tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80371484023279680142024-03-04T23:29:53.057-08:00DA! Desktop Anime Design BlogThe design and update blog for DA! Desktop AnimeMing-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-6351559706670338972011-03-19T17:48:00.000-07:002011-03-19T17:48:41.637-07:001 new wallpaper (Toward the Terra - Tears for Terra)1 new wallpaper: Toward the Terra - Tears for Terra (Art Nouveau)<br />
<blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">I started this wallpaper over a year ago, having finished the character artwork trace fairly quickly. It then sat on my hard drive for many months as I never got around to completing the Art Nouveau-styled frame for it. Then, last week the Northeastern Japan earthquake and tsunami struck… I wanted to show my support for Japan, so I looked through my work-in-progress folder and found this. It was oddly fitting, seeing Jomy and Physis mourning for a home they never had, while many Japanese mourn for a home that is lost… [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=282">more</a>] </blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-72156187950991677362010-05-25T05:26:00.000-07:002010-05-25T05:26:30.807-07:001 new wallpaper (Lupin the Third - Catch me if you can)1 new wallpaper: Lupin the Third - Catch me if you can (Art Deco) <blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">Another wallpaper with some Art Deco sensibilities. This one is based off of the fabulous opening sequence to Catch Me if You Can. At first I was going to use Bebop characters (which also has a classy Deco vibe to the art) and was going to call it "Bebop if you can", but the more I thought about it, the more Lupin fit, what with Zenigata vs Lupin's crew... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=281">more</a>] </blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-35730901467018681582010-04-11T01:55:00.001-07:002010-04-11T01:55:44.622-07:001 new wallpaper (Tonari no Totoro - Travelogue 02: Ride the CatBus)1 new wallpaper:<br />
Tonari no Totoro - Travelogue 02: Ride the CatBus (Art Deco)<br />
<blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">Second in my Art Deco Travelogue series. To recap, I absolutely love Art Deco travel posters, so I wanted to create a series of wallpapers of travel posters for the Anime world. This one features the Fast - Friendly - Fuzzy service of the Cat Bus from My Neighbor Totoro... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=280">more</a>]<br />
</blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-61588176979713895532010-02-14T07:16:00.000-08:002010-02-14T07:16:39.907-08:001 new wallpaper (Okami - Zodiac: Tiger)1 new wallpaper:<br />
Okami - Zodiac: Tiger (Ukiyo-e)<br />
<blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">Happy New Year! Today marks the start of the year of the Tiger, so how about a new Okami wall featuring a tiger? [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=279">more</a>]<br />
</blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-24806862589942296772009-11-22T02:17:00.000-08:002009-11-22T02:17:16.733-08:001 new wallpaper (Vocaloid - Singing Through the Noise)1 new wallpaper:<br />
Vocaloid - Singing Through the Noise (Grunge)<br />
<blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">I chose this scan because somehow I liked the style (when I later found related scans and learned they were all by Miwa Shirow, I figured out why -- I like Shirow's bold lines and use of black.) Anyhow, a trace to clean things up, and then it was time for grunge... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=278">more</a>]<br />
</blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-47753957464346721552009-11-22T01:55:00.000-08:002009-11-22T02:18:05.724-08:00Back to the old grindSo I've been away from walling for nearly a year. This isn't that I've completely stopped walling, it's that I needed a break, and real-world obligations became more important.<br />
First, I'd been making roughly 1 wall per month from 2007-early 2009 (this was down from about 2-3 walls per month in years past.) That's actually quite a bit of walling considering I have a full-time job and a desire to have a social life. I felt obligated to keep walling at that speed because I had done it for so long, and it was beginning to weigh down.<br />
Additionally, work suddenly turned up a notch. There was a major new <a href="http://toolbar.google.com">Toolbar release</a> (version 6), and I also picked up responsibilities for <a href="http://www.google.com/chrome/">Chrome</a> which had several launches (although I did get to sneak in a few of my own designs in the Google-created themes gallery, which is awesome.) I also went to New York for a week to kick off themes in Google Spreadsheet Forms (again, I added some of my own designs in the mix -- Zen Spring is every~where♥.)<br />
All of a sudden, in spring of 2009 I was asked if I was interested in working from the Tokyo office for a year. The branch of our team that handles Asia/Pacific requests needed some help and was hoping to get a seasoned webmaster out of HQ, and asked for me.<br />
To which I almost immediately said, "Sign me up!"<br />
The next few months were spent getting ready for the move (paperwork) and transferring some projects to others so I could take on new ones in Tokyo. And then, I moved!<br />
