Fish Story Winners!

I really loved reading everyone's fish stories in the comments. It's always nice to know there are other people out there besides myself who have dedicated so much time to add to their collections. The winners of the Bloat loot cards are:

Yams

Pomelo

Congratulations, winners!  Please email me to claim your cards!

A couple of months ago while talking pets with my friend Jen, the subject of Dragonwrath achievement pet, Lil' Tarecgosa, came up. We were both very excited that her guild was working on the achievement. I told her that although I loved my guild (The Basin), sadly the legendary staff was a distant goal for us so I'd be unable to add that pet to my collection for a very long time. The next time we talked, she told me her guild was offering me a membership for a chance to get the pet. I could not believe their generosity! After much soul-searching and discussion with both guilds, I decided to temporarily leave my guild and join Militis Justica. They finished the staff shortly after, and the guild got the pet. It took longer than expected for me to grind my reputation to exalted, but I eventually got there. My favorite new pet, Lil' Tarecgosa, has such special meaning for me. I want to thank Militis Justica for such a generous gift, and The Basin for their understanding of my deep affinity for Warcraft pet collecting.

Over the next several weeks hope to be farming armor pieces for my Lil' Tarecgosa screenshot with my new friends in Militis Justica. 

I've also been having fun putting together other sets in anticipation of the 4.3 transmogrification feature. Thanks once again to my friend Jen, I learned about an amazing new add-on called Mogit. This mod lets you search for armor, sorting by class, material, slot, color, level, etc. With this mod, I was able to find and complete a new set that will likely be my main xmog look. I'm very excited about this add-on. It promises to be invaluable for my armor collection and screenshots!

A Fish Story - Purple Puffer Giveaway!

Well, it's been a while since I updated the blog. Real life getting in the way, etc. 

I did manage to add two more Hallow's End pets to my menagerie and spend a couple mornings preparing screenshots of them. I put together a sexy green witch costume to go with my green-eyed Feline Familiar. I was thrilled to get a Flying Broom so we could chase bats at dusk together. My friend Jen helped me locate just the right backdrop for my screenshot: the skyline of Gilneas, with requisite chimneys, bats, bare trees, and gothic spire. Here is the gallery page.

Here's a different shot of us so you can see my costume. I'm listing the pieces if you're interested in putting together this costume yourself. It's all cloth, so any class can wear it: Ivycloth tunic, cloak, girdle, and bracelets. Elegant Leggings. Quicksand Waders. Watcher's Cap.

My Creepy Crate screenshot took a bit more preparation. Although I had a matching armor set (Banded mail armor), I couldn't think of a creative backdrop. I just assume creepy crates are found under stairs, so I located a spot under an old stairway and practiced some positions and poses. I noticed the human female bow emote made me look like I was lifting something invisible. So I positioned myself in a way that it appeared I was lifting the lid of my crate. The hardest part was timing my bow emote to synchronize with the random animation of the green creep seepage. Many of you who take screenshots know how much work can go into one simple concept. It's often way more complicated than the final screenshot appears. It took nearly two hours to get this particular capture for my gallery. Yeah, I know. I know.

Anyhow I'm looking so forward to 4.3, but really expected it to be here by now. My inventory is bulging at the seams in anticipation of transmogrification and void storage. To celebrate the upcoming release of 4.3, I have a couple Bloat the Purple Puffer TCG loot cards to give away this week.  Since Bloat is a fish, let's make this giveaway fishing-related. In the comments, tell me your favorite in-game fish story. What fishing-related catch, achievement, goal was your toughest, favorite, or most fun? On Monday at noon GMT, I'll randomly choose two comments to receive a Bloat loot card.

Good luck to all! Don't let this one get away!

Fish in a Bubble? Tallstrider Mount?

I am so excited about this I'm giggling like a maniac as I type!

The upcoming TCG booster release, Throne of the Tides (Cryptozoic, October 2011) will reportedly feature some ultra-cool loot cards, including a mind-blowing mount and possibly the cutest wet pet of all time!  I nabbed this paragraph from a card distributor's website:

The three new loot cards for this set are good ones. The epic is the Tallstrider Mount. This is a unique mount not available in the MMO currently. The rare is Throwing Star Fish which players can throw at one another, and it will “stick” in them, which will be fun. The common is Fish in a Bubble which is a cosmetic pet puffer fish in a bubble.

I haven't seen any datamined images of either pet or mount yet, but I'm confident the always awesome Blizz CG artists will not disappoint! There's just one problem. It's not October yet! Hopefully I can get my hands on a Throne of Tides loot card or two to give away! Stay tuned!

World of Warcraft and Creativity

In an attempt to get you guys to visit on a regular basis, I'm going to try to keep the content more up-to-date. Not sure I can find time to post every day, but I'll try to get at least a few posts a week.

