#you're making things a lot harder for your fellow artists too

[the-yearning-astronaut]

I was going to open up a few commission slots as a way to help fund a trip to a professional development workshop in June buuuuut I saw more than a few commission posts going around today where people are underpricing their work to a distressing degree.

There's no way I can compete with those prices -- but I'm also unwilling and unable to put my own prices that low. So it's like. Why bother lmao.

[kimyoonmiauthor]

HWA writer is doing a vote on Artificial Intelligence and a round up on what graphic designers actually do and why you shouldn't shoot your foot.

So writer news the HWA is voting about AI use, both in writing and covers. Most of my social media bubble is saying NO. 'cause obviously, it's stealing other people's work, but there is also this guy...

I get it, a lot of people don't understand the process that graphic designers have to go through. But it's harder than people think and some of the cost is BUYING LICENSED PICS TO USE IN YOUR COVER.

Unlike AI, graphic designers pay the photographers, etc OR have really expensive equipment to make high res images for book covers themselves. My cheap camera was 600 bucks in 2019. That does not include background, lights, etc. If you're complaining about the cost of custom covers from graphic artists, think about the cost to hire models, costume, and the camera equipment.

But it's more than Oh, snap pretty pictures or pay for it, there are other principles that go into art which include composition (which I covered many times), color and color theory knowledge (which AI can't always do well because there is also psychology per culture that one has to put in.)

There is also typography and knowledge of the market and psychology. You're paying for a lot more than Oh, just slapped pictures together. You're paying for a human who can create something unique that shows off the elements of your book in maybe ways you didn't think about.

Graphic artists are artists because we do things like arrange your websites for you to maximize psychological interaction. Graphic artists are not on the same par as AI.

So, no, this is a horrible take. I use traditional and computer media. But you can't unite if you think, OMG, you drew that in a computer v. you drew that on paper versus and think the first one is invalid. OMG, you wrote that in a computer. You wrote that on paper. The principles the human is applying are pretty similar.

Many graphic artists also draw. Many people use both media.

When Will up there can explain the positives and negatives of what a tangency is and how to color adjust a photo digitally on levels+curves, and how those things can affect the psychology of people interacting with their final product, then he can talk about OMG, how digital art is ruining covers.

Graphic Designers also know how to typeset your covers, who usually do it digitally, so don't eff with them by slamming the people that work with you. Because lemme tell you, the thing that makes your covers and the back of your books look excellent is that tight yet quite difficult art of typography. If that graphic designer really cared, they put that little extra work into eliminating the rivers on the blurb for you to make sure it was that extra bit more readable. They cared about the color of the type and the type face. And those people too are graphic designers. Psychologically, great graphic design is chef's kiss and when typography is done just so, the potential reader *feels* it through the design and the emotion your book is promising to give them.

So don't disparage graphic designers. Even for the fraction who cannot draw, when they are good they HELP with your marketing that much more.

General advice: Don't disparage platforms. Don't disparage your fellow true artists/creatives. Because it's likely you'll have the opportunity to work with them someday, and do you want to cut off the roads to making your book/product the best it can be? Uplift. Graphic designers are not the same as AI. Graphic designers pay other artists for licenses to their work.

Add to that the HWA is holding a vote about AI writing, etc. And yeah, we kinda need to spread this info around.

Dear HWA Members, An open comment period will be coming soon on the drafted Horror Writers Association Al Policy which has been diligently crafted since March. Members, please look for a Special iMailer in your inbox by the end of the month with instructions on where to send your feedback. The feedback period will be open for open for 25 days. The Board of Trustees values art and artists and looks forward to the comments from its membership. Sincerely, Maxwell Gold Executive Director, HWA

[daily-pat]

And finally. I return.

A "little" message under the read more.

First, thank you all for the support you've given my friends. I've sent each post to each artist to let them read my little messages, but your own love and appreciation shown through likes, reblogs, and comments were all greatly valued! Even though it wasn't me at the helms of the ship, the new captains helped continue to keep it running, and I cannot thank them all enough for that. Many of these artists, like myself, are looking to work as full time artists, so any and all support and encouragement definitely helps!

Now that I'm back, I do have a few personal words of my own. Having a little break from my usual lifestyle, where I got to simply just got to explore the world, really led me to an important conclusion. When I started this blog, part of me was concerned about the amount of notes I recieved. I wanted to make something valued by the fans, and that mindset ended up influencing my own art. If you've ever scrolled onto my personal blog or seen it across your dash, you'll know that how I typically draw is so incredibly different than what I post most of the time here. This here is actually how I usually draw. There was a little nagging voice in the back of my mind that kept pulling me to try and do what other blogs do, but truthfully, that's not me. I take a lot of inspiration from a lot of things, fine art, haute couture, film, nature, anime, politics. I've tried to stray away from that in hopes of simply riding the wave of fan appeal. Being able to take a step back from that worry, and surrounding myself with the various things that fuel my passion and shape my perspective, made me more invigorated to draw than ever before.

