#its actually a mix between traditional and digital art

[jun-hug]

nap on a patch of dandelions sounds great

print! | kofi ♡

❗Do not reupload anywhere❗

[nuttyfartbasement]

30 Socially Awkward Cats Reacting Hilariously To “Hugs”

[nuttyavenueyouth]

nap on a patch of dandelions sounds great…(Read More)

[morganeactually]

How Björk's avant-gardism breaks the fetichization of music genres beautifully

Hi everyone ! For this week's post, I would like to introduce you to my favorite female artist : Björk. Her genre-melding approach is the reason why I find her musical identity particularly remarkable. In constant evolution, the latter is marked by a fearless exploration of the new and the unfamiliar. Indeed, she refuses to be confined by only one style or tradition and chooses instead to continually redefine her music. Björk's unique sound embodies both cultural fluidity and artistic freedom. Her albums embrace diverse influences such as the British electronica movement of the 1990s, pop music, jazz, classical music, folk and traditional Iceland music, world music, etc.

For instance, in "Homogenic" (1997), she creates, through the mix of orchestral strings with industrial beats, a soundscape that opposes easy categorization. Furthermore, both Asian culture and Björk's Icelandic roots served as inspirations for the album and its cover. They underscore the themes of identity and self-reinvention. On the one hand, her stylized hair and kimono-like dress remind of the traditional attire of a geisha. On the other hand, the minimalist aesthetic echoes the unembellished beauty of Icelandic landscapes : the cold and metallic tones of the color palette resemble its glaciers and volcanic rocks. The futuristic vibe is connected to Iceland's reputation as a land of myth and mystery.

Björk is also known for her experimental approach, breaking new ground with new technologies and unconventional sounds. In the album "Biophilia" (2011), she blends organic and digital elements by integrating nature sounds and interactive apps. She displays her engagement for both nature and technology in a holistic way. Additionally, the artist combines a wide range of global influences (Icelandic folklore, British multimedia apps, Asian and African percussions, European classical music and American electronic music). She doesn't reduce them to stereotypes but celebrates their complexity. Thus, the artist creates a rich and multifaceted album that defies borders and genres at the same time. Björk's dress on the album cover bridges the gap between the natural and the artificial just like her music. Her voluminous flame-like hair gives a visual representation of the album's boundary-pushing and innovative spirit.

Björk's music videos and stage performances are genre-defying as well because they incorporate avant-garde fashion, digital art and theatrical elements like surrealism and performance art. In this way, they connect high art with pop culture. To illustrate, her song "All Is Full of Love" mixes high-tech visuals with a classical string arrangement. It challenges the elitism associated with classical music, making it accessible and relatable. The clip blending robotic imagery with sensual themes proves that technology and emotions can coexist. The lyrics were inspired by love in spring. According to Björk, “The song, in essence, is actually about believing in love. Love isn't just about two persons, it's everywhere around you. Even if you're not getting love from Person A, it doesn't mean there's not love there.“ The video depicts Björk as a robot being assembled in a factory, who kisses another robot passionately. The robots are humanized : they have a heart and are able to fall in love and to express their desires. The clip is considered as one of the milestone of computer animation.

[rottingraisins]

ur colors r so good and so vivid and beautiful all your art really stands out to me, it’s so bright and vibrant and brimming with character. howd u get so good w color?

thank you! and hm good question. I think like anything its ultimately just practice but thinking on it there's a few things that helped 4 me that I don't see mentioned a lot:

the single most important thing that made my art improve almost immediately once I realized it is that you can legitimately do fucking whatever. I think a lot of younger artists that look at like social media art tutorials a lot get it in their heads that there's a single perfect "system" that art functions in, like using a particular brush for lineart, a particular color and overlay filter to shade and highlight, a particular way to draw noses or hair or hands and while I think this certainly works for some people and even kinda happens automatically as you get better at art bc you create shortcuts for yourself you shouldn't really try to force it! I think the mark of a good artist is being able to vary these things, sometimes even within the same piece, and this goes doubly for color bc when you know how to use it well it can shift the mood of a painting a lot! Unless you're going for realism you can always say fuck it; red skin, purple shadows, green highlights. Whatever gets across the feeling you're going for y'know!

learning some basic color theory is obviously super important. I'm not gonna break it down here bc there's like hundreds of youtube videos on it but smth I recommend looking into is the distinction between local and non-local color! It'll help you start looking at art with more of an analytical eye so you can figure out what exactly artists you like are doing so you can try to imitate it in your own work. I personally learned a lot of what I know abt color from post-impressionist painters like Les Nabis, Toulouse-Lautrec, etc but you could just as well look at more contemporary art or even other people on social media

smth that helped me a lot is learning how to mix my own paint! I really think you only really need a handful of base colors (red, blue, yellow, green, pink, sienna, black and white) and should mix everything else from there. Those huge gouache or watercolor paint sets look very pretty but ultimately are mostly just a lot more expensive than they need to be, and mixing the paint yourself helps you figure out a lot about what base colors actually make up a certain hue. This knowledge even carries over into digital art bc the color wheel you have in most art programs is based off of traditional paint mixing so by familiarizing yourself with that you're simultaneously getting better at colorpicking! I used to be a digital-only artist and I saw a huge improvement in my digital art once I started working traditionally

I hope these helped somewhat! I should reiterate I'm not really classically trained in art at all and these are just what helped me figure stuff out! I've found a lot of it is just trying at it until you find something that works for you but maybe this'll speed it along :]

[klutzyroses]

I hope so much not to bother but I am really curious to know How did you learnt to draw ? Plusdo you have any adviceto newbies ? Thank you Have a wonderful day 🤗☺

Not at all! Let's see now...

I started drawing back in 2020 as a hobby to pick up. I started by using traditional media(pencil and paper) while following references I would find online. I generally didn't do too bad but not too great either because I aimed too high too quickly and made many mistakes and got frustrated alot because the results weren't what I wanted.😅

Then in 2021-2022, I picked up on using bases to try and get the general shape and appearance of person and customize them to my liking. From there, I transitioned to drawing on a PC to make digital art. Soon, I started to use actual tutorials to actually teach me how to draw a full person from scratch using lines and circles. I still used references of anime to learn how to position eyes and head angles, as well as learning how to draw more organic poses and body types. Now, I have a tablet and I do all my art from scratch using that and usually with one or two references nearby to help guide me.

Now, as to the advice I'd give to newbies...

1. Start figuring out your style.

You don't have to have a concrete idea right away, but whether you wish to draw in a realistic style, anime style, abstract, cartoon style or otherwise, you should have an idea of what direction you want to take with that. You can possibly mix it up as your style develops and you get braver but start with what feels most comfortable to you.

2. Use references.

Look at pictures of subjects you want to draw. Drawing from memory is fine, but pictures can help you with perfecting certain shapes and poses. This is particularly useful for facial angles and complicated posing.

3. Be patient with yourself!

You might not get the exact result you were hoping for right away, but don't get down on yourself. The fact you did it at all means you have learnt something and you shouldn't be so hard on yourself for it if you aren't progressing as quickly as you'd like. Its meant to be a pleasant process for you and if you put too much pressure on yourself to create masterpieces right away, you are just going to hate drawing.

4. Don't compare yourself to other artists!

It's fine if you want to look at other's art as a motivator or setting a goal you may want to reach but don't compare your art to others, especially if you're starting out. You're going to make yourself miserable and you won't be motivated to improve yourself. You will improve at your own pace if you give yourself the time.

5. Don't draw too big.

If you're starting out, it probably isn't the best idea to start with large drawings of people in full landscapes. Better start small, maybe by drawing a head with a face, then practice with hair. Or maybe practice drawing hands(they are probably the hardest part to draw for me).

6. Enjoy learning .

Drawing is meant to be fun and you are always learning something new to expand your skills. Welcome that rather than shun it, you may learn someway to improve in a way you didn't think you could. You are meant to be having fun.

