#like how every artist is suggesting: I used it as a help tool for myself to came up with a background color idea

[1v31182m5]

Maybe I'll rest. I'll rest somewhere among the trees. Maybe not a sunny day but at least I'll get to lie myself down on a soft spot

comms open

#BACLROUND ART #my addition to stealing back from ai trend<3 #this is a couple of ai “art” mixed #like how every artist is suggesting: I used it as a help tool for myself to came up with a background color idea #gf #gravity falls #gravity falls bill cipher #bill cipher #bill cipher fanart #gravity falls fanart

[l-a-l-o-u]

do you support ai art?

that's a tough one to answer. sorry in advance for the wall of text.

when i first started seeing ai-generated images, they were very abstract things. we all remember the gandalf and saruman prancing on the beach pictures. they were almost like impressionism, and they had a very ethereal and innocent look about them. a lot of us loved those pictures and saw something that a lot of human minds couldn't create, something new and worth something. i love looking at art that looks like nothing i've seen before, it always makes me feel wonder in a new type of way. ai-generated art was a good thing.

then the ai-generated pictures got much more precise, and suddenly we realized they were being fed hundreds of artists' pieces without permission, recreating something similar and calling it their own. people became horrified, and i was too! we heard about people losing their job as background artists on animated productions to use ai-generated images instead. we saw testimonies of heartbroken artists who had their lovingly created art stolen and taken advantage of. we saw people being accused of making ai-generated art when theirs was completely genuine. ai-generated art became a bad thing.

i've worked in the animation industry. right now, i work at an animation school, specifically for 2D animation. i care a lot about the future of my friends in the industry (and mine, if i go back to it), and about all the students i help throughout the years. i want them to find jobs, and that was already hard for a lot of them before the ai-generated images poked their heads into our world.

i'm not very good at explaining nuanced point of view (this is also my second language) but i'll do my best. i think that ai-generated art is a lot of things at once. it's dangerous to artists' livelihoods, but it can be a useful tool. it's a fascinating technological breakthrough, but it's being used unethically by some people. i think the tools themselves are kind of a neutral thing, it really depends on what we do with it.

every time i see ai-generated art i eye it suspiciously, and i wonder "was this made ethically?" and "is this hurting someone?". but a lot of it also makes me think "wow, cool concept, that inspires me to create". that last thought has to count for something, right? i'm an artist myself, and i spend a lot more time looking at art than making art - it's what fuels me. i like to imagine a future where we can incorporate ai-generation tools into production pipelines in a useful way while keeping human employees involved. i see it as a powerful brainstorming tool. it can be a starting point, something that a human artist can take and bring to the next level. it can be something to put on the moodboard. something to lower the workload, which is a good thing, imo. i've worked in video games, i've made short films, and let me tell you, ai-generated art could've been useful to cut down a bit of pre-production time to focus on some other steps i wanted to put more time into. there just needs to be a structure to how it's used.

like i said before, i work in a school. the language teachers are all very worried about ChatGPT and company enabling cheating; people are constantly talking about it at my workplace. i won't get into text ais (one thing at a time today) but the situation is similar in many ways. we had a conference a few months ago about it, given by a special committee that's been monitoring ai technology for years now and looking for solutions on how to deal with it. they strongly suggest to work alongside AIs, not outlaw it - we need to adapt to it, and control how it's used. teach people how to use it responsibly, create resources and guidelines, stay up to date with this constantly evolving technology and advocate for regulation. and that lines up pretty well with my view of it at the moment.

here's my current point of view: ai-generated art by itself is not unethical, but it can easily be. i think images generated by ai, if shared publicly, NEED a disclaimer to point out that they were ai-generated. they should ONLY be fed images that are either public domain, or have obtained permission from their original author. there should also be a list of images that fed the ai that's available somewhere. cite your sources! we were able to establish that for literature, so we can do it for ai, i think.

oh and for the record, i think it's completely stupid to replace any creative position with an ai. that's just greedy bullshit. ai-generated content is great and all, but it'll never have soul! it can't replace a person with lived experiences, opinions and feelings. that's the entire fucking point of art!!

the situation is constantly evolving. i'm at the point where i'm cautious of it, but trying to let it into my life under certain conditions. i'm cautiously sharing ai pictures on my blog; sometimes i change my mind and delete them. i tell my coworkers to consider ways to incorporate them into schoolwork, but to think it over carefully. i'm not interested in generating images myself at the moment because i want to see what happens next, and i'd rather be further removed from it until i can be more solid in my opinion, but i'm sure i'll try it out eventually.

anyway, to anybody interested in the topic, i recommend two things: be open-minded, but be careful. and listen to a lot of different opinions! this is the kind of thing that's very complicated and nuanced (i still have a lot more to say about it, i didn't even get into the whole philosophy of art, but im already freaking out at how much i wrote on the Discourse Site) so i suggest looking at it from many different angles to form your own opinion. that's what i'm doing! my opinion isn't finished forming yet, we'll see what happens next.

#for the record i'm open to discussion about this topic so anyone can feel free to respond #but im honestly more interested in talking about this with people in person #i suggest interacting w this post more than sending asks! #ask #kaijuborn #lalou yells

[shinxeysartgallery]

how do i get better at arting

Well, like basically every other artist will tell you, practice more!

Although, a lot of people don't really say what that means or HOW to practice, so there are a few things I can suggest regarding that.

1.) One important thing is to realize where your deficiencies are or what you're trying to improve. If it's several things, narrow them down a bit. If you don't do this, it can make things much more overwhelming and make the task seem a lot more daunting, which makes you less likely to want to do anything with it, or leave you with a feeling that you just CAN'T improve because it's too much. Start small. What do you want to improve? Anatomy? Shading? Coloring? Hair? Something else? Once you have that narrowed down, look up some tutorials on how to improve on it! You can refine the tutorial search from "How do I get better at art" to more specific terms like "how do I shade better?", which will often yield more helpful results! Most digital drawing software also has online tutorials for how to use it and its tools, so I also recommend checking those out if you're a digital artist! (Even MS Paint has tutorials online for stuff, so you don't even need anything fancy!)

2.) Use references! I promise it's not cheating; even professional artists use references! And this doesn't apply to just "oh use this image of [character] to learn how to draw them", either. Use references for things like poses, hands, and even backgrounds! Use Google (or another preferred search engine) to look up bases or even stock images to use for pose references. This site here is EXCELLENT for hand refs! I use it a lot! And if you can't find a good hand or pose reference, the thing I do then is take a picture of myself in the pose/angle I need to use as a reference instead. I definitely recommend doing that if you need better references or refs at precise angles. For backgrounds, use photos! Want to draw a waterfall? Look up images of waterfalls to use! A forest? Look up forest pics instead!

3.) Remember that it's a slow process! You probably won't see a ton of improvement overnight, but that's okay! Don't beat yourself up about it if you're not seeing much improvement at first. It can be real easy to fall into a mindset of thinking that you're a failure or that you'll never improve because of how long it can take before you start seeing noticeable results, but just remember: no artist got as good as they are overnight. It took me several years to get to where I'm at, skill-wise. Just keep working at it and remember to love yourself. :)

Those are some things that come to mind, off the top of my head, but yeah.

