#very professional high quality comic of mine

[arannara]

ive no idea what ure talking about, user @doodlingbookworm , but thank u for inspiring me to create this comic

#genshin impact #neuvilette #wriothesley #wriolette #fontaine #genshin fanart #hes dog #genshin impact meme #why do they keep just a grown ass man in dog shelter? #very professional high quality comic of mine

[l-a-l-o-u]

super curious abt ur opinions on tlovm. would u be willing to talk abt it??

Two other people (@raycowboyroy and @sapphiczorua) asked me so I guess I'm doing this!! Ty for your interest in my opinion ♥

So!! The Legend of Vox Machina. The tl;dr is that I'm a lil disappointed in the quality of it, but I'm still very very happy that it exists. I have a ton to say about it after watching the first 3 episodes, so I'll organize my thoughts into a list of positives and negatives. But first, some context for my silly little essay:

• This is my personal opinion, and from what I've seen so far, most people love the show. So, please don't decide to avoid it because of me. Check it out and decide for yourself!

• I'm an animation professional so I have a trained eye for animation... and I'm really nitpicky about it! I'll complain about stuff that the average watcher wouldn't even notice

• Critical Role has been a main interest of mine for the past 3 years. I know the story of Vox Machina by heart and actually wrote a big chunk of the main characters' articles on the wiki. That means it's really easy for me to compare the two stories, and also that I already know what's going to happen most of the time

• I had really high expectations before we saw the final art, and that influences the way I feel about the show

Okay with that out of the way, let's start with the list of things I liked in the first three episodes!

• I like the story changes that were made so far. I'm glad we got to see Brimscythe - now we get to see the entire Chroma Conclave story! The way the reorganized some plot elements to shorten the storyline without taking away the main elements has been very well executed so far. And that must've been pretty challenging, what with hundreds of hours of content to distill into a few episodes.

• The voice acting is overall great! My favorites so far are Pike, Scanlan and Keyleth; their line deliveries make them very easy to get attached to. Percy is also very nice, although I wanna wait until I see how he'll be in the Briarwoods arc.

• I enjoyed the group interactions a lot! Every time two main characters talk to each other I can feel their connection and their history. The scenes in Greyskull Keep were especially nice and reminded me why I love this group! Scanlan and Grog's dynamic is especially entertaining.

• The Briarwoods....... hhhnnng

• I really like the backgrounds. There's a lot of great establishing shots where you can appreciate the environment designs, and the artstyle is really solid and pleasant to look at.

• Great use of color to set the tone in every shot. Not every animated series does that! It helps a LOT to carry the story and adds an extra layer of immersion. Plus, it adds a layer of mush needed polish on the animation.

• The storyboarding / photo direction is nice so far. Apart from a couple of awkward shots, I like how they frame everything, it flows well. As they say, good cinematography is when you don't notice it. I especially enjoyed the opening scene of episode 3 with Percy's memories.

• This is probably my favorite Scanlan design yet! I like it even better than his campaign art and comic book design. It's perfect for him. Keyleth is also really well executed overall

• I love that they made Gilmore fat and gave him eyeshadow. King shit

• I just love the fact that this series exist honestly! I love that a group of people managed to turn their silly little friend activity into an entire production. The CR cast looks over the moon about it, and I'm very happy for them.

And now for the depressing part! Here are the things I was disappointed by.

• I saw this coming a mile away with how much the cast insisted this was "adult animation" in interviews, but it really started off kinda crass. A lot of scenes, especially at the start of episode 1, feel like they exaggerated the gore, language, and gross moments just for shock value, and I just thought it was unpleasant to watch. They show vomit and peeing and gory deaths on screen and it's all front and center - I feel like there's a better way to make an audience feel the weight of the action without actually shoving it in our face, ya know? But I guess it was funny in a few places.

• Although the story is well planned out, I think they fell a bit short on the pacing. Many scenes feel very rushed, with too much happening and not enough time to really appreciate it. There are things that should have lasted longer so we can actually feel their emotional weight. For example, the scene with the fisherman's family was nice, but it didn't feel like we were supposed to care about them at all. So when Vox Machina uses their death to motivate their new goals and morals, it fell flat to me and wasn't super believable.

• I wish they would tell us more about how the group came to be. I already love Vox Machina, but I feel like a new viewer would have a hard time getting attached to them. When Keyleth asked “why are we even together?” and nobody answered her, I was like yikes. She’s right who the fuck are you!

• So far the tone of the show doesn't feel super solid. Is it supposed to be funny? It doesn't feel like a comedy, apart from a few jokes here and there. Is it a serious high fantasy adventure? I think that's what they're going for, but so far it lacks a bit in charm and lore. I'm confident this will pick up later in the season though.

• I've said this before, but I really don't like the art style they picked for the characters. It's really a personal preference, but I also think it does a disservice to the animation as a whole. The designs are a bit too realistic and complicated for a television production. They have a lot of elements and little things poking out, making them harder to move in three dimensions.

• I said earlier that I like the use of color, but most character designs are the exception. A lot of them I find weirdly desaturated, which doesn't help to integrate them in the bright environments. Some characters, especially Vax and Pike, have a weird greyish tone to their skin that constantly takes me out of scenes as I stare at them in confusion.

• There are several elements in the main characters' designs that I dislike - again a lot of it is personal preference.

• Vax is my least favorite. The furs on his shoulders make him like he's wearing a football uniform, and he looses all of his twink charm. The top of his hair looks weirdly flat in many shots, and the lines under his eyes are so pronounced that it makes his look a lot older than he is whenever he's not smiling. He doesn't really feel like Vax to me!

• I also dislike Vex's design: she has three belts for some reason, and her tunic is such a bright blue that it looks off next to every other desaturated character element. She also feels too old and not quite like herself, especially without her braid in the front.

• Some very minor things: I don't really like that Grog is blue now, and I CANNOT take Percy seriously with that hair.... And they made Keyleth short?!? at least its not extremely obvious

• Like I mentioned earlier, there were a couple of awkward zoomed-in shots here and there. You could feel like they were trying to be cinematic, but they stand out too much or they're not amazingly executed, taking you out of the moment.

• I thought Scanlan's songs were overall not great. I liked the one he sang to open a door tho!

• The 3D animation was awkwardly integrated with the 2D. The horses were especially jarring. But at least the dragon animation was well made, it just didn't fit super well.

• And lastly! I feel a bit let down by the animation quality. It's really good for the budget they had! I just wish they had more budget lol

That last bit is its own section because there's a few things to unpack.

I wanna preface this by saying that I absolutely don't think the animators did a bad job. The poses are nicely drawn, the layouts work, it's not hard to understand the action, etc. They obviously know what they're doing. Traditional animation always has a less polished look in a television production, because you have to animate more scenes in less time. That means less time for polish and touch-ups. Like I said before, the character designs are also difficult to animate. And I believe that the CR cast, ie. the producers, specifically asked for an animation style similar to anime (because they're attached to it, having done a lot of anime voice work) and also similar to 80s cartoons (for nostalgia again). And, well, anime and 80s cartoons are notoriously cheaply made, with very little budgets and a lot of cut corners. All of that helps to explain why it looks the way it looks. And I absolutely don't think it's bad animation - it's good, it does it's job, and I think most casual watchers will probably not be bothered by it. I'm a silly fool who just wishes to see my favorite thing have movie quality animation! Plus, the CR cast seems to love the final animation, which, awesome for them! It's their characters after all.

Let me explain what I mean. If you compare the animation in the show and the animation in the opening, I think even the untrained eye will notice a significant difference in animation quality. You could even compare it to The Legend of Korra, a show with a very similar art style. The opening of tLoVM was done by a different studio (Grackle), and they likely had a lot more time to polish every shot. Everything seems to move more fluidly, the actions have more punch, and everything is constantly in motion. So what's the difference? The answer is that the opening's animation follows the 12 principles of animation! You can learn more about the 12 principles here if you're interested.

In a production, the first step of animation is to draw key poses: the start of the movement, the end, and a few important poses in between them. When a production doesn't have a lot of time, they go from pose A to pose B to pose C by drawing the inbetweens at an equal distance from each other, going from pose to pose in a straight line. There's a LOT of that in anime. The movement works, you understand it, but it's kinda.... bland. It's stiff and robotic and a little boring. No action has more weight than the one before or after it, they're all equal. I barely noticed any anticipations, follow-throughs, ease-ins, ease-outs... not a lot of arcs either. They used a lot of still poses where only one body part like an arm, a mouth, or the eyes move on their own layer. Facial animations are limited, with characters often starting and ending a shot with the same facial expression. I don't think I noticed any deformation - nothing moves in an elastic way, nothing bounces or stretches or squashes. They did do smears here and there but that's pretty much it. And I want to reiterate that it looks fine and it works! They had less time to make it and less frames to work with.

All of that affects the acting. I don't mean the voice acting, I mean the body language, the expressions, you know!! Acting!! There's acting in the key poses, but so much of acting comes from HOW you move. And when you're trying to cut corners, oftentimes your animation won't do the voice acting justice. One scene that comes to mind is at the start of episode 1, after they've been thrown out of the tavern, and Scanlan turns to ask for his clothes: something covers his mouth, and even though Sam is delivering his line in a really peppy way, barely anything moves. That line deserved so much better!!!

There’s exceptions of course! Some shots, especially the action ones, are a lot more put together. I think overall, I’d give the animation quality a 7/10. Because the layouts and key poses are really good, and they cut corners in a clever way, so it works really well. I do think Titmouse deserves praise for their work! They did really well!! The animation quality is most likely due to budget limitations, and if less episodes had been made, it would've likely been higher. But they made the choice to write more of the story, and I think that in this case with how much material they’re adapting, that's not a bad decision. I wish The Legend of Vox Machina had a big production budget, but it didn't. And that's just life!

As a last thought, I just wanna say - this could've been a lot nicer if they had more cartoony designs. Do you guys remember the picture they used in the Kickstarter days? Sometimes I look at it and think about what could have been... They could’ve done cutout animation, even. That could’ve turned out nice. But oh well! The showrunners are happy, and for such a personal project that's what matters isn't it?

If you read all this hello!!! I hope you had fun reading this & don’t forget to love each other ♥

#i thought about my response all day and it still took hours to write this #anyway let me just repeat this: I'm VERY nitpicky with animation & i bet a lot of people will not agree with me at all #and thats fine!!! #im glad people like the show. that's good #tlovm #lalou yells #the legend of vox machina #critical role #kermitcrimess #ask

[thebiballerina]

Fix-it Fanfiction by Fandom

A.K.A. The Leverage Test

I've been getting requests to post my spreadsheets and analysis of fix-it fanfiction on AO3, so here we are, my friends. You may remember that I posted about how few fix-it fanfictions there are for Leverage (this post). Now, thanks to a lovely friend of mine (please check out their site at http://setupminimal.github.io/), I have data for the number of fix-it fanfictions for every fandom on AO3 with more than 1000 works. This data was collected on February 1st, 2020.

First off, for all you nerds out there, here is a link to the data in full. This has a spreadsheet with all the data, including "fix-it percentage" and fix-it percentage excluding crossovers. There are also sheets with the data from each individual type of media. By default, they are sorted by fix-it percentage. If you'd like to view my summary of the data in presentation form, there is a slideshow so you can do that as well. 

Now, for some analysis!

Here's a chart showing a break down of fix-it percentage by type of media.

The mean percentage for each type of media is marked, and the gray bar marks the grand mean.

Cool stuff, right? Next, let's take a look at the most popular fandoms: those with over 100,000 works on AO3.

Popular Fandoms

So, of the most popular fandoms, Teen Wolf has the highest percentage of fix-it fanfictions: 3.81%. It is followed by the Avengers movies, with 3.24% fix-its. The lowest, with just 0.021% fix-its, is the Korean boy band BTS (not surprisingly given the low rate of fix-its in fanfiction based on real people). The next lowest is Sherlock Holmes and Related Fandoms, with a respectable 1.01% fix-it percentage.

Fandoms with Extreme Fix-It Percentages

Next, let's examine have the extremes: fandoms with very low or very high fix-it percentages. I'm not going to focus much on the celebrity, music, or reality TV fanfictions, as those have very few fix-its.

Let's start with the media fans wanted to fix the least.

Media with Low Fix-it Percentages

Books: • Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson (0%) • 盜墓筆記 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei (0%) • Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon (0.05045%) • The Eagle | The Eagle of the Ninth - All Media Types (0.0957%)

Movies: • Power Rangers (2017) (0%) • Strange Magic (2015) (0%) • 哪吒之魔童降世 | Né Zhā Zhī Mó Tóng Jiàng Shì (2019)(0%) • 流浪地球 | The Wandering Earth (2019)(0%)

TV Shows: • Numb3rs (0%) • Generation Kill (0%) • Victorious (0%) • The Professionals (TV 1977) (0%)

Cartoons, comics, and graphic novels: • Girl Genius (Webcomic) (0%) • Metalocalypse (Cartoon) (0%) • 凹凸世界 | AOTU Shijie | AOTU World (0%) • 19天 - Old先 | 19 Days - Old Xian (0%)

Anime and manga: • Promare (2019) (0%) • Little Witch Academia (0%) • Pandora Hearts (0%) • Love Live! School Idol Project (0%) • FAKE (Manga) (0%) • Kyou Kara Maou! (0%) • Love Live! Sunshine!! (0%) • Tiger & Bunny (0%) • Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup! (0%)

Theater: • Newsies the Musical - Fierstein/Menken (0.0757%) • The Book of Mormon (0.0995%) • Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz (0.1746%) • Hamilton - Miranda (0.4780%)

Video games: • Don't Starve (0%) • 王者荣耀 | King of Glory (0%) • 剑侠情缘 | Jianxiaqingyuan | JX (0%) • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (0%) • Touhou Project (0%) • 恋与制作人 | Liàn Yǔ Zhì Zuò Rén | Mr. Love: Queen's Choice (0%) • 明日方舟 | Arknights (0%) • Love Live! School Idol Festival (0%) • 第五人格 | Identity V (0%) What about the other end of the spectrum? What media do fans want to fix the most?

