#[aesthetics] How intriguing!

[thebramblewood]

LIGHT ACADEMIA Requested by @stinkrascal and @leian-22 Starring Vladislaus Straud and Ulrike Faust

"Ms. Faust, have you even been listening to a single word I've said?"

Still the story of a college girl stumbling into the world of vampires, but this one's lusting over her rumpled literature professor who always has a pen tucked behind his unusually large and pointy ears.

[mysticalflyte]

Bone to Soul

Instagram | Twitter

[ourstarscollided]

Feel free to expand in the tags cause I’d love to know!

[icewindandboringhorror]

I know multiple of these are likely important to people, but I'm asking in terms of like - which of these do you tend to focus on the MOST, enjoy the most, that is most essential for you to actually care about the media, etc.?

(For example: someone finding "Relatability" most important would likely not enjoy a show much if they have trouble empathizing with the characters/relating to it, even if it were good otherwise. Or, someone might be able to overlook bad acting and ugly costumes, as long as the Character Dynamics are fun to them, because they value that more than Aesthetics- while for others, bad costumes would be a dealbreaker.)

Also feel free to reblog and explain your answer or more information in the tags- I've always been curious about people's relationships to media, how they conceptualize it/what they get out of it, how some people value some parts more than others, how that informs their overall taste and genres they may be more inclined towards, etc. :0c

[heavy-lobster]

Hate it when I see people say shit like "the Violet paradox mons are so stupid and lame, they're all just robots!" like uhmmmmm yea they are and it OWNS ok. blasts you with my beam attack

[discountalien-pancake]

The friendship harem has started up some good old analog correspondence, so I fell down a fountain pen rabbithole and splurged on some new materials. Did I choose a very expensive ink purely because it was glass green and named Cinderella’s Slipper? Absolutely.

In the meantime, I dug out a very old, inexpensive dried up pen that I have no idea where it even came from. Took it apart and tossed the nib and cartridge into a bottle full of water to dissolve the old ink.

Something about this image of my dimly lit desk covered in art supplies and papers and random junk, with a bottle of bright blue water smack in the middle of it is immensely pleasing?? No idea why.

Anyway, perhaps I will pick up a bottle of less expensive, more versatile blue-black ink tomorrow so I can put my cheap pen to use while I wait for my nice pen to arrive.

[shorthaltsjester]

imodna to me is c3 widojest (i am not a fan of widojest)

[feline-evil]

I wish there was a way to poison plagiarist image generation software back into it's pre-evolutionary state of only being able to generate thick, rancid pustules of impossible flesh and eyes. I wish we could turn it back into solely being able to make meaty unfathomable horrors of incomprehensible shapes instead of being able to replicate real artists work and destroy peoples livelihoods in so many creative industries that are already grueling fields full of struggling people. It sucks so much what that tech ended up being, and yeah of course i recognize it was always inevitable and that even in that early state the tech probably was not great to exist at all but it still makes me so sad. I wish we could just slip something into it's food trough to make it sick, make it go back to what it was, something unmarketably useless in any real field; back to just disgusting body horror masses and unfathomable swirls of color. I don't think it'd be coming for anyone's jobs if it was still that, i think things would at least be better.

[enderwiggin]

I’ve been thinking a lot about why those “schizoposting” memes seem to be very popular with people who are mentally ill but otherwise not schizospec/psychotic even when the posts are literally like “I am delusional. I experience hallucinations.” I think the thought patterns behind it are a combination of like:

1) wanting people to recognize your mental illness as severe enough/serious enough, so you try to verbalize it in a way that is obviously perceived as “crazy.”

2) paradoxically an experience of being able to laugh at the fact that you aren’t REALLY “that crazy.” I see this a lot with people captioning schizoposting memes “me when I finally snap” etc.

I honestly don’t even care that much. I think there’s also a lot of overlap in the experiences of schizospec and other neurodivergent/mentally ill people, and obviously you can’t tell what’s going on in someone’s head just based off of their posting habits. But at the same time it’s just fascinating to watch. Especially because the memes are so often just stereotypes of what the positive symptoms of schizospec disorders are. Most people don’t know that schizospec disorders are also defined by negative symptoms like monotonous speech, alogia, anhedonia, and catatonia. Instead the eye catching symptoms, the same ones that inspire horror movie caricatures, become the signifier of mental-illness-posting for Gen Z.

