#i would like to get better at understanding 3D form especially

[tenowls]

august 2022/july 2023 life drawing improvement RAHHH

[andy-wm]

his “coming out” should not be in any way shape or form be connected to jungkook. idk why you shippers can’t leave them tf alone when they’re not dating ffs.

[Select.font=sarcasm]

Oooh I am so glad you came here to tell me this, Anon! You are clearly well informed on both Jimin’s life, and "coming out".

I didn't even know that "coming out" needs to be in inverted commas. Thank you for helping me understand.

I also didn't know what his "coming out" should or should not be! I didn't know there were rules for "coming out"! I'm so grateful to have this information now.

I hope you've also told Jimin how he should "come out"?

I hope he listens to you since obviously, you have his happiness at heart.

Because "coming out" with no significant other to support him - and facing the inevitable repercussions alone - that would DEFINITELY make things better for him, right?

Also we all know how much Jimin LOVES being alone, so naturally we should wish that for him.

Objectively, he would be happier if he was single I guess? Because having a secure and healthy long term relationship with someone who loves and supports you is known to be pretty shit. Makes sense... that's why nobody looks for love. They certainly don't write songs about love.

Ever.

People aspire to being isolated, like Jimin showed us this with his song Serendipity.

When he sang "just let me love you" he probably meant he wanted to be single and live alone forever in his bubble. That makes sense.

And of course they aren't dating!

You're right, there's absolutely nothing special between Jimin and Jungkook. They are 100% platonic and good pals.

It would be ridiculous to look at them and see love and intimacy.

I dont know what love looks like, but this is not it...

Definitely not this either.

Just friends here.

So friendly!

Brothers even!

Keeping to the bro code here too, 100%

Absolutely no crossing of boundaries here....

I always caress my friend's clothes when I sing their own love song back to them. Especially when my face is less than a foot from their face. It's very platonic.

Anyway, there's no reason to think they might be dating.

Why would people even think they COULD be?

It's unimaginable.

Society has never ignored or dismissed loving romantic relationships between same-sex couples, and that's certainly not what you're doing. Not at all. You just know they aren't dating because ... reasons.

I'm sure you don't object to Jimin being gay because that would be homophobic (you even know how he should "come out"). If that was the case you might as well just get a tattoo of an L on your forehead and throw away all your Jimin merch because our boy is gayer than a rainbow cake. Gayer even than the rainbow cake his appa has *always in stock* in his coffee shop in Busan.

And if you generously tolerate his gayness, i imagine you will allow that one day he could date (definitely not now, because he probably has no interest in sex. He's too busy working and anyway he has ARMY to love him) yeah, but not now please.

But one day he could have a nice boyfriend who sits beside him on the sofa and smiles benignly and holds his hand like a good boy.

Definitely NOT one that sings about fucking night after night seven days a week, or watching in 3D, or DEAR GOD... the imagery... champagne confetti.

Not someone who sings Sam Smith songs on his Live, or who goes around whacking off fire hydrants in his music videos or miming blow jobs on national tv.

Not someone that demands you see him as an adult who enjoys adult things and wont accept your judgement of him. Not one who puts boundaries in place.

Not someone who (the audacity!) lies in bed naked and begs Jimin to come over.

And that brings us to the villain of our story:

JEON JUNGKOOK

I guess, since you will allow a relationship in theory, you just object to the idea of a relationship specifically with Jungkook.

And I can see why. Jungkook very obviously has no interest in Jimin’s happiness. Jungkook doesn't support him at all.

He doesn't hold jimin when he cries, he doesn't spam us with Jimin content when Jimin has a comeback, he doesn't cook Jimin’s favourite food for him, or fold his underpants while he does his own laundry.

He doesn't take him on trips to Japan, or send thirst-trap messages for his birthday, or play his songs, or sing on his albums.

He doesn't carry him, bridal style, any time Jimin jumps into his arms, and I can guarantee you that he doesn't let Jimin fuck him just the way Jimin likes it, as often as he wants it, wherever and whenever he gets the chance. And vice versa.

They didn't enlist in the military as companions, after all.

So reallly, what would Jungkook even know about Jimin's happiness?

What could he POSSIBLY know about Jimin that you don't know. Nothing, right?

What could POSSIBLY happen behind closed doors and away from the camera, that you don't see with your third eye and your vivid imagination? Again, nothing. You know ALL, right?

[Deselect.font=sarcasm]

I think we've covered everything?

Theres only one thing left to say i guess.

Whoever you are, you'd do well to consider whose happiness you're supporting.

If you don't support what makes Jimin happy, you don't support Jimin. Period.

[simlicious]

Hi hey gurl! I've been trying to understand something... when it comes to performance, is it vertices or polycount that really matters? I’m trying to get a clearer picture of how they affect gameplay. Hope this isn’t too random tho 😂

Hey nonny, thanks for the great question! I'm not sure if you are looking for a non-creator answer or if you maybe have some experience with meshing, but I try to cover some technical aspects that hopefully will make you understand vertices and polygons better! It's a bit of a longer journey, so grab some snacks and settle in!

Disclaimer: This is my opinion and the definitions are how I came to understand them. I believe what I say to be correct, but I am also human and may have misunderstood something, and making mistakes can happen. Thanks for understanding! TL;DR There will be calculations made on every vertex and every face present in a mesh. So the more you have of either, the worse it is for performance, but if the vertex count is much higher than the poly count, the mesh is especially unoptimized and may impact performance more than it would in an optimized state. Vertex and polygons are actually connected, literally. To understand, we need to start with the basics.

Vertices are points in a 3d space that provide the foundations of a grid-like 3d structure, known as a mesh. Connected through lines known as edges, they form a 3d shape. Three edges form a triangle, or tri for short, also known as a face or polygon. These terms can be used interchangeably, but a tri always has three vertices, whereas faces and polygons can have more than three vertices.

A polygon with 4 vertices (known as a quad) is very commonly used in 3D-modelling, because it can be used to create very neat and well-structured meshes (it is easy to make grids using rectangular shapes). A mesh that is made in a grid-like way may have the same overall shape as one made out of triangles, but the flow of the edges is different, and this plays a role during animation. Having these grid-like lines is usually better for moving and animating characters and avoiding shading issues.

Most meshes for games are thus initially made with 4-sided polygons. These quads are usually further broken down into tris if they aren't already, and three is the least amount of vertices needed to form a coplanar surface.

When the quads of the left sphere are turned into triangles, the grid structure will remain intact:

We can further break down the elements of a polygon. Let's take a simple cube. It has 6 sides, or faces, and each face has 4 vertices that make up the corners. But if we count all the vertices, we will notice that each face shares vertices with other faces. So on a simple cube, we have 6 faces and 8 vertices.

Depending on how a mesh is made though, it may have a lot of edges. You can think of those like cuts in the mesh. If we wanted to cut up the cube, we would separate each face from each other. Now we still have the same number of faces (6), but the vertices are suddenly much higher, because now, every face has its own set of 4 vertices, meaning that we have a total of 24 vertices.

In video games, polygons are usually rendered as triangles. So for our cube, that would mean that every face would be diagonally cut in half, giving us a total number of 12 faces/polygons/tris.

If we take it to the next level and separate all of these triangles from each other, the vertex count would be 36! To recount, on a mesh that is not split, it's only 8. Having these cuts (or split edges, as they are commonly called) in strategic places in the mesh where vertices are split can be important for the final look of the mesh in the Sims games.

You may have already encountered some meshes that have dark spots or shading in some parts, often at the hems. That can happen if the mesh is not split correctly in these areas. It has to do with how the normals work (they are important to how light gets reflected off the mesh).

To not go too off-topic, I won't get into detail about that here.

Ideally, a mesh is only split where it needs to be so it will look right. If there are unnecessary cuts, then the vertex count (and with it, the polygon count) goes up when it doesn't really have to be. If a mesh has a lot of these areas where a lot of faces have their own vertices, then the vertex count is much higher than on a mesh with fewer split edges. This can be a sign that a mesh is not well-optimized. So if you see a mesh that has much more vertices than polys, you may want to question it in regards to performance. CC converters will probably know that Sims 4 meshes come with a lot of these cuts that are needed for Sims 4 because of the way the CC is made (for example, pants have such a split edge cut to allow boots to look tucked-in), but those are superfluous for TS3. So I encourage every Sims 3 CC creator to remove those to save on both vertices and polygons when they are converting! The thing is, in the game, the mesh will be processed and there will be calculations made on every vertex and every face present. Each vertex is indexed, and triangles need to be drawn from the information. Other processes will need to also use the vertices for their calculations. There is more going on during rendering than simply drawing the polygons. The shaders have to calculate their effects, the textures need to be rendered and applied accordingly, filtering such as anti-aliasing will be applied, etc. So the more geometry you have in a mesh, the worse it gets in terms of performance. More geometry means that the polygons are smaller and more numerous, which will in turn affect the vertex count too.