Don't consider this that this blog is ending. I'm too hyperfixated for that. And that's not to say I don't love doing it. I truly appreciate what you all have given me, and I want to reflect that my bearing my own heart out to you all. So from now on, you're going to get more of what I enjoy doing most: experimentation. You'll still see some of the old flavor of my art, but it'll be more of a tasting menu with new experiences. And you'll see more of a reflection of me in my art, JJBA-inspired art style and all. It'll be a bit rocky at first, but I'm looking forward to just exploring. It's not at all what other daily blogs do, but it'll be what I do. And hey, while you're still reading this, show all of those daily blogs out there love. It's a lot harder than you may think. Show the beginner artists love and support them on their path to improvement and refinery. Go to those newly formed blogs, those that cross your dashboard with very few followers and notes, and support them. And to my fellow artists out there, you are at your best when you are truly yourself.

Thank you all, and I'll see you tomorrow (actually later today because I fell asleep in the middle of this and woke up after midnight so. oops)

[urmingirl]

So according to your logic every bad thing bad people do in your country you also do as well? So let me get this straight you are also a thief, murderer, rap1st, you SA children, anti women, etc. is that correct? You left your ff ID on so I can see where you’re from (Not exactly the land of perfection but then again last time I checked there is no such thing as a perfect place. Every place right now has good and evil but guess you don’t want to acknowledge that.). Normally I try not to judge countries and their people based on the bad ones/government but according to you we should. I absolutely don’t agree with what is happening here in SK individuals are utterly disgusting for that type of behavior. We are human and we make mistakes and they shouldn’t be treating others like they should be thrown away like that. And those individuals have now shown they are not worthy of being human because they don’t know how to act it. But now I see you the same because you deemed us all unworthy for the act of others we had no control over and because we also have to follow the law to the extent of what we can do since this is where have to stay. Most of the time international people don’t have to deal with that. A lot of use tried to do stuff as well but no one seems to care. Guess I should be like you judging and comparing all exactly the same with those that are trash. Will definitely listen to the warnings out right now to stay away from your country since all of you (including you according to your logic and that of others) are doing those evil things they’re talking about all over. I expected better from a fellow army because in your statement you also included BTS because they are also us. Regardless if you meant to or not you did and you can’t take that back.

So you're messaging me about my post "South Korea is really a big joke!" . Did you happen to read what I posted????

Everything you say on your message is your own logic, not mine. I don't know how you understand things and how your brain works. You literally created another dimension when you saw my post, huh? Did I say "ALL Koreans are spawn of satan from elderly to newborn". Did I say that to my post??? All of the malicious things are coming from you. Please read your message gain.

I don't care if you have to check my location or if I have to provide you my whole address just to check if I am from the land of perfection. MY OPINION IS MY OPINION. I'm not from a perfect and clean country but at least people in my country will not protect a funeral wreath over human rights. People in my country will not cancel an artist just bc he fell on his scooter, has a gf/bf, dances with female dancers etc. We also don't protect SAers and rap!st. You normalize everything even if you know something is wrong that is the reason why the suic!de rate in your country is too high. I'm tired of hearing "it's our culture", well... damn. You really have to stay away from my country because the kind of mindset that you have is not welcome here in my country.

In my post I said "so good luck and try harder you disgusting evil people." I hope you know that I'm talking about the 2 girls and that one uncle who's guarding their funeral wreaths right??? If I actually have the same mindset as you, I would think that you're one of them 🥴

Lemme guess.. are you a kpoppie? anti? tokki? or just k-army?? hmmm maybe a solo. Yesterday, while international ARMYs are celebrating and doing their purple projects to show their support for yoongi and for the tannies I saw a lot of butthurt tweets about the support and love that ARMYs are showing in front HYBE. Most of the butthurt tweet are from solos and k-solos 🤣🤣 you actually sound just like one of them. Like exactly one of them! Okay you might say again "you're generalizing k-armys that we are yoongi antis blah blah blah" I'm actually following some real OT7 K-ARMYs and they don't act like you. This part is so funny to me "I expected better from a fellow army because in your statement you also included BTS because they are also us." Please don't call me a fellow ARMY if you are hurt by my post. You don't sound like an ARMY at all. Shame on you. I'M HERE FOR BANGTAN AND BANGTAN ONLY and not for your beloved country South Korea.

