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mostlysignssomeportents · 4 months

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A year in illustration, 2023 edition (part one)

(This is part one; part two is here.)

I am objectively very bad at visual art. I am bad at vision, period – I'm astigmatic, shortsighted, color blind, and often miss visual details others see. I can't even draw a stick-figure. To top things off, I have cataracts in both eyes and my book publishing/touring schedule is so intense that I keep having to reschedule the surgeries. But despite my vast visual deficits, I thoroughly enjoy making collages for this blog.

For many years now – decades – I've been illustrating my blog posts by mixing public domain and Creative Commons art with work that I can make a good fair use case for. As bad as art as I may be, all this practice has paid off. Call it unseemly, but I think I'm turning out some terrific illustrations – not all the time, but often enough.

Last year, I rounded up my best art of the year:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/25/a-year-in-illustration/

And I liked reflecting on the year's art so much, I decided I'd do it again. Be sure to scroll to the bottom for some downloadables – freely usable images that I painstakingly cut up with the lasso tool in The Gimp.

The original AD&D hardcover cover art is seared into my psyche. For several years, there were few images I looked at so closely as these. When Hasbro pulled some world-beatingly sleazy stuff with the Open Gaming License, I knew just how to mod Dave Trampier's 'Eve Of Moloch' from the cover of the Players' Handbook. Thankfully, bigger nerds than me have identified all the fonts in the image, making the remix a doddle.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/12/beg-forgiveness-ask-permission/#whats-a-copyright-exception

Even though I don't keep logs or collect any analytics, I can say with confidence that "Tiktok's Enshittification" was the most popular thing I published on Pluralistic this year. I mixed some public domain Brother's Grimm art, mixed with a classic caricature of Boss Tweed, and some very cheesy royalty-free/open access influencer graphics. One gingerbread cottage social media trap, coming up:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys

To illustrate the idea of overcoming walking-the-plank fear (as a metaphor for writing when it feels like you suck) I mixed public domain stock of a plank, a high building and legs, along with a procedurally generated Matrix "code waterfall" and a vertiginous spiral ganked from a Heinz Bunse photo of a German office lobby.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/22/walking-the-plank/

Finding a tasteful way to illustrate a story about Johnson & Johnson losing a court case after it spent a generation tricking women into dusting their vulvas with asbestos-tainted talcum was a challenge. The tulip (featured in many public domain images) was a natural starting point. I mixed it with Jesse Wagstaff's image of a Burning Man dust-storm and Mike Mozart's shelf-shot of a J&J talcum bottle.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/01/j-and-j-jk/#risible-gambit

"Google's Chatbot Panic" is about Google's long history of being stampeded into doing stupid things because its competitors are doing them. Once it was Yahoo, now it's Bing. Tenniel's Tweedle Dee and Dum were a good starting point. I mixed in one of several Humpty Dumpty editorial cartoon images from 19th century political coverage that I painstakingly cut out with the lasso tool on a long plane-ride. This is one of my favorite Humpties, I just love the little 19th C businessmen trying to keep him from falling! I finished it off with HAL 9000's glowing red eye, my standard 'this is about AI' image, which I got from Cryteria's CC-licensed SVG.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/16/tweedledumber/#easily-spooked

Though I started writing about Luddites in my January, 2022 Locus column, 2023 was the Year of the Luddite, thanks to Brian Merchant's outstanding Blood In the Machine:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/26/enochs-hammer/#thats-fronkonsteen

When it came time to illustrate "Gig Work Is the Opposite of Steampunk," I found a public domain weaver's loft, and put one of Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes in the window. Magpie Killjoy's Steampunk Magazine poster, 'Love the Machine, Hate the Factory,' completed the look.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/12/gig-work-is-the-opposite-of-steampunk/

For the "small, non-profit school" that got used as an excuse to bail out Silicon Valley Bank, I brought back Humpty Dumpty, mixing him with a Hogwartsian castle, a brick wall texture, and an ornate, gilded frame. I love how this one came out. This Humpty was made for the SVB bailout.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/23/small-nonprofit-school/#north-country-school

The RESTRICT Act would have federally banned Tiktok – a proposal that was both technically unworkable and unconstitutional. I found an early 20th century editorial cartoon depicting Uncle Sam behind a fortress wall that was keeping a downtrodden refugee family out of America. I got rid of most of the family, giving the dad a Tiktok logo head, and I put Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes over each cannonmouth. Three Boss Tweed moneybag-head caricatures, adorned with Big Tech logos, rounded it out.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/30/tik-tok-tow/#good-politics-for-electoral-victories

When Flickr took decisive action to purge the copyleft trolls who'd been abusing its platform, I knew I wanted to illustrate this with Lucifer being cast out of heaven, and the very best one of those comes from John Milton, who is conveniently well in the public domain. The Flickr logo suggested a bicolored streaming-light-of-heaven motif that just made it.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/01/pixsynnussija/#pilkunnussija

Old mainframe ads are a great source of stock for a "Computer Says No" image. And Congress being a public building, there are lots of federal (and hence public domain) images of its facade.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/04/cbo-says-no/#wealth-tax

When I wrote about the Clarence Thomas/Harlan Crow bribery scandal, it was easy to find Mr. Kjetil Ree's great image of the Supreme Court building. Thomas being a federal judge, it was easy to find a government photo of his head, but it's impossible to find an image of him in robes at a decent resolution. Luckily, there are tons of other federal judges who've been photographed in their robes! Boss Tweed with the dollar-sign head was a great stand-in for Harlan Crow (no one knows what he looks like anyway). Gilding Thomas's robes was a simple matter of superimposing a gold texture and twiddling with the layers.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/06/clarence-thomas/#harlan-crow

"Gig apps trap reverse centaurs in wage-stealing Skinner boxes" is one of my best titles. This is the post where I introduce the idea of "twiddling" as part of the theory of enshittification, and explain how it relates to "reverse centaurs" – people who assist machines, rather than the other way around. Finding a CC licensed modular synth was much harder than I thought, but I found Stephen Drake's image and stitched it into a mandala. Cutting out the horse's head for the reverse centaur was a lot of work (manes are a huuuuge pain in the ass), but I love how his head sits on the public domain high-viz-wearing warehouse worker's body I cut up (thanks, OSHA!). Seeing as this is an horrors-of-automation story, Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes make an appearance.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

Rockefeller's greatest contribution to our culture was inspiring many excellent unflattering caricatures. The IWW's many-fists-turning-into-one-fist image made it easy to have the collective might of workers toppling the original robber-baron.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/14/aiming-at-dollars/#not-men

I link to this post explaining how to make good Mastodon threads at least once a week, so it's a good thing the graphic turned out so well. Close-cropping the threads from a public domain yarn tangle worked out great. Eugen Rochko's Mastodon logo was and is the only Affero-licensed image ever to appear on Pluralistic.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/16/how-to-make-the-least-worst-mastodon-threads/

I spent hours on the sofa one night painstakingly cutting up and reassembling the cover art from a science fiction pulp. I have a folder full of color-corrected, high-rez scans from an 18th century anatomy textbook, and the cross-section head-and-brain is the best of the lot.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/04/analytical-democratic-theory/#epistocratic-delusions

Those old French anatomical drawings are an endless source of delight to me. Take one cross-sectioned noggin, mix in an old PC mainboard, and a vector art illo of a virtuous cycle with some of Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes and you've got a great illustration of Google's brain-worms.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/14/googles-ai-hype-circle/

Ireland's privacy regulator is but a plaything in Big Tech's hand, but it's goddamned hard to find an open-access Garda car. I manually dressed some public domain car art in Garda livery, painstakingly tracing it over the panels. The (public domain) baby's knit cap really hides the seams from replacing the baby's head with HAL9000's eye.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/15/finnegans-snooze/#dirty-old-town

