#Art meta

[firecooking]

STOP IT STOP IT PLEASE STOP COVERING UP OLD ART AND DESTROYING YOUR OLD SKETCHBOOKS AND 'FIXING' THEM PLEASE TIK TOK IS WRONG YOU WILL MISS THAT ART SOME DAY AND YOU'LL BE MAD THAT SOMEONE CONVINCED YOU TO HATE YOUR PROGRESS

[binomech]

why do you get so frustrated about the focus on the sci fi in severance fan theories?

because it's a show openly criticizing capitalist realism that has to up their marketability with the genre du jour and also needs the mediation of metaphor to force you to feel the rage and disgust and urgency to change things and theorising for months about the specifics of lumon tech as if that was the point is a "the wise man points at the moon but we keep looking at the finger" situation.

they integrate the worldbuilding well but it's always there as a backdrop to the real world the viewer and the people working on the show live in. media is a lens to clarify reality even when the artistry stands on its own (which in this case, it also does)

i think a lot of money, personal risk, hours of work and deliberate efforts to meaningfully reach the viewer in the other side were poured into making severance. i see the way in which they look at all of us in the gallows with bluntness and honesty and compassion and encouragement and i can't imagine another way to return the favor than by actively listening.

the goats mystery makes you uncomfortable, and trying to be the smart guy who figures it out before the characters is a way to avoid that discomfort. the characters feel the same dread and burning curiosity as the audience, and in finding yourself in the same spot you are forced to confront the own realities of your place in material relations. it feels awful, and that's real, and the power of metaphor is that the feeling is prompted by words/image but not contained by them, and it's on purpose.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

TDP likes to look at the act of changing the reality of a real moment and creating a new reality whose purpose is to be perceived by the masses. It fits very nicely with the framing that individual perspectives are inherently limited, and no one has the full story - but that this does not automatically make anyone "evil." But it's very much its own concept, too.

In these above examples where we get to see both the reality and the art that it inspired, changing even something as simple as the poses or clothing of those involved shifts the focus from the authenticity of the moment itself to a curated narrative that is deliberately chosen for its own purpose. An artificially altered perspective that is intended for many to share.

There's a meta layer to this as well. The Dragon Prince itself is deliberately created, of course. And within the art of the show, it is choosing to hold a mirror up to itself with all this in-universe art, and how it is not a perfect reflection of reality. Fiction is always a carefully crafted universe of its own.

So, why did TDP choose the alterations it did? And why did it deliberately draw our attention to those changes through this repeated altered-art motif?

Art is neutral. Art is a medium. It can be used for good or ill, depending on the intent of those who create and distribute it. Are we to look at every example of art taken from historical events in TDP and question whether it really happened the way they're portraying it?

Yes.

Are we to look at real Earth history itself this way, and all the art it has spawned in the real world?

Absolutely.

Fiction is an imperfect mirror on purpose. That is the entire point of fiction: that it is not reality, but it is close enough to make us think twice.

Or at least once. Bare minimum.

Personally, I'm really curious what the reality was behind this art installation:

Maybe we'll find out someday.

[kikunai]

i don't write tips often but i got asked frequently about characters designs and how i could make up one based on few source materials for fan designs or even from scratch for my ocs. so here's my general thought process which can be applied to both visual art and writing

are they a lazy person? -> do they care how others think about their appearance? (they may get creative in maintenance and wearing their hair/clothes if both questions are affirmative)

where does the character come from? how would you embed their culture onto their look?

mementos?

what's their occupation? how can elements in their outfit reflect that?

adjustments based on their disability (physical, mental, neurodivergence...) and body types?

are there any unnecessary or unpractical elements? (eg: elements that hinder how they walk if their job requires them to run a lot)

*it all boils down to the character's preferences*

[thana-topsy]

hello, dearest topsy! ❤ i know you're busy and flooded with asks so don't feel pressured to respond right away but as someone trying to get their art off the ground, do you have any tips about lighting and general composition? those are two areas that have always been tough for me to figure out and you're an absolute boss.

may your road lead you to warm sands, my friend! :)

HELLO! I'm SO SORRY it's taken me so long to get around to answering you!

