#But tweening is personally easier for me because you draw less. But it's just as time consuming as frame by frame

[nonuggetshere]

Goly- 6 hours in one frame, im here just planning bigger art project yet -🦂

Animation Is Hell

And good luck with your project!

[despazito]

Idk in my idyllic world the use of ai could improve animation workflow and catapult junior level artists into creative leads roles faster if there's less menial work to be done.

We could have artists still in charge of creative decisions and drawing vis dev while the computer assists with the most labour intensive steps of making shows or movies.

For simpler shows for instance it would be neat I think if you could run your storyboard through a script and have the machine import all relevant assets staged to the best of its abilities instead of manually having to drag props and rigs into your shot and scaling everything before you can even begin to animate (does that tech exist already? Probably).

Like nowadays we already have animation programs where you can set deformer limitations.

i could imagine a possible future where software includes or does subscription services to ai trained on work by artists who got paid to draw or animate template motions or anatomy references. something like generating smart bones could become an automated feature. i can maybe even foresee tech that can look at a character model or design sheet you've drawn and generate a rig for it. in all these scenarios you would have to correct stuff and tune things to your liking, but it gives a considerable head start to the work.

More dynamic shots could be made on smaller budgets if we gave ai props or backgrounds and said "give me this but rotated a little" instead of drawing the same damn chair from 10 angles as a prop artist, I refuse to believe anyone's passion in life is to make prop turnarounds or clean up inbetweens.

what if you had an ai that was trained on drawings of heads at every angle, animals in every angle, a slew of expressions and mouth shapes, then gave it a character ref drawn from a few angles and bam it makes the vtuber rig for you.

this still leaves space for original art and would still require a skilled creative to make something look it's best, that could be a gig. more animators could potentially begin their own smaller studios if cartoons are way easier to make. if anyone could potentially make their own movie in the future, charge people to do it right! no computer can replace a human knowledgeable in film or drawing to guide it in the right direction. without creative people at a production's core, i think the future of ai film is just a very, very, sophisticated version of goanimate than can also do art theft.

this could become the weird futuristic version of "i wrote this children's book can you illustrate it for me?" but instead your mom's friend wants to commission a show pilot they wrote a screenplay for.

When animation was drawn on cels we had entire painting departments whose job it was to paint each individual frame by literal numbers, and it was tedious!! Now we have the paint bucket tool for digital coloring, and software like Toonboom lets you color in one frame then generate the coloring for the proceeding frames. We still have a colour and painting department, it's just different work now. but now we also have people making full color cartoons from their basements because Flash was released for personal computers with said digital tech along with computer generated motion tweening for animation!!

Junior animator and junior bg painter or prop artist roles will probably face an overhaul where more work can be done with less people. But the utopian outcome would be these junior artists can sooner take up lead or supervisor positions where they get to execute their own ideas instead of someone else's. more shows or movies could be produced with less crew for less money, slashing costs when deciding what to greenlight or to take a risk on new talent. The problem is capitalism would make it suck because it only cares about exploiting workers for those cheapest costs possible and forego the necessary human crew required to make the difference between machine-assisted productions and pure ai generated slop

[marinetteplztakeabreak]

I need to share soft sign language buddies ninogami headcanon because they’re taking over my brain always:

(This got so long, so youre welcome if youre also starved for ninogami content)

Nino’s mom is Deaf , so he grew up signing as much as speaking. When he was younger he always signed as he talked.

It turned out he’s also Hard of Hearing, so sign language is way easier for him to understand most of the time.

However, though he’s great at making friends, he’s very awkward when it comes to talking about himself. So never comes up in conversation.

It’s not a self-deprication issue. It’s just a “thinking of things to say is hard and I’d rather have someone else do the talking” thing. He’d rather talk about anyone except himself.

Additionally! He’s great at helping other people, but he’s terrible at asking for help. He does not EVER want to be like “hey i cant understand what you’re saying, my ears dont work great,” its his worst nightmare

And it doesnt help that there have been a few cases of people being rude about it when he doesnt hear them after they repeat themselves. And possibly worse, there have been even more cases of people giving over-the-top apologies instead of just,, telling him what they said. So it’s not worth the trouble in his mind

with his few close friends who still dont know, it feels like its too late and it’d be awkward to bring it up, so he just… doesnt. He’s procrastinating on telling them he cant hear them

He stopped signing as much as he talked in middle school because strangers would always be like “woah thats so cool, how do you know sign language” and he’d just panic because he was an awkward tween, and he didnt know if he was comfortable telling them he was HoH, but ALSO just saying his mom was Deaf and not mentioning himself felt like directly lying by hiding information, so he just took the “lazy” way out and signed less in public.

Sometimes fighting the anxiety was not worth it so he just let it win in that case.

Nino is so nice and energetic and loves people, but he is way more introverted and anxious than his friends think.

But when they start to get closer, Kagami who is ever-observant, notices him signing a little bit, (not ever to her, not ever on purpose, but he’d sometimes sign a word he needed to remember while speaking or sign along to emphasize something)

and she luckily for his anxiety, she doesnt know how to have a normal conversation either.

Her (platonic as well as romantic) love language is studying and research, and Nino seems very cool and she likes him, even if she is awful at holding a conversation with him or doing anything to show it.

She thinks he’s so cool and such an amazing talented kind friend. She has so much love for him that she doesnt know what to do with it. So she channels that energy into learning to sign through the internet and whatever tools she can find

And then after a while of this, she’s like “oh no, he’s gonna think that’s so creepy, I cant tell him I know sign language or he’ll be so uncomfortable”

So, like a whole idiot, she hides that she’s learning sign language from anyone. Because OBVIOUSLY if word got back to Nino, he’d assume it was because of him and that she was a weirdo he shouldn’t be friends with

But also Kagami accidentally falls in love with sign language because she has undiagnosed autism. She always assumed that communicating was just going to be impossible no matter what, but as she gets proficient in sign language she’s like,,, oh,,, OH,, this is very nice

Even just signing while she talks makes it so much easier to keep words and sentances straight, but she only does it when she’s alone with her mother, who is literally blind and would never know.

They become closer friends in late high school, and by that time a lot of Nino’s anxiety has worn off and he’s become completely comfortable letting teachers know when he needs to hear somthing, and middle school feels like a distant dream

At some point, Nino invites Kagami to his house a few times, and he signs with his mom. Nino is like “I can interpret for you,” and Kagami is like “wow thanks, I’m so lucky, because I obviously do not know any sign language, why would I have learned it, and also for the record it is brand new information to me that you can sign,” and Nino is like “cool? Its not a secret but im glad i told you if you somehow didnt already know,” and Kagami is like, “yep :)”

But then eventually as they become really close, they are texting one night, (Kagami can still barely get out of her house, so they need to communicate remotely. And both of then HATE phone calls bc its so hard to understand whats happening, but neither of them have admitted this to anyone)

Nino admits that he likes using sign language better than talking, and he wishes he could use it with his friends, but he’d feel so guilty asking them to learn an entire language just to make him slightly more comfortable. He can talk and hear OKAY so he shouldnt put the pressure on them.

and Kagami is like “you could always ask, worst case scenerio they say no, and i dont think thats an unreasonable demand” and nino is like “it is though,” and kagami’s like “ok so haha funny story, please dont hate me” and nino is like, “…what.” And kagami confesses everything and nino is like “why… why would i hate you for that?” And Kagami is like “oh wait youre right im stupid,”

And then Nino’s also like “hey if YOURE more comfortable signing too, then why dont YOU ask your friends to sign for you. Do you see what i mean? It’s hard to ask-” and kagami is like, “as your friend i will prove it is not.”

So then Kagami ends up confronting Adrien and Marinette the next day and is like “Hi. This is a sign language dictionary. Learn from it.” And they’re both like “what?” And she’s like “oh wait sorry. Backing up. I’m autistic. I decided like three years ago. Forgot to tell you. And I need you to learn to sign a little bit so you can understand if i sign something at you. If you want, of course. Please :D.” And theyre like “ok sure yeah i can do that.”

(Theyve already learned and accepted that shes extremely direct in asking for things)

So then she texts nino and is like “i did it. Youre welcome.”

But anyway both of them are uncomfortable in crowds and parties: Nino cant hear anyone and Kagami tends to get sensory overload, so they start signing mostly in those situations, and then it starts to sink in that they’re allowed to sign whenever and that the other really IS also comfortable with it.

(Both of them are much more willing to make sacrifices for others than to try something new and intimidating for themself, so this is the perfect situation to trick them into getting out of their comfort zone, ironically by trying to be more comfortable in the long run)

so they will just sit together and hang out and have long conversations while just chilling somewhere in a park or at cafes or whatever. Both of them become chattier than they’ve ever been because talking and understanding is so much easier, and its addicting

And their close friends all become proficient enough in sign language to have simple conversations.

But also Nino and Kagami start sitting together automatically even in group hangouts, and they start hanging out more with just the two of them, and soon neither of them feel bad about asking to hang out in quieter places, because they can justify it knowing that it will also help the other one, and together that makes both of them also more comfortable asking for little accomodations from other friends, if only to prove to the other that they can do it too.

And Kagami has the lesser-known autism side effect where she makes WAY TOO MUCH eye contact. She’s aware of it but that doesnt make it go away. Normally she feels so awkward about it, and overthinks her gaze because she doesnt want to scare people away. But when signing, you literally HAVE to be watching the other person constantly, so she has an excuse to just be herself, and its so relieving

(and also its kind of fun to look at Nino anyway because he can get so animated and his smile is really nice and oh no she is in love a little bit)

And Nino always struggles because he emotionally ALWAYS needs to be the nice polite one. His anxiety sometimes gets the better of him and he’s constantly worried about sending the wrong signals to his friends and coming off as rude somehow. But with Kagami, he can literally just ask?? And she will tell him her honest opinion without making it weird. And its so comfy and so good and he really loves hearing her unfiltered opinions on so many things because she sees the world in such a unique way and she gets so passionate about such little things and then oh no, he is fallen for her before he can realize it

And they also learn that they’re both artists, they both love to just observe the world because even if they;re awkward, people are actually pretty great most of the time, and its fun to observe them and try to capture the world, and they just sit together and sketch, or they watch each other sketch, and the thing is, both of them draw ONLY FOR THEMSELVES, its not a ‘skill,’ and they don;t want it to be, its just private art for relaxation. Somehow, though, its okay if they share their art with each other. They can just sit in comfortable silence for hours while one of them sketches something and the other watches patiently

And they start to get more comfortable with one of their heads resting on the other’s shoulder as they watch them doodle, and sitting so close their legs press together, and soon enough their hands start brushing against each other’s as they walk next to each other and then all of a sudden they’re casually holding hands whenever they’re not signing because it’s nice

