#Any chance that someone talented can redraw this? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

yanderecandystore · 4 years ago

Note

The bullies with an S/O that’s just completely off the board? Like no matter how much they look the bullies can’t find /anything/ on them, all their school papers are forged and their home just isn’t able to be found no matter how hard they look? Maybe due to the S/O changing their identity after doing something bad?

That's hella specific and I love it?? XD

Sure thing boo, let me see what I can do.

Also, I'll change the ocs profiles to be paper drawings with digital coloring because believe me boo, I'm tired of redrawing them (and I believe y'all are tired of always seeing these new drawings).

I noticed that my paper art is a lot better than my digital art, and although I'm kinda proud of them I still feel a little petty because I wish to do cool stuff on the computer ;-;.

Anyway, just a heads-up if you see something off with the oc's bios.

TW/Tags: I have no idea what to tag this lmao // identity theft // illegal/unauthorized inscription // not an accurate representation of university/how universities work lol // abusive household/abusive parents // I may or may not have changed your concept a little, I'm sorry for it 😔

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

Suspicion (fuck yeah, I don't know what to title this) [Yandere!Bully OC x Reader - Headcanon]:

→Adrien Coldwell:

For a person that prides themselves as the "know it all" when it comes to people's social media and reputation, he doesn't know anything about you.

This is a first for him, which is both annoying and honestly so intriguing. You didn't strike him as a person who would hide any secrets, and he had a hunch this was about to be good.

He searched for social media first, not finding anything about Avery Remington. Well, at least nothing with your face on it.

However, he did find something very, very interesting while looking at the school's documents, specifically the archives of all the students that have already studied here. He honestly didn't think he would find anything about you in these old papers, he was probably doing all this stupid work for nothing.

However, he was half right and half wrong. He didn't find anything about you, but this whole search wasn't completely lost, as he did find "you", Avery.

"- Student name Avery Remington, average grades and apparently no history of wrong doings or any bad behavior in general. Their registration to the Academy dates to 1980."

Oh. Ooooh, this was rich.

"- Huh." He said closing the documents and letting it where he found it. He was at least kind enough to let the palace a little organize after going through each paper trying to find your name.

Well, "your name". The only things that he kept for himself was photos of both the old documents about Avery Remington, and the earlier documents about Avery Remington. It was clear that you did something probably really, really bad, and you know he'll take advantage of it.

He had built his own theory about this, as in: you somehow found the paperwork of Avery's registration and their previous school's records so you could somehow impersonate them and get a free entrance to this institution.

He knew that you had something to hide, no one can be so perfect. But knowing the action itself wasn't enough for him, he needed to know the motive behind it.

For someone that is lazy and doesn't bother to care about important things, he sure spent a lot of time trying to scoop some dirt on you. When he finds the perfect opportunity, without any witness around, he'll take the chance to use this information against you.

"- Well, hello "Avery"." His tone was already suspicious, his voice not hiding anything from you. He came here to belittle you for his own entertainment.

"- H-Hi Adrien." You said shyly, hoping that your anxious mind was wrong and that this was all just a misunderstanding. You were hoping that the growing feeling of him possibly knowing about your fraud, was wrong.

"- Ya know, I'm kinda jealous of whatever plastic surgery you went through to look so young, maybe you should ask the faculty to correct your age tho." He said while showing the pictures he took of the documents.

"- Wait! I-I can-"

"- Honestly, I didn't think you were over 60 years old! Could have fooled me." His smug face was the selling point. You knew that you wouldn't find any form to convince him that what was on his phone was false.

He had a victorious smile on his face. Ever since you entered this school you always acted a little too paranoid and almost too friendly for his liking, and to confess to himself that he has fallen for you would be the bottom of the pit to him.

Still, he wanted to know why you did it. Why didn't you pay to get in if you wanted the scholarship so badly? What, you were too poor for it?

And what about a talent, or the test? Obviously, the university hasn't gone out of their way to pick a loser like you and insert you inside their classes on a whim, as they thought you were Avery Remington, a student that is already registered in school's documents (yet, of course, their system haven't verified the date of the registration, either by incompetence or by a "small mistake"). So you didn't do the test too, simply pathetic honestly.

Your sad dramatic story explaining how you managed to get into the academy. You did your best to get into the academy by legal means, but they always rejected you. Apparently you thought it would be a good idea to use your grandparent's documents to squeeze yourself into the institution.

"- But why in hell would you do such a thing? Are you that pathetic dearest?"

"- I… I wanted somewhere to go. Somewhere I could grow into a better person, a-away from-" You cut yourself short when the memories of your old home started to come into view.

For some reason, your parents couldn't stand the idea of you getting into a decent university, if anything, they thought you weren't capable of even washing some dishes at the local pizzeria. In their eyes, you were worthless.

When you found out your grandparent used to frequent this institution, and that they managed to disattached themselves from their familial routes and thrive as a musician you got instantly inspired! Determined to follow their steps and prove your family that you're just as worth ass-

"- Urghhhh- Boring! I don't care about all of that. Are you serious? You committed a crime just so you could stick it up to your shitty parents?"

"- …. Yes?"

"- Huh. Geez you're cooler than I thought. Listen, how about we make a deal?"

The deal was simple, he would not tell anyone about your little secret, and he would even help you keep your scholarship and help you reach your ambitions as long as you started spending more time with him. Which, at first you thought it sounded absurd, this man is holding your whole life by a thin thread as long as you give him attention?? What?!

And although that sounded extremely suspicious, you accepted it, not knowing that for the next few years you would have to endure a harsh training to discover your talents and to improve them before you two graduated. However, you started to think Adrien was starting to see your deal in a different light-

"- Come on now, after this we can go eat something okay? Where would you like to go this time? Our last date I chose the best restaurant I know, so you better choose something of equal value."

…. Date?

→Alexandra Coldwell:

You were suspicious from the very start. Overly friendly and too- Ugh! Too cute?!

You were always skittish whenever someone called you. What, you had a problem with your name or something?

And the worst part was how no one seemed to know where you lived. Every group project with you was considered annoying by most of your classmates, as you never called people in your house or never let anyone have your address, not even your phone number??

You didn't have any social media, what are you, a weirdo? What the hell??!

She is not even pissed about you being a loser, she is pissed that she has fallen for someone like you! A complete weirdo that was always panicking over nothing.

She started stalking you with the intention of finding at least one thing that she could hate on you so she wouldn't feel so- Lovey dovey towards you!

But what she really found was something worth an entire gold mine.

A private phone call between you and someone who was losing their shit. She couldn't understand too much of the conversation as she didn't have any context, yet she could hear a lot of things that you and the person were discussing.

The person yelled [Y/N] multiple times while in the phone call, saying how you were absolutely the worst mistake of their lives (which by the way, rude much? Who is this asshole?), that you were a selfish brat that needed to learn to appreciate their hard work.

Oh… Oh. She now knows who you're talking with. She decided to record the entire thing the moment she saw you taking your cellphone to have a private call.

She was planning on recording your voice for her own hearing pleasure, but this? This was so… Interesting.

"- [Y/N]?" She called your attention after the conversation ended, and because you haven't been accustomed to people calling you "Avery", you turned around saying "what" instinctively.

And when you noticed Alexandra smirk for a split second, you regretted answering your parents call. Not that you needed anymore reason to regret it, but this was certainly the last nail in the coffin.

You begged for her to understand that you couldn't go back, you simply can't go back to them, ever again! You told her the whole sob story about how your grandparent had decided to run away from home and fulfil their own dreams as a musician, even if people didn't really hear their music all that much, and now that you think about it, that's probably the reason why no one have recognized their name at all.

Your grandparent had a really small fanbase, and you knew that because you were part of them. They weren't popular at all compared to Amaryllis Academy standards, yet they were happy singing their songs to the world.

You kinda wish your family hasn't broken the old recorder that belonged to your grandparent. Their first album was in there, it was cheesy and filled with errors, yet they sounded so happy when doing what they loved, and you wanted something like that for yourself!

You needed to live that hell hole and so you did. You rented a small apartment that was falling apart, the reason why you never gave people your address was because you knew they would bully the hell out of you because of how poor you are.

After finishing your story you noticed Alexandra snoring beside you. You thought she was only exaggerating, but then you saw her drooling and acting really dizzy after you woke her up.

"- Oh my God, so… That was it? You ran away to follow your dreams and stuff?" She asked, still kinda sleepy.

"- What? Of course it was-" You were fuming with anger, how dare she-

"- And I thought you only looked cool because I liked you! You're pretty strong for sticking up for yourself." She interrupted you, looking at you with admiration in her eyes.

