#the digitizing of every medium is helpful in some ways

[colorisbyshe]

I miss the intimacy of cd burning culture. Not even necessarily the mix tape aspect, like, even when you were flat out just making a copy of a cd and giving it to a friend, it felt meaninful. I feel like something is lost without the physicality of “I heard this and thought you might like it.”

The transience of just linking someone to a song or playlist lacks a certain je ne sais quoi. God, especially remembering when people would actually print out a copy of the album cover and carefully fold it to put in the jewel case. Or when people crafted their own handmade collages for mix tapes. Just the thought of someone taking their time and carefully making something for someone else…

I miss it :/ And this isn’t one of those “You could still do it if you want to, there’s nothing to miss!!” posts because like… so many people flat out do not have cd drives. I can’t just decide to do this anyways and have it hit the same way. It’s in many ways a lost art.

[gudgurkan]

Got any tips in shading stuff in black and white digitally?

Hi Anon!

You're in luck! I'm currently wrapping up a book which is shaded digitally, so I've been thinking a lot about this recently.

How I do this is by no means the only way, so take from these tips as much or little as you want! When I add grays and shadows to a line art drawing, I try to think about these things:

Preparing the image

I like to work with a file that has a white background and a layer with only line art on top of it. Between these two layers I add new layers where I use the pen tool and bucket to fill areas with black, then I lower the opacity for that layer to get a value that I want.

This method works well for me, and for simpler pieces I don't need more than 3 layers with different values - light, medium and dark grays.

I work in Clip Studio. Here's a picture of the layers of a recent drawing. Each layer is actually completely black but you can see the opacity percentages by each layer. Lower percentage -> brighter value. This makes it super duper easy to change the value of a layer, no need to repaint it, just change the opacity!

Value composition

For the best result, do a couple of value sketches with a limited set of values and find something that works well for the image. Getting the values right is what will improve the image the most! Here's a quick tutorial on muddycolors. Muddy Colors is a very nice art blog to check out. Looking at grayscale storyboard drawings or value sketches are great ways to pick up on this too.

I try to group values when working with grays. Take this image for example:

The character in the foreground has mainly dark grays, which separates her from the background, which has mostly light grays. Then the windows are white and the roof black.

Value composition is a huge and complex area and I recommend anyone wanting to learn to be more conscious about their values and to do value sketches. Analysing art you think has good values is great too.

Shadows

Not every piece needs shadows, but they can add a lot to an image! I use three kinds of shadows when I work in grayscale.

Inked shadows - these shadows are added during the inking stage and usually show areas where light would have almost no way of getting there, such as under this tent.

Gradient shadows - these shadows usually represent something getting further and further away from a light source or an area that would bounce light. This tree receives a tiny bit of light from a campfire on the ground and moonlight that bounces on the ground and up, fading as we get higher up in the tree. But mainly I add these gradients in ways that look cool and will help the overall composition.

Hard shadows - these shadows appear when a strong light casts shadows and can be used on a shape or to cover something. Here's a werewolf with shadows on its back, which gives it a better sense of mass and is interesting visually!

You can also cover an area in shadow like this, where the tree casts a shadow down on the archer and the cliff.

Texture

I like to add a layer of noise as a finishing touch. In Clip Studio you can create a noise layer with Filter->Render->Perlin noise... Find a balance of scale and amplitude that works for the image, then change the layer mode to "Vivid Light" and lower the opacity of the layer to around 30%. I like how this looks, it's not super visible usually but helps make the drawing feel less artificial and digital.

I hope that helps! Here are some nice links too:

Muddy Colors

Android Arts

Gurney Journey - Read his books!

Happy drawing!

[genericpuff]

Do you have any tips for beginner artists? Also I love your art style

Reference lots! There's no 'learning how to draw', only learning how to study and reference things you want to draw. Even experienced artists are constantly pulling up references and tools to assist them in their process, it's not all drawing from imagination, there's research involved!

And keep in mind that no matter the style of the work you're studying and learning from, the core foundations of drawing - composition, structure, perspective, anatomy, lighting, and color - will usually always be present in some way. Learn to identify those foundations, even if you're not actively trying to learn them directly, because that identification process is part of referencing.

Keep your old art! Always! You don't have to save every absent-minded doodle or scribble, but any time you create a piece of art that feels significant to you, hold onto it! If you have sketchbooks full of old drawings that are taking up space in your home and you can't justify keeping, scan what's inside / take photos and store them digitally! Don't let hindsight after you've improved tarnish the joy you had making it! It just gives you something wonderful to look back on so you can see how much you've grown (even when you feel like you haven't; if you cringe looking at your older stuff, that means growth HAS happened! And that's good!)

As for specific learning tools, there's no single "one size fits all" approach to improving your craft. It's more like a patchwork quilt that you have to weave yourself from all the things you reference and get inspired by over years of trial and error. For myself, that quilt looks something like this:

That said, this is my quilt, for you, it'll look very different! Maybe online tutorials are a much bigger patch, or maybe some of the patches seen here are completely absent from others (and alternatively, maybe there are patches that I DON'T have that another person might!) The point of it though is to get across that getting better at art and "learning how to draw" isn't achievable through one single means.

I've said this in previous posts, but this is why I try to stay away from the blanket advice "just practice", because it doesn't truly convey how to practice properly - if you're exclusively practicing the same stuff every day, then there's a lot of other elements you don't even realize you could be missing out on that could benefit you. It would be like trying to become a world-class chef just by cooking omelettes all day - you'd be really good at cooking omelettes, but if you want to learn how to cook a perfectly-seasoned medium rare filet mignon, knowing how to cook omelettes isn't going to contribute to that at all.

I know all of that is both specific and vague, but I hope it can help you find your direction in your learning! Ask yourself what art you like, what you really want to learn, and how the art you like can help you learn it. Don't just look at an art piece and go "cool", really look at it and learn to identify the foundations within it, find the "why" in your praise. It can and will benefit you in your own art journey along the way because the better you get at analyzing the world around you, the better you get at analyzing your own work and where it can improve, and most importantly, how you can improve it ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ

[thedollhousediaries]

The Dollhouse Diaries

Real Life In Plastic Tip #6:

ෆTime Management for Neurodivergent Girly Girls and Boujie Hyperfemmesෆ

This is the pretty girl era of having time management under control. The key is to learn how to live in the moment while also being discipline enough to move on to the next task as needed. I know that sentence was as daunting to read as it was for me to write ૮꒰ྀི⊃⸝ ⸝ ⸝⊂꒱ྀིა I guarantee I gotcha *Chaeyoung voice*

First Things First: Go 1 Week At a Time!! (every 3 days if an entire 7 is too much or your schedule is unpredictable, like mine)

Build a simple list of all the things you have to do and that you would like to do. Its much easier to get it all out on the table so you can donate more of your brain power to sorting things, rather than holding things.

Put all of the things listed on a calendar: Most important first things first! This means things like health appointments,work schedule, birthdays, holidays that you celebrate, classes, or anything that involves not only your time but other’s as well. Then after that put the elective things second; Nail appointments, shopping trips, dates with friends, etc. Lastly, put the things you would like to incorporate into your daily routine; We talking skincare, any hobbies you may have like drawing/painting/sculpting/reading/blogging, any form of exercise, etc.

Once the week or however much time you have scheduled out is done on your overall calendar, then its time for marrying it to your life.

Marrying your schedule: Planner apps, Physical Planner, Dry Erase Boards and Bullet Journals

Choosing your medium at keeping up with your schedule is very important. You may have to try them all before you get comfortable with something. I have tried them all and I’ve found that the main one that truly stuck with me was the app/website Notion. I like it because its fully customizable and you can use it at your own pace. Every week or every day may not be super eventful and so it drops the guilt and shameful feeling of not filling up pages every single day.

