#artists if you want to draw some of these. go ahead ^_^/nf

[miaouumiaouu]

[sleepyhouse2art]

Sleepyhouse2™ help how do I make comics (/nf and also just asking for tips you recommend)

lets see!!

i bet if you wanna make a comic you have a story you want to tell! what works for me is just to dive into it. dont wait until youre nebulously 'better' or itll never happen, you know! itll make you feel good to make something! personally with hard core drugs i had an idea of where the comic would go, but i dont script pages more than one or two ahead at a time lol. i do keep ideas for future pages/things i want to include in the script file, which helps

ignore a lot of stuff people tell you to do! you dont have to maintain an update schedule -- i sure dont! i draw when i feel like, which admittedly is always (i often draw upwards of like 8 hours a day ha ha ha) but seize that shit when you feel moved to draw! also dont worry about stuff like being dialogue heavy, being too intense, too personal, too much. that stuff resonates. you can do whatever you want. you can switch up timelines, you can get surreal, you can get real weird wit it. getting weird wit it and following your heart is the most important art thing ever i think

read comics you love! read new comics! a lot of my fav comic artists i try to achieve the qualities that i admire in them. there are lots of good free comics websites that wont fuck up your computer. for comics originally published online i like comicfury and globalcomix because they dont do censorship like webtoon/tapas/etc (yuck) and they support traditional format as well as vertical. you have to wade through a bunch of shit you hate admittedly but that is just art on the internet and you can find some good stuff!

also take inspiration from everything you like!! everything everything everything is inspo and material, from movies to music to dreams to personal experiences etc etc etc.

i think this is my best comics advice i have? i hope this is helpful <3

[sleepyzink]

Some OC drawings!! Constructive criticism for their designs (especially Ray’s) are super appreciated!! /nf

First one (black and red hair) is Ray, second one doesn’t really have a name yet!!

Under the cut is a few informations of both x3 specifically white haired silly

(Reblogs/comments are appreciated :3)

Ray is Sleepy’s (my main oc) sibling!! Their pronouns are he/they, and he’s trans!

I honestly don’t have much lore for him, I just thought I’d make my main oc a sibling and decided on Ray! I’m still working on his story and stuff, though he stems from UTMV (because why not + I made him while being in my huge latest UTMV hyperfixation) and they literally just spawned in Sleepy’s work in progress AU x3

(Sleepy’s an AU creator + an artist, but they actually were IN the multiverse!! Because why not!!!)

——

Meanwhile, white haired person is a Cookie Run Kingdom OC (I could also just pull them out of it but eh, I’d rather stick to CRK because hyperfixation x3) and they were basically experimented on by witches! (If you know the crk lore it’ll make more sense) which basically made their powers, though also made their trauma because 😭 being experimented on ofc isn’t fun!

The stitching + different dough (they’re a cookie) tone thingy is because, at some point in the experiments, they lost part of their face, so they pulled some dough from another already dead cookie, and stitched it up! Though it made them have to constantly cry the green/purple substance off of that eye

That’s kind of it! Also, white haired silly is based off of a lamb plushie (which made me think they could be called Lamb Plush Cookie or something, So I might go with that!)

Thanks for reading!! (If you want to give your thoughts on all of the ideas and stuff, go ahead!! I’m all in for suggestions + feedback!!)

[ecotone99]

[NF] The man who thought he died looking at paintings.

This is a short story, and a true story.

​

I would like to preface this story with a warning. Tripping in public can get you into serious trouble, obviously. Do not try this at home unless you have some experience with psychedelics.

That being said, I myself can't trip at home. When I try I end up leaving as soon as the come up is over because I feel the need to go out into the world and see it with new eyes.

I had been preparing for this experience for some time, I had done something similar with a friend before. But at a small museum at a low dosage (of shrooms). This was a very different kind of place. This was the most popular fine arts museum in the whole region, and naturally, I was a bit nervous. I took the pills in the museum bathroom, for those of you who don't know what exactly 4-aco-dmt is, it's a novel psychedelic that converts to psilocin when ingested, so it's almost indistinguishable from mushrooms.

During the come up, I walked around a part of the museum I had already seen (sober). They were mostly masterpieces by old European renaissance painters. Mostly stately portraits of stern gentlemen of status, which was why I figured this would be better to do before the trip actually started.

