Kobi LaCroix's Journal

I have solved the riddle of the Sphinx. The answer is "H".

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:25:53 GMT

I finally figured out how to do that smooth shading effect I've been trying to get for years. I tried getting this effect in Illustrator with things like blends and gradient meshes; it was complicated, it took forever, ate up resources, and it just didn't look right. I tried it in Photoshop by staggering layers with different levels of Gaussian Blur. Took about five minutes, and I got exactly what I wanted.

I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out method has already existed for as long as Photoshop has. Still, it feels good to get that monkey off my back.

And as a bonus, here's the little how-to that you've all been not asking for:
http://www.zencavern.com/art/how/kobi-and-sixpaws.htm

Wherefore Art

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:32:42 GMT

	Conjoined Jack Russell Commisson
	This one had been sitting around for a long time. In case it's unclear, they're supposed to be jumping off a diving board.
	Wile E. Coyote Mutated
	And this is why you don't play with radioactive waste you find buried in the desert. I love Wile E. Coyote. I just wish I was better at drawing him.

Wiighra Sketch Colored

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 06:48:37 GMT

Alternate DeviantART link

I don't paint in Photoshop very often. Maybe I should, though.

Sprinkles Bumper Stickers!

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:10:44 GMT

Alternate Source

I'm really hoping this takes off, because personally I'd rather vote for a cartoon dog than any of the real candidates this year.

Sprinkles the Epileptic Shar-Pei for President!

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:15:25 GMT

Are you tired of candidates who talk big and wuss out at the last minute?
Are you sick of government full of corporate shills and terrorist sympathizers?
Are you bored with the same old politicians, breaking promises like a Tasmanian devil in a china shop?
Did that last simile make any sense to you?

Then Sprinkles the Epileptic Shar-Pei is the candidate for you! Sprinkles will not capitulate to special interests (unless they have biscuits)! Sprinkles doesn't know the meaning of the word "quit" (or "bathe", or "bladder control")! And only Sprinkles has the balls to take on America's enemies, toe-to-toe (well, he did before he was fixed, but I think the vet still has them)! In a country where so many candidates spout the same feel-good messages, only to turn around and sell your liberties and your livelihood to the highest bidder, isn't it good to know that there's a candidate on your side? One who will never sign away your rights, because he's incapable of holding on to a pen.

Now's the time, ladies and gentledogs! Make your vote count! And if you're ever in doubt, just repeat to yourself this simple phrase: "How much harm could a little dog do?"

Paid for by the Commission to Elect Claudius P. Sprinkell

Who Are You and What Have You Done with the Real UPS?

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:06:07 GMT

I ordered a new router from Newegg on Monday, with UPS 3-day shipping. Now, I'd always thought that with UPS, "3 days" means "3 days". If it shows up early at the distribution center, it sits there until the designated time it's supposed to go out. You couldn't even come and pick it up, because "3 days" means "3 days". End of story. Well, Tuesday morning I got an e-mail saying the router was in transit and expected to be delivered that day. Strange. I thought, "okay, it's probably gonna show up some time this afternoon. I'm gonna be at work, but Three can sign for it." I had to work at noon, and I was originally going to leave the apartment at 11 to give myself some time, but I ended up staying beind a little longer. Good thing I did, because at about 11:15, a UPS truck parked right outside the apartment.

What the hell, UPS? You're not supposed to have suspiciously good timing like this!

Still Not Dead

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:03:02 GMT

Wow, it's been over a month since my last post. Has anyone started digging my grave yet?

Three and I are more or less situated at the new apartment. We have the internet again, and I've been busy with all kinds of stuff. I've been riding a bike to work, I lost about 5 pounds, I'm eating healthier, getting artwork done, getting music done, got my tooth fixed (actually, I got a temporary crown; they're putting in the permanent one next Monday), I'm catching up with loan payments, got a new checking account at AFCU, recently bought a new router, thinking about upgrading the computer…

I'm making progress on my first album, "Stunt Gospel". I've finished the backing track for "Reaction", and I've done a good bit of sequencing on "It's Raining". I'm going to be posting my progress regularly on this project, beginning with this:

Reaction (Backing Track, Mixed July 5, 2008)

It's Raining (Progress Mixdown, July 3, 2008)

And then there's art:

