#its mostly just documenting how they get drawn in my art style because there are some distinct choices (or attempts at choices) i make

[kkoct-ik]

PLEASE ID LOVE REF SHEETS FOR YOUR SCARIAN..

I DID NOT EXPECT AN ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE ok :) here you go. i also annotated all the mental rules i have when i approach them i am So sorry about the tiny text

#kostik draws #this isnt actually all of it i had a layer for their alt outfits (eg. scar Clothed) but it gave me a headache #so if i ever do that itll be another time #enjoy my silly ref sheets i hope they give you an insight into my mind #again i reiterate i am not a character designer this isnt intended as a Scarian Design #its mostly just documenting how they get drawn in my art style because there are some distinct choices (or attempts at choices) i make #yaaayy #if i ever make the part 2 ill make it an addition to this post

[mattjabbar]

Writing or doing nothing.

After finishing my second book called "Tokyo at Night" which consisted of mostly big and highly detailed watercolor paintings, I decided that I needed a break from this kind of work. I felt a similar sort of weariness as I did while painting animation backgrounds for months without a break. I was itching to get back to the thing that made me consider going to Japan in the first place - storytelling through comics, illustrations, or animation. Therefore, I  immediately spent three months doing another book of detailed illustrations (this time, ink drawings of Hokkaido).

It was harder for me than I expected to focus on a storytelling project because it would require me to do work that did not bear any fruit right away. I was used to making art that was almost instantly finished and shareable. Here, I would have to write, sketch, and think (!) for days, months maybe with no instant gratification. I had to think about some tricks to keep me on track.

As making a story would require writing (even if it's just a script or bunch of memos for myself), I had a look at some tips from my favorite literary creators. That's when I stumbled upon a rule that Neil Gaiman applies when he writes: "write or do nothing." According to him, it's alright to do nothing instead of working because one soon gets bored and goes back to typing. It may be a good solution for someone who writes longhand sitting alone in a forest gazebo, but I was trying to type using my laptop or my iPad, which can offer distractions aplenty! As much as I would love to write with a fountain pen in a neat notebook, I'm not a linear thinker (I mix, swap and move things a lot) so I would have to type the text to edit it anyway.

What's more, as English is not my native tongue (but I would like to write in English for its accessibility) I always have to look up words and their uses, which leads to more internet and social media distractions.

Thus, I started looking for ways to write without distractions, but in a way that would be fun too.

Software.

As I already have a Mac laptop and an iPad, I invested in an app that would allow me for comfortable editing and managing my all-over-the-place, non-linear writing projects. I ended up with Scrivener, which does all I need (and more), can also be used by Kana (our accounts are family-linked), and does not require a subscription.

I like how this app allows me to split, reorder and join files effortlessly, that I can add notes and memos in the text, and that it works perfectly with the novel-like style of writing dialogues that I like to use. No problems here.

Casio

For writing without distractions, I started by looking at these stand-alone devices that allow for writing without using a computer or a tablet. In theory, this should allow for a more focused, offline work environment, but they also look so cool! First, though, I decided to try if I can use something unconventional for this purpose - ideally something that no one needs anymore - a type of digital upcycling.

I heard Neil Gaiman (again) talking in one of his interviews that he typed parts of one of his books on an ancient portable Atari palmtop (something like this probably), so I started wondering if I cannot do something similar. Looking through listings on the popular Japanese second-hand website, I found this beauty for just 24$. A Casio Cassiopeia A-51 made in 1997 (I was eleven at that time)!

This small computer has a lot of upsides - it runs a pocket version of Word (enough for just writing simple text), uses standard AA batteries (no worries about old rechargeable batteries going kaput in 15 minutes) and accepts CF memory cards (which allow me to copy data to and from my main laptop).

I cleaned it up, tightened some screws on a loose hinge, replaced the backup battery (it prevents memory loss when changing the primary batteries), added some cool stickers, and the thing looks almost brand new. I'm excited to use if for some shorter posts and articles - the keyboard is as awkward to type on as it looks, but I love the old school feel and the form factor, so I will keep using it for sure!

Pomera

Next on my list of possible solutions was a Pomera - this is a simple, stand-alone writing device made by a Japanese company. I wanted one of these for some time now, but the price was a bit steep. Just recently, though, the DM30 model I wanted was discontinued, and I was suddenly able to buy one for about a quarter of the original price.

This device is geared best towards writing in Japanese, but it can be used in English too. It has an e-ink display, which is great in terms of visibility and allows for long battery life too (about 24 hours of use on two AA batteries). As with the Casio, I can store my texts on a memory card, but this device also has 8GB of built-in storage. For the footprint it has - the keyboard is great. After folding it out, it's stable, and I can write almost as comfortably as on my MacBook. No distractions and no superficial functionality. I can display an outline of the document I'm working on, insert timestamps, search, replace text, and that's it.

After writing a few short texts with the Pomera, I can say that I like it. Especially the hardware part - the keyboard and the screen are great! The software, on the other hand, is somewhat limited in functionality and has its quirks. No font options, no markdown support, no text format encoding choice - just some small things that would make the device more pleasurable in everyday use, not deal-breakers, though.

One thing is certain - if it comes to the "write or do nothing" rule, Pomera wins. It's really boring! You cannot do anything on it except write, so of course, you end up writing.

Reference.

Lastly, to enhance my English language skills, I have to use a dictionary. And doing it on my smartphone defeats the whole thing, so I decided to look for an electronic dictionary. I had a used Casio dictionary when I came to Japan, but this time I searched for one with Oxford English-English dictionary and thesaurus. It's fast and offers more comprehensive and noise-free content than looking up things online.

Future

My current solution is not perfect, but I'm enjoying this process, and the result is that I'm writing. What's more, because I started to think about writing (with thinking and researching) as a part of my work, it recently became easier for me to spend a day or two without having drawn anything but still feeling like I had accomplished something. As for the tools - I would LOVE to try and use a Psion 5mx, but sadly these were not popular in Japan, and it's hard to justify buying one from abroad.

#blog #writing #writing tools #distraction-free #casio #pomera

[albatris]

Hey hello I sent in an anon about starting tarot a while ago (I do not know when I know it was post quarantine starting but...time is wild) and i was wondering if you answered it? This isn't at all me trying to pressure you please please don't read it that way, i totally get it if you didn't! I just know that tumblr's search function is very broke and I'm scared I missed your answer, which would be sad. (I hope this doesn't sound like a bother it's genuinely all good if not I'm just checking!)

YES oh my gosh holy shit hello hi yes hi anon my dear I did in fact completely fucking forget to actually answer your original ask I am so sorry lmao

thank you for reminding me ajhdfgjhsdfg and again I’m so sorry it took me forever anyway I’m gonna just uhhhh look up your original ask real quick

OKAY so resources and starting decks! there are lots and lots of people who know more than me so I feel a little unqualified to answer this but I can tell you my thoughts?? but I definitely recommend looking into what other folks have to say on starting out, I’m sure there are lots of different opinions and ideas! :D

also sorry, it’s me you’re asking, so you’re not gonna get nice neat dot points and I’m not great at being concise, I’m just going to ramble if that’s ok, very sorry, very sorry

under the cut rambles

so........................

for learning meanings........ it’s a lot of work, there’s a lot of detail and a lot of different things to think about during readings, I’ve been learning tarot for around seven years on and off and I still don’t remember everything! 

so IMO it’s best not to come at tarot with the intent to Learn Everything before you start! it’s the perfect thing to learn as you go! my advice would be to just kinda throw yourself in. when you first get a deck, go through the cards and vibe with them some and look at their meanings, but mostly just kinda contemplate them, don’t try to memorise everything at once. start doing readings, look stuff up as you go............. I would recommend keeping a journal where you document your readings............ which will help you with memory and picking up on patterns and connections....... uhhhh

I really like using apps as a companion as well!  they can be a super good resource even if you don’t want to use them FOR readings necessarily

I use Galaxy Tarot as a convenient way to look up meanings and summaries of the cards when I just need to kinda jog my memory (though the descriptions aren’t super detailed), and it has a function where you can either do a reading with the app or you can do a reading yourself and then plug the cards you’ve drawn into the app, and it can help you with pointing out recurring themes and symbols and connections between the cards, which can be handy when you’re first starting out and maybe feel a little overwhelmed by the Amount Of Information you’re trying to take in

uhhhh another one I’ve used in the past is Labyrinthos Tarot, which is an app to help you learn and memorise the cards and their meanings., from what I can remember there are sorta, games and exercises to help with it, I forget exactly how it works since it’s been a while since I used it! but maybe that’s a good one to check out too?

I feel like apps is something i should’ve mentioned at the end but anyway moving on to the rest of it

most decks will come with a guidebook of some sort! so you’ve got the traditional rider waite tarot deck (which is probably the default deck most people think of when they think of tarot), and there are plenty of resources online such as Biddy Tarot which can give you a fairly detailed rundown of the card meanings! these meanings can be applied to variations of the rider waite cards, but lots of decks are a little wild and a little funky and are off doing their own thing while still following the basic rider waite structure, and if you receive a guidebook with a deck, that’s definitely an invaluable resource!! ‘cause it’ll give you the artist’s kinda interpretation and their meanings, their own personal touch, even if you then look up the card in more detail online

ALSO tarot is just a whole fuckin tonne about intuition as well though! so as much as it can feel like something where you need to focus on all the details and try and keep them all rigid and by-the-book, you might do a reading and feel yourself drawn in a certain different direction or just get a “feeling”, so you should definitely be open and flexible and listen to what your gut tells you as far as meanings go! plus, you will develop your own relationship to the cards and maybe draw your own personal meanings and associations! that’s definitely not something to fight against and don’t worry about whether that means you’re doing it “wrong” - you should listen to those feelings, those r important!! :D

lastly I will say, it can be helpful to have someone who is more experienced with tarot around who you feel you can ask for advice from or get second opinions from if there’s something you’re confused about! or who can give you tips and tricks from firsthand experience. like, it doesn’t have to be something you learn alone, and having a teacher or companion can be really helpful in terms of bouncing ideas and getting new perspectives! I throw this out there because I always forget to say things like this, ‘cause I forget that other people Are Not Me and other people like being around people lmao rip

and as far as starting decks go........... it really depends so much on what you want and what’s important to you! some people will say start with the traditional rider waite tarot, and if you decide to do that, you will certainly have a lot of resources at your disposal! it’s a valid place to start for sure

but there’s also SO many different decks out there with all sorts of themes and art and personality, and IMO......... I’d kinda urge you in the direction of choosing something you’re personally interested in and engaged with! it can make connecting with a deck easier and can help you stay interested and engaged during learning! but that’s just me

when I got my first deck the lady in the store kinda just took me to the collection of decks and just asked me which ones I vibed with and which one kinda called out to me or one I was drawn to, then she let me take a look at some of them and she showed me how to handle them and use them!! this was my first experience, n I was told just to go with what Feels Good And Right

n there’s so much cool art out there! and many interesting themes! you might not know which one you’ll latch onto until you see it, so take some time to look around and see what speaks to you c:

for instance, certain themes like cats or flowers, certain art styles, maybe certain series you’re into (I have two welcome to night vale decks n the raven’s prophecy by maggie stiefvater), or queer friendly decks! I have the Numinous Tarot which I ADORE, which is a deck with gorgeous artwork and extremely queer, all gender neutral language and lots of diverse designs, etc

so it depends what you’re into! take some time to feel it out, my friend

I would also like to throw out a mention to oracle decks as well! I actually started with oracle decks long before I used any tarot decks c: 

I am................... very tired. and blanking on the best way to explain the difference between oracle and tarot decks, but you can look into this if you’re interested! lots of people use both or use them in conjunction with each other and there’s benefits to both n so on and so forth........

but in terms of Starting Out, and getting comfy with doing readings? they can also be really helpful in this regard! I found since oracle decks can have any number of cards and are less “structured” than tarot decks in a way, it can be really helpful as a way to get comfortable with things if you find, just, the Amount Of Detail that is involved in tarot decks overwhelming!!

it was something that helped me get the ~feel~ of doing readings and sensing with the cards and vibin and such, n get some practice drawing connections between cards and deriving meanings from the stories the cards present! but in a way that’s not quite as...... overwhelming?? as traditional tarot decks?? I was SUPER intimidated by just how extensive tarot decks were when I first started and I thought I’d never figure out what I was doing HAHAHA

but again, it’s just practice, I think!

where tarot will follow the same 78 cards and structure and is very traditional and I guess “rigid” is not exactly the right word?? but yeah?? oracle decks are a lot more flexible in what they represent and a lot more loose in the structures they can take

I do love oracle decks because of how varied they are!! each one is its own little system and its own unique universe and it’s really quite lovely, even if you aren’t into Actually Doing Readings with them, y’know?

but then, I find tarot decks the same way, what will all the different art styles and different people’s interpretations and renditions of the same story, like, it’s really fascinating!! 

this has just turned into me rambling about how cool they are now

point is, do a little research into what sorts of decks and themes you might like to buy, when you get a chance I thoroughly recommend visiting a store so you can speak to someone who has some experience with tarot decks, they can help guide you when it comes to picking one and giving you some tips!! remember that it’s about intuition and following your gut as much as it is about memory and precision, so you should pick a deck that Feels Right

and uhhhhhhhhhhh

just kinda throw yourself in!! that’s literally my best advice!! you’re never gonna memorise everything beforehand (I’ve been learning on and off for seven years and I still often have to consult guidebooks and webpages) but you WILL absolutely learn as you go

it might feel very clumsy starting out, but as with any craft, you will improve with practice and begin to feel more comfy and confident with it as you go!

I hope this helped out some!! maybe!! possibly!!!!! ok goodnight!!!