They try to share headphones so Nino can share some of his favorite songs and his compositions with Kagami. But try as she might, Kagami can not handle the sensory of only having one earbud in. Nino knows her tells by that point, and he’s not about to let her suffer for a stupid reason, but she REALLY does want to hear his music. They somehow end up with Kagami putting a pair of headphones around her neck and turning up the volume a little bit so she can hear, while Nino rests his head on her shoulder so he can hear just enough to know where she is in the song

And then he has to sit up and scootch away just enough to see her hands so they can talk about it, and they both pretend not to notice how nice it was to snuggle as they sign. Its fine, though, because now they get the excuse to just look at each other again and sign overdramatically with exaggerated facial expressions, and no one else around can overhear their conversation, and Nino likes to go a little over the top when signing onomatopoeia and acting out particular parts of the song rhythm that he likes, and Kagami laughs, and they both mentally save the image of each other in this moment the same way that they look at reference images for artwork, memorizing the lines of each movement and the things that make each smile unique,

and Nino also shows up at every single one of her fencing tournaments, and he sits as close as he can and signs encouraging messages to her from the crowd whenever she’s not actively competing, (that her blind mom can never catch, which is somewhat of a bonus to Kagami, because every element of their friendship that her mother cant interact with makes this more personal and special and HERS). Every little sign she sends back at him, even a simple thank you, always feels so good and rebellious and free because shes supposed to be focusing on fencing but shes deciding to care more about friendship. And even if she’s expected to leave immediately afterword, she’ll find every excuse possible to find him and give him a hug, which he’ll always accept even though she jokingly warns him shes sweaty and gross

And eventually they are special best friends and it brings them instant joy to see each other and theyre able to interact for no reason other than that they want to and like each other

(And then they kiss)

[turtlegirlave]

So this has a ton of opinions which I usually stray away from but i really let all my opinions out here. Also there is definitely fact mistakes, probably name mistakes and some incorrect singing terms in here, I wrote this at 2 A.M. with a limited knowledge of theater I’m just trying to get a point across.

Why s2 of hsm the series should have been newsies instead of beauty and the beast:

They say straight up in the show “we need a real Alan Menkhen musical” and they pick beauty and the beast instead of newsies, a literal Broadway stage production???

At first I assumed it was because the cast was primarily male, but that isn’t even a reasonable argument. 1)as shown by s1 when a boy played sharpay, gender doesn’t matter when being considered for a role. 2), a cast with multiple male leads would give the gay men in the show a chance to shine, instead of shoving them to background roles like Chip. Not to mention Carlos is a dancer, and newsies is a musical driven by choreography. 3), since nini moved there are only like 2 lead females anyway, which works for the 2 female roles in newsies.

Casting Wise, the play works SO MUCH better!

Ricky: jack kelley is a much better role for him than the beast for many reasons. First, their personalities are very similar with the mischievous main teen vibe, so the role would be like Troy where Ricky can slip into it easier. Second, it fits him better vocally. It is very clear from listening to Joshua basset sing that he has a relatively high vocal range, and singing low notes or in a deep voice doesn’t come as naturally to him. Jeremy Jordan has a similar vocal range, where he stays in higher octaves and more rarely uses a deep, monotone voice (at least never to the beast’s extent). Ricky would sound perfect singing in Jack’s vocal range. The beast, however, sings almost exclusively in an extremely deep, monotone voice that Joshua cannot easily perform.

Ashlyn: not only does she look quite similar to Katherine, but they have similar personalities as well. Also, katherine’s high and bubbly singing voice would sound lovely with Ash’s, which is also high and bubbly but often softer. This would allow her to push herself to sing louder and more confidently. And she still gets to play a smart bookworm lead female role.

Kourtney: she was born to play miss medda larken. Mrs. Potts’ debut song “beauty and the beast” is a soft romance ballad, which does not match kourt’s stadium reach, strong, powerful voice. “That’s rich” not only shows off her vocals better, but matches her personality and voice much better with the grit and power behind it. Also, Mrs Potts as a character is the soft, motherly type. Miss medda is a rambunctious, empowered, “I got men if I want em but I don’t need em” kinda woman. Which role better fits the girl power, loud, activist, personal cheer squad type person that Kourtney is?

Carlos and Sebastian: not only would this stop shoving the gays and only interesting men other than Ricky to background roles (sorry big red), but it would show off their talents. Seb would make a wonderful crutchy, with his innocent nature and likeness to the character. It would also give him a chance to flex his vocals and sing a duet with Ricky in Santa Fe, further developing the friendships in the show. Carlos could play really any of the main boys, I mostly think he would kill in this due to his dance and choreography skills, which newsies really emphasizes.

Big red: PLEASE this boy would be perfect as Ben Cook’s role (can’t remember the newsie’s name). They’re both the kinda dumb but endearing friend type, and he leads “king of New York”, a song with a killer tap dancing break, which is the whole reason big red wanted to try out! His chemistry with Ricky as crutchy would make that a fine role for him too, but since Sebastian has stronger vocals I think it’s better for him to take a more prominent role while big red relies on his dancing skills over singing.

Gina: though there’s no more lead girl roles, I think she would kill it as mr. Pulitzer. They could add some spice to the character through her insane dance skills, and she would play a great “cunning yet intelligent buisinesswoman” type. This dude also gets 2 or 3 songs, and honestly I don’t remember who she plays in Beauty and the beast so idk.

EJ: I admit Gaston is a perfect role for him and I can’t fit him into newsies well. He would play a good spot conlin, though it is a significantly smaller role. No one really cares about ej though so small loss.

Plot valuability:

doing newsies makes literally way more sense. Firstly, they are kinda planning entering this show last-minute compared to the competition, so to pick a show already written and choreographed for stage production would really save time. (Even though it would still need work to be condensed for a high school production). Second, miss Jen is so determined to stand out from the crowd and win the contest so she picks... beauty and the beast? One of the most popular Disney movies (and honestly with one of Alan’s weaker soundtracks compared to tangled, Aladdin, and the little mermaid imo). Having them do newsies, especially when switching up gender roles like casting Gina as Pulitzer, would actually make them stand apart from the dozens of schools performing Disney movies. It would also give a significantly more impressive vocal and dance performance, since the songs were written for Broadway singers rather than actors. The set is also more cheap and condensed, while still looking professional, which would help with their “we’re too poor and late to afford a straight-up aquarium so let’s do the most with what we’ve got.” Putting the characters in these roles would also not alter their development or main story plots much, besides strengthening certain friendships and pushing aside less popular characters (ej). It would also give more rep for the gays as well as switching up gender roles. Imagine, the gay guys get actual things to do in the show and aren’t defined by the sole plot of “my boyfriend rich” relationship drama! (I love these two but I am a tired ace). Also jerjor performs in both this and tangled the series, so it’s a double whammy for Alan menkhen representation.

Marketability: I know the musical has to be widely known and appealing to viewers. People watched s1 because they love hsm. People also love beauty and the beast, so viewership may raise with fans of the movie. Newsies doesn’t die here, though. It is a very widely popular play among theatre people, and existed first as a movie musical so it isn’t exclusive to theater kids. Also, fans of Newsies are generally between their tweens and early twenties, the exact age demographic for the show. Beauty and the beast is a classic and more widely known, but also doesn’t draw in large numbers of the exact age group you want. Also, the fact that newsies is a little less mainstream only helps the plot point of them choosing it to still have something well known while also standing out from the competition. Doing beauty and the beast is not only an awful choice for casting that limits the actors vocals or is completely out of their range, but it also makes them blend in with the crowd.

Final notes: beauty and the beast was IMO the worst choice for the play this season. Movies like Aladdin and tangled both have very energetic and loud soundtracks that allow these characters to belt their hearts out. Beauty and the beast has a very folksy, quiet, ballad type of track that limits the actors. The only actor that I think sings ballads better than big booming tracks is Nini, who isn’t even in the play this year. Ricky also sings great ballads, which is why ballads that are still slow but also emotional and powerful like “Santa fe” or “something to believe in” (which would sound AMAZING in his and Ashlyn’s voices) fit much better than the deep voice of the beast that he can not comfortably sing in. Also, the beast has very few songs whereas newsies would allow him to belt his heart out in nearly every song with that lovely voice he has. The age range of the newsies cast (that characters are supposed to be 17) fits better with these very teen actors than a movie about old fashioned French young adults. Really newsies was the best musical choice for this season, but I also believe beauty and the beast was the last one they should have chosen.

(After reading comments I rescind my statement that beauty and the beast was the worst choice, but it’s still second to newsies imo)

Feel free to debate me in the comments or point out my mistakes, I’m very open to other points of view

[birbhouse-doodles]

Some post-project ~thots~ re: my first big dive into horror movies in general, some favorites and reviews, and what I learned in boating school from finishing an inktober-type art challenge is

So the ~stats~ of this thing were, I did 29 drawings covering 31 pieces of halloween-related / horror-ish media, 28 movies, 2 series’ and 1 podcast episode. Of the 31, this was the first time I’d seen/heard 25 of them.

On the art:

1. The big lesson that I got from this is exactly what this podcast episode has to say about how executing an idea is its own skill that you have to practice. Like separate from the skills of actually drawing a thing, the mental skill of following an idea through from start to finished product (and being able to call it done and pull the trigger on sharing it) is also a thing you have to learn. And boy howdy does finishing one post-able drawing a day give you plenty of practice at that, and boy howdy did I get pretty good at it this month. I’m kind of floored by how this Just Get It Done Bootcamp of making a shit ton of art in very little time got rid of so many of my hang ups related to like, getting stuck partway through a piece because I'm scared to ruin it, or not being able to get past a thumbnail sketch because I can’t find the ~perfect idea~, etc. Especially this last week I barely even recognized this confident ass person who was planning and banging out these cool little paintings with almost no hesitation. That’s very unusual for me and I really hope it sticks

2. I’m glad I did this but the debate on whether or not I’d ever do it again is ongoing. Like, I’m insanely proud of myself, (whatever)tober challenges were something I always thought were super cool and wanted to do as a little baby artist but was I never in the right place to be able to stick to a project like that, so I’m very impressed with myself. I am, also, however, so fuckin tired oh my god. I spent most of weeks 2 and 3 swearing up and down that I’m never doing anything like this again. But I also spent the last week really loving it and I already have a list of movies I didn’t get to that I could use if I did this again next year... we’ll see I guess. (Also I never would have had time for this if I wasn’t in an awkward limbo of post-graduation-pre-real job right now where I have literally no responsibilities, so I have a feeling that if I do this again it’ll be like. a movie every 3 days for 10 total, something more sane like that.)

3. Deciding I was ok with it when my motivation fluctuated and planning the day’s drawing accordingly was super powerful. Low standards got the job done y’all

4. Sorta related, but I noticed especially for movies I really liked/ rewatches of things that I already knew I loved I would get this weird mental block about wanting to Do Them Justice, and have this struggle of wanting to do whole ass super complicated big awesome tribute pieces instead of something I could actually finish in a day. Was tough to reign that in sometimes and remember that this had to be a quantity > quality type game.

