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TessCas

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I thought I should apologise for having (yet again) been a terrible person with regular updates. Life, as always, got in the way. But that is becoming a very regular, very monotonous thing that I keep saying. =) So I think I'm going to stop as, by now, you all know the drill.

One of the reasons I sometimes lose focus on my art projects... is the sheer amount of AMAZING things in the world.

Like seriously.

Maybe I get amazed very quickly but there are so many, truly, great games, films, TV series, books, comics, youtube channels etc out there that balancing 'creative input' and 'creative output'.... is a little difficult at times.

So instead of apologising... let me share with you some of the works of art from the pool of things I get really frickin' passionate about. 

:excited:

Battlestar Galactica.

Yes. I know. It's really quite old. But I am talking about the 2004 version and it is fracking beautiful. (And there won't be spoilers)

At its most basic Battlestar Galactica is about the human race going extinct when the Cylons (robots built by humanity that then rebelled) decide to persecute the last remaining members of humanity after a surprise attack on the colonies. The 50 000 humans left are all part of a fleet searching for a new home, their long lost 13th colony.... a planet called earth. 

But that's mostly just background info.

What the show is really about is the multitude of realistic and engaging characters that make up the Battlestar Galactica's fleet. When the main problem an episode has to solve is a water shortage in outer space.... that doesn't leave a lot of room for action. So the characters have to take over. And boy do they do that well! Between characters suffering from overwhelming guilt at having helped humanity's extinction to a president having to struggle with issues of making abortions illegal or dooming the human species to extinction.... you never get bored. There is a whole plethora of interesting characters that have interesting relationships with other interesting characters in a uniquely realistic manner.

You can't help but love all these characters who have to deal with issues such as the survival of humanity or fighting Cylons ... but they also have to deal with issues like raising their child, identity crises, being in love with two people at once, workers' rights, having cancer, having to fill their father's shoes, mutiny, or having their best friend betray their trust. To name just a few.

And hey - so far this is the only show that has me literally punching the air and shouting 'YES!' under my breath all alone in my room as Starbuck completes a particularly gripping mission to save the fleet! (that is a level of engagement that is truly hard to find)

The regular structure for episodes in a TV Series is as follows: A norm is disturbed by something - the characters go through crazy adventures in order to solve whatever messed up their norm - The norm is reinstated and life goes on until the next episode. Battlestar Galactica galactica takes this concept and throws it out of the airlock. The 'norm' in this show is never truly achieved. Though the characters try, they never manage to keep the fleet perfectly afloat and the society functioning as it should, as it could. The 'norm' is unattainable but always sought after and that is what drives the show forward.


I believe that this video by Ishay Roslin BSG perfectly highlights what I love most about the show:

 

But it isn't all depression and angst - believe it or not - it's kind of sweet and funny like people have to be in these situations in order to stay sane! There are 4 seasons and a few webseries, films or spinoffs that are all as good as the main series, so there is bound to be an abundance of comedy, drama, action, and even some mystery thrown in there as well.

On top of the content, the show is technically great as well! When you can have a 3-4 minute dialog composed entirely of extreme close up shots of the actors' faces and have that be the climax of the episode... you know you have hit cinematic gold. And yes - the special effects are a little outdated but that seems to only add to the style and atmosphere of the world. One more aspect I must praise Battlestar Galactica on is its diversity. Especially for a 2004 TV Series. In all its depiction of humanity as a doomed species, we, as the human race, did manage to eradicate racism, sexism, and homophobia in this universe! And I must say that this is refreshing to see.

And before I smother everyone in my praise for this masterpiece... I will cut it short. I hope you discovered something new, or re-discovered a past joy - If you have already seen this show, I want to know what your opinion is!

I want to know what your opinion is regardless in fact, so just comment  below =)

Good day or night!

:sleep:


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Hello all!


And yes, I suppose it is a little late for a 2015 'resolutions' type of journal, but that is because I am actually serious about all this :D I wanted to wait until I saw that I could keep up with my resolutions to announce them.

So - to what actually matters to you!

For some of you who might have been watching me for some time, you might be sad to know that I am post-poning working on my comic, Tracks, as I simply don't have the experience to make that comic good. And I want it to be really good. So I'll be waiting a few years until I feel more comfortable with it to resume working on Tracks. 
BUT

I have three very, very interesting projects that I am currently working on and I know most of you will be very excited about them =)

NUMBER 1


A The Last Of Us fancomic. Yep. That is most definitely under way and I cannot wait to get some of these pages out to you guys because I think it's going to be good. The idea is to have a look at what happens right after the outbreak of the cordyceps. In the background we will have society slowly deteriorating, and in the foreground it will all be about how Joel gets over the initial shock of Sarah's death and crosses that first moral line. So stay tuned for that, I've currently got about 10 pages of script but it's all a little incomplete so far...


.... Tell me what you think!

