#i have a timelapse recording of this too. i had a lot of fun with it

[petricorah]

😳 the girls are fighttttinnnnggg 😳 [ids in alt]

+lineart bc i liked it

[crystalpallette]

get you a girl who can give you everything

this started a long long time ago when I made a joke about how sega should put ringo in more dresses, and then my friend reminded me that oh yeah!! I can do that instead!!! and then one thing led to another and we joked about punk ringo and I drew that too. using ringo like a dressup doll is so cathartic it's kinda crazy

some bonuses (original designs, timelapse) under the cut bc I like these designs!! I might do some more with them!! please disregard the band poster in the first second of the timelapse that's something else!!!

[icantdothistodaybruh]

First of all, happy birthday! I hope you are having a great time and eating lots of cake.

I really like your artworks, if I could buy you a print I would, but alas, the student life doesn't allow such luxuries

I would love to see your process when rendering artworks and paintings and the like.

Would you be so kind as to share a speedpainting with us the common folk any time im the future?

My best regards,

Anon

Awww thank you so much, Anon!! I had a wonderful day :)

As for the speedpaints, I only have timelapses (without close-ups and canvas mirroring\rotation) but I still think they are kinda fun to watch! I picked out a bunch and left them unedited with all my artistic craziness on record💅💅💅 will post them one by one some other time, now let's get to it!!

Till this day, I believe this is my favourite artwork, and with that said... looking back at it my first thought was that I am insane. The lines. Oh god the lines. Every day I wish I'd get as swallowed up and utterly possessed by the process as then. Somewhere closer to the middle you will see that I'm writing a signature, that was actually because I thought I am almost finished. Who could've guessed...

Sudden jumps to another work (like on 1:47) is a common occurrence for me, I tend to work at multiple projects at a time, and sometimes it's just so happens that they are even on the same canvas, oops//// you will see quite a bit of this happening in other timelapses too

The funniest part in my opinion are the moments of complete stillness. The timer is going, the music is on, but for solid 10 seconds I have no Idea what am I doing or where am I doing it because looking from afar literally nothing changes💋

It is also worth noting that it's a rare moment where I have no problem with Sebastian's face AT ALL, usually it takes about three to five tries and makes me question my life choices

[kafus]

a couple things about the illustration i just posted on my art blog because i'm really proud of it and wanna talk about it. long ramble incoming

for one, 6 months of improvement between these two pieces (left new, right old) and i'm not sure how that happened. obviously the old one wasn't meant to be a whole illustration, more of a doodle, but Still?

second, a while ago i decided i should start doing palette/value tests for my illustrations before jumping into the render since it helps me feel less blind and once again i think i've made the right decision there. i basically do the test on top of the flats with a big airbrush and then save it as an alternate version and reference it as i work on the render proper. you can see the palette test vs the final of the illustration here:

oh and i didn't wanna clutter the tumblr post with it but i actually did save a timelapse of the thing, just not with the lines because i forgot AAA and it jumps a few times where i forgot to hit record. but it's still satisfying i think HFSDFDS FLASHING WARNING BTW i turn layers on and off a lot

my art still isn't where i want it to be but i feel like with every big illustration i take on i'm learning a lot ajdsioasd i used to be way too scared to even attempt anything like this. and this one was especially intimidating because it's MOSTLY background, the characters take up such a small amount of space relatively!! that's really new for me hsdfjkfds

oh and one last side note, the blanket on this illustration was by far the most fun part for me to draw and render. i had a blast with this thing

i have no idea what my kaf/u illustration will be in march but i guess i'll find out eventually :D gotta work on other projects now hsjfdsdf

[haeroniel-doliet]

Bonus content for dinluke big bang pieces pt 3!: enjoy this timelapse of the process for the chapter 7 piece. This is mostly for the curious/myself for future reference, more thoughts and details on my process below the cut!

So glad in hindsight that I turned on the recordings because I genuinely think looking through these videos and commenting on them in between finishing pieces has actually really helped me refine things and improve!

This one I think is the least messy overall since the goal has been pretty clear since the beginning and it had much less intense of a background

We started brainstorming this before even the chapter was written! How exciting to have been part of a project where I actually got to work with an author and collaborate on the vision for a scene in their story

Hence the multiple little key frames to figure out what kind of story is being shared (also for future ref, definitely should do those kind of thumbnails more often to flesh out the composition early on

Had an awful time trying to draw Dins face honestly it is rough (I know his face is so nice and unique hence so hard to get right) Feel free to skip to about 0:35 to skip the worst of the somewhat cringey struggles.

I had a big issue constantly feeling like Luke was so stiff and sometimes doll like sometimes just so unemotive. Hence in between trying to go for an extra soft and emotive face that eventually I thought was just too extreme (like also figuring out that Din isn't concerned/scared here, but happy with a smidge of bittersweet reserve

It's honestly wild looking at the end result beside this, I had many a point I had no idea how this would turn out in the end!

Note I finally got to trying to colour them in and colourpicked from the previous piece for luke (far too pale for the setting here!) My boys been in the sun now, in the beginning being pale made sense he was also losing blood yknow

Really painted din too tanned to start with thanks to having the reference pics for these both be wildly over exposed for luke and in a lot of shadows and yellow lighting for din (and he wouldn't be so tanned having hid under a helmet for so long right?) So I spent a good bit of time adjusting them to fit slightly dimmed and shadowed outside light and not be so wildly overly contrasting to each other

And overall trying to add more colour variety! We're not in the cave anymore where everything was dulled

The tarp was giving me a bit of a nightmare until I remembered I can just reference basically the tarps i've slept under in scouts so often! No need to make it anymore complicated and it's so cozy (just had to fanangle it so it showed enough of their faces while still cozy and sheltering)

Almost had another nightmare with the forest but then figured it really doesn't need to be more than a suggestion and went with the whole lens blur effect (the boxes kind of suck but they do their job and yes I painted them mid committee meeting that I was definitely caring a lot about)

Finally rain and other little details, some little things I was left thinking I could do better even more refined even more clean and better but just. honestly? I was done and any further tiny editing would only ever be noticed by me and this was good enough and it was time to let it be done, don't you agree?

Fun fact I think this had made me realize you know, it looks like mine, this looks like I made it, maybe it means its in the style I have now maybe? It's not photo realistic and its not meant to be, it looks like the best I myself can do this moment in time

Alright future me: A reminder that this isn't perfect but it's a genuine big achievement. Finishing all these three with the level of ambitious detail and background you set out to? and only being almsot 1 week overdue on the final one? Thats impressive that's more than i've ever done, digitally especially. This is an achievement and I should be proud! Hopefully I remember to learn from these successess and stop spending forever agonising over little details so much so that it's not fun anymore (a little agonising is okay otherwise I'd have been okay with those multiple failed faces etc) but that taking the pieces from sketch/lineart to this? not even perfect paintings like the super talented people but even still much more engaging and interesting and complete looking. I can do it! And hopefully I can do more like this in the future for myself because being this proud of myself is worth it.

