#piece of my soul 👍good stuff

[transgenderbobdylan]

thinking about how being around one person even if youre not close or even talk at all can change your entire life (thinking about the mutual whose posting got me into the monkees)

[tofupixel]

Hi! I really like your art, and it inspired me to get into pixel art myself. I know you already posted about how to start making pixel art, and that tutorial was very helpful, but do you have any advice? I see all your art and I can’t help but wonder the process.

hello, first of all thats very cool and sweet, i hope u will continue and thank you for telling me

as for the question hmmmmmmm

its very hard to answer because i don't know where you are at in your journey or what your goals are but

i just finished a piece for artfight and made a timelapse gif which may help you understand my process if you are interested in that (even tho its a more simple piece) (sorry for flipping canvas sm)

this is the character btw. some things that i think are important:

getting stuff on the canvas even if it looks shit (my sketch phase is FUGLY) but its digital art so we can just make it look better and move stuff around. its literally not a big deal

flip a LOT (flipping lets u see ur mistakes easier) (it might hurt your soul at first but eventually you get used to it) (reaching full artistic ego death is the end goal)

i dont have a strong minds eye so i cant visualize my piece very well so i just try things, you will notice i try different poses and expressions

what i rly care about is mood and conveying some emotion and i'll try lots of things until i get what i want. once its on the canvas i can evaluate how that works for me. if it looks bad JUST CHANGE IT !!!! 😤👍

GET LOTS OF REFERENCES !! when i got just 1 ref i ended up copying it too closely, but you can get a bunch and combine them together. that log in the foreground i stole that from princess mononoke. take elements from stuff nobody will miss it

for beginner advice i think, just draw a LOT and try not to get sucked into the details for too long. u can learn a lot by just doing a ton of throwaway stuff. rendering is important for sure but it can TAKE A LONG TIME so just be aware of what youre spending your time doing

and PLEASE look at other pixel artists who are really good. take their art into your program and look at it and study it, see what they are doing. its not cheating we have all done it.

look on pixeljoint for pros!!

[luffyvace]

NAMI X POKER FACED MALE READER (who’s Robin’s brother)😊

GOT THIS IDEA FROM A GENIUS 🤪🤪🤓

no but fr this is so creative!! Credits to @purplegemadventures for the idea :) <3

Nami originally thought you were just a quiet and kinda sour guy

like Zoro but probably less dense

she really didn’t talk to you much, only when needed really

because of your natural poker face she always thought you didn’t wanna be bothered

not that she’s intimidated by it, she’s just kinda like “oh well, I’ll leave him alone” 🤷‍♀️

But Robin…

she’s a whole different story

she knows you’ve been crushing on that cat burglar this entire time 😈

yup

she knows every detail

to what you like about her physically (like her hair or smile) to her personality (headstrong and sensible)

You tell her every bit of it

and even if you didn’t she’d still know trust

I said before in my Robin x younger brother! reader hcs that you’ve known the most observant person on the planet your whole life. YOU HAVE NO SECRETS.

her advice to help court her (cuz your gonna need it) is really to be casual yet genuine with a bit of playful sarcasm

Nami will get bored of a man who tries to desperately impress her sanji

so you’ve gotta be a magnet—make her want you as much as you want her

And how to do that? Playful sarcasm.

Just enough to tick her off a bit, then it’s time to be genuine

for example ; (flirty compliment here) “SHUTTUP YOU DIMWIT” *charming laugh* “I mean seriously!, (genuine compliment here)”

repeat the cycle and you’ll start to notice a obvious blush after the genuine compliment ;)

Both you and nami go to Robin for advice and ranting tho

Nami mostly asks things like ��what warnings do you have for me?’ or ‘Does he do/have any annoying guy stuff/habits’

Robin always answer honestly, even if it’s not ideal to making you sound like a good boyfriend for her 😃🧍‍♀️

you can’t blame her if she’s lies it’ll make you look stupid when Nami finds out! 🤷‍♀️

(cuz she will..)

when you get together Robin is all smiles when you announce it

she practically knew you would get together eventually

She low key feels smug honored to be the wing woman

especially since she gets the juicy gossip form both sides

LOL

yes she’s like that but don’t worry she won’t tell a soul 💗

robin often has to translate for you bc nami is stubborn

what i mean is when Nami is angry at you and you don’t understand why (it’ll happen at least once) she tells you what you did ‘wrong’

sometimes it’s just the case of Nami always wanting to be right so she’s really just angry at you for be right this time (..?🤨)