#anon ask #shinxey's asks

[minilev]

Heya, I was wondering if maybe you can share some tips on how to "learn" a new face? I feel like I have an extremely tough time getting my sketches to look like a certain person no matter how often I draw the face using reference images.

Also wanted to say I adore your art style and hope you have a nice day :)

I wish I could reply with some smart lesson like I'm really that cool artist that draws faces from memory, but I'm not - I still use references every time, Ted Raimi, John Seed (years later!), whatever. I don't trust myself and I barely can learn anything these days🌚. But here's what I can suggest:

Exaggerate a little. Like, not going full caricature (of course it depends on what style do you prefer), but stepping out of rule of thirds for example. Real people's faces are naturally asymmetrical, we all have our own different expressions > emphasize different mimic wrinkles. Look at Ted - he literally has different eyes. Your blorbo has receding hairline? Make sure everyone sees it's receding! Aquiline nose? Make sure it doesn't look straight, etc. Nose length, jawline, eye shape, brows curve, cheekbones - these are usually the most prominent parts.

Pick 2-3 face features that you find important or like the most - even if you're drawing in some unrealistic style, make these features consistent. Your adaptation might not 100% duplicate the original but make your version recognizable as a character (remember those 00s animation versions of Men in Black, Godzilla orJackie Chan Adventures? this is what i mean)

If you feel like your sketch looks wrong but you can't tell what's the exact problem with it (i'm sure we all have such moments) - every graphic program (Ps, Procreate etc) has some sort of Warp or Liquify tool (Edit > Transform > somewhere there) - push it around, tweak it. It often helps.

And I'm glad seeing an artist that doesn't stop at going with same face in same comfortable style! Yes to variety and uniqueness, yes to recognizing the character right away without reading the tags, yes to appreciating unconventional mugs!

I wish you good luck and never-ceasing inspiration and motivation!

#thank you so much and you have a nice day too<3 #kudos for using refs!

[poisonpeche]

Do you have any favorite How To Draw books?

Michael Hampton’s Figure Drawing: Design & Invention!

Everyone’s approach to artwork is different, but I’m a firm believer in fundamentals first & stylization second.

Learning human anatomy is difficult, but truthfully, the more time you spend observing and strengthening the relationship between your hand and eye is extremely helpful as an artist.

Ultimately, you want to learn to draw what you see rather than what your mind perceives. This was the biggest lesson and takeaway for me! Reference is extremely important to be able to draw more accurate figures. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

My greatest teacher was Life Drawing in college, but truthfully you don’t have to go to art school to hone this skill. If you’re unfamiliar, Life Drawing is just studying a figure or still life (assemblage of objects) in real time. I took this class every year until my Senior year, and I absolutely loved it and learned so much. Even after 4 years of those classes, there still was so much more to learn about human anatomy.

How the skin glides over the rib cage, how the neck extends and exposes the throat, how hands react and dominate a composition. I find it all really beautiful and the study itself is the art.

What I would suggest if you’d like to learn more is having someone sit for you as a model and do a 30 minute drawing of them. If they’re able to do dynamic poses, that’s a great reference too, to see how the body stretches and the tension held in the muscles.

I would suggest working with charcoal or graphite first and in greyscale. You’ll be able to achieve dimension in value with those materials.

Once you have a good hold on the fundamentals, you can then simplify human anatomy to fit your stylistic needs for a piece. This has been new territory for me, but has been an exciting one! Watching videos from professional animators has been very helpful to me from all different kinds of stylistic backgrounds. It’s important not to pigeon hole your resources into one certain look or style! You can learn from them all.

I was so drawn to Attack on Titan because stylistically the characters are drawn fairly realistically despite the flat coloring. The anatomy is stunning, but you can see the stylistic choices in their posing and features. The art direction is a perfect blend of human anatomy and design; I love drawing the characters from this show for that reason. It’s been really helpful to my practice as an artist while finding fulfillment in pushing myself stylistically.

Furthermore, now that I’m primarily a digital artist, I have been devouring any Procreate tutorial on YouTube. I’ve been watching how the platform works, but also studying how people create work using the tools. It’s been very helpful to me as I keep pushing myself to experiment and try new things as an artist!

I hope this was helpful to you, and please let me know if you ever have any more questions! I’d love to help out in any way that I can. 🖤

Get to know the blogger!

#wholesome asks #art talk #life drawing #artist on tumblr #attack on titan #anime #character design #concept art

[peckoarts]

do u have any shading/lighting tips? ur art looks so cool

I don't know if these are really good tips but it's what I usually do so take everything with a grain of salt here :''D I'm not a professional or anything. I do a lot of value studies with limited palettes and I do them both traditionally and digitally. It's easier to see the shadow from the light with busts, like bust sculptures. I also use some tools from certain sites to get an idea of where the light is supposed to be.

this one is from artstation where you can manipulate the light yourself (and also turn the head around) https://www.artstation.com/artwork/GX3Ax1 I do recommend using bust sculptures as well since the monotone white of them makes it easier to see surface planes and the shape of the shadow. I can usually find pretty good references with some neat lighting on Pinterest. These are just kind of the studies I do and like to do (because I love working out values lol) but I do not use them with every artwork of mine. Sometimes I make softer paintings that don't have such a hard shadow to them like these ones.

When I do these I just shade where it's most likely to be, like cheeks being a bit redder and darker because there is more blood flow in them like the fingertips. And shading where the folds of the clothing fall. I use a lot of foreground background shading, like his hair in the back being darker than the bangs in front of his face. I can't give good tips here exactly since I paint these pictures without really thinking about where I put certain shadows anymore aha ;W; Another tip would be to reference other artists you enjoy! Not copying them outright mind you, but if I for example really enjoy how an artist shades I sometimes have a reference of it up while I paint myself. And then I try to figure out how they shade a certain way and try to replicate that. Theres nothing wrong with referencing others work for inspirational sakes, again though straight up copying them is a whole other can of worms here. If you do that I'd suggest being transparent about it, some artist make studies of others work for learning purposes which is absolutely fine but if you want to upload that then of course give credit to the artist you have used as a reference. The more styles you will see in artists the more diverse your own work will become especially if you draw inspiration from them all ^^ It'll help develop your style and just see what sticks and what doesn't so I'd definately say that you should always be open to experiment with a whole set of different styles and approaches. Again I'm really not the best at giving tips but I do hope these have helped you some! <3 Let others inspire you and continue to draw with love and passion for the craft :3c Oh and Thank you so much ^^ <3

#ask #anon

[rimdowidar]

After #32-Days-of-No-Contact

Writing is my tool to heal my overwhelming thoughts, and it helps me to get all of my ideas so I can track myself whenever I'm repeating the same feelings and thoughts.

So, what do we have here now? Just documenting my healing journey. and why am I making this public? because why not.. also who would really check this blog anyway!

So, someone entered my life in June 2018, and after about a year of knowing each other, we were in a relationship. it was a bit on and off because how I was always fighting over his lifestyle, and how he used to be cold sometimes, but overall he was being nice to me and treated me well.

In September 2020, I started college it was my first time getting out of a very bad place in my life, and it was my first time to actually start what I really love and make an effort for (Filmmaking), at that time we were fighting a lot and I started to question "what if?" and started to be unsure of being in a committed relationship. so, we broke up.