She proposed to you a deal. How about you two keep this secret together, and, if anything does happen she'll still help you stay inside the institution. However, you'll need to work your ass out to become the best you can be, and you'll let her guide you through, because you're too much of a dummy to do it all by yourself. You'll have to spend time with her and let her help you out.

At first, you thought it sounded absurd, this woman is holding your whole life by a thin thread as long as you give her attention?? What?!

And although that sounded extremely suspicious, you accepted it, not knowing that for the next few years you would have to endure a harsh training to discover your talents and to improve them before you two graduated. However, you started to think Alexandra was starting to see your deal in a different light-

"- Why you never hold my hand? Come on, "Avery", won't you hold the hand of your dearest girlfriend?" She asked playfully while taking your hand anyway.

…. Girlfriend?

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

#sheep stuff #yandere oc #sheep's stuff #yandere x reader #yandere bully #yandere twins #yandere oc headcanons #yandere oc x reader #yandere bully x reader #yandere bullying #yandere headcanon #special delivery headcanons #special delivery request #yandere

78 notes · View notes

thewolfmanslayer · 3 years ago

Text

Honestly the amount of people who say artists and writers should do stuff for free, or try to rip them off on comissions still royally piss me off.

I think the worst part of it is the entitlement, I dont want to make this too much about generations but a lot of commissioners are millenial/Gen z's who grew up on the "steal and pirate everything" mentality, take everything that you can because no one else is going to hand it to you. which I can get behind, when you are screwing over MULTI BILLION DOLLAR COMPANIES. NOT THE STRUGGLING ARTISTS AND WRITERS who are trying to keep food on the table as desperately as you probably are!

It's simple, you wouldn't walk into a restaurant, order food and tell the server "sorry I don't have any money, but I've got like a few thousand followers on social media, I can get your name out there, get the restaurant some exposure" NO! They don't need "exposure" they need you to pay the damn bill!

On top of that, most of these artists and writers ALREADY HAVE FOLLOWINGS. They already have thousands of people following them, waiting for the chance to get a commission, who are willing to pay for said commission, they don't need "exposure" when they're already out there! He'll even the artists and writers with a few hundred don't need it, they'll get more followers as time goes by, their skill alone will see to it.

And what is with people trying to get free art and writing? It's not going to work! You can't harass someone until they cave, trust me, you'll be long since blocked before you even have the opportunity. I don't do comissions, online anyways, but my own friends and family, people who actually know me STILL PAY ME whenever they ask for me to do art for them because they KNOW it takes TIME AND EFFORT.

How many times do we need to have this discussion???? Like when is it going to finally click that people who need to pay their bills just as much as you do AREN'T going to do this shit for free!?

Here's the thing about art and writing, that you've heard a billion times but still aren't getting; IT. TAKES. TIME. AND. EFFORT. TO. GET. DONE. the art isn't going to magically appear and the writing isn't going to suddenly write itself, if either were so convenient YOU WOULDNT BE ASKING AN ARTIST OR WRITER IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Look at that, you see that? The first picture I did back in 2012-13, the picture beside it? I did that TWO YEARS AGO. I didn't suddenly know exactly what to do, or had anything close to a god given talent for drawing (I'm not that talented). The first picture WAS THE ABSOLUTE BEST I COULD DO AT THE TIME THAT I MADE IT. In the time between these two drawings I admittedly took a break from art, but then I got back into it four years ago. EVEN STILL that was four YEARS of starting over from the basics, relearning everything, learning new things, wanting to actually improve my art.

Which, guess what, DID NOT HAPPEN OVER NIGHT. It was HOURS UPON HOURS of my limited free time as an adult drawing over and over and over and over again, every single goddamn day to get to the point that I was able to make that redraw look as good as it does in comparison. He'll, my art now puts them both to shame! Because I spent the time improving my quality!!

Now look at these artists doing comissions, they've probably put EVEN MORE of their time to get that good! They've put in LITERAL YEARS of sweat, blood, tears, frustrations and dedicated hardwork. Some did the same as me, self teaching and lots of practice, others probably had to go to school, which definitely wasn't cheap. But all of us put in that time and effort TO REACH THESE POINTS. Of being better artists, developing our styles, getting faster at drawing.

And maybe you think that this is super easy, right? That I or every other artist can just fire some art off and boom its good and done in like an hour?

FUCK. NO.

Even now it takes me several hours a day OVER MANY DAYS to make something exceptionally good! It doesn't matter how good an artist is, it still. Takes. Time.

Maybe the issue is that you don't understand how much actually goes into art, let me break it down for you, the steps that most people follow to finish ONE drawing.

-Rough draft: general character outline, get a feel for what I want to draw.

-Rough sketch: I start doing a bit of pencil to start filling in details like mouth, nose, eyes, hair, clothes. Ect.

-Penciling: I go over the rough sketch and clean everything up, maybe do some editing, this is when you can start making out all the details.

-Ink: I trace over the finished pencil with a pen tool and actually have the line art, everything looks clean, presentable, it actually looks like a character now. I'll spend time editing this and possibly redoing the inking many times over to get to a point where I like it.

-Flat color: I decide on which colors to use for skin tone, clothes accessories. Ect.

-Shading/highlights: I figure out where my light source is and how strong it is, I then apply the correct amount of lighting and shadows to the color to give it depth, I also have determine the texture of skin, clothes and accessories to make everything look real and natural.

-Blending: I smooth out the shading and highlights so that it looks more natural and isn't too hard (noticeable difference between color) so that it looks as natural as possible.

-Finish: I go over last minute details, finish any editing or corrections that need to be done. Once it's good I call it a day.

Each process is longer in length then the previous, with the exception of the final editing (as long as everything looks good) and even the rough draft can take some time. Over all this is SEVERAL HOURS of work for a SINGLE DRAWING.

So is it sinking in yet? How much is put into doing even a single character drawing? God forbid if its done with background. This isn't a "scratch a pen around and be done with it in ten minutes" kinda deal, no, this is SEVERAL HOURS OF SOMEONES LIFE BEING PUT INTO THIS

And if you still have the AUDACITY to try and wrangle free art from an artist then there's no helping you, you're just a selfish piece of shit, no question and I want nothing to do with you.

Someone might say "But I got free art/writing from.-" look I don't give a shit if someone did something for you THAT ONE TIME, these other artists and writers? Totally seperate and different people. You're one freebie experience does not, and should not apply to other artists and writers.

"But what if I really want this commission but don't have the money right now?" Well, that's tough shit. Save up and properly commission them when you can, it's not their problem.

"But what if I'm in a really bad financial situation and really want it?" That sucks, and I'm sorry, but again, not their problem. Chances are this is their only source of income and they need to make money so that they don't end up in a similar situation.

"They have a gift! They should share it!" What kind of cheap ass- LOOK, just because someone is talented or really good at something does not automatically obligate them to do anything for total strangers in anyway shape or form. These are living, breathing people, the same as you. They need to eat, they need to pay rent/mortgages, they need to pay vet bills, send their kids to college, do their taxes and everything else that YOU YOURSELF need to do. Asking anyone to spend their time doing something for free, when that something is how THEY ARE SURVIVING is beyond asinine. Not only that, this obviously isn't a hobby to them, it is very clearly THEIR JOB. Would you want to do a job where you didn't get paid at all? Doing a shit ton of work for absolutely nothing? No? Didn't think so.

"It shouldn't be about the money!" Well unfortunately, as with almost every other job, it is. We live in a world where we desperately need to make money in order to survive. That's the painful fact of the matter. If money never had to be an issue ever again then this would be a very different story. But it's not, plain and simple as can be.

Look, these people are just like you, artists and writers who are just trying to get by in a shitty ass world, using the one thing they have that let's them have an income. Leave them be, don't try and trick them, guilt them, or cuss them out when you don't get your way. Either properly comission or leave them the hell alone, plain and simple.

#artists #writers #art #writing #rant #comissions #people

2 notes · View notes

2getherweek · 4 years ago

Text

2GETHERWEEK MASTERPOST✨

Once again, a very big thank you to all of you who participated in this week and made it amazing with your incredible creations! And of course, a big thank you to those who supported the artists, because you are equally important❤️ In this post you can find links to all things created for this event! If any of your works is missing from this list or you want us to change something, please let us know.

Everyone, I present you, 2getherweek’s masterpost!🌈

Day 1: flowers | festival | song inspired

FANFIC

For love is just in Tine by @eternal-fandom-life

[festival, sarawatine] Tine is confused, Sarawat is pining and everyone else just wants to go home.