When it did hit me though it hit me like a truck, I had never taken this much of the substance before and suddenly my attention shifted from the art to the other visitors. They seemed almost like wax automatons capable only of awe and nothing else, they slumped and staggered while they looked at the masterpieces which were the results of lifetimes of work by exceptionally gifted individuals that were far beyond a normal person's ability and understanding. I snickered quietly because well, first of all I was one of these beings, which was hilarious, but I also realized that everyone would be far too occupied with the pieces to notice that I was on another planet right now. This calmed me, I could do this.

Now that the trip had set in I decided to go to a different section of the museum, one dedicated to the art of ancient central American and African cultures. For this I would have to go outside first, and it was raining. I figured I was no wuss and would not need to get my coat, the rain felt light and made me ready to go into the next phase. I only had to ask for directions on the way to the building once which I considered a great success.

Upon entering I was first greeted by a section of art that dealt mostly with household items and furniture. I felt kind of insulted, I had not come here to spend time in a sort of glorified Ikea. It took me some time to find where the actual old, ethnic and religious art was located. But when I did, oooh boy.

I stomped around a little because there was no one else in this section right now. A glass box with about 30-35 masks marked the crown jewel of the mesoamerican art exhibit and it made me think about the roles we choose to play in society, and a new appreciation for the antiquity of the idea of, say, different 'flavors' of people. In my mind, every mask represented an ancient equivalent to modern professions, or something like a cluster of Jungian personality types.

But which one was I? What mask would I have donned in one of those ancient ceremonies? I did not know the answer. And it set me off a little. A looming aggression began to boil. Then I laughed at how obvious I was, the aggression wás the answer, clearly I would have been a warrior.

With the warrior spirit in mind I walked into the next section, which was an African exhibit, mostly of wooden effigies but also of old black and white pictures of the people that belonged to the tribes where figures like this had been traditionally made.

Now these men, they had been warriors, not by choice but by necessity, and the greatest of them had had their likeness carved into wood and clay, and their images and spirit had survived through the ages. I felt weak and ashamed. I used to be in better shape than this and at a time had been disciplined enough to have earned that epithet of warrior. But I had grown complacent, sedentary in my job, trading hard runs for sunny-day walks and grueling sparring sessions for doing a few squats and calling it a day. But I still felt a strength within me. 'I'm still young,' I thought to myself. 'There is still time to become a better, stronger and smarter me.'

I felt liberated, I could see a clear path ahead of me. I had to stop eating crap, stop drinking every weekend, and dedicate myself to physical and mental training, for my own sake.

Surely this had been the peak of the trip, surely this was the revelation of the entheogen. Little did I know, we were only getting started.

I went back to the main building. Took a little break and drank some water, I was starting to feel a little more normal again.

I passed a section dedicated to Chinese porcelain. There was a woman explaining the process of the lost art of true traditional porcelain making to an uninterested but polite teenager. She was at least seventy years old but she moved her hands when she spoke and everything she said was full of passion and vigor. I decided that she was, or had been, a teacher in some sort of capacity. To talk about a subject in such depth and to make others enthusiastic about an arcane subject requires a certain skillset that I was sure she had developed over a long career. She was almost comically short, but not because she was hunched over. She looked very healthy for her age and I'm sure she used to be a beautiful woman in her prime.

She caught me listening in on her little lecture and she lost the thread of what she was saying. The look in her eyes said: it's been years since a man has looked at me that way. It didn't take her long to recoup and continue her story after a few umms and I left for the next exhibit, a little embarrassed, but also somewhat amused.

The next exhibit featured more modern paintings, mostly from the last century, and statues as well. And I understood why people had made these things, to enrich their own lives and the lives of those who might enjoy their work. Some of the works held such passion that I found myself wondering what would have happened to the person that had made it if they had never picked up a paintbrush, would they have sunk slowly into depression and lived a life without purpose? Or were the people that had made these works so exceptional that they would have excelled at whatever path they might have chosen in life? It was an impossible question.

I remember standing in front of a painting by an artist I had never heard of before for what seemed like hours, his name was E.J. Hughes. It was a scene of a grey beach with a stream and a treeline, there were all sorts of hidden treasures in the painting but I have not been able to find it on the internet, sadly. It was one of the best modern paintings I have ever seen and I could imagine myself stepping into the painting and living on a cottage besides that beach for the rest of my days.