It's been a busy few months transitioning over, finding an apartment, figuring out how to pay the utility bills, and meeting all the awesome people in the Tokyo office. Now things are finally settling down, and I'm ready to get back to some walling!<br />
I don't expect to be able to match the 1 wallpaper/month speed I had previously. I'm not going to try to. I'm just going to make walls when I feel like it. I have some ideas and I'm going to fly with them as I see fit. So sit back and relax, and perhaps subscribe to the feed for updates (or add me to watchlists on Minitokyo or AnimePaper) because I'm still here, and I still mean to stay.<br />
Also, I have totally, utterly missed DA!'s Nth birthday in May. I'm working on a new layout right now, actually. Maybe it'll be up in time to celebrate 2010. It's always good to start the New Year off with a clean slate, right?Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-11781263184825591422009-06-10T21:53:00.001-07:002009-06-10T21:53:49.576-07:00The state of the siteSo obviously I haven't been making any walls lately. I've been busy with work, and a whole lot of it. Toolbar, Chrome, and Docs have all had numerous launches, and I've also been working on a variety of other projects. I have also recently bought a Nintendo DSi and have been rediscovering my love for SNES RPGs, as well as a love for BBC America programming. I haven't even turned on my desktop computer in several months, doing all my stuff on my work laptop.<br /><br />I'd like to continuing making wallpapers, but right now I don't feel a whole lot of motivation. Maybe I'll find some inspiration when...<br /><br />I move to Japan!<br /><br />I will be working from Japan for a year starting in August, helping out our team in Tokyo. This is a big change and I'm really excited, and also kind of freaking out over all the stuff I need to wrap up before I do so. Definitely not going to have anything out before then. Maybe afterwards. Time will tell.Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-2586149894889752562009-02-24T16:09:00.001-08:002009-02-24T16:10:59.821-08:00No wallpaper for FebruaryUnless I manage to either a) freeze time or b) steal a TARDIS, there's not going to be a wallpaper for February.<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/press/annc/20090224_toolbar6.html">This is what's been keeping me busy all month</a>.<br />I may just manage to squeak out a new iGoogle theme, but February <i>is</i> a short month...Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-57461637372290536232009-01-21T20:28:00.000-08:002009-01-21T20:29:24.091-08:001 new wallpaper (Okami - Zodiac: Ox)1 new wallpaper:<br />Okami - Zodiac: Ox (Ukiyo-e)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">I've been wanting to make a series of Okami walls that features each of the Zodiac animals for a while now, and what better time to launch this than at the beginning of the Year of the Ox... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=277">more</a>]<br /></blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-50209643414918105352008-12-30T21:35:00.000-08:002009-01-03T12:16:10.040-08:001 new wallpaper (Uchuu no Stellvia - Travelogue 01: Your road to the stars)3 wallpapers in one month? Must be the holidays!<br /><br />1 new wallpaper:<br />Uchuu no Stellvia - Travelogue 01: Your road to the stars (Art Deco)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">One in what I hope to be a series of Art Deco styled travel posters, encouraging you to visit the farthest reaches of the anime world, because Art Deco has the classiest-looking travel posters, and I love the style so. First up, why not take a voyage to Foundation II: Stellvia, your road to the stars? [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=276">more</a>]<br /></blockquote><br /><br />I guess I am giving up on the whole walltip for every wall thing. Maybe I'll just post random walltips? Later?Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-40003613949620343342008-12-21T00:08:00.001-08:002008-12-21T00:09:04.371-08:001 new wallpaper (Terra e - Peace on Earth)1 new wallpaper:<br />Terra e - Peace on Earth (Celestial)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">Happy Holidays (2008) everyone! Instead of a standard snow-laden wallpaper with anime characters in Santa hats, I thought I'd do something a little different - a standard Holiday message of peace and hope for the world. I must admit I have no idea what this series, Terra E, is about...[<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=275">more</a>]<br /></blockquote><br /><br />Still no walltips. Maybe later.Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-38019096955936259242008-12-15T00:45:00.000-08:002008-12-15T00:46:43.495-08:001 new wallpaper (The Big O - Obey Giant [Robot])1 new wallpaper (finally!):<br />The Big O - Obey Giant [Robot] (Minimalistic)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">Perhaps one of the most iconic works from the Obama campaign is Shepard Fairey's "Progress" (later "Hope") poster. In homage to both Obama and Fairey, I wanted to make an anime version. The simple use of colors reminded me of the Big O soundtrack art. And hey, it's a different Big "O"... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=274">more</a>]<br /></blockquote><br /><br />P.S. I made this wall in about 2 hours... so I'll have to think of a relavant walltip later.Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-33751336637389012762008-11-22T12:26:00.000-08:002008-11-22T12:32:27.305-08:00No wallpaper for NovemberI won't be able to finish a wallpaper for November, mostly because I'm housesitting at my parents and don't have access to my desktop where all my files and art programs are stored. My dad does have Photoshop, but the walls I'm working on include at least some vector component, so they'll have to wait.<br />In the meantime, I'm working on a bunch of iGoogle themes. I just finished a <a href="http://desktopanime.blogspot.com/2008/11/new-igoogle-skin-coming-soon-snowflakes.html">snowflake one</a>, and I'm going to create a <a href="http://patterns.ming-ling.net">Japanese paper pattern</a> theme to complement the <a href="http://www.google.com/ig/directory?hl=en&type=themes&url=mlouie-igthemes.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/papercuts/papercuts_daily.xml">Chinese papercut theme</a> I already have up. I'm also in the planning stages for a separate site for my themes, since they're all just using a wiki page on Google Code which is very plain.<br />I'm hoping that Gmail themes will be opened to the public with an API similar to that for iGoogle, because I'd love to make themes for Gmail as well. I've already made a few themes internally (a port of the Tetris theme, a green floral variant of papercuts, and a glossy theme like the DA! v10 layout) and I'd love to make these available to the public.Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-19668813701212663642008-10-21T23:37:00.000-07:002008-10-21T23:38:23.532-07:001 new wallpaper (Okami - Let Sleeping Wolves Lie)1 new wallpaper:<br />Okami - Let Sleeping Wolves Lie (Ukiyo-e)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">It's been a while, but I'm still here and walling... As you can see, I still love Okami artwork. The image of a napping Amaterasu was too sweet to pass up. She looks so relaxed and cozy... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=273">more</a>]<br /></blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-57090340360940272952008-06-23T22:30:00.000-07:002008-06-23T22:31:50.607-07:001 new wallpaper (Lily Hoshino - Thank you for smoking)1 new wallpaper:<br />Artist: Lily Hoshino - Thank you for smoking (Pop Art)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">I am currently working through a backlog of bishounen walls, because dammit, we girls need more bishounen to decorate our computers with. Why should guys get all the skimpily-clad eye candy? Except this isn't a skimpily-clad bishounen. But the smoking. That's sexy, isn't it? [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=272">more</a>]<br /></blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-16628257483243608142008-05-30T23:30:00.000-07:002008-05-30T23:31:21.507-07:001 new wallpaper (Full Metal Alchemist - Monster)1 new wallpaper:<br />Full Metal Alchemist - Monster (Pop Art)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">So I figured I'd celebrate DA!'s 8th birthday with a bishounen wall, and I liked the uber-angsty pose of Edward in this scan and the fact you couldn't see his face. Plus: BELLYBUTTON. Anyway, Ellegarden's alternative stylings are totally super emo-factor and perfect for the wall, so I chose the song "Monster" as the theme... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=271">more</a>]<br /></blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-7574088687924612232008-05-25T12:54:00.000-07:002008-05-25T13:02:47.443-07:00Happy 8th Birthday, DA!DA! turns 8 years old today. It's rather a scary thought that I've had this site around for that long. It started when I was just entering college, and now I've already got a Masters degree and have been at my job at Google for over two years. Just crazy.<br />Anyway, as with previous birthdays, I celebrate by giving DA! a new layout. This year, I decided to go extremely over-the-top with Web 2.0 sensibilities (or insensibilities depending on your views.) This means shiny chrome, lots of soft gradients, and oodles of reflections everywhere. I was originally going to keep the rotating headers, but never found any other images that seemed to fit the header as well as the Kino no Tabi image that currently graces the top. I figured the slick 2.0-style UI was a nice about-face from the previous Zen, Chinese classical layout, of which I remain quite fond of (I almost wanted to keep it for another year, but decided that change was still good.)<br />I removed the resource section, since I hadn't updated it since two versions ago, and wasn't really planning to ever do so. I replaced it with a local syndication of this blog, mostly because one of the things I've learned to do at work is syndicate Blogger feeds in all sorts of static HTML files. I've always wanted to integrate the blog more into the look and feel of the website, and with Blogger feeds this is really easy. Of course you can still view the blog on Blog*Spot if you feel so inclined. This ensures that all sections of the site remain fresh and interesting.<br />Well, I'm off to another day at Fanime con. Hopefully I'll finish my next wall in a few days, but as you can see, I was a bit busy with this redesign.Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-8371131958905184532008-04-21T22:16:00.000-07:002008-04-21T22:18:30.594-07:001 new wallpaper (Keroro Gunsou - Keroro Laundry Service)1 new wallpaper:<br />Keroro Gunsou - Keroro Laundry Service (Scenic)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">My entry for Which?Waller Round 5: Leap Year. The scan amused me, so I traced Keroro off of it. I was lazy and didn't want to do a full background so I traced a bit of the background, recycled some clouds from my RxJ OMGPONIES!11 wall, and encircled everything to look like a sort of badge... