Hey all!!!


I recently discovered Tao Bao and I found a shop through another LJ friend that has like 2038023420384032 articles of clothing that I am interested in owning. After some research though I've learned that you must have a Chinese bank account to buy stuff there, and a lot of people find middle-men buyers to do it for you for a small fee.

I was wondering if anyone had experience doing this? If so, do you have a recommendation on a middle-man/buyer I can go through?

Thanks much <3

A friend and I were chatting about anime/manga styles and how they've changed, when Hyung-Tae Kim came up. Now... don't get me wrong, I totally appreciate his coloring style - I think he's super at it. But Sweet Jesus, man. I know a lot of his fans defend him by saying he does on purpose, but seriously.



Upon deconstruction, I redrew this poor girl's body from a regular front-view perspective. :D


Anyway, to each their own, I guess. An anatomy class or two wouldn't hurt though >_o

Hey guys @_@

Firstly - thanks to everyone who read my last post about the art thief - fun times XD I've been really busy at work so I haven't been able to return to see if they took it down yet :P

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I know I've been like MIA, but I just HAD to share this gem, it is so awesome XD

First, some backstory:

Sometime last year, I entered a drawing contest that Natsume was hosting for their Harvest Moon game series, and was chosen as one of the finalists.

My Harvest Moon artwork
Natsume Blog (scroll down to see entries)


The other day, a responsible DA user sent me a note to inform me of a certain someone who had decided to commit some shenanigans.




I looked through this user's information a bit, didn't find much other than that she sounded pretty young. Based on this assumption, I sent a prompt and direct note asking her to take down the image:

*EDT* Actually, I just realized she's actually 16 (which I think is MORE than old enough to have a conscience, but anyway XD;;




The next day, I received the following response:




The best part about all this is seen if you look at her gallery as a whole:




LOLOL!!!


So anyway... at this point I'm trying to decide if I should be nice and give her a second chance by showing her my link (because obviously she didn't even bother to check if I was even the original artist), or if I should ruin her young internet life and teach her early on that art theft is not liked by the DA community. Based on how she writes though, she really does sound like she's 13 and sometimes I do have a conscience...

What do you think? Mercy, or no mercy? XD

I miss you guys. ;_;

2010 Resolutions (in no particular order)

1. Achieve 4-pack (I can see like 2 of them if I move around and flex right)
2. Obtain personal trainer certification
3. Dye all of my hair bright red (at some point, just to say that I've done it)
4. Curb my road rage
5. Correct horrible sleeping habits (... as I write this post at 5:00am)

I am also considering on swearing off drawing anime/manga style for the year (with the exception of MangaStart and freelance), but I haven't made a solid decision about this yet. I'm considering this because I've looked back at my progress as an artist over the past year and found that, while I did expand my skill sets, that overall I haven't really challenged myself or practiced the many fundamentals that have been drilled into me when I was younger.

It's not that I am blaming anime/manga or anything like that - I will forever love the stuff, probably read manga until I go to my grave. But, as an artist who is experienced in both anime/manga and traditional art fundamentals, I am aware of how engrossing it can be... to the point in which an artist may forget to look at other ways of expanding that may not be as interesting (at first.) As I get older, I feel that my skills should get sharper - and this is only achieved through proactive studying and practice. I feel that I may have to leave my comfort zone, revisit old skills and experiences past, and learn new skills to keep growing as an artist and creative soul.

And with that, I end this post with Mr. Snow Bear, whom I built with love and care up in the frosty mountains of Lake Tahoe on the morning of New Year's Eve. Thanks to my man Dan for the awesome 360-degree photo action.




Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all have wonderful aspirations to strive for and challenge yourself with for 2010.

Hi everyone,


I've recently witnessed a strange experiment that I would like to run by someone with knowledge/experience. Are there are any bio majors or actual biologists reading this blog? If so, I would love to bother you, if you've got a moment.

I would also like to extend this to any nutritionists, fitness professionals/trainers, and chemists. :D Please reply if you're interested!

Over the past 6 months, I've been working with a personal trainer at my local 24-Hour Fitness. I've always been somewhat overweight - not too bad, but clearly not healthy by any means. I ate well as a kid (...XD) and I used to tell myself that I was happy the way I was.

Three years ago though, I had an annual checkup done, and my doctor informed me that my blood sugar level was high - one point below what would be considered prediabetic, basically. I was very upset by this, considering that A) I was only 24 years old and that B) I thought that I wasn't overweight enough to be worrying about diabetes at the time. Coincidentally, diabetes runs in my family (common in most Asians) - my mom was diagnosed with Type II not 3 years past.

