#its also on tapas but fuck tapas

[ratislatis]

tapas' 1500 minimum chapter word count for the contest is singlehandedly destroying my spirit where it stands

#she speaks! #tapas contest #guys what if I gave up. #ive never posted about this contest on tumblr but #I just need you all to know #I. HATE. word counts #I HATE putting in needless exposition #okay maybe not always needless but #my writing is curt for a reason #I don't fuck about with fluff #I don't like to waste peoples' time #UUUGHHHHH TAPASSS YOU'RE REALLY STARIN ME DOWN HERE GODDAMMIT #UUUUUUGGGGHHHHH I DONT WANT TO WRIIITTTEEEEE #I also need you all to know my book was already written #I just spontaneously submitted it #but I weighed the chapters weird and now I need to extend the last ones #its so joever see you all in hell #nevermind introduction to the snow just came on we are so back

[uniformbravo]

me: this webcomic made me cry 😭😭😭

the webcomic:

(your wings and mine)

#literally a masterpiece #(the link is to webtoon but i think it's on tapas as well) #retag later #webtoons blogging #about fucking TIME i read this one #its been on my list forever i just never got around to it -_- #im working on fake manga covers for an au of my ocs im calling 'under your wings' #and working on the title typography got me thinkin abt ywam #as it also has 'wings' in the title :) #& trying to design a title is HARD so i wanted to see how they did theirs lol #the rest is history babeyyyyyyyy (orz)

[strifethedestroyer]

Hi Strife!! Good to see you back king I was lowkey getting a bit worried, but I hope you’re doing at least a bit better now! Honestly please don’t overwhelm yourself or anything, you’ll pull through! Idk if it’s weird but here are some pictures of the one and only

jesus christ soren HELLO!!

p.s. to anyone reading this, i mention suicide in the tags very briefly and only once but still thought i should put a disclaimer juuuuuuust in case.

#i feel so bad for making you worry like this im fucking. fuck #dont worry though im always okay in the end!!! always!!! i just kind of isolate myself and not feel well for a while and then i come out #of my hole and im alive!! thats all it is its isolating and nothing beyond that. dont listen to the shit i write on here or on my wall #in wa becuase even if i feel like it i guarantee you i do not have the balls to kill myself or anything so dont worry!!! #ALSO TAPAS!!!! i still deadass look at her pictures even now she brings me so much joy still you have no idea #oh my god speaking of cats. ohoho soren you're gonna be thrilled to hear this. i should just make a post hold on #anyways thank you so fucking much for the ask and the photos and everything you've done i just. i want to. idk man ilysm

[fatcowboys]

archie had Lot of things happen tonight and now robin knows and as scary as that is. there is some relief there too. there is some relief of okay. the cat is out of the bag. i dont know when the consequences are coming but i know they are and as scary as that is? its also a relief to not have that hovering over their head. and its a relief to know they have a twelve foot robot sleeping nearby who has a lot of morphine, and a friend who can shoot electricity (even if shooting at a person wouldn't be his first choice). and its a relief that while there will be consequences. the time until then is theirs to use, and they know they are gonna use every second of it well.

#likeeee. it was just a little moment of talking to robin and being like. #okay. im in a weird spot. but god damn im very glad to not be you anymore #things are going to happen at some point bc at some point when it benefits you to say something. you Will #but god its a relief to not be you. and be investigsting this thing bcj want to and not bc donovan told me to #to be sitting here eating tapas and not hiding on a roof #to be planning to crash a party instead of watching it through the windows #robin said theyre gonna kill you. and shes probably right. #but i am going to use any time i have until then however i want to. #i am simply. feeling Things #ALSO fix being like. i am a pacifist. but also. no. i can hire mercenaries and i have morphine. #and brontide is like do u want me to electrocute this person???? fuck school i dont love electrocuting people but uh #and cirrus (i think it was cirrus but one of the twins) was like yeah we can go lie to them For you #and just. its good. feeling things about archie my friend archie

[komorinokuu]

zaphielmot is going through it besties

#hi sorry for the lack of actual posts and reblogs lately ive been having a case of 'brain wont shut up' #last week was the week of intense depression anxiety and imposter syndrome #this week i start off by skidding a foot against the pavement and getting a gash in my chin that needs to be either glued or stitched shut #its fine though i am pogging through the pain #also i just finished heartstopper the tv series and ive been reading it as a webcomic since before it was on netflix #before it was published in book version #before it was even on webtoons like it wasnt even in color i want to say it was on tapas or maybe alice oseman's website or smth i forget #show was good though #the british accents got to me a bit but their playlist was fucking bangin

