Chibi Amigurumi Doll

I've been debating posting this pattern for quite some time.  I've wanted to make it available but could never decided if I was going to sell it or if I was just going to give it away so I just wrote the whole thing out and edited it over and over again as I kept debating.  In the end selling it is too much hassle.  If I ever start selling patterns I'll just make up more!

RPG creation software, Part 1

I've been testing out a few programs for creating RPGs trying to find one that will work best for the way I do things and I thought I'd share what I've learned.  All are free and have active communities, all are 2D based, all run on windows and one also runs on Linux and Macintosh.  I chose four programs to test, the others got axed before download because of things like not being free, having an unfinished engine or being in development limbo.

If you have a suggestion for software that I've missed and should look into, send a link.  Keep in mind that it must be free and complete enough that I can make a small game with no money involved, and it can't be a Mac only product (because I don't own a Mac).  Please note that I'm not interested in general game makers unless it's got some sort of built in RPG template.

As I test these out I'll be creating a small game and which I'll make available to play at the end.

Being a rebel this year

Some of you may have heard of a little thing called NaNoWriMo.  I'm a big fan, I've been doing it for years now but the only time I won was back in '09.  This year, since I've been working so hard on my game, Twin Crowns, I thought I'd keep the momentum and use NaNo to work on it.  Since Twin Crowns is a Visual Novel I figured it was still in the spirit of the challenge and I don't feel very guilty about not writing a book.

I'm very hopeful about wining this year.  I have a good outline, no commitments during my favourite writing hours, and I'll be trying to finish the entire story within the month.  Planning to write more than 50k in November is really key for me, otherwise I'll get ahead one day and take the next 3 off then get out of the habit of writing.

I go by the name Sharm, add me as a buddy if you'd like!  I really love trying to beat the word counts of everyone on my buddy list.

Little by little

Moving from one state to another is a big messy heavy hard complicated exhausting thing that I never want to do again.  I'm taking a break from getting my new place together to work a little on a new background for Twin Crowns, the main character's bedroom.

Just the bed so far, I haven't quite figured out the architecture and layout I want so I'm keeping myself going by just doing the stuff that I know I want in there.  I'll be softening the corners of the mattress and adding a coverlet in post processing, it'll just look less mechanical that way and add fewer lines that I can't seem to get sketchup to hide.  I'm thinking of putting a mirror in the room, which will be complicated in sketchup since it doesn't have reflection rendering.

Complications can be pretty.

I'm being ambitious with Twin Crowns (my visual novel).  The concept was very simple, twin princes vie for the attention of the player character and after you've gotten to know them you choose between them.  When I first came up with the idea I didn't think it was possible to make it complicated and hard to finish.  I was wrong!  I've been collecting complications ever since this stopped being an idea and started being a project.

I've been playing in sketchup

I like the entirety of "DC Comics Guide" series of how to books.  While reading the one on working digitally, I found that the artist used Sketchup to make the backgrounds on some of his comics and even the background for the cover art.  I was intrigued and downloaded Sketchup on the spot.  Unfortunately for me, 3D is not my forte, when attempting it I usually end up confused and grumbling loudly at my computer and breaking the model I'm trying to make.  I keep at it though, and eventually forced myself to watch enough tutorial videos to get to the point where I could make something worthwhile.

I'm now using Sketchup to do my backgrounds for Twin Crowns.  At first it was going to be typical fantasy fare, but then I realized it would work much better with an arabian feel, so I ditched the sweeping staircase entryway I had started and opted for something a lot more ornate.  Days later, this is what I've got.

I really hope I can do a proper coloring job that does this thing justice.  The thought of doing this same process for all the rooms in the game is both overwhelming and exciting.

Twin Crowns VN: First lineart done!

I like to work very big then be all perfectionist about making things just so.  This is great when I'm obsessing over getting anatomy correct, but getting the lines really pretty doesn't actually matter at the size I'm working in, because all the little mistakes disappear when the project is shrunk.  Still, I can't seem to help it.

Despite all this perfectionism I have managed to get something completed today.  I've been working slowly on one of the sprites for my visual novel, Twin Crowns.  Specifically, I've been working on Eric, the more outgoing twin prince.

Can't concentrate.

Wondering what I'm working on right now?  Yeah, so am I.  Today I've updated a pixel art doll base, worked on a mountain for a background, did an outfit for the magnet doll, worked a little on crocheting a sleeve for a dress, fixed some anatomy problems on a sprite I'm making for the Twin Crowns visual novel, wrote a little more for the script and I intend to do some writing on a different project and possibly a little knitting before bed.  None of it has reached a stage where I have anything to show off, so I feel a bit like I'm running in sand.  Still, at least there's some forward momentum!  There are far too many days where doing even a little on any project at all is a big accomplishment.

