deviantART: by:Claymore32

deviantART: by:Claymore32 http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:Claymore32&section=today deviantART RSS for by:Claymore32 en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:54:26 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png Thanksgiving Surprise! http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/28641016/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/28641016/ Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:09:00 PST He weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz. and was 18 3/4 in. long. Other than being born with some beautiful, dark hair, he looks nearly identical to our first son hehe

We got to spend our Thanksgiving in the hospital, but it was well worth it. Everyone's doing great now, and it feels great to finally be at home with our new baby.

Hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving!

Gift Art

Kiriban 11111 (Theme: Repetition) - In progress

Kiriban 10101 (Theme: Computers): - In progress

Kiriban 9000: [link]

Art trade - In progress

Tutorials

Energy spheres - [link]

Coloring hair - Coming soon!

Commission Info (Currently open!)
[link]

]]> =Claymore32 Oink... x_x http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/28137612/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/28137612/ Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:05:32 PST
In other news, there's just a month left before the new baby arrives! Until he gets here, my art hobby will be put on hold as we continue to get our house all ready and baby-fied again

Hook'Em!!

Gift Art

Kiriban 11111 (Theme: Repetition) - In progress

Kiriban 10101 (Theme: Computers): - In progress

Kiriban 9000: [link]

Art trade - In progress

Tutorials

Energy spheres - [link]

Coloring hair - Coming soon!

Commission Info (Currently open!)
[link]

]]> =Claymore32 Fun decisions http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/27720577/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/27720577/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:09:54 PDT The latest bit of gossip from the World of Clay is that our family car's air conditioning went out a couple weeks ago. Now, given that we've just come off of a record-setting summer here in Texas, it's understandable that our car's A/C was a casualty of the circumstances. However, when we took it into the dealership to get a quote for the repairs, they literally wanted half the car's value to repair the thing... So for the past couple weeks we've been debating on whether to fix the car or to get a new one.

After going over our finances and figuring out where we'd like to be in a few years before Corbin goes to school, we decided to take the car to a local mechanic for a second repair quote and see if we can't squeak a few more years out of our car. And 'lo the private mechanic came back with a quote that was half as much as what the dealership wanted! So now we have a fixed car and are in a much better position to move to a nicer area of Austin in a couple years

Anywho, as exciting as I'm sure all of that sounds (*crickets chirping*), I sadly haven't had a chance to sit down and finish a lot of the pieces I'm currently working on. And given that my wife is in the final stretch of her pregnancy (just a short 60 days before the new baby comes!), I don't expect things to be settling down anytime soon. I'm still doing the kiribans, so please note me a screenshot if you get it! It might take a while to get the kiriban back to you, but know that it *will* be coming

Don't worry,

, I haven't forgotten about yours!

Hope everyone's doing well! Hook'Em!!

Gift Art

Kiriban 11111 (Theme: Repetition) - In progress

Kiriban 10101 (Theme: Computers): - In progress

Kiriban 9000: [link]

Art trade - In progress

Tutorials

Energy spheres - [link]

Coloring hair - Coming soon!

Commission Info (Currently open!)
[link]

]]> =Claymore32 Whew http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/27009734/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/27009734/ Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:19:28 PDT Or maybe get some new sketches posted...

So I bought Batman: Arkham Asylum earlier this week, and it's pretty much been consuming my late nights. THIS is how a Batman game is made

Seriously, it has all the gritty feel of the comic without feeling like a kid-friendly cartoon. Don't get me wrong, I loved the cartoon when I was younger; but this game definitely has the kind of polish that Batman Begins brought to the big screen. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys stealthy games!

I'm also really looking forward to getting Muramasa: The Demon Blade. I've seen the trailers and gameplay videos for this game, and it looks awesome!! The art just looks spectacular, and I'm really hoping it gets me back to playing the Wii more. It's been way too long since I last played a game on the Wii XD...

In other news... College Football starts up this weekend!! Go Horns!!

Gift Art

Kiriban 10101: - In progress

Kiriban 9000: [link]

Art trade - In progress

Tutorials

Energy spheres - [link]

Coloring hair - Coming soon!

Commission Info (Currently open!)
[link]

]]> =Claymore32 Yay for work shakeups http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/26789528/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/26789528/ Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:42:05 PDT
Except, he just put his two week notice in last Monday

So... I just became technical lead for a year-long software project, and now we get to find someone new to bring into the project that I then get to train.

It does suck that my coworker is moving on, but hey, he's doing what's best for him, and I definitely wish him the best at his new company

On the plus side, this is a fantastic opportunity for me to step up and take the new challenge head on. Definitely looking forward to this!

On the down side, this means my free time is going to drop by a lot. And since my free time has a direct correlation to my art, it means my time to draw to going to drop by a lot...

I'll still be working on the same projects, and I'd like to still keep submitting various sketches, but just don't expect any high-quality works from me for the time being

Unless, of course, I get a commission

*wink wink*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other news, school's back in session here in Texas. Which, of course, means my drive to work SUCKS HORRIBLY... *sniffle* I'll miss you summer for your short drives to work and little stress on the road... *sobs uncontrollably*

Best of luck to everyone who just started back up with school!

Gift Art

Kiriban 10101: - In progress

Kiriban 9000: [link]

Art trade - In progress

Tutorials

Energy spheres - [link]

Coloring hair - Coming soon!

Commission Info (Currently open!)
[link]

]]> =Claymore32 Hi ho hi ho... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/26644056/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/26644056/ Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:58:13 PDT

So it's back to the daily grind for me! Though it's not so bad - I really enjoy what I do, but I have to admit it was a ton of fun being home all day with my family

Corbin's become so much more interactive lately - which has actually worked out great for me since it's forcing me to get more exercise! XD

So looking at the poll results for Guilty Gear (thanks to everyone who voted!!), it looks like I'll be drawing Dizzy next. After that, I'm going to draw May, and then I'll work on that Samus picture I've always wanted to do. Though after looking at the HUGE amount of Samus fanart, it honestly feels like any idea I can think of has already be done... 10x over

Ah well, I'll try my best to be original with whatever design I can come up with. As for Dizzy, I was secretly rooting for her to be the next character I draw since she has the deathly/angelic wings going on for her. Kinda fits in nicely with the next Angels vs. Devils picture I'm working on

On another note, it looks like I'm getting some pretty positive feedback from the sketches I'm posting. I'm going to try and get some more of those posted while I work on these other pictures.

Gift Art

Kiriban 10101: - In progress

Kiriban 9000: [link]

Art trade - In progress

Tutorials

Energy spheres - [link]

Coloring hair - Coming soon!

