Showing posts with label BlackUniGryphon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BlackUniGryphon. Show all posts

Sunday, April 28, 2024

Still On The Road To Level 50 in Pokemon Go & Finalizing New PokeStops


Well, I'm still on THE ROAD TO LEVEL 50 in Pokemon Go, and inching ever closer by the day....


 

I am, however, also simultaneously achieving my goals of filling up my part of town with THE BEST locations to play Pokemon Go by getting NEW POKESTOPS & New PokeGyms. 


It was my personal goal since 2018, when I'd returned to the game. I'd left playing Pokemon Go around Feb or March of 2018 due to abject frustration with the app on my old iPhone because it kept hogging space on my phone's hard-drive, filling it up with updates, and growing too large for my phone, leaving me no room to shoot photos, or other things on a constant daily basis. Plus, the updates would mess things up in the game, and never fix them. Like, originally when you when to heal & revive the Pokemon, you could use 3 fingers, and tap 3 Pokemon at a time, row by row. They also messed up the walk cycle of the Avatar in 2017, which was way more noticeable if you were in a car, and the avatar was running. So, the fact that those things were never fixed, tho update after update never made any difference in these things, and the size of the app kept growing. 

So, 1 day, in a huge aggravated huff, I uninstalled the app, thinking I was altogether done FOREVER with that game. 


But, by the end of summer 2018, it became apparent to me that social media app by Facebook (now Meta) was doing very insidious and illegal things to the users. i already KNEW about that I kept getting censored, and I figured out I was being shadow banned before there was even such a term. But, since I also was suffering from anxiety, and depression, I didn't know that FB was messing  with users to cause these illnesses specifically, but also to manipulate people to fight & attack their own friends & loved ones. I'd just about had enough of THAT... plus, FB bought Instagram. I poured over many articles, expose' interviews, and more. But, people were so addicted to those platforms, and they would not leave them, even when better alternatives existed. 


I am still on twitter tho.... at least they're not illegally archiving my private text messages and emails, and selling them.


Well, it was very difficult to leave those platforms, and I even had decoy accounts, and they saw me coming and made up excuses & reasons to force me to jump through hoops to leave those platforms. But, I finally did it.

 It was late August 2018...

Once I was OUT of the grip of FB, and I'd made the connection to soothing my depression by walking around outside every day, I wondered what i would do with myself, and my time. No more toxic FB, so what now? No more Instagram either.... 

Then I remembered that I used to play Pokemon Go. Well, now that I;d uninstalled FB & Instagram, I had plenty of space on my old iPhone to install Pokemon Go. 

I wanted to try other things that were augmented reality as well.... but, I'd remembered playing Pokemon Go, and I'd always wondered what it might be like to actually complete the PokeDex.

Like, WHAT IF I could be 1 of those few people???

WHAT IF????


So, installed the game again, and logged in. 

It seemed different tho somehow, so I had to figure out what to do, and I felt a bit lost at first.... also, the PokeGyms seemed different, and the Verizon one was gone that used to be near my condo.


So, I kept wondering who still played the game.

Do people still play?

Who are they???

I'd lived in Massachusetts & China the most since the end of 2001. But, Mostly I just lived here in Massachusetts. I felt stuck & frustrated, and every time I kept trying to get out of this place, I kept getting dragged back, unwillingly. 


So, I stepped outside and started catching Pokemon again. I would also look up all kinds of videos on YouTube for tips & tricks and found there were lots of YouTubers that regularly made videos weekly, or even daily. 

There actually were barely any PokeStops in my part of town. There was a Starbucks PokeGym down the street, then down the street from there was Colombian Square which had 2 PokeGyms, and some PokeStops, then just a few PokeStops like The Jet, and some sculpture in in South Field/Union Point with 1 PokeGym. 

When I went over to the Starbucks PokeGym, and looked inside it, I found there were actually players in there whom had left their Pokemon to defend the gym. Who were they???? 

So, I walked around for miles trying to figure out where the PokeStops were, the PokeGyms, and how to defeat a Raid. At the Time they had Mewtwo in Raids, and I had no idea what I was doing. 

Well, I kept up playing the game. I wanted to learn all that I could, Level up, and meet whoever the players were. I'd assumed they were kids, but it turned out they were all adults. 


I found that I no longer had depression, and I felt good. 

I'd only ever played casually before, but now I was out just actually playing. 

I started to become incredible fond of Squirtle that September. I was totally obsessed with Squirtle everything! 

And, I decided I wanted to find out how to get New PokeStops, and made that my mission as Autumn came around! 


