#i had a lot of fun trying to recreate a different artists style

[beezter]

I like to imagine that, when she was feeling less angry, Eurydice played Orpheus' music and remembered the good times

I deleted my art side blog a while ago, so I'll be slowly reposting some of my older stuff here

#my art #hades game #hades fanart #eurydice #orpheus #not the hunter #i had a lot of fun trying to recreate a different artists style #i learned a lot! #throwback to when i used to draw with my fingers #i modeled the harp after the lyre orpheus plays in game

[goron-king-darunia]

Eggtober 6th 2023

"Splat" or "Fun with Colors": Raw Egg.

(Clip Studio Paint, Gouache Brush, Pencil brush for details and highlights. 12 colors, I think? 1 Hour.) I actually really liked the rough version I made, so you're gonna get that one at the end as well, for anyone who also likes the rough one better than the smooth one.

But first... I finally discovered a feature of CSP, so now I am unstoppable and I will NEVER AGAIN have to ask myself "How the fuck did I do that?"

Because now I have EVIDENCE. Now curious friends, followers, and my forgetful ass, can watch the full process of how I made a thing. Including what references I used so it's clear how much is iterative and how much I am drawing directly from the visual reference. Today I had to do a lot from imagination because I couldn't find an exaggerated splashy egg, but sometimes I really am just making a study and trying to do a one-to-one recreation of a reference. So now y'all get to know all my filthy little secrets. I was intending to grab footage starting with Eggtober 1, 2023 but OBS needs a version of an NVIDIA driver that will absolutely wreck my computer with BSODs because I own a junker apparently. But it turns out CSP (or at least V2, IDK if it was in V1) has a way to capture a speedpaint natively when you create the file.

Now I am unstoppable, powerful. No more taking a break from art when life gets busy and coming back to pieces I drew 10 years ago and wondering "How the hell did I manage that?" I can just check. It's over for all of you. Once I practice anatomy again and start being able to draw shapes and volumes perfectly from imagination, I will become all-powerful. I will ascend. Hell, maybe someone might even pay me if I learn to draw anything that isn't an egg or a meme. XD Radical self-confidence, baby. I can art now, and I have evidence. My horizons are infinite!

And now, hopefully, any baby artists that are just starting out can get an idea of how I do it from this and future pieces so I can pull you all up with me in a bid of apotheosis. For the EGGsthetic! (Aesthetic.)

I wonder which version of this egg @lady-quen's breadbugs will snap up?

And I wonder which one @quezify will like best? My money's on the sketchy one.

I can't tell which I like better honestly. The smooth one us much more "My aesthetic" because it matches how I render eggs but... The rough pencil-y gouache lines you get with light pressure really remind me of how the classic modern quezify eggs look, and I of course only started doing eggs because of the first Eggtober so, like. On the one hand, smooth and painterly look that goes with all but one of my previous eggs (Eggtober 1, 2023 was a study from memory of quezify's style, after all). But on the other hand... dramatic color changes! Textrure, shine! Colors that aren't in the actual references! EXPRESSIVENESS. Two different moods on the same egg art and I really dig both of them honestly.

#Eggtober 6 2023 #Eggtober 2023 #my art #art by GKD #Raw egg #style experiment #speedpaint

[bleushark]

og spider gang (the laocoön group)

for an assignment in one of my art history classes, we had to recreate one of the artworks we looked at, so i chose the sculpture laocoön and sons (aka the laocoön group, amongst other names) i’d include the sculpture but yk artistic nudity

i did not need to put in this much effort but it was really fun and i’m really proud of it !

uh more thoughts below the cut cuz i have a lot of stuff to say about this waha

i knew i wanted to do a greek sculpture, cuz they were the most dynamic pieces of art we’ve looked at in class so far. we discussed the use of heroic nudity, and how that technique is still used today in the form of superheroes wearing tight suits. so combining a greek sculpture with a superhero felt so perfect! choosing spider-man was easy, since he’s my favorite superhero. in the assignment description, my professor said we could modernize the artwork. spider verse felt so perfect since the first movie revolutionized animation and inspired many artists to incorporate some of the movie’s style into their own artwork- me included. the idea of itsv miles, peter, and gwen fighting doc ock as laogoön and sons came naturally from there!

while i wasn’t trying to replicate the art style, i tried getting the proportions of the characters down the way they are in the movie, as well as the small, slightly different screentones of each character. i finally found some perfect screentone brushes to do so! if u want them lmk and i’ll link them :D i couldn’t get the proportions exact since i didn’t have time to study the movie, but i did my best using the art book and some screenshots… i still got them to a point i was happy with tho :D

#into the spider verse #across the spiderverse #spiderman #spider woman #miles morales #peter b parker #gwen stacy #spiderverse fanart #art #digital art #my art

[lirhyapetitpain]

Hey !

I have followed you on Twitter for a while and I really love your work (on the French side) (yes, I'm asking in English anyway)

So, you keep posting the evolution of your art style and skills (really impressive byw) using the pokemon fanart and some of your recent/ Sam stuff.

I was wondering if you had some resources for coloring digital work. Your colors are always wonderful, and I'd like to progress so... asking you, seems logical.

Thank you for sharing your passion, I'm able to shine at parties, talking about things I barely know ahah !

Stay awesome, and have a good life :)

Haha thanks, I appreciate a lot 💚

I don't have anything 'cause I developped everything I do all by myself so the 5 tips I can give for digital coloring are :

1) don't be afraid of testing stuff. Just do a plain flat color as a base on a new layer, shadowing on another and try even unatural colors, brushes etc until you like the result

2) you're a digital artist, meaning you have a shit tons of digital tools such as photo rendering (from the most complicated photo touch up to the simplest instagram filters) use them, using filters can help you get a smoother colo and can change EVERYTHING for the best, you would be surprised. Again, try stuff, find what your softwares can do by testing stuff.

3) Find something you enjoy doing, a color palette you like, a type of coloring you like (for exemple hyper realism or hyper cartoonish? Whatever you like doing the most).

4) Remember you can't be good at anything and use that. I used to be terrible at colo, in fact I'm still pretty bad at realism, that's why I took the opposite way with flashy saturated colors and ironically my colo became what people love the most about my stuff when it used to be the thing I hated the most about my art when I forced myself into doing an artstyle that impress me but that I have no fun doing myself. So find your weakness, aknowledge it and use it to find your strength.

5) This apply to every form of drawing. Thinking is more important than practicing. Save arts you like, observe them, try to understand what you see "oh they used this specific color to shadow this, oh the shadow has this specific shape, oh the light source is here" etc etc, it works for everything, line, sketching etc... Learn to think by yourself rather than following tutorials because most of them will teach only one way to do one thing with one specific angle and light and all so learning to observe and think, decompose and recompose an object will make you improve A LOT. For exemple, if you have to draw a hand, take your hand and look, it's not one object, it's 17 different objects interacting with each others and having their own volume and perspective (3 for each fingers, 2 on the palm of the hand, basically). That's something you can practice everywhere at anytime. You have to wait in line in a shop? Observe a random object or person and try to understand how you could recreate that, what colors you can find in light and shadow etc...

And of course be patient and kind to yourself.

I'll probably start posting more step by step and process very soon, I have a hard time recording myself 'cause I tend to do a lot of pauses (ADHD disaster) and I often forget to put back the recording haha but I'll try. Lots of stuff coming soon.

If it's too hard to understand you can dm me here or on X in French, I don't mind. Have a nice day ✌️💚

#ask

[maluceh]

how long have u been drawing? i scrolled ur blog (great stuff btw) and your art has improved sooo much over the past like year or so it motivated me a lot hehe so im just asking out of curiosity as someone who's been thinking about picking up the hobby! and maybe if u could share what exactly made u improve thar would be fantastic <3

hi! I have been drawing since i was a toddler, but my art stayed pretty much the same cause i made the same drawings over and over. Even when I picked up digital art, I did it on my phone and with my finger so it wasn’t… great. (to anyone seeing this i beg you to let my 2017-18 art DIE).

I started to get serious about it like four years ago, i stopped doing just profiles and hiding hands and I started looking at different references and art videos which helped a lot. I also started studying graphic design and they had a class on traditional drawing and human anatomy and it helped me A LOT. not saying you have to join a class or anything, there’s a lot of online free classes or videos that can help you, what I did in those classes you can do it for free for sure. But having a routine, or an specific time where you set to just learn and take the time can help you (the class was 4 hours a week and all we did was draw and draw and draw, but with direction)

i don’t like to say “don’t do this, do that”, because every artist chooses their own path and they end up using things that others don’t and it works for them. so this is what i did:

doing the basics, studying the human figure (if that’s what you want to draw), studying scale and contrasts, etc. This is for traditional art

applying that knowledge and drawing A LOT of dynamic poses

it gets repetitive having to draw different poses again and again but it helps a lot

timing it to do 20 or 30 second drawings so you find the quickest way to recreate a pose or to at least get the basics of the subject (how long the arm goes, how the leg bends, how the hand sits on different poses etc) it doesn’t have to be great, it’s practice :)

then learning about color theory and how colors works and combinations, etc.

applying that to digital art, learning more things from other artists online.

finding new things about the program i use and taking advantage of them.

never stop learning, there’s always something else you haven’t tried, something you didn’t know, a new hack another artists teaches you, a new discovery you make yourself that changes the way you did things…

a lot of artists will tell you “oh you need to draw and draw a lot” but i find that advice unhelpful. You do need to draw a lot, but you need to work your way up and KNOW what you draw.

this is for later but, for coming up with your own style:

looking at and taking from other artists helps too! (i recommend this FOR PRACTICE not for posting and claiming it’s yours after copying one artist)

if there are more experienced artists you like, you can learn a lot from them and take little things from their art but it has to be multiple artists you shouldn’t take from just one. Try to resemble the way one of them draws bodies, the way that other one does hair, this one has a fun palette, the line art on this one, etc. Even if it’s things from other artists, you will end up with your own style, and it will help you find things that you like or don’t like and discard them (maybe cause they don’t work for you, maybe cause you want your style to look different).

