#Visual Effects Society

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

Jungle Cruise (2021, Jaume Collet-Serra)

26/06/2024

[awardswatcherik]

Visual Effects Society (VES) Nominations: 'The Creator,' 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' Lead

[awardseason]

21st Annual Visual Effects Society Awards — Film Winners

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature Avatar: The Way of Water – Richard Baneham, Walter Garcia, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, JD Schwalm — WINNER Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – Christian Mänz, Olly Young, Benjamin Loch, Stephane Naze, Alistair Williams Jurassic World: Dominion – David Vickery, Ann Podlozny, Jance Rubinchik, Dan Snape, Paul Corbould The Batman – Dan Lemmon, Bryan Searing, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands, Dominic Tuohy Top Gun: Maverick – Ryan Tudhope, Paul Molles, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson, Scott Fisher

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature Death on the Nile – George Murphy, Claudia Dehmel, Mathieu Raynault, Jonathan Bowen, David Watkins I Wanna Dance With Somebody – Paul Norris, Tim Field, Don Libby, Andrew Simmonds The Fabelmans – Pablo Helman, Jennifer Mizener, Cernogorods Aleksei, Jeff Kalmus, Mark Hawker The Gray Man – Swen Gilberg, Viet Luu, Bryan Grill, Cliff Welsh, Michael Meinardus The Pale Blue Eye – Jake Braver, Catherine Farrell, Tim Van Horn, Scott Pritchard, Jeremy Hays Thirteen Lives – Jason Billington, Thomas Horton, Denis Baudin, Michael Harrison, Brian Cox — WINNER

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Aaron Weintraub, Jeffrey Schaper, Cameron Carson, Emma Gorbey, Mad God, Chris Morley, Phil Tippett, Ken Rogerson, Tom Gibbons — WINNER Strange World – Steve Goldberg, Laurie Au, Mark Hammel, Mehrdad Isvandi The Bad Guys– Pierre Perifel, Damon Ross, Matt Baer, JP Sans The Sea Beast – Joshua Beveridge, Christian Hejnal, Stirling Duguid, Spencer Lueders Turning Red – Domee Shi, Lindsey Collins, Danielle Feinberg, Dave Hale

Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature  Avatar: The Way of Water: Kiri – Anneka Fris, Rebecca Louise Leybourne, Guillaume Francois, Jung-Rock Hwang — WINNER Beast: Lion – Alvise Avati, Bora Şahin, Chris McGaw, Krzysztof Boyoko Disney’s Pinocchio: Honest John – Christophe Paradis, Valentina Rosselli, Armita Khanlarpour, Kyoungmin Kim Slumberland: Pig – Fernando Lopes Herrera, Victor Dinis, Martine Chartrand, Lucie Martinetto

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio: Geppetto – Charles Greenfield, Peter Saunders, Shami Lang-Rinderspacher, Noel Estevez-Baker Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio: Pinocchio – Oliver Beale, Richard Pickersgill, Brian Leif Hansen, Kim Slate — WINNER Strange World: Splat – Leticia Gillett, Cameron Black, Dan Lipson, Louis Jones Turning Red: Panda Mei – Christopher Bolwyn, Ethan Dean, Bill Sheffler, Kureha Yokoo

Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature Avatar: The Way of Water: Metkayina Village – Ryan Arcus, Lisa Hardisty, Paul Harris TaeHyoung David Kim Avatar: The Way of Water: The Reef – Jessica Cowley, Joe W. Churchill, Justin Stockton, Alex Nowotny — WINNER Jurassic World Dominion: Biosyn Valley – Steve Ellis, Steve Hardy, Thomas Dohlen, John Seru Slumberland: The Wondrous Cuban Hotel Dream – Daniël Dimitri Veder, Marc Austin, Pavan Rajesh Uppu, Casey Gorton

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio: In the Stomach of a Sea Monster – Warren Lawtey, Anjum Sakharkar, Javier Gonzalez Alonso, Quinn Carvalho — WINNER Lightyear: T’Kani Prime Forest – Lenora Acidera, Amy Allen, Alyssa Minko, Jose L. Ramos Serrano Strange World: The Windy Jungle – Ki Jong Hong, Ryan Smith, Jesse Erickson, Benjamin Fiske The Sea Beast: The Hunting Ship – Yohan Bang, Enoch Ihde, Denil George Chundangal, John Wallace Wendell & Wild: The Scream Fair – Tom Proost, Nicholas Blake, Colin Babcock, Matthew Paul Albertus Cross

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project ABBA: Voyage – Pär M. Ekberg, John Galloway, Paolo Acri, Jose Burgos Avatar: The Way of Water – Richard Baneham, Dan Cox, Eric Reynolds, A.J Briones — WINNER Prehistoric Planet – Daniel Fotheringham, Krzysztof Szczepanski, Wei-Chuan Hsu, Claire Hill The Batman: Rain Soaked Car Chase – Dennis Yoo, Michael J. Hall, Jason Desjarlais, Ben Bigiel

Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project Avatar: The Way of Water: The Sea Dragon – Sam Sharplin, Stephan Skorepa, Ian Baker, Guillaume Francois — WINNER The Sea Beast – Maxx Okazaki, Susan Kornfeld, Edward Lee, Doug Smith Top Gun: Maverick: F-14 Tomcat – Christian Peck, Klaudio Ladavac, Aram Jung, Peter Dominik Wendell & Wild: Dream Faire – Peter Dahmen, Paul Harrod, Nicholas Blake

Outstanding Effects Simulation in a Photoreal Feature Avatar: The Way of Water: Fire and Destruction – Miguel Perez Senent, Xavier Martin Ramirez, David Kirchner, Ole Geir Eidsheim Avatar: The Way of Water: Water Simulations – Johnathan M. Nixon, David Moraton, Nicolas Illingworth, David Caeiro Cebrian — WINNER Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: City Street Flooding – Matthew Hanger, Alexis Hall, Hang Yang, Mikel Zuloaga Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – Jesse Parker Holmes, Grayden Solman, Toyokazu Hirai, Rob Richardson

Outstanding Effects Simulation in an Animated Feature Lightyear – Alexis Angelidis, Chris Chapman, Jung-Hyun Kim, Keith Klohn Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – Derek Cheung, Michael Losure, Kiem Ching Ong, Jinguang Huang — WINNER Strange World – Deborah Carlson, Scott Townsend, Stuart Griese, Yasser Hamed The Sea Beast – Spencer Lueders, Dmitriy Kolesnik, Brian D. Casper, Joe Eckroat

Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in Feature Avatar: The Way of Water: Landing Rockets Forest Destruction – Miguel Santana Da Silva, Hongfei Geng, Jonathan Moulin, Maria Corcho Avatar: The Way of Water: Water Integration – Sam Cole, Francois Sugny, Florian Schroeder, Jean Matthews — WINNER The Batman: Rainy Freeway Chase – Beck Veitch, Stephen Tong, Eva Snyder, Rachel E. Herbert Top Gun: Maverick – Saul Davide Galbiati, Jean-Frederic Veilleux, Felix B. Lafontaine, Cynthia Rodriguez del Castillo

Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal Project Avatar: The Way of Water: Current Machine and Wave Pool – JD Schwalm, Richie Schwalm, Nick Rand, Robert Spurlock — WINNER Black Adam: Robotic Flight – JD Schwalm, Nick Rand, Andrew Hyde, Andy Robot, Mad God, Phil Tippett, Chris Morley, Webster Colcord, Johnny McLeod The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power “Adrift” Middle Earth Storm – Dean Clarke, Oliver Gee, Eliot Naimie, Mark Robson

Emerging Technology Award Avatar: The Way of Water: Depth Comp – Dejan Momcilovic, Tobias B. Schmidt, Benny Edlund, Joshua Hardgrave Avatar: The Way of Water: Facial System – Byungkuk Choi, Stephen Cullingford, Stuart Adcock, Marco Revelant Avatar: The Way of Water: Water Toolset – Alexey Dmitrievich Stomakhin, Steve Lesser, Sven Joel Wretborn, Douglas McHale — WINNER Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio: 3D Printed Metal Armature – Richard Pickersgill, Glen Southern, Peter Saunders, Brian Leif Hansen Turning Red: Profile Mover and CurveNets – Kurt Fleischer, Fernando de Goes, Bill Sheffler

[scifi4wifi]

Visual Effects Society Announces Nominees for 22nd Annual VES Awards

Los Angeles (January 16, 2024) – Today, the Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s professional global honorary society, announced the nominees for the 22nd Annual VES Awards, the prestigious yearly celebration that recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in features, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX Supervisors, VFX Producers and hands-on…

[teafiend]

[ensemblewives]

re: my last post

... also this now makes me completely unfuckable (as I should be) because imagine this: you're a normie, you see me, I have a phone case that's dedicated to 'green man', you're like "neat, a lot of people have cute anime man phonecases", you see my screen saver, it's Buck-Tick (this synergizes the unfuckable energy because the hottest thing a guy can do is listen to Bucktick...), and then because of this confusing counter-signals you agree to come hang out with me, but low and behold my university ipad is dedicated to 'ominous jester man' (Kozi), and then my computer is also dedicated to that same 'green man' (thank fuck no one sees my tumblr hm) anyways what i'm saying is that i'm hot but I have been putting up barriers to prevent others from wanting me.

[phagodyke]

okaaaayyy finally watched I saw the tv glow :^)

[queercatboyrights]

anyone got any tips on getting art industry jobs w/o a college degree bc holy fuck this shit is horrendous /oAo;\

[unteriors]

Since you're Australian, why are so many of the posts from the US? Did you start with Australia and then move onto other countries once you'd felt like you exhausted it? Or is the US particularly interesting for your purposes?

