Well, I’ve been a little bum.

Not exactly. I’ve been attempting to clean my room, seeing as I’m having a mother and a daughter stay at my house on an exchange trip next week. Hopefully that’ll be fun. Also, I’ve been spending all my free time working on Chance Dance page one. I did the first page once, but it looked terrible. So I did it once more, but it wasn’t much better. So I figured coloring would help. It does, but it makes it look worse at the same time. Also, I can’t find a good program to put text in with. Phooey.

I really need to make a list. I love lists, I really do. (For some reason, I feel guilty for using “I” so much.) Anyways, I shall elaborate on all the beautiful art supplies that I have so copiously wasted my money on.
I’ll even categorize, and do partial reviews!

Coloring:
-Mainly, Prismacolor markers. They’re cheap as far as alcohol markers are concerned, at approx. $3 a marker. They’re also pretty easy to find. I mostly bought mine from JoAnne’s. They’re a great introduction into alcohol markers. (If you get good with Prismas, you’ll be a million times better with Copics)
-Copics. I just got my first one the other day, and it is glorious! A note: If you’re going to buy Copics, get Copic Sketch markers. The sketch tip is the only reason that they’re preferable over Prismas, really.
-Crayola colored pencils. The good old stand-bys. If you have old ones hanging around the house, use those. The older, the better. And, NEVER, in any circumstance, use Rose Art. I will personally come to your house and beat you if you do. That is all.

Inking:
-I used to use Sakura Micron pens all the time. They’re standard felt-tips, and are also easy to get your hands on. But don’t waste your time on 005s. The tip is gone in a matter of minutes.
-Zig felt-tips are also great. I’ve had great results with the mid-size ones, and the ink is very dark.
-I just bought a Copic Multiliner. It’s been working out pretty well, thus far. Nothing amazing, really.
-IC Comic G and Maru nibs with Tackikawa penholders. The lines have been fabulous, though my G pen has had some issues with spotting. Probably my fault, anyways. The pen holders are adorable, though! My G pen holder is honey-colored wood with gold lettering, and my Maru pen holder is light turquoise. I could stare at them all day, I swear.
-A Tachikawa School pen with internal ink cartridge. I just bought this, so I haven’t gotten it working just right yet. The ink isn’t flowing consistently…hopefully it will fix itself.
-Deleter white ink (#2). #2 is the thick stuff, so I had to water it down for use in my pens. It’s very opaque, and doesn’t bleed, so I’m satisfied.
-Don’t use “opaque white” paint markers. They’re not opaque. I’ve bought two different examples, and both of them are terribly transparent, even after multiple coats.
-I have black ink, but the bottle leaked, so I no longer know the brand. It’s India Ink, though. Under no circumstances should anyone use acrylic ink. Ever. It’s a hunk of *insert expletive here*. It doesn’t go on smoothly, dries terribly, and doesn’t work with any type of marker. Bad.
-Koh-I-Noor Rapido Sketch pens. They’re brutally expensive, but have a metal nib that produces incredibly thin and even lines. They don’t work well with rough paper.

Other (Mostly Paper):
-Aquabee manga paper. After you rip off the hideous cover, you’ll discover some fantastic paper! Similar to Smooth Bistol, it has almost no grain, making it ridiculously smooth. What it’s meant for: alcohol markers. It is the perfect surface for your expensive little coloring utensils.
-Paint Shop Pro 8. I’m in love with it…so beautiful. It’s taken me a long time to work it well. I’ve just recently discovered the joys of scripts and the brush variance palette. It’s not as nice as PS, I’m sure, but I still love it from the bottom of my heart.
-Maxon Standard Weight A4 paper. It has a really nice grain, and usually has beautiful lines. The only downside is it tends to bleed with G pens, due to the amount of ink. Other than that, I’ve enjoyed the grids immensely.

NOT-SO-BORING TIME!

Depends on how you look at it.

I now have competition in my mind for the best place to be.

My all-time-favorite place to be is dancing in a downpour. (No thunder, though.) But then, I stumbled upon a line in Ouran High School Host Club that made me think of a situation that would rival that. This is going to sound dirty, but it’s not: sleeping in a bed between two people you love. To clarify this, I would say one of those really gushy and fluffy hotel bed that smell so nice and clean would be my ideal bed. And to clarify the people that would be involved, I said it would be people that you love. Not in the romantic sense, but the platonic. I’m truly in love with all of my friends. But if you were to sleep between two people, I’d suggest males, since they tend to throw more body heat. (I wonder if it’s because of the lower body fat concentration….) So that’s that. I have to imagine I love that sleeping situation so much because I used to sleep between my parents constantly when I was little. I just love being in contact with people…thus my starting of Hug Day. (Every Thursday, for the uninitiated.) As an advance warning to all my friends who'll be staying in a room with me during Detour: watch out.

Wow, that was a lot of talking on just two items. On a final note, I apologize to Iustin for my delayed response on comments…I’m feeling lethargic.