#i did edit it but mostly just to make it grayscale lol

[knightwhoisni]

Tennotober Day 1: Captain

We're going where the winds don't blow.

[szynkaaa]

What are your thoughts when you see mutuals of yours using AI in their binds? I'm not defending afb at all, I think what they did and their attitude is vile, but why don't a lot of binders on instagram hold the same attitude towards AI and programs like midjourney? From my understanding, it's the same concept. It's still theft. These programs steal from artists without permission for the AI database. I've even seen someone using AI to edit a piece (avendell's art from grayscale to colored), which is as horrible as editing someone's typeset. I guess I'm just frustrated as an artist when I see such pretty books only to find out AI was used in the endpapers or dustjacket, and then see their friends cheering them on in the comments :/ It is so harmful to the art community, yet I feel like I can't speak up because many binders support it. I'd appreciate your thoughts on this though as a fellow artist

Hi! This is a very interesting ask and something I have been pondering for some time now but never really had the chance to put into words, so I will try me best to do it here :)

Disclaimer: those are my thoughts and observations about AI being used in book binds since I started binding almost 6 months ago. Please keep in mind this is just how * I * personally have decided to deal with my mutual using AI for their binds. I am not telling anyone that they should do or feel the same way as I do, each person has their own way to handle it. 

Short answer: Have spoken up about this before, which you can find in a post here and also on my IG story, there is a highlight called “no AI”. This is mostly from when I first started binding. I think my tone there is a bit more aggressive because there were just a lot of penned-up frustrations LOL, but most of the things I said there I still stand by them. 

Long answer under cut:

I’m an artist and have been drawing for 13 years now, and mostly hang out in the creative / artist sphere of the fandom sides online. Most artists do not support AI, and it has been incredibly frustrating to see how AI has just made life so much harder, from getting accused of using AI even though no AI is used, to seeing companies hiring artists who have also made a switch to AI and also support it, to Etsy sellers selling AI art on mugs and what not. 

I was in the exact same spot as you when I was doing my social media research on how to get started with bookbinding, and spent a lot of time scrolling through other binders instagram accounts to see what they have made. I am in awe of what they can make because like every craft, it takes money and time and practice to get really good at it and I have seen so so so so many pretty books, but then also quite shocked at how most binders view on AI art differs so much from the art community. AI is used for typesets and endpapers and dust jacket, and scrolling through the comment sections, there was no one speaking out against AI art (or some did and got snarky replies or comments were straight deleted). This did discourage me at first from taking up a new hobby and being an active part of the community. I should add here though that no one has to make their hobby public and post everything they make. Personally, for me, I don’t have any IRL friends to talk about bookbinding or, and I’m also an introvert, so meeting and making new friends online to chat about hobbies is the best way for me to go. Also I just like sharing my work, I’ve put so many hours and time into it, why shouldn’t I get to show it off. 

In the end, I have decided to make a book-binding account and be part of the fun and honestly, I don’t regret it. Everyone is super welcoming and will help you with any questions you have, I have made many great new friends and exchanged a few binds with people from across the pond. 

And yes, some of those friends and mutual binders use AI for their book binds, I’ve had discussions with them about it, where everyone gave their input and thoughts on the topic in a respectful, mature, and civil conversation. Opinions are split on the topic in the binding community, this is what I have observed and gathered from my binding journey so far: 

some people don’t know much about AI art or how it works, hence they decide not to touch it. 

Some didn’t know how AI worked, dabbled with it, read up on and decided not to use it anymore. 

Some have done extensive research on it with arguments from both artists and tech side, and then made a decision based on that 

Some see MJ as another tool like Canva to make graphics or whatever for your bind. 

Many binders use AI for their binds, because no money is made from it. It is (mostly) personal use, either for themselves or to gift away to friends.

