Words and Webs
Well, my enormous project for Goodman Games is nearing it's end. The bulk of the work is done (well more than 50,000 words for my part) and out of my hands. All that's left is minor revisions (I assume) and hopefully consultation on some edits. I'm dying to see the artwork that comes of it and I really hope that my suggestions are used.
As I wait for more things to come—or nothing at all, I suppose—I'm also seriously considering revamping Ashlock.org so that it's an actual place to visit for people and not just this thing I maintain for only occasional personal use and storage. For this revisitation I'll be shanghaiing Josh Wentz, who knows more about Web design—and more relevant, visual design itself—than most people I know combined. It's a win-win situation for me.
Yesterday I had a tooth yanked out. I bled. A lot. Yuck. Luckily it's in a place that won't be missed.
Escapee will return next week.
As I wait for more things to come—or nothing at all, I suppose—I'm also seriously considering revamping Ashlock.org so that it's an actual place to visit for people and not just this thing I maintain for only occasional personal use and storage. For this revisitation I'll be shanghaiing Josh Wentz, who knows more about Web design—and more relevant, visual design itself—than most people I know combined. It's a win-win situation for me.
Yesterday I had a tooth yanked out. I bled. A lot. Yuck. Luckily it's in a place that won't be missed.
Escapee will return next week.
posted by Jeff LaSala at 3:29 PM
13 Comments:
Sorry to hear about the tooth. :(
RE: JW. I didn't realize he had a Elfwood gallery until yesterday. That suave, sophisticated, accomplished hipster I met at your wedding is also anime geek?!
Wentz's stock just went up in my book.
I felt so stupid childish talking about D&D in front of him. We should have been chatting about anime. Just goes to show you that you never really know some one until you discover their secret online lives. ;)
Speaking of books, when is the Wentz/LaSala graphic novel coming out?
If you let Wentz design the site, it is going to be beautiful, clean and visually intriguing. Hmmm…. How much does he charge by the hour? ;)
//H
You mean in money? Really, it's about how many pints of blood he will he demand... :)
Think I've got the cash to afford him?
Yeah, the NASDAQ says I'm great!
I'm always willing to through a few pro bono projects (or at least reduced fee type stuff) into the mix now and then, granting that:
a) I get to do what I want graphically (pertaining of course to project parameters)
b) The timeline for the project is not tight. It has to slip into actual paid work.
c) No FLASH is involved (icky)!
I love working on projects that have real value to the client. I believe redoing Ashlock.org would be one of those types. As long as I've known Jeff, I've wanted him to be on exactly the path he is now.
I have suggested a "trade" with him, but have not specifically said what he will be trading. I just have to figure out how to trick him into signing my aged parchment with his own blood... heh heh heh.
As for my Elfwood site, ah... those were the days! I love checking it out now and then to see my old work. Actually, if things go how I want for SDDWN 2006, I'll be restarting "The Turncoat", and have more of my drawing on the site.
You know, M. Stroh, I have exactly ZERO people in my life that watch anime? I sometimes can convince people to listen to my excitement over something, or maybe trick them into watching Steamboy perhaps... but my anime life is a lonely one.
"Actually, if things go how I want for SDDWN 2006, I'll be restarting "The Turncoat", and have more of my drawing on the site."
Awesome. I look forward to it.
"The Turncoat." Are any of you Elfwood illustrations related to that project?
I feel your pain regarding folks and anime. Outside of college, the community can become pretty disparate.
But wait ... you live in Chicago, right? Why not come down for the weekend and see the shows at GenCon? There have got to be a couple 24 hour viewing rooms or something.
//H
This "GenCon" thing.. I might be coerced into a visit. Jeff, you're going to that, right?
I've never really felt comfortable in the fan-world. I don't know why... just.... freaks me a bit when people get crazy over anything.
Still though, my subscription to Newtype keeps me moderately tied to the anime world.
Nothing on Elfwood is Turncoat related, but it'll be back soon, I feel. So you'll get a taste.
Oh yes, Josh. I'll definitely be convincing/coercing/manipulating/blackmailigg you to come down for at least one day at GenCon.
I don't know if it's as simple as all that.
To me it's like Halloween. If I dress up as something on Halloween, it doesn't make it my life, does it?
Well, sure. But GenCon is when that's appropriate, as would be any other fantasy- or gaming-related convention you invest the money to attend.
Same with Renaissance faires. Really, it's just any place that has that theme BECOMES an appropriate place for costuming. That's my thinking.
Sure, you can dress up at GenCon. And SakuraCon, and Otakon, and, BiMonSciFiCon, and EveryOtherCon. Not all of these people go to just one convention, and the feeling I get from the dressy-uppies is that "finally, I can be who i really am!" feeling that creeps me out just a tad.
I don't really like costumes in general. I don't really to Halloween. The most "costumey" I've been in the last five years was at Jeff's wedding, and even then I was the tamest of the tame.
But it's not just the cosplay that makes me a little uncomfy in the convention world... it's the magnitude.
Because I'm not a "die-hard" fan of anything, I don't consider something like this to be a mecca for me. I mean, even if I went to Mecca, I don't think I'd be that crazy. But going to a con exposes me to a large dose of the people that keep me out of anime clubs. It's like being big into the true ideal of Christianity and then getting invited to a hateful rally against soldiers' funerals.
Well... maybe not THAT intense, but the point is that seeing the seething mass of furries, LARPers, geek squads and dorkenites reminds me of the things i don't like about fantasy and anime rather than the things I do.
I know this is a reversal of the typical opinion on the matter, and I also know that it's stereotypical. But on the same note, that doesn't mean I won't go to a convention out of principle... I just don't tend to unless I have something else there to drive me to it.
Like seeing friends and supporting their amazing work, for one.
Well, like a lot of places, it's about variety. Note that MOST of the actual geeks and game designers at conventions are not in costume. Most game/card designers wear normal clothes. At GenCon——mind you, the mother of all game conventions is also the only one I've ever been to——I'd say only about half, if that, are actually dressed up or semi-dressed up.
I consider myself one of those in-betweens like me. I want to be dressed up a little...if that means a nifty shirt/vest, regular jeans, and leather bracers....well dang it, I will be. Because I can't be anywhere else where it's okay.
Josh, I certainly wouldn't ask you to go into a lion's den of creepy people. The creepy ones may be in greater number than average, but they're still minimal. And I've met creepier ones who aren't dressed up.
At this point, costumes are just cosmetic.
We attend ComiCon in San Diego every year, and I've been to one Gen Con, so take this for what it's worth, but there were FAR more cosplayers at the ComiCon. And the number there paled in comparison to those found at my local Ren Faire. So if you're worried about that element, Gen Con is probably the tamest you're likely to get.
And I hate you all because you get to go and I don't. ;P
Costumed freaks are the easiest to target, that's why they get the most "rant attention", I believe.
I have no doubt that ComicCon would have more dress-ups than a gaming convention. And to be honest, I'm not so fragile that I can't just deal with annoying people for a day. But considering going to a convention always makes me think about why I don't like the convention as a concept.
Anyhow, i'd say it's a 90% chance I'll be there.
I'd recommend the Saturday to go to GenCon. But you can decide last minute, and in any case I'd want to wait until I know what things are happening on what day.
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