In February 2023, on my birthday.. we met again. and after almost 10 days we got back together, after 42 days we broke up because I was super ready to settle down and have him for life, and he was not ready for that, I freaked him out lol and he said that "I don't want to be in a relationship right now."

It's been now 32 days since our last day together, and looking back at the beginning of it.. yeah I am doing much much better!

In the beginning, I received the most mixed signals I ever received in my life, it was like sometimes it's someone who is ADORING you and wanna marry you and sometimes he is someone who is sure of nothing and wants to explore more and can't stand being next to you, tbh? that gave me a hard time and lots lots of crying but unexpectedly after 30 days of grieving, crying, anger, and jealousy... all become better, I think I am doing better now and accepting the idea of him not being in my life.

What made me really move on?

1- Writingwritingwritingwriting!

It starts with an open note on my phone with the title: "To My Ex... Messages are not meant to be sent" - but it got sent hahaha. I wrote in from April 3rd to April 7th, not too many days right? well, I wrote 22 pages :) ... it got everything, missing him, wanting him back, jealousy, asking him back, a prestigious way of begging him to come back haha, talking about old messages, talking about us before me going to the college, Quotes (YES), Sad Song Lyrics (YES)... I wrote literally everything in those few days, then it felt like oh it's actually kind of hard work you gotta send it to him so I did and asked him not to reply to anything in it and he didn't thankfully, now I look back to that relationship and I feel super happy and super proud of saying everything, every little thing was on my mind to him, and I tried everything to make it work... SO I AM GOOD!

2- Modern Family

Yes, that show helped me a lot going through a hard time, I'm right now in the seventh season of it, and totally worth it.. stick always to that simple rule: If you are sad, go watch comedy.

3- Ali El Haggar

He is my favorite singer, and he is the one I love the most, and he was my first live concert to go to, and that artist got some really GREAT SONGS, my favorite at that time was: في قلب الليل

4- I got the closure I wanted

After him telling me that he doesn't want a relationship, we met after that a few times maybe four times or something, and I talked about it all, I was super expressive (thanks to my therapy sessions) I told him that he could be an avoidant and that he just fears the closeness and I suggested therapy, I suggested to make the relationship different to suit him more blah blah, and listened to him more and more till his words made sense to me.

5- Nagui

my 3-month-old kitten, Nagui was born on February 7 that's making us twins! I've always wanted a pet and my mother would keep refusing, when she knew we broke up she agreed that I can finally get a pet. I remember not leaving the house because of him, he is my baby and will always be.

6- Therapy

Well, If I am talking about therapy a couple of months ago I'd just say how it completely changed my whole life, but in this journey... welllllll it didn't do much, all it did was resist texting him back knowing that i have a session by the end of the week that would make me realize how bad this is, and would calm me down.

7- Friends

Well, my closest friend ironically let me down, he wasn't there for me through this journey which was really painful, it was a real loss, I lost someone I deeply love since 2019, someone I shared with him a lot that I couldn't imagine myself sharing that with anyone else, and I believe that loss could feel like death... it is serious and it is painful!

but another friend of mine came out of nowhere, and she did help me go through this.. so yeah life is unexpecting all the time.

It is getting better, and no matter how devasting this is, know and make sure that it will pass, and if didn't you will survive.

I might never lose the love for him, I might not find love again. but I am okay and I am doing better day by day.

I look at myself in this picture after daying of consistently crying, and I can see that I am doing better, and I never imagined that I would actually be better in just 30 days. miracles happen!

Later On...

#breakup #heartbroken #no contact #healing #healing journey #journaling #nocontact

[badkarmaviscomm]

ICP - Project Proposal - D&AD

As a solution to eBay’s D&AD brief, I propose the visual solution of incorporating digital fashion into the selling process. 3D scanning/AR technology has become a big aspect of digital artwork and installation, however I believe that this new emerging technology is not being utilised to its full potential. 

I chose to use fashion to promote to Gen Z to sell on eBay due to the fact that sustainable clothes shopping has become such a large conversation within Gen Z circles, especially with the rise of competitors Depop and Vinted that are very successful in communicating to this target audience. As per the brief, I was asked to consider whether or not sustainable, ‘pre-loved’ clothing is an oversaturated market. I came to the conclusion it is not as a goal of many young people, myself included, is to buy clothes entirely second hand and therefore there will always be a market for it. However, what may be oversaturated is how second hand clothing is promoted as primarily sustainable over anything else. Of course sustainability is a big issue for Gen Z people and it is important to consider, however with rising prices of second hand clothing, ‘being sustainable’ is no longer a justification for buying clothes of ‘poorer’ quality - Gen Z audiences will buy regardless at somewhat retail price points. This is why I began thinking of other roles of clothing for Gen Z and the topic of gender and constructing your own identities outside of binaries piqued my interest. Deconstructing hegemonic ideas about gender through clothing has become a popular talking point for Gen Z and I thought that being in an online space may encourage this gender experimentation more as there are no physical boundaries to restrict experimentation. For this reason, I wish to construct a digital fitting room as a service tool for Gen Z audiences to experiment with clothing and styling outside of gender binaries.

I intend to allow audience members to be able to 3D scan themselves to construct digital avatars that can try on clothing before buying it on eBay. Sellers can 3D scan their pieces of clothing and offer digital ‘samples’ to potential customers that can then dress up their own customisable avatars. Customers can create wardrobes of potential outfits and with every purchase the digital sample can become theirs, almost like an NFT - another big interest for younger audiences currently. This set up of being able to try on clothes can also allow sellers to list custom outfits available to buy as a set, allowing stylists a space to document and sell their visions. This still maintains eBay’s C2C model of selling clothes however this also offers the option to make eBay more of a social space as well. Perhaps avatars can interact, perhaps a new form of social media can be produced through these avatars. 

Artists such as The Fabricant were inspirational in coming up with this idea with digital fashion allowing for ‘glimpses of possible versions of yourself in digital realms’, helping people construct their own identities free from judgement within digital spaces. In the NXT Museum, I read an interesting idea about how virtual reality is becoming a popular medium to work with due to the impact of COVID-19. NXT suggests that the isolation encourages us to ‘inhabit new worlds’ through digital realms, which have now become filled with ‘seductive, strange entities’. In my research, I found that there is some opinion that eBay feels ‘dated’ or a ‘dad’ thing, incorporating this type of technology could help dispel this myth about the brand and appeal more to the more technology - savvy Gen Z.