One should always be transparent about whether MJ (midjourney) was used in their binds or not, to give people the choice to decide if they want to interact and support something with something that uses AI or not

Not all artists reply DM requests for permission to use their art for personal binds, or the art style / concept they have in their mind exists, so they resort to MJ as a quick solution

Not everyone has the money to commission artists, and especially for commissioned book binds, the prices for commercial art are not something everyone can afford.

The gist I got from the instagram binders (I don’t want to muddle them with AFB binders), is that they will try to use artist’s art with permission as much as they can, but roadblocks like the ones mentioned above happen and make them resort to MJ

Some artists do no want to be associated with AI at all so when they see that binders have used MJ for their binds before, they will not permit them to use their art

Some artists have spoken out against AI and talked with binders about the AI, but still take commissions / collab / trade with binders that have MJ works on their account 

I see more artists permitting binders to use their art for binds than rejecting the request even though some of those binders used MJ in their binds. I do believe that most artists do a quick social media check and see what exactly their work is being used for before answering

Some binders are not fully active on IG anymore because they see so many AI being used 

Many binders are still supporting artists in different ways such as subscribing to their patreon, donating to their ko-fi, buy their merch, share their art etc.

If given the chance, many binders would also love to collaborate with artists on a bind together - I’ve had several reach out to me and express their interest in collaborating together which I think is great. 

About Avendell’s art being colored via AI: there is one known binder on IG that edits art without artist’s permission and we all do not like them LMFAO. All the binders I have hang out and spoken to respect artist’s boundaries and would not use their art or edit it without their permission. 

The points above-mentioned are not me trying to justify and defend the binders that use MJ/AI, it is just me listing up my observations and things I have read and heard from binders that use AI.

I can’t fault artists for charging xxx amount for commissions because they have to make a living and pay bills too, but you also can’t condemn binders for not having the spare funds to commission artists because they also have bills to pay and groceries to buy. 

So on the one hand, if I put myself in the binder's shoes, I do understand the appeal of MJ and understand to a certain extent why they use MJ for their personal works, no money is made etc etc etc. On the other hand, it’s AI/MJ and as an artist myself it is frustrating to see AI on my dashboard and until there is a more ethical way to use AI, the law has updated on the usage and the artists whose work were used to train the machines without their consent, I will not support AI. 

AI art aside; binding books - especially a whole fanfic from scratch - requires so many other skills and labors put into making a book that also takes a long time and money invested to get better at. There is so much love and creativity put into a bind, and it amazes me what people can come up with that you most likely will never see in any mass production because it is a one-of-a-kind book. There are binders who have spent money purchasing stock image and font license for their personal binds, and will make sure they are respecting fanfic authors wishes and boundaries. For that, they have my admiration and respect and support and I am very happy to be still part of the community. I don’t think I need to get into how disrespectful the AFB Admin’s tone is in the overall post on top of them seemingly flipping off every one that is trying to have a civil conversation on the topic of sharing typesets without permission, editing art and straight up hold a best-copy-contest  in a “”Private”” group that accepts pretty much any application and has over 6k members. 

I don’t support AI, but I am very grateful that I have been welcomed very openly into a new community even though I have expressed freely in my public instagram account and on discord servers my disdain for AI. If I see my friends and mutual doing a bind where MJ is used, I simply don’t interact with the post, will not comment and share it in my stories, and move on. I personally don’t have the energy to comment and educate binders in comment sections for using MJ. I am friends with binders that use MJ, despite our different views on it, I have also blocked binders on insta because I do not agree with some of the things they said about AI and artists. And if binders do not want to interact with me because I don’t wanna support binds with AI - or artists do not want to talk to me anymore because I am friends and mutuals with MJ users, that’s fine too. I don't wanna get too caught up in the us (artist) against AI war, I wanna enjoy my new hobby and make pretty books.

I have been trying to incorporate more art that I draw myself into my binds and sharing WIPs and timelapses of the process, and I do hope that in some way this may help other binders also want to give digital art a go. 

