#magenta media creation

[thaimedia]

Laplae the Hidden Town (2024) Episode 10

[oddball-n-the-dolls]

My AG OC, Dottie!

I’m not the best artist, but I worked really hard on this drawing because I wanted give you a picture of her despite not having customized a doll of her yet.

I haven’t fully developed her and her story yet, but here’s what I have so far:

Her name is Ottilie, but she goes by Dottie. She’s Jewish and her parents are either Holocaust survivors or escaped Germany right before it began, I haven’t decided yet.

She has an older twin brother (I haven’t named him yet) and later, a baby sister (I haven’t named her yet, either).

She loves reading and drawing! She enjoys both traditional books and comic books. Her favorite books are the Oz series and her favorite comic books are Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge.

She wants to be a cartoonist when she grows up.

Her story starts with her contracting polio, and showing her recovery process in the hospital. Then it switches to her readjusting to normal life, and she learns how to advocate for herself and others in a world that isn’t welcoming of disabled people like her.

Dottie’s family also moves to the suburbs. They were already planning to move, but after Dottie gets sick, her parents are even more committed to the decision because a one-story farmhouse will be more accessible with her wheelchair.

Another big theme in her story that I’m really excited to tackle is moral panic and censorship. In the early 1950s, there were lots of adults complaining and fear mongering that comic books were corrupting children, by promoting violence and other things they found repulsive. This led to the creation of the Comics Code Authority in 1954. As a comic book fan, Dottie is concerned by this. I want to use this story to parallel the moral panic that conservatives are creating right now, with how they want to ban LGBT representation in kids’ shows (and any media).

For her meet outfit, she comes in a loose-fitting dress that is cinched with a belt to create the fashionable 1950s silhouette. It is based on Simplicity 4579. Dottie also comes with a back brace to help the scoliosis she’s developed, which is why she likes the loose dress to wear over it.

She has cute glasses and a glasses case, a headband, underwear, Bobby socks, and saddle shoes. Her left leg should be slightly smaller than her right leg. Her shoes should be different sizes, too, and if she was a real AG doll people would complain her clothes don’t fit other dolls (too bad).

The pattern on the fabric of her dress is meant to reflect her love of comic books! It’s dots, like her name, but they’re cyan, yellow, and magenta colored dots because those were the colors, in the form of tiny dots, used to color comic books.

Her wheelchair is in the style of what would be considered a hospital wheelchair today, because that would be the most modern option in the 1950s. It has a typical silver-colored frame and a light blue seat. Dottie’s box would have a new shape so she can be packaged sitting down in her wheelchair. Her wheelchair would be perpendicular to the front of the box, and the window would be on the corner, with her head turned to look out of it.

Her meet accessories include a tote bag that’s been altered to fit on the back of her wheelchair, her Star of David necklace, a little hat, a 1954 dime, and a Donald Duck-themed handkerchief. I will draw these later.

(Remind me to write an ID for the drawing later!)

[lumilasi]

Couple of Mirror World Deities that appear sometimes.

( I still don't have better name for the world Night City Parlor takes place in ugh)

I actually just repurposed an old character for the Soul Eater King, as Amaros fit in that role so well. I only minorly adjusted his design too. There is a third one, but I'm somewhat stuck with his design still so I decided to just post these two already. (Spectra I'd also made long time ago, but never got around to fully realize her design until now lol)

More info below:

ABOUT SHAELL:

He is basically near immortal, because anyone who'd try to kill him would have to go through all the hundreds of thousands of lifetimes of the Soul Eaters that have passed and joined his collective consciousness. (Basically, someone would have to kill him hundreds of thousands of times, and killing him just once would be a monumental task)

Not all Soul Eaters join the collective, many choose to do so as sort of a second cycle of their lives, but others prefer just passing on completely. Majority of S.E see joining it as important part of the cycle/an honor

Shaell can reject souls from joining if he wants to, this sometimes happens as a punishment. He also only forces someone to join as another type of punishment, usually the choice is up to the person themselves

Over his existence, he's had plenty of brief romances and companionship with mortals/non-deities essentially. His current one is a Vigour Spirit called Helias

Shaell is associated with purple guiding star as well as purple/magenta crystals that are said to grant Soul Eater powers to those who aren't ones by birth.

Some Soul eaters are his descendants - and even some non-soul eaters - but large majority are the children of the first few who gained this power through his crystals.

The most notable character directly connected to him is in-fact a non-Soul eater called Azul Samaros/Knight, who, alongside his brother Reuben, are his direct descendants.

ABOUT SPECTRA

Spectra, being the Deity of children, appears in a lot of media aimed at kids in the Mirror world; tales, storybooks, schoolbooks, classroom art, art supplies, etc.

She is often the animated guide for textbooks to children, where a small figure of her hops around and tells you important facts if you tap the images on paper, or helps you find the correct page.

Her Nightmare form is something she uses when protecting herself/protecting others from a threat. Her hair mouths can devour magic or just straight up eat things. She can change their size and length at will

The most notable character connected to her are Gouken Shura and Helias, both Vigour Spirits created by her. Their appearances and names are dictated by her at birth, though they can change it later if they wish so, and she generally encourages her creations to go out into the world to discover themselves as what she's created is just the starting point.

She tends to hang around Shaell to keep an eye on him, given one of her creations has caught his interest and she's a bit wary of him

Spectra is an older being than Shaell, even if she seems younger.

[cherubchoirs]

Ok here's some silly short questions that are really just fluff.

What is the archangels favorite colors? (Including V1/V2 and your self if you'd like to say!)

Whats said Charaters favorite types of music? And/or their favorite songs?

Is there any random small hobbies any of them enjoy?

the archangels' favorite colors are the ones that represent them!! gabriel's is blue, michael's is purple, raphael's is green, and uriel's is orange :] v1 loves radioactive colors, with i think its favorite being either hazard yellow or electric blue lol v2 i think is really into jewel tones, and probably would say ruby is its favorite (and my favorite color is pink/magenta!!)

they all like a wide variety of music for the most part as angels and computers both love to sing, but specifically i think of gabriel enjoying rock and classical, michael is pretty strictly choir/hymnal (though i think he could evolve into liking blues/soul), raphael likes pop and folk/traditional, and uriel vibes a lot with soundscapes, lo-fi/ambient, and jazz. since i share the headcanon that v1 is the game's "composer" it of course likes breakcore, but anything fast and heavy suits it well like industrial and noise. v2 is probably the most eclectic in its tastes, but i like the idea that it really enjoys soundtracks and the nostalgia of chillwave/dreamwave

and honestly they're all quite new to having hobbies given how they were made for nothing beyond their jobs. gabriel has starting learning to write music from v1 (angels aren't good at creating like humans are, but he's enjoying it all the same) and i KNOW it doesn't make sense in context but gabriel is canonically the patron saint of stamp collectors SO......he's got a book lol michael is probably the worst at getting hobbies being so wrapped up in his job, but he has gotten into gardening, starting with himself (soon, like gabe and v1, v2 starts assisting him in exploring some more creativity) raphael sews, knits, crochets, ALL of it!! plus i think he learns how to cook with gabriel because he's always loved trying new foods. uriel's obviously a reader and into journaling now, and i like to think he and michael take up meditating together to reduce their anxiety lol v1 enjoys collecting things like a little magpie and like i mentioned before, loves generating liminal images (largely pools) and impossible animals (forerunner to its creature creation) also. plays pikmin. is very bad at pikmin and its pikmin die a lot but that's its favorite game. finally v2 is all about curiosity, it loves learning, exploring, and building hardware (though any creating with its hands is good for it) it also really enjoys human media, like games and movies, which it introduces to gabriel and v1 (gave it pikmin), as well as mike eventually

[longcatmedia]

Little announcement! Our esteemed listener Alex has set up r/MockeryManor over on Reddit. This is a space for listeners to discuss all aspects of Mockery Manor, the Magenta Cinematic Universe™ and any other Long Cat Media creations.