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=270">more</a>]<br /></blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-69120838558701886722008-04-20T22:25:00.000-07:002008-04-20T22:26:11.632-07:001 new wallpaper (Katamari Damacy - This is how we bowl)1 new wallpaper:<br />Katamari Damacy - This is how we bowl (Minimalistic)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">I originally drew this katamari for work... It reminded me of another illustration I did that involved bowling for Lava Lamps. Except that bowling with a katamari would result in some... interesting outcomes... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=269">more</a>]<br /></blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-88702584794542044622008-04-14T21:33:00.000-07:002008-04-14T21:34:55.240-07:001 new wallpaper (Jigoku Shoujo - Hell Flowers)1 new wallpaper:<br />Jigoku Shoujo - Hell Flowers (Minimalistic)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">The inspiration for the setup of this wallpaper came from oPtion$, the Fake Steve Jobs book about the Apple back-dating options scandal. In one of the first chapters, (fake) Steve describes his Ultimate Frisbee uniform: "black shorts, black socks, black shoes, and a black mock turtleneck T-shirt with a tiny black Apple logo silk-screened on the shirt, a shade darker than the shirt itself, so that you can barely see it. In other words, <span style="font-style:italic;">classy</span>." I liked the "black on black" concept...[<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=268">more</a>]<br /></blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-49546628530839863072008-03-30T17:29:00.000-07:002008-03-30T17:30:16.052-07:001 new wallpaper (Okami - Conflagration)1 new wallpaper:<br />Okami - Conflagration (Ukiyo-e)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">I liked the image of Amaterasu leaping towards something, so I traced that. Then I needed for her to be leaping at something, so I found a neat scan of a warrior (Akakabuto), and traced that. Since the Akakabuto had the kanji for fire on its helmet I then found a third scan with some smoky spiraling fire and traced that... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=267">more</a>]<br /></blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-91338215209921933662008-02-26T22:50:00.000-08:002008-02-26T22:51:39.477-08:001 new wallpaper (Kino no Tabi - Mixed Signals)1 new wallpaper:<br />Kino no Tabi - Mixed Signals (Scenic)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">Nowadays the world feels like its full of extraneous signals that tell you exactly what you should and should not be doing, most especially on the roads. Flashing lights and even sound cues at walk signals can lead to an informational overload of mixed signals. When I saw this image of Kino perched on a traffic light, I decided to make a wall in that vein... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=266">more</a>]<br /></blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-702580172751072422008-01-21T19:51:00.000-08:002008-01-21T19:52:28.677-08:001 new wallpaper (Aa! Megamisama - Le Soleil Radieux)1 new wallpaper:<br />Aa! Megamisama - Le Soleil Radieux (Art Nouveau)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">Another fun AMG wallpaper in Alphonse Mucha Art Nouveau style.<br />I liked the curve of Belldandy's wings in the original scan, and figured I could use in a Nouveau-style framing with a sun-in-glory complementing the arc of her wings. So I did just that... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=265">more</a>]<br /></blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-2495109040997227912007-12-29T00:01:00.000-08:002007-12-29T00:33:42.417-08:001 new wallpaper (Katamari Damacy - Katamari in the Snow)1 new wallpaper:<br />Katamari Damacy - Katamari in the Snow (Scenic)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">While randomly browsing the Namco Katamari Damacy site, I got sucked into playing the character matching game, which introduces a bunch of new cousins. One of them was a snowman, and I figured it would be an excellent base for a new Katamari wall, with the Prince rolling up the poor unsuspecting Snowman into a new katamari... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=264">more</a>]<br /></blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8037148402327968014.post-57825043253984121152007-12-09T14:50:00.000-08:002007-12-09T14:52:12.224-08:001 new wallpaper (Artist: Hyung-Tae Kim - All That Jazz)1 new wallpaper:<br />Artist: Hyung-Tae Kim - All That Jazz (Art Deco/Minimalistic)<br /><blockquote style="background-color:#DDF5C6;border:1px solid #AABB88;padding:6px;">A fun, sexy wallpaper of a jazz singer, inspired by some taxi advertising for a local Jazz/Blues lounge. I thought the original image by Hyung-Tae Kim was a good fit, and basically flattened out the colors to give it a stylized, more Art Deco type of feel... [<a href="http://desktopanime.com/walls_show.php?wid=263">more</a>]<br /></blockquote>Ming-Linghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485785992097542669noreply@blogger.com0