land
1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Esper Panorama
6 Island
5 Swamp
4 Plains

Artifacts
2 Vectis Dominator
1 Ethercaste Knight
1 Mask of Riddles
1 Scornful AEther-Lich
2 Parasitic Strix
1 Esper Sojourners
1 Architects of Will
1 Vectis Agents
1 Ethersworn Shieldmage

Black
1 Sedraxis Alchemist
1 Infectous Horror

White
1 Guardians of Akrasa
1 Akrasan Squire

Multicolour
2 Sewn-Eye Drake
2 Kiss of the Amesha
1 Punish Ignorance
2 Zombie Outlander (I was expecting heavy red/green)
1 Zealous Persecution (Orzhov Pontiff on ‘roids as an instant)
2 Bant Sureblade
1 Deny Reality
1 Stormcaller’s Boon

So, I won 6 packs and bought 9 others, so it was a pretty good night.

First off I have to say that you’re the main reason I truly began to be interested in digital ever since I saw your artwork for Job For A Cowboy’s Genesis album, which is by far my favourite and a major reason I bought their 12″ LP.

Thank you, this is one of the best compliments someone can get.

My first question is what made you become interested in persuing the career of art, specifically working in the digital medium? Also, what are your views on the sometimes artistically controversial tradition art vs. digital?

It was just a natural transition, I used to make huge pen and ink drawings and collages during my teenage years, besides that I messed around a lot with the computer we had at home, it wasn’t much of a computer compared to the systems you can buy now, but you could still do some simple graphics on it (this is like 26 years ago). When I was around 18 years old, computers became powerful enough to do more serious graphic work on it and then I simply merged my interests and at some point I went to graphic school and followed the audiovisual program there where you mainly worked with computers after the first year.
My opinion on the digital art vs. traditional art debate is that people shouldn’t judge the medium on which the art is created. I care more about a good concept and a great output than whether something has been made on a traditional or digital canvas.

When you are designing your works (specifically for album covers) do you listen to the music that band has released and/or an advanced copy of the album as a base idea or do you just read the lyrics to get a feel for how you believe it should turn out?

I always ask for some tracks and some lyrics and I often get to hear some rough mixes, so I can get the feel of the album. For me that makes it much easier to visualize it, it’s like the soundtrack to the artwork I’m making. Sometimes bands already have a concept but then I still have to hear what kind of atmosphere the artwork should have. The most difficult part is getting the cover done but once you have that down it usually all goes smoothly.

One question I’ve been dying to ask you is what has been your favourite piece to work on, and if you are comfortable answering (I won’t tell the client) which has been your least favourite or most frustrating to design?

It’s hard to pick a favorite, they all have their upsides and downsides but I really loved working on the Nodes of Ranvier Defined by Struggle album, for me it was really inspiring work. The Job for a Cowboy cover was also great to work on, I spent days on detailing that cover and it probably is the most popular work I ever did.
I never get really frustrated by work, in the end it’s work and you should treat it like that. Of course it happens that a band has a different opinion on the artwork than I have and it sometimes can feel a bit personal when you get some critics, but you have to keep in mind it’s their album and they should be happy with it (and they pay for it). I learned to put criticism behind me quite quick and just try to focus on the work, it’s a waste of energy to get frustrated.

I know that some consider what you do to be strictly called ‘design’ but others view it as art like any other. Do you have an individual opinion on this issue?

I never cared about labeling my work (or any other work) that much, I already had trouble giving it a name on my website. I ended up with calling it artwork, because it didn’t sound too pretentious to me. But whatever label you stick on it, it will still look the same anyway.

One last question before I hand this off to you: Where do you believe that digital art will go in the future, or do you think that there might be a sort of renaissance in which traditional art will make some sort of comeback, if you will, and have more of that used commercially?

Traditional art is still here and I think it will be here to stay, it just gets overwhelmed by all the digital art that’s around and that’s probably caused by the fact that it’s much easier to start with, you don’t have to go out and buy paint, get a canvas, get dirty, instead you just start up your computer and start working and everyone has a computer these days. I still use traditional techniques in some of my work, I still use paint, ink and all kind of different materials which I scan in. Digital art often looks too digital, it’s hard to get that analog feel, so perhaps that will still change more. I’m not sure where it’s heading, tools become easier and easier too handle it seems so for people like me that means I have to stand out more from all the amateur Photoshoppers. The bad thing which I already see happening, is the fact that it’s so easy for people to showcase their work that a lot of the good work is hard to find and that it’s also harder to find the skilled people; it can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Okay, this is the last question I have for you now: do you have any works in progress that you can tell me about, or is it classified information for the moment?

I’m currently working on three albums for the following bands: Inquest, Three and Luthor. Besides that I’m also working on two short 3d animations for my portfolio, my new website and I’m doing some audiovisual design work for the European elections for the Dutch national news.