At the end of the day, it’s up to each individual both binders and artists how they wanna deal with MJ being used on binds and how they are gonna interact with it. I’ve decided for myself that I do not want to let my view completely stop me from enjoying what has been a wonderful community experience so far.

[blue-eyed-bloodstains]

Has anyone ever told you that you were really pretty? yeah but way too much of my life, still is, has been severely the opposite to where I never believe it no matter who it is...:(

Do you relate to main characters in novels often? it depends on the book and situation/backstory

Do you listen to a wide variety of music? yeah

Does nature feel magical to you? yeah

What holiday are you looking forward to next? Halloween, always

Do you take a lot of pictures? no I really wish I did, just always forget or not in the mood only to regret it later

Did you ever go through a phase when you didn’t want to take medicine? I don’t think so, although any type of pill or capsule has been very hard since 2014 due to a medical condition, I gag really really bad and it sucks that most meds don’t have a liquid or ODT (dissolvable) version 

Do you love popsicles? don’t eat them very often but yeah definite nostalgia of ice cream trucks with them!

Do you have to hem up a lot of your pants? no actually most pants are short around the ankles cause I’m so tall...I mostly wear my fiance’s pants which at least reach my shoes when standing lol

Do you shop at Goodwill? I have in the past and got some really cool clothes, I haven’t gone in forever so I’m definitely due!

What’s your natural hair color? it was dirty blonde with natural blonde highlights growing up but overtime, especially as I isolated a lot more and mostly stayed inside it got darker so now it’s brown grrr

Do you like your smile? HELL. FUCKING. NO. major trigger for me all my life....

Was the last book you read good? honestly’ I can’t even remember the last book I fully read and finished...I just can’t sit down and read the last several years, too much personal shit going on to where mentally I’m just not into it

Do you make grocery lists? sometimes but most of the time I forget to and just wing it, then again we mostly get the same shit every time so it’s easy 

Do you take walks often? ha no that’s a disaster waiting to happen...my health has severely depleted my physical ability for even basic functions on my feet :(

Does sunlight make you feel happier? yeah especially a nice cool warm day, not too chilly not too hot

Do you make wishes on the moon? no

What are you most looking forward to this spring? nicer weather, top down doors off backroad cruising in my fiance’s Jeep with music blaring and the wind blowing, and I am DYYYIINNNGGGG to swim! preferably pool but beach works too!

Are you fulfilling your passion in life? nowhere near

Do you daydream a lot? no, more like zone out and get too lost in my head which is never a good thing especially alone which is most of the time anyway...sigh

What are your dreams? fucked up nightmare fuel and night terrors...all the time

Do you take medications? yeah several

When was the last time you went to the doctor? actually last week on March 28th to the cancer institute

What helps you fall asleep? pssh jack shit, I’m an insomniac and when I do actually doze? it’s rarely longer than an hour at a time...needless to say I’m the walking dead

Do you love sushi? GIMME RIGHT NOWWWW!!! I LOVE sushi I’d live on it in a heartbeat if I could!

What’s your favorite type of seafood? pretty much anything, there’s some things I haven’t gotten to try but I’ve got a decent range that I have and I love

Do you have stomach problems? you don’t even know the fucking half of it and can never fully understand unless you suffer like I do every single day. period.

Do you enjoy editing photos? back in the day I did Photoshop quite a bit through free trials but it’s been so long, I don’t know where to even begin especially thinking about how updated it must be now. I’ll occasionally throw a minimal filter on a pic every now and then on my phone but rarely

What was the last photo filter you used? ha wow considering I just mentioned filters...ummm I usually will do like something to do with the saturation in the pic..maybe a bit faded, grayscale, etc. 

