#i need to write more stuff with them to help myself visualize them in motion better

[waywardsalt]

dont enjoy that im having self doubt and second thoughts abt my humanoid bellum design. begone. he’s probably fine. so is damien

[s-fellows-art]

Simplified tips on how to improve your art.

.putting under cut because its long but thats cause i explain these and not just list stuff. 

1)  Flip/mirror  your canvas when working. - it allows you see anatomy and other errors you may overlook. 

2) before uploading look at the image on a different screen or the next day. - this give you time away from it, and as tempting as it is to upload as soon as your done, if you wait  you will see stuff you can improve on and be able to look at it with “ fresh” eyes. 

3) Stop shading with black or grey scale colors- shading with inly these colors make the imAge look muddy, if you shade with a color that is a darker hue of the same color your adding shading to it one in the same tempters ( warm= R Y O cool = B G I V  on the Rainbow ) you get more vibrant art and you don’t muddy what your working on. 

4) Learn to grey scale BEFORE coloring as a draft p2- learning how to shade in black and white can help you identify lighting points and details. When digital painting simplifying something out to a grey scale can help you keep track of what your doing. 

5) Use the tools you have access too- References to learn anatomy , taking time to learn amniotomy will help you a lot in the long term, but doing everything off the top of your head your bond to get something wrong early on, or even later on in art.  Use the sharpen tool around highlights if your program offers it. It saves time. Also play with your filters and line art colors. These will ad detail to your work and takes less time. If you mess around with the brushes in your program and stuff before starting it will help you later on. Its not cheating professionals use it all the time. 

6) practice drawing random stuff- it teaches you the shapes and trains your hand ti make the strokes/motions needed for basically everything. Art studies can be very helpful. Even if it feels stupid drawing 500 eyes on a note pad, it helps. 

7) Simple is good, complex is chaos- over complex art is hard to look at because your not sure what to focus on so the areas you want the eye to go to is where you should focus your details rather then make every single little thing detailed. Another way to do this is to brighten the colors where you want the eye to go at first glance in an image, but make the other areas muted in color, or blurred slightly.  

8) Don’t be afraid to look up tutorials and take breaks if you get stuck - I personally only learned how to shade faces from watching makeup tutorials. And there is nothing shameful in not knowing how to do something and needing to look it up or ask, its how you learn you can just power you way through it all the time, and somethings your wasting your time if you do for something not worth it in the end run. Also the act if stepping back and away to go do something else is sometimes all you need, sometimes looking at the same file over and over again can be mentally exhausting. Take a break. Drink some water. Stretch your wrists. Look away from it for a while then come back. 

9) Stretch your wrists before working- save your self years if pain trust me. I regret not doing this. Also draw from your shoulder not your wrist unless detailing, less stress on your arm and more precision. 

10) Use different line thicknesses - i find using thicker lines for areas that touch the outer parts of your drawing or more important areas, and using thinner for detailing adds a bit of detail and quality to your work even if the line art isn’t clean. Inner face  parts (other then the top bracket of the eyes), lines between fingers, lines marking clothing folds, and things like that should be done in thinner lines then eyebrows and what not. 

Next two some will role your eyes at but honestly makes a huge difference, even if you got to force it at first. Its hard to break a bad habit.

11) don’t look for flaws in your work, look for what you like about it,- if your constantly pointing out what is wring with what you are doing your not gonna go any where, bare minimum go “ okay im not too happy about this, lets see how we can improve it” instead if “ this looks like garbage I hate it”. If you stay in the mentality of I don’t like this , your never gonna be happy with what your making or improve because subconsciously your telling you self you can’t. This slight change in mind set of trying to find at least one thing you like will make a big difference in the long run because slowly you will be moving towards finding a style your comfortable with and going from there, you will be finding things you

12) don’t compare you self to other artist- its one thing to want to take influence in your fave artist, its another to constantly out yourself down because your not like them. Everyone art started as shit. Everyone. We all were that crappy 1 year old can barely hold a pen person at one point. like learning how to read and write or ride a bike....  No one starts as a perfect artists, its something you learn, so comparing your self to people around you is not gonna help you improve and putting yourself down just because your not perfect yet. Even if its something as little as “im happy I finally finished this” is better then “I wish i was like _”. You are slowly moving towards a goal, some people just move quicker then others because they learn different techniques, instead if putting energy into hating everything you do why not try to learn how the people you like the art of got there by learning some techniques your self? 

13) Ignore the notes enjoy the journey-  Regardless , you making art is amazing in itself . Its something only you have made. There may be other things like it but its not like how you did. Your unique and honestly ignore the notes, if your constantly pushing yourself based off of numbers, your gonna burn your self out and give your self impossible expectations to try to complete. Everyone has different tasted and are not always gonna like what you do the same way, if at all, there is nothing wrong with what you made you simply just can’ please everyone and its not your job to. The notes are a bonus, not a goal, you don’t have to try to compete for them the only person you have to create for for is you. Do what ever the hell you want and if people like it, great, if they don’, then they like a different cup of tea then yours, don’s make it bad tea.  Edit 1 as i thought of more : also the reason your sketch looks better then your line art is because your line art is too neet. If you use difrent thicknesses in lines (thicker for outter areas and important areas) and thinner for areas with more movment (bottom crese of eyes or outline of area around puple inner part of mouth clothing inner parts or what ever u feelis needed) it will look better because it will show your brush strokes which is what makes your sketch look good. -You can also add a 3d effect woth the red and blue outlines on areas that are not the central focus of the peice. Blurring has the same sort of effect to where it forces the eye onto the clearer area if the photo and makes it more visually intresting. Having this effect everywhere however can make stuff hard to focus on and diffcult to look at so only keep it on non focus points (most common focus point is the face so wouldnt put it there) .

Idk how helpful these will be but they made a big diff in my progress over the past year. The last bunch made a significant difference for me, though it was really hard to force myself into that mentality. And i still skip doing some of these in occasion ill admit but i hope this helps none the less. 

[snackhobi]

Hi! I read your fic “catch your drift” a while ago and I absolutely adored it! One thing that really stuck out to me was the way you really seemed to know what you were talking about, the amount of research you probably did was insane!

I was wondering, with a niche subject like that, how did you do your research for that? What kind of media did you watch/read to learn more about it? I’ve been thinking of writing a story like that myself, but I have no idea where to start. It’s writers like you that inspire me to put extra care into my stories, because it always shows at the end! You’re an amazing writer, I can’t wait to see what else you put out in the future <3

hi lovely! okay, first of all, I want to say thank you so much for enjoying cyd but also for noticing all the details!! I did do quite a bit of research (I fell down a rabbit hole, really) and it’s nice to know that it makes the world feel realistic/makes it seem that I knew what I was talking about 💕

for me, when it comes to doing research for subjects I’m not familiar with, I sort of have two overarching segments: 1) the technical details, and 2) the visual details. I’ll break down exactly what I mean by those, using examples from cyd (though I wrote the story over a year ago so I might miss some bits and pieces, hopefully it should help to give you an idea 🥰) (under a cut because WHOO did I go on for a bit) -

1) the technical details

I’m not a drift racer, so honestly, I did a lot of googling and digging around for things! my first stop was wikipedia, which gave me a general idea of what drifting was like/involved, and then I delved deeper from there (because it only really talks about the official drifting competitions, which is obviously different to an underground community). I found articles from car magazines that spoke about the underground tweaking/drifting community in south korea and japan, so I knew they were reputable sources (or that they at least knew what they were talking about!). that’s how I got my details on the types of car they use in that community, on what it’s like to be a drifter over there. I found websites that broke down drifting jargon so I had a dictionary to refer to. I also watched youtube videos of people who’d visited the underground meets, so I got a feel of what it was like/they would often talk about the specs of each car, which helped as well.

I remember I got details of the area around seoul/the main drifting areas from the articles I mentioned, but I also looked at a map and did some googling for areas that seemed to work for what I already had in mind (like the meet in yongsan, which has a US military base, hence why the driver there had a mustang - another american car).

stuff like this does take time to research but I like to write about subjects I enjoy/find interesting so it’s fun to read up on it!!

the reason why I think of these as the technical details is because they’re facts related to the subject I’m talking about (drifting/life in south korea/the car community there etc). it’s the nitty gritty stuff. not only do I try to find relevant terminology, I also try to read around the subject enough to know how that terminology is then used; if I’m not sure, then I avoid using it. (it’s sort of like in movies when you see someone playing a video game, and they’re using the wrong controller for the wrong console and the game on screen doesn’t match up with what the person is doing - it’s like you have all the relevant parts, but when you put them together, it’s clear that you don’t know what you’re talking about. you know? if in doubt, leave it out.)

the visual details are a bit different.

2) the visual details

this is a bit more of a vague thing and I might not describe it very well, but visual details are usually visual references/things that give me an idea of how to describe how something looks/feels, rather than the actual moving parts inside it. I’ve never watched fast and furious or need for speed, BUT I already knew that they existed, so I looked up videos of races in them for an idea of how everything looked/felt. (sort of related to the videos I mentioned above of the car meets, but, yes.) I also watched other drifting videos from competitions, and I looked up images/videos of the cars I mentioned in the story, so I could describe them in a way that would feel accessible but also interesting? for example the sentence “2007 Solstice GXP” probably doesn’t mean anything to someone who doesn’t know about cars, but if you then describe it being shorter than other cars and how it drifts around corners, that’s the focal point of the scene. it’s all in the visual description vs the technical name. a visual detail is immediately accessible because you’re describing what someone can see, which doesn’t require any foreknowledge of the subject.

obviously a lot of this will vary dependant on what your personal style is like, but if I drop in specific terminology that I think a reader might not know, I’ll then explain it, too. so it’s mixing the visual with the technical. here’s an example: “he throws you off when he slings himself out of a turn and slides into a choku-dori, the zig-zagging motion of his car catching you off guard” - choku-dori is the name of a specific drifting move, but I don’t expect people to know that, which is why I then describe the zig-zagging motion; it relates a visual detail (accessible) to a technical one (probably not as accessible).

(pinterest can be fantastic for reference pictures, dependent on your topic. I’ll save visual references for quick refs if I find ones I like!)

so, for me, with any subject, it’s about researching what you need to know about the topic you’re writing about, and researching how to then make it come across in your story in a way that’s interesting, and accessible, and makes sense. honestly, a lot of my research is googling, and reading, and learning key terms from that reading, which then means I can research more effectively, which is an ongoing cycle for each story I have going on. sometimes you’ll do far more research than comes up in the final product, but it’s better to have too much than not enough! I know it can feel daunting to start with, coming at a subject that you might not know anything about, but for the most part googling things is enough to trick people into thinking you’re an expert 🤭 (although if there are any drifting experts out there who are laughing at my newbie slip ups or whatever then I apologise and also you will be forever cooler than me 🤧)

one other source of references which I think might not occur to people is other fanfic. obviously don’t plagiarise, but if you wanted to write a drifting story, you could use places/terminology/cars from catch your drift as a springboard for your own research, for example! (you said you’ve been thinking about “writing a story like that” and if you mean a drifting one, feel free to drop me another message because I’ve still saved a bunch of the links I used to reference from! I didn’t save all of them bc I’m a clown but I have at least enough to give you an idea of what it’s like ✨)

I hope that made sense!! and if you need me to clarify something or explain it in a way that’s not garbled and rambly, honestly please drop into my inbox any time! good luck!

[sparklingpax]

Sweet Bother, That’s What You Are

A.N: 

(starring my two TFP OCs, Paxie and Sharpflint, who will be getting sketch posts um.........eventually o///o’’)

-HIIIIII So. Potentially the first of many drabbles with these two <3 There’s no official story story, really....just whatever comes to mind if I feel like writing it! ^w^

-I actually managed to find the first time I did a drabble for them, idk, kinda dumb, but thought I’d link in case you were interested ^^’’ 

-This one’s kinda dumb too I apologize but I wanted to write it so

-Sorry for grammar, punctuation, word usage, spelling, etc mistakes......it’s late and I’m falling asleep and my brain is on Full Sunshine Happy Things mode so I’m just trying to dump all that into this story >:3 

-What planet are they on that has metallic trees and rocks?? uM?? uh--ok well,,,,,,same planet as the last one sorry I’m not very creative idk why I need so many trees for my writing anyway lmfao akjdjsd

-So when is this set then?? Ok so. After the war; in this universe here, which is not an au btw (or is it?? idk?? the events are assumed to be exactly the same as prime and other aligned continuity stuff just with these two inserted in the background if that makes any sense at all,,,,) Paxie was from one of the first generations after the war; Sharpflint fought in the war as an Autobot so,,,theres that. 

-May I just note for the record so no one asks or makes assumptions, their relationship is fully inteded to be really good friendship & it’s Not romantic. Sorry if I made it confusing in the writing sdjsdj basically I love writing romantic stuff but for once I want to write a Good Friends dynamic ^w^ hope thats okie!

-Also no Sharpflint is not actually old, he’d be more like a 35-year old and Paxie’s might be 25-ish. If you wanted to visualize it in human years I guess because we’re all........human..? She’s just fooling around 😹✨

-SHOUTOUT TO Y’ALL WHO ENCOURAGED ME TO START POSTING MY DRABBLE IDEAS!! I hope I do not disappoint too much ^^’’ 

-hhhhh & it be Short™ o///o but I hope you like it!!! thanks for reading!!! :)

///

Paxie kicked a stray rock back into its place on the side of the road and pouted. Arms folded behind her back, she did her best to tune out whatever Sharpflint was on about. Why?

“—and Primus fragging heck, Paxie, you know that as your friend—no, respected elder and mentor—I do not want to find your corpse on the side of the highway because you refuse to learn that—”

Yes. That. Because he was lecturing her about how strongly he disagreed with her personal stance in the Natural Form movement. However, she was not truly annoyed at all. It was a peaceful afternoon and she’d managed to convince Sharpflint to ditch patrol to walk with her. 

I’m going to have some fun here--after all, I’m giving up my free day, the one day I don’t have classes!!

Suddenly, one of his words registered in her mind and she got an idea. 

Paxie tapped his arm. He came to a halt alongside her, breaking off abruptly to give her a scathing ‘WHAT.’ However he swallowed that, too when he saw her face.

“You got one thing right, salty engines,” Paxie started, feigning frustration.

Sharpflint narrowed his yellow optics—he absolutely detested that ridiculous nickname.

“Oh?” He muttered back, half annoyed. “Enlighten me.”

Paxie shook her head, heaving a dramatic sigh. “Well, you’re old. But you’re not my mentor—you’re too old to be my mentor. I’d need a spry, young, whippersnapper like myself! In fact—wait—”

She did a shushing motion and looked around. Sharpflint moaned quietly, rolling his eyes hard. He waited for her to continue roasting him.

“Yes…yes, I can hear it!”

He decided to play along, folding his arms as he towered over her. “Hear what, Paxie?”

“Listen!! I can hear the high concentration of salt in your attitude rusting your rotor blades!!”

Frag me, Primus why.

“I can hear it from a mile—”

Sharpflint picked her up, smirking as her words melted into surprised yelping. He hoisted her over his shoulder, gripping her legs as the rest of her body hung over his back, and eyed the tree a small ways ahead of them. His grin grew wider.

“Old, huh?”

“Yes!!” Paxie was laughing now, gasping for air.

“Well, then, I’ll just show you how us elderly were taught to run!”

“FLINT!!!”

He swung her in a circle before racing ahead to the tree, prompting more giggled cries. His eyes glinted while his shorter friend shouted, playfully indignant, and demanded to be put down.

“I’ll snap you in two, you robot stick!!”

“Try it, tiny!! You’d barely leave a scratch!”

“OH—” Paxie narrowed her optics and whacked his green plating, still laughing. “SO SAYS ‘MR. INSULTS ARE RUDE’!! WOW!!”

Sharpflint let out a laugh himself, reaching the tree. Sure I said that, but I never said I couldn’t joke around…

“Hey, what are y—WAHHAHHHHHNOONONO—”

The two mechs had made it to the tree, so Sharpflint naturally tossed Paxie just high enough for her to land in one of the branches. As he’d hoped, she latched on and balled up against the metallic surface, optics wide with shock.

Take that, you adorable little scrap. Sharpflint nodded to himself, placing his hands on his hips and tilting his head back to take in the view. Paxie started giggling again, wailing down at him to help her off the branch .

“I’m only as old as the middle of the Great War!”

“You’re a salty, rusty sack of bolts!!”

Sharpflint sighed, turning away. “You and Mr. Tree can keep each other company until I come back here for patrol….” He pretended to think deeply, then calmly finished, “Four days from now.”

“Fine! You’re only as old as the youngest old bot from the war!!”

“Three days.”

“You’re a not-so-old dork!”

“Hmmm….” Sharpflint let the silence sink in, as if he were actually deeply considering her words. Paxie sighed audibly.

“You’re my favorite old dork--the best friend I could ask for!”

At this, Sharpflint turned and regarded her, beaming down at him. He unfolded his arms, chuckling lightly.

“I was going to let you down anyway, you know..” he said a little more quietly, feeling a little warm after her previous comment. The purple-white mech grinned back down at him.

“I know! I just wanted to say!”

Paxie was his closest friend, even if she was young, and didn’t know how bleak life could be—which was half the reason they ever got into fights in the first place anyway. Sometimes it’s hard to see eye-to-eye with someone who’s led a completely different life than your own. Both Sharpflint and Paxie were aware of that.

All that same, she was sunshine and openness.

Paxie was…simply put, a great friend.

Sharpflint cracked a small smile—not a smirk, but a real smile.

“You want to meet again at Silicon’s tonight?”

“Only if you’re paying!”

Sharpflint heaved another sigh, slumping over. Well, what else was to be expected? After all, the helicopter mech had thrown his friend into a tree. He couldn’t say no.

Well, no, he could, really should...but it would be rude—

“Oh, dear Primus,” he murmured under his breath, continuing to gaze up at Paxie, still hugging the tree branch for her dear life.

“Yay!! Silicon’s!!” Paxie cheered like a young sparkling, then cut herself off as her celebratory motions caused the branch to sway a bit too much. 

“Thank goodness for frequent paychecks…”

But above all, thank goodness for friends. Especially the ones that drive a bot nuts. Paxie, I’d give my life for you. 

[mimssides]

Life on Crow Avenue: Part 16

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___

Remus had researched PTSD, ADHD, depression and anxiety. He had started doing so a few months after the car crash, when he had noticed the changes in Roman’s behaviour. And as he did so he had seen the changes within himself as well. He had noticed patterns which were new, feelings that started to disappear.

Quite honestly, Logan was impressed. Impressed by Remus’s sharp perception. By his own introspection and his findings. And the fact that he was critical of his own analysis and tried to not be too wrapped up in them.

What had Logan worried though was how often Remus mentioned his fear and worries about Roman. How much seemed to be focused on him and not on Remus himself. And while Remus’s worries might have been warranted, Logan knew that he could not only focus on Roman. That he needed to look after himself.

Carefully, Logan tried to steer the conversation in a direction, where he could talk about Remus’s fixation on Roman. As Remus mentioned once more how long it took Roman to even mention the accident after it had happened, Logan took his chance and said: “I understand Roman is important to you, but he is not the only person to worry about.”

“It’s hard not to worry about him… He – He struggles a lot and he doesn’t admit most of it. I know I’m not one to talk about my mental health either but he’s in deep denial and-” Remus said but was interrupted by Logan.

“I understand your concerns, Remus,” Logan reassured Remus not wanting to talk his worries down, “I truly do. And I know your brother is fighting with a lot as well but maybe you might need to stand back a bit from him. Not abandon or leave him. But you need to take care of yourself first and you cannot do so if you are constantly worrying and playing therapist for Roman as well. You can only do so much for him. And he is a grown-up too. You need to trust him and make the right decisions for himself.”

Logan watched Remus run his fingers through his hair. He was thinking of a fitting retort but Logan knew he was right and that Remus was indeed smart enough to know that too. He just had to admit it to himself.

“Yes, right but I don’t think he always makes the right decisions for himself…” Remus argued weakly.

“That might be true but it is not your responsibility to fix that. You cannot support him so much that it exhausts you, Remus. You need to learn to have boundaries and let other people take over.”

Logan knew that his advice was a lot harder to follow through than it sounded. He knew Remus would struggle. He knew he would not know what healthy boundaries felt like at the beginning of all of it. He knew he would not trust anybody to take care of his brother at first.

“… then would you help me get him into therapy, if I were to go to therapy?”

Not the offer Logan had expected. Not at all. But it was quite welcome.

“If you go, I certainly would try and help you convince him,” Logan said carefully watching Remus’s reaction.

He was tense. His shoulders stiff and his hands twitching minimally, almost too unremarkably to notice. But as he was breathing in and out his eyes began to focus. Began to focus on Logan he met Logan’s eyes evenly with a gulp. There was something so incredibly intense and real about him in that very moment. So much energy and force just peeking out for the fraction of a second and Logan did not know what to think of it.

“Thank you. You’re a really good man.”

Remus’s voice was warm and far more trusting than it was ought to be. But Logan did not get to muse about that. Remus was taking his phone and checked the time, making a surprised expression for a moment. Then he shot shy look to Logan.

“Would you mind us checking in on Ro and the J-man? We’ve been talking for a good hour or so and I think I want to make sure how they are doing. There’s only so much they can be doing in a greenhouse for so long and I don’t think they’ll start fucking anytime soon,” Remus finished with a shrug.