		Work!
		Of course, cats aren't lazy. They just don't care for the concept of "earning a living"
		Work Sketches
		Some stuff I did on a slow work day. I work in a sandwich shop, so no surprise all the artwork is sandwich related.
		Howlin' Mike's House of High Sodium Chicken
		It's even sillier the second time around. This is for Metroburg.
		Piano Kanupa Color Variations
		A new character named Piano (pronounced pee-AH-no) Kanupa. He's a liquid shapeshifting alien who looks like a cross between a chameleon, a kangaroo, an octopus, and a Roger Dean painting.
		Cody and Georgia Character Sketch
		For the Metroburg characters page. Way to earn those tips, guys!
		Cody and Georgia Character Sketch (Earlier Attempt)
		I abandoned this one because it just didn't seem dynamic enough, or something like that. Rated mature for OMFG exposed nipple!
		More Metroburg Headshots
		Brian, Bob, Cody, Georgia, and Rachel. I've come to find Brian looks like an ogre without his hair.
		Wiighra Headshots
		Again, more "cartoony" this time around.
		Wiighra Character Sketch
		A sketch of Wiighra for his character page. I've decided he's an Italian lion, which means six paws gesticulating proudly, all at once, just to piss off anyone who tries to animate him. This is a good example of how Photoshop can be used to save a shabby-looking sketch. The original here is all twisted and disproportionate, and I even felt compelled to write it out. Now look at the fixed version on the right. Beautiful!

That's it for now. You may resume eating your sandwiches.

Just a Heads-Up

Tue, 13 May 2008 05:14:41 GMT

In roughly two weeks, my brother will be shipping off to Korea, and Three and I will be moving into a smaller apartment. The satellite TV and Internet will be shut off on the 15th. We hope to have cable TV and Internet installed as soon as we move into the new place, but no guarantees.

Mon, 12 May 2008 15:49:07 GMT

The best way to capture the spirit of the originals is to be original yourself.

VH1 Yes Contest

Fri, 09 May 2008 18:53:01 GMT

So I just sold my soul again (damn, that thing sure gets around). This time to VH1. They're holding a contest called "Your Move with Yes". Participants send videos of themselves or their band performing an original composition, the submissions are judged by Jon anderson and some other guys at VH1, and then they select three finalists to be voted on by the general public. The grand prize is the chance to perform the song "Give Love Each Day" on stage with Jon Anderson during a Yes concert. I only found out about this contest a week from the deadline, but I thought, "Hey, why not?" Actually, my thoughts were more along the line of "Me?.....Yes?.....together?........guhhhhhhhWANT!!!11!!1" So I holed myself up in my room for a week and finished a workable demo of my song, "Beautiful Life".

You can find the video here:
http://www.addictedtonoise.com/media/85FCFFFF00F2249C0017001CBE2B

Take a look, listen, and vote maybe? (makes cute foxy begging face…and plays a little violin for added effect)

Wow, Old Art!

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:46:12 GMT

I found some of my drawings from at least seven or eight years ago, back when I was in high school. And I'm thinking, "Wow, I had such a completely different style back then. Hell, I don't even remember drawing some of these." So here are a few scans:

boarderhorse.png
drunk-dancing-eric.png
eric-door-bust.png
erics.png
logos.png
rosenberg.png
say-k-fox.png
schedule-foxes.png
soviet-eric.png
wolftaur.png

More Metroburg Sketches

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 08:32:32 GMT

MBSB Page 9 Wiighra tends to be very particular about menu items at his restaurant
MBSB Page 10 The Texas…
MBSB Page 11 A sketch that later became this strip
MBSB Page 12 A few sketches of characters I either hadn't drawn recently or hadn't drawn at all
MBSB Page 13 A character sketch of Al the Cerberid
MBSB Page 14 A couple sketches of Tazel Sixpaws, and Dennis' rarely-seen werewolf form
MBSB Page 15 A character sketch of Coyote Carl
MBSB Page 16 A character sketch of Mr. God
MBSB Page 17 Sprinkles and the Mad Doctor Seng
MBSB Page 18 A character sketch of Dennis

No Jokes from Me Today

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:15:57 GMT

I'm in Iowa, visiting family and taking care of business. I did a whole mess of art, but alas, no scanner. I'm not making any April Fool's jokes; I forgot it was coming and didn't have anything prepared…um…I'm getting surgery to have myself turned into a King Louis XVI style settee with matching end table and throw rug. Wish me luck!

Matu

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:34:30 GMT

	Matu
	Matu is a four-armed brown bear/lion mix. This is a new alternate fursona I'm trying out, one who looks and acts more like I do in real life (well, apart from the extra arms, of course).

