos]

The other day (Wednesday methinks), me and some of my friends from Skewed Studios (Seth included. here's a link to her blog) were playing Pusoy Dos in the SU (Student Union) canteen. It was just your usual nothing-better-to-do game of Pusoy Dos until (wala lang) I started to make up stories behind the cards being played; the three of clubs being the unfortunate expendable scout, a pair of Kings having an alliance, a fullhouse being a sentai team with a mech, etc. then everyone just started to play along.

Then I thought, what if we could seriously make a story out of Pusoy Dos and turn into a project for Skewed? The possibilities for stories are almost limitless with the 52-card deck. We needed a specific scenario of cards to work on so we tried to reshuffle the deck and deal four hands just to see what happens. To our surprise, the card combinations on the four hands already created the perfect setting for a possibly great story. A Royal Flush on one hand, Straights, a Fullhouse, Flashes, good pairs (may love stories agad na lumabas), the Black Jack, the Queen of Spades, the Ace of Spades, all the Kings and Queens (affairs here and there. the King and Queen of Hearts surprisingly staying loyal) distributed almost perfectly (or coincidentally) on the four hands and the Three of Clubs showing up in the hand of the best place to start.

We've been working on the stories since yesterday. We did research on the cards, a whole afternoon of brainstorming with almost everybody, concept mapping, political relations, creating timelines, figuring out the technologies, blah and all I can say is that the results are VERY promising. I won't be discussing details on the card combinations here so as not to spoil our future readers.

I just feel that nice wave of inspiration coming on this one. Besides, my dead Silverfish project actually fits perfectly in this story but I guess that's just IT. Everybody now has the chance to have their own unique inpusts in the story considering the broadness of the setting that can be created with the 52 cards.

It's just nice seeing everybody getting pumped up again after months of I don't know... artistic sterility. Ano kaya magandang title?

SKEWED STUDIOS by the way is an "art studio" in UP Los Banos formerly known as the Radical Dreamers (don't ask where that name came from. long story). It was started by a group of friends who all had an interest in Art, Comics, Anime, Sci-Fi and everything else in between. It started out as an anime-loving (you can say "nerdy") barkada and eventually turned to making comics. The group is composed of talented (haha) artists, writers, photoeditors, and contributors. Skewed Studios is a non-recognized (underground?) "organization" and we like it that way.

review [beck - mongolian chop squad]

Yesterday, I decided to go buy a fresh supply of blank CDs from Greenhills on my way home from QC (from a todo-gimmick weekend at QC). While I was checking a few things out at 2RATS before buying blanks, I saw a DVD compilation of Beck - Mongolian Chop Squad.

4 DVDs at p70 each was an excellent price so I decided to buy them and besides, I had a good feeling the series would be great. I've read the manga, and I remember it sending uhh.. shivers you might say, down my spine (a challenge - imagine making readers 'feel' and imagine how good the main character sings with just panels and lyrics and no sound). I was a bit apprehensive because of the recent failures of manga-to-anime translations of titles like Naruto (gods, the anime is just horrible) and Bleach but then the price, a few previews of the episodes plus residual feelings of euphoria from my previous encounter earlier that day made me feel like I can't go wrong with this one.

And I wasn't - Beck is one of the BEST anime titles I've seen. I watched the first few episodes almost immediately when I got back and ended a few hours later with episode 21 (out of 26 episodes). I give this title 5 friggin well earned stars for the following reasons:

1. being faithful to the comicbook (in fact making it even better IMO).
   
2. extremely well-done (seamless blending of traditional and CG) and consistent animation. I liked how the guitars were done in high-detail CG and blended nicely with the had-drawn panels. the character's movements were also realistic and, I don't know how exactly to put it but.. fluid and laid back.
   
3. a well-written script. None of that no-brainer dialogues you often se in anime these days.
   
4. one great soundtrack which includes originals from the series and a few classics like the Beatles' "I've Got a Feeling" and "Follow Me" from the Rocket Boys. the Dying Breed song "Full Moon Sway" and the Beck MCS original "Slip Out" are also among my favorite tracks from the soundtrack. The voice-actors' vocals in the songs were actually quite good (minus the Engrish of course).
   
5. visual-kei glam/ pop rock bashing. subtle bashing (maling word na yata yung bashing...), hindi naman in-your-face.
   
6. for being a nice inspirational watch. a story of self-discovery, stepping out of the crowd, love, and the passion for real music.

The story of Beck - Mongolian Chop Squad starts when Yukio Tanaka or Koyuki to some of his friends, an uninspired and frequent bully-target middle-school kid with an unknown talent for singing meets and becomes friends (through an unlikely string of circumstances) with Ryuusuke, a talented indie musician and his strangely cute dog "Beck". Through Ryusuke's and his tough-chick younger sister Maho's influence and Koyuki's mission to find a way to impress 'the girl', Izumi, Koyuki gains a newfound passion for Rock and eventually becomes the unlikely frontman for "Beck" - the ultimate rock band.