Comment 90258
Parent Comment
Oh yeah, I hear spoiled Americans whining a lot ^^;; Aside from writing and drawing, my other big hobby is Asian ball-jointed dolls, and people here REALLY don't seem to understand how easy we have it. So few imports are taxed here, so we get a better deal on everything all the way around. I follow a few collectors who are based in Australia and hearing them talk about customs costs on importing dolls that cost $500-700 USD is insane. Not to mention the exchange rates for currency. It's got to be absolutely brutal.
It DOES sound cool that you get that kind of technology and stuff there. But I know our infrastructure on everything is so miserably outdated that I'm not surprised ^^;; We do have paywave but most places don't have the equipment to support it yet, really only in the big cities. And I mean REALLY big cities, because I'm the largest city in my state (650,000ish people) and we don't have crap. They're opening an IKEA here in the fall and the entire state is losing its mind, like that signifies the city finally moving into the 21st century or something. XD
And yes! Joe is my friend. I've been trying so hard to remember more stuff he told me that he did, because I specifically remember him telling me about some uncredited stuff that was pretty cool, but after 3 years of sleep deprivation my memory is shot. He's a great guy, though, and really talented. We took Art 1 and 2 together and I honestly think I learned more from him than from the teacher... he was only there because the comic companies were pulling crap on him because he wasn't a "real" artist. He had no degree, since he'd gone straight from high school to work with the big comics companies. Because obviously you can't be a skilled artist without a degree, right? >_>
It DOES sound cool that you get that kind of technology and stuff there. But I know our infrastructure on everything is so miserably outdated that I'm not surprised ^^;; We do have paywave but most places don't have the equipment to support it yet, really only in the big cities. And I mean REALLY big cities, because I'm the largest city in my state (650,000ish people) and we don't have crap. They're opening an IKEA here in the fall and the entire state is losing its mind, like that signifies the city finally moving into the 21st century or something. XD
And yes! Joe is my friend. I've been trying so hard to remember more stuff he told me that he did, because I specifically remember him telling me about some uncredited stuff that was pretty cool, but after 3 years of sleep deprivation my memory is shot. He's a great guy, though, and really talented. We took Art 1 and 2 together and I honestly think I learned more from him than from the teacher... he was only there because the comic companies were pulling crap on him because he wasn't a "real" artist. He had no degree, since he'd gone straight from high school to work with the big comics companies. Because obviously you can't be a skilled artist without a degree, right? >_>
Comment ID 90258
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Oh- my friends are into BJDs- I have 2 myself. One secondhand, and one is a recast. They're HELLA expensive- over a grand landed in NZ. Depending on the size, close to $2K. They're super cool thoguh. If I had disposable income I think I'd like to by a new legit doll and make her into an OC. I don't have time for the 2 I have though. I don't know what my fakie is cause it was a gift, but my legit doll is a Dollmore Shiloh http://www.dollmore.net/shop/step1.php?number=7160 called Ophelia (not like my OC 
)who was previously owned by a friend of mine, and I fell in love with her. She has long red hair, and is a vampire hunter
That's pretty hilarious. A town in NZ is considered populated when it gets a Subway here but everyone has eftpos and VISA in NZ- even the small towns. We're pretty modern. Small towns just have less of the big stores and more random gems, a fish and chips store that sell massive icecreams, and a beach or whatever XD Doing a "Tiki Tour" (just driving around NZ without a destination) in NZ is very popular, so small towns get a lot of activity from travellers visiting their towns for unique stores that couldn't exist in big towns, so it's very unusual for them to not have Eftpos machines- I see paywave everywhere here. I dont' use it cause I don't trust it, but it's in a lot of places to the point that a lot of stores advertise that they DON'T have it. NZ is small though- it takes 8 hours to scale the north island, so it usually doesn't take long to drive to a smaller town or a beach town.
