#d tools software

[av-industry-blog]

🎬✨ AV Software Showdown: XTEN-AV vs. D-Tools - The Ultimate Battle for AV Integrators! ✨🎨

AV integrators, we know you're constantly on the lookout for the perfect audiovisual design software. That's why we've put together an epic showdown to help you make the best choice. 🥊💻

🌐 Dive into the battle here: 👈

🔍 Let's break it down:

XTEN-AV 🆚 D-Tools: Which one reigns supreme for AV integrators?

🎨 User-Friendly Design: XTEN-AV boasts an intuitive interface that makes your AV projects a breeze. Say goodbye to the complexities that can slow you down with D-Tools.

🔗 Seamless Integration: XTEN-AV's compatibility and integration with various systems give it an edge, ensuring your projects run smoothly without a hitch.

💪 Speed and Efficiency: Time is money, and XTEN-AV is built for speed and efficiency, helping you meet deadlines and exceed expectations.

🌟 Innovative Features: With XTEN-AV, you have access to an array of cutting-edge features that'll take your AV projects to the next level.

This isn't just a battle; it's a journey to find the perfect tool to elevate your AV game. So, which one will you choose to be your AV sidekick?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments. Which side are you on, and why? Let the showdown begin! 🎤👾🎶

[thecrazyworldbuilder]

A tutorial on a (bit cheating) way of creating fictional maps.

Open your editing software (RECOMMENDING Krita, since it's free and it's very good).

Step 1: Google "X country silhouette" and copy it.

Paste it onto the canvas.

Step 2: Separate the silhouette from the background you copied with it! You can do that by using magic wand selection tool or by making a gradient map with black on 49,9% and transparent on 50% on the slider.

Step 3: Repeat several times with numerous countries and/or islands, cities, municipalities, communes, continents et cetera.

Step 4: Combine, mesh, stretch, rotate, mirror - go ham, make it work.

Step 5: Erase and add.

Step 6: Have your map outline ready, copy/paste it several times in the same doc on different layers and edit in different ways like biomes, kingdoms, mountains and other.

Step Mountains+: To figure out mountains, make another layer on the doc and do something like this:

-and then in every polygon you add an arrow.

Where arrows meet or transfer onto continents, add mountains.

Color the sea with a couple layers of depth and you're done :D

[c00kietin]

WAAAAAH I LOVE THESE VOICE CLAIMS SO MUCH- I think what I'm happy about is how I recognise most of the voices too!

Also, I love imagining them talking like this now- I love Cowbell's and Otto's voice claims!

sat down and compiled some thoughts on voice claims for my ocs- despite my brain yelling at me to make an animatic, I've settled for a much easier showcase. Here you all go! :) I'd like to do more of these once I figure out and share other characters of mine.

[lightyaoigami]

☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ how to resume ⋆｡ﾟ☾｡⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎ ﾟ

after 10 years & 6 jobs in corporate america, i would like to share how to game the system. we all want the biggest payoff for the least amount of work, right?

know thine enemy: beating the robots

i see a lot of misinformation about how AI is used to scrape resumes. i can't speak for every company but most corporations use what is called applicant tracking software (ATS).

no respectable company is using chatgpt to sort applications. i don't know how you'd even write the prompt to get a consumer-facing product to do this. i guarantee that target, walmart, bank of america, whatever, they are all using B2B SaaS enterprise solutions. there is not one hiring manager plinking away at at a large language model.

ATS scans your resume in comparison to the job posting, parses which resumes contain key words, and presents the recruiter and/or hiring manager with resumes with a high "score." the goal of writing your resume is to get your "score" as high as possible.

but tumblr user lightyaoigami, how do i beat the robots?

great question, y/n. you will want to seek out an ATS resume checker. i have personally found success with jobscan, which is not free, but works extremely well. there is a free trial period, and other ATS scanners are in fact free. some of these tools are so sophisticated that they can actually help build your resume from scratch with your input. i wrote my own resume and used jobscan to compare it to the applications i was finishing.

do not use chatgpt to write your resume or cover letter. it is painfully obvious. here is a tutorial on how to use jobscan. for the zillionth time i do not work for jobscan nor am i a #jobscanpartner i am just a person who used this tool to land a job at a challenging time.

the resume checkers will tell you what words and/or phrases you need to shoehorn into your bullet points - i.e., if you are applying for a job that requires you to be a strong collaborator, the resume checker might suggest you include the phrase "cross-functional teams." you can easily re-word your bullets to include this with a little noodling.

don't i need a cover letter?

it depends on the job. after you have about 5 years of experience, i would say that they are largely unnecessary. while i was laid off, i applied to about 100 jobs in a three-month period (#blessed to have been hired quickly). i did not submit a cover letter for any of them, and i had a solid rate of phone screens/interviews after submission despite not having a cover letter. if you are absolutely required to write one, do not have chatgpt do it for you. use a guide from a human being who knows what they are talking about, like ask a manager or betterup.

but i don't even know where to start!

i know it's hard, but you have to have a bit of entrepreneurial spirit here. google duckduckgo is your friend. don't pull any bean soup what-about-me-isms. if you truly don't know where to start, look for an ATS-optimized resume template.

a word about neurodivergence and job applications

i, like many of you, am autistic. i am intimately familiar with how painful it is to expend limited energy on this demoralizing task only to have your "reward" be an equally, if not more so, demoralizing work experience. i don't have a lot of advice for this beyond craft your worksona like you're making a d&d character (or a fursona or a sim or an OC or whatever made up blorbo generator you personally enjoy).

and, remember, while a lot of office work is really uncomfortable and involves stuff like "talking in meetings" and "answering the phone," these things are not an inherent risk. discomfort is not tantamount to danger, and we all have to do uncomfortable things in order to thrive. there are a lot of ways to do this and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. not everyone can mask for extended periods, so be your own judge of what you can or can't do.

i like to think of work as a drag show where i perform this other personality in exchange for money. it is much easier to do this than to fight tooth and nail to be unmasked at work, which can be a risk to your livelihood and peace of mind. i don't think it's a good thing that we have to mask at work, but it's an important survival skill.