Commission Info (Currently open!)
[link]

]]> =Claymore32 Ah vacation time... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/26493269/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/26493269/ Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:28:32 PDT
I'm hoping to catch up on some of my art this week, so hopefully I'll have some new stuff ready to show soon

I'd like to also work on another game character picture, and looking at the poll I setup, Guilty Gear and Samus are both tied in votes. Guess I'll be doing one of each

I'll toss up another poll to see which Guilty Gear character everyone would like me to draw. I had a blast drawing Baiken, so I'm really looking forward to drawing another character (and yes, I'll add a couple guys to the list as well... really need to draw some more guys haha...).

Hope everyone is enjoying the last days of summer! It's been crazy hot here in Texas, so I'm definitely looking forward to summer being over and getting some cooler weather and/or rain...

Gift Art

Kiriban 10101: - In progress

Kiriban 9000: [link]

Art trade - In progress

Tutorials

Energy spheres - [link]

Coloring hair - Coming soon!

Commission Info (Currently open!)
[link]

]]> =Claymore32 Thanks for 10k (Updated)! http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/26352727/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/26352727/ Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:55:20 PDT Update #2:

got the 10101 kiriban! Congrats!

Update: Made it more apparent as to what the next kiriban is. I'd like to not only have more fun with these, but also build up my DA portfolio with more giftart to use as examples for commissions

So please note me with the kiriban snapshot if you get it!!

So apparently over the weekend I hit 10k views

Thanks a ton to everyone who's had the chance to stop by and view my art!

No one got the kiriban for 10k, so let's make it interesting and go with a binary kiriban. If anyone's interested, take a screenshot of when you see the view counter at 10,101 and Note me

Maybe I'll make this picture have more of a computer-theme... Perhaps one of your characters wearing the outfit of your favorite OS-tan?

In other news, my wife and I decided to do some gift exchanges over the weekend. I got her a pink iPod Nano (her old one was a previous-gen iPod Classic that had a busted screen), and in return she got me Adobe CS4 Web Premium! I've been playing around with the trial for Photoshop CS4 for the last few weeks, and I have to say I absolutely *love* using it. The previous version I was using was 7.0.... so yeah, needless to say this new version is light-years ahead of that one

I'm still reading up on tutorials to see what all I can do, but so far I am hugely impressed. Once I get some more art cranked out, I'm going to dive into Dreamweaver as well (my older version of Dreamweaver is from when Macromedia owned it...). Yeah, I tend to hold onto software for a *very* long time, couldn't you tell?

I should have some new art posted this week. Thanks again everyone!!

Gift Art

Kiriban 10101: - In progress

Kiriban 9000: [link]

Art trade - In progress

Tutorials

Energy spheres - [link]

Coloring hair - Coming soon!

Commission Info (Currently open!)
[link]

]]> =Claymore32 And baby #2 is... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/26071716/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/26071716/ Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:43:52 PDT And he wasn't shy at all to flash his stuff during the ultrasound lol

So now I can finally begin work on decorating our other bedroom. The new baby will be getting Corbin's room, and Corbin will be moving to the new bedroom. We've settled on having green be the predominant color in the design; however, we're not sure what the overall design is going to be. I was thinking of maybe something Japanese-inspired or even zen-like, but fun enough for a toddler

Not sure how that will work out, but who knows - maybe I'll figure out something!

================================
Giftart: (Next is Kiriban is 10k!)
================================

Kiriban (9000) - Done! [link]

Art trade - In progress

================================
Tutorials:
================================
- Energy spheres - [link]
- Coloring hair - Coming soon!
(let me know if you're interested in others)

================================
Commission Info:[link]
(currently open!)
================================

]]> =Claymore32 Here's hoping... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/25937547/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/25937547/ Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:36:35 PDT . Makes me proud to think he might be interested in drawing as he grows up... If anything, I'd really like to make it a goal to show him how much fun art and drawing can be. When I was growing up, I *loved* to draw my favorite Marvel superheroes doing all their fancy poses or all the MegaMan characters blasting each other away (I was a hopeless MegaMan addict in my younger days...).

It'll be interesting to see how he responds to me trying to teach him how to draw when he gets a bit older. I don't consider myself to be the best art teacher, but hope to improve on that as I work with him more on it. Some parents pride themselves on playing sports with their kids, and I'm sure I'll be doing that as well. But I can't deny that I'm looking even more forward to seeing what kind of artist could turn out to be if I work hard in showing him how much fun it can be.

================================
Giftart:
================================

Kiriban (9000) - In progress

: [link] [link]

================================
Pricing:
================================
(Currently all prices are negotiable!)
B&W Sketches: $5-10
Lineart: $10-20
Colored: $20-30

Once I get more commissions, I'll update this section with a more solid pricing structure.

If you are interested in hiring me for a commission, please note me with your request!

]]> =Claymore32 Wow... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/25784040/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/25784040/ Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:09:51 PDT [link]) has accumulated over 5k views on its own... That's like, more than half my pageviews haha... @_@

But yeah, thanks to everyone who's stopping by to view my art

It's funny because I did a search for that picture on Google Images and found a number of places where people have been using it around the web (so far, all in good faith). Pretty interesting seeing where your art might end up over the years...

And if anyone's wondering what's happened to my second version of the Angels vs. Devils take (hears crickets chirping), I ended up just not really liking the overall feel of the piece and decided to save it for another time later down the road when I have more free time. I don't really consider myself a "big time" artist, but having a picture that's generating (in my eyes) quite a number of views deserves a second rendition of the theme that truly takes it to the next level for me. I definitely want to do another Angels vs. Devils picture someday

Aside from that, I had an... interesting 4th of July. Had fun spending time with family, but am somewhat happy the vacation time is over and I can get back to some normalcy. I guess I'm also looking forward to the 20th of this month - that's when we find out the sex of our new baby

I had a blast decorating and painting Corbin's baby room, and definitely intend to do something even more exciting for the next baby. Hopefully by then I'll be getting a nicer camera as well so I can take some pictures and share them with everyone

]]> =Claymore32 A bit of news http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/25063920/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/25063920/ Mon, 01 Jun 2009 05:33:30 PDT

The first trimester is usually the toughest time for the baby while it's in a critical stage of development, so we wanted to wait until that was over before we told anyone except for our parents. My wife had a visit with her doctor last week, and the baby was doing great and had a very strong heartbeat. We get to go back next week for a second ultrasound where we'll get some great pictures of the baby

All-in-all, we're incredibly excited! We won't find out whether it's a boy or a girl until around the end of July or early August. We're not one of those couples who likes to wait to find out until the baby's born - we want to know as soon as possible so we can start decorating his/her room!

