Age of Sigmar - Recent Thoughts

So I've been working on my Death faction slowly and deciding what I should and shouldn't put in it. This is more of a future plan then anything else as I'm slowly incorporating various aspects of my old Tomb Kings into the faction. Sadly, the support for them has all but dried up with the coming rules for Age of Sigmar: Skirmish, so how long they'll last is unknown (and without more Bats, not sure how long the armies theme will last too). That brings me to two things, the first being Age of Sigmar: Skirmish and the second being the new Kharadron Overlords.

So first is my opinion of AoS: Skirmish. I love the idea behind it. Not only is it a great introduction to the game, but it makes for some simple, short games that you can have fun with, without having to spend ages moving blocks of units. It's like a less complicated Mordheim in that sense. It means I can focus on creating some nice characters and work on a small scale stories with plenty of fun thrown in (though Death and Destruction got ripped off as far as model lists go).

This then leads me to my biggest problem, the Kharadron Overlords. While their models look nice, the prices show a serious flaw in trying to get people into the game. While I like nice details, affordability is what people are looking towards these days and this faction is something only those in very nice financial situations can get. Lets look at some of the prices:

Special Character - $70
Heroes - $40 (there are four of them, they are all $40 each)
Arkanaut Company (10 models) - $77
Grundstok Thunderers (5 models) - $70
Endrinriggers (3 models) - $70
Grundstok Gunhauler - $84
And the two airships are both $140 (small) and $190 (large)

I can only assume the rules make these more modern models in AoS mean they must be powerhouse punchers, cause it's hard to see why one would invest quite a bit of money into this kind of thing. Yes, I consider this hobby to be an investment cause you put a lot of time and money into it with the expectation to have something to show (an army, enjoyment etc,). Maybe I'm just jealous that we got some nice models and I can't justify purchasing a single hero, even more so now we have AoS: Skirmish. I know such conversations in regards to GW and its competitive pricing died years ago, its just me being frustrated that I feel left out when compared to so many other small miniature games out there.

UPDATE:

So I wanted to talk some more on AoS, but felt it would be better to just attach it here instead of adding another post.

Been looking into what would be involved in Age of Sigmar: Skirmish, cause I actually have a bunch of models from 8th edition and could easily create a warband for each faction, but would need to see if I should add new things to them to work with. Certainly this is something to consider with things like the Death faction I'm working on (like do Bats have costs? Where can I get them cheap? Do I go for a Varghulf?). I recently came up with a question about base sizes and I did get some clarification at my local GW store, but I thought of a few more after writing this original article, the most important one being an issue of which War Scroll to use? Apparently according to the FAQ, you can use anyone you want, though the more recent version should be considered to keep your opponent happy (then again, the FAQ still states that they will continue to support the rules for the discontinued models like the Tomb Kings and given what's in the Death list in Skirmish, it's clear that that's not the case).

I bring this up because if you look a few lines back I mentioned the Varghulf, which has a few rule variants from the ones in the Vamp pdf, the Death book and the Flesh-Eater courts version, the latter being useless in my army due to the rule differences from the Vamp Varghulf version vs the Flesh-Eater Courts version. I can see there being confusions in some games when it comes to rules and it's something I'd like to avoid. That said, it'll be some time before I can get something like that, so perhaps I'll just wait and see.

Skeleton Archers Up, Thought of the Day

So the Skeleton Archers are now up: Link

Today's been a bust with neck pain and irritating people. Planning to alter the Blog layout soon, probably to alter the Other Works section into a portfolio so I can start adding the stuff I learn and work on up (so an ever growing skills page). Might alter the Miniatures page a bit too along with re-evaluating the Characters page too. Not sure what to do just yet, still stressed out over today and just need to relax and think.

On the positive side, the course seems close to finish and feedback is good. Miniature wise, might work on a mix of Malifaux, Vampires and Mouslings for my next set of uploads. We'll see what this week holds.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance - More Info

So after watching some vids about The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, it seems that there was more to the trailer then I knew of. So apparently it will be a ten part series that will be a prequel to The Dark Crystal movie.

Now you may know that in my look at an issue of The Power of the Dark Crystal that I hated it and felt it completely ignored important lore elements from The Dark Crystal and said that if people wanted to tell a story in that universe, that it would be better to do a prequel instead of a sequel. Well, that's what looks like happening now. I actually have high hopes for this too as not only did they manage to get back Brian Froud (the man who's visual sketches were the main source for the vision), but that the creatures will be done by the Jim Henson's Workshop. This could really work in bringing back the magic and vision that was the original The Dark Crystal movie and I hope it all goes well.