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ good luck ⋆｡ﾟ☾｡⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎ ﾟ｡⋆

[thebleedingwoodland]

THE SIMS 3 TUTORIAL

HOW TO CREATE DEFAULT REPLACEMENT MOD USING CUSTOM MESH & TEXTURE FOR SIMPLE OBJECT

⚠️ Tumblr has 30 pictures limit, so I cannot include too many pictures. If you want to zoom in the pictures, click the pictures to enlarge, or save the pictures into your PC, zoom the pictures on picture viewer or zoom in the pictures on your mobile phone. ⚠️

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

I create this tutorial to make easier to follow because there are older tutorials available before but scattered on internet and usually only say "Export to replace s3asc" without explaining how to export the edited object properly.

My method is using TSR Workshop instead of exporting the object using Sims 3 Object Export/Import plug in because exporting to replace the s3asc using that plug in always giving error notification "ERR: Model has 1 groups; original had 0" and cannot be exported.

For beginners who are very new using s3pe and haven't created default replacement mod before, better start from simple object first.

Simple objects I mean in-game object that has single MODL and single texture with no morphs, no GeoStates, no presets, no CAS colour channels, and easily cloned from OBJD on catalogue. Usually as utensils that Sims holding in their hand, not buy/build objects. For example: Pencil, pan, fork, spoon.

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

Tools to prepare:

s3oc

s3pe

Milkshape 3D for bone assignment (Version I use 1.8.5 beta, discontinued by its developer, therefore feel free to download the full version with its license key provided).

Sims 3 Object Export/Import 1.01 by Wesley Howe (Milkshape plug-in. Download msS3ObjPluginsV101.rar ) 

TSR Workshop (Older version for TS3 only version 2.0.88)

TSR Workshop plug-ins for export.import TSRW Object.

3D Program (Blender/Maya/3dsMax)

Editing images software (Photoshop, make sure you have to install .dds plugin by Nvidia. For free software alternative, you can use GIMP with its .dds plugin)

This tutorial will not teach you how to:

Meshing object ❌

Create alpha texture ❌

Change thumbnails in-game ❌

Install programs and plug-ins ❌

This is how I created Chinese chopsticks replacement mod using custom mesh and texture.

In summary, this tutorial has 10 steps:

Step 1. Clone the Object using s3oc

Step 2. Open S3PE to Copy the Original Resource Code and Export the Files

Step 3. Export the Original Mesh as Base Mesh to .obj format

Step 4. Create Your Custom Mesh

Step 5. Bone Assignment & Create Group

Step 6. Create custom Texture

Step 7. Import the .wso of Edited Mesh on TSR Workshop & Export the package

Step 8. Export MODL file from Package saved from TSR Workshop

Step 9. Finalizing in s3pe & Replacing the Original file with Edited File & Correcting the Code As Same As Default Code

Step 10. Test the CC in your game.

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

✳️ Step 1. Clone the Object using s3oc

Before cloning the object, check the Game Folder for in-game object file location. Settings > Game Folders...

Take a look if the Base Game or Expansion Pack for object file you want to clone is in the right folder. For example, my The Sims 3 game are all bought from Steam, so the location is D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\The Sims 3

If you want to clone object from Expansion Pack, make sure input the folder location. For example, the location for World Adventures EP is D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\The Sims 3\EP1

If you are done, close the pop-up box. You can continue click Cloning then choose Normal Object...

Wait until you get the whole catalogue. Click Search...

For example, I clone object from World Adventures Expansion Pack. You can clone object from Base Game or other Expansion Packs as long it is considered as "utensil" that Sim holding on hand. For example: "Pencil" or "Pan"

Search for text: chopsticks

or if you want to clone object from Base Game, search: utensil

Tick check marks for Resource Name, Object Name, Object Desc then click "Search button"

Search result gives you results with name "chopsticks". Here is the object we are looking for: UtensilChopsticks

We need the OBJD file to clone. OBJD = Object Data.

Click "Clone or Fix" at the right bottom. Then you see the next page to determine if you want to clone with renumber or not. If you want to make default replacement, then do not check the Renumber box. Keep it blank.

Tick check box means the s3oc will generate new resource code for new item. Not tick the check means the s3oc will overwrite the same resource code, it is to replace object you cloned in-game.

I am personally a detailed person, so I usually tick as many as I want: tick "Deep clone" "Missing String Tables" and "Include Thumbnail" to include more details. Then click "Start" to proceed.

It will give you file name [CreatorName]_ObjectName_Number

Then save your package file in "DBPF Package" format in your project folder. Always make folder for any file to make everything organized.

✳️ Step 2. Open S3PE to Copy the Original Resource Code and Export the Files

Open S3pe, locate your package file you cloned from s3oc. Find the MODL of Utensil Chopsticks, Right-Click, "Details..."

On Resource Details, click "Copy TGI" to copy the Resource Code. Type, Group, and Instance will automatically be copied on clipboard. Then open Notepad, Right-Click to "Paste".

Click GRID on bottom of the s3pe (I mark it red on picture), it will give you pop-up box with Data Grid. Click "Resources", it will be highlight blue and there's 3 dots button appeared on the right side. Click the 3 dots button. It will give you TGI Block List Editor.

Inside MODL's TGI Block List Editor only has IMG. You may wondering why, but that's how the game coded. Type, Group, Instance of _IMG inside TGI Block List Editor should be the same as _IMG on the package.

Copy the TGI, Group, Instance to your Notepad.

