Milu, four months old now! Another month has gone by without much progress 🤯 (just a filler update).
The kitten is trying really hard making her way into my room, and last night I discovered a paw print on my monitor… Apparently, cats love circles. I’ve found that she often lies inside the fitness ring 😂 (Milu: Do you ever exercise?)
Milu, three months old! …which means I haven’t updated for a whole month (*dogeza*).
I’ve been playing FF7 Rebirth day and night (more or less) _(:з」∠). The gameplay is so long! Not a fan of mini-games but I’m addicted to Queen’s Blood…
The last two photos are Milu and her siblings, before they turned 8 weeks old. Kittens are really adorable, and Milu has always had a look of astonishment 😂.
Recently I’m re-reading “The Silmarillion”, a new translated version that I’ve been hoping to read for years. The world-creating myth is so beautifully written, Tolkien my god🥲 It’s so vast and elegant, —the imagination of the god of words.
I read it in Chinese when I was in high school (the translation was terrible and I forgot at least half of the book). Plus, I was young and didn’t quite get into it (and there were too many names!) The current version I’m reading is reeaaally good—it’s smooth as silk, absolutely beautiful (and enjoyable) to read.
What I want to say is that…Tolkien did write many desolate places in Middle-earth. When the world was firstly created, there wasn’t even a sun—everything under starlight. By the Third Age (the era of “The Lord of the Rings”), the ancient kingdoms were already disappeared and became wilderness, tombs, ancient battlefields where even grass wouldn’t grow. In the movies there are also many rocks, cliffs, and vast grassland (the New Zealand scenery was just perfect 😂)…
Which reminds me in my RPGs, I even put a village that has everything in the very north of the continent…I guess it’s just…a person nowadays would expect (also you’ll have to let the players to get prepared for the final stage, but a village, well, maybe too cozy in an adventuer) If the land is not that deserted, it means Mirabell’s country is quite well-governed: even remote mountainous areas (almost the world’s end) have normal roads. (Frodo and Bilbo didn’t walk on proper roads!) The villagers have business with the outside world, and the princess can just visit if she wants to.
So…although the north part of her kingdom is desolate, it has all the necessities: trade, transportation, and even education. They may not have lots of mines or farmlands, but the kingdom seems quite wealthy. (At first, I thought only the coastal cities were wealthy). Does that mean the coastal cities make money, and the government use them to develop the remote mountain areas?🤔 Is the king really that wise (and capable of work)? Or maybe because of the former kings or the ministers are good? Interesting. (Mirabel: Why do you sound so surprised!)
Therefore, I guess the fantasy world in the RPGs is surprisingly advanced. They are probably going to have electricity in a few years (or a few decades, idk), maybe just one step away from the Industrial Revolution. (I love Industrial Revolution and steampunk themes too, though Tolkien really disliked machinery and industry (the source of all ugliness and evil😂) I actually quite like Saruman (as a villain lol). The industrial vibe of Isengard’s music is pretty cool.
I also finished reading “The Hobbit” yesterday. It was perfect for the Chinese New Year atmosphere (especially the year of dragon!) Now the dragon and the gold and the sound of “Wishing you wealth and prosperity” stuck in my head, leaving me unable to sleep 🤦 (I got up and watched the movie documentary and felt better (:з」∠).
