Hello 👋 My name is Dean, and this pinned post is to share a bit about myself (above is a summary of some favorite illustrations I’ve made).
Most of my free time I’ll spend working on creative projects. It can be hard for me to keep things feeling simple :’> but I love worldbuilding and developing characters. I’d hoped to get into writing professionally, and although that dream is somewhat foregone I’m still constantly focused on what I can create next, what projects of mine I should prioritize, what goals I might have that I’d be able to fulfill...
I can sometimes get in my own head with nervousness, but I enjoy any opportunity I get to share my passions and meet new people. I find that I gravitate towards the franchises of my childhood (if you recognize any of the characters from the image up above, you'll notice Fossil Fighters has always been an all-time fav of mine).
Thank you for reading this far. I feel hesitant in more ways than one, but I’d be glad to meet any other people here who might enjoy the same things as me ^^
Fossil Fighters Zine: Volume 2 has been released!!
With over 30 contributors and 70+ pages of art, writing and comics you guys are in for a real treat! Join us on an adventure that takes you past wild battles and the everyday life of our elemental friends.
In addition to the PDF of the zine you are also able to download a merch bundle that includes postcards, 3DS home screes and a compso crochet pattern!
This Korean manhwa webcomic is a must-read. If you’re like me, ever having found yourself with no one to pick you up, the characters within this story are sure to lighten your spirits.
Imagery at times isn’t afraid to get dark, themes of self-harm and trauma are commonplace. However, I never fail to come out of a chapter without a fantastic attitude and an important sense of self-realization.
Lee Hoon has become an inspiration for me: A story driven by hope, perseverance, and, most importantly of all, friendship.
This week marks a huge achievement for this project of mine. With this update the roster is now halfway complete, totaling a collection of 115 unique Hycian characters!
To celebrate, the last two characters of this first half are something special. Meet Hycianus and Hethys: the two gods of Hycia’s two Kingdoms! There’s quite the story to be told with the two of them, their character bios and a complete mythology under the cut!
The two gods are practically as old as time itself, each of them possessing otherworldly powers. It was very fun working on their designs, I know that with this series I want everything to draw inspiration from our real world, but this time I wanted to let my imagination run wild! I tried combining aspects from various sea creatures (some more prehistoric in nature) to make these two legends feel, well, legendary!
The Story of Hycianus, Hethys, and the Creation of the Two Kingdoms
The planet of Hycia is geographically split into two distinct Kingdoms: the Ocean Kingdom and the River Kingdom. Within each location there exists a great legend: one that speaks of a divine entity who watches over their Kingdom in its entirety. These two Hycians of unmatched power are hailed by all as the gods of this world: Hycianus of the Ocean Kingdom and Hethys of the River Kingdom.
The two gods belong to an ancient race of Hycians: creatures of great size and ability whose existence predates any sort of present-day civilization. Over the course of countless generations these goliaths would come to blows with each other, erupting into a great war known as the Tide of Terror. Without concern for anyone but themselves they would raze each other apart and bring total destruction to their domain, all in the pursuit of gaining uncontested power.
The fighting escalated into a great purge of life, one that left Hycianus and Hethys as the only two survivors once the dust had settled. Hycianus, a wise and stronghearted general, was left mangled from his exploits on the battlefield. Until the war was over he never stopped fighting in the hopes of restoring peace, but in the end he found himself as the only survivor amongst his own brethren. He was blinded from the terrible scars slashed across his eyes and face. Hethys, on the other hand, seemed to get off pretty scot-free. The Tide of Terror didn’t reach her home in the way it devastated other areas, meaning it had little to no psychological effect on her. Ironically, it would seem that Hethys managed to achieve her status of uncontested power by doing absolutely nothing.
Eventually the two goliaths found each other, but it soon became clear that they wouldn’t be very compatible. Hycianus was the stronger and smarter of the two, but he had become sick of the fighting that had devastated his world. Hethys, meanwhile, still thirsted for more power, but ultimately knew she could never defeat Hycianus if the two were to become enemies. It was clear to both of them that some sort of compromise needed to be made.