[jacksintention]

Automaton angel

[fragmentedblade]

I haven't looked forwards to a character as much as I've looked forwards to Sunday. I hope he won't disappoint

[kavehater]

Just saw the most majestic kaveh cosplay and I looked into the comments and saw the foulest comment I’ve ever seen and it barely made sense cause of typos I click the ops profile AND OP IS SIXTEEN 😧

[noblehcart]

sometimes i just really sit on the tiny factoid in liesel's DC verse that she moonlighted as a cabaret singer at the Iceberg Lounge in her early college days.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

The thing with the Mari Lwyd, though, is that it's being... I don't know, 'appropriated' is the wrong word, but certainly turned into something it isn't.

Thing is, this is a folk tradition in the Welsh language, and that's the most important aspect of it. I feel partly responsible for this, because I accidentally became a bit of an expert on the topic of the Mari Lwyd in a post that escaped Tumblr containment, and I clearly didn't stress it strongly enough there (in my defence, I wrote that post for ten likes and some attention); but this is a Welsh language tradition, conducted in Welsh, using Welsh language poetic forms that are older than the entire English language, and also a very specific sung melody (with a very specific first verse; that's Cân y Fari). It is not actually a 'rap battle'. It's not a recited poem. It is not any old rhyme scheme however you want.

It is not in English.

Given the extensive and frankly ongoing attempts by England to wipe out Welsh, and its attendant cultural traditions, the Mari is being revived across Wales as an act of linguistic-cultural defiance. She's a symbol of Welsh language culture, specifically; an icon to remind that we are a distinct people, with our own culture and traditions, and in spite of everyone and everything, we're still here. Separating her from that by removing the Welsh is, to put it mildly, wildly disrespectful.

...but it IS what I'm increasingly seeing, both online and in real world Mari Lwyd festivals. She's gained enormous pop-culture popularity in recent years, which is fantastic; but she's also been reduced from the tradition to just an aesthetic now.

So many people are talking/drawing about her as though she's a cryptid or a mythological figure, rather than the folk practice of shoving a skull on a stick and pretending to be a naughty horse for cheese and drunken larks. And I get it! It's an intriguing visual! Some of the artwork is great! But this is not what she is. She's not a Krampus equivalent for your Dark Christmas aesthetic.

I see people writing their own version of the pwnco (though never called the pwnco; almost always called some variant on 'Mari Lwyd rap battle'), and as fun as these are, they are never even written in the meter and poetic rules of Cân y Fari, much less in Welsh, and they never conclude with the promise to behave before letting the Mari into the house. The pwnco is the central part to the tradition; this is the Welsh language part, the bit that's important and matters.

Mari Lwyd festivals are increasingly just English wassail festivals with a Mari or two present. The Swansea one last weekend didn't even include a Mari trying to break into a building (insert Shrek meme); there was no pwnco at all. Even in the Chepstow ones, they didn't do actual Cân y Fari; just a couple of recited verses. Instead, the Maris are just an aesthetic, a way to make it look a bit more Welsh, without having to commit to the unfashionable inconvenience of actually including Welsh.

And I don't really know what the answers are to these. I can tell you what I'd like - I'd like art to include the Welsh somewhere, maybe incorporating the first line of Cân y Fari like this one did, to keep it connected to the actual Welsh tradition (or other Welsh, if other phrases are preferred). I'd like people who want to write their version of the pwnco to respect the actual tradition of it by using Cân y Fari's meter and rhyme scheme, finishing with the promise to behave, and actually calling it the pwnco rather than a rap battle (and preferably in Welsh, though I do understand that's not always possible lol). I'd like to see the festivals actually observe the tradition, and include a link on the booking website to an audio clip of Cân y Fari and the words to the first verse, so attendees who want to can learn it ahead of time. I don't know how feasible any of that is, of course! But that's what I'd like to see.

I don't know. This is rambly. But it's something I've been thinking about - and increasingly nettled by - for a while. There's was something so affirming and wonderful at first about seeing the Mari's climb into international recognition, but it's very much turned to dismay by now, because she's important to my endangered culture and yet that's the part that everyone apparently wants to drop for being too awkward and ruining the aesthetic. It's very frustrating.

