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vanteguccir · 6 months ago

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chris w a marvel nerd gf

── ୨୧ !　HEADCANON;

　　　　　　　　　𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒐 x reader

　　　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺　༻✦༺

Where you're Chris's girlfriend and obsessed with Marvel <3

──　Chris first noticed your Marvel obsession when you casually dropped a deep-cut reference during a conversation. You were talking about something unrelated in a friend's hangout, and suddenly, you quoted Tony Stark with a mischievous smile. Chris’s quickly recognized it from one of those Marvel edits that show up on his TikTok from time to time. From that moment, he knew you were special.

──　Chris loves planning dates around your Marvel obsession. He surprises you with movie marathons at home, where he’s bought your favorite snacks and even ordered limited-edition Marvel-themed blankets and pillows to make it feel like a cozy theater experience. Sometimes, he’ll even dress up in a Marvel-themed t-shirt - that you made him buy - just to see your face light up when you notice.

──　Knowing how much you love the MCU, Chris often surprises you with rare or vintage Marvel comics. He’ll visit specialty comic book stores or browse online for hours to find issues that feature your favorite characters. He loves watching your reaction as you open the gift, your eyes sparkling with excitement as you carefully flip through the pages.

──　You’re constantly discussing Marvel theories with Chris, sometimes late into the night. Whether it’s speculating on future MCU plot twists or debating the morality of certain characters, Chris loves listening to your passionate insights. Even if he doesn’t always have the same level of knowledge, he’s deeply engaged and loves hearing your perspective. He often jokes about how you should have your own Marvel theory YouTube channel.

──　When a new Marvel movie is about to be released, Chris makes it an event. He’ll buy tickets for the earliest showing possible and might even suggest wearing matching Marvel-themed outfits. On the day of the release, he’ll clear his schedule and refuse to film any new video, knowing how much it means to you to be among the first to experience the film. Your excitement is contagious, and he finds himself getting just as pumped up as you.

──　Your place is filled with Marvel collectibles; action figures, posters, Funko Pops, and more. Chris always finds a way to add to your collection, whether it’s a rare figure he stumbled upon or a custom-made piece featuring your favorite characters. Sometimes, he even helps you rearrange your display shelves to make room for new additions, joking about how you might need an extra room soon. When it comes to the limit of not having any more free space on your house, he brings the new ones he bought to his own house and puts it on his room.

──　If you’re into cosplay, Chris is your biggest fan and supporter. He’ll help you gather materials, give you feedback on your designs, and even assist with makeup and costume details. When you’re at a convention, he’s right by your side, taking pictures of you in character and proudly posting them on social media with captions like, "Look at my superhero!". He’s also the type to hype you up in front of others, making sure everyone knows how much effort and passion you put into your cosplay.

──　Watching Marvel movies together is a regular activity in your relationship. Even if you’ve both seen them countless times, it never gets old. Chris loves seeing how you react to your favorite scenes, and he always smiles when you recite lines word for word. He’s learned which moments in the movies are your favorites, and sometimes he’ll nudge you playfully just before they happen, sharing a knowing look.

──　When you’re out shopping together and you spot Marvel merch, Chris encourages you to indulge. Whether it’s a new t-shirt, a limited-edition figure, or even Marvel-themed kitchenware, he’s always happy to see you so excited. He’ll often sneak items into the cart when you’re not looking, only to surprise you when you get home.

──　Because of his fame and how media knows Chris has an obsessed Marvel girlfriend, he often receives invites for you both to attend Marvel movie premieres together. In there, Chris loves watching you take it all in; the energy of the crowd, the excitement in the air, and your wide-eyed awe at seeing your favorite characters on the big screen. He’s always by your side, holding your hand, and whispering little comments in your ear during the movie, making the experience even more special.

──　Whenever there’s Marvel news - whether it’s a new movie announcement, a casting update, or a trailer drop - Chris is the first to send it your way. He loves seeing your reaction, especially when you get excited about something new. Sometimes, he’ll wait until you’re together to show you, just so he can see your face light up in person.

──　Chris fully supports your Marvel obsession and never makes you feel like it’s silly or too much. He loves that you’re so passionate about something and appreciates how it brings out your playful and enthusiastic side. Sometimes, when you’re having a tough day, he’ll put on your favorite Marvel movie or bring you a new comic to cheer you up, knowing it’s an instant mood booster.

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

A/N: I totally mirrored myself on this one, I've been a Marvel obsessed girl since I was born, and Marvel is definitely part of my everyday life 😭🥺🩷

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23victoria · 6 months ago

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"Mmm, it's something 'bout that feelin' you give me"

pairings: f1 grid x you

word count: 500

authors note: anon thank you so much for the request!! first time writing a blurb! hope it’s okay! wasn’t to detailed but hopefully you guys like it!! any feedback is appreciated and please like, comment, and reblog!! hope you enjoy!!

wanna be tagged in my works?! CLICK HERE!

f1 masterlist 1k celebration

❥ He can’t help but talk about you to his friends, constantly sharing stories of your sweet moments and how much he adores you.

❥ Spontaneous dates are his specialty; whether it’s a surprise dinner at a fancy restaurant or a sudden getaway to a cozy cabin, he loves keeping you on your toes.

❥ He has a habit of checking your online shopping cart and buying everything in it, often adding extra surprises he knows you’ll love.

❥ Every week, a beautiful bouquet of flowers arrives at your doorstep, each one more extravagant than the last, accompanied by a heartfelt note.

❥ One of his love languages is all about acts of service and gift-giving; he constantly finds ways to make your life easier and more joyful.

❥ Surprise trips are a regular occurrence; one weekend you might be lounging on a tropical beach, the next exploring the streets of Paris.

❥ He showers you with thoughtful gifts, from custom-made jewelry to designer handbags, rings, necklaces and more.

❥ On your computer, he secretly looks at your wish list and makes sure you never have to wait for anything you want, adding items he knows will make you smile.

❥ He loves planning elaborate surprises, like a private dinner on a yacht with a live band or a day at the spa just for the two of you.

❥ Little acts of love fill your days, like finding your favorite snacks in the pantry or discovering a new book he picked out just for you.

❥ He arranges fun adventures, like a spontaneous road trip or a day spent at a theme park, always making sure you’re having the time of your life.

❥ You never know what surprise awaits you next; it could be tickets to a concert, a new piece of technology, phone, computer, or even a hand-written love letter hidden in your purse.

❥ He’s always thinking ahead, planning your next vacation or weekend getaway, ensuring you both have something exciting to look forward to.

❥ Acts of service are his way of showing love; from preparing your favorite meals to handling errands you dislike, he’s always finding ways to make your life easier.

❥ Spontaneous dates are a regular part of your life; whether it’s a quick trip to a new city or a romantic evening under the stars, he loves surprising you.

❥ He loves making memories with you, and every moment is filled with laughter, joy, and the warmth of his unwavering affection.

•☆.°. taglist .•☆.° : @ham1lton @ietss @animeandf1lover @nelly187 @heartsfromtaeyong @bloodyymaryyy @nor-4 @zacian117 @mel164 @uhhvictoria @hadidsworld @zabwlky1999 @sya-skies @lillysbigwilly @avengers-assemble123456 @santanasaintmendes @km-23mr @hookhausenschips @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @Ronpho @minekarina @aeongism @formula1-motogpfa @slagclarens @aleexvqa @yoncesgroove @tellybearryyyy @exotic-iris13 @magixpracticality @eoduuung @eternoangel @ihtscuddlesbeeetchx3 @danieldaviddarren33 @flowerpetalk @xoscar3 @jimcarreyfann42 @demyackerman @oledoledoffen @poppyflower-22 @pear-1206 @revolutionsingingintherain

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siancore · 6 months ago

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SamBucky | M | 2.1K | AO3

A/N: Written for the @sambuckylibrary SamBucky Summer Bingo 2024 Loving Card. Square Fill: Free Space.

Just my take on why we suddenly saw Bucky wearing the bright blue Henley when he visited Sam in Louisiana.

Content: Getting Together; Flirting; Crushes; Canon Universe

One of the best things about the 21st century was online shopping. Bucky loved it. He could get what he needed delivered to his door and not have to worry about venturing out into the crowds and being noticed.

Shopping for clothing had been a breeze online. He could just go back and order the same outfits that were in his order history, and he was set; good to go. Plain ensembles that were good all year round. His leather jacket was the most expensive piece of attire he owned. It was reliable. Comfortable. It was his signature look. Didn’t need much else.