Productivity

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 07:42:20 GMT

I installed the latest Ubuntu build on my old 40 GB hard drive, and the experience has been as fun as it is frightening. I feel like I've been locked in a tiny room with the command line and forced to make friends. Well, now I know how to move, copy, create, and delete files from the terminal, and the terminal knows that I like to wear black socks and only drink premium vodka for the sake of my rock star reputation.

I also bought some cheap shelving for the bedroom and got some more art and music done. I've got two complete songs, and several more in various levels of completion. I might have a new music performance video on YouTube within the next week.

Work is bearable. I'm not getting urges to run out of the place screaming like I used to. So, yay (sarcastic thumbs-up).

I'm reminding myself not to worry about being as funny or talented or interesting as the so-called "big shots" I look up to. Becoming a master of any field is like climbing a ladder. You can't just leap to the top rung. I've caused myself too much frustration by denying certain truths about myself because those truths didn't mesh with what I felt I was intrinsically or had a duty to be.

I don't know, part of me feels like these last few posts are more or less a paraphrasing of Radiohead's "fitter happier". So much paranoia about not being a well-adjusted socialite. I really wish I could spend just one day doing nothing but staring at the ceiling and not thinking about anything at all.

I shouldn't be making these posts while I'm tired, buzzed, and reading Wikipedia articles about depressing music.

New Hard Drive

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 02:40:07 GMT

I'd been running out of room for my music project files on my PC (which is where I do most of my music work), so last Sunday I bought myself a new 160 GB Seagate internal hard drive. The installation was suspiciously easy, considering my profound lack of mechanical skill. Right now I'm installing Windows security updates, moving files, reinstalling programs, all that fun stuff. I'm still keeping the old drive to run Ubuntu Studio. That should be fun.

Perfect What?

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 03:30:24 GMT

Who are those people who just won Super Bowl XLII? The Ultimate Game, numerically speaking?

They ~~might be~~ damn well are GIANTS!!!

New Metroburg!

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 16:37:36 GMT

Super Wha?

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:46:39 GMT

I'm gonna end up missing the Super Bowl this year, since I'll be working all day Sunday. Not that it bothers me. The commercials have sucked recently, I dislike the Giants, I LOATHE the Patriots, and I can't stand Tom Petty.

Enjoy the game. Go Giants! You have one more chance to ruin the Pattycakes' "perfect" season.

MOAR COAD

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 05:23:27 GMT

http://www.zencavern.com/metroburg/index.htm

Changed the interface a bit, fixed some W3C validation problems. No actual art done, though the light-up green bars do look "awful purdy". *Bats at the screen like a spastic house cat*

I Has the Speeds

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:26:04 GMT

60 words

Touch Typing online

About the same as the last speed test I took. AFAIK, that's about average.

"Your New Fox Is Now Installed and Is Ready to Use"

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 03:54:46 GMT

Threetails arrived here on Wednesday, and this time he's here for an extended stay. He's studying at UALR, and his classes begin tomorrow. Everybody wish him luck!

Now if you'll excuse me, I must go BOING!

More Pages from the Metroburg Sketchbook

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 06:31:05 GMT

MBSB Page 7 In Color More Al, more Brian, more Carl, more cats.
MBSB Page 8 Totally Unsafe Fun with Lemons!

Also, happy 2008, everybody!

Desk

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 04:17:54 GMT

I got a new desk from Office Depot. It's a huge gray brick with a black glass top–It looks like a work bench you might find in somebody's garage, not in an office or bedroom–but it's got more than enough desktop space, and I think having a lot of stuff on it will probably deemphasize the "brickishness" of it. Aaron, the assembly wizard (can you sense the sarcasm here?) insisted on assembling it all by himself (after bitching about me buying it in the first place). Post-assembly, everything seemed to be perfect until I put my keyboard on the keyboard tray. It wouldn't fit; the tray was too high. Now, I don't think I have a "weird" keyboard, per se. It's a Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro. A Microsoft product. I know not everybody has one, but it's not something so obscure and mystical that you shouldn't expect desk designers to accommodate for its size. But there you have it. We fixed the problem by flipping over the tray and installing it upside-down. I decided, just out of curiosity, to look at the picture on the front of the box the desk came in, and the tray clearly sits lower in the picture, but I just can't see any way to move the real tray down that far. I might stop at Office Depot again to take a look at their floor model, but for now, the desk is working for me in its modified state.

Random Pianoness

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 05:24:58 GMT

Tinked around on the piano a bit, came out with this: