The Anime: September 2010

Pin up girl digital painting X men first class Mystique

Pin up girl digital painting X men first class Mystique step by step and video tutorial. I thought it would be fun to draw and paint some kind of a pin up girl this time. And I also got inspired by the new x men movie that will be coming out soon.
This tutorial is actually very long, it took me about 3-4 days to try to finish the whole painting, at first I was just planing on doing a portrait study tutorial, but I thought there are too many of them on the blog. On one of the older tutorial post called how to draw Anime foreshortening hand that I just recently reworked on has some extreme foreshortening drawing in Anime style. So I thought I should somehow implement that into this tutorial and make it more appealing with interesting pose for the character.
Then I start changing my composition around and add the extreme foreshortening into my pin up girl painting. It took me a long time to figure out how to do foreshortening in the realistic fashion without making it look much like a cartoon. The hard part is actually to make it look proportionally correct and make it look like a dynamic drawing. It takes a lot of looking at your own hands in the mirror (did I mention that artists should have a mirror on their working desk? easy to use yourself as a reference sometimes, just a tip).
Anyway, so here it is Mystique from X men first class

A bit about X Men first class: Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-MEN.
X-Men: First Class, due for release on June 3, 2011, is directed by Matthew Vaughn. There will be the young Professor X, and Erik Lensherr, who becomes Magneto. It is a prequel focusing on "the formative years of Xavier and Magneto, and the formation of the school and where their relationship took a wrong turn." The villains of the film will be the Hellfire Club, featuring Sebastian Shaw, and Emma Frost. And of course the young Mystique. X-Men: First Class began principal photography in September 2010 in London.

Here is the final image: Pin Up girl Mystique

Here are step by step How to draw and paint Pin Up girl:

I know, it really long this tutorial. :)

And here is Mystique
pin up girl comics mystique

Download bigger image here: Mystique x men first class

Then I decided that I should add Magneto, Sabretooth and Wolverine in there. :)
But just not quite what you would expected. And I have two version. Let me know which one you like better by leave the comment.

Here is a Digital painting video Demo how to draw and paint pin up girl, Mystique

FREE download over 30 mins of video tutorials

Enjoy the digital painting tutorial.

Anime Word of the Week - Chibi (ちび) / Super Deformed

Chibi (ちび) or (禿び) / Super Deformed

... is a Japanese word meaning "short person" or "small child". It's meaning is of someone that is small. It can be translated as "little", but is not used the same way as chiisana [小さな] (tiny, small, little in Japanese).

A prototypical example of the former usage in the original Japanese which brought the term to the attention of Western fans is Chibiusa, a pet name for the diminutive daughter of Sailor Moon formed from Chibi Usagi (or "Little Usagi").

In English-speaking anime and manga fandom, the term chibi has mostly been conflated with the term super deformed or it can be used to describe child versions of characters. Super deformed (or 'SD') is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and over sized heads, to make them resemble small children.

Artists often Super Deform characters in order to show an extreme change in the characters' mood. While the characters' mood may change to anything, seriousness, anger, embarrassment, feigned cuteness, the goal of the animators is always comedic cuteness. Often done at the punchline of a joke for an extra comedic oomph.

The chibi / super deformed style is part of Japanese culture and is seen everywhere from advertising and subway signs to anime and manga. It is often also used on anime and manga in brief interjections to show an extreme or exaggerated emotion, such as anger or surprise, that would be difficult to portray or would seem out of character if expressed on a more realistic face. They are meant to be cute and are often used in humorous diversions from the storyline, such as in Omake scenes between episodes (like the Chibi Tachikoma scenes in the GiTS SAC TV series).

Proportions are often measured using head length as a guide. The average adult is considered to stand seven (1:7) to seven and a half heads tall. Idealized figures are often drawn eight heads (1:8) in length. See this tutorial for more info.

In addition to their modified proportions, super deformed characters typically lack the detail of their normal counterparts. As a result, when a character of average proportions is depicted as a super deformed character, certain aspects of his or her design will be simplified and others will be exaggerated. Details such as folds on a jacket are ignored, and general shapes are favored. If a character has a signature characteristic (odd hair, a particular accessory, etc.) this will typically be prominent on the super deformed version of the character.

In most Anime the SD-Mode only lasts a few seconds, however there are some Anime series where the character designs are completely SD, very often in parodies such as Superior Defender ('SD') Gundam or Scramble Wars. Scramble Wars (1988) was part of AnimEigo's US released Super-Deformed Double Feature (VHS only) which also included Ten Little Gall Force, a mockumentary detailing a behind-the-scenes look at the production of Gall Force: Eternal Story. Characters were drawn as super deformed versions of their Eternal Story counterparts.