Though, in saying that, he supposed he might get a couple of new outfits, since he was going to drop the new outfit off to Sam in Louisiana. Didn’t want to give Sam the opportunity to point out that Bucky hadn’t changed his outfits, yet he wanted Sam to embrace his gift. Sam could be quite contrary at times. Bucky wanted the gift giving to go as smoothly as possible.

He had a plan, after all: Hand the new Captain America suit over, spend some time with Sam where they’re not dodging bullets, and maybe turn on that 1940s charm that he was so famous for. If nothing eventuated from it, then he was just glad to have Sam as a co-worker and friend.

Bucky sat at his laptop and looked through the garments on this website he liked. He added a few new items to his cart, removed them, then added them once more. While he was arguing with himself about how he used to wear button down shirts his whole life, a notification box popped up in the corner of his screen denoting an incoming call. Bucky sighed and then answered.

“Ayo?”

“Guess again,” came the voice on the other end.

“Aneka, what’re you doing?”

“Hello to you, too,” she replied.

“Sorry,” Bucky amended. “Hello. How are you?”

“I’m well, thank you James.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked. “Does your girlfriend know you’re using her personal secure line to bother me?”

There was a sound of jest to his voice that made Aneka smile.

“Of course,” she replied. “There are no secrets between my beloved and I. As for you and your beloved –”

“I don’t have a beloved,” Bucky insisted, knowing exactly where the conversation was headed.

“Oh, I think that very lovely gift you had my beloved organize for you begs to differ.”

Bucky rans his face over his hand and said, “Ayo told you about the suit?”

“She didn’t have to,” Aneka replied. “I was in the Design Suites testing my prototype for these new blades I’m hoping to incorporate in the field when I saw your gift.”

“General Okoye isn’t gonna let you take anything but your spear into the field and you know that,” Bucky supplied.

“Hush your mouth,” said Aneka. “Anyway, like I was saying, I saw your gift while I was there. Very thoughtful, James. Captain Wilson is going to love it.”

“How do you know it’s for Sam?”

“Firstly, he is your beloved.”

“Aneka.”

“Secondly, that awful, awful color scheme has to be for an Avenger – has to be for Captain America.”

“Is it really that awful?”

“Yes,” said Aneka with a laugh as Bucky groaned. “But, it’s the thought that counts. What did he say when he received it?”

“I haven’t delivered it to him yet.”

“Oh, that is good, James. Good thinking. Hand deliver the gift to Captain Wilson, get him to try it on and do a little twirl for you, and then charm him. Right out of those red, white, and blue pants.”

“Aneka.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“James, what is it?”

Bucky took a deep breath and then said, “I kinda want this to go well. Sam deserves nothing but the best, and while I’m so far from bein’ good enough for him –”

“I rebuke that in Bast’s glorious name,” Aneka supplied, affronted. “You are good enough. Captain Wilson would be lucky to have you.”

Bucky said nothing for a moment but smiled at his friend’s words. Then he spoke up, nervous but honest.

“So, are you gonna help me?”

“Of course,” said Aneka. “Now, what are you going to wear?”

…..

“The blue really brings your eyes out,” Aneka had said to Bucky, and he listened.

He kept the blue Henley packed away in his bag. Decided against wearing it when he arrived to deliver his gift to Sam. Though it was not in Sam to be rude or an outright asshole, there was the small possibility that Sam would tell him to fuck off and take the goddamn Captain America suit with him. Bucky was really going out on a limb, just as he had been asking Ayo for help after what he had done. But love, it seemed, made you do crazy things.

Love? Right, yes. Love. For a co-worker slash friend. They were friends and Bucky could admit he cared for – hell, that he loved Sam Wilson. Who didn’t, right? At any rate, it was all going well. He showed up and showed his willingness to help. Showed Sam that he cared about what Sam did and his life outside of the Avengers – outside of being Captain America. Sam had accepted the gift, while he did not open it, he knew what it was. Let it sit on the docks while they worked on the boat. Kept a curious gaze flitting towards it every once in a while.

When Bucky had mentioned getting a hotel for the night, Sam had reassured him that he could stay in Delacroix. Assured him that the people there were welcoming and friendly. Assured him that they did not care if he wore his shirts too small.

Ha. Sam noticed what Bucky was wearing. Aneka was a genius. Bucky was glad he had saved the blue Henley for later.

…

There was something ethereal about working away in the early morning with Sam on the boat. The sounds of the water and wildlife; the calm morning sky; Sam humming some unfamiliar song while he worked. Bucky could get used to that. He could easily and happily settle into that life in that place. It was no wonder that Sam worked and fought so hard. The place and people in his life were special. Bucky could see that. Bucky longed to have something like that for himself.

After Sarah had relieved them of their duties, Sam took Bucky around. It was a very small town. There was not a lot to see from a tourist’s perspective, yet Bucky didn’t feel like a tourist, like a visitor. Maybe it was Sam that made him feel like he belonged. Maybe wherever he was in the world would always feel that way if he was by Sam’s side.

They found their way back to the Wilson residence. Bucky helped Sam set up a training area outside. They tossed the shield around and talked. There was so much that Bucky wanted to say to Sam. So much he needed to say. But he listened. He listened to Sam when he spoke about how the history of the shield was complicated, especially for Sam as a Black man in America. How what had happened to Isaiah Bradley was abhorrent. How there were people, Sam’s own people included, who would be against him carrying the shield and taking up the mantle. Bucky listened, really listened. He listened until Sam had said everything he needed to say.

“I owe you an apology,” Bucky said then. “There was no way Steve, or I could’ve even imagined what it would be like for you. Thing is, we didn’t even consider it. He said you were a good man. He said you’re the only person he could see taking up the shield. And I believed him because I trusted his word before I got to know you. And he was right. You are a good man. The best man for the job. But I got caught up in my own feelings of – of loneliness and I projected a whole lotta stuff onto you when I had no right to do that. I learned how to live in this day and age, I could’ve taken a little time to learn about how the world treats you and your people. I am so deeply sorry, Sam. Sorry for making all of this harder on you than you needed. Sorry for dismissing your feelings. Sorry for barging into your life because I was angry and upset and spiralling in my own way. None of that was fair on you. I’m so sorry.”

Sam looked at Bucky through those pretty lashes and gave him a small, soft smile.

“Thank you,” said Sam quietly. “I appreciate that.”

The sincerity and peace in Sam’s eyes caused something to clench inside of Bucky’s chest. There was vulnerability there that Sam hardly let the world see. They spoke for a while longer while continuing to toss the shield around. Sam seemed lighter and it looked so good on him. Happiness looked good on him. He was soft and jovial and even a little flirty. It made Bucky feel like he was floating.

When there was a lull in their conversation, Sam took a moment to drag his gaze over Bucky’s form.

“What?” asked Bucky, with half a smile playing on his features.

Sam placed his hands on his hips, tilted his head, and gave Bucky an appraising look.

“So, this is new, uh?” asked Sam.

“What’s that?” asked Bucky, feeling warm under Sam’s stare.

“This color on you,” Sam explained. “Gotten so used to seeing you in black. It’s a nice change.”

Bucky could feel the blush spread across his face as he said, “Thanks.”

“That blue, it ah – it really brings your eyes out,” Sam offered, somewhat coyly, which was new. “It’s nice. You look – nice.”

Bucky didn’t know what to say. He was almost stunned to have all of Sam’s attention levelled at him like that. To have Sam being shy with him. To have Sam compliment him.

“Well, you always look nice,” he ended up blurting out. “Doesn’t matter what you wear. You always look great. So handsome. Christ, pretty, even. You’re just – gorgeous. Shit. Sorry.”

Sam let out an amused little laugh as he dipped his head and looked up at Bucky.

“I think you’ve apologized enough for one day,” said Sam, stepping closer. “For the record, I think you’re pretty, too.”

“Really?” asked Bucky, a blush completely covering his face and neck. “You think I am pretty?”

“Yes,” said Sam, inching closer.

“It’s just the new shirt,” said Bucky, trying to regain his composure and going for flirty; he moved closer to Sam. “Trick of the light and all this blue.”

Sam laughed once more, “I don’t know about all that. Maybe we should get you out of that shirt and test that theory?”

Bucky almost choked on air right then and there, but recovered quickly as he said, “Really?”

Sam took hold of Bucky’s hand, and said, “Yeah, if that’s somethin’ you’d want to do – with me.”

