O hay guys.

So I was thinking.

I have two Gundam Wing doujinshi that I have doubles of and no one seems to want to buy off of me, so I figured I'd devise a clever way to find someone to give them to. Which is how I came up with the ingenious idea to have a fanart contest to do this. The rules are simple, but I will put them in bullet form just so it is all super clear. I hope this is something people will be interested in, as I'm not sure I've seen any fanart contests in a while

1. The theme for this is fantasy, so go crazy. It doesn't have to be traditional fantasy, either: if you come up with a modern fantasy idea like Harry Potter or something, that's cool too. You can also dabble in other related genres such as sci-fi and horror, just be creative!!

2. This is primarily a Heero/Duo contest because I'm me and that's what I'm fixated on, not to mention that the doujinshi is Heero/Duo anyway. If you'd like to draw other Gundam characters, that is fine, but please ask me first.

4. Any medium you feel comfortable working in is okay, but you must end up with a completed image. That doesn't mean it has to be coloured, but it also has to be something that is more than a concept doodle or sketch.

3. The deadline is going to be about two months from now, March 1st. To submit your finished image, please email me at link@zephyr121.com with your image attached.

4. Also, please refrain from uploading your picture to the internet before the deadline to ensure that whatever you came up with is something you drew especially for the contest. The only exception would be if you are posting progress for critique.

5. HAVE FUN. OR ELSE )8


Oh, and for those of you wondering what the prizes were, here are scans of the covers. The first one, which is by Miyabi Hokushina, is paired with an image I'm sure you all have seen before and is from this doujinshi. The other, despite the cute cover, is just dirty floor sex in the hangar, courtesy of Magnum 55, lol. Anyway, the winner can pick which one of these and the runner up can have the other one.

[check out this post to see the fabulous prizes!!]

So I finally sat down and organized my massive doujinshi collection. Tried to figure out what I have, what I need, and what I need to get rid of. To start with, I found doubles (click the link) that I'm willing to part with, so let me know if you'd be interested in buying them off me or making a doujinshi trade (as there are some other books I'm questing for)! Hope to hear from some of you

I sold the Nattsu Moon Child Act 6 already, but the other two are still up for grabs. One is a dirty Magnum 55 and the other is a beautiful get together from 95. It has a pretty well known panel of Heero and Duo kissing in it. Let me know if you're interested!

[link]

In other news, finally started really getting to work on this manga project I'm doing with some friends and the design for my holiday cards this year. Stupid Christmas: it's not giving gifts; it's giving an obligation.

I am like super poor right now, as I've mentioned before. If anyone would like a fast $10 portrait of a character, let me know. I'll do additional characters for $5. I'll draw most anything, except for, you know... pairings that creep me out, basically.

Erm, just so you guys don't think that I'm like trying to rip you off or something, know that my idea of a 'sketch' is like [this] or [this]. Long story short, it's basically probably more detailed than inks for me, haha.

You know you want one.

(No, srsly, you know it.)

So, as you all know, the main reason I haven't been posting much of anything lately is because I've been in the process of transitioning from living with my mom after college to living on my own. Since my mom lives in Washington DC and I live in NYC, getting my stuff from there to here has been an arduous process. Anyway, in kind of going through all the stuff I own, which I've never before been able to keep on decent bookshelves in my old room, I realized that I somehow managed to end up with doubles of two official Gundam Wing artbooks. Obviously, since I don't need doubles, I am willing to part with both extras if anyone would like them. (First come, first serve!) One is worth $30 and the other is like $45, but both are gorgeous and full of lots of great artwork and information about the Gundams and the show. I'll take pictures if anyone needs to see covers.

Still willing to do commissions for anyone who would like one. I might be busy, as I'm starting an internship that will probably lead to a real job afterwards, but I'm trying to rework drawing into my life. Also, I am poor, since the internship is unpaid, lol. But it's pretty cool: I get to edit the animated prequel webisodes they're making for the Showtime show, Dexter. The one about the serial killer, not the cartoon boy genius, just so we're clear, haha. So anyway, yeah, bit tight for me until this real job thing happens or I at least find a bartending job in the meantime, but hey.

And I'm tired? It's only 10.30. What an old pooper I am.

NYAF isn't the most exciting convention in the universe, and if it weren't for the presence of Yoshiyuki Tomino, I probably wouldn't have bothered going back. Alas, with the creator of Gundam there, I don't think I could have lived with myself if I let it slip by, so I went. The con itself isn't really much more than a giant dealers' room, but at least I got to see a whole lot of people, which made it all worthwhile. Had dinner with Sharon, DC and Koyasunomiko on Friday, and it was super cool meeting Joanne as well. And running into cosplay friends from other cons! Of course, all the Gundam geeking out didn't hurt!! I attended both of Tomino-san's panels and nerdily landed myself front row seats for each. I even got to ask Tomino a question at the end of his keynote presentation, which nearly made me explode!! (For the record, I asked what he thought about the importance of character, since he had stressed the importance of story very much in his talk. He replied by saying that character was a very complex thing.)

Of course, there was also an autograph session, but to get a ticket, you had to be there about four hours before the convention started for the day. Much as I was loathe to get up, it was totally worth it in the end to do it, and now I'm wondering how much my Gundam Character Encyclopedia is worth now, lol. Of course, because Tomino would only sign official items from Gundams he had actually worked on, I was glad I decided to bring that book, since he probably wouldn't have signed my sketchbook. I got a very sincere nod of approval from the guy screening the things people were bringing in for autographs, which couldn't be said for the people standing around me. (Honestly, trying to get a Gundam Wing tape signed by Tomino is no different than bringing in something from... Ranma 1/2 for him to sign, you know?) Tomino himself was even impressed by my encyclopedia: hesaid that not even he had it at home, and then proceeded to flip through it. That shit is NEVER coming out of the plastic again.

I was pretty good as far as buying stuff went, and I didn't break the bank. Picked up a cool artbook in the artists alley and a fucking epic Char Aznable statue in the dealers' room. (He lives next to the Evangelion DVDs now, lol.) Was a little sad that they haven't released You Are (Not) Alone on DVD yet and that I missed the screening of it at the con, but at least it's something I've seen before. I was also excited that Sharon gave me the Heero and Duo chibis that are part of the Gundam 30th Anniversary set! Now if only I could finish this commission for her: Trowa is being very stubborn. (I might go for Round 5 on this one. No, I'm not an insane and obsessive perfectionist... *coughcough*)

[here are the rest of my photos]

Also, I thought I'd mention that I'm working on fic and art, albeit a bit slowly at the moment. I'm still really busy with moving in, getting settled and trying to find a job. *sigh* At least I have things to do with my time, but just know I haven't forgotten you guys!! I might post what I've written so far of my next chapter just to tide you over, because I feel sort of guilty for the wait XDD