Category Archives: News

Oh My Days

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I took some time off after Easter as a mental break, but also as a cleaning break. Spring Cleaning I guess? But also I haven’t really had any real breaks from work since last summer. So some time off was overdue.

Plus, the boys were about to start up again in daycare / pre-school. The wife ready to go back to work. Easter was already a four-day long weekend, so I tacked on the week after as holidays. Cleaned the house, cleaned the garage. It was cathartic in a way, but ended up not being a relaxing time off at all. But I didn’t turn the computer on a single time, so that was one positive.

Which means I didn’t draw. I actually hadn’t done any drawing since I finished the last Stranger Than Friendship comic. Which tends to happen for some reason. They take a toll on me creatively more than my other art projects. Plus, obviously, the screen break plays a role. Which got me thinking about getting back into physical art again, and not relying solely on the computer. So I’ve bought myself a toy to try out. Deliver me my Huion LED Lightbox!:

I did some research and its one of the better reviewed options available. And it’s portable. Which is good because I don’t have any spare room on my computer desk.

I think I’ll still do my layouts/sketches on the computer, and then print it out and lightbox it for Pencils, Inks, Watercolour, etc. We’ll see how it goes.

I’ve always had this nagging feeling that I wanted to do my wrestling comic traditionally with pencil and ink, and then just scan for colour and the rest. So now I can give that a go.

// What I’m Drawing

I did a quick cartoon drawing that I’ve had in the back of my head for a while, ever since watching the movie Luca:

Luca is a Disney movie about a fish boy who travels to land. When he’s above water he’s in human form, but underwater he’s more of an underwater mermaid boy. Obviously being a Disney property, he’s a very cartoony character design. But, I always thought it would be funny to do a darker, Tim Burton-ish version. More of a sea monster type.

So I drew this up quick last night and I think this will be my jump-back-into-physical-art attempt. I’ll print the sketch, lightbox the pencil onto watercolour paper, and then finish as a watercolour.

I should have a finished product by my next update, and hopefully keep it from my 3yo toddler who enjoys the movie. Wouldn’t want to spoil that for him…

Besides that I have a few projects cooking:

  • X-Ladies group shot: adding Magik and 1970s Mystique to the group, and then colour
  • Angela – colour
  • Harley Quinn
  • Finish Goblin Queen

And a few projects simmering in my head:

  • Let Me Solo Her (Elven Ring community player 😉 )
  • Deadpool
  • Scarlet Witch (hopefully before the movie comes out)
  • Boba Fett

Also I have the next Stranger Than Friendship webcomic idea, revolving around the popular game Wordle. I actually collaborated with a friend on this one. My idea/plot, but he volunteered to do the script.

// What I’m Playing

Knee deep in Halo Infinite. Half way through the campaign on Legendary; having just finished Mission 8 – Pelican Down and the 2 bosses. I’ve also been grinding through the collectibles as well, so it’s slow going. So far the campaign has been a lot of fun, feels like I’m at the part where its starting to really shine, and has an enjoyable story thus far.

Next week Season 2 of the multiplayer kicks off, so I’ll also be playing around in that. Trying out the new maps and modes, and the new Battle Pass.

In co-op, I’ve been playing Sea of Thieves – Pirates of the Caribbean Adventure. And also Grounded. Slowly expanding our base out a bit and exploring/completing objectives/crafting. We recently finished the Jungle Lab and stumbled across a might scary Spider Tunnel:

At home, my wife has volunteered me as the bug killer/catcher, so I wouldn’t say I’m afraid of spiders or bugs in general. But in-game, regardless of the game, I have a few phobias: Being underwater (very stressful / claustrophobic), and real world creatures, that are bigger than me, in-game. Like the Spiders in Grounded. Especially the Wolf Spiders. They’re just mean. Anyways, this spider web nest was creepy as hell and I was not interested in sticking around.

// What I’m Reading

  • Week of April 13th
  • Nocterra #9
  • King Spawn #9
  • Batman/Catwoman #11
  • Batgirls #5
  • Week of April 20th
  • Batman: The Knight #4
  • Blue & Gold #8
  • Catwoman: lonely City #3
  • Hulk #6
  • The Nice House on the Lake #8
  • The Walking Dead Deluxe #37

//

I think that wraps up the last few weeks. Stay safe.

G325,501
iRogan

Work those fingers – 20G

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It’s been minute since my last blog post. 60480 to be exact. Where has the time gone?

It started with just a break. And then I started writing a game review for Watch Dogs Legion, my first actual game review 2017. Sure, I’ve done my Reviews Done Quickly every year since then, but those are just bloated paragraphs, tackling 25 games at once. Not needing much thought.

Attempting an actual review was much more daunting. And I plugged away at it, but hours turned into days turned into weeks. I pressured myself to finish the review by abstaining from writing blog posts. And suddenly 4 weeks had gone by.

Here’s a link to the completed review: iReview – Watch Dogs: Legion

It felt good to stretch those muscles again. And I’ve wrapped up a few games over the past while so maybe I’ll attempt another. We finished Far Cry New Dawn, so I could write one up for that. And the wife and I are nearly done It Takes Two – so there’s another option. I mean they’re not called Idle Reviews for nothing. This page was never going to have reviews for current games ;). But games released 1-3 years ago, that’s more my pace.