Lighting and composition are honestly still two things I struggle with myself, or at least it FEELS like a struggle. One of the resources that helped me out with color theory and thinking about shadows/light/etc. was this book:

It has a REALLY interesting and helpful comprehensive breakdown of color theory, both the basics and a bit of advanced stuff, as well as plenty of examples of practical application.

Also, one thing that I find helpful is working from limited color palettes when painting. Usually I'll either pick and choose the colors that interest me to create a palette, or use the Procreate feature "Create Palette From Image" (which is awesome). Here's an example of what I mean:

As for composition.... man, idk what to tell you. I kind of just eyeball it and aim for balance. I used to have pretty bad compositions, and then they slowly got better. Very slowly. Taking inspiration from classical art, as well as modern illustrations, is also a good way to trick yourself into being better at coming up with compositions.

But if you want one of the more classic examples of types of composition, the "Letters/Symbols" trick can be really helpful if you're stuck:

(I wish I new the source of this image, but it's been passed around the internet so many times at this point that I just have no idea. So if you know what book this is from, sound off in the comment!)

I hope this helps, my friend!

[clytemnaestraes]

Alicent + the woman in the window: Analysing the trope

“You desire not to be free, but to make a window in the wall of your prison”

— Rhaenys to Alicent, Hotd 1x09

There's a lot going on between Alicent and windows in House of the Dragon:

Alicent is a hightower, a woman trapped in a tower looking out the window. Her daughter and granddaughter die by jumping out the window.

For the purpose of this post, I'm limiting myself to analysing the "woman in the window" trope as seen in art.

The woman in the window has has been featured in Mediterranean pottery from the fourth century BCE through Botticelli, Raphael and Rembrandt, Sickert and Picasso.

A window is a border between the inside and the outside, the private and the public, the light and the dark. It provides commentary on cages, frames, prisons, and the limit of the subject's freedoms and horizons.

When a woman is framed in light streaming through a window, we are are seeing her as she was seen by the artist.

Tracy Chevalier noted the presence of a "relentless male gaze" when she visited Reframed: The Woman in the Window, an exhibition at Dulwich Picture gallery.

Between those two poles there are various depictions and judgments of women. Sometimes they’re prostitutes; other times they are the Virgin Mary.

In fact, among the earliest depictions of "a woman in the window" is a Mediterranean vessel depicting a courtesan.

1. Courtesan in a window, 18th century

2. The caption of "Woman at the Window" by Degas reveals that the featured woman is a courtesan he paid to model for him.

3. The Virgin and the Child, seen by a window

Are women in windows protected by being inside and shutting out the world, or are they being confined against their will?

In one of Picasso's portraits, his partner Francoise Gilot looks out the window, her hands pressed against the glass. Tracy notes that

knowing what we know about Picasso and his partners, it is clear Gilot is trapped inside the male gaze (though she does eventually escape the relationship), her hands semaphoring anxiety.

Windows and Waiting

Windows are also linked to waiting, and this is especially true of women in medieval times, waiting at the window for men to return from war, waiting at the window to learn their own fate.

[icyday]

Look, I'm not saying that doing art daily hasn't improved my art. I'm just saying all that daily practice alone hasn't made it good.

[lukadjo]

Why are the re-blog to like ratios on fandom art posts so horrible?

Here's a random piece of fandom art. At the time of writing, the ratio was 0.15, so for every like there is 0.15 reblogs.

That is relatively for Tumblr, abysmal. The artist did everything right, the art is: cute, marketable, family friendly, high quality, aesthetically pleasing, tagged with all the fandom tags and relevant.

There is literally nothing that could be recommended for improvement other than adding alt text to optimise discoverability and maximise user accessibility.

On Tumblr, it is usual for posts to get ratios of 0.5, 0.7 or even 0.9 yet this posts ratio resembles that of late Twitter far more.

Why is this?

[riafunnel]

"We can't all be professionals, but that shouldn't be a reason not to sing."