Of course, my wife is hoping it's a girl though we'd be just as happy with another boy - Corbin is an absolute blast and loves playing with the babies at his daycare, so we know he'll be a wonderful older brother. He's also learned how to sign "baby" and loves to point at any baby he sees and motion the sign while saying "buhbuh" hehe

So... other than that, things have (as usual) been super busy at home as we've been cleaning nonstop. We're converting what was our study (where I had my graphics tablet setup) into the new guest bedroom (or even a playroom). Which means that I'm currently out of workspace at home to do any artwork... However, we do plan on getting a small bench table to put in our living room that will be our designated "computer area" hehe. Once we get that, then I'll have a solid workplace to do some art while still being with the family. I was working on a few pieces prior to when we starting our house cleaning, so hopefully by the time we get the table I'll have some new works to share with everyone

]]> =Claymore32 New drawing application rawr! http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/24715516/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/24715516/ Tue, 12 May 2009 05:44:50 PDT
So things in the world of Jason (me) have gotten to be even more busy than they were before. I can't divulge any juicy info just yet, but I'll just say that things have gotten more busy in a very, very good way

*Rereads the above comment*

Ok, no, that is not referring to.. er.. ok, time for Jason to shut up XD

Anywho, in other news, I *finally* settled on a new graphics application for my Mac. Don't get me wrong, I love OpenCanvas. I just wish they had it for the Mac, which they don't. Bootcamp with Windows is an option; however, the Aluminum MacBook Pro's have a bit of a heat issue with NVidia graphics card. There's a workaround when running OSX, but there's none for Windows (that I know of). Which means running Windows makes the graphics card jump up to scorching levels of hotness.

I'll definitely miss OpenCanvas, but I'm looking forward to using something else. The new software I'm giving a try at is called Autodesk Sketchbook Pro 2010. It's not meant as a high-class graphics application ala Photoshop - it's meant more as a quick sketching and prototyping graphics application. Which is exactly all I need since that's all I ever really do. Plus, it was specifically designed around being used with a graphics tablet (special controls and functions) so that should be fun to use. Oh, and it was only $90 and supports both Windows and Mac, which are huge pluses in my book

I apologize (again) for the delay on a kiriban picture for

and an art trade with

. I haven't forgotten about you guys, and they will be coming eventually

You'll be the first guinea pigs in my use of this new drawing app muahaha XD

In other news, I find myself enjoying reading more mangas as of recently. Which in turn really makes me want to draw more. I actually have an idea for my own manga that I would love to draw out... someday. But alas, that always seems to be an unreachable goal for me. But hey, if it keeps the motivation alive, then having that sort of goal is a good thing, right? XD

]]> =Claymore32 Hiatus Smash! http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/23975476/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/23975476/ Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:36:25 PDT
Fret not though to those that I owe art to - it *will* be coming! Sometime... soon!

*Scampers off*

]]> =Claymore32 Happy Belated New Year! http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/22448918/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/22448918/ Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:32:46 PST
So the holidays were extremely hectic for my family. Besides running around to all our immediate family nonstop, we also went on a 7-day cruise over New Year's with 21 other family members (it was for my step-grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary). It was... eventful. Got to spend a full day at a Jamaican clinic with my wife on New Year's Eve! Oh joy! XD

Very happy to be back on dry land - though I still feel as though I'm swaying from side to side every now and then...

So onto the good stuff - new art! Which I don't have any of... But that's on my new year's resolution list along with more exercise. As soon as I get a decent art program for my Mac (or until I save up enough for PS CS4), then I'm afraid the art may not be coming too quickly. I was thinking of giving Manga Studio EX a try since I've seen that some people really enjoy it. There's also that SAI program, but I think it's Japanese-only? *sai* er... *sigh*

And now for a proud parent moment! Over the holidays Corbin has been doing cuter and cuter things and is really becoming very interactive with his surroundings. My wife took a video of him dancing to some music after he turned on the stereo in our room. Here's the little guy gettin' his groove on

[link]

Hope everyone had a great whatever-holiday-you-celebrate and an even better New Year!

Women of Gaming - Volume 1

Nariko [Heavenly Sword]
Sakuya [Okami]
Samus [Metroid] (sketched & scanned)
Jade [Beyond Good and Evil]
Kerrigan [Starcraft]
Baiken [Guilty Gear] ([link])
Shahdee [Prince of Persia]

OS-tans - Volume 1

XP-tan ([link])
Win95-tan ([link])
Win2k-tan
???
???
???
???

Kiribans (next is 8000)

: 7000 (in-progress)

: 6000 (in-progress)

: 5000 (complete! - [link])

Art Trades

(in-progress)

(complete! - [link])

Commissions

(Currently closed)

Helpful Stuff

OpenCanvas Event Files: [link]
Claymore32's coloring tutorial: (Coming Soon!)

]]> =Claymore32 Not gonna lie... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/21798951/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/21798951/ Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:32:13 PST ([link]) I've always been chided by my friends for using emoticons WAY too much whenever I'm typing stuff out... Hmm.. guess I just like to put a lot of love and feeling into what I say. XD

So earlier this week I ordered a new laptop - a new MacBook Pro. Can't wait for it to get here and hook my tablet up to it. I haven't gotten a chance to work on any art because, well, I just haven't been at my desk at home

With Corbin being seriously the cutest kid ever, there's no way I want to leave the room while he's up and playing. But now! *triumphant orchestral noise* Me and my art will never be apart! Yes, yes, I could work with... "traditional" mediums... which I actually have... a lot! But!! There's nothing liking the thrill of Ctrl-Z, the beauty of an endless supply of canvas with Ctrl-N! (Replace Ctrl with the Apple button for Macs of course)

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and definitely Happy Holidays

Women of Gaming - Volume 1

Nariko [Heavenly Sword]
Sakuya [Okami]
Samus [Metroid] (sketched & scanned)
Jade [Beyond Good and Evil]
Kerrigan [Starcraft]
Baiken [Guilty Gear] ([link])
Shahdee [Prince of Persia]

OS-tans - Volume 1

XP-tan ([link])
Win95-tan ([link])
Win2k-tan
???
???
???
???

Kiribans (next is 8000)

: 7000 (in-progress)

: 6000 (in-progress)

: 5000 (complete! - [link])

Art Trades

(in-progress)

(complete! - [link])

Commissions

(Currently closed)

Helpful Stuff

OpenCanvas Event Files: [link]
Claymore32's coloring tutorial: (Coming Soon!)

