#also this a way for me to practice webtoon format >:)

[furaill]

For context:

There is a BSD mod for the game Lobotomy Corporation.

Basically Fyodor was sent to work on an abnormality but lost his sanity and started running around. He didn't attack anyone and simply ran; so I sent a team of healers after him but they all had heavy and slow weapons, so whenever they encountered him he would escape too quickly for them. This has gone on for at least 10 minutes and was very funny to watch :)

[allthefujoshiunite]

THE COMPETITION BY JEONG SEOLHWA

The other day, I decided to move my Twitter threads here to archive them because the Moments are gone. We can never have good things now, can we…

Hi friends! I'm here to talk about a chapter that I haven't been able to get out of my mind, and what better way to gush about a webtoon than putting together a thread?

I have recommended Jeong Seolhwa's The Competition on Manta Comics before on Twitter and I'll include the summary and certain points that charmed me upon reading it immediately after the release.

The story focuses on Hokyung, who met violin at a young age thanks to his close friend Eujoo, who’s competing on a national level now and was given Eujoo’s old, 3/4 violin. Being from a big family with average financial means = Hokyung can’t pursue music, when his hand-me-down violin is finally broken, he’s off to a luthier Eujoo recommends. He can’t get it repaired due to the cost, but that meeting opens up a different door to the dreams he’s been putting a lock on.

First of all, hello gorgeous! It’s so pretty and it’s more similar to the manga form than webtoon format w/ infinite scrolling. And it has the most beautiful chapter covers, just look at them:

There are two things I especially appreciated in this work: first is Eujoo’s conflicting feelings were portrayed really well. He’s constantly torn between cheering on his friend and wanting to compete against him bc he knows how fond Hokyung is of violin. But he fears his talent and HY surpassing him might mean all these years he practiced like crazy was all in vain. There was also a past regret that weighs on EJ and that affects his performance & health.

The second would be the emphasis on money. Not only it costs a fortune to buy a good instrument and take classes from a renowned teacher, the idea of pursuing music as your carreer isn’t generally even an option when you’re a child in a middle or lower class family. Even if they mean well & are supportive of their kids, music can be a hobby at best. My first impression of this series was that it was emotional, sweet, and looked super pretty!

Circling back to why I'm once again talking about The Competition. Currently, Hokyung is in the middle of a violin competition, and the chapter that left me in awe and got me all teary-eyed by how beautiful and expressive it is, is his most recent performance. It's his first time officially playing with an orchestra, and first time his family is hearing him perform. All the contestants in this round play their interpretation of Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No.1 in G Minor:

Chapter 69 opens with HY stepping onto the stage, and save from one comment before his performance, the rest of the chapter is "silent". Except, it isn't. The flow and depth of the music, the communication between HY and the conductor, HY's emotions, the audience's response, all are shown through body language (hand gestures specifically), gaze, and the color and the density of lines.

Those "blobs" first emerge from the orchestra, then you see the release in the hand gesture of the conductor, he and HY make eye contact, and in the next page, you see the energy being condensed into HY's violin, and then is released back into the auditorium. The whole time, we witness how the sound permeates and changes throughout the performance, it's also important to note that the "blobs" vary depending on the nature of the performance.

The ending's again beautifully visualised when HY finishes, then it's followed by the conductor and then, the audience.

I haven't read tons of manga that focuses on music, but it was the very first time that I've felt THIS immersed in a musical performance on paper. It was honestly phenomenal and I'm still trying to wrap my head around how some artists are capable of conveying things that /should be/ beyond lines that are "just pen on paper". I have to say, if you aren't reading this masterpiece, you're missing out!This webtoon is seriously guilty of making me feel things every Sunday!! I can't have that!!!

Note: Due to its format, The Competition is only available on Manta's app.

[macaronnya]

Fresh(?) Impressions (8)

Other parts: |Trickstar| |UNDEAD| |2wink| |Ra*bits| |Akatsuki| |fine| |Ryuseitai| |Knights| |Valkyrie| |Switch| |MaM/Double Face/Crazy:B| |Eden| |Alkaloid|

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Hello Enstarries~☆ Another day another post. I'm trying to speed up the process. This time, I'm gonna rate our beloved and chivalrous unit Knights. It's one of my favourites for now so I'm excited to talk about them! Btw since it's been already quite a while, I just wanted to remind y'all again, that I only know random bits of infos out of context and their Ep.1 in the new game. Therefore, my opinions are probably very mmdnmmhnhmhmfkdlsisojdöshhfksa y'know?

DISCLAIMER!: Everything said here is for entertainment purposes only and not meant to attack anyone. This is not an accurate description of any characters but my subjective rambling for fun, so please don't take it too seriously. (Just to be safe, I'm kinda scared of elite idol fans) Also, you will hear me mention other games a bunch of times bc I'm that bad and uncreative at explaining and I'm still grieving A3!EN's shutdown. Eng is my 2nd (or 3rd?) language so there might be some weird grammar or spelling mistakes. And I write at 3 am usually.

Without further ado.....Let's Ensemble!☆

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I'm not a Knights-P.....BUT I'm very close to being one. I'm enamoured with most of their songs. Like, yeah some songs are rather meh but those that hit, hit H A R D.

Mystic Fragrance literally grabbed me by the ankle and dragged me into the hole that is Enstars. The MV? Literally perfect and heavenly. I'm no expert on choreography or film production but everyone and everything was just so damn beautiful, clean, sleek, elegant, I watched that video more than I'd like to admit. And the song itself??? Just 😭👌👌👌👌👌 Ok, this isn't a love letter to 1 song but the group, so I should continue. But just reeaal quick, I also love Little Romance and Knights the Phantom Thief to death.

Now, their costumes and theme. I really like it! It is once again the case of everyone having small differentiations here and there, like their gloves and shoes. Overall, I love the simple but refined design. Especially these "noble vests" tend to be overfilled with patterns, ornaments etc in anime and webtoons but that's not the case here. The medal is a nice touch. And the striped pants add a bit smth more loud to the else quiet design. Everything is just on point for the idea of loyal Knights, that serve us fans.

From what I've seen, their dancing is also refined and chic. And maybe it's just that one song but the flower formation and how the center is switched in the chorus in Mystic Fragrance was just so genius and beautiful! The characters on the other hand....well, I haven't seen too much of them as a group yet compared to other units. So it's harder to make up my mind about them.

8.5/10 - I realized after writing everything, that the music is doing A LOT of work

Tsukasa Suou

We aren't related, so why does he address us as "big sister"? That's like the 2nd time we got adopted as a sibling, no? Well, from what I've seen, he is another heir to an influential family and...reminds me a bit of Riddle (Twisted Wonderland). Very diligent, wants to be mature, so that he won't be underestimated, workaholic. Lowkey seems like a teacher's pet. For some reason, I thought he was more pretentious and the like but he seems relatively normal. Is he half-english or why does he use english sometimes? And like, not the words that naturally wormed their way into the japanese language due to globalisation. Good on the localisation team on HIGHLIGHTING those words in bold btw. They could have just ignored it or changed it to french, the typical approach to such cases, where characters speak english in pieces as a gimmick. But they didn't. It's a bit funny and cringe to hear him say it. But I'm sure he'll get better someday. Practice makes perfect! That's how thing go.

5/10 - not a lot to say about him

Leo Tsukinaga

Uchu~⭐ It's the nth member of the DRAMA club! Ngl, I understood his Ep.1 in the sense of getting what he means to say but having his words fly all over my head. I bet he's really good friends with Wataru. Good for him though! You'll never have to worry about having an awkward silence with him. Probably suffers from waking up and immediately writing his ideas down, that came from his dreams. I remember somewhere, that he really likes the 🌠 S P A C E 🌌 but I'm not too sure about that anymore. Either has some fucked up trauma in his backstory or is just like that. Highly doubt the latter though. People can be terrible and there's no way he wasn't bullied or didn't suffer from high expectations. His voice sounds like gummy bears. Very squishable and colorful and jumpy. Definitely very different to Itaru's (A3!) and Samatoki's (Hypnosis Mic). I also thinks he's very messy but always knows where all his pencils, notebooks etc. are.

6/10 - coffee would drink HIM to get energized

Izumi Sena

On the very fine line of being a tsundere and a complete jerk except he has already fallen of the rope to the latter side but his one (1) foot is on the other side. Ik he's very mean to Arashi but man...I didn't expect him to be this hot n' cold. He's the stereotype of women saying the opposite of what they mean. Maybe I'll warm up to him after I learned his language but he's so needlessly bitchy 🤦‍♀️ Does he have friends? Tori on the other hand looks like an angel, not that he's been so terrible in the first place. Izumi's voice was smth to get used to bc it was so....nasal? It's not bad or anything, I just never heard a voice like that. I h a t e to admit it but he does sing very well and it's understandable, that he's a model 😫 *sigh* He would make the perfect male lead in a romance story. The famous idol, who is the biggest tsundere ever and lowkey highkey toxic and is pretentious but unfortunately has the skills to back it up, falls in love with little ol' normal producer and.... y'know the rest. Totally wears mildly strong expensive cologne, designer clothes and eats 5$ toasts.

