#without going so over-the-top as a lot of the advice recommends

[e-louise-bates]

Instead of "20 books to $50k" or "how to increase readership by writing and publishing a book every month that is exactly like every other popular book out there," I need the kind of marketing advice that goes along the lines of, "hey, here's how to get a modest fanbase and sell enough books to justify this as a side gig without having to go crazy and spend more than you earn on marketing." Because honestly, all the advice I find these days either a) requires me to put way more time and money into marketing than I am able to do, or b) requires me to write fast and sloppy in very specific sub-genres, and that's really not why I write stories.

And like Emily Starr, I would--and will--continue to write stories regardless of how many people read them, but it would be nice to be able to reach more than a dozen readers, and to be able to reasonably look on my writing as a part-time job rather than an expensive hobby.

(It doesn't help that there are so many articles out there claiming that self-publishing is dead! It's gotten too bloated and now only a handful can make a living off it! But wait--traditional publishing is also dead! It's gotten too greedy and now only a handful can make a living off it! Mid-level authors? Whether traditionally published or self-published, they apparently no longer exist)

[bunnyreaper]

task force 141 boys, au where they all work as masseurs and you're their client.

(18+/nsfw, f!reader) 

simon is known for his sheer strength when it comes to massages. he has a lot of clients who are stressed-to-death business types because any knot, he can work it out, and he does it without saying a word. he's preferred by clients who don't want to make small talk during their treatment. 

his hands are massive, and seriously, any aches quiver in his presence because they know they're going to be gone soon under his firm touch. 

when you come to the appointment, it's a change of pace from his usual clientele. you ask questions and seem just a touch nervous, explaining that your usual masseuse was out on maternity leave and your boss had recommended simon. he made it his mission to make you comfortable, and from that first appointment with you, he's finds he doesn't mind conversation so much as long as it's yours.

at the end of the first session, you mention your preference for late night appointments, and while he wouldn't usually change his schedule, he does for you. he accommodates you because he kind of hates the idea of you with another masseur--he gets the sense you wouldn't be comfortable with some of his coworkers. 

he'll never ever make a move or do anything suggestive. he stiffens and hesitates when he gets too close to anywhere he shouldn't, and makes sure to always remain super professional (he's definitely overcompensating.) 

one session, you're turning over to your front when the towel slips and he sees the slightest glimpse of your breasts--but what strikes him is the way you apologise to him.

the both of you are so flustered, you don't even notice you've left your phone behind until you get out to your car. when you rush back in to grab it, you forget to even knock and walk in on simon with his dick in his hands. 

and god, even the way he works himself is hypnotic, and you can't help but want to lend a hand as you take ahold of his slick cock.

john attracts clients with his warm demeanor, and his occasional bit of sage life advice on top. a lot of his clients tend to be guys like him, so he's surprised when you end up at one of his appointments. 

he's instantly smitten, and finds that he pays extra attention to your body. not just how it looks, but the way you react to his touch. unlike any masseur you've had before, he doesn't need to ask about the pressure and you don't need to correct him, because he just knows. it's instinct, the right pressure, the right moves, the right scents and everything. you start to think john is criminally undervaluing his services, as you come out from every session feeling a million times better. you used to only go once a month or once a fortnight, but it's almost as if you're addicted to his touch. he refuses tips, so you start baking for him and batting your pretty eyelashes at him to get him to take the treats.

one session you have the achiest thighs ever, and you groan to him about how much you just need some relief. price laughs, and gets to work on oiling up the back of your thighs. he's so in tune with you, he notices the way you squirm under his touch as his fingers climb higher, notices the way your breathing escalates, and well, it's impossible to ignore when you straight up moan for him.

you're horrified but his soothing voice is there, reassuring you that it's normal and natural and nothing to worry about. you swear when you turn over he's smirking. at the end of the appointment, he offers you his card, looking you dead in the eye as he tells you he makes house calls too. 

and of course his intimate massages, just for you, are mind blowing. he takes his time even more than usual, working the tension out of your hands, your arms and your shoulders before moving to your breasts and down your stomach. then he works up from your feet, over your calves and thighs just as he did before. he has you entirely slicked and oily as he massages your clit so fucking carefully and slowly.

johnny's specialism is sports massage and works with a lot of young guys and gals, but he offers other types too. he comes highly recommend for someone looking for functional tips alongside their massage. he's chatty as all hell and likes to make small talk during sessions if the client is up for it. super welcoming and friendly, and everyone loves the accent. 

you find you love talking to johnny, because it just comes so easily. you're sure he does this with everyone but he's always asking questions, getting to know you. it's almost like you become friends, as he says you're his favourite regular. johnny jokes one time that he'd be heartbroken if you ever saw someone else, but you could never. now there's no one you'd trust for massages other than him. 

when you need physio, it's him you go to as well, even if he chuckles a little when you explain you injured yourself drunk, dancing on a table. 

it's a physio session where it all changes, you've been doing mobile stretches under johnny's direction, but he feels you need a little bit of extra stretching. 

you lay down on the mat as johnny scoots closer and takes ahold of your ankle. he rests his foot on his shoulder as he starts to push, and you're looking up at him with so much trust in your eyes. he keeps pushing you, and you give less and less resistance, until suddenly he's pressed against you--his hardness is pressed against you.

his eyes go wide as he moves away, and he's stuttering out apologies in an instant, worried about how unprofessional and inappropriate it is, assuring you that it's never happened before (he doesn't have a big fat crush on just any of his clients.)

it's then you climb atop of him, running your hands over his shoulders as you tell him just how flattered you are. johnny's got you bent over before you can say another word, stretching you out in another way.

kyle is a real hit with older women, they love their young boy toy masseur with the bright, gorgeous smile and bulging arms. a lot of them go to the same country club, and they all talk about gaz in this one circle of older ladies. his diary is always booked full, but he'd managed to squeeze you in late one night during the week, and you were so thankful.

he's surprised when you come through the doors, similar in age and not at all like his usual clients, especially the more outrageous or entitled ones. 

his voice is so soft and smooth as he talks you through the consultation beforehand, to the point where you already feel soothed and relaxed before he's even put his hands on you. he struggles with his attraction from the first meeting. 

his touch is always on the lighter side, which you find absolutely perfect, and the skin on his hands is so smooth that being rubbed by him is a dream. he likes to use heated oils and aromatherapy too, and sometimes you swear you fall asleep on his table. waking up after one of his massages, to his smiling, cheerful face and kind eyes makes you feel more rejuvenated than anything. 

one time when you're coming in for a session, you arrive earlier than usual and catch the tail end of his previous appointment. its one of his regulars, a particularly high-maintenance and touchy-feely woman, who despite being married is trying to come on kyle hardcore. you had planned on waiting outside respectfully, but marched in once you saw the discomfort on his face. 

in your session, you can tell he's still a little uncomfortable from the session, so you try talking to him throughout to take his mind off of things. 

you probably shouldn't have made a comment, or asked if he gets hit on a lot, but be laughs it off and says it happens a lot. his hand freezes on your calf as he admits he wouldn't mind as long as it were you--and you find yourself climbing off the bed and sinking to your knees to give him some relaxation for once. 

[pinkchrissysposts]

°•*TIPS AND ADVICE FOR LOA AND VOID*•°

Guys i have come to decide that my time have come to an end in this amazing app tumblr I feel honoured to be a part of this beautiful community but before I go I would like to give some tips to everyone who.are still in their void/manifestation/shifting journey.

So as we know this is your journey to seize your power no one is gonna be there to help you except yourself. If you have been in this journey for a long time the only thing you are lacking is trust with yourself. Start building trust with yourself,it will become easier to persist. Consistency and persistence is needed of course but also trust within yourself.

I was also someone who struggled alot as a beginner for years but I slowly learned different things that are key to manifest/enter void/shift. Now don't ask what is the key because it has been mentioned in almost every loa post you read.

Follow your own style of manifesting,if you feel frustrated over methods then choose one which resonates with you,what matters is you feeling satisfied at the end.

Now this is for my a+ p girlies, I know I said it multiple times but don't affirm to get in 3D,affirm to make it your dominant thought,your goal should be making the affirmation your dominant thought that's it. It becomes thousand times easier because you also start to detach from the old story,your attention will be more on believing in that affirmation rather then seeing it in the 3D. Like this😤🤌

When we hear about horror stories,we don't see the ghost but we still believe it exist right? We start reaffirming unconscious like there is ghost in the kitchen stuff like that. (That was one shitty example ☠️💀)

I get a LOTS of ask about robotic affirming and saturation,guys it's simple they both quite similar. Well in robotic affirming you just have to chant it without really focusing on it as it saturate you and it's mostly helps with mental diet.

But during saturation try to be more focus on the affirmation,it like focus affirming.