7. Track your progress.

It's incredibly rewarding to see how far you have come as an artist, so keep your old drawings and note the difference between your first drawing and the 10th for example. It will help motivate you to get even better and keep going.

I hope that helps!

🌸

[loadsamomo]

Not to game art graduate my way in here but I think I have an explanation. If the sunrises aren’t deliberately green, they might be incidentally green based on the art assets and how the graphics engine displays them, much like a semi-famous problem painters run into with sunrises. 

It makes sense if you think of it that way; orange or yellow assets/lighting/textures, when overlaid with blue ones, mix to green after the computer does the math. To achieve the gradients we see in a sunrise, like in the image below, totally different methods often have to be used like applying a custom color ramp or levels adjustments, or baking a skybox animation with the specific colors you want and not letting the computer interpolate between them at its own whims.

[Caption; sunrise in Seattle, with the space needle and city skyline visible. The sky is a rich peach at the bottom, moving to a golden orange, then a pale beige, and finally sky blue.]

It’s a challenge a lot of traditional painters encounter, too; painting sunrises without creating “green” requires not letting any of the blue or orange paints mix. But mixing wet paint is often the only way to create soft gradients. So you see a lot of green sunrises there. It might be that the same thing is happening in both mediums, since colors have the same relationships whether it’s additive or subtractive mixing.

[Caption; four classical paintings of sunrises that each feature green skies, or gradients that include them, with colors visibly different than the sunrise photograph. Individual paintings and artists listed at end of post.]

Why the sky actually looks like those colors specifically in real life is probably a really interesting thing I learned from a James Gurney book at one point, and then forgot, but I do notice the gradients look a lot more like a light kelvin scale; going from warm, to neutral, to cool.

Without knowing if that has anything to do with it, I know painters have managed to make it work by painting the transitions from orange to neutral, and blue to neutral, separately. I’ve been out of the game enough that I wonder exactly what techniques digital artists are doing to avoid the problem in skyboxes. I’d be curious to know what the Rockstar devs were doing for RDD2, for example, since those sunrises look perfect.

[Caption; a sunrise from the game Red Dead Redemption. The colors more closely match the first photograph from Seattle.]

Anyway, those are my best guesses. Hoping someone can confirm, expand upon, or debunk any elements of this post as required.

[Paintings from earlier in clockwise order;

Evening, Owens Lake, California by Albert Bierstadt

A Mountainous Landscape with a Waterfall, Sunrise by Jens Juel

Sunrise, Atlantic City by William Trost Richards

Sunrise by Albert Bierstadt]

Why does nintendo games portray early sunrise as green?

I have never in my life seen a sunrise in these colors. I used to witness them a lot during college by doing all-nighters and they always had the same colors as a sunset. But in ACNH as well as both BOTW and TOTK the early sunrise has this green tint to it? Is this a thing?

[euroartofficial]

Euro-Art Ironmongery: Raising Door Hardware Design in Dubai

Among the basic interior designing elements, the Europeans in Dubai showed interest in ironmongery, specifically considering functionality and aesthetics of space. Thus, Euro-Art has become a trend for people in Dubai who are looking for a mix of style, durability, and sophistication in their residential homes and commercial properties.

Here's why Euro-Art ironmongery is rocking Dubai's interior design:

1. Innovative Design with European Elegance

Euro-Art is renowned for its contemporary design sensibilities of Europe. All the ironmongery, from door handles to hinges, underlines modern trends of Europe but, at the same time, provides an altogether timeless grace. This perfect amalgamation of modernity and tradition would suit the cosmopolitan architecture of Dubai, where global influences meet with local culture.

With sleek, minimalist designs, Euro-Art ironmongery Dubai really presents a polished, high-end finish that complements various interior styles, whether you are designing a modern villa or setting up a luxury office space.

2. Materials Used to Delight End

One of the feature most uses of Euro-Art ironmongery is its commitment to premium material usage. Be it stainless steel or brass, the Euro-Art products are manufactured on material criteria to provide maximum durability and resistance to corrosion. As such, Euro-Art ironmongery is ideal for usage in harsh weather conditions in Dubai, with humidity and heat not affecting other materials like it does.

Whether you decide between door locks, handles, or hinges, look to Euro-Art for durable products that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also useful.

3. Comprehensive Product Range

Euro-Art ironmongery has a vast range of products to meet every other requirement and fulfill every different need for interior as well as exterior usage. The following categories of products are the most in demand:

Door Handles: Euro-Art is actually providing a range of door handles, which feature lever handles on rose and pull handles, as well as knobs. These are available in a range of finishes to be used according to requirement. Matte black, satin nickel, and polished chrome are some of those.

Lock and Latch: Euro-Art, with its robust locks and latches, provides the best security solutions ranging from the basic mortice locks to the more advanced high-security digital locks. The brand features advanced locking systems that emphasize safety and simplicity in their operations.

Hinges: Thirdly, precision-engineered hinges are featured in the brand to ensure even easier door operation. Ball bearings are resistant to friction and wear.

Accessories: Euro-Art also supplies door stoppers, coat hooks, and other essential accessories that complete the look of your space as it is both functional as well as stylish.

4. Custom Solution for Unique Projects

Coming into the picture at Dubai, where customized design is often the prime requirement, Euro-Art stands apart with its customizable ironmongery solutions. They might want a particular design of a door handle or a custom finish to just meet that project's unique requirements. This flexibility makes Euro-Art the ideal choice for architects, interior designers, and developers working on customized, high-end projects.

5. Ease of Integration with Diverse Architectural Themes

The ambiance of Dubai is dotted with some exquisite architectural designs, ranging from the ultra-modern skyscrapers to simple yet sweet Arabesque homes. Euro-Art ironmongery comes in designs to go perfectly well with modern and classical interiors. Its clean lines with finishing contouring make it apt for a minimalist style, whereas the ornate design completes a traditional setup by adding a new level of sophistication to overall space.

6. Sustainability and Eco-Friendly Practices

As sustainability is becoming the focus of global designs, Euro-Art will definitely go ahead into eco-friendly manufacturing. It indulges in sustainable materials and production processes to create its products not only attractive but also eco-friendly. For developers and homeowners who opt for green buildings in Dubai, Euro-Art ironmongery will be very good.

7. Expertise and Support

The difference lies in being more than just the selection of a design-it is an understanding of functionality and more technical aspects of the hardware. Euro-Art would ensure that you find expert consultancy to make informed choices of what matters most for your projects. From the right selection of door handles to use for the specific kind of door or what exactly is a good security feature for a commercial space, their team will stand by to always help you with it.

8. The Dubai Factor

Dubai's design landscape is fast and forward-thinking, always in demand for something new and innovative. Euro-Art ironmongery especially embraces the spirit of luxury and innovation which Dubai is known for. As Dubai continues to develop as a melting point for modern architecture and interior design, its demand for quality, European standard ironmongery such as Euro-Art keeps on increasing.

Conclusion

The very existence of Euro-Art ironmongery Dubai leads to a blending of form and function with no occurrence of flops. For those in Dubai who are craving to add their space with beautiful, robust, and energizing door hardware, Euro-Art has a lot awaiting them. Whether it is a residential or commercial project, Euro-Art ironmongery brings about elegance into the details making even the subtlest of aspects speak of excellence.

[decadesflooringla]

The Renaissance Of Floors: Finding Charm Through Floor Repair

The realm of interior decoration has experienced a notable rebirth in the appreciation for traditional craftsmanship, one arena where this is distinctly noticeable is flooring restoration. This technique harkens back to bygone ages when attention to information and also an emphasis on long life were vital. The artistry involved in recovering floors prolongs beyond mere functionality, reaching into the aesthetic domain, exposing a fascinating mix of history, design components, as well as elaborate methods that have actually been very carefully protected over centuries. It is within this nexus that people uncover not just charm however also an unique feeling of connection with the past. As society's understanding grows regarding the significance of lasting methods and also protecting cultural heritage, there emerges a raised passion in approaches such as flooring restoration. A balance in between art and scientific research, it requires mastery in different self-controls from materials science to building history. The procedure requires skill as well as accuracy; each step thoroughly accomplished guaranteeing durability while keeping original attributes that hold historical or aesthetic value. Engaging with Floor Reconstruction provides a possibility for individuals to participate in maintaining these antiques of background while boosting their personal rooms with eternal appeal.

