Mt-Maigetsu: Issue No 11
This month's banner by Tama-Neko
CONTENTS
Mai-chan, what's going on this time?
A/ i/What's New in Minitokyo:
Get updated on all the latest happenings!
B/ ii/Ask a Mod Mai-chan's Mail bag!
Mai-chan is loved a lot ... well, a bit
C/ The Adventures of Popular-chan
Popular-chan takes on the pen tool, who will win?
D/ Manga Spotlight
The long and short of love!
E/ Get to Know Your MT Staff!
A little more info on one of our "little" Mods!
F/ Featured Member
The RAIN lover
G/ Staff Picks
Art that needs more love
H/ Competitions and Projects
Are you missing out on the fun? Join in :D
I/ Group Ads
Looking for a new group to join, or to make new friends?
J/ Have your say!
Mai-chan wub wub wubbbles PMs <3
K/ The Usual Stuff
The enlightening links to Minitokyo Zen-dom...
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A/ i/RECENTLY IN MINITOKYO...
This section was brought to you by MapleRose unless specified otherwise :3
Wintry Wonderland
Continue to keep your eyes peeled! :) (Argh, my eyes! O_O)
Staff changes
In case you haven't noticed, kuroimisa, our gallery mod
and creator of Mai-chan (er, Mai-chan's mommy? XD) has retired. Thanks for all that you've contributed to MT, we'll miss
you (esp Mai-chan) >__<
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B/ ii/MAI-CHAN'S MAILBAG
This section was brought to you by MapleRose unless specified otherwise :3
Quote by sailorchiron What do you think about having a "MT Help" section? That could feature common things to help with userpage customization, using the forums (especially the Sandbox), and stuff of that nature? Not a rehash of the Policy and FAQ, just some helpful hints? Just an idea.
That sounds like a cool idea. Actually, I think it was one of the ideas for a section in MTM, to have a "MT hints" section. Not sure if we can actually have a separate section dedicated to it (will have to ask Sheqel), but if members are willing to contribute (yes, that's right, if you think there's an area you'd like hints on, or would like to provide a help tidbit, send them in to Mai-chan!) and there's enough interest, we can definitely have a section for that in future issues of MTM :)
Quote by moonelf313Anywho, I was thinking of some things we could possibly do, one idea I actually got from Marissa with her selling of the clamp items, if we could have an area in the forum for those of us who would like to sell or trade our anime/manga goods...we wouldn't necessarily have to do it through MT, but have the link to Ebay or livejournal, or wherever we are selling it. Or even so members could talk about trading items as well, I didn't want to start a post without your knowledge and maybe if it was moderated it would go well, just an idea anyways... :)
The mods discussed the idea, and we decided that instead of using the forum, it'd be easier to create a group for this instead. You can discuss selling or trading in the group guestbook, or in a cBox (like some groups such as Vectory or Celestial-Luminesse have). You can link to eBay or LiveJournal posts by customizing the group content etc.
Quote by moonelf313Also could we have an area where we could place scans with text and request to have them cleaned? Since I get Ribon and it is so full of text on beautiful pictures it is so frustrating and I don't really have the know-how on how to clean them. I would put them in the Anime Picture dump, however they are otherwise high quality scans and would easily get over looked...
I would think you can use the Anime Picture Dump, since vector requests are put in there as well. If you're worried about the threads being overlooked, then name the threads something appropriate, and maybe link to the thread from places like your userpage, groups relating to the scan subject, or even your signature if you want.
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C/ THE ADVENTURES OF POPULAR-CHAN
What Not to Do in MT
Disclaimer: This was written purely for entertainment purposes, no offense is intended in any way. This is a work of fiction; any resemblance to real actual persons, places, or events is purely coincidental.
Part XI: Popular-chan Vs. the Pen Tool
What do you do to get your wallpapers to get accepted so that people can comment and fave it? Looking through the gallery, you notice that many walls are "vectored", so you decide to look into that. You comment on those wallpapers, asking what "vectoring" is and how to do it. Then you post in your various groups asking about it, somebody's gotta know, right?
Some time later, oh look, some people have replied, explaining what "vectoring" is, and some even linked you to tutorials and offered to help. Aww, they're so nice, they deserve to be on your friendlist.
Looking at the advice and tutorials, it seems that "vectoring" is just tracing something, usually with this "pen tool". Hmm, you've never tried using the pen tool before, it looks rather complicated. But oh well, you'll figure it out, right?
Going into Photoshop, you decide to open a simple-looking scan of a girl's face and experiment with it. You click on the pen tool, and stare at the various options and settings. Uh, where do you start? Scratching your head, you click somewhere on the screen, wondering what it's gonna do. Oh look, it put down a dot thing. Okay, then what? Uh, maybe you should read the tutorials again...