A hint of that coyness on Sam’s part came back and Bucky found it wholly charming and endearing,

Bucky brought Sam’s hand to his chest and said, “Happy to oblige you, Cap. Whatever you want or need, just let me know.”

“How about a kiss?” asked Sam.

“With pleasure,” Bucky replied as he cupped Sam’s face and then pressed a passionate kiss to his lips.

…

Later in the evening, after the pair had made love for the third or fourth time – Bucky couldn’t keep count as he was delirious with happiness – Sam needed to leave the bedroom and get something to drink. He searched their discarded clothing looking for something to put on and found Bucky’s blue Henley. Bucky reclined on the too-small bed and watched Sam pull his shirt on. Something swelled inside of Bucky as he smiled up at Sam clad in his shirt.

“That color looks good on you,” said Bucky as he dragged his gaze over Sam’s body for the hundredth time that night.

Sam beamed brightly at him, smoothed his hand over his chest, and said, “Yeah, I might keep it.”

“It’s yours if you want it,” said Bucky sincerely, a lazy, contented smile crossing his lips.

“Hmm,” said Sam as he climbed back onto the bed to kiss Bucky once more. “Might keep you, too.”

Bucky kissed Sam back fervently and said, “I’m yours if you want me.”

“I do,” said Sam as Bucky’s hands moved to rid him of the blue Henley. “And I’m yours, too.”

#sbsummer2024 #sambucky #sam wilson #bucky barnes #tfatws #sam wilson sundays

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maythedreadwolftakeyou · 5 months ago

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Hiii, do you have any tips for drafting out embroidery patterns? I've got one in mind, but drafting it out and color picking is so nerve-wracking!!

[Hi!!!! this got kinda really long so I'm gonna crop it under a read more. And I honestly don't have any real training/instruction in fiber arts so this is just how I do things, and probably others do them very differently!]

Haha so my fandom embroideries are VERY different from my non-fandom personal pieces in this respect. For non-fandom things i just kind of throw myself in like WAHOO FREEFORM LETS GO and go for a kind of messy colorful approach that ends up as things like this:

Versus my fandom stuff is way more structured and designed to fill space, be very precise, etc. So for those I do go in with a digital mock up of the design I make in photoshop, that I then color in, and then as my last step translate to thread colors.

For my Dragon Age series. this has been because I'm specifically trying to mimic the stained-glass style of art you see in parts of the game like the dialogue wheels, some icons, windows, etc. The icons in particular were really easy to copy into embroidery because they already come in handy circles:

This is mostly because I have desperately wanted to pick up stained glass work as a hobby for like 6 years now. As in once every 3-6 months I put everything I'd need to start doing it into an online shopping cart and look at the price total and then sadly close the window because I just don't actually have any space I could do it in (I live in a 2bed apartment so i have no garage or yard or anywhere it wouldn't make everything else a mess or be a hazard). The day after one of those events I impulse bought and completed a floral embroidery kit from the craft store and kinda was like... ok, well, I did this once how hard can it be to use this medium to mimic the hobby I wish I could be doing? Plus, it's only like 60 cents per color! I can afford that! So I took the first design I wanted to do, the romance icon, and basically redrew it sloppily in photoshop, then freehand-copied the design onto fabric and stitched it the next day:

I learned a lot from this piece and changed my approach a little. Here you can see I tried shading in the parallel direction to my thread, which looked messy and added texture, so now I shade horizontally to my thread direction instead.

But it gave me a basic approach for turning the Tarot cards or DA Keep tiles (or any other art!) into embroidery patterns, which I couldn't copy as directly into this really smooth stained-glass style. There's a basic process I follow when doing these conversions that generally follows the same order, which I'll go through below.

STEP 1: SHAPES

The first thing I do is pick the shape of my display frame which is usually a circle, but could be an oval or rectangle too, since I hang the finished pieces on my wall to have nice way to show them off. I like to fill the whole space so knowing the size and shape of what I want the finished project to look like is a good goal for me. Since I am doing fandom pieces I want to be recognizable, I do stick pretty close to the "original" character design/art, but you can absolutely change as much as you want and freehand draw your own interpretation instead. If you're doing original art just substitute the below composition notes with "sketch out roughly what you want it to look like". I personally do my pattern drafting digitally as I find it easier, but you can do this part by hand too.

First, I keep the reference image I'm working off of open next to me while I work, and draw in the shape of my frame (here, a circle). If I'm adding in the little border to be fancy, I add a second inner circle. I keep these as their own top layer so I always know I'm working within the final "frame" and don't spend time designing any section that will fall outside it. Then I will take copies of the reference image and knock the layers down to 25-50% opacity, and start moving them around underneath the 'frame' layer until I like the way their positioning looks as a composition. Sometimes elements of a card I want to include don't all fit in, so I'll chop the section out and add an additional layer to throw in (like the background circle things in the Hermit design below). Or I'll just freehand things like adding much bigger diamonds behind Solas in my Hierophant design because I did NOT want to do 1000 tiny ones. Then once I'm satisfied with the general composition, I'll use the plain ol circular brush tool to trace out the major shapes of each element. I try to keep in mind that I can't go too small, and curvy lines are more difficult to fill in than straight ones. I usually do a rough messy version first, make it mostly transparent, and then a cleaner and more precise one over that.

(you can see parts of the rough one on the left and the fully 'cleaned up' on the right for the Hierophant design)

Now: depending on what you are doing next with the pattern, this might be where you stop and start coloring. If you are planning to freehand your design or just trace it onto fabric (or even print it onto fabric here), there's no need to do more than this kind of lineart! However, if you are working digitally and want to create a scalable vector so you can print it at different sizes, you can use the pen tool in photoshop to trace your design and make a "work path" of the lineart. However, another note: THIS PART IS VERY FRUSTRATING AND TEDIOUS BECAUSE THE PEN TOOL WAS CREATED BY THE DEVIL TO TORMENT US. It is so so so easy to accidentally delete a line or even the whole path and not notice later on. Ask me how I know 😭 Anyway I'm not going to include a pen tool tutorial because I don't even know how to use it well and have to google or watch videos every other time I try to use it. But if you can muddle through it gets you some really clean lines that eventually look like this:

With the work path selected, you can select the brush tool/size/color and use the "stroke path" option to create lineart of the vector. Then you can save this as a transparent png file for use at different sizes and for printing and it looks so nice and clean! one of the big benefits to this is that you get really fine lines that are easier to be precise with stitching on. This is extra perfect if you are printing the design directly onto your fabric (which you can do with an at-home inkjet printer for designs under 8inches wide, as long as you stick a piece of stabilizer on the back of your fabric and cut it down to printer sheet size--this is what I do and can make another post about that process if people want haha), or if you are printing onto transfer paper like you can buy at craft stores.

This is where I end the lineart for my designs. After I have this, I move on to the next phase, which is...

STEP 2: COLOR

For interpreting my designs into thread, I start by thinking of it as flat colors first. You can't "shade" as easily with threads as you can with things like paint or brushes in digital art (though you can A Little, which I will get into), so to start color planning I pick the "main" color each section will be in the piece.

For the existing icons this was simple--I kept the same sections as the original designs, so for each I just color picked or eyeballed the color in photoshop and colored it in (but you could do this on paper with pencils, markers, whatever as well--they don't need to match your threads exactly and usually won't, it's just to give you an easy reference to follow as you go). For the tarot cards which were more complicated in coloration, I just did my best and went with what looked good next to each other, even if it was a little off the original art. It will be off more later anyway when you have to pick threads so don't stress it too much honestly. I will often make layers with different color options and turn them on/off for direct comparison to try to determine what I think looks best as well, like below where I was debating between more blue/desaturated for the background or brighter colors.

I do wanna note I have regrets about the color selection, shapes, or shading in EVERY SINGLE ONE of my finished pieces. But no one else ever comments or probably even notices! One aspect of this hobby is just learning to be satisfied with what you've made and using what you learned to get closer to your preferences next time. I'm only going back and redoing some of my designs' colors because I want to make it easier for others to choose on the patterns I sell, more than I care for just for myself. Also since I'm doing this lineart/stained glass looking approach where I go over the distinct shapes with black thread at the end, it means I get these clear delineations between sections you might not necessarily have in your own pieces, and that's ok.