Media with High Fix-it Percentages

Fandoms with Multiple Media Types: • Wonder Woman - All Media Types (5.89%) • Call Me By Your Name - All Media Types (7.92%)

Books: • Les Misérables - Victor Hugo (5.89%) • Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat (10.62%) • The works of Stephen King (11.53%) • IT - Stephen King (12.18%) (I'm so sorry, Stephen King. Please don't take offense.)

Movies: • The Social Network (2010) (5.52%) • Big Hero 6 (2014) (8.17%) • Wonder Woman (Movies - Jenkins) (8.54%) • Call Me By Your Name (2017) (9.47%) • Kingsman (Movies) (10.10%) • IT (Movies - Muschietti) (11.57%) So far the IT fix-its are coming out on top. I guess people really want their happy endings for that particular story.

TV Shows: • DC's Legends of Tomorrow (5.65%) • The Terror (2018) (6.57%) • The Umbrella Academy (6.74%) • The Magicians (7.80%) • True Blood (8.08%) • Babylon 5 (8.34%)

Cartoons, Comics, and Graphic Novels: • Iron Man (Comics) (4.14%) • Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) (4.34%)

Anime and Manga: • Naruto (3.08%) • Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (4.09%) • Banana Fish (9.03%) Oh, Naruto. The apple did not fall far from this particular tree.

Theater: • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling (2.05%) • Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe (2.44%) • Les Misérables - Schönberg/Boublil (4.73%) We have another winner! Les Misérables is apparently in need of fixing in both book and stage format.

Video Games: • Red Dead Redemption (4.40%) • Until Dawn (8.05%)

Things to Note

Now, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about what I'm trying to say with this data. So, I have a few disclaimers:

This data is for fun, and not meant to be some infallible way to measure fanfiction writers' satisfaction with canon.

I haven't seen or read all the media I'm going to mention here, so I can't make any guarantees of quality (or lack thereof).

Different fandoms have different cultures and terminology, so that could affect the number of fanfictions tagged as "fix-it."

Not every fanfiction that tries to fix canon will be tagged as fix-it.

Though we love it dearly, AO3 is only one fanfiction site, and it doesn't represent all of fanfiction, especially for fandoms which were around before its inception.

Conclusion

I hope you've enjoyed your newfound knowledge. If you have questions about specific pieces of media, or would like to see an analysis, comparison, or chart I haven't included, send me a message! And feel free to play around with the data in the spreadsheets (but if you do post anything using this data, please credit me as @thebiballerina​ and my friend as setupminimal).

#the leverage test #fix-it fanfiction #fanfiction #data analysis #teen wolf #avengers #bts #sherlock holmes #dcu #Harry Potter #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #sherlock bbc #star wars #supernatural #moomin #the grave robbers' chronicles #outlander #the eagle of the ninth #power rangers #strange magic #ne zha zhi mo tong jiang shi #the wandering earth #numb3rs #generation kill #victorious #the professionals #girl genius #metalocalypse #aotu world

[justpeachyshua]

good luck

pairing: hoshi x reader rating/warnings: teen+ for language; no warnings au: college au??  word count: 4,045 summary: “Ever since my first date, I’ve had the absolute worst luck when it comes to relationships. Bad dates, lying, cheating - I’ve seen it all. So, I decided to give up dating completely. It’s just better that way. No hurting, no heartbreak. I’ve strictly stuck by this rule for years now. That is, until I ran into a particularly spunky dancer on campus.”

note: so uhhh, I should definitely point out that I haven’t posted in months and that this was supposed to be for hoshi’s bday but it’s.... definitely way past that. but it’s done ya know! I’d like to believe that the quality maybe makes up for how late it is. It’s worth noting that over the summer I was on kind of a hiatus since I was in japan for a month and, now that school’s going on, updates are probably gonna be even slower, at least for longer fics like these. that being said, I’m gonna try branching out and making shorter imagines, maybe even some bulleted ones? just so I can post more often without my content being actual shit lmao. anyways enjoy the fic <3

I've never been the type of person who was good at dating. In fact, I'm fairly confident that some force in this universe was entirely dead set on making sure that every single relationship I entered ended in disaster. It all started in 6th grade when a classmate of mine asked me to watch a movie with him. I was all done up, wearing an outfit I had bought only the day before, and yet halfway through the movie, I felt something come up my throat and before I knew it I was vomiting onto the floor in front of me due to the sheer amount of caffeine, sugar, and nerves running through me. In sophomore year, I got my first real boyfriend, but that relationship lasted about a week before he revealed that he asked me out as a dare and couldn't bring himself to break up with me until then. This pattern of misfortune only continued through high school with various failed dates and boyfriends who lied and cheated. At some point, I got sick of it and, after graduating, I vowed to give up on dating completely.  

From then on, I avoided romance like the plague. If anyone seemed to like me or even asked me out, I would gently let them down. I made sure that close friendships were just friendships and that I never led anyone on. At least, I tried. You see, for the first time in my life, there was an exception to my rule. Towards the beginning of my freshman year of college, Kwon Soonyoung stepped, or rather crashed, into my life.  

I was a few yards away from the entrance to the dorms and I was rushing inside to retrieve a textbook from a friend, when someone ran right into me, knocking me down. I fell against my bag with a thud and, looking up, I saw the small wheels of a... Razor scooter? The person riding the scooter – a young guy with floppy black hair – had fallen, too, and I could see that he had scraped his knee on the concrete.  

"Are you okay?!" The guy crawled up to me, still on the ground. He looked me over, checking to see if I was injured with a comically concerned face.  

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it," I assured him. "What about you, though? Is your knee okay?"  

I pointed to his scraped knee which was already beginning to bleed. He looked down, noticing the wound and, to my surprise, laughed. "I'll be okay! It happens all the time when I'm practicing." Before I could ask him what he meant, he added, "Which reminds me!" He shoved a flyer into my hands. "You should come see the dance team's performance tonight!"  

I turned the flyer over, revealing a hand-drawn night sky with a large star in the center, containing the information for the performance. It was endearing. "Did you do this?"  

"Ah no, my friend Mingyu did, actually. He's an art major so we asked him to design the flyers for us. I'm just the leader of the team," he explained, a large grin ever present on his face.  

"Oh." I folded the flyer and stuffed it into my bag. I stood up, offered my hand to the guy, and helped him up. "I'll see if I can go." My eyes landed on his scooter again. "Uh, what’s the scooter for?"  

"It's a faster way to get around," he said matter-of-factly. "I'm pretty new with it, though, so I need to get better at riding it."

"Well, good luck with that. Try not to run into anyone else today," I said, turning to enter the dorm again.  

"Oh wait!" He called out. "What's your name? I'll put you on the VIP list. For, you know, accidentally running into you."  

"It's Y/N. What's yours?"  

"Soonyoung! But when I'm performing, call me Hoshi!" His grin grew wider and spread to his eyes, which shut into half-moons. The brightness in his eyes was captivating and his happiness was infectious, so much so that I practically forgot about our little crash entirely.  

"See you later then, Hoshi." I waved him goodbye and finally went inside the dorm as I planned.  

After I finished my last class that night, I decided to attend the performance and, to my amazement, Soonyoung was spectacular. He had kept his word of putting me on the "VIP list," though I found out when I got there that I was the only one on the list and that there wasn't really a list to begin with, just a simple promise. Before the show began, someone from the team (who I presumed to be a long-time member) brought Soonyoung out on stage, after which he gave a small introduction and revealed that he choreographed the whole show. I seemed to be the only one in the audience that was shocked at this and I was only further impressed when I saw the choreography itself. As soon as the team stepped on stage together and began their first song, my eyes were locked on Soonyoung – Hoshi in this setting – who was front and center. His moves were simultaneously fluid and powerful and unlike any dancing I had seen before. I began to wonder if he was secretly a professional choreographer masked as a college student.  

When the performance ended, I was the first to approach him and congratulate him on his job well done, going on and on about the quality of the show. He seemed ecstatic, his face lighting up ten times brighter than it was earlier in the day.

"So, you'll come to our next performance, right? It'll be a couple of months from now." He asked with the widest smile on his face.  

I nodded. "Sure." I pulled my phone out of my bag. "Here, put your number in my phone and let me know about the next performance." He took my phone and quickly typed in his number before handing it back to me. I noticed he had put it in as "Kwon Hoshi ☆" and I couldn’t help but laugh.

"I'll make sure I remind you of everything we do, don't worry!" He beamed. "You know, I think we're going to be good friends."  

"I think so too."  

That was years ago and, in the time between then and now, we really had become great friends. He convinced me to become the manager of the dance team, though that just meant giving them song suggestions and feedback when they practiced and lounging around with them when they hung out outside of meetings. Through that, I managed to make a ton more friends than I was anticipating, including the other "founders" of the team, Minghao, Jun, and Chan. The five of us became extremely close and, before I knew it, we were drinking together, spilling secrets, and having movie nights every week. Soonyoung especially became my best friend with him often spending the night at my apartment off-campus and even exchanging clothes with me sometimes.  

He was a grade ahead of me, so I had to watch him graduate a year before I did. Admittedly, a lot of tears were shed, but he came back the very next year to cheer for me as I crossed the stage with my degree. After that, we decided we might as well become roomies as we figured shit out and he officially moved into my tiny apartment, taking what used to be the guest room. We've been living together for about a year and a half now and, over the course of this time, I've come dangerously close to loving Kwon Soonyoung.  

What used to be small, cute mannerisms when we were in college have become all too alluring now that it's just the two of us. Before, neither of us would really cook when he was over and instead just order chicken and pizza, but now that he lives here full-time, I've noticed how he talks to himself as he figures out online recipes. When he styles his hair every morning, he always asks how it looks and I always push a few stray hairs away before I tell him he looks cool. Often, he'll wake up and walk straight to the kitchen without his pants on because he took them off before sleeping and forgot to put them on again. I don't stare, of course, but I can't ignore it either. Of course, the other guys do come by and make it feel like the old days again, but I can never shake the image of him falling asleep on the coach after a long night of watching anime or him dancing around the living room as he brushes his teeth. Everything he does totes the line between goofy and charming and it has me falling for him harder than I’d like to be.

Which brings me to a very important day: Soonyoung's birthday. See, for as long as we've been friends, Soonyoung and I have always made each other's birthdays as stellar as possible. One year I took him to paint a giant mural with me; The next year he took me bungee jumping. Generally, we tried to one up what we did the year before or at least do something equally as spectacular This year, however, I did something different. For his last birthday I had taken him to a SHINee fansign and had already planned to take him to Japan the next year, but I ended up changing my mind. This year, I instead decided to go on a simple picnic with Soonyoung. This decision came partially from the lack of funds for plane tickets and partially from one desire: To finally tell Soonyoung my thoughts on dating. For as long as we’d been friends, I had never quite opened to him about my fear of dating and, even considering how endearing and comfortable he was, I had to set some sort of boundary to prevent misfortune. So, it was decided. I would have to make our relationship clear – just friends, no feelings. At least, I hoped.

When he woke up that morning (wearing his pajama pants for once), I was already awake and making breakfast for the both of us. He sniffed the air and instantly became more alert. "Pancakes? You're spoiling me." He rushed over to sit at the island counter. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"  

I placed the last finished pancake onto a plate and carried it over to him, setting a bottle of syrup in front of him as well. "Well, I was thinking we could just have a chill day and maybe go on a picnic at the park nearby?"  

He looked up at me, scanning my face for any sign that I was joking. When he saw that I was completely serious, he silently nodded. "Awesome! What time should we go?" I could tell he wanted to ask why we weren't going all out this year, but he probably sensed that it would've been an awkward thing to pry about. I didn't want to disappoint him, so I hoped that he would at least enjoy today's activities.  

"Maybe around 1:00?" I checked my phone, seeing that it was only 10:28. "That gives us about two and a half hours before then."  

"Sounds good, then." He smiled before digging into the pancakes in front of him. He let out a long and satisfied sigh. "God, these are so good." I only grinned as I watched him eat, slowly picking at a plate of my own.

Within a few minutes we were both finished, and I took his plate to put in the sink. He padded over to the couch and I soon joined him, plopping down in the crevice I'd made from sitting in that exact spot for over two years. "By the way, I'm going to need you to leave the house for at least an hour before we leave."  

He whipped his head towards me. "Aha! So there is a catch!"  

"What?"  

"You're planning something special for me, aren't you? That's why you want me out of the house, right? So you can bring a whole bunch of people in. Or better yet! You're bringing a dog home!" He exclaimed.  

"I’m- I’m sorry, Soonyoung. No, I just need the time to make the food for the picnic and to get some things together. It's a surprise so I don't want you to see it.”

