Kaizo Papercraft

In case it wasn't obvious...

2010-12-29T15:26:00.003-06:00

If it wasn't already painfully obvious, I'm out of the game, so,

Consider this my official resignation.

The site will stay up indefinitely, as will the MediaFire links, etc., and I'll still be around to answer questions and help out new designers and builders, but it would really be unwise to expect any new releases on this blog.

I'd still like to do the big collection of tutorial videos I've been meaning to do for over a year now, so hopefully I'll still be able to make one big lasting contribution to the community.

Beyond that, you should all be familiar with my protégés by now, and if I can get them off their lazy asses (I'm one to talk), I should be able to pass on all my unfinished work to them. I'm always willing to take new creators under my proverbial wing, so if you'd like to get into this stuff, as regards the designing, or if you want to get yourself an unlocked copy of one of my old models for customizing, never hesitate to send me an email.

Apologies to anyone who is still waiting on one of the many models I once claimed I would inevitably complete. The reality is, they just aren't going to hit the market with my name attached (maybe with a credit for assisting, but that's it).

In all honesty, I wanted the Claptrap model to be my last great hurrah, but someone beat me to the punch, and did a rather magnificent job of it, if I may say so. So that's really the end of my designing career.

The being said, there should be a very fun video uploaded in the next month to my YouTube channel, so be sure to check that out.

zomgEdit: Here's them videos. Enjoy.

So if I might leave you with one last thought,

Keep it up kids, the community churns out amazing things every day.

Anyone want free stuff?

2010-12-11T22:40:00.001-06:00

I don't want to alarm anyone (not that anything I say could really be alarming anymore), but I'm getting rid of a bunch of my stuff, and if anyone in the DFW (Dallas - Fort Worth) area, specifically Denton and surrounding cities, wants some pre-made models, I'm looking to empty some shelf space.

Anything I can't give away is gonna get burned, which should make for some very fun YouTubing.

Shoot me an email if you're interested. My deviantArt account should give you an idea of what I've got. I'm keeping a handful of the more "important" models, but a lot of the rest has just gots to go.

UPDATE: I've scribbled a list of the stuff I'm definitely keeping. Everything else is free to claim. (see comments)

Obligatory Birthday Post

2010-10-07T17:29:00.000-05:00

Pretty self-indulgent, eh? Twenty-four years old. Guess there's no escaping it, I've become some sort of...

...Grown-up...

dun dun DUNNN!

Anyhoo, lookit!

So, the big problem is the Claptrap is grey. I don't know the first thing about using textures derived from materials libraries in .MAT form, so if anyone has some tips, they'd be much appreciated. There are plenty of other models that use the .MAT stuff too. I've been working with the original game on PC thus far (usually play on PS3, got the core game for PC on the cheap), but I'm planning to get the GOTY edition when it comes out in a week, so that'll add some cool stuff.

Anyway, sorry about not...really...doing anything lately. Finally found some employment, which is good, but means I basically have no free time during the week. I'll try to get one some releases soon, getting most of the actual building done on weekends. Also hoping to get going on some more tutorial videos soon.

In the meantime, the Final Fantasy Papercraft group blog is making headway, so watch that instead of watching me do nothing.

...stay tuned?

Final Fantasy Papercraft

2010-08-18T21:07:00.005-05:00

Just thought I'd let you guys know, the new group blog just went live. We're (and by we are, I mean Zinarei is) still working out some of the details, but for the most part, it's ready to go. Figured it was time to pull the trigger.

http://finalfantasypapercraft.blogspot.com/

Enjoy~

Dark Serge

2010-08-10T14:00:00.003-05:00

Dark Serge

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NLY6TIQM

http://www.mediafire.com/?oy7c4s6ds4cx8fe

Heey, look at that, I finally finished building something I printed out six months ago...

So here's the deal: I'm still looking for a job, and quite honestly, getting a bit of the cabin fever. Ever had so much free time you end up doing absolutely nothing? It's pretty maddening...

Anyway, the new group blog is almost ready to go, but we still need to rally our designers. Seems a few of them have disappeared in the last few months. In any case, we're just about done posting our back models for the purposes of compilation, and Zinarei's been doing an epic job making the site look all spiffy and whatnot.

Now, I said I would knock out Kefka soon, for a wall I referenced, but after like 9 months, I'll level with you. It's a lot of work that, I may be willing to put forth eventually, but right now I'm just in too big a funk to get done. That being said, I've got a nice model of the BioShock Accu-Vox ready to build, and after that, I'm thinking Chocobos.

By the way, have a dingo.

http://www.mediafire.com/?1hyx53q86br5ohe

730 Days

2010-06-12T16:04:00.001-05:00

Beast Helm
http://www.mediafire.com/?ely00zdzdiw
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MELGJRPG

Well, here we are. It took me a year to get right, then another year to actually do it, but I've finally finished the project that started this whole mess. 730 days in the making.

In the last year we've built a feathered cap, an ascetic's band, a paladin's crest, the mage's hat, the warrior's mask, an assassin's guard, a caller's protrusion, the bat-wing helm, a fist-fighting bartender, humanity's dark destiny, the thief's cover, the prophylactic beanie, an eastern mask, a small-town sticky-fingers, the bardic round, a slot-machine guardian, a corporate copter, a convoluted antagonist, a puppeteer's cover, a shop-owning mole-bat, an educated man's hat, the horned helms of a man's dark side, a old pirate gambler, a man's dark side, his own redemption, an adjudicator's mask, a belted woman's dolls, a well-traveled pirate, some Christmas swag, mother's mask, a predicting patriot, the great tree's mask, a silent hero, the dancers' rings, a ranger's covering, the future of evolution, a samurai's mask, a pirate's hat, and finally a wild man's mask.

And that's with taking a few months off. Imagine what we can pull off in another year.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned.

Corsair's Tricorne

2010-06-11T19:05:00.005-05:00

Corsair's Tricorne
http://www.mediafire.com/?dw3zdtkyg10
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7Q9NWIZW

Second to last, a hat for a lucky pirate. Subject matter very dear to me.
Anyhow, last piece of the puzzle in less than 24 hours.

I feel the yellow teeth make it more authentically piratey.

Myochin Kabuto

2010-06-11T00:52:00.004-05:00

Myochin Kabuto
http://www.mediafire.com/?yzmywdlmk2o
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IKTJS26B

Down to the home stretch. There'll be another one tomorrow (well later today if you want to get technical), then the final piece of the first year anniversary project on Saturday (which is not coincidentally the second anniversary).

Rawr.

Plasmid

2010-06-01T14:28:00.002-05:00

Plasmid

http://www.mediafire.com/?tmjj3qjiuiy

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=12ULX9SA

First BioShock model, very exciting. Simple build, included textures for Plasmids, as well as Physical, Combat, and Engineering Tonics.

Expect more in the future. I'm thinking maybe an EVE Hypo next.

Hunter's Beret

2010-05-30T14:03:00.004-05:00

Hunter's Beret
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Q4JH7NQM
http://www.mediafire.com/?wmzmmnumqw2

Ranger's hat, blah blah blah. You know the drill. More later.

(Attempt at witty text goes here)

Dancer's Tiara

2010-05-30T13:49:00.006-05:00

Dancer's Tiara
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FDVFV9MA
http://www.mediafire.com/?yeyxydwmmmy

So, I'm finally cracking down and getting the last of them done. As previously stated, I'm pretty much going to release the last one on the day of the anniversary. Got another one ready for release right after this, then two more between now and the 14th. In the meantime, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.

I feel pretty, oh so pretty~

No! Too pretty! Make it stop!

Serge

2010-05-20T23:01:00.014-05:00

Serge

http://www.mediafire.com/?k43mnz0dzvd

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N3J317SQ

I'm back, nerds!

Hooo, been a while hasn't it? Well rest assured, the wait was well worth it. Well...worth it for me. You are now following the exploits of a published freelance writer and college graduate. That's right, it's okay to bask in my glory...

No?

Fine then.

Anyway, this one's not so bad. That anime hair is the hardest part of the whole build, but I think I came up with a rather clever solution to some floating parts on the front. We'll see if you agree.

As ever, I'm terribly amused with my own antics.

So, I'm back. Currently looking for work, not finding any, subsequently have lots and lots of free time. I've made the terrible terrible mistake of reactivating my FFXI content IDs, and world-changed back to Cerberus, so if you're around, you'll find me by the name you know so well.

Got Dark Serge already printed, so that'll be next, but I'm going to start working on Kefka shortly thereafter. I'm determined to have him be the last page on my first wall of releases (you'll find out what that means after I release him). After that, I've got the FFXI Chocobos ready to go, and I'm going to force myself to finish the Artifact Helmets before I hit the second year anniversary (oh let's be honest, I'm going to time it so I release the last one on the second anniversary because I'm lame enough to think that's cool).

I'm on Windows 7 now, and I've been having a lot more success with 3D Ripper DX, so I'm looking to expand my game roster (expect some stuff from BioShock, Borderlands if I can get the ripper tweaked to run with that weird cell-shading stuff, and maybe some Wii games, as I recently acquired said console).

I'm also going to be at A-Kon in Dallas in a little over a week. Won't be doing anything like at the Arkansas festival, but I'll be wandering around with Chenille if you feel like offering some salutation. Was planning to having something for that SteamPunk RPG ready for playtesting by the convention, but generic laziness on the part of myself and my co-creator has lead to...well...it isn't ready. Anyway, we'll all be there, so track us down if you're in the neighborhood.

Notice: bonus effects from equipment do not stack.

Exdeath's Helmet

2010-02-08T20:08:00.005-06:00

Exdeath's Helmet
http://www.mediafire.com/?zt2izzfdjne
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DIXKHL34

Sorry about the ridiculous amount of time this took to get done. It actually only took about 4 hours to build, going pretty casually, then a bit longer to make the instructions and release pack.

There's no point in lying about it, I just haven't been feeling it lately. I rushed to get some models ready for the convention in November, then I had to wrestle with the last four finals I'd ever have to take for my B.A. in Philosophy, then I raced through Jack Sparrow in about a week anda half for Christmas. After all that, I just wasn't in the mood to get back to anything. I took some time off, actually played some video games (anyone who's been reading for a while will notice a cyclical pattern between my gaming and my papercrafting).

Now I'm in my last semester of college, and I feel it's fairly important to take it seriously. I'm also going to be needing to find a real job soon, so as I don't have to move back to Houston once I'm done with my work here in Denton. The truth is, I've been procrastinating with a lot of stuff because I've lined up a handful of serious, work-heavy projects, and I'm just not up for sitting down and trying to get a pose done for something as detailed as Kefka or Cloud. As such, it's easy to get distracted, and given this year's video game releases, that isn't going to get better any time soon.

Meanwhile, some friends and I are finally getting serious about working on a new Steampunk RPG system. I'll be posting any appropriate work related to it on DeviantArt (already have the world map up), but for now the development is mostly taking place on Google Docs. Once we've got something to show for it, progress will be posted on another blog. I'll let you know when the time comes, if you're interested.

I've made some changes to the Fan Section. Since everyone who contributes original content now have their own blogs, I've removed that particular section. If a certain proprietor of Paperkraft.net is reading, he would be wise to keep an eye on two of the newest additions to the crowd, Aravin and Aaron.

Finally, and THIS IS IMPORTANT, I've been thinking, we have enough Final Fantasy oriented designers now that we could make a blog specifically devoted to Final Fantasy papercraft, ala NintendoPapercraft. I've already reserved a Blogspot URL in case anyone's interested, so let me know if the idea intrigues you.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some stuff to read for a quiz tomorrow.

Oh and for the record, I think he should've been called Exodus.

The Star Sibyl

2010-01-15T04:05:00.005-06:00

The Star Sibyl
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MUD67DU7
http://www.mediafire.com/?4dwyqyymjvm

I probably could've had this done about two days after the Jenova's Mask release, but for some reason I was really dragging my feet.

Oh wait! I remember the reasons.

Anyway, I had the idea to do this one way back when I did the FFXI Process video. A tribute to the sovereign-seer of my old (virtual) home. Did a bit of simplifying on this one just to make the face buildable at scale. There are some tiny parts, but it's a lot better than it would've been if I'd left the eyelids in tact.

So, I start my final semester of university on Tuesday. It's basically a semester of electives to just fill out my hours, so I expect to have plenty of free time, but I also need to find employment so I'm not screwed into moving back in with my mother come graduation. So yeah, hopefully some free time, but not more than money can be made in.

Next models will be the Exdeath helmet (probably gonna be built on Sunday), followed by Serge and Dark Serge (if it wasn't obvious already, I'm trampling all over the project list), along with a gimmick Dingo stuck to the double-release. Look forward to those in the next few weeks.

Finally, I've been working on a big list of questions and concepts that I want to go into a massive (and I do mean massive) introduction to papercraft and tutorial on all the things contained therein. If you have any questions you want addressed, please email or instant message me.

By the way, this is awesome.

Jenova's Mask

2010-01-05T19:10:00.005-06:00

Jenova's Mask
http://www.mediafire.com/?mimz52n3mqw
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E3XC0CMT

Remember the big crazy angel thing covering the Jenova tank at Nibelheim? The thing Sephiroth rips down and then you're like, "oh dear sweet lord, that woman has an eyeball in her bosom!"

Ahem...

Anyway, this is just the big suit thing edited down to the head. If you'd like to wear it as a mask (and scare the bejesus out of your FFVII playing friends), you can leave the eyes (or rather, lack thereof) out.

Potion
http://www.mediafire.com/?nnvjiyjqhno

While we're at it, I've had this lying around for a while, been waiting for a Crisis Core release to tag it on. PDO only, as with so many of the Crisis Core gimmick models.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have got a monstrous pile of scrap paper to clean up after the FFIX party marathon.

EDIT:

Oh hey, look at that. First release of 2010. Fancy.

Ready, set, go!

2009-12-29T18:59:00.008-06:00

We're going live with the contest tonight. If you want to join in, or even just watch, direct your attention to the Ustream gadget to your right. If you want to tag along, get yourself a Ustream.tv account and send me a message to co-host. No webcam? Tag along anyway, just join us in the Ustream chat.

EDIT:

For those of you who can't get the sidebar gadget to work, here's the show's URL:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kaizo-papercraft

Oh and feel free to join in if you've got a webcam. Doesn't really matter what you're working on.

EDIT AGAIN:

And the finish line. Sorry about the last few days. Got tired of messing with Ustream, and generally Chenille and I were operating on pretty wonky schedules, so it just wasn't worth the effort. Anyway I'm done, so it's back to work for me (gotta love how my definitions of work and play involve exactly the same activity).

By the way, Coupling is a fantastic show.

Christmas Stuff

2009-12-26T21:35:00.004-06:00

Dream Hat
http://www.mediafire.com/?mindgz0jw4o
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NJ4EG8Z0

Bit late at this point, but as the Sandbox will attest, I have some Christmas themed stuff in my build folder. I'll append this post tomorrow with the stocking after I get it built.

Fascinating.

Dream Stocking
http://www.mediafire.com/?zmol0jyoi1x

Sorry about the delay on this one. Between LittleBigPlanet and God of War, I'm having a hard time concentrating on builds that have been rendered more or less useless due to the nature of their belated holiday theme.

Some more gimmicky models to come in the next few days. Also seems like the contest is going to start on either New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. I kind of like the former, but at this point it just depends on my counterpart being ready to get started.

Jack Sparrow

2009-12-25T15:10:00.005-06:00

Jack Sparrow
http://www.mediafire.com/?eyzzzutgxah
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PSBE9GSJ

So this one was obviously a Christmas present. Ended up pulling an all-nighter to finish the build, which felt odd, because I got over half of the model done in 12 hours on the first day of construction. Anyway, I'm fairly satisfied with the result considering this is probably going to get more attention than my usual releases. I think I could've finessed the pose (his legs are kinda wonky...) a bit more given more time, but I was working under a strict deadline (something I've actually never done before).

Anyway, he's the size of Lady Luck, and was really quite easy to build. Lots of details, but nothing too complicated. Be sure to get a piece of cardboard or something for use as a base, as his balance is way off.

(Closeup on the tag. Ahaaaah, inside jokes that only I get...and maybe the people on the interwebz)

If you check the Sandbox, you'll see that I've got loads of stuff ready to go, actually printed, sitting in a folder behind me. I wanted to get them all released today, but Jack took longer than expected, so I'll space them out over the next few days. Expect lots of little gimmick models and one decent sized release.

Finally, Chenille and I are still planning to have our FFIX party build contest over the break, but as I'm currently about 300 miles south of my apartment, I'd like to wait until I get home to start it, so we'll probably aim to start New Year's eve, or something like that. Keep an eye on the Ustream feed to see how the competition's going.

So yeah, Happy (appropriate seasonal holiday here), bah humbug, etc.

Stay tuned.

Convention Report: Arkansas Anime Festival

2009-11-24T13:42:00.020-06:00

(Skip to the end for the actual release downloads)

Alright, so first things first: we did have internet, but I only had sporadic access to my laptop, and by the time things got going on Saturday, I was generally too busy to get any real material written out anyway. Which is also why there aren't many actual photos of the event, or any videos. So here we go:

We got out of town around 6:45 AM, and spent the next 5-5:30 in the car. Google Maps estimated about 6:30 duration, but that can be sped up by going 80MPH...the whole time. And yes, it was pointed out, there are quite a few small towns along the way. No slowing down!