5. I’m glad I started with the markers because they did force me to keep things simple at first and avoid that ^ problem, and it was neat to actually get sorta good at them and test exactly what I can get done with them. Less neat that a few markers that I was really relying on started dying around day 17 or so. Overall my review would be that they’re great for sketchy stuff, darkest gray and lightest gray are the best ones, love that they don’t warp or soak through the paper, but there are a few of the more complicated marker pieces (Alien, The Ring) that would have been way easier and probably turned out better in ink.

On the movies:

Man I hate that it took me so long to realize that I really love horror movies. I remember not enjoying them at all as a kid/tween, I think I just had to grow into it? I have a whole separate essay on why I think that is but we’ll save that one for later. The point is this was my first time seeing most of these and it was really awesome to dig into the, like, ~popular classic horror canon~ like this, 12/10 very fun. (Not that I covered all of it by any means, there’s already a big list of ones I didn’t get to that just keeps growing, and now that I have a better idea of what I like I can be smarter about picking them next time, and I didn’t even scratch the surface of some subcategories of horror that I’d be really interested to check out, especially international stuff/ not just american big screen stuff, and, and, )

I can’t just pick favorites like a normal person so here’s way too many words about some that stood out for me, I have many opinions and no one can stop me so buckle up

I’m having a really hard time picking a scariest movie, but I the things that I ended up finding scary sort of surprised me. Like the super heavy gore/violence stuff wasn’t so much scary as just gross. A few that did stand out as scary for me were Us (jesus christ Lupita please have mercy you’re too good at this) and It Follows (I was so on edge just Watching the background extras trying to guess where the monster was, I thought the amount of tension in that was really impressive). Actually, anything that leaned on crafting tension in a skillful way and letting the horror come from Wrongness and Anticipation instead of just straight violence was chefs kiss, lovely, totally my jam. If I could build a house and live in the 3 seconds between the moment you know a jumpscare is coming and the moment when it actually hits, I would.

Prettiest movie award goes to Suspiria (1977). I would print out almost any frame of this thing and hang it on my wall, I’m just head over heels for the whole ~look~ and the architecture and the sets and the cOLORS oh the colors I’m in love. I actually watched it really early in the month, it might have even been September? but I didn’t want to draw it yet because it would have been a  crime to do anything related to that movie in black and white and I was kinda intimidated by including full color paintings for this project at the time. Runner ups for prettiest go to Caligari (which was like finding an old picture of a great-great-grant-relative and being like holy shit that looks exactly like my uncle I see where the rest of the family gets those looks, but in this case your uncle is like. Every Tim Burton/ Henry Sellick / whimsical-gothic aesthetic thing ever) and Coraline (Laika Studios owns my entire heart).

Best special effects is probably The Thing. GOD why did we as a society ever move away from super detailed hand crafted practical effects gore. You just know some assistant's whole job was to lovingly mist all the gooey bits down with a spray bottle to get it absolutely perfect. That shit is a work of art, I would want the two melted together faces as a sculpture to have in my house if the effects weren’t so good that I genuinely felt a little sick a few times watching this. Honorable mention to Alien for the same reasons.

Award for “didn’t scare me much but did make me deeply sad” goes to Carrie, with The Witch (VVitch?) as a runner up. Making me sad is also like, a valuable emotional response for a piece of art to cause and these were cathartic in their own way, but fuck man. A story that goes “young girl did not sign up for nor deserve any of this and does not catch a single break” are such downers for me. Something something I too was (am?) a weird little girl (tm) and these are My People, so I’m adopting them all as my baby sisters now and taking them out for ice cream and driving them to therapy

Best theme song/ soundtrack goes to Reanimator. This is a controversial choice by the judge (me) when the other nominees include Us, The Shining, and two entire John Carpenters, but I have not been able to get Reanimator’s funky little woodwind bop out of my head for days now. It has absolutely no right to fuck so hard. I rewatched the opening credits like 3 times just so I could hear it again, it ended up on my On Repeat playlist on spotify this week, girl help it’s literally still stuck in my head as we speak

Anyway the more I talk about this the more confident I feel in saying, see you next year for this again. But almost definitely on a smaller scale because jesus I am so tired

[betsyandmaxwellandduchessohmy]

this isn't even an imagine request but it can be if you want it to be; AU's where dadsona is actually a Fairy Godfather, and not a very good one at that; they resort more to actual fathering than magic most of the time, but one or more of the dads catches them in the act of something they just CAN'T explain away.

((I'm so love for magical au's. How could I not use this bad boy as a prompt?

Decided to give Brian the spotlight on this one, because there’s really not a lot of Brian content. Which is a damn shame! I didn’t enjoy Brian’s route as much as the other dads, because I felt like the competitive streak the route used for the dadsona was more mean-spirited than my own irl competitive streak, but I love Brian as a person! He’s so sweet and gentle and tbh I wish my dad was more like Brian. I have dad envy for Daisy. There. I said it.

A little late on the promised time, but in all fairness to me, I work a late shift at work tonight and had to sleep late so I don’t fall asleep on the production line.

I kind of borrowed the baby teeth thing from the movie Toothless, which I haven’t seen since I was ten or less but had a profound impact on my childhood. I am a grown ass woman, and I still have one of my baby teeth. There was just no adult tooth underneath it, so I have to take extra good care of it. So! If that’s a canon rule for toothfairies/magic, I have a pass to see it!))

~~~

Make A Wish

You sighed softly, kicking a bit of sand as you walked down the beach. It was a beautiful afternoon - a spattering of clouds in the sky, but nothing big enough to block the sun’s bright rays for more than a minute. You had been planning to spend the evening at the baseball fields, watching Craig’s girls’ game, but the other team’s coach had called, saying their bus had broken down and asking to reschedule. Craig said the girls were annoyed, but that they would certainly survive the ordeal of waiting two more days to crush the Pine Place Hashbrowns into the dust. 

So you found yourself with nothing to do. You had been expecting to give some kind of pep-talk, rally the girl’s spirits when they started to lose, and cheer them on to victory. Now there was no guarantee they would still need your help, if indeed they ever would have.

Your powers were chancey that way. You didn’t know if you were doing the fairy-god type of fathering until your wings popped out. There was always a pull guiding you to where you were needed, and once you found the key element of your newest task, your wings materialized, letting you know you were on the right track. They were sort of a radar, in their own way. And of course, this drew attention from children and the occasional tween, since they were the only ones who could see the wings when they appeared. It had taken you until Amanda lost her last baby tooth to realize that that was the defining factor. Once a kid lost their last baby tooth, they were blind to this bit of magic. 

As if on cue, your wings fluttered up, a pale iridescent green with swirling tails that stretched halfway down your calves, just in time to feel a bump to your hip that nearly bowled you over.

An undignified sound escaped your throat as you stumbled, and you looked down at your assailant - an enormous cocoa brown mastiff, with a dusky brown muzzle and ears. She looked up at you with droopy eyes, almost expectant, just waiting for you to do something. Offering your hand, she gave you a sniff and a nuzzle. “So what’s your name, gorgeous?” you asked, taking a knee so you could rub at her face. If this beauty needed a home, you’d be more than happy to provide one, but that didn’t seem quite right. Besides, she was wearing a collar - return her to her home? Except the collar only held a tag that assured a rabies shot, the back of which gave the address for the animal shelter.

But ‘home’ felt right. Looking into the dog’s dark eyes, it struck you, and you smiled. “Can I trust you to follow me?” you asked, taking a step and looking back to indicate that she should.

She looked at you blankly and you sighed. “What if I promise you treats when we get there?”

You took another step and the dog began to follow, and your grin returned. You started heading back to the cul-de-sac, the mastiff at your heels. “Duchess Cordelia? Duchess!”

Glancing back, you noticed a person with dark hair, looking rather out of sorts and clutching a bag of dog treats. It almost looked like-

You shook your head and kept walking. Damien wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a polo shirt.

In any case, they hadn’t seemed to have noticed you, so you kept walking, carefully ducking out of sight of the shelter employee

“The Duchess Cordelia, huh? I think it suits you,” you hummed, grinning at the oversized pup. “Well, Duchess, let’s get you adopted, huh?”

~~~

It was only a short walk back to the cul-de-sac, but you were grateful that working out with Craig seemed to have made it a little easier. Flying would have been easiest, had you not had to worry about being spotted, and carrying two-hundred pounds of dog.

The Duchess, seeming to know better than you what she was doing, trotted right up to Hugo’s door and began fiddling with the knob. She probably would have gotten it open, too, had it not been locked. You’d kind of been hoping Hugo would be home so you could talk him into adopting before the shelter person found their way here, but the loud music blasting from the upper floor said Ernest was probably home, and you would take what you could get. “You’ve got the right idea,” you grinned, brows furrowing nervously. “Normally I’d say ‘a little breaking and entering never hurt anyone, but. Well.” Shaking your head, you lifted your hand, waving her away from the knob, now plastered in drool and mud. Luckily, with a little zap of magic, the door creaked open, and that was all the Duchess needed to get inside. 

“MC?”

You jumped, whipping around to spot Brian, looking at you with all the concern one expected of someone who just witnessed one neighbor let a strange dog into another neighbor’s house. “Can I ask why you just-” “Duchess!?”

You groaned, grabbing Brian’s arm and hauling the larger man to the side of the house. When he tried to ask what you were doing again, you shushed him, wings fluttering nervously as you peered around the side of the building. Polo person seemed to note the open door with a groan of their own, moving quickly to the front step and knocking politely before stepping inside. “MC, what is going on?” Brian demanded. You shushed him, peering through the window. 

“I’ll explain later. For now, I just need you to trust me,” you added, whispering your plea for patience. You expected Brian to saunter off to call the police, but instead, he sidled up beside you, both of you poking your heads up over the window sill to look in on the scene. The Duchess seemed to have left the sitting room in tact, but she definitely did not like the leash that Polo Person-

“Is that Damien?”

Holy shit, that is Damien.

“... I didn’t know he wore polo shirts.”

She didn’t seem to like the idea of Damien leashing her.

Things were looking cagey; Damien seemed to be trying to reason with the Duchess, until a flash of orange drew your eye, and suddenly, the Duchess blew past Damien, tackling Ernest to the ground and eating a pizza roll from his hand “Sweet success,” you grinned, until you caught sight of your wings out of the corner of your eye. Was there something else-? “So you want to explain to me why you put a stray dog in Hugo’s house and count his son getting tackled as a ‘success’?”

Ah. So there was. “And maybe also the wings?” What.

“I mean, I’m not one to judge, and they look like they’re very high-quality, but I don’t think-” “You can see them?” Brian seemed jarred by your interruption, but even more so by the way the words “Dad can we keep her” (And when did Hugo get home?) made them fold down and vanish off your back.

“I mean- I could? A second ago?” he murmured, bushy brows furrowing in confusion as he leaned back as if to check that they truly were gone. 