Here is what all I use and the way I use them:

Notion <3 I use it as my overall journal. I use the apps on my ipad/phone to check if I’m not home and I can use the website on my PC when I’m home and relaxing. I like it because its very versatile. Think of it as a digital journal combined with similar mechanics of tumblr. I use it for literally everything. There are a lot of videos that can show off all of the cool things Notion can be used for but this is the video that personally helped me learn it quickly

Bullet Journals <3 I have about 3 journals and I love them because I get to customize things with cute stickers and it gives very fun scrapbooking vibes. Because I use Notion as a all over planner I can use my BUJO’s for more fun and creative things. I usually use these for all of my cute ideas and things thats in my mind and aesthetic wishlists and such. Its very therapeutic to take time out to be kawaii and glamorous and just put cute thoughts on to paper! I mainly use it for kpop inputs, my fav shows, wishlists, dates and etc.

Dry erase board <3 I use this as a overall daily top important to-do list! Sometimes I dont always open my notion if I dont have anything extremely important coming up but there may be some things I need to keep on my mind to do for that day. The way my neurodivergency is set up I need to keep the most important things always in my face or I could forget everything. So, I put things on there like get a new tire, pick up order from bath & bodyworks, put clothes in the dryer, wash dishes, and etc. Daily tasks like that usually goes on my dry erase board

Remember at the end of the day dont be too hard on yourself and your schedule! Move at your own pace and always set yourself up for success. Scheduling is ideally suppose to calm you and be a tool to improve your life; not stress you out. If at any point you begin to feel overwhelmed just stop and recenter yourself and your life. I felt overwhelmed at first myself and that was because I was trying to keep up with a hyper organized and productive version of myself that I needed to give more patience to develop. Let this come organically to you and not because you are trying to keep up with what u feel everyone else is doing, or to the future self you are going to inevitably become. Happy scheduling, Dollmate!

[jjkamochoso]

...i have come again! With more noritoshi stuff,,,maybe noritoshi is really scary of what his family will think about reader, and they get in a fight about it but they make up in the end! (i need my nori angst) thank you! :3

MMMMMM I LOVE ANGST AND I LOVE NORITOSHI SO THIS IS RIGHT UP MY ALLEY thank you for being patient as I worked on this!! Thank you for the prompt and I really hope you enjoy this story!! You're always helping feed my Noritoshi obsession and I am SO appreciative of that lmao

Family Feud

Angst, hurt/comfort, fluff

Noritoshi Kamo x gn!reader

Warnings: cussing; this is slightly fem coded because reader receives flowers but imo flowers are gender neutral😌

You were currently sitting on your boyfriend Noritoshi's bed, scrolling through your phone while he pored over yet another stack of papers with important information regarding the Kamo clan. As he was next in line to be the clan head, he was always studying traditional texts, making sure he knew everything there was to know about his family and their history, along with staying updated on the other clans' behaviors and keeping tabs on them. It was a loaded job for a boy of his age, having felt the pressure to be perfect ever since his mom was forced out of the clan all those years ago. His family was a complete enigma to you since you still hadn't met them. Every time you brought up the idea of visiting his estate to say hello to them, he shut you down immediately. You loved Noritoshi, and you were sure he loved you too, but you could't help but get the feeling he wanted to keep you hidden from them for some reason. Little did you know, that topic was about to be brought up again and lead to a messy outcome.

Noritoshi's phone dinged but he paid it no mind as he continued with his task at hand. After the second chime, you picked up his phone and brought it to him.

"Thank you," he mumbled absentmindedly, setting the phone down without a second glance.

"Aren't you going to read it?" you prompted, curious to know what the text was about. You saw the preview of the message on his screen as you brought it to him and it piqued your interest since it was from his father. To be honest, he didn't sound like the type of man to even know cell phones existed so to say you were eager to hear what he had to tell Noritoshi through that medium was an understatement.

"In a second," he replied, his nose buried in the papers in front of him.

"It's from your dad."

"HUH?"

You'd never seen Noritoshi whip his head around as fast as he unlocked his phone with lightning speed, a slightly concerned look on his face as his eyes scanned over the digital words in front of him.

"He wants me to call him. If you'll excuse me, I'm going in the other room so I don't bother you."

"You'd never bother me, my love," you told him, sending a soft smile his way. For the first time that day, Noritoshi visibly relaxed, releasing a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding for hours. You were the only thing in his life that never caused him undue amounts of stress. You were the person who helped ground him in moments like these where everything felt impossible. Just seeing a glimpse of the back of your head was enough to keep Noritoshi happy for hours, but being lucky enough to be treated by the appearance of a smile on your face was plenty motivation for him to work even harder to be the best member of the Kamo clan, the most acclaimed heir, and give you the most luxurious life you deserved.

A luxurious life, preferably miles and miles away from his dreadful family.

He tried to love them, he did, but they were, quite frankly, insufferable. Nothing he ever did was good enough and all of his actions were continuously scrutinized. It was exhausting being around them during meetings and some days he wanted to bash his head against the table as they droned on and on about the most inconsequential topics, paying no mind to issues that actually matter. The clan had no respect for his mother, the only family member he truly cared for, and so, he had no respect for them. They would never know that, of course, because he needed to be on his best behavior lest his position as clan head get passed on to someone else and all his hard work would be for nought. He was also extremely aware of the prejudice his family had against anyone who wasn't from an esteemed sorcerer family, meaning you would barely place the tip of your shoe on his family's estate and they would have you escorted from the premises immediately. He loved you too much for you to be a victim of their cruel words and harsh behavior so he avoided bringing you around to meet them, for your sake and his own.

"I'll only be a minute," he said earnestly, stepping out of his bedroom and into the hallway, closing the door behind him. He mentally prepared himself for whatever venomous words he was about to be subjected to as the phone line rang in his ear.

"Hello, father. What may I do for you?"

You didn't want to be rude and eavesdrop, but you desperately wanted to know how the conversation was going between Noritoshi and his dad. You knew the head Kamo could be abrasive so you hoped your boyfriend would leave the phone call halfway unscathed. Even without putting your ear to the door, you heard Noritoshi's gentle voice become firmer.

"Yes, father... No, father... Alright. I'll see you then. Goodbye."

Noritoshi came back in, a frustrated sigh leaving him as his hand ruffled the hair on the back of his head.

"I hate to do this to you, y/n, but I have to reschedule our date tonight. My father said everyone is needed at the estate for a family conference and dinner. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, it's not your fault," you said, putting your phone down. "If everyone is gonna be there, wouldn't it be the best time for me to go and finally meet your family?"

"That's really not a good idea," he said, sitting in his desk chair again. "I don't think now's the right time. There'll be too much going on and I don't want you to get overwhelmed."

"But it's never the right time according to you," you said, exasperated from him continually stringing you along. "I'm starting to feel like you don't want me to meet them at all."

He gulped. That was very true, but not for the reason you probably thought. It wasn't you who shouldn't meet them, it was them who didn't deserve to meet you.

"That's not... totally true," he told you, his focus going back to the papers in front of him as an excuse to end this conversation before it went south. "I have to finish studying this before I go. You're welcome to stay here in the meantime but I'm not sure if I'll be back tonight."

"Hold on. I'm not dropping this so easily."

"I really wish you would."

Your eyes narrowed. "Can you just tell me why I can't meet them? You've never given me one real reason. Just one, and I'll be quiet about it."

"They're just busy, that's all."

"That's bullshit and you know it."

He still wouldn't meet your eyes, pretending to be engrossed in his work, which was really starting to piss you off.

"What, now I'm too boring to even pay attention to?"

That got him to finally look up.

"Listen, y/n, you know my family is... complicated. I would like to keep you away from that mess for as long as possible."

"I'm quite old enough to hold my own against a "complicated" family," you seethed, trying to keep your cool, but almost failing. "I don't need you to protect me like I'm a child or something! Do they even know I exist?"

It was much too quiet for much too long.

"Damn it, Noritoshi, answer me! Do they know you're dating someone?"

"I... they know you exist. I talk about you all the time, I do," he said, his heart beating quickly in his chest, "but... no. I haven't told them we're dating."