[utahlive]

Q&A yippeee!!

answering some questions from the inbox :D Some of these are a little old, so sorry u_u

aw man I get you!! All the stickers are in plain white envelopes and contain the sticker + a little doodle from me :] Here's a little front + back view of what a typical letter looks like:

no theres no lore whatsoever

Maybe a 6 or 7? They do have a plastic coating and I've had mine on my sketchbook for a while, but I'm not sure how he would fare in the elements... he also may try to peel off and run away if you take him to work

I don't know about Ao3 but I have considered posting this to Tapas or Webtoon. For now its tumblr exclusive! :thumbs_up:

Youre right it was really fucked up of me to draw real wilbur soot getting murdered by his father, philza minecraft. that was really big news and my true crime rpf has gone too far

yeah go crazy :D (emphasis on with credit tho)

#4th wall break

[genericpuff]

(disclaimer, this is coming from a heartstopper fan! i love heartstopper this is not hate!!)

i think at least part of the annoyance with heartstopper isn't just that isn't a light fluffy ya series, it's also that its another example of how the queer media that gets the most mainstream attention tends to be this kind of light fluffy ya stuff that focuses on two conventially attractive queer boys or men and it also tends to be written by people who aren't queer men on top of that, so not only can it feel very samey but it can feel like other queer people are relegated to side characters in the stories of cis gay men. and as someone who loves heartstopper i get that on some level.

btw by "written by people who aren't queer men" NOT saying that isn't not written by queer people. alice oseman is genderfluid and aroace, becky albertalli is bisexual, etc. and while i think the point is still valid there is a misogyny element in that a lot of the focus is put on things that are written by women or people they perceive as women while tumblr darlings like good omens and ofmd (written by presumably straight men) don't get the same treatment.

nah y'know what, that's fair, I can get how frustrating it can be for a lot of popular queer stories to feel samey, I've definitely gotten BL-fatigue in the past on platforms like WT and Tapas because many of them ARE the same and feel like they're just piggybacking off trends for the sake of clout (and this is a problem in the heterocis romance stories too, don't get me fucking started on how dark romance has turned into torture porn where vulnerable women are constantly being victimized by rich powerful men and we're just supposed to root for that ??), but it's one of those things where like, what might be seen as just more corny shit could very well be the revelation another person needs that they're gay / trans / etc. that the story helped them realize. there's just a point where i see these arguments against cheesy popular queer stories that teeter dangerously close to being queerphobic and, as you said, misogynist, simply because "it was written by someone who i perceive as a woman so that makes it BAD!"

and I didn't mention it in the original post because I didn't want to @ OP in any way but in the comment section they literally said "i dont think heartstopper itself is all that bad but it has pretty much aimed the direction of all mainstream gay comics towards wholesomeness instead of anything more interesting so i want to destroy heartstopper to destroy heartstopper clones" and that gives me massive ick because it implies their sole reasoning for including it was "chill and happy queer stories bad, if a character doesn't suffer enough then they're not interesting"?? why can't LGBTQ+ audiences have more 'vanilla' stories that aren't all sad and angsty all the time? are we not entitled to the same corny romcom vanilla shit that the heterocis are entitled to? why do LGBTQ+ characters - and by extension, people - have to suffer to qualify as being 'interesting'? You're already interesting, you're you! like i'm sorry, are we trying to scare people straight??? 😭 shit, that's even a plot point that's touched on in Heartstopper itself where Nick is questioning his sexuality and he starts googling shit and it's just ALL the terrifying news stories of queer kids being ostracized / bullied / murdered / etc. and as much as it's important to be aware of the ongoing issues so we can keep fighting for our rights, we ALSO need to find balance and remember to celebrate the stories that AREN'T that because we need something to be hopeful for, something we can find peace in. I don't think Heartstopper is some deeply profound piece of work, but it also doesn't seem like it's trying to be? It's a low stakes celebration of the LGBTQ+ experience that's very warm and comforting, especially for those who are the same ages as the main characters who are often being persuaded by the grown-ups around them that it's a death sentence to be gay / trans / etc.

and it's not like we HAVEN'T had popular pieces of queer representative media that explored things outside of cheesy BL, like are we forgetting about Nimona which explored both the gay and genderfluid experience in a very accessible and fun way while still being mature and not pandering to its audience over how society has made monsters out of queer people?

