skian-winterfyre

What started as a simple single shot (as shown below) to recreate an existing meme, became a full-blown self-sustaining photostory because me and a couple of mutuals in Final Fantasy and figure collecting got very very carried away 😂

You can check out the main photostory and its additional parts in the same deviation above here.

Hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I had fun editing and putting them together into his comic-page format :XD:

- Winterfyre

This photostory took 5 years to be told.

But better late than never at all.

I've placed all the links to all 6 pages in the main cover deviation below,

and you can also read what happened and why 5 years in the deviation's description:

Now that I've told their story, my job is now done, and I am fulfilled.

I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I had putting them together.

-Winterfyre

To catch up on what I'm talking about:

The last known traction I got was a whole 2 weeks ago. Now the number sits squarely at the unbudging 50, despite my consistent posting in various places (FB, IG, TW, dA). Previously I was quite optimistic that things would pick up- now it seems I've been deluding myself, thinking that people would actually go out to support the work of someone they knew (or at least liked the works enough to support).

Well, the recent outcome has proven me wrong. Not the first time humanity disappointed me on things, though ngl, I was expecting the outcome to be better than this.

Will I still continue shoot and post?

Yes - toy photography is my one therapeutic outlet, and I ain't gonna give it up now.

Will I still join future competitions?

I'll have to study the structure of the competition more thoroughly now before diving into it; I'm very anal when it comes to art competitions (which is why I don't participate much), and looks like I'll have to apply the same treatment to toy photography competitions.

It's not so much about the prizes.

If the structure only favours popular votes, it's a no to me because for a nobody like me to compete with an influencer or someone with a 50k follower base, I ain't gonna win obviously, the numbers are stacked against me.

If the structure only favours specific accounts (like the recent Nendoroid photography competition) because the account(s) is a heavy supporter of the parent company's products, it's also a no for me because no one can win against bias.

So what's left?

HOW ABOUT a fair and just competition where there are ACTUAL judging involved using a panel of REAL judges, with specific criteria (and points to calculate, if we wanna be so in-depth about it)? Then if the participants wanna argue subjectively, there's the feedback part from the judges (on what they like, they don't like, etc).

Then, and only then, I will consider if the prizes are worth the entry.

For now, I'm just gonna leave this link here since the vote campaign only ends on Sept 8 2020 10am (GMT +8). Whether it makes a difference, it doesn't matter anymore - I'm just doing my part to see this to the end.

Link to vote (require FB account!):

https://www.facebook.com/asmustoy/photos/a.10150233219336968/10157185699121968/

-Winterfyre

ICMYI, my entry has been shortlisted for AsmusToys' "Show Us Your Hero" Contest!

Originally held on a 3rd party platform, AsmusToys has shifted the vote campaign to Facebook directly. Now it's much easier - you just need to sign in to your FB account, hit the link below and 'Like' the image! Done!

https://www.facebook.com/asmustoy/photos/a.10150233219336968/10157185699121968/

Some FAQs below (assuming you wanna know more before hitting the 'Like' button)

AsmusToys? Who's that?

If you're wondering who's AsmusToys, they're the toy-making folks from Taiwan, who is licensed to produce 1/6 posable figurines of characters from the DMC universe.

Why do you want to win?

A little back story:

My first time entering a toy photography competition was for the Fanforge Nendoroid toy photography competition back in April, hosted by FanForFans and GoodSmile (GSC).

Technically, most of the pros (and amateurs) lost to some Nendo-ful account (GSC is biased, we all acknowledged that). But it was my first, and nobody wins their first time, so that's okay.

This is my 2nd time participating in a toy photography competition - with a figure I'm very familiar with and fond of (DMC3 Vergil), and my current favourite figure company (AsmusToys). To win would make my year indeed; I haven't thought of losing.

What do you get for winning?

1st prize is an Asmus figurine of my choosing. Between DMC5 Nero or V, getting either one means I get to shoot more photos of them (and you'll get to see them over at my IG).

The other prizes are pretty much cash vouchers to be used to get an Asmus figurine. The outcome pretty much the same - a DMC5 figurine=more toy shoots.

And most definitely - my utmost gratitude to everyone who has helped me win!

(if there's a super-program out there who can keep track of all my fans and lets me know which super-fan helped me win, let me know. I really wanna reward my super-fan, this is called being fair.)

What do I get for helping you to win?

Well, it takes both sides to build a bridge. If you voted but I still lost due to other entries getting higher votes than mine, we both don't get anything. Sad, I know.

If I DO win - refer to the previous question above for the answer.

Currently as of 9 August 2020, the highest votes is 340 likes.

A pretty high number, but not infallible.

Mine is sitting at 19. Shocking? Nah, I've seen lower.

Hence, this post.

Last but not least - Tell your family, friends, DMC family, DMC community to come out and help vote too!

Thanks in advance for the support!!

- Winterfyre

I got amused reading my last written journal in 2019.

If 2017 was 18 levels of hell, 2019 was triple the amount of pain and suffering.

My job of 7 years finally took a toll on my mental health - some frequent migraine attacks and a toxic workplace ruled by toxic people and being surrounded by no one I called my tribe, finally prompted me to quit my job of 7 years. My last day was last month February 5 2020.

Still the best decision I made till today, for the new decade.

That said, I don't know if I will still be as active here on dA - it's becoming another digital wasteland. Most of the artists I followed have either moved on to Artstation, or to Twitter and Instagram.

Myself, I'm on Twitter (for mostly DMC-related postings), IG for my new hobby called toy photography, and eventually, I'll open up an Artstation for my portfolio.

I still need to get a job, but one that that does kill my soul like the previous one did.

So if you like, you can follow me there. No rush.

TW: twitter.com/SkianWinterfyre

IG: instagram.com/skianwinterfyre

For now --- while I still have some freedom till my next job, I'm going to work on some long-delayed DMC ideas that's been sitting in my backburner brain since forever.

There's a lot of new talented DMC artists emerging since the DMC renaissance last year, which is pretty good. I want to be back in the DMC community like old times.

Who am I? Consider me a being of no consequence....I'm just an old lady emerging from the depths of hell after severing the bonds with thy slavemasters, who stifled my creativity and bound my hands to do THEIR creative work for the past 7 years.

Now that my hands and mind are free, the field's open for the reaping.

My first DMC artwork in the new decade after 5 long years --- is now live on dA.

Consider this my announcement to be back.

-Winterfyre