[gadgetrevive]

Birds Chirpin - Hard NO!? | iPhone 15 Pro Cracked Screen Repair TimelapseIt was a sunny afternoon in the bustling city, the kind of day where the sun warmed your skin just right, and the sounds of the city played a harmonious symphony. Birds were chirping as Tim made his way down the city street, moving to the beat of his own thoughts. Today, he had a new challenge—an iPhone 15 Pro with a cracked screen. But this wasn’t just any repair; he decided to try something different. Instead of his usual silent timelapse videos, he would walk his viewers through the process, sharing insights and stories along the way.“Hey, dudes,” Tim greeted his viewers with a relaxed smile, “going to be trying something new here with this video. I’m going to stay with you guys throughout the timelapse, see if I can throw in any tidbits of information that might be useful or entertaining.”He set up his workspace in a small repair shop filled with all sorts of gadgets and tools. The iPhone 15 Pro lay on the table, a small but noticeable crack starting from the top. “Not too much damage,” Tim commented, “just a little crack from a top drop.”He began by removing the two security screws at the bottom of the phone. “Always start by taking out these screws,” he explained. He then applied some sticky adhesive around the edges of the glass screen. “This is to prevent any shards from flying out during the opening process. Safety first, folks!”Tim slipped on his protective eyeglasses, a necessary precaution especially during backplate repairs. With careful precision, he used a suction cup and a plastic prying tool to lift the screen from the body of the phone. “Quick screw work, just taking off the plate and disconnecting the two Flex cables here,” he narrated.As he worked, Tim’s mind wandered back to an earlier customer interaction. He chuckled softly, “That last customer's house we were at… Man, he was a hard no. Didn’t want Marble walking around his yard at all.”Marble was Tim’s trusty dog, often accompanying him on his repair calls. “I couldn’t even walk outside of his yard to the main street. He said if I got Marble out of the car, his dogs would see him, jump out immediately, and start barking like crazy. Said he couldn’t have his dogs going nuts seeing my dog outside having fun.”Tim shook his head, smiling at the memory. “Had to find a different place for Marble to go potty. That was at the next customer’s home.”Returning his focus to the task at hand, Tim reconnected the Flex cables to the new screen. “These new screens from Apple come with a new Face ID chip. We have to calibrate these new screens with the Apple server after every replacement. Takes about five minutes.”As he worked through the calibration process, Tim decided against showing it on camera. “There’s a lot of sensitive information that gets displayed. I could blur it out, but it’s just easier to skip that part. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”With the new screen calibrated and in place, Tim screwed the plate back on and gave the phone a final once-over. “And we’re about done here. Let me know what you guys think.”He paused the recording, leaning back in his chair with a sense of satisfaction. Another successful repair, another happy customer. As he packed up his tools, his phone buzzed with a notification. It was from Gadget Kings PRS, a trusted partner and supplier of all his repair tools and parts.Tim smiled, thinking back to when he first discovered Gadget Kings PRS. Their website, [gadgetkingsprs.com.au](https://gadgetkingsprs.com.au/), had been a lifesaver. From DC power supplies and boot cables to soldering equipment and protective gear, they had everything he needed to keep his repair business running smoothly. Their fast shipping and excellent customer service had earned his loyalty over the years.He decided to give them a shoutout in his video. “By the way, if you guys need any repair tools or parts, check out Gadget Kings PRS. They’ve got a fantastic range of products, everything I use here in the shop.

You can find them at gadgetkingsprs.com.au. Highly recommend them!”Tim glanced over at Marble, who was dozing peacefully in the corner of the shop. “Well, buddy, another job well done. Ready for the next adventure?”As he locked up the shop and headed out, Tim felt a sense of gratitude. He loved what he did—fixing things, helping people, and sharing his knowledge. And with partners like Gadget Kings PRS and the support of his loyal viewers, he knew he was just getting started.The city buzzed around him, alive with possibilities. Birds chirped overhead, and Tim couldn’t help but smile. Life was good, and he was ready for whatever came next.

[merulast]

Tech talk

Tomorrow is kickoff. How do I feel? Kinda. Okay? I fetch a flu on the last days and my credo "do this or die on the road" starts to kick in. But on the other hand we always get a flu when we don't need it, eh? And when had we ever needed one? Anyway.

So far I wrote quite some Blog posts about how to find routes and plan stupid stuff. Stupid, because many things will not work once you start the trip anyway. But planing is still a good thing (isn't it?) because at least you learn about the possible options. And knowing the options is always a good thing!

But lets talk about something else: The Tech!!!!11!elf

It's so tech!!

I want to travel some 'roads' that are not very common for mid Europeans to hit. And what do you do if you want to know more but have no friends that ever leaves the home town? You reach out for social media and videos. And you probably had already noticed that I'm not quite a fan of vtubers and traveling youtubers. I would love to rant a bit more about them. But not now.

I still enjoyed to see the scenery. To see the locations. See the bus or the trains and having the opportunity to create my own, silly incomplete picture of what it is like. And so I decided that I also want to capture media! At least this time. Because last time, I did not even shot an single picture of anything in more then 1 year of living in Xi'an.

What to do with this media. Well. I don't really know! Will I just place them online? Maybe? Make youtube Videos that violate alot of copyrights? Maybe! Make fun on other popular vtuber content that made me cringe? Hell yeah! We will see!

(obviously I will most likely do nothing of all that!)

(Noel Philips - full time 'being not at home to review toilets' v-tuber)

Timelapse

The main brain fart that made me plan this trip was to see and feel the 'world' in between two places. And I noticed that some bored highway guys made timelapse videos of driving from a to b.

And while timelapse videos can have this 2007-warcraft-rouge-in-bw-with-linking-park-music feeling, they also can be interesting. Plus they ripe like wine. They are usually just showing the raw thing. No filters, no effects. No 'selection' of what to see. And I kinda like this. Nobody might be interested into a timelapse now. But it might be interesting later.

Anyway. So I decided to try that. And noticed, that there are not really affordable 'timelapse' Devices on the marked o.o?

Mobile Phones can do the trick. If you use some nice apps, they even could do it well. But for how long? What do you think how long will your power last? Mobile phones are small computers. They are not meant to record something for 4,8,24,48 hours non stop. And im pretty sure that most of the apps had not been written for this kind of 'professional usage', too.

Cameras are bigger devices. The can have a lot more capacity on board and the image quality should be nice. Okay. Do you want to spend more then 500 bucks on them? I .. dont know. Isn't it overkill? Another thing is that this cameras are huge. How to place them in public transport and let them run for 24h without getting robbed?

Build something! Yeah. Sure.