In the end, the two decided to simply leave each other be, letting themselves flow adrift throughout the oceans. Neither of them were all too keen on each other, but they were both in agreement that it would be best to put their past behind them. Thanks to this semblance of cooperation, the Tide of Terror has submerged into the realm of ancient history.
Hethys returned to her old home with a newfound sense of entitlement. To this day, she keeps herself stationary in the beautiful and lush atmosphere of the Delta of Plenty, watching over her Kingdom while adorned in a new layer of golden scales. With her size, strength, and otherworldly powers, her subjects all do what they must to keep her appeased (usually involving bringing her some kind of offering whenever they can).
Hycianus, meanwhile, has since sealed himself away in the never-ending depths of the Ocean Kingdom. Having given up on hope after the Tide of Terror, his disposition has gone quite sour. As more and more Hycian civilizations began to sprout up and thrive, Hycianus has shown no allegiance towards a single one of them. Over the course of countless generations his existence has been shrouded away into the realm of mythology. Most Hycians in present-day see him as nothing more than a fairy-tale.
There will always be new characters to discover, so be sure to follow to meet each new character that appears as they’re being made. Be sure to check out Hycia’s website to meet the entire cast!
I’ll be working hard in hopes of getting another 4 characters out by Sunday, but for now I’d like to stop and celebrate hitting the 100 character mark!
We’re almost halfway there as the roster continues to expand, the aquatic world of Hycia just keeps on growing!
If you want to get to know all of the characters Hycia has to offer so far, be sure to check out their bios on the card game’s website!
Made some winter holiday fanart for @birdsareblooming of some of their oc’s. ❤️💜 I love Ripple and Rocky. I mean, they’re sea bunnies, I just couldn’t resist ><
I went with the SA2 style, it’s something I never tried doing before and I didn’t know how much I was gonna like it, but honestly… I get it now. Highly encourage anyone to try it it’s so satisfying
Go follow my friends art blog for more epicness @adhd-sonic-the-hedgehog they make tons of sonic art straight from the soul and it’s all based as hell
As I’ve continued to work hard on developing my card game, Hycia, I managed to reach a big milestone this past week. As you can see, I finally have a printed beta for the entire game, ready to work with and do some playtesting!
In the time since this package arrived I’ve already been able to gather a lot of useful information, including being able to host a big playtesting session. I hope this all helps to show anybody that I’m completely dedicated to making this project as great as it can possibly be!
I had taken a months-long hiatus to work behind-the-scenes on getting this thing printed as quickly as possible, but I’ll be returning to my regularly scheduled “4 new characters per week” as I used to do starting next Friday. I’ll be considering posting more consistently here on Tumblr on Hycia’s progress, but if you want to support this game’s production and future (or just want to learn more about it) please considering checking out these social links down below: there’s a lot more history and info to uncover there.
Earlier this month I was lucky enough to visit Chicago for the very first time (and I already wanna go back ><,).
My mother and I both were there to get a firsthand look at the German Christmas market that’s hosted there. It was an incredible spectacle, and we were both amazed by the craftsmanship of everything to be found there, including the food!
It was so surreal for me for a couple of standout reasons, 1) for being able to travel, and 2) for finally being able to see the snowfall again after so long. Since being forced to leave NY for NC it’s something I’ve really grown to miss a lot. I felt like this trip was able to fill in those feelings that had left my heart empty for these past years. It’s that rare sense of happiness that I don’t get to appreciate in the moment very often, and it made me want to stop and share so that I could preserve it here.
Being a huge marine biology nut I was also lucky enough to go visit Shedd Aquarium. I never in my life imagined that I’d get to see a 6 foot Arapaima in person, but I was positively geeking out in front of that tank for a good 10 minutes straight,,, one of my favorite animals of all time, right up there with belugas (who were also there wow what a coincidence).
It was such a surreal experience seeing these animals in person who've been inspiring me for these past few months. Hycia isn't just a card game that I'm working hard to perfect, but rather my own personal love letter to everything within our underwater ecosystems.
