The Great Struggle, the Arsenal Age and the Renaissance

It's been a long time since I've posted my 113th "Photoshopped" work, stretching back to the time of my very first blog, A Person's Anecdotes. Some might have thought that I stopped making graphics after that one. But I didn't. I simply underwent a pretty lengthy hiatus, but I've always known I'll go back to this trade. However, going back to business wasn't as easy as I expected it to be. I was faced with the ordeal of gaining back my powers within the shortest possible time, while discovering new artistic styles for my future projects at the same time. Nevertheless, against all odds, I managed to get back on track, and achieve progress. Or so I think.

My quest to return to GFX-making can be divided into three periods; the Great Struggle, the Arsenal Age and the Renaissance. These two periods will be elaborated further below.

The Great Struggle

The hardest part of my mission to return to GFX-making, and probably the most rewarding, was the Great Struggle.

I do not really know why I refrained from doing any GFX after my 113th project, but this I knew; one cold night in the early months of this very year, I was drinking my evening mug of milk when a thought pierced my mind; I had to go back. Armed with what remains of my former skills, I set to work with my Elements 4.0.

I lost almost all of my powers during my hiatus (I even forgot the functions of some basic PS commands), and I had a struggle to regain them; hence, the name of the period. I've created signatures that were downright atrocious, while I've also created ones that were pretty decent. Here are the works I've created during this period.

1. Kratos 1
2. Hades
3. Kratos 2
4. Poseidon
5. Altair
6. Gunslinger
7. Dante
8. Dante 2
9. Dante 3
10. Kratos 3

The Arsenal Age

I was still not in full height of my powers when a catastrophe hit my homeworld, KHQ. I have extracted an encoded text from my message log whose mainframe is situated at MangaFox that described what had transpired after the violent storm.

"I have come from a distant cyberspace community which is currently on the brink of extinction. I have been infected by a cybernetic virus that constantly drains my energy. The said virus is extremely abundant in my community, forcing me to leave it; otherwise, I will eventually give in to the virus' destructive effects and go berserk. I have wandered around cyberspace in hopes of finding a new home, and in hopes of freeing myself from the virus. My search seemed to be at an end when I discovered this site."

Not wanting to succumb to the effects of the Burdum virus, I have decided to leave my homeworld, KHQ, and after a few days of wandering aimlessly across cyberspace, I came across MangaFox. Seeing this world as an opportunity to further enhance my abilities, I established a small settlement within the outskirts of this world and made connections with its constituents. It is in this age that I've discovered and started joining SOTW (Signature of the Week) contests in an attempt to prove myself. Simultaneously, I used my research funds to construct an arsenal under my name pseudonym, Automaton, to serve as a "gallery" for my future projects.

This was also the age where I performed countless experiments on new styles. A number of experiments weren't so impressive (which will be shown below), while some were pretty good. To my relief, all seemed well in the end. My performance in SOTWs was satisfactory, and my arsenal received generally positive reviews. And so I said to myself, "I guess I am back."

Here are the works that were produced during this age. Please have a look.

Note: There are six irretrievable projects created in this age due to accidental history deletion and reformatting.

1. Hellgate: London
2. Seong-Mina
3. Hellgate: London 2
4. Silver Fox
5. Cabal V1
6. Cabal V2
7. Cabal V3
8. Through the Rain
9. Crusader
10. Through the Rain 2
11. Dark Void
12. Amy V1
13. Amy V2
14. Smile
15. Hatsune Miku
16. Random
17. Splinter Cell
18. Hatsune Miku 2
19. Lelouch
20. Hatsune Miku 3
21. Hatsune Miku 4 V1
22. Hatsune Miku 4 V2
23. Hatsune Miku 4 V3
24. Megurine Luka V1
25. Megurine Luka V2
26. Megurine Luka V3
27. Hatsune Miku 5
28. Prototype
29. Mass Effect
30. Haruhi
31. Katy Perry
32. KOF
33. L Lawliet V1
34. L Lawliet V2
35. Hatsune Miku 6 V1
36. Hatsune Miku 6 V2

SOTW Entries:
1. Speed
2. Alice In Wonderland
3. Vocaloid
4. Distortion
5. Asuka Kazama
6. !
7. Ban Mido

Prelude to the Renaissance

This time period is very short to the point that it's negligible, but for some reason, I still had the urge to show this. This is the mini-period between the time I left MangaFox and underwent a short hiatus after the death of my comrade, Elements 4.0, and the time where I underwent another hiatus, which is prior to the Renaissance period. This is where I started using Photoshop CS4. Using a new software took some getting used to, and so my early works with CS4 weren't that excellent.

1. Megurine Luka 2
2. Pirate Girl
3. Mobius

The Renaissance

This is the period I'm currently in. This is the time where, for some reason, ideas for new projects keep showing up in my mind. I do not say my works are excellent, but I can say that I'm really satisfied. More projects will be created in this time period, so please stay tuned.

1. Ken
2. Ichigo
3. Nature
4. L
5. Prince of Persia

And so was the history of my rise from the ashes. Please bear with me if you find my way of speaking annoying. For those who read this and actually took the time of checking out my works, thank you very much.