widowcorp

[widowcorp]

[widowcorp]

if you like crafting and also free things, might i suggest the antique pattern library?

it’s a not for profit that’s gathering books, patterns, and other materials related to crafting that are out of copyright (or getting permission from copyright holders in some cases) in order to share them online. they scan items, clean them up, then make everything available for free!

free things are great, especially when you’re just starting to get into something. like oh, i’m supposed to spend money on this hobby i just picked up 20 minutes ago???

the first time i ended up on the site, i seriously spent hours just trawling through everything. there’s the usual suspects like knitting, crochet, embroidery, but there’s also woodwork, calligraphy, and books on things like how to mount and frame pictures. with cross stitch patterns, they also make modern charts with the dmc colour codes available.

links to their webbed site and instagram:

https://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/

https://www.instagram.com/theantiquepatternlibrary/

behold, a glorious cat cross stitch pattern (link goes to antique pattern library page):

[image id: Multicolour charted cross stitch design of a cat sitting on a red pillow with tassels, holding a green ball]

[widowcorp]

Want to learn something new in 2022??

Absolute beginner adult ballet series (fabulous beginning teacher)

40 piano lessons for beginners (some of the best explanations for piano I’ve ever seen)

Excellent basic crochet video series

Basic knitting (probably the best how to knit video out there)

Pre-Free Figure Skate Levels A-D guides and practice activities (each video builds up with exercises to the actual moves!)

How to draw character faces video (very funny, surprisingly instructive?)

Another drawing character faces video

Literally my favorite art pose hack

Tutorial of how to make a whole ass Stardew Valley esque farming game in Gamemaker Studios 2??

Introduction to flying small aircrafts

French/Dutch/Fishtail braiding

Playing the guitar for beginners (well paced and excellent instructor)

Playing the violin for beginners (really good practical tips mixed in)

Color theory in digital art (not of the children’s hospital variety)

Retake classes you hated but now there’s zero stakes:

Calculus 1 (full semester class)

Learn basic statistics (free textbook)

Introduction to college physics (free textbook)

Introduction to accounting (free textbook)

Learn a language:

Ancient Greek

Latin

Spanish

German

Japanese (grammar guide) (for dummies)

French

Russian (pretty good cyrillic guide!)

[widowcorp]

Throwback to this portrait tutorial that I made last year ^^ Do you find this helpful? If you are interested in learning more about my techniques and process, then feel free to check out more tutorials on my Patreon page! (link in bio)

[widowcorp]

2021 Queer Book Wrap Up

Hello! In an effort to read less fanfiction, I tried to read more LGBT+ books in 2021. I made a list in case anyone else is also trying to pry themselves away from A03! I found most of these books through the 2020 kadoore.com Queer Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy Books List (there's 2021 and 2019, too). And friends were a great resource for recs, too!

Also, I don't want to be someone who makes any thoughtless, negative remarks, so rather than an actual review, I've simply written the set-up and some of my (mostly) positive comments. I starred (**) books I physically bought afterward. In many cases, I also bought the eBook for the library so they would have it in their collection for others to borrow! Look into your local library, it's awesome.

GETTING STARTED!

1. A Curse of Roses by Diana Pinguicha - f/f princess fantasy. I can't say I knew what was going on for a solid quarter of the first part of the book (mainly because I am not familiar with Portuguese history), but I rather liked the main character, and she was a true stand out in terms of characterization. I have often thought of some of the dialogue on religion and women (and self-hatred), and I think that was really original.

2. Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst - f/f princess fantasy. This one lacked a bit of substance, but I saw it like an excellent fanfiction. Mainly romance based, but still interesting. I did not continue the series.

3. Dreadnaught by April Daniels - f/f superhero. This has a trans woman main who becomes a superhero. I enjoyed her voice as well as the very accurate portrayal of sexism and transphobia (including a TERF character.) A bit thin on plot (it is YA), but ultimately very happy there's representation like this out there. I enjoyed the ride.

4. The Space Between Worlds** by Micaiah Johnson - f/f sci-fi. WOC queer main. Arguably my favorite book on this list. It may not be for everyone, but the author really spoke to me in so many ways, in my favorite genre, that I thought about it for long after. The world, the writing, just simply unparalelled, and I plan to read whatever she writes next.

5. Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett - f/f fantasy. While there's a WOC queer main, there's very little in the way of romance. That's not a drawback. I absolutely blazed through this story. I really enjoyed the magical universe and how similarly relatable it is to coding. Fresh and creative, I also enjoyed all of the characters. I read the second book, see below.

6. Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett - f/f fantasy. The follow-up to Foundryside. I read it in one day. The expansion of the world was really interesting, with some twists I guessed and others I didn't, but ultimately I felt a bit of the spark or humanity was lost from book 1 to book 2. Not planning to read book 3.

7. The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics** by Olivia Waite - f/f period. My favorite part of this book (and forgive me if this is a spoiler in any way) is that there was no real fear that something terrible would happen to the characters. It was wonderfully fluffy while still holding compelling plot points and twists. I also have never learned so much about embroidery, and it made me long to gaze at stitched art.