#Anonymous #important caveat is that ive kinda just #been vibin on my own for most of my learning so i feel like #maybe there will be things i do that are not necessarily the ''right'' way or the common way or i might be #a little inexperienced and all #but i think it's also very personal and you'll find a way of doing things that works for u #in other words I Have No Idea If I Sound Like A Complete Dumbass when i talk about tarot #HAHAHAHA #anyway ok i hope this maybe gave you........ something...........? to work with #again i am so sorry i dont know how to be concise honestly i could have probably explained this in like #3 paragraphs #i can only hope u were aware of my rambling tendencies before u sent this and knew what u were in for lmaoo

[eclectia]

Dev-It-Yourself: A Place to Start

I'm a hobbyist games developer not professionally taught in any capacity beyond A-Levels, and one of the biggest hurdles to me actually getting stuck in was feeling as though I didn't “know” enough. I felt, as many do, that I had to be an expert at coding, art, animation and so forth. This was, until I realised, there are actually plenty of resources, tutorials, books, YouTube videos, blogs, and much more besides all dedicated to discussing games, the culture around games, design and development processes and much more besides. I firmly believe that restricting yourself to learning exclusively about video games and nothing else, no other media -be it print or film-, is restrictive and reductive to both the medium and yourself. Plenty of hobbyist/independent developers, such as myself, have used these sources to aid our learning, and frankly, I don't see there being any shame in it in any capacity. If the information is out there, use it. Create with abandon.

Of course, in my other series I talk about how playing games can help too but it is much more than just “playing” games, in the same way I was taught way back when to always be 'reading' [ie, analysing] films as I watched them. As always, I'd say take this advice with a pinch of salt- I'm no professional, I do this in my spare time at an average-ish level. But, this is just a collection of personal resources that have helped me. Later on in the series, I'll be laying out how I've planned, conceptualised, designed and made games I've worked on in all stages. Again, purely anecdotal – I'm no expert.

One of the first places I'd suggest any prospective dev would look to for practice and inspiration would be the modding community. There are plenty of games out there which provide modding tools with them, and these can be a good place to go and practice level design, gameplay concepts, and just messing with basic code structures. GMOD, Half Life, Bethesda Games, even DOOM wads can be great places to begin; you can get a feel for yourself for things that work, how to fit things together organically, even using full conversion mods to take asset creation out of the equation to focus upon writing for a small time. This is where I started, though none of those mods came out, it became a great place for me to practice and eventually, grow confident with concepts.

In a similar vein, there are a few software packages that come with assets and engines inbuilt that can be great ways to practice and develop skills such as level design, writing, and so on; software such as RPG Maker, which comes in all sorts of modules, can be surprisingly versatile. You can use it to make levels from assets known as RTP that come with the engine, use assets provided by the community, or modify pre-existing assets for your own needs. Again, this is something I practiced with a lot as its modular coding system -which comprised of a lot of drag-and-drop and clickables- helped me familiarise myself with logic systems popular within coding, as well as how to design levels to look and “feel” good. And, once you've gotten familiar with the basics you can familiarise yourself with basic tileset rules, layers, and interfaces – and, with a bit of creativity, these can become unique ways to make games. I've seen scanned-in images, photographs, hand-drawn assets all utilised with RPG Maker to make something wholly unique. Check out Middens and Mortis Ghost's OFF for two examples of unique, stylised art created with RPG Maker in two completely different styles.

For practicing code at a base level, a basic grasp of HTML is often a great place to start. Software like Twine enables you practice both story-telling,and basic code from hyperlinks and hypertext to more complex code such as branching choices or choose-your-own style adventures. You can even incorporate text, audio and macros which, again, is a higher level of code, though by no means as difficult as it can be, it can be really useful for practicing basics of these skill-sets.

The reason I suggest most of these as good starting bases is one primary reason: asset creation takes a long time. Making your first project might well be forefront in your mind but I've learned, mostly through trial and error – and a lot of error at that – is that you need to focus on specifics when teaching or learning. If you try to learn coding, asset creation, animation, all at the same time it is possible but often not manageable, or at least not in my experience. By saying to myself “I'm going to focus on HTML”, it has allowed me to properly learn and understand the fundamentals without getting distracted by art direction too. All of the software I have recommended comes with in-built assets or at its core requires no asset use at all and this is useful for zeroing in on what you need to focus upon. Maybe you're already good at level design, and through experimentation you realise this and decide to focus upon animation or character deisgn.

And, when you want to take that next step these programs also have, either through the ability to edit or bring in your own assets, ways to practice and hone your other skills in relatively streamlined ways. RPG Maker tileset functionality was important for me to learn two things: multi-frame animations, and how to correctly place tilesets. Neither is particularly complex, but if you get one bit wrong in a tileset it can throw the whole asset off, and whittling down the animations to four key frames, to communicate the essentials, was a useful skill to learn even as I expanded to larger animations.

Another piece of software that I have found invaluable was PICO-8, a virtual console that you build and execute games with and, the slightly more complex but still ultimately easy for beginners Voxatron, from the same people. Everything in that is inbuilt so you build your assets and code within the engine, then the virtual console does the rest. It allows for easy exportation and initial conceptualisation – I've heard that the first build of Celeste was built in it.

Once I felt as though RPG Maker had taught me all it could, I moved on to looking for open-source games engines for more complex experimentation. I've dabbled with Unity, Godot, and a few others besides that. I use Game Maker a lot these days, just because it agrees with me the best. What works for me and what works for you will probably be entirely different, so don't take my word for it- look into documentation, experiment with the engines mentioned yourself, find what works for you. And remember, most importantly; everyone starts somewhere, don't give up because your first idea/s don't come together as you anticipated, or end up “rubbish”. Keep going, keep creating.

#indie dev #game development #indie games dev

[alexswak]

Notes on Animation Quality in Anime

I had a rare chance in 2017 to meet Hiromi Matsushita, one of Minky Momo’s most prominent animators. Matsushita is still active in the industry, and when I entered the room he was focused on drawing a scene, which he finished in around 10 minutes. I think he didn't lose his skills yet. I asked him for a drawing, of Momo of course, a request he found too hard even with the help of an image of Momo from google. More than 10 minutes passed, a lot of drawing and redrawing on the same paper, he handed me the illustration saying: “I’m sorry, this isn’t the real Momo.”

Now, I’m not saying he couldn’t draw her correctly because he got used to the radically different anime drawings of today, it may be because he just forgot how to draw Momo, or any other reason for all I know. Whatever the reason was, anime drawings and character designs had changed radically, evolved if you will, through recent Japanese animation history. The common answer to the reason behind this change always seemed funny to me, which is “because technology.” It’s not enough to just deny this claim, so I’d like to elaborate more on why and how anime drawings change over time. This is obviously a big topic, so what I’ll say here would be more of my (personal) perspective on the matter. Take it however you like.

I should start with defining what I mean with drawings. I’m not talking here about coloring, effects or the like, I mean the bare drawings themselves. This is literally the key drawings (frames), and to a lesser degree the in-betweens. Character designs are their own thing as well. This means that advancements in image quality and related technologies don’t count, since remastering a movie from the ‘70s in HD doesn’t mean the drawings themselves changed at all, forget about improved. Another point is the difference between the drawings on their own and how they move, i.e. the difference between animating and drawing, still there’s a direct influence between these two I’d like to talk about as well.

Sometimes, I feel like people look at the animation industry the same way they look at the gaming industry in this regard, not helped by the fact that mainstream high-budget animation productions in the US adopted the same technology for animating (CG). As for the Japanese industry though, it’s and has always been the pencil and paper. I’m not denying all the technological advancements that happened, but they weren’t fundamental changes that improved the quality of a drawing on paper. Even then, there were mostly only two new major technologies used introduced in anime production in the last decade: Digital coloring in the late ‘90s, and Xerography in the late ‘60s.

Xerography is basically a technique to copy drawings from normal paper to cels for coloring. Cels obviously can’t be drawn on due to their fragile nature, I believe. I rarely saw anyone talk about this technology before (in anime) so I’ll try to do a simple and short introduction. It was first introduced to Japanese companies through Disney’s Delmants 101, which caught the attention of Toei Douga (Toei Animation now). Toei took the device and modified it, most importantly adding an extra camera used for tracking perspective. Mainly to make drawings larger/smaller as they moved towards/away from the horizon. This device first saw use in Toei’s “Ken and Wolves” TV show early ‘60s. It wasn’t cheap nor easy, so Toei sought a better alternative, one of which was a device called “Trace Machine - ツレースマシン”, first used in “Sasuke” late ‘60s. It’s hard for me to point out how these two devices differed, but one advantage of the Trace Machine was conveying the original delicacy and feeling of the traced drawings better, something Disney’s machine didn’t manage to do quite well. Sasuke was praised for capturing the original soul of the manga, and it wasn’t Sasuke alone, Gekiga adaptations saw a rise in that era due to this machine making capturing the roughness of Gekiga drawings possible. Just look at Tiger Mask or Samurai Giants. I’m not sure here, but it seems like Xerography didn’t saw mainstream use until later in the ‘80s, probably because of costs. Anyway, here’s a Japanese article for more info.

As well-known it may be, we need a quick review: Astro Boy. Toei was aiming for a “Disney of the east” status, and really the idea of periodically producing anime was so strange back then, in Japan at least. The ~2 hours movies of the time needed years, so 20 minutes weekly was just insane. And insanely different were those TV productions from the quality movies of the time. You may have heard this before, but really watching clips of Astro Boy is the only way to understand how primitive it was. Nonetheless, it succeeded in becoming the standard for TV anime, and TV anime becoming the standard for anime in general later on even for movies. All the downgrade in quality of animation and everything.

This is where most people would start bashing the TV industry, yet I have a different perspective on the matter. The huge output of the Japanese industry is the main reason it reached its current international success and behind Japan’s status as the animation capital of the world. TV in America may have had a catastrophic effect on the industry, and wasn’t without negatives in Japan, but the way TV was handled and evolved is vastly different between the two countries and in turn the two vastly different outcomes we have now. TV in Japan presented a steady stream of relatively quick and flexible projects for Japanese creators to learn and experiment, a stream that only grew further increasing the variety of works and styles, the best thing the Japanese industry is known for now. Almost all well-known Japanese creators today had their start learning and experimenting in TV.

The huge amount of works produced was pretty useful for training creators in an environment that relies on learning by doing and still, to this day, mostly lacks any effective prior training system. Look no further than Tomonori Kogawa, who had a degree in fine arts, to see the important addition for properly studying and learning art. Kogawa kinda reminds me of Akino Sugino, not that their styles are similar or anything, it’s just that both care a lot about drawings quality. Ashita no Joe, which he supervised, had probably the best drawings quality of its decade.

When it comes to animation though, Toei Douga movies followed a similar realistic approach to Disney in treating characters as if they are actors on a stage. After TV anime emerged the principle remained the same, so creators just tried to replicate life in a working condition much more limited and restrained than that of Toei. Quality improved generally after some adapting and experimenting in this new landscape, but the focus mainly wasn’t on animation quality anyway. It was stories and direction that counted, Tomino and Gundam as a prime example. Even the “anime boom”, initiated by Yamato’s movie in ‘76, didn’t change that. The real change in that regard only came after treating animation in a more free way, free from the obligation of imitating real life I mean, which was the way Yoshinori Kanada treated it.

I won’t get into Kanada and his style, sources on him are enough anyway, what we need here is just the result of his wild popularity in the early ‘80s: Changing people’s view to anime. Before Kanada came, the only industry celebrities were directors, while animators stayed unknown. Not anymore. Kanada was maybe, for a time at least, number one in the industry, and this just goes to show the change in mindset: Animation is at the forefront now. And how did Kanada animate? Pretty unrealistically.

Let me detour a bit to talk about realism first. I remember some saying that Akira ushered in the age of realism in anime, a claim certainly far from the truth. Akira is rather the pinnacle of this long going approach. Pinpointing a start isn’t of much use in this discussion anyhow, and if not for my appreciation of documenting such info I wouldn’t have brought this up at all, but my argument is that the start of realism in animation is the start of animation itself.

Yet an important question must be addressed here: What realism are we talking about? If you think of it as just replicating life, then you’re oversimplifying animation as a whole. There’s only one way for things to move in real life, restrained by physics and all, but animation offers a multitude of approaches to represent movement, ways that imply realism nonetheless. And different approaches were popular at different times throughout anime history.

Take Utsunomiya for example, who wasn’t sure about joining the industry at first. He knew how the situation was, and how hard it would be to create anime in the same or similar to Disney and early Toei movies’ style that he so admired. I personally always found it weird how people held Utsunomiya’s style for realistic. His style is maybe considered as the epitome of what Toei’s theatrical realism aspired to achieve, and the main characteristics of that are exaggerated acting and theatrical movements, which is maybe not strictly realistic or natural. Nonetheless, as for weight and spacing, there’s no denying his accuracy and fine execution. Akira, and to a lesser extent Gosenzosama-banbanzai, are the embodiment of his and Takashi Nakamura’s approach in animating.

See this scene from Utsunomiya 

I don’t know much about 70’s and 60’s realism, but the main description I read at least was, again, the theatrical realism influenced by Disney. The Kanada “revolution” was more of an abnormality, since realism returned to be the dominant style of anime after a while, and its evolution didn’t stop anyway. A lot of the pioneers of the next realism wave started or matured under the Kanada age, such as Takashi Nakamura or Utsunomiya.

There are different aspects to realism as well. One of Takashi Nakamura’s famous scenes, his scene in Gold Lightan, is considered to be a very realistic depiction of debris and stones in his time at least. Others depict effects and liquids realistically and so on. I feel like this is just a matter of approach and perspective. Utsunomiya for example saw the characters as actors on a stage, Ohira saw them a lot of times as gelatinous almost liquidy shapes, but all those approaches and depictions induce a realistic feeling in a sense, and are finely (and realistically) timed and weighed in their movement.

See this scene from Takashi Nakamrua. Notice hand and mouth movement. 

Of course not all animators can do realistic movement well. Miyazaki and others complained about every other animator in the early 80s’ being a Kanada knock-off, a bad knock-offs in a lot of cases, yet Kanada’s style wasn’t hard to imitate, maybe not perfectly but definitely to a “good enough” degree. Realism on the other hand is hard, even harder in shows that lack talents such as Utsunomiya or time and budget. It was obvious after Akira, or even a while before Akira, which style the industry (or the audience) will prefer. And at that point the industry took a different approach to realism, not the realistic movement approach seen in Akira and movies that established this style in Japan to begin with, but an approach that gives the feel of realism in different ways, first being character designs and increasing the lines and details in drawings generally.