Intro: Flowering by @flamevbirdv

[flowers, sarawatine] A bodyguard au. In which Sarawat’s a very famous singer and Tine’s a glorified babysitter. Oh, and they are in love.

i love you by @svt-district

[flowers, sarawatine] Tine has a hard time saying those three little words, so he turns to flowers.

365 flowers by @zeskiyo

[flowers, sarawatine] Tine has never received flowers in his life. Ever. But when he starts getting them daily, for months, will his plan to find out his secret admirer's identity work out?

kiss me to let the whole world see (that there’s nobody else for me) by @cu-tine

[festival, flowers and song inspired, sarawatine] Sarawat knows that Tine’s been working himself down to the bone. Well, good thing that there’s a festival nearby.

He pulls away, looking at Tine in fondness and affection, pressing his forehead against his. “Tine. Please?” His tone was desperate, but it was also laced with concern and anxiety. “Just this once?”

A beat passed and Sarawat was about to ask again before Tine tightens his grip around him, cuddling closer to his chest. “... okay.”

you by @sara-wat

[festival and date, earnpear] Basically, Earn and Pear being cute and going to a festival together.

it’s you by @brghtwn

[song inspired, sarawatine] One look at him and Sarawat knows. This? This is more.

FANART

fanart by @aerialbolditalic

[flowers, sarawatine] Tine, the sunflower child and Sarawat, the boy on fire.

fanart by @nerd-squash

[flowers and lost, sarawatine] Wat & Tine on a meadow picnic date.

fanart by @zattez

[song inspired, sarawatine] What if Tine photo bombed Wat’s pic in the Scrubb concert before he bumped into Wat later with his over excitement?

And the photo had been Wat’s lock screen until one year later before finally meeting Tine for real.

fanart by @hourtohournotetonote118 [flowers, sarawatine]

GIFSET

gifset by @pining-sarawat

[festival, milphukong] AU in which phukong falls in love with the lead singer of the rhytm. when he brings him food, mil recognizes him and asks him out.

gifset by @teepakorns [song inspired, sarawatine]

gifset by @kuwentista

[song inspired, sarawatine] Sarawat & Tine: Memo by Years & Years.

gifset by @ficklefackle

[song inspired, sarawatine] Sarawatine’s love story + scrubb songs as the soundtrack.

gif by @lovetine [flowers, earnpear]

2gether girls as flowers by @torfight

gifset by @sara-wat

[song inspired, sarawatine] Sarawat and sweet tooth by cavetown.

gifset by @brghtwn

[song inspired, sarawatine] One look at him and Sarawat knows. This? This is more.

gifset by @saifahzonn

[song inspired, sarawatine] …and if you listen to a Scrubb song when you are in love…

EDIT

2Gether in Flowers by @kuraioshiro

Day 2: stars | love letter | lost

FANFIC

here i am lifting up my heart (to the one who holds the stars) by @cu-tine

[stars, love letter and lost, sarawatine]

5 things Tine loves, 5 wishes Sarawat wants to come true, and 1 time they both said what they truly feel out loud.

Tine wants to know, wants to know so bad why Sarawat never hesitates when it comes to him. He wants to know why he’s choosing to be with Tine even when he can do literally anything else with all his talents.

Why? Why?

Sarawat looks back at him, the stars reflecting in his beautiful irises, taking Tine’s breath away at the sight of them. He smiles, a soft and small one, lifting his hand to put it on Tine’s cheek, a wave of electricity erupting throughout his skin from the touch. “Because I love you.”

Lost by @samcedeswannabe [lost, sarawatine]

do better by @blueskycafe

[lost, milphukong] "The day it all comes to a head, it’s closer to night than day and it’s supposed to rain soon."

FANART

Four times Tine lost in Wat’s eyes by @zattez

GIFSET

gifset by @pining-sarawat [stars, earnpear]

gifset by @lovetine

[lost, fongchat] In this world, it is too common for people to search for someone to lose themselves in. but i am already lost, i will look for someone to find myself in. In which chat and fong have been in love with their respective best friends for so long, but are willing to let them go just so they can see them be happy. in their lost souls, they find each other by chance.

2Gether & Lost by @kuraioshiro

gifset by @kuwentista [love letter, sarawatine]

gifset by @transking [lost, sarawatine]

gifset by @torfight [stars, mantype]

gifset by @saifahzonn [stars, sarawatine]

gifset by @holden-caulfieldlings [stars, sarawatine]

PLAYLIST

🎶 let this playlist guide you home🎶 by @pastel-butnotreally-angel

love letter by @sara-wat

Day 3: soulmates | rain | coffee shop

FANFIC

Trivia: Your name by @flamevbirdv

[soulmates, sarawatine] Sarawat and Tine are soulmates, or at least, Tine is Sarawat’s.

the chaser by @torfight

[soulmates, mantype]

Man loves his soulmate mark. It’s in the neatest handwriting he has ever seen, so tidy and precise that it looks like it’s been typed out. His owner must be a reliable responsible person, which is exactly what Man thinks he needs in his life, because he’s the opposite.

Type doesn’t like his soulmate mark. It’s messy and it looks weird scribbled on his right hip. Worst of all, it’s so generic. No, krub? He has already heard it thousands of times in his life, and he’ll probably have to hear it as many times before he actually finds the one.

my eyes will always return to you by @sara-wat

[coffee shop, sarawatine]

Tine and Sarawat like studying at the same coffee shop. They keep pinning after each other, but then one day there is only one table (ohmygod there was only one table).

The Bond by @samcedeswannabe

[soulmates, sarawatine]

Soul mate AU where soul mates can hear whatever music your soul mate listens to and you’re forced to sing whatever song your soul mate is singing.

in a hundred lifetimes and any version of reality (i’d find you and i’d choose you) by @cu-tine

[soulmates, sarawatine]

Sarawat and Tine are soulmates. They love each other in every reality they live on. They’re meant to be with one another.

But why is it so hard for them to be together?

mango smoothie by @blueskycafe

[coffee shop, earnpear] Pear doesn’t drink coffee.

FANART

fanart by @zattez

[rain, sarawatine] Ghibli redraw.

coffee shop date by @nerd-squash

fanart by @yansqing

[soulmates, sarawatine]

GIFSET

gifset by @holden-caulfieldlings [rain, sarawatine]

Sarawat & music by @kuwentista

[soulmates] “You don’t need to understand music. You just need to feel it.”

gifset by @brightwin [soulmates, sarawatine]

gifset by @ramcatcher [soulmates, sarawatine]

gifset by @holden-caulfieldlings

[soulmates, sarawatine] Two people connected by the red thread of fate are soulmates.

gifset by @transking

[soulmates, manboss]

“Have you ever felt really close to someone? So close that you can’t understand why you and the other person have two separate bodies, two separate skins?” ― Nancy Garden, Annie on My Mind

Americano and Blue Hawaii by @saifahzonn

gifset by @svt-district

[coffee shop, mantype] Aren’t you gonna ask how I know that you’re here?

There’s only one coffee shop near my workplace, it’s not hard to find for someone so nosy.

EDIT

moodboard by @watttine

[rain/coffee shop, sarawatine]

Sarawat is a barista at a coffee shop near his University. On a particularly dull day, a boy rushes through the door of the coffee shop, seeking shelter from the rain. With his sweet smiles and bright eyes, he warms Sarawat’s heart.

Day 4: hands | family | apologies

FANFIC

i finally found where i feel i belong (and i know you’ll be there with wide open arms) by @cu-tine

[hands, sarawatine] Tine never did liked his hands, or understood the concept of family, but thank god he has his friends to help him with that.

“Why are you always so stubborn?!” Sarawat screams back, a threatening scowl on his face. “Listen to me, for once!”

“I always do!” Tine snaps, crossing his arms over his chest. “But you never listen to me! Can you please, for once, just stop being your oblivious self and accept what I’m saying?!”

words unsaid haunt our minds by @sara-wat

[apologies, milphukong] It was about time Mil apologized to Phukong for a couple of things.

speak out or get out by @blueskycafe

[apologies, dimgreen] Dim has never been the greatest at communicating.

gone fishing by @blueskycafe

[family, earnpear] Earn is gay. She’s sure now, more than she has ever been, and the proof comes in the form of a beautiful girl named Pear.

GIFSET

gifset by @torfight [family]

Sarawat & Tine + Guitars by @kuwentista [hands]

gifset by @holden-caulfieldlings [apologies, sarawatine]

Day 5: beach | sleepy cuddles | date

FANFIC

White as Milk by @samcedeswannabe

[beach/date, mantype] Humans start out at birth with milk white blood. The more crimes they commit. The darker their blood becomes.

