I'm on Tumblr - [link]

Yay.

I'm bound to continue to post all "finished" images on DA, but there may wind up being more sketchy stuff on ze Tumblrs. And, you know, words and stuff.

I've made a blog specifically for [link] (Magic: The Gathering posts.)

The reason for this is so that I can make posts about that stuff whenever I want without turning my [link] (main blog) into a Magic blog, which could easily happen

I announced the new group yesterday, and now it has FOLDERS! [link] (krak-a-thoom)

EDIT - Huh. URL + parenthesis = link with text? Who knew (I didn't mean to make "krak-a-thoom" the link)

[link] (EGS-Official Group)

I figure everything but the fan edits should just be submitted to featured with me copying things to other folders as appropriate. I want to keep fan edits out of featured because I would prefer to highlight original artwork in featured and fan edits can be more rabid-fire on the submission front that it's much easier to have on folder for them. Besides which, it makes it easier to find the funny strip slays.

In addition to folders for the main eight and my avatar (who would be an "other" but there's actually a lot of fan art of him/me), there are / will be other folders I believe will be fun, like the "Zap - TG" folder. The instant any fan art is submitted that features an unofficial romantic pairing, you better believe there'll be a "shipping" folder ^^

As has been asked of me a few times, I have created a group here on DA for EGS-related fan art. It is my first time managing a group, so I'm sure I'm going to screw up in some way, but I'll do my best to keep it organized and up to date.

[link]

Feel free to submit artwork! ...Assuming that's set up right. If not, tell me how to fix it, and THEN feel free to submit artwork! ...Assuming I don't mess that up, too. Boy howdy, am I full of confidence today!

I will likely post anything that's inked and colored both here and in my blog, but i don't want to litter my DA page with a ton of sketches. As such, I'm now posting sketches far more frequently in my blog, which can be found here:

[link]

And you can specifically find posts with artwork by me with this handy link:

[link]

There are some spam comments going around with the intention of tricking people into giving away their DA login info. I'd advise against clicking on links in comments now, particularly if they sound like "omg this is so funny CLICK HERE"; that is very clearly spam, and clicking the link could land you with a virus or try to trick you into giving away personal info. I haven't clicked the links, so really, I don't know first hand.

One of the admins has posted a journal about it:

[link]

Also, please note that in this url, the domain is formatted like this:

_________ . deviantart . com

A lot of trick sites do variations like

deviantart . ______ . com

or

_____ . deviantart . _____ . com

Subdomains, i.e. the _____ in these examples, always go BEFORE the main domain with nothing following the domain but a .com, .net, whatever. Unless the last thing before the .com is deviantart, it's not real. This order of sub-main domain names applies to all websites, too, like google mail and paypal.

Another thing: people can have an address display in your browser as one address but point the actual link at another. For example, a link text might SAY deviantart while pointing to google (an innocent example, but you get the idea).

Always check the status bar in your browser to see where you're actually going, or copy and paste the url before going to see if it's what you were actually expecting.

TF Meme Collection: [link]

I now have a collection containing filled out versions of my TF Meme. Note that I have not promised to collect every version of it filled out for various reasons, but I will collect those I find of it as I see fit. I will not link to anything "mature" unless it's properly labeled as such

EDIT: I have also decided to link to anything in the collection here, so if you follow me and get a message saying this journal has updated, it means there's a new one.

:thumb94149145: :thumb94768270:

This means I will naturally have a bunch more deviations over the next few months. I guarantee at least one picture involving a turtle who gets no respect.

I want to make a meme. For those of you unfamiliar with those, just do a search in deviant art and you'll see plenty of examples.

This begs the questions: what's a good amount of pixel space to leave between questions? I don't want to make it too huge or too small, but I want adequate room for people to draw their responses. I know Nyu has the most popular meme (or at least it seems that way to me), but I found the space between questions a little small.

Suggestions?

Whoo! Virtual punch for everyone!

I just saw an old box for Super Mario Bros. 2's initial release in the US, and a little banner on the bottom asserting the game was "Mario Madness" caught my eye.

