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mskathywriteswords · 4 years ago

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she likes to read

This story was in progress when @fangirlxwritesx67 tagged me in a near perfect picture inspiration here.

Thank you to @thoughtslikeaminefield for the pre-read. Love you.

Yeah, warnings? I mean. It’s me. Feelings. Naked women. Books. Coffee. Predictable.

It’s been a lazy morning, the kind of lazy morning that demands a lazy afternoon. You’re watching her read, taking in the way she wraps her fingers around the coffee up. The way she delicately sets it back on the nightstand. She’s licking her lips and her chest moves slowly, the rise and fall of it like air to you.

You fix your coffee, and walk back to bed, smirking. You’re not going to get to drink that coffee until it’s cold, not if you have your way about it.

Still, you set the cup on your bedside table and take a moment again to watch her. She smoothes her fingers over the pages, like the way she runs them down your spine. Soft caresses that make you moan and writhe.

Her legs are akimbo, and you’re thankful for the sun streaming in the giant picture windows, warming the room; it means less clothes. She’s got that comic themed tank on that always makes you smile.

As you climb onto your hands and knees on the mattress, slowly crawling toward her, you count the seconds of how long it takes her to notice you’re not just resting by her side again, laptop beneath your fingers.

You want her beneath your fingers.

You make it over her body before she notices you. She doesn’t put the book down, but she smiles. Your smile. The one that says she knows exactly what’s going on.

“Good book?” you ask softly. You can almost keep the amusement from your voice, but not really. Not that you’d want to.

She quirks an eyebrow, hums acknowledgment, and turns the page, but can’t keep the smile from her face.

“You seem pretty engrossed.”

You lean back on your knees, resting against your heels, and slide your hand up her thigh; she adjusts, legs going wider.

Her head bobs side-to-side while moving up and down, her way of acknowledging your comment. She hums again and you smile. She finally looks up from the pages. “You want me to read to you?” she asks. Her voice is hopeful and the comfort of the suggestion wraps around you, the warmth from her smile like molten lava to your insides.

“Yes, please.”

For several minutes, you lie there in her arms, nuzzled against her body, your back to her chest. You can feel the vibrations as she reads, even though you give no fucks what’s coming out of her mouth. It could be a novel, a textbook, you’re not hearing the words, just the soothing of her voice. Your hand is still swirling paths on her thighs, her legs inviting you in.

As you shift your body, she stops reading and your eyes meet again. Hers are less open this time, heavy and soft, full of anticipation and pleasure already.

“No, keep reading,” you say, smirking. “I’m curious how long you can go.”

She laughs, but tilts her head in agreement.

When you’re situated at her side, you pull at the hem of her panties and she lifts, briefly setting the book on her chest to steady herself with her hands.

The book is back in her hands, and she starts reading, but now she has that breathy tone - the one that drives you crazy. The one she whispers her please and oh fuck and right there and don’t stop to you in.

For a long moment, you’re still, watching her. She’s breathing heavier, shifting her legs. Restless. Your eyes don’t leave her as you move your fingers up her thigh. You pay attention to her breathing, the pitch of her voice, the speed she’s talking at, as you make your way to where your fingers need to explore.

There’s something about the slow, methodical ramping up that gets to you. Her body is soft and sloped, colorful and greyscale, tense and relaxed. Her curves leave you without words, and the way she carries herself can bring a room of eyes to her attention -- male and female.

As the tips of your fingers slide up and down between her legs, you can feel how hot she is. Her words slide out slower, and she sinks down just a bit, clearly trying to get closer. Some part of you wants to push inside, watch her come, fast and hard. You know just how to get her to the edge and the exact movement it takes to drop her over it.

It takes effort, but you stick with your slow, steady rhythm just grazing over her clit, then down between her lips. You drag the tips of your fingers up, tickling the sensitive thin skin of her lips, and watch as she shifts her hips, trying to get closer.

Her words still spill from her mouth, so you decide to give it just a few more minutes of teasing. Her arms are holding the book up so she can read, but you brush the back of your knuckles down the center of her chest, taking a quick detour to dance your fingers over her nipple. She rewards you with a sharp breath in, and you smile.

Watching her is something of a pleasure in its own right; the ache between your legs is growing, and your patience is getting thin. Your fingers are slick from her, and at the end of her next sentence, you push all the way inside of her.

She gasps, her head falls back, and her arms go limp, which means the book falls against her body, then thuds to the floor.

“Fuck,” she says, drawing it out. She moans and slides further, pushing her body against you harder.

You move your fingers, pulling them out slowly and watching as she wiggles, still trying to keep you inside of her. It seems almost unfair to tease her like this, but it’s just too fun. And you know she loves it.

Without warning, the next slide inside of her, you twist your hand and slide your thumb directly over her clit. It takes a few seconds of coordinated effort, but you finally get the right rhythm and she practically arches off the bed. You can’t help the noise that comes from your throat as you watch her.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t stop,” she whispers. “Please.”

“Oh, I’m not going to stop until I watch you come.”

“Please,” she repeats again, just as breathy as the first time. Her hand reaches out, seeking yours and you thread your fingers together.

You lick your lips and bend, positioning and sliding yourself between her legs. Your fingers move at a steady, predictable rhythm that you know will get her there, but you want more.

The first taste washes over your tongue like cotton candy melting, the tangy sweetness of her something you can never get enough of. You close your eyes and rely on muscle memory and her noises. She’s at the edge already, but you move your fingers, tapping up and dragging along the sensitive parts. Your mouth closes around her, pulling her between your lips and sliding your tongue along the length of her as your fingers tap, pull, and demand.

She’s so wet beneath you, and your smile grows when you feel the first trickles. She’s loud now, swearing and pleading, her hips thrusting and retreating, her hand squeezing yours like she might break a finger or two, and you don’t stop for a second. The way she clenches around your fingers, the quick pulsing of her clit as she comes, it’s almost enough to make you come. You’re squirming against the sheets, eager and ready for your turn but not wanting to stop a moment short with hers.

It takes a few minutes as you slow your movements. Her breath starts to even back out, and even her hand has released the grip on yours. They’re still connected, but her thumb is smoothing over your skin sweetly now. You’re stealing kisses and licks before you move away, having gingerly pulled your fingers all the way out and discreetly wiping them so they’re just a little less sticky.

As you move up her body, you’re still kissing, sprinkling soft bites on the way. And maybe a few not-as-soft bites. You just can’t resist the curve of her hip, the swell of her breast, the way it begs to be sucked and bitten. The peak of her nipple. Her lower lip.

For several minutes, you lie there in her arms. She’s tracing your skin in a way that tickles, but in the filthiest way, with an undercurrent beneath it of where her hand might go next. Her fingers make their way to your face, and she lifts your chin, meeting you halfway in a kiss.

“Mmm, that was exactly what this day needed.”

You hum in agreement, smiling against her lips. She pushes your hair behind your ear and then shifts so she’s beside you. Her hand moves, sliding around your neck to pull you closer still, as her leg hitches up over yours.

It takes just one small movement from her, and you’re on your back. She’s grinning like she’s won, but frankly, what she’s about to do with you?

You’ve been lucky enough to partner with the best gift to walk into your life.

She looks up at you after kissing your hip bone.

“My turn.”

#lesbians #wlw #original fiction #lesbian fiction #soft and warm #predictable and boring?

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theremainingwords · 5 years ago

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These Writers

These writers have a different bone in them, not a funny bone, nor a wish bone, more of a feeling bone. A mineralized tissue that gives them some heightened sense of awarness, some connection to everything in their aethear no matter how minute. Things that the rest of us overlook, things we don’t see or hear or smell. It’s not that we have made some decision to ignore these details they just simply don’t exist, they are absorbed as part of larger picture, a feeling an emotion that we chose to indulge rather than dissect, to try and understand.

We all recall the magic of a first kiss although most of us settle to be moved into a warm smile from a few gossamer vignettes and dusty butterflies although these writers recall how autumns silver moon was waxing, how her floral auburn hair laid languid on the shoulders of the borrowed sweater of her sister and how hopeless promises were whispered over trembling lips. Yeah these writers are a different bunch yet its this bone, this sense that is never more acute when they are in love or in the golden glow of intimacy.

They met innocently enough. Like the highs and lows on the tide of a new moon sometimes these writers exhaust themselves. The same way the bays and marshes flood in earnest they too are drained wholly. They need to find a way to replenish, to restock. In some fashion they immerse themselves in creative things, in order to find inspiration. Some read, some paint, some escape to the woods or the sea, he always enjoyed the performing arts. When his words finally bored him, felt one dimensional, he would seek out these charming little actors guilds and hatbox theater productions. He always was amazed at the transformation from gym teacher to Hamlet or grocery clerk, banker to Estragon or Scrooge. She was part of such an ensemble.

