#Polish software house

[thomasrayan12]

polish software house

Polish software house have become synonymous with innovation, quality, and reliability in the global technology landscape. While we cannot provide an exact count of these establishments, there are over 2,000 software development companies in Poland as of my last knowledge update. This number is expected to have grown since then, underlining the country's position as a top choice for outsourcing software development needs. 

[magnoliaroad]

4 Seasons Back Yard Remodel + Crystal Yard

My 4 seasons remodels of the Petz 5 Back Yard are now available for download! And because I went on a bit of a side-quest, I’ve also made a bonus version, a fantasy, crystal back yard!

You can read my creator's notes below:

I somewhat wonder if it's fair to criticize the original Petz 5 playscenes too harshly. It's possible that the development team faced tight deadlines or budget constraints, factors that may not have been entirely within their control. However, regardless of the circumstances, the end result was a disappointingly sloppy product, and it's difficult to ignore some of the glaring flaws. While I can understand that the developers were working with dated software, there are certain flaws that can't be attributed to software limitations. Rather, they seem to reflect a clear lack of attention to detail. Here's what I mean.

The more you look at it, the harder it is to decide which flaw is the worst. The blatant MS paint spray paint "touch-up" in the upper left, that there was no effort put into blending in the skybox, or that they neglected to add textures to the roof.

Alright, enough ranting there. None of this is to say my playscenes are perfect either, but they were a labor of love and I hope that this is evident in the final results.

SPRING

I smoothed out the grass texture to give it a more velvety, manicured lawn appearance. I brightened up the dingy looking fence to a more brighter white. The original playscene had a hole in the fence, and while it might add "character", I opted to cover over it for a more polished look. I added bushes behind the fence to cover up the skybox and to conceal the bottom of the houses.

Speaking of houses. Wow these needed a big work-up. The texture work (or lack of) on these is just bad. I'm no expert in house construction, but even mostly-brick houses will have some accents like trims to break up the monotony of a fully-brick façade.

Because of how fuzzy the brick texture is in the original, I drew in the mortar lines of the bricks to enhance the texture. I added roof shingles, siding, and trim boards to the house to make it look more like a typical suburban house. Despite these edits, it's still not a "great" house - the way it looks through the windows, it looks like the house is one room lol. I wish I could put better houses in the backdrop but because Tinker doesn't allow me to edit the animated blinds, I'm constrained to keeping them the shape that they are. Oh well. We can use our imagination.

I added landscaping rocks to make the flower bed look nicer. I also added some landscaping details like bushes, garden lights, and string lights for ambiance.

[ Enlarged picture of the garden light I made ]

I also worked to improve the skyboxes in all 4 seasons of the of the Back Yard playscenes. It would be lengthy to get into the details of all that but here's a before and after of the night skybox. You got to love them high-quality MS paint stars in the original.

SUMMER

I had a hard time with the summer one because it was hard to come up with ways to make it look different from the spring version. I did make the grass, bushes, and tree leaves slightly more vibrant. Originally I had some flowers by the bushes but I just wasn't really happy with them. At the last minute, I made the decision to remove them entirely. This makes the playscene a little more "plain" but I think some people may want a more "plain", undecorated version so that they can dress it up how they want with toyz.

FALL

Fall is my favorite season, so this was a joy to make. I toned down the color of the grass and added fall landscaping motifs. Recoloring the tree's leaves was done by using Photoshop's gradient map feature. If time permits, I may do a tutorial on this in the future.

Gradient mapping is a powerful tool for recoloring almost anything. It can give way better results than methods such as hue/saturation, replace color, etc. And thanks to photoshop actions, applying this recolor to all the animation frames took just a couple of minutes.

Unfortunately, the fall leaves look "bright" in the nighttime version of the playscene. There does not seem to be a way to implement a darker version of these leaves for the nighttime playscene. If you look at the sprites in Tinker, you'll see that there are two sets of animations for Leaves A, B, and C and they're labeled "PropsAd" and "PropsAn", which would lead you to think that the developers originally intended for there to be a set of leaves for the day time, and a darker set for the night time. I guess the developers scrapped this idea because this does not work in the actual gameplay. When I experimented with this, the game appears to randomly display the nighttime sprite even during the day time, effectively ruining the intended affect. I'm not sure why the developers scrapped this. Either they had issues coding this properly or were just didn't want to put in the effort to make two sets of leaves.

WINTER

Instead of doing recolored leaves for this scene, I made all the leaves transparent and added holiday lighting to the tree. I know the lights aren't perfect - it was kind of hard to make out which direction a branch was going, so it has hard to maintain 'perfect' perspective.

CRYSTAL YARD

This is a bonus playscene that I made because I got a little side-tracked as I was working on the 4 seasons back yards. This is inspired by the Suramar zone from World of Warcraft, so it has a bit of that fantasy, night-elf feel and color scheme. It's been years since I've played WoW but I still appreciate the enchanting aesthetic of the elven zones.

I used gradient mapping again to recolor the leaves to give it this lavender, shimmery, iridescent look. I did a little bit of gaussian blurring and layer effects to make them look a little more "glowy" than the originals.

As before, Tinker won't let me edit the blinds, so it limited what edits I could do to the houses. I would love it if I could have done curtains instead or something. I did my best to make these houses look a little less suburban and more elven. It's not perfect but it was rough working with what I had.

KNOWN ISSUES / THINGS I COULDN'T EDIT

As far as I'm aware, there is no way to turn off the snow effect for seasons like summer where it wouldn't make sense. This probably involves some code-editing that is beyond my technical skillset.

The winter playscene still has the green grass footprint when your petz walk. The sprites for these are not housed within the .env itself but in the Petz 5 Rez.dll file. It would probably involve a bit of tweaking in the code to switch the sprites to something else.

The fall leaves are "bright" in the night time version because there is no way to implement a second, darker set of leaves.

I cannot edit the blinds animation. Tinker gives you an error when you try to edit this sprite. This unfortunately limits what edits I can make to the house and the fence because of where the sprite is positioned.

If anyone does know of solutions to these, do let me know as I'd love to enhance these scenes further!

ICONS

Making the icons for these was also a fun little project. For some odd reason though, the game puts a stray pixel over them when I import them through LnzPro. I did my best to disguise them but there does not seem to be a way to fix that.

BEFORE / AFTER

With all that rambling out of the way, visit my main page over at Magnolia Road > Resources > Playscenes to download the goodies!

[thefloatingwriter]

I'd adore more of your wiress and beetee hcs if you had any more to share maybe

thank you so much for this ask anon i love any excuse to talk about them. i can’t tell if you want just beetee and wiress or them separately but i’ll give you both because i have lots of thoughts.

Beetee:

he was born on july 23rd, 21 ADD.

he has five siblings, two brothers and three sisters. he’s the oldest. in order they are: adeline (six years younger), roent (eight years younger), tera and ruther (ten years younger), and dayta (thirteen years younger).

he grew up really poor, his family barely making ends meet. his father died when he was fourteen and his mother kind of lost herself after that.

because of that, he became his siblings only real parental figure when he was really young.

his favorite color is blue.

he won the 40th at nineteen. it was the oldest a victor ever was at the time of their victory.

he dismantled an old computer he found in the trash and then put it back together when he was six.

he’s either still up at three in the morning or is out at nine pm. there’s no in between.

he also wakes up really early every single morning. wiress thinks he’s insane.

he’s actually pretty tall.

he knows how to ice skate.

he prefers cold weather over warm weather.

he loves the snow.

he’s a dog person.

he’s really good with kids.

Wiress:

she was born on november 6th, 29 ADD.

she has an older sister named barbara (four years older).

she’s polish and her last name is lisiecki.

she’s an acrobat and singer.

her family was richer than most residents of three. her father was a software developer until he passed (i have a lot of dead dads in my hcs). her mother ran a sort of theatre group/circus to entertain capitol and three citizens. it’s where wiress learned acrobatics.

her hair is naturally curly.

she won the 48th when she was eighteen.

she’s really good with crowds but hates one-on-one talking.

her favorite color is lilac.

she had a cat before she won named fleur. fleur went on to have three kittens named iris, leni, and luna.

she loves the smell of lavender.

she is not a morning person at all. she can barely function in the mornings.

she loves both coffee and tea.

she has a giant sweet tooth.

she cannot cook. like seriously. last time she tried she started a fire and almost burnt her house down.

she was always a naturally curious person. as a child she snuck into the woods surrounding three and took walks for hours. it scared her mother senseless every time she up and disappeared and she always sent barbara out to go find her.

her district token was a woven purple bracelet her sister made for her when she was younger.

