#truly i should not be allowed to have Photoshop

[jonathanbyersphd]

@leslie057 I made u something

[syninplays]

So uhm... I did a thing...

✨Character Info Template✨

UPDATE 11.24.24: this template now has a page theme version! if you're not a fan of templates, you can get the code to use it as an interactive multimuse page >here<

Been meaning to do this a long time ago (and actually started it but never finished it, lol) as a way to share some more information about my ocs without needing to use a custom page theme, but mostly because I haven't found any page theme that looks exactly as I want and allows this much customization.

There are two versions and both are almost exactly the same; but the example shown in the left has an 'appearance' section which is small and has few quick facts regarding the oc's appearance; while the example on the right has a 'moodboard' section instead which allows you to add more info about your oc.

You can change every section/title to fit your needs like I did in the examples below; I personally removed some categories as well and got rid of some connections as this oc doesn't have that many close friends/partners to fill the original template. However, I also included an extra separated 'connections' section in the download in case you want to add more people and more information.

I recommend you stick to square-shaped pictures so it's easier to fit them to each section. Also if and when you edit the information or section titles, please select only one line at a time to replace it so you don't lose the text format. (Titles shouldn't change because that's a single format/font within the same text box, but should it change you can always hit ctrl+z hehe) When you're done, I strongly recommend you save this as a .png instead of .jpg so it's the best possible quality!

Last but not least, this is a .psd file. So you'll need either Photoshop (I did this with Photoshop Portable, but it supports newer versions of PS and it *should* support older versions too) or Photopea to open and edit this file.

Credits: Adobe Photoshop, Inter font, Golften Vintage font

>DOWNLOAD< (patreon but free :p)

(note: I'm posting this with my gaming blog because I think my fellow gamers might be interested in this, but please consider giving credits to me if you use this template by tagging @synindoodles instead of this blog)

More info on how to use and edit this template below the cut!

Layers:

>Each layer is properly named and categorized. The general layers such as the background, the icon shape and background shapes are under the groups.

>If you don't want to see/don't need one of the connections' pictures and information, I recommend you find which one it is (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6) and click on the eye symbol next to the layer to hide it so that way if you ever need it, it won't be truly gone.

>To edit a text section, simply find the layer (such as General Information>Left Column) and double click on the 'T' symbol next to the layer. That way it will open edit mode and allow you to edit the text, just don't hit delete or enter while everything is selected or you'll erase it :p

>Main text sections aren't separated, they're blocks of text. I recommend you don't remove the amount (for example, if you downloaded the version with the 'appearance' section, which has 5 sections of information, don't remove the fifth line.) Either leave it empty or replace it with another data, otherwise it will look weird. The 'general information' section might look good even if you remove a few lines, just don't get rid of the whole block of text.

Pictures:

>To add a new picture, simply paste it over this document and move it using the Move Tool.

>To frame it (so it becomes a circle or fits over the shape you want), make sure the picture layer is over the layer you want, then while holding alt click between the two layers. [For example, if you want to add a new main oc picture: 1) paste the pic you want, 2) move it with the Move Tool so it's covering the big circle, 3) once you've fully covered the shape (if it isn't you can resize it by right clicking on it then on 'free transform', sometimes you might need to hold shift to proportionally resize it) make sure the newly pasted pic layer is over the layer named "picture goes here", 4) hold the alt key and hover your mouse cursor over the line between your pic layer and the circle layer until you see an arrow going down symbol, once you see it click it and tah dah! your picture should now have the same shape as the circle! - you can further move it if it doesn't fit the way you want with the Move Tool (;

Others:

>You can change every color, font and section to your liking, just don't change the general layout of the template.

>To hide/show the guides (those bright blue lines all over the document), click ctrl+,

>'Inter' is a free font and you can get it in the link above (linked with the credits), Golften Vintage is not, but you can get the demo version >here< (just scroll down and click the blue download button under license). I will not tell you how to install fonts as it might be different for everyone (for me it's C:/Windows/Fonts and I just drop the zipped files (except the .txt one) there), but google is your friend.

>I can't think of anything else that needs to be said here, but if you have any other question feel free to send me an ask or dm and I'll help you out!

>Last but not least, a like is appreciated if you plan to use this plus consider tagging @synindoodles if you use it <3

[starscelly]

my coloring process!! a couple people did say they want to see the process soo. also for reference i do use procreate, but i know all these functions are available on photoshop and (presumably) other programs as well.

far too many visuals + explanation below :3 + silly speed coloring

SO…. i’ll try to organize it step by step? i’m gonna use visuals from my roope piece so. basically early TLDR: grayscale -> flatten + duplicate layers so you have two layers of the gray scale -> put a gradient map on one -> make the other a luminosity layer -> ??? profit maybe

BUT FOR A MORE IN DEPTH EXPLANATION

1. after finishing ur sketch or lineart, fill in the figure a medium gray! just a solid fill .. straightforward

2. start applying shadows and highlights! i do these as clipping layers over top of the filled in shape we just did (i used reference photos, if you do that imo it’s easier to lower exposure on the photos and even up the contrast slightly to see the lighting differences better. but ymmv)

i use three shades of gray that are darker than the color i put down to fill the shape, i layer those so the darkest is on the top. i then use three shades of gray that are lighter than the filled color, i put these on top of the darker shades and layer them so the lightest is on the top. again, just personal preference, that’s how i layer shade/light usually so

3. this is when things get ugly . for me at least. you can also do this step before doing two… really it can go wherever but i do it here. i hide the above grayscale colored layers, i move my sketch layer above the filled in shape (FOR REFERENCE … don’t color on ur sketch layer. unless you want to i guess), i then apply the base colors on a new layer of the drawing . literally just simple skin/hair/clothes. it looks odd to not add any depth or lines but we have to move

4. youre gonna wanna flatten and duplicate the grayscale painting layers you did before. there should be two grayscale drawings in your layers that are so stunning and gray and beautiful.

5. hide the grayscale drawing highest in the layers for now. take the bottom one and then we use gradient maps!!! my best friend!!!! this is all gonna be very personal choice on what you want YOUR palette to be. i wanted green/pink so i adjusted the colors in the gradient map to be green/pink

6. i then take these pretty color layers and mess around with layer settings. for this particular piece, i set the layer to linear light at about 30% opacity. i usually keep my opacity around there, but i’ll jump around between linear light, vivid light, color burn, etc etc. literally just experiment and have fun!!! it should just be adding more color/whimsy to your base colors

7. i then unhide the other grayscale layer. it’s gonna make everything gray again, believe it or not. i turn that layer to LUMINOSITY….. i’ve played around with other layer types but because it’s a shade/light thing i really think luminosity looks best. but again, you play and have fun and figure out your own preferences!

your layers should look, more or less, like this

AND THATS REALLY TRULY IT …. it’s pretty simple and diverse and allows you to be more explorative with colors if you’re someone who tends to stick to basic ones or only palettes you’re familiar with.. i like it because it’s simple and intuitive for me (i started out doing mainly charcoal so grayscale is my friend) and just fun!! non stressful!! except when you’re fighting layer limits!!!

and for shits and gigs…. coloring speed drawing be upon ye

(song: baby i’m yours - cass elliot)

[smallraindrops-blog]

I Know A Place

(just for you and me)

WMFTD: Drabbles

WMFTD!Y/N X Hypnos

Warnings: Fluff, kissing, AUs out of the wazoo, no beta.

Notes: 

More vibes that wouldn’t leave me alone. Something to hold over while I work on the poly fic that is quickly growing out of my control. Pyrrhus fic should be out soonish.

Enjoy the randomness.

