INTRODUCTIONS

Hi! I don't know who's reading this or why, but if I'm going to be doing more stuff here more often, I might as well make an effort to blend in with the crowd. Right?

So here's some fun, cryptic facts that might shed some light on the mysterious entity known only as "pureWasted"... IN 10 QUESTIONS OR LESS!

NAME?: You can call me pW for short.
HOBBIES?: Apart from all the usual stuff that all the cool kids at dA love to do, I'm into writing. Once my art catches up with my imagination, I'd love to try my hand at a webcomic or some other self-published sort of thing. Trust me when I say it's not for a lack of ideas that I haven't started!

MUSIC?: At this exact moment in time I'm listening to "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics. I'll update this one as I go along and my beautiful new Touch plays on.
TV?: Still on a high from last night's Lost and expecting greatness from tomorrow's Battlestar Galactica. Watched the second episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles last night, fell asleep re-watching the second episode of Ghost in the Shell. I swear, that show was MADE for falling asleep to! Check out my TV blog: [link]
FILM?: Watched Heat for the first time two nights ago. What can I say? I've been missing out. And there's no excuses, really; it's not like I didn't know it was going to be that good. My biggest complaint is that Tom Sizemore was pretty much wasted, and he's an amazing actor. Honestly I'd rather he'd gotten Val Kilmer's meatier part.

*MUSIC*: Update. Now listening to "End of the World" by Mud. The original is a great song, but the cover, sung by a dude instead of a dudette, is much, much more powerful.

BOOK?: Re-reading the first book of the Shannara series at the moment, just for kicks. I can't believe I took this stuff seriously. (note: "at the moment" means about 2-3 pages at night so I can fall asleep). More seriously, I've been reading The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick, but between writing and drawing I haven't really had the time.
GAME?: Played some Counter-Strike: Source yesterday. It's about the only game I come back to these days, despite having a running WoW account trickling money out of my bank account. I should probably consider canceling that... WoW, not the bank, I mean!

*MUSIC*: Update. Now listening to "We Don't Need No Education." I'm not gonna tell you who that's by. You either know it or you don't.

CITY?: Live in Vancouver. Would prefer to be living in Miami. Mm... honestly, Dexter is like one big slap in the face. "Why haven't you moved yet?" Especially with all this wacky weather we've been getting -- GLOBAL WARMING WHERE ART THOU? That reminds me, Jimmy Smits blasted my mind this season.
LANGUAGE?: Fluent in English and Russian. Understand Ukrainian. Wouldn't starve to death in France.

*MUSIC*: Update. Now listening to "Half the World Away" by Oasis. What happened to these guys? Ah, well.

FOOD?: It's between ordering from Panago (back to Pepperoni after some extensive experimentation that kept going awry) and making dinner. Mmm... Pepperoni...

And that brings our little Q&A to a close just as Bear McCreary's "All Along the Watchtower" comes on. This thing sends chills up my spine. Best version yet? I think so. I'd tell you more, but then I'd have to kill you.



PHOTOSHOP

The wonderful folks at ConceptArt.org have some very useful PS tutorials up that have finally encouraged me to move out of my pencil-sketch cave and into the world of color. Not only that, but I've just finished my first fully-inked, fully-colored piece, and though some parts of it were rushed (both inks and colors), I'm VERY happy with the end result.

Thankfully my buddy let me know that inking is much easier with Illustrator than PS, because my earlier attempts made it seem like Hell and I wasn't sure I'd ever get the hang of it. Well, it certainly isn't hell, but it is boring and it takes a lot of time -- I find it a little hard to stay motivated. But the end result was definitely worth it.

Now I guess it's time to start experimenting with more complex designs and different coloring techniques -- the Cicada has lots of very rough shading, which is natural for me because it's so similar to the way I add depth in sketches. It gives the art a sketchy, unpolished look, and I think that's fine for some things (paintings, concept art), but I'd also like to try a more polished coloring technique with less variation between shades and crisp, clear lines.

Relevant bonus question...

CURRENTLY WORKING ON?: A colored version of the "Sin of Gluttony" piece. Damned inking...

Tune in next time for God only knows what reason.