Ok right. Now while shading/coloring in detail is hard with thread, you CAN make whats essentially dithered gradients. "Dithering" in the concept of art means using 2 (or more) colors to give the impression of a third color, or to gently scale between the existing binary rather than a hard line. Think of it like blocky pixel art or gameboy game images. If you're doing needlepainting, you use really small stitches close together to get this effect, which translates to "smaller pixes"--if you look at the jellyfish in my first photos that's a very messy casual version of that. If you want a better example, I recommend looking at @ammocharis 's pieces like these in her pinned post, which are truly amazing! I simply do not have the patience myself 😂 For my stained glass style, I work only in very long straight stitches, so I can only shade in one direction and have to be a little more precise with it.

So for shading, I think about in each section which direction my threads might go. Then perpendicular to that direction I pick which side will be the light one and which the darker one. Sometimes I color this in on my pattern mockup, but sometimes I don't! Or I'll only do it for certain sections to make sure I don't forget. Like for my Tower design I only colored it as flats, and waited until I selected threads to decide how the shading would go. I am currently working on a smaller, simplified version of my Hierophant design and I did add shading digitally for that one just for fun. But it's not as important as having the flat color version you can use to quick-reference how you want your design to go while you're stitching. You might also notice I don't actually color my gold--I just throw in a stock image of gold foil for that layer so I can't confuse it with any of my yellow thread sections.

Here's a close up where you can kind of see what I mean by the "dithered" effect between colors--some are more obvious (like the red on the far left or middle orange) and others pretty subtle (dark grey to dark red on the wolf face):

Now, while I use single layers of satin stitches for this, and just alternate thread colors increasing/decreasing as I go, you can accomplish the same thing with short overlapping stitches like with needlepainting, or with clusters of french knots, or whatever else. But in GENERAL you are going to be able to trick people into seeing gradients out of dithering best when you are using the same type of stitch for that whole area. So if I was using multiple stitch types like having french knots, daisy chains, ladder stitching or whatever else for some sections, I would keep those to contrasting areas/colors. A fantastic example of using different layered types of stitching to create more intricate color/texture in an embroidery would be these incredible tarot card depictions by @hattedhedgehog, which I like even better than my own embroideries. Here's his take on the Tower card as well for comparison to mine (I'm so in love with it!!!).

But anyway, at this phase, your design is actually still digital--the above is just to explain how it translates later in the process. The next step is...

STEP 3: THREAD SELECTION

I will admit here I am not great at this part. I am constantly second guessing my thread colors, and can spend over an entire hour in the thread aisle at the craft store agonizing over choices. Really, I think this is just one of those things that takes practice and you get better at it over time. What I have had the best luck with is actually printing out a reference photo of my design/the original artwork and taking it with me. If you already have threads you can do this part at home too, but DMC alone has over 500 colors and I definitely don't even own half that so I like to torture myself by looking at them all together on the thread racks. Plus Anchor and Artiste and whatever other brands there are out there. One approach is to just sit there and pick out what you want for each section and line it all up together on top of your printout. Or in the case of my Tower I laid a bunch of options out on top of my template in the hoop to guess how they'd look in the frame.

For me since I am also doing this dither shading thing, I also need 2-3 colors per sections depending on its size. Sometimes it's easy and the threads have a color just a little darker or lighter right next to them in the numerical lineup! Other times, there is no good match, or it looks too far away to shade nicely, or I want one to be a warmer or cooler tone than the other... which means a lot of standing and fretting to myself over it. I actually take a lot of photos at this stage because it can be easier to see how they will look in the end from a photo than in person to me? Idk why. Plus then after they get scrambled in my bag I remember wtf order I meant for them to go in later. But as long as you're not preventing other customers from shopping themselves, you can spend as long as you want staring at thread in the embroidery aisle and they won't kick you out unless it's closing time, so take your time.

Now, IN THEORY, you can sort of combine steps 2 and 3 by color-selecting from your threads and using that to color in the design. However I have tried this and it led to mixed success because the photoshop eyedropper brush simply isn't actually that exact (in my experience, it desaturates compared to what we actually see). And because then you have to have the threads on hand while you're coloring... which means you might buy ones you don't end up using if you don't like them. So I prefer to just use this as a refinement step where I pick threads based on the design colors, then will re-color the design a second time to match those threads more closely to be sure I like the effect.

I've even used this as a tool when I needed to adjust my color choices mid-project, by digitally coloring over over my WIP:

Or here's a design (but I haven't posted the finished piece yet bc it's a gift so shhh) I made with certain color tones initially, but after buying thread I re-did the color mockup to be more vibrant, because I liked those threads better in the store:

Once you have your thread, you can make yourself a little reference chart with the colors you intend noted on the sections you want them, like below:

(note: i didn't end up sticking to these colors because I ended up dying my own thread for several sections. And then forgot I made this entirely and picked new ones because I put the project down for a year between design and stitching. Sigh).

Or for my Solas pattern I did this in a really detailed way, which i am sorry but i have redacted because... i have it for sale now and don't wanna just give that away haha. But if you buy the pattern from my shop this is one of the files you'd get with it, for ease of reference. I do also include a text-only list of them as well.

Now I don't go to this much trouble for all my designs, just the ones I put up for sale (or plan to). You can also just make a text list of your color plans if you want. Though for fun I also have been using my scrap thread to make these little "color palette" keyrings for my finished pieces, so if I ever remake them or update their patterns I will know what the original colors were, plus I can compare what i used to other threads if I wanna change part of the design up. This step is absolutely not necessary and I'm just doing it because I'm selling the patterns now, but they are kinda fun to look at.

And don't forget.. if you start a section in a certain color and decide you don't like it, you can just cut the threads and pull them out! I did that with my original hierophant piece actually. I had an entirely different color for one row of diamonds i thought just clashed way too much with the others, so I used photoshop to paint over it with some alternate options until I found one I liked better. Then I cut away all the old threads and put in the new color. It can be a little harder to fill a piece the second time since the fabric will have stretched out a little, but as long as you're using a good stabilizer it usually doesn't move too much.

You can also just make test swatches on spare fabric to test before you add them to your real piece. I wish I'd done this for some color transitions that didn't end up looking the way I wanted, but I am simply too lazy most of the time. My exception is usually for metallic, satin, or sparkly threads, because I want to know how they feel while embroidering. But if you're really worried about a certain color or shade it's a good thing to remember you can just do.

SO yep, that's my general process for drafting patterns. I start with the shapes/design, then do my flat color version, then I pick my threads. Makes it sound easy and short when phrased like that :) But I can honestly spend 8-10 hours just on making the lineart and coloring it in. If I was better at art, probably this would be less, but I'm working with what I've got (not much) 😂 I think all aspects of this are also something that gets easier over time, but it will probably never look as bad as you worry when you start out. I think all my pieces look awkward and rough right up until I do the finishing steps and move them to the display frame sometimes.

I hope this was helpful and answered your questions!! Feel free to post/share your WIPs to ask for feedback or advice ever too :) I've only ever had people in the embroidery community on tumblr be encouraging and helpful to me, and I'm happy to answer any questions myself when I can or if parts of this were confusing

#ramblings #my stuff #my embroidery #embroidery #dragon age embroidery #calicostorms #oh god tumblr changed the alignment of all my images so theyre all huge now great #WELL I keep tryign to rearrage them to be on the same line and it is NOT working so. thats how they will look i geuss #this is gonna annoy me all night... thats what i get for expectign a Functional Website though #embroidery chatter

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stevenbasic · 5 months ago

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Growing into the Job, Post 408: Babysitting, p3

“So, how exactly are you going to pay for all of this?” Randi asked me, her eyes rising up from her laptop from where she sat on the couch, several cushions away, “You’re broke from the divorce, aren’t you?”

“She, um, gave me debit card,” I answered, not taking my eyes off my own screen - the big tv in Melissa’s mom’s great room. I’d figured out a way, with Randi’s help (and permission) to use the television to surf the web. I hadn’t been online in a while and at first Randi was reticent about letting me use it. I explained, though, that I just needed to do some shopping.,After some arguing, and, well pleading, she finally relented and said I could, as long as she could supervise. So, sitting here on a quiet Thursday afternoon after having endured not just one but, I think, three blow jobs while watching the first part of Melissa’s interview for Channel 5, I put another set of shoes into my Amazon cart. Yes, I was dependent on a woman’s money and being policed in my internet habits by a 20-something year-old. At this point, though, I was nearly beyond the embarrassment and humiliation of the situation. Nearly. “She said I could use it for whatever I want.”

When I said ‘she’, there was no question of who I was talking about, and Randi’s eyes lit up with a smirk.

“Melissa’s got you sucking from her bank account already, huh?” Randi quipped, the bank account/teat analogy not lost on me but not rankling me quite as much as it should have. Quite. “How much did she give you?”

