High Rollers Part Two: Fan Art

I bet you weren't expecting Part Two so soon... Anyway, to continue on from the last post, another thing that I love about the High Rollers (and Yogscast in general) is that they encourage people to do fan art and fanfic of their characters. It not only shows support for the series but builds a community, as well. Already, only three episodes in, there is quite an abundance of work on Tumblr and Reddit. I did a little ink sketch I tweeted for Episode 3 during which Trott (aka Cam Buckland) was away at PAX South:

This little sketch started a landslide and I just kept doodling more and more High Rollers related goodies. I'm not the best artist, but I just had so much fun doing these, that I decided to share them!

Step of the Wind
Jiutou's special Ki Point that allows her to disengage with an enemy

The Power of Duracell
Cam Buckland's dagger Duracell which can cast Light

Arms of Hadar
Dark tendrils that lash out around Trellimar to push away foes

Shillelagh
Elora can focus the power of Nature through her quarterstaff

 

A vine zombie, the angry spirit of Queen Ayandris, & a will-o-wisp 

 

The Evil Tree of Golthian

I hope that you enjoy my fan art, but even more I hope you check out High Rollers. I'm hoping that this series continues on for a long, long time to come. Until next time!

High Rollers Part One: Characters

I'm a big fan of the Yogscast crew on YouTube - if you're not familiar, I suggest you give them a look. Recently, on Yogscast Live, which airs livestreams from Twitch, a new series started called High Rollers. Rather than streaming the team playing video games, it's a switch up to them doing a live D&D session. The nice thing is that, especially for a novice like myself that knows very little, they are starting from scratch with players who are relatively new to the game. I wasn't sure what to expect, but after the first episode I was hooked. The characters are just so much fun to watch and the storyline created by GM Mark Hulmes is just enchanting.

Above are the characters, as created by the Yogscast official artist, Nina Serena. Staring at left we have:

Elora Gelanodel, a High Elf Druid played by Katie. She's friendly and often the most judicious of the bunch, but she's not afraid to get in on the action, either.

Cam Arune Buckland, a human trickster Cleric played by Trott. An entertainer, he is the clown of the bunch and often plays things off as a joke. But there is a tragic side that he is trying to hide from the others.

Jiutou Zhiji Jing, a Teifling monk played by Kim. She's extremely driven in her quest to free other enslaved Teiflings - so much so that she cares little for anything else. Though she tries to keep an emotional distance, she's come to aid of her fellow travelers several times.

Trellimar Aleath, a Drow Warlock played by Matt. Quiet and mysterious, we know little of this character and his background. He seems a bit accident prone (due to poor rolling) and is often rescued from near-death by Elora.

I feel like I'm not doing them justice with these little blurbs, but you can see for yourself how much fun they are by watching them live on Twitch on Sundays at noon (EST) or the episode "rerun" on Yogscast Live any time once its been uploaded. As I had so much I wanted to post, I decided to break this into two sections, so stay tuned for Part Two, coming soon!

Right To Love

If you haven't yet had a chance to watch the "Right To Love" video by Vinnie & Luke, better known on YouTube as V-Squared, here is you're chance. It's amazing to see them use their social media platform in such a socially responsible way and giving a voice to a topic that is often overlooked. Congrats, guys, and to all of those who sent in videos, thank you, too. And, though I didn't send in a video myself:

"I support your right to love!"

Love It, Hate It!

This week on Love It, Hate It!...

Love It!
1. My Fantasy Life. If you're not playing this you should buy it. A bit text heavy, but it's an incredible, immersive game.

2. Homage to the gimmick arrows on Arrow. This week's episode showed the classic boxing glove arrow, though it was accidental, it was still awesome.

3. Couplescraft. YouTube super-boyfriends, Will and RJ, team-up in a new Minecraft series. My only complaint: I wish the episodes were longer than 10 minutes!

4. Justice League 3000: Yesterday Lives. Volume one compilation of the series is one of the best things to come out of the New 52. It's harsh and violent, but the characters really grow on you. And the twist at the end...

5. Grayson #4. Great art, great fun, shirtless Dick - nothing else matters.

Hate It!
1. Dumb and Dumber To trailers. I'm so sick of seeing this trailer every five minutes online and on TV.

2. The Pied Piper costume. I think Andy Mientus is adorable and the perfect choice to play Hartley Rathaway, but who designed this awful costume?

3. The Bane Chronicles. I picked it up because Magnus is one of the only good things to come out of that terrible series and I want to support of having more mainstream LGBT characters out there, but this book is historically horrific. Perhaps Clare should do her research from someplace other than Wikipedia.

4. Black Friday on Thanksgiving. As a former retail slave I speak for those poor souls now forced to work Thursday night. How about giving them ONE day to spend with their family before sending them off to battle? (When exactly did Thursday turn into Black Friday Preview Day instead of Thanksgiving?)

5. BAM. I love bookstores and I'm sad that they seem to be slowly disappearing. I traveled an hour away to the giant Books A Million store hoping to pick up 6 books that I've been wanting to read for a while now and they had none of them. Zero. Sure they could order them from their warehouse, but if I want them shipped to me, I'll get them from Amazon.

Love It, Hate It

It's that time again.