I got my hands on a cheap gopro7. When it comes to timelapse feature, there is absolute nothing positive to get something more modern. It shoots in 1080p and, to my big surprise, the build in power supply was able to last 12 hours straight without external supply. It is smal and I can easily tape it where-ever I want. With one picture taken all 5 seconds there is no shaking visible, even if I tape it straight to the casis of a bus, the picture remains very smooth.

360° Pictures

Why isn't this a thing? You shoot a picture and people can look around the whole place! ITS AMAZING! Fuck selfie with Ninni-Graniny in front of a Town sign. See the whole place! You can even upload them on google 'streetmap'!

See that tiny blue bubbles? Klick on them to see what this part of 'desert' looks like.

✅ Thats amazin! How could you not love this to look around all by yourself?!

❌ Serious cameras that make 360° pictures our of the box start at much moneyz

✅ But every modern smart phone can do that out of the boy if you take multiple pictures!

🆗 And It may looks not very professional for many reasons. You should watch an tutorial for better results

(who told you emojis would look nice on this? Grandmother whatsapp?)

Conclusion

So yeah. I will try both. Making some 360° pictures of locations that have none available, and also record the time lapse. We will see how it turns out!

[stephanie-artdesign]

🌸 WenZhou- Word of Honor 🌸

Drawing time: Around 66 hours

I thought those flowers wouldn't take me too long... Man I was wrong 😂 Aaah. So here's one of my latest pieces! I love WoH and had been wanting to paint these two for a while now. 💖 It's in my semi realistic illustration style, so I actually sketched these two out as I usually do for my stylized illustrations before I started painting them hehe.

I recorded around 58 hours of the process so you can basically see from start to finish once I edit and post the timelapse video on my YouTube in the next couple of weeks. 🌸

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I started this thinking I won't focus too much on details but well somewhere along the way I forgot about that 😂 I took a lot of artistic liberty designing their robes and hairpieces for fun. So it's not something you'll recognize from the live action.

And! Ofc I had to try Wen Kexing with his white hair ✨✨🤍🤍

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Hmmm... Idk what else to mention but I hope y'all enjoy this piece 🌸💖 I'll have prints available on Etsy soon~ 💖��

🌸 Please do not repost, edit, crop, use or sell my artworks. If you'd like to support me, please consider reblogging my post instead 🌸 Thank you ✨

[ruby-whistler]

i made a list of the vibes of the hermits i watch, so you might want to check some of them out! this is just mostly jokes, but i thought all of the more “serious” propaganda was missing something, so have what truly makes hermitcraft worth it; the players’ unique styles!

will be back on my dsmp stuff asap but it’s the first day of season 8 and i would really appreciate if you checked them out through the links provided :]

Grian; [ episode one link ]

vibes of a 17 year old mcyter, is actually 27 and married

noo not my red jumpah!

chaotic capitalist

someone is making the server better through order? *starts another war* whoops, hand slipped :D

he built a- he rebuilt his entire megabase in survival, above a giant lake of lava, in the nether, on hard mode, upside down??

“watching as scar dies over and over in my trap is peak comedy and i’m tired of pretending it’s not” but it happens like 5 times i every season

video editing is very main-stream and good for short attention spans!

*sad montage over losing stuff he’ll get back in 15 minutes because he’s rich*

pesky birdd! great elytra flier! amazing builder! will tnt your house! poultrymannn!!

wholesome, chaos incarnate, talented architect

why won’t mumbo respond to my messages it’s been two weeks :[ (clingy)

doors???????????? your house has doors???? no doors for you good sir!

will laugh a lot at a lot of things, esp when he’s with his friends

genuinely just so fun to watch

Mumbo Jumbo; [ episode one link ]

perfect british accent

mustache man (warning: he has no mustache irl)

*fails ten businesses in a row* iskall please help

redstone is his element

“it’s actually quite simple” i like your funny words magic man, now can you repeat how in the hell you made a that fancy vault work-

filmographer?? i think? met up with grian irl

him and grian have a robot son named grumbot. that has nothing to do with the vibes but i had to mention him because he means a lot to me.

tries to stay out of wars and server politics until someone (grian) drags him into them

minigame maker, makes the hermits competitive and that is scary (also very funny) e. g. button, hermit challengesss!

“it’ll be fineee” *que shot of everything on fire behind him*

makes his base a living being and then all his neighbors end up feeding it instead of him

conspiracy theorist. bumbo baggins. the usual.

very entertaining videos that help you learn more about minecraft mechanics!

GoodTimesWithScar; [ episode one link ]

wheelchair creator with literally the best vibes

so wholesome i. he is so cool he makes me so happy :’D

*extremely cool announcer voice* ooooo hello there my fellow miners and crafters, good timeees with scar heree, and welcome backk to the wonderful world of hermits and crafting, and we’re flying over-

commentates everything extremely well

spends tenths of hours on builds within a single video and doesn’t bat an eye

lore for all of his builds! he builds these amazing bases to tell a story!

“i wanna see white flags! white flags, outside your base, by-“ wait no wrong anti-rebellion army leader

all videos have a clear objective

mostly building, but he loves hanging out/helping his friends!

loves disney movies! wants to go to space! :D

kind-hearted, always makes everyone else smile

can be chaotic but usually just tries to have fun and make sure everyone else has fun too

*flies into a tree on half a heart* wait what why did i die D:

scar. scar please eat. you’re going to die for the tenth time this video-

the non-chaotic capitalist, has extremely creative shop designs

a danger to himself, but also the kind of person you can’t be angry at for long

BdoubleO100; [ episode one link ]

the guitar music at the beginning of his videos brings a smile to my face, it just has such an immaculate mood

*camera pans over him as said music plays* ladies and gentlemen welcome to another episode of hoimycraffff

the way he talks is extremely endearing

one of the best builders on the server - probably best builder of interiors in existence

able to make a palette using any number of strange blocks and then make amazing builds using it

built a whole castle as a backdrop, then built an entire giant mountain for said castle

extremely sensitive to short jokes, usually gets pranked by others because his reactions are always so funny

his daughters show up from time to time in his room while he’s recording and it’s so cute

*has no way to see the sun but still knows it’s nighttime* gotta go schleep!

scar, pointing at him “this is why we can’t have nice sunsets”

(scar dies because of mobs every time bdubs isn’t on the server to sleep)

likes to be accomplice because he isn’t the one being made fun of (/lh)

*shoots himself in front of a confused grian because he thinks the guy wants his face again when he’s actually just looking for a netherportal*

is usually the underdog so it feels good when he wins

they’re all actually such great friends so it’s genuinely funny to watch

he himself is amazing at entertainment and just a very cool guy

ImpulseSV; [ episode one link ]

what’s going on everyone, my name is impulse and welcome back to hermitcraft!

always speaks with a smile in his voice

has a good dynamic with basically everyone

great co-worker and always helps out if he can

had his base turned pink during the swap, and instead of changing it back afterwards, he dyed his skin’s hair and clothing pink to match it

very cool and original building style!

makes a lot of farms and sells what he gets in his few shops

makes money to be able to do more stuff and make more farms

blows up most his base ever so often to rebuild parts. you know, like a normal person does in minecraft survival.

the grind is never over

the guy who always gets all of the work done on the school project and proceeds to be chill about it

always has very cool side-projects going on and puts his heart into all of them

pog timelapses!!

