This account is still dead but hello!
In early 2019 I abandoned this account, deleting everything except the papercraft submissions. But I didn't deactivate it, though at many points I was very tempted.
Who here is still active?
Maybe 2 or 3 times a year I log back in and I must say I'm surprised and humbled by how the papercrafts still bring in views, faves and oddly enough, watchers. For reasons I outlined in this ancient journal the papercraft era is done. I have many fond memories of the crafting community on DA and the now defunct Nintendo Papercraft, and this account is like a time capsule of how DA used to be and how people used to use the internet.
If you are still active then thanks for being a part of that and offering feedback and encouragement back in the day.
My controversial opinion is that the Eclipse layout of DeviantArt is fine. Clunky in parts like groups, ruining old journal formatting, and the removal of deviation categories, but fine. That's not sarcasm by the way - I genuinely think it was in need of modernisation but it does seem a little half finished. Still, almost no other major art sites offer the same gallery view. But unfortunately DA definitely declined as shown by the sheer number of amazing comments I used to get on the papercrafts. If only the user base and that sort of spirit could be regained. It's always the case that you never realise you were in a golden age until it ends.
The cheeky thing is that I am still on DeviantArt, just under a different name. And on Tumblr in almost the exact same name. I still do a lot of artwork, which eventually felt secondary on this old account. I'm still learning but my stuff is much better than it used to be. So if you would like to find me for old time's sake- there I am.
https://www.deviantart.com/alding-art
https://avrins-art.tumblr.com/
Well, that's all. This account is still going to be inactive. I have forgotten too much about my templates to answer questions, but for the time being they will still exist. Thanks for reading my nostalgic callback and stay safe out there, citizens!
No More Papercrafts
- The community of papercrafters that once existed has faded. There used to be a lot of feedback and discussion in certain places (for me it was Nintendo Papercraft where I learned my trade) but now it's not the same.
- DeviantArt is not what it used to be but there are no real proper alternatives. (Despite me using Tumblr I still think it is atrocious for actually publishing content)
- The effort required to work on content from games beyond the PS3/360/Wii U era is ridiculous. There comes a point where manual poly reduction to make an accessible template just becomes too difficult and time consuming. There are new games I love (Witcher 3, Dishonored 2) but have no chance of realistically doing anything with their models. The exception might have been Overwatch and its cartoony style but the other factors weigh this down. I can't keep up with the popular trends like I used to do with Mass Effect, Zelda, TF2 etc.
- Time is too precious. Most of my works were done when I was a student or in periods of unemployment. When you sit around all day, you can afford the massive time investment. Now I work and would rather spend the 5-6 hours of my evenings on other things.
- I'm not that interested anymore. My creative time has drifted to cosplay and prop projects, or just back to my digital art.
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Thank you so much for all who have built my models or enjoyed my content over the years, but for my personal projects it's time to admit the end and move on. All good things must come to an end as they say.
But regardless, my models will always be online here or on Hyrule Papercraft, and I am always happy to give building help or advice!
2016 Summary
Come one and all, it’s time for my yearly summary of things. As usual I write these for myself to keep track of what’s been going on and cool things I’ve come across. I don’t expect this to get read fully but you are more than welcome in chipping in with your trials during this year and opinions on things mentioned here!
2016. Oh boy what a year for events and such. Stuff certainly happened. How about those political things? And the numerous people we have sadly lost. The world is facing many problems and it feels like we’re on the cusp of change, though for better or worse it’s hard to judge. 
For me I’ve scraped another year in my job, whose industry has been on a bumpy ride for a while now. Things seem to be picking up at least but there’s always concern about arbitrary cuts coming from the levels above without appreciation of what’s going on in the ground. We don’t really have much of a training scheme here, but I have learned quite a lot as more of my projects this year have been less hand-holdy in terms of my roles. Some of that is to my annoyance as I’m still pretty junior, working on some complex and confusing things.
I’ve been away with work for a total of 5 weeks this year, experiencing South Africa and bits of Norway. Certainly very different places! Living out of a hotel for 3 weeks outside of Cape Town was tough but made manageable by good company of my colleagues. So I have a few tedious anecdotes at least, such as climbing Table mountain on a unexpectedly warm day with only 500ml of water, saved by the awesome restaurant buffet at the top. And seeing a swaggering ostrich cause a traffic jam on the other side of the road whilst heading through the Cape of Good Hope national park.
Now for the usual awards. Note when I say X of the year it doesn’t necessarily mean it was released this year. Rather it is a summary of my experiences. Basically I like to recommend stuff.
Game of the Year
I’ve played a bunch of really good things this year so there’s some serious competition to be had.
On the 3DS I picked up Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright to help me pass time in South Africa. Later in the year I got the Conquest version for Norway hotel time killing. Fire Emblem is one of my favourite game series, as the strategy, leveling up and unit management, coupled with the diverse characters make a really good positive feedback loop in my brain. It is at odds however with my general distaste for Japanese melodrama and anime cliches. The games still are very good from my perspective due to strong gameplay elements and a huge pile of between-battle content and character conversations. I do have reservations about Nintendo splitting the game into 3 different versions. What is this, Pokémon? Birthright is a simple story of siding with the good guys of Hoshido. Conquest is a morally confused tale where you join the evil empire and make peace...by flattening everyone else. Neither of the first two games tell you the whole story and it’s a big ask to go through it a 3rd time with Revelations. Maybe in future. Still it’s good handheld content and surprisingly robust stuff from Nintendo these days.
The games Bastion and Transitor get a mention. These are semi-indie games which are both story-driven, isometric hack-and-slashers (less so with Transistor) set to a brilliant soundtrack. Seriously, Darren Korb and Ashley Barrett do some great work together and both games are worth it just for their credit songs alone.