The Background of Flooring Repair

Tracing the development of floor restoration reveals an abundant tapestry of craftsmanship as well as development, from fundamental devices and also strategies utilized in classical times to today's innovative technologies that have reinvented this art form. The method originated in old worlds such as Rome and also Greece, where floors were viewed as an important part of building style. During these times, craftsmens would meticulously recover marble and rock floors making use of straightforward hand devices like knives and hammers. This laborious procedure was not just lengthy but needed remarkable skill and also accuracy. The Middle Ages saw the increase of wood floors, which caused a brand-new collection of difficulties for reconstruction. Wood is prone to harm from pests, deteriorating, fire, among other variables; thus preservation came to be significantly hard. In reaction to these challenges, artisans established cutting-edge options including varnishes made from all-natural materials as well as oils to shield the timber surface. These growths noted considerable strides in the direction of modern-day methods of flooring remediation. The 20th century proclaimed an era of technical developments that even more transformed the field of flooring repair. With the creation of power tools such as sanders and brushes, specialists could now recover floors with increased effectiveness and also accuracy. Chemical developments additionally resulted in much more efficient cleaner and sealers for different flooring materials. Furthermore, digital modern technologies are now being incorporated into this craft; with laser scanning as an example offering comprehensive views of a flooring's state before starting corrective work-- ensuring accuracy without creating unneeded damages to existing frameworks.

The Art and also Scientific Research of Floor Repair

Why shouldn't the detailed procedure of bringing old surfaces back to their former splendor, be considered both an art and a science?

The careful task of flooring repair includes a deep understanding of chemistry, physics, as well as material scientific research. Each type of floor covering product-- be it timber, stone or ceramic tile-- requires specific expertise regarding its make-up as well as appropriate repair methods.

https://decadesflooring.com/

The scientific element hinges on recognizing just how various materials will respond with the flooring product without creating damage while achieving wanted outcomes.

Knowledge relating to the use of solvents, strippers, sealers and also other chemicals is imperative. Along with this scientific understanding, recovering floorings additionally needs a certain imaginative panache. It's not almost knowing which materials and approaches to make use of; it's about utilizing them effectively to draw out the intrinsic elegance in each one-of-a-kind surface. Much like a painter needs an eye for shade balance and also composition, a floor restorer must think about aspects such as grain direction in wood or pattern plan in ceramic tiles. A professional can determine in between various selections of wood or rock by visual inspection alone-- an ability that originates from years of experience incorporated with innate visual sensibility. The practice exceeds plain technological experience; it incorporates historic expertise also. Understanding building designs from different periods can help professionals recover floors in historic structures with higher authenticity. This method makes sure that the renewed surface not only looks visually pleasing but likewise stays real to its original age. As a result, embracing both components - the clinical concepts underlying flooring treatment products' usage and also the aesthetic judgment needed for successful application - is vital for revitalizing old surface areas properly while keeping their historic integrity.

[eggtoasties]

Chapter One: I. Allegro

Pairing: Kuroo Tetsuro x Reader

Rating: G

Word Count: 3.2k

Summary: Kuroo used to think the best sound in the world was a volleyball hitting the court on the other side of the net. Now, he has other things on his repertoire.

Counter point: Good counterpoint requires two qualities: (1) a meaningful or harmonious relationship between the lines (a “vertical” consideration—i.e., dealing with harmony) and (2) some degree of independence or individuality within the lines themselves (a “horizontal” consideration, dealing with melody).

It was illogical really, Kuroo thought to himself, having to take a mandatory arts class. He was an athlete. He would probably major in STEM or business the next year if he didn’t go pro. But here he was, staring at the course catalogue, deciding between different bands, choirs, art classes, and orchestra. Irritatingly, Kenma had finished his arts requirement last year, taking a video editing class which Kuroo thought was definitely cheating since he figured Kenma already knew the basics. Plus, he not-so-secretly believed that Kenma would benefit from another non-electronic hobby.

Sighing, he assessed each class. He knew he was tone deaf and did not want others listening to him sing. Plus, he’s seen the red cummerbunds and bow ties the choir had to wear for concerts and refused to give his teammates the blackmail fodder even if Yaku thought it looked “refined.”

To be honest, Kuroo didn’t know much about the arts. He only had the vaguest understanding of the differences between Watercolor 101, Figure drawing 101, and Oil Painting 101. While he thought of himself in the studio, palette in hand with an apron tied around him, working intently at the easel on the next generational masterpiece, he remembered when Kenma threw his pencil-drawn mockups of promotional posters in the trash and told him not to show the rest of the team.

While maybe he could try digital media, he couldn’t help but imagine himself against the romanticized backdrop of more traditional arts.

He had to choose between the several band electives and orchestra. He couldn’t do marching band—he wouldn’t be caught dead in those uniforms, wind ensemble had auditions he surely wouldn’t pass, jazz band had mandatory solos, but symphonic band was for rookies. ‘Beginners welcome,’ was typed out with an asterisk under the listing. But, so did orchestra. Doing a quick search to figure out the difference between band and orchestra, Kuroo weighed his options.

He took piano lessons from ages four through ten before finally convincing his parents to let him quit—wearing them down by crying every week and throwing a mini tantrum at daily practice—not that he intentionally did it as an elementary school student. But, even from an early age, he knew volleyball was it for him.

While he wasn’t well acquainted with classical music, he had grown up with it from his parents. Well, when they were irritated with the bickering matches between him and his older sister, their parents would crank up the car radio, drowning their yelling. His mom would tell him she used to play Mozart for him when he was a baby which is why he grew so tall—which he would always say makes no sense—and occasionally, a film score would make the hairs on his arms rise even when he was trying to focus on the scene.

So he decided. He’d enroll in orchestra for the year, make himself unnoticeable in the back, and fulfill his arts requirement so he could graduate high school and maybe apply to university. Plus, he figured, as he ticked the box next to orchestra, he’d finally be able to wear his suit his parents bought him, saying that he’d need it eventually.

Folding the course registration paper and sliding it into an envelope to be sent to Nekoma High, he stood up from his seat at the low dining room table and decided to go to Kenma’s, figuring they could squeeze some volleyball practice before summer vacation ended.

.

The first day of his third year was unextraordinary. He woke up tired, coaxed his bed head into something manageable, and started his commute to school, picking Kenma up on the way. Double and triple checking his course schedule on his phone and reminding his teammates that they all had to help out in advertising the volleyball club—well, maybe except Yaku—he tapped his toes with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

His classes were nothing special, most of them a continuation of the year before or courses he carefully picked with the advice of his seniors. But, walking towards the orchestra room at the far side of the building where all the music classes were, he felt a familiar rush of nervous adrenaline spike—not unlike the nerves before a big match. But this time, he couldn’t be confident in his own skills or rely on a team to back him up. Counting the room numbers until it matched the one on his registration, he found the room with its double doors propped open.

Striding in, the large open space was in various states of organized chaos. Other students were already moving chairs in uniform columns, two to a row, and were pulling instruments out of cases. Unsure of what to do, he immediately found the teacher.

“Hi Jouda-sensei, I’m Kuroo Tetsuro,” he introduced. “I’m new—where should I sit?”

“Hi Tetsuro-kun, it’s nice to meet you,” she said warmly. “Ah, yes I see you enrolled as a beginner.” Flipping through the pages on her clipboard she hummed, “Is there a particular instrument you’d like to play?” sweeping a hand across the room. “We could always use more violas, we have enough cellos, weirdly too many basses, but we could also stick you with the second violins?”