Trivia: Fantasy by @flamevbirdv

[date, sarawatine] A fake married AU. Sarawat and Tine act as a couple in national television.

routine by @torfight [sleepy cuddles, mantype]

running start by @blueskycafe

[beach, Phukong & Fong] Fong is looking forward to getting out of the city.

FANART

fanart by @sara-wat [sleepy cuddles, sarawatine]

GIFSET

gifset by @kuwentista

[sleepy cuddles, sarawatine] “don’t be afraid you will fall because i’m going to hug you like this all night.”

EDIT

moodboard by @watttine [beach/date, earnpear]

Day 6: tattoo | fairytale | promise

FANFIC

Dressing up by @blueskycafe

[promise, manboss] “You can still come,” Man reminds him. “All it takes is a text to Mom and she’ll set another place.”

true love’s kiss by @salaleo

[fairytale, sarawatine] It’s laughable, really, how Tine’s life had inexplicably evolved into a Disney movie after meeting Sarawat. What next? Maybe he’ll make conversation with that bird perched on the windowsill.

Alternatively: Tine reconciles his (and Sarawat’s) romantic endeavours with reality by making fairy tale references, because at this point, he’s not so sure he’s not the reincarnation of fucking Cinderella anymore.

GIFSET

gifset by @kuwentista [tattoo, bright]

gifset by @saifahzonn

[fairytale, sarawatine] ...as the same way he found his princess, the other one find his love and happiness in a little nuisance.

Day 7: “you don’t really mean that” | “ why didn’t you tell me?” | “ you love me as if I deserve you”

FANFIC

just say that you’ll always be there (and so will i) by @cu-tine

["You don't really mean that" / "Why didn't you tell me?" / "You love me as if I deserve you", sarawatine]

5 times their friends snooped in on Sarawat and Tine, and 1 time they finally left them alone.

“Seriously, Wat?! I am so disappointed in you!” He hears Tine’s voice exclaim. Man stiffens, not used to the harsh edge of Tine’s tone. When the words sunk into his brain, he immediately turned his head to where the voice came from, ready to defend Sarawat for whatever Tine is angry at him for.

The remark dies on his tongue when he sees the scene in front of him; Tine was kneeling on the grass, still in his cheerleader getup, a first aid kit right beside him. Sarawat was sitting on a bench in front of him, otherwise looking exhausted and beat but also... smiling. Not quite evident, but it was still a pretty small upturn of his lips that was directed at Tine.

all-nighters by @blueskycafe

["Why didn't you tell me?", phukong/fong]

Fong is rubbing tiredly at his eyes, his white, over-sized sweater and hair rumpled from sleeping. He looks incredibly fragile, like he should be tucked beneath heavy blankets and have his forehead kissed. (Not that Phukong would do that, because that would be weird and friends don’t usually do that.)

GIFSET

gifset by @kuwentista

[“You don’t really mean that”, sarawatine] “Do you want to try? Try to get to know each other? You don’t have to like me very much. Just keep your heart open for me. I really mean it.”

Day 8: free choice

FANFIC

come on and dance with me baby by @cu-tine

Sarawat really didn’t want to go to this party, but he’s so glad he did.

Sarawat furrows his brows when something more... pleasant, fills his nose. Vanilla, he thought idly, the scent calming his tense nerves, not that overpowering but just right to make Sarawat’s head go dizzy from it. The guy smells like vanilla.

The guy immediately steps away from him, and oh gosh everything felt like a movie from the way the guy’s head turned to look at him, in slow motion, his hair flying to the side along with his head. Sarawat feels all breath leave his lungs when he was met with the most gorgeous boy ever.

FANART

animated video (with a tik tok audio) by @nerd-squash

fanart by @so-na-gi [sarawatine]

GIFSET

gifset by @kuwentista

My Boy Sarawat Going Through Various Emotions AKA He’s Done With Everyone and Everything.

gifset/playlist by @holden-caulfieldlings [sarawatine]

26 notes · View notes

anxietysroomsupport · 4 years ago

Note

Ugh ok it’s late and I might regret writing this to someone in the morning but I’m genuinely upset now bc my brother just went on a tangent abt how shipping irl ppl is awful and disgusting but crankiplier (markiplier and crankgameplays) is right next tss for me rn and I almost told him yesterday and I’m really upset that he thinks something I enjoy is revolting. Is it actually that bad like should I actually stop? I don’t post anything abt it so I thought it would be fine and I know it’s not real and not gonna happen so it should be fine right? But then why does everything think it’s so awful. I know the real people don’t care for it but they don’t hate when people do it for funsies right? I just feel so bad now like am I actually a bad person? I always seem to have problematic ships and so I have no one to talk to about it but myself which is already kinda hard, but to think that I’m hated by ppl bc I think certain people can be cute together. Can you help me understand please, like should I stop? -🧸

Hi 🧸 Anon,

This is a very grey-zone question so I think it would help to go over a general range of all the kinds of IRL shipping that take place and talk about each one.

It’s also a hotly debated topic and you can find people for and against it all over the internet, so you might want to read through more opinions as well.

First off, the umbrella opinion seems to be that shipping real people together is not cool, because it can make those people very uncomfortable. Celebrities are already a lot more exposed than most people and their fans opinions can have a big sway on what content they produce and what directions their work takes. So, learning that huge numbers of their fans think they should be dating someone or other can be stressful, not matter how they actually feel about that person.

Some celebs take this information in different ways. Thomas Sanders and Jon Cozart apparently thought it was funny and leaned into their ship by making a video about their compatibility. But I recall a talented Loki cosplayer a while back who was very offended that fans were shipping him with another cosplayer and hated all the comments he got about it.

(There is also the side factor of people we see in media or online not necessarily showing their true personality, but actually a persona they create for their content. Deep analysis of those personas as if they were the real person can sometimes make those celebs feel incorrectly portrayed or misunderstood. For example, this is tied to why fanders, and Thomas himself, have made a point to clearly distinguish between the real Thomas and Character Thomas.)

So, what form does the shipping take anyway? If it’s just thoughts in your head - a headcanon - no harm no foul. It sounds like you’re in this category. The celebs can’t read your mind, there’s virtually no way anyone will ever become aware that this ship is taking place in your head. Your thoughts are your own and you shouldn’t feel bad for having them. This is like Level 1. But what if it went further?

Level 2 - innocent posts / chatter

From your example, Mark and Ethan do appear to have a very close friendship in their videos together. So it’s not a big jump to see a new video and comment on their friendship or closeness, and maybe you tag it “crankiplier”. Ships can be platonic, too, of course. Pretty innocent, just recognizing things they’ve actually done together, thinking it’s sweet, and chatting with other fans about it. It might not be the intended focus of the video, but their personalities and friendly chemistry is part of why they’re great to watch together.

Level 3 - fan-edits / art / fiction / and statements

This level is the ultimate grey-zone because of the broad sweeping range of content it encompasses. Redraws of scenes people have actually been in, edits or video compilations of people’s interactions are pretty safe. But art and fiction that are creating entirely new events get iffy. Those celebs didn’t really do those things. Now the fan is developing the relationship beyond what is really there, and should be reasonably cautious.

Special attention to the word “statements” - When fans say things in the comments section or directly at celebs like, “you two should ---” or, “when are you two gonna ---?”, it’s creating a clear potential for that person to feel pressured and uncomfortable.

Level 4 - NSFW /

NSFW suggestions, writing, and art are very questionable! People doing this should be prepared to highly curate who has access to their work, because hate will come out of the woodwork. And if the celebs in question found it, there’s a high chance they would be disturbed and offended, and it may cause them to speak out against it and the poster.

Level 5 - Toxic.

All the levels before now are still grey, albeit some more than others. But this level (that I just made up) represents the denial of facts. While shipping can often build off of what was already there, a toxic level of shipping denies all contradicting information and tries to force its own narrative. Think of celebrities who are actually in relationships already, but the ship is for a different pairing. Toxic shippers will hate the real relationship, sometimes even send hate to that S.O. and promote the failure of the person’s real life relationships in favor of the ship. That’s just wrong and it’s veering right into harassment.

(And coming back to the point about personas, a person might have a relationship that their fans don’t know about, because they keep their private life separate from the persona they present. Fans can’t know everything about a person, and therefore might cross the line without realizing it. The only way to prevent that is by not being so aggressive about a ship in the first place.)

