Some Random Sketches...

Some random sketches I did today to get warmed up into drawing after the busy Holidays, when I didn't have time to draw. Because of that, December was bittersweet. The good thing is, my pencil burns with drawing energy once again!
It's not often that I would show quick sketches such as these, but maybe someone will enjoy seeing them?

Wolverine


Megaman, here I was going for his slightly older/taller look, like in Megaman 8. I don't draw him in this style very often, it's just not how I like to do it.


This is how I love to draw Megaman! Short but just as strong!

MEGAMAN X ROCKS OUT ON THESE DISCS...

I just got my hands on two new Megaman X arrange CDs and they are fantastic! This is pretty hardcore game music metal here, and the fast heavy style on these discs suits the war torn world of X and Zero perfectly. Created by the band "Kissing the Mirror" out of Japan, both discs consist of favorite tracks from the Megaman X series. On each CD you will find seven tracks, which makes them a little short, but the content is amazing. Both albums are titled "Every Time I Bang", so in a sense they are one album only just split into two: One for X and one for Zero. The release date for both discs is listed as 10-8-07, so it's cool to be able get in on a new work such as this early on.

As a fan of Megaman X almost just as much as the original Megaman series, these albums are a breath of fresh air. Quite frankly, there hasn't been a lot of BGM arrangement work done for the Megaman X series. With Capcom recently releasing a rock and techno CD for Megaman though, that could certainly change. In the meantime, I don't mind relying on the various doujin circles and musicians one bit to get my game arrange fix. That goes especially for these discs, they really are of excellent quality. The styles range from short bits of orchestration to great bursts of speedy guitar and keyboard filled excitement! One other important thing to note is that although some themes on these discs are expanded upon, the band really stays true to the original music. It's inspiring to me to see Megaman X music finally getting the heavy metal treatment it deserves. Well done guys!

It is a shame that doujin CDs like this are so hard to come by. From my experience, some of them are impossible to get unless you know someone in Japan or if you can find them at an auction site somewhere. If you are unaware of ebay seller champ_des_pins, I recommend cheking out his auctions. At any given time he always has an excellent selection of doujin CDs, and he is reliable, and in Japan. That's where I got these discs, and it's very possible he could have some more available soon. Here is a link to his ebay store page:

champ_des_pins ebay store

I have scanned the fronts and backs of both albums as well:
EVERY TIME I BANG-X (FRONT)

EVERY TIME I BANG-X (BACK)


EVERY TIME I BANG-ZERO (FRONT)

EVERY TIME I BANG-ZERO (BACK)
Here is the Kissing the Mirror site, and there you can listen to samples from these great works!

Kissing the Mirror

Just scroll down and click on "Every Time I Bang".

See you next time!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It was a busy end of the year for me, but now I'm ready for the new year with lots of cool things in the works. I hope you all have a great new year! I'm working on the final part of my Sailor Moon drawing video, and in the coming days I'll have some CD reviews up and more drawing videos are planned as well. The countdown to the Distant Worlds Final Fantasy concert is ON! I can't wait for it! As for whatever else I've been up to, check below for a quick look at Cap'n Crunch Adventures.

FIRST LOOK: CAP'N CRUNCH ADVENTURES!

Here is a little sneak peak at my upcoming Cap'n Crunch comic, which will be a part of this blog in the coming weeks. This image will serve as the "cover" for the debut of the series. More to come very soon!

Final Fantasy Distant Worlds CD Available at Amazon now!

This is the official CD for the Final Fantasy twentieth anniversary concert tour. At the Distant Worlds site, they have revealed the disc is now on sale at Amazon. Here are some details from the site:

All music composed and produced by Nobuo Uematsu
Arnie Roth, Conductor and Executive Producer

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Allmänna Sången
Susan Calloway (Solo singer)
Emma Wetter, Fredrik Strid and Johan Schinkler (Opera vocal soloists)
Per Skareng (Solo guitarist)

1) Opening - Bombing Mission (FINAL FANTASY VII)
2) Liberi Fatali (FINAL FANTASY VIII)
3) Aerith's Theme (FINAL FANTASY VII)
4) Fisherman's Horizon (FINAL FANTASY VIII)
5) Don't be Afraid (FINAL FANTASY VIII)
6) Memoro de la Stono - Distant Worlds (FINAL FANTASY XI)
7) Medley 2002 (FINAL FANTASY I-III)
8) Theme of Love (FINAL FANTASY IV)
9) Vamo' alla Flamenco (FINAL FANTASY IX)
10) Love Grows (FINAL FANTASY VIII)
11) Opera "Maria and Draco" (FINAL FANTASY VI)
12) Swing de Chocobo (FINAL FANTASY series)
13) One-Winged Angel (FINAL FANTASY VII)

Running time: 75 min.

