#it's a style of animation i've noticed over 20 years.

[choppedcowboydinosaur]

One thing I noticed about the X Men 97 trailer is that in some scenes the characters appear CG but have this 2d skin over them. And the 2d skin has cell shading. It's like the Ultimate Spiderman video game from the 2000's where it's CG but it has that 2d cell shaded skin over it to make it more like the comics. The big difference is that for X Men 97 it's much subtler. That's the best way I could describe it. I hope that makes sense.

[sacchiri]

I recently bought the jp volumes of Hellsing along with the guidebook, and since I'm reading the series in its native language for the first time I might as well share some random things that stood out to me in no particular order.

This isn't meant to be an analysis of translation differences, I'm too lazy for that. Also it's been 12 years since I've watched the anime and read the low quality fan scans of the manga so some of these comments are just "Lol, forgot this was a thing"

Volume 1

... I really want to know who this guy is at the beginning, yelling at Alucard in overly familiar language to "Get your shit together!" and "You're the only one we can count on!!". We know from the style of speech that it's a dude, probably just some Hellsing rando, and maybe it's not all that strange since he has probably been working with the same soldiers for years--but it's still funny.

"I know, it's just so nice out :("

..The way "HELLSING Organization" is spelled out like this reminds me that apparently the name is supposed to be an acronym. No really.

...

God they're so silly.

Now that I think about it, the only thing Seras has done this chapter since being turned into a vampire is say "I'm sorry" over and over.... girl you got shot in the lung, why are you apologizing

Not a huge difference, but what Integra actually says here is "Leaving a corpse here for 20 years... You're a terrible person too, Father" and not "What were you thinking, Father?" as the Dark Horse translation suggests (note the lack of question mark in the raw version). I thought that might be of interest to some.

Something else I thought was interesting is the first line Alucard ever says to Integra, and how uncharacteristically polite he sounds.

O-kega wa gozaimasenka- That's two honorific 御's back to back! (He even said them in kanji, even Walter isn’t that straightlaced and he’s literally the butler.) This is also the only time Alucard uses this overly flowery gentlemanly language with her, and good thing too because it would be so annoying if he spent the whole manga ending his sentences with ~gozaimasu.

What I'm trying to get at is, after seeing this sentence in the Japanese version, I'm like 100% sure he actually heard her when she was mumbling to herself about hoping to find a knight in shining armor, and he was totally going the extra mile in playing into that role for their first encounter. Which is kind of sweet.

Lol they misspelled Alucard on the top left... or rather, they incorrectly spelled it right?

One would normally expect Alucard to be written アルカード, and indeed pixiv dict lists アーカード as a misspelling (the u sound is weak in Japanese, so it's easy to mishear arukādo as ākādo). Hirano was definitely aware of the correct spelling though, since he used it in the pilot chapter and in his old character sheets. It was only when the manga officially began that he switched to the アーカード spelling. I doubt it was because of copyright issues because there is already a long precedent of vampire characters named アルカード in various old manga, OVA, and games in Japan that have coexisted without issue (like this guy Hirano mentions in volume 1's afterword).

Most likely Hirano simply thought it looked better, or was a means of differentiating his character from the others somehow. It certainly makes life easier for Japanese fans searching for fanart since アーカード is only going to bring up Hellsing and not the Castlevania character.

Jan Valentine even pokes fun at the spelling discrepancy later in volume 2, but since there wasn't a good way of expressing this in English it was left untranslated.

(Speaking of spelling inconsistencies, there's a lot of minor details I'm noticing now, like half the time the furigana for 吸血鬼 is written バンパイア and the other half it's ヴァンパイア... anyway)

Um, just noticed literally everyone's wearing glasses What should I do

Hirano's habit of jotting random comments underneath his panels is one of the underrated perks of reading the manga

The Dark Horse translation almost makes it sound like she's looking forward to seeing this battle play out, while in the Japanese she simply sounds apprehensive. Almost as if she's worried about them? And she's going out on the field personally to make sure nothing bad happens? Aww

Ok this is a weird tangent, but I just noticed the scans of the Dark Horse version I've been looking at use a slightly larger image range than the Japanese version does. It was only noticeable when I got to this part:

The second image is what the Japanese version of the scan looks like and I can confirm that this is what it looks like in my physical volume as well. You shouldn't be seeing the messy borders of the inking on the bottom like that.

Manga manuscripts are set up so that there are a few millimeters of bleed border around each page. You're supposed to color and line all the way up to (4) while keeping in mind that printing and paper cutting may result in the image being trimmed up to (3).

Either Hirano didn't color his lines all the way to (4) (this man has been drawing manga for years but this is Hirano we're talking about so it's very possible), or Dark Horse didn't honor the original bleed borders of the manuscript. I'm kind of leaning towards the former since there was a Hellsing exhibit in Japan a few years back where you could look at Hirano's original manuscripts and there's one where you can clearly see that he spilled a mug of tea or coffee across the entire page

Anyway, it's weird, and I'm curious to see if someone that owns a physical copy in English can confirm whether theirs actually looks like that. It's volume 1, page 141.

[dennydraws]

Sometimes checking local bookstores have some rare finds...

And I was most definitely not expecting to find the FF14 Manga there but I take it XD;; I highly doubt it was intentional but having the price sticker over Asahi's face absolutely killed me lol

But this will be a talk about manga books and not specifically about FF14's manga book which was hilarious by the way XD;;

(Press F for Urianger... well, for Thancred really but ya know...)

It may come as a surprise but I'm not exactly a big manga reader. I think it was primary because manga wasn't as available or popular here when I was growing up and when I started spreading I started feeling too old for it. Now looking back, I was mid 20 I wasn't too old lol But also I was not in a financial position to spend on what I considered luxurious hobby materials. I never looked at manga books as anything but forbidden pricey thing that I could do without... even though looking back I could've learned a lot or enriched my art journey but... when you try to graduate university, freelance and cover for struggling and sick family these things are not something you think to spend on... ANYHOWSIES, I did not intend to share sad artist backstory, more like I wanted to explain my relationship with actual manga books has been an odd one XD;

It wasn't until recently that I started to actually go to bookstores during my lunch break and browse manga books and regular books too. However now they are so many that I get overwhelmed. Now that I have my preferences, I don't feel comfortable just grabbing a book on a whim. I still very much hate the idea of blindly spending on things that may not be of use to me. But even so I began to reach out, grab something, try it, see what I can learn from it. I feel like a teenager dipping toes into something they've always looked from behind the shop window but now they can actually afford it! XD;; I tried to start with books whose anime I deeply enjoyed and maybe look over what's around them - surely there will be something similar!

And then to my surprise I started noticing... Artbooks! Usually the ones I am interested in are on the obscure side? Or at least I've never found any of those I was interested in... ever XD

It has always been a lot more art books available here for WoW or LoL or whatever western-ish game franchise which... while I respect them, I just don't really enjoy their art style. And I did grow up surrounded by boys and a bully big brother whom I've always tried to impress or be "cool enough" to hang out with him (I was never cool enough to hang out with him u_u) and as result I had to deny myself a lot of things I was enjoying but I thought they are embarrassing - a lot of typically girly genres things because he'd mock them and if he mocks them then they were bad and I'd never be "cool enough" if I showed interest in them! Oh noes! Now that post turned into more personal down pour XD;

As years went on and after some reflection and years of existing in a healthy friend circle I started to enjoy the things I always wanted to enjoy growing up. I see them in new light now and I appreciate them with the eyes of a grown up while still kind of connect to this lost childhood spark. It's been really nice.