Naked-guy-in-a-barrel bankruptcy images feel like something you can find in an old Collier's or Punch, but I came up snake-eyes and ended up frankensteining a naked body into a barrel for the George Washington crest on the Washington State flag. It came out well, but harvesting the body parts from old muscle-beach photos left George with some really big guns. I tried five different pairs of suspenders here before just drawing in black polyhedrons with little grey dots for rivets.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/03/when-the-tide-goes-out/#passive-income

Illustrating Amazon's dominance over the EU coulda been easy – just stick Amazon 'A's in place of the yellow stars that form a ring on the EU flag. So I decided to riff on Plutarch's Alexander, out of lands to conquer. Rama's statue legs were nice and high-rez. I had my choice of public domain ruin images, though it was harder thank expected to find a good Amazon box as a plinth for those broken-off legs.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/14/flywheel-shyster-and-flywheel/#unfulfilled-by-amazon

God help me, I could not stop playing with this image of a demon-haunted IoT car. All those reflections! The knife sticking out of the steering wheel, the multiple Munsch 'Scream'ers, etc etc. The more I patchked with it, the better it got, though. This one's a banger.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

To depict a "data-driven dictatorship," I ganked elements of heavily beribboned Russian military dress uniforms, replacing the head with HAL9000's eye. I turned the foreground into the crowds from the Nuremberg rallies and filled the sky with Matrix code waterfall.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/26/dictators-dilemma/#garbage-in-garbage-out-garbage-back-in

The best thing about analogizing DRM to demonic possession is the wealth of medieval artwork to choose from . This one comes from the 11th century 'Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros.' I mixed in the shiny red Tesla (working those reflections!), and a Tesla charger to make my point.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/edison-not-tesla/#demon-haunted-world

Yet more dividends from those old French anatomical plates: a flayed skull, a detached jaw, a quack electronic gadget, a Wachowski code waterfall and some HAL 9000 eyes and you've got a truly unsettling image of machine-compelled speech.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/02/self-incrimination/#wei-bai-bai

I had no idea this would work out so well, but daaaamn, crossfading between a Wachowski code waterfall and a motherboard behind a roiling thundercloud is dank af.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/03/there-is-no-cloud/#only-other-peoples-computers

Of all the turkeys-voting-for-Christmas self-owns conservative culture warriors fall for, few can rival the "banning junk fees is woke" hustle. Slap a US-flag Punisher logo on and old-time card imprinter, add a GOP logo to a red credit-card blank, and then throw in a rustic barn countertop and you've got a junk-fee extracter fit for the Cracker Barrel.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/04/owning-the-libs/#swiper-no-swiping

Putting the Verizon logo on the Hinderberg was an obvious gambit (even if I did have to mess with the flames a lot), but the cutout of Paul Marcarelli as the 'can you hear me now?' guy, desaturated and contrast-matched, made it sing.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/10/smartest-guys-in-the-room/#can-you-hear-me-now

Note to self: Tux the Penguin is really easy to source in free/open formats! He looks great with HAL9000 eyes.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/18/openwashing/#you-keep-using-that-word-i-do-not-think-it-means-what-you-think-it-means

Rockwell's self-portrait image is a classic; that made it a natural for a HAL9000-style remix about AI art. I put a bunch of time into chopping and remixing Rockwell's signature to give it that AI look, and added as many fingers as would fit on each hand.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/20/everything-made-by-an-ai-is-in-the-public-domain/

(Images: Heinz Bunse, West Midlands Police, Christopher Sessums, CC BY-SA 2.0; Mike Mozart, Jesse Wagstaff, Stephen Drake, Steve Jurvetson, syvwlch, Doc Searls, https://www.flickr.com/photos/mosaic36/14231376315, Chatham House, CC BY 2.0; Cryteria, CC BY 3.0; Mr. Kjetil Ree, Trevor Parscal, Rama, “Soldiers of Russia” Cultural Center, Russian Airborne Troops Press Service, CC BY-SA 3.0; Raimond Spekking, CC BY 4.0; Drahtlos, CC BY-SA 4.0; Eugen Rochko, Affero; modified)

#pluralistic #illustration #collage #fair use #creative commons #stock art #blogging #art #practice makes perfect

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local-magpie · 11 months

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My June stock pack is now available! Six griffon stock pieces available for commercial or personal use, available individually or as a bundle on itch.io or DriveThruRPG! Each includes color and grayscale. Check them out for your next ttrpg project today:

Links: [DriveThruRPG bundle] [itch.io bundle]

(And if you like my artwork & would like to see more of it or support me, I have a Patreon you can find here and offer commissions!)

