ILIASTER

Fri, 03 May 2013 01:45:00 -0400

May 2011 ~ May 2013

2 Years and 240 pieces of fanart later, it’s time to move on. This blog has remained long neglected and I have no further intentions to add to its contents.

I simply do not have time anymore.

I’m honored and grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in some amazing fan projects with some of the most skilled artists I’ve ever known.

(Pictured here is my small collection of Yliaster fan materials, accumulated over the years.)

It was a lot of fun, but I’m taking my ball and going home.

Thank you for your patronage and support over the years. It means a lot to me.

I’ll miss you guys.

Another random sketch made at work. If I draw a little bit...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 22:22:19 -0500

Another random sketch made at work. If I draw a little bit everyday, I’ll slowly level up and conquer human anatomy….. hopefully… before I retire. In the mean time, I can cover up my deficiencies with random water-color textures.

Drew this at work today….

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 22:22:12 -0500

Drew this at work today….

Some thoughts on Yliaster and the WRGP

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 03:09:00 -0500

So when Jose started dueling in the WRGP finals, the audience (and team 5D’s) was pretty surprised by his motorbike. This unfamiliarity and surprise indicates that it’s the first time they’re see it. The same holds true for Lucciano’s board, the audience reaction indicating that he too has never dueled in the WRGP prior to the finals.

Okay……but that means that Placido was playing every single duel up to that point, from initial qualifying matches to the semifinal…by himself.

Recall all the stuff that happens to Yusei and crew during the WRGP. People are thrown around, burned, beaten up. Team members are wheeled off the field in ambulances and hospitalized left and right. Bikes are wrecked, helmets are cracked and uniforms get shredded.

But at least Team 5D’s had 3 active team members to spread the damage around.

Team New World has Placido…… just Placido.

To make matters worse, Placido plays an anti-synchro deck, designed specifically to take down synchro monsters. That’s great…but not everyone uses synchro monsters. He had to slog through a huge variety of decks type with his very specialized deck.

Good thing he didn’t come up against Team Taiyo.

(Goodbye ass, …see you next tuesday)

But that’s not all.

Unlike Team 5D’s, who are blessed with sponsors, pit crews, and other associated staff. Team New world has….. Placido. This means that in addition to dueling no less than eight other teams on his own in the qualifying matches, (that’s only the named teams.) he would have been forced to do all the in between maintenance work himself.

Hours of washing filters, tuning suspensions, changing tires…..for however many weeks the tournament lasted, (in addition to fixing, prepping and maintaining his teammate’s stuff.)

But wait…. there’s more!

Recall the when he gets Machine Emperor Wisel from the sky, he has to test it out first (using ghost)…. this indicates that it’s new to him too. So prior to that, he either had non-wisel based deck, or no deck, having never dueled. The latter is more likely. (Indicating that at his earliest appearance in the series, he and the other emperors were brand new, out of the box, new-robot smell and all. They’re likely no more than three months old, probably less.)

So in other words, he’s new to dueling in general and has only been playing cards and while riding a motorcycle for a few weeks.

Because in the distant future that he comes from, they didn’t duel monsters into submission….

They shot them.

Ugh….

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 05:27:28 -0500

Ugh….

It snowed yesterday….I biked to the hill overlooking the...

Sat, 22 Dec 2012 02:15:00 -0500

It snowed yesterday….I biked to the hill overlooking the palace.

…and then god said “Let there be mittens.” and...

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 09:24:29 -0500

…and then god said “Let there be mittens.”

and there was much rejoicing.

Winter coats are amazing. They have this unique ability to impart squeezable softness on even the most abrasive of misanthropes.

I drew this October 2011. It was my first Crashtown...

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 23:38:00 -0500

I drew this October 2011. It was my first Crashtown pic.

Placido is an outlaw and Antinomy is a sheriff….

Alas,… Justice does not always prevail.

I looked at pictures of old western locomotives to draw Placido’s bike half. I initially drew his gun on the wrong side, and then ended up giving him double revolvers….Hey, twice the guns, twice the fun. I also debated adding a gallows on the hill in the background. It was tough decision, but in the end, I decided that it was probably too much. It seems better to leave Antinomy’s fate open-ended.

