raequaza

[raequaza]

Not people saying “Fandom has always been like this” in that vent post I made. No. It hasn’t always been like this. Fandom has NEVER been like this until recently and if you were in fandom pre-tumblr purge, pre-twitter, pre-netflix boom, pre-tiktok….then you would fucking know it was nothing like this.

We still had the drive to create. We still sold prints and charms and made zines…but it was never like this.

The introduction of streaming, binge shows that drop all at once, tiktok and vine RIP i still love u vine but you were the beginning of a particularly ugly era) creating this bite sized, quick paced ‘content’ era of creation and it bled out into fucking everything else.

Fandoms didn’t die down when the show ended or the season was over. You didn’t mass unfollow artist, writers or moots just because they changed fandoms. There wasn’t this need to please the algorithm in order for your posts to get seen by people and enjoyed.

Fandoms used to last YEARS. Star Trek is literally the oldest running fandom out there and you got people in there that could care less about the new stuff and still have been happily prancing through their fucking fifty year old fandom today. Hell, even SPN after all it’s fuckups and shitshows has a dedicated fanbase STILL creating tons of art and fic.

There is no patience anymore. No calm feeling of taking in fandom and friends at a pace that which doesn’t make you stressed and is still fun.

Do I blame fandom for this? Of course not, but people are complacent with it and start changing their vocab to accommodate and end up making the situation so deep it cant be fixed.

We call Art & Fic Content now, completely stripping the value of what it is to a level of consumerism instead of personal entertainment & community bonding.

[raequaza]

[raequaza]

“You’re Asexual, so how could you possibly enjoy watching/reading/engaging with sexual content?!?!”

The same way I’m able to enjoy horror movies without having murdered an entire cabin full of teenagers before, Barbara you pedantic piece of pipe cleaner.

[raequaza]

when Stephen King was learning to write he learned that the protagonist was the main character and he was like got it Maine character

[raequaza]

dont be rude to people who choose to finish school before they get a job

dont be rude to people who choose to quit school in order to get a job

not everyone is capable to handle both at the same time

dont give me your shitty life story of “well i work 100000 hours and i STILL manage to find time for my homework. if i can do it u can do it too” like literally shut the fuck up no one cares and no not everyone can.

[raequaza]

WHERE IS ICE ADOLESCENCE?!

[raequaza]

Bill Hader was unaware that Bill Skarsgård can actually move his eyes in two different directions. Hader asked Skarsgård what kind of editing was done to achieve the effect in the first movie. Skarsgård, in full costume and makeup, responded by saying "Oh, you mean this?"

[raequaza]

boys be like “i know a spot” and then bring u to their home to make u work on their monthly shojo manga

[raequaza]

10 Reasons To Watch Given

[raequaza]

i cannot get over alina climbing into the crows’s carriage. i mean, jesper’s having the time of his life. inej and kaz were stuffed in USSR uniforms and got kicked around by some inferno bitch, and all he had to do? fuck the stable boy on a pile of hay. i mean, he’s having a great time, and then the fucking sun summoner just hops into his carriage? god i love this show.

[raequaza]

art block, writer’s block, “art funk”, “burnout”, yada yada… it’s all the same thing, being a creator and wanting to create but having some kind of a wall preventing you from doing this.

this wall can take a lot of different forms, and i’m going to approach this post from the perspective of a visual artist, but no matter the medium, we all have a skill we’ve trained ourselves in and what I’m talking about will apply regardless.

Anyway as I said there’s a few different forms this wall can take. Here’s a few of them that I can think of:

Disillusionment with your current skill level

A loss of direction

Fatigue

Lack of drive

It’s really important to identify exactly what your wall is if you want to be able to dismantle it. This isn’t every way it can manifest either, just the most common ways that I see it manifesting, and you might have multiple at once!

Take some time to really self reflect on what the problem is if none of these are resonating after you’ve read the post, whatever it is you can find a way to manage it.