At that moment, you felt your heart snap in two. Noritoshi was so ashamed at his admission that he refused to see your face, afraid to witness how bad he just hurt you.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" you breathed out, voice cracking. "I've shared everything with you all this time and you do this to me? My family knows everything about you and can't wait to meet you but your family doesn't even know we're together? You told me you loved me but you can't tell your family anything because they're, what, too dysfunctional? I can't believe this is happening right now. I really can't."

You stood from the bed, snatching your phone and grabbing your jacket that was strewn next to you. Shoving your feet in your shoes, you gave Noritoshi a tearful glance.

"I hope you're happy with the way this turned out. Don't you dare try to talk to me after this."

"Y/n, wait!" he yelled out, but you had already slammed the door behind you. He was at a total loss of what to do. He knew he made an extremely grave error, but the whole time he convinced himself it was the best decision for both of you. Very obviously, that couldn't be further from the truth, and he was scared that he had just lost the love of his life due to his stupidity and cowardice. He so desperately wanted to run after you and explain the whole situation, come clean about his intentions, but if he wanted to make it to the Kamo estate on time, he had to leave in a few minutes. Making his choice, he exited his room.

When you got to your room, tears were falling freely down your cheeks. You were truly at a loss with Noritoshi. How could he hide you from his family like that? To think you loved each other, yet he kept you a secret? Was he ashamed of you? Were you too poor? Too unattractive? What was it about you that he felt the need to disguise the fact that you two were dating? You went to unlock your phone, but seeing your lock screen with his face smiling at you, so carefree, made you want to sob even harder. You threw the phone away from you, the piece of technology landing on your comforter with a soft thud. You laid crying on your bed for who knows how long, feeling exhausted as the tears finally subsided. You needed to occupy your mind with something else so you grabbed the remote to turn on your tv. Before you could find an interesting show, there was a knock at your door. You checked the time on your phone: 5:30 pm. It couldn't possibly be Noritoshi, he was at his family's place right now. Confused, you got up and peeked through the window next to the door to make sure it was someone you knew.

What the hell was Noritoshi doing here?

"Go away, Kamo," you yelled through the door.

"I really need to talk to you, y/n. I messed up and I want to explain myself."

You rolled your eyes. "You should've thought of that before you ripped out my heart and stomped on it."

"I know. Please, just give me one minute to talk and if you're still upset, I promise I'll leave you alone."

You wanted to ignore him and send him home, but you could tell by the look on his face that he was just as torn up about the fight as you were. It wouldn’t hurt to hear him out—you could easily slam the door in his face again if need be. You opened the door tentatively to find yourself on the receiving end of a beautiful bouquet of flowers but you tried to act unimpressed so he didn’t think that was enough for forgiveness.

"Flowers? How emotionally unavailable do you have to be to think that showing up at my door with plants is an acceptable apology?"

Noritoshi tried his best to not look deflated at your annoyed tone. “That’s not the whole apology, just a tiny portion, I promise.”

“You promised a lot to me while we were dating,” you scoffed.

“I was wrong to not tell my family about you—about us.”

“I know.”

He continued. “I made a huge mistake not telling you the truth from the start.”

“I know.”

“I was a huge asshole, y/n.”

“Please, tell me something I don’t know.”

“I didn’t want you to meet my family because I was afraid they would scare you off and I would lose you for good.”

Oh? That was something you didn’t know. He took your lack of response as an indication to keep talking.

"As you're aware, my clan is one of the major sorcerer families in jujutsu society and because of that, they're very judgmental and total elitists. Since you're not from an influential family, I didn't know how they would react to me dating you. It's not right but I figured they wouldn't accept us being together. I didn't want you swept up in clan politics and become subjected to insults if I brought you to meet them."

As you thought about what he told you, the pieces all fell into place. There were signs here and there that Noritoshi didn't agree with his family's ideas most of the time, but had to hold his tongue as not to upset them and potentially lose out on being the next in charge.

"That... actually makes a lot of sense," you eventually replied, "but why didn't you just tell me that in the first place? I would've been much more understanding had I known how you were feeling."

"Because I was a coward and thought running from my fears would be easier than facing the fact that my family is so messed up," he confessed. "I hope you know that my intentions were good. I wanted to protect you so badly but I was the one that ended up hurting you. I am truly very sorry I lied to you and made you feel like you were the problem when it was my fault the whole time."

You leaned against your door, letting his words sink in. You had to admit, he did seem truly remorseful. He wouldn't have shown up on your doorstep, flowers and all, to tell you the truth if he didn't want to, especially since he was skipping a very important clan meeting to do so!

"I still would prefer if you didn't meet my family since they can be overcritical and cruel, and you deserve much more than that," he said, "but if you want to, I'd be honored to take you to dinner tonight and present to them my kind hearted, strong willed partner... if you'll still have me as a partner, that is."

Your eyebrows raised in surprise. "So you had a change of heart, then?"

"No change of heart, just change of mind."

You tried to contain your smile at his cheesy line but failed. "Fine. If you're sure, I'd love to come to dinner with you tonight. As your partner, of course. I never want to live in a world where I'm not by your side."

Noritoshi let out a huge sigh of relief, letting a smile fall easily on his lips as well. "You'll accept these flowers, then?"

"Of course I will." You took the flowers into your possession, smelling their sweet fragrance. "I love them, Noritoshi, and I love you."

"I love you too, y/n, that's why I'm here fighting for you instead of fighting boredom at the meeting."

You smirked. "I take it you don't like attending those?"

"I hate them. I really, really, hate them. But at least I know the dinner will be much more tolerable with you next to me."

You leaned over and brought Noritoshi into a kiss, savoring the feeling of his lips on yours. You weren't sure what you were going to be walking into later that evening, but you knew you could conquer anything with Noritoshi.

[blakbonnet]

ARTIST OF THE WEEK @midearthlingart ✨

This week's AOTW is Laz aka midearthling, and any AOTW event intending to bring classic ofmd art back into circulation would be incomplete without them <3 She agreed to answer a few questions for me and shared some great tips for beginners:

- Which do you use to draw (app/digital or traditional)?

I think everything posted here is digital, done mainly on Procreate, although I have started using Art Studio Pro more recently and I really like it (also an iPad app but available on other machines afaik!). I do like to doodle and do studies in my sketchbook though, I think it's good to keep me sharp and for a change of pace! And sometimes ideas come easier that way. But any completed pieces tend to be digital.

- Fave brushes/pencils/mediums (links/screenshots?)

On procreate I'm partial to using jingsketch basic’s flat brush, it’s so versatile for sketching and painting! Other brushes in my regular rotation are the default chalk and 6b brushes from procreate. I also have a soft ‘photoshop’ brush that I use to flat in colours, and a round brush I downloaded that I often use for sketching too; unfortunately I can’t remember where I got either of those ones but I’m pretty sure they were free! Sometimes I use random texture brushes, and the default watercolours in procreate.

- Your favourite piece you've drawn?

I go through phases of really loving some pieces and then hating them again (I often dislike my own art!) One of the best things I ever drew is a very nsfw comic so I unfortunately can’t share it on tumblr lmao. But in its stead, I think this and this have a special place in my heart.

- Who's harder to draw: Ed or Stede?

Honestly it just depends on the day! Both can be difficult to capture for different reasons; oddly I think for me I don’t have Ed’s face pinned down as much as I do with Stede’s. I’ve drawn them so much at this point I can bang them out without reference most of the time, but every now and again I’ll have a difficult angle and need to reference again! Stede’s nose is my absolute favourite to draw though.

- One essential tip for beginner artists?

Keep going! References and 3D models are your friend! It’s okay to make studies of other people’s works in order to learn (just don’t share and try to pass it off as your own!) Tracing photos to learn is also fine too, these are all just tools to help you hone your skill.