Moving on to void,I will really recommend using the distraction method or zone out method they both are same nothing different. Also just read the masterlist from my old account @graychrissy it had mostly void post with my documented void journey. Also read rotten's shifting guide then use the gateway tape it is available in spotify too,it can be instant to reach the focus 10,but some may need practice but it's easy nothing overcomplicated just a hemi sync (Turing off left side of the brain).

Top method I recommend is affirming,SATS,FOCUS 10,DISTRACTION METHOD, LUCID DREAMING and THE BASIC WAY

NEVER BE AFRAID OF YOUR EMOTIONS,seriously it's something everyone dm me about it's really not important,your emotions are also 3D,it won't mess up your manifestation so just calm down.

Also since the link in master list aren't working I will make a new one,I will be changing the whole lay out of my blog then you guys can use it. Goodbye~~~~~~~;)

[kibbles-bits]

During Heaven's Best AU how Valentino and Velvette what kind territory or business? Without Vox in their life!? Remain same with VEES tower or probably smaller or etc!?

Valentino and Velvette are the newest officially recognized Overlords.

And the weakest, though most civilians of Hell don't know that.

Valentino's had the power/souls/territory to be recognized as an Overlord on and off for decades, but Carmilla had never invited him to their board meetings. She saw his hold over his assets as too unstable. In her opinion he was just another violent pimp, one that managed to stick around longer than the others. He wasn't taken seriously by anyone except Zeezi and, strangely, Zestial, but that still wasn't enough for Carmilla to invite him.

He didn't care to be invited anyway, though recognition would have been nice… whatever… Fuck them.

Velvette is an Influencer and Fashion Designer like in canon and she got a boost into Overlord status by hiring Valentino's souls to model and work for her. In exchange, she helped Valentino with his public image. Promoting his clubs, employees, and developing Love Potion.

With Velvette's promotions and recommendation, Val is able to rent out his souls to different studios covering different forms of entertainment and media, so he's become something like an agent. He's not personally involved in movie production.

When they met, Valentino had recently lost a lot of territory and souls and was working on getting it back. He meets Velvette who was snatching up all the 'scraps' that were left behind. His intention was to get rid of her for the audacity but her attitude charms him enough that he holds off on it until he sees she can be useful, then he wants to keep her. Velvette saw Valentino as a way to quickly gain status and then bail on him the next time he loses his hold on power. She did her research, she knows its going to happen again and he'll have bigger problems than trying to track her down and by then she'll be untouchable.

Buuut then the two end up bonding because they have a lot in common. Velvette just had no idea since Valentino's been in only high stress situations since he came down here. And Valentino LISTENS to her??? He sometimes has a pissbaby attitude but he takes her advice and critiques seriously. He like. Respects her. Meanwhile, Valentino didn't think anyone as capable as Velvette would ever want anything to do with him, professionally, like he's a person. And learning she likes him? He didn't think it was possible for him to be tolerated by anyone he didn't own. They make their partnership official and eventually genuinely learn to trust one another and help each other out without really expecting anything in return. You know, like friends!

Together, they're able to shove their fingers in every pie in the Entertainment District. Val owns the talent so you need to get through him to have anyone good starring in your media. Velvette's promotions and designs are too valuable to not beg for. They work very well together and make it so that everyone else needs them.

The only thing they lack is territory. What they own is small, but solid. They have a building that is mostly Velvette's studio with an apartment on the top floor that Val calls his house (though they live together) and Val owns some of the surrounding streets and clubs. They have enough muscle to defend their territory but not enough to fight for more. Their business, while successful, is limited and its hard to steal the souls of other demons that they can't make use of or manage properly. They're both limited to only swiping up the desirable or desperate before anyone else.

(A third person would be soooo useful to them…)

Read the Heaven's Best AU HERE

[cupcakeslushie]

Do you have any tips on for people starting a comic and wanting to post to tumblr? Like pacing ect. Or well any experience you’ve had with your comics? Love your content as well ❤️

If it’s simply for fun, and you’re just trying to gain experience, my biggest advice would be to just START. Don’t worry about it looking perfect. Don’t worry about comparing it to other’s comics. Just try something, and if you find it’s not working, you can always change things up. I have gone through several styles and page layouts since starting. Do I wish those first pages of EW looked just like what I’m doing now? Yes, but if I’d waited around for perfection I would have never started. And I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun creating it! If people like it, that’s great, but your art is for you. If you’re growing and learning and having fun, then you’ve accomplished something!

Now for some less preachy advice 😂…

—If your comic is gonna be hosted on Tumblr specifically, I would say, make sure you keep the 10 image limit in the back of your mind when you’re pacing things. That can definitely cause some headaches down the line. If you don’t plan ahead, and end up hitting it, you’ll have a sudden cut in your flow. This last update I knew it was gonna be long, so while I did plan, but I could’ve planned better.

—Variety is key!!!!!

Composition changes keep your viewers from getting bored. Sometimes I’ll find myself falling back into the bad habit of just doing the simple back and forth with two characters talking straight on, but changing the camera angle, making establishing shots when you change locations, and over the shoulder shots, etc etc…All these will make for a more interesting viewing. You may think a character needs to be in every single panel to make it interesting, but if you have a lot of dialogue, a simple plain shot—either in top of a solid background, or just over something boring, like a glance at the set, etc—this will let people focus on the words rather than splitting their focus.

Variety applies to shading as well—whether you’re using color or black/white. Variety in values are SO important for comics. You’re shoving a ton of information in a limited space, so try to keep your values different for items that are close together….it can make things very confusing and turn your line work into indistinguishable blobs if you shade without this in mind.

(Using this panel as an example….)

The top two panels have a variety of darker values and a halftone background—so the next two with Venus, I kept rather simple. I could’ve colored the buildings behind her, but then, she might’ve gotten lost amidst all the grey. There’s not really any trick or solid rule to this, but once you develop your creative eye, you’ll make these choices without even thinking about it.

A few links to helpful tools (they’re all procreate centered I’m afraid 😅)

Outline brush — a free tutorial for Procreate users. This brush kinda mimics the CPS feature that lets you create panels with a nice black outline. I used this brush very often, and it really gives your panels a professional look. Fair warning, it can be glitchy, but it’s free…

Manero Comic Bubbles and sfx — These brushes are not free, so I would recommend maybe getting in your groove before you try them out. They’re by no means necessary, but I’ve just started using them, and they save me so much time. There’s a HUGE selection of shapes, and they go on with a solid white background, so you don’t have to worry about coloring around your dialogue balloons.

[blackboard-monitor]

how i've finished inktober every year for eight years and counting

Every time I mention around other artists that I finish inktober every year (meaning I draw and ink 31 drawings, one every day in October), I get questions like "how???", so I figured I'd make a post about it on the off chance it's helpful to someone. Please note that all my advice is based on my personal experience and you're a different person so what works for me may not work for you, and you can do whatever you want forever.

What it boils down to for me is two basic rules: 1) keep it simple and 2) manage your expectations.

Tools

Paper/sketchbook

I started my first inktober in my journal at the time, and because I'm neurotic like that, I've had to do every subsequent inktober in whatever journal I was using at that point.

The benefit of this is that each journal has had a page size of A5 or smaller, which can be tricky when trying to get in a lot of detail, but on the other hand forces you to limit the size of your drawings to a pretty managable size.

Paper type can also be important! Last year in 2023, my journal was a Moleskine sketchbook (image 1), which was actually designed to handle some degree of wet media, which was a game-changer for me as an ink wash enjoyer. Don't get me wrong, I've been using ink washes in most of my previous journals as well, but inking is a lot nicer when your paper isn't constantly buckling (image 2) or pilling and the ink isn't bleeding all over the place, inclunding through the page (image 3). Pages that stay flat instead of buckling are also a lot easier to scan or photograph, if like me you want to post your art online.

In short, my inktober paper recommendation is to use a sketchbook no larger than A5, and go for one with nice, thick paper if you intend to use wet media.

Sketching

I sketch everything with a single 6H pencil that I got from my brother in 2019. Because the lead is so hard, it allows me to scribble to my heart's content without the sketch getting too dark or hard to erase. Sometimes I'll refine the sketch with a HB mechanical pencil, which shows up really nicely on top of the 6H lines, but I may skip that step if I'm feeling lazy or the first sketch is clean enough.

Inking

I've used a variety of art supplies in my inktober drawings. For the most part I've always stuck to greyscale, with the exception of a couple of red or gold accents some years.

My main inktober tools are a set of Micron fineliners in various sizes, and liquid India ink, which I use with a dip pen and with brushes. I usually mix up a mid-tone ink wash in a small bottle, and use that throughout the month.

Fineliners pros: portable, require minimal setup, can use on the sofa or in bed or wherever Fineliners cons: creating texture and filling large areas is a lot more time-consuming. In 2021 I did inktober exclusively in fineliner because I was tired and couldn't be bothered to deal with liquid ink, but I ended up spending more time than maybe ever on the drawings because it took so long to add texture with pens.