As a side note, what the Hell is wrong with Oklahoma? It's just bonfires, weird smells, and terrible terrible civic planning. You get across the Arkansas state line, and it's just flat horrible plains on Oklahoma. You get over the state line again to Texas, and suddenly all the road noise is gone, because the roads are actually maintained. I never want to go back to Krebs, and I don't want to talk about why...God, what a terrible place...

Anyway, we got to the convention, set up shop (the whole frame system I worked out didn't quite function the way I wanted, but it was sufficient. And if you aren't at the table, people are surprisingly good about not pawing at your wares.

The convention was really quite small. Most of the attendees were locals either from Fayetteville or who just did the local Arkansas circuit. However, there were quite a number of booth folk who got recruited at Anime Fest in Dallas when we did, particularly our awesome neighbors, also Dallas locals, Badger Tea Company. I gotta say, if we'd been set up next to anyone else in the vendor's room, the convention would not have been as good.

By the way, never refer to yourself as "the bald guy," when you only have a crew-cut and there is an actually shaved-clean bald guy sitting at the next table over.

Here's the banner which will wait on my wall until it's needed again (also check out some of the cool crap I got in the mail from the SE Member's site...a fan).

This one got scrawled after the first day, wherein the most common question was "are they really made of paper?" Which of course prompted the handful of friends I made to just wander by the booth and say things like, "So, I just have on last question...are they really made out of just paper?"
Aha...haha...haaah.
-____-
All of you.

One of the funnier events at the booth, apart from the constant, hilarious exchange of smarm with Lacy (Badger), was when a girl came by and asked for my autograph. Autograph? I responded with confusion as to why she wanted my signature, to which she responded with more confusion as to why I was hesitant. Eventually I just scribbled the blog's URL and she wandered off, confused by my whole deal. A few of the people nearby (folks who would later actually sit through my panels) had a laugh about how ludicrous the entire event was.

I can guarantee my signature will never be worth anything...

Anyhow, we ran three panels, two "make and takes," wherein we supplied (some of) the necessary materials to build the Cactuar and Moogle respectively, then one Sunday afternoon on design. Here's how the panels went, since we didn't get video: they were horrible. Unbelievably horrible. To the six of you who actually stuck it out for all three: I thank you, you brave souls. The final panel was physically painful. My laptop wouldn't work with the projector, we were stuck in a tiny little room, and as anyone who reads regularly will know, this is not the sort of hobby that makes for interesting live action. I was hoping to answer any specific questions there, but really, having a look at this site is so much better than me actually being there to explain. Sorry for how terrible it was folks, if you're reading, and yes, I'm fully aware of how bad it was.

It's worth mentioning, though, that we had a lot of scheduling problems, which contributed (a bit) to the lack of attendees at the panels. Yes, loads of people opted to leave as they went on, mainly because we got severely short-handed on cutting implements and general time restrictions, but we also had some other things to contend with. See the time of that Bishi auction? Yeah...

There was this girl cosplaying as Ed there. I'll be completely honest: I fell madly in love with her in a little less than 15 seconds. However, that Bishi auction was far more intriguing, considering it was the papercraft panel or that. But yeah, every other guy there seemed to be as keen on her as I was, so it's not like there was any sort of loss. But you see what I mean about scheduling issues. Bishi auction to compete with for the first, early morning for the second (early for gamers anyway), and afternoon (when everyone is getting ready to get out of town) for the last. I'm not saying they were worth attending in the least, but yeah, in future I'll probably avoid the panels in favor of just some booth space.

By the way, that schedule's taken out of context, have a look at the full page for Sunday:

A schedule full of one-liners, then a big ol' paragraph about nothing. One guess as to who actually wrote the summaries for the papercraft panels...

I had this whole plan worked out to dress as "professor Kaizo" for the panels, but by the time you actually get around to it, realize how small the group is, and how boring it's going to be on its own, the prospect of doing it all in character as a lecturing old geezer seems a bit unattractive. Just the same though, finding a jacket with actual elbow patches for $10 at Goodwill was kind of awesome. Now I just need some survival patches. The wool is quite nice when it's chilly, as I just discovered, walking back from class.

Even got an awesome beard from the Party Store.
(My mom made the Moogle cap a while back, that just happened to be on the desk fan I felt would be a good place to hang the beard.)

Had a lot of materials left over after the booth and the panels. Not sure what I'm going to do with them. I could potentially remake a few models. Maybe have a look around on Craigslist to see if I can unload them on locals. Maybe save them for a potential convention in the future.

So here's a funny question: you've got a bunch of models to transport. How do you move them about 400 miles? Do you get a bunch of boxes, fill them with packing peanuts, and give every model plenty of padding? OR do you throw them loose into your trunk and hope for the best?

That's right! In the trunk they go! This method worked hilariously well. Loaded them like this in my apartment parking lot, opened the trunk again in the hotel parking garage, and not a one had shifted even slightly. It was fantastic. Honestly, the models suffered more causalities out of the trunk (like when Ian rolled over my Blitzball on his bed). But that's to be expected. Really, minimal repair work necessary. I was kind of upset by everything getting rained on in the initial load, but for the most part everything worked out fine.

So here's the thing, the convention was overall a great success. It gave me the chance to see how running a booth and panels works out, but on a small scale, and as such, set me up with an immediate safety net of people I saw regularly throughout the day.

Remember that Bishi auction for the "Masquerade Ball?" Well, while wandering around killing time beforehand (knowing inevitably that I'd only have a look then go back to my room rather than dance), we ran into some of the folks who actually stuck it out through all of the panels and showed real interest in the hobby. One of the guys (Krüz) was actually working on the Cactuar at the time, so I ended up sitting around with them while Ian wandered off to check out the ball. Eventually a few decks of Munchkin made their way on to the table, and a few hours later, with a few more people joining the fray, we had reached complete decoherence, and were basically just sitting around laughing our asses off.

(We were playing by Epic rules with all but a few of the expansion packs, and I dropped the effect pretty early that required you play to 22, not 20. I actually won, despite it being my second attempt at the game, in the most anti-climactic way possible: against a level 1 armchair. In my defense, I tried to take it back to keep the game going longer, but everyone was ready to call it after like 3 hours. I think my hands are the ones in the top right, doing something unnatural.)

So, the funny thing is, on the way home, Ian and I were both recalling how the whole event had been sort of a confidence boost. He hung out with some lovely ladies (even though the combination of Captain Morgan, a rave the first night, and some big ol' pirate boots basically sapped all his strength), and had a good time. I, however, found confidence in a different place. You'd expect having real people tell me my stuff is "amazing," and that I was "unbelievably epic" for doing it all, would be the good stuff. You'd be wrong. I'm numb to all that now. Heard it too many times. What boosted my confidence was when someone asked if I was an improv comedian by trade, because I'd been getting so many laughs in the panels and hanging out with people after events of the day died down.

While sitting around Saturday morning before heading down to the table, Ian and I came across the following infomercial, surfing through the hotel's TV selection:

We brought this thing up whilst playing Munchkin to great amusement of our companions. The kilted fellow (whose name I believe is Chris, apologies if you're reading, but real names weren't tossed around much, apart from when we discovered that I'm plagued with the banter gene, and babbled a bit about my second-hand name {which is what prompted the question about being a comic}) actually got a video of me doing the "Ninja whisper," so that may surface eventually. I found the Youtube clip Sunday morning, so he brought it up on his Blackberry during the 11AM panel. All good fun.

Ancient Asian metalworking secrets...

(You can stop scrolling now)

Gabranth's Helmet
http://www.mediafire.com/?23idy2dhyag
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CKN6W54G

It should be noted about the scale: It fits me like a glove. So much so that it stays stable on my face. Now, I've got a fairly large head, but I shave it, so as usual, I think I'm a decent representative of a generic size. Good luck with it.

Lulu's Cactuar and Moogle
Cactuar: http://www.mediafire.com/?zrcndkgn4g0
Moogle: http://www.mediafire.com/?hkm4nmotzoe

The moogle is a revisit of Lulu's Moogle, and the Cactuar is just the equivalent. I did these layouts looking for models simple enough for beginners, but interesting enough to be worth building. I don't have full instructions for them because I was speed building in an attempt to time myself. Wanted something buildable within the panel time limit. They weren't, but I'm still happy with the finished products. I'll have the PDOs for now, as minimal instructions for the brave panelists trying to finish on their own. Remember to download my standard fonts from Dafont to use the PDO effectively.

Hoo...
With all that said, I'll go ahead and note that I won't be working on any new releases for about two weeks. This weekend's Thanksgiving, but I've got two research papers due next week, so I'm opting to stay in Denton rather than head down to my Mom's in League City, and basically live at the library for the long weekend. Rousseau and Democritus, bring it on!

Chenille and I are still looking for some more competition for our Final Fantasy IX party build contest, so shoot me a message if you're interested. We're going to be dueling it out on Ustream with the multi-webcam option. At the moment, it looks like it will be taking place over Christmas break, when everyone's got free time. The more the merrier, et cetera.

You know the usual drill. Stay tuned...

Arkansas Anime Festival: Convention Primer

2009-11-19T16:35:00.006-06:00

Alright kids, so Ian and I will be heading off to the Arkansas Anime Festival early tomorrow morning (like sunrise early, ugh). Rather than save it all for one big post on Monday, I'm hoping to report on the events as they transpire. I'm not 100%, but I'm hoping we'll have some degree of internet access while there. I suppose we'll all be finding out in about 24 hours. If you don't hear from me by then, odds are we don't have any free internet options, and everything's gonna get posted in a monster post Monday afternoon/evening.

In the meantime, thought I'd let you know how this is gonna play out:

I'll be running three panels. Two "make and takes," that is, panels wherein we provide the materials and attendees get to try to make their own model on the spot (probably not going to happen in the short hour we have the room for). Then one "lecture" style on design.

When we aren't in panels (and I mean no offense to the other panelists and the people who wrangled them up), we'll probably be avoiding the other events of the con like the plague. Which means we'll be sitting around our booth either in the vendor's floor or in "artists' alley." Either way, we'll be sitting around talking to people, showing off all my little trophies for wasted time, and depending on whether or not we get access to a power outlet, watching a whole lot of British comedy, or playing our PSPs with feverish intent. For the booth, I had a banner made at a local shop called "Signarama." Not only is the banner epic, I even managed to spread the gospel of papercraft to the people working there. Pointed them at the Unofficial WoW Papercraft blog after a brief conversation explaining what exactly this banner is for. Seriously, check this thing out:

How freaking cool is that?

Anyway, if you scroll down slightly, you'll see I mentioned something about a secret project. Well I didn't actually get that done in time. I intended to finish five new models before the convention and, in retrospect, that number is clearly asking too much of myself. I did manage to get three of them done, though one was basically a revisit of an old model and the other was incredibly simple. I'll get them posted later on, hopefully after the make-and-take sessions for which they were designed. The third, however, is pictured in the photo at the top. Can you spot it? I'm quite pleased with the result. I'll have time to do the instruction/release logistics whilst sitting around, so if I've got internet access, I might be able to get the release out while we're at the convention.

So, to sum up, the next three days will be awesome for me, and you may either see a massive surge in posts, or none at all, followed by a huge one.

Wish me luck~

Cecil - Paladin

2009-11-06T23:38:00.003-06:00

Cecil - Paladin
http://www.mediafire.com/?tyjgmnh5zjm
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QZS114T5

So, it's been over two weeks since the Dark Knight release, which means it's excuse time. I don't really have any this time. I just kind of wasted time for about a week, then school work got in the way. Anyhow, here it is. I'm happy with the result, but I'll tell you this right now: might be the hardest model I've released. That's not to say it's difficult, just that the hair is detailed to a ridiculous level. I'm sure you'll do better than I did.

So, it's been a while since we last talked, so here are some updates:

The blog's passed a year with Clustrmaps and we're almost to 100,000 hits. Nifty, eh?

I was planning to have a build competition with Chenille to see who could do the entire FFIX party (as per Chamoo's designs) fastest. The idea is still on, and I'd love to get some more people in on the race. However, this probably won't happen for a few weeks. I'll be doing a panel and a booth at Arkansas Anime Festival in a few weeks, and there are a few models I'd really like to have done before then. The contest is gonna have to wait.

So, it may be a bit before another update. I need to get the models done, and of course I'll go about them the same way as usual, but I may not take the time to get the releases out until I've actually had a chance to exhibit them (one of them is a super secret release).

Anyway, stay tuned, et cetera.

Cecil - Dark Knight

2009-10-17T14:35:00.007-05:00

Cecil - Dark Knight
http://www.mediafire.com/?2j24tnfgmmc
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FG43RH0Y

Decided to go ahead and release this on its own now for a few reasons. I've already released Cecil's Helmet on its own, so the big pack will be lacking its total completion no matter what. If I were to save both models for a big pack, it'll be well over 30mb. This way, I get the models to you faster. And finally, it takes the pressure off me to rush the last build.

Anyway, he's done, and I'm quite pleased with the result. The build wasn't difficult, but given the level of detail, I wouldn't really call it easy either. Included three textures for this, the normal costume, which I built, his alternate (which is sort of a red version of the normal), and the Manikin skin, which you encounter as a generic enemy in story modes.

So here's the issue: put him next to Terra, and it looks like I've totally butchered the scale. However, this is 100% correct. I present the following as evidence:

So, in FFIV, Cecil was listed as being 5'8" and Terra was listed as being 5'7" (right in range of my height, quite comforting being this short when some of your imaginary heroes are too). However, they're clearly not an inch off in Dissidia. I would say Cecil was scaled up and Terra was scaled down. She's gotta be under 5 feet now, and I'd say he's around 6.

So, the scale looks wrong, but It's right on (though whether that's good or bad remains to be seen). Now, the big issue (no pun intended), is that Cecil is a medium size model in Dissidia, whereas Golbez (pictured above) is downright massive. If you check out the Sandbox, I made a post about this issue, particularly as it regards Chaos, which I'd like to do eventually.

Anyway, we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, I'll get back to work. I might take a few days off before starting on the Paladin version of Cecil, just to give myself some variety.

Follow the progress on Ustream, if you're interested.

Adieu, bottle of glue

2009-10-14T20:17:00.007-05:00

Put this together as soon as the bottle finally ran dry this afternoon. It really is impressive how far a single $3 bottle can take you.

And remember, I am an officially licensed and certified madman, so don't try this at home.

EDIT: A friend reminded me of something I wanted to mention. I actually waste a lot of glue by pouring it out onto a palette and using a toothpick. That should really suggest to you the cost effectiveness of this glue.

Oh and for the record, the fire didn't smoke, barely smelled like anything, and I did not get high in the slightest way.

If you were wondering, the hats aren't pictured because I've been using a small bottle of the regular Tacky so as to not use up my Quickdry. Got another 8oz bottle waiting for another year of crafting, so...

Righto, back to work.

Fargo

2009-10-13T15:09:00.005-05:00

Fargo
http://www.mediafire.com/?m02ygmytgoy
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QQ23JQNL

Meant to get this built last week, but between all the school crap and going to Houston for the weekend, I couldn't get around to it. Anyway, with Fargo done, I'm going to get started on the Dark Knight version of Cecil this afternoon. I'll try to get as much on Ustream as I can, so tune in if you care. I'll probably be watching That Mitchell and Webb Look for a while. It's about as good in audio form. I'll figure out something else for the rest of the huge build.

Had some more fun with character summary:

A mermaid-loving, father-of-androgynous-pop-idols cruise ship captain.

Travel the world, father some children with a mermaid, fight a horrid, pan-dimensional evil with your estranged family? Arg! It's the pirate's life for me!

Picked up some more shelves while I was down for the weekend.
Problem is, eventually I'm going to run out of walls...then ceiling...
I'm gonna need a bigger place sooner or later.

Anyway, back to work.

Chaos Burgeonet and Cecil's Helmet

2009-10-07T01:37:00.000-05:00

Chaos Burgeonet
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=I1D2JR3H
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?gmxmmnylutn

I've got a lot of images here, so I'm going to break the text up in weird ways. Just thought I'd warn you.

Anyway, so here's the deal: It's my birthday (yes yes, woo, etc.).

Now, I've had these two models built and ready to go for some time (not too long on the Chaos Burgeonet, but I've had Cecil's Helmet ready for like two weeks), but I wanted to save their releases for when I finished working on the actual Cecil character models. That way you get a big ol' pack of Cecil related stuff (the Chaos Burgeonet is obviously based on Cecil's original helmet, so I figured it should go in the big release as well).

Problem is, I also wanted to release something on my birthday so I'd have an excuse to post. I tried just posting for the sake of it last year, and the whole affair felt really contrived. I wanted to get Fargo built and released, but I ended up sitting around a bar with some friends (don't ask why, I don't even drink) for several hours this evening, so I knew Fargo just wasn't going to get built on time.

Cecil's Helmet
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=S8R5LHB4
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?l0zlziqz5ze

So, since I had both of these models packaged up, ready to go, I figured I'd go ahead and release them for the excuse to post on my birthday, and to give you a present by not being a tease and keeping them to myself until I get the big stuff done (any of you who saw my posts on the paper hat rack I built will already have known about the Cecil mask). Also this frees me up to just kick back on my birthday and play some Katamari Forever.

Ugh...while posting this, I just noticed Ynger's comment in the shoutbox (and yes, that typo was intentional). You remember Yngar, right? The crazy-eyed man who conducted horrible experiments with caffeine and alcohol at Anime Fest?
You may not want to, but you remember...

Anyway, if you really want to show your appreciation on my twenty-third, you should consider pressing that shiny yellow button to your right. The one that says "Donate." Donations keep my paper plentiful and my printer full of ink.