- Why OFMD? 🥹

It did something to my brain! I remember watching it back in March 2022 when there were only 6 episodes out at the time, I binged in one go and then the very next day watched all of them again. It just felt so cosy! I watched initially when I heard about it because I already loved Rhys and Taika’s works so needless to say it was hook, line and sinker from me from the start—I did not stand a chance! When it turned out to be a queer, middle-aged love story I knew it would be special to me forever.

[mibyledraws]

alt text 101 for artists

I’m not an accessibilty expert, but I gathered these tips here and there, and it has really been helping me writing better alt texts - and I hope they will help others too!

Alternative text is a description of an image that can be read by a screen reader. It also can help the understanding of an image for people who don't use screen readers.

What do you write?

It all goes down to including what is relevant to give the user an accurate idea of your artwork:

the medium you used to make the artwork (is it a digital illustration? a traditional oil painting? a graphite pencil sketchbook doodle?)

the subject of the artwork

anything that is relevant for understanding the meaning of the artwork. For instance, is the lighting important, or does it bring a particular meaning or mood?

Write sentences - don’t just throw away key words. EDIT: don't write full sentences, but phrases and fragments to keep your description concise

adding one more thing after getting feedback: keep it concise! Under 125 characters (even 100 is best)

Where/how do I add it?

The alt text feature is more or less obvious on the apps we usually post on. In doubt, please just search for it on a web browser, you’ll find how to add it in the blink of an eye :)

On Twitter

enable the alt text reminder! Everytime you post an image, it will remind you to add alt text if you forgot it. Go in your settings, then “accessibility, display and languages”. Then “accessibility”, and in the media section, check the “receive image description reminder” box.

on web browser: once you’ve uploaded your image, click on “add description” under it.

on the app: once you’ve uploaded your image, click on the “+alt” bubble in the right bottom corner that appeared on your image.

On Instagram

at the bottom of the posting page, go in “advanced settings”, then “accessibility”, then “write the alt text”.

On Tumblr

once you’ve uploaded your image, click on the three dots icon that appears when your mouse is on the image, then click on “update the description”.

On Mastodon

once you’ve uploaded your image, click on the “description missing” message that appears on it.

On your website (portfolio, shops, etc)

Where and how you can add it depends on the platforms but there’s always a way! My tip for this would be to schedule yourself an alt text audit of your website to take a moment when you would search how to do it and when you would add all the necessary alt texts! I’d also encourage you to pay attention to some other accessibility features - for instance contrast between background and text. There are lots of ressources out there and I admit it can sound overwhelming: digital accessibility is an expertise, a job field in itself after all. In my opinion, taking it a few steps at a time is a good way to go! For instance I like to do little accessibility audits of my portfolio every once in a while and check a new area that I might have missed before.

I forgot to add it, what should I do?

On some platforms, you can add it after posting if needed - it’s the case on the Instagram app for instance. Always try to see if you can add it afterwards. If you can’t, add it in the replies (if it’s on twitter for instance) or edit the body/caption of your post if you can change this but can’t change the alt text.

Adding it as a “simple description” instead of an alt text that will be read by a screen reader in lieu of the image isn’t perfect, but having it somewhere very close to the image in plain text that will get to be read by screen readers is way better than nothing to my knowledge :)

It's Disability Pride Month (July, when I'm writing this)

I wanted to take some time to encourage you to take some time and energy this month, and at anytime of the year, when you can, to learn about Disability Justice. I’m not the best at explaining what it is, and how much there is at stake. I’m better at this, making small guides about what fellow artists can do to make their work more welcoming to disabled people. But it doesn’t mean Disability Justice isn’t close to my heart and that I shouldn’t even mention it.

There’s a documentary about the Disability Rights movement that I can only highly recommend - it’s Crip Camp. It’s on netflix, and even watchable in full on Youtube.

Pay attention to us, disabled people, to what we have to say. ”Nothing about us without us”: our perspectives and opinions are those you must focus on when it comes to disability and to our lives.

[huenation]

seasons / kkh

word count: 1,696

genre: fluff and slight! angst

synopsis: making back the time with bf!hyuka now that he’s back from tour ★ request

note: i wanna give the largest fattest kith to the anon who requested this :’(

soundtrack: seasons by wave to earth

Kai is easily sunshine — in every single aspect. He warms you up, never fails to make you feel better even by text alone, and excluding the existence of gravity, he reels you in in orbit.

It’s the same reason that why now that he’s finally here with you after only four but very long months, it feels like you’re experiencing the first day without rain.

A gentle squeeze to your hand has you returning to Earth, thumb rubbing over your knuckles. Kai swings your intertwined hand back and forth as he continues telling you about one night after a certain stop during their tour. It’s so funny that he can’t seem to get through it, stopping to laugh and apologize for laughing, bringing your squeezed fingers to use them to move his bangs. He could have easily used his other hand, but he’s too busy rubbing circles mindlessly into your tummy. You can’t help yourself either. His smile and laughter is so contagious; it feels like you haven’t laughed or smiled this much since the last time he was here physically.

The soft bump in his nose is so beautiful, the sweet eye crinkles that reflect the sweetness that blossoms from his beam, that beauty mark on the right side of his warm neck, his light, clean, citrus scent mixed with his freshly washed clothes — it’s all here right in front of you. After so long. It seems silly in hindsight considering you’ve endured longer without being able to see each other. As years go by, you both have learned it gets harder saying goodbye every time.

Your boyfriend and the boys landed right before noon, and you’d waited for their arrival at their dorm, feeling like an obnoxious puppy with the way you anxiously paced for him. It was pure joy and love at first turn of the door knob. Kai had practically lifted you in his arms with all the endorphin driven adrenaline and momentum at his overwhelming happiness of being reunited with you. The boys simply chuckled and watched in amusement before FOMO hit. Such a reunion should have wrought tears and half-humiliated kisses, but instead, you two were grinning ear to ear, holding hands, being quietly lovey dovey.

Evening has taken over of the day you’d been waiting for for so long, and now, in the dorms, it’s just you and him. The boys had said they were heading over to play basketball, Yeonjun throwing you a wink, to which you both had whined in unison, making synchronized laughter of different accents and textures ring through the air.

There is no space between you, such a word doesn’t exist in this here. Why should it? You’d missed an entire season with him, and time persevered nonetheless. Impossibly, you wanted to make back all the time you’d missed with each other. He felt the ache of lost time, felt the ache of missing you, and even if more time like this was to be lost again, here and now outweighed everything else. Now with the way your legs are crossed into each other, your hand that’s molded with his, his hand on your tummy, your hand on his chest, playing with the string of his sweatshirt, on the living room sofa like it’s your own little world. It feels like it. It always does when it comes to him.

Now, that reality has settled, the dust of his arrival no longer flurries in the air, you feel like such a thing, such a moment as precious as here and now, can’t be. Not when you had shared some broken phone calls, yearning through the digital medium, showing half your faces through FaceTime, not when you’d worked your ass off everyday in hopes of making time go by faster with it being occupied, not when you’d prayed for his things to go smoothly throughout the tour and especially for him to comeback soon, even if it meant time were to skip and the universe would be tipped on its side. You were willing for anything if it guaranteed your Hyuka would be back.

And here he is. Laughing so big and contagious, the frequencies of it bring you effervescent warmth, his wide but love shaped body pressing into yours to ignite it even further. Even if the story reads Typical Tubatu, you’re smiling so big and laughing too, even if you get only part of the story because of his interrupting giggles. Maybe such untapped expressions explain why stray tears from what you thought were laughing too hard snowball into endless streams and a smile that turns into a frown.

“And Beomgyu hyung just kept going! Soobin hyung wasn’t having it, but it was still! — s-so — oh… Y/N?” A hiccup of a sob escapes your curled lips when he stops, leaning in and his own eyes glazing over at acknowledgement of your emotion. He’s still smiling, it’s softer now, the sunlight in his eyes still bright but again, softer now with brief overcast of his sensitivity towards your tears. His hand drops from your tummy and comes to catch the tears that keep flowing.

