About Altair

I'm a 20 year old from that speaks Spanish and English, has a variety of hobbies, mainly in the creative side, interests in the sciences (Particularly meteorology and astronomy) and is a huge Mario fan. I'm very much a fan of Nintendo as well but I don't play all the franchises, though I do know a fair bit about its history, consoles and games. As you may tell, of all characters Yoshi is my favorite of all time, so much so that I have my own Yoshisona that I represent myself as online, Altair. (I'm not a furry though, in case you were wondering lmao)

I mainly dabble in digital art and other forms of creativity in my spare time, like making videos or mods for games. This site is also an example of my focus on creativity, as it's made from the ground up with raw HTML and CSS!

Hobbies

  • Drawing
  • Writing
  • Gaming
  • Modding games
  • Stargazing
  • Biking

Favorites

  • Character: Yoshi (Shocker!)
  • Games: Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Ace Attorney series, Ghost Trick Phantom Detective, Danganronpa 1 and 2
  • Music: Lots, click here to check my Spotify playlist! I also generally enjoy plenty of video game music.
  • TV Shows: Doctor Who, Scorpion, MacGyver (2016), Chicago Fire

Why the observatory?

I've always been fascinated by the idea of my very own webpage, and I've dabbled with the idea many times before. My earliest attempt was in about 2015 when I opened up a small blog using Blogspot, with a small site where I would write reviews of games. The blog didn't last long as I was also trying to grow a YouTube channel, and I soon realized balancing both written and video content wouldn't be easy, especially when I preferred doing the video content. I later tried several Wordpress blogs, from 2016-2018, all about roughly the same topics of game reviews and analysis. My last blog, titled Ninten's Corner (NintenYoshi used to be my old name on the net) actually is still up today, and you can give it a look by going here. This time, the blog was meant not just to host posts analyzing games, but most of my other creative content, such as art and mods and ROM hacks I was working on. However, I eventually forgot about the site. I always kept interest in having my own site, yet I never consistently went through with the idea. What was going on?

Truth is, whenever I tried these blogs, my hype to get them up and running didn't last long past the initial setup, mainly because of the limits I felt using services like Blogspot or Wordpress. The customization they allow is rather extensive and fun to mess with, however it didn't really suit my needs. I wanted a site that could totally express who I am and the things I like, inspired by many sites from the past eras of the internet, and the customization places like YouTube and DeviantArt allowed back then. Wordpress is excellent if I were an entrepeneur or business looking for a slick site, or someone that would be content with a basic blog to post on. However, I wanted more than that, and the templates limited me. Now that most sites have watered down their customization options to profile pictures, banners, bios, and occasionally something else, it's easy to feel quite limited. I loved the customization of the past DeviantArt, but that is sadly a thing of the past thanks to them rolling out Eclipse. Thanks to these limits, I felt that I was asking too much, wanting a place in the internet to call my own... Until I discovered Neocities!

I actually discovered this fairly recently. I happened to be looking into the idea of making a site again, ready to dip back into Wordpress thanks to an assignment I worked on last year, until I stumbled upon Neocities. Just reading on their homepage about making your site with no limits, and seeing some of the examples they put forth blew my mind and made me very excited to give it a try! I put it off for a few weeks, because I soon learned I'd be tackling things like HTML and CSS from the ground up, but I eventually sat down, and registered this humble little observatory that is only now, after some days of grappling with the basics, starting to take form.

If you ask me, the modern internet is a crazy place. Confined to the same small selection of social medias we are constantly bombarded with all sorts of posts that warp our view of reality and mix time to relax with time to be alert of the latest trend or terrible world event. Especially since 2016 things have quickly gotten tiring, and lately I've been seeking a respite from it all. Discovering Neocities makes me realize the tradition of standalone sites is yet alive, and has inspired to truly give it a shot too. I love the convenience of Discord, but I do miss the days old tight knit communities in fansites, forums, and even pockets of fandoms in sites like DeviantArt. I'll probably write about this more in-depth in the blog because it deeply fascinates me lol

It's all of this why I took the big step to get my hands dirty and try out HTML and CSS (and possibly JavaScript, even though I've never truly envisioned myself as a programmer), to craft my very own corner of the internet that truly expresses who I am, what I do, and what I like. The journey is only starting, but I'm loving every bit of it. My site is probably a whole mess right now, but it's a mess I'm happy with, and that I'll strive to make it what I envision it every day.

My Other Sites

My online presence is mostly the same as others, and this site is here to compliment it, as having everything in one place with full control over how it works and looks is pretty fun! Feel free to follow me on these platforms if you want to keep up with more from me. I've been using Twitter less to try and improve my mental state, but I do visit it for a few minutes and post art as soon as it's made. My DA is also my secondary art archive, and my YT is where I post mods and video content that I may feel like making.

My Art

My art is an important part of me and my whole internet presence. Much like many, I've been drawing since I was a kid, but it wasn't until 2016 that I took very seriously the idea of it. I began drawing digitally, and my topics and subject matters have stayed mostly the same: Fanart and OC stuff. Most of my OCs and stories are Yoshi/Mario related, so this is what I mostly draw. I have been exploring different topics and stuff like landscape or scenery art, but otherwise that is what's mostly to be expected of my art.

To see all my drawings, as well as other mediums of art I occasionally work on, check the Art Gallery. I do NOT do requests or commissions for the time being. Requests are only reserved for people I'm close to, and I do not think my art is worth much money, nor am I trying to make a living out of it (anymore). There's other people who are indeed trying to make money out of it, so you should take your money to them in any case. Stay tuned for my blog, as I may elaborate on opinions about art, reflections on myself as an artist, and more timelines of my time as an artist.

Credits

While 100% of this site was coded and crafted by yours truly, there's some assets that are certainly not mine.

  • SMG imagery, specifically the star icons and missing star icon are property of Nintendo. The font featured in the headings, TurboRegular also belongs to them.
  • The Delfino font is apparently an unofficial recreation of the font seen in several 3D Mario games, however I don't know who it belongs to. If I find out, they'll be listed here.
  • The character icons and renders featured in the Yostershire section of the site were made by my girlfriend, Fantom! She's an absolute sweetheart and I love how she depicts my characters!
  • The starry background seen here and in the homepage was taken from sadgrl.online, the whole site is an incredible resource to get your own site going!