Okay Guys...

I will be making a post tomorrow, and hopefully, it'll include some edits that I've been really wanting to make!

In the meantime, JM is up, so go on over and read that if you've got the time1 :D

Eheheh...

Okay. I'll just give it to you straight.

I got caught up watching America's Got Talent and TOTALLY forgot that I had to post today, even though I was thinking about it the whole day up until those last two hours. Eheheh...

Sorry, everyone, but once again, I must move the publishing of the next chapter of JM, and a normal post, to tomorrow. It's just way too late (where I am, anyway) now, and I want to spend some time playing on games, instead of writing the entire time.
I know it's not really a big deal, but... eh, I dunno, I still feel bad when I do this kind of thing.

Hope you guys understand, though! 😌😰

The Copycat Art

Hello everyone! How are ya doing? This is just gonna be a small post, but hopefully, I'll come up with an idea for a newer and longer post sometime in the week! Anyways, let's get on with it!



Alright, so, a few days ago, I was just checking some of my online buddies' trade lists, when I came across this made by a person that I honestly don't even remember buddying:

Does it look familiar to you?

Yep. That's right. My own buddy copied my art.

Okay, so some of you may be thinking, "Swirl, what if they just found the same image on Google and drew it?"
That's a possibility. However, I specifically looked up "Simple waterfall lineart" or something close to that. I found the picture I had used as a reference...

See? This person, Grampadude, would have had to somehow find this EXACT piece of art online, by looking up the exact thing (or something close) I did! And, as you can see, I changed a lot of things in my piece of art. I made more slightly-darker lines on the waterfall, rocks, and bushes, and added some splashy-stuff at the bottom of the water streams. If you look up at Grampadude's version, he tried to do exactly what I did, just with a bigger brush!

Now, I'm aware that this person didn't technically STEAL my art. They probably just saw it on my trade list, or at my den, and thought "Oh, that's cool! I'm gonna try and make it!" If that's really how this different version of my art came to be, then I'm flattered that Grampadude really liked it enough to remake it! However, that was my original art (yes, I used a reference, but I added a bunch onto it, and those touches make it mine) , and I really don't like when people try to remake it without my permission. 

Anyways, I unbuddied this person because I was very uncomfortable about that. I didn't JAG him and ask why his looked so similar, but that was because I was pretty sure he'd deny copying mine, and it'd turn into some huge feud which would end with him reporting me or something. Best to just stay away from a fight.

But yeah, there ya go! I hope you guys don't run into any of these copycat-artists in AJ, because trust me, it's not fun to find that someone has secretly tried to remake your original art. Hope you guys have a great day! Please remember to PARTY HARD, BE KIND, and JAM ON! :D

-Straightdull

Pictures From My Trip!

Hey guys! As I promised, I'm back to show ya some pictures today!
I would've made this post, like, an hour ago, but... uh, yeah, Google Drive decided to take that long to upload the pictures. ):1

These pictures will all be of nature, or of things I made or got, because... you know, I can't exactly reveal my family's faces on here without asking. Sure, I could do mine, but I doubt my mom would go for that idea. :1

Anyways. let's get on with the post! :D

 First off, here's a picture I took while I was on my way to our little rental-house... thingy. This has got to be my favorite one! ;)

 And here's the beach we went to! Yeah, okay, so it's not exactly one of those beaches with the white sand and the crystal-clear water and stuff (which, by the way, I want to go to one of those beaches VERY BADLY), but it's still fun for us! If you avoid the seaweed and, uh, jellyfish. Yeah, I gotta be careful walking around there.

 Here's some seagulls! YAAAY!
XD! They were waiting by our canopy to see if they could snag a few bits of food we dropped (or gave to them).

 A little word made out of shells, made by yours truly! :D
I honestly dunno why I chose the word love. I think it just popped into my head, XD!

 Of course, I had to leave some part of Animal Jam on that beach! So there ya go! AJ and the logo-ladybug drawn in the sand! XD!

 We were tossing bits of food to these guys, so while we did that, I snapped this picture, XD!

 Here's the sunset over the sand dunes that day...

 ...and here's it over the water! By the way, this is my second favorite one, XD!