Part one

Model (Sapphic AU)

The first time you saw her, it was on the cover of a glossy magazine in the grocery store. 

She didn’t look like a real person. The girl was all soft, tousled curls, so white they looked like clouds and a teasing glimpse of an elegant collarbone. Her expression was thoughtful, almost pouty with those full lips.

In a moment of pure teenage fantasy, you wondered how her mouth would feel against yours. She was far too pretty for some awkward high school jock in basketball shorts who felt far too bulky and too tall in her own body. 

But you could pretend. 

With a flush clawing up your neck, you allowed yourself to look again. She was a dream girl, one that not even your imagination could have created. 

The only obvious photoshopped part was her eyes. They looked like sun warmed honey. 

Surely, no human had eyes that golden.

Under her beautiful face, the words caught your attention.

‘Hypnos, daughter of the famous model Nyx, follows her mother’s footsteps!’ 

Without a single thought to stop yourself,you grabbed the magazine and held it close to your chest like a prize. One that you didn’t want to share. 

Carefully avoiding looking anyone in the eyes, you hurried to find your dad.

Achilles was murmuring to himself as he tried to remember which low-fat girl scout cookie that Patroclus had told him to get. You placed the magazine in the cart, trying to look completely normal.

Your dad blinked at you behind his glasses and he glanced down at the cart. There was a single beat of silence then he lifted an eyebrow at you.

“There is good skincare advice in there.” You murmured, staring far too hard at the store brand cookies. Your cheeks flushed hotly as you shoved your hands into your pockets.

“Skincare, huh?” Achilles said but didn’t tell you to put the magazine back. 

..

(Years later)

As a bodyguard for the rich and stupid, you had seen plenty of shit. 

From a drugged up housewife that tried her damndest to kill off her husband’s affairs to a washed up movie star who tried to steal his dad’s private plane as he yelled about flying it into the sun, you had gotten truly skilled with keeping a cool head and putting out fires.

Zagreus - a former pop-star client and a sort of friend- had informed you of the fact that you were the world's best babysitter as you helped him clean up the puke off his Father’s prized Tesla.

This might be too much for you however.

Hypnos was almost completely bare, saved for a single red blanket pooled over her breasts and lap, her slender legs pressed together to give a false sense of modesty. She was utterly gorgeous.

It was both the worst and best thing to ever happen to you. 

“Tilt your head up, really give me that pouty look.” The photographer ordered Hypnos, who obeyed, her infamous white curls brushing against her chin.

“I wish she didn’t cut her hair into a damn bob.” Her agent bitched at you. “I told her that we were trying to get a contract for Aphrodite’s maidens and she required her models to have a specific look.”

You ignored him, eyes locked on the photographer and Hypnos.

The blunt cut of the bob suited Hypnos’ messy curls and willowy figure far as you were concerned. Aphrodite’s models all looked like clones of Aphrodite with long, flowing hair and the exact lush build and the same plastic smile, and it kinda freaked you out a little. 

The idea of the unique beauty of Hypnos getting diluted into something boring and repetitive made your stomach hurt.

Crossing your arms, you kept a careful eye toward the door. It was a well kept secret but Hypnos had a stalker. Not an uncommon occurrence with famous people but this one had managed to break into her house before you were hired on.

If Thanatos hadn’t been there to scare them off…

It had only gotten worse since then. The stalker had managed to get every place that Hypnos ever been. Her childhood home, Thanatos’ high rise loft even into Nyx’s gated mansion in the mountains. Her agent’s office, her friends’ home or place of work.

Nowhere was safe. Hypnos always had adorable, sleepy eyes but there were deep shadows in them now.

That stalker was in for a world of hurt if you ever get your hands on him.

Later, you went through the safe house, checking each room and windows. The address was unlisted, no one would find it. The cameras were connected to your phone, ready to alert you the moment something moved outside.

“You don’t have to do this every time.” Hypnos told you, bare face and wearing an old shirt that went almost to her knees. One side slipped down as she came in, revealing a bare shoulder. Her socks were a ridiculous print of dogs riding French fries. It was adorable.

You had seen her in little black dresses, formal wear that cost more that you made in a year with perfect hair and makeup but somehow like this, she was far more lovelier now than she was all dolled up. 

It was far too easy to imagine taking her to bed and lifting that too big shirt off her delicate body. 

You killed the thought like a bug and after double checking the window’s lock, you turned to face her.

Honey warm eyes met yours. 

For the longest time, you had thought her eyes were photoshopped or that she wore contact lenses. Only you have seen how the morning rays hit it, you have seen the way her eyes lit up when she gets home to her beloved dog or how they dulled when on a phone call with her mother.

Pure and golden like the sun and undeniable real. 

“Better safe than sorry, Ms. Hypnos.” You told her, keeping your tone cool.

Hypnos tucked her hair behind her ear, blinking at you slowly. There was a moment of silence and you resisted the urge to shift on your feet like a guilty child.

Then finally, she gave you a shy smile, her slim fingers resting on her collarbone and nodded toward the living room. 

“I can’t sleep. Wanna watch a movie with me?”

You should say no. You always kept a professional wall between yourself and clients. It was easy. Hypnos had been able to slip past those walls with an unnerving ease

Just say no.

“Sure.” You replied. “Popcorn?”

~

Illness (modern au)

At first, Hypnos just thought he was exhausted from running around for all the holidays and the last days of work. By the time he got home, he had collapsed into bed, asleep before he could kiss you goodnight.

The next morning, he woke up to a stuffy nose. His whole face felt like it was burning up, the back of his throat hot and itchy. He moaned quietly, closing his somehow dry eyes. Everything hurts.

“Hypnos?” You croaked. It wasn’t the usual rough voice you woke up with, it was too reedy. Hypnos tried to respond but all that came out was a nasty cough. He covered his mouth as his fit continued.

He heard you murmuring a low swear, then your hands brushed against his too sensitive skin. You helped him sit up, rubbing his back until his fit stopped.

“I think we caught something, love.” You told him, your voice fading the more you spoke.

“Yay.” Hypnos muttered bitterly, leaning against you. He was lazy, sure but he hated being sick. It wasn’t a nice restful day but a horrible one.

At some point, you had managed to get him and you up enough to take some disgusting medicine then Hypnos collapsed into the pile of blankets on the pullout sofa. 

He listened to you moving around, somehow you also had just enough energy to make warm herbal tea for both you and him

Hypno blinked awake when you joined him, accepting the tea with a muttered ‘thanks’. 

“Gonna order some groceries and more medicine.” You told him in a faded voice. Hypnos nodded, sipping on his tea. He didn’t know if Patroclus taught you but somehow you always made tea taste just perfect. 

The day passed slowly in a haze of soup, coughing, more gross medicine - for real, do none of those people  who make the medicine have any taste buns?- trashy tv shows, balled up tissues and delicious tea.

Hypnos mocked the people and everything about the shows. his voice cracked and pathetic sounding. You would chuckle along, smiling faintly. Your large hand rested on his back, rubbing in gentle, smoothing circles as he ranted.

At some point, you dozed off, snoring quietly. Hypnos reached over, and tucked the blanket up higher to your chin. He snuggled in close, his head on your shoulder and took one of your hands in his.

With a contented sigh, Hypnos closed his tired eyes. If he had to be sick, he would want it to be with you. 

~

Kidnapped (Viking AU, dark tw for slavery)

The hearth casted a warm glow in the home, chasing away the nip of the chilly air. Snow will be arriving before the next sunrise. 

The day had been long, filled with duties that must be tended to along with plans for the future sails. Typically, you would mull over everything with a pint of ale and some dried meat before going to your bed alone, lingering awake for hours sometimes.