“ I- she gave me two thousand dollars,” I answered. Maybe I was relaxed from the half-hour or so I’d spent in Randi’s mouth and the quick nap I’d taken after, but admitting my financial dependence on my girlfriend didn’t bother me much. Much. I’d kept an eye on my online cart; I still had a good cushion in my budget and moved on to looking for shirts…in the “Youth” section. “I’ll be careful not to run out.”

“Well, if you use it up I’m sure she’ll let down some more money for her needy little man,” Randi finished, “Melissa’s got very big…accounts.” Her smoky voice was still deliciously throaty from the blowjobs.

Again, haha, with the boob analogy and a - fuck me - stirring in my sweatpants.

“Yeah,” I answered, this time finally feeling myself flush. Randi certainly had a way about her, a way to find my buttons, and she obviously loved to push them. I always thought of her as pushy, a little critical, and with a somewhat rough, randy (hey-oo) sense of humor. She had a penchant for deliberately pressuring me, and sometimes seducing me, way beyond my comfort zone. Today, in fact, was our third private tryst, and it was an unspoken fact that it came with her best friend’s nodding approval. I understood Randi’s seductions as mostly practical. They were calculated, mercenary, career-advancing moves designed to trap me in a corner and use my own weaknesses against me. She knew I didn’t have the strength of will to say no, and her advancements almost seemed like an amusement to her, practically a prank. On some level, though, both Randi and I knew there were heavier machinations at work. She’d never admit it but my cock down her throat filled some deeper instinct, some sort of connection that flowed through me, her, and all the girls.

Yeah, so Randi was maybe becoming more than just a brash prankster who liked making men horny and stupid, getting her kicks from pushing them to risky and humiliating sexual acts. Something important was quietly happening, surfacing in her - like it was in lots of the girls at the office. Randi was no doubt an acerbic, short-tempered young woman but she was smart, and given the context of her being overwhelmed with all of the new demands on her life I got the sense she knew she was moving upwards towards some greater role than just Social Media Director at a geriatrics practice in the Midwest.

With Randi pestering me, I’d unconsciously found myself stroking the debit card Melissa had given me. I never told anyone, but I nearly always kept it in my pocket. Weirdly, having it around made me feel safe. Now that I had it out next to me, I couldn’t help but hold it close.

“Maybe I’ll buy something nice for her,” I muttered, not even realizing what I’d said out loud as I navigated my way toward the ‘Women’s Clothing’ section. Amazon had certainly started using curvier, more athletic models these days. Maybe they felt the need to start living up to their name haha.

“Oh, you want to get Melissa something? I know she was talking about a dog collar,” Randi offered.

“Really? Why?” I asked, “Is she thinking about getting a new pet?”

Speaking of, Melissa’s moms cat - ‘Tiger’, I think - sauntered across the room, between the television and where I sat. Had it been around here the whole time?

“Hey, cat, what’s up? Need your litterbox changed?” Randi teased.

The thing paused, fixed Randi with a death stare, and moved on.

Randi chuckled, and turned her attention back to me. “Anyway, no more tv,” said, putting her laptop aside, “you and I got some chores to do.”

Oh yeah, that. Laundry.

Five minutes later, at Randi’s command, I found myself back upstairs gathering up not only my own dirty clothes from the bedroom but Melissa’s as well. Panties, bras, socks and athletic gear were all strewn haphazardly about the room. Most of the time I was a bit too distracted to notice, but she really was a mess and a half sometimes. Finally, with a bit of work, all the clothes found their way into the already half-full laundry basket sitting in the corner. Apparently not satisfied with the bra from which I’d still needed to breathe, I took the chance to surreptitiously sniff Melissa’s dirty clothes. Good god, the smell of her was like a drug. I just couldn’t get enough. This must be love, right? I was alone, and suddenly horny again and was considering rubbing one out right th-

“Hey, dude..!” came Randi’s voice, calling up to me from the bottom of the stairs, “What’s taking so long? Are you rubbing one out?”

Sigh.

I was still strong enough to carry the now-overflowing basket down the steps and to the laundry room, where Randi supervised me separating out the delicates (mostly Melissa’s lingerie) from everything else. We’d started the load of regulars, some towels and a robe were already in the dryer, and Randi had - Whoah! - picked me up under the armpits to boost me to sit on the washer while she went through what looked like another pile of bras that had been set atop the dryer alongside me.

My feet dangled off the edge as I watched Randi pick through them, looking at tags, setting some aside to go through the next load.

I recognized a few of these bras. Old ones of Melissa’s, from months back.

“Uhh…” Anything to do with Melissa’s bras did seem to enthrall me.

“These are ones she’s outgrown, she told me I could have them,” Randi explained, holding up a white underwire whose band and tag I recognized from an old Insta post of Melissa’s.

“R-really?” I managed.

Sidelong, Randi glanced at me and her smile curled into something a bit more predatory when she heard the crack in my voice. “Yeah. I’m basically as big as she was when you hired her.”

Randi’s tone suggested she knew exactly how captivated I was. “Well, I’m taller now than she was then, so 34GG’s don’t look as ginormous on me as they did on her,” she dryly explained, “But don’t worry I’m a growing girl.”

Though I’d been confronted with this before, the sheer absurdity of the fact that yes all the women around me seemed to be getting taller, stronger and bustier still boggled me. “h-how does this happen??” I asked with obvious futile impotence, sitting on the washer and eye-to-eye with Randi, who must be over six feet tall at this point.

“Dude, haven’t you figured it out yet? The Melissssy Effect?” she snipped, white lace brassiere still in her hands, “Spend too much time around her and you start becoming what she needs you to be.”

Yes, right…wait, what?! I knew it, I felt it, this influence my new Office Manager was having over our staff… and over me <shiver>. I think I’d secretly known it all along. I could ‘feel’ it, but it was just too ludicrous to get my head around. “H-how..??”

“Plain and simple,” Randi answered sharply, “She’s magic.”

My brow furrowed. “T-there’s no s-such thing as magic,” I muttered, hearing for myself the uncertainty in my voice.

To my reply, Randi cocked a dark, sculpted eyebrow. “I dunno. I wouldn’t be so sure.”

My throat caught, blood rushed behind my eyes. “C’mon…she’s not ‘magic’,” I insisted, again with the hesitation of a man whose worldview had been crumbling around him already. “Magic’s impossib-”

“Okay then she’s ‘science’,” Randi retorted, “You believe in science don’t you?”

“Yes but…” The science was even more unbelievable.

“Or, maybe she’s ‘religion’. Or - I dunno - maybe she’s all three,” Randi concluded a bit uncertain herself. Her tone seemed to signal that there were things about what was happening that she didn’t fully understand herself. “I honestly don’t fucking know.” Irritated, she obviously wanted to move onto something else.

The washing machine vibrated underneath me, the dryer rumbling alongside.

She held the big white bra in her hands, making a bit of a show of it. She wanted me to look up as she inspected its full satin cups. Despite knowing what she was doing, I couldn’t help but grow silent, my mind captivated by the sight.

“Anyway, since we’re on the subject,” she began again, “now that I’m as big as she was when you hired her - and we all know you hired her for her tits - I want to make as much as she did.”

Wait.

“Wh-what?” Now we’re talking salaries?

“I want a raise. A big one.”

“Y-y-you want to make as much as Melissa? Our Office Manager??” The shock of it pulled my attention out of Melissa’s bra cup and back to Randi’s crooked smile.

“Well, not as much as she makes now of course…” Randi offered.

Makes…now? Melissa’s pay should be the same as-

“She gave herself a raise, didn’t you know?”

My expression must have been one of shocked incredulousness, and I felt myself gaping, confused.

Randi chuckled at my consternation, and her hand drifted down to find my erection alive and well in my sweatpants, clear for her to see. After a brief second of shock, my body tensing at her touch, I realized just how obviously turned on I was from this predicament I found myself in. With well-practiced proficiency, she slid her hand down the waistband of my pants, and pulled my hard shaft out into the open air. Fuck it was huge, startlingly so on my skinny, 4’7” frame. She smiled as she gave it a squeeze.

I groaned, my eyes fluttered, but - passively - I didn’t complain. Suddenly I was distracted from the surprise of Melissa’s raise and the insult to my already-crumbling authority, and all my attention was centered right where Randi wanted it. On her.

