Shimeji Sketchdump

...Seems my lack of motivation to finish the challenge is really, really telling.

I was recently introduced to the concept of shimejis, which were, surprisingly, nothing to do with any mushrooms. Apparently, these are these little desktop buddies you can activate so they can lounge about on your screen doing their own thing while you work. A friend of mine has a website where she makes them for a living, and I downloaded a Dreepy shimeji from her site just before I bought my Dragapult plush. You can check out her site here; feel free to show her some support too!

Anyway, I decided to make use of this idea of shimejis by making a half-assed sketchdump of my Swamplands characters chilling and doing whatever on my screen.

Borgars

I happened upon this news at work. I was incredibly tempted to order via Grab, but I stopped myself, mainly because I didn't want to spend, and I just spent nearly $100 USD on these bad boys from Shopee.

Instead, I did a quick doodle to suffice. I wasn't really thinking of putting too much effort into keeping all the ingredients accurate. I was more concerned about just ensuring they all had a level height, and that each had the necessary and prominent ingredients to be just distinguishable from each other.

Yes, there is a pineapple slice in that burger; that's just the way it's made and it tastes amazing. Don't @ me 🙄

Zip's Tools of the Trade

Just a quick something I cooked up for my about page, for all the stuff I use to make art. Of course, I've mostly transitioned to digital media now, but there's still a rare occasion where I do traditional stuff, so the ones I use for pencil sketches and inks are still worth mentioning nonetheless.

The Problem With Self-Diagnosis

...Or it's something that just doesn't mean anything at all.

Not gonna lie, this was me these last three days until I found out it was just a mere case of tonsilitis. Some Tylenol, Rexidol, saltwater, and ginger tea did the trick, along with several hours of rest and not being at my laptop all the time. I did have a weird craving for pizza the whole time, which I sated this afternoon 😆.

Holy cripes, I have so many missed days of art for the challenge. Here's hoping I catch up and actually make all my entries on time! 😫

Ryusei-Go

Finally, a style that deviates from the usual! 😝

Yesterday, while I was taking a break from doing my comic, I was looking through my shelf full of Gunpla on display, fondly reminiscing days of when I spent some of my afternoons at the sharehouse just building model kits for hours. My display features a fair number of blue and white Gunpla, like the 00 Raiser and the Exia. What caught my attention, however, was the Ryusei-Go, which stands out fairly differently because of its predominantly magenta color scheme, and the quirky shark face it has.

Now, I've never watched Iron-Blooded Orphans myself, but I don't think I need to watch the anime just to admire how nice this mobile suit looks (Same goes for all the other Gunpla in my collection 😊). Needless to say, when my comic was done, I pulled the Ryusei-Go from the shelf, started tracing its bust on Photoshop, and got painting.

I'm quite happy with this messy piece. I wouldn't mind seeing this on a shirt or something. 😄

Gator Meets Gatorgrass (Part 4)

Friday unfolds quite differently compared to the past five days... But it's only getting better.

More experimenting with stuff in this comic. In the fifth panel, I wanted to draw a bunch of crooked lines for the lightning, but then I decided to try something different. I discovered this simple tutorial for lightning in Photoshop, and it turned out more impressive than I expected. Of course, it somewhat deviates from my usual style so it looks a bit out of place... 😅

The second panel looks a bit half-assed to me, with how I drew the canopy. The ones in the other panels I really like though; I used a few of those scattered-looking brushes to get that effect of the sky peeking between the leaves. In retrospect, I probably should have used that for the second panel instead... Ah, whatever.

As for the rain, I drew it as per usual, but to get that sort of misty and somber ambiance, I slapped a new layer over each panel and painted the whole thing in light purple. Afterward, I set the opacity to around 18-24%.

[2/15/2022] Edit: Change file format to PNG.

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🐊 Gator Buddies 🐊

Gator Meets Gatorgrass
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Gator Meets Gatorgrass (Part 3)

Seems it's taken a liking to Honey Lemon too. ...As well as everything else Crocigator's handed over to it. 😛

I've been trying to paint something different but to no avail... It doesn't help that I feel the call of procrastinating by playing more video games instead. Oddly enough, I feel more drawn towards further continuing this series of comics, so maybe I'll try to keep this going while I can.