The AI is great. The enemies try to flank you, and if you don’t pay attention they will be successful and kill you…again. They take cover when they should, suppressing fire works. they run from grenades more effectively than the first game. oh, and they want you DEAD. you see that wood table over there? you know that’s a dead tree, well they want you deader than that. they want you so dead your great great great great great grandma is gonna be like ‘damn, you’re SO dead’.

the level design is linear mostly, a few different routes to take out enemies, a high and low ground, or left or right, but that’s about it. However, you’re not going to be playing and all of a sudden be like ‘i think i’ve been here before’ which happens a lot in halo and most other shooters, but that will not happen in KZ2.

online is amazing and is similar to CoD4′s class system. you get points every game and you level up your rank from private to general granting you new abilities and classes and weapons. some maps are better than others, but you will find your favourites quickly. some like the Tharsis Refinery and Visari’s Hammer, but i hate them both. Unfortunately there is no Park Terminal, perhaps they will remake it as an add-on. I think i’d pay $5 for just that map in KZ2. Some are better for just run-n-gunning but others can accomodate the tactical player that likes to snipe. Unfortunately no half-way-across-the-map-shotgun-sniping that i like to do.

Graphics – 10/10 easy 10 most beautiful game evar

Gameplay – 10/10 no stupid extra stat building or any rpg elements like bioshock or anything, just straight up fun with points of frustration, but they are few and rather far between.

Controls – 9/10 because it takes quite a bit to get used to throwing grenades with R2 and such. KZ one controls would have been perfect

Online – 8/10 if games would be a bit easier to set up it would be better, but the class system and and actual just fun it is to play online is great, and the last game i played online that was this much fun was socom 3 or F.E.A.R. (which is still my favourite game to play online on a console, yes i know, it is the only FPS i’d actually rather play on a console than PC, and i’m actually pretty good at it online.)

Difficulty – 7/10 some parts can just be a little too hard, like the ATAC boss fight and the part where you fight two Heavys and a bunch of infantry at the same time. and the end game, which simply said is EPIC.

Story – 8/10 an amazing score for an FPS i know. it has a story. and a fairly interesting one. Sev is quite cool, something happens that will shock you if you played the first game, and a scene to rival that of CoD4′s nuke.

Sound – 10/10 guns sound great, proper squishes when you destroy and enemies cranial cavity, everything sounds right.

Technical overall – 8.8
RealFeel – 9.5

buy or rent? if you want a solid online game that doesn’t scarifice online for campaign or vice versa – buy
if you just like to complete every game you can play, then rent. completionists should buy simply because of elite mode is going to take forever for you to beat if you even can.

As always, its better to be blaq than black

first of all, piracy has in fact PROVEN to help the spread of games. doom for example is the most shared game in fucking history. why is it so popular? because one guy in college got it and gave it to a friend and so on. granted that if that is all they do, yes the company will lose revenue, but it will get them better known and therefore make the people more likely to actually buy their products in the future.

yes, i have commited acts of piracy. everyone has. have you ever downloaded a song for free? of course, if you can navigate your way to this you have. that makes you just as bad as someone who downloaded 500 movies and a bajillion songs under the law. i’ve illegally downloaded a lot of music (not a lot in comparison to some people) but i did that to get a taste of a band. i originally downloaded all of JFAC’s genesis album, but you know what? i bought their Genesis 12″ LP as  well. they got their money. besides, i would buy probably all my music legally if the money actually went to the band, but the bands get paid before the release of the album. just like actors get paid when they sign on to a movie, not afterwards when it finally hits the box office.

the corrupt vision of hollywood trying to control the internet is just digusting.  The MPAA and the US government in general believe that it has domain over the world and the right to enforce it’s laws everywhere. What the pirate bay is doing may be illegal according to US copyright laws, but they are based in Sweden and they are not doing anything illegal under Swedish law.

Not only that, but did you know that America is pretty much the only democratically run country where it is in fact illegal to overthrow the government? In other democracies like Britain, France, and Sweden as well, there are riots in the streets if their government does something that the citizens truly dislike. If that would happen here in the US of A, people would be put in jail. And, in fact, it is illegal to actually even contemplate overthrowing the government. This law was made before the patriot act in case you were wondering. Does that not technically infringe upon the freedom of speech and the press? Censorship of games, movies, etc. is, in fact, no way infringing upon our rights as long as it is not the government trying to censor it, it falls mostly under commercial censorship and ratings boards. Personally, i believe that more movies should play unrated versions of movies more often.