But anyway I feel like Nami would be prone to dating Robin’s sibling especially if your personalities at similar

she loves robin!! 💖

so she’s likely to love you too 😏💋💋

it also assures her that your a good man 🥂

it’s likely Robin raised you if your her younger sibling so this puts Nami at ease

(In this case) you and your sister’s personalities are rational, calm and gentle towards those you love

The fact that your peace in the chaos of the strawhats really draws her in 😍

if you have a morbid mind as well it kinda freaks her out tho-

robin is a woman and even tho it’s still creepy- Nami obviously seems to be more leanient towards women soooo….

she might scold you and bop you on the head when you say stuff like that 😆👍

you being a boy as well as the others..

not all your decisions may be the smartest….

especially with the one piece men-

all of them have done something stupid at some point-

so you definitely get scolded a lot less than the other straw hat men if your intelligent

(which you likely are- your Robin’s sibling! She’s shoved all kinds of knowledge into your noggin!)

but with the chaotic adventures the straw hats be getting into….I’d bet on you still getting punched at least once a month 😋

okay maybe not punched-

she favors (loves) you—so you get the benefit of the doubt

but your certainly reprimanded 😗

so yeah!! You and Nami have a cutesy little fairy tail ending~ <3

With sanji being salty in the background 😊

refer to my nami x male reader hcs

A cute and dandy couple indeed

wowza this was sitting in my drafts for a long time……..hopefully you enjoyed!!

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Points in Time 005 1999 Drum n Bass

Excellent slate of mid-to-late 90s drum n bass and jungle bangers here that was put out by the LTJ Bukem-run Good Looking Records, the long-time premier label for all of that soul-soothingly atmospheric and 'intelligent' stuff. Here we have the fifth installment in their Points in Time series, something that appeared to have been launched in order to regularly remind folks about all the serious heat from GL's past that should *never* be forgotten.

But It looks like this release in particular was issued in two different formats. One is a double-disc that includes a DJ mix by Tayla—who himself is a producer and DJ that got his start on Good Looking back in 1993—and the other is a triple-12-inch that includes six of the nine songs that are also on the CD version's first disc. And the one that I happened to listen to for today's post is the triple-12-inch.

So, ultimately, I seriously dig almost all of these tracks, but I think the two most essential listens here are undoubtedly London duo Blu Mar Ten's "Futureproof" and early drum n bass pioneer The Invisible Man's lengthy "Stormfields."

"Futureproof," originally off of Blu Mar Ten's first release on Good Looking in 1997, is legitimately one of the greatest pieces of jungle that I think I've ever heard in my life, and is probably peak material for this whole atmospheric style writ large. There's just something that's so extra special about a certain type of song that can paradoxically transmit both a feeling of calm and chaos at the same time, and this is a track that manages to pull it off wonderfully, with its "Amen" breaks furiously chugging along within a meticulously crafted framework of vast outer-space ambience and saucy touches of smooth jazz sax. Just such an unbelievably breathtaking and satisfying all-time stunner as far as I'm concerned 😌.

And then "Stormfields" is this near-11-minute, cinematically chill journey of sorts that's also on an outer-spacey tip from 1997. It encases its increasingly complex drum and bass parts in cheery pecks and splotches of bloopy acid, as light guitar synths pluck from behind on top of thin and squealy string pads. A really wondrous pupil-dilator to repeatedly zone out to and lose yourself within 👍.

So some pretty incredible feats of drum n bass and jungle magic on this one. Really wouldn't expect anything less from Good Looking, though, because they seriously do tend to be that consistently amazing 🤩.

Highlights:

Blu Mar Ten - "Futureproof" LTJ Bukem - "Music" The Invisible Man - "Stormfields" Q Project - "The Instrumental" Axis - "Dusted"

[tiniest-hands-in-all-the-land]

hi, i was scrolling through your art because it makes me really happy, when i saw the tags you added to a post about artists with depression.

i hope you're feeling better now, and i just wanted to let you know you're absolutely not the only one with art that's just for you. art you can't show to another living soul and is for your eyes only. i think that's healthy actually, to make something for yourself and keep it just for you. i have a lot of writing that i could never let anyone read, but making it and going back and rereading it heals something in me. i hope your art heals something in you, too

