talesfromgringolandia

[talesfromgringolandia]

hot artists don't gatekeep

I've been resource gathering for YEARS so now I am going to share my dragons hoard

Floorplanner. Design and furnish a house for you to use for having a consistent background in your comic or anything! Free, you need an account, easy to use, and you can save multiple houses.

Comparing Heights. Input the heights of characters to see what the different is between them. Great for keeping consistency. Free.

Magma. Draw online with friends in real time. Great for practice or hanging out. Free, paid plan available, account preferred.

Smithsonian Open Access. Loads of free images. Free.

SketchDaily. Lots of pose references, massive library, is set on a timer so you can practice quick figure drawing. Free.

SculptGL. A sculpting tool which I am yet to master, but you should be able to make whatever 3d object you like with it. free.

Pexels. Free stock images. And the search engine is actually pretty good at pulling up what you want.

Figurosity. Great pose references, diverse body types, lots of "how to draw" videos directly on the site, the models are 3d and you can rotate the angle, but you can't make custom poses or edit body proportions. Free, account option, paid plans available.

Line of Action. More drawing references, this one also has a focus on expressions, hands/feet, animals, landscapes. Free.

Animal Photo. You pose a 3d skull model and select an animal species, and they give you a bunch of photo references for that animal at that angle. Super handy. Free.

Height Weight Chart. You ever see an OC listed as having a certain weight but then they look Wildly different than the number suggests? Well here's a site to avoid that! It shows real people at different weights and heights to give you a better idea of what these abstract numbers all look like. Free to use.

[talesfromgringolandia]

Fantasy Guide to Employment: Household of a Castle

The castle does not run itself. The castle would remain a pile of stones without servants to keep it running. The guide below focuses on the private household of the lord himself, anybody who worked inside the main keep of the castle. I will be expanding outside the walls in a future post.

The Steward/Seneschal

This person was the head of the household staff. They would have the task of running things on the Lord’s estate. They are the managers, so it is up to them to keep the staff in line. The steward would keep the castle accounts and keep the lord informed of all of the goings on of the lands and tenants. They would have to be educated needing to do accounts and write letters. Though the castle’s Lady would be expected to do all these things, the steward served as a backup and assistant in all the tasks even representing the lord and lady when they were unavailable.

The Chamberlain

The chamberlain is the servant employed to look after the Lord’s bedchamber. He would look after the Lord’s clothes as well and keep track of the other servants’ liveries, the official uniforms of the guards, pages and squires. This was not always the case, some larger households had a separate office but most medium seized manors and castles lumped them together. The chamberlain’s main task was ensuring the lord was kept happy. He would even be the last servant a lord would see at night before he went to bed at night. They would be educated.

The Marshal

A Marshal was in charge of the stables as well as the military presence in the castle. They would oversee the household’s horses, carts, wagons, and containers. He oversaw blacksmiths, horse grooms and stableboys. He also oversaw the transporting of goods. The Marshal was sometimes in charge of disciplining servants. They would likely come from a middle class background as well as having military experience and education.

The Page

A page was a young noble boy about seven years old who would be sent to serve a Lord. He would be in charge of tidying up after the lord, carrying messages to other servants and occupants of the castle and serving him at meals. Unlike others on the list, the page would not be paid. His experience was his payment as he would learn the running of a castle and manners of a lord.

The Lady’s Maid

The lady’s maid is be the female body attendant of the castle’s noble women. She would be in charge of caring for the lady’s chamber and her things. She would dress the lady and attend her wherever she would. (The lady’s maid would basically do all the work a chamberlain would but you know the wage gap…)

Maidservant

A housemaid/maidservant works to clean the castle. She would be among the first to awaken every morning. Her first task would be sweeping the floors. The thing with mediaeval floors a that they were often covered with a thin layer of rushes, a kind of grass. Weekly if not daily, a maidservant would be expected to change out the rushes and scatter new ones. If it really needed it, she would scrub the stone floors which would be done with a soap called lye, made from ashes and lard. The maidservant would also be expected to go into the bedchambers when the occupants awoke. She would empty the chamberpots if need be. She would get rid of the ashes from the fire and ready the fire for later. She would make up the bed or strip it for the laundresses. She would wash anything that needed washing including furniture and ornaments.