[2/15/2022] Edit: Change file format to PNG.

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🐊 Gator Buddies 🐊

Gator Meets Gatorgrass
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Gator Meets Gatorgrass (Part 2)

Crocigator makes new friends too! 😊

This was my first time drawing speed lines in Photoshop. I used the photos on this link as a reference. The one I made could be better, but it did have the effect I was going for.

I wasn't sure how the panels for this comic would go at first, actually. Then I remembered an excerpt I read from one of my Japanese animal encyclopedias which mentioned how an old man easily kept the mouth of a crocodile shut with one hand; this was because crocodiles don't have a lot of strength in their mouths and snoots, and they won't be able to open their mouths when they get clamped shut.

[2/15/2022] Edit: Change file format to PNG.

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🐊 Gator Buddies 🐊

Gator Meets Gatorgrass
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Gator Meets Gatorgrass (Part 1)

That's no weed... And it certainly doesn't look too pleased either.

Lagging behind again 😫 But, turns out I just needed a proper night's sleep to get my creative juices flowing again. I should be good to get back on track again, hopefully... Fingers crossed. 🤞

Anyway, lots of flowers on this one. I wanted to feature more swamp vegetation in my work that isn't just reeds and cattails, so I looked up some quick on Google (I was also getting sick of painting almost nothing but different shades of green all the time). The swamp mallow/swamp hibiscus caught my attention; it's bright and flashy enough to be noticeable in the swamp. It's also a fairly common flower in wetlands, and I imagined a bunch of these things just growing on the side of Crocigator's shack and he just tends to them.

I really enjoy this shift to making more comic strips. Nothing like bringing more of your own characters to life and weaving a story with them.

[2/15/2022] Edit: Change file format to PNG.

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🐊 Gator Buddies 🐊

Gator Meets Gatorgrass
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

To the One That Would Have Been

I have a bunch of ideas, but I couldn't decide what I ought to start with... And then I found myself reminiscing about Stardew Valley and of the time when I used to play it every day as a means of coping with my struggles three years ago. I feel as though I've regressed to such a state as a result of this pandemic, but I try to stay hopeful that things will get better for me eventually.

I've said once before that I used to dislike what I looked and I felt completely inadequate compared to other people. If I tried hard enough I could change what I was by attempting to be something else, I would be able to feel better about myself... And it took me a long time to realize how self-destructive that was. My hair becoming incredibly unhealthy as a result of my attempts to straighten it was a testimony to that. I won't say I'm completely better off now than I was then, but I can certainly say that I'm a little more accepting of myself, and my hair is a lot more grateful for it too.

And it wasn't just my hair. Trying to mingle in an attempt to fit in a community I didn't really belong to, trying to be that overly friendly person... I utterly cringe thinking about how toxic I was being towards myself; I became everyone's doormat and it infuriates me to think about how I could have allowed myself to be like that.

Still, I know I did what I did was just an attempt to find self-satisfaction and adequacy. To feel like I was worth something. So as cringey as it was, I also think it's important to be able to accept even that cringey part of ourselves, of that time when we did all the things we probably shouldn't have but did anyway. It's part of what makes us who we are, and mistakes are merely a part of life.

I don't believe I can ever become whatever greatness or ideal self I once strived to be, but I can be content as long as that I don't need to pretend to be something else to live my own life... Even if this pandemic is making it difficult. 😅

On a lighter note, I'm really happy ConcernedApe finally added a freaking wardrobe to his game (the clothes my avatar is wearing in this pic is the same as what I changed into in-game). Being able to dress up and change what I'm wearing every day of the week of every season is nothing significantly game-changing, but it certainly adds to the whole RP value, and I love it. 👌

Honey-Toothed

"Oh, jeez." Nightlight sighed as she watched the little gator sloppily put another piece of honey lemon inside his mouth. "So this is where you've been off to."