As CC creators, we cannot address all the factors that impact performance, as we can only influence a small part, but we can try to adhere to the game's standards to minimize the performance impact as best as we can. If we wish our meshes to be more detailed than what the game's standards are, then we impact the performance more.

Instead of just cranking up detail like crazy, it is good to see if we really need it. And ask questions such as how often will the player view the item closely? If the player is usually far away from the item or it is a very small item, making it super detailed will not really do much, since the item looks the same as a low-poly item from a certain distance. We can also make compromises and maybe make an item 50% more detailed instead of 200% more detailed, providing a more detailed item while minimizing the performance impact.

This is a bit off-topic, but since I'm here already, we may refrain from using a bigger texture for a very plain piece without any notable intricate detail (like a basic T-shirt, for example), since it already looks fine with a smaller texture, but it may pay off for a highly detailed texture which looks visibly better with a bigger texture, warranting the performance impact (like a lace blouse with an intricate pattern, stitching, and small buttons).

On that note, using the texture space efficiently can also do wonders to increase detail. Use all the real estate you have on that UV map (that is a 2d representation of your 3d mesh and used to apply the texture to the mesh). Have you tried upscaling the texture yet? Okay okay, I'll stop now and get...

Back on topic: The number of polygons also matters, not just the vertex count. When a mesh has lots of smaller polygons, a lot of them are necessary to form the entire mesh. Bigger polys will not provide as much fine details, but will have less impact on hardware because fewer calculations to be made. A good mesh uses only as much detail as needed while using as few polygons as possible to still maintain functionality.

Sims clothing meshes need to animate and move well, so they need to be able to flex at the joints, and the shape must also be able to change to accommodate body sizes, thus the mesh needs the minimum amount of geometry to achieve this and still look decent, which is a sweet spot the developers have to find to craft meshes that perform well while looking reasonably good.

A good habit for creators looking to make meshes for the Sims games is to look at similar meshes in the game and study them (so for TS3, check the original TS3 game meshes, for TS4, check the original TS4 game meshes). Check how many polys they use and how good the topology (structure) of the mesh is.

For example, how many rows of edges do they usually have, and what sizes are the polys usually? How many vertices are in one round of edge loops, for example for the arms? How are the different mesh parts connected to each other, where are split edges used? Then imitate that.

The professionals who made these original meshes knew what they were doing, and they optimized them to be gameplay-friendly, so if in doubt, copy what they do.

Game meshes are usually especially optimized and it is very much game-dependent how they are structured, so a mesh from a different game can look totally different. CC Creators looking to optimize performance in their meshes should try to match the original game's mesh in terms of structure and polycounts. This will also ensure they animate well!

If you made it this far: well done, thanks for bearing with me! I hope you feel more knowledgeable and ready to apply what you've learned to your own meshes or when selecting CC for your favorite Sims game.

[thefaiao]

Hi, firstly I just wanted to say that I love your art, especially with the way you use dynamism and angles in character sketches. It's really beautiful and I always look forward to seeing more black and white pieces from you.

I just wanted to ask, as a beginner artist whose been drawing on and off from 2017 onwards and hasn't seen much improvement, are there any resources or books you would recommend for someone still trying to grasp form and shape? Especially in creating 3d forms with line? I'd love to be able to draw characters in a similar way that you do but my cubes and cones never seem to come out correctly and humanoid shapes are even tougher. Thanks again for sharing your art.

Hello! Thank you very much for the compliments. Up until somewhat recently the B&W pieces were my favorite things to draw, so I get you. I did fall in love with coloring eventually though.

Alright, there are lots of things that can be done. I have had some classical training, and done human figure studies live, but honestly not nearly as much as I probably should have. You definitely should still do figure study as much as possible, especially in person. I'm just prefacing to say it may not get you to draw the way I draw I suppose, as its only part of what I've done to improve my drawing ability.

There are a few good resources to start with, notably the Loomis method, which a lot of artists use as a base. That's how you should use it too, ideally. It's not about copying his work exactly, it's about understanding just how the human body is proportioned, and adapting it from there. It doesn't have to define your thinking, it's just a good guideline. It's possible to structure a body quite differently than Loomis (and there are many many books for that), but the truth, which is, the proportions of the human body, is still there in all mindsets. Once you understand that, you can understand the reason for each approach, and even forego them to express something more unique, abstract and visceral.

The biggest thing you should do though, is always be observing the world around you, both online and offline. Figure studies are nice but they remove one of the most important things, and that is context. I find that people who will use those large libraries from people who pose professionally with bows and swords and the like will often draw technically impressive images, but they still feel like a fake pose. It doesn't feel like the person is holding onto the weapon like their life depended on it, or like they have a relationship with the object, that they pose and move in a certain way that reflects their personality. Live study with strangers helps rectify this somewhat.

Online you should also be following lots and lots of different artists! Don't limit yourself, pay attention to how they construct their drawings, how they go about things. It's important you follow a lot of people, see how they evolve. They are not only a point in time, they are also learning and evolving just like you. It's especially good if you can have artists friends to draw and share stuff with. I have a deep-seated belief that we draw art for others, to express ourselves to them, so they need to see it.

It may sound weird for me to say if you want to draw like me try to draw unlike me, but I'm just saying what I've done. I follow a lot of people and draw from a lot of places. Ultimately the main appeal of my forms is their dynamism and volume as you've said, but it's good to be versatile so you can always explore new avenues!

Now, you've done all these things, you are practicing them constantly. Now is the most important part. Keep drawing!!! Just keep drawing no matter what, no matter how bad you think it looks. You have to believe you have something to say, to express, no matter what. You say you haven't improved, but I don't believe you! Maybe you are faster, maybe your technique is better, maybe you have better habits, maybe you are a little more patient. There are a million ways to improve which don't even appear in the image. You have to keep drawing, NO MATTER WHAT!!! You have to believe you were born to do this and you will do it well, don't worry about what others think.

I can only draw such dynamic forms because I have kept drawing and masticating and elaborating this idea that is called my style. When you are drawing you are developing your own little language, and only when you are fluent you can start writing good books with it. Being fluent will take many years, you must accept that. If you take breaks, take breaks so you can keep drawing later. Take care of your health so you can keep drawing. You will only get to see your drawings become beautiful if you live long. To live a long and healthy life is to keep drawing.

That is my ultimate advice really, let that frustration build up, but keep drawing anyway. You will force yourself to find solutions to release that frustration as you do so, and improve. Maybe it's simple, but it's the only thing that is true no matter what. Don't worry about AI or whatever, none of that matters. Just keep drawing!

[erismourn]

also. do you have any advice on how you draw exos. specifically when it comes to like breaking down their form in a 3d space. chewing on them /pos

ok so my 3 biggest tips for drawing exos:

USE A REFERENCE. the reason I can make my exos passable to look at is because I reference heavily. 3d models are best of course, but half the time I don't care to open up blender and look at them.

PRACTICE. do some exercises to get better at 3d shapes. trace some images of exos! tracing is a really good way to learn.

LOOK AT THE WAY OTHER ARTISTS DRAW EXOS. some artists I like are lavenderarts, rivaldi22, ninthriven, trialsofsaint14, monstyra, sylenth-l, and fmab. i look at what they simplify and what they don't, how they shade, and so on, and try to implement their tricks into my own style

this is one of my fav exercises that has helped me get better at understanding 3d shapes. it's smth I really struggle with - my brain doesn't picture objects in 3d space well, which makes driving a car very interesting. but this has helped.

this exercise just gives you an idea of volume and form that I really like. I'll fill up a whole sketchbook page with just these blobs for a warmup. it's great!

with that said I'll try to take you through my process of drawing an exo but please take it with a grain of salt as I'm still learning

some things to note:

despite being robots, exos are humanoid in shape. familiarizing yourself with human anatomy, ESPECIALLY the skeleton as exos have no skin, is really important

exos generally have the same shapes underneath their external plating, approximately the shape of a human skull (open a 3d model of an exo and remove its external face plating and you'll see what I mean)

the mouth on an exo is generally higher up than it would be on a human face. they don't have a nose to get in the way of the mouth, so the mouths are a little higher up

you can do whatever you want forever. there's a lot of stuff that I simplify when I draw exos - for example, I have very little patience for figuring out what the struts and supports inside the cheek/jaw area look like so I usually just draw them all the same unless I'm going really hard at it

when I'm drawing exos I try to focus on how the features relate to each other. I know where the eyes are supposed to go on a human face (about halfway down the cranium), so I know where they go on an exo. from there, it's about relating things to the position of the eyes.