#icp daad

[tokiro07]

Cipher Academy ch. 2 thoughts (no promises that I’m going to do this every week like with Undead Unluck, but I sure would like to)

[Spoilers, That’s Exactly What I Did]

Iroha tries to return the AR glasses to Kogoe, citing that he feels like using them was cheating, but Kogoe points out that they’re just a tool and they don’t actually solve puzzles, they only highlight the necessary information for solving them

This is, to me, indicative of a central theme of the series; similar to how Medaka Box analyzed how everyone’s ability to put in effort varies but is just as valid, Cipher Academy notes that not everyone has the same capacity for problem solving. Case in point, Kogoe apparently isn’t very good at solving puzzles herself despite the fact that she’s apparently a skilled inventor and puzzle creator. Iroha, on the other hand, doesn’t have the eye for spotting the method for solving a puzzle, but once he knows where to start, he can put the pieces together quite well, though maybe slowly and systematically. Both of them are very smart and will be necessary to solve the puzzles that hide the Morg (the cryptocurrency stash that apparently serves as both a prize and a way to identify the most talented students), but neither of them could do so on their own

I’m willing to bet that Toshusai will also have an invaluable talent distinct from Kogoe’s or Iroha’s as well, both because she’s been established as a major character right from the get go and because this chapter establishes that no one’s stance is as cut and dry as they seem. Kogoe definitely has ulterior motives that she’s not sharing with Iroha, but Toshusai’s suggestion that Kogoe is going to try to inflate the value of the Morg by using it to incite war can’t be taken at face value either. I’m not saying she’s wrong, just that there’s undoubtedly more to it than we’re being led to believe

In broader strokes, I’m really loving that the puzzles are being numbered. Not only does it feel like a very Nisio Isin thing to do, it also helps give this series a game-like feel. Most notably, it feels like Professor Layton, which does the exact same thing except that it gives each puzzle a point value rather than a star difficulty rating. I have to wonder if the numbers themselves will somehow play into a puzzle later on? I wouldn’t be surprised

Being introduced to the rest of the class and getting a brief glimpse of their personalities and how varied their character designs are, again, feels extremely Nisio Isin while also giving us a chance to familiarize ourselves with Iwasaki’s artistic talents. Every single one of them looks distinct and like their words match their appearance, and I’m sure they’ll be memorable in their own right once they’re allowed to interact with Iroha a bit more intimately (which I assume at least a couple of them will if this is all a big competition)

I’m still trying to get a handle on Iroha’s dynamic with Toshusai since it’s only been literally two chapters and Toshusai was barely in this one, but Toshusai having weapons at the ready to protect Iroha while also talking to him with what seems to be mocking politeness (”why not sit your butt down?”) really seems to set a bit of a begrudging but unquestionably loyal tone

Toshusai giving Iroha a secret message in class by tracing her finger along his back was also...ouph, y’know? I definitely wouldn’t have been able to pick up on the message, I’d have been a bit...distracted in that scenario, myself. Still, Toshusai reminds Iroha to put on his glasses, demonstrating that she’s definitely playing the part of looking out for him, though it’s hard to say if she was legitimately trying to help or trying to catch him in a lie. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it’s a puzzle manga by Nisio Isin, I expect subterfuge everywhere

I’m not sure whether to expect Iroha and Toshusai to get paired off, but after Katanagatari I’m prepared for anything Nisio might try to pull

The responses seemed more positive this week, though still with some dissenting opinions. Fortunately, it occurred to me that Cipher Academy doesn’t really have any direct competition in Jump at the moment. More than half of Jump’s current lineup is battle manga, about a quarter of it is gag manga, and one is a...what would you describe Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins as? Drama? Psychological horror? Mystery? Normally a genre is established right off the bat, but this one’s three chapters in and I’m not sure what to make of it. Anyway, Ichinose’s Sins is the closest tonally to Cipher Academy, and that still gives a very wide berth. Super Smartphone seems like it would have been in the same category, but with that gone so quickly, the niche it would have filled is quite nicely opened

Looking back, I think that Cipher Academy is most similar to Enigme considering its use of puzzles. Super Smartphone was more like Death Note in how characters had very specific tools that they needed to utilize to achieve their goals, but this is literally being presented with a scenario that has a specific solution and being asked to find said solution. The only difference is that there aren’t supernatural powers (which I sorely miss from Enigme, by the way)

My hope is that Cipher Academy will get surprisingly popular, just enough that Viz will realize there’s demand for Nisio Isin content and localize Medaka Box. I’m not at the point where I’m gonna be calling for an anime, though I wouldn’t be surprised if I get there within the next few months

#cipher academy #fouryearsandananime #4y1a reviews

[gingerhuneybee]

FAQ

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1.0 TOOLS

.01 What materials/programmes do you use?

iPad Pro 2020, 12.9” with Apple Pencil Gen 2

iOS Procreate (drawing process)

Photoshop 2022 (post-edit process) + XP-pen Deco 01 (v2) tablet

.02 What brushes are you using?

I use a combination of brushes released by Lotusbubble, JingSketch, Jeremy Fenske, and Devin Elle Kurtz.

.04 Where would you suggest I learn about…

anatomy: Morpho Anatomy books, life drawing classes, pinterest, theposearchives (dA) colour theory: Marc Brunet’s tutorials, Colour.adobe resources character design: Marc Brunet’s tutorials

.06 Art book recommendations?

Here’s a list of my favourite books:

Creating a Champion (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) The Art of Raya and the Last Dragon The Art of Encanto Tokyo Storefronts by Mateusz Urbanowicz The Art of Heikala by Heikala The Art of Kiki’s Delivery Service

.07 Do you do tutorials?

Not at the moment. But in the future I would like to do tutorials on my Patreon page.

2.0 Art and Bee

.00 Who are you even?

I am a very short girl, who enjoys drawing fandoms such as Harry Potter and The Legend of Zelda. As of now, I am 26 years old, and I work as a freelance artist and ESL teacher. I LOVE peach tea.

.01 Did you go to art school?

No. I am self-taught. I actually have masters in chemistry. I dropped out of my Chemistry PhD in my first year because I realised that science is not something I want to pursue in my life. I do not regret studying chemistry though - it was a very interesting and valuable experience. Would I have the chance to choose now though, I’d go study degree in Illustration.

.02 Who are your favourite artists?

Here are some that I often turn to for inspiration:

Mimimaru, Heikala, Mateusz Urbanowicz, Ladowska, Mehkuni, Devin Elle Kurtz, Marc Brunet and many others.

.03 How do you motivate yourself to draw every day?

I really make sure I draw what I enjoy. There are days I wake up and I do not feel like picking up my pen. When this happens, it is about time to turn back to studying. I go to my Morpho books, youtube tutorials and my favourite artists and I dedicate the day to anatomy studies, colour theory etc. That way I do feel accomplished although no illustration is done in the process.

.04 How to get out of art block?

Take a break. No seriously. If art frustrates you, it is time to put it down and take-a-well-deserved-break. I hit the wall 2-3 a year and usually, it comes after a big project or when I refuse to pace myself.

This relates to the previous questions, but when a time like this hits, I often restrict myself to no art for up to 3-5 days. Instead, I go back to passive studying - watching tutorials, watching an animated film, reading some books, playing video games for inspiration.

Sometimes it also helps to switch a medium. So for example I go from digital to traditional.

.05 What is you digital art process like?

I start with light gesture drawings followed by detailed soft lineart. Then I shade in black and white. When this is done, I turn the black and white sketch to red (using curves) and with multiply layers, I block in the basic colours. Then I create a normal layers and I begin to paint in all other details. I often finish the background first before I move on to the characters.

.06 Why don’t you do traditional anymore?

In 2020 I had to move to my parent’s house for 4 months while I was recovering from an illness. I had to leave all my traditional media in my flat in a completely different country. I only had my old iPad with me, which was the only way I could do art. I have been drawing digitally on my iPad since.

Once in a while, I still use the good old pencil and paper, but I found that digital painting gives me great creative freedom and helps me to visualise my light-up fantasy brain cells. hahaha

In general - I just enjoy digital painting more at the moment.