Haaah. With all that said, I can finally address some of the important bits about the models. Namely, they're both full-head helmets. This means scaling is real tricky business. Now, I have a pretty big head, but, I shave it, so I am sans-hair. This means that my head is a pretty good rough estimate of the size of the average wearer. What I found with these is that, you need to remember the shape of your head: its widest circumference is around the temple/forehead, just above the eyes. The helmets will both fit, but you need to be careful about putting them on. Go slowly, and try to tuck your ears in as you pull down over the brow. That way you won't hurt your face or your fancy paper hat.

I'll try to get Fargo done in the next few days, then start on the Cecil models when I can. Going out of town for the weekend (Renaissance Festival in Houston with crazy-eyes; my mom's in League City, so it's also a chance to cash in on the birthday weekend).

With all that said, I think I'll relax a bit and roll me up some soul clods.

You know, eating a bag's worth of muffins with a big glass of milk is a mighty fine substitute for a birthday cake. I was never all that big on frosting anyway.

Scholar's Mortarboard

2009-09-23T21:48:00.008-05:00

Scholar's Mortarboard
http://www.mediafire.com/?gltze0wzogj
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CXZRZ53B

This is the last of the big batch I made ready for building a while back (ignoring the Dark Knight helm, which I'm saving for the big Cecil release). Getting to the point where I can count the remaining AF hats on one hand. Of course, I left the most tedious for last, so we'll see how long it takes to get them all done.

Anyway, this is likely the last release for the next two weeks or so. It's crunch time for the first round of exams this semester, so I need to worry about the usual two pages of written material a week, plus a whole stack of "journal entries" for 19th Century philo, and a chapter test in Japanese. Next week I'll get the prompts for my first paper in Ancient. Did this whole build while listening to Thus Spoke Zarathustra on audiobook so I could multitask and prepare for those journal entries I should've been doing for the last month.

I've also been thinking I need to adopt a more regular schedule, so I can afford myself time and discipline to get in shape and maintain other interests. Thinking about aiming for one release a week. That seems like a lot for most people, but I like to sprinkle miniature gimmick release in with my big stuff, so it's not too bad. This also allows me to work on the big stuff in a more focused manner.

I'll let you know what I settle on. If I can find some time to build (potentially listening to another audiobook in preparation for another paper), Fargo will be the next release. Then I can finally get down to work on Cecil.

Kingdom Hearts Moogle

2009-09-22T16:43:00.004-05:00

Kingdom Hearts Moogle
http://www.mediafire.com/?wwmtnh5ztvj
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CET5XNQ5

So, this is my first adventure into Kingdom Hearts territory (not that I chose something iconic from that particular series), and I don't think I'm very fond of these models. They're needlessly high in the polycount, and as we all know, I'm completely useless when it comes to fixing up models in that respect.

All the same, the build went faster than I expected, mainly because I utilized the "stacked rings" method for the small parts in the limbs. The original model was built a lot like the old FFVII models in that it was composed of floating parts only held together by an invisible skeleton. Rather than forcibly attach the arms and legs, locking him into a single pose, I thought I'd play it lazy and leave them loose. This way you can punch holes yourself and pose him however you like.

Anyway, I've got some vague plans for what to do with Kingdom Hearts in the future, but I assure you, they won't be what the public wants most out of those games.

Work continues on...lots of things. Scholar's Mortarboard or Fargo up next, not entirely sure yet. I've got the Dark Knight version of Cecil printed, but my printer ran dry again during the Paladin print. I'm distressingly destitute at the moment, so it'll be a bit before I can get more ink.

My brithday's coming up, you could always donate to speed up the process~

Expect another release some time this week...maybe.

Oh right, almost forgot to mention. Apparently this is my 101st post. That seems like...iuno, something? Important? Worth noting, kind of.
Whatever, I'll get back to work.

Puppetry Taj

2009-09-15T23:39:00.003-05:00

Puppetry Taj
http://www.mediafire.com/?3m42fjvjzoa
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PI0L1SZ6

Got this knocked out early so I can actually worry about my school work tomorrow. Just whittling away at the full list of AF helms. I've got two more printed and ready, hopefully get them built soon.

In other news: I had a look through the Chrono Cross stuff again after making the Lynx post. I think after Fargo, I'll get to work on Serge. I think I'm going to try to make it a double release and package the Lynx-possessed Dark Serge alongside. Beyond that, I'm not really sure what I want to do. I've got a few of my own favorite characters (actually the list of my favorites is about half the recruitable characters), but I'm open to suggestion. Eventually I'd like to do them all (Pip is gonna be a big ol' release...)

Anyway, I've got some homework to do. Enjoy your hat.

Lynx

2009-09-15T15:25:00.004-05:00

Lynx
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CX2BCNCT
http://www.mediafire.com/?lzqy4jjeejm

First of the next two Chrono Cross models, the second (possibly later this afternoon) being Fargo. Did the entire build on Usteam. Apologies though, as I only realized after finishing everything that my Line In has been muted for the last several days, which means all the music and audio for the last several videos (Lynx build, Shinra Copter build, and Cecil layout) have all been silent. I was under the impression you were hearing all kinds of stuff. Oh well~

As a result, if you go back and watch the Lynx build, it may be important to note that I was watching standup comedy for almost the entire thing. Just thought I'd let you know what the inexplicable, hysterical laughter was about. I thought I was sharing Louis CK's hilariously dark humor with you, but apparently not. I'll make sure that's fixed for any future videos. And yes, I was eating orange juice concentrate. I do that...

Anyway, it occurred to me while building this, that I think the Chrono Cross models are my favorites. The meshes are low poly enough to keep the part count low, but high enough to be able to build them without folding; the textures are gorgeous; and the models are detailed enough that I get plenty of chances to play with fun little innovations. I'll try to keep more of them on my project list at a time.

If you read through the instructions on release all the way to the end, you'll know that I always try to have some plot-related joke at the end, along with a finished photo to end the guide. I was pretty amused with what I came up with for Lynx's last page, thought I'd post it here, in case you usually glance over.

That's all for now. I'll probably get started on something a bit easier after I clean up the apartment. Expect something released tomorrow.

Shinra Helictoper

2009-09-13T02:14:00.004-05:00

Shinra Helicopter
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E2APMWZT
http://www.mediafire.com/?mzlxgnmkwyz

Another Crisis Core mini-release, akin to Genesis' Sword. If you've checked the project list recently, you'll know that this is only the first part of a larger plan to build a more detailed version of the same chopper. This is just one that someone with only a few hours to kill would want to build, not a full blown weekend project like the more detailed iteration will be.

Also posted this in the MediaFire folder and on DeviantArt a little while back. I mentioned the link in the shoutbox, but in case you missed it:

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?d5wm4u2jt2o

Anyway, I've been getting plenty of layouts ready for build over the last few days (it's all been Ustream'd, so you can go back and skim through it if you like, or watch me as it happens next time), and this is the first of the stack to get tackled. I've also got the Kingdom Hearts Moogle in there, as well as Fargo and Lynx from Chrono Cross, and three more FFXI artifact helmets (Puppet Master, Scholar, and Dark Knight). I also finished the layout for Cecil's Dark Knight incarnation this morning (actually yesterday morning/early afternoon, as it's now about twoish in the "am"). I plan to build the stack over the next week, but even if I get them all done, I'm going to save the Dark Knight helmet for when I finish both Cecils and package them as one big release.

So in the meantime, stay tuned. It looks to be a good week of releases.

Video 9: Tips and Tricks

2009-09-07T23:37:00.007-05:00

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CV3VBW5X

This one's just a delivery on a few requests for demonstrations of some basic design stuff. I expected it to be fairly quick, but the video ended up being about an hour and a half. It covers scratch posing without bones, posing with bones, "cutting" material out in the digital portion so you don't have to while building, and finally some basic ideas when texture editing.

Started recording the video, got through all the posing stuff, but then everything started to freeze up after about 45 minutes. Decided to keep what I had and start with a second recording, which worked pretty nicely, as closing Audacity and Camtasia flushed out the memory and whatnot. Then I finished up the video, started watching it in Movie Maker to do the basic editing, and realized that I forgot about tex editing. So I just tacked on a third portion as well. It's really a poor execution, but it does the job.

A bit of warning: for the second portion, Audacity froze up right before I could save the project or export an MP3, so I had to make due with the temporary files it didn't have time to delete. Mainly there are just some volume issues. It doesn't get in the way of understanding what's going on, it just might be a bit annoying if you've got your stereo/headphones turned up when the volume starts to go wonky.

I've been wanting to do one final video, but it might be a bit before I can organize my thoughts enough to make a video and post. If I get around to it, it'll be a big post that serves as an "introduction to papercraft." We'll see.

I'd also like to get back to broadcasting my work time on Ustream.tv. There might be all of two people who actually watch it, but whatever. It's remarkable how little memory/processing power/bandwidth the whole affair consumes, so I figure why not.

Finally, in semi-related news, I've changed the layout again. I've been wanting to get it into a 3-column configuration, but it took a while to find a tutorial that actually covered all the necessary template modifications to pull it off correctly. I like it. I'll probably keep making little adjustments until it's just right.

In the mean time, all the usual platitudes, etc..

Convention Report: Anime Fest

2009-09-06T22:48:00.028-05:00

So, as mentioned early this morning, I attended Anime Fest today. My first adventure into this whole "convention" hullabaloo, and I must say, it was a unique experience. I have to admit, I spent the first hour or so in complete shellshock, attempting to rationalize the utterly inane things around me. Honestly? It was a lot like being tossed into ice-water and trying to swim to the bright shores of sanity. It takes some time to acclimatize.

Anyhow, once I stopped screaming every time a man in a full body, anthropomorphized fox suit and samurai outfit passed by, it wasn't an entirely unpleasant experience. We didn't do much beyond meander through the vendor's booths and explore the basic layout of the place, but we ran into a few colorful characters. I was carrying a handful of business cards in case anyone seemed interested in the few models we were toting around, and lucky for me, I caught a few eyes. The first person to exclaim "Moogle!" actually offered to set me up with a booth at the Arkansas Anime Festival in November. I'm hoping to get all the details worked out soon. If it goes according to plan, I'll be doing some kind of generic introduction to papercraft, and probably sell layouts with some of my more popular models on display (mind you, with a big ol' sign which reads: if you have a printer and an internet connection, you can get these for free, I'm just selling paper and ink. Don't want to get my ass sued).

We also met some lovely ladies in distressing disguises (intentionally scary, unlike some; fangs and fake scars and cosmetic contacts), who seemed to be fellow veteran FFXI addicts. I must say, when confronted with prosthetic teeth of that sort, and told simply "I want that hat," I was just a bit nervous. Ian later commented that, in my shoes, he would've removed the hat from his head, and immediately given it as an attempt to curry favor. The thought really didn't enter my mind at the time...

Furthermore, upon arrival, I think someone might've recognized me and given me a poke as per some long-forgotten instructions. I was terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought at the time, so if you're reading this, attractive mystery girl, my sincerest apologies for seeming completely oblivious. Managed to pick up some Dissidia Friend Cards whilst wandering as well. I can't say any of them were challenging, but if you got mine, found this site, and want a rematch, you should look into the PS3's adhoc Party.

The following is a compilation of videos taken with my cell phone, detailing some interesting events.

Transcript:

Me: Okay, so, Ian has opted to find the cheapest vodka he can find, unchilled, at the bar, and he's going to add, um, a Health Potion, to that, and just do a shot. And, the results should be hilarious, and interesting, especially because he's the one driving us home.

Ian: (moronic laughter)

Me: Good?

Ian: Not bad. Cheers.

Me: Salud

Ian: ...that's weird.

Me: Give it a minute, as it travels down to his stomach, and...there we go. (Laughter)

Ian: Oh God...

Me: You gonna die?

Ian: No, no, I got this. It's good.

Me: This time he's decided, uh, this about two minutes after he just downed his, uh, his Health Potion and vodka. Uhm, and he's decided he's gonna go for the Mana Potion now, with nothin' else in it, straight up, down it. He's having a hard time at the moment.

Ian: (struggling to open the bottle)

Me: I think you're already drunk.

Ian: I'm not drunk.

Me: You can't even get a little bottle open, you're drunk. You're drunk. You're gonna die.

Ian: Cheers.

Me: Oh God...

Ian: It doesn't taste bad...but it doesn't feel good.

Me: (laughter)

Ian: Eugh...I'll get back to you on that.

Me: So, now we're about uhm, two minutes after that, and Ian's startin' to feel the effects now. Yisu's fairly certain he's going to end up in jail or the hospital. I'm not really sure. All I know is uh, he's going over the ingredients list uh, with kind of, fevered interest.

Ian: I just don't know if the...

Me: He's gonne die.

Me: Uhm, I just downed Ian's freaky menthol gum, and uh, there's just sort of a generic unpleasantness in my mouth. And uhm, I'd like him to repeat something he just said to me.

Ian: My heart hurts...and my kidneys.

Me: He can actually feel his kidneys.

Ian: Yeah...

Me: It's not a good sign, so, get back to you on that...

Me: So, the menthol's, uh, kickin' in for me, and I'm finding it amazing that I can actually breathe. Uhm, meanwhile, once again I'd like Ian to repeat something he just said.

Ian: Do you want someone killed? I could...I could take someone out right now.

Me: He's ready to murder someone.

Ian: (moronic laughter)

Me: Uhm, so, you know the, the lesson learned from this is, never mix a Health Potion, a Mana Potion, and cheap vodka.

Ian: That was expensive vodka. That was eight dollars.

Me: That was expensive because we are in a hotel. My Dr. Pepper cost $3.25. That was cheap vodka. The guy at the bar, said "this is the cheapest we got, and we ain't gonna chill it." So uh, you know, murder, (cut off) it ain't good.

What you didn't see were some conversations before we got to the bar, and in between shots, about how the website for Mana Potions advises, one: you should dilute your potion in something like tea, and two: that you should not consume more than one per 24-hour period (much less two in under five minutes, with alcohol). These are the reasons he chose to make the mistakes he did. The entire drive home he made comments about how eventually I would look over to find him completely rigid, staring straight forward, foaming at the mouth. Once we got home, I think he chugged about a liter of water.

Notice the interesting warning, "Use caffeine responsbily," and the incredible percentages of your daily requirement of vitamins you're consuming. Good times with strange liquids. Also, the "menthol gum," I mention is a Japanese chewing gum called "Black Black," (pictured at the top). It's rather minty, and opens up your sinuses in incredible new ways, making all the air you breathe feel disturbingly chilled. I have to admit, the first time it was unpleasant, then I started to crave it. I'm just glad there isn't nicotine in there as well...

EDIT: I've just been informed that Black Black is also caffeinated, which explains a few things...like why I really want to order a whole case of the stuff. o_O

Anyhow, I'll let you know how that stuff with the convention in November works out. In the meantime, I'd still like to do another video to deliver on some requests for generic tips and tricks in design work, and one last one for a while, as part of a larger post on an "introduction to papercrafting." Might be useful if I'm to host some lesson at a convention.

...typing up that transcript felt like transcribing an episode of Cops...

EDIT

Oh right! Almost forgot: some time ago I promised a video of myself and some friends making fools of ourselves in public, whilst attempting to speak a language we hardly understand. Due to computer issues plaguing our brilliant director (Mr. Yellow) all summer, the video wasn't posted until just recently. Given that you've already seen one video of my foolishness today, and it happened at an anime convention, I don't think I can really make myself look any more weeaboo, so here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftcr_WrBHgA

And yes, our character names were chosen to be intentionally, hilariously racist.

(It was funnier if you were there)

Crisis Core Moogle

2009-09-06T04:05:00.004-05:00

Crisis Core Moogle
http://www.mediafire.com/?ywkz2ymtgnm
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L3ZIE9C3

It was brought to my attention while I was finishing the build (you may notice in the instructions that I change cutting mats a few photos from the end; I finished this at a friend's place) that I actually started the layout for this before classes ended last spring. It's been sitting around mostly done for over three months, so it was about time it got finalized. Went a lot smaller with the scale than I normally would for the following purpose:

Tomorrow (actually later today, in about...9 hours) I'll be attending Anime Fest with a few friends. The madman pictured below suggested I make something small enough to pin to my fedora so I can shamelessly advertise my wares whilst we muck about the convention. It's my first time witnessing a "con," so the experience should be interesting. If you're going (and happen to read this post between now and...9 hours from now...), you'll be able to spot me by the moogle on my hat. I'll probably be flanked by the crazy fellow, Ian, who has opted to sport my Warlock's Chapeau, and Yisu who may or may not decide to sacrifice her dignity by wearing a hat made out of paper.

Anyway, I need to get what sleep I can before I need to be up and wandering about Dallas.

...the eyes are what scare me the most...

Video 8: Dissidia Process

2009-09-05T00:55:00.014-05:00

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CXYQBPF8

So, people have been clamoring for this one since before the American release of Dissidia. Here it is. Stop bothering me about it. The process is more or less identical to the Crisis Core process, the only difference being that you swap the Crisis Core model extractor for the Dissidia one. There are also some interesting details regarding files that contain multiple models (EX Mode and whatnot), as well as some guidelines on how to handle different character incarnations. I ask that if you plan to make Dissidia models, use the prescribed scales.