]]> =Claymore32 This was a triumph http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/21352746/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/21352746/ Thu, 06 Nov 2008 06:30:04 PST

So, right now I seem to be on a perpetual sugar high at work... Thanks, of course, to all the leftover Halloween candy that everyone keeps bringing in. Not that I'm complaining - though I'm sure my dentist has sparkly dollar signs in his eyes at this time of the year XD

So my wife bought me Fallout 3 for my birthday (woohoo!). However, I'm not allowed to open it until my birthday... (boo!) Which is on the 16th. Just 10 more agonizing days to go. I keep hearing how great and awesome it is from all my friends too

Ah well, guess I'll manage to get by by keeping myself busy with other things! Say... actually getting some more art done?

Which, by the way, I have the picture of Baiken almost done. It's depressing to realize just how long this picture has taken me... Ah well, I am known to be quite the master at procrastinating

I keep trying to go to one of those Procrastinators Anonymous clubs, but it keeps getting postponed

*dodges tomatoes*

Oh, and my son, Corbin, was a skunk for Halloween. He was ridiculously cute in his outfit ([link])

Yup, he's a lil stinker!

-=Update=-
By the way, I'll be using the Baiken picture as a coloring tutorial example. Hopefully it'll turn out alright! If there's any specific coloring techniques that you like about my art, please let me know so I can be sure and include good details on that portion of the tutorial

Women of Gaming - Volume 1

Nariko [Heavenly Sword]
Sakuya [Okami]
Samus [Metroid] (sketched & scanned)
Jade [Beyond Good and Evil]
Kerrigan [Starcraft]
Baiken [Guilty Gear] ([link])
Shahdee [Prince of Persia]

OS-tans - Volume 1

XP-tan ([link])
Win95-tan ([link])
Win2k-tan
???
???
???
???

Kiribans (next is 7000)

: 6000 (in-progress)

: 5000 (complete! - [link])

Art Trades

(Currently closed)

(complete! - [link])

Commissions

(Currently closed)

Helpful Stuff

OpenCanvas Event Files: [link]
Claymore32's coloring tutorial: (Coming Soon!)

]]> =Claymore32 Hook'Em! http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/21076943/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/21076943/ Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:58:51 PDT
The game itself was awesome, even though I was hoping Mizzou would've put up more of a fight... And thanks to Texas scoring all those touchdowns, my back hurts from standing and jumping around a whole bunch

Yes, I'm getting old...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One manga I'm reading right now is called Eyeshield 21, which is pretty funny manga about Japanese students playing American Football. I almost died laughing when I saw their depiction of the ficticious Nasa Aliens team from Houston, TX. I'm on chapter 200 right now, and so far it's been pretty good. Definitely recommend it to those looking to see some crazy football moves that could only happen in a manga

Women of Gaming - Volume 1

Nariko (Heavenly Sword)
Sakuya (Okami)
Samus (Metroid) [sketched & scanned]
Jade (Beyond Good and Evil)
Kerrigan (Starcraft)
Baiken (Guilty Gear) [lineart complete]
Shahdee (Prince of Persia)

OS-tans - Volume 1

XP-tan ([link])
Win95-tan ([link])
Win2k-tan
???
???
???
???

Kiribans (next is 7000)

: 6000 (in-progress)

: 5000 (complete! - [link])

Art Trades

(Currently closed)

(complete! - [link])

Commissions

(Currently closed)

Helpful Stuff

OpenCanvas Event Files: [link]
Claymore32's coloring tutorial: (Coming Soon!)

]]> =Claymore32 Can't wait for tomorrow! http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/20965400/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/20965400/ Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:47:59 PDT I seem to be getting good at this monthly update...

So tomorrow's apparently the day that Apple will be updating its MacBook line of computers. I sure hope they do because I'm in desperate need of a new laptop for work. I have an IBM ThinkPad that my dad gifted me; however, this things just can't handle newer software. Plus, as much as I do love Windows XP, my heart is slowly moving more and more to the joys of OSX. Ever since my wife got her MacBook almost a year ago, she's loved it, and I've loved stealing it from her

I also can't wait for the 28th of this month for Fallout 3 to come out. Holy cow does that game look like it's going to be loads of fun to play

Anyone else have anything they're looking forward to in the coming months?

Oh, and I thought I'd get all themey for Halloween

We got Corbin a seriously cute skunk costume. Pictures will definitely be coming soon!

Women of Gaming - Volume 1

Nariko (Heavenly Sword)
Sakuya (Okami)
Samus (Metroid) [sketched & scanned]
Jade (Beyond Good and Evil)
Kerrigan (Starcraft)
Baiken (Guilty Gear) [lineart complete]
Shahdee (Prince of Persia)

OS-tans - Volume 1

XP-tan ([link])
Win95-tan ([link])
Win2k-tan
???
???
???
???

Kiribans (next is 7000)

: 6000 (in-progress)

: 5000 (complete! - [link])

Art Trades

(Currently closed)

(complete! - [link])

Commissions

(Currently closed)

Helpful Stuff

OpenCanvas Event Files: [link]
Claymore32's coloring tutorial: (Coming Soon!)

]]> =Claymore32 Sidetracked with... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/20452890/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/20452890/ Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:34:57 PDT
Lately looking after the little guy has been getting more and more demanding. Corbin's now crawling everywhere his little body can take him, and he's already pulling himself up to standing while holding onto something... Also, he's getting his first tooth and has been chewing on everything he can fit into his mouth.

Between playing with him, working, and attempting to play video games, my art has taken a bench seat to the action. Hopefully that will change once I get a new laptop that can handle working well with my tablet so I can draw while still watching him

However, that probably won't happen until Apple refreshes their laptops (which will hopefully happened on the rumored Oct. 14th date). I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I do have a couple sketches I've done, but haven't had a chance to scan them in. Maybe this weekend I can get my butt in gear and get scannin' XD

Women of Gaming - Volume 1

Nariko (Heavenly Sword)
Sakuya (Okami)
Samus (Metroid) [Sketched]
Jade (Beyond Good and Evil)
Kerrigan (Starcraft)
Baiken (Guilty Gear) [Sketched]
Shahdee (Prince of Persia)

OS-tans - Volume 1

XP-tan ([link])
Win95-tan ([link])
Win2k-tan
???
???
???
???

Kiribans (next is 6000)

: 5000 (complete! - [link])

Art Trades

(complete! - [link])

OpenCanvas Event Files: [link]

]]> =Claymore32 Sidetracked with Olympic Fever http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/20055627/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/20055627/ Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:16:42 PDT I never thought watching the Olympics could be so darn addicting... And maybe it's because I'm a parent now, but whenever someone would win and it showed their parents happy and crying, it would make me well up everytime. Gah, I'm becoming a softy...