Aoifehwfa i wasn't expecting someone to actually read my word vomit tags, but aaaaa thank you, I appreciate it 💜💜💜

I do feel a little silly since most of the stuff I was referring to that i don't feel comfortable posting isn't even like. anything with deep emotional value or anything like that. I just come up with increasingly stupid reasons for feeling uncomfortable posting something i do (eg: "Will anyone BESIDES me think this is actually funny?", "This isn't what people follow me for", "This isn't going to get traction", "This is going to get traction but in the WORST way possible" etc etc)

I'm doing alright today; I just occasionally get days where I feel like everything I make is stupid and pointless and a waste of time cuz I'm too Content Creator Brained, especially since I've been doing more with my OC's as of late ("If it's not gonna do the Big Numbers on tumblr, and it doesn't work as a portfolio piece either, then obviously it's bad and a waste of time"--My brain being a 🤡🤡🤡)

But yes, absolutely: creating things for yourself and only yourself is very much A Good Thing and incredibly valuable, highly recommend. Unfortunately, that sentiment is a lot easier to say than it is to actually believe, but I'm trying to work on it 😭👍

[tillman]

What is your favorite piece of merchandise you own in general (your Millia figure has me interested in what you'd call your fave)

LOL ERMMM heres my secret shame … despite having like. A fixation on gg merch anf finding the most obscure and weird shit I can im not really a merch guy. It takes a lot for me to actually get merchandise that isnt like. A book I can scan which I dunno if really counts. My millia figure is the only gg merch I own (I had a robo ky card but lost it in the move …..) my other interests arent even as lucky there isnt much merch for stuff like. Medieval literature…. Though I own the promotional map and artbook that came with one of the dark souls 2 releases ! I enjoy that.

Ermm I think most interesting other fandom type merch I have is my model kits .. ive posted the evangelion one before (ive never seen it but I like crustaceans) but heres gallantmon !! I gotta get a good display for him already but LOL. you can also see my gomamon plush kinda. 👍👍

[panzershrike-pretz]

top five ocs :3

Lou you like to make me suffer???? It would be easier if this was like. A top 50 ocs 😭😭😭 i can't possibly choose only 5 🥲👍 (i'm lying)

Since I have Too Many Characters(TM), I'll narrow it down to choose between the 92 (oof) that already have ther ref sheets drawn :] and this is in no particular order, it's just numbered to look pretty,,,

1. Pangea Coldwell

She's a fairly recent character I created back in 2022. She's Peggy's handler, and a second world war medic (i was in my biggest WWII era at the time). She's a gentle and kind woman, with a big heart but almost no patience at all; usually seen as smart by her peers and fast-to-act, despite whatever's in he way.

Despite her interest in medicine, she's extremely fond of ice-skating, acting, singing and reading - some of her favorite hobbies that don't include her insane dog.

Her power is that of future-sighting, though it's not nowhere near as strong as Horace's. She sees only bits and pieces based on probability, normally of the immediate future (at most, she sees only a few hours ahead, while Horace can see years in advance).

2. Peggy

The absolute sensation. My baby. THE stupidest thing to ever walk this planet. Precious bean. The devil's child, born to put everything in her mouth (and hopefully eat it before dying). The one and only:

Peggy, the Belgian Mallinois is a medical-rescue war dog owned by Pangea. Don't worry, she's dumb even while at work. She has a magical shield against projectiles, so she's a walking barrier (RIP for everyone who tries to hit her with a shoe while she howls and barks)

Things that she eated included (but are not limited to): frogs, fish, insects, rocks, shoes, bones she found where bones shouldn't be, twigs, a dead starfish, baby turtle, tried to eat a crab but failled, a hat, her own leash at least 3 timess, wood, alcoholic beverages (she's fiiiiiine), a mushroom, triessd to eat a snake, etc.

3. Constance Ezebel

The Goddess of Oceans and Curses. I consider her to be one of the strongest Gods among my characters; she's as ancient as water.

Since she was cursed to stay stuck on a Loop in Tortuga, unable to be free at sea again, she takes her anger in those who choose the waters to be their homes. She controls floods and storms, but also when fishing is good and the seas are calm. The fate of all who chose the sea lie within her hands - and those of her se monsters and creatures, who do her biding.