Logan let out a huff and answered with an eyeroll: “Don’t underestimate Janus’s ‘seducing’ skills.”

“Don’t underestimate my Roman’s need for a slow burn romance. This kind of fuckery isn’t up to his standards, trust me, bicho.”

Logan tried to overhear the nickname once more by steering the conversation into a new direction: “Where exactly do you have a greenhouse? I was not aware that you had one on the lot.”

“Backyard. It was already part of the building and we have a small collection of flowers there. Actually, do you think Patton would like to see that? Like, he loves colourful stuff, right? Do you think he would - would like to check it out with us?”

Adorable.

Wait. No. Remus was not adorable. The way he asked Logan if they should invite Patton to see the greenhouse was maybe a little endearing. But not cute. Decidedly not adorable.

Clearing his throat, Logan got up from his chair and said: “I think he would appreciate the invitation. I can text him and he might join us downstairs?”

Remus smiled wildly and nodded as he got up himself. Logan put on a forced smile and sent Patton a text, while he and Remus started to get out of the flat climbing down the stairs. Logan was lucky, for once in his life Patton had already seen his text and answered quickly that he would be outside in a minute. Logan told Remus so much and both men got outside to wait for the third one to join them.

___

Roman had not been kidding when he told Janus that he had a very low alcohol tolerance. The small amount of rest alcohol in one can of alcohol-free beer had been enough to get him tipsy. Which was why Janus now knew that Roman got giggly and rather affectionate while slightly inebriated. The tall man was laying to his feet, constantly reaching for the seams of Janus’s pants and mumbling little nothings to himself.

It was somehow endearing seeing him so soft and unapologetically warm hearted. At the same time Janus did not feel entitled to see him like this. To see him in such a moment of vulnerability despite Roman having chosen to drink in his presence. It just rubbed him the wrong way.

Janus’s phone buzzed and he quickly took it out to see a message from Virgil where he was at.

“Who’s it? You’re frowning.”

Janus looked down to Roman who was holding onto the bottom of his pant leg after having asked his question.

Janus couldn’t help himself but answered gently as he would to one of his younger nephews or nieces when they asked him things: “Virgil wants to know where I am. He probably wants me to come home soon.”

“Tell him he can come over. Wait, I’ll write him myself,” Roman promptly replied and took out his phone from one of his pockets.

Janus wanted to intervene when just then the backdoor to the store opened and Remus, Logan and Patton emerged. Both Logan and Patton were rather taken aback by the amazing visuals of the greenhouse while Remus obviously looked around for Roman. They entered the greenhouse and Janus waved at Patton, who waved back happily before his eyes fell down on Roman lying on the floor.

“Did you have to?” Remus moaned as he saw the beer cans and walked up to Roman.

Softly Remus kicked Roman into the side, to which Roman barely reacted as he was still focused on his phone.

“Roman!” Remus said with more emphasis and Roman finally put his phone down and looked up to Remus.

“I only had one. And I’m not taking more. Just one. I swear!” he defended himself and Remus rolled his eyes.

Begrudged Remus stretched his hand out to Roman, as offer to help him up. Yet Roman did not budge and Remus sighed. He could be such a little shit when he wanted to. Annoyed Remus turned away and threw his hands in the air while mumbling something under his breath.

Meanwhile Patton and Logan came further inside the greenhouse and Patton steered towards Janus. They exchanged a look and wordlessly Patton motioned towards Roman to which Janus only shrugged and then looked back down to Roman, who was putting away his phone.

“Virgil’s coming over by the way,” Roman declared and turned a little to face Remus more clearly.

Remus just groaned and scratched his forehead while Roman giggled a little. Janus was simply amazed. By the fact that Roman had managed to convince Virgil to come over and by the fact that he was so nonchalant and carefree about it. It was so strange seeing the otherwise so prideful man present himself so silly and undignified.

“Okay, please stand up because we have guests. Can we do that?” Remus tried once more to get Roman to stand up.

With a frown Roman finally sat up and looked over to Patton and Logan with a wide grin. Patton gave him a confused wave while Logan just furrowed his brows and looked over to Remus in slight confusion. Remus just massaged his temples and shot Janus a venomous look before suddenly a thought crossed his mind.

“I didn’t do anything to deserve that look!” Janus shortly interrupted Remus’s thought process.

Remus just shot him a look and waved him off with a quick: “Well, you don’t have to deal with him tonight when he needs to go to bed. Do you know how energized he’s now? He’s got the idiocy and determination to try and walk up walls! But that probably doesn’t matter to Jazz Daddy.”

Hearing the nick name Janus scrunched his nose in disgust to which Remus just retorted with a little giggle and shifted his attention back to Roman. Quickly Remus crouched down a bit to get on Roman’s eye level, who now suspiciously stared at him. Roman could almost sense his brother’s inpatient energy and felt himself starting to fumble with the seams of his pants.

“So, I need you to tire yourself out. Otherwise I’ll lose my mind trying to get you to bed tonight,” Remus started while watching his brother making the most offended pouty face he could. “So, I thought you might wanna sing? Disney?”

There was a visible shot of energy rushing through Roman’s eyes before something clouded the sudden excitement and the man looked down to the floor. Remus put his hand on Romans shoulder and he glanced up at him again.

“My voice is shitty right now. After crying and all,” Roman meekly said while holding his hand against his throat.

Remus raised an eyebrow.

“Look at me and tell me that you actually care enough to not sing right now.”

“… I kinda don’t care…”

Remus nodded and stood back up with a grin. He chuckled a bit and said to Roman: “That’s what I thought. Go and let Virgil inside, while I get the speaker.”

Just a second after Roman agilely jumped onto his feet and patted down his pants before marching outside the greenhouse into to the store to open the door for Virgil when he came. Remus just shook his head and then walked to the other side of the greenhouse where they had a different gardening tools stored in a wooden box.

Quietly Remus began to rummage through the box and turned back to the three other men after a while. He held a little green Bluetooth speaker in his hands and turned it on to connect it with his phone. Staring down on the screen he sighed and walked over them.

“Sorry, for the accusation Jan,” Remus said at once while the speaker beeped signalling it had connected to the phone. “I know you’re not responsible, he’s his own man and all. I’m just. I’m very exhausted.”

Remus lifted his gaze from the phone and shot Janus a look before he sat down on the chair next to Janus. Quickly he waved for Logan and Patton to take a seat as well, Logan taking the last chair while Patton sat down on a wooden crate. All three watched Remus and when he sat his elbow down on the little table and laid his head in his hand Patton leaned over to him and softly patted his back.

A shudder ran down Remus’s spine and he hastily looked up to Patton. Patton looked like he wanted to pull back but Remus held onto his arm before he could do so and looked back down to the floor. Patton watched him and continued to draw circles on Remus’s back. It was a little concerning how stiff he felt and how much he leaned into the contact. But Patton was considerate enough to not mention it.

“He just gets a little much when he’s drunk,” Remus said suddenly and looked straight forward not focusing on anyone next to him. “And loud. And it’s nothing bad or horrible but I’m just worn out. By – by feeling so much. So fucking much. I don’t know how he can do it all day everyday…”

What to say to a statement like that? What to say to a man like Remus after such a long day? Neither knew and somehow, they all felt relieved when he exhaled and straightened his back, lips slowly forming a smirk. Mischievously, he glanced over to Janus who felt a sense of threat overcome him.

“You didn’t hear him sing before, right?”

Janus furrowed his brows and said cautiously: “No, when would I have had the chance?”

Remus chuckled and rolled his shoulders amused.

“Boy you’re in for a ride then!” Remus laughed and before the others could ask what he meant Roman came back with Virgil in tow.

The two came inside the greenhouse and a few words were exchanged before Virgil settled down on the box beside Patton and Remus and Roman had a small dispute about which Disney playlist Remus should put on, after which the discussion about which language Roman should sing them in followed. The choice fell on the Happy-Go-Lucky playlist in English and Roman walked a little away from the table to have more room to move around. Then looked back to the group and shot Janus a short glance before he batted his lashes and gave Remus the thumbs up for him to press the play button.

And with that the music began to play. A soft melody started and just a few moments in Roman began to beam. A second after he began to sing:

“I have often dreamed, of a far-off place Where a hero's welcome, would be waiting for me Where the crowds will cheer, when they see my face And a voice keeps saying, ‘This is where I'm meant to be’”

Roman continued, eyes closed, feet moving softly to the words and hands following the picture he painted with his voice flawlessly. It wasn’t perfect by any means, on some notes he let himself linger a little too long, some of the higher notes scratched a little as he sang them but watching him perform, watching Roman engulf himself completely in this song was quite spectacular. Spectacular in a way that one forgot that they sat in a greenhouse. Spectacular in a way that one forgot that the singer was florist. Spectacular in a way that one forgot that their nephew had a phone with which he could make pictures to bribe one later on.

Remus leaned back enjoying his brother’s little show. He watched how Logan’s surprise slowly ebbed away and how he watched his brother quite interested. Patton was bobbing his head along with a big smile and Virgil did so as well after he had taken a picture of Janus.

Janus who was completely thrown off guard by Roman’s flair and stage presence. Well, greenhouse presence but Remus believed that Janus didn’t care that much about it, not when he sometimes got to look at Romans wide grin and almost glowing eyes from all the excitement and joy just to be able to performing in front of a few people.

The song ended and Roman gave a little bow to which Patton clapped enthusiastically, making the others join him out of amusement. The next song started just right after and after a few beats the all recognized “A Spoonful of Sugar”. With just as much enthusiasm Roman began to sing the song, while his mimic and movements adjusted to the mood of the song.

Halfway in, Remus heard a second voice slightly humming and mouthing the words. Unsure where it came from, he looked into the round and found that it was Patton who slowly began to join Roman in his singing to the amusement of Virgil next to him. Remus couldn’t help himself but smiled at Patton’s happy face while more and more joining the song despite missing a few words then and when.

Remus found himself admiring the small singing attempts and didn’t notice how Roman as well caught onto Patton’s singing and walked towards him before the song ended. As it did Roman stretched his hand out for Patton and asked with a wide smile: “Wanna join me? You seem to have fun.”

“Oh gosh,” Patton said flustered and rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m by far not as good as you. I don’t want to ruin your singing.”

“Not good? How does that matter now! This is just for us and singing with people is awesome! Just join me!”

Roman was energetic and optimistic and despite Patton’s reservations he got up and joined Roman reluctantly beginning to sing as “Bare Necessities” began to play.

Remus was amazed. Patton was not one for showmanship but he adapted and matched Roman’s energy with seemingly no effort. His voice was raspier than Roman’s, some notes he sang sounded scruffy but the joy he found after getting over the first inhibitions was mesmerizing to him. The way he giggled over the words he missed or when he forgot to join Roman in a line because he got distracted watching him, was just too admirable to not smile at.

The next song that came was “Under the Sea”. And it was the song where Roman decided Patton should dance with him. After a short-lived protest of Patton Roman took him by the hands and began leading Patton a little. It took them a moment to figure out what worked with the music and their skills but then they somehow fell into a rhythm and Roman even managed to spin Patton around once, which led to the latter having a laughing fit.

Logan smiled at Patton’s blush and Roman’s childish excitement. Patton was not one to move around often and his dancing was a little stiff while Roman made quite a good figure in the whole process. He moved in steady flow, quick, charming and joyful. And in a way Patton’s clumsiness but genuine effort complimented the impromptu dancing session.

They continued dancing when the next song began, “Be Our Guest”, and Logan thought about the chubby boy, always wearing light blue polo shirts and trying to not stand out too much back from high school. Young Patton would never have dared to stand out like this. To dance and sing like this. To have cyan hair and colourful tattoos. To be amongst other queer people and be proud of it.

Roman might have had similar fears and reservations, Logan assumed concluding from what Remus had told him, but right in this setting it seemed as if they did not matter to him that much. It seemed he was quite content and happy with himself and this kind of confidence helped Patton relax as well.

It truly was endearing, Logan admitted to himself and looked to the others. Remus and Janus were very obviously love-struck by Patton and Roman respectively and Logan just rolled his eyes at that. What was to expect from two dramatic queer men in love? Lastly his look landed on Virgil, who amused raised his eyebrows at his uncle to which Logan responded with a mocking eye roll.

More songs came; “Almost There”, “Friend Like Me”, “Hakuna Matata” and “You’re Welcome”. The mood was light but the evening got older and they had to get to bed for tomorrow. To open their respective stores and a Goodbyes were exchanged.

It wasn’t lost on Logan how reluctantly Janus parted from Roman, how soft his otherwise ever so cool look was. Neither was it lost on him how surprised Remus was when Patton hugged him as a goodbye, and how grateful he looked at Logan when he wished him a good night.

It had been a heavy evening but the end was rather sweet. Especially considering why everything had started so solemnly. Nevertheless, Logan found himself cautiously optimistic when he wished Patton a good night as he walked up the stairs into his own apartment. Hopefully, Remus could take the advice he had given him and hopefully this would not be the last night they had had fun together.

___

It was almost an hour later, Roman had showered while Remus would do so in the morning. Both had put on their pyjamas and were now laying in Remus’s bed. Roman had offered to leave him alone, had said that his ask from before was not fair and that he trusted Remus enough to stay in his bed alone overnight. But Remus let him come into his room and sleep beside him. It was less lonely and somehow, he felt saver with Roman around. And he knew that Roman shared the sentiment.

They turned of the light and Remus laid there between the wall and Roman’s back staring at the ceiling. He was unsure what today had been. He was unsure how he should sleep.

The light was flicked on and Remus blinked against the sudden brightness. Roman moved and turned to face him already signing.

“So, why are you not sleeping?” Roman signed

With a sigh Remus retorted: “Why are you not sleeping is the better question. You can always sleep.”

I can. But I’m keeping myself awake to figure out why you’re not sleeping yet. ‘Cause I’m a good brother.”

“Sure-” Remus rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest – “You won’t turn off the light until I answer right?”

“Correct,” Roman signed with a fat smile on his face.

“Shit.”

“Shit indeed. What is it?”

After a moment of hesitation Remus said: “You know Pat.”

“In fact, I do. I sang and danced with him like not even an hour ago.”

“Yeah. Right. You were doing that.”

Remus noisily gulped and felt himself already getting flustered.

Roman sat up and wiggled his eyebrows teasingly while signing: “Oh?”

Desperately Remus buried his face in his hands and moaned: “Yes, oh. Like fuck-me-he-is-so-adorable-and-wonderful-and-in-need-to-fucking-hold-him-in-my-arms-in-this-very-instance oh. The kind of oh like, like in the stupid love-on-the-first-sight looks! The ultimate fucking I’ve fallen far too quickly for this adorable, kind, wonderful and stupidly caring pastel punk oh!”

Roman shook him at the arm and Remus glanced through his fingers to see him smiling widely while once again sighing: “Oh!”

“And to make it even worse-” Remus gave up trying to protect his dignity – “The nerd is just as bad! Like, he is very awkward but I totally get it and know what he means and now I have the feeling that he’s, he’s kinda impressed with the things I know and fucking- fucking cares about what I say? And it’s confusing and stupid and so freaking HOt, Roman! He’s so hot and I don’t know what to do with that!”

Roman laughed a bit and then laid back down.

Gently he signed then: “Well, I don’t know either but for the first time in ages I think your crushes are not the shadiest people I’ve ever met in my life so you have my blessing! I’ve you’re in need of a wingman, or best man, I’ll be your man!”

Remus rolled his eyes.

“Thanks, oh most gracious Roman.”

“You’re welcome my trashy brother dearest,” Roman retorted with a triumphant smile.

At once Remus had a thought and began to grin. That might be a good way to get a payback from his far too cocky brother.

“Talking of shady people though…” Remus began and watched the unsuspecting face of Roman.

“Yeah?”

“Janus is possibly the shadiest man you’ve ever fallen for, you know?”

Now it was Roman’s time to fluster. Defensively he sat up again and signed agitatedly: “Hey! He’s not that shady! He just – just looks a little shady. But he’s, he’s very cute. And patient. And being around him is very easy, you know? Like he just accepts what I throw at him and goes with it. Just. Just takes me as I come. It’s nice. Really nice.”

Remus smiled a little and let out a soft laugh as he glanced at Roman smiling and clearly thinking about the Jazz man.

“… You know what?” Remus said eventually.

“What?”

“He has my blessing. If you wanna fuck him you might continue. I won’t threaten him or cockblock you again.”

“You’re stupid,” Roman said and shoved him with a half-hearted offence.

“You’re welcome.”

“… Thank you. I really like him.”

“I get it. He’s classy.”

“Yeah, and Pat’s fun. And Lo might actually be able to match your fucking intellect. He’s smart.”

“Mhm.”

“Yeah… Ready to sleep now?”

“I’ll try. Te quiero.”

“También te quiero. Sleep well.”

Remus made an agreeing noise and Roman turned the light back off. After a few minutes Remus felt how Roman put his arm around him and how the weight and warmth slowly lulled him to sleep. Surprisingly he would have a rather regenerating nights rest for once.

___

@varthandi

@sickeningly-deceitful

@sammy-is-obsessed / @exhaustedfander

@unoriginalgayboyalex

@alexisrealgay

@softie-sushi

@wolfs-feder

@just-a-neoclassical-painting

Tagged for this fic:

@frawkeye

@arodynamic-enby

@espepspes

@bullet-tothefeels

@fukindork

@shadeofadye

@magic-but-its-green

@croftersjam15

[lhne]

Coronavirus. Covid-19. The Big C (as we refer to it in my home).

     These are worrying times.

     I could write about the political, economic, or the biological, but as I write this, things are constantly changing. My perspective is constantly changing. This virus is currently a ball in motion. A big, scary, overwhelming, stress-inducing ball. 

     I could write about the absurdity of the toilet paper crisis, the looming healthcare crisis, or my frightening current state of unemployment (and probably soon my fiancés). I could write about the rising death count. I could write about my deep concern for our seniors, my friends’ rent payments, and that family in New Jersey who was ravaged by the virus and suffered four deaths in one family in just the last 24 hours.

     I am an artist. I am a mother artist. That is the lens through which I perceive the world. My latest body of work is about the invisible labor of motherhood. I am in my thesis semester of graduate school and time is precious. With 24 hours’ notice I found myself making the transition many parents (especially mothers) across the nation also had to make- you are now a parent teacher. An artist-mother-student-teacher. Pick any two of those four, they would be hard enough to balance. Here I am with a full plate and I wasn’t quite this hungry.

     This is a new role. It takes preparation, and research. Perhaps it’s my personality, but I felt incredibly overwhelmed by this new responsibility. I felt unequipped. Not about the material (which does initiate a few head scratches on my part). Mostly, the concern lies on my ability to navigate my distractible son through a structured school-day around all his toys an unruly toddler who doesn’t let me get a word in edgewise. 

     I’ve seen well-intentioned articles written by homeschooling mothers’ encouraging parents not to panic. They explain that you aren’t a teacher, you are a parent- and not to stress over this new endeavor. They explain how they break up their day with chores, plenty of reading, and hands-on learning. This method works for them.  I see how they are trying to give helpful advice. However, most children that do go to public school every day are adapted to the structure provided there. Personally, I feel it is my responsibility that my son understands this is not a vacation (I’m not saying that homeschooling is), and that he will be back at school as soon as this all clears up. Also, many public-school students have been given a detailed curriculum to follow each day. My son has a four-inch stack of required worksheets, alongside readings and online videos. We are not on our own agenda.  So, while it’s like homeschooling- it’s not homeschooling. It’s social distance learning.

     This isn’t to say I’m going to slip into a teacher persona between the hours of 9 am and 3 pm, but I now must find balances. I need to balance being both teacher and parent.  I need to balance education alongside TV time, play, and free time- something I haven’t had to seriously navigate before. I agree that panicking won’t help, but this is certainly a difficult transition for many parents. There is a video going viral of a mother of four vocalizing her frustrations with the whole situation with distance learning. She describes it as ‘unrealistic’. I only have one who’s in public school so I can only imagine the workload for four. She talks about the difficulty maintaining 4 separate trains of thought, bouncing from one kid to the next, helping each one with their different assignments. All while trying to keep everyone on task and focused. I myself have gotten into the habit of reading through the assignments in the morning before my son wakes. Nothing worse than being in the basement trying to switch a load of laundry and your kid starts yelling for you because he doesn’t understand a question, and you realize you don’t understand it either. However, it shouldn’t be unrealistic. There isn’t any other option than to push through. While I cannot attest to the workload of a mother of four, there is always a way.

     Do your best. If you miss some of the day’s work, that’s ok. If you miss some of the housework, that’s ok. If you’re ordering delivery from the local pizza joint for the third night in a row- that’s ok. We need to validate that this is a difficult transition for many parents, at a time when tensions are already so high. I have only just finished week one of our social distance learning journey. It went better than I expected, which was a relief. In fact, I’ve been enjoying it. I have learned a few tricks of the trade: 1. Getting my son dressed before starting his schoolwork has been a huge help. It is a signal that the day is beginning. 2. Mild bribing is ok (“If you finish all the word work assignments now, I’ll let you watch an extra learning video”) 3. Start with the harder subject first, easier stuff later. 4. A visual planner helps, then nothing is a surprise. I let my son check off each finished activity, which is another novelty because he likes to see everything checked off in the end- he feels accomplished. 5. Didn’t finish all the work today? That’s ok. 6. It was nice out and you mostly played outside? Also ok. Great, actually. 7. Put off the dishes, the laundry if you must. Trust me, you’ll have plenty of time in the house to catch up later.     