We've opted not to get involved, so that listeners can speak freely without us loitering threateningly. But we'd really like it to become an active community, so please do head on over to Reddit and join the conversation!

[blameyana]

Fandom

Week 9 Presentation

The digital world today changes how fans communicate with each other, even with their favourite celebrities. Fandom went from only viewing fandom materials (watching a film or reading a book) to participating in the fandom itself. This brings to the creation of fanfictions and fan art. Social media platforms enable people to form connections with others, either of the same fandom or those of other fandoms. Fandoms give a sense of belonging. What else is better than a group of people who understands you and what you like, who accepts you for who you are?

Fandoms have now allowed their fans to be a part of them, especially in the creation of new media or to determine the outcome of something. In Formula E, fans are able to provide their favourite drivers with extra ‘power’ during racing. This concept has been introduced by International Automobile Federation (FIA). This concept was introduced to give fans the opportunity to determine the outcome of the race. Fans get to vote for their driver of choice before the race through the Formula E website. Whenever the FanBoost is being used by the driver, it can be seen through the Halo head-protection device, with the Halo glowing in magenta. Not only does this show that fans play a part in fandom, but it also brings more attention to the sport (FanBoost 2022).

Creating materials of fandom, such as writing fanfiction and creating fan art give fans a sense of satisfaction as they get to change or modify existing materials according to how they want them to be. The creation of materials contributes to the revising of storytelling in a fan community (Wiatrowski n.d.). There are many platforms that allow fans to write fanfictions on, the most popular one would be Archive of Our Own. This site hosts over 10 million fanfictions from various fandoms. The most popular platform for fan art would be DeviantArt. This shows that fandom promotes creativity in fans. Some might even say that investing your time in fandoms is a hobby.

Why should you be a fan of something? Well, why not? It’s simply fun being a part of something that you consider is part of your identity.  

References:

FanBoost 2022, Formula E Wiki, viewed 8 December 2022, <https://formulae.fandom.com/wiki/FanBoost>.

Wiatrowski, M n.d., The dynamics of Fandom: exploring fan communities in online spaces, Academia.edu, viewed 1 December 2022, <https://www.academia.edu/491940/The_Dynamics_of_Fandom_Exploring_Fan_Communities_in_Online_Spaces>.

[aicreatemusic]

AI Create Music

AI-generated music has undergone significant development in recent years, driven by advancements in machine learning, deep learning, and neural networks. These technologies enable machines to compose, produce, and perform music in various styles, offering new tools for artists, composers, and the music industry as a whole.

Development of AI Music Creation

Early Developments: The exploration of AI in music dates back several decades, with early experiments in algorithmic composition. Early systems used rule-based approaches and simple algorithms to generate musical patterns.

Machine Learning Advances: The introduction of machine learning techniques, particularly recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and long short-term memory (LSTM) networks, allowed for more sophisticated music generation. These models can analyze existing music to learn patterns and structures, enabling them to create new compositions.

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs): GANs have also been applied in music generation, allowing for the creation of high-quality musical samples by training two neural networks: a generator and a discriminator.

Integration with User Input: Recent developments have focused on interactive AI systems that allow users to input parameters, genres, or styles, resulting in personalized music compositions. This has expanded the possibilities for music creation and collaboration between humans and machines.

AI-Assisted Composition Tools: Several platforms now offer AI tools that assist composers in generating melodies, harmonies, and even lyrics. These tools enable musicians to enhance their creativity and streamline the composition process.

Notable Companies in AI Music Creation

OpenAI: Known for developing MuseNet and Jukedeck, OpenAI has created AI models capable of composing music in various styles and genres, incorporating complex musical structures.

Amper Music: Amper is a platform that allows users to create original music using AI, providing customizable music compositions for various media projects.

AIVA (Artificial Intelligence Virtual Artist): AIVA specializes in composing classical music and soundtracks using AI, and its technology has been utilized in film and video games.

Google Magenta: Part of Google’s research initiative, Magenta focuses on developing open-source tools and models for music generation, allowing artists and developers to experiment with AI in music.

LANDR: LANDR offers AI-driven music creation tools and mastering services, helping musicians enhance their production process.

DistroKid: While primarily a music distribution service, DistroKid has started incorporating AI tools for musicians to generate music and streamline their creative workflows.

Alysia: A songwriting assistant that uses AI to help users write lyrics and melodies, making the songwriting process more accessible.

Endlesss: A collaborative music creation platform that integrates AI to facilitate real-time music jamming and creation among users.

These companies and technologies reflect the growing intersection of AI and music, providing innovative solutions for composers and transforming the way music is created and experienced.

[amairadutta]

Generative AI In Finance

Introduction

As Indian generative AI has been progressing, let’s take a look at its impact on the financial sector and how it is boosting the Indian economy. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) in India is rapidly advancing across various sectors, leveraging technologies like generative adversarial networks (GANs) and variation autoencoders (VAEs). This technology holds promise in enhancing creativity, enabling data synthesis, and transforming industries such as art, entertainment, and content creation. With increasing adoption, India is poised to harness generative AI’s capabilities to drive innovation and efficiency across its diverse economic landscape.

How Gen AI is Boosting the Indian Economy

The generative artificial intelligence market is driven by funding amounts of key players like OpenAI, NVIDIA Deep Learning, and Google (Magenta, DeepDream). Market indicators include overall market size and industry-specific metrics, reflecting rapid growth and innovation in AI technologies globally.

India’s rapidly growing economy aims to become the world’s third-largest by 2027, with generative AI playing a vital role in achieving this goal. Forecasted to potentially add $359-438 billion to GDP by 2030, Gen AI could boost annual growth by 0.9-1.1% over seven years. Key sectors such as business services, finance, transportation, education, retail, and healthcare stand to benefit most from AI’s productivity and efficiency enhancements. Essential to unlocking this potential is increased investment in AI research, education, and regulatory frameworks that ensure safety and inclusivity.

How Gen AI is Enhancing the Financial Sector

Generative AI in financial services promises significant growth, potentially increasing sectoral GVA by 22%-26%, adding $66-80 billion by 2030. It enhances underwriting, fraud detection, and risk management through AI-driven bots and real-time analytics. Gen AI also improves customer interfaces, boosts operational efficiency, and transforms banking with AI-driven chatbots, virtual assistants, and SEO-optimized content. It streamlines knowledge management, and software development, ensures compliance, and enables personalized customer profiling using synthetic data.

What are the use cases of Gen AI in banking

The following use cases highlight how generative AI is transforming banking operations by improving efficiency, accuracy, and customer engagement while addressing specific challenges in the financial sector.

1. Credit Risk Assessment:

Generative AI betters credit risk assessment by analyzing vast datasets to create precise credit scoring models. This improves loan approval rates and enables banks to serve a broader customer base. Early Warning Systems (EWS) in banks and financial institutions use AI for real-time monitoring. They analyze external data like news, social media, and regulatory filings to detect risks. Credit Risk Models then update Credit Scores based on EWS data, proactively managing credit risk exposure.

2. Chatbots for Customer Service:

 AI-driven chatbots provide 24/7 customer support with natural language understanding, handling tasks like account inquiries and transactions efficiently. They improve customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. AI-driven chatbots from HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of America’s “Erica,” and HSBC’s “Amy” provide 24/7 customer support with natural language understanding, enhancing operational efficiency and satisfaction. SBI’s chatbot, SIA, similarly improves customer service through AI technology.