You might wanna check the comment section there and message them one by one after you check their locations. 😸

I don't care what you think about my country, you can judge my country all you want. It will not change my view that South Korea is still a joke.

[cosmobrain00]

Hi!! Your fic series I Know The End is one of my favorites honestly. You're very talented and I could go on, but I'll save that for ao3 lol. I can't relate as a writer, but more an artist. I understand the need/want to re-do something. To start over and rework because sometimes we need to or feel we have to. However sometimes I think we are a lot harder on ourselves than we should be even when we know our results would have been better if we did something differently. Espeacilly when the thing becomes more stressful to finish than fun. Whatever you decide- do what is best for you and your stories, but do not feel pressured! It may be silly or complicated suggestion on my part(apologies), but maybe a ikte 2.0 divergence from whichever point you would want could be an alternative or make them separate timelines within that universe? You'd still have your original, but they could be seperate too. Or perhaps just asking a friend to take a look! A fresh set of eyes can help sometimes. I'm sending you lots of strength and I hope you feel better! I can't offer much, but do what makes you happiest and is fun. Whatever the turn out I am cheering you on from my side of the world. 🦖🦋

okay first off can I just say that idea is honestly really cool???? have not heard anyone suggest that n if I had not figured out a plan I think I would have actually rlly considered going that route tbh bc ??? idk canon divergence/ diff timeline of n an au of mine would actually be AWESOME bc my brand includes time fuckery and I personally love to exploit it as much as possible. & it's pretty unique too (and def not silly at all!!)

anywho, I appreciate u relating as a fellow creator (always lovely to talk to another) bc I def feel like it is a universal experience to rlly get down on urself esp when smething gets difficult that was supposed to just be a fun little project at first.

but tysm for taking the time to send me such a thoughtful msg n I rlly appreciate the support/ suggestions once again<3<3

[ancient-trees]

I started making webcomics in... 2005, I think? before launching my current comic in 2010. And one of the really frustrating things IS how different the entire landscape looks today now that corporate interests and algorithm-pleasing are such a big part of the picture. If I were just starting out today I don't know that I'd get very far before concluding that no one would ever see my work and there was no point to making it unless it was whatever all the other popular stories are (in which case, where's the fun in retelling the same internet-sanctioned story everybody else is?).

But - so much of what made webcomics great back then is still here now. The sense of community with fellow artists and story-weavers and readers, if you know where to find it (see the posts above for a start). The ability to make the kind of story that's exactly what you want to make, and put it directly in front of the kind of people for whom it's exactly the story they need to hear - even if it's a lot harder for you to find each other than it used to be. I learned so much back in the day, about myself and about other people and how they see the world, by reading the kinds of webcomics that would never have made it onto bookshelves (or the Webtoon front page, I'd imagine). Once in a while I'll still get a comment from a reader who says our comic helped them through a bad place once upon a time, or that they lost track of it over the years and were elated to find it again... and that sort of thing is worth a million pageviews or social media likes. I'd want to keep making comics even without those comments, but they really drive home how much our stories matter, even if we're completely unaware of it at the time.

So if you're just starting out and want to make a shiny new baby webcomic and throw it out there into the swirling void of the internet - please hang in there, be patient, ignore the numbers, find your people if you can (even if it takes a while), and make whatever weird, unconventional, too-conventional, terrible, wonderful comic only you can make. And above all else, please enjoy the hell out of making it.

Also, read @jabbage's comics - they're sweet and sad and funny and thoughtful and hopeful and fantastic, whether she decides to make any more of them or not. (https://earthinapocket.thecomicseries.com/)

In your view/experience. is the rate of "incompleteness" among webcomics more or less the nature of online personal projects as a whole? Or is there something specific to webcomics like laboriousness, audience expectations, relative medium infancy or whatnot?

well for one thing webcomics has changed significantly in the last ten years. it used to have a much lower barrier for entry, just get a smackjeeves account or set up a website with a wordpress plugin. starting a webcomic when i started my webcomic vs starting a webcomic now are totally different experiences.

so i can only speak to people who started their webcomics roughly ten years ago. and roughly ten years ago a lot of us were a whole lot younger with a lot more time and energy to spend on a comic for free. this part is probably still somewhat true for new artists.

but then you get older. your ideas change. your skill develops and the old stuff isn't as good. or you don't have as much time, you got a day job. unless you're one of like five people on earth your webcomic is not paying your rent. you need to make money. your shoulder hurts. you're 30 now. you're struggling to make updates on time between whatever else makes you happy and what else you need to do to live. you wrote this story when you were 21, you don't relate to it anymore, you have different ideas, you've grown up, your audience has noticeably dropped off from the peak, social media managing is hard, you have to go to work, you're so tired, all the time.

it's a lot of things.

