Elderlygamer In reply to TakataRikuzen [2014-02-23 12:05:52 +0000 UTC]

It puzzling why the west haven't fully adopted the art form, unfortunately growing up it was Victor and Hotspur comics for me. Thanks to the world wide web I discovered Masamune Shirow and still sit in awe of his artwork.  My dad used to say, "If you do something and do it well, even if you live in the depths of a forest,  the world will beat a pathway to your door".  Your time will come Takata, I've no doubt. 

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TakataRikuzen In reply to Elderlygamer [2014-02-23 12:47:54 +0000 UTC]

I believe even Manga originated from inspirations from the West. I know Osamu Tezuka one of the first creators of the comic genre in Japan was inspired by Disney. Shirow Masamune's Ghost In The Shell is still one of my favorite anime of all time. His art IS amazing...

Those words... You dad's one wise man. 

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Elderlygamer In reply to TakataRikuzen [2014-02-23 12:57:33 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, I shoulda listened to him

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Elderlygamer In reply to Sol-Caninus [2014-02-19 19:57:05 +0000 UTC]

Significantly elderly Sol-Caninus, as in closer to my retirement pension than my mid life crisis. 

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Sol-Caninus In reply to Elderlygamer [2014-02-19 19:59:37 +0000 UTC]

Ah!  So, around my age?!  Heh-heh.

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Elderlygamer In reply to Sol-Caninus [2014-02-23 11:25:57 +0000 UTC]

nearly old enough to start reading fairy tales again....

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Sol-Caninus In reply to Elderlygamer [2014-02-23 12:51:24 +0000 UTC]

Or, to write them (and illustrate them), instead.  

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Elderlygamer In reply to Sol-Caninus [2014-02-23 13:01:06 +0000 UTC]

.....I can only dream..

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Sol-Caninus In reply to Elderlygamer [2014-02-23 13:08:33 +0000 UTC]

my best stories are based on my dreams.  in fact, right now i'm in the process of storyboarding a dream recorded in 1972. 

The benefit of age is experience and skill.

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Elderlygamer In reply to Sol-Caninus [2014-02-23 13:30:45 +0000 UTC]

When I was younger I dreamed in colour... life happened and I no longer have colour  in my dreams   At present it's so hard to imagine what end product I want, so when I start a piece the image just leads me in a direction, sometimes an adventure other times a dreadful boring journey (the piece I'm working on now).  Skill for now eludes me....  but I'm told practice will change that... (Grits teeth)... and then there's style... I shoulda started this buzz alot earlier.

Looking forward to that dream of yours

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Sol-Caninus In reply to Elderlygamer [2014-02-23 14:09:07 +0000 UTC]

Style?  To worry about style is like being a child planning a personality.  lol.  Style happens, you don't plan it or consciously decide it.  Not that there aren't styles, or fashions, that one affects because that is what an editor, for example, demands - a Disney style, a Manga style, a Silver Age style, etc.  But your style, like your handwriting, is something that evolves, unconsciously, reflecting the sum of your knowledge, skill and experience.  The best advice about developing style is don't think about it - attend to fundamentals, instead.

Yes, you've come late to the game.  You may have to compromise.  There simply may not be enough quality time to do what has to be done.  But if the goal is to develop skill, then that is the goal.  Decide it firmly, then take the steps necessary to acquire it, deadlines be damned.  Either you will make it, or you won't.  Either way, accomplish or fail based on the sufficiency or insufficiency of your potential.  Don't be defeated by not acting in good faith.

In some ways you must go against the grain and swim against the current, which is not appealing in old age.  All the same, it is not unheard of to do it, and do it well with positive outcome.

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Elderlygamer In reply to Sol-Caninus [2014-02-23 14:55:51 +0000 UTC]

Thank you Sol-Caninus, so much... style was this mountain I had no idea how to climb, a relief now thanks to your guidance and insight.  Going against the grain... I suppose we all crave that attention some measure of success affords, but for now I'll aim for something that makes me proud.... going to finish that piece with a different energy... acquire some measure of technique or skill and move onto the next.  Thanks you again for such priceless support.

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Sol-Caninus In reply to Elderlygamer [2014-02-23 15:04:18 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome.  Just passing it along from those ahead (i.e. Andrew Loomis on the issue of style. )  

Technique.  "What is Technique?  Technique is nothing!  Technique is what we hang a good picture on."  -- Sheldon Borenstein

Skill - that's different.  By all means, pursue skill.  Skill and knowledge condition one another, so cultivate them together. (Mousashi Ryu precept.)

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Elderlygamer In reply to Sol-Caninus [2014-02-23 15:22:46 +0000 UTC]

Starting late, but with advice like that... reckon I've lopped off some years already thank you!    Another brilliant reference link, and essential guidance. 

(bows to the venerable Sol-Caninus)

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Sol-Caninus In reply to Elderlygamer [2014-02-23 18:10:13 +0000 UTC]

lol.  So, then!  My year apprenticed to Mousashi paid off in more ways than one.    (bows deeply, reciprocating.)  