Laundress

The laundress was responsible for the cleaning of anything made of fabric in the household. The laundress would have to fetch their own water either from the castle well or from a nearby river. They would heat the water in large vats and add lye soap (the most popular of the cleaning agents). The constant exposure to soap and hot water was physically tough on the hands of the laundresses and their backs. When the detergents were added to the water, the laundress would dump them into the vat and stir that shit like soup. To dry it they would pin it out on lines or beat the water from it. The laundress might make money by selling secrets. Since they are handling unmentionables, they knew what happened behind closed bedchamber doors or what didn’t.

Nursemaid

The nursemaid was in charge of the castle’s children. They would ensure the child was fed, washed and generally kept alive while the parents would either be away at court or busy with the lands. The nursemaid would be a common woman from the surrounding lands who would come in to care for a noble child in the stead of the mother who would be expected to get on with other jobs. The nursemaid would be an underlying of the noble governess, a sort of hands-off nanny.

Cook

The cook was one of the most important servants in the castle. They would have the task of overseeing the running of the kitchens and keeping supplies in order. They would likely be on call at all times. Henry VIII’s cook was often woken in the night because his royal master wanted a midnight snack. The cook was a valued member of the household and would have been highly sought after if they were a very skilled cook. Cooks would have been paid a handsome wage.

Scullion

The scullion was the lowest member of staff. They would be responsible for scrubbing and cleaning the servants quarters and the kitchens. They would scrub floors with lye, scour pots with sand, sweep put the fireplace and clean up after the other servants. They were the first to rise in a castle and tasked to light all the fires in the kitchens.

Payment & Lifestyle

Within the mediaeval household, payment came from the hand of the steward. As the Lord’s manager of accounts, he was in charge of paying staff.

The grander jobs in the castle such as the marshal, the chamberlain, nursemaid and lady’s maid would pay better. They would have certain privileges including better bedchambers.

A nursemaid who was breastfeeding the Lord’s children would be a valued member of staff. She would be fed better than the other servants.

The page would sleep in a chamber off the lord’s bedchamber or sometimes at the foot of the bed. A page would wear the Lord’s livery so he would be dressed on the Lord’s coin.

The chamberlain would have rooms close to the lord and lady, just in case they were needed by the master in any kind of emergency.

The cook would sleep near the kitchens so they were close enough just in case they are needed in the night.

The other household servants would all sleep in chambers together. The women would sleep in one and the men would sleep in another. Nightly dalliances were frowned upon massively.

Most servants came from the surrounding lands of the castle. When the lord and his family were away at court or somewhere else, there would be a drop in employment. Everything would be cut down ex. Instead of three laundry maids, only one might stay on after the lord goes. The steward, the marshal, the chamberlain, the page, the cook, the nursemaid and the lady’s maid were all important staff so their job would be permanent.

[talesfromgringolandia]

-A Voyage to the Moon-

#A voyage to the Heart of Galatras to mine more aetherstone #during an incredibly stormy night - the clouds below appear like rough water in a large lake #the voyage is dangerous both for its length and its destination #nobody returns quite right from a voyage to the Moon #They say the dreams of Galatras come alive if you get too close #not to mention the inherent blasphemy of mining and taking from what many believe to be the Heart of God #Sky Isles of Galatras

[talesfromgringolandia]

In case anyone is having a bad night:

Here is the fudgiest brownie in a mug recipe I’ve found

Here are some fun sites

Here is a master post of Adventure Time episodes and comics

Here is a master post of movies including Disney and Studio Ghibli

Here is a master post of other master posts to TV shows and movies

*tucks you in with fuzzy blanket* *pats your head*

You’ll be okay, friend <3

[talesfromgringolandia]

Just imagine the characters in the Bible who is cheering you from heaven:

Abraham: Keep the faith!