     While this is a time of crisis, I look for the beauty that lies beneath. The neighbor offering up half of his toilet paper score. The grocery store giving away free bags of food to children that are home without their school lunch. The teenagers taking food shopping lists for the elderly in their neighborhoods. The teachers of young students making daily videos to comfort them in this time of confusion. There is something else happening here. Humanity.

     I’ve been thinking about my artistic work throughout this event. The invisible and emotional labor of parenting (the topic of my latest series) is now becoming visible. Daycares are closing. Fathers are at home. In addition, the labor and pressure of an already demanding job has multiplied as parents take on the role as their children’s educator. How will this experience transform my work? I am unsure. 

     As I mentioned, this crisis hasn’t hit its peak yet, and every day is still changing. While I fear what is on the horizon, I also hold out hope that once this is over, civilization will rise with a new sense of humanity. I hope we can look back and say we made it through this together, and with a new perspective, our hearts will become more full.

Michelle Peterson is an artist and mother and member of the LHNE Collective. She is currently working toward her MFA at the New Hampshire Institute of Art.

We’ll be asking her to report back as she makes progress on her mural.

https://www.mpetersonart.com/

https://www.instagram.com/miche_nicole/

About the LHNE Collective

[justawanderer]

Happy Holidays @lovegeek1215  I’m your Secret Santa! I had a lot of fun writing this. I hope you enjoy it! @mlsecretsanta

AO3

The blare of the Akuma alarm had Nino jumping out of his skin. The new alarms are posted in every hallway and are awkwardly angled down toward the students. Nino makes a mental note to talk to a teacher or Mr. Damocles about the hallway acoustics and maybe dampening the tone so as to not harm the ears of the student body. He lets his eyes dart all over the seemingly empty hallway he was walking in, and then ducks into the first empty classroom he sees. For good measure, he closes himself in an supply cubby at the back of the room with a grate at eye level. The grate allows for him to keep a visual on the door incase the akuma comes around, and he is proud of himself for thinking in such a safety first LadyDude manner. Not seeing or hearing anything other than the slightly muted Akuma Alarm, Nino busies himself with silencing his phone and music and shooting Alya, Adrien, his mom, and the school alert system a text that he is safe in a classroom.

  The creak of the door opening sends him jumping again and it takes everything in him and all his Carapace training to not make a racket in his hiding spot. He takes deep breaths to try and steady his racing heart and looks through the thin slats to examine his neighbor. The familiar blonde hair and white shirt have him pushing open the cubby door and opening his mouth to call out to his friend when he sees what can only be a kwami fly out of the model’s shirt pocket and then get sucked into the ring his friend wears every single day.

  It takes approximately 1 minute for the image before him to sync with his brain and the reality of his best friend being Chat Noir draws an involuntary swear out of him before he can control himself.

  “What the Fuck?!” Senses returning to him, Nino slams a palm over his mouth and slams the cubby door shut in one fluid motion. A black cat ear flicks and Nino struggles to breathe as Chat Noir’s eerie green eyes focus on the cabinet.

  “Who’s there?” Hearing Chat’s voice again sends Nino reeling. The disconnect of having Adrien’s voice come from the hero is arresting and Nino finds himself frozen in place. His mind racing to connect all of the clues that were in front of him the whole time. That Adrien has never been akumatized, that the boy has an uncanny ability to completely disappear during an attack, that he has feline like grace when fencing, or really any sport he attempts, and that the dude is always exhausted. As the shock dwindles away, Nino keeps as still as humanly possible and his eyes locked on the ears he can see through the slats on the door.

  Nino muses that Chat is infinitely more terrifying than any akuma or villain around as he has all the hunting instincts of a cat, the lethal skills of a superhero swordsman, and the ability to hyper fixate. Nino is not sure what would happen if the hero found him in the cubby but he doesn’t particularly care to find out. While at worst it would probably be a dressing down from LadyBug, he really wasn’t ready to talk to the model/super hero yet. He watches as Adri-no Chat!- opens his mouth to say something and takes a vague step forward when an explosion sounds from outside of the classroom. Chat’s head whips towards the sound, then back to the cubby and Nino sees the the hesitation on his friends perfect features.

  One last look toward the cubby and Chat calls out, “If there is anyone in here, you would be wise to wait a minute after I leave the room and do your best to find your way out of the school. I’ll go first and try to draw the akuma away.” The teen hero leaps away out of the door not looking back and Nino waits until he can’t hear the sounds of battle before emerging from his hiding spot.

  His phone vibrates in his pocket and he checks to see a message from Alya telling him to be safe and stay inside as the akuma causes people to grow roots in sunlight. Not needing to be told twice, Nino hunkers down in the cubby to wait out the attack to think through the scene he just lived through. His mind was almost blank with shock but with concentration he was able to focus on the things he knew to be true.

  His best friend, model and heart throb, was also Chat Noir, hero and heart throb of Paris, and Nino knows somewhere deep inside himself, that he is probably one of 2 people to know. He knew, based on LadyBug’s lectures, that knowing put both him AND Adrien at risk of manipulation from Hawkmoth and Nino vowed in his tiny cubby to start joining his mom in her morning meditations.  

  Nino zones out lost deep in thought about secret identities and akumas and emotional control when he is woken by the all clear alarm. Fishing his phone from his pocket, he logs a note about the alarm volume in his phone and is interrupted by a text from Alya. He opens the attachment to see a low res picture of Adrien with his arm around Marinette seeming to prop her up. Alya has captioned it with hearts and stars and Nino finds himself conflicted as he makes his way towards the lunch room, which was where he had been heading before the attack.

  He thinks about it, and he knows that he really wants Adrien to get a girlfriend. He knows that a relationship would be good for his friend in terms of socialization, but he’s never really been super invested in Adrien’s love life. He likes Marinette and thinks that she would help teach Adrien about unconditional love and family, but he also thinks that Kagami is super cool and super talented and Nino always figured that when the model made his choice, that would be that.

  Now though? Now Nino knows that Adrien is in love with LadyBug (whoever she is) and that convincing Chat Noir to give up LadyBug has been an uphill battle for the red spotted heroine. Although Nino secretly thinks that LB may have feelings for his friend as she always seemed more affectionate with the cat hero when carapace was around to see them interact. And now Nino cannot just recommend his buddy give up on the coolest girl any of them knew.

  On the other hand, LB has zero interest in Chat and how would a relationship between a super hero and a teen model work were he to woo her as Adrien? Nino can’t really see any of it working until they know each other’s identities. But Marinette and Kagami? Those girls were real and they were right in front of Adrien every day.

  Arriving at the cafeteria, Nino watches the way Marinette flushes head to toe at Adrien’s attention to her well being and knows that the most important thing is maintaining Adrien’s happiness, and protecting his secret at all cost.

  Lunch passes with little incident, and the class makes their way to Ms. Bustier’s room, Nino cannot keep his attention off of Adrien. Its shocking to know his secret and see him just hanging out with the class as if he didn’t place himself in danger every day. He enjoyed Adrien’s enthusiasm for his new mixes and how Adrien always wants to know everything a person has to say when they speak to him. He also looks closer as sees a teenager, a guy his age, with more muscle than body fat. Kim may be more athletic and stronger, but Adrien was solid muscle and it wouldn’t have seemed weird to Nino until he heard a disturbing gurgling. At the second instance he trained his eyes on the sources and watched as Adrien flushed in embarrassment.

  The blond wrapped an arm around his stomach and apologized for the sound. The truth hit Nino like a ton of bricks, Adrien was kept on a super strict diet. Every bite of his food was calculated and all of the calories accounted for, or at least they would be, if Adrien was NOT a teenage superhero running parkour all over Paris all week burning god only knows how many more calories.

  Nino reached into his bag and slid Adrien the almonds he never got around to eating at lunch when a sound behind him drew his attention. Marinette was sitting focused on her sketch pad and softly humming. Nino looked between the bluenette and his friend and devised a plan, a small smirk painting his face.

  While not necessarily caring which of the girls Adrien could go for, Nino could at least help his buddy out and possibly Mari too if his plan worked. Waiting for the class to end, Nino packed up slower than Adrien and watched him run out of the door to go to a photoshoot. Nino waited until he was sure the model was gone before turning to Marinette, still absorbed in her sketch.

  “Sup dudette! How’s it going?” Nino tried for his best charming smile.

  Startled from her work, Marinette looked up at her friend and narrowed her eyes. “I’m good Nino, how are you?”

  “Ahh I’m good dudette, I’m good,” He said while awkwardly rubbing his neck and fiddling with his hat brim. “I, uh, actually wanted to ask you a favor. If you don’t mind.”

  Marinette’s eye widened with concern, “I would love to watch Chris this week Nino, but I am afraid that I have over booked myself this week with watching Manon, finishing commissions and class rep stuff.”

  Nino waved his hands as if to clear the air between them, “No Marinette, no, I don’t need that kind of favor. Actually its about Adrien.”

  Marinette turned a shade of red Nino had only ever seen on LB’s suit and  wildly flailed her arms about. “Wha-T Adrien about? About Adrien what?” She took a deep breath and centered herself, “What about Adrien, Nino?” The love and concern on her face was enough for Nino. He told her everything. Well, he told her everything he had been observing about Adrien, and today in class, was proven right, that the boy was not eating right. He watched Marinette’s eyes go from glassy embarrassment to filled with concern. He left her with a plan to help Adrien in place and the hopes that they would be able to accomplish their mission without interference from the adults.

  Sure enough the following morning, Nino smiled to himself as he watched Marinette present the blond with the assorted box of pastry Nino suggested the day before. He watched as Adrien was filled with joy over the gift, and how quickly he wolfed down the treats. Watching Adrien laud praises on Marinette filled Nino with a certain joy as he hoped he was doing enough for his friends.

[comicteaparty]

June 20th-June 26th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from June 20th, 2020 to June 26th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

What is something you’re just not very good at right now writing and/or drawing in general?

Deo101 [Millennium]

mysteries. 100% I can not write mysteries!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

ears

Deo101 [Millennium]

the connection between legs and torso. No not hips, I can draw hips fine, but like the movement aspect of it

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Action scenes. Orchestrating fights or big motions on the page... it doesn’t come naturally to me! I have to look at a lot of reference to see how other artists do it. Impact shapes, speed lines, anything to convey movement...

But I am slowly building a vocabulary of... fight shapes? I’m calling them fight shapes, haha

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I feel that

Your feeling I feel deeply

"visual library" is a term that comes to mind

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Composition. I just talked about this earlier today, but.... yup. Composition is my bane.

Mitzi (Trophallaxis)

I'd like to get better at writing in general. I have a lot of trouble verbalizing things I see in my head, and so I gotta rely on images and thumbnails to get any idea across, sometimes. otherwise im a windbag and use 5000 words to say 0-1 things, lmao

carcarchu

I have trouble writing simply. I always want to embellish, add extra details, more characters and make everything more complicated and i worry it ends up making things unnecessarily convoluted

Drawing-wise i hate drawing hands

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

The legit thing I am worse at writing is fucking

Deo101 [Millennium]

omg

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

essays to convince people to hire me

Deo101 [Millennium]

OH OKAY

WAY TO CUT IT OFF

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

YEAH

Mitzi (Trophallaxis)

OH

carcarchu

let her finish deo

Mitzi (Trophallaxis)

comedic timing at its finest

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

omg

I was very confused for a sec(edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

but seriously like speaking of filling gaps this is what I'm legit struggling most with right now so any help much appreciated

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

raises hand

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I need to write a personal statement and every time I sit down to edit I want to die

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I volunteer as tribute

writing is basically the only thing I'm really good at

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

It's not the writing I hate

It's the writing about me

carcarchu

is that the thing where you have to write in 3rd person? like those blurb things on people's websites?(edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

It just feel so gross whoring out my deeply held passions and struggles for a spot in med school

No I'm talking about college essays lmao sorry for derailing

The blurb things are an interesting topic though!

Have you guys writtent those before and does anyone actually like writing them?

carcarchu

i had to write a blurb about myself for my university's website and yeah it was uncomfy

lemme see if i can find it

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I HATE writing those

because I just start like, "Crona J. is an artist and writer from Chicago......." And I have no idea how to continue

Deo101 [Millennium]

god yeah even just writing a profile or about me is hard enough!!!

I'm always like "deo - 22 - she/her - illustrator - webcomic author - student" and then i leave it

thats it thats all you get

depending on the platform i MIGHT put bi - disabled and thats it!!!!

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

yeah

half of the stuff I write doesn't even feel relevant to the audience either

who cares that I have been drawing since I was 12 lol?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Mate I don't even write those. My bio is like "UCSD" "Read my comic"

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

hahaha

Deo101 [Millennium]

I also always feel like when I see "ive been drawing since I was 5!" I kinda think like... well everyone has been -_- like this doesnt tell me anything, how long have you been an aspiring pro, how long have you been studying art...? that tells me more

so I never put that kind of stuff in my biod either

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

yeah, and also, I didn't go to prestigious school, so I don't even include my college

and I only have one comic project so far, just under a chapter

so what do I write?

Not that important an issue, but irksome nonetheless

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I don't include my school because it's prestigious, I include it because it's not an art college

Deo101 [Millennium]

owch

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I want fellow stem-y yet artsy people from my school to recognize me as one of them(edited)

DEO stop interupptung me at the worst points!!

Deo101 [Millennium]

i love jumping to conclusions. so no.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

If it's a bio where I can talk about the comics, I try to spotlight a few tropes/genres that'll catch the eye of potential readers. Not a full-fledged summary, just a quick hit of If You Like These Words, You'll Probably Like Reading It. ("Fantasy, comedy, shapeshifters, PTSD, time travel, cats")

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

And if it's gonna be personal, same deal with bits of personal info -- not trying to be a Comprehensive Biography, just pulling a few details that are relatable connection points

The problem with "I've always wanted to be a writer/artist/cartoonist" isn't just how generic it is, the problem is also the vibe of "here's my thing, your role in this is to support me"

Whereas if you say something like "I like drawing cute girls and writing fantasy," the response can be "oh hey, I like seeing cute girls and reading fantasy, tell me more!"

Or if you go with "Sailor Moon fan, will put extra cheese on everything," people can go "cool, that's relatable, we can like Sailor Moon and cheese together." It gets at your shared investment in a fun thing, it's not about expecting them to be personally invested in you

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I think perhaps the most fundamental thing is "you can't please everyone." I've never liked the 'random food related weird tidbit tacked on' thing because it feels too try-hardish to me, but I understand for other people, it's not a matter of trying too hard and is genuinely how they just talk.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Oh definitely, you hold out for a bio that connects with everyone and you'll never get it done

AntiBunny

Personally I'm not great at drawing cars. It's why all my cars early on in the comic were side view only, and old blocky looking things. It was all I could do. I've been getting better by using references.

Every so often I buy a little hotweels or matchbox car when I'm buying groceries. I aim for realistic ones based on real vehicles, especially utility vehicles like ice cream trucks, ambulances, fire trucks, and whatnot you'd see every day in a city. I keep a little box of them on my desk, so if the scene calls for a car to be visible, I have a reference that can help me get all the curves and angles right.

Sure beats drawing from memory, but also practice time in the sketchbook with them is a necessity.

Now crowd scenes are beginning to be my bane. Not because they're hard to draw, just because they're time consuming.

Suddenly I realize why old episodes of Sailor Moon has cities with people free sidewalks and empty streets.

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

That's a great idea, gathering the model cars! I should do that for a future comic.

kayotics

I also struggle with cars so, uh, my comic takes place in fantasy 1700-1800s

But also horses are bad too

Cars and horses! They suck

Deo101 [Millennium]

do what I did and make up an easier animal to draw than a horse ;)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Vehicles in general. Should just put everyone on roller blades and be done with it

Deo101 [Millennium]

I'd lov that tbh

kayotics

I’ve considered making something other than horses......

Deo101 [Millennium]

I highly encourage it, the people love it and also so does my brain

kayotics

Or else lean into them being ugly

Deo101 [Millennium]

heres the trick about horses though they look really weird and as small as you make their legs, when you think "this is way too thin..." youre wrong and their ankles are probably smaller than that

kayotics

The thing that gets me is their faces

Deo101 [Millennium]

... mask

kayotics

Hahaha

I should just make deer the normal mode of transport

Deo101 [Millennium]

that would be really cute tbh

kayotics

I love deer and they’re cute

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Just exaggerate them to the point where it looks like a style choice

Your people already have unrealistic proportions

Why not the horses too

kayotics

That’s how I draw buildings tbh because I hate buildings

Deo101 [Millennium]

I also gave horses dog mouths, maybe do something like that? someone can be like "horses dont look like that?" and as long as youre consistent you can say "they do in this world!!!"

kayotics

Oh god no that’s like a devil creature

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah they look horrible but its fun

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I legit remember saying that to you deo lmao

Deo101 [Millennium]

ive had dog horse for years you didnt give me this

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Not the they look horrible part

kayotics

I’ve already got beasts, I don’t need horses to look WORSE than they did

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Bwah I remember

Time to archive dig(edited)

Deo101 [Millennium]

I love dog horse

kayotics

Honestly it’s good but they scare me

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah... maybe instead give them cat mouths

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

https://discordapp.com/channels/472908933045026827/634081658018070549/688589449562423422

wait omg this is the message that led to your first dm to me lmao

Deo101 [Millennium]

is it??? omg i think it is... historical moment

dog horse brings us together

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Another point to convince kay to draw uncanny animals!

Deo101 [Millennium]

what I do to make birds fun to draw is making them sparkly

maybe try that

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

god you're gonna ruin kay's carefully crafted aesthetic

is this your competitiveness showing its face again(edited)

Deo101 [Millennium]

they can make it work! why do you doubt their abilities

make this the main mode of transport

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

ah is that how it works in that case i have 10 shitty indie game ideas

make them pls

Deo101 [Millennium]

implying my ideas are shitty??? rude!

kayotics

I have an aesthetic?

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Or if you want to be very efficient, everyone in universe can teleport

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

lmao you have an excellent aesthetic

crona

i do that already

kayotics

Crona.... that’s my comic already!! Haha

Deo101 [Millennium]

kay does also have teleporting to be clear

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

don't underestimate my laziness!

Deo101 [Millennium]

LMAO

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

See

It must be great advice

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

oh crap you're right kay also does have teleporting

and unrealistic beasts, to be fair

kayotics

Sometimes on the same page

That’s the eyes I draw on the beasts

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Or be even lazier, and make it so that horses and beasts either don't exist or haven't been domesticated in that region. Everyone walks. Their feet hurt, but their calves are glorious.

Deo101 [Millennium]

you get it

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

wait crona and deo also have comics where teleportation could exist

will you join us?

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

lol, yup

Deo101 [Millennium]

nope

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

(nah, I've already drawn horses. They're not so bad if you stare at photos)

sierrabravo (Hans Vogel is Dead)

drawing horses is fun!!

[multiple people are typing]

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

And there will also be hella walking, because the leg game must be strong, otherwise I'm not doing my job

Deo101 [Millennium]

ive decided that millennium is like really in the future but things like time travel, teleportation, warp speed... nope! You can go really fast in a spaceship but like nothin crazy

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

man these planets real close together then

or maybe people just live a really long time ...?

Deo101 [Millennium]

I just do my version of teleporting which is "wow it'll take a week to get there" and then its a week later

dont worry about it

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

nice

Deo101 [Millennium]

its not realistic, but its consistent

🌈ERROR404 🌈

ahhhh horses are really nice to draw imo, if i can get it right lol

Deo101 [Millennium]

I like drawing horses a lot I just never do it tbh

🌈ERROR404 🌈

something needs to fuel my addiction to cowboy culture

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Consistency is key tbh

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I just do my version of teleporting which is "wow it'll take a week to get there" and then its a week later

when my whole comic takes place in like a week lmao

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

if you decide that gravity doesn't exist in your world, as log as you're consistent with it, you're golden

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

in the unlikely event i get tired of drawing my comic i can adopt deo's strat "wow it'll take a week to get to the ending"

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

My comic takes place in about a year (not counting flashbacks which span... uh... a very long time)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

"man sure seems like this conflict will take approximately a week to be resolved" "one week later"

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

hahaha

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

"sure did get resolved"

the end

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

convenient

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i wonder if anyone's done that

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

One Korean series I followed for years did it

and everyone was pissed, as you can imagine

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

lol

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

better than cancellation?

Deo101 [Millennium]

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

what a way to go

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I'd honestly have preferred cancellation/ abandonment

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Just have a fan finish it for you at that rate lmao

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

OH that's a good discussion topic. If you got tired of your comic, or life got in the the way of you working on it anymore, how would you end it as quickly as possible?

Deo101 [Millennium]

maybe rephrase that a little

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I would toss it at my little sis, and she would do it for me, no joke

Deo101 [Millennium]

My little sister also would probably take over it for me

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

let's move to general?

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

eyyy!

