Just wanted to make a post stating I'm in the hospital and my time online will be minimal. Some important points I want to make clear:

Am I okay? So far, yes. It doesn't seem to be anything bad at the moment, thankfully. I hope to be out of here in good health by the end of the week at the latest.

What about getting back to people? Unfortunately I'm going to be unable to respond to Notes and other comments / questions in the meantime, so please bear with me. I'll respond to everything once I'm out of the hospital. Remember, a Note is the best way for me to notice your question since comments get buried and are spread across a wide area.

What about artwork? It's gonna have to wait until I get back home, sorry.

If there are any other questions feel free to comment below and I'll check on them every once in a while. Sorry for the inconvenience!

EDIT: Just finished organizing the Pokémon and other artwork into their appropriate folders. Here's the current setup:

Main Gallery: For the artwork that doesn't really fit into the folders, or semi-important pieces I'd like others to be able to reference quickly. (Plus, there's gotta be something there or else it'd look empty, right?)

Unova Folder: For artwork featuring only Unova Pokémon. Will be organized into numerical order when I get the chance. Non-Sugimori art will be listed last, after the numerically listed Sugimori art.

Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto, and Kanto Folders: The same as Unova, just for the Pokémon of that specific region. I probably won't be able to organize these numerically for a while, unfortunately.

Other Art: Folder for artwork of characters from other (non-Pokémon) series, as well as various sketches and various Pokémon art that doesn't fit into just one of the above folders.

Fakemon: Folder for my Fakemon, my fan art of others' Fakemon, and completed "prediction" artwork (such as artwork predicting what the silhouette of a Pokémon would reveal).


Let me know what you think and feel free to share your opinion on changes I can make to make things even easier to find. (And most importantly, if you spot any glitches or errors that need fixing, please let me know immediately so I can fix them.)


Just a quick update on projects: The Unova Pokémon are coming along at a reasonable pace (still slower than I'd like, but it's better than nothing) but pretty much all of my other projects are at a standstill for now. Once a few things clear up in my life I should have more time to devote to my other projects.

I'm not sure what percentage of Unova Pokémon I've drawn at this point, but when they're finished I'll be posting two things: a wallpaper featuring all of their artwork, and (hopefully) a .zip file containing all of the Sugimori-style artwork of each Unova Pokémon along with shiny colorations for each piece. (I plan on doing this for every region as it's completed.)

My last update was in September, so I thought a new one was in order. Not much has changed, but I figured I should comment on a few of my ongoing projects so people are up to speed with where I'm at with them.

Sugimori Style Art: Still the main focus, still mainly sticking to drawing the Pokémon in order (starting with Unova, then Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh). Nothing's really changed here.

Fakemon: I've gotten a lot of questions about my progress on this, so I'll address it now. I haven't run out of ideas and I haven't given up - I've actually got a lot of Fakemon sketched out, so they're just waiting to be completed. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I can't really get motivated to work on my Fakemon. I think I'm just in a bit of a slump (well, still in a slump, it feels like I've been in one for a while now) and since this project is fairly low on my list of priorities I think it's just easy to pass it up. This year I'm going to try to give more attention to this project.

A few examples of what I'm planning to do: The silhouettes I posted a while back ( [link] ) will be revealed soon, probably by next week. I've got plans to redesign some of the starters - in a sense, to give them a slight overhaul. I've been thinking over ways to make them feel more unique and to make them feel more believable, so expect that probably in a few months. I'm going to aim to post at least 1 or 2 Fakemon per month. I know it's not much, but it's a start.

Evangelion Angels: For the few of you who actually enjoy these, unfortunately I'm probably going to focus on this project a little less. (Not that I'd been giving it much attention before, but now it's going to be even less.) I'm still aiming to complete it, but lately I haven't had the drive or motivation to work on it. Maybe around the time You Can (Not) Redo comes out I'll be more motivated to work on this.

Traditional Media Artwork: Something I've been meaning to do more of. Many of you may not know this, but for years I only worked in traditional media - never digital. There was even a time I wondered if I'd ever do anything digital. When I don't make digital art I sketch, draw, and paint (mostly in watercolors) and, on rare occasions, I even make figures and other things.