- Frank Watkinson on YouTube

[oh-hush-its-perfect]

people will be like "don't trace!!!" as if it's an issue without nuance. yes, don't trace someone else's art, post it, and pass it off as your own. no, it is not considered "cheating" to post a picture of a drawing whose sketch you traced from a real-life photo as long as you give credit to your reference in your post. and if you take a picture of yourself to trace, you don't need to credit it or say "i traced this" or anything! tracing is how most people learn structures bc most of us don't have the time/money to take drawing classes. if you DO trace another artist's art, whatever, but just don't post it. it's that easy.

[wetmopmob]

As much as I agree these designs are… subpar for a lack of a better and nicer word, I really do feel bad for Lavendertowne. If you compare her personal art and character design from before starting Youtube/her first couple years being a YouTuber to her art now the downgrade is just sad. Keeping up with social media algorithms really takes a tole on the skills of artists.

Unfortunately that will probably never be a discussion as long as the masses find laughing at the artists obviously affected more fun than any critical thinking or maybe even empathy.

[binomech]

whenever you see a watsonian analysis of severance from me, visualize this disclaimer at the end of each post:

severance is in conversation with the film industry producing it. these actors are letting the character "borrow" their bodies, and we, as viewers, have to deliberately engage with this metanarrative, this false equivalency.

we do not know these people. they are getting paid for this job. whether it's personally fulfilling for them or which parts they're doing it for does not weigh in on the fact that they are selling their body in exchange for a salary. who owns the body? is it the actor or the person paying them? what kinds of bodies are profitable? how does one's self settle become the body when one's livelihood is based on performing someone else? what is a good performance but a surgically precise awareness of one's body served on a plate for an audience to consume, digest, incorporate into our selves? what is a good performance but a successful attempt at verisimilitude? you are a person but your worth lies in how effectively you can pretend to be someone else. the better you shroud your body and personhood in smoke and mirrors, the more valuable your labor will be.

how are we talking about the actors in this show? how much are we thinking about the body behind the action? how much are we conflating them with their character? how entitled do we feel to their intimacy? are we also the ones watching surveillance footage and claiming their personal experience as rightfully ours, pretending they know us and we know them?

[jinkitsuragi]

working like on a wip back and forth review, if you’d like to do it yourself:

- we started off aimless but agreed on general style and subject beforehand. in this case we knew we both liked to paint and as such went painterly on this one. this was a good idea imo.

- the initial plans went back and forth pretty quick because sketches r ez. i left many notes, which was one of my favorite parts of the process- getting notes and sending notes teehee. i recommend notes especially especially if you’re unsure.

- i love love loved getting drafts back. usually artists i feel like don’t get stuck on the same thing which is a huge plus. and it was really fun to be surprised on what clever thing was to be added! i felt like they were fixing all my mistakes, and we were making each other better. i think.

- i can totes foresee a sort of situation where one person kind of hogs the best parts. i felt a little like i was hogging the best parts, or maybe i was playing to my strengths? :< i think a good fix would be to add a note on what to work on next. maybe a red circle?

- because we painted the actual details back and forth could be pretty slow. personally i think this is a plus because you simply never get stuck on a thing too long. but it totes takes a while and the ball does stop and start. thus, patience is needed, and one should agree on who should finish it and at what round. i was the finisher and asked for feedback before finishing, for instance.

thx again to @seafortskua for playing and also being the most patient person ever 💖💖💖💖

[kikunai]

me rn

[gothseparatist]

I feel weird even typing this up lol but it is interesting that I’ve seen people post they “headcanon” Meryl as East Asian in ancestry when it is just canon canon?? In most anime I default to Asian anyway but I do think in Trigun the intent is that of multiple ethnic groups

If you zoom into the above pic you can see Roberto has a lid crease and shading whereas Meryl just has shading, suggesting she has epicanthic folds/monolids

Epicanthic folds arise partially from a lower nose bridge (most people are born with this trait regardless of ethnicity but if the nose bridge raises over time that lifts the skin away basically) and Meryl in profile is depicted as having a stylized very low nose bridge

The overall shape, upturned rounded oval is a common enough type too (tip for artists: theres a lot of diversity and despite what many non-asians think plenty of monolid eyes are actually rounder than average non-monolids if you trace the open eye area or compare how much the iris is exposed)

And then there’s the blue-black hair and irises which are established stylistic choices for East Asian characters in anime with clear multiple ethnic groups