Wiress and Beetee:

this is basically canon but they can talk with their eyes/just understand each other without saying anything. the other victors have made a game out of figuring out what they’re talking about.

beetee’s token was his glasses for both of his games, so for the 75th he took his wedding band and added two silver stripes on the sides out of the metal.

most of the victors have absolutely no idea what their relationship is. like some of them think they’re just really good friends, some of them think they’re dating casually, and some are like, “no they’ve been married for a decade.”

he was her mentor. the 48th was the only year where both tributes were from “richer families” (i.e. three’s version of merchant families). atlas, the other victor from three, came from a merchant family but beetee didn’t and there’s a lot of animosity between the poorer and richer people in three (similar to twelve but if like everyone acted like mrs. mellark) so he was really worried that wiress was going to be rude or disrespectful. and then he meets the sweetest eighteen year old he’s ever met who sings for fun and hums to herself when she’s anxious. safe to say he was surprised.

beetee really hates explaining stuff so when wiress comes along they can sometimes forget they have to explain stuff to people and they won’t get it if they give them The Look even though they both get what that means. they don’t even mean to but they can be hanging out with anyone and make them feel like they’re third-wheeling.

bonus:

Beetee adjusts his glasses as he squints at the computer in front of him. “Our brains are made of the same wires.”

Wiress looks over at him, a small smile playing on her lips. “That’s genuinely the most romantic thing you have ever said to me.”

(this is 100% going in a fic but why do i have the best ideas for random lines at one in the morning like why can’t inspiration hit at a normal time ffs)

sorry this took a minute for me to post <3 i hope you like these! anyway, again anon ilysm for this ask seriously i love love love talking about them.

[lolitakirstein]

Hey Neighbor PT 10

WC:1.3k~

Previous

AO3 page

Toji

“So what exactly are you wanting me to do, sir?” the lanky male asks Toji. The computer opened and reflected in his oversized glasses.

“I am curious myself,” Shiu sits with his ankle over his knee, staring at Toji from across the kitchen table. “Your text from last night was quite unexpected”

Toji is seated with his forearms braced on the table, a slight frown on his face and a tiredness in his eyes. Which was to be expected since he hadn’t slept a wink the previous night. His mind spun from thoughts of you and this mysterious guy that had interrupted his owning up everything to you. He battled back and forth with his mind–should he really try to find out who this was or should he allow you to live your life and make your own choices? As the sun peaked over the horizon, he came to the middle ground, sorta. He’d find out who this guy was, but that was it! No background checks, no sending out people to his house, and definitely not wiping him off the planet and out of your life. Just a normal hacking of a phone.

“I need to see messages on y/n phone.” Toji answers.

Shiu’s eyes widen, taken back for a moment. Then, his face turns to one of joy. “Ah, already? The agreement must’ve been–”

“This isn’t about the agreement,” Toji interrupts, brusquely. He turns towards the hacker. “Just tell me you can do it.”

The hacker wrings his hands over his keyboard, clearly nervous in the presence of the infamous Toji Fushiguro. “Uhm, I can put spyware on it? Do you have the phone?”

“No, do it remotely. She uses an Apple phone and computer. I’m sure she has messages coming through her computer on the messaging app.” He demands.

“If we are in the range of her wifi, I can crack through her password, and then the software can gather all her credentials–logins and passwords. Then, we just enter those into the messaging app.” The hacker spoke quickly, clearly excited to show off his abilities.

“Do it,” he orders.

~

A day off work was never really a day off. Being so busy with work and honestly being lazy, the house chores had fallen behind. Though you have been living here for a few months now, the house still screams “Grandmother’s house.” You just hadn’t had the heart or the mental strength to get rid of things. Grief made you hang on to it as much as possible Until the smell of her house was replaced with your soft vanilla and lavender smell. You started in the bedroom, packing away old clothes to take to donation centers and replacing the bed sheets with ones that were more you—A soft purple comforter and an overabundance of pillows.

After folding the new bath towels and placing them in the upstairs hallway closet, you look up at the ceiling and the hatch to the attic ladder. You had been dreading going up there for a few reasons. Spiders, dust, dirt, mold, and the wild idea that someone might be up there living for all you knew. Another reason was what you DID know was up there. Pictures, memories of people you would never see again, and memories of moments you’ll never experience. But, today was the day. It had to be done.

Straightening your shoulder, you pull the string and allow the ladder to unfold to the floor. Surprisingly, no dead bodies tumbled down and no clouds of dust poured. You climbed the stairs, holding your phone as a flashlight. Once at the top, you notice it’s not the crypt you expected. It could be a spare room, the floors barely showed signs of neglect, neat stacks of books in the corner, and enough room to stand. Another string hung from the rafters to a light that still worked.

Getting to work, you pull dusty boxes from the corners, carry them to the floor below, gather the books to sort through and sweep the floor. Once satisfied with your cleaning, you gather your supplies and turn off the light. You switch all the supplies to one hand as you shuffle to the ladder.

The canister of furniture polish slips from your arm and rolls to the side of the attic. You chase after it, using your phone light again in the dark. The light bounced off the can and another glint of metal on the wall you hadn’t noticed.

Upon further inspection, you see a small gap in the wall, metal peaking out behind it. Using your phone light, a two-foot by two-foot section of the wall seems to be cut into the wall. YOu dig your finger into the exposed groove and gift it a sideways push. After getting stuck a few times, the panel recedes into the wall at the right, and the content behind it is revealed.

A silver safe about the size of a mini fridge sits behind the wall, a thin layer of dust coating it. A keypad blinks in the upper corner. You take a chance and attempt to pull the handle, hoping it would open—another part of you hoped it wouldn’t. Scared to see what was in it.

After 3 more tugs of the handle, you give up. It clearly needs a passcode. You try a few—1234, 11111, 2222 —-- before again giving up in case it had a system that locked it completely for an undetermined amount of time.

Finally, you climb back down the ladder, Confused, which seems to be your everyday emotion these days. You might as well have a giant question mark above your head

What the fuck is going on?

Toji

“I was able to hack into her cloud and find her contacts. I reverse-searched the number of the last message she received. It comes back to a Connor J. Falco but it appears he’s gone by a multitude of aliases. Here are some of the text messages I was able to—”

“I’m not going to read her messages, just give me what info you have on the guy,” Toji interrupts, slightly closing the laptop that the hacker had rotated around for him to see.

“Isn’t your concern that she is…involved with this man? Romantically?” Shiu chimes in from the living room where he is sitting on the floor with Megumi, playing with action figures. “ I believe I’d want to know what they were discussing, hmmm?”

“That’s—her business,” Toji replies, knowing how ridiculous it sounds.

“Doesn’t hacking into her phone inadvertently—”

“Just give me info on the guy,” Toji says to the hacker. He knows it doesn’t make sense. He tries to ease the guilt of spying by telling himself it’s only half spying. And it’s not spying on you, you were just the obstacle to get to the real prey. He wouldn’t read any of your messages or look through your photos and social media. That’s where he drew the line—the very thin one.

“Connor J Falco is an independent contractor, though I can’t find anything about what exactly he is contracted to do. Small online presence, just moved to town from overseas. No criminal records, no past traffic infractions.”

“See? An upstanding citizen.” Shiu laughs. “Completely harmless.”

“However,” the hacker clears his throat. “That’s just for Connor.”

“What do you mean?” Shiu stands behind the laptop.

“His other alias,” Toji answers. He knew this was what would happen. Whatever persona this guy was showing y/n was no doubt clean. It was his other personas that worried him.

“Correct. And Dmitri Sokolov?” The hacker nods and turns the laptop around for Toji to see. “He has quite a disturbing criminal history.”

Toji slides the laptop closer, clicking through the pages of court records and mugshots both international and domestic. From white-collar to violent crimes. His heart hammers in his chest. These weren’t petty crimes, this guy has experience.

“Shit.”

[thekalpar]

This is a Grift and You Shouldn't Fall for It

I want to talk about an article I saw from thebookseller.com that came out Monday which talks about a new AI-powered publishing platform called Spines which wants to disrupt the publishing industry by providing a new platform. I encourage you to read the actual article here, but I want to address how they are, based on my own observation as an independent author, a grift and why you shouldn’t fall for it.

Let’s address the first concern which I and probably a few other people have when presented with Spines’s goal of publishing 8,000 books in 2025 alone. Doing a very quick, unscientific google search, we can find that of the biggest traditional publishers in the United States, only Penguin Random House and Harper Collins publish more than 8,000 books a year, and these are massive global corporations. The next two largest, Hachette Book Group and Simon & Schuster, publish only roughly 2,000 books a year and these are still some of the big boys on the block. So the goal of publishing 8,000 books a year is certainly ambitious for Spines. How is this going to be done?