Deo101 [Millennium]

but also I could just be like "They got an email that john died of old age its over now"

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

MVP sisters!

lol

an email

what a way to end it

eliushi [Keyspace]

For me it’s panels. Past me thought that the four panel structure would make things easy. Nope. It’s limiting how I want to tell the story so... I’m trying to branch out now and looking for other inspirations for panel and layout

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Just change the shape of your panels. It forces you to be creative.

eliushi [Keyspace]

True true! I have those in upcoming updates

But my heart swoons for the page spreads

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

oh yes

They are so gorgeous, but difficult to plan

eliushi [Keyspace]

Initially I was planning on storyboards but now I’m more comfortable with comics I think I’ll be aiming for traditional layouts

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yeah, storyboards are an entirely different beast

Desnik

I'm currently working on clearly portraying character motivation

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I think for me I don't draw animals often and rip have to draw a few for the upcoming pages so I'm just doing my best at this point lol

AntiBunny

Panel arrangement is the heart of comics as an art form. It takes practice, and study to learn how the eye flows from one thing to the next.

And once you have a thorough understanding of the rules you can learn how to carefully break them to produce something truly eye catching.

If I had to say the simplest rule to understanding flow is, if you need arrows to tell you which direction to read, then you're doing something wrong.

DanitheCarutor

This is candy for my self-deprecating mentality. Lol Honestly though. I'm not the best at writing in general, I don't like doing it physically, avoiding it at all cost (outside of dialogue and poorly done bullet points on scrap paper.) so I don't really know if/think I'm particularly good at it. I remember the last time I tried to physically write something was back in high school, I still have it saved on my computer, but it was something else. Too many dialogue scenes and overly detailed descriptions of things and characters. I only made it a little ways before giving up with "You know, this will be easier to just show than describe.". Story and character wise for my current comic, I'm not sure how well it's turning out or how good it will be in the end, my brain defaults my work to mediocre so I tend to be totally blind to what I'm doing right. I know my characters aren't the best for sure since they're all fleshy flaw bags with too many flaws, and I know I could have presented certain scene changes and such better, but that's all I can think of objectively. The art portion is something I at least know I can execute decently, but my color composition is the worst. I'm aware that I need to improve it, and I know what needs to be done, but it's something I can't really accomplish with my comic since I just want to focus on finishing pages. I'll have to make time to draw up some throw-away illustrations to experiment with, which I hope to have a little bit of now that I'm not on a regular update schedule. Also I can't draw vehicles and architecture for the life of me, I've referenced and studied but I still can't wrap my head around it. ALSO extreme angles and perspectives are still things I need work on, like 4-point circular perspective, ground level shots and over the head shots.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

There's a lot of things I want to improve, but something I haven't seen mentioned yet: I would like to get better at deciphering feedback, how to glean useful things from multiple conflicting feedback.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Ooh that's a good one keii

I haven't really had to deal with that before though because all the negative feedback I've gotten is pretty consistent

Can I ask what the conflicting feedback you got is?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Oh gosh, I legit spent a long, long moment trying to figure out where to even start

eliushi [Keyspace]

I really like this approach to feedback

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Yo Eli this is so good

eliushi [Keyspace]

Mary robinette is goals

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

this is spectacular already

wow

eliushi [Keyspace]

Pretty sure a wiser writer passed this onto me I have since used it a lot and it works for me

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

This is so so good Perfectly said about crits in creative fields

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

One example I can think of isn't actually something that was criticized, but showed up a lot in various ways: "this is (supposed to be) an exciting adventure romp centering Danbi" vs "this is an emotional journey story centering Ethan" ... Not a criticism, but two very conflicting interpretations. People who have one interpretation are shocked and confused when I tell them about the other one.

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Holy crap, Eli... This is one for the folder of absolute knowledge

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

woah, excellent advice

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

And yeah, that is a really good one. Symptoms are extremely useful, and diagnoses tend to be more useful in a conversation rather than a one-way "here is my diagnosis" thing

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I haven't heard it said before but the explaining eliminating a clean reaction rings so true to me

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Ahhh, this is literally the one document I have needed my entire life

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

also the helping someone tell the story they want

also the stream of consiousness, MAn

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I think I'll save that for my future high schoolers lol

some of the stuff said there is what I've noticed in the last few years critquing in academic settings but its nice to kno!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

People have given me stream of consciousness reactions before and they were the most helpful. Almost all the changes in the story from others' reactions were from stream of consciousness reactions, not intentional critiques

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, one of the most helpful "critique" I ever got was also completely unintentional

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

One of the most useful tips in this guide for me in particular is the "As a writer don't:" section. I struggle with it a lot.

On the note of things we are bad at in the comic-making process, I am very bad at taking critiques!(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

tbh for a long time, my biggest struggling point that's not in the "as a writer don't:" is "don't throw yourself into the void of self-hate." I'm better now, but boy, when it was bad, it was bad.

But perhaps that kinda thing better fits into "as a person don't:"

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I am pretty good at taking critiques, but pretty bad at giving critiques! Right now the point I'm at is I'm just gonna not give critiques until I'm more mature

But then after I decided that an amateur writer friend told me his story idea that I not only disliked but was sort of offended by

and I really wanted to tell him but I didn't know how to do it nicely...

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

ooof

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

oh no

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

yeah, that's really tough

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

rip I tend to do kinda a sandwich method. I had to say some rough things few days ago on a practice pitch run and I pretty much said

Deo101 [Millennium]

Uh oh

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

"Your idea is developing for sure, but I think you need to reconsider some of the world building choices you done. Have you thought of researching such and such."

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

That's basically what I said

But I think I had to say "research ffs" in increasing intensity like 3 times lol

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Oh, nice, the "let's give them compliments too so that they know I'm not just being mean" method

It's a good method tbh

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

Rip it's not that like

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Deo might have something to say about this but it was about schizophrenics in a mental institution being portrayed in a real weird way by someone who didn't know anything about it(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Ooof

Deo101 [Millennium]

Ah man

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

ewww

Deo101 [Millennium]

I'll always stand by "asking people who've lived what you're writing about is the best form of research and can't be replaced"

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

Yeah I would said the to the person consider researching more on the topic and interview folks who have schizophrenia

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Dude I brought you up lmao

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

and also like "is there a reason you want to depict it this way?"

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

oooh

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah I know I'm agreeing idk... Idk what else I'd have to say on the topic

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

That's a very good question to ask someone

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

and depending on their responses, I would just put my two scents in there that rip

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah I always ask "what are your goals?" Before I ask anything else

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

critiques are kinda my strong point sinc eLMAO I do em all the time in my class

and teaching so yeah LOL

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Deo I mean I brought you up to this guy like saying "my friend messaged people online and they were super willing to talk to her you could do that"

Deo101 [Millennium]

OHHHHH gotcha

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I try my best to figure out what they want out of it and just deliever with some handful of suggestions

but I won't sugarcoat it unless you're a high school student or younger lmao

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah I'm often told I'm a lil too harsh but like idk

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I wouldn't say sugar coating it per say... More just telling them what their strengths are too, so that they have an idea of where they're at

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

telling someone their strengths is just as useful as telling them their flaws

that way they can highlight them

like just because you story has no flaws doesn't mean it's good right?

gotta have stuff that stands out in a good way as well

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Someone once phrased it as "Let's list everything that's wrong here, and find out how we can fix them" vs "How do we take this to the next level?" and that really resonated with me. It's not about sugarcoating; it's more about helping them get to the next level in the direction they wanna go.

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

THIS

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah I try to point out things that are going well, and I usually try to only point at things that ppl can work on immediately

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I should phrase my statement more clearly. But yeah Kei that's what I usually look for when critiquing

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

There's often no need to tell them "your writing is only at level 3, and that's bad because the max level is 99." Just tell them how to get to level 4.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I dont' see it like its something bad but something that is challenging to them at the time

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Unless they have extremely unrealistic expectations or whatever that are standing in their own way

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

just have to figure out how to get out of the hump

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Yep. I see this phenomenon in animation a lot. A good animation director will help you boost your existing work to something stronger, but still yours. A bad one will tell you to do it their way, and chide you for doing it ‘wrong.’

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

rip I know a person like that and lmao

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yessssss

That's why I always ask "what are your goals" to start

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yup

🌈ERROR404 🌈

I totally agree!!!! A LOT of the most important bits of great criticism is understanding exactly where the original creator was intending to go, and formatting your statements around helping them achieve that!!!!!!!

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Critiques are impossible if you don't know what the person is trying to achieve

🌈ERROR404 🌈

Just stating things that you would change if you were making it may seem useful and relevant to you the critic, but unless the creator is headed the exact same direction as you, they have just as much reason to invalidate the entire statement as they do to nit pick out the things they care to agree with

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Sometimes a prospective critic is simply too far removed from the target audience of the work, like on a fundamental level, and it makes it impossible to give them useful feedback. I think it's important to acknowledge that this can happen. It happens to me a lot and I just decline to give crits when it does.

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yeah, like don't ask me to critique a comic about sports lmao

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I agree on that notion, esepcially when seeing professional aritsts giving crits to folks starting out but it doesn't go as er ideal as they thought it would be

Deo101 [Millennium]

That's why I usually only seek out criticsm (for more than just general direction/advice) from people who's work I like

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I remember reading advice on getting beta readers, and it’s really REALLY important that they’re excited for your stuff. They want to make it better. They care. They can give critique, but they absolutely must be jazzed about your subject matter in some way, or else it’ll be a slog for everyone.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

for me, I have my peers who I contact daily and we give each other advice, tips

despite having er difference interests in fields, but we experienced a lot in our program lol

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yes... (Speaking of if anyone wanted to beta read my next comic uhhhh let me know id love to have u)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

very good point claire

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

100 percent agree Get people who are excited and know your vision

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah I have a small group of writer friends who know all my goals and a lot of my stuff? So they make a very good little critique circle, and we all help eachother

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I'm always ready to beta read if it's a concept I enjoy

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

like people who critique comics they hate. I'm like, damn, tough work but also ?? why

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

(Be careful about people who are excited about what they think is your vision.............)

Deo101 [Millennium]

Fish is this a callout for me

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

slightly?

Deo101 [Millennium]

Ahsjfkdjdkskdjdjdj

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

Keii I experienced the oppisisite like rip

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

it's just mystifying to me, I don't think it's wrong or anything

Deo101 [Millennium]

Also crona I'll send u when I'm at my comp

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

sure

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

What do you mean Tuyetnhi?

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Ohh that would be oof to deal with Kei

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I had to let a person down to reality bc I know they're excited about their idea but uhhhh

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

(Is it the fish romance?)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

it wasn't engaging to me

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yes that one qjdjfkskdkk

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

nor my illustration friends

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I don’t have beta readers but I think that’s how it all goes lol

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

and we were like

"AAAAAAA"

Deo101 [Millennium]

Oh that's awkward

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Ooooooohhhhhhh... oof

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I have a couple friends I send pages to sometimes but they're always really positive about it

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

It was a rough critique

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Having creative friend circles is so essential for growth and screaming at eachothers works for motivation too

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yessss

Also just the ability to talk about your process without having to explain yourself

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

agreed lol

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I occasionally tap my fiance's shoulder and shove my sketches in his face with zero context, just to make sure he can figure out what's going on without me explaining. Super helpful

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I feel like I have a couple friends where, when I read their stuff, I know things that would amp their work up tenfold. But until they ask me... I’m screaming inside lol

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

lol

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

my friend always makes me feel like i'm a better writer than i am because she thinks so much like me she gets everything i write perfectly lol. But then I post and the comments are like "wtf i'm confused"(edited)

eliushi [Keyspace]

Yeah feedback is most effective when both sides are open and invested

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Claire Senpai Wants To Help

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

also same crona(edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

It’s not bad, I just go I THINK I CAN HELP YOU MAKE IT AWESOMER AHHHHHH

eliushi [Keyspace]

Claire senpaiiii

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

But until then I remain still and supportive

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

why don't you ask them "can i suggest things?"

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah I try and keep my mouth shut

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

or "do you want suggestions?"

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

lol

eliushi [Keyspace]

I usually say what I like about it first and then. Are you looking for feedback?

Deo101 [Millennium]

Tbh hearing "can I suggest things?" Usually comes off kinda like "I see stuff wrong with this :)" which can hurt a little even then

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

YEeeeah

🌈ERROR404 🌈

At least for my comic, i have sent bits and pieces for critique from creators i am friends with , but i'm really hesitant promoting myself because I don't feel like I'm not at a place to even get a critique i'll be able to make anything of. O(--( i really don't know what I'd do if someone tried to seriously analyze my plot and break down the story right now

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

It's really hard, because a lot of people (myself included) get scared when someone else asks, "Do you need help?"

Deo101 [Millennium]

I usually trust ppl to say whether they're looking for feedback

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Its always so tricky to gague the reactions of that. Some people handle that better than others So i only offer when they open up

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Based on how people can get about even the offer of critique, yeah, I tend not to say anything. That’s their baby. If they want to open that door, then I’ll poke my head in

eliushi [Keyspace]

True too. I’m already in forums where feedback is wanted so I’m already in selection bias

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yeah, I like to only offer crits if someone is asking for it for that reason

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

for the record i'm always open to critiques

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

kinda mutal agreement on don't chime in unless asked lol

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah, at least in my groups we send things like "hey this and this are bothering me? Can you help?" And other than that it's just support

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yeah, that's a good idea

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

for both parties. For me, If it's something that I need thoughts I ask but otherwise, lmao my social circles ask me for help for their art stuff

Deo101 [Millennium]

We never agreed on that btw it's just kinda how it goes

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

That's a nice group way to handle that AND make the space more breathable for others who are more nervous about crit work

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

exactly

eliushi [Keyspace]

There’s a time and place for everything and feedback is no different

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah! Like here we have seperate chats for help and sharing

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yuss

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

When someone asks me if I'm open to suggestions, my reaction is usually "nOOoooOo..." but not always. I think it helps a ton if there's an existing rapport, like if I already know this person gets, REALLY gets, my work.

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

And that's okay Keii!

eliushi [Keyspace]

Yeah I’m super thankful for my betas for that

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yee same

eliushi [Keyspace]

It’s very rewarding when people are also invested in your work to make it better within your means and style

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Honestly u gotta do whats best for u and ur mindset in the end.

Deo101 [Millennium]

It also is a little but awkward to say "no I'm not open to suggestions' cause it feels like you're saying "I don't care to improve" when in reality it's more like "no... I'm happy with this and I don't want it to be soured"

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I love the fact that if I post in #creator_art_share, nobody will critique me unless I ask. And if I post in #art_help, I can get that help. So incredibly nice

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Yes! Thats very respectful

eliushi [Keyspace]

So key

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Omg Deo.....such a mood LOL

Deo101 [Millennium]

I always feel so bad saying no thanks but it's like it looked good I thought

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

omg, I felt that in my soul

We beat ourselves up enough as it is

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Sometimes i know my work can be farty but... I dont also want perfection in every facet of my pieces too and thats okay! Some are learning pieces, others more indulgent

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I think I'd be very hesitant to accept ideas that will utterly break my core plot... unless someone comes out and outright tells me something about it is offensive or wrong or otherwise bad. But critique on the connective tissue between the bones, so to speak, heck yes. I've gotten some much better ideas from that.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

e.e even if i post in art share i would be honored to receive a critique from any of you

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Oh, if someone comes to me with suggestions that are that incompatible with my vision, I'm getting outta there.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

but i don't wanna post every single thing i do in art help hm

but maybe i should

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I am SO getting outta there.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I did had some suggestions that didn't... really help with my comic most of it are just comments and not pure criticism

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Just post it lol

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah it's probably best to leave crit in the crit section so as not to break that unspoken rule.

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

To signal to the rest of us

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Yea your vision is key, and i find that people who crit the work need a basic understanding of it for it to be a True Crit

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Yeah it's probably best to leave crit in the crit section so as not to break that unspoken rule.

good point

i wouldn't want people critiquing me to make others feel like it's okay to do that to everyone

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

A good attitude!!! Y'all are very respectable this is a wonderful topic

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yeee

eliushi [Keyspace]

I think the best feedback is one where it makes your work become more effective within your vision. Sometimes it’s finding the betas who are invested but I also find betas who focus on different crafts also can offer a lot of wisdom. I find it comes down to being open and it’s never a bad thing to ask for clarification

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

[also writes this down for a potential lesson actvity for high schoolers] (edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, a critique is supposed to help the work become a better version of itself, not a better [something else]

Deo101 [Millennium]

Mostly with true beta reading I am looking for "how clear is my work coming off to someone who knows nothing of my lore and backstory etc?"

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I like the idea of having at least one beta reader who's a writer, and at least one who's not. The writer can dissect things a bit more than a 'civilian' could while the civilian can look at surface-level things and react as the audience majority might.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

multiple beta readers are a blessing lol

Deo101 [Millennium]

Cause with my friends, they already know everything I'm planning, so i worry a lot that they are putting together things that a regular reader wouldn't

So yeah same thing as a "civilian" reader, sort of!

eliushi [Keyspace]

For sure. Within my critique group I have novelists, webcomic creators and artists. Those who read the complete script and those who haven’t. It’s important to have all sides I find

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Dang you people with your luxury of multiple beta readers... I don't even have one (but it's mostly my fault; my scripts are unreadable)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

omg lol

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i'm sure you could use many of us as beta readers if you wanted to!

varethane

that surface-level 'first gut reaction' crit can be SO useful

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I change dialogue too frequently for a beta reader to have a fair chance, lol

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I started early with one years ago, but now I have like 5-10ish but they can't help me at the same time lmao

varethane

I agree upthread with when it was said that some of the most helpful crit was given unintentionally lol

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

same. i asked some people, including deo and crona, for a beta read of a script a while back but then ended up changing most of it lol(edited)

eliushi [Keyspace]

Most of my betas I found in forums like these! I’m sure a lot of us want to help each other out!

Deo101 [Millennium]

I usually only share stuff once I have at least a solid sketch and dialogue is in

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

so much changes in the thumbnail/layout stage for me. SO MUCH. whole scenes get swapped/cut/extended

I never keep it the same way

Deo101 [Millennium]

I don't like to share scripts cause also I don't usually script much anyways lol

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

@keii’ii (Heart of Keol) As a long-time reader of HoK, I would be more than happy to beta read if you ever wanted it. Just throwing that out there!

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

same Lazuli like

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I'd love to beta read for anyone too

varethane

I prefer sharing sketched pages because my scripts usually change SO much in between being written and going onto the page

like, sometimes they're outright unrecognizable

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

@Deo101 [Millennium] Same. The couple times I really wasn't unsure about a scene, I had to find someone and give them cleaned up thumbnails

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah I don't share more than sketched pages with dialogue

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

SUPER cleaned up thumbnails

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

from thumbnail to final, like they aren't the same from before lmao

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Most helpful critique for me was just someone engaging with the story. "Man I love - and -, they're such good friends, but - pisses me the fuck off" and that was my intention, but i realized it was coming on a bit stronger than i liked and changed the next scene dramatically to make a future plot point where the last character needs to be trusted feel more earned(edited)

varethane

(anyone who seriously is down for beta reading, I have 3 finished chapters burning a hole in my buffer hhnnnnggggg)

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah cause also like, 80% of the crit is usually "well this paneling is unclear" kind of stuff too

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

also i don't mind if anyone is asking me to beta read

Deo101 [Millennium]

Which you can't do from a script anyways

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

or (I don't usually do this often but)

I'm also a sensitivity beta reader too

so if you have questions about POC stuff, asian-american, er mixed-asian or mixed-black experiences

I'm willing to help lmao

but i'm just one perspective to the table

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

A lot of comments, not critiques, have influenced scenes I put later too. Things to clarify, expand, emphasize. I take every comment like that as an idea. I love knowing what the readers hope to learn.

eliushi [Keyspace]

I’m in the midst of a 180k plus word count novel beta and alphaing a couple works but once that’s all done, happy to take a look too

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

holy

Deo101 [Millennium]

Wowie

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Getting trustful beta readers i gotta say again is so important bc sometimes when asking for some, u run into betas that are there to just exploit that privilege too (tho rare) And!!!! Be respectful of ur betas on the other side of the spectrum

Deo101 [Millennium]

Exploit how?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

like to read your work early?

eliushi [Keyspace]

Definitely pick your betas wisely

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Usually just the free ride of Knowing the Story or the opportunity to just Constantly Crit (non helpful) bc of personal reasons

Deo101 [Millennium]

Damn

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I'm imagining having someone sneak in as a beta and reveal they're a rabid toxic fan trying to influence the plot to their liking. As an absolute worst scenario

Deo101 [Millennium]

Spooky

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Yea.... There's def ppl out there that would do that THOUGH RARE again. I think that's more of like Competition in the field or spite? But ive heard it happening and its not cool

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

like people just looking for a free ticket to complain about your work?

i can see that

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

Oh yeah, I had folks like that before

after that I'm just like "thank you for your time" and block them after LMAO

Deo101 [Millennium]

That sucks :(

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

hhhhhhh

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Yea And u can always tell a sincere crit from a one that comes from a place of malice and ill intent pretty easy.

eliushi [Keyspace]

Exactly

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

oof

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Still!!! A horrible experience

Deo101 [Millennium]

:< yeah

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yeah.. I've never had anything like that happen, but wow... that's a terrifying notion

eliushi [Keyspace]

You tend to want to know your betas more than just them being a reader too. I like to think my betas are my friends and it’s a two way street where I help them too

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Some betas sign papers of confidentiality to avoid these instances of people running off with ur work too

eliushi [Keyspace]

There are paid betas but that’s business side and yeah Krispy

Deo101 [Millennium]

/stress

eliushi [Keyspace]

I don’t have them for mine

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Its scary bc we're all so small and our work is mainly for free U have to be wary of this

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I could easily see myself getting sucked into a bad situation like that I trust people too easily sometimes

but ugh... ya gotta learn

eliushi [Keyspace]

It’s good to know the risks. That being said, I think the rewards of having a good beta far exceed the bad apples. You have to set good boundaries

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Not that any of yall would do this omgjghg

Deo101 [Millennium]

Same Claire ajdjdnsdjjjdjdjdjddj

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

gonna steal all y'alls IDEAS

eliushi [Keyspace]

It’s also totally valid to say, hey something came up and I can’t beta anymore

Key is communication

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

lmao ya gotta kill me for my ideas

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Isossn Watch out for that Claire lady

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

https://tenor.com/view/laugh-giggle-mutley-dick-dastardly-snicker-gif-5552702

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Omg Eli yesssSSSSS that!!! Is important for both creator and beta to have that communication

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Oh no, my precious ideas!!!