Ah- it's cool having famous art friends :3 I have a few too, and it's great to art talk with them, and giggle about the struggles, rant about the frustrations. It's cause of them that I know professional art isn't for me XD That's pretty stink that lack of paper qualifications means companies do that. I'm a firm believer that you can learn art without a school if you're a self driven person. I was told once about a martial artist that applied martial arts to learning art and went from nothing to OMFG SO PRO in 1 year. 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year is over 2000 hours of art, without homework. If you can do that, and learn correct lessons, you're gonna get good- school or no school.
)who was previously owned by a friend of mine, and I fell in love with her. She has long red hair, and is a vampire hunter That's pretty hilarious. A town in NZ is considered populated when it gets a Subway here but everyone has eftpos and VISA in NZ- even the small towns. We're pretty modern. Small towns just have less of the big stores and more random gems, a fish and chips store that sell massive icecreams, and a beach or whatever XD Doing a "Tiki Tour" (just driving around NZ without a destination) in NZ is very popular, so small towns get a lot of activity from travellers visiting their towns for unique stores that couldn't exist in big towns, so it's very unusual for them to not have Eftpos machines- I see paywave everywhere here. I dont' use it cause I don't trust it, but it's in a lot of places to the point that a lot of stores advertise that they DON'T have it. NZ is small though- it takes 8 hours to scale the north island, so it usually doesn't take long to drive to a smaller town or a beach town.
Ah- it's cool having famous art friends :3 I have a few too, and it's great to art talk with them, and giggle about the struggles, rant about the frustrations. It's cause of them that I know professional art isn't for me XD That's pretty stink that lack of paper qualifications means companies do that. I'm a firm believer that you can learn art without a school if you're a self driven person. I was told once about a martial artist that applied martial arts to learning art and went from nothing to OMFG SO PRO in 1 year. 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year is over 2000 hours of art, without homework. If you can do that, and learn correct lessons, you're gonna get good- school or no school.
See, I grew up in the middle of nowhere here so I understand stuff like Subway being a big deal too. Except the region I was in was so small it was considered impressive if a town had its own gas station, so it's been really weird to me to move to a city and then realize that despite everything we have here, it's all outdated and still pretty lacking compared to other areas. And it's kind of weird, especially since we get a lot of tourism here too. I mean, surely not as much as NZ XD I'd love to go someplace like that myself, but we do have a steady flow of tour traffic, who all get to ride the trolleys that are so old they randomly burst into flames. *shrug* Strange to see the priorities different places have, I guess.
I don't really know many art people in general; I think meeting him was kind of a fluke, haha. Most of the people in my art class were only there because it was a requirement for some other degree--like fashion--so they didn't stick around long. My Art 2 class was like four people including myself and the only reason it didn't get dropped was because the teacher was able to hold it at the same time as Art 1. I agree that you can surely teach yourself, though. I'm grateful for the time I spent in the classroom, even though I didn't actually learn anything from the classes. I was already a bit too advanced for them, but what I learned was that the career path I had picked out wasn't what I really wanted to do, and the things that mattered most to me were things a degree wouldn't help with. So I've just carried on teaching myself things. Since I didn't pick up anything from my classes, I still consider myself self-taught, but I'm sure there are a few people who would disagree with that assessment.
I know a lot cause I use to go to conventions, collect cards and follow everyone in NZ. I got pretty well known for being friends with everyone, and I now run the Auckland branch of an art community. It upsets me when I hear that people feel alone in art IRL cause there's usually so many people with similar interests to you- you just need to find them. I wish I could show you some! There is online though atleast
It's always been tough for me to meet people with similar interests. When I was young it was because we moved a lot due to my dad's job, then when we finally did settle, it was in a very rural area where people who were creative were ~weird~ and not well thought of. My parents always encouraged me to be artistic and stuff, but then my mom didn't want me to TELL people I was because she didn't want the awful people there to think ill of our family because I was one of those ARTSY people. Which I think is dumb as crap, but whatever. e_e I met a few people after moving here because I got a job at an art supply store, but the unfortunate part of being adults is that they've now all moved away and now that I'm a stay-at-home mama, the internet is really the only way I have to meet new people ^^;; Though we have a pretty rockin' anime convention here, and I'm hoping to make some more friends there this summer! If I can get over being so shy. *crosses fingers*