Rendog; [ episode one link ]

*short, funny scene from the video at the beginning slowly fades out into great music

dogs howling as the half-dog half-cog logo comes up*

greetiiings cyberdogs and citizens of the interbubs! this is ren diggity dawg coming atcha, in another minecraft episodes varuuummm the hermit. craft. server. (hey!)

we’re kicking things off today my friends, from the- *location name on screen*

that intro gets me hyped every time

he’s a furry who talks in bro language it’s great i swear - very atypical but fun

he transformed an entire biome into a star wars planet for his base

his building skills and dedication are incredible

horny (just a little bit)

the only person who cared about mycelium in the whole rebellion

does a lot of roleplay-themed stuff and mysteries to be solved

“b-dubba-dubs one hundred”

extremely upbeat & sweet guy

adds -age after everything “biddage” “flyage” to make it sound Cooler

amazingly positive always and funny as hell

mcc winner!! wooooooooo :D

always tries to be where stuff is happening and interact with people

very entertaining editing style

Iskall85; [ episode one link ]

drives joke into the mud and then picks them up and does it again which is funny

starts videos with one-off bits

iskallman!!! the superhero literally no one needed and yet there he is

only has one (1) braincell when with mumbo

they both do and they’re hilarious together every time

like when they laughed at squeaky noises for ten minutes straight. guys please you’re adult men

bernie the leaf master

omega (something) of doom!!

encourages gambling (in a videogame)

he has so many jokes he keeps using i can’t possibly fit them all in here

basically a wildcard

i have no idea what he’s doing this season

i have no idea what he’s doing ever actually

tame chaos, confusing to the point when it’s funny again

really great builder as well!

mostly for younger audiences but his videos are a good watch in general

feel free to send asks about hc! i’m already loosely involved in hermitblr but yeah, my dsmp followers aren’t immune :] /lh /j

[justletmeplayminecraft]

Saw that post about Legacy and my brain just pingponged to "yeah I wish I could watch Zloy bc he's a dork but unfortunately Character Zloy is a huge swinging dick" so basically you have any recommendations for Legacy members who are like. Rendog or Stressmonster vibes? Like somewhere in the ballpark of sweetheart dork and also potentially theater kid?

Legacy is difficult at the moment honestly. Your options kinda come down to:

Poppy (PoptartKatze), Pearl (PearlescentMoon) are streamers. They weren't as involved in the first plot point, but they have had more involvement in the current one.

Logic (Logicalgeekboy) and Lime (slicedlime) are your two options for YT videos, and much more story involved.

I'd say personality wise, none of them are really like Stress or Ren. They're all a bit more subdued.

Lime is quite similar to Xisuma or Hypno I'd say. Pretty calm, a very nice accented voice, knowledgeable about the game. And his videos are very cinematic. He always uses shaders & a lot of really nice replay sequences. He often does his timelapses in time to music and it's Amazing. I watch those a lot.

Logic is very much a redstoner. It's what he excels and it's obvious in his videos! I think he looks up to the hermits a lot (esp Imp and Skizz!) and he kind of has Impulse's calmness. An accented voice but in an opposite direction to Lime's (it can take a bit to get used to.)

Poppy is most similar to Stress I'd say! She's very dedicated, streams Legacy most days. Bouncy personality, I don't watch her too much but she's always a lot of fun!

Pearl is another pretty calm one. She doesn't stream Legacy as often but her builds are... Gorgeous. She did a few videos early in the season, but stopped.

There's a few others that are like... Half-active? Skizz, Nikolian, Chimneyswift come to mind. I don't know too much of their vibe, and they haven't really covered the plotlines.

Also, some plot notes under the cut!

Firstly: They are not the best actors. They are trying their best, but be patient with them. You will cringe a little, but the amount of work and effort they've put into their lore is more than worth it.

If you want to jump straight into the plot, I recommend watching their first episodes, then you can jump straight into Lime's 'It Is Time' episode or Logic's 'Nether Star Farm and Time Runs Out' episode! Generally all the lore you need to know is covered in the first episode. But, I'm more than willing to discuss anything you need to know! From those episodes, you can continue through to the current plotline. There's not much downtime in-between them.

I do think another early episode that's a lot of fun to watch is the dragon fight episode. Pretty much everyone on the server goes to fight the enderdragon together, and it's predictably chaos. Just a very fun episode.

The current plotline though... Oh my gosh. It is incredible. It has required planning from the start of the season, and even before. It's pretty much a mini-ARG. I don't want to spoil it, but it's so good.

Anyway that is my less than brief reintroduction into Legacy. It's such a good series. Please watch it and send love to the creators, because they are putting so so much work into it (one of the latest plot events was recorded live on stream and Logic tweeted later about being nervous about it,,,)

[sincerelymarinette]

A Recorded Life Sequel (5/10) - Miraculous Ladybug

Words: 1125 Chapter Summary: Another day at the office for Marinette and Adrien, and Marinette even has some time to record a video! Afterward, they run into some trouble. Author's Note: we are back in business! Thank you everyone for being patient with my hiatus, the end of my school semester kicked my butt, then holidays kept me busy. I hope everyone had great holidays and a happy new year! I loved writing this chapter and I'm excited to be back at this story. Halfway done with the sequel!

Prev / Next / Masterlist

Timelapse

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It was a slow day for Marinette. She didn't have any deadlines coming up too soon, and actually had a day to breathe and just work. For the first time in a few weeks, she even had time to set her camera up to record her process of working on her mockup design on a mannequin. Like the good ol' days, she'd timelapse the video and do a voice over for her fans.

Sure, her team would come in to ask questions and get some help, but those were usually easy answers. It seemed like the universe was giving her an easy day, which was a nice difference.

As for Adrien, it was a little different. Ever since he decided on the rebrand of Agreste Fashion to Emilie's, Adrien and his marketing and branding team had been working around the clock to get everything switched over. There were new logos that had to be made, followed by a new look for the website, business cards for everyone employed, and coming up with the perfect tags for clothing. To say it was stressful was an understatement, and they had planned to release the rebrand fully in a week.

It had already been a few weeks of working on the rebrand, and it was taking longer than anyone expected. Though stressful, they were very excited for Agreste Fashion to change and evolve.

Plagg had gotten bored of listening to Adrien talk about the perfect font and flew through floors and walls to get to Marinette's office. She always had extra cheese in her lunch bag (and it was unguarded, unlike Adrien, who likes to pace Plagg). Plus, Plagg enjoyed talking to Tikki and watching Marinette work when she was focused.