It was a Saturday matinee, the moon was waning and it was late summer. He found himself in the back of a small chapel turned playhouse with a dozen or so parents and suporters and friends, some with a single flower anxious for a small town bravo. She sat patiently at the back of the makeshift stage with a few other actors, crimson hair the only thing more distracting than her eyes. As he took in the set and its hand painted backdrop and borrowed costumes and dusty props their eyes seem to meet more often than not. Was she in character rehearsing lines in her head and looking right through him or was there some sudden captivation as if they were both seeing fireflies for the first time? It wasnt until he looked down at the little program filled with greyscale ads for gas stations and diners and churches being nervously and capricously twisted and rolled that he realized this was tangible.

The production slowly dissolved into his fascination with her smiles, the way she emoted about the worn wood floor and the anticipation of her next bit part. Before long he was brought back into himself with sudden applause and bows and the tossing of roadstand roses. He stood and applauded although he heard no sound, he could not take his eyes off her. There were rounds of applause for the perfomers and the audience and the venue and then some announcements about upcoming performances and invitations to meet the cast, his interest brusquely piqued. He had to talk with her, learn her name, anything.

They would share dinner weeks later, they discussed movies and books and plays and aspirations and first kisses and promises made in the dark. They fell into this silver kind of love that was as innocent and as complicated as that. It was one of these nights that this passion finally eroded all of their inhibitions, giggles turned serious and soft kisses filled spines with mercury.

This is where these writers are at home, all of this watching and listening and learning finally shines. As it is in writing it is in intimacy, a writer is only as good as he has felt and can make others feel. There is a connection that forms between writer and reader, something invisible. He found himself in and out of his story as he kissed her, leaving a silver trail of pecks ands piques. It was the most intimate of these things that he adored, eroding insecurities and unraveling fears. Anyone could take. That was easy. Lazy. He never understood the notion. The selfishness involved. It was never about self to him. He knew himself and it bored him. He wanted to learn about her. So he would find her. He sought those places where she came apart. Cleaved. And by now she was anxious to be understood. She offered up her story in reckless fashion and he devoured her.

He timed his pressure with her breathing as if she was reading to him, telling her story. Her hips reading aloud, acting out these parts, these scenes the way she rehearsed on stage. He gazed up from his vantage beneath her and took a viusal deep breath. Closing his eyes he was never more acute, finding himself in tune. His head took him to all the lovers that she had flippantly dismissed at dinner. He knew there was a seriousness in each one of them that she would never admit. He was desperate to learn from them, in this moment it was the only way to overcome, to leave her better than he found her, to somehow make her forget all of the others. He flipped through pages with each ebb and flow, each wave that crashed over her washed away another chapter, crumpling paper, yellowing pages. It was not until a crystal air moved about the room that he knew he had reached a fresh stark page with which he could spill his ink.

They loved. He sank into her and she into him. It was a beginning and an end yet it was between lovers. It was a connection between souls that have known eachother since before the first tides and when it overcame them they both collapsed into this chemical tempest. Him atop her they melted into one. They might have laid there for days in and out of consciousness, lost in hungover breathing. Coming back into himself, learning colors again, reconciling time and space he mustered a few languid muscles into action and found himself at her side.

She remarked at his passion as her fingers explored his chest. In this glow she was intrigued as to what stirred him, from what well did he drink. In the light of day there is a reluctance to explain the words of night, out of context they lose their luster, become tarnished. He allayed with some notion about when he closed his eyes he saw things differently, more intently. This robbing of senses seemed to heighten the others. She wondered if this thing could be summoned. She reached for her silk top that had been discarded in the heat of the moment, slid it behind his head and blocked his light with a delicate knot. He smiled, she implored. Her voice, her insistence seemed to hang in the air.

And even as he began to describe in stark detail the things that filled his head in those moments he was concerned at how they could be perceived. How with one misplaced verb or adjective he could upset the entire thing. He worked calculatingly. He told of how he approached her as a well written book, a novel and how the words just seemed to flow. He told her how with each twist and turn he was desperate to learn. How he loved to taste each chapter. It was at this moment he felt her move, the bed shuddered. He struggled to reconcile where she was in the room, had she left? The sentiment to overwhelming? He wanted to tear the blindfold from his eyes, flood his rods and cones with white light when he felt her heat above him. Her floral sex filled his senses. She was straddling him now. Lowering her sex onto his mouth as he pontificated of prepositions and pentameter and prose.

“Did you know I too enjoy writing my dear?” her voice splintering the silence. She sank onto him and his mouth tore through her pages, “I am anxious to share with you my latest chapter”.

These writers.

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ifishouldvanish · 5 years ago

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Editing tips, I guess?

Hey uhhhhh, so I've gotten lots of new followers over the past few weeks and wanted to do some kind of thank you?? Also, I have seen a fair share of "omg HOW" in the tags on my edits (which??? always make my day?? my week??? my life????)

Anyway, I thought I'd share some of my ~techniques with y'all? So here goes:

(lmao this got really fuckin long so cuuuuuut)

1. Make EVERYTHING a Smart Object

Okay, maybe not EVERYTHING, but seriously. Do it. It will save ur editing life. You ever shrink something down and then an hour later change your mind and decide you want it bigger? If you're not using a smart object, it’ll get blurry when you scale it back up and you’ll be fuCKED!

To make a layer/group a smart object, just right click on it in the layers panel and select "convert to smart object". This makes Photoshop store the layer's original data in a separate space for safe keeping (an embedded .psb file, to be exact) -- so you can shrink it and enlarge it as many times as you want without any lossiness.

As soon as I paste/place a screencap, texture, or whatever into my document, the first thing I always, ALWAYS do is convert it to a smart object!!

Why, you might ask?? Continue to item No.2 :)))

2. Harness the POWER of Smart Objects!!

The reason I am obsessed with Smart Objects is because I am obsessed with making any edits as non-destructive as possible. If you use “Image > Adjustments > Levels/Selective Color/etc” on a regular layer, that’s a destructive edit. Same goes for any Filters (such as blur/sharpen) and transforms (Warp, distort, perspective). You lose the original data that was there and the only way it can be undone is with ctrl+z. Might not seem like a huge deal at first, but if you keep chugging along for an hour and decide, “hmm, maybe i went too hard on that levels adjustment after all...” your only options are deleting the layer and starting over, or uh... hoping it’s still in your history panel.

However, it's really easy to avoid destructive edits when you use smart objects!! Because all those adjustments, filters, and transforms become “Smart Filters”. Smart Filters have all the non-destructive advantages of performing these adjustments via adjustment layers, but have the added bonus of ONLY effecting the layer they’ve been applied to, instead of cascading down and effecting all the layers beneath. (Which can be a good thing sometimes, but that’s a whole other topic)

Smart filters are attached to their ‘parent layers’, and can be hidden, deleted, or modified (by double-clicking their names) at any time:

Can I hear a wahoo???

Other cool things about Smart Objects:

You can copy a Smart Filter with all its settings to another layer by alt+click+dragging it over

You can change the order in which Smart Filters are applied by clicking and dragging them around

You can edit a smart object independently/in a sort of 'isolated' mode by double-clicking on its thumbnail!! I like to use this for edits that are specific to a given screencap-- like cutting out the background and any initial adjustments, like levels and selective coloring. Once you’re done editing the contents of the smart object, hit ctrl+s and it will automatically update in the main document!

But really, the biggest thing for me here is psychological. I know I’m much more willing to try things and experiment when I know that I can easily go back and tweaks things at any time. Otherwise, I’d stick with adjustments I don’t really like all that much simply because it would take too much time/effort to redo them.

3. Don't even THINK ABOUT using the eraser tool or I will STOMP YOU to death with my hooves!!

Use a layer mask instead. Please I am begging you. It all comes back to making your edits as non-destructive as possible. If you erase something, it's gone forever. When you mask something, you can make changes to which parts are visible/not visible as often as you want.

For the newbies or the otherwise unacquainted, a mask is a greyscale ‘map’ attached to a layer (or layer group) that controls its opacity. Black areas give the layer 0% opacity, white areas will give it 100% opacity, and you can use shades of grey to achieve partial transparency. You ‘draw’ on these layers with the your trusty brush and paint bucket tools.

You can create a mask by selecting a layer and then clicking the little mask icon at the bottom of the layers panel (it’s the one with the little circle inside the box). Draw black on the parts you want to hide, and if you erase too much on accident? Just paint back over it with white!