“It’s… a long story,” you confessed, running a hand through your hair. “Why don’t we… get out of Hugo’s yard? I’ll explain everything.”

The two of you sneaked back out to the sidewalk, a little hand-wave and a whispered spell on your part kept the men on the front step from noticing you, but Hugo seemed thrilled with the situation, excited to have his son call him ‘dad’ again.”

Brian seemed befuddled and a little frustrated, but you walked him back to your house and sat in the lawn chairs in your backyard.

“So, as much as I would love to simplify it down to “I found a home for a dog and a dog for a home”, you being able - to see me, like that… it complicates things.”

“How so?” he asked, drawing your shy gaze. “Seems fairy straightforward to me.” Any other time, that would have made you crack up. Even now it drew a chuckle out of you, but for the most part, you were solemn. “Does it now?” “Well, you did what needed doing, in an odd sense and with an admittedly strange method, but it did seem to work. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Hugo smile like that when talking about Ernest.”

You couldn’t help but smile, glad to have had a hand in your neighbor’s joy.

“I just… this can’t really be real, can it? I mean, that very nearly looked like magic,”

“It was,” you sighed, drawing his eye. “What i don’t understand is how you saw my wings. Only kids ever see them! People lose the ability to see magic when they lose their baby teeth - it’s a representation of childhood innocence thing.”

“I still have a baby tooth. There was no adult tooth underneath, so if that’s the rule… I didn’t exactly break it…” You sighed, taking a long dredge of pop.

“If that’s the case, I’m surprised you haven’t seen anything before. We’re not exactly subtle around adults, since they usually can’t see any magical shenaniganery.”

“Okay. Well, the wings are gone now, so… what’s that about?”

“They become visible when the job starts and vanish when it ends,” you explained, resting your elbows on your legs and folding your hands. “I told you I travel around town for work, and that I worked with kids, both of which are true.”

“You said you were a child psychologist.” “I said no such thing. I told you about my job and let you draw your own conclusions. The actual, official title is Fairy Godparent. The wings are… sort of a radar. When there’s something I can do to help someone who needs it, they become visible and act as a sort of calming aura, to let kids know that they can trust me. Sometimes it’s granting a wish kind of help that they need, for bigger stuff, but most of the time… most of the time, they just need someone to talk to. To tell them it’s going to be alright.” You gave a shrug, summoning a few cans of soda from the garage and offering one to Brian. Who accepted dumbly and looked at the unlit firepit as he absorbed all he’d been told. 

“So… Wand? Crown? Magic?”

“The crown and wand are a uniform thing, I only wear them to meetings and evaluations.” “Fairies have meetings and evaluations?” “There are offices, too. Real similar to mortal offices, except everyone has wings,” you chuckled. Sighing softly, you took a sip from your can. He did the same. 

He pestered you with questions for the next half an hour; Are there other fairy god parents in Maple Bay? Did Amanda know? Was her other parent a fairy too? How well did being a fairy pay? You answered them dutifully; Yes, we all work in precinct-like sectors, she’s always known, Alex was a mortal, it pays well enough.

“You think the dog is a good plan for Ernest?” he asked finally, after you finally caved and lit a fire to show off a little magic. 

“It’ll give him a chance to be responsible, and hopefully give him and Hugo something to bond over,” you hummed, finishing off your can. Brian chuckled, scratching at his beardy cheek with a thoughtful look. “You alright there big guy?”

“I was just thinking…” “Uh oh, that’s worrying.” “Watch it, MC.” “Sorry,” you gave him an apologetic smile. He pouted lightly at you, but it melted into a smile of his own a moment later. “What were you thinking?”

“I probably should’ve figured something magical was going on a lot sooner,” he stated, swirling the last of his soda in the can and watching you out of the corner of his eye. His grin went a little cheeky. “There always was something enchanting about you.”

You would have spit out your soda if you’d had any left. Instead you choked on air, looking at him with wide eyes and red cheeks. You ducked your head, trying to hide your smile.

The stars had begun to dot the twilight sky. You heard a deep ‘boof’ a few houses down, and somehow, in years of performing magic big and small, this was the first time you were the one to be bewitched.

[healthandhealingtherapy]

Child Therapist in Cook County

Hi, I’m Janet.

I provide counseling for children, adolescents, adults who are in their 20’s and early 30’s, and families.

I can help and support you, your child, teen, or family with the issues you may be struggling with. Whether it be depression, anxiety, low self-confidence, high stress, communication difficulties, or past trauma that is intruding into your life, together we can work to help you be your best self so you can live your best life.

MY APPROACH TO THERAPY

It takes great courage to contemplate reaching out for professional help through counseling and therapy. It takes even more courage to be honest about what you’re struggling with so you can implement the needed changes. If this is where you are at and you’re hoping for change, I’d love to help guide you along the way.

Whether you are a teen, adult, family, or you are a parent who is in need of a therapist for your child, your issues of concern are valid and important to me. What you’re going through and experiencing is very unique and personal.

If you decide to trust me enough to share your concerns and personal story, I will treat you and the information you share with me with the utmost care and compassion. This is why when I first meet with a new person like you, I will take time to get to know you. It will be a time for you to share about who and what is important to you. You may want to share about your interests, hobbies, passions, things that make you laugh, what you like to do for fun, etc.

After we get a little more comfortable together, I would then inquire about who the most important people in your life are, and I would ask you to tell me about them. This would include what draws you to them, how they support and help you, etc. Then we would begin to explore what you hope counseling and therapy can help you with.

You will most likely notice that I am a good listener and empathic in addition to being a person who is honest and straightforward. Because everyone is unique and their needs are different, I utilize different types of therapy to help people with the different things they are struggling with.

During a therapy session we may talk about your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors and how they interact and trigger one another. Other times I may encourage you to participate in an activity or something experiential. When I meet with children, tweens, and some teens, we play games, create things, and use art to help express the feelings, thoughts, and beliefs that may be easier to express through play, drawing, or other artwork.

Wherever you’re at – that’s where we’ll start. We can move as slow or fast as you are ready, willing, and able to. It will take time to develop a therapeutic relationship that can effectively support you. I’ll provide an open and safe space for you to open up however and whenever you are ready. I will need to earn your trust. You may need more time than you think until you decide to share certain things about yourself, and that is completely natural. Therapy is not a race. Rather, it is often a slow walk in the direction you want to go.

Providing compassion, acceptance, sensitivity, understanding, and respect are some of the things I am most passionate about giving to others. You can be on the receiving end of all those things.

COUNSELING FOR CHILDREN and THERAPY FOR TEENS

What a year! 2020-2021 has been extremely hard for tweens and teens like you. No wonder things are and seem difficult now. Many teens don’t know how to feel or what to think about the pandemic, and they often have questions about whether their feelings and thoughts are normal, natural, or expected. Many of the teens I work with have been feeling isolated, distant, and alone. There has been so much in this past year that teens like you have had to navigate alone. I’m sorry if 2020-2021 has been a really difficult time for you. If you’ve been suffering, we want to do everything thing we can to end that so you can feel better.

Life can sometimes feel like a big struggle. Sometimes it’s hard for us to find someone to talk to about what we think and how we feel about the things we go though. Maybe your parents can be people you go to and other times you may talk to friends, but, still, there can be times when we think no one will understand. Or, maybe you have feelings and thoughts that you just aren’t ready to share with those closest to you. It can feel difficult to get some of these things out. Sometimes we can feel deeply alone in what we’re going through.

If this is what you’re experiencing, it sounds like it’s a great time to talk with a therapist or counselor. That way, you don’t have to go through the tough stuff alone. Instead, you can have someone listen, understand, get you, and accept you for who you are without expectation. Who wouldn’t want that?

I’m a teen therapist who is here to listen and to give you the space to express exactly how you are feeling – the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’m down for all of it, and it’s more than okay for you to be yourself and express yourself however you wish to. In fact, I would want you to do nothing less than be who you honestly are and be wherever you’re at.

If you feel a little nervous about therapy and wonder what it will be like, your anxiety is completely natural, and you’re in good company. Most people aren’t sure what counseling will be like and have lots of questions. In fact, it’s normal to be nervous about any new situation.

The first time we meet and talk, we will get to know each other. You can tell me about yourself, your life, what you like to do, what music, sports, team, or movies you like, etc. I’ll want to get a picture of what you and your life is like. Then, when you feel comfortable, you can talk about what’s going on that you might want a bit of help with.

Next, we will determine what you might want to be different, fear will be different, or need to change. This will help us come together and map a direction of what will be most helpful for you. Together we will determine what it is we can work on to make things better for you so you can be your best self. We will meet one time a week so we as a team can work toward your goals for change.

If you are wondering if I would be a good person to help you, I’ll share with you some of the issues of concern that other children, tweens, and teens have had when they first sought therapy with me and what I helped them with:

High anxiety and panic attacks; learning how to recognize causes of anxiety and ways to relax and calm down

Depression, feeling down or hopeless, crying spells, loss of motivation, withdrawing from other people

Self-injury or thoughts of self-harm and working through these thoughts and/or behaviors

Difficulty communicating with other people such as family members, friends, or peers in class

Dealing with a change in family dynamics such as divorce, separation, moving away, or a family member’s death

Stress related to the pandemic, COVID-19, school, remote school, or extracurricular activities

Processing trauma such as emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, assault, or an event that has occurred which leads to nightmares or fixation

Questions or issues with oneself or others regarding sexuality, gender, or other LGBTQ+ concerns

Low self-esteem, low self-confidence, or having self-directed negative thoughts

Grief and loss of a loved one

Issues with poor concentration and hyperactivity

Sexual behavior problems or concerns

Anger and irritability

Everyone needs someone to talk to. If you feel alone, are struggling with one or more of the above, and think it may be time for you to get some support, guidance, acceptance, and encouragement, I’d be glad to be that person for you. You deserve to have as much support as possible when life is difficult.

HOW I CAN HELP YOU – THE PARENTS

As I work primarily with children, teens, and emerging adults, the role of parents and caregivers in therapy is a supportive role. I offer family sessions for caregivers both jointly with your child and non-conjointly on an individual basis. I also provide parent coaching sessions.

The goal of these sessions is to provide you with education on the mental health symptoms your child is exhibiting, how to recognize them at various stages of development and ages, and skills with which to support them with. I will teach you the same coping skills I am teaching your child in their therapy so you can assist them with practicing and using these skills when you’re at home together. We will also work together on connection, attachment, and increasing effective communication between you and your child.

Wouldn’t parenting be easier if there was a manual that helped you fluently navigate it? Most parents long for the proven and perfect methods to help guide them through the situations that are the most stressful. Because every child and every stage of development is so unique, it’s easy to never feel quite competent or confident as a parent. That happens in the best of circumstances, but the stress and uncertainty can be profound when your child is suffering with something you can’t protect them from. Something that you and you alone can’t fix or make better. If this is where you’re at as a parent, I would welcome the opportunity to connect with you and help you and your child reach a better place.