3. Fraud Detection: 

Generative AI-powered systems monitor transactions in real time to detect and prevent fraudulent activities. They adapt to new data, reducing false positives and ensuring secure banking transactions. McKinsey’s generative AI virtual expert provides tailored answers and can scan transactions for red flags, influencing risk decisions and detecting fraud in real time.

4. Algorithmic Trading:

AI analyzes market data to generate algorithms for automated trading decisions. This improves trading efficiency, minimizes risks, and enables banks to explore new trading strategies. Banks like South Indian Bank and ICICI are increasingly interested in automating investments using AI in banking services.

5. Gen AI Chatbots for Personalized Marketing: 

AI analyzes customer data to personalize marketing campaigns and product recommendations. This increases engagement, drives conversions, and enhances customer loyalty. SBI, India’s leading public sector bank, is advancing with NextGen Data Warehouse and Data Lake implementations. They are exploring new partnerships with fin-techs and NBFCs for co-lending. The upcoming YONO app version will focus on AI/ML-driven hyper-personalization, enhancing customer experiences with innovative product offerings.

6. Wealth Management and Portfolio Optimization: 

AI analyzes financial data to recommend optimal investment strategies and asset allocations in real time. This improves client satisfaction and operational scalability for wealth management services. Indian fin-tech companies like Paytm Money and Zerodha use Generative AI to offer personalized investment recommendations based on individual risk profiles and financial goals.

7. Anti-Money Laundering (AML):

Generative AI analyzes transaction data and customer profiles to detect suspicious activities and comply with regulatory requirements. It enhances accuracy in identifying money laundering risks and maintains trust with regulatory bodies. HSBC’s “Ava” system uses generative AI to detect money laundering with 65% higher accuracy than traditional systems. Prudential employs generative models from CognitiveScale to analyze unstructured data, improving risk assessment accuracy by up to 50%.

Conclusion

Gen AI adoption in Indian banking faces challenges like misinformation risks, data security concerns, infrastructure demands, and copyright issues. Policymakers must establish regulatory frameworks ensuring fairness, transparency, and data privacy while promoting innovation. Sandbox testing and compliance with AI regulations are crucial for safe implementation. Organizations must enhance awareness of risks, establish clear guidelines, align with regulations like the EU AI Act, and develop expertise in risk management and compliance for effective deployment.

Author : Exito

[wizardoutofoz]

You're an art teacher, right? Do you know why schools teach red, yellow, blue as the primary colors? Everything ends up muddy when mixing because the true primaries (when mixing pigments) are cyan, yellow, and magenta.

I have answered this 3 times and accidentally deleted it.

You have asked for deep art teacher wisdom. I may be expelled from the ancient order for revealing this information, but I shall risk it.

So we teach using the shades of red blue and yellow that we do because...

Most basic kits for most media come in the 6-7 colors of the rainbow, traditionally not including cyan as the specific shade of blue, and magenta isn’t even on the rainbow.

Since basic kits are cheaper and work, we use RYB.

It is worth noting however, that color names are very far from precise, and often cover a wide umbrella of hues. Most people who last thought about color theory in elementary school would look at Cyan and identify it as Blue, and Magenta is just the Purple side of Red. CMY is basically just a slightly more precise description of which blue and which red to use for the brightest results. Really “true” primaries don’t exist. Any three shades that can be combined to create a passible version of the other five count as primary. (Pigment primaries at least, light primaries are different, and a subtractive method)

But why are basic kits always these colors, and rarely different shades? Why not just make basic crayon kits optimized for mixing in the first place? Why out of the infinite stops it is possible to make on the visual spectrum, do we name just 7 to our basic depiction of ALL THE COLORS?

It’s Issac Newton’s fault.

When he was coming up with his theory for the visual spectrum of color all being facets of white light, which is broken into different wavelengths, he identified 7 colors.

He did this because he was a man of science but also very Christian. He believed that the world must be ordered according to a divine plan, and he was merely discovering mechanisms within creation. Quantum theory would have broken him, and he would ENTIRELY DESERVE IT FOR SHOEHORNING IN INDIGO JUST SO THE NUMBER OF COLORS WOULD BE RELIGIOUSLY SIGNIFICANT.

Before him there were many theories on how color worked, but since his dumb theory of light turned out to be correct we have 7 colors of the rainbow.

Well 6 colors and FUCKING INDIGO. (Indigo was a dye. It was used to dye denim. So it’s blue-jeans colored. We use synthetic dye now, but the process of creating the dye was wildly toxic, and the slaves forced to carry it out had some of the highest fatality rates amongst plantations as a result- and there wasn’t far to fall as you can imagine). No one used it as a color word before Newton, and it unbalances the color wheel, and why yes I do plan to die on this hill, what tipped you off?

Anyways, that’s why basic set ups use rainbow colors, and we are not taught cyan and magenta as basic color words, unless you go into digital art or printing normally. Also magenta isn’t scientifically its own color, it’s a mix of the shortest (red) and longest (violet) wavelengths, and our brain interprets the contrast as somewhere in between the two.

Anyways I usually throw any colored pencils that will create halfway decent secondary color at my high schoolers and am grateful if there’s enough to go around. So believe me cyan and magenta feature.

Thanks for asking! I’m sorry I’m a terrible over-explainer

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

Royal Growing Pains - Chapter Four

A/N: I can see that I’ve gained quite a few followers for this particular story over the past week since I posted chapter three! I just want to say welcome, and I hope you enjoy the ride!

Warnings: Homophobia, transphobia, misgendering, sympathetic Deceit

Royal Growing Pains Tag

Roman climbed in the car, where Damien was already waiting. He appeared to have finally gotten some of his voice back, because he said, “You look good.”

“Thank you,” Roman said. “I much prefer jeans and a t-shirt to any dress I’ve had to wear, ever.”

“Understandable, but I wasn’t referring to your clothes,” Damien said. “You’re holding your head high, your shoulders are back and squared, and your voice is more confident and more compassionate at once. You come across as...well...regal.”

“I’m acting like a prince, you mean?” Roman asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“I...suppose so,” Damien said with a sheepish grin. “It does sound silly, doesn’t it?”

“Only a little,” Roman laughed. “It’s easy to forget that people see you as royalty sometimes, until it’s thrown in your face. Because I don’t feel any different than any of my other, non-royal friends.”

“True. We’re all human at the end of the day,” Damien agreed. “And human nature seems to be forgetting that fact.”

Roman laughed as they drove into town, and Damien asked, “So, a paint bar? Or grabbing art supplies?”

“I think I’d rather just get the art supplies,” Roman said. “That way, we can save whatever materials we don’t use for a later date.”

Damien nodded. “Sounds good,” he agreed. “Virgil, do you know where the art store is?”

Virgil sighed. “Yes, I’ll take you there, but I won’t be happy about it. And if you get paint splatter everywhere again, I will be telling your parents how your clothes got ruined.”

“It’s nothing a little rubbing alcohol and laundry detergent couldn’t fix,” Damien protested.

Roman snickered. “Not much of an artist, then?” he asked.

“I will admit I have had...multiple issues when it comes to art supplies. It wasn’t just the glitter when I was young,” Damien said.

“Yeah, he tried pottery, painting, dry media, wet media, any and everything, right down to graphite pencils and later, photography. He always ends up covered in something,” Virgil piped up.

Damien sighed. “Thank you, Virgil, for enlightening Roman to my shortcomings.”

“You’re welcome!” Virgil responded brightly.

“No, I—” Damien cut himself short. “You know what? Fine. Whatever.”

Roman laughed as they pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car. “Oh, come on, Damien, it’s funny! And it’s nice to know that you’re not perfect.”