Shipping IRL can stir up a lot of strife in a fandom, because everyone has different boundaries and because it has a high potential for going too far -because it has gone too far, too many times, and people, fans and celebs alike, remember dealing with the fallout of those events and how weird it made things for everyone. Some creators even leaving their work behind to get away from it. When a particular celeb has stated they are already in a monogamous relationship with someone else, or they don’t like being shipped in general, their decisions should be respected. Aggressive, pushy obsessions of IRL ships like in Level 5 should be avoided altogether just to be safe. The celeb’s life is not ours to control.

All that said, freedom of speech means you can say whatever you like, and if that means promoting an IRL ship in various forms, then you could do that. But other people can also tell you they don’t like it, or hate it even.

There will always be people who hate you, or hate groups you’re in, for all kinds of random reasons. People are just too diverse for it to be any other way. So long as you aren’t hurting anyone (e.g. actively and thoughtfully examining your actions to prevent hurting people) then you do you, friend.

-Miss Fay

#🧸#🧸 anon #shipping #irl shipping #long post

1 note · View note

houseofvans · 7 years ago

Photo

SKETCHY BEHAVIORS | MARINA MIKA (CROATIA)

Inspired by childhood storytellings of fairy tales and folklore, artist and illustrator Marina Mika creates beautifully detailed pen drawn works that are not only skillfully executed, but also a “real reflection” of the artist herself–her emotions, experiences, and impressions from life. A self proclaimed “perfectionist,” Mika’s elaborate drawings can take days to weeks to form, and only will be completed if the artist feels 100% about it. And, we’re 100% stoked to chat with this talented artist who shares with us her process, her influences and provides some great advice for any emerging artist in this month’s Sketchy Behaviors.

Photographs courtesy of the artist.

Introduce yourself? Hey, my name is Marina Bitunjac but known as Marina Mika over social media. I just got my MA degree at at School of Design university (visual communication – graphic design) in Croatia, Europe. But my expertise was always illustration and illustrative graphics.

When did you first get into drawing? I was drawing for as long as I can remember actually.. but the scene that will always be stuck in my head as the most vivid memory that got me into drawing is when I asked my mom to draw my favorite toy for me. (My mom had a natural talent for drawing but she lacked true creativity and ideas.) But, yeah, I had this beautiful white fairy tale horse toy with long gold hair and a cape full of beautiful pattern and gold details. I really loved that one ,and was very proud of owning it, so I asked mom to draw it. I remember her drawing being (in my eyes then) the best thing ever! It was gorgeous and I fell in love with the skill of drawing, the beauty of it and the so-called magic around the whole process of creating. It is interesting how peaceful and quiet it is to create but how powerful and ‘loud’ the result can be.

What were some of your early influences? My early infulences were also the fairy tales that I was told before going to bed. They had a huge impact on my ideas since they were so strange, yet so captivating and ‘alive’. Also, for some reason I always had japanese pierrot illustrations (artist: Mira Fujita) around my room. I don’t even know how I got them but I still have them with me wherever I go. That is why I tend to like drawing pierrot-like characters.

What’s your art background – were you self taught or did you go to art school? In primary school and high school I was drawing for myself, learning and studying art was a hobby. I was always known as ‘the girl who can draw’ but it was never serious. I knew I was not at my best and that I need to learn A LOT more, to find my own illustrative voice. And so, I got accepted to School of Design after finishing high school. I spent my early uni years discovering myself, experimenting (with life and drawing) and I really kicked off in my later uni years, after realizing who I was, what I want, and how I want to express myself. I finally figured out how to control drawing with what feels natural to my thoughts and emotions of highlighted life experiences and memories or impressions. Of course, design school helped me a lot to figure out ‘how to think’ and how to sort out ideas (what to keep and what to give up on, and more).

Do you keep a sketchbook or work your ideas as you go along? I don’t keep a sketchbook. I never got used to drawing in a sketchbook, so I gave up on it. I sketch when working on and developing ideas for graphic design, but for illustration I just wait for an impression, emotion or taught to grow really ‘loud and clear’ in my mind and then I just get to work. My illustrations are really just an extension of my mind, they are basically a visual diary.

Your work is beautifully detailed, meticulous and rich in pattern and textures. What is your process like? How long does it take from your idea to a finished piece? Hmm.. well, my process is strangely so similar yet so different for each piece. I really like them to be ‘true’. Meaning, a real reflection of myself, not structured to be ‘just pretty’ because then, they would be somewhat fake and shallow, and people always sense if something is true or not. So, there is really no point in ‘faking it’. Sometimes it takes days or weeks for an idea to form, and sometimes it just hits me with ‘That’s it. Do it.’ I have to feel it is 100% the right one before even starting. And then, sometimes it is difficult to translate the idea that is so clear in your mind to paper, but I redraw it and redraw until I get it. So some drawings are done really quick and some take time. Also, it depends on how much fine detailing it takes. I care about details in real life too. Details are very important to me, as they define the whole picture (in life and in art), so I spend a lot of time perfecting it. Basically, I am a plain perfectionist.

In terms of mediums, you work mostly with pen and paper, correct? What are your favorite mediums and are there other mediums you hope to one day utilize more? Yeah, I work with pen and paper. Since I am a perfectionist I like the clean and controled lines I am able to make with pens. But, before I seriously started working with pens I worked with them because I could afford them in any paper shop. As a high school student and in uni I didn’t have time, space and money to buy fancy art supplies just for practice, so I worked with what was affordable and what felt right to work with. I ended up somewhat ‘mastering’ it and created my illustrative style with these mediums, and I am pretty happy with working with them. I would like to try to go digital eventually. All my works are hand drawn and I will continue in creating that way but I love learning and pushing limits. There is no point in being stuck to one thing, change is good, and it is important to discover and re:discover yourself and your abilities.

Folklore plays a part in your works, what about these early stories do you find yourself drawn to illustrating? Do you have a favorite tale you’d like to share? As mentioned before, traditional fairy tales were always told before bed time when I was a kid. We had a lot of fairy books and fairy tale movies at home. So it is natural that I developed a strong bond with them. Also, the place where I grew up is quite like a fairy tale place itself: by the sea side with lots of nature and woods. You can easily imagine these tales to be true when you are a child in such an environment. I don’t have a favorite tale, or at least I can’t think of any at this moment. Depending on my mood and on what I feel at a certain period of time I bond with a specific tale.

What artists past and present are you really into at the moment? I grew up with Mira Fujita’s work hanging in my childhood room, so she is the first one that had a huge influence on me. Later I discovered Kay Nielsen’s beautiful works and was completely in love. After that, I got hooked on Yoshitaka Amano’s and Erte’s work. They are the 4 artists that influenced me the most. But, I admire so many different atists it is impossible to name them all. I also love children illustrators, since their work is so creative and imaginative, as well as contemporary chinese art. What has been a highlight for you as an artist? A certain show, a project or collaboration? The best thing ever, so far, was when I recieved an e-mail from SHOWstudio with an offer to illustrate Paris Haute Couture. I love fashion, I always have. I love the art of designing clothes and I love how beautiful the models are, but I never had the true desire to be a fashion designer. But, also, I always wanted to be a part of that world, and by getting the chance to illustrate it - I was ecstatic. What would be your ultimate collaboration be like? What’s your experience been like collaborating with companies or other artists, if at all? I don’t have a clear idea what the ultimate one would be.. I approach every collab as the ultimate one. Every single one is different and therefore a new experience. I tend to seek new and fresh experiences trough illustration as it helps me to develop as an individual, what is directly reflected on my work. What’s a common misconception about artists? And what has been your biggest challenge? From my point, I think the common misconception is that every artist can draw anything and with anything. Personally, I work with pens and I spent so much time perfecting this type of work that I don’t know how to control working with brushes for instance (and it just does not feel ‘natural’). Artists have a certain expertise in what they draw and what tools they use. They spent a lot of time, emotions and personality in perfecting it and making something new and original to offer to the world.

Also, in my opinion, the common misconception is that anyone can be an artist or an illustrator. I think that artistry is a work field just like any other. I do illustration, since I worked and studied long and hard for it, my mindset is ‘programmed’ to work in an illustrative way, therefore I am not able to make a groundbreaking painting as someone who works as a painter can. My biggest challenge was discovering myself and reflecting it to a certain style for sure. After I discovered the ‘true me’ and my own way of illustrating I was able to be confident in what I do and what my abilities are. That is when my work started gaining popularity with others. What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t an artist? If I was not an artist I would work with animals 100%. I have always loved animals and if I was not watching cartoons as a child it would be a documentary movie about animals. Also, my family has always had foster pets. All our pets are from the street, so it is natural for me to help and care for them. What are your favorite Vans? Since I personally mostly wear timeless and classic pieces, I have to say the original ones. But I LOVE all the new and contemporary prints and design you do.