Deo101 [Millennium]

Eh even if u steal my ideas you can never steal my characterizations!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

just steal everything and make a horrible hodgepodge of all of our webcomics, like some sick frankenstein's monster

Deo101 [Millennium]

I don't think my ideas are the best part of my stories anyways :P

Ahsjdjfjdjfjdjfjdififiididkfkdje Frankensteins webcomic

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

my ideas are relevant to my cultural background so I'm like lmao

eliushi [Keyspace]

I learned from my novel days that ideas are dime and dozen and it’s the execution that counts(edited)

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I would actually love that tbh

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Oh no id read it tho XD

Deo101 [Millennium]

Massive crossover event

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

YES

PLEASE

eliushi [Keyspace]

Super smash bros when

varethane

lmao

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

hahaha

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I really want people going into healthcare to critique my personal statement, but I won't send it to anyone because I've legitimately heard of people stealing others' personal statements and getting both people rejected

Deo101 [Millennium]

Wow

eliushi [Keyspace]

That’s scary and unfortunate

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

ooof

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

it's almost worse than stealing a story idea because you're stealing like

someone's life story??

or their personality??

it's extremely strange to me

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah that's ??????

eliushi [Keyspace]

I would consider having a mentor look over your statement but that’s veering off creator babble territory

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

oh i am doing that and very very thankful to them

Deo101 [Millennium]

Good suggestion and good point

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

After recently seeing a whole comic style/theme completely and obviously lifted from another one... yeah, the things that make your comic yours? They can absolutely be stolen whole-cloth

It's scary

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

oh no

god what even is the fun in that??

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I don't know. I really don't.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

you know what i want to spend years doing? telling a story that's already been told, except worse!

varethane

D:

Deo101 [Millennium]

I've had someone steal designs before

varethane

dpsofasdj I am so curious about these cases now aaahhh

Deo101 [Millennium]

Ppl do steal stuff. But what sucks for them is I'm the one with a brain and I can make new things

eliushi [Keyspace]

I’ve seen similar styles but have not seen a purposeful recreation of another’s style whether as impersonation or plagiarism

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

i just read a webtoon that was "inspired" by an anime with many ideas from anime too

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

It was a case where I always thought the two looked surprisingly similar, but then... yeah, you learn more things and you go AW GOD OKAY

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

this, and offensive stuff, is a case where i think unsolicited critique is 100% okay

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah, though then it's the line of "is it offensive just to me? Or overall?"

Though I guess saying "this offended me" isn't horrible or whatever

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i think of the trend of lgbt youtubers making videos making fun of anti-lgbt crap and that's a case where i'm like yeah! pile on!

You have a good point and there are cases where something is almost objectively offensive

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah, and then there are other cases where ppl are offended by how I've decided to have no homophobia where it's like "okay sure but I'm not doing anything wrong"

But yeah there are definitely times where it's like "no that's bad for sure and I'm allowed to be critical of and mad about it"

I also think there's a difference between criticizing mass media and criticizing independent media

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Wait What what omg???? Thats???? So backwards

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

well, here's an anti-critique. it offends me when someone says that being lgbt must be hard and sad all the time!

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah! I'd agree with that LOL

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

can I just be happy

as a bi woman

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

"IT'S NOT LIKE MY LIFE THEREFORE IT'S INACCURATE"

Deo101 [Millennium]

Ahdjfjskfkdkckskfksdksk yeah

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

So true tho!!

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

God, I hate that argument

Deo101 [Millennium]

Though I do think that its worth it to open yourself up to that kind of critique to potentially reach the people who do need your story

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

Yes def agree

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

True true

If there's a blind spot you're missing, then for sure

Deo101 [Millennium]

Well, I was meaning more like "you can't please everyone, but that shouldn't stop you from trying your best anyways!"

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Ah! also true

Deo101 [Millennium]

Like not necessarily blind spots, but more like. Some people will be mad no matter what sorta thing

Yee

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

so tru

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Yeah for sure. I've tried to cover my bases on certain things in my own work, but I'm sure if it ever gets bigger, someone will be unhappy about something.

I'm not ready for that day, but... maybe it'll come

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah. Like I said I had someone get mad at me for not having homophobia

Where it's like... Okay stop reading then cause this isn't the story for you

Actually my friends replied to then and they did kinda turn around on their thinking, I think, so that was nice!

There's something I'm bad at for the question, is replying to my comments

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

oh? :0

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

okay sometimes i've said to my friends "yo weird ass comment, right?" and they've gone and defended me like way extra hard

i'm always grateful but also a little (edited)

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah same. .

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

too mch man

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah it's like Thank you but

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I do have some weird comments but the ones that I just kinda trying to offend me

I don't look at it till after a few months and respond to them calmly lmao

no point for me to just get rilied up for someone trying to get on my nerves but rip that's probably just me and how I deal with that stuff in irl too

I don't let my friends go after bozos lmao

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah for me I just like. Try really hard to be diplomatic, I guess? But it takes a lot of energy

When what I WANT to say is "lol read another comic then" or something but I try to think of a way to be nice

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yee I understand on that. for me I'm just say it as it is if at's the moment but for more heated comments I address them after a few months lol

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I haven't gotten any weird randos yet apart from... one legendary one But things are always calmer on your own site far away from Tapas/Webtoons

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I agree on that but lmao

I did had one angry commenter going agro for few of my pages

and I looked at it and I was like "Oh worm man"

they were just reacting to my characters being shit LMAO

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

OH WORM MAN

very good

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I ignore it tbh. I recently had someone comment "All lives matter" at the end of my comic because I included "Black lives matter" at the end. And I honestly knew i didn't have the mental fortitude to explain to them why that was so rude and missing the point.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

lol my mom is saying that stuff and i'm just like :|

okay mother

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I guess for writing for me, now thinking about it is that

on the prompt: I don't respond quick and I'm not really active much on interaction but I want to try more

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I haven't gotten any weird randos yet apart from... one legendary one But things are always calmer on your own site far away from Tapas/Webtoons

I really haven't either though! Just a few people saying mildly :| things, no hate or anything. Wt is not always as scary as its reputation

or maybe i'm in the eye of the hurricane idk

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

lol

I have had mostly good experiences too

Deo101 [Millennium]

I've had mostly good too!

I know I complain a lot but really I'm just salty and that's just a few bad things here and there

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

The comment I was thinking about earlier was just an innaccurate interpretation of characters' feelings. They thought some people had a romantic history. I wasn't going to respond but my friend went all "if you actually read the comic you would see th- " and I was thinking omg tone it down a bit

Deo101 [Millennium]

Bajsjdjekdjdkdjd

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

never underestimate the Friend Army

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I had a reader I didn't know defend me in the comments once. The original commenter was complaining about the length of my updates, and the other reader started railing on them. It was powerful lmao. I didn't even need to say anything

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Oh! same

Deo101 [Millennium]

I've had some ppl defend me or explain for me and it's like. Idk a special kind of magic ahahahah

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Oh for sure! It feels magical to know that some of your readers passionately love your work

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Update-length complainers are so cathartic to smack down. Not that I've done it, I just... like seeing it

You're getting a free comic. Made by a human with a life. Chill

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

All my comments are normal where are my weirdos

boogeymadam

someone take some of my weirdos, my comic attracts them

but not really because i accidentally gave claire one of my weirdos and i feel Sooooo bad

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

i feel im still a long way off from getting anyone with my comic

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

weirdos are contagious apparently

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

You don't have to be popular to get a weirdo

Sometimes like... you could have 1 regular commenter and that person is a weirdo

or not even a commenter, you show your work to a RL friend before posting it online, and the friend takes off their mask dramatically, and reveals their True Identity as a professional weirdo

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

for real, i was posting on SJ and had all of like a dozen followers and one guy went through and heavily critiqued a ton of my pages

Like technical stuff like paneling and flow of action?

Also said my female lead looks like a man and my animation was nauseating lol

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

heh well after i do this current update im working on, i'll be scraping how ive been doing updates and following some tutorials i finally found

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I like critique but even so that guy was :|

boogeymadam

omg noooo sorry that happened fish! D: unsolicited critics are some of the worst

DanitheCarutor

I guess that is the one thing I've been lucky with. I actually don't mind unsolicited critique, but I've never gotten any outside of one time someone corrected my character's grammar in the comments. Commentary like that is way more welcome than the occasional anonymous hate comment, and malicious article calling me a fetishist, which is all entertaining in its own way but not as easy to deal with. Now that critique is brought up I'm reminded that I need to work on how I respond to it. Like, I actually get kind of excited when someone takes the time to break down my stuff (even if it totally misses the mark with what I'm trying to accomplish), but I end up responding with a novel and sometimes it's worded in a way that sounds like I'm upset. I need to get better at keeping it short and sweet.

Feather J. Fern

I raise my hand to say I can't draw hands for the life of me still after praticing for a long time. I used all the techiques, tricks, and still my hands are just butts.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

make a universe where people have butts for hands

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

This is a really minor one and thankfully easy to correct after publishing, but: my ESL-ness shows sometimes, especially with prepositions and articles. My English isn't terrible; there's just some occasional "wait did they mean 'on' where they put 'in'..." That's on the surface level. I also can't do that 'just write the dialog and see how the characters bounce off each other' thing in English. I hadn't thought much about that until I started writing a story in Korean, and I was surprised how much easier it was to get flowin' with the dialog. I'm not toooo concerned about this one, as Get Flowin' is just one way of writing a scene. But it is a thing.

Feather J. Fern

Eightfish stop calling me out that I can draw butts better than hands okay(edited)

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

feather have fun drawing the gluteus maximus

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I see nothing wrong here

Moral_Gutpunch

I'm bettign most people here can draw hands better than me.(edited)

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

S’okay, my hand drawing is pretty bad

Feet is...also an issue

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

The best reference is the one attached to you, I always say

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

or make your so pose for you

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yes

That

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

looks back at comic and sees lots of guy characters with slender palms MHMMMM

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Hahaha

Lol

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

ahahha i have the same problem

some guys have thick ass fingers when i look at them closely omg

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yeah, everyone has pretty thin fingers in mine, because I have thin fingers(edited)

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Okay yeah not gonna lie I HAVE made my SO pose for me. Several times.

Oh yeah don’t forget

Guys can have hairy knuckles too

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I have had my SO pose his hands retroactively for me, imitating a panel I did And I was screaming inside LOL

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

this stuff makes me :00

Deo101 [Millennium]

I have hairy knucles and my hands are bigger than my dads

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Ughhhh, that's too much detail for me, Shadow

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Yoslslzlzrhlzxzzkhzhlztututs funnily enough my SO’s hands and mine are of similar length

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

For such a small person, I have really long fingers

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

reminded me of a convo i had with some friends

they sent a reference and said they thought it was unrealistic because of how much the tendons stick out

and i said, no, that's how mine look

and it was interesting seeing the differences

Deo101 [Millennium]

everyone share hands

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I mean, especially since your fingers are stretched, the tendons stick out lol(edited)

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Someone told me I have piano fingers

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

like i always think of my hands as the 'default,' because I see them the most but really there is much variation

deo has nice hands

look elegant

shadows hands look a lot like the rest of her :0

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Whhhhhhhhh

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

tall librarian

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

GJOXJPSLZLJZDXKXYOF

Yeah true XD

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

My nails are super long rn

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Holy shit the manicures

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I did it myself

Deo101 [Millennium]

thank U i have lovely hands that are big as fuck, and I can use as a ruler

because my pinky and thumb can stretch out exactly 10 inches

this cup is 10 inches tall

youre welcome

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I have stubby baby hands as well as double jointed fingers, so I'm very aware my hands aren't "average" looking. Yet if I don't pay attention, I tend to draw hands kind of like mine

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Hahahaha, Deo!!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

wow so useful i should measure my hands

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Me too tbh

Deo101 [Millennium]

I atually suggest it it comes in handy (ha) more than youd think

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i found a joint that measures exactly 1 inch and i use it so much

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah!!!

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Whoooooa

Mine goes 8 inches

Deo101 [Millennium]

my hands are fookin hyuge bro

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Wait

8.5

YEAH YOURS ARE GIANT

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

exactly 8 inches

omg your hands are huge

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Mine stretch out to just under 7.5 inches

Deo101 [Millennium]

in yalls defense I also have ehlers danlos so theyre probably stretching more than yours too

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I have smol hands because I am smol

Deo101 [Millennium]

tiney

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yus

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

surprised shadow managed to find a way to measure in inches haha

Deo101 [Millennium]

she said it wrong its actually 8.5 cm

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

8.5 inches

I used a ruler

In cm it’s 21

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

she said it wrong its actually 8.5 cm

hm maybe that's why she thinks hands are hard to draw

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

LMHfhgzmzjKfhl

Deo101 [Millennium]

because she has tiny baby hands and can barely hold the pencil... yes

its all coming together

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

I will slap y’all with my tiny baby doll hands

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i'm learning so much about you all today

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Now you see my pain

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

o h wait do you play music crona?

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Uh... Not really. I've messed around on the piano, and failed at playing the French horn

Deo101 [Millennium]

LMAO

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Playing instruments is hard for smol hands

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

rip

Feather J. Fern

My tiny hands compared to my pen XD

Also I took the picture close up and at an angle so not cone cna make fun of my writsts which are narrower than my computer mouse

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

my wrists are also narrower than my mouse, and my mouse is pretty small

Deo101 [Millennium]

mine's about the same as my mouse

Feather J. Fern

Yeah I got a pretty small mouse too, I been told by people to eat more becuase of my wrists (It's an Asian thing apparently) and I'm like "First of all rude, second of all my health is not any of your concern random lady on the street"

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

yup

Tiny wrist solidarity!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Solidarity!

varethane

I don't have especially thin wrists but my hands are lowkey shaped pretty oddly. I only posted a photo of my hand petting a cat to FB and got a lot of comments like 'cute cat but what's with that hand????'

(it did look pretty weird from that angle. Like a noodle with a couple of noodlefingers at the end)

spacerocketbunny

Oh no Vare ;;;;;3;;;;;;;;;

[flightsoffandom]

The Disappearing Weeks

Pairs: Gender-Neutral Reader.  Left Vague, Interpret the writing however you’d like. Lestrade and Sherlock are featured alongside the Reader.

Words: 1467

Summary: Waking up in the middle of a park in London with no memory of the past two weeks calls for a Detective with special talents.

Notes: Left completely gender-neutral. Honestly, I could see this leading somewhere and me continuing it later, we shall see. I did already use this prompt for a Supernatural One-Shot, but I am wanting to challenge myself by using the same prompt with different fandoms and try to make it as unique as possible.

One-Shot based on @coffin-prompts

“Are those your pajamas?”

“Is that an insult to my style? How dare you!”

The last thing you remembered was getting off your plane at an airport in London After that, it was all blank. So waking up in the middle of a park in London was extremely jarring. You sat upright as someone was about to come up to talk to you. The man crouches down to look at you, "I'm Inspector Lestrade. Can you tell me where you're at right now?" You rub your head and look around, "Somewhere in London?" Lestrade looks at you a bit worried, "Can you tell me your name?" You nod, searching your pockets for an ID of some kind. "I'm [Your name]. I came here for a vacation." You frown when you find your pockets empty. Lestrade stands up and offers you a hand. You take it and stand up on wobbly legs. You feel dizzy right away, holding your head again. The Inspector is kind enough to help steady you. Lestrade starts questioning you again, "How did you get here?" You think hard, your brain's a bit foggy. You speak with shaky confidence, "The last thing I remember is getting off my plane… on the 3rd, I think?" You can see the visual shock on the Inspectors. Lestrade speaks growing more concerned, "That was two weeks ago. You don't recall anything else?" Lestrade starts walking you to a police car parked right outside the park. You shake your head, “No.. nothing at all.” Lestrade sits you in the back and makes you take a breathalyzer just to be sure. When it comes up clear the Inspector starts pondering something. Lestrade looks at you, “Okay… I’m going to take you to someone who should be able to help.”

For the whole car ride, you just held your head and tried to figure out what was going on. Not a whole lot was making sense. You had no identification on you. You didn’t even know where all the bags from the plane went. The car was completely silent until Lestrade parked in front of a townhouse. He stops, almost like he is preparing himself. When the Inspector steps out of the car you follow as well. Lestrade knocks on the door. A sweet-looking older woman answers the door. Lestrade greets her, “Good day, Mrs. Hudson.” She looks between you and Lestrade, “He is in a mood today I’m afraid… You’re free to try but don’t expect much from him.” Lestrade nods, understanding. You stare at Mrs. Hudson with confusion clear on your face. Mrs. Husdon motions up the stairs, “You poor dear… You look dreadful. Let me make you some tea and something to eat.” You almost protest but you realize how hungry you are and have no idea when the last time you ate was. You nod, “Thank you very much, ma’am.” Mrs. Hudson dismisses your thanks before disappearing into her flat. Lestrade leads you up the stairs. Before even reaching the door you can hear shouting, and things being thrown about. Lestrade knocks on the door and all the ruckus stops. After a long pause, Lestrade just opens the door and you follow him in. You’re greeted with the sight of a tall slender man in a suit with dark curly hair. His back is turned to you but he looks disheveled. The state of the room mirrors the noises you heard just a moment ago of things being thrown about. Furniture was overturned with papers and other miscellaneous objects scattered about. The man speaks without looking back at either of you, “What do you want?”

Lestrade speaks up, “Well I need your help.” The man turns around looking annoyed, “When don’t you? Cant, you figure this out on your own?” The man looks at you, “Drunkard… Solved… Your welcome.” You sniff your clothes trying to figure out why he would assume that about you. The man turns back around, focusing on something else. Lestrade clears his throat, “I already ran that test, they are clear. Sherlock please.” Sherlock turns around and growls, “Fine. If it will get you to shut up.” Sherlock walks right up to you, studying you. You flinch away from him a bit, unsure of what is going on. Sherlock finally speaks up, “Are those your pajamas?” You step back somewhat offended, “Is that an insult to my style? How dare you?” Sherlock narrows his eyes at you, speaking to himself. “And here I was starting to think you were mute.” Sherlock speaks to you, “No. You have been in those clothes much longer than you normally would be.” Sherlock starts pointing out things about you. “Your clothes are wrinkled. But in such a way that they wrinkled while you were wearing them for an extended period of time. You smell of grass and dirt, meaning you have just spent a long time outside probably in a park of some kind.” Sherlock looks like he has more to say but stops, “What’s the case you found so important as to interrupt up during a crucial experiment?” While Sherlock was addressing Lestrade ignoring you. You had gained enough of your bearings to stand up for yourself. “The last thing I remember was two weeks ago, getting off my plane.” You pause and look around the room, pointing to the mess. “By experiment do you mean a temper tantrum?” Sherlock makes a face that you can’t quite read. Sherlock pauses for a moment staring at you. Before turning around and flipping back over the furniture meant for sitting. Sherlock addresses Lestrade again, “Clearly they are capable of answering all my questions themselves... I have no need for you. Leave.” Lestrade shakes his head but goes to leave. The Inspector stops and hands you a card, “He can be particular but he will get you the answers you need. Contact me if you need any more help.” You nod taking the card and then Lestrade exits the room. Leaving you alone with Sherlock.

Instead of cleaning up Sherlock just pushes stuff to the side in order to make a path to the seats. Sherlock looks at you, “Don’t touch anything.” You laugh, “Now you’re making it sound like a challenge.” Sherlock narrows his eyes at you once again, like he is trying to make up his mind about you. You just sit down in one of the newly cleaned off chairs and grin at him. Right then Mrs. Hudson comes in and delivers a tray of tea and food to the table beside you, “Here you are, dear.” Sherlock assumes they are for him and reaches for it but Mrs. Hudson smacks his hand away. She glares at Sherlock, “These are for your guest. I just delivered you some tea and its not my fault you found the need to throw it across the flat instead.” Sherlock backs off but acts almost childish about it. Sherlock sits down across from you, “Client.” He corrects Mrs. Hudson without saying anything else. Mrs. Hudson looks down at you, “Just shout if you need anything.” She turns to Sherlock shaking her head, “Such a mess. And to have guests see it like this. Uncivilized.” You chuckle as Mrs. Hudson leaves the room. Once she is gone you split the food in half. Keeping one half for yourself and giving the other half to him. Sherlock seems a bit wary of the gesture but takes it anyway. You look at the food in front of you, lost in thought as you speak. “You said client but… I don’t have any money. I don’t know where any of my things went. I came to London to visit so I don’t have a place to stay or even know anyone.” You sigh and pass the tea tray off to Sherlock, not interested in it a the moment. When you hand it to him, Sherlock freezes. He stares intensely at your arm even as he takes the tray. You get a bit worried yourself so you roll up your sleeve and look at your arm. On it in ink is scribbled a bunch of what appears to you to be nonsense. Sherlock puts the tray down and grabs your hand. Sherlock slowly rotates your arm so he can see all of it. Sherlock speaks, “Don’t worry about payment...” Sherlock lets himself trail off getting distracted by examining you. He continues, “I’ll call John. Have him look you over. You'll have to stay here until he makes sure your not dying or poisoned.” A nervous ball forms in your stomach and you’re not sure what to make of anything that has happened to you. Sherlock did seem a bit eccentric, but he did seem incredibly intelligent. Also, your instincts were telling you that you could trust this very odd man. So with only a nod, you agreed to stay.