Ink pros: you can achieve small details with a dip pen as well as quick texture and fill in large areas with a brush and ink washes Ink cons: can be messy (protip from 2022 Liekki, don't spill ink water all over your laptop), usually you have to sit at a table of some kind, you need to wash your brushes and dip pens, if your paper isn't designed for wet media, it'll buckle or bleed

Pick your inking tools and techniques based on how much time you have!

Prompts/ideas/subject matter

I've always stuck to the "official" prompt list, because it brings me joy to scroll through the tag of the day on instagram and see how others interpreted the same prompt. Or, rather, it used to bring me joy to do this, until instagram's enshittification stole our ability to look at tags. Maybe I'll have some luck with that on Cara going forward; here's hoping.

As for ideas, sometimes they come easy, sometimes it's like pulling teeth and I have to enlist all my friends to brainstorm with me (sorry, y'all). When in doubt, draw the first thing that comes to mind when you read the prompt; don't overthink it (like I often do). I like to try to come up with a less obvious interpretation of a prompt, but this is also where I often get stuck and have to harass my loved ones for ideas. Sometimes it helps to relate the prompt to a tv show/book/etc. you're into; I've done quite a bit of inktober fanart, as well as art of various DnD cahracters from games I've played/DM'd. If all else fails, just look at what everyone else is drawing that day.

Time management

Be realistic about how much time you have in a day to work on inktober, and then set your expectations accordingly. If you only have an hour, stick to a size and level of detail that you can realistically finish in an hour. I've done some very quick scribbles in my years of inktober when I've been busy that day.

My personal philosophy is that I try not to plan too much ahead; I don't do any sketching until day of, and ideally I don't try to come up with ideas for a prompt or at least decide on an idea until the day before at the earliest. Containing each drawing in one day helps me have realistic expectations of what's doable. This does mean drawing late into the night sometimes after procrastinating or struggling to find an idea all day, but it's what works for me.

If your goal is to complete inktober, it's better to do a small shitty drawing in ten minutes than to fall behing by starting something way too ambitious that you'll never be able to finish in a day.

Secret third rule!

Accept the fact that you aren't going to be happy with every drawing.

Inktober was created as an exercise to practice inking. Think of your drawings as sketches, not finished masterpieces. Some of them will be bad, at least in your own eyes. Sometimes you'll put a lot of effort into something that just doesn't work out. For example:

To quote Joe Hills, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of practice. So you fucked up today's drawing. Tomorrow is a new day – that's the beauty of inktober. "Ever tried, ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." (Samuel Beckett) Progress isn't linear, either; some years are consistently mediocre, other years it's all over the place with a couple bangers and a couple really shitty ones.

Every inktober I've made drawings I love,

drawings I'm indifferent to,

and drawings that straight up suck.

And I'm at peace with that.

Thanks for reading what turned into a pretty long post, and I hope some of it was helpful. Happy inktobering!

[beansprean]

Hii!! Just wanted to ask how you get your poses on characters just flow so naturally? Is it like 2nd nature to you or does it take a really long time to get the poses right and natural? Bcs i've always struggled with that

Just wanted to ask since I really love the way you draw poses and perspective!! (Might be a weird complements but yeah sksnsksosj)

DJGGJHGIG ANON MY LOVE......YOU ARE SO SWEET

its DEF not 2nd nature lol ive been drawing for over 20 yrs now and still struggle with stiffness and line weight and foreshortening on a lot of poses. the best advice i have is to USE REFERENCES!! draw parallel to them, trace a sketch model over them to work off of, cut them up and splice them together to get closer to whats in your head, take photos of yourself, ask your discord friends with diff body types to show you their knees, etc etc etc.

@adorkastock is a FANTASTIC place to find both mundane and dynamic poses. I also recommend fatphotoref.com, publicdomainpictures.net, vishopper.com, line-of-action.com, and referenceangle.com as well as any free use stock photos.

(Protip: on image results on search engines, you can filter by creative licenses! go to the top of the results page; on google its under tools > usage rights, on qwant its under filters > any license, and on duckduckgo its in the 'all licenses' dropdown. u can choose 'creative commons' 'public domain' 'non-commercial' etc. This seems to help filter out AI results lol)

one thing that IS 2nd nature to me and i think helps put a lot of life into my drawings is that my sketch layers are very loosey goosey. when ur doing ur first sketch, dont worry about anatomy or anything, just doodle loose lines that have the shape/feel of what ur lookin for. THEN i worry about references/anatomy etc on a 2nd sketch layer, with my lower layer reminding me where to put emphasis and weight and what type of emotion/expression I was going for etc.

Its a lot harder for me to draw smth good without some kind of foundation, and a sloppy sketch layer gives me that AND lets me get out the idea quick and return to it later, while not feeling pressure to make it perfect! i tend to lose a lot of that whimsy and movement during the inking stage, which im still trying to figure out lol - but i think thats pretty universal? My example here is more cartoony so its less of an issue but you can see it a bit in the bend of the fingers and elbow.

Good luck on your drawing journey!!!! i hope this was helpful or at least interesting lmaoo

[moldspace]

if u don't mind me asking for your clay creatures do u normally use glaze or paint? I'm just starting out with ceramics and I'm wondering if u had any recommendations for either? I always love how ur sculptures turn out :)

the ones that look "painted" are underglaze! I paint it onto dry greenware and then add a clear glaze over top after bisque firing. it's really as close as you can get to a "paint" for ceramic, it can be mixed and blended like paint and has no silica content so it doesn't turn glossy or stick to things in the kiln without another glaze overtop - it also doesn't move at all during firing like most glazes and stays exactly where you put it! my fav underglaze brand is coyote because their underglazes feel very thick and color dense (at least out of the brands I've used), so it requires less coats to get an opaque look (the tricky thing with underglaze is that it looks opaque when you paint it but fires semi-transparent, so it needs layering that you don't see the results of until the glaze firing). the clear glaze I use over my underglazes is amaco's mixing clear (technically part of their celadon line I think). if you do a clear glaze overtop of the underglaze it acts a lot like varnish over a painting, brightening it up and adding shine, but you can also leave the underglaze as-is, it will just be porous, matte, and a little chalky like any unglazed ceramic is. picking a clear glaze to go over underglazes can be tricky, because some of them will react to the colorants in the underglaze and you may get colors that disappear or become streaky under them, or your clear glaze can be too thick and look "milky", but I've had very good luck with the one I'm currently using.

if you want to get into glazing, i really like amaco's premade glazes, not only because they offer a nice selection, but because they have a lot of online resources for beginner ceramists to use - they have videos showing how they glaze pieces to get the correct amount of glaze on, a glaze layering tool that shows how different combinations of glazes (might) look together, and even a facebook group for people to post pictures and ask for advice in. ive been enjoying playing with glaze combinations and also playing with what parts of the sculpture I leave bare to just be the fired claybody.

[shuaberriez]

♡ basic gif tutorial!

hiiiii!!! i've made a tutorial in the past but i thought i might update it with this tutorial (re an ask i got a few days ago)! please keep in mind that i'm far from an expert when it comes to giffing but i am open to clarification and further questions <33

DISCLAIMER! there are so many ways to make gifs! everyone has a different process, so don’t be afraid to deviate from this! also! feel free to send an ask for further clarification :)

1: converting !

one of the major issues when it comes to ensuring the best quality for your gifs is making sure that you’re using an application that maintains at least a 1080p quality of the video you use. it’s not a good idea to gif anything below 720p as the quality of the video and consequently, your gifs are not going to be the best!

i) choosing a video

if you’re going to gif, i’d recommend choosing videos that are hq!

✰ Stage Gifs

for stage gifs i use .ts files! it’s definitely easier to source a performance video from youtube, but they won’t provide you with the quality you desire. if anything, use youtube as a source for stage gifs as a last resort!

for ts files, you can use:

-> rosebay

-> twitter (search [group name] + [date of performance] + [ts])

i personally use rosebay for my seventeen performance gifs but other groups do have sites/blogs that are specific to them.

psa: kpop24hours are currently not taking in any applicants atm! best advice would be to follow them on twt and keep their notifs on in case they do

these sources (at least, rosebay) are easy and pretty self explanatory to download!

✰ Normal Gifs

for normal gifs (i.e. of interviews, behind the scenes, going seventeen, etc.) i use youtube <3 keep in mind that it’s always best to use the source most reputable to ensure quality. for example, if i were to gif an inside seventeen video, i would use the seventeen official channel’s post of that, not reposts or anything like that!

to download youtube videos, i use:

-> 4K Video Downloader!

ii) how do you download youtube videos via this application?

all you have to do is:

1) copy the link to the youtube video (PSA this application only works for converting youtube videos)

2) press the green plus button on the very lefthand corner at the top

3) a window that lists the options for the video quality you want will then come up.

4) if it offers 1080p, it is almost always best to choose that for optimum quality!