[misskamelie]

Currently fascinated by the fact that if you go on twitter.com (where you have this giant X and whatever else) and then go to their "about" page (where the favicon is still the bird logo, btw) you find a "go to X.com" button which, supposedly links to x.com (which it does), but if you click on it you're redirected to, you guessed it, twitter.com

[art]

Creator Spotlight: @themetalhiro

Hi, I’m Metal! I’m a freelance artist from good ol’ New Jersey. My favorite things to work with are a lot of bright colors, exaggerated poses, and candid scenarios. I try to farm sensible chuckles whenever I can, so I’m also big into comics. I love making them about my life, and the media I’m into, and one day I’d like to publish my own series!  Thank you to everyone who has gotten me this far!!

Check out Metal's interview below!

Did you originally have a background in art? If not, how did you start?

I guess so! It’s funny, I don’t remember a single time in my life that I wasn’t drawing as a hobby… somewhere in middle school (a little late, I know.) I put the pieces together that animated movies were made by artists, and that it wasn’t just for fun, they were paid to do it. The moment I discovered people could be paid to make art, I decided I would do that, too. Now I’m here!

How has your style developed over the years?

I think the best way to answer this would be with an example! Over the last few years, I have made more of an effort to draw more intentionally, which sounds silly. Now, I put more thought into my poses and step out of my comfort zone with shape language and composition. I had a phase where I drew everyone with a huge, perfectly circular head and no nose. That definitely did not lend much variety...

Which 3 famous artists (dead or alive) would you invite to your dinner party?

Ack! I’m so terrible at history! I’d love to give a well-thought-out answer about fine artists of old, but I don't think we’d have much in common… Most artists I admire and who have driven me forward creatively are the people behind comics I’ve read. Andrew Hussie, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Eiichiro Oda... these guys have inspired me greatly and had a heavy influence in developing my art style and sense of humor. I’d love to ask them questions about their processes and upcoming projects. I think it would make for an entertaining night!

Over the years as an artist, what were your biggest inspirations behind your creativity?

Outside of pure aesthetics like searing bright colors, layered clothing, and loud noises…. the best and most inspiring moments in my life were those surrounded by friends and loved ones! I cherish the hell out of memories of hanging around in fun locations, trying weird food together, and impromptu midnight walks... so I try my best to capture that atmosphere and my own memories in my work when I can, even if I’m imposing fictional characters on top of them. That’s always the core of it.

What is a medium that you have always been intrigued by but would never use yourself?

I would never permanently refuse a medium, but every time I pick up clay, I’m like a baby using its hands for the first time. Absolutely dreadful. If one day I could make and paint a figurine like the ones I admire in videos, that would be awesome... But for now, I’m not counting on it.

How do you want to evolve as a creator?

I’ve had an absolute blast drawing fanart over the years, and it’s certainly played a massive role in my growth as an artist. But my dream has always been to publish my own stories for y'all to enjoy! I have lots of worlds I want to introduce to you before I’m old and gray. I want to get faster, work harder, and get better at drawing interesting settings so I can get the wheels turning as soon as possible. I also want to stop avoiding the color blue like a coward.

What do you wish you knew when you first started out creating art that you know now?

Pay your taxes quarterly. Tablets will break at the exact moment you need them most, so have a spare. Wear your blue light glasses. You’re going to need to wear a brace on every joint on the right side of your body. It can be lonely sitting at your desk all day. The car on the side of the road that costs $1000 cash….. don’t trust it!!!

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

@cranity—They use absolutely beautiful colors and weighty line work. Everything looks so sharp and clean! I wanna put it all up on my wall!

@vewn—Their ability to crank out quality short films and illustrations packed with detail is incredible. The off-kilter perspective they use really sells disorientation and catches your attention like nothing else.

@nelnal—They have absolutely banger character designs again and again, I can’t believe one person’s mind can come up with so many creative ideas!

@jinx88kc—They have a beautiful and recognizable style, and the way they incorporate animation into their illustrations sometimes is SO cool!

Thanks for stopping by, Metal! For more of Metal’s work, follow their Tumblr, @themetalhiro! If you haven't seen their Meet the Artist piece, be sure to check it out here!