I try to take note of important characteristics on an exo's face. I don't necessarily get as detailed as taking notes like in the image below, but this is a good start it you want to get familiar with exo features. I grabbed these two pics off destinypedia as an example

it's also important to remember that exos are very angular and have facial planes versus the smooth transitions we typically see with human skin. you don't need to necessarily draw them super precise - just a line hinting at the change of plane works wonders for making it look 3d.

these are very sloppy because I did them in like 2 minutes each but I hope it comes across how I've implemented what I said???

I hope this is helpful. you just gotta practice a lot, and if anyone faults you for your robot anatomy being off slightly they can go fuck themselves lol. everyone who draws knows that robots are hard to draw and shouldn't dunk on you for making mistakes. godspeed brave soldier

[ilovescaredysquirrel2]

Someone PLEASE make an English Dub of Buratino's Return (obscure Russian movie)

Okay, so I heard about this Russian cartoon animated movie recently, and it's got this Wild Thorberries-Rugrats-ish art style and the songs slap! The one that's gotten really popular was the one with the singing Barbie dolls, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2CSmp02Emk in this video here (turn the captions on). I heard the name of the movie is actually Возвращение Буратино which translates to Buratino's Return apparently. It looks amazing! I love talking toy themed movies that are NOT Toy Story. It doesn't look as amazing as Raggedy Ann & Andy Musical Adventure but it looks good enough to watch and enjoy. The thing is, the subtitles on the original Russian movie, the English subtitles SUCK! I got them saying weird things like "Oh yeah Obama" when she was apologizing to the other doll, and apparently the dog's name translates to "Potatoes" which... is actually kinda cute not gonna lie! If the movie gets dubbed, they should keep it!

Yeah, so the whole "dubs vs subs" thing is ridiculous. Dubs are obviously way easier to watch and understand. If you're hearing impaired and need subtitles, that's one thing but if you're not and you want to watch a movie, it's way easier to watch a dub. Plus, subtitles aren't always accurate and sometimes make things sound more awkward. Like, the dubbed versions often make more sense. Plus, subtitles go fast and you can't always pay attention to little details if you're watching it with subtitles, it's too distracting. I wholeheartedly believe that dubs are better all the way! If you don't speak English or Russian, maybe it can be dubbed in your language too! There needs to be a Spanish dub, French dub, Japanese dub, whatever language you might speak! The only language I speak is English, so that's why I'm trying to get someone to make an English dub. By the way, the English captions for the Мой Портрет - Трафарет video were an exact translation, I feel like the dub would change it up.

My friend wondered about the songs being ruined in the dub, which I would be worried about too, but they could hire a translator and songwriter to work together and make the lyrics make sense but also rhyme. Even if it was a fan dub, they could still get enough permission and help to make it a good dub without ruining the songs.

Another thing, let's talk about this not being popular in Russia, where it was made. I mean, it came out in 2013, the same year as Disney's Frozen! It didn't stand a freaking chance in theaters! Frozen literally took the world by storm... a snowstorm, that is! (haha, funny joke). Plus, a lot of non-English spoken movies don't get an English dub until years later. 2013 was 11 years ago, but who said it's too late for an English dub. Especially, now that the Barbie doll stencil song is becoming popular online. I also haven't actually seen the full movie, I just skimmed through it on YouTube to get a grip of what it's about and apparently it's about talking toys but they have to escape from a bad guy who wants to destroy them and turn them into the same "evil" toys to create a bad future of children. I also found out that apparently Buratino is Pinocchio and I like the idea of a non-Disney Pinocchio movie, because Pinocchio has been around for like 150 years, way before Disney made it into a creepy a** animated movie and they shouldn't take copyright of Pinocchio. There's also that other Russian movie "Pinocchio a True Story" where Pauly Shore voices Pinocchio and Tom Kenny voiced Geppetto. Also, this movie Buratino's Return was animated in 2D form, when a lot of early 2010s movies were 3D. I'm not sure how that effected the marketing and who wanted to see it but I'm almost sure that a lot of people were more hyped about Frozen or other popular movies.

Here's something else I found, apparently it was also based off "The Adventures of Buratino" which is a really old story, and I think this 2013 movie kind of looks like a creative twist on that story, kind of like what Disney does, but also kind of makes fun of Disney as well. Basically it looks like they're basing a story off old fairytales Pinocchio and The Adventures of Buratino, just as Disney does, except they're changing the things about Disney that isn't woke and making fun of the things that are wrong with Disney. I know a lot of you probably hate it when I talk crap about Disney, but I always give my side of how I feel and let you have your side. With enough convincing and understanding, hopefully we can understand both sides!

Anyway, feel free to chat with me about this in the comments! I'm always happy to hear opinions, even if they're different from mine. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS!

[cyberth0t]

how did you learn how to draw for inheritance? i want to make a webtoon but that part is holding me back. any tips?

Hey there! This got long so I'm putting it under a cut.

I didn't learn to draw for Inheritance! I've been an artist for a long time. Inheritance is just my first attempt at sequential art (sequential art is an umbrella term for work like graphic novels, comics, and webcomics).

This next part might sound like I'm warning you against making a webcomic, but I'm not, I swear. Stay with me.

Here it goes:

Learning to draw is hard. Drawing for comics is harder.

The reason I began drawing at age whatever (elementary school) and couldn't stop was because I was/am obsessed with it. Even if nobody was looking at my work, I would still be drawing. I highly suggest asking yourself if drawing brings you deep, lasting joy and satisfaction.

If your answer is NO, then please don't frustrate yourself by attempting to create something so difficult. (Since you're asking this question at all, I'm willing to bet your answer isn't NO, lol)

If your answer is I'M NOT SURE, then my advice is to spend six months drawing for an hour every single day. If you find, even after a few months, that it's not something you enjoy, or even like, then I can guarantee you will not have fun making a comic.

If the answer is a resounding YES, then I suggest you write your plot (the whole thing, including dialogue), choose your characters' designs, make a scene breakdown/outline for your first "chapter" or "arc," choose your color scheme, fonts, bubble style, and then start practicing drawing your characters over and over and over again until you can make them look like the same person every time you try.

The reason I'm laying all of this out is because if you aren't deeply in love with making art, then you will burn out very quickly attempting to make a comic.

The good news is that drawing a comic will force you to get better at art so, so fast. But that hinges entirely on how hard you work at it. And how hard you work at it hinges entirely on how much you love creating art, and how much you love the story you're trying to tell. See where I'm going with this?

The reason I find drawing for comics harder than illustration is because you have to draw everything. Especially if you go the route I did--I don't take a lot of shortcuts with 3D assets, and my style is more realistic than symbolic. Backgrounds, props, furniture, different outfits, vehicles, trees, bushes, etc etc etc. It doesn't matter if you don't like to draw something--if your character takes the bus and it's important to the story, you gotta draw her on the damn bus.

As for resources--I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Scott McCloud's two incredible books--Understanding Comics and Making Comics. They are comics 101, they are the moment, they are indispensable knowledge. And you can get them in pdf form for free on the internet archive.

If you're a beginner artist and don't know where the hell to even start, my all-time favorite instruction book is Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards (get the workbook too, it's a necessary part of the book). It is the best "how to draw" book I've ever used, and I have used a LOT, please trust me on this one.

The second how-to-draw resource that I think is just as helpful as Betty Edwards' book is this incredible shrimp tutorial. Again, just trust me! It works!!!

I feel like a lot of creative advice fails to mention that if you want to create something, whether it be a novel or a painting or a webcomic, you have to love (or at least like) to practice doing it in order to do it well, and nobody knows if you love it except you. It's the repetition of the art form that makes us good at it, and that repetition means hours and hours of your time, each week, for years. (Please note: practice isn't always fun in the moment, I don't love drawing every second I'm doing it. Please see: delayed gratification.)

