#i made the initial sketch of this 2 years ago.....

[dreamysuite]

Moon Rabbit on Earth

[afreakingdork]

Yeah, I'm not taking this sitting down. Man, I really am not trying to have beef out here, but I refuse to have my good fucking name tarnished. To make a public post about me? Yeah, I'm going to share my side. The facts are as such:

I approached wolf on 12/20/23 about a NSFW commission inspired by one of their works. It would feature my sona and an aged up Donnie. As they mentioned, our initial conversation was good. We went back and forth during the sketch phase and I requested quite a lot of edits. I asked if I could pay them for these corrections.

it was right after this that wolf asked about Donnie's battle shell since it wasn't illustrated.

After this message, I did not hear back from wolf after 2/9/24 until I sent them a follow-up message 3/27/24

I did not hear back from wolf until today 5/6/24.

Now I cannot share the images of the art I received because it is NSFW, but I can tell you that the grey from my sona's body appeared to be missing. The ears of my sona were grey, but the body only looked yellow. Donnie was missing his purple arm marks, and his knee pads were still the same only now they were colored in black along with his mask. From here I will just send the conversation in its entirety.

For reference, this was the reference sheet they had.

I was then sent two pieces where the grey on my sona was very obvious and Donnie's markings were now present with the following text.

Now again, I wish I could show you the pieces, but I can't. I was offered a 50% refund for my troubles, but I was not interested in taking it because wolf had already done all the work.

I will say that I was extremely frustrated with the whole affair so the next part I will admit was a bit salty because while corrections had been made, I wasn't able to give any input so there were still mistakes in my sona's colors (specifically the underside of the tail was yellow instead of white and my grey arm had one side yellow) and Donnie's mask was still black. The following is our last correspondence on my blog.

This would have been the end of it for me. Except, I did not get the email. I waited in hopes it would come in, but none did. Since I was blocked I was forced to reach out from one of my side blogs @thisgoesouttoyoubaby which feel free to check. it's my reblog sideblog that I use to send my bestie memes. It dates back YEARS and is not used for spam.

As you can see I was blocked here.

Now I have been refreshing my email feed waiting. I know emails can take time, but I have no way to confirm if I'm getting my work because I was immediately blocked on thisgoesouttoyou with no response.

So I used another sideblog, this time @plowingon which you can again, freely search, its not a spam blog, but a blog I once made to record the live of my old german shepherd I had years ago when he was getting older.

And wouldn't you know it, I got my first email from wolf at

Coincidentally, only after I sent my last message to them.

Now I'm not interested in hurting wolf's reputation. I think you should still commission them if you'd like. I still am a fan of their art. I have no ill will, but fuck if I will stand by as someone tells me that I won't pay an artist. I never even said i wouldn't pay. I was just frustrated because they wouldn't follow their own three correction rule. They allowed me no recourse, and then they were petty before I could even confirm that I received the email.

Could I have been nicer?

Of course.

Could I have been more clear?

Absolutely.

But there is no world in which I tried to gaslight anyone. I pride myself on my honesty. I was not shy when paying them. I sent payment before we even began. I offered to pay them more and acknowledged I was a needy customer halfway through. So I apologize for this long post, but I wanted to make sure all of this was visible because how dare you call me a scammer, wolf.

You disappoint me.

[srarlight]

Finally got to show off Gourami's glamor form recently! She's the cursed Arch Fae steering the show with my 2 in one player character. Sadly she's still very cursed to remain as a small school of little boring fish on a treant's back, but with the help of Maggie, they were able to conjure illusions to use to talk to a group of fish folk that have been struggling to be a unified force lately. It's getting really important that they get their act together. A world set to have an Armageddon sometime soon and all that, so maybe hearing from one of their goddesses that has been missing for near a century, would help light some fires.

As for the design! I had help from my friend mainframe110 several years ago with her initial look. I told him I'd like her to be mostly inanimate looking, being made of coral that eventually gives out to shaped water that houses the fish that also make up her entire being, since she is a kind of hive mind. It's only since like march 2022 I started trying to learn how to draw people but I've been getting the hang of some things! I was able to finalize the design by that point from his initial sketch, getting her body shape and little details in order! I'm happy to have her look out!

[canaidliafail]

stay grounded pt.3

streamer abby x streamer reader 🌿

[ part 1 ] [ part 2 ] [part 4]

MDI. Things get spicy here <3

not proof read // will check for mistakes later tonight <33

Your favorite class aside from sewing, was without a doubt art classes. First two hours you did still nature with charcoals or pencils and the other two you would draw modeling figures and practice on how you could translate the fabric type you intended on using in your sketch.

You were good at drawing. It came naturally to you and your teachers questioned how did you end up in fashion design and not art college. You were his favorite.

But it had been a week since you saw a sign from Abby and everything was going to hell. Last post she made was a photo of her with Nora in cosplay which only accelerated your spiral. To be fair you hadn’t initiated contact either but that was neither here nor there

“Did you not have time to draw these days ? Your strokes are very messy…” Your teacher said hovering behind you and studying your piece. You would have screamed actually and then cried and then you decided then you would bomb the city

You gave him a curt smile “I had a rough week at work” He sighed in understanding and patted your shoulder “Ah so young and already having to balance all this. I understand its hard. You can take it easy today then” he said and half an hour later came back to give your sketch an empathetic look that looked like constipation.

At the end of the day you rolled up the papers with your pitiful sketches and shoved them in your bag crinkling the edges. You felt stupid for letting someone on the other end of the world affect your life that much. Hell it's been barely a month that she noticed you ( you refused to account for all the other times you tried to get her attention by sending bits or commenting on her chat a year ago and the occasional like left on a post that made it her -for you page- )

You were at the cafe across from your college building sitting on the bar counter in front of the large glass doors sipping on the overpriced cappuccino and biting the rim of your reusable cup.

She got me a ridiculously overpriced statue. That has to amount to something, no?

Then again she did mention to her it wasn’t that different from getting me a cup of coffee…

Your mind went in circles. Did Onlyfans pay her so well that she could mindlessly toss her money left and right? It wouldn’t be such a bizarre concept to be fair. She was after all at the peak of her career with girls begging to see so much as a collar bone. You nibbled on your lower lip fighting the temptation to see her page.

Did she post gym pics ? Did she post more than that?

You went to her page and tapped under her point at the link leading you to another site with all her links. At the very top, sat a square with the short description of

“18+”

You looked around you and tapped the button and waited for the page to load. Your cheeks flushed. Her banner cropped nicely above her collar bones and below her chest where she showed her arms that were the sole focus of the image.

Her profile photo was a dreadfully common gym pic taken on the dirty mirror near the treadmill section. So effortless yet straight to the point of who she was. She knew what her followers wanted, you included. The illusion that she was just your next door neighbour and this your private chat that turned raunchy at night. You hesitated around the subscribe button.

Crossing that line came at the average cost of 20.99 per month. You pulled out your credit card and went to make an undercover account and subscribe to her profile. Hell there was probably no chance of this ever going anywhere so there was no harm in you indulging in a little more and having something to look forward to after class, right? Right.

You took another sip of your coffee deluding yourself that this didn't cause your heartbeat to spike an unhealthy amount and blamed the shakiness of your hands to your drink

Subscribed for 1 month

Came the message and there was an automated response from her account in the mailbox.

I knew I’d find you here ;)

This cocky motherfucker. You clenched your cup and started scrolling your eyes widening in surprise. There were some posts behind a fat paywall starting at 50 euros going up to 100. You occasionally shrugged one shoulder at the more casual posts and then stopped at one particular image of her with a towel low on her hips, topless with the foggy mirror perfectly censoring your chest. You took a screenshot and decided to go light a candle at the local church next Sunday.

The next photo that stopped you and made you forget that breathing was a necessity was one where she was at the beach with grey cargo pants and a tight white top,sleeveless with a wide cut on her front. The white top ,most importantly, hugged her figure not because of an elastic fabric but because it was wet.

