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Xilmin

Xilmin Nerrar
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So it's apparently been almost 9 years since I last used this site. I am not impressed with the new style! (Or more accurately the new style doesn't like my screen resolution, or my wonky multi-resolution desktop, so I can't actually use it)

I am resisting the urge to do an almighty purge of this place. I look at some of the stuff I put on this site and it's just embarrassing. But I will just cringe and leave it alone. 

I am here now because my waxing and waning interests have brought me back to art, kind of. At least part of me wants to paint, but I don't actually have any particular ideas. I have done a few pieces, mostly for Guild Wars 2, the game I am playing the most right now (which I will put up here if I can work out how to do that now). I want to do more art for that game, but my lack of skill and also lack of experience with the software I'm using prevents me from really capturing what I want. 

If I get some more inspiration or enthusiasm for something specific maybe I'll post more art. I do want to work more in colour rather than the black and white sketches I used to do, but of course that's so much more difficult and I have no idea what I'm doing. So maybe this will be the only post for another 9 years!
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I guess I should update on things here. I have now moved back in with my parents on a very temporary basis. Currently living out of rucksacks, with most of my stuff in boxes in the garage. Perhaps it says a lot about my real priorities when the computer stayed in the garage but the stuffed toys I insisted upon being brought into the house. :aww: That said, I have my laptop so it's not like I'm cut off. All I'm really missing is power and a second screen. And my laptop is proving to be surprisingly powerful for its specs.

Though I say this is temporary but I have yet to make any attempt at looking for somewhere else to move to or for a job. That would require effort! There is a prospective job with my father relating to programming, but I'm dubious about the other side of it which involves 'customer care'. I am NOT a people person!

So right now I am toying with the idea of programming relating to gaming, mostly inspired by my dad and brother. I'm dubious about that as I know my obsessions come and go. Gaming just happens to be my current one, but a few years down the line I probably won't be nearly so interested, just as my anime obsession waned previously. I'd obviously need training and qualifications to actually get a job (currently all I have is Standard Grade Computing plus a certificate in Administrative Skills), but other than how much that would cost, I'm not concerned about that. I don't believe it would take long to learn.

As I toy with this idea, I'm playing around with the toolset for Dragon Age, trying to make my own mod, trying to see if there is anything there I could see me spending my life doing. Followed a video tutorial and got the basics of the toolset down. Now I'm just adding in stuff that I think are important, which are inevitably some of the hardest stuff to do judging by forum posts. Last night I got a map to show on a separate module with working area transitions, and today I have managed to get an NPC to join my party. Not really sure what I'm aiming for as a final product. Right now I just want to get comfortable with what the toolset is capable of. Even with less than a week playing with it, I'm already getting the hang of it, even scripts. It's just a matter of knowing what options are available and keeping track of tags and such.

So as I do all this, I obviously am not doing art or writing. I do technically have my graphics tablet at hand but the driver CD is in the garage... in an easy to reach location but that's still outside. =p No Photoshop on here though (not sure where the install CD is), and I've never been overly fond of Gimp. As to writing... I did attempt something based on Minecraft, but it was... bad (to put it mildly) so it's best to pretend that never happened. I blame all that writing for Uni killing my ability to write imaginatively.

In other news: I completed Abe's Oddysee for the first time ever! YAY! Toyed with drawing something just to commemorate this moment but as I said before, that would require going outside. How long have I had that game for? :roll: Least I managed it eventually. Only saved 70 out of 99 mudokons but at least I got the good ending! :D

Also: I saw a black squirrel! Well, to be fair, it was a black blur, chasing a grey squirrel/blur at high speed through the trees. Adorable! This was while I was staying over at my brother's place just outside London before driving north. Yes, I know, new invader to this country, bad news for the ecosystem and all that, but so cute! :XD:

Yup, that's all my news. Computer games and rodents, the focusses of my life! I'm sure something else must have happened, but it clearly wasn't important enough to remember. ;)
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I just bombarded those watchers I have with over a year's worth of photographs. Why? Because I have the time to do such things now!

To update: I have quit my phd because after near enough 20 years of education, I have decided I don't actually enjoy it. Go figure. Just because I have the brain to do it, doesn't mean I should. Instead I shall focus on the things I actually want to do. Just need to find a job to give me the money to enjoy said things... Who wants to hire an over-qualified employee as a typist?

But now I have the freedom, perhaps I shall draw some proper art. Maybe even finish off all those works-in-progress I have lying around. Or even write something. Today I played the piano so who knows what I might do next! The possibilities are endless!

And just to say THANK YOU to all those that favourited my works! I can't go through all those messages personally (and most of them have probably forgotten they even looked at my stuff by this point), but I appreciate it all the same!
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Suddenly realised I'd abandoned this since October so thought I'd announce I am still lurking about. But seriously where did December come from? I swear it leapt out at me from nowhere! And I've still not done any work. Or more specifically learned anything as that is all on me. I miss lectures, though I'm going to start tagging along to some next term as there is a series that could prove to be the lifesaver of this entire project.

And perhaps by then I will have finally put aside playing Dragon Age. Damn game has ruined my life. It's fabulous! :XD: I've apparently put in 165.4 hours, says Steam. That's two complete playthroughs (1st as a male warrior, 2nd as a female rogue). It came out only a month ago, didn't it? That will be why December came as a shock! And why I've been in such a good mood since then. I just need to say to myself "Have you ever licked a lamppost in winter?" and I'm reduced to a giggling pile of jelly. And for any that get that reference, yes I am completely obsessed with Alistair. I can be such a fangirl. :XD: Started a sketch of him, though when I'll finish it, I don't know. And for any that care, check out my blog for proof of my complete and total obsession, along with a multitude of spoilers.

One thing I did want to say, what is with the attention Alex Mercer is getting? Seriously? Smegging hell! More than ten times as many hits as my next popular piece! Was not expecting that to happen when I posted it...

I seriously don't think I have anything else to say. Dragon Age is really the only thing in my mind just now. Time for supper and bed and Dragon Age dreams :XD:
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I have a question: does anyone find my artwork (colour stuff in particular) to be too dark or too light? I just had a hell of a time trying to get my printer to print the same as what I saw on the screen. Sites online suggested calibrating my screen with 'Adobe Gamma Wizard'. Now things look different (artwork in particular, though photos not so much) and the printer hasn't got any better. Though I guess that's the hazard of digital artwork. Everyone's setup is going to be different so there is no guarantee things look as good on someone else's screen. :hmm:

Anyway, yes I'm still alive. Been fairly busy of late, to say the least. Moved to London. Started my phd (and realised I know nothing that's actually relevant to what I'm doing). So it's fairly safe to say I'm not going to have much time to do anything for quite a while. Maybe once the initial learning stage eases off a little...

Can't really think of much else to say. I need food. Desperately. I haven't left this room since breakfast despite my intentions of shopping and the like. What can I say? When I get an idea to do something I get very stubborn about it. The fact that the printer beat me is beside the point. I just wanted to print out some artwork to put on the wall. Is that so wrong? :: pout ::
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Featured

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