I forgot to post this art up here. It’s Bumblebee and Fix-it from the new Transformers: Robots in Disguise series. Not to be confused with the old Robots in Disguise or the Robots in Disguise comic book which are both totally different than this. Hey, I don’t name this stuff!

I had not seen it the show yet when I drew this as it had not yet aired, but now I’ve watched the first 2 episodes and I like it so far. I worked on this whit streaming online via Picarto and I will be doing more of that in the future, so follow me on Twitter to find out when. You can watch as I draw, listen to some cool tunes, and chat!

Also, I have recently been posting some of the artwork I did for a first year school project. The assignment was to take a video game and turn it into a board or card game so we would learn about how game mechanics and create the art assets. So, I picked the Scott Pilgrim Vs The World game.

Scott Pilgrim is an amazing comic book series that I absolutely devoured when I first read it. The movie is my #1 favorite movie of all time. I had a lot of fun working on the drawings for this project, despite being sick and having to work beyond the end of the semester on it all. I wanted to at least share the artwork on it’s own without getting into all the extra game-related material on there.

There will be many more of these so keep watching my deviantArt account. I did not get around to drawing the entire cast so maybe I will draw some of the characters I didn’t get to eventually

Sayonara

Hello and happy new year or whatever.

I posted some new artwork on my deviantArt account. Well, it’s not really new, it’s all stuff some last year when I was in school. I wanted to touch it up a bit before uploading. Though, “a bit” became “a lot” pretty easily. Who even really likes their school projects after handing them in anyway?

Dinosaur by ninjatron on DeviantArt

This dinosaur guy here is probably my favorite. It’s a style I’ve been playing around with and hope to experiment some more on some future art.

Also, deviantArt changed their logo recently and I did a journal entry on my thoughts. Spoiler: I don’t like it!

Sayonara.

Last week I took a trip to Toronto for a visit. I had not been back there in about 3 years. The trip there was quite perilous and snow filled, which I posted pictures of on Twitter as it was happening, but well worth the effort to return to civilization for a few days.

I spent most of the time exploring and shopping, picking up some toys, books and movies. Luckily for me, there was a special Nintendo event happening in town to celebrate the then-pending release of Super Smash Bros for Wii U and Pokemon Omega Red and Alpha Sapphire on 3DS, and I was not going to miss it.

There were lots of game stations set up for people to try Smash Bros. on Wii U, a stage for 8-Player Smash battles, an Amibo display, lots of photo opportunities with cool backdrops, cosplay, freebies, and an intricately decorated cake. Yes, even Mario and Luigi were there. As if I was not going to get a picture with them!

We all got to play Smash Bros. for Wii U a day before release, which was great. Everyone who played got a Smash Bros Champion belt. I won a match with Jigglypuff and had this photo taken for posterity. You might note the stark visual contrast between myself and my chosen character in this instance, but there is no arguing with victory. Of course, the guy I was fighting against also got a belt, so it’s all good. The belt is just cardboard, but who cares? It’s totally awesome! Unfortunately, Jigglypuff did not fair so well when I took the stage for an 8-player Smash, which was a chaotic and hilarious mess.

It was a very fun day overall. I really felt, in all the lights and noise and enthusiasm over these games and characters, that this was home.

Sayonara.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS was released recently. I preordered it and have been having a lot of fun playing it since it’s release day. Of course, being a major game from Nintendo, there wasn’t much reason to believe that it would be anything less than great. Still, keeping in mind that this is the first Smash Bros. title on a handheld system, it’s pretty amazing to see just how little compromise was made to recreate that fun gameplay we know and love from the prior home console releases. The game plays great, the secret characters are cool, and there are plenty of surprises.

It was kind of a strange feeling to hold that package in my hands and know that I am about to play this game for the first time when there has been so much anticipation building up for well over a year. The roster reveals, video posts, and trade show exhibitions made for a finely cultivated atmosphere of hype. Things really reached a fever-pitch during this year’s E3 when a large tournament was held. Even from home, this tournament was incredibly fun to watch. It was later that night, though, when an announcement video was released that got me hyped beyond anything else I’ve seen.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/dVz-2VuAYlY[/youtube]

Pac-Man! The character I most hoped for is in Smash!

Of course, Pac-Man’s inclusion wasn’t entirely unexpected, as Bandai Namco was involved in the production of the game. Still, I have to admit, I got pretty excited after seeing this, especially since his implementation into the game looks so well realized.