There are two possibilities and one is that a lot of this is going to be books produced in part or entirely by plagiarism software (“AI”). I want to acknowledge that as a real possibility, but I want to go forward with the good-faith assumption that there will be a significant number of passionate people who have poured their heart and soul into writing a book and are going to be taken advantage of by these techbros. Even before plagiarism software became widely available, self-publishing on Amazon had exploded and we saw millions of books self-published in just an ebook form every year. So I imagine that these people, who are self-publishing on Amazon and other places, are probably the market for Spines.

Now how do I know this is a scam? I do not have a ton of experience is self-publishing because I’ve only published two books at time of writing, but I do have recent hands-on experience which makes me qualified. There isn’t a lot of info in the article on what services Spines is offering but we get an exact number on cost as well as types of services in the article. “Spines costs $1,200 to $5,000 to automate proofreading, cover design, metadata optimisation and limited translation services, starting with Spanish.” Now, this may, on the low end, be cheaper than hiring professionals to do this kind of work, but it’s still going to be a scam because you’re going to get a shoddy product.

Let’s start with proofreading, which is under the umbrella of editing but is one of several types of editing. As Reedsy explains, there are four distinct types of editing, all of which come with specific costs. First there is editorial assessment, which is when you have a very, very rough draft and need some direction on writing it. (I have not yet done editorial assessment because I have been fortunate enough to be plagued with the knowledge of what I’m writing.) This is very broad advice which an AI cannot provide but a human can. Second is developmental editing for a finished manuscript, which is where you have an editor go through, provide specific feedback on areas for improvement and suggestions, and point out any major issues. This is where you get into rewrites and polishing a manuscript to a finished product. Again, and AI cannot do this.

So we finally come to copy editing and proofreading. Now, I’m going to fold them together although they are technically distinct because copy editing includes proofreading as well as making sure capitalization is consistent, tenses remain consistent, you don’t repeat yourself too much, all the little things which help polish the rough edges off of your manuscript. Proofreading is checking for spelling and typos, as well as grammar issues and any formatting issues. AI can do this, as tools like Grammarly exist for this sort of thing for a couple years now. (I wouldn’t recommend using Grammarly, but that’s a separate rant for a separate day.) Plus, you know, spellcheck which has been around since the 1990s. Technically this is a task which AI can do, but it can still make mistakes such as with homophones (the train went threw the tunnel). And with so many free tools available if you’re going to have AI do this task, why pay someone else to do it? AI is not going to give you insightful, meaningful feedback on your manuscript, but it will do spellcheck for you and LibreOffice does that for free anyway. So paying to have AI proofread your manuscripts doesn’t make any financial sense.

Let’s move on to the next area they want to automate, cover design. Again, I have limited experience and I can say very definitively that you can get a good cover for about $750 USD from a professional artist who will produce what you want and will be able to keep things you like but change things you don’t with an incomplete project. Plagiarism software that creates images cannot do that. Unless they’re hiring artists to touch up and improve generated images (which I doubt), all Spines is offering is another service you can get for free or cheaper elsewhere online. I highly advise against generating your cover images, if only for the fact the computer cannot give you exactly what you want. You can feed prompts into it and maybe get something close enough, but if you have a specific image of what you want for your book cover you cannot get that from AI. There are a lot of ethical arguments against plagiarism software as well, but I won’t repeat those here just for brevity’s sake. Again, if you’re willing to use plagiarism software to make your book cover, which is what the guys at Spines are offering, then you can do that cheaper elsewhere.

The final one which I can speak with any authority on is metadata, which I’ve had to enter for my own books before and you can too. For those who don’t know, metadata is information attached to the book’s ISBN and publication info that provides info about the book. This can be basic info such as the intended audience, the genre, and the subject matter, but it can also be more granular like what type of fantasy novel you have (romantasy vs cozy). While it can be an annoying or frustrating task, such as when every word to describe my book flies out of my head when I have to actually describe it, it’s also fairly simple. And I’m going to be honest, I don’t expect the AI to do much more beyond algorithm scraping and suggesting metadata like “for you” and “trending”. (Sort of like those videos that spam every popular tag in the hope of getting traction.) So I seriously doubt that this will be a service worth any sum of money.

Finally I’m going to touch briefly on translation because I haven’t translated a book and I don’t know what goes into translating one either but I can make an educated guess that it’s going to be the equivalent of pasting your manuscript into Google Translate. If you’re willing to accept that level of quality, you can get it for free. If you want a good translation you’re going to have to shell out far more money to get an actual person to do it.

And all of this doesn’t even get to a very important part of publishing, ISBNs. If you’re self-publishing you absolutely want to buy your own ISBNs, and buy multiple because they cost less if you buy them in bulk and you will need separate ISBNs for both the print and digital editions of your books. I don’t know if Spines is offering ISBNs as part of their package, they certainly could, but for independent authors it’s best practice to use your own ISBNs because you can control those opposed to whatever platform you publish on.

So are the AI-powered services that Spines is going to provide be worth it? I highly doubt it. For the amount of money you’ll end up spending you’d be better off actually hiring humans to help you with your book and get it to a finished, polished state. I can’t see this company offering you anything that isn’t already available for free or nearly free elsewhere with the same lackluster quality. If you have something you’re writing, you’re passionate about it, and you want to publish it, I highly encourage you to get real human beings to help you improve it. Reedsy (which this is not an ad for) is the platform I have used to get in contact with editors and artists to help get my books out into the world. But I’m sure plenty of other independent authors can help you find all sorts of other people able and willing to help. Spines is merely charging you for the privilege of receiving substandard work spat out by a computer.

[mai-komagata]

Getting to know mutuals game! I was tagged by @just-an-elf-with-the-socks and @fandom-chameleon23 to do this. @flippyspoon @damnyoubishop @saubrimbor @queenmeriadoc @celebrimborsapron @myloveistoblame @rooksacrifice @elisa74 some random tags if people want to do this.

What’s the origin of your blog’s URL?

mai is a childhood nickname. komagata is from yumi komagata from Rurouni Kenshin (yeah i know, but i made this username 20+ years ago, it might as well be my name online now).

Favorite Fandoms?

Star trek (all of it), Tolkien, Dungeon Meshi, Legend of Zelda, Interview with the Vampire, Dragonball

Favorite Color?

In general i say purple, but there is one particular shade of red i love #ff0a47 is pretty close.

Favorite Game?

Super Mario RPG or Link's Awakening

Song stuck in your head?

Not Like us by Kendrick Lamar or The Distance by Cake. I listen to neither of these artists, i blame the world.

Weirdest Habit?

i don't mind my drinks lukewarm.

Hobbies?

hiking, writing, video games, traveling, home improvement, cosplay, nail art

If you work what’s your profession?

Im a software engineer

If you could have any job in the world what would it be?

Probably still software engineering, but working in accessibility or some other non-profit. But really if i could get paid to travel that is what i would do. (although these days i dream of just writing erotica professionally... but i'd probably hate actually writing on a schedule).

Something you’re good at?

I'm a pretty good at hand sewing and making clothing designs from things i see on screen. I'm not a pro but I'm good for an amateur.

Something you’re bad at?

cleaning my closet. motivating myself to clean in general.

Something you excel at?

I'm good at my job, i think. I'm really good at planning travel for people, actually. Booking flights/hotels/restaurants, optimizing what to do. I think I'm pretty good at most logistical tasks provided I am doing them for other people.

Something you love?

my cats. my house. my friends.

Something you could talk about for hours off the cuff?

any of my fandoms, theology/philosophy, workers rights/civil rights, politics.

Something you hate?

People with no loyalty, crowded environments.

Something you collect?

stuffed animals, nail polish.

Something you forget?

where i put my keys and transit pass

What’s your love language?

uhh.... Acts of Service?

Favorite movie or show?

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Favorite food?

Corn. I can eat infinite corn.

Favorite animal?

i love all animals, but cats are easiest -- but i really want to meet a platypus. I also love peacocks but i know it would not work in a city.

Are you musical?

Not at all.

What were you like as a child?

introverted and stubborn

Favorite subject in school?

Math

Least favorite subject in school?

Chemistry

What’s your best character trait?

I won't bullshit you.

What’s your worst character trait?

I'm very stubborn.

If you could change any detail of your day right now what would that detail be?

I would cook more often.

If you could travel back in time who would you meet?

My grandfather who died before I was born.

Recommend one of your favorite fics?

ONE?? Ok gonna pick one at random but Feelings are boring by Lazulisong https://archiveofourown.org/works/276111

Favorite fanart?

Again, one?? I'm digging everything by Saubrimbor at the moment, however.

[myfriendtheurbanlegend]

A little bit of art progress

I try to keep track of a painting as it forms. Not keen on recording but thankfully Paintstorm has a quick export function.

Original post here.

Ideas come a little bit like a prompt. John Reese, Cura Te Ipsum, sitting on a table facing the viewer. There is shadow, there is light, there is a gun on the table. I thought I could have him take Megan’s keys with one hand, and point to the gun with the other.