Plus I'm enjoying reading ...well, normal books, a lot more. Some years ago you wouldn't find me able to sit and read but now I do and quite enjoy it!

I don't know where I was going with this post XD I wanted to share I found the FF14 manga in a local store during my lunch break and it escalated to, I've been slowly buying and reading more manga and artbooks as of this year! It's never too late to reconnect with things you wanted to enjoy but couldn't in the past :D;;

Anyhow! Thank you for reading this silly lil ramble post, dear web traveller! I hope you will have great rest of the day and smooth week ahead!

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals: The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Bit of a change of pace from some of the more recent Voiceplay videos I've been talking about, and a change of video style/format too!

Voiceplay's video for The Lion Sleeps Tonight was uploaded on the 20th of January, 2024 (VP's first full-length upload for this year), and features J None! (He's been doing a lot of stuff with Voiceplay recently, which makes me wonder if he could be back in the group full-time sooner than expected?). (Also fun fact, this is technically Voiceplay's second cover of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, or at least, for Geoff and Layne it is. The first cover of it was done in 2004, back when the group was still called 4:2:Five (and Geoff and Layne were only in their early/mid 20s), and features on their album "Time Machine"!)

Apparently this was just meant to be a Voiceplay Mini to start off with, but Layne (who did the arrangement) was having too much fun with it, and so it became Voiceplay's full-length cover for the month! Because it was originally planned to be a mini, it ended up being filmed like one, but there's still enough stuff going on in the video for me to make at least a short post about it, so let's go!

Although this was filmed in portrait mode, I'll still upload screenshots in landscape like so, just so they don't take up too much space/length. The portrait mode however also means that I have to "chop off" a bit of the top and bottom of the video because of the Youtube video UI and whatnot (video title, progress bar, etc)

The animals in the background were a brilliant addition, definitely a fun way to add a little bit of extra "Voiceplay flair" to the video!

Cesar being adorable as ever, meanwhile Geoff is Confused And Concerned(tm) 😂

Group shot! (Plus elephant in the background)

Giraffe!

Love the little dancing monkey down in front, very cute (and the monkeys in the background!)

(Cesar's necklace is also cool, although I'm not really sure what it is ^^; )

What are they looking up at? At Eli's high notes? 😝

Me when I watched this for the first time: "wait where'd Geoff go?"

"Oh wait, there he is!" 😁😆

Layne: *BOING*

J is dancing, and so is one of the gorillas in the background! Doing a Gangnam Style dance, it seems! 😄

J and Eli popping up and down in the background and being silly 😋 (also cool lion!)

J with the Crazy Eyes again!

Gosh I love these idiots 😂

And a surprise return of Violayne! (Starting 2024 the same way as 2023 in that regard, actually.) And he has a little chipmunk/squirrel on his head! (Also Layne and Eli both look so happy here and it's so nice <3 )

And now Geoff has a tiny little monkey on his head <3

Lol @ Cesar "falling asleep" on J's shoulder 😄

Omg Eli starts falling asleep too and Layne gives a little wave to the camera! I only just noticed!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw the thumbnail of the YouTube premiere thing for this appear last month (or two months ago for you reading this), but this video is a nice reminder that Voiceplay don't alwasys need super complex arrangements or big sets or fancy costuming to make a great video. This video is just silly, wholesome fun, (what Voiceplay do best!), and I always can't help but have a massive smile on my face while watching it. And the vocals are phenomenal as well, of course, and Cesar my GOD those high notes!

I'm sure you've noticed I've been skipping over the Voiceplay "Biggies" (Minis that are longer than a minute, like Time Warp, Wellerman, and Peaches), but maybe I'll make posts for them at some point too? Or at least make combo posts for a few of them (i.e. talking about two videos in the one post). Idk, we'll see, but anyway, there's still more to come, so stay tuned!

[shynetyme06]

1 - 23 :3

cracks knuckles okay

1. how would you describe your art style? uhhhhhhhh, maybe "safe" is the word rn. whenever I think of my art style, what comes to mind is just how little I've been pushing things with it. I wanna change that ;D

2. what's your favorite thing about your style? I realize I like to use semi-realistic proportions, its cool how comfortable I've gotten with drawing faces and bodies

3. what's your least favorite thing about your style? It's so static man. same thing I said for the first question, I don't think anything really looks bad, but it just is lacking in creativity in comparison to the older art that should be looking worse than what I do now. I prefer my older stuff ;D (looking at you inktobertale2021.. where did it all go wrong)

4. favorite thing to draw? regular ol people. human characters are def more in my comfort zone, which explains why I keep hitting skeletons with the humanization ray (also I prefer to draw feminine characters)

5. least favorite thing to draw? I can't even say I rlly dislike it cuz of how rarely I even do it, but I am procrastinating so hard on learning backgrounds..

6. warm colors or cool colors? cool colors are my fav, but i find it easier to work with warm ones (I used to put a cool overlay over all my warm toned drawings hgdhfg)

7. show us a WIP behold, the wip ever. this drawing... was supposed to be posted on august 2022. and then, it was supposed to be posted on dec 21st, dream and nightmares birthday. (atp if I do end up wanting to finish this idea again, I'll probably just scrap it and start over)

8. what's the most fun and least fun parts about your process? most fun is flat color and rendering. (though I rarely do the latter anymore) and for least fun, tbh a lot of the sketching part tends to be difficult for me, sometimes its cool tho

9. show us a finished piece alongside the original sketch example from when sketching was fun

10. how many different sketches do you usually have until your piece is finished? I think I do need to make more of at least thumbnail sketches tbh.. I usually just make one and keep editing it, trusting the process. (and that fails like 70% of the time. woww wonder why sketching isnt fun for me-) 11. show us the last thing you drew, be it a finished piece or a small doodle can this count,,

12. show us an old drawing first deltarune drawing. here's the redraw I later made of this :3 (also old hsgdhgf)

13. how long do you usually take one a piece? depends. I'll have like 276478923 wips started, and then I get a random idea that I just have to do right at that moment, and I'll get it done in like 1-4 hours. meanwhile old sketches start to rot and maybe if its lucky I'll revisit it before my motivation dies and my style is too different to wanna continue from where I left off 14. digital or traditional? digital all the way, i've gotten too dependent on the transform tool + liquefy ;D (and many other things tbh but I'd be here all day if I tried comparing them more jhdjdf)

15. if digital, what program do you use? procreate, the layouts on other drawing programs scare me

16. favorite media to work with when drawing traditionally pen on paper (am I understanding this right wdym media-)

17. what do you love getting compliments about? I like when people enjoy the humanizations I come up with, and also original designs in general 18. are you satisfied with the attention your art usually gets? hmmm yeah

19. how often do you draw? very often, I just don't have finished things to share most days

20. a piece from this year that you're really proud of :3

21. something you would like to improve on the dynamicness (well, the lack of it) of everything, as said before

22. what inspires you? Ink sans and a ton of creators in this fandom (also animated shows and movies, I love animation)

23. what's something you hope people notice when looking at your art? idk tbh, just notice it at all and I'm happy :>

[tiikerikani]

Maailma Pakkanen palaa!