(and even then I'm sure there are folks who would argue "actually, here are the issues with Nimona" , and that's fine tbh, we can like media and appreciate what it brings to the table while also discussing what it lacks in, such as what we're doing now with Heartstopper! progress is a never-ending journey!!)

and also okay, not me trying to be argumentative in the slightest BUT I don't really get the argument that 'other queer people' are being sidelined for the main characters? unless there's something I'm missing here lol (I will apologize for that because it's admittedly been a while since I've re-read Heartstopper so I should probably go do that to refresh myself on it). like i say that in the sense that Heartstopper is clearly meant to be about two gay male teenagers. just like how Nimona is about a shapeshifter who is not a girl or a boy (they're Nimona!) and a gay man who are both trying to change the system that's other'd them for years for the better. that is the story Heartstopper is trying to tell and it achieves that. it also has a trans character plotline that I could see people arguing feels sidelined but I think there's a massive difference between 'sidelining' and just having a B plot ? my honest take with that is not every piece of representative media is going to be able to cover every single topic, it's just not doable for one piece of media to be a monolith for everything, the same as how one person can't be a monolith for an entire community of people. BUT that doesn't mean works like Heartstopper and Nimona can't inspire others to also lend their voices into the medium and create that representation that's needed. That's why we need ✨variety✨ and Heartstopper is part of that variety by offering a more vanilla cutesy story full of good vibes for people who want that sort of thing.

IDK, I think there's just a lot of nuance that's being missed in that poll, and in the difference between Heartstopper inspiring more people to write happy cozy BL stories vs. implying that it's had an actual negative influence on modern art and media in the same way that series like Homestuck and LO have to the point that people think it needs to be destroyed, like wtf LOL Like they're not even comparable IMO and a lot of the arguments I see people making about why it is just feel a little backwards, and those arguments obfuscate the real issue which is just "popular thing is popular and people like to piggyback off popular shit". That's a fact for basically any niche and genre, these trends come and go. Even if the whole cutesy BL trend passes one day (which it will) it'll be replaced by something else that people will also inevitably find samey and boring after a while. This is not a concept that's unique to LGBTQ+ media, it's universal.

Balance is important and I think finding that balance is as much a responsibility on the shoulders of the consumer as it is on the creator. And I don't think Heartstopper deserves to be put into the same camp as stories like LO which literally straightwashes its canonically queer characters and gives those queer identities to nothingburger characters who are easy to shoo out of the plot to make way for the heterocis ones (while still parading itself around like it's actually 'queer rep' which... it really isn't.) Like all three of the comics in that poll are vastly different, serving different audiences, with different goals and intentions. It's comparing apples to oranges to pineapples.

The worst Heartstopper has to offer is just a low stakes plot that might not appeal to everyone or feel 'samey' which yeah, valid, but in the grander sense of whether or not it's had a negative effect on queer media just for being... cheesy? And inspiring other people to write stories like it? I don't get the argument, it feels like it's severely missing the point of what we're fighting for here - to live happy little unbothered lives - but that's just me ╮(￣ω￣;)╭ I'm definitely not trying to be a dick about it in any way and I don't want anyone to think I'm not open to the opposing points here, I do agree with you on the oversaturation of samey BL stories, but it just rose some massive red flags to see Heartstopper next to frigging Homestuck and Lore Olympus LOL

#ask me anything #anon ama #anon ask me anything #ama #heartstopper

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

Since this is currently my most active blog with some followers, just wanted to say a few things:

It's so incredibly depressing to see tumblr sellout to the whole AI shit and try to pacify users by the opt-out toggle option when it mostly likely won't do jack shit. Tumblr has been doing shitty things for awhile now, but out of all old social media it was a last shabby bastion for various weirdos, including a fandom weirdo like me.

I'm just an old silly hobbyist artist who badly draws fanart of old cartoons, but even the idea that my stuff will help train AI to be better to stealing desirable art of actual artists, whose work is their livelyhood is fucking maddening. Opting out won't help (Sources say data is already available to companies). Deleting stuff won't help (tumblr have access to deleted blogs and reblogs put your stuff in reach too). Using Nightshade and Glaze is not a viable option for me (my old laptop's specks is not up to support those programs, and I'm too afraid to try and accidently fry it and than all my shit would be lost) and even those doesn't solve the problems of all of my old stuff across like 7 sideblogs+my old tumblr account's 2 blogs.

Of course, maybe all hope is not lost for tumblr. There may be solutions and decisions later down the line. But for now I probably won't be posting any new stuff for a bit while I decide if I want to stay on tumblr and be complicit in feeding the insidious and insatiable AI machines.

