Hello world :)
This semester of college has probably been the most overwhelming since my first. Fall semesters are always difficult what with the loss of daylight, time, and depressing weather, but this has been fucking ridiculous. I'm using this break to catch up on shit, actually. It's 3PM and feels like 7. Does wonders for my morale. As such I haven't had the time to post new updates to the site; I've written and tested some things here and there to keep busy, but nothing update worthy. Been checking out other sites when I can. Neocities is the shit.
My personal hell: The printmaking studio at 1AM
Now, for a grab bag of topics... I teased it in a random screenshot linked back in August, but I made a very big purchase: CEVIO AI Tohoku Kiritan. 13 years of VOCALOID fanaticism has come full circle. Dlsite's summer sale knocked down the software to ~$105 USD ($95 today); A vocal I love at a discounted price! All of CEVIO save for the user manual is in English, and its UI is intuitive and convenient... which, shockingly, cannot be said for others (remember OLD CEVIO?). I'll be sure to write more about Kiritan and the engine as I do more with it. Below is a snippet of vocals for a cover near completion.
Here's how she sounds without any adjustments on a basic mix. My friend graciously mixed and created the MIDI. Can't wait to return to this project.
The only games I've been playing lately are Picross 2 and Splatoon 3. What a pathetic sentence. My poor copy of Klonoa Encore 1+2 is crying alone in the drawer... I'll definitely return to it during the Winter break. I'm having plenty of fun with the aforementioned games at least. Blasters in 3 are far from their glory days in 1 but definitely preferable to how dogshit they were in 2.
For the next step in my riveting art career, I was admitted to the Fine Arts program at my school. They usually only decline when space is a concern, but it was a challenge I wanted to take on before my undergrad studies end. So, starting next semester, I'll begin developing works for some future solo show. :) My interests remain in painting and digital work, but I'd really like to explore themes through digital and traditional collage; David Salle's collages overlap and interact so effortlessly. For more conventional illustrations, I often look to Omiya Io. I think a lot about consumerism and methods of communication. Maybe I should express that through art?
And then I turned 22 on the 28th. Headed downtown with my family for some Mexican food and Halloween Ends (2022), which was... less than stellar and confused in tone. I went in knowing it was going to be corny and that's what I got... luckily our tickets were free as part of our attendance at a local baseball game. Gifts included: Tickets for the Van Gogh Experience, a poster signed by the members of Incubus, shoes, Squid Sisters amiibo, a yuri visual novel, some artworks, and a personal kazoo solo of the "Happy Birthday" song. (I originally requested a bookshelf.)
I've talked about a lot of things, so many things, it's all I have the energy for. But the first anniversary of this version of the site is coming up, so I'll wrap this up with future plans :D