Rogue's Bonnet

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

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

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

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

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.