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Currently lagging behind schedule again, orz, but that hasn't stopped me from catching up to get content done! 🎉

This was actually a WIP I had on my computer for like two years. I didn't know what I ought to do with it then, so I shelved it. Then I took another look at it just a while ago and realized I could do more with this piece now, given what I've learned in the past two weeks. It was also a good opportunity to feature honey lemons. 😊🍋

Crocigator's Shack - 1F

Ever wondered what it looks like inside a lazy gator's house in Gatorville? Say no more. Yes, that's a Venus flytrap with a face beside the bookshelf.

Back at it again with the pixel art rooms. It's not as good as my first try, but this works just fine.

Only did the first floor because stuff's been happening IRL that's keeping me away from doing my work on time. I'll post the pixel art of the second floor on a different date, preferably once I'm caught up with my missed dates for Digitober. 😊

The Betrayal of the Water Horse

"Dh'èirich Mi Moch (b' Fheàrr Nach Do Dh'èirich), which is a really intriguing song, and one I love very much...  It's quite interesting because the main character in this is the creature called the each-uisge or the water horse, who is this creature of the otherworld and who is often portrayed in songs as the terror. And then there's a victim, usually a woman, who was taken away by him. But in this song, things are turned around, and he's the victim. He has had a love affair with a mortal woman. She's borne him a child and she's left them. And he can't care for the child and he's begging her to come back. And I like that contrast and in terms of the characters, and the sense of loss from this allegedly terrifying creature's point of view."

- Julie Fowlis, in The Making of "alterum" 

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A short comic inspired by a song from my favorite Scottish singer. And the best part? It fits the page. 😄

A few years ago, I drew the each-uisge in a separate post, and since I'm such a fan of Julie's music, I wanted to feature something from her songs for once. Now I can't speak Scottish for shit, but I had known from the get-go years ago that this song was already gonna be depressing. And when I found out what the lyrics meant, it only became much, much worse.

Here's where I got a reference on how to paint rain, if in case you too felt like painting rain as well.

And with that, I'm finally caught up on Digitober again! Hooray! 🙌 I just might finish this on time after all this year! 😄

Hotdog Appreciation

More food today. 🌭 This time I was inspired by seeing some paintings in GTA Online, particularly the ones you can use to decorate your Casino Penthouse with.

Here in the Philippines, there's a local chain of fast-food restaurants called Jollibee. They sell a hotdog on their menu called a Jolly Hotdog, which looks basically what I painted: brown sausage in a hotdog bun with ketchup and some kind of mayonnaise/relish, topped with grated bits of cheese. Not the healthiest thing to be eating, but it sure tastes hella good. 👍

This was originally supposed to be a painting about my ideal cinema foods, but it instead became just one about hotdogs.

Exotic Foods From the Swamplands

The Swamplands has its share of culinary delights. While not as sophisticated as what humans have, these are nonetheless considered local delicacies by swamp inhabitants.

Semi-Vectored Ruiner

Ack, late! Well, at least I somehow managed to catch up...

Anyway, for today I decided to try doing vectors. Almost-vectors. I was watching this video about someone drawing a vector of a car and thought, hey, I have a ton of cars in GTA Online that I'd love to try this on. Looked pretty simple too.

So I loaded up my game, pulled out my Ruiner from the garage, and took some screenies of it. I loaded the screenies in Photoshop and got to work. I thought then this wouldn't take me as long as it usually would; boy, I thought wrong. Instead of a mere three hours, this project got me for seven. 😑

Still, I found more stuff on Photoshop to fiddle around with, like the Magnetic Lasso Tool, which I had no clue of until I watched that hyperlinked video. Now I know how people manage to snap off stuff from other photos so cleanly... Really good to know. 😄

Aside from drawing the rims (which I decided not to actually do for the sake of meeting deadlines) on the tires, I think the trickiest thing on this piece was the text on the door. I couldn't figure out what the font used on the Ruiner was, so I decided to just trace the font myself. After that, I used the Select Tool to just create some really thin lines across the blue parts and erased the selections to get the same design nailed down.

Artsy Blep

(Edit: Changed the hair a bit.)

Time for something that isn't too fancy-lookin'!

I actually had something else planned for today, but I came to recognize that drawing cityscapes are still kinda too much for me to be doing in one day. That said, I shelved the idea for now and decided to do a quick doodle instead, so I stay on schedule for Digitober.