Anyways thanks for reading, I want to be better with sharing moments like this. Chicago was killer, and unlike the musical I didn’t get shot during the first act of the performance, so that’s a plus ig.
The Caliosteo Patrol Team always stick together, Happy Thanksgiving from their family to yours!
I feel like this year I’ve been seeing a ton of “it’s already time to get ready for Christmas!” and it’s a lot more that I usually am used to seeing in years past. I wish there was more of an appreciation for Thanksgiving and the fall season during these weeks 🍂❤️
Also I’m sorry to say this is an older illustration of mine again, and I wish I could redo this art someday with a bit more refinement 🥲
Just this past week, there was a special one-day screening in theaters of a "remastered" version of Leiji Matsumoto's Interstella 5555. On paper this is a really exciting thing to have happen, especially for me. This is one of my favorite films/anime/albums of all time, and I could honestly gush about it for as long as it would take for you to watch the whole thing start to finish :,)
But there's something more to all of this that makes the whole situation feel a bit complicated in my eyes. To summarize: this re-release, rather than being a remaster by traditional means, is one that's forced forward by the power of generative AI (you can notice it especially on Stella in the screenshot above). Just from watching the trailer on Daft Punk's Youtube Channel, things felt unnaturally crisp and, in a way, kind of "alien" to the original version I was so used to. I know that's a pretty personal takeaway for me to present you with, but it did alarm me with just how many keyframes I saw that looked very "unnaturally altered." Don't get me wrong, the picture quality is better than I've ever seen, a real shock to the system, but knowing the history behind this film and its production so well I just can't help but think about how this level of quality was something I was literally never meant to see.
This post is gonna be very different from what I usually like to share online, but since the announcement was made and the actual event has since happened, the thoughts have just been stirring in my mind nonstop. I wanted to put my thoughts out there for once, mostly because of how much this film inspires me.
The film itself is a visual masterpiece that I can't recommend enough. Headed by Leiji Matsumoto, an absolute visionary in the world of classic anime and one of my favorite artists in terms of his pure drawing style. I love a lot of his work, even as far back as Captain Harlock and the original Battleship Yamato, both from the '70s (though I'll always say that Interstella is my favorite project he was ever attached to). Considering he just passed away a little over a year ago, I'm a bit torn up over whether or not this AI driven re-release was really the best way to honor all of his hard work...
And then, if we're gonna talk about what you'll be listening to, you've got Daft Punk with Discovery, which is literally my favorite LP of all time(though I'd say in large part it's thanks to this film). I'll be honest, this post is about the visual film rather than the music, so I'm not going to be talking so much about them here. All of their songs are still there and in perfect condition, and considering these two broke up over 3 years ago I think it's an overall amazing feeling to see their music still being promoted like this (especially when it's Discovery).
It's really exciting for me to see Interstella getting a visual "update" such as this. The entire film is crafted to be a very "flow-based" experience unlike what you'd see in traditional anime/cinema. There's not a single word of spoken dialogue, and things are kept at a very brisk pace with high frame rates and detailed compositions. Not to mention the fact that the entire film is a well thought-out commentary on the music industry's hidden faults: exploitation of talent and destruction of creativity. It's a message that's unfortunately proved itself to be a timeless one, something I think we all need to refresh ourselves on from time to time. Reasons like these are why I'm really glad that this re-release even happened at all, because I think it's a wonderful thing to celebrate this type of creative and visual storytelling.
The debate I've been having with myself, though, comes from what I had mentioned before: generative AI. If you know the full story, they it might make more sense why the people who restored this thing chose to do it this way (well, besides the obvious $$$). Film restoration is a long and laborious process, but it becomes impossible to undertake unless you have the actual original film reel to work with. Toei Animation, the studio who produced the film, had scrapped the old master for the project, so there was literally no physical strip to be cleaned and re-scanned for this modern re-release. The best these new producers could do was to find a recording of the film, use it themselves, and pump that through an generative AI program. This type of approach doesn't make me feel like it was something they wanted to do, but rather saw this new technology as a means to bring easy profits, definitely a very artificial and soulless approach to promote and sell something that honestly didn't need to be remastered in the first place, but I'll talk about that later.
