School Unity! ...Sorta

Click for Full Size @ DeviantArt

So yeah... That last comic I posted? Here's what it turned into.

I came to the realization last week that between having too many characters, too much build up, and too little payoff, that other comic wasn't going to work. I needed to cut the fat (even though I kinda loved the prefect...he might be making a return ;D) and refocus on what really mattered; mainly my main character and her story(s). Sound familiar to anyone?

But yeah, here's Hallow Chandler. Named halfly from my username (HallowSpell149) and halfly after Tris Chandler (who you should totally recognize by now), the most awesomest red-head ever. I debated showing her first reactions to the sorting, but I figured that was nothing new. A lot of people have been surprised/disappointed at their sortings, and I don't think I could bring anything original to the table. So instead we have Hallow a little while after settling in. Not to worry, we'll no doubt encounter some of her misgivings in the future.

Possibly a major factor in creating this comic is the fact that the majority of my RL friends (including my sister) are Slytherins, and it's really fun to egg them on. The next comic may or may not address some retaliation. It's so much fun to torture characters.

So, what do you think? Have an idea for a fun (and easy to draw) story line? 

Feel free to leave a comment below!

Also, if you do feel inclined to friend me on Pottermore, please comment or contact me somehow to tell me your username so I can nickname you first! 

I'm really trying not to have random nameless friends on there.

Top Ten Tuesday: Non-Bookish Sites

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

So I tend to focus on mainly bookish things here. Even my last post, which was art related, stemmed from Harry Potter. But what kinds of sites do I read that aren't book related? Here's my top ten:

10. Pottermore

Sorta cheating here, but I do enjoy the games/activities on Pottermore. Sure, it's a site based around a book, but it's not just about reading, right?

9. Etsy

Partly business, and partly just browsing. Perusing the site for the latest and greatest handmade goodies is just so much fun! Seeing the prices on said goodies...well, not so much. When I win the lottery...

8. The Daily Show

This one I mostly go in spurts. I see a little on TV and then go watch 5 episodes (or extended interviews) straight. Jon Stewart is awesome.

7. Hellfire Commentaries

That's right - I have a video game addiction. But I'm lousy at playing games, so I settle for watching other people play them instead. It keeps me up-to-date on pop culture, while entertaining me with the commentators' witty rapport. And gotta love NTom's British accent.

6. That Guy With the Glasses

A fairly recent find, but I absolutely love watching CR, The Nostalgia Critic or Nostalgia Chick rip into my childhood favorites. Whether it be Disney, TV shows of olde or not so olde, these guys are masters of hilarity. I find myself cracking up even while they're bashing movies I absolutely loved.

5. XKCD

A comic that may not look pretty, but consistently delivers great punchlines, touching moments, or witty insights.

4. ...With Sprinkles

A web-comic/blog created by one of my college friends. I always look forward to Mondays knowing I'll get a good laugh - even if it does usually come from her misfortune. ...Does that make me a bad person?

3. TV Line

I wouldn't say I'm an American Idol addict...but I love reading/watching Michael Slezak's recaps, insights, interviews and predictions each season. And when he's not reporting, I sometimes look for the latest spoilers for my fave shows. TV spoilers = okay. Book spoilers = I kill you.

2. YouTube

I'm tempted to put this as number one, but since this is purely entertainment/distraction, I guess it gets lowered a peg. Whether it's watching a line of related videos for 3 hours more than anticipated, or checking out my favorite channels (SSoHPKC, ApprenticeA, CardGamesFTW, ItsJustSomeRandomGuy, HISHEdotcom, and TheCreatureHub to name a few), YouTube never ceases to entertain.

1. deviantART

Another site all too easy to spend unaccounted hours at, deviantART is probably where I spend the most non-bookish time. Between reposting my reviews, browsing random art, managing the SmilingMoonCreations account, browsing more art, checking in on my groups, uploading photos, and browsing the latest art my favorite artists have posted, it's a busy busy site.

Honorable Mentions:
Pandora
Library's Site
Ctrl+Alt+Del
Various Manga sites
Facebook


Yeah, a lot of my sites revolve around movies, video games, and art.
Can you tell I like distractions?
Which sites are on your list? Let me hear you howl!

No Shortcuts

Ever since I joined Pottermore and was sorted into Hufflepuff, much to my initial surprise and disappointment, (I've since come to terms with my placement and embraced it) I've wanted to make a comic about it. I mean, what better premise than a girl who hates sunshine, plants, and yellow who is thrown into an environment filled with all three?

Unfortunately, I was not blessed with the artistic bug - at least not visually - and my sister, the artist of the family, is busy with her own projects, so mine fell by the wayside.

Until last week when I decided I'd give it a shot. Hence my absence...

I mapped out the first comic completely. So it was on the back of a library receipt, it didn't have to be perfect, right? Here's basically what the first panel looked like.