Honestly, I'm starting to feel the burn of doing so much art in one go... Most of my free time is just devoted to doing this art challenge now, and sometimes I just wanna go back to grinding in GTA Online. Maybe I just need a nap. Ten hours oughta do it. 😴

Anyway, I was thinking of slowly adding more to this piece so it's not just a simple doodle of me working on my tablet. Something to make this more colorful, turn it into some kind of collage. Maybe add more OCs in the back doing stuff...

This also makes me want to revamp my profile pic again...

Skritt and the Shiny Rods of Westwatch

In Guild Wars 2, my most favorite map is Auric Basin, which features a golden city named Tarir in the middle of a lush jungle valley. Sentient, magical gold constructs called the Exalted live there, and are tasked with protecting the crystal dragon Glint's legacy.

In the outskirts of the city are outposts, named based on which direction they are located: Northwatch, Westwatch, Southwatch, and Eastwatch, the latter turned to ruins after being overrun with Mordrem, minions of the Jungle Dragon. Events in the Auric Basin focus on the activation of these outposts and golden pylons scattered throughout the valley and recalling Enchanted Armors that can be used to defend Tarir.

My favorite event chain to run on this map is the one for Southwatch. It takes longer and is more daunting to do compared to the other outposts, but it's for the same reason that I love doing it, to begin with. However, in terms of the most enjoyable, I'd say the event chain for Westwatch is my favorite. I love the light-hearted interactions between the Exalted and the skritt (a race of rat people who love shiny things); it's a welcome sight when you think about how the entire Maguuma is just trying to kill everything not nailed down or on fire.

This is my first time actually drawing the Exalted, and there doesn't seem to be enough art of them anywhere... Can't be helped though. They're a bit of a pain to draw. 😅 I did, however, enjoy drawing the skritt.

Also, more watercolor-style painting. I was kinda rushing on the colors so I kinda half-assed it, but I like the messy look. And I dunno if it's just because I scanned the original drawing, but it also looks more like a piece made with colored pencils instead of actual watercolor.

The Swamplands

Welcome to the Swamplands, a vast expanse of dense, forested wetlands located somewhere in the southeastern part of North America. Its ecosystem is rich and flourishing with all sorts of wildlife and vegetation. Humans once dwelled in the swamp as well, but most if not all of them eventually decided to move into cities and other urbanized areas, where they had a better quality of living.

As a result, local animals laid claim on a number of abandoned human settlements, converting them into their own dwellings and creating their own communities with them. This can be seen in the towns of Gatorville and Two-River, where run-down white-painted swamp shacks are inhabited by gators, frogs, and others. In some communities like Reedside and Waterfront, beavers and otters came together to build wooden structures with thatched roofs, and are said to have built boat-like structures to trade with each other across the grand Lake Arca.

The Swamplands seem to be shrouded with some air of mystery as well. Stories and rumors tell of a savage beast that dwells in the marshes and devours anything it sees.  Some speak of ghosts haunting any weary travelers by the roadside at night. Of cave monsters in the Blackout Mountains. And on a less spooky note, others say that the waters of Lake Flicker are said to be full of magic and are said to heal all sorts of illnesses... Among others.

Here in the Swamplands, in the small town of Gatorville, two gators, Stubbygator and Crocigator, live their lives contentedly together in relative peace. However, as Stubby's curiosity grows, so does his desire to see more of the world around him. Alongside their neighbor Pudgygator and his snail friend Pointy, they go on all sorts of adventures, meeting new friends, uncovering the secrets of the Swamplands... And making sure they all have enough fish for dinner.

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Wow, what a load of work!

This is my first time making a world map on Photoshop. Not gonna lie, I had next to no idea what I was doing, even when I had some references from Google. Had a bit of trouble brainstorming on the names of places, but I'm pretty content with the names I came up for all of them. I was also going for a rather cartoonish look, which I feel like I managed to do, so I'm satisfied.

