#this is arcane geometry

[cheshire-castle-library]

October 3, 2023

HEY STUDYBLR IM LOSING MY GOB!!! Okay so listen, I have a sculpture class this semester where I'm working on this automaton of a hand, rapping its fingers impatiently. I'm using a cam and follower system to create some simple up and down motion.

And I know how high the difference between the low and high points of the cam are, and i know how long the follower is across so that it sits on the cam, but is pinned on a rod over the side. BUT, i needed to know what angle the follower would be at max height, and like.... I had NO IDEA how to find that, or whether it would make a right triangle or not, so my solution?

Castle math. This is like, medieval math. This is what made free masons free. Fucking circles. I was given my great grandmother's drafting set after she passed. She used these to draft the streets for the city I grew up in, these things went through WWII, like they are good. And I treasure them, but this literally let me make circles of Diameter "follower length" and from that and some vague understanding of relationship between triangles and circles, and knowing that this is even possible because of YouTube and a frikken Professor Layton puzzel from eons before, I just kind of sit and do this???

I'm still losing my nut over this. I mean I knew academically that this worked. This was how math was done before calculus. All math was Geometry - rooted in real, discrete shapes - but its completely different doing this yourself. And like, I learned some things about the numbers and how they related to each other that explains an error I was having where at some point the follower touches the cam in a place I didn't intend it to. So now I think I can tune the cams to better suit the distances I have!!!

There's so much here, and I'm really glad I did this this way. My best friend mentioned that this is basically was CAD programs do and I.... hadn't even considered using CAD (ya know, like I was trained to), because I'm 3d modeling this, but not in a really complicated 3d modeling program, so I need to know the numbers myself. But like... this is witchcraft?!?!?!??? This is some arcane fucking math.

[definetelynotdepressed]

god cursed me into seeing this image so im making it everyone elses problem

[cf-12]

[cindernet-exploded]

Lofi beats to study arcane geometry to

[He/She/They for A'vyra]

[wildstar25]

I was thinking about WOL outfits and what not, so here's a question:

And to elaborate on the difference between option 1 and option 2, a brief explanation of my interpretations under the cut:

Illusion magic only masks the true appearance of an item, bending the light aether around the item to make it look different to the naked eye. No physical properties of the armour changes. It maintains its original dimensions and weight. If your WOL was wearing full plate armour then glamoured it to something more revealing, if someone tried to stab an exposed area, their knife would stop on impact of the concealed armour.

Transformation magic will fully alter the physical appearance of the armour into the applied glamour. It will take on the shape and structure of the WOL's desired form, but the properties of the materials used will be maintained. The high grade metal of the armour will be altered to a state where it was like a woven thread. The item would provide the same degree of protection as the original where it physically exists in its glamoured state. If your WOL glamoured their plate armour into a the street wear top, their actual abdomen could be pierced by weapon. Because this is magic you could fudge the physics if you so choose or say there's a secondary spell involved; but I'd imagine that if the transformation was completely lossless, your glamoured item will weight the same amount as the un-glamoured version. (Otherwise it would be more like a transmutation which is a lossy conversion and not reversible. The WOL turned their new savage tier BIS armour into a hempen camise and lost 95% of the material in the process. When they dispel the glamour they have that hempen camise's amount of the original armour piece.)

That's my take on the two options! I don't know if either of them really contradict any canon in-game explanations to the glamour system tbh. It's been so long since I picked up the intro quest and the only time I remember glamours being used as a plot device it was in the ARR Hildebrand quest line (I think the very end or within the coliseum arc, either way I'm not doing all that just to check and see that it says nothing of note)

[nettlestingsoup]

needed a break from persistence (1/3 edited but the dialogue is a heartbeat under my floorboards right now) and decided that actually i wanted to think about something deeply, deeply tragic, SO please appreciate the concept of viktor, avatar of the end, and jayce, avatar of the spiral. they are now living rent free in my head.