She's a fucking bitch who never does anything for free and usually only accepts stuff if it's paid with a soul or sacrifice,,, she also throws the best parties so she's forgiven :3 and she's half goat so she's cool

4. Stiggy the Stygimoloch

He was just a joke I turned real. He's extremely OP (the indistructable, extremely agresssives and immortal little dinosaur. Who is VERY little and VERY angry) that I turned canon because I love him so much xD

His first appearance was back in 2019 (you see, he's OLD). His backstory is that all the anger in the universe fuels him and he was created by the Gods as a weapon or something. Anyway the only person who he listens to is Miss Kestrel

He's my fave joke character and i'm very glad I made him canon (even if he lives in a forest in the middle of nowhere without ever being interacted with xD)

5. Athena Crow

Death and Freedom Goddess! One of my mains like Pangea and Peggy! Blithe's iresponsible First Mate and Constance's biggest pain in the ass (Athena cursed her to be forever stuck on land and Constance cursed Athena to forever roam the seas. They are bestfriends but also hate each other's guts)

I have SO MANY thoughts about this woman it's unreal,,,,, I love how much of an annoyance she is in general. Alway here to make a fool of herself and have people questioning why the fuck they follow her

Form this I discovered that: of my favorites the only one who is not a complete and utter imbecile is Pangea. Good for her 🤡👍

[deepfriedseagullfeet]

good morning lads!! yesterday was WACK i didnt sleep a single wink the night before (which never happens?? weird), so i just got out of bed and made pancakes and drove around until i got tired. and last night i went to see the D&D movie with friends and it was pretty good!!! and then i got a solid night's sleep so im feeling reinvigorated this morning 👍 i also drew a few pages of stuff in my sketchbook, and idk i feel like ive had an artistic breakthrough of some kind.......i drew gore for the first time in a few years and it was pretty nice cause im dealing with ideas of death and pain a lot these days. i want to stop worrying about if a piece of art looks good or is presentable for the algorithms and draw more weird ass vent art!! i need to dig into my soul and create stuff based off what i find if that makes sense

[alyssatjuhhh]

Question for all of you, If you where really MC what would be your relationship with the characters?

Tw: bad relationship with food (nothing detailed)

Lucifer

First time seeing him I would be like: "Daddy? sorry, daddy?-" Can't lie alright.

It would probably start with a mutual roommate relationship.

Just like, "ok I guess I live with you now" kind of relationship.

I would think he's attractive but he's kinda mean so I would not have a crush or anything maybe later or something

I would probably follow the rules, because you know, it's litteraly his job to make sure I'm save, so I would probably listen to him.

Since I take alot of time to open up to people and he does too, it's gonna be like that for a while.

I think it's gonna change with alcohol.

We're going from: "dude I live with" to "Drinking buds"

And that turns into bonding over daddy issues. 😃👍

And that turns into: "Let me make fun of you, grandpa!"

I'm gonna make fun of him so much.

And he's gonna make fun of me so much.

It's going to be great.

Mammon

First time seeing him would be like: "Lucifer come get your child."

Oh... Mammon stans don't come for me.

I... Wouldn't like him in the beginning..

Why? Simple, him, Levi and Belphie remind me the most of my little brother.

CAN YOU IMAGINE???!

"finally done babysitting."

Mammom: *Breaths*

"never mind"

Don't worry my big sister instincts will kick in and I'll adopt Mammon before Simeon can finish the sentence: "what the Jezus was that?"

So I'll probably see Mammon as a little brother.

And I would sneak him out of the house, cover for him and stuff. (as long as he's safe)

But I would not give him money.

Nope nope noppedy nope nope.

My poor ass gets enxiety the way he handles money.

Levi

First impression would be like: "Damn this guy talks waaayyy to much, I wanna go to bed."

Same with Mammon at first I wouldn't like him, same reason.

But yes I would also adopt him.

Fun fact, obey me is the first anime something I really consumed so we can't bond on that.

I do like video games

I would discuss the entire fnaf time line with him.

And we would do a pokemon soul link nuzlock!

How can I not.

Anyway, I feel like I can just forget about my problems when I'm with Levi.

Like he would just talk the night away.

Also everytime he says something bad about him self

At first I would be like "no your not"

But after awhile I would just give him a light bonk on the head, as in shut up.

Satan

First reaction to be honest would just be like: He has a cool bowtie? I want a cool bowtie." 🥺

Sataaaan

this would be my first friend

No doubt

I also think he would try and kill me but I don't think I would notice tbh.