A big part of the reason is the enormous difference in scale. Australia has about 25 million people, versus 300 or so million in the US. Each of the 50 states has at least one or two major cities, most have many more than that. In addition to the volume of real estate imagery produced by this market, there are a few things about the US in this context which draw me in from an Australian perspective. One is how real estate listings weirdly embody how much more visually apparent the harmful economic forces of the past 50 years are in American society than they are here or elsewhere. Australia's welfare state was developed roughly during the same time as in the US, and has similarly been cut back since the 1970s. But it was always much weaker in the US than in Australia or Western Europe, and correspondingly the effects of its deterioration - along with other economic trends - have been much more visible than they are here. The way this is played out in terms of localised funding for public services means that many American cities have pockets (of varying sizes) where poverty and other forms of systemic oppression are concentrated and left open to the elements. The sort of stuff Jacob Holdt documented in his photos in the 70s, or that you see in a lot crime films and thrillers with location shooting. Gentrification and other forces since then have pushed these pockets into other areas and made some places seem less grim, but from what I've heard it seems like it would be hard for the average person in the US to ignore that these large, systemic problems exist. Conversely, in Australia, this kind of intense poverty has been pushed into the margins of society during the same time period - to remote communities (where people suffer from chronic diseases that have been eradicated in most other wealthy countries), country towns with shrinking economies, or to the fringes of larger cities (where people sleep in their cars in parking lots, or multiple families form sharehouses to afford $400-500+ pw rents). Though as things have gotten worse, particularly since COVID, it's getting harder to ignore. But still there's a substantial part of the population here who have grown up in ignorance of any of the larger, percolating structural problems in Australian society, and who proactively retain that ignorance into adulthood.

I think you can see these different perspectives play in out in real estate listings. In most American states, even in most of the towns I've looked at, you can see a broad spectrum of living conditions (and commercial interpretations of ideal living conditions) - from burnt out trailers, to overpriced renovated shitty older houses with cheap grey vinyl flooring and white walls, to clearly lived-in time capsules to McMansions to actual mansions. Some photographs are clearly shot by owners, others by real estate agents with a great variety of care and attention to detail (from elaborate staging to crime scenes). Rightly or wrongly, I feel like I get a broader, more honest (or at least more direct) feel for the housing crisis. It's a more honest horror film.

Australian listings, I think in part due to concentrations in corporate power in the real estate industry (similar to other monopolies that have formed in our economy), tend to more heavily adhere to the visual language of advertising and are more heavily regulated by agencies. The problems still exist, the housing market here is among the worst in the world and little effort is being made to address the underlying structural issues, but you can see the lack of will to acknowledge these issues in the level of gloss that's applied. You can look at a listing of an older house in Western Australia, for instance, and know for a fact that it's riddled with asbestos and probably has several other structural issues, but most likely enough time and effort will have been spent on staging and lighting and maybe surface-level renovations that it will seem otherwise fine. Lots of turds that have been polished successfully enough that you need insider knowledge to properly identify them as dogshit. Incidentally, I spent part of my childhood in a house built in the 1960s that had asbestos in the walls and ceiling.

I'm still interested in images from Australian listings (and other sources) though, I just look for other things that are interesting. Anything that runs contrary to the artificially positive, limited world view that advertising promotes. Even if its a poorly-lit time capsule that is directly aesthetically opposite to the ideal of house-beauty at the moment, or an obviously run-down house that has had every realtor photography trick in the playbook thrown at it until it becomes deeply uncanny. And it's always interesting to see what other people find interesting; I genuinely think the housing crisis underwrites every other political issue we have to contend with, its tendrils extend in many different directions, and I think this also means imagery like this can reach people in a diversity of ways. Aesthetically, nostalgically, inspiring fear and self-loathing and horror. All good sources of inspiration for creativity.

[novy2sirius]

SPIRITUAL NOTES BY NOV ༉‧₊˚.༄

As I’ve talked about before, colors have vibrational energy. Certain colors are better for certain energies. For example, 1 life paths should avoid wearing red. 1’s are the biggest targets for corruption and lust so wearing red will only enhance that even more. Too much lust can be damaging to your root chakra

Wearing orange projects confidence (can make you come off more confident which is attractive to most people). Orange can also be a good color for home decor (orange lighting, lamps, etc)

Purple is a good color for protection (especially spiritual protection). You could simply visualize a purple aura/energy around you for protection if you feel you need it. Visualizing this color can also help you solve problems if you’re currently facing any

Eating pomegranates cleans your pineal gland and can help purify it. Thus, helping you become more spiritually connected and giving you more vivid dreams. Sleeping in complete darkness and Vitamin D are also a good way to wake up your pineal gland

5-9 minutes before your enemy hour in vietnamese astrology you have extreme luck. If you don’t know what your enemy hours in viet astro are then you can look at my post about them here

In my personal opinion focusing on numerology is way more powerful than moon phases will ever be. Both are important and powerful tools though

Blue is the matrix’s favorite color and intertwined with the matrix. Blue often puts people at ease and comfort which is why it’s often everyone’s favorite color. If you’re about to go into an intense environment where you’re not sure if others are that trusting of you, wear blue. “Feeling blue” actually isn’t a negative thing. It represents your return to nature spiritually (especially the ocean, rivers, lakes, etc). Staring up at a clear blue sky can make you feel better

In numerology things are pillar to pillar when it comes to compatibility. To check if you’re compatible with someone you go life path number to life path number, day number to day number, month number to month number, year number to year number, attitude number to attitude number, etc. In other words life path is not the only thing that can show enemy energy or friend energy, but is most important when it comes to compatibility