Plagg flew through the wall with a big smile. "Hi, Marinette!" He said and flew past her to land on her desk to sit next to Tikki.

"Hello, Plagg," She greeted, "Get tired of Adrien?"

"He was driving me crazy, asking me which font looked better. If it's not camembert, I don't care!" He crossed his arms, then got up to go find the cheese he was thinking of.

Marinette chuckled and turned away from her work for a second. "At least he's asking you, and he's taking this thing seriously. I swear, he's never thought about fonts more before this," She said.

"I'm proud of him," Tikki said, "Even though Plagg is bored of it, I love the changes Adrien is making. It will fit the company much better," Tikki added.

"I agree; it's going to be a great look," She said and stepped back to look at her work. It was getting to where she wanted it to be, though there were always changes she could make. She was excited to be recording a process, as it has been a while, and was looking for something new to post to her fashion channel. Sure, every so often, she could post things about unfinished projects, or after lines were launched, but there wasn't too much she could do.

On her second channel, though, she was more active. Not as much as she used to be, but there were still things she enjoyed posting there. She and Adrien played a lot of video games, and whenever she saw Alya, they tried to do something fun. Outings, games, storytimes, they always had fun creating videos. One time, they got Adrien to work at the hotel with Chloé for one of the fan's favorite series, and it was determined he could not do that job.

"See, I think it will be good. It's just such a boring process," Plagg complained as he ate his cheese.

Marinette shook her head at him. "I know, it can be a lot of work to sit and listen to Adrien figure things out," She joked. "Give him a break and let him just talk it out; he'll get through it all eventually," She reminded Plagg. Before she could get too much more work done, there was a knock at her office door.

"Good afternoon, Marinette. Would you mind coming to see our sketches for approval?" Two of her team members asked. She was the team lead; she had to approve of everything for her lines and work.

"Of course," She smiled and paused the recording on her camera. "Tikki, don't let Plagg eat it all. Save some for dinner!" Marinette warned as she walked out of her office.

---

Adrien was exhausted. He liked to be out of the office at a decent time, but he was still there later than he wanted to be with so much going on. Finally, he forced himself to close out of his document and head home. Surely, Marinette was already home and waiting for him.

His thoughts were wrong as he walked through the central part of the office and spotted her light still on. With a sigh, he shook his head and headed to greet her. Adrien knocked on the door, but she didn't look up. Adrien pushed the door in slowly. "Marinette," He said, making her jump slightly.

"Oh, hey, Adrien!" She smiled, "I'm still working on my video; you heading out?" She asked.

"I am, and so are you," He walked over and stopped the recording. "It's getting late; let's grab a late-night snack and get some sleep," Adrien said.

Marinette gave in much easier than last time, as much as she wished she could keep working. If it weren't for Adrien, she would probably spend all night working on her designs and mockups. "Alright, what snack are you thinking?" She smirked.

The Kwamis quickly flew to their respectful spots in bags as Adrien and Marinette locked up the office. As Marinette began to walk to her car, Adrien grabbed her hand to stop her. "Let's walk to that place around the corner. It's a nice night, and I think we both could use some fresh air," Adrien said.

"Good idea, Adrien," Marinette replied, and the two of them walked in the opposite direction of their cars. Though it was dark, Adrien was right about it being a nice night, and they both definitely needed to walk and smell the air. Since they don't run around on rooftops anymore, they could use the breaks.

As they rounded the corner, Marinette fell behind as she heard something hit the ground, assuming it was something from her purse.

She glanced down and realized it was not hers, and decided to keep on walking. But before she could get too far, someone grabbed her arm. "Ah!" She yelled.

Adrien's head shot around fast enough to give him whiplash. "Mari!" He started to walk towards her, but someone grabbed him too, preventing him from getting any closer.

---

@lady-of-the-roses-and-lilies @bookishserendipity03 @avatheexceed @gkz10 @coccinellegirl @kat-thatoneweirdo @strawberryblondish @snow-swordswoman @lilgaga98 @evufries  @toodaloo-kangaroo 

[neon-sparrows]

Prompt: A post - series, not - dead Jay Merrick accidentally stumbles over something new for his obsessive brain to obsess over that WON'T ruin his life. Too little, too late, maybe, and he sure isn't setting down the camera anytime soon, but eh. ( "Gee, Jay! How come your mom lets you have TWO intense, life-consuming interests? " )

i had to think on what kind of stuff jay would like to focus on and settled on something that i guess might be a little stupid but when the operator infection is still making it impossible for you to live a normal life i guess you just gotta find ways to settlegod i love jay merricksend me your requests! | my ko-fi

There's a little patio on the outside of his apartment. Jay chose it for that exact reason: it is very open, very minimal in regards to how many corners and doorways there are, and there's a tiny patio attached to the sliding glass doors in the living room. It's enough sunlight for his purposes without completely destroying any shot he wants to get, and he prefers it that way.

When he wakes up in the morning, every morning, he's settled into this routine; his alarm goes off. He wakes up, grounds himself in the moment and moves tenderly, because some days the wound in his stomach still hurts, and checks his phone. It's mostly to turn off the alarm, but it's also to text Tim and ask him when he'll be home that evening, because Tim is gone for work most of the time by then-- he doesn't get a reply right away, but it's a clockwork routine, and Jay likes his routines.

He gets up and showers. He makes himself breakfast and takes the medicine. And then he fills up his watering can, picks a tape out of the stack of empty ones in his room, and goes to the patio.

It's covered in plants. It had started out with just one flowerpot, but it's grown into a garden in the tiny space. The flowers still take up most of it, but he's managed to get a tomato plant going, too; he's as diligent as he can be about the right amount of water and sunlight and trying to keep the bugs and birds away.

He'll set the watering can down by the door when it's finished, and then stand up to check the camera.

It was mostly on a whim that he placed it there. He doesn't record himself as much as he used to because it proved overall to be more trouble than it was worth, and Tim always seemed uncomfortable about being on camera-- but he did have a lot of cameras, and had to find some kind of use for them. So he dedicated them to his plants. One of his sturdiest cameras is set up on a tripod in the corner, at an angle in the cramped space that will have as many of them as possible.

His goal is somewhat singular. He wants to watch his plants grow. Take the (probably a little over full) tape out of the camera that he put there the other day, replace it with the new one, label the old one with a date and put it in his pocket. It serves two purposes: he knows the time and place he was at on that day, he knows what day it is, and he gets to watch his plants grow.

The tape settles into his pocket well by his phone and Jay sits down in the center of the patio, cross-legged, and closes his eyes.

Breathe in, breathe out. His doctor showed him how, Tim helped him understand it better. It's a process. He has to remind himself that this whole thing is a process and he'll feel better eventually. The plants seem to fare better when recorded than he does.

