My Toybox Blog Layout | Click to enlarge

Hi, in the same spirit as Danny’s newest blog changes, I’ve decided to update the layout of my *Toybox* blog. Essentially, I’ve reorganized the center column: (1) moving my favorite blogs and sites to the top, (2) inserting the “Daily Updates” from my website to help fill in the gaps between less-frequent posts, and (3) lifting the more-lively “Danny Choo” posts above the lengthy “Category List”. That’s about it! Plus, it’s a good time to take a snapshot of my blog, more than a year after its rebirth, lol.

P.S. Okay, after a morning of packing more magazines and books (arghhh), gotta get back to drawing “Blade 1″ (Day 2) for fighter Christine Toledo (Blog 136). My first commissioned anime-art project! ^_^;

Six Degrees of Lolita | Click to enlarge

LOL, this sounds unbelievable but maybe not?

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Operation Rebox | Click to enlarge

Ah, my sad but necessary “Operation Rebox”…

Whoa, while I can’t beat the number of boxes in the earlier “Room O Boxes” post, I’m grateful too! Especially if I have to “rebox” all of my opened figures before my eventual house-move in the next few months. So, as a loose follow-up to the Triple Monitor post, here’s my 12-step “Operation Rebox“. Wish me luck! T_T;

P.S. Here’s the link to my DC Member News post, hehe.

SOS Danny – A Wikipedia Tale | Click to enlarge

For the humble readers of DannyChoo.com, I’ve got a short-lived (March 2nd to April 9th) tale which I’d forgotten to tell till now… Several months back on March 2nd, I was writing a blog entry quoting Danny, and wanted to reference him without citing his blog. Instinctively, I searched Wikipedia. But nothing. No Danny Choo. So what did I do? I decided to create an entry for him.

From that point on, 95% of the credit goes to *DOSGuy* (thanx dude!) for developing the Danny Choo article to its fullest. However, despite attempts to reinforce the entry over its several-week history, the article was speedily deleted on April 9th for failing to meet the guidelines of “notability”. Which, I admit, is understandable. Self-advertised popularity doesn’t necessarily equal encyclopedic noteworthiness (and vice-versa).

Luckily and incredibly, *DOSGuy* saved a copy of the article and still hosts it under his user page here.

So months later, the question remains: Do we have anything to add to the article that might make it good enough (notable enough) for resubmission? Should we care about Wikipedia or “notability”? After all, if indeed we have something, we can still edit it. In other words, S.O.S. = Save Our Stormtrooper Danny. ^_^;

P.S. Thanx *Chun*, I hope I can borrow your “seal of shock”. ^_^;

Blue-Haired Babes | Click to enlarge

Thanx *nomadicotaku* for the idea… Got a fave blue-haired babe? (Bad captions not included, lol.)

Here are pretty much all of the blues in my collection. Seems like anime has the monopoly on blue hair, lol… Though I’m not including Kaname (from FMP) since her hair is kinda aqua-turquoise green, or Hazuki (from Moon Phase) since her hair is kinda violet-purplish. I think? ^_^;

Mirai’s Rival Akiko | Click to enlarge

Yup, Mirai’s Rival *Akiko* is finally complete! Well, sorta, 1 of 4 is complete, lol… Compared to my previous *Akiko* post, I’ve added shading/lighting to the eyes, hair, arm, gun and body. Vector is so much more efficient and effective than conventional bitmap, especially at 1680 or 2400 pixels. Keep in mind, she’s only 1 of 4 pieces in an overall *Akiko* layout, hence the 25-percent (25-day) per piece estimate. But I’ll manage, lol. And as always, thanx to Danny for the inspiration and creation of the Mirai Universe. ^_^

BONUS – For an added bonus, here’s my *Akiko* fanfic below… Coincidentally, I too was a high school salutatorian (class rank #2 of 500+) with a crush on the tall pretty blonde athlete (rank #3)… EDIT – Added link above to 1680 x 1050 textless wallpaper.

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Triple Monitor Goodness | Click to enlarge

Yeah, why not? A photo of my *anime*-style workspace at home. Very little attempt to clean up. Just 48 of my 79-figure collection, plus lots of goodies (and bills, argh).

My setup: (1) Left. 15-inch laptop. About 2.5 years old. My main machine, hooked up to center monitor. Working on Akiko. (2) Center. 20-inch monitor. To watch anime, movies, and check Photoshop graphics. Akiko on top of Purple Mirai. (3) Right. 17-inch desktop. About 4.5 years old. For BitTorrent and Pandora to free up laptop resources. Shiro Otoko & Mirai.