5) the video will then download and you’ll be able to access it via a folder labeled 4K Video Downloader in your files app.

2. resizing and sharpening !

personally, i don’t sharpen in ps unless absolutely necessary. for most of my sharpening, i leave it to vapoursynth.

now, vapoursynth is a massive pain to download and use but it’s worth it in the end (i promise!! i’ve cried over it a lot but i probably wouldn’t be happy with posting my gifs without it)

i personally found it a bit complicated to download vs so i’ll refer you to a tutorial i used (i also got help from some of my moots bc idk how to do anything so dw if it’s confusing :sob:)

i) how to use vapoursynth now that you’ve gotten it downloaded?

this is probably the hardest part of the tutorial (at least, in my opinion) :sob: for this example, i’ll be using my 4K Video Download instead of a vlive, so if you were using a vlive, you’d have your downloads folder open instead of the 4K Video one.

1) open your files folder twice, make sure that there are two windows open - one being the vapoursynth folder (for me, it’s called VapourSynth64Portable (200722) but it depends on which version of vs you download) and another being the 4K Video Downloader folder.

2) notice the different applications (?) within the vapoursynth folder. in particular, the vapourscript (drop video file on me) one. drag the video you want to gif from the 4K Video Downloader folder onto that app, and it’ll open up a new window. this window is the timestamp window.

3) in this new window, type in the length of the video you want to gif. i personally do this bit by bit (as in, i timestamp each gif instead of letting vapoursynth run through the whole video, which, in retrospect is probably smarter but i am a Fool). for example in the video i’m giffing, i want one of my gifs to run from 0:56-0:58 of the video. so i input the start timestamp. in my case, this would be 00:00:56. and then i press enter. this would direct me to put in the duration of the video i want to encode, which, in my case, would be 2 seconds (00:00:02).

4) press enter again! it’ll open up a window on whichever internet server you use (for me, this is chrome) with a bunch of options:

5) next, you want to alter all the options so that it becomes a gif of the size and sharpening you want.

psa: all of the things below are advised options! it’s completely up to you to choose what settings you use. don’t be afraid to experiment!

ii) resizing

-> to resize, you want to use the GIF Size option. keep in mind the acceptable sizes of gifs on tumblr! if you gif something of an incorrect size, tumblr will probably destroy the quality even more than it already does and make it incredibly blurry, and you don’t want that! to prevent this, make sure to refer to this helpful guide on gif sizes for ones you could use!

for this gif, i’ll be using a 540 x 450 size.

make sure to move your gif around so that everything you want people to see in the gif is there. you can even drag the gif out to zoom in, etc.

6) input the size you desire in the width x height sections next to the GIF Size option.

iii) preprocessing

-> this indicates how fast or slow vs will make your gif. for normal videos, i use qtgmc 30 slow and debilinear. however, i’ve seen in other tutorials that it should be different for performance gifs (i.e. qtgmc 60 slow and debilinear). however, this is all up to you and your preference! experiment, and see what works for you!!

for this gif, i’ll be using qtgmc 30 slow and debliniear.

7) select the speed and debiliniear options next to the processing title.

iv) denoise filters

-> this option basically acts to smoothen your gifs!i tend to use KNLM and have actually never used BM3D before, but feel free to choose the latter!

8) choose between KNLM and BM3D (next to the denoise heading), and select the tickbox that comes up underneath it.

v) sharpening

-> this is when you sharpen your gifs! and make them look less grainy than if you were using ps directly. i personally use finesharp, but again it’s up to you!

9) choose between finesharp and VCFreq, and check the tickbox that comes up underneath it.

this is what my settings are like for this gif:

10) next! you need to alter the values for sharpening and denoise! this can be done on the coded box in the upper right-hand corner:

11) first, change the denoise filter value to whichever one you wish. for this gif, i will be using 1.8. this can be done by altering the “1.2” value in the row that has the text “video = core.knlm.KNLMeansCL(video, 0, 6, 4, 1.2, channels = "YUV”)

12) next change the sharpening value to whatever you want! for this gif, i will be using 0.33. this can be done by altering the “0.22” value in the row that has the text “video = fun.FineSharp(video, sstr=0.22).

the text box should now look like this with your altered values:

13) copy the text and you’ll notice that this window has opened on your taskbar. you will need to copy the text from here into this app - vapoursynth editor.

14) paste the text from that upper right-hand corner into the vapoursynth editor underneath the text #whatever you copied from the resizer goes here.

15) before continuing, depending on your laptop’s speed and ability to process things, i’d recommend lowering the RAM usage to something more bearable for your laptop to process without it overheating and getting damaged. i personally use 300 as the RAM usage but feel free to use whatever you want.

this is what your editor should look like now!

16) press f8 and it’ll open a new window. this will be where you get your edited video that will be good to put in ps and play around with. change the preset option to Export to MOV. and next to the header title, make sure to select Y4M in the dropdown menu. after this, you should be good to press start!

3. giffing !

now this is the part of the tutorial where you kind of get to do your own thing

i) importing

1) open photoshop and click on file, then import, and video frames to layers. it’ll open up your files.

2) what you want to do next is find the output folder. this folder can be found within your vapoursynth folder. that is:

vapoursynth64portable >> gifs >> output

3) click on the output folder and it’ll come up with another window:

make sure your settings are like this before clicking ok!

ii) actual gif making!

4) once you’ve clicked ok, it’ll direct you to the workspace. you will have the frames for your gif on the bottom and the layers on the right-hand side. i won’t go into the specifics for giffing since you asked for quality but if you’re looking for more specific instructions on how to actually gif, feel free to send in another ask or i can refer you to another tutorial!

i) timing

you can alter the timing by selecting all the frames and making it faster or slower - it depends on your preference!

ii) colouring

colouring is the foundation of your gif - it’s what makes it look good!! have fun with it, and try out different colouring! you could also look into using psds if you want! psds are basically pre-made colouring (filters, essentially) that you put over the top of your gif

5) once you’ve finished with the aesthetic steps of making your gif, it’s time to export! to export, you must click file >> export >> save for web (legacy). it’s up to you which export settings you use but make sure that your gif is under 10MB!

6) and voila <3 you’ve got a gif!

[littlewigglers]

hi!!! you dont have to answer this but a few months ago (august) i got a Giant Gold Millipede (Orthroporus ornatus) and I'd love to know what you do to have a vivarium like I've seen in your posts!

Also, is she going to be alright if I get another millipede, or springtails, or put isopods inside? I haven't honestly seen much information, and I'd love to be pointed towards some sources or get advice directly! Thank you :)

Here's Sisyphus and her tank! There's a vinegar trap in the corner to catch fruit flies (if theres a solution for that let me know, but i know the decaying material and the moisture is going to attract them), a tray where I usually put her food, and a toilet paper roll for her to curl up in. She's dug a handful of tunnels as well. There's a heating pad to keep it Somewhat Warm on the left side, especially since she's right by the back door and against an outside wall.

I usually feed her twice to four times a week, or when I notice she's lost interest in her current food. I try to water her every day, but sometimes I do a more heavy spray if I miss one.

Hey there first off love Sisyphus, give her a kiss for me on her little head.

To answer your questions I'm gonna bullet point them to keep myself right.

Springtails are a tanks best friend, completely harmless to your pets and they help keep any mold down, highly recommend getting a culture of them. I personally just keep them in my tanks but a friend of mine has a separate tank he keeps a a back up culture of them in encase the tank ones die out.

I'm mixed on keeping isopods in with Millipedes. They're always in my tanks because I just can't get them out and they don't seem to do any harm but after a few months they always end up over running my tanks and I have to clear them out. They're also know to eat eggs so they're a real pain if you're trying to breed your millipedes. If you really want some I'd recommend a slower breeding species of them. Those seem to be the little armadillo ones, the ones that can curl up all cute.

I could get your millipede another little millipede friend, they do seem to be more active when I've had more than one together, even if it's just the same species which is always the safest bet. If you do want to get another but different species make sure they have the same needs in terms of space, soil, temp, humidity and food.

As for the flies and tank

I use fly trap stickers, the ones you'd put on your window in my tank. It might sound dangerous for the Millipedes but you can either put it on the top of the tank or cut it up into smaller part. Also with my bigger species they literally treat the stickers like a buffet and have no problems walking over the surface of them with their feet. It goes without saying but no NOT get any chemical traps for them.

I'd say the key thing you're missing from your tank is hids and places to climb, you've lots of nice pieces of wood scattered about but nothing lifted up to make a little 'cave' as well as something to climb over. Cork bark is the go to most people use, I also have some pretreated drift wood I got from an aquarium store in mine as well. Careful though! if you give them things to climb make sure the tank is escape proof.

Just something I noticed myself, make sure to check under the moss now and again to make sure the soil itself is staying a nice leave of damp but not too wet. I've had mine get dry when the moss looked wet before.

If you've the funds I'd suggest getting a little timer plug for the heatmat to 1. make sure the tank doesn't get over heated 2. to save some electricity.