To do or to overdo

The first picture I ever attempted to ink with my tablet is still sitting unfinished on my hard drive.  Not because I gave up, or because it's too hard, but because I am a perfectionist.  I scanned the sketch in at a very high dpi then got all caught up in tweaking anatomy and making the lines look perfect no matter how far in you zoomed.  It will be a very lovely bit of fan art if I were to ever finish.  Would you like to see it?

Visual Novels

I don't expect many of you know what a Visual Novel is.  I've found it hard to describe what it is, so I'll just use the definition from the Ren'Py website.

Visual novels are computer-based stories that are told through words, images, sounds, and music. Many visual novels also present the player with menu choices that allow the player to control how the story is told.

 On the one side, it's a complex storytelling medium, on the other it's a very simple game format.  Usually what you see on screen is a background, a bust view of a character and text at the bottom.  The only commercial games I've played in this style are the Phoenix Wright series.

Tried out the magnet dolls today

So I finally got around to printing and cutting out the magnet dolls.  Here's what I've noticed about them so far:

• The skin color turned out a little yellow.  Thankfully it's still on the side of tan instead of spray tan.
• Cutting most of the hair styles and dolls can be done with just a pair of scissors, but I recommend using a nice sharp exacto for the tighter bits and most of the curly hair.
• The curly hair is annoying to cut out.  I'm sorry.
• The round bits with tighter corners should be cut with scissors where possible.  The exacto makes the turn alright, but tears the paper more for some reason.
• If your kids are rough on toys, this probably isn't worth the effort.  There are some thinner spots that lend themselves to bending or tearing.  Don't worry too much though, my 3 year old niece is doing just fine with it.
• Cutting it all out is going to take a little time and patience. 
• The very tips of points don't stick, but if you bend them back slightly, you shouldn't be able to tell.

Overall, I'm pleased with how they turned out.  We got a tin lunchbox to place the dolls in, which works nicely.  The magnet paper was thinner than I was expecting, but it works well enough, and thinner is easier to cut.  My niece is enjoying playing with it so far, even though it doesn't have clothes yet.  My brother has requested a saddle for the horse, which I told him would have to wait until I did a horse set.  I guess I'd better get back to work and get that water clothing set done!

Jack and Jill Magnet Dolls

The base is done for my magnet dolls!  Here are Jack and Jill as well as a few pets.  You'll need magnet paper which you can find at stores that sell office supplies.  Margins are built in, so make sure to turn off "fit to page" or whatever your printer calls it.  Here's the black and white version if you'd prefer your own colors.

I really hope you enjoy it!  I'll be releasing some clothes soon.

The part where I need to be stubborn

This is the hardest part of any project, where I've put lots of work into something, but there's enough left to do that a good push of effort won't get me to the finish.  I get ideas for other projects or annoyed at the one I'm working on.  I start to wonder if there's any worth in what's been done so far.  Sometimes taking a break helps, but most of the time I just need to buckle down, be stubborn and work on it anyway.

Apple Potholder Crochet Pattern

I've decided to make my crochet pattern for Apple Potholders available.  I don't know how clear it'll be to follow, I mostly wrote it down so that I could understand it.  I wouldn't mind help making it better.

Taking longer than I thought

I was hoping to put up something finished on my magnet dolls today, but getting a full sheet is more work than I realized.  Still, I have some stuff to show.

I've got a little over a half sheet for the twins, who now have names.  They'll have pets, more hairstyles and I'm not sure what else.  I've started with the coloring, though I haven't decided if these are the colors I'll go for or not.  I'll be making the uncolored version available as well.

These are for water inspired sets.  I'll be splitting the boy and girls clothes onto different sheet, which means there's a lot of drawing still to be done.  There will be some nautical and tourist inspired clothing as well, so it won't just be swimwear.  I won't be doing any bikinis or speedos, it's just not my thing.

I'm still deciding things, so feel free to comment on what you'd like to see or if there's anything needing changing.

Magnet Doll has a Brother

I've been working on my magnet doll again today.  I decided that 150 dpi was much too small for something I wanted to work on for a while, it would be better to fix the problem now and make something I was proud of.  Live trace didn't work though, I lost too many details and it kept trying to do odd things with it like make a white background and color the lines grey.  I finally gave up and just increased the size, then ran a sharp filter and touched up the lines.  Took a while, but you can't tell it was once half this size.  I've also made a twin brother for her.  There should be more guy dress ups.

New Magnet Doll

I've always loved paper dolls.  I keep meaning to make them too, but I never have settled on a theme or character or base.  I've even done a few KiSS dolls, which are like paper dolls but electronic.  I really couldn't tell you why I like them so much.  Possibly because I like clothes!

Sharing my Creativity

I have a lot of hobbies because there's so many fun things to do in the world and I want to try them all!  I've actually gotten pretty good at some of them, and I'd like to share the process and results with the world.  I'll be using these posts to show progress on my current project of the day, and if I don't do anything creative that day, I'll highlight a tool or community I use to help me improve my crafts.

Today's bit of creativity was creating this blog.  Feel free to comment and critique, I'd love to make this little corner of the internet even better!