And as alternatives, I created new account for bluesky, and consider pillowfort and cohost to share my random silly art. Even dusted out my old tapas and newgrounds accounts, and consider webtoons and comicfury to post and archive my few comics. Hopefully I will share links in my pinned post when I set whatever I decide up, even if all of it is so exhausting and depressing.

And hey, if you read this so far - just a reminder:

Opt out on that 'share with third parties' toggle like explained here! - it may do jack shit, but its better than nothing.

Write a polite disagreeing feedback to staff like suggested on this post. - remember not all staff had a hand in this, so no need to be rude, but make sure to have your voice be heard.

Use Nightshade and Glaze to poison your art - if you are an artist and are able to do it unlike me. It may not be sure proof way to stop/kill AI, but it sure shows that artists will fight back.

Use ArtShield - an online lowtech alternative to Nightshade & Glaze, puts a stamp/watermark on your art, invisible to humans but supposedly makes AI think its unsuitable to train on. (edit)

And please, take a moment for yourself. Because it fucking sucks.

So, I'm gonna go take a step back and burrow into some hole and cry for all of those who AI fucks over. I won't be gone forever, but for now I'm too frustrated and dissapointed to do anything.

and ALSO just to be fucking clear

🇺🇦 I STAND WITH UKRAINE 🇺🇦

🇵🇸 FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE 🇵🇸

🏳️‍⚧️ TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS 🏳️‍⚧️

🚫 AI CREATIONS ARE NOT ART🚫

fuck you shitty side tumblr I wish you all a fucking hammer car explosion

#[personal.] #i dont usually share my opinions on my fanart blogs i usually share my rage on my main but fuck it #i just wanted to let people know my fucking stance #because i spent all day in a daze and so fucking frustrated. I just got into fucking groove on tumblr posting #it was my one simple joy in this shit of the current world but tumblr had to poison all of it just like that #also just so you know if you disagree with any of the last four u can unfollow me or i can fucking block u. either way get out. #now im gonna crawl to AO3 to write my comfort drabbles for my immortal soul because i lost all motivation to draw

[batshaped]

twitter stop fucking up for one second challenge (impossible)

well,

here’s the thing. it feels like social media is changing lately. every social media site seems to be fucking up or getting worse in its own special little way. i recently read and thought a lot about this article which coins the term “enshittification” and describes the process by which every social media platform eventually becomes so greedy as to become unusable. it makes me wonder if the social internet is due for a big shift in the near future. 

for a long time, twitter was the best place for me. for all its issues, it had the audience that i could reach the easiest, that was the most invested in my art. i got (still get) a lot of awesome replies and really great analysis of my work on twitter, which i didn’t receive on any other platform. i was able to encourage those readers by retweeting their comments and theories to show that i liked hearing their thoughts. i could use the Moments feature to organize my art and make my comic easily readable in order. and anyone could look at my twitter, account or no.

ever since the site was bought out, twitter is getting worse. i can’t use the app on mobile anymore because every reply section is drowned out by blue checks and choked with ads. the Moments feature was disabled and people couldn’t easily read my comics in order anymore. and this is without even touching on the bigger/more serious issues the buyout has brought to the app. these are just the ways it has made my personal experience of being an artist on there worse. and now, apparently, you can’t even look at my work unless you have an account.

it’s been pretty common in the past year for the new management to implement a bad feature and then undo it after backlash, and maybe this too will be reversed. but even if it is unimplemented, the platform will continue to get worse. all platforms are getting worse right now. all of them are becoming untenable to use without 7 bespoke browser extensions to block ads, hide specific unwanted content, force chronological order, and so on. on mobile i don’t even bother. apps are unusable. 

on top of that, i have the personal issue of not being the type of creator who is particularly good at staying on top of more than one or two platforms daily. twitter has been my main for years now, so i’m pretty good about updating it very regularly. instagram is trailing behind, i usually remember to post there daily (especially as i’m remaking mine right now and posting my entire backlog) but sometimes i forget. and that’s kind of my limit. every other site falls by the wayside because i just don’t want to spend my whole day or life updating platforms. i know there are tools that can do it automatically for you but i don’t want to do it that way and then i’d have to figure out a new tool and get yet another account on yet another app and install yet another extension to use it.