He became visibly more disappointed, albeit by just a bit. "Oh. That's okay. I'm sure I'll love whatever we do." He gave me his usual toothy smile. "I could see about hanging out with Chan for a bit to give you time."  

"Thanks. And let him know he left some socks here the last time he stopped by."  

"You got it," he said, already messaging Chan and beginning to get ready. "I'll be out of your hair in a bit. Just let me know when you're done!"  

Within a few minutes, he was out of the door and I was left to begin my plan. I had already gotten a few recipes from my mom on a terribly long phone call the night before and cooking it took about an hour on its own, so the rest of the time was spent gathering everything else such as fruit, chips, drinks, and of course the crucial basket and blanket. At that point, I still had about 40 minutes remaining, so I found myself scrolling on my phone and becoming increasingly worried as my thoughts roamed. What if the food spills in the basket and we don’t have anything to eat? What if he has a secret allergy he never told me about and he goes into anaphylactic shock because of something I made? What if he ends our friendship after I tell him how I feel? The whole point of my plan is so I can avoid ruining our friendship, but what if that’s exactly what happens? What if he has feelings for me?  

My phone pinged with a new text, snapping me out of my thoughts.  

Kwon Hoshi ☆: hey! you almost ready? I can start heading back anytime you want~

I was relieved to be pulled out of my mental spiral. Looking at his message, I smiled at the squiggly he so often used when texting. It was cute and somehow evoked the exact tone he spoke with in person. I wanted to be able to hear that for a while, especially after today.  

Me: hey, yeah I’m all done. you can come back now. just meet me at the entrance to the park, ok?

Kwon Hoshi ☆: you got it!!  

The walk to the park took only a couple of minutes and, once I arrived, I sat on the neartest bench and waited for Soonyoung to walk up any second. Twenty minutes passed by, then thirty, then fifty, and soon well over an hour had passed and I was still sat there. No messages. No Soonyoung. Plenty of people had passed by – families with small children, a few groups of teenagers looking to play some sports in the open fields, and couples walking along the path, hands intertwined. I tried not to watch.  

Finally, once I was about ready to give up and just head home, I heard someone shout my name from a few yards away. It was Soonyoung, out of breath and jogging towards me.  

“Soonyoung, are you okay? Where have you been?”

“I was,” Pant. “In the car with Chan,” Pant. “He was driving me back.” Pant. “And I-”

“Okay, you need to sit down and catch your breath, you’re breathing way too hard right now.”  

He sat and took a moment to calm down. “There was a huge accident that happened right in front of us. Someone completely swerved out of their lane and crashed into another car. So, for a while, we were in shock. At that point, my phone was dead because my charger stopped working while I was at Chan’s. Anyways, traffic was so bad that we were there for like twenty minutes just waiting to go past this super busy intersection that was all clogged up. In the end, Chan said I should just get out of the car and walk to the park since he’d probably be there a while. The walk took me a while, but I’m here now.”  

“Sooyoung that’s- that’s crazy. I’m really sorry that all happened.” I had to take a few seconds to comprehend all that he had recounted to me. There was a very visceral, very unnerving feeling within me at that moment. Something was telling me that this wasn’t going to go well.  

“No, I’m sorry. I’m super late and you’ve probably been sitting here for so long after you went through all the trouble to make food and everything.” But then again, with Soonyoung’s radiating optimism, I’m sure I’ll be able to get over it.  

“It’s all good.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m just glad you’re here now. Now come on, we should find a good spot to sit.”  

We walked, gazing at the various photo-esque locations and quickly finding their flaws: a cute spot under the shade of a tree (too many bugs), a spot with some breeze by the stream (uncomfortable rocks and uneven terrain), a spot on the stone in front of a water fountain (as cute as they were, too many screaming, jumping kids). Yet finally, as we approached the far end of the park, we found the quaintest, quietest, most peaceful spot in the grass. It was sunny and warm and surrounded by yards of bright flowers. We agreed to settle there and placed our blanket down, beginning to unpack our lunch.  

I found my initial bad impression begin to fade as we calmly ate, going in and out of conversation and generally just enjoying the other’s presence. Despite the simplicity of the meal, Soonyoung continuously reminded me how much he loved it. I was pleased to hear his compliments even if I did deny them. Soon enough we were finished with the food and I was reading the newest novel I had bought, picking back up from where I left off. In the cool and comfortable atmosphere, it almost felt as though we were one of the many couples in the park that day, enjoying a nice day out in the sun together, in love. I could see how a random passerby could glance at us and think, “Ah, what a cute date.” After all, with Soonyoung’s head laying on my lap as I read out loud to him, he did sort of look like my boyfriend. The entire time my eyes were fixed to the page as I focused on following the story and adding voices to each character for entertainment’s sake, but I took a pause for once to look down at Soonyoung. He was looking directly at me, eyes peering into my own, and I suddenly felt very vulnerable under his gaze.  

“Soonyoung, I have to tell you something.”

Plop. Right in the middle of Soonyoung’s forehead landed a drop of water. Plop plop plop. Quickly, the rain began to fall and spiraled into a thunderstorm within seconds. Soonyoung jumped up as I rushed to throw my book and all our containers into the basket and run for cover, using the picnic blanket to shield the both of us. The other parkgoers also hurried to find a spot to stay dry and, evidently, we were left with nowhere to go.  

“Let’s try to catch a bus home!” Soonyoung suggested. I nodded, and we sprinted to the stop outside the park entrance, dodging the rain under a couple of trees along the way.  

“You have got to be kidding me!” I shouted. Just outside the gates was a bus, empty and unmoving, with about ten bus drivers with varying degrees of intense protests written on picket signs.  

“Shit, how could I forget? Bus drivers have been on strike all week, there’s no way we’re gonna convince them to bring us home.”  

By now we had been out in the rain for at least four minutes and we were drenched despite our efforts to protect ourselves with the blanket. I should have known. Soonyoung being late in the first place was the first red flag, but I chose to ignore it. I chose to ignore it because I knew I was enjoying what we had, pretending we were a couple. It was so incredibly selfish. It was selfish the way I let myself get caught up in the moment. It was selfish the way I let my bad luck get in the way. It was selfish the way I ruined Soonyoung’s birthday by making it all about me.  

I kept my head down in shame. While my body was freezing cold, my eyes began to burn with tears. I willed them to stay back but I couldn’t stop them, and so they fell and I heaved.  

He turned to me and began to rub my back. “Hey, are you okay?”

I sobbed then. “I’m sorry, Soonyoung. I wanted to make your birthday nice, but I just ruined it.”  

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it.”  

“No, this was supposed to be your day. Today was supposed to be special. I was supposed to take you to Japan and instead we’re stuck here in the rain, freezing our asses off,” I choked out.  

Looking up, I saw his brow furrow into an unreadable expression. “Maybe we don’t have to be.” He shrugged the blanket off his shoulder, wrapping it around my head, and gently grabbed my hand. In a spontaneous burst of energy not uncommon to Soonyoung, he took off in a run with me trailing behind. He dragged me to the nearest store awning and plucked an umbrella from the bin beside the door.  

“Soonyoung, what are you doing?” I asked.  

“Just follow my lead.”  

With a flourish, he pushed the umbrella open, held it over his head, and sprang out onto the street with a splash. He motioned back to the bin, urging me to grab an umbrella for myself. I hesitantly pulled one out and opened it before joining Soonyoung on the street. He grabbed my hand once again and led me into a simple dance. As we moved about, we kicked up large splashes of rain on the street below us. We spun around, making large strides from side to side and twirling the handles of our umbrellas. Once we were both completely out of breath, we returned to the store awning.  

I regulated my breathing before starting. “Now what was all that about?”  

“I wanted to show you that this day hasn’t been completely ruined. Even if it’s pouring, we can still have a good time if we’re together.” He took my hand in his once more, this time clasping both of his hands around it. They were comfortably and unusually warm considering the current weather conditions. “I say we head home with these umbrellas and make some frozen pizza. What do you think?”  

“That sounds pretty good.” I couldn’t help but smile. “But I still feel pretty shitty about today. I- I don’t exactly have the best luck with these kinds of things.”  

The corner of his lips tugged into a sympathetic grin. “Don’t worry about it.” He gingerly pressed a kiss onto the top of my head. “This is the best birthday date I could ask for.”  

And in that moment, I came to accept what I had with Kwon Soonyoung, my best friend, my roommate, and the object of my affection. After all these years of letting guys into my life and repeatedly getting knocked down, I found the one boy who could quell those worries. I found the one boy who could step up to the universe and tell it to fuck right off as he danced away in the middle of a thunderstorm. I found the one boy who I finally felt lucky to have.  

#hello this took me like 4 months to finish #bc im an actual piece of shit haha #but yes i'll try to write shorter things to update more frequently #seventeen #svt #seventeen imagines #svt imagines #seventeen fic #svt fic #seventeen fanfic #svt fanfic #hoshi #kwon soonyoung #hoshi imagine #hoshi fanfic #hoshi fic #hoshi seventeen

[beshamaru]

Making the SDBH Manga Scans Project Better for Readers, and for Myself-

When Ankoku Makai Mission first began it's run, I started buying Saikyo Jump as I had no other way to read it. Since I was posting photographs of all the pages as a way to share the contents, I was approached by @nwoscans to see if I would be willing to scan the chapters, in return for having them cleaned and presentable in a more professional/nicer looking format. I said yes and bought a scanner thinking it would be a cool way to share the manga with a larger audience since it was not being scanned by anyone else. Because of the amount of work, time, and money involved, I wanted to watermark the pages over the images (i.e. difficult to remove) so that even if they were reposted, the source behind the scanning and cleaning would still be getting out there (also, I wanted to be able to distinguish my scans from the rest if other people also began scanning this project in the future). These made the project still worth my time even as the scans got spread around. Because I didn't get a lot of positive feedback on the project for a while (and sometimes even in recent times), seeing these telltale watermarks roaming the internet told me that the work was being enjoyed all the same. Recently as I'm sure you know by now, another group began scanning this manga and translating it to English via a reputable translator who is an actual team member in their project. Our team had access to English, but never posted it because the translator requested their work not be used for scanlations (this hasn't stopped other people from using their work, but I did not want to betray their request myself). This other team also cleans very fast, and doesn't watermark over the illustrations. So, they put out a fully cleaned, English, unmarred version, way before our Japanese, watermarked version (with the exception of the older chapters, which they are catching up on). This is good for the fans, and reduced the stress load of my project, so I'm grateful, but... It made me reconsider what I had left to contribute. Well, the original Japanese is useful for many purposes, and the finished project is a very high quality/resolution image (the .zip version especially) since I actually tear the pages out of the magazine to scan them as flat as possible. But the watermarks, long a source of stress in my inbox, in some ways make the high quality a mute point, especially in light of the fact that an unwatermarked version is becoming available. I didn't want to lose the ability to trace my own work or get credit for it, so what to do? In order to feel like our work hasn't been made redundant by the other group's scans, I have decided to change the way I share this project from here on. Starting with UM Ch 3 a.k.a. SDBH Ch 13, I will be posting a download link for the raw scans as soon as have the chance to scan them, and will provide links for the raws of the already released chapters as I get around to them. I'll throw a couple watermarks on, but not over the actual comic artwork. These raws will be available for anybody who wants to read the latest chapter asap or do their own cleaning. I will still post our cleaned version when it's ready, but it will also be a less watermarked version. I will also make the previously released chapters available in this format at my liesure. I realize that people will be able to remove the watermarks, all I can do is ask that they don't redistribute or post them online after doing so (not that I can stop anyone, just realize the watermarks make this worth it for me). Other than that, the sky's the limit for using these scans how you want, I don't own this series and it's good to see it get translated into other languages. TL;DR: From here on I'll be making the original color scans available along with the usual cleaned scans, with watermarks that no longer obscure the artwork. (The already released chapters will be taken care of at a liesurely pace since they're available to read already, so I don't see the point in rushing them). Now that there is another project out there which offers things that ours doesn't, this will make it so that we are making a bigger contribution than we currently are, so that there's still enough reason to continue on with this project, and it will reduce our level of redundancy. This will also reduce my stress related to the project and maybe encourage me to scan for some other projects in the future. It's not a matter of competition with the other group, as I appreciate what they are doing. Because of their contribution I needed to re-evaluate mine.

