Game:

Counter-Strike: Source (2004)

Duration: 6:10

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1

No, the other-other "L" word:
twitter.com/yuugijoou
discord.gg/bKT9pRW

(It's not a trick, I swear! ... ... ...maybe I should've picked a different turn of phrase instead, then...)

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I recently found myself with a bit of a... fixation, I suppose, you'd say.

I will not ever actually refer to myself as an "artist" per se, because that is inherently demeaning to those who have honed their craft to the point that they can make a primary living from it... ... ... er... despite all the challenges that come associated with such, which makes me respect the craft all the more, while I'm content to merely play in the garden now and again.

Of course, that's almost as ridiculous as my proclamation that I will not consider myself a "writer" despite the fact that there's copious amounts of writing on the wall just with the video descriptions (...that nobody reads, remember that! It's the law of YouTube. You're breaking the law RIGHT NOW!) that could be used as damning evidence to the contrary.

There's also the fact that my primary professional training gets... significantly less than useful application by comparison, so maybe I can't demand people recognize me as a "scientist" after all...

Do they still take job applications for the position of "renaissance woman"? I'm willing to work my way up to it, if the entry level position is "laureate" or "village idiot" instead. Just as long as they're room for growth!

But I digress, as I often do. This IS, however, about "growth"... as... some kind of immaterial, metaphysical sort of measure for... um... just how much trouble I can create. CAN, whether or not I actually SHOULD. That kind of thing. Dangerous!

Case in point, as a the-not-artist-STILL-rather-than-formerly-known-as-Jo, I am at least intrigued by the concepts behind art. Especially the art of others. And what really IS art, if not the "hey, that looks neat, I wanna try me some of that!" of a bunch of deranged hooligans armed with media and means to inscribe it?

Which leads to some truly dark and dangerous thoughts. Terrible thoughts. Crazy ideas!

"What if I attempted to do something in the style of: ...?!"

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And once more! With feeling! I didn't actually MEAN to go off on a bender of bending people's hard work and creative endeavors into... ... ... um... whatever we're going to be charitable enough to consider any of this monstrous motivation to have ended up being.

But here we are.

This time, the unwitting and unbidden target of my vexsome eye were the creations of Bryan Lee O'Malley in a little indie publication some may know in the guise of Scott Pilgrim. (It applies to some of his other various stylings besides, although his compositions and evolution since have grown ever more impressive than this aping at straws as I grasped for... um... mixed metaphorgotten messages?)

On the one hand, it still falls under the deceptive umbrella of "simple" style... but... it's really anything but, and I consider it the most challenging of the three inaugural attempts at shoving myself into a shoebox meant for another's feet. (More metaphor?! I can't even BEGIN with what's wrong with this one!)

Well, since these people ARE more people-like in nature, it wasn't as fundamentally taxing as trying to Paper-ize, I guess... BUT... my notions of detail and proportion had to fly out the window rather promptly to try to compose some of these DYNAMIC ANGLES with bodies that are pretty removed from my concepts of what one can classify as the norm.

Not only that, but I couldn't decide on one cohesive, but still sufficiently DYNAMIC composition, so I actually forced myself to bite off well more than I could've been eager to chew.

Just to take a tiny piece of it. I defy you to look into Scott's "simple" eyes... and then say you can draw properly inscribed circles well and consistently enough to ponder such orbs without going mad. (Challenge: impossible.)

Also-also, for SOME reason I thought it was somehow a good idea to crossbreed THIS insanity with the idea that SOMEONE would pose in such a way as to appeal to "good boys and girls"?!

Listen, it would've been challenging enough to contort myself into... THAT... with actual human proportions and limitations. (Believe me, I've tried many a memetic arrangement of physicality... and... ... ... I am not nearly flexible enough to be made of ink, I'm sorry.) But then trying to do THAT... but also adhere to the differentiated limbs of a style I'm not especially well-versed in trying to reproduce... it was... kinda "lucky" I fell into it with only as much wrangling as it turned out I needed.

There's an alternate reality wherein I actually NEVER escaped, and I was doomed to the undo-mines forever, balling up digital canvases and being haunted by the piece that could have been.

But SHOULD it have been? ... ... ...I don't know that there's an answer to that. But this is the closest approximation we've got.

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I'd say I promise to avoid doing this for awhile. (It'd be a lie.)

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