Musings of Melis

I have a backlog of art from the past few months that I need to get around uploading. Don't worry, you're not looking at a massive art dump, but there will be several entries in the coming week (hopefully) of various things I've completed.

Like the following, which was actually done before the year ended as part of that weird hockey/Quidditch series I was doing... and have yet to complete like just about everything else in my life, lol.

( Dion Phaneuf of the NAQL's Toronto Maple Leafs )

Title: The Band Plays On
Fandoms: The Beatles and Harry Potter
Characters: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr with mentions of/appearances by... well... the Marauders, and other characters of their generation.
Rating: G
Words: 1,212
Notes: This was inspired by fab art created by glockgal who has been kind enough to give permission for me to repost it here. Thank you again for the lovely muse! Feedback on her art can be left here!
Summary: Everyone thought that when the 60's ended, so did the Beatles. But in 1971 they turned up again... the muggles just didn't know it.

( Beyond the blue horizon, far above the clouds in a land that no one knows, live four or five magicians who spend their days casting wonderful spells. )

So there hasn't been much activity in this DW account since shortly after the Olympics. Honestly, the last month has been pretty mad and draining with school and work and all that jazz. I haven't really produced any art or really even tried to draw anything since my last update which is very saddening and just makes me loathe education all the more.

The good news is that I'm very nearly done with the university year. As of Tuesday I will be free from the shackles of education until September. This means you'll definitely be seeing more of me, I'll have more to offer, and... um... there's some stuff to look forward to!

I owe a very awesome someone art still which will be first priority beginning next week... or rather, next weekend since I will probably crash for the next several days after school ends. I have some sketches that I want to flush out into fuller drawings, as well as a knitting project that's nearly done, and some sort of cosplay project (though most likely a Hallowe'en costume) that will occupy the summer as well.

Stay tuned some time around May for commission offerings as well. I'm planning a cross-Canada road trip once I graduate next summer (one last bash before I run out of excuses to avoid adulthood) and any little leg up I could get in saving money would be a plus. So I'll have more details about that later on.

But I'm not leaving you completely empty-handed here, for I actually did do a bit of drawing today just to reassure myself that I haven't completely lost it. Granted, I don't know how good the doodles are because I have been up for 36 hours straight and am really very exhausted and out of it. But at least I did something.

( Two brief sketches from classic fandom and new fandom! )

Not much to say here except for the fact that I really probably should not have spent my entire evening doing this. But the urge hit me and the drawing just happened, so what can I do? I'm a slave to my creative whims.

Title: And they're having a lovely time!
Fandom: The Beatles
Character: The red-nosed wizard McCartney
Notes: When I started, I was going to draw Paul frolicking right off a cliff like something out of 300 because I was feeling bizarre. Somehow this happened instead. (Maybe my Inner John told me it was time to take a break from picking on Macca for an evening.)

I also tried a digital inking technique. I've never inked anything in Photoshop before... I don't exactly know any good methods other than just tracing over your own line work with the paintbrush... but I'm much steadier with my own hand so I never do that. But I tried the pen tool out this time and... I'm not sure if I like it in general, but I think it suits this particular art very well.

( The art and a few details below the cut! )

Yesterday, I put a small plug in my LJ for help_haiti where you can bid on artists, writers, etc. for personal fics, art commissions, and a wide variety of fannish creations with all the proceeds going to disaster relief in Haiti. I lamented how I wasn't well known enough to really put my services up for auction. Well, I had a change of heart.

It was a very slow, quiet, and boring day at the office today, so most of it was spent absently organizing papers, making a few phone calls, and watching a good deal of television which was perpetually tuned into CP24. Pretty much the only news being hired aired and replayed was the earthquake story. So it was on my mind a lot today, and I had a good deal of time to think everything over. And you know what I decided? I decided, "Aw screw it!"

I don't care if I'm a small and amateur artist. I could give money to the Red Cross or something as it is and help out, OR I could help a good cause, give someone a unique gift, and do something I love all at the same time.