I personally don't mist every single day as an overly humid tank isn't always great for a millipede depending on the species. They can end up with leg rot if there the tanks kept too wet.

Other advice I can give

Remove food from the tank after a few days for sure. It stops mold from happening and also helps stop any smell building up

Try not to let the food sit in water, I see you have a little dish for it and it will easily collect water and just makes the food kinda mold faster and stink.

The paper tube you have is also just another thing than can get mold on it, you'd be better off removing it I think.

If you add wood to the tank to use as hides made sure to check on it now and again for mold.

You're probably getting the theme of this now but NO MOLD!! Make sure to check the tank for mold now and again, it's not good for your little guys.

As for like links and resources I buy all my stuff from local reptiles stores so I can't really help much there with links of sites, I also don't DIY any of my stuff from like the ground either so I can't give tips on that either. Only thing I can really help with is I have an exo terra tank, I got it second hand and you'd be really surprised what you can get second hand either on local buy and sell groups, facebook market place or even just being cheeky and asking reptile stores if they have any old tanks that aren't fit to sell on shelves anymore. I got mine as a reptile store heavily discounted because someone had got something stuck on the doors and they jam a little now and have a mark on the front.

I THINK that's everything I can think of, hope it helps.

[desceros]

Hello! Hope you're having a good day. Is it OK if I ask you a question?

How is it you manage to maintain really great flow with your readers POV in your long fic? For example, you maintain really good consistency with their thoughts and how the story is meant to be perceived so nothing seems sudden or out of the blue.

Do you reread your previous chapters a lot before posting the next or is it your beta reader who tracks this for you? Thank you for your time!

hello hello!! yes of course; i love getting questions like this. as for beta readers, i’ve never been one to use them. i support the practice fully. i just don’t have the patience to wait for feedback, hahaha!

mostly, this effect is because of my writing style, mechanically speaking. my writing is like knitting. as opposed to quilt-style writers, who can take little pieces of a story and sew them together at the end, i am a knitting-style writer, and i like to start at the bottom and gradually climb to the top. i write from beginning to end, and i like things to flow from a to b to c to d with as few gaps as i can get away with while still keeping things interesting.

i used to have an internal rule that i didnt like time skips because that’s time in the character’s life that could be used to develop them. while i’ve matured out of that, i still prefer to keep skips short, and i refer back to things that happened during those skips to keep that development. (an example in symphony is how i say that leo sends you funny memes all the time. i don’t show it, i tell it; but sometimes, telling is an economical alternative and the showing isn’t necessary for Every Little Detail.)

i can count on one hand the number of times i’ve written a scene out of order. writing out of order is a really good recommendation if you’re feeling stuck on a scene (just skip it and go to the next one you don’t feel stuck on) but i’ve… never been one to take that advice, haha. my writing builds and builds on itself over the course of the story, so if i miss a step, it’s more annoying later to sew it in. i just plow through the current scene like a stubborn mule cutting through clay.

a side effect of this is that my writing has very good flow, as you say. it takes a lot longer to write this way, and i have to trudge through less interesting scenes before i get to what i Really wanna write, which can be demotivating if im not excited enough for the project as a whole, buuuut… for a reader, i personally think it’s a superior experience. and there are times when i Never get stuck on a scene, and things just flow out of my hands like water. what a magical feeling that is when it happens! that’s how you can get absurd feats like me writing euclidean line in three days.

for my longer works, eg symphony, when i sit down to write, i skim the previous chapter to recall events. then i deep-read the last scene of that chapter (eg talking with leo at the end of chap. 22) and then i’ll start writing the next chapter. this makes sure that there’s continuity from the end of the previous chapter to the beginning of the next; and then because of the aforementioned way i write knitting-style, the new chapter is cohesive internally with itself. as a result, there is one long, continuous stream of flow that could be read from beginning to end without being jarring to do so.

besides all this, it really helps to have a strong mental picture of everything. what i mean is… i know who viola-chan is. how she talks. how she thinks. how she reacts to things. i can keep her very consistent from one scene to the next because i understand her. i know the plot of the fic very well. i know where i am and where i’m going in the story. i know the world i’ve built. i can weave all of these things together organically (almost like yarn, one could say, hoho…). a lot of power the author has comes from the establishment of strong characters living in a strong world and interacting with it via a strong plot. when those three things harmonize consistently over time, it creates a solid experience for the reader that Oh. This Is A Real Person In A Real Place Doing Real Things. Yeah. and that right there is the thing i think that all authors strive to improve every day.

anyway! wow! long answer. but thank you for such a thoughtful question!!

[glindaupland]

The Phantom of the Opera | Seoul, South Korea | October 8-14th, 2023 [REVIEWS]

Wow it's about time I posted these reviews that I kept lying about (this week! tomorrow! in 10 years!) Better late than never?

In this post I'll drop a few general things about the production, but the performances are analyzed in my reviews linked here. I recommend reading those all in order since I revisit points about actors I've made previously along the way to avoid repeating myself. Also leaving a disclaimer that these performances are from October so there are some changes in what the actors are doing now (with the exception of Jeon Dong-seok since he left in November) Apologies in advance for my wordiness, but this is more of a "release my feelings for my sake and if anyone else likes it that's cool too" kind of thing? Listen - I wrote a lot of notes on my performances there. So just go in knowing this is the more coherent version of my insane looking notes app!

Before I start I want to thank a few lovely friends who helped me out with this trip because it wouldn't have gone as well as it did without them!

Thank you to @lucygold95 for helping me so much with planning over the past months and for giving me the best time in Busan. Thank you @capitanogiorgio for all the shenanigans we went through and the most special time going to the 1500th and meeting Yoon Young-seok. Thank you to @fadinglandtragedy for the fun talks and the good advice before my trip! The best part of things like this is making friends of course! : )

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS:

| October 8, 2023 | October 11, 2023 | October 12, 2023 | | October 13, 2023 (M) | October 13, 2023 (E) | October 14, 2023 |

STAGE & THEATER

This was as close to the original staging as possible. So I was able to take it in one more (or I guess 6 more?) times post-Broadway closing. The Charlotte Theater is a lot smaller than the Majestic so every view was pretty solid in my opinion, even the second to last row. I took a video of my view from 4th row under the chandelier during the exit music on October 11th so you can see! The angel and chandelier are shown halfway through. I'd say 5th row was almost the cut off for the chandelier drop (that was my spot next day) Broadway seats in this area were always too expensive for me so I'm glad I was able to grab these spots for this production

There were photo zones you can take pics at which you've probably seen. One was a large rose wall, the other was the cute statue of their mascot 오유령. People also take forever lining up for the cast boards for photos and yes I was one of those people. Here's a comparison of the cast boards from the second season (pictures I found when reading old reviews on Naver) and the cast boards now (I forgot to take a photo of one on the top floor though)

I found this review where someone took more detailed clean photos than I did if you're curious about the layout and decorations!

MERCH AND GIFTS

The tickets had these designs! If you booked on Yes24, you received a special envelope and a ticket holder with the face of the Phantom performing for that show

I only didn't receive a second Ju-taek because that was booked on another site - Interpark (bottom middle ticket). I also received paper masks with printed autographs every day I went to commemorate the 200th performance of the run/100th for Seoul and the 1500th overall Korean performance. We used them for the curtain call photos on those two dates (with Jeon Dong-seok then Kim Ju-taek). There are multiple versions of the program book and at the time of writing this I have all except the Daegu one. The first Busan program book was pretty bare and only had the teaser pictures - the same was the case for my Les Mis program book in Busan. -There are different photos in each one, so to me it was worth grabbing them all. My third version signed by Kim Ju-taek is currently on display as you can see below! (The writing says "내 노래를 날게 해 주오 - Make my song take flight") Once again thank you to Lucy for this! 🥹❤️

Here's some of my POTO merch (including a spare cupsleeve from the coffee shop next door, I also had a keyring, but I forgot to show it) RIP to the second program book I sacrificed for scans I still have the pages stored/displayed though! I'm not wasteful! I'll have more to post soon after sharing these reviews

TRANSLATION

Let me emphasize this: my Korean abilities are limited, so don't look to me as the expert on this at all. But I'll still share my notes and perspective as an outsider who's studying The lyrics have changed quite a bit since 2001-2. There are still lines kept or songs that are mostly similar. MOTN had a lot of similarity to 2009-11 even with its changes, STYDI was identical to 2009-11, but Angel of Music was pretty different from even the last season, etc etc. The Phantoms all have unique lines sprinkled here and there, mainly in MOTN (this happens sometimes in Korean musicals). You get some things like random single line changes in some parts depending on the actor or different order/wording of the same lines as well. Just tiny diversions from the script. This is the case for the Christines and Raoul to a lesser extent. Additionally, actors are often permitted to do some occasional improvisation/ad libs. Some unique lines are pretty normal parts of their interpretations now, some appear depending on the feeling of the performance, some are one time only events. I'll mention some of the actor-specific ones and such in their actual reviews, but I have been trying to mark down all of the differences like these for example

Of course, some things obviously have to be adjusted to make sense because of cultural / linguistic reasons. So one example would be the "Wrote...written" line in Notes I. Firmin speaks rudely and informally, but quickly tries adding a more respectful ending particle 요 after Raoul and André give him a shocked 'what did you just say?' kind of look. So "대체 뭘 썼다고 하는 건데...요!" is pretty much like "What the hell are you saying I wrote?" André would look so embarrassed by this each time 🫣

퇴근길 / STAGE DOOR

Stage door doesn't really work the same as it does in places like New York, London, etc. Most of the time if an actor comes out it's more like a quick greeting or chat with the fans. Some actors (not in this case) might sign or take photos in designated spots, but it really depends and it's not so common. It's gotten more restricted ever since COVID as well. 퇴근길 -> "way home from work" is literally what this is called. Dong-seok did wave at us a few times happily after the 200th performance, Gun-ha briefly came out to thank fans after the 1500th while Ceci and I waited to meet Young-seok who had agreed to meet us. I did not have the time (or strength) for the Seung-woo mob, but he usually greets fans after shows.