He's planning to make a video someday. Multiple, if he gets his way. He wants to cut together a timelapse of his plants, from the time he and Tim planted them together to the time the flowers bloom and hopefully the tomato plant bears fruit. He doesn't plan to post it. He wants it for himself. A selfish, personal project.

His phone chirps in his pocket. Tim texting him back for the time he'll be home from work, like clockwork.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Someday they'll find a bigger house, probably. He's hoping. He likes his little patio garden, because when he's sat in the center of it like this, he's surrounded by sunlight and greenery. He feels warm and comfortable and safe. He'd like a bigger garden more than he wants a bigger house, something he can practically bury himself in should the mood strike. He wants to grow vegetables. He dreams sometimes about a proper vegetable garden, tomatoes joined with peppers and zucchini and cucumbers, maybe watermelon if he could really figure it out and they had the space-- these dreams are punctuated with dread regardless, but he's learned to ignore it. He wants a garden of flowers because he thinks he'd like to learn how to put a bouquet together someday. It seems interesting. It seems worth doing.

He feels cold in the sunlight still, but he's ignoring it well enough. Breathe in,  breathe out. Be calm. Jay tilts his head back and keeps his eyes closed, feels the sunlight on his cheeks. He keeps meaning to buy some books. Books on gardening and plants as a whole. Internet research was fun and all, but he likes the idea of sitting out here among the greenery or in his idealized flower garden and reading about what surrounded him and feeling good about it, instead of-- instead of--

His phone chirps again. He doesn't take it out of his pocket yet because he knows it's only Tim, or Jessica, checking in with him. And he's okay with that, but also knows that they know sometimes he just wants to know he's alone.

He rubs his thumb into his bare ankle and focuses in on the sunlight again. He's looking forward to seeing the flowers bloom on the tapes. He hasn't looked yet at the labeled stack tucked into the drawer in his desk, because he's not ready yet. Jay figures that's okay. He assumes he's alright to take his time. He has no intention of rushing it, anyway.

Plants need time to grow.

Jay inhales deeply, and sighs through his nose as his head tips forward.

[folerdetdufoler]

Hahaha yes I meant Monday’s... I was just rereading the last update and got curious

ah! okay, SO.

this summer has been really nice, what with isak’s schedule and how they’ve stuck to their budget. they’ve put a lot of effort into shopping for groceries and cooking at home, and even looks up recipes whenever he needs to take a break from editing. those nights are fun when they can just hang out in the kitchen in their pajamas, going through one of even’s playlists, and not really caring about the mess they’ll have to clean up later. the food is good because it’s cheap, but more importantly because making it was good.

and that saved them some money to put toward small adventures. sometimes it was just a night at the club with eskild (though when is that ever just a night at the club?), indulging in overpriced drinks and sweating them out just as fast. or a quiet night, just themselves, at a nice restaurant where they had to don suits and sit close so they could see each other in the dim lighting. but they also did slightly wacky things because even would get ideas from his photoshoots. he’d get inspiration from couples, following them as they recreated first date for their engagement announcements, or whatever cute scenes they wanted for b-roll in a wedding video. they went to a 50s americana diner and shared a strawberry milkshake. they strolled through the park and imitated the statues, posing like the shapes of the public art. they went to see bad movies and isak tried to distract even from his complaints by making them sit in the back and kissing him silly. they took boat tours around the fjords and stood at the edge and even hummed céline dion into his ear. they sat at the top of the opera house and talked while even recorded a timelapse of the sun setting. they went paintballing with the boys, and to make up for all of the bruises even got, isak gave him some more. even took him on another camping trip with his video team, which isak tolerated because they were just camping, not hiking. he learned how to crash a drone. they rented a cabin up north and disconnected for the weekend. they came back to an aggressive number of texts from eva asking how the sex was. they got a private room at karaoke and even sang all of the love songs he knew by heart, ignoring the screen and just watching the music on isak’s face.

they’d also do the regular stuff we’ve seen: long days under the sun at the pool, working on their flips and tans. spending every monday afternoon with helene at the cafe. playdates with emir were fun because it brought out an even sillier side to both of them. sana always walked away with an excellent portrait, a perfectly selected picture of her growing son, too.

even was great at documenting most of it. isak was featured on his instagram quite often, but he still kept up his theme and standards. he didn’t flood people’s feeds with annoying couple stuff, but he still caught the light glittering off the water, illuminating the breathtaking view right beyond their tent flap, crossing isak’s face as he sucked thick ice cream through straw. that’s what made their friends jealous: knowing they were having a good time and looking so fucking beautiful while they were doing it. they wanted to join in on the dates if only so even would take a picture of them too. isak and even weren’t amazing cooks, but folks still jumped at invitations to join them for dinner at their apartment because that one photo of a pepper mid-chop on the counter made their mouths water. they hosted isak’s parents and even snapped a gorgeous family photo of them casually chatting on the couch, isak and his mom sitting close, with his dad leaning over them from the back. he turned the little moments into grand events, and found the important details that stood out on their adventures.

they have fun no matter what they’re doing, and then later on in bed they get to swipe through even’s camera roll and relive it all.

[offgridthegame]

Off Grid Development blog 8.11.2017 - Changing Times!

The times-they-are-a-changin.’  New horizons, a shake up, big things happening - this has been a heck of a sprint!

Blocktober

Completely unaware of our social media surroundings, Rich managed to spend a good portion of this sprint during October whiteboxing and completely miss the whiteboxing trend on Twitter that was #Blocktober! Nothing nearly as fancy as the timelapsed art passes from the Naughtly Dog team on how they constructed key hero sequences in the latest Uncharted, but we do have a new building for the intro scene in the player’s apartment. If you haven’t seen this yet at a demo I won’t give away any spoilers, but this level is where your hacking journey begins!

Indies Unplayed

We were extremely fortunate to be asked along to Indies Unplayed at Secret Weapon Loading Bar in Stratford. It’s always great to show the game and get player feedback. Many thanks to Lauren Francis for having us along, it was a very cool little event and we had some really inspiring titles along side us. Below you can see a player learning the setup to our hero’s story in the intro cutscene we are currently making playable.

We got to play some fun new indie games and catch up with some old friends too, including old chum Tim Constant, who we last saw at Nottingham Gamecity in 2013!!!

Tim is working on a very cool dystopian job sim.  It’s a #PapersPlease-like game, where you play an immigrant bouncer in a post-Brexit apocalypse:

‘Settings’ it up

It’s been quite short and quick sprint, so there are no new amazing game features to talk about from Pontus. But as promised, our settings system has now evolved from a bunch of background systems and code into an actual menu. With some actual settings you can adjust!

The graphics will definitely need more work, but the plan is to fill in more options and then do a second pass on the artwork and layout to make sure everything works well with the content. For now, everything is functional at least.