Do you live a simple life? not exactly the word I’d use...complicated is better

Do you own a pair of pajamas with foxes on them? nope

Peace signs or hearts? depends, guilty of being one of “those” that early FB days I’d throw up the peace sign a lot in pics lol and pretty much every card (holiday, bday, etc.) I’ll throw in a heart  when signing at the end

What kind of pie is your favorite? cheesecake, hands down

Do you think you could go a whole year without eating dessert? hmm probably yeah, I’m more of a junk food junkie so I can probably make a year without sweet stuff like candy, chocolate, etc.

[measureyourlifeincake]

How do you go about coloring your drawings? I personally struggle with colors, and I really admire your art. I'm curious to know what your process is like. Thank you!

First of all, thank you! It really means a lot that someone out there admires my art, and I will cherish this ask forever.

In regards to your question, I also really struggle with colors (which is why a lot of my art stays as pencils sketches or b&w ink drawings lol) and my process is mostly “fuck around and find out,” so I unfortunately don’t have that much advice to give you. That being said, here is what I can tell you:

experiment! i don’t have a lot of formal training in art (I took one foundation drawing class in college, in which we did absolutely nothing with color, and aside from that I haven’t taken an art class since I was 15, so anything I learned earlier I have either forgotten or internalized enough that I wouldn’t even think to give it as advice bc it seems like second nature), so most of what I know (especially wrt color) is from just... trying stuff and seeing if it works. Sometimes it doesn’t, but hey, that’s art! To quote my foundation drawing prof, art is all about problem-solving.

i know you’re not supposed to shade with black, for some reason. I think it makes the colors look flat? Also, shadows irl aren’t actually black, so there’s that. I usually like to shade with a bluish purple/indigo, particularly when I’m using crayons or colored pencils

speaking of what colors things actually are: observation is important, especially if you’re trying to draw/color realistically. Often times, the color we think something is isn’t actually what it is because our perception is colored (ha) by what color we think something should be, lighting, and the color of things around it (honestly, I don’t follow this advice as much as I should when I’m coloring, but also I don’t really go for realism in colored stuff, mostly bc it’s hard, and also- realism? sir these are crayons. what do you want from me. It is good general advice for drawing, though. like, pay attention to form, value, etc, even when you’re drawing something that you “know what it looks like” or else you’ll just draw what you think the thing looks like instead of the actual thing.)

before you color something, test the colors on the page(/a scrap paper) bc they’re probably gonna look different on the paper than they do in/on the marker/crayon/bottle/pencil/palette/etc

if you’re using colored pencils or crayons, use multiple crayons/pencils for the same area, even if it’s all one color--it’ll make your colors look more vibrant

If you’re doing traditional drawings and posting them online, know when to scan (if you have a scanner) and when to just take a photo. I used to think that scanning was always better, but honestly sometimes scans look like shit and a pic snapped on your phone will look way better.

Also for traditional drawings posted online--photo editing software is your friend! when you scan/take a photo of your drawing, the colors aren’t gonna look the same as they do in person, so monkeying with the color/light/etc settings in some kind of photo software can really make a lot of difference. (also this can be a good cheat to make the colors look even better than they do irl. i’ve done this) I personally really like photoshop express (which is free), and prefer it to the basic stuff that comes with my computer and phone (i find the “dehaze” and “clarity” settings to be quite useful), though it’s still pretty basic and I have admittedly not done much shopping around.

when in doubt, a black & white/grayscale drawing with some red accents is always sexy

ok so that was a lot of words coming from someone who just said they don’t have much advice so uh... I hope that’s at least somewhat helpful?

[illegiblewords]

FINAL FANTASY XIV CHARACTER CREATOR CHALLENGE

LOOK ON MY WORKS, YE MIGHTY, AND DESPAIR!

...

Do not underestimate my weird dollmaking hobby dudes. Put a remotely versatile dollmaker in my hands and I’ll mess with that shit into oblivion.

Because I was absolutely ridiculous and decided to do this on breaks between work, I’m going to set up some challenge guidelines in case anyone else is similarly ridiculous and feels like doing this.