(deep freeze returns!! and also burns!!)

10.2.2024 – Tullikamari (Pakkahuone), Tampere

We’re at peak (nadir?) cold snap and it’s like -20°C outside and I’m already loitering around there just shy of 7:00. I forewent my tradition of listening to Kauan beforehand/while in queue because a) I fear for earbud cables and batteries in these conditions, and b) I do it to get a chill down my spine and don’t need any help with that right now. Instead, I am singing under my breath to pass/keep track of time without having to look at a watch (see above re. batteries). It is surprisingly effective. It’s not like when I’m on the piano and time goes weird and I play everything too fast.

A taxi drops off a couple of women at maybe 7:05. They resemble but are not the Regular Groupies. They look around a little and walk away. The Superfans also show up a bit after that. They wave and go over to the supermarket to stay warm. Not the Regular Groupies return looking for the nearest bar. I’m not from here so I don’t know.

When Superfans come back (I think it’s 7:25 now), we go hang out by the door properly. After a few more people arrive (including the actual Regular Groupies), they shuffle me to the very front of the queue because I was here first. (ok.)

I can’t feel my toes. Is this worth losing my toes for?

Time feels like it’s passing extremely quickly while I’m in this queue. Before I know it it’s 7:55 and the queue goes as far as I can see out into the parking lot. I put away my hat and mittens and get my arms out of my coat so I’m ready to throw those off the moment the door opens.

Coat check was being fiddly with the card terminal so others got ahead of me in terms of getting into the room, not to mention that the bag checker was calling for backup at exactly the moment I walked into them, which set me back a little as well. But it’s fine, I got where I wanted to be.

They hadn’t even gotten the backdrop up yet!

By 8:45 my toes feel normal again. It's getting crowded in here. Yet again, the entire spring tour is sold out, so.

They don't play until 9:30.

I'm in my red tunic and have a new (Viking) dragon-shaped bead on my braid because it's Chinese New Year but not like anybody notices or cares (I don't even really celebrate, I just do some token gestures).

Somebody in the fanclub had shared last night's set list, so I had that already copied onto my arm to correct/adjust. (Ended up adding one song.)

They played (still) another arrangement of Intiaanit, which was... in basic rock song style. I didn't like it.

Huomenna kaduttaa and Valot eteiseen aren't songs I'm too familiar with — they clearly have their fans though. Songs about romance and parenthood are hard for me to relate to.

The person next to me was filming most of the songs and I really wanted to smack the phone out of her hand with a well-placed dramatic gesture but did not because she was nice and actually talked to me at some point earlier.

Markus used an acoustic bass instead of the cello this time. I wonder if it's because of the weather? Classical string instruments (and large ones at that) are probably more sensitive to temperature changes.

His beard is starting to go noticeably grey in the middle, and I've also started wondering about his bracelet. It doesn't look like a Fitbit, but he wears it everywhere.

I never thought they'd ever play Ei voittajaa again, and it made sense to put it as the first encore so they could reuse the old walk-on intro track. I still kind of remember the moves to my epic invisible sword dance but there's never quite the space to do it even in a more limited way. (Nobody cares to wonder why I was so much more animated during that song than any other...)

Teemu’s SO (Her Again!!) ("you're very... red today") says she was at the back of the room and there was still such a LONG queue to get in even as the show started that she missed the first 3 songs. When Teemu comes to join her, they try to find a way out of the place. He has all his stuff, but she needs to get hers from the coat check. There is a massive bottleneck at the stairs going back down there. The couple go talk to somebody at a side door and eventually they disappear backstage to use the loading door I guess.

It’s over 30 minutes before it felt like the coat check mob started moving at a decent pace. Turns out they were letting people down the stairs in controlled groups. They really wanted us out of there since there was a new queue outside of younger people waiting to get IN for, I don’t know, Saturday night disco? That’s a thing at rock clubs here.

----------

In a radio interview a couple of weeks ago, Senpai said that he really likes meeting fans (and that some tell him a lot about themselves — sorry :D I'm surely not alone but maybe the only one who does so in longhand) but there's just too many of them now and he'd be there all night. So there you have it from him.

Heini, Jepa, and Hannah were backing singers at UMK (where the Eurovision entry is selected) which was on at the same time literally 600 metres away, at the arena. I bet they met up with the band and hung out together afterward.

Completely off-topic side note: I'm sad that the very comfy (and very broken) couch at my friend's place is going to get replaced. It's awful for sitting on, but I sleep better on it than in my own bed, so it's something I look forward to whenever I visit.

Maailma palaa

Kohti sydänpeltoja

Intiaanit

Huomenna kaduttaa

Ilman mua

Tummilla teillä

Faija käyttää napapaitaa

Samaan mutkaan kaatunut

Exodus

Valot eteiseen

Kiljut riemusta

Reppana

Faarao

Kolme hyvää vinkkiä

Kanto

Onnellinen mies

Hetken ikuinen

// Ei voittajaa

// Kukaan ei koskaan

// Arlandan portailla

[Concert write-up archive and master calendar]

[curestardust]

Dust Watched: D4DJ All Mix

Genres: Music, SoL // 12 episodes // S01 (x)

I always try to insert an objective view into my reviews but I... literally can't do it with this one.

✧  story  ✧

For anyone not in the know, D4DJ has a mobile game with one of the tightest story event release schedule I've seen. Honestly, it was a bit difficult to get into for me because it's so... chill? Slice of Life just isn't my preferred genre but before I noticed, I grew to really like these girls and started actually having fun. Which is exactly why I can't write about this anime from an objective point of view.

This anime starts out even referencing one of the stories in the mobile game (the 2nd Road to D4FES . of Lyrical Lily) which means that there's about 1 year of event stories between this season and the first one. The problem is, I have NO idea what it's like to watch this as a non-D4DJ fan. I've absorbed the game stories so much that I don't know what doesn't make sense for others besides the obvious.

One of the core points of the first season is the fabled D4FES , a DJ festival. Well, all 6 of the units present take part in that event when it comes back... but that's ingame. It's talked about a few times too but for only anime viewers, that VERY important event was just "skipped" and I think those people would've much rather watched that over this.

Because this anime is pretty much just a pretty long SoL event story. I personally enjoyed it because this is what D4DJ is 90% of the time but it'd probably be boring and a bit confusing for most. The anime spans over a year, with each focusing on one month. Lyrical Lily is invited to do a revitalization project for the shopping district by holding concerts and they decide to invite the other 5 units. And that's pretty much it. It's cute, chill but has an insanely crazy episode (EP6) with focus jumping from unit to unit.

I *would* say that there's a lot of "cute references for fans" but this felt like it was made FOR said fans. Because if I wanted to grab the anime only viewers, I would've adapted the D4FES saga.

✧  characters  ✧

I think the biggest problem here lies with the amount of characters which is 24. Happy Around!, Peaky P-key and Photon Maiden were the focus of the first season and Lyrical Lily has a lot of spotlight in this one. However, even though Merm4id and Rondo got a short OVA in D4DJ Double Mix (which I didn't review but would recommend watching) they were the ones with the least screentime in this anime. Merm4id is my favourite unit but I was honestly fine with it because I think they have some of the most event stories in the game but Rondo probably has the least so it was sad to see them get shafted even here. I did really enjoy getting to see sides of the girls I haven't before (despite there being 20+ hours of content ingame) and just generally hanging out but... the average viewer wouldn't have the attachment I did going into this. I don't know how enjoyable it'd be to watch like that.