and that’s basically what i did, i hope it helps you!! and i’m honored my art journey inspired you :)

#artists on tumblr

[tohruhondaismydaughter]

Just had some headcanons about Machi pop into my head that I wanted to share with yall. So we know this poor girl struggles with "perfect"/neat things right? Well I was thinking about some healthy coping mechanisms she could develop to replace the whole 'breaking property/living in a dump' thing & here's what I got so far -

1. She always tries to wear odd socks (unless she's invited somewhere nice)

2. Ayame & Mine help her find cool asymmetrical stuff to wear, how to make clashing colours/patterns work for her & teach her how to sew up her old clothes in a more "punk rock" way (after Yuki & Kakeru explain some of her issues with perfection)

3. Tohru gently points out that she dosn't have to tie her laces the same way on both shoes if she dosn't want to

4. Haru & Rin (awkwardly on her part) teach her the power of acessorising (ie. wearing only one earing, putting on an uneven amount of bracelets/rings/necklaces, adding paper clips of different sizes & colours to your clothing & Machi later ends up adding stuff like buttons to her outfits/belongings as well which Haru & Rin are tottally surppotive of despite thier difference in style) & hair/makeup which (thanks to Yuki's advice) they make sure to keep slightly messy (Kimi laughed at it at first until Momiji made her feel bad after he told her that Machi had gone to the bathroon & wiped off all the make up & undid the hair style so Kimi bought her some limited edition Mogeta merch, after asking for Yuki's advice, in apolgey & started referring to Machi's new hair/makeup style as "punk chic" whenever anyone tried to mock Machi about her new look)

5. her & Momiji go on a crazy tie dying adventure (much to Hatori's grumbling & Mayu's amusement)

6. Kormaki gets her into collecting second hand fridge magnets which she then later uses in her work (my version of post-serise Machi is an artist) once the magnetism finally wears off

7. Kagura teaches her how to fix up old plushies (Machi likes creating Mogeta inspired characters) & gives Machi all her old cat ones to work on (Machi descides not to ask why Yuki's cousin was seemingly once obssesd with orange cats because she looks rather embrassed & a little sad when she hands over her collection)

8. Kyo reluctantly teaches her how to cook a few simple dishes (Tohru comes over as well & Yuki insists her food is better but Machi prefers Kyo's simple style of presentation so it's eventually descided that Kyo & her will do the cooking & Tohru & Yuki will deal with the cleaning which Yuki agrees to becuse cleaning is still difficult for Machi but Kyo says it's actually because no matter how much Tohru tried to train him rat boy knows he would never be able to do anything in the kitchen but burn water)

9. Kakeru teaches her the skills of 'excessive badge & sticker decorating' as well as giving eachother fake tattoos (Kisa congratulates Hiro on not saying anything rude to Yuki's girlfriend about her appreance after they first meet her)

10. Cuts her hair short (she delibretly makes it very choppy) once she enters university, where the rules are less strict about your apprence (at least it is if your at art college), & she also regulary wears diffrent coloured wigs (her favourites being a dark red one & a rainbow one) whenever she wants to temporarily change her appearance (beacuse she didn't want to commit to just one look, still wanted to have the ability to quickly "become invisable" again & she heard from Kimi that exsseive hair die-ing could permantly destroy her hair & scalp) it takes her until she's 30 to try out shaving all her hair off (she worried she'd look sick/crazy or not feminine enough) & everyone's really surppotive (though Kimi dose cry a bit, Rin & Haru aren't there when her hair is being shaved & Kyo is a slightly confused as he'd always thought women liked having longer hair then guys) especially Ritsu (who's growing out thier hair again) & they all throw her a big party (Haru & Rin are there for the party bit just not the hair removal bit because it brought up some bad memories) where Kakeru films it & posts it (with Machi's permission) & they give her cut off hair to a charity chosen by all thier followers (despite her disbelief Machi has manged to gain a small group of loyal fans from all her art stuff & her apprences on her loved ones social media), Kakeru also later uploads a video where they help Machi rainbow dye her buzz cut, (she later explores many diffrent types of buzz cut patterns such as flowers & geometric shapes but, at Kimi's insistence, gets them done by a professional)

11. She recycles & D.Y.I's like crazy (Momiji started singing Do Re Mi from The Sound Of Music after she told him that her new dress was actually made from curtains & Yuki cried when she gave him a little rat plushie made from felt, after he came clean to her about the curse)

12. She almost never wears an apron while working on her art because she likes getting messy

13. When her & Yuki go out to eat she loves things like fondoe (both the chocolate & cheese kind), eat N mess & is genreually just a fan of finger food & it becomes a tradition between her & Yuki (& later Mutsuki) to go on a stroll through the park after thier meal & (if it's autumn) look for piles of leaves to jump in (Machi & Yuki also like playing a game where they try to look for the weirdest looking leaf to give eachother & whoever wins gets to pick what they'll eat for dinner that evening & the looser has to cook it, Mutsuki is the "impartial" judge)

14. Machi is amazing at scrapbooking & collarge making (Tohru is more of a dream journal kind of girl)

15. When it's Summer her, Yuki & Mutsuki go down to the beach to see who can find the weirdest looking rocks (the less impressive ones often get used in Machi's art work, the coolest ones Mutsuki gets to keep & any that are too perfect get tossed back in the ocean & Mutsuki likes to score the splashes they make on how big/loud they are)

16. She loves helping Yuki out with gardening for lots of reasons (it's therapeutic & she loves seeing Yuki happy) but she can't deny it's also just fun getting muddy

17. Machi, thanks to Kakeru, devolpes a love of paint ball (but instead of using guns they just throw the paint at eachother like in 10 Things I Hate About You because apparently the gun pellets actually hurt) & will bring it up as an activity idea to her loved ones any chanse she gets

18. Decorates as much of her flat (& later her home with Yuki & Mutsuki) with Mogeta merchandise, random things she collects & her own art work as a big fuck you to her bitch "you have 0 personality/hobbies or talents" of a mother

19. Kisa (happily) & Hiro (reluctantly) introduce Machi to the magic of glitter

20. Machi & Rin eventually become proper friends due to bonding over being abounded by their asshole parents & one of the things they like to do together is work on thier seprete art peices while listening to music (Machi dosn't do any of her "aggressive" art, like plate smashing, around Rin though thanks to Yuki & Haru warnings)

21. When stuff gets to be too much & none of thier other coping strategies are working (like watching Mogeta stoned- which Kisa, Tohru & Momiji do not partake in) Machi & Haru bond by going to rage rooms together to destroy shit & scream (Haru obviously dosn't want Rin around for any of that though so Momiji, Tohru, Kagura or Hana will often take the opportunity to hang out with her, one time Yuki offered & it wasn't bad but it was definitely awkward as they had never really hung out without Haru before & Haru teases her for ages afterwards about her ending up liking Yuki once she actually spent some time with him which, like the precious tsundere she is, Rin will forever deny)

22. (I actually made a whole seprete post about this ages ago but now it seems to have vanished so in case other Machi fans are unable to find it l'll add it here) on the days that it's supposed to snow but dosn't Yuki takes her (& later Mutsuki) skating so she can enjoy scratching up the perfectly smooth ice (they would have gone on double dates with Tohru & Kyo if Tohru wasn't freaked out at the idea of having blades on her shoes & Kyo hadn't claimed to "not trust" ice, he's dislike comes from all the times Kagura had forced him to ice skate with her on the lake near Kazuma's place in the winter when they were kids, so they would instead go with Haru & Momiji - they had thought about going with Haru x Rin & Kakeru x Kormaki once but he proudly revealed that he'd been banned from thier local ice rink years ago for trying "perfectly safe" Olympic level stunts in he's attempt to recreate one of he's favriote episodes of Power Rangers, much to he's fiancee's anger, & Machi reminded Yuki that though Haru & Kakeru were fine with eachother Rin isn't reall able to stand Kakeru for longer than 5 minuites)

#fruits basket #headcanons #machi #machi kuragi #machi headcanons #machi kuragi headcanons #fruits basket headcanons

[wehavespikes]

I've been really into graphic design lately and I want to start! do you have any tips?

Hey, thanks for asking, I guess I do have some tips

• For absolute beginners I'd recommend first looking into graphic programs and finding the best fit for what you want to create - the adobe cloud is great but to start out there are many free alternatives. If you're into drawing as well I'd recommend checking out Procreate.

• Study the basics - e.g. look at the difference between vectors and pixel graphics, file formats (jpg vs png vs tiff etc.), look up different methods to cut out images as it's something you'll probably need at some point, and maybe also have a look at recent design or color trends (that's always fun, too). Also advisable as a beginner is to study general do's and don'ts (for example working with text, website design or layouting have some clear rules for what works and what doesn't - most people already have a sense of aesthetic but it's always a good idea to prevent creating some graphic design is my passion meme stuff, see r/crappydesign or the likes).

• If you want to create with the intention of publishing your works effectively on certain platforms (like Instagram) it's always clever to look up which formats work best (1080x1080 is standard square for Instagram for example). If you want to create wallpapers look up common sizes and set up your canvas accordingly.

• Find inspiration and ideas - of course you need at least a rough idea about what you want to create. I for example love all things 80s, so for inspiration I look up 80s media, technology, fashion etc. to find things I could incorporate in my designs (e.g. patterns, color schemes, shapes, fonts etc.). An amazing platform for this is Pinterest of course, but I also frequently use unsplash.com (free to use gorgeous photography that you can use right away for your designs), youtube (for tutorials mainly) and lots of tumblr blogs.

•  If you want to use photos make sure you know about copyright and fair use - platforms like Pinterest mostly feature copyrighted images, so never just use an image without considering this. Always ask first and give credit.