Kuroo didn’t quite know the difference between violas and violins but figured ‘second’ violins implied that there was also a ‘first’ violins group and that he’d be more likely to be able to hide in the back in a bigger group.

“Yeah,” he drawled out confidently, “I actually wanted to learn violin.”

“Okay, perfect. Here—” she motioned another student over. “Tetsuro-kun, meet Daisuke-kun.” Daisuke greeted Kuroo with a shallow bow and Kuroo responded with a head nod, mentally rolling his eyes at Daisuke’s subtle disapproval.

“He’s first chair of the second violins,” Jouda-sensei continued, “he’ll get you set up. Daisuke-kun, have him take one of the rentals and teach him the ropes. Today’s mostly getting people set up if they don’t have their own instruments and playing through potential setlists,” she explained while twirling her pen in her right hand. “Testsuro-kun, you’re our only new violin which means everyone can help you learn—take today to be comfortable with an instrument in your hands and observe your classmates!” she finished, walking away.

“I’m Sato Daisuke, a second year,” Daisuke reintroduced, emphasizing his year.

“Kuroo Tetsuro, third year,” he said smugly.

“Ah—okay,” Daisuke said standing straighter, “Kuroo-san, follow me,” turning towards the back of the room.

Chuckling Kuroo said, “Just Kuroo’s fine—you’re technically my senior here since I’ve never played violin before.”

Stuttering a bit and covering it with a cough, Daisuke nodded once. He stood in front of a wall of neatly labelled cubbies and pulling a black rectangular case out, he handed it to Kuroo. Explaining the rules of the rental and making him sign a form, Daisuke taught Kuroo how to properly tighten the bow, use rosin, clean the instrument, and taught him simple exercises to practice posture.

Fiddling a bit with the shoulder rest as Daisuke excused himself for a second, Kuroo ran through the exercises to get himself acquainted with the feel of the violin under his chin and a bow in his right hand. It was uncomfortable, he noted. His left shoulder wanted to scrunch up towards his face, his left wrist wanted to press towards the neck of the violin, and he couldn’t comfortably hold his bow. For the first time in a while, Kuroo felt out of his element—he felt as though his body couldn’t do what he wanted it to do. He felt awkward and unsure and the back of his neck prickled as he caught other students look his way.

Finally, Daisuke came back. Holding a thin blue book in his hand he explained, “This’ll teach you the basics of reading music. The thickest string on the left is G, followed by D, A, and E. Notes go in order of A through G and it just repeats.” Making sure Kuroo was following along, he continued. “So, If we start on the G string and put a finger down,” he moved over to place Kuroo’s index finger on the first tape, “what note is this?”

“A?”

“Yup, great. Follow the tapes for where you should put your fingers, I taught you how to tune and you need to study and practice every night so you’ll be able to partially follow along in class.”

Head a little dizzy with the new information but also proud to have understood some of the basics, Kuroo nodded. Daisuke took Kuroo to the back of the group, explained to a student who Kuroo was, then took his place towards the front.

Kuroo’s stand partner was a first year—Hayato. He’d been doing orchestra since middle school, didn’t take private lessons like many of the other students, but enjoyed orchestra enough to continue in high school as a hobby. Although a little awkward, Hayato was patient when giving Kuroo a more detailed explanation of reading music, since six years of piano lessons had completely left him, and set him up with basic exercises.

“You need to make sure your left wrist is down and relaxed,” Hayato said, tapping a pencil to Kuroo’s inner wrist. “Also, your bow grip is atrocious, but that’s one of the hardest things for a beginner.” He showed Kuroo how the bow was supposed to be held, stressing how it should look relaxed and curved.

Making small adjustments while Kuroo shakily moved the bow across the strings, Hayato said, “Sensei will probably have you come during study hall to practice, but you need to practice at home too or Sato-san and the concertmaster will probably chew you out.”

Bow stuttering crookedly across the strings, making Sato tut at him, Kuroo paused. “The concertmaster,” he asked disbelievingly. “What is that?” imagining some despotic conductor in long tuxedo trails and a clipboard.

Laughing at his confusion, Hayato explained. “The concertmaster is the first chair violinist. In orchestra they’re like the leader of the group. They tune the group, come out second to last before the conductor during concerts, make decisions on bowings, and everyone kinda follows their lead.”

Nodding to himself Kuroo said, “Okay, so he’s like,” he trailed off, “the captain of the team?”

“Exactly. Except she’s a third year like you and pretty well known in the music scene in our area, y’know.”

Frowning at his assumption he admitted, “Ah, okay so,” he trailed off, “concertmistress? I play volleyball, I don’t really know music.”

Hayato laughed and Kuroo raised a brow. “I mean obviously—you don’t really look like a violinist.”

Affronted Kuroo said, “Oi, what does that mean?”

“Kuroo-san, you’re like, huge,” Hayato squeaked out.

Trying not to preen, Kuroo waved his hand and turned his head towards the front of the class.

Jouda-sensei stood on her podium and tapped her baton on the raised stand in front of her. “Hi everyone, good to see all of you again. We have a few new faces so make sure to welcome them and help them out. I’m super excited for our potential set list this year, but before I pass out the folders, let’s a hear a few words from our concertmistress!”

With scattered applause and stomping, a girl rose to the podium as Jouda-sensei stepped off. Holding her violin and bow in her left hand she beamed at the class. Briefly introducing herself and sharing her excitement for the year to make music with everyone, Jouda-sensei interrupted her return to her seat.

“For the first rehearsal, how about you formally tune us?” Jouda-sensei offered.

“Aw, no it’s okay—some people are beginners and all the section leaders already took care of it right?”

Next to her, her stand partner threw an eraser at the podium making her scowl. “Just do it, her stand partner complained,” drawing laughter from the class.

Giving her partner the finger, hidden from their sensei’s view, she laughed good naturedly and straightened her shoulders.

All of a sudden, Kuroo noted, the atmosphere in the room changed. Students were no longer whispering to each other, playing random tunes, or shuffling in their seats. Everyone’s eyes were on her at the podium. She offered an open palm and nodded towards the back of the room. A single note penetrated the silence.

She swept her hand towards the back and Kuroo was suddenly flooded with the sound of the deep and rich brass section. After a few seconds, she repeated the process and the woodwind instruments close to Kuroo in the back began to tune.

Hayato leaned towards Kuroo. “Before concerts and rehearsals everyone should’ve tuned beforehand. This more for last minute checks and also a show for the audience. The order and how many sections tune at once is usually decided between the concertmaster and the conductor—Kuroo-san, we’ll tune last.”

Nodding in appreciation, Kuroo turned his attention back to the podium. The woodwinds trailed off and after a beat of silence, she nodded once again for the tuning note to be played and she waved her hand towards the cellos and basses at her right. The gravelly resonance of the strings filled Kuroo with a strange sense of full contentment and marveled at the size of the basses, whose strings seemed to be quadruple the thickness of his own.

Finally, the concertmaster gave one last nod and tucked her violin under her chin. Hearing the drone of the pitch, everyone around Kuroo began to tune. Unsure of what to do, he stumbled to mimic Hayato who was adjusting his tuners. Since Sato Daisuke already tuned his instrument, Kuroo just played open strings and waited for the rest of his section to stop. Glancing to his left at Kuroo’s right hand, Hayato whispered sharply, “Keep your pinky curved!”

.

After tuning, folders were passed out to each student, filed with sheet music. Hayato organized the sheets on their stand.

“Since you’re on the inside—the left hand side of the stand—your job is to turn my pages,” he explained. “It’ll be good practice to see if you can follow along even if you can’t read, but no worries if you want to spend today just watching and listening.”