I always start with the face. Digital painting allows me to get the finer details down before I work on the rest of it.

Basic face shape down, okayish likeness, shadows in place and colours picked. My reference was a POI promotional pic.

My colours originated from the wonderful diner scene. It’s intimate and soft, unlike the scene that follows.

Face done, and now it’s time for the rest of it. The arms are awkward so I fix them.

Now he looks much more comfortable, and imposing. I used a different reference for the hands. Now I had to set up the background.

I liked where this was going but the sea made it look like the house was partially underwater. So I went back to the drawing board.

I found this much better. The light coloured wall made him stand out more in my eyes.

Some more details. Reflections on the polished wood and glass and a very faint overlay to serve as the sun’s rays and I called it done. It was a complex and experimental piece, done on new software but overall I’m still happy with this.

[reyettaclaven]

Content Creation #2: Free Asset Libraries

When you're working on a build, sometimes you might find some weirdness. Carpet where tile should be, or wood that's a little too orange. Or maybe you're trying to build something out of prims or mesh kits, and don't quite have the skills to make your own textures yet.

Free PBR libraries online are your new best friend! My favorite is ambientCG. Check out this cool tile I just picked up for my bathroom there!

This tile only cost me L$30 in upload fees, and looks professionally done. You can grab it for yourself here.

I've also downloaded nice looking hardwood floors, mossy concrete, and some lovely polished marble. The one I get the most use out of is probably this simple rough wood texture.

When you download textures from this website for use within SL, make sure you get the "1k" zip files so you can upload them without needing to resize them.

You don't need to upload everything in the folder. At present, SL only supports a diffuse, normal, and specular layer. AmbientCG assets often come with color, normal, roughness, and displacement layers. Experiment with what looks best for your build. Typically, I use the color layer as my diffuse texture, the normal for the...well, normal layer, and then either the color or displacement layer for the specular. I like to upload everything as a temp upload and just fiddle until I like the way it looks before fully uploading anything.

For me, the best part of getting textures this way is all the options it opens up! I can completely modify these textures using an image editing program however I like before uploading them. So if say, I wanted to color every other tile a specific shade of blue, I could! Or if I wanted to change the tone and saturation level of those hardwood floors, that's an option too (so long as I know how to actually do that using the software I have).

You also have the added benefit of being able to demo the textures before you pay for them. Try them out in your actual build, swap-em out, change the colors and see the updates live inworld. Toss down a flat plane on your house's floor and, without messing up your house's textures, test and see if carpet would look good in there, or play around with new a brick accent wall! Add materials to an old side-table to bring it to the modern era! You'd be surprised how much heavy lifting a wood-textured normal map can do when combined with older textures. The possibilities are truly endless.

AmbientCG also has some files that are formatted specifically for use in substance painter too, for those of you making content that way!

[mariacallous]

Meduza's The Beet: Heels for freedom

Hello, and welcome back to The Beet!

Eilish Hart here, the editor of this weekly dispatch from Meduza that brings you original reporting from across Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. If someone forwarded you this email, sign up here to receive future issues of The Beet. Want to sample some more of our work first? Check out last week’s story about how independent journalism persists in Turkmenistan. And don’t miss my full interview with Access Now tech-legal counsel Natalia Krapiva, who kindly joined Meduza’s The Naked Pravda podcast to discuss recent revelations about the use of Pegasus spyware in Armenia during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and its aftermath.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Warsaw last Sunday for an anti-government march timed to coincide with the 34th anniversary of the partially-free elections that ushered in the fall of Poland’s Communist regime. With a parliamentary vote coming up in Poland later this year, and President Andrzej Duda now moving to water down a controversial piece of legislation that critics fear will be used to target the opposition, this is something to keep an eye on. But it’s not the topic of this week’s feature. Instead, we’re turning to Warsaw to celebrate the start of Pride Month with a story that takes us inside the Polish capital’s drag scene and introduces us to its late queen, Kim Lee. Journalist Joanna Kozlowska reports for The Beet.

Heels for freedom: Kim Lee and the history of Polish drag

By Joanna Kozlowska

Kim Lee in her Warsaw studio before a performance. 2019.

ZULA RABIKOWSKA

Just over a century ago, looking into the future after emerging from a world war and 120 years of foreign occupation, Poland abolished all aristocratic titles. Later, decades of Communism rendered all thoughts of royalty remote. Yet this year, the Polish capital has crowned a queen, and the choice may surprise some.

A short walk west from Warsaw’s main train station, stepping into the whitewashed mansion that houses a branch of the municipal museum, visitors are greeted by a riot of pastel colors. A black-haired figure in a sumptuous golden dress smiles from a poster near the entrance that reads, Kim Lee. The Queen of Warsaw. The museum’s latest blockbuster offering, the temporary exhibition celebrates an artist lovingly dubbed “Poland’s best and only Vietnamese drag queen,” whose life story is as stunning as the costumes assembled inside. 

“Kim Lee had to be real, because nobody could have made her up,” a column in Poland’s largest left-wing daily recently proclaimed. “If she were a character from a TV show, conservative reviewers would tear it apart. More progressive ones, too, might doubt the scriptwriters’ sanity.”

A display from the exhibition “Kim Lee. The Queen of Warsaw.” 2023.

TOMASZ KACZOR / MUZEUM WARSZAWY

Of the half dozen people The Beet’s correspondent interviewed who knew Kim Lee’s creator Andy Nguyen before COVID-19 cut his life short in 2020, all would agree. Nguyen’s story is indeed almost too unusual to be true. 

A star student in his native Vietnam, Nguyen came to Poland on a scholarship just as Communism was being dismantled. He got a research job at one of the country’s top physics institutes, only to see his pay fall to a pittance during the economic turmoil of the 1990s. He then worked odd jobs to support himself and his young family. For a time, the former scientist ran a market stall selling East Asian goods that a close friend compared to those at Warsaw’s now-demolished 10th-Anniversary Stadium. (Once the site of Communist Party galas, the stadium was later reduced to a sprawling outdoor bazaar where vendors from all over the former Eastern Bloc hawked pirated software, flouncy underwear, and dubious health remedies).  

Nguyen’s drag persona, Kim Lee, was born at the turn of the millennium and soon shot to stardom beyond the wildest dreams of anyone in Poland’s fledgling drag scene. “She whizzed into the mainstream like a meteor,” says Teo Łagowska, a performer with Warsaw’s Drag King Szarm Trio collective. 

Nguyen’s long-time partner, Remigiusz Szeląg, concurs. “Kim performed everywhere,” he recalls. “Non-stop, all over Poland, he was a fixture at ‘straight’ parties and club nights, at burlesque shows. He appeared on TV, on discussion panels. He twice gave lectures at the University of Warsaw — needless to say, in full drag.”

Andy Nguyen (Kim Lee) getting ready for a performance in his studio. Warsaw, 2019.

ZULA RABIKOWSKA

Pleasant surprises

Magdalena Staroszczyk, who curated the exhibition in Warsaw, has no doubt that it belongs in a public museum. She is visibly proud of bringing the project to fruition, not least given the Polish government’s enduring anti-LGBTQ stance. “Queer history should be just as present in various institutions as any other [history],” she underscores.

For almost a decade, Poland has made headlines for its ruling party’s dogged defense of “traditional values” that critics say amounts to little more than anti-LGBTQ policies. Successive electoral campaigns have seen the Law and Justice Party intimidate voters with the “rainbow menace,” while top officials — including Poland’s current president and education minister — have suggested that LGBTQ people don’t deserve equal rights. By October 2019, more than 60 local and regional councils had adopted anti-LGBTQ declarations, with right-leaning councilors decrying the spread of an “LGBT ideology” they claim threatens families. Local authorities and Polish courts have since scrapped some of these resolutions (in many cases for fear of losing E.U. funding), but a sense of deep unease remains. 

Both Szeląg and Krzysztof Tomasik, Nguyen’s friend of many years and the author of multiple books on Polish LGBTQ history, describe the Warsaw exhibition as a turning point for queer visibility. The show, Tomasik stresses, is housed in a state institution — a clear victory for those calling for greater inclusion, even if the museum’s financing comes from Warsaw’s relatively liberal city hall, rather than Poland’s Culture Ministry. 

Staroszczyk, the curator, sees Nguyen’s’s life and work as an integral part of Warsaw’s history. She also notes the artist’s close links to the city’s Wola district in particular, where the museum is located. Nguyen, a long-time resident of the neighborhood, kept more than 1,000 hand-sewn costumes in a space in Wola that became known as “Kim Lee’s Dressing Room.” He also performed in many local clubs, some of which popped up in the district’s shuttered factories. 