I'm very oblivious.

I think we would be fast friends because, I mean look at him

That's a face that says: I read fanfiction and I'm proud!

I think Satan would be the type of friend that after you got there trust would back you up. No. Matter. What.

I respect that

I also feel like he likes to hug/cuddle platonically.

I would love to go to cat Cafés with him.

I would introduce him to my 2 cats.

Also Satan is totally the Matpat of the Devildom

We would totally play fnaf with Levi and piece together the lore.

But his fashion sence is hideous, I would force him to change those colours.

Sorry Satan.

Satan, I would marry you platonically. 💚

Asmo

How can someone be cute and handsome at the same time that mother fu-

The only reason why Satan and I would be faster friends is the fact that Asmo would kinda overwhelm me.

Listen I'm an introvert, talking to people exhaust me.

I think he would be feel like a sugar rush to me, kinda, if that makes sense? 🤔

I would like him

We would thirst over men and woman together (I'm bi, bi-theway)

Also we would react to anti-gay content together, to make fun of it of course.

Oh oh! We would totally go to pride together!

Asmo and I would be good friends just not everyday please.

Beel

He's hungry give him a snack >:(

To be honest, the only reason why we would not get along at first is that my relation with food is not... The best.

And I feel like everytime he says "I'm hungry" could be a little bit triggering for me (I mean even in the game it kinda was lol not THAT bad or anything)

But it would not be so bad that I would not be his friend.

I think we would have a Rocky start but we would get close.

Adoption number 3

If anyone DARED to mess with Beel I would go up to them and-

Tell Lucifer about it. Listen I love Beel but I know damn well that I can't fight a demon.

Also when I heard that Raphael used to be mean to Beel back in the celestial days.

Oof-

Let's just say that the avatar of wrath got a nice dinner that day.

Belphie

Well hello there, Mr. Voice.

I would not trust Belphie because like I said, I would trust Lucifer.

But I would probably just ask Lucifer about it (like I said I'm a very oblivious bitch) but considering that I would be dead then let's just say I did the whole pacts and lilith thing.

I would forgive Belphie pretty quick

But I would aslo never let him forget it.

"Can you give me my pillow."

"No."

"It's litteraly laying next to you."

"Just like my corpse was laying next to you. You know... When you KILLED me." (I'm petty, I know okay)

This would probably be another adoption.

I'm lazy he's lazy, we just GET each other

I wouldn't mind cuddling him to sleep

I would think he's a brat

He wouldn't care

And we would be perfectly happy with that kind of relationship. 👍

Diavolo

Holy shit he tall-

(btw, I'm Dutch and I'm gonna tell you that I thought that 6 feet tall meant like 2 meters but it's not wtf 6 feet tall is like average here. So I'm just gonna add 1 feet to all the characters cannon height except Luke, fight me. So Diavolo would be 7.3 I think 🥵)

Oh, we would be buds!

I think I would be hesitant at first because of Lucifer telling me to respect him and bla bla bla-

It depends on him on how close we get.

Like of he tells me to call him Diavolo I would, because fuck what other people think.

Let the man live his life!

I would definitely call him Dia or D, at first to just piss off Lucifer (ones we got to the, let me make fun of you- relationship)

But if it makes him happy, I'll keep calling him that.

We would have a brother, sister relationship

I think he's the only one of all the characters that would feel like the older brother to me tbh

Who knows maybe I can get adopted by his dad?

Speaking of Dads 😃

Bonding over Daddy issues part 2-

We would have so many sleep overs that barbatos would just not let me in lol.

Anyway, we would be chill, I would feel safe with him.

Barbatos

Sebastian that's you?

I would not even notice him at first lol

He's just kinda in the background when we meet everyone you know.

I think it would be after the first interaction/conversation that I would develop maybe a tinyyyy crush on him..

But I would also kinda be scared of him?

Maybe I just want to do the nasty with him tbh

I don't know

I think barbatos would kinda get annoyed at me lol

😃😀😀😅😅😅😭😭😭

Every time I talk to Dia he would glare at me lol

I think I would enjoy helping him with cooking and stuff

I don't think he would enjoy me helping him tho

But it's alright because I would probably not even notice lol

You know those ship scenarios?

Us would definitely be without a doubt, affectionate fool x hates them but secretly enjoys the affection.

I'll let you guess which one is which.