Love It!
1. Daniel Radcliffe rapping. Old news, but this clip of Dan doing "Alphabet Aerobics" is amazing! It's like magic...

2. "I Ate All Your Halloween Candy." My professor actually showed us this clip from Jimmy Kimmel Live in class, and I still think it's hilarious watching it again today.

3. This week's Gotham. If you didn't see this week's episode, you have to watch it. I was on the edge of my seat the entire hour.

4. Diversity 2 with Stacy and Cupquake. I loved the interaction between these two as they struggled through the challenges in the original series. Now they're back for another round, and I'm hooked already.

5. Packages from Dean Draws. I posted about him before when I received my first commission pieces from him, and I was surprised again with my most recent order. Expect another post soon showing off my swag.

Hate It!
1. The "Alex from Target" buzz. I have no hate for the kid himself, but this media frenzy surrounding him is ridiculous. Leave the poor guy be, I'm tired of seeing him every time I turn on my phone or computer.

2. The Flash in reruns. Seriously, CW, the series is only five episodes in and you start replaying already?

3. The Simpson's Tapped Out. OK, not the whole game, but this final run of the "Treehouse of Horror" event. Seriously, the price (protein strands) of the prizes for this final run is ludicrous. It's an obvious ploy to get us to spend money buying donuts to get them.

4. Christmas movies the day after Halloween. It doesn't really need more elaboration...

5. Being the last to see a commissioned piece. I don't mind an artist posting a piece of art that I've commissioned on their blog or whatever, but at least send it to me before you post it for the world to see. Am I wrong in thinking that?

Love It, Hate It

Everyone has things they love and hate, and what better place to vent about the bad and rave about the good than online for the world to see. I've been thinking about adding in this onto the blog for a while now and finally decided to do it. I'm not sure if this will become a weekly thing or monthly - I suppose it depends on my school schedule. Regardless, here is the first Love It, Hate It!

Love It!
1. The Avengers:Age of Ultron teaser trailer. If you didn't see it yet, check it out here.

2. How To Get Away With Murder. I can't watch the series on TV because of class, but it peaked my interest so I started watching it online.

3. The Simpson's Tapped Out: Halloween. This year's Tree House of Horror is oddly alien themed, but I'm excited to have my favorite THOH character: Hugo Simpson, the "evil" twin, added to my roster.

4. The Superior Foes of Spider-Man. I picked-up "Getting the Band Back Together" and am really digging this series. Who says superheroes always deserve the spotlight?

5. Ray Palmer on Arrow. I was a bit confused when they added the character to the series line-up, but I think he's a great fit so far. I know Brandon Routh got a lot of slack playing Superman, but I'm excited to see him pull on the tights for The Atom!

Hate It!
1. Venipuncture! We've started poking people in class and I just can't get the hang of it.

2. Price gouging freelancers. I can understand if you are extremely talented and in high demand asking for a bit more, especially if it is your only source of income. But for a newbie, unestablished asking outrageous prices because they think they're the best... pass.

3. AMC Fearfest 2014. I keep seeing the same few movies over and over and over... how about switching it up and maybe playing some B&W classics?

4. The end of "Diversity" on YouTube. Well, the "Minecraft Diversity" series being played by Stacyplays and Ihascupquake - I'm ready for Diversity 2, ladies!

5. Mr. Pickles. This new (new to me, at least) series on Adult Swim ruins my Sunday night of cartoon watching.

Why Do I Do This?

I had planned to write a bunch more posts while I was on break, but I had a last minute offer to go to New York with a friend. As I've only been there once before, I jumped at the chance to spend another day in the RL Metropolis. This post was originally going to be about my trip, but something happened that I feel more inclined to write about.

So, I recently got a Twitter message about buying followers. Specifically the message said that I can buy 5000 followers for a mere $15.00 sent via Paypal. It sounds like an amazing offer because, of course, everyone involved in social media knows that numbers matter. Popularity through views, likes, favorites, followers - no matter how you classify them, quantity matters. The more you have have, the better you are, right?

Maybe that's true. There are amazing content producers out there like Tyler Oakly and Shane Dawson who make their living through social media. Their livelihood depends on their creativity: keeping their fans entertained so that they don't unsubscribe while simultaneously drawing in new followers. Yes, for them and thousands of others, things like YouTube, Twitter, and Tumblr are perhaps a game of numbers and trying to stay on top.

For me, having something like a Twitter or this blog was never about trying to become a social media superstar. This is my chance to have my voice and my opinion heard; a way to express myself and find others with similar interests who want to comment or debate. I'm not set on building a vast empire of followers who worship me - that kind of power and celebrity is scary. Look at the recent Nash Grier debacle as an example. Yes he is young and what he did was meant as a joke, but in today's socially-charged climate what he did has cost him dearly. It means the loss of fans, the loss of his respectability, and (from what I've read) the possible loss of a movie deal.

This very blog, as a matter of point, is the perfect example of why I do this. The Interwebs is the modern day soapbox where I can voice my opinion and, if you are so inclined by my rant, you can stop and listen. In fact, join in and debate or comment if you agree/disagree with me. Ahhh, it feels good to get that off my chest. Stay tuned for something more light-hearted and fun next post!