Anyway, here are the links promised in the video:

USB SSS 1.00

http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/1008

UMDGen 4.0

http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/948

GitMO

http://www.richwhitehouse.com/index.php?postid=35

Mesh2RDM 1.81

http://www.richwhitehouse.com/index.php?postid=30

The sample .BAT's line of code

mesh2rdm FILE.gmo FILE.smd -texpre FILE - dissskip 0 -rotate -90 0 0 -scale 1.0 -smdout -flipuv

(remember that FILE should be replaced with the name of the file in particular, and that you can swap the .SMD suffix with .OBJ, but remember to also change the "-smdout" function to "-objout")

Dissidia model list

http://wiki.qhimm.com/Dissidia/GMO_Files/File_List

Remember, when unfolding:

If you're going to go with one of the "pre-posed" statues, don't alter the scale at any time (like in 3DS or Sketchup) and unfold in Pepakura at a scale of 1.50.

If you're using one of the unposed models and plan to pose it yourself, again, refrain from altering the scale at any time in the conversion/pose, and unfold at a scale of 0.90.

A cross-designer complete Dissidia set at the same scale would be the epitome of epic...at least in terms of Final Fantasy papercraft.

. . .

That may be one of the nerdiest things I've ever said...

EDIT:

Crap, I forgot, I already uploaded the Kefka fight a while back to show some people. Forgot to post it here.

Video 7: Crisis Core Process

2009-08-29T19:10:00.007-05:00

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KONZG8CW

Probably could've knocked this one out a while back, but meh. It's not as long as I expected it to be, so you should consider watching the whole thing (possibly multiple times) before asking me questions I've already answered. I think I'm going to continue and do another video tonight, some tips and tricks on generic stuff. Dissidia will have to wait at least until Monday (depending on when I get my copy), possibly later, as I'd really like to do the whole process justice and show the making of Kefka. Might have to do the process on Ustream, just give a quick tutorial on MegaVideo.

Anyway, here are the links promised in the video:

USB SSS 1.00

http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/1008

UMDGen 4.0

http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/948

FF7CC_Extractor

http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=7053.0

Mesh2RDM 1.81

http://www.richwhitehouse.com/index.php?postid=30

The sample .BAT's line of code

mesh2rdm FILE.raw FILE.smd -texpre FILE -rotate -90 0 0 -scale 1.0 -smdout -flipuv

(remember that FILE should be replaced with the name of the file in particular, and that you can swap the .SMD suffix with .OBJ, but remember to also change the "-smdout" function to "-objout")

Crisis Core model list

http://wiki.qhimm.com/FF7:CC/Model_Formats

Until next time, happy crafting.

Choral Roundlet

2009-08-29T01:28:00.004-05:00

Choral Roundlet
http://www.mediafire.com/?ndkm1mziqij
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZTSWY074

Sorry this one took about...two weeks longer than expected. So many reasons I could claim it got put off, but it really always boils down to laziness. As the post below describes, I ran into some more computer troubles, but those were settled in about 24 hours, and while classes did start on Thursday, I'm not in any sort of restrictive crunch quite yet (though a cursory glance suggests the end of the semester is going to hurt).

Anyway, I still haven't gotten my copy of Dissidia in yet, so the video will have to wait until it arrives. However, I'm more than capable of doing a video on Crisis Core, as well as some generic tips and stuff people wanted to see. Finally, I'm thinking of doing a big post with one or two videos as a sort of "Introduction to Papercraft." Covers the most basic of basics about construction and Pepakura use, then maybe some basic stuff on design work.

Expect something video related tomorrow (I swear this time >_>). If nothing else, I'll record the video tomorrow and have it uploaded early Sunday morning.

And again, if you've got Dissidia and a PS3, you should really look into Adhoc Party. It's a bit of a trick to figure out if you don't have some knowledge of Japanese, but there are guides out there for the mono-linguals among us, and it's well worth it. Especially if you think you stand a chance against the raw power of Cecil.

So, ya know, message me on PSN if you're up for it, and bring it on.

Reporting live from...

2009-08-26T05:40:00.003-05:00

...my laptop. Honestly, I just want a computer that doesn't give me some new and interesting horrible problem to solve every other month. Is that so much to ask?!

Anyway, my PC has decided to consume its own brain, yet again. I'll be looking into a more permanent solution this time. Normally the whole effort would take me about a day or two, but with classes starting Thursday and the now ever-present distraction that is Dissidia, it might take me until the weekend to get things sorted.

Just thought I'd give you a heads up as I was planning to do several videos and get the Bard AF hat released in the next few days. Clearly those will be on hiatus until I can make my damn machine stop failing so hard.

By the way, if you've got Ad Hoc party, I'm willing to take on all challengers. My PSN ID is in the Contact section.

UPDATE

Solved the issues, but it required reinstalling Windows, again. I'll probably have things back up to speed by the end of the night, but tomorrow is the start of Fall semester, so time will be more of a commodity (no worries, I'm a really bad student). I'll try to get the Bard AF done tomorrow and get some videos done Friday and Saturday. I just got word from Amazon that my copy of Dissidia shipped today, but I find when the stock ships in from Dallas, it gets here in two days or less. Given how lazy I've been lately, this whole debacle probably could've gone unnoticed, but I never hesitate to make excuses when they're even somewhat legitimate.

Yuffie

2009-08-12T02:05:00.006-05:00

Yuffie
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5TG9T6EK
http://www.mediafire.com/?5ilhimkumqm

Had to come up with something better than a generic standing pose, Chenille suggested that at least one member of the party should be sitting down in front, as per every group photo ever taken. I think it turned out alright, considering there's no game basis for this stance.

So the obvious thing is this leaves us with one member of the party left to build. I have a very rough idea of how I'd like to pose Vincent (I'm going to have to abandon the two I was previously considering), but it should turn out alright. He's considerably more detailed than most of the others. I'll probably try to do another FFXI helm soon if my ink cartridge holds out.

Anyway, there's been a bit of clamor for a "Fan Section," wherein people can submit their finished photos and whatnot. So far I haven't received anything from anyone (generally people never send me finished stuff, much less when I actually ask,) but hopefully I can round up some stuff. The minimal response I've gotten so far also indicates people might want to submit their own content-related models. Anything you want posted will go up, assuming it's appropriate.

If you'd like to submit something to the Fan Section, email it to me or send me a link to an upload by whichever means you like (My contact information can be found on the sidebar). I'll put a link to the Fan Section in the sidebar once I've got enough stuff to actually post.

You may also have noticed that I've finally taken the time to tag all my posts and place a labels section in the sidebar. Just minor tweaks people have asked for, etc.. Mainly things are grouped by the game from which they originate, but there are also some items like the "Blog Core" (Request Policy, Project List, Sandbox), and the "Obsolete" tag, posts bearing which contain links to models which have since been updated. All updated versions are in the Mediafire folder, which I reccomend everyone use for downloads anyway.

I'm also thinking about doing some more videos soon. Generic stuff like scratch posing in 3DS Max, the process for Crisis Core extraction, and eventually Dissidia stuff (gonna wait for the American release, for obvious legal reasons). If you have any specific design related questions that you'd like answered, ask them in the next week or so, and I'll find some good examples to demonstrate an answer in a video.

In the meantime, send in your finished photos, make requests, think of some design questions, and keep building.

Magus Keffiyeh

2009-08-09T02:16:00.004-05:00

Magus Keffiyeh
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X9KYMY7Z
http://www.mediafire.com/?hlmmnhznmng

Look! I maded another ones. You gotta love how long an ink cartridge will hold out even after saying it's bone dry. I don't make much blue stuff, so I have a feeling this was kind of a fluke. I'll probably find out Monday when I try printing the reddish-brown bard's Choral Roundlet. I don't want to jinx it, but I'm happy to say my camera is behaving less erratically as well.

Also gotta love a job that embodies "if it doesn't kill you it only makes you stronger," so literally.

On a completely unrelated note: anyone else watch Eureka Friday night? Man, I need a fast-forward button for life. Need to skip ahead to next Friday. I have serious issues with spending a whole week in suspense.

No wei! >_<

Healer's Cap

2009-08-01T04:50:00.005-05:00

Healer's Cap
http://www.mediafire.com/?z2nwztztiyj
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DHF3VVFW

Okay, so first things first. Obviously I'm doing these as slow as is physically possible considering I've got more than a handful actually laid out and ready to build. You want excuses? I've got excuses. Oh just you wait for these excuses.

You ready?

I'm really really lazy.

Right, so that's a terrible excuse. A better one would be that I have enough ink for maybe one more hat and the longer I draw out my releases the longer I can procrastinate about ordering more ink (yes order, you can get it super cheap through Amazon marketplace, whereas buying some at Staples is retarded-expensive).

On an unrelated note, I've also been enjoying some break time actually playing video games. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to kill a Big Daddy on Survivor mode. Well, maybe you would. I guess it largely depends on whether or not you've played Bioshock on Survivor difficulty. I also find Fat Princess to be a hilarious and engaging game. Worth the money, if you've got it to spare.

Anyway, that's all for now. I might do another one tomorrow (read: later today, as it's entirely too early), I might not have the ink to do so. We'll find out.

That is all.

It really does look strikingly similar to a condom...

Rogue's Bonnet

2009-07-22T03:21:00.007-05:00

Rogue's Bonnet

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VYN1WL1O

http://www.mediafire.com/?tk2mganmznd

First of the next volley of seven. Updated the Sandbox a few days ago with a brief preview. My ink's running low and I'm trying to tighten my proverbial belt (still unemployed), so as usual, don't expect anything too soon (at least not a completion of all seven).

Anyway, you know how this works. Requests, comments, et cetera.

Lordy, you'd think they could've come up with something cooler looking for thieves...

Toclafane

2009-07-11T09:24:00.006-05:00

Toclafane

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4FA6JOBR

http://www.mediafire.com/?nriooyqkhzn

Holy nuts! My first non-Squaresoft release! This should be a time of celebration, like with Lulu's Moogle, when I finally broke out of nothing but FFXI releases. It should be exciting, but if you go back and check the Lulu's Moogle release, I believe you'll see my reaction to that even was a resounding "meh." It's basically a sphere with some little ridges cut into it, not really a thing to get excited about.

Anyway, this is an original model created by the "Webmaster" (seriously, I looked all over and couldn't find a real name) of http://cgidaleks.weebly.com/. He's also done some incredibly (read: disturbingly) detailed Dalek models, which is what got this whole thing started. Obviously the Toclafane are from the three-part season finale to the third season of Doctor Who 2005 (sorry if there are any experts who refer to the "new series" by some other name, but I didn't just want to say "third season" and have people ask about William Hartnell). Anyway, it remains to be seen if I'll continue and do a Dalek model. It would need massive edit work to simplify.

By my best estimation this is roughly "life-size," as is demonstrated by the following picture of me making a fool of myself:

If you get bored halfway through, it makes a nice, but decidedly confusing hat. Here's sort of a nifty side-note: I started watching season 3 because, well, because I started with the last episode just looking for some good screenshots, but then it was in my head and I had to watch it all. Anyway, I started the build with Smith and Jones and ended with Last of the Time Lords. Took precisely the whole season to do the build (before you go mocking how long it took me to build a sphere, I was taking it pretty casually and went out for a walk to deliver the mail during Evolution of the Daleks). And yes, I take my mail down to the box on campus in the middle of the night. One: because it's been over 100° here every day for about two weeks now, so 1 AM is about the most pleasant time of the day, and Two: I have some really messed up sleeping habits. As if saying that I watched the whole season while building (and I guess it should be mentioned that I almost always do the finishing work and post releases right after I finish building) wasn't enough. I think I'm going to be purchasing some melatonin later today in an attempt to fix my broken brain (I'm already getting into that weird phase where I obviously can't tell what's appropriate to post in a release).

Anyway, I'll probably do another AF hat next. Maybe Yuffie. I've got an idea for Vincent's pose, should be nice and simple.

Stay tuned.

Oh right, almost forgot: if anyone's interested, this thing could probably be scaled down considerably and still be a fairly easy build. I'm not going to bother unless someone asks, but just know that the offer's on the table.

Tifa

2009-07-09T03:28:00.007-05:00

Tifa

http://www.mediafire.com/?w1tczxdbtk3

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1VV8SQTV

Finally trying to get around to finishing the party. I've got a pose for Yuffie that should be pretty good, but I'm still at a loss for Vincent. The two poses I was considering were completely ridiculous. They look mighty cool in the digital, but when you try to turn that into paper, there's so much overlap as to make it either unbuildable, or a really unsatisfying layout. I'll come up with something, I always do.

Also, if you're paying real close attention (specifically to the instructions and finished photos), you may have noticed a loss of quality in my photography. Accidentally dropped my camera a few builds back. It rolled off a cushioned ottoman onto a fairly thick carpet, but it just hasn't been the same since. Afraid it's an issue we're just gonna have to deal with for now.

In other news: Chenille (you remember Chenille, the one who did that amazing banner directly above this post?) is going to be trying her hand at some design work with the Chrono Cross incarnations of Ozzie, Slash, and Flea. Well, specifically Slash first, but I'm going to giving as many pointers as necessary to make it work so that she continues on to do the whole set. She seems hesitant, but I'm quite sure that an overwhelming response from the readers might help shove her off that proverbial cliff (...may not have been the best metaphor...). So, expect that in the relatively near future. Or relatively distant future. Or maybe never at all. I believe her exact quote was, "I'm still scared to epic fail the whole thing."

The lesson learned? Never ever tell me you're afraid to try something, or I'm 'on make ya.

Back with more releases soon.

Drachen Armet

2009-07-07T02:37:00.011-05:00

Drachen Armet
http://www.mediafire.com/?22ahznblyz2
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HV0JS1WK

Those of you who've had the misfortune of speaking to me over AIM, MSN, or whichever chat platform was the site of that horrible memory are well aware that I actually make a conscious effort to censor myself when posting here. On the blog, I try to keep it politically correct, family-friendly, and mostly profanity free, while in casual conversation my vocabulary is not so dissimilar from that of a syphilitic seaman (that is, I've got the mouth of a sailor). That being said, I can't help but convey to you a specific phrase which kept coming to mind while attempting to assemble this violet cranial accessory:

Horrible bitch-monster.

See, the Drachen Armet was one of the first AF helms I tried to build, and it's a lot of why I waited a year to try again (and waited another two weeks just recently to try and tackle it). The helmet is actually composed of four major parts, none of which actually connect to each other in a meaningful way in the digital model. When you build it, you basically have to add tabs to some spots that make sense, coat them in as much glue as you can, then sort of, cram them together in the way that seems most reasonable. The result is, needless to say, never very satisfying.

But it's done! I went a little larger on the scale than usual, and it still almost wasn't enough. This model has a lot of places to alter the arrangement to best suit the wearer, but that also means it has a lot of places wherein it can end up looking wholly retarded. I know it's a classic, and I know most people who want to build an AF helm at all want to build this one, but again, I caution you:

This model is a horrible bitch-monster.

Hooooo~
All that out of the way then? Good. So, Where did we leave off? Two weeks ago? Ah yes, I was going to the Distant Worlds show at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Short version: It was super-happy-funtime-fantastic. Well actually it was like going to a God damn anime convention (I've actually never been to a "con," and I know it was more tame than that, but there were cosplayers and a gigantic screen with Guitar Hero.) Ough... Anyway, the show was great. I'll spare you a full synopsis, but I will say this: Arnie Roth is a man of much excellence and Nobuo Uematsu is the most wonderful type of genius: the kind with a strong, non-sequitur sense of humor.

So I've got Tifa all laid out, ready to build, and work slowly continues on the two Cecils. My PC kind of ate itself recently (seriously, never underestimate the value of good virus protection and always wear your e-condoms when visiting the "Four-Chans"). I actually got back up to speed in a night, then it ate itself again. Some weird memory issues, I think I took some bad aci~...installed some bad drivers. Anyway, everything's back as it ought to be now. Also taking some time to do a bit of housekeeping (I've got roughly 4.5TB in hard drive space, and a disturbing amount of it is occupied), and some work with my playlists. I think I may actually be near 100% on Final Fantasy soundtrack material. I can't claim to have all the fan-made stuff, but I'm trying my hardest to acquire (have you checked out "Voices of the Lifestream?" It ain't bad).

Anyway, expect a release by the end of the week at the latest.

P.S. - Have a teapot.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zj5w42etmzg

Bad news, everyone

2009-07-01T18:59:00.005-05:00

The tiny issues I've left unchecked have turned into massive, ravaging monsters, which appear to be burrowing through my PC's brain like horrible digital earwigs. It's gotten to the point where I can't even boot up outside of safe mode. So it's time for a scheduled lobotomy.

I've been updating the Sandbox, but it's mostly little things. The truth is, I started the AF helms out of some misplaced sense of responsibility, and they've kind of drained all my interest. Mostly why I avoided them for so long. They aren't difficult, it's just that dialing in on the scale is key and I really hate building a model more than once.

Both Cecils are ready for Pepakura, but it's the little monotonous edits, like fixing up loose polygons that should be in various components for the purpose of double-facing, or the stray line I forgot to delete, etc., that are making me hesitate to walk back into boredom. I got Tifa's edits done, and her layout finished last night. She's ready for build. I may take care of that while fixing my PC's unstable thinker.

So, short version: Apologies for the extended leave of absence. I feel I need to pace myself better, so as to afford myself other hobbies. I've spent too long making paper models while ignoring the video games they come from. Things like that. I'm also going to be running a campaign for my friends in the relatively near future, so I need to be able to take time out to write and plan. Basically, I've been out of commission for a week and a half, and it's going to be a few days longer before I'm back in the game. And after that, I'm going to be trying to do releases at a slower, but more regular pace.

Again, apologies. Thought I'd give you the head's up.