[immortalcockroach]

21 + 15 + 8!

asdfghjkl rose thank you for asking ♥️ this ended up coming out incredibly long, so i apologize in advance!

8) where do you take your inspiration from?

surprising! mostly from visual media, actually. graphics, art, moodboards, films, tv series, that kind of stuff. occasionally, music, and even more rarely, written media (fics, books, poems, similar). that’s for when i’m starting to get ideas. when i already have something written or ideas developed a bit more, then i have a moodboard on pinterest and a playlist on spotify, or i watch something that has the same mood/theme as the thing i’m writing.

15) if you write oc’s, how do you decide on their names?

i don’t usually write oc’s for fics, but i do them for my original stuff. the names depend on the characters’ background and location, but they all have a name that either sounds specific to their character or who they’re supposed to be, or the meaning is very connected. 

in other cases, most of the time, i just go ‘woah this sounds cool’ or sometimes i build a whole character because of their name and subsequently the whole story.

21  tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? what is it about them that you admire?

i love this question!! let me give my favourite fic writers a shoutout, even though i’m probably missing some too!! it’s really long but honestly these people worked hard and they really deserve it

@grumpybell‘s ideas are absolutely brilliant. i’m a huge fan. the stories themselves, the plots would be enough for me to have a whole paragraph about, but for me, the characters are where it’s at. well-developed, very true to the canon but also to the universe the fic is set in, but also very well-rounded and overall realistic. the fics just flow really nice, honestly, and i could read them for eternity. 

fic shoutout: oh darling, here’s hoping god i remember reading this red riding hood au and just... falling in love. i did. i fell in love with bellamy as the wolf and clarke’s desperation to save him, and the new take on the fairy tale, it was just absolute perfection. i keep coming to it every once in a while, honestly. it’s just magic.

@asroarke is one of those people who are just integrated into a fandom’s fanfiction. imagining t100 fanfiction with asroarke is like... imagining the sky without the stars. i think those fics were the first ones i read when i joined the fandom, and i remember one of the things i thought was how easy it was to read. everything flowed as if there was no effort needed, as if the words have always been there, just plucked and placed on a blank document. and the consistency, honestly, damn. these fics are better than probably more than half of published stuff i’ve read. 

fic shoutout: drag me down. look there’s a pattern here and it’s the mythical/legends/fairy tale aus. i present you with a retelling of little mermaid in the most beautiful, soul-wrenching way. i waited every single chapter for when i came out. i read it as soon as i saw it came out, even if i was in the middle of grabbing coffee with a friend. honestly everything by asroarke is absolutely fantastic. 

@blvke-bellamy okay look. when i saw may is just 15 i nearly fell off my chair. i’d kill to have that talent at 15. i would. look, i keep saying look, because i’m shook. but honestly, may’s characterization is brilliant. she took my faves from the 100 and managed to insert them into a different universe, and they feel so much like the original characters and not at all. the dynamics between them are so raw and so pure and so believable i cried at one particular scene in her fic. or it might be two scenes. and look, this is impressive on its own, and then knowing she’s just 15...god.

fic shoutout: step into the sun is a bellarke tangled au and honestly. i’m a slut for tangled. it’s so damn good. and this fic?? inspired by tangled?? absolutely brilliant. marvelous. 11/10. brought my fish to life. and honestly murphy is my favourite in the fic, literally one of my favourite portrayals of him in every fic i’ve ever read. i binged this. i lost sleep over this. no ragrets.

@pawprinterfanfic (i’m biased but. in top 3 fic writers ever. and i’ve been in a lot of popular fandoms.) paw manages to take a universe and make it hers. paw manages to create a universe out of nothing and make it feel more realistic than my own life. and honestly, i am reading her hunger games au right now and it’s amazing, but the best part is that i’m also reading the harry potter au which is even better and although both are masterpieces, i can see the improvement. the development of the characters, the amount of effort in planning and mapping things out, it’s marvellous. her fics just speak to me on a different level, it feels as if i’m experiencing them myself rather than reading them, and what i’m mostly in awe of is how immersed i am in those fics, especially the newer ones. i feel like it’s a rare skill to have.

fic shoutout: starry eyes and galaxy minds (we’ll be dancing on the clouds at night) which is a spider-man au, and honestly, i cried. it’s beautiful. it’s a masterpiece. but so is literally every single one of paw’s stories, so it was a really difficult choice. the harry potter one? j k rowling wishes she wrote it.

skai_heda (i don’t know their tumblr please someone help me find it). where do i begin. honestly. when i started reading the fic i put below, i was mesmerised by the writing style. it was partly in second pov which i’d usually refuse to read, but this writing style is something that belongs to gods. the characterization is amazing, it manages to fix some of the stuff in canon without actually changing it. everything just comes together naturally, and i always feel so satisfied when reading their fics. plus, the writing style again, especially in the fic below, is flawless. some people can create magic with their words, and i’m convinced i’ve just found one.

fic shoutout: everything that comes after deserves so much!! more!! attention!!! i remember reading the first two chapters and just being like...wooow. i was starstruck. i left a long ass comment. it’s so unique and so beautiful. it’s the only fic on this list written in the canon universe, and it’s one of my favourites i’ve ever read about the canon universe. it hurts. it makes you cry, and ache, and understand, and smack your head because you just want people to be happy. if i could pocket the way this fic made me feel, i would always keep it with me. (a little frustration, but a whole lotta love.)

give me a number and i’ll answer questions about writing fanfiction

just in case you’d like to see the same questions answered for non-fanfiction/non-fanfiction influence, see below!

15) if you write oc’s, how do you decide on their names?

specific example of mentioned above - a wip about teenagers who come from a rich side of town and a poor side. there’s posh names, like cedric, declan, byron and gregory, for people who are supposed to represent the posh, stuck-up class; hadley, tessa, abigail, kate for privileged people who are the ‘good guys’; and luca, oliver, han, freddie, who are from the poor side. it’s very classist so it was very important that the names represent the characters. usually, i go for the “vibe” of the name over the meaning, to be honest. 

21  tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? what is it about them that you admire?

i love this question!!

fiction: maggie stiefvater, because her raven cycle series genuinely feels like magic when i read it. the characters are brilliant. erin morgenstern, who wrote the night circus, because that novel also feels like magic. donna tart’s the secret history feels as if you’re reading a secret and the storytelling sort of reminds me of f. scott fitzgerald’s the great gatsby in a way i can’t really describe. she creates a beautiful, magnificent atmosphere and you know what the characters are doing is wrong, but you completely understand them and it makes me, as a reader, question my own moral standards. madeline miller’s the song of achilles is a beautifully written masterpiece that made me fall in love with mythology, legends and history all over again. the way she develops the characters and retells the story i’ve heard a million times is so poetic and beautiful it just resonates with me on a different level. and finally, leigh bardugo with her six of crows series that again, makes me question my morals, but shows the friendship and loyalty between people in a beautiful way. it also shows a romance that i think is one of best written i’ve read, up there for me romances from the novels/series i’ve already mentioned.

there’s a pattern - storytelling and character-building that feels almost otherworldly, very focused on emotions and character development. basically, stories that you feel like as if they were made into films without proper, detailed development, wouldn’t translate well enough to bring the world to the screen. and romances incredibly well-developed over time, that go beyond just being romances and actually show a beautiful connection.

special mention of these directors, as they have a huge influence on my writing: christopher nolan, john krasinski, quentin tarantino, m night shyamalan, steven knight, guillermo del toro, alfred hitchcock, for their storytelling and character building. also, some of these are for the suspense that seems to come naturally. i know most of these are very popular directors, but they’re popular for a reason. i could literally write an essay on each of these people, honestly. my writing is very inspired by motion pictures, i most often look up to how these directors approached some things that i have in my writing, especially themes. (this could literally be a whole essay on its own)

[thegayfromrulid]

A 2k Words for 2k Kudos request sent to my DMs, requested to remain anonymous. This one- gasp!- isn’t an SAO one-shot, but it was a joy to write nonetheless! It’s for Ao no Exorcist! The prompt was for Rin teaching Yukio how to cook something (brotherly bonding, commence!) If my usual SAO readers like Ao no Ex, I hope you, too, enjoy this little one-shot! One-shot below the cut.

           Rin dashed about the kitchen, gathering up all of the supplies he could think of. A rare occurrence had happened, and he wasn’t sure he cared why it happened. He was just happy that it would happen. He selected ingredients and cooking materials in a flash, tossing them all on the counter in an upset hurry, as if taking his time meant that this wouldn’t occur at all. With a battle cry, he snatched up the last bottle of spices and slammed it down on the counter.

           “Ack! This won’t do!” he said, sucking his teeth.

           Yukio would want to walk in on an orderly kitchen situation. He needed to get everything properly organized before his brother showed up. Normally, making things to Yukio’s standards might be irritating, to say in the least, but since this was a special occasion, he was as happy as ever to clean up the space. He hummed cheerfully as he made a little display out of the ingredients and supplies.

           The occasion? Yukio had asked for a quick cooking lesson.

           And, again, Rin didn’t know why Yukio wanted to learn how to cook something. He just reveled in the fact that Yukio had come to him—his beloved big brother!—for such advice. For a final touch, Rin donned his cooking apron and whirled around just as his brother entered the kitchen, looking a bit sleepy.

           “Morning, Yukio!” he said.

           His tail swished back and forth excitedly, as if incapable of keeping his good mood from breaking basic kitchen manners. He couldn’t help it. Yukio never asked him for help with anything. Then suddenly, out of the blue, he wanted Rin’s aid in an area in which he excelled.

           Blinking, Yukio glanced around the kitchen, taking it all in. The pan, ready to be used. The spices, all lined up neatly. The vegetables and meat tastefully posed by the spices. A few cooking utensils scattered about. He seemed less sleepy now. His eyebrows lifted.

           “Oh, this looks nice,” he said.

           If Rin wasn’t mistaken, there was a small smile present on his brother’s lips.

           “I’m glad you think so!” he said. “I made sure to get you an apron, too!”

           Proudly, Rin lifted up a second apron to show him.

           “I made the design myself!” he said.

           Yukio’s smile turned into a slight scowl when he saw the design—in crude hiragana handwriting, his name and the words “little brother” written with a variety of silly smiley faces surrounding it.

           “Of course, you did…” Yukio mumbled.

           Nevertheless, he took the apron and put it on. Rin’s smile widened. His little brother was wearing the apron he’d designed! This was already off to a great start. He pointed over to the sink with a goofy grin.

           “Are your hands clean?” he asked.

           Yukio nodded.

           “Why would I come into the kitchen without clean hands?” he asked.

           Rin shrugged.

           “I dunno, sometimes I forget before I come in, so I do it in here,” he said.

           His brother gave him a slightly concerned look.

           “So, I thought we’d go for something well-rounded, so I got all of the ingredients here for a yakisoba dish!” Rin said. “That, and when we’re done, we’ll have a nice dinner!”

           Yukio frowned.

           “Isn’t that basically just a quick and easy sort of thing?” Yukio asked.

           Rin waved a hand.

           “Don’t be so quick to call it easy!” he said. “Even the simplest of foods can be messed up if you don’t do it right! And we shouldn’t start with something hard right off of the bat. You need to work yourself up towards the more difficult stuff.”

           His brother just hummed.

           “So, step number one—make sure the heat is on and ready!” Rin said. “A good way to test if the pan or skillet is warm is to drop a little bit of water onto the surface and see if it turns into steam.”

           Each brother took their place in front of a burner and started to heat up their pans. Rin thought it would be best to show Yukio how it was done by doing it himself right next to him—teaching by example at least helped with a physical activity such as cooking. He watched as Yukio tested the heat with water droplets. They hit the surface of the pan and sizzled, dissipating almost as quickly as they’d landed.

           “Now what?” Yukio asked.

           Rin handed Yukio his portion of pork belly.

           “We’re going to fry this up!” he said. “So, we need: cooking oil.”

           He pulled out a measuring spoon for ease for his brother and handed it to him.

           “I don’t usually measure since I have a knack for it, but you’ll need a tablespoon of cooking oil in the pan. Be careful and add it slowly; oil might spatter out of the pan. Once you have the oil in the pan, add the pork belly. It needs to be cooked until it’s browned; that seals the flavor in and will burn off some of the fatty stuff.”

           Yukio kept a close eye on what Rin was doing as he managed his own pan. When Rin stole a glance, he caught Yukio staring at his motions in awe. He quickly turned his attention back to his own pan, being careful to make sure his pork belly was browning nicely.

           “How do you know when the inside is all cooked?” Yukio asked.

           Rin hummed.

           “I guess I just know based on experience,” he said.

           He offered Yukio a knife.

           “You can always use this to cut around the middle and check the inside if you’re not sure,” he said. “Be sure to cut in the middle—that’s what takes the longest to cook. Since you’ll need to cut the pork up to mix into the soba and vegetables, you aren’t ruining your presentation or anything like that.”

           His brother gave a nod. He cautiously held the piece of pork belly with his spatula and sliced into it with the knife. He struggled a bit pulling apart that slit to check inside, but when he finally had it open, he nodded and cooked the piece a little bit longer. When he finished, they put their cooked pork bellies onto plates covered in paper towels and then placed a lid over them.

           “This will ensure grease drips off of them and soaks into the paper towel,” Rin said. “The lid will keep the pork from getting too cold while we deal with the vegetables.”

           Rin pulled out a couple of cutting boards and knives to work with the vegetables now. He went through the motions of showing Yukio how to cut certain vegetables. He had to intentionally slow down his own chopping in order to help his brother see how it worked. Yukio slowly cut up his portions, likely to keep from making a mistake or cutting himself on a first try. He got a bit faster as he got the hang of it, though. With all of the vegetables cut up, it was then time to stir fry them.

           “Now, another dash of oil,” Rin instructed.

           Yukio used his trusty measuring spoon to add oil to the pan, while Rin just tipped over the full bottle and put the right amount by means of just knowing how much to add. He slipped his cut vegetables into the pan. They splashed into the oil and started to sizzle. He watched as Yukio mimicked him, being extra careful not to splatter oil on himself.

           “The key with stir frying the vegetables is to remember that you’re going to add the noodles to them later,” Rin said.

           His brother frowned.

           “And how is that the key?” he asked.

           Rin smiled.

           “I’m so glad you asked!” he said.

           Yukio rolled his eyes.

           “So, you’ll overcook your vegetables if you cook them all of the way before adding the noodles,” he explained. “They can finish cooking alongside the noodles. Just make sure they have a bit of color to them, and then add the soba.”

           It didn’t take much time at all for Rin to stir fry the soba. He then slipped the noodles into his pan with the vegetables and added the sauce. Yukio mimicked his steps.

           “Store bought sauce?” he asked.

           Rin nodded.

           “I won’t intimidate you on your first lesson,” he said. “The sauce isn’t too hard to make, but it takes a lot of time and would be overwhelming to a beginner chef. So, for now, we’re just adding a store-bought sauce, so you get the hang of cooking with the pan.”

           Yukio let out a small “ahh…” in acknowledgement.

           “Now, with the soba, you want the noodles to be browned,” Rin continued. “The sauce is going to caramelize around the soba and vegetables. I can show you what that looks like as it happens, if you want.”

           His brother gave a slight nod.

           “After it’s all done, we’ll cut the heat, cut up and add the pork belly, and then, we’ll be all done!” Rin said.

           As he cooked up his soba on instinct, he leaned over to help Yukio identify what caramelization looked like. His brother listened with nods and hums as Rin pointed out the visual differences between the sauce when added and the sauce when it was caramelized. He encouraged Yukio to lower his heat on his burner if he thought it was too fast of a process for him, but not by a whole lot.

           Both brothers finished up cooking their noodles and removed the pans from the heat. They set about cutting up the pork belly. Rin offered some pointers about knife selection when cutting meat versus cutting vegetables. He showed Yukio how to cut the pork into bite-sized strips for the dish, and then quickly set up a plate of the food to demonstrate. Yukio attempted to make his plate look nice like Rin’s, with a little bit of difficulty on keeping the noodles from escaping off of the edges of the plate.

           “Now, for the finishing touch!” Rin said.

           He set down a few options on the counter.

           “You can add green nori flakes, red pickled ginger, scallions, or mayonnaise, if you like,” Rin said. “Well. You can add anything you want, really.”

           Yukio pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose a little.

           “If you just added anything, wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of a recipe?” he asked.

           Rin shook his head.

           “The best cooks understand that you can add or take away anything you like from a recipe that you like,” he said. “If you’re cooking, so long as it tastes good in the end, isn’t that what matters the most? I like to play with ingredients and spices to make up flavorful and unique dishes. You don’t always have to follow a set of instructions to make a good meal.”

           His brother hummed in thought. Yukio was very stringent about rules; it made sense that he’d want to stick to a recipe without wavering. This was why Rin had noted the topping options—he’d have to decide for himself what he wanted to eat. There was no set rule for what you topped your yakisoba with. He watched with quite a bit of teasing brotherly glee as Yukio’s hand hovered over the options. He finally opted for green nori flakes and sprinkled them over top of his yakisoba. Rin selected mayonnaise and red pickled ginger for his.

           “It’s taste test time!” Rin said.

           He jabbed his chopsticks into his dish and slipped a bit into his mouth. It tasted wonderful. He hummed with delight. He then offered his dish out to Yukio. His brother hesitated but took a bite of it and chewed with a pensive look on his face.

           “Whaddya think?” Rin asked.

           Yukio gave a curt nod.

           “Excellent, as to be expected of one of your dishes,” he said.

           Rin grinned.

           “Thank you!” he said. “Shall we test yours, then?”

           His brother suddenly appeared a bit nervous. It was unlike him to look like this.

           “Hey, I’m sure it’s good, too!” Rin said, trying to sound encouraging. “I watched you the whole time! You did great!”

           Yukio frowned, but he grabbed a bit in his chopsticks and slowly brought it up to his mouth. He still seemed wary of his own creation. Rin raised his eyebrows and leaned forward in anticipation. Probably not wanting Rin to bend any closer, Yukio popped the bite into his mouth and chewed. He was silent. Rin felt impatient and started to squirm.

           “So? So?” he asked.

           He watched Yukio with bated breath. Finally, his brother swallowed.

           “I think it’s decent,” he said.

           Without further ado, Yukio presented the dish to Rin. Finally! The moment he’d been waiting for! He thrust his chopsticks into Yukio’s dish, pulled out a nice clump of noodles and vegetables, and shoved them into his mouth. The flavors on his tongue practically sang. He grinned.

           “Nice job, Yukio!” he said.

           The compliment earned him a smile. Rin’s face lit up.

           “This was fun!” he said. “Do you want to try to make something else now?”

           Yukio chuckled.

           “Maybe we can try something different tomorrow,” he said, taking off the apron. “For now, I’ve got to run to the shop, and you’ve got to work on homework.”

           Rin’s excitement was extinguished with a single word.

           “H-homework?! Why do I have to do homework?!”

           Yukio smirked.

           “If you’d like, I can teach you how to do that just like you taught me how to make this,” Yukio teased.

           He turned to leave, probably smirking where Rin couldn’t see it. He stopped in his tracks at the door.

           “Oh, and Rin?”

           “What?”

           “Thanks for teaching me how to cook yakisoba.”

           Rin watched as Yukio walked out, dumbfounded. He gazed over at the two steaming hot dishes that would need to be stored for dinner later. A gentle smile replaced his homework-induced scowl.

           “Anytime, Yukio.”

[cowardsanctuary]

Into the Object Hole:

Why is Nearly Every Object Show Flash-Animated?

(warning: a big, gigantic ramble generated by the mind of a comic artist)

I’m asking this question because I was bitten by the “Object Show” bug myself! It’s become a niche but easily replicated genre of its own within the animation community. Starting with the eponymous Battle For Dream Island (a show I think we’re all familiar with), we’ve seen many creators follow suit in the seemingly simple formula of having a bunch of inanimate objects participate in a game show-esque competition.

This is not to claim that Object Shows are unoriginal or overdone at this point: on the contrary. With the advent of resources for learning writing, animation, et cetera, I feel there’s a massive amount of potential that this community has, until now, mostly neglected. Battle for BFDI is, from what I can tell, reveling in its own, unique premise in the way it wants to. Inanimate Insanity’s second season has, as of late, recognized its potential to communicate a story about change and growth within individuals and the world around it. Unfortunately, I haven’t watched many shows, but I feel I’ve gotten my point across.