After you copied code of MODL, do the same for the texture image (_IMG), but only copy the code from Resource Details. You cannot edit TGI Block List Editor for _IMG as the Grid button for _IMG is greyed out.

The main task is the code of your edited mesh and texture should be the same as the code you copied now from original package you cloned with s3oc.

Keep the code on notepad. You will need this code later.

Export the MODL file. Right-Click, "Export to s3asc". The file appears in long string such with name for example: S3_01661233_08000001_B619DB2238C3430B%%+MODL_filebase

Do not rename the file. Save.

Export the texture file. Right-Click "Export > To File..." The file will be saved in .dds format. Do not rename the file. Save.

✳️ Step 3. Export the Original Mesh as Base Mesh to .obj format

Open Milkshape. Import the s3asc file you saved before.

More steps click spoiler tag "Read More / Keep Reading" below

File > Import > Sims 3 Object Import v 1.01 by Wesley Howe

Locate the s3asc file, then the original chopsticks mesh appears.

Click the "Joints" tab. It has 4 codes. Check box "Draw vertices with bone colors" It will show Bone Assignment colors on the original mesh. Yellow on top chopstick and light blue on bottom chopstick. The colours are to make the object has rig and movement following the Sim's interaction.

Take a look at the 4 codes on Joints Tab. You can play around to see which colour of the code will appear, after that copy paste the code to Notepad to make it easier to comprehend.

Click Select from Tools menu, Select Options: Face. On "Right/Left/Top/Bottom 2D View", Left-click make selection of one part of chopsticks. While the part of object being selected (Red), click Joints then Choose "Assign".

0x96239247 --> Yellow 0xFEAE6981 --> Purple 0xCD68F001 --> Light Blue 0xD0DECA8E --> Red

Your edited mesh must have the exact same Bone Assignment colour later. Check again if the code and colour are correct.

You can save object mesh as .obj to other 3D software such as Blender or any other 3D software.

✳️ Step 4. Create Your Custom Mesh

Use the original .obj as base model. While you can create longer mesh or any edited version as you wish.

Make sure the scale and position of the edited mesh is same as base original mesh, because the edited mesh will be used on Sim's hand.

If you are done editing the mesh, export the UVmap.

You can export the uvmap in higher resolution, as long as it is Power of 2. 64x64, 128x128, 256x256, 512x512, 1024x1024, 2048x2048, 4096x4096. I export in 1024x1024 pixels to make the size of texture larger and have more details.

Then export the mesh object in .obj format.

✳️ Step 5. Bone Assignment & Create Group

Open Milkshape. Import the original mesh.

Check the Groups Tab. Original mesh has 1 group, "group 00". Group 00 means it is the main mesh. There is no shadow beneath the object.

Import the edited mesh as .obj file.

My edited mesh has one single name "default" name on the Group Tab. While edited mesh may have a lot of file name scattered on Group Tab. Regroup the file name to simplify your edited mesh into one single name. Select > Regroup.

The main task is replacing the EA's original mesh with your edited mesh.

Before you delete anything, you must do Bone Assignment first to the edited mesh you created.

Your edited mesh does not have Bone Assignment, so it appears white.

Remember the 4 codes you copied earlier in Notepad.

Copy Bone Assignment from original mesh to your edited mesh.

This case, your want to Bone Assign Yellow colour.

Select > Face to select one part of chopsticks of your edited mesh. On Joints Tab, double click the appropriate code 0x96239247 in blue highlight then the code box on the right side of "Rename" will appear 0x96239247. Make sure the code is correct. Then you can click "Assign".

Your edited mesh will appear in Yellow colour. Then do the same for another part of chopsticks.

Select another part of chopsticks of your edited mesh. On Joints Tab, double click the appropriate code 0xCD68F001 in blue highlight then the code box on the right side of "Rename" will appear 0xCD68F001. Click "Assign".

Your edited mesh will appear in Light Blue colour.

Then what's the other code for? With colour purple and red?

Leave them. Let the codes have the same exact codes as appear in original mesh and let the colours only assigned Yellow and Light Blue. The colours are to determine rig for interaction in-game, which only use Yellow as upper part of chopstick and Light Blue as bottom part of chopstick.

You can safely delete the original mesh with name group00 until it remains your only your edited mesh.

Rename your edited mesh to group00. Type group00 on the box then click "Rename" on the left side.

Export to TSRW Object in .wso format. .wso is format with bone assignment on object attached.

Save your .wso in your project folder.

✳️ Step 6. Create custom Texture

Import original texture you exported from s3pe to your editing image software.

Look at the original texture made by EA. 32x64 pixels. It is very low resolution, blurry and stretched, because the texture should be compressed as low as possible by game designer. As player you want it has higher detail to look realistic as possible and your PC of course can handle high resolution content, sure you can make the resolution much higher than EA's.

Import the UVMap you saved from 3D software. For example, UVmap I imported has 1024x1024 resolution. Add your custom texture. Then save it to .dds format in the same name as original texture. Save in separate folder, name it "Edited Texture" to keep it separated from original texture.

✳️ Step 7. Import the .wso of Edited Mesh on TSR Workshop & Export the package

Open your TSR Workshop.

Create New Project > New Import >Next...

Then Browse original mesh by EA in package format in your project folder.

On Open file box, you cannot see .package file because the filter is .wrk (TSR Workshop Project). Choose the .package dropdown.

Then you can see .package file.

Open the .package. After the file is located, then Next. On Project Details I usually skip without giving name of Project Name and Title. Next.

You must have seen green land with white blank sky.

Where's the mesh? It is actually there... just being zoomed in too close. You need to zoom out by scrolling down mouse.

You can see the original chopsticks mesh by EA. You can save the project file in .wrk format. After you save the file, import the .wso of your edited mesh. Mesh tab > High Level detail. Click green arrow folder icon to import. Then your edited mesh will appear replacing the original EA mesh.