I love masks, and sometimes i will throw an already masked layer inside a layer group and apply a second mask to said group. This way I have two masks that can be edited independently from each other. Like layer mask-ception.

So anyway, yes. Eraser tool? Don’t know her.

4. Try using channels to create masks!

This is a technique that works REALLY well for cutting out complex shapes, such as wispy hair (or feathers!) -- provided there's strong contrast between the subject and the background, and the background isn't too busy.

This is also a fantastic method for capturing alpha transparency. For example: If you have a neato paint stroke/splatter/watercolor texture you want to use as a mask, but has a solid background that’s getting in the way of things. This method will capture all the semi-opaque areas flawlessly!!

While editing your image (which you had better have made into a Smart Object!!!) do the following:

Switch from the "layers" panel to the "Channels" panel.

Toggle through the R, G, and B channels, and decide which one has the most contrast for the areas you are trying to mask.

Ctrl+Click that channel's thumbnail. This will create a selection marquee.

Switch back to the layers panel

Click on the target layer/group (the one you are trying to mask)

Click the mask icon at the bottom of the panel (the one with the circle inside a box)

Release the selection and invert the mask if necessary

If you're using this method to cut out a subject from its background, you probably won't want alpha transparency. In this case, select the mask thumbnail and use a levels adjustment on the mask itself to bump the contrast until you have more of a cutout effect!

It sounds like a lot of steps, but it’s really simple! So I made this handy GIF: (click to view from beginning)

Sometimes you won’t want to use this method for the entire image, but just a specific part. For example, if you’ve cut out a character with some other method (magic wand, manual brushwork), but are having a hard time with their hair in particular. Use this method to create the selection, but instead of converting the whole selection into a mask, use the brush tool to apply the mask only where you need it! You can invert the selection itself with shift+ctrl+i.

5. Outlining text

The font I used here is Salomé, which is actually a solid typeface with no outlined version. But you can make virtually any font into an outlined version if you so desire!

There's two possible methods here, actually:

The Easy Way:

Add a stroke layer effect to the text layer (by selecting the layer, clicking the little “fx” button at the bottom of the layers panel, and choosing “Stroke...”)

As far as settings go, aligning the stroke to the inside usually yields the best result/maintains the integrity of the letterforms.

Make the color of the text itself match the background.

If necessary, use the lighten/darken blend modes to create the illusion of transparency.

If you need true transparency (which I didn't until I decided I wanted to apply a gradient over the text), you'll have to try something else-- The Also Easy But Less Than Ideal Way:

Right click the text layer in the layers panel and select "convert to shape".

Now you can edit the fill/stroke the same way you would any other vector shape.

Again, you’ll want to set the stroke alignment to ‘inside’. For vector shapes, those settings are a little hidden. You’ll wanna open up that little dropdown in the toolbar with the line in it, and click “More Options”.

This is semi-destructive, so if you're working with a lot of text you might have to edit later, consider duplicating and hiding those text layers first so you'll have a 'backup' of it.

And while I’m on the topic of text...

6. Try breaking up your text layers!

I know a lot of people like to draw a neat little text box to put their text in, and then they center it all nice and neat and probably use a small font size to make it subtle and stuff... and that’s cool. Everyone’s got their different styles and things they like to emphasize in their edits and there’s absolutely merit to that sort of thing (case and point: the bulk of my dear @herzdieb’s work), but. Listen.

I love typography. I love a good typeface. The stroke widths, the letterforms, the ligatures, the serifs... I get like, horny on main for a good typeface. I like to make the text on my edits BIG, so that those details can shine. I also like doing interesting things with the text. Jumbling words/letters around, distorting them, deconstructing them and just... letting the text really ~interact with the rest of the composition instead of just kinda politely floating on top of it.

I’m not saying you have to do that kinda stuff. Or that I think neat little floaty text boxes are boring, or lazy, or whatever. It’s just... personally, I get really inspired by type. Fun type treatments are one of those things I LIVE FOR, something of a ~signature of mine, and I encourage everyone to just... try it? To use text as more of an integral Design Element and less of a... idk. A caption?

So if you have a quote, or even just a word... put each word (or letter) on its own text layer. And then: make ‘em different sizes. Make the words so big they don’t fit on the canvas. Rotate each one at a fun angle. Scatter them around. Go nuts. Use masks to chop parts of the letterforms off. Make ‘em overlap. Just have at it. Or, as the kids these days are saying: go absolutely fuckin feral.

If that really just isn’t your style, or doesn’t work/make sense for the edit you’re doing, fine. Delete all the layers and just do a text box or whatever. But. I’m tellin u.

Give it a try.

At least once.

Just... a lil taste.

7. Understand the difference between lighten/darken vs screen/multiply

For a while in my photoshoppin' youth, my understanding of these blend modes basically amounted to "darken makes things darker, and multiply makes things really darker", and vice versa for lighten/screen. But there's an important difference between how these blend modes work, and if you understand them, you can use them more... strategically? I guess?

Darken and Lighten are kinda misnomers tbh, because they technically don't really darken or lighten anything. What they actually do is make it so that only the areas of the layer that are darker or lighter than the content of the layers beneath them are visible. This produces some pretty nifty layering effects that you can't achieve with screen and multiply.

Here’s an example: (if you’re reading this on a phone with the brightness dimmed down you probably won’t be able to see the differences)

Without any the texture applied, you can really see the noise/graininess of Crowley’s jacket in the screencap. You can also see the ‘seam’ where Crowley fades into the background-- the jacket is a green-ish black, while the background it’s fading into is more of a purple-black.

With the texture set to ‘Screen’, the whole image becomes lighter across the board. Crowley’s jacket gets lighter, and so does Aziraphale’s jacket and the pink cloud thing. This does little to nothing to obscure the poor image quality and disguise that ‘seam’.

But with the ‘Lighten’ blend mode, ONLY the dark parts of the image appear lightened, and not only do they appear lightened, but they get kinda equalized. Notice how the patchy jpeg artifacts on Crowley’s jacket disappear, how that color seam smooths out, and how the brightness of Aziraphale’s jacket and the pink cloud doesn’t change at all.

This isn’t to say that lighten/darken are better and that you shouldn’t use screen/multiply. They each have their uses. But most often, I find myself using lighten/darken because the way they work is honestly really helpful? And just cool af?

8. Masking individual frames on gifs

If you ever feel like torturing yourself by making a gif that has frame-by-frame masking, my advice is don't try to mask each frame from scratch. You'll get patchy/wobbly results from the masks being slightly different on each frame.

Instead, mask the first frame, then alt+click and drag that mask onto the next frame. Make any minor adjustments to the new mask as needed, and repeat for each frame. This saves time and more importantly, keeps the masking consistent on areas with little to no movement, which makes a HUGE difference in how smooth the final product will be.

If you look at the edges of the animation, they’re nice and steady and consistent. It’s only the parts that have a lot of movement (like the back of his neck) where you can see any ‘ghosting’/wobbly-ness happening.

Sometimes the mask will move when I copy it to the next frame. Like, for the whole document. It gets nudged 20 pixels down or to the left or s/t every time. I have yet to figure out why, but I’m betting it has something to do with shooting myself in the foot with the frame 1 propagation settings at some point during editing?? ANYWAY, when this happens, just unlock the mask from its layer (click the little chain icon between their thumbnails) and move it back into place.

In these cases, I also like to pick a spot with a hard edge (such as the shoulder in the above gif) as a reference point of where it needs to be moved to. It kinda sucks having to do this for every frame, but you already signed up for some suckage when u decided to mask every frame of a gif, so I mean... 👀

9. Don't be afraid/too intimidated to do manips as needed!

Manips can be tricky if you're really striving for realism. There's light sources and color grading and perspectives to reconcile!! But when you're doing an artsy Edit with a capital E, odds are those kinds of discrepancies will be thoroughly camouflaged by all the levels, black and white, etc adjustments you're doing!

Something I run into often is, "I like this screencap, but the top of their head/hair is chopped off :(" But if I go back through all the screencaps from the scene, there's usually another frame where the camera is planned/zoomed out enough that I can steal the rest of their head/limb from it! And since it's from the same scene/shot, the lighting and color grading should already be a perfect match!

A super simple example:

So I wanted to use this picture of David and Michael for this edit, but 1) They’re standing on the wrong sides for their characters, and 2) part of David’s arm is covered up by Michael’s.