#hyperionskies art #hyperion skies studios #stock art #digital art #digital artist #artists on tumblr #ttrpg art #ttrpg #trans artist #queer artist #gay artist #griffons #griffon #drivethrurpg #itch.io

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yogikohai2004 · 8 months

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oh, herrs some official art; the drawingz of kasaki, gaus, and tuzi from the intro! feel free to use where you need it <3

#haime! sweet and sour boys #nyan neko sugar girls #stock art #gasu-san #tuzi-san #kasaki-san

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luckynewtgames · 2 months

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Looking for Free Stock Art

For those who haven't seen, Tea-Hoarding Fae Dragons won the theme poll! The only issue is I work almost exclusively with the art on Canva. Which leads me to my question:

Does anyone have a good site for free stock art of fae dragons? I don't have any money right now to commission anyone ^.^;; But I'd at least like something decent to illustrate the game with.

If you don't know of any, please Reblog so this might reach those who do?

Thanks for any help!

#ttrpg #ttrpg community #ttrpg family #indie games #indiegamedev #tabletop games #ttrpgs #card game design #artwork #art #artists on tumblr #stock art #ask tumblr #question of the day

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shinigami-striker · 5 months

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[Bomberman] - Black Bomber Friday | Friday, 11.24.2023

This is what Black Friday should be all about: focusing all of attention on the one and only (and legendary) Black Bomber! ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫

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obi-troll-kenobi · 8 months

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The other thing that bugs me about stock sites being flooded with AI art is that some of them are really hard to spot at the first sight and many profile authors describe themselves as "experienced digital artists" and never come clean about being born-yesterday-with-midjourney "artists".

Just... Think twice if you see a bunch of full blown illustrations being offered for free on Pixabay. Especially if a whole gallery is filled to the brink with amazingly detailed digital paintings for free. Maybe download one and look closely at the details. It's probably just AI/AI with minimal edits. I'm not saying that everyone who claims to be an artist and is offering their art as free stock is an AI fraud (there's some nice actual art on pixabay too), but chances are high.

#stock art #anti ai art

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peteramthor · 1 month

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One of the pieces of stock art that I have up over on DrivethruRPG for just a dollar. Got a few more as well. Just click on the link below.

#roleplaying #roleplaying games #tabletop roleplaying #ttrpgs #stock art #stockart #detective #gun #modern day #modern #black and white #line art

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losthavenart · 1 year

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Potion Art!

I created a pack of 6 magical potion art that's available as stock art for peoples ttrpg projects. It comes with a commercial use license and some of my favourite artwork if I'm being honest.

#dnd5e #dnd art #dungeons and dragons #ttrpg art #stock art #art #digitalart #potions #magical #item art

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generativesluice · 1 month

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Public Domain AI Image Grab-Bag 12

They're cute, they're many, they're largely uncanny...

it's the Return of the Revenge of AI Ladies!

Donations/Tips are accepted via paypal.

These images are free to use, all generated within Midjourney. These unedited images were not subject to sufficient interference by humans to meet the minimal expression standard, and are, as such, public domain.

#unreality #midjourney v6 #generative art #ai artwork #public domain art #public domain #free art #stock art #ai girl

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ultra-nohai · 3 months

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Every Minijusticiers I've replicated so far.

#les minijusticiers #the minimighty kids #minijusticiers #stock art #replica #tf1 #tfou #cartoon

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jadezdominion · 2 years

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Here is my attempt at an epistolary style Dramione Ficlet/Drabble. TW: Grief //

Draco My Love,

Feeling the blades of grass between my fingertips and watching the wisps of dandelions floating in the wind made me yearn for a time when your laughter surrounded my soul like a balm. It’s odd that I’d only hear it in memories from now on and although that is more than some people get, it just won’t be sustainable. Not for two beings who were so intrinsically melded.