You had never seen more beautiful and well shaped tits. You hated how well it all came together and you hated that the wet top did nothing to hide her pierced perky nipples. Of course there were 389 comments below that pic all thirsty and all equally delighted at this new found discovery that Abby had piercings.

You shook your head and exited her page crestfallen and horny. What a powerful combination. Why did you ever even consider having a chance? You were no different from all the other fans flocking to her page and your reaction to those pics were no different than a mans. You crossed your arms and buried your head in the small dip between your body and hands, fighting back tears and thoughts. Reasonably you knew that Abby did not mind how her followers viewed her as you found her often responding to those comments with her very own bold and flirtatious way. You knew that and yet it was hard to undo years of shame for your nature and Abbys sudden radio silence didn't help

_____________

It was ready. You had never worked with so many materials for something so big before but you were proud to say that the knight armor you crafted was stunning and it was a perfect fit on you. With the release of a new game you Wanted to for once be on time with a costume to wear and take some photos. Besides, it was the least you could’ve done with the company giving you early access to the beta of the game a year ago and now sending you the collector's edition free of charge. You snapped a few pics in your bedroom which in itself was fitting of the whole romantic knight fairytale theme. You tried to film a few videos and tried to post on every platform you had and once you were done with that you tossed your phone aside and went to prepare the house for the weekly sleepover that you and your friend group had

Cassie: Hey babe sorry I’m late,Just go in the bus <333

Rick: Do we have the stuff ? Should I bring mine?

You checked a box near your makeup station and opened to see how much you had left. Definitely enough for 2 cigarettes

No need. I got it

June: Open the door shitface I've been buzzing for 10 minutes

Stay there and freeze to death

Came your response and lowered the volume of your music to realize that Indeed June was here. You leaped to your door and buzzed her in leaving the door open to go take off the armor. You tried not to get impatient and ruin it in the process of taking off every garment. The door slid open wider and then shut closed. June was huffing in pain and rested her hand in front of your bedroom watching you change in spite and anger.

“You hate us all and that's why you live in a place without an elevator”

“Nice to see you too” you said with a smile and she hopped over to your side to give you a quick and tight hug

“How are you doing?”

“Shitty but what's new. Someone has to entertain the group chat with their misery” June laughed and walked out of your room to the living room and plopped down on the couch tossing her bag on the floor and grabbing your controller to change the music and connect to her account. She let phone music fill the halls and got up again waiting for you to finish changing.

You quickly threw on a baggy pair of sweatpants and a crop top and walked out with her “So should we order coffee or a drink?”

“Way ahead of you, Cassie got us our usual already and she told me she is almost here”

Few minutes later the buzzer went off and in came Rick “That’s it. I’m giving up on love. She hates me. She absolutely hates me” Behind her Cassie followed with a cardboard containing all of your coffees yelling at her from the staircase all the way to your apartment

“Will you stop it?! She literally told you to meet tomorrow! TOMORROW!”

“Yes but her tone-“

“Her tone was neutral” Rick huffed out upset and went to sit in the living room

“I take it you have updates for us with your infinite crush?” Rick sulked and grabbed her phone to start reading out loud her latest conversation while occasionally laughing at her own jokes.These get-togethers started by happening once every two months to now happening almost every day as your friend group grew close and it always helped you feel lighter and more chipper. Your phone went off with a notification and you nearly screamed.

Staygrounded69: hey

“SHE texted me. Wow I really thought I was about to get ghosted for good”

Everyone snapped their head at you

“What are you waiting for then ? Answer!!” Cassie urged you on with an excited smile. You shot up and went to your kitchen needing to be away from the others as not to embarrass yourself any further

Whats up

You free to hang out for a game?

You hit your head on the table and groaned out loud. Your friends expressed a mess of concerned sentences all asking you in their own way what happened.

“SHe wants to call and play a game”

“GO FOR ITTTTT GO GET SUM GIRL” June screamed and you shook your head

“No I won't cave in that easy”

In the distance you heard Cassie tease “Sure that you won’t do, but having her Onlyfans pic as your lock screen is not above you” and you would have given her a jab on the ribs but decided against it and went type a response

I’m not alone.

Oh?

I have company tonight but we can still chat or something?

Unless you only wanted to play a game then we can hangout tomorrow…

It was embarrassing how desperate for her attention you were. She used at best 3 syllables and here you were meeting the word limit in a school essay. You saw the three dots appear and disappear as Abby considered her response. You leaned back on the stool and checked your nails,pressing at the skin around them mindlessly.

Works for me, how was your week?

She asked and you felt your heart beat loud in your chest and cold sweat run over you. You could not entirely grasp why her giving you the attention that you craved so badly made you so nauseous and so anxious but you brushed it off to you simply having a crush that intense

It was something. Classes were ridiculously slow

Right. You’re still in college ?

Last year but yeah..I study fashion design.You aren’t?

Oh no I still am. Which is why I still vanish. Classes are A true pain in the ass

You smiled,warmth spreading all over your body. You were pacing in the kitchen while exchanging back and forth meaningless info about your day and your general life. You were surprised to know she was the same age as you but that was about as many similarities as the two of you had but that did nothing to falter either interest in the conversation.

Oh Alice just came.

Give her a pat from me <3

And in came a photo. You opened it without hesitation and were quick to keep your finger pressed on the image processing what was in front of you. Alice was comfortably seated between Abbys thighs and her head was snuggly pressed on her leg looking up at the camera. Now whether Alice was in the image or not it didn't matter cause your eyes were stuck on the fact that Abby was only in a black pair of boxer briefs and she did nothing to divert the camera lens away from that fact.

Her arm was starched out patting Alice’s head, her veiny hand on display. You fixated on those long calloused fingers and you almost moaned just at the thought of what they could do.You hated that you couldn’t take a screenshot and cursed igs safety feature of showing the other party when someone did that. You exited the image and tried to think of an answer.

Damn. She is almost in frame

Don't blame me for your wandering eyes babe

You smacked your head on the table with a loud thud and it rumbled in protest,

“You alive cotton?!” Rick called out and the rest chuckled. You checked the time and noticed you had been talking with her for a good two hours at this point and despite wanting to continue the conversation you had to join your friends at some point

“Yeah gimme a few”

Shit You almost made me blush

Almost? Damn. Better luck next time

She said and you let out an awkward half laugh half sigh not believing what you were reading and how well this had gone. You bounced your leg in distress. You were beyond aroused by this attitude. Be it the photos, or her attempting to make a pass at you, you could feel the inevitable burn and ache in your core. You let out a scream and heard a glass fall and rick cough

“The hell?!”

“What happened?!”

“I’m gonna kick you for that what the fuck”

Came their voices in startled unison

Well Ill have to leave you high and dry. My friends are calling me

Go have fun. Talk to you tomorrow ?

Sure :)

They ran into the kitchen expectant and you let out a mumbled

“She said talk to you tomorrow”

You were sure you had lost 89% of your hearing capabilities from their cheerful screams.

____________

At precisely 4 am you decided to give up on sleep and left the living room trying to step around the bodies sleeping on the floor amongst the pillows and blankets going to your bedroom for some privacy. The ache was persistent and you had to do something about it. You locked the door and unlocked your phone going straight to Abbys Onlyfans. There was a message there

A video behind a paywall. A paywall of 250 euros with the caption “was thinking of you” and right below the video was a separate message

You closed your eyes the minute your fingers slipped and purchased the video. A video unlike anything else on her profile where she wore a sleeveless baggy t-shirt and the same boxer briefs you saw on that photo she sent you earlier that evening. She was sitting on her gaming chair with her legs spread and the camera was placed on the bottom cropping her face out. You watched as her fingers teased the waistband and in came her voice

Were you thinking of me?

It was lower, suggestive unlike how she usually talked. You pressed your thighs and pushed your back against the bedframe falling deeper between the pillows. Your hand laid comfortably on top of your tummy an inch away from the elastic band of your sweatpants. You circled the area hesitating to delve deeper but when you saw Abby initiate the notion by slipping her hand beneath her underwear you did the same, your body having a mind of its own.