Of course, the easiest course of action would be to just mirror the photo so they’re on the correct sides, but 1) mirroring faces tends to yield wonky results, and 2) that still wouldn’t give me a perfect, free-standing cutout of Crowley to place wherever I want in my composition (as opposed to being forced to awkwardly position him off the edge of the canvas to hide the fact that the other arm is missing)

Fortunately, it only took all of like, two (2) minutes to draw a crude selection around his good arm, copy and paste it into a new layer, flip it around, and add any necessary masking to get the shape right.

My point here isn’t to teach y’all how to do manips, or to pass this off as an impressive example of one. Because it’s really, REALLY not. My point here is to demonstrate that even something as tiny and simple as this can really open up your options for what you can actually do with an edit/composition.

So next time you’re feeling limited/inconvenienced by the crop of a screencap, just... you know. Consider whether or not it’s worth attempting a quick and dirty manip to fix it.

Another Example:

Sometimes you’re torn between two screencaps. You like one element from Screencap A but also want some other element from Screencap B. What to do? Just frankenstein ‘em together. Layer one on top of the other, get them lined up, and mask out the necessary parts.

It’s easy to get hung up on stuff like “Uh... should Crowley’s shoulder be doing that?” but let me assure you that like... the people looking at the final product are none the wiser to your butcherwork and will not notice. Especially if you’re going to add a bunch of contrast and color adjustments later on. (in fact, sometimes I’ll apply those adjustments first so I’m not distracted by any discrepancies that are going to come out in the wash anyway)

“I dunno... 🤔🤔 doesn’t seem anatomically correct... 🤔🤔🤔🤔” thought no one.

Point is... point is... dolphins you can get away with a LOT more than you think you can. Don’t let the desire to make these kinds of manips perfect get in the way of just... making them good enough. The bar isn’t that high, I promise.

10. Know what inspires you

What types of edits get you EXCITED? What kind of work do you see on your dash and go, "oh, I'm reblobbin' THAT!!1!"

I know for herzdieb, she's all about emotional pieces. She likes matching words/lyrics/poetry to on-screen moments and punching you in the feels with both. She hears a song, or reads a poem, and the lightbulbs go off for her, and she does her thing.

As for myself, I just live for the aesthetics of an edit. The colors, the fonts, the composition. I almost never know what text/screencaps I'm going to use when I start an edit. I just see a font I like, or a color palette, or a texture, and think, "I wanna use that!"

And once you know what inspires you, collect that inspo! I hoard textures and fonts. I have them organized into neat lil folders. When I wanna make an edit, that’s where I start. I just browse through them all until one or two start calling my name. Herzdieb collects songs and quotes and poems. Maybe your thing is color palettes, or aesthetic-y photos. Or whatever.

The point here is make the kinda stuff you like/want to see. Not the kinda stuff everyone else is making or the kinda stuff you notice gets the most notes.

11. Be able to let go of things that aren't working

I often begin an edit with a rough idea of the style, colors, or layout I'm going for. And I almost always end up doing... something totally different.

So don't get too fixated on what your initial ideas are. Be open to experimenting and just let the edit be what it wants to be. If something looks nice, do it. If it doesn't, don't try to force it just because, "well, I was inspired by this piece that did xyz and I wanna try it too".

When you see a certain effect that inspires you, just keep it in mind as a possible solution for the next time you make something-- don't make it into a benchmark, or some imaginary 'goal' you have to meet for This Edit You Are Working On Right This Moment. In fact, sometimes the elements I end up ditching are the very ones I started with, that initially sparked my inspiration. And that's okay. Inspiration can be a moving target, and if your vision for something changes, let it.

You wanna know what inspo reference I was looking at when I started that “Temptation Accomplished” edit?

Fucking this: https://search.muz.li/YTdiNjkwN2Rh

You might be thinking, “how the fUCK was that the inspiration??!! Your edit looks nothing like that at all!” ...and you would be 100% correct, and that is 100% my point. I spent a good hour or two trying to incorporate that cutout text layering effect before finally accepting the fact that it just wasn’t working for the edit I was making. And it wasn’t until then that it actually started to come together.

12. Be patient, and take the time to explore all your options!

I’m not gonna lie, y’all. I spend hours on my edits. I usually complete them over the course of 2-3 days/sittings. I rarely have a plan. 99% of the time I'm just throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. When I get stuck (when, not if), it helps to step away from it and come back later with a fresh perspective/set of eyes.

Every single edit I've posted, I have at some point felt like giving up on because I thought it looked like garbage (and not just because I was being self-deprecating/doubting myself, but because at those points, they simply weren't finished/something about the composition just wasn't working for me)

Work through those moments, and if necessary, take a break/sleep on it. It's always after I've exhausted my early ideas that the really good ones start to come to mind!

Here’s how the character poster edits I did progressed:

In Classic Me™ Fashion, I literally started off with just... textures I liked, and a font that I liked. Now, there were obviously a lot more ‘steps’ involved in both designs, but hopefully at the very least this gives a sense of how things get from point A to point B.

So uh... thanks 4 comin 2 my TED talk. I hope u learned at least one (1) cool new thing or maybe just feel vaguely inspired by this rambling mess?

#idk what to tag this...#photoshop #i guess?#tutorial #maybe?#w/e

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geniuscloud · 7 years ago

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All The Colours of You- Woozi// Lee Jihoon (Seventeen)

Hey so i’m back trying to write occasionally! I’m going to start doing more groups, because I was always too scared or too lazy to do other groups but I’m gonna actually start writing about my ultimate fave groups like Seventeen and EXO.

_____________

Genre: Fluff and Angst

Woozi (Jihoon) X Unamed female OC

Soulmate!AU

Warnings: It’s angsty.

The world we live in is seen in black and white until you meet your soulmate.

I remember the first day I met her; my soulmate.

I was walking back from the studio around 3am, when I decided to stop by the convenience store for snacks. Just something small that I'd be able to finish on the walk back to the dorm so I didn't get hounded by the rest of the members. They honestly were like a pack of dogs when it came to treats. I remember the night so clearly. It was cold enough to see my breath, I had my hood pulled up over my head, earphones tucked in with no music playing simply to silence the world around me. If you had headphones in, nobody dared to talk to you, but silence was something I needed after spending so many hours slaving over my music.

I pushed open the door to the store, hearing the bell ding, and my nose flooded with the smell of old floor cleaner. The silence was instantly taken away by the noises of a girl arguing with the cashier. "Sir, I just need to use the washroom, please?"

"You're not buying anything, why would I let you use my washroom? The sign specifically says no public restroom," the cashier argued.

"Please? My friend has my wallet! I'm not from this city and my hotel is way too far... I'd go somewhere else but everywhere is closed! Sir, please I-I just have to pee," She whined.

Seriously, the guy wouldn't let the girl use the bathroom? I rolled my eyes, telling myself not to get involved. Though when the cashier told her to go take her sob story somewhere else, I sighed, grabbing a chocolate bar and going up to the till. "If I buy something for her, will you let the poor girl use your bathroom?"

The cashier was a little stunned, and just awkwardly nodded. With the biggest sigh of relief, the girl turned to me, grabbing my arm to thank me as she rushed off towards the back of the store. Even if I saw her face for a brief second, I already had it memorized as if I had been staring for hours. Her slim featured face, perfectly cat shaped eyes, and small lips that were formed into a smile. She was beautiful. I stood in awe as the world around me began to change just from that brief moment. You may think that maybe saying my world changed was a little too dramatic, but it was an understatement. I knew she was my soulmate from that moment on, because suddenly... My world had color.

You see, we live in a soulmate universe where the world is seen in black and white, but once you meet your soulmate the greyscale haze is lifted and the world becomes color. Everything around me suddenly turned changed. The floors were a tanned orange color, the shelves were grey and green. I remember stumbling back from the counter looking around in awe as my hoodie became navy blue right before my eyes. Then I heard the bathroom door open up again to see her quietly walk out. Our eyes met instantly, and she shyly approached me. Her dark brown eyes kept changing their position from me, to the floor. Soft pink lips were pursed together as the nerves built up with each step that got closer. "I was hoping you waited for me... After that happened."

"Y-yeah I did. I mean it just happened so suddenly and I couldn't just leave after all this happened. Considering you are my soulmate after all..." I awkwardly replied.

"I guess so. Hmm so, you're my soulmate?" She said studying me briefly.

"Are you disappointed?"

"Why would I be?"

"Because by the looks of it, we're the same height..." I muttered.

"So? You're really cute, and I'm not superficial enough to repulse a soulmate due to something so minor like height. Anyways, what is your name?"

"I'm Lee Jihoon, but I'm also known as Woozi by my friends."

"I know who you are, haha. I just really wanted to hear you say your own name though, thought it might be special to properly introduce yourself. I listen to your group quite a bit, you guys are really talented..."