11 has a lot of good attributes, but a negative trait of the numerical energy is terror. Scary things can happen under 11 energy. I don’t recommend going on roller coasters, flying, going on a cruise, etc under this energy

Red is not the color of love like people make it seem. It’s actually the color of lust. Hence the root chakra being red and the heart chakra being green. The people higher up just want us at a lower vibration, so they can have power over us and when someone is overly lustful they will be

Wearing red a lot has its ups and downs. It can make you come off sexually attractive to people and make them lust over you and it can make people addicted to you, but wearing it too often can actually attract conflict or aggressive energy to your life. We often see red used negatively in society like in hospital logos, police sirens, etc but often when you see red a lot it’s more so a sign from the matrix to pause and analyze the situation around you carefully. Note: Even when people are attracted to you when you wear red it isn’t a long lasting effect (just like lust in general is temporary, the opposite of love)

Master numbers are usually smart and very spiritually connected, but the one’s that aren’t can be dangerous to be around. They may drain your energy

Our energy can be drained in this matrix. We are like the batteries for the simulation. You have to be careful who you surround yourself with because of this

DO NOT READ IF YOU’RE UNDER 18 - A lot of the traps to take our energy in the matrix are sex related since sex is a gateway to earth (through women). You must be careful. P*rn is one of them. When men finish through masturbation to p*rn their energy can be taken by negative entities. When women finish to p*rn they can absorb the negative energy of negative entities during that time. Women absorb energy and men push out sexual energy. These negative energy vampires only come around during this time (they’re obviously not visible to the human eye). P*rn is really bad for you spiritually because of this. Masturbation is not though and is healthy for you spiritually if it is something you do about 5 times a month. Doing it too much can be bad though. Semen retention doesn’t actually do anything spirituality that’s the placebo affect doing its work. Shows how powerful our minds and thoughts are. Anyway, if you’re not someone who’s spiritual there’s also many studies done that talk about p*rn being horrible for your mind

Green is the most important color to earth. Snakes have green eyes which is why they can see a lot of things others can’t (people with the viet sign). This applies to people with green eyes in general as well

[fairuzfan]

academia is often used as the forefront of much of the violence inflicted on palestinians — for example in the library of congress, there is a collection called "the american colony of jerusalem" with racist photography and items that help visually perpetuate the "people without a land, land without a people" part of herzel's ideology, which itself is the forefront of much of zionist ideology. pointing out the systematic harm in academia is often considered "irrelevant" by zionists.... denies the origins of zionism as a political and academic ideology with physical consequences.

much of palestinian history throughout the last century has to do with erasure and silencing — that is how we got to this point. when i say no one listened to palestinians i mean NO ONE listened. they were ignored. all their demands were unreasonable. instead they get blamed for much of the world's unwillingness to listen. even my family members — i have stories of their work in academic resistance since '48. and some of them are well known contributions throughout euro-american and swana society. yet they're still ignored because of their palestinian origin.

"if you were just more reasonable" or "if you took the time to listen with compassion" or "you have to appeal to people's sense of reason" ignores the fact of the matter — this ideology's founding principals were built on "a people without a land for a land without a people." you cannot and should not ignore that. in order to complete the zionist ideology, you must remove the native population. therefore any subscribers to the idea of zionism are violent, whether they intend it or not.

and if it were true, that academia were irrelevant.... then that doesn't explain the systematic torture and imprisonment of writers and scholars, the exile of my family members who were journalists and activists, the captivity of friends for no other reason than they were deemed a threat by some list or the other.

oftentimes zionists, or zionist sympathizers, ignore our (diaspora's) material ties to the occupation and dismiss us as being "disconnected" from the "situation" in Palestine and "misunderstanding" or "misconstruing" israeli society. what am i misunderstanding exactly? that the origins of this "country" relies on violent displacement and exile? that for the past 75 years, that violence has not stopped once? that no matter what we say about the violence of zionism as an intrinsic aspect, it takes a secondary seat to the imagined realities of zionism?

therefore, anti-zionism is the logical conclusion for valuing palestinian lives. but what are the arguments against anti-zionism? that arab governments expelled jews from SWANA? do you think that's a result of anti-zionism? then you must not understand that palestinians are often treated poorly by the same governments that claim to have done this in the name of "anti-zionism," living in poverty in refugee camps, tortured and arrested, even in some cases exiled by governments. this also neglects to mention zionist collaboration with said governments to exile the jews of their lands.

so then, what?

if anti-zionism is the rejection of the settler colonial state of israel, which you must admit to be truly anti-zionist, then it is an exclamation of palestinian sovereignty and identity. so when you say anti-zionism and antisemitism are linked.... do you realize what you are implying? do you realize that zionism, the root cause of palestinian suffering, is the reason for our expulsion and displacement? so then when you write academic thinkpieces about the "complexity" of zionism, do you realize the harm you're doing? do you realize that this, in fact, is not a new or useful argument? that i've seen iterations of it for years and years? that at the core, the zionist ideology relies on this muddying of the waters for you to not do anything?

to be frank, your constant reminding of the complexity of zionism when people in palestine are suffering from the material effects of it only scream, to me, utter contempt and selfishness. zionism is violence, to me and my family. it is violence for every palestinian in this world. you must admit that to be a sincere advocate for palestinians, otherwise your words ring hollow. the present reality outweighs any possibilities.