So, what’d I miss?

Well… I did some drawing. I played some games. I read some comics. I actually made another webcomic over at Stranger Than Friendship. First one of 2022, and actually first one in 6 months. Idle Comics is the name of the game.

Whoa!

Right?

Well, lets get started shall we?

//

What I’m Drawing

Spider-Gwen:

Gwen Rider? Ghost Spider? Spider Rider? What would you call her? I drew another Gwen Stacy variation. I know...you have an obsession…blah blah blah. I got some motivation after seeing some Ghost Rider art and thought it would make an interesting addition to the gallery. I’m not 100% happy with the design. Need to tweaks, but its good enough. It’s a worthy addition.

Angela / Spawn

Angela has been in my queue for a bit and I am super happy with how this one turned out and I’m excited to colour it. Very much stylized after the Capullo covers from the Spawn comics. So no background – just Angela. If the colour turns out how I imagine it, this will be the next poster.

Moxxi:

This was actually a drawing from 2020. My plan was then to colour in 2021 for Drawtober 2021 but ran out of time. So I finally did colour it. Working off some of the rust, as my “to be coloured” pile is growing.

//

What I’m Playing

I am happy to report that I finally started the Halo Campaign after finishing Watch Dogs Legion. Attempting on Legendary difficulty, and it’s been a slow grind, but for what it is, it’s been fun. It feels very different from other Halo games, with the transition to an open-world design (semi open world, I don’t even know if its considered open enough to be open world). It feels and plays a bit different. But its a nice change.

I’ve also been spending some time within Shredders, which is a fun indie snowboarding game with awful, terribly dialogue and voice acting. Just cringey-bad. In co-op we’ve been playing in the Grounded – Game Preview as the game supports achievements now. I played this early on when it first released in game preview like a year ago, but it’s definitely expanded.

And actually jumped into Sea of Thieves for a few hours to try out the Pirates of the Caribbean addition. Yup, nothing really worth mentioning, other than the game still looks gorgeous.

//

That pretty much catches you up happenings around here. I wont even get started on the comic reading queue. I’ll just start fresh next week, instead of listing 6 weeks worth. Head over to the Stranger Than Friendship page to see the new comic, and then come back here next week for more games and art.

Take care.
iRogan
G324,371

Battle Tested

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Let’s start this week’s chapter off with Halo, because why not?

I finished Halo MP. Well the Season 1 Battle Pass. 70 hrs played, 335 matchmaking games. Now it’s time for a break. Until May. 60 more days. I can do that right?

And here’s my two armour sets. Pretty snazzy.


//

What I’m Playing

So with Halo MP on the backburner, Watch Dogs Legion goes into first place in the queue. The PLAN was to then move onto Halo Campaign and Cyberpunk 2077 until May. But, but, but… Game Pass Breaking News!! Guardians of the Galaxy is coming to Game Pass March 10th. This game has been high on my list but I just couldn’t buy it full price. Now I don’t have to. So this will jump the queue right behind Watch Dogs. So I’ll have to try and wrap up that in the next 10 days. Which might be a little difficult because…

//

What I’m Drawing

I’ve been busy drawing. Which isn’t abnormal, but with my limited evening hours I can only accomplish so much.

I really don’t know what sparked the idea to do another Harley Quinn. Especially the Roller Derby variant.

Something something, roller derby thighs, probably.

Anyways, it’s still a work-in-progress. Tighten up the fishnets a bit. Tweak the face/eyes. Currently she looks little sleepy, and Harley is anything but.

I have an idea for the background, with her in the roller derby arena, and some of her fellow villains looking on. Joker, Ivy, maybe Croc and Catwoman.

//

What I’m Reading

  • Batman Vs Bigby #6
  • The Human Target #5
  • BRZRKR #7
  • DC Vs. Vampires #5
  • The Department of Truth #16
  • Gunslinger Spawn #5
  • Blue and Gold #6
  • Snow Angels V 1 TP
  • Sweet Tooth Compendium

Also, its my Mangaversary. Last year I started listening to the Mangasplaining Podcast with Chip Zdarsky which got me into reading Manga for the first time.

1 year later I have 35 books, and I’ve read most of them. It’s enjoyable, and different in a good way from Western Comics, however I have slowed down on my collection due to my ongoing comics budget, as it is quite high. There are a few books I am interested in following through on, though. Just on hold for now.

//

G318,986
iRogan

I… Cyberpunk

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So I finally decided to pick up Cyberpunk 2077. After many issues with the launch, I held off, and I wanted the Xbox Series X improvements when I played it. So I waited, and the patch has finally been released. So I think my updated queue looks like this:

  • Watch Dogs: Legion
  • Halo Infinite Campaign
  • Cyberpunk 2077
  • …infinite number of other games I own but haven’t played…

//

What I’m Playing

I’m about half way through Watch Dogs last time I checked, and I’ve been putting more time into it lately as I wind down my Halo gaming. I’m level 90 in the Halo Battle Pass and will be playing this week as the Tenrai Fracture event is back for wave 4. But after that, the Battle Pass goes until May, so I’ll have some free time. So I’ll wrap up Watch Dogs, then jump into the Halo Campaign finally, so I don’t get rusty. And then try out Cyberpunk 2077.