But that had changed. Now you lay awake for an entirely new reason.

Your thrall paused over the pot, his slender fingers tightened on the wooden ladle. 

His golden eyes locked onto your form, his mouth tight with distrust. Then as if realized his disrespectful attitude, his eyes darted away as he bowed his head. 

Then he spoke. His voice was sweet as bells even if you couldn’t understand a single word of it. He hesitated then clumsily, “Welcome home, Master.”

You winced at the title. 

It wasn’t planned. You had never taken any slaves before and never wanted to. You meant to take a wife. One that wouldn’t mind a loveless and sexless marriage. 

But in some little settlement in a place of eternal summer, you found him during a night time raid. He had been alone and terrified yet you were captivated by him.

High cheekbones and a graceful build with hair so fair it looked like fresh snow. His eyes reminded you of the rare summer days, golden and filled with life. A child of winter and summer brought to form. 

Far too lovely for a mere moral. The goddess, Glorious Freyja, must have blessed him at birth.

He was so beautiful that you broke your own code. And you felt like a worthless bastard for it.

“You are improving.” You told him, each word enunciated. His brow furrowed until you offered up a slight smile. A moment later, he returned it before he returned to stirring the stew.

Your thrall had already placed most of the dinner on the table, warm bread and cheese awaited for you.  There were even colorful berries but you didn’t touch any of the food as you sat down.

He placed a full bowl in front of you but none for himself.

“Thrall.” You waited until he looked at you. Then you pointed at another bowl then at him. “You eat as well. This winter won’t be a kind one.”

He obeyed.

You didn’t want to admit it, used to being alone in your own home but there was something peaceful about sharing a meal with him. There was the great hall but often you needed time away from everyone. And their questions. 

Once dinner was finished, your thrall cleaned up between loud yawns, moving with a slow ease. You began tending to your blades with an eye toward your bow and arrows. 

You had already hunted enough but perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to make sure there was more meat available. Especially for your thrall. He wasn’t built for the harsh land like you were.

You glanced at him, watching the fine line of his back. He reminded you of wildflowers, pretty but easily crushed if not picked correctly. Before you could stop yourself, you called to him.

He blinked at you, placing the lid on the stew. 

You gestured to him to come to you as you stood up. Quietly, he did. His amber eyes narrowed at you like a distrustful cat. Truely, he must belong to Glorious Freyja. 

You grabbed his chin, making him meet your stare. He swallowed but didn’t pull away. His lips were full, stained red by the berries, like he had been kissed over and over by a lover. He was temptation itself. 

Heat pooled low in your stomach, the same dark need to conquer, to claim returned like fire in your blood before battle. It was the feeling you had the night you stole him away.  

“Will you tell me your name tonight?” You asked him, low and rough. It was the same question you asked every night. “You already know mine.”

You tapped on your chest with a free hand and repeated your name. Just like you had every night before. You knew he understood from the sharp glint in his eyes.

There was a moment of silence from him then he shook his head. With a quiet huff, you pressed your thumb on his lips. 

It would be easy. By law, he belonged to you. No one would stop you, hell most of them already thought you had already used him to warm your bed. 

He was yours to use as you pleased. 

But you weren’t a complete monster. Not yet. 

You let him go. He stumbled back, as if he was surprised you did.

“Finish your duties.” You ordered, your tone harsh. You turned your back to him, dismissing him.

You listened to his footsteps as he crossed the room to return to his work. You glanced down at your hands.

There was a slight tremble in your fingers, but you tightened it into a fist. 

Not yet.

~

Spectrum (reincarnation au)

You choose the loukomades - or at least it was close enough, it was in a ball shape but heavy with honey coated layers inside. - without hesitation. The honey shone on the fried dough in the ship’s artificial sunlight. Somehow you knew Hypnos would like it.

The corgi-like alien with five eyes nodded up at you, their gloved hands wrapping up the pastries with neat and quick movements. The other one behind them worked on the coffee orders, rushing between stations with their stubby legs.

Out of everything humans had to offer, it was coffee, alcohol, grains, cane sugar along with honey and other sweeteners that blew up in popularity among the other races. It was always in high demand and good for trading. 

It was so popular that many aliens had trained for years just to make humans’ cuisine, running their own shops with unique twists on the food.

Many humans were still unused to aliens, but you had gotten used to it. They all were another creature trying to make a living. And you never minded anyone who could make a mean cup of joe.

You bent down to accept your order, dropping a heavy tip in the jar. 

Hypnos beamed at you when you joined him at the park bench. His wings fluttered, causing his curls to bounce, when he saw the food and coffee in your hands. You hated that your heart swelled just a bit at the sight. 

“Here.” You told him gruffly, sitting down next to him. Hypnos ignored your tone, digging to the pastry bag with glee.

“My favorite!” Hypnos gasped, popping a ball into his mouth with a joyful hum. His eyes closed in bliss.

You took a sip of your coffee, heavy and smooth with extra caffeine, as Hypnos devoured the sweets. And firmly ignored the soft, pleased moans as he ate. 

Then a loukoumade appeared before your eyes, caught between Hypnos’ slender fingers. He waved it at you. 

“Here, go on and have one, it is delicious. I think those guys added something else in there.” Hypnos remarked, narrowing his eyes at the innocent looking pastry. You scoffed. 

“No.”

“Yes.” 

“Hypnos, get that thing away-“ your warning was cut short as Hypnos shoved the food in your mouth. Thick, heavenly honey and warm bread exploded in your mouth but that wasn’t caught made you stilled.

Hypnos’ fingers were pressed against your lips. The touch was light, impossibly so but you swore that it carried the weight of Venus stardust. Hypnos shifted, closer to you now. 

Gorgeous sunlit eyes watched you.

“Tell me you remember this.” It was shaped like a question but something about his tone changed it into a statement.

You swallowed. 

For a moment you were no longer an overworked captain on a spaceship built from your parents’ dreams.  

The sea and skies were everblue twins, summer was a warm breeze with cries of seagulls and there was a beautiful Greek boy with pale curls and a big smile leading you through the endless backstreets. There was a real possibility of getting mugged but as he took your hand, you knew you would follow him off a cliff. 

You didn’t even know his name.

Eventually, he stopped in front of a bakery, his fingers locked with yours as he brought you in.

Then…

Other memories came in a blur. One with golden armor and a heavy spear in your hand. The smell of the sea, a worn map in your hand. Burning cities and screams.  Another life with charcoal stained nails, a smoke dangling between your lips. Another place and time, you were hiding the mud in a green uniform and a hard helmet as warplanes flew overhead. 

Hypnos were in all of them. 

You jerked back, grabbing his wrist. Panting like you ran a marathon, you glared down at him. 

Hypnos didn’t flinch as you tightened your hold, almost bruising his delicate flesh. You were torn between pushing him off the bench or yanking him closer, to know the feel of his honeyed lips against yours.

Because everytime he touched you, it felt like coming home. And that terrified you.

“Explain yourself.” You snarled in a whisper, shaking his wrist. “I brought you the goods. I saved your life. Now explain.”

Hypnos sighed, like he was disappointed but a fond smile grew anyway. 

“Fine. Always so stubborn.” He teased, like you and him were some old married couple. “Let's start at the beginning once more.”

[lucky-dan]

I’m an art student, animation second year. We just finished projects about AI and we’ve had many meaningful and insightful conversations, lectures and even debates on the subject. I have a lot to say so forgive the long text.