•  Watch lots of tutorials - in the beginning I had no idea about the capabilities of graphic programs and was often wondering how artists were able to create certain things. So of course you need to learn somehow and watching tutorials on youtube is a great way to do so. It’s also fun to just look through random design tutorials until the algorythm shows you something you really like and want to recreate or use for your own works. Like this I also learned lots of basics (advanced working with layers, clipping masks, transparency, layer styles, filters and all kinds of photoshop tools).

• Familiarize yourself with the graphic program of your choice. Check out which tools are available and try to use them. Experiment with shapes, brushes, text, gradients, etc. Set up your workplace according to your needs and look through all options, settings and tabs to see what your possibilities are. Play around with a photo and try to edit the hell out of it. Like this you’ll probably already find some tools or settings that inspire you and ways you might want to incorporate them into your designs.

• Recreate and adopt. Recreating artworks that inspire you or designing along tutorials is the best way to learn in my opinion, as it is with drawing as well. As you learn new techniques you can begin to incorporate more and more of them into your own artworks, your drafting process will change as you’re able to consider more ways to reach your design goal, and you will also gain lots of new inspiration as well. When I discovered the possibilities of layer mixing I began designing with them in mind and just playing around yielded some amazing results; I made note of my favourite styles and now am frequently using them in my designs.

• Draft and save inspiration. I always carry my sketchbook around and doodle things when I have a few minutes of time or when inspiration hits me. You often see things in the real world that strike you as interesting, so make sure you don’t forget about them later when you want to design. This can be posters, flyers or other design works but also nature, people, clothes, etc. Taking written notes also works great for me. For collecting inspiration online I mostly use Pinterest (create artboards for specific aesthetics and pin all images that fit and inspire you in some way so you can look them up later as reference), but I also have lots of bookmarks neatly organized to save images that aren’t on pinterest. I never just copy and save on my computer because I might not know who to credit later.

• Refine your own aesthetic, polish your artworks and take challenges. Try to design outside of your comfort zone (I’m really not a fan of working with Adobe Illustrator for example but need it a lot for my job so I decided to use it more at home for my own art and am now quite fond of some of the tools) and challenge yourself - e.g. you can try to design within a certain decade’s aesthetic, participate in online design challenges, ask for requests from friends or followers, etc. Keep up with design trends (especially if you’re planning to sell your artworks in some way at some point).

• Less is more. Edit edit edit. Something I still struggle with given that the 80s aesthetic I love always screams more is more. Train your abstraction ability (making pixel art or super minimalist things is a great way to practice). Learn what an artwork / layout / website etc. really needs and what can be scrapped. Don't be afraid of blank spaces. Never bedazzle just for the sake of filling space.

That’s all I can think of right now, hope this helps ♡ if you have questions about specific things you can always hit me up.

#ask #ty #♡ #design #graphic design #tips #ascz #wehavespikes

[hyliandude]

Learning Music Log - Day 1:

I am someone that has never played an instrument, never been part of band, never even known how to start. For the past year I’ve been fascinated with Lo-Fi music, so I figured I’d try making some myself. Again, with no experience in anything myself, I figured I’d need some tools to make electronic music. An old friend of mine from high school had some songs signed and sold through Beatport, and I remember him using FL Studio at home. Just messing around with the tools was interesting to watch, but the interface and process always intimidated me.

Another artist I follow on my art blog, Artem Solop, is also big into making his own electronic music and beats. Although I do not know him personally, I have always liked his style. The unique thing about his method, is that he utilizes his Nintendo DS and Switch as instruments. Synths, Compressors, and Drum Machines have always intrigued me, but I could never tell one thing from the other, and here was this guy using them from his Nintendo consoles to make something sounds good. Cables routed from one system to another – how does he do it?

I figured I’d plunge in headfirst – well, as “headfirst” as I could while still adhering to baby steps…I know the hobby can be expensive if left unchecked.

I bought KORG Gadget for Nintendo Switch about 2 weeks ago to start this journey – an inexpensive grab through Amazon for just 30$. I have no idea what it is, but it’s what Artem seems to use in his videos. The tool is described as such:

-Robust music composition/production tools in a compact cartridge

-Simple to use and easy to understand; anyone can create music anywhere and everywhere

-16 different synthesizer and drum machine gadgets with additional DLC gadgets available

-Gadgets have retro-inspired tactile control knobs that you can turn by rotating the Joy-Con controllers

And to be honest, it did not disappoint. It was a great way to wrap my mind around the synths, tracks, and “scenes” as they are laid out in the simple to use interface. I was determined to begin this journey in a self-taught, but organized manner. I had googled a few things before starting anything:

1. Simple music theory – I had no idea that notes/scales determine how well something sounds. A lot of you may think that that’s obvious, but again, my music knowledge started in 4th grade with a mandatory recorder recital and ended with the 5 colors on the guitar hero guitar. At the most basic level, I learned that scales could be set (C Major, A minor, etc.) and most tools used to create music (a digital audio workstation, or DAW for short) had a setting to allow “helpers” that would highlight keys in any given scale. From there on, I figured out that experimenting and playing randomly sounded better if I followed the scale guidelines.

2. How different chords on a piano/keyboard evoke different emotions depending on what scale you’re in. Major chord happy. Minor chord sad.

3. After talking to my fiancé (a former band geek that played flute!) I also learned that the concept of “chords” did not apply to the flute, so I also realized how different instruments were from one another…

Aside from those few things, I didn’t really look into anything else before attempting to ‘craft’ a song on the Switch.

Immediately, I could tell that the different synth gadgets varied and specialized in different things. The Marseille gadget had some great piano, electric piano, and orchestral instrument presets; the Helsinki gadget was great at ambient/relaxing sounds; the London drum gadget was great at…well…drum sounds and beats! Each of the city inspired gadgets brought something unique to the table. The Switch’s controls were intuitive. Copying and pasting, moving notes, playing tracks vs. just playing scenes was something that I was able to pick up in around 30 minutes without even ‘sniffing’ the user guide. By messing around I actually learned more about notes, half beats, and chord progressions all on my own.

Before I knew it, I had crafted a song that was about 3 minutes long. Deep, ambient intro, catchy simple melody, and the typical ‘lo-fi’ drums set to 79 BPM. I was impressed at how good it sounded. I knew there were things I was messing up, or could probably do better, but I was still proud of it.

Hopping on to YouTube I found a TON of tutorials covering music theory, lo-fi beat making lessons, “dos and don’ts”, best plugins for DAWs and more. Before long, I invested in an AKAI Professional MPK Mini Play USB MIDI Keyboard controller (hastily, as it seems like the Arturia Minilab might have been a better grab? Lmk), got set up with a subscription to Melodics HQ to learn the basics of playing a keyboard, and installed FL Studio on my computer. After a week of using the Korg Gadget on Switch, I found that FL Studio had a bunch of the same principals in its interface, and I found myself digging in with minimal research into how to use the tool.

By purchasing the Korg Gadgets online, I was able to continue using the same tools I was already familiar with on the Switch inside of FL Studio’s more robust interface.

I was able to recreate the song I made on the Switch in FL Studio. This was a great way to familiarize myself with the tool in an almost step-by-step tutorial I had already made for myself.

After I had gotten a grip with using FL Studio at a basic level, I decided to try mirroring some Lo-fi beat YouTube tutorial videos. To my surprise, I found myself not really liking the final product, even after following the instructor’s guidelines. I don’t think I am a fan of “oh you NEED to do this and this for it to be a good song”. I do think that a basic understanding of music theory is key before even starting, but I don’t know how I feel about new and upcoming musicians following strict rules about how something should sound when it’s literally an art form used for expression and fun.

I was happier with the first song I made just messing around on my Switch than the song I made trying to emulate a Lo-fi beat guided by a professional producer on YouTube… and it got me thinking…I think Giorgio Moroder was right in that one Daft Punk song:

“Once you free your mind about a concept of

Harmony and of music being correct

You can do whatever you want

So nobody told me what to do

And there was no preconception of what to do”

I’m looking forward to learning more – after all, it’s only been a few days!

-Franco

#music #learning music #daw #fl studio #korg #korg gadget #nintendo #nintendo switch #keyboard #midi keyboard #akai mpk mini play #melodics hq #blog #music blog #music log #day 1 #learning #education #lofi #piano #vst #plugins

[mwolf0epsilon]

First off, before everyone comes after my butt with their "No Fun Allowed" and "Cringe" signs, this is in no way something to be taken as gospel or insightful. It's not a prophetic enforcement of canon. It's literally a theory done for fun, and to try to piece the Bendy Crack up Comics into the general and messy lore of the BatIM franchise. 

Most of you get this and don't need a big wordy warning about fanon interpretation, but a lot of peculiar people tend to show up in my ask box hoping to start a fuss over my headcanons and AU ideas, so I thought to be nice and leave a polite and diplomatic "Kindly Fuck Off" sign at the door for them.

With that said, there will be mild spoilers, carry on of your own volition, down below under the cut that will definitely show up because Tumblr mobile is a functional app that's never given me trouble!!!

---

[[MORE]]

The Bendy Franchise has an established issue with cohesion in its lore. We all know what I'm talking about, we all have reservations about canonical character discrepancies (game vs novel vs guidebook) and we all have been racking our brains with a few holes in the timeline, as well as how BatDR (which is neither prequel nor sequel) will fit into this, since it's connected to BatDS and that's an established prequel to BatIM.

Granted I myself am missing a lot of pieces, having to scrounge around for info since I can't really get any of the reading material myself and rely heavily on @british-hero (who owns the novel plus got her copy of the comics yesterday), a very incomplete wikie, and analysis and theories from SuperHorrorBro's Bendy videos.

Heck, I also rely on a lot of gameplay footage, because BatIM has a bit of subtle storytelling through visual design of its levels, and hints of how certain characters work through a few game mechanics.