Evoker's Horn

2009-06-18T09:19:00.004-05:00

Evoker's Horn

http://www.mediafire.com/?l2z2edyyjjx

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=O2Z2SAH6

Think this is the last of the obviously simple ones, so I'll probably take a break for a bit. Then again, I think I'm trying to stay up all day to fix my messy sleeping patterns.

We'll see what happens.

Ninja Hatsuburi

2009-06-18T07:37:00.004-05:00

Ninja Hatsuburi

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8I3KGALP

http://www.mediafire.com/?4lluuzgzqtk

Had to do a second build for this one, scale it up a bit. The fact that it completely covers the face means it has to be a bit bigger scale-wise. Finished product turned out nice, I think. As usual, Artifact and Relic textures, adjustable fitting.

Now to decide if I should keep going, or take a break and play some more BioShock while watching Invader Zim. Hrmmm, this isn't an easy decision. Could also play some Revenant Wings.

All the same, I love Gir!

You'll hear back from me soon enough.

Fighter's Mask

2009-06-18T04:28:00.005-05:00

Fighter's Mask

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R6ZBU2DQ

http://www.mediafire.com/?dt2wrrzgq5m

Real simple, three textures (Artifact, Relic, and Ark Angel Hume), adjustable size.

Ninja Hatsuburi on the way. Sit tight.

Wizard's Petasos

2009-06-17T05:10:00.004-05:00

Wizard's Petasos
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3QQXCXZN
http://www.mediafire.com/?nzcnnjzyzzn

Sorry about the delay on this one. I know I basically said I'd have several releases for Monday and Tuesday, but I helped a friend move Monday, then ended up hanging out at the new place until about this time Tuesday (it's Wednesday morning, but for me this is basically Tuesday night; I have a really messed up sleep schedule). Bit more fun than some simple circles, figured I ought to do something substantial to make up for the belated release. Also included the Ark Angel Tarutaru's hat texture for this, since it's the same model.

I forgot to mention with the Chapeau release that the little double-sided, double-tabbed bits are optional. If you've been reading long enough, you know I'm a Tarutaru at heart, and our AF don't have those odd little accents. But I'm working with the Hume versions of every helm, just because they represent the norm and the majority, and you don't have to have been reading long to know I'm not one to make any unnecessary changes to a model. The hats look decent with them, but are definitely easier without. Up to you.

Get it? Robe? Wizard hat? Ahaaaaa!
No.

Anyway, I'll probably do some simple ones later today. Expect the Warrior and Ninja masks, hopefully by this time Thursday at the latest.

Gallant Coronet

2009-06-14T12:00:00.002-05:00

Gallant Coronet
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=B8SM4M0G
http://www.mediafire.com/?zuwy2gmu0zm

So by now you're probably starting to notice a trend. Yeah, the plan is to do all of them (and probably some extra stuff too). About two weeks back I was hoping to release them all at once on the anniversary, but procrastination, laziness, and other models kept making that deadline inch closer and closer with no work to show for it. Well I finally decided a good idea would be to start with the Chapeau, since that's really the first one I posted in that fateful thread one year ago, then release a new one every day following.

Well there are a few problems with that plan. First off, it would mean 20 days until I could do something else. Now, that probably sounds great for FFXI fans, 20 days of AF helms. For anyone else, though, it means nearly a month until Cecil or Tifa, or whatever else I might do in that time. For me, it means almost constant work. I'd need to be releasing a new model every day for nearly a month. That doesn't sound very fun, considering they're all basically the same when it comes to editing. Easy, but monotonous.

So here's the new plan: I release new AF helms whenever I feel like it. Yes that sounds like a horrible plan, but in practice it means I'm going to release like three in one day, then go a few days without any releases. You can't tell because the picture's cropped, but I took the picture above about an hour after taking the picture with the Katar. These simple ones take all of 10 minutes to build (and only because I'm taking step-by-step pictures for the instructions) and only a bit longer to edit and lay out (I saved the post for today rather than posting last night to build up the whole "what's gonna happen tomorrow" effect, apologies).

The plan was actually to do the Black Mage hat yesterday, then probably something cool today, but I finally got ahold of Bioshock (yes, I realize how behind the times I am), and as predicted, I was instantly hooked. Wasted all the time I'd planned to spend working on the Petasos wailing on Splicers and getting my ass handed to me by Big Daddies. Thus, you get releases that take 30 minutes to get from start to finish, just so I could say I released something for the 1-2-3 effect.

So I'll probably have another release (or two or three, depending on which) for tomorrow afternoon (no work today, Game Day - actually writing this Saturday night, setting for auto-post), and possibly Tuesday. After that, I'll try to get back to work on something more substantial.

A year and a day?

2009-06-13T22:07:00.006-05:00

Temple Crown
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WBCOAWKA
http://www.mediafire.com/?1ynu1gwowey

Hey look, another one. Monk AF/Relic this time, nice and simple, it's just a hoop. Both textures, even has an extra piece to make it adjustable (well adjustable until you figure out exactly how big it needs to be, then glue it down making it permanently sized >_>).

Made a katar as well. Two reasons. One: I'm a colossal nerd and, Two: My Spellthief is using them in our current campaign (I thought this might go too far on the nerd-scale, but the host and fellow who talked me into joining their group said nothing is too nerdy, and the GM simply said "get that shit done," when I mentioned the idea). I'm the only papercrafter in the group, so I'm always looking for silly little ways to try to persuade the rest of them to give it a shot. I can post it a bit later if anyone's interested.

Bit of a sidenote: I'm going to be rearranging the shared MediaFire folder. Organize it according to game. Little bit too jumbled just having everything in there alphabetically.

Interesting that I did another AF helm, eh? Wonder what we'll see tomorrow...

A year in the making

2009-06-12T16:04:00.002-05:00

Warlock's Chapeau
http://www.mediafire.com/?ywtizimmyfy
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UJVHM39I

A year ago today (actually down to this very minute, don't worry, I'm not a witch, I'm writing this around noon and will set it to post itself at exactly 4:04 PM), I started this blog after posting PDOs of every Final Fantasy XI Artifact helm on 4chan.org's Papercraft and Origami board. None of them were tested, and all of them were garbage. In my defense, I did plan to test them all, but I saw a thread specifically about this very item, the Chapeau, one thing led to another, and it was all a downhill slide from there.

Here we are after a year's time. The Cardian, the Mandragora, an Airship, an Ark Angel, a companion Crab, some posters, some more Mandragoras, a Moogle, a Monkey, a Blitzball and a Treasure Chest, some stencils, a cursed horse, another Cardian, a revolution, my goddess of Luck, an airship captain, a big stuffed animal, Heidegger (not the philosopher), a Harlequin, three versions of the same guy with mommy issues, another Moogle, a straw man (not the fallacy), a flower girl, a lost girl, some threaded sprites, another Airship, an adventure in video-boredom, a man with a dangerous prosthetic, the beginning of a long-term homage, a few attempts at sharing wisdom, a 48-year-old teenager, some more "wisdom," a hero, his legacy, a handful of faceless enemies, a dumb apple, a can of juice, a cell phone telephone, a tiny sword, a bigger sword, a random box, an Esper girl, a Sky Pirate, and a Frog's namesake later, and I've finally finished the first model I started.

I suppose after all that (it's somewhere between 35 and 40 releases, depending on how liberal your interpretaion), you've earned the right to see who's been babbling at you this whole time.

Too bad a fancy hat can't outweigh all the crazy and ugly. Ohh well~ Is anyone really that surprised?

As for the model: it's not bad. I put off doing anything wearable because the effort involved contradicts my primary directive: be as lazy as God damn possible. The build's easy enough, but the layout obviously suffered from the sheer size of it. I tried doing the testbuild with "overflow paint," something I usually try to avoid, because I firmly believe a well-designed model shouldn't need it. Well the size of this thing kind of tosses "good layout" out the window, so using overflow paint is a wise decision, or at least it was for me. I've included PDOs for both textures (AF and Relic), in case you choose to use overflow as well (I'd normally just do it as a second set of PDFs, but the overflow literally overflows onto other pages and makes a PDF look bad. Works fine, but I'll let you make the judgement call). I've got a pretty big head and it fits me fairly well, so it should work out nicely for any user, assuming you're not a giant or a pixie.

So here we stand. A year of releases. Some good, most not. I've made friends, trained students, and given about as much to the community as I can. It begs the question: what's next?

All I can really say is, the future.

Thanks for reading.

Glenn

2009-06-10T05:35:00.006-05:00

Glenn
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6IIXQ2C7
http://www.mediafire.com/?nmzmef2ztkh

Another Chrono Cross model, originally added to the list when requested by a friend. I really like the Chrono Cross models. They're in that perfect papercrafting spot, where the mesh is still very simple, but the texture makes up for it by being gorgeous. That wonderful stage of 3D graphics at the end of the PS1 era.

Anyway, model's not bad. The hair's a bit tricky, but it's generally an easy build. I'm trying something new (if you hadn't already noticed) with the layouts. I assume anyone who wants to build a lineless model is willing to build the smooth no-fold way. So for this layout, there's a "lineless" version (actually has a few lined spots, things that absolutely have to be folded, but with colored lines so they blend in), which is mostly meant to be built without folds. Included a lined version as well, because, as mentioned, this model is in that simpler mesh sort of region. I've seen finished builds of Harle and Kid that look decent folded, so I won't keep you from it if that's your thing.

Anyway, back to work. I'll try to get Tifa and Yuffie ready to go sometime soon, and keep working on the Cecil models. Another 2 days to the anniversary. I guess we'll find out together what I decide to do as celebration.

Well, no rest for the wicked, etc.. Back to it.

Balthier

2009-06-06T21:41:00.005-05:00

Balthier
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RFA9HYXH
http://www.mediafire.com/?rcmyjzwkejm

Well, here he is, over seven months in the making (not that I was actively working on him all that time). The scale's not quite what I expected, but given how finicky FFXII model data is, I don't expect him to be part of a set any time soon, so I'll worry about scaling when I make any future XII models. I'm pretty happy with the result, considering I'm so accustomed to the lazy "design" work of running posed models through Pepakura. He kind of ended up with a beak in my build, but don't worry, that's because I didn't preshape that part of his face right, not because the model is flawed.

Tried something new with this build, namely broadcasting the entire build live on Ustream.tv (you can find a gadget in the sidebar to your left, all 8 parts of the build video have been saved and are accompanied by the audio to the Doctor Who episodes I was watching while working. It's not a tutorial, it's not exciting, it's not even time-lapse. It's just what an honest build process looks like (i.e. boring). There's not much purpose in broadcasting a papercraft build, but the curious thing is it seems to take no toll on my memory or bandwidth, so I figure why not. While the broadcast is running, viewers are more than welcome to join in at the chat room or with their own webcasts. If you care to join in next time, it would definitely make the process less boring.

So this marks the release of the longest running project I've attempted so far. Similarly, June 12 marks the one-year anniversary of starting the blog (just 6 days away). I'm not sure what to do to celebrate just yet, but I do know I'd sorely enjoy a break.

Glenn's nearly ready for build, as is that Toclafane model I was toying around with. Got some other projects in the works, as usual; Hopefully I can come up with something fun for the anniversary. No rest for the wicked, etc.. As always, requests, comments, blah blah, always welcome. You know how this works.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going for a walk.

Terra

2009-05-31T03:34:00.009-05:00

Edited - scroll down

Terra
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E1TR1ZIX
http://www.mediafire.com/?rzmdmmolkyg

First Dissidia model, and I must say it was an interesting one. Not to scare you (it's only scary if you've actually tried to build her), but the whole thing reminded me of Lady Luck. The models are of similar complexity and detail, both have crazy hair that consumes about half of the frustration of the build, etc. I would recommend 65lb for this one. Probably continue to build the Dissidia models on 65lb, just because they're detailed to the point that 110lb is going to make things more troublesome than they're worth.

The scale is set. She's big, but not "hueg liek xbox." I think it's a good scale. It's a bit challenging, but certainly not impossible, and looks good next to decently sized models on a shelf. All the rest of the Dissidia models will be at the same scale (meaning most of the models will be a bit larger, but you get the idea).

No lined version this time, because I'm doing some funny things with the parts. New system for double-siding things, which you may have already seen if you've done Genesis' Sword. Anyway, I don't think a model this detailed should be folded anyway. Both costumes are included, in case you're curious. I just prefer the green haired version to the classic Amano-blonde.

In mildly related news: I've been trying to update the Sandbox as frequently as is appropriate. You may have noticed that I re-did all the links to use icons instead of just text. If you're linked here and don't like the impromptu icon I made (had to just use screenshots of banners in many cases), then please, send me a link to the image you'd prefer I use. Briefly considered changing the layout to 3-column, but I think this works.

Also: Added a new Bonus Question, and it was answered quite rapidly (still nothing on the first question though). The reward chosen was that I bump Balthier up on my to-do list. So, no more distractions. Balthier will be the next release. If I get him done fast enough, I may have time to do something interesting for my one-year anniversary. Kinda scary, but in less than two weeks, I'll be hitting that marker.

Gotta think of something really awesome...

Anyway, back to it. No rest for the wicked, etc., etc..

Seriously, a billboard? The first time someone brought up the Greek word τέρας, I would've said "Yes, totally. That is exactly what I was going for when I decided on the name. Good show, nothing lame about it at all, certainly not like I was a windowless office away from naming her Stapler."

Ugh...

EDIT:
Startling developments...
(not the detective agency)

While altering the layout and scale of Steph's Fran, groaning about how scary the model is in general, it occurred to me that she has two right ears. On the left, you see the layout as it was originally released, and on the right is the PDO. The fact that the old release was done in single images suggests that the layout was altered in Paint or Photoshop to mirror that specific section, giving her a left and right ear.

The short version is, I'm not doing a new layout for Fran, it's just too much trouble, and without the original 3D model to modify, I can't guarantee that the finished product would be of any quality. So the question is, which scale should I go with for Balthier? I could try to match the original Fran to make them match, or I could make a giant model to match the version of Fran I built, or I could just stick with what I've already got laid out, which is comparable to the Dissidia models.

Even shorter version: I already have a layout I like, at a decent scale, and this project has given me so much trouble that I'm not changing it when I'm so close to the finish line. Maybe I'll do a brand new Fran when I can get back into the FFXII models after the viewer is modified.

I'll be starting the build tonight, and will try to do as much of it live via Ustream as I can. Expect the release in a few days.

Retitled: In My Wake?

2009-05-23T10:09:00.008-05:00

EDIT: It didn't quite occur to me that some other designers have gone unnoticed.

http://fezcocrafts.blogspot.com/2009/05/ffx-2-leblanc-release.html

I don't usually do the aggregate thing, but since this is his first model, I've gotta help him get his name on the map. This is Fezco's LeBlanc, done much in the same style as my own Lady Luck (i.e. a massive FFX-2 character). Personally I think the finished product puts Lady Luck to shame, a notion which is compounded by the fact that it's his first design. I'd love to say it turned out so well because he's a good student (implying that I'm a good teacher), but come on. First shot? I guess I helped a little, but that kind of result on your first go is just genius.

Anyway, if you were crazy enough to try Lady Luck, you should definitely try LeBlanc. If you weren't crazy enough to try Lady Luck, you should still try this one. I may just have to add it to the built roster myself...

Anyway, appropriate aggregators (messrs Rementilla and James), I believe you know what to do with this.

EDIT:
There are two other designers I'd like to point the spotlight at...

http://dwpapercraft.blogspot.com/2009/05/sandy-final-version.html

DW also released his finished version of Sandy Magus recently (sorry for the delay, I'm a few days late on this release). But he's another designer worth keeping an eye on. If you do a bit of exploring, you'll see he's also close to a release of Seymour Guado, as well as some related FFX projects.

http://lunaticpapercraft.blogspot.com/

Last, but not least, we have Lunatic, who I mistakenly assumed was already on the collective radar. A double check of Paperkraft.net reveals that he is not, but certainly should be. He's already released a nice layout of Elena as well as Tifa's outfit while attempting to...ascertain information from ol' Don Corneo. Considering just ceding my proposed "Turks pack" project to Lunatic. He seems more interested in getting it done than I am, and I have confidence that his layouts are more or less what you'd see from me anyway. So it's all gravy.

Anyhow, these two have been on my link list for a few weeks, but it didn't occur to me that I could help get them a bit more into the community's collective view (Oh who am I kidding, I want to help them because they thanked by name, unlike some).

Anyway, back to the grind.
(I'll get back to my own business soon. Stay tuned, etc.)
((What a self-serving re-title, eh?))

Genesis' Sword

2009-05-16T13:56:00.007-05:00

Genesis' Sword
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?wd22x0ggtwm

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QVRQRPTC

This is another one of those models I kind of did on a whim. Took only a handful of hours to go from idea to finished model, so it's lacking a few things. Mostly just too lazy to give it full blown release treatment. It's (not quite) life size. The idea was to go 1:1, but I did the layout at 3 feet long, then checked my reference material and realized it should be about twice that. That's a bit too long to be feasible, so I'll leave it here. Also, apparently according to the Crisis Core Ultimania book, the sword is officially called "Rapier." That's a bit lazy on Square's part, and the validity of the claim is actually a bit sketchy, so I just decided to stick with "Genesis' Sword."

I'll spare you all the little extra details of what else is going on right now. Finals are over, and I don't have a job (yet), so I'm going to "kick it into overdrive." I've added a link on the sidebar, I'm calling it the "Kaizo Papercraft Sandbox." I'll use that to make all the little incremental posts I usually tack on as Edits to major releases. Check it regularly (maybe even hourly) if you want to stay on top of what I'm up to.