If we go back to the ‘60s and some of the ‘70s we can see many shows with designs rich in lines or styles close to realism, but it was mainly the exception and didn’t represent the main trend, some of which being caused by things like Gekiga or personal styles such as Sugino’s or Osamu Dezaki’s. Late ‘70s and early ‘80s mainly had simplistic designs which really helped Kanada’s style grow and spread. Simplicity contradicts realism by nature, and adding more lines or details to a drawing makes it harder to draw/animate. Straightforward, and this is just what happened after the demise of Kanada’s style, more realistic designs that barely move. Just look at any OVA from that period and compare it to any OVA from the Kanada wave. Amazing what 5 years could do!

Vampire Sensou in 1990. Interesting character designs, not much movement though.

Difficulty of drawing isn’t the sole problem here. Kanada’s style, despite its energetic nature, doesn’t require a lot of frames, actually the low number of frames is one of its strong characteristics. It’s a style born from the constraints of the Japanese industry to begin with, and if you think about it probably no other industry would have given born to such a style but the Japanese one. While you need a substantial number of frames to achieve a convincingly real movement. Maybe I’m over exaggerating here, but the Japanese TV industry tried two decades to achieve realism in an environment not suited for it and found Kanada’s style that embodied the sole of this industry, just to abandon it for an unconvincing realism.

Kanada’s OVA “Birth” in 1984 is probably the important turning point. Maybe you could say that the story of OVAs is also the story of Japanese anime, as OVAs reflected the state of the industry in general in each period. Maybe because OVAs were the direct way to reach the audience without the need for a TV channel or a distributor or even a high budget, in turn being a demonstration of the audience’s preference. It was definitely the free expression window for creators, young independent ones especially, free from any obligations for any big company. Obviously big companies were there, even more so in the late ‘80s after OVAs matured, but all in all it was the will of the creators that shined through. OVAs also played a decisive role in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when anime (TV especially) was facing a hard time due to different reason beyond the scope of this article. This led to OVAs influencing the development of the industry in interesting ways, hard to imagine if you look at the state of OVAs now.

The Japanese industry relied heavily on TV since pretty early on, so any problem facing TV anime is a problem for the industry as a whole. Middle/Late ‘80s wasn’t the best time for TV, a long story with multiple causes such as the change in demographics and emergence of video games, but our concern here is the paradigm shift that happened. For the most part and up to that point anime revenue came from games or manga or something else, a separate product. Not the show itself, meaning that its quality wasn’t a concern as long as it supported the primary product well. This obviously didn’t hold Ichiro Itano back from doing his wonderful circus scenes, or Tomino from executing his different depiction of mecha anime, but those again were creative acts on the personal level not the project as a whole, and in the end it wasn’t Tomino’s direction and vision that saved Gundam, it was the Gunpla.

It’s a fine system as long as the audience keeps on buying your primary product, something a lot of companies struggled with later on, reaching the OVA system where you just sell the show itself rather than a separate product. A similar system to movies, but simpler, safer and with less parties involved. We take internet for granted today, but in the ‘80s OVAs were the only choice for creators wanting to self-publish something weird or radically different, something that obviously won’t be backed by big companies.

Anyway, selling the show itself is completely different approach with completely different focus points. Quality comes first now, and first of all is drawings and animation quality, since anime is a visual medium after all. Without constraints or demands from distributors or any tight schedules, and with making less episodes, you’re able to raise quality considerably, the main selling point of OVAs. Patlabor, Gunbuster or Gundam 0083 all had high quality and were big successes, not only setting the standards for visual quality in anime, but also showing how important visual quality in anime is, both for companies and audiences. After this model matured, attempts to replicate this success in TV anime started, where the potential is much bigger due to the wider reach, which led to the contemporary late-night model we have now, maybe the most successful anime model till quite recently. Evangelion is considered to have played an active role in establishing this model, and in increasing visual quality in TV anime generally, and Ryusuke Hikawa claims that what he calls the “Quality Revolution” in the anime industry started in the ‘90s. I also think that Evangelion played no small part in establishing the production committee system we have now in every show, but I’m not quite sure.

Before I end this I want to link two nice resources for further reading. The mecha history research and an article that came in Akira’s Animation Archive, both by Ryusuke Hikawa. 

#anime #anime history #animation #Yoshinori Kanada #Satoru Utsunomiya #Takashi Nakamura #Akira #Realism

[impressivepress]

Matisse: Radical Invention 1913-1917 @ MoMA

Culminating with the endlessly re-worked, monumental Bathers by a River (1909-10, 1913 and 1916-17) and by the equally imposing The Moroccans (1915-16), MoMA’s long-due investigation of what can arguably be considered as the most interesting phase in Matisse’s life-long artistic experimentation never actually reaches a proper high point.

Although the allure of the “major” pieces can be instrumental to successful exhibition narratives and dynamics, and notwithstanding the impressive scholarly effort curators John Elderfield and Stephanie D’Alessandro have dedicated to the unlocking of Bathers by a River's intricate history, “Matisse: Radical Invention 1913-1917” doesn’t need to deliver a “Wow” moment. In fact, the exhibition’s breathtaking ride through constant, deliberate and quietly revolutionary artistic development is more likely to leave the visitor agape right from its inception. In my personal experience, the dramatic one-two finale arrived when my senses and intellect were already numbed, and my ability to take in even more invention, intuition and experimentation was almost fading out.  

Although informed about Matisse’s “cubist” period, and a big fan of paintings like The Piano Lesson, Goldfish and Palette or The Rose Marble Table (all at MoMA, respectively 1915-16, 1916 and 1916), I never realized how coherent with the artist’s life-long research and general sensibility this extraordinary moment was. Like others, I had looked at these and similar paintings only through the obfuscating lenses of an impossible comparison with Braque and Picasso’s early cubist work, the shock waves of whose radicality must have surely rocked Matisse's “comfortable armchair” (as he once described his own relaxed brand of poetic fauvism).

The exhibition starts with Three Bathers (1879-82), Matisse’s long-owned Cézanne. Matisse convinced his wife to get rid of family jewelry to purchase this painting; it was a talisman he would hold on for a great part of his career, through thick and thin. Cezanne’s sober composition and well-grounded bodies, stolid in their proportions and reminiscent of Giotto’s placid elegance, are enlivened by vivid texture and color, and “unfolded” by deformations that recognize not only the loose and expressionistic substance of post-Impressionism but also the radical plane fragmentation of Cubism. This painting is juxtaposed with a series of relatively early works, including Matisse’s famous Blue Nude (1907), an aggressively expressionistic portrait in which the sensual presence of African wood sculpture and the graphic abstractions of Gothic painting are reworked in a confrontationally “ugly” figure. Fatma, the Mulatto Woman (1912) lurks from the second room, and introduces the steady development of what Matisse described as construction methods applied to painting. Part of a series of paintings made in Tangiers, Fatma is an elongated vertical canvas, wrapped around the central figure of an Arab prostitute. The head and the feet of the woman are both cut by the upper and lower canvas. Her vest blends in with an indistinct green/teal background with a striking close-up effect that focuses the viewer’s attention on details such as the rich decorations on her chest and sash. Here, Matisse creates a network of construction lines that are completely independent from the anatomy of the subject and yet seem rigorously and logically organized. The line drawn by Fatma’s open veil plunges down to describe a diagonal opening over the geometry of her chest, an armor-like pattern of blues and yellows.

Two years later, these underlying, only occasionally emerging structures begin coming to the fore, sometimes turning into the subject of the painting. View of Notre Dame (1014) is striking in its quasi-absence of subject. The famous cathedral is still discernible, but only survives as a transparent volume delineated by the intersection of many visible and invisible lines. Crossing the vast expanse of grey/blue of the canvas, this network of lines is a rendering of Matisse’s window view in his studio of Quai St.Michel. The perspective can be compared to other “window” paintings to understand how the totality of the optical vision has been worked and reworked, drafted and then systematically deleted in a sort of excavation process that leads to the isolation of delicate and abstracting formal balances. The same trial by error, time-based process is applied to the surprising intense, almost disquieting Portrait of Yvonne Landsberg (1914), one of Matisse’s most uncommon paintings. The reduced palette of dark grays and green/orange accents eliminates every possible distraction. The real protagonist of the portrait is, in fact, the network of scratched curving lines that not only delineates the body of the sitter, but expands it in every possible direction, suggesting streams of pure energy via a very tangible and physical gesture.  

Matisse was stepping here in a dangerous territory, maybe too close to ideas and approaches that he felt were not completely his. A few didactical, almost normative cubist canvases seem to prove this point, but the “real” Matisse is just a few steps away. The poetic tenderness of the drawing and color in Apples (1916), is a wake-up call to a more mature and personal synthesis of skill, style and experimentation. The flat, vibrant planes layered in Composition (1916) predict Matisse’s future collages; the understated elegance of The Rose Marble Table (1916) is a far cry from Cubism, and already emancipated from the literalness of visible structures. Sparse and essential, this painting is a Zen garden of pictorial composition where absence flirts with essence.

The architectural suggestions and geometric abstractions of The Moroccans look dangerously unbalanced. Even the painter’s legendary eye for color harmonization seems at risk in a composition that Matisse, as Gino Severini has noted, created by progressively stripping it down, “as you would prune a tree”. The textural richness and pervasive off-balance feel bring the canvas to the verge of a color and contrast dominated decorativism. Bathers, on the other hand, bears the signs of its interminable execution, a process that spanned from 1913 to 1917, the whole period considered in this exhibition. The historical import of the painting is certainly tremendous, both because the documents of its realization speak eloquently of Matisse’s technique and ideas and because the painter himself pointed it out as one of his most important works. Bathers by a River is without a doubt a repository of creative energy and an art historical document, but it lacks both the spontaneity and virtuosity of other major works. Its uncommonly long gestation -and the wealth of information that it helped gather- are surely part of the reason of its legendary status. The canvas brings us back to Cezanne’s Three Bathers and to the importance that this model had for Matisse. Cezanne’s solidly grounded figures, textural surface and sober composition are here replaced by four faceless standing figures, staged in a rhythmically shifting landscape of wide vertical bands of color and stylized bright green foliage. Matisse kept working on this puzzling composition until the very end, even after he sold it. The exhibition catalog reports how, in the winter of 1917, writer Ameen Rihani described Matisse as still perplexed by the painting, to the point of asking Rihani if he “thought it had anything in it of Cubism”. To this day, Matisse’s confusion permeates through the myriad layers of painting accumulated and removed over an image whose allure mostly resides in the seductive power of its convoluted complexity.

~ Marco Antonini · August 2010.

#matisse #art article #painting #the moroccans #bathers by a river #the piano lesson #whitehot magazine

[bokura-no-ua]

Inktober - Day 14: Fierce

Characters: All Might (Yagi Toshinori), Ashido Mina, Uraraka Ochako, Yaoyorozu Momo, Hagakure Tooru, Asui Tsuyu, Jirou Kyouka, Eraserhead (Aizawa Shouta), Midnight (Kayama Nemuri), Present Mic (Yamada Hizashi), Nezu Rating: G Other Tags: U.A. Teachers are all dorks who like teasing Aizawa a little too much, All Might is a good friend, All Might Being Soft, Aizawa likes cats, Animal hoodies

Art by Kumi and story by Red. Read it on AO3! Please, do not repost anywhere.

Toshinori was walking down the halls of U.A., feeling content after a hard day’s work.

The students were progressing really well, slowly getting the hang of controlling their quirks and using the environment to their advantage. It was incredibly satisfying to witness.

He was just about to turn a corner to head to the teacher’s lounge for a cup of tea before sitting down to write some reports on what exercises his students had engaged in earlier that afternoon when he heard excited voices inside the 1-A classroom.

He frowned. He thought all of them had already gone to the dorms for the day.

“Okay, so does everyone have one?” Toshinori recognised young Ashido’s cheerful voice rising above the others’.

“No,” young Uraraka replied. “Bakugou-kun’s hasn’t arrived and Iida-kun hasn’t even bought his yet. Apparently, he can’t seem to choose between a kangaroo and a bear.”

“But wasn’t the bear one taken already?” young Asui asked all of a sudden.

“I think Tsuyu-chan is right. Isn’t Kouda-san’s a bear?” Young Yaoyorozu’s chimed in.

“Let’s go back and sort this out,” young Jirou offered, putting an end to the discussion.

Toshinori heard shuffling and the scraping of chairs being pulled back in place and he ran to the corner to hide. He couldn’t have any students see his true form, after all. If they found out he had been eavesdropping on a group of female students’ private conversation, the situation could escalate rather quickly.

Despite the fact that they were going the opposite direction, their voices still carried down the large, empty hall.

“Could someone explain to me how this whole kigurumi sleepover thing came to be?” young Hagakure asked the group.

“Oh, right, you were sick after playing around in the rain a week ago and had to miss a few days of class!” young Uraraka commented.

“Yes, Ojiro-kun hasn’t stopped teasing me since.”

“Well, if you really want to know...” young Yaoyorozu started, only to be interrupted by young Ashido.

“It was his idea in the first place!” A few gasps were heard, but young Ashido continued unabashed, “What? She deserves to know, don’t you think? Especially since it was all a plan to cheer her up!”

“Oh my goodness, Ashido-san! You shouldn’t have said anything! Ojiro-san went through so much trouble to try and keep the real reason a secret!” young Yaoyorozu said.

“She was going to find out sooner or later, but I’m sure she’s happy to know. Right, Hagakure-chan?”

Their voices were becoming faint so Toshinori knew he was in the clear when he heard them going down the stairs.

He breathed a sigh of relief. That had been a close call. He should really be more careful in the future.

As he glanced around the hall, he decided to just forego the cup of tea at this point and made his way to his own room, ready to tackle the long list of reports he needed to write by the end of the week.

But, however hard he tried to focus, his mind kept going back to the girls’ conversation.

What were they talking about? It seemed to be about animals at first, but then they mentioned some kigurumi?

After a few minutes of pointless staring at the mostly empty document on the screen of his laptop, Toshinori gave in and opened a new tab on his browser.