As you see, the texture is messed up because the texture is still using original EA's texture. But then you check Textures tab and it has blank dropdown...

I cannot change the texture on this TSR Workshop!

Don't worry, we can replace the texture on s3pe later.

No need to change anything other than importing mesh. Click Edit > Project Contents to save as package.

You will see pop up box with number or files DDS, FTPT, LITE, MODL, OBJD, OBJK, etc. Export > To. package. Give name such as "EditedChopsticks_TSRW"

✳️ Step 8. Export MODL file from Package saved from TSR Workshop

Open S3PE, File > Open package "EditedChopticks_TSRW" that you saved from TSR Workshop.

Export MODL. Right-Click, export. It gives you file name with [StringOfNumber] .model .

Save it on project folder. Keep it organized and separated from original MODL. Name the folder "Edited MODL". Do not rename the file.

✳️ Step 9. Finalizing in s3pe & Replacing the Original file with Edited File & Correcting the Code As Same As Default Code

Open s3pe, File > Open original package that you cloned from s3oc. [CreatorName]_ObjectName_Number

Find the MODL. Right-Click > Replace...

Locate to your edited MODL with filename .model .

Then click Open.

The original MODL of the package should be replaced with your edited mesh.

Do the same for the texture.

Locate to your edited texture with filename .dds

Then click Open.

The original texture of the package should be replaced with your edited texture.

Take a look at MODL's Type, Group, Instance. It has the same code as original MODL in the original package cloned with s3oc (because it has been replaced)

Don't forget to see the code inside TGI Block List Editor.

Repeat step 2 how to check the code. Right-Click on MODL/IMG > Details... and click GRID > Resources > TGI Block List Editor.

The Type, Group, Instance of the _IMG are different compared from IMG from original package clone, which means that is the evidence of edited mesh replaced the original.

Rename the Instance with default/original Instance you copied on notepad from Step 2. Type, Group, Instance should be the same as default/original Type, Group, Instance.

Open notepad with resource code you copied from Step 2. Make sure the Type, Group, and Instance are all the same.

If the codes are the same, then your edited mesh and texture will overwrite the default mesh and texture with the same code in the game. Save, Commit, Save the package.

Check again if the texture is replaced properly. Right-Click on _IMG > ViewDDS.

ALTERNATIVES!

Yes, you can delete unwanted files in your edited package, to keep the package clean. Simply Right-Click>Deleted.

The only files needed in package are: MODL, _IMG, _KEY

They are the only files with your edited mesh/texture including codes to overwrite the default codes.

You can Start new fresh blank s3pe. Right-Click>Import from file...

Locate your edited MODL and _IMG (texture) file.

On Resource Details box, tick mark "Use resource name" > OK.

Make sure all the Type, Group, and Instance of MODL and _IMG including in the TGI Block List Editor are all the same as the code in original package.

Save the package.

✳️ Step 10. Test the CC in your game.

Put the package to your CC folder in your The Sims 3 document folder to see if the CC is working or not.

If the CC is working as your intended, with your custom mesh and texture, then test the animation. Are the chopsticks animation working as the same as original EA's? If the animation are working well too, then congratulations!

Your default replacement are working. Give applause to yourself. 👏

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

QUESTIONS!

Q:

Can I use this tutorial for making default replacement for buy/build object?

A: This tutorial covers basic method of using TSR Workshop and replacing the default codes (Type, Group, Instance), so you will understand the basic principle of doing default replacement mod.

Keep in mind that different object has different case. Buy / build object has MLOD (not just MODL) more than one, texture images more than one, has presets, and CAStable colour channels.

The TGI Block List Editor for buy/build object has a lot of codes, so have to spend a lot of time to do trial-and-error to make the default replacement working properly, because a lot of times the texture doesn't work (still using default EA's texture), or when the object appears right with your edited mesh and texture, after you choose the presets, the object reverts back to your edited mesh with default EA's texture.

Q:

Help! The texture is black! / still using same EA's texture when tested in the game!

A: The texture codes must be not the same. Check the Type, Group, Instance of _IMG. Do the codes are the same like codes in original package? Check the TGI Block List Editor for MODL, is the _IMG inside has the same Type, Group, Instance as in original package.

Q:

Help! The object disappears when tested in the game!

A: You must be replacing OBJD in your package. Do not replace OBJD. Just MODL and texture only.

[autolenaphilia]

Blu-ray DRM is really devilish. I use a program called makemkv to rip them, because there is no other way to play them on my laptop, and there are no legit linux options for blu-ray playback, you have to crack the drm to play them. The easiest solution is makemkv to rip the movies into files, it works out of the box.

But if the level of drm (aacs) on a particular blu-ray is higher than what Makemkv can handle, the disk will update the firmware on your drive to revoke access to makemkv, so it can't access any blu-rays.

"One famous “feature” of AACS is a so-called host revocation. It was designed to ensure that only “approved” software can use your drive. Every Blu-ray disc contains a file that has a list of host keys known to be used by "unauthorized" software. This list has a version number. The moment you insert the disc into your drive, the drive checks if the list is newer than the one it knows about, and if it is, the drive re-flashes itself (updates firmware)."

And that happened to me. It was a blu-ray of the 1972 Hammer horror movie Fear in the Night that did it. The one program that works with my blu-ray player now couldn't access any discs, including ones it had ripped before. And there are absolutely zero linux programs that are authorized to playback blu-ray discs.

I had to flash my drive's firmware to allow something called libredrive, which allows direct access to files and bypasses the aacs drm firmware.