2/10 - if I could, I'd throw tomatoes at him every day

Ritsu Sakuma

Sssssllllleeeeepppppyyyyy~~~~~ What a mood™️ And a foodie as well! He must have a very good metabolism and/or work out a lot to maintain such a slim figure, though I guess the latter is to be expected from an idol. He would hate me for this but he does have a similar vibe to his big bro. It's probably the bedroom eyes. And his mysterious? air. Though he does look cuter! His hairstyle reminds me of 🍄 and 🌰. I think he's the most relatable person I've met yet here. You work to live and not the other way around. It's good to be enthusiastic about your job but at the expense of your health makes it toxic. Quite a number of people might need to hear this. He's chill, probably both in personality and body temperature, if he's an actual vampire, he's likely low-maintenance and just seems down to earth. Not that nobody is until now. But Ritsu is kinda just a chill teenage boy. No big dreams or revenge he wishes to enact. I heard he even has some falling out with a friend or smth. Very normal and real. Dude is just living. He has a very soft and pretty voice.

8/10 - i wonder if he has soft cheeks....

Arashi Narukami

Q U E E N 👑 period. I don't wanna throw out empty words but I think she's perfect! She has such a beautiful and melodic voice, it's like a fresh spring breeze. Her "Mou~ 😣" sounds so cute as well! Idk what it is but smth about her violet eyes just go perfectly with her blond and brown hair. Idk man she's just very lovely. Very terrible, that she's not taken seriously by most people, even some of her own unit members bc of her gender orientation. At least, that's what I've heard. I haven't seen anything like that yet. She wishes to have a cuter image but I think she already has the perfect mix of cool & cute. Seems like a very considerate and relatively optimistic person. Her character song is literally 🥰😭💞❤💎👒☀️🍰⚘🎀💍 Has a rather minimalistic chic wardrobe but as I said, it makes her look very cool. Idk nor do I care how tall she is, I can and will give her a bear hug and kiss her forehead and pat her lovingly an-

10/10 - i'm excited and lowkey scared to get to know her more

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Conclusion

I you haven't noticed, I ❤ everything about Knights except its members but that's just bc I don't know them very well yet. Except Izumi, he can go eat trash (I'm so sorry Izumi stans). Very very VERY looking forward to new songs to play and to get to know them better. I WILL spend a lot of gems on the Mystic Fragrance event and that's undebatable.

That's it for today, I hope you somehow enjoyed my ramblings. If you wanna share some thoughts, everything goes as long as it's harmless and remember it's just for fun! Until next part~☆

[itslostfocus]

Journey to Fluency - Steps I follow

Objective

The idea is to arrive to an advanced level in July 26th 2022.

To calculate this I searched how many hours it is needed to reach the fluency in Korean. Internet says that it is around 2500 hours seeing the kind of language it is (type 5 if I remember well). After some more research I realized that in general, I would spend like 3 hours every day in contact with Korean in an indirect or passive way, so I decided to extend that to 4 hours and mix both, active/direct and passive/indirect learning.

I do these 4 hours during the day not to overwhelm myself, also cause I have other stuff to do lol

Daily routine

1) 20 new words

I copy them from a list on an excel file to have them in a table form with the meaning and examples.

Then I make flashcards with their meanings and a picture (I'm a visual learner). I use quizlet but use any flashcards system you want. The important is to make them and review them right away and any time you want. In my case I play basically all the modes quizlet has.

After that, you will see which words are the hardest for your mind to stick with. Then write then down with an example from a dictionary to give it a context and make the correlation between the word and the meaning easier. I use the method explained by Lindie Botes here and has worked so well! Aka red for Korean, blue for English and black for the examples (I write these examples on the excel).

2) Grammar point

I study 1 grammar point per year. Until now I'm reviewing what I have already learned cause grammar is the hardest thing for me to remember and I always tried to hurry things up to "learn more" and all I did was read but not actually learn. Don't make the same mistake! Allow yourself to take your time to learn well

To study better I have made a flashcards deck when I write the name of the grammatical structure and what it's used for. Also I have made like a table where I write examples, the usage, the sequence, how it changes if the previous word ends in a vowel or consonant etc.

3) Hanja (한자)

After like a week or so into the routine I realized that my brain works better learning words individually and then making sentences and phrases from them, instead of learning full sentences. So to use that, I decided to add hanja as a way to help me to learn vocabulary better since in that way I can connect and relate words based on their origin. It's pretty cool and til now it hasn't been something too complicated for me, it just requires practice.

I do 3 hanja characters per day using the lessons from How To Study Korean here and take notes (there are books, apps, videos based but I find this way better for me). Then make flashcards and review them, and I write them down on an excel file as it is a table so I can have a record of everything and an easier way to review.

I personally recommend to start with hanja once you are used to read hangul and have a good base of basic vocabulary so it won't be confusing. But well you decide according to your situation.

(Plus if you want to learn Japanese, as I do, it will be super useful cause it's the same -except for some points- than kanji so. And well of course really helpful if you want to learn Chinese since these are chinese characters)

4) Listen / Read / Watch

This is basically all the passive/indirect way of learning. Add playing games if you want lol.

I don't take notes of anything I see in here cause I don't want to set the mindset of "oh I need to be aware of all words to later search on naver and make flashcards". These are things I do to make my ears and brain get used to the sound of the language and be able to understand people when they speak, and also to have fun. Disconnect your learning thoughts and just enjoy what's happening, sooner or later you will see how you understand stuff just by listening and seeing.

Here I...

Listen to songs and read the lyrics.

Watch videos on youtube, variety shows, etc with korean subtitles, or without subtitles if it's something that I have already watched before.

Read webtoons or social media posts or anything you find that has Korean written.

5) Learning focused apps

The goal of the app, in my opinion, is to practice making sentences and get used to the different structures without reading them from a book or a lesson format. Also if it has a streak format it works to establish a routine.

I used lingodeer before and now I'm using duolingo. There are many more, so choose your fav ^^

I don't take notes here either for the same reason explained before.

6) Daily posts on social media

This is a way to not only keep a record of the journey, but also to interact with other learners and native speakers and to force yourself to continue the routine since you have to leave a record of it.

So don't stress yourself about making pretty notes, what matters is for to learn and proudly show how well you are doing 💜

(Optional) 10 daily phrases / sentences

When I started the journey I had this instead of the hanja, but how I explained on that point my brain simply doesn't learn from phrases, it needs to know the meaning of each word (or most of them) before forming or understanding sentences. If I don't know all the words but some of them I can already understand by context, but I need to know words. If the sentence only has words I don't know, my brain simply ignores it, even if I can read what it means.

I decided to change it cause it became really hard after some days and it was starting to make the whole routine stressing just for that.

I will see if I do it again in a future, but for now it's not something I consider lol.

The most important things

Remember to rest well, eat well, sleep well. Learning is easier like this. If you want to take a break or take naps, do it. Your brain needs energy to work, more to learn, so take care of it.

Copy this routine or make your own adding or taking things out. Do what works the best for you and spend the time you want and can on it. If you can do it for hours, great for you, if you can do it for 5 mins, great for you, all is progress. The important is to establish a routine that is easy to follow.

Enjoy every day of the journey!

Sooooooo that's all! I hope this can be helpful to anyone, for Korean or for any other language.

Happy learning 여러분! ^^

[classic-storydragon]

I posted 18 times in 2021

8 posts created (44%)

10 posts reblogged (56%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 1.3 posts.

I added 32 tags in 2021

#miraculous ladybug - 6 posts

#kieran white - 5 posts

#purple hyacinth webtoon - 5 posts

#lauren sinclair - 3 posts

#mlb season 4 - 3 posts

#mlb analysis - 2 posts

#team lune - 2 posts

#rewatch review - 2 posts

#adrien agreste - 2 posts

#purple hyacinth - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 44 characters

#someone legit dreamed about being a cucumber

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Subzero Theory: Kyro and Saya

Image credit: Subzero Ep97

Disclaimer: this theory does not include fast pass content after Ep. 114. So this could be false, and the fast-passers are 🤦🏻‍♀️ at me.

In the latest arc of Subzero, Raizo implies that Kyro had a direct role in the murder of Clove’s mother, Saya. However, we know that half-truth is Raizo’s first language. There’s more to the story than what Raizo reveals.

I believe that Kyro did confront Saya, but did not kill her. He was likely overpowered by her, and Saya, seeing that he was only a young boy, decided to spare him. It’s likely someone else *cough cough* Raizo *cough cough* had killed Clove’s mother.

That said, Kyro still bears a lot of guilt for his involvement in this incident. Ep.97 reveals that he had a recurring dream of Saya strangling him. Plus, he appears horrified at seeing the bloodshed during the aftermath flashback. It seems that confrontation, whatever happened there, still haunts him. I hope that he will be able to open up the Clove about this and that the couple will become closer.