[awardswatcherik]

21st Visual Effects Society (VES) awards: 'Avatar: The Way of Water' dominates with 9, 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio' wins 3

21st Visual Effects Society (VES) awards: 'Avatar: The Way of Water' dominates with 9, 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio' wins 3

[waokevale]

The Overlapped AU [Aka Superhumans disguisted as Dinner Theater workers]

The Owners

The Managers (Engineer & the HR person)

The Waiters

The Security

The Performers (Wes is mostly on cleaning duty though)

The Kitchen staff (the others are usually tasked to help, though very few are actually trusted at all times to be there)

The Bartender and the Host

The Dishwashers

The Clerk & The Supplier

So this AU came to me upon a dream, and I just had to make it real...

The synopsis below:

The event of April 17th 1906 does happen, however instead of Charlie and Maxwell being kidnapped into the Constant, the Constant overlaps with the real world and spreads itself onto Earth.

Charlie and Maxwell in the process become corrupted and have to hide away temporarily. Both of them soon began to hear strange voices, source of which neither is quite sure, telling them, compelling them to hide the corruption's effect from the publicity, for the time being.

They come to a mutual realization they have to fix this mess somehow and hunt down any and all corrupted by the tome, by any means necessary.

(Maxwell still has codex umbra, but it is sealed shut for the time being until he's sure it won't spread more if Their influence. )

But the corruption didn't just appear out of nowhere, it's been leaking way long before Maxwell found the Codex, if to a less prominent extent.

Thus, in few years passing, they form a Dinner Theater, a rather inconspicuous establishment from the first glance. Very quickly they began "hiring" employees, which in reality means tracking down and blackmailing those who have been corrupted but not fully lost themselves to its effects, in order to hunt those who had.

Winona was against the idea at first, as she found out. But seeing the effects of corruption first hand, she quickly had a change of heart and integrated herself into Charlie's new environment.

Eventually they gathered a rather generous amount of people. Once a person's proven to be trustworthy to a point, they're give higher positions in the company.

However those who aren't, are likely to be shunned or "fired" which...you could probably guess what that means.

Many of these people gradually come to terms with the reality of their situation and accept their newfound purpose, being thankful that at least they still have a roof over their head and a warm meal, instead of being viewed as monsters or outcasts to the greater society.

(Wilson though, can't quite accept this notion. He keeps claiming that "this is just a big misunderstanding, I'm just a normal guy!" Yet the truth could be far from it.)

When Maxwell and Charlie hear of the danger looming, they immediately inform their "staff" of the matter. Those who are more experienced in combat come along to face whatever opponent may cross them, while those who aren't, stay behind, to be an additional aid or a medic in case the battle gets too intense.

Whenever any suspicion arises in the town about the shady business going on in that particular building, the two owners alongside their employees practically gaslight anyone and everyone into believing they're but the most regular entertainment center.

The characters who have either willingly or unwillingly lost their humanity, mostly in the physical sense, are given special devices constructed of Thulecite and bits of nightmare fuel (made by Winona, Wicker and the main two), which effectively hide away their true identity, or surpress the effects of their ailment.

There's also a few other people important to this story, especially the One, which even Charlie and Maxwell refer to as "The Boss", though what many most recent hires don't know, is that there's someone who's in a position much higher than the owners themselves, controlling their every move.

Correlating to that, another person, or rather, a set of people per se, working for a much different cause. Though most of them are "people" in only a visual sense of the word.

And while, there might be someone inside the well-known around town diner, who just might be more than what appears on the surface, literally and metaphorically this time.

__________

If you're interested to learn more about this AU, do let me know. If you have any questions, I'm happy to hear and answer them!

[serpentface]

So, what's the hat situation like in these societies? Are there ceremonial hats? Fashion hats?

In order to give this a detailed and specific answer with lots of examples and lore instead of just saying 'yeah', I'm just defaulting to the Wardi context. Here's a rundown on most of the headgear you've seen so far, and a few new ones.

The exact styles of each type of hat vary by tradition across the region, but there are basic commonalities across the Imperial Wardi cultural sphere.

Conical wide brimmed hats, mostly worn by women

The most common hat style is wide brimmed hats with projecting conical tips. Straw hats in this shape are worn unisex by laborers for sun protection, while decorative fabric based hats of this nature are an aspect of women's traditional dress, usually worn over a veil. Similar hats are sometimes (though less commonly) worn by men- it's a component of women's dress but not generally considered outright effeminate or inappropriate for men to wear.

The shape of the cone and width of the brim varies. The body of the hat is usually patterned, the cone may be wrapped with beads or ribbens, and the tip is often decorated with fur, feathers, or tassels. Some variants also include a built in veil lining the interior.