So if you visit help_haiti you can look around at the auctions and bid on me to help bring relief to those who need it a lot right now. I have two auctions going, the first here is for a commission and the second one here is for a set of four sketch cards featuring Yellow Submarine-era Beatles. As an added bonus or incentive for the bids, I've decided to match the winning bid's donation. So even if only one person bids on me and gets a commission for $30 or the card set for $15, that's still $60 and $30 respectively going to charity.

And even if you don't bid yourselves, spread the word and pimp this out (though it's pretty much been pimped everywhere already).

Title: This Doggie-Woggie Here's My Dog
Fandom: The Beatles
Character: George Harrison
Rating: G
Notes: I... I don't know. This just happened. Done with ink, copics, and touched up in Photoshop, I dedicate this to o_deanna and my cousin Jamie, the latter of who is always there to make sure George gets his fair share of love too. (Context and the art is below the cut.)

( This lantern doth the honoured moon present! )

...I'm not going to finish that sentence. Years ago, I used to make those ridiculous jokes at every opportunity. Oh high school history... you know you've studied too much when nerdy history jokes about Russia become your thing.

For those of you who don't know, in high school I went through the IB Program which was the most mind-numbing and useless thing ever concocted. I mean, okay, so I guess it prepared me for post-secondary education in which NOTHING WILL EVER CAUSE ME MORE STRESS OR FREAK OUTS THAN THAT GODFORSAKEN PROGRAM!!! In my final year, I had one day of exams that was only one hour less than the deemed "maximum" level in which the IBO would reorganize your exam schedule to be a little easier on you. Fortunately, I guess it helped that I wasn't alone.

It cost me my HL Biology exam since I could NOT switch my brain from history function to science function at a good enough level, but I did wipe the floor with that HL History exam. Though I STILL maintain that when Paper One is titled "THE USSR UNDER STALIN" it should NOT be about his struggle with Trotsky for control after Lenin's death! I STUDIED MY ASS OFF ABOUT YOUR GODDAMN COLLECTIVIZATION AND THREE AND FIVE YEAR PLANS AND THAT MOTHERFUCKING TERROR, AND YOU WANT ME TO DEBATE THE DIFFERING PHILOSOPHIES OF LENIN, TROTSKY, AND STALIN!?! THIS ISN'T PHILOSOPHY!!!

Sorry. I have my moments. Those papers still haunt me to this very day.

Perhaps in Soviet Russia, paper writes you? Yes. Yes it certainly does.

*shakes head* Anyways, now that I've come out of my neurotic trip down memory lane, a query to all of those who might read this.

I come with a fanfic question. A Star Trek fandom question. About that Russian whizkid.

So Chekov's accent is unbelieveably camp. It's supposed to be like that. What do you MEAN Russians can't say "v"s? What the hell? I guess according to Trek, you too can be Russian as long as you switch around your "v"s and "w"s! Now I'm not here to debate the pros and cons of the idea behind Chekov's accent or the offensive implications of it. Yeah, he's a stereotype and a charicature, but we all kind of love him even if he is.

But here's the question for all of you. (Tell your friends, because I really would like some feedback here.) Chekov's accent: ignore it in fic or write it out?

It's double-edge, I think. On the one hand, if Chekov talks very little in a fic meant to be humourous it adds to the comedy. On the other hand, if he has a major role, I think the accent could just get distracting. But writing out conversation that makes an intended accent visible enhances a character, I find. I like how Hagrid's speech is broken in Harry Potter - it creates a clear voice inside your head.

But maybe Chekov (and to the same extent, Scotty) is different. We know what he sounds like, whether we're talking the original Koenig!Chekov or the new curly-haired Yelchin!Chekov. So do we really need it typed out?

What are your thoughts on the "Russian accent" in Trek fics? Is it a turn off? If done properly do you not mind? (I think it's a given that if it's mangled and everything, it's definitely not worth a read.)

