A Heartbreaking Nintendo DS Accident and a Summer Beach Watercolor Piece

You know that feeling when you have a certain possession you absolutely cherish that you work hard to keep safe through all the drops and bumps but alas years down the road it finally breaks? Yeah that’s how I feel right now. I usually don’t believe in bad luck but this is definitely bad luck at it’s finest. Remember my old phat Grey DS? Apparently the entire hinge keeping the top screen connected to the system decided to shatter after an accidental but not too far of a drop, it fell maybe a foot not even that. This is what it looks like now.

You really don’t want to see what it looks like under that duct tape but thanks to said tape I’ve managed to keep this machine working, hey I wasn’t going to give up on this baby that easily. This machine has been with me for 12-13 years now which I discussed in the dedicated Nintendo DS blog I did a while ago. Kind of said and also frustrating to see the machine like this but I guess the plastic got a bit fragile over the years. Even worse the machine was actually shut and fell flat so heaven knows why it broke. Anyway I’ve got it duct taped up but I need to trim a bit of the tape off the touch screen if I’m ever going to use this machine for normal DS games. This DS pretty much became a Gameboy Advance player over the years thanks to the 3DS being backwards compatible but that doesn’t make it any more devastating. especially when the machines I have that can play Gameboy Advance games are dwindling to a almost none.

Like I said I’m not giving up on this machine and I’ll still be playing it just as much as I used to. Hopefully the tape will hold as I’m not exactly sure how the screen is still working, the hinge shattered pretty badly.

Probably not the most positive way to start a blog but as we’re in a slow news period regarding entertainment I decided to go back to a more blog like format for today, I mean this is a blog.

Still on the subject of Video Games, other then playing through Pokemon Sapphire again after all these years (My Pokemon got too out of control and broke my DS hinge, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.) I’m also still playing Paper Mario which I started playing on my Wii U again a week ago.

I’m serious when I say I’ve never gotten far on this game before, I mean I’ve not owned the game for that long but Paper Mario has been sitting downloaded on my Wii U collecting dust, which was a damn shame as I realize how much I love this classic game. So far I’ve triumphed over the Koopa Bros, Buried Tutankoopa and gave Tubba Blubba heartburn. Apparently after this entire ruckus some Shy Guys decided to run a muck around Toad Town stealing all the Toad’s prized possessions. I’m now diving into a literal toy box to retrieve those items. Really I wish I played through this game sooner it’s an absolute blast and the characters make this game even better. You’ll hear my full thoughts on the game on the dedicated Paper Mario blog which is coming once I beat the game. I’ll still be talking about my progress as I go along however.

Still slightly on the subject of Video Games a new trailer has just released for a movie that seems to be taking on Video Game elements. You guys remember Jumanji? The classic Disney film from 1995 starring the late Robin Williams was about two kids who uncovered a hidden magical board game. What they didn’t know is this board game once you begin playing you can’t opt out until you beat the game. A man trapped inside the game for decades, played by Robin Williams soon appears to help the two kids beat the game once and for all. An entire world is unleashed and every move is crucial. I remember watching this movie years ago but to my surprise and embarrassingly I probably should of already known this but Jumanji was actually based on a 1981 Children’s book written by Chris Van Allsburg. Recognize the name? Yeah I did too, immediately. Chris is the same author who wrote The Polar Express which is possibly my favorite Christmas movie and Book. He also wrote a book called Zathura which was adapted into the 2005 movie of the same name. This is where my mind got blown, I also watched Zathura a lot as a kid which was also about two kids who found a board game, this time it got a lot more scifi and their house ends up shot into space while two brothers and their big sister but settle their differences and beat the game to bring their home back to earth. I always thought there was some connection with Jumanji but until now I had no idea that the Zathura book was an actual sequel to Jumanji making the movies technically sequels to each other, spiritually perhaps.