That was how everything started for us. She instantly became my everything in life, and the void that I felt in my heart started to feel full. I always had a really hard time expressing my feelings when I was younger, because I always too scared or too proud to show how I really felt. For the longest time I was just lonely... Every love song was out of desperation for someone to love me back, and how I ultimately felt lesser than some of my friends. Seeing our fans call other members 'Hot' or 'Sexy' but seeing them comment things like "Woozi is so adorable, he's like a baby!" Or "He's so small and tiny like a little child" didn't exactly have the best effect on me. I was always kind of seen as a child due to my baby face and my height, but being with her changed how I felt about myself.

I finally had someone I could share every part of me with, also I found out I'm actually a big fan of cuddling when it's with the right person. There is nothing I love more than just getting to hold onto her on the couch and watch a movie. I never thought I'd be this was with a significant other, but I guess I had this secret part of me that was actually as romantic as my songs are. She ended up moving into an apartment only about 15 minutes from the studio, and I come by as often as possible. We don't live with each other, because one I'm still an idol, and we've only been with each other for 8 months.

"What's got you all happy Woozi? You're smiling like an idiot," Hoshi asked plopping down on the couch beside me.

"He's probably going to see his girlfriend after our studio session, isn't it?" Wonwoo said rolling his eyes a little.

"Yeah, I'm just going to give her a present, that's all..." I smiled fidgeting with the velvet bag in my pocket.

"Like a present or a... present" Hoshi smirked.

"I'm giving her a ring."

"Woah, hold up? like you're proposing to her already?! You know some soulmates end up just being friends, " Vernon piped up.

"No, it's just a necklace with a ring on it. My grandfather gave it to my grandma after they found each other. After my grandfather died, and my grandma's world went back to black and white, she passed it down to me to give to my soulmate. Also, yes Vernon, I do know that some soulmates are just friends, but she is definitely more than a friend to me."

"Woozi is soft now, ew" Seungkwan muttered. I smacked him on the back of the head, and started setting back up at my desk.

A few hours later, and we were running super behind schedule. DK's voice was feeling a little too harsh to record today so we were struggling trying to get the rest of the songs done. I was beyond stressed as 5pm quickly became 1am.

Around 1:30am was when she called me, finally replying to my text saying I probably wasn't going to be able to make it tonight and that we’d need to reschedule our date. "Hey baby I'm sorry I couldn't make it tonight..."

"It's okay, I understand. I am dating an idol after all... I do really miss you though. Can I come by even for a little bit just to keep you company? I don't have to even speak, I just really want to give you a hug," she whined.

"Of course, but can you please take a cab? It's late and I don't want you walking for like 15-20min this late at night without someone."

"I kind of want to walk, it's warm outside. Plus, I can get there in like 10 minutes if I cut through the backways of..."

I cut her off, "No going through the backstreets. During the day it's fine, but at night It's dangerous, you don't know what kind of people hang around this time at night."

"Don't worry about me Woozi, I'll be there right away. I'll run through the back streets. Nothing can keep me away from you. I'll fight all the bad guys with my bare fists and come see you," she giggled into the phone.

"Okay my little fighter, see you soon" I laughed.

"I love you Woozi."

"I love you too baby."

I set my phone down on the counter and continued to work a little before she got here. About 10 minutes passed by and I knew she should be here soon, so I went into the bathroom and decided to wash my face to wake myself up, as well as appear a little fresher. I knew she would be worried if I looked drained. I leaned over the sink splashing myself with some water, rubbing my eyes and looking back at my face. My eyes reconnected in the mirror when suddenly the world went black and white...

That was how I met my soulmate. The girl who brought so much color into my life, and changed my entire world. I fell in love with her faster than the speed of light, and lost her almost just as quickly. I saw the world in color for only 8 sweet months, but because of her I'll always remember what it was like to live in a world so brightly light. I know somewhere she is still looking at me with that small smile of hers, begging me to try and be happy again. The only thing she wanted was my happiness, and I will try my hardest to find it again. Maybe, just maybe, she'll come back to this earth and find me again.

#seventeen #svt #Seventeen reactions #Woozi #seventeen woozi #woozi scenarios #lee jihoon #Seventeen oneshot

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cassandra-acton · 7 years ago

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ORIGINS & FAMILY:

Name: Cassandra Alice Acton.

Nickname: Cassie, Cass.

Birthday: November 8th, 1986.

Age: 31.

Gender: Female.

Place of Birth: Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.

Places Lived Since: London, United Kingdom.

Current Residence: Tower Hamlets, London, United Kingdom.

Nationality: British.

Parents: Michael and Anita Acton (née Redgrave)

Grandparents: Edward Acton (grandfather, paternal, deceased) Renske van Ardenne (grandmother, paternal) Harold Redgrave (grandfather, maternal, deceased) Hélène de Broglie (grandmother, maternal, deceased)

Aunts & Uncles: Kathleen Acton-Fortescue (aunt, paternal) Charlotte, Georgina Redgrave (aunts, maternal) Lambert Redgrave (uncle, maternal)

Number of Siblings: One older sister, Elizabeth Acton.

Relationship With Family: To be honest, she doesn’t really have a relationship with anyone except Elizabeth, and her mother tainted it so much that even that one isn’t healthy. It’s a shame, really. As much as she knows she’s better off without them, she still misses her father, in particular. Cassie definitely envies people who are close to their parents.

Happiest Memory: When Harrison proposed to her, without a doubt. I’ll write about it someday. Getting her internship at Goldman is definitely second, though.

Childhood Trauma: I mean the parents definitely fucked her up for life, so there’s that.

PHYSICAL:

Height: 5'4”

Weight: 120lbs.

Build: Slim but very fit.

Hair Color: Blonde.

Usual Hair Style: Whilst working, she almost always wears her hair up in a ponytail, but she hates it. Much prefers to have it down. Keeps it just a little longer than shoulder length because of her dislike of short hair. Is too lazy to style it beyond neatness unless she’s going somewhere.

Eye Color: Blue.

Glasses? Contacts?: Neither.

Style of Dress/Typical Outfit(s): For work: neat, formal, and inexpensive. Lots of form-fitting skirts, blazers and blouses in blacks and whites. Out of work: a fuck load of jeans. Baggy jumpers and quirky shirts. Picks up a lot of her stuff from charity shops because who has time for fucking shopping.

Typical Style of Shoes: Cassie is never without heels. Prefers bright colours and eye-catching designs to contrast with her typically monochrome/ greyscale outfits during work. About the only part of her outfits she ever spends a decent amount of money on.

Jewellery? Tattoos? Piercings?: The only piece of jewellery she constantly wears is her engagement ring, which she has on a chain around her neck. She has three tattoos. ‘Hip to be Square’ in tiny font on the inside of her right wrist, Harrison’s birthday on her left shoulder blade, and a matching tattoo she got with her friend, Jessica, back in school, on her right forearm. Each got a hand from The Creation of Adam. As for piercings, she has her left ear pierced twice, her right four times, as well as her bellybutton.

Scars: A thin scar that cuts through her right eyebrow; a result of a drunken night out in university during which one of her friends fell down the stairs, and dragged Cassie with her.

Unique Mannerisms/Physical Habits: When she’s stressed, she has to play with her hair; pulling it, twisting it, whatever. It’s about the only good indicator she’s about to rip your face off because she will do that shit with a smile.

Athleticism: Very high. Cassandra naturally has a lot of energy, and so expends a lot of it keeping fit. Rowed competitively for LSE, and still competes regularly with many of the girls from her old crews, as well as having joined a new rowing club. She also plays a lot of rugby, though never competitively. Loves running and endurance, and almost always competes in the Tough Mudder when it’s nearby, as well as taking part in the London marathon annually. Also gets involved with a lot of charity races.

Health Problems/Illnesses: I think she seriously wavers into depression sometimes, though she’s far too proud to ever get it officially diagnosed. PCOS and all its friends, which is not a fun time. Does over attachment to her dog count? Definitely counts.

INTELLECT:

Level of Education: MSc in Economics and Management from LSE. Cassie finds studying relaxing, however, and often self-teaches about subjects of interest in her free time. Currently, she is working on a course in Arab Finance.

Languages Spoken: English natively, Dutch fluently. French and Mandarin intermediate. Is determined to take up learning Arabic at a later date.

Level of Self-Esteem: Very low. It’s why she aggressively overcompensates with an arrogant attitude. Partly to convince herself, but mostly to convince others.

Gifts/Talents: Surprisingly, she’s actually a pretty good violinist.