For the past few years digital art has consumed 99.9999% of my art time, which is a trend I don't want to continue. So, beginning this year, I'm going to start posting more traditional media art. Realistically, it probably won't be more than a piece or two here and there. But hopefully it'll be a start to a time where I show work that reflects all of my talents - basically, this is going to be my way of showing that I don't just work digitally. I need to pick up that part of my artistic identity I've been neglecting.
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Hopefully the above information is helpful to those following me. There's something else I want to touch on quickly:

Giving Credit: If you've gotten my permission to use my art (or even if you haven't), if you use it and there's a way for you to credit me for the art you've used, please do so. Lately I've had a lot of people come to me about seeing other people using my work and they're unsure if they got permission or not because the person never credited me. I'm not being greedy, and I don't mean to sound that way if I do. I'm not going to force anyone to give me credit - I just think it's the fair (and polite) thing to do and it helps avoid confusion about permission.

I got tired of seeing that Youtube Copycat Entry, so I figured it was time for a new journal entry. xP

Anyway, here's what I currently envision my future art plans to be. There will most likely be deviations from these plans, but I'm going to try to keep them to a minimum. (Unfortunately with my tendency to draw what I feel most motivated to draw instead of what needs to be drawn, I fear the deviations may be more numerous than I'd like...) The projects are listed in the order of highest priority to lowest.

Project #1: Sugimori-Style Pokémon - At the time of writing this, the only sketches I have waiting to be completed are Stoutland and Serperior v.2. After these two are completed, I will be drawing the remaining Unova Pokémon in numerical order. There are a few that I've already drawn that need second versions (mostly because I drew them right when they were first leaked, so some details are rushed), so there will be v.2 artwork aplenty in some spots. After I have finished all of the Unova Pokémon, I'll take on Kanto in order, then Johto, then Hoenn, and finally Sinnoh. I don't expect this project to be finished even within two years, but I'm going to make a solid effort to get it done as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality.

Project #2: Evangelion Angels - At the time of writing this, I'm working on the 10th Angel out of 17. These pieces will be completed at a slower rate, though there will probably be cases where I finish multiple within a short period of time (like I did for #7 - #9) due to the simplicity of some of the designs.

Project #3: Fakemon PokéDex - I plan on making around 120 Fakemon, and I already have a good portion of them planned out. Due to the low priority of this project, new Fakemon pieces will be rare, so please be patient if you're looking forward to more Fakemon from me. At the time of writing this, the next Fakemon to be completed will be the Legendary Trio of the 'Dex. (Not the Main Dragon Trio, but rather the "side" Trio, like the Lake Trio, Legendary Beasts/Birds, and Regis.)

I'll update this list if I think of anything else to add. If you've got a question about any of these projects, don't hesitate to ask. :3

I expected people to have a bit more class than this, but this is the internet, after all...

Anyway, I've been told there is a user on Youtube using my name (Xous54), icon, information, and artwork and claiming to be me. The user's account is here: [link] (If you're going to leave a comment, PLEASE be kind. I don't want to be abrasive with the person, I just want him/her to stop acting like they're me.)

That is not me. My Youtube account is ThatMan54 - anyone under any other name claiming to be me is simply an imposter. If you find people claiming to be me, please post a link to their account page in the comments section here on this Journal entry so I can confront them (nicely) about it. Thanks!

While I'm at it, I figured I should post some of the account names of other sites I post on often, so if you see someone claiming to be me on a site other than what's listed here, you can contact me about that, too. (Listed in the order of "site name : username".)

PokéBeach: Xous
Serebii: Xous
PokéCommunity: Xous
LiveJournal: Xous54
Youtube: ThatMan54

For those who didn't notice already, I added a "Frequently Asked Questions" image to my profile in the "Webcam" section. Hopefully it's noticeable so people can refer to that instead of waiting on my response!

Anyway, I figured I'd list the questions and answers here, as well, in case someone doesn't notice the F.A.Q. in my profile. (I'll even go into a bit more depth here, since I have all the room I want.)

Q1. Do you take requests? Can we do an art trade? Can you help work on my project? Can you draw ____ for me? Do you take commissions?
A1.Unfortunately, I only have time to work on my own projects. My time is very limited because of other aspects of my life.

Q2. Can I use some of your art?
A2. When asking permission to use my art, it's important to be specific. Which exact pieces do you want to use? Saying which pieces you want to use when you first ask to use my art saves us both a lot of time!

Q3. What program do you use to make your Sugimori-style Pokémon artwork?
A3. I use Jasc Paint Shop Pro 9. It's an old program. Newer versions of it go by the name of "Corel Paint Shop Pro."

Q4. If I use some of your artwork, do I remove your X watermark or leave it on?
A4. If you've gotten permission to use my artwork, please remove my X watermark when you use it. There's no need for my watermark to be on the image if you've gotten my permission to use it.

