I'm not quite dead yet, tho it sure feels like it. So yea... dying from working 3 part-time jobs, 2 of which are making me physically sick all the time, dang kids are disease breading machines!

Anyhow, just want to say I'm going to be in the Katsucon Artist Alley (which is located in the same room as the dealer room so you can't possibly miss it)!
Here's a little map of where I'm at: [link]

I'll only be there for Friday and Saturday, but I have to go to work on Sunday. Fortunately I have some helpers to set up and pack for me on Sunday (thanks mom)!

I really don't have anything new worth mentioning, nothing in the art show this time either, I would appreciate it if you all would drop by and say hi tho. See you guys there~

I'm not dead, not yet anyway!

I've been very busy still, several part time jobs plus commissions and convention prep work are getting me very burnt out so I haven't checked DA (I love Deviant Art, but it can be such a distraction)!

So just wanted to tell you guys I'll be at Nekocon this weekend, and Anime USA next weekend, please stop by my table!

To my current commissioners, I'm still trying to squeeze in time to get them done! No I haven't forgotten, and I do plan on finishing them.

I'm not taking any NEW commissions any time soon, I still have a bunch (including a shameful over 1 year long one) to finish.
I will post on here once I'm completely done, but for now, please let me focus on getting my current ones >.<
I feel really terrible for making all my commissioners wait so long.
I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!

Sorry I haven't had a chance to answer all the comments!

Right after Otakon, my former boss contacted me so I've been really busy doing work for him, then my cartooning classes, and now I'm possibly going to start a new job teaching art to little kids, etc etc.

So I JUST finished unpacking my stuff from the con. (Couldn't really be called unpacking either, more like thrown everything on shelves and hidden in drawers.

I'm still working on my current commissions when I have an extra hour here or there, email me or send me a note if you have a question about yours!

I will be going to Anime Weekend Atlanta in about 2 weeks, BTW no buttons this time (they have a anti-fanart button rule), but I'll have my jewelry stuff and some prints

Ok, gotta jet!

First off, thank you everyone who visited me at Otakon!!! It was really great to meet new people and see my old friends who came by!
Originally I was sharing with but there was actually plenty of empty tables so he ended up getting his own anyhow :3

Despite my best efforts, I still wasn't able to finish all my commissions by Sunday, therefore totally didn't get to walk around at all on Sunday. (;_; no shopping, no visiting other artists *cries*. Seriously, I bought 1 thing at Otakon, and that's the vol.1 book of "Hanna is not a Boy's Name" ).
I blame myself, and the fire alarm being pulled. It really set me back. That and also I basically slept 3 hrs per night prior and during the convention, so by Saturday night while I was trying to draw I ended up just vegetating in front of my art supplies

I'm still not unpacked yet, so I haven't found my commission book to email those of you who commissioned me for art to be mailed after the con, but I'll do that realll soon!

Oh, and I'm really happy with how many people enjoyed my jewelry! I know I haven't posted any of them here, but I will soon!


I'm done with conventions until September, for Anime Weekend Atlanta! I'm sooo excited about it!!! Then its November for Nekocon and Anime USA, and I'm done for the year!


Unrelated, but awesome: ZBRUSH 4 & FINAL FANTASY XIV IS COMING OUT SOON!!! WOOT!!!!!

EDIT: I DID go to the friday night Yoshida Brothers concert, which was amazing! Also, my friend got 1st place at the Hall Costume contest (She was Dilan), and I helped made her spear )

Hi everyone! I'll be at the artist alley of Otakon 2010 once again, and this time I'll be sharing a table with my friend if all goes accordingly! This is where we will be at:



And if you print out the map and bring it over, you can have $1 off!
Unfortunately because of their new rules of only limiting fanart to 10 an image, and no more than 200 fan art total, I can't afford to have the free button coupon like I did last year, sorry guys
With that said tho, do come by my table early if you are looking forward to getting some buttons, cuz I think they will be gone rather quickly this year.