I should make it clear after saying all that, my opinions are very much rooted in all of these statements I'm making. I think it would be unfair for me to claim that I know all the sides of this story, but there are just those one or two key decisions made here that makes it hard for me to keep quiet. Daft Punk doesn't deserve any slack for doing something like this, they've been broken up for years and have already won me over time and time again through their music. And again, I think it's a wonderful revelation to be able to see this film shine again in theaters (even if it was only for one day). If any of you have pieces to this puzzle that might contribute to this rhetoric I'm winding here, definitely let me know by leaving a comment or messaging me. I'd love to learn more!
Because I wanna stay focused on the film itself, I'd actually like to transition to some of the more positive things I took away from all of this. I'll start with this: one thing I'm VERY glad to have noticed is that the remaster doesn't seem to be using AI to "insert frames." A common thing to see with a lot of these generative projects is a desire to have everything running at an unnatural 60 frames per second. The problem with this is that it forces these AI programs to try and fill in the blanks on their own, producing frames that were never actually made in the original animation sequence. This always end up resulting in movement that I think feels far too fluid to be compelling.
Unlike a lot of anime, and animation in general, Interstella already has quite a surprising amount of motion. I think it was likely done to try and tell as much story as possible, but there are so many sequences where I'm left surprised at just how many frames are packed into a single second of animation, lots of really quick camera panning too (High Life is a great example of this imo).
I think this whole idea of inserting frames to make things run at 60 fps is a very naive outlook on what animation is meant to offer. Letting your mind fill in the blanks is what animation is all about, and that's why elements such as breaking movement into ones and twos are some of the most powerful tools in an animator's arsenal. (This is a personal opinion I'd like to tack on, but I also think that seeing the "grainy-ness" which comes with older productions like this can make for a much more whimsical experience. It adds this dreamy, ethereal personality to certain key moments that's difficult to put into words, and it makes the overall watching experience feel much more memorable if you ask me). It makes me very happy to see that restraint from whatever team was in charge of putting this together, because Interstella is still a masterpiece in animation, even over 20 years later.
I really want to recommend that you watch this thing for yourself if you get the chance. Just get cozy, grab a good pair of headphones, turn the lights off, and take the time to appreciate this art in it's original form. The entire film is on Youtube and can be found very easily under a number of playlists, mainly because each single in Daft Punk's Discovery corresponds to a different part of the film. It still feels wild that there was this much I wanted to say about an event that's already come and gone, but I think I decided to take this leap to put some important food for thought out there, as well as to help you learn a little bit about myself. Animation has always called to me, and I've never found myself drawn to these modern-day trends that try to focus on building new spectacle from old works. Part of the fun with animation in watching it is thinking about the artists behind the screen, thinking about everything they were able to paint and produce using all of their effort. Whether it be art in a visual sense or art as presented through Daft Punk's unique music, I hope you might be willing to give this film a watch if you haven't already. (And if you have, then why not go for another ride!)
(When I rewatched this part I could only think that when Daft Punk made a cameo their reactions are really just a self-fulfilling prophecy rip)
What I’d give to be any of these guys :,>
(yes, even Luke)
An old sketch of some of my characters. Amber finally getting to visit her best friend, Alex and see his little sister, Louise, for the first time. She even got to meet their baby husky, Luke.
Alex and Amber are like two peas in a pod, as they’re both setting out on their own adventures they had the fortune to meet each other at the start of everything, each of them as lonely and in need of a friend as the other.
The more I write for these two characters the more I enjoy giving them moments where they can come to each other for the support they need. Having that one best friend to always be there for you, even if you’re stuck in a world of unknown and suffering, that may just be the thing that can keep you going when everything feels impossible
Since moving somewhere new and graduating from school for the final (final) time, thoughts like these set in deeper day by day. Getting to interact with someone face to face is a luxury I never knew I could miss so much. I hate feeling starved like this, or outright saying that I’m lonely, but I hope that me sharing this might be able to make someone else out there feel a little less alone. 🫵You. Are. Awesome!!!