Men's decorative hats

The distinctly masculine style of decorative hat has no protective function (aside from securing some hairstyles) and is a small, flat topped cap. The northwestern style is unique in typically having a taller, projecting top, but most variants rest close to the scalp.

These hats are usually patterned, and often decorated with khaitsmane, feathers, fabric drapes, tassels, and beads.

Cold weather hats

The climate is overall hot, but does experience a winter in which daytime temperatures can occasionally drop below freezing. Warm headgear usually comes in the form of the headscarf/veil, but there are a few regionally distinct traditional styles of knit woolen cold weather hats.

---

There are a couple established hats that play into dances and festivals:

Dancer's hat

One traditional partnered dance is partly choreographed around the use of a flat topped wide brimmed hat, worn by the female dancer and flapped, tossed, and spun between the two partners. This has tassels around the brim (sometimes long enough to fully obstruct the vision) and brightly patterned concentric circles, curves, and spirals decorating both the interior and exterior, which create striking visual effects in tandem with the movement.

New year's festival dancer with his head bent downwards, displaying the visage of an evil spirit on the top of the hat

A costume worn by dancers at new years festivals includes another flat wide brimmed hat that doubles as a mask. It is strapped tightly around the head of the dancer, who changes between the form of a human and evil spirit by alternating between dancing upright and dancing with the head down. The top of the hat is decorated with grotesque, frightening faces (humans, skulls, predatory animals, monsters), and the dancer is nude under a costume of brightly colored ribbons.

This dance is a part of new years celebrations, and is performed in the towns and cities during the festivities. Its functions are partly apotropaic in nature- by taking the visage of an evil spirit, the dancers frighten off actual malicious spirits and bad luck that threaten to jinx a new year. Dancers will attempt to startle passerby by leaping forward and revealing the frightening face atop their hats (which benefits the 'victim' by scaring off their bad luck as well). Their public nudity (the ribbons don't consistently hide everything) is one of the instances in which a fully exposed body is socially acceptable, as a highly directed exposure of the actual phallus (rather than representations such as amulets) to utilize its protective apotropaic qualities.

In addition to these loftier protective goals, the dancers are a key part of the milieu of entertainment at the festivities. New year's festivals are characterized by a relaxation of some social norms and letting down one's guard, shedding the baggage of a previous year and welcoming in the new, and these dancers epitomize this atmosphere. People tend to find this tradition of being harmlessly startled to be quite fun, with the notable exception being most small children.

---

The other central component of everyday headgear is the veil:

Four styles of veils. Some styles are intermediaries between these, or combinations.

Veils are worn unisex for sun protection while laboring outdoors, and are an expected part of feminine public dress in general. They come in a variety of styles, both in the form of scarfs and fitted sheets with openings for the face and neck. Unisex veils typically fall into the 'protective' and 'hooped' styles, while the 'draped' and 'formal' styles are considered distinctly feminine. Women's veils are typically accompanied with headbands, which secure some styles in place and otherwise serve decorative functions. Most veils are worn loose, the tightly wrapped 'formal' style tends to be reserved for solemn occasions (funerals and certain religious rites) and is more spiritually protective to the wearer.

Conventions of feminine dress and behavior expect women and akoshos to wear veils when outdoors and in general public spaces. They are removed in semi-privacy (indoors with familiar company) and within the home. This is a standard of propriety and feminine behavior and is socially enforced, but not mandated. Similarly to not wearing braids, a woman/akoshos neglecting the public veil will often be interpreted as loose and sloppy, inappropriately masculinized, and/or impoverished or foreign.

Their chief functional purpose is sun protection rather than to cover the skin. By design, they will usually reveal parts of the hair and most of the neck (allowing for display of braids and jewelry). Veiling is not culturally framed as a form of modesty (modesty standards at their core only mandate the covering of genitals, and highly expect the public covering of breasts and buttocks). However, this practice (and the more skin-covering nature of conventional feminine dress in general) additionally seeks to protect the female body from the Gaze (both the evil eye in general, and the gaze of men, which is seen as more effective upon female metaphysical vulnerability).

This practice also has roots in an intense cultural focus on separation between the public and private familial sphere. A woman following standards of public dress (the veil and braided hair most significantly) effectively privileges her male relations (particularly the husband/father) who will typically be the only men that see her body in the private context (note that the private context overlaps with, but is not the same concept as, the sexual context). This delineation in public/private dress and behavior (which applies to men as well, though often in less visible, display based ways) reinforces the boundaries and privileged status of the familial sphere. Women not following clearly delineated public/private dress standards can be interpreted as disrespecting a husband or father's authority over his household and the sanctity of the family as a whole.

The standardized dress of Odonii priestesses includes a 'hooped' type veil (which is likened to the mane of a lion), and a headband tipped with sacred lionsmane (taken from the body of a sacrificed lion, whose corpse has become divine in this rite).

The Odomache wears an entirely unique form of veil that completely obscures the hair, neck, and most facial features (the rest of the body (with the exception of the hands and feet) is also covered). This has separate functions from other forms of veiling- the Odomache is a Face of God Itself incarnated into a human body, and her bodily integrity is tantamount to the integrity of the state, military, and God's connection to the world. She is completely secured from the Gaze, and her body is physically obscured to maintain a sense of separation from bodily humanity and disassociation with her former human identity. Under typical circumstances, only other Odonii (and some attendants) will ever see her face after she is fully incarnated.