Thanking Hayato and teasing when he fumbled in embarrassment, Kuroo spent the rest of class in awe. Although the group was seeing the pieces for the first time, he couldn’t help the goosebumps on his arms as the orchestra came together. Even when he heard Hayato miss a note, noticed when the conductor would glare at a section, or when they had to stop and regroup, listening to individual instruments try come together as one left Kuroo wanting to be a part of it. From the inside, he watched as bows moved in unison and fingers slid up and down the necks of stringed instruments. He was hyper aware of the instruments behind him providing support to the main melody, and leaned towards them to catch their individual parts.

He set his gaze towards the front of the room and watched the concertmaster. Powerful yet graceful, her bow made sure movements across the strings, fingers moving quickly and accurately. Her body swayed with the music and her face, unlike Hayato’s, was not one of extreme concentration. She seemed focused as she watched the conductor and indicated entrances to her section through her body, but despite the multi-tasking, it was clear to Kuroo that she was having fun.

She trusted her section to follow along, for her stand partner to flip the pages at the right times, and for the rest of the orchestra to do their parts. When Jouda-sensei made the class begin again, she would lean towards her stand partner and share whispered giggles and Kuroo caught the glint of shiny pink polish and traced the way her hair fell across her shoulders.

He knew what being a captain was like—he had been captain since he was voted in at the end of his second year and he wondered how long she’d been playing for, how much she practices, and how she encourages her section. He wondered what the differences and similarities were between leading a team and an orchestra were—the differences and similarities between them, even.

At the end of class Kuroo promised to himself to practice a little every day to be able to play with the group and hold his own. For the rest of the school day, he idly hummed the melodies they had played in class and replayed images of bows and hands moving in unison.

.

In the club room before practice, Kuroo came in with his violin case. Greeting his teammates, he started to change.

Loosening his tie and pulling his sweater over his head, Kuroo heard Lev ask about his case. Swapping his school top for his practice one, Kenma responded.

“Kuroo’s taking orchestra for his arts credit.”

“Why would you take a band credit, you should’ve taken sculpture like I did,” Yamamoto exclaimed proudly.

“Your sculptures were ugly,” Kenma said evenly, over the sounds of his video game.

Before Yamamoto could respond, Fukunaga menacingly shook his water bottle at the two of them causing Kenma to turn his back and hunch defensively over his game.

Narrowing his eyes at Kenma, Yamamoto turned his attention back to Kuroo who was idly flipping through the practice book Daisuke had given him.

“Yeah Kuroo, band classes are so much work when you’ve gotta learn the instrument, why’d you enroll?”

Before Kuroo could respond Yaku jumped to Yamamoto’s side and jabbed him. “Band and orchestra are two different things you uncultured swine!”

Doubled over and grasping his stomach, Yamamoto glared tearfully at his senior, then directed his glare towards Lev who was slapping his knee in laughter.

“Kuroo-san,” Lev shouted, “can you play us something?” he asked excitedly.

Gaining the interest of the rest of the team, everyone crowded around Kuroo, nodding in unison. He rubbed the back of his head in uncertainty.

“I’ve literally just learned how to play. I don’t know if you’d really want me to.”

“We really want you to!” Lev said, encouraging him to open his case.

Begrudgingly, Kuroo went to his violin and briefly explained how to setup and tune, to the amazement of some of his teammates. Even Kenma peered curiously over his video game in the corner. He tucked the instrument under his chin, carefully held his bow and placed the hair on the A string and played. Kuroo focused intently on ensuring that his bow grip was loose, but secure, that his pinky and thumb were curved and that his bow was making straight lines across the string.

As Kuroo looked over to his teammates, he noticed Yaku’s shoulders starting to shake while he pointed a finger at him.

“I-Is that the best you can do?” Yaku nearly screamed, howling in laughter. “You’re not even moving your f-fingers!”

To Kuroo’s embarrassment, the rest of the team tried desperately to hold in their laughter and Lev deadpanned, “That kinda sucked, senpai.”

Stuttering out an indignant scoff, Kuroo’s brow furrowed, “I told you I just learned this today! A-and posture is important you heathens!” shaking his bow at Lev and Yaku.

[jun-hug]

mercats, mermcats, catfish?

❗Do not reupload anywhere❗

print! :)

[o-w-quinlan]

Digimon Ghost Game: Thoughts and Speculation

These last few days we’ve gotten enough information about the new Digimon anime that I feel comfortable going in-depth about my thoughts on it. Of course, since we’re still missing a description, or a trailer, or really anything beyond the name, the poster and the character design, all of this may end up wrong, but hey, the hype is its own enjoyment.

Thoughts

First thing noticeable about the trailer is that there’s only 3 main characters (plus their Digimon) this time around. Considering the ongoing problems of the Digimon Adventure 2020 writer team to give more than crumbs to their gigantic cast, going back to the trio teams of Tamers or Savers sounds like the right choice.

We also… don’t really see anything in the background. From most Digimon posters we can more or less guess if it’ll happen primarily on the Digital World or the Human one, but here it could be anything. The poses of the main characters are also different from what’s typical for a Digimon series. Often the posters have the characters ready to leap into action, or otherwise in awe of their fantastical surroundings. These three children… aren’t doing either. If anything, the main character (Hiro, apparently) looks slightly confused. The other two, Ruri and Seijiro, do look like they know what they’re doing (a return to Tamers and Savers with the protagonist being less experienced than his companions?), with Ruri sort of ignoring her surroundings to look at her phone and Seijiro in a very confident pose. The three Digimon behind them, on the other hand, are leaping into action. The way they are shadowed (when other promotional material has already revealed their appearances), as well as the “Ghosts? Holograms?” text in the poster, adds to their mysterious nature, which goes along well with the confusion on Hiro’s face.

Design-wise… I’m not a big fan. The Digimon themselves look a bit better in the promotional material than they did in the anime art we had of them, but Angoramon still looks bland, Gammamon looks sort of like V-mon in body shape and Hackmon in color scheme, and I understand both of those Digimon have a lot of fans but I’m not one of them. I really only like Jellymon, though she’s weirdly detailed for a Child Digimon. That said, I do like the diversity in designs these trio of Digimon have going for them. Gammamon is confirmed to be a Virus Digimon, so that’s the first protagonist Digimon to be a virus since Guilmon (further adding to the Tamers comparison).

The children though… I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of Digimon protagonists that look this bland? Hiro is the worst of the three, with almost absolutely nothing memorable going for him except of course red and blue clothes mean he’s the protagonist. The sole unique feature he has is the small scar on his left ear, which hopefully means there’s some backstory behind it. The other two, while better, still don’t make much of an impression. Ruri is fine, but she looks more like a Juri than a Ruki, if you catch my drift. Side character design rather than main character design. I do like that she seems to be taking the “smart one” role in the cast, if her focusing on her phone (looking up information?) is any indication. As for Seijiro… I’ll always like characters that are confident in themselves, but he looks like a mix between Kiriha from Xros Wars and Knight from Appli Monsters with a lot less personality than either of those two.

I do like that we’re breaking tradition by having a male tamer be paired with a female-looking Digimon. The opposite has happened quite a few times before (and it’s happening again in this show with Ruri and Angoramon), but Seijiro and Jellymon are the first time this has happened in a Digimon anime, I think (at least outside of Xros Wars having its protagonists be partnered to literal armies of Digimon).

So, overall, I like the mystery vibe this poster has, but don’t really like most of the designs. From a wider perspective of the franchise, though, I do love that we’re getting non-Adventure animated material (seems like the commercial success of Adventure 2020 was used for Good), and that the new digivice toy, the Digivice V, is just a new edition of the Vital Bracelet, bodes very well for the increased synergy between products the franchise currently has.

Speculation

The whole mystery vibe here leads me to believe that at least the beginning parts of the series will have Hiro constantly question the nature of Digimon. I suspect we’ll see some light horror tropes used for his first few interactions with Digimon, like in Tamers where Takato’s first meeting with Guilmon had the young boy terrified. Ruri and Seijiro do look like they know what they’re doing, though, and given that the mystery would be over pretty soon if they explained things to Hiro, perhaps we’ll see a more delayed introduction to them, like in Appli Monsters.