#long post #super dragon ball heroes #sdbh manga #super dragon ball heroes manga #it took a lot of deliberation to get to this conclusion #but i had reached a point where inaction was not an option

[kingstonjael]

“Last Night I Almost Let Him Murder My Soul (The Accomplice Edition)” THE CRIME AND THE CONVICTION (Kingston enters the room): Tear drops. A tear dropped and all of a sudden I was falling apart. My murderer had just exited the room and I was now bawling. He is possibly my one and only love and so far the greatest love I have ever known. While in the same room with him...I held my own. You see...I never let him see me cry. But once he walks out...the tears drop and my secret is now exposed. Strong independent fierce me is scared of losing a man...just this one man. A man whose feelings for me are dead upon arrival. Hardly anyone knows my secret for I could always keep a man for a very long time. I am beautiful and successful yet one of the few things society notices about me is how long I can keep a man! They piss on my degrees and shit on my career but oh that Kingston would not be that memorable if she could not keep a man! As the years go on, the whispers get louder. She can keep them but boy she can’t get them to close the deal! No one really listens to me when I say that I never wanted to be married nor have children. No one pays attention to the fact that I have had many suitors that wanted to spend their lives with me. All society cares about is the fact that I am now an unmarried woman of a certain age with no children. Barren...they call me behind my back. BARREN! As in nothing grows there! No one knows for certain if this is true...least of all me yet the whispers haunt me to the point where I start to believe their lies. A woman ain’t shit without a man who claims her...they say. I stand there frozen with my degrees in one hand and my career in the other. Puzzled. Essentially made to feel barren. I sure can keep a man but I can’t get him to worship me. I cannot get him to stop seeing my strengths as weaknesses. Make your man feel like a man...they say. If I cannot do this then I am a failure. Then the next stage of torture begins. MOVE ON...they say. Find a man who can commit and give you children...they all chant. Never asking if my womb is even open to interpretation. My interpretation. They make my love fluid as if it can transfer to any penis ready to commit. Never mind that there is something about him that made me stay. Never thinking for a second that my mind, body, and soul are not for sale. I am not livestock for men. I belong to me!!!! I am still the master of my own destiny. I am still KINGSTON JAEL FIRST OF HER NAME, QUEEN OF HERSELF FROM THE ISLAND OF JAMAICA, AND OF THE HOUSE OF MICHAELS. I am a queen. In my heart, I have always known this. Why then would I allow society to question my every move and allow him to attempt to murder my soul? Why would a fiercely independent woman do this? I went to a party once and they were serving something called Kool-Aid. Many had grown up drinking it but it was never served in my home. Instantly, I did not like the look of it but everyone else was happily drinking it. Who wants to be left out? No one. So I sip...but am careful to not gulp it like others around me. The Kool-Aid has the taste of desperation, loneliness, and complacency. Yet I continue to sip. Making a face I think...maybe it is an acquired taste? Maybe I will get use to it? Finally I start to feel sick and I stop sipping. He is standing over me now and I can feel the tears in my throat. Kingston, be strong....I think. Demand your worth! And if he walks out and never comes back...your life will be full no matter what. There will be love...maybe not romantic love...but the strongest love of them all...SELF LOVE! You can walk with your head held high and not have to worry every moment of the day that his emotionally unavailable self will abandon you! You can decide to not be part of the flock that blindly follows the shepherd. You can dare to be different. You can ask for your worth AND more...just like a man would do...while maintaining your womanly strengths. You can be unapologetically brilliant in a room filled with people. You can stand alone. It would be misleading of me to not point out how terrifying this all is. Who will stay with me as I age? Who will remind me that I am great and perfectly made on the days I doubt myself? Who will leave the singles pity parties behind and join me on my island of one? Who will bravely step forward and remind me that it was his loss...not mine....if he does not return with a brand new attitude....one of gratitude, love, and respect? Who will laugh with me? Who will cry with me? Who will help me celebrate my strengths? He exits the room and I start to cry. Not one of those begging my lover to come back to me cries....but one of those cries of exhales. I am breathing. Exhaling. Crying. I am standing up. I am throwing the fucking Kool-Aid down the sink. I am exhaling again...this time effortlessly. And now I’m dialing the number of the one person in the world that understands my struggles the most. I am calling for reinforcement. I am calling Harmony. And I am now sipping a glass of moscato wine. I was never meant to drink the Kool-Aid. I am wine...getting better with age. THE EXPUNGEMENT (Harmony enters the room): WOMEN So there's a saying behind every great man is a strong woman but there is no saying about who stands behind that strong woman. I think it is her girlfriends. It is the people she surrounds herself with. It is the people who tells her she can when she thinks she can't. It is the people who tell her she's beautiful when all she sees is ugly when she looks in the mirror. It is all the people who still believe in her when she cannot or does not believe in herself. Strong fiercely independent women have a struggle. It is a secret many do not want to talk about. In this secret dungeon...they seek love, acceptance, companionship, and sometimes maybe even something more than that (that is if she is daring enough to ask for what she is truly worth and more).... but they're so busy giving away all of themselves that sometimes they forget about self care. If more women took the time to love, support, hold up one another, celebrate each other's accomplishments, and compliment a stranger (who is really her sister in this struggle) on ANYTHING about herself...we could exhale beautifully together. In this exhale lies encouraging words that maybe no one has told her today or in her entire life...that TOGETHER WE MAKE EACH OTHER BETTER! Maybe she...we...really need to hear that. It is so hard to be a successful woman especially when you are a party of one! No partner in sight. No partner to make society feel comfortable about her “successful” existence. If a woman does not have the validation of a partner...she becomes an unwanted invisible being or comic relief for other women who sold their souls to be men’s livestock and are now secretly regretting it! I know this for I live it everyday. People look at me like I have failed in some kind of way. My education...my degrees that hang on the wall somehow make me less than...because I don't have a husband...AND I don't have a child. But I don't want either one of those things. I want the man who will love me, support me, and appreciate the fact that I went to professional school and EARNED my degree. I, HARMONY FIRST OF HER NAME, QUEEN OF HER LIFE, OF THE HOUSE OF HER FAMILY, EARNED HER DEGREES AND CAREER WITHOUT HIS NAME! That is my family's legacy...not his. This is the only man that I can love...one who loves me for who I truly am. I will accept nothing less. The lucky man who gets me needs to be 700 kinds of shades of special because I am not willing to settle. I would rather be alone. There! I said it! The thing that single women are not suppose to utter. I let my secret out. The secret that I would rather never have known the intimacies of that kind of true relationship than to give up any part of myself to have a relationship that is less than what my soul desires. Hell...my soul demands it! The thought has crossed my mind that this man may not exist...for me. And then what?! I have finally accepted that one day I may join the masses and succumb to the misconceived notion that a woman is nothing without a husband. I will drink the Kool-Aid and join lost women everywhere...drowning in the notion that I cannot be great by my fucking self! I hope that day never comes...for any of us...my fellow strong independent women. But right now my story continues. Bravely. Wrapped in self love and self care. However, this journey is not without its challenges. Currently, I am into someone. I like him a lot...more than any other person I have liked in a long time and he is scared of being hurt! I don't know what to do about that. I have made myself vulnerable. I have put myself out there with respect to my feelings for him. And I think that scares him. I have told him I am complicated. He has told me he likes that about me. I have told him I am into him...and every time I feel like we are making progress... he pulls away. I don't want to scare him. Hell the feelings I have for him scare the shit out of me. But I am strong enough to stay any course without sacrificing myself like a lamb. I don't know how to reassure him that I don't intend to hurt him. Yet I am so frustrated that I have to be held accountable for his heart and mine! While I don't have a lot of experience in relationships, I know I am strong, fierce, and independent enough to weather any storm of love. I will not blow away at the first sign of a strong wind. Hell a tornado could come and if the love is that supportive...that honest...that raw...that true...and that passionate...I promise you I will be the last woman standing! Stand I will...without compromising the qualities I love about myself...for I do not know how to do it any other way. I am not the girl who will play dumb to make any man feel better. In fact, I am the girl who will throw my education, my vocabulary, and my degrees right in your face. If he is man enough...he will catch them and fucking celebrate my achievements for it is nothing less than what I would do for him. I will not be his cheerleader while he stands in my bleachers dismissively....weakened by my inner and outer beauty while a storm brews around us. He must be wise and caring enough to cheer me on too! Am I being unreasonable here? Society whispers YES but my gut tells me NO. My instincts tell me that I am worthy of all of these beautiful things. And what if I do not receive them? Well this may mean that I am single forever. I am OK with that but my parents are not. I'm struggling to find the balance between what I want and need. I don't want my parents to worry about my ability to survive without them, but I need them to appreciate that I am not going to settle. I do not want the lives they created for themselves. I want to do better! And I have always fucking hated Kool-Aid that others have already drank. I would rather be a cold can of Bud Light ...popped open for the first time, quenching the thirst of only one man...the only man that was deserving of me. ~KJM and Harmony on Charm School Monday. As long as I have friends like Harmony, I will be okay no matter what happens with the Ex Factor for he is not the main source of my happiness and I will no longer allow him to be the main source of my unhappiness. My love is real and it is raw. I am not one of those women who will settle just for a man that wants me. I choose who is deserving of me and I will put a foot so high up his ass if he ever starts slipping. Society takes a man’s love so seriously (for he is not suppose to fall in love all the time) yet makes a woman’s love so fluid...like that love can transfer to any man ready to commit with a good resume! This is simply not true for strong women. We love who we love and no matter what happens he cannot destroy us for our source of happiness, strength, power, and intelligence never came from him. Self love and sisterhood are what it is all about! To my sisters in the struggle, may we continue to support each other no matter the storms that come. Harmony you are beautiful and you are intelligent! No matter what happens with this new guy...I’m here for you! Together...we are unstoppable. One love 💜

#mondaymorning #monday thoughts #charm school #bone thugs n harmony #beautiful women #woman #selflove #self care #self esteem #strong girls #strong black woman #strong women #blackgirlswhoblog #independent

[theskeletongames]

I'm asking around for tablet suggestions for my mother, what would you recommend for a professional artist with not much experience in digital drawing?

Wacom is the best brand for tablets and cintiqs, but it’s also the most expensive. It was once the only brand anyone would recommend, but now I think there are others that are okay. I’ve never tried them so I can’t give any recommendations about alternative brands. To illustrate my point as to how good Wacom is, the cintiq I own is nearing 6 years old and I still use it, it’s that good.

If you aren’t going Wacom, my advice is to stick with a medium or medium small tablet that has good reviews on the brand for her first one. Larger ones I feel are unnecessary as you can zoom in when you draw with any drawing program. 

As far as Wacom goes, I don’t like the super small bamboo things. I feel like, if you’re gonna spend the money, at least get an intuos. Cintiques on the other hand, are very expensive and I wouldn’t recommend buying them for first time digital artists because you have to be really serious if you’re gonna drop the money on that. They also aren’t very portable, or at least there weren’t when I bought mine, so you’ll need a solid place to use it as well, like a desk. I think they’re a lot flatter and lighter now, but still less portable than a regular tablet. 

As far as Wacom’s intuos tablet lineup goes. It looks like there’s two main versions now. A pro and regular. From what I’ve looked up, Pro’s have more resolution than the regular, and if I were to buy a tablet for myself right now, I’d pick the pro over the regular version, but I think they would both work fine and have the ability to produce the same high quality art. I wouldn’t be upset if someone bought me the cheaper regular intuos because it’s still almost as good. As far as the two pro choices go, the intuos pro paper upgrade seems unnecessary and I wouldn’t pay the extra money for it unless you can think of a scenario where you’d need to have a half assed digital copy of your physical drawings or writing for some reason.

I would recommend buying the tablet at medium size, unless there’s some reason you need a super small or large tablet. 

As far as all the different versions go for the regular intuos tablets, Photo, Art, Comic, and Draw refer to bundled 3rd party software that comes with it.

Intuos PhotoWindows: Corel PaintShop Pro X8 and Corel Aftershot Pro 2Mac: Macphun Creative Kit (Tonality Pro, Intensify Pro, Snapheal Pro, Noiseless Pro) and Corel Aftershot Pro 2Intuos ArtWindows and Mac: Corel Painter Essentials 5Intuos ComicWindows and Mac: Clip Studio Paint Pro and Anime Studio Debut 10Intuos DrawWindows and Mac: ArtRage Lite

Intuos Pro models come without any bundled software. 

My thoughts on the bundles are, I use mostly Corel Painter and some Photoshop when I draw, and I know for a fact the Corel Painter Essentials 5 that comes with the Intuos Art is a stripped down, but still usable version of Corel Painter that you can get really cheap. So I’m assuming all the bundled software is just cheap stuff you could buy separately on your own and shouldn’t make or break your decision.

My final advice is, often artists get frustrated the first time trying tablets, as there is a learning curve. I’ve used both cintiqs and tables and they both have the same capacity to produce the same high quality art once you get comfortable with them, so never worry if you aren’t willing to throw down money for a cintiq. A tablet will work just fine.

[arannara]

[ENG translation: imma beat ur ass, imma stand up and beat ur ass]

i know jack shit about arkknights, i only know this guy and his average polish male brothers are polish

also he looks like hed beat the shit out of me if i forget to pronounce a coma while im speaking

#arknights #arknights meme #mlynar nearl #mlynar arknights #for the life of mine i cant find the og vid #młynar nearl #młynar arknights #very professional high quality comic of mine #pozdro dla elevena :3 #oh and shoutout to people whod LOVE mlynar to beat their ass #horses have one of the strongest kicks in animal kingdom so #have fun

[imrainai]

I’m going to try to answer people directly, but first, I am going to explain what The Stargazer’s Companion is, because it occurs to me that most people are probably not familiar with it (especially people who live outside of Voa)!

The Stargazer’s Companion is the magazine put out by Dar Publishing, a small publishing company mostly known for distributing speculative fiction aimed at children and young people. This isn’t all they do, but the primary mission of Dar is to make scientific concepts accessible to everyone, and to get young people of every caste interested in the space program, since “reaching the stars will take effort from all of us.”

The Stargazer’s Companion actually predates Dar; its editors created the publishing company in order to be able to release longer, standalone works. Dar was founded in 3413, while the magazine has been in circulation since early 3411. There’s no non-Voan version, and it’s fairly obscure even here; I didn’t learn about it until last year, because the libraries in my old city didn’t have it.