In another post, I asked about shows that didn’t use Flash, so i’m going to be responding to those before I embark on my tangent.

@apcwoc said:                                                                                                                            djshjksjhhdj most of the shows are probably done on flash because a lot of them were started when the og creators where much younger and flash is the easiest and most reliable to use when people start out animating            

that’s a common thread i’ve been finding!! one of the earliest object shows, Animation Island by legotd61, was created a year after BFDI—and at the time, legotd61 was 7 years old. granted the animation & visuals aren’t the most jaw-dropping thing in the world, but they were a kid so it’s automatically charming. in like, a kid sense.

@demi-gray suggested Modern Objects as a non-asset-using show!

Unfortunately, it still relies on assets for arguably the most important visuals: the characters! They do use the capabilities of Flash more extensively than other shows (that I know of), which makes watching the characters do their thing a lot more fun and engaging. The unique style compared to other shows definitely helps out a lot as well!

@payjayisgod said:                                                                                                                            i mean, i do frame-by-frame all the time, but for the sake of saving time i’ll be using assets for the bodies (gonna try doing everything else with frame-by-frame) in my own series i’ll be making with some friends ^^“ if you wanna see my animations my youtube is Icedog McMuffin :0c                            

PLEASE show me your show when you do it, because your animations are!!! really cute!!! also i’d LOVE to see stuff that takes the path of Modern Objects: with asset bodies, yes, but everything else is done according to the needs of the visuals. Use your medium to the best of its ability!

@dottival said:                                                                                                                            I once saw someone who Wanted to do frame-by-frame, but they never got their show off the ground. Mostly because they never really started??

you can’t just. tell me this. and not say who this person is (unless they want their identity under wraps, which i’ll respect)!!!! I’d love to ask them about their thought process towards their show, unless they didn’t actually plan much. I want to do some... ReSearch....

Speaking of planning, the thing that enchants and haunts me most about object shows is how much is going on behind the scenes. This is for any animated show, really, because as a bitty comic artist, I had no clue where to begin. I’ve started to draft and worldbuild for my own show, but I can’t help but wonder how much of it is done for other object shows.

(this is a thumbnail for a setting on my show!)

The medium, by default, demands attention on the characters at the forefront. The premise generates interest, the aesthetics (aren’t necessary but) lead viewers in, and the subject(s) of the show is what keeps audiences engaged. No matter what the creator(s) choose as the subject, they must make sure it’s polished to their best abilities, while ensuring other elements of their medium is properly balanced.

If you’re creating a character-driven narrative, for example, you’ll want to focus on the development of your characters. And, since it’s easiest to relate to concrete characters, that’s what novice content creators focus on developing as their content’s primary subject (and what professional content creators master).

However, the development of, say, a character is more often than not put into the hands of the viewers. How? Viewer participation: having the audience vote off who leaves a competition.

An interesting concept as, typically, animated shows require oodles of planning in order to convey the story it wants to the best of its ability. This makes the typical object show a challenge (forgive the word-play) to pull off properly, despite being deceptively simple enough of a feat on the surface. Character development can be volatile, as any character can be booted off (depending on how well you can predict a character getting eliminated).

Following this, the difficulty of creating a cohesive and well-written story through the Object Show format is very, very high. After all, you need to place time in your resources as wisely as possible, in order to avoid taking too much time on an end product you may not even like a little while later. The elimination of one character may upset a part or the entirety of the show’s plotline, if a creator is not careful.

Inanimate Insanity’s writing was able to excel at its greatest the moment viewer voting was dropped. One of the best shows in this genre (in my opinion), Modern Objects, isn’t even an object show: it’s formatted like a sitcom, and focuses primarily on characters and comedy. The one object show I was able to find that was primarily frame-by-frame animation (thank you, @bfb-basard!), Race to the Mansion of Tomorrow, is 100% script-driven; meaning, no viewer participation. This is the same for a few other shows as well, though I am not aware of them at this point of time.

(a snapshot of my animation process: this is for an animation of my OCs Milt and Malt, put to the audio of Big Bill Hell’s Cars.)

So why Flash? The answer is because it’s just easier. Not in the sense that the animators of these shows are lazier, but because animating in Flash saves time. Unless you’re putting all your stops into your show, or the contestants will always be present / aren’t quite as important to the narrative, you absolutely cannot afford to waste time and energy on things that can get thrown away later. Either that, or you don’t know where a character or a plotline or what have you will build up to, so you want to make sure whatever you do make isn’t wasted.

(Granted, I always feel there’s always time for weird plots to be resolved until it’s the very end, but retcons are also an option?)

You see this video? It’s a pretty simple animation of just a little softball walking around.

It took me 2 or 3 hours, give or take, to finish. Nearly every frame is unique, and I drew them all with my hands and my tablet, nothing else. All moving parts are either animated in 2′s or 1′s—the latter of which being 1/24th of a second. There are 35 drawn frames overall, stretched out onto 127 individual frames that constitute the entirety of the animation.

In other words, this clip is 5 seconds long.

If you want to finish an object show within your lifetime, let alone within 5 years, then Flash will be your best friend. It’s good, revolutionary technology that will make your life easier. With Flash, you don’t have to draw things over and over and focus instead on the motion, not the artwork.

Not only that, but being able to finish in a timely manner will help smaller content creators as, since we’re small and have small audiences, not everyone has a long enough attention span to hang onto you for decades. Certain shows like BFB and Inanimate Insanity have the advantage of popularity, so they can take their time with both the show and life (but they’re still rushed by their audience anyways so it’s a double-edged sword).

If you want to tell a story, consider what medium you tell it through wisely. Animation isn’t the only way, but I know for a fact that, if I get there, my show will be frame-by-frame. Why? Because I consider the artwork and the motion in my story just as important as my characters, if not moreso. You might not.

You can make it 3-d animated, claymation, traditionally animated, digitally animated, Flash, frame-by-frame, what have you. You can write your show as a novel, a script, a screenplay, a radio play, what have you. You can illustrate it as a children’s book, a comic, a graphic novel, or even an illustrated novel.

One of my favorite shows, up there with Modern Objects, is a comic by @swabsbloo​ called Escape From Abject Reality (which you can read on it’s own blog at @efarwebcomic​! Please read it! PLEASE READ IT! PLEASE!!! PL). Swabsbloo takes the premise of object shows and simultaneously puts it on its head while playing it straight: a bunch of objects wake up in an oddly absent field, only to figure out they’ve been trapped in a game show-themed death trap controlled (...?) by a(n apparent) sociopath named Snake Oil. You should read it. You should read their comic.

Hell, does your object show even need to be an object show? You can create stories that are beyond inanimate objects, or stories beyond competitions. Again, Modern Objects isn’t a competition show. You can base your characters off of objects as well, without needing to make them explicitly an object. The show I mentioned earlier, Race to the Mansion of Tomorrow, takes this latter approach for the most part!

As a storyteller, what I obsess about the most is storytelling. I love seeing all forms of it, and the potential that this community’s genre has astounds and fascinates me. The way in which we view the story doesn’t have to be important, but I find the ones I enjoy the most are the ones that utilize its medium to the best of its ability. It doesn’t have to be the best, it just needs to try.

So what do you want to try?

[paulineguillouzichnd1]

TRIPTYC

 Project

Without the use of words produce a series of connected images that visually illustrate who you are?

Exploring the work of other photographers and/or artists will help you develop a ‘visual story’ for your own work.

Give some thought to the things that are important to you. Everything you have ever done, the places you visit, the music you love, the stuff you keep, the memories and mementos carefully stored away are all part of what makes you unique. Consider how you might best illustrate who you are?

Produce:

1. Relevant research, planning and development of your work in your blog page.                                                                

2. One A3 ‘triptych’ portfolio quality print (A self-portrait, a place you’re connected to, an object significant to you).

3.Three Individual full res 300ppi jpg files uploaded to My City.

Research:

A bit of history...

Triptych is a kind of painting, or rather a surface where to paint. The first triptych that I could think of was the one by Jérôme Bosch, with his painting called The Garden of Earthly Delights (painted between 1490 and 1510) that I studied back at university in France when we were working on the Renaissance period (XIV-XVI). It mostly means that this period was a clear turning point from Middle Age in Art, Humanism, Science, Religion and generally in life (the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg, exploring the world, trade...) and really, the idea of creating my own triptych was very scary at that point.

I kept on doing some research, googling “triptych painting” “triptych photography” and was extremely surprised when I found out that triptych were actually a lot older: Middle Age where

“Les premiers exemples de polyptyques apparaissent en effet entre le Xe et le XIIe siècle, qu’il s’agisse encore de petits objets – essentiellement des diptyques et triptyques – voués à la dévotion personnelle, ou bientôt de grands retables placés sur les autels [dans les] églises et des chapelles.”

(’The first examples of polyptychs appeared between the 10th and 12th century, whether small objects -mostly diptychs and triptychs, destined for personal devotion, or soon great altarpiece, placed on altars [in] churches and chapels’) 

page 1, Du triptyque, ou d’une forme entre tradition et modernité

These 3 panels were, then, not just a biblical reference (Holy Trinity?) but also a practical choice to have your painting standing and seen by the audience from their seats. Easily moved as well from one place to another (I know well enough that kings at that time were packing and moving their furniture, clothes, important stuffs with them from one castle to another-secretly thanking my parents for having me visiting that many castles in France when I was a kid :P)

But then, again, the more I got to see paintings, photographs described as triptychs, the more I came to realise that triptychs had lost their ‘practicality’, being hang on walls, looked at but soon forgotten. It somehow made me feel a bit sad: why should paintings be statics as objects that are going to stand there? It surely is difficult to take your paintings/photographies with you once they’re finished (Ryanair would charge you a lot of money for that...) but in any new place where I’ve lived, my books, photographies and paintings have always been there to remind me of who I was, where I was coming from and I usually have with me a selection of the ones I like the most.

This reminded me of Byōbu (Japanese screen), how you get to use art in your everyday life, hiding/privacy... or worshipping?

Back to History...

During the 19th Century (and especially around 1880-1890) in Europe, painters used this form of canvas as a sort of commemoration of tradition and modernity: religious subjects, structured as the ones produced during the Middle Age, but with far more bigger dimensions (the one example underneath, Saint Cuthbert by Ernest-Ange Duez (1843-1896), was exposed at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français in 1879 and was more than 6 meters long.

19th Century, resurgence of TRIPTYCHS !

It’s very funny/ambiguous  to see that painters would choose that type of canvas to paint, and especially at that time in History. The 19th century in France (beginning of it - until 1850, roughly) saw the birth of Romantic writers (I’m thinking of Victor Hugo in France, William Wordsworth and John Keats in England, E. T. A. Hoffmann in Germany) or painters (Caspar David Friedrich with his Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, Francisco de Goya, Eugene Delacroix with his self-portrait where he paints himself as Hamlet or his painting called La liberty guidance le people (Liberty leading the people). Romantics like the Bible as it is an endless source of inspiration for them, dramatic stories to paint, or write about (no judgment intended!).

However, at the end of the 19th century, most artists would claim themselves as Realists (or Naturalists) which implied a true-to-life style which involves the representation or depiction of nature (including people) with the least possible distortion or interpretation. It sought to portray real and typical contemporary people and situations with truth and accuracy, and not avoiding unpleasant or sordid aspects of life. The movement aimed to focus on unidealized subjects and events that were previously rejected in art work. Realist works depicted people of all classes in situations that arise in ordinary life, and often reflected the changes brought by the Industrial and Commercial Revolutions.

How comes that in this particular time of History, painters would choose on purpose a type of painting whose main connotations were ‘Middle Age’ and ‘Religious subjects’? when one of their main subjects was real life: working class, farmers, factories, coal mine and that this period is also somehow related strikes, popular movement and the rise of socialism/anarchism?

Life is full of contradictions :) 

L'Oeuvre de la goutte de lait", Jean Geoffroy (1903)

Le bon marche (The good market), Felix Vallotton, 1898.

La Mine: La Descente ; Le Calvaire ; La Remonte, (Mine: descending, the calvary, climbing up)

Other paintings:

Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, Francis Bacon, 1944

Three Studies of Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, 1969

Bacon, as a painter, is someone I deeply admire. He’s not afraid of what most people would find scary or shocking. 

Although he was declared as unfit for active wartime service, lots of his paintings remind me of what we call ‘the broken faces’ (Les gueules casses) in French), disfigured soldiers from WW1 and WW2. Looking at his paintings is discomforting, unsettling. You want to look away but it’s also hard to do so. It’s powerful, in your face, disturbing but also hypnotising somehow?

It reminds me of the Motion blur in photography, as a representation of both physical and mental issues or simply this continuous mental conversation people have with themselves. Personal problems that are unresolved.

OR

Edward Honaker

Kyle Thompson

General:

When I started looking into what triptycs were, I loved this one example and the use of lines and the characters’s way of looking at each other and guiding the viewer into the paiting:

I also felt slightly claustrophobic about the idea of having so much details and stuff going on in my triptyc so I thought that the best way for me to give the viewer some space would be to make it as straigthforward and empty as possible but I wanted the “place” to be the same on the three pictures and be my link between the different photos as in the example above (cathedral?).

I came up with this drawing which was a first idea of what I wanted my triptyc to look like in the end:

On the left side, OBJECT, in the middle PLACE and on the right side SELF-PORTRAIT.

I would have to be very careful with the left and right pictures that were meant to be taken at a specific angle and match each other. The central picture would have been a family portrait. The table was meant to be the element that the 3 pictures had in common, guiding the viewer into the photo.

Black and White: I didn’t even really concider using colour pictures as I think Black and White Pictures give a better sense of what I wanted to express in my triptych.

OBJECT: Memories.

I chose to use my diary as an object because I’ve been journalling since I was roughly 8 or 9  and still have my notebooks from that time. It’s an incredible experience for me to open and re-read these journals. It feels like I’m back in the past at that exact moment and I almost see the younger version of myself, sitting on a chair and recording her memories. It felt a bit cheesy and cliché at first but it then became a cathartic exercise. It has now become a daily habit, 20 mns of writing, no lie, just the plain truth, my truth as it is (and its not just pretty and beautiful!)

PLACE: Rest[e]. In French, Reste means stay. I have always found funny that this particular word was so close to the English word Rest which involves an idea of settling, relaxing and peace of mind. For me staying and relaxing have long been two words that were almost like enemies: I needed to travel, I needed to go to the next place, I didn’t want to stop because that’d have been the end of me. But the older I get, the more I realise that I need to rest[e], I just don’t know where. Home is where I grew up, and more than a place, home is a composition of people that I have always had around me: parents, brother, sisters and friends. I wanted them in my pictures: memories of birthdays, Christmas and laughters . These endless meals sitting at the table and time stops.

SELF-PORTRAIT: I personally find it hard to deal with emotions and have had mood swings since a young age, experiencing panick attack and depression since I was a teenager. As many of us, I have learnt to put a smile on my face because that’s easier. I felt that having a static self-portrait would be a lie as my personality is so changing. When I found out about Picasso. I remember watching some of his paitings and seing them moving (face, places) and fet impressed. I also wanted to use where I was looking as a way to ‘direct’ the viewer in the tryptic, looking back at my PLACE and OBJECT, living with memories. The outside photos are black and white and could be anywhere. The central picture however is home, or a memory of home, one of the numerous ones recorded in my diary.

First attempt self-portrait: I was working with a shutter speed between 3 and 6 seconds. The 2 main challenges were to find a shutter speed that would have my faces standing and lying on the table with the motion blur in between.

One thing I didn't really consider was the angle of the table because ideally I wanted my triptych to have a symmetrical effect between the picture on the left (my object) and on the right side of the middle picture (family table).

This is my second attempt: same shutter speed but now, the table has a different angle. I made sure the left angle of the table was visible (I wanted the table to be on each picture, almost as a timeline/virtual line to give a sense of unity.

Last week, when we critted each other’s tryptic, one o the comments that was made was about the corner of the table (self portrait) that wasn’t visible enough, so I also worked with photoshop (shadows, highlight and exposure + brightness) to change it. It still isn’t perfect but the photos were taken one week apart in different studios.

The way I sit is also an echo of the middle picture (the one where I am sitting at my table back in France). Memories, and sometimes the sadness of being apart from your family can be heavy at times.

I am looking towards the first picture, looking back (at my memories?).

OBJECT:

As mentioned earlier, the object I chose is my diary. I almost wanted it to look like a still life picture: the viewers can see that someone has just left and was writing at that table a few minutes ago but has now left. What they need to focus on is this page: Why is that open? That’s the end of a diary. Why has the person gone?

I made several attempt at taking that picture: with a different pencil, with a hairdryer (and the pages being blurred). I also thought about being on the picture a bit like a ghost but then it just ended not having a good effect, there was too much of me in the 3 pictures.

OR

FAMILY PORTRAIT:

The place was meant to be an echo of my living room back in France (food, family or friends, wine, laughter), and opposed to the two sides of the table, that aren’t home to me. The table clothes, the mess, the framing that looks more of what my dad would take as a family picture isn’t even correct: the lady on the left is off-frame, and so is her plate. What we see here is someone just grabbing a camera and shooting without really thinking about composition. Spontanous, recording a good moment. I think this triptyc talks a lot about recording, remembering, not forgetting as well.

I used two ladies to help me (their matching clothes and hair is pure coincidence) as I live in a family of women and women are extremely strong in my family (men too!!).

The two students were super patient and we tried different head movement (up and down, left-right). Grant played my part while I was framing the photo and then I sat in the middle.

The way I sit is meant to be an echo of the way I sit in my self-portrait, as a memory kept in my mind, a version of myself I used to be but that has partly gone now. It’s also a triptyc about moving on but being stuck in memories as well

Material I use : a tripod, my DSLR, a 24-105mm lense set at 70mm, the school studio and a few people to help me with the PLACE.

FINAL TRIPTYCH:

Evaluation:

I have been surprised from the feedback I got from the other students who, I thought, got it very well. I feel that I would have wanted to try to have the tables not on a straight line but rather with an angle, as first plan but I feel that I didn’t have the technique (studio wise) to achieve it in a rather short period of time (studios being available only on certain days). I think that if I was to redo it, I’d probably make sure I’d have a better control over the light (first and third picture) and plan my second picture a little bit better (models, position of my models). I am really happy about my third picture and to have attempted to try the motion blur, as it is a technique that is widely used amongts photographers (I’m thinking about the exhibition on portraits with Francesca Woodman!)