I still do oil painting once in a while tho!

3.0 USE OF MY ART

.01 Can I use your art for my pfp?

Yes, BUT! Please do message me for permission and make sure you credit the art appropriately.

.02 Can I use your art for bookbinding fanfictions?

Now - please read this carefully.

I ONLY allow use of my art in fanfiction bookbinding if it’s a NON-PROFIT bind (ie only cost of materials is paid for). Please DO message me in dms (ig, twitter, tumblr) if you want to use my art in your binds. The chances are most likely I will say yes and be very excited to see the outcome!!!

4.0 COMMISSIONS

.01 Are you available for commissions?

Yes! You can find the link to all the details here.

.02 Why are your commissions so expensive?

I only charge for labour and the time spent on the commission. For a full-illustrated type of commission, I can spend up to 30 hours working on it, hence the high price.

.03 How long will your commission take?

I ask for my customers to count with 2-4 weeks from the date the payment is received. This is because often I have a couple of projects before I commence on your commission. I also count in any unexpected events such as an illness, my teaching job hurdles, art block, and inspiration dips.

.04 What you will/will not draw for me?

Will do: humans (fanart, OCs, irl), pfp’s, larger illustrations, and character designs

Will NOT do: nsfw, fetishes, gore, mecha, furry, animals/pets, hateful art, ships I am not comfy with

#faq

[wellfine]

Do you have any anatomy or drawing tips?

Woah, what a broad question, lol! I actually have plenty of advice, and I'm really open to questions about exactly this subject on Twitter (or CuriousCat, if you're shy), but it's hard to know where to start without something more specific. So if you had anything in mind, feel free to hit me up!

Generally, my drawing tips are:

Draw what makes you happy, because that's the best self-motivator, and push yourself to draw what you actually envisioned, not just what you can currently do. So no more hiding hands behind people's backs, defaulting to a simpler perspective if you had something more ambitious in mind, etc. You won't get better at drawing something by not drawing it, so chop chop! If it doesn't turn out well this time, you can just revisit later when you've improved!

Practice doesn't make perfect, it makes permanent, so make sure you're practicing the right things. Drawing the same thing over and over without reference and relying on symbol drawing is a surefire way to ingrain bad habits you'll only have to UN-learn later, which is way, way, WAYYYyy harder.

Speaking of reference - the best way to use references in your studies is as a tool to actually understand what's happening in the picture. Too many beginners - myself included - treat references as if they're suggestions on what pose to draw without actually studying how that pose is happening. Like, you look at a photo of a someone with their hands behind their head and their ankles crossed and think, okay, I'm gonna draw someone with their hands behind their head and their ankles crossed- no. Draw that person with their hands behind their head and their ankles crossed, exactly as they appear. Try and understand the shapes, the foreshortening, how everything connects. You'll find it's WAY harder and also WAY more rewarding.

If you've never really done studies or life drawing before, Line of Action not only explains the basics of how to do a fruitful art study, but it can also set you up with a plethora of reference images. Go. Do it. I don't care how stylised your art style is, life drawing will help you understand how to stylise it better!

DID YOU HEAR THAT!? IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW STYLISED YOUR ART IS!! STUDYING FROM LIFE WILL ONLY HELP YOU KNOW HOW TO STYLISE EVEN BETTER!! I know stuffy fine artists like to dismiss stylised art but that's not what this is about! You can't stylise something properly without understanding the base form you're working from first!

Make comics. They will force you to draw a lot of things you've never drawn before at a great frequency and HURL you out of your comfort zone. You don't have to share them with anyone. They don't even have to be good. But they're like an expand-your-art-skills intensive course.

Flip your canvas as you draw. The point of this is not to make sure your image looks perfect from both directions - most images have a 'bias' towards one angle, and that's fine - but to force you to see your image in a new light and notice mistakes you had grown oblivious to. For the same reason, I often zoom out to make the image very small to see if I need to clarify any shapes, etc. and flip my canvas upside down, mostly to check for compositional issues/dead space.

Line confidence is a very important skill. You can practice this by drawing in pen (on actual paper) and forcing yourself to stop "feathering" or "scratching" your lines (i.e. building up a continuous line out of many smaller lines rather than just drawing one line). Do a bunch of rapid-fire life drawing studies from Line of Action on paper in pen - you won't have enough time to worry about getting every line perfect, which will teach you how to be less wishy-washy about your lines.

And my anatomy-specific tips are:

Please, for the love of god, reference real photos of real people, not (just) airbrushed celebrity/social media photoshoots, 3D video game models, or anime character thirst traps. Those can all make good references for how to stylise anatomy, but you'll be severely limiting your understanding of the spectrum of human body-shapes if you don't supplement it with real, unadulterated references. It's easy to tell when someone has tried to diversify the range of body types they draw (good!) but hasn't based it on any actual study (not so good). Line of Action is a great resource here again, but athletes from different sports are a great source of action-packed references of dynamic body types. A top ranked cabletosser will look different to a rugby player will look different to a sprinter will look different to a surfer, etc.

Anatomical knowledge is best applied as a touch-up and not as a foundational tool. I see a lot of people complain that their art looks or feels too stiff and inorganic, and then I see their process is veeerrryyy steeped in making sure their figures are anatomically "correct" even from the initial concept sketch. In reality, human bodies can look kind of funny and warped when they're in motion, especially extreme motion, and one of the benefits of art is being able to choose what you exaggerate and push in order to convey a stronger emotion, or action, or vibe than you would with perfectly "correct" anatomy. Start with a line of action (the concept Line of Action is named after, which they also explain at the link above) that conveys the dynamic movement and/or silhouette you want, and then apply your anatomical knowledge around that.

#long post #tumblr is a bad platform for me to discuss this kinda stuff on #so if any of you have follow-up questions please ask on twitter or curiouscat!

[perpetual-stories]

How To Fight Writers Block

hello, hello. hope everyone is doing well. as you can all tell, this post will be about how to fight writers block.

it’s really annoying to me when I hear people say “oh you don’t have writers block, you’re just lazy.”

first of all, yes, I am naturally lazy. second of all, how dare you. writing isn’t as easy as many think. granted, all you have to do is write down words on paper, but it’s not always easy to find the right words to express what you are feeling, or what you wish to say.

I have had terrible writer’s block for the last few days and it’s horrible! as a business owner or a small writing store, I have to be ready to write and fulfill my clients’ ideas and orders.

it’s not easy. It takes a heavy toll on my imagination, and digs me a deep pit of blockage, drowning in the lack of originality because of the constant writing and repetition or certain phrases and sentences in different projects.

i am making this post in the hopes to remind myself about over coming the dreaded and sometimes skeptically believed writer’s block.

What is writer’s block?

Yeah, I know. We all know what that is, but let me define it.

is the state of being unable to proceed with writing, and/or the inability to start writing something new

some people believe it to be a real problem, others believe it's “all in your head”

What Causes Writer’s Block?

in the 1970s, clinical psychologists Jerome Singer and Michael Barrios decided to find out

they concluded that there are four broad causes of writer's block:

Excessively harsh self-criticism

Fear of comparison to other writers

Lack of external motivation, like attention and praise

Lack of internal motivation, like the desire to tell one's story

How to overcome writer's block: 20 tips

1. Develop a writing routine:

Author and artist Twyla Tharp once wrote: “Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is a result of good work habits.”

it might seem counterintuitive

if you only write when you “feel creative,” you're bound to get stuck in a tar pit of writer's block

The only way to push through is by disciplining yourself to write on a regular schedule. It might be every day, every other day, or just on weekends — but whatever it is, stick to it!

