I was trimming my mini-comics and mini-sketchbooks the other day and had the idea to turn the camera on while I did that. That way you can see a time lapse of how I prepare my mini-comics AND listen to a song I made a while ago, called “The Callback Kids.”
I used to play Taiko when I was in college, as part of the on-campus group Hayabusa Taiko. I had taken music lessons before Taiko, like guitar, flute, and clarinet, but nothing stuck with me more than Taiko.
If you like what you hear, and want to hear more Taiko-inspired songs, please let me know in the comments below.
The Forest Spirit is more than just a spirit – she is a deity. She has been around since before written history. Her name has been lost to the ages, but she is forever present within the trees. When she moves, she moves slowly, thoughtfully, but deliberately. And when she is found, she will guide travelers by testing them – fail the test, and you are taken out of the forest, forever unable to find it again. Continue reading “The Forest Spirit: An Illustration”
This panel is from Validation (written by Christian Beranek, drawn by me)
I like games. Video games are cool, but right now, my love is for tabletop games.
If you want to understand why I love tabletop games, especially Dungeons & Dragons, so much, I highly recommend you watch this TedTalk about why D&D is good for you, and this Cosmonaut Variety Hour video about Dungeons & Dragons.
Of course I’ve played other tabletop games, too: Evil Baby Orphanage, King of New York, Settlers of Catan, We Didn’t Playtest This At All, Quelf, and Pathfinder are all games I’ve trod the table for. But Dungeons & Dragons is my big favorite right now, especially 5th edition. 5th edition is really the best beginner’s version of Dungeons & Dragons that’s out right now (aside from the Starter Pack).
With that said, I’ve been wanting to make a new game for quite a while now.
Not just a new D&D 5th edition campaign (I’m already in the process of brewing one). But a new tabletop game.
Christian Beranek and I have been throwing around the idea of finally making Tiny Unicorn, which is a game mentioned in our comic Validation. That’s great. I don’t mean to discredit that.
No, I mean, making a new game.
The idea I’ve had for a little while is something based on the world of Charlie & Clow and The Case of the Wendigo. In my mind’s eye it would run off a D20 system, partly because I’m most comfortable with that, and partially because…
Ok look, I know there are games based on existing comics, movies, TV shows, etc that generally favor the Fate System as a root to base the game on. But I’ve looked at the Fate System and I just don’t like it. It’s too complicated and nonsensical, especially when it comes to how characters in the game take damage. While there are aspects of the D20 system that can make a game easy to break (by overpowering characters, spamming certain spells, etc), I still find it preferable to the mess that is the Fate System.
So anyway, yes, I’m thinking of brewing a tabletop game based on the world of Charlie & Clow and The Case of the Wendigo with the d20 system as its base.
I’ll be updating here on the blog if I finally get the chance to start this thing.
I wanted to make this video because of two videos I saw recently: one was a person talking about Dashcon who then made a moronic autism joke, and the other was Tessa Violet’s video about make-up. How do they connect? Well, give this a watch.
Also, here are some autism advocacy groups you can support:
Y’all, this new episode of Review Day Tuesday is taking way too dang long to write and record for. I want to make it the best review I possibly can but JEEZ it’s hard.
There are other videos I want to make though, and these other videos would be faster and easier to do, plus they don’t require a ton of scripting or planning.
I’ll post one of these types of videos soon, and if I don’t have this Review Day Tuesday episode done after that, I may just drop the frickin’ series.
Because here’s the thing – video-making is a hobby. It’s not my job, and I don’t ever want it to be. I want it to be fun. And right now, Review Day Tuesdays are…not fun.
It’s not fun in the way I consider comics-making fun. When I make comics, even when I come across a challenge, I come up with a game-plan to tackle that challenge or I just go into it. It’s a chance to learn to me. Even the hard stuff is fun to do.
Right now, this Review Day Tuesday thing is just something I DREAD. I don’t like to do hobbies that give me a sense of DREAD. If I dread doing the thing, what would be the point of doing it?
I want to give it a little more time, though – sometimes it’s just the mood I’m in. Sometimes there’s a legit concern. I want to give it time and when I revisit the idea of Review Day Tuesday, I’ll see if it’s a legit concern, just the mood, or something more problematic.