A relevant anecdote--I was also an actor for fifteen years of my life. I practiced enough to become very good! And I ended up quitting at the height of my skills. I didn't like doing it. It didn't matter to me if I was "talented" or not, it didn't set my soul on fire enough to want to continue giving my time and resources to that kind of storytelling. Not every art form will speak to our souls the same way, and that's okay.

I truly wish you the best and I dearly hope that if you end up making a comic, you'll share it with me.

Best of luck.

[itsbasicallycanon]

Hey, it's me againnn! Soo I was wondering, do you do any drawing exercises to improve?? Like any perspective or foreshortening practice? Or just practicing with drawing poses? If so, can you tell me what you do? I seriously need to get better at drawing the anatomy properly. Also, I'm changing my art style yet again and I'm looking for advice :) Thanks <3

Also, I was very proud of what you did with the prompts I sent you. It wasn't what I was expecting from that prompt at all. It was better.

Firstly, thanks for the kind words <333 This is gonna be a ramble but I hope it helps!

Honestly the way I improve the most is just drawing something I know I can't at least once. Like here's some pics where I push my perspective little by little.

They don't always look right so I usually don't finish them but! I draw it once and can easily see what I don't understand about the perspective. From there I usually try to draw it again with a reference cause now I know what I need to look for in the reference, like which shapes or 3d forms go into the thing I'm drawing.

This applies to any concept you struggle to draw btw! Perspective, body types, face shapes, muscles, an animal you've never drawn before. You don't always have to go right back into with a reference handy either- especially since sometimes it's hard to find that exact pose or reference. What I've been doing is just watching my animated media and I tend to take note of how they drew the thing I struggled with. Because I struggled with it, it's a lot easier to notice when they do it my show or comic. Like when someone tells you how hotdogs are made so know you think about it every time you see one.

Well that's the general advice but for more specific things like this one I drew for my friend I simply couldn't fathom how to draw the pose so I used a 3d poser and worked out the shapes.

Just in general I also try to sketch out random poses to hopefully improve my anatomy. Doesn't have but anything elaborate as long as you're understanding the form. Sometimes limbs make no sense so it's good to glance at muscle anatomy. (I use AdoraSketch's website and MagicPoser on iOS.)

But I cannot stress enough, I do this all causally. My progress is been limb by limb. I learn to draw a specific muscle in the arm, learn to draw the jawline from an upward perspective, etc. Typing it all out makes it feel like an art class final but most improvement is subconscious. Probably my biggest advice is to keep drawing what you love. I still can't draw beefy men but my love of Nightwing keeps me crawling back every year or so. Also Laios from Dungeon Meshi. I would not bother half the time if I didn't want to draw my blorbos doing funny stuff.

[meirimerens]

Geniune question how do you draw so much? I really admire your work but I have such a hard time not getting constantly hit with artblock I wonder how you do it.

i'll begin to tell you that being unemployed and out of school does help. won't lie! the art you see posted here is part of a bigger pattern of Making Art (for portfolio-related reasons & whatnot) so i'm always. Makin Art. i'm fully focused on Art for the better or the worst. second disclaimer is that i hyperfixate and not in a fun teehee enjoyable way - when i start a piece, i will neglect getting enough sleep or feeding myself well until i see it finished. this is not healthy, and while it is part of how i Draw So Much, it's unsustainable for you as much as it is for me. do not fret if you can't Churn Art Out like i do - you're probably healthier off this way. i'm trapped in cycles of Arting and when i stop drawing or writing get get genuine physical symptoms of restlessness, my limbs itch or ache, i pace a lot, i have racing/disordered/cyclical thoughts, like Not Fun. tldr i pray To God You Don't do it like i do.

now some actually helpful tips lol:

have multiple things going on at once. it might seem counterproductive but not being hyperconcentrated on Art allows for your mind to get inspirations from multiple areas. that might be having a job, being in college... for me it's having both personal and fanart on my plate among other things. - i've found that art block can come when you try to cram too much art at once, a form of burn-out, a psychological bottleneck; it's like constantly pulling on the reins of a horse, it will get used to the pulling, and you cannot out-strength a horse, nor can you out-block artblock. when i'm not drawing, i'm writing, listening to music, checking out movies, traveling (even on small scales): all of that feeds into my art, it's all inspiration fodder. when i'm writing, i might write a line which i think would have a banger foundation for a scary image, and the scary image appears to me. new idea!. - don't force yourself to draw, you cannot out-block the block, do something else and inspiration will come.

artblock can often comes when your ideas/desire to draw outdo your current skills, which is a Very, Very common issue, especially if you're improving fast. identify what you're struggling with, and take the time to study it, even if it's just for 10 minutes. full focus, nothing else going on. i also have on my phone entire folders will of references, typically "how to draw [bodypart]" refs, some art pieces i find are visually striking and inspiring, pictures for poses, etc. - if you're struggling with backgrounds, try to trace a picture as study, then reproduce it without tracing, just with it as a visual reference. watch tutorials on how to paint a landscape, or how to understand perspective. - if you're struggling with anatomy, try to do some live poses studies on quickposes, line of action or something of the sort. - something else that has helped me tremendously is anatomy for sculptors PDF. it's pretty expensive but you can find it online for free. wink wink nudge nudge. it breaks down all the muscle groups on the body and gives you a better understanding of the way the human body moves. invaluable resource imo. it's very thin-centric though, so i'd recommend pairing it with like. google search [how to draw fat on a person], [body type you want to draw] and pairing it with the knowledge in the PDF. if you're pudgy or chubby or fat yourself you can use your own body as a reference ain't nothing wrong with that and see how the anatomy underneath reacts with the different levels of body fat or muscles. - i also have saved a tab for head angles ref, light on a face 3d ref model, and the pose tool. the pose tool has collections of live drawing pictures for both clothed and nude, in different poses (sitting, reclining,...). it's also very thin + young-centric (mostly for the women, how curious) & a number of the female poses are eroticized/male gazey but I Grit My Teeth And Bear It. i use them in application with the anatomy knowledge i learned from mentioned above, etc.

something that might seem counterproductive but works for me is that I Hoard WIPs. this makes it so that if i'm not fuckin wit a piece i'm working on and it's frustrating me, i put it aside for a little bit and go work on something else.

preddy much it... tldr I Do It in unhealthy, hyperfixated ways that if i catch you reproducing i'm coming to your house and hitting you wit a stick, however there are a few things that help me power through artblock, namely I Be Studyin What I Draw, i keep these mfer thangs [my refs] on me, and i find inspirations in multiple areas of life.

GOOD LUCK SOLDIER

[fairestar]

Hello!! I hope you're fine!

So, it might be a stupid question so I'm sorry about anything!

I just found out about the law and spent this morning reading posts and learning a little bit more.

So, can I manifest myself with 100% success and still live life as I want? Well, I kind of like girlblooger style things, suicide virgins and listening to Lana del rey's music while I create scenarios in my head. And I'm also thinking about creating a page about these things and making my own content in that style.

What I've read so far are more things related to self concept, mental diet and getting into the desired mindset. But I wanted to know, I can still successfully demonstrate even by consuming this content (which mostly goes kind of against the law, if you understand me) I'm afraid of getting too much into this mentality and into this state and manifesting things that are undesirable for me. What not what I want!!

I don't want to follow that lifestyle to the letter. I like to consume this, and it's an asthetic one that I really like these days.

You advise me to stop consuming this content altogether, and focus on a better and healthier state or I can continue here and just be careful not to let it affect my life negatively.

And I kind of want to manifest by making success here with this kind of content.

What do you think about?