That’s a lot of random talk!…Just wanted to comment on the wildness in Middle-earth and the Mounttop Village in Airi’s Adventure. Happy new year and wishing you wealth and prosperity 😉
From The Lord of the Rings movies → extended editions → behind-the-scenes → books (Chinese) → books (English)/audiobooks (narrated by Andy Serkis! Haven’t listened to them yet…) → The Hobbit movies → *repeat* → and maybe even another round of The Lord of the Rings (it’s a loop…), then The Silmarillion → other related books → Chinese/English versions and audiobooks…
I might not make it out this year >A< If there’s any delay, it’s all because of Tolkien…Wait, Another Code is releasing soon, Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side is on February 14th, and FF7 Rebirth is on February 29th, I… need to pull myself together…
My Kindle had some issues yesterday, which took me quite some time. Fortunately it wasn’t anything serious. I was kinda shocked to find out that Kindle Oasis seems to be discontinued. Nooooo—the only device left with physical page-turn buttons…What does Amazon have against physical buttons?! Are they really not going to make these wonderful things anymore? (It’s typical for me; anything I start liking ends up being discontinued *crying*
Anyway, Paperwhite has two new versions, with a 6.8-inch screen and warm light, reaching the standards of the Oasis (except it doesn’t have page-turn buttons!…
In the end, while I was figuring this out, I started browsing Audible…I wanted to re-read “Bullet Train” and “Three Assassins” (by Isaka Kotaro), and “The Mantis” is out too (tho I’m waiting for the paperback)… It’s a pity that Audible are just audiobooks and Kindle books (text) still need to be purchased separately (wish they are on the same app…) (:з」∠) I bought tLotR trilogy anyway. After all, it’s narrated by Andy Serkis, and I’ve wanted to listen to it for a long time. I also discovered Stephen Fry has narrated the complete Sherlock Holmes stories…It’s over 70 hours… (I probably need to grab the book to enjoy it. Will I ever listen? Just add it to the collection first haha
(Off-topic)
Also, because of these Kindle and audible shopping thing, I ended up unable to sleep whithout the sleep balm’s help…My bedtime has been pushed back hour by hour after I got back from the holiday. (The phone screen is too much for me; reading physical books doesn’t help much since I need the light on, so I really rely on Kindle as a sleep aid…*sob* Really need to get ready for work now qvq (Oh, you remember your work!
I probably had mentioned it before…I particularly love the robes made for Saruman, especially the fabric. His white robe has this subtle colour of “looking white” but shimmering in various colors with different lighting (easy to write but difficult to make!). The costume used a lot of embroidered fabrics, looking luxurious yet with many worn details. The details and textures are almost impossible to capture by the camera, but still, they are an essential part of the character, of creating a realistic Middle Earth. That’s one thing that I really love about the movies…They even had potters and glassblowers to make all the jars, cups, and bottles, just for the authenticity and uniqueness of Middle Earth. I still deeply admire (and fascinated by) the passion of tLotR crew (*wipes tear*).
Talking about the “reality”…Suddenly I (kinda) got why I can’t draw very fantastical or exaggerated designs, like crazy hairstyles and fatasy clothes and stuff… I like to think about how the clothes are made and worn when drawing them for the characters…If the character needs to travel or fight, I just can’t help wondering if the outfits are convenient or reasonable… then very unlikely to make them a Final Fantasy style (tho I love FF! I know games (especially the fantasy ones) don’t need such realism—sounds more like an excuse of unable to draw complicated designs haha. I also enjoy making a lot of backstories that will never appear in front of the players (yes i enjoyed doing this…). They are my embroidered fabric q_q
Weta was a new studio at the time they started to make tlotr, and Weta Digital was founded specifically for the movies (PJ: It would be too costly to go to the US for digital effects, better to do it locally). PJ even joked that tLotR was the biggest low-budget film shot in Wellington haha…but I love the charm of low-budget films! It’s really fascinating to see the creators making the most out of the limited conditions (same for indie games). I almost forgot that the extremely terrifying scream of the Ringwraiths is Fran’s scream, and the sniffing sound is performed by PJ himself lol How can one look at the Ringwraiths the same way after knowing this wwww
Another thing I noticed when rewatching…I knew the opening battle in the Fellowship was done by CG but I didn’t quite understand the tech (I was young…). Each little figure (agent) is an AI with its own thoughts and actions. The battle wasn’t “set up” (not drawn by CG) but generated. That’s indeed something in 2001 (and the tech was mature enough to be used in the industry back then). I couldn’t help but laugh out when hearing about the agent: don’t you guys have Agent Smith in your program haha…Hugo Weaving is just outside!
Watching the movies is like riding a time machine. I spent lots of weekends watching the DVDs when I was in high school. I haven’t watched them for many years but very line is just vivid in my memory. Watching them still feels like a “Sunday afternoon”.