Would you like more Subzero content on this blog? Let me know in the comments!

2 notes • Posted 2021-12-10 21:34:01 GMT

#4

Re-watch Review: Tests and Jests (from Jane and the Dragon)

Welcome to the first of a series I’m calling the Re-watch Review. Here, I’ll be reviewing shows I’ve seen before but not in a while. I’m also experimenting with a format that I hope will be easier to follow than other episode reviews I’ve seen. 

This first review is from the TV series Jane and the Dragon. For those who don’t know, Jane and the Dragon follows the adventures of Jane as she attempts to become the first female knight in her kingdom. A fire-breathing dragon (creatively named Dragon) helps her in exchange for help with translating the runes in his cave. 

“Tests and Jests” Summary

As Jane prepares for a major knighthood test, she notices that the kitchen maid, Pepper, has a hard time cooking while the prince steals food on a regular basis. So she makes a deal with the king: If she fails the test, Jane renounces her knighthood and works in the kitchen. If she passes the test, Prince Cuthbert spends time helping Pepper. 

Best Aspects of the Episode 

One my favorite aspects is the character introduction. This show did a good job at displaying the important traits of our main characters. We get to see Jane as a determined yet caring person, and Dragon as a funny guy who also cares for his friend’s wellbeing. My favorite character in this particular episode is the King, as he has a good balance between being a good king and a good father. 

Also, the scene where Jane climbs the scaffold and comes down with the princess is the absolute best! Best stunt in the show, and I like watching her climb with dexterity that I can only wish I have. 

Worst Aspects of the Episode 

Some of the characters don’t leave the best first impression. Prince Cuthbert has the worst character. I hate his disrespect towards everyone and the way he tries to use his father to get back at Jane. Another aspect I didn’t like is how useless Dragon was. With the way he endangered Jane during her test, I seriously wonder who invited him to the party. To be fair, he does have other uses in later episodes. But for needing to establish how he helps Jane, this particular episode doesn’t portray that well. 

And this might be nitpicky, but I personally don’t think it’s realistic for Jane to be unable to beat a predictable dummy in practice yet somehow able to beat an unpredictable knight during the test. I think this plays into the “believe in yourself” theme of the episode (as seen in the Dragon Talk segment). While the “believe in yourself” theme is serviceable, it does imply that practice is irrelevant and that all you need to succeed is belief. 

Overall Opinion 

This was a good pilot episode. Although I disagree with the Dragon Talk theme of the show, I liked the character establishment of the show. Also, this episode has best stunt scene ever in animation! 

But that’s my opinion. What do you think of this episode? Feel free to leave a comment or reblog this post! Also, please follow for more Re-watch Reviews. Thanks for reading! 

10 notes • Posted 2021-01-23 17:43:54 GMT

#3

Re-watch Review: The Tooth Fairy (from Jane and the Dragon)

So, lately I’ve been obsessed with the WEBTOON Purple Hyacinth. Still am, but since it’s currently on hiatus, I figured I’d fill the time with other fandoms. No better way to do that than to revisit my Re-watch Review series with a long-overdue review of the second episode of Jane and the Dragon.

For those who don’t know, the series follows the adventures of a medieval girl, Jane, as she trains to become the first female knight of her kingdom. Assisting her is a talking fire-breathing dragon who also has a mysterious past that he and Jane are attempting to uncover.

The Tooth Fairy

Summary

Both Princess Lavinia and Dragon have a loose tooth (fang, in Dragon’s case), and Jane entertains them with story of the tooth fairy. However, Dragon takes the tale too seriously. Meanwhile, Gunther wrestles with his conscience after stealing Dragon’s tooth.

Best Aspects of the Episode

One thing I like about this episode is its lesson on honesty in both speech and conduct. Although Jane tries to cover her lie by classifying it as a “fib,” the show demonstrates that there really is no difference. Gunther also learns to be true to what he knows to be right in his arc.

Speaking of Gunther, I also love how “Tooth Fairy” introduces this new character. Gunther is shown to be good boy at heart, but struggles with doing the right thing, especially when under pressure from his evil father.

A final aspect I liked was the episode’s subtlety in portraying the tooth fairy myth. One scene lets older audiences know who the actual “tooth fairy” was for Princess Lavinia, yet the clue is ambiguous enough for younger audiences to still believe an actual tooth fairy was present.

Worst Aspects of the Episode

One thing I never understood was the need to keep children believing in the tooth fairy. It seems hypocritical to say Jane can’t assure Dragon of the tooth fairy’s existence but can do the same to the princess. (Of course, this is coming from someone who never actually believed in the tooth fairy anyways, so there’s that.)

Also, I despise Gunther’s father. The way he manipulates Gunther into acting against his conscience is nothing short of despicable. (I do like how he is portrayed, but I don’t like his character in general)

Overall Opinion

I enjoyed the episode’s lesson on honesty and introduction to Gunther. This episode really showcases the series’ nuances that make the show enjoyable for audiences of all ages.

But that’s my opinion. What do you think of this episode? Feel free to leave a comment or reblog this post! Also, please follow for more Re-watch Reviews. Thanks for reading!

14 notes • Posted 2021-10-01 14:02:24 GMT

#2

Kieran’s Confession. . . .

*SPOILERS FOR EP 105 AND SEASON 2 FINALE*

I can’t stop thinking about what Kieran was about to tell Lauren. So I’m gonna play a little “Finish the Sentence” in an attempt to figure this out.

“Lauren, if this is the end, I have to tell you that . . .”

I am so sorry for [Ep 43]

I leave the purple hyacinths as an apology

I wish I had more time with you

I‘m a double agent

I killed my best friend as my first PH victim

I never wanted to be part of the PS

Do you have any other ideas? Let me know in the comments!

28 notes • Posted 2021-09-04 20:46:05 GMT

#1

Kieran’s Backstory Theory

Season 2 of Purple Hyacinth has given us some interesting allusions to Kieran’s backstory. I think we might get a full explanation during the final episodes of this season. Before that happens, though, I’ll post my theory on who Kieran was before he became the Purple Hyacinth. 

NOTE: This theory does not include content after Episode 91. 

Kieran Kidnapped? 

I realize some people theorize that he may have been one of the kids kidnapped before the Allendale tragedy, but I don’t think that’s the case. In Ep 59 (Painful Proximity), Kieran states that he doesn’t recognize Sake. If he were kidnapped at the Allendale Station, I think he would have recognized Sake.  

However, I do believe he may have known some of the kids from that incident. In Ep 84 (Hollow Hope), he falls strangely silent after Lauren asks about what he knows about the kidnapping.

See the full post

76 notes • Posted 2021-05-02 14:01:10 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[shinahbee]

October Favorites 2020!

Hello!

i'm going to start bringing these favorites of the month from my deviantart to here on tumblr. Hopefully you will find something good out of the things that I have been liking recently, please leave in the comments anything that you have been liking this month ( books, manga, anime, tv shows...etc) I have been a little uninspired for a while, but I'm still working on a few new digital art pieces as well as continuing my painting hobby, so there's a lot of content on the way!

okay so on to the things that I've been liking this month.

So if you've seen my latest digital art " who's baby is it?" I have been delving into web toons which I have not read other than mo dao zu shi since I watched the anime and It just suddenly stopped after season 2. I thought reading the web toon would answer some of those questions  i had. It lead me to reading a bunch of webtoons all in the shounen ai category for some reason...lol. and I've been really liking some of the stories, Until this point web toons never really interested me since I've been reading manga since I was younger , so i've been used to just seeing the black and white pages of art, since web toons have coloured pages, it makes me appreciate the effort they used to colour every panel, so a lot of work went into these so i appreciate it for what it is even if the story inst great.

let me preface by saying that even though i'm delving into BL, i've been exposed to yaoi ever since I was in high school by one of my best friends, she lent me her favorite anime which was " gravitation" and all remember was wanting a man that was like yuki...lol. don't we all?

since then I have been reading some yaoi manga...only ones that are NOT predicated on sexual violence and abuse, which I know is prevalent in this category, I just don't like it and the message it sends, so i avoid that all together.

unless of course it has a particular message it wants to convey, not glorifying it. if that makes sense.

okay so here are my recommendations, i'll give a very brief summary of each of them

Manga/Manhwa:

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Who's baby is it? 

- “a man named yi yun wanted to be an actor and is part of an acting company for several years and still was not successful, apparently it was because he was born with really bad luck, so to change his life perspective he decided that he wanted to be a surrogate father and donate his sperm to a surrogate mother in order to have a child that is his blood. So he and his child were living happily together through yi yuns work periods and suddenly there is a man that claims he is the child's actual blood related father and wanted to take the child into his custody.”

please read the summary I have in my fan art, I've wrote my thoughts on this manhwa.