Aw man, if that doesn't bring a tear to your eye...!

Hey folks, tell you how long I've been around the Anime scene - I have the Super-Deformed Double Feature VHS in my collection. And no, I won't sell it, so don't ask... -_^ If you have a care, and like me, have very fond memories of Gall Force, BGC, Riding Bean, and Earth Surviver Gaiarth you can watch Scramble Wars on YouTube here.

Media Blasters December Schedule / Date Updates

A lot of people have been e-mailing in asking about updates for Media Blasters titles, and as many of you know I don't like to pass on rumors. I've heard back from the folks in NY today and they have updated their December schedule:

Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin, Vol #3, Journey's End DVD (Eps #9-12)
Queen's Blade Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-12)
Queen's Blade Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-12) (BLURAY)

They have also resheduled the Voltron: Fleet of Doom Movie (BLURAY) for Nov 14th, and re-affirmed the dates for the titles that were recently moved into October. The only thing still up in the air is the ship date for the Ah My Buddha (Amaenaideyo!!) Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-26) which has been on backorder since July. I'm being told we are just waiting for copies to arrive from the replicator and then we can start shipping those backorders to you.

The Bleach #6 Boxed Set has Not Been Delayed

Just an FYI to everyone asking about the rumors that the Bleach Uncut Boxed Set #6 (Eps #110-121) has been delayed. This is not true, the street date was this week and has not been changed, though Warner did ship them to retailers at the last minute.

We have the set IN STOCK and they are shipping now.

I think one of the smaller stores posted something about the street date being pushed back, but that is not the case and all retailers should have the sets in stock by now. Oh, also, in comparison to the previous 5 boxes, #6 is just a 3 tray standard size DVD case with a paper slip sleeve. Viz could not have chosen cheaper packaging, which didn't make us very happy.

Anyway, we have it, so order away! :-)

SoundHELL: Hell Up in Harlem

Hell Up in Harlem radio spot

SoundHELL: Ghetto Freaks

Ghetto Freaks radio spot

Drawing MGS Raiden digital painting tutorial

Drawing MGS (Metal Gear Solid) Raiden digital painting tutorial. This post is a quick speedpainting digital painting demo of drawing and painting Raiden character from the latest Metal Gear solid gaming series. So I just saw the trailer not too long ago and I think it so badass that I have to somehow scribble the character study out. This one is just a quick painting of the character portrait, it is more like a study or something like that rather than an actual concept art.
It's early in the morning so I thought it would be good to do a quick sketch in the morning and I think I'm going to do it regularly since I have more time nowadays.

So here are the basic steps, I usually just start out scribble then create some kind of a silhouette or shapes that are readable. Then I will go in and give it some lighting so it would create form. That's how I usually paint.

Here are some more video tutorials that are similar to this one on the post. You can go watch Character Design Face Male Merchant Character, or Drawing Male Face Swordman and Learn how to draw and paint face.

If you are a beginner, no sweat, we have stuff for you too. Go check out these basic instruction for step by step drawing "Drawing humans head female face how to" and step by step still images goto digital painting and drawing learn to draw and How to draw face and head shading.

For figures and bodies study, muscles and human anatomy for artist go watch Drawing body muscle torso anatomy each comes with both video and step by step images along the side and Drawing arm muscles bicep tricep video. Have fun watching. Well, hope these short video tutorials and tips are helpful.

Anyway here are the quick painting image of Raiden:

Here are step by step painting Raiden from MGS (Metal Gear Solid).

Here is the final image:

for BIGGER image go here: Raiden Rising Metal Gear

HERE is a video tutorial Drawing and paint Raiden Demo:

Download over 30 minutes of Free videos from idrawgirls.

VHS HELL: Ninja: American Warrior

ninja american warrior imperial vhs front

VHS HELL: Ninja of the Magnificence

ninja of the magnificence imperial vhs front

Witcher: Geralt of Rivia Papercraft

Geralt of Rivia is a witcher and the protagonist of the Witcher series of books by Andrzej Sapkowski and the video game adaptation. Download here.