And I often say that if I want to create a nice place, like Sango Village, the idea is “a place I want to live”. It seems to come from what Alan Lee said when he designing Hobbiton ; v; Though I’m not in the level of Alan Lee I hope I made some nice little places that you can relax in there. *covers face*
I had a post of the Middle Earth map from a magazine back in 2003…It was in my room for many years and I always keep it with me…kinda want to hang it up again. (In the end I didn’t. It was too precious for me to be taken out again lol)
By the way, after exercising (with NS) for over four months (plus a week of travel), finally my stamina seems to have increased. I also can sleep well and wake up early recently, so…can I finally get back to work (?!
There’s a lot on my mind but I’m unable to actually make them. I’ve finished another junk journal, and one of this year’s goals is to stop buying stationery >A<
Sometimes I wonder if it’s the journals make me update less on SNS… Anyway, I won’t give up any of my projects. That’s for sure.
I originally wanted to write about plans and new year resolutions (though it’s already past mid-January…) I usually hate new year resolutions because I feel like such things are just for talking, so I prefer summaries over plans. Even so, this year I seem to have some resolutions at the beginning of the year, maybe for the first time in my life! Maybe I really have a little hope for the new year (aka the future) (!
I plan to read more books, update more frequently, write down my ideas without hoarding them, continue exercising (as the doctor told me), and it would be great to use my camera more…and even better if I could draw more (if my back pain gets better); v;
P.S. January 3rd is Tolkien’s birthday (T’mas), so the New Year is really suitable for reading tLotR! ( P.P.S. Speaking of not hoarding…I didn’t write about the movies I watched in December, or have I looked at my travel photos yet (I took photos without looking at them…I’m not the one I use to be…)
Before resume my project, I will probably release a localization first. A small announcement to motivate me to start working. >A<
本来还想写一下计划和new year resolution的（1月都过一半多了哪还new year…）， 虽然我最讨厌new year resolution，因为觉得这种东西都是嘴上说说过三个月就没然后了，厌恶所谓的仪式感和只说不做，所以比起展望更喜欢总结，比起计划更喜欢写已经发生的记录， 不过即使这样的我今年好像也有一些年初的resolution，可能我长这么大头一回！也许真的对新的一年（aka未来）有那么一点希望吧（！
Unfortunately, I caught a cold right after returning from my trip, and I’ve mostly been lying at home sleeping 😷
I had no idea that the winter in Japan was soooo dry…It’s an island country! The humidity was around 30%, which was hard to get used to. They use air conditioners rather than heating, which felt like being air-dried…I did drink a lot of water and had many lozenges, yet my nose and throat still hurt. Then I went back to my home in China. The humidity was just above 20%…I finally collapsed (:з」∠)
Then I unpacked and packed, had some rest, and read some books…I finished “Ensel and Krete”, which is by the author of “Captain Bluebear”. I love Bluebear so much and looked forward to this one for a long time. Well…It’s an amazing story, though it’s hard not to wonder if the author was on mushrooms when writing it😂 I also read some Peanuts comics. I got a collectable set from a friend (when she was tidying her bookshelf). They’re really cute…the kids and Snoopy are just healing. They are also great for bedtime reading, though the hardcover book is huge and heavy. It’s a pity that I can’t finish the whole set in a short holiday.
I’m heading out to Japan and China this Friday, so I might as well update a bit (even though not much to share…) Firstly, thanks everyone for the birthday wishes! As everyone knows (not everyone), I’m not a big fan of celebrating holidays or birthdays, so I just shut down my mind every December😂. This year, without any projects or pressures, plus I started journaling and such, by year’s end I naturally found myself thinking about the new year and new notebooks…Like, is this what a normal December feels like? Do people really happily reflect on their year and then look forward to the new one coming? Maybe I should give it a try (!