And that was quite the journey. I had makemkv installed as a flatpak via my distro's software manager. and I needed to use the command line. Flatpaks are a great packaging format. but they are primarily for gui apps. So i had to build makemkv from source. And then I had to figure out the commandline for the firmware flashing tool included with makemkv, which was hard because the instructions linked flat out lie. There is no "flash" command for sdftools, there is only "rawflash", you have to read the thread carefully to find that out. This page helped. I had to download new patched libredrive firmware.

And finally i figured out the command I needed ""sdftool -d [drive name] rawflash main,enc -i [new firmware file name].bin. And now I can use my blu-ray drive again. It's now libredrive.

So much work to finally be able to use the drive I paid for, and the blu-ray discs I also paid for. I'm not running some major piracy operation, I just want to be able to watch movies I legally own on my laptop. And drm stopped me, and I had to break it.

This is why DRM is so bad, and anyone who uses it deserves all the piracy they are trying to stop with it. It's scummy to take someone's money and then interfere with their ability to use the copy of the products they own and paid for. It's such atrocious treatment of the customer that anyone who does it deserves to have their stuff pirated.

[copperbadge]

I know EXACTLY what video you're showing your cats. My boys love it too.

(Anon this is an old ask, my apologies! Everyone else, this is in reference to the photos I've been posting of movie nights with the cats, where I project Cat TV on a screen for them.)

I honestly usually just search "tv for cats" and less if I can get away with it, because usually I'm petting a cat with my other hand while trying to enter the search text :D I can't log into youtube on the projector for some reason (it crashes the software) so I just kinda had to take what I could get for a while, although now I've downloaded and illegally installed an entirely new app that lets me log in, so there's that at least.

But those fixed-camera-on-a-stump-with-seeds videos are exactly what the Crypids like, that and tool repair videos like tysy tube. :D

Tonight they're rambling around instead of sitting with me and watching because I've got a podcast on (it's one of those that has visual elements, but the visual elements aren't interesting to cats) and because there's some new furniture in the bedroom -- a wardrobe, photos to follow eventually -- that they have to discover the best places to puke in.

[winryrockbellwannabe]

come with me to write my bachelor project's report

Okay, so it's 9pm in here, I haven't done anything all day, and i have a report that i have barely started.

The goal it to finish at least 1/4 of it today before going to sleep, even if it means ruining my already questionable sleep schedule.

This is what i have to work on

A. Theory and project plan 1. research problem 3 2. previous studies and past approaches (summary of findings and gaps) 3. research question of the current project 4. methodology adopted in the current project to answer the research question B. Practical knowledge and project development 1. research project phases 2. methodological description: a. participants b. experimental design and procedures c. manipulated and measured variables d. software used for data acquisition and analysis e. analysis plan 3. Identified limitations 4. Open science and good research practices a. good practices b. tools: OSF, GitHub C. Personal reflection on the project

will update at least once every hour to hold myself accountable

[wolfjackle-creates]

Behind the Fortress Walls Chapter 4

We've finally got chapter 4 of my bang fic out! Only one more to go, holy shit.

Fic Summary:

Jazz is in love with Dick. He’s kind, considerate, and caring. Far and away the nicest person she’s ever dated. But she’s lying to him. About so, so much. And he’ll hate her once he learns the truth. Assuming he doesn't get tired of her canceling all their dates first. When Danny and Ellie go missing, the latest in a series of ghostly disappearances, she's forced to cancel another date. Going to Elmerton to meet up with Tucker and Sam, she will get Danny and Ellie back from the GIW no matter what it takes. Only...they aren't the only ones breaking in.

Chapter word count: 8.1k

There's an entire comic included with this chapter. Or you can find it on tumblr here.

The scene from the comic:

-----

The hallway ended in a thick metal door that had both electric and manual locks. Before Dick could even offer to take care of it, Tucker shrugged off his own backpack and pulled out a tool kit. Within moments, he had the casing off the keypad and was plugging his own PDA into the system.

Starfire hovered over his shoulder, looking down. “What is the purpose of the device you are using?”

Jazz could hear the smile in Tucker’s voice as he caressed his PDA. “Bethany here is my pride and joy, my child. She’s capable of anything.”

Sam snorted. “It’s a PDA. Not our kid, T— Pharaoh.”

Tucker made hushing noises and clutched Bethany to his chest. “Shhh, you didn’t hear that. Mommy loves you.”

“Just get the door open,” sighed Sam.

“Not until you apologize to our daughter!”

Sam took a deep breath to respond, but Danny interrupted before she could. “Just do it, Regrowth. Pharaoh and I put a lot of work into Bethany.”

Sam’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry, Bethany. I love you very much.”

Starfire grinned. “The machine is alive? It is nice to meet you, Bethany!”

Next to her, Jazz felt Dick shake with barely suppressed laughter. When she looked out of the corner of her eyes, she could tell he was biting back a smile.

Sam sighed. “She’s not alive. But Pharaoh and Phantom have been developing and upgrading her over the last several years. They’ve custom built half her parts and replaced the other half.”

Dick hummed in interest. “It looks like an old PDA case. Why didn’t you go for something more modern?”

For the first time that night, Danny grinned at Dick and Jazz felt something inside her relax. “PDAs were what we could afford as teenagers without real jobs. Plus they have bigger casings than modern smart phones; more room to fit more hardware. Beth’s battery lasts weeks.”

Starfire laughed. “Cyborg wishes to know if you would agree to the sharing of specs.”

Tucker practically squeaked at the question and Jazz bit back her own laugh. “Uh, yeah. Sure. Absolutely. He really wants to see?”

“Pharaoh,” said Dick, “if you allow it, he wants to spend at least a week with you figuring out how the tech these guys use works.”

Tucker looked down at Bethany and began typing. “I mean, sure. I’d love to. But if that’s what he wants, D would really be better. He’s the hardware guy, I’m the software guy.”

A moment later, the keypad beeped and they heard a click.

“All right, electronic locks are open. Nightwing, mind getting the rest of them?”