Anime Hell at Anime Crossroads 2010

Anime Hell Preshow 2010

Just got back from Anime Weekend Atlanta where, among other things, I present the popular and confusing "Anime Hell" event. This free-form Japaheeno cartoon clip show has been an annual favorite among those "in the know" who enjoy things that are goofy, kooky, kicky, and ginchy in the way of out-of-contextual audio-visual entertainment. Of course there's always a few moments of setup while the thousands of audience members find their way to their seats, and the technical crew explains their complicated equipment to me, the host. A few years back I realized that what I ought to do is put some music over the PA to make these moments a little more entertaining. That's how I started making Anime Hell Pre-Show Compilations, and that's what we're giving you today at Found Sound! It's a little longer than our usual tracks, but I think you'll forgive us our bandwidth savagery. So sit back, close your eyes, imagine an anime con badge around your neck and a hotel function room chair beneath your ass, and pretend you're waiting for me to drunkenly figure out how to use a DVD player. Not to mention wondering what the hell this insane country music has to do with Japanese cartoons.

ANIME HELL PRESHOW 2010: "Shortcake Rap" (Strawberry Shortcake), "October Is Country Music Month/Jerry Clower" (various), "Fascist Threat" (Janet Greene), "Batman And Robin" (Thor Ables), "They Took Little Johnny" (Boyd Peters), "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke '68" (Tex Williams), "I'm A Sick American" (Frank W. Morris). 17:00

Some tracks previously appeared on the compliation "I Love Country & Western Music Volume 2" courtesy Devlin Thompson.

Anime Word of the Week - Ahoge (アホ毛, アホげ)

Ahoge (アホ毛, アホげ)

...is a single strand of hair that sticks out of a character's head. It literally means "foolish hair" or "stupid hair" or "idiot hair" and is a visual cue common to anime and manga. It is most often used to identify foolish, bumbling or carefree characters. In the west, Alfalfa from The Little Rascals would be the most identifiable character with what could be considered an ahoge.

Ahoge are a naturally occurring trait of the hair and are not created with the aid of styling tools. They also appear only near the top of the head, but can be anywhere on top, front or back. The look of ahoge can also vary widely, from long and thin to short and thick. While ahoge have been seen on characters for decades - Osamu Tezuka created characters with ahoge as far back as 1953 - the first series to popularize the specific use of the term is Pani Poni Dash!. In Pani Poni Dash the character Himeko Katagiri sported one and had a major story line in one episode dedicated to it; Himeko's also appears to be living as it moves on its own and mirrors her current mood.

Even if a character is not specifically stupid or naive, an Ahoge also usually represents some sort of mischievous quality about them.

Ahoge have appeared on numerous other characters but are usually limited to those appearing in works with comedic content and then mostly on females. Examples of characters that have an ahoge are Konata Izumi from Lucky Star, Megumi Momono from Mahoraba, Naru Narusegawa from Love Hina, Kenji Harima from School Rumble, Nori from Rozen Maiden, Meg from Burst Angel, and Italy, Romano, and a few other characters from Hetalia: Axis Powers. Male characters with ahoge are more rare but are not unknown, such as Edward Elric from the series Fullmetal Alchemist.

Toradora Premium Collection #2 - Now In Stock!

I'm very happy to report that our inventory of the 2nd Toradora Premium Collection has arrived and is now in stock and shipping!

We will begin filling pre-orders today, but we have accumulated A LOT so I'm guessing it will take until close of business tomorrow for us to get them all out. I've tasked about half to folks here to work on nothing except those until they are completed shipping.

The part #2 set contains episodes 14-25 on 2-discs and includes a full-color artbook (hardcover) and a premium collectors box.DVD extra's include Toradora! SOS! Hurray for Gourmands 3-4, plus Clean Opening & Clean Ending.

Part #2 Synopsis: Ryuji and Taiga slowly begin to understand their feelings not just towards their crushes, but what they mean to one another. After the Culture Festival comes to a close, Kitamura begins to display a rebellious attitude. To bring him around, Ryuji tells Taiga to run for Student Council President. Christmas pageants, complete with a beautiful song, come and go. During a school trip to a ski resort, Ryuji will learn the truth about Taiga's heart. What will he do with this knowledge? The tiger and dragon stand together, but are they strong enough to face the obstacles life will throw at them?

The Great Recession is Dead... Long Live the Great Recession!

HEH.

Bandai Nov / Section 23 Dec Releases - Now Available for Pre-Order!

We have just gotten in both Bandai's November and Section 23's December 2010 release schedules and we've now got them posted to the store site.

Here's what's coming:

Bandai November 2010:

Kurokami The Animation Part #4 DVD (Eps #19-24) (Bilingual)
Kurokami The Animation Part #4 DVD (BLURAY) (Eps #12.5-16) (English Dubbed)

Section 23 December 2010:

Kimikiss Pure Rouge DVD Collection #2 (Eps #14-26)
Nyan Koi Complete Collection DVD Set (Eps #1-12)
Eyeshield 21 Collection #3 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #27-39)
Gintama DVD Collection #3 (Eps #27-39)

In addition to the new releases, Bandai also bumped back Hayate the Combat Butler DVD #7 (Eps #39-44) a couple of weeks to November 2nd.