Women of Gaming - Volume 1

Nariko (Heavenly Sword)
Sakuya (Okami)
Samus (Metroid)
Jade (Beyond Good and Evil)
Kerrigan (Starcraft)
Baiken (Guilty Gear)
Shahdee (Prince of Persia)

OS-tans - Volume 1

XP-tan ([link])
Win95-tan ([link])
Win2k-tan
???
???
???
???

Kiribans (next is 6000)

: 5000 (complete! - [link])

Art Trades

(complete! - [link])

OpenCanvas Event Files: [link]

]]> =Claymore32 Whoa @_@ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19798032/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19798032/ Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:38:12 PDT [link]

Two things:
1) WHOA @_@
2) When's it coming out in the US!!!

Women of Gaming - Volume 1

Nariko (Heavenly Sword)
Sakuya (Okami)
Samus (Metroid)
Jade (Beyond Good and Evil)
Kerrigan (Starcraft)
Baiken (Guilty Gear)
Shahdee (Prince of Persia)

OS-tans - Volume 1

XP-tan ([link])
Win95-tan ([link])
Win2k-tan
???
???
???
???

Kiribans (next is 6000)

: 5000 (complete! - [link])

Art Trades

(complete! - [link])

OpenCanvas Event Files: [link]

]]> =Claymore32 Zelda Marathon! http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19680951/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19680951/ Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:07:44 PDT *** Zelda Marathon: [link] ***

Recently, a few awesome individuals (the Mario Marathon team) followed in the footsteps of other individuals (the Four48 team) in staging a Mario Marathon. Their goal was to play every Mario game from Super Mario Bros. on up to Super Mario Galaxy all while televising the event and taking donations for Child's Play. Their original goal was $1,500. They ended up with over $11,000 in donations.

Anywho, today (July 31st), at 8:00 PM ET they'll be hosting another event where they play pretty much every console Zelda. However, this time around they're teaming up with the folks who inspired them, the Four48 Team!

So watch, donate if you can, and spread the word!

*** Zelda Marathon: [link] ***

Women of Gaming - Volume 1

Nariko (Heavenly Sword)
Sakuya (Okami)
Samus (Metroid)
Jade (Beyond Good and Evil)
Kerrigan (Starcraft)
Baiken (Guilty Gear)
Shahdee (Prince of Persia)

OS-tans - Volume 1

XP-tan ([link])
Win95-tan ([link])
Win2k-tan
???
???
???
???

Kiribans (next is 6000)

: 5000 (complete! - [link])

Art Trades

(complete! - [link])

OpenCanvas Event Files: [link]

]]> =Claymore32 We've got a crawler... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19656229/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19656229/ Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:46:13 PDT
At 5-and-a-half months, he's already able to crawl across the living room floor to get at his favorite toys... Dear lord, my wife and I can't even turn around for a second without him scooting off. It's incredibly adorable though to see him go at it

. He hasn't quite mastered the crawl form just yet, but last night he finally figured out that his hands are quite useful in the attempt! Previously, he would simply use either just his hands or just his feet to propel himself forward.

This weekend we'll be getting one of those larger playpen thingies that we can put in the living room so he doesn't go meandering off when one of us has to use the restroom or something. Oh, and we can't forget the cabinet locks... and the plastic corner covers for sharp corners on furniture... Ah the joys of parenthood

Though I'm not going to lie, I feel like I'm on cloud nine when I see a little boy I helped create figuring something out and watching him learn and grow from it

I seriously can't wait for the day when I get to go to the park with him and play catch, or sit him down with some paper and colors and let him go to town drawing away

It's funny because before he was in our lives, I had a truly difficult time imagining myself as a father. Would I be a good dad? Would I be able to be a better father to my son than my dad was to me (come from a divorced family that was quite emotionally violent)? Would my son enjoy being a household with me helping to raise him?

Now that he's here, I can't imagine my life without him. And everytime I'm down, everytime my wife and I go through something difficult together or have an argument, he's the first thing I think of. And that's all it takes to let me know that everything's going to be ok

. Some say that fatherhood changes a man, and I definitely agree with that. That change has been the best change I've ever experienced, and I'm going to continue to do everything I can to show him how much I love him and support him with everything he does.

Women of Gaming - Volume 1

Nariko (Heavenly Sword)
Sakuya (Okami)
Samus (Metroid)
Jade (Beyond Good and Evil)
Kerrigan (Starcraft)
Cammy (Street Fighter)
???

OS-tans - Volume 1

XP-tan ([link])
Win95-tan ([link])
Win2k-tan
???
???
???
???

Kiribans (next is 6000)

: 5000 (complete! - [link])

Art Trades

(in-progress)

OpenCanvas Event Files: [link]

]]> =Claymore32 Rain, rain, won't you stay... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19586425/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19586425/ Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:07:05 PDT
Back to reality, I've had a chance to gather up a few ideas for women game characters to draw. I still need a few more suggestions though. What I'm looking for is the more obscure game characters (save for a few high-profile ones that I just have to draw

). So if you can think of anyone else you'd like to see drawn by me, feel free to let me know!

I'd also like to continue my OS-tan works as well, and I'm leaning towards drawing Win2k-tan next. If you have any suggestions on that, please feel free to let me know as well

.

And last, but not least, I'm now opening the doors to a couple art trades. I'd like to have a few more giftarts/art trades that I do before I venture down the realm of commissions. Send me a note if you're interested!

Women of Gaming - Volume 1

Nariko (Heavenly Sword)
Sakuya (Okami)
Samus (Metroid)
Jade (Beyond Good and Evil)
Kerrigan (Starcraft)
Cammy (Street Fighter)
???

OS-tans - Volume 1

XP-tan ([link])
Win95-tan ([link])
Win2k-tan
???
???
???
???

Kiribans (next is 6000)

: 5000 (complete! - [link])

Art Trades

(in-progress)

OpenCanvas Event Files: [link]

]]> =Claymore32 CSS reinstated + CTOWOG http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19462847/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19462847/ Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:48:28 PDT
~ ~ ~

One thing I'm finding that I greatly enjoy is the whole kiriban thing. I know I've slacked on the art trading (sorry :diaboso:!), but that should hopefully clear up soon. And along with that, I'm going to start something new for myself: a 'Women of Gaming' series. In an effort to help energize my creative thinking, I'd like to start doing more fanart of women game characters. Why women? I'm a guy, they're women set in realms of fantasy - 'nuff said!

Anywho, I'm pretty sure 65781328465431.2 people have probably done something like this. So to help make mine unique, I'm going to do something totally crazy!! It's going to be called.... ready for it? *epic-sounding voice* "Clay's Take on Women of Gaming!! or CTOWOG!!!!" *echo* *echo* *echo*...