TSC is supposed to be what the title suggests it is--a magazine to take with you if you’re going to go out stargazing. It’s always been an eclectic collection of nonfiction articles, constellation charts, fiction, puzzles, and poetry. I don’t think its circulation numbers have ever been very high (perhaps because of the lack of focus), but it’s always been aimed at people (particularly young people) who want to expand their horizons and play with ideas they haven’t encountered before. 

It has never been a solely green magazine. When TSC began circulation in 3411, it was a collaboration between grad students at Garen University (which primarily trains yellows, and is best-known for its editing department, although a majority of the students are secretary-track) and a collection of local teachers who wanted something to inspire their students with. It’s always accepted green writing, particularly fiction, but its early issues are also full of math puzzles designed by the yellow programmers, articles and features written by its orange creators, and (notably) a series of poems written by a grey astronaut. Its editors and owners are yellow (not green), but they have both greens and oranges on staff.

More recent issues are a little greener, but here’s a breakdown of the issue I was published in:

Pages 1-2, advertisements. No idea who designed these. 

Pages 3-4, table of contents.

Pages 7-20, a chapter of an ongoing comic series called Near Planet. It is written and illustrated by Camazar (green, comic artist--not a real name, the magazine doesn’t require legal names) and colored by Melnade be-Endre (purple, house painter). Camazar also writes a webcomic, Birthright, which you can read here.

Pages 21-28, an article about supernovas and the life cycles of stars titled “When a Star Dies”. (Ves really liked this one.) It was written by Sanda be-Marin (green, textbook writer), and it made me want to check out the textbooks she’s contributed to (which are, interestingly, mostly about the ocean). It also contains pictures which are credited to the VCSEO, so obviously those were taken by greens, though I have no idea who was manning the telescope at the time.

Pages 29-45, a story titled “At the End of All Things”. It was written by Zanathor be-Enkaza (green, mathematics student). It’s the first time she’s published fiction, but I think it’s the strongest piece of writing in the issue.

Pages 46-53, a story titled “In the Shadow of the Moons”. It was written by Moran be-Elzet (green, fiction writer). Moran has been published in TSC before, and primarily writes comedies; this is the first time he’s written something comparatively more serious, though it still made me chuckle at the beginning.

Page 54, a poem titled “Candles Under Darkness”. It was written by Semavet, who gives no real name (again, the magazine doesn’t require one), but it does include the address of her blog, where she identifies herself as a security guard and combat veteran (and also posts more poetry).

Pages 55-80, the usual collection of star charts and calendars.

Pages 81-83, a series of mathematical puzzles. They’re credited to Lenore be-Delve (purple, mechanic) and Bera be-Mardan (orange, math teacher).

Pages 84-92, a story titled “The Golden Castle”. I wrote this one, so I guess (purple, pest control)?

Pages 93-132, a story titled “Without a Sound”. This is certainly the most unique piece of writing in the issue--it was written collaboratively by Elan be-Tayar (gray, former lunar colony worker) and Imi be-Kada (yellow, former journalist and currently a programmer). It alternates between a fictional horror story (written by Imi) and nonfiction explanations of the various dangers faced by astronauts (written by Elan), which are relevant to the story and very interesting in their own right. I think Zanathor’s story is still the best in the issue, but I’d love to see more from both of these writers.

Pages 133-137, more puzzles. I still haven’t solved the ciphering page. They were designed by Mas be-Janari (orange, nurse), Bere Kael (green, comic artist), Lutan be-Evka (green, linguist), Bar be-Sambav (yellow, programmer), and Mihan be-Pari (orange, writing teacher).

Pages 138-152, “Making it Go”, an article about the process of testing new engines and other devices at VCSEO. This is actually really exciting for TSC; the writer is Maten be-Kal, a professional journalist. TSC doesn’t normally have this sort of quality journalism work in it--the nonfiction articles are usually more like very well-written and exciting textbook excerpts--so it was really cool to see it in this issue.

Pages 153-160, “Ask an Astronaut”, aka the best part of every issue, a feature where Luze be-Ketzel (gray, former astronaut for Vartech) and Tarin be-Makre (green, VCSEO astronomer) team up to answer reader questions about space (although they seem super biased towards answering the questions of two and three-year-olds, which everyone is mostly fine with).

Pages 161-164. More ads.

Pages 165-174, “The Kidnapping of Professor San” a puzzle-story (an extended narrative problem in which players solve puzzles to decode the story) by Vana be-Ren (orange, math teacher). 

Pages 175-177, “Star Reviews”. These are written by Kala be-Malkar, the head editor, who also reviews stars. They’re funny, if a bit hard to explain.

Pages 178-186, “The Asteroid Hunt”, by Malen be-Pala (grey, three-year-old). TSC hosts a contest twice a season where three-year-olds from around Voa can write space-themed stories from their classrooms. As long as their teacher pays the registration fee, they are guaranteed feedback, and one of them will be published. They aren’t good stories compared to what adults write--you have to practice, if you want to become good at what you do--but they are very different, and it’s a really cool way of motivating young people to hone their writing skills.

Pages 187-204, “Drawing Pictures In the Sky”, an article about the history and development of the well-known constellations, as well as others that are now no longer widely known. It was written by Linara be-Pade (green, actress and historian).

Pages 205-206, a map of Voa by light pollution, so you know where to go to stargaze.

My point in saying all this is that I did not specifically go to a greens-only, fiction-only magazine in order to intentionally Prove That I’m Better Than Greens (I’m not) or take opportunities away from green writers (I have no interest in doing this). Maybe I did end up taking an opportunity away! Maybe without me, they would have published another green in this issue. Maybe TSC shouldn’t exist at all, because maybe it’s taking market share away from more specialized green magazines. But the fact remains that it does exist, and that it has always explicitly welcomed submissions from people of every caste (with the tradeoff that the pay is Not That Great).

So I’m fine with people criticizing me for publishing, especially if that criticism comes from greens who feel that I’m taking away their livelihoods. I might disagree, but that doesn’t mean I’m definitely right, and I have no desire to be protected from people’s thoughts just because those thoughts are different than mine. But I think it’s important to note that not every fiction writer in the entire world is green, and that some of them are hobbyists who submit to obscure magazines that specifically try to be as varied and eclectic as possible, while still maintaining a basic focus on space.

If you don’t think that The Stargazer’s Companion should exist in its current form, again, that’s fine, but that’s what it means to say that only greens should submit to it.

#amenta rp

[xnxadultstore]

Adult Coloring Books for Men

I used to be attempting to determine an excellent reward for my dad who’s beginning to have indicators of Alzheimer’s for  Christmas and remembered that since he was a child, he beloved to design and paint giant mannequin airplanes… so why not coloring books for males? But in fact, he most likely wasn’t going to benefit from the flowery, tangled kind that I like so I began my search for Coloring Books for Grownup Guys.

Men’s Coloring Books for All Occasions

Intricate Ink Animals in Detail Volume three by Tim Jeffs

Son of a Mother Trucker

A Manly Adult Coloring Book: Dad Life: Clean Dad Swears & Old Coot-isms: A Unique & Funny Antistress Coloring Gift for Men

Click to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada

One of the most well-liked books for males in our coloring group proper now could be the most recent one from Kerby Rosanes World inside Worlds.

World Within Worlds

I personally personal this pretty e-book and the largest downside is deciding which cool image to paint first. Paper high quality is nice too.

Click to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada

Dad & Me Coloring Book

I obtained a replica of this lovely e-book and was very impressed with each the illustrations, the standard however principally with the distinctive concept of the softer aspect of fatherhood being present and celebrated all through the e-book. The pages are perforated and TOP sure so it’s great for lefties in addition to those that need to show their creations after you shade them in.

Click to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada

The Men’s Coloring Book by Nathaniel Wake

Nathaniel says it’s a Manly Mans Adult Coloring Book with Cyborg Women, Military Machines, Futuristic Battles, Western Armory, Fish Illustrations and Cars… nonetheless I completely beloved this e-book so that you might need to struggle your feminine vital different for among the illustrations on this e-book.

 Click to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada 

Mythomorphia: An Extreme Coloring and Search Challenge by Kerby Rosanes

Click to Order on Amazon:  US     UK     Canada    or   Book Depository

Animorphia

An wonderful coloring e-book for adults that includes the super-detailed animal pictures from artist Kerby Rosanes. Known for his common Sketchy Stories weblog, Kerby works in intricately detailed black and white line to create creatures, characters, patterns, and tiny components to type compositions of mind-boggling complexity. Bring your creativity to finish the breath-taking drawings and discover hidden treasures and creatures scattered all through its pages

Order on Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Canada  ~  Book Depository

Imagimorphia Coloring Book by Kerby Rosanes

Fans of grownup coloring books are invited to enter the extraordinary world of Kerby Rosanes, the illustrator behind the Sketchy Stories weblog and Animorphia, the worldwide phenomenon and New York Times bestseller. In Imagimorphia, animals, and objects morph and explode into astounding element. Bring every intricate picture to life with shade and discover the objects hidden all through the e-book.

Printed on high quality paper, Imagimorphia is a unusual coloring and search e-book for followers of grownup coloring books like no different.

Dad Life – A Manly Adult Coloring Book

Color in humorous issues that EVERYONE’s Dad says to them.

 Click to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada 

ColorArt Coloring Book – Real Men Color

This e-book is spiral sure eight half x 11 pages with over 100 pictures to paint in.

Click to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada

The Art of the Cigar: Vintage Labels Coloring Book

Based on the attractive lithographs of cigar field labels from years passed by. Each of the 40 gorgeous labels is pre-1920 with elegant designs that wrap you within the nostalgia of an age when life was less complicated and folks knew easy methods to benefit from the second. The pages on this e-book are one-sided professionally printed by Vintage Pen Press.

Click to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada 

Oldtimer Grayscale Adult Coloring Book for Men

This e-book contains 43 Oldtimer Images of Vintage Rustic Cars, Trucks, Tractors, Tools, Motorcycles and different Things for Men to Color. Creator Timothy Parks has his pictures printed on eight half x 11 paper printed solely on one aspect. He has penned a couple of different coloring books with related themes however this one has the most effective opinions.

Click to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada

Die Hard Coloring Book

If you reside in a home the place Die Hard IS a Christmas film custom, then this coloring e-book is for you. All your favourite scenes and quotes are on this official Die Hard coloring and exercise e-book. This coloring e-book from Harper Design is superb high quality. I obtained a pattern of it from the writer and it’s Coloring Book Addict accepted!

Hans Gruber and his posse crash the Christmas social gathering at Nakatomi and take the tower hostage;John McClane’s limo trip with Argyle;The tension-filled crawl via the constructing vents;John’s morbid message supply to Hans (written on the corpse of one in every of Hans’ males);The well-known bloody footprints;And in fact, John leaping off the Nakatomi tower.

The Book of Beasts

A buddy of mine in Scotland (Kemberlee) ordered this e-book within the UK and he or she couldn’t cease gushing about how fabulous it was. It’s obtained a hardcover with fabulous paper and wonderful illustrations of Dragons of all kinds. Filled with legendary monsters from around the globe, The Book of Beasts will take younger readers on an epic coloring quest via historical lands and lore. As they fill within the pages, kids will encounter creatures from Aboriginal, African, Mesoamerican, Greek, Roman, Indian, Norse, Chinese, and Japanese tales. On the again of every web page, children will discover background on the beasts within the e-book.

Click to ORDER Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Canada ~ Book Depository

Full Metal Coloring – A Book of Down Range Reflection

Along with the pages to paint, you’ll discover some historic background of the firearms and weapons on every of the pages which had been written by a aggressive shooter and veteran who can be the artist. I’ve a replica of this e-book from the artist and have gifted it to the gun fanatic in my life. Its unique artwork on respectable paper. As at all times use a sheet between your pages to keep away from bleed-through and stress marks.

Click to Order Amazon US

Bennett Klein’s model is very detailed tattoo inked line artwork. 

Colour my Sketchbook – DRAGONS by Bennett Klein

The coloured in dragons on this cowl had been executed by members of his Facebook web page linked right here.

Click to order Amazon US      Amazon UK       Amazon Canada      Book Depository

This is simply one of many Bennett Klein Books, discover the remainder right here. 

Tattoo Art Coloring Books for Men

The Tattoo Art of Freddy Negrete

I obtained this e-book from the writer and was fairly happy with the number of pictures contained inside. There is so much to select from however most do have a Hispanic, Chicano, Mexican taste to them. There are a lot of the Virgin Mary in addition to Sugar Skulls which make sense culturally. There’s even a sugar cranium Virgin Mary to paint in. As a colorist, most weren’t tremendous detailed so when you choose that kind of coloring e-book this one most likely received’t be your cup of tea, however when you like so as to add your personal patterning or are studying and working towards shading and contouring this e-book is ideal.

Click to Order Amazon US UK or Canada

Kitchen Overlord’s Colorable Compendium of Geek History: An Adult Coloring Book and Companion to the Illustrated Geek Cookbook

I haven’t seen this one in particular person, however its on my record and from the opinions, it seems enjoyable. “The creators of Kitchen Overlord’s Illustrated Geek Cookbook invite you to paint together with 120 years of geek historical past!

Start with H.G. Wells Time Machine in 1885 and produce the black and white pages to life because the world grows geekier with each decade.