Nyan Koi!
Junpei Kōsaka is a second-year high school student who despises cats and has an allergy to them. It just so happens that his high school crush is Kaede Mizuno, a girl who adores cats. One day, while walking home from school, Junpei kicks an empty can and unfortunately beans the local neko-jizō-sama (guardian deity of cats). He finds he can now understand what cats are saying, including his family's own ill-tempered cat, Nyamusasu. However, if he does not grant 100 wishes from cats, he will turn into cat himself.

I'LL FIND YOU AND I'LL KILL YOU! Panel OF DOOM! Report, AWA 2010

I was concerned I might be out of practice.

With the one-two punch of the shrinking number of anime-specific FL conventions and out-of-state cons either having their own personal HELLs or having no interest in such an event, the Panel OF DOOM!--my solo act take on the Anime HELL experience--hadn't seen the light of day for well over a year. Not since...AWA 2009. But old habits die hard, and so this year's DOOM was almost entirely new clips and held in an all-new venue: the Video Art Track (VAT)! From my vantage point, the place was filled beyond capacity to standing room only from beginning to end. CRITICAL RESULT: HAPPY. Full list of what was shown (sort of in order of appearance):

For the sake of expediency, I'll use one entry for things with multiple clips shown. That way I don't have to write "Gatchaman" quite so many times!

JOHN CENA'S "BAD BAD MAN" MUSIC VIDEO - in memory of Gary Coleman
EMPEROR PALPATINE TALKS GUNDAM AND DBZ WITH MR. PLINKETT
SOUL TRAIN LINE - "Mighty Mighty" by Earth Wind and Fire
PARTY 7 OPENING ANIMATION - from the creators of Redline
KSBY WARNS AMERICA ABOUT PEDOBEAR
ASTRO BOY 1980 - Uran accepts a ride from a old man who wants to put a special unit in her
GATCHAMAN - Galactor's plan to attract 16 year-old girls, sick old man in wheelchair makes friends with little girl, never trust the forest patrol
SUNTORY BEER ADS - featuring Mike the Penguin
CHEERS BEER - Every Good Thing in Life
RED BARON - Science Investigation Detective, the greatest piano ever, 60 second premise recap, crucifixion explosion
IRON KING - Nonstop Action Before Credits, Slapping a Girl, Blowing Up Schools, Fighting Handicapped Monsters
LEGEND OF THE SACRED STONE - puppet wuxia fighting at its best
THE TEN TIGERS OF KWANGTUNG - its exciting finale!
DR. NAMBU FROM SCIENCE NINJA TEAM GATCHAMAN IS A DICK - Whales, Centrifugal Brain Surgery, Lost Shoes, Magma Jesus
TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER - "fabulous" Thai western
BLACK LAGOON OMAKE - Radical Revy-chan
THE AMAZING RACE - watermelon catapulting
COMBATTLER V - Supermagnetic Yo-Yos, From Conceptualization to Implementation
FIRED! - featuring Brandon Keener, voice of Garrus Vakarian in Mass Effect
BUD ICE PENGUIN - DOOBY DOOBY DOO
PENGUIN MEMORIES - Mike the Penguin...in Vietnam
WOLF'S RAIN - the best walrus fight anime has ever depicted
ALLUDA MAJAKA - Telugu Indian movie where our hero evades capture, rides horse
3DFX COMMERCIAL - canceling science and medical advancement
SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO SEASON 2 - the Comet Empire hates dinosaurs and dinosaur planets
JAPANESE SUSHI RESTAURANT AD
JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE - car paradox in memory of Satoshi Kon
KOREAN ROBOCOP SELLS FRIED CHICKEN
RAVEN TENGU KABUTO - Iron Horse, Iron Terror
CRAPSHOTS - Using Hokuto Shinken to heal...and failing
DROP BY OSAMU TEZUKA - the most nihilistic cartoon Hayao Miyazaki had ever seen
NIA: NINJA IN ACTION - ninja vs woman with large rock in purse
DORITOS NINJA FORCE
LAWS OF ETERNITY - Happy Science cult heroes engage in philosophical finger pointing duels with Hitler and Nietzsche
JAPANESE MARIO KART DS COMMERCIAL
CRIME PATROL 2: DRUG WARS intro
DOLPH LUNDGREN MAKES UNICORN ON THE COB
JAPANESE FANTA COMMERCIAL - Grape Fun Time
HARD TICKET TO HAWAII by Andy Sidaris - Skateboarder and blow up doll blown up...by rocket launcher
KELLOGG'S COCOA KRISPIES - Snaggletooth uses his chocolate touch and thinks his chocolate thoughts
CHAD VANGAALEN - MOLTEN LIGHT (I'LL FIND YOU AND I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FIND YOU AND I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FIND YOU AND I'LL KILL YOU!) - I've held onto this clip for 3 years, waiting for the time to strike
GARBAGE DAY - I tried not running this for a while, but I can't resist
SLIMBY AND THE SPECIAL PICTURE (repeat from DOOM of years ago)
SAM PECKINPAH'S SALAD DAYS