I think when people ask: "what are you?" we would respond with:

We're "friends."

But we are actually friends.

Simeon

What the fuck, how? - I? - Daddy?-

First crush, no doubt about it.

Have you looked at this man?!

It's as if he was made by God himself-

I don't think the crush would go anywhere, but I would definitely have one lol.

Simeon and I would be close.

But not that close because of that damn crush.

Anyway after the crush dissappeares.

We would be good friends.

I feel like Simeon, Satan and I would work on all the group projects together lol.

I would sleep over alot because I need a break from the brothers lol.

I would have him in my D.D.D as Baby Daddy

Because of Luke...

Not because of other things...

If Luke and I are walking in the human world and someone ask me: "is this you're son?"

I would say yes, and then Simeon would call me and I would say: "oh, look, the father is calling."

We're Luke's parents now, I don't make the rules.

In short, we would be good friends but I would still have little crush on him lol.

Speaking of crush, if I knew what happened to Lilith I would never tell him.

Not that I would in the first place.

But it's kinda like the thing that breaks my crush on him. Sad but whatever.

Luke

Uhm... Who left their child in hell?

I would immediately feel the need to protect Luke

Like as if he's my responsibility

Simeon will be like: "He's not." and I would be like: "but now he is!"

The final adoption!!!!

Luke would probably not like the baby-ing in the first place

But I would not care.

Tbh I'm a cool mom and Luke can do whatever he wants as long as he's safe.

Wait Luke can bake?

Barbatos can bake?

Ah! Connection!

I would encourage Luke to go bake with Barbatos.

And just like that Luke got 2 dad's and 1 mom.

Tbh I think Luke would try and get Simeon and me together lol

He would probably ask barbatos for help.

And if it wouldn't work he would try to get me with Barbatos lol.

Luke would want me to live with him instead of with the brothers.

I love my son! 😭

Solomon

Look it's Harry Potter!

Oh.. A human..Ew

Just kidding

Not really

Sorcerer?!

Now that cool

Can I do that!? 😀

No? Oh... 🥺

We would be CHAOS together

Like it's so bad that they don't let us sit together on road trips.

Or in class

They would never let us sit together tbh

We make fun of each other so much!

But it's more like kinda insulting lol

"Look it's a painting of me in 1812! Damn I look good."

"You're old, we get it!"

I feel like Solomon, Asmo and me would go out together.

You might think that Solomon would be a bad influence butttttt-

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes trust me"

"Okay"

*explosion*

Lucifer: "MAMMMOON!"

So that's what I think would happen if I was Mc and yes I didn't really include any romance because it feels a bit awkward.

[ufoparty]

How did you get into art and what's the best way for people to get into it?

being bad at video games

GENUINELY i got the kingdom hearts manga because i couldn't get very far in the game and as i looked at the art i thought "i want to make stuff that looks like this." so i began with copying and then started drawing freely with obvious references to KH art (eyes mainly lol). pretty much every skill leap i've experienced since then has also happened once i discovered an art style i wanted to borrow something from. plus series with very engaging characters+plot makes me want to explore it more (i.e. i get hyperfixated) so i've ended up practicing a TON with little frustration because it's usually catharsis/Jokes™ that are the driving force rather than making something that looks good.

(not to say i don't ever doubt myself, because there are pieces in my head i wanted to make years ago but didn't because i lacked the technical skill)

i can only really give advice about getting into character art, because i've never been very interested in making abstract or photorealistic art or whatever. they definitely have their place but that's just my preference. that being said:

being super invested in something whether it's your own story ideas or someone else's is a great gateway to art. if you ever have the thought "haha it would be funny/cool if this happened" and the imagery/expressions stick with you moreso than like, Phrasing (personally different ideas i've had have struck me as being more suited to written work vs. drawn, or vice versa), just go ahead and draw it. and do it every time you think of something else. you don't have to show anybody. i drew fruits basket comics in 6th grade and never showed a soul. those drawings are for You

looking at other people's work.. novels, manga, cartoons, paintings, design, typography.. even if the work as a whole is something you're not that into, if there are stylistic choices you appreciate then take them. you can just straight up redraw someone else's art if you want to get a feel for how it all fits together, as long as you don't post it/claim it as your own (my rule is: no posting copies of a peer's art without permission, but yes to a famous/dead artist as long as credit is given). when you mash influences together it becomes something unique to you very quickly because no one else is going to be drawn to the exact same things as you

a major DON'T is second-guessing yourself. it's super easy to compare yourself to others especially as you get older, because if you start making art at like. 45 you may think you need to be at the same skill level as another 45-year-old who's been doing it for 30 years. it can be hard not to think this way especially if you're looking at other people's art like i suggested lol but get in the habit of hyping up your own ideas to yourself. "this such a good idea." "wow i'm so funny." "this is silly but no one has done it before so it's my job to make it."