✧  art  ✧

The same CG models. I don't know if I've just gotten used to them but their movements didn't feel as janky as in season 1 (still far from perfect though). There are some 2D characters which is quite odd but they try to not show them together on screen (or for too long) to not break immersion.

✧  sound ✧

They toned down and got better audio mixing for the sfx, thank god. The OST is still pretty mid for some reason. The OP/ED are bops and the insert songs are hit-and-miss depending on which unit's style you prefer.

✧  overview ✧

Honestly, I'm surprised how many details I remembered from the event stories cause SoL stories usually get deleted from my brain in a few days. But D4DJ just has some odd charm to it that I just can't explain.

My Rating: 7/10 (completely biased)

[jayofthetrees]

Just a big dump of drawings.

I imagined Fergus saying something like this since I first drew Sponge. She doesn't mind it...It's Dylan who's embarrassed. This was also the last sketch I think I inked.

This was the first sketch I did where I found out I didn't have to do the slower process of inking the areas I wanted to color with a pen if I just copied/pasted the sketch on top of itself a few dozen times.

I recommend it. You get thicker, more defined lines, and you can color right away, providing you haven't left any open spots.

I did this one to practice doing backgrounds with the same method. Just dropping a layer behind the sketch and boom, you're free to do any background you want.

And didn't forget about her, I just had to experiment a little with other characters.

Same as the above, but with Dolly. This only took me about 20 minutes to sketch, color AND do the background.

I've also been trying things with text tools, since my handwriting is a little sloppy, and while the text tool is cleaner, it's a little too robotic for my taste.

Did this one for SumaQosh over on Twitter. Been wanting to draw their Yoshi/Dalmatian OC for a while.

I probably SHOULD practice drawing backgrounds, but I still haven't...

Oh well...

Sponge looks so different now than when I first drew her that I've just dubbed her first drawing to be her as a puppy.

Something VERY different. I got to wondering about what if in a hypothetical season 2 of 101DS, they meet the descendants of other Disney animals, and my mind focused on the Hyena's from The Lion King...

Not sure HOW they'd meet them, but I drew this.

Haven't given her an official name, but the first one I considered was "Neela."

Just one of me trying to get Deepak down.

I don't draw him much, mostly because his spot pattern is a bit of a pain, but with the new way I do things, that might change.

I remember that the first thing I drew on Krita that I was serious about getting right was a headshot of Pongo copied from a Hotwheels package. That took me about 2 hours, and looks VERY rough.

This took me less than one, and is my cleanest pic of him thus far.

Just a headshot of Sponge.

You'll notice I started doing the "Shadowed backdrop" background style with these. Still not a proper background, but an easy way to give the drawing some depth.

I've been practicing with drawing anthro bodies for a while, and this was the first I feel I got right.

Did this one to answer the question of how a dog wears eyeshadow...

Simple. She applies it carefully...

And finally, an answer to ChelleDoggo over on Twitter as to how she gets her eyeliner wings so sharp...

Easy, she traces them over a knife.

And that's it. I'll be the first to say that it genuienly feels good to be getting better a this, when last year, I couldn't even consider doing this kind of thing, and it's in now small part of all you supporting me, so thank you, very much.

[swagdinner]

As a fresh install, Tumblr is SO fun to have a personal page on (compared to pre-Musk Twitter and Reddit, which I know of). Sorting is cool, and all the tags allow me to make my page as readable as I want it to be. With all the markdown and the gay ass colors you can make your text be, I think I'm experiencing the same joy as people did in 2004 or smth when they realised you can personalise your page.

My biggest gripe with Twitter was that seemingly nobody would notice me. With regular shitposts, funny original stuff and tons of activity I kept hovering just above 20 followers, receiving 0 likes on average on a good (by my standards) tweet. Tumblr seemingly doesnt have this problem with the tag system being more prevalent than Twitter's hashtag system and with the lack of algorithm to favor likes and follower count, rich-get-richer style.

Reddit throwing itself right into the trash sucks. In terms of making your original content gain traction, I think I've figured out the formula there - it's posting time. The more people see your post in new, the more initial upvotes you get, so more people get to see it in hot, and here comes the exponent. Division on thematic subreddits rather than separate users meant that everybody got to see what they enjoyed without half of their feed being irrelevant. I guess Tumblr's tags are the solution to both of those problems?

Reddit used to be my main platform, but besides the api ban one thing I HATED was the comment section in meme subs as of recent. Any post featuring smth SOMEWHAT questionable (cute anthropomorphic animal drawing, obvious satire, fake 4chan greentext - how the hell do you consider that weird enough in the year of our lord 2k23???) had the comment section FULL of dumb reaction images. I HATE reaction images. "waaah you need to touch grass" "waaaaaah why did you post this" is 2016's "this post is gay and r worded" but with a funni haha face attached. Fucking twitter all over again. Tumblr seems like the place with little unassuming tags instead of that rubbish - correct me if I'm wrong ofc.

[litsnobconfessions]

A Year of Animation Day 38: A Scanner Darkly

Date: February 7, 2025

Day: 38

Content Watched: A Scanner Darkly

Year: 2006

Rating: R

Run Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

I picked Nimona for my sister's birthday, and I picked A Scanner Darkly for my brother's. I'm guessing he's seen it (he's seen a lot of stuff), though I don't know if he likes it. But I think of my brother as a cerebral fella, and he's the person who introduced me to science-fiction, if not to Phillip K. Dick specifically.

I watched this movie once before, in high school. And shortly thereafter, I read the book. There were two things that really struck me while reading: (1) This book is super trippy and hard to follow, but I'm guessing Dick did that on purpose and (2) this is a really solid adaptation.

My favorite part of the movie is The Sins of Feck, mostly because I remember reading the book and thinking, "I've already read this. Except I know I haven't." I couldn't remember how it had played out in the movie, but I knew that somehow that scene had occurred word for word. So today I got to go full circle and see how it played out all over again, knowing already that it was word for word taken from the book. My other favorite scene is probably the one with the bicycle, again because I remember it vividly from the book.

Watching it this go around, I'm struck by how beautiful Dick's prose is. Because so many lines are taken word for word, you can hear it here, and he's a masterful writer. And I noticed the foreshadowing with the blue flowers being mentioned several times before the end. Also, the book has this habit of skipping back and forth between scenes, sometimes in the middle of sentences, and the movie does that a bit, but not as much as the book (though the DVD I watched had a scratch that forced me to skip even more than normal.) Nevertheless, the movie is very trippy, which again, I'm sure is on purpose, as I suspect the point is to make you feel like a user. A lot of that is due to the animation.

This movie is rotoscoped and, like Persepolis and Loving Vincent, is one of those films where, once you see it, you realize there is no other medium or art style that is better suited to the story it is telling. From what I understand, rotoscoping by its nature can come off as disjointed and wonky, but the animators definitely leaned into that, as is seen in several scenes in which inanimate objects move in ways they should not. These movements were quick enough, however to make me question whether or not I really saw them, and it wasn't until I honed it on it and looked for it that I was sure.