 On our last day, we went to an aquarium! Here are some ducks and... uh, whatever those white, long-beaked birds are called, that were in a little exhibit close (kinda) to the entrance!
I didn't take any pictures of the fish, because... eh. Fish are just not my thing. I DID take pictures of all the furry and feathered (and some scaly) animals, though!

 Flamingooooos!

 I took about a bazillion pictures of this parrot (except I only kept about 4), and I managed to get this pictures while it was fluffing up its wings!

 Here's the parrot being... well, normal. XD!

 WE SAW A SLOOOOOOTH! My mom loves sloths, so we stood and watched it climbing around for a while. IT. WAS. SO. CUUUUUTE!

 He's sorta-kinda hard to see (maybe?), but there's a gray-and-pink-ish iguana lying up on top of this hut exhibit!

 I spent a ton of time trying to take a picture of this toucan, but he was too far away most of the time, and my iPhone camera wasn't focusing. Then, all of a sudden, I turn around, and it was sitting right there for me to photograph! Yay! XD!

 A dolphin playing with its little pool toy. Man, it sure loved those things, XD!

 Okay, so I basically freaked out when I saw that there was a BALD EAGLE at the aquarium. I mean, it's an endangered species and everything! If you look closely, though, it has a torn-up wing, and a sign said that it couldn't be released back into the wild because she couldn't hunt, or even fly on its own.
Still, though, I'm still glad that I got the chance to take a picture of a bald eagle! I'll probably never see another one of those birds again... eheheh. XD!
I took a gazillion pictures, and only kept around 7, but this one was my favorite. :D

 Another dolphin, but seen from underwater. :D

Here are some adorable little otters! I WANT ONEEEEE! XD!

And finally, a very, VERY long boat. VERY long.
It bugs me how uneven that boat is. XD!
We saw this floating by in the water, and I immediately said "WOAH, THAT BOAT IS SO LONG!" XD! Yup, that's me.






Well guys, that's all I have when it comes to pictures! I really hope you guys liked them! If you did, tell me which one was your favorite in the comments, and I'll see you all later! Bye!

P.S. Can anyone get in contact with Crazcat? I need to tell her something!

Swirl's Return, and Some News...

Hey hey guys! I'm back from my vacation!!! :D

I hope you guys didn't make any new Blogger memes without me, XD!

Okay, so yes, I did have wifi and could play AJ and check blogs. But still! :P



Anyways, I was planning on making a post with pictures from my trip tonight. However, I don't have too much time left on the computer, and I want to play some games for a bit. So, that post will be coming tomorrow!



In other, news, guess what? CHAPTER 30 OF JM IS NOW UPPPPP!

And ohhhh man guys! Some pretty big things happen in this chapter! Though it took me an hour... or something... I enjoyed writing it a lot!
Hope you all enjoy it!

Also, with the ending of Chapter 30, you can probably tell that things are beginning to wrap up for JM. I REALLY wish I could keep this story going forever... but I can't. It would be too boring and obvious after a while, anyway!
So, yes, JM WILL be ending sometime in the next few weeks. I'm sorry. D,:
However, this won't be the end of my fanfictions! I'll be writing and posting some new ones on here, and maybe even another "Jamaasian ______" story will appear sometime in the future, since I've always kinda wanted to do a crazy joke one!
I'm also planning on making a story completely based around the life of a certain bunny in Animal Jam! Not gonna spoil anything, but Lost, you know what I'm talking about. ;)


So... yeah! That's basically what will be happening on this blog in the near future! Anyways, I really, really hope you guys enjoy this chapter of JM, and I hope you understand why it'll be coming to a close soon! As always, please remember to PARTY HARD, BE KIND, AAAAAND...

JAMMMMMMM ONNNNNN! 😉

Upcoming Animal Jam Toys?

*Takes a deep breath*

HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY-

You Guys: SWIRL, STOP WITH ALL THE Y'S!

Me: Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-

You Guys: Swirl, just get on with the post.

Me: Fine!

Okay, now that my traditional Swirlshine-intro is done... how have you all been? :D
I for one have been having a pretty good time down here at the coast! The house we're staying is is really nice, they have wifi, as you can see from the fact that I'm typing this right now, and our first trip to the beach this year was really fun!