Damien rolled his eyes and they made their way inside the store, Virgil beside them all the while, glancing around. “I’ll let you take the lead on finding paints,” Damien said. “I assume you’d know far more about what is and isn’t a good paint brand from experience. Just bear in mind that I’m a beginner, so please be kind and explain art jargon if I ask?”

“Of course,” Roman said with a smile. “I’m always willing to explain to someone who wants to learn! Remus and I used to talk about the things we had learned from different experiments in our preferred arts. I enjoyed painting and drawing, mostly different scenes of places I’d been or would like to go. Remus preferred writing. Often violent, gruesome, and dark stories, but it made him happy whenever he thought of something new. We’d swap creations and tell each other what we liked about them. I miss those days...It’s not that we couldn’t do it anymore, but we have less time to pursue our passion projects.”

“I know the feeling,” Damien sighed. “I am pursuing a degree in History, but I would love to teach philosophy, given half the chance.”

“Really?” Roman asked in mild surprise. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Most people don’t,” Damien replied easily. “But I loved reading about philosophy ever since I was a young child.”

“Huh,” Roman said. “The more you know.”

“Indeed,” Damien said. “Now. The paints?”

“Oh! Right,” Roman said, heading further inside the store in the general direction he thought the paints might be. Damien gave him an amused smile and Roman rolled his eyes. “Shut up. You’ve been distracted by conversation before, surely?”

“I will admit to nothing,” Damien said simply, but he was smirking.

“That’s basically saying yes,” Roman informed him.

“Ah, but it is not a definitive answer,” Damien pointed out.

Roman rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at Damien. Damien laughed. “Not very princely behavior,” he teased.

“It’s just us here, no one has to say anything,” Roman shot back.

Damien’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Ah, but what if I want to? You may have to buy my silence.”

“Oh yeah? And how would I do that?” Roman asked.

Damien smiled enigmatically.

“Oh come on, that’s mean!” Roman laughed. “Tell me!”

Damien’s eyes looked around conspiratorially, before he whispered in Roman’s ear, “Get us to lose the chaperone.”

Roman looked at Damien in surprise, and Damien just smirked back. Roman looked around, noticing one of the smaller aisles that had children’s art supplies. He grabbed Damien’s hand and ran down the aisle while Virgil looked behind them, and then sprinted down the back of the store until they reached the paints. Roman looked around, smirking. “Not bad, eh? And we got where we were going!”

Damien grinned. “Oh, Virgil is going to kill us both.”

Roman laughed. “It was your idea! I’m innocent!”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Damien said, nodding.

Roman laughed, looking at the different paints the store had to offer. “What do you think, oil or acrylic?”

“Don’t oil paints require paint thinner to use?” Damien asked.

“In some cases,” Roman agreed. “So maybe not oil today. I should probably make sure that you can paint at all before I bring out the fancy supplies.”

“There’s also watercolors,” Damien pointed out.

Roman shrugged. “True, but those are very tricky to use as well. If you’re not careful, you could wind up with mud as a picture.”

“Acrylic it is, then,” Damien said, walking up next to Roman. “Which brand should we get, and how much paint would we need?”

“A starter’s kit for each of us should be enough for now,” Roman said. “They have a deceptive amount of paint in them. Or, if you want something bigger, we could invest in tubes of cyan, magenta, and yellow. That’s how you can mix more vibrant colors.”

Damien hummed. “I think that if we’re going to be spending some time away from your art supplies, we should get the larger tubes, if only so you have more to work with. Cyan, magenta, and yellow? Should we get black and white as well for shades and tints?”

“Probably a good idea. I’m impressed with your knowledge of terminology,” Roman said.

Damien waved him off. “Trust me, Your Highness, the terminology is about all I’m good at when it comes to art.”

Roman laughed, just as Virgil dashed into the aisle. “You!” he exclaimed, pointing at the two of them. “You two are in huge trouble!”

“Uh-oh, he found us,” Damien stage-whispered, and Roman snickered.

Virgil stalked over, breath heaving in his chest. “Do you two have any idea how terrified I was when I turned back around and you weren’t there?!”

“Virgil, we’re not toddlers, that tactic won’t work on us,” Damien said, arching an unimpressed eyebrow.

Virgil’s nostrils flared. “I thought the two of you were about to be seriously hurt. It’s my job to look out for the two of you and you treat it like it’s a game to get away from me when any number of people out here could be waiting for a chance to kill you.”

Roman felt just a tiny bit guilty. “We weren’t trying to make your job harder Virgil, we just...wanted some privacy.”

Virgil looked between them. Damien’s face revealed nothing, and Roman shrugged as if to say, What else do you want from me?

“Next time you want to make out, at least tell me where you’ll be making your attempt so I can make sure no one’s coming over,” Virgil growled.

“We will, Virgil, rest assured,” Damien said.

Roman sputtered. “We weren’t trying to make out!” he protested.

Virgil shrugged. “Why else would you want privacy?”

“We could be sharing secrets, or just want a moment to talk by ourselves without worrying about anyone else overhearing, for any reason! We don’t immediately go to the gutter when you’re not around!”

“Just immediately, hm?” Virgil asked.

“I...no! No, that is not what I meant and you know it!” Roman protested.

Damien and Virgil were both smirking to various degrees and Roman huffed. “You’re both being incredibly mean,” he growled. “And if that continues, you’ll both end up covered in paint by the end of the day.”

Virgil’s smirk dropped but Damien just shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time,” he simply said.

“But it would be the last,” Virgil warned. “Because I’m not getting in trouble for you being covered in paint, and I would never allow you near art supplies again.”

Damien held his hands up in surrender. “All right, all right, I’m done.”

“You promise?” Roman pressed.

“Yes, yes, I promise. If it means I get the chance to paint with you, then I won’t push this subject any further.”

Roman smiled, and proceeded to pick out some beginner’s acrylic paint, grabbed two brush sets, and then asked, “Mixed media paper, or canvas, do you think?”

“Canvas,” Damien said. “Much easier for me to work with a bigger surface that is very clearly not a table.”

Roman laughed. “Okay, then. Canvas.”

“Maybe easels, too? We could do some on-site painting with those,” Damien pointed out. “And we have quite the scenery at the base of the mountain. It could be fun.”

“Sure,” Roman agreed. “Do you not have any easels remaining after your painting escapades?”

Damien coughed. “Well...my parents may or may not have tried to deter me from future endeavors by not keeping the materials around.”

Roman giggled. “Oh, it was really that bad?”

“Hush, you’re hardly one to talk,” Damien said. “You have plenty of embarrassing stories, too.”

“True, but they’re not relevant to this conversation,” Roman chirped.

Damien glared at Roman. “Traitor,” he muttered.

Roman just offered him a grin in response. Damien glanced away and gravitated towards a sign that said the easels were in that aisle. Roman followed, paint in hand, and Virgil trailed behind them again. Damien picked out two smaller easels, and then turned to Roman. “Canvases?” he asked.

“Right,” Roman said.

They grabbed a pack of canvases and went to the front of the shop and rang everything up. Once they had everything in the car, Virgil looked at them. “Where will you two be painting?” he asked.

“I was thinking halfway up the mountain, where we have quite the view of farmland, it’s beautiful scenery,” Damien offered.

“Sounds good to me,” Roman agreed.

“All right, I’ll drive the two of you up there,” Virgil said. “But if I see any shenanigans with paint I will kill both of you.”

Damien gave Virgil a playful salute. “Whatever you say, Your Highness,” he said, voice soaked in sarcasm.

Virgil took a deep breath. “You’re really dead set on testing my patience aren’t you?”

Damien shrugged. “Well, you seem to be dead set on telling me what I can and cannot do when I’m my own individual, so it only makes sense to balance the scales somewhat.”