Now, putting aside for a moment that this game wasn't a Mario game at all in Japan and that "Doki Doki Madness" could be considered more appropriate, this is awesome. More things should declare their madness upon their packaging.

This standard will now determine whether I deem a product worthy of purchase. If there is no declaration of madness, such as "soda madness", "cereal madness", "ambulance madness", etc, I shall say "no! No, thank you!"

It's entirely possible I'll starve as a result, but it's important to have standards.

Basically, after playing Smash Bros Brawl's Subspace Emissary, I'd like to see Zero Suit Samus (or her simply wearing something other than that big bulky suit that hides her face) with Pikachu as her pet. I found Samus with a Pikachu companion to be amusing.

I also liked seeing Peach and Zelda hanging out. It's not a pairing I expected to be fun, but my favorite moments during Subspace Emissary involved those two (especially once Zelda becomes Sheik) and it makes me want to see more of their wacky adventures.

(Also, I think Mario and Link should keep an eye on those two. Sheik and Peach may be closer than they'd be comfortable with)

I also think Lucario is awesome, but there's already a lot of art of him (and several, um, over-the-top female variations ), but one thing that bugs me about him is the huge spike in the center of his chest. Everything else about him screams "HUGGLE ME!", but that thing makes that quite the dangerous proposition. ...but maybe that's the point o_O

I'll likely draw some of these myself someday, but it'll probably be a while before I get to it

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

EDIT -  Any deviations that fit the Samus w/pet Pikachu and/or Peach w/Sheik (or Zelda) that get linked to in the comments (and that are not labeled as "Mature") will get featured below. If I somehow miss a link, let me know.

Peach and Sheik (or Zelda):

:thumb80515759:

Samus and Pet Pikachu:

           :thumb80089767:

I just discovered, by way of fave notifications, that you can add ENTIRE FOLDERS as favorites. I'm eager to to have a collections folder in my fave section, but, um...

very few people that I fave seem... to... use folders..

...

Ok, I'm excited IN ADVANCE for a future with people having folders that I would fave.

I have a theory: Ash never evolves Pikachu because his Pikachu is already so powerful that the power of its Raichu form would TEAR REALITY ASUNDER.

Last night, I got Smash Bros Brawl. For many people, this means I don't get to complain about anything ever until they get their copies, but I still want to talk about my experiences waiting for the game.

First off, I originally assumed I'd have to wait outside in a line, but that assumption changed when I got a voice mail saying people could show up at 10 pm and get their orders processed. Knowing that processing orders requires a register, I figured I'd be able to get inside, pay for my game, and casually do whatever for the remainder of the time.

I was, however, misinformed. There was a tournament at 10, a tournament where people brawled one-on-one, and only those playing were allowed inside, and the screen was facing AWAY from the door, making it difficult-to-impossible for spectators. This did not interest me, and the manager told me I could come back at 11 to process my order. So I left and killed time for an hour.

When I came back, the tourney was still going. I didn't realize that they wouldn't be processing until AFTER the tournament and that 11 was a very, very vague (and wrong) approximation, so I stood outside in the cold while very, very rowdy (and possibly intoxicated) fans of brawl rambunctiously cheered on a tournament they couldn't really see.

I'd just assume they were excited and not on something, but the level of behavior at that time of night and under those circumstances suggested to me either extremely rude or chemically uninhibited people; possibly both. To put it into perspective, the manager had to tell them to keep it down just to keep the cops from coming by. And while I haven't been to a pre-release like this before, I've been to four years of Comic-Con. These guys made excited con goers meeting celebrities look tame.

Anyway, there's not much to the rest. Just waiting in line, getting inside for about a minute to pay, more waiting outside, then finally getting the game.