The most common advice I see for “defeating [creator’s] block” is committing to spending like five minutes a day working on something, anything at all. And that’s good advice! but not really for creator’s block, I think.

It’s GREAT advice if you’re lacking in discipline though, like I can easily get distracted and not work on things for months. So committing to work on comic related things for at least 30 minutes a day (and having this commitment be to other people that I’m checking in with each day, i think thats an important part) has worked really well for me, personally.

But I wasn’t dealing with any kind of a block, I just lacked discipline. I don’t think it’s very useful if for example, you hate how your art looks so you don’t want to draw anything anymore lmao

With that in mind, lets go through that list and I’ll try give you some advice from my experiences, and hopefully it’ll help give you the means to identify the problems you’re struggling with and find solutions to them if my advice isn’t quite what you need.

—

1. Disillusionment with your current skill level

So! it’s time to pull out everyone’s favourite graphic! this version was created by shattered-earth on deviantart, though the original is by Marc Dalessio

obviously this says art, but again this is applicable to all mediums. It’s an important concept to understand, the idea of a creator’s high vs a creator’s low depending on how developed your critical eye has become compared to your skill level.

If you’re not aware of it and don’t understand what’s happening, it’s REALLY easy to lose all motivation to create anything. Because why bother, if everything sucks? Definitely one of the most dangerous blocks you can run into, I think.

The solution, as with all of these walls, is to be kind to yourself.

Your critical eye improving is emotionally taxing, but it’s also an opportunity for great growth! It’s not easy, though. To get through it, you have to really confront what you don’t like about your work and target your weaknesses, and then you have to put in the time to try and improve them. That’s tough.

But self study doesn’t have to be a solo activity. Talk with your friends, seek out communities of creators, and follow resource blogs, channels, etc. I really think the best thing you can do is surround yourself with other creators, I’m in a few discords and hang out in the creative section of various forums etc

But this is really important: The act of targetting your weaknesses in order to improve them is going to make it REALLY easy for you to lose track of what you like about your work, and can in fact compound the issue and make you only focus on your flaws.

So, be kind to yourself. If you’re not happy with what you create, take the time to critically analyse your work. What don’t you like? What do you like? Don’t lose track of what you like while you study the things you’re less confident about, and with some patience and work your skill will catch up with your eye again.

I really can’t emphasise enough how important it is to not lose track of what it is you like about your work. The biggest motivation killer is always going to be falling out of love with your work, so do everything you can to prevent yourself losing the joy of creating.

Like, sure, a work might be technically perfect, but did you enjoy yourself while creating it? If you always ensure the answer to that is yes, the mismatch between your critical eye and your skills will be easier to handle because at least you’re still enjoying yourself, you know?

Keep reading

[raequaza]

My boyfriend didn’t go to university until he was 28 because he didn’t feel anywhere near ready when he was 18. He graduated with first-class honours, went on to do a Masters, and is now a history teacher. It’s so much more important to do things when you’re able to fully commit to them and do them to the best of your ability than to rush to do them by an imaginary deadline.

[raequaza]

[raequaza]

M A N I A is the seventh studio album by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on January 19, 2018, on Island Records and DCD2

made by the bandom creators server — @itsnotasideeffect, @omegalomania, @headfirrstforhalos, @lickthatbattery, @ofalltheginjoints, @bandomgay, @deadonarrival, @clusterhugmp3, @heartwcrk, @truebluemagic

[raequaza]

[raequaza]

john mulaney has checked into rehab. here’s what we are going to do:

• support him

• wish him well

• respect his privacy

here’s what we are NOT going to do

• make jokes because addiction is not funny

• speculate anything about his marriage or personal life

• attack those in his personal life (*ahem, leave anna alone. don’t go asking pete davidson for details. none of that)

addiction is a serious disease, and while this news may be troubling, i am so proud of him for seeking help. you can too.