P.S. Planning to buy a 24-inch iMac and 50-inch plasma after I sell my house. ^_^;

P.P.S. Wow, lots of international comments too, hahaha. ^_^;

Mirai’s Tsundere Rival – Progress | Click for more

Got tsundere? Impressed by *Demi-Alucard*s and *ETERNAL*s brilliant suggestion last month to create a *dark-side tsundere rival* for Mirai, I decided to take yet another (my 3rd) fanart risk. (No guts, no glory, eh?)

Although she’s still a rough 14% (14-day) draft, I finally present Mirai Suenaga’s tsundere rival — Akiko *Lucky* Yoshikawa — Class Rank #2 after Mirai’s Rank #1 at the Sorunian TimeSpy Academy. Her slick blue-haired look is based on my Facebook friend Jennie in May 2008, lol. Not bad for my very-first vector-art anime piece, huh? I hope to finish Akiko and her gun’s shading/lighting in the next few weeks. ^_^; Till next update!

P.S. Heartfelt thoughts and wishes to the victims of the Akihabara tragedy. Thanx for the coverage, Danny.

P.P.S. When you click the pic, don’t forget to check out my little sketch-script at the bottom. ^_^

Mirai in Battle Mode – Shadows of Time | Click for more

Better late than never… ^_^;

Photo 2766 by xJAYMANx | Click to enlarge

Nahhh, I don’t think anime itself is falling or failing, but perhaps my ongoing time and energy (and thus need) for anime is fading into my own personal “downfall of anime”. Let me explain…

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Blog 113 | FINAL Day 38a by xJAYMANx | Click for full 1800×1200 scene

WOW, I’m finally finished! After 38 random days over the last 5 months — maybe about 77 total hours — I finally completed my “Shadows of Time” art piece featuring my interpretation of the shadowy Shiro Otoko (Man in White) and Mirai Suenaga in her Meisai Gear battle suit!… Haha, I let Megan take a peek before my post, and she thought it was “absolutely gorgeous”. She’s a graphic designer, but she still can’t believe I did it all in Photoshop (Version 7.0). Yup, just PS7, my laptop, and my thumb-side trackball mouse. But most of all, thanx to Danny for the inspiration, and especially your infinite patience, lol. And now, here was my progress during these last 5 months…

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Photo 2292 by xJAYMANx | Click to enlarge
Can’t wait for her photoshoot, lol.

Wow, more than two months since my last collection update! Unfortunately, my 17 boxed figures have grown to 23. Argh, too busy for photoshoots! Nevertheless, here are my latest 7 of those 23 still-boxed figures, including Morte the Death Bringer (Noir et Blanc), Misa (Death Note), and the genuine-not-fake Gothloli Asuka (Evangelion), as well as characters from the breathtaking Kanon and Air series. Enjoy the rest of the photos!

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Draft Day 30a by xJAYMANx | Click to enlarge

Hey, Danny, inspiration! Because I’m flying from Vegas to New York soon (I’ll be away for a week for my brother’s wedding on September 1st), I’ve summoned fantastic progress in the last 10 days for this surprise! But I still estimate just 60% completed.

Now hitting 30 random days in the last 90 days (since May 28th), here’s the latest 750×500 teaser of the full-size 1800×1200 scene so far. At last, for the first time, I reveal my interpretation of the elusive Shiro Otoko (Man in White). Hmmm, is it a coincidence he resembles my blonde-curled Kako? Hahaha, my personal plot theories! In any case, things are looking awesome; I think I’m finally past the halfway mark. But as always, still lots of further cleaning, shading and lighting to do when I return!

Otakurl it! >>
Mirai Suenaga, Past Progress >>
Mirai Suenaga Fanart at DannyChoo.com >>

Draft Day 25a by xJAYMANx | Click to enlarge

Actual progress! Since my last Mirai update over a month ago — My Eye on Mirai, Day 16 — found only 9 more random days to push forward my Mirai Suenaga battle piece, for a mere total of 25 random days since May 28th. Yet again, here’s a 750×500 draft of the full 1800×1200 battle scene so far. This time, added some preliminary coloring to the draft. Looking much better! But still tons of cleaning up, shading and lighting to do, as well as other cool elements to add. For the sake of numbers, let’s estimate 33% (about 1/3rd) completed.

Otakurl it! >>
My Eye on Mirai, Day 16 >>
My Eye on Mirai, Day 10 >>
Mirai Suenaga Fanart at DannyChoo.com >>