Nguyen choosing an outfit for a performance. 2019.

ZULA RABIKOWSKA

Nguyen sewing a costume in his studio. 2019.

ZULA RABIKOWSKA

Today, Wola retains a post-industrial feel, with the high-rises that used to house its workers towering over the museum’s Neoclassical pile. Staroszczyk says that neighbors have been venturing in to get what for many is their first taste of drag. 

“We have one neighbor in particular, an older lady who I’m told has seen the show several times already. She’s been delighted and has been bringing friends along. That was one of the pleasant surprises,” the curator says. 

Groups of retirees — most but not all of them women — regularly book guided tours of the exhibition, Staroszczyk adds.

Local councilors from the Law and Justice Party, meanwhile, questioned the rationale behind the exhibition, while some right-wing and Catholic publications accused the museum of promoting a “deviant lifestyle.” However, as of early June, there has been no sustained political or media campaign against the show, nor protests trying to disrupt it.

On an overcast Saturday in May, the exhibition was well-attended. Groups of visitors admired Kim Lee’s hand-crafted creations — from silk kimonos to voluminous gowns that wouldn’t look out of place in Bourbon-era Versailles — and attempted their own drag transformations, trying on frilly boas and curly blond wigs. Two middle-aged women giggled with delight as they posed before a mirror garlanded with flowers. One 19-year-old visitor named Maciek admitted he’d been surprised to discover that Kim Lee had sold out clubs years before RuPaul’s Drag Race — the U.S. reality competition series that brought drag to a wide audience — premiered on Polish Netflix in the early 2010s. 

The opening of the exhibition “Kim Lee. The Queen of Warsaw.” 2023.

TOMASZ KACZOR / MUZEUM WARSZAWY

Polish divas and a whiff of the West

Researcher Jakub Wojtaszczyk, whose book of interviews with Polish drag performers was published last June, says that self-described drag queens began appearing in the early to mid-1990s, not long after Communism’s collapse. Their acts often harked back to Polish “divas” from Communist times: cabaret star Violetta Villas with her layered, feathered gowns, 1960s sex symbol Kalina Jędrusik, who scandalized crowds with her backless outfits, and patrician mezzo-soprano Irena Santor were all clear favorites. 

One of the drag scene’s stalwarts, Lady Brigitte, recalls impersonating both Villas and Santor during her performances in the 1990s. She says that many queer men at the time embraced Villas as an icon. “She was a colorful flower, a bright light that seemed to have arrived [in Communist Poland] from America, she was bold and courageous, and above all, different,” the drag queen says. 

“Of course, we’d also tackle foreign figures like Cher and Tina Turner — you wanted to have that whiff of the West. But most of each show would revolve around Polish artists,” she explains. 

According to Ludmiła Janion, a cultural studies scholar at the University of Warsaw, the history of Polish “queer icons” goes much deeper. As she speaks, Janion pulls out photos of cross-dressing Polish actors from the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s, one of them the spitting image of U.S. dance pioneer Isadora Duncan. One of the extraordinary performances of that time, she says, comes from the 1937 comedy Neighbors (Piętro wyżej, in Polish). A glittering romp about a feud between two music-loving residents of a Warsaw townhouse, it shows cabaret heartthrob Eugeniusz Bodo wow an audience with his impersonation of the American actress Mae West. “Sex appeal is our womanly weapon,” Bodo sings as he whirls around the stage in a blond wig and a sparkling black dress. 

Eugeniusz Bodo (center) impersonating Mae West in the 1937 film “Neighbors”

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Some Polish film critics view the scene as a nod to LGBTQ audiences, pointing to the blossoming of queer culture in interwar Warsaw. “Bodo never got married. He wasn’t the type to chase after women,” Janion explains. “Of course, we can’t be sure that he was gay, but he was an ambiguous figure,” she adds, noting the actor’s string of cross-dressing characters during the brief but intense flourishing of Warsaw’s cabaret scene in the early 20th century. 

With the advent of Communism, this artistic freedom came to an end. Cross-dressing performances did not disappear, Janion says, but like much else, they retreated to the private sphere; to the semi-safety of high-rise apartments and tipsy evenings with friends. As a result, records of these “clothes-flipping parties” are sparse and hard to find. 

The parties themselves might have slipped into obscurity if Kim Lee hadn’t stopped to chat with an older gentleman who’d come to see her show one day in 2008. She soon found out that Andrzej Szwan, 69 at the time, had decades of “clothes-flipping” performances under his belt, even if his ornate costumes had scarcely left his building. With Nguyen’s help, Szwan transformed into one of Poland’s most eye-catching drag queens: Lulla la Polaca. Now 84, Szwan is still performing and much-loved by the media, including Vogue’s Polish edition and the country’s most august opinion magazines. 

However, researchers Janion and Wojtaszczyk disagree about whether the “clothes-flipping parties” of Communist times and earlier film and cabaret performances can be classed as drag. Wojtaszczyk would rather reserve the term for modern-day performers who choose to use it themselves, while Janion is happy to speak about “a continuum of drag performances” that involve cross-dressing, an audience, and a note of homoerotic tension.  

Andrzej Szwan (Lulla la Polaca) in the 2022 documentary film “Boylesque”

HBO

‘Sister, you’re the activist type’

Lulla la Polaca, for one, was quick to call herself a drag queen once she started performing publicly. She also proudly describes herself as an LGBTQ activist. Most people I speak to agree that the term could also apply to Kim Lee, though not all Polish drag performers embrace it. 

“I’d always say to her: sister, you’re the activist type,” recalls Polish drag queen Lady Brigitte, referencing a double act she and Kim put on in the 2000s. Lady Brigitte herself has a more ambivalent attitude towards activism (“I performed at fund-raisers, but they were mostly for homeless animals”), though she expresses admiration for Nguyen’s engagement with Polish LGBTQ groups at the time. 

“There must have been more than twenty,” Szeląg replies when asked how many queer rights organizations Nguyen was involved in during his lifetime. He adds that Nguyen was also active in Poland’s Vietnamese community — “although he liked to keep that part of his life separate,” initially for fear of negative reactions to his same-sex relationship and stage persona. 

These concerns ultimately proved unfounded, Szeląg maintains. “Poland’s Vietnamese community has undergone a great transformation,” he explains, describing various relatives and friends of Nguyen’s he’s met over the years. “A while ago, a journalist from London came to interview its members for a story. Asked about famous Polish-Vietnamese people, every single one mentioned Kim Lee.” 

In Kim Lee’s Dressing Room

PAT MIC / MUZEUM WARSZAWY

Szeląg and Tomasik say that Nguyen didn’t like to dwell on the racist taunts he sometimes faced. Be that as it may, he publicly weighed in on what Polishness could and should mean by starring in a music video that parodied Poland’s infamous 2014 Eurovision entry. “We are Slavic” by Polish singer Cleo and record producer Donatan, with its busty, butter-churning milkmaids and appeals for foreigners to “try Polish women,” prompted a collective groan from the country’s feminists and liberals. Donatan’s comments denigrating that year’s winner — Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst — only added fuel to the fire. 

Kim was not one to sling back insults. Instead, she twirled around a meadow in Polish folk dress, lip-syncing to lines about “hot Slavic blood” and Polish women “ruddy as fresh bread.” 

Wojtaszczyk and the drag performers The Beet’s correspondent interviewed also recalled Kim’s role in integrating Poland’s drag scene and raising its profile, whether through hosting “Miss Drag” pageants or judging competitions. Teo Łagowska and Agnieszka Małgowska of the Drag King Szarm Trio — the aforementioned Warsaw collective of female and gender-queer performers who embody mostly masculine characters — stressed that Kim advocated inclusivity within a scene that they say still sidelines groups like theirs.  

Nguyen’s untimely death from the coronavirus in 2020 was “a shock for Poland’s rainbow community,” Małgowska says. “We always thought that Kim would become a senior drag queen, like Lulla [la Polaca], that she would dance until the end of time,” she laments. 

In Kim Lee’s Dressing Room

PAT MIC / MUZEUM WARSZAWY

Szeląg, Tomasik, and Staroszczyk all spoke of the Museum of Warsaw exhibition as a means of mourning the artist and honoring his memory. Tomasik, the author and Kim’s long-time friend, says that a “terrible sadness” remains, but he also notes his satisfaction that Polish drag is finally beginning to get official recognition. “It’s an art with a decades-long history and its own icons,” he says. “These are just the first attempts to commemorate, remember, and honor them.”

[inkdragonworks]

When did you start making games?

As a kid I really liked drawing maps and levels based on games I liked: yoshi, megaman, crash bandicoot, sonic, gex, and oddworld.