The TLDR is that AI in itself is not unethical. It’s the background it comes from (as mentioned), mainly what data sets it uses. It’s not wrong to make or use an AI, so the debate shouldn’t focus around the question of whether or not AI should exist, which is something I’ve seen a lot.

The longer story is that the world of AI is… complex. Shocker, I know. And I often see people debate the wrong subjects as well.

The way you use AI matters - learning how to formulate your prompts is an art in itself, and some very talented people create incredible artwork with prompts that run hundreds of words long, and take week if not months of iterations. The human factor is still there, and a redditor typing in ‘Superman’ into mid journey isn’t the same as someone using an essay to generate a complex and detailed image, and doing that over and over until they have the result they wanted. So it isn’t a question of being lazy or uninspired or unoriginal.

AI art is also not only visual. As animation majors we obviously spoke about the possibility for the Everyman to use AI to make their own show without the monopoly Disney has on the market, speaking about possibilities for inclusivity and representation the likes you’ve never seen before, but we also mentioned royalty free and personalized music you can use in your YouTube videos, or generated inhuman movement that can be utilized in horror, or how inbetweening can be a thing of the past with a good AI. The one big thing I took from these classes is that AI art has the potential to shatter the well guarded gates of the beginner-unfriendly art world and open up new media for people without experience, just as photoshop allowed many inexperienced users to draw or edit pictures in a near professional manner, or how iPhones let you take very good photographs without an additional load of expensive equipment.

The big issue that everyone seems to not be fully understanding is where the data comes from. If you download someone’s art without their consent and feed it to AI, that’s infringing on their intellectual property. If you feed the entire discography of Michael Jackson to an AI to generate a new song of his, that’s also a question of ethics surrounding a deceased artist, but it won’t harm his income obviously. A smaller artist with no legal team has no way of defending themself when their work gets stolen. If the AI gets their art as data, their style is now replicable with a simple click, negating the need for payment for commissions and thus denying them their rent, bills, groceries.

Of course the question of ‘what if the wrong people use it for the wrong reasons?’ has to have come up here for the reasons mentioned above. And that is a concern that’s been present since… well, forever. Stealing work is a cultural issue, not an AI issue. Movies or games or paintings or songs that are derivative of one another, stealing each others concepts and design choices, are a thing that has been happening for years. And we can all unanimously agree that stealing someone’s idea is wrong. When you see on Spotify that has a beat from someone else’s song you get mad if the original has less clicks.

But being inspired isn’t wrong itself; and neither is decoupage, which is what AI art, especially visual, truly is. You wouldn’t be mad at BBC for making a Sherlock Holmes show because it’s ‘too close to the source material’ (it’s just an example. Don’t come at me tumblr) and the source character is in the public domain anyway. Nobody is being harmed by the network’s choice of inspiration. You also wouldn’t scream at a stay at home mom that’s journaling for fun, and you wouldn’t argue that her cutting out pieces of magazine pictures are her stealing the work of the magazine’s editors, photographers, writers. She isn’t profiting from that work, and she’s also not taking the money away from the magazine.

The approach of the non-art public to how artists use reference is also skewed, but that’s a whole new conversation for another day.

With both of those ideas in mind (the data sets can consist of material that wasn’t taken consensually thus harming the artist, and AI art itself isn’t necessarily lazy or bad) I feel like the debate on AI art should in general shift to legality. Most other art forms like drawing or movies or dancing or music have rather obvious, but still often blurry, lines that shouldn’t be crossed, and more importantly, court cases that you can reference. You’ve had musicians suing each other over stolen songs before and you have an idea of what would be considered stealing here. AI needs to be debated with the question of ‘what data set did this program use and was the idea for the work original enough by this and other industries’ standards’. This entire section of the art world doesn’t have that quite yet, but we’re getting there, with recent developments in the suings of multiple AI’s.

This is not a settled matter, and I don’t think we should be treating it as such, nor as if it’s the end of the world. To be entirely clear, just two months ago I thought AI was the devil also. It was these classes and word from people that are considered professionals in multiple mediums and art circles that changed my mind and opened me to the actual problems of the situation. My lesson was that I jumped to conclusions too fast. I now like to equate this problem to (even though I’m aware it’s not the same) the birth of photography, or photoshop or blender/3D. Painters were worried photographs would put them out of jobs, and sometimes that was true, but that just means the painters could use photographs for their own work as well, capturing more detailed reference, or choose to deviate their art from photography with style choices not present in the realism of photos. When 3D started being introduced people were scared animators would lose jobs, because why would you hire a team of people for a complex shot when you can render it out with one person putting key frames in instead? Well because knowing how to use that program is fucking hard, and there is a charm to the style of a 2D animated rotating camera instead of a 3D shape.

Think of how you can use AI ethically and without stealing someone’s food money, while still doing your thing and committing to your style. Sometimes it won’t be possible, because there is no AI that would be usable for your purposes, because the data set is always limited and focused on a specific purpose. Sometimes the idea that you have is just not possible to generate. That proves that AI won’t ruin the world, because it can’t do anything without human input, and it can’t make what it doesn’t know. It’s not a scary boogeyman and we should all remember that.

watching the AI art debate thing on twitter is a special kind of torture if you’ve ever attempted any irl political action in your entire life because it’s a train wreck of people trying to enact a movement against something and methodically picking every worst possible argument you could hope to make, constantly shifting the battleground from concrete territory you can actually Win into highly subjective areas that nobody in the conversation can ever decisively win

“all AI art is ugly” is a pointless cul de sac you have to re-argue whenever anyone makes even a half-decent picture, “any commercial art AI should have to demonstrate that it’s only working from public domain artworks” is material, practical and doable. “all AI artists have no passion” is a great way to give those people an avenue to argue you’re just being cruel and bitter (or for AI artists who also use traditional mediums to flat-out refute), “any art produced commercially by an AI should have its prompts recorded so we know they didn’t invoke another artist/their IP to make it” is a thing you can make laws and regulations about. “AI art is soulless fake art unlike Real art from Real artists” gives your opponents the easy opportunity to paint you as a backwards out of touch academic snob disconnected from everyday people (and uh, as an academic snob myself, good luck decisively solving the “what is real art??” debate for the first time in human history), “an AI can’t have any kind of conversation with the commissioner to understand their vision, it can’t truly understand what its making so feedback and precision won’t be on par with a real human, so if you want something accurate and personal it could be an inferior service for your money” is a tangible concern that anyone looking to buy art should be aware of, whether or not an AI can make a pretty picture is less important in practical terms than whether it can make the exact picture the person buying wants

you can spend all day arguing that as a human artist you have Soul and that your work has Life, or you can argue that as a human artist if the client wants their fursona’s right arm a little more to the left or for their expression to have more sassiness in it then you can just do that for them instead of arguing with a robot over what an arm is or the complexities of anthro marmoset facial features

[motorclit]

A particular r*ght-w*nger (l*bs of t*k t*k) is going after the furry community now.

I'm legit waiting for the suggested criminalization of having a favorite color or favorite dinosaur. I'm legit waiting for imagination and fun to be brought to the chopping block with plain, clear intention that nobody should be happy unless you're obscenely wealthy.

You like laughing and the laugh isn't socially acceptable? Ban it.

Do you enjoy cartoons and other forms of fun art? Ban it.

Do you dance anything but a stupid square dance? Ban.

Caring for houseplants or cats? Straight to ban.

Don't let them catch you playing a musical instrument.

Don't let them catch you wearing alternative clothing (especially DIY).

You're not allowed to have sex but you better be popping out babies so figure that out but don't expect a nod of approval from your fashy overlords.

Ooh, whole words could be banned like "rizz" or maybe even classics like "dude" cuz slang is suddenly seen as some sort of indicator of a criminal or some stupid bullshit.