Dick grinned as he sauntered up to the door and pulled out his lock picks again. This door took longer than the first, but even so, it was open in just a minute or two. Dick bowed as he pulled the door open and gestured them through.

He revealed a fairly small room, in the center of which sat what looked like a large boiler with a monitor affixed to it. The glowing green wires spread out of the machine and disappeared into the walls, ceiling, and floor.

-----

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

[setsuntamew]

Hello and welcome to "Icon Making With Killian: An Intro to the 'Lost' Art of LiveJournal Icons"

aka, I'm still making them and I'd like to teach you how to do it, too!

This tutorial was written in Photoshop 2020, but you can probably recreate it in as far back as CS2-ish (since I still use the same sort of techniques I've been using since then, lmao). It also assumes basic understanding of the software, though I've tried to be as clear as possible throughout.

With that out of the way, let's get this tutorial on the road!!!!!!

I started with the bloomed art of Hiiro from the White Lilies scout box (image courtesy of the Ensemble Stars!! English Wiki).

I basically always start with a blank 100x100 canvas and paste the image into it. I try to go into icon making with a vague idea of what I want to do, and I knew from the beginning that my vision for this icon would have the top 1/4-1/3 of the image covered by a solid band of color. To make positioning the image of Hiiro easier, I made a rough version of the band with temporary colors (though they're pretty close to what I ended up using in the end).

With that in place, I could start working with the actual image for the icon. After pasting it in and adjusting the layers so it was under the band, I resized it and moved it around a bunch until I was happy with the position. Once I liked how it looked, I used an Unsharp Mask on the base.

Next up, I used a texture from lookslikerain. However, purple is all wrong for the color scheme I had in mind, so I went to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation... to change it up to better suit my needs. Never be afraid to mess around with textures!

Here's how I adjusted this specific texture, but each one is unique- both the texture and the icon you're creating, so it's best to play with it until you get good results.

I then pasted this into the icon, making sure it was under the layers making up the top bands of color (because I was only trying to affect the base for now), and set this layer to Darken.

Now it's time to mess with the colors of the top band. They sorta matched before I did anything to the base, but now...not quite. I used a layer style for each part of it, but using the paint bucket tool would work just as well. I went to Layer > Layer Styles > Color Overlay... for each, changing the colors as necessary. The thickest band is #85d0bf, the middle band is #086371, and the thinnest, lightest one is #fcfcd8.

Time to start putting stuff on top of everything!! I took this light texture from ianthinae, rotated it, and set it to Lighten. I decided I wanted it to be a little bit brighter, so I duplicated the layer, set it to Screen, and dropped the Opacity to 20%.

I then used a texture from Sarah-Dipity and set it to Lighten as well.

Okay, now that's what I'm talkin' about!!! It's time to throw some text on this~ I went for something simple to go with the theme of the story this card is from: Princely. The font is Georgia, 10pt, in #086371, set to all caps. I decided it didn't stand out enough, so I duplicated it, changed the color to #8b4235, dragged it under the first text layer, and moved it 1 pixel to the right.

I wanted a bit more embellishment around it, so I used this simple tiny text brush from colorfilter in #06444d. I also erased part of it to make it fit the space better.

Finally, I used a texture from shiruji, set to Darken to get a bit more color variation in it, and called it done! :D

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, and I'll answer as best I can- as long as it's not about making icons in other software D: I only know Photoshop (and Paint Shop Pro, but I don't think anyone uses that anymore). If there are any other icons of mine you're interested in seeing tutorials for - or even just specific techniques! - just lemme know. I love helping :D

Also, I'm happy to share where I get icon resources from. I have a whole post dedicated to that on my DW graphics journal, though tbh that's the best place to talk to me about making graphics in general. But I will absolutely answer asks/replies/etc about icons here on tumblr, don't worry!!!!

[mooreaux]

Hi! Your art is so gorgeous!! I discovered you through the Nightmarket IF, and I've since then marvelled at your illustrations!

I wanted to ask what advice you would give to someone if they're hesitant to share their illustrations publicly and if you could recommend any software/hardware? How did you get started doing what you do?

Hi there! First off, thank you for the love :D

Working on the night market with dear Zinnia is a passion project for me and it's awesome to know people enjoy it!

As for software/hardware: I started on a wacom bamboo tablet with Paint tool SAI. That was... like fifteen years ago now haha! For the last six years I've been working on ipad pros with apple pencils and procreate for my drawing program. I really love procreate! It's super intuitive and very 'pokey' (Aka I can jab at the screen with my finger and things happen which pleases me) It's also a REALLY easy program to learn which is great for me because despite being a digital artist, I am absolutely terrible with programs and technology in general.

As for sharing.... just jump in! I know that sounds kinda crazy, but hear me out. You'll never do it if you don't do it. Even if you gotta shut your eyes and cringe as you hit the button, just start posting! I would also recommend drawing for a fandom, as that'll get more eyes on your stuff and help build a following. That's just me tho, as I'm a big ole nerd who likes a lot of fandom content hehe.

I also wanna say: interact with other people's stuff! Don't be shy, leave a reply, fill up reblog tags with comments. Make connections! I'm super shy when it comes to maintaining convos thru discord servers and groups, but I love commenting on pieces of art and comics that really jive with me. It's a two way street: you give love, and a lot of the time you get love in return. It helps humanize the whole experience and make it a bit less scary, I feel!

Good luck to you friend, I hope to see ur beautiful art cross my dash one day!

[av-industry-blog]

Why XTEN-AV is the Top Choice for AV Integrators and Designers: A Comparison with D-Tools

In the world of audiovisual design, choosing the right software can significantly impact the success of your projects. AV integrators and designers require powerful tools that streamline their workflows, enhance collaboration, and deliver exceptional results. While D-Tools has been a popular choice for many years, a new contender has emerged: XTEN-AV. In this blog post, we will compare XTEN-AV and D-Tools to showcase why XTEN-AV is the top choice for AV integrators and designers.