Young children often do not know how to identify and verbalize what they are experiencing. Instead, those feelings and stressors come out as symptoms we label as shyness, withdrawal from others, isolation, day-dreaming, anxiety, depression, communication difficulty, bed-wetting, crying spells, and specific somatic symptoms like tummy aches and other body aches. Their feelings are also masked by overt behaviors such as anger, tantrums, irritability, conflict and fighting with peers, refusal to wait or share, school refusal, and destruction of objects.

Sometimes teens have similar behaviors to those seen in younger children as listed above, but they can also suffer from internal stressors that look like: under or over-eating, food restriction, social isolation, constantly being busy and stressed, overachievement, perfectionism, having big feelings they can’t manage well, or putting high pressure on the self. In addition, adolescents often struggle with harmful behaviors such as: under or over-eating or fixation on weight, self injury, high expectations of self and fixation on needing to win and be the best, self injury (cutting, burning, etc), or body focused repetitive behaviors (skin picking, hair pulling, etc).

Teens can also wrestle with not having the ability to openly share their feelings or make sense of their thoughts and emotions. They often cannot articulate what they are going through and much of the time teens struggle with having and utilizing helpful and supportive coping skills to manage their feelings and behaviors.

Helping children and teens navigate through the various issues and challenges I’ve explained above is what I was meant to do, and it’s one of my great passions.

If any of the above rings true about your child, I’d love the opportunity to work with them in individual and family therapy. At the end of the day, the ultimate goal is to provide a nurturing environment where your child and/or teen can learn the needed skills to better navigate their mental, emotional, and physical health to improve their overall well-being.

WHAT I HOPE TO PROVIDE DURING THERAPY WITH ADULTS

Nowadays, more young adults are getting comfortable with the idea of therapy, and chances are you know someone who has participated in therapy or you yourself have been in therapy in the past. I’m so glad to know the negative stigma around mental health care is changing, and you and this generation are part of that reason.

So, you’re searching for someone to assist you with what you’re experiencing. Most likely, I’m guessing you must feel stressed with a recent change. Perhaps you are going to college, recently finished school, contending with unemployment, entered the full-time, professional adult workforce, or are in limbo with what you want to do next.

Trying to figure out what you want to do with your life while doing all the “adulting” things that are necessary, like paying bills, juggling finances, working on romantic relationships, balancing all your roles and responsibilities, re-defining friendships, and finding time to sleep and exercise while having me time can be very difficult. It’s A LOT! I can understand why you may be struggling.

It’s important to prioritize our mental health and well-being so we can be our best selves. When something is affecting us, it can spill into our relationships (ie: family, friendships, or romantic relationships), affect our ability to concentrate on work (school or job), affect the beliefs we have about ourselves and our self-esteem, and even affect our sleeping habits. Sometimes we judge our inside life against other people’s outside lives, thinking that they have it together and we don’t.

If these things resonate with you and you would like to meet to talk more about how we might work together to help you become your best self, I’d welcome the opportunity to support and work with you.

MY PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY

Since grade school, I’ve known I wanted to help people. I have a large family, and they always pride themselves on giving back to the community in a multitude of ways through their occupations and through community service. Showing people compassion and kindness is something that has been engrained in me and something that flows naturally out of me.

In the years that I’ve been a therapist, I’ve had the great privilege of working primarily with children, teens, and young adults who have experienced anxiety, depression, and trauma. In this work, I’ve provided individual and family therapy sessions, parent-education and parent-coaching sessions, and group therapy. I’ve mainly worked in community mental health centers and non-profit counseling and treatment centers that are community-based.

In working with Health and Healing Therapy, my goal is to be a person who you can feel completely comfortable with while being yourself. I strive to provide you with a consistent and safe space so you can process, learn, trust, change, grow, let it all out, and heal. I love being a therapist, and connecting to people like you is what I am meant to do.

Professional Bio

COUNSELING AND THERAPY APPROACHES

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

Psychodynamic Therapy

Client-Centered Therapy

Trauma-Informed Practices

Mindfulness

Solution-Focused Therapy

Parent Education and Support

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS

B.S.S.W. Social Work with Psychology Minor & Certificate in Child Welfare Services, Florida International University, Miami, FL

M.S.W. Master of Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Florida License #SW15947

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Illinois License #149.021622

In Closing

It’s important to find a therapist who is a good fit for you and/or your family, so if what I’ve shared resonates with you, reach out so we can begin working together. If you are ready to take the next steps to begin living a more fulfilled and self-empowered life, I’d love to help guide you along the way. The life and changes you’ve been looking for are awaiting you.

Click here to schedule an appointment.

[aion-rsa]

Give Comics Hope: Here’s How You Can Help Save Comic Book Stores

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article is presented by:

Often I tell my friends that if the 15 year old version of myself could know about the Marvel Cinematic Universe or that there have been three Archie-inspired TV series or that Watchmen was given a television sequel that enhances/surpasses(?) the graphic novel his head would explode. You see, I remember when comic book culture was frowned upon, considered the domain of outcasts who could never function in “normal” society. Now it dominates all.

This isn’t me being the human equivalent of the “old man yells at a cloud meme” either, just stating a fact based on personal experience…one that doubtlessly feels familiar to many of you reading this right now. As someone who had to bend over backwards to say find a bootleg VHS of Akira at a small convention tucked away in the bowels of a dingy Holiday Inn or spend hours wondering if my local PBS affiliate would ever air The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, I have nothing but appreciation for the seismic shift that occurred, resulting in our current on-demand world.

The nerds won. It’s glorious.

Despite these huge societal transformations, comic book stores have always been there for me. I first started going to them when I was eight, in search of three-for-a-dollar Jughead comics (some things never change) and now I frequent them to catch up not only on a jaw-dropping array of titles, but collectibles that my tween counterpart could only dream of. They are safe havens from the outside world, and they are in serious trouble.

As a result of Covid-19, comic book stores are struggling to survive. Even as many brick-and-mortar stores pivot to online sales, factors such as paying rent and employees mean that many retailers are just barely hanging on. Enter Give Comics Hope. Created by Bill Schanes — co-founder of Pacific Comics and an employee of Diamond Comics for 28 years — the initiative “calls on all members of our community to rally together to provide vital aid to comic book shops.”

To do so, Schanes has partnered with eBay and famed comics seller Jesse James Comics to raise money for stores in need. But they need your help. From now through Nov. 5, they’re calling on comics fans to donate items from their collection which will then be auctioned off on eBay, with the proceeds going to help comic stores in need. Jesse James will kick off the Give Comics Hope auctions on Nov. 11, so if you don’t want to donate and instead are looking for new pieces to acquire for your collection, the price of your purchases will go to this good cause.

“I’ve been retired for a few years now. I was traveling in Europe and as the pandemic hit, I was in Italy which was one of the first countries that got hit by the pandemic wave,” Schanes tells us. “As I was traveling back I was thinking about what I can do to help out. I can’t create a vaccine, but I do have a great contact list, which is pretty rich from my 50 years of contacts.”

It was here that the idea for Give Comics Hope was born.

“I came up with the idea of putting together a fundraising program or a charity drive to focus on the comic book stores,” Schanes says. “The comic book stores are the lifeblood of the community. They’re like a library or a bookstore. These are places where people can shop, they can feel good about themselves, they can feel safe, they can feel comfortable. The store owners and managers and clerks behind the registers are super knowledgeable. They’re engaging. They can be great comrades in what your focus points are, suggesting new things for you to buy and read and enjoy. I really felt like if we can get these stores some assistance, they might weather this pandemic storm for a longer period of time than without a program like this.”

So how can you get involved in assisting these businesses? Donate your items before Nov. 5, give money directly to BINC who are distributing financial aid to comics shops, or bid on the eBay auctions when they begin on Nov. 11.

“I felt it to be a difficult time to ask consumers and retailers and publishers and artists to donate cash right in the heart of the pandemic,” Schanes says. “But one thing I did know is that every part of the community of comics — the consumers, retailers, publishers, creators — all own a lot of stuff. So it’s easier to give away stuff than money because you already paid for this stuff.”

And that’s where their partnership with eBay comes in.

“We summed up the idea with The Drive For Five, where we ask each member of the community of comics to donate five or more items that have a perceived value of $100 or more,” Schanes says. “So it’s not an insignificant donation we’re requesting. Yes, we’ll take less than five items but we’re trying to make it so it’s got some teeth to it. And they can make those donations by donating five items. On our website there’s a donation button.”

Give Comics Hope’s eBay partner Jesse James will begin auctioning off items on Nov. 11, and he’s uniquely suited to the task. Since 2009 he’s been providing Glendale, Arizona with their fandom needs through his shop, Jesse James Comics. Throughout the pandemic he’s been doing live shows and further boosting his already robust eBay presence. “We have 42,000 feedback, we’ve never had a neutral or negative,” James tells us. Additionally, eBay will waive Jesse’s usual seller fees in order to ensure that all of the proceeds will go to BINC. 

While Jesse does mention “key” issues of comics from the last few decades as possibilities, such as a New Mutants #87 (the first full appearance of Cable) or New Mutants #98 (the first appearance of Deadpool) as potential big draws, the call for items is still broad enough to accommodate everyone’s tastes.

“It really comes down to nothing specific but there’s such a plethora of genres,” he says. “They think we’ll have a good mix for a lot of people. Not everybody wants original art, not everybody wants a statue, but everybody will have a choice.”

You can watch the full panel with Bill and Jesse here:

With proceeds from the auctions going to support comic stores worldwide, Give Comics Hope allows you to dive deep into your collection to unload some items and help at the same time. This pandemic has already taken so much from us, that even one closed comic store feels like a massive loss. So, if you can, Give Comics Hope, if for no other reason than to show your appreciation for all of the hope comics has given you during these scary and uncertain times.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Donate your items to Give Comics Hope using this link by Nov. 5, and help keep comic shops afloat during these difficult times! You can also spread the word about  Give Comics Hope on Twitter and Facebook.

The post Give Comics Hope: Here’s How You Can Help Save Comic Book Stores appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2HTQz4H

[i-saw-the-white-stag]

Making of my animation + evidencing of skills

I knew when I did my animation using Adobe Animate CC, that it was going to be very time consuming. I hand drew each keyframe using a pen tablet, and it took me from the very beginning project to the sunday before hand-in to complete it.

Also here are my initial storyboards. I changed my initial idea because it would be much too long to animate in the time given.

New storyboard

At the beginning I was using a line weight of one using the brush tool. Although I did think it looked too heavy, I had not used Animate enough yet to realise there was a much better option in the PAINT brush tool, which could go down to 0.10. Through some experimentation I figured out a way to do it.

Here is a comparison of the 1 vs 0.10 line weight. I think it is a big improvement.

^ 1 line weight

0,10 line weight. I just think it looks a lot more polished and delicate. It creates a completely different effect to the style.