[scionshtola]

11. Despite everything, is it still you? Has the core of who they are as a person remained true through everything, or have they been changed by what they’ve experienced and learned, for better or worse? (x)

There have been quite a few ups and downs in the six or so years since Corisande left their home for Eorzea and ended up joining the Scions. They've changed for the better in some ways--learned more about the world, expanded their horizons exactly as they always wanted; and for the worse in others--more reluctant than ever to burden others with their problems. But they are still the same at their core: a warm, kindhearted bun who wants to help others, learn about the world, and can be found, more often than not, wandering the nearest woods with their oldest friend.

[cantsayidont]

Horror haterating hollerating:

EATING MISS CAMPBELL (2022): Scattershot, self-consciously edgy Troma pastiche/parody of HEATHERS, JAWBREAKER, and GINGER SNAPS, about a sardonic, fourth-wall-breaking Goth British vegan lesbian teen (Lyndsey Craine), whose attraction to her new American English teacher (Lala Barlow) coincides with her discovery of a powerful appetite for human flesh, and with a deranged new high school contest whose winner will receive a handgun and the opportunity to turn it on either their classmates or themselves. One of those comedies that's so determined to offend that the best response is to just roll your eyes, it would probably work better if it were at least a little bit coherent and less cluttered with unfunny private jokes. Nonetheless, Craine's bitchy snark is kind of fun, and the script takes potshots at so many satiric targets that it does occasionally hit one or two. CONTAINS LESBIANS? The protagonist and the titular Miss Campbell are both gay, but note that the double entendre title is meant very literally in both senses. VERDICT: Depending on your tolerance for sophomoric edgelord bullshit and jokes about school shootings, CSA, and teen suicide (not to mention the cannibalism!), you might find this either mildly amusing or the worst thing you've ever seen; fans of the CHUCKY show may appreciate its brand of glib, self-aware ghoulishness.

VENUS (2022): Occasionally creepy but ultimately rather routine horror movie about a nightclub dancer named Lucía (Ester Expósito), who seeks refuge with her estranged sister Rocío (Ángela Cremonte) after stealing a bag of drugs from her employers and ends up acting in loco parentis for her young niece Alba (Inés Fernández) after Rocío unexpectedly flees in terror of an old woman downstairs (Magüi Mira), who Alba says has the power to enter other people's dreams. Allegedly based on the H.P. Lovecraft story "The Dreams in the Witch House" (WEIRD TALES, July 1933), although the resemblance is very slight, the story's gradual segue from gritty drama to horror is interesting, but the disparate pieces never quite gel and the eventual explanation of what's going on is ho-hum. Expósito is very good at this sort of thing, and she has a nice rapport with Fernández — excellent as a little girl who doesn't yet understand when she should be afraid — but the supernatural elements never attain a really Lovecraftian sense of dread, and pale next to grislier but more mundane moments like a memorably gruesome scene where Lucía tries to patch herself up after being stabbed. CONTAINS LESBIANS? No. VERDICT: Not bad of its type, but it could have used more Lovecraft and less ROSEMARY'S BABY.

[feyosha]

Oh it’s all fun and games exploring spaces that fail to meet basic axioms… until your circulatory system starts following infinite parallel but untouching trajectories and ceases to be a circuit.

Reality Anchors! Every! Time!

[theplotmage]