DTools Vs XTEN-AV

User-Friendly Interface and Intuitive Workflow:

One of the standout features of XTEN-AV is its user-friendly interface and intuitive workflow. Designed with AV professionals in mind, XTEN-AV offers a clean and intuitive interface that is easy to navigate. The software's logical workflow ensures that tasks can be completed quickly and efficiently, allowing users to focus on their core responsibilities. Whether you're a seasoned AV professional or a newcomer to the industry, XTEN-AV's interface makes it easy to get up to speed and start working on your projects without unnecessary complexity.

Comprehensive Feature Set:

XTEN-AV boasts a comprehensive feature set that covers every aspect of AV design and integration. From project planning and equipment selection to system design and documentation, XTEN-AV provides all the tools you need to bring your vision to life. Its robust design capabilities allow you to create detailed floor plans, schematics, and signal flow diagrams with ease. Additionally, XTEN-AV offers advanced features like cable management, cost estimation, and vendor integration, empowering you to streamline your workflow and deliver exceptional results.

Collaboration and Teamwork:

Successful AV projects rely on effective collaboration and seamless teamwork. XTEN-AV recognizes this and offers powerful collaboration features that enhance communication and coordination among team members. From sharing project files and task assignments to real-time project updates and notifications, XTEN-AV facilitates seamless collaboration, ensuring that everyone involved is on the same page. This level of teamwork empowers AV integrators and designers to work more efficiently, avoid miscommunication, and deliver projects on time and within budget.

Integration Capabilities:

XTEN-AV understands the importance of integrating with other tools and systems commonly used in the AV industry. It offers a wide range of integrations with popular software solutions, equipment manufacturers, and control systems. Whether you need to import product data, synchronize your project with a project management tool, or interface with a control system, XTEN-AV has you covered. Its seamless integrations enhance productivity and efficiency, enabling AV professionals to leverage their preferred tools while enjoying the benefits of XTEN-AV's powerful features.

Dedicated Customer Support:

Exceptional customer support is crucial when choosing AV software, and XTEN-AV excels in this area. The XTEN-AV team is dedicated to providing prompt and reliable customer support, ensuring that you receive the assistance you need when facing any challenges or questions. From onboarding to troubleshooting, the XTEN-AV support team is there to help you every step of the way, empowering you to make the most of the software and overcome any obstacles that may arise.

Conclusion:

When it comes to AV integrators and designers, XTEN-AV emerges as the top choice, surpassing D-Tools in terms of user-friendliness, comprehensive feature set, collaboration capabilities, integration options, and dedicated customer support. By choosing XTEN-AV, AV professionals can streamline their workflows, enhance teamwork, and deliver exceptional AV projects. With its user-friendly interface, intuitive workflow, and comprehensive feature set, XTEN-AV empowers AV integrators and designers to work efficiently and effectively. The software's collaboration features facilitate seamless teamwork, while its integration capabilities ensure compatibility with other industry tools and systems. Additionally, XTEN-AV's dedicated customer support ensures that users receive prompt assistance whenever needed.

Make the switch to XTEN-AV and experience a software solution that is tailored to the needs of AV integrators and designers. Streamline your workflows, enhance collaboration, and deliver outstanding AV projects with confidence. Join the growing community of AV professionals who have chosen XTEN-AV as their go-to software for success.

Don't settle for less when it comes to your AV projects. Choose XTEN-AV as your preferred software and elevate your designs to new heights. Experience the power, efficiency, and innovation that XTEN-AV brings to the table. Visit our website today to learn more and start your journey with XTEN-AV.

[alica-tech]

Are you a CS student? Check out the GitHub Student Developer Pack!

🐢 Even if you've activated in the past, I think it's fun to re-visit if anything new has been added :D

●~•───────────────────────────────────────•~●

I learned about this when I attended my 1st hackathon, I used the pack to get a free website domain (from Namecheap) and used Digital Ocean cloud services to host apps, and even tried out Educative's courses. Later, when I was hosting a hackathon, they released their ~hackathon hosting starter pack~ and it was great to have access to extra resources to support hosting virtual events!

I recently remembered this existed and wanted to promote it here, so if you're a student interested in CS/Software Dev, have a upcoming hackathon or just want to play around with some premium tools, pls take time to check this out!

Something exciting I noticed this time around is the addition of project template examples (Ex: Discord Bots) and a career readiness section 👀

Personally, I am still using: Codespaces, GitHub Pages, I *still* have my domain with NameCheap, and there's a handful of services they added that I want to check out now :D

●~•──────────────────────────────���────────•~●

-> Get the GitHub pack here: https://education.github.com/pack

●~•───────────────────────────────────────•~●

[a-spawn-on-my-lawn]

Quick tip for my fellow (Asti) artists for the perfect reference :D

You don't need to know Blender for this except for some tiny basics that you can learn in less than 30 min!

Download Blender. It's free and amazing.

Download this Astarion model as .blend file.

Unpack the ZIP and open the .blend file with double click. It should open in Blender automatically when you have installed the software. (I probably renamed the file so don't worry.)

4. Once opened in Blender, look for the globe symbols on the top right of the window and click the middle globe "Viewport Shading".

5. You should now have something like this:

Don't get distracted by the camera, the lights or the shlong, you won't need any of it (probably)

6. Go to the top left of the window and make sure "Object mode" ist activated.

7. Pick the "Modeling" tab.

8. Click on the Asti. You can zoom in and out with mouse wheel. You can navigate by pressing the mouse wheel alone and move the mouse or pressing mouse wheel + shift.