Through this mishmash of collecting puzzle pieces for the greater picture I even have a few notes on my phone to piece together certain events in established dates, something which comes very in handy for this theory since it talks about two particular characters, the Projectionist and Brute Boris (and I guess Twisted Alice to some extent but it's more of a note on some interesting thoughts I have of her).

Without further ado, here's what this theory is all about: Why did Norman become the Projectionist, and why did Twisted Alice turn Buddy Boris into Brute Boris?

If you think about it, there's only two creatures in the studio that really seem out of place in the world of BatIM, and that's Prophet Sammy and the Projectionist. Neither are inherently similar to any of the cartoon characters, nor are they considered to be Lost Ones. They're certainly not Searchers, but while we know Sammy is unique because his method of transformation was different, we never got an explanation for Norman's. It could be that it's a process similar to BatDR's new enemy type that's larger and seems to have bits and bobs stuck to it, but then those big guys seem like the equivalent to Swollen Searchers for the Lost Ones. The Projectionist doesn't really fit the puzzle.

Or at least he didn't.

With the introduction of the Crack up Comics collection, we get three new characters that were definitely designed in the same manner that the Butcher Gang was. Beginning with a corrupt monster forms and then giving way to perfect and pristine rubberhose toon forms.

I'm talking about Miss Twisted, the Brute, and Cameraman.

The villainous trio from the Souper Boris comic strip.

To us it's obvious the artists created them in parallel to Twisted Alice, Brute Boris and the Projectionist, but to the actual canon this actually has a bit of an impact on the Projectionist's existence.

Why, you ask? Because those characters were introduced between 1936 and 1940.

Bendy Crack up Comics table of contents, showcasing the publishing dates of the strips.

For anyone who doesn't know (either from not paying attention to the Joey Drew Studios channel audio logs, or from not owning the books) the Ink Machine wasn't conceptualized or installed until 1942/1943. Putting that into perspective, the only other thing that happened in Joey Drew Studios in 1940, was the conceptualization of Bendyland (which is likely the origin of the idea for the Ink Machine itself).

This means that Cameraman existed well before the Projectionist ever came to be, and that made me think about another thing: The Ink's apparent sentience.

I'll be frank, the Ink is very hard nut to crack. I consider it a form of alchemized entity, others consider it pure black magic, and I'm pretty sure Joey Drew himself had no idea what he was dealing with when he began using it. The fact of the matter is that the Ink is alive and that it has its own agenda. One that coincides with Joey's, out of mutual interest.

In the novels it seems to want to be free, but it can't exactly do that as a formless liquid, so it tries to body-snatch people (ex: Sammy and Buddy's grandpa).

When Joey tries to use it to give life to Bendy through nothing more than using the Ink and a template (likely a character model sheet) the Ink tries to follow the model but immediately becomes a distorted humanoid version of it (which honestly rings so many fucking alarm bells on its own). Things… Escalate there on out, with Joey trying to perfect the method and only managing to succeed through Daniel Lewek (and many other nameless Boris Clones), Allison Pendle and Thomas Connor.

An important thing to take from this, however, is that by trying to perfect this method Joey not only taught the Ink to reshape things into viable referenced material, but that he had to have lost control of just how many souls were being pumped through the Ink Machine for him to monitor and keep up.

Sammy started killing people when he completely turned, and it didn't seem to take long for him to cut down people in likely both the music and art departments. At this point he had no self-restraint and was completely wrapped around inky fingers and Joey's lies. 

Norman is one such potential victim, and Dot and Buddy even passed by his ink-wrapped body while fleeing.

Now, the thing about trying to follow a specific guide and not having the actual means to make it exactly the same thing, is an easy enough notion to get (as shows like "Nailed It", and years of trying to perfect visual style mimicry, have taught me).

The Ink likely had the template it needed (maybe a printed copy of Souper Boris that got thrown around in the chaos), the insight of what Norman's role in the studio was, the amount of mass it needed to consume and transform his dead body, but not exactly the right sort of… Centerpiece for it...

Cameraman using his lens to light up his path.

But what's a projector besides a bigger fancier camera? Both blink, both take film, same thing right? The ink doesn't see the difference and just stitches together this humanoid bootleg cameraman with the pieces it finds that are similar enough.

Mechanical blinky head? Check.

Strange round disc near the belly? There's a speaker. That's round! Check.

Film? There we go, a nice big round reel full of film in it, let's put it near the head, that's how it works right? Check.

Lastly, no Joey to actually direct this artistic recreation of a one-off character. The Ink did it all by itself while he was off getting his hand broken by a rightfully upset Buddy Boris.

If you look at it objectively it makes sense that being the projectionist tasked with not only recording and maintaining the projectors themselves, that the entity in the Ink would pick Cameraman as a template for Norman's transformed self.

It also makes sense that the Projectionist is so off-putting in the studio. He's almost perfect, but not quite because there just weren't the right materials. He's stuck in between Twisted Alice and the Butcher Gang clones as another failed recreation.

Moving on to the next question on why Twisted Alice turn Buddy Boris into Brute Boris, when she hadn't done the same to any of the other Boris Clones.

It's hard to say really, but I think it all comes down to who Twisted Alice really is. It's very likely that, as Susie Campbell, she would have knowledge of the comic strips. A few were most likely made into cartoon shorts even (which isn't an unusual assumption to make), and maybe Susie voiced a few background characters for said shorts.

Susie may have lost her role as Alice, but before Joey came to her with his proposition for the "special project" it's very likely that she remained in the studio, forced to do the voices of characters that weren't noteworthy or that she felt completely disconnected from (talking chairs and singing hens really don't become beloved fan-favourites) . Maybe if the Souper Boris story was made into a short, she might have voiced Miss Twisted (which honestly would be personally insulting considering she once had the role of the main heroine).

Point is, Susie knows her lore, and that translates to Twisted Alice's repertoire of insightful knowledge on the abominations lurking around the studio.

She never did turn other Boris clones into brutish lackeys because at the time she didn't need to. But it doesn't mean she hadn't considered it. Henry's disruptive behaviour is just what she needed to put that plan into motion.

There was already a "Cameraman" walking about, one that could easily rip apart anything it came across, so acquiring the means to recreate the "Brute" would have been benefiting from her point of view. The Projectionist doesn't take orders and can't be reasoned with, so if she could make something just as strong that took her orders she could, theoretically, be safe from most terrors in the studio. If that didn't work, she would still likely send others to their death by simply sending them down to Level 14, or maybe lure the Projectionist to them herself (just because he doesn't take orders doesn't mean she can't use him to achieve her end goals).

Miss Twisted, the Brute and Cameraman in their evil swamp lair.

But why Buddy Boris specifically? Why couldn't she have used any of the bodies laying around? Freshness most likely. Rigor mortis is probably still a thing, even for living cartoons. Easier to work a fresh dead body than a bunch of stiff wolves.

That's at least why I think Brute Boris is a thing. Susie's knowledge of most Bendy cartoon/comic strip characters, taking inspiration from the Projectionist's presence, and honestly a very twisted sense of humor and irony. In her quest to become a Perfect Alice, the heroine of the show, she ended up becoming just as antagonistic (although more sadistic) as Miss Twisted, a Bendy comic strip villainess.

#bendy and the ink machine #batim #bendy crack up comics #bendy spoilers #spoilers #theory #headcanons #speculation #twisted alice #the projectionist #brute boris #long post

[insanelyadd]

Do you have any tips on learning to draw? It's something I really want to get into but i'm just not good at it. To be fair I haven't had much practice with drawing but i'm worried that it might just not be for me.

Pull up a bunch of character sheets from your favorite cartoon and try to pick apart the pieces that “make” the style and build an OC/redraw one you already have with what you learn.

Like for example, here is my OC Anne:

And now here she is drawn in three other styles:

Jhonen Vasquez (creator of Invader Zim) which I did not need a reference pic for as I imitated this style A LOT when I was teaching myself to draw.

Hanna-Barbera, no reference used because it’s not a terribly difficult style to imitate.

Charles Schulz (Peanuts) a reference was used because I forgot if he drew necks or not.

As you can see my OC in these other styles does not look like I just took a canon character and put them in different clothes, but I took many bits and pieces from many characters and applied what I had learned to recreate my design in that style.

I could go on and on but these are pretty solid methods to improve quickly but above all else:

NOTHING IS MORE FUN THAN A NEW ARTIST DRAWING LITERALLY ANYTHING THEY CAN THINK OF BECAUSE THEY JUST CAN, AND DON’T FEEL BAD IF IT’S NOT PERFECT BECAUSE IF EVERY ARTIST STOPPED DRAWING BECAUSE THEIR FIRST PICTURES WEREN’T PERFECT THAN THERE WOULD BE NO ART AT ALL

#answears #art advice #hope this helped #Anonymous

[thesims4blogger]

The Sims 4 Star Wars Journey to Batuu: Interview with SimGuruRomeo

StarWars.com has released an exclusive interview with SimGuruRomeo, giving some new details on The Sims 4 Star Wars Journey to Batuu Game Pack.

If you’ve ever wanted to join the Resistance or First Order — or live your best scoundrel life — this is your chance.

Lucasfilm and EA announced last week that a galaxy far, far away is coming to The Sims with The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu on PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Available September 8, the pack will take players to Black Spire Outpost, the location featured at Disneyland® Resort and Walt Disney World® Resort’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, where they can create their own story with an allegiance of their choice.