To be or not to be

-  “A company president diagnosed with cancer and died has been transmigrated into his favorite novel, where he was reborn as the antagonistic emperor that the main character defeats in the end, on top of which the main lead is currently the captive of said emperor, so in order to survive he will do anything to protect the protagonist and make sure he stays alive inside the novels universe.”

oh to be or not to be that is the question...lol. it really is. currently is is one of my favorites, I like how modern day people  can look at the acts of history and modify certain things so that it would less likey repeat itself for the worse, we need this sort of mentality at this moment...

Social temperature

- “Song Yuan is indifferent when dealing with people he is an elite student at T- university as a science major, one day his friend started to question his sexuality and set him up with a month trial dating app as a joke, as soon as he went to delete the app on his phone, he was suddenly matched with a boy named "Mu", who turns out to be his classmate/ rival in his science program, his named is Xaio Mu , he is an exchange student abroad and got into this elite science program, hoping to meet new friends he approached song yuan and proceed to converse with him only to be ridiculed by him saying that he wears too much perfume and it made him sick so then he became the class social outcast.But after using the app to converse with "Mu"...song yuan became curious as to what he is actually like...using the fake name and bio of " Andrew " they start to get to know each other more.”

omg , this is triggering for me, since Mu is basically me a few years ago when I was also in a medical science program minus the talking on tinder thing lol, I felt as though everyone in that program was in it for themselves and I didn't not like the how people think they are entitled to everything...that's why i'm not in it no more.lol. there are a few plot holes in the story that I don't really get but other than that I really like this story I read the chapters that are out so far like 3 times cause I'm waiting for the rest to be translated. I also actually read the Novel by the same author of the manhua called " social outcast" so if you just want to read it in text format please read that novel instead, I like the novel up to a point and then it didn't really make sense after wards..lol.

so i can't say that i recommended it completely. Also Mu's character design I really like, thus i'm going to make a fan art of him soon...omg he's so beautiful, i'm in love lol.

Salad Days  ( tang liu zang) 

- “This is the story between a young innocent ballet boy and a passionate, determined boxing boy. The two met at the children’s palace, and since then, they have grown up together supporting each other. May there be hardships, may there be obstacles, yet they never stopped pursuing their dreams. The beauty of the salad days is the sweat from the hard work and the bonding of friendship. Although they have completely different paths set up for them, what never changes is their beautiful friendship.”

wow this story so far is really beautiful, I was in ballet for 3  years so it was slightly relatable to me, I feel like the over all message is that people sacrifice a lot for their dreams and if you are very passionate about it, there's no on that can really stop you, the only one that can stop you is you. I can't wait to see this story progress further  

K-dramas:

------------------------------------------

it okay to not be okay - this probably has been mentioned as everyone's favorite, but rightfully so, I really like ko mun young's character as a person who seems like an assertive and powerful woman, but is suffering from a social disorder. and how moon gang tae has to not only deal with mental patients at his job but also his older brother being autistic, he himself is suffering from mental illness. this drama is  something not a lot of dramas portray in dealing with mental illness and how the patients/ loved ones  are feeling when watching them go through it all. I liked the story and the message  and it made me cry in every episode, so fair warning...have tissues beside you as you watch.

itaewon class- I was not going to watch this because of the mixed reviews but I did any ways, and it was really good, a really good depiction of how money and power isn't the end all be all , and being happy  is really the best revenge you can get, it also addresses racism and prejudice on one character and sexism on a trans-gendered woman. I also think this is a story that protrays something that really hasn't been exposed to in k-dramas specifically. It depends on your morals and what you understand so far in your life wether you would like this drama or not, so i understand the mixed reviews that it gets, but for me it was a really good story.

Anime/ TV shows:

---------------------------------------------

I don't have any anime recommendations this month mainly cause I have not been watching any, but there are some that i might watch soon  so I will list those below, let mew know if any of you have seen them and should I be watching them.

- Nobelese

-yasha hime ( inuyasha  new series)

-Haikyuu  new season

-heavens official blessing ( same author of mo dao zushi) - just started watching

-scum bag saving system- just started watching

Music :

----------------------------------

so I have just been listening to a lot of OSTs,

I really recommend the itaewon class soundtrack, all the songs are so good!

my favorite on is " crush- No words "

also my friend has been sending me NCT  and super M practice  videos so I've been listening to their music as well, please listen to make a wish by NCT U, it has been stuck in my head and I cant get it out...lol.

------------------------------

that's all for this October faves summary. please comment below if anything interested you for the month of October, I would also like to read your recommendations as well, please also take care of yourselves especially now with all that's escalating in the world.

take care!

sheena

[leveliflared]

Is it hard joining webtoon?/creating a webtoon And do you have any art tips for beginners artists who are trying to start digital art

⋆「 ☾ 」⋆ When I first started Webtoon, I basically experimented with 2.0 for the sake of Neo Terminal! It was very difficult at first figuring out the format and flow, but after reading and getting into a few other Webtoon series, I started to pick up on the formatting that makes a chapter easier to read and consume. Definitely, if you want to start, read a few Webtoon series for inspiration and pay attention to how the panels and speech bubbles are organised! 

      2.0 is mostly improvised, so my biggest advice is to have everything planned out before you start. Plot the beginning, climax, end, etc. The same goes for when you make a Fanime. Drawing (and voice acting) should always come last.

      As for tips for beginner artists... Trace. And no, I don’t mean just trace a picture or a photo. I mean, trace a photo/reference and break it down into shapes. Triangles, circles... Figure out the basic shapes that make the human body. Really break it down. Like... Draw guidelines on your reference, and then copy what you see directly next to your reference. This way, you’re remembering the shapes and it’ll all go to your long term memory instead of short. 

      And also use posemaniac’s 30 second drawing exercise! Practice the exercise for 5 minutes every day, and you’ll be able to observe anatomy effectively. Essentially what this exercise gets you to do is to break down the body into very simple shapes. It won’t give you time to hesitate, it makes you go go go! And believe me, when you do it for a long time you notice patterns and it really helps with understanding anatomy!

     I hope this helps ! 

[comicteaparty]

March 28th-April 3rd, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble   chat that occurred from March 28th, 2020 to April 3rd, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

How many hours do you work on your comic per week, and how do you manager to balance that with other responsibilities?

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

heheh So we are.. cheating a bit Both me and my coworker are unemployed, and is working on hour comic, like was it a full time job. It is our passion project, and dream that we can work and live of makeing comics. In Denmark you can apply for grants from the government, but you need to have releashed a book before that is possible. We are useing the comic, to show potentional clients in the future what we can do. For now we are working on it from 09:00-17:00 ish (with a long lunch break) while applying for other kinds of grants, and also does all the things we are supposed to to get our unemplyment money, and searching for jobs, and freelance gigs, gathering the courage to start our own small company (not right now though) and yeaah time will tell

carcarchu

@Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS that doesn't sound like cheating to me? more like using the tools at your disposal to turn your passion into a viable career

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

hehe it feels a little like cheating! there are some debates about if it is okay or not, but we think that strengthening our skills is a good use of our time

eli [a winged tale]

Haha also not cheating! It’s great you’re using the time to chase the dream I’m curious what’s your breakdown for those time working on the comic? As for me, usually 1-2 hours a day with a bit more on the weekend if time permits. These days with the quarantine it’s about 2-3 h a day

DanitheCarutor

Since I'm unemployed until who knows when I've been working on my comic between 40-50 hours a week about 6 to 7 days a week... most weeks. Some days, like update day or chore day, I hardly work on the comic or don't work on it at all. Admittedly I'm not the best at balancing drawing with other responsibilities, sometimes I get so into it that I forget about daily house chores, other weeks I do the opposite and only do house chores which makes me totally behind of comic stuff. I can't seem to find a good middle ground, it always turns into completely focusing on one or the other.

eli [a winged tale]

Yeah when I get in the zone, time flies and life gets put to the wayside

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

So I have no school or work, so the webcomic has become almost a fulltime project for me

I average about 10 hours per day working on it, not counting on chores and exercise

Another thing I worry about is the possibility of carpal tunnel syndrome, which is why I've been relentless with exercise, too

I guess it's just a combination of relentless reminders and also sheer willpower that gets me to do other responsibilities haha

@eli [a winged tale] also I know that feeling

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

So since my school had to cancel, I have to be more responsible for my online course. Sometimes I give myself 2 days off each week to work more into my upcoming webcomic but I have to switch my mind for school work, online classes. Also extra time for food. I need to get back into exercise or I feel exhausted more easily. I keep a wall schedule so that I make it a routine to write what I'll do every 3 or 5 days, to keep my active brain reminded(edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I spent the majority of last year (fun)employed (partially by choice, partially not! my previous job let me go rather unceremoniously... and I needed a hiatus anyway... so it worked out) so I poured a lot more hours into that chapter of Phantomarine than I usually did. I worked on it almost every day - at least for a couple of hours, but sometimes up to a full eight-hour day. That number has dipped tremendously since I’ve gone back to work, but I’m spreading the same amount of time out in a broader way. I’m trying to get a good buffer during my hiatus, so I can work and draw in a healthy balance. I don’t have crazy overtime at my current job like I did at my last one, so that’s already a comfort. I’m confident I’ll be able to hit a good stride once the comic returns in June (edited)

eli [a winged tale]

Can’t wait Lady!!