i just want to draw. i don’t know how we arrived at this place where we need to be 700 other things when we are just artists. i draw and write, isn’t that enough? if i wanted a presence on tiktok i’d also have to be a video editor who pays close attention to trends and makes sure to transform my artwork into something people on that app are interested in. even if i just wanted to have a strong presence on say, twitter/instagram/tumblr/tapas/webtoon i’d have to take on another (unpaid) job as my own social media manager, meticulously managing my uploads across 5+ apps and making sure everything is up to date and tailored to what “works” on each particular platform. i already have a day job—i’m a storyboard artist. the art i post online is supposed to be made and given freely for my own enrichment first and foremost, and for the joy of sharing with others as a close second.

i wonder if we’re due for a mass rejection of this increasingly draining cable-wars-style model of spreading ourselves thin across multiple platforms just to reach the exclusive audience each one provides. i’m starting to feel done with that concept, but i still want to share my art. i want to hear my readers’ thoughts. i want to create things that connect with others. i want to do it without these ever-mounting obstacles.

what i’m doing about it is creating my own website at my own domain that belongs to me. i doubt i’ll be quitting social media when it’s done. social media is still where the audience i cherish lives. but you can bet that when that website is ready to be shared, i’ll be talking about it on every social media account i own. i’ll be telling everyone there’s a place to look at my art where you don’t need an account, you don’t have to struggle through a morass of ads, and you don’t have to line the pockets of a billionaire who bought a social media app on a whim. it’ll just be you and my art. alone together.

by the way, to @whatthehelljake​ i apologize for writing a fucking SAT essay on a screenshot of your reply. any exasperated tone here is not directed at you at all. it’s directed at this sea of obstacles that disrupt the simple concept of “i made art and i want to share it with you.” your reply is how i found out today that twitter made this change. i cherish the fact that you want to connect with my art so much that you alerted me to this. i wish that wasn’t necessary. i want to make my work on my own terms—and want you to be able to experience it on YOUR own terms.

all that to say, i think the website is going to be the main answer to this issue. i don’t see myself having the energy to update tumblr that much more often than i already do, though maybe i’ll try to pick up the pace a little now. we’ll see. holy shit if you read all this go drink a glass of water or something get up and stretch. ok thank you bye <3

#not art #fucking essay length thing under the cut #i don't know what else to say just read it if you want to know LOL

[iwashie]

💛𝙱𝙻𝙻𝙺 𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝙱𝚛𝚊𝚣𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 💚

︶꒦꒷꒷꒦︶ "warnings"- brasileiros que curtem as minhas coisas, agora é hora de vocês aparecerem. AQUI É BR PORRA! The songs have Spotify link. (pt 2 coming soon)

💚ISAGI- MAIS NINGUÉM- BANDA DO MAR

He gives me the vibe of no matter if you're surrounded by people or alone, things with him get comfortable, you two create your own little world, lost in each other's eyes. It doesn't matter if you're just friends, have a crush, dating, married, things with him are light and cozy.

💛 BACHIRA MEGURU- WHISKY A GO-GO- ROUPA NOVA

He would definitely love this song and dance with you, no matter if he doesn't understand the lyrics, the beat speaks for itself. He passes this chaotic vibe of Brazilian party. He is the fun in person and brings joy to things like this song, with him there are no bad situations!

💚 ALEXIS NEES- EXAGERADO- CAZUZA

he has the same vibe as the lyrics of this Brazilian anthem – as dramatic and passionate as Cazuza in this song. He would take you a thousand stolen roses, throw himself at your feet and apologize if you had made a mistake, he would also cry a lot, making drama if you ignored him.

💛 MICHAEL KAISER- ENTRE TAPAS E BEIJOS- CALYPSO

He gives me this vibe of always fighting but never separating, always at loggerheads. You two have good times and bad. You don't know if you love or hate him, always wanting to strangle him but also kiss him. you two pull hair, beat each other, bite and love each other—people don't know if you love or hate each other. You two are match made in heaven like beans and rice.

💚 RYUSEI SHIDOU- TE AMO DISGRAÇA- BACO EXU DO BLUES

Impossible to listen to this song and not remember ryusei. bottles of wine, fucking all over the house, on the balcony, in the car and in the bathroom of the bar. That mix of rap, blues and hi-hop is so much his vibe. Indefinite relationship, you fight and fuck, love each other. It's both of you against the world.

💛 KURONA RANZE- EQUALIZE- PITTY

He's so smart, handsome, calm and everything you like that you get lost around him. He's so perfect and friend/boyfriend/husband material that you don't have eyes for anyone else. You like him so much that you want to keep him to yourself, etch him in every bit of you so you don't miss him.