Jacob: Do not let the Lord go until He blesses you! Fight!

Gideon: God is with you, mighty warrior!

Deborah: Rise up higher!

Joshua: Come on! Don’t give up. There is a reward for your obedience! Lead!

Moses: God is your strength. God is your strength!

Daniel: Stand in the gap even more!

Apostle Paul: Fight for the people around you! You can do it! You can finish the race!

Peter: Fight the good fight!

Esther: Stand up for those people who can’t stand up for themselves! They need you! Go!

David: Slay that Goliath and finish the race!

And of course, JESUS: Child, I will be with you ‘til the end of age. Go on.

[talesfromgringolandia]

every moment of every day i am thinking about this tiktok

[talesfromgringolandia]

not to be lewd but who’s gonna stand with me in the halls of healing after the battle of the pelennor fields and hold my hand and tell me that the chill in the air is just the damp of the first spring rain and say “i do not believe this darkness will endure”

[talesfromgringolandia]

#48 with a Link of your choice (art block sucks, sending you strength!)

Thank you for the Link!!! (And the strength ;u;) It's been a long time since I've drawn Ocarina of Time Link, I stretched the HELL out of that green fdhgdfh

[talesfromgringolandia]

April Fools..... Fierce deity pied in the face (prerecorded laugh track here) (this is the best I could come up with sorry xoxo)

I think he was okay with it actually. He probably likes blueberry

[talesfromgringolandia]

Yeah sure April Fools and all that but the 3DS online will be dead in a week which means that The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes for the Nintendo 3DS released in October 2015 (aka the best Zelda game ever) will be dead too and I will probably get cease and desisted by Nintendo if I ever dare to draw the Forks again.

Rest in peace, Sage, Navy, and Cardinal.

[talesfromgringolandia]

Wild actually isn't gay, but there's no way he'd pass up the opportunity for a good joke.

Source: asdfmovie 13

[talesfromgringolandia]

So I have been sketching out some scenes for the next animatic... and some of them are just scribbles of different concepts.

I think my goal is to have Odysseus traumatized constantly.

[talesfromgringolandia]

is anyone going to tell me what eurylochus wanted to say to odysseus in 'puppeteer' or am i just supposed to sit here and pretend i don't know a mutiny is coming eventually by myself

[talesfromgringolandia]

Plot Twists Aren't Real: Defining "Agency"

People get into writing because they want to write cool things, and one of the coolest things in the eyes of the early writer is the "twist": twist ending, twist villain, etc. But twists only appear to exist; in strong writing, there are no twists. Let me explain.

If you've read some posts on my blog (which, thank you for the reception :)), you'll know I preach above all that character makes story, specifically character change. If Edmund wants something in the narrative, he will take an action towards that thing. That might lead to consequences or blessings that will cause him to make another action. More consequences or blessings, action, etc., until your story is done! All narratives are, at their core, cause and effect.

But obviously some stories are stronger than others (not in the sense of quality, since that word is subjective and nebulous, but in the sense of structure, how it holds up, its reliability), but how? It's about information. Think about the decisions you make in real life from a game theory perspective. In any moment, you can only make choices with the information you're given. If you want to get a pizza from the local pizzeria, and you're hungry, you will do that, and that will be a good choice. Similarly, if you want to get a pizza but you didn't know the pizzeria was staffed by murderers, you will still get the pizza, and even if you die, it will still have been a good decision, because you were working with the information you had.

Your characters can also only act on their own information. If your character wants a pizza and gets it, that's solid writing (albeit too bland), because it's solid cause and effect. If your character is killed by the secret pizzeria mob, that's poor writing. (Obviously there are exceptions: if it was a throwaway character designed to show the reader the pizzeria mob exists, for example.)

This is what people mean when they talk about characters who are "agents" in the story. A strong central character, a character with agency, is a character who makes decisions based on what they know and have. This doesn't mean they always make the best decision--and most of the best literature is filled with characters who make bad or mentally/emotionally/ethically gray decisions--it just means they're doing what we do as humans. But if your character operates on the best information they have and are still punished for it (ie. the pizzeria mob), they aren't an agent in the narrative, they are the narrative's victim. People don't want to read about victims; they want to read about characters who, by their actions, become victims.