As for the plot of the series, the name “Ghost Game” as well as how the G’s in the title vaguely look like pins on a map make me believe the series will have something like a treasure hunt, or perhaps that the children will be investigating “mysterious” events in search of something. I mean, Cyber Sleuth is one of the most popular Digimon games, and it wouldn’t be strange for the anime to take some inspiration from it (Appli Monsters already referenced it in its Agumon episode). With that said, I believe this series will spend at least its first arc (if not most of the series) in the human world.

The emphasis on ghosts here makes me believe it will lean into that “Digimon may or may not be the same as mythological creatures from the past” idea that Digimon Adventure 02 introduced, and that Digimon Survive will use (if it ever actually releases). The various links between mythology and Digimon that Cyber Sleuth used and the ambiguity of how related they actually were (or if it was all one giant coincidence) was one of my favorite parts of it, so here’s hoping something similar is done here.

The fact that the main Digivice of the series is a Vital Bracelet and that each protagonist Digimon has a DIM card dedicated to them makes me think we’ll see this series lean into branched evolutions. Adventure 2020 was already emphasizing this to a further extent than anything before it, so perhaps Ghost Games will take this even further beyond.

Conclusion

Despite having some problems with the designs of the characters, I’m very excited for this series. It’s literally the first time since the 1999-2002 heyday that we’re getting anime series back-to-back, and if that isn’t proof of how much success Digimon has gotten in the past few years, I don’t know what is. The increased synergy here with the virtual pets department, as well as the updates and changes in the Reference Book website that there’s been in the past year which only hardcore fans of the lore could possibly care about but for which all of us hardcore fans are very grateful, make me hope they’ve learnt from their mistake back in the early 2000’s where it seemed nothing in the franchise had anything to do with anything else. Here’s hoping the series has more emphasis on characterization than the current Adventure 2020, too, considering they can no longer rely on their audience knowing these characters from previous works.

Eagerly waiting for a trailer or an update of its website for further news.

[fyexo]

201216 M-Pop star Lay Zhang tells us about his music, dreams, and starting his own company

Chinese Megastar Lay Zhang wants to bring ‘China to the world’ with his music. He talks to Don’t Bore Us about how he plans to achieve his dreams.

For most of us, our dreams are conditional. For us, they remain in the abstract most of the time, attached to phrases like ‘It would be good if…’ or ‘I wish I…’. Not for Lay Zhang. Lay Zhang speaks in dreams. In his mind, he picks them out of the abstract and parks them on the road to his goals. Then, he sets into motion a cause and effect cycle, where each step leads to the realization of that dream.

“The word dream is a strange one,” he wrote in his autobiography Standing Firm at 24. “You start with a dream, but you have to fulfill everything in reality. Of course, it’s not really that you’re dreaming, because someone once told me, a dream is actually what a person’s heart looks like.”

Despite his status as one of China’s most famous stars, it’s this spirit that still is the condensation of Zhang’s ethos as an artist. Born in Changsha in the Chinese province of Hunan as Zhang Yixing, he was no stranger to the world of entertainment as a child star. In 2008, he auditioned for trainee-ship at SM Entertainment, largely considered the progenitor of modern-day K-pop, and passed. Four years later, he debuted as EXO’s Lay, an act that turned the tide for K-pop in the 2010s.

Home, however, was never very far away — after flitting between South Korea and China for work for sometime, the lengthy schedules eventually made him shift base to mainland China, laying the groundwork for Lay Zhang. His first studio album, Lay 02 Sheep, broke five records on the first day of digital release on the Chinese music service QQ Music. His second, NAMANANA, ranked No. 21 on the Billboard 200 chart, making him the highest-ranking M-pop artist on the chart to date.

It’s an ideal trajectory for anyone with dreams as big as Zhang: every new release came with new records and renown. Eventually, however, Zhang realized what his work was missing: a piece of his roots. He wanted to show the world “what China is really about.”

And so he said: “Let there be LIT.”

Named after a play on the Chinese word for lotus, ‘lián huā’, LIT — released in two parts over the course of 2020 — puts Zhang’s Chinese identity at its core. As he weaves the sounds of the Hulusi, Guzheng and Gong together with hip-hop, R&B, and Latin, Zhang not only creates his own genre (which he calls “mixed Mando-pop”), but also nurtures a new dream: one where Mando-pop frees itself of the labels of being “vapid” and “vain” and presents new avenues of experimentation and cultural triumph.

“In the future, mixed will be king. Every work, every genre can be mixed with each other; every language can mix with another. That’s where we go.” he says.

The way to this “mixed” world might be long, but Zhang will soon have company on the way. Earlier in 2020, he announced the establishing of his own company, Chromosome Entertainment, with a set focus to not only train the next generation of Chinese idols, but also to include Chinese culture and history as an integral part of their artistry.

DBU caught up with Lay Zhang to talk about Chromosome Entertainment, his music, how he is going to take his company to ‘infinity’, and his adorable cats.

Don’t Bore Us: Why did you think this was the right time to start your own company?

Lay Zhang: I have always wanted to have my own company and leave my mark in the world. I feel I need to think less and do more. I wanted to do it no matter how difficult it would be. If I kept waiting for the right moment, I might never do it. So, I created the Chromosome Entertainment Group.

DBU: Is there anything that you’ll focus on teaching the trainees that you yourself didn’t get during your trainee years?

Lay Zhang: Our trainees will learn more and more about Chinese culture and Chinese history.

DBU: Speaking of your music over the past year, we have to talk about LIT. We saw you expand into genres that you had never experimented with before. While Part 1 was a mix of traditional Chinese sounds, Part 2 had more modern inspirations such as R&B, Hip-hop, Latin, and others. Which of these sounds comes more naturally to you, and which one is more difficult to explore?

Lay Zhang: I just tried a lot of genres. Since I was young, I have been singing in Chinese and listening to pop music, so I find writing R&B is easier, since it is similar. With traditional Chinese music, it feels like second nature, since I grew up with it.

Latin and Hip-hop is very new to me, but Latin caught my ear because it’s easy to dance to. I’ve been listening to hip-hop and trap in the past few years. I think no matter what kind, I want to do a new genre. I want to call it M-pop because I think in the future, mixed will be king. Every work, every genre can be mixed with each other — every language can mix with each other, and that’s where we go.

DBU: Speaking of the incorporation of your native Chinese sounds into the songs on the first album, what is the most difficult part while looking for a middle-ground between culture and modernity?

Lay Zhang: You always want to respect the culture. We owe a lot to the past for giving us today: I cannot stress that enough. I understand that people have new tastes each year, so you want to make sure that you match the energy and the vibe of the year.

It’s hard to explain how I find the balance. I ask my friends and collaborators, what they feel. I took that into consideration [with LIT], and checked my gut feeling. Did I feel [like] it mixed my Chinese sound with the present or modern without losing it? It’s [a] feeling I get after listening to the record time after time in my car or in the studio.

DBU: With reference to bringing “China to the world”. How do you think LIT did that, apart from, of course, being a mash-up of different influences?

Lay Zhang: I think this album is the first of its kind in a way. It’s very unique: we brought together new and legendary producers to create beautiful music. We had traditional and modern day stories to showcase the idea of the past and the present, to show the world that Chinese artists can be creative. They can think more deeply about music. I want people to know that we are improving everyday. We are working hard. This is what LIT shows.

DBU: Historically, western audiences have thought of Mando-pop as being “very vain or bland.” You have always wanted to push forward Mixed Mando-pop through your work. How do you hope to change this perception of Mando-pop globally through your music?

Lay Zhang: It is a work in progress. We are still improving and developing M-pop. Since I was a child, I have always had big goals and dreams. I want to show the world what China is really about, that we are respectful people trying to better ourselves.