Expect a few more little gimmicky releases before I get around to something big (Glenn or Balthier).

EDIT:

Remember those gimmicks? Like so~

Shinra Supply Tin
http://www.mediafire.com/?jtimmmcnymg

Did this killing time waiting for 2 o'clock. It's a box!
Have fun.

>_>

Dissidia Enemy Icons

2009-05-04T20:25:00.015-05:00

Updated, scroll down.

Dissidia Enemy Icons
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UR88QMO7
http://www.mediafire.com/?ozzwtmen0nz

This is maybe a half-release at best. Obviously the big news is Dissidia models are now on the menu. Anyone who's checked the "Official Request Policy" or "Working Project List" recently may already know this, as would anyone clever enough to recognize the images added as edits in my last post. Did these as kind of an introduction to Dissidia models. They're all small, page number-wise, only half a page in some cases. I've been playing Dissidia a lot lately, and this just seemed like a fun thing to do. Did some basic instructions and included PDFs and whatnot, just because there are a fair number of them. No fancy coverpage or anything though, these just aren't big enough for proper release treatment (also because there's no concept art of them, and I really didn't want to see a name as underwhelming as "Enemy Icons" on a coversheet).

Also made some simple stands, as I know plenty of you don't like going with the more awesome aerial display.

Perhaps equally important news: Crisis Core models unlocked. Did a good ol' Banora White as another "intro to a new game" sort of thing. This one I'm not even going to bother with a PDF. It's a single page, so I'm just going to stick the PDO in the shared Mediafire folder. It's approximately life-size to a real apple, and is simple enough that I don't think it needs any sort of instructions.

Enjoy your gift of the Goddess.

http://www.mediafire.com/?miztjmrkkzx

In other news, you may have noticed the fancy new banner. I've been wanting to make a banner for quite some time, but due to a complete lack of proficiency with the Photoshops, I never really got anywhere with it. Thankfully, a reader by the name of Chenille was willing to help me, and produced something of the highest caliber.

Asked her to inclued a PSD with just the title layer (with Usagi holding the P in Papercraft, how freaking awesome is that?), on a simple gradient (same gradient as my Pepakura Designer background, if you hadn't noticed, also awesome), for use as a link icon. So, if you're a reader and also a Blogger of some kind, and want to link to me (thank you for that), and want to use an image for said purpose, go ahead and use the above, scaled to whatever size you like. I think there were too many conjunctions in that sentence...

Anyway,

So Chenille offers to make me a banner as an act of charity. Little does she know, I pay back my debts. In return, she got a release of her choosing, and I said I wouldn't take no for an answer, so...

First proper Dissidia release will be Terra (or Tina, if you like). She was quite adamant about using the green haired version, so I'll be building in that (also because I prefer it as well), but the difference is just texture, so as usual I'll include the alternate for those of you who prefer blond.

(Larsa will get done eventually, it's just I can't get my hands on any new FFXII models at the moment. To the person to whom this is addressed: you know who you are.)

After Terra, I'll start working on my own character of choice: Cecil. At the moment, I'm using the pre-posed stuff that you see on the battlefield alongside the enemy icons, but to make the Paladin complement, I'll need to get into some other stuff. Don't worry, a Cecil release can never be just one model.

I've also jumped ahead of schedule with the order of my Chrono Cross models, and am nearly done with Glenn. This one's another request, for a friend who asks me if I've done it yet about every other weekend. So to get her off my back, and because it took all of about 2 hours to get him into Pepakura (honestly, if I was getting paid for this stuff, didn't have to worry about doing anything else all day? I could churn out models faster than you could believe), he'll be making an appearance fairly soon. If you're curious: the sword he's holding isn't anything from Chrono Cross. The model extraction method is still fairly experimental, so weapons are out of the question. I just did a custom texture for an Ancient Sword from FFXI. I figure it looks decent, the requester approved, so that'll be his accessory. I know nothing short of the Einlanzer is appropriate, but I just can't pull it off. If anyone out there is working on an Einlanzer from scratch, let me know, because that would be pretty God damn awesome.

And of course, Balthier is sitting at about the same level of doneness. This week is the last before final exams, and I've yet to find a job, so rest assured, he'll get done soon. I've just got a gauntlet to run first...

I'll try to get as many models done as possible before I find some employment. Give it about two weeks, and I'll make up for this dryspell. Promise.

In related news (related to school work, not papercraft): a few friends and I made fools of ourselves in public for an assignment in Japanese. I'll let you guess which one I am, for two reasons. One: if you're bored enough to watch it, you've also probably been bored enough in the past to watch videos I've posted here, and can probably recognize me by voice alone; and Two: if you don't recognize me, I'll be spared some shred of what remains of my dignity.

Enjoy
(video won't be up until this weekend, but I figured I'd get this all typed out now. Check back if you really want to see me make an ass of myself...)

Ahh college, this is money well spent.

EDIT:

Did these layouts while procrastinating about writing my papers. Built them after I finished the last paper today. Just some one-pagers thought you might enjoy.
(Oh who am I kidding, I did them because I'm nerdy enough to enjoy them.)

Zack's Phone
http://www.mediafire.com/?ymrmzm2fn2y

Texture's really low resolution, so it looks pretty blurry, but whatever. It's a gimmick model that takes all of 10 minutes to build. Decide how you want to glue it (open or closed). You may want to utilize my wire method, from the Treasure Chest instructions to make it a proper flip phone. It's roughly life size to a real phone.

Banora Juice
http://www.mediafire.com/?yznorhloxyz

Genesis' claim to fame. Sorry I couldn't make it closer to "life size" The volume/surface area ratio for cylinders isn't great when you want to keep the top and bottom part of the same piece. Again, it's just another silly gimmick, takes maybe 5 minutes to build, and that's if you're being really careful.

Buster Sword
http://www.mediafire.com/?mujzjn2u1ky

The Crisis Core version of the Buster Sword, another one-pager. Don't think it really needs explanation. I'll try to follow this one up with a two-pager of Genesis' sword later. I could probably try to make a life size version a bit later.

Stay tuned, I've been watching Doctor Who again, and I know a real simple build that would be kind of funny.

EDIT AGAIN:

Added a new page on the sidebar, calling it the Kaizo Papercraft Sandbox. I'll be using it as a regular updates page, just to give you a glimpse on what I'm working on. I'd rather not have to keep making edits like this, so I'll just use the sandbox as an intermediary between major posts.

Still not a release

2009-04-17T03:56:00.010-05:00

(I've made some edits since the original post, you may want to consider scrolling down)
(The edits keep on coming, scroll down)

Sorry for the continual posting of stuff that isn't what you actually frequent this blog for.

It's about 4 AM and I just finished a paper on Rousseau's Second Discourse, so I'm trying to siphon off the excess "writing" energy. Anyway...

Fezco went and signed up on Blogger, so you've got a new site to keep track of if you're as into this Final Fantasy nonsense as anyone who checks this blog regularly must be. He doesn't have any models or anything up yet, but I'm highly amused with the back-and-forth we've got going in the comments of his first few posts. Worth having a read if you're bored.

http://fezcocrafts.blogspot.com/

(Also listed in the sidebar as the less awesome of two proposed names, the alternate being a subject of much dispute.)

I also wanted to ask if anyone would like to help me make a banner. I realize this is something I probably should've thought about addressing, oh I dunno, ten months ago? (I'm really going to have to do something cool for my one-year anniversary...) I'm not very good with the Photo-shops, so I never got around to tackling the issue. If you are good with the Photo-shops, and want to help me out, I'd be happy to provide finished photos and screenshots of PDOs and whatnot from whichever angles you need to make them look less lame.

If you're interested, there are many ways in which you might go about contacting me. Surprise me.

Oh yeah, and I got Balthier a gun about 20 minutes after making that edit. Still not sure about his pose though...

EDIT:

Got, I think, all the work done on Balthier I'm going to get done. I even managed to give him that trademark smirk. I would've liked to make the pose a little more complex, but my skills just aren't there yet.

I'm doing the initial unfold to match the scale I build my Fran model (that is, omg hueg!!1), which is comparable to the Lady Luck model. However, the FFXII models are really efficient. They rely more on texture shading and whatnot to give the effect of more detail than they actually have. Basically this means I'm also going to scale it down to match the original scale of Steph's Fran.

Call it pretentious, but I'm also going to do a new layout of Steph's Fran, as per my general method of horizontal bands. I may build her a second time at the original scale for the sake of instructions, so you have a pair. Might try to find her a bow as well.

On a sentimental note: It's kind of sad how blasé models I literally squealed over when I first realized there was a chance I could build them, have become. Now it's just "oh yeah, look it's ready to go." You know I thought The Fahrenheit would be my ascension to glory? Finally on par with my heroes. Or at least an attempt to be like them. Making an airship like Urashiman, how cool is that? (Not to say I'm doing anywhere near the work they all do) But what did it boil down to? I made all the edits and completed the layout in 2-3 hours, tops. The build? A weekend, just going about it in the same way I always do. Boring. There were people who were ready to declare me a god, should I ever complete Balthier. All the work I put into him when I didn't know what I was doing, it all seemed so...epic. But now, it's just drag and drop some textures, move some vertices, unfold, bands, blah blah blah.

I guess the truth is, even a job you choose to work for free...it's still work.

Anyway, that's all for now.

By the way, you see my Sketchup template? That's what I do when I get the option to customize something, I make it purple and busy. I wonder if that says something...

EDIT AGAIN:

Those of you who frequent /po/ may have already seen this: My first excursion outside of Square's domain? We'll find out. I've got a lot of other stuff on my plate on the moment.

EDIT SOME MORE:

And the plate keeps getting bigger...

Bane of my existence, I swear...

Maybe a Banora White will cheer me up...Gift of the Goddess, they say...

Consider it a taste of things to come...

(!!!)

Horizons, etc.

2009-04-14T17:52:00.004-05:00

I'm starting to get into that end-of-the-semester crunch, so there may not be any new releases for a while. Just thought I'd give you a head's up on where a few things stand.

I've started the most basic of edits to Tifa, Yuffie, and Vincent. I may have to reconsider their poses, as a few of them are just a little too hard to build cleanly. The Goblin Pack continues...I haven't heard much from my testbuilders, but preliminary reports indicate everything is going as planned. I need to do some weapon layouts, but all in good time.

Here's the interesting news:

If you follow the chatter in the Shoutbox, you may have noticed that Fezco, who is going to be starting his own blog pretty soon, with his first planned release being LeBlanc from FFX-2, discovered some more models using an alternative extraction method. Namely, the Celsius.

Short version: ridiculous detailed, but I simply must build it. Here are some images to illustrate the madness:

Ideally, I'd like to build it at the same scale as the Fahrenheit. However, the Fahrenheit was acutally pretty simple (believe it or not) by comparison. So at the same scale, you get pages that look like this on the Celsius. I'm not sure if you can see them or not, but there's a line of parts so tiny they basically look like little grey specks.

It's going to need a lot of editing...

If I scale it up to make it a little more buildable, you get something like this. That's as large as it can reasonably be, before you start having to break parts down in ways that are just silly. It's going to be pretty big one way or another, but the question is whether or not it should be massive. There are still tiny little parts, but it spans a ridiculous number of pages.

This thing's really going to take some effort.

Also: I figured out how to change the color scheme in Sketchup.

Purple, purple everywhere, but not a drop to...uh...what?

Anyway, I'm not sure when the next release will be, so stay tuned.

EDIT:

Got my hands on 3DS Max 2010 recently, motivated me to see where I left off with Balthier last. Fun part is, I've learned enough about Sketchup since then to know how to pose him and fix the textures without the need for 3DS. Anyway, he needs some texture fixes and a little more work on the pose. I also want to see if I can't find a model of a gun from XII, put that in his right hand.

This also looks fun.

Also: I am a sad, strange little man. Why would anyone know these things?

And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go buy a ticket to Lab Band Madness for Tuesday night.

Compilation Update

2009-04-07T10:06:00.004-05:00

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LF54H8FZ

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ylihu0hlifd
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?qet2mjuzzkm

Updated the Final Fantasy Papercraft compilation. In case you're unfamiliar: this is an archive of everyone else's Final Fantasy models. Updated version now includes the FFIX party by Chamoo232, the FFVII models of Okaci, Ninjatoes' Kingdom Hearts Cloud, and a few other items.

Stands

2009-04-05T02:55:00.006-05:00

Put together a few stands, made a new directory in the Mediafire folder.

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=9a3870cea0d9926fd5a101cf914073b4ac6bae7dd045e0e4

The "small" stands are of the 7-pointed variety. The problem is, to make stands of that shape large enough to fit models with footprints like Cait Sith, they have to be so large as to be unbuildable. Or at least illogical. Anyway, the small stands will fit the regular sized FFVII models. The "large" stands are much simpler; just textured boxes. The nameplates will fit on any stand. I've uploaded more nameplates than I've already finished models for, but they'll all get done eventually...I think.

The stands are all hollow. That is to say, they have no bottom face. This makes them easier to build (especially at the necessary scale), but just as strong if you make them with cardstock. So as always, I advise using cardstock for the stands.

Mostly, making new stands is just a matter of browsing the game textures and picking things that look interesting. Imagination? I guess you could say...
I'll continually update the folder, so check it regularly if you like. I'll also work on making stands for other models.

My recommendations for good combinations:
(models with their appropriate plates)

Highwind stand, Cid model

Bloody Shinra Tower stand, "Jenova's Head" Sephiroth model

Train Tracks stand, Barret model

Temple of the Ancients stand, Aerith model

Battle Arena stand, Zack model (maybe Shinra Tower?)

You get the idea...mix'n'match as you please.

Oh, and remember to set your print settings to Landscape when printing out the nameplates.

3-28-09: The Day of Cloud

2009-03-28T14:07:00.006-05:00

Cloud
http://www.mediafire.com/?ggitgnmzrmz
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FYKZM12C

Well here he is. I've had this model ready for release for a few weeks now, just waiting for Ninjatoes to finish his Kingdom Hearts version, and he has. You'll notice there are some changes I've recently adopted in my layouts/finished photos/instructions that aren't present in this model. Like I said...couple of weeks.

Well...what are you sitting around here for? Get over to Ninjatoes' site and get started on the better of the two models.

http://ninjatoes.wordpress.com/2009/03/28/final-fantasy-vii-kingdom-hearts-cloud-strife/
http://ninjatoes.blogspot.com/2009/03/final-fantasy-vii-kingdom-hearts-cloud.html

If you'll excuse me, I've got a spikey haired blonde boy to get building.

EDIT:

Just finished up. Are you ready for it? Here's my patented "why I'm so slow," excuse: Would've finished last night, but in the last few weeks, Sunday has become reserved for D&D. That and when I got home around 2 this morning, I had to start doing late homework and cram for a Japanese exam that took place about 11 hours later (I'll make a B if I'm lucky...).

I was considering doing this big Red Hollow Cylinder gag, joke about one showing up in my apartment, despite never having built one, then it attacking me, series of funny pictures, etc.

Laziness says I'm not gonna bother...

Oh! And would you look at that, he's already right at home amongst other Ninjatoes models.

Righto, back to work for me.

Good lord, did I really just mention both Dungeons and Dragons and studying Japanese in the same paragraph? That really can't be a good thing...

Zack

2009-03-28T01:12:00.004-05:00

Zack
http://www.mediafire.com/?mymzjv1ywfg
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LOLVXC2K

Got through the edits yesterday and started the build, just finished about an hour or so ago. Plenty of people have mentioned wanting Zack to complement Aerith, so here you go.

The hair was actually pretty easy. He only has a few big spikes in a symmetrical arrangement, so it's not a terrible build. I'm trying some new things with the layouts and instructions. Pages are packed considerably tighter, but I think it works. The instructions are getting more concise, but I think I've got a good method to compensate for that. Let me know if it's no good.

I won't lie, he has some balance issues. I'll try to get back to work on making stands. I'm probably going to need to make a new template that will support models as large as Barret or Cait Sith, but still fit reasonably on a page.

I've got all the parts of the Goblin Pack either tested or out for testing, so the gears of the machine are beginning to turn on their own. I still need to get layouts for weapons, and I still need SUGGESTIONS for which weapons to include (hint hint: start talkin' kids, or you won't see anything you want in the pack). I also want to see some results on the custom texture contest. What's the point of giving you the chance to participate if you don't participate?

Well, back to business as usual. Still got Tifa, Yuffie, and Vincent to take care of. Anyone working on some new FFX/FFXI models yet?

And on a completely unrelated note, having watched all four seasons of the new series of Doctor Who in under 72 hours, I can safely say, that show is fantastic.

Torchwood's not bad either...

On testbuilds

2009-03-26T00:47:00.002-05:00

Wargarbl.

Bleargh.

Ough.

Video 6: Birth of a Stand

2009-03-19T17:23:00.006-05:00

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5URR6XMJ

Just a simple video showing some things to consider playing around with in Sketchup. I wanted to do this because it doesn't require that you have game data, doesn't require you convert/extract/whatever. Just use your imagination and play around with things.

Unless anyone is interested in watching videos of nothing but me working (no narration, just music), this is the last video for a while, promise.

Also added an "Official Project List" on the sidebar. Still working on getting it fleshed out at the moment.

Should've played something by Miles Davis during the video and called it Birth of the Stand...

Get it? Ahaaaa~

No.