💚 NIKO IKKI- EDUARDO E MÔNICA- LEGIÃO URBANA

he's totally Eduardo, all silly, funny and charming that the need to keep him protected and around is enormous. He was sure to fall in love with someone older, maybe a little different from him, but the feeling would simply be there, slowly growing. "And who will one day say that there is reason in things made by the heart."

💛 CHIGIRI HYOMA- DE JANEIRO A JANEIRO- ROBERTA CAMPOS & NANDO REIS

He has this something that doesn't matter if you deny it or just haven't realized it yet, you like him and he likes you, and no matter how much time passes, that feeling isn't going to change. He's like, "If I date it's to get married."

💚 KUNIGAMI RENSUKE- O SOL E A LUA- PEQUENO CIDADÃO

You can compare he before and after the Wildcard to this song. Before he was all cheerful and had the dream of being a football hero, he was hot. And now he's "the sun froze its heart", all emo… sad. but I can also say that he would not give up so easy on you, as he does with football and like the sun still asks the moon in marriage.

💛 TABITO KARASU- DESPERDIÇOU- SANDY & JUNIOR

he dumb like ryusei, not knowing how to deal with the passion of the person, but he sure would do the same as Junior in this song- I can see him messing up your wedding day, saying he still loves you and taking you still dressed as a bride away and promising eternal passion. or he just wasted the love, left and never called, ran away with your peace.

#bllk imagines #blue lock x reader #blue lock headcanons #blue lock #bllk x you #blue lock x you #bachira meguru #isagi yoichi #michael kaiser #karasu tabito #ryusei shidou #kurona ranze #chigiri hyoma #kunigami rensuke #niko ikki #alexis ness #song post #spotify #bllk fluff #Spotify

[peppinofucker69]

it is SO fuckin funny how everyone latched onto peppino "pizzapasta" spaghetti as THE transmasc representation we all need

and like to be honest? fuck yeah, peppino IS the transmasc representation we all needed and deserved, never have i ever seen a more transmasc character

also i forgot if his middle name was pizzapasta or not so. it is now fuck it we ball

the funniest thing about peppino is that he is exact opposite of my transition goals but yet.... he feels so much more personal to me than a lot of others. maybe cause he's not so infantilized or treated less than male in any way. like yeah, some guy can also be trans!!!!

like i suppose its cause he's not canonically trans. real rep is nice, but a lot of the most popular trans rep i've seen just is not relatable unless you're a Gen Zer alt kid in high school and i'm long, long past that. peppino ends up being far more relatable to people on a more visceral level and i think thats why he's so easily projected upon? and the fact he's very much the opposite of what is considered the trendy sanitized queer thing-- think boyfriends on tapas for example, even if he's not canonically anything i think the mass projection onto him and the feelings he's elicited kind of make him canonically trans in my heart. creation is a give and take, etc...

#asks

[thephooka]

Spent a bus ride yesterday reading a 1997 book by Gary Martin called The Art of Comic Book Inking that someone recced in the Cartoonist Co-Op server. I'm not the target audience for it (it's geared towards traditional inkers working in the print comics industry and is more for b&w comics imo) but it's an...interesting look into how the industry was back then. And by interesting, I mean bleak as fuck!

More below:

So I got curious and tried to find what the page rates for being an inker are like now, and had a look at this list of rates from Comic Book Resource, which are all self-reported by industry professionals.*

You'll notice 'inker' isn't even its own category here. The closest one is 'line artist' which is both pencils and inks, which for the sake of argument let's say is twice the amount of work as inking by itself. (It's not, pencils are harder, don't at me.) I took the average of rates from 2020-2022 for line artists and got $227/page, for both pencils and inks.

The very lowest rate of $100/pg in 1997 for JUST inking would be $190 today. If line artists do twice the work (again, an underestimate) by doing pencils too, that ought to translate to $380/page at the lowest end today. It doesn't somehow! Huh. Have a look through that rate list and you'll see rates even lower than $100/page in today's money (mostly from the usual suspects.)

Here's some more fun math:

Forget the $28k number above--he's including covers in this number, which pay differently. Say you do 22pgs/month at $100/page--that's $26,400 (1997)/$50,282 (today). Subtract a third for taxes** and your take-home amount would be $33,522 in today's money, which works out to a wage of $16/hr.***

At the high end of Martin's numbers, let's say 44 pages a month at $150/page for a total of $79,200, or $52,800 after taxes, and an hourly rate of $25/hr. Adjusted for inflation, that's $150,845 gross/$100,563 net/$48 hourly.

Average these numbers together, and the rates in today's money would be $67,042 net/$32 hourly.

Assuming line artists do twice the work, these numbers ought to be doubled, at $120k/yr or $64/hr.