“Face it, buddy,” Randi said, as she took my cock and wrapped it into one of the white satin bra cups of Melissa’s bra, causing me to shudder and moan anew. My vision swam and already my loins sparked and clenched. “We’re all getting richer. We’re all getting more beautiful, taller, stronger.” She began to stroke the bra over my throbbing, nearly ten-inch shaft. Her voice was smoky and low. “All of us are getting bigger, all of us - except you.”

“Oh godddddd….” I groaned, and - Jesus, that was f-fast - came into Melissa’s bra..

As the orgasm wracked me, I fell forward from where I sat. my face planted itself into Randi’s - my savior and tormenter’s - waiting bosom. “Shhh…deep breath,” I heard her chuckle, waiting until I inhaled before speaking again. She felt me melting. “I smell like her don’t I?”

Nnngh…nnngh…nnngh….Melissa. Yes, she did. A sharper edge to it, perhaps, but Randi’s scent was all but exactly Melissa’s.

“We’re all starting to get to be more like her,” Randi drawled as she milked me through my climax, into the satiny cup of her friend’s enormous bra, “and not just the tits.”

Nnngh, nnngh, nnngh. Into the bra I came, until my pulses waned.

Still gripping my spent manhood and the bra with one hand, Randi pulled me back from her chest with the other. She took one of my hands into hers, and opened it up so we were palm-to-palm. We both marveled at the lopsided size comparison, how my fingers went just past the first joint of hers. She chuckled, and turned her narrowed eyes back onto me as she brought my hand up to her lips. Gently, she started kissing my fingers, looking into my eyes with a suddenly tender intimacy that was unusual for Randi.

“Being with me is kinda like being with her, hm?” she said, both of us aware of this weird energy - and Melissa’s unseen presence - in the room, “You can think about her when you’re with me. She’s your girlfriend, I don’t mind.”

Randi kissed my fingertip, sucked gently on my index finger to the first knuckle. She was still rubbing me, massaging me through the squishy bra, and she saw my eyes fluttering again. “C’mon I know you can do it,” she whispered.

Astonishing even myself, I began to swell again.

“Oooo there you go,” Randi chuckled, as her hand - assisted by the cup of the bra and now the lubrication of my last release - began to squeeze and stroke me anew. “Women really have so much power over you, don’t they?” she posited, feeling me hardening, “such amazing things we can do, Melissa, all us girls.”

“M-Melissa..?” I groaned.

“Shhh remember, I’m getting to be just like her. And she’s not jealous. Being with me is like being with her, she’s told you herself,” she purred, sucking my index finger into her mouth and then out again, like she was sucking a dick, “But…there are still some special things of my own I can do. My own particular talents…”

I groaned. Was she actually going to do this to me again?

“Let me show you why they call me ‘The Mouth’.

At that she started feeding my fingers - two three four…five - in between her lips, and then slid them into her mouth. Her lips closed over them, and I felt the muscle of her tongue moving slowly underneath my fingers.

I shuddered in pleasure and she chuckled as I watched, eyes searching mine as I began to realize what she was about to do.

She moved on to take in my entire hand.

My eyes went wide. She had my whole right hand in her mouth, to the wrist. She still grasped my forearm which, by god, was not much longer or thicker than my cock, between her fingers. Her glossy lips were closed in a tight seal around my scrawny wrist, and - drawing in her cheeks - she sucked on my hand powerfully. Her tongue continued its unseen gymnastics around my palm and fingers like an eel. I felt the sharp edges of her teeth bite delicately into my wrist, while all the while her eyes remained locked on mine, staring into my shuddering depths.

She hummed pleasantly, the vibrations of her vocal cords shivering all the way up my arm. I was beginning to groan again, in new pleasure. What was this girl capable of??

With another tug of suction, she began to show me.

I gasped in disbelief as she took in the first few inches of my arm. My eyes stayed locked on hers as - oh my god - she didn’t stop.

She ate more of my arm, lips sliding up and up and up my thin limb as she still hummed into my bones. I felt my hand slide down into her throat and soon she had me to the elbow.

“o-o-oh my god Randi…” I stammered, now staring down at the spectacle. She’d taken my entire forearm into her mouth, her lips closed around the joint of my elbow. I could feel my hand squeezed by the top part of her esophagus, and she swallowed several times on purpose, squeezing my hand and wrist in a muscular embrace of warm tightness….and drawing me in further.

Deeper and deeper she fed me into her mouth, her lips inching forward slowly, gaining territory with each gentle swallow and pull. She was a snake, a she-cobra, devouring its prey and I watched her throat bulging with the thickness of my arm down inside it. The start of my withered bicep, then the middle. Randi kept going.

My cock was throbbing hard now, fully back at erection and still being stroked by Randi now with both hands through Melissa’s bra. Though I couldn’t take my eyes off the horrid spectacle of my arm down this girl’s outrageously distended mouth, hers still bore into mine with insistence, unblinking, not wanting to miss a moment of my reaction.

Randi sucked me in again and I heard the first real gag out of her. She had my upper bicep and then - my god - her jaw widened even further and her lips closed around my shoulder, and came to a stop. Her big head, her mane of straight black hair, was right there, her eyes staring deeply into mine. My jaw hung open and quivering, she’s swallowed my entire arm. My entire arm is inside her, down her throat.

I felt the acid of her stomach burning my hand, threatening to eat away at it.

She hummed deeply again and jostled her head, shaking my whole torso like a panther with its prey. Then she growled, suddenly baring her teeth at me, showing me two rows of teeth clamped down over my shoulder. There was absolutely no doubt that, if Randi had wanted to, she could have bitten off my entire arm. She growled once more and - nnnnnngggguuugggghhh - I felt myself orgasm again, unngh, unngh, unngh - into the already sodden bra. How did I have anything left in me?! Her tongue lapped under my armpit, and she sucked on my arm like one giant cock, her entire alimentary canal closing tightly around it and milking it in rhythm with my climax…

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Thanks to reader GrillFan for his insightful character analysis of Randi, much of which is included here, Joyce Julep for inspiring the arm-eating scene, and once again RiF for proofreading.

#growingintothejob

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just7frogsinapeoplesuit · 26 days ago

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Around ten years ago, a friend and I found a certain book at a thrift shop for $1. It was intriguing and unique, and we decided it was a perfect gift for one of our professors, who happily received it a few days later.

I have not stopped thinking about that book ever since. It haunted me knowing I had never had a chance to read through it. Every year or so I would search for it online, but it was rare and well out of print so whenever I located a copy it was always priced at over $45 which I couldn't justify spending on a single book.

I was finally starting to resign myself to the idea that it just wasn't meant to be, but when I went to make my semi-yearly search a month ago, I learned that a revised edition had been published in 2023 (17 years after the original printing)!

As of a few days ago, after a decade of yearning, I finally have my very own copy. It's everything I hoped it would be. I am going to be riding the high of finally owning this book for months

It's not satire by the way. The author spent years tracking and photographing stray shopping carts all over New York and a few other places. The type designation system (based on the location, history, and physical state of a cart) is extensive and thorough, with notes on common cart life trajectories and unique situations. It's an anthropological treasure and the most autistic book I've ever seen

#I'm still in disbelief this is the best thing that's happened to me all year #books #booklr #shopping carts #field guide #urbex #anthropology

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shopping4you · 1 year ago

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crow beer phonne art design

This design is perfect for Sublimation Printing, T-Shirts ,Tank Tops , Hoodies , Crewneck Sweatshirts , Long Sleeve T-Shirts , Baseball T-Shirts , Kids T-Shirts , Kids Hoodie , Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt , Baby Bodysuit , Wall Art , Mugs , Pillows ,Totes , Tapestries , Pins ,Phone Cases , Stickers , Magnets , Merchandise , hoodies , long sleeve shirts , The only limit is your imagination!

#print on demand #art #design #shopping online #shopping cart #fun art #funny art #teepublic #animals #bird art #crowley #fashion #clothing #t shirt design #t shirt printing #t shirt for men

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e-commercereblate · 3 months ago

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#ecommerce website #e commerce business #e commerce #ecommerce website design #reblate solutions #ecommerce development #free shopping cart #shopping sites #free shopping #shopping carts for sale #online sale #sales and marketing #cheap online shopping #reblate sols

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shoppncart · 24 days ago

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Shopping Cart's Best Games of 2024

as in games i played during 2024 not just games that came out in 2024. Given that I've started logging a lot more of my media experiences this year, games primarily, I thought it'd be fun to rank those which I enjoyed the most and give a little more thoughts and recommendations on them. I prioritized games I first played this year, or ones I played for the first time in a while. I skipped over some great games because of this, like Portal 2 and Kirby Super Star Ultra, but those still are really good too! So, if you want some gaming rec's based on what I played this year, give a read.

