Hi guys, it’s Des again. It’s been a few days since Overload 2011 took place, and I think it’s about time we had a recap of the event.
FIRSTLY. If you were expecting something awesome from us this year… sorry. lol.
Truth be told, this was a terrible year for us. All our members were unusually busy this time around, so we couldn’t invest nearly as much time into the book as we would have liked to. Half the team couldn’t participate from the start due to other priorities, and those who did were performing under time they simply did not have.. the result was a rushed job which does not reflect our true capabilities. Doesn’t help that the people at 3A messed up the binding for our books. They said that perfect bind was impossible with the amount of pages we had, which was apparently misinformation from a misinformed employee (whom I’d like to kill), but nevermind.. not much we can do about it now. I myself do not have a copy with me, so I don’t have a photo of our book; but it can be seen in some of the event photos below. A massive thank you to those who purchased the book this year. We know it’s not worthy, so please accept a huge apology with our utmost thanks.
Next year will be different, though. Most of us will have time again, and the rest will be encouraged to make time. We’re extra determined to succeed after this year’s failure, so please support us at the next event.
Now, enough about us and all the depressing talk. What’s not sad to talk about, though, is the other artists at the event :)
I think we can all agree that the competition has stepped up BIG TIME this year. There are so many artists who have improved since last time.. I mean, it’s mind boggling how good you guys had gotten! I’d like to take this chance to go over some of my personal favourites this year (this does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hiyaku as a whole).
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Creative IG / http://www.creative-ig.org/
I’ve been looking forward to this since before the event. Creative IG is a new studio that is made up of both local and international artists and designers. The talent in this group is undeniable, and the book itself is of superb quality. Easily one of the best at the event this year, and I look forward to their future works.
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akira-666 / http://akira-666.deviantart.com/
No lie, I was totally convinced that Creative IG was going to have the most impressive product this year, but then I came across this. THIS. WTF IS THIS!? HOW IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE!!? D:
My god… *curls into a ball of shame*…
This was made by a monster. A monster that wants to make me gay. A monster that.. might just succeed. It’s scary..
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Project YamiNabe / http://www.projectyn.com/
After making an impact in 2010, Project Nabe is back for 2011 with another artbook that features a broad range of vibrant artworks. It’s a great book, it really did turn out well. Though the level of quality here hasn’t changed much since last year, it’s a good job considering that they were working under difficult circumstances also (it’s still more than we could say for ourselves lol). Well, let’s both kick ass in 2012.
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Yuki / http://koumakan-maid.deviantart.com/
One of my personal favourites this year. It’s amazing how much she has improved since last time, and it really made for some of the better works at the event imo. The booklet on the left was… wait…… oh my god, I just noticed the price label on the corner of the book as I was typing.
$14!? AND YOU JUST GAVE THIS TO ME? D:
… I hope you folks haven’t been taking advantage of this young lady’s kindness. Do not allow her to give this awesome stuff away; pay her dammit! Just throw your money and run!
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aiki-ame / http://aiki-ame.deviantart.com/
My final favourite of the event. I’ve been watching aiki-ame on DeviantArt for a little bit now, and I’ve always admired her pencil work.. but her CG stuff is also very lovely. She holds a strong spot in my list of Overload favourites, so it saddens me to hear that she might not be attending next year due to financial reasons ):
I certainly hope this is not the case, as it would be a huge shame to lose such a great artist. As I advised on the day, making a circle would help ease the financial burden, so do consider it. Either that, or try joining an existing group. We want to see more next year!
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And thanks to whoever was handing these out at the end. It’s sweet lol.
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There were a lot of other great works, so I’d like to congratulate everyone on a job well done. I’ve never been so impressed by the quality of work at this event. It motivates us so much, and (despite the huge setback we’ve experienced this year) we have no intention of falling too far behind, so expect us to make a proper comeback in 2012.
That’s all I (personally) have to say about the artists at Overload 2011, but I’ll be making another blog post later in regards to the actual event; my thoughts on the shows, performances, management, etc. Again, great work this year and all the best for next time :)
- Des
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