[keyboardandquill]

How being bad on purpose can be the best thing for getting things written

It’s some of my favourite advice to give fellow perfectionists. Having trouble getting started? Put some awful prose on the page. Make it as bad as you possibly can. 

Think of it like scribbling on the first page of a new notebook or that first stain on new furniture or the first scratch on a new car. 

Why? Because you'll feel a little disappointment, followed by an immense sense of relief. Stop taking yourself seriously.

Here’s why it helps. 

It clears out the creative pipes

Have you ever turned on a tap that hasn’t been used in ages? It coughs and sputters and wheezes, but eventually the water starts to flow. And boy is it ugly water. Who knows how long it has been sitting in the pipes. 

They’re doing road work near my house and had to shut off the water for a day. When we used the tap the first time it came back on, the water ran muddy and gross for a good, long while. And even after it looked transparent, there was still a gritty texture and taste to it for a while after that.

But once I left the tap on for a while, eventually fresh water started flowing from it.

So, instead of trying to get pure, clean prose to flow from your fingertips the moment you sit down, make sure you clear the pipes first.

Write the worst paragraph you've ever written. Make it bad on purpose. Let all that muddy water flow away.

It acts like a warmup

You wouldn't expect an athlete to run a marathon without warming up their muscles first. Even artists warm up with sketches and studies before working on a main project.

Creative writing works the same way. Putting down whatever comes to mind will get you into the right headspace. It doesn't matter if the words you write are any good because you're simply exercising.

Don't stop at just one paragraph. Write another bad one, and another, and another until you feel it start coming out easy.

Blank pages are daunting, so make them not-blank

Pretty simple, right? We hate sullying something new—see my previous comment about new notebooks and furniture and cars—for fear of doing irreparable damage. And while it's a lot harder to buff out scratched paint than it is to hit the backspace key on your keyboard, the effect is the same.

You know that tactic of taking off one or two of those "take a number" tags on a posted flyer to entice more people to take some? Do that to yourself.

Your brain will go "Ah, a first paragraph already exists! Time to keep writing."

Consider: you don't have to be perfect, so don't try to be

Ruin the illusion of perfection to prove to your gremlin brain that it's perfectly okay to do something imperfectly.

We're meant to enjoy the act of creation. It's difficult to do things we don't enjoy when we make it into such a big thing in our minds, right? So if you've over-inflated it, let out some air.

Relax. Enjoy the process of writing. It's going to go through revisions before the final draft anyway, so why not have a little fun while you're at this stage?

tl;dr: Don't take yourself too seriously. Go write some nonsense. Keep writing nonsense until it flows freely. And have fun with it!

[bonny-kookoo]

🧸 + 💗 + 🐕 “you cant chew on that, doll”

p.s- remember to stay hydrated my lovely <3

(there was an added ask saying it's for Jungkook, DDLG+Fluff+Hybrid)

Part of the drabble game!

Languages are marked as: english | korean

"you can't chew on that, doll." jungkook chuckles amused, carefully taking the plastic necklace out from between your lips even though you whine a little about it. "no, don't get fussy now puppy. You've been so good the entire time." he praises, playfully bouncing you a bit on his thigh where you're sitting. He already knows you're gonna feel embarrased and overall bad for slipping in such a bad time- forcing him to take you with him to the music video shooting, even though he himself had no issue with it. It was mainly society that forced you into believing the way you behaved was bad and wrong- even if you had no control over it.

And Jungkook himself could only see you as absolutely adorable anyways.

Ripping open a pack of Jjondeugi, he instead gives that to you to nibble on, well aware of your oral fixation especially in stressful situations like this. Your half-floppy puppy ears constantly move towards any noise, as you try and focus on everything around you. He can't help but pet one of them, soft fur between his fingers while you whine again- this time it's only playful banter however, as you shake your head in joking protest, making him laugh, and your tail wag.

"doesn't it get overwhelming when she's.. You know, like this?" Charlie asks, and Jungkook needs a moment to put his thoughts into words the english speaking artist would be able to understand.

"not much." he says, brushing some hair out of your face as your leg starts to wiggle, body getting antsy since you're unable to roam around freely. "she- uh.. Very sweet. I don't care." he explains, and the fellow artist nods.