Web work

Apart from that, things were polished up in the web side, with some imrpovements and additions to our wiki and to automate our newsletter. That’s going to make our life easier, and hopefully also help any players/modders to find the right Lua API and instructions for how to set things up in LevelKit in the future. I would say “go and check it out” but there’s not really much interesting things in the wiki yet, at least unless you are one of the lucky ones who have access to our builds and the LevelKit already. In which case, you of course should go and check it out to get you started testing how to create your own content for the game!

No funny bugs fixed by Pontus this sprint, and no interesting game design work either. But there definitely will be next time, he’s already spent the past few days with XMind open for plotting some pretty big changes for the game…

Mod testing

This sprint Josh, our modding and level design intern, challenged himself to build a level using the modding tools. The aim was to learn how to build a typical level with a focus on the Lua scripting side of things rather than art, and then take those learnings and see where he could fill in the gaps on the wiki that he found wanting.

We’ll let him tell you a bit more himself though:

“So I started out by blocking out the map that I wanted to create. Once I had the basic level that I was happy with I got stuck in with the Lua scripting with which I managed to learn a great deal upon completion of the level.

One of my favourite parts of creating the mod was the conversations, as it was super simple to create but also great fun generating branching dialogue between characters.            Following this, I began work on a guide to building a level mod which has been added to the wiki.This is something that I felt would be important for potential modders to have to help make the modding experience more accessible.

This also resulted in a few new pages being created to explain some sections not covered on the wiki yet, such as the ability to add characters to your level. This is a very exciting and interesting feature which will allow you to create many gameplay elements, from conversations to patrolling guards.

I also had the pleasure of testing the new ability to upload mods to the steam workshop using the Level-kit tools.

Shortly after that it was decided that we should create a mod level that people can download that would demonstrate some of the pre-made devices that any modder can essentially drag and drop into their own mod. It will also be playable which I will turn into an interactive tutorial of how these devices were made to help new modders create their own from scratch.”

Farewell Harry

Harry had his last sprint with us this month as he is moving to join the development team at Unity, but we made sure he had time to part with a gift for any of our followers who are devs interested in making their games moddable too.

In his time on the team, Harry's done great work pushing modding in Unity 3d, and so we’ve open sourced his work on the Lua framework that makes Off Grid moddable, enjoy!

https://github.com/Semaeopus/Unity-Lua

Out with the New in with the Old ;)

And with our youngest team member Harry heading to Unity we have gained the wonderful Steve Allen in his place. Steve comes with a bundle of  AAA and Indie experience, so much so that he qualifies for ‘industry veteran’ status, and we are pumped to have him aboard the good ship Semaeopus. I’ll stop rambling and let him introduce himself though:

Hello! I’m new here. I’ve joined the Off Grid team as a programmer, though will no doubt stick my nose in elsewhere. I’ve been programming games for, well, rather a long time, and am really excited to be part of the project. There’s lots of interesting stuff that still needs to be done and it’s already been a welcome change from the larger, corporate games I’ve been working on over the last few years. And who knows, next time I write one of these updates I might have done some work! - Steve

You’ll hear a lot more from Steve in the coming sprints, he’s already made good strides into impletmenting and extending new features in the Lua API for modders to play with, so watch this space!

Fixes and additions

Harry’s last couple of weeks were also a great opportunity for us to dig into some of the bugs in our backlog that haven’t been top priority, but would be welcome fixes with a little effort. We had a fantastic flurry of small fixes from the team, with Harry leading the charge.

Main game:

Messaging with CryptoChat

We setup a small notification to say that a character is typeing while you are waiting for them to respond to you in a conversation. It’s essentially a ‘Smedley is typing’ animation much like you’d see when using a messaging app like whatsapp or imessage.

We also and fixed the pause time between messages, which just needed a little finessing to feel more real.

And most importantly, we set up ‘B’ to skip single messages instead of all of the incoming messages from another character.

Include Mods in use, in save games

We now have save games recording what mods you have subsribed to so you can progress with your mods intact!

Saving NFC

NFC data is now being saved correctly.

Trailer video

We fixed a strange long wait at the end of our trailer that had been bugging us.

Player Phone

We fixed a bug to do with interactions when the player phone didn't appear when doing swipe interaction or scanning things.

Stuck Running

We had a somewhat funny but awkward bug in our animation state machine where the player can get stuck if you were crawling and spammed the run button while getting up - the player would get stuck runnning in circles!  That is now fixed ;)

Look around you

The player character’s look-at IK needed more restriction on target height so that you didnt look at interesting objects on the floors above or below you.

Invisible walls and soft bathroom sinks

Lots of missing colliders were fixed.

LevelKit:

UV Warning

We updated asset importer post processing script to warn about missing normals and UVs on new models. This means as you are modding and making new geometry, the LevelKit tool will tell you if it is missing anything that could cause a later error.

Mod Content structure

We re-structured level directories so that the content a modder makes is in a neater structure.

Non Steam works / DRM free mod exports

Added Export as Zip option to build tab so that you can upload your mod anywhere for anyone (with a copy of the game) to try it out.

That’s all folks

Lots of big things happening so we’ll look forward to catching you next time.

Pontus, Rich, Sarah, Steve & Josh

[kindlecomparedinfo]

DJI Mavic Mini Review

The $399 Mavic Mini lives in a sweet spot of core features and a low price. It packs everything critical to be a quality drone. It has a good camera, good range, and a good controller. It holds up well in the wind and is quick enough to be fun. And it’s so small that you’re more likely to throw it in your bag and take it on Instagram adventures.

The small size is the Mavic Mini’s main selling point. It weighs 249 grams, and that odd number isn’t an accident. Drones that weight 250 grams and above have to be registered to fly. And yet, even though the Mavic Mini is lightweight and foldable, it’s packed with core features: 30 minute flight time, 4 km HD video transmission, 3-axis gimbal holding a 2.7K camera, and a physical controller that works with Android and iOS devices. At $399, it’s a lot of drone for the money even though it’s missing features found in DJI’s other drones.

There are more expensive drones packed with a lot of features. I own most of those drones. They’re fun, but several years ago, feature creep started sneaking into DJI’s products. Now, with a convoluted product line, a spreadsheet is needed to deceiver DJI’s drones. Most come loaded with countless features owners will likely never use. The Mavic Mini is something different. It’s basic, and I dig it.

Here’s what’s missing: collision detection, ultra-long-range connection, 4k camera, gesture control, and advanced camera features like trackable follow, panoramic, timelapse, and optical zoom.

The Mavic Mini is quick enough to be fun, but it won’t win any races. It’s responsive and fast enough. Light and easy. Compared to a Mavic 2, it feels smaller and less powerful — because it is — and yet it never feels too small or underpowered. The Mavic Mini is well balanced, and owners should find it enjoyable to fly.