“‘M-I’m sorry!” You laugh, sniffling, or sniffle, laughing, really, you’re a mess of it all. Kai coos, shaking his head, so delicate in the way he holds your face, other hand still squeezing yours. You use your sleeve to rub at the rest of your face. He keeps shaking his head to your apologies, closing in to pepper kisses on your cheeks when you don’t let up, when you keep crying.

“Y/N,” he asks with a tone that suggest he’s pleading but for what, you don’t know. Your lips shake. Kai chuckles wetly, your heart squeezing at the thought of him even crying over this sudden slip up of emotion of yours. “I’m sorry,” you say not for the last time, he sighs against your salty lips. He places his forehead against yours, slotting his body closer against yours.

“I just — Kai, I missed you so much. I-I’m so happy, I can’t — I can’t help it! I missed you so much it hurts and I-I can’t…I’m so lucky you’re here. It’s too good to be real!” You cry brokenly, trailing off to giggle at yourself for being so taken, and Kai mirrors your expression entirely, nose reddening, sniffling, and giggling, too. He kisses your the column of your nose, nosing your own once he pecks your mouth a bit clumsily. He does so with purpose, it looks like.

“I’m sorry that I had to leave, I really am, but I swear, I’m here now. And I too am so, so, stupidly happy to be here with you,” Kai steals a few but meaningful kisses from you, keen on trailing the side of your face with his hand, as if to commit it to memory, to mind, to muscle, to heart. He steals your breaths from you, recycling them, when oxygen returns to your lungs slowly but surely — a sheepish laugh leaving your mouth against his because of it all. Kai brings your intertwined hands to his lips, kissing your knuckles, the backside of your palm, your phalanges, and your thumb.

“I missed you so much, my sweet. Feels like one of the many, many dreams I’d have all those lonely nights without you while I was abroad. All throughout the day, I’d think, ‘the alarm should go off any minute now…’ and it never does. I hope it never does. I wanna stay here forever with you.” You’re going to cry again, moving in to kiss him, and he meets you halfway. Lips against the other, your smiles all but mold together. “I love you, Y/N.” He whispers and you hear it twice: through your ears and the burning skin of your lips.

“I love you more.” You say, and his laugh comes out muffled.

It’s a long moment of closeness being fulfilled, soft kisses filling the air every now and then, before you pull away, cheeks red and tear streaked. You lean away, as he lays his head against the top of the sofa, your fingers brushing some of his trimmed fringe back. He cut his hair. He’s so handsome, it somehow makes him look all the more charming and adorable.

“I interrupted your story, Kai. Please continue for me, if you can. I want to hear every single thing you have to say.” Your fingers brush the warmth of his flesh, and he flutters his eyes shut almost in reverence. He nods, opening them, and pecking at your pulse point. Such an easygoing smile graces his lips, so gentle and serene, and yet the repercussions are enormous. Your heart falls back into place. Everything does. Now, that your Kai is back.

“If you say so.” He laughs and sighs after a brief pause, eyes meeting yours. “Thank you for waiting for me.”

You gasp, mouth forming a pout at that.

“Come on, Hyuka. You know me!” Your tone eases up especially when you reposition yourself on him, closer in on him, both of your hands flattening across the width of his chest to lean on him, legs curled with his, your face nuzzling against his shoulder. “I’d wait a thousand years and more just for you.” You whisper, cheeks hot at the shyness of your confession.

Practically swooning and sweating with how speechless you left him, Kai just sputters out an awkward, little, “thank you” before practically deflating and silently whining when you start laughing at him, quickly turning such a heartfelt moment back to the lighthearted scene that the boys had left, who now return to tease at the lovey dovey-ness. You peel off of Kai, back to hand holding, back to listening to his story telling — aided by the others who make it all the more funnier and real — and let the feeling home overtake you, stealing one last glance at your boyfriend, your eyes and his melting and closing like honey.

Kai may be your sunshine, but unbeknownst to you, you’re his entire life, you’re his seasons, and he’d trade everything for you within a heartbeat.

[tiny-vermin]

I want to know more about the m9 artist au!! I remember reading a post or two about it a billion years ago (and would love to read them again) 💜

hi jess!!!! thank u for being interested hehe :")

so ever since i drew that lil thing of essek painting a frank stella inspired painting (or even before), ive been thinking of what kinds of art each of the m9 would do. essek ofc is inspired by a minimalist show that i went to here, all the big names from that movement were shown, but those really dark, sinkhole-like paintings are speaking to me. another artwork of boxes made of mirrors also seems like the thing he would do too

there's a kiln here that we visited which was huge, and surrounding it were artists' studios and some other ceramic sellers, i imagine the clay family having a place like this in the middle of nowhere amongst the trees, and caleb would do his work there

anyways because at heart im a shadowgast luver its centred around them,, they meet at an artist residency or something like that and its an incredibly slow burn that involves talking and not-talking and looking and not-looking. in the end i am but a simple wong kar wai fan so. that kinda vibes would definitely influence this, i would describe it as a quiet burning i guess?? time skipy and words that are not said

i think im gonna rant a bit more about their different mediums and styles so i'll keep it under the cut

i think caleb sculpts figures and portraits, but in a sad, kathe kollwitz charcoal vibe. maybe some funky looking animals, perhaps some pots and vases to look at the pretty glazes. he's interested in using fire to burn texture into different mediums, like ive seen it being used on shellac to make a really cool net of ink looking structure.. but yknow, just seeing the aftermath of glazed ceramic from the kiln is enough, and probably better for him to keep his distance anyways

the clay family produces most of the ceramic to sell, vases, pots, plates, cups, teapots, yknow just a whole array. and its really colourful too, depicting every family members different style. i think caduceus would do some matte glazes with a lot of different colours, theyre all a little wonky but theyre better off that way anyways. he does some really mean ink calligraphy and painting though

jester definitely does,, everything, whatever her heart desires kinda thang. she makes pastel textile installations and lighthearted cute paintings, but theyre always so contemplative and soothing. she gets m9 a lot of work cus her mom has connections, etc etc. i really love the idea of jester creating works that talk about the female body and femininity (definitely not projecting no)

beau is a printmaker and photographer who's really experimental, she loves cyanotypes and printing flowers (for yasha), idk she seems like she would put fabric and rocks into the washing machine to see what would happen. u would probably catch her in someone elses studio learning about what they do or in the library learning about what old people did

veth works in a museum as a curator, getting beau to help her sometimes with gathering artworks and artists etc. she probably organises community art projects for kids and public art installations. her house is full of m9's artworks and various other artists shes worked with.

yasha does bouquets as her post-retirement part time job, prior to that no one really knows what she did ("she probably murdered a bunch of people and is now hiding from the government"). fjord draws comics for fun but is also not a job for him, molly is a question mark for me. but these guys probably wont be in it as much anyways

im still not sure what format i wanna do this in, im actually having fun just writing it in my notebook now (digital does not facilitate the creative juices) but i do want to do some visuals like fake movie stills or storyboards. maybe they will work together well???? dunno. working on the other shadowgasty thing im doing made me realise how much easier it is to draw when there's a script already there, so im writing the script for myself

im definitely not as practiced in writing as i am in drawing, but idk im just gonna have some fun and see where that takes me, meanwhile try not to feel too bad that its fanart HAHA (very bad habit)

edit: i just saw my previous thoughts on beau being an art journalist, but i kinda like this better.. but maybe she can do both muah

[fablepaint]

First off, congratulations on your help with Lackadaisy!✨️✨️✨️

Second, I've been practicing with the Lackadaisy style using nothing but traditional art (paper and colored pencils), and I'm nervous about using digital art for the first time😓

I've been procrastinating with practicing digital art for years, and now I'm ready to get started!✨️✨️✨️

Got any helpful tips or advice for drawing Lackadaisy characters with digital art?🤔

Also, I have ADHD and I'm Autistic so trying new things takes time with me😅

Well the nice thing about ADHD and Autism is when you get into something, you get REALLY into something. So if you are able to build a routine that allows you the freedom to explore the medium you want to jump into, then you'll steamroll ahead. If you're finding it hard to kick off that fixation so you can focus easier, try to pair it up with an existing fixation. Are you into every kind of horse? Okay then, draw an example of every warmblood, coldblood, and hotblood you can think of. Every pony, every donkey, every mule. Find some good photos and go to town. Piggy-backing off my existing fixations is how I can chain together a lot of information that I would otherwise struggle to absorb and recall fully.