I really liked the world map in mario world and drawing a bunch of those, thinking about what stages would be in them. With Megaman, I remember nintendo power showed all the robot masters for each of the previous games which I hadn't played yet (I had an SNES so only knew about X and 7). I made a bunch of levels based on what I thought the robot master's levels would've been like. With crash, I remember making a whole notebook using colored markers of like 70 stages.

I started actually making games sometime at the beginning of high school when I went to Digipen's summer camps, a 2 week thing where we used their then in-house Game Development software, ProjectFUN. ProjectFUN was something I saw advertised in one issue of Nintendo Power, where they showed a screenshot of the UI and it was the first time for me seeing a software like that, and was what led me to asking about Digipen and going to the summer program.

They let us download ProjectFUN for home, but I couldn't really figure out how to use it, and went with something else called BlitzBASIC. The stuff I made was... basic, very small arcadey stuff with rough ms paint graphics. I think this would have been around 2006-2008.

I don't think ProjectFUN is utilized at Digipen anymore as when I went there for college (before dropping out) we ended up using Game Maker, which I ended up liking a lot more.Here's the first game I ever made in it, a 2D puzzle platformer where you mirror your position across the screen: https://www.mediafire.com/file/luy7wj5t8h55f25/SplitUp.zip/file

There were two other game maker games I made in that class but they were a lot less polished cause of the excessive workload Digipen gave us, which is part of why I dropped out. But I ended up sticking with Game Maker and developing a lot of smaller, incomplete stuff with it, and making more complete stuff into today.

[occultpuppy]

get to know a simmer

I was tagged by @lilamausmaus - Thanks so much :)

show your wallpaper:

Phone > Desktop (Animated)

last song you listened to: Drum and Bass On The Roundabout

currently reading: Don't get sucked into too many books these days, most of my reading is through my job unless you count simblr stories lol

last movie: Ace Ventura Pet detective ... it's fucking lame how the plot of the movie is transphobia sponsored by the nfl

last show: I'm constantly stuck in a Dimension20 whole, the storytelling is so good and though I could never play ttrpg myself, it's cool to watch others be good at it :>

craving: nothing at the current moment other than long-term goals

what are you wearing right now: lol just changed from the leopard print sleep gown to more gremlin-casual Venom t-shirt and purple short shorts

how tall are you: 5'5-5'6 depending on the measure

piercings: old holes but I don't wear jewelry currently; I go in phases of either being covered in gold trinkets or bare

tattoos: 6 so far but want more, 2 on each forearm, 1 on my chest and 1 on my leg to match with my mom <3

glasses/contacts: used to but vision got better??

last thing you ate: breakfast! toast, eggs, sausage and nondairy cheese bc lactose intolerance

favourite colour: also phases. maroon/cranberry, gold, teal, deep ROYAL purple, cerulean, a verdant, void black, rich clover green and all the shades of browns/greys of the trees <3

current obsession: D20 honestly. Before that it was From Software Lore, collecting unique boots/shoes that I rarely wear and nail polish

any pets: one little purr machine named Kiki. Her other names are The Keek, Skreekus, The Scrunge, Scrungalista Evangalise, Skinny Raccoon, House Panther, Purrbaby, Kitten and other such variations

favourite fictional character: Kurt and Moon, my OC's which you all have seen Kurt simmed up before but I haven't done Moon. Maybe I should tho

last place you traveled: fuggin work. we dont go anywhere, we're poor af and my job is an hour commute so anytime at home is treasured lol

i'll tag @cantseemtohide @gingerbeardmansim @florwalsims

obviously no pressure yall but this was a fun to pick out what i was willing to share with the community and is a nice way to join in the buzz without the expectation. much love to all of those involved and have a great day :)

[selfpublishingjournals]

What Resources Are Available For First-Time Self-Published Authors.

What Resources Are Available For First-Time Self-Published Authors.

Chuck Morgan Crime Fiction Author

Resources for first-time self-published authors are abundant and can significantly enhance your journey in the publishing world. From writing workshops and online courses to professional editing services and cover design tools, you have various options at your disposal. Additionally, platforms like social media and author websites can help you build your brand and reach your audience effectively. This post will guide you through the imperative resources available, empowering you to navigate the self-publishing landscape with confidence and success.

Understanding Self-Publishing

Before venturing into self-publishing, it's necessary to grasp its fundamentals. Self-publishing allows you to take full control of your book's creation, distribution, and marketing without the need for a traditional publishing house. This approach empowers you to retain your creative vision while building your brand as an author.

What Is Self-Publishing?

Below is an overview of what self-publishing entails. Self-publishing refers to the process of independently publishing your work, where you become both the author and the publisher. You handle everything from editing and design to marketing and distribution, utilizing platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, IngramSpark, or other online services to reach your audience directly.

Benefits of Self-Publishing

An array of benefits awaits you when choosing the self-publishing route. You have the freedom to decide on the content, design, and pricing of your book, ensuring it aligns with your vision. Additionally, you retain a significant portion of your royalties, allowing for greater financial rewards compared to traditional publishing methods.

Another significant advantage is the speed at which you can publish your work. Unlike traditional publishing, which may take months or even years, self-publishing can allow for a quicker turnaround from manuscript to market. This agility enables you to respond to market trends or reader feedback sooner, adapting your strategies and maximizing your book's potential for success.

Resources for Writing and Editing

Clearly, the writing and editing process is vital to your success as a self-published author. Utilizing the right resources can significantly enhance the quality of your manuscript. From writing software to the possibility of professional editing services, there are numerous tools and aids at your disposal to ensure that your work resonates well with readers.

Writing Software and Tools

Along with traditional pen and paper, various writing software can streamline your writing process. Programs like Scrivener, Ulysses, and even Google Docs offer features designed to help you organize your ideas, outline your chapters, and keep track of your character development. These tools allow you to focus more on creativity while managing the structural aspects of your writing.

Professional Editing Services

Software solutions are useful, but relying solely on them may not suffice for a polished outcome. Engaging professional editing services can provide you with the expertise needed to refine your manuscript. Professional editors usually offer various services, from developmental editing to copy editing, tailored to address your specific needs.

A skilled editor not only corrects grammatical errors but also provides feedback on aspects like pacing, character development, and overall structure. Moreover, an editor can help you identify inconsistencies and enhance your manuscript's clarity, making it more engaging for your readers. Investing in professional editing is a significant step towards ensuring your book achieves its full potential in the self-publishing arena.

Cover Design and Formatting

If you want your book to stand out in a crowded market, investing in quality cover design and formatting is important. A professionally designed cover not only grabs potential readers' attention but also conveys the genre and tone of your work. In this stage, you'll want to ensure that your book's formatting is impeccable, from the layout to the typography, to create a polished reading experience.

Importance of a Professional Cover

Importance of a professional cover cannot be overstated. It sets the first impression for your book and often determines whether a reader decides to purchase your work. A well-crafted cover reflects the quality of your writing and helps build your brand as an author.

Formatting Tools and Services

To achieve a polished look, exploring various formatting tools and services will benefit you. From free software options to professional services, there are many ways to ensure your book is formatted correctly for both eBook and print versions.

Tools available for formatting include popular options like Scrivener, Vellum, and Adobe InDesign, which cater to different skill levels. For those seeking assistance, consider hiring freelance formatters on platforms like Fiverr or Upwork. These professionals can help you achieve a visually appealing layout that meets industry standards, ensuring your book looks its best when it reaches readers.

ISBNs and Copyrights

Keep in mind that having an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and securing your book's copyright is important for self-publishing success. An ISBN helps identify your book in the marketplace, making it easier for readers and retailers to find. Copyright, on the other hand, protects your creative work, granting you exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute it. Understanding these two aspects will not only enhance your book's visibility but also shield your intellectual property from misuse.

Understanding ISBN Essentials

About ISBNs, they are unique identifiers assigned to your book. Each format—hardcover, paperback, and eBook—requires its own ISBN, facilitating efficient tracking and sales reporting. Obtaining an ISBN is a straightforward process, which you can do through your country’s ISBN agency. Remember that while some self-publishing platforms provide free ISBNs, acquiring your own grants you greater control over your book's distribution.

Copyright Registration Process

Copyright is vital as it safeguards your original work, preventing others from using it without your permission. To register your copyright, you typically need to complete an application with your country's copyright office, pay a fee, and submit a copy of your work. This process establishes a public record of your authorship, enhancing your legal claim in case of infringement.

Considering the registration process, it's advisable to file your copyright as soon as your book is finished. While copyright protection is automatic upon the creation of your work, registration provides significant legal advantages, including the ability to sue for damages in case of copyright infringement. The process can often be completed online, making it straightforward and accessible for first-time authors like you.

Distribution Channels

All self-published authors must consider distribution channels to ensure their work reaches the widest audience possible. Understanding how and where to distribute your book can significantly impact its visibility and sales. You will want to explore various platforms and strategies to find the best fit for your goals and your audience.