Video 5: FFXI Process

2009-03-18T15:36:00.010-05:00

or: Why the Goblin Project is taking me so God damn long

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7S1JBTXF

Oldest method I know how to do, probably doesn't need explaining, but there it is. I figure those of you who learned about the blog through FFXIDats may be more interested in this than anyone else.

Again, the narration started to drift out of sync. Not sure what's going wrong this time, but whatever. It's close enough that it still makes sense...sort of.

As always, file posted on Megaupload is higher quality than the streaming Megavideo.

Links:

Folye's Model Viewer

Furniture Add-on

3DS Max 9 MQO Import Plguin (you're looking for mqoimp9_112.lzh)

Going to keep plugging away at the Goblins. To any of my testers: I should have your packs ready by tomorrow, I just need to make sure the necks/arms/hands work properly first.

Once I get Goblin parts out to my testers, I'm going to get started on the edits for Zack, try to get that released before the end of the week. I may also put together another short video on how to make a simple textured stand in Sketchup. Not sure if that's really anything anyone cares about, but whatever. It's easy and you don't need any game data to do it, so I figure people might want to see how to make their own little stands for other people's models or something.

Wonder how long it'll take the next copycat to pop up...

Video 4: FFX/X-2 Process

2009-03-18T11:27:00.008-05:00

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4DDSFSXI

There've been a handful of people who've asked about requests or how to go about this, etc. and it's much easier to just show you how to do it than try to explain. I'm sure more people want to see this than just the few who've asked, so, enjoy.

I'm not sure what went wrong, but in the recording process these little millisecond skips started to accumulate in the narration. For the first...third or so of the video, it's in sync, but by the end there's a solid few seconds between what I'm saying and what's actually happening on screen. Apologies. I tried what I knew to correct it, but to no avail.

As always, the download is the original video, which is completely legible. The Megavideo version is pretty blurry.

Links, as promised:

DVD Decrypter

FFProject.net (home of just about everything used in this video)

Rumiano's Blog (home of Chargeur)

You'll need to make an account on FFproject to download files, I think, and you'll need to do a little searching around, but that link should be all you need. As I said, the Collada plugin comes with Chargeur so that just leaves you to obtain 3DS Max. I'm going to just assume you've already got copies of the games.

I'm going to stop posting these videos for download in the Mediafire folder because, well, no one downloads them. It's a lot of extra trouble for me, and it's not worth it (plus the process of splitting the videos for Mediafire size seems to be corrupting this video...rather just scrap the whole notion). I'll still upload the higher res videos to Megaupload, since I don't have to do any chopping after the fact to fit within their size restrictions (no need to upload videos 2 and 3, because they were only recorded at 640x480; Megavideo is true to that).

As I write this I'm about half way through my spring break. Really wish I could be accomplishing more but...well, I enjoy sleep. Recorded this video last night, and after my general morning routine (should be read: lazy process of waking up around noonish), I'm going to get started on the next video, which will be for the FFXI extraction/basic editing process (as well as some demonstrative excuses as to why the Goblin Project is taking so God damn long).

Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I have some leftover Quiznos to consume.

Red XIII

2009-03-09T22:38:00.012-05:00

Red XIII
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H8ZRX4DM
http://www.mediafire.com/?yzmwnyolniy

Would've had this finished and uploaded last night, but a friend of mine managed to talk my into playing D&D with he and his pals all yesterday (it was my first time playing and I must say I rather enjoyed it). The mane is a little tricky, and I briefly considered simplifying it like I did with part of Cloud's hair, but I really like the finished product (even if my build looks like crap), and with the right instructions, it isn't too difficult to follow.

Combined, little twists and whatnot in the body can cause the front paws to pull up and not touch the ground when seated. Honestly, it isn't obvious enough for me to care about, but I know some people do, so I'm planning to use this as an excuse to do stands for all the FFVIII characters I've done so far (as gluing his feet down are the easiest, though perhaps not the most elegant, way to forcefully correct the issue). However, I've got testbuilders waiting for me to get started on stuff in the Goblin Pack, and that takes priority. I'll probably tack the stands on to whatever my next update is, possibly another short video, possibly just a visual update on where the Goblin Pack Project stands.

Edit: Forgot to mention, if you've downloaded Red XIII, you may have noticed I packed the pages a bit tighter than usual. I've been cramming the Goblin Pack pages as tight as I possibly can, and I was trying it out with something I would be building more immediately. I think it turned out alright. As long as the parts are numbered, you can kind of let logical processing in the layout slip a bit.

Anyway, you know the usual deal. Requests, questions, complaints, knockers, blah blah blah, contact.

Also Edit: Just got a rather sophisticated model request, and I ended up spewing so much text at him in e-mail that it was worth copying and pasting most of what I said into an Official Request Policy post (look to your left).

Video 3: Horizontal Banding

2009-03-06T19:21:00.015-06:00

Video 3: Horizontal Banding

This is pretty much my whole deal when it comes to layouts. It's a simple concept, but it's not endorsed by everyone, so I figure it's worth elaborating a little upon.

A thought occurred while watching this: every instance of the word "design" should be replaced with...something. I don't know. Not design. I don't design anything, I just unfold it. Like I (and many trolls) said, I'm not really doing any work here.

Here are the pictures promised in this video:

So here's the thing about thing about the little FPS counter. My webcam is actually a Playstation Eye, for the PS3. I'm using some software to get it running on a PC, and the viewer has a little FPS counter you can't get rid of. The way I'm capturing these videos is with external programs that are basically just watching the screen where the video feedback comes in. In the first video, I was using Fraps, which is great. For the second, however, I wanted to switch back and forth from live video to shots of the PDOs, and I didn't want to have to record several different clips. So I used Camtasia Recorder and set it to watch the same spot, where I put all the stuff I was going to be using under the same 640x480 window. Problem is, Camtasia doesn't seem to like capturing live video at the proper framerate, so while the FPS counter says 30, and on my monitor, I saw 30 FPS, the video you see is only about 15. However, it jumps back to 30 when it's over the PDOs. No idea why.

Apologies again, as for some unknown reason, the music started to go horribly horribly wrong at about the 16:30 mark. I had to split the video there and continue the rest without music. Sorry, from 16:30 forward, it's just you, me, and some paper toys. I'd say it was because I was using Camtasia instead of Fraps, but I used Camtasia for the Cloud WIP video, and that worked fine for four whole hours...

Oh well.

Edit: Apologies, yet again, as I didn't realize how loud the music was in this one until after I had it uploaded. In the process of fixing the busted music, I accidentally turned up the working music in the first section. If you're actually trying to listen to me (and I have no idea why you would) it may be a little difficult.

I'm still looking for testbuilders fr the various Goblin poses, and I've got a few PDOs ready for mockup. I'll spend the rest of the weekend working on getting as much laid out as I can. I've also talked to Zen, the proprietor of FFXIDats.com who will hopefully get some of her people in on this deal. So if you want to get in on the custom texture contest, you'll have some interesting competition.

Also going to try to get Red XIII edited and laid out some time in the near future. I'd like this Goblin thing to go on in the background while business continues as usual.

Anyway, contact me if you want in on any testbuilding, want some weapon textures to play with, have any requests you'd like to make, wanna show me your knockers, whatever. I'm metaphorically open for business.

Oh and I've already claimed the Bugbear testbuild for myself. Deal with it.

nyahnyah-nyahnyah-nyah-nyah, haha-haha-ha-ha (18:10)

Video 2: Why I Like Scissors

2009-03-06T18:41:00.005-06:00

Video 2: Why I Like Scissors

This is kind of a primer video for a the next video, which really illustrates why I lay things out the way I do.

Here's the picture promised in the video. Sorry about the blurriness. Natural light really brought out the edges of the paper better than flash, and I don't have a tripod, so I couldn't keep the camera perfectly still for the long exposure time of a shot with no flash.

Honestly, it isn't important that I made my point here. If you accept that scissors reduce white edges, great. If you don't, I don't care. I just wanted to give a little primer for why I break things up the way I do, which will be elaborated upon in the next video.

Oh and sorry about the little FPS counter in the corner. It'll be even more ridiculous in the next video. I'll explain in that post.

Testbuilders Wanted! (inquire within)

2009-03-03T21:18:00.018-06:00

If you check regularly, make sure you don't overlook the EDITS (scroll down)

I'm not sure I made this clear yesterday, or if it's just that no one's interested, but:

I'M LOOKING FOR TESTBUILDERS

Thought I'd just make another post to re-emphasize this.
The Goblin Pack Project is probably the most labor intensive thing I've undertaken, and for the sake of time, monotony, and my overworked brain, I could really use some helping hands.

I PREFER THAT YOU BE ABLE TO:

Build on 110lb (200gsm) cardstock

Build a fairly detailed, 20cm (8in) tall model without folding

Take pictures of your work (even a cell phone camera will do)

Work at a decent pace (not as important as the previous requirements)

However, I'm not interviewing people for a job here, so if you'd like to tag along and can't access any cardstock, or don't feel you're up to the task of no-fold, or don't have a camera, don't worry. I'll take all the help I can possibly get.

Here's the plan: I'm going to be breaking Goblins down into their constituent components so that I can produce lots and lots (seriously, lots) of PDOs, which will contain each little part of a Goblin (or Moblin) in various poses and permutations. I'll be leaving the finished PDOs "texture change" open, and include all the textures you could possibly want (including some from Fleyon's Goblin Pack), so you can apply any texture to any part to create a completely customized Goblin. Mix and match parts, textures, whatever.

Thankfully, Goblinguy chose a nice scale for his original model (to which all this is an homage, of course). The model is quite detailed, but at 20cm (8in) it's not excessively difficult, which is good news as far as I'm concerned (I think it's obvious by now that I've never been one to challenge myself with tiny little models). I do want to do the Bugbear at the same scale. It's much...much larger, and about as detailed (if not moreso), but a necessary complement, I think.

As for the bit about the camera: I don't intend for you to take shots for instructions or anything, I just need to be able to see how it turned out, or where you're running into trouble. I realize it's really best if the designer testbuilds all his own stuff, but honestly, it'd take me months of working every day to get a project of this size knocked out all on my own.

So, if you're interested in helping out, please contact me by email, instant message, carrier pigeon, smoke signal, or semaphore.

email: Mr.Klownes@gmail.com
AIM: Mister Klownes
MSN: Kaizo107@hotmail.com
Yahoo: Kaizo107

EDIT:

I forgot to mention last night, please, I'd love any suggestions on which weapons to include. I'm thinking of treating this as an excuse to just do layouts for every weapon anyone could possibly want. Just post suggestions in the comments, if you like. Remember that most of the weapons have multiple textures, and the more common a mesh, the more permutations it'll satisfy. Of course, the unique weapons are always the coolest looking...but yeah, I'll probably do those anyway, just because I want to. Keep in mind as well, weapons can get pretty detailed, and though the scale isn't tiny by any means, some of the more intricate weapons could wind up pretty tough to build.

EDIT 2:

Project Goblin Pack Custom Texture Contest!

As is my usual method, I like to customize models I'm building for myself, and I thought, what with all the hype I'm trying to pack into this project, it might be fun to have a little contest. So here's the deal: I supply you with the raw materials, and you make them into something great. The pack below contains all the main model types of the release, as well as the original textures. You modify the textures, apply them to the model to get an idea of how they'll look when finished, and submit them here. The best of the lot will go into the final release as another customization option when building your own little Goblin.

As you can see above, I've already tried a bit of texture editing. Is it the same, boring, purple crap I'm always guilty of? Yes! But it's also something completely new and unique. Imagine what you could do if you actually had talent or imagination (unlike yours truly). The result could be spectacular.

So go for it already.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?zwwfjummimz

Also: if you want to try customizing a weapon and don't have access to the raw goodies, shoot me and email and I'll get you set up. Just gotta promise to share the end result.

(pfffahahahahahaha)

Barret

2009-03-02T23:49:00.006-06:00

Barret
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?xyzjymmwned
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2BM7GUS8

Got the editing done yesterday, built the model today. The page count is higher than some of the others, but they're all big pieces, so the build goes remarkably fast and easily. Continuing on with the party, as planned. Next will be Red XIII.

If you noticed, I've got a new backdrop for my finished shots. It's not a proper lightbox, just an old black bedsheet tacked up on the wall around the kitchen table. Either way, it looks better than my beat up, dumpster-salvaged table, and the poorly painted, faux-wood paneling on the wall. I moved the posters out from behind it, so I think I'm just going to leave it. In the three years I've lived here, I haven't once eaten at that table...

Only problem is, with a cleaner looking background, the flaws in the model are much more obvious.

Anyway, I really didn't want to do the tease thing, but I also didn't want anyone thinking I was just sitting around doing nothing. The party's growing, and Cloud's ready for release whenever that date arrives. Also I just want to keep showing off my (not)fancy new photobooth.

Now, something of moderate importance. When I put together my build roster, I started thinking, doing so many of the same kind of model in succession might get a shade monotonous. Well it is, and I'm aching for a model with real texture. So, since the Goblin Pack is a pretty massive proposition, I figure I could use some testbuilders to speed up the process.

So, if you're interested in doing some testbuils, shoot me an email or instant message or something of the like. I would prefer that you be able to use 110lb (200gsm) cardstock for the build, as it's the standard I intend to base them on. I also intend to build these with the "no-fold" curved look, so I'd like any tests done in the same fashion.

If I can get some help doing different poses and base models, the whole project will go much faster.

Also added a little poll. The question is one of preference, and there are lots of nuances to each option, but yeah, I figured it'd be worth gauging the general opinion.

My printer is already threatening me with "empty" status, so I may not have any new releases until I get a new cart in from Amazon, but who knows. It said it was empty before I started Barret, and I got 10 relatively clean looking pages out of it...

Anyway, you know the usual nonsense I say at this point, so I won't bother repeating myself.

Cloud WIP Video

2009-02-11T08:40:00.007-06:00

EDIT:

Hey! Look at that, I ended up going with a streaming source. I'm still not happy with how blurry the downscaled product is, but at least it's all one in big chunk. I'll keep the higher quality files in the Mediafire folder, if anyone's interested in getting a version with text you can actually read. If you're having problems viewing, I recommend grabbing the K-Lite Codec pack, and/or using VLC Media player.

I really liked the idea of streaming, because it meant I could put together a little channel of videos of things I feel are worth displaying, so this is pretty good. I'll make some more soon (I've got one in mind that really illustrates why I break models up the way I do) and post as I get them done. Going to work on Cloud this weekend, then get started on Barret.

Until then, enjoy my irritating voice and the unfathomable boredom that can be the only explanation for why you'd watch this video.

Original post:

Part 1:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1EPFFVPG

Part 2:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UTEKMA9D

Twenty-one 13 minute clips in a shared Mediafire folder:
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=9a3870cea0d9926f4012e8015643d9c82de088bcb2665458

This is the entire process of taking a Final Fantasy VII field model from raw data to a finished PDO. The whole video is 4 hours, 23 minutes long, and was done in a single sitting.

Youtube would've been the ideal method for this, but since it's all detail work, the down-scaling Youtube implements ruins any legibility. I realize it's going to be watched by many fewer people this way, but I think it's worth it to maintain some standard of quality.

If you're looking for the useful details (how to extract, which programs to use, etc.) the first few videos in the set of Mediafire clips will be all you need. If you want to listen to me ramble for 4 hours while I go through the entire editing and layout process, by all means, watch it all. I tried to explain as many reasons for why I edit and lay things out the way I do, which may be useful to novice designers.

As promised in the video, here are some helpful links specifically useful to Final Fantasy VII model extraction:

Ficedula's Homepage (home of LGP Tools)
http://www.sylphds.net/f2k3/index.html

Mirex's Homepage (home of Biturn)
http://mirex.mypage.sk/index.php?selected=1

Battle.lgp list
http://www.alhexx.com/documents/other/battle_database.txt

Sorry, no Char.lgp list. There used to be a complete index, but it's since been lost to time.

I don't think I'm going to bother with a video of the actual model construction. I always do photo documentation, and the build will take even longer than the design phase. I could do a time-lapse video, but I really don't think that'd be useful to anyone.

I may put together some other videos to illustrate some points I made while talking in the design. We'll see. In the meantime, I'll finish up the build and get it ready for release, but I'm saving that for Ninjatoes' Kingdom Hearts Cloud release, so don't get too anxious. I'll start work on Barret as soon as I'm done with Cloud.

Concerning excessively large videos

2009-02-10T18:44:00.005-06:00

Ok. So. Yesterday I did the whole thing in a single sitting. From scratch to finished PDO, video documented, commentary the whole way, etc.

The video is 4 hours, 23 minutes long.

Needless to say, the Youtube option presents many difficulties. I am not averse to splitting the video into 27 parts (I did so, actually), but I am averse to the horrible, unintelligible blur that results when Youtube scales the video down. My primary monitor's resolution is 1680x1050, so nearly any scaling makes everything on the screen illegible, which is more or less unacceptable.

I realize streaming video is all kinds of convenient, but when you're talking about something wholly useless, done only to illustrate minute details, convenience isn't really part of the intended goal. Considering there are maybe five of you who actually care to watch any of it (and I should hope none of you are anywhere near bored enough to watch it all), and those five are probably the kind who can spare some hard drive space, I'm going to upload the video to the usual sources. It's still massive, so I'll need to break it up, and the process of uploading will take quite some time.

I'm going to make a new folder in the shared MediaFire directory and start uploading the parts (the 100mb limit results in about 20 parts), and upload in much larger chunks to Megaupload (2 parts, each just under a gigabyte) after the upload to Mediafire is finished.

If you actually plan to download it all and want to save yourself the trouble of downloading many smaller parts, wait for the Megaupload links.