After an hour fighting with the pen tool, you still can't get used to it; it feels awkward and doesn't want to do what you want it to do. Arrrghh! This is taking way too long! The pen tool is stupid, and you decide that you don't like it.
"Vectoring" is just tracing right? Why do you have to use the stupid pen tool? You can trace with brushes too, right?
Using the default brush, you slowly trace over the scan. The lines are very wobbly since you're using a mouse, but at least it's easier to use than the pen tool. There, the outlines are done, guess it's time to colour! Ugh, the area is rather big, and you'd rather not colour in the whole thing with a brush... then, use the paint-bucket (fill tool)! The paint-bucket creates some gaps and uneven edges here and there, but who cares.
There, you're finally done. That took a long time. What about the background? Uh... maybe instead of wallpapers, you should submit just the vector first, since most vectors you see in the gallery don't have fancy backgrounds.
You stand back and look at your first "vector". Uh, it looks a bit wobbly, not as good at those you saw others make, but you're just a beginner, you'll get better.
After submitting the vector, you log off for the day; you've spent too much time on the computer today already, and your eyes are starting to hurt. But tomorrow, you'll see lots of comments, and faves, yay!
However, when you check back the next day...
What?!?! Your vector got deleted?!?! Why?! You put so much time and effort into it, and that's not counting the time and effort you spent battling the pen tool. Why?! Does MT not like you or something? You decide to make a thread complaining about it, detailing the amount of time and effort you spent on making your first "vector".
The response you got was that the image quality wasn't good. The mod suggested that you use the pen tool to do vectors, not the brush and paint-bucket, and that you post in the Sandbox first to get advice. Pfft, the Sandbox? That's where unpopular stuff go, right? You want your vector to receive lots comments and faves!
But, but... you don't want to fight the pen tool again... you've already lost to it once, and you're scared to face it again...
Maybe there's another way...
You search Photoshop's toolbar, looking for another way. Hey, what's this, "polygonal lasso". Hmm.... You decide to play around with it. Hey cool, this tool is neat! You can create selections and fill them, it looks much neater than the paint-bucket. And to save you some work, you learned to use layers to your advantage, by filling in overlapping areas in different layers.
When you're done, you look at your new "vector", and compare it with your first attempt. Yeah, it definately looks better. Well, there are places where it's a bit blotchy, but nobody will notice. This time, your "vector" will stay in the gallery for sure!
And indeed, your vector did stay in the gallery, even after a couple of days. Yay!
Though, you didn't get many faves (okay, you only got 1 fave), and one comment that said "you should use the pen tool".
Why isn't your vector popular?! Is the pen tool all that great? Fine, if people will fave your vector more if you use the pen tool, then you'll face the pen tool! You won't give up, the next vector you produce, it'll be a masterpiece!
to be continued...
Article written by MapleRose
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D/ MANGA SPOTLIGHT
Lovely Complex - Volume 1
Risa Koizumi is the tallest girl in her class, and the last thing she wants is to fall for Atsushi Otani, the shortest guy in the class. While Risa fell in love with Suzuki (from another class), Otani had that same situation with Tanaka. But it seemed that Suzuki and Tanaka started to like each other, although they didn't admit it at first. The love story gets a bit more complex when Risa and Otani planned to help both Suzuki and Tanaka express their feelings; and later they found out that they are totally hopeless when it comes to relationship. LoveCom's storyline is basically something new to me, although you can say that it is slightly predictable towards the end of the volume. But we can actually see that the relationship between Otani and Risa is getting closer and better as they shared some similar interests, e.g. they both like Umibozu as their favourite band.
Aya Nakahara did a fine job with the art, especially with the cute and likable characters, detailed hairstyle and simple-looking background (though I think the flowers and sparkles effects are a bit too much). The dialogue is easy to understand and it doesn't use complicated explanation that will take you an hour to get the meaning. VizMedia's translation is good enough for readers to understand the whole story. So far, I think LoveCom has a strong and original plot that will make readers keen to know what will happen in the next volumes and it does not show much romance (like most shoujo manga) but rather lots of funny scenes to enjoy.
External links :
Lovely Complex at Wikipedia
Lovely Complex (manga) at
AnimeNewsNetwork
Article written by gaara-no-shukaku
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E/ GET TO KNOW YOUR MT STAFF!
Hello, hello faithful readers! Welcome to another exciting round of getting to know
your MT Staff members. :) This month we learn a little more about our dear Mod, littlejonny100. (firefly note: Due to conflicting schedules, this interview was conducted via
PM.)
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+Would you consider yourself more of a wallpaper person or a review
person?
I love the wallpapers and enjoy admiring art, but was always more a literary person, hence I'm better at reviews. Unfortunately I haven't given myself time to watch a series through and review it lately.
+In your opinion, what makes a great wall? Are there different criteria that you look for between anime and general walls?