As seen in the reveal trailer and a new features overview trailer, Journey to Batuu centers around a detail-by-detail recreation of the Star Wars-themed land, from the layout of Oga’s Cantina to fun Easter eggs like the diagona that pops up in a water fountain. (And of course, the ultimate dream come true: lightsaber building!) There are main story missions, side missions, and even some familiar faces in Vi Moradi, Rey, and Kylo Ren, as well as the chance to pilot iconic ships, including the Millennium Falcon, TIE echelon, and T-70 X-wing. Of course, it’s all through the fun and funny lens of The Sims, meaning friendships, relationships, and the occasional dance party are all possible, too. Ultimately, it looks to be a more than worthy addition to one of gaming’s most vaunted simulators. “As a huge Star Wars fan, I have always loved the stories that have been told in this universe,” producer Antonio Romeo tells StarWars.com, “but being able to take the reins and play out my own stories with the Sims is such a unique experience no other game can offer.” StarWars.com caught up with Romeo to talk about bringing Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to life in video game form, visiting Disney Parks for research, and having lightsaber duels over dirty dishes.

StarWars.com: This pack is such a fun idea, but one I never would’ve really thought possible. Can you talk about where the idea came from and how it evolved?

Antonio Romeo: We have a lot of Star Wars fans here on The Sims, and we have always wanted to incorporate it into a larger, more fleshed out gameplay experience. When we learned more about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, we thought it was such a unique setting that has so much more to explore. This was a perfect opportunity for us to jump in and provide fans and players with an experience that coincides with their experiences at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

StarWars.com: What strikes me as something wholly unique about this project is that the fantastical world you’re building actually exists in Disney Parks. Did you get to visit in preparation for development?

Antonio Romeo: The goal was to build an authentic Star Wars experience and the only way to fully incorporate the sights and sounds into The Sims was to experience Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge first-hand. Myself and a small group of artists and designers spent three full days there capturing reference for rock formations, textures, audio, guest behavior, and just trying to get a sense of what it would be like to translate Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge into our game. It was a lot of fun and I am excited to be able to bring that experience to fans in a unique way.

StarWars.com: What other resources and reference were available to you?

Antonio Romeo: The Star Wars vault is massive! Anything that we could think of where we needed a reference was only an email away. As a huge Star Wars fan myself, I was in heaven. I learned so much from working with the great folks at Lucasfilm. Additionally, the Disney Parks team was extremely helpful in providing us with true-to-life audio to ensure the experience in Journey to Batuu is as authentic to the real place as possible.

StarWars.com: What were your ultimate goals for Journey to Batuu once you started development?

Antonio Romeo: Star Wars is all about storytelling, and The Sims provides players with an opportunity to tell their own stories. When we were developing Journey to Batuu we wanted to ensure players had all of the tools they needed to create their Star Wars story on Batuu. We also thought of the many ways Star Wars could blend with your everyday Sims gameplay beyond Batuu. This last point was extremely important to us as Sims fans. In the end, we landed on a great balance of The Sims style of fun and authentic Star Wars moments. Who doesn’t want to duel their roommates to decide who has to wash the dishes that night? These are the types of moments that excite me as both a Star Wars and Sims fan.

StarWars.com: I love how you can choose your own allegiance, be it Resistance, First Order, or Scoundrel. It’s actually one of the few Star Wars games to give you that freedom.

Antonio Romeo: Absolutely! I myself am a diehard Scoundrel player. I have always loved the stories of scum and villainy in Star Wars. However, The Sims 4 is all about player choice and storytelling. We knew we couldn’t provide players with just a single path, there needed to be an option for Resistance and First Order. Each one of these groups provides you with unique gameplay that helps you understand what each of the three groups are about. For example, the Resistance will have you sneaking into the First Order District to uncover information, disrupt comms, and even sabotage the main headquarters of the First Order. The First Order, on the other hand will have you checking IDs of Batuu citizens, hunting down criminals for information, and even arresting Resistance sympathizers. The Scoundrels…well, they play by their own rules and do not have an agenda beyond earning galactic credits. Players that want to fall in with the Scoundrels will find themselves helping Hondo Ohnaka gather supplies, recruit crew members, and tackle a heist on Canto Bight for all the credits you could ever want. I am really excited about the three different groups and the different types of stories the players will be able to tell.

StarWars.com: When it comes to side missions that other Batuuans might give you, how did you develop and write those?

Antonio Romeo: Each group has a main story to guide you through exciting moments, but we wanted to ensure that you get to see all that Batuu has to offer. The side missions are a way for you to have never-ending storytelling opportunities that also fill in the gaps for the Story Missions. One of my favorite side missions is actually one you can get from Savi’s Workshop in Black Spire Outpost. When you visit his shop, you can request a lightsaber challenge. This will allow you to have fun and exciting lightsaber duels on Batuu to earn rare lightsaber parts, credits, and even build your fitness skill in order to be more proficient at wielding your own lightsaber.

StarWars.com: This seems like a great gateway into The Sims for those who’ve never played it. What would you tell Star Wars fans in that category?

Antonio Romeo:  If you have ever wanted to explore the world of Star Wars and create your own story, this is a perfect experience for you. You have the ability to customize your Sim to prepare for your Journey to Batuu. Once you arrive on Batuu, there are so many authentic Star Wars moments and objects, you are only limited by your own imagination and creativity. When you return to the Sim’s world, the creativity doesn’t stop — you can use the build and buy items to construct your very own Star Wars inspired homes.

Watch The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu trailers below!

The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu arrives September 8.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is at Disneyland® Resort and Walt Disney World® Resort.

Dan Brooks is Lucasfilm’s senior content strategist of online, the editor of StarWars.com, and a writer. He loves Star Wars, ELO, and the New York Rangers, Jets, and Yankees. Follow him on Twitter @dan_brooks where he rants about all these things.

#the sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 #star wars journey to batuu

[jesswsc1]

Initially, I wasn’t overly sure how to interpret our title of ‘black books and black holes’. I’ve felt awfully low for a while, and it’s been heavy on my mind, so I figured I’d take this project as somewhat of an opportunity to reflect on the past, troubles i’ve had as well as using it as a kind of venting of current frustrations. These low points act as my own personal black hole, as I fall down into them for some time. Similarly to how black does, they absorb any kind of light surrounding. To me, at times, this has meant not enjoying things I’ve adored prior - such as spending time with loved ones, music and hobbies. Growing up there were several black holes, but amongst them I have fond memories with my cousins, siblings and childhood friends. Somebody who has always been there for me (whether it be through choice or not) has been my brother. I decided to incorporate pictures of us throughout my little black book as homage to him as he is truly one of my favourite people ever, despite the troubles I don’t think our bond has ever gone away - it’s merely taken small redirections. I have such admiration for him and know I can rely on him and speak free from judgement. Years ago, I believe it was 2013, he fell ill and this meant he had to be hospitalised for a couple months. It was really hard for my family and was of course even more difficult for him. Seeing as he was hospitalised, this meant regular trips to the hospital, on the car journeys we’d always have the same Passenger CD playing in the car. I guess we just never got around to changing it. On this CD was a particular song that we’d all sing along to, which funnily enough is called ‘holes’. Hearing this song now makes me feel so safe and hopeful, knowing it got me as well as my family through a rough period in time. I made sure to incorporate some of the lyrics into one of my book spreads. One line reads, ‘but we carry on’, which has definitely stuck with me.

The constellation element of our project had me reflecting on space and the universe, and what exactly it means to me. Although I’m not too into space, I’m definitely fond of the moon. After my parents divorced, I was left in custody of my mum for a while. A teacher told me to look at the moon, because she’d be looking at it too at the same time and thinking of me. During this time I was living in a troubled home (I made this house the exterior of my book*) and would be heavily supported by her in school. She’d give me notebooks to express myself in and explain what was happening, as well as a departing gift when I inevitably left to go live with my dad here in Bury. Despite being a small part of my life, she still means a lot to me and has a place in my heart. Though not physically present with me anymore, she cared enough to find me years later and reached out to make sure I'm doing fine. It's reassuring knowing there are people as pure as she is. Because of this I dedicated a small section of my book to her that looks like a slither of the moon when the pages are flipped back onto it. 

My black book was titled ‘Wailing Ghosts’ by Pu Songling, containing 14 tales of various monsters and creatures, which is fitting to my work revolving around numerous burdens I have that seem to act as these little monsters also, creeping up every now and again. I did consider creating my own ‘chapters’, one for each black hole of mine, but didn’t want to structure my book in that way as I didn’t want to disrupt my creativity or force things.

          I say ‘was’ because I actually decided I wasn’t all that keen on how i’d layed my pages out. I instead took a second black book and collaged, reworked and inserted pages into a new one. I’m really glad I did so, as I now have a book I much prefer over the first. An aspect I did keep relatively whole was the swirly, illusion-looking front cover with a hole burned through the centre, almost like a little entrance to another world. Stanley Donwood inspired this page through his swirly seas he often features in his works, as he uses a bold thick line against white ones. I opted to put this page underneath my front cover so it still got to be showcased - only cutting a part off the corners to make sure it fit. 

Featured in my book are a few small self portraits, in varying cartoon-y styles. Some are only inspired by my face whilst others were drawn whilst staring into the mirror, then back at the page. Having struggled with low self esteem, there have been times where I don’t even want to perceive myself let alone interpret that into a drawing. Meanwhile doing my book work, I realised I have never drawn a self portrait - not since being a kid anyway - and had even actively avoided doing so during GCSE art. Over the past year or so, I’ve overcome an array of issues I’d had, so found myself able to draw these little portraits. It sounds pretty insane to me now that I would’ve found it so hard before, knowing I enjoyed coming up with various ways to put me in my book, even wanting to print pictures of me (sadly our printers decided to act up so I was not able to implement these). I feature my bathroom mirror on one page as it’s been the target of over-analyzing and although I have come far in self love, it still remains a deadly weapon. 

Claude Heath’s sketchy, rough portraits inspired me to create my own. I really enjoy how reckless his style is, as I'm trying to escape the ‘this has to be perfect’ mentality, Heath is a great example of how you don’t need to overthink your work. It can just exist and look cool. It’s fine. This was also encouraged in Thursday drawing sessions where we did blind drawings. I kept this mindset whilst doing my book as I tend to either overwork myself trying to create ‘perfect’ or do absolutely nothing, so I went with the flow of how my book panned out. 