I played Metal Gear Solid V early in the year and have mixed feelings. On one hand it is a brilliant stealth game with a wonderful sandbox style. On the other, the story starts well as a commentary on Cold War espionage and the morality of private military forces, but eventually becomes a bloated mess and feels more like a 13 year old’s fanfiction in places. If you play it, just finish the game at the end of Act 1 as it gives a fair resolution. The smaller Act 2 is all over the place due to Konami and Hideo Kojima’s falling out and narratively just becomes more frustrating. I really enjoyed the gameplay as you can engineer some slick heists, engage in tense sniper duels and pretend to be the A-Team. The cutscenes, though relatively few are also exceptionally well animated and choreographed. A cool but bonkers experience.
Oh gawd how did I forget Overwatch the first time I wrote this? In terms of hours this is the one I've played the most. A joy of a game to play. Extremely likeable characters (if preeetty derivative in places) and unique ability sets make this a worthy sort-of successor to the tired husk of TF2. It can be frustrating due to the fine balancing and character match-ups but when everything comes together with a skilled and aware team it is some of the best fun you can have online right now. However online competitive games are more of a time sink for me, and not a genre that usually impacts me in terms of story or lore. So my game of the years tend to be biased towards RPGs or narrative heavy things, and this year there was some tough competition.
Dishonored 2 is my runner up. Despite a poor PC release, the actual game carries on the formula and style of gameplay perfectly. Again, the open ended approach to objectives is great, though upon second playthroughs it can become easy once you know what the level layout is. It’s got that slow investigative gameplay I love, where you can creep through a detailed world, reading notes, eavesdropping on conversations and listen to audiologs to soak up the lore. Pleasingly non-lethal actions are more viable, as in the previous game this meant you had very few options available. On the flipside, playing violently and non-stealthily is viciously fun. I played it through twice as Emily: once as 80% non-lethal, and again with a decidedly bloodier approach.
Buuut my personal game of the year goes to the Witcher 3. Now...my confession is I played the Witcher 2 a few years ago and didn’t like it. Too grimdark, with poor combat mechanics and a cast of mostly scumbags. Overrated IMO. But the immense praise of the sequel, and my friend’s ravings made me give the 3rd one a go. And after a slightly rough start and some peasants who really shouldn’t pick fights with professional monster hunters, I was hooked. The writing and characterisation is much better. There are numerous people you can care about, Geralt actively has a stake in things, you can sidestep in combat(!), 99% of the quests are very well written and unique and there’s a brilliant city to explore. The morals are as grey and difficult as ever but crucially you can make a difference if you choose so. Bad guys can eventually be dealt with by your own hand and the various subplots merge together really well. It honestly is very difficult to legitimately criticise anything. Check it out if you haven’t done so!
Other honourable mentions include the deep and dense Pillars of Eternity, the cute and grindy Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander, and the classic Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds.
Film of the Year
Again, this is stuff seen on the plane and Blu-Ray, with only a couple of actual trips to the cinema.
-Zootropolis/Zootopia: Oh boy the furry bait, but actually one of my favourite animated films for a while! Plenty of good jokes for the grown ups too.
-Spotlight: probably good but not when you’re on an 11 hour flight
-Concussion: Will Smith in a serious role? Dayum! Actually really interesting, with an insight into the ugly underside of the NFL.
-Queen of the Desert: A soft spot for Nicole Kidman, sleep deprivation and a love of all things WWI made me like this more than it deserves. Consider it a clunky Lawrence of Arabia lite.
-Inside Out (Blu-Ray): Deeper than your average Pixar flick. Very enjoyable premise that everyone can relate to.
-Star Wars: Rogue One: I though the first half was pretty bland but it definitely picks up for the final act! Plenty of Episode IV easter eggs (and one odd KotOR one too) and many 70’s mustaches to appreciate. Almost scrapes my film of the year but actually I think I enjoyed Zootopia more haha.
Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer
Right now my friends in the local area are all on holiday and my parents are too in California (which is one of my goals to visit...stop rubbing it in guys).So I'm sat here mulling over projects and other junk and boy there's just not enough time for everything in a post-student world.
My main crafting focus has turned to cosplay instead of papercraft. The community of the latter barely exists anymore so there's not much incentive to make anything right now. Maybe I will put out a model towards the end of the year when there's no more conventions going on. In the meantime I may even post some cosplay related things here for a change. You can see various WIPs and things more on my tumblr for the time being.
The current list of outfits stands at:
NCR Ranger, Fallout New Vegas
Founder Soldier, Bioshock Infinite
Booker DeWitt, Bioshock Infinite
Minuteman General, Fallout 4
McCree, Overwatch (WIP)
Summer and Work
Although we were busy with work during the weekdays we did manage to go out and see some sights around Cape Town, such as the Cape of Good Hope, Robben Island (where Mandela was imprisoned) and Table Mountain. The latter of which nearly finished me off due to a serious lack of preparation...also it was way warmer than the forecast...The restaurant on the top was heaven when we finally staggered up. And got the cable car back down I might add...
Other than that I was stuck in a hotel room a lot. Occupying myself with the football (haha go Iceland!) and Fire Emblem Fates.
Now I'm back I can resume my Overwatch addiction and resume whatever I was doing/planning before I left. It might not last as my names in the hat for another trip in a few weeks. Can't complain as our industry is on shaky ground and you need to keep busy.
You might see some art...eventually. Papercrafts, probably not. Cosplay projects maybe. There's only so much time to juggle these various creative things around these days...
Oh and Brexit...EU isn't great but that was a bad choice, Britain...
Everything is in a whirl- not sure what our politicians are doing at the moment.