Then I took it to paper.

I figured I should be able to sketch out my comic then photograph/scan it in and do only minor tweaking. Thing is, I'm a little too much of a perfectionist and my 'minor tweaking' turned into completely re-tracing it. Which would be fine, if I had a tablet or something, but no, I just have a standard mouse.

So there I was, panel one completed, except for the text. It had only taken 8 hours.

Yeah, 8 hours.

UGH! At that rate, it was going to take forever. Might as well scrap it.

But then I thought, maybe I could streamline everything, just use the line and circle tools to cut out some of the steps. And then I'd be ahead of the next panel through the magic of copy/paste.

So I started over and came up with this.

Not very pretty. And the real kicker is that it took me just as long to do! And I'm still not happy with it.

Serves me right for looking for shortcuts and still expecting quality work.

Now I just have to decide if I'm still willing to put the effort in, or if I should scrap it and leave it scrapped. Why does XKCD make it look so easy?!

Quick Update

Hey there all you guys

So, I've skipped yet another week...or two... Can't remember how long it's been, actually, I just know it's been a while. Sorry 'bout that.

I'd started a post reviewing Kristen Cashore's Fire, but mid-way through, I found out some bad news and really didn't feel like writing anymore. Don't worry, I still have the post saved on my comp, and I'll finish it and post it shortly.

What was the bad news? Well, I don't really want to go into too much detail, but writing it out and sharing is kind of therapeutic for me. We had a death in the family. One of my second cousins committed suicide two Fridays ago, and his memorial service was last Wednesday. He was 16. I didn't really know him, probably have only seen him 4 or 5 times, though I think I saw him last Thanksgiving. From what we've been told by his more immediate family, it was completely unexpected. It's just sad. RIP Randy.

Since then, I've been keeping busy with my family. Our project this week was to clean out our sewing/craft/storage room. We didn't completely finish, still have a couple boxes to go through, but it's a million times better than how it started, and my mom and I will most likely finish it tomorrow or Tuesday. Next projects: our bedrooms.

I've started reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, finally. I saw the movie a few years ago (the recent American adaptation) and liked it alright, but I'm afraid it's made reading the book a bit difficult. So far, the book is a lot drier, which I suppose is to be expected, considering they had to dumb it down for American audiences. However, I have found listening to the audiobook (narrated by Douglas Adams, himself) to be a different experience altogether. It's got to be the British Accent that makes all the difference. I've finished chapter three, in which the Earth was demolished. I should have it finished by the book club's deadline on Wednesday.

March Madness has entered the household. Though I'm not a huge basketball fan, I was in Pep band all through high school, so I can follow and cheer with the best of them. I didn't fill out brackets, or anything, but I do have my teams. Purdue and Washington were my big ones, and they both had a pretty good showing. But now we're all for Butler, as my Grandpa (may have) attended classes there (his memory is a bit fuzzy on that matter - he attended the theological school near there, and thinks he might have been required to take classes there). Riding on their 24 games-in-a-row winning streak, we're hoping they go all the way. As for the rest of the games, well, we usually root for the underdogs.

Another distraction I've given myself is playing Pokemon Emerald. Yes, yes, I know, I'm 22 years old, I should be acting my age. But Pokemon is just so addicting for the collector in me. Not to mention that I can play it without really paying attention. It may take me ages to get through, considering I'm very particular about training each and every Pokemon I catch, but it's easy enough to give me the satisfaction of multi-tasking (even if it's only accompanied by watching TV).

Oh, I've just realized that I've got an eventful week ahead:

Tuesday evening I'm attending a Resume Workshop at the library. I attended his Job-Search Workshop in January and found him to be quite encouraging and helpful. Unfortunately, the library seems bound and determined to sabotage all of his workshops by providing incorrect information online. Last time, they fudged both the dates by adding 10 - 5th and 19th turned into the 15th and 29th - a feat I'm not sure I've ever seen mistaken on a calendar before. And then, this time, the RSVP email they provided contained a typo - Rich turned into Rish. Annoying, yes, but I hope that we'll at least have a good turn-out and get some good information.

Wednesday evening, Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson series) is coming to the local Powell's to promote her newest book, Silver Borne. I fell in love with her series last winter, and hope her turn-out will be large enough to warrant return visits, but not so large that it's uncomfortable. There was another author there last Thursday (Kim Harrison - Hollows series [Black Magic Sanction]) who drew a crowd of at least 50, and it looked and sounded a bit too crowded for my liking. I hope to include some snippets from the evening in my next blog.

Well...I think that's all. At least for now. It's longer than I thought it'd be, random as it is. I will try to write more this week, though I'm sure you understand how other obligations turn up. Who knows, maybe I'll snap some shots of my room when/if it gets all spiffy.

Das your Vadanyas

~Vicki~