Are you touching yourself for me baby?

She asked and you almost let out a breathless quiet “yes” but all that came out was a pathetic whimper. You mirrored her circular slow movements and hated how painfully slow she went about it and as if she knew exactly what you thought she added

Are you getting impatient ?

You bit your lip trying to hold back a moan. Her voice reeked of sex and the eroticism of her moves drove you insane. Your head was spinning and when you dared to outpace her you heard a very low breathless sigh come from the video and echo in your head. The video ended there and your eyes shot wide open in disbelief. You checked the time. It was a 3 minute video.

Fuck

You thought and closed the tab leading back to the chat on onlyfans. A new message was there

-Enjoyed it cotton?-

Fucking fuck

[furbygoblinxiv]

Ok now to be annoying about a completely different flavor of Zelda: That cartoon from the 80s that has aged so poorly I take psychic damage every time I watch it (which has been multiple times (I have problems)). A few months ago when rewatching and being sick of the Link's personality from the show (his best feature is how funny the "Well excuuuuse me, princess" line is) I was like "I wish the quiet kid from the games/art was here instead" and accidentally thought too hard and made an au/rewrite of the cartoon lmao.

Anyways Zelda cartoon au where cryptid boy Link saves the post apocalyptic Hyrule of loz 1 and chills in the castle with cartoon Zelda to defend the triforce pieces that they have while trying to find the last piece before Ganon can find it, stumbling across the sleeping loz 2 Zelda along the way lol. Hijinks ensue as he teaches Zelda the brawns to back up her girlboss and he gets an adventure buddy because its dangerous to go alone and Zelda with her boomerang and crossbow goes hard. I think a monster of the week style plot works for the earlier Zelda games, but an overarching plot could coexist with that since that is kinda how games work lol.

As per usual here are a bunch of slapdash barely related sketches of my ideas with my expanded thoughts below bc I think it'd be fun to share:

I look at the official art of Link being a quiet determined little dude with a backpack of tools and wish that that was represented more. Like look at him! What a guy! Imagine giving a quiet puzzle solving 14 year old a sword, lethal magical weapons, and a wasteland to explore! I would love a show about that! In terms of other characters, swap out that annoying fairy character, put in a Navi clone, at least Navi didn't have a crush on Link🤮. Ganon can stay the same so long as he was always a demon pig and was never a Gerudo man because unlike Nintendo, I do not want to imply that the only prominent man of color in the series has only one big braincell thats just screaming "EVIL" on loop. But! Keep Zelda the same, I love her so much in the cartoon, she's obnoxious in a slay girlboss way, maximum vibes. By virtue of not having a paper thin plot, most other characters that were fine get fixed by proxy.

I think plot wise? It takes place a few years after the first game. Initially, Link saved the royal family and they started rebuilding that area of Hyrule, and Link traveled around to help people. One day, Ganon's minions start making attacks on the castle to steal the triforce pieces back to revive him fully, and a Zelda who greatly admires Links steps up to defend the place. Eventually, Zelda requests Link return to help defend the castle while they search for the mysterious hidden third triforce piece in order to combine the full thing and wish for peace in Hyrule. Link agrees and the hyjinks begin.

IIRC the og Link backstory was that he was the son of the hyrulean queen and the elf king or smth? In the manga? I didn't want him to be hylian royalty but I wanted to keep that cryptid vibe, hence why I have him related instead to the great fairy and the kokiri. He just leaves the forest/cave one day with literally nothing to go save Hyrule, what a chad. I think it'd be funny if people describe Zelda as feral due to how boisterous and headstrong she is, especially out on the field, but Link is the quiet version of wild that you don't notice at first. She is openly intelligent and snarky in comparison to "says 3 lines a day, bombs first and asks questions later, explore under every rock and bush" forest kid Link.

It would be fun though if "rushes into danger" Zelda resonated more with the triforce of power and "solves dungeon puzzles for funsies" Link with the triforce of wisdom, then they both resonated with the triforce of courage upon finding it. idk tho lol

I also think two different young Zeldas coexisting with each other after one awoke from a cursed slumber would be really funny. Like that's gotta be so awkward, especially if one has the fighter girlboss slay up to 11 and the other just woke up from a coma to her family gone and her kingdom destroyed and just kinda wants to read books and drink tea in peace. Imagine being the same age or older than your great (great?) aunt. Or imagine if the old lady Impa nursemaid to Zelda 1 Zelda was the young Impa nursemaid to the Zelda 2 Zelda. Wild.

If I wasn't incapable of remembering to finish writing wips I'd write that series lol. Alas, this is all I can pull for now.

I'd love to call this propaganda to go watch the show but maybe don't because its yikes. This is moreso propaganda for someone to make a Zelda cartoon show instead of the movie that I sense Nintendo is plotting to make. Also, if you've read this far, I should mention I also will probably be posting art from some of my actual long term Zelda aus beyond just expanding on the cartoon, though I may continue to do that if my train of thought continues on these tracks.

[doamarierose-honoka]

Ten years ago, musician Usman Riaz grabbed a pencil and started to sketch.

He might have hoped, but didn't know at the time, that it would start him on a path to making history.

That initial drawing became The Glassworker - Pakistan's first ever hand-drawn animated feature film.

It follows the story of young Vincent and his father Tomas, who run a glass workshop, and a war that threatens to upend their lives.

Vincent's relationship with violinist Alliz, the daughter of a military colonel, begins to test the bond between father and son.

Usman tells BBC Asian Network the characters ultimately come to learn "that life is beautiful but fragile, like glass”.

He describes The Glassworker as an "anti-war film" set in an ambiguous and fantastical world that takes inspiration from his home country.

“I wanted to tackle issues and themes that would have been difficult to tackle if it was based in Pakistan," he says.

The country doesn't have the thriving film industry of neighbouring India and there is no government support or incentive for budding creatives like Usman.

So The Glassworker was a passion project, he says.

“These 10 years for me have just been purely driven with passion and obsession.

“Since I was a child, I have loved hand-drawn animation and there's something so magical about it.

"The beauty of the lines drawn and painted by the human hand always resonated with me.”

Usman says he travelled the world looking for mentors and his search took him to Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli.

The influence of the Oscar-winning artists behind classics such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke can be seen in The Glassworker's own style.

Usman says the industry veterans at Ghibli were also the ones who encouraged him to start the production himself.

After raising $116,000 through a 2016 crowdfunding campaign he founded his own studio, Mano Animations.

From there it's been a painstaking process, especially since full production started in 2019.

“What you are watching is essentially a moving painting,” says Usman.

“Every single frame you see, whether it's a background or the character moving, it's all drawn by hand.”

Usman says that, so far, he hasn't made any money from the project and has been unable to pay his wife Maryam and cousin Khizer, who he recruited to help him.

But there's hope that the labour of love could be the start of something bigger.

Usman Riaz says he's always been a fan of animation

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is another experienced industry figure Usman turned to for advice about getting The Glassworker off the ground.

She directed 3 Bahadur, a computer-generated tale that was Pakistan's first-ever animated feature film.

On its 2015 release it broke box office records, even surpassing US imports and dethroning previous record-holder Rio 2.

Her studio was also the country's first female-led animation studio, and she understands the challenges of getting started better than most.

“Everything in Pakistan is driven by passion” she says. “I had to run pillar to post.

“We're a country that has limited access to electricity and our industry is heavily taxed.

"We're unable to import computers and hardware needed for animation.”

But Sharmeen – who is going to direct upcoming Star Wars film New Jedi Order – says The Glassworker could be a “monumental step” for Pakistan’s animation scene.

If it finds commercial success, she believes it will “ignite” something in the country, but there are barriers to home-grown animation becoming a red-hot trend.

The Glassworker is partly about the romance between characters Vincent and Alliz

Arafat Mazhar from Lahore-based Puffball animation agrees that “the technical skills are already there” in Pakistan despite there being “no formal training or schools available”.

But “how do you not censor yourself?” he asks.