I often find a wall is more about composition than super techniques. Some of my favourite walls are the simplistic ones so my recommendation is to have a plan, not just a lot of brushes. MT is an anime community, so general walls are often judged a bit harder, however most general walls submitted are of a high quality (owing to the fact most beginner wallers develop their skills with their favourite anime series).
+What makes a good review? Do you have any advice for members who are considering writing their first review? What are common mistakes that members make?
A good review remains objective, avoids bias, has a score that backs up the sections. A personal touch is always a good thing however never let it develop into fanboy/girl rantings or your review wont exist very long. Naturally, keep it structured, grammatically correct, formatted for this site and all the rest. My advice before writing a first review is to have read THIS. There are also a lot of awesomely useful members over at the MT Review! The biggest mistake people make is ranting about how much they loved everything. Remember, we want to hear both sides of the story.
+How do you think the quality of reviews has changed since you first joined MT?
I would say reviews have relaxed from being only a formal essay with a few members adding some much needed colour with their personal touches. Like with walls, those who review often are becoming much better at their presentation while there are a number who are developing their skills. It's hard to say quality has improved without going back and reading a lot of old ones, however they have undeniably become more interesting to read.
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And now... forward the random questions! /(^o^)/
+Top 5 anime (in any order):
Utawarerumono, Cowboy Bebop, Chobits, The first half of Death Note (don't like the Mellow and Near arc X-P), AIR
+If you were a piece of clothing, what would you be and why?
Probably a loin-cloth. They're very revealing and animalistic; there aren't many things I have to hide from the world (for better or worse).
+If you could replace any character in any anime, who would it be?
If I were to replace Eruru from Utawarerumono with my little brother.....does that mean I'd get to keep her? More seriously I'd want to replace Near from Death Note with someone a little more interesting, his personality just killed the last arc.
+What are you favorite snack foods?
Favourite snack food would have to be carrot. People never believe me until they see for themselves but I eat so many that my hands and feet have actually started to turn orange.
+What do you do in your spare time?
What is this spare time you speak of?......The majority of spare time I've had recently has been at uni and I spend that either in a bar with male friends or rolling around the the grass with female friends. Otherwise I'm listening to music at home during the night.
+Do you think there is life on Mars?
I doubt there's life on it, did it ever occur to anyone to dig a big hole and have a look in it?
+What is the last film you saw in theaters?
I was talking to a friend the other day and realized the last movie I saw was The Golden Compass and before that 300.....i don't see movies very often these days :sweat:
+What is something that you've always wondered, but never found the answer to?
I've always wondered if I could be a total genius if I had a little more motivation in my life and applied myself properly. I'm sure I'll find out the answer one day when I do.............
+ And finally... do you have any last comments before we end the interview?
My time management skills suck so I haven't given myself time to do my job around here very effectively, for that I do apologise. I'd also like to say that if there are things in your life that are complicated, you should fix them at whatever costs; Complicated is unhealthy!
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That concludes this month's "Get to Know Your MT Staff!" Remember, if you
have a Mod that you'd like to know more about, or would like to submit a question you'd like me to ask a Mod, send it to
me (fireflywishes) via PM.
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F/ FEATURED MEMBER
The Minitokyo staffs would like to recognize Erdbeermilch as our Featured Member for this issue. She is a very talented waller as some of her wallpapers got highlighted in the frontpage, including her recent work Kissed by a Muse. She also gives constructive comments in the gallery as well as ideas and suggestions in the Sandbox.
Erdbeermilch started to join MT two and a half years ago when she was looking for more professional wallpaper sites. She thought that it was the time when she wanted to improve in walling as well as to share her artworks with a bigger audience. When it comes to anime, she enjoyed watching Gankutsuou, Mononoke and Cowboy Bebop. She also likes Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, and is planning to watch the new season of xxxHolic and Jigoku Shoujo. Her favourite Japanese-inspired artists are Miggy, Yoshitaka Amano and RAIN, while Gustav Klimt and Alphonse Mucha are among the classic artists that she favours.
When asked about what inspires her works, she described that the inspirations mostly came from other people's arts, from classical to manga arts and even from others' wallpapers. Apart from walling, she loves to take lengthy walk through the woods, enjoys cooking, reading and also listening to her favourite songs.
