Animator's Dream: Meet the adorable geek fighter Noel

Noel, in her schoolgirl uniform

"I'm a lover, and a fighter!" -Noel's motto

Among a group of characters, there may be the character that's a sweetheart but also quite the fighter. That character may also be the resident nerdy type that's got a laundry list of hobbies and interests. This would help to bond with the other characters and, eventually, earn the love of another character.

Noel, as Vambrace

In this case, we have none other than Noel. Noel is the nerdy girl of the five-man team in Animator's Dream, though she is introduced a third of the way as a character. Noel is unique in that she has the ability to shape shift her outfits into whatever she pleases. Oftentimes, she alters her outfits based on various characters; this reflects her personality. That said, just because of this trait she is not to be trifled with. Noel is a capable fighter, similar to Kirk; Tigercat and Julia, but she stands out as having psionic powers. Noel can take control of minds; use telepathy to secretly communicate; and even scan the minds of others.

When the time really comes, Noel morphs into her Vambrace form. In addition to a super heroine-inspired costume, her psionic powers are increased greatly, and she gains access to a katana that can freeze foes and use powers exclusive to that form. She later gets upgrades to her costume and powers by an unknown group. Noel herself is also an unknown. Who is she, exactly? Read my novel, and find out.

If there were an adaptation of my work, animated or otherwise, I would choose Cristina Valenzuela to voice Noel. She's based off of Cristina in more ways than one, and Noel's sweet yet brave personality would suit her voice perfectly.

Trivia:
-Noel is named after Noel Vermillion from the BlazBlue series
-Noel's regular schoolgirl uniform is based off of Haruhi Suzimiya's, while her Vambrace form is based after Psylocke from X-Men
-Noel's costumes were originally colored after the characters they were based off of, but they were changed to the red costumes seen above due to being to similar to the originals and to explain why she wears red or red-related colors in the story

Thanksgiving post, and status of my novel

Gobble gobble, turkey heads! If you live in the United States like me, Thanksgiving is tomorrow and it's that time of year to get together with friends and family. Also, chow down and things like that.

I wanted to write this to know that I'm still writing blog posts. I've just been very busy the past two weeks with external issues and my education. I'm still alive and writing up my novel Animator's Dream. In fact, I'm close to finishing the novel up as we speak. Not sure what to do next when I complete my novel by the end of the year, but I've got plans nonetheless.

Enjoy your holidays, holiday goers. I promise to bring you another regularly scheduled blog post next week.

Animator's Dream: Meet singer warrior Julia Kusanagi

Julia Kusanagi

Julia in a costume

In every work of fiction, there's always a diverse set of characters. They all come in different shapes and sizes; genders and alignments. Some are chosen to be the hero, while others choose their desiny. Some are action oriented, while others think before they act. Some are completely normal in appearance, while others take cues from supermodels.

In the case of Julia Kusanagi, it's a mix of everything. Julia Kusanagi is a singer and entertainer for
the entertainment hotspot Club Section Nine. She provides soothing and memorable vocals for her audience, as well as a display of her musical instrument aptitude. Sometimes she plays dress up in her shows, as an extra means of eye candy.

In addition to her musical talents, Julia is also a capable fighter. Her ability to handle a variety of weapons and melee fighting makes her a force to be reckoned with. Because of her feline appearance, she's granted faster than normal reflexes and focus. This is on top of the normal animal based animation abilities.

She's also rumored to have unusual powers and extra strengths. What could they be? When it's released, read the novel Animator's Dream to find out.

If there were an adaptation of my Animator's Dream novels, Mary McGlynn would be my choice for voicing Julia. Her smooth and beautiful voice fits Julia perfectly, and she also works out for being a tough woman ready for a fight.

Trivia:
-Julia Kusanagi is based off of Mary McGlynn, though the character references Julia from Cowboy Bebop and Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell.
-Julia is designed after Miyu Lynx from Star Fox 2.
-Julia was originally named Miyu, but she resembled her a little too much, hence the name change. It doesn't help that one of my professors had a hard time pronouncing the name, too.

