Merry Christmas & Bring on 2009! Lions! iPhone games! Zombies!

LIONS!
No time for any Xmassy fan arts, or Xmas cards like last year, even (I think I hand-made some for friends at the London Anime Club last year). Unless you want to imagine the guy below is wearing baubles around his neck. He's not tho! Hell, I even finished a very un-Xmassy lion yesterday - It was part of a last minute design entry for the Cannes Lions T-shirt Grand Prix :) I can't preview anything here until winners are announced, but it's "kinda like a manga lion" according to my friend AK (and I wasn't intentionally going for a "manga lion", just a fucking stylistic lion!). It can't be helped then... the manga-style is forever imprinted on my hands. What a fucking shame. :)

TIGERS!
(Well not really, but one of the characters does have Tony Tiger's smile? no?) Also this a bit late but, about the iPhone game I was commissioning art/anims for in my last post. It's called PunchPunch Revolution, a reflex game where you have to touch marks on the screen fast enough to hit the enemy A.K.A. my charies before you're K.O.'d first. It has actually been available to buy at the iTunes App Store since October (link opens iTunes). I've posted this news late, because my plan was to update the graphics first. As, unfortunately, the game has already received some negative feedback; One guy even thought my art featured in the game was stolen off the internet, haha! As the artist though, the game still looks incomplete and perhaps a little rushed. But I have been asked to draw extra frames and backgrounds as well, so there will be an update somewhere down the line. If you have an iPhone, hey it's only *59p* at the moment. But as I said, I'm not satisfied with this first release, so don't cuss! Images of one of my favourites on the right - He looks cool enough close-up, but on an iPhone's screen? Let's just say I think I've learnt a few lessons, and next time I may try drawing pixel by pixel!

BEARS!
(Well, zombies really. But bears have a limp kind of hulking walk, a bit like zombies, don't they?) I am contributing a scene to the Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated collaborative project, organised by Mike Schneider. One of my shots can now be seen on the temporary gallery. I'll be working on it over the Xmas holidays - I'm very excited, cuz I haven't animated in such a long time! I recommend anyone, no matter how experienced you are with animation, to contribute! It's a great classic of a zombie flick, and the final feature is planned to be shown all over! I'm loving the nostalgia I'm getting from the other artists' work. In fact, the whole project feels very "retro", pseudo-shoddy, cheesey-cool, props to Mike for setting this all up, I wish him all the best with it.

& XMAS! OH MY!
As with most freelancers, I have a back-up job. Mine is in games retail, and at this time of year, AGH! I'm loving the exercise, fighting through crowds to get to the stock room, wishing people off with a "merry xmas" and goodbye... Only with the customers I connect with though, some are just in too much of a rush to socialise. Most though, have been standing in our queues for about 20-45 mins, so have gotten comfortable (or uncomfortable?) enough to actually smile, lol. I think the way the recession has affected most of us, is a sort of depression instead. But because we know we're all in it together, we're more humble towards eachother. Or it might just be the Xmas magic, I dunno. It's harder to observe people at this time of year, because, well...

Yesterday it was manic, from an introvert and extrovert perspective. I was having fun keeping my energy levels up - I missed breakfast, so when I got in I heated a quick one at 9:15 . The crowds started flocking at around 9:45. It was like a train had come in, and the stop was Gamestation. At about 10:30, bang, my period hit, unexpectedly once again! I had to rush around for paracetamol and nabbed ibruprofen, panicking, because the pains I get can be fucking apocalyptic, even double-checked with my colleague, who has a biology degree and should be working in science, if it was okay to take them both simultaneously. I was getting a bite of my quickie-breakfast whenever I went into the back room, which is where the stock room is, so thankfully, it was a lot. By 13:00, I was feeling kinda light and bouncy (a painkiller high?). By 14:30, I was feeling tired out but surprisingly placid. By 15:15, I was sent on lunch, feeling almost plastered at this point! I went next door to see what my brother was doing (he works in the shop next to me). He had but a pound to beg from him, so 15:35 I went back to my shop and took a 25 min (maybe?) nap. Woke up to my alarm! Feeling refreshed! I had about 10-15 mins left, so I went to Wimpy across the road, bumped into my bro again, who was like "what's wrong?". I responded by stealing that pound off him after all, he then said "whoa look at that queue", the queue at the cashpoint, next to the Wimpy actually, which is exactly why I resorted to stealing change all day/week (I sneakily did not pay back £3 I owed my manager for lunch the day before). Rushing into Wimpy, cackling inadvertently to my bro who bulked over to that ATM queue, plussing my change, I ordered a cheeseburger and a huge chocolate milkshake. Rushed it down me, but carefully. 16:15 I'm back to work and feeling like I'm ready to rock!

I was just a little fascinated by how uplifting a little nap on your lunch can be. I had a burst of energy! I'd recommend it to anyone feeling slushy at work. A nap and some crave foods will get you back to ice. :)

On the subject of Xmas, a few people have bought me presents, so now I feel obliged to buy them presents back, dammit. My plan was to not buy any presents and put the money towards my holiday plans, but looks like that won't happen until January now, boo. Speaking of which, I have to go put up the Xmas tree now, yay! Only now, because it's Xmas dinner tomorrow, and it's not gonna be one without the tree up. Only now, because my mother won't celebrate Xmas... other than with us on the day, heh. It's a funny old world!

I'm off to put up that tree, do some last minute shopping, gift exchanging and then I'm off to Winter Wonderland (I hope "London's first ever rollercoaster" is worth the ride!) :D

Have a great Xmas y'all!

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Listening to: Garbage - Stupid Girl
via FoxyTunes

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