*crickets chirping*

Speechless? You should be. It's going to be awesome.

So now then, onto the goods! Each volume is going to consist of 7 women from any game done in my art style. Why 7? I have no clue.

So now let's get to the even gooder goods - the GG's, if I do say so myself! No.. that was actually stupid. *sigh* I know I could hit backspace and erase that comment, but alas, my fingers are in super-typing-mode. Hitting backspace now would be like trying to turn around and go back to that Wendy's you saw on the highway a few miles back while traveling 70mph in the opposite direction and telling yourself that the next town is just up ahead, and it's got to have a Wendy's. Or you could use the whole tv channel-changing analogy which would work just as well and probably more people would unders-

*achem*

I'm now taking suggestions for Volume 1 of CTOWOG. Please let me know who you'd like to see!

CTOWOG Volume 1

Kiribans (next is 5555)

: 5000 (complete! - [link])

Art Trades

(in-progress)

OpenCanvas Event Files: [link]

]]> =Claymore32 Recharged http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19387537/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19387537/ Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:46:33 PDT *psschhkk yeah, that's the stuff*

Decided to renew my subscription today since I'll be uploading some more art very soon.

Current works-in-progress:
- Angels vs. Devils II (lineart finished)
- Balls of Steel (there's supposed to be a background on it XD)
- Blue Devil Rocker (lineart finished)
- Win95 OS-tan (need to color it)

Kiribans:
5000:

(complete! - [link])
5000:

(complete! - [link])

Art Trades:

(in-progress)

Also, in the future, I'll be doing kiriban pictures for anyone who notes me a screenshot of my pageviews with all the numbers the same or three zero's. (Ex: 5555 or 6000)

Next kiriban: 5555

And one last thing... Would anyone be interested in commissioned works? I've never dabbled in that area, but thought I might give it a try. If so, what kinds of things would you be most interested in?

====================================

My OpenCanvas event files: [link]

==================================== ]]> =Claymore32 Question for folks in the art or gaming industry http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19314446/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19314446/ Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:29:00 PDT ).

I'd like to submit my resume to a few gaming companies (some very well-known ones), but I'm not sure how best to format the resume. I've been working a little over 4 years doing software development in the technology industry, and my resume definitely reflects that. Both in content and in presentation... Which I'm thinking is probably a bad thing - at least on the presentation side - if I want to send it to a gaming company.

Is it normal for resumes in both the art and/or gaming industries to have a little more character in them? And if so, does anyone know of any decent examples that might steer me in the right direction, creatively? I'm not looking to copy any design - I just need the pointers. The technology industry prides itself on getting to the point in the resume - what your GPA in college was, what your programming experience is, etc.; but all in easy black'n'white.

Anywho, sorry if this seems a little vague. I'd like to give my resume a creative revamp. I just want to make sure I don't deter too much from what it's actually trying to tell the reader.

-------------------------

My OpenCanvas event files: [link]

-------------------------

]]> =Claymore32 Woohoo!! Diablo 3! http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19087885/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19087885/ Sat, 28 Jun 2008 06:03:41 PDT

-------------------------

My OpenCanvas event files: [link]

-------------------------

]]> =Claymore32 Pssst... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19074424/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/19074424/ Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:34:05 PDT And if there's no 5000 but a 4999 and 5001, then yup, I'll be doing two giftarts

Feel free to reply here with a screenshot or note me with the screenshot!

Giftart is as follows:
- Your own original character with reference and/or other pose reference
- Only one character
- No nudity (suggestive clothing and/or lingerie is perfectly fine)

Update!
Both

and

got it!

And wow, that was a lot faster than I was expecting haha XD

-------------------------

My OpenCanvas event files: [link]

-------------------------

]]> =Claymore32 Pastels are tough http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/18797070/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/18797070/ Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:49:25 PDT I also learned that wearing designer jeans to the art class was not the wisest of moves...

My first pastels attempt was a bowl of strawberries; however, my final compilation of roma tomatoes with punky green hair would beg to differ...

-------------------------

My OpenCanvas event files: [link]

-------------------------

]]> =Claymore32 Come on Summer! http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/18427743/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/18427743/ Wed, 21 May 2008 09:01:23 PDT
*the pieces of exploded Claymore32 magically fuse back together in a terrific display of the Quickening's awesome power*

-------------------------

So, with my latest picture, I noticed that PortalGraphics.net (makers of OpenCanvas) isn't allowing outside linking to event files. They've done this in the past, then stopped doing it, and now they're doing it again. Because of that, I can't directly link to event files of pictures I've posted here; however, I am able to post a link to my account over there. So if you're interested in checking out some event files of current and past works, then here ya go!

Claymore32 OpenCanvas event files: [link]

-------------------------

One more thing... So my wife and I decided to shed our reliance on Facebook and MySpace (*gag*) to share photos and info on our son, and have gone and created a blog for him. If you're curious to see some recent photos of him, then feel free to check it out

[link]

]]> =Claymore32 Days to Weeks to Months http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/17794783/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/17794783/ Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:10:01 PDT s, but it's definitely flown by at lightning speed nonetheless.

I have I think four works-in-progress right now, so hopefully I should have something new to post here in a little while

.

]]> =Claymore32 Music to live by http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/17141007/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/17141007/ Sat, 01 Mar 2008 23:10:09 PST
Cynic Project:
[link]
I've been listening to this stuff since 2001, and I have to say it's my all-time favorite trance music. Nothing else comes close to really putting me into a relaxed-while-creative mood. There's a music player on that site where you can listen to their music. Go, listen, relax, and let your mind simply float away...

Ray Lynch - Deep Breakfast:
Celestial Soda Pop - [link]
Rhythm in the Pews - [link]
Ray Lynch has been my hero ever since I was first introduced to him in my elementary school math class. My teacher popped in the cassette for Deep Breakfast while we were working on some assignments... and I didn't get anything done because I was simply too entranced with what I was hearing. It was almost a religious experience in realizing that this was the music I truly enjoyed in life. Simple, gentle, flowing, slightly digital... Deep Breakfast is an album I will always have in my collection and something I will never part with.

Does anyone else have a music genre or group that they just can't get enough of?

]]> =Claymore32 Come on 4:30!! http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/17055903/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/17055903/ Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:07:47 PST . It's only a few hours away, but I really want it to be 4:30!! (got to work a little early this morning)

]]> =Claymore32 7 lbs. 3 oz. (Updated!) http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16872873/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16872873/ Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:32:33 PST Both he and mom are doing great, and we're all currently snuggled up in the hospital with a hopeful go-home date of this Friday!

I should have some cute pictures of the lil guy ready to share later on (forgot to bring the dongle for my camera to the hospital

).