10 - Little Nightmares

Little Nightmares was easily able to wriggle its way into my favorites thanks to its style alone, with solid, simple 3D Platformer-feeling mechanics to support it to boot. Though the game is extremely linear and quite short, each part of it is very well designed and fleshed out with various props and hidden details. It was fun getting to use each part of the limited moveset together, as well as comb little side areas for secrets. In all honesty it could probably be ranked higher but I played it so late and haven't even gotten to the side story yet so that doesn't feel quite fair.

9 - Kirby's Adventure

Kirby is always one to provide a very solid, enjoyable experience, but special credit has to be given to his NES outing, which is so good that it’s likely the best game on the console. Kirby’s Adventure is such a colorful, varied and well-composed treat, featuring quite of a bit of content between its long level list, plethora of Copy Abilities to play with, and numerous level secrets. It’s really impressive comparing it to its nearest relative, Super Mario Bros. 3, which in my opinion it blows out of the water. It’s rife with charm and personality too, with all of its little animations and bonuses, special example going to the iconic Drawing Song seen every time on boot-up.

Kirby’s Adventure ain’t perfect granted, it’s doing so much on the NES that it is prone to slowdown quite a bit, and has a tendency to drop inputs, and has the older Kirby quirk of knocking your Ability out of Kirby every time he gets hit, especially irritating in levels where you need to carry an ability to solve a puzzle late in the stage. The 3DS Classics revision fixes a lot of the technical issues at least, so that’s one of the preferred ways to play it. Not sure if the SP version on Switch Online does that too but, I know it exists.

8 - Pokemon Crystal Legacy

I’ve always had a soft spot for the second generation of Pokemon, I think it’s got a really charming style and has a ton of impressive features for a dinky little Gameboy RPG, but always had a hard time coming back to it due to how limited or poorly planned out some things in it felt. I mean, half the new Pokemon either aren’t available for a majority of the game or are just plain unusable, and that makes the whole appeal of Pokemon (at least in my opinion), using a varied team and trying out new ‘mons on repeat playthroughs, a real struggle.

Crystal Legacy, meanwhile, is an excellent Quality of Life romhack that does a whole laundry list of things to improve the experience. It overhauls a bunch of encounter tables, adding Pokemon where they previously didn’t appear or adjusting percentages so rare encounters weren’t hair-pullingly uncommon. It adjusts a bunch of Base Stat Totals and movepools, making underpowered Pokemon more evenly capable. It even readjusted several of the enemy trainers to provide more of a steady challenge and throw a curveball for veterans like myself, surprising me and making me face roadblocks with a little more thought than before.

I was really impressed by everything Crystal Legacy changed with the base game, and would highly recommend it as the definitive way to replay Gen 2 Pokemon if you’re ever interested in going back to it.

7 - Half-Life

Clear to see why this one's a classic and a big landmark for First-Person Shooters, the first half of the game leaves an extremely strong impression and even today all of its little events and cinematics are entertaining and impressive to see. As someone not super savvy with FPS games it probably had even more of an impact, and felt pretty welcoming with how the difficulty and scale of enemies gently rose throughout the game. Stuff like the introduction of the soldiers with their squad tactics was quite the challenge early one while also being a big surprise compared to the usual alien mooks of the super-early game.

Unfortunately I didn't enjoy myself as much as the game progressed, with the later game levels (Surface Tension being a prime example in my mind) lacking that sort of entertaining factor the early segments had and primarily focusing on empty areas with little NPC interaction and frequent sources of damage. Being followed and barraged by a helicopter was not the best experience in this game. Surprisingly I didn't hate Xen as much as its reputation would imply, I kinda liked getting to use the Long Jump ability in low-grav environments. The Nihilanth was a dreadful final boss though I'll agree on that.

Overall it was pretty solid though and I can easily see why it's as highly regarded as it is. Eager to get to Half-Life 2 one day.

6 - Pizza Tower: The Noise Update

Pizza Tower was already a phenomenal game with incredibly creative gameplay, visuals, and music, and the Noise Update just goes ahead and adds a whole extra layer of wacky goodness on top of it. The Noise’s controls and mechanics are just similar enough to Peppino to not feel unwelcome while still offering a bunch of new ideas and possibilities to make things feel fresh, it’s really absurd what you can end up doing with the Noise sometimes and the speed you can accrue in parts where Peppino had to take it slower.

Not even to mention all the various little aesthetic differences where the Noise differs from Peppino, such as the various transformations (many of which have slightly different properties with the Noise compared to the base game), the new escape and handful of level music, and even a couple changes to some boss fights. It overall might not be as comprehensive of a new character campaign as something like Shovel Knight had, but it’s still a plethora of welcome changes that make the best game of 2023 even better.

5 - Team Fortress 2

I’ve always been a big fan of TF2, but haven’t really played it that frequently in recent years, not helped by the rampant bot crisis that had been afflicting the game in years prior. However, this year, Valve finally stepped up, wiped away almost all of the bots, and allowed TF2 to finally flourish as a chaotic and fun team shooter once again. It’s definitely my most played game of the year, and ate up a lot of my time in October during its annual Scream Fortress event. Valve didn’t even push a major content update or anything, but getting to experience the game without cheaters and with friends again really helped breathe life into it, and now I can’t help myself from coming back every couple days and continuing to fight in its many maps, and trying out new tricks and ideas I keep coming up with.

Solider and Engineer are my classic go-to’s, but I found myself having a lot of fun with Demoman and Scout this year, and really feeling my aim starting to improve, if still in small increments. I’m finally getting a concept of how to airblast and hit flare guns properly with Pyro, have found out that Heavy’s pretty fun to fall back on if the team’s got other roles filled, and pick up the role of team Medic quite a bit. There’s just so much to the game that it still hasn’t felt like it’s gotten stale, even after about six straight months of consistent playing this year.

4 - Psychopomp GOLD

This one came out of nowhere but I was really happy to get to experience it. Psychopomp GOLD reminds me of various other PS1-styled horror games like Lost in Vivo, and comes with a thick layer of character too. Some environments may be the typical dark, grungy hallways you’d expect, but others are colorfully lit and intricately designed in really appealing ways, not to mention the various weird creatures and monsters you meet that just have pleasant rambling conversations with you. It helps to paint a better picture of the main character when you realize this is the type of thing she’s dealing with and still treats without much surprise.

Exploring each of these environments and the weird things in them makes up most of the game’s charm, as well as making it further into this broken, twisted world and putting together the clues of what other horrible things might happen. It’s even got a few effective actual scares at points, despite mostly focusing its horror on tension throughout.

The game’s pretty light on story on the surface though, and its authentically-classic PS1 movement (ie. grid-based tank controls), both of which are sure to turn some people off. I’d say it’s still worth giving a shot, and the free original version of the game is still available, featuring the game’s first three, more grounded and realistically-styled levels. GOLD is quite the treat and comes with a bunch more bonus content to really flesh out the setting, so I do recommend it.

3 - Anthology of the Killer

Anthology of the Killer was a game I didn’t expect to like nearly as much as I did, but I was had a really good time with it and enjoyed nearly everything it put me through. For what’s effectively just a walking simulator-visual novel sort of combo, Anthology of the Killer provides a large handful of entertaining comedic-horror stories with a very charming style, referring to both its writing and visuals. The writing leans pretty heavily on the comedy half most of the time, but never quite loses its horror half, with its absurd aesthetics, low-lit environments, and strange sound design never letting the unease fully dissipate.

It really felt like going through some weird funhouse attraction and I enjoyed seeing every character go through their little plots and escapades. It was a very fun ride and I’d highly recommend at least trying out some of the individual episodes, available for free on GameJolt. The Anthology has its own pluses and it’s great experiencing them all back-to-back, I think.

2 - The Big Catch: Tacklebox

An incredibly impressive experience for what is basically a free demo for an upcoming project. There’s so much to do, and its open-ended format is really cool and helps add to the length by not funneling you through linear levels. Everything presentation-wise is superb, with fantastic sixth console generation visuals and excellent music. The basic controls and gameplay are especially tight and fluid too. I gotta give special mention to the propeller flowers that you can grapple onto and launch yourself in their direction, then immediately grapple back onto and rubber band yourself in the opposite direction with even more force. Several of the game’s challenges focusing on these more slick element were where the game shone its strongest.