Feather J. Fern

Two part time jobs, and school killed my comic, but I been working on getting one panel done a day, which is around 30minutes to an hour if possible.

eli [a winged tale]

My routine used to be rendering on the commute but now just once in am and once pm until this limbo time is clarified

That’s awesome Feather! It’s so rewarding when everything comes together after putting effort everyday

Feather J. Fern

Once school is done in two more weeks I will be more free to do things so I hope to get maybe two panels done in a day XD

Online school, stupid quarantine

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

Due to the pandemic im mostly off school and my part time job so i spend like 4-5 hours on my comic per day. Still would like try to get a page done per day but lmao digital painting is slowwww

eli [a winged tale]

What’s everyone’s tips for breaks/stretches/balance? I feel like I certainly need to revisit these to avoid burnout and continue feeling motivated!

Feather J. Fern

Actually there was a cool manga artist who's tip was literally he only worked working hours. His mornings are free and since manga was his job, he worked form 12-6, giving him 2 hours to do other work he needs to get done, and takes morning walks and stuff.

Another person I know had "No working weekends" as a thing becuase they are a freelancer.

I personally have try to make sure I ahve a routine, and actually, stretch before drawing.

Streetch before, during a break, and then after, to keep that body nice and warmed up

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Health-wise there's this hing for your : every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. I'm not good at following this, but when I do it, it helps a lot.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Despite the current pandemic, my work-life hasn't changed much (unless you count stress getting in the way). I am currently "unemployed," but I do consider comicking my full-time job. I am also not very good at balancing work and life. Something's always gotta give. Last year, I worked at a job that basically ruined my ability to work on my comic. I worked 30-40 hours typically, ruined my sleep schedule, took work home sometimes, and was constantly exhausted. This is what resulted in my year and a half long hiatus, and it's what drove me to work like hell on my comic when I quit. Now (when I'm in the groove and not suffering from art block), I typically spend 60-70 hours on my comic and get 2-3 pages done: - 30 hours sketching (I know, ridiculous) - 5 hours filling in base colors - 20-25 hours painting - 5 hours adding text, speech bubbles, sfx, and finishing touches - 1-2 hours formatting for Webtoon I also spend some time throughout the week typing up the script, doing concept art for things coming in the future of the comic, and preparing for conventions, but I can't tell you exactly how much time.

eli [a winged tale]

Thanks for the breakdown! I’m always keen to learn from everyone and seeing how the workflow is like for different people

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

oh don't forget to do wrist stretches!

eli [a winged tale]

Ahh formatting time is always so tedious for me!

Yes wrist exercises! Any recommendations?

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

hmmm well the easiest one is literally just shaking it out

like every hour

and I also like to hold my arm out parallel, point my fingers up and using my other hand to pull the fingers back so i'm stretching the wrist

then I point the fingers down and pull on the fingers until my wrist is stretching

eli [a winged tale]

Awesome. Will be adopting those!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I'm pretty fast. 2-6 hours per page, depending on how detailed it is. Average of 3-4. I could probably do 2 pages/ week easily enough, but don't want to do more than that. I'm the kind of person who always needs to be doing a million different things. I need to leave time for my other hobbies and my paintings and my academics and extracurriculars. Otherwise I'd get burnt out doing one thing only

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

@eli [a winged tale] So since it is both me and @Q (Wayfinders: Off Course) working, we start with working on a rough each, our goal is one step (so rough, ink, color) for two pages pr day, pr person. So in a weak the goal is four finished pages a week, and then we upload 3 pages per week. So it is divided that in the morning we start at 09:00 in the morning, maybe checking mail, being practical or whatever. Then we work until 12:00 were we eat lunch, go for a long nice walk and then we go back to work between 13:00 and 14:00 ish and then work until 17:00 when we begin to prepare dinner. Then of course breaks inbetween

Q (Wayfinders: Off Course)

It’s pretty wild to be able to dedicate your entire day to comics like that

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

damn you all work fast

do you guys have any tips on how to work on a webcomic faster?

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Lol, I wish!

Still looking for those magical secrets

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

@shadowhood (SunnyxRain) You know the 80-20 rule? You can get 80% of the result with 20% of the effort? My comic is very messy if you zoom in. I don't spend time making sure the linework or the coloring is perfectly clean. Also, I'm pretty fast at drawing figures. I used to practice figure drawing a lot by rushing to draw strangers irl before they moved, or by drawing a bunch of fast figures from the free figure drawing model websites online. I've also taken a figure drawing course (didn't even have to pay because it was part of my university! Even if you don't have that option you can probably find free life drawing sessions on Meetup or similar!) which really helped me streamline my process for drawing people

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Oh I see! Yes, I used to take life drawing classes too! And your response makes me feel a lot better

I tend to be a bit messy with inking, and since i'm a perfectionist a lot of my time is wasted on editing/clean up

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I've seen cronaj draw, and while I think the results look excellent, I think her method is a kind of inefficient. She draws like a printer, nearly finishing one detailed body part before moving on the the next. I think maybe if she drew in a more classical way, going from a gesture drawing to progressively more detailed, it might help her be faster and her poses more cohesive and dynamic. Maybe working on 1 or 5 min figures would help? Practicing things like this?

eli [a winged tale]

Yeah I try to do figure practices for efficiency

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I heard that there are some online life drawing vids you can follow too

but what are your experiences with online life drawing vids versus the real thing

like is there a real difference?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

found some of my old 1 minutes

To me there's not too much difference

I've heard some people say that life drawing is either way easier or way harder though. Because of your depth perception when looking at a real person

But the bruises on my legs can attest to my horrid depth perception haha. That might be why I don't notice a difference

Actually those previous sketches might be 30 seconds? I don't remember

I would recommend you try both but right now we pretty much only have the online option haha

eli [a winged tale]

Yeah I’ve done both and I think irl creates complexity with depth and the interactions with others etc is helpful but online is my go to for flexibility

I think having a process streamlined will make things more efficient. The downside is that it might feel tedious and I do switch it up from time to time for variety

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Might feel uncomfortable but that's how you know you're improving

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

There is a TON of difference for me. I HAVE to look at a physical model in front of me.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Can't get better if you always do the same things

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

This is what my brain does.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I wonder- could drawing yourself in a mirror be a decent substitute?

If youre lucky you might also be able to ask an SO or roommate to model for you. Should probably pay them back by cooking for them or something though

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Brain: sees a real model in front of me Brain: translates 3D to 2D, result: drawing Brain: sees a photo/video of a model Brain: SHIT. That's supposed to be 3D, isn't it? Brain: Translates 2D to 3D (basically re-constructing it in my head, or attempting to re-construct) so that it can translate it back to 2D Brain: BSOD

There's some online resources out there that have "3D" photos... you know, two near-identical images side by side, so if you look at it cross-eyed, it becomes 3D?

But I can't do those because I get a headache X'D

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Just thinking about drawing from that makes me dizzy

eli [a winged tale]

Oh interesting!

Yeah maybe looking out the window to draw people would be the way to go...

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

But maybe figure drawing in VR exists?

eli [a winged tale]

Balcony figure drawings

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I live on the top floor so those are going to be some very small figures

eli [a winged tale]

For ants

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Once this coronavirus thing is over, there's lots of ways you can do gesture drawings from just random people -- bus stops, cafes, museums (I have not done this, but people who have done this report this is really good because others assume you're drawing the artworks. XD)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I've done this a lot

Sometimes I've even shown people drawing of themselves if they've turned out particularly nice

They've always taken it well

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I like drawing my professors because they use hand gestures a lot when they talk

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Airport was REALLY good for finding people stuck in one pose indefinitely

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

they alwayas laugh when I show them

eli [a winged tale]

Shadow omg I do that too

Draws classmates

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

yeah the only issue i have with drawing classmates

is that they're always doing the "i'm using my phone" pose

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Become the master of drawing people on their phones

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Maybe try drawing children on the playground?

This works better if you're a woman

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

oh thank jesus

I also like going to the zoo or the museum

or the aquarium if i'm feeling adventurous

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I am a University student so I also have some pretty interestng drawings of people asleep in weird poses

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I really need to start going to weekly figure drawing sessions once this is over (there's one here... 20 min drive... 8AM Saturdays )

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

ditto or just go to the park and draw

and @Eightfish (Puppeteer) I've had some.....weird poses from all my profs

one guy was incredibly hard to draw; he was VERY enthusiastic about showing us knife skills

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

The parks here are too spacious, to a degree where it's weird to get close enough to people

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Bring binoculars

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Don't worry ma'am I'm an artist

nothing sketchy

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

(except my sketch)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

A+ pun right there

another place to go for figure drawing

theaters

like.....opera/plays

I once tried drawing the men dancing in the Newsies musical

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Tried that once, but it took me out of the performance

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

same i was dazzled by dancing men

aaaaand then i abandoned sketching at all when they started throwing newspaper strips into the audience

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

But they were giving you free paper!