He quickly typed the word he thought he had heard and was met with thousands upon thousands of, mainly, retail shops which sold these sorts of… onesies with hoodies?

The more he scrolled down the first few sites in the list of results, the more he understood what his students meant. The designs were definitely cute and he certainly saw the appeal of being wrapped up in such cozy-looking fabrics. He could easily see himself sleeping in one of these.

His eyes were drawn to the fourth site on the list, though. This one sold only feline-related designs and there was even a “create your own kigurumi” option at the bottom of the page.

He hesitated for a couple of seconds, mouse hovering on the tantalising link, before clicking on it.

Just to see what it’s all about, he tried to convince himself.

All excuses went out the window as soon as he saw the colour wheel on the side, really. There were over two dozens of fake fur options, ear styles, tail with and without fur. The list seemed endless.

His eyes became glassy as he read every single item on the customisable list.

Without wasting another second, he started creating his very own kigurumi, seeing what worked well with what.

Needless to say, he never came back to the open document to write the reports.

Those could wait. Fashion could not.

To say that Toshinori was disappointed when his delivery arrived two weeks later would be an understatement.

Apparently, he had made a mistake in his order. When he was customising away the other day, he had clicked on the option of “hoodie” thinking the kigurumi wouldn’t have one if he didn’t.

But no. It meant that the design he had created got made into an actual, regular-sized hoodie instead of a kigurumi.

He had been so excited about it! When he calculated when the order would be delivered and realised the timing would be just perfect for Aizawa-kun’s birthday, he had spent an extra hour designing one for him, too.

And to think Aizawa-kun would’ve probably loved it. Toshinori had chosen a panther because he knew how much Aizawa-kun loved all cats, big or small, but also because it was the animal Toshinori associated with him the most.

The panther was stealthy, always lurking in the shadows, waiting for its prey to appear, which, to Toshinori, it was pretty much what Eraserhead did for a living. He was well-known for being a night patrol kind of hero, unlike Toshinori himself.

He sighed. It would have to do since he didn’t have enough time to order another one.

When Kayama-san approached Toshinori and told him the principal had organised a little something for Aizawa-kun’s birthday the next day, he was absolutely delighted.

Since November 8th ended up falling on a Wednesday this year, the get-together was really just a little dinner party over at the principal’s house.

Aizawa-kun was probably going to hate being the centre of attention, but Toshinori was sure his present was going to bring him some happiness at least. Maybe Toshinori could even get a smile out of him.

When all the teachers arrived and started preparing everything to surprise Aizawa-kun, they all agreed how hard it had been to shop for him and chatted about what they had ended up buying.

Toshinori refused to say anything about his purchase and couldn’t help but smile at his colleagues complaints as he set the table.

When Aizawa-kun arrived and they all jumped from behind the many pieces of furniture in the living room to scare him, his expression remained as stoic as ever.

“Would it kill you to act even the tiniest bit surprised?” Yamada-kun complained loudly.

“Why would I? You do this every year,” Aizawa-kun argued, his face showing signs of tiredness as always.

Nezu, perceptive as ever, suggested they had dinner first and opened presents later, so as to save Aizawa-kun from being the centre of attention for such an extended period of time.

And so they sat and chatted as they ate, everyone exchanging funny stories and things that had happened both inside and outside the school thse past couple of weeks.

It was a rather relaxing environment to be in, abandoning whatever worries he had at the door and just being with them like this, not as teachers or pro heroes, but as friends.

After a few more complaints from Yamada-kun, Aizawa-kun sighed in defeat and finally stood up and walked to the coffee table, where all of his gifts were waiting to be unwrapped. He took a seat on the sofa and opened box after box silently.

They all quickly gathered around him, getting excited in spite of the fact that Aizawa-kun’s features remained the same as he thanked everyone for their generosity. The only reaction was that of a raised eyebrow at the final box on the pile, Toshinori’s messy handwriting wishing him a happy birthday a clear contrast with the beige wrapping paper he had chosen.

He knew everyone expected something flashy from him, but he could dial that down for somebody else’s sake. This wasn’t about him; it was about Aizawa-kun, who was currently throwing the dull-looking paper on the floor with the rest and about to take the lid off the box.

At first, he said nothing as his gaze finally landed on the hoodie. But when he took it out of the box and saw the ears and the little detail of a paw on the zipper, his eyes widened in genuine surprise.

“Is this…?” Aizawa-kun started asking and raised his head, whatever he was about to say dying on his lips because, in that moment, Toshinori put on his own lion hoodie on.

“I got the idea when I overheard some students talking about kigurumi. Do you know what they are?” To which Aizawa-kun just nodded. “Good. Well, I wanted one, and then realised your birthday was just around the corner and thought, ‘Aizawa-kun would love a panther design!’ But then I made a mistake with the order and then, as you can see, it looks more like a regular black cat than an actual panther, and-”

Toshinori had a whole speech ready in apology for his silly mistake when Aizawa-kun stood up from the sofa, taking off his own jacket and replacing it with the gift Toshinori had given him.

Aizawa-kun was silent as he changed, but they all heard the words left unsaid: I love it, thank you.

Toshinori stood in awe, happy that his gift had been so well-received. Then, Kayama-san got her phone out, motioning for him to stand closer to Aizawa-kun, who was taking a closer look at the little paw.

“Hey, why don’t you pose for the camera? Make a little roar motion with you hand or something!” Yamada-kun suggested and, surprisingly, Aizawa-kun complied - although his expression did not change in the slightest.

Toshinori got near, thinking that Aizawa-kun had heard him and copied the pose with both hands, a happy smile on his face. Kayama-san snapped quite a few photos, babbling about how she would love to post them online. She still shared them in the chat group they had, their phones beeping and vibrating with notifications at the same time.

Just as Aizawa-kun took his phone out to look at the pictures, Toshinori approached him from behind and placed his arm around his shoulders. What Toshinori didn’t realise was that Aizawa-kun had no idea he was standing there and almost dropped his phone when he felt Toshinori’s heavy hand landing on his shoulder.

So, yeah, maybe Aizawa-kun was expecting the party all along but the accompanying yelp and look of pure horror he got from Toshinori’s unexpected surprise was just the best reaction they could’ve asked for.

#Aizawa Shouta #Eraserhead #Yagi Toshinori #All Might #BnHA #Boku no Hero Academia #My Hero Academia #Inktober #Day 14 #our art #our stories #DON'T THEY LOOK FIERCE? #I love them so much

[jerseycollective]

THIRD YEAR SHOW ARTIST STATEMENTS

Christine Alba (@thehappilyeverafter): I started my instagram account nearly six years ago so that I could have a place to document my days with iPhone photos of people, places and things that I love, including playful flatlays of food and objects from nature. I think with patience and careful attention, we can find beauty in simple, ordinary subjects, and I try to capture and share such beautiful simplicity in my photos. I take pride in being able to say that even after all these years, 99.9% the photos I post to instagram are taken and edited on my iPhone.

Kayleigh Ann Archbold (@herheartlaughs) is the owner of Laughing Heart Photography. She was raised in Hewitt, New Jersey but has called Montclair home for the past six years.  She’s a soul-baring wife, artist, photographer, chaser of light, and adventurer. She spends most of her time daydreaming about being a mermaid and traveling this beautiful planet with her husband Jason.

Bobby Bates*

Lauren Bowers*

Alessandra Agabiti Braghelli (@unaromanainamerica): Born in Rome, moved to NJ for love. Mom, lifestyle blogger. Loves Autumn, healthy food, coffee, old fashioned houses. Her happy places are libraries and Wildwood. Wanderlust.

T. J. Brown (@photobyteresa): Mama Bear, Earth child, dedicated steward of the environment, Educator, Biologist in training, Dance Instructor, Writer, SJ native. If you find me under the sun or stars, dancing to a great band, with wild curly hair, and my shoes nowhere to be found, you've caught me in my most lively element.

Theresa Campbell (@tcampbell210) is a hobbyist who loves to travel, take photos, and share them with the Instagram community. She runs several hubs on IG including @just_unitedstates (in its 5th year!) and @just_newjersey.

Rey Caparros*

Meaghan Cross (@ohkichan195): Being able to share my perspective through a lens is fun for me. Others get to share in my experiences and I get to document them to look at them later. More often than not, my friends have come to me to ask if I still have pictures from a particular outing or party; the answer is always yes. I like it for it's documentation purposes and that it's also a form of art I get to experiment with. I've tried painting and drawing, but I've always circled back to photography more often than not. I think it's partially what influenced my job choice; Radiologic Technologist (or X-ray tech for short).

Zevilla Dahliana (@zezefox) is an Outdoor Advocate. She supports positive change within her community by promoting an active lifestyle. She is passionate about the outdoors; you can often find her hiking mountains, kayaking, biking, and snapping photos in between.

Gina Danza (@wildginaa) is an outdoor and food photographer who is always looking for new places. Her mission is the make the outdoors more diverse and healthy.

Craig DeCicco (@macaloin) is a photographer and real estate agent from Jersey City who enjoys shooting landscapes/cityscapes and traveling in his free time. Craig is a published photographer whose work has been exhibited in galleries throughout New York and New Jersey.

Jessica Defabritis (@jessica.def): Photography is such an interpretive art form that is so fun to share. It leaves it up to the viewer to decipher what the story is behind each shot. Whether it be a person experiencing a wonderful new place or a tiny heart shaped leaf in the middle of the woods. You decide why those things matter most as you gaze at them. It's what makes it special, you get to tell a story but only you know the true plot. Making them beautiful to look at is just the fun part.

Keith Drennan (@mrblackthorn) is a photographer from Jersey. He generally focuses on landscape and portrait photography.

Sarah Erbe (@saraherbe3) is a 24 year old from Bay Head, New Jersey. She works in retail as an Assistant Buyer. Her hobbies include photography, traveling, and blogging.

Bart Everts (@bartlehe) is a librarian at the Paul Robeson Library at Rutgers University-Camden and a historian of the Philadelphia region. He has written articles on South Jersey and the Philadelphia area for Hidden City Philadelphia, The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, Camden County Heritage, and Pennsylvania History. In addition to his personal Instagram, he also manages the account South Jersey Vegan @sjpvegan, which features vegan food in South Jersey, Philadelphia, and beyond. A native of Collingswood, he now lives in West Philadelphia.

Scott Faytok (@sfaytok78) is a photographer in Central NJ who loves the shore and traveling. His favorite spot is Bay Head. He loves showing off his state.

Jamie Ferrugiaro (@missjamiekaren) is a sort of jack-of-all trades creative who is passionate about the outdoors, traveling, and art. She has lived in Jersey her whole life, and loves the East Coast.

Mike Forgie (@prestonlogan) is a Digital Marketing Specialist. He would love for you to figure out what his username is from.

Olivia Frawley (@livfreddy): I am a mid-20s high school biology and marine biology teacher. I love teaching my students concepts they can both observe and apply when they go out in the real world! In the meantime, I try to capture as much beauty as possible right here in NJ; from the hidden oases in the middle of the woods to fiery sunrises at the beach during fishing season. Maybe we will just let everyone else keep thinking it's "dirty" here - and the beauty can be our little secret.

Jessica Grennen (@Simply_jessg87) was born and raised in New Jersey and has always been the creative type. She likes to think she followed in her dad's love of photography and hasn't stopped since. She’s drawn to nature and architecture mostly, “one being fluid and the other bold, hard lines; my ying and yang I guess you could say.” In the future she would love to start selling her art but for now she is content sharing it with friends and family.

Danielle Grubb*

Michael Guccione (@michaelguccionephoto) spends most of his time photographing at the beach in Monmouth and Ocean counties. He has been a New Jersey resident for 9 years now, and loves showing people how beautiful this state is.

Emily Anne Harber*

Kate Hausman (@Khaus11):I am a Park Naturalist from Ocean County, but I spent the past two years living and working in Stokes State Forest in Sussex County. I've enjoyed documenting the differences between my southern and northern homes, particularly the natural/ecological ones.

Andrea Hayes (@andreas.photos): I believe there is so much beauty to be found in our surroundings, you just have to look for it. That is one of the reasons why I explore New Jersey. The other is that I love photography. Instagram has been a wonderful way to connect both.

Cristal Johnson (@cristalinaj): Mama. Teacher. Sunchaser. Dreamer. The skies, the seas, and the world around me.

Adam K*

Youn Lee (@yjbunnylee) has been living in Basking Ridge, NJ (Somerset County) for over four years. She is currently a graduate student at Pratt Institute and a freelance UX designer. She loves traveling up and down the I-95 corridor with her husband. She was born and raised in South Korea.

Micael Lopes (@billyoliver) is a self-taught photographer and instagramer from Brazil. He considers New Jersey his home because it is where he grew as an artist and it has shaped his photography skills in the way he sees light, color, and natural elements. He often likes to incorporate nature with a twist of urban style in his photos in light settings. As an artist he strives to create work that will evoke emotions and inspire others.  

Matt Marcheski (@mattmarcheski) is a portrait and landscape photographer from the Atlantic City area. Traveling and meeting new people is his thing!

David McGraw Jr. (@ddmcgrawjr): I've worked as a concert and nightclub photographer for the past four years. Having grown up in New Jersey it's been great to come back and take photos, especially during my Jersey Collective week last year (election week in November). I hope to cover emerging music scenes in Newark and Trenton in the future.

Matt Murawinski (@mattmurawinski) is a 20-something nomad-at-heart. Producer for CNN by day and photographer by night (and weekends).

Donovan Myers (@stryfe2103): Storyteller and Wanderer from South Jersey. I've lived in New Jersey since I was 5, but only recently began to discover the hidden wonders of this place. I've spent the last few years wandering the state with camera in hand, discovering parts of this state I never imagined, and trying to tell a bit about these places through my pictures and my stories.

Arati Patel (@aratip05) has a background in Environmental Law and Policy. She has had a passion for the outdoors since she was young. She enjoys discovering small pockets of nature within urban areas and always had an appreciation of how resilient urban ecosystems are. She thinks that Jersey Collective is a wonderful community to help photo enthusiasts of all ages and backgrounds have a chance to showcase their talent and the beauty of New Jersey and is thankful for this opportunity.