Well, all of those goals have been coming to fruition now! The majority of my PokeDexes are Completed. I hit Level 40 in 2019 which used to be the last level. Now, there's 50 levels, and I'm almost there. 


But, the situation with PokeStop Creations was INSANE.

Well, we had haters & saboteurs.... 

I also played Ingress as well, which taught me a lot about strategy & long term planning, or set up & execution of a plan. 


Anyways, there were a few choice spots that were needlessly impossible. 

Well, not so much that they were impossible, its just that there were vultures spying on me, and my area.


I started figuring out their patterns, and also honed my methods. I'd change up my writing style as well, multiple times. 


So, these were some of the difficult ones over the years:




Well, there were some things you cannot fix nor edit UNLESS you play Ingress.... but you need to Level up. And, Ingress can ALSO be toxic... and brings out THE EGO...

I had a lot of frustration with Ingress during the end of the pandemic Lockdown. 


So, I'd quit playing it, but as my efforts were becoming fruitful in Pokemon Go's Wayfarer, and started running out of Waypoints to submit.... because I was completing my goals despite the fuckery of rigid pricks on Wayfarer targeting my town just because they hate me, and 1 other guy, who was in charge.

I READ THE RULES, so I KNOW WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT DO.

There were also punks moving my points off the point I placed them at, and voided them in the systems, because they're based on cells on the globe.


 

The ONLY Way to edit these points, which usually are still LIVE in Ingress, was to do Ingress Leveling Up. So, I went back into Ingress, and all the problems I'd previously had in 2021-2022 were no longer an issue, plus I had been so much more successful at getting Waypoints in through Wayfarer, so I could easily hack the Portals in Ingress to gain AP, build fields, and get the medals & badges I needed. 

So, that's what I did on some warm days in Feb, playing very minimally, on mild days, before I had surgery. 

 

 

 

 Then, the task of attempting to do the Edits from the Ingress Platform, while Wayfarer is also going through a  restructure, and even has an A.I. learning bot messing stuff up, and also banning players left & right for months. 

There's also the Niantic Wayfarer developer App for nerds & creatives to do AR stuff.... totally full of bugs tho. I did so much testing in that thing, and it never recorded ANYTHING I did yet, even tho I used it quite a bit in Jan & Feb. 


Well, it's been a combination of using Ingress's OPR-ish Location edits into Wayfarer, and putting that through the Wayfarer voting systems, plus apparently that developer app ACTUALLY WORKING FOR ONCE! 

So, basically I have achieved THE ULTIMATE LEVEL OF UTILIZING WAYFARER!


And HERE THEY ARE!

THE IMPOSSIBLE PokeStops which I did:

 


And, I also got this 1 here through which was another stubborn location. But, I believe I've honed the methods for getting Restaurants and food joints. 



There's, honestly, not much left yet... I'm basically DONE. 

Sure, there's maybe a less than even an entire handful left, but It doesn't matter much...


I had SUCH AN AX TO GRIND over this stuff, and SO MUCH TO PROVE. But, I did it!

I'm DONE.


Now, I just need to hit Level 50.


Then, I think I'm gonna read some books, do some painting, complete some film & animation stuff, n do meditations. Maybe catch a Galarian Moltres, and Power up my Slaking to MAXED OUT.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, March 31, 2024

On My Way to Level 50 in Pokemon Go & SURGERY

I'm STILL DOING ART, I have some projects in limbo, or still waiting on stuff to finish. 




I just had major surgery because I had a tumor in my uterus, and even tho I I DID NOT wanna get a hysterectomy, I had no other choice, because I could NOT stop bleeding, and was severely anemic. I was 1 point away from a forced blood transfusion, and had to get 2 hospital IRON INFUSIONS into my blood. 


Anemia is NO JOKE! And, my mental faculties were really bad. I was  a danger to myself. 

I had trouble understanding that stuff I was doing, outside was dangerous, and I became a danger to myself. 


I had 5 incisions in my abdomen, and they used 5 robots to assist the surgery. 


So, I am still in RECOVERY. 


But, I am over 1/2 way to Level 50 in Pokemon Go!


I also FINALLY ACHIEVED THE GOLD MEDAL BADGE for defeating Giovanni!

I got his JACKET & HIS GLOVES NOW!

 


 


THAT TOOK YEARS!!!!


So, that was since 2019! And it's 2024!


Unless they have MORE events per year with Giovanni, since they originally used to be every month in 2019-2020, but they're not now.... therefore, it might take JUST as many years to get the Platinum Medal, or longer! 