How are you not just ONE thing? What other creative things or hobbies do you find yourself also doing when not drawing? What do you do to unwind in your down time? This is a difficult question.. I do many things, depending on my interest at a specific time. For the past year I am interested in working out and the gym (in my free time), and I found myself discovering the beauty of classic cinema (b/w movies) these past weeks. But, that will change for sure. I tend to spend some time learning and discovering about a specific theme and after gaining enough knowledge I seek for something new.

What are your thoughts on social media? How do you find a balance between work and keeping up with all of it?

Ah I love social media haha, I am hooked on it for sure. Especially instagram. I made an account there quite late actually, and did not use it seriously, but after I got somewhat used to it I started posting my work and it grew. It is not hard to balance work with social media, since it is an extension of what I do. I love the interaction that I am able to get with different people through social media, and the fact that I can discover so many talented and inspirational people with the use of it.

What advice would you give someone thinking about art as a career? I would say: be 100% yourself. Think of what you do and don’t do something just because you saw somebody else do it. When you are true to who you are, it shows, and people recognize it. Also, study hard and practice harder. Learn about your field and interests, get to know the past behind it and after building a strong base: launch something new to the world.

Things are not made over night and it is always quality over quantity.

What’s on the horizon for 2017? Who knows.. As my mom always likes to tell me when I feel overwhelmed: ‘Marina, always one step at a time.’ So, I guess it is the best to focus on delivering the best of what I can do now; while growing and discovering new things in life. Anything can happen ‘tomorrow’, let’s be the best of ourselves now.

Follow Marian Mika Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/MarinaMikaArt Instagram | @marina.mika

#Art #Vans #Vans girls #vans art #marina mika #Sketchy Behavior #interview #female #artist #female artists

81 notes · View notes

dragonnan · 6 years ago

Text

I rediscovered this while digging through some old writing. I was sent a Q & A by a guy named Steven Savage who was planning a book regarding fanartists. No clue if it ever got published but at any rate, it was something entertaining that made me think about the impact of fanart on my current career. Since writing this back in 2014, I’ve gone on to create a lot more impactful fanart - specifically for Psych - to the point of hearing direct encouragement from creators and actors in the series. Never stop doing it - fanart is awesome and totally worth it!

What kind of fanart did or do you do? Has it changed?

I started out with anime fanart - I love the clean lines and colors and it was fairly easy to copy the style. I created a lot of Inuyasha, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, and Fullmetal Alchemist as well as a variety of other random genres. I've also done some live TV characters as well from series such as Psych and Beauty and the Beast.

How did you "get into" doing fanart?

I've always been a fan of the "what if" question. In other words, what if this character had wings or what if he or she were secretly a gunslinger. I like that I can answer those questions with my art to satisfy that curiosity.

What is your history of doing fanart (and art in general)? How have you evolved as an artist?

I found that imitating the art of established anime helped to develop my skills as an artist. While I was trained in fine art, drawing anime style expanded my abilities in another direction and has had an impact on how I draw in general. I can more quickly sketch out human figures and poses with less need to reference model photographs for accuracy. Granted, non-reference drawings lend themselves to being more cartoony but I find I like that look all the same. I also tend to colorize my work in the manner of cell painting, which relates to my appreciation for sharp, clean lines and shapes.

How has fanart helped you in your career?

After drawing fanart for a year or two, I met the President of a reselling company (he was showing his products at a store I used to work for). He saw my work and asked if I'd like to design the covers for some of the paper tablets his company sold. This included two manga style covers. Since then I've illustrated 3 books and got a job as an illustrator for a company that produces gift shop items. Through them, I've created screenprint, embroidery, and a plethora of sculptural items.

How would you recommend people using their fanart/fanart interest to improve their job/career prospects?

First, don't depend on random comments from fans of the series you're creating your art for. Fans will be excited over fanart because they love the character, but not necessarily because the art itself is amazing. You'll want to get a true critical response. Also, don't be hurt by responses that aren't glowing praise. The best thing for your art is to hear about the faults. This will give you an opportunity to improve upon your style and, in addition, impress clients who may want to hire you at some point. Finally, don't place all your hopes on just fanart. Explore lots of styles. Take a look at the classics. Try to see if you can replicate the art style of Leonardo or Klimpt. The more you learn about art, the better your chances will be.

What jobs do you think are good for those that do fanart, and why? Do these jobs differ from other, similar jobs?

Well, that depends on the knowledge and experience they have. Someone who has only drawn fanart may find it difficult to get a high-paying art job. This is a tricky question to answer because there are so many kinds of art related jobs, yet they each require a certain set of skills that go beyond just fanart. But, for one example, book illustration is a great place to start. There are a lot of self publishing writers in need of artists. Those are the people I did all of my book illustrating for. A good place to start would be to talk to a book publisher and let them see your work. If they like you, they may keep your name handy as oftentimes writers will ask if they can suggest a freelance artist to illustrate their book.

Do you feel there are career interests, opportunities, and issues that people may find if they do fanart versus those that do not?

I think fanart, just like fanfiction writing, has a bad reputation of being poor quality or traced art. If that's the only thing on your resume, I don't think it does you any favors. This is why, regardless of how good an artist you may be, you want to develop your talents beyond just fanart. Give yourself the best possible chance because breaking into the art world and making a career is hard enough for even professional artists.

Fanart involves working with characters created by others. Do you find this provides any advantages - or disadvantages - in your career opportunities?

A little of both, to a degree. On one hand, it can show your skill at replicating an existing design. At my current job [AN: I’ve since left this employment and now work full time as a freelancer], there've been a few times where a company has provided us with a .jpeg of their logo and want to see it on a sweater. Due to the way the art needs to be set up, that means redrawing their logo in Illustrator. So, in that respect, I think a good handle on fanart can show your ability in that manner. On the other hand, the term “fanart” can raise red flags simply because employers may question your overall skill. So you can draw Naruto, but can you output a screenprint design? Of course, this all goes back to the kind of job you want in the first place.

0 notes

mindthump · 8 years ago

Photo

The art of algorithms: How automation is affecting creativity http://ift.tt/2oKKCvB

“Drawing on your phone or computer can be slow and difficult — so we created AutoDraw, a new web-based tool that pairs machine learning with drawings created by talented artists to help you draw,” wrote Google Creative Lab’s “creative technologist,” Dan Motzenbecker, earlier this week.

AutoDraw is one of Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) experiments, working across platforms to let anyone, irrespective of their artistic flair, create something super quick with little more than a scribble. It guesses what you’re trying to draw, then lets you pick from a list of previously created pictures. “So you can’t draw? No worries!” is the general idea here.

Above: AutoDraw

First up, AutoDraw is a super fun tool that gets increasingly addictive — that much is clear. But what’s also clear is that the tool is more a display of AI smarts than it is a tool to improve your artwork, because it would be just as easy to embody the exact same functionality within a text-based search engine. I mean, why bother drawing a crap dolphin with your finger when you could just type in the word “dolphin”? Because it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun, and Google wouldn’t get to show off its fancy new toys.

A few days after Google debuted AutoDraw, it revealed some other research its scientists have been carrying out, designed to enable computers to generate simple sketches using artificial intelligence (AI). In effect, they trained a recurrent neural network (RNN) on sketches that real people made, which emanated from an experimental app called Quick, Draw! that launched last year (again … it is really fun). The app tells you to draw things, like a giraffe or a butterfly, and then it guesses what you’ve drawn. So what Google is doing is training machines to sketch like real people, with all the line overlaps and crappy squiggles included.

What this helps demonstrate is the growing crossover between art and algorithms. But does this hint at a future where humans have little incentive to be creative at all?

The rise of the fourth industrial revolution

As part of the so-called fourth industrial revolution, millions of jobs will be lost to automation, according to a recent World Economic Forum report. The net loss is expected to be as many as five million jobs by 2020, though of course a whole bunch of new jobs will be created, including positions in IT and data science. Jobs such as manufacturing and production are expected to be heavily affected, while another recent report indicated that more than 100,000 legal jobs will be automated over the next 20 years.

But art… art is sacred. Art is an expression of human sentiment and emotion. Computers stand zero chance of consigning human creativity to the history books. Right? Well, maybe. We’re already seeing the early signs that art will be disrupted by machine intelligence and automation.

Why bother learning to paint a landscape or pay someone to sketch your newborn when you can download Prisma to your smartphone and transform your snapshots into ultra-realistic pieces of art in seconds? Prisma, for the uninitiated, uses neural networks to analyze each photo and then applies a style the user selects. And it really is rather good.