Of course I'll still be holding the usual giveaways. I'm hoping to schedule those more regularly in the near future. But in the mean time, there really is so much stuff I want to post about. Not just my contests or collections or projects that I'm working on, but interesting stuff I've learned about from World of Warcraft friends. For instance, my friend Jen found a really cool website called the visual roleplay gear list. With the upcoming transmogrification changes in 4.3, this amazing compilation of gear sets and assorted items will be a wonderful resource for those of us that collect armor and accessories. Nice find, Jen!

roleplaygear.wordpress.com

While visiting WOW Insider a while back, I found out about a great blog called World of Warcraft unofficial papercrafts where you can download printable patterns to create mind-blowing 3D paper models of creatures, characters, items, etc. I haven't attempted any of them yet, but I plan to. I just marvel at the mad paper skills of these people! 

I really want to start featuring some WoW-related art on my blog, since that's a big interest of mine. I saw a gorgeous illustration of Sylvanas Windrunner in the Blizzard Fan Art Gallery a while back, and was astonished to later learn it was a 3D illustration. It came as no surprise to me that artist, Tamara Bakhlycheva, works in the game industry. But I was thrilled to learn she's a young woman. She has such an eye for sumptuous color and intricate detail, but there's a soft, luminescent quality in her work that you don't often see in game art or concept art. Please take a moment to check out some of her amazing 3D work:

Tamara Bakhlycheva

And that of her husband Vadim:

Vadim Bakhlycheva

Edit: I mistakenly posted the latter image and credited Tamara, but it has come to my attention this is her husband's work. What a talented couple!

Loot Card Pet Contest Winners!

I want to let you guys how much I thoroughly enjoy these contests. It's been so much fun reading all your comments and stories about your pet adventures. I plan to hold lots more Loot Card Contests in the future, so please bookmark or follow my blog for return visits!

And now for the winners!

Darren McNeil - Spectral Tiger Cub

Who was randomly chosen from the Lost Key entries.

What pet were you most thrilled to get and why?

Beth Smith - Fool's Gold

Who was randomly chosen from the comments:

I'd always hoped for the Hyacinth Macaw, but I thought it's rarity would put it out of my reach. So I just hoped I'd get lucky like Drrum and find it on the AH for cheap, so I scanned it everyday, sometimes several times a day. 

After Cataclysm came out I saw it was on the AH much more, and saw that it was now a possible drop from any mob in Stranglethorn. I planned on making a worgen to see how I'd like the race, and figured if I'm going to level it up, I might as well go to Stranglethorn and try my luck. So every time I killed something I'd hope I'd get it, closing my eyes while I looted, and probably a few dozen quests in I GOT IT!!! So excited, I mailed it immediately to my main character, learned it and just stood around in Stormwind fishing for complements. After a bit I went back to grinding out quests, still high off my luck. A few dozen more quests, and BAM, another one! I was going to learn it on another character, but couldn't pass up the chance to make a little extra gold, so I put it on the AH.

And Moonlace - Nightsaber Cub

Who was randomly chosen from the comments:

Oh that's difficult to choose...I've been an avid pet collector on all games I play, but I would have to pick my Lashtail Hatchling. I was SO sad when she was stolen from me by Bloodlord Mandokir! The next day I saw her again with those big blue eyes of hers...poor thing was being held hostage! I couldn't just walk away after slaying the Bloodlord...I had to rescue my poor hatchling! Vela hasn't left my side since :)

Congratulations to the winners! 

More Loot Pet Contests! Spectral Kitten!

I'm holding two contests side-by-side this week, both with fun loot card prizes!  Please read contest rules carefully before entering either contest! You may enter both contests, but please enter only once per contest!

Kobold and Nightsaber Cub Contest!

The first contest I'm giving away a Fool's Gold (Greedy Kobold Pet) Loot Card and a Nightsaber Cub Loot Card. In this contest, two winners will be chosen randomly from comments left on this post left before midnight GMT on August 21st, 2011. To enter, please answer the following question in the comments section below: 

What pet were you most thrilled to get and why?

One comment per person, please!  One prize per winner!

Spectral Kitten Contest!

When you're done posting your comment below, head over to my gallery website for another chance to win a very rare pet! Somewhere on my gallery website pages is a lost key. Locate that key and click on it, and you'll be taken to a page with instructions on how to enter my next giveaway. In my second contest, one winner will be randomly chosen from all the eligible entries submitted before midnight GMT on August 21st. One winner will receive a very rare Spectral Kitten loot card pet!

One entry per person, please!

Congratulations Screenshot Contest Winners!

First of all, thank you to everyone for all your wonderful entries. I was really blown away by the creativity and work that obviously went into your screenshots. The judges had a hard time picking their favorites, but here are the winners:

First Place: Jen Janke
"Crawling Claw"

Prize: Banana Charm

Second Place: Melodie Pellizzer

"Jump to the Stars"
Prize: Robotic Homing Chicken

There were also two runners-up who won Nightsaber Cubs: Diana Russell and Marusu Kaname!

Check out a selection of the most impressive entries here!

Grats to the winners!