2. Use "imperfect" words:

A writer can spend hours looking for the perfect word or phrase to illustrate a concept

You can avoid this fruitless endeavor by putting, “In other words…” and simply writing what you’re thinking, whether it’s eloquent or not

You can then come back and refine it later by doing a CTRL+F search for “in other words.”

3. Do non-writing activities:

one of the best ways to climb out of a writing funk is to take yourself out of your own work and into someone else’s

Go to an exhibition, to the cinema, to a play, a gig, eat a delicious meal

immerse yourself in great STUFF and get your synapses crackling in a different way

Snippets of conversations, sounds, colors, sensations will creep into the space that once felt empty

4. Freewrite through it:

free-writing involves writing for a pre-set amount of time without pause — and without regard for grammar, spelling, or topic. You just write.

The goal of freewriting is to write without second-guessing yourself — free from doubt, apathy, or self-consciousness, all of which contribute to writer's block. Here’s how:

Find the right surroundings. Go somewhere you won't be disturbed.

Pick your writing utensils. Will you type at your computer, or write with pen and paper? (Tip: if you're prone to hitting the backspace button, you should freewrite the old-fashioned way!)

Settle on a time-limit. Your first time around, set your timer for just 10 minutes to get the feel for it. You can gradually increase this interval as you grow more comfortable with freewriting.

5. Relax on your first draft:

Many writers suffer form perfectionism, which is especially debilitating during a first draft

“Blocks often occur because writers put a lot of pressure on themselves to sound ‘right’ the first time. A good way to loosen up and have fun again in a draft is to give yourself permission to write imperfectly.” — editor Lauren Hughes

perfect is the enemy of good,” so don't agonize about getting it exactly right! You can always go back and edit, maybe even get a second pair of eyes on the manuscript

6. Don’t start at the beginning:

the most intimidating part of writing is the start, when you have a whole empty book to fill with coherent words

instead of starting with the chronological beginning of whatever it is you’re trying to write, dive into middle, or wherever you feel confident

7. Take a shower:

Have you ever noticed that the best ideas tend to arrive while in the shower, or while doing other “mindless” tasks?

research shows that when you’re doing something monotonous (such as showering, walking, or cleaning), your brain goes on autopilot, leaving your unconscious free to wander without logic-driven restrictions

showering is my favourite thing to do if I may add

8. Balance your inner critic:

successful writers have in common is the ability to hear their inner critic, respectfully acknowledge its points, and move forward

You don't need to completely ignore that critical voice, nor should you cower before it

you must establish a respectful, balanced relationship, so you can address what's necessary and skip over what's insecure and irrelevant

9. Switch up your tool:

a change of scenery can really help with writer's block. However, that scenery doesn't have to be your physical location — changing up your writing tool can be just as big a help!

if you’ve been typing on your word processor of choice, try switching to pen and paper. Or if you're just sick of Google Docs, consider using specialized novel writing software.

10. Change your POV:

great advice from editor Lauren Hughes: “When blocked, try to see your story from another perspective ‘in the room’ to help yourself move beyond the block. How might a minor character narrate the scene if they were witnessing it? A ‘fly on the wall’ or another inanimate object?

11. Exercise your creative muscles:

Any skill requires practice if you want to improve, and writing is no different! So if you’re feeling stuck, perhaps it’s time for a strengthening scribble-session to bolster your abilities

12. Map out your story:

If your story has stopped chugging along, help it pick up steam by taking a more structured approach — specifically, by writing an outline

13. Write something else:

Though it's important to try and push through writer's block with what you're actually working on, sometimes it's simply impossible

feel free to push your current piece to the side for now and write something new

14. Work on your characters:

It follows that if your characters are not clearly defined, you’re more likely to run into writer’s block

15. Stop writing for readers:

write for yourself, not your potential readers

this will help you reclaim the joy of being creative and get you back in touch with what matters: the story.

this is something I really need to do. because of my etsy business i don't write for fun anymore, but instead as a business and a deadline. i'm going to have to pull out my old crappy wattled fanfics or write some new ones.

16. Try a more visual process:

when words fail you, forget them and get visual. Create mind maps, drawings, Lego structures — ideally related to your story, but whatever unblocks your mind!

17. Look for the root of it:

writer’s block often comes from a problem deeper than simple “lack of inspiration.” So let's dig deep: why are you really blocked? Ask yourself the following questions:

Do I feel pressure to succeed and/or competition with other writers?

Have I lost sight of what my story is about, or interest in where it's going?

Do I lack confidence in my own abilities, even if I've written plenty before?

Have I not written for so long that I feel intimidated by the mere act?

Am I simply feeling tired and run-down?

once you identify what's wrong, it'll be so much easier to fix.

18. Quit the Internet:

If willpower isn’t your strong suit and your biggest challenge is staying focused, try a site blocker like Freedom or an app like Cold Turkey

19. Let the words find you:

meditate, go for a walk, take that shower

Word Palette is a great app that features a keyboard of random words, allowing you to simply click your way to your next masterpiece.

You can also try AI auto-completers like Talk to Transformer, where you can enter a phrase and let the app “guess what comes next.”

even though they often produce nonsense, it's a great way to help that writer's block.

20. Write like Hemingway:

And if your biggest block is your own self-doubt about your prose, Hemingway offers suggestions to improve your writing as you go

it's a pretty cool app if you ask me.

it highlights your sentences (if need be) and makes suggestions on how to improve them!

well, there you have it! a lengthy post on how to fight writer's block. now i just hope i can combat my own soon.

like, comment and reblog if you find this useful! feel free to reblog in instagram and tag me perpetualstories

Follow me on instagram and tumblr for more writing and grammar tips and more!

#writing #writing advice #writing tips #original writing #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #writersconnection #writersofig #writersofinstagram #writings

[synstoria]

My tikok experimentation

TW: marketing, bad jokes 😅

So, I am doing a lot of marketing research even if I don’t really like it; I think it’s important to do. I read many articles talking about how tiktok algorithm was favorable to game dev because it shows more easily content they are not following to people.

I tried my hand at it once:

And it took me waaaaaay too much time to do, because I am not used to video editing, not used to tiktok app AND perfectionist. Like, I wanted to make a video that matches the beats of the music, but it’s not a thing at all in tiktok videos. Unless the music is meant to have a shift at a particular point, people usually just slap a music on a video and that’s all. I also wanted to make clean screenshot, but the trend is to just film your computer screen with your phone. My perfectionnist side CAN’T do that.

Finally, Tiktok is all about trends, so you actually have to consume a lot of tiktok vids to know which music and which kind of « memes » are trendy, which seems really time consuming, and I am already sooo busy…

At this point, I decided it was not for me and gave up.

Later, I found yet another video about how tiktok was an incredible marketing tool, naming an account « DarkDeityGame » with a SRPG kind of game with practically no animation but a lot of sprites, so I gave it some more thinking. (Fun fact, I couldn’t find back the account, until I understand they renamed it and now the dev practically only do face cam videos.)

