Happy Anniversary HTTYD2!

Man, this is one heck of a sequel. Today marks the third year anniversary of the theatrical release of HTTYD2 in theaters in the USA. I actually went to a pre-showing on the twelfth, so it's been just a little over three years since I first saw (and bawled through) this movie! I have just finished watching it, and WOW... I think I can barely handle watching this film once a year. I nostalgia cried, happy cried, touched cried, scared cried, and ugly cried! Ah, that was cathartic.

Anyway, the second movie is just amazing. I hope you all get the chance to watch it every once in a while. I was sooooooo worried during this film's development that it wouldn't be able to live up the magic of the first film, but HTTYD2 surpassed my expectations in every way. The story is brilliant, the visuals are gorgeous, the soundtrack is a work of art. It has every bit as much thematic depth as the first film, and that truly impressed me. I'm very thankful that we got such a great continuation of HTTYD... now all we have to do is buckle down and wait for the third film! 

Dsplash Duel: Smaug v Toothless

It's time for the first Dsplash Duel! This one will pit Toothless, my favorite dragon of all time, against Smaug, the first true dragon I ever fell in love with! Special thanks to "Mr.NightFury" for the suggestion. The short story is about three pages long, and you can find it under the "read more". I did record my painting the Smaug sprite, and if you are interested, you can find that video on my YouTube channel. I plan to also potentially, make a video explaining why the fight turns out the way it does, giving the nitty-gritty details about the physics of the Gemnode's world. Now, I probably won't make a blog post for that, so stay tuned to my YouTube channel. I am not 100% sure I'll get the chance to make the analysis vid, so talons crossed. Anyway, onto the battle!

Sideshow: Toothless Statue

So, I suppose I could call this a teaser, but I have just preordered this AMAZING Sideshow statue of Toothless. It is supposed to be a foot tall, and it is literally perfect. I looked over this thing from every angle the company gave me, and I can't find a flaw. It wasn't cheap, but I feel that this thing would be worth its weight in gold! I will certainly be giving it a full review and taking dozens of photos for the blog once this thing comes in (it should be finished and arrive some time between November and December... Merry Christmas for me!). Anyway, I can't really give a full review without owning the product, but feel free to check it out at the Sideshow website. 

This is my first real "Fine Art" collectible. Have any of you ever dabbled in this (expensive) type of merchandise? I've wanted to before, but the price has always dissuaded me. What's your favorite piece of HTTYD paraphernalia that you own? Feel free to leave comments under the "read more"!

Toothless Sprite Speed Paint

Well, I've started working on the sprite arts for the upcoming Dsplash Duels. First off, unsurprisingly, is Toothless. Even if you are completely uninterested in the Dsplash story, you might at least find this somewhat fun. It's just pixel art, but I do love that art form, and it was fun to play around with. Since I was doing the painting anyway, I figured I might as well make a quick video. Consider this a teaser of more to come.