"yeah I have a friend who owns a dog hybrid and a puppy one as well. His puppy is a lot harder to handle- never stays still even when the dog is watching over them!" he laughs, making Jungkook chuckle as well. "but she seems super sweet. Must be hard to stay still like that." he says, already well aware he shouldn't touch you. You've squirmed away uncomfortably already when he'd approached you at the start of the shooting- with Jungkook explaining that you didn't like physical contact from anyone but him when you were like this. The american artist had understood thankfully, surprised how relatively calm you still stayed.

Jungkook knows he's got lucky with you.

While everyone around him thought it was already a bad idea to adopt a hybrid, it got even worse when he'd admitted that you weren't just a dog hybrid, but a puppy- basically a hybrid who often falls into a non-verbal headspace to cope with too much stress or sensory overload. It's a rare thing, and doesn't even need to be a result of trauma- in hybrids, it's simply genetics that sometimes make it happen. But even though he himself had his doubts, he does have to admit that he'd won the lottery with you.

You never get too much for him to handle, even deep in your headspace just like now. You're just the sweetest thing- how could he not love you? How could anyone not love you?

The rest of the shooting goes well, translator playing around with you while Jungkook finishes up the last scenes with his co-artist, eager to go home with you just as much as you are. You're an odd couple, that's for sure-

But you fit together like perfect puzzle pieces.

[cactigratitudelove]

Monthly Challenges & Their Benefits.

This month, in the doodler’s instagram world is Inktober! What’s Inktober, you ask?!

“Every October, artists all over the world take on the Inktober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day the entire month.” -Jake Parker

Yep that’s pretty much it- just you, paper and ink for 31 days of October.

These types of challenges are created to help improve skills, challenge creativity, and connect with others on a social media platform or a creative community. These challenges can be super beneficial. 

Looking back on some of the personal creative challenges I have completed, including group ones like inktober, have helped me grow and learn more about myself as an artist. These challenges have helped me practice a skill I've wanted to improve on, explore levels of discipline, push my limits of creativity, and network with fellow creatives I may not have been able to meet other wise. 

Some challenges that came up beyond artistic growth was learning about shame. “I am not completing these drawings in a timely manor, therefore I am a horrible person that won't ever be good with time management.” or “I suck at being creative each day, therefore I am not a good artist.” 

I would also compare myself with others which I learned over time was something I needed to address within myself.  It’s hard not fall into this habit, but when I recognized it, processed why and then gradually set up new healthy habits, I became much happier, stopped comparing, and started to create for myself. My work improved tremendously just by adjusting this way of thinking. 

Come to find out, I am not horrible person or bad artist but that I can and able to learn how to manage my time better with preparing myself for the month, accepting that I may not be on top of it every day but that just showing up was key to learning more about myself and my skill. I also learned that I am an Artist. Whether I am good or bad is neither here nor there. I enjoy creating along with the some of the challenges that come with it, therefore I am an artist. 

So I thought maybe I would share some thoughts on why I enjoy monthly challenges like Inktober and will create my own challenges throughout the year:

Practice

Practice does not make perfect. Practice creates a space for improvement. It’s the cliche, “It’s the journey not the destination.” 

Gawwwwwd I know, I apologize for cliches, but they exist for a reason! I notice that after a month of practicing something I need improvement on, my skills grow. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, but growth to me is so important in this field. 

Accountability 

Doing a challenge specifically with a group of people or posting online helps keep one accountable. Outside of my art life, I have an accountability partner for things like ‘keeping active.’

Meaning each week I usually send her a text saying “I’m gonna go for a jog today... Could you check in later to make sure I followed through? Not feeling it today but I know my body and mind need it! Thanks lady!” She will usually reply “You got this lady! I ran today too. Get it!” OR “You got this! You just inspired me to run today today, I’ll check in tonight.”

Mind you if we skip out on an activity, we are still filled with praise for each other because sometimes things happen or the body and/or brain just really isn't in it. That IS okay too. But more likely than not, it helps motivate and keep you and others going. Instagram has been a safe space for me to create and share my work with others while keeping me accountable to my field and profession. 

Think Outside the Box

Holy smokes! This one is HARD. Being creative is hard. Being creative within a time frame is even harder! Its a challenge for a reason and helpful in getting me to either think out side the box. (OR for this year’s 2019 Inktober get me to think inside the box! *wink wink* -My challenge this year is to draw botanicals inside a 3″x3″ box with some restrictions-Its been fun but challenging) 

Sometimes the way I address this is to create thumbnail sketches of every cliche thing I can think of within the topic I am about to attempt to illustrate. Then after I get them out of my head, I am able to start thinking about what's outside the cliche box. Sometimes being on a time crunch can affect this but simple brainstorming with words can help so much. 