Sorry for any inconvenience!! And English is not my first language so I'm sorry for any mistakes!

hello! it's always nice to see people find out about the law ♡ i'll try to answer your questions in order.

about manifesting success and living life as you want it:

yes, you can manifest success, in any form you might want it (financial, social, romantic relationships, career...). im not sure what you mean by still living life as you want, but whatever it is, you can do it.

about overconsuming information and still being able to put it to use:

overconsuming information can be really counterproductive, especially when you're just starting and it all hasn't really clicked yet. since you've just started, i would advise you to stick to a few blogs of your liking and to take some time to ponder over these new pieces of information until it makes sense. once you feel like you've read everything you needed/wanted to, you could step away from tumblr and reflect on these things without the constant influx of external information and opinions. coming to terms with the law can take some time, letting go of the need for 3D proof, accepting your innate power... it can get very confusing very fast.

about manifesting undesirable things:

that won't ever happen because to manifest something, you must assume it to be absolutely true. your subconscious knows you best, it won't give you anything but what you truly believe in. if you do not want these things, if you don't assume their undeniable existence, then they won't come to you. no need to worry about this.

about creating a blog and manifesting success:

i think you should totally go for it, if that's what you want, if that's what would make you happy, then absolutely!

i hope these answers serve you, and please message me your blog when you create it, i would love to check it out! and do not apologize for your english, ever. we, non native speakers, have nothing to be sorry for!!!

[goldlightwriting]

Thoughts and Feelings on Hyper Sonic

Power-ups are a fairly common trope these days. They’re often treated as a sort of deus-ex-machina that allow heroes to overcome otherwise impossible odds, be it a transformation or a completely new ability. Power-ups are usually a pretty hype affair the first time they’re introduced, though some series tend to go a bit overboard with them. Today, I want to look at one of the most iconic power-ups in gaming, even though it hasn’t actually been used in over a decade. I want to look at Hyper Sonic.

Hyper Sonic’s first and only (questionably) canon appearance happened all the way back in 1994 in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and existed primarily as a bonus reward for players who went out of their way to get the seven Super Emeralds. Like Super Sonic, this form was faster and nearly invincible, but brought extra perks such as increased jumping and the ability to breath underwater. Honestly, the Game Apologist has a pretty good breakdown of Hyper Sonic’s history that I’d highly recommend if you’re curious. That’s not quite what I’m here to talk about today, though.

Since the days of the Megadrive, fans have been clamoring to see Hyper Sonic return in some capacity, and I understand why. Simply put: it’s a cool form. It’s Super Sonic but flashier and even stronger, and I can’t deny that I’d be curious to see how this form might look in a modern 3D entry… Provided they could do it in a way that doesn’t induce seizures. Of course, that’s not the reason why Hyper Sonic has been absent for so many years.

Takashi Iizuka, one of the head designers and writers for the Sonic franchise, has stated that the primary reason they don’t bring Hyper Sonic back is because they don’t want to risk hitting the same level of power creep as Dragon Ball. It’s common knowledge that Goku’s Super Saiyan transformation was a heavy inspiration for Super Sonic, but as I’m sure anyone with even passing familiarity with the DB franchise can tell you… Super Saiyans are EXTREMELY overplayed.

Every new threat that appears in every new arc sees Goku (or sometimes one of the other Saiyans) unlocking a new Super Form that’s basically just “Super Saiyan again but better.” Look, this isn’t me dunking on Dragon Ball, but even fans of the series generally agree that that Toriyama’s method of artificially raising the stakes and then introducing a new gimmick form to match gets rather repetitive. It especially doesn’t help that the power scaling is kind of impossibly to really show. Like, a city-wide blast from Super Saiyan 3 might not be enough to take out a big bad, but a city-wide blast from Super Saiyan God that looks almost identical is TOTALLY strong enough to do the job.

Moving back to Sonic, it’s easy to see why Sega is iffy on bringing back the Hyper Form. If handled incorrectly, it would be VERY easy to fall into the same trap as Super Saiyans. I mean, what’s stopping them from going up another tier and introducing Ultra Sonic after that? It doesn’t help that Hyper Sonic is achieved by using the Super Emeralds, which are another plot point that can be iffy to touch on given Sonic’s infamously convoluted continuity.

Now, there have been arguments made for Hyper Sonic’s inclusion that I’d like to address. The first of these is that many fans want the form brought back purely for the hype or nostalgia factors. Putting everything else aside, most argue that it’s just a really cool form and would be epic to see. Honestly, I can’t deny that. From a purely Rule of Cool standpoint, yeah, it would be rad to see again.

Another argument I often hear is that Sonic has dabbled in other forms and transformations in the past. There’s Dark Sonic from the anime, though that’s an entirely separate canon. More relevant to the games are Darkspine Sonic and Excalibur Sonic from the storybook entries. I… Have my own thoughts and feelings on those transformations, but the thing that needs to be acknowledged is that those aren’t necessarily “stronger” forms of Super Sonic. They’re circumstantial powers that Sonic acquired while he was in the worlds of the Arabian Knights and Arthurian Legend. These forms are meant to be more thematically appropriate end-game transformations that fit the themes of the story, even though I think Excalibur Sonic handled that a lot more gracefully.

The big point that a lot of people come back to, though, is that Hyper Sonic doesn’t have to be a mainstay. It’s something that could be reserved for threats that are simply too powerful for Super Sonic to handle; a rare power brought out in absolute worst-case scenarios against exceptionally powerful antagonists. My counter question to that is: what would such a threat even look like?

Super Sonic regularly fights beings that are on-par with gods; forces of nature made manifest or entities that can bend the flow of time and space to their whim. Many of these foes are capable of undoing the entire world or even the universe itself. I mean, Sonic Frontiers has the living embody of entropy as the final boss! At this point, I’m not sure anything short of a multiversal threat would be enough to warrant Hyper Sonic, and that is a VERY complicated can of worms to open up.

Even beyond that though, there’s something else that I think a lot of fans tend to overlook. They say that Hyper Sonic would be warranted by a threat that “Super Sonic can’t handle alone.” The thing is, many of those god-like entities that I mentioned earlier already fall under that category. Super Sonic has already fought threats that he can’t handle by himself… So he doesn’t.

Against Final Hazard, he had the aid of Super Shadow. Solaris? Super Shadow AND Super Silver. Eggman and Eggman Nega? Burning Blaze showed up. Dark Gaia? He had Light Gaia giving him a hand. And of course, we all know that he overcame Metal Overlord through “The Real Super Power of Teamwork.” As cheesy as that line is, though, I kind of love that the Sonic franchise embraces it. I mean, even The End fight has Sage piloting the Supreme Titan to lend a hand.

Guys, you wanna know what happens when Sonic faces a threat that his Super Form isn’t strong enough to handle? He calls on his friends for help. That’s kind of been a running theme with Sonic for the last few decades, even if it sometimes get buried under camp and cliches… And frankly, I much prefer that. If anything, I wish the series leaned into it more. People demand the 3D debut of Hyper Sonic, but honestly, I’d be way more hyped to see the return of Super Tails, Super Knuckles, or even a proper iteration of Super Amy that got introduced in Sonic Origins.

Imagine swapping between different Super characters, all with their own unique power sets. That, to me at least, would be way more epic than just giving Sonic literally all the power and letting him solo the problem. A lot of modern Sonic games have the unfortunate tendency to sideline most of the supporting cast for the majority of the runtime, seldom allowing them to be much more than glorified cheerleaders despite being extremely capable in their own right. It’s only recently that Sega has allowed the rest of Sonic’s mainstay allies to start being more proactive again, but we can do better.

My sincere hope is that Frontiers will set a precedent going forward for Sonic’s friends to be more active in the story and not just relegated to background characters for most of the runtime. Maybe, in time, we can even let them stand on the same pedestal as Super Sonic again, rather than raise Sonic even higher. I’m not saying that Hyper should NEVER come back or that it’s impossible to make it work, but I’d personally rather see the whole cast get to shine again before introducing literal God-Mode.

But that’s just my take on the matter. What do you guys think? Do you still want Hyper Sonic back, or would you prefer to see the return of other Super forms first? Leave your thoughts and comments down below, and I’ll see you all next time.

[ballwizard]

florathinker appears (i took two hours to write this its going to be extremely long im so so sorry)

So i was really disappointed in Layton and Luke because of what they said about Flora and how it was all really mean spirited (saying its too dangerous when she's clearly chilling as fuck, and in the hotel trying to deflect not thinking about future flora and then distracting her from being angry at them, and then of course literally just ditching her the second her back is turned when she went OUT OF HER WAY TO MAKE SANDWICHES GRAHFHGYH), and while i dont think Layton is a bad person, heres what i think (also im basing this off of only playing the ds games i dont know anything about the 3ds or spinoffs other than plvsaa): I think Layton has like, only enough emotional energy for one person at a time, and that spot is very clearly occupied by Luke. I dont think he means to come off sounding the way he does (epic autism), and he still clearly cares for her but i think as a father he absolutely does not fit the bill. Which is unfortunately what Flora both wants and needs. I think a portion of the reason why Layton is so reluctant to care for her more deeply is also related to losing Claire so quickly, so forming strong relationships proves to be difficult because theres always going to be an anxious thought of "what if i lose them again?", especially considering the type of shit going on daily in Layton's life (ferris wheel moment). I think this caused him to keep everyone in arms reach and never closer, and become uncomfortable when someone tries to bridge that gap. This allows him to control his fear comfortably after Claire's death. He is hospitable but treats everyone with caution. The obvious exception here being Luke, but he has known Luke for longer and i think it's easier simply due to time spent together.