8. The Poppy War** by R.F. Kuang - not f/f but not anything else. period? fantasy? I had a breakdown during the reading of this due to learning for the first time of the Rape of Nanking. I couldn't finish, but I plan to eventually. I bought it because I want to support the author, who is from my city. Also, from what I read, I could tell it would likely be excellent, but I just didn't have the mental wherewithal to finish.

9. How to Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone - f/f sci-fi. Really poetically written. Love a wlw sci-fi, but it's just a personal preference that I don't like letter-based stories. Still really beautifully described.

10. Kissing the Witch** by Emma Donoghue - f/f fantasy short stories. Lovely. Poetic. A testament to the economy of the word. Gay fairytales that are a quick read. What else can you ask for?

11. Malice by Heather Walter - f/f fantasy. A solidly written, interesting take on Sleeping Beauty. YA. I'm very curious about the sequel.

12. Something To Talk About by Meryl Wilsner - f/f fake relationship actress. I didn't finish this one, but the premise was interesting!

13. Breaking Character by Lee Winter - f/f actress. I might pledge my life for Bess. Summer is endearing as well, and apparently imagined as Melissa Benoist. Very much enjoyed.

14. Brutal Truth by Lee Winter - f/f media mogul/assistant set-up. This one really gave me Devil Wears Prada vibes. Very witty.

15. One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston - f/f soulmate-ish modern magic. I thought the writing and the dialogue were very well-done, witty, and entertaining. If you enjoy found family and New York, I'd say you'd also love this one. The side characters have a lot of substance and life.

16. The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells - this is a 6 book series I believe, but they are all pretty short. I'm not sure that I would classify it as queer either? But the lead is a nonbinary, asexual robot. I just really enjoyed the books and wanted to add it to my list!

18. Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers - I wasn't sure whether to add this as I didn't finish, but it seemed beautifully written, what little I read, and came highly acclaimed. I see it everywhere at book stores.

Also there are several I wish I'd finished but my concentration just really flagged! Those are the Bone Shard Daughter, The Jasmine Throne, and Crier's War. Hopefully in January of 2022!

[widowcorp]

[widowcorp]

A master post of Thomas Romain’s art tutorials.

There’s not enough space to post all of them, SO here’s links to everything he has posted (on twitter) so far : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. 

Now that new semesters have started, I thought people might need these. Enjoy your lessons!

[widowcorp]

Quick nose guide from some suggestions you guys sent me in my inbox, I hope it is helpful! ^^

[widowcorp]

Hi! Can you share what brushes do you use? 👉🏼👈🏼

The first one is the chalk-wet brush. Most of these I’ve gotten from Deharme over at deviantart. They have a great collection of brushes. I think Kyle’s brushes at Adobe has chalk-wet as well.

[widowcorp]

Resources For Describing Emotion

Emotions

Without Making Your Character Feel Too Self Aware

Showing Emotion Without Telling About It

Emotions Associated With Body Language

Telling Readers What The Character Doesn’t Want To Show

Hiding Emotions

Expressing Cardinal Emotions: Masculine vs. Feminine

Writing Extreme Emotion Without Melodrama

Specific Emotions

Conveying Shock

Conveying Embarrassment

Conveying Disappointment

Conveying Love/Attraction

Conveying Annoyance

Conveying Relief

Conveying Uncertainty

Conveying Impatience

Conveying Shame

Conveying Resentment

Conveying Panic

Conveying Guilt

Conveying Desperation

Conveying Sarcasm & Verbal Disrespect

Conveying Confusion

Conveying Stubbornness

Conveying Frustration

Conveying Indifference

Conveying Indignation

Conveying Confidence & Pride

Conveying Smugness

Conveying Enthusiasm

Conveying Curiosity

Conveying Hopefulness

Conveying Unease

Conveying Reluctance

Conveying Worry

Conveying Humility & Meekness

Conveying Happiness & Joy

Conveying Amusement

Conveying Disgust

Conveying Resignation

Conveying Jealousy

Conveying Anticipation

Conveying Contentment

Conveying Defeat

Conveying Excitement

Conveying Fear

Conveying Hatred

Conveying Hurt

Conveying Being Overwhelmed

Conveying Sadness & Grief

Conveying Satisfaction

Conveying Somberness

Conveying Sympathy & Empathy

Conveying Wariness

Conveying Defensiveness

Conveying Desire

Conveying Doubt

Conveying Energy

Conveying Exhaustion

Conveying Hunger

Conveying Loneliness

Conveying Physical Pain

Emotional Wounds

Keep reading

[widowcorp]

I have … a tip.

If you’re writing something that involves an aspect of life that you have not experienced, you obviously have to do research on it. You have to find other examples of it in order to accurately incorporate it into your story realistically.

But don’t just look at professional write ups. Don’t stop at wikepedia or webMD. Look up first person accounts.

I wrote a fic once where a character has frequent seizures. Naturally, I was all over the wikipedia page for seizures, the related pages, other medical websites, etc.

But I also looked at Yahoo asks where people where asking more obscure questions, sometimes asked by people who were experiencing seizures, sometimes answered by people who have had seizures.