I'm also very glad to finally have the map of the Swamplands all nailed down. I may add locations in the future, but for now, this is the official map for the swamp where our Gator Buddies live in. I'll also add a more detailed explanation to each location later on. 😊

Components of a Good Japanese Curry

 

More pixel art for today! This one harkens back to my old post about how to make Japanese curry in a rice cooker. Of course, it doesn't include all the ingredients; rather, the key ingredients that made my curries good to eat (also, salt and pepper are pretty much a given).

I'm really liking the poster look here. Though originally, I also wanted to omit the words Japanese Curry so I could let the viewer figure out what it was on their own. But I found leaving that text on looked pretty good too.

I'm really loving pixel art as a medium. Like I told a friend once, it's like playing with old school MS Paint, or editing your logo in Mario Kart DS. And making sprites are so much fun to do.

Quench

I sought to use more of the watercolor techniques that I learned about and tried it on this portrait I drew of Sylvie. The results blew my mind. To say I'm amazed is a complete understatement.

I am incredibly proud of this.

I had problems with the shading on her face, and then my girlfriend talked about trying making it look more like makeup rather than just the wispy effect of a paintbrush. I was almost immediately reminded of the existence of the Smudge tool, which I used a lot for my Evoland 2 poster. I was squealing in glee once I saw just how well that heightened the effect.

When I finished, my heart swelled at my sense of achievement. This is my first proper watercolor painting on Photoshop, and I've learned so much from doing this piece alone. I'm really happy for myself and what I've accomplished. Was worth sleeping at 4 a.m. for.

I'm also very proud of that hanko-style stamp signature I made too. I'm definitely going to be using that from now on.

I'd really like to work on the backstory of her and her sister more... But it's difficult to come up with something.

Steak Sealies

I remember one evening, back when I still lived in Japan, I went to downtown Ikebukuro with my siblings to see the aquarium. We arrived a little bit later than we intended since we kinda got lost trying to find the entrance despite knowing where it was. We eventually got up there, but by the time we arrived the place was well near closing time, much to our disappointment, as we all came to see the otters.

On the way out, there was a souvenir shop. Me, being the complete sucker I am for all things soft and floofy, found myself fawning over this white seal plush stacked with all the other marine animal plushes. The temptation to spend was too strong to resist, and before I regretted anything, I grabbed the seal, went to the counter, flashed the yens, and bought it for myself.

Back at the sharehouse, I was brainstorming ideas for what to name this new addition to my ever-growing collection of stuffed animals. At the same time, I was on a video call with my girlfriend, and I vividly recall telling her, "I need one that just resonates originality. Uniqueness. Something so well thought of and just quirky enough to be memorable."

A few days later, I was still at a loss of what to name it. It wasn't until I flipped up my phone and contemplated whether or not I wanted to head over to my school's nearest station to have steak for dinner, that I had the epiphany I needed. I looked at my girlfriend on Skype, and excitedly told her I knew exactly what to name it.

"I'm gonna call him Steak!"

My girlfriend was in sheer bewilderment. But I was already congratulating myself. I was just proud of myself for that burst of absurdity originality. I christened the stuffed seal as Steak, and Steak has lived with me and all my other plushies since.

On a more artsy note, I had something else in mind for this piece instead of these stacks of Steak plushies. I wanted to do a style similar to most of my digital paintings in recent days. Instead, I fiddled around with stuff I learned from this watercolor painting tutorial for Photoshop on Youtube (which I definitely recommend to all budding digital artists that want to hone their skills), and my mind just went on a tangent full of randomness, and well... Here we are. 😅

Also, it's weird looking at this image; it's purely digital, but the way it looks... It looks like a simple pencil sketch of a seal that got copied and pasted all over the canvas, and I just slapped it with a label saying "Hey, this is digital art, even though it looks suspiciously like something done merely in pencil." 🤔 Eh, whatever.

Hey, Son

Please right-click to open in a new tab to enlarge the file, because extra large on Blogger is still too small, and sizing it to its original size is just too big, apparently:

Twig doesn't look very good... Though maybe more moonshine ought to fix that.

Good lord. This was more than what I initially expected when making a short comic for Digitober today. 😳

And did you know? The font they often use in manga is called Cc Wild Words. You can download it here for free. #themoaryouknow

Room 207

 

Around this time three years ago, I first moved out of my parents' house and into a sharehouse in Japan to begin my Japanese language studies. It's crazy when I think about how so much time has passed since then, and how it's already been a year since I came home.