Comparing this to Flora, she was isolated for her entire life, its not like she doesn't know her parents are dead and im pretty sure she knew the villagers were robots anyways (considering she saw her false mother's personality get wiped and completely replaced). So yes, while she wasnt technically alone, she would know the truth and feel that way. Then along comes the professor being kind and gentlemanly like a father would, she instantly bonded with him. I imagine her to have extreme abandonment issues. She's clingy to Layton because, well, what else would you expect her to do? this is supposed to be her new guardian; and they did get along in the beginning (referring to the curious village HD cut scene addition where the trio hang out) but then it changes when the professor just leaves her there doing absolutely nothing while him and luke get to do cool adventure shit. So she is alone again, entirely.

Layton obviously isn't oblivious to this, and he expresses how he feels bad about lying to her and being a dick; but I think he is selfish in the sense that he prioritizes his own comfort over ensuring the emotional well-being of the child he now has the responsibility of taking care of. I don't think he's able to emotionally connect with her consistently with the lifestyle he lives and should have passed custody to someone that both he and Flora could trust, and while technically this would go against the whole purpose of St. Mystere being a test for her prospective guardian, the Baron did specify that Flora didn't have to stay with the person who discovered her if she didn't want to. And I think that given the circumstances, despite the bond she would understand, and she could still hang out with the professor without the feeling of abandonment because the entire dynamic changes from father to mentor; which would work out a lot better for both Layton and Flora's sake. Soooooo why did he not do that?

In the cutscenes with Claire, its clear that she puts a major emphasis on Layton being a gentleman, and it went straight to his head (you had a custom built car so you don't have to take your hat off, buddy). I think that he cares so much about performing as a gentleman that he doesnt think about actually being a gentleman, as he doesn't take into account how what he does will affects others. As long as he reaches this goal in his mind, then he's done a perfectly fine job and nothing is wrong. Thusly, in his mind, it would be ungentlemanly to do anything but keep Flora in his care, because he was instructed to do so and it therefore became his duty (possible autism connection as well?). The issue arises when he doesn't know how to handle this job especially with no experience raising kids on his own (Luke does not count because despite their time spent together, emotionally he still has the basic fundamentals of a mom and dad raising him, Flora on the other hand does not and would have much deeper emotional needs than Luke would).

So to him, when Flora gets upset because he lied and ditched her, he simply doesn't understand, and assumes that she is being clingy and unreasonable. But, when Inspector Chelmy agrees with Flora and calls him out on it, he gets caught off guard and defensive ("Inspector? You too?"). He uses keeping her safe as an excuse to rationalize his own behavior, because he's stuck in a paradox of trying to do his best as a gentleman and in pursuing that goal leads to being cruel to Flora, the exact opposite of what he sets out to do. He simply doesn't know what to do, so he goes with the option that makes him feel safe.

Back to Flora, this clearly doesn't bode well for her. Constant abandonment, real or not, is extremely mentally damaging. Even more so is when she finds out they did it on purpose (the sandwich incident). This would take a massive toll on her, and while the good times with Layton and Luke are very nice, there will always be a lingering sense of betrayal and fear. Subject to this repeatedly over time, she would shift from being clingy to entirely avoidant. She can no longer trust or rely on the professor, and she doesn't know anyone else. She can only truly rely on herself and will ingrain that belief to protect herself. Isolation would be her true comfort at that point.

I think if Layton were to admit his wrongdoing and be able to apologize to Flora, they could get along very well again. But as she gets older I think it would take a considerable amount of time for them to reconcile. Not impossible, but it would take Layton the monumental task of working through his own trauma and then attempting to undo the damage he did with Flora.

also all of this could be me projecting because i relate to flora being weird girl isolated for years but og well :P. and this isnt all to say that layton sucks i love him very much and i think these flaws actually make him much more interesting and a deeper character.

anyways i think we should give flora a gun, whatever she wishes to do with it is what she will. thank yo for coming to my ted talk

Your mind is literally so huge. I love you. Hi. You're so fucking correct in any way and seeing this all put into words is helping solidify a lot of similar thoughts I've been having as well cuz like Damn. Daammnn. The abandonment stuff especially in UF/LF is the biggest reason i ended up making my flora comic in the first place ; I really wanted to let her cut loose and express her frustration and have an outburst, without being brushed over as a joke especially these panels:

i especially wanted to take into account how guilty I think shed feel by 'imposing' on layton whenever she feels frustrated by him leaving her behind- she doesn't want to feel like a burden and make her leave her behind for good. (hence her backpedaling immediately after realizing she was letting her frustrations out). both of them are like. So traumatized . and the only way for either of them to fix their relationship is for layton to first sort through his own shit and you know he's not fucking doing that anytime soon LOLLL. I ❤️ PSYCHOANALYSING CARTOON CHARACTERS

[fratricideknight]

i just want to talk for a sec about 'perfect looks'. i used to be super into drawn characters and rl people who look quote unquote 'perfect' but now i've suddenly become really disillusioned with it. people who hit every single point on the perfect feature list are like blank white canvases. sure, there are no flaws. but that's because you didn't actually attempt anything... it's basic and boring. i'd take a wonky, imperfect painting which actually has something going on over a blank canvas any day. i'm not going to name any names and NO ONE ELSE had better do it, either, bc shaming people's appearances directly contradicts the point of this post. but when people proudly parade their faves around, talking about how perfect they are, i just . they have the most basic style bc their sponsors aren't willing to take any risks, they often have little to no personality to speak of in their public appearances bc their sponsors aren't willing to take any risks, and their faces and bodies look like 3d printouts bc their sponsors aren't willing to take any risks. i - in no way, shape, or form - blame people for wanting to use make-up or dress a certain way or get plastic surgery. the pressure to be perfect, which is dictated as having certain a certain set of attributes, is unbearable. but. i don't understand why people would celebrate the culling of diversity among facial and bodily features. if everyone looked the same it would be scary as hell. not to mention that someone being gone at by make-up artists and stylists and quite possibly plastic surgeons to the point that they looked like they've just rolled off a production line is grotesque. the dehumanising comparison makes me flinch, but the truth is that it is dehumanising. both treating someone like an object to be shaped and moulded, and attempting to strip someone of everything which makes them individual. when i see someone zooming in on a celebrity's - or otherwise - features, claiming that their nose is the wrong shape or their eyes aren't right and this makes them unattractive (and, quite often, inferior to the person's fave), i feel incredibly sad. well, no - first and foremost, i feel angry, because they're being a dickhead. but also, i feel sad. bestie. do you realise how goofy you sound claiming that there's a 'wrong nose shape' to have? especially considering you most likely have a 'wrong nose shape' yourself 😶 instead of being weirdly, freakishly pedantic about people's pores, please zoom out and just look at someone's face in isolation. chances are, they're really fucking attractive when you stop thinking about their relative 'rank' and scouring their face for flaws with a fucking microscope. selecting one photo of a person where they don't look as good and using this to claim they aren't attractive is quite possibly the saddest thing anyone could possibly do. these are human beings you're talking about. please get a grip. the truth is, on any human being, you will find something! a scar, a bit of asymmetry, blackheads, wayward eyebrow hairs, something. all of which serve to make their face more interesting. mainstream media will not change bc of this stupid post, but it should know that characters looking perfect all the time is disturbing. you should not wake up with a full face of makeup. you should not be smooth and scar-free when you're fighting a fucking zombie apocalypse. it makes them look like a doll, rather than a person! which they are, bc it's fictional, but immersion is kind of the point... stylists and make-up artists do amazing work! they give you a sense of characters' personalities and circumstances and make them look realistic for their setting. their purpose is not to make someone look "perfect" all the damn time! i can't even imagine how mind-numbingly boring it must be to do the same thing over and over. where's the individuality? where's the risk? where's the literal point of fashion and make-up?