Continuing on, I used different animating skills that I have learnt over time through my own research and practice for example, squash and stretch, the process whereby you literally squash and image and stretch it in certain frames to exaggerate movement, so when the animation plays, the movement is cartoonish but also more smooth and effective.

Here, I made her eyes comically stretched so when she opened her eyes, they looked more surprised and in general moved smoother and had a more intense effect.

Here is another example of a somewhat more logical squash and stretch. In the scenes where the deer is galloping, I used the idea of squash and stretch and applied it to the idea of gravity. I think these shots are some of the most effective in the whole animation. They play very smoothly and look quite realistic in the way that their hair and fur moves in sync.

Another technique I used was onion skinning, the process of being able to look at the last frame to see how the one you are drawing should look.

It is a very useful skill to be able to use, and that is why I really enjoy digital animation, because there are a lot of tricks that make things easier (I know that onion skinning has been used throughout animating history, but digital ways are particularly simple.)

The last skill I will highlight is the use of tweening. Tweening is the use of a ‘tween’ which creates the frames in be’tween’ each keyframe.

I used it here in the same galloping shot to create the effect of trees being ridden past, by moving them form one place to another using a tween (the Blue lines/arrows)

I essentially applied all these techniques until I had completed all 48 different shots of animation. This took me a very long time but luckily I had just enough time to hand paint each background in one day (with occasional help). 

Here they all are^ I did them on a5 card so that it would be less time consuming (and paint consuming). I used acrylic because it is quick drying so I could quickly scan them all in to later put into my animation. I wanted the hand painted backgrounds, because I think they are so much more effective than digital art. They have a lot more texture to them and depth. They are often seen in old animations and that is why I wanted to use them. It also takes me longer to do a digital painting than a physical one.

Here’s what they look like in the animation.

I think they look very emotive and beautiful hand-painted, even if they were quite rushed. The quality of hand painted things is much more personal and emotive to me, especially because I am not very good at digital painting. You can see each real brush stroke and I think it just added to the overall effect of the animation.

Once I had finished each scene, I started to put it into Premiere Pro CC. I edited each shot so that the colours would be consistent. The first half, before meeting the deer are cool toned:

Then, after she meets the deer, it is slightly lighter and warmer toned

I did this to evoke a feeling of warmth and safety from the deer, which I think I did. ( Also, trivia: the deer’s eye changes due to emotion - yellow meaning curiosity)

I then put all the sound in (see this post - https://i-saw-the-white-stag.tumblr.com/post/161465253864/music-that-inspires-my-project) to see what songs I chose and why. I also had to record some sounds and if I couldn’t create them in real life then I had to find them somehwere on the internet.

In the next post I will talk about editing styles and the differences they make.

Overall I am so incredibly happy with my finished animation, it is almost 6 minutes long, and whilst there is certainly some mistakes, where I simply was running out of time, I think as a whole it really conveyed the emotions I wanted it to, I think it portrays my concept and context of my childhood, and how it was equal parts happy and sad, but i also think I managed to create a piece of art that is very relatable for a lot of people who are nostalgic for their childhood. I think I did it truthfully without being too obvious. If I could do it again, I would take more care in certain sections so there were less errors in the way the deer moves etc, or continuity errors, such as the shape and length of Edie’s hair or the fact that sometimes the deer has no hooves etc. However, these small errors fade into the background seemingly for most people watching it which is good. I really think I achieved what I wanted.

[nofomoartworld]

Art F City: We Went to the LES: Solo Shows of Chris Burden and Patricia Treib

Chris Burden, “Tower of London Bridge,” 2003 at Shin Gallery.

Michael: In the belly of the beast that was Frieze Week, I met up with Patricia Margarita Hernandez, Gallery Director/Assistant Curator of P! to check out some openings in the gallery’s neighborhood. We ended up at two solo shows: Chris Burden at Shin Gallery and Patricia Treib at Bureau.

I liked both of them a lot more than she did. Below, we talk nerdy masculinity, whether abstract paintings have content beyond “decor”, weird curating, and bad lighting.

Chris Burden: Hobby Shop

Chris Burden, “Warship,” 1981.

Shin Gallery 322 Grand St. May 3 – Jun 18, 2017 What’s On View: Two Chris Burden model-like sculptures, “Warship” (1981), and “Tower of London Bridge,” (2003) alongside 1975 concept car sketches. “Warship” looks like an aircraft carrier assembled from junk suspended from the ceiling, floating over a wunderkammer of “guy toys”—matchbox cars, a wartime gas mask, and other military accoutrements. 

Michael: This is some of the smartest curation I’ve seen in Shin Gallery’s main exhibition space. In the past, I’ve been impressed with their installations in the project space, but their showroom has been a bit uneven. Regardless, Shin brings a certain enthusiasm to their shows that’s sometimes lacking in the commercial gallery circuit, and for that I always look forward to seeing what they’re showing and how.

It seems like they hit their stride here. Hobby Shop has precious few pieces from the late Chris Burden, but they tell a cohesive story—despite spanning nearly 30 years. The goofy 1975 concept sketches for “B-Car” aren’t really anything to write home about (they look like a tween’s Logan’s Run fan art) but point to Burden’s obsession with engineering that binds the show together. His 70’s output is mostly known for masochistic, thrill-seeking performances and these might point to the nerdier side of masculinity?

I like seeing this tween-boy sense of play carry through to “Tower of London Bridge” decades later (built with an “erector” set… LOL). Burden’s father was an engineer, and it’s kinda touching to think the artist spent the later decades of his life working through that legacy. I’m thinking of his “Twin Quasi-Legal Skyscrapers” on the roof of the New Museum as the end of a process that began with those humble car sketches. There was something satisfying about knowing that was one of his last major projects and then seeing the “Build A Skyscraper” model kit embedded in the bowels of his 1981 “Warship”. Decades later, that ambition came true. 

Patti: The first thing that stands out to me is your use of the word showroom. It is such an appropriate word for a strictly commercial gallery. I imagine using “showroom” in conversation with Gavin Brown about the gallery and i’m sure he would not be pleased. I am curious what you mean by “a certain enthusiasm” that Shin Gallery has that other galleries don’t?

Michael: Well, they commit really fully to whacky, impractical presentation concepts. [Full disclosure: my niece used to work at Shin Gallery]. They often do installs that don’t make a lot of sense from a strictly commercial model or even a conventional curatorial mindset—once they hung a single Baldessari in the gallery and surrounded it with a ball pit. Another time they created this bizarre installation of a fictional studio shared by Sigmar Polke and Martin Kippenberger in their project space, complete with 1980s West German newspapers and cigarette butts on the floor. Last summer, they turned it into a mini CBGBs (including graffiti-ed urinals) and invited punk bands to play all day. My personal favorite install was a pop-up massage parlor to show Nobuyoshi Araki’s fetish Polaroids, which were displayed under a plexiglass floor so you actually had to walk on them to see the whole show. It was so convincing in its detail that drunk bros apparently kept stumbling in looking for a “happy ending”.

I’m literally always surprised (for better or for worse) by whatever the hell happens there, and that’s something I appreciate more than anything. This unconventional thinking might come from the fact that the owner was a collector before a gallerist, and seems to make decisions based on personal interests and impulses rather than an audience or client’s expectations. I respect that. Somehow all the theatricality feels like more than marketing spectacle—it’s fanboy devotion. You get the vibe that this is someone who truly loves art in a very weird way and wants people to have fun with it rather than see it end up accruing value in a storage locker next to the Luxembourg airport. It’s more than just a business, it’s a passion project, which is more than I can say about most soulless secondary market outlets.

Patti: I don’t believe art is ever removed from the market. Sometimes I just see it as a business like any other.

Michael: Well, yeah! But it’s also the most illogical market, and I kind of love that. What other kind of retail venture places four objects—two shitty pencil drawings of sci fi cars and two models literally made from children’s toys—in a ridiculously high-rent storefront space and gives people drinks in exchange for looking at them?

Patti: I’m not sure what to say about these works. If I hadn’t have know they were the work of Chris Burden, I would have completely dismissed them. Not to mention the hang did them no justice and the lighting was totally wrong. Then the swastika patch threw me off and I couldn’t help but imagine some hoarder in the woods putting these together. We were also drinking hot beer. LOL. In the context of knowing Burden’s work from the 70s, these seemed to be working through other ideas. Like a task that one does to distract their mind as they process other things.

Michael: I love that obsessive recluse hoarder quality, which here doesn’t read like an affectation (somewhat of a cliché aesthetic to try on) but just feels like honest, playful nerdery. You’re so right about the lighting. It was underlit to the point of feeling like a candlelight vigil for Burden, which ran counterintuitive to the anti-precious nature of his work.

I didn’t read too much into the swastika—I think of that piece as a WWII battleship model with an absurd addition—but again, you’re right. It totally wouldn’t fly in 2017.

Patricia Treib: Interstices

Patricia Treib, “Enfold,” oil on canvas, 2017. 66 x 50 inches

Bureau 178 Norfolk Street May 3 – June 18, 2017 What’s On View: Seven large, colorful abstract oil paintings from Patricia Treib. Each feature 5 to 7 large shapes in various colors on a white or cream background.

Michael: Treib’s work is so lovely—a real crowd-pleaser. That’s evidenced by the opening being packed to the point that it was nearly impossible to see the paintings unless you were right in front of them, despite the fact that they were hung with generous spacing. That has it’s own rewards though, because Treib’s handling of paint is so calligraphic and fluid photography doesn’t do it justice—you want to see these up-close and personal.

Like the Burden, though, I got the impression you weren’t as into the show as I was? What’s not to love?

Patti: Well, for starters, the show’s press release! It begins:

“Treib’s canvases skirt the lyrical. She masses colors, one beside the next, so precisely that the subtle spaces or overlaps between them begin to feel physical, like a body’s close proximity or one falling away in absence.”

The tone of this got under my skin, in particular “skirt the lyrical.” That being said, Treib’s intentionally direct and expressive brushstrokes feel like she’s developed her own language. But this language is haunted by painting’s historical context. I can’t look at these without thinking of countless American abstract expressionists like Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, or Shirley Jaffe.

Michael: Really? These are painterly, but I am not sure I would associate them with AbEx. There’s a deliberateness and “design” sense that feels less process-based and more evocative of the myriad modernisms before and after that era—maybe Jaffe’s later work. And I certainly don’t think of these as being about negative space or absence… what an odd press release!

Patricia Treib, “La Roda,” oil on canvas, 2017. 75 x 55 inches. Image courtesy Bureau and the artist.

It’s funny you should mention that press release and Treib’s “language”. Before we even saw this show, I’d been thinking a lot about how reliant on language abstract painting has always been. I wonder if Treib’s work is part of a mini-zeitgeist of painters working through that problem on some level? I’m thinking of the text-like qualities of Al Peters’ current show at The Painting Center—described with that overused phrase “non-objective painting”—and to a lesser extent RM Vaughan’s controversial review of Amy Feldman.