See Cthulhu rise in 1928, shade Captain America in 1941, depart the Shire for Mordor in 1954, boldly go on a 5 12 months mission beginning in 1966, lastly be taught what “inconceivable” means in 1973, struggle Zuul and Gozer in 1984, assist the Scooby gang shield Sunnydale in 1997, turn into a Big Damn Hero in 2002, and assist Ichabod Crane turn into a contemporary man in 2012.

You recover from 50 enjoyable illustrations representing your favourite books, comics, motion pictures, TV, and video games – organized chronologically so you possibly can see how geekdom has developed over greater than a century.” Click to order AMAZON US AMAZON UK AMAZON CANADA BOOK DEPOSITORY

Guys have a tendency to like Science Fiction so most of the books on my nerds and geeks web page would possibly work for the boys in your record too!

Military Coloring Books for Men

The very first thing to do is work out hobbies and issues that the person in your life is into.. my dad loves airplanes and was within the USAF in order that was my first search. I discovered these two: Airplanes of the Second World War and Jet Fighters. Both are Dover Coloring Books so the worth level is correct, underneath $5.

If you want freebies take a look at the free coloring web page and e-book excepts from Dover too.

Other Military Coloring Books for Men embody:

Many of those navy books additionally work in case your man is a historical past buff.

American Muscle Cars Coloring Books for Men

Expertly rendered illustrations of quick, flashy, and highly effective sports activities vehicles, amongst them the 1962 Ford Thunderbird, 1964 Corvette Stingray, 1968 Chevy Impala SS427, 1969 Camaro Z-28, 1970 Ford Torino Fastback, 1971 Mustang Boss 351, 1974 Firebird Trans-Am, and 37 others. For coloring e-book lovers and “muscle car” followers. Click right here to Order American Muscle Cars Coloring Book There’s additionally Classic Cars of the 50’s Coloring Book Luxury Cars Coloring Book Sports Cars Coloring Book & History of Trucks

Motorcycles Coloring Book – This assortment chronicles over 100 years of bike historical past with illustrations of 45 precisely detailed fashions, together with Gottlieb Daimler Motor Bicycle (1885), 1913 Royal Enfield, 1947 Indian “Chief,” 1966 BSA A65 Lightning, and the Honda ES21 Future Motorcycle Concept Prototype.

Dover Books has an excellent number of History Coloring Books

Looking for an excellent historic coloring e-book? Dover may also help you add shade to among the most exceptional occasions in historical past! From dinosaurs, the Old West, the Civil War, Native Americans, the house race, American presidents and first women to classic cars and trains, castles and cathedrals, well-known explorers and inventors, historic structure like Famous Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright and landmarks. Black historical past coloring books function genuine illustrations in regards to the Underground Railroad, the Amistad, Barack Obama, and extra. Each version gives fantastically detailed illustrations and fact-filled captions.

Click right here to see the complete choice.

The Bicycle Coloring Book

This e-book blew me away once I began seeing coloured in photos from it. It is full of cityscapes and countryside illustrations that function a motorbike and a cat. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen earlier than. The paper is fabulous artwork high quality and the illustrations are one-sided with a middle fold-out part for a big poster-sized creation. On the dealing with aspect of the web page is an illustration of the identical cat you see in every image (generally you must hunt to seek out him) however what’s actually cool in regards to the cat is that once you flip the pages he animates. This will for certain convey you again to your faculty days once you used to make flipbooks. If you’re a bicycle fanatic or the person in your life is, you possibly can’t go fallacious with this coloring e-book. It’s eight.2 x zero.eight x 10.eight inches and has 144 pages.

Click to order Amazon US Amazon     UK Amazon    Amazon Canada    Book Depository

100 Animals by Jade Summer

An Adult Coloring Book with Lions, Elephants, Owls, Horses, Dogs, Cats and extra. 100 pictures printed on one aspect of the web page.

Click to Order Amazon US, UK & Canada

Ill-Gotten Brain Coloring Books by Chris Guest

I wished so as to add a few books from a brand new illustrator that I do know guys will love. Thanks to one in every of my coloring group, Shawn B. for the heads up about his enjoyable books! Meet Chris Guest aka IllGottenBrain. He has 2 books out, Beyond the Fairytale Forest and Monsters Eat Everything that you’re certain to get pleasure from.

His books remind me of Steve Squidoodle’s illustrations too.. enjoyable and funky, verify his work out right here.

Walking Dead Coloring Book

This e-book is completed in a graphic novel model so LOTS of black and background particulars so it’s alongside the strains of a grayscale coloring e-book. The illustrations are from the Walking Dead graphic novels and it’s very detailed. We are hoping they arrive out with one other that follows the TV present a bit extra but when you recognize a Walking Dead addict, this may be an ideal reward.

Click to order Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Canada ~ Book Depository

Steampunk Devices

Dudes like to tinker with devices so this Steampunk Devices can be an excellent alternative for the artsy man in your purchasing record.

Click to order Amazon US   Amazon UK   Amazon Canada   Book Depository

We discover heaps extra Steampunk and Science Fiction choices for guys right here.

Intricate Ink – Animals in Detail

After seeing colorings from this e-book on Instagram I bought it on Amazon. It’s a greyscale e-book that makes your colorings actually come to life. It’s a hardbound e-book that opens on the prime so nice for left-handed colorists too.

Click to Purchase Amazon US

Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford

Although Johanna Basford is understood for her fairly flowers and delicate leaves, guys can fall just a little in love along with her illustrations in her third Inky e-book, “Lost Ocean”

Visit coral reefs and barnacle-studded shipwrecks, uncover intricate shells and pirate treasure. Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest followers and newcomers alike will welcome this artistic journey into an inky new world.

Click right here to order Lost Ocean Amazon US  Amazon Canada  Amazon UK  Book Depository

Bugs & Creepy Crawling Coloring Books for Men

Maybe your grown guys nonetheless have that little boy in them that loves spiders and snakes… There are some decisions for them too. Check out this Complicated Spiders Coloring Book… This distinctive coloring e-book is eight inches broad x 9 inches excessive, it has 25 completely different illustrations of intricately adorned spiders; every illustration is printed within the e-book twice, one on a black background and the identical illustration on a white background with mild grey strains. Lots of spider and bug e-book right here too.

Fantasy and Dragon Coloring Books For Men

Amazon has dozens of Fantasy & Dragon coloring books that guys would possibly like right here.

Funny Coloring Books

Coloring for Grown-Ups: The Adult Activity Book

Electile Disfunction – The Story of the 2016 Presidential Election Coloring Book

Click to Order Amazon US

You can see extra Political Coloring Books right here.

Unicorns Are Jerks: a coloring e-book exposing the chilly, exhausting, sparkly reality

Coloring for Grown-ups – Holiday Fun Book

There are extra right here of the extra “R” rated variations as nicely.

See a big itemizing of our favourite humorous naughty & horny coloring books right here.

Steve MacDonald’s Cityscapes e-book “Fantastic Cities“ will even attraction to the fellows our there with a e-book the place no flowers or fairies are anyplace to be seen. Steve McDonald applies his distinctive photo-based strategy to create lovely, detailed line drawings of wonderful buildings and different constructions from around the globe in Fantastic Structures and his third e-book contains less complicated designs in Fantastic Collections,

Comic Book and Graphic Novel Coloring Books

DC Comics Coloring Book

Featuring iconic paintings by famend comedian artists, DC Comics Coloring Book contains gorgeous line artwork of beloved characters corresponding to Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Click to Order on Amazon

Wonder Woman Coloring Book

This graphic novel options basic illustrations from among the most well-known Wonder Woman artists of all time, together with George Pérez, Jim Lee, Brian Bolland, Amanda Conner, Ross Andru, H.G. Peter, Cliff Chiang, and Phil Jimenez printed on each side of the web page.  Click to Order the Wonder Woman Coloring Book

Coloring DC Batman Hush Volume 1

This grownup coloring e-book options chapters from one of many biggest graphic novels of all-time, BATMAN: HUSH. Illustrated by Jim Lee, identified for his intricate strains and distinctive element, this story is ideal for coloring. Click to Order this totally illustrated Batman graphic novel right here

Civil War – All your favourite Avengers battle on this graphic novel coloring e-book

120 pages of all-out costumed warfare, that includes Steve McNiven’s exquisitely rendered paintings simply ready for you so as to add the colour! Captain America and Iron Man are the feuding Avengers main the 2 sides of heroes that battle it out over the rights and wrongs of Superhuman Registration. Click to order Civil War

Color Your Own Age of Ultron

Color in your favourite Marvel Heros and Sinister Bad guys on this graphic novel. Difficulty ranges from simple to superior so there’s something for each graphic novel fan.

Click to Order Age of Ultron Here.

Color Deadpool Graphic Novel

This e-book contains covers from New Mutants 98, old-fashioned Pool, New Pool, the Daniel Way years, and Deadpool vs; Thanos, carnage, zombies, Cable, and Spider-Man. Click to order Deadpool

Assassins Creed Coloring Book

Click to Order Assasins Creed Coloring Book

Guys which are into Science Fiction and Fantasy can discover a big number of SciFi Coloring Books right here.

Steve Squidoodle has a implausible following on Facebook which is the place I found him. Like Bennett Klein, he’s at all times gifting away freebies on his fan web page. Learn extra about Steve Turner the illustrator right here. 

Squidoodle’s Book of Fancy Letters – Click to Order

All 26 letters of the alphabet, on single aspect pages with doodles objects to paint in. Taken from the intricate hand-drawn pen drawings of Steve Turner a.ok.a Squidoodle. Each letter is detailed and ornate, with doodled objects starting with that letter.

Each letter sits centrally on the web page, away from the backbone – you possibly can minimize the letters out, shade them and provides them as presents to household or mates. All the pages inside this e-book are taken from the hand-drawn illustrations by Steve Squidoodle Turner. He rigorously chosen objects to be contained in every letter – making it enjoyable for children and adults alike. The A incorporates an astronaut, an apple, an aeroplane, an anchor…. The B incorporates a bee, Big Ben, a beetle, balloons…. you get the concept!!

Squidoodle’s Book of Fancy Letters: An Adult Coloring Book – Click to Order

A Day on the Beach by Squidoodle – Steve Turner

The Natural Atlas by Squidoodle – Steve Turner

Creative Insults for Foul-Mouthed Beasts – A UK Sweary Coloring Book by Squidoodle – Steve Turner

I STRONGLY advocate downloading the Hobby Lobby & Michaels App to your smartphone. That manner you at all times have the coupons with you. Being the clumsy particular person I’m.. I ALWAY neglect the coupons at house or within the different automotive or the opposite purse.. you get me.. proper? You can usually discover artwork provides there for a very good worth with the coupon however most frequently I purchase books and provides on Amazon.

AMAZON PRIME – If you aren’t a member it’s best to look into it. You get free 2-day transport daily at Amazon with Amazon Prime. You can attempt it for free proper now.

The Amazon Prime membership program gives different particular advantages for simply $99 per 12 months. Members can immediately watch over 40,000 motion pictures and TV episodes and borrow 1000’s of books from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.

Have the boys in your record loved coloring books I haven’t listed right here? Please let me know within the feedback beneath or on one in every of my social media accounts.

The post Adult Coloring Books for Men appeared first on XNX Adult Store.

[intellectuallyawkward-blog]

Origin of super mario names

Nintendo figures make the VR of theirs (arcade) debut with innovative Vive driven Mario Kart

Bandai Namco showed a virtual reality model of Mario Kart, Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, that is going to make its debut in a VR arcade the business is opening using Tokyo, Japan upcoming month.

The game appears to mark the VR debut of one of Nintendo's flagship franchises, although it is crucial to be aware it is licensed by Nintendo as well as created by Namco - just like its non-VR predecessor, Mario Kart Arcade GP.Not many details are currently available in English regarding the game, even thought it's mentioned about the arcade's site as running on HTC Vive headsets and specially-designed racing seats.

Nintendo has thus far been publicly reticent about the promise of VR - last calendar year frontman Shigeru Miyamoto told investors that for VR wearing specific, we're ongoing the research of ours, in addition to exploring improvement with a mind to how our existing key products are meant to be played for a somewhat long period of time of time.

We are considering the choices of delivering an adventure which gives value when played for a little while, he continued. And how to eliminate the fears of long-duration use.

When I discovered that out I did two things. To begin with, I whipped out the copy of mine (yes, I maintain it which real/nerdy that I still need a well used NES hooked up in the room) of mine and then made positive I will be able to match the game at will. (I can. Childhood not wasted.)

Secondly, I launched down a rabbit hole of reading through Mario websites and Articles and Wikis. In the operation, I stumbled upon the etymologies of the brands of several of the key players in the Mario universe. Consequently, in honor of the video game which often changed the planet, in this article they are, given in useful 11-item describe form.

Mario.

When Mario debuted in the arcade game "Donkey Kong", he was just referred to as Jumpman. (Which also is the generic label associated with that Michael Jordan spread leg Nike logo. Two of the most legendary icons actually equally have generic versions of themselves known as Jumpman. But only one of them has today gotten to a point of remaining extremely impressive that he shaved himself a Hitler mustache before filming a professional and the balls were had by no one to correct him.)

In 1980, as the Nintendo of America team imported Jumpman to raise him right into a franchise-leading star (Hayden Christensen style), somebody discovered that he looked just like their Seattle office building's landlord... a guy called Mario Segale.