It's a question facing any Pakistani filmmaker who has to deal with its strict board of film censors.

“Every time there's a good film that comes out that's sincere, the state ends up censoring it,” says Arafat.

He doesn't believe the rules are likely to relax soon.

Akira Toriyama: Fans reflect on Dragon Ball creator's legacy

Stranger Things season five teaser excites fans

Is Hollywood finally doing anime right?

Sharmeen agrees the government will only encourage the domestic film industry to grow if they work to "provide opportunity to create a level playing field for us to compete with the rest of the world".

“There is a lot of scope in Pakistan for animation," she says. "We've just never been given the opportunity to create it."

She shares Arafat's pessimism about the pace of change.

"Unfortunately, it will just be a few filmmakers who have that passion, who will continue to create films," she says.

But Sharmeen says she is eager to see how the world embraces The Glassworker.

"I know that there is so much in there that will touch people's hearts," she says.

Usman says The Glassworker has an anti-war message

Usman will finally get to find out how audiences react to the work he's spent 10 years pouring his energy into as The Glassworker goes on general release.

He says he hopes to “put Pakistan on the map” and show it can stand up to the giants across the border in Bollywood.

But he admits the process has been “gruelling”.

“It is extremely difficult, but we've done something nobody has ever done in the country before," he says.

"I think we've created something special that can stand toe-to-toe with the rest of the animation produced in the world.”

Listen to Ankur Desai's show on BBC Asian Network live from 15:00-18:00 Monday to Thursday - or listen back here.

[kenthenugget]

Dear Watcher....

This is going to be about the youtube channel Watcher and a recent video that they released earlier today, so if you dont watch the channel, or older content produced by Ryan, Shane and Steven at Buzzfeed, this is not going to make sense to you. This only going to be for those who are a fan of Watcher, or are fans of Buzzfeed Unsolved so if you are, that's great!

Earlier today, I got a video notifcation from the channel titled, "goodbye youtube", and it was definitely not something I wanted to see. There is a recent trend this year of youtubers retiring or taking a break this year and I was scared this was that scenario. And it kind of was but way worse. Basically, the guys over at Watcher are going to be posting on their new streaming service called....Watcher. And, no, it is not a late April Fools joke, that's actually what their doing. Initially, I was in a state of shock after I watched through the entire video. I, no joke, went through the 5 stages of grief upon viewing this announcement and was thrown through a loop to where I struggled to focus on sketching one of my comic pages. So much so that I actually made a deviant blog post about it the moment I finished watching the video (most of the content from this post will be copied and pasted from that blog so declaimer I guess). After having some time to absorb this information, I have to say that Im really disappointed with the guys over at Watcher. Like Im not mad to where Im completely done with their content but.......WHY!?

I think at this point in time that a lot of people, myself included, are burnout with the whole streaming boom we've had for the past 5 years in no part thanks to those greedy bastards at Disney....but thats another story. I miss the days when there were only 2 to 3 main streaming services and not 5 billion other services that you need to buy in order to watch a show you like that was on Netflix but it now locked behind a pay wall. Streaming services used by a novelty concept but are now not looked upon in the best light. So for the them to announce a streaming service now is definitely a bad look, especially because the content before was free to access. I feel like creators will always have an uphill battle when it comes to content that was initially free being locked behind a paywall, because you're potentially isolating your audience and bringing up the question of weather your audience if loyal enough to give you money to enjoy your content. Now, like I said, I love and respect the people at Watcher, but I dont know if I'm willing to take money out of my wallet to watch the next season of Ghost Files. Especially in this economy, where in some parts of the country a big mac now costs 20 fucking dollars, and with inflation going out of control.

Now its not like I don't understand why they're doing this. Ever since its founding in 2019, Watcher has always had troubles with money, with most of their shows not being profitable enough to make ends meet (I know that sounds bs because most of their vidoes get millions of views but this is coming from one of the founders Steven, in an update video from a while ago so idk, views probably mean jack shit in the grand scheme of things). And the fact that they started around the pandemic didn't help things either. Unlike Buzzfeed, Watcher is a much smaller company so any loss that happens is felt much more than if it was a larger one. In the video itself, they mentioned that most of their money came through youtube ads and sponsorships, which, while alright if you're an independent creator, may not be enough for a company. And then there's the fact that YouTube can remove or demonetize videos out of nowhere and for the dumbest reasons so its not a very stable sight to base your income off of. So I can understand why they felt moving on from YouTube was a good idea. But..........I think there were better ways of going about it than creating their own fucking streaming service. Like, in one of their update vidoes, they said most of their shows werent making ends meet so maybe cutting back on the production of said shows to make them not as expensive to produce would be a good solution. In their announcement vid, they talked about wanting to maintain their high production value for their shows without going under but (and I dont mean this to slight them) I dont think they understand why they popped off in the first place. For me, Im not watching Ghost Files or Mystery Files for high production value and fancy graphics, Im there for Ryan and Shane. Same reason I loved Buzzfeed Unsolved, which compared to those shows is much more bare bones. I get wanting to step up your production value from what you had at Buzzfeed but if you have budget out in certain places which would entail having a season that doesnt look as good as the previous season, that's completely fine. Im sure me and the rest of fans wouldn't have minded a downgrade because at the end of the day, the fancy sets and graphics are window dressing to why we're truly watching.

I also thinking letting us know ahead of time would've possibly softened the blow. Watcher is in a very interesting situation because there's a much closer relationship between them and their customer base as opposed to traditional companies. So they really could've been like "hey! We're thinking about having future content be on our own streaming service because doing business through YouTube is fucking us over. What do you guys think?". One explanation as to why they waited until now instead of a few months ago when this idea was sparked could've been because they knew they would get backlash and they were going ahead with the streaming service idea regardless of fan input, which might be the reason. But if that's the case, they probably would've had the comments and likes disabled from the start. Right before I started typing this, I checked the video to see if the comments were disabled and they are thankfully still there. Im someone who always wants to see the good in people (which is definitely a character flaw of mine and while defiently lead to me being at the end of an abusive relationship........another abusive relationship but lets not go there), so I think this might be the case of Ryan, Shane and Steven, thinking the streaming service was a good idea and not reading the room properly.

At this point, Im hoping that they dont do things that could make this situation 10 times worse: a) removing the existing content (Mystery Files, Puppet History, etc) off the youtube channel and having it on their streaming service. If you are going to have new seasons of those shows behind a paywall, at least have that content still up for those who want to support but cant purchase the service......b) respond to the critism in a negative way. I think things would be made worse if they lumped genuine fans who are concerned with the new direction with the trolls and haters, and double down on this new direction. Im hoping this situation ends up being a slip up that they can learn from and not being the beginning of the downfall of the Watcher gang. No joke, I think Ryan and Shane are the only youtubers who have avoided any sort of drama up to now. Youtubers I once respected over the years from Tobuscus to Leafyishere to H3H3 to Idubbz to even fucking Dream have all fell from grace in one way or another, and Im hoping the ghoul boys dont join that list....

[booksteaandtoomuchtv]

Witchy Woman (0.5/10)

AO3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

LOOK AT THIS STUNNING ARTWORK BY @cocohook38

Summary: When Emma came into her position as Storybrooke Coven Leader, she ended things with the powerful Vampire Overlord, Killian Jones. She’s spent over a decade working alongside him and ignoring the growing tension between them.

During his best mate’s wedding, Killian decides he is done waiting. He is ready to have his mate back in his arms (and bed) again. Emma is not an easy woman to woo, but Killian has never backed down from a challenge.

When Emma’s jilted ex-boyfriend returns to town and Emma goes missing, Killian will stop at nothing to get her back and ensure that nothing can ever separate them again.