Animator's Dream: Meet the sidekick Tigercat

"This is Tigercat. Where's my prey?" -Tigercat

Continuing the blog posts of discussing my characters, we now move on to the sidekick of the hero. A staple in any literary or work of fiction, every hero needs a companion to guide them along their journey; to keep safe and simply keep company. While the hero earns the friendship of others along the way, it's the sidekick that stays with a character from beginning to end.

Tigercat, Kirk's sidekick

Thus we are introduced to Tigercat. The creation of animator Kirk, Tigercat is basically a female variant of Fire Leo the Fox but with feminine features and only having one tail. Compared to the rest of the characters in 'Animator's Dream', she is the most normal of the cast. That said, she has some unique characteristics of her own; she's an animal based animation, which means she has enhanced senses and immununity to most mind control methods. She also inherits the memories and skills of Kirk, making her proficient in combat. Even when she's lacking super powers or the ability to craft things in real time, Tigercat is a force to be reckoned with.

Something else is that she knows of the mission to protect the Animated World and defeat an evil organization. Tigercat is also aware of a secret organization tasked with defeating this evil group, and who created the magic pencil. How does she know of this? Read my 'Animator's Dream' novel when it's released on the market.

Now then, if there were an adaptation of my novel that required voicework, Wendee Lee would be my pick for this and plenty other characters. To begin with, Wendee Lee is very versatile with her talents. Her Haruhi Suzumiya voice would be perfect for Tigercat, as the character in this novel is young but also a go-getter, too.

Trivia:
-Tigercat is designed after Fiona Fox, an original character from Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics.
-The main inspiration for this character comes from a friend of mine

Animator's Dream: Meet the hero Kirk

Kirk, the hero, in his human form

"It's perfect, my first picture drawn with a magical pencil."

Well then, since I have the audience and premise out of the way it's time for me to introduce the characters. After all, what story would be complete without characters making it possible?

First, the hero of Animator's Dream. His name is Kirk, just Kirk. He's a graphic designer and art director as a means of earning a living. For fun, however, he's a writer and artist, and is into animated works; games; and other works of fiction. His age is around his mid-to-late twenties, so he's a young character. He's also somewhat of a nice guy, though beware his wrath should you want to hurt his friends and loved ones.

He's the staple young hero, though he's a bit of an unwitting one at first. His journey begins at the convention Otakon, where he wins a large sum of money and a fabled pencil. It is through the pencil that his story begins.

In the animated world, he uses the character drawing that won him the contest to blend in with its denizens. Named Fire Leo the Fox, the character serves as the animation form of Kirk. In this form, Kirk has greater strength; enhanced sight and hearing. He can also detected stealthed foes with limited ability. These attributes alone give Kirk's animation form a greater edge against other people in the animated world. He's also quite the brawler when he needs to fight in melee. Despite his animation form's karate outfit, he uses boxing and Krav Maga (Israeli fighting style that uses dirty tactics and simple strikes to down foes). Usage of martial arts is limited due to impracticality.

Fire Leo the Fox, Kirk's animation form

Speaking of edges, he doesn't have any fancy powers or magic to help him fight whatever adversaries stand in his way. Because of his pop culture knowledge, he can craft any weapons and tech he can think of with the magic pencil. From high powered pistols that can down even light vehicles and helicopters, to man portable railgun cannons that shoot bowling balls, and armored suits and mecha with unmatched firepower. Whatever dreams Kirk has, he can now make into reality.

He also gains a mysterious katana along his journey, also with great powers. Who crafted the blade and the pencil? For what purpose? The only way to find out is to read Animator's Dream.

Now then, if there were to be an adaptation of my work whether a game or animated work, I'd pick Johnny Yong Bosch to voice Kirk. Johnny's known for playing heroic and, to a degree, dark themed characters. He'd also be an allusion to Kirk's animation form, given that his Adam Park character was the Black Ranger in the early Power Rangers series.

Trivia:
-Kirk is based off of me, mostly due to my age and mannerisms
-Fire Leo the Fox was originally going to be called Kung Fu Black Armor Tails, but the name was changed due to risks of copyright infringement. The two-tailed fox and martial arts outfit design still remains, however, and I think a name like Fire Leo would be more memorable.
-The name Fire Leo is a reference to two works; TechnoSoft's Thunder Force series with the main Fire Leo star fighters, and Viewtiful Joe's Inferno Lord Fire Leo. I primarily got the name from the former, though.