Time-Management

Well... I mean let’s be real. Many creatives struggle with this. I know that I am STILL struggling with this but I am so much better now than I was five to ten years ago! I have actually taken a class by Lisa Congdon from Creative Live that talks about Workflow, Time blocks and setting boundaries for yourself to help take on projects with clients. I highly recommend this! I also use an INK&VOLT planner that has space to write down monthly challenges, goals along with yearly goals and accomplishments. It’s by far my favorite planner I’ve EVER had. 

I also set time blocks for monthly challenges and Inktober. Setting a time block  anywhere from 15min-60min for just uninterrupted (meaning airplane mode on all digital items) time. This helps me concentrate and make growth a priority even on days I might feel a little overwhelmed.  

Fun!

Believe it or not challenges can be fun! Picking themes and topics you love and enjoy helps keep your interest going. Sometimes half way through it can become a bit rough. I like to change up my environment by drawing in a cafe, park, train, or while waiting for my New York bagel n’ lox. This helps with the creative juices and doesn't cause a repetitiveness that can happen. 

I also like to listen to podcasts, music and audiobooks while creating these. Comedy podcasts, like Conan Needs a Friend, can help distract in a good way. 

Mental Health

I have recently noticed when setting a time frame, putting on music and turning my phone into airplane mode while I just simply focus on this one task has helped me process new emotions I might be feeling from my personal life. 

We are all going through something or know people who are going through something. Finding time to process feels is difficult but important. This is a great way to take care of your mental health and in a way meditate while working on your craft.

Social

Lastly, if you're doing inktober you’re probably doing it on the gram! Insta is a great way to meet other creatives and people who may love what you're up to! I have made friends from all over the world just by simply posting and following hashtags with creative agendas. Artists and creatives more times than not will rather want to engage online because, well, lets be honest... studio time. We are always in our studio, which is a great thing too!) Taking breaks to interact with people even if its online is good for the soul.

Keep in mind these challenges weren’t created to get “Likes” or “Followers” These are for personal growth and to interact with other creatives. So if you notice thoughts are focused on “likes” versus growth take a moment to regroup and transfer that energy into visiting artist work you like and engaging with them. Practice gratitude for your self and others in this process. 

What’s important is that you’re showing up and working on self-growth. If you’re wanting some traction from other artists and creatives use popular/themed hashtags to help bring people to your work and engage. Maybe you’d like help on something you find others are great at, head to a hashtag and do a little digging. Most artist today will be happy to help. 

Feel free to reach out and let me know how your challenge is going on my insta: Adela Antoinette 

Good luck and happy Inking!

Inktober info:

https://inktober.com

https://www.instagram.com/inktobertucson/

https://www.facebook.com/inktobertucson/

[movingkeepmoving]

Sofía, Bulgaria - June 2019 🇧🇬

The second last day of my journey was ready to start. It started once more early but not as early as intended to at first. My original plan included a coach trip from Thessaloniki to Sofía, but as lucky as I was on this trip, I got adopted by two fellow fans who invited me on their ride on a more comfortable car. While I did know tiny bits of Greek, I didn't know a single thing about Bulgaria. Well, not 100% true - I knew they're part of the European Union, they don't have the Euro and they use the Cyrillic alphabet. That's it. I didn't know they were not part of Schengen and I also didn't know a single thing about their fascinating long history.

Once being dropped of in Sofía, I fell in love with the city. Its different, it's full of history - you can tell by just walking around for five minutes - and it's super green and full of parks. I head to my hostel, ring the bell and after a couple of minutes an old lady appears, telling me in broken English there's something wrong with my room and hands me a phone. The man on the other end explains me that they have anogher building down the road, the woman will bring me there, and they will upgrade my single hostel room to a studio for the same price. Alright?!? I follow her and we have a nice and brief talk in English. I tell her I'm from Germany and it's my first time in Bulgaria, I'm here for a concert, but not to play myself - to watch a band. She's charming and welcoming as she's trying her best in communicating with me.

She drops me off with her colleague at the studio house. This new woman doesn't speak any English, so she hands me her telephone and I talk to the guy I talked before. We discuss the final details and then I have a super huge studio with a kitchen and sofa and a large bed all for myself. I charge my batteries, check the nearby restaurants and download the local Taxi App. It works like Beat in Greece, you can pay via credit card and so you don't have to withdraw too much money from the next ATM. I'm craving something fresh and healthy so I get late lunch at a close by fusion restaurant that serves an amazing poke bowl. As I have a full day left for sightseeing, I decide to head down early for the venue. I'm totally on my own this time and you never know how crazy the Bulgarian folks are about gigs. On my way getting there I have the best and cutest old taxi driver you can imagine. She talks English, shows me some sights of the city while passing them, tells me to definitely use the app after the show to not get scammed by another cab driver as the venue is in a students area and he hands me a tourist info in English about the most famous sights. He also changes the radio station to the rock channel once I told him about my plans for the evening and in just that moment, the gig gets announced on the station and Dropkick Murphys are played on the radio...