Why Pac-Man, of all characters? I don’t know. There’s nothing about him that seems suited to fighting games, even less so than some of Nintendo’s usual characters like Kirby. Maybe the novelty of that is a big reason why. But he’s such an iconic, important character in the history of Video Games. It’s only right that he’s represented in the era-spanning mash-up of Smash Bros. They really made him into a fun character to play as, and a lot of creativity has clearly gone into giving him the moves to stand toe-to-to with any other fighters.

Captain Falcon was always my favorite character in Melee and Brawl, and I’ve enjoyed playing as him and the other characters too, but in my time with this new incarnation of Smash, it’s been all about Pac-Man. Having Mario, Megaman, Sonic, and Pac-Man all in one game together is totally cool. Whenever I set up that match, I fight to make sure that Pac-Man wins.

As great as it is having Smash Bros. any time on the go with the 3DS, I think the main event is going to be when the Wii U version comes out in a few weeks. I’ll be practicing my Pac-Attacks until then.

Sayonara.

Last month I went to TFcon 2014, once again held at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel in Mississauga, Ontario. This year, the show was held a little bit earlier in the summer, on July 11-13 instead of towards the end of the month. As usual, TFcon promised a fantastic gathering of Transformers fans, with plenty of activities, a huge dealers’ area to buy toys, and lots of fun connecting with old friends and making new ones.

In previous years I drew a comic to go along with the voice actors script reading, but it always took up so much time that I felt I shouldn’t do one this year, having just graduated from college. It was the right decision, but since this was the first year in a long, long time that I have not contributed to TFcon in any way, it felt like something was missing for me. I kind of felt bad about that, so it was a different experience.

Also, my usual partner in crime, the infamous Guber, was not in attendance this year. He was stuck in Turkey as part of his strange globetrotting adventure. A TFcon without Guber is like a Tranformers toy missing its accessories. Its weird, rainbow-colored accessories. So, if only for that reason, it seemed like a much quieter, more subdued event.

The Transformers costumes seen at TFcon get more and more impressive with each new event.

Here is a close look at the winning costume. As I understand it. Prowl was made out of a Power Wheels car.

Knock out, Soundwave, and Shockwave.

Gary Chalk (Optimus Primal in Beast Wars and Optimus Prime in Armada/Energon/Cybertron) made his 3rd appearance at TFcon, and is always a fantastic guest. Making his first appearance was Neil Kaplan, who played Optimus Prime in Robots in Disguise. Neil and Gary had a panel together that was one of the nest voice actor’s panels I’d ever seen. They were both really informative and absolutely hilarious. When the discussion turned towards how they had become “Budget Peter Cullens”, they both started doing Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh as Optimus Prime. It was so incredibly funny that I had tears in my eyes.

That night at the bar, I got a chance to talk to Neil a bit and listen  is him go on about cartoons, movies, monsters, super heroes, and everything else that’s awesome. He really gets the whole convention scene and is a totally cool dude. He even tweeted me while I was on the way home on Monday. It was like TFcon was still happening in the car.

One of the highlights of the show was the concert by The Cybertronic Spree, a rock band that dresses up as Transformers characters and plays music from the 1986 Transformers movie. They put on a great show that is totally unlike anything you’d ever seen but just as awesome as you’d hope. Unicron on the left plays guitar in the band.

Plenty of toys to buy. It had been awhile since I bought some toys, as I no longer live in a city with a Toys R Us. So, I had to take the opportunity.  Here’s what I picked up.

Generations Sandstorm, Beast Hunters Optimus Prime, Generations Rhinox, Fall of Cybertron Sideswipe, Starscream, Air Raid, Jazz, and Ultra Magnus, Prime Rumble, Kup, and Hotshot, and finally, a Darth Vader with removable helmet. Nothing too special, really. No crazy exclusive Japanese recolors. Just some recent toys I didn’t have and was able to get at decent prices.

Well, actually, there was one other toy that I picked up. Something very special. So special, in fact, I’ll save it for its own post.

Of course, there is much more to TFcon than pictures can convey, and so much more than just buying toys. It’s a great fan community experience that no other convention can match. To wrap this up, I’ll say that, by this point, if you are are a Transformers fan in Canada, or are in close proximity to Ontario, and you have never been to TFcon, you are certainly missing out. The staff is always on the ball and the fans are a big part of why this convention is so memorable. It’s like a big family reunion, except it’s way better because there are also robots.

If you’re not in Canada, and maybe even if you are, TFcon is now running a second show in Chicago. I’m not sure if I can make it to that one, but I definitely want to.

I used to go to several sci-fi/anime/comic/toy conventions in the Toronto area every year. I wish I could still do that, but I live too far away now. So, there’s only enough room in my year for one. I’m glad I make that one TFcon.

Sayonara.