Hey there, Cats! The third fight from this year's Original Anime Human Chess Match has been posted; this one's between Captain Falcon (F-Zero X) and Marth (Fire Emblem). Holy Hannah, what a bout! All your favourite smackdowns and dirty tricks, and then some! Here's the thumb:

This clip is almost 7 minutes long, so the 'normal' file here on dA is heavily compressed and there is a lot of artifacting. So please, please, please be sure to watch the DivX version here on dA. And here are some alternative files, minimally compressed and higher-res: [link] (or here [link] for a slightly larger view).
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Thanks for watchin', and be sure to throw some love at all these fantastic stage combatants.

More soon.


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That's right, comrades, the Original Anime Human Chess Match has just completed their 6th year at this past weekend's Metrocon Anime Convention. DJINN Productions was thrilled to be able to shoot the show again this year and once again we will be doing multi-camera edits of each of the fights.

The first fight - Lloyd Irving (Tales of Symphonia) vs Gorobei Katayama (Samurai 7) - will be posted in the next day or two, but to get everyone in the mood we've posted the entire Introduction (about 23 minutes) at a special area on my site: [link] . (or click on the image)

Check it out and try to guess who is going to beat the heck out of whom...

As usual, I have no idea who any of these characters are, but I do know that the actors who play them are some of the best freakin' stage combatants that I've had the honor to know. Get ready, 'cause this year's show kicks some serious ass.

More soon.

PS. It probably goes without saying, but we will be extremely busy over the next several weeks. First order of business, now that the actual shooting is over, is sending out the prizes from the contest and lots of editing. Thanks in advance for your understanding if we are a little slow in responding to notes and such.

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Jade's Stock Photo Request Policy:
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As of March 2008, the only stock photos I will produce will be requests. If you need something specific for a project, I'd love to hear your pitch. To clarify, I'm not looking for ideas (I've got plenty of those), I am interested in collaborating with serious artists who need specific images or references. Please see this journal entry for complete details: [link]

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Jade's Stock Usage Boilerplate
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The rule of thumb with my stock is: (Almost) No Rules. Do whatever non-commercial thing you want with them. If you need them to help you make a little dough that's great, just contact me so we can work something out. Thank you.

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Curator of:


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Host of P O R T F O L I O, Dangerously Cool, & DS2 and Autumn Country's Liaison to the Real World

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Good evening, Comrades. As is our custom we'll save the verbosity for upcoming journal entries, but I would like to mention that there has NEVER been a tougher AC contest to judge. There were so many entries that struck so close to key themes or visuals or emotions...man, all the entries were excellent! Thanks so very much to everyone who entered. And now, the winning entries...

* Hello, Comrades! - We have reached the deadline for the Shades of Autumn Contest. Please join us in thanking all the wonderful artists who have submitted entries to the contest. We at Djinn will now begin the daunting task of our final review of all these great entries and choosing the winners. Please check out all the entries here: [link] . We will begin announcing the winners soon. *

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Well, we've got a lot of new Autumn Country stuff in the works and to help kick it off we thought we'd host a mid-year Autumn Country contest (mid-year from Autumn, that is). This one is similar to the big annual contest, but with a focus on illustrating and adding to the world of Autumn Country as close to 'canon' as possible.

One of the main reasons we are slanting this contest in this way is to promote an entirely new aspect of the official Autumn Country site, called Shades of Autumn. This part of the site will permanently feature stories and artwork that have captured particularly well the characters, themes and visual imagery of the Autumn Country project. Here are the details.

The 1st Annual Shades of Autumn Contest

Contest Overview:

- Create original art works illustrating or expanding on the stories and/or characters of Autumn Country; DJINN Productions' fictional frameworld that explores myth, folklore, strangeness, and storytelling (among other things). These can be related to existing stories or they can be entirely new, but the focus is on being as true as possible to the 'frame world' that Autumn Country has established.

- The contest includes several categories. You can submit in multiple categories and you can submit as many entries as you like. The categories are:

Visual Arts; i.e. drawings, paintings, photo-manips, collage, motion pictures, etc.

Writing; i.e. stories, vignettes, screenplays, poetry (no, we're not kidding about the poetry)

Branding & Merch; i.e. posters, T-shirt designs, promotional material, bumper stickers, anything that might help spread the word about Autumn Country (no matter how odd the idea or design).

* New Category *

Stock Imagery; i.e. Stock images created specifically to illustrate, and help other artists illustrate, the world of Autumn Country. These do not necessarily have to be Model Stock, but ALL ENTRIES in this category must state which specific character, place, or thing from AC the image is intended to represent.

- Entries do not have to be brand new works of art, but they do have to relate very closely to the stories, characters, and specific themes of Autumn Country.