But enough about piracy, the government, etc. let’s focus on something that i find slightly more annoying. I bet most of you have heard of this if you live in the US: black history month. This is the most fucking stupid thing I’ve ever heard of. Who gives a flying fuck? Why do they need an entire damn month? hell, the presidents only get one day a year, not even a whole week, one god damn day for what is it now, 45 ish people.

okay, how many people can you think of off the top of your head that black history month is about? like what, about fuckin four, maybe five: martin luther king jr, G.W. Carver, harriet tubman, and like malcolm x (cause he thinks he’s cool because he has an X). in proportion to president’s day, it should be more like black history hour, maybe an hour and a half. on a monday. because monday’s suck anyway. and considering political correctness, shouldn’t we call it ‘african american history month’ instead? or do they not like that anymore, i think it’s stupid.

there are three kinds of black people. Those that actually came from africa, i don’t mind them, they’re not douche bags, they’re cool, they have true culture. There are those who were born here, have respect for other people, have a fucking job, and went to higher education than eighth grade. I don’t mind them either. they are those black people that positively contribute to american society and society in general either culturally or economically. Then there are the third kind of black people. These are the ‘niggaz’ and their ‘dawgs’ that make themselves look like douche bags who think they’re so fat they need to where triple xl pants and shirts and gaudy looking ‘gold’ chains, while the only thing they really have big is their ego. I don’t like them. they are a disparage to their entire race and the race of mankind for that matter. they are the ones whose ancestors fought for the freedom to sit in the front of the bus, to have equal schooling, to be seen as equal among others. this third type don’t care, they sit in the back of the bus, same as before; they don’t care about school at all, worse than before; and they are complete assholes who think they are the shit, much worse than before. They made themselves so much worse than the poor, struggling tribes back in africa.

so that is why we should do away with black history month. either that or i like the idea of a white history month. but if i would suggest that i would be called racist wouldn’t i? i”m not really racist, i’m an economist, i like black people that contribute to society, but i don’t like niggers. i don’t mind beaners because they have jobs, but spics don’t, they are worthless. you see what i mean? i have to contribute the economist official structure to Amber Dawson.

signing off for right now,

the BlaqDove, being blaq is cool, but being black isn’t.

however there are several homebrew drivers, the most common one can be found on ps3hacks.com. it’s decent, but it doesn’t work quite right all the time. the way it appends the ps3 controller to the windows registry makes the dead-zone of the analog sticks smaller than they actually are, causing random figdeting and makes the sticks hard, if not nearly impossible to map correctly for emulators or pretty much any game. that’s why i went digging deeper into the world of the internet and found one that works virtually perfect.

it was made by some japanese guy that is awesome. everything is in japanese so it is hard to read, but it does make the dead-zone correct and keeps everything accurate.

here is the link to the forum that i found the driver on:
DCEmu. it tells you exactly how to install and work it.

It’s about as fast as firefox in loading pages, although initial load times can be a bit longer. However, it makes up for this because i haven’t had to install any plugins for flash or any of that stuff. However, it does seem like Flash is more emulated than actually supported because of lag when you move your mouse cursor over the flash document (this was really only notable while watching the Spoony Experiment: Here.)

it has a built in download manager like firefox, still waiting for IE to catch up with that. But unlike firefox, it does not open as a seperate window, it opens in a new tab.

Getting to the tabbed browsing that has become immensly popular and wonderful. Opera has it perfect. It uses the same shortcuts (ctrl+t or middle mouse button to open a new tab or close them with the mouse) that we’re used to with IE and Firefox but makes the tabs better. It has a built in speed dial, which is available for firefox as an addon but doesn’t come standard. firefox’s quickdial is only one step ahead because it can have multiple pages, although that doesn’t really make it faster than using bookmarks.

also like firefox, opera is fairly open-source and allows for skin editing. although the standard skin is rather pretty, much more so than standard firefox 3. another thing that hasn’t been implemented in IE.

and my most favourite feature?
BUILT IN TORRENTING.

that’s right ladies and germs, you don’t need to download uTorrent or any of those to down torrents off the pirate bay or isohunt or whatever your fancy. you download your .tor file and opera handles the rest of the download process, not only that but it downloads them QUICK, i’ve 160k right now (the highest dl speed i’ve EVER had is around 212-220) and there was no queu time to find seeders and peers, which is amazing considering the pirate bay only had 7 seeders for my file. Not only that, but it effectively throttles your bandwidth to give you fairly decent page load times while still downloading. i’m blogging this, downloading me 189mb file at 160k and checking my facebook with little impact on browsing speed. ah. my download just finished.

my overall scores for browsers:
Internet Explorer 6/10 – without the customization, it’s just not worth it, tabbed browsing, plugin support for pretty much everything

Safari – 5/10 – load times always seemed way too long, plus not skinning and the one i used had no tabs

Google Chrome – 4/10 – really? stick with your search engine, long load times and unusual interface, tabbed browsing does not save it

Mozilla FireFox – 8/10 – really nice, customizable, usually fast (although it takes me forever to get it running), download manager, tabbed browsing

Opera – 9/10 – the 9 because of the maximum of 9 speed dial pages, otherwise: tabbed browsing, download manager in new tab not window, torrent support, built in flash and i believe activeX support, customizable = win

Now if you will all excuse me, i’m going to go play some Manhunt