On the Dio Front for Ep3 of THE ISLAND

I'll admit it, I've been procrastinating about Ep3. I guess now that I'm working, my interests are elsewhere. Almost to the point where I'm not that into GI Joe at the moment. But alas, once I get the ball rolling, I'll be back on it. As it stands now, I keep on coming up with ideas and I think I want to do things very differently for Ep3 and Ep4 and maybe Ep5. Part of my dilemna is the fact that there are 2 storylines going on.

I've got the main action w/ Graydon and the crew on the actual island.

Then there's the Serpent's Tail storyline which deals w/ Cobra's new, uhmmmm, ship.

In Ep3, there'll be a situation where the Joes aren't fast enough to take Cobra down. This leads to some catastrophic events. HOWEVER, the Joes don't know what else is up Cobra Commander's sleeve so they really couldn't have been THAT preventative. Either way, things won't quite go right in Ep3 IF I can fit it all in. Part of the problem, again, is that I'm thinking more cinematically. I want to make the story bigger and deeper and more interesting. Like it's a graphic novel.

I've also been working on Samurai Wars (working title) during my lunch break at work. I've been doing a lot of sketches and doodles, trying to get my drawing under control again. I still have the same pencil style and for the most part, inking style. But since I'm doing it all, I'm experimenting with some different coloring styles. Originally, it was gonna be a regular comic book; full color, etc. I'm considering doing it in all gray tones w/ splashes of color here and there. It's not quite like the Metal Gear Solid comic but it's not manga either. I would love to think that it'd be like Lone Wolf And Cub but my art is soooooo different, that's a bad analogy too.

In any case, I'm doing a pin-up for my man Chuck. I promised I'd have a comic for him, but well, I'm months overdue. Whilce Portacio, look out! (Wetworks was years late) I'm hoping a pin-up will be good enough for him and we'll see what he thinks of the style.

Until Next Time

I'm back.

It's been awhile. Things have been up and down but this blog is catering to GI Joe and dios and toys, while my pathetic myspace.com blog is for other things; like real life. In any case, I'll do it all here this round.

I'm working at Daiso (Of Japan). It is a 100Y store or "coin" store. A few people have called it "the Ikea of Japan". We've had a lot of people come thru who have lived in Japan and are already familiar w/ Daiso. Looking at their website, their stores are bigger than Ikea and apparently, they have the weight of Walmart! Not the worst company to work for, y'know? In any case, Daiso here is a households good store where everything starts at $1.50. ($2 in Canada, heh heh) I'm enjoying working there. There's a dress code and for the 1st time in my life, I enjoy wearing a tie and well, a nice outfit. I feel professional and worthy. Don't mind that I sweat like a pig in there when stocking.

The managers have put me in charge of the "Japanese section". Now, most people are like, "uh, it's a Japanese store w/ Japanese products, what's that mean???" It means that I take care of the tableware and specialty Japanese (funky) products. From hand-carved drinking glasses to chopsticks to wooden toys, calligraphy, mats, baskets and funky dio stuff (clay samurai statues, dollhouse furniture, etc). I was just put in charge of it Thursday so... I'm really enjoying working there. It's a different pace than Trader Joes which is incredibly nice. The management is entirely different (which is nice) and I'll admit it, I was scarred by my experiences at Trader Joes. Over 4 years there!

Yes, I learned a lot from the Channel9Store, PCC and Trader Joes. Each were a stepping stone. I learned how to stock and display items from Ch9 and TJs. I learned the art of hustle and harder work ethic from TJs as well as proper cashier training. It's great to have the retail experience of Ch9 and the hard work ethic of TJs. I believe it sets me apart from the 'kids' who work there who don't have either. I think I understand what is meant by "retail experience". It's not just throwing things on a shelf. It's learning how to display the items, where to display them properly, what looks good, etc. THAT is more important to average retail. TJ's, it's more like, stock it so it looks shoppable. Romaine Salad is Romaine Salad. Slam it in, bam, you're done. Daiso has that slightly, but I try to make sure things are faced so they look attractive. Sure, it takes longer, but when I am in control of my section, I want it to be as pretty as possible.

On the dio front... I've worked a few shots so far. Aerial scenes. I have yet to actually set figures up to shoot. I know I shold but I haven't had much time this last month. I had to work fast to get Episode2 out. But I know what Episode 3 is about (well, most of it). I have plans for the next dio (or Ep4, whichever wraps things up). And I have plans for a Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow dio. :D

That's it for now. I'm glad to be working and am enjoying it since I've had 1.5 yrs off. I didn't think I would, but I love working at Daiso.

Until Next Time...