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

THEY WERE

i'll take what i can get

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) While I agree that my method of drawing is "inefficient," I do not draw like a printer. There are videos of people drawing like a printer and it's not what I'm doing. I have done gesture drawing before, but it always looked incredibly abstract, and not quite like people, which is fine, but not what I'm going for. I treat gesture drawing like a warm-up exercise. It doesn't really do anything for my end result, but gets my drawing muscles stretched out.(edited)

eli [a winged tale]

Gesture drawings are definitely a good warmup!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Perhaps it was an inappropriate analogy. What works for me I guess wouldn't work for everyone. I was trying to offer advice because whenever you talk about how much time you spend on art and you work life balance it's commendable but also dismaying. I hope you find something that works for you in the future

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

Oh god.. I sometimes work 6 hours a day. I guess thats like 30 hours a week? Crazy to think about, it's like a full job

Oooh you guys are sharing figure drawings... I swant to show some of mine

Behold

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

My figure drawing usually breaks down into like, medical anatomy study. I feel like I understand body shapes better by including the muscles & bones

carcarchu

ABS the most important figure study

Deo101 [Millennium]

ah figure drawing? I love figure drawing ^^

I do like a lot but this kinda thing is most of it

anyways as for the question at hand, I do a lot of different things for my comics weekly. My millennium pages take me 2-6 hours i would say, but I also have patreon things I need to do so I'd say i spend 10-15 hours on it a week. for my other comic, I spend about 6 hours an update, and it updates every other week. but honestly, all of my free time goes to assorted comics. If i'm not working on school work or chatting with people, I'm working on things for patreon, potential merch, or other comics I want to start sometime.

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

Oooh nice poses!!’

Deo101 [Millennium]

thanks!! I have a ton of gesture/figure drawings but these ones are my most recent that I have saved to my computer i think

10 minutes im pretty sure. very good for speeding up

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

Those look really nice, good values

Deo101 [Millennium]

thanks ^^ I really hate working in charcoal honestly, it kinda always winds up hurting my body somehow, but its very quick sooooooo

kayotics

My answer for the prompt question has changed a lot since I started quarantine lmao... I used to do about 10 hours of work throughout the week on my comic page (usually after work, I have an office job) but ironically it’s gotten harder while I work from home. I’ve been struggling to find time since I don’t have a separation between work and home now, and putting the boundaries up of “I’m not always available” to coworkers is difficult.

Also on figure studies: they’re a great way to practice speed. I use the concepts of figure drawings all the time.

RebelVampire

@kayotics As someone who always works from home doing remote contract work, I have to say I think this is something a lot of people underestimate about work at home life. In that it's sometimes really difficult to establish boundaries with ppl and make them understand you aren't always available and also aren't gonna work billions of hours of overtime. So I'm sorry to hear that's affecting your comic work.

Shadowmark Productions

I work anywhere from 6-8 hours a day on comic stuff. That’s an average though. Sometimes I slack and need to pull all nighters to make up for it. Yes, I am terrible at time management. They say entrepreneurs are the only people willing to work 80 hours a week for themselves so they do not have to work 40 hours a week for someone else. I guess webcomic creators are the only people willing to work 80+ hours a week so that they can... go to work for someone else afterwards

AntiBunny

4 days of procrastinating, 1 of procrastinating and hating myself, and 2 of actual comic drawing seems to make up my weekly comic making schedule. :p

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I can only imagine how stressed I would be if I forced myself to update weekly

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

This is a hard question to answer because it varies a lot depending on my energy levels. Ideally I’d spend several hours a day on comics, but realistically I draw as much as possible when I have the energy (5+ hours a day for as many days in a row as I can handle it) and then go weeks or months too tired to do comics. On average, barring any long periods of exhaustion or other interruptions from RL, I spend about 20+ hours a week making pages for my comics.

sagaholmgaard

I prefer to work on my comic for about an hour ever morning and maybe 2-3 hours in the evening, that's the ideal routine for me. Right now I sadly have a lot of schoolwork to do (writing my thesis) so i might get less than 30 minutes in the morning and then feel rlly tired in the evening so I dont get as much time then either. but oh well!

I can still work for 4-5 hours on the weekends so I manage ^^(edited)

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

The whole stay-indoors order's currently completely wrecked my pattern, but before that I did between 3-4 hours a day.

Shadowmark Productions

Can’t imagine the stress of a daily or even weekly posting schedule. Hats off.

[darealsaltysam]

I am spanish so english books are kinda out of reach for me , but i read webtoons! It may not be the best for descriptions , but even though my main language IS spanish , i always think , read and watch series in english , its just a language i love a lot.

As for my writing ... I tried writing the series i have on my mind once but i feel like people will call it cringy for several reasons , i've tried to sit down and write but its hard when your family is always interrupting (also my brain shuts down when i try to write down ideas)

that's understandable! i'm polish myself but i moved to ireland about 6 years ago so i have way better access to english stuff (plus i do english as a proper class rather than just a language-learning class like i did in poland) so i know it can be hard to get that sort of stuff when not living in an english-speaking area.

i'd say if you can afford it a nice thing to do would be to order an english version of a book you like online, or just give something new a try. from your asks i can tell your english is more than fluent so i'm sure you could enjoy a book in english! the witcher series is really good if you're looking for anything specific.

but i also get that can't always be accessible, but there's also plenty of just free (or not so free, but you know, pirated) books online in PDF formats that you could definitely track down! they could be a good way to just expand your vocabulary in the more descriptive department rather than just dialogue/generally conversational only english.

some ways i overcome just not being able to write is putting on music, but always keep it lyric-free. lyrics can be sometimes distracting and especially if it's a song you really like and you're more focused on the music than the writing. video game and movie soundtracks are really good, and you can always pick something to match the mood! i have plenty of writing playlists i use myself that you could find if you scroll down my spotify (they're buried way at the bottom under all the character playlists oops). and if music isn't doing it for you, ambience is good too!

michael ghelfi is who i use most when i'm writing, some of the stuff on his spotify is amazing! he's got music but also more clean audio like, for example, a crowded tavern or a burning building. there's practically anything for any occasion, you should really check his stuff out!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/17njitvUNAIx81UoflmQyi?si=KKmuDQ_WSp2fN2iLnqMPmQ&dl_branch=1

and if you can't find a specific scenario, there's always plenty of stuff on youtube. oh, and when describing scenes always imagine them in your head! try to imagine places you've been or seen, it makes it much easier to describe things in detail - and then add bits that more reflect your own world!

like, for example, in the most recent chapters of between heroes and villains, one of my fics, there's a lot of scenes that take place near a cliff - and the cliffs i imagined, specifically, are the cliffs of moher in ireland, since i've actually been there a good few times and can get a very clear image in my head - so that's what i describe!

sorry this answer was so long shwhdwhdhw i'm a bit of a writing nerd oops

[esckeycomic]

[ESC] Future Updates

Hi everyone for those who still follow this, I’m going to be rebooting this comic in the future (I’m going to say 2018 Mid Spring or Early Summer roughly.). It will be restructured a little differently, but I've made some major decisions to help myself and production and move some things around. For the reboot, the following will change. - All comic pages will be in full color

- It will update on a regular schedule / basically way more backlog prep work done way far in advance so the chances of hiatus are greatly reduced and people can still enjoy the story as it updates

- The style will be more consistent

- I am removing inter-chapter animations for further cohesion and for the purpose of eventual physical book publishing format

- Porting/Cross-Platform Posting to more comic/art sites such as Taptastic, SmackJeeves, deviantART, LINE webtoon, etc

- Improved cohesive writing/character development decisions 

Originally my plan for ESC was to do comic chapters and also have animations with original music and voice acting in between chapters to further explain the story, especially because I love using animation as another storytelling medium with comics, but realized after awhile it wasn’t viable in the long run, especially if I wanted to publish this story into a physical book format.

I still wish to produce animations related to ESC and the characters, but it will no longer be directly related to the main plot - any animations created will instead be focused on more tangential side stories or be promotional material to draw interest to the comic instead, which will give me more freedom to produce animation with various subjects and feature some of the other characters on ESC when they don’t have as strong of a direct link to the main story.

 It won’t be now or soon yet as I have 2 jobs and some other stuff that I’m holding down right now, (working in a game studio, some business, and indie animation) but as I slowly push things off some of my side plates I’ll re-integrate ESC gradually into my personal schedule.

 This comic is not dead, I still want to work on it and try to finish it. Just been ridiculously busy in a jungle of work, and when I’m not busy with work, I’m too tired to do much else in my spare time. Over the years I have produced this slow running webcomic on and off when I was able to give it time and energy, I learned a lot of things I should and should not have done strictly in terms of comic production decisions. I’m also now more confident in my ability to draw things faster and more efficiently due to focusing on different things in my practice - and produce things at a faster and more consistent rate that I’m satisfied with. This includes ironing out a drawing style specifically for sequential art that I’m overall happier with and developing better methods for production. 