“Based on deep-learning techniques, we redraw the image from scratch,” said Alexey Moiseenkov, Prisma Labs cofounder, in an interview with VentureBeat last year. “We analyze tons of photos and get the typical forms and lines, then take a style and draw your picture with those lines in a taken style.”

Above: Prisma: Bottle with Prisma effect applied

The point here isn’t that these tools are better than human creators. The point is that such tools are pretty good just now, and they’ll only get better. If someone can press a couple of buttons to get an instant “hand-drawn” family portrait, using little more than a DSLR camera, tripod, and a Prisma-style AI image-rendering app, why would they bother employing the services of a professional artist?

It’s not beyond possibility that artists and art retailers will one day have to sell their services based on their authenticity — “100% hand-painted pictures” could become the only visible marking that separates human creations from those produced by machines.

But technology’s algorithmic arm stretches far beyond that of photography and art and into other creative realms.

In design

For years, automated web design services such as Wix and Weebly have offered novices an easy-to-use web development platform that makes it simple to build HTML5 sites using drag-and-drop tools rather than code. For basic websites without much deep functionality, such tools work fairly well. But the formulaic, simplistic, template-based approach leaves much to be desired, which is why professional designers and developers still manage to eke out a living.

Last June, Wix launched an automated web design service built on artificial intelligence, called Wix ADI. Using data garnered from its existing user base to feed into this new AI offering, the “creator” basically answers a few questions and provides the platform with cues as to what theme the website should be based on and what category it exists in, and then Wix pulls in relevant photos, words, and layouts based on the business type and location.

“Wix ADI isn’t just a new website builder — it sets a new market standard for web design,” said Wix ADI head Nitzan Achsaf at the launch. “We have been at the forefront of this market for nearly a decade, and now as one of the leading AI technology providers, we will make website creation accessible and easy for everyone.”

Wix promises that no two websites will look the same.

VIDEO

Other similar AI-focused web design platforms have blossomed in recent times and raised significant venture capital funding, including TheGrid, which has been operating its AI smarts for a few years already, and B12, which launched a similar proposition in beta last year with more than $12 million in funding.

The credibility of DIY web- and app-design tools that promise to turn “noobs” into designers and coders has been questioned for years. And now that AI is going the extra mile to remove any further effort from the process, it will only ruffle the naysayers’ feathers even more. But the usefulness of such tools really depends on what the purpose of the website is. Why pay for a professional designer and developer when you can hit a few buttons and have a simple, informative, Google-friendly site made with next to no spadework?

Again, the point here isn’t that the machines are now good enough to replace professionals in building fully functional websites and online services. The point is that AI is encroaching further into creative professions and, more importantly, it’s improving all the time.

In music

Could an algorithm ever be able to produce something as exquisite as Lennon & McCartney, Jagger & Richards, or even Mozart? Maybe. But probably not, at least for a while.

Back in September, headlines across the web screamed that the first AI-written pop song had been made. It made for alluring headlines, but it wasn’t strictly true. Sony researchers, using specialist Flow Machines software, were able to train a system on different music styles using a gargantuan database of songs. Then combining “style transfer, optimization and interaction techniques,” the system is able to compose music in any style.

So what we have here is a song called “Daddy’s Car,” written in the style of The Beatles. And hey, it’s not too bad.

VIDEO

However, a more accurate description of this composition would be that it was “AI-assisted.” French composer Benoit Carré wrote the lyrics (which are pretty nonsensical) and arranged the song — all the computer did was identify commonalities across this style of pop music and provided Carré with the parts to play around with. Sony’s researchers have actually been working on AI-assisted music creations for a few years already, and an entire album of such music is expected later this year.

Sony isn’t the only company dabbling in this field. Last year, Google announced Magenta, a project from the Google Brain team that’s setting out to discover whether machine learning can “create compelling art and music.” And earlier this year, the internet giant released a working interactive version of AI Duet, an app that lets you play a virtual piano with accompaniment from a computer system that riffs off what you play.

Elsewhere, London-based startup Jukedeck is working on an AI-powered music composer that writes original music completely on its own volition. Aimed at video creators on the hunt for original background music, Jukedeck has been training deep neural networks to understand how to compose and adapt music, with the end-user able to customize the sound they’re looking for.

All the guitar bands, DJs, and orchestras of the world can perhaps rest easy for now. While computers will improve at “songwriting,” artists’ biggest worry for the time being is how to make money in the age of on-demand streaming. Speaking of which….

Spotify snapped up music intelligence and data platform Echo Nest back in 2014, and off the back of that acquisition has been doubling down on its music recommendation efforts. The star of the show is Discover Weekly, a personalized playlist of music built around songs you’ve previously listened to on the platform.

In effect, Spotify analyzes your history and meshes it with the listening behavior of others to see what songs commonly appear next to each other, then based on this information it recommends new music. And it is more than pretty good — it is pretty excellent. While Apple is banking on human curators via the likes of Apple Radio, Spotify is arguably winning the music-recommendation battle using algorithms and automation.

What’s most interesting about this is that it is infinitely more scalable than a human DJ’s ability to recommend new music. Playlists built on algorithms are always tailored to the individual, while human recommendations will always have biased subjectivity weighted against it that will never appeal to everyone at all times.

Similarly, Shazam analyzes song structure to tell you what the name of the song is and who performs it. All you need to do is hold your phone up, tap a button, and voila. It really is a great way to discover new music and build up a library of tunes that you encounter on your day-to-day business, be it in a shop, at a football stadium, or while watching TV. Such technologies make everyone an expert, without having to become an expert. You don’t need to know anything except how to tap a button to identify a song, while Shazam links in directly with Spotify and iTunes to make it easy to stream or buy music.

Together, the likes of Spotify and Shazam could put a sizable dent into the knowledge-powered smarts of music writers and DJs around the world. People have instant access to all the information they need on the music they hear around them. And why listen to the top 10 charts on the radio, or read the top 5 albums of the week in the NME, when you know that Spotify has all the best new music? And why turn to your music-obsessed buddy to ask what the name of the song in that TV advertisement is when you can just Shazam it?

With algorithms at work, the need for human knowledge and expertise diminishes.

In writing

Above: Lego robot typing

It’s difficult to envisage a time when a machine will be capable of crafting a best-selling novel, but lord knows geeks have been trying to make that happen for a while. It’s not overly difficult to create something that is formed of words and roughly comprehensible in parts, but generating something with a proper narrative that flows beautifully from start to finish and is infused with wit and passion — well, that could be a long way off yet.

But we are already at a stage where machines are producing journalistic content (for want of a better phrase). Last summer, the Associated Press (AP) revealed it was expanding its baseball coverage with automated stories generated by algorithms through a partnership with Automated Insights. The AP had worked with Automated Insights for years already, generating thousands of computer-generated corporate earnings reports.

Automated Insights uses artificial intelligence to analyze big data and transform it into stories. Chicago-based Narrative Science offers something similar, with a specific focus on business intelligence for the enterprise, or “data storytelling,” as it puts it.

Here’s an AP report from a baseball game in the New York-Penn league, powered by Automated Insights.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Dylan Tice was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded with one out in the 11th inning, giving the State College Spikes a 9-8 victory over the Brooklyn Cyclones on Wednesday.

Danny Hudzina scored the game-winning run after he reached base on a sacrifice hit, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and then went to third on an out.

Gene Cone scored on a double play in the first inning to give the Cyclones a 1-0 lead. The Spikes came back to take a 5-1 lead in the first inning when they put up five runs, including a two-run home run by Tice.

Brooklyn regained the lead 8-7 after it scored four runs in the seventh inning on a grand slam by Brandon Brosher.

State College tied the game 8-8 in the seventh when Ryan McCarvel hit an RBI single, driving in Tommy Edman.

Reliever Bob Wheatley (1-0) picked up the win after he struck out two and walked one while allowing one hit over two scoreless innings. Alejandro Castro (1-1) allowed one run and got one out in the New York-Penn League game.

Vincent Jackson doubled twice and singled, driving in two runs in the win. State College took advantage of some erratic Brooklyn pitching, drawing a season-high nine walks in its victory.

Despite the loss, six players for Brooklyn picked up at least a pair of hits. Brosher homered and singled twice, driving home four runs and scoring a couple. The Cyclones also recorded a season-high 14 base hits.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://ift.tt/ty8w3s) using data from and in cooperation with MLB Advanced Media and Minor League Baseball, http://www.milb.com.

And here’s an earnings report in Forbes, powered by Narrative Science.