 

I also Hit Level 10 in Ingress! So, I unlocked the Wayfarer Features which gives WAY more access to stuff I CANNOT DO in Pokemon Go within the Niantic Lightship SYSTEM! 

And, I got 1 success SO FAR!

 


And 1 more to go!

I'm ALMOST ENTIRELY COMPLETED in my Wayfarer GOALS!



My Teacher, Bill Martone, just passed away. I was so upset. :(

He was also haunting me and pranking me for months!


 I licensed a few of my short films, so whenever the system decides to start working, they'll go into syndication on Roku TV. Right now only "Succor Forlorn" the films that festivals still pester me to enter to this day, and I don;t need anymore awards for it... THANKS! I'M GOOD! 


Just Type in "Succor Forlorn" or go to Filmzie, and you can watch in for FREE on Roku. 


The OTHER 2 short films are:

Hiems Ex Machina; Winter Cinematic Experiments

&

 Mighty Huntress X3

 -which don't have anywhere near as many awards as the other 2 films....

 The Licensing system is weird, and was reprogrammed 2 or 3 times already since the pandemic lockdown & afterwards. Other platforms I signed contracts with made bad business choices, or jumped onto the crypto bandwagon, and it went belly up.... so, lost a lot of wasted time waiting for nothing on those.

Whatevz...

So, whenever my new distributor gets the other platforms in gear, hopefully it'll go LIVE on Roku.


I am wrapping up production on the FINAL episode on a short series based on this older work:


These are the older versions, so I reworked these into a short series, I think 6 episodes, but the videos are pretty long. It's relaxation/mediation content also known in the business as "Slow content"


I'm trying it as a series, to see how that goes. 


If it goes badly, I'll try stuff as a single video.


I'm hoping the Series will work better.


and my overdrive almost entirely full.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Djehkaujaa OC Motion Graphics LoFi Video Art

 

 [SCROLL DOWN TO BOTTOM OF BLOG FOR THE VIDEOS]

I've been feeling my OC's (Original Character) a lot lately in the past 2-3 months. She's actually a dragon, but her humanoid form looks like this, and her eyes can change colors. 

I usually depict Djehkäujaa in mid 1990s European Raver clothing, or in a variety of clothing typical of Mongolian tribes, usually with pants. However, I've recently found myself drawn to depicting her in a blend of tribal inspired clothing from the Asian Steppes, including everything from Russian to Mongolian, to Kazakh, but also Turkmen, Turkoman, Sakha, Yakutia, Siberian, and several others. These cultures always fill me with a strong, strange feeling of Déjà vu, but even further beyond that. So, I've meditated on it a lot since I was 18. In fact, that's exactly around the time when I came up with Djehkäujaa when I was a teenager. 

I've also bee drawing a lot of inspiration various old novels lately, and Clip Studio Paint.   

My newest work which features Djehkäujaa is inspired by the cover artwork by "Brom" on the novel "The Unicorn" from "Legend of The Five Rings". 

I feel pretty happy with my growth & progress in implementing "design layout" which is so much better than 5 years ago, let alone 10. I'm glad I decided to stop being so narrow-minded about it, and I feel I've improved a lot. 

I actually hadn't intended to start this one yet, even tho I prepped for it since December. I used a mixture of different Software for this project including: Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, FlamePainter, and Rebelle 3. 

You can find FlamePainter & Rebelle at Escape Motions' website. 

I also HIGHLY recommend Clip Studio Paint! If you own a WACOM tablet or CINTIQ but you don't have Clip Studio Paint yet, if you login to the WACOM site in your account, they often give out a free 1 year license code that you can redeem. I personally bought a permanent during a Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal in 2020.Some thing with Escape Motion, I bought software bundles from them during those Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals. 

Clip Studio Paint is not 100% perfect, and even with an expensive video card (like I have) it will frequently crash. However, the up-sides of this software keep me hooked! It's 1 of my FAVORITE software to actually hand paint with on my CINTIQ. I like the feeling of it. 

If you like experimentation art, I also recommend Rebelle by Escape Motions, but I also recommend Krita, WHICH IS FREE. I like Krita for fine details and its also intuitive with your strokes on a tablet, even if the drivers are an outdated tablet with pressure sensitive functions don't work anymore.

This piece was a reworked version of a Clip Studio Paint "Asset" which you can get HERE. 

Believe it, or not, the fur on the final versions in these uses brushes from FlamePainter, and Clip Studio Paint. I customized the settings to colors I wanted, painted them on layers, then exported them to Photoshop where I did my clean-up editing. 