Seeing as my work theme is a little on the darker side, I considered subduing the colours or perhaps even going full black and white. However, I love utilising colour in my art and felt this would make me feel unmotivated and uninspired. Especially seeing as this book is about me, it’s not insensitive to anybody to make it colorful and exciting. So, I have. Plus, despite everything I’m still smiling so I wanted to convey that somehow. Sort of, making the best out of bad situations. Damien Hirst’s usage of colours influenced me to just have fun with it, in the same way he does when creating his works. 

Throughout my book I have experimented with oil pastel, paint, staples, collage, rorschach ink blotting, screen printing, spray paint, photocopied pictures, flip book, tracing paper, washi tape and i’m sure there’s more. Point is, I wanted to cover a wide range of techniques seeing as there were many pages. In doing so I believe this was the best way as it meant there was a flow of ideas coming as I worked. I’ve learned that I love a range of ways of working as it keeps my brain ticking, meaning the work doesn’t feel stagnant and dull. Sadly there were lots more ideas I had for what to do into my book, but due to various reasons I couldn't. Such as wanting to sew using a sewing machine into my book, I tried to set my sewing machine up but when I would go to sew the thread would snap. But I believe it’s definitely something worth trying another time, as I was intrigued to see how it’d turn out. I also wanted to make a better flip book from the corner of my little page (see animation on blog) as it’s really simplistic. But drawing the little stick men alone took me an hour or so, and I didn’t see that being of much importance compared to getting actual pages filled out. Thus, I left it as a simple stickman. That being said I think the stick man illustrates the cycle of being in a slump, which is relatable to how lockdown is feeling and fits well with my book contents. I felt inspired by an artist who goes by ‘inhalerqueen’ (Amanda) on tiktok, who draws a simple, silhouette-like figure repeatedly. She calls this figure ‘void’ and i’d consider her work to be vent art, expressing how she feels. Originally I wanted to make my stick men look like void, however I don’t think that would be all that beneficial/change the effectiveness and would only take up more time.

If I were to have a soundtrack to my work I would opt for ‘Yellow’ by Coldplay. Reason being, regardless of my state of mind I return to this song and feel the same listening through every time. It’s such a lovely song and just feels like peace, as cheesy as that may sound considering Coldplay is very much dad music. It reminds me of my yellows, and how much they mean to me. Even with the black, I have my yellows. Lyrics to the song can be found in my book also. 

Overall, I’m relatively pleased with my work. There’s no doubt things I would do differently, but I’m glad I’ve had this experience and was able to vent a little similarly to how Amanda does. In future I hope to perhaps recreate this book and treat it as kind of a ‘rough’ or ‘plan’ for a more refined and thought-out version, perhaps this time with chapters like I'd considered and with ideas I didn’t get to delve into.  There are pages I’m not so keen on, but I’m proud of myself for just leaving them as opposed to overworking them and/or scrapping them just because they aren’t what I like. I love the pictures of me and my brother, if I could I would’ve collaged more into my book however our printer simply wouldn’t allow it. As well as the exterior of the book, as I think it adds a personal element as opposed to being left as it was. 

#blackbooksandblackholes #jessblackbooksandblackholes

[morganmccaskiecogc]

Evaluating a Photographic Project

1. The theme for this project was on Dutch Masters Art from the Golden Age. I liked this theme as it was interesting to research painters/artists from hundreds of years ago and look at and understand their work.

2. My favourite part of this project was emulating the work of the artists I selected. I enjoyed planning the process and looking for props and materials to create the look and then seeing it all come together in the final photographs was very satisfying.

3. I have experienced new planning techniques. Before this shoot, I had never planned out a shoot or photograph to such extent as this one. I planned every step and was very prepared to shoot, and I found this to be very effective and helped me achieve what I set out to do.

4. I would like to develop my lighting skills further. I am happy with my final photographs but I struggled a little bit with figuring out the light and using diffusers to illuminate the back of the head/headscarf.

5. The artist I researched for this project was Johannes Vermeer.

6. Johannes Vermeer’s work heavily influenced this photograph as I did not just take inspiration from the original painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, I also looked at his other work to get a feel for his style and art.

7. The technique I enjoyed the most was the emulating of the painting. I found that emulating and taking inspiration from another image was a lot of fun. At first I wanted the images to look identical but then I realised that was not the point in this shoot - the aim was to emulate their painting and recreate it in a different way.

8. I feel that the most successful part of this project was my ability to be creative and work with household items and materials to create the look that I was going for. I am very happy with the way they turned out.

9. The only problem I really encountered was trying to find a similar earring to the pearl earring in the painting. As a last resort I had to buy a pair the day before I went on campus to do the shoot.

10. I learned from this problem to be as organised as possible and to ensure I have everything I need well in advance and not to leave things to the last minute. Fortunately, this did not affect my final images as I was able to find earrings which matched before the shoot.

11. The habits of the mind I used during this shoot were persisting and thinking flexibly. I was persisting because I stuck to the task at hand and focused all of my attention on creating the perfect image and making sure it was exactly how I wanted it to be. I was able to think flexibly as I took on board the ideas of classmates and change my perspective when necessary.

12. If I was given the chance to do this project again, I don’t think I would do anything different. I am extremely happy with the results of this project - it came out much better than anticipated.

13. The only technical issue I came across is the images are slightly warmer toned than I was aiming for.

14. If I was ever asked to do a project like this again I think I would like to emulate Frida Kahlo because of the beautiful bright colours presented in her art.

#evaluatingaphotograhicproject #photography #dutchmasters #girl with a pearl earring #cogc #nqphotography

[theindiegamereview]

Meet the developer: "Space Pilgrim” series

We caught up with Noel Clay of Pilgrim Adventures - yes, the very same beloved creator of the famed Space Pilgrim series - to discuss some of his recent games. We also took the opportunity to ask about his upcoming game, The Deadly Facade, which is an exciting departure from his previous works. Read on for more!

  TIGR: Hi Noel! We see you've been really busy, with a couple of new games released in the past year! Tell us more about them.

NC: Sure! A Sceptic's Guide To Magic is a '90s style point-and-click adventure game that follows Lester Chapman, a forensic investigator who discovers a secret underworld of magic and mayhem after becoming involved in a grisly case of ritual murder. A pair of witches named Fi and Val guide him on his journey, and you also get to play as those two characters at different points in the game.

Sceptic's Guide is chiefly inspired by the classic LucasArts games - there's humour, but it also gets quite dark at times. The story takes place in Birmingham, England, near to where I grew up. Most of the locations in the game are based on real-life places, and I had a whole lot of fun trying to recreate them.

The gameplay involves a mixture of traditional puzzle-solving and spell-casting. In order to cast spells, you'll need to gather all the appropriate ingredients as well as correct apparatus, a clue for which is normally given in the form of a riddle. It can be a bit silly and lighthearted, but the game does also delve a fair bit into magical history, mythology and folklore. People who are interested in those things will probably get a kick out of it.

Screenshots from A Sceptic’s Guide To Magic:

The Deed II is a follow-up to The Deed and The Deed: Dynasty, and explores the same basic concept: you need to commit a murder, and then get away with it - usually by planting false evidence to frame someone else, then convince the police of your innocence.

Deed II takes place at a 1930s French brothel, where an Englishman named Kenneth Miller recognises one of the orderlies who had cruelly abused him during his time at a mental asylum. He decides it's time for revenge... but which of the patrons or employees of this establishment should take the blame for his crime?

Although the basic formula of Deed II is the same as its predecessors, there are also a bunch of new features: a new game engine, improved graphics, and an in-game clock. Whereas in the previous games, time would advance as a result of your actions, now it moves forward naturally, and you have one hour of in-game time to commit the murder. The NPCs in the brothel will also move around according to their own individual schedules, which affects a lot of your choices. As always though, there are a whole bunch of different endings and ways that you can approach the game - more than ever before.

Screenshots from The Deed II:

TIGR: Wow, both games sure sound exciting, and I'm sure your fans will be thrilled to try them out if they haven't already done so! And you've got another game coming out very soon right?

NC: Yes! The Deadly Facade, which will hopefully be released later this year, is my first crack at a full-blooded visual novel. In a setting inspired by 1950s' Hollywood, you are an actor about to star in your first major motion picture. Things seem to be going well, until you get tied up in a shocking murder mystery. Can you solve the case while also delivering the performance of a lifetime?

Here are some exclusive images of The Deadly Facade for TIGR:

TIGR: Very interesting! Tell us more...

NC: Deadly should offer something a bit different from the typical visual novel. Among other things, I've been developing a fairly complex relationship system, as I wasn't really interested in the simple like/dislike variable which seems to be quite common among these types of games. Over time, through your actions and conversation choices, every character in the game will develop a sense of your personality and morality. That will ultimately determine how they feel about you.

As for the setting, I'm hoping it will allow people to live out the fantasy of being an up-and-coming Hollywood star in the olden days, while also delivering a sense of the fear and paranoia that was rife during this complicated era.

TIGR: Deadly sounds like it's going to be amazing! It's also made with a different game engine from what you usually use. What motivated this change?

NC: All my previous games have been made with RPG Maker. Although I really enjoy working with that engine, it can be tricky to market RPG Maker games even though they may not resemble the typical fare. So I figured it was time to try something different - in this case the Ren'Py visual novel engine - if only to convince more players to give my games a chance.

TIGR: Well, we at TIGR would happily play another thousand (and more) of your games even if they continue to be made in RPG Maker - it's all about the gameplay and content, right, not the platform?! :) 

But moving on, tell us more about how you craft these fantastic stories of yours. Where does all this imagination and creativity come from, and what are some of your sources of inspiration?