The price is $19.98, however the CD is also going to be available at the concert tour locations. I'm someone who can't wait for things like this, so I may end up getting it now. There is a quote from Mr. Uematsu at the Distant Worlds site:

"The title selection, the recording quality and the performance quality of the new Distant Worlds CD is excellent. These factors make me call it a Best of Final Fantasy album in every regard,"

Here's the Distant Worlds Site:

Distant Worlds

Below is the link to Amazon:

Buy the CD Here!

More Megaman music news!

Capcom is also releasing two new Megaman arranged CDs, one techno and one rock. I bet these will be really cool. Will they be able to top the Megalomania CD? Anyway, most new Capcom products are only available at cocoeBiz, and you can check out more details of these arranged albums on their upcoming releases page:

Coming Soon

The Rock Arrange is due out on 12/5, and the Techno Arrange is due out on 12/19. You can pre-order them now. Thank you CocoeBiz for making these available!

Megaman 7 & 8 soundtracks available to order now!

I have been wanting this for years! Probably old news already to Megaman fans, but news this good has to be spread around. Finally, Megaman 7 & 8 are getting new and proper soundtrack releases! Both are scheduled to be released on 11-21. I think they will sell really fast! CocoeBiz is also holding a contest to win a Capcom Photo Album for those who purchase some of their Megaman (Rockman) CDs. Here are more details:

Mega man 7

and

Megaman 8

Also check out:

CocoeBiz Contest Page

CocoeBiz Theme Contest

CocoeBiz has announced a contest to compose a theme for them! Only the announcement has been made thus far. They state that more details will come out in early 2008.

Final Fantasy Distant Worlds Meet & Greet SOLD OUT!

The official Final Fantasy Distant Worlds site is reporting that the tickets to meet with Mr. Nobuo Uematsu and conductor Arnie Roth at the show are sold out! This includes the Stockholm and Chicago performances. That didn't take long, did it?

Drawing Sailor Moon (3 of 4)

Part three of Drawing Sailor Moon in real time. As previously mentioned, this was originally a thirty-seven minute drawing session I recorded. In the last one I will show the inked and colored versions of this drawing:

Drawing Sailor Moon (2 of 4)

Here's Part 2, hope you enjoy!

NEW! Drawing Sailor Moon (1 of 4)

I had been wanting to do a Sailor Moon drawing video for a while now, so here is the first part! The total time for the drawing was about thirty-seven minutes, so I split it up into four parts. I will add the others as soon as they are uploaded.

New track at the Skies Symphony

Now that Kiesca (The Skies Symphony) has completed his work on the "First Tragedy" downloadable symphonic Metal album, he has started work on his next project already it seems! Entitled Will of the World, it serves as the instrumental introduction to "Hopeless Reborn". It's fantastic. This one is mostly piano driven, and it's pretty chaotic! It's been a lot of fun following what this guy does. Even though some of his music is really dark, I really enjoy it, and if you haven't yet checked out his game music arranges, I recommend it, they're awesome! Many of the tracks remind me of some epic battle taking place in a RPG.

You can download and listen to First Tragedy or get in on the beginning of Hopeless Reborn at the link below. I think you will appreciate the amazing musicianship if nothing else, and hey, the tracks are completely free! A gift from the artist!

The Skies Symphony

I'll update again when the Skies Symphony adds another work.

Dracula X Chronicles Soundtrack

This is going to be really limited I think. On 11/08/07, the soundtrack to the long-awaited Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles PSP version is scheduled to be released. Cocoebiz is listing it as two discs. I'm guessing that one disc will be the original soundtrack, and the other will be the new arranges for the PSP verison.