Rating: E

CW: Mention of domestic abuse, blood and blood drinking (vampires), threatening situations, minor violence, death, mention of parental death

Entry for Captain Swan Supernatural Summer 2023 (@cssns)

Tagging: @kmomof4, @undercaffinatednightmare, @jrob64, @zaharadessert, @elfiola, @anmylica, @tiganasummertree, @stahlop, @xarandomdreamx, @teamhook

Author Notes: Some aspects of this are based on the Stay a Spell series by Juliette Cross. If you haven’t read them, the books are very fun paranormal romance novels that you can devour in a week and apparently keep thinking about them for a few years until you do a rewrite and make it your CSSNS fic. (For clarity: The storyline is new, but the relationship arc is loosely Ruben and Jules.) I hope everyone has had an incredible Captain Swan Supernatural Summer. It has been such a treat reading everyone's amazing stories and seeing all the lovely art.

I could not have written this without the cheering and support of @kmomof4 and many other ladies on the CSMM Discord. They continue to be the most encouraging group. I am always excited to share my silly words and little sketches with them.

A massive thank you to @ultraluckycatnd for her time, patience, and feedback. Beta-ing is always hard work. Beta-ing for a self-conscious tinkerer is all the more challenging. Thank you!

A tremendous thank you to @cocohook38 for the beautiful artwork. I have always adored your work and having something drawn by you that was ‘inspired’ by my silly words is a bit of a dream come true. (I squealed with utter delight upon seeing your initial sketches the first time. AMAZING!!) Thank you! <3 <3 <3

As always, a thank you is owed to my spouse for being "volunteered" to be the alpha-reader and writing partner for this fic and for bringing so many cups of hot tea and snack plates at odd hours.

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

Fifteen Years Ago…

Emma’s breath caught at the beauty of the vampire before her; the waves of his dark hair begged her to run her hands through it, his sharp jaw, framed by auburn stubble, was softened by a crooked smile that was melting her resolve. She didn’t think she would ever get used to the way just the sight of him affected her. It wouldn’t be a problem much longer.

They’d only been together for a few weeks, but Emma felt lost in the depth of the connection that she shared with Killian. He seemed to read her moods and her thoughts as naturally as breathing and she felt him as if he were an extension of her own heart and mind.

As she approached where he worked, she tucked those thoughts away.

When he looked up at her and cocked his head, eyebrow raised, she savoured the adoration and openness that she saw in his eyes. She wasn’t ready for him to stop looking at her as if she were the most incredible thing that had ever happened to him. Just rip off the band-aid, Emma.

His expression changed to one of concern as he took in her erratic heartbeat and the sour scent of stress radiating from her. “Swan?”

The gentleness of his voice and the worry in his tone made her eyes prickle. She held on tightly to the tears; she would not cry. Not yet.

“Killian, I can’t… we can’t…��� Her voice was stronger than she expected, but the words tore at the depths of her soul and shattered her heart. She took a breath and stored her heart away - the burning and ripping sensation too much to bear - before she continued. “We’re done.”

“Do I get a say in this?” Killian asked. The words were mild and light as if he were asking after their supper plans, but his eyes were narrowed- gauging the situation and seeking out alternate avenues.

Emma let out a humourless laugh. “It won’t change anything. We can’t be together.”

He stared at her for a long moment, before he replied. When he did speak, his voice was broken with emotion, “One day, Emma, you will have to open your heart for someone. If ever you are done playing the coward, I hope that you will find whatever it is that I couldn’t give you. And, I truly hope that you never feel even a quarter of the pain that I feel now.”

A storm of emotions flashed in his eyes, but he quickly hid it away beneath the calm and collected demeanour he had honed over the centuries of his long life. He kissed her gently on the forehead before he vanished into the evening.

Once he was too far for her to sense, her knees buckled and the ground rushed to catch her. His warm embrace was replaced by the damp grass soaking through her jeans. As her tears fell heavily down her face, she balled up against the sobs slamming through her. She was in too many pieces scattered about too effectively to ever be whole again.

[icedmetaltea]

I've been feeling discouraged about my art recently. Could you possibly give me some tips?

Ok I wanna preface this by saying I am by no means a professional or even "good" artist, BUT I shall try!

These are all tips by a digital artist so I can't help much when it comes to other forms

This got long so under the cut, 20 ART TIPS TIME LETS GOOO

1.Try to draw most days, or at least once a week. The more often the better BUT I don't mean like hardcore, a complex drawing every single day (recipe for burnout right there). I mean like even just 30 seconds of SOMETHING. You can draw shapes, maybe fill a page with circles. There are programs u can find online that give you like a min to sketch something and challenge yourself in a really short time frame. Guess what?? When you draw often you're building those neural pathways (I think) and the more you do it the easier it'll get

2. Don't obsess over making stuff look perfect on the first draft... or at all. I recommend making a "draft" layer or 2... or 3 over the initial sketch. The more you go over it and change stuff, the better it'll be. Also, If you spend hours on it and still hate it?? Who cares! You put in the work and now you have an idea out on paper that you can go over some time in the future and improve if you chose to.

3. DON'T DELETE STUFF!!! Unless it's literally just mindless scribbles, save everything you draw. Like I said, you can go over it again and improve it someday. You can also look back at it in like a year and compare your art to see where you've improved! I deleted all my old art from beyond like a year ago and regret it so much. Don't berate yourself for the stuff you need to work on, be proud of what improvements you've still made

USE REFERENCES!!!!!!! Please just do it, I know it's annoying but I promise it helps so so much

4. Invest drawing tablet, preferably one with buttons that you can map to undo, sketch, fill and such. This will make drawing sooooo much easier (and faster). My quality of art has improved just from drawing the same thing and redoing it like 20 times at a time, and it takes way less time when I can just click a button to do that. It might seem daunting at first but it quickly becomes instinctual. This is the one I got and I'm quite happy with it! It's got good sensitivity, a pen you don't have to replace batteries for or even recharge, and it's mid-range so not wayy too expensive. However, if you're just starting out, I'd recommend this (I got the corded version but I assume it's about the same) since it's small, cheap and you can focus on just learning basics like improving lines n such.

5. Use a bigger canvas size. I started out with 1000x1000, and that's still fine for smaller stuff and doodles, for better quality I recommend bigger sizes. If it's too small it'll look all weird and pixel-y

6. THERE ARE LITERALLY SO MANY FORMS OF ART, maybe the one you're trying just isn't something you vibe with! There's mosaics, digital, traditional (and all the many sub-categories of that), sculpture, photography, etc. All are equally valid and you will improve in your craft if you choose something that 1. you enjoy, 2. are consistent with it!

7. SEGEMENT OUT THE LIMBS drawing DCA stuff for over a year has helped me improve on anatomy sooo much literally just because it forced me to think of each part of a limb in terms of segments, shapes- for instance, instead of an upper arm, I think of a tube which connects to a circle that allows it to rotate and another tube... followed by a weird shape for a hand that connects 5 smaller tubes, whiCH ARE THEN SEPERATED IN TO 3 TUBES EACH. Yes it sounds confusing but breaking it down like that instead of just trying to figure things out helped an absolute shitton

8. Have some kinda hobby that makes you draw frequently. For instance I have a discord sona I draw a new pfp for every month or so. It's a simple design and since the pfp won't show many flaws I can pump out lots of art for it in a small timeframe and I find it relaxing. I've actually improved a shitton just drawing pfps This is one of my first pfps from maybe 2 yrs ago compared with one of my most recent ones

(yes I'm a bit of a furry deal with it) It's cute, there's nothing wrong at all with it! However, you can see how things have changed.

See how the lines are a lot more even, less jagged? The proportions of the shoulders are much wider, the ears aren't just popping out of the hair, the shading makes a bit more sense and isn't just thrown around at random. There's also a broader range of color, with a few bright highlights to catch the eye, colored shading I think as well. The former is just like 3 simple colors. These are all things I learned from drawing pfps consistently.

9. CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! And FUN, if you have fun drawing it'll be a lot easier to do frequently

10. Whether it's drawing pfps, blorbos or landscapes, find something that brings you joy and it'll be MUCH easier to stick to. Draw, draw a lot, do not worry about "good" art and "bad" art cause there's literally no such thing. Compare what you draw now with what you do in like a year or two from now and I promise, if you're consistent, use references and are patient, you WILL amaze yourself with how much you improve.