(Just to clarify, by the "accent" I mean typing "captain" as "keptin", or switching around all your "v"s and "w"s. I figure Chekov's muddled grammar is a staple regardless. So the real question is, would you use: "Is Russian invention." or "Is Russian inwention.")

Title: Hermes' Messenger
Fandom: Star Trek XI
Rating: PG-13 due to violence and language
Length: 11,008 words (plus three illustrations)
Summary: After an excursion aboard a ruined Federation vessel, the crew discovers they've returned with a little hitchhiker.
Notes: This is what happens when your friends suck you into a new fandom right after you've finished reading a bunch of books featuring zombies. But if Pride and Prejudice can have zombies, then Star Trek can too! THANK YOU, STARTREK_CRACK FOR EXISTING!

( Something was still banging away at the other side of the lift door. It was incessant and almost rhythmic, pounding again… and again… and again… )

The year of school and exams are all done and over with. I am done with that campus until September now! Now I start longer hours at work next week so it's not exactly like I'll have spare time now, what with having only Fridays and Sundays off. WHY!?!

BUT THAT IS NOT NEWS. What IS news is that last weekend I finally saw Star Trek? And guess what? Due to the combined efforts of several loveable fandom friends... IT'S SUCKED ME IN. THERE IS NO ESCAPE FROM IT'S PARASITIC CLUTCHES.

So we're entering the world of fan art now! I hope to have something more substantial and done much better in the near future (I don't go into work until 6 today so I have the whole day to do stuff!), but for now... enjoy a cute little picture of Kirk, McCoy, and metroids that you KNOW will not end well.

Title:This will not end well.
Fandom: Star Trek (reboot)
Characters: Kirk, McCoy, and metroids! (lol Nintendo)
Rating: G
Medium: Copics

( But they're so CUTE! )

Let's get the real life business out of the way first. I AM SO DONE WITH THE YEAR NOW, YAY!!! French final went well - I feel really good about it. Finished up the last essay for my Gender class take home exam and dropped that off at the Anthropology Department, picked up my comics (creepy guy was NOT there. The store was actually empty so I had a nice little chat with the owner.), came home and did just what I said I'd planned to do: crack open a beer and game.

So Punch Out on the Wii is AWESOME. Huzzah for old resurrected franchises! The opponents are tougher this time around, but it's a trade off for easier-to-use controls. (If you want to duck, you just push down instead of DOWN + DOWN like the original, argh!)

I also cracked open some books. I tore through Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and I have to say it was a VERY enjoyable read. The real charm in the book lies in how the author makes the zombies (and ninjas! There are ninjas too) blend so well into the background by making full use of Austen's style. There are zombies that feed on the brains of the living but they are simply referred to as "the unmentionables." It is therefore both a fun read and pays a good deal of homage to Austen's original work. There are even discussion questions at the back of the book, lol! (Side Note: I am by no means a Jane Austen fan, but I think of Pride and Prejudice as my little guilty pleasure. Oh Mr. Darcy...)

That said, the other day I had also picked up the trade for the Doctor Who comic The Forgotten. If my fellow Whovians are not familiar with the story, it is basically the published Ten Doctors story... sort of... in a way... and nothing like the web comic which you should ALSO check out if you haven't done so yet. I am far too buzzed to talk about anything in a properly or orderly fashion, but I have to say that it is well written and a fun adventure that is SO NEEDED during the current hiatus (it takes place after the Series Four finale but before any of this year's specials). And yes, it TOTALLY promotes the Doctor/TARDIS ship!
( FIND OUT WHY!!! )

That said, to conclude I guess all I really have to talk about is the final conclusion to Battle for the Cowl. Guess what? Nothing new happened. It ended just the way we all thought it would. ( These spoilers are Batman )

As for Captain America? D'awwwwwwww Bucky's birthday! 16-year-old Bucky has the most adorable goofy ears, and one of the birthdays was so totally filled with Bucky/Toro moments that immediately made me think of ani_bester over on LJ.

And Marvel Adventures is ALWAYS made of win!