Adlubescence

This is where the half thoughts go

Neocities currently has a link to most of my projects, in no particular order: Boss Fight, Barest Minimum, Sad Witches, Lophotrochozoa, Chair Floor, Pursuing Pixels, etc. Music, Video Games, Media, and me.


Every Dungeon Meshi post is just a gushfest, but Kui Ryoko’s Daydream Hours are just such a good reference, goddamn. The exercises and references she includes give such great food for thought on the creative process.

“Sketches” as a concept are so useful. I personally use voice memos to record dozens of snippets of ideas or incomplete takes of my bands working through a song. They aren’t meant for release, but listening to them repeatedly helps me conceptualize what works and what doesn’t from a different perspective that I can’t have while performing it in the moment or recording the “final” version. B-sides and Rarities EPs were always a favorite of mine, seeing the rough edges on an old favorite or an incomplete idea left on the cutting room floor. Not all of it works! Sometimes stuff needs to be cut and never see the light of day - but I love seeing the process, and having a peek into someone else’s can give you insight into another way of thinking about things you may have never considered.

(Trying to think how video games fit into this, demos/early access have a very audience integrated aspect to them, and while visual and audio artists can post sketches and snippets through social media, the inclusion of the audience into participating in the process feels closer to a band performing an “in process” unreleased work. Posting gameplay footage of an alpha version seems to be closest. My current obsession of what constitutes a “complete” work of art and in what ways a “living” work that changes can meaningfully differentiate itself from itself over time is obviously coming through here.)



I remember when Fullmetal Alchemist ended, I went and read all of Arakawa’s oneshots. Between FMA and Hero Tales, I remember being really taken aback by the gag content in contrast. But seeing her maintain a solid narrative in a complex niche series, with jokes that never seem unnecessary or fall flat like a lesser gag series can, it’s just unbelievable. She’s such a fucking master at her craft and I’m so excited to read her current stuff.



Absolutely adorable series that somehow manages to compartmentalize almost all the “required” gravure stuff outside of the narrative, has the teen horny in a realistic and not overbearing way that a lot of series like to play for laughs or overemphasize, and my personal favorite - has an older sister character who obviously loves her brother with absolutely zero incest motivation in either direction. Series almost entirely ditches the “disturbed chunbiyo” angle and is better for it, solid series overall.


 
Pinned Tags