I’m confident that I will be able to deliver a better comic experience all around and do better rebooting the comic and starting from square one.

Thanks for supporting!

Steel

[sidkotianuniverse]

Another page from my graphic novel; beneath an alien sky. I got into writing because I can't stand not knowing how to do something (in comics) So for years I wrote and drew original content between freelance projects. I never sent those out, they were practice books. Anyway in 2017 I had had enough and was determined to see an original project through to the end. I rewrote it three times and each time I had to re design characters and redraw pages. And I had to stop work on it while working on other gigs. I also had to fight an internal battle, y'know the one with that voice that says 'you ain't good enough.' and 'just quit. It's so much easier' and so on. But I wasn't getting any younger and I knew comics is one of those things you get good at by just doing it (also, everything else). To keep myself from having a way out I also announced to my friends I will not be stepping out to meet then until I am published (I haven't really seen them for years now) Finally by 2019 the whole thing was done. Written drawn and lettered by myself. This was the easy part... I had forgotten to prepare a publishing plan. Maybe because I thought I'd never actually finish the book. Anyway, right now I'm cutting up my beautifully composed pages and turning them into webtoons format. The webtoons version will happen soon. Later in the year I might do a Kickstarter for a traditional print book. You can also get the comic by supporting my patreon. This is all new territory for me, I kinda love it 😎 . . . . . . . . . #bas #sequentialpages #originalcharacter #graphicnovel #scifi #indianart #creatorowned #comics #sidkotian #blackandwhite #ogn #drawing #art https://www.instagram.com/p/B8BtATOgF0G/?igshid=e6aq4khxgp37

[achimsigsa-blog]

Preface (1 / 3)

Greetings,

Earthlings!

This will be MY FIRST POST WHICH NOT RELATED TO THIS TUMBLR CONCEPT (yes, i was originally planning to fill the tumblr with food-only posts but i’m running out a space for writing decent posts apparently--and instagram won’t allow me to take that much space for an account with no blue thick on the right side of the username. HAHA. So, okay, let me tell you the main purpose of me, writing this post, is no other than extending my preface page from my thesis report. Having to put cute and witty words in thesis preface is strictly prohibited by my supervisor so in this chance, i’d like to elaborate (and add) some of my gratitude towards these lovelies people which sometimes i don’t deliver it properly. Maybe words could help me this time. Let’s see.

#1. MUN mates

I thought my college life would be dead boring, no fun and exhausting. Well, 3/4 of this statement were true. Most of my days were boring and exhausting because of the endless workloads from class and lab work. But honestly, i found fun while stepping into my 5th semester which they said it was full of awful lab works and assignments and hard courses. The fun was coming from these bunch of squishy peeepol. I remember the first time we held our 1st meeting in front of Perpus and i was coming awkwardly while saying hello to Maul and kak Ben (((WELL I DON’T REALLY REMEMBER THE FACES because i hide my face all the time back then, yes, i was too shy))) and you guys coming gradually until we are complete. It was only a complete delegate of ITS delegation for HN 2016 but right after 9 months of bonding, we are no longer just a delegation but a family to each other. Your first impression was really that strong to me--and i have told you my version on kak Ben’s farewell dinner--but now i’m seeing you guys 1000 times horrible than the first time. A horribly sweet persons. The one that i can always rely on making me less insecure through out these thesis days, the one that always cheer me up with your quirk jokes, the one that always being an ice cream companion ((and mostly kak Ben is all-time victim)), the one that always makes phone gallery full with beautiful faces that i will never forget, the one that always using my car as somewhat a racing car, the one that always provide me with good quality talks, and of course, the one that always makes me miserably longing for going back to only meet you for replenishing my energy. I’d personally mentioning all the members here and leave them a piece of my heart;

1. Kak Benyamin; You’ve been always good to me and you already know that I really, really adore you as my big brother which i’m always longing to have one. Thank you for taking a freaking good care of me and wrap me with your kindness and protect me from bad influence such as Irfanda. No, kidding. But seriously, you just like a hot chocolate brownie coming from the oven--a well baked cake which contains goodness in every layer of it. I wish you good luck for your new journey and let’s meet again in the future kak!

2. Kak Yosar; AH, THIS DUDE. You probably haven’t heard my first impression about you right? Let me tell you here (((and i don’t think that you will read this in the near future anyway))). You looked very attractive at first. At first, okay and past tense. Because I saw you with no motion at all. You were sitting still right across my row on the final simulation but America has altered my FI about you (referring to you look good on .jpg format only). But still in a good way tho HAHAHA. Thank you for bringing your yellow parka to US because i enjoy seeing you with that parka on (((despite i really want to wear yellow parka/raincoat while stomping a puddle in rainy days))) it brings happiness i don’t know how. Thank you for being a great friend of mine. Hope to bump each other someday and you still remember this petite friend!

3. Aidhil; Thank you for (unofficially) adding S.T right after my S.Si on my name. Thank you for trusting me from keeping your TV for some days and to recently jampe-jampein your ppt. Thank you for boosting my confidence in every practice session and tagging me along to have belut for the first time in 1267823491 years. We have pretty much in common actually--too many common friends. Ranging from your junior school friend and even your own cousin (which apparently one of my elementary friends). It’s always fun to have you around my papa bear. See you on Sept at Graha!

4. Ekky; HUHUHUH MY ESVICI PARTNER which always been a very patient yet very hard to reach by any kind of communication device. A Bangil pride. Thank you for teaching me on how to be patient and having a silent but gold personality. Thank you for bearing every esvici weight which i sometimes couldn’t bear it alone and you ended up doing my part also (AND I’M REALLY SORRY ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR MATTER). I wish you good luck for your thesis Ky!! Oh ya, thank you for coming to my thesis defence it was a surprise visit and i was really glad to see you!

5. Darosa; MY QWEEEEN! You are the true role model (after Emma Watson). I am very, very pleased and delighted to have you as my best-girl-friend in this chapter of life! Thank you for teaching me how to be responsible and strong at the same time and showing me that woman is also capable to rule this world. Thank you for being my model especially while we are in 40 Berkeley HAHAHAH those gold old times.. Thank you for lending your precious ears to listen to my bored stories and times for a good conversations. Good luck for your thesis and you gonna nail it for sure!!! Let’s take a group pict on Wisuda with other 2013 gengs!!

6. Karina; My. Miserable. Friend. My. teman. seperjuangan. My. teman. sedih. My. partner. in. crime. My. indie. friend. My. up. to date. and. good. source. of. killing. boredom. friend. Thank you for letting me to ruin your college days just like you ruin mine. It’s always a great time while talking some shit and random stuff with you because you are surprisingly a walking search engine HAHAHAHA. Thank you Jo, for being a really good Surabayan people and making me less hating the city because your presence and others. Thank you for always telling me many good places to visit while i’m still in Surabaya and to feed my insta with good picture HAHAHAHAH. Good luck babe, it’s one step more to the final presentation and you gonna nail it!

7. Maulana; Oh you again. Everyone calls you bonsai and broccoli but I’m the only person who can call you with the most prestigious nick--U.P.I.L. Do you want to know the philosophy behind it? Ask me directly then HAHAHHA. Thank you for having an indecisive personality so i don’t feel like left alone because we share this character also HAHAHAHAH. Thank you for always volunteering yourself to take the steering wheel and drive very carefully. I hope you could find your princess soon so i don’t have to introduce you to my precious friends because you never do it to me as return!!!! HAHAHAHAHAH no, kidding, i only have my eyes for park chanyeol. 

8. Arum; I. MISS. YOU. A. LOT. MY. DISEC. BUDDY. HOW. ARE. YOU. DARLING??? I miss eating together while having a random discussion with you and our girl squad :( I hope you always in a great condition and full of fortune! Thank you for being a really good friend and cute little sister to me. Thank you for being a great partner on council and bear the pressure together and still breathing after comsess end LOL and thank you for introducing me to webtoon world :)

9. Irfanda; Thank you for trusting me to take and process all your photos. Thank you for believing my skill in design and editing. Thank you for always making me istighfar every time your chat appear on my phone. You are my source of ujian keimanan. I hope I will not encounter any kind of irfanda in the future :) Thank you for colouring with black ink marker on this chapter of life. You will not be forgotten.

Your stories have been growing inside me and making a very deep root of mixed feeling. You have a big room on my heart. I will always cherish you in every moment of my life. Thank you, i love you unconditionally.

Best,

Honeystar.