Wait! You can't pick your outfits anymore! You must wear the uniform of your socio-economic caste, now!

Seriously, they go after stuff that doesn't need to be gone after because they crave power and control. And when certain key mouthpieces bring up the concept in no more than one post, their whole cult eats it up.

My parents have been thoroughly brainwashed BEYOND HELP since 9/11, and no amount of talking to them or even showing them irrefutable proof that they've been lied to will do anything because they DO NOT CARE. They WANT the mythologized and romanticized "good ol' days" to be "brought back" because... 'Murica or something. (It's the brainwashing propaganda boomers we're brought up with)

My parents are also EXTREMELY GULLIBLE. My mom believed the old westerns on TV were how the west truly used to be like, and my dad swears to this day that people back in the day spoke with the trans-atlantic accent instead of just celebrities and other certain prominent people who were heard by the public on TV and radio. My dad falls for photoshop every goddamn time. My mom falls for click bait headlines and doesn't read articles (same with dad) and she believes literally anything that comes across her FB timeline. NEITHER ever knew how to use Google (back when Google was usable!)

I don't know how long it'll be before things like any and all unpunished violence against anyone not a fascist becomes a guarantee, so I beg everybody to please learn how to protect yourselves in SOME way!

Don't let 2024 be the start of the acceleration of 1984.

[crazyworldofemmamarie]

Quick rant but this whole fear of AI within some of the arts, like writing is just getting out of control and to be quite honest just down right silly.

I reblog a post the other night that made an excellent point where they explain that in order for AI to truly be a threat we'd have to develop AI first, and we're nowhere near doing that and whatever the real technical terms are, we are still in the midst of developing it and I'm sorry we aren't even close, it seems we all like to think is but it's most likely not gonna happen for a while. Because if we are gonna deveolp these machines to create, I feel like that would take years. Another great point that the author of the post brings up is how writing contains so many tasks that take tons of creativity and years of practice that really sometimes takes years even for humans.

As for the whole development scheme, just remember we can't stop it at anytime. We always fear technology going against us but just remember in 2001, they TURNED Hal 9000 off. Meaning they could stop it anytime, yet allowed it to get as far as it it. It's always an example I use in these types of arguments but I honestly forget that we as humans are more powerful that we think we are and really we are not only ones that creating it, but supporting and you may not know it or want to think about but we can band together and prevent it from our sources look at the Actors Strike for Christ sake. It would take a long time, but damn it it would be worth it. I don't know do strikes, have petitions, make it happen. Stop it.

The thing is I don't think anyone understands that this wouldn't be such a conversation if we weren't so adamant about CGI. I'm serious, where do you think it all started? Not only that but we are wo obsessed with the evolution of technology only for the mere sake of 'what could we do next' and that's no fault if anyone's. It's thrilling.

Not only that, another thing I learned about some AI programs is it's taking these from other sources and mashing up which one: It's stealing I'll admit that, and that's wrong. Yet, that's another rant for another day. But in a sense? Say fir pictures, it's just photoshop. We just taught computers to photoshop? whether we want to admit or not, but there is always a person behind that AI, cause most times the creators is what come before and stand behind the creation. I stand by that.

Though hey, maybe I'm just talking out of my ass, if I'm being honest I just got off of a 12 hour night shift, running on coffee, a protein bar along with and edible I take to sleep might be messing with me big time but I really just don't see the hype, especially the more and more I look into it and as someone who faced these debates a lot in film school it's seems like a waste of time to worry.

And really, it's been around for awhile and it's still seems to be the same deal, 'oh in a few years it's gonna be so advanced ' and it 90 percent of the time isn't. Really, I think this is probably the most progress we've made.

Truly I think it's also silly that it's making people fear and question art on it's audenticy. Avoiding, it's community but not engage with it. Whether it be not wanting to comment on fanfiction (another post I read and reblogged) or sharing on art through social media and even having to see if films have any AI in it just to determine if you should go see it or not, or if it will be good or not. That stings man, and I'm sure just just a sore for all artists and creators in the world.

If anything, I really blame those old sc-fi thrillers/that really installed that sort of fear and excitement of technology and the idea artificial intelligence into us.

[louisisalarrie]

Not that many high profile celebrity fathers take paternities that I know of, or make them public. Louis is a but more private than other celebs, so I can imagine he could’ve just thought it was no one’s business. But there could be something else, like Brianna initially being meant to be a surrogate mom for Louis and Harry but something went wrong. Also, the photoshop “evidence” always seemed flimsy to me at best. I remember when lesbianslovelouis made an instagram account and bought a doll to prove Freddie was one but you could very much tell the difference between the doll and the real baby.

hey anon! lovely to hear from you.

i’ll try and keep this in order of what you’ve sent me. You can also find a great resource of BBG here, and many other of these breakdowns are available on YouTube, along with some bigger masterposts here on tumblr. Check these out for way more detail than I can pull together right now: 1, 2

1. Paternity tests and why they matter to BBG

Firstly to this, Louis is a high profile celeb who had a one night stand with a non famous girl he met that night (as the story goes), and knocked her up. If it was truly a one night stand and they’d just met, how was he sure F is his? Was he just gonna hand over money and support this kid and have him in his life with no paternity test? Hell, even if he did have a paternity test and it was his (hypothetical and not what I believe), why wouldn’t he just say “hey, I’ve taken a paternity test and he is mine, I’d appreciate privacy during this time” etc, because there was so much scrutiny about it, that if he wanted to lay those rumours to rest, he could have. BUT, that doesn’t keep the fans and general public talking about it, and therefore, he gets lost in the news. It’s all PR baby.

You are right, he is a very private person and has stated before he doesn’t like to post his personal life on social media. So, if the kid is his, why is F in the spotlight so much? In a film that’s meant to be strictly about Louis’s career for the world to see? Posted on Instagram and shoved in the public eye? It doesn’t add up with his values why he would keep a paternity test private, but broadcast the kid everywhere (or these days, allow his sisters/B’s family to post about him).

Paternity tests are provided to the general public to keep the celeb a) in the news, and b) to clear their image of being dragged into a scandal and encouraging fans to leave by seeing how much their fave celeb is undesirable/unattainable. Louis’s image was draaagggeddd through the mud, making this whole thing seem like he was fucking everything that walked, and knocking up girls at the club without a care in the world, far from his image in 1D. It wasn’t keeping the fans thinking “wow that sounds like the guy I’d wanna be with”, it was grossing them out and not wanting to really be involved with louis after this news broke. It was messy as hell back here when it all broke, still is. But damn, it did NOT make him look like the louis we all know and love. You can find a brief list of Celebs who have had their paternity tests revealed to the general public here, and I’m sure there have been many others.

2. The case of Briana and the surrogacy for HL

There have been a few really great posts about this in the past debunking it, and it seems pretty ridiculous now. I genuinely clutched at this idea to keep from believe BBG very early on when the news broke, so my heart didn’t. However, a couple of things I think we should think about are: why B? She lives across the world from their families. H+L have always been very family oriented, and that simply doesn’t add up for me. Secondly, the timing is super off. I don’t see them having a child at that point in their careers, knowing that they’re gonna continue travelling the world and won’t be a part of their kids life as much as they’d like to be, particularly when he’s so far away from both their families, so even they can’t look after him. Thirdly, if it truly was theirs, and it ended up being covered up as a scandal this way, F wouldn’t be in the public eye. It’s just not the case.

There is far more evidence to the fact she did a surrogacy for her mum as she was a patient in a fertility clinic a bit before this “one night stand” went down, and you can find that (and some other interesting stuff) here.