Ten square images, each containing four square busts from a front or 3/4 view so that facial features can be clearly seen. This will mean 40 total images. They will not all come out the same size or proportions (Lalafells, Au Ra males, and Roegadyn males make this literally impossible) but it’s good to attempt consistency so that it’s not too jarring to look at.

Designs should be shown in underclothes to minimize clipping and distractions. Either by editing or cropping, try to avoid showing text in the image.

Natural sunlight should be the background with minimal shadows to give an accurate understanding of palette.

There are 6 playable races in Final Fantasy XIV, each with two subtypes. These are Hyur, Elezen, Lalafell, Roegadyn, Miqo’te, and Au Ra. Minimum, there must be one design for each of these. This takes out 12 designs.

20 male designs, 20 female designs. There should be one male and one female for every subrace.

Minimum hair requirements: 1 blonde, 1 brunette, 1 red, 1 black, 1 unnatural, 1 two-tone, 1 solid.

The natural (reflecting what can happen for humanoids naturally), monochrome (black, white, and grayscale), vivid (using really bright, unnatural colors), and pastel (light and desaturated) aesthetics each need four designs minimum. This is to see different ways players stepping out of their comfort zones while maintaining style!

Stats are race (with subcategories) and gender.

More chatter under the cut, but if you feel like it please let me know if you have any favorite designs out of these! This was fun and I’m curious lol. Also, if anyone does decide to try and do the challenge honestly feel free to tell me! I love seeing how different people's styles come out despite using the same tools. :D

My stats are:

HYUR Midlander: MMMFF Highlander: MFF

Total Male: 4

Total Female: 4

Grand Total: 8

ELEZEN Wildwood: MMF Duskwight: MMFF

Total Male: 4

Total Female: 3

Grand Total: 7

ROEGADYN Seawolf: MFF Hellsguard: MF

Total Male: 2

Total Female: 3

Grand Total: 5

MIQO’TE Seekers of the Sun: MMFF Keepers of the Moon: MF

Total Male: 3

Total Female: 3

Grand Total: 6

LALAFELL Plainsfolk: MFFF Dunesfolk: MMF

Total Male: 3

Total Female: 4

Grand Total: 7

AU RA Raen: MF Xaela: MMMFF

Total Male: 4

Total Female: 3

Grand Total: 7

I tried to experiment with this a lot, and tbh I developed a bunch that didn’t end up in the final. If I noticed I was going more toward one kind of aesthetic, I tried to go in a different direction. In general I mostly tended toward black hair, red tones, and very high contrasts. Blonde and brunette hair I had to consciously build into, same with green or blue palettes. Originally I did not have any blonde men at all. I did way more Hyur Midlanders and Au Ra Xaela than I expected to, Elezen didn’t surprise me. I came up with more Roegadyn than entered the final, mostly had difficulty with the Roegadyn males. I think this was a combination of proportions and having literally one face I actively liked lol. I didn’t want to fall into same-face. Male Hyur Highlanders I appreciated but I think they’re just not my preferred look for dudes. Miqo’te were the ones I struggled to find aesthetics with somewhat tbh. This was especially the case with Keepers of the Moon, namely 8B, namely because I didn’t let myself use the same haircuts over and over and wanted to avoid black hair by then. I did fine with red heads but in hindsight I regret not doing a ginger. It was something I had one design for previously but then I edited it out because I can’t do math and miscounted how much space I had left.

Weirdly, I’m bad at making Lalafells cute when I consciously attempt it. Very proud of raver bee though.

Overall I go for dramatic over subtle, cute/delicate/spooky over muscular or hunky.

Unlike the Dragon Age character creator, in Final Fantasy XIV you can basically do any ethnicity’s facial structure for the most part. Certain races might steer the player differently, but it can be done. Dragon’s Dogma, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls are more detailed in some ways but it’s basically just humans or humans with pointy ears there. Also, tonal differences lol.