Mario Segale did not get a dime for becoming the namesake of pretty much the most prominent video game persona ever, but he most likely isn't very concerned; in 1998 he sold the asphalt small business of his for over $60 million. (Or 600,000 extra lives.)

Luigi.

Luigi actually has one of probably the weakest name origins of most of the mario brothers characters in the Mario universe (once again displaying exactly why, in life that is real, he'd have a larger inferiority complex than Frank Stallone, Abel or that 3rd Manning brother).

"Luigi" is simply the result of a group of Japanese men trying to consider an Italian name to accentuate "Mario." Why was the Italian label they went with? When they each moved from Japan to Seattle, the pizza area nearby to the Nintendo headquarters called Mario & Luigi's. (It has since gone from business.)

Koopa.

Koopa is a transliterated variation of the Japanese rap for the opponent turtles, "Kuppa." Stick with me here -- kuppa is the Japanese phrase for a Korean dish known as gukbap. Basically it is a cup of soup with cereal. From what I surely explain to it's totally not related to turtles, especially malicious ones.

In an interview, Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, explained he was deciding between three different brands for the high-speed of evil turtles, all of which happened to be named after Korean foods. (The other 2 were yukhoe and bibimbap.) Which means among 2 things: (1) Miyamoto loves Korean food and was looking to offer a tribute or even (two) Miyamoto believes Koreans are evil and really should be jumped on.

Wario.

I sort of missed the debut of Wario -- he debuted in 1992, right around when I was hitting the age exactly where I was extremely cool for cartoon y Nintendo games. (Me and the middle school buddies of mine happened to be into Genesis only. I was back on Nintendo within 4 years.)

Turns out his label works both equally in Japanese and english; I kinda assumed the English fashion but did not know about the Japanese element. In English, he is an evil, bizarro world mirror image of Mario. The "M" flips to become a "W" as well as Wario is created. The name also operates in Japanese, where it is a mix of Mario and "warui," that means "bad."

That is a very high quality scenario, since, as I covered extensively in the list eleven Worst Japanese-To-English Translations In Nintendo History, not every language distinction finesses again and forth that efficiently.

Waluigi.

When I 1st seen "Waluigi" I assumed it was hilarious. While Wario was obviously a natural counterbalance to Mario, Waluigi believed really comically shoehorned (just tacking the "wa" prefix before Luigi) -- including a giant inside joke that somehow cleared every single bureaucratic step and then cracked the mainstream.

Well... according to the Nintendo folks, Waluigi isn't only a gloriously lazy choice or maybe an inside joke gone massive. They *say* it is dependant upon the Japanese phrase ijiwaru, which means "bad guy."

I don't understand. I sense that we'd have to supply them much more than halfway to buy that.

Toad.

Toad is built to look as a mushroom (or perhaps toadstool) because of his giant mushroom hat. It's a great thing the gaming systems debuted before the whole model knew how to earn penis jokes.

Anyway, in Japan, he's considered Kinopio, which happens to be a mixture of the term for mushroom ("kinoko") as well as the Japanese version of Pinocchio ("pinokio"). Those combine being something along the collections of "A Real Mushroom Boy."

Goomba.

In Japanese, the men are known as kuribo, that translates to "chestnut people." That seems sensible because, ya know, if somebody asked you "what do chestnut individuals are like?" you would probably reach something just about similar to the figures.

When they had been shipped for the American model, the team stuck with the Italian initiative of theirs and also known as them Goombas... based off of the Italian "goombah," that colloquially means something as "my fellow Italian friend." It also sort of evokes the photo of low-level mafia thugs without too many capabilities -- like individuals younger brothers and also cousins who they'd to retain the services of or perhaps mother would yell at them. That also applies to the Mario Bros. goombas.

Birdo.

Birdo has practically nothing to do with this particular initial Japanese name. Generally there, he's considered Kyasarin, which regularly translates to "Catherine."

In the teaching manual for Super Mario Bros. 2, in which Birdo debuted, the character description of his reads: "Birdo believes he is a female and likes to be known as Birdetta."

What I do believe all of this means? Nintendo shockingly chosen to create a character who battles with his gender identity and referred to as him Catherine. In the event it was some time to show up to America, they got feet that are cold so they determined at the very last minute to phone him Birdo, although he's a dinosaur. (And do not provide me the "birds are descended from dinosaurs" pop paleontology line. Not shopping for that connection.) In that way, we would just understand about his gender confusion if we read the mechanical, and the Japanese were fairly certain Americans have been either way too lazy or even illiterate to do it en masse.

Princess Toadstool/Peach.

When we all got introduced on the Princess, she was known as Princess Toadstool. I guess this made perfect sense -- Mario was set in the Mushroom Kingdom, so why wouldn't its monarch be called Princess Toadstool. Them inbreeding bluish bloods are usually naming the children of theirs immediately after the country.

Nobody seems to be certain precisely why they went the guidance, nevertheless. In Japan, she was recognized as Princess Peach from day one. That title didn't debut here until 1993, when Yoshi's Safari became available for Super Nintendo. (By the manner -- have you played Yoshi's Safari? In a bizarre twist it's a first-person shooter, the only person in the entire Mario history. It's as something like a country music superstar creating a weird rock album.)

Bowser.

In Japan, there is no Bowser. He is simply referred to as the King Koopa (or perhaps comparable variations, like Great Demon King Koopa). So just where did Bowser come from?

During the import method, there was a problem that the American masses wouldn't see how the small turtles and big bad fellow could very well definitely be known as Koopa. Thus a marketing staff developed dozens of choices for a name, they adored Bowser the best, and also slapped it on him.

In Japan, he's nevertheless hardly ever called Bowser. Over here, his title is now so ubiquitous that he is even supplanted Sha Na Na's Bowzer as America's a good number of famous Bowser.

Donkey Kong.

This's a far more literal interpretation than you think. "Kong" is based off of King Kong. "Donkey" is a family friendly method of calling him an ass. That is right: His label is an useful variation of "Ass Ape."

Super Mario Bros. is a video game launched for the household Computer and also Nintendo Entertainment System found 1985. It shifted the gameplay far from its single screen arcade predecessor, Mario Bros., along with rather showcased side-scrolling platformer quantities. Although not the original game of the Mario franchise, Super Mario Bros. is really famous, in addition to introduced many sequence staples, from power ups, to classic enemies like Goombas, to the basic premise of rescuing Princess Toadstool from King Koopa. As well as kicking off an entire compilation of Super Mario platformer online games, the untamed success of Super Mario Bros. popularized the genre to be a whole, helped revive the gaming sector once the 1983 footage game crash, and was mainly the cause of the initial good results on the NES, with that it was included a launch title. Until it was finally exceeded by Wii Sports, Super Mario Bros. was the most effective marketing videos game of all time for about three years, with more than forty million copies marketed globally.

#all mario characters

[emziel-mz]

Eng. Tr.

This is not going to be anything related to what I'm used to upload. I'll just say a couple of things....

Today is my Birthday

I'm 20 to be more precise, so... as a Birthday Self-gift I decided to make this video (comic strip, Motivational video...) and I started to think about all these years... I've changed a lot... I'll be sincere. when I was a child I Hated drawing. why? because I literaly didn't know how to. in fact, I failed Art several times. I remember that most of my classmates were way better than me, Some of them were able to use professional material! because of that the average of the whole class was too high for me... I spent the whole primary without drawing at all... what a mistake, now that I think about it... by that time, I was swimming and singing in the school's choir, But my love to anime and Videogames stayed all this time... it was then when I met the Sonic Games (arround 7/9 years old) I liked them more and more and,without realizing it, I saw Fandom content without even knowing what that word meant!

Then... it just happened...

one summer Night, on August 15, 2009, Inspiration came to me... I couldn't sleep, so I took my mom's notebook and I started doodling with the 1st pen I could find. the result was not at all of quality... a very weird sketch painted with a blue ink pen in a green phone-size paper! I thought that anyone would like that... But I didn't cared. The peace that I felt doing it overcame all my hate.

that day, at night- I mean... at late night, I joined my friends. I was enjoying my summer Vacations at the Town, but they ARE my best friends, even if we lived at +800 Km away then... Their reactions to seeing the sketches are still out of my expectation!! The next day, they brought a Character made by them!! The hype of creating  new Histories based on what we liked most made me want to draw more and more about that kitty That I'm still drawing with the same hype nowadays.

Since that day, I drew and drew as much as I could on a computer. I managed to go to the cybercafé an average of 2 hours a day for... 3 years? (at 1€/hour it's a lot of money, now that I think about it) until I got my own computer. In the juvenile center where I was going there was a graphic pad that they let me until I could convince at home to have Mine. and I kept drawing until nowadays.

If I keep thinking about it... I didn't changed That much I think... I still like Cats, Soft and squishy things, I still sing whatever I want... It only changed my height, my way of thinking and my Love at drawing...

Now, I want to make this Hobby my work, I already made some point Commissions on DeviantArt, but I want to move Foward. I want to Start and I WILL start to do Commissions at a "Professional" level "to get into this field". I know that I'm not gonna have a rain of Commissions, and Probably most of Time I would only have a Couple of point Comissions... But I'm ready for it!

I do not know if, with this, the mobian fandom is going to be the biggest of my demands... maybe other fandoms... or even my own style of drawing, which I do not think I have found yet, are the key to it... But I'll Keep Drawing! and I will continue to draw until my body says enough!!

★ | DeviantArt | Facebook | YouTube | Ko-Fi | Picarto | Ask me | ★

#MLZthecat

[tpprpracticalskillsblog]

2nd October 2019, Summerhall Edinburgh Field Trip, The Summerhall Tour

On Monday 30th September 2019, the two classes from Inverness and Perth UHI went to Edinburgh for a tour of Summerhall and to listen to a couple working artists talk about their own practices. 

The following post is a direct reflection on my reactions in the moment as well as after the fact of the tour of Summerhall. The disjointed jumpiness of text is how I received the information.

At the beginning of the tour, we were seated in a Victorian lecture hall, where an employee of Summerhall spoke to us about the history of the building and what exhibitions we were to see on the tour. This employee mumbled a lot when he spoke making it difficult to catch what he was saying including his own name, thus him being referred to as employee throughout this post. Within the first two minutes of his talk the employee complained about how he was underpaid which was fun banter, to begin with yet soon he kept bringing it up which for me drew the line into unprofessionalism. I am not your HR team don’t complain to me about these things. Due to his mumbling, it appeared that he kept jumping from one story to the next making it very hard to follow and understand what he is saying. The employee also spoke ill of other artists saying “90% of artists you’ll work with will be absolute c words other 10% will be alright.” this to me seemed uncalled for as again it wasn’t anything to do with the tour. 

Finally, the employee started talking about Summerhall. 

The building of Summerhall has been around for hundreds of years, in the 1600s this area of Edinburgh was quite seedy and rough, in the 1700s a brewery was built and is the property of McGlenans Summerhall still has a brewery/distillery to honour this heritage. The gin distillery does tours also.

Summerhall has a cafe that is mainly occupied by mums with small children or people with laptops working away.

Summerhall Mission Statement is to be a multi-arts centre complex and over the past few years has become one of the best locations of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Summerhall was a veterinary nurse school for hundreds of years many rooms in Summerhall have changed very little from these times. They try to incorporate the history of the building and make them a part of the exhibitions. 

Summerhall has theatrical programs, as well as comic and musical programmes they run. They also do wine festivals and other events. 

They have hardly modified the rooms other than modern health and safety standards and heating.

However, there are some exceptions they do transform some spaces for certain exhibitions temporarily but when they’re done the room goes back to how it was. 

there is a war memorial library in the veterinary school.

they have a waiting list for use of studio spaces but it is very expensive. 

Summerhall has a visual arts programme, sociated programme, and curative programme.  the Sociated Programme is to have Summerhall make money you pay for a lot of the spaces etc. the Curative Programme is where they go out and look for artists and bring them in.

Summerhall has five shows at the moment of which it is my understanding we were seeing some of these on the tour.

Photography exhibition by the New York Times on climate change

Painter from Edinburgh painting exhibition deals with the exploration of sexuality, gays etc. Abstract painting.

Jane Frairs exhibition mural is highly political, Brexit, immigration, refugees. The employee describes it as a “beautiful exhibition”. The exhibition consists of murals and three short animated films. Sor politics has been talked about an awful lot in the beginning talk of the tour and it is getting irksome. 

Alan Smith exhibitions life exhibition of him right up to his death artworks and a couple films where he speaks his mind about his life as an artist and illness.

In the basement, a mental health exhibition is being prepped so cannot visit today. Opening on 10th October 2019 non-alcohol opening the employee expressed how he didn’t like this and how openings with alcohol available are better. 

The exhibition is about art therapy the employee stated “surprisingly they show real talent without and formal training” his tone and body langue tell that he is a believer you need formal training before even considering submitting your work to an institution. 

Richard D’maro is an artist in 60s, 70s, and 80s patron and collector of the arts in Scotland and South-East Europe he has an admirable archive library which recently has been opened to the public.

The employee expressed his views that an artist (because of the mumbling didn’t catch their name) was involved in Nazi practices because they grew up during the third riech the employee said “make that as you will” all though his body language and attitude said he believed they did based on one technicality no other evidence. 

Finally, the tour began. We were herded into a room full of photography no context as to what the art means or who the artist was, we were barely in there and taken a couple photos before being shuttled off somewhere else. 