“Oh, you are playing a very dangerous game, Your Highness,” Virgil warned. “Get in the car.”

Damien gave Roman a very satisfied smirk as he did as told and Roman followed him into the car. Virgil shut the door a little harder than necessary as he got in as well. He drove them to a point that Damien picked out and then Roman and Damien got their supplies out of the car, setting up the easels and canvases so they were facing the farmland. “This should be fun,” Roman said with a smile as Virgil continued up the mountain. “And it looks like we’ll be on our own for a bit.”

“We’re close enough to the castle that the guards can watch us from there and pick us up if need be,” Damien said simply. “So we’re not necessarily ‘alone’ but we do have some space.”

“Some much needed space,” Roman said, looking out at the farmland below and taking the paints, before gasping. “We forgot the palettes!”

“Oh, damn it,” Damien muttered.

Roman laughed. “That was not a very princely response,” he teased.

Damien rolled his eyes. “Very funny, Your Highness. What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Roman said. “I suppose we could mix the paint on the canvas, go for a slightly more abstract way of painting.”

“Well, unless we want to call Virgil back down here, that’s what we’ll have to do,” Damien sighed.

“Yeah, I don’t want to call Virgil down over this,” Roman said, shaking his head. He grabbed the tube of cyan paint and popped the cap, pouring some onto his canvas...or attempting to. Nothing was coming out. “That’s weird,” Roman muttered. He turned the tube so he could see the opening, and gently squeezed. Paint splattered out of the tube, all over Roman’s face, and he sputtered as Damein burst into hysterics. “Oh, you think this is funny, do you?” Roman asked, picking up a glob of paint and flinging it at Damien’s face.

Damien stood stock still for a second, before he slowly reached for the magenta paint and poured some onto his fingers, flicking it onto Roman’s arm.

“Oh, this means war,” Roman said, pointing the tube of cyan at Damien and squeezing again, getting paint all over Damien’s shirt.

“How dare you!” Damien exclaimed, laughing. He poured out more magenta and smeared it across Roman’s face, getting some in his hair.

Roman cackled as he grabbed the yellow and used both tubes to smear paint over Damien, while Damien took the magenta and black and returned the favor. They chased each other around the easels, and Roman squealed as he lost his footing running backwards and nearly fell straight to the dirt, only to have Damien wrap an arm around the small of Roman’s back, catching him in a dip. The two were laughing and breathless, and Roman muttered, “Hi,” to Damien.

“Hi,” Damien laughed back. “Truce?”

Roman considered it, looked at the yellow paint he hadn’t dropped, and grinned, saying, “Nah,” and squirting paint directly into Damien’s wavy hair.

“How dare you?!” Damien exclaimed. “And I kept you from falling, too! I had to sacrifice my black paint to do that!”

Roman laughed and got back on his feet, exclaiming, “Catch me if you can!” as he flung one last glob of yellow paint at Damien before running away.

Now, Roman was fast, but Damien was undoubtedly the taller of the two of them, and he managed to catch up to Roman quickly, snagging the back of Roman’s shirt. He pulled Roman into a bear hug, effectively getting paint all over both of them. “Virgil is gonna kill us!” he laughed.

Roman shrieked with laughter and wriggled out of Damien’s grasp, shoving him to the ground and pinning him there as Roman grabbed all the cyan off his face that he could and painting little clouds all over Damien’s face. He was shaking so hard from his laughter he could barely make the shapes.

“Hey!” a sharp voice hollered from the top of the mountain. “What did I just tell you two?!”

Roman and Damien shared a brief horrified glance before Damien was on his feet and grabbed Roman’s wrist, yelling, “Run!”

They both sprinted their way down the mountain, but soon found themselves outnumbered by guards driving their way down the road to barricade them in. Virgil barrelled down the mountain, breath heaving in his chest. “I said no shenanigans with the paint!” he exclaimed.

Damien pointed at Roman. “Roman started it!”

“What?!” Roman asked. “Did not! It wasn’t my fault that the paint tube squirted into my face!”

“But it is your fault that the paint was subsequently thrown onto my face,” Damien said.

“You didn’t have to laugh!”

“You didn’t have to retaliate!”

“Boys!” Virgil snapped. “I don’t care who started what, you both are complicit in the shenanigans and you’re both covered in paint! What am I supposed to tell your parents, huh?!”

“I imagine you’ll tell them you left us alone for five minutes under the impression that we could be mature and turned to look at how we were faring once you reached the top of the mountain only to find us having a paint fight below,” Damien said, completely deadpan and with a straight face that Roman couldn’t possibly hope to achieve.

“You both are walking up the hill and will be getting cleaned up before dinner this evening. I imagine that most of the dignitaries coming to congratulate you two on your engagement will not want to see the two of you covered head to toe in paint.”

“Why do we have to walk up the mountain, though?” Damien asked.

“Because we are not getting the back seats of any of the guards’ cars covered in acrylic paint!” Virgil hissed. “Do you have any idea how easily that stains?”

Roman raised his hand. “Actually, I do, and it’s not as bad as you might think,” he said.

Virgil glowered at him and Roman promptly shut up, following Damien and Virgil back up to the castle. Damien hissed as they approached the top. “Our mothers are waiting for us,” he whispered to Roman.

“Shit, what?!” Roman asked in clear panic. His mother was going to kill him!

Damien took one look at Roman and grabbed his hand to give it a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she doesn’t chew into you too much.”

As they reached the top, the two queens looking at them with twin unamused expressions, Damien scratched the back of his neck. “It’s...uh, my fault,” he said quickly. “One of the paint tubes exploded in my face on accident, I started the paint fight.”

“Damien —!” Roman hissed.

Damien held a hand up at hip level to stop Roman. “It won’t happen again,” Damien assured.

“You’re right, Damien, it won’t,” the Queen said. “Because you are not going to be allowed near any of Veronica’s art supplies for the remainder of the week.” Ouch. And not just because of the use of his deadname, even if it was for his safety.

Roman’s mother looked at him and he inwardly braced himself for what he knew was coming. “Veronica, I’m disappointed in you!” she exclaimed. “I raised you better than for you to engage in a paint fight! That’s not very ladylike behavior for any woman, let alone a princess!”

He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from snarling at his mother, but he just nodded stiffly. “Of course,” he practically growled. But I’m not a princess.

His mother kept staring at him, but Roman was not going to give her the satisfaction of apologizing. Not to her. “Damien, you didn’t get any paint in your eyes, right?”

“Yes, I can still see,” Damien confirmed.

“Good,” Roman said, nodding. “Then we should probably change and get cleaned up. Virgil’s right; I doubt any visitors would appreciate the fine art that is...well, fighting with art.”

Damien barked a laugh, before covering his mouth with a hand. “I suppose you’re right,” he said with mirth in his eyes. “Although I must admit I like you in pants, they seem to do wonders for your confidence. Maybe tonight a pantsuit for dinner would be appropriate?”

Roman felt his heart soar at the excuse right there for him to take. “Sounds perfect,” he agreed, and together the two of them walked into the castle, while their mothers sent them one last look and a warning to behave.