DBU: Your current approach to your work makes me curious. The words “one of China’s biggest celebrities” are often used in your context. With the fan-base and work you’ve built over the years, you could very well have taken the safer route and stuck to the previous sounds you have experimented with before, because anything you make is guaranteed to be a hit. So why is it important for you to keep making the kind of music you do, in the way you make it?

Lay Zhang: I want to challenge myself and see what I can do. I admit, I don’t always succeed, but I’d rather try different genres and sing in different languages to see what I am capable of. Like any artist, I want my music to reach more people, so you have to branch out and try new things, but at the same time, not lose who you are. I have great fans that support me and allow me to dream bigger. I want to pave the path for the next generation to share their music with the world.

DBU: You’ve worked both in South Korea and China. With K-pop having a moment in the global spotlight, what are some things that you feel M-pop could learn or borrow from K-pop?

Lay Zhang: I think it’s great that K-pop is having its moment. In M-pop, we need to put ourselves out there more. We need to meet fans in every city and town to create that one-on-one interaction. I think there are enough artists with quality music to match the artists in K-pop: we just need to focus on sharing Mando-pop.

DBU: For the past few years, you have been heavily involved in music reality shows geared towards bringing out China’s next musical stars. There was Idol Producer, Youth With You, Street Dance of China: what are your hopes from the next generation, and why this interest?

Lay Zhang: The next generation inspires me. Their dreams and efforts inspire me to work harder and be a good role model. I hope they can focus on creating great art and work that they can be proud of. Their work should speak for itself. If everyone can do this, they can do this. If everyone can do this, we can push the boundaries of music and art. We can create works that leave people in awe.

DBU: In the larger context of your artistry, what impact has this year had on you personally?

Lay Zhang: COVID-19 slowed my life down like everyone else. We have all experienced difficulties, but I was able to think about my music and career more clearly. I decided that I should go after the things I want as soon as I could. For my artistry, I realized I needed to focus on music I made, my company, and make music that really carried the culture and vibe of my country.

DBU: Observing your trajectory from when you just started out to now, I was thinking about how it is very clear where your professional priorities lie. What about personal ones? What are you focusing on personally in the coming year?

Lay Zhang: I think about this a lot, and it’s hard to separate my work and personal life. But I think I only have that much time before I run out of energy. I am always thirsty (laughs), so I know I won’t be able to continue this forever. I want to keep pushing until I can’t. So, then I can focus on my personal life knowing I gave it all to my career.

DBU: I asked some fans if they had anything to say to you, and most of them wanted me to relay the same thing: please take a well-deserved break! Now that LIT has had its successful run, is it time for a vacation, or is there more to come?

Lay Zhang: My cats give me a lot of confidence and happiness. They make it easier to face each day; it’s nice to know you have someone waiting for you at home. But I will take a vacation when I turn 40 (laughs). Of course, there is more to come: the trainees we are receiving are so talented. I am excited to create something that will hopefully last a long time, and will improve and uphold the entertainment industry in China.

L Singh @ Don’t Bore Us

[mrnicholas]

*raises hand* I liked your explanation about the skin tones. Now I'm curious. What is color theory and why is there a study for it?

@ladycremecaramel

To quote a definition: Color theory is both the science and art of using color. It explains how humans perceive color; and the visual effects of how colors mix, match or contrast with each other.

In essence color is not something that’s randomly assigned. A blue object for instance is rarely ever ‘just blue’ but contains color information from surrounding colors and light sources and this ‘blue’ will change colors depending on its environment, the material of the object and what light sources are around it. Blue can also be red...and if that sounds complicated...it is. If you have access to an rgb lamp you’d easily be able to see what I mean if you watched one object as you shifted the colors. For example, I have lime green pillow cases. If I turn on my led lights and shift the colors toward purple the pillow cases look red. This means that when working with color as an artist you have to constantly keep in mind your surrounding colors and lights because color is not a static thing. It constantly shifts and changes according to the environment. This is especially important when working with something that aborbs light like skin. Skin is not opaque, which is why we see that red haloing when holding a flashlight underneath it. And skin will behave very differently to say a matte opaque object when interacting with light and environmental color.

If you’re an artist that strives toward realism it’s an absolute essential piece of information to learn. Learning how colors interact with each other and why (and when) is the difference between something looking ‘real’ and something looking like a cartoon. It’s basically like perspective or anatomy. There is a science behind it so it’s not something that can just be guessed at, though there are ways to break it, just like everything else, but that’s a stylistic choice.

For painters (especially traditional medium) this includes knowing how to mix colors. From only a few primary colors you can mix any color in the spectrum by adding and subtracting different colors to the mix. This is incredibly useful and is definitely something any artist needs to learn. It’s easy to just want to swatch colors if you’re working digitally, but it’s often not entirely accurate and won’t help you much when you need to come up with your own colors for something.

One of the most common issues a beginning artist has is with skin tones. They use a base color and then lighten or darken it to shade and highlight without shifting the actual color. This makes things look weirdly flat. I was super guilty of this back in the day. But skin also has blue in it and yellow and red, sometimes green, so knowing where and when to use those to make it seem vibrant and lifelike is the key to making something look dimensional vs flat.

In short it’s involved and takes awhile to learn, but it’s pretty crucial. I still struggle with it a lot and when I work in color I have a hard time getting my colors to look realistic/accurate but I’m getting better. I’m not great at explaining it, obviously, but if you’re curious there are a lot of good youtube tutorials covering it or various in depth articles explaining it much better out on the interwebs. Just search ‘color theory’ and you’ll find a whole mess of info.

I hope that at least answered a bit for you.

[castee-yel]

is your artwork just paintovers of photos? i see this a lot, where ppl utilize some filters- & especially the smudge tool- & a bit of brush work to make a picture look like a painting. there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, as long as that is made clear to your audience. your brush work has that distinctive smudge tool quality, and the character expressions/poses are recreations of actual photos or photomanipulations, not to mention the color and lighting on their skin. was just curious!

Hiya! i've already answered this before here, where you'll see lapses of my work, their base sketches and my trad arts progress too, but i'll go through it again, everything i post takes no less than a week (some of the pieces ive posted have been started months ago and only really worked on when i had time) to a month or more in some cases, i understand my stylistic choices (over blending/sketching out from references) make my digital art seem like photos esp since my laptop does not have the ability to render them in full quality without taking up too much space.

However not all my posts are "recreations" which i find kind of offensive some of them are mixed media between my irl sketches and my digital ones, i do retouch my art before posting it time to time because i am a bit of a severe perfectionist but i never just "edit" and upload phoots.

Not to mention if you actually go through my art i mainly focus on traditional art as i know people have this on going grudge against digital where they believe "if its good it cant be real!1!1!1!😡"

So here is an extensive compilation of my trad art throughout the years (i rarely post my less realistic styles but dropping them here to just show you that i actually am an artist)

• I do have editing work that everyone knows is edited work because its on my editing account:

edited work | graphics edited work | more edits | & more | and even more

back to art:

digital art | digital art | traditional art | traditional art |crappy sketches | cartoonist + realist | more trad canvas art |

(some of these are very fucking bad, old and never got posted, but proving to op that just bc an artwork is good doesnt mean you should throw the artist into the "you didnt make that" pit, as a lot of artists only post their best work and spend way too much time working on what they post)

please do get rid of the mentality that if an artpiece is good or accurate then it's instantly fake, otherwise artists are going to have to start deliberately fucking up to satisfy people on the internet.

[adding more art to this in reblogs]

[passionate-reply]

This time on Great Albums, I talk about an album that actually isn’t older than I am for a change! Enter the spooky, haunted forest of The Knife with me, and find out why it was Pitchfork’s Album of the Year in 2006! Full transcript after the break.