I looked to YouTube. Found a few individual videos of people detailing how their seizures usually played out. So found a few channels that were mostly dedicated to displaying the daily habits of someone who was epileptic.

I looked at blogs and articles written by people who have had seizures regularly for as long as they can remember. But I also read the frantic posts from people who were newly diagnosed or had only had one and were worried about another.

When I wrote that fic, I got a comment from someone saying that I had touched upon aspects of movement disorders that they had never seen portrayed in media and that they had found representation in my art that they just never had before. And I think it’s because of the details. The little things.

The wiki page for seizures tells you the technicalities of it all, the terminology. It tells you what can cause them and what the symptoms are. It tells you how to deal with them, how to prevent them.

But it doesn’t tell you how some people with seizures are wary of holding sharp objects or hot liquids. It doesn’t tell you how epileptics feel when they’ve just found out that they’re prone to fits. It doesn’t tell you how their friends and family react to the news.

This applies to any and all writing. And any and all subjects. Disabilities. Sexualities. Ethnicities. Cultures. Professions. Hobbies. Traumas. If you haven’t experienced something first hand, talk to people that have. Listen to people that have. Don’t stop at the scholarly sources. They don’t always have all that you need.

[widowcorp]

So... I found this and now it keeps coming to mind. You hear about "life-changing writing advice" all the time and usually its really not—but honestly this is it man.

I'm going to try it.

[widowcorp]

@pittssmitts on instagram deactivated but i have had this in my saved posts for ever

[widowcorp]

ayo i found 2 pages with head angles of humans and animals, could be useful to anyone reading this

hoomans

animals

[widowcorp]

Since once in a blue moon I actually discover a decent rule for adulting, and since I know I have followers a few years younger than me who are just entering the workforce, I want to tell you about a very important phrase. 

“I won’t be available.”

Imagine you’re at work and your boss asks you to come in on Saturday. Saturday is usually your day off–coming in Saturdays is not an obligation to keep your job. Maybe you were going to watch a movie with a friend, or maybe you were just going to lie in bed and eat ice cream for eight hours, but either way you really, really don’t want to give up your day off.

If you consider yourself a millennial you’ve probably been raised to believe you need to justify not being constantly at work. And if you’re a gen-Z kid you’re likely getting the same toxic messages that we did. So in a situation like that, you might be inclined to do one of three things:

Tell your boss you’d rather not give up your day off. Cave when they pressure you to come in anyway, since you’re not doing anything important.

Tell your boss you’d rather not give up your day off. Over-apologize and worry that you looked bad/unprofessional.

Lie and say you’ve got a doctor’s appointment or some other activity that feels like an adequate justification for not working.

The fact is, it doesn’t matter to your boss whether you’re having open heart surgery or watching anime in your underwear on Saturday. The only thing that affects them is the fact that you won’t be at work. So telling them why you won’t be at work only gives them reason to try and pressure you to come in anyway.

If you say “I won’t be available,” giving no further information, you’d be surprised how often that’s enough. Be polite and sympathetic in your tone, maybe even say “sorry, but I won’t be available.” But don’t make an excuse. If your boss is a professional individual, they’ll accept that as a ‘no’ and try to find someone else. 

But bosses aren’t always professional. Sometimes they’re whiny little tyrants. So, what if they pressure you further? The answer is–politely and sympathetically give them no further information.

“Are you sure you’re not available?” “Sorry, but yes.”

“Why won’t you be available?” “I have a prior commitment.” (Which you do, even if it’s only to yourself.)

“What’s your prior commitment?” “Sorry, but that’s kind of personal.”

“Can you reschedule it?” “I’m afraid not. Maybe someone else can come in?”

If you don’t give them anything to work with, they can’t pressure you into going beyond your obligations as an employee. And when they realize that, they’ll also realize they have to find someone else to come in and move on.

[widowcorp]

😳

[widowcorp]

So you don’t have to watch the video every time you need one of these hacks immediately:

1. If you feel nauseated, smell rubbing alcohol.

2. If you feel like throwing up, start humming.

3. If you have a runny nose, put your tongue to the roof of your mouth and press your thumb to your forehead for about 20 seconds.

4. If you have a headache, pinch the webbing between your fingers and rub it back and forth for about 1 minute.

5. If you’re lightheaded from standing up too quickly, clench your butt cheeks.

6. If your arm’s dead/has the pins and needles feeling, rock your head back and forth.

7. If you need to pee badly, think of sex to trick your brain and relieve the pressure.

8. If you have a migraine, stick your hands in ice water.

9. If you wanna calm your racing heart, blow on your thumb.

EDIT: Okay, so apparently that Tiktok creator just got caught out in February having said racist and anti-gay shit in the past, including using the N-word. I literally had never come across them til they landed on my For You page yesterday and just got messaged by someone about them being an asshole. Please use these hacks if you need them cuz your health is super important but don’t follow that creator, like their vids, comment on their stuff, etc. I think that boosts them in the platform’s algorithm? Right? (My Tiktok illiteracy is showing.) If anyone can recommend creators of color or LGBTQ+ creators with cool life/health hacks to follow instead, that’d be awesome! 🙏🏼

@shopgirl.ish

@dr.karanr