NUMBER 2


Another fancomic, but this time I'm not writing it. After 2 years of nagging I finally got a friend into fullmetal alchemist and now she has decided to write a royai modern AU.... and I get to draw it!! I'm super excited about that too and it is coming along very, very well, I have to say.

Young Riza by TessCas   Young Roy by TessCas

And THIRD but not least...


I am trying to set up a monthly webcomic review journal called THE WEBCOMIC QUEST in which I'll be reviewing all sorts of webcomics just so we can all share our knowledge and appreciation of awesome webcomics! All the love for the webcomics basically. So if you have any suggestions, do comment with them as I want to review things that aren't necessarily webcomics I already know of and ones that you like too!




So these are my three goals for this year. I'm pretty confident that they will get done and I hope you are excited to or will be excited to see all these things coming to life! I know I am. So I hope you can share in that. 

Please, please, please let me know your thoughts, tell me if you're interested, if you don't care, if you think I'm talking nonsense - whatever your thoughts are, lemme know! :D



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SPREAD THE ART!

2 min read
Hello there - I hope you are all having a great day, week, and month :D

So KTierson had a great idea to participate in this art sharing thing and I thought I would do the same. This website is all about discovering new art and artists so why the hell not?! Those are the 'rules' to this thread:
  • The first 7 people that comment on this journal will be featured in a follow up journal and I'll choose three deviations I like most from your gallery! I'll take this a step further and give reasons why for each artist. 
  • If you comment, you must to do the same in your journal, putting the tagger (me) and three pieces of my art on the first place. 
  • The idea of this is not to get a free feature, it is to spread art around for everyone. 

So here we go!

These are all images from :iconktierson: KTierson's gallery. This guy has one hell of an imagination and is constantly creating new pieces of art, new designs, new characters, villains, monsters for his comic project. The designs are often rough and the only colours are mostly different hues of  greys creating an amazing, unique style as well as wells as striking designs! Be sure to check out the rest of his gallery!

    

.... and to comment if you want to have 3 of your artworks featured in the next journal!
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Hello everybody!

So I have been completely absent from Deviantart for over a month now. Life, work and family got in the way but now I think I can get back to my schedule. 
I've got a few things planned for you and I'd quite like to know what you want from me.

I'm currently writing a comic for which I finally found a title - Tracks. It's a fantasy adventure revolving around a young, over-enthusiastic girl who decides she wants to lead a life full of adventure and heroism. So she joins the Bounty Hunter/Police force of this world in order to achieve that. However, she is stuck with a depressed, grumpy man who really, really, really cannot be bothered to train her up. It's about discovering the world and chasing your dreams as well as dealing with reality and how your dreams don't always turn out as expected. So you'll be seeing a few bits of writing as well as various illustrations and maybe some test strips as well!

Other than that I plan on continuing to study anatomy - are you interested in me posting some of those sketches up here or not at all?

I will also be doing speedpaints. That is something I need to work on as my use of colour and painting skills are not what they could be. Or woudl you rather I illustrate certain stories? I coudl take a story and draw illustrations as if I were illustrating that book. Which would you prefer?

I do not want to exaggerate so I will try to stick to only this. Otherwise I'll just end up disappointing myself and you even more. 

So tell me which of these things interest you most! :D

Have a good back to school/work/uni whatever or simply a good continuation!
Tess
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Be free, Genie

2 min read
We all know this by now, but a great man has died recently. 

This man may or may not have changed the world, but he certainly made it a better place. Made it more understandable and relatable through his unique humour and deep sensitivity. And worst of all, I only realised today just how much of an impact Robin Williams had had on my life without my realising it.

He wasn't a booming force of inspiration, more like a caring storyteller who accompanied me throughout the years.
I never went on a Robin Williams binge, or actively sought out his films. Instead, he appeared continuously in random films that I ended up watching. All of them great films, as is his habit. 

The first time I saw Robin Williams, was in Mrs Doubtfire. I couldn't remember that film very well, I only had a vague recollection of a few scenes, a sense that it was one of the best films I'd seen as a child. We watched it once when I was about 8 on VHS, with the whole family. Since then I had often thought of the film, but never watched it again. Coincidentally, they were showing Mrs Doubtfire on TV tonight... and I had the immense pleasure of re-discovering it. We once again sat down as a family (minus my father, ironically, considering the theme of the film) and watched it.

We laughed, and laughed, and then cried a little bit. Then chuckled until we were all rolling around in fits of laughter. Finally the film was finished and we were all still sat there, staring at the credits. Each of us was wearing a stupid smile on our face and a few tears at the corner of our eyes - a little because it was sad, a little because it was hilarious, but mostly because it resonated within each of us.

And that is something few people in this world are able to do. Portray life in such a heartfelt, honest manner - entertaining and educating at the same time. 

Robin Williams was a master at this. And he will be missed.
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Featured

The Watering Hole - Battlestar Galactica by TessCas, journal

Things to look forward to in 2015! by TessCas, journal

SPREAD THE ART! by TessCas, journal

Devious Journal Entry by TessCas, journal

Be free, Genie by TessCas, journal