The scamble suits are definitely my favorite part of the animation, not only because they are interesting to look at, but because I can hardly imagine how difficult they would have been to create. I'm impressed at how synchronized the lips are, even as the image of the speaker shifts frame to frame. Apparently, they had 20 people working on the scramble suits alone.

As for the rest of the movie, it still took hundreds of hours to animate a single minute of the film. The animators considered different line wieghts for different characters, drew in facial highlights that shift as the characters move, and even changed elements of the actor's appearances, such as drawing Keanu Reeve's character as clean shaven in the final scenes (not to mention all the aphids). All of this flies in the face of hypothesis 6. I also really like that the actors apparently got in on the action in their own way. Reeves, knowing that in many scenes, his character would be wearing a scramble suit, focused on bigger body language rather than facial expression to communicate Fred's thoughts. Other actors purposely performed their scenes in a... well, in a more animated way, knowing it would better suit the finished product.

I think I'd like to end in the same vein as the movie (and, I'm sure, the novel as well), in which Dick dedicates the work to friends who died or experienced extensive physical and/or mental harm due to drug addiction. I am struck by this line from Barris toward the beginning of the story: "Substance D needs no genetic predisposition. You're either on it, or you haven't tried it." I would fall into the latter category, but I believe Dick when he says these others suffered a fate far greater than they deserved.

[yama-uba]

This post is here to once again remind you to take part in signing petitions that should fill the Valve office to the second floor. It won't cost you much, but it might give our dear old game a chance. https://save.tf/

And I also want to talk it out so I can finally get this out of my head. In the last week, there was so much news and content on TF2 in my information field, more than I have consumed in total over the past three years. The final chord was listening to cover songs, re-voiced by the voices of the original voice actors using neural networks. As a result, I dreamed that a trailer for a certain game was released on YpuTube…

In general, it was a new numbered part of this team shooter, even the demonstration of the name of which looked like a joke. At first the screen displayed “Team Fortress 2+1”, then it changed to “Team Fortress 2.2”, and then it was changed to “Team Fortress III”, where the letter “I” in the middle fell at an angle after a second, causing the number to become in "N". Someone immediately added the remaining words and as a result the name of the game was demonstrated as “TF: New age”.

The announced slogans read “New mechanics. New environment. New items… And the new generation." And in the kaleidoscope of gameplay demo-frames, one could really see how the Übercharge mechanics were reworked, parkour/wall running mechanics were introduced, mechanics for destroying the environment and objects on the map were introduced, assistance and team kills were expanded to a full-fledged development tree. And also a little else, but I either couldn’t remember it or didn’t have time to notice it due to the fast modern pace of games. By the way, instead of the “best kill streak” after the round, cinematics were displayed, clearly directed in the game engine, and not previously filmed, where the characters of the team players interacted with each other in various ways, depending on how “teamwise” the gamers played. And at the end of the game, the character of the most successful player was rocked by the team in their arms to applause. I've NEVER thought about a placeholder like this instead of a progress bar, but I've ALWAYS desperately needed it.

And “New age” completely changed the vibe and theme of the spirit of the game: Despite the fact that the game was still bright, but restrained in color, it became a little darker and more brutal. Now, analyzing my dream, I can say that this happened due to the transition from the atomicpunk setting of the 60s to the B-movie setting of the 80s. Yes, the events of the new TF take place in the 80s with the corresponding OST (swing and the orchestra was replaced by synthesizer and synthpop), with the corresponding historical context (the collapse of the USSR, Japan is strangling the USA with its beautiful cheap goods, and so on), as well as the corresponding style (leather pants , colorful shirts, bouffant hairstyles, psychedelic interiors of the 80s).

And since this is all happening 20 years later… I observed only 2 character classes who lived to see the events of the new part. If anything, I hope the rest of the team wasn't shown just because they retired. The only one for whom age is just a number is the Medic. Not only is he perfectly preserved from his "meet the" moment, with only silver hair and a pair of crow's feet at the corners of his eyes, but he continues to be a playable class. He still runs fast, cuts people on the battlefield and on the surgical table, and is still the same loud psycho. He still doesn’t change his white shirts, although he has changed the style of the coat and optimized the medigun to a standard-sized weapon without a backpack, but with new mechanics. He also got a Mossberg 500 as a secondary weapon and an ice pick for his finishing animation (lobotomy reference, I guess). In snippets of videos like SFM, he has a one-way dialogue with Archimedes (either this is a new bird, or his recipe for immortality applies not only to people) and an urn with ashes, which he calls Heavy. When someone from the new team intervenes in his monologue dialogue, he says that giving eternal life to Mikhail was his best and dumbest decision at the same time. Having received immortality and retired, Misha died a week later, choking on his snoring in his sleep due to lying on his back. Ludwig still works as a mercenary, but his boss is now 25-year-old Olivia Munn, whom he affectionately calls Ollie. Accordingly, his team color is now gray-green, and the set of cosmetics dedicated to the release of the game is very similar to the green uniform of real surgeons. Olivia looks more like Elizabeth from Bioshock in a green aerobics suit and a black leather jacket with a voluminous bouffant. She dotes on her old favorite (Medic) among the “meat dolls” in the form of a team of thugs. They are her living body armor, her errand boys and confidants in the war for world domination against the purple team. Purple… Well, this is the team of our beloved Administrator, who is still called that by the mercenaries from TF2 and Olivia, and the new thugs don’t understand why. She herself was not shown in the trailer, but the main quartermaster of her will is still Miss Polling. Or should this MILF no longer be called Miss? At least, when the new team is training with the 40-year-old Scout (not a playable character, more serving for the game's lore), he says that he knows very well that he cannot contradict this woman, because, otherwise, the team will go through all that hell. what he himself went through when he was going through a divorce from her. Basically, the retired marathon runner immerses the team and trailer viewers into the current state of affairs on the world stage and new mechanics. And when they ask him that if he is such an experienced soldier of fortune, then why doesn’t he lead the attack, Jeremy throws his feet up on the tactical table and says that now it’s not fitting for such a respectable man like him to rush and jump. In addition to the ragged scar on his face, his past is revealed by the prosthetics of both his legs below the knee. This runner will no longer fuss on the battlefield.

By the way, I didn’t write about which characters now occupy mercenary classes in “New Age”: Scout appears to be Sicilian, but I'm not sure since his first cosmetic set looked like a traditional bullfighter outfit; The soldier - perhaps it was the Briton shown in the trailer (judging by the trademark coldness, self-irony, strong-willed chin with a dimple, long nose and protruding Adam's apple), since it was he who had a cosmetic outfit form of a biplane pilot's suit, and perhaps it was a reference to a rocket-jump; Arsonist - either he was not shown, or I have already forgotten part of the dream with him; The bomber is definitely a Western Slavic man, most likely a Pole, who has this written all over his face, from his always dissatisfied, silent face; Machine Gunner is a huge, charming Mexican extrovert who speaks excellent English and does not shut up for a second and does not know the personal boundaries of other people (but because of his size and volume, no one dares to be rude to him); The engineer is a Japanese man, who in a minute of screen time managed to demonstrate his bunch of mental illnesses in the form of OCD, monstrous perfectionism, asymmetriophobia, mysophobia and love of killing with the help of mechanisms (his first cosmetic set is a reference to Emmerich from MGS, and instead of turrets, server stations were demonstrated, releasing flying mini-drones of various specializations from killing to constructing shelters for the team from the debris generated on the battlefield); Medic – everything is clear with the green team, but this class was not shown on the purple team; The sniper is a frightening Canadian with his charm and calmness, who does not even have a voice line with screams of death, and, having committed a series of murders, he quietly and naturally says something like “My mistake. I’m sorry,” as if he has just accidentally hity someone with my elbow; Spy - just like Piro, I either didn’t remember him or he wasn’t shown.