I'll edit this post and add the Megaupload links once they're ready. If you want to start downloading smaller parts from Mediafire, just check the shared folder link to your immediate left.

I swear my voice sounds deeper in my head...

The Fahrenheit

2009-02-07T15:37:00.010-06:00

The Fahrenheit
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SNOTP0QS
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?1gzxmwudzzo

Sorry for dragging my feet with this one for so long. I think I kind of over-hyped it in my mind, so I ended up avoiding it for as long as possible. Not to mention I got sick about a week ago, and unmedicated, I'm only just now getting over it.

All in all, the build was surprisingly easy. That's not to say there aren't some incredibly tedious parts to it. But It's not as difficult as it might look.

Threw together a simple stand, because those of us who like to hang things from the ceiling seem to be a minority. Anyhow, I'm pretty happy with the finished product (and yes, the ring is free-spinning).

I'll probably start working on Cloud again tomorrow (or even tonight, as I'm trying to do the 'stay up for 24 hours to fix a broken sleep schedule' thing), which includes playing with some video capture. Apparently some of you actually want to watch the incredibly boring process of model editing and whatnot.

Be warned, faithful reader, I'm going to be talking. The whole time. There will be music to distract from my annoying whine, but the whine will be everpresent just the same.

I'm kind of looking forward to shoving as many bits of wisdom (or what I've deluded myself into believing is wisdom) into the whole procedure. Should be good times.

It's highly likely that I'll finish Cloud before my projected release (which relies on a fellow with toes made of ninjas...or maybe possessing the toes of ninjas...whatever), so the next release you'll see here is probably going to be one Mr. Wallace.

Almost forgot - Lyrin took the time to testbuild a smaller scale version of the FFXI Moogle. It's laid out almost exactly the same as the original (except for a few places where the scale allowed a few pieces to remain whole where earlier they had to be split), but at nearly half the size. The smaller version also has a very simple stand (not pictured), in case you're not inclined to aerial display.

I'd say the fact that her finished version looks better than mine, at miniature proportions, is proof that it's plenty buildable.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?u0azjwhlozm

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to attempt to clean my apartment.

People may die in the process.

Pray for me...

Project List

2009-01-26T23:29:00.007-06:00

Okay. I've reached a good place with classes back in session (even though none of my classes are explicitly covering Martin Heidegger ;_;). I'm not studying, but then again, I never really do. So I've put together a project list that I'm going to will myself to stick to.

Here they are, in order:

FFX - The Fahrenheit

I've had this laid out, printed, and ready to build for over a month now, and I just keep putting it off for other things. I've been wanting to build this even longer, so it's about time I finally got started.

FFVII - Cloud Strife

Ninjatoes is working on his Kingdom Hearts incarnation of Cloud, and I'm planning to have a version of the oldschool field model ready for his release date (that is to say, even if I finish early, I'm going to save the release for his date). I've been thinking about doing something special with this build, but I don't know if anyone would be interested. I looked into some desktop recording programs and ordered a webcam, so I'm now able to document the entire build process, from the original extraction from the game data to a fully built model. I can make a short series out of it for a YouTube channel. If you're interested in seeing something like that, leave a comment.

FFVII - Zack Fair

Similarly, Chamoo is working on the Crisis Core edition of Zack, so I'd like to have the field model ready for that release as well. It's my understanding that her model is proving to be somewhat difficult, so I may put off this build, as I can probably spare some time. All the same, I'm going to save the release for her date, unless she decides to scrap the project, or I finish everything else on the list first.

The FFVII Party:

Barret

Figure I should just go ahead and finish the rest of the party. I'll start with Barret, and work my way through the rest, in the following order:

Red XIII

Tifa

Yuffie

and Vincent.
Haven't decided on a pose for him yet. They're both pretty awesome, but I'm not gonna bother with doing both like I did Sephiroth.

FFXII - Balthier

After finishing the FFVII party, I think I'll be ready for another Lady Luck sized project. Balthier's been a long time in the making, and it's well past time I just sat down and forced myself to finish it without getting distracted.

Chrono Cross - Fargo

After Balthier, I'll get back into some Chrono Cross models, starting with Fargo and continuing as follows:

Serge

Lynx

and Glenn.
Haven't even started work on any of these yet, so the grey faces aren't indicative of anything, I just had the .OBJs handy for screenshots.

At this point we're getting into builds months away, so these next few may be subject to change, but I'd like to just sit down and get them completed.

FFVII - Tiny Bronco

This one's already in Pepakura, but the unfolding process is going to take particularly long. I may decide to go back and simplify the model more, but like I said, this is pretty far off, so I'll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it.

FFXI - Goblin Pack

This will be an absolutely massive project, as I'd need to testbuild lots of different body components and possibly poses. Like others, this has been a long time in the making, but I think I'm just going to have to force myself to get it done without distractions.

After that, I'm thinking of a few more themed packs, but those will be getting into the range of summertime, so nothing's set in stone. A few ideas I'd like to look into are:

Chocobo Pack
(from as many games as I can get my hands on)

The Turks
(including Rufus and Vincent's Turk incarnation)

Shinra Company
(the remaining notables of Shinra, including Hojo, Scarlett, President Shinra, and Palmer)

I ordered a messenger bag (as cliche as I think they are) to at least make some attempt at carrying all my books around this semester, so I'll be working on more sprites to stick on it in the meantime. I've also kind of...rediscovered my own love of playing videogames, so I'll take time out whenever I feel I need a break. If you feel like yelling at me to get back to work ingame, my PSN ID is Kaizo107.

That should give you some idea of what you'll be seeing here in the coming months.

So again, if you'd like to see the entire process of a model's creation, from extracting the original data to the finished release, leave a comment, and I'll look into recording the process with the Cloud model.

As always, comments, requests, and full-frontal nudity are welcome.

Sprite Stitchery

2009-01-21T17:40:00.011-06:00

I know I said I'd try Setzer first, but the 8-bit sprites have such a lower color count, I figured it would be best to try the easiest possible option first. Considering it was my first attempt at cross-stitch, I'd like to think it isn't half bad, but obviously I'm biased.

I chopped out the sprite and stitched it on to my belt, then went over the remaining white with brown and black sharpies. I do have some black cross-stitch fabric and some waste canvas for stitching directly on to other articles, but like I said this was my first attempt, so I didn't want to waste anything fancy. And I certainly didn't want to just let it sit on some stretch of white uselessness...not when it turned out so nice.

So if you live here in Denton, tag the guy wandering around campus with the black mage on his belt to win a prize!
(Don't...don't actually touch me, that'd just be weird...)

Anyhow, there's a lovely little freeware program called Stitch Color that I used to go about this. It takes inputs from many different image types, then converts them to DMC colors (the official cross stitch rainbow, I guess you could say, each with a reference number so you can run out to your local fabric store and buy the ones you need), and charts it out nice and large.

I would encourage anyone nerdy enough to put videogame sprites on their clothing to give it a try. Just be warned, it takes real manliness to bust out the sewing kit. You better be up to the task.
-_-

And now for something completely different (if you don't want to listen to me rant, stop reading now or skip to the bottom for the condensed version).

I started the sprite last night while watching the film adaptation of the Golden Compass. I originally heard about the books as a result of the film's release, but I never actually saw the movie before looking into the original version. As I've mentioned recently, the books had a rather heavy impact on me, and as such I feel it is my responsibility to put a message out, to everyone within the sound of my voice, about this movie:

Chris Weitz is a mutilator and a destroyer of quality!

I haven't seen any of his other works, so apologies if anyone happens to be a fan, but I can say that, as someone who read (well technically listened to) the books in their original splendor, that that movie was the most, rushed through, watered down, censored piece of refuse I have ever willed myself to witness.

And the worst part is it wasn't 100% wrong! They nailed the steampunk-esque environment, and they had a nearly perfect cast. Scoresby was a little older that I'd imagined him, but that inexplicable cowboy from the end of the Big Lebowski fit the role perfectly. Daniel Craig? Nicole Kidman? Abso-freakin'-lutely. Some of the kids might've been...well...better, but it's hard to nitpick with child actors. For the most part they performed admirably. As much as I love Sir Ian McKellen (after embodying both Gandalf and Magneto, what nerd couldn't?), I actually think he was an odd choice for Iorek. Though, I don't think I would've had nearly as much issue if he'd been given the lines he was supposed to have.

Defeated in single combat, my backside...He's Iorek for Jeebus' sake. He was exiled for being too badass.

The whole thing was an exercise in purging all subtext and just forcing the characters through immediate twists and turns, aiming only to hit the high points of the story, and never explain why.

"Okay, I'm running away from Mrs. Coulter now. Oh look some guys, let's not explain why they're after me. Blamo, there's some Gyptians. Okay, now we're on a boat. Oh look at me, I can read the Alethiometer without even thinking twice about it. No no, don't tell me who my kickass father is now, let's save that till the end so we can have some effing Darth Vader nonsense, where I get to be Luke and say 'you can't be my mother, it's not true, it's impossible!' Oh look, now the movie's over and we didn't actually reach the end of the condemned story. Boy, the part of Lyra sure was fun."

HAAAARGH! >_< style="font-style: italic;">incredible series based on the atrocities carried out in that God damn movie.

Sigh...

That is all.

Grargh, even the soundtrack was rubbish! >_<

Kid

2009-01-19T08:16:00.003-06:00

Kid
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4VD6N0C0
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?33wzzynom5c

The short version of everything I have to say about this build is: I'm not entirely satisfied with the finished product, but it's given me too much trouble to consider scrapping it again. It also isn't a particularly easy build. As a great robot once said, "this ain't gonna be no cake-walk in the tea-park." The hair is...quite the rough customer, but it could have turned out much worse. My biggest gripe is with the pose. It's too vague and the right arm is just...dumb. I'm not sure. I'll probably feel better about it when I haven't been awake all night, and am not coming down off a caffeine high.

Anyway, spring semester starts tomorrow, so I'll be taking the Fahrenheit more casually. If my previous comments didn't indicate, my sleeping habits have become utterly befuddled, and I'm currently in the process of an auto-rectification, by means of sleep deprivation and caffeination. Tomorrow's the inauguration. A new president for this nation.

Okay, now I'm just getting loopy.

I'll be attempting to put together a long-term project list soon. I'll try to get it posted once it comes into being.

In the meantime, enjoy your papercraftulation.

Revisions Necessary

2009-01-16T23:54:00.005-06:00

Took several days off to play LittleBigPlanet and listen to the His Dark Materials trilogy on audio book (what can I say, I just have a hard time forcing myself to crack open a book), both of which I sorely enjoyed. I think the passive entertainment did me some good as a change of pace.

The interesting thing is how similar I find the characters of Kid and Lyra (you know, the whole scrappy blond tomboy with an uncertain, but absolutely critical destiny). I know and accept why Will and Lyra had to part ways at the end (that whole, 'build the Republic where you are,' sobering you up to remind you that, it may have been a fictional fantasy, but it had a real message, and real messages don't have fairy-tale endings), but all the same, it still left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I had a hard time getting back this build as a result. Kind of an odd emotional response from paper toys, but whatever.

I was prepared to play this build lazily. The layout was effectively "done" for quite some time, but I knew I could make it much easier. I avoided making the revisions because it would mean losing the majority of the layout, which would just drag the whole process out even longer. While the progress so far is decent looking enough, it's occurred to me that this is one of those models that will bring in new readers, and will probably be built by more people than my stage-fright inclined disposition would like to admit to.

To make a long story (one which you've probably read the majority of at this point {apologies on that account}) short, I've started making the revisions. Classes start on Tuesday, so I'll try to get it done and released before then, then take the Fahrenheit build more casually while I get back into the swing of a regular schedule.

I've also put up a dedicated page for my ridiculous little "Bonus Questions," which you can find if you'll look slightly to the left, but that's more or less unrelated. Expect the release in the next few days.

Aerith

2009-01-09T12:28:00.005-06:00

Aerith
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QQWKYK92
http://www.mediafire.com/?ttgmz1kztxh

Sorry for dragging my feet on this one. I printed her out and started cutting on the first page before I realized I didn't really care that much about seeing this one done. So I ended up finding lots of distractions and excuses. Took care of some housekeeping (literally), and generally addressed the stuff one should during a break from school.

Kid's up next, and while I know plenty of people are looking forward to this one, I think I'm going to take a break for a few days, so I don't do the same thing I did with Aerith, and sit around with a half-finished model on my desk.

Periodically I remember that I actually enjoy playing video games, so you'll likely find me playing LittleBigPlanet (which I'm supposed to get via UPS later today) for the next few days. My PSN ID is Kaizo107 if anyone would care to join me.

On an all-encompassingly unrelated note: I'd like to issue a challenge to anyone who actually reads all the useless crap I say after the first few lines of text, wherein I link to the release in question. If you can answer this correctly, I'll have to think up some kind of prize.

Can anyone tell me what is odd / interesting / worthy-of-note in the first track of the Disgaea 2 Arranged soundtrack?

The challenge will remain open until someone answers it correctly, if ever. In fact, I doubt so highly that anyone will have any idea what I'm talking about that I'll give you a big hint: it's right at the beginning of the track. Why do this, you might ask? For fun. I'm just curious if anyone else has the same kind of bizarre, useless knowledge of, or interest in the same things I do.

Requests always welcome, blah blah blah, contact any time, yadda yadda yadda,

You know the drill.

Mojo

2009-01-03T18:36:00.005-06:00

Mojo
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WYY0Z585
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?rymk1tdznjm

Was aiming for Mojo's world map idle animation with the pose. Build was surprisingly fast and easy. Could've knocked it out in a day if I was concentrating.

I forgot to mention with the moogle release: This model can probably be scaled down considerably and still be buildable. Thanks to Lyrin for reminding me to bring it up.

I don't plan to rebuild the moogle any smaller to test it, but if anyone would like to, shoot me an email or instant message and I'll get you set up with what you need. I ask that you have a camera of some kind to take a picture of the finished product if you'd like to testbuild for me. A crappy cell phone camera is sufficient. The model should build precisely the same way, just a little more difficult in some of the smaller folds (feet, hand-nubs, and maybe in the wings).

Happy New Moogle

2009-01-01T23:13:00.004-06:00

FFXI Moogle
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4P56UBF5
http://www.mediafire.com/?n2m24n3mkmy

Not gonna lie, this build was pretty phoned-in. But rest assured, my finished model looks like crap because I got lazy, not because the design is flawed.
Anyhow, I did a custom texture, the release contains the standard Moogle and Nomad Moogle.

So it's 2009. Woo! etc...
I guess I've been at this for about six months now. The funny part is I've posted a Moogle layout three times now. I guess the third time really is the charm, because the first two incarnations were absolute waste.

I'm working on rearranging my shelves, playing with some stencils and stuff. I'll probably have lots of crap to post on DeviantArt later tonight, but nothing release-related. I've got some errands to get done tomorrow, so I won't jump right into the next release, but I'll probably do some smaller items next. Probably Mojo, Aerith, and Kid, in that order. After that, I'll need several days to work on the Fahrenheit.

Check back often, etc.

Back in action

2008-12-30T14:49:00.006-06:00

Back from Houston, with a Christmas haul. Got a fancy new cutting mat (Gingher, ooh la la~) and plenty of materials to start playing around with sprite-stitch. Scored some new shelves (well, my mom found them in her garage when she moved in, was using them to prop up the Christmas tree, and let me have them after we took it down). Lord knows I can always use more shelves, and these are unfinished, so I may try a few spray-paint stencils on them. Attempted to make the Pirates of the Caribbean compass as a gift, but it didn't turn out so well. I'm not sure it's designed for cardstock. Maybe I'm just a failure, who knows. Also built Chamoo's new Vivi my first night down. Kind of went overboard on the staves...

I'm not sure I could ever buy Legos for myself, but I certainly enjoy when other people give them to me.

Anyway, classes start up again on the 20th, which means I've got twenty-one days to churn out as many models as I can. I'm going to be starting on the FFXI Moogle today, just because it seems like an easy way to get back into the swing of things. I'll probably finish the build some time tomorrow, then take the rest of the day to put the instructions together, so look for a release some time in the early hours of Thursday morning.

I got a few layouts done over the break.

Mojo's ready to print. Why Mojo? He's easy, and to a lesser extent, I always found him amusing.

Boogum!

Kid's just about ready for print. Still need to do the tabs and number the parts, but otherwise set to go.

Aerith's also ready to print. Went with the "flower girl" incarnation because it seemed the most interesting. Was a request, but really, I'll probably end up building most of the FFVII field models eventually.

Someone had the funny idea to try to make one of her getting knife'd by ol' Sephiroth.

Did I say funny? I meant horrible. That's a horrible idea...

A friend of mine wanted to build the baby chocobo as a gift for someone, so I thought I'd do a layout for them (yes I'm aware GoblinGuy did a layout of this as well, but, uh...yeah). It's got me thinking more about a long-term project I always thought would be fun: a massive Chocobo Pack.

Might do a testbuild for instructions and "release" it, might not.

Thought this would be funny. Little one-page Star Globe. Amusing monument to a useless piece of furniture (yes I'm also aware that it has an EXP bonus, but come on, has anyone ever actually used it for that?). I'll probably just upload this to the MediaFire folder; really not "release"-worthy.

So the moogle's up first. I'm not sure which I'd like to do after that. I've already got the Fahrenheit printed, but if I get a big response to build something else I've listed as "ready to print" in the next few days, I could be persuaded to change my mind.

As always, requests are welcome, yadda yadda yadda

Boogum!