Despite its tiny size, the Mavic Mini holds up well in high wind. I took it up to 200m on a windy fall day in the Midwest. The wind was clearing leaves off the trees, and I was bundled up in hat and gloves. It was gusty. The Mavic Mini didn’t care. It took off like a drone much larger and stood tall against the wind. What’s more, the video didn’t suffer. The gimbal held the camera steady as it recorded the autumn landscape.

The drone uses DJI’s new app, and I’m using a beta version to test the drone. Called DJI Fly, it’s a streamlined version of DJI Go and packs several enhancements. Safe fly zones are better integrated into the app and have an additional level of detail over the older app. DJI also better built-in support for its social community app, SkyPixel. However, as this version is streamlined, it lacks a lot of information standard on the Go version, most notable, a mini-map in the bottom corner of the screen. I’m hoping DJI adds more features to this app after it launches.

[gallery ids="1907926,1907927,1907929,1907932,1907930,1907931"]

The camera is good for the price. The pictures here were taken from the drone and not altered or adjusted. They were taken on cloudy and sunny days. The range is surprisingly good as the drone can capture blue skies and dark highlights. Occasionally in direct sunlight, the camera colors become washed out.

They say the best camera is the one you have with you. That’s where the Mavic Mini comes in. The best drone is the one you have with you. For years, I lugged around a massive Pelican case containing Phantom 2 and later a Phantom 3. I thought I was the coolest. At a moment’s notice, I could go to my car’s trunk and retrieve a suitcase containing a flying camera. A few minutes later, after my phone synced to the drone, and the controller joined the drone’s network, I had 15 minutes of flight time. Then came the foldable Mavic, which fit alongside my camera gear like a large telephoto lens. Other drones came and went. I liked the GoPro Karma for a time.

The tiny Mavic Mini is a game-changer. It’s small enough that I’ll bring it everywhere. It’s small and light enough that it feels like a large point and shoot in my computer bag.

Want more features and a better camera but keep the portable size? Earlier this year DJI announced the $919 foldable Mavic Air that has a 4k camera and 5 mile video transmission.

The Mavic Mini gets everything right. It’s small, comes with a lovely case, and in a $499 bundle, two extra batteries with a clever charging pack. The camera is surprisingly good though admittedly less powerful than DJI’s more expensive drones. The Mavic Mini is the perfect drone for a first-timer or experienced drone enthusiast. DJI stuff enough features into the 249 gram body to make this a fantastic drone for anyone.

[gallery ids="1907939,1907948,1907954,1907968,1907942,1907934,1907935,1907941"]

DJI Mavic Mini announcement

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8176395 https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/04/dji-mavic-mini-review-tiny-powerful-and-the-perfect-drone-for-anyone/ via http://www.kindlecompared.com/kindle-comparison/

[un-enfant-immature]

DJI Mavic Mini Review: Tiny, powerful and the perfect drone for anyone

The $399 Mavic Mini lives in a sweet spot of core features and a low price. It packs everything critical to be a quality drone. It has a good camera, good range, and a good controller. It holds up well in the wind and is quick enough to be fun. And it’s so small that you’re more likely to throw it in your bag and take it on Instagram adventures.

The small size is the Mavic Mini’s main selling point. It weighs 249 grams, and that odd number isn’t an accident. Drones that weight 250 grams and above have to be registered to fly. And yet, even though the Mavic Mini is lightweight and foldable, it’s packed with core features: 30 minute flight time, 4 km HD video transmission, 3-axis gimbal holding a 2.7K camera, and a physical controller that works with Android and iOS devices. At $399, it’s a lot of drone for the money even though it’s missing features found in DJI’s other drones.

There are more expensive drones packed with a lot of features. I own most of those drones. They’re fun, but several years ago, feature creep started sneaking into DJI’s products. Now, with a convoluted product line, a spreadsheet is needed to deceiver DJI’s drones. Most come loaded with countless features owners will likely never use. The Mavic Mini is something different. It’s basic, and I dig it.

Here’s what’s missing: collision detection, ultra-long-range connection, 4k camera, gesture control, and advanced camera features like trackable follow, panoramic, timelapse, and optical zoom.

The Mavic Mini is quick enough to be fun, but it won’t win any races. It’s responsive and fast enough. Light and easy. Compared to a Mavic 2, it feels smaller and less powerful — because it is — and yet it never feels too small or underpowered. The Mavic Mini is well balanced, and owners should find it enjoyable to fly.

Despite its tiny size, the Mavic Mini holds up well in high wind. I took it up to 200m on a windy fall day in the Midwest. The wind was clearing leaves off the trees, and I was bundled up in hat and gloves. It was gusty. The Mavic Mini didn’t care. It took off like a drone much larger and stood tall against the wind. What’s more, the video didn’t suffer. The gimbal held the camera steady as it recorded the autumn landscape.

The drone uses DJI’s new app, and I’m using a beta version to test the drone. Called DJI Fly, it’s a streamlined version of DJI Go and packs several enhancements. Safe fly zones are better integrated into the app and have an additional level of detail over the older app. DJI also better built-in support for its social community app, SkyPixel. However, as this version is streamlined, it lacks a lot of information standard on the Go version, most notable, a mini-map in the bottom corner of the screen. I’m hoping DJI adds more features to this app after it launches.

[gallery ids="1907926,1907927,1907929,1907932,1907930,1907931"]

The camera is good for the price. The pictures here were taken from the drone and not altered or adjusted. They were taken on cloudy and sunny days. The range is surprisingly good as the drone can capture blue skies and dark highlights. Occasionally in direct sunlight, the camera colors become washed out.

They say the best camera is the one you have with you. That’s where the Mavic Mini comes in. The best drone is the one you have with you. For years, I lugged around a massive Pelican case containing Phantom 2 and later a Phantom 3. I thought I was the coolest. At a moment’s notice, I could go to my car’s trunk and retrieve a suitcase containing a flying camera. A few minutes later, after my phone synced to the drone, and the controller joined the drone’s network, I had 15 minutes of flight time. Then came the foldable Mavic, which fit alongside my camera gear like a large telephoto lens. Other drones came and went. I liked the GoPro Karma for a time.

The tiny Mavic Mini is a game-changer. It’s small enough that I’ll bring it everywhere. It’s small and light enough that it feels like a large point and shoot in my computer bag.

Want more features and a better camera but keep the portable size? Earlier this year DJI announced the $919 foldable Mavic Air that has a 4k camera and 5 mile video transmission.

The Mavic Mini gets everything right. It’s small, comes with a lovely case, and in a $499 bundle, two extra batteries with a clever charging pack. The camera is surprisingly good though admittedly less powerful than DJI’s more expensive drones. The Mavic Mini is the perfect drone for a first-timer or experienced drone enthusiast. DJI stuff enough features into the 249 gram body to make this a fantastic drone for anyone.

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DJI Mavic Mini announcement