every single industry in every single country does this, but a good example is k dramas. (if anyone starts up some 'those fucking asians' bullshit i will personally curse you to tread on a lego with every step for the rest of your life. this is just an example; it happens in your country, too - have some self-awareness and shut the hell up.) i used to be super into the way they make up characters in a lot of k dramas, and i don't blame anyone for liking it! it's just an aesthetic choice. but now i really don't like it. the characters being too luminous and perfect just looks odd to me. as with any film industry, only actors with select features are allowed to play main roles, so everyone ends up looking really similar once they've been made up in the exact same way as everyone else. these days, i'm just wondering where the dirt and the scars and the smile lines are. i know that dirt and scars etc. are made up in media to be perfect versions of themselves lmao, and it's still all smoke and mirrors, so i don't think of myself as morally superior for this. i just love to see and indulge in the beauty of people with a range of different features. i'm still shallow, and will probably enjoy a show more if i'm attracted to the cast, but at least i'm not expecting everyone to look uniform. i've improved.

in conclusion, if you want to make a character creepy as fuck, make them incongruously perfect. they don't lift their mouth enough when they smile because they want to avoid smile lines. their hair never falls a strand out of place, like it's locked in a vacuum. their skin is so smooth and clear it looks like their features have been painted on. legitimately terrifying

[give-me-stuff-to-watch]

Watching Stuff Day 3 - 7/9/2023 - Current Streak: 3

For today's movie, I watched The Iron Giant, which was actually particularly interesting since I had just seen Nimona yesterday and they seem to share a lot of themes and messages. Both are about the dangers of governments and societies meeting anything different from what they consider normal with extreme actions because they automatically see it as a threat/monster without getting to even fully understand the situation or know anything about the person they're directing those actions towards. Because of those assumptions, they end up nearly killing a good person, and then that person shows how wrong they were by sacrificing themself to protect the group that was against them from the damage they were causing to themself while trying to kill them. The message being about how acting out of fear against people different from you because of preconceived notions often causes harm to innocent people and has a damaging effect on society in general. Along with being a critique on extremism in government and the harm/corruption that causes.

Looking at the movie on its own now, visually, it was really good! The animation was very fluid, and there was a lot of great attention to detail in the movements and the various environments/set pieces. There was also effort put into shots, their composition, and their angles. The only gripe I really have about it visually is the movement of the Iron Giant. It's kind of stiff and lacking in motion at times in a way that didn't exactly feel intentional. I understand having it be that way to some degree because it makes sense for a robot to move robotically, but it didn't feel as realistic as other animated robots I've seen. I feel like this is probably because he's a 3D model and the movie was made back in 1999 when there was much less experience with 3D animation and it would've taken a lot more time and budget to refine it all. It's still alright, just noticibly lacking at a few sections. Something that did suprise me though, was how well the shading on 3D objects looked. I think it's helped by the movie having a style with mostly no shading or minimal shading, which allowed it to not have to worry about light and shadow on the 3D parts as much. But even in scenes with more dramatic lighting and a light source on the models, the shading still looks like it properly fits in and matches the style. It honestly matched better than some much more recent productions I've seen.

As for the plot, I thought it was handled really well! The choice to set it in the 1950s America really fit what it was going for with its message. It was a time where the US was especially on guard and fearful of anything foreign or different, as demonstrated with Mansley's character who always acted to extreme degrees trying to claim that it was all for the good of his nation.

As for its characters, they were fairly simple, but were very effective because of their execution and dynamics with each other. It really sold me on the friendship forming between Hogarth and the Iron Giant, which added to the tension and feelings of distress towards the end when all of that is threatened. And it made sense for these bonds that were made to be the catalyst for the Iron Giant to choose to be peaceful. Hogarth's kindness and friendship was a large part of why the Iron giant chose to be a good guy despite what he was built for. Hogarth represents the good of humanity and how it can be understanding and worth protecting, which is why the Iron Giant ultimately decides to protect them all in the end.

While I'm talking about characters, I would be remiss not talking about Dean. He was a real one. He had only barely known Hogarth and was willing to shelter him and the Iron Giant for bit without snitching. He made sure to protect Hogarth when the Iron Giant's auto-defense was acting up. And when he realized that it was just the auto-defense he was immediately remorseful for how he responded to him.

Overall, a great movie and I'm glad I watched it.

[crownednova]

I’ve only seen love directed towards RtDLDX, and while I think that’s lovely, I’ve always had several issues with it that I haven’t seen many else talk about. So that’s what I wanna do… talk about it. This was originally gonna be in the form of an essay, but I wrote the first draft half asleep, there is no saving that, and I think more of a point form, individualised analysis would get my point across better. This also means there isn’t going to be much for positives. Pretty much anything I don’t mention should be assumed I am either fine or happy with. Despite that though, I do still think the negatives are enough to cause me to not enjoy RtDLDX, at least not as much as I wish I could. But enough preamble.

New White Wafers Dialogue

Let’s start off with the two least impactful gripes. In fact, I’m just gonna get this one out of the way before getting onto the actual topic. Ability Stars look so much worse now. I get they’re 3D models now, but man, they just look so flat. Where are my RtDL Ability Star fans at? Okay, now to actually begin. All the other changes to Story Mode are great, but wow, I do not like his “Such Easy Targets” line. It feels like a betrayal of his facade. I’ve said in the past that RtDL has my favourite Magolor, which is why this stings. This isn’t like any of his other new/changed dialogue, while his Extra Mode dialogue also stands out, it still feels closer to how he acts. Not to mention, this is him finally being honest. He’s allowed to drop the facade here, it makes sense. But in White Wafers? I just can’t see him saying that. In the original, he does come off as shady, and he does mess up his story, but in a completely different way. I feel a similar slip up is when he calls Kirby a Hero in Cookie Country. At that time, he isn't supposed to know that. He also changes his story from “Just Crash Landing” to “Being Attacked by Landia.” Those are his brand of slip ups, I can’t imagine he’d mess up that badly as to say “Man I love scheming. Oops I mean crocheting ☺️” It’s also a lot more relaxed than what I expect from him. I always interpreted RtDL Magolor as having this stress to his dialogue. His ship is in shambles and he needs to keep up a lie. He still goofs around, but it’s in a completely different tone, it still has undertones of panic. This however, reads more like one of his upgrade lines in the Epilogue. Some may find that appropriate, but Magolor is never written consistently, and trying to add connections only makes things worse. Also, forgot to mention, this is just a straight up spoiler. Sure, the game is 11 years old, but Forgotten Land introduced so many new Kirby fans, people who know nothing about the series, to reveal your biggest twist, especially in a way that feels like a betrayal to the character you’ve written, I just can’t understand the idea behind this change. Because what is the point? I keep asking myself this and I genuinely can’t comprehend it.

Extra Mode Changes

Extra Mode got a glow up in RtDLDX, that’s obvious from the first stages, so then why do I find myself preferring the original? It’s consistent. 1-1 is probably the most fun I’ve had with RtDL in years, so to be greeted by that, only to be met with the exact same mode I’ve played countless times, it’s crushing. It feels like it was set up to get you excited, just to pull the rug from under you. I could get it if it was deliberately there to convince you to buy the game, but if you’ve made it this far, you already own it. So why? While this inconsistency ruins the mode for me, I can’t help but have a more, sympathetic outlook. The original mode is a clear sign this game was rushed, while most of the game, you wouldn’t even be able to tell. I don’t know if those who worked on it were happy with how Extra Mode turned out. Maybe that’s presumptuous of me, but DX was their chance to fix this, but they didn’t. If it isn’t obvious, I think Extra Mode was once again rushed. 1-1, while maybe a bit unfair, still felt like there was love put into it, as much love as the bosses. And 2-1 and 3-1 also got noticeable attention, but much less. The fact the first levels got this attention, makes me feel like they were just developing the levels they could, I can’t explain it as well as I’d like, but it still stands out to me that way. But, while I appreciate the effort, it only makes it feel more unfinished than the original. I’m just so sad about this because this was their only chance to fix the original, it just stands out compared to all the other Extra Modes from the games after. Even something simple like letting Player 1 be Dedede, Meta or Bandee would have done so much for this mode. And, as I’ll soon say, Magolor Epilogue does nothing to circumvent  this. Magolor Epilogue Part 1 - Gameplay That’s right, a two parter! This is gonna be hard though, as I don’t know where my biases begin, and where they end. While this is obviously all subjective, I still would like some ground to stand on. So, I’m gonna start with what I like and what I think works. Let’s start with the bosses. Besides the marketing, which really should have its own section, they’re pretty cool! They innovate on the original bosses, Electicky Dooter is my favourite boss from this game. But it does suck they aren’t more original, or the fact the minibosses are still the same ones from Story and Extra Mode. It just makes the fact all the world bosses were spoiled for us hurt all the more. Next are Ordeal Doors. I love them. They work around the required upgrades so perfectly. Being able to know what the player will have means they can make memorable and fun stages. The regular stages are the exact inverse of this. They’re bland, forgettable, they have to work around the fact that you may never upgrade your abilities. I often see people praise the freedom the upgrade system provides, but I only see the inverse. It’s restrictive. The most the regular stages can do is play around with the boss abilities. However, those are often so weak, done so much better in the Ordeal Stages, or aren’t intuitive for movement that they can’t stand out. The combo system is much more interesting as a mechanic, and the game can properly play around with it, but the upgrades encapsulate everything I dislike about how it feels to play. No, everything I dislike with this whole Epilogue. Magolor Epilogue Part 2 - Tone and Story