11. Challenge yourself! Join secret santas (assuming you know you can complete it within the allotted timeframe), draw your friends' sona/ocs (if they're cool with it), do palette challenges, do monthly stuff like drawtober or whatever it's called (BUT I don't recommend doing something every single day for a month cause again, gonna cause mega burnout)

12. Draw when the inspiration comes, it will move your hand. These days I make much better quality art that I'm proud of when I just let inspiration flow through me instead of begrudgingly making myself draw. You shouldn't be forcing yourself!! If you are, you probably are burned out by either drawing too much, feeling a lack of confidence or some other stuff going on irl. Inspiration comes naturally, and when it doesn't it's prolly your mind trying to communicate that something's up. If resting a week or two doesn't help, take a deeper look at your life and see if the artblock is a symptom of something else (for me it's most often depression).

13. At the same time, sometimes you just need to start. Kinda on the previous point of lacking confidence, often we scare ourselves out of even trying. It might feel insurmountable. Nah, try. If all you can do is a wobbly, vague sketch?? You got the idea out!! Start drawing fuckin eyeballs or something, just start. Sometimes the hardest part is just facing a blank canvas and putting a couple lines on it

14. Not all brushes are equal. Some just make drawing easier- at least for me. I dunno the science behind it but when I use my sketch brush (it's got a similar look to pencil) rather than my lineart brush it makes drawings just... look better. Also using thicker lines in general helps. Why?? NO CLUE, maybe thinner ones just show flaws easier or intersect better or something.

15. Music or some other distraction can help, idk why. Some days I like to have a movie/show/podcast going in the background for a mild distraction that keeps me slightly stimulated on other stuff even as I draw- maybe it increases brain activity or??? No idea. Sometimes just listening to music. Sometimes I need total silence. Do what works for you! Give lots of different stuff a try, you may love drawing while listening to a podcast in the background

16. Take breaks!! The pomodoro method works with art as well. Every 25 mins or so, take a 5 min break. Get up, stretch, get some water, maybe watch a yt vid. Call ur friend and tell them you love and cherish them. Then get back to it and you will feel oh so refreshed. After maybe 3 rounds take a 15 min or longer break and then repeat if you still feel like it

17. SLEEP IS INCREDIBLY FUCKING IMPORTANT you will see a deep decline in the quality of your art when you're tired, plus you just feel like shit and art is about feeling good and expressing yourself. Sleep is important, even tho yes I stay up too late drawing most nights, I do my absolute best to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night, as should you!!

18. DO NOT BE SCARED OF STICK FIGURES AND MESSY SKETCHES, they're actually the best way to start bc 1. it's a quick way to get an idea out before you forget it 2. the finished piece will actually look a lot more fluid since you weren't spending all that time obsessing over making the first draft look perfect- which often just makes it look stiff. You can do a whole lot with stick figures. Focus on that good ol' line of action.

19. Random but when drawing the face, I like to first make a circle and then like a "mask" over it for the actual face. For me it just makes sense. Then two lines, one up/down and one left, right, it'll make it easier to align the eyes and ears. In general, the ears usually go where the "mask" begins and just below the left/right line

20. Finally surround yourself with people who encourage you. I grew up in an environment where people would gawk at stuff my sibling drew and ignore me bc they were ~naturally talented~ and it made me not want to draw at all.

Well guess what?? Now that I spend time with people who encourage me and genuinely care about my interest in art I've improved a lot bc I have the motivation, the joy of showing ppl who care about me new pieces. If people in your life aren't encouraging you, or gods forbid insulting your art (excluding constructive criticism that you've explicitly asked for) then TOSS EM OVERBOARD THE BOAT OF LIFE and find people who will treat you with the love and respect you deserve

P.S

This isn't a tip, just a recommendation: Chicory, a colorful tale. It's a game where u play as a cute lil dog who gets a magical paintbrush that lets you color the world. The only issue? You have no ~talent~. My gods, this game struck a cord with me.

Feeling like you don't have any talents that come naturally to you. Being overlooked even when you try your best. Feeling like a complete joke when you try to pick up the brush (or in this case stylus) because there are so many "real" artists and you're not one of them.

Also the things people say and how they can affect you even when not intentional. Damn. It's just a beautiful game. It's made by the same people who made Wandersong, another absolute banger game with a character who is seen as a joke and I cannot recommend them enough.

bonus tip bc why the fuck not: OVERLAYS!!!!!!! In clip paint studio you have all these layer options, I can never memorize what they all do so I just make like an ombre color layer over my base colors and try all of them to see what looks cool

[celestialvexation-arch]

Idk if you're still talking about Alex Kiss-My-Asster, but tbh I've never been a huge fan of him in the first place. It isn't just because of the tweets he made that I've disagreed with, though.

This may just be a personal gripe to me, but in TMC, Alex uses actual police sketches in the series. There's only two that I'm actually aware of: the first, more obvious one is Derrick Todd Lee, with his police sketch used as a jumpscare in Volume 1. Lee had been arrested for stalking before the murder charges of seven women were made against him.

The second one is a bit trickier to find, and I couldn't find the name of the guy, but the initial Intruder pic was also a police sketch. An article made in 2007 (a thread of the evidence plus OG Reddit post where I found this info: https: //twitter. com/SociableBarely/status/1533958333157191680?lang=en) was made about a man in Kirkwood, Missouri. His crimes were less severe than Lee (this guy just breaking-and-entering, hitting the woman who owned the home, and stealing some of her more expensive stuff) but the fact is that Alex still used a criminal's sketch in his horror series.

Compared to his actions that's been revealed recently, I know using actual police sketches probably isn't a huge deal. Still, despite it being 2 years ago at this point, the fact Alex still used two criminals, with one being a serial killer, as appearances for his characters in TMC irks me a ton.

Wanted to go ahead and share this with you since this topic's been relevant on this blog recently lmao. Sorry if I'm being a bother!!

no, no, you're good! i'm all for shitting on alex since he deserves it lmao

yeah, a lot of people went on him for doing this since while it's kinda edgy to put real life tragedies and people as material or appearances for your content, it's still kinda oof when one of the sketches used was of an actual rapist and murderer -- he could have just did the whole thispersondoesnotexist thing

he was just turning 18, i believe, so many people gave him the benefit of the doubt when he decided to go to artists for that once he's gotten enough money

[freebooter4ever]

Are the lines on your drawings stylistic choices or are they measurement/guiding lines? Either way, they are cool, but just wondered. I dont understand drawing at all, might as well be a magic spell to me. I was looking at the pencil (?) sketch of Malkin with the cheesecutter hat on.

i, uh, definitely did not google 'cheesecutter hat' until after i saved out these images. :/ sorry about that. if you'd like the other one broken down, i can do that too lol. my reading comprehension when im tired is kinda lazy i just saw 'cheese' and imediately thought 'omelette'. SO here's the 1) initial sketch, 2) 'clean' sketch, and 3) final lines for the omelette boy drawing instead:

also i have had a cumulative of about 9 ish hrs of sleep total for the past two days so keep that in mind for if this explanation makes no sense, its not my fault. :( anyway! the way i draw definitely has changed over the years but currently im really trying to focus on the line i "see" rather than the one that is actually "there". i've been applying this to my writing for years (story vs happening truth) and you know it never occurred to me that i could do it in my drawings too till like...a few years ago. in general these lines seem to form the planes of the subject. if you google 'stanford bunny' you can find an easy example of a 3D surface turned into triangles. I do this too - see things in relative triangle proportions, except i've been doing it long before i knew how computers worked. i cant begin to tell you how long d*sney and cartooning's obsession with round building blocks of anatomical structure fucked with my brain until i finally decided i could cast that teaching aside completely.