Tag List: @lunareclipse-13 @sanders-sides-crofters @blushy-gigglee-mess @wannacrymetoo @kaytikitty @magicalspacepanunicorn @bootsinthesun @pricklyfish777 @flowersanddinosaurs @leiasolo77 @birdybabybird @enby-phoenix @luna–28 @justagaygoose @the-prince-and-the-emo @fandomsandanythingelse @randommuffinyt @snekky-boi @thesoftestlittlepuffballwegot @twilight-trix @abby5577 @escalatingtoofast @friendlyfacestabbing @remus-is-stinky @foggybanditdreampeanut @ghostskull300 @sprinklestheditty @canvas-the-florist @askthesnake @samuel-the-gay @determination-saved @sparrowofsong @beyondthestacks @juicy-cashew @loganpatton @lilbeanblr @kittyboof8 @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @sanders-trash-4ever @hamilspntrash @swords-and-kittens @phantomfander @narniasfinestavengingsociopath  @rjmeta @ambersky0319 @anni-cat-flower @idosanderssidespromptssometimes @nafsbluebery @redisawerewolf23 @voidvirgil

[nomolosk]

Snapshots (AU Yeah August 2020)

read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25655623/chapters/62887945

Day 13 & 14- Flower Shop, Social Media

Universal walked down the street of flower shops enjoying all the bright blooms, cool soothing greens, and the scents that filled the air. She smiled at the butterflies flitting around the blooms, although she saw several shop owners as well as customers shooing them away distastefully. She toyed with turning the whole of Paris into one big flower shop, but her object wasn’t recharged from the “star-crossed lovers” debacle yet. That one really hadn’t been well-thought out. She’d assumed it would be like watching Romeo and Juliet, only more so.

It certainly had been more so, and she really hadn’t needed Hawkmoth’s furious ranting in her head to convince her to cancel the universe, even though doing so all at once negated the memory altering part of her powers. Still, all that wailing and fighting… not so fun when you were stuck in the middle of it, and she didn’t mind taking that small risk in order to end it quickly. She bent over to sniff at a particularly lovely bloom, thankful once again that her akumatization hadn’t given her a gaudy and bright suit, or changed her skin color. She was able to enjoy her creations without attracting too much attention. Although so far, she hadn’t really hit any winners. 

Her eyes had changed, she knew that, but people noted eye color a lot less frequently than many people thought. Well, and the tips of her fingers looked like they’d been dipped in magenta dye, but that was a nuance compared to some of the akumas she could remember seeing before. If anyone noticed, they would probably think it was some new beauty trend, or that they’d seen her painted nails and their brain had extrapolated from that. The tips of her hair were also dyed pink, but that was pretty common nowadays.

Looking at the flowers, she considered what her next selection of available universes should be. There was the tale of the miniature child born inside of a flower… which thought inevitably led to fairies and other mythological creatures. 

Universal smiled, now sure of what she wanted to experience next.

----

Marinette watched as Alya searched Instagram for posts of all four of them, or ones where she’d tagged them all. There certainly did seem to be a lot of evidence for Alya’s claim that all four of them had been friends for forever… 

But then, why couldn’t she remember Adrien before a day ago at the cafe? Curious, she took out her own phone and opened up her own Instagram. She searched her posts for Nino and Adrien, then organized them by earliest, rather than latest posting.

The earliest post was a class photo taken when they were still in college. Marinette actually remembered this, now that she was looking at it. The girl in the middle- Juleka- had gotten akumatized because she’d been left out of the original photo. She suppressed a giggle as she also remembered Chat Noir’s difficulty with the wedge heels Reflekta had forced everyone to wear. It was strange, though. She could remember Juleka clearly, Reflekta and Chat Noir… she found every face in the picture, remembering their names- Rose, Juleka, Mylene, Max, and Alix in the front row, then Ivan, herself, Alya and Kim in the back. She frowned. That wasn’t the right… hadn’t there been more of them?

Her brow cleared as she suddenly remembered that Chloe and Sabrina hadn’t come for the make-up picture after school- largely because Chloe had been the single biggest cause of that akuma. Juleka had been directed to stand next to a boy Chloe liked, and Chloe had Sabrina lock her in the bathroom so she could stand next to him instead. There was a momentary feeling of unreality- she couldn’t imagine who the younger Chloe had been crushing on in their class of that time- none of the boys would have been her type.

She gasped as memory crashed down on her.

Adrien. Chloe had wanted to stand next to Adrien. And with that, two more faces seemingly materialized out of thin air in her picture- Nino sat on the end next to Rose, and Adrien… Adrien stood between Nathaniel and herself. She smiled slightly, remembering how proud she’d been for not letting herself get too flustered by that.

“Alya! I remember!” Marinette looked from her best friend’s face to Adrien’s and it was like five years of memories were suddenly unlocked in her mind. She remembered her insane crush, the debilitating self-doubt and fear that had prevented her from ever confessing it to him, the way that crush had mellowed out into a close friendship over the years. She remembered why she had felt so flabbergasted by watching the future versions of Ladybug and Chat Noir share a kiss, though it seemed silly now. She remembered being in love with Adrien, but the intervening selective amnesia had allowed her to access and acknowledge her feelings for her partner as well.

For a moment she teetered on the edge of information overload, but Alya’s tight grip on her hand pulled her back.

“Hey girl, it’s okay,” Alya said, far more gently than was her usual wont. “Don’t try to sort anything out just yet.” Marinette nodded, keeping her eyes closed. 

“H-hey, Marinette?” Adrien asked in his soft voice. Marinette opened one eye to peek at him. He had moved closer, and was looking extremely handsome as usual, but there was a bashfulness to his expression she didn’t think she’d ever seen before.

“I, uh, remember you now. I remember you both, actually,” he said, including Alya in his glance. “I’m really sorry I forgot you.”

“Me, too,” Marinette said, still a little breathless. But she was feeling steadier, and pulled away from Alya a little.

“Sorry, Nino,” she looked past Adrien’s shoulder to make eye-contact with one of her oldest friends.

“Hey no worries, dudette,” he assured her with a cheesy thumbs up. “Whatever it was made me forget you yesterday morning at the cafe. I was totally convinced my bro here needed help winning over the cute waitress. I don’t know what came over me!”

Marinette blushed beet red, completely missing the fact that Adrien was also red in the face. But her recent realization of her feelings for Chat- and the two years in which they had grown closer as friends- helped her avoid spontaneous combustion. In fact… she studied Adrien’s face for a moment, feeling like she was on the brink of something important. But then a wave of disorientation washed over her and she swayed, lightheaded.

Her ears were ringing, but she could still dimly hear her friends.

“Whoa, dude!”

“Come on girl, lean on me…”

“Uh, babe? A little help?”

“Wait Nino, I have an idea.”

Support under her arm grounded her and slowly the dizziness subsided. She leaned her head gratefully against… a chest that definitely wasn’t Alya’s. For a moment she was alarmed, but then her body recognized the contours. This was- had to be- Chat Noir, her partner.

“Thanks, kitty,” she murmured, snuggling a little closer. Feeling cloth under her cheek.

Her eyes popped open as she picked up a suddenly increased heartbeat under her ear. Her gaze traveled slowly upward to see Adrien staring down at her with an astonished expression.