I'm still working on a few new things, mostly for the art show, hopefully I'll have time to finish!

What I will have this year:
Bookmarks, Art, commissions, buttons, jewelry, dry erase boards.

I WONT have pillows at my table this year, I just dont have the time to get them done >_<;



OK, i gotta get back to work, see you guys there hopefully!

First off, I just saw it. So I know what happens in the first episode.
For me it was a roller coaster: I really liked the opening scene, then it went downhill, then back up again at the twist part in last 5 minutes.


With that said, did you watch it? Yay/nay? Try to keep any spoilers in the comments please, just in case.

PS: YAY FMA !!!! The ending was soooo good! XD

Just wanted to let you guys know I wont be at Anime Expo this year!

It was really fun last time, but this time the airplane ticket alone was $400+ and I just cant afford it >_<;
So hopefully next year I can go again, I really liked AX, especially the artist meetup event thing that they held for the people of artist alley.
You guys who are going, have lots of fun!!!  ^_^

The next conventions I'll attend are: Otakon, then AWA and AUSA and Nekocon!

I finally unpacked a suitcase and dug up my commission book, so I'll be emailing you new commissioners shortly!

o m g~ so much going on!

I'll be Anime Mid Atlantic this weekend at Chesapeake, Virginia on Friday and Saturday ONLY!
(again, I have my cartooning class to teach on Sunday).

Then on Tuesday is my brother's Wedding!!! Woo!
It's a small wedding just for a few friends and family, but still got lots to do. @___@

So anyway, sorry if I haven't emailed you about your commission yet, I will, after this week.

I came back from Acen a couple of days ago, and am already going crazy, argh!
So much stuff going on right now, I dont even know where to begin. *stresses out*

Next weekend I'll be at Animazement, and I'm telling you this now, I wont have anything new between now and then because I'll be wayyy too busy. Also, due to work, I can only be at Animazement for Friday and Saturday!!!! Which SUCKS but what can i do, other than craw into a hole, but i cant do that since I cant even bend my knee pass 90 degree any more. RAWR!!! *vent vent vent*

Ok, there were a couple commissioners over from Acen, sorry I haven't emailed you with the info to confirm yet, I still haven't unpacked and found my commission book, but I will do so by this weekend.

sd;klajsdfk ahhh *head explodes*!

@___@ wahh~ after going a lil crazy from all the stress, I'm finally packed and heading out to Chicago to hang with and for Anime Central this weekend!
I dont know where I am yet, but do try to look for me! I have a few new things this time around, including some more APH chibis and this newest print:


Ahh, I cant even think any more im so tired. so, the end till next time!

have you tried it yet?
So far, in Photoshop:
alt+shift+right click is pretty interesting to use. I'm not sure if it actually improves painting speed tho.
And Illustrator's new stuff:
paint inside mode doesnt work as i imagined it in the first place, but still works pretty well.
The new perspective grid is amazing, but still have to play around with it.
Beautiful strokes are beautiful.

Anyone here is or knows of a Real Estate/ Contract lawyer that I can talk to (possibly in the DC area)?
We hired a bad contractor who is threatening legal actions because we refused to pay him until the job is done.

I dont know why but apparently they can do a unsatisfactory job and sue you for it. WTF, America?

I like the idea of groups. And while im at it, thanks to the ones that invited me to be in their group.

What I dont like, even HATE about it, is when people just spam-dump a whole bunch of stuff in there. 1 ~ 3 okay. 4-5, you're pushing it. 10+ new images in a group just gets on my nerves. This makes me want to unjoin the damn group!

Wow, thanks to everyone who visited my table at Anime Boston!
It was my first time to that convention, and I had a great time! Even tho I had to get around in crutches, the staff and people there were super nice (and got to bypass the line for pre-reg)!