So a month ago, I gave it another shot; I wanted to conduct a brief experiment, so I decided to NOT publish the video on my other social media account so I would really gauge the magical algorithm. I found someone very nice specialising on videos creation (especially tiktok ones) and she was very professional. She took the time to listen to all my thought about the game and community private joke to get ideas of funny vids.

Anyway, confident in this person I commissioned her to create 8 videos for me and do some hashtag research. She created silly vids with trendy music. A friend of mine spending a lot of time on tiktok told me the vibe was here even if it was a little too static because it’s just sprite.

For example:

Or more contemplative ones:

I posted the video, with the hashtags and stuff, and I got… 3 view. Basically, only the people who were following me from the first video liked it, and same goes for every video I posted afterward except one.

The only vid who got more than a couple of views, reach around 100 view, it was a "art process" one; I did following one Arimia’s article.

Being not an artist myself, and having an incredible artist but who doesn’t share many WIP it’s not something I can do often.

Overall this experiment was a complete failure and waste of money. 😅

I hope at least it can help some people not doing the same mistakes, so here I some insight about the whole thing.

Why this experiment might have performed so poorly:

As I said, I didn’t share the videos anywhere else for the purpose of the experiment, so they didn’t get any initial view boost.

It’s possible my account performed worse than excepted because I posted a video and then went afk for a few months before posting again. Some people suggest I might have been shadowban while other says tiktok gives another chance when an account rise from the dead. Some other people also said if you delete an account and recreate one just after you might get shadowban aswell.

Like any social media, there is time it’s better to post your content, problem is you can’t schedule the moment they will be posted* and I don’t want to become a slave of tiktok by putting alarms on my phone to post a video (+I am not in the USA time zone, so sometimes it’s at crazy hour for me.)

*You actually can schedule videos on tiktok :

- By having a « business account » but then you have to use the computer app who is very poor AND you can’t use most of the musics on tiktok. Since the videos were already created with trendy music when I noticed, I couldn’t use it.

- By using other apps to do it for you, but a lot of users say you might get shadowban because your videos are posted by a bot.

To avoid being « shadowban » or considered like a bot, it’s apparently better you take the time to interact with others content before and after you post the video, but I had no time to do that, and there was actually not much videos on things that do interest me.

My two cent about the whole thing, and what you can do if you still want to try it out.

I was still impressed that out of nowhere, I could get 100 views on one of the vid without sharing the videos in anyway. If the algorithm is not as magical I thought, there is definitely something to exploit.

Visual novel just lack of movement to be used for tiktok, I think the best and easiest way is to go toward art creation process.

Humor seems to work a lot in tiktok but for reason A, if you want to make jokes, you probably have to use your voice and show your face like the amazing community manager of Among us for example.

Trend are really powerful. I was a bit salty to see on the visual novel tag a lot of vid performing extremely well... while just being someone filming their screen scrolling to show the VN they did in google slide. 😓

Forget everything I say, tiktok is impredictable, just film your screen doing stuff, and you might go viral after all :p

#marketing

[autistic-lalli]

I dont know how to properly frame my question, but autistic!lalli has always been a headcanon I readily claimed as canon in my heart because it MAKES PERFECT SENSE in my brain. But besides me, what I'd like to ask is what traits/habits/behaviors Lalli has that immediately clicked to you that he was autistic? Or showed that he was? Like, gush to me about them

(this is mainly so I can get better at writing him and also because I'm curious to know! Actually, SLAP me with EVERYTHING about Lalli, if you can 😂 I'd love to actually know everything)

This topic was also requested by @the-story-isnt-over-yet ! This post is for both y’all :)

I’m going to try to keep this organized, but we’ll see how successful I am. First up, I’ll talk through Lalli’s general traits, then the traits I picked out quickly and resonated with, and then I’ll touch on a couple other things that stand out to me!

Sensory Experience

Lalli repeatedly displays sensory-avoiding and sensory-seeking behaviors. He likes soft textures and sweets—he picks himself up a big ol’ fluffy cloak in Adventure 2, and his mind conjures him a nice and soft one in his dreamspace, and we all know how he feels about pastries. He’s always willing to eat sweets and breads, which suggests that Lalli has samefoods as well (samefoods are like a comfort food, but taken up to eleven; foods that always sound good, sometimes to the point that they’re the only thing an autistic person can eat.) It’s just a single line, but where Lalli tells Emil that he hates blueberries, it makes me think of a very specific picture (I’ll link it later if I can find it.) Blueberries, and other fruit, don’t taste the same every time! Some are sweet, some are sour, some are mushy, some are grainy, and some are juicy. When you don’t know what to expect from a food, this makes it hard to want to eat it, even if some aspect of the flavor is good.

But I digress! One thing that I resonated with right away with Lalli is that he clearly has sensitive proprioceptive awareness. That just means the sense of where your body is in space. When Lalli sleeps or hides under a bunk or table, he’s reducing his sensory input. Being in a small space is comforting because there’s less space to be aware of.

Lalli is also sensitive to touch, which is a fairly easy trait to spot. He doesn’t like the friendly punches the crew delivers, and even balks at Emil’s touch when he’s upset. There are exceptions, but those exceptions come at times when Lalli is calm and expecting the touch to occur.

And sound! Lalli doesn’t like loud sounds, in particular loud people (sorry, Sigrun.) This is a great place to talk about Lalli’s shutdowns. We don’t see Lalli experience meltdowns, but he does have a shutdown a couple times. Shutdowns are a response to stress and sensory overload. It looks different for everyone, and since it’s internal, it’s hard to tell how exactly Lalli’s shutdowns run. However, we see him cover his ears to block out sound and hum (“mrr!”) in order to calm himself down. He’s just trying to regulate his sensory experience. His humming is also an example of vocal stimming.

Social Difficulties

Lalli definitely has social difficulties, but it can be hard to tell which difficulties are due to the language barrier and which are due to his brain chemistry. But! Paying attention to the first part of the story, when he’s with all Finnish-speakers, as well as the dream sequences can really help us hone in on those traits.

Lalli, in general, doesn’t understand other people beyond what they say. He doesn’t understand body language or sarcasm—he doesn’t get why everyone’s punching him, he doesn’t know when Tuuri’s joking and when she’s serious, and he stares at Emil because he’s curious about him and doesn’t realize it’s impolite. He doesn’t notice when Emil is rude and doesn’t understand social scripts like saying “thank you” and “you’re welcome.” When he wants to express approval or comfort, he gives a soft pat to the other person. More touch than that might be too much for him, but he does want to express something, and pats are an excellent tool in that way.

Lalli’s inability and/or refusal to learn or use the crew member’s names also gives us insight to how Lalli faces social conundrums. To him, everyone else is more distinguishable by the epithets he gives them—their names don’t mean anything. It’s like naming someone “flower delivery guy” in your phone contacts instead of “Greg.”

Lalli also isn’t easily frightened. The only times we see him be really afraid is when someone he loves is in immediate mortal danger. The everyday stuff like trolls and omens don’t scare him, which is certainly in part just because he’s used to these things. Trolls and spirits are an everyday part of his life. But an unusual lack of fear is a common autistic experience as well, so I suspect it goes beyond Lalli’s accustomation.