@auyeahaugust

[art-now-india]

Warhol and the History of Art, durga Kainthola

PALETTE OF MY VISUAL THEATRE In Palette of my Visual Theatre, Durga Kainthola stages a stimulating, complex play between art, the symbolic and the immeasurable. The distinctiveness of these works lies in cohesion of images, simplicity of line and rendering of the pictorial. Throughout, concrete expression of her style flows as “extensions of my thoughts, day to day happening of things in life.” Portraiture dominates her oeuvre, in a signature expression of beings, of other artists. Confident and receptive, she relinquishes control and allows drama to unfold. How many minute attributes are transfixed, caught by the painter’s brush, the poet’s verse. An original and chimerical foresight, which celebrates work with a cosmopolitan flair and international cross-fertilizations. Kainthola’s palette boasts a vast vocabulary and rainbow realm of hue. At once lyrical, and poetic, wise and irreverent, witty and timeless, it illumines a global amphitheatre of her inquisitiveness. Metamorphosis connotes the infinite possibilities of transformation, concretisation of an ineffable truth – of change, within continuity Glimpsed in a library in 1982, an image of the Marilyn Monroe diptych by Warhol surfaces in her work in 2002…as magic of renewal, the crystal lacuna of past, present and future. Magnifying a spectral lexicon, to signify art as synergy, Palette of my Visual Theatre, stretches the imagination. Multifold personae from Indian mythology surrounded by flora and fauna encounter Warhol in Goddess Comes to New York, mounted within a light box. Throughout the History of Art series, a reverberation of the ‘combines’ of Robert Rauschenberg’s work can be seen, part-painting, part-drawing. An astute, surprising effort at blending vibrant allegories. Poised against black-and-white backdrops, Kainthola effects resonance between the energies of Picasso, Gaugin, Modigliani, Duchamp, Tyeb Mehta and Souza, often with magenta lotus borders and prominent AEIOU friezes of Hindi letters. In The Painter’s Studio, Kainthola’s own face serves as the canvas upon which Vermeer paints on his easel. Pages from My Visual Notebook (3 books) chronicle a movement from the abstract to concrete. Intricate tableaus unfold as if a narrative hand scroll, with a new language from when she first incorporated her own image and drew upon it with myriad tonalities of ink. A contemporary draughts woman’s autobiographical take on the quixotic portrait of the Mona Lisa. Day after day, she produced a visual entity (computer generated inkjet prints on paper and vinyl) and worked on its surface…these became her ‘diary’. On one single page, two twentieth century masters of different genres, V.S. Naipaul and Bhupen Khakar, materialise, as if to orchestrate a ‘ thinking out of the box’ dialogue of simile and narrative realism. A most adroit example of this fluidity is the triptych, Amrita SherGil, from the Notebook series. One panel portrays SherGil’s letter to her parents, the second art from Ajanta, and the third SherGil herself seated. Kainthola’s work honours the interconnectivity of art, stated in SherGil’s letter: “Modern art has led me to the comprehension + appreciation of Indian painting + sculpture.” A strong, original painter who in her own life and creativity bridged modernism between the East and West. Influences of Surrealism’s serious experimental attitude toward the subconscious characterise work such as The Kiss. One butterfly impasto emblazons Monroe’s lips like a mercurial censor and another in her hair like an Art Nouveau barrette. Throughout the Palette of my Visual Theatre, this embrace of the concrete and the fantastic share centre arena, to realise a tenuous unity of scale, subject and composition. Perhaps, Kainthola’s work, throughout its diverse phases and painterly endeavours, juggling contextual synapses and lenses, can be seen as ‘gestalt’ (Ger. configuration). On another dais, consider the elegance and fancifulness of the panoramic piece, The Three Graces. Small-scale drawings are intense and subtle in character, a precursor to the latest ambitious solo paintings, The Last Judgment, Modigliani and Nefertiti. Kainthola’s imagination is incessantly changing scenes, dangling scenarios across the picture plane. At any time, retracing and commingling spheres of memory and inspiration: observed prints in the sand on Bombay beaches appear as the footprints of Raza and Hussain on earlier canvases (again this trace quintessence of art), lines from T.S. Eliot’s poems, an ongoing aesthetic homage to fiercely gifted woman painters, in particular Frida Kahlo and Amrita SherGil (esteemed for their inventive worlds), as well as pop icons, classical deities, old masters and modern iconoclasts. Kainthola blends diverse figure-ground liaison and rich pigmentation from the vista of art history, from classical Western (think of Correggio and Da Vinci) and Indian court painting (Mughal and Rajput miniatures), to the most established and controversial of modernist procreation/invention. Transcribed with a novel spontaneity, her brush and pen act like a glass lantern, casting shadows, uncovering mental pictures. Furthermore, The Last Judgment (print on canvas with acrylic/mixed media) reconfigures classical references, juggling the meaning of portrayal. Dialectics of creativity mark a swirling, omnipresent meeting of the physical and metaphysical. “The creation of an icon is an art of the same order of the creation of the world.” From one composition to another, the Palette of my Visual Theatre, summons a continuum of abstract and representational, seemingly the blend of matter and reflection. And so does her wand paint its energetic wit and passion beyond our minds, casting an intuitive metamorphosis and vital fusion of colour and form. A moment not out of time, but in time, in what we call history: transecting, bisecting the world of time, a moment in time but not like a moment of time. -T.S. Eliot, chorus from The Rock, VII (1934) Elizabeth Rogers Artist Statement: For some time now, I have been exploring myriad levels of visual imagery, juxtaposing iconographic detail drawn from the ancient and modern art both Indian and from the west…. moved into the fluid realm of active, syncopated three-dimensional visualisation sequencing idiosyncratic language and perception. This journey into multi-media, moving imagery carries the broader dimensions of energy infused with contemporary metaphor. Mirrored in the highly polychrome written and painted signboards are modern enactments of miniatures, illuminated per neon lit sign, the quotidian transforms into the surreal… A spontaneous and dramatic re-interpretation of an artist ….

https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Warhol-and-the-History-of-Art/156938/156288/view

[sorazine]

Q&A 3

Featuring a question we receive often: 💙 What is CMYK?

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (think of it as blacK), which are the colors used to print in ink. Our screens use RGB (red, green, blue). As it turns out, RGB can make more colors than CMKY.

(from Printful)

Since One with the Sky will be released as a physical, printed zine, all final files will need to be in CMYK. Artists for this zine should be mindful of this as it means colors can look different on your screen compared to on a printed page.

(from Ashworth Creative)

So what does this mean for you?

Not much at this moment, actually! Examples for applications can be in RBG or CMYK, and during the zine creation process we can help with color conversions. Check out the Printful and Ashworth Creative links above for more info, and check out this tweet for a look at CMYK’s gamut in an RGB color picker!

💙 Q: I think I might of accidentally sent two applications for the artist form (clicked send, then edited and then sent again). Is that okay?? A: No worries! we’ll delete duplicates if we spot them. Editing the form does just that, so no second form was submitted during the process.

💙 Q: Are we more likely to be accepted into the zine if we already have an idea? A: No, we're just gauging responses. Either is fine! Answers submitted through the forms do not have to be final.

💙 Q: Hi! I'm sorry I was curious about something, I've just read some of the requirements for the application and it says it's best not to link a social media page as a portfolio but what if we have an artist account? Like an instagram account we only use for art? Would that be acceptable? A: Hello! Yes, if you have an artist account, that is perfectly fine to link! Ultimately, we would like one link to a single space we can easily access your example work rather than have to hunt through miscellaneous content.

Thank you so much for all your questions and enthusiasm for One with the Sky!

-Mod Kairi

[shijinpunnaykaljoseph]

#Blog Post 9. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MUSIC

 Music is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing human intelligence activities. For composers, artists, authors, engineers and scientists, computers are a fantastic tool. All of these give music a different perspective, but all of them can benefit from computers ' precision and automation. Computers have more to offer than just a decent calculator, printer, audio recorder, digital effects box, or whatever the computer's immediate useful purpose. The computer's real significance lies in the new paradigms of art and scientific thinking that computation creates. The technology of using Artificial Intelligence for creating music is latest innovations in the field of technology. Discussion days are over when artificial intelligence (AI) will impact the music industry. In many ways, artificial intelligence is already being used. Today, in music composition, production, theory and digital sound processing, you can find AI applications. In addition, AI helps musicians test new ideas, find the best emotional context, incorporate music into modern media, and just have fun. In huge data sets, AI automates processes, finds trends and observations, and helps create efficiencies.

 Into the history

First phase

Work at this time focused primarily on algorithmic composition which aimed at a new composition that is aesthetically satisfying:

     In 1957, Lejaren Hiller and Leonard Isaacson of Urbana's University of Illinois programmed “Illiac Suite for String Quartet”, the first work entirely written by artificial intelligence.