Looking at it now, I think there are a lot of things I could have done better….

Related crashtown stuff:

Crashtown Placido

People with guns

I drew this trading card for the Yliaster Event in June 2012. It...

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 22:07:00 -0500

I drew this trading card for the Yliaster Event in June 2012. It was great honor to be able to participate. This is one of a set of Yliaster themed trading cards.

Here’s a wip.

A working section from a much larger drawing. He gets more smug...

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 03:18:36 -0400

A working section from a much larger drawing. He gets more smug every time I draw him. Unfortunately it’s also very out of character.

This is his emergency...

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 03:55:00 -0400

This is his emergency stash………..

There’s a lot of fanart out there that depicting Bruno x cats,……but it’s questionable if he even likes cats….. at all.

Fandom has totally flanderized him from a guy that merely respects the sanctity of life, to being a crazy cat hoarder that covers himself in cats, sleeping on a giant mat of cats and eating off cats, and scrubbing himself with cats when he showers…etc.

It’s a real problem with fictional characters. Contrary to popular belief, Placido doesn’t actually LOVE bees…. he merely referenced them in a conversation…. and now, according to fandom, he is ALL ABOUT BEES….

A character can mentions something in passing, and BAM! Fandom is on it. It’s almost like celebrities, any small action is subject to media frenzy.

This is the first time I’ve drawn Bruno. Antinomy is a little better, Bruno is among my least liked of Yliaster characters.

An early Halloween drawing. Awww…. and he had to go...

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 02:04:00 -0400

An early Halloween drawing.

Awww…. and he had to go through countless magazines to find that perfect picture.

Here are some previous Halloween pictures I’ve drawn:

Ghost Costumes
Pumpkin carving
Tiny Wizards
Vampire
The Hated Bonnet

There’s a person following me with the username...

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 01:28:00 -0400

There’s a person following me with the username “Potato of Glory”

I can’t help but laugh every time I see it, because……..hehehe…..potato…. of glory.

Persistence of Yliaster. Inspired by Aringgg’s drawing.

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 04:49:00 -0400

Persistence of Yliaster.

Inspired by Aringgg’s drawing .

He has seen the end….

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 02:55:00 -0400

He has seen the end….

Placido expressions.

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 03:21:00 -0400

Placido expressions.

I think it’s really cool how Zexal has all these cameos of...

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 01:08:00 -0400

Misaki, Konami and Carly

Chazz

I think it’s really cool how Zexal has all these cameos of characters from the other series. There’s a fourth wall being broken here, and I get the feeling that the characters are cast members, being recast into cameo roles much like real life actors.

The implication that a “backstage area” exists in these animated shows is fun to think about. I bet Yugi, Paradox and Kaito share the same hairstylist. His designs are outrageous and terrifying, but nobody says anything because he’s been on the set since DM and has seniority.

When Yliaster’s white robes are ruined in the wash, they’re repurposed to the DM Egypt prop room. This is done to cut down on expenses, even though the DM priest cast complains liberally about “gross second-hand robes.”

Bruno avoids Daitokuji as much as possible. He constantly nags Bruno about having his kitten spayed, as Pharaoh is taking an interest in her as she gets older. Aporia goes bowling with Dr. Faker and Gozaburo on Thursday nights. What Gozaburo lacks in strength, he makes up for in technique.

On some weekends, Antinomy and Honda swap bikes, because Antinomy likes the vintage look. He borrows a cool leather jacket from the Oricalchos set and Marik’s goggles and rides around the city, reliving the glory days.

For Hidaka, not Yliaster fanart. I should move this later. I...

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 03:26:00 -0400

For Hidaka, not Yliaster fanart. I should move this later.

I recently learned that in the Chinese fandom, Kiryu is also known as “Chicken fingers.” Apparently, it’s because the Japanese pronunciation for Kiryu sounds a lot like 鸡柳, meaning Chicken fingers (or strips/tenders) in Chinese.

You learn something new everyday….

Recently, I read a series call Umineko. The writing leaves a lot...

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 06:36:00 -0400

Recently, I read a series call Umineko. The writing leaves a lot to be desired,…… but it has nice shadows and elegantly illustrated clothes.

I’m going away for a bit.

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 15:09:00 -0400

I’m going away for a bit.