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today, I’ll be tackling an album that’s more recent than anything I’ve done on Great Albums before, but it’s still old enough to start being considered a classic: The Knife’s Silent Shout, released in 2006, and hence seeing its fifteenth birthday in 2021. Silent Shout is a bit special to me, insofar as it was an album I loved as a teenager, back when it was still pretty new, and it was probably the first album I really fell in love with that wasn’t significantly older than I was. I was quite surprised when I eventually learned just how beloved Silent Shout is among music aficionados. This album has been lauded in critical circles, recommended as a “patrician” essential, and even considered one of the greatest electronic albums of all time! So, what’s the fuss about?

Before Silent Shout, The Knife were significantly closer to a conventional electronic pop duo. Their biggest claim to fame was the track “Heartbeats,” which scored some exposure after a cover of it was featured in a TV ad.

Music: “Heartbeats”

I like to think that “Heartbeats” contains the seeds of what’s great about Silent Shout, with its grinding synth backing and vocalist Karin Dreijer’s affecting wail. But its indie-pop brightness is something distinctively absent from their follow-up. Contrary to what might’ve been expected from an up-and-coming pop act, the sibling duo hunkered down in the studio and set about making something stranger and more exotic. On the technical front, they stripped the production down to its bare essentials, using just digital rhythms and two synthesisers to achieve everything we hear on the album. Stylistically, they took their sound into moody, atmospheric territory, imbuing it with this eerie, claustrophobic ambiance. It’s the musical equivalent of Frankenstein emerging from Mary Shelley’s mind, while the dreary “Year Without a Summer” had poisoned the world around her.

Music: “Silent Shout”

The title track here is also the opener, and introduces us to the frightful world of Silent Shout without mercy. This track is dominated by a powerful contrast of sound: low, thrumming bass, and these quick, but delicate and meandering synth arpeggios, carrying a distinctively Scandinavian flair. This bewitching synthesis of musical ideas makes sense in light of the diverse influences of the two siblings who made up The Knife: Instrumentalist Olaf Dreijer was strongly influenced by dance styles like house, trance, and progressive techno, as well as ambient electronic music, whereas vocalist Karin Dreijer was interested in guitar-based popular music, as well as the distinctive folk traditions of their native Sweden. Not unlike the Pet Shop Boys, they’ve got a wide gap between their influences, but that only serves to intensify the uniqueness of their work, which strikes listeners in a way the constituent musical parts of its heritage never could. Perhaps the most significant sonic feature of the album, though, is the extreme electronic distortions of Karin Dreijer’s voice.

Music: “One Hit”

If raw and everymannish vocals make music feel more in line with our everyday reality, the shocking and monstrous ones on *Silent Shout* render it a truly otherworldly work of art. While many people are quick to decry the “fakeness” of electronically mediated vocals--despite the fact that all art is, of course, artificial--I think Silent Shout proves, more boldly than anything else, just how uniquely powerful this musical tool can be in the right hands. Once you get past the sheer sonic force of the vocals, and their peculiar, skin-crawling timbres, you’ll find that most of the lyrical subject matter is actually painfully quotidian. “One Hit,” for instance, is told from the perspective of an all-too-normal “monster”: a domestic abuser, extracting and enforcing femininity and domestic servitude through the force of violence, dealing in “one hit, one kiss.” Sex, gender, and exploitation based upon them are among the album’s most central themes, and expressed harrowingly on tracks like “Na Na Na”:

Music: “Na Na Na”

Perhaps moreso than any other track on the album, “Na Na Na” is rendered borderline incomprehensible by vocal treatment--a trait magnified by its obviously meaningless title and chorus. But “Na Na Na” does have real lyrics, which tell the story of a life mediated by reproductive anatomy, defined by the rhythm of menstruation, coming from within, and the constant fear of sexual violence from without. It’s a tale of hidden anxiety, and experiences that go unseen and unspoken despite how common they are, making the haze of inscrutability laid over them all the more poignant. It’s clear that these issues are of high importance to Karin Dreijer, who has publicly described themself as “genderqueer,” despite both members of the band being remarkably sparing with all personal details. In another of the most striking vocal performances on the album, “We Share Our Mother’s Health,” Dreijer even gets to sing a duet with themself, and embody two distinct characters at once.

Music: “We Share Our Mother’s Health”

“We Share Our Mother’s Health” can be read in the light of gender and sex dynamics, as well, particularly if you’re willing to read its twin narrators as representations of masculinity and femininity. Personally, though, I think that’s a bit too easy, and really, a bit too cisnormative. I think the album is more interesting if we embrace the fundamental uncertainty of identity, and the transgressive queerness of it all. That said, I prefer to think of “We Share Our Mother’s Health” as a piece about capitalism--the endless toiling and scrounging for more material comfort and security, and the emptiness left behind when that proves to be no pathway towards true happiness. Besides, it’s not like sexism and the class struggle don’t feed off of each other in the end. This track’s sense of cacophony, with voices nearly battling to drown each other out, shows its more strident, aggressive, and downright angry side, which it delivers as powerfully as it does those moody atmospheres.

Silent Shout is the perfect title for this album, given its emphasis on voicing internal and private laments that go unheard--and voicing them with this terrifying sense of primal scream catharsis. While I initially wasn’t overly fond of the album art, it’s grown on me a bit now that I’ve seen it blown up to a larger size. This central disc shape is certainly evocative of a record or a CD, and its industrial-looking lattice structure, with a mottled, grimey-looking texture, helps conjure the impression of machine-age ennui.

I think a lot of the enduring appeal of Silent Shout is its sense of mystery. A lot of that mystery is deliberately crafted iconoclasm, and part of the art--while promoting the album, The Knife were photographed wearing sinister, elaborate beaked “plague doctor” masks, and their live performances from this period shrouded the band in darkness to obfuscate their appearances. They’ve refused to accept awards for their music or attend award ceremonies, including one memorable incident in which they sent costumed representatives of feminist organisation Guerrilla Girls in their stead. After Silent Shout, the duo created an opera based on Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species in 2009, and released one more studio album in 2013: Shaking the Habitual.

Music: “A Tooth For an Eye”

Shaking the Habitual received mixed reviews, and so far, has proven to be the siblings’ final work together, though they remain active as musicians independently, with Karin Dreijer recording under the moniker “Fever Ray.” Part of the great myth of Silent Shout is the fact that nothing else in their discography really quite approaches its specific sound, and sharp precision of conceptual focus. It’s like the album is tailor made to stand perfectly alone, outside of context, perhaps even outside of genre.

For many of us, this great legend of lightning-in-a-bottle genius is infinitely alluring. But I’ve never really bought into it too thoroughly myself. I obviously adore Silent Shout, and I think it’s a Great Album. But, unlike many people who have showered it with praise, often claiming that they don’t enjoy “electronic music” overall, I’ve always been interested in a lot of heavy, angry, creepy synthesiser-based music, and so I never thought too much of listening to this and liking it. People praise Silent Shout for being unlike anything else, but I think it sounds like a lot of post-industrial dark wave, like Attrition or Chris & Cosey, and its themes of feminist rage feel like a strong parallel to that of more recent stars of noise music such as Pharmakon and Lingua Ignota. But that’s not to devalue what Silent Shout does achieve! I think it *is* a unique album...in the way that a bat is a unique animal. Much as bats are not the only creatures who fly, but stand out for having developed that ability despite their mammalian heritage, Silent Shout doesn’t actually take direct inspiration from the earlier music it sounds the most like. It ended up there through the aforementioned eldritch alchemy, combining trance and folk and Kate Bush to get something new. That’s still something worth celebrating! Silent Shout needn’t be a perfect enigma to be a stirring masterpiece of an album.

My overall top track on Silent Shout, which I bet will be a popular choice, is “Forest Families.” It’s equal parts bleak and strangely anthemic, defined by both the unease of adapting to a plainer and harsher existence, outside the bounds of society, as well as the release that music itself provides to so many of us as we seek comfort. Since music is so important to me, I’m a real sucker for music about the importance of music, and it feels particularly well-placed on an album that’s a cathartic listen in so many ways. That about wraps this one up; thank you for watching!

Music: “Forest Families”