Phew! And to think I brought an entire extra 90 minutes of stuff just in case people were getting bored with what I was showing! Worry not; we'll rock out with Sivaji the Boss next year! Click here for the 2010 lineup of Anime's Craziest Deaths!

AWA HELL AFTER ACTION REPORT

Field reports indicate this was the BEST HELL EVER. Nadelman kept 'em cooking with TLA and by 10pm the audience was ready to roll... with laughter! 2 screens, updated TOWER OF POWER (tm) speaker stacks and an advanced pipe and drape echo reduction system meant an upgraded HELL experience for the capacity crowd. Here's what was shown.

LOGORAMA - the Academy Award winning short film featuring advertising logos killing each other, swearing, and boob-grabbing.
GTFO -if you are a furry, GTFO.
MAD MEN OPENING - swelegant Sterling Draper Cooper Price title by Th' Gavv.
SW2000 OPENING - title card from horrifying Ultraman feature "Space Warriors 2000"
RICK ROLL - this is not Soul Eater.
GUNDAM -T28 -TORBOTO In which I give the audience the finger.
MACEK TRIBUTE - Uh? Wha? Huh?
DR TRAN LETTERS -viewer mail.
ANIME VS AMERICA - Care Bears, Monchichis, Mr. T and the Dukes versus Fighting General Daimos and Space Battleship Yamato. And Gamera.
IT'S A UFO - fascinating true anime documentary about aliens.
HETALIA ROSWELL - fascinating true anime documentary about aliens landing on America's house.
GIRAFFES!!!
ZINC OXIDE - where would we be without Zinc Oxide.
HALLOWEEN - Centron safety film about the dangers of Halloween.
part two:
THE HANGMAN - nothing says workplace safety like a burly Englishman in a domino mask.
WILL YOU BE HERE TOMORROW - not if you starred in this safety film!
ACTION AFTER WARNINGS - what to do if the Big One drops and you live in the UK.
GAS IN HEATER - gas in your heater can kill you.
EVERY MOTHER'S NIGHTMARE - don't leave your baby on the sidewalk.
DINNER FOR A SEAGULL - drowning, it's what's for dinner.
DONKEY KONG JR - vintage video game ad.
PIXELS - short film about 8-bit world domination.
FINAL FANTASY II - vintage video game ad.
VIRTUAL REALITY - news clip about exciting new trend for 1991.
ZIPANG clip from the amazing film. Jigoku fights Zatoichi, Tange Sazen and 100 others.
BLACK DYNAMITE - But Black Dynamite, I sell drugs in the community!
BITCH KILLER - god this film makes me horny.
MEGAFORCE -the good guys always win, even in the 80s.
ULTRAVACUUM - super monsters battle super vacuum cleaners.
ULTRACARINSURANCE - super monsters ding your car.
MURPHY IRISH STOUT - the choice of high tech samurai.
MINILOTO,NOCRIA - quick Japanese ads.
HEAVY METAL MEMORIES - Spinal Tap K-Tel TV ad.
ZIPANG - back to killing. Warning, this sword is REALLY sharp.
YOGI OKEY DOKEY - yeah, he's real funny, you obese death-suckers.
DR TRAN LETTERS - again with the viewer mail.
DOWNFALL REJECTED - Hitler gets what Hitler wants.

PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE:

See you at AWA 17!

SoundHELL: Friday Foster

Friday Foster radio spot

Media Blasters - New Dates

Considering that EVERYONE is asking (or seems to be), we've finally got some new dates for those recent AWOL Media Blasters releases like Dragon Destiny 3 and Genshiken DX.

They are not as favorable as we were lead to believe a couple weeks ago when we talked to them, but at least we now have street date commitments other than 'soon'.