[Update!]
Here's a picture of him all wide-eyed sitting in his mommy's lap

[link]
He's a cutie!

]]> =Claymore32 Tuesday's the day! http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16817382/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16817382/ Sun, 10 Feb 2008 13:10:50 PST . The next time we head home together, it'll be 3 of us!

Cigar box is in my car ready to go!

]]> =Claymore32 Ordered a new tablet! http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16756707/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16756707/ Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:34:05 PST
Erm, who am I kidding, I'm looking forward to the new one!

Woohoo!! My wife was pressing me to get one since I keep complaining about my current one, so I finally buckled. Which one am I getting, you ask?

[link]

I figured if I'm getting a new one, might as well go all out!

Now I get to play the waiting game for it to arrive....

*stares at the clock*

]]> =Claymore32 Let's do the timewarp again... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16734133/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16734133/ Tue, 05 Feb 2008 05:53:21 PST .

So, without further ado, let's do the timewarp again...

]]> =Claymore32 ZOMG, so I was out to dinner.... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16680490/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16680490/ Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:37:23 PST [link]).

I was like "ZOMG, it's Michael Winslow!" to my wife. And she was like "who??" And then my eyes got wider as I reminded her of the heydays of Police Academy and of the greatest of all greats, Spaceballs. She replied, "He was in Spaceballs? Huh, I didn't know that."

o_o

Calmly, I replied, "Why yes he was dear. He was the radar guy for the Spaceballs ship! Don't you remember the bleeps, the sweeps, and the creeps?! The jam flowing down the radar after Lonestar jammed it?!?!"

"Oh, no. I didn't like that movie."

*record scratch*

"W-what??" o_O

"Yeah, I didn't really like that movie."

*long pause*

"Well, dear, I'm actually happy you brought that up now, after two years of blissful marriage. Because honestly, that statement alone would've been a deal breaker!!"

---------------------

Ok, yes, I said that, and yes I was kidding and she knows it

. But still!! To not love Spaceballs?! This is like disliking the rapturous sounds of air quickly escaping the plastic membranes of bubble wrap; like having that tickling feeling overcome your sinuses and saying to yourself don't sneeze; like saying sex is overrated.... It's just plain ludicrous!!

*sigh*

This was a very traumatic revelation, as I think that anything graced with the presence of Mel Brooks is, in fact, automatically legend in being. Spaceballs, I still love you... I hope the words of my thoughtless wife didn't shun you away.... Tonight I hope to comfort you once again, experiencing your brilliance, your joy, your Spaceballs - the emotion.

*cue sad violin music*

]]> =Claymore32 Blast from the past + Tutorial question http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16608373/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16608373/ Mon, 28 Jan 2008 07:05:45 PST
Old Claymore32 event files (along with a few new): [link]

You'll also notice that there are quite a few pieces on that site that I don't have hosted here. I'm still debating on whether or not to upload some of my older pieces since I'll pretty much be spamming the anime/manga section

. Of course, that's what I did when I joined DA, so maybe I should just go ahead and do it? XD

I would also like to point out that if you click the "IMG Gallery" button on that page, you'll get to a whole plethora of event files submitted by people from all over. This was my first main resource for art back in my beginning days (which you'll see go back to early 2002 on there - holy moly that's almost 6 years ago x_x).

With regards to a tutorial, is there anything specific that people would like me to focus on? I realize there's already tons of tutorials out there that present methods far better than what I could suggest - especially in areas such as body proportions, perspective, and background designs since those are all areas I'm still trying to work on. But if there's any area of my art that you feel is worthy of a tutorial, please let me know and I'll be more than happy to put one together!

A Big Thank You!

I'd like to take this opportunity to say thanks to everyone who's given critiques to my art. As much as I love kind comments from everyone, critiques are definitely what helps push me to improve. Whenever I post my art, if you see something that's off or doesn't quite fit, please feel free to call me out on it or let me know

. A lot of times I get sucked into an art piece and entranced in the direction I want it to go without taking a step back to see how all the details are fitting together.

]]> =Claymore32 I can smell again! @_@ + Baby room pictures http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16516744/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16516744/ Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:28:49 PST
I fought valiantly with Generic Allergy Sinus at my side, giving me strength. Sudafed tried to hold down the front line, but fell quickly, leaving Claritin all by her lonesome, fending off the hordes in a brilliant display of courage and tenacity. As the forces broke through every barrier I could establish, I was helplessly devoured. With Kleenex at my side, the ruthlessness of the pollen took no prisoners as it decimated the one sense that I dare not ever live without. With my sense of smell slain, so too did it take with it most of my sense of taste; leaving anything I could attempt to nourish myself with as bland and monotonous as the rolling dunes of the Sahara.

This defeat was made all the more vexing with the playoffs happening this past Sunday. No longer could I relish in the pleasantries of feasting on popcorn or chips and salsa. As I cheered on both the Packers and the Chargers, loss hit me twice, and fate I'm sure was rolling with laughter as I lacked the ability to even taste it.

The world had gone gray on me. Colors I could see, but their naturally beauty had been lost. My brain felt like it was in mourning as I continued to struggle forward, one heavy foot at a time. Kleenex, bless her heart, stayed with me through and through, and for that I am eternally grateful.

But today - yes, this glorious day! That which was slain has been brought back. My sense of smell returned - not in entirety, but I dare not be too greedy. My sense of smell fell victim to the worst of enemies. However, with its return I will learn to grow and cherish this sense with more vigor and appreciation. To the army at my side, I tell you - we will live on to fight another day.

Baby room pictures

For anyone curious as to why you haven't seen any art from me lately - here's the reason! These are some pictures I took a couple weeks ago of our newly-painted baby room. For the past couple of weeks my wife and I have been in prepare-for-baby mode

.
Baby room picture 1
Baby room picture 2
Baby room picture 3

]]> =Claymore32 Painting and New Year's Resolution http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16174043/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/16174043/ Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:00:21 PST Oh, and painting with a roller on a textured wall = hurting hands. I did grab a roller with a thicker material, but still... I tried to draw some more tonight, but my hand keeps cramping up on me. Like I said, I'm just crazy out of shape haha...

My new year's resolution is simple - get in shape!

Oh, and try and cut sodas out of my diet. I seriously drink that stuff WAY too much... However, I think I tried to do that last New Year's and got about... a few days

I got so excited that I celebrated with a soda. And then it just all went downhill from there!

Oh, one other gripe I have about painting textured walls: Trying to give a smooth edge to the paint on the wall is just crazy hard!! Even with painters tape the stuff still manages to get into the various nooks & crannies. So now I get to spend my New Years day off from work touching up the edge work on one of the baby room walls (we did 3 walls baby blue and one wall brown - will also add small blue polka dots to the brown wall).