Remember the day we stayed at the cabin in Wales and got twisted in the sheets? You joked that between my hair and your long limbs you didn’t know where you ended and I began. My love, how true your words turned out to be.

I bought the cabin. It’s ours now. The table with the scorch marks from the cast iron pan is nestled in the corner. Your attempt to cook was laughable at best but you were tenacious. Your laugh from that day is humming in my veins.

Our reading nook by the fireplace isn’t as cozy without you. I can still feel your arms wrapped around my waist and the sound of your smooth baritone voice as you held me close to your chest while you read Pride and Prejudice to me. It was a perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon. Tea on the porch, walks along the trails, hours spent exploring one another’s skin on almost every surface of our, yes our cabin, reminds me that we chose a life worth living. You and I chose it. No one else did that for us Draco.

I’m not sure if owls deliver beyond the veil. Some cultures believe owls guide spirits into the afterlife, I doubt parchment that is meant for one counts. We knew the curse Voldemort meant to strike me with would be torturous but I never expected for you to step in front of its path. Gods how I wish we were both struck.

Now I sit here alive with blades of fucking grass in my fingertips instead of strands of your soft platinum hair. Unable to see that smile you got right before we would kiss. I miss you so much at times it hurts to breathe.

Then I remember the last gift magic gave us. They kicked for the first time today while I was playing a recording of you singing. What a bittersweet reminder that they wouldn’t get to sing alongside you at the piano, to feel your embrace as they listen to you read them a story; but at least they could play this recording when they need to be close to you. I guess the three of us can find solace in that. Our children will know the truth about you.

The big bad death eater with a laugh that could make the grumpiest sod crack a smile and the man who found his true self after choosing to live according to your terms. Even if it was on borrowed time.

Fuck Voldemort!!

Thank you for being my dark hero turned bright. For showing me what a love absolute is. By whispering, “You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you” on rainy afternoons with your fingers twined into my curls while you read to me.

The mind healer said this letter would help with my grief and healing during pregnancy. She recommended I either I burn this letter as a release or put it away for 5 years then re-read it. I choose the latter. Until then. I love you. Ardently and Always.

Your Hermione

P.S. You won the bet by the way. We are having a boy and a girl. Your name stands for our son: Scorpius Bennet Malfoy and I chose Jane Guinevere Rose Malfoy for our daughter. We will love you… Always.

- JEM 9/16/2022

A/N: The line Draco whispered is said by Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. Author: Jane Austen

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local-magpie · 1 year

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Potions seller, I need your strongest potions!

The Potions Pack is now out on itch.io and DriveThruRPG! Come get your juice, in six different bottle shapes - nine varieties per bottle, and a discount if you buy all six!

You can also look forward to next month's griffon-themed release, voted for by patrons in my Discord server. If you'd like to get in on those polls, you can subscribe to my patreon at the Gleam tier or higher|

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king-bones-the1st · 2 years

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photos courtesy of cottonbro @ pexels

#stock art #free to use and repost #free to use and download #the handprint one is my favorite #urbex

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photo-roulette-wheel · 18 hours

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The golden W

#W #gold #stock art

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azukailgames · 25 days

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What Has He Got in His Pockets? 100 Items for a Cyberpunk Shooter, 100 Pieces of Graffiti to Find in a Dungeon (5E), 100 Selkies for Changeling: the Dreaming and Map - Village 19 Now Available

What Has He Got in His Pockets? 100 Items for a Cyberpunk Shooter, 100 Pieces of Graffiti to Find in a Dungeon (5E) and Map – Village 19 are now available to buy on DriveThruRPG and 100 Selkies for Changeling: the Dreaming is available on Storytellers Vault. Defeated enemies have pockets, and What Has He Got in His Pockets? 100 Items for a Cyberpunk Shooter has 100 items that could be found in…