twitch – as told by zaheerah

Monthly Rewind: June 2024

July 1, 2024July 1, 2024by Zaheerah2 Comments

L I F E

Aside from settling into my new job (still new two months in?), I haven’t been doing much aside from trying to find a nice schedule to keep streaming while also working full-time. I began streaming on Twitch in 2022, just as I left my previous job – so my schedule was pretty much open to stream whenever I wanted. Now I stream usually in the evening and I’m still live most evenings as it’s a fun de-stressor for me since I like to yap about anything while playing anything on stream. Funny enough, the audience between this blog and Twitch is as different as day and night. Sometimes, people find it a surprise that most of my internet history has been well documented here before I showed up on Twitch. But I still love being able to talk about my recent reads on stream, so feel free to drop by! Shameless twitch plug here.

B O O K S

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Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: May 2024 (long time no see…)

June 3, 2024June 9, 2024by Zaheerah1 Comment

Uh, hi? Long time no see. It has been almost 7 months since my last blog post, and it feels so weird to be writing again. But I’m SO excited to return to blogging now that I feel like I’m in a better headspace to do so. So where have I been? If you remember from my previous posts, I was unemployed from September 2022 onwards. Since then, I have been actively job searching for roles both in publishing and in my hometown, where the roles I was applying for were mainly admin-based. To have such a long span of unemployment and face constant rejection from SO many jobs was extremely demotivating. Blogging has always been a hobby, and while job-searching, I found it extremely difficult to even finish a book because that looming fear of the job-searching process was always in the back of my mind, which led to me abandoning this site.

But that didn’t mean I disappeared off the internet. Musk might have basically made Twitter close to unusable for me, but most days you’ll find me on Twitch. I started streaming when I left my previous job as a way to improve my public speaking and it has become such a great creative output for me. I’ve improved a lot in terms of art because of Twitch and I even designed two V-tube models as a result of it. If you’re a fan of games like Genshin Impact, Phasmophobia and Elden Ring. Come hang out on Twitch while I play games badly and talk about my current reads.

May was the first MCM Comic Con for the year here in the UK and I had an absolute BLAST. Sadly, no cosplay this time but I do want to cosplay Stelle from Honkai: Star Rail for October. I had the chance to meet Sean Chiplock who voices some of my favourite characters including Revali from BOTW and Diluc from Genshin Impact. And there was a great talk with some of the voice actors from Baldur’s Gate 3, mainly the Tavs and other characters. (Sorry not sorry to everyone who watched me on Twitch go through the bear scene live – you all enjoyed it really.)

Before I go on a tangent about Baldur’s Gate3, I can now announce after a long, long job searching period, I now have a job! (in publishing!) I am currently working in an assistant role for bibliographic metadata! Metadata has always been one of those things that I thought I knew what it was but it wasn’t until I came across this job listing that there was a whole lot more than I ever imagined. I’m really enjoying my time so far in the role. I knew this was an industry I wanted to work in since I was 16 years old, so it’s safe to say it’s been a long time coming. You would think with a full-time job, it would be difficult to get back into reading but I found it so easy to return to my TBR. (I am utilising those 2-hour commute times to the fullest.) And with that, we can finally get to the monthly wrap-up, as I managed to read nine books this month. Reviews are to come for most of these titles.

B O O K S

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Media

Here are the resources that helped me to make my own V-tuber

October 19, 2023October 19, 2023by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

Hi! Long time, no see.

Today’s post is going to be a little different. I’ve mentioned previously that I started streaming to improve my public speaking while I continue to look for a new full-time job. (still searching haha ~~help me~~) I’ve shown my PNG models that I use in lieu of a face cam and one of the biggest streaming goals I’ve made for myself was to make my own vtube model.

What is V-tube/V-tuber?
A VTuber, or virtual YouTuber, is an online entertainer who uses a virtual avatar generated using computer graphics. Popular V-tubers include IronMouse, Shxtou and Shylily. Many of these big names are often backed up agencies such as hololive or VShojo and have massed fans into the million brackets. However, anyone can be a vtuber with just downloading a program like V-tube Studio and using a pre-made model.
Wikipedia

I hope that summary was enough for anyone who isn’t familiar with the concept. I know my family wasn’t when they saw me making my own model. So, you’re probably thinking, Zaheerah, why didn’t you just use one of the hundreds of pre-made models available on the internet?

Well, yes, I could’ve definitely found one online, but I found the idea of designing my own model and rigging the model using Live2D a fun challenge to myself artistically. I picked up digital art after years away during the lockdown and never really branched nor challenged myself to improve, so the idea of making my own vtube model was a fun hobby to give me a break from the gloomy job-searching process.

Just a heads up, this isn’t a tutorial post. If I had to teach anyone the stuff I’ve learnt, I would’ve failed miserably. But instead, I wanted to share the resources that helped me make my first v-tube model. There are SO many tutorials out there, and it can get overwhelming to find which one can be beneficial to learn from. I’ve watched so many, and while they all do teach the same things, I found that certain videos were just made more beginner-friendly than others. Since I drew my model myself, these tutorials won’t include any of how to make a model stuff. (sorry!) However, I am in the process of making version two of my V-tube model now that I understand the basics properly. (You can follow me on Twitch, where I’ll be basically starting from scratch on stream, so feel free to come watch me struggle again, lol – if you’re reading this the day I post, hey! I’m probably live playing Baldur’s Gate 3)

What is Live2D

According to Wikipedia, Live2D is an animation software that can be used to generate real-time 2D animations—usually anime-style characters—using layered, continuous parts based on an illustration, without the need of frame-by-frame animation or a 3D model.
Wikipedia

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Lifestyle

Long Time, No See

January 28, 2023January 28, 2023by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

Hi, hi!

It has been some time since I’ve sat down and written something for my blog. Last summer, I was sure I had revived my joy for writing, and I was really excited to come back to reviewing and making content for my blog. I’ve mentioned a few times before that since I graduated in 2020, and I’ve been looking for a full-time job. Since I was 17, I have worked mainly as a waitress as I went to college/university while also running this blog as a way to keep myself creative. Lockdown had a massive effect on me and my mental health as it caused many job interviews and internships to cease as companies tried to figure out COVID. I don’t blame them; 2020 was a tough time to figure out how to keep going.

I had thought that with all my free time while job searching, I was sure to keep my blog going, but instead, I faced a huge mental roadblock. I felt like I couldn’t write reviews because it took away from the time I could be job-searching. I even found myself reading less because I was consumed with the idea that I couldn’t allow myself the pleasure of reading if I still didn’t have a job. In all, I just felt defeated. I write this as I am 24, turning 25 this March and looking back at my early twenties feeling like I’ve done nothing remarkable.

Sorry for the gloomy post so far. I’m hoping from now on; it will be much more positive. People always say we shouldn’t have to wait for the new year to make a change, but I find it comforting and a lot easier on my brain to use the new year as a refresher and figure out what comes next.

So, what is next? I don’t know, and I think I’m okay with that. I’ve slowly been returning to reading more and finally sorting through my neglected TBR and ARC list. I began reading webtoons during lockdown, which I have been a great way of easing me back into reading. I do have some old reviews just sitting around that I didn’t feel 100% on posting but looking back at them, the reviews were fine; I just wasn’t in the best head space to share them. I’m excited to feel happy again about making reviews and sharing them with the world, but that isn’t the only thing I’ve been doing. I shared a few pieces of artwork here last year, but I’ve recently returned to drawing, especially digital art, which has been a blessing in disguise. It has helped me a lot whenever I was stressed, giving me another way to have the creative output that blogging usually gave me.

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