Boy, was I wrong about the audience. Nobody shows up until 30 minutes before door. The first person I get in contact with is G. from the UK. He tells me he came down as DKM and FT are his favourite artists. Well once more - I'm not alone at a Frank Turner gig and I guess I never will. Doors open, and about 6 people head into the venue, an ice hockey stadium. Once the six of us are in, nothing happens for an hour. I walk around, get me a coke and water and some caramel popcorn as apperently this is what you can buy at a gig in Sofia. Franks set is moved back by 20 minutes and once he enters the stage there are some hundred people inside the venue while the rest is still out front smoking. (For the first time of this tour, the promoter made actually sure that nobody is smoking indoors! It's a blessing!)

Once more some Frank Turner fans gather around close to the front. I can hear them singing both on my left and my right side, which makes me smile like a nutter and sing even louder. It's once more utterly insane to whitnes Franks first gig in Bulgaria. I guess it's pretty hard regarding the size of the venue and the small amount of people who do know him. But it doesn't stop him. No, he tries even harder, chats his bits through the Bulgarian language and he even managed to sing "Eulogy" in it. It's like his magic trick, everytime he does that, the crowds starts to respect him a tiny bit more. He tells the crowd how crazy it is for him to finally play a show in Bulgaria and says its pretty special to him as he wrote his university dissertation about British-Bulgarian relationships. This evening I sing extra loud during "I still believe" - as it somehow became the song of my trip to the East. I would never had thought that I would travel all the way down to Greece to see my favourite artist opening up for an American band. Well in the end I travelled to those places and the shows were the red cherry on top of doing the trip.

Sofia was finally the gig where I was able to witness a FULL Dropkick Murphys gig. I got me a seat on the side and enjoyed the non smoking environment. From the very first start about 2700 people went nuts. While looking around I saw so many happy faces and I once more realised how lucky I am living in Berlin with 5-10 gigs every day. These people had to wait more than 20 years to see Dropkick Murphys play in their city - in their country. And the guys from Massachusetts showed them what Punkrock was about. At one point singer Ken stopped the band as he saw someone in the crowd doing Nazi salutes. Ken was all about to jump into the crowd and fight that guy. Everything happened at the other side of the room, I didn't see anything besides a raging singer. But in this moment Ken earned a lot of respect from my end.

Luckily the show was ready to continue and I wandered a bit around until a friend of the band invited me to come up sidestage to become part of the final stage invasion of my tour. I've been side stage for many shows in my life, but to see this wild and happy crowd from up there made my heart jump with joy. It was beautiful and being part of the stage invasion some minutes later felt absolutely unreal. Do you know this feeling when you just think you're dreaming? That was me, dancing and singing around on a stage in Sofía, Bulgaria. Even when I look back to it now, I can not really believe this did actually happen to me.

Sometimes life is full of big surprises and I'm still so happy I decided to do this trip when all my fellow gig buddies said they wouldn't join. Traveling and going to my gigs on my very own made me learn a lot about myself but also a lot about those foreign countries and their people who react differently to you if you actually interact with them. When you're travelling in a group you tend to keep to yourself and turn around to keep chatting in your group conversation. This wasn't possible for me, I had to get in contact with people and I loved it! One more day in Sofia ahead...

[snakewife]

I've noticed that recently you've been skipping updates p reg for the last few months and I'm nervous that this means you're planning on quitting HoL like Abernathy. Please let this not be so! I really love having a comic of yours to look foreword too! You're my favorite web comic artist and I feel like I've had so much fun finding and reading your works this past year.

Yikes but not at you; I’m just embarrassed that it’s so regular that it’s noticeable, y’know?

Let me reassure you, anon! No, I'm not planning on stopping them - I’m still kinda bummed that I had to put Abernathy on hiatus for a year and some change. I’m just tired, and a lot of stuff has happened in the past few months. Diane From HR got sick! Friends are sad!I’m working on stuff! Plus, it’s summer, which means I’ve got the annual summertime blues, and this year has been harder than most due to politics in the US.