I can't help it, this is something I'm genuinely hyped for. I would love to see it released of DVD/Blue-ray with a full behind the scenes section, as that is something I would love to see (I am really interested in all those things, so please make it happen).

Villainous

So I only learned of these shorts just very recently, by accident really, but I must say that they are a must see. I really hope the creator Alan Ituriel gets some kind of deal for this as I would love to see more (even if they are just more shorts). The art style and animation is fantastic, the humor is great and the cast of characters are just amazing.

There isn't much these days I get into and I'm always looking for something that really grabs my attention. Well, I found it in this. I do like villains in show here and there, but there are few shows that focus on the villains themselves and this one gets it so right. The cast are all enjoyable in their own way, but damn is the character of Black Hat great. He's certainly the type of villain that I think of when designing villains of my own and I can just see him gaining a huge following. In fact, the whole show seems to be amazingly marketable, certainly from a merchandising stand point and I can definitely see people wanting it.

All in all, I definitely suggest you go out and check it out. I hope to see more of it in the future.

Creating Characters with Jazza

So got this book a while back (cause I enjoy watching Draw with Jazza and like supporting Australian artists) and while I'd normally review it, it's kinda hard to review something like this. To an beginner artist, this book is great. It teaches the basics of designing a character and while there isn't a huge amount of new stuff for me, it does give me a different perspective when looking into character creation, something that I'll try to incorporate into my work and hopefully design a more in depth profile by looking at things in a more basic view.

Check it out if you get the chance.

Thoughts On: Zootopia Shipping

It's funny, but I really don't like things like romantic movies (I find them uncomfortable to sit through and they really put me off), yet give me a show I like and I'll ship two characters together and give actual reasons why it would work. Sometimes I really don't understand me.

So what brought this on? Well, with the recent talk thanks to an article on 'will Zootopia will get a sequel?' and what might it contain, people have been discussing whether or not Nick and Judy should be a couple. Now I'll just point out one word from my last sentience that must be pointed out; Discussing. From my years of being in fandoms, shipping is one of the more aggressive sections of a fandom, so to have a civilized discussion is a breath of fresh air. Such a positive note must always be promoted.

So where do I stand on it? Well, from my first paragraph I'm all for the shipping of Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, but I also have my reasons. The first is that they just come off as a great couple, plain and simple, but there is more to it. I understand that people are sick of Disney romances and 'why can't two characters just be friends' and while I agree, I'm feel that have the chemistry to be a couple. I also feel there are great stories to tell from them being a couple. However, I would like to see Disney go in a somewhat different direction with the romance, make it normal. What I mean is that instead of the usual romances that are in their movies, we have a romance that is realistic, something that feels like its formed over time and less of a fairy tale. I want them to experience the same issues most people do with relationships and see how they deal with them. I also would like it that if a romance was to form in the second movie, that it isn't official till the very end of the movie, so that we feel like its just a natural part of the journey and not shoe horned in (so we see it form as the movie goes on and they make it official by the end).

There are three different parts to such a romance. The first is the common romance, the problems that just come with any romance and how they react to it. The two don't have many friends and given how strong their friendship was at the end of the first movie, they would most likely spend so much time together that such feelings could form. The second is the workplace romance. They deal with each other outside of work and they also deal with each other as they are partners in the workplace, so a workplace romance can form from it and as such, they would be on each others nerves at times, but are also there to support each other in the more difficult moments (they are police officers after all and it isn't a glamorous job). With such a romance forming, it could also cause issues in the workplace too. Personally, I'd like them to research workplace romances to understand them and implement it into the story.

Thirdly is the theme. Zootopia had a variety of themes, two of which are discrimination and acceptance. This is where those themes could continue as its one thing for Judy's dad to work along side a fox for business, but it's different to accepting the fact your daughter is in a romantic relationship with a fox. It's certainly something the fans have been trying to figure out in their own stories and I would be interested to see how the writers would implement it. Given more recent articles talking about the increase White/Black couples over the years, it would be an interesting way to see how such a thing would work in the world of Zootopia. I mean, as far as their whole world maybe concerned, inter-species relationships would probably be more uncommon then rare, but would be of the prey/prey and predator/predator type with a prey/predator being rare. I feel that the more common inter-species thing may be more related to their mammal classification (like Rodent, Lagomorph .etc) or species type (so black rat, brown rat, bush rat .etc), which would probably justify more as to why city citizens would be more accepting of the whole inter-species thing. Still, would be an interesting to see the difference between the city folk and country folk would react to it.