There was one girl that came up to me and said "nice cosplay", and I was confused for a second, then I realized she meant my crutches. I dunno if I was suppose to laugh or be offended

So many people came by my gallery here and said hello too, I think its the first time that happened to me from a convention, so thank you everyone!

Next convention I'll be going to is Anime Central in Chicago with my good friend
I will have the usual prints and buttons and such, maybe some jewelry, and perhaps some new art too!
Hope to see you guys there!

PS: I got an autograph from Nobuo Uematsu on my Final Fantasy Concert booklet (he wasn't at the concert for Baltimore, so I brought the book with me to get it signed at Boston).

PPS: WOA! I got some llama badges o_o; what the heck?!

Commissions that I've done at Anime Boston 2010.
(this isnt everything, just what I can find on my phone's camera so far) :


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sooo~ 8 days till Anime Boston, so I should probably tell you guys I'll be going there in the artist alley!

I'm next to and it's my first time going there :3
Still got a lot to prepare, especially getting the rest of my current commissions out!

I hope I'll be able to walk by then! Right now I'm still on crutches, but hopefully by the time of the con I can walk with maybe just a cane.

If you can still help me out with my $1800 $2050 surgery bill, please visit this [link] !

Short version: it went well!

Long version:

Katsucon was fun, got to see friends, eat late-nite Korean BBQ, hang out, etc.
The convention was at a new location this year, at the Gaylord Hotel & convention center in National Harbor, MD. It was a gorgeous location, lots of great places to take photos of cosplayers. The down side was that the con was so large that Katsucon hasn't grown into it yet, so it didnt seem like a unified con. The art show & panels/workshops were all the way at the top floor, while Artist alley, game room, main events, and dealers were all the way at the bottom floor. If it was organized better with better signs i think it would have been much much better.
The food there was expensive, thankfully Potbelly's Sandwiches werent too far away.
We had gone to a Korean BBQ place that was suppose to be 10 mins away, but because of snow and an amber alert, the bridge was closed so we had to take a detour to get there (which made the trip to about 20 mins, but unfortunately my friends got lost on their way back to the con)

Artist alley there was interesting: it was divided up into web-comics, 2D art only, or crafts only. I was able to set up some of my new jewelry items at my friend's craft table on Saturday and Sunday. That was great because now I have some feedback on what people like and dislikes.

Because of the no-fanart button rule at the Artist Alley, I packaged some of them for bidding in the art show. All but 5 sets were sold, so thanks to all those who bidded on them!
After the art auction a girl on DA (I'm so sorry I forgot who you said you were >_< ) came to me and donated to my knee surgery fund too!!! Everyone was so nice, thank you!



I cant believe its friday today. I nearly slept through the whole week! Monday was unpack and rest for the surgery day, then Tuesday was the actual surgery day. It was kinda freaky because i cant remember anything from sitting at the anesthesia prep room, till waking up all dizzy. I think I got knocked out before I even got to the surgery room @_@; After that it is still all a blur... I dont remember when I got home, nor what happened on Wednesday, nor Thursday. I've been on antibiotics and pain killers the whole time and sleeping on the couch. So, today's really the first time i've been alert since the convention.

My knee goes from numbness to sharp needle-prick pains every so often, but otherwise it is pretty ok. At least I fixed my laptop to a point where it actually functions now so I can do some things online. Later on today I'll be going to my doctor's for a follow-up, so I hope it's alright.

Oh yea, so after they opened up my knee to actually see the extent of the damage, it was 2 sides of the meniscus had tears, and then the torn ACL. So I think he had to shave off the tears in the meniscus or soemthing... >_<;

I think I'm still feeling the drugs effects and I'm rambling so I'll stop now.