As for helpful tips, you're already doing it. I think starting with traditional materials is a good way to build up good art habits without the convenience of infinite colors and the undo button. You'll make quicker decisions and be a little less precious about mistakes. Cuz you have to live with them IRL, so might as well keep going even if the work didn't turn out great. Maybe you'll learn something along the way?

A second tip, more specific to Lackadaisy, is breaking characters down into simpler shapes and seeing if you can build them back up again. Feel free to trace them to turn them into mannequins. Then, knowing the proportions of those mannequins, can you draw them doing other things?

And research. Tracy deep-dives into historical stuff like clothing, hairdos, jobs, jewelry, etc. If you immerse yourself in something you find interesting, you'll see it cropping up in your work occasionally. Look into art deco and art nouveau, two schools of design thought that have a thread running between them that goes solidly through the 1920s. Consider how that design philosophy might get integrated into clothing or furniture.

Other than that, digital specific? There's isn't much, just have fun with what program feels good to use. Don't go too nuts on color (you have a million colors, but a million colors does not a good painting make) and make sure the ergonomics of your digital art situation doesn't hurt you longterm. Take breaks for your hands and stretch. It's more strenuous than traditional. Maybe it's the lack of physical feedback or the way we tend to curl around our devices. Not sure, but I find it more draining than trad work.

[andrew-ism]

Hey, I just wanted to ask as a person from the Caribbean also. What got you so passionate about, or I guess got you into the political sphere. A lot of the things you speak about aren't typical of a lot of Caribbean YouTubers one of the reasons your content stood out to me.

From a very young age, I noticed the problems in my country (Trinidad & Tobago) just from looking around and I wanted to change things. Many of my old drawing and writing books were thus filled with ideas for change or worldbuilding fantasies. I've always loved writing and seen it as my way of shaping the world. As I got older, I spent more time trying to understand the issues, the history, and the contemporary situation by reading, chatting with folks in person and online, and consuming edutainment. My passion for learning was also helped by my homeschooling experience.

Without getting deep into my whole life story and political journey, this pursuit of knowledge and solutions was kicked into overdrive in 2019 as I was introduced to the ideas of socialism and anarchism and later in that same year experienced the depressing and life-draining nature of full-time work for the first time (previously I had done a few part-time internships, short-term contracts, and sole trade work). While in the office, I read digital copies of both The Communist Manifesto and The Conquest of Bread, which led me to start a blog in 2020 where I would be able to publicly share what I had been thinking about and learning about for so long. That was on Medium.com. At that point, I wanted to be an art journalist.

Before long, radical ideas explored through a local lens became the prime focus. But due to low readership over months of consistent effort, I came to see blogging as a medium with limited opportunity for reach in our increasingly video-dominated age, which culminated with the creation of my YouTube channel.

However, as much as I wanted to keep my focus on the country and the region, I couldn't limit my message. I don't tailor my voice and message to either a local audience or an American audience. I grew up on content that acted like America was the only country and audience in the world, but I knew there were people like me globally going through the same issues who didn't want to hear every message filtered through the American lens.

I think both globally and locally when I make my videos, and I believe my approach has allowed me to reach folks internationally, which has gotten me to a size where people across the islands can now more easily take notice of my work and hopefully get some good out of it. My heart remains here in the region, and I would like to expand my reach here in the region, but it's easier said than done. I've seen an opportunity in TikTok, but I really can't add more to my plate at this point. A burning passion for learning combined with consistent effort, the help of various folks, and luck sprinkled in has brought me to where I am now, and that's what I'm trying to maintain going forward.

[lizzietrashkittie]

Having art block sucks.

Here's some things I do to help myself work through it while still being creative:

● Play with a different brush/program then your used to. Just start doodling with it. See how it feels, see how it might influence how you handle certain lines in your work. Don't focus on mastering it, just play with it.

● Play with Colors. Google "Color Palletes" pick one that catches your eye and challenge yourself to draw with it. You could also set your work space into B/W mode and challenge yourself that way! Which could be good for working on values. Ultimately though, just focus on using the colors given in a way that feels most right for em. You don't have to have a fully rendered piece at the end. Just the specific colors.

● Play Dress Up. This ones for my oc artist! Take a character of yours and just draw up a new outfit for em. Use a base for their body if you need to, do whatever. Maybe try drawing them in something they wouldn't normally wear, or challenge yourself to include more little details then normal. Just dress em up.

● Play with Symmetry. I tend to mix this one with the dress up because it's easier to draw a fully body and outfit when you're not focusing so hard on each side being perfect. If your program has a Symmetry tool, click it on and go to town. When it's too overwhelming to draw a full face/body..draw half!

● Try a different Medium. If you normally do digital, try traditional. Or buy some cheap paints and try that. Maybe dabble in animation or clay! Sometimes your brain gets tired of doing the same old same old. So do something different for a bit to give it a small recharge. Even if it's something you've never done before. Or something you're not as good at. Any act of creation is valuable in your journey. You learn regaurdless.

● Play with a Story. Get a friend, doodle a little creature, and then pass them the canvas and ask them to give the creature a gift. After that, expand. What if you have this creature a hat? Perhaps it's at a party and needs a friend. Maybe a jealous ex appears?? Go back and forth and keep doodling on more and more of the story. Have fun with it.

● Remember, It's okay to be imperfect. Alot of artist will hammer it into you that you shouldn't have any mistakes in your work. And often times this leads to unsatisfaction, which contributes to art block. It's important to sometimes just create for the sake of creation. Let yourself doodle imperfect shapes. Let a few eyes look kinda wonky. Allow yourself and your art to not be perfect. You don't have to focus on every little detail all of the time. Breath. And just let the lines happen.

Lastly, remember that struggling with this doesn't make you less of an artist. And there will be times where the best option for you IS to step away and take a break from art all together. Again, your brain gets tired. That's not a fault in you and it doesn't make you less of an artist. Treating yourself and your creative journey with compassion is important. You're a person. And that's okay.

[likeabxrdinflight]

I have read azula in the spirit temple, because of course I did. it's like 7 bucks for the digital version and honestly? wouldn't pay much more than that.

it's...fine. it's fine. it's not offensive, it's not groundbreaking, it's just...fine. I will say I do really like the art style, it's a vast improvement over the yang-led comics. there's some great drawings and all the characters look really good.

otherwise...? I mean it just doesn't do much with its story, and I think that's kind of intentional. I strongly suspect that now that avatar studios is a thing, major story beats in the comics series are over for the time being. this very much feels like a tease of "can azula redeem herself?? we just don't know!!!" and then they very much do not commit one way or the other with it. which tells me that if any major storylines featuring azula are going to be happening in the future, they probably won't be happening in the comics, but in some future movie or animated series.

and honestly? good. I always felt comics were the wrong medium for telling stories in this universe, they have never managed to replicate the gravitas or complexity of storytelling of the animated shows. so if this comic is meant to be like...a palate cleanser, a teaser for things to come in future projects...fine. that's fine. but it does mean this particular story comes across non-committal and honestly...kinda boring.

like, every character azula interacts with outside the first couple pages is a spirit. none of it's real, the stakes are so low, and everything that happens once azula arrives at the temple is a vision from this guardian spirit, who tells azula that if she could accept what the visions were saying then this was her chance of redemption. but honestly that just feels like a cop-out and I don't really buy it, because none of it was real. and azula knows that.

