JOURNAL OF NULL

A lot of things happened this Spring and Summer. So many things that I was late to my Spring recap and am now bundling it and Summer together.

Studio Happenings

SYOUT

Short version: not much to show publicly. Mostly just writing with some concept sketches when time allows.

A Body of Work Which Has Yet To Be Named

…because I am terrible with names.
These pieces have been loose ideas for the past 6 months, but just as the summer closes I finally got time to execute them. More to come.

Archive Upgrade

My collection of sketchbooks dating as far back as 2006 have finally been moved to a proper storage container. Some treasures I found during the transfer:

I Guess I have a Shit Ton of Printers Now

In the Spring I got myself an Elegoo Mars 5. I’ve been borrowing a friend’s printer only intending to print a thing or two for fun, but quickly found myself using it much more. I didn’t want to ware down their stuff, so I got my own.
Summer rolls in and a client ended up giving me their old Saturn 4k as a tip [THANK YOUUUUU]. It was a little crusty, but after tidying it up and replacing the FEP film I got it back up in working form just fine.
And as a birthday gift to myself, I got a FMD printer, as I have several projects down the pipeline that’ll require it. I opted for the Elegoo Centauri Carbon. Feels really luxurious compared to the Ender 3 I’ve been borrowing for past projects.

Tattoo

Friday the 13th

The only one this year! And pretty easy going as well. Here’s a couple of pieces I done for it:

Trans Pride Table

Helped run the shop I work at’s table for our local Trans Pride event. Got to see several pieces I’ve done out in the wild, along with some healed work from early on in my apprenticeship. Rainbow Trouble ran a very smooth Pride event as well. Happy to see local Trans folk host their own thing. :]

Guest Spot? Guess Not

Despite my best efforts, it is unlikely I’ll be getting myself a guest spot this year. I will admit it was a bit bold of me to do so while still being so green in this industry, but was worth a shot. Maybe next year!

Notable Tattoos

Color has been a big focus for me towards the end of summer. I really want to tighten that as its something I haven’t felt as confident in as, say, my black work. Here’s some highlights:

Site Updates

Journal Upgrade

My journal now runs on Flatpress! Nice to have a tagging system and auto RSS feeds lol.

Gallery

I am also woefully behind on gallery uploads. As things slow down, I will hopefully have time to get caught up on that.

Media

The various things I engaged with these past two seasons:

Video/Film

• Westworld [70’s]
• Star Trek [OG+TNG]

Games

• Micromachines 4 | Ok, this one we have played before. It’s charming, it controls really nicely for what I would’ve assumed would be nothing more than cheap bargain bin shovel ware just based on the cover, etc. Zooming around as tiny toy cars in a big world is endearing.
• Rayman | One of those series I never paid attention to but was vaguely aware of in childhood [well, mostly the weird rabbit things]. Artwork and animation is veryy polished and easy on the eye, enough challenge to kinda chew on but not so much to be frustrating, music is whimsical. Controls did feel a little floaty to me though.
• Drill Man | Expectations were low bc, yknow, its a block busted/bubble popper puzzle game. The game play isnt super unique, but there’s a reason these kinds of games are popular: they’re fun. And what makes this stand out to me at least is how damn stylish it all looks and sounds: the music is strange and noisy yet upbeat and jaunty. And go figure, it’s 90’s Namco.
• Kings Field [Japan], Kings Field [US], Kings Field 2 | Holy shit I suck at these.
• Peak | It was fun! Nothing else really to add.
• Webfishing | Also fun. I actually wished this was a thing during lockdown several years back for me.

Books

• Raw Dog: The Naked Truth about Hot Dogs, Jamie Loftus | More of a travel log. I know a lot more about hot dog culture now.
• Humanimalia [Vol.15, Vol.14 No.1], Various | Happened upon this journal while doing research for a Laika piece, of all things. Anthrozoology and biology have been on the mind a lot this year.
• Various other bio science papers I sorta understand but only just barely.

Life

BOY! BOY! BOY!

His name is Tornado. He is currently 6 months old. Here he is on his judgment platform, which sorta keeps him from acting up at my desk. Bug Causality Count: 4