9. On the very right, there should be an area that is called "Scene collection".

Navigate to this window and click on the eye symbol next to "Astarion Armature" to make sure it is visible if it isn't yet.

10. Make sure you still have object mode activated. Click on the "Astarion armature". Now you should see a lot of orange fancy thingamabobs around Asti.

11. Now it is important that you navigate to the "Object Mode" tab and pick "Pose Mode".

You will now see that the thingamabobs (his rig) will become colourful. Perfect, almost done :D

Now it is time for Asti to strike some Poses!

Click on any of the colourful lines (Some are not able to be moved, but you will figure out which one does what).

In this example, I picked the rig for this arm/wrist:

On the left side of the window, you should see a toolbar that looks like this:

If the toolbar is not there, simply press "T". All we basically need are these two:

If you pick one of these an click on the parts of Asti's rig that you want to move, you can move them up or down with the arrow option ("Move") or rotate them in any direction with the option below the arrow. ("Rotate").

Let's rotate Asti's hand:

I click + hold the red line and move it upwards.

EASY GOING! this is honestly basically it. Play around with it a bit and you will get the gist :)

You can really get him into any pose you like, it may be a bit fiddly to find out if you are new to Blender, but it is totally worth it :)

This is not only a great ref tool for Asti artists, generally he makes a remarkable ref for studying the male anatomy, facial structure, hand poses and so much more :)

I hope my little tutorial was helpful to you, I usually don't make tutorials so I hope I was able to make it somewhat comprehensible 😅

I just really wanted to share this because it was a real game changer to me. :)

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments/DMs etc.

Also here's a dope Blender beginner tutorial:

Happy painting/modeling!! ♥

[plurpaws]

Here is a pinned post!

ℹ️ — My name is Rico and I am a multimedia animal artist. I draw furries and I make music as GYNX and do all sorts of other things too. my pronouns are he/him and I am 20 years old ^D^

I have a Personal Website! check it out to learn some more about me and find cool fun things. it is currently undergoing renovations (again) but here it is anyway

I also have a (18+ ONLY) Discord server for my tumblr followers!!

I also have a server that anyone old enough to use discord can join, centered around my music/the "PIPE DREAM SOUNDSYSTEMS" universe

FAQ below the cut

❓️What software do you use?

for drawing I use a variety of programs... paint tool sai , clip studio paint, drawpile, krita, ms paint, TEv2. for music I formerly used FL studio 21 but have recently transitioned to ableton live

❓️Are you ok with fanart?

YES please TAG ME IN IT SO I CAN SEE‼️‼️‼️‼️ I do have a toyhouse where I keep all my characters

❓️Are you ok with your art being used as a pfp (with credit)?

YES, but please don't use commissions/gifts/etc or art of my fursona (tagged #fursona lucky)

❓️ are you ok with your characters being kinned or selfshipped with?

YES and I think it's really awesome

—

tags for browsing below!

[beanthebugboi]

Beeeaaaann how are you learning witchcraft?!!? I wanna learn too but I dunno where to start!! 🥺

Alright, disclaimer: I've barely been practicing lately, I haven't had much free time or energy and I'm still trying to figure out some kind of daily routine. But here's my advice!

Start a grimoire to keep track of your research. It can be hard to find reliable sources, so cross-check as much as possible, especially if you're doing online research.

Remember that witchcraft is all about intent, energy, and connection to nature. Whatever intent you put out will be returned to you, so I'd personally recommend avoiding curses/hexes/etc, especially as a beginner. And learn about grounding, cleansing, and protection!

Research supplies that you already have access to (ex. I started by researching the crystals in my rock collection, herbs in my backyard/kitchen, oils in my bathroom cabinet, etc.)

Research color correspondences! Super helpful and SUPER easy to use. If you have markers/pens, colored string, beads, whatever- you can use color correspondences.

Another super accessible tool is sigils! Remember that there's no right or wrong way to make a sigil, they're not a code or language, they're simply a symbol to channel intent into. I know a few methods, more details under the cut :)

Explore your interests, but don't worry too much about specific categories like green witch/cosmic witch/crystal witch/etc. Just do what feels right.

You're going to feel like a beginner for a long time. That's a good thing. It means you're realizing just how much there is to learn.

Probably the most important thing- take time to connect with nature. Learn local folklore, learn about plants and animals in your area, literally just sit outside (if possible) and take some time to ground yourself.

Personally, I started with a bit of research, some sigils, a tarot deck + translation book, and a piece of quartz that I usually carry in my pocket.

Lmk if you have any specific questions, I'm still learning but I'll do my best to help :D I can also share more of my research and personal spells if you'd like, I am extremely anti-gatekeeping in witchcraft (obviously this does not apply to closed practices lol, just general knowledge)

Sigil methods!

Apologies for the messiness, I'm drawing these in a photo editing software lol

Usually, I use all three methods and then pick whichever sigil calls to me to the most :)

Alright, to start, pick a word or phrase to help focus your intent. I'll use "protection" as an example.

Method 1: Sigil wheel

Remove duplicate letters (protection -> protecin)

Trace the letters over a sigil wheel.

Start with a dot and end with a perpendicular line. Follow your intuition, add little loops wherever it feels right.

3. Take away the wheel, and you've got your sigil!

Method 2: number grid

Again, remove duplicate letters

Convert the letters into numbers 1-9 (here's a chart to help) (protecin -> 79625395)

3. Trace those numbers into a 3x3 grid (again, add loops wherever you feel like it, start with a dot, end with a line)

4. Remove the grid, and there's your sigil!

Method 3: basic shapes

Remove duplicate letters and vowels (protection -> prtcn)

Break all the letters into their basic shapes

3. Rearrange those shapes into a cohesive symbol. Again, trust your intuition, do what feels right (I've color-coded the symbols so you can see which is which)

4. Aaaand there's your sigil!