Article and banner by gaara-no-shukaku
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G/ STAFF PICKS
Dismantled by darkangelcrisis
A wallpaper with distinct mixture of 2D and 3D effects. I adore the clever use of blur effect, plus the simple background makes it a desktop-friendly wall to use. chosen by gaara-no-shukaku
Coldly Shining Moon by windyroller
windyroller is awesome with markers, and it shows here. I love how the colouring and shading on the ice makes it look shimmery and has depth. The cold blue and the warm yellow work well together. chosen by MapleRose
Lollipop by Ki-sempai
Bright, bold colors and a funky design really make this one stand out from the rest! Full view for full appreciation. chosen by fireflywishes
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H/ COMPETITIONS AND PROJECTS
(in alphabetical order)
Anime Alphabet Project
Project for Paint-o-Rama: The Anime Alphabet project is still going
on. Make painted wallpapers from series/artists/studios that begin from letters of the English alphabet (as categorized
by MT) and have the entries of the project featured on the group page in rainbowy colours. There are only 2 letters
left!
Announcement thread: Anime Alphabet
Happy Birthday Arinachi Contest
Arina-Tanemura-Fans is running its contest
where participants need to colour or vector any Arinachi's monochrome scans. The deadline has been extended to June
28th.
Announcement thread : Happy Birthday Arinachi Contest!
Moar Plz!
Want to see more walls featuring your fave characters or done in your fave style? Hosted by The Planning Board, this is a project that lets you request whatever
walls you may fancy. The catch is - you have to wall someone else's request first before you can make your own request.
View current
requests
Announcement thread: New Project - Moar Plz!
The Minimalist Inspiration Project
Simple-ism's project, with minimalism as the theme.
The challenge is to bring life to a wallpaper with less while expressing a clear strong concept - in other words, what
you think minimalist simple-ism should be. Anyone can enter.
Announcement: Full Guidelines (offsite)
Two Bodies - One Love
Vectory is holding its latest contest and the themes are
Chimaera and Crossdressing. Read the announcement thread for more information.
Announcement thread : New contest! Read and participate!
UA's the "ONE" Challenge
Project for TheUnderappreciated: There are 4
categories available: one colour, one technique, one color+ technique, one shape. Simply create a wallpaper focusing on
just the one element. There is no deadline- project ends when there are at least 5 entries per category.
Announcement thread: UA: The "ONE" Challenge.
Vexel Revolution Project
Vectory is hosting its first project. The aim of the
project is to change the perceptions on vexels and to put it at a higher level than before; and also to provide info and
tutorials on vexels and vector arts. This project is open to non-members as well, and for the time being, the project is
on-going and has no set deadline.
Announcement thread: Explanation of 'vexel' and other guidelines
What would YOU do for your summer vacation?
What are you planning to do (or would like to do) during summer vacation? Are you going camping, travelling, or tanning
on the beach? Why not capture it in a wallpaper or vector and participate in Celestial Luminesse's contest!
Announcement thread: Hey CL: What would YOU do for your summer vacation?
Which?Waller Round 6
The-Planning-Board is hosting its 6th round of
which?waller. Round 6's theme is Schoolhouse Rock and be sure to check the announcement thread for more info. Also stay
tuned for the Guessing Stage that will begin shortly after the deadline.
Announcement thread: which?waller round 6 begins!
Remember if you don't tell us it's on, we can't tell everyone else. ;)
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I/ GROUP ADS
- Do you draw
with pen, pencil, crayons, tablet or other media? Do you want to improve your skills or share your own talents with
other people? Or do you just plain love doujinshi? Then this group is for you!
-
Love vectoring? Then, join this group! It features high-quality wallpapers and vectors, as well as tutorials for you to
learn.
- A misc group for art and discussion.
- An art group for
vectoring and wallpapering. We're having the "What I Did for My Summer Vacation" project.
- A misc group for member over 18 and out of highschool to interact.
- A group for Kaleido Star fans to gather.
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J/ HAVE YOUR SAY!
Want to see your group advertised, we now request you send in your group as well as a short summary of it's purpose or current highlights. This will of course become far more useful that an icon alone. Also if you feel there is a group or a member worthy of nomination in the MTM again please PM it. Questions, comments, whatever, simply PM the MTM with the subject MYVOICE.
Remember the MTM is determined by you! ^^
Below are banners: featured member, featured group, a MTM writer and I <3 MTM banner (free for use by everyone).
Feel free to use these banners anywhere you want- signature, group page, userpage or even personal blog/ site! Please
click them to get the hosting link.
Can't wait to get mail from you guys!
From Mai-chan, with love <3
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K/ THE USUAL STUFF
All
about the Mt-Maigetsu: requests, ads and features --> To know how to advertise and nominate your group or member
you would like to see on the MTM!
The Policy --> A must read!
The Userguide
--> For day to day living!
Forum
guidelines --> Keeping it clean!
Common problems and
their solutions --> Got you covered!
Visit HeadQuarters for more juicy goodness or contact your nearest friendly moderator.
Links compiled by LittleJonny100
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(c) Mt-Maigetsu 2007-2008; any part of the Mt-Maigetsu or in its entirety cannot be
reproduced in other publications without prior permission from the author(s). If you wish to share the Mt-Maigetsu,
simply share the url- thank you.