Mathematical?: Definitely. It’s sort of her thing. 100% could get a job on Countdown.

Makes Decisions Based Mostly On Emotions, or On Logic?: Usually, emotions, though she tends to berate herself afterward, because she knows—especially given the career she has now chosen to pursue—that she needs to learn to be more logical.

Life Philosophy: Someone else is happy with less than what you have.

Religious Stance: Was raised Anglican, but isn’t particularly religious.

Cautious or Daring?: Absolutely daring. Naturally, she’s a spontaneous person, and I don’t think being cautious really lends to that.

Most Sensitive About/Vulnerable To: Being told she’s not good enough. Being criticised when it comes to her work. Being compared to her sister. People bringing up what happened to Harrison. Terrorism in general.

Optimist or Pessimist?: In between, leaning slightly toward the pessimistic side.

Extrovert or Introvert?: Extrovert.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Current Relationship Status: In a relationship with Adam Hassan, Shadow Health Secretary, and MP for Bethnal Green & Bow.

Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual.

Past Relationships: Before Adam, the only person she’d ever been in a real relationship with was Harrison. They on-off dated their whole young lives. They briefly broke up when he joined the army and she went to university because they were worried about ‘distance’ but wound up missing each other too much for it to be a permanent thing. Dated one guy briefly, Matt, a few years after his death, but it scared her so much it took her until Adam to try again.

Primary Reason For Being Broken Up With: None.

Primary Reasons For Breaking Up With People: Not having moved on.

Ever Cheated?: No.

Been Cheated On: Not really. Unless you count that one time, by Harrison, when they were little kids. He kissed another girl on the playground because Cassie had been off school for a week. She pouted and promised she’d never date a boy ever again after that.

Level of Sexual Experience: Cassie’s slept with five people in her life, so limited-ish. Harrison, a brief fling during her first year of university, Matt, Silas, and Adam.

Story of First Kiss: His name was Richard and she only kissed him because all of the other girls wanted to.

Story of Loss of Virginity: The first time she and Harrison tried, they’d attempted to make it a ‘romantic evening’ that wound up being so awkward, they couldn’t stop laughing. Eventually, it happened spontaneously at a school social after party.

A Social Person?: Absolutely. Even though she needs some time to herself every now and again to process all the shit that’s going on in her life, she couldn’t go any extended time without her friends. Cassie has to be in a pretty bad place to cut herself of from people.

Most Comfortable Around: Jessica, and her old work friends at Goldman—they’re the people she’s closest to, and are still like a family to her.

Oldest Friend: Jessica Mirzoyan, a friend she grew up with in Oxford that now also lives in London. She can’t remember a time in her life when Jessica wasn’t in it, they’ve known each other for so long. Basically a sister to her.

How Does She Think Others Perceive Her?: Cassie has an incredibly skewed view of what people think of her. She automatically assumes people think the worst. Look at her like she’s not good enough, just like her mother always did. I think that’s why she keeps most people at arm’s length, because she’s so scared of letting someone in only for them to wind up criticizing her.

How Do Others Actually Perceive Her?: Depends who you ask. Amongst the public she’s very popular for her honesty. Amongst her colleagues back at Goldman she’s respected as a professional cutthroat. As for her critics, they probably just see her as a stuck up bitch.

SECRETS:

Life Goals: To help as many people through her political and charitable work as possible. That’s really all she cares about. Personal goals seem fairly irrelevant to her right now.

Dreams: To be happy again would be rather nice.

Greatest Fears: Polystyrene and spiders. Why do either of those things exist?

Most Ashamed Of: How bitter losing Harrison has made her. How she still hasn’t been able to get over the anger and the hurt it left her with.

Secret Hobbies: Cassie kind of loves to knit? It’s a good stress reliever when she’s too tired to go running. Not that she’d admit to it, mind you. She’s also not very good. All she can make are the really simple scarves.

Crimes Committed (Was she caught? Charged?): None.

DETAILS/QUIRKS:

Night Owl or Early Bird?: Night owl. Begrudges being alive in the mornings.

Light or Heavy Sleeper?: Heavy sleeper.

Favorite Animal: Hedgehog.

Favorite Foods: Steak. Cheese and crackers. Orange jelly.

Least Favorite Food: Avocado.

Favorite Book: American Psycho – Bret Easton Ellis.

Least Favorite Book: The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Favorite Movie: Burn After Reading. Gladiator. Mars Attacks!

Least Favorite Movie: Shitty horrors in general.

Favorite Song: Mr. Roboto – Styx. If you play that to her, she doesn’t just sing along, she fucking performs it, okay. (Honourable mentions for The Boys Are Back In Town – Thin Lizzy, and What Is Love – Haddaway.)

Favorite Sport: Rugby. Cassie can get pretty shouty about rugby and is a very dedicated Saracens fan.

Coffee or Tea?: Tea.

Crunchy or Smooth Peanut Butter?: Neither, thank you. That stuff is nasty.

Type of Car She Drives: A dark green Mini Cooper.

Lefty or Righty?: Lefty.

Favorite Color: Pink.

Cusser?: Pretty badly, although she does well to hold her tongue in public most of the time. Has had a few slip-ups that made the headlines. Luckily the general opinion was that it made her seem more normal, and it went down pretty well with voters, if not her critics.

Smoker? Drinker? Drug User?: Never used drugs. Occasionally smokes if she’s incredibly stressed and has been drinking. Drinks fairly regularly.

Biggest Regret: Letting her parents fuck her up so badly. Cassie wishes that she hadn’t taken it so much to heart, now that she knows better.

Pets: The love of her life, Brody the Corgi.

#archive

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maiji · 7 years ago

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Process and wip images for A House That Holds Long Limbs (Part 3)

Previous process and wip documentation: Part 1 / Part 2

Read the pages for part 3 here (full complete version will be linked from YYH North Bound master post)

In Parts 1 and 2 I went through the transitions between idea, script, thumbnails and final art in quite a bit of detail. This time I’ll share script and thumbnails and point out some of the biggest changes, and then talk about how I scan and clean the final artwork.

Script and thumbnails

Biggest changes:

Dialogue changes every-freaking-where. Changes in word choice, moving things around to make the dialogue flow better, rewriting to make things flow better up to the umpteenth hour (i.e., right when I’m inking).

Page 24 “It is enough to know the letter has been delivered” - this thought has been transplanted onto the next page. I was also running out of space on each page for so many wordy words. Looking back now I’d probably like to move Hokushin’s “I can read it, not that she needs to know that” earlier in the sequence of panels, but it’s too late and whatever.

Page 25 split into two pages because 1) the dialogue started growing on the first of the 2 pages and I wanted to give more emphasis to the woman dropping her “tee hee I’m matchmaking” bomb and Hokushin’s “lol get me out of here” expression.

The last page with Raizen did not exist in the script or the thumbnails. I tacked it on at the last second because the previous change increased the page count to 9. I’m drawing 2 pages up on an 11x8.5 sheet of paper (so each page is about 5.5 x 8.5), so this meant I was left facing an empty page. I impulsively threw in a “meanwhile, Raizen’s shenanigans” for fun.

As an aside, this level of dialogue is what I was anticipating the hypothetical “let’s separate Hokushin and Raizen with some random NPC offering a job” scenario to involve (see Part 1 process and wip discussion). You can see why I was so eager to ditch that idea and find something simpler and more efficient.

I feel like "I was (too) careless!" is such a stock (shounen) manga phrase. Therefore I must work in "Seems like I underestimated [...whatever thing they underestimated]" and "Impossible!!" into upcoming parts of the story lol.

Inking

Part way through inking I actually ran out of ink in my new cartridge. I had started the comic with 0.3mm Muji black pen, and it ran out a while back. I switched to 0.4mm (because that’s all they had in stock at the time)... and then actually ran out of the ink part way through on these pages. @atorier lent me a 0.3mm refill so these pages mix both thicknesses in the art. I can’t really tell the difference though... can you?

Part 3 was super fun to illustrate because it’s 90% subtle facial expressions, one of my favourite things to draw. The downside is WAY TOO MANY WORDS BEING SQUEEZED IN EVERYWHERE. I’ve never been very good at managing my speech bubbles - drawing them, positioning them, and fitting words in them. I never give them the time needed for proper planning and I often write rather impatiently, as if I am jotting down a note, instead of carefully lettering each word. They’re simply very sloppy, which results in a lot of mistakes...

It used to be that when I made a mistake in the later stages of the art (mainly, inking) I’d cry and throw everything out because I’m a complete failure, this is all worthless, etc. Nowadays I’m like uhhh... #@^&^#$!!! Oh well. Depending on the mistake I still have moments of I’M A COMPLETE FAILURE, but then I just redo it on the side or add a note to myself to fix it on the computer for the final version. Here you can see a whole bunch of mistakes around lettering and placement of things.