[markgottliebliteraryagent]

Video Game Artists/Graphic Novelists Arey & Fy

Alejandra Green and Fanny Rodriguez are casually known as "Arey and Fy." They are the authors of the popular webtoon-turned-forthcoming graphic novel Fantastic Tales of Nothing, in which a vast continent with ages of lore, traditions and conflict plays host to the adventures of an unlucky boy as he travels from the Mourning Prayers to the Courts of Power and probably gets in more trouble that he can handle. Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins will be publishing. Alejandra "Arey" Green is a concept artist and animator from northwest Mexico. Arye likes to think of herself as patience in the flesh, a lover of the sea and surfer of whales (although she'll deny that). Fanny "Fy" Rodriguez is a user interface designer and illustrator from northeast Mexico. She never sleeps, is a mountain enthusiast, and has weird taste in music (she won’t deny that).

What initially attracted you both to the comic book arts medium of storytelling? Do you also feel that the fantasy genre affords a vast canvas for storytelling?

AG: Working on a comic format for storytelling pretty much conveyed what we both enjoyed doing- both graphic and written ideas.

I thought about working on a short film of sorts as a personal project around that time. However, animation is both resource and time consuming for only one person to work on. Funny enough, I had never been attracted to comic books up until now! The idea of trying out a new medium for me to explore was too exciting to ignore. This is honestly a new world for me and I cannot be more grateful to Fanny for dragging me in.

Either be fantasy, science fiction or any other genre; I believe any subject can be explored into an endless road of possibilities for storytelling as long as the characters, their actions and growth appeal to the audience.

FR: I’ve never gave much thought about it until now, I have notebooks from 7th grade where I did some comic panels and a friend did the next and so on. I guess I’ve always been attracted to the idea of telling stories through pictures more than only words, you not only tell the story you give the reader the idea of what you imagine creating it.

Definitely, fantasy and other fiction genres are only limited by the creator (and sometimes, the page limit marked by the editor).

Having worked with animation studios, what has been each of your favorite projects to work on and why?

FR: We didn’t work in big animation studios, but for my part I’ve been more involved on web design and development until I met Ale. We met in a video game outsource studio, where we worked on concept art and design for mobile, PC and console video games. You can even find our names in some credits (as an outsourcing studio, sometimes there’s only the mention of it and not the artists) like Heroes of Dragon Age, Plants vs. Zombies, Agents of Mayhem, Darksiders 3 and Prey 2. More than a project, my favorite part was when I got to be the leader of the 2D art team, working with a lot of amazing and talented artists and learning from them and the process of creating assets for video games.

AG: What a dream it would have been! Although I don’t think I would’ve had the opportunity to work on Tales of Nothing if I ever worked for those companies. (Or even meet Fanny)

I did however, worked with a small animation team for a feature film project in which I had the pleasure to meet amazing artists and friends within the industry. Visual development has always been my favorite part when working on the animation field, which I learned a lot from.

During my time there, we had the opportunity to work on a short film for a national contest (we made it to the finals!) and I have to admit, working on the credits illustrations/design was my favorite part!

“...you can’t rely on the platforms alone to get your work known.”

Your forthcoming graphic novel, Fantastic Tales of Nothing, began as a popular webcomic. Do you now regard publishing online via webtoon sites such as Tapas and Line Webtoon to be a springboard for discovery and success? Are there any limitations to staying within the webcomic ecosystem where one is published only digitally?

AG: Tapas did made it easier for us by promoting Tales of Nothing through their app and webpage’s Spotlight sections. However, when using such tools one should be careful and keep in mind their terms and conditions, and how your work can be affected by it.

Most webcomic authors I know use such platforms as a segway to self-publishing through funding campaigns, once the project has reached a popular audience on its own, especially when starting a new project.

FR: Both platforms are great ways to publish if you can’t create your own website, and make your work accessible to their the public that it’s always looking for something new to read. However, you can’t rely on the platforms alone to get your work known. As Ale said with Tapas Spotlight with Fantastic, we were lucky on that.

I don’t think there are limitations, if you want to continue publishing your comic online for free there are paths you can take to support you, like Patreon, Kofi, Kickstarters for publishing, Gumroad, etc. More than a limitation, you gotta know it’s big work what you going to do, constantly and that’s something some new artists and readers don’t grasp sometimes.

I'm reminded of Nimona, Boxers & Saints and Anya's Ghost when I look at your graphic novel Fantastic Tales of Nothing. Are there any comics or graphic novelists that have influenced your work, or are there any comic creators you both just read for pleasure?

FR: I’m more a video games than a comics/graphic novel person. I grew up (and still are) playing video games like The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy and more, they became a big influence for me to start drawing and writing. Art-wise I look up to a lot of artists, maybe all artists is a better statement. When we started Fantastic Tales of Nothing I took a lot of influence from Mary Blair, Eyvind Earle and Vincent Van Gogh for painting the backgrounds. On writers, maybe I can say Espido Freire and Douglas Adams.

I read for pleasure, a lot of things! Started a compilation of short stories by Ursula K. Leguin, a couple of friends gifted me Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang that I already binge read past week. I’m also following/reading some comics like Saga by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples, Coda by Simon Spurrier & Matías Vergara, and Isola by Brenden Fletcher & Karl Kerschl.

AG: I’m fairly new to this whole graphic novel/comic world, so my collection isn't as big as Fanny’s. My all-time favorite author has been a manga artist, Hiromu Arakawa on Fullmetal Alchemist and Silver Spoon. Last year I had the pleasure to meet both authors Ale Gamez and Axur Eneas through their latest novel Mas Alla de las Ciudades. I also bought Nimona after you, Mark, mentioned it to us, lovely stories worth checking out!

“...it was so amazing seeing all the work we have done finally take form.”

It's hard enough writing a story...does telling a story with illustrations add more work and present its own set of challenges, or do you each find it to be liberating?

FR: Yes definitely! Trying to communicate the actions and moods we are thinking about certain scenes it’s a big challenge but it’s great at the same time. I’ve learned so much because of it and still am. When we finished the rough version of the whole book to send to our editor, I contained my tears; it was so amazing seeing all the work we have done finally take form.

What do you find that working in a collaboration offers that working as an individual storyteller cannot offer?

FR: There are so many things. First, you’re not alone; you’ve got another person’s point of view that helps you see things that you wouldn’t have noticed if you were working by yourself. When you have troubles, or are stuck trying to illustrate/write something, the other can help out by guiding or giving advice. Working with Ale, it’s the absolute best, and I’m not saying it only because she’s my best friend, both of us are very different in the way we solve problems, paint and think. I’m very emotional and impulsive; she’s more centered and practical. I like to think we complement each other and that makes our work easier for both of us.

How did you find your current literary agent and go on to get published with the Katherine Tegen Books imprint of HarperCollins? How exhilarating did it feel to learn that you'd be getting published?

FR: Okay, this one is a funny story: we thought you were spam, Mark! When I got the notification and saw the big box of text I was about to delete it, but then noticed it wasn’t like the usual spam we got. I shared the comment with Ale, both of us being very skeptical about it. So, before answering you we did a little digging about you and Trident Media Group. It took us a moment to think about it, but at the end we said, “Why not?” We weren’t expecting such a quick reply, either.

When we finished our first call with you, we were blank, in a good way. Imagine when you called us, I think it was a month later, telling us Katherine Tegen was publishing us; we were blank again! Looking at each other in disbelief with a dumb smile on our faces, quite nervous of overreacting with you on the line. After we finished the call with you, both of us began to laugh. I think we didn’t do anything else other than smile and worry for a bit, then smile again. Nothing was done that day (no pun intended).

If you could each be any character in any fantasy or comic book world, which character would you be and why?​

FR: I can’t decide. Not because I would like to be on many worlds, mostly because I kind of like it here. But if I have to choose something, maybe I’ll be the Doctor, just to be able to travel through space in time. Explore the universe, meet historical figures and just experience ancient times for a little bit. Oh, how I would love to see what a dinosaur really looked and sounded like.

AG: Most of Arakawa’s female characters have a strength to strive for, I’d definitely choose Riza Hawkeye and her will to give all her best to achieve her goals in supporting the people she cares for.

“The right literary agent can help you take strides of progress when seeking publishing opportunities...”

Do you have any advice for unpublished graphic novelists hoping to get their work published?

FR: Don’t hold yourself back because you don’t know this or don’t know that. You will only learn to improve if you do the thing, instead of having it as an idea wandering in your head. And share your work! Yes, there’ll be mistakes and critiques, learn from them instead of letting them get you down. How else will someone know you got this great story on your hands?

AG: Just do it! Keeping your work out there will open up possibilities for your growth as an artist and as an author. The right literary agent can help you take strides of progress when seeking publishing opportunities—don’t give up, be patient and keep on working ideas that can get you where you aim for.

What can we expect next from the world of Fantastic Tales of Nothing?

FR: Well, if everything goes alright, maybe more stories of the past and beginning of the world, also more adventures! Maybe outside Nathan and friends.

For now, in Fantastic Tales of Nothing, you got to pay attention to the little things; there’s a lot behind the world our characters known as "Nothing," about the people living there to their historical figures. That magic is simple but makes a lot of mess, that’s for sure. And definitely bad jokes, I hope to get better in time with my puns for the second book.