3. Doll vs Photoshop

Ahhh yes, I also remember the doll thing hahahah. Look, I think we were clutching at straws with the doll thing because it was insanely wild news and we just… couldn’t believe it. Didn’t believe it. So there were a million theories at the time to try and debunk it, including this doll one. It was a little convincing at the time because it’s what we wanted to hear and we were hoping this was just a short stunt, and we knew that louis wouldn’t broadcast an infant into the public eye like that if it wasn’t a stunt (which he largely has no control over what content is released during this), but I think largely, we really hated that a kid was gonna be dragged into this. We still do. I feel sorry for F, and I really hope he grows up and lives a happy life despite his position he is in now. There certainly is some evidence re the photoshopping, so check my links in the top of this response and hopefully you can find what you’re looking for.

Thanks for reaching out and hopefully this helped! If you wanna talk more, don’t hesitate to shoot me some more asks. Those masterposts cover just about everything though. BBG doesn’t add up, it never has, never will.

[cinnamonzen]

OP, I don't think people were only "trying to be kind" with the original post saying they could read it, because it is very readable. I know it's an expression of your frustration from school, but also please don't try and entrap people by saying "well you're just being nice because you don't know how bad it can be" because no, with the original post, we don't. You said yourself you made sure it really was readable in photoshop, so why would it be surprising or somehow disingenuous when people said your handwriting was, in fact, very legible?

The second post is also readable with effort, I'm sure to varying degrees for various people, and I absolutely feel you on timed written exams. Teachers (of all levels, from first grade to professors) are caught between all kinds of deadlines. I wouldn't be surprised if many truly wished they could spend the time to sit with your handwriting to read it properly or—better yet—give you the time to write so you didn't feel rushed when writing. Or, and I don't know how old you are or how prevalent actual timed handwritten exams are in primary schools these days (I am nearly two decades away from those), allow you the option to type out your answers.

This is to say: I know it's frustrating and you absolutely should have and have had better accommodations for written papers and exams, but at the same time also please keep in mind the pressure and tightly timed deadlines teachers are also on that sometimes don't allow them to spend more than 15-20min on each paper/exam.

Spent a ridiculous amount of time last night obsessively editing my hand written zines in Photoshop to take away any tiny blemishes so they were definitely readable.

Whatever. Understand or don't.

[finalprojectgroup20]

Women's Expectations and Beauty Standards in Sports and Athletics: Unit 1

Something that has always stayed in the back of my mind while growing up as an athlete myself is watching sports and major sporting events like the Olympics. Women are constantly being viewed not only for their performance but also for the way they look and how they are portrayed to the eye of the public. I am not saying that this is only a problem for women in this particular professional world but that they have it much harder. The standards are through the roof for how they should look, act, sound, and behave to make the public and media happy. This does affect all athletes, but you dont typically see men photoshopping themselves to appear extremely skinny or changing their body shape while they are on the field or jumping from bar to bar like Livvy Dunne did to appease her audience. 

Dunne photoshopped her shoulders and torso to be smaller in comparison to the original picture. Later dealt with a huge amount of backlash for this performance on social media and took down the photo since so many people were shaming her. Not ever considering why she felt the need to edit her photos since she is already an amazing gymnast. Female athletes aren't just competing for a spot in the top ranking, they are also competing with each other for fame and camera time, something only gifted to athletes if they meet all the criteria that the media wants to see - skinny, beautiful, blemish-free, flawless, and overall the “perfect” body that women are brainwashed into striving to be. It's such a dangerous world to be thrown into and if not taken with a grain of salt. You might end up in the firing range like Dunne. 

This isn't new either since women have been allowed to participate in sporting events and teams they have been criticized for how they look and less on how they perform. This appearance-obsessed culture is something that has been riddling with dance and gymnastics since the start of it all. Women all over the world have come forward to speak out about USA coaches who have starved and even forced them into extreme diets while shaming young girls who could not shed weight due to their genetics or body shape. Garber writes “ However, dictating female athletes’ bodies is unfortunately commonplace in virtually every sport”. This isn't just coaches and managers who are trying to force eating habits and dictate the weight of women. Just this last February, track star Mary Cain also known as “The fastest woman in America” set a lawsuit against her personal Nike coach for forcing her into an abusive diet, starving her into submission that later resulted in a deep and overwhelming depression episode that lasted for months. 

Another case in 2016 with the tennis star Eugenie Bouchard came out where she spoke out about her battle with an eating disorder due to the pressure and expectations from the outside world and herself. Women are more than what they look like and how the media is portraying them to be and if the whole world can't see that then the harm will continue to follow suit for these amazing athletes that dont get to truly shine without someone or something trying to bring them down for not being what they want them to be. With my lasting words on the subject, I would like to inform you that through the National Eating Disorder Association, 62% of female athletes in weight class or aesthetic sport suffer from some type of eating disorder. I hope you let that information sit with you before you try to judge an athlete for more than how they perform in their sport.

Work Cited:

Savage, M. (2012). Body image in sports. Character Education - Santa Clara University. https://www.scu.edu/character/resources/body-image-in-sports/ 

Majumder, A. (2023, November 6). Olivia Dunne Sparks internet backlash over “photoshop” controversy in latest post. EssentiallySports. https://www.essentiallysports.com/us-sports-news-gymnastics-news-olivia-dunne-sparks-internet-backlash-over-photoshop-controversy-in-latest-post/ Garber, E. (2020, March 10).

Female athletes are worth more than their appearance. Massachusetts Daily Collegian. https://dailycollegian.com/2020/03/female-athletes-are-worth-more-than-their-appearance/

[horizon-verizon]

Sorry but I just find it so insane how Israelis insist that they’re indigenous to the ME but then they’re in a European thing like Eurovision. They always act like the Europeans they are until someone reminds them that they’re not Middle Eastern.

I'm American, as in from the United States, and I haven't watched any episode of Eurovision so I never knew Israel participated in the event. That and I never cared for watching singing, dance competitions. Really any of them, yes even American Idol and America's Got Talent. So what I will say only comes from light research.

Apparently, Israel is allowed because the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was an active member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which hosted the event in 1973. Australia joined bc its citizens made up a huge portion of the watching audience. And between them, there have been many nonEU countries that participated from WAsia and Africa, like Armenia and Morroco. Israel, I think was the first non-European state (not racially, geographically, bc those who move and live in Israel or dominate that society is racially white and/or come from the U.S. and Europe) in Eurovision, so it's possible that it U.S./Britain/France- backed status as a "nation" or state gave it the privilege to join, and by being already in the EBU, perhaps working on its own propaganda with EU nations. I think that it is a political allegiance sort of thing for the U.S. and those two EU states to publicly solidify their oil interests and instill their image of supporting "democracy" through Eurovision so people could also see Israel as its own country and brew that Israeli patriotism. Games of athletic sport, music, dance, etc. usually boosts that sort of thing (the Olympics and FIFA).

While doing that research, I also found out that a past Israeli Prime Minister advised Israelis to ask knocking IDF/IOF who was representing Israel in this year's Eurovision (which I don't think should even continue bc we have a genocide going on and Israeli itself keeps saying that it's at war, but hey what do I know, yeah?🙄) so that they don't get harmed by Hamas "terrorists". Apparently, Hamas fighters won't know who it would be. Mind you, again I (an American civilian) know nothing about Eurovision, much less who is representing what country and in what year, but all I had to do to know who was representing Israel was to look up on my phone and I get the info on under 5 mins. Article talking about it HERE.