In co-op we’ve played a bit more Far Cry New Dawn, but not much else going on there.

I also tried out the Crossfire X game that came out on Game Pass. The Multiplayer is laughably bad, and I haven’t tried the Single Player campaign yet. It looks like Pt 1 of the Campaign is included in Game Pass as well. IGN gave the game a score of 2/10 for MP and 3/10 for Campaign. So I’m not holding my breath. Also the single player doesn’t have any achievements by the looks of it. May be good for a laugh one night.

//

What I’m Drawing

Last week I posted the inked version of the Daredevil and Electra. Well, I present the coloured version:

Overall I’m happy with it. A bit rusty in the colour as I haven’t coloured anything in a month or so…before all the X-Ladies. December maybe? Also coloured in Clip Studio which I am not as well equipped. There were also a few things I wanted to fix with the ink that I’d mentioned last week, but didn’t get around to doing anyone of those, and just coloured it instead. They weren’t noticeable to anyone but me, so would it have really been worth the added effort?

I also had inspiration to draw Kate Bishop from the Hawkeye comic/Disney+ show. Casual version anyways. I had this idea bouncing around since December when the show started streaming and found some time this past weekend.

Now that these two are wrapped up, I do seriously think its time to hit up the wrestling comic again. Even if its not layouts or actual frames, it could be something like these pinups above. Just my own character design instead. That’s progress at least. That’s what I tell myself to keep the flame burning.

But I should list off my other drawing ideas I have simmering to keep me motivated:

  • Medusa (In-Humans) – I want a hair challenge
  • Android 18 (Dragon Ball Z)
  • Angela – Spawn
  • Punchline – Batman
  • Also maybe another Street Fighter, after SF6 announcement.
  • Mystique & Magik (For the X-Men Group) (I dunno maybe not Magik again? I just drew her…)
  • Nightcrawler & Archangel (For the X-Men Group)

//

What I’m Reading

  • Batman: The Knight #2
  • King Spawn #7
  • A Righteous Thirst For Vengeance #5
  • Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow #8 of 8
  • The Walking Dead #33

And my delayed Images books from the week before:

  • King of Spies #3
  • Radiant Black #12

//

Happy Twosday.
2022/02/22

G318,521
iRogan

Je t’aime. Je te déteste.

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Dear Halo… see above. Thank you. ❤ </3

I was watching some of the Halo Championship Series this weekend to see how good people play. Maybe pick up some tips and ticks. Mostly to unlock some of the Twitch drops. I’m definitely not a pro Halo player, but I can hold my own among my friends. So watching pros play was interesting, depressing, informative, and exhausting. I followed that with a lousy night in-game. Where I couldn’t buy a win.

I still find it surprising how I’ve stayed in the Multiplayer Arena for so long. I looked up my stats and found that I’ve been playing for almost 60hrs and 278 matches. Level 75/100 within the Battle Pass. Over the last 3 months. I really like the battle pass idea, and the weekly challenges mix up which modes I play. I find myself looking forward to Tuesdays when it rolls over.

What I’m Playing

Halo mostly. See above. Also stepped back into Far Cry New Dawn for a bit in co-op. Far Cry 5 / New Dawn I think by a long stretch are the worst in the series to date. But that could also be because I’ve been playing them in co-op and the “co-op” just isn’t implemented ideally. By design. It allows you to play through the whole campaign with a partner but only one of you gets any story progression / story achievements. And I don’t understand why they do this. They were able to figure it out with Ghost Recon, and Borderlands 3, among many other co-op games. Why do they insist on this deal-breaker with Far Cry. Also the game constantly revisits old tropes from previous games, like the drug trips. And its getting old.

I’m hoping Far Cry 6 is better.

//

What I’m Drawing

Made more progress with the DareDevils. I’m tempted to colour, but really, I think I’m ready to get back to my comic and take a break from these pin-ups for a beat. I’ll fix up a few things that are nagging at me, like the back of Electra’s mask, where the hair is bundled, and her back foot should be somewhat visible underneath her forward leg. And DareDevil’s mask needs a bit of alignment/touch-up. Otherwise I am pleased with how it turned out.

Eh, maybe I’ll do a colour pass. OK, you’ve convinced me. But then we’re moving on to some comic work. I’ll let the X-men group simmer on the back burner for a bit.

//

What I’m Reading

  • Batgirls #3
  • Batman/Catwoman #10
  • Devil’s Reign #4
  • Batman: The Knight #1

Not pictured:

  • King of Spies #3
  • Radiant Black #12

My Image books did not arrive due to trucking delays. I’ll hopefully get them this week. Likely Protests or Freedom Convoy related, or something. Marvel and DC come by air. Image/Indies come by truck.

//

Happy Valentines Day
G 317,726
iRogan