But by the actual numbers we have, if a line artist works that same amount at the average rate of $227/page, that works out to $59,928 before taxes, $40,132 after, and an hourly wage of $19.

The kicker: the living wage in my metro area (same one Gary Martin lived in when he published this book, incidentally) is $21/hr, assuming no kids. Lol.

This is also assuming you can pencil AND ink at least 22 pages a month every month sustainably without destroying yourself, which is an EXTREMELY generous assumption. Also, no one gets health insurance working in comics, so take that into account with this shoulder-destroying pace.

I'm sure I'm mostly preaching to the choir here, and none of this information is really a surprise to me--oh comics is also a bad industry that doesn't page a living wage? shocker!--but it's interesting**** to actually be able to run the numbers on it to see how much, exactly, rates have stagnated. A lot, as it turns out!

Anyway, here's a little look into how comics pays, in case you're unfamiliar. It pays bad.

*this isn't even including companies like Webtoons and Tapas, who are fairly notorious at this point for underpaying and overworking creators. This is largely print publishing.

**the self-employment tax rate in the US is something like 15.1% and has been since at least 1990 but advice is usually to pay a third in quarterly taxes--easier to overpay and get it back at tax time than underpay and owe.

***based on 40hrs/wk, and I'm showing this number bc I think more people understand hourly wages than rates. I wouldn't include the amount for taxes in this bc if you're working an hourly wage you're probably not self-employed.

****LOUD SCREAMING

#artists and math DON'T mix he's right #I did my best tho #also afaik the bit about royalties is still true #possibly even more true #comics #comic industry #inking #inker #line artist #page rates #industry rates #living wage #late stage capitalism #also if for some reason you're going to whine at me about free markets please eat your own pants instead idc

[toonbly]

this makes 0 sense if you don’t know the convoluted series of events thats happening in a DNDads rp server im in with some friends but its fucking funny so I’m posting it anyway   

Commissions | Patreon        

Check out my webcomic @tiptheferrymen ! Also available on Tapas!

#dungeons and daddies #grant wilson #nick close #terry jr #dndads #joxtart

[shizukateal]

Anyways, read This Isekai Maid Is Forming A Union!

I love trashy wish fulfillment. Sometimes even when it is problematic. I love it because I am petty, and I need a way to rot my brain that isn't alcohol/smoking/gambling/gaming, and I know not to base my entire morality on the media I consume. Still, even in the works I like some tropes can get exhausting, especially when I have to strain the suspension of my ethics to see the main character as a good, deserving person. That's where this story comes in, as a breath of fresh air!

This Isekai Maid Is Forming A Union! is about a woman currently called "Bridgette". Bridgette not only has reincarnated numerous times in a fantasy world, she has reincarnated in a nexus fantasy world comprised of many Otome Isekai novels, which she shares with other reincarnated women who have read the stories they end up in and have changed their courses. And in turn, she has read the novels about them reincarnating and changing the course of events, effectively one-upping them in Meta Layers™️. But that advantage is a bit cut short since she only reincarnates as maids, with all the implications that being a dark-skinned, freckled foreigner serving a white noble house in a faux-rococo/victorian(?) era imply. At last, however, she has finally decided to join the fate-altering fray when the novel she's currently inhabiting threatens not only her life, but also that of her coworkers. It's on webtoon canvas and tapas and at the time of this writing (September 1st 2022) it has concluded its first season (it will come back on November, apparently).

Now, if you don't particularly care about the genre a deconstruction of it might not feel like your wheelhouse, but hey, aren't we all at least Really Fucking Tired of anime Isekais that treat slavery like a mere kink? This is as close a callout for that as you will get. But no, seriously, the thing is well-written; it's worldbuilding feels researched and realized, its good at keeping the tension even if not much technically happens so far, and it doesn't skim on showing how the abuse of the system affects everyone, even the villains who absolutely need to be taken down. I really want it to become more popular, so please give it a try if you can.

#webtoons #tapas #this isekai maid is forming a union! #isekai maid union #otome isekai #otome romance #otome

[felikatze]

pssst. webcomic recommendations. pretty pleasd

from your url i'm gonna go out on a limb and say you like orv. excellent.

my number one recommendations for you are:

Surviving Romance (on Webtoon): Chaerin is trapped in a romance novel. At first, she loved it, but whenever she attempted to divert the plot... it did not end well for her. If you've seen people talk about it, you know what twist it pulls in episode 1, but if you don't, please go into it blind. Just read episode 1, and decide if it's for you.