Over the past three months, the consensus estimate has sagged from $1.25. For the fiscal year, analysts are expecting earnings of $5.75 per share. A year after being $1.37 billion, analysts expect revenue to fall 1% year-over-year to $1.35 billion for the quarter. For the year, revenue is expected to come in at $5.93 billion.

A year-over-year drop in revenue in the fourth quarter broke a three-quarter streak of revenue increases.

The company has been profitable for the last eight quarters, and for the last four, profit has risen year-over-year by an average of 16%. The biggest boost for the company came in the third quarter, when profit jumped by 32%.

Earnings estimates provided by Zacks.

Narrative Science, through its proprietary artificial intelligence platform, transforms data into stories and insights.

Such reports won’t be winning any Pulitzer prizes yet, but they’re perfectly readable and the algorithms are constantly improving. There’s no evidence that machines will be capable of producing something akin to Dickens or Proust, but who knows what another 10 years’ worth of data could do to improve their writing smarts?

“A machine will win a Pulitzer one day,” noted Narrative Science’ chief scientist Kris Hammond, in the Guardian. “We can tell the stories hidden in data.”

While fears abound that algorithms will kill off human journalists, figuratively speaking, the AP has previously stated that embracing machine-written stories is more about expanding its coverage than replacing journalists. Through this method, it can cover many more Minor League Baseball games it would not have previously covered, simply by using data provided by news and statistics body Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM).

“Augmented content was never intended to replace human-generated content,” explained Joe Procopio, Automated Insights’ chief innovation office, in an interview with VentureBeat. “It’s another tool, another arrow in the journalist’s quiver, so to speak, and it should be used in places where it can take a lot of the data science and number crunching off the journalist’s plate. That frees up the journalist’s time to be able to do more of the investigative and reasoning work inherent in their jobs.”

What will ultimately decide whether an artistic endeavor is replaced by an algorithm or set of algorithms, in a business setting at least, is whether it’s more efficient. The question is: Does it save time and money without compromising on quality?

“There are basically two boxes that need to be checked when deciding to use automation to tell a story,” added Procopio. “One, is the data available to write something compelling, and two, is the business case there — in other words, does automation save enough time and resources to make it worthwhile?”

So can a machine be trained to amend its style of writing depending on whether it’s writing an earnings reports, a baseball review, or an obituary? Absolutely — this is already happening. Could a machine write a review of a music gig? Or write up an interview? Potentially, but it all comes down to the quality of the data the platform is given, and whether it’s actually cost effective to train a system to become efficient at such write-ups.

“Automation can be used when writing the types of pieces you describe — feature, interviews, reviews, etc., where automation makes sense,” continued Procopio. “How much of the piece should be automated depends on the scope of the piece.”

What’s emerging here is that such tools could be more about assisting the journalist than replacing them. It might not make sense to attempt entire computer-generated write-ups of a music gig, for example, if it already requires a human to attend the gig and form an opinion. But it may make sense to use a machine to fill in the gaps in the final review, or even to format it properly. For example, automation could generate paragraphs on a particular band’s sales and downloads, or maybe ticket sales, through tapping existing databases that contain up-to-date information. It’s not really important whether a human or a machine finds and compiles such data, so long as it’s accurate, but using an automated approach could save a journalist a lot of time.

Found in translation

Away from the journalistic sphere, the global translation and interpretation industry is reported to be worth around $40 billion. And contrary to what some may think, the process of converting words and meanings between languages requires a great deal of creativity. Often words or sentiment don’t convert well between languages and vernaculars, leaving the translator to trawl the nuanced depths of their linguistic abilities to communicate the intended meaning in another tongue.

Historically, machine translation tools have had a bad rap, but they are getting better. It’s now possible to plug any foreign-language newspaper article into Google Translate and receive a pretty faithful interpretation in another language, though there are many colloquialisms that will still trip up the best machine translation tools out there. Google has started using its AI-based neural machine translation across more of its public-facing services.

Skype also has a real-time voice translation tool, which lets you speak with someone (verbally) in a foreign tongue such as Japanese, in real time. Skype Translator uses AI smarts such as deep learning to train artificial neural networks, meaning it should improve over time as it listens to more conversations.

Any business worth its salt would not rely 100 percent on machine translations for mission-critical communications with customers. But we are certainly fast approaching a stage where machines can be called upon for less important stuff, and perhaps used in tandem with a proofreader to correct mistakes and clarify any ambiguities made by the machine for use in more important communications.

So, as with Automated Insights, we could have a situation where 100 percent automation is used in some instances where it makes sense, but in cases where the nuanced understanding of a human is needed, the two would work in conjunction with each other.

Where we’re at

It’s clear that the threat from automation to human jobs is real for many industries, and that includes the creative realm: streaming services that serve you the perfect playlist, apps that turn a family photo into something straight from Van Gogh’s easel, real-time translations and interpretations, robot-written news reports, and websites created automatically simply by answering a few questions.

This leads us to one stark question. Creativity is a core defining human trait, something that truly separates us from the machines, so where is the incentive to get creative when all these tools out there are setting out to save us from doing it ourselves?

There are a number of positives here. If a computer was to get as good as, or better than, humans at drawing in a natural style, then it could become the teacher, or assist an artist in their own creative process. Plus, there is a strong line of argument that says that people will always have a creative streak and will want to do things themselves. If you can click a button to turn a photo into a work of art, where is the fun in that?

And that is something that humans will never lose: a desire to have fun and make things themselves. Whether they will be able to get a job off the back of it in 20 years time is another question, of course.

When technology is constantly “fixing” human errors, be it a typo in a Word document or a wonky line in a drawing, humans may gradually lose the ability to perform certain creative tasks without computer intervention. It’s no longer necessary to remember facts, or phone numbers, or routes to your grandma’s house in the next town, because we know it’s all instantly accessible through a phone. This surely has an impact on a brain’s ability to remember things. Similarly, if kids grow up with tools to “help them draw” on their phone or computer because it’s “slow and difficult” otherwise, this can’t bode well if it becomes the norm.

But let’s not get too carried away. Machines have yet to prove they’re up to the job of many creative tasks; all they’ve shown so far is they can chip away at the edges — and even then they still need human assistance. Highly creative projects such as writing novels, writing investigative journalism, or penning an entire album of original music with heartfelt, meaningful lyrics — it’s difficult to see a time in the near future where computers will trump humans.

A good example is this cool little short sci-fi film produced last year, called Sunspring. It stars real actors, but the script was written by a machine. It was inspired by Alphabet’s AlphaGo AI system beating a pro player at the age-old strategy game Go.

The script for the short film was authored by a “recurrent neural network called long short-term memory, or LSTM for short,” according to a report in Ars last year. It is actually really funny, and makes little sense, but it serves as a reminder as to how far behind machines are in terms of creating genuine works of art that humans would wish to enjoy at scale.

VIDEO

It’s also important to distinguish between artificial intelligence and “algorithmic intelligence.” The former is more about computers being able to think, understand, and adapt in way a human might, while the latter is more about using mathematics to help people and machines work together.

Phil Tee is chairman and CEO of Moogsoft, a company that specializes in bringing algorithmic intelligence to enterprises — Moogsoft basically helps them adopt algorithms to address mundane operational tasks. He told VentureBeat:

Artificial intelligence is the ability for computer systems to perform tasks that traditionally have required human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making and language translation. Algorithmic technologies such as Algorithmic IT Operations (AIOps), on the other hand, leverage mathematics to help operators navigate dynamic, and highly unpredictable settings such as enterprise IT environments. There isn’t anything artificial about algorithms.

And this is a key point. Using algorithms to predict what music you’ll like on Spotify or what movies you should watch next on Netflix is smart for sure, but it’s not creative in itself. It may be better at doing its job than a human is, but it doesn’t exist as part of “the arts.” So while we’ll see businesses increasingly turn to algorithmic intelligence to optimize and streamline their operations and differentiate themselves from the competition, art itself may not be directly under threat.

But will we ever reach a stage where a computer could write a completely coherent book, song, or movie of its own volition?

“Absolutely, but the advances necessary are quite imposing,” added Tee. “The typical neural network today has roughly hundreds to tens of thousands of neurons, which makes it even less intelligent than a sea slug, which has 18,000 neurons in its brain. This journey to a creative thinking machine is vital, but a long one. Perhaps we should be more focused on intelligence as an aid to creativity rather than a replacement. After all, creativity probably is ultimately what defines humanity.”

Art needs humans, and humans need art. Machines may increasingly help the two work together, and it may even replace some jobs, but as one of our defining characteristics, humans and art will continue to be inseparable.

#IFTTT #Feedly #future #hmmm #tech #business #good to know #WOW #TIL #science

0 notes