Principles and Laws of Magic for Fantasy Writers

Fundamental Laws

1. Law of Conservation of Magic- Magic cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.

3. Law of Equivalent Exchange- To gain something, an equal value must be given.

5. Law of Magical Exhaustion- Using magic drains the user’s energy or life force.

Interaction and Interference

4. Law of Magical Interference- Magic can interfere with other magical effects.

6. Law of Magical Contamination- Magic can have unintended side effects.

8. Law of Magical Inertia- Magical effects continue until stopped by an equal or greater force.

Resonance and Conditions

7. Law of Magical Resonance- Magic resonates with certain materials, places, or times.

9. Law of Magical Secrecy- Magic must be kept secret from the non-magical world.

11. Law of Magical Hierarchy- Different types of magic have different levels of power and difficulty.

Balance and Consequences

10. Law of Magical Balance- Every positive magical effect has a negative consequence.

12. Law of Magical Limitation- Magic has limits and cannot solve every problem.

14. Law of Magical Rebound- Misused magic can backfire on the user.

Special Conditions

13. Law of Magical Conduits- Certain objects or beings can channel magic more effectively.

15. Law of Magical Cycles- Magic may be stronger or weaker depending on cycles (e.g., lunar phases).

17. Law of Magical Awareness- Some beings are more attuned to magic and can sense its presence.

Ethical and Moral Laws

16. Law of Magical Ethics- Magic should be used responsibly and ethically.

18. Law of Magical Consent- Magic should not be used on others without their consent.

20. Law of Magical Oaths- Magical promises or oaths are binding and have severe consequences if broken.

Advanced and Rare Laws

19. Law of Magical Evolution- Magic can evolve and change over time.

20. Law of Magical Singularities- Unique, one-of-a-kind magical phenomena exist and are unpredictable.

Unique and Imaginative Magical Laws

- Law of Temporal Magic- Magic can manipulate time, but with severe consequences. Altering the past can create paradoxes, and using time magic ages the caster rapidly.

- Law of Emotional Resonance- Magic is amplified or diminished by the caster’s emotions. Strong emotions like love or anger can make spells more powerful but harder to control.

- Law of Elemental Harmony- Magic is tied to natural elements (fire, water, earth, air). Using one element excessively can disrupt the balance and cause natural disasters.

- Law of Dream Magic- Magic can be accessed through dreams. Dreamwalkers can enter others’ dreams, but they risk getting trapped in the dream world.

- Law of Ancestral Magic- Magic is inherited through bloodlines. The strength and type of magic depend on the caster’s ancestry, and ancient family feuds can influence magical abilities.

- Law of Symbiotic Magic- Magic requires a symbiotic relationship with magical creatures. The caster and creature share power, but harming one affects the other.

- Law of Forgotten Magic- Ancient spells and rituals are lost to time. Discovering and using forgotten magic can yield great power but also unknown dangers.

- Law of Magical Echoes- Spells leave behind echoes that can be sensed or traced. Powerful spells create stronger echoes that linger longer.

- Law of Arcane Geometry- Magic follows geometric patterns. Spells must be cast within specific shapes or alignments to work correctly.

- Law of Celestial Magic- Magic is influenced by celestial bodies. Spells are stronger during certain astronomical events like eclipses or planetary alignments.

- Law of Sentient Magic- Magic has a will of its own. It can choose to aid or hinder the caster based on its own mysterious motives.

- Law of Shadow Magic- Magic can manipulate shadows and darkness. Shadowcasters can travel through shadows but are vulnerable to light.

- Law of Sympathetic Magic- Magic works through connections. A spell cast on a representation of a person (like a doll or portrait) affects the actual person.

- Law of Magical Artifacts- Certain objects hold immense magical power. These artifacts can only be used by those deemed worthy or who possess specific traits.

- Law of Arcane Paradoxes- Some spells create paradoxes that defy logic. These paradoxes can have unpredictable and often dangerous outcomes.

- Law of Elemental Fusion- Combining different elemental magics creates new, hybrid spells with unique properties and effects.

- Law of Ethereal Magic- Magic can interact with the spirit world. Ethereal mages can communicate with spirits, but prolonged contact can blur the line between life and death.

- Law of Arcane Symbiosis- Magic can bond with technology, creating magical machines or enchanted devices with extraordinary capabilities.

- Law of Dimensional Magic- Magic can open portals to other dimensions. Dimensional travelers can explore alternate realities but risk getting lost or encountering hostile beings.

- Law of Arcane Sacrifice- Powerful spells require a sacrifice, such as a cherished memory, a personal item, or even a part of the caster’s soul.

[saturninemysticthreads]

How does this make you feel? Share with us!

[wine-dark-soup]

arcanists: we wield the most complex form of magic... arcanima. one must master arcane geometry to weave patterns that respect the flow of aether, which in turn will create powerful creature that can help you in combat. this is very dangerous and very powerful, it's not for the weak of mind

also arcanists: anyway we use that power to inspect ship crates lmao

[bluebellowl]

Under the influence of the virus, character traits of animatronic are amplified. For Emmet that’s his drive to win, his love of rules and, most importantly, his close bond to Ingo.