So as I said, I got the game, alls well that ends well. But it is therapeutic to write out such experiences, and it may serve as a cautionary note to others, so here it is. I think it might have been better if I had a friend come with me, but unfortunately most people I know in person either weren't available or not into Smash Bros (or even Nintendo), so I was alone. I recommend dressing appropriate to the weather, directing any questions directly to people who work there and not rowdy people waiting in line who might try to mess with you (didn't happen to me, but did to others), and sharing the experience with someone so you're not just out there resisting a strong desire to punch certain people

With the exception of DES Comics (which I've placed first), I've alphabetized my gallery and removed "The Best" folder. It occurred to me that the most efficient way to feature what I want to feature is, well, FEATURE that stuff and not others.

All of the deviations are still there, and people can browse them all by selecting "browse" anyway, so I see no reason to feature every last deviation. Some aren't featured due to being lower quality, some were more "for funzies" that actual art, and others I'm just more comfortable being less conspicuous as I show my gallery to more and more people, particularly given that I'm including the url for this site in the DES comics.

I just had a big epiphany regarding my freakish empathy, controlling it, and certain obsessive compulsive traits of mine. I don't intend to post all about it here, but it may wind up having a huge impact on my people skills.

In fact, I'm not even sure why I'm posting about it here given that I don't intend to share the more personal details. I think it's just a way for me to mark what might be a life changing occasion.

At the very least, I hope this epiphany of mine results in helping control some of my obsessive compulsive tendencies. Washing hands to the point that the dryness leads to cuts and bleeding just CAN'T be good for me (particularly since blood on the hands means they need to be washed again )

After my last post, I worry that some people might think I'm impossible to talk to via IM. As such, I figure I'd better address certain particulars.

Requests for assistance, business, etc, I prefer to get via e-mail. E-mail lets me look over the details and consider my options/opinions carefully, but I feel like I'm being put on the spot over IM. This can be different if I already know the person, but that's not what we're talking about here

And besides, if I'm on an instant messenger, it's to chat with people informally. I'm not out to conduct business on AIM

EGS in of itself is ok, but I get some IMs on the subject of EGS that make me feel like I'm being interviewed, and I don't like that. Some examples of questions, and answers, to save time:

"Who/What is your favorite character/storyline/etc?" - I dunno. My preferences vary greatly based on my mood, so my basic answer is... well, I've already given it. I dunno, and I don't wanna choose

"What's gonna happen?!" - It is very, very rare that I give out spoilers to people, and when I do, it's to people I've known for a long time and trust, and usually in person.

"How do you come up with stuff? What's your creative process?" - This is one of those questions I don't get. How does anyone come up with anything? There isn't a magical process. I think about stuff and come up with stuff. That's all there is to it. If the question is more specific, I might have a story behind where a particular idea came from, but as a blanket question regarding everything I come up with, there's really nothing to say beyond what I've said here.

As for finding common ground beyond that, I'd like to think my deviations and favorites folders are good views into the stuff I like (and they're so ORGANIZED, too!). I know that's what I'd look through before contacting someone on DA ^_^

I get IM'd a fair amount when on my public IM names, but I seem to get a lot of the same sort of messages. I don't want to make anyone feel bad, but here's what I get a lot of:

- The question "what's up", or otherwise having the burden of striking up a conversation being put on me by people I don't know well (or at all, usually).

- Being told by strangers who I know nothing about that I'm not particularly talkative.

- Being asked for advice by strangers who, again, I know nothing about.

- Being asked interview-like questions.

I put up my public IM information in the hope of getting to talk to new people and possibly make some new friends, but it seems like I mostly get IM'd by those who just want to chat it up with me because I make El Goonish Shive.

I guess it's what I should expect, but it feels really one-sided. It's nothing personal, but the basic scenario is being IM'd by someone who knows way more about you than you know about them and them having the expectation of carrying on a conversation, and them treating you differently because of something you do. It feels more like being at the Keenspot booth at comic-con than having a friendly chat with someone.

It actually makes me tempted to go the anonymous route with a different screen name so that anyone who I'm talking to is doing so for me and not EGS, but I don't see how I can do that on something like DA, and I like sharing stuff that I draw and talking about EGS with people I know so it seems like a lose/lose situation