This child never learned to grow
Remaining always old-fashioned,
With no lips to speak for herself.
Her eyes, though, revealed hope,
The future and the past, all may vanish.
Until eternity and duality
One the mother, the other her child
They may rest in silence, always.
If the cliff ever collapses, as it’s happened before,
Cradle and all will be the stormclouds of heaven.
Amongst the thunder exists sage honesty,
A Kind, Ugly Smile,
One only they will ever understand.
Their Thoughts whir as knives,
But No One need hear except the other.
This was the heart of it all:
A true embrace.
Unbeknownst down, ears to twirl,
The Stuffing will always be trapped inside.
Only then is it clear why they will never grow.
~
Poetry is an outlet of which I’m terrified to share with others. I feel that, with writing poems, I garner a very selfish sense of desire, one that makes me very uncomfortable. I long for others to understand me, to actually care, and it always leads to nothing but a dark realm of self criticism.
I hope, at least, that the work above wasn’t too cringe ><
As for the illustration, I made it a couple of years ago and keep it framed in my room. It’s meant to encapsulate many aspects of myself, told through singular objects that are all very important to me.
I'm sad that I don't have something new to post for this year's leadup to halloween, but this is an illustration from last year that's still very close to my heart. Everyone on Caliosteo is here celebrating together, the patrol team, the former commanders of the BB Brigade, and even Joe Wildwest himself. What's more, it seems they all decided to collaborate and dress up with some BB Brigade flare (maybe it reminds them all of the good old days).
I remember working tirelessly on this one for a near month, and it was honestly a really fun project in hindsight that I wish I could replicate. I have the distinct memory of staying up all the way until Halloween morning making sure that it was perfect, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Since the image is a bit widely cropped and not the most "mobile friendly," here are some close-ups on the batches of characters scattered around Ribular Isle. Dina and Rupert sticking close together (as usual), Cole lashing out at Lester after finding out that he stole some of his hair dye (as usual), and Pauleen's Amargo acting snarky, Todd getting himself into trouble (as usual).
Here are also some WIPs from this one. This was the beginning of the phase where I started refining my sketch lining rather than doing a whole separate layer of lineart on top of an original sketch. It's honestly super satisfying, and I recommend anyone who likes drawing to try it out!
As for the lighting, when I do a shading layer I like to change everything underneath to be a solid white, it makes it easier for me to create realistic lighting in a 3D sense, almost as if I'm forming the shape of a sculpture. Plus, when it comes out like this before adding in color everyone here looks like a ghost >< (how appropriate)
One more thing, I made these little pfp icons to go with the Halloween vibe, also making one for Kris (one of the characters from my own Fossil Fighters sequel story). All of their last names are purely headcannons of mine, but there's still a bit of meaning behind all of them.
Being that I'm half Greek, I've always seen Dino and Dina as being short for Κωνσταντίνος and Κωνσταντίνα respectively (also because that happens to be my Greek name, where Dean comes from ><) so I think it makes sense to give them a Greek last name that may or may not also connect to something in my own story.
As for Rupert (still going with my own headcannons), both he and Kris originally hail from Bockland, a European-based Fossil Park that's just as big as Vivosaur Island/Caliosteo. Both of them act so posh and well-mannered, and I'd love to come up with a reason for imagining Rupert with a slight British accent. Kris's story comes a good 9 years after the events of the first 2 games, but she shares a lot in common with Rupert back when he was her age, much more than just being from Bockland.
Thanks if you read this far. I'm both happy and sad to be able to share and talk about this illustration again. If there's anyone here on Tumblr seeing this for the first time, then I'm very happy I can share with you.
I hope you all have a happy week leading up to Halloween night!
Every Halloween season there's a special tradition I like to do in the week+ leading up to the holiday.
Over the Garden Wall is one of my favorite series in Western animation, and in the 10 days leading up to Halloween I like to watch one episode a night so I can re-live the amazing autumn experience all over again. ☺️🍂🧡
That means, technically, I start my tradition tonight!! Anyone wanna join me? ><
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