I get it’s Kirby, but Kirby has done good and serious stories, so then why is Magolor Epilogue such tonal whiplash. The intro and tutorial capture it perfectly. Magolor almost died, he basically did. He lost his friends, his magic, he’s alone. Good thing he can think uppity thoughts! That’s unfair, I love his upgrade dialogue, I don’t want them to take away the humour, but there has to be some sort of middle ground! Make it clear his jokes are a form of coping, make the pause screens talk about his thoughts rather than vagueing towards Grand Doomer being the final boss 4 times in a row. Give us a look at how he actually feels!!! This is worse in the ending, we never see him actually feel guilt for what he’s done. We’re just told he’s redeemed now, we’re told that on a pause screen that’s not even accessible for 30 seconds!! It’s not even a case of show don’t tell, because they don’t even tell us anything! What I find worse is that he doesn’t even have to confront Kirby to apologise, not really, he literally gets to start living out his dream, stalling until the whole situation blows over until he just gets to show up on Pop Star, somehow, where there is barely any tension left. He gets off easy, he dies, and he gets rewarded for it. LITERALLY TOO!! I’ve never liked his Star Allies moveset. It was so clearly busted, that it felt like he’s stronger without the Master Crown. So in response to this, they canonise this moveset and it’s even more busted. It all comes back to the fact he’s constantly rewarded for his betrayal. He loses nothing. And it’s infuriating, because how am I supposed to expect him to be redeemed when he didn’t have to suffer for anything he did. Sure, he cries at the end of the mode, too bad we never know how he’s feeling anywhere else. They didn’t even answer how he got back to Pop Star, instead answering how he got to the Dream Kingdom. Idk about anyone else, but I just kinda assumed he got there with the Lor, the “real” answer doesn’t feel satisfying at all. He doesn’t even do anything interesting in the Clash games, nothing, not unless we get another Clash sequel. I just, I just wanted him to apologise to Kirby, but instead, it feels like HAL is doing everything in their power to make sure he doesn’t. The worst part is that I’m still hoping for that Clash sequel, I’m waiting for them to execute what they’ve set up, but I just don’t think it’s happening. I just wish I could see what everyone else sees in Epilogue, but I just can’t.

Merry Magoland

I guess I should wrap this up with Magoland. It’s not that bad, but I think it suffered the most from feeling slapped on with no real purpose. I like the Minigames, but I’m more talking about the park itself. I don’t like how it looks. It might just be because I’m not a fan of Magolor’s ego, or at least never saw it being this kind of ego, but it doesn’t work here for me. From what we’ve seen of Magolor’s work in the past, it’s always had this sort of child like aspect to it, like it was made with crayons and cardboard or building blocks. It created a nice aesthetic, albeit, a rather disconnected one, Drum Dash and Dream Collection look nothing alike. But to see them completely ignore what those two set up for a boring DisneyLand parody? Especially one played so positively? Idk, maybe I’m expecting too much asking for another “Capitalism is Bad'' metaphor, but still, Disney is very well known for being a garbage company so???? It’s funny how a place meant to look as innocent as possible is immersion breaking for being as innocent as possible. In reality, it’s not that bad, Manager Magolor acts nothing like Story Mode Magolor, but that’s a consistent thing with all his appearances so whatever I’ve grown to accept it. I just wish Dream Collection and Drum Dash got more love. Especially since Last Land of all things was referenced back in Dream Buffet, I still love that btw. Some sort of visual link might have helped, but even without them, I just think gaudy isn’t Magolor’s style? Like it totally is, but this brand of it doesn’t feel like him. However, I don’t write for him, idk his “true” personality, his “true” taste, maybe he likes Glitter and I can’t stop him. It just serves to make the new stuff feel out of place juxtaposed to the more natural, magical and mechanical settings of Story Mode.

And I guess that’s it, I never want to do this kinda thing again. Being this negative, although my true feelings, is just exhausting. I hope no one agrees with my issues, but if you do, hope it’s nice to see someone talk about it lol. I’m not giving up on this game though, I want to come back in a few months and see how my feelings have changed. I doubt it’ll fix everything, but I hope I can gain a new appreciation for this game, critiques and all. I guess thanks for reading as well, it means a lot to know people care about what I have to say.

[howsitduud]

MARIO PARTY: THE TOP 100 REVIEW

I have heard nothing but horrible, terrible things about this game. Universally seen as the worst Mario Party game of all time, worse than Advance, 9, 10, and all the rest of the 3DS Mario Parties.

With all that said, I wanted to come into this game with an open mind. I’ve heard bad things about Star Rush, and I was pleasantly surprised with that game. So, after playing everything in The Top 100, how did I like it?

I didn’t!

The main concept of this game is that it’s a compilation of the 100 “best” minigames from every console Mario Party game up to Mario Party 10, complete with HD remakes of said minigames. Right away, the question is, aside from playing minigames, what else is there to do here? There’s a story mode where you travel along a mostly linear path and play minigames, there’s a normal party mode (we’ll get back to this), a normal tournament mode where you try to win minigames, and a decathlon where you try to win 10 minigames back-to-back. So, most of the gameplay in this movie is just playing minigames with no variability in how you play the minigames and your end goal in beating them. I’m so glad this game exists.

The only mode that’s not just playing minigames over and over is the main party mode, where it borrows from Star Rush’s board design and gameplay loop of everyone moving around a grid-based board. I liked this gameplay loop in Star Rush, but it doesn’t work here for one very specific reason: there’s only one board, and it’s small enough that you’ll get every bit of enjoyment out of it for a few games and that’s about it. I don’t understand why they didn’t just port boards over from Star Rush, they were right there. The most egregious thing to me is that even though this game is about playing the ”Top 100” Mario Party minigames, the selection pool here isn’t the whole 100. You can choose 5 minigames going into the game, and the minigames people play will be decided on a vote. What’s even the point of this?

I would almost forgive all of this, all of it, if the minigame selection was at least the 100 best minigames in the Mario Party Series, but nope! Most of the selection here is fine, but there are some minigames here that I don’t even know why they brought back, like Shy Guy Showdown, The Beat Goes On, Piranha’s Pursuit, and especially Aim of the Game. Speaking of, Mario Party 8 only gets 3 minigames represented here, and one of them is Aim of the Game. Why? Mario Party 10 got some of the more interesting looking minigames, and that’s everybody’s least favorite game in the series.

Credit where credit is due, I did have some fun playing this game. Playing a bunch of minigames back-to-back gets tedious after a while, but unlocking all of them was decently fun. They also adapted a lot of minigames to the 3DS pretty well, giving the N64 and Gamecube minigames a modern upgrade and adapting different control schemes to them, like gyro, touch, and mic control.

None of that saves what is otherwise a game that was so obviously a tech demo for better games. I remember when this game got announced, and people universally said, “why not just make an actual game?” NDcube was probably waiting for the Switch to release in order to get out a Mario Party game that was a return to form for the series, with this being another experimental game like the other 3DS games. That doesn’t make the game any better, especially since Superstars brought most of these minigames back. I haven’t played Superstars yet, but it looks like a much better game than this.

3/10, at least Rosalina is playable.