there are people who could say all of this more eloquently and succinctly, and who follow their own advice more often--i haven't followed the third bullet in a while :o) but when i think of the most productive periods in my life these are the things that stand out the most. so i hope even just like one sentence is useful. also having adhd or autism can make this easier so try that too 👍

[randomvarious]

1990s German Techno Playlist (YouTube)

Started putting together a small playlist of some of my personal 90s German techno favorites for you all to enjoy for this week 😎. It's not definitive by any means, but with this first iteration, I think this thing still presents a pretty nice range of different types of techno, from the deep and rumbling, hypnotic basement kind to the main-room-of-the-club floor-stomping kind 😤. And despite the fact that most of these selections come from a small handful of Germany's most well-established dance and techno labels—Harthouse, Tresor, and the qualitative-over-quantitative Chain Reaction—I'd say that, given the YouTube play counts for a lot of these tracks, that most of them are a tad bit obscure too 👍.

Ich und meine buddies vibing to ze German 90s tekno

But while almost all of these tunes are by German acts that were released by German labels, the track that we happen to kick off with here, an eleven-plus minute piece of acid-drenched sci-fi psychosis from 1993 called "Blanche," by a short-lived duo from Mainz who called themselves Purple Plejade, is not from a German label at all, but is instead from a Dutch label called Djax-Up-Beats. Purple Plejade was made up of a couple notable German techno names in Holger Wick and Thomas P. Heckmann, but the two of them together only put out a couple of 12-inches, and "Blanche" was their first. Now, there's a scratchy ten-minute version of this song that's already on YouTube, that I think was uploaded back when the maximum length of your video could only be ten minutes, and that thing has over 41,000 plays on it. But this *full,* extra-minute-plus affair, as Gott originally intended it to be heard, only has under 11,000 plays across a bunch of different YouTube uploads, by comparison.

Now let's talk about a couple other favorites on here: one floor-stomper and one that's headily sublime. The floor-stomper comes courtesy of Bad Nauheim's Patrick Lindsey, who in 1996 released a 12-inch called The Phat Jive on Harthouse. And the title track on that release is what you get when you pair some melody that's reminiscent of a theme song from one of those syndicated reality court shows that airs on TV in the afternoons with some snaky, beeping synths and smacking four-on-the-floor percussion to then overwhelm it. A unique fucking banger that's sitting at over 1,300 plays.

And for that headily sublime one, which closes us out, we have a tune from Berlin's DisX3, aka Alexander Kowalski, who in 1999 put out a 12-inch on Tresor called Sequenzed_Function E.P., which kicked off its b-side with "Bored Meat." This stunner's loaded up with a fuck-ton of Richter scale-registering drums to form its rhythmic foundation, but where it really kills is with its weakly plonking, contrastingly high-pitched synth melody that gets placed atop of it all, while including a bunch of jingling hi-hats too. Basically, if you really love yourself some techno music, this is a track that should simply pierce your mechanically-made soul 🤤. And it's only been listened to less than ten thousand times on YouTube!

This playlist is ordered as chronologically as possible:

Purple Plejade - "Blanche" Patrick Lindsey - "Prepare to Jam" Patrick Lindsey - "The Phat Jive" Porter Ricks - "Port of Transition" Alter Ego vs. David Holmes - "The Evil Needle" Pacou - "T.4" Continuous Mode - "Direct Drive Mode 1" DisX3 - "The Wide Theatre" DisX3 - "Bored Meat"

And this playlist is also on YouTube Music.

So with the introduction of this playlist, we start out with a total of ten songs that run for 68 minutes. Altogether, a good and eclectic clip of stuff here to get us started that's not very well known.

And next week we'll be staying put in Germany, but we'll be getting into some much chillier stuff! 🥶

Enjoy!

More to come, eventually. Stay tuned!

Like what you hear? Follow me on Spotify and YouTube for more cool playlists and uploads!