I was sure this E.J. Hughes and I would have been great friends. Sadly, upon reading the information next to the painting (which in my state was no small feat mind you), I found out the man had died in 2007. I exclaimed an audible 'FUCK' through the gallery.

People were looking at me, including the floor's security guard. Part of me wanted to say: 'What, are you not moved by art? Then why do you come here?' But I knew that drawing more attention to myself than necessary would be a very bad idea. I moved on to the next exhibit.

When I entered there was a recording of music by Mozart playing. And the leftmost wall was completely cluttered with paintings. I felt tired and sat down on the bench facing the wall so I could take it all in. Most paintings were scenes of Austria and Germany. A horse pulling a carriage through snow, a maid churning butter. The music and visuals of brilliant rays of sun that shone from the paintings lifted me above myself somewhat. It made me think of my youth and teenage years in Europe and the stories my grandmother used to tell me, I could feel myself slipping away and I think I even cried a little. THIS was the peak, of that I was sure, either that or I was about to trade the physical for the ethereal forever and die on the spot. I remember being afraid of dying but I did not panic because if it were to happen there was nothing I could do about it, and why waste my last moments on thoughts of panic and fear, why not enjoy the beautiful music and sights that reminded me of my home country that I had (perhaps foolishly) left behind?

I remember thinking: 'Don't close your eyes, whatever you do, don't close your eyes, for as long as you can. Make the moment last.'

An overweight Russian man and his family sat down next to me and the spell was broken. I felt relatively normal again and stood up to go get some water. I was glad I had survived.

I went to do a last round of the classical paintings, one biblical scene was so intricate that all I could do was wonder how a person could make this with mere hands of flesh. A man my age who stood next to me seemed to share my opinion, we exchanged looks and for a moment I wondered whether he was as high as I was, but I dared not ask.

Security came in and requested us to leave, the museum was about to close. I had been inside the museum for over seven hours, but to be honest it felt like I had been there for half a week.

There is no good way to end this story. It's been a little over a week now and I still think about certain moments from that day sometimes. I haven't told anyone about it because I feel like no one would understand. They might think I'm a damn lunatic. So instead I decided to share the story on Reddit.

submitted by /u/MysticalMarsupial [link] [comments] via Blogger http://bit.ly/2VEnUWT

[runwright]

A look back at 2016

2016 Goals

Running/ Health and Fitness

I didn't hit any of the fitness goals I set for myself. I took the entire winter and almost the entire spring off running. My bike needed to be fixed and I didn't get it repaired until October.  Exercise was sporadic at best for most of the early part of the year and by the time summer rolled around, I was carrying some extra weight, feeling heavy and stiff and not able to train for any races. Needless to say, I didn't even attempt to train for the marathon.

Financial

As the year progressed, I learned more about myself and about life and changed my financial goals. I put some things in place to start following one of my passions. I knew it would take a while before it would be financially feasible but now I get to do what I love. The bills are still being paid but I wasn't able to pay off my debts or save much. That continues to be a goal for 2017.

Personal Development

I completed my reading challenge to read 100 books by December 31st. It took me the entire year to get to that number because while I got ahead of the schedule during the summer months, in the fall I got consumed with other projects and that was also the time I started spending way more time exercising and going on other adventures and slouched on the reading. When I got back to the challenge, it was a race to try to finish by the end of the year but I did it. Other reading challenges and goals that I completed in: Non-Fiction reading challenge ( I read enough NF to get the Master title) Winter Reading Challenge - I read 12 of the 14 books but couldn't get to the category to read 2 books with the same title. They had to be the same spelling and everything and I just missed out on that part. I participated in the Popsugar Reading Challenge and read 35 of the 40 categories. I read 20 of 26 qualifying books for the ABC challenge. I took 2 John Maxwell workshops I trained 2 Pathfinders to complete their syllabus so they could be promoted to the next class. I took a challenge to be fluent in French and while fluency still evades me, I did get a lot of practice.

Writing

2016 was the year where my life changed. I finally released my first book, a short story collection entitled It's Complicated: Short Stories About Long Relationships. With that, I became a published author with nationwide distribution and my print book made it to several international countries. Off the top of my head, I can tell you that I have readers in USA, Canada, Germany, Jamaica, Antigua, Trinidad, Malawi, Sudan. For a tiny self-published book where I didn't spend a dollar on marketing, I'd say this is a dream come true and a motivator to keep writing. I also released a Kindle version of my book on Amazon so I can't say where in the world awesome people are downloading and reading my book but it is a joy to get a little residual check every month that comes straight from writing the things that make my heart sing. I wanted to publish more books in 2016 but I got a little sidetracked by success :-) so I have to push those other goals to 2017. I did do a lot more writing though so I have a lot of new material that just needs to be collated and edited. I participated in NaNoWriMo and wrote almost an entire new novel from that project. I also returned to my first love - poetry - and put together a collection that just needs a little fine tuning before I can make it available to everyone to read.