Maybe I should grab one of those mechanical arms that DARPA is funding research on.... I bet painting with one of those arms would be a cinch!

Happy New Year everyone!

]]> =Claymore32 Still Alive http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/15970642/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/15970642/ Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:21:04 PST finally got Orange Box this past Friday

. I bought it mostly for one game though - Portal. Dear lord is that game pure awesome. And it's perfect for people like me. That is, people who get scared very easily at stuff jumping out at them while playing FPS games. I have been known, on occassion, to literally jump out of my chair when playing games like Doom 3 or Half-Life 2. And thus, Portal is perfect, because there is no jumpy-out-thingies!

It is incredibly suspenseful though, and the story that unfolds only makes me wish it had been the full-version game and Half-Life 2 the extra mod package.

The other reason I picked up Orange Box was to play Team Fortress 2. I used to tear up the field in college playing Unreal Tournament, and all my friends told me to give TF2 a try. I didn't get a chance to play it this weekend, but I'm hoping to remedy that this week

.

The final reason I picked up Orange Box is because I really want to try and conquer my fear of crap jumping out at me while playing games and be able to "man up" to the challenge. It's also embarrassing when while watching one of my friends play Half-Life 2 a couple years ago, he quickly turned towards me during a suspenseful moment and yells "BOO!". I screamed like a little girl and fell out of my chair.

Needless to say, Portal is perfect for people like me; and I really really hope they make more games like it in the future

Current Projects

]]> =Claymore32 Fun with CSS... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/15916114/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/15916114/ Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:05:33 PST Trying a new style out and seeing how much CSS I've learned...

For anyone wanting to learn more about CSS, some good resources can be found in the Help & FAQ section.

A really awesome news article by $zilla774 also gives a nice breakdown of how to go about tackling CSS and provides numerous resources: [link]

Tonight I'm going to see if I can't spiff things up a bit with some graphics as well

Current Projects

Current Friend Projects

's coloring contest: [link]
Current progress: Done!

]]> =Claymore32 A day in the life... http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/15850803/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/15850803/ Sat, 08 Dec 2007 15:53:11 PST
So, for anyone who's ever bought bedding (comforter, pillow cases), you'll know that it's pretty darn pricey for nice stuff. And you would think that since a baby's crib is very small, less fabric = less price. WRONG. Oh dear lord is that assumption wrong!!! Seriously, why the frick-n-frack is baby bedding as expensive, if not more expensive than regular bedding for a queen or king bed??? And I'm not talking about the nice looking baby bedding. I'm talking about the run-of-the-mill stuff. Very bland designs and neutral colors or light blues or pinks. Oh, but when you jump to the stuff that actually has designs printed on them - mind you, all it takes is a change of fabric, which is maybe a few dollars/yd difference - the price jumps up 50 - nay! 100+ dollars, and even more!!

So finally, after much lamenting and procrastinating, I agreed to a 'cute' bedding... My only stipulation was that there be no animals or themey crap. Sigh...

Anywho, that's only the tip of the iceberg to all the costs involved. Add on the price of a crib, pack-n-play (those little prisons you put a baby in while they're in your living room), baby swing, rocking chair, etc.... Like I said, my credit card and I are on no speaking terms. Voicing any opinion on the need for any of this stuff causes the speaker to incur the wrath of a pregnant wife. And this is a wrath in which you will always lose. XD

So! Onto some better stuff!!

Got this AWESOME giftart from my good friend

Really awesome stuff!!

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Current Projects:

I'm going to revisit Qaya since I really need to add a background there. One of my goals is to do more 'completed' pictures.

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Current Friend Projects:

's coloring contest: [link]
Current progress: Done! ]]> =Claymore32 Cruisin' with a Subscription http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/15827616/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/15827616/ Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:21:27 PST much faster now without the ads

. Definitely a huge plus. I thought things were cool before, and now they're even better!

Now to see if I can play around with the CSS stuff for the journal... If anyone knows of any good tutorials or hints, please feel free to fill this newblet in! XD

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Current Projects:

I'm going to revisit Qaya since I really need to add a background there. One of my goals is to do more 'completed' pictures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Current Friend Projects:

's coloring contest: [link] ]]> =Claymore32 History Lessons http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/15817305/ http://Claymore32.deviantart.com/journal/15817305/ Thu, 06 Dec 2007 06:30:25 PST
Ok, so for starters, let's .... DO THE TIMEWARP!! Back to... well crap, I honestly can't remember what year it was! But let's just ballpark it at 1994.

So, back when AOL was first getting its feet off the ground (at least the version of it that many were introduced to), my friends and I decided to hop on and give it a go. And just like any young teen with something new and wonderful, it became an instant obsession. At the time, however, there was another great obsession of mine - the Highlander series on USA!! I was absolutely enthralled in it. From learning about the various characters to learning about all the different types of swords... I was in heaven! So I figured that my online handle name should mirror that love, and thus Xcalibur48 was born!!

*record scratch*

Er... Yeah, that's not "Claymore32"... Xcalibur48 died a horrible death by way of email hyjacking my account x_x... So! That account got closed, and I opened up Claymore32!! I actually liked that name MUCH better, since the Claymore, after all, is the coolest sword.. (There are TWO periods for emphasis!!)

The reason for "32" at the end was that everyone, their dog, and maybe their cat too, wanted the name "Claymore". So! I very intelligently added the number at the end - 32, after all, is a very cool number. Yeah, don't try to hold back on feeling impressed by my wittiness. *Strikes a pose and winks*

And thus, it was so that forever after that I would be secretly known as "Claymore" or just "Clay" for short. Heck, I actually grew to really like that name! Plus it reminds me how great the Highlander series was back then... And yes, I know Christopher Lambert is an awesome guy, and I definitely agree; but seriously, Adrian Paul just kicks ass. Not only that, but having a show where random British pop stars show up as badass immortals is just so full of win. Part of the fun was seeing just who'd show up next as an immortal

.

Unfortunately, back in 1998, that AOL account got hacked too, and I was forced to create another... But I'll keep that one a secret

. I don't really use AIM anymore anyways. Google Talk all the way!

But wow, after looking at those years, man do I feel old o_O.... But, such is life! The key is, no matter how old you get, never stop feeling young! Yup, I so just fortune-cookied you. Muahaha! XD

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Current Projects:

I'm going to revisit Qaya since I really need to add a background there. One of my goals is to do more 'completed' pictures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Current Friend Projects:

's coloring contest: [link] ]]> =Claymore32