I often wonder how much of that to share with y’all. I don’t want to make you sad; one of my things is that my stuff will be a safe haven for my fellow weirdos and queers, a break from all the bad stuff out there. But boy, it’s been hitting me pretty hard these days.

Also it humid :(

[rotomaker]

Ten Tips For VFX Artists # 1 Consider a Change of Career Why are you doing visual effects anyway? Is it because you love it? Are you inspired by the technical and creative challenges it offers and motivated to push the envelope, to create the most amazing imagery possible? Or are you only doing it because your other options don't pay as well and aren't as prestigious? Yes, the visual effects industry is far from idyllic, but if you arrive at work every morning already resenting being there, you're setting yourself up to underachieve. # 2 Stop Complaining So you've decided to stick it out. Congratulations. Now you need to stop bitching about the things you can't change and start fixing the things you can. Sure, the first step to fixing something is often to bring it to other people's attention, but keep your criticism constructive. Negativity shows through in your work and rubs off on the people around you. # 3 Be A Rock Star VFX is a competitive industry. If you want to make sure you keep your current job, or you want to be considered for a better job, if you want to be assigned the most challenging work on the coolest shots, it's not enough to just get by. You are constantly being evaluated against other talented, motivated people and it's up to you to shine. Sure, some people get by on nepotism and luck, but do you really want to be one of them? Maybe you don't feel you have the raw talent to be a rock star, but focus and effort beats talent any day. On the other hand, if you're happy just coasting, do us both a favour and take another look at Tip # 1. # 4 Balance Quality vs. Quantity You've probably heard this cliche before: "Good/ Fast/ Cheap. Choose two." When you think of that in terms of yourself, I'm sure you don't want to be cheap, so you better be both good and fast. Time is of the essence, so an artist that produces amazing work, but takes a long time about it, is not going to be entrusted with lots of hero shots, any more than an artist that is very fast, but works to a low standard. And remember: the most complicated solution is almost never the best solution. Supervisors and producers are less impressed with cleverness than we are with efficiency and pragmatism. # 5 Communication is Key You work in a collaborative, creative field with a lot of inter-dependencies. It is essential that you're in regular contact with the other artists working on your shot - ideally face-to-face. When you submit your work for review, remember that no one else has been focused on it to the same extent you have, so provide an explanatory note to put it into context. When your submission comes up in dailies, speak up immediately, saying what you've done, what's left to do and what you're looking for feedback on. If you spot a problem, don't keep quiet and hope no one else notices. If you have an idea to do something different than what has been asked of you, explain why you think it would produce a better result. # 6 No Excuses, No Finger Pointing It doesn't matter whose fault it is that something is broken or missing, it only matters that it gets fixed. And it's the responsibility of the entire shot team to make that happen. If you fix your own mistake, you're redeemed. If you fix someone else's mistake, you're a hero. If no one fixes it, you're all mooks, regardless of whose mistake it was in the first place. # 7 Show Some Gumption Don't wait to be told what to do. If you've run out of work, ask what you should do next. If you absolutely know that something needs to be done, but no one told you to do it yet, don't let that stop you from doing it. If you aren't sure, then ask. Yes, it is the responsibility of your lead/supervisor and production team to make sure you have enough work to do and enough information and source material to get it done, but every one of them has a lot more pressing things to worry about than you and will really appreciate you taking the initiative. # 8 Make the Right Scale of Change Try to always be conscious of how "big" of a change is needed to address a supervisor or client note. One of the major time-wasters in visual effects is if an artist makes an incremental change when a fundamental change is needed, or vice versa. When a big change is needed, don't be afraid of going too far. A good approach is to deliberately take it too far and then back off. On the other hand, if a shot is nearly final and only the smallest change is required to get it finished, don't go back to the drawing board and make a fundamental change. # 9 Offer Up Options If you believe your shot can be improved by making a big change, when only a small change has been requested, make a version with the small change first. Then, if you have time, make the big change in an alternate version and present both of them to your supervisor. Similarly, if the creative requirements of a shot are unclear or the amount by which some aspect of the shot needs to change is undefined, try a few different options and present them. You might be surprised how much quicker things get approved when multiple options are presented. # 10 Police Yourself And finally, just because no one calls you out for turning up late, underachieving, goofing off or claiming overtime you didn't work, doesn't mean no one noticed. Supervisors, leads and production teams often prefer to avoid confrontation, especially in the pandemonium of delivery. But make no mistake: the feedback that they - and your fellow artists - give about you in reviews and referrals will affect your career. Hopefully this has given you some food for thought. It's never too late to up your game and it's not just mooks that can improve their prospects by working a little harder and smarter.