NC: I've always had a lot of creative energy. When I was a kid, I was constantly writing stories and drawing comics. I wasn't making any video games back then yet, but my older brothers John and Edmund were - throughout the '90s they created numerous adventure games for the Amiga from their very bedrooms (The Lost Prince, Starbase 13, Lethal Formula, Epsilon 9, The Experiment).

As an interesting side note, Edmund also developed a program called GRAC (Graphic Adventure Creator) for the Amiga in 1994. It was designed to allow people to create their own adventure games with a minimal amount of programming knowledge. GRAC was probably the first program of its type in the western world. Meanwhile in Tokyo, unknown to my brother, Enterbrain were already creating the early versions of RPG Maker.

I tend to consume a fairly varied diet of media – movies, TV shows, comic books, novels, board games – from a wide range of different genres. Not much of my inspiration actually comes from video games, but rather from these other sources, which I suppose is one way of maintaining some originality!

The universe of Space Pilgrim owes a large debt to Joss Whedon's Firefly. Another of my games, Sentience: The Android's Tale, is a love letter to Philip K Dick, whose writing also inspired elements of the main Space Pilgrim Academy storyline. Ender's Game also played a role there.

TIGR: We are seriously impressed! It certainly sounds like you and your brothers were born to make video games! So do you do everything alone, or do you have a team to help you? Take us through your development process.

NC: I pretty much work alone, although I do often commission work from artists or use commercial art and music assets. This has been the case with all my games except for Sceptic's Guide - for that one, I had some help from a friendly witch when it came to writing the spellbook. I'm currently collaborating with an artist named Llyrel on developing some characters for an upcoming magical fantasy game, which should be my next project after Deadly.

I'd also like to mention my publisher, GrabTheGames, with whom I've been working for nearly five years. They handle a lot of the marketing and promotion so that I can focus on the game development side of things.

These days, I usually start with a tonne of research. The first month or two mostly just consists of reading books and taking notes. For Sentience, I read about AI; for Deed II it was 1930s Paris; for Deadly, it was 1950s Hollywood as well as the biographies of some major stars of the era. I also watched more than 50 movies from that time period, partly for inspiration and partly because I just love movies. After that, my time was split between scripting the game and creating the 3D renders. I tend to only have a loose plan for the story at the beginning, so that things can continue to evolve along the way.

   TIGR: One last question for you before we end - what's something we should know about you?

NC: Tyrkisk peber. It’s awesome.

  We thank Noel for his time and look forward to playing The Deadly Facade when it's released! In the meantime, check out all of Noel's published games on Steam here.

#developers

[justjensenanddean]

CW Star Jensen Ackles Invites AD Inside His Family Home in Austin

Jensen and his wife, Danneel, worked with a local Austin team to devise a lakeside home with tongue-in-cheek touches and a musical through line

 Kathryn Romeyn

NOVEMBER 27, 2018 10:30 AM

There’s a lot going on inside the Lake Austin home of actors Jensen and Danneel Ackles—a lot of color, a lot of texture, endless elements begging their stories to be told. If you need a quick snapshot: The living room is scattered with guitars and, on the shag rug, Technicolor floor pillows; antique Venetian dioramas of Lilliputian-sized rooms are embedded into the white-oak walls, while a hanging cage traps gilded Barbie dolls by Micky Hoogendijk; on top of a shelf housing a record player, a photograph of Tom Waits sits next to a chicken skeleton; a regal white peacock perches on the side of the mercantile-style bar. There’s the master bedroom swaddled in Trove wall covering bearing vintage photography of 1920s opera boxes. And the two-story screened-in porch holds a table crafted from a 2,000-year-old cypress sinker log, a storied Boyd Elder cow skull, and four-foot glass lanterns from Tony Duquette’s estate.Indeed, Danneel and Duquette share a similar philosophy. “More is more is more!” Danneel says emphatically. “More is the most.” Still, the Ackleses' five-bedroom, 7,500-square-foot residence isn’t actually an ode to opulence but rather an evocative tribute to key passions at the core of their personalities: the music and aesthetics of the late ’60s, Austin’s art scene, and imaginative oddities and occultist ephemera, perhaps appropriate considering Jensen’s longtime role on the CW’s Supernatural.After deciding to leave Brentwood, California, and coming this close to putting in an offer on a Lake Austin fixer-upper, the couple set their gaze on a house three doors down, sans “for sale” sign. “As we drove by, Danneel and I both looked at our real estate agent and were like, ‘See, that is the kind of house we’re looking for,’” recalls Jensen. Adds Danneel, “we wanted something less ostentatious.” Fortunately, the owner was willing to sell, but the property was far from turnkey and required an overhaul to go from what Danneel calls the “Texas Tuscan look"—generic stuccoed track mansion—to a wood-clad ranch-style stunner.

Danneel, a Tony Duquette superfan, was over the moon when Santini brought the stained glass pendants she’d bought from his estate. Photo: Douglas Friedman 

The slightly sunken living room with the deep blue banquette couch, white shag rug, macrame chair, and muscular oak beams is Jensen’s favorite space.Photo: Jeff Wilson

Jensen and Danneel enlisted Austin architect Paul Lamb and Abode principal interior designer Fern Santini to kickstart what ended up being a very collaborative renovation—even the Ackleses' eldest child, five-year-old JJ, got into the fun, choosing everything in her Pinterest-worthy bedroom. At their initial meeting with Santini, the potential for partnership was evident when she pulled up in an auspicious 1967 E-Type Jaguar. “I mean, it’s just like the coolest thing ever,” says Jensen of the car, which was made in the same year Danneel had said she wanted to recreate in the Austin home so as to pay tribute to the Laurel Canyon bungalow where the couple once lived. “People like Carly Simon had played guitar there,” Danneel says. “It was a magical little place. So when Fern pulls up in that car ... We just bonded over music and a love of that time period and had our vision right off the bat.” 

Executing that vision involved blowing out the majority of the house’s interior, taking it down to the studs, and reconfiguring it. “It was very closed and very ‘90s,” says Santini. Extensive structural work was devised by Lamb, one of Santini's frequent creative conspirator. “Paul is from New Orleans and I’m from Louisiana, and we have the same odd sense of humor and style,” says Danneel, who saw a residential elevator he’d done entirely in red velvet and said, “That’s the guy for me!” The foursome worked beautifully together—that is, after Jensen learned early on to keep his mouth shut if and when he doubted any stylistic choices. When shown the idea for a rich, royal blue sofa, “I was like, ’Y’all are crazy!’” says Jensen. “But then I just thought, I’m not going to get in their way.”

Smart man, considering a highly personalized space began to unspool under Santini and Lamb's direction. “It was imperative that the house express the Ackleses—young, bold, and irreverent,” Lamb says. “It had to be full of humorous and endearing eccentricities and it needed to radiate a comforting yet exotic familiarity.” He simplified and opened spaces, flipped the feel from a masonry house to a wood-framed home—thanks to exposed beams, larger expanses of windows, and rich wooden ceilings—and, perhaps most transformational, added a breezy two-story screened porch that altered the entire profile. “The former house was straight-laced and vaguely Mediterranean,” Lamb says. “Now it is an eclectic, free-spirited, Austin-style lake house.” Santini calls it “a cross between Joni Mitchell and the Serge Gainsbourg–Jane Birkin thing that was going on in Paris at the same time. It’s very hip but it’s low-key.”

Musically, the home is rich with sound, thanks to Jensen’s collection of guitars and the McIntosh turntable Santini says she “has real fetish for, after spending my entire career trying to hide stereo equipment.” There’s also a surfeit of historical and meaningful music-related artwork—think photographs of Yasgur’s Farm in Woodstock and a house where Bob Dylan recorded. “The hand-scraped wood floors undulate quite heavily, and we’ve got these giant beams and wood all around that feel like you’re in the hull of a giant ship,” Jensesn says. “What that does is it creates an amazing acoustic sound. We’ve always had music in our lives, and we wanted to pass on that tradition.”

The parents of three also are active supporters of local art. “We’re not the type who need it to all be the same. That’s criminal to me, almost,” says Danneel of their home full of diverse pieces from Austin and Marfa, including female artists from galleries like Women and Their Work. Santini describes the pair as risk-takers who both led the charge on outside-the-box thinking and let her push the limits. In their third home together, the Ackleses hit their stride, nailing a personally reflective infusion of edge, humor, and spirit.

“It goes to that having a history, having a story,” says Jensen, who, with his wife, selects works based on a gut feeling as opposed to popularity or perceived value. It’s the same way Danneel approached design. “We have so many friends who come into the house and are like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love this—it’s so crazy and unexpected. But man, I would have never picked out all these things, and I wouldn’t have been brave enough to do it!’” she says. “I’ve heard this over and over, and I wish more people would just be brave and go with what makes them happy.” 

The home’s entry was designed to feel like an outdoor living space according to Santini, who sourced an 1850s English table and unusual Swedish lantern from the 1820s to anchor the room. The woven stools are from Tidelli, and the headless deer with ferns are by Italy’s Imperfetto Lab.  

Architect Paul Lamb’s significant removal of walls led to a feel-good expansiveness where there are no boundaries. “It all kind of flows,” says Jensen. “You never feel like you’re in just one room.” In the media room, they did the least amount of work, painting the dark ceiling trusses to lighten the space and putting a German smear on the orange-y fireplace to tone it down. 

The most Texas room in the house is the Marfa-imbued dining space, where the couple’s cherished Boyd Elder bull skull hangs. It’s part of a 10-piece series from the ’70s, the most famous of which was on the cover of the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits album. “Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s bands on tour wanted to have an artist with them, and Boyd was like the muse for the Eagles,” says Danneel, adding of the late artist, “I believe he dated Joni Mitchell, and she has one of the pieces.” 

The slightly sunken living room with the deep-blue banquette couch, white shag rug, macrame chair, and muscular oak beams is Jensen’s favorite space. “There are just so many textures in that living room and vibrant colors, and it’s all surrounded by this amazing wood. I can just sit there and pick away at a guitar or play records all day long,” he says. 