And at the end of the trailer, when I was ready to scream with delight, a “teaser part” was shown, where more powerful forces in the form of an entire country intervene in the war between olive and purple! The Australians, seeing that humanity is using their metal to kill each other, and not for good purposes, declare themselves the world's gendarmes and intend to confiscate all their "vibranium". Of course, the whole world does not agree with this. The Third World War begins with a race of people with superpowers, where disparate countries are trying to resist and snatch the super-precious metal for themselves by any means, even if this means concluding a temporary alliance with Australia. The world is rapidly losing to a civilization with advanced technologies, surrounded by oceans in a remote part of the planet, where there are spiders the size of Indian elephants and emu-tyrannosaurs capable of destroying a platoon of special forces (do not forget that absolutely everything there is marsupial and deadly poisonous), and the average Australian child is at times superior to a trained weightlifter.

The mysterious figure in the picture receives honors in connection with his appointment as the elected "king" of Australia in the form of an offering of a wide-brimmed hat made from the skin of a kangaroo, which he defeated in a fair fight. Subordinates ask the new head of state what his first order will be. The figure grins and orders all the Australium they managed to confiscate from other countries to be sent to the Sydney laboratories. … Black screen and mysterious unknown. I would like to believe that it could be Mr Mundy, but this is impossible due to the fact that this class only has 125HP, even if we consider that Australians have no prejudice against a foreigner in their presidential seat. It would also be TOO fanservicey. Most likely it would be Saxton Hale to form the trio of faction “bosses”, because their relationship is like a triangle, where one woman is the Australian’s former flame, and the second stole his company in the most dishonest of ways.

At the end of the video, something like a first-person interview is shown in relation to the viewer, where a crowd of journalists sits (their techniques, hairstyles and outfits still correspond to the 80s era) opposite the table at which the interviewee sits. A bunch of microphones, spotlights and cameras are directed at the viewer, silence falls and even the ambient music fades away. The youngest of the journalists awkwardly asks a question to the viewer like “Sir, please tell us a little about yourself.” And that damn thing was just a brilliant reference to the “meet the” videos! At the moment where the viewer was shown the new game mode “Relay Race”, my alarm clock woke me up. And I couldn’t fall asleep anymore because I was overwhelmed by a storm of emotions; I didn’t immediately realize that all this was happening in a dream. It was very sad that these were fantasies that I invented for myself…

You need to have low expectations so as not to be disappointed. And, regarding Valve’s new project, I want to say that they were 5-8 years late to publish a steampunk shooter in the form of a hybrid of Doka and Overwatch. Children want to play games where they can come up with a game for themselves, and not go online as a job to earn pieces of content generated by a neural network for free access.

In any case, I felt better when I wrote all this multi-page nonsense and now I won’t think about it all the time) I hope that not many people will read what is hidden under the cut.

[creativedigestt]

Behind the Designs: Exploring the Artistry of Joel

Brief Introduction

We interviewed Joel Balat, a 20 year-old college student from Mapua Malayan Colleges Laguna, currently studying Multimedia arts specializing in graphic design. Joel is well-versed expert in the world of design, with over seven years of personal experience and over a year as a Student Assistant Graphic Designer for the Corporate Communications Office in MMCL.

Joel’s Key Experiences in the field

| Could you describe a particularly challenging project you've worked on during your college years? How did you approach it?

The most difficult project I've worked on was not really related to graphic design, but it was in the realm of multimedia arts. We created an animated film for our college project. Even though we completed the course, it almost devastated me. I never want to touch any animated films again. 

| Can you share a project that you're particularly proud of and explain why it's significant to you?

One of the best works I have done is a project I finished a couple of months before I enrolled in college. It is a motion graphic lyric video of a song by a vocaloid artist named “Miku”. This is a very important project for me because it is where I learned how to start with motion graphics and design. It was the pioneer, “the mother of all motion graphics that I’ve done until now”. 

I used Adobe After Effects and Blender 3D. It was challenging because I had to learn everything by myself, I did not rely on video tutorials. This project became very important to me because whenever I rewatch it, I get to compare my current work and see how much improvement I have gained over the years.

Joel’s Insights

| In your opinion, what sets apart great graphic design from mediocre or average work?

In my perspective as a designer, the factor that distinguishes exceptional graphic design from the ordinary is personalization. It's more than adhering to design principles; it's about creating visuals that reflect who I am. This idea emphasizes the power of adding a personal touch, elevating graphic design from merely looking good to a form of personal expression.

| As you've progressed in your journey, have you noticed any shifts in your design style or approach? How do you balance experimentation and staying true to your artistic identity?

Yes. Initially, my design style started in a very “weird” manner. I used to design in a way where if it looks good with my eyes, then it’s good. There was no consideration with readability and legibility. Then I started to learn more about designing for an e-sports organization. As I got more knowledgeable in the field I started to lean towards a more minimalist approach, which is my current design style.

As I got more experienced, I slowly found my secret recipe; Research, Production, and Feedback. I made sure that every element in my design had a meaning. How everything was put into place had a reason. In terms of feedback, I learned that instead of asking “Does this look good?” I asked “What’s wrong with my design?”.

When it comes to staying true to my identity, I have a tactic that I use, and that is knowing yourself. It’s really about maintaining your core identity as an individual and a designer.

Joel’s valuable lessons

| What advice would you give to fellow students who are considering pursuing graphic design and multimedia arts as a career path?

I personally recommend that you should discover and seek artists, designers, and directors who inspire you and use their work as a springboard for your own creativity and your portfolio. I encourage collaboration because it not only develops your skills but also provides valuable experience.

| Can you share a specific mistake or setback you encountered during your journey, and what you learned from it?

I have two mistakes that come to mind. Number one is not being able to trust my peers. I found myself doubting the skills and reliability of the people I work with. A second mistake is not being able to effectively communicate, especially with clients. There have been numerous times where a client would reach out to me, and I fail to put into words what I want to say.

| Reflecting on your college experience thus far, what are some key lessons you've learned about time management, creativity, or professional growth?

One crucial lesson I’ve learned is to practice and research continually. Secondly, manage your time efficiently by prioritizing routines and balancing professional and personal interests, while emphasizing effective communication and professionalism contributes to overall development.

In summary: Our final thoughts

Our interview with Joel proved to be one of the most valuable conversations we’ve had with a fellow creative. Within a matter of 30 minutes, not only did we learn about his background and experience, but also gained advice on how to traverse through our artistic paths. His expertise in the world of graphic design shined through the confidence that he gave with each of his answers. We are grateful to Joel for giving such helpful thoughts.

[quantomeno]

How Do We Relationship? by Tamifull

It's about two girls who meet when starting university and they learn that they're both lesbians so, well, why don't we just date?

It's quite light-hearted and fun, but it has its more serious, dramatic moments. And the art style is so beautiful.