The previous Odomache in everyday public vestment, with a two layer veil (one obscuring the head and face, the other draping over the chest in a decorative 'mane')

[batbabydamian]

The Boy Wonder #3 by Juni Ba rambling about how cool this series would be to read in a single sitting...it's all so connected!!

rambles for issue #1 and issue #2!

i don't have as much personal interpretation for this cover besides it being a solid piece of art in shapes and silhouette! ALSO. bi bg lighting lol. Damian's "X" posing of his cape and swords parallels with Tim's "X" chest straps + the Robin emblem in the center. Tim's closed Red Robin wings frames Robin's own outstretched cape wings; and on top of that, the shadows cast inside the wings nicely frames Damian's demon mask.

Joe and Merle's dynamic has been so fun, especially with the mutual enthusiasm over the storytelling 🥺 Joe also opens up about his circumstances that led him to this moment, which perfectly sets up the setting of this issue! Even his very first introduction becomes a relevant detail when a fancy rich couple drops a champagne glass, uncaring of the people literally below them, saying “some poor sap down there’ll appreciate it” when it bonks Joe’s head.

it all comes around!! and tbh this issue proves how much this series would slap to read in a single sitting (GET THE COLLECTED EDITION)

Going beyond first impressions seems to apply to the color palette in this series. From #1 in the first page of Gotham, we see the gold of upper society to the blue of the downtrodden → from issues #2 and #3, it’s the warm gold of inner Gotham to the cold blue of the rich. there’s a sense of community displayed among the poor - even part of Jason’s intro avenging Bill, a generous man mourned on panel by many. The rich gives off a sense of individualism, celebrating themselves and their excess.

With the change in scenery, this issue steps into the more civilian side of things through a spy theme - fancy suits and lil gadget intros! Going down the civilian route with Tim feels very fitting since it's what makes Tim's run as Robin so charming!

i love that Talia’s taught Damian to be conscious of the rich’s effects on society, especially in the following page of small panels zoning in on the details of wealth and overindulgence. but also LIL DAMIAN. HIS LIL ROUND EYES AND HANDS 🥺

Damian’s aware of the facts, and his disgust is clearer after having just been through lower Gotham and seeing firsthand the poverty directly caused by the wealthy (also not sure if that old lady is the same one from #1 with similar hair and clothes, but pls she can't a break…)

i mentioned Damian’s “inciting incident” for this journey to be the intro of a demon for Damian to prove his worth but i’m correcting the use of that term!! the intro of the demon is more the beginning of plot, whereas the actual inciting incident is beheading the thief!! it’s the main reason he’s in this situation where he felt the need to prove himself, and atone. Most notably is that the beheaded thief is a consistent character that quite literally haunts Damian every step of the way.

The statue of Batman’s head being popped off becomes a significant visual, because while Damian started this journey to prove something to Bruce, the only one that really seems to have (quite literal) eyes for Damian’s journey is the thief. Why does he make more of an appearance than the actual Bat? Even his statue’s head doesn’t make a figurative presence; whereas the only one looming over Damian is the thief. Guilt over killing him may be driving him just as much as his desire to be worthy. Alternatively, it could be that Damian needs to reexamine his motivations since the thief is really getting in Damian's face now.

Damian is proud to be a positive influence on Tim, but the moment is short-lived. It’s an ironic moment to me because Damian doesn't even know the impact he's had on Jason just in the previous issue!! 😭

Damian's so desperate to prove his worth, yet he's been making choices in every issue to help others!! Helping the old woman up in #1, being vulnerable with Jason in #2, and now sacrificing himself for Tim!

The Ra’s "Weakness" panel has been reoccurring since #1, but it's the first time Talia has been included. Being great figures in his life and mind, their silhouettes consume Damian's, similar to a few of Batman's appearances below. This latest disappointment was such a blow to Damian, that Talia (who he might have the most respect for) becomes an added voice in his head.

Final thoughts!!

Like Rok, does the thief actually have a connection to the al Ghuls or is this beard just in fashion at the moment.

Lex is clearly referencing one of the Underwell warehouses that Joe and Merle are presently, so wondering if whatever he and Tim discuss here will be affecting them later.

Ending with Talia’s cover for extra hype!! i’ll probably go back to this for the next ramble, but i’m already gearing myself up to wail about Talia just based on this cover. The Mary and Jesus imagery (more prominent with Damian’s lil crown as a “prince”) but most importantly Talia weathering the flames for Damian…her own shroud/shawl wrapped around Damian and burning… oh boy

[maounteighn]

Overanalising Moral Orel: Clay, Bloberta and the Colour Theory

p.1 Clay

Interesting thing about visuals in Moral Orel for Clay and Bloberta is that in Help, upon the first meeting, Bloberta wears red and Clay wears blue – in colour theory those are split-complementary colours, the are not exactly opposites, so the don't contrast of clash against each other.