what this story felt like instead was less redemption arc and more character exploration. and as a character piece it's...it's fine? like I said, it's not offensive like the search or smoke and shadow were (though it does loosely play off where smoke and shadow left off, it mostly ignores the search, so props to it for that lol). but there's nothing in here that will come as a surprise to anyone with basic reading comprehension who's watched the original show. the writing's a bit shallow but broadly inoffensive.

honestly the most surprising thing for me was azula acknowledging out loud to a vision of ursa that she's entirely aware that her father used her as a weapon, and felt that ursa failed to protect her from that fate by leaving. which is an interesting dichotomy given that much of azula's character is bound up in that identity as her father's perfect daughter in contrast to zuko being the failed son. (then again, quite a bit of time has now passed in universe since the end of the tv series, so maybe it's not overly shocking that azula has done a little introspecting in that time.)

other than that, there's some fun interactions with spirit!mai and ty lee, and then there's a final vision with spirit!zuko that comes so close to being a halfway decent climax to this little story, but none of it's a major revelation to anyone who's been paying attention to azula's character. the spirit visions all serve the same function that azula's hallucinations did in the series finale- they act as her unconscious mind telling her the truths she already knows about herself deep down.

the ending leaves azula in kind of a middle ground place, very little about her circumstances have changed except she's decided to ditch her girl gang and go run off to do something else- which is kept extremely vague. I can't help feeling that is an intentional move to set her up for a totally new story in a different medium that likely doesn't want to rely on any foundations laid in any of the comics series. and I wouldn't be shocked if that medium is one of the alleged movies that avatar studios is supposed to be producing. so this feels less like a real character arc so much as a character reset.

and from a creative, lore standpoint I don't have a problem with this. that's probably what they needed to do if they want to use azula in their future animated projects. my problem is that the story the comic tells to give us this reset is just kinda boring for someone who's been with this fandom since the original series aired.

The fact is that I've read and seen fan works that addressed these exact same issues and character beats with much more finesse and for much higher stakes. this comic gave me the feeling that the dialogue was directly addressing what fans have been saying about azula for years and putting a neon light on it. and that's...again, it's fine? but it's not groundbreaking for those of us who've been saying this shit since 2008. and I guess it's nice to see some of those character beats canonized officially, especially if there's a likelihood that we'll see animated azula again, but as far as I was concerned the fact that azula wanted her family to love her and was used as a weapon of war was already obvious, so spelling it out with another comic felt...redundant.

and I guess that's how I'd describe this. it felt redundant to me, as someone who's spent a lot of time with this character already. maybe it's good that it exists so that larger and newer swaths of the fandom can see azula in this light, but for long time fans of the character? there's truly nothing in here about her that you don't already know.

if this really is a reset button for the old comics canon/jumping off point for an animated project, then...I'm not mad about it, exactly. but as a stand alone story it's just...fine. it's fine, but little more.

[izercharo]

[Alterna Statues] An idea I've had for a few days!

What are they?

Why do they exist?

These 'statues' are not really statues, technically they are the remains of a human, covered/replaced by the liquid crystals from the fake sky! Like fossils! But...more ominous.

The statues were created as a result of the failed rocket launch that ended most life in Alterna!

As we know, the energy from the rocket boosters overloaded the crystals causing a massive cave in and debris to rain down upon humanity.

The crystals themselves serve as a way to record and/or display human desires and memories(?).

So, in this idea, during the tragedy, crystals that fell onto people would sort of flash freeze them and envelope their entire bodies. Then, the liquid would solidify and absorb the person's memories, desires, personality, etc.

This whole process is the reason as to why EVERY single one of the currently found statues seems to be frozen in time, with a mortified expression in their faces, as if running away from their end. It effectively "kills" the person, but at the same time doesn't.

The body is dead but everything that made the person, themselves, that made them human, are all recorded in the crystals. The statues 'soul' is alive, but they aren't.

That person isn't a person anymore, they are the crystals resembling what they once were, unmoving, unable to express emotions.

It is unknown whether or not the effects can be reversed. Agent Neo 3.5, codenamed L1, an expert in the preservation of the mind/ anything human, HEAVILY PROHIBITS touching the statues with bare skin.

Current hypothesis for what might happen in this case are:

-The one that touched it will have everything the statue recorded transferred into their brain, most likely killing them from the overload of information in the process.

-Everything will transfer to the new host of the information, but it will most definitely cause some sort of identity crisis (or more) as the subject is unable to decide who they are due to having 2 extremely detailed and real lives in their brain. They would be more like 2 people in one body, fighting for control, an unperfect fusion.

-Crystals will spread immediately upon contact, flash freezing the subject too, and condemning them to live out eternity together with all the other statues.

Further analysis from the previously mentioned L1, proposes the possibility of transferring the information onto a digital medium. If such is true, then it might be possible to create a new body from DNA samples and dump all the information into it, as had already been done with her, reviving whoever the statues were.

Or perhaps not.

Research into this phenomena is still ongoing, and the possibility of giving whoever these eternal monoliths of sadness and despair were, a second chance at life, is still low.

Who knows how many still sit inside their dome shaped cage, forced to never be able to see the blue sky, buried beneath tones of debris and water? Hundreds? Thousands?

We do not know.

All that we do know is that our Agents, along with some outside help from a certain octoling engineer/idol are doing their utmost to research this phenomena and crack the code to it's inner workings.

More updates on said research will be given out.... whenever I want to write.

END OF LOG 1.

THANK YOU FOR READING! :D

[Little thing! "L1" is a short, kinda acronym version of "Last One" . This is used to refer to my oc Violet L. Alterna ('octoling' in the picture) whose backstory involves her cloning her own mind and Orca inserting it into a new body thousands of years later.]

[kraaico]

Where/how do you get the ideas to make these super cute art? I love art but I basically copy others and I wanna have my own style.

What a nice question!! I could honestly write a book about this, but for now I'll keep it condensed. (maybe uhhhh a blog post later or smthn) ....Sorry it's long anyway lol

These are my thoughts as an independent illustrator/artist that has the time and freedom to create what I wish, keep that in mind. I can't vouch for what it takes to get through art school or build a portfolio for <specific thing X> cause I don't know shit about that, this is just for creating art that you love making.

✨️Developing a style ✨️

A lot of people talk about 'finding your style', but I'm personally an advocate of developing a style - and most importantly it being a process that never stops. Now I don't know how old/experienced you are, but especially when you are just getting into art (and with 'just' I mean years) it'll change a lot because you will be improving a lot!

Now for me personally, I've been busy ~finding a style~ since I was 10. And up to like 2 years ago (I'm now 28) I was frustrated I just wasn't able to find one. Every half year or so I'd try to get back into art "for real this time", stick to one medium and general style and/or subject, and within a matter of weeks become frustrated and then not draw for a good while. That style-mentality really took a toll on the fun I had in making art, but also stunted my own artistic development. I was restricting myself at a stage where I should be everything BUT. I told myself I wasn't good enough, not cut out to be a professional, wouldn't be able to sell myself if I couldn't stick to one thing, yada yada. Great mentality. I'm now in therapy!

Anyway, what broke me free of that was a promise I made to myself back in 2020. I told myself I would get back into making art, but this time, just do what feels fun *at any given moment*. Let go of the pressure. I didn't post to socials and just shared with my friends, and eventually started posting to my then very humble Twitter following. I liked Twitter, cause there wasn't the pressure that Instagram always gave me of having to have a perfect feed. So I drew digitally, I drew with pencils, did some painting, got oil pastels, tried collage. And those experiments all influenced one or another. That's been key for me. If I feel like I hit a creative wall, I just try another medium or another CSP brush or another app on my tablet. Just experiment with lines and colors and not worry about what ends up there. (it's usually cats) Creating like this kept the fun in it for me and I've created nearly every single day since then, and that too is key to style development: Create A LOT. Don't hyperfocus on one perfect piece when you can also create 4 good-enough pieces in the same time.