I am not doing it justice here, but I went into it not expecting a lot and being very pleasantly surprised by how much I loved it.

I haven't read the manga of it, but Given was a nice anime so I assume the manga is good too. It's quite a bit more emotional and poignant than HDWR? particularly since the main plot point is a guy discovers he's gay when he meets a new classmate who is himself getting over the death of his boyfriend.

Also both of these manga involve bands. I've just noticed that.

It's not exactly queer because I think everyone in it is straight and only like one character is really trans, but there's this relatively old (almost 20 years ago since it began) manga called Otomen which I actually really like even if sometimes things are a bit questionable. More like a 'hmmm' sort of questionable than anything else. Anyway the plot is that the main character is a strong, stoic guy who is famous at school for his prowess in martial arts and so on, but secretly he loves girly things: sewing, baking, sweets, cute things, reading shojo manga etc. But his mum forbade him from doing girly things because he's dad left her saying he wanted to become a woman and she's like traumatised and scared he'll turn into a woman.

Essentially the manga involves Asuka (the MC) meeting a bunch of other guys who all do stereotypically girly things and they sort of help each other realise they don't need to hide the feminine sides of themselves (none of them are trans though, I don't think). The other major plotline is that Asuka falls in love with Ryo, a girl who is really not-feminine in her behaviour (she loves martial arts, is a really bad cook etc) but everyone thinks she's a 'perfect woman' because she looks so dainty and pretty.

I don't know what other people will make of it but I really liked it. It's also pretty funny:

what are people's fave queer manga

[argylepiratewd]

Proofreading commissions open!

Money has gotten super, super, super tight for me lately, and my bank balance keeps sinking down to numbers that scare me. I'm also hoping to branch out into freelance proofreading properly in the near future, and I'd like some more experience and some stuff for a portfolio under my belt. Soooooo, I'm offering up my services as a proofreader to the wilds of ye ol' hellsite! Yay? Yay! \o/

Who are you?

Hi, I'm WD! I'm someone who's been on Tumblr since before boobs got banned and in fandom for way too long. IRL, I've been proofreading for a weekly newspaper publication for over five years. Local happenings, sports recaps, opinion pieces, obituaries, legal notices, ads, poems—I have proofread them all. Nearly every piece of writing that gets published each week goes through me, and I am trusted to be the last guaranteed pair of critical eyes on a piece of text before it goes to the press. Very little escapes these peepers.

I'm also a writer. I've been writing fiction for close to 20 years, and I've been cleaning up my own words for as long as I've been writing. I know how important your words are to you and how much you want them to sparkle and shine without the tarnish of typos. Let me help your precious words!

What are you offering?

Proofreading. I hunt down the typos and grammatical errors and other pesky problems in your work, mark where they're at, and send it back. I'm not serving as a full-blown editor—I'm the person who tells you where to aim your power washer...or something like that. I'll probably offer a little style input, too. Can't help myself. And you're more than welcome to go, "Nah, I'm not changing that," afterward. I won't mind.

Details, rates, and more under the cut:

What will you proofread?

Stuff under 10k words only, please. Fiction or nonfiction. Fanfiction welcome, though I cannot guarantee familiarity with your fandom.

I'm willing to read erotica, mpreg, A/B/O...a whole bunch of other stuff. If you want to be sure, ask.

I prefer to work with Google Docs, but I'm willing to use Word if that's your Thing.

What will you not proofread?

Works that are over 10,000 words (I'm trying to conserve my spoons here; if it's just a teensy bit over, talk to me)

Works in languages other than English

High school (or lower grades, or your country's equivalent) homework

Dense, jargon-y texts; sorry, but I am le tired well have a nap

Works featuring animal harm, incest, graphic human-on-human noncon, scat, or explicit sexual content featuring characters under 18

Works promoting homophobia, transphobia, racism, ableism, or other discriminatory topics along those lines. I'm willing to give stuff including these things a look-see if it's part of a plot, but not if you're being mean. Meanness is unnecessary. Just let people live.

Anything requiring me to do math. Math and I are not friends.

Heavily religious content

I will not work with people under 18 years old. Sorry.

I reserve the right to decline any proofreading job for any reason.

How much? How to pay?

Default Rate: $0.01 USD per word, minimum charge $5 for works that are 500 words or less.

Rush Orders: $0.03 per word, minimum $15 for 500 words or less. Guaranteed Turnaround Time: 24 hours for works of 5k words or less, 48 for longer ones.

Rush+ Orders: $0.05 per word, minimum $25 words or less. Turnaround Time: 12 hours for works of 5k words or less, 24 for longer ones.

A 5% discount is also available if you're willing to let me include your work in a proofreading portfolio in the future. I'm willing to let you stay anonymous, if you'd like. Discount not available for fanfiction or rush orders.

Rush orders not available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays. Those days belong to The Day Job™. I will only take one rush order at a time.

Payment due upfront using PayPal, Ko-Fi, or Cash App. Full refund will be given if I cannot complete the commission. For rush orders, partial refund will be given if I fail to get the piece back to you within the agreed upon time.

I have something much longer than 10k, and I really want you, WD.

Can we work something out for more money?

If you give it to me in sporadic chunks, sure.

Can I pay you with something besides money?

Sorry, my bank account is crying at the moment, and last time I tried giving the bank offerings of priceless, beautiful blorbo tears and blood, they said no. :( Capitalism, am I right?

Will you do this for free?

No, sorry.

But—

No.

How do I request your services?

Either through this handy form or by email. Much as I love this beautiful hellsite, I know how temperamental it is. My email address is argylepiratewd at gmail. Note: This is NOT my PayPal email address.

If you choose to use email, please put [PROOFREADING] at the beginning of your email subject line, or [RUSH PROOFREADING]/[RUSH+ PROOFREADING] for a rush order. Include word count and a description

I can't afford/don't need your services, but I want to help you out. Can I toss you a few bucks?

Sure! My Ko-Fi is here, and I'll give you my PayPal or Cash App info on request.

Reblogs are also very much appreciated. Please reblog! 💖

[diadraws]

what program do you use to do animations? ive been wanting to get into it but im not sure how and i know you draw in photoshop which i do too. thanks!!!

it really depends!! for longer stuff, i use adobe animate, just because photoshop tends to start chugging if i do animations longer than like, 20-ish frames. I do all the compositing and tweening for my animation memes in animate as well.

in addition to roughing frame-by frame stuff for my animation memes, (such as tirona's dance for the fortnite one haha) i like to do sketching/doodly animations, like this lil kitty, in photoshop, since it feels most organic drawing-wise to me. BUT, photoshop animation is a bit tricky, and deff opaque to anyone whos never done it before. heres a basic guide, under a cut cuz it got long LOL

create a new canvas. you can do whatever resolution you want but keep in mind, larger canvases will lag more. i do 1920x1080. if you select window>timeline, a new menu will pop up at the bottom of the photoshop interface

you'll notice a dropdown menu, that has two options: "create video timeline" and "create frame animation". i use create frame animation , just because it's more fitting for what i do.

selecting that option will give you a timeline with frames and everything! each frame's delay can be chosen individually. during playback in photoshop, it will play a little slower than the actual speed when exported as a gif, so keep that in mind

i would advise you to think of layers (or layer groups, if you plan on cleaning up and coloring) as frames for this. a layer's position, visibility, and style can change from frame to frame.

pay attention to these following options, they will appear over your layers menu on the far right once you create an animation timeline.