Ryan is the character that really hates holidays, but I guess this didn’t show very well in the story. He is just ill-tempered and basically hates everything😂
I planned to play some games today. Recently I’ve been thinking about playing (clearing) something in my Steam library (which is an impossible task, why bother), and I was playing an indie puzzle game…There were many puzzles (kinda interesting) but lots of them didn’t really make any sense (…), plus I kept forgetting the controls and the previous progress. In the end I just got stuck absurdly and the whole lot of puzzles felt like homework (… I hope myself from the past wasn’t a pain to the players…(Hopefully…Anyway what I have done is done, I’ll just bear this in mind when making another game😂
When I paused to grab something to eat, I took a glance at the movie “Django Unchained,” and then I couldn’t stop. It’s so engaging that there’s no good place to pause —Though it was late, I stayed up until 4 AM to finish it. The film was a bit long, but I have no complaints. I thought it was going to be a western, but it should probably be called a southern😧 Quentin’s linear narrative is kinda rare (?), but I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen even though there was only linear story telling.
Actually, the movies I wanted to talk about are The Matrix trilogy…but it’s too late now (I mean 7 AM), so I’ll have to leave it for next time (…
The second wave of merch will just have two sets of stickers…for a start! I originally planned to make the acrylic keychains for the TAT gang (the images are ready), but I kinda got stuck on the “chain” part…I wanted to have some simple black cords (colored cords would be even better) to make a tiny charm (that could be decorated on a binder)…but the factory didn’t have those cords, only bead chains or keyring clasps. Star clasps look nice, but they might not look like small charms for a binder, while bead chains feel a bit…cheap. (Anyway, black cords look cheap as well, don’t they?!) Therefore I might end up choosing bead chains after all.
I also want to fix up Charlotte’s fullbody image slightly. It wasn’t very well drawn (for it’s an old picture from 2016…). Making an acrylic standee will flip it horizontally, which is a bit risky. And I haven’t finished the images for another set of small standees, so I won’t rush the job.
I was planning talking about the merch, but I’m kinda too exhausted to find out where to start… Well, firstly I really want to thanks everyone for the support *started to cry*
For example…The idea of these small standees sugguested by a player (who made the first oversea order!) I was always shocked and very nervous when having an order (that’s one of the reasons that I didn’t look very enthusiastic about the shop…actually I am!) I know I should feel happy and proud rather than anxious. It’s just hard to control it😂
The staff at Afdian (who makes and sells the merch in China) are super nice and reliable, which saves me a lot of trouble…T T However, the work hours in China for me are basically…around 2 AM to 5 AM. I feel like my health might not allow me to keep going like this (:з」∠) (Well…to be honest they are something I want to make. I know it’s no big deal to anyone else if I make it or not… (But I’d feel really guilty if they doesn’t sell and just piles up in Afdian’s warehouse…I do hope it sells out soon!😂
…What nonsense am I talking about as a creator (:з」∠) Anyway, it’s the best thing if you can like the merch (and use them)!! I’ll keep pushing on 💪!
One thing about making merch is that it’s not just about printing the images. There’s image editing and surveys beforehand, and after receiving the merch, I need to think about the packaging, buy wraping materials, pack every item, take photos, and list them online. The whole process is just…not easy. I admit that I underestimated the workload of counting items and packaging. Even I got my wraping materials by very fast delivery, usually they still needed at least two days. I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by…
Maybe I made things too complicated for the first wave. I did have a great time (….) trying various papers, bags, and ribbons. This time I calmed down a bit (the stickers are simpler too). I just bought some colorful envelopes and cute bubble bags for wrapping. Of course, I also printed new seal stickers and some cards as a gift!
Actually, I also made three wooden stamps this time, which were still in the transfer warehouse. Also, I should be traveling during Christmas, and returning at the beginning of January. I won’t bring my pc for the holiday, so I’ll just stop working over Christmas (which means there really isn’t much time left this year…I originally thought about struggling to finish the drawings and place the order before leaving, so when I come home, I could happily receive the goods (like in August), but suddenly…I feel this sounds too familiar…😂 That’s exactly what I thought (and did) in August, and in the end, I was stressed without any rest until the last moment (you never know what will happen when making merch!)… Not sure if I should rush it ((if not, I’ll think about it next spring or summer.