Natalie Pereira (@rockbeertravel): I have been fascinated with photo documenting my life and the world around me since I got my first LeClic camera in the 80s! I am completely self-taught and just focus on what I see and how I see it. In my professional life, I run a series of artisan markets in Jersey City called Marketplace JC and am lucky enough to be part of a network of artists in artisans in New Jersey.

Corrie Peterson (@upbeatlibrarian): i'm upbeat. i'm a librarian. i'm corrie peterson, just a human animal living alongside the atlantic ocean in new jersey, spending my time growing & stretching, learning & reading, taking walks, swimming laps, writing poems, looking for treasure & making art out of books that nobody else wanted.

Amy Petrie*

Artyom Pocapinskis (@art_poca) is inspired by nature and always in search of new adventures and experiences.

Cindy Price (@mostlymaplewood) has written extensively about food and travel for the New York Times and the American Michelin Guides. Her Mostly Maplewood photography project began when she moved to Maplewood, NJ with her husband and two young sons and began exploring the area. She shoots solely on her iPhone 7.

Jennifer Rojas (@digital.concepts) was born and raised in upstate NY. She moved to NJ about 13 years ago. She began photographing and exploring NJ and the surrounding areas about four years ago and hasn’t stopped since.  

Jason M. Schack (@jmschack_photography) is a nature and landscape photographer from Waretown NJ, located in Southern Ocean County. You can find him anywhere along the Jersey Coast for sunrise and sunset. Fall and Winter are his favorite seasons for photography, and he hopes to see you out there!

Blaise Scott-Miller*

Ana Mo Shoshin (@madcat1) is a hand-quilter and artist living in Asbury Park, NJ with her husband and cats. She enjoys taking photos, coffee, rocks, and bones. See her work at madcatquilts.com.

Michelle Simone (@michelle.simone) is a multimedia artist who specializes in photography, deejaying, and filmmaking. New Jersey is very inspirational to her--from its culture to its geography to all of the hidden treasures it has to offer.

Jaclyn Sovern (@jsovs) is a 24-year-old based in the Tri-State area, with a BFA in Photography from The School of Visual Arts. In 2016 she launched her own company, Socially Relevant, a full-service agency providing day-to-day social media management, content creation, website design, and more. Visit her websites www.jaclynsovern.com & www.sociallyrelevantt.com.

Diana Van Horn (@dianavanfarley) is a portrait and lifestyle photographer based out of Asbury Park and has lived in various parts of New Jersey her entire life. When she’s not out photographing the cute @AnimalsofAsbury, she enjoys documenting local events & politics.

Ed Waldron (@edwaldrons): I try to capture the built environment we have created within the natural beauty of the state. Pictures that incorporate architecture, constructed environments, and their placement in nature give a true sense to how we live and what makes New Jersey a great place to be.

David Warner (@davidwarnerphotography) grew up in New Jersey and has called it home all his life.  When he was 12 years old, he had a darkroom in his parents’ basement and was hooked ever since.  Although he does headshots, weddings, and much more, he really loves capturing the history and nature that we have all around us in the Garden State.

Sean Whener*

Kyle Willis*

Ben Wurst (@reclaimednj) is a field biologist who is happily married with two young children. He works with rare wildlife along the southeastern coast of New Jersey. He’s into everything related to the outdoors, including photography. He tries to use his creative skills in his work to highlight the need for conservation of wildlife and habitat preservation. In 2011 he started a small business centered around reducing wood waste being sent to landfills and use that salvaged wood to create picture frames and other creations.

*no statement supplied

[marriagebase]

This Photographer Helps Others Find Therapy with the Art of Photography

Nina Robinson’s phototherapy program harnesses photography’s innate ability to bring about healing and inspiration both for her and her elderly students.

As a documentary photographer, Minneapolis-based Nina Robinson draws inspiration from both the people she has interviewed and fellow photographers whose works explore transformation, family, social issues, and solution-focused journalism. But as an educator, she didn’t realize how the Phototherapy program she helped develop would also cultivate a passion for teaching senior citizens.

Editor’s Note: Visual Momentum refers to the flow of storytelling and its effect on the viewer’s thinking process. This series highlights creators who are successfully using their tools and minds to create an impact on the world through imagery with the intent of inciting action. With the support of Fujifilm, we share their stories. Be sure to also check out the video interview on This Week in Photo

It all started as a two-year program she nurtured and developed independently with the Bronx Lebanon Hospital Department of Family Medicine in 2015. From a beginner’s photography class for senior citizens at the William Hodson Senior Center in the Bronx, Nina’s work organically evolved into a phototherapy course after she decided its structure and impact needed reevaluation. This change came about after several exercises and projects that revealed it was leaning toward a more profoundly personal route. “As the instructor, my goal was to get my students, the elderly population, motivated, engaged and talking about the topics that mattered to them to keep their minds stimulated,” explains Nina to the Phoblographer in an interview. “It was about understanding the human connection and creating a comfortable environment for the seniors to speak openly and honestly, instead of internalizing issues.”

Photographers are no strangers to using the medium to evoke emotions, incite ideas, and tell personal stories. “The depth of some of the discussions about shared photos often evoked concealed emotions and thoughts about self-discovery, experience and social views as a whole for many of the students as well as for me,” noted Nina. She also understood that this program had the potential to add another dimension. Built on the perspectives of senior citizens, it could be a thought-provoking avenue to surface their unique stories waiting to be told.

Unpacking Memories with or Without the Lens

“I felt very drawn to images photographed by my student Sarah Carter, who had a digital point and shoot camera that she would take with her everywhere. From her bus rides through the city, to other events she would attend and the body of work she would bring me to review was amazing. Barry Hardy, he used to be a truck driver and through discussion he revealed how much he missed driving so he chose to incorporate photo taken with his SLR camera by snapping photos out the window while he was driving. He got some incredible shots from that.”

After the icebreakers that are typical of every class, Nina asked her students to bring in family photographs. Those who didn’t have photographs brought in family heirlooms or items of personal significance. Building a discussion about these photos and items forged the bond of the class and helped them identify on a personal level. The phototherapy program eventually became the perfect avenue for her elderly students to confront and explore various personal themes — the most common being memory, family, politics, and race. Some of them had cameras — from digital point and shoots to SLR digital cameras, and even a Polaroid Land Camera — to unpack all these issues and channel them into compelling, straightforward photographs. Others were content to attend the classes just for the discussions about photography, or engage in the discussions about the photos brought in to the sessions.

Two of these students made an impression on Nina — her interactions prompted the realization that she would build emotional, inspirational bonds with them. Their photos provided a glimpse into their daily life and even the seemingly trivial things they missed from an earlier point in life. Despite all its benefits, phototherapy also came with its own set of challenges both for Nina and the participants. She found it mainly revolved around processing many of the responses to the images she was showing during the sessions. These would also often spiral off into discussions about their personal experiences, beliefs, emotions, and memories — topics that she noted had been suppressed for many years but resurfaced with the combination of pain and liberation.

Creative avenues and expressive art activities like photography have always been encouraged for the elderly to enrich their lives and bring about a myriad of benefits to senior health. Among these, according to Barbara Bagan, PhD, ATR-BC in Geriatric Monthly, include reducing depression and anxiety, assisting in socialization, fostering a stronger sense of identity, and offering sensory cognition. These advantages play a notably prominent role in the program Nina developed.

“Our elderly population is often ignored in our society and we need to understand the importance of giving them a platform like this because they still have a lot to say and a lot they can do. Engaging in phototherapy amplifies their voices. It creates a space for them to speak, share, feel empowered and meet new people they may not have met otherwise.”

Students from Nina Robinson’s Photothearpy class at William Hodson Senior Center practice street photography using Polaroid cameras.

Phototherapy Goes Both Ways

It’s no surprise that photography can be a very powerful tool for healing and drawing inspiration, and the Phototherapy program showed how it often goes both ways. For the senior students, a single image could trigger a discussion and tap into emotions they’ve never felt, or haven’t in a long time. Sharing their personal stories helps build their confidence and individuality, encouraged by a safe space built on respect and empowerment. Nina stressed that among the important lessons for her as an educator is to understand that teachers are also students, and each session is a collaborative effort. This perspective shifted her photographic process from simply telling a story about communities to involving communities in the conversation.

Nina continues to teach visual and social workshops like the Phototherapy program across the US. While that particular program concluded with her move to Arkansas, it served as her inspiration for the multi-generational photo workshop and youth photo boot camp she facilitated in the state. “I am happy to know that organizations like the Bronx Documentary Center was inspired by my work and developed a photography class supporting the elderly population in the Bronx.” she stated. “My hope is to partner with hospitals and clinics to provide these photo/social workshops to communities across the US who wouldn’t normally have access to a program like this.”

The Creative Process for the Documentary Photographer

A Fujifilm user for the last five years, Nina’s go-to camera is the Fujifilm X-Pro2 for its compact size and electronic shutter mode. “It fits perfectly in my hands and reminds me of my very first camera, the Minolta X 700. What I love most about my X-Pro2 is the electronic shutter mode, which has helped me tremendously as I capture stills on film sets, intimate moments with families, and at the William Hodson Senior Center where I used to teach. I used XF 16-55 mm f2.8 and the XF 35mm f1.4 lenses to capture the portraits of my students and other senior citizens that considered the senior center a second home.”

It’s interesting to note the impact of the Phototherapy program on Nina herself, both as the facilitator of the classes and a documentary photographer faced with the opportunity to draw inspiration from her students’ stories. However, her primary goal as an educator takes precedence, and it’s where she mostly devoted her creative energies. When she did manage to take photos around the senior center, she was able to channel what she learned from her students in terms of visual storytelling.

A portrait of Thelma, a PhotoTherapy student at the William Hodson Senior Center and one of her photographs.

A portrait of Sarah, a PhotoTherapy student at the William Hodson Senior Center and one of her photographs.

A portrait of Mr. Brown, a PhotoTherapy student at the William Hodson Senior Center and one of his photographs.

A portrait of Berry, a PhotoTherapy student at the William Hodson Senior Center and one of his photographs.

“I wasn’t too focused on documenting what I was doing as the purpose of my class was getting my students to talk and interact with each other, getting them excited about image-making or discussing a topic around a photograph— understanding what they see in the image and also how the image makes them feel. Since I was the facilitator, it was quite difficult to document unless we had a speaker, on a field trip or when my students split up in pairs to photograph each other or photograph the neighborhood. I’d often come in early or stay late and photograph around the senior center.”

“This was hands down one of the most rewarding experiences in my photo career I’ve ever had (without picking up my camera). Truly miss my students. I don’t think they know how much they’ve changed my life and what I learned from them. How I view visual storytelling now has a lot to do with what we collectively shared in class.”

Watch Nina’s Podcast Interview on TWiP

About Nina Robinson

Nina’s documentary photography covers stories in the American South, Midwest, and the East Coast. She describes her work as a mixture of her past experiences, with the goal of bridging documentary, personal elements, and fine art. Her visual storytelling style, she said, has been present since she first picked up the camera. It was developing the confidence to pursue what she thought was interesting instead of being told what was acceptable that she had to learn over time.

As a creative, she allows her own artful approach to come out naturally. “I think of the quote by Edward Alby: ‘If you intellectualize and examine the creative process too carefully it will evaporate and vanish.’ My gifts are embedded within me and don’t want to dull or disconnect from my work by thinking too hard about adding them to my work.”

Nina’s current focus falls strongly on underrepresented communities to break the visual prejudices of race, class, age, and gender. The strength of documentary photography, for her, lies in both having a good eye and an understanding and respect for the people in front of the lens. Her photos have appeared in American Photo, TIME Lightbox, Lens Culture, New York Times Lens Blog, and Wall Street Journal. Apart from exhibits, she was one of the three photographers awarded with the Getty Instagram Grant in 2017, and a recipient of a reporting grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

As a visual storyteller, she seeks to reveal the beauty of truth and honesty at its core. For her personal projects, she ensures that each one feels personal and uniquely her by reshaping how she communicates visually, and to whom. ” In this industry, we talk a lot about influencing change with our images, but what does that even mean? By asking that question I became more interested in the non-traditional photographer, the communities I photograph and how individuals see themselves in modern-day photography.”

Editor’s Note: This is a sponsored blog post from Fujifilm

About FUJIFILM North America Corporation (Fujifilm)

FUJIFILM North America Corporation (Fujifilm) is empowering photographers and filmmakers everywhere to build their legacies through sharing their stories. Grounded in its 85-year history of manufacturing photographic and cinema film, pioneering technologies in lenses and coatings, and driving innovation in developing mirrorless digital camera technologies, Fujifilm continues to be at the center of every storyteller’s creative vision.

Pushing boundaries in digital photography and filmmaking innovations, Fujifilm’s X Series and GFX family of mirrorless digital cameras and FUJINON lenses yield exceptional image quality for creators of all levels. Offering image clarity, advanced color reproduction technologies and a wide range of film simulations, Fujifilm’s family of mirrorless digital cameras delivers on fulfilling their intrinsic mission of capturing and preserving moments for generations to come.

With a Fujifilm digital camera at your fingertips, you can seize the moment, share your story and build your legacy. Learn more on our website.

Like us on follow us on subscribe on and join the conversation on Facebook, like us on Instagram, subscribe on YouTube and join the conversation on Twitter.

This article first appeared and was provided by our friends at The Phoblographer.

The post This Photographer Helps Others Find Therapy with the Art of Photography appeared first on Resource.

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[fantasticalscholar-blog]

Homebrew Jobs: Keyblade Wielders (Duelists, Mystics, and Guardians)

Hello lovely followers! It’s come to my attention, but I recently passed 100 posts! Neato! I did a thing! Except I haven’t done a lot of FFD6 stuff recently aside from memes and references. SO here it is: my personal little celebration for making it to 100 posts by posting my latest project: new Homebrew Jobs to use and play as Keyblade Wielders!