I literally asked Yoon Young-seok directly on Instagram if Ceci and I could meet him and give him gifts because I figured it didn't hurt to try! When he agreed, my anxiety was not necessarily about meeting an actor, but more about my ability to express my thoughts in another language. But he was truly the sweetest guy and incredibly patient. I think he got that I understood everything he said, but that replying was a whole other challenge. I'm glad I was making enough sense that he was able to get my points and helped me finish sentences if I looked stressed about it 😂 I basically told him I had been planning this trip since the cast announcement because it was too perfect to miss and that I came for 6 shows. I really like to listen to his Phantom on the cast recordings and I thought he made the shows I had seen so far so much fun.

We both said where we were from (the US and France) and he was amazed. He was also shocked when I pulled out my original Korean cast recording (I still laugh thinking about the way he said "와, 세상에!" like "Wow, oh my god!" and enthusiastically took it agreeing to sign when I was mid-way asking him haha) I also thought it was funny when he asked Ceci if she saw his Phantom last season. We wish! But she mentioned she had gone to Busan a few times and he looked very touched and appreciative that we went to multiple performances 🥹 This poor man was tired he signed our things with November (11.13) though and he also spelled Ceci's name wrong first time, but it was the 1500th show though okay. And if he says it's November...who are we to question him? Ceci should also legally change names so he isn't wrong. Anyway, ramble over you can find the art we made for him in this post

OTHER

Here's just bonus fun I had that I will manage to connect to POTO despite it not being POTO because I love doing that. I mean I went because I like these musicals as well (otherwise I would've been foolish enough to go see Ben-Hur but I have, uh, standards for my plots sorry to Park Eun-tae 😭), but it's fun to point out these things. I'm happy to share my show experiences in a different post if anyone's interested in my thoughts on those

Rebecca

I went to see Rebecca, mainly focused on seeing a scheduled date for 이지혜 Lee Ji-hye (Ich) and 장은아 Jang Eun-ah (Mrs Danvers). The whole cast was fantastic. Some Korean musicals have special encore bits they do where the leads sing a part of a song from the show during bows so that was really fun. Unfortunately, we don't get to have fun at POTO like that haha

Lee Ji-hye was in Y&K Phantom as Christine in the same cast as Jeon Dong-seok (Erik), Yoon Young-seok (Gérard Carrière), and Lee Sang-jun (Cholet). Two other cast members in Rebecca were in Y&K as well - 에녹 Enoch (Maxim) who was Philippe and 신영숙 Shin Young-sook (Mrs Danvers) who was Carlotta. Sadly, they had such few shows this season due to a busy schedule, so I couldn't see them (when will trot give Enoch back to musicals). Original Korean ALW Raoul and Y&K Erik 류정한 Ryu Jeong-han was also on rotation as Maxim, but I picked another day for my show so I didn't see him either

Les Misérables

I went to opening night of Les Mis in Busan! It was the Dream Theater, same place POTO played at before. As many of you already know, Choi Jae-rim is playing Jean Valjean at the same time as the Phantom.

I could recognize him easily as the Phantom, but honestly when he appeared at the very start of Les Mis it took me a minute to process that it was him! While I did enjoy his Phantom a lot, I think I enjoyed his Valjean performance a little more. It was only opening night, so curious to see how things develop!

The actor who played Javert that night, 카이 Kai (stage name), was a former Y&K Erik for two seasons too. So many Phantoms!

Frankenstein

On the last day I got to see Dong-seok and Ji-hye once more in a concert for the musical Frankenstein which they have been in together. So have some pics I took without a mask blocking his face!

Ending Note

Thinking back to December 2022 when I said: "Maybe I'll go to Seoul and see Dong-seok once or twice and that's it, I can have my first international POTO" That was funny. That was really very very funny and silly of me to say. 9 performances and 6 of those were POTO! But I'm so grateful and I have zero regrets about it. This is one of the best experiences I've had even if it might look ridiculous to some people to do something like this...I don't care! I hope my crazy essays can help paint a good picture for you!

[starlightshore]

OH GREAT ONE! Please. . . Can you please give us a tutorial on how to make Pixel Character sprites on Asepeite? You do them so beautifully. . . *Sheds a tear*

please don't call me "oh great one" even as a joke; don't put me on a pedestal. I'm just Some Guy.

anyway there are plenty of cool tutorials on youtube, just search stuff like "pixel art tutorial" or "pixel grass" or "pixel trees" for specifics

but what i'd recommend as my top rule: experiment! make more art! Have fun! just make things and you'll naturally improve

but past that, for some more tangible advice:

look into stylization. pixel art NEEDS clarity and simple shapes to work. you can achieve this by thinking of the shapes (thus the importance of stylization) and by doing simple math or consistent "scales" of going down or up in number. see how the second line goes from looong to long to short shorter then a dot vs. how the left one just does things randomly, there's no scale here. it shows purpose and confidence when you use more math-based art. see how the circle uses the scale/ math vs. this blob where i purposefully didn't?

keep the linework clean:

aesprite has a feature called "pixel perfect" which prevents jaggies, which are these clumps of pixels as you can see on the right.

keep the art consitant. don't use blur effects or gradients, i'd say that's more so for VERY rare circumstances and should only be approached from a more experienced hand. (ie, bigger background pieces and used sparingly)

how you draw the shapes/angles matters a lot as well.

left, i kept things more "blocky" and less "sharp" I also simplified the shape (note the fur on the side of the legs) is more clumped together while the other has a larger emphasis on separating them and making them sharper. overall, the right one is a lot more complex which I don't want for a character who is moving a lot, and seen from a smaller size. its a SMALL cartoon! i want it to be clear to the viewer without any details to muddy things.

note how by making the sideburn fluff more jagged removes some of the room for the white fur. you only see ONE shaded white/blue pixel on the left, which adds more contrast and emphasizes that spot. there's less of a clear distinction between he had and the body.

here's the silhouettes, you cans see how the body on the left is more clear in what part is what. Tail, ear, head, body and legs. the other one, sure, i know what those are, but its less distinct.

add "weight" to the shapes. have one side of the shape be bigger in proportion. note how the head has a wider bottom than the top, even from the jaw to the tip of the head. the overall body is bigger than the head as well.

symmetry is important and your life savior in pixel art. but not EVERYTHING should be symmetrical. look at the head stripe, mouth, chest fluff, and handkerchief. have one side favored or the other and not a perfect head-on position creates this asymmetry as well a more "organic" view of the character. (typically you want to avoid direct head-on looks unless it's for 3d modeling or character reference sheets, otherwise your character won't feel as "alive." it's not natural to stand perfectly 1-1 facing the camera perfectly)

note on legs and bodies: you can't always get an accurate symmetry based on the head size. depending on if it's an odd or even number of pixels wide, it'll affect how the body becomes symmetrical to it. in this case, there's a pixel difference that prevents a gap. note how the middle looks like a SUPER thick line because there's no room for a single pixel line. my solution was to have her favor one leg over the other, which works nicely as it adds a more weighted interest to the right leg while her bangs favor the left, creating balance. toby's solution to this problem was to give the humans one wider leg and it haunts me.

another example of this is toriel

toriel's side mouth would be fine if it was a consistent choice and other characters did it (sonic is famous for this stylistic choice) but because she doesn't even match her family regarding this, it stands out and confuses people. i originally, and many people I've met have thought this was her nose. EVEN THO you can see her mouth open when speaking in-game.

btw even tho this also haunts me, i don't mind it as much cause i know this is a result of early game development inconstancies born from inexperience. its a cute quirk honestly, even if it was an easy fix. i actually ADMIRE that toby doesn't go and retroactively fix things, and instead prioritizes making new things with the information of how to do better now. its very easy and exhausting to go back and fix things rather than move on. mad respect for that.