We have a majorly female cast (there's like, 3 dudes max, and they're all side characters). Big focus on female relationships and the idealization of romance. Chaerin moves away from desparately clinging to a romance with a man that doesn't satisfy her as she befriends her classmates who she previously only thought of as "extras" to the central romance of her life. Great mystery elements, extremely suspenseful at parts, I would die for Hisui, she is the best, she is the cutest.

Also lots of meta shenanigans and timeloops. And the episode 1 genre twist. insane comic all around. beautiful art too. it's the opposite of orv's text based focus in that surviving romance could only ever work in a primarily visual medium

Next up, The Ember Knight! Also on webtoon!

After his brother is murdered right before his eyes, Nagyunn swears to avenge him. However, being twins.... who can be sure which one died that day? He takes on his brother's identity as a knight apprentice to gather the forces necessary and bides his time until the opportunity to strike.

Nagyunn is Fucking Amazing if you like kdj because he is. the exact same and not at all. Nagyunn is Very Intense all the time but what they have in common is that. Nagyunn's only skill is lying. He is lying about his name. He is lying about his skills. He is lying about his motivations. What if you had to solve every single problem with a deception check. The insane bluffing he gets up to is both suspenseful and lowkey hilarious.

Biggest complaint would be the amount of characters with similar names. Nagyunn and Nuljin, and in the most recent arc, Lauzun, Laurun, and Laukun. Are You Kidding Me

i've read the entire thing twice and every single update puts me in absolute agony.

Other comics I won't gush about for as long and that are probably more off the ball from orv:

Estio (on Reaperscans):

Starts out VERY cinderella-esque with a boy who can talk to animals and gets bullied about it. So he decides to leave town! Fuck yall! With his gift he finds work as a Fantasy Adventurer, except there's more to reading hearts than it appears, and there's many people who'd do anything to have that ability on their side....

I haven't been the same since the chapter where Estio kills people. go boy go. his sidekicks include a talking cat, a talking monkey, and a talking cactus. the cactus thirsts for blood.

The demon prince goes to the academy (also on reaperscans):

i fucking love this one. dumbass author is put into his own novel as karmic punishment. but being reborn as the demon prince in the world of "the demon king is already dead" puts a damper on a promise of slice of life shenanigans

the first chapter of the comic sucks it's just exposition but after that i love this one dearly. after the initial running for your life arc it does turn to school life stuff but protag boy reinhardt is so insane that i'd love just watching him do homework. i love that boy very much. he will kick people in the nuts. the school aspect is kind of novel in the sense that he's the obligatory bully character.

it's fantastic. love him.

uhhh what else have i got. quick pitch time!

Vindicaris (has its own website, also on tapas): Elemental beings Ces and Sel vow revenge on the company that created them. Extremely edgy (which is fantastic), the most dysfunctional protag duo ever, fun perspective shifts between Ces and Sel as well as people still at the company. Nobody's really in the right and everyone uniquely sucks.

Ending Makers (reaperscans): Two top MMO players get isekai'd into their game. Only problem: their characters are engaged. Now these two bozos need to team up and prevent the demon apocalypse. Fake dating slow burn type of stuff yknow.

Dummy's Dummy (webtoon): a little girl who can see ghosts needs to stop the haunted toys her grandfather left behind by teaming up with an even more haunted doll. described by the author as "kid friendly horror." i havent read the reboot on webtoon, just the original, but it should still be good.

This Isekai Maid is Forming A Union! (webtoon): what it says on the tin. Brigette is sick of constantly reincarnating as a maid in isekai stories, so she's unionizing the Anders household. Neither shitty love interests with a penchant for murder nor leading ladies with superiority complexes are going to stop her. (this comic has a bone to pick with shojo isekai, and i am cheering as it goes for the throat).

i also have WAYY more but i think this is enough for now. my main haunts tend to be webtoon, tapas, reaperscans, and hiveworks. i especially recommend hiveworks if you're looking for original stuff. reaperscans mainly has action shonen shit but it satisfies my cravings for schlock. though there's also some gems buried there. webtoons and tapas should both be well known enough on their own, though i tend to prefer webtoon over tapas these days.

#Feli gets asked

[justhyperfixiating]

I read a post about how you shouldn't ask whats out of character, but how the character would justify it.

Then I thought about Paris, who seems to go into every relationship caring for others but expecting to be replaced at some point (after ivan fucks up).

Also, if you haven't read the Dummy's Dummy, please go read it. Its on Webtoon, and on Tapas (i think).

#the dummy's dummy