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Elderlygamer In reply to Sol-Caninus [2014-03-01 12:15:28 +0000 UTC]

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Sol-Caninus In reply to Elderlygamer [2014-03-01 13:51:13 +0000 UTC]

*Footnote:  

Mousashi was a mouse - actually several generations worth - that took up residence with me for a while.  Once I discovered it, it took a little over a year to catch and remove him.  He tried this little Shao-Lin Kung-Fu trick where he said, "when you can snatch the stone from my hand, then you must leave."  To which I replied, "No way, dude.  This is my house.  You leave!"  He wouldn't.  

One day I confronted him on my countertop and complained about it -  "Who do you think you are, eating my bread?" To which he replied, as if he were the Buddha, himself (crumbs tumbling from his whiskers): "Mousashi eats his own bread!"   So began the training, which laid the foundation of Mousashi ryu (mouse-foot school). 

In all I caught 1,208 mice and released them to the wild.  That's what the "Mousashi Update" at the end of each journal is about (between Nov 2012 and Nov 2013).  BTW - the rank system is based in part on how many mice one catches in a year, and 1,208 is the number required for grand master, one of which must be done with bare hands, one by vacuum cleaner, and the rest with home-made live capture traps assembled from odds and ends scavenged from one's own home.  

Mind you, the training is severe!  If you fail to succeed within the year, you will likely go mad from sleep deprivation and suffer suicide or fatal accident.  There is no turning back.  Once you accept the challenge, you must beat Mousashi, or he will beat you.  He will not compromise, so neither must you.  It is a good lesson - and a hard one - to learn.

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Elderlygamer In reply to Sol-Caninus [2014-03-04 18:13:52 +0000 UTC]

Each year, just as the weather gets colder, I get a visit from a local wild mouse.  Like any good host I entertain my little visitor, a game of hide and seek here, a movie night and some errant popcorn there.  As my Mousese is non existant, I can only assume, judging from the similarity in appearance and temperament, all these mice are related. 

Now I'd be quite happy with that arrangement if it weren't for the fact that each year, regular as clockwork, our relationship sours, and it's normally the mouse's fault.  At that stage my little guest is escorted to the door, and returns to his family who I believe plan the next years incursion to my home.

I so wish I had a Mousachi to negotiate with.

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Sol-Caninus In reply to Elderlygamer [2014-03-04 21:17:12 +0000 UTC]

Ha-ha!  
Negotiate?  How so - when neither I nor Mousashi and his clan were capable of compromise?  (Actually Mousashi, the original, was female.  But you know how myths and legends change as they take on a life of their own).

Indeed, I wish things had been different, here.  As with you, my mother is visited at the beginning of the cold season.  Then, in Spring, the visitors vacate.  Not so at my home, where Mousashi (likely pregnant at the time) gained entrance when I accepted the gift of an old kitchen stove and refrigerator.  A friend bestowed them in return for helping to sell his house.  So the mice had lived in his house for many years and through no fault of their own ended up in mine.

Once inside my house, they had no means of voluntary egress.  So the contest of wills was also one of survival. 

No.  I would say you have a good deal.  These little guys just like to be warm in winter.  I'd not begrudge them a nest in the basement, if they could find a way in and out on their own ( - but a nest in my pants in the laundry bin crosses the line!  haha. true story).  

They are cute and very smart, but also greedy and ferocious.  They behave as lions, killing rivals and their offspring.  Much to learn from them.  And while I doubt the learning goes very far on their side, I'm certain that they prefer being captured alive and released to the wild, than being killed.    

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Elderlygamer In reply to Sol-Caninus [2014-03-11 19:12:14 +0000 UTC]

It has suddenly occured to me we may not be talking about the same species.  My mouse visitors all appear to be the ancestors of characters from children's books.  I can't imagine (or more likely refuse to believe) these mice could ever resort to murder or aggressive behaviour. 

So distraught was I by your informative and entertaining message, I have ordered a truck load of sand.  When it arrives I intend to bury my head in it and wait til later this year and the arrival of the next visitor to confirm my mice are indeed a different species.

It is puzzling though that both species appear to truly appreciate being released unharmed.... and seek warmth during the winter. 

Here comes the sand

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Sol-Caninus In reply to Elderlygamer [2014-03-11 19:56:34 +0000 UTC]

lol.

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Elderlygamer In reply to Sol-Caninus [2014-02-18 13:11:28 +0000 UTC]

Thank you good to be here, in awe of the talent around me, yours included.  Thanks for taking the time to comment, very much appreciated.

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Sol-Caninus In reply to Elderlygamer [2014-02-18 15:41:28 +0000 UTC]

Anytime.

Check out and  They also work digitally, as you - or more like half and half.  

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Elderlygamer In reply to Sol-Caninus [2014-02-19 19:38:14 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for the links Sol-Caninus,   indeed stunning and inspiring artists.  I very much appreciate the help.

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Sol-Caninus In reply to Elderlygamer [2014-02-19 19:42:07 +0000 UTC]

Anytime!

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