Animator's Dream: What's the Premise?

I discussed in my previous blog post regarding my novel "Animator's Dream" who my intended audience and what the genre of the novel was. The Reader's Digest is that it's a fantasy novel with a mix of other genres, and the audience is young adults and anime and manga fans.

Yet, what about the premise of the book? A genre and audience is meaningless if a story is nothing more than an excuse plot. In that case, the premise of the story goes as follows:

Young Kirk is attending Otakon during his vacation from his graphic designer job. At the convention, there's a contest awarding the winners $500,000 plus an artifact resembling a pencil. Kirk wins the contest thanks to his character drawing, but while the money is nothing out of the ordinary the pencil he wins is. He uses the pencil he won to craft another character, which comes to life thanks to the pencil's powers. His second character, named Tigercat, explains the contest was meant for Kirk to win and the pencil contains great powers. She also explains that the pencil was sent by great beings in the midst of a war against an evil force. With that, Kirk is sucked in by Tigercat to the world of animations, and along with new friends to be made he carries on his shoulders new responsibilities and the fate of the animated world.

So, that's the premise of the novel. It's a simple introduction and admittidely a bit cliche, but then again most works in this day and age aren't one hundred percent original anymore. That said, considering the theme and elements used in this book there's still a hint of freshness present. In the end, it's how the content is handled and not what kind of content is present.

Oh, and I also plan on adding in characters and character biographies as I go along in the novel. Knowing who and what the characters are is an integral element of any story.

What is the genre and audience of Animator's Dream?

I've been writing my novel, Animator's Dream, since 2010. It hasn't been published yet, but I'm hoping to do that at least next year, if not before the end of this year. It's been a long haul, but I'm hoping that these years of planning and writing will pay off somehow. Now then, I'd also like to discuss what the genre of my book, the kinds of characters involved, and who the intended
audience is.

I admit my novel is mixed in terms of genre. Primarily the novel belongs to the fantasy genre because of certain magical elements, but there's other genres mixed in as well. Some elements give off a science fiction vibe, others that of action, and in a few instances there's horror and drama in the mix. There's even a small element of romance because of interaction between two characters later on.

Again, the novel is a fantasy novel due to the presence of angels and devils. While overused, this novel provides my take on these beings as being a part of organizations residing in the novel's world. While I won't give away details, these angels and devils in the novel were influenced by pop culture in our world. Based on analyzing and adapting our pop culture, the beings develop their own personalities and tastes from what they observe. While still being a product of my doing, it explains how and why these characters act and even dress the way they do.

The story is aimed at a young adult audience as well as those versed in pop culture, especially anime and manga. The young adult part comes from the fantastical elements, and how the story is about a normal person like you or me taking responsibility and learning to survive in a different world. He's got friends he makes along the way to make his journey easy, but he also must watch himself at every turn, for there are those who want him dead. Also, he's tasked with playing the hero like rescuing hostages or fighting on behalf of a resistance; a futuristic special forces group; and even great beings. He even develops a relationship with a character, and their relationship and how the two bond become a part of the narrative. The pop culture fan base also gets to enjoy the references made in the book, ranging from characters resembling other popular characters, to tools; tech and weapons based off of works of fiction or even real life. I wanted to make sure there was something for everyone to enjoy, since while there's the jokey one liners and action scenes, there's also the serious elements like taking responsibility; learning to help others in need; standing up against those who do harm; and learning to meet and befriend others that are new to people.

One more thing I wanted to point out is that the book has violent moments, and there's bits of profanity and pretty ladies wearing certain dresses. That kind of content, however, is mild compared to other works aimed at young adults or even children. While characters are killed through weapons, it's not an all-out gore fest. The outfits worn by certain characters don't push the limits
of what's acceptable too much, either.

Overall, this is the audience and content I hope to aim for with my first written novel. Young adult and fantasy novels are very popular, but so is pop culture. Those elements right there are how I will aim high with this novel as well as my future work. After all, finding the right market and the right publisher and agent helps greatly in getting my work to take off.