Even if they’re found by FazEnt staff, Emmet wont let anyone near Ingo

I gotta admit i’m quite proud of that one. There were so many geometry sketches involved in this and the rendering turned out pretty good if I may say

ok after i made this the Arcane season 2 poster came out and I see parallels! So you could also interpret this as Emmet not only being protective but mostly possessive. "He is mine, don't you dare take him from me."

[orcanist]

"The soul is filled with reflections, Brex. Arcane geometries refracted through a prism of the self. All it takes to see the beauty of one’s soul is a little bit of light." Celebrating orctober AND 10 years of Brex with this incredible piece by @jojobuu

[canmom]

Animation Night 189: Nonphotorealistic

There is a funny trend in animation-related terminology to define things by what they aren't. Animation is any technique for creating film that isn't live action. Limited animation is any style of 2D animation that doesn't follow the conventions of Disney's 'full animation' on 1s and 2s - a category that includes a wildly diverse range of approaches and techniques, as this wonderful history by Animation Obsessive describes.

In 3DCG circles, there is a similar term: nonphotorealistic. Which describes, naturally, anything that isn't trying to look like a photograph of a real scene. There has been a real boom in this of late, and just like the other terms, it really doesn't narrow it down very much. Other terms like 'hybrid animation' add a bit more hints.

Of course, if you've been anywhere near animation in the last few years, you'll probably know another term: 'Spiderverse style'.

There is no denying that Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (2018) by Sony Pictures Animation was an absolute landmark for animation. (I wrote about it way back on AN21, focusing more on the cultural angle.) The ludicrously stylish film pretty much set the direction for animation in the 2020s - making a bunch of money and awards and thus finally throwing open the door to 3DCG animation that doesn't look like the style set by Pixar/Dreamworks in the 2000s. Its sequel, Across the Spiderverse (2023), was even more ambitious and successful (despite a troubled production involving a lot of needless crunch). We'll be showing that soon in a Spiderverse double bill so look forward to it!

So perhaps not surprising that when people see the use of graphical styles, 2D elements, limited framerates and the like in 3DCG these days, Spiderverse comes to mind. In its wake have come various films and series that apply these and related techniques: 3DCG animation is more varied than ever, and it's cool.

It isn't really a style, tho.

Here I'm indebted to youtuber Camwing who has made a nice video overview breaking down the animation of recent movies in this vaguely defined paradigm. Among them we have The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021, also Sony), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022, Dreamworks), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023, animated at the French/Canadian studio Mikros animation), and of course over on Netflix you got the wildly popular League of Legends spinoff series Arcane (2021, Fortiche Productions), and the romance film Entergalactic (2022, DNEG), tying in with an album of the same name.

None of these films has exactly the same style, but they all pull from a related bag of tricks. The core techniques are animating on reduced framerates for a 'snappy', high-clarity feeling, the combination of 2D and 3D elements in some fashion, and taking inspiration from traditional media such as paintings or comic books.

For example, Arcane and Entergalactic both use the trick of 2D backgrounds/projecting paintings onto 3D geometry, inhabited by 3D characters with a stylised shader. Arcane is dripping with 2D visual effects. Puss in Boots drops the framerate during its action scenes - the opposite of the old paradigm of full animation, where fast actions would get more frames. Spiderverse draws 2D expressions onto its 3D models to push them further, and is full of all kinds of colourful stylised rendering - screentone effects, kirby dots, outlines, the works.

It's tempting to link this to 2D-in-3D animation, and certainly many of these films apply this technique - this is the major niche where Blender has found its way into industry pipelines. But using 2D isn't mandatory to count here. For example, TMNT Mutant Mayhem has an incredibly striking storybook-painting style, accomplished largely by clever shader work and a strong sense of graphic design. Genndy Tartakovsky's canned 2014 Popeye project was planning to use a ton of 2D-style posing and squash-and-stretch, accomplished largely with rigged 3D models. There are many paths to take!