[earthlyem]

i just recently finished up my freshman year of college at art school and so now seems like as good a time as any to talk about my experience and feelings about it and maybe lend a hand of advice if you are going into college this year, especially at an art school. because i feel like there is so much important stuff to cover im going to break into up into different parts of the process starting with…

moving

moving out was a big deal for me. growing up i never had a huge urge to move far away from home, i loved where i grew up and i loved the people…but  every college that ever peaked my interest was out of state. and as early as i could process the idea of a further education i would spit out colleges i’d hope to attend every night at the dinner table. and while a young child rambling about dreams of studying in paris to be a fashion designer while eating dinosaur shaped nuggets is easy for a parent to laugh at and then file into the back of their mind, a junior in high school taking college classes for drawing and animation talking about wanting to go to an art school is a little less easy to brush off. so after getting lots love and support from my family, friends, and teachers, and the financial aid of scholarships, I ended up deciding to attend an art school several states away to study visual effects and stop motion animation.

sooner than i could have ever anticipated the time came to move out. i loved this place, it shaped everything that i was, but after some unfortunate events throughout my high school experience i began to associate my beloved home with guilt and sadness. at this point, i was incredibly thankful i had chosen to move far away. with no one from my high school attending, and it being a good 15 hour drive away from my hometown, it felt like the perfect time to start over. be someone new, someone i always strived to be. the problem with that is we can’t run from our past. something i learned all to quickly at my new school. the physical move was easy, i flew down with a couple of suitcases and purchased all my dorm and school supplies the day before I moved in, which while rather stressful, ended up working out. i went in blind, so i was terrified of meeting my roommates. i would be living with three random girls, and with us all being here to pursue careers in art, i couldn’t help but be intimidated. im sure everyone who has, or will attend an art school feels the pressure. we’re used to being of the best, if not the best in our respective fields throughout our whole lives. and piling in a ton of talented people, where now you’re unsure of where you fall is petrifying. but alas there is really no need to fear. art school is about work ethic, not talent. Its about creativity and willingness to be free, experiment, express, the performance aspect is whats taught to you. if you love what you do, your professors will be able to channel that energy and turn your art into something polished and professional. seriously, i’ve seen people come from shaky sketch outlines, to fully rendered detailed pieces over the course of the year with the right ambition. but non the less i was still scared. in hindsight i had no reason to fear, my roommate was an absolute angel and really helped me through the turbulence of my first quarter, and made the craziness of roommate drama tolerable.

the first few weeks i had expected to be this big social clusterfuck and as a social person I was really excited to meet new people. unfortunately the reality was being holdup in the dorm, seeing others hanging out with people they met over the internet, and feeling entirely alone. i felt like there were very defined cliques established in the first week and i didn’t make the cut for any of them. packs of friends, all easy to see as they were almost perfectly divided by aesthetics, would go eat at the cafe together, smoke outside the dorms, go to parties, skateboard around the buildings, go to the parks and beaches….suddenly i didn’t think the social label assigned to me in high school seemed to fit so well. thats the scariest part of moving away, you are stripped of everything you once were to anyone but yourself. all the ways you were defined by the people you grew up with are gone in the eyes of every new person you meet. its intimidating, but it can be the most beautiful thing if you let it be..this is when it really hit me that when moving anywhere, even if its with a few people you do know, you’re given this huge slate to lay down exactly who you want to be, change the way the world sees you… but thats a big task…a lot bigger than i thought. and its hard, its hard to be this great big wonderful  person you feel like you are in your head when you don’t accept and embrace what brought you to that point. that guilt and anger and sadness and embarrassment was burned into me. i didn’t get to just throw it out the airplane window on my way down. it took me nearly the entire first quarter to sort through those memories, those events that ate away at me and altered my path of existence. because its not that the people i went to school with weren’t accepting people, many of us felt out of place at sometime in our life, and with that comes an deep empathy and care for others. i felt like i just couldn’t seem to put myself out there enough, or cross paths with the right people. it was towards the end that i looked up and saw the world i was building around me without even noticing. i had two wonderful roommates who listened to me and danced with me and ate with me and went to class with me, who held me up through all of it. I had amazing neighbors…just seriously the coolest people in the world. They helped me understand so much about myself and always had their door open so I didn’t have to feel alone. no one was isolating me but myself. and those cliques i mentioned, were just people, people like me who felt alone and scared, or were facing their own problems with moving and by labeling them i put up a wall, and excuse not to talk to certain people because i was insecure that i wouldn’t be artsy enough, or nerdy enough, or edgy enough… and i know that sounds cringy but i know so many people who felt exactly the same. with creative minds, comes creative ways of self expression and i guess the take away im trying to get at is that people are so much more than the aesthetic they have or the way they present on their instagram, something I think all of get lost in sometimes. my point is, moving is going to be scary for most, and even if you think you’re this huge mess that’s wearing all their feelings about the process on your sleeve… i bet no one even notices, because they are so far in their own heads feeling the exact same way. take a step back, say hi to the group of kids kicking around a soccer ball outside your building, or ask the people you sit next to in studio to grab lunch at the cafeteria, it seems scary because it looks like they already have groups and their all set they don’t need another, or your afraid it will be awkward… and well it will be. but life goes on, and a couple hard awkward minutes is worth not isolating yourself, or beating yourself up in your head for not being cool enough to fit in somewhere. you aren’t giving so many wonderful people enough credit when your write them off as though they won’t give you the time of day and it took a lot of learning and practice for me to understand that. you can hear advice, and agree with it, and even tell yourself you’ll implement it… but until you make your own mistakes and have your own trails with life advice doesn’t make as much sense, but heck idk maybe it can help.. i know i needed to hear this.  

so attached are some pictures of my dorm room and some stuff from my first quarter :) relax, don’t fear your move, or do either way it’ll end up just fine, and if its not fine, you’ll find the strength to move on from it    

[ask-accord]

The essential elements of a good business website

Your corporation deserves an amazing website with certain essential parts of net design that may carry it ahead, ahead of others.

This present day, a business needs an internet site for more than listing its tackle and a easy description. It wants an effective web site that efficiently converts its guests into paying clients. Listed here are a few of the parts which might be essential to building a very good enterprise website:

1. Know your objectives

Why do you want an internet site?

What sort of website would you like?

What would you like from it?

What would you like it to do for you?

These are the type of questions that may assist you determine what’s wanted and what’s not wanted in your website. Failing to conduct this survey might yield an internet site that lacks focus, so it’s indeed an important step to take. The answers to those questions can range extensively from enterprise to business. Not anybody web site must be comparable, so those answers, too, will differ extensively.

If your small business possesses a advertising plan, then this step is made easier. You’ll be capable of answers questions about your area of interest market and your objectives based mostly on what’s in your advertising plan.

In this preliminary step you must be capable of record what your organization’s niche, identify, emblem and tagline are, to be able to arrange your website.

2. Create a clear website and navigation structure

Your web site’s guests need to have the ability to discover what they’re in search of shortly. So, too, do search engine indexing bots, who crawl your website every now and then to help the search engine determine how your website ranks on outcomes pages. A clear website and navigation (menu) construction will assist do each.

A very good hierarchy has the location’s foremost pages easily accessible from the homepage, which is the place visitors land once they first encounter your website. The great things shouldn’t be deeply buried.

three. Construct an ironclad homepage

Consider once you visit web sites for the primary time. How a lot time do you often give it to impress you and make you keep? The consensus is usually round 5 to 10 seconds.

That’s to say, your website also needs to attempt to impress first-time visitors inside the first 10 seconds of their landing on it. A very good enterprise web site ought to attempt to realize constructive judgment. However how? By clearly speaking what your enterprise is about as soon as guests land in your homepage.

A pleasant emblem with a transparent tagline, an efficient menu, great copy and a gorgeous website design are all necessary to maintain guests impressed enough to continue navigating via your website’s pages.

If the customer experience is constructive, then your web site will generate visitors. And with more visitors comes more enterprise. Do not underestimate the facility of a terrific homepage.

4. Convert visitors into clients with call-to-action (CTA) buttons

CTA’s are buttons that invite customers to carry out some sort of action: “purchase now”, “study more”, “name now”, and so forth.

If a customer is thinking about your product or service, then they’ll need to get in touch or purchase one thing instantly. Your web site’s job is to facilitate the ultimate step to convert guests (or leads) into paying clients. Even if they don’t seem to be but ready to purchase, a “study extra” button could lead on them further into the sales funnel. It might in truth cause them to commit. Learn this article to study extra about why CTAs matter.

An environment friendly CTA button stands out from the remainder of the web site’s content. It’s brief however to the purpose, consists of an motion verb (“do that”) and is a special colour from the remainder of the web site’s content material.

5. Build your web site responsively

Years ago once I began learning net design, the mere concept of designing for a telephone was a bit ludicrous. Ultimately, we started creating cellular versions of internet sites as soon as the smartphone business began rising. Creating a further version of an internet site was extraordinarily time-consuming and redundant, although, so these variations often lacked fairly a bit of the desktop model’s content. These days, the norm is to design responsive websites that adapt from system to system. The content is subsequently the identical, however resizes itself in line with the dimensions of the gadget.

In 2018, 52.2% of net web visitors was carried out on a cellular gadget (smartphone, tablet). Should you don’t need to lose visitors, it’s imperative to design your website for those users.

In truth, serps like Google have begun to verify the cellular friendliness of an internet site to assist them rank search outcomes. Websites that are not responsive stand to lose the rating recreation. A responsive website is now a should to be competitive on search engines like google.

6. Create a kickass About Us page

Out with a boring About Us page that tells clients nothing about how your organization exists to assist them, or who you’re beyond your products or services. Clients need to study what you’ll be able to supply them, why your are better positioned to serve them than your rivals, but in addition, firstly, they need to know the corporate is run by people. They need to know who you’re.

Mockingly, an excellent rule of thumb is to use “you” more than “we/us” in your web site’s copy usually, but sure, even in your About Us page. That is how you can create a humble, empathetic and consumer-first portrait of your company.

You exist for the client; your About Us web page must reveal this.

7. Assume content material first

Content ought to be your website’s most important focus. Your efforts to usher in clients will fall brief for those who web site does not include content material that can educate, interact and finally persuade visitors.

You might be underneath the impression that your visitors only need to see what your products seem like. That couldn’t be further from the reality. They need to know dimensions, senses, story, emotion.

Indeed, first impressions are necessary, like in courting, however finally a person holds your consideration by carrying on fascinating conversations. Likewise, your web site’s job is to be flirting with potential clients and reeling them in with fascinating content that may train them, inform them, inform them stories, inform them journeys, about your services or products.

Nice product descriptions and web site copy are a superb first step, however you’d be even smarter to put in writing a blog repeatedly, create informative and interesting movies about your products or services, and extra.

Again, only good high quality content will stand the check of time, interact your guests and maintain them excited about your company. Content material is a particularly powerful device in lead era; use it to your advantage.

8. Design a great-looking website

A elegant, visually pleasing website will impress your visitors and is an important component on your company’s success in the net sphere.

A artistic, engaging look can set you apart out of your competitors and mark you as the reference. This harkens back to our earlier ideas of getting an ironclad homepage and having a clear and concise navigation and website hierarchy.

If guests can find info they’re on the lookout for extra shortly in your website than in your competitor’s, you then’ll be a clear winner of their attention. You must attempt to successfully catch visitors with a wonderful web site design that works exhausting for you.

9. Get a robust content material administration system (CMS)

It is potential to create an internet site that doesn’t want a CMS: it is just constructed using good previous HTML. Nevertheless, in this day and aage of dynamic content, it is perhaps greatest to opt for a CMS to build your web site shortly and painlessly. Whether that CMS is WordPress, Magento or Ruby on Rails, or others, doesn’t matter. Nevertheless, it is perhaps fascinating so that you can notice that nowadays WordPress powers over 30% of the internet and is usually the preferred CMS of most net designers because of its ease of use and constant help. Myself, I want WordPress, and use a theme referred to as Divi to help me create any template or design I would like.

But I digress. The usability, performance and updating capabilities of your web site are immediately tied to the CMS and net host you select. When choosing a CMS in your website, verify for the next:

Does it can help you edit content material from any system, at any time?

Is it backed by a wide group of designers and builders that may assist you to at any time?

Does it will let you optimize your content material for serps? (i.e. is it Search engine optimization-friendly?)

Is it safe and does it actively work to stop hacking makes an attempt? (i.e. is it often up to date?)

Will your website load shortly with it?

10. Monitor conversions

Ahhh… the boring stuff. Conversion tracking is the thought of monitoring your guests (who, the place, when, why, how), discovering the queries they use, and the sales made by means of the website. Monitoring this info is tedious, but essential in understanding your clients. Additionally it is how you might evaluate the power of your advertising efforts, and discover out what wants to vary.

You possibly can monitor all this info in your Google Analytics account.

11. Make use of a sensible advertising strategy

A nice website is good, but gained’t go very far when you have a business that needs to earn cash. Gone are the times when a business owner might launch an internet site and get visitors pretty effortlessly. The online has grown and expanded a lot that there at the moment are billions of web site, all vying for consideration. Nowadays, it’s essential to help your website by advertising it properly.

The success of an internet site goes far past merely having an internet presence. A sensible advertising strategy will get that website before the eyes that matter: the shoppers’. However not simply any shoppers; those which might be excited about what you’re providing.

Many trendy digital advertising methods exist that may do exactly that: search engine marketing (Search engine marketing), social media, e mail advertising, pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, and extra. You may additionally supply skilled recommendation and solutions to questions on Quora or Reddit.

Past digital advertising, local advertising may also yield very constructive outcomes, and shouldn’t take a backseat. You possibly can companion with one other native enterprise and supply reductions on your services or products when utilized in tandem with theirs. You might sponsor an area occasion. You can buy native radio ad area… The chances are almost countless!

You understand your enterprise greatest, and will subsequently have the ability to choose one of the best promoting avenue for it.

12. Perform common web site checkups and audits

Identical to your yearly (or so) checkups together with your physician, your website wants regular (however extra frequent) checkups. For instance, it is strongly recommended to verify a WordPress web site at the least monthly for core model updates as well as theme and plugin updates. Failing to update these three parts might break your website’s functionality and make it easier for hackers to realize entry to your website and inject nefarious malware into it. It’s occurred to me earlier than, and it’s occurred to many more before and after me.

It’s also essential to audit your web site now and again to make sure there are not any lifeless hyperlinks or lacking pictures. These can make web sites load more slowly, because the host retains making an attempt to hook up with URLs but fails. So, click on round your website from time to time, and seek out missing pieces to repair.

To sum up

Making a successful enterprise website requires quite a bit of work, as you’ll have famous. It may’t harm to ask for the help of knowledgeable net designer to include the essential parts of a superb business web site into their proposal. These parts are extremely necessary, so don’t hesitate to guage their past work so as to get a good idea of their creativity and talent.

Your web site needs a robust basis, so set your self up for fulfillment with the best net designer or developer who will guarantee your website’s efficiency and design are as much as snuff!

The post The essential elements of a good business website appeared first on Spouting-Tech.

[varianappreciationuniverse]

The essential elements of a good business website

Your corporation deserves an amazing website with certain essential parts of net design that may carry it ahead, ahead of others.

This present day, a business needs an internet site for more than listing its tackle and a easy description. It wants an effective web site that efficiently converts its guests into paying clients. Listed here are a few of the parts which might be essential to building a very good enterprise website:

1. Know your objectives

Why do you want an internet site?

What sort of website would you like?

What would you like from it?

What would you like it to do for you?

These are the type of questions that may assist you determine what’s wanted and what’s not wanted in your website. Failing to conduct this survey might yield an internet site that lacks focus, so it’s indeed an important step to take. The answers to those questions can range extensively from enterprise to business. Not anybody web site must be comparable, so those answers, too, will differ extensively.

If your small business possesses a advertising plan, then this step is made easier. You’ll be capable of answers questions about your area of interest market and your objectives based mostly on what’s in your advertising plan.

In this preliminary step you must be capable of record what your organization’s niche, identify, emblem and tagline are, to be able to arrange your website.

2. Create a clear website and navigation structure

Your web site’s guests need to have the ability to discover what they’re in search of shortly. So, too, do search engine indexing bots, who crawl your website every now and then to help the search engine determine how your website ranks on outcomes pages. A clear website and navigation (menu) construction will assist do each.

A very good hierarchy has the location’s foremost pages easily accessible from the homepage, which is the place visitors land once they first encounter your website. The great things shouldn’t be deeply buried.

three. Construct an ironclad homepage

Consider once you visit web sites for the primary time. How a lot time do you often give it to impress you and make you keep? The consensus is usually round 5 to 10 seconds.

That’s to say, your website also needs to attempt to impress first-time visitors inside the first 10 seconds of their landing on it. A very good enterprise web site ought to attempt to realize constructive judgment. However how? By clearly speaking what your enterprise is about as soon as guests land in your homepage.

A pleasant emblem with a transparent tagline, an efficient menu, great copy and a gorgeous website design are all necessary to maintain guests impressed enough to continue navigating via your website’s pages.

If the customer experience is constructive, then your web site will generate visitors. And with more visitors comes more enterprise. Do not underestimate the facility of a terrific homepage.

4. Convert visitors into clients with call-to-action (CTA) buttons

CTA’s are buttons that invite customers to carry out some sort of action: “purchase now”, “study more”, “name now”, and so forth.

If a customer is thinking about your product or service, then they’ll need to get in touch or purchase one thing instantly. Your web site’s job is to facilitate the ultimate step to convert guests (or leads) into paying clients. Even if they don’t seem to be but ready to purchase, a “study extra” button could lead on them further into the sales funnel. It might in truth cause them to commit. Learn this article to study extra about why CTAs matter.

An environment friendly CTA button stands out from the remainder of the web site’s content. It’s brief however to the purpose, consists of an motion verb (“do that”) and is a special colour from the remainder of the web site’s content material.

5. Build your web site responsively

Years ago once I began learning net design, the mere concept of designing for a telephone was a bit ludicrous. Ultimately, we started creating cellular versions of internet sites as soon as the smartphone business began rising. Creating a further version of an internet site was extraordinarily time-consuming and redundant, although, so these variations often lacked fairly a bit of the desktop model’s content. These days, the norm is to design responsive websites that adapt from system to system. The content is subsequently the identical, however resizes itself in line with the dimensions of the gadget.

In 2018, 52.2% of net web visitors was carried out on a cellular gadget (smartphone, tablet). Should you don’t need to lose visitors, it’s imperative to design your website for those users.

In truth, serps like Google have begun to verify the cellular friendliness of an internet site to assist them rank search outcomes. Websites that are not responsive stand to lose the rating recreation. A responsive website is now a should to be competitive on search engines like google.

6. Create a kickass About Us page

Out with a boring About Us page that tells clients nothing about how your organization exists to assist them, or who you’re beyond your products or services. Clients need to study what you’ll be able to supply them, why your are better positioned to serve them than your rivals, but in addition, firstly, they need to know the corporate is run by people. They need to know who you’re.

Mockingly, an excellent rule of thumb is to use “you” more than “we/us” in your web site’s copy usually, but sure, even in your About Us page. That is how you can create a humble, empathetic and consumer-first portrait of your company.

You exist for the client; your About Us web page must reveal this.

7. Assume content material first

Content ought to be your website’s most important focus. Your efforts to usher in clients will fall brief for those who web site does not include content material that can educate, interact and finally persuade visitors.

You might be underneath the impression that your visitors only need to see what your products seem like. That couldn’t be further from the reality. They need to know dimensions, senses, story, emotion.

Indeed, first impressions are necessary, like in courting, however finally a person holds your consideration by carrying on fascinating conversations. Likewise, your web site’s job is to be flirting with potential clients and reeling them in with fascinating content that may train them, inform them, inform them stories, inform them journeys, about your services or products.

Nice product descriptions and web site copy are a superb first step, however you’d be even smarter to put in writing a blog repeatedly, create informative and interesting movies about your products or services, and extra.

Again, only good high quality content will stand the check of time, interact your guests and maintain them excited about your company. Content material is a particularly powerful device in lead era; use it to your advantage.

8. Design a great-looking website

A elegant, visually pleasing website will impress your visitors and is an important component on your company’s success in the net sphere.

A artistic, engaging look can set you apart out of your competitors and mark you as the reference. This harkens back to our earlier ideas of getting an ironclad homepage and having a clear and concise navigation and website hierarchy.

If guests can find info they’re on the lookout for extra shortly in your website than in your competitor’s, you then’ll be a clear winner of their attention. You must attempt to successfully catch visitors with a wonderful web site design that works exhausting for you.

9. Get a robust content material administration system (CMS)

It is potential to create an internet site that doesn’t want a CMS: it is just constructed using good previous HTML. Nevertheless, in this day and aage of dynamic content, it is perhaps greatest to opt for a CMS to build your web site shortly and painlessly. Whether that CMS is WordPress, Magento or Ruby on Rails, or others, doesn’t matter. Nevertheless, it is perhaps fascinating so that you can notice that nowadays WordPress powers over 30% of the internet and is usually the preferred CMS of most net designers because of its ease of use and constant help. Myself, I want WordPress, and use a theme referred to as Divi to help me create any template or design I would like.

But I digress. The usability, performance and updating capabilities of your web site are immediately tied to the CMS and net host you select. When choosing a CMS in your website, verify for the next:

Does it can help you edit content material from any system, at any time?

Is it backed by a wide group of designers and builders that may assist you to at any time?

Does it will let you optimize your content material for serps? (i.e. is it Search engine optimization-friendly?)

Is it safe and does it actively work to stop hacking makes an attempt? (i.e. is it often up to date?)

Will your website load shortly with it?

10. Monitor conversions

Ahhh… the boring stuff. Conversion tracking is the thought of monitoring your guests (who, the place, when, why, how), discovering the queries they use, and the sales made by means of the website. Monitoring this info is tedious, but essential in understanding your clients. Additionally it is how you might evaluate the power of your advertising efforts, and discover out what wants to vary.

You possibly can monitor all this info in your Google Analytics account.

11. Make use of a sensible advertising strategy

A nice website is good, but gained’t go very far when you have a business that needs to earn cash. Gone are the times when a business owner might launch an internet site and get visitors pretty effortlessly. The online has grown and expanded a lot that there at the moment are billions of web site, all vying for consideration. Nowadays, it’s essential to help your website by advertising it properly.

The success of an internet site goes far past merely having an internet presence. A sensible advertising strategy will get that website before the eyes that matter: the shoppers’. However not simply any shoppers; those which might be excited about what you’re providing.

Many trendy digital advertising methods exist that may do exactly that: search engine marketing (Search engine marketing), social media, e mail advertising, pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, and extra. You may additionally supply skilled recommendation and solutions to questions on Quora or Reddit.

Past digital advertising, local advertising may also yield very constructive outcomes, and shouldn’t take a backseat. You possibly can companion with one other native enterprise and supply reductions on your services or products when utilized in tandem with theirs. You might sponsor an area occasion. You can buy native radio ad area… The chances are almost countless!

You understand your enterprise greatest, and will subsequently have the ability to choose one of the best promoting avenue for it.

12. Perform common web site checkups and audits

Identical to your yearly (or so) checkups together with your physician, your website wants regular (however extra frequent) checkups. For instance, it is strongly recommended to verify a WordPress web site at the least monthly for core model updates as well as theme and plugin updates. Failing to update these three parts might break your website’s functionality and make it easier for hackers to realize entry to your website and inject nefarious malware into it. It’s occurred to me earlier than, and it’s occurred to many more before and after me.

It’s also essential to audit your web site now and again to make sure there are not any lifeless hyperlinks or lacking pictures. These can make web sites load more slowly, because the host retains making an attempt to hook up with URLs but fails. So, click on round your website from time to time, and seek out missing pieces to repair.

To sum up

Making a successful enterprise website requires quite a bit of work, as you’ll have famous. It may’t harm to ask for the help of knowledgeable net designer to include the essential parts of a superb business web site into their proposal. These parts are extremely necessary, so don’t hesitate to guage their past work so as to get a good idea of their creativity and talent.

Your web site needs a robust basis, so set your self up for fulfillment with the best net designer or developer who will guarantee your website’s efficiency and design are as much as snuff!

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