Also, if you haven't noticed, I have an obsession with Chinese Chengyun which is hard to explain in English and takes forever, ironically. It's sort of like a language arts/poetry style, sometimes its translated as an "idiom" which I disagree with as a translation. Chengyun is just 1 of this style of poetic language arts, and is probably THE MOST clever of all language arts in all of humanity, potentially even older than "ancient" but in fact prehistoric... maybe. The human beings whom came up with this were incredibly clever. There were even people whom could talk like this. 

It's like jive in some ways, but metaphors often within metaphors. In just a few words you can communicate things that are massive ideas. Not that Ancient Greek or Latin couldn't do this, but the Chinese way of doing this uses the writing system, and it involves a complex usage of more parts of the human brain that Western languages lack, or is totally void. So, it's very difficult for me. But, I enjoy messing with it. 

It's called Wen Yan, Gu Wen, or Wen Yan Wen. It's nearly impossible to effectively even translate what this is in English. The closest one could get to it is a lengthy explanation or lecture. From my perspective, I view it as a kind of advanced Poetry language Art. Making art with words, ideas, concepts, and feelings, but it relies heavily on structure, and numbers, or numerology. In a Chengyun, there's only 4 words, but this same style could also be applied to other numbers, including a persons name, or names. There are, however, other languages in the far East that have a functional understanding & appreciation of this even tho' they don't speak Chinese, but incorporate it into their own. But, its just something in the West that we will have no concept of. 

So, I often enjoy messing with these ideas myself. It's meant to be light-hearted on my end, since I'm an outsider.... like a small monkey that broke into a garage, messing with tools, trying to build something. 

If you notice a group of 4 Chinese characters in my work, those are Chengyun, or faux Chengyun (meaning I made them up based on either the structure, or I messed with a word play of a real one.) Chinese has a unique kind of grammar, so I can mess with it within a a certain margin even tho it's not my native tongue. I also can't help but incorporate so much Chinese substance into my work because my life is heavily Chinese even tho I am not Chinese. Even in my interests in Philosophy frequently return me to Chinese "thought" or "philosophers", especially Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching).


Djehkäujaa, in her humanoid form is generally meat to be depicted in PURPLE, which is a major plot point in her story, and back story. Djehkäujaa is very UNLIKE my other OC, Lively. 


I don't know why Djehkäujaa has shown up so frequently in my drawings in the past few months, but she has.

The LoFi Videos:

 The Short Versions:


The Full Length Versions:




I do have another composition I will also be doing a VFX/Motion Graphics Edit/LoFi/Relaxation peice as well:





I'm hoping, eventually, to record some of my own Jaw Harp music. But, I'm still learning. I got this one from Siberia in Russia:






Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Location: Boston Metropolitan Area, USA

Monday, January 10, 2022

Terry Brooks Fan Art Project: Inked Unicorns 'Books of Magic' via 'The Black Unicorn' novel [Magical Kingdom]

 FINALLY!!! 

I'm MAKING THIS PROJECT HAPPEN!

Books of Magic Unicorn Drawings Terry Brooks Fan Art by 任思麒 Kandice Zimbleman on 500px.com

 In the 1987 novel "The Black Unicorn" (remember the "The" so as to distinguish it from "Black Unicorn" [no "The"] by Tanith Lee in the 1990s, which is ALSO GOOD.) Brooks writes about "The Books of Magic" which were a crucial plot point in the narrative of this specific novel, which comes from his "Magical Kingdom" series of Fantasy Novels from the 1980s. 

 You can READ the excerpts from the novel which I posted HERE that describe The Unicorns in the Books of Magic.

@blackunigryphon #FanArt #inkdrawing #unicorns #TerryBrooks #FanArt #book #sketchbook #BooksOfMagic #MagicalKingdomOfLandover #FantasyArt #Fantasy #FantasyNovel #WIP ♬ original sound BlackUniGryphon


I am SO IRKED that I misplaced my original vintage copy of the novel. I literally had the dang thing, highlights withe notes & ALL in my hands in early December, but our Condo had a new electrical system installed in December, which means the entire place was topsy-tervy, and everything moved around. So, even tho I found ALL of my other novels from my teenagehood that were always kept together I CANNOT FIND THAT ONE! 

So, I had to find a digital copy online, and THANK YOU SO MUCH TO FANTASY NOVEL FANS ON THE INTERNET!!!!

I've actually made a number of art pieces since I was a teenager in the 1990s depicting a number scenes from this novel. This novel really showcased a lot of the sweetness of Brooks' heart, and sentimental side. His also uses interesting narrative devices which for its time (1980s) were refreshing, altho today might seem cliche. It reminds me of an Classical Ancient Greek style which involves the mind of the audience (or reader) like in Peter Pan, you need to BELIEVE IN FAIRIES & clap your hands otherwise Tinkerbell will die,  or if you believe in Jesus you become Deliverance & Salvation so you can go to Heaven in the Gospels. These are things the audience that hears or reads the story does INSIDE THEIR MIND by thinking and also FEELING which works very effectively, especially in a play or fairy-tales. 

