He leaves and returns a year later and asks the painter for what he paid for. The painter proceeds to give rich dude a single painting of a crow. This painting of the crow was magnificent and flawless, however it was just a single painting. Angry, the rich dude yells at the painter, telling him he expected a huge stock of paintings. To which the painter replied - "This painting is the product of months of dedication and hard work. If quantity is what you want, take these."

The painter shows the rich dude a huge pile of paintings in his home. Hundreds, all of which are of the same crow, yet all raw, unrefined or incomplete. Over the year he toiled away on a single image and perfected it.

This ain't my crow, but I've finally drawn what I feel is my version of Spider-Man.

Of course, there still feels like some thing is off. The main thing is that I haven't done a lick of art in awhile. I feel like I'm losing touch with a part of me that has been very important to me since as long as I can remember. It makes me wonder how big a part it really was, like is it all in my head? Do I need to be labeled a dreamer, but not the cool kind that conjures up actual ideas. One that likes to posture and make the motions that seem right. I wonder if it's any better to be a dried up riverbed. Did anyone ever sail?

I don't want to become a silhouette.

I'll bring my digicam and take as many embarassing photos as I can. Feel free to come cheer me on...the 2 people that actually read this blog.

Granted, this doesn't mean that everyone is a rip-off artist or that any work that's been inspired by something else isn't any less worth enjoying. It does makes you think about the intentions though. Lately I've been approaching this from the vantage point of a creator (term used very loosely). I'm not setting out to completely bite off another artist, and I'm actually trying my best not to. Despite my best efforts, I've already encountered too many similarities with my current idea. It's inevitable.

What to do next? Tite Kubo is the creator of the popular manga series Bleach. His story was originally rejected because the soon-to-be hit bore too many similarities to the already popular YuYu Hakusho according to editors. The manga was eventually published with perseverance and the encouragement of an industry icon, Akira Toriyama.

On paper a lot of stuff is the same, I can't escape that. But then again there are so many demon slayers, galaxy heroes and martial arts gurus around.

Hmm...are there any Ninja Demon Ombudsmen?

Enjoy and I hope to post more soon.

I'm not giving up on it yet. It's a special scanner both because it has a extra large scanning bed (for those real big comic book pages) but it was also the scanner I used for my first real complete comic. I think it's the power supply, so I'm going to head to Radio Shack and pick up a new one. If that doesn't work, then it's off to scanner heaven where it can scan the works of Van Gogh and help God Photoshop that real funny baby photo of Jesus.

Don't know what it'll end up being, a pitch, a web comic, bird cage lining, but I'll put the process on here. I think it'll be a good thing to do, plus it'll force me to write on this thing more than once a month.

Well, I've got my second wind. Let's see what comes of it.

People often strive for stability and equillibrium, but the funny thing is that these things occur in nature over a long period of time. What may seem like a hectic, random series of occurences often becomes a clear pattern when you step away from things. Is it better to head down a path with a clear end or go someplace unfamiliar? Over the long run everything works out. I could die in that unfamiliar path, but I would've died anyway just maybe a few decades sooner.

But regrets burn forever. Must only people with nothing to lose be the ones to try and have everything to gain? I guess it's true what people say, live each day as if it's your last.

Time makes a fool of us all, no?

Currently I have four links:

Boy Meets H.Girl - Some of my loyal readers will remember this as my entry in Tokyopop's Rising Star of Manga # 5 contest. It wasn't a winner in that it didn't place, but it was a winner because its the closest I've ever been in creating a comic the way I envisioned it. Hopefully, Rising Star of Manga # 6 will prove to be a more interesting ride.

Lead Character 1,2 & 3 - These three drawings are character designs of a lead character in this project I'm doing with a friend from California. We've decided to go with the third one (if anyone is curious).

Hopefully I'll post some new works in the next coming weeks.

I'll do my best to introduce you to any link as I add them. Let's start with the two I have now:

Trebsworld - That blog belongs to my buddy Tom. Really cool guy (talented too) and he actually puts photos in his posts. *jealous* We used to work together and I still miss his random appearances (he was a part-timer so I never could get used to when he'd pop in, morning, afternoon...). We worked on a little animation thing once, I did the character designs. Hmm...I wonder if he'd let me post it here.

Elise in Paris - That's my friend in Paris who I mentioned previously. Elise and I were friends while she was in NY. Her blog just started so give her some time before it gets as entertaining as my rocking blog (that was a joke). In the meantime you can take a look at her Halloween picture she has posted there. (She went as E-Lo...get it J-Lo...so if you're wondering if that's her real butt in the photo...well I don't know. You'll have to ask her *if it is, good job Elise haha*)

Well that's the introduction of the new links in my Spicy little world.

Anywho...I've been contributing more often to the manga message board I mentioned a few months ago. It feels good giving my thoughts on people's drawings and my suggestions on how to do things. I'm by no means an expert, not even published yet, but it makes me feel like my practices have some merit. Plus the message board has taught me a lot too, a lot of talented talented people on there.

Man I need to get more photos on this blog...

I just left her an encouraging reply to her first blog post, so I guess I shouldn't forget about my own website. Once I figure out how to make a link on this thing I'll post a link to her blog.

Who cares, right? Well I think I'm coming back to post now. For my faithful 3 fans, new Spicy Ramblings are here. I might even do a podcast! (of course, that's until I actually hear my voice and be all like "ewww")