- Judging will be based on creativity, execution, and how well the piece captures the 'Autumn Country vibe' while staying true to the 'mechanics' of the Autumn Country world. For the Branding & Merch category, judging will also be based on the usability and potential impact of the design or idea.

- Deadline: June 5, 2009

PRIZES

First Prize in the Visual Arts, Writing, and Stock Categories
- Permanent feature of the winning entries on the Shades of Autumn site
- 1-month subscription to dA (donated by *simplexkitten)
- A small Autumn Country print
- One of my patented 550 Cord bracelets
- Feature in my journal

First Prize in the Branding & Merch Category
- Opportunity to negotiate the official use of your entry to promote AC
- 1-month subscription to dA (donated by *simplexkitten)
- A small Autumn Country print
- One of my patented 550 Cord bracelets
- Feature in my journal

Second Prize in Each Category
- A small Autumn Country print
- One of my patented 550 Cord bracelets
- A page from Nicolas Martin's journal

Third Prize in Each Category
- A small Autumn Country print
- One of my patented 550 Cord bracelets


(If you would be interested in donating a prize for the contest, please send me a note and I will gratefully add it to the list.)


REFERENCES
For those of you who have no idea what the heck all of this is about: Autumn Country is here: [link] . The site, and how you travel through it, is a big part of the story - so have fun exploring. There will be new content of various types over the coming weeks. We'll post a note at ~AutumnCountry as they are released. (And remember, much of Autumn Country exists outsite the bounds of the 'official' site).

If you want more background info please check out Autumn Country's site here at dA; ~AutumnCountry

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If you have questions or need clarification on any of this, just ask.

More soon.

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Jade's Stock Photo Request Policy:
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As of March 2008, the only stock photos I will produce will be requests. If you need something specific for a project, I'd love to hear your pitch. To clarify, I'm not looking for ideas (I've got plenty of those), I am interested in collaborating with serious artists who need specific images or references. Please see this journal entry for complete details: [link]

======================

Jade's Stock Usage Boilerplate
-----------------------------------
The rule of thumb with my stock is: (Almost) No Rules. Do whatever non-commercial thing you want with them. If you need them to help you make a little dough that's great, just contact me so we can work something out. Thank you.

======================

Curator of:


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Host of P O R T F O L I O, Dangerously Cool, & DS2 and Autumn Country's Liaison to the Real World

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Tonight we have some general news and ephemera from Autumn Country and perhaps elsewhere. And a reminder: the Shades of Autumn contest deadline is approaching. See below for a link to the details and check out the fantastic entries we've received thus far...


*UPDATE* - Containment, Chapter 1 Concludes

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We've posted the final part of Chapter 1 of the new Faerie story, Containment ([link] ). In this installment Jade opens the envelope.

Also, there is something of a puzzle (with a prize!) in this installment, in the form of Jade's password. Anyone who sends us a note with the titles of the three books will receive a couple of different small Autumn Country prints.

More soon.

Containment is serialized, with regular updates.


The Message Writer Revisited

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MSG5 has also been posted here: [link] (just in case you haven't already seen it). Give it a try, but even we will admit this is a tough one. Remember, this - along with the rest of it - is actually a story. There's a narrative in there. Really.


Character Portraits

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Quite a few folks who are apparently working on the Shades of Autumn Contest have asked about the physical appearance of some of the main characters. It just so happens we have a few, and some of them are available as posters in my gallery - take a look:



Shades of Autumn Contest

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The contest is off and running like wild! Full details can be had here: [link] and a mini-gallery of all the entries thus far is here: [link] The AC site itself is here: [link]


Autumn Tribe Mailing List

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If you want to be among the very first to be informed of new AC stuff, just let us know and we'll add you to the contact list. We generally send e-mails, but if you want to be contacted via some other method we'll try to make it work.


A big thanks to everyone who has been exploring Autumn Country and asking questions and working on stuff for the contest. We really appreciate the support! If you know anyone who would like the project, please send them the link. More soon.

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Jade's Stock Photo Request Policy:
----------------------------------------
As of March 2008, the only stock photos I will produce will be requests. If you need something specific for a project, I'd love to hear your pitch. To clarify, I'm not looking for ideas (I've got plenty of those), I am interested in collaborating with serious artists who need specific images or references. Please see this journal entry for complete details: [link]

======================

Jade's Stock Usage Boilerplate
-----------------------------------
The rule of thumb with my stock is: (Almost) No Rules. Do whatever non-commercial thing you want with them. If you need them to help you make a little dough that's great, just contact me so we can work something out. Thank you.

======================

Curator of:


======================

Host of P O R T F O L I O, Dangerously Cool, & DS2 and Autumn Country's Liaison to the Real World

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