Major Self-Publishing Platforms

Along your self-publishing journey, familiarizing yourself with major platforms is vital. Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), IngramSpark, and Smashwords are some of the most popular options. Each platform has unique features, pricing structures, and distribution reach that can influence your book’s performance in the marketplace.

Exploring Print and E-Book Options

On your path to self-publishing, exploring both print and e-book options will enhance your reach. You can choose print-on-demand services that allow you to publish physical books with minimal upfront costs, or consider e-book formats to tap into a growing digital audience. Balancing these mediums can ensure you cater to diverse reader preferences.

In addition to reaching various audiences, offering both print and e-book editions allows you to adapt to reader behaviors and market trends. Print books appeal to traditional readers who enjoy the tactile experience, while e-books provide convenience for those who prefer reading on devices. By utilizing services like KDP for e-books and CreateSpace for print, you can maximize your distribution strategy and ultimately boost your sales potential.

Marketing and Promotion Strategies

Your book's success depends significantly on effective marketing and promotion strategies. Developing a comprehensive plan can help you reach your target audience and maximize your book's visibility. Consider leveraging both traditional and digital marketing techniques to engage readers and build anticipation for your work. From creating a website to engaging in book signings, there are various pathways to cultivate a following and create buzz around your title.

Building an Author Platform

To build an author platform, start by creating a professional website and engaging with your readers through a blog. Share your writing journey, insights, and updates about your book to create an authentic connection with your audience. Utilizing an email newsletter can also keep your readers informed and foster lasting relationships.

Utilizing Social Media and Online Marketing

Above all, tapping into social media and online marketing is imperative for promoting your book. Use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to share updates, teasers, and behind-the-scenes content. Engage with your audience personally by responding to comments and participating in discussions related to your genre.

In fact, social media can offer powerful tools for targeted advertising and connecting with like-minded readers. Running promotional campaigns, utilizing hashtags, and joining relevant groups can amplify your reach. Consider using platforms like Goodreads to connect with avid readers and gain reviews, which can boost your visibility. Online marketing strategies can significantly extend your book’s reach and foster a vibrant community of readers around your work.

Summing up

Conclusively, as a first-time self-published author, you have a wealth of resources at your fingertips to guide you through the process. From online guides and platforms to community support groups, these tools can help you navigate the complexities of self-publishing effectively.

[astariosoutsourcing]

What is the Help Provided by a Development Outsourcing Company?

Cost savings, performance enhancement, and process streamlining are a few of the many reasons why outsourcing can be beneficial for small businesses. However, they might not move forward with outsourcing their business tasks due to the challenges and risks involved. But, as a matter of fact, once you find the right ways to outsource with the help of a development outsourcing company, the perks are far-reaching. Those perks can help your business to grow seamlessly.

Moreover, there are different types of ways of outsourcing your business requirements including onshoring, offshoring, and nearshoring. You only have to understand your needs and make any decision afterward. Also, you must be perfectly aware of the process and task you desire to outsource.

Business Tasks Managed by a Development Outsourcing Company

Business operations and functioning can be really difficult to handle and accomplish. Those operations involve complex tasks and processes that require efficient management. IT software outsourcing can be of great help when you want seamless business task management. However, you must be mindful when you contract out the tasks. There are different ways to delegate your business tasks on contract. Continue reading to know about them.

1. Delegating the Entire Process

There are multiple functions involved in a business. You are not bound to perform all of them single-handedly. Even you are untied from performing any one of them! Now, the thing that you have to do is to find the right development outsourcing company and delegate the whole business process to them. Their experts will accomplish the tasks involved in the process. However, you should find the best outsourcing partner for yourself for outsourcing the entire business functions because it risks reduced control and lowered quality.

2. Outsourcing the Expertise

There are times when you are not able to find relevant talent and skill in your in-house team or are just running out of time to find one. You urgently need someone who can take over the professional tasks for a limited period of time until you polish your in-house team. That’s where professional outsourcing by a development outsourcing company can be of help.

You temporarily hire experts from different fields to complete the delegated tasks before the deadline. Those experts can include an accountant, a developer, etc. Using this way of IT software outsourcing, you cut on costs that you will otherwise have to spend on a full-time hire.

3. Offshoring the Manufacturing Task

The lure of some countries with lowered costs on manufacturing assets is something that brings many businesses to opt for offshore manufacturing. This way of outsourcing is popular among businesses that decide to set up factories in far-off countries and are ready to tackle the challenges. The challenges may include disruptions in supply-chain distribution, workers' treatment, less control of production, time zone differences, and much more. Overall, this outsourcing process is opted for by businesses that are at a certain level in the market and are seeking to scale up with the help of IT software outsourcing.

4. Onshoring Project Necessities

This type of outsourcing is more like partnering with a third-party business. You collaborate with them to help you with a limited-period project. The need for this type of contracting with a development outsourcing company may arise due to the hastily approaching deadline. There might be an expert leaving or a hire unable to work for a certain period of time. Surely, emergencies and urgencies are part of the business processes and you must be ready for it.

Outsourcing can help you with this. Whether you need a website developer for your new website or any other IT software outsourcing, you can always reap the benefits of the best outsourcing provider.

From Delegation to Project Accomplishment: Outsourcing Perfection!

So, are you looking for the experts' help to get your outsourcing tasks accomplished the quickest? You can always find help at astarios. Connect with them today and get the best outsourcing support today!

[zicaanimationborivali]

3d Animation Courses In Mumbai

If you aspire to create breathtaking 3D animations and explore limitless creative opportunities, ZICA Animation Institute offers the most comprehensive 3D Animation Courses in Mumbai. Our program is meticulously crafted to provide students with the skills and tools they need to succeed in the highly competitive animation industry. From beginners to advanced learners, our courses cater to all skill levels.

Why Choose ZICA for 3D Animation in Mumbai

ZICA Animation Institute stands as a beacon of excellence in the world of animation education. Here’s why we’re the top choice for aspiring animators:

Expert Faculty: Learn from experienced professionals who bring real-world insights and hands-on expertise to every class.

Industry-Standard Tools and Software: Master cutting-edge tools like Autodesk Maya, Blender, and more to create stunning 3D animations.

Comprehensive Curriculum: Our courses cover everything from the basics of 3D modeling to advanced animation techniques and VFX compositing.

Placement Assistance: We have a proven track record of helping students secure positions in leading animation studios and production houses.

A Curriculum Designed for Mastery in 3D Animation

Introduction to 3D Animation

The course begins with an overview of 3D animation fundamentals, including the principles of animation, the importance of storytelling, and an introduction to key software tools.

3D Modeling and Texturing

Learn to create detailed 3D models of characters, environments, and props. This module includes:

Polygon Modeling: Build complex models with precision and efficiency.

UV Mapping: Prepare models for texturing by creating seamless UV layouts.

Material and Texture Application: Add depth and realism to your models with advanced texturing techniques.

Rigging and Animation

Bring your models to life with dynamic movements and expressions. Key topics include:

Character Rigging: Set up skeletal systems for realistic movement.

Animation Techniques: Master keyframing, motion paths, and advanced animation workflows.

Facial Animation: Create lifelike facial expressions for characters.

Lighting, Rendering, and Compositing

Enhance your animations with professional lighting and rendering techniques. This module covers:

Lighting Fundamentals: Use lighting to create mood and emphasize storytelling.

Rendering with Arnold and Cycles: Learn how to optimize renders for high-quality results.

Compositing with NUKE and After Effects: Combine rendered elements seamlessly into polished final projects.

Specialized Modules

Stay ahead of the curve by exploring advanced topics, including:

Visual Effects (VFX): Create jaw-dropping simulations and special effects.

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR): Step into the future of animation with immersive experiences.

Advantages of Learning 3D Animation in Mumbai at ZICA

Proximity to Industry Giants

Mumbai is home to India’s thriving entertainment industry. ZICA’s location offers students unparalleled access to networking opportunities, internships, and industry collaborations.

Practical Learning Experience

Our hands-on approach ensures students gain real-world experience through live projects, workshops, and industry events. This practical exposure builds confidence and prepares students for successful careers.

Career Opportunities After Completing the Course

Graduates of our 3D Animation Courses in Mumbai are in high demand across industries such as gaming, film production, advertising, and more. Our alumni have worked on blockbuster movies, innovative game designs, and cutting-edge VR experiences.

Testimonials from Our Alumni

Our students have consistently praised the quality of education and the supportive environment at ZICA. Here are some success stories:

“ZICA gave me the skills and confidence to pursue my dream of working in the animation industry. The faculty’s guidance and the state-of-the-art facilities were instrumental in my success.”

“Thanks to ZICA’s placement assistance, I’m now part of a leading animation studio. The training I received here was invaluable.”