There are some moments where the game wants you to be more precise that don’t work quite as well as it feels like it should (the massive temple area that you spend a long time climbing to the top of felt pretty unforgiving at times, though had frequent shortcuts to make up for it at least). The controls were a little strange to get used to as well, such as the specific ways to use the fishing rod or mechanics like wall running-to-jump combo, but most of the game was forgiving enough that it never got too irritating.

If you’re a 3D Platformer fan or nut for slick movement-focused platformers I highly recommend at least trying it out for a couple hours, and keeping and eye out for the full game’s release sometime in 2025.

1 - Corn Kidz 64

This one was such a pleasant surprise to me. I had heard a few scattered words of praise for Corn Kidz, but once I finally got to playing it myself I found a game that combined so many elements that appealed to me personally that I didn’t even think someone else would ever make a game like this. If only it had a grungy aquatic level then it would be truly perfect…

Corn Kidz 64 is a 3D Platformer taking clear cues from fifth gen consoles in both visual and gameplay styles, with its major inspirations seeming to draw from Banjo-Kazooie and Spyro the Dragon. It also has a delightful late 90s-early 2000s gothic-Hot Topic aesthetic that warms my heart even more. I didn’t even know I wanted a Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor to look like Invader Zim fanart but Corn Kidz delivered alright. The music is super on-point too, not sounding like Kirkhope’s stuff but other synthy and grungy tunes of the era. The character animations are pretty fluid and appealing as well, using what looks like a lot of vertex-based stuff you'd see in Spyro or Crash Bandicoot.

The gameplay itself follows the usual collectathon form, with a couple densely packed levels to explore for goodies and secrets, with an agile moveset focused on climbing and wall-jumping to really boost that feeling to scouring over every surface to find collectibles. Granted, the actual gameplay is where I’ve seen Corn Kidz fall apart for some people, and I can see why, there’s no double-jump or mid-air recovery tool, which is pretty unheard of for 3D platformers (the air dash you are provided is very situational and sometimes required for platforming challenges, so isn’t usable as a recovery tool). There’s no Totals page to keep track of all your collectibles, irritating for potential completionists, and there are a few moments in the level design that can lead to repeated backtracking (the church and graveyard segments of Wolloh’s Hollow is a large example that even caught me up in my first playthrough).

While these flaws can be pretty irksome, I was able to look past them by how appealing the game was in every other aspect, and was able to find a comfortable understanding of the gameplay not long after starting. The final challenges of the game are pretty brutal, especially the long and checkpoint-free bonus level, but using everything the game had taught me in a tightly packed back-to-back gauntlet had its charms. Even better, Corn Kidz 64 emulated the weird and mysterious vibes of Banjo-Kazooie’s most hidden secrets with its Void Screw collectibles. These are bonus collectibles hidden in extremely obscure spots used to unlock totally hidden rewards tucked away in what feels like an unused area of the game, complete with access to (what is presumably) the game's Dev Test Room. It so well captures the feeling that chasing Stop n Swop secrets had back and in the day and I was so happy to see a developer accurately recapture that feeling, with the bonus that there were secrets even beyond that that took months for anybody online to even find.

Corn Kidz 64 is the best game I played this year, almost entirely for biased, nostalgia-pandering reasons. I’m fully aware of the flaws it’s got (which can really turn off some people, I understand), and am always going to be just a smidgen disappointed with it (it’s only got TWO major areas…), but goddamn. It sure as hell does what it’s aiming to do really well. It’s a grungy gothic late 90s 3D platformer successor and that’s a really easy way to get into my heart.

#goty 2024 #video games 2024 #media diary #best of year #kirby's adventure #pokemon crystal legacy #half-life #pizza tower #tf2 #team fortress 2 #psychopomp #psychopomp gold #aotk #of the killer #the big catch #corn kidz 64 #little nightmares

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themasterpostblog · 9 months ago

Text

Pencil/2D Animation Resources Masterpost

5/10/24:

Hello, I broke into my old account so I could make a little masterpost of resources I come across for learning pencil/2D animation. (Free or affordable classes, places to get tools, videos to give insider insight, etc.) I may not be able to get everything included, so if you think of something, you can reach out and suggest things to add! I will be updating this over time, with notes on when it was last recently updated. And maybe I'll end up giving the old blog a refresh too. I likely won't be making new masterposts outside of this one any time soon, nor updating any old ones. It's been SEVERAL years, and the internet is a different place. I would assume most of the old links are out of date by now, unfortunately. I hope that this list is helpful to you as well, and if I'm incorrect in anything I list, I'm learning too! So please be patient with me and feel free to reach out with a correction. It's not finished yet, but Tumblr deletes my posts before I finish them, so I'm starting with posting the skeleton and slowly updating this)

Find a Community to Learn From!

(recommended groups to lurk/join/make connections and ask questions)

What Tools Do I Need?

PDF Guide to Animation Desks, as written by David Nethry

(next line)

Where Do I Get Tools?

(Places where you can buy art supplies, software, etc)

Cartoon Supplies

(Online seller who carries Ingram Bond paper, lightboxes, storyboard pads, blank cels, etc. See also: Lightfoot LTD, which is identical in every way to Cartoon Supplies and for the life of me I'm not sure the difference, though both are equally recommended along side each other.)

Jet Pens

(Ah... I love window-shopping this site. If you love stationary like I do, you'll be on this site for hours adding things to your cart... and inevitably removing them because it's not feasible to spend hundreds on pens and sticky-note pads.)

Dickblick

(I've found they have good prices on name brands, but I haven't purchased from them yet. Often, I'm too overwhelmed by all the choices.)

Improve Your Art/Learn the Basics!

(anatomy classes, starter tools, etc)

Aaron Blaise (Co-Director of Brother Bear)'s Online Classes

He runs very good deals on the classes occasional, but you can also do a year's access to all classes and keep what you download, which is very useful! They're short, quick lessons, and tend to veer into more "helpful tips" than teaching, from what I've personally noticed, but it's well worth the price if you get them at a good deal!

Inside Look at the Industry -- aka: the Special Features:

(behind the scenes stuff, etc)

Books are more useful than you might think!

(Richard Williams Animator's Survival Toolkit, etc) (check out gently used copies of these books on Thriftbooks for a good deal!)

Nifty Free Resources

(Things like height charts, references, color wheels, blog posts, videos, etc)

What Artists Can Learn From Aladdin's Incredible Color by J. Holt [VIDEO]

(spacing for formatting)

The Art of Color Theory: Guide for Animators, Designers, and Artists (Animator Artist Life)

(space for formatting)

Free software!

GIMP

(A classic, GIMP is an old friend of mine. The first software I downloaded for art, I used to use it almost entirely to create animated GIFs for the Warrior Cat forums. Ah, how time has passed. Nowadays I can't even remember how to animate a GIF on there, but such is life. I still use it to this day for digital art, even having Corel Painter. Before GIMP, I animated the old fashioned way -- MS paint and Windows Movie Maker. With determination, I scripted and animated a handful of Warrior Cat characters frame by frame. Each frame of Hollyleaf or whoever it was blinking was the likely source of death for our old computer, may she rest in peace.)

Storyboarder

(Storyboarder is a free software with which you can use to create professional and clean storyboards. It also provides printable storyboard templates so you can do you work traditionally and re-upload it easily into the software! It also works with Wacom tablets. Check it out! It's actually super cool.)

Pencil 2D

(A free, open source software. Simplistic design, switch between raster and vector, and best of all, again, it's free. I haven't used this one much yet, but I've seen it positively talked about by many! I'll update with more research when I have the chance.)

Krita

(I haven't used this one yet, so I can't speak on it either! But it's going on the list so I can come back and research it later. My poor laptop is not going to handle this many downloads lol.)

OpenToonz

(I also haven't tried this, but see above, haha.)

Blender - Grease Pencil

(Blender is well known for 3D animation, but they added a 2D feature called Grease Pencil as well.)

WriterDuet

(Free for up to 3 projects, very simple, but upgrades to a $10 a month plan, which is... eh, I'll keep my Scrivener for now. I used to write scripts in Microsoft Word or the Notepad on PC back in the day, I don't think I personally need the fancy features.)

Trelby

(A free screenwriting software, very basic and simple, good for beginners.)

Keep an eye out for

(Humblebundle occasionally does software deals -- a good art bundle at a discount can give you an easy start!)

#animation #wip #animation resources #art resources #free software #software resources #art tools #animation tools #how to #how to art #how to animate #animators on tumblr #2d animator #animation masterpost #masterpost #masterposts

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