Other Traits

A couple other things that didn’t fit into either of the former categories! First of all, the rubik's cube. That’s just autistic solidarity. Emil picked up a stim toy for his bf, we love to see it.

But also, Lalli relies a lot on his routine. That’s probably why the military, and scouting in particular, suited him. He has his own personal routine that is the same day in and day out. He tries to keep a routine on the expedition, but isn’t able to, which increases the amount of stress he’s under. Nothing is predictable, which automatically makes everything more stressful.

Relationships

I also think the dynamics of Lalli’s different relationships are super interesting and really highlight some things that aren’t often covered in media with autistic characters. It’s super heartbreaking the way Onni and Tuuri don’t seem to understand Lalli. Tuuri especially doesn’t understand why Lalli does the things he does, and doesn’t seem to make any effort to understand, which is sadly a common experience for many autistic people.

On the other hand, Emil’s reactions are the complete opposite. As I put it to a friend once, Emil often makes mistakes with Lalli, but he never crosses the same boundary twice. He lets Lalli have agency in their relationship. If Lalli has a boundary that inconveniences Emil, he doesn’t complain about it, he simply adapts. Lalli has very specific needs in his relationships, needs that are both unusual and difficult for him to communicate, so it’s far easier for him to just default to being a loner.

Me & Lalli

On a personal level, I have a whole lot of these traits. I stim with soft things, I’m sensitive to sound, I tend to be hypersensitive with my proprioceptive sense, I had to intentionally teach myself to read body language (I work as a theatre artist, which helped a lot,) I’m not easily frightened, I’m sensitive to touch and sound, and I certainly struggle socially. Furthermore, I actually had an untreated sleep disorder until about a year and a half ago, so I deeply resonated with Lalli’s chronic exhaustion.

Truth be told, I headcanoned Lalli as autistic from his introductory card, and I knew he was autistic within ten pages. Chronically exhausted and doesn’t know what’s going on? Mine now.

The Autism Metaphor

I talk about this some in my autism and superpowers post, but I really love that Lalli is both autistic and is living an autistic metaphor. It’s not uncommon for characters who can see or sense other things (ghosts, spirits, emotions, danger, etc.) to read as autistic, because that’s what autism often feels like. Our sensory experience is so distinct and we are so aware of it that it can feel like a superpower at times--in a good way and in a bad way. We’re living in a sensory world that a lot of neurotypical people don’t understand. Furthermore, these kinds of powers or sensitivities usually come with an isolating social impact in these stories, which only strengthens the metaphor for autism.

But Lalli has both actual autism and is a mage. He sees spirits and omens and can sense when trolls are near, and also is sensitive to sounds and doesn’t like to be touched. These things aren’t related to one another, but they all read as being in the same category, which both deepens the metaphor and makes him really interesting as an autistic character.

This is also why Onni readily reads as autistic as well. We don’t have as much direct evidence for him, and in many ways his trauma seems to run much deeper than it does in Lalli and Tuuri, so it’s hard to separate out what’s a trauma response and what’s an autistic response. Overall, I’m quite a fan of “no Hatakoinen is neurotypical,” but that’s a post for another day ;)

I’ll also be posting a panel or two of an instance where Lalli is displaying an autistic trait each day for the month of April!

#stand still stay silent #sssscomic #lalli hotakainen #autismacceptancemonth2021 #meta #actually autistic #long post

[dahtwitchi]

Hello I am obsessed with everything you draw!!! I have read everything on your AO3, some of them multiple times, and I adore your work.

I actually got inspired to learn how to draw bc of that, and I bought myself a drawing tablet last month and have been practicing every day. I'm rly thankful that other asker asked that thing bc your advice about sketch studies is so good and I will definitely use it!! If you have any other advice about practice, I'm all ears.

Anyway I love how clearly the expressions/body language convey the exact emotions of the characters with relatively minimal lines, I'm aspiring to that level of artistic communication. Tysm for sharing ur work bc I love it so much, I've been recommending ur ao3 work everywhere I can haha

All the love :'3 AAAAH! There honestly, seriously, no higher honour than inspiring people to throw themselves into a craft :')

I try to make sure to use the tag #How I art on stuff that relates to WIP, stepbystep and ramblings and answers, so that's smth one can go look at.

For actual body language, I suggest both looking at how ppl look when they feel things, but also these days there are some real cool body language analysts, like one of my personal guilty pleasures Observe on youtube[x] when analysing trash TV stuff. They describe expressions and such (in an actual sensible way compared to oh look to the left and u a liarrrrrr) which might be a helpful tool, especially if one is relatively new to try to begin staring at people who has emotions. So you can, you know, actually... Not stare at people but still get someone actually tell you what is happening :p

#thank you #asks #how I art

[themoonsbeloved]

i was wondering, do you have any beginner henna tips?

I'm assuming this is an ask in response to my mentioning of henna classes. I just wanna provide a lil context, the classes I did on discord last year weren't teaching folk henna in the traditional sense, but teaching typical henna elements and motifs inspired by art therapy (drawing on paper). Basically no henna cones were involved and I don't consider myself a professional in any way lol it was just a fun project I ended up doing because miss Covid was fresh and new and I wanted to provide something relaxing to ppl online.

Anyway so I when I started I had no guidance, and I would just study other henna artist's works on instagram and try it myself just to figure out and understand how certain designs were made. I still do that now! There's an advantage to that because all the knowledge I've obtained about henna is all from instagram. Now you have IGTV and reels and whatnot, so you can actually watch people's process. Idk about you lot but when it comes to art I need to actually see it in real time, visually so I have a better grasp on how something is done. So make use of instagram, there's a huge henna community on there and so much content.

But before that, I suggest getting used to the actual tool you're using. First you need natural henna paste (not the store bought ones, but the homemade fresh henna paste that many local henna artists make and sell) because the goal is to have a stringy, smooth consistency which helps with control and technique, such as draping the henna to create straight lines, dots, applying enough pressure for thin and thick lines like leaves etc. So getting used to the paste, and getting used to the consistency and practicing your technique will really help before you even begin trying out actual designs. Like when I wanna warm up I just repeat the same basic elements, use the draping technique and make a whole bunch of lines and grids, dots and leaves everywhere. And I feel this approach would help for beginners too, by starting with one element and repeating it again and again until you've got it down.

Also, to be very honest the only tool you really need is henna cones. You dont NEED a white acrylic hand/board to practice henna on, if anything just pop out the glass from behind a frame and slip a piece of white paper under it so you can see what you're doing. You can easily clean off the henna paste on glass and it won't stain. But if you're not bothered or don't have any frames lying around just practice on paper, preferably thicker paper (like from a sketchbook) since it will stain, and throw it out once you're done (or you can preserve it by spraying acrylic sealant). So yeah other than the actual henna cones, you don't need to go out of your way to buy extra things.

But also, there's youtube videos. One particular henna youtuber called Artpassion is amazing and has playlists of free online tutorials/classes for every level (beginners, advanced, bridal etc). Her videos are literally so so helpful especially if you're a beginner. Literally bless her soul for providing free classes because most of the time attending a henna course is expensive.

Hope this covers everything! If there's anything else you want to know about or if I've missed something just let me know.

#henna