Pre-order at cocoebiz now!

On another note, Look for the Cap'n Crunch web comic to hit during the week. I think it's better to launch it when I have more pages completed. Yesterday was gonna be the day, but I spent Friday resting from the work week, and didn't accomplish everything I had set to go Saturday.
Don't forget, the Odin Sphere OST will be released on 10/24!

Since there is no Cap'n Crunch yet, I have a need to get more art up here, so this is a new Batgirl drawing I recently completed.

NEW FINAL FANTASY CONCERT TOUR ANNOUNCED!!

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy kicks off December 4th, 2007 in Stockholm Sweden! Marking the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy with an all new tour, Mr. Nobuo Uematsu and veteran Final Fantasy Concert conductor Arnie Roth will be there! Even better news, a second show has already been announced for March 1, 2008 in Chicago! It will be at the Rosemont Theater, where Play! A Video Game Symphony launched last year.
This is excellent news! According to the official site (see link below), Mr. Uematsu will be in attendance at both shows. A ticket price of $150.00 has been established to attend a meeting session with Mr. Uematsu at the event. Tickets for the Chicago performance are on sale now. I am thinking they will go quickly. The event promises to be a blast.
A special Final Fantasy CD is also being released to celebrate the series' twenty year history, as well as this new tour. The CD will be available at the concert locations.
Check out the site below!

Distant Worlds Official Site

SEE YOU THERE!!

Play! is heading to Oslo in October!

I am thrilled to see the Play! A Video Game Symphony continue it's world tour. The tour stops in Oslo, Norway on October 26th, at 8:30 PM. You can visit the following sites for more information:

Play-Symphony.no

Play! A Video Game Symphony

As always, I'll report any new Play! news ASAP.

Good News for Odin Sphere fans

The release date for the Odin Sphere soundtrack is Oct. 24th in Japan! I checked a number of sites, and Play-Asia is the only one I have seen so far that has pre-orders available. I am expecting that Cocoebiz will have them available to order soon as well. You can check out the Play-Asia page here:

Pre-order Odin Sphere OST at Play-Asia

Until Next Time!

Drawing Aeris!!

I just got a bunch of cool Final Fantasy arranged tunes, and got really inspired to do a FF sketch video. Here is me drawing Aeris, showcasing some excellent game music in the process.

Great new upcoming game soundtrack releases

A few of the upcoming game soundtrack releases caught my eye, I'm looking forward to these. These are in no particular order.

10/10
Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack
Chances are I won't play the game, but I may check out this soundtrack.


09/27
**More New Music by Yuzo Koshiro!!!!**
Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 Original Soundtrack (First Press Available)
So looking forward to this. Koshiro is my favorite, and I love his work for the first two Wangan Midnight games. They are incredible!!

09/19
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fate / Original Soundtrack
Still haven't played the first FF Crystal Chronicles, but I really enjoyed it's music.

10/10
Ar tonelico 2 Sekai ni Hibiku Shojo tachi no Sozoshi Original Soundtrack
Currently playing Ar Tonelico, and I think this, like the first one, will feature a great soundtrack.

08/22
Dragon Quest Sword Original Soundtrack
I really liked the screenshots for this game. I usually always check out a new Dragon Quest title. No doubt this game will have great music.

The Legend of Xanadu Help Page!

If you've never heard of it, the Legend of Xanadu is one of very few games Falcom released for a console system. In this case, the Japanese PC Engine Duo. Of course you can still play it on a U.S. Turbo Duo as well, without any sort of converter. Later they made it available for PC as an added bonus with Xanadu Next.
I've had an old but great game guide for the Falcom masterpiece Legend of Xanadu for a while now. I found it years ago, and since then it has seemingly disappeared off the internet. Fortunately I saved the guide. Believe me, if you've played Legend of Xanadu, and don't understand Japanese, the guide contains valuable information. For a long time now I've wanted to bring this guide back. The good news is after contacting the author I can indeed bring this guide back for those who want to play this great game. Thank you Ara Shirinian! I have already begun a blog site for the Legend of Xanadu guide. If you haven't played the game, but wanted to, now's your opportunity!

The Legend of Xanadu Help Page

I'm also adding a banner for it in the links section here!