I was also informed by the doctor that, while I wasn't in any immediate danger at that time, that if I didn't correct my eating habits and lose some weight, I would have Type II in 10 years. Sounds like plenty of time at first, right??? Until you do the math and realize that 24 + 10 = 34, the prime of my adulthood. Who the hell wants Diabetes at 34?????

The following year after finding this out was spent attempting to workout and change my eating habits, without much progress. Finally, I decided that I needed some professional assistance, which is when I went to my local gym and found my trainer (who I will call J.)

I'd have to say that getting a trainer has probably been the most important and rewarding decision that I've ever made in my entire young life. I now understand why they call them "personal trainers" and not "fitness trainers." A personal trainer doesn't just work on fitness - a personal trainer helps a person change their entire lifestyle for the better.

When I was first weighed and measured, I was at 165lb (I am 5' 5") and my body fat % was at 32.5% - this is considered obese by national standards. Out of the 165lb, 109 of that was lean muscle mass, and the remaining was pounds of pure body fat. Now, 6 months later, I am at 21% body fat - while my overall weight is 160lb, I've swapped a a lot of my body fat out for lean body mass - I now have 126lb. of lean muscle, and 34lb. of fat mass. 21% is the cutoff of athletic/average on the national scale - my ultimate goal is 17% body fat, which will put me right in the middle of "athletic" national standards.

My trainer thinks that I'm naturally inclined to be athletic and strong - something that I've never associated with myself. Being an artist and having led a generally sedentary life most of the time, I pretty much accepted that I'd always be overweight. Having a professional trainer tell you otherwise was a complete revelation for me - for the first time in my life, I could actually have confidence and believe that I could be stronger than I am, and leaner than I am. I could actually strive for something like a six-pack. I was very overwhelmed by this change in my attitude.

With all of this said, I've decided to also pursue becoming a personal trainer. J thinks that I have the energy and the motivation, and especially the attitude to help other people - and I really want to do that. I look back at my life, and I recall all the times when I wish I'd knew how to eat better, or work out more efficiently, or just simply even change the way I see myself. And having been there before, and being able to find help, I really want to give that to others who were like me.

It's not really even just about aesthetics - I feel stronger, and more agile. I know that I can lift things now without worrying about pulling my back, or breaking a sweat from climbing 2 flights of stairs. Physically, I can last longer during workouts, or challenge myself with more difficult activities. Mentally, though, I have much more confidence in every aspect of my life, just simply from improving my health. Knowing that I won't have Diabetes in 10 years is a huge factor to look forward to life a bit more.

I named this journal entry "unexpected paths in life" because this entire experience was seriously unexpected for me. I've never been athletic, never really cared - but lately I find that I do care, and that I do want it. I also feel the passion to help my friends and others achieve their goals, or better yet, to go above and beyond them. I also think obesity is a growing concern in the United States, and I want to help do my part. I really think it just comes down to education - one step at a time. Other things I'd like to try, once I have the knowledge, is to maybe get an online blog-type of thing going, with some workout tutorials and menu suggestions. Maybe start an online group that can help eachother out.

My trainer is currently helping me study for the certification test I am planning on taking in December of this year - 3 months of studying time! Once I have my certification, I plan on obtaining a part-time position at my gym (while continuing at Gaia during the day, of course), where I can start getting some real hands-on experience.

I really hope this works out for me. Of course, I have doubts... I've always loved science, but being a primarily left-brained individual, I don't retain information like that naturally. And being a personal trainer isn't easy - you should be studying anatomy, kinetics, nutrition, biology - all that good stuff. I really wish I'd paid more attention to these when I was in school, but you know - once again, I think I just need to remain positive!!! *FLEX*

I'm trying to sell off some xxxHoLiC manga! They are in excellent condition (pretty much new) - I'm selling them because I repurchased all the volumes in English so I could read them. :P I usually buy Japanese comics as references.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270444476045&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

So last night, I had the most REALISTIC dream that a bunch of friends and I were staying at a motel, because the next day we were all going on a journey to the Nam-Yensa Sandsea while riding giant dragon creatures.

I mean seriously - it was SO realistic that when I woke up this morning I was actually confused at why I was at home. It took about 10 minutes for me to realize that, in reality, I could never really go visit the Nam-Yensa Sandsea..... *bangs head on desk*

I haven't played FFXII in months, I guess this is a sign for me to pick it up again. XD;;;;