And mind you, I haven't even covered one of the biggest angles here. Search for nonphotorealistic 3DCG on Youtube and what you'll probably find most is information about cel-shading - aka 'anime style'. This has also advanced considerably in the last few years, with the techniques pioneered by Arc System Works in Guilty Gear such as editing the normals of characters for more precise control over shading, and minute adjustments to break up the mechanical feeling of 3D, becoming widely copied in both games and films. (And particularly, animated porn.)

Vtubers in particular have really run with this technique, generally speaking using cel-shaded models with edited normals, inverted eyes, etc. etc. to try and get the feeling of an anime character come to life. [You can see a lot of these state of the art techniques if you download Pixiv's free VRoid Studio software and import the model into Blender using the VRM plugin.]

Naturally this kind of cel-shaded approach has found a particular home in Japan. In anime, the biggest champions of it are certainly Studio Orange, whose hybrid approach involves planning out shots with 2D animation before matching them with the rigs. We've covered their adaptation of Houseki no Kuni in great detail on Animation Night 97; their Trigun reboot was perhaps even more popular. But cel-shaded techniques, 3D previs and the like have also made their way into big films like Eva 3.0+1.0 (AN66).

Although this type of rendering aims to recreate the look and feel of 2D animation as much as possible, it always ends up being something new: character models that would be too complex to draw, an ease to 3D movements and camerawork that would be challenging in 2D, and generally a new hybrid style. This is good! 2D animation is already very good at being 2D animation - it's fascinating to see what 3DCG becomes with that inspiration.

So with that brief overview, where does that take us tonight?

I'm not quite ready to do a Spiderverse double bill tonight, so instead the plan is to check out a couple of recent American franchise films that are taking on the new suite of techniques. I've mentioned them up above, but let me introduce them more fully here.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a sequel to a fairly unpopular spinoff about a side character of the Shrek franchise (AN75). Not, on its face, very promising - which is why it is all the more striking that I was told on all sorts of sides that I must watch this movie. I'm finally going to make good on that.

The title character is a kind of feline musketeer type, now facing the end of his swashbuckling career as he's lost 8 of his 9 lives. Not wanting to hang up his hat, he goes on a quest to restore them. What makes it stand out its the action scenes, which go all in on the anime-influenced, extreme perspective and lighting, limited framerate style that we're discussing above. Apparently it looks sick as shit.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a fresh reboot of the venerable TMNT franchise, which pretty much describes itself in the title: four turtles (named after Renaissance painters, of course!) live in a sewer as ninjas, led by their aging master who is a rat. Starting as a comic book, it became one of the iconic toyline-driven TV shows of the 80s - but it's still going! Indeed, Turtles has been on a roll of late (at least going by animator scuttlebutt), with Australian studio Flying Bark Productions turning a lot of heads with their neo-Kanada School style (and for really stretching the definition of 'storyboard').

This new film takes a different approach to the bombastic action of Rise. It focuses on a new origin story for the turtles, telling a kind of coming of age story - but what makes it unique is the animation style and cinematography. Cinéma vérité is not a phrase you really expect to be associated with ninja turtles, but the film seems to really go all out in a way you wouldn't really expect from a franchise movie, shooting the young turtles in a handheld style and focus heavily on character. Marcel Reinhard's shader work, allowing the animators to isolate lights to specific objects and characters and introducing graphical elements of cross-hatching, stippling, etc. etc. to the lighting, gives it a uniquely painting-like feeling, augmented by a lot of 2D creativity in lighting and effects.

Turtles has never really been my thing, but this film looks unique enough that I really want to see it - and I hear it's a good film too.

So that's our bill for tonight! Puss and Turtles. Let's see what the big studios have been cooking of late...

Animation Night 189 will be starting around 10pm UK time (roughly three hours hence) and carrying on til about 2-3am same! We'll be on twitch.tv/canmom as usual. Hope to see you there!

[wildstar25]

the long couscous

the coooooooooouuuuscooooooouuuuuuuus

"I think I might have to start calling him Spaghetti..."