We'll be going again tomorrow, I think, and on the last day, we're gonna go to a waterpark! YEY! :3

And, of course, I'm gonna get something at one of the bazillions of gift shops. XDD!

Anyways, let's get on with the post!

Alright, so, sometime last week, I was surfing the web, just randomly looking up AJ stuff, when I found these pictures of some AJ toys!

 First, we have this picture of some upcoming AJ figurines! Looks like there may be a turtle, goat, octopus, owl, sloth, and pig toy sometime in the future! However, if you look at the little teal box-thing, it says these were supposed to come out in the spring this year. That obviously didn't happen. Maybe they'll come out sometime this fall, or in 2018? I guess we'll have to wait and see!

 Here, it shows some new light-up ring figurines! I have to say, I'm very excited for a falcon one, and the croc one looks really cool to me as well!
If you haven't noticed by now, some of these toys, like the falcon, pig, and sloth, have black outlines around them. I'm guessing that means they haven't been designed yet? Those are basically graphics in the pictures, which is why they don't look 3D or anything. Hopefully, though, we WILL end up getting these toys sometime soon!
These were also supposed to be released this spring. Whoops.

 These obviously aren't deisigned yet, either... but woah! Plushies with light and sound? Those sound pretty cool! I just hope they don't play that Animal Jam jingle-thing...
*Sings it*
OH OHH, SO MANY WILD FRIENDS, ANIMAL JAM!!!
Okay okay, I'm done. XD!

 And finally, some new AJ stuffed animals! Ones WITHOUT light and sound... XD!
Apparently, we were supposed to have a seal, fox, dolphin, and turtle by now. What is going ON, Animal Jam?
I have no idea what "Fall refresh" means... so I'll just ignore that.
Also, does anyone else think that "Fuzzy Fox" looks a lot like that Naya Enchanted Earth character AJHQ never really got around to making?

Hmmm... I wonder...



Well guys, seems I gotta go! But before I do, here's some art for Graciepopstar! I was looking through the comments on the "My Art" page, and I saw that Gracie had requested a drawing a long time ago. I had never gotten around to doing it. So, I figured, why not do it now? My art is better nowadays, anyway!

So there you go Gracie! Hope you enjoy it!

Okay, NOW I have to go! Please remember to PARTY HARD, BE KIND, and JAM ON, and I'll see you all soon! :D

JM is up, but the real post will be tomorrow!

Sorry about that, guys, but I didn't get a ton of computer time tonight, since we got to the house late. I'll try to make the post tomorrow!

Coast Trip

Heyo everyone! Swirl here!

You Guys: We know that! You are literally the only author on this blog!

Okay, yeah, but... oh, it's just an intro!


XDD! Okay, so, now that I've finished with my lil' Swirl-style introduction, let's get on with what I came here for.


Alright, so, tomorrow (aka Monday, the 17th), I'll be leaving to go down to the coast. My family and I usually go every year, sometime in the summer. Usually, we just stay in a hotel room for about 3 days. However, this time, we'll be staying in an actual house! My parents got their friend to let us use their beach house (I don't actually know if it's really by the beach or not, but you know what I mean.) for a few days!

If we were staying in a normal hotel, I'd be telling you guys that I'd be gone for a few days. However, we've been informed that this house has wifi, which means I may still be able to get on AJ, blog, and send emails! There is a small chance that my devices won't work, but hopefully, all will go well, and I'll be able to have fun this week online AND in real life!

That being said, since we won't be doing anything tomorrow but driving to the coast and staying the night in the house. Once we get unpacked, we won't really be doing much of anything else. So, I'm moving JM to tomorrow again!

No, I PROMISE, this will not become a typical thing, me re-scheduling the release of the next Jamaasian Middle chapter. It's just that, on certain days, I really don't feel like writing- I feel like playing on Animal Jam or Roblox!
I'm pretty sure that, unless some kind of bad luck strikes, I'll be able to use my computer on Monday. I'll post JM then, and ALSO make an actual post, which I've been planning on making!