Unify: can be applied to position, visibility, and layer effects. it will change all the other frames to match what the layer is like in your currently selected frame.

Propogate frame 1: if this box is checked, any position, style, or visibility changes made to a layer on frame 1 will be applied to all the frames. unchecking it disables this.

editing a layer with the eraser or brush (or any other tool) will apply the changes to every single frame. so to create the next pose, you will have to go to the next frame, hide the first layer, and draw the next pose on a new layer. I've colored the layers in 2 different colors here for clarity.

the blue is layer 1, and the red is layer 2. on the first frame, i will make layer 2 (the red pose) invisible and leave layer 1 (the blue pose) visible, and then on the second frame i do the reverse. You kind of have to do this manually for every single frame, so it gets a bit arduous if you have more than like 7 or 8 poses.

AND, exporting as a gif is also ridiculously silly and opaque too. go to file > export > save for web (legacy)

that will bring up this menu that is super complicated. the only stuff you really need to pay attention to is near the bottom, as everything else will work just fine on default settings (i've never messed with them in the 9-10 years ive been animating in photoshop, lol)

down towards the bottom you can change the export size, which is useful if you drew it on a big canvas but dont want the gif file to be enormous. also, you can choose how many times it loops. i usually just keep it on "forever", so i can watch it over and over again lol

and finally, make sure you click "save" and NOT "done". if you click done.. it does not export the file. i will not tell u how many times ive been in speed mode and click "done" and then get frustrated when the file dosnt appear in my folder. i am not smart.

anyways hopefully this is helpful.. ive been using ps so long i have extreme tunnel vision re: mentally filtering out all the useless extra stuff in photoshop's interface so i have no idea if this is confusing or not to someone who's never done it before. if you have more questions just let me know!!

[bookoftheironfist]

Here's mine!

How were you first introduced to Iron Fist?

Okay, so technically, my very, very first encounter with Iron Fist was this panel from the Fraction/Aja Hawkeye run, when I was first reading it back in 2012:

(Me: "Who?")

My formal introduction happened later the following year. I was relatively new to superhero comics and so was just reading anything and everything I could get my hands on. My local library had the first trade paperback of Immortal Iron Fist, so I read it and was absolutely blown away. Hooked for life. I dove into the Iron Fist world and have been a fan for over a decade now, with no end in sight.

2. What is your favorite Iron Fist comic and/or adaptation?

One of the wonderful parts of being a longtime fan of a character, to me, is going back and re-reading, finding new appreciation for series, nuances you hadn't noticed before, discovering comfort reads, etc. I'm a tremendous fan of Iron Fist volume 1 and Power Man and Iron Fist volume 1, both of which I consider must-read classics for anyone, Iron Fist fan or otherwise. Over time I've come to appreciate and relish the very early Marvel Premiere issues, as well as Living Weapon, which drew heavily on those issues for its exploration of the way a person can become consumed by violence and rage. I also love the lighter stuff; Power Man and Iron Fist volume 3 was a delight for me, as was Immortal Iron Fists. But at the end of the day, Immortal Iron Fist just has a very special place in my heart and so is my go-to favorite. It's a comfort read, it's badass as hell, and it's a perfect encapsulation of everything I love about Danny Rand and the Iron Fist world.

Also, concerning adaptations, a little shout-out to the Netflix show. I love you, I miss you, you deserved the world. Danny-Lightning-From-God-style-dual-wielding-Orson-Randall's-guns, please come back to me. And Danny's appearances with Luke in "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" are really fun. Please, Marvel gods, give me an animated Power Man and Iron Fist show...

3. Who is/are your favorite character(s)?

I will always get hooked on a story that has a powerfully compelling protagonist who is orbited by an equally rich and compelling supporting cast. Danny is my favorite character because of course he is. He's complex, he's fun, he's badass, he's endearing, he is a character who I would happily follow through any genre of story. Outside of Danny, my favorite section of his supporting cast tends to be the K'un-Lun-and-beyond gang. I love, love, love Lei Kung (R.I.P.) and Sparrow and Pei. The Immortal Weapons are one of my absolute favorite Marvel super-teams; they are awesome individually and really fun playing off each other. I would read a full ongoing series about any of the former Iron Fists (Li Park is a particular favorite. Give me more Li Park stories!). I'm obsessed with Miranda, Danny's half-sister, and since Ed Brisson's run was infuriatingly cancelled the minute he brought her out of her 20-year absence, I am still waiting for a creative team to start digging into the complicated and fascinating story of her life and all of the potential inherent in her relationship with Danny. That said, I also love the NYC gang-- Misty and Colleen (also turning 50 this year!) mean a lot to me.

...So that was a really terrible cop-out, because I guess my answer is "all of them". The truth is that I love the breadth and variety of the Iron Fist cast, and each character is truly compelling to me in their own way. The nature of this comic is that it always feels like there are more stories to tell, that each character needs more time to shine, and that there is tremendous potential still waiting to be tapped.

4. What do you enjoy most about Iron Fist? What made you a fan?

I'm a fantasy nerd and a mythology nerd, and the world of Iron Fist is extremely fun. I love every run that delves into the magic and mythology of what being the Iron Fist is and how K'un-Lun functions, even when the continuity contradicts himself. It's a world I just love to think about and see creators play around in. And I love that Danny exists at the intersection between that world and the normal (if the Marvel Universe can be called "normal") world. First and foremost, though, I just love Danny very, very much. He's a character I would follow anywhere. I love his personality, I love his journey, I love that his origin story was a revenge quest, I love the anger and trauma in his past and the kindness and light he has managed to find in the present. I love that he is extraordinarily powerful (with or without superpowers!) but is also deeply torn and conflicted. I love his families-- all of them-- and I love that he's this sweet, dorky guy who is also extremely intense and killed a dragon with his bare hands.

5. Anything else you'd like to share:

One year I went to NYCC dressed as Danny, and there was a friggin' Shou-Lao cosplayer there.

I shall tag: @iamironfist23, @dailypowerfist, @qft, @finnflynn, @malice-kingdom, and @laylainalaska, but I'd love to hear from everyone! Even if you don't answer the questions, please consider reblogging the survey.

Iron Fist's 50th Anniversary: A Fan Survey

Hello!

I've been running this blog for six (whoa...) years now and have been blogging about Iron Fist in general for longer than that. Throughout this time, I have been fortunate to get to know some wonderful fellow fans of the character. On the occasion of this amazing IF milestone, I thought it would be a fun opportunity to reach out directly to the fandom on Tumblr and get to know everyone a little bit better. With this in mind, I've put together a short series of questions, which anyone and everyone is welcome to answer in a reblog/reply to this post. You can answer all of the questions or just one, in as much detail as you'd like. No pressure, no stress, and no deadline; I'd like to see how long and far this circulates.

I would love to know:

How were you first introduced to Iron Fist?

What is your favorite Iron Fist comic and/or adaptation?

Who is/are your favorite character(s)?

What do you enjoy most about Iron Fist? What made you a fan?

Anything else you'd like to share!

Please tag anyone you think might enjoy answering this. Alternately, I'd appreciate if you would consider reblogging this, so that it can get to as many people as possible.

Thank you, and enjoy!