[swords-of-a-soilder]

Just Shapes

I'm just venting here, I'm not asking for advice if anything the most I'd want is a supportive word or two.

A random day in 2022 I was playing the Sims on my mother's laptop, I had a lot of mods of course, a few risky ones in including.

I had a queer couple, that I loved playing with, but suddenly whenever they got intinment, they had a moodlit in which they express not being intersed in each other.

It felt like my entire world had fell apart, I was in frantic tears trying to fix. I would constantly jump back and forth from create a sim trying to figure out what mod was breaking their relationship.

I eventually fixed it, but once I did, once I looked back at these sims again, they became shapes, pixels on a screen they weren't real they were never real.

I close that save, then never opened it again.

Perphas I'm parasocial in what I'm about to say, but the reality is we're all parasocial it's why certain careers exist. streamers depend on the viewer being parasocial, our enjoyment is what pay them.

Its just some people take things too far, and it gives parasocial behaviors a bad name, I knew the qsmp characters were different from their actors(streamers) that played them.

I'm not the type of person who thought Philza minecraft was my best friend but q!Philza was someone else entirely. Someone I felt close to, someone who's journey I felt apart of; Those eggs were just as much my kids as his own, I felt like a resident.

With Forever's removal and q!forever with him I became painful awear of what I was watching.

The series that keep me company when I quit my abusive job and was seeking new ones, The series that made me forget the pain of being hit by a car, the series that made me forget the Sexual abuse I expressed at my newer job that I shortly quit after.

The pain I felt over and over non stop, the continuous cycle of trauma I was able to process slowly without feeling alone. Living in that tiny space, with nothing to eat but determine not to go back to my abuser, at least with them I wasn't alone.

Perhaps I'm parasocial for feeling like a resident, perhaps I'm parasocial for loving Chayanne and Tallulah like my own children, perhaps I was parasocial for cheering for my team in Purgatory.

But it meant so much more to me than just a Minecraft roleplay server, it was my entire life. And now it's just shapes, pixels and shapes on a screen.

I think back to Qsmp 2023 and it's there, the joy, this overall sense of Happiness these people I know and care about, I made a Tumblr account just to see more art of them, I engaged in headcannons, joined discord servers with other residents we were all residents.

Whether you were a crow that sat top q!Philza's head, the voices in q!Fit's head; your art sat in the museum, your head canon's adopted into canon and your jokes acknowledged.

We were residents, without ever stepping foot on that island....

Now Tumblr still recommends me clip, There are some people I forgot to unfollow or choice not to. They show me the new Island and new creators, they tell me about the new mods and new characters.

They show my children, they show me my friend q!Philza, they show me all these things I love but..

It's Just Shapes...

Now in it's current existence it's just shapes, pixel on a screen actors In a play, I see nothing but the actors behind it, nothing but improvised roleplay, nothing but a video game.

Shapes.. and it drives me insane that some people don't understand that, and it comes with the neurodiversity I Know. no one ever talks about how painful hyperfixation death truly is.

Its made worst by seeing how the fandom, the other residents have started turning on one another. Residents bite and growl at me like I'm a villain came to kill them, I was one of you!

It wasn't my choice but it's one I'm glad for, seeing how cruel We've became. It isn't even the same island anymore, they left me behind on the old one.

And that's fine, the new one is just a pixilated mess to me.

[kingtrey3]

PF2 Homebrew Advice: Monster Statistics

TL; DR Monster creation is an art; do not think you can make art by slapping some stuff together.

Now, Pathfinder 2e has a "top-down" approach to monster creation, meaning that they start with the approximate number rather than building to that number like PCs do. If a monster has a +22 Fortitude, it's not because "they're level 12, are master in Fort for a +6 and have a +4 Constitution modifier." They have a +22 because they just do.

My biggest piece of advice with monster creation is to just not worry about trying to make it "look" like it's consistent with the "bottom-up" approach. So what if the creature's Acrobatics and Athletics modifiers are both +18 when its Strength is +4 and its Dex is +3. If you get hung up on that, then you're gonna be proofreading constantly to make sure that it fits with this bottom-up approach and drive yourself mad and become exhausted. I know we say that "every +1 matters" in this game, but a +1 is not worth burning yourself out.

It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to work!

For my second biggest piece of advice, ALWAYS give the monster a weak point. It doesn't have to be abysmal, it just needs to be noticeably worse. A creature that has no exploitable weak points simply becomes a game of attrition. That's part of why the barbazu was so notoriously deadly: it had no real exploitable weak points and it was STUPIDLY good at what it did. Give the monster a low Reflex, or Fortitude, or AC, or something. Don't make it good at everything!

So, lets get going.

To start, download this. I'm aware that these tables can be found in GM Core and the Gamemastery Guide, but I find it far more convenient to have an entire PDF that's dedicated exclusively to those monster creation tables, that way I don't have to memorize what page the tables are on in Gamemastery Guide, and I don't have to deal with the tables spilling over between pages in the GM Core.

Before we get into it, I just want to explain one thing:

Extreme Values

"At higher levels, give each creature more extreme statistics. Having one extreme statistic becomes typical around level 11. A creature at level 15 or higher typically has two extreme statistics, and one at level 20 or higher should have 3 or 4."

This is how it's recommended, and I agree with it wholeheartedly. Extreme values should be relatively sparse before level 11. And if they do come up, there should be a countermeasure to balance it out. Extreme values are very, VERY potent and should not be used haphazardly.

Now, let's start at the top:

Attribute Modifiers

Honestly? These are just there for completion purposes for if the creature is forced to make a roll it's not trained in. These numbers are just for flavor, as they dictate next to nothing in the grand scheme of things beyond the occasional "how smart/strong/etc. is this thing?" An Extreme value here is more for flavor than anything.

Perception

This is another statistic that doesn't really do a whole lot beyond beyond flavor and initiative. Perception is more of a thing for very unconventional tactics like Feinting and Hiding/Sneaking. Just pick a modifier that makes sense for the creature and be on with it. An Extreme Perception is a bit odd, but in my opinion should be saved for beings where a high perception is their gimmick, like something covered in eyes. Please ignore that the hyakume doesn't have extreme Perception; I still find this really silly.

Skills

Once again, these modifiers are mostly used for flavor, but they can also have a good chunk of combat capabilities. Generally, I give monster Athletics because that's a good general sense of how strong it is. A creature without Athletics should be something like a wizard or a fairy, where that doesn't make 100% sense. Similarly, Acrobatics should be put on a creature that is likely to have some kind of flight, since Maneuvering in Flight requires using Acrobatics. From there it's just a matter of flavor with what skills it has, though special mention should be given to Deception, Intimidation, and similar skills that can be used in combat to Feint or Demoralize. An Extreme value here can be very potent depending on the skill it's put in.

AC/Saving Throws/HP

Okay, now this is where a homebrewer can easily mess things up, because haphazard defense-creation can utterly devastate a party of PCs. All of these statistics are in a careful balancing act, and it should be treated with respect.

The most unoffensive creature you could ever make would have Moderate statistics in everything; everything about it is "meh." Now, if you want to raise something above Moderate, you have to take away from somewhere else. Sometimes this counterbalance to defense takes place in the offensive statistics, but that's not as common, in my opinion.

AC and HP are generally in some kind of balancing act. If you raise AC, you'll want to lower HP, and vice versa. However, High AC and Moderate HP (or vice versa) is generally okay; that tends to be where the Fighter lies, as it happens. Beyond that is when the counterbalancing needs to happen.

Saving throws are generally balanced against each other. My general rule of thumb is that a creature should have one High, one Moderate, and one Low save, as that creates a good range of "Do not target!" to "unideal to target" to "exploit it!" for casters or other non-conventional combatants. Now, if you want to use an Extreme value at, say, level 5, you would need to counterbalance it by lowering one of its other saves. The perfect example here is the forest troll. The troll has an Extreme Fortitude, but a Terrible Will; it effectively "stepped up" its Fort by "stepping down" its Will.

As another important note that I've even seen Paizo not follow at times: DO NOT GIVE MONSTERS ABILITIES THAT GENERALLY INCREASE THE DEGREE OF SUCCESS ON THEIR SAVE! Now, I'm not talking about an ability that increases its degree of success on saves vs. illusions or something. That's fine, as long as it makes sense. I'm referring to abilities that just say "if it succeeds on a Reflex save, it gets a critical success instead." We are not talking about mythic resilience right now. These abilities can shut down a lot of chip damage from basic saves, which makes the "feel" of the monster a lot more like an immovable object. If you're going to do that to, say, replicate a rogue, then just increase the value of its save by one category (usually High to Extreme). This is generally why Extreme values are more common at higher levels, because its to counteract with the PCs' "increase degree of success" abilities. This is also why monsters' HP is a lot higher than a PC's of that level: the lack of "increase degree of success" abilities makes the monster more susceptible to chip damage. THIS IS BY DESIGN! Increasing degree of success and a +3 to its save are two VERY different feels, and one feels more insurmountable than the other, and the last thing you want is for your players to feel like a combat is insurmountable.