Spiritual

I didn't complete the challenge to read the Bible in a year but that was to be expected since I've never done it. Maybe it's not a realistic goal for me while I'm reading so many other things. Maybe I should just focus on reading and studying parts of it as I've bene doing.

Blog and Social Media

I am not good at tracking finances, especially keeping track of blog income but I do know I didn't make anything close to the income I'd wanted to get from this blog. I had hoped to have way more followers on my social media but it's hard going sometimes, especially when you get a little distracted or demotivated and stop posting the kind of content people look for. That's something I have to be better at doing in the future.

Travel

2016 was a disappointing year for travel. I didn't go on any of the trips I had planned at the beginning of the year but I did fit in some other spontaneous adventures - hiking, backpacking and staycation trips so that kinda made up for it. And how did I stick with my daily resolutions and intentions?

2016 Resolutions

Start everyday with worship and intentional living reminders - Check Study Sabbath School lesson and read Bible everyday - Check Drink 8 cups of water everyday - Yes. I spent 2016 being very well hydrated Get high-intensity workout for at least 20 minutes everyday - I got better with this as the year wore on Practice French for at least 5 minutes everyday - Most days, I spoke in French, even if it was to myself. Visit sick and shut-in members more often - Yes Work on my to-do list everyday instead to stop procrastinating - Yes Be intentional in my relationships - Yes Do something creative everyday - write, draw, compose music, sew, make art, create videos - Yes. I even increased the medium and took on YouTube in 2016 Keep sugar intake to a minimum - I tried. I did stop buying big bags of candy to store in my cupboards so that was a step in the right direction Keep my blog fresh and relevant with layouts, good content and interesting images - Hmmm. You'd be the judge of that, I guess. Stay engaged with my social media followers. I tried. Keep in touch with my family. I did reconnect with some family members. Take better care of my hair - Yes Make everyday an adventure - Yes. Most days, I made time for a mini adventure, even if it was just taking a different way home :-) Overall, 2016 was a great year.

The Overview

I wrote and published a book and it brought some experiences I know I wouldn't have had without making that step. I had book signings where people introduced me as an author, I went to a couple of book events and met other authors. My best book signing was probably the one where I was autographing copies of my book on a bus heading across state lines.  I also met some famous authors like JoJo Moyes I started a YouTube channel called Runwright Reads where I focus on bookish discussions. It was a new challenge to not just put my thoughts in the written word but also to see how I could engage with a viewer and communicate my personality through self-filmed video. In just about six months, I have about 230 awesome followers and every one is a new friend to talk with about something I'm passionate about. I went to some live concerts and heard some engaging music, watched some artistic movies, read informative and entertaining and motivational books, took some inspirational classes. I went to a Yankee Game, went to Giants stadium and met current and retired players. I met some great people online and IRL. YouTube subscribers and blogger friends aside, I also made a few new friends through my work, through church, and a few fitness enthusiasts through the running and bike clubs. There were also a few people I've known for years and who, in 2016, our conversation changed to include talk of more enduring themes. All of these, as well as my family and friend relationships made my year a very social one. On a sad note, I lost some friends and family members in 2016. My dear, dear friend Leslie Phipps died suddenly in June. After spending the day in her company at church, she went home and went to bed and didn't wake up. That was the most shocking loss I think I've ever experienced. In December, Uncle Harry, a man whose face still bears a extra wide smile in all my memories of him, also passed away after a short illness. And sprinkled throughout the year, there were several church family and extended family members who just fell. I heard about the passing of several friends in Jamaica who I remember from my childhood, neighbors and family friends who I will never see again when I return to Jamaica. Each of those losses was hard to recover from but I tried to focus on the good memories to move on. It helps to have good people  to talk things over with and have fun with now. It was hard to say goodbye to 2016. It was a very good year and I want to carry that progress into 2017 as I focus on accomplishments. What was your best memory of 2016?

This post first appeared on http://runwright.net