Clay's light blue is cooler, more purple-ish, and provides soothing visual effect to Bloberta's bright warm red-orange.

In design, the cool colors can help soften the intensity of the red, creating a balanced and visually striking composition. In this moment they are more in harmony than they will ever be.

By the end of Help, they are married and utterly unhappy. While Bloberta sticks to her reds even after marriage, Clay moves to greens. The are truly complementary now, but also absolute opposites.

In visual perception there's also such phenomenon as impossible colours. These are the colours that are on the different wave length and thus cannot be mixed during the initial perception. And look who's on the list:

So, visually Clay and Bloberta stand in stark contrast and by no means are mixable. As if it's on purpose. You see, it's notable how Bloberta stuck to her colour identity through the series, while Clay shifts all around the place. It's green > light blue > green/brown. As if he changes his personality on purpose to be farther and opposite to Bloberta.

We know he has a crappy sense of Self, but it is also all over the place, how he creates his Identity based on who is near, who is wanted and who's not. In private environment he tries to distinct himself from Bloberta as far as possible. It's to spite her, to show her how much he doesn't want to be tied to her, but mainly it's for him – a way of protection and masking for his Self. His identity is of Bloberta's opposite.

There's also a narrative meaning for Clay's green. It's immaturity, childishness. He wore green in Passing, he started off in green. A short period we see him in blue is rare moments of relative wellness. He is starting to come to his own meaning, living by himself and for himself. He was also trying to distinctly set himself in this world, establishing a particular colour identity. Possibly, if he'd never married Bloberta, there would've been something different in his style maybe darker blue. Light colour and also his appearance and demeanor (a stray curl) is also symbolic of his remaining innocent and naïvity.

Once he goes back to greens, it also feels like he makes a huge step back from his initial route. From there on he either stays in place and doesn't grow as a person or spirals into something worse.

He also adopts brown in his clothes. To work, to church, when they have guests or in winter – he wears brown suit or coat. It's a formalwear, there's nothing strange about it, but interestingly, it's his wear for an outer world. It's neutral, uncharacteristic, a Persona he needs to show to the community to give off the impression of competence and respectability. Bloberta, on the other hand, again keeps her red. They look very homogeneous together in this composition.

Clay's brown is actually a darker, less saturated hue of red. Position wise, they are the same, analogous here. It's also a part of the Persona – unity of husband and wife. They don't clash visually, quite opposite – the one is an extension to another. Exactly what the society expects from a nuclear family unit. When they are positioned like this, they also get along sometimes, they are less focused on getting on each others nerves and more on presenting to the community, so they are able to put personal attitudes aside and actually chill.

The complete opposite is Clay's Study. Here, he's alone. It's and established power fantasy for him, a place of delusion and unreality. It's everything he longs to be but is not. In his study he wear a deep dark-red dressing gown. In this environment we usually see his truest self – his intentions, his attitudes, his feelings etc. Red as a personal colour and as a scene undertone sets the impression of power. But the truth is – he never has it. All the disasters of his behaviour, that are set in real scenarios are carried out by his real Personas – in green or brown. What's hidden – is in red.

It follows him even where he tries to conceal it. Bar scenes, hunting trip spiral scene, Danielle's flat scene – he's supposed to be a Persona, but the red shadows are there outing what he wants to hide.

(Upd: i forgot that Passing, up to Angelas death, is also with red undertone. For Clay red is a colour that signifies disaster and unhappiness. Red is everywhere where he is about to act out, prompted by his misery. It's like and angry sorrow, that follows him. It's such a cruel joke that he even married a woman who is in red.)

Red is a colour of his ideal self but also of his self-destruction. It notable for the way those two meanings always go hand-in-hand. Even in his ideal fantasy he doesn't allow himself to achieve happiness. Red is a colour of two forces that tear him apart and send him into a spiral over the counter of the series.

But Clay's red, unlike Bloberta's, is also unstable and irregular. It's notable how all his colours are on the surface level, its a piece of clothing that is put on something. Green cardigan – a mask for Bloberta, red dressing gown – ideal self for himself, brown jacket or coat – a mask for the community. It's all a wrap for his real self, that it too raw and painful to show to the world. Underneath his colours is white – blank and reflective. It's certainly reflects Clay's shallowness – underneath all that colour is nothing, white, blank space that is occasionally filled with something to fit a the specific situation. White is his absence sense of self. White is his actual subconsciousness. Only time he wears white is to bed. And in his sleep is also the only time when his actual suppressed self resurfaces foe just a bit, for us to see.

What we were able to read through his colours themes is that he is a man with a damaged sense of Self and a fake personality, that is never authentic to his true self. It leaves him feeling vulnerable and exposed so he reacts with anger and anatgonism to protect his core. His weak sense of self leaves his susceptible to many kinds of influence – his initial reaction is to confirm, even if he'll resent it in the end. He always adopts a personality according to the relationship of situation he is in.

So Listen, maybe the suit is just blue or maybe no, maybe it actually represents something. This whole thing can be all bs. I also understand the character design process and how main characters need to be recognisable. We are overanalising shit here, sir.

Next's Bloberta.

p.2