Here's the changes:

Bumped to October 19th:

Blade of the Immortal Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-13) (Litebox)

Bumped to October 26th:

Ikki Tousen Dragon Destiny, Vol #3, Sousou's Ambition (Eps #9-12)
Ikki Tousen Dragon Destiny Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-12)
Genshiken DX Collection DVD Boxed Set (TV Season 1 + OVA)
Dairugger DVD Collection 3 (Eps #37-52)

Bumped to November 2nd:

Genshiken 2 - The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture Complete Collection DVD Box (Eps #1-12) (Lite Box)
World of Magic Knight Rayearth Complete Collection Season 2 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #21-49) (Remastered)

I know there are some folks that have us holding orders for Dragon Destiny 3. As always, if you want to make a change, just drop us an e-mail. :-)

Have an Nice Weekend Everyone!

Here's a little something someone dug up on the intertubes for me today:

This song is awesome. And they really like Vodka in Finland. Here too. ;-)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Funimation December 2010 Releases - Now Available for Pre-Order!

Real Driving

I know that some of you out there greatly admire the skills it takes to drive a car at 200mph in a circle...

... but for me, THIS IS REAL DRIVING:

It's Initial D for real.

I'm dreaming of that being me driving all over some Anime studios good intentions to help their retail partners in the living room with kitchy little incentive ideas while screwing us over royally just outside the front door by favoring some companies with better pricing, and giving competitors control over our inventory. It's easy to run great sales on products sitting in your warehouse you didn't ever have to pay for. The rest of us have to work for a living.

HEH.

Anime Word of the Week - Ecchi (エッチ)

Ecchi (エッチ)

...is derived from a Japanese word meaning "erotic", "lewd", "sexy", or "lascivious" when used as an adjective, or sexual intercourse when used as a noun. The nuance of ecchi varies with context, but in general the word itself is comparable to "naughty" or "dirty".

The origin of the term ecchi is uncertain. Ecchi in Japanese is attached to the Japanese pronunciation of the Roman letter "H" which is the first letter in the Japanese word "Hentai", which may be a backronym. The prefix "H-" is sometimes used to refer to pornographic genres: H-anime, H-manga, etc. (that's how we refer to adult only stuff here at the store - 'H'). Ecchi is another way to say "perverted" in Japanese, but its connotation is not as strong as Hentai. Chotto Ecchi (chotto meaning "slightly") refers to anime that has some light sexual themes.

The word sekkusu is also used in Japan for sex, and Japanese native words for sex (such as 性交 seikō) are often replaced by words of foreign origin such as sekkusu or neologisms such as ecchi.

Anime that contain a lot of sexual humor but no outright pornography are most often correctly referred to as 'ecchi'. Examples vary widely, but include series like Love Hina, Amazing Nurse Nanako, Harenchi Gakuen, Ninja Girls, Yumeria, Kanokon, Kiss×Sis, Please Teacher, Girls Bravo, Dears, Maburaho, Tenjho Tenge, Chobits, Hanaukyo Maid Team, Kemeko DX, Sora no Otoshimono, Sakura Diaries, Shuffle, Golden Boy, Sumomomo Momomo, Green Green, Rosario + Vampire, Asu no Yoichi (good grief, the list goes on and on!) and of course, my favorite - Mahoromatic!

Remember everyone, dirty thoughts are bad...

Grow a pair. Of what, I don't care.

So, there's been a lot of talk about Dragon Con recently.

Major disclaimer: I WAS NOT THERE. I'm not writing about what happened. I'm writing about what was said had happened. I'm writing about the people who said things and how they reacted to them.

Which, I think, makes it worse.

More...

Go through the comments made here. I'll wait.

Are you angry? Oh, go actually read them. That's what tabbed browsing is for.

Okay, you've actually read them. You're kinda pissed that it went down like that. You're not alone. It should not have been that way.

Now, think about how that happened and how many people said they would go back. If that happened, it happened. But if you said that had happened, would you go back?

Now, ask yourself the really important question. How many police reports were filed?

This is the problem I have with the narrative. I'm not going to say these things didn't happen, because I wasn't there. But, if these things did happen, why didn't anyone call the cops? If some guy randomly groped me in an elevator, I'd be telling the police, "Yes, sir, he's the gentleman with the torqued nuts who is currently in the fetal position on the 23rd floor." If I had an iPhone, there would be a picture of this guy on a flickr account with the tag "drunk gropey dude". If it had happened around my friends, I would at least have a commemorative tooth to remember the event. Something.

I'm not out to blame the victim, seriously. I'm not going to say, "Oh, they dressed that way and had it coming." I'm not going to say that for two reasons: one, that is some serious douche to say that; two: it's a flippin' con. Getting into costumes and forgetting your tedious real-life is part of why we have cons. It's all part of the fantasy.

At this point, I have to consider how the non-cons saw all of this. These are guys who think that the only reason a girl would wear a costume is she's a stripper. She just popped out of a cake.