It seems Treib and these other painters are using forms that play with the idea of the glyph or allusions to alphabets—Feldman less successfully, granted. We saw Interstices with Sophia Park, who remarked “these remind me of illuminated manuscripts with all the letters removed”. Some areas struck me as fragments of Hebrew letters or Arabic and Western calligraphy. In an era where terrible, terrible text-based work is ubiquitous at art fairs, perhaps we like making/seeing shapes reminiscent of language without the presence of an obnoxious imperative phrase? We’re so programmed to read and think in text constantly, but (presently) so unaccustomed to enjoying it’s content. 

Patti: Honestly, I’m conflicted about painting in general. It has never really interested me beyond its formal qualities. I usually see it as a 2D design object that’s easier to sell than performance, sculpture, or video—something to coordinate with your home or office decor. As a curator, though, I’m drawn to paintings in group shows when they can dialogue with other media: providing tension, historical context, or existing as one aspect of an artist’s larger practice. Ulrike Müller’s work is a great example of that: incorporating performance, queer/feminist publishing, and textiles. 

Treib’s apparent interest here is only painting about painting, fitting snuggly in a canvas. She does falls into the mini-zeitgeist you are talking about, though. If I was a collector of White American women painters I would buy one.

Michael: Ha! If I could afford to be a collector of anyone, I would too. I’m a big painting fan though.

Opening night.

Patti: To be fair, seeing this during the opening probably reinforced my association of this work with decor. Like you said, there were so many people that the artwork became just a backdrop to a social gathering. My first impulse was to be completely dismissive, yet in retrospect I was taken by the formal qualities: the size of the canvases, color choice, the way the shapes relate to each other, the brush strokes. Her mark-making is bold and calming at the same time.

Michael: Ha! If Patti Hernandez admits to kinda liking a painter, they must be doing something right!

from Art F City http://ift.tt/2qbGZiC via IFTTT

[maiassensibleblog]

Why I do fandom and how I think we should do fandom

[Views are entirely my own and not aimed at any person/people in particular. This is also a bit outdated from my personal views, but I’m keeping it up cos personal growth is important to show.]

fandomˈfandəm/ noun

the state or condition of being a fan of someone or something. “my 17 years of sports fandom”

the fans of a particular person, team, fictional series, etc. regarded collectively as a community or subculture. “the Breaking Bad fandom”

-Google

I’ve been doing fandom for a long time…

From ever since I can remember, my life can be split into series of very intense fandoms. I grew up with the growth of the internet. I remember it feeling fairly new and exciting when my mum got us a dial up box but I was young and it has kind of always been available to me. The internet fuels fangirls: We live online. Some people think this is a terrible thing, that we’re missing the actual world, but it’s a whole world on there and, an awful lot of the time, it’s a much better, more accepting world.

Harry Potter was my first fandom and has been constant and underlying through everything else I’ve loved. I threw myself onto mugglenet as soon as I had the internet at home. I don’t think I was allowed an account on the forum as a kid but I read the posts and felt “yes, these are my people. I’m not that strange. There are other people who re-read the Harry Potter books on a constant rotation.” I think I was probably in this fandom from the ages of 9-12, mainly watching from the side-lines but having a sense of home.

Then I had the typical tween fandom phase: Zac Efron and related movies. Like EVERYTHING. I was so intense. This was back in the day that youtube was used as social media. I’m pretty sure I liked it so much because my mum wasn’t really aware that I was talking to strangers on there, she just thought I was looking up videos of Zac’s abbs (not entirely wrong but a pretty good cover up, well done 13 year old me!). I made my first fandom friends. We chatted all the time on MSN. It sort of allowed me to separate my obsession and my “real” life and I think it made me a bit less annoying to my school friends.

My mum was amazing with this fandom. She used to take me to premieres to meet him and I would get this shaky, butterflies feeling for weeks afterwards. I, of course, mistook this for being madly in love with him. Spoiler alert: actual love feels completely different to this infatuation but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for me to experience as a young-mid teenager. If you fancy a celebrity it’s a completely safe expression of your sexuality. This is why I think girls tend to be a lot more intense than boys in fandom: culture doesn’t allow us to express ourselves in many ways and this is seen as totally innocent and acceptable.

Somehow, in all this, I found the energy to count down to the last Potter book for 100 days and get 13 A*-C GCSE’s. And have non-fandom friends. I sort of fell out of the fandom when I was about 15/16.

I then moved onto Doctor Who when I was about 16-21. I think this is when fandom started to become more about the “fandom” than the actual TV show for me. Fandom is literally a kingdom of fans and it is honestly a family of lost, crazy young people who need somewhere to express themselves. I was pretty intense but only really to the people in my fandom (obviously my non-fandom friends knew I loved it) but the friends I made (hello, Kinglets) are still some of my dearest. We’re even going to be bridesmaids at the first wedding in the group.

We go to conventions together, we go the all the actors plays together, we’ll go and find them if they’re filming in London. But mostly, we’re really important friends. I know that I can go to them for anything and that intense start to our friendship has made them really deep.

The Cursed Child fandom

And then we get to now. You can see my post about Cursed Child here. But in short we are binge-watching a play because we’ve sussed how to get tickets pretty much whenever we want them. It is bringing me so much joy and it feels really, really intense: way more than my pervious fandoms. Most my fandom friends live in or close to London because that’s the only way you can really watch the play constantly, some of them I even met at stage door and not online. The reason this is so intense is because it is so accessible. Many of the cast are really active on social media and (if I wanted to, had absolutely no shame and nothing better to do with my life) I could go to stage door everyday.

Since this fandom has been so intense and I’ve been very visible as more than just a username there has been a lot of controversy about why I am doing this and whether it’s appropriate. We have constant conversations on the group chat about if certain people are taking it too far and how and why. They’re just discussions and nobody in that chat thinks they have the right to judge the others because we’ve all got close to that invisible line in the past 6 months but where does the line stand for different people? Obviously we all draw the line in different places based on our perspectives on life. Is it even our responsibility to police each other? We’ve often thought we were better than the younger members of the Cursed Child fandom because we don’t tweet the cast everyday to say we love them and we don’t scream and cry at them (not sober anyway, and we’ve learnt our lesson on that one). But does that make us better? Do we have the right to judge anyone?

Why I do fandom

The reason why I am doing this is easy for me to decode. Fangirls tend to be the clever, successful young people. The popular kids were not and will never be one of us. We have busy lives and we’re really easily bored. I am always thinking and always inside of my own head: if there isn’t something for me to focus on I get fidgety and frustrated. But if we’re the clever kids, how is this intense obsession not taking up all our brain space and preventing us achieving our full potentials? I find that it’s easier for me to focus on my studies when I’m intensely part of a fandom. It helps to give me tunnel vision; with just my work and my fandom to focus on, I have less to be distracted by. I’m a scientist; my success relies upon my obsession with my work. It is already very intense and in order to take effective time out, it helps to be obsessed with my hobbies too.

Second, fandom is my creative outlet. I have to be so calculated and methodical all day and that isn’t all I am good at or enjoy. Writing fanfiction lets me write without having to take the time to develop my own characters because I’m way too busy with my work. Having theatre friends lets me go and see everything and talk about plays in a way that a room full of scientist will never want to. And it gives me a group of people who encourage me to pursue creative hobbies rather than telling me it’s a waste of time.

Finally, and perhaps more importantly, this fandom gives me intense joy. Both watching the play and hanging out with the friends I’ve made through it. The fact that I can experience that joy over and over again and express that to the members of the cast that are bringing that is an absolute blessing. And therefore I am not going to stop doing it because people are jealous or are worried that I’m annoying somebody. This doesn’t mean I won’t adjust my behaviour if somebody has a point but I know why I’m doing this and it’s all because it makes me so happy.

How should we do fandom?

The question about where we should draw the line is much more complicated. We definitely freaked out some of the younger cast members when we started obsessing. This is also a unique fandom because these people are the same age as most of us, we’re adults and so have the awareness that this is, if you really think about it, quite weird. Its taken a few months but I think we’ve reached a balance where we all understand each other. They don’t need to have their guards up with us, we’re joking most of the time. We’re not the fans who are going to follow them to the tube station; we don’t have their twitter notifications switched on so we can reply to them 2 seconds after they tweet anything just to tell them we love them and we aren’t going to hover around stage door except when we’re meant to be doing so after the show. We genuinely appreciate their art.  

But should we stop going to stage door when we’ve seen the show? And is it wrong for us to go when we haven’t been in and our friends have? It has reached the point that if anyone is watching the play anyone who is in the area will go and meet them at stage door and just hover behind them because we want to see our friends. I don’t actually get a buzz from seeing Sams’ face, but I do get a buzz from seeing one of the collective. My intention is not inappropriate so I think its fine. Others do not think its fine but I’m not hurting anyone and as long as we’re aware that we should be as respectful as possible, I think this is all good. I’m also never going to stop going to stage door while people seem happy to see me. I’m actually quite perceptive and think I’d be able to tell if people were genuinely done with me.

But I do think that, to some extent, it is our responsibility to police each other. I think that, in general, fandom-policing is a waste of time because you can’t control people who are as intense as we are, and you shouldn’t. But I think that we are an actual group of friends and a sub-fandom of sorts, who have such open access to this play and its cast that we have to follow our own rules and should remind each other to do so. We don’t want to be known as annoying and we don’t want to make people feel uncomfortable. I don’t appreciate when people outside of our group tell us to behave a certain way because they have no way of knowing the context of what we do or previous conversations which may make some things ok for us to do, but not others. But I do think it’s important for us to continue to discuss where the line is to keep having an amazing time.

Fandom is an intense experience for everyone involved. The only way I can describe it to non-fandom people is that it’s like when you fall in love really quickly but it’s with a whole group of people and a thing, all at the same time. It’s a bit like falling but it’s amazing. Of course this leads to insanity for both the members of the fandom, who are loving it, and the objects of it, who are probably confused by the whole thing. If we want to be seen as responsible, adult fandom members it’s so important to keep checking ourselves.

This intensity has hit me as complete and utter joy since I saw Cursed Child for the first time last June. The friendships I’ve made have been so important and are valid and real. We don’t have to justify ourselves to the rest of the world and we aren’t hurting anyone.

I know that I’m a bit annoying and obsessed but as a wise man once said: “Some people are obsessed with heroin” (Daniel Radcliff).

[healthandhealingtherapy]

Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Bartlett, Illinois

Hi, I’m Janet.

I provide counseling for children, adolescents, adults who are in their 20’s and early 30’s, and families.

I can help and support you, your child, teen, or family with the issues you may be struggling with. Whether it be depression, anxiety, low self-confidence, high stress, communication difficulties, or past trauma that is intruding into your life, together we can work to help you be your best self so you can live your best life.