Take maybe literature's most famous "victim" Oedipus, who has sex with his mom on accident. The story of Oedipus isn't him waking up one day, finding a beautiful woman, having sex with her, and then realizing it's his mother. It's a story of Oedipus making horrible decisions--killing a man, refusing to listen to people wiser than him--in order to sleep with this beautiful woman who happens to be his mother. The mom part isn't an accident in the narrative but the narrative punishment for Oedipus's horrible choices.

This is my summary of the idea, but hear it also from John Gardner in his book On Becoming a Novelist, a must-read if you haven't yet:

"Only the writer who has come to understand how difficult it is to tell a first-rate story--with no cheap manipulations, no breaks in the dream, no preening or self-consciousness--is able to appreciate fully the concept of 'generosity' in fiction. In the best fiction, plot is not a series of surprises but an increasingly moving series of recognitions, or moments of understanding. One of the most common mistakes among young writers (those who understand that fiction is storytelling) is that the story gets its power from withheld information--that is, from the writer's setting up the reader and then bushwhacking him. Ungenerous fiction is foremost fiction in which the writer is unwilling to take the reader as an equal partner." (Gardner 47-48) "The wise writer counts on the characters and plot for the story's power, not on tricks of withheld information, including withheld information at the end... In other words, the writer lays himself wide open, dancing on a high wire without a net. The writer is generous, too, in that, for all his mastery of technique, he introduces only those techniques useful to the story: he is the story's servant, not a donzel for whom the story serves as an excuse to show off pyrotechnics. This is not to say that he's indifferent to the value of performance. Those techniques he uses because the story needs them he uses brilliantly. He works entirely in the in the service of the story, but he works will class." (Gardner 50)

What we perceive as a twist occurs when both the reader and character have the information they need to understand the story, but by the writer's ingenuity, have been shied away from the truth. The best murder mysteries don't have twists but subversions. You as the reader are given everything you need to solve the crime but have trouble doing so because of the author's many tricks (probably the most common of these being a viewpoint character who comes to the wrong conclusions about the mystery. This is why so few detective stories are told from the perspective of the detective. SPOILERS FOR KNIVES OUT: Imagine if Knives Out was told from Benoit Blanc's perspective, who by his own admission uncovered the mystery early in his stay at the house, and not from Marta's perspective, who has all the right information but comes to the wrong conclusion that she killed Harlan Thrombey.)

So, as is usually the case, all strong writing comes down to characters and their choices. And strong choices are choices characters make based on the information presented to them. Strong consequences can only come in relation to the quality of these choices. If your character wants a pizza, don't give them the pizzeria mob. If your character kills a guy and refuses wise counsel, then yes, give him the pizzeria mob.

[talesfromgringolandia]

Link gonna search up how to place a restraining order on a sword

[talesfromgringolandia]

How is a male sex person expressed in Gerudo society where everyone else is female-sexed and you guys play by your own gender rules.

Like you must've been more than just a curiosity or an oddity. They worshipped you as a god (According to those gossip stones.)

Even aside from the alienation that must've left you with like the biggest sense of duty to them? If you are their king, their god, you must help and provide, right? It's in the contract.

... You are correct in assuming male Gerudo are an oddity. It has even been declared that we are such an oddity that we are named King at birth. One born with innate magical abilities is elevated even further.

I am that One.

Though I do not particularly enjoy being considered a God by my people, I am certainly closer to Godhood than most leaders of other races.

In truth, I never felt alienated by my people. There were those who treated me to a higher or different standard than others, but most insisted upon treating me as they would any other sister.

It was not until I reached adulthood that my authority as King was put into place. By then, I had lived as any other Gerudo enough to understand the necessity of leadership and how best to be a true leader, rather than a mere ruler.

[talesfromgringolandia]

WAIT PEOPLE ON TUMBLR ARE REAL FUCKING PEOPLE