--- Knee Update ---

First off, thank you everyone who contributed to the help-fix-zelas's-knee-fund!
As of the writing of this journal, you guys have helped 23% of my bill! You guys rock! I am planning on a small thankyou gift that I can do while on bed rest for those who have supported me and contributed so far

The surgery is set for Feb 16th!!!!
And I can actually walk pretty-close to normally now, just cant bend it and keep it still for too long, nor stand for lengthy periods of time. This is apparently a good thing so they can go cut up my knee again and I'll have a slow process of physical therapy afterwords, gee great huh?

If you can still help me out with my $1800 surgery bill, please visit this [link] !

-----------------------------------

--- Katsucon Update ---

I can now go to Katsucon because the surgery is the week after the convention (wish I knew that ahead of time so I didnt have to cancel my table)!
There was a lot of ups and downs this time around:
First I canceled my table due to injury, then after my knee was feeling better I was going to be sharing a craft booth with a friend, but now they say I cant sell at the booth because it was pass the deadline to add another person as a seller (but I can still help her at her booth)?

I'm disappointed, mainly because I spent the last two weeks making new items to fit specifically to their rules, and I just found out that all that time, effort, and money is wasted.
What is worse though, is that I could've used that time more wisely (like finishing up the last 17 commissions for people), and also do something for the Art Show.
I know its my fault, I really should be finishing up all my commissions but I've had a bit of a drawing block ever since the knee thing happened and so I needed to work on a different creative medium to get me going again. (That, and for a long while after the accident I really couldn't sit at a desk or computer to draw, so I had a lot of time sitting on the couch and making things with my hands).

But what's done is done, and rules are rules. Lesson learned, and dont put all your eggs in one basket.

So for the rest of this week I'm actually trying to finish up commissions, really! It's hard when my family is snowed in because of the blizzard and distracting me from art! Boo!

As far as Katsucon is concerned, I will be going to see friends and hang out with people, maybe actually go to the One Piece podcast panel for once, might help out with my friend's booth so she can take a break, and ultimately try and have fun.
... Maybe put a thing or two in the art show, who knows? If i do, it will be a deluxe huge print of this:


As for all the stuff I made in the pass 2 weeks I will be putting it on my etsy shop soon, and also have them for Anime Central.
I'm actually very proud of my new-found jewelry kick, and going into making a few steampunk items once the materials arrive.
More info on this to come!


PS: Anime Central, Anime Boston, Animazement, Anime Mid Atlantic, Otakon, Anime Expo, Anime Weekend Atlanta, and Nekocon are the conventions I plan on attending this year. I hope I didnt forget anything!

Finally.... [link] again!

[link]

Happy New Year! Sorry I've been gone for the past month, it's because:
I completely tore my ACL in my left knee over the holidays!

The doctor say I'll need surgery and I just called the hospital and my health insurance... it's $1800... Now I'm currently unemployed. Or Self-employed freelance artist as the nice way of putting it. But I also know how much it sucks to pay the full hospital bill after my old co-worker got a $10,000+ bill for having a stroke.

Apparently, I would've had to pay $14,852 if I ever want to use my left knee normally again, but because of the insurance, its *only* $1800

Also, because of the timing of it all, I wont be able to walk at all when Katsucon comes around, so I'll have to cancel it this year.
Katsucon was my first convention back when I was middle school, and my favorite anime convention. I've been to it for over 10 years, so I'm really sad I wont be able to go this time around.
Now some of you guys ordered commissions from me to be picked up at Katsucon, I'll take care of it and ship it to you (I'll be emailing you guys soon).

I'm really bummed out about all this and I would really appreciate any help you guys can give!

I made a Chip-In site for donations here: [link] and you give any amount you want, even a penny (I think)! I promise you, this is all going to my knee surgery.

On the bright side as my friend kindly puts it, I'll have an undead knee once it's done.

I never paid much attention to groups and clubs until now when DA have actually impleminted the system.
Now I just want to know, where is the SCAD club, Etsy club, Papaercraft and Slayers/Xelloss Clubs!?!?!

*almost* tempted to start one. At least the xelloss one rofl.