In Brooks' story, he uses this concept of "The Books of Magic" in a similar manner. So without giving out too many spoilers, these Unicorns which appear to be inked drawing on white parchment paper are actually trapped unicorns. They need to be set free so that the people in other realms (like our own) can "believe in magic" which also gives Magic it's own power. This is a very ancient classical narrative style that was perfected in Ancient Greece. 

I don't want to SPOIL the story, but its connected to The Black Unicorn, which turns out to be NOT WHAT YOU THINK. 

Let's just say, The Black Unicorn IS NOT EVIL, and IS NOT A DEMON. 

YOU NEED TO LOOK PAST it's DARKER EXTERIOR AND SEE THE BEAUTY OF WHOM THEY TRULY ARE. 

The Black Unicorn is INNOCENT. 

Imagine being misjudge JUST BY HOW YOU LOOKED ON THE OUTSIDE! 

But INSIDE there is SO MUCH MORE!

This is ALSO why THOSE 2 BOOKS OF MAGIC MATTER SO MUCH IN THE PLOT! 


Actually, when I was a teenager in the 1990s I made my own makeshift, hand made, version of the 2nd Book of magic with the Inked Unicorn Drawings! But, after I graduated college in 2001, I was snobby at my old high school art work, AND I THREW IT AWAY! 

OH, HOW I REGRET THAT I DID THIS!!!!! SO STUPID! Me & my STUPID EGO! WHAT WAS I THINKING??? 

I'd made a Painting that had depicted a scene from the book with the fairies Dancing over a Lake at night to summon the Black Unicorn, which I was in high school. I didn't think much of it, but my family found that painting and framed it. I was honestly shocked since they never seemed to give a care about my art, ever. Also, no matter which house they lived in, they ALWAYS took THAT painting with them and HUNG in a room that ALL PEOPLE COULD SEE IT usually when they entered the house. 

The kinds of things people would say to me about that painting were so sweet. So many people would tell me just how much they LOVED that painting! So, I guess I must've tapped into whatever Brooks wrote, because I LOVED that scene in the novel SO MUCH that I went out of my way to make a painting depicting it. I thought I wasn't any good when I made the painting, and felt disappointed that it wasn't better. But, when so many people kept telling me how much they LOVED it, I guess I did it right after all. I guess that's the problem with ego, huh? 

So, by the Pandemic Quarantine Lockdown of 2020, I actually found my novel. Then I thought about "The Books of Magic" with the Inked Unicorns. 

Then I thought: 

Hey that would be a good project! (Then I remembered, I DID do that project as a kid, BUT THREW IT AWAY! DOH!)


So, I'd been meaning to re-create it myself.


I wasn't sure if there was still a Fandom for Terry Brooks. So, I checked! 

Oh! THERE IS!


So, I went to Michael's Art Supplies & bought a new hardcover sketchbook for the project.

 

Books of Magic Unicorn Drawings Terry Brooks Fan Art by 任思麒 Kandice Zimbleman on 500px.com

Books of Magic Unicorn Drawings Terry Brooks Fan Art by 任思麒 Kandice Zimbleman on 500px.com


The 1st 2 Inked Unicorn Drawings/Pages are described in the novel as the first one is standing still, and the 2nd is in motion. 

So, I depicted it this way on the 1st 2 pages:

Books of Magic Unicorn Drawings Terry Brooks Fan Art by 任思麒 Kandice Zimbleman on 500px.com

Books of Magic Unicorn Drawings Terry Brooks Fan Art by 任思麒 Kandice Zimbleman on 500px.com

After that, in mentions the 3rd & 4th as all different, ans all of them after that. (you can read the excerpt here)

Books of Magic Unicorn Drawings Terry Brooks Fan Art by 任思麒 Kandice Zimbleman on 500px.com

If you would like to see my ENTIRE Photography Gallery for this Project as it unfolds go HERE.

 

Books of Magic Unicorn Drawings Terry Brooks Fan Art by 任思麒 Kandice Zimbleman on 500px.com


 



Please leave your comments, suggestions, critiques, here on this Blog, or find me on Twitter!

Are YOU a Terry Brooks Fan???

TELL ME! SPILL THE BEANS!!!!





 

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Location: Boston Metropolitan Area, USA
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)