And this is just to make it more legible. It’s still ugly lol. (That’s why I use a font for my webcomic...)

Scanning / editing

Long Limbs is drawn in black and white which makes it a hell of a lot easier to scan/clean/prep final art. I use an old Canoscan LIDE110. I’ve upgraded once or twice but always to another Canoscan (basically whatever the latest version of this series is). It’s a cheap workhorse and lots of other scanners use Canon’s scanning technology so it’s always suited my purposes very well.

For black and white lineart, I scan at 600 dpi black and white. These are my settings as they show up in the default scanner software:

For clarification, the only parts I really pay attention to/change is Color Mode (black and white) and output resoluton to 600 dpi. Most of the other stuff was already calculated or set.

Industry practice is generally 1200 dpi for black and white line art, with 600 being a “if your computer can’t handle it and is gonna blow up... this is sufficient”. I rarely bother going up to 1200 mainly because I don’t usually have applications where I need it for output (this comic is not intended for print, for instance. And even if I ever do someday print it for whatever reason, it’s not likely to be bigger than a small comic). Scanning in black and white mode also conveniently kills most of the pencil lines I still have left so that post-scan cleanup work is minimized to a degree.

Here’s a shot of the page that was scanned.

Oh god look at all the mistakes that need to be fixed hahaha.

On the computer, I crop the individual pages and save them separately. Then I blow up to 100% and start selecting/deleting unwanted dust/artifacts/dots etc. Sometimes I also just use the eraser for cleaning fine details, but select+delete is faster for large patches.

This is also the opportunity to make corrections. To be honest, there’s not much retouching on these pages because I am lazy and trying to get them out as quickly as possible, so it’s mostly getting rid of artifacts, a few stray lines from ink smearing if I smudged or erased before it was fully dry, cleaning the shapes of a few letters to make them more legible, deleting errors and pasting the fixes over where the errors used to be, and any really stupid mistakes I’ve made - like drawing the fixes to Hokushin’s hitatare in Part 2. For redrawing/adding new parts on the computer, since the art is in black and white mode at such a high dpi, almost any brush will work great and look indistinguishable from the scanned lines when scaled down.

I save a high res TIFF for my archives. Then I convert to greyscale (better for maintaining details when I resize, since black and white can drop things that aren’t 100% black or white), and resize to 72 dpi at 700 pixels wide. 72 dpi has long been the standard for on-screen viewing - nowadays screens can display higher resolutions (e.g., retina) but this looks fine to me so I’ve long stuck with good ol’ 72. I arbitrarily picked the 700 dpi width - it seemed a good balance of “not too small” and “looks big enough to let you see the art nicely” on Tumblr. Below are my settings to resize:

Again, the above I mostly only pay attention to width and resolution. All the other stuff is mostly default or autocalculated. All my pages are different heights, which I don’t really care about since I’m just posting them on tumblr and pixiv. Finally I save as JPG for posting.

Ta da!

#yu yu hakusho #comics #fanart #hokushin #raizen #wip #process #drawings #yyh north bound #art by Maiji/Mary Huang #scanning artwork #cleaning artwork

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jeramymobley · 5 years ago

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How to Make a Logo that Perfectly Matches your Brand

You may know this already, but your company logo is the beating heart of your brand. Your rivals, leads, and customers will judge your business with your logo. So, it has to be perfect. The question is, how do you create a perfect logo in the first place? In this post, you will get all the answers!

It doesn’t matter if you appoint a professional graphics designer if you create a logo on your own by using online tools like logo makers, the following are some of the basic rules that you need to follow in any case:

Pick the Right Colors

When it comes to branding, then the visuals are everything. And when we talk about visuals, then colors become a priority.

Professional graphics designers understand the importance of good colors in a logo. This is because different colors work differently for different brands- green for eco-friendly and green brands, blue for IT companies, etc. However, there are some rules that you need to follow here too. For instance, your logo should look good even in black and white, i.e. in greyscale. You should also try to use colors that are close to each other on the color wheel i.e. red with yellow or orange, and blue with purple and pink.

Test in Different Sizes

A top-notch logo is versatile. In other words, it looks good when it’s scaled up and also when scaled down. This quality is important because you use the logo in a variety of places- massive billboards, small pens, and even electronic forms like digital ads, social media banners, etc.

When designing a versatile logo, you should pay attention to the font as the typography is what will be affected the most after resizing. If the font is illegible when you reduce the scale of the logo, then it’s better to find another font. Also, make sure that you don’t use too many fonts as that’s one of the most common logo design mistakes that amateur logo designers make.

Go for Recognition

A logo will fail its purpose if it’s recognized easily. Think of popular brands like Nike and Apple, their logos are so attractive and iconic that they are recognized by a large number of people in the world. It has a lot to do with another key quality of a perfect logo, which is simplicity.

Simple logos that are creative are more likely to work and get the desired results with your branding endeavors compared to logos that are unnecessarily elaborate and complex. So, whether you are using a logo for personal branding or company branding, you must take a simpler approach in the design process.

Keep it Original

If you haven’t created a logo before, and even if you have, you are likely to refer to some popular designs in the industry for inspiration. The practice is common with professionals even. However, you need to know where to draw a line between drawing inspiration and brazenly copying design elements of a logo in yours. No matter how many designs you study, your own logo should be original and based on your own ideas.

Apart from preventing replicating attractive design elements, you should also avoid clichés. For instance, you will find countless logos for messaging services that use speech bubbles to show “communication”, or lightening icon to represent “speed”. These ideas have been used numerous times, so much that they now reflect nothing but laziness and a lack of imagination. You don’t want to show that to your target demographic under no circumstances.

Conclusion

Creating a perfect logo doesn’t have to be an impossible task. There are ways to make the process simpler and easier. Doing research beforehand alone can prevent unnecessary effort and time you need to invest. So, go through the information that’s shared above, and you are likely to get excellent results in a few attempts. Good luck and have fun!

The post How to Make a Logo that Perfectly Matches your Brand appeared first on Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career.

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glenmenlow · 5 years ago

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How to Make a Logo that Perfectly Matches your Brand

Pick the Right Colors

When it comes to branding, then the visuals are everything. And when we talk about visuals, then colors become a priority.

Test in Different Sizes

Go for Recognition

Keep it Original

Conclusion

The post How to Make a Logo that Perfectly Matches your Brand appeared first on Personal Branding Blog – Stand Out In Your Career.

from WordPress https://glenmenlow.wordpress.com/2019/11/18/how-to-make-a-logo-that-perfectly-matches-your-brand/ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

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joejstrickl · 5 years ago

Text

How to Make a Logo that Perfectly Matches your Brand

Pick the Right Colors

When it comes to branding, then the visuals are everything. And when we talk about visuals, then colors become a priority.

Test in Different Sizes

Go for Recognition

Keep it Original

Conclusion

The post How to Make a Logo that Perfectly Matches your Brand appeared first on Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career.

0 notes

spoiledsplendid · 7 years ago

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2018 Grammy Awards Fashion Critique

The 60th Annual Grammy Awards tonight in New York gave us a lot to discuss. Following the Golden Globe's fashion black-out, color was certainly in full force tonight. Let's take a look at who rocked and who should have rolled up and went back home.

Best

Ashanti - I thought Ashanti looked like a stunning golden statue in this Yas Couture dress. Designed by Elie Madi and paired with Giuseppe Zanotti sandals, this outfit showcased Ashanti perfectly. Her hair and makeup were perfection. Now a lot of haters were tweeting about how the flashes from the photographers made the dress sheer, but if you got it, flaunt it. Best dressed female of the night.

Ne-Yo - Men's fashion often gets overlooked, however, the gentlemen certainly worked the red carpet this year. Ne-Yo's mustard yellow velvet smoking jacket demanded respect. He completed the look with a crisp white tuxedo shirt and a flat-brimmed hat. And of course, I love his suede Louboutins. His look was styled by Greyscale Goods - be sure to check them out. Best dressed man of the night.

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Lady Gaga - Gaga stunned in a nude lace and sequined body suit with ballgown bottom. The skirt had a high front slit and a 10 foot train. This imaginative Armani Privé look could have been the best look of the night if it wasn't ruined by her boots. Her hair and makeup matched the drama of her dress perfectly.

Cyndi Lauper - Cyndi looked brilliant in this cherub-print Moschino suit. The fit was bang-on. It was glamorous and cool enough to work on the red carpet. And I even loved how Cyndi streaked her hair to match. Loved it.