As far as the whole inter-species offspring think, I'm more accepting of a parental dominance gene field, which is basically means that each child conceived is either based on one parent or the other, but with some mutations (so perhaps opposite parents eye colour, adult size would be higher or smaller then normal based on other parent etc.). I feel doing this avoids going too deep into problems that could occur (as far as the main cast is concerned, adding offspring should be more of the later part of a third movie type thing, so adding extra problems just feels unnecessary). Who knows, maybe they have a small grey bunny kid who has a patch of orange/red fur on his head which Nick would nickname 'Carrot Top'. Stupid joke, but hey, its what I'd expect form a kids movie.

On a side note, a strong section of fans seem to have collectively agreed that Nick's mother is single (either divorced or a widow, they are still cautious on that one) and that Nick hasn't seen her since he left years ago, but feel that Judy would be the one to unite them and that Nick's mother would be supportive of them as a couple. Always feels good when a fandom chooses to make a great story for a character we know little about that is sad, but has a happy ending.

Overall, I would like to see it implemented in a more real world style and that we see it develop instead of the usual 'It's day three and now I'm giddy in love' style that we usually see. I know movies are meant to be a distraction from reality, but then again that's what drives shipping too I guess. I feel there is strong support for these two to be an official couple, but making their relationship more down to earth and with real problems would help make it work. Will it happen? Who knows, but I would like to see more discussions like this in the future.

Cheap Way to Green Screen

This video is not only funny, but did prove to be actually helpful. How? He mentioned lime green material for the green screen and I will report that after buying some cheap lime green material, I did get the visual output needed for the green screening in my project.

I admit, I'd love an actual set up with a proper screen and lighting, but for those desperate to pull off enough for an educational project or even just to much about with, this video's tips have proven very useful to me.

Home Stretch

Getting so close to the end of this Visual Effects course, with the final days before project is due and then at that point it's on to the public presentation. I'm not sure what to feel in all this, as having a mixture of stress, anxiety and excitement has left me worn and my nerves feel shot. Given that only a month or two ago I was about to throw it all in thanks to some serious shit going on with my life, I can only be thankful to the support staff for helping me pull through.

Heck, thanks to them and the faculty teachers, I've been able to catch up and with luck I'll be able to pull this off. Living with mental illness is always hard and it's constantly being pointed out how critical I am on myself and how I don't take positive feedback too well. Doesn't help that when I do stuff to better improve myself and my life that there is always something that tends to pull me back down, but thanks to the support I'm getting, I will hopefully complete this course and start planning for where to go from there.

Should have stuff from my course uploaded here within the next few weeks, most likely after the presentation night is done.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

So I just found out about this and I gotta say, I'm all in for it. Given my disappointment at the comic series The Power of the Dark Crystal, I was skeptical when I saw this in my recommended, but having now watched through the trailer, it looks to be a behind the scenes and possibly re-creating some of it. If that's so, then I am all in.

Just hope we get it here in Australia, cause if we don't then I may feel a little upset (and by a little, I really mean a lot).

Rendering

Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render........

.........11 Hours Later......

.........Something Needs Fixing.......

.........Fixed It.........

Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render Render........

.........11 Hours Later......

.........Need to alter an item to fit green screen footage.......

.........Rinse and repeat rendering cycle once more........


I die a little inside.........


........SEND HELP!!!!

The Complexities Of Visual Effects

There are many things I have learned from my visual effects course and one of them is the frustration of dealing with 3d rendering and green screen footage. Admittedly, my green screen footage has me recording it as camera man, actor and director, meaning that there are bound to be a lot of problems. This is only compacted when I am unable to compare data on my computer as it is too busy dealing with rendering the 3d scene for the fourth time, which only compounds the problem when you realise that it's taking over four hours to render three seconds of footage.

I wonder if these problems occur in the film and animation industries and by that I mean, how often do they go back because of some minor inconsistency? It's an interesting thought, though as the person trying to get this assessment done on time, I could also see how those people like directors and producers could get frustrated every time a problem occurs.

The only luck I have is that I'm not doing this piece for a major company, though I have caught up on the project faster then I had originally thought, which is always good news for me.

What Wonders Research Brings

So in working more on my recent Bat character, I wanted to go down a private detective route. In trying to research various inspirations, I stumbled upon a song I knew and decided to go deeper. That song was the theme to the show Peter Gunn, an old black and white series. Having watched a few episodes from the first season recently I can honestly say that I'm hooked.

Not only does watching this show help me better define things my character does or ways in which he does them, but I find it difficult to simply watch just one episode and when I get into that state I feel that spark of joy again. It's funny, I have a difficult time watching modern day crime shows yet shows like Columbo and Peter Gunn I just enjoy watching. Perhaps it's the characters or the writing, but there is something that just hooks me and I love it.

Now if I could only find a way to incorporate that kind of hook into my own characters and stories.