Though it is to be acknowledged that Kingdom Hearts is considered an entirely different franchise than Final Fantasy, I will still argue that many of the core mechanics behind Final Fantasy lay within Kingdom Hearts. For this reason, and for those of us who would love the opportunity to throw our spiky haired/big shoed/ Zipper lovin’ OC’s into a tabletop setting.

So enough gabbin’; if you’re interested in offering these Jobs as an option to your players, or perhaps if you want to run an ENTIRE campaign focused on Keyblade Wielders and their interlocked destiny with Kingdom Hearts, let’s dive right in.

Keyblades and a Brief History

So I’mma try to give the TL;DR version to you guys, though I doubt I’m even scratching the surface.

Kingdom Hearts is a series that focuses on the story of several individuals whose hearts, a sort of spiritual manifestation of their soul rather than their biological heart, are so strong, they draw in legendary weapons known as Keyblades.

Of course, it would be silly to say that these people all be ‘good’; on the contrary. Individuals from all walks of life, of all different sorts of virtues and values would be selected as Keyblade Wielders, just so long as their heart was considered strong (OR, they were selected to inherit a Keyblade due to a particular ritual ;D).

 With these fairly odd weapons (Pictured above, one such ‘model’), Keyblade Wielders have been known to serve as protectors of light, defending worlds from the onslaughts of dark forces, or as ruthless manipulators, allowing the darkness that’s touched their hearts to thrive, or even just as wanderers seeking a purpose in life.

So now in your world; just who are the Keyblade Wielders? Ancient warriors whose legacy was lost to the ages? A lone fighter who’s just as suddenly appeared as the encroaching dark creatures (don’t get your pumpkin pants in a knot, Heartless will probably be brought up in a post soon ; p)? Or is it a typical profession and they’re a dime a dozen.

It’s up to you and your crew to decide what sounds best. Just bear in mind; including Keyblade Wielders into your campaign’s mythos can potentially and drastically affect the overall plot. Just bear in mind how much you and your party want to stick to the written rules.

~ ~ ~ 

New Equipment: Keyblades and Keychains

So now the weapon of the hour:

To briefly explain, one of the biggest benefits of choosing to play a Keyblade Wielding class is that you tend to get free gear. The most important and relevant example of this is the Keyblade itself, which will freely present itself and appear to it’s chosen possessor when the time is right.

All Keyblade Wielders should begin or obtain their namesake weapon, often by magical means, very early in the campaign (Between levels 1-3). This is because unlike normal weapons, Keyblades tiers can actually increase as their Wielder’s Level rises. This is to reflect the increasing strength of the Keyblade Wielder’s heart as the journey progresses.

Keyblade’s Tiers are calculated as follows:

Tier = (Levelx1/2) and the Attribute used to calculate Damage depends on your specific Job.

Now Keychains.

Keychains, as many Kingdom Hearts fans may remember and many newbies will learn, are the means of empowering their individual Keyblades. By being equipped to a Keyblade, the weapon in question will often take on entirely new form and gain all sorts of cool properties.

Keychains do you no good if they are not equipped to a Keyblade, so if you play a wielder, keep that in mind!

I’ll post the full document at the bottom of this page with all of the details, but this is a general overview!’

~ ~ ~

So now that  we’ve gone over overarching elements of the Keyblade Wielder... Let’s focus on the individual Job choices!

~ ~ ~ 

Keyblade Duelists: Do not be fooled. Keyblades may seem mysterious and eccentric as a weapon choice, but allowing one to become an extension of oneself is an art pursued by Keyblade Duelists, or just Duelists. With a majority of their abilities geared towards combat maneuvers and techniques, Duelists utilize many little tips and tricks to rapidly deal damage to eliminate targets. Along with a handful of Black Magic spells they learn, Keyblade Duelists are great if you just love to dish out damage! So ready your best Keyblade grunt sound effects ; time to kick some butt!

Innate Ability: Soldier’s Heart - With fiery passion, a Keyblade has been destined to become yours! And, as a bonus, if your suddenly are without Keyblade in hand, you can summon it into your grasp from a Far Range as a standard action!

Starting Weapons: Keyblade, Blade, Brawl

Starting Armor: Light, Medium

Role Suggested: DPS

Job Introduced: Not canonical, though the idea is drawn from the Kingdom Hearts Series.

Quick Overview and Notes:

So yes. The Keyblade Duelist really serves to mostly deal damage. But let’s be real; is that really such a bad thing? With access to light and heavy armor, Keyblade Duelists could potentially play as a magic tank or a pseudo tank (at best), but frankly it’d most likely behoove a player to go all out on the offense. With abilities like Combo Strike and Strike Raid that hit multiple times, along with other wonderful abilities to aid in ensuring hits and unleashing incredible amounts of damage. 

Overall, primarily on improving the PWR attribute will behoove Duelists incredibly, as all of their basic available weapons rely on this attribute, and most Black magic spells also calculate damage with PWR. All the same, though; if you’re planning on a more conservative approach to your play style, other points should go into your RES or DEX to increase your HP or AVD stats respectively. Alternatively, feeding points into your MND stat will mean more magic which is a plus for those who enjoy slicing and dicing as well as making magical explosions. You feel?

The biggest set back Duelists face is their utility outside of combat (and support abilities). Players should remain mindful of their HP as not to go overboard, as well as making sure to look into restorative items if there is no consistent healer.

~ ~ ~

Keyblade Mystic: For those who seek to use the magic of the Keyblade to its fullest potential, Keyblade Mystics (or Mystics) follow such a path. With a steady progression of Time and Black magic spells as well as a solid MP pool and MP restoring abilities to draw from as they level up, prepare for all sorts of Arcane Antics! Like Duelists, Mystics have access a good handful of combative abilities, though several key abilities like Glide or Suitable Form are most certainly helpful when journeying far and wide.

Innate Ability: Philosopher’s Heart - Your mind a still ocean while your heart churns with tempest fury, your heart calls forth a Keyblade to you. Further, a Keyblade Mystic recovers (MNDx1/2) MP with every successful physical attack they land.

Starting Weapons: Keyblade, Arcane, Concealed

Starting Armor: Light

Role Suggested: DPS, Utilitarian

Job Introduced: Not canonical, though the idea is drawn from the Kingdom Hearts Series.

Quick Overview and Notes:

Much like their Duelist brethren that relentlessly attack foes with their fast-paced abilities, Keyblade Mystics are excellent at cranking out spells. Their innate ability Philosopher’s Heart and others like MP Haste or MP Rage help quickly refill your MP supplies, so you can keep on spamming spells throughout combat!

More than that, though, Mystics’ have some nice tricks and a decent Skill Pool to help with over world travel. Just make sure to keep their HP in check; of the three, Keyblade Wielders have the toughest time avoiding attacks and will usually have less HP than their the other Keyblade Wielders. The occasional RES point can help a little bit with HP, and keeping your DEX stat health can mean slowly increasing your AVD stat. Of course, though more points to MND means MORE spells, whilst PWR most likely means your spells will hit harder. Moderation and awareness of your stats is key!

~ ~ ~ 

Keyblade Guardian: If the name didn’t give it away, Keyblade Guardians (or just Guardians) are the  bulkiest of the Keyblade Wielder jobs in terms of defenses and equipment. With a slew of support abilities, tactical maneuvers, and even having some white magic spells, a Guardian on your team can be the means of turning the tide!

Innate Ability: Stalwart’s Heart - Heart brimming with devotion, surely you are meant to inherit a Keyblade! Further, while you choose to defend, there is a 25% chance you can reflect projectile attacks back at your foes! (GM’s discretion)

Starting Weapons: Keyblade, Huge, Reach

Starting Armor: Light, Medium, Heavy

Roles Suggested: Tank, Support, Utilitarian

Job Introduced: Not canonical, though the idea is drawn from the Kingdom Hearts Series.

Quick Overview and Notes:

As the probably most versatile of the Keyblade Wielders, Keyblade Guardians offer the most choices of play style to their player. That being said, more planning to building and developing your character to your tastes may be necessary than when playing as a Duelist or Mystic. Of course, all three offer unique approaches to combat, but just things to consider.

It should be noted that the majority of the the Limit Abilities of Guardians, specifically Limit Form and Trinity Limit, require the use of Destiny to be used to their fullest potential. So definitely don’t plan on skimping out on being dramatic you’re hoping to get the most out of all your abilities!

Finally, I think that’ll be worth mentioning is the Guardian’s Tech Boost ability. Under certain conditions, this will add additional skill points the Guardian may spend at their next level up, making them an excellent choice as Utilitarian characters too.

~ ~ ~

And there you have it! An introduction to the (first?) Keyblade Wielding jobs!

If you’re interested in looking into the nitty gritty of all of these jobs, you can go ahead click this link HERE to take you to the Google Doc I created with all of their information! 

If you have any suggestions, comments, or ideas, I’d love to hear them! Or if you have ideas about making a full on Kingdom Hearts tabletop game... who knows!

Alrighty guys!

Thank you so much for your watches, likes, reblogs, all of it.

It is my personal goal to share this awesome game with as many people who love Final Fantasy as I can, and you help me reach this goal by doing all of the above!

I’m going to keep at it at trying to analyze, share, discuss, and create new content for Final Fantasy D6, and with your guys support, I feel like it’s worth all the more!

Catch you guys next time!

Ciao!

~Ryan

~ ~ ~

Images:

Dive into the heart

https://www.khwiki.com/File:Dive_to_the_Heart_(Art).png

Keyblade Background: 

http://wallpaperswide.com/kingdom_key-wallpapers.html

Ventus, Aqua, and Tera’s Keyblade Armors:

http://kingdomhearts.wikia.com/wiki/Keyblade_Armor 

Dearly Beloved - Sora

https://mulpix.com/instagram/riku_kingdomhearts_keyblade.html

Videos:

Simple and Clean - Youtuber Kiluara, the original artist and performer being Utada Hikaru.

KH: Gotta Catch ‘Em All - Youtuber Kuza 99

Roxas and Sora Battle Quotes and Grunts - Youtuber Haeralis

~ ~ ~

Kingdom Hearts, all associated characters and music are all owned by Square Enix, with the original Concept by Tetsuya Nomura. This is homebrew content for the game FFD6, originally pieced together by Giant in the Playground user ‘Dust’.

Have fun!!!! =D

#kingdom hearts #rpg #kh #sora #ventus #roxas #dive into the heart #keyblade #simple and clean #utada hikari #yoko shimomura #tetsuya nomura #ffd6 #homebrew #tabletop #roleplaying #aqua #terra #referenes #gotta catch em all #haley joel osment #jesse mccartney #LOTS OF TAGS #PLZ PLAY #=3 #Keyblade Armor

[its-lifestyle]

“Her art is refreshing,” says beaming mum Noorhashimah Noordin about the paintings which adorn the walls of their beautiful home/gallery in Shah Alam, Selangor.

As you walk into the bungalow, you’ll note that furniture has been moved around to make way for a large scale work in progress that encompasses the length of the living room.

Sixteen-year-old artist Wan Jamila Wan Shaiful Bahri – aka artjamila – stands in front of the white canvas busily sketching what looks like the beginnings of an underwater mosaic.

Her mother is bursting with warm pride and eager to show off her daughter’s paintings, which are displayed in almost every room of their home, and she dotingly describes each one and its backstory.

There is a certain joy and vibrancy in these paintings, which are childlike and gloriously easy on the eyes. Playful cats in baskets, fish swimming happily in the ocean, Malaysiana motifs, women and children dancing, singing; acrylics on canvas, oil sticks and mixed media all blissfully combined in a burst of colour.

“She started drawing at age four,” shares Noorhashimah, 58, as we settled down in a room adjoining Jamila’s make-shift art studio. “She couldn’t speak then, but would communicate with me through her drawings.”

Jamila flits in and out of the room, and each time her mother lovingly asks her something, she responds efficiently. But she doesn’t stay long enough to answer any questions herself. She was diagnosed with autism at age two, but that didn’t stop her mother from enrolling her into a private primary school, Sekolah Sri Acmar in Klang when she turned seven.

“I told the school there was no need for her to study. I sent her there mostly to socialise and to join in the activities. The education part I was prepared to handle myself. I bought all the primary school express notes and read them, and I would teach her at home. I attended seminars and classes. I had to educate myself in order to educate her.”

The retired architect/lecturer says that her daughter enjoyed school activities.

“Especially at the end of the year when they would have a concert. She loved dancing. The teacher also loved to have her because she could dance really well. And she would come back and draw all the steps and positions,” Noorhashimah laughs as she recalls this, picking up a delightful sketch that her daughter had drawn many years ago at school.

There are numerous such sketches which the soft-spoken lady has carefully preserved, and one that is particularly captivating shows Jamila’s Maths teacher at the blackboard writing all the multiplication tables in great detail!

According to her mother, Jamila is able to do Maths and Science very well, but she’s poor when it comes to stringing sentences together or essay writing.

One of Jamila’s works in Unity In Diversity series, her version of Malaysia as a lovely, quirky place for all to live in. Photo: artjamila

After UPSR, Jamila moved to a government school, as her mother wanted her to join the inclusive programme. However, she was asked to join the PPKI programme (Program Pendidikan Khas Integrasi) instead.

“She complained that it was so boring and she didn’t want to go to school anymore,” says Noorhashimah.

It was around the same time, in 2016, that Noorhashimah was diagnosed with colon cancer. “I had to go through two major operations which made me unable to supervise her for about eight months. After I recovered I didn’t think I was able to get her back on track with her school work as she had already lost one and a half years.”

Noorhashimah then decided there was no need to join the crowd and instead devised her own curriculum for Jamila. “Why stress myself out and put stress on Jamila as well, I thought. So I changed my tack, and decided to concentrate the homeschooling on a profession that would be suitable for her and that was art.”

Also read: Autism awareness: MP Khairy Jamaluddin opens up about his son’s world

Noorhashimah and Jamila reading a new children’s book In Harmony Together: Harmony In The Eyes Of An Autistic Child, which will be published soon. The work is written by Jemima and illustrated by Jamila. Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah

An inside job

Jamila has never received any formal training in sketching, drawing or painting. Instead, she slowly developed a distinctive personal style with intricate patterns and detail based on her own experiences and observations.

