"Pikaboo"

Super super happy with this great commission by my coworker, Arvin :D Check out the rest of his awesome work at: arvenasaur.tumblr.com #pokemon #pikachu #art

A photo posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on May 14, 2015 at 1:40pm PDT

I like art. What I like about it is that there are so many styles and directions an artist can take to make a piece. Take this commission of Pikachu I paid for by my coworker. He did it as a traditional watercolor piece and in his unique style, which he had to ask if I was ok with. I said I wouldn't have asked if I didn't like the style.

When I got the completed work, he wasn't sure what to charge me and sort of lowballed the cost. I was shocked and insisted on paying more than what he asked because it's an original piece. I suggested to charge a lower price for copies but go higher for original work. He did say he was starting out after all.

I know I could've asked him to make anything but I went with something simple; Pikachu with his goggles from Super Smash Bros. I've seen Pokemon fanart all the time and it's mostly cute, glossy, and shiny. Or it can be scarily realistic. This style was loose yet recognizeable; like you know it's Pikachu without it obviously looking like Pikachu. And I said to him that it looks very cute :D

Check out his stuff. It's seriously good!

http://arvenasaur.tumblr.com/

Game Log

Last month, I caved in and bought myself a Nintendo 3DS (in Midnight Puple to boot).

(Well, it was more like an angry purchase because I wanted to do something for our Labor Day Weekend. After being shot down to do anything that involves driving out of town, Vince and I decided on hiking. Then his computer, "Gilgamesh", flaked out on him. Needless to say, it took up the whole weekend with shopping around to find computer parts and spending hours trying to find out what's working and what's not. Even after several coin tosses saying "NO" to buying it, I went ahead and got it. ANYWAYS...)

I chose Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance as my first game. I'm a fan of the series but only for the main story line. I have never played any of the side stories (Chain of Memories, Re: Coded, 358/2, Birth By Sleep) and I spent (wasted?) a lot of time reading up on the stories and characters. So why pick this title? Aside from the great reviews, I heard that this game actually moves ahead with the main story line. Not only that, KH: 3D graciously tied to and summarized the side stories of the previous games. Even though it's been six years since I last played KH:II, it was so quick and easy to get familiar with the game mechanics. Storywise, it was a bit hard to grasp but I'm just happy to see some progress. Sadly, I read that Square Enix is moving ahead with an HD ReMix of a few KH titles so it may be a while longer til we get KH:III.

I beat KH: 3D just in time for Pokemon Black 2. There's usually the first two games followed by a third one with extra features (i.e. Red & Blue with Yellow, Gold & Silver with Crystal, Ruby & Sapphire with Emerald and Diamond & Pearl with Platinum,). It was quite a surprise that Black and White came out with a full-fledged sequel. Even as an avid Pokemon player, I'm still amazed with how much they keep adding to the game. It's best played if you also have the Pokemon Dream Radar app too for the 3DS. Prior to getting the game, I played around with the Radar app and got some neat stuffs like items and other low level Pokemon. You can send this data to the game cartridge-- and it makes a BIG difference as soon as you start the game. After I get the starter Pokemon, I usually explore and try to catch Pokemon to add to the party before the first Gym battle. With the Radar app, I already had access to items and other types of Pokemon that normally wouldn't be available til later on in the game. In fact, I already have two of the three horrible looking legendary trio of Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus (in Therian form). 

So... Pokemon Black 2 is going to keep me occupied for a while until Professor Layton 5 and Adventure Time comes out.

Backlog:
Pokemon Conquest (3DS)
Mass Effect 3 (Xbox 360)
Sailor Moon: Another Story (SNES simulator on my Droid 3 :D)