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

I don't want to give a free-pass to assholes; please don't think I am. But we're talking about a bunch of testosterone-addled bags with no fucking clue what a con is about. They do not understand what that costume is or why it's important or even why you would dress that way in the first place.

And I am not going to say for a fraction of a second that it's any excuse for their behavior. If anything, I am going to say it is why you must be more strict with them. They have no idea. They must be trained. They must learn.

I have my belly and and like it. I earned it. It also gives me a false sense of security that I won't get ogled by jack-asses if I decide to let it hang out. I have heard (read) that there were girls in a similar situation that still got unwanted attention by drunk douchebags.

And that is some evil stuff right there. You get a girl in her comfort zone and make it uncomfortable? Oh yeah. I'm looking for blood on that.

But what worries me most about this is, there were no police reports (please, tell me I'm wrong). If you let someone do that, it's almost as bad as doing it yourself. If you let it go on like that, if there are not consequences, then the douche is never going to know what he did was wrong. You have to pull out the rolled-up newspaper and swat a few noses and say "NO!", or it's just going to happen again.

And that's what scares me. If the guy did what was said was done, and there were no charges filed and nothing came of it, he's going to come back next year. He's going to come back and bring his buddies and tell them about this "great time" he had and things are only going to get worse.

This is the greatest danger of the Geek Social Fallacies. You are allowed to call someone on their bullshit when they are being a douche. Do not be afraid that calling someone on their BS will force them into calling you on yours. You are not trying to sexually assault someone on an elevator. You don't know them. They don't know you. Call that BS when you see it. Yell "fire" when it happens. This is something that must be stopped before it gets out of hand.

That kind of behavior is not normal. It is aberrant and dangerous and it saddens me to see people let it go on like that. If someone had called the cops Friday night, there would have been no issues on Saturday. If the cops had been called on Saturday, it would not have gone on through Sunday. There's no shame in calling someone on their bullshit if what they are doing is wrong. It is up to you to tell someone that you were victimized or that someone tried to do that.

I'm asking you; no, I'm telling you, don't let this happen to you. Don't just laugh it off and think that if you say anything, everyone will think you're a humorless bitch. If you see this happening to someone, don't just look away and tell the story later. Tell the fucking cops. Reading these tales on-line is fine and all, but tell someone who can do something about it. Do something, fer christssakes.

And if it happens again next year, I'm going to punch everyone.

Rin-Ne Vol #4 Cover

Since no store anywhere seems to have an image of the cover of Rumiko Takahashi's Rin-Ne #4 posted, here it is:

Synopsis: While suffering from a cold, Rinne gets a visit from a very strange doctor. The surprise house call leads Rinne, Sakura and Tsubasa to a confrontation with Sabato, Rinne's deadbeat father and president of the evil Damashigami Company! The stage is set for an all-out father-son battle in the afterlife.

And since so many people are asking, yes, we have it in stock and have been shipping it for about a week.

Taki Corp Goes Bankrupt

Just an FYI, many of you have probably already heard about this, but I didn't want to post anything until we got some word on what was going to happen to their assets.

On August 25th it was reported in Japan that Anime figure maker Taki had gone bankrupt. That is correct. Here in the states YamatoUSA was their import partner and master dealer, and we got the word from them today that they are liquidating their remaining small inventory of Taki products and canceling all pending retailer pre-orders.

Taki had gotten a bit of a reputation in the industry for making some of the ugliest Anime figures ever produced. Some of that reputation was deserved.

There is a rumor in Japan that Taki's figure business may be picked up by another company, but I have not been able to confirm that. Frankly, we really don't need anymore Ikki Tousen figures on the market anyway.

What I do know for sure is that all previously solicited Taki figure pre-orders have been canceled. We're going through the list today but I don't think we had anything of theirs up for pre-order anyway. I'll update this post later today if we do end up having to cancel any pre-orders.

Anime Weekend Atlanta This Friday!

Studio Gainax - What Won't they Do...

Gainax recently made public a preview of their upcoming 'Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt' Anime:

An ecchi version of 'Power Puff Girls' is coming to mind (just what we needed) , and I hope this is not a preview of things to come as the industry tries to go in 'new directions'.

It will begin airing in Japan on October 1st. Don't know about you, but I think I'll probably skip this one...

...well, maybe I'll watch an ep or two anyway, you know, just to see.

Toradora Opening in HD

With the 2nd half of Toradora shipping soon, here's a little HD eye candy to make your Monday morning a little happier:

Hat tip to Sean for sending!

El Macho Papercraft

Check out those muscles made out of paper! El Macho's mask can be removed to reveal his true identity. Download him here.