ANYWAY sorry off subject again. so we have these sketchy under lines, and usually as im trying to find the proportions and form of the subject these lines end up being where the light/shadow hits. here i saved out the 1) 'flat colors', 2) the 'light', and 3) the 'shadow' parts on their own (i lightened the background for the 'shadow' so its easier to see):

the light is like four or five 'overlay' layers of pale yellow/orange. you can see how each of these layers follow one of those sketchy lines i did initially. and the same with the shadow but instead its a dark red color set to 'multiply' for each layer. and when you combine everything together you get:

some bullshit :). anyway you know that anniversary edition of beauty and the beast that featured the version previewed to nyc audiences in 1990 with the glen ke*ne sketchy keyframe animation of the beast's transformation? i watched that - must have been sometime after i graduated college - and i felt robbed that THAT version was never presented as a final piece. the 'unclean' drawings had so much more life and movement and intensity to them. tldr i like the messy lines, i hate 'inking' with a passion (HATE. IT.), and when i finally allowed myself to stop giving a fuck drawing became way more interesting. but my art is shit and i will never be glen k*ane so i dont really feel like the best advocate for this "style". alas. there was this one artist on tumblr who i fucking loved whose sketches were SPECTACULAR but the asshole racists in the m*c*ha*nz*o fandom bullied her off tumblr and ive never been able to find her art anywhere else since. she was also very negative about her 'unclean' sketches and it made me so sad. there was also this other artist whose sketches were awe inspiring but all she drew was p*rn and well...we all know what happened on tumblr in december 2018.

also i 100% stole the lighting scheme from The Bear which is currently one of the most gorgeous shows on television right now in my opinion

im really really sorry if this makes no sense, if im feeling motivated maybe i'll try again when my brain is fully functioning but with the actual 'cheesecutter hat' doodle ^_^

[thoselethalarts]

A couple of those ask things I'm curious about

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw

12. Easiest part of body to draw

14. Any favorite motifs

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)?

You know, I haven't really thought about it much before 🤔 I feel like left vs right is about the same difficulty level for me to draw, both for 3/4 view and for profile view. Though 3/4 view is probably easier for me to draw of the perspectives. Front-facing is fun too to see a facial structure from a different perspective- literally!

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw?

WEAPONS! Dear god I am AWFUL at drawing weapons, all of them. Guns, knives, swords, bats, whips, spears, crossbows, morning stars, brass knuckles... I am absolutely dogshit at drawing weaponry without some kind of direct reference to trace over, which really sucks because I love weapons and think they're super cool! I have so much respect for people that design their own weapons, especially the ones that have to work with time period-specific limitations (lookin at you, Vinland Saga)

Also as a side note: fuck shoes. I can't draw shoes (or feet) for shit. Every time I draw a shoe I hope ya'll know that it took me at least 5 different references and a 3D model in order to make that happen.

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate?

Pixel artists and animation, ESPECIALLY animation. I simply do not have the patience for any of it, especially hand-drawn animation; I took a class for it in high school years ago and while I did just fine in the class it made me realize that I do NOT have the patience for the medium. 3D animation was a little easier for me but I'm still not skilled enough at timing and distortion to satisfy my creative image.

Also I have so much respect for pixel artists you wouldn't believe. I used to use Fireworks to fill out pixel art bases on DeviantART over a decade ago and while I did have fun with what I did and could still theoretically do it now, it'll never look as nice as I want it to look in my head 😔

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw?

Jackets and sweaters, but also I LOVE drawing things like scarves and capes that can billow in the wind and shift with the movement of the wearer, cuz it adds a whole new dimension of action to what could otherwise be a static pose!

Also also I'm a sucker for fishnets 😊

12. Easiest part of body to draw?

So fun fact about me- I actually LOVE to draw human anatomy. Whenever I draw a character I always start by fully drawing out the character's physical anatomy, and then I draw the clothes, hair, and faces on top of that! Here's some sketches from the Soul Archive to show my semi-chaotic workflow~

So I guess the answer is anything that isn't feet is easy for me to draw lol

14. Any favorite motifs?

Repeated phrases/symbols that initially appear to have no meaning but then the meaning becomes abundantly clear in hindsight as it's revealed throughout the story, or alternatively a phrase/symbol that has a specific meaning that's relevant only to the initial introduction of it which changes over time to mean something entirely new, symbolizing the growth and evolution of the character/identity that uses it, or the shift in tone/focus of the overall story.

EX: "It's eternity in there." and "Longer than you think." - Emesis Blue "One of us must die." - The Doomstar Requiem additionally: The Open Hand - Army of the Doomstar / SOS - Dethklok

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated?

Oh, EASY. My slipknot-inspired TWST piece I'm still incredibly proud of (even if I've redesigned Phobos since then)

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

We're coming up to the two-year anniversary of American comedian Trevor Moore's death, which is about a week before the two-year anniversary of Sean Lock's death. The latter of which made me more sad than any celebrity death ever has, because 1) look, I know we're not supposed to be all parasocial or whatever and those people on TV are not our friends, but I had relatively recently finished every episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats and Catsdown, which I think is over 400 in total, and you can't do that without feeling like you know those people a bit, also I watched his stand-up and Fifteen Stories High, so I could better enjoy the silly panel show stuff while knowing he was better than that, just like I knew Jon Richardson was better than that, and just like I knew Jimmy Carr wasn't, and 2) a friend of mine had died not all that long before then, I was still grieving for him and some of the sadness about Sean Lock's death may have gotten mixed in with grief for someone I did actually know.

Anyway. Thinking about that tonight. Trevor Moore's death didn't me quite as hard as Sean Lock's, but it was still fucking tragic, way too young. And he was very good. My brother first introduced me to Whitest Kids U'Know (Trevor Moore's sketch group) quite a few years ago, and it's one of the few things he and I agreed upon. My brother and I have very different taste in comedy, so I didn't expect to love this thing that he described as pretty much his favourite comedy at the time, but he was right. It was so funny that I watched every episode of the Whitest Kids U'Know TV show, and got Trevor Moore's High in Church album. I still have Whitest Kids U'Know sketches on my list of things I occasionally spend an afternoon re-watching (along with SMBC sketches, Chris Flemming videos, Tim Minchin songs, used to have Mitchell and Webb sketches on there but that's tougher with Robert Webb being a dick).

Sean Lock isn't quite as easy to clip as Trevor Moore (not without going through all the clickbait compilations on Channel 4's YouTube account), but there's always:

Surrealism on the letters and numbers show:

This one made me laugh far harder than it should have, really:

And I really like this Stewart Lee story about him:

In about 2005 I was trying to escape Avalon management, a solid career move of which S Lock was an early pioneer ("You're breaking these kids' hearts", I remember him saying to the company's promoters in Edinburgh in '95 or so as they ran another hapless 20-something hopeful into insurmountable debt). I was in an Indian restaurant in Nottingham with S Lock and D Kitson and I was trying to persuade D Kitson to manage me as his 'client', as I wanted to be able to reach the small but discerning audiences he did, and without doing any television or publicity. S Lock said we were a pair of fucking idiots. I don't know why he was so annoyed, but wonder if he took my attempt to eschew popular mechanisms as a personal criticism.

I feel like it sums everyone in that story up perfectly. Right alongside the Russell Howard story from Edinburgh 2004-ish, when he asked Sean Lock why he wasn't doing a long run there with his stand-up show, and Sean replied that he doesn't really like his job that much, he's just trying to get through it (that story came from the 2008 radio episode where they got on the subject by discussing who they'd most like to get to take to work with them, and Jon Richardson said he'd love to take the comedian Sean Lock... both heartwarming and heartbreaking when you think that he did, in fact, get to take Sean Lock to work with him him many times before he died, and contrary to what he told Russell in 2004 once, Sean probably enjoyed up to seven minutes of it). And the Lee Mack story about how he initially bonded with Sean Lock due to a shared distrust of the comedy industry and everyone in it.