Enroll in ZICA’s 3D Animation Courses Today

If you’re ready to transform your passion for animation into a rewarding career, ZICA Animation Institute is the perfect place to start. Our courses are designed to empower you with the skills, confidence, and creativity needed to thrive in this dynamic field.

Contact Us

Take the first step toward your dream career. Visit our Mumbai campus or contact us today to learn more about our 3D Animation Courses in Mumbai. Let ZICA help you turn your imagination into reality

[badgemakingmachine]

The Ultimate Solution for Name Tag Creation: BadgeMachine’s Name Tag Maker

Creating name tags has never been easier! Whether you’re organizing a corporate event, managing a bustling office, or running a retail store, a high-quality name tag is a small detail that makes a big difference. BadgeMachine’s Name Tag Maker offers a seamless solution for creating professional, personalized, and durable name tags on demand.]

Why You Need a Name Tag Maker

Gone are the days of outsourcing name tag production or relying on generic designs. A name tag maker provides:

Customizable Options:

Tailor each name tag to include names, job titles, logos, and more.

Match designs with your company’s branding for a cohesive look.

Efficiency and Speed:

Print or engrave name tags in minutes, perfect for last-minute changes or large-scale events.

Cost Savings:

Eliminate the expense of hiring external suppliers by producing name tags in-house.

Versatility:

Compatible with a variety of materials, including plastic, metal, and eco-friendly options.

Professional Appearance:

Ensure sharp, polished, and high-quality designs every time.

How BadgeMachine’s Name Tag Maker Works

Creating name tags with BadgeMachine is simple and hassle-free:

Design Your Tag:

Use BadgeMachine’s intuitive software or upload your custom design.

Incorporate elements like names, logos, titles, and even QR codes.

Load Your Material:

Choose your preferred material—plastic, metal, or laminated paper—and insert it into the machine.

Produce the Tag:

Select your preferred method (printing or engraving) and let the machine handle the rest.

Add Attachments:

Use pins, magnets, or lanyards to make your tags wearable.

Features of BadgeMachine’s Name Tag Maker

User-Friendly Interface:

Easy-to-operate software and controls make design and production a breeze.

Compact and Portable:

Perfect for businesses with limited space or event organizers on the go.

High-Quality Output:

Crisp text, vivid colors, and precise engravings ensure a professional look.

Customizable Options:

Personalize fonts, colors, and layouts to match your branding.

Eco-Friendly Compatibility:

Machines support sustainable materials for environmentally-conscious businesses.

Who Can Benefit from a Name Tag Maker?

Corporate Offices

Equip employees and visitors with professional name tags that showcase their roles and your company’s logo.

Events and Conferences

Create personalized attendee badges that enhance networking and elevate event branding.

Retail Businesses

Help employees connect with customers through clear, attractive name tags.

Educational Institutions

Use name tags to identify students, faculty, and staff for better organization and security.

Healthcare Settings

Ensure easy identification of medical professionals and staff in busy environments.

Why Choose BadgeMachine?

Top-Notch Quality:

Our name tag makers produce durable, professional-grade tags every time.

Cost-Effective Solutions:

Affordable machines that pay for themselves over time.

Expert Support:

From setup to maintenance, our team is here to help.

Custom Design Assistance:

Need help with your designs? We’ve got you covered.

Eco-Friendly Focus:

Choose from sustainable materials and environmentally-friendly production options.

Pro Tips for Creating Stunning Name Tags

Keep it Simple: Avoid clutter by focusing on essential details like name, title, and logo.

Prioritize Readability: Use legible fonts and colors that contrast well.

Test Before Printing in Bulk: Print a sample to check for accuracy and quality.

Add a Personal Touch: Include optional features like job titles or QR codes for added functionality.

Order Your Name Tag Maker Today

Say goodbye to outdated, generic name tags and elevate your branding with BadgeMachine’s Name Tag Maker. Whether you’re producing tags for a one-time event or need an ongoing solution for your business, our machines deliver speed, quality, and convenience.

[shabdproductionhouse]

The Best Video Production Company in Gorakhpur | Shabd Production House

Video content is a powerful tool for storytelling, marketing, and engaging audiences in the digital era. Professional video production services can elevate brands and bring creative visions to life. In Gorakhpur, a hub of cultural and entrepreneurial vibrancy, our video production company offers a suite of services including video editing, 2D & 3D animation, graphic design, script writing, and voice over.

Explore how our services can transform your ideas into captivating visuals and why we are top video production company in gorakhpur.

Video Editing: Crafting Seamless Narratives

Our Gorakhpur-based team of expert editors utilize advanced editing techniques to transform raw footage into a polished, engaging, and professional video, ensuring a seamless and compelling narrative in any production.

Whether it’s a corporate video, wedding footage, a short film, or social media content, we specialize in:

Color correction to enhance visual appeal.

Audio synchronization for crisp and clear sound.

Special effects and transitions to captivate viewers.

Dynamic storytelling that resonates with your audience.

Our commitment to perfection ensures your video leaves a lasting impression.

2D & 3D Animation: Bringing Ideas to Life

Our Gorakhpur-based 2D and 3D animation services offer a comprehensive solution for various video production needs, enabling creators to visualize concepts in a unique way.

Explainer videos for businesses.

Product demonstrations with 3D modeling.

Educational content for schools and online platforms.

Creative storytelling for short films and advertisements.

Our animators use advanced software to create precise and creative animations, ranging from sleek corporate animations to vibrant cartoons, ensuring precision and creativity in all our work.

Graphic Design: The Art of Visual Communication

Our Gorakhpur-based graphic design team is renowned for their exceptional skills in creating visually impactful visuals, from captivating thumbnails for YouTube videos to immersive marketing campaigns.

Our graphic design services include:

Logo creation to establish brand identity.

Social media graphics for consistent branding.

Posters and banners for events and promotions.

Custom illustrations for unique visual storytelling.

Our designers collaborate closely with clients to ensure every project has a unique visual language.

Script Writing: Building the Foundation of a Great Video

Our Gorakhpur-based script writers are experts in creating well-written videos that guide the entire production process, whether it's for information, entertainment, or inspiration, aligning with your goals.

Here’s what sets our scriptwriting apart:

Customized storytelling tailored to your target audience.

Engaging narratives that keep viewers hooked.

Clear messaging that communicates your brand’s values.

Creative concepts for unique and memorable content.

We guarantee the creation of compelling and impactful scripts for commercials, documentaries, and YouTube videos.

Voice Over: Adding Depth and Emotion

Our experienced voice-over artists in Gorakhpur provide a versatile range of tones and styles to enhance the depth, emotion, and personality of your video project.

Our voice-over services include:

Corporate narration for presentations and training videos.

Commercial voice-overs for advertisements.

Character voices for animations and video games.

Multilingual options to reach diverse audiences.

We guarantee that the voice-over perfectly complements your video, thereby enhancing the viewer experience.

Why Choose Us?

Here’s what makes our video production company in Gorakhpur stand out:

End-to-End Solutions

We provide a comprehensive range of services, from pre-production planning to post-production polishing, ensuring a cohesive final product by reducing coordination with multiple vendors.

State-of-the-Art Technology

Our commitment to innovation ensures that we use the latest tools and software to deliver high-quality videos that meet industry standards.

Creative Excellence

Our team of passionate creatives delivers visually stunning and emotionally engaging videos, showcasing fresh ideas and unique perspectives in every project.

Client-Centric Approach

Our top priority is your vision, and we collaborate closely with you throughout the production process to ensure the final product aligns with your objectives.

Affordable Pricing

Our goal is to ensure that high-quality video production is accessible to all, with competitive and transparent pricing without any hidden costs.

Applications of Our Services

Our services cater to a wide range of industries and purposes, including:

Corporate videos for businesses looking to enhance their brand image.

Social media content to boost online engagement.

Wedding films that capture cherished moments beautifully.

Educational videos for schools, colleges, and e-learning platforms.

Promotional campaigns for products, events, and services.

Serving Gorakhpur and Beyond

Our goal is to make Gorakhpur a hub for creative excellence, catering to local businesses, aspiring filmmakers, and individuals with unique stories, aiming to bring their visions to life and make Gorakhpur a hub for excellence.

Let’s Create Something Amazing Together

Our video production company in Gorakhpur specializes in creating experiences through video editing, 2D & 3D animation, graphic design, scriptwriting, and voice-over, ensuring we can handle projects of any scale and complexity.

Contact us today to elevate your ideas and collaborate on creating a visually stunning masterpiece that leaves a lasting impact.

Contact Information

Email us: info.shabdproduction@gmail.com

Phone no. +91 8840231884

Website: https://shabdproduction.com/video-production-company-in-gorakhpur/