Although the images have been displayed in a very professional manner I cannot give further thoughts on this exhibition as there wasn’t enough communication as to the context.

Next, we were taken to a room with art based around the themes of Brexit and immigration by artist Jane Frere. As personally I do not like mixing art and any form of politics my brain had instinctively switched off.

However, this being said one element of the exhibition 9 enjoyed and was very interested in. It was the placement of a Japanese shadow puppet box on a black plinth.

I have used plinths to display my artworks before and like here the plinth and wall colour was the same so it gives the impression of a floating artwork. Yet this is where the similarities end. Where I use the plinth as an extension of the artwork Frere uses the plinth purely for display purposes seen as the distribution of the artwork is printed directly onto the plinth branding it as a mere stand.

Sadly this all I can say on this room and exhibition as once again after a few short moments we were escorted away to a room which I was only able to have a glimpse at the reasoning for showing this space I am unsure.

The next room greatly interested me as it holds prints of works from Leonardo Da Vinci as being known as one of the artistic greats seeing these is an experience not to be forgotten. There were also works by David Boyes.

At the end of this room there is an interesting contraption. The employee informed us that it was used to separate bone from tissue, back when the building was a vetinary school. This to me was the current highlight of the tour as these vintage machines and ways of various surgery’s are an interest of mine.

In the climate change exhibition the photographs are very uniform, each shown in the same thin black frame, the same dimensions, and same high quality resolution. Again because of the messaging I didn’t pay enough attention, but I could still appreciate the art for what they are. High quality photographs.

At this point the employee asked me what my favourite exhibition was. To which I explained that the I don’t agree with the mixing of politics and art, I don’t want to see it everywhere when I know the world is going to pot. He wasn’t pleased with this answer looking me up and down like filth before abruptly turning away to talk to other students. Over the course of the tour I had be getting more and more annoyed with the employees unprofessionalism from his complaining about being underpaid to his mumbling, this pushed me over the edge. Do not ask for an opinion if you are not willing to hear any type of response.

The tour was still not over.

The employee showed us th drool where they hold staff parties. It was a room where the vetinary school would hold dissection classes, the students stand in the balcony while the lecturer directed various animals. On the side of the room there is the original lift where they’d transport the large animals such as elephants, horses, and cows to be dissected.

After this we were lead out into the courtyard where the tour ended and we made our way back into the building to listen to Anthony Shraug talk about his practices as a working artist.

[michaelkokirin]

This is my highly unprofessionally done P5 Awakening challenge. I did the best I could, but I couldn’t quite achieve professional grade quality, but screw it I was mostly just having fun anyway. Also, I don’t really have anyone to tag, so instead I challenge the first 5 people to like this.

Persona: Leviathan is based on a character that a friend of mine, @streamletsketches, made for a web comic. He was a human who got caught up between the war between dragons and humans, was taken prisoner after his dragon husband was killed, tortured and experimented on until he became the dragon of the void, and was driven insane as a result. He killed humans and dragons alike in fits of rage and insanity until he was sealed away. As he is summoned, he is constantly flickering in and out of existance (think what happens to the personas in the P4 anime when they get injured). He mostly specializes in Curse and Almighty attacks.

Codename: Spade. Spade is a Jack of all trades, able to use most weapons given to him and boasts a high Magic and Strength stat, but has very low Endurance and Agilty, as well as a subpar amount of SP. His mask is black and connects to a white hooded shirt that he wears underneath a long ragged black coat that fades to red at the bottom. His pants are simple black dress pants and his shoes are normal black dress shoes, only with a red tounge. His arcana is the temperance.

#p5 awakening challenge #persona 5 #atlus #voice acting

[squad-elf-blog]

How Do You Do It #1 - An Elf Squad Interview Series

Hello, I hope you are well. For my first handful of articles I wanted to both get to know my fellow Elf Squad members whilst at the same time maybe helping out content creators and streamers just finding their feet or yet to dive in. To do this I’ll be going through the team asking a handful of questions from how they got started, what set-up they are running and tips they would give themselves if they had to start from scratch again now. I’ll start by answering myself and my next victim (interviewee) will be Cody Bowers AKA GameOverGamercx.

What Platforms Are You Most Active On?

I’m most active on YouTube at the moment and have my own site that I run with my younger brother at ghoulishgeeks.com. I’m really trying to be more active on Twitch but it’s difficult to do for any length of time around a full time job and family life, especially when I have a five year old who I love spending time with. 

How Do You Record An Average Video?

For me, content creation doesn’t have to be expensive and I’m easily a budget level content producer purely because my funds are limited…did I mention my five year old? For a normal gameplay video I get the footage from Twitch. I will stream a video through my Xbox One S via the inbuilt Twitch app, ensuring it is streaming on the HIGH setting. You can set your Twitch to save videos for up to 14 days after streaming and you can download the video files direct from the Twitch site. This negates all cost in regards to capture cards or a beefy computer but your video quality will be at the mercy of your connection speeds to the internet and may fluctuate throughout the video.

My audio is recorded through my headset and Xbox Party chat. To ensure while you are gaming that you aren’t bombarding other players with you audio open a party chat by yourself. This will ensure it isn’t broadcast to the whole game but will be picked up by the stream if you have clicked that option to include party audio. It’s good to include a webcam in your stream as it makes the video a little more interesting and for that I just use the Kinect for Xbox One (although I must stress not to use the microphone built in to the Kinect for streams as this is horrible). The Kinect doesn’t fit out of the box to the Xbox One S (as Microsoft removed the connector from the console) and requires an adapter (sold separately) which is a pain but it’s the best and cheapest solution I had.

For a live action video I record these with the rear facing camera on my iPhone (set at 4K) on a selfie stick (Yes I hate me too). So far I’ve only really ventured into Vlog style filming so may get a proper camera if this changes.

What is Your Setup Like?

Gaming:

Xbox One S with Kinect

Tritton Kaiken Gaming Headset

Fibre Broadband

Twitch App

Editing/Producing on The Move:

iPad 2017

iPhone 6s

iMovie App for iPad

Garageband App for iPad  (For Recording Podcasts)

ComicLife App for iPad (For Creating Graphics)

Editing/Producing At Home:

Samson Go Mic

Vectr (For creating graphics and images)

Audacity (For Recording Podcasts)

ShotCut Video Editor

Comic Life 3 (Creating Comics)

What Would Be Your Advice To A Beginner?

Make sure you fully research before buying a microphone. I record a fortnightly podcast called the System Reboot. I was on episode 3 before listening to it back to back with another professional podcast to see how it matched up. The sound quality of mine was terrible after recording on a Sony Dictaphone. It was okay for voice notes but on a long form podcast my Sony sounded tinny and muffled in comparison. I did my research and bought a Samson Go Mic. It’s a few years old but it sounds great! 

Also, where possible, only stream over a wired connection. My brother and I did a charity stream over WIFI, we have great internet and a fibre optic connection but the stream was unwatchable. Audio and video dropped in and out constantly. Since then I play wired and have had no problems. Twitch streams on the highest setting with quality only dropping very occasionally. Never fully lost audio or video again since (fingers crossed). 

Thanks for Reading!

Jimmy Bowers

GhoulishGeeks

#youtuber #submission #article #interview #gaming #gamers #twitch #youtube #stream team #youtube community #elf squad

[hisourart-blog]

Colored Pencil

New Post has been published on https://hisour.com/term/colored-pencil/

Colored Pencil

A colored pencil is an art medium constructed of a narrow, pigmented core encased in a wooden cylindrical case. Unlike graphite and charcoal pencils, colored pencils’ cores are wax- or oil-based and contain varying proportions of pigments, additives, and binding agents. Water-soluble (watercolor) pencils and pastel pencils are also manufactured as well as colored leads for mechanical pencils. Colored pencils vary greatly in terms of quality and usability; concentration of pigments in the core, lightfastness of the pigments, durability of the colored pencil, and softness of the lead are some indicators of a brand’s quality and, consequently, its market price. There is no general quality difference between wax/oil-based and water-soluble colored pencils, although some manufacturers rate their water-soluble pencils as less lightfast than their similar wax/oil-based pencils. Colored pencils are commonly stored in pencil cases to prevent damage. Made of wood, there are also under this name of "pencils" plastic. Unlike lead pencils, which are classified according to their hardness (H, HB, B), colored pencils are rather soft. The hardness varies according to the marks. Some colored pencils, called watercolor pencils, whose mine contains gum arabic, allow dilution in water for a work in watercolor. Other bold colored pencils are specially used for makeup. Colored pencils are used by professional artists in different fields: drawing, illustration, comic strip, technical drawing, advertising, animation. Colored pencils can have a high level of quality in pigments, binders, wood support, choice of colors. [pt_view id="4fc0c084ce"] The traditional technique of colored pencil uses a paper more or less grained, depending on the desired effect. The coloring is done by successive successive light plots, hatching, which can then be crisscrossed and possibly superimposed with other colors to produce a wide variety of shades. The mixing of colors is done both by the superposition and the physical mixture of the pigments, but also optically by juxtaposition. The white paper that remains apparent gives the work a great lightness. However, one can insist until the paper is completely covered with pigment and get surfaces very dense in color, always having a very rich material. You can also use technical tips to achieve effects: stamping thin lines or dots with a tool, scraping, etc. The use of wax-based mediums in crayons can be traced back to the Greek Golden Age, and was later documented by Roman scholar, Pliny the Elder. Wax-based materials have appealed to artists for centuries due to their resistance to decay, the vividness and brilliance of their colors, and their unique rendering qualities. Although colored pencils had been used for “checking and marking” for decades prior, it was not until the early 20th century that artist-quality colored pencils were produced. Manufacturers that began producing artist-grade colored pencils included Faber-Castell in 1908 (the Polychromos range was initially 60 colors) and Caran d’Ache in 1924, followed by Berol Prismacolor in 1938. Other notable manufacturers include Cretacolor, Derwent, Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth, Mitsubishi (uni-ball), Schwan-Stabilo, and Staedtler. Types: Several types of colored pencils are manufactured for both artistic and practical uses. Artist grade: Artist-grade pencils are filled with higher concentrations of high-quality pigments than student-grade colored pencils. Their lightfastness – resistance to UV rays in sunlight – is also measured and documented. Core durability, break and water resistance, and brand popularity are also notable features of artist-grade colored pencils. Artist-grade pencils have the largest color ranges; 72 color sets are very common and there are several brands of 120 colors or more. They are also typically available as individual pencils. Student and scholastic grade: Many of the same companies that produce artist-grade colored pencils also offer student-grade materials and scholastic-level colored pencils. Lightfastness rating is usually not included in student- and scholastic-grade colored pencils. Core composition and pigment-binder ratio vary among artist- and student-grade colored pencils even when the same company produces them. As they are intended for different users, student- and scholastic-grade colored pencils lack the high quality pigments and lightfastness standards that hold artist-grade products true to their name. Also their color range is smaller, most often limited to 24 or 36 colors. Using lower grade colored pencils does have its advantages, however. Some companies offer erasable colored pencils for beginning artists to experiment with. Also, due to their significantly lower prices, student-grade colored pencils are ideal for elementary and middle school students. Colored pencil manufactures tailor their products — and prices — to different age and skill groups. Mechanical colored pencils: Although not as common as graphite mechanical pencils, some companies also offer colored refill leads. Currently, a very limited color range exists for colored refill leads. Watercolor pencils: Watercolor pencils, otherwise known as water-soluble pencils, are a versatile art medium. The pencils can be used dry—like normal colored pencils—or they can be applied "wet" to get the desired watercolor effect. In wet application, the artist first lays down the dry pigment and then follows up with a damp paintbrush to intensify and spread the colors. This technique can also be used to blend colors together, and many artists will apply both techniques in one art piece. Artist-grade watercolor pencils typically come in 60 or 72 colors with a few 120 color assortments. Pastel pencils: Pastel pencils are similar to hard pastels. Their advantage is that they can be sharpened to a fine point and so they are useful for adding details on pastel drawings. Colored pencils are traditionally associated with children's creative hobbies and school activities thanks to their non-staining and easy-to-handle side. They are competing in this area with fountain pens. By their manufacture (use of dyes based on heavy metals such as chromium or cadmium, varnished wood) the pencils may contain toxic substances for children. Some non-toxic alternatives are proposed. A variety of pencils of particular color is the blue light pen, in the form of a conventional pencil or mines for pencil, having a single color, a light blue, which has the characteristic of not being detected during the line reproduction with a high-contrast photographic film (lith film), or which can be easily removed by adjustment during a CT scan. The blue pencil makes it possible to make a sketch, which is then inked in black, without it being necessary to erase it (with the risks induced by the exfoliation if the ink is not dry or the support not very resistant). The blue color does not affect the final result. The blue light pen is used in graphics, comics, manga, animation, for documents in black and white (even if they are colored later). Techniques: Colored pencils can be used in combination with several other drawing mediums. When used by themselves, there are two main rendering techniques colored pencil artists use. Layering is usually used in the beginning stages of a colored pencil drawing, but can also be used for entire pieces. In layering, tones are gradually built up using several layers of primary colors. Layered drawings usually expose the tooth of the paper and are characterized by a grainy, fuzzy finish. Burnishing is a blending technique in which a colorless blender or a light-colored pencil is applied firmly to an already layered drawing. This produces a shiny surface of blended colors that gets deep into the grain of the paper.