Electric Blanket

An electric blanket is a blanket with an integrated electrical heating device usually placed above the top bed sheet. Another variation of the electric blanket is the electric mattress pad, which is placed below the bottom bed sheet. Cozywinters.com offers the World's Safest Heated Blanket, the Ultimate Heated Mattress Pad, RV/Truck Bunk Warmers, Massage Table Warmers, and the Electric Foot of the Bed Warmer at discounted prices.

Adventure Time: Mr. Cupcake Papercraft

Mr. Cupcake is a character who appears in Slumber Party Panic. He appears to be covered in vanilla frosting and the blue foil wrapper covers his chocolate body. Download him here.

Phaser 8560

Xerox Phaser is the brand name for a line of color and monochrome printers produced and sold by Xerox. Some Phaser printers use Xerox Solid Ink technology. Phaser printers were originally manufactured and marketed by Tektronix, of Wilsonville, Oregon. If you own a Xerox phaser 8560 then you might want to check out concordsupplies.com for compatible Xerox Phaser 8560 Solid Ink Sticks, Standard Capacity Maintenance Kit, Waste Ink Tray, Extended Capacity Maintenance Kit and others.

Character concept design Sinbad the Sailor.

Character concept design Sinbad the Sailor. Here is a post of how I re-imagine one of my most favorite and memorable character, Sinbad the Sailor. I got exposed to the magical world of Sinbad early on watching the film conceptualized and animated by Ray Harryhausen(it was old, and the re-run usually comes on TV when I was a little kid). The very first one I saw is Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, then The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

I pretty much saw almost every single movie that Ray Harryhausen involves in. Also "Clash of the Titans", but it already been just remade. I was thinking about re-conceptualize it, but maybe later. I believe it was before I can read or draw. Before I get to read any Manga, Comics or watch any anime, well with the exception of the old "Karmen Raider" re-run. I could say it was my really early influence for having interested in art, concept and animation. What was on my mind at the time was probably, how the hell did they do that...how did those monsters, creatures come to live!

So here is my attempt to conceptualize and sketch my own Sinbad. In this post I first start just sketching the body or figure itself, not even attempting to put him on the scene or having any composition in mind. But then I cannot help but try to put him in the jungle and add some different lighting that might help bring the illustration to life. It doesn't turn out bad at all, but I wouldn't really recommend you do that. Planing is always the best way to produce your cinematic or environment conceptual work for sure. It's almost finish, all I have to do is add a few bad fellas in the black clothes with weapon hiding around the environment.
Here is a bit about Sinbad, I'm sure you've heard of him in some form of media.

There will probably be more of Sinbad stuff coming again if I am still in the groove. yeah :)

Sinbad the Sailor is a fictional sailor from Basrah, living during the Abbasid Caliphate - the hero of a story-cycle of Middle Eastern origin. During his voyages throughout the seas east of Africa and south of Asia, he has fantastic adventures going to magical places, meeting monsters, and encountering supernatural phenomena.
Sinbad is a Persian word hinting at a Persian origin. In fact some scholars believe that it is originally a Persian work, perhaps based on an Indian prototype. The oldest texts of the cycle are however in Arabic, and no ancient or medieval Persian version has survived. A variation of the name, Smbat, can also be found in Armenia, as well as the version Lempad of his father's name Lambad.

The Sindhi Sailors, who became famous due to their skills in: navigation, geography and languages may very well have inspired some of the stories of Sindbad ("And thence we fared on to the land of Sind, where also we bought and sold"). Incidents in some stories are also clearly influenced by ancient literary sources (including Homer's Odyssey and Vishnu Sarma's Panchatantra), and Arab, Indian and Persian folklore and literature.

More Video tutorials
Also basic to intermediate anatomy drawing instruction video, they are short but get right to the point and will be useful for studying muscles and human anatomy for artist go watch Drawing body muscle torso anatomy video & step by step and Drawing arm muscles bicep tricep video.
Here are for faces and heads, this one is a basic drawing of a man's head, possibly warrior brutal type, how to draw man's head basic. If you are looking for more rendering facial tutorial go to Character Design Face Male Merchant Character, or Drawing Male Face Swordman and Learn how to draw and paint face. They might suit your need more.

Here is an almost final version of Character concept Sinbad the Sailer.

Here are step by step from rough black and white sketches.

Then I ended up here

For bigger image here: Character concept sketch Sinbad

Painting process, assign color scheme.
Here are step by step from taking a monochrome drawing and painting over in Photoshop CS5

Then here is the final sketch, a little bit more painting here and there then I would be done.

For bigger image go here: Concept art Sinbad

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