HP/Fast Healing/Regeneration/Immunities/Resistance/Weakness

While HP is a counterbalance to AC, its primary counterbalances are fast healing/regeneration, resistances, and weaknesses. More weaknesses means that HP will generally go up, while higher fast healing/regen or resistances will mean HP should go down. There isn't a perfect way to figure out how to strike this balance, unfortunately. You just need to get a feel for it. Generally, a resistance to one narrow thing, like cold damage, shouldn't really affect HP a whole lot, but if its resistance to a good spread of damage types, then it should lower HP accordingly.

Now, I should make a particular note for Immunities, Resistances, and Weaknesses: never give something one of these three unless you can explain WHY! "It's resistant to fire because fire damage is very common" is NOT a good explanation. "It's resistant to cold because it regularly dwells in the cold depths of the ocean" IS a good explanation. Generally, a particular vulnerability to a specific material or something can be accepted because "the fey don't like cold iron because weird folklore stuff." It's not a perfect analogy, but I generally stand by that if I can't explain why an immunity, resistance, or weakness exists, then it shouldn't exist.

This is particularly noteworthy with fungi. For a while, I was really confused about why fungus creatures had a weakness to slashing, and I eventually discovered that when a mushroom is cut, it undergoes oxidation, which causes it to go bad. This is primarily why fungi have weakness to slashing.

Attack Bonus/Strike Damage

These are the two main offensive statistics, and they tend to go hand-in-hand. Now, High attack and High damage is the baseline for a fighter-type, while Moderate attack and High damage is usually where monks or champions lie. So the High attack bonus is generally reserved for creatures that are really good at attacking. Now, damage is actually where I see myself using the Extreme value most often, as Moderate attack and Extreme damage is very common for bruisers like the barbarian.

The agile trait goes a long way, so if I want to give a Strike agile, I generally counterbalance that by lowering its damage by one category. i.e. A dual-wielding fighter wielding a longsword and shortsword would have High attack and High damage with the longsword and High attack and Moderate damage with the shortsword.

Now, I use the recommended Strike damage dice/bonus kinda rarely. I more frequently look at the number in parentheses. Sometimes weapon choice dictates what kind of damage dice is dealt and makes things weird, so I usually go off of the number in parentheses to make it basically equivalent.

For the people who don't know statistics, for the purpose of calculating the number in parentheses, use the following values:

1d4=2.5

1d6=3.5

1d8=4.5

1d10=5.5

1d12=6.5

Those numbers are the average roll of those dice ([highest value + lowest value] / 2)

Now, if you don't hit the parenthetical numbers exactly, it's not the end of the world. If you were going for 36 damage and ended up at 37, that's basically the same thing. I generally say to try to stay within a margin of error of +/- 10% of the value you're gunning for. Which, yes, means that at lower levels the numbers are a lot tighter; that's kinda to be expected.

Spell DC and Spell Attack Rolls

Now, I also use this table for DCs of abilities like a dragon's breath attack or something. Now, this is a controversial take, but I NEVER use the spell attack roll modifiers in this table, because they are equal to the DC - 8, when they are usually equal to the DC - 10.

"But didn't you just say not to worry about the bottom-up stuff, and that it just has to work rather than be perfect?" Sure, but this table also fundamentally breaks the relationship between a DC and a modifier. A DC is definitionally the modifier + 10. The fact that it's a difference of 8 here is just...fundamentally against what the rules say.

"Then why do you say the modifier is wrong instead of the DC." Reverse engineering. The High DC at level 1 is 17, which is consistent with a spellcaster with a +4 in their casting attribute. Thus it's the +9 that's wrong, not the DC 17.

Anyway, not much to say here. But, if you want to use a DC for, say, an aura that requires being saved against every turn, use the Moderate DC, since the more dice that roll means the greater chance of failure.

And also, DEAR GOD USE EXTREME DC SPARINGLY! ESPECIALLY IF IT'S AN EXTREME SPELL DC!!! Extreme spell DCs mean that it is so so SO much more likely for a fail or crit fail to occur, and if you DO use Extreme spell DCs, the creature's other statistics should be lowered by a significant amount to counterbalance this. Seriously, use Extreme Spell DC with GREAT caution. Frankly, if I want a "higher than High spell DC," I tend to go with the Extreme value - 2, since that's just more manageable from the players' side.

Area Damage

Very similarly to the Strike Damage, you generally want to use the number in parentheses within a margin of error of +/- 10%. Now, the biggest thing here is that you want to make sure you lower the damage if it the ability imposes a condition, because I have seen a good number of creatures made by Paizo that DON'T do this. Funnily, drained actually makes the calculations a bit easier since it has a direct HP effect. Generally, if an area effect imposes drained, I count it as the drained value times the monster's level as damage toward the number in parentheses. It's not an exact value, but it's a good rule of thumb.

Now, a good example of a deceptively-balanced usage of this table is the brochmaw's Serve ability. On first glance, a two-action ability that deals 12d6 AND heals the monster for half that damage on a level 13 feels really really broken and badly designed. But, you have to take it in context. For one, the brochmaw is built around using Marinade to impose a penalty to Roast, then using Roast to impose a penalty to Serve. So it's very unlikely that the brochmaw will come out with the Serve if it's fighting intelligently. Likewise, Serve only targets one creature, and the brochmaw must have that creature already grabbed. And upon using Serve, the grab is ended. So unlike a dragon's breath attack, which has only one point of failure, Serve has three points of failure: the skewer Strike that has Improved Grab on it, the Athletics roll for Improved Grab, and finally the Fort save against Serve. All of this combined means that Serve deserves to have its potent damage alongside its healing capability.

[slaingelo]

@indigoartistqueen i will not STAND for these allegations XD

but seriously, I'll put a detailed explanation below on how I draw so fast because it is a genuine thing that can be explained... like, I mean, beyond the autism and monster drinks

FIRST OF ALL I DON'T RECOMMEND DRAWING AT THE SAME PACE AS I DO AT LEAST NOT WITHOUT TAKING MORE BREAKS. do as I preach not as I do I am constantly straining myself and I tend to draw through the pain anyways because I love art and drawing so much and I'm probably going to get carpal tunnel before my brother despite drawing being his full time job. <- if you were ever curious on what got me into art, that would be it lol, I'm from a family of artists. that same brother is also the one who bought me the four swords manga when I was a wee lass along with the other akira himekawa manga that were out at the time. he's so epic.

ANYWAYS;

simplify your art style.

the art style i mostly use on this blog isn't my full effort or most detailed one, by any means. here's my detailed style vs the one i tend to use vvv

there's a lot more detail in the hair, and especially in the clothes. it's also actually rendered, while most of the other art I post isn't. on top of that if I do any shading for my simple style, it's always cell shading.

if you have a detailed style and you want to stick with it, you're not going to be putting out finished pieces every hour.

quick touchups for extra prettiness

so you got the lineart and flat colours of your simplified art. but you want more oomph

I went over my process before of how I colour lines and go about shading, and stuff like this is important in the sense of; YOU WANT TO FIND QUICK AND SIMPLE WAYS TO MAKE YOUR ART LOOK NICE. here's another effect I do often;

THIS ^ can add to soften the colours a lot. I usually do all my flat colours on the same layer in my simple style EXCEPT for the hair and eyes. this is why I do the hair separate!

of course I cut both the lineart/shading and the hair thingie out of the comic because it would take me a while lol.

HAVE FUN

if there's something you don't like drawing find out why and change it. otherwise you're going to get burnt out or take a lot longer to draw than you'd like because you're struggling with that one thing. or both.

it's the reason my lineart is thick. I dislike doing thin lineart, so it takes me a very long time to do it. solution is to simply do thick lineart.

PEN DOODLE !!!!!!!

the way I found my simple style to begin with was through pen doodling. by not being able to erase your mistakes, and continuously drawing like that anyways, your sketching process will be sped up significantly. it will help you cut out steps that aren't necessary and let you find new ways to styalise things quickly and simply.

here's actually a pen doodle I did of force gem!shadow a few days ago with no pencil sketch in I think about 10 minutes if not less. I think that out of all of these pieces of advice, this is the BIGGEST one to help you learn how to draw fast.

being able to do this translates to very fast sketches that you don't need to touch up much to do lineart over. here's my sketches for the art I had at the start of this, for big example

generally though I do a sketch like this one here for the pose in a similar way to how I pen doodle with minimum erasing, and then a second one over top of it to adjust the pose and add clothes/hair/ect

I HOPE THIS IS INTERESTING AND HELPFUL MAYBE ?! THANKS FOR READING AND THE SUPPORT