Zayn Malik - Zayn proved he was the main attraction in this Richard James rose-colored suit. The suit was tailored perfectly. The simple white dress shirt was fine but I would have paired it with a white v-neck shirt. He finished the look with camo-patterned socks and black loafers.

Anna Kendrick - In a sea of gowns, Anna stole focus in her checkered Balmain suit. The double-breasted jacket with oversized gold buttons was a clear throwback to the 80s. Paired with a sexy lace bodice from La Perla and powder pink pumps, this look could have easily failed and looked laughable. However, Anna made this look her own. Well done.

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Cardi B - Tonight was a huge night for Cardi B's career and she made the most of her moment on the red carpet. She looked angelic in this gown from Ashi Studios. The gauzy dress looked whimsical and light with a short front and long train. The jewelry and bling added to the look instead of distracting. And what better way to walk down the carpet than in Louboutins? Beyond all that, her makeup was fresh and she looked happy.

Rita Ora - Rita brought Hollywood glam to the streets of NYC in this Ralph & Russo Couture gown. While the dress's structure lent a futuristic feel, the black velvet trimmed in diamonds certainly made Rita look like a silent film star. Her gorgeous hair and dark red lip completed the look brilliantly.

Miley Cyrus - Miley doesn't always make it onto the upper half of this list but she looked elegant in this Jean Paul Gauthier velvet jumpsuit and matching capelet. It had just enough detail to be interesting while letting her hair and makeup steal the show. She looked pretty, happy and sweet. Conservative but badass.

Worst

Lana Del Rey - While LDR rarely impresses me with her fashion, I appreciate that she is now working with high-end fashion houses. However, even Gucci couldn't save her this time. This dress is ill-fitting and the color is too close to her skin tone. It totally washed her out - and there is no excuse for this since it was custom-made for her. I did enjoy the celestial headpiece though. Sorry Lana.

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Kelly Clarkson - I love Kelly and always hope she looks like the superstar she is. But lately, she has made some bad choices. First the dress fit her well. But the style of the dress would be better suited for someone twice her age. Kelly is nominated for Best Pop Song and not the Lifetime Achievement Award. It looked like it has a shawl wrapped around her. While Kelly is loyal to Christian Siriano, she might need to shake things up because this dress did her no favors. Her hair was messy and the new color washed her out. The makeup was too soft and gave her no definition. Kelly, call me and I'll hook you up with a few outfits.

Hailee Steinfeld - So close but not quite enough. Hailee wore a white strapless column dress and holographic purple boots - both by Alexandre Vauthier. The dress was boring but ok. The knee-high boots were laughable. And then to mix us up more, she wore a green/blue eyeshadow. Disappointing as Hailee usually makes us remember her for the right reasons on the red carpet.

Nick Jonas - Sometimes when you're hot, you can wear anything and look good. However, it doesn't mean that anything is appropriate. Nick Jonas was clad in a John Varvatos tweed overcoat and t-shirt. Nick has great style but this was just calling-it-in. Lazy.

Pink - Sometimes bad dresses happen to good people. This look from Armani Privé failed to hit the high notes. It made Pink look like a muppet. Purple, pink and blue feathers - oh my. The belt failed to accentuate her tiny waist because it was swallowed up by plumage. The ruffled top looked poorly constructed. And then she only appeared to be wearing one large black hoop earring??? On the positive side, her hair and makeup looked beautiful.

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Heidi Klum - Oops She Did It Again. Heidi came to yet another red carpet in just her bra and panties. But I have to give her the benefit of the doubt. It was held in NYC and it looks like she is still wearing a crinoline, so perhaps someone stole her dress, and this is what is left. If that wasn't bad enough, the earrings were monstrous. At the time of publishing, no designer was willing to take credit for this outfit. Worst look of the night.

Janelle Monae - I love Janelle and I love that she takes risks with fashion. I even loved this Dolce & Gabanna outfit...from the waist up. Janelle has a beautiful figure but the wide-legged trousers completely consume her bottom half. Even with all the embroidery and the ruffled shirt and the bling, I couldn't see past the excess fabric where her shoes should have been. Had the trousers been tapered in and cropped above the ankle, this would have been a WOW outfit. As always, her hair and makeup are among the best.

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luke-crain · 7 years ago

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➜ BIO

God bless the woman with ambition, people say. Or maybe it’s ‘god fear the woman with ambition’. Florence can never remember. Either way, she somehow wants to prove that point before she even knows what it is, a child determined to win at sports day and get ten out of ten on every spelling test even in primary school.

It’s not something she trains in the beginning. It’s just a gift, an amazing memory and a knack for perception. It starts with something small, her pointing out every car that drives past that’s the same make as her father’s before she’s out of pushchairs. Her parents make games out of tests and tests out of games, shapes and colours and cards. Florence doesn’t mind. In fact, she likes it when she ‘wins’. All parents think their children are exceptional but there’s no denying Florence is pretty bright. Maybe it’s luck, the resulting genetics of a Columbia Law Graduate turned fantastic lawyer and an Archivist at the Museum of Natural History. Whatever it is, they’re determined not to let her waste it.

She never has the typical teenage rebellion with the drugs and the cigarettes and the staying out too late at night. She just suffers from the frustration at being boxed in, of being told who to be. Her teenage rebellion is teenage laziness, the habit of coasting because she knows she’s clever. It takes her favourite teacher to pull her aside after she bombs a practice exam at sixth form and asking her what’s going on for her to get her head on straight.

Maybe a heart to heart is just what she needed, an honest conversation with someone outside the family, someone independent. She and the teacher have a few cigarettes together and they chat about the pressures of expectation and what she wants from the future. Only Florence can decide, the teacher says, but she’s going to limit her options if she gives up now.

It works. When the real test comes around, Florence aces it. She has a goal in mind now. She could no doubt be a lawyer like her dad with the way she can spin a narrative, but she wants something else, something a little more on the front lines. She wants to become a police officer, maybe even an intelligence officer some day. She goes to college in California, choosing Berkeley for a bit of space. After all, with her parents living in New York, it’s about as far away as she can reasonably get without going all the way to Europe, and while people on the West Coast might seem as if they speak a foreign language at times, at least she can understand them.

The distance works. When she graduates, she does so with honours and she has her pick of jobs, but the only one she wants is back home at the NYPD. You can take the girl out of New York, but you can’t take the New York out of the girl. People know who her dad is. They respect him. Florence wants that respect too, and she does whatever she can to get it. She doesn’t want to coast any more, neither on her intelligence nor on her name. Hard work combined with natural intelligence? Now that’ll do the job. She rises through the ranks, her grit and determination blending well with her knack for politics.

She joins the Major Crimes Unit because that’s the job she wants. It’s challenging, it’s exciting, and it’s current. But if the newspapers or her dad ask, most importantly, it’s the right thing to do. After all, even if she’s doing what she believes in, she can’t be seen to be too sappy now, can she?

➜ BASICS

FULL NAME: Florence Isabella Vane AKA(S): N/A BIRTHDAY: 11 May ZODIAC: Taurus AGE: 32 years old SPECIES: Human ORIENTATION: Bisexual GENDER: Cisgender Female (She/her/hers) OCCUPATION(S): Police Detective PRIMARY VERSE: Everyday

➜ APPEARANCE

FACECLAIM: Krysten Ritter EYE COLOR(S): Brown HAIR COLOR(S): Black HEIGHT: 5'7" BODY BUILD: Athletic DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: N/A TATTOOS: Quarter sleeve tattoo of greyscale roses on right shoulder PIERCINGS: Ears, tongue (taken out for work)

➜ BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN: New York, NY FINANCIAL STATUS: Middle Class EDUCATION LEVEL: College Graduate ETHNICITY: White SPOKEN LANGUAGES: English, some Spanish ACCENT: New York RELIGION: Catholic, non-practicing

➜ PERSONALITY

FEARS: Vulnerability, failure, rejection MORAL ALIGNMENT: Neutral Good MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE: ISTP: The Virtuoso TEMPERAMENT: Choleric ENNEAGRAM: Type Five: The Investigator HOGWARTS HOUSE: Ravenclaw POSITIVE TRAITS: Intelligent, analytical, hard-working, adaptable, witty, loyal NEGATIVE TRAITS: Blunt, sarcastic, guarded, hard to read, occasionally hedonistic, risk-taker

➜ MISC.

ELEMENT: Earth ANIMAL: Lynx TROPES:

Great Detective

Deadpan Snarker

The Cynic

The Lad-ette

Determinator

The Stoic

#retired

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