It feel like a blur after getting back to the UK in September…and before I knew it, even the Singles’ Day (11th Novemver) was passed. Only a month left before travelling…so I hurriedly had the items shipped from the transit warehouse. I hope this parcel, including the postcards and stamps (the stickers were delayed by a few days and I didn’t wait for them), can arrive before I leave. —So somehow, I ended up listening to the whooshing noise of the deadline again. How… *looks to the sky*
Time flies too fast இ௰இ
My recent interest has been all about watching movies. I started by rewatching “Vanilla Sky,” and then started to rewatching “Mission: Impossible” again…one movie a day. To me, the first six were all great, but the 7th is difficult to say… I rewatched “Reservoir Dogs” again today. I was initially a bit shocked by the violent scenes when I first watching it, but after all these years…Yeah it is a brilliant movie.
In the first half of the year (while working on “An Halloween Afternoon”), things were still pretty normal, then everything went beyond my control (I want to go home! I need to go home!). I watched a lot of Japanese dramas and movies, and completely fell behind on my reading. Now with the year almost over, I may not even reach 20 books—planning to read hard in the last month, or I won’t be able to write for the reading list of the year. In the other hand, I did watch quite a few movies, although there’s nothing particularly to recommend. Everyone has probably seen the must-watch ones already. (I sincerely recommend “Vanilla Sky”).
…But I’m not worried about the year-end art summary, 😠 (???).
爱发电这边有爱发电的工作人员（超级nice又靠谱），省了很多心……T T 不过做谷子，再怎么说也要在工作时间交流，对我来说基本就是……早上一两点到四五点，继续做下去感觉我要撑不住了(:з」∠) （虽然，即使撑不住了其实还是自己想做（自嗨）的东西，可能对别人来说多一点少一点并……没啥差别w （卖不掉堆在人家仓库里我还会很愧疚，还是希望能早日卖掉的！😂
Here are some recent photos, I seem to have hoarded again orz.
P1, Sunset was difficult to take, but the sky looked really blue. I still can’t get used to it getting dark at 4:30 pm. I want to hibernate =-=
P2, a Powerpuff Girls pen holder (makeup brush holder) I bought from Shein. I still haven’t figured out what to put in it _(:з」∠)
P3, A small gift box and some dices from Shein! They look pretty. Now I have a manual random number generator! haha
P4, my curtain lol, with gradient sheer and little stars. It sparkles during the day www (gives off a disco vibe…very amusing) I thought it was too girly when I bought it, but now I completely love it.
P5-6, I made a small note book using the memo block. The purple one turned out to be 75 sheets of paper plus 75 sheets of cardstock…rather than 400 sheets of memo. What can I do with these 7x7cm cards?
P7, I bought three boxes of 400 sheets memo blocks, without know what I was doing…Finally, just one box left, I need to keep using them (.
P8-9, made a small journal for recording journal entries
P10-11, spent the Halloween eve making a junk journal. I actually bought props like pumpkins and little brooms, but Halloween just passed like that (…
P12-14, took a walk in mid-October, very autumnal. I even found a big mushroom under a tree (kinda wanted to journal about the walking, but I doubt I’d do that again untill next spring (it’s cold…)
P15, the honorable retirement of my mini hole punch. I can’t believe I broke the hole puncher ahhhh… (I made it work too hard, my bad😂 It was a very good puncher!
P16, the afternoon sun shining through the curtain holes. I really love west-facing rooms (although it’s super hot in the summer). Everything displayed is the stuff I like, and the calligraphy is written by my mom (It’s said something like, “more or less it’s just fine”).
P17, Bar keep and Rosie holding hands~ (I also love this spot on the shelf. It’s the first things for me to look at when I turn my head
P18, this year’s DQ stationery. They released an A5-sized adventure notebook! The inner pages are also very beautiful. Love it! Better than the A6 planner.
P19 is the Kokuyo loose-leaf notebook. I really like this green colour and this dog
P20 is a beautiful sky, and a rose shooting up into the sky 😂
I wanted to practice drawing and photography, but in the end, my mind went blank then I watched a movie, “The Fugitive”, instead. The 1993 film is truly great🥹
Movies are wonderful. Making movies is like crafting dreams, and watching movies is like dreaming.