“In the beginning, I talked to many local artists, and asked for their advice and opinions,” says Noorhashimah, who doubles up as artjamila’s manager, about their humble beginnings in broaching this vocation.

“They felt she had an inborn talent and that gave me the courage to start selling her work. I opened a booth at a local convention centre at the time. And a lot of people liked Jamila’s work … they even bought her art cards!”

Noorhashimah adds the feedback was that Jamila’s art was neither abstract not realistic but something in between. “And they loved it!”

She continued opening small booths and was pleased that Jamila was showing progress in her craft too.

“I decided to talk to more artists and move away from just sketching on paper. I even went to see the renowned Yusof Ghani and he advised me to start Jamila on canvas, as did other artists,” she reveals.

“We started from nothing. I had never studied fine art, so I didn’t know what tools to use. I would go to different artists to advise me every week and that’s how we started. Jamila loved to explore and learned very fast.”

Jamila’s Fish Mosaic In Plastic Polluted Sea, a mixed media work filled with unhappy fish. Photo: artjamila

In 2017, Noorhashimah began giving sharing sessions with the public as well as corporate organisations on her journey with artjamila and using art as therapy.

Her methods, unconventional as they were, had started to reap positive results and people were taking note.

From those sessions, she went on to co-write a book with her younger daughter, 15-year-old Jemima, who has been instrumental in lending a hand to care for and stand by Jamila. The book, My Journey With Artjamila, Part 1: From Nonverbal To Artistry, which documents their story including details about Noorhashimah’s own homeschooling curriculum, was published locally last November, and will soon be released in six countries around the globe.

It’s called “Part 1” because mum says when Jamila arrives at the next level, she will then have to write about it.

“I have targeted milestones and certain objectives, so when she gets there, I will share how we arrived at that new level,” she says with unwavering dedication, just two days prior to a recent chemotherapy appointment.

What keeps this woman going?

“I have a lot more work that I need to do for Jamila. When she is independent then I will be happy. Until then, my job is not done. So whatever comes my way – even if it is cancer and chemotherapy – I have to tell myself ‘nevermind, it’s okay’. My focus is on Jamila.”

Jamila’s artworks are usually themed around multitudes … cats, people, fish, baskets and music notes. Photo: artjamila

Raising the bar

On some days, Jamila will start work at 9am and go on painting until midnight. “I have to ask her to stop because I am feeling sleepy!” admits Noorhashimah.

If someone commissions an artwork, mum usually explains to Jamila what they have asked for. She also does research and shows Jamila pictures and then Jamila is left to create her own interpretation of the subject. The results often surprise Noorhashimah.

Not so long ago, a Swiss organisation commissioned three paintings revolving around fish in the polluted sea.

“One day, I received an email from them; they had discovered her paintings on her website (artjamila.com) and they liked her fish mosaic work. They asked if she could draw something related to pollution.

“I had to do research and explain to Jamila about all the different types of pollution with images from the Internet – plastic pollution, sewer pollution, oil pollution. After that she began drawing her fish were all unhappy.”

Noorhashimah is delighted that the company decided to purchase all three paintings as well as two other works (both fish mosaics entitled The Art Of Togetherness) for their Impact Art collection.

“My hope is for her to be recognised internationally, and this is a great start.”

On some days, Wan Jamila will start work at 9am and go on painting until midnight. – AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star

She reveals that it has been a challenge gaining acceptance here in Malaysia.

“It is not easy for someone on the autistic spectrum to be accepted in mainstream art. I have heard other artists saying why should this autistic girl be here among us.”

But Noorhashimah is not one to turn back because of a roadblock. Instead she continues to fight hard for her daughter to gain the merit she deserves. Which is why, on home ground, Jamila has already collected many feathers in her cap.

The hardworking teenager has participated in over 15 live painting sessions, been appointed artisan for two corporate organisations and two local hotels, she has attended over 20 exhibitions showcasing her works with other professional artists at both national and South-East Asian levels.

To date, Jamila has sold 70 original paintings, including some to local art collectors. Photo: artjamila

This year, she has already completed two exhibitions (ArtEDecor at Matrade, and Ingenious Soul at Galeri Prima NSTP) and she will be invited to participate in two mainstream International level exhibitions in April (Galeri Shah Alam) and July (Langkawi Art Biennale).

Just last week, on World Autism Awareness Day 2019, Jamila received an Autism Star award in recognition for her contributions to the autism community in Malaysia. To date, Jamila has sold 70 original paintings, including some to local art collectors such as financier Tan Sri Datuk Azman Hashim.

Recently a branch of the restaurant Absolute Thai in Sunway Putra Mall in Kuala Lumpur (which is an autism-friendly Mall) purchased one of artjamila’s Malaysians mosaics and it is proudly on display there.

Not everyone may be ready to accept an autistic artist into their fold, but for this mother-daughter powerhouse, artjamila is steadily moving ahead of the curve.

Noorhashimah, who continues to map out their journey with precision and passion, believes wholeheartedly in her child: “Jamila is already there.”

Check out Jamila’s art on Facebook, Instagram (@artjamila), YouTube or at her website artjamila.com.

from Family – Star2.com http://bit.ly/2D4mAlE

#Blogger

[rebeccataylorunit8-9-blog]

Artists Research Task

1.  The Lost Explorer - Tim Walker A short story by Patrick McGrath

The piece of work I have looked at for historical is a short story by Patrick McGrath. It has lots of lovely images throughout the book to go with the story. There are images made from film on there own on some pages as well as an series of an editorial. I love the way the images have been captured. They are so natural of Evelyn and really elaborate on the story. The images are so beautiful to look at because they are natural bug also because of the layout which is every ‘social media style’, the way the images are laid in a grid. I think that the image looks so precious to because of the saturation and contrast of the images. The editing of the images look as if they were set back in time which also makes it look precious as its a memorial. The story is a one of piece which to create the artwork it would have taken a lot of time to a) plan and test out the ideas as well as experimenting to explore what works best, and b) to do the final photography shoot. You would also have to think about many things to take into consideration such as, the models availability and how the model performs, taking into consideration of the camera and if something didn’t work as well, writing the story then all of the editing within the writing and the photography. A film camera, the appropriate models a whole team of experienced people to help, a suitable location and all of the editing and printing software would be needed to create this art piece.I think the ideas and concept behind it is to communicate a real story with a twist in a fun way. There could be a few things that influenced the story and photography such as, the beauty and art of nature and using the innocence of the little girl who almost acts like an adult throughout the story. She jumps between being a child and doing normal child things then switching to adult form.  I believe the audience for the short film is aimed at older people just because of the way the story is written. I think if younger children was to read it, they would understand but I think it is mostly aimed at adults. I really like the art work. The story is so powerful yet so beautifully written and shown through photographs that looks like it is set back in time. I really like the story because it is just such a lovely book. I was very drawn to it at the beginning and I didn't want to put it down, I just wanted to know what happened next. I do like how the story isn't too long as it can be read in chunks and the previous part you read is still fresh in your head. The photography throughout the book is really lovely and quite eye catchy. From researching the book it has inspired me because I could use the ideas of using the art of writing and photography together. I love to write and and I love photography so I could create a fashion story which really inspires me.  At first my impression was that the book was going to be a normal, lively exploring story but throughout reading the book I realized much more such as the little secret that he had and that weapons were involved. I didn’t expect that. For some sampling, I could get a disposable camera and create my on story in the style of his work.

2. Script: Lauren McCarthy

http://lauren-mccarthy.com/script/

The piece of art I am looking at is contemporary which is made from a few ways. the whole idea is a script that she acts out each day for a whole month, where people online can edit the script and add in whatever they like. So it is made from paper, writing skills, acting for the script each day and there is some images online to document a few of her days. I believe this is a one of piece of work that has been wonderfully created in such a unique way. The idea is so different to anything I have heard of and it is good getting the public involved but it is also a bit scary as you never know what someone could put on the script and it would have to be done the next day. However, I think this is a beautiful way to create art. For all the time and effort for everyone involved, it would have taken a long time to plan the whole idea from the beginning and how it would work. There would be different people involved with each different roles and skills used. You would need different equipment to produce the video, a camera to take the photos, technology to gather the script from each day and the website for it to be hosted on. The concept behind her work is to communicate and show the power of social media and how once something is on social media it can be viewed by millions of people. Somethings that are put on the internet will always be there once they are put up. The whole concept reinforces how millions of people use social media to record their day. So these concepts are all showed through art, acting and writing. I think that maybe the power of the internet as inspired her to come up with this idea. The internet can be so power and once something is on the internet it is on there forever and I don’t think people still quite realize that. I think she wanted to communicate how on the internet you never know what response you will get once you post something. It is like a guessing game and that is what she has successfully created here through role play, letting absolutely anyone be involved.The audience could be aimed at any age as anyone could get involved but I think it is mainly aimed young-middle aged people. I like the art work because it is so different and such a unique idea. As said above, it feels quite scary thinking about the idea that anyone could add to the script and she would have to act that out the next day but its great that she is getting the public involved and allowing everyone to have a voice. This research could inspire my own work by using public research or to allow other people to have a say in what I produce to gather ideas so that other people can put their thoughts into it and I could receive some ideas that I hadn't thought of.

3. Networks: Documents of contemporary art

[xt1erminator-blog]

Fails of the Yawning Portal

Ok, so it’s not really that bad, however...

This past weekend I got my hands on my copy of the eagerly anticipated Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition hard cover adventure compilation, Tales from the Yawning Portal. It is a collection of 7 “classic” adventure (dungeon romp) modules, modified/converted/streamlined for D&D 5e, and is published by Wizards of the Coast.

I recommend searching for reviews online, as this is not my review. The purpose of this post is to document some of the shortcomings of the layout and design elements of this otherwise great book. I’ll say this now before I forget: Ultimately, it’s things like this that have me concerned for what’s to come with future WotC products (not to mention D&D Beyond... that’s a whole other can of worms for another day).

Item 1: The introduction to The Yawning Portal, and complete lack of map/layout of this legendary establishment.

I remember plenty of classic (1e and 2e) source books and modules that always had amazing, detailed maps that really gave you a sense of adventure and excitement back in the day. You could easily have a picture painted in your mind of where you were, what magnificent place you were presenting to your players. Why is it that over the years, maps and artwork have declined in quality and presentation?  Is it to make room for more words or something?  Lame, if so. The same can be said for D&D’s artwork in general I guess, although I found that the majority of 4e artwork was pretty cool.  Not that 5e artwork is awful, it’s just not very epic I find.  Where are the Parkinsons and Easleys and Elmores of today hiding?

Getting back on topic here, there is a complete absence of a map of The Yawning Portal in the introduction section of this book.  I suppose, one could say “So what? Go Google it and I’m sure you’ll find one.” Example:

That’s great, however I believe in having an essential piece of art like this in the book proper. Or, at least the damn sign for the place, seen in at least a couple of classic pieces of art (the cover of the Avatar Trilogy’s third book, Waterdeep for instance, the classic cover with Midnight and Kelemvor in the scene):

I know that none of the adventures in this book have anything to do with Undermountain and The Yawning Portal, but it would have helped for newcomers not familiar with this great building to see something of its unique layout and that huge 40 foot well that so many have descended down and never returned from. The written description is... okay, I suppose.  Here are some photos of the intro in the book (starts halfway down on the right side page). Pretty conservative if you ask me.

Item 2: Teeny, tiny maps - Was there supposed to be a magnifying glass included with the book purchase?

I was starting to enjoy reading through this book, and I stopped reading page for page somewhere half way through The Sunless Citadel adventure, and proceeded to flip through to check out the rest of the book at a glance.

What I saw as I perused through the book made me throw up a little.  Just a little. Nothing major, no worries... I’m ok.

Now, before I continue, I want to share that my career is based around helping run and manage a print shop. It’s my industry, my trade, my craft. I notice things in print products that others tend not to spot and call them quality issues. Most times I am being very picky, because I tend to demand that my shop’s work is the best it can be.  That goes for layout, source image quality, final printed quality and any bindery finishing work done on a piece.

Tales from the Yawning Portal, as I have said before, is a decent book. I’m very happy it was released and I have some “new” content to implement into my campaigns. I very rarely play anything out “by the book” and just borrow sections or bits and pieces and tear them apart to suit my needs.

However... the maps in this book in particular are absolutely, mindblowingly, godawfully some of the worst presented maps in a printed publication. Team Voltron or whatever they’re called (check out a recent video about them here) need someone to tell them that what they’re doing is... not good. I am not sure where they get the encouragement and approval from supporting what they think is good design and layout.  It’s evident in most of the 5e books to date (I own most of them) that in each I can say that they spend far too much time with long, drawn out story and area descriptions, and less time on visual aids for running the game such as decent sized maps, and more relevant artwork.

While 4e was a really bad iteration of Dungeons & Dragons, what they did right (from what I can see in the few books and several Dungeon magazines from that era that I read), is they had artwork down, maps nice and easy to read and were clear and concise, and the writing of the adventures and source books was not only superior in terms of typeface choice and layout, but it didn’t seem drag on and make me wonder “when is this section was done, how much more of this do I have to endure...”

Notice I have not stated that the maps themselves are awful.  The maps are really good. I like Mike Schley’s style, although I wish it was darker/more evil looking at times and not so... cartoonish I suppose would be the word for it. But the colour selection is not optimal in this case, as when they are reduced so drastically, everything gets super muddy. Here are some photos of just some of the offending map sizes printed in this book (standard size d20 show for scale):

Pretty tiny for such detailed environments, right?  Now, check this out:

I believe this is the only map in the book that is afforded such vast real estate on the pages. I find it extremely odd why Team Voltron (I’m holding them mostly accountable since they are responsible for final edits in layout and content presentation) didn’t opt to do this for all of the major maps, and at least take up a good portion of one full page for the smaller maps so people can read them. BUT OH WAIT. It dawned on me after thinking about this most of the day today. Let’s go check out Mike Schley’s "Prints” store website.  Ah ha! This makes perfect sense I suppose. Why give customers who paid $50 USD ($66 CDN dollars where I live) decent, readable sized maps in the book itself - let’s let them figure it out for themselves and they can just buy digital files from Mike’s site for $15 USD and print them out however they see fit.