Which really goes to show how racist, privileged and how much of the true aggressor Israel is. And I mean its entire government as well as many of its civilians/soldiers. Palestinians have phones and some Internet access, that's how we are getting all the inside news, esp from that woman Bisan. And they have had phones way before Israel decided to go full genocide this year and their cutting off rice powder to Gaza before the rapid airstrikes. If Israel truly thinks anyone from Hamas wouldn't know this it's because they think Palestinians (Hamas are Palestinians) are "animals" and uncultured, are either uninterested or too lowly to participate in the Eurovision. This plus Israel is known to provide/reserve/limit Gaza and West Bank's water, food, electricity, etc for years before this year, so it seems this former official is also saying "I know this bc we control their Internet access". Which is him telling on himself and Israel. Yet they still say that Hamas is spreading propaganda when people point out Israeli propaganda and its terrible Photoshop and AI. Because it's certainly not possible that Palestinians have been connected to the world for a long time and have access to social media. And of course, Palestinians do not have the time or energy or space to even think about Eurovision not bc of "noncivilizedness" but bc they are being dehydrated, bombed, and starved! Lost family and friends. Getting their heads exploded. Having their loved ones' corpses stolen and desecrated, having their houses stolen. Most of these things beingy done for years before this year's atrocities! Apparently this former president is revealing that privilege. Perhaps he just is so privileged and blind that he doesn't even perceive that he revealed his and Israel's aggressive/genocidal/apartheid-enforcing cruelty by saying this.

[worldkingclipping]

Professional Photo Editing Services Online: Transforming Your Images with Expertise

Introduction:

In today's digital world, captivating visuals play a vital role in grabbing attention and conveying powerful messages. Whether you are a professional photographer, an e-commerce entrepreneur, or a social media influencer, the quality of your images can significantly impact your online presence. To ensure your photos truly shine and leave a lasting impression, professional photo editing services online offer a wide range of expertise. In this article, we will explore the world of professional photo editing services and how they can elevate your visual content to new heights.

I. Understanding the Importance of Professional Photo Editing Services

A. Enhancing Image Quality: Professional photo editors possess the skills and tools to enhance image quality, including adjusting brightness, contrast, and colors, removing blemishes, and improving sharpness.

B. Consistent Branding: For businesses and individuals, maintaining consistent visual branding across all platforms is crucial. Photoshop Services Online can help align your images with your brand guidelines, ensuring a cohesive and recognizable identity.

C. Saving Time and Effort: Outsourcing photo editing tasks to professionals allows you to focus on your core activities, be it photography, running your business, or creating content.

II. Range of Professional Photo Editing Services Available

A. Color Correction: Achieving accurate and visually appealing colors is essential. Professional editors can adjust color balance, saturation, and hues to create vibrant, eye-catching images.

B. Background Removal: Whether you need a transparent background or a replacement with a different backdrop, professional photo editing services can expertly remove or change backgrounds, providing a clean and polished look.

C. Retouching and Restoration: For portrait photographers or personal images, professional editors can retouch skin, remove imperfections, and perform advanced restoration techniques to revive old or damaged photographs.

D. Image Manipulation: Sometimes, a touch of creativity can transform an ordinary image into something extraordinary. Photo editing professionals can merge multiple images, add or remove elements, and create stunning composite visuals.

E. Product Photo Editing: E-commerce businesses heavily rely on high-quality product images to drive sales. Professional editors can enhance product photos, ensuring accurate colors, proper lighting, and consistent backgrounds.

III. Selecting the Right Professional Photo Editing Service Provider

A. Reputation and Portfolio: Research the service provider's reputation, read customer reviews, and explore their portfolio to assess the quality of their work.

B. Turnaround Time: Timely delivery is essential, especially for businesses with tight deadlines. Ensure the editing service can meet your required turnaround time.

C. Customization and Flexibility: Every project has unique requirements. Look for a service provider that offers customization options and is flexible enough to accommodate your specific needs.

D. Data Security: Your images contain valuable intellectual property, so it's crucial to choose a service provider that prioritizes data security and guarantees the confidentiality of your files.

E. Cost-Effectiveness: While quality should be a priority, consider the affordability of the service. Look for providers that offer competitive pricing without compromising on quality.

Conclusion

In the digital age, professional photo editing services online have become indispensable for individuals and businesses alike. By leveraging their expertise, you can enhance image quality, maintain brand consistency, and save valuable time. Choose the right service provider, and watch your images transform into captivating visual assets that leave a lasting impact.

[alpinefitco]

Photographing Alaska, How-To for Beginners

It’s a daunting but rewarding experience, learning how to capture the stunning natural beauty that Alaska has to offer. In 20 years of photographing the rugged landscapes, rough seas and Alpenglow, here are a few of my hard learned lessons...

Plan your trip: Research the best locations in Alaska for photography and plan your trip accordingly. You don’t even need to go far! Some of the best photographs I have are from 30 minutes into a hike. Also be aware of the weather conditions and the amount of daylight available during the time of year you plan to visit. Weather can either enhance or limit your photography depending on your desired outcome. If you are heading out to remote locations make sure you have the right gear, but not too much that it will limit your travel.

Bring the right gear: Bring a good quality camera and lenses suitable for landscape photography. The camera on your phone is fine for instagram but think about how nice the photo will be when blown and mounted on your wall. A tripod is essential for capturing sharp images, especially in low light conditions but can be a bit heavy so plan accordingly. Unless you plan on going crazy, one memory card should be enough. The most essential kit in a variety of settings is a polarized filter; it’s good for days on the water, snow or enhancing clouds.

Shoot in RAW: Shooting in RAW allows you to capture more detail in your images and gives you greater flexibility in post-processing without losing detail or getting those awkward color gradients. Even some phones will allow you to shoot in RAW format now. The only drawback here is that without a filter automatically applied, it does almost necessitate some post-processing. My one tip here, learned the hard way, is to take the time to shoot a well-composed photo that requires as little time on the computer as possible; it’s too easy to take 1000+ photos just to end up filtering through a bunch of bad ones.

Pay attention to the light: Alaska is known for its stunning light, so be sure to take advantage of it. The golden hour (the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset) is the best time for photography in general, as the light is softer and warmer. However, even midday light can be beautiful in Alaska during winter because the angle of the sun is low for so long. A haze does often creep in towards the afternoon especially in summer so the intrepid photographer will be up early when the air is clear, the light angle is optimal, crowds are few and wildlife is undisturbed.

Capture the landscape: Use a wide-angle lens to capture the vastness of the landscape, and look for interesting foreground elements to add depth to your images. Watch out for photo bombs like power lines that are hard to remove in processing. A quick browse through the works of Ansel Adams provides a good baseline of how a landscape photo is best composed.

Experiment with different compositions: Try different compositions and angles to add complexity to your images. We’ve all seen the hero shot at the top of the mountain standing on what appears to be a 1000 ft cliff. Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool but you can do better. Crouch down, get up high, peak from behind a boulder or a bush. Add some perspective with your tent in the background or the little specs of people a mile down that ridge. Capturing the grandeur and immensity of Alaska is challenging but ultimately rewarding when you find that one great shot!

Edit your photos: Once you've captured your images, take some time to edit them to bring out the best in your shots. Adjust the exposure, contrast, and saturation to enhance your images and make them stand out. Numerous programs exist for photo editing. The truly dedicated gravitate towards photoshop, but Lightroom is good enough for most folks. I’ve found that editing is the best way to learn which photos worked and why, thereby making future photos even better. For this reason, spending a few hours in the ‘dark room’ is an invaluable teaching tool.

By following these tips, you'll be able to capture the beauty of Alaska and create stunning images that you'll cherish for years to come.