It was in a quiet community somewhere in west Tokyo. I was a ways away from the main part of town around the station, but I was never too far from anything. On the days I went grocery shopping, I couldn't ride a bike like most people could, and so I was heavy lifting bags of groceries from the supermarket all the way back to the house. I can still remember how my muscles ached from the weight of what I bought, and how sore my hands would get from grasping the handles of the plastic bags, which felt like they were about to snap at any moment.

On a positive note, I had a lot of freedoms in my new home. For once I could freely decide what to eat, when to eat, when to sleep, and not worry about someone screeching in my ear about how I'm not awake yet or going downstairs yet to join everyone for dinner. Of course, I had the responsibility of going to school and studying, but that was only fair. And boy, study I did.

Best of all, I had the luxury of high-speed Internet, something I did not have living back in Manila. What took me a day to download instead took a mere hour. It was unbelievable. Many were the days I took full advantage of this fast Internet and downloaded games with massive amounts of gigabytes and I'd play Assassin's Creed games or GTA 5 for hours. I enjoyed it immensely until my last day there.

To pay homage to those times, I made this pixel art of my room in the sharehouse. I can still vividly remember how I arranged my room to accommodate most of my stuff because of how tiny it was. Like for example, I'd put a sack of rice on top of my luggage 'cause I couldn't afford to put it in my storage drawers on the first floor, since they were full of kitchen and cleaning supplies. Or I would keep a fairly large box I got from ordering on Amazon, and I'd put some stuff inside it to make up for my lack of space.

But don't get me wrong though; I loved the small space despite its disadvantages, and it felt cozy whenever I came home from a long day and I would just plop down on my bed for a nap, finding comfort in how clean and small and quiet my room was... Assuming it was actually clean, to begin with. Of course in this pixel art, the room looks a whole lot neater than it actually was. 😅

Here's a photo of what that white dresser in the back actually looks like, because I know people are gonna be confused as to what it is.

Grill Day

Most days, the gators eat their fish raw, but sometimes they want their fish done differently for a change.

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I really, really like how the smoke turned out over the fish.

This nearly got done late because of so many distractions... But it didn't. Huzzah! 🙌

Parental Anxiety

I was browsing through Amazon for stuff the other day, and I became completely enamored by this Dragapult plush I found. It was weird looking and incredibly cute, and I decided right then and there that I must have one for myself, despite the fact that there's shipping on top of its base price which has sure to have skyrocketed thanks to the pandemic. And burn me, it did.

So I went to another website and ordered there instead. It was still a bit overpriced, but it was better than buying it on Amazon. A few days later it arrived looking nice, neat, and new. He's such a chonk and precious boye, I love it.

His tail is as long as my forearm. What the fuck.

While I was waiting on my package, I was looking up Dragapult's evolutionary line on Bulbapedia. The one about Drakloak amused me, of how it gets really anxious when the Dreepy it was taking care of isn't on its head and would find a replacement until the Dreepy is found.

I found myself imagining the Dreepy being such an uncontrollable, random derp who is completely ignorant of everything else around it and just does whatever it wants without a care in the world. And the Drakloak is just an overprotective parent that just wants to keep its precious bby safe and gets a panic attack whenever the Dreepy isn't on its head.

And so this came to happen.

Digitober 2020

Ladies and gents, it's that time of the year again. That time where I take on a month-long art challenge every October and struggle to finish on time because fucking procrastination post something different every day. That's right, it's:

Not Inktober?

 

Yep. As I announced yesterday, I'll be doing what I call Digitober this year instead of Inktober. For the longest time, I've been doing nothing but inks and pencil sketches on this website. I want to finally get my ass up and move on to more digital media to better myself and be an overall more productive person by the end of the month. And I said I would do more digital media this 2020, and by god, you're all getting it. This year ain't ending without me posting a shitton of digital paintings and other digital artwork.

You can find all my work for this project filed under Digitober 2020, which I'll be featuring on the Crossover Map for the duration of this project.

Here's hoping that I actually finish on time for once!

-Zip