Anyways, if all goes well, I will see you all tomorrow! Please remember to PARTY HARD, BE SAFE, and JAM ON, and expect a post tomorrow! :D

JM Is Up AND New Art!

Heyo guys! Just wanted to tell ya, that, finally, JM has been posted! Yay!

Also, you know how I said yesterday that I was working on a piece of art? Well, I finished it, and it got approved today! Here it is!

It's my main pet, Purplewings! It took me 2, or maybe even 3, hours to complete. Though it may not look like it, I spent a ton of time smearing/softening (whatever you call it) all the lines. I think it paid off, though, and I'm pretty proud of this artwork! 

One of the bloggers (I believe it was Sarah? I THINK? I sorta forgot, XD) mentioned that they were drawing all the bloggers' main pets, and that gave me the idea to make this, so credit to them! :D

I also made another Owl City Masterpiece-

-but yeah, only people who have heard this song before will really get the words here. I will show the picture I used as a reference, though!

You have NO IDEA how hard it was to recreate this. I didn't even bother doing the... um... what do you even call that white dusty stuff? I dunno, but I didn't do it because the picture had already taken a long enough time to make. It looks simple, but when you're trying to recreate it in a bigger space with limited digital art tools, it's actually kinda hard!

Anywho, I'll try to make a real post sometime soon! Until then, remember to PARTY HARD, BE KIND, and JAM ON! :D

Eheheheh...

I'm sorry guys... but is it okay if I write JM tomorrow (again)? I really just don't feel like it today, and plus, I wanted to work on a Masterpiece I started yesterday.

Don't be mad at meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! 😰

*For Violet and Frozen*

Can I have you guys' main looks? I need to know for a picture I'm making! :D

New Toys + Some Art!

Heyoooooooo guys!

You Guys: What!? Swirl is back AGAIN!? Two days in a row!?

Okay, okay, I know, I usually don't do this. However, today is a special day, for two reasons. Number one...

IT'S ADAM YOUNG'S BIRTHDAY!!!!



Yup, July 5th is his birthday! For all us Owl City fans, IT'S PARTY TIME!!!
*Starts dancing*

You Guys: Uh... Swirl? It's almost July 6TH, because you're posting so late.
Me: SHUSHHHHHHHH

Well... uh... pretend it's still July 5th, even though that, by the time this is posted, it'll be the next day. Eheheheh...



Anyways, in honor of Adam's birthday, I finally finished coloring some art I made a few week back! Ta daa!

It took me quite a while, but I think it turned out pretty cool! *If you're wondering, yes, the words ARE from an Owl City song!*

Alright, next up...

GUESS WHAT CAME A DAY EARLY IN THE MAIL!!??

MY ADOPT-A-PETSSSSS!!!!!

About a week ago, I ordered 6 Adopt-A-Pet dens online (since I went to 3 stores and NONE of them had Adopt-A-Pets OF ANY KIND), and today, I finally got them! Wooooooo!

And yesss, I took pictures! I must apologize in advance, though, for the horrible quality. I could have taken better and clearer pictures, but I already have them set up on my Adopt-A-Pet shelf in a row, and plus, some of them fall over SUPER easily, and I didn't want to take them out and try to put them back and set them back up a bazillion times. So... yeah.

But hey, some pictures are better than none, right?

 First off, a cute lil' green-and-brown puppy, complete with some (hardly visible) yellow wings! I love the puppy Adopt-A-Pets. :D

I hadn't gotten a sugar glider yet, so I was quite happy when I saw this! 

I also hadn't gotten a panda until now! IT'S SO CUTE AND CHUBBYYYYYYYYY!

It also has a red bow on its back, which I seriously doubt you can see in this picture. XD!

Here's my 3rd pet duck so far (I got one from my friend, without a den, and another came with that bunny figurine)! I love its little butterfly accessory!

Also, if you're wondering why it isn't standing up, it's because the AJ pet duck figurines are VERY hard to stand up. I just decided to not go through all that and lay it down. XD!