All photos shared in this post were by Jen or Hale Loofbourrow

[zeroar]

Small AI thoughts

As someone who uses Photoshop to draw, paint, and edit, I'm already using AI when I use their filters and computer tools.

I don't see a problem with humans using technology as part of their workflow.

There are ethical issues with how the AI is trained and how it is used. As someone who just got back into writing fiction, I am extremely saddened by Clarkesworld having to close submissions due to AI-generated spam, though getting accepted at Clarkesworld for my stories is more of a dream than a waking-world goal anyway. Primarily because of their response time, they were always the first publication I would submit to back when I was writing full-time. Now they not only still have an amazing response time, but their pay rate is substantially higher than most fiction magazines so I was a little excited to submit my first story in over a decade. I'm sure that's why they were targeted.

But if people were generating stories and doing quality checks and edits on things and using AI to elevate their own writing and art, I think it wouldn't have been as big of a problem. I've resisted ChatGPT because writing is something that is very accessible for me. I don't need the help.

Since I found out my worsening hand tremors were caused by my medication and not natural progression of the issues I've always had, I haven't used Stable Diffusion's image generator much; but even now that I don't need them, I'm not opposed to someone using them in their workflow. If I had a faster GPU or had kept up with the advances, I'd still be using them and I plan to use them again in the future.

Especially the inpainting and remixing features of Stable Diffusion where you upload your own work and tweak it. I think it's something that should be taught in every art school.

Creating "out of whole cloth" means lying. Capital-C Creation is not what we do when we create art. Nothing is truly new, just iterated and adjusted and maybe you didn't see the journey from point A to point B.

And also, a lot of toxicity and anti-art sentiments have developed over the last century by equating art with magickal Creation abilities.

How many kids are told they have to draw from their imagination and not use reference photos? That's absurd. Some people do not even have an internal image in their heads (aphantasia). We're going to deny them the human experience of art by not allowing reference photos to be used?

The biggest problem with all these in our world is capitalism. People are spamming Clarkesworld because the time-investment of developing a story was shortened to the point that it was affordable to try it as a source of income. Artists already struggle to get paid a fair wage (or get paid at all) and now companies can have someone produce work for even less. Even if the person making it is equally skilled as the artist, they'll be able to do it so much faster that paying them the same means paying them less.

There are other major ethical issues like how good the fake images of real people doing anything and everything wearing anything or nothing are getting, but artists could already do that with enough time. That's not a new problem, it's simply something that's easier to do now. I confess one of the reasons I forced myself to step away from AI art was that I was becoming obsessed with creating an embedding to make "new" photos of my dead love (thanks 2020). There should be photos of her in a wedding dress, growing old; being happy in every stage of life. If I had enough audio of her to train a voice simulator, I'm not sure I'd have been able to stop myself. Though if I had enough audio of her to do that, I probably wouldn't be as desperate to hear her voice again.

Anyway, that sounded more like a bad sci-fi story—the sort that wouldn't be accepted by Clarkesworld even if written by a human—so I tore myself away from that project ... for now.

These are my shortened thoughts (I had written a very, very long article in January on this, but lost my way in the writing; was reminded again today with another company declaring they won't use AI. Does that mean no Photoshop? No Grammarly? No Windows? No Android? No Siri? No, it means not something that markets itself as AI. Very arbitrary lines in sand, hence the above).

Thanks for reading! 〜Zero

[mistergoddess]

i'm really upset by that part of myself that's like. shaming myself for feeling insecure about my burn scar. it bothers me a lot so i got that fancy expensive scar treatment skincare serum shit and am hoping it helps, because it isn't nice to feel sad and bad about something you have to look at on your body every single day and know it's there forever. but there is such a part of me. the part of me that's lived my entire teen and adult life covered head to toe in heavy acne scarring and heavy sh scars and REALLY heavy intense deep stretch marks. that views it as a failure to like shy away from visible blemishes? there's just some insane resistant part of me that's like no i need it, it's another big cool gnarly ugly highly visible scar, and that's who i am and it's a point of personal pride that i'm so marked and so neutral about it. like it's not even that i've had to fight to be ok with my skin, it's that it has truly never bothered me before. and that's a mental and emotional freedom not a lot of people get. so i don't know i guess what i'm struggling with is experiencing a new insecurity that i don't know how to cope with and like... how to allow myself that insecurity and allow myself the option to indulge in beauty products and treatments to do something about it. and it isn't superfluous or bad and i rationally know that if something truly makes someone unhappy about their body they should be allowed to change it without judgement but when it's me doing it my brain is like wow shallow consumerism giving into mainstream beauty standards and supporting this industry that wants everyone to be photoshop perfect huh. argghhh. even writing this i'm putting myself down like "it's not that deep jesus drama queen it's not like you had a near death experience" but idk no matter how stupid and random the thing that caused it is, a rather large, extremely visible, very distinctively shaped burn scar on your forearm IS a big deal and it IS like. actually affecting me mentally and DOES make me feel self conscious and bad and i need to allow myself that and allow myself the dignity of wanting it gone.

[jotarosexhusband]

propaganda under the cut!

REIGEN:

#reigen actually deserves to win this whole thing. sorry. #don't even TRY to argue that he has no swag. that man knows massage and photoshop and runs a successful business #he has the swag that a smooth talkin presidential candidate bill clinton has #he is THEE con man with a heart of gold. stan pines whomst. moist von lipwig whomst. #yes he is also a limp wet cat what's your point #sorry this got away from me #anyways vote reigen

#reigen’s more tboy cringe but i have to go to bat for him.

SIMON:

he is almost always wearing a jacket with no shirt underneath. coincidence? i think not!

#Goooootta be simon hav e you SEEN his wack ass metal chest binder

this reblog, which is the source of the text and image below

right. okay.

it's really hard for me to put into words why i feel so strongly about simon being trans but here goes. spoilers for gurren lagann below!

one of the main themes in ttgl is evolution. not just of a species, but of the self. it's about allowing yourself to change and be the best version of yourself and CHOOSING that version even through adversity. simon himself says this best:

ttgl is also about masculinity and strength and how it looks different for everyone. kamina's masculinity is very brash and obvious. he's loud, he's boisterous, he never backs down from a fight. his strength is leadership – he's terminally optimistic, he knows exactly what to say to inspire, and he trusts his teammates to utilize their strengths and have his back. he is everything simon aspires to be.

and then simon loses kamina, loses his pinnacle of masculinity and strength and he is so lost, he forgets the most important thing kamina taught him – believing in his own strength.

because simon's masculinity is more subtle, and his strength is unconventional. he's shy and awkward. he is incredibly kind and faithful to his loved ones. and his strength is belief. not just belief in himself, or even in his drill, but belief in humanity itself to overcome and change.

obviously losing kamina changes him, but i don't think it's just about grief. he is so scared he'll never be just like his bro, who is now gone, that it paralyzes him. he has lost his outward view of what masculinity is and who he should be as a man.

and the thing is – he never does become exactly like kamina. it's kinda the whole fucking point. this trauma, this horrible loss, forces simon to look inward and find what's truly most important about HIMSELF. this grief will always be a part of him – but it also helped bring his greatest self forward. the man he always was, but needed to choose.

also, like, i don't know what medical properties spiral power has but it can make people immortal. so. who's to say simon's spiral power didn't give him evolutionary top surgery. he's almost never wearing a shirt when he's Most Himself so take that as you will.

ANIME TBOY SWAG TOURNAMENT ROUND 3 MATCH 1

Reigen Arataka (Mob Psycho 100) VS Simon (Gurren Lagann)