Now on the topic of copying: it's a natural thing to do. Just be responsible about it! (don't share on socials if you blatantly copy something. While it's a good method to learn certain techniques, it's something that should stay in your private sketchbook) Also be sure to study from many different places, don't fixate on just a couple of artists! Find what inspires you in real life: be it buildings or nature or animals or people or objects, and try to capture them in different ways: from realistic to just the basic shapes. You'll find out what kind of style and level of detail you're naturally drawn to soon enough. Creating your own visual library in your mind by drawing many different things is ultimately what will allow you to put your ideas to paper in a quick and intuitive way. Having a (cheap!) sketchbook that you don't show anyone but just goof around in and explore everything and anything is a very helpful tool.

✨️ Generating ideas ✨️

I get my ideas from SO many different places. Many of my cat paintings were actually created to deal with a strong emotion or feeling I was having at the time.

Now externally, I get a lot of inspiration from nature and from the place I live in. I used to live in a fairly urbanized area, but it wasn't until I moved to the country side with wide and far views that I saw daily that I started getting interested in drawing landscapes. I didn't draw a lot of cats until they were chilling in my garden everyday. When I lived at home I drew a lot of fish, cause my dad had an aquarium. What you see and observe everyday matters. Taking your camera or phone on a walk in the neighborhood and capturing small details is a great way to gather inspiration, even if the area is a bit boring. I have a Fujifilm X100F that I try to carry to most places I go, cause I can quickly photograph things and I like it better than phone photography.

I also draw a lot of ideas from the media I consume: shows, movies, games, comics, music... Sometimes it just hits that inspiration button and lights a lil flame that'll turn into an idea. I love the magical worlds Studio Ghibli creates for example and the soothing calmness that games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley have. Things like that just work their way into my art, often subconsiously.

I also draw what I yearn for: be it a doodle of a comforting hot bowl of soup when I crave it, or a beach scene cause I want to go for a beach walk. It's fun, and lets me daydream a little about things I maybe cannot have in that moment.

Another big thing is worldbuilding and storytelling: I have this fictional world in my mind that I desperately want to get out, and it will, piece by piece.

So yeah. There's many places to grab inspiration from. Writing down what inspired you is useful. Doing it every year or so is too, cause then you'll start to see trends and get a better understanding of what drives you. Cause in the end that's what's most important, I think: Find the things that ignite a flame in you and then let it out in a way that is fun and comforting to you. Don't worry about what other people are making or that you're not making what you 'should' make!

I hope this was somewhat helpful - it was fun to write at least, I have many thoughts about this :')

[jellogram]

How I Landed Professional Writing Gigs (from scratch)

Okay so I am currently a full-time writer for a travel company but this was absolutely not my first writing endeavor so I thought it would be helpful to write out some things that I wish I had known.

I write non-fiction/marketing/journalism-oriented work, but there's some overlap with fiction publishing. However, you should understand that making a living solely from fiction is significantly harder than this.

So here is what I did:

1. Write as much as you can.

This seems obvious, because you need to practice, but it's more than that. You NEED to be creating work to fill out your portfolio. Write everything. Write essays about things you like, write short stories, write social media captions, interview whoever responds to your emails and write about that, just write write write as much as you can. With as much variety as you can. Writing ad copy in different styles is going to be a big one.

2. Compile all of this into a portfolio.

There are many ways to do this, but you need a) a digital folder that you can submit on forms and attach in emails and b) a website with all of your work that you can link with one URL. You can make a website with something like wordpress or you can just use substack or medium.

In your portfolio, include all of your best work. This will likely be pretty unimpressive at first, and mostly school papers and passion pieces, but it's a start. You just need to get something together, because when you start applying, you will often need a portfolio to even complete the submissions.

Now, this is crucial, do not publish all your creative pieces. If you have a poem or a short story that is particularly good, you can add it to your digital folder, but DO NOT PUBLISH IT on a publicly accessible site. You'll see why below.

3. Apply to literally everything.

Now you are ready to start looking for gigs. These will, almost certainly, be unpaid at first. Obviously this sucks, but it also doesn't have to ruin your life. If you're in a position to take a whole unpaid internship, that will definitely help, but there's other options.

Your new best friend is Submittable. This is how I got my first fiction piece published. Submit to e v e r y t h i n g. Paid, unpaid, whatever you can find. If you have a piece of creative writing that you truly think is publishable, you grind on Submittable for hours after work/school, sending it off to every publishing call that's even vaguely related.

This is why you can't publish your best work on your own site — nearly all of these listings require first publishing rights, meaning you keep ownership of your piece, but they don't want it if the public has been able to access it already. Once your piece is published on their site, you can add it to yours.

4. Keep track of where you've been published and put that list in your bio from now on.

You are nothing but the places where you have been published, which is why it's vital to gather as many credits as possible.

5. You can also get gigs on Upwork.

This is a great way to gain more experience working for a client and hopefully getting a few publishing credits. This is technically paid work, but you're not likely to make more than a few bucks. Send bids for the lowest paying, least popular gigs. Just chat with the client back and forth a bit to make sure they're legit.

This kind of work SUCKS, but it can help you beef up your portfolio and get more credits. It will also teach you, unequivocally, if writing is really want you want to do for a living. If you hate dealing with client requests and doing grunt work and being told what to write, you're probably going the wrong direction and you'll learn that quickly from Upwork.

6. Once you have an OK portfolio/list of credits, start looking for more consistent work.

Technically you can start doing this at any time, but you're unlikely to land anything consistent until you have a few credits and some solid experience.

This type of work is usually paid. By this point, if you've gathered up enough credits, you should be beyond unpaid internships. That doesn't mean it won't be difficult to find work. Getting a job always sucks and this is no different, you're just better primed for it now than you were before the previous steps.

I found all my consistent jobs on Indeed. There's basically two kinds of work at this stage: contracted and salaried. I've done both.

Contracted work basically means you have an agency. They work with companies who are hiring out copywriting agencies for whatever writing they need. This kind of work is nice because you have a lot more control and flexibility in your daily life. However, you are at the will of your agency. If they don't give you any jobs that month, you're out of luck. Unless your particular agency is very very consistent, this is most likely more supplemental income than primary income, especially if you live in a place that taxes the living hell out of contracted workers.

There's also independent contractors, but I strongly advise against trying to make that work unless you already have years of experience in the field.

Salaried work is a JOB job. You might still have some flexibility, but your daily hours and workload will be out of your control. I started with the contracted work and moved to a full time job, and while I definitely prefer the lifestyle of contracted work, I would not trade the comfort of regular paychecks. Up to you.

7. If you can't find a regular job, start branching out your skills.

If you have been hitting every job board and publishing outlet you can find, you have credits, your portfolio is excellent, and you STILL can't find a consistent job, you might want to start adding semi-related skills to your resume.

Fortunately, you can do this (for free) online. It's time consuming, which sucks if you're already doing all of this while maintaining another job. But it can make or break your chances.

I looked at what all the writing-related jobs on Indeed were requesting as skills, and started learning them. I used Hubspot, Google Analytics Academy, and Coursera, because they give you certificates upon course completion that you can add to your resume. Codecademy is also really quick and easy for coding.

All of these are available for free, but with Coursera you have to apply for a scholarship for each course if you'd like to take it without paying.

In this process, I learned:

SEO

HTML5

CSS

Social media and email marketing

WordPress

Google Analytics

Obviously this list will vary depending on what type of writing gig you're looking for, but if you're in the market for advertising or blog work, I think SEO, html, and Google Analytics are good places to start.

Graphic design is also a super useful skill that will go a long way towards setting you apart from other candidates. Specifically Adobe, but even a little Canva experience can help.

Once you've acquired these skills, try to make something with them. Build a small website or collect a graphic design portfolio. The more skills and experience you can show off, the better.

And that's it! I'm sure some of you will read this and scream "But OP, I did that and it didn't work!" and I'm sorry. This is what worked for me, so that's all I can really offer.

Good luck out there!