Well it’s been in the works for a while but an actual full blown Jumanji sequel (Which I originally thought was a remake but apparently not.) is actually releasing this December.  There was rumors dating back as far back as 2012 but in 2015 it was confirmed to be in development. This Jumanji sequel will be starring Dwayne Johnson (You’re welcome.), Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan with Nick Jonas apparently having a role as well. Okay so this seemed kind of wack to me but apparently the movie involves an Video Game version of Jumanji (Thanks Philips now you’ve doomed us all… You know because Phillips made a PC Minigame collection based on Jumanji back in 1996, anyone remember that?) which is uncovered in a school’s basement. Four teenagers end up sucked into this game and they take on these different Avatars, which are played by the four stars of the film. The only way out is to play along and finish the game, you know like the original Jumanji. You know what I wouldn’t mind having Dwayne Johnson as a Avatar, I mean look at those muscles. I would give up my hair for a body like that no lie.

There are going to be connections to the original Jumanji such as a Flashbacks but that’s as much as I know. Regardless a brand new trailer has been released for this movie which seems to clear the picture on what this movie really is.

Now while people are quick to jump the gun and say this is tarnishing the legacy of the original movie and Robin Williams (Which is silly because you don’t actually have to watch this movie and it won’t tarnish the legacy in the slightest.) this could be good it could be bad. I’m not sure what to think I mean getting sucked into a Video Game is kind of Tron like (Which bums me out because Tron 3 is pretty much in the trash now.) but it’ll be interesting to see how the cast performs, I’m not usually a Jack Black fan but hey I liked him as Po the Panda, haha. The movie is being named Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle so of course they had to slip in some Guns and Roses into the trailer. This movie will not be based on any of Chris Van Allsburg’s work aside from the original Jumanji so who knows what to expect. This is a case of I’m going to have to watch it before I really think much of it. You’ll be able to check this movie out in theatres come December 27^th this year.

Moving on #WorldWatercolorMonth (I know hashtags on a blog are kind of a dumb idea but this is for people who want to know the hashtag for use on social media, haha.) is still happening making this I believe Day 10. I’ve been working on a certain watercolor piece for a week or so now and if you’ve been keeping up with me on Instagram and Facebook you would of noticed I actually finished the piece! Yes I’m not going to be able to post a new artwork every day this month but I’m proud to reveal to you blog fans my latest illustration. With summer beating down on us hard I decided to illustrate something we all wish we were at right now, a beach setting. Yeah I’ve wanted to illustrate a beach like setting for a while now and to add even more to it I decided to add a character into it. Okay I could of added anyone but I decided to add Aeris Eclipse which you all should be familiar (And probably sick of) with by now. Before I ramble on too much I present to you “Sunshine Lady, Summer Beach.”. (I need to work on my names.)

This might hold one of my most dynamic poses I’ve ever done, of course I had to use a few references but I’m really happy with how this came out and my watercolor work seemed to of come out great too. I actually have to admit I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to show anyone this because drawing a girl in a bikini is a bit far beyond anything I’ve done before. Anyway this is a pen and watercolor piece done on my Canson Mix Media journal I got for my birthday. It can’t handle as much wash as say 140lb paper but this journal is pretty good, it crinkled a bit yes (Actually having the book shut has helped that.) but it does take a lot of work and I only had once instance of the paper becoming a bit weak, though that was my fault for trying to erase a pencil line before the rest of the paper had dried. As long as you don’t over soak the paper this mix media is great and the size of this book allows me to take it everywhere with me thanks to it being small enough to fit into a bag. The watercolors I used on this are a mixture of Daler Rowney Watercolor and my Sakura Koi watercolor set I got for my birthday as well. As far as brushes go I used an 8 round tip brushes for painting Aeris and everything except for the beach in which I used a ½ flat brush.

I promise this will be the end of the Aeris illustrations for now I think I can say she’s on vacation enjoying her time. Oh yeah the bikini is actually a random custom design that came into my head, maybe I should start designing bikinis, haha. You can read more about Aeris Eclipse by reading this blog I wrote up last Monday: http://zakentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/07/aeris-eclipse-kicks-off-world-watercolor-month.html

My talented Sister who runs the awesome Art and Photography blog Lady AnnaVintage actually just released a new blog yesterday and it’s perfectly timed for #WorldWatercolorMonth . She’s reviewing her Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor 12 pc set she got for her Birthday. This is one of her first big review blogs but it might be one of the most informative and entertaining reviews I’ve seen for art supplies so please go give it a read and tell her ZAK sent you! http://ladyannavintage.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-winsor-cotman-watercolor-review.html

Until next time however I’ll leave you guys for now.

This was ZAK Entertainment, See you on Wednesday!