     In 1960, the first paper on algorithmic music composition was written by Russian researcher R.Kh. Zaripov using the "Ural-1" computer.

 Breakthroughs

The more significant level of music intelligence emerged in the generative modelling of music as research began to focus on understanding music.

        In the 1970s, interest in algorithmic music also reached the pop scene's well-known artists. David Bowie, an unquestionable iconic figure in the music industry, was the one who first started thinking in this direction. He created Verbasizer, a lyric-writing Mac app, with Ty Roberts.

       In 1975, it was N. Rowe from the MIT Experimental Music Studio has created a smart music perception system that allows a musician to play freely on an acoustic keyboard while the computer infers a metre, its tempo and note durations.

      In 1980, David Cope founded EMI (Experiments in Musical Intelligence) from the University of California, Santa Cruz. The system was based on generative models for analysing and creating new pieces based on existing music.

 Current research

AI and music research continues on composition of music, intelligent analysis of sound, cognitive science and music, etc.

     Initiatives like Google Magenta, Sony Flow Machines, IBM Watson Beat, would like to find out whether AI can compose music that is convincing.

     Pop music composed by AI was first published by the Sony CSL Research Laboratory in 2016 and the results were impressive. Daddy's Car's is a cheerful, bright tune that resembles The Beatles. The AI system offered to write the song melodies and lyrics based on the original parts of The Beatles, but the further arrangement was rendered by live musicians.

      Taryn Southern became a sensation after taking part in the American Idol TV show. The next logical step was for a new album to be released. Southern decided to take a non-standard approach — to use AI to write an album. She opted for a startup called Amper as a tool. This programme is capable of producing sets of melodies according to a given genre and mood with the help of internal algorithms. The outcome was the “Break Free” song.

      CJ Carr and Zack Zukowski are engaged in a very unusual thing founded by Dadabots Boston programmers— they teach artificial intelligence how to write "heavy" music. The developers presented the black metal album "Coditany of Timeness" in 2017 and presented the results of the algorithm that composes music in the death metal style to the public. According to them, the algorithm produces a pretty decent music for this genre, which needs no corrections, so they decided to give him the willingness to write live tracks on YouTube.

Interesting developments in the Musical Intelligence field

Research now focuses on using artificial intelligence in compiling musical composition, performance, and digital sound processing, as well as selling and consuming music. For teaching and creating music, most AI-based systems and applications are used. Some of them are here:

     AlgoTunes is a software company that develops music-generating applications. On the site, with one keystroke, anyone can create a random piece of music with a given style and mood— but the choice of settings is very limited. Music is created in a few seconds by a web application and can be downloaded as WAV or MIDI files.

      Founded in 2015, MXX (Mashtraxx Ltd) is the world's first artificial intelligence mechanism to instantly convert music to video using a stereo file. MXX enables you to adapt music to specific user content, such as sports and playing, computer games plots, and so on. Audition pro, the first MXX app, allows anyone to edit music for video: load an existing song and automatically adjust the increase in sound frequency, amplification and pause according to the video's dynamics. MXX also provides services to leading commercial libraries, music services, game developers, and production studios that include music tailored to modern media.

      Orb Composer — a program designed by Hexachords to help compile orchestral compositions at genre selection stages, instrument selection, track composition.

       OrchExtra may help collect a complete Broadway score from a small high school or city theatre ensemble. OrchExtra plays the role of missing devices, recording variations in tempo and musical language.

Is AI a threat to musicians?

AI's capabilities create tension among the groups of musicians and producers who see it as a challenge to their jobs first. AI-music start-ups ' argument is that AI is a creative tool that frees musicians to create more and better art. While AI can outperform humans to help you sleep in areas like video backup music or soundtracks, it is not capable of creating great original music without human intervention.

 Conclusion

AI will eventually change the music industry as computers and AI become more powerful and accessible. The choice is how we work with AI, though. The reason that robots can take over our jobs is that we are robotic about the jobs. However the creation and production of music is a creative process. After all, the possible mechanism of typically developing legendary songs happens on its own, from deep within the heart of the poet, his passionate feelings and unique experience of life. Giving more control over AI applications to musicians is important rather than letting AI take over. After all, we love musicians because of their humanity and personality — not just their music itself.

 References

1.      Deahl, D. (2018). How AI-generated music is changing the way hits are made. [Online] The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/31/17777008/artificial-intelligence-taryn-southern-amper-music [Accessed 9 Nov. 2019].

2.      Drake, J. (2018). AI & Music. [Online] Soundonsound.com. Available at: https://www.soundonsound.com/music-business/ai-music [Accessed 21 Nov. 2019].

3.      En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Music and artificial intelligence. [Online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_and_artificial_intelligence [Accessed 21 Nov. 2019].

4.      Kharkovyna, O. (n.d.). Artificial Intelligence and Music: What to Expect? [Online] Medium. Available at: https://towardsdatascience.com/artificial-intelligence-and-music-what-to-expect-f5125cfc934f [Accessed 21 Nov. 2019].

5.      Li, C. (2019). A Retrospective of AI + Music. [Online] Medium. Available at: https://blog.prototypr.io/a-retrospective-of-ai-music-95bfa9b38531 [Accessed 21 Nov. 2019].

6.      Love, T. (2019). Do androids dream of electric beats? How AI is changing music for good. [Online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/22/ai-artificial-intelligence-composing [Accessed 21 Nov. 2019].

7.      Marr, B. (2019). The Amazing Ways Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming The Music Industry. [Online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/07/05/the-amazing-ways-artificial-intelligence-is-transforming-the-music-industry/#23c4c1a65072 [Accessed 21 Nov. 2019].

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15 Best download png Bloggers You Need to Follow

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Week Five - Assets

A requirement for the proposal presentation is to include the collateral and formats chosen, and assets created so far. Examples we looked at included mockups of designs. As per the brief, one piece of collateral that must be created is an 8-fold poster zine. Alongside this, I will need to select 2 more formats that will communicate and share the message of my campaign to the audience. In my research, I found that 85% of generation Z find out about new products and promotions via social media platforms. Therefore, a good collateral to choose that will be seen by the audience would be digital platforms, such as a social media post. If I do go with a digital format, I think it would be a good idea for the other format to be a physical thing to make the scope of communication wider. Posters are very versatile physical collateral items, and I think poster series like a triptych would be another good method.

In my workbook, I drew out a quick mind map of the key points of the campaign, including the main message and call to action. Then I made a few rough thumbnails of collateral layouts, of social media posts and poster triptychs.

Planning

Asset Creation

Some icons I created in Illustrator - might need some tweaks to make them all match. Not sure about the combination of sharp corners and rounded corners.

Logo type I created using typeface based on cut out paper.

In Illustrator I began some rough experiments of poster triptych and social media posts, experimenting with different typography and iconography. I found that the numbers worked a lot better in the typeface I created out of paper than the letters.

These were mostly based off the posters I created last week, however I thought that the red colour was a bit too over powering for the blue and yellow. I also thought that the primary colour combination seemed very childish. I changed the red to a magenta pink. I’m not 100% sure about the colour pallet, as it might be too happy and playful for a more serious subject matter. I could experiment with changing the tones of the colours to make them darker/dirtier, or maybe reduce or change the colours. This is definitely something that needs some work as I progress with the campaign.

I then tried using the Manofa typeface as a heading rather than my own type, and keeping it black to differentiate it some more from the illustrations. The triptych below I think gives a good overview of the campaign, showing the message that microplastics are harmful, and also the call to action - choosing plastic alternatives.

I tried a pattern style layout which I quite like, however there isn’t really clear message from this.

Social media post ideas - showing some key statistics.