Behind the sofa is a gold birdcage artwork by Austin artist Micky Hoogendijk. It’s an observation on “women who seem to be trapped by money and possessions and they’re OK with it; they like living in that gilded cage,” says Danneel. “It looks intense but when you get close to it they’re all smiling and happy and unaware that they’re in this cage because they’re gold and perfect. For me that’s just somewhere I never want to be, so I was really attracted to that.” 

Danneel spends a lot of time in the babies’ room (22-month-old twins Zeppelin and Arrow) and the kitchen, where the kids’ favorite toy is a rolling acrylic table from the ‘50s. (“Fern would have a heart attack,” she laughs.) They tore the space down to nothing and built it back from scratch. “It was a totally different feel, and very kind of country looking, which didn’t blend well with the rest of the house,” Jensen says. Now, to Lamb, “the kitchen’s glossy painted wood boards look like pinstripes, crisp and good-natured, like a happy kitchen in the Hamptons.”

“There’s not a space they don’t use,” says Santini of the house she worked on with Jensen and Danneel. The reimagined pool room taps into their proclivity for spooky oddities with framed tarot cards and a game table that could work for board games or even séances, says Lamb, who added a secondary kitchen for big gatherings with access to a barbecue area on the lawn, and a wine room. 

A native Southerner, Danneel fought hard for the addition of a screened-in porch, which Lamb had the vision—inspired by Greenwood Plantation in St. Francisville—to make two stories tall. “I wanted more than anything to be able to sit out there, not get eaten alive by mosquitos, and look at the lake and watch the boats go by,” says the actress. Jensen’s favorite piece in the house is the long table, custom made using a 2,000-year-old cypress log that had sunk and was buried on the West Bank of New Orleans. 

The bar—black walnut with black and white veined marble—is on one end of the large living room and is the site of frequent small parties involving music, either live or from the McIntosh turntable. The cabinets were specially made to light prized bourbons, and on the side is a white taxidermy peacock Santini tracked down over months. Flooring throughout the house is hand-scraped Texas post oak with character to spare. 

The master bedroom and the adjacent sitting room are clad in reclaimed barn wood, juxtaposing the whimsical wallpaper covered in sections by Japanese-inspired barn door panels that allow for flexible boundaries. Jensen said of the scheme, “You guys are losing me, but it sounds awesome, so knock it out!” Danneel already owned the two petrified wood and resin log tables that sit in front of the vintage ‘50s daybed with Mongolian lamb, though the majority of what’s in the home was selected or made specifically for it. 

Inspiration for their master bathroom shower came from an Architectural Digest story featuring a steel and glass shower in the home of Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka. Lit by Apparatus fixtures, Lamb conceived a simple vaulted space with a white oak board ceiling and fumed and cerused walnut cabinets with a slight Tansu feel. A Kyle Bunting cowhide rug is centered on the room, and Holly Hunt ombre-dyed handkerchief linen window treatments frame the lake view.  

The pair’s five-year-old daughter, JJ, helped pick out all her own bedroom decor. “The more color the better,” says Danneel. Santini calls it “hippie in training.” Like in the rest of the home, her walls are plaster. 

The ultra-private home looks out at a nature preserve across the water. Durable throw pillows around the house were made of old quilts purchased online. “We bought a lot of them and mixed them all up,” says Santini. “There’s nowhere in the house where you feel like you have to tip toe around or can’t sit. That was definitely intentional.”

Inside and out, Lamb and Santini ensured that the Ackleses’ Austin home “expresses them—young, bold, and irreverent. It had to be full of humorous and endearing eccentricities and it needed to radiate a comforting yet exotic familiarity.” 

architecturaldigest

#Jensen Ackles #Danneel Ackles #JJ Ackles #Zeppelin Bram Ackles #Arrow Rhodes Ackles #Ackles Home: Austin #Architectural Digest Photoshoot 2018 #* #long post for ts

[saintedfury]

🍄, 🌻, 🌳, 🥀; 💫, ☄️, 💦

Soft OC Asks

🍄 What are your OCs favourite snacks? Their favourite comfort food which always cheers them up when they’re down? Favourite meal to make? Do they enjoy baking and cooking and are they any good in the kitchen? Furia is a sucker for fresh fruits with chile or Tajín. She also really enjoys handmade empanadas. And whenever she sees someone selling tamales, she’s got to grab a few bags to take back with her--the whole crew loves them, but she just hates trying to make them because of the massive effort and mess. She really doesn’t mind it, but they really are something she’ll only make maybe once a year. 

Her favorite meal to make ... hmm. I think her favorite is probably something she does at least once a week, which is just scrambled eggs with cheese, salsa, and crumbled bacon all wrapped up in a freshly made tortilla. It’s just something that’s just ... I don’t know how to explain it properly. It’s a little rich, kind of decadent, comforting, and when paired with a strong cup of coffee reminds her of lazy mornings.

As for comfort food--anything Latin really. Those flavors she grew up on really always take her back. Street tacos definitely hit that mark with a vengeance.

She enjoys cooking a lot. She started experimenting more with baking when she was with Eli because of his affinity for sweets. It can be fun, but it doesn’t allow her the same kind of artistry and experimentation as cooking. Baking is a little more tetchy, whereas with cooking she can just play with flavors and ratios and mixtures that would destroy a baking recipe. 

🌻 What little things do they notice about people or the world around them that make them happy? What tiny little treasures do they find in the normal every day that makes the world seem a little brighter for them? Furia loves seeing people smile, really smiles ... the ones that light up and crinkle the corners of their eyes. She’s got a soft spot for street artists and musicians--someone sharing that deep part of themselves with other people. And all honesty, the renewal of a garden is one of those things that makes the world brighter for them--seeing bright flowers bloom and fruits develop and ripen. She wouldn’t admit it, but the laughter of little humans at play in the park gives her that kind of warm fuzzy too. I keep trying to explain the feeling these things give her, but I can’t word it correctly. They are little treasures and little bright spots, just like a perfect cup of coffee or a vibrant sky at sunrise or sunset, but I can’t explain how it effects her. 

But to be fair, I don’t think she notices as many of those things as she used to. I’m not sure she looks around herself as often anymore, which may be part of the problem. Her gaze is too often turned inward, usually in judgment and retribution for some fault, failure, mistake, or misstep. She’s cut herself off from a lot of things, insulated herself. She’s not enjoying the world, life, or being in her own skin as much as she did. 

🌳 What is your OC’s favourite way to relax after a stressful day? Do they have a favourite book to curl up with? A hobby? Or do they have a nice bubble bath and have an early night to bed? Long hot baths and books. Long drives on winding roads that require just enough attention. She does enjoy gardening, in fact, she’s currently in the process of setting up a rather large garden in the center grass of the cul de sac the house she’s relocated to is on. Furia is not usually an early to bed kind of person. She doesn’t sleep like she should, ideally. Sometimes it’s because her mind is disquieted and other times it’s a struggle staying to sleep due to nightmares and twisted dreams--yet again, another way her mind torments her. That’s why she’ll read before bed. It’s an attempt to distract her mind and calm it down to allow her at least a little rest.

🥀 How would your OC decorate a notebook or journal? What kind of things are written in there? Could you give an example of a nice entry? If I had answered this before 2020, I would be able to safely say that Furia didn’t tend to write things in a notebook. Though to help her deal with recent events, I’ve been making her kind of keep a diary of sorts about her tiny triumphs and the things that she torments herself with. It is kind of an exercise in helping her get the things out of her head that she uses to torture herself. I’m not sure I really want to pull out an example though. (Edit: I did look for her journal, but I just disheveled my entire desk area because I got new shelves to help keep it in better more ordered shape and right now, everything is everywhere and I can’t find the damn thing). 

I do know that her notebook wouldn’t attract attention at first glance, and it’s probably filled with as much art as writing. Maybe more art. It is likely a small sketchbook, one that can stand up to more than just pen and pencil. 

Questions for You!

💫What is your favourite fact about this character and why? I think one of my favorite facts about Furia is that she knew how to boost and drive cars before she was in high school. Her comfort behind the wheel and the zen-like state she can enter when she’s driving is one of the facts about her that I really enjoy. 

I also like how she recreated her image late in SR2, going from hood rat (as she calls it) to this kind of professional style. Though now, she’s kind of boomeranging back to her roots a little. The more she rummages through the shadows of Bossville, the more her inner hood rat is coming back to the surface. 

☄️ Does this OC deserve better treatment from you? Do you make them suffer just a little bit too much? Be nice to them! By the stars, yes! I’ve done things to Furia as experiments to see how she would deal with them, and regretted about every damn one. But I never retcon them because like her, I kind of believe that a person, even a character, is made up of the things that have happened to them. And in many cases, the things I’ve done to her affect a lot of other people and it wouldn’t be fair to them or their muns to rewrite “mistakes.” Mistakes are part of life and we have to live with and learn from them. So, I choose to take them as a chance for character growth and change.

Originally, I didn’t plan on her losing all her parental figures then being forced into that roll. I didn’t plan on murdering Troy off, but writing their relationship in two different phases was a struggle that I as a writer could not handle so ... off with his head. And I learned a lot about her, but I’m not sure the cost to her was worth the information.

💦 If you as the writer could erase one traumatic event from this OC’s life what would it be and why? Killing Troy, for sure. That loss was unlike any other she’s known. Every loss has affected her, and in its own ways gutted her. But murdering Troy and taking him from her the way that I did really messed her up. In the long run, it was just compounded by Talon’s death and then Cyrus’ and then Eli learning about his own clock. It just all compounded into the snowball of grief from hell. 

I’m honestly not sure whether she’s managed to dig herself out of it yet, still. And the ripples from that decision, still aren’t calmed. 

#Soft OC Asks #underangelswing