Q5. What's your favorite Pokémon from each region?
A5. From Kanto, Mewtwo. From Johto, Lugia. From Hoenn, Deoxys Normal Forme. From Sinnoh, Arceus. And from Unova, Reshiram / Kyurem.

Q6. What Pokémon will you be drawing next?
A6. It's a mystery! Really, though, not even I know sometimes. Whatever comes to mind when I sit down and start sketching is whatever I draw next. Sometimes I try to get specific Pokémon done because there's high demand for them.
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If you can think of any more common questions to add here, post them below and I'll answer them.

I haven't had much time lately to work on artwork thanks to a few factors. Work is the main factor, because it's been making me too tired and sore to get much of anything done.

Because of this, there may be a decrease in the amount of artwork I post for a while. In addition, I may be very slow to respond to comments / Notes, so please don't think I'm ignoring you.

Right now, my main focus is finishing off some small projects I've got, then working on Sugimori-style artwork for the remaining Unova Legendary Pokémon. I'm also still trying to finish up my artwork for Reshiram LEGEND. Because of the complexity of the style I'm doing it in, it's a colossal task, and will take quite some time to finish. Hopefully it'll pay off in the end.

The old list is a bit outdated, and I got tired of seeing it, so here's a new list of my current art projects:

1.) Generation 5 / Remaining 493 Pokémon Sugimori-style art - My main project. Creating artwork for all Pokémon and their forms / formes in the Sugimori-style. I will focus on Generation 5 Pokémon as their artwork is revealed, and I'll work on the first 493 between revelations.
>Status: Currently working on all of the new 5th Generation Pokémon.

2.) Reshiram & Zekrom LEGEND Card - A fake card that will feature artwork of Zekrom and Reshiram in the LEGEND style.
>Status: Reshiram LEGEND is about 10% complete, and is the only thing that needs to be worked on.

3.) Mew & Mewtwo LEGEND Card - A fake card that will feature artwork of Mewtwo and Mew in the LEGEND style.
>Status: Mewtwo and Mew are ready to be colored, but I won't start working on coloring them in until Reshiram & Zekrom LEGEND is done.

4.) Arceus Art - A piece of Arceus art I've had ready to work on for a while. I'm not really sure what's going to become of it, though I originally wanted to make it the second version of my Arceus LEGEND artwork. We'll see what becomes of it.
>Status: Done.

5.) Archvile Piece - A piece about the Archvile as it appears in Doom 3.
>Status: On standby until I get inspired to work on it again. xD With Doom 4's first solid news coming out in August at QuakeCon 2010, I should be inspired to work on it then. Though, depending on what they show, I may want to draw something new. xD

My "Pokémon Universe Creation" piece isn't something I want to work on at this time. It may be something I come back to later, but right now I've just got too much going on.

Along with that big project I spoke about in my last entry, I'm working on other side projects (which are just as big, unfortunately). Here are all of my current side projects and what I've got left to do at the time of writing this:

*Update*: Arceus LEGEND Piece - DONE!

1.) Pokémon Universe Creation - A picture that portrays the creation of the Pokémon universe as written in the Original Story.
>Status: Dialga, Giratina, and the Lake Trio still need to be finished.

2.) Arceus Betrayed Piece - DONE!

3.) "That Man" Guilty Gear Portrait - DONE!

4.) Arch-Vile Piece - A piece about an Arch-Vile as it appears in Doom 3.
>Status: Arch-Vile is about 40% done, background not yet started.

So... Yeah. A little bit of diversity there so that I'm not just working on Pokémon all the time. xD I can't wait to get these done. At this moment, I see myself getting them done in this order: 2, 3, 4, 1... But at any time I could be inspired to work on one of the other pieces first and get it done. xP I guess it's just something to look forward to either way.

For a while now, I've been working on a piece that will portray the creation of the Pokémon universe, based on the Original Story from Canalave City's library. I've always wanted to make a piece based on this, but I've never really had time to focus on larger pieces, and I've instead had to work on single pieces of just Pokémon. So far, I've got the sketches of everything but Uxie done, Arceus is almost totally complete, and the background is complete. I'll be working on them between the many other pieces I have to do, so this probably won't be done for a little while.

Just something I thought would be nice to share and look forward to. I'd show some previews, but... I think it's better to just get it done and let people see it then. xP

Thanks for reading.

Edit: I managed to get one a while ago, so I decided to clear this out. xD

Thanks for reading. I never thought I'd use this journal, but I guess it has some use after all.