MY APPROACH TO THERAPY

It takes great courage to contemplate reaching out for professional help through counseling and therapy. It takes even more courage to be honest about what you’re struggling with so you can implement the needed changes. If this is where you are at and you’re hoping for change, I’d love to help guide you along the way.

Whether you are a teen, adult, family, or you are a parent who is in need of a therapist for your child, your issues of concern are valid and important to me. What you’re going through and experiencing is very unique and personal.

If you decide to trust me enough to share your concerns and personal story, I will treat you and the information you share with me with the utmost care and compassion. This is why when I first meet with a new person like you, I will take time to get to know you. It will be a time for you to share about who and what is important to you. You may want to share about your interests, hobbies, passions, things that make you laugh, what you like to do for fun, etc.

After we get a little more comfortable together, I would then inquire about who the most important people in your life are, and I would ask you to tell me about them. This would include what draws you to them, how they support and help you, etc. Then we would begin to explore what you hope counseling and therapy can help you with.

You will most likely notice that I am a good listener and empathic in addition to being a person who is honest and straightforward. Because everyone is unique and their needs are different, I utilize different types of therapy to help people with the different things they are struggling with.

During a therapy session we may talk about your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors and how they interact and trigger one another. Other times I may encourage you to participate in an activity or something experiential. When I meet with children, tweens, and some teens, we play games, create things, and use art to help express the feelings, thoughts, and beliefs that may be easier to express through play, drawing, or other artwork.

Wherever you’re at – that’s where we’ll start. We can move as slow or fast as you are ready, willing, and able to. It will take time to develop a therapeutic relationship that can effectively support you. I’ll provide an open and safe space for you to open up however and whenever you are ready. I will need to earn your trust. You may need more time than you think until you decide to share certain things about yourself, and that is completely natural. Therapy is not a race. Rather, it is often a slow walk in the direction you want to go.

Providing compassion, acceptance, sensitivity, understanding, and respect are some of the things I am most passionate about giving to others. You can be on the receiving end of all those things.

COUNSELING FOR CHILDREN and THERAPY FOR TEENS

What a year! 2020-2021 has been extremely hard for tweens and teens like you. No wonder things are and seem difficult now. Many teens don’t know how to feel or what to think about the pandemic, and they often have questions about whether their feelings and thoughts are normal, natural, or expected. Many of the teens I work with have been feeling isolated, distant, and alone. There has been so much in this past year that teens like you have had to navigate alone. I’m sorry if 2020-2021 has been a really difficult time for you. If you’ve been suffering, we want to do everything thing we can to end that so you can feel better.

Life can sometimes feel like a big struggle. Sometimes it’s hard for us to find someone to talk to about what we think and how we feel about the things we go though. Maybe your parents can be people you go to and other times you may talk to friends, but, still, there can be times when we think no one will understand. Or, maybe you have feelings and thoughts that you just aren’t ready to share with those closest to you. It can feel difficult to get some of these things out. Sometimes we can feel deeply alone in what we’re going through.

If this is what you’re experiencing, it sounds like it’s a great time to talk with a therapist or counselor. That way, you don’t have to go through the tough stuff alone. Instead, you can have someone listen, understand, get you, and accept you for who you are without expectation. Who wouldn’t want that?

I’m a teen therapist who is here to listen and to give you the space to express exactly how you are feeling – the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’m down for all of it, and it’s more than okay for you to be yourself and express yourself however you wish to. In fact, I would want you to do nothing less than be who you honestly are and be wherever you’re at.

If you feel a little nervous about therapy and wonder what it will be like, your anxiety is completely natural, and you’re in good company. Most people aren’t sure what counseling will be like and have lots of questions. In fact, it’s normal to be nervous about any new situation.

The first time we meet and talk, we will get to know each other. You can tell me about yourself, your life, what you like to do, what music, sports, team, or movies you like, etc. I’ll want to get a picture of what you and your life is like. Then, when you feel comfortable, you can talk about what’s going on that you might want a bit of help with.

Next, we will determine what you might want to be different, fear will be different, or need to change. This will help us come together and map a direction of what will be most helpful for you. Together we will determine what it is we can work on to make things better for you so you can be your best self. We will meet one time a week so we as a team can work toward your goals for change.

If you are wondering if I would be a good person to help you, I’ll share with you some of the issues of concern that other children, tweens, and teens have had when they first sought therapy with me and what I helped them with:

High anxiety and panic attacks; learning how to recognize causes of anxiety and ways to relax and calm down

Depression, feeling down or hopeless, crying spells, loss of motivation, withdrawing from other people

Self-injury or thoughts of self-harm and working through these thoughts and/or behaviors

Difficulty communicating with other people such as family members, friends, or peers in class

Dealing with a change in family dynamics such as divorce, separation, moving away, or a family member’s death

Stress related to the pandemic, COVID-19, school, remote school, or extracurricular activities

Processing trauma such as emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, assault, or an event that has occurred which leads to nightmares or fixation

Questions or issues with oneself or others regarding sexuality, gender, or other LGBTQ+ concerns

Low self-esteem, low self-confidence, or having self-directed negative thoughts

Grief and loss of a loved one

Issues with poor concentration and hyperactivity

Sexual behavior problems or concerns

Anger and irritability

Everyone needs someone to talk to. If you feel alone, are struggling with one or more of the above, and think it may be time for you to get some support, guidance, acceptance, and encouragement, I’d be glad to be that person for you. You deserve to have as much support as possible when life is difficult.

HOW I CAN HELP YOU – THE PARENTS

As I work primarily with children, teens, and emerging adults, the role of parents and caregivers in therapy is a supportive role. I offer family sessions for caregivers both jointly with your child and non-conjointly on an individual basis. I also provide parent coaching sessions.

The goal of these sessions is to provide you with education on the mental health symptoms your child is exhibiting, how to recognize them at various stages of development and ages, and skills with which to support them with. I will teach you the same coping skills I am teaching your child in their therapy so you can assist them with practicing and using these skills when you’re at home together. We will also work together on connection, attachment, and increasing effective communication between you and your child.

Wouldn’t parenting be easier if there was a manual that helped you fluently navigate it? Most parents long for the proven and perfect methods to help guide them through the situations that are the most stressful. Because every child and every stage of development is so unique, it’s easy to never feel quite competent or confident as a parent. That happens in the best of circumstances, but the stress and uncertainty can be profound when your child is suffering with something you can’t protect them from. Something that you and you alone can’t fix or make better. If this is where you’re at as a parent, I would welcome the opportunity to connect with you and help you and your child reach a better place.

Young children often do not know how to identify and verbalize what they are experiencing. Instead, those feelings and stressors come out as symptoms we label as shyness, withdrawal from others, isolation, day-dreaming, anxiety, depression, communication difficulty, bed-wetting, crying spells, and specific somatic symptoms like tummy aches and other body aches. Their feelings are also masked by overt behaviors such as anger, tantrums, irritability, conflict and fighting with peers, refusal to wait or share, school refusal, and destruction of objects.

Sometimes teens have similar behaviors to those seen in younger children as listed above, but they can also suffer from internal stressors that look like: under or over-eating, food restriction, social isolation, constantly being busy and stressed, overachievement, perfectionism, having big feelings they can’t manage well, or putting high pressure on the self. In addition, adolescents often struggle with harmful behaviors such as: under or over-eating or fixation on weight, self injury, high expectations of self and fixation on needing to win and be the best, self injury (cutting, burning, etc), or body focused repetitive behaviors (skin picking, hair pulling, etc).

Teens can also wrestle with not having the ability to openly share their feelings or make sense of their thoughts and emotions. They often cannot articulate what they are going through and much of the time teens struggle with having and utilizing helpful and supportive coping skills to manage their feelings and behaviors.

Helping children and teens navigate through the various issues and challenges I’ve explained above is what I was meant to do, and it’s one of my great passions.

If any of the above rings true about your child, I’d love the opportunity to work with them in individual and family therapy. At the end of the day, the ultimate goal is to provide a nurturing environment where your child and/or teen can learn the needed skills to better navigate their mental, emotional, and physical health to improve their overall well-being.

WHAT I HOPE TO PROVIDE DURING THERAPY WITH ADULTS

Nowadays, more young adults are getting comfortable with the idea of therapy, and chances are you know someone who has participated in therapy or you yourself have been in therapy in the past. I’m so glad to know the negative stigma around mental health care is changing, and you and this generation are part of that reason.

So, you’re searching for someone to assist you with what you’re experiencing. Most likely, I’m guessing you must feel stressed with a recent change. Perhaps you are going to college, recently finished school, contending with unemployment, entered the full-time, professional adult workforce, or are in limbo with what you want to do next.

Trying to figure out what you want to do with your life while doing all the “adulting” things that are necessary, like paying bills, juggling finances, working on romantic relationships, balancing all your roles and responsibilities, re-defining friendships, and finding time to sleep and exercise while having me time can be very difficult. It’s A LOT! I can understand why you may be struggling.

It’s important to prioritize our mental health and well-being so we can be our best selves. When something is affecting us, it can spill into our relationships (ie: family, friendships, or romantic relationships), affect our ability to concentrate on work (school or job), affect the beliefs we have about ourselves and our self-esteem, and even affect our sleeping habits. Sometimes we judge our inside life against other people’s outside lives, thinking that they have it together and we don’t.

If these things resonate with you and you would like to meet to talk more about how we might work together to help you become your best self, I’d welcome the opportunity to support and work with you.

MY PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY

Since grade school, I’ve known I wanted to help people. I have a large family, and they always pride themselves on giving back to the community in a multitude of ways through their occupations and through community service. Showing people compassion and kindness is something that has been engrained in me and something that flows naturally out of me.

In the years that I’ve been a therapist, I’ve had the great privilege of working primarily with children, teens, and young adults who have experienced anxiety, depression, and trauma. In this work, I’ve provided individual and family therapy sessions, parent-education and parent-coaching sessions, and group therapy. I’ve mainly worked in community mental health centers and non-profit counseling and treatment centers that are community-based.

In working with Health and Healing Therapy, my goal is to be a person who you can feel completely comfortable with while being yourself. I strive to provide you with a consistent and safe space so you can process, learn, trust, change, grow, let it all out, and heal. I love being a therapist, and connecting to people like you is what I am meant to do.

Professional Bio

COUNSELING AND THERAPY APPROACHES

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

Psychodynamic Therapy

Client-Centered Therapy

Trauma-Informed Practices

Mindfulness

Solution-Focused Therapy

Parent Education and Support

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS

B.S.S.W. Social Work with Psychology Minor & Certificate in Child Welfare Services, Florida International University, Miami, FL

M.S.W. Master of Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Florida License #SW15947

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Illinois License #149.021622

In Closing

It’s important to find a therapist who is a good fit for you and/or your family, so if what I’ve shared resonates with you, reach out so we can begin working together. If you are ready to take the next steps to begin living a more fulfilled and self-empowered life, I’d love to help guide you along the way. The life and changes you’ve been looking for are awaiting you.

Click here to schedule an appointment with Janet.