That’s cool I suppose, but just doesn’t justify to me why Team Voltron put these in the final printed book.  Also, Perkins! Mearls! Didn’t you guys see the final draft of the book before it went to print? Storm King’s Thunder also contained smaller size maps, but it was done well, combining the choice of very high contrast colour combinations in the printed maps with the brighter white paper than is usually found in most of the other 5e WotC hard covers.  Really helps that stuff pop, and looks to be far better for imaging. Anyhow, I’ve spent more than I wanted to on this post, enjoy the rest of the map shots I took:

Oh! I almost forgot! This one bit is definitely classified as a rant: The map for the friggin’ DOOMVAULT - ONE PAGE DEVOTED TO THIS?  The biggest, baddest assed map in the whole book and it gets one single page? If someone can make out the legend, let me know what it says please.

I love D&D, I love WotC (for the most part... Team Voltron... smarten up for your future releases!), and I hope this is one of the few posts I have to make about stuff like this.

-runDMsteve

#dungeons and dragons #tales from the yawning portal #wizards of the coast #dnd 5e #chris perkins #mike mearls #jeremy crawford #team voltron #waterdeep #d&d

[viralhottopics]

Six-month-long stretches of seven-day work weeks and looming deadlines: What it takes to be a strategy guide author

Image: Christopher Mineses/mashable

Ancient map-making required mastery over the disciplines of mathematics and astronomy, the means and courage to venture into dangerous uncharted territories, inhuman patience, artistry and attention to detail, and the ability to perch on the cutting edge of every new technological advancement your cultures most talented minds could muster. David Hodgsons job is arguably more difficult and certainly more tedious.

Hodgson makes video game strategy guides which, much like ancient cartography, is a lost art of primitive methods and painstaking processes.

Not that Hodgson would complain. He started working at gaming magazines in the 90s, but was always drawn back to the world of strategy guides. Currently working on contract for Prima Games, the largest strategy guide publisher in the US, he gets access to some of the biggest games in the world months before the public. And he slaves over their every detail, spending months and months gorging on each new obsession.

I think it’s one of those jobs that you kind of have to pinch yourself, he told me in his workshop a converted guest house behind his Spanish-style Southern California home. The room is equipped with comfortable seating, a large wraparound desk housing three monitors, countless books most of them strategy guides lining floor to ceiling shelves on one wall, and various macabre knick-knacks, from Lovecraftian posters to the crown jewel: Two replica Egyptian sarcophagi flanking the flatscreen like golden guardian deities.

It’s one of those jobs that you kind of have to pinch yourself.

Exact statistics about strategy guide sales are closely guarded info, Douglas Walsh, another longtime strategy guide author, told me over Twitter. As you can imagine, the sales today have consolidated around a few big hits: Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto, things like that, he said. [Sales] have also dropped off considerably, especially for shooters. The Call of Duty and Gears of War books sell a fraction of the copies they used to. But a big hit, especially as a Limited Edition hardcover, can crack Amazon’s top 25. Fighting game books in particular (and Skyrim, GTA, etc.) have even cracked the top five.

Despite those isolated successes, the number of guides produced each year is down along with sales to about 60 every year, half of what the figure was in the PS2 era, Walsh said.

Like vinyl records, the strategy guide as we once knew it all but died as a medium with the internets rise, transforming by necessity into a niche market for hardcore collectors and hobbyists. Hodgson said hes one of around a dozen remaining strategy guide authors.

In the middle of the afternoon, the rays of golden California sunlight barely grazed the exposed rafters of Hodgsons lair. He wore a black t-shirt with the words Who are you a ghost of? a reference to his brother Ian Hodgsons experimental musical act, Moon Wiring Club, described on its own labels website as confusing English electronic music. Hodgson often speaks wistfully of his succulents, and hes frequently sarcastic, though in the dry English way that you barely register after a while.

Each guide Hodgson authors is a massive undertaking involving a six-month-long stretch of seven-day work weeks and looming deadlines, gargantuan organizational conundrums, word counts and page limits, two-week spans of 12-hour days spent hunched over monitors far from home in a game studios back room, trying to beat every quest in a 100-hour RPG. Hes been doing this long and well enough with somewhere over 100 guides to his name (he lost count around 80) that he gets to pick what games he tackles. He mostly chooses massive role-playing games like The Witcher 3 and Fallout 4, simply because he loves diving deep into overwhelmingly huge projects. These are the types of games that seem to get more complex with every release. Each new feature Hodgson must chronicle and quadruple-check is another grey hair in his tangled beard.

I have a very understanding wife, Hodgson said.

***

The process of creating a video game strategy guide is shockingly complex. Look, for example, at what it takes just to make the hundreds of maps that go into the average guide on which Hodgson works.

In the old days the 90s hed draw maps freehand on graph paper and hand them over to a designer. But the games back then were significantly smaller than the ones he writes guides for now.

He starts by doing fly-overs in a special debug version of the game that still contains developer tools, taking screenshots of every single inch of the games exterior locations. In the case of Fallout 4, that included 3.82 square miles of irradiated wilderness and crumbling city streets.

What I’ve done is I’ve flown over the entire tiles of the map, multiple times, inch by inch. I do a north-south pass, I do an east-west pass, over the course of a week, he said. This isn’t playing the game. This is me floating above each sector in the game and plotting it out.

This isn’t playing the game. This is me floating above each sector in the game and plotting it out.

The game wont be out for several months, and its still very much in development, which unfortunately means that dozens of the points he and his assistants and co-authors have plotted in these exteriors could change.

Then you have 500 maps that need to be drawn of all of the different interiors in the game, he continued. You have to figure out first how many interiors there are in the game. So you go to every location in the game, and you see how big it is, then you estimate it, then you tell [strategy guide maker] Prima, ‘It’s going to be about this big. Find more mappers please.

At this point, hes still far from done. I’ve figured out how many primary locations there are. I’ve then figured out how many secondary locations there are that don’t appear on your worldmap. Those are just like, Oh, it’s a shed. Does it appear as an icon on the world map? No. Shit. Well, it has to go in the guide, he said. I’m talking about stuff that isn’t even a quest-related location. I’m talking about a pond with some barrels in it. Maybe he doesnt have to be that thorough not all strategy guides take inventory of every nonessential part of the environment the author can find. But thats just his personality, and its part of the reason hes so good at this job.

With the exterior and interior maps more or less complete, the rough versions based on screenshots are sent to a team of around 20 designers. Its now been weeks since Hodgson first received the early build of the game, and he hasnt even written anything yet.

He hasnt catalogued, sorted and described every single gun, sword, helmet, potion, blueprint, material, artifact, food, enemy, character, spell and skill in the game; he hasnt completed every possible branch of each and every quest, mission, side-quest, bounty, treasure hunt and optional objective; he hasnt compiled strategies for every mini-game, tactics for every boss, solutions to every puzzle and tricks for every fight; and he hasnt taken the hundreds screenshots that need to accompany it all.

A lot of it isnt playing a game necessarily its just checking something in a game and then checking it against an Excel document or a map or something like that, he said. If Im playing Skyrim for 6,000 hours over ten months with a co-author, Im not Woohoo! playing Skyrim; Im going here and checking to make sure that the guides accurate at that location.

The part of my brain that says ‘You don’t need to be this meticulous’ doesn’t work.

The games change in sometimes major ways, even after the guide goes to print. In that case all they can do is update the guides online component and point readers to the web should anything in the final book prove inaccurate. Whenever possible, though, Hodgson redoes a lot of work every time he gets a new build. For 2001s 007: Agent Under Fire, for example, he had to retake all of the screenshots two days before the game was going to go to print because they changed the color of one of the lasers, he said.

The part of my brain that says ‘You don’t need to be this meticulous’ doesn’t work, Hodgson told me.

***

Hodgson began working in the video game industry in the mid 90s after graduating with a history degree from the University of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. Hed wanted to become a history teacher, but instead used a PlayStation fan zine hed started called PlayStation Frenzy to get a job at Maximum, a new gaming magazine from a media company called EMAP.

He wrote massive 40-page features on individual games a precursor of things to come in his career while living on a disused German fishing trawler called the St. Michael that he says was moored illegally on the River Thames in London. They had to siphon power from a nearby car scrapyard.

It sounds quite idyllic, but it wasn’t, he remembered. It was dripping with different weird poisonous acid from roofs that hadn’t been sealed, and it was sort of slowly dissolving.

I kept my PlayStation, but not my sanity, he continued.

Maximum folded after seven issues, and Hodgson went on to a brief stint at Official Nintendo Magazine before receiving a call from Dave Halverson, publisher of the popular GameFan magazine.

Hodgson moved to LA and worked on his first strategy guides at GameFan for games like Super Mario 64, Soul Blade and Doom 64 under the magazines GameFan Books division. He flitted among various publishers and magazines until 2000. He called Prima, at the time one of the biggest strategy guide companies (its main competitor, BradyGames, would later be bought by publisher Penguin Random House and folded into Prima). He sent Prima his Metal Gear Solid guide, and they assigned him Armored Core.

That was 16 years ago and I’m still doing it right now, he said.

***

Hodgson flipped lovingly through his creations as we chatted, pointing out where hed embellished a simple description with some flowery joke, or where hed really gotten into it and written entire sections in the voice of a character from the game.

That love goes both ways CD Projekt Red, developers of The Witcher 3, built Hodgson his own tribute in the form of book merchant Marcus T.K. Hodgson, a character in the games Free City of Novigrad.

We just wanted to honor David for all the awesome work he does, CD Projekt PR Manager Radek Grabowski told me over email. This is just a tribute.

The Witcher 3 tributes Hodgson in the form of book merchant Marcus T.K. Hodgson

Hodgson seems to always go above and beyond. His humor is often self-deprecating, but hes also proud when he talks about some of the things hes accomplished within the limited medium of strategy guides, like the note he received from Hideo Kojima about his Metal Gear Solid guide in 1998.

Strategy guides were usually just go here, do this, go here, do that. I wanted it to be a bit more of an ‘official mission handbook.'”

He loved the guide. He liked the fact that I’d put box-outs for the history of the forklift truck in the first level, Hodgson said. Strategy guides were usually just go here, do this, go here, do that. I wanted it to be a bit more of an ‘official mission handbook,’ we called it. Kojima said hed shown the guide to his mother, who didnt really understand video games but of course knew what a book was.

For 2004s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II Hodgson planned and orchestrated an easter egg on the strategy guides DVD pack-in: Pressing a secret combination on your DVD player remote results in a special menu where you can access videos in which the voice actor for HK-47, a popular droid from the games, quotes other famous fictional robots and AI. Hodgson was excited to get the voice actor involved for a secret he deemed so obscure although his assertion that Nobody A) cares or B) has ever found that, because we never published the easter egg code is more self-deprecating than accurate, based on the above YouTube video and this forum thread.

But he nevertheless lit up when he talked about it, or about the more creative work hes gotten to do, like A Fractured Land: Tales of the Northern Realms, a 96-page lore book that came with the hardcover edition of the official The Witcher 3 guide, or The Improved Emperor’s Guide to Tamriel, a 224-page illustrated guide to the lands of Bethesdas The Elder Scrolls Online that was packed in with the games Imperial collectors edition.

Hodgson wrote the Emperors Guide in character as the scholar Flaccus Terentius, conjuring the characters imagined journal entries as he walked the games fictional lands. It has annotations like Strange to find such Daedra worship among the devout, nestled next to detailed sketches, diagrams and paintings.

I studied history. Its sort of finding the evidence for something and then writing about it, and that was my transferrable skill, Hodgson said. If I wasn’t going to become a history teacher, I was going to maybe become a travel writer or something like that. And in a sense I am, except the places that I write about don’t really exist.

But travel writers dont go to Paris and painstakingly catalog every street sign and boulangerie.

Though travel writers much like strategy guide authors have been made obsolete. Why read a book about a place when you can simply search for photos of it on Instagram? Likewise, why buy an expensive book when everything you could want to know about every game ever made is a Google search away?

For one thing, you only have to look at one of Hodgsons guides to see the value for collectors and hardcore fans. And while the internet is always playing catch-up to catalog new releases in YouTube guides and Wikis, the official strategy guide arrives on day one (or earlier). That makes the physical strategy guide, ironically, the first choice for players who want instant, day one gratification.

“There’s a nice archaic nature to strategy guides that I enjoy. I can write about something that’s cutting edge, like Fallout 4, but I can publish it using 16th century technology.

Hodgson has his own reasons. I can’t show you the writings I’ve done for Maxim.com and Gamespy, because those sites aren’t there anymore, he said. Stuff disappears when you’re on the net. But this Akuji the Heartless strategy guide on paper, or in fact the Fallout 3 strategy guide that’s in the Library of Congress. So even after the bombs drop and we’re in the future apocalypse, you can go to the bunker down below the Library of Congress or even now, if you’d like to do it properly [and] you can search my books out. I think I’m the only person who will ever do that, but there’s a nice archaic nature to strategy guides that I enjoy. I can write about something that’s cutting edge, like Fallout 4, but I can publish it using 16th century technology.

***

Hodgson works on guides ten months out of every twelve, and he rarely plays video games for fun anymore. At the end of a long stretch, Im just sick of staring at screens, so I just go outside or I go and buy another aloe tree or an agave or a different type of succulent, he said. I maybe go on Facebook, but just to see what some of the people that I never get to see do. Friends.

You are suffering from extreme fatigue, and the dogs looking at you going I need to be fed and walked. Immediately, he said.

But if he quit tomorrow, hed still play games after a six-month sabbatical, at least. After your first week [off] youre just like Ah, sort of semi-retirement, this is great. This is fantastic, he said. And then another week goes by and youre sort of starting to get an itchy feeling. Cabin fever sets in. Youre like, whats next?

Hodgson recently wrapped up work on the Complete edition guide to The Witcher 3 and the official Watch Dogs 2 strategy guide, and at the time of writing hes putting the finishing touches on his Ghost Recon Wildlands guide. You can find his work wherever strategy guides are sold.

Mike Rougeau is a freelance journalist who lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and two dogs.

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