There was always this sense that the cynicism in Sean Lock's act was real, and that's why he spent so much of his career on fluff like panel shows instead of the deeper cynical stuff like 15 Storeys High, he knew everything was bullshit so he was just trying to make enough so he didn't have to do more bullshit than necessary. All of Stewart Lee's cynicism but none of his pretension. 8 Out of 10 Cats (the non-Countdown version) has to be worst show that I've ever spent more than 100 hours watching, but it did make me get attached to the regulars who overcame the weakness of the format, and frequently of the other guests, and made it better than that. The Sean Lock/Jon Richardson dynamic is some of the best chemistry I've ever seen on TV. You'd think it wouldn't work - you'd think it wouldn't be as good as the Richardson/Howard thing of someone made of sunshine to balance out the pessimistic one. But nope, turns out two grumpy people go great together if they're Sean and Jon. Channel 4 struck gold with that.

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Hi, what is the most important thing you own?

You probably already know the answer to this, but there are some objects that have been important to me since very early childhood, and I feel like that would make them, like, "the most important thing I own" or something. (I think I would not have the same feeling about an object if I didn't feel this way.)

Here are some:

The wooden pencil box I got in first grade which has held, in one of its sides, an old, red and yellow notebook with my initials on it, a piece of lined paper with the title of a story in cursive that I didn't recognize at the time, and a sketch of a face I made; I have never known why or how my parents kept this box; for some reason, this box is on a table I have near my desk right now

The little notebook in first grade with the drawing of a house on the front cover and the inside cover, which had a story that was about a little girl (me!) and two boys coming home from school, written by me, and several other drawings I didn't recognize as mine on the inside cover

A copy of the book Siddhartha, which I still own (albeit in paperback form) and have read several times over the years. A couple decades ago I got the book in a used book shop for less than $3. It's very old and beat up, and I'm happy to have it. It's had an impact on me

Another wooden box, one of those little ones that kids tend to want to keep in their beds and which can be used to store whatever, and I've kept several toy swords, a plastic sword, and some pieces of paper with drawings and writing in them in there for years. I still use it (now on the floor next to my bed). In fact, I recently added a toy sword to it. I'm very sentimental about these boxes and their contents. This one is the kind you can get for about $2 in the drugstore and it has a plastic sword and a few other things too

The "I'm So Confused" (I think?) plush I had in first grade (still have, in fact); it had a blue and white striped shirt and it was also called "I'm So Confused." I don't remember much about the plot of that one and I'm not sure that it did much for me except make me feel like it was a good toy for a child.

A toy robot I had around 5th grade or so that I've had for years. He was a mechanical guy, but he had no voice. I loved him a lot and gave him to people (including, if I recall correctly, my friend on the bus with me, who later changed his name to the robot's name and got really into Star Wars) and I made many, many fanart of him. He also had a special "I'm so confused" sticker.

There are probably many more things I would count among "most important to me," but I'm not sure if any of them have more weight for me now than they had when I was a child or how to even begin to figure that out without just listing out all the things.

[bllsbailey]

NBC Forced to Give Trump Two Minutes of Airtime and Boy Does He Deliver: ‘Kamala Broke It, I’ll Fix It’

Saturday Night Live's effort to give Kamala Harris some free publicity backfired spectacularly when NBC was forced to provide Donald Trump equal airtime. And the former president used that time to his full advantage.

SNL had initially refused to allow any presidential candidates to make cameos during their sketch comedy show but then tossed that faux integrity right out the window when Harris made a surprise appearance.

As per usual, Harris was awkward and couldn't contain her cackle. Oh, and she also plagiarized a skit that Trump performed in 2015. 

What made matters worse, however, was that the network was clearly in violation of the FCC's equal-time rule. The rule essentially states that if you're going to offer X amount of time to a political candidate, you have to give the same option to their opponent.

Trump's campaign said they never received an SNL invite, and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr called them out publicly for "a clear and blatant effort to evade" the rule and thus skirt election law.

With pressure mounting over the controversy, NBC News filed an Equal Time notice with the Federal Communications Commission late Sunday.

"Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president in the 2024 national election, appeared without charge on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live' (SNL) for a total period of 1 minute and 30 seconds on November 2, 2024," the notice reads.

The problem, as RedState reported, is that they squeezed Harris' performance in on the last Saturday before the election, meaning even if Trump wanted to do a brief cameo on SNL, it would be impossible.

NBC, backed into a corner over the blatant FCC violation, was forced to throw the GOP nominee a bone. That bone came in the form of two ad spots during Sunday's NASCAR coverage, together with another aired during Sunday Night Football. 

Those are two very pricey timeslots for ads to run, with the Daily Mail estimating each to have a price tag in the ballpark of $1.7 million.

Having very little time to prepare for this, Trump's campaign put together a quick ad of the candidate standing in front of several American flags, wearing his signature Make America Great Again hat.

“Hello to our great sports fans, and I hope you’re having a fantastic time," Trump begins in the NBC-approved political ad. "We’re two days away from the most important election in the history of our country. We’ve got to save our country, and it needs saving; it’s in very bad shape."

He then dove head first into the travesty that is the Harris-Biden administration:

The worst economic numbers in generations were just announced two days ago. We’re losing jobs. We’re losing everything, including viability. We’re gonna end up in a depression, based on what’s been happening. We’ve never seen anything like it, at least for the last 40 years. We have to straighten out our country. We have to close our borders. We have to lower our taxes. We have to get rid of inflation. And we are going to do it. 

Kamala used her two minutes to stifle laughter while the audience screeched after seeing her on camera, delivering flat jokes surrounding the only credentials she believes matter — the fact that she's "a Black South Asian woman running for president."

Trump spoke directly into the camera regarding the economy, something that affects Americans' everyday lives. 

Kamala's performance was a thinly veiled hobnobbing vanity project with her elite Hollywood friends. Trump's message was delivered to NASCAR and football fans watching at home.

The contrast is clear.

"Just remember," Trump concludes. "Kamala and her friends broke it, I’ll fix it."

"Most important election in the history of our country. Go and vote.”

Vote like your wallet, if not your life, depends on it.

[tish-creeativity]

April 12/24

Well, classes are finished and I am emotionally, spiritually, and physically spent. I had full intention of keeping up with the blog portion for this assignment. I even had notes that I had taken from the beginning of April just to keep or remind me of what we covered in the lectures along with my preliminary wire-framing sketch (pictures below), but that didn’t work out. Being the task manager of my grad group had taken over my life. It enveloped everything that I am and what I was meant to create for the grad show. I almost didn’t beat the deadline to submit my work.

Every job that I’ve had since I graduated high school Ive been given/handed leadership roles, such as supervisor, assistant supervisor, assistant manager, and manager. These roles were given to me because of my ability to take initiative. Like I’ve said before, it’s not in me to watch a ship sink especially when I’m on that ship. Over the years i have learned that to have a leadership role means more than showing up and doing the job. It means you have a team of people relying on you and looking at you for guidance. It means if your team isn’t getting along, that it is up to the leader to find some middle ground of compromise to where everyone can be content. Before I was given the title of task manager there were so many time I wanted to use the phrase, “A team is as only as good as its leader, and only as strong as it’s weakest link,” but I held my tongue because I didn’t want to put a bad spotlight on anyone. Although, there were many hiccups inside the team’s discord chat, we made it through. However, the reception was 6 days ago, I’m still dealing with he said, she said bs with 2 of my peers and I am trying my best to settle the dust. It honestly feels like I am the principal of a bunch of elementary school kids.

I had one particular peer that pretty much clamped at my hip & complained throughout the entirety of the show if she didn’t get exactly what she wanted she would find me and complain for hours. At this point I would hold a vote amongst my peers to find some middle ground, after all majority rules over all. There were many times where I just wanted to throw in the towel and tell them to do whatever the hell they wanted, it’s not in me to give up, not when I have people looking at me for answers.

Anyways, I feel this app assignment should have been assignment 1. Not only because it’s really time consuming, but for someone like me who struggles with technology and computer programs needs guidance to learn these types of things. It had taken 2 years for me to understand Adobe illustrator. Moreover, with the grad reception at the end of the year and to have this assignment mixed in was almost unattainable. It also didn’t help that only 6 out of 9 grads were actually putting in the work that was required to plan and execute the reception. Needless to say, some of my peers let me down & it had drained me emotionally.