A diamond-pet purple (it may not look purple here, but I promise you, it's transparent-purple) peacock! I already had this little guy, but I got two more! I traded one to my sister, but this one is gonna have to stay put for now. Maybe I'll customize it! :D

And finally, the turtle that my sister traded me! I didn't have a turtle yet, so this one is my first! I had two options: a green-and-blue turtle, or this purple-and-green one, and, of course, I chose the one with the "Swirlshine colors"! XDD!

It's also got some pink wings on it's back, if ya can't tell what those are!

And, after putting in one of the codes, I got to customize my very own pet firefly on AJ!

As you can see, I named her Brightwings! :D

Well, it looks like this post is almost done, huh? I know, I know, it was kinda short, but it was intended to be! 

However, before I go, here's some art that Cuddly requested from me, which took me quite a while to color!

Hope you enjoy it, Cuddly! :D

Looks like that's about it for today, everyone! Please remember to PARTY HARD, BE KIND, and JAM ON until I return! Byeeeeee!

What AJ Might Have Been- Animal Designs

Helloooooooooooo everyone!!! If you live in the U.S., then HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!
If you DON'T live in the U.S., then HAPPY RANDOM DAY TO BE HAPPY!!! XD!

Well, since I DO live in the United States, we went to watch a fireworks show tonight! Nothing too special, but it was still fun!
And I may or may not have listened to Owl City music while waiting for the show to start... 😅



Anyways, this post, in my effort to have more Animal-Jam-related content on here, will be all about what AJ might have turned out to be like (hence, the title)! This post will focus on the animals of AJ, since I don't know much about the design process of the lands yet. I just might do some research on that, though!
Just so you all know, this post was inspired by one of Snowyclaw's videos. I'm getting all the info and pictures from that video, so credit to her! :D



As you know, AJ was quite different in the BETA days than it is now. However, the art style of the animals seemed to stay pretty much the same throughout the years. What most people don't know about, though, are the animal design ideas that were rejected.

As you can see, this style is a bit more realistic, but still cartoon-y at the same time. The elephant, hippo, and rhino look very cute, in my opinion! However, I'm not really fond of the monkeys, or the big cats, either. Maybe the monkey thing is because they're not exactly my favorite animal, but one thing's for sure: I favor AJ's modern designs for the lion and tiger over these!

If you didn't know this already, or you haven't watched Snowy's video about it, Animal Jam was originally made for preschoolers. This style is very close to the modern one we've got today, but all the animals are a bit brighter and cuter, to fit the audience. I honestly can't believe how small those tiger's eyes are, though! Other than that, SOO CUTEEEE! Probably not fitting for many of the boys that play AJ now, though.

This designer went all-out out detail! Just look at all those wrinkles on the rhino and elephant! However, I don't really like this style (just my opinion, of course). Maybe it's just because I'm so used to AJ's current style, but I honestly cannot imagine walking around Jamaa as one of these guys... on two feet. Or paws. Or hooves. Whatever. :P

These guys are pretty realistic too- and very different from the AJ animals we have today! 

*Stares intensely at them*

Do they ALL have closed eyes? How do they see where they're going?

XD! Okay, I know that's a weird thing to point out, but wouldn't you rather walk around as an animal with its eyes OPEN? :P

And here, like Snowy said, you can see the art style evolving to the one AJ used in the BETA days! 

THE TIGER.

IT'S SO CLOSE.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CLOSE.

XD!

Also, who else really wants that little zebra dude to be released? I know it'd kinda be a lost cause, since there are already horses on AJ (that you can design to look like a zebra), but still! I WANT ONEEEEEEEE! IT LOOKS SO DERPY!!! XD!

There are also lots of other animal in the designs that still haven't made it into Jamaa! For example, snakes were constantly making an appearance. There were a few gorillas up there, too, as well as some meerkats! In the most child-ish design style, there was even a little baby dino! Most of these animals will probably never be released (sorry, dinosaur, but you're out of the question), but I wonder what they'd look like in AJ's current style!

Hope you guys enjoyed that post! Sorry it was kinda short: those were all the pictures Snowy showed, and I can't find any more on the Internet! Now, I gotta go- my sis wants me to play with her on Roblox. See you guys later, and remember to PARTY HARD, BE KIND, and JAMMMMM ONNNNNNN! ;D