mimics-dom

[mimics-dom]

A Dying Light Rant

I know that Dying Light and Dying Light 2 Stay Human have been out for many a year. But with Dying Light: The Beast slated to release some time this year, I decided to revisit both games. This lead me to stumbling upon an old review someone had done discussing "which ending of the Following is cannon", which gave me a lot of feels that I will be going over here.

*WARNING SPOILERS FOR DYING LIGHT AND THE DLC THE FOLLOWING*

So for as many times as I have played through the main story of Dying Light I had never bothered with the DLC the Following. I think mostly because I had originally assumed that it was like the other DLC play option where you played the survivors or the zombies in what was basically a game of capture the flag. But it turns out that it is a fully independent addition to the game. Which in my opinion is not cannon.

The quick and dirty is that at some point, after the end of the game, with antizin supplies dwindling, Kyle goes on a wild zombie chase to find out if a rumor about people who are immune to the virus is real. So he leaves the city to go explore zombie filled farmland in search of something to help his friends in Harran. This is the first clue for me that this isn't a cannon scenario. Because the whole reason that Kyle had to be airdropped into Harran in the main game is because the military had destroyed every way in and out of the city to keep the zombies from getting out into the rest of the world. So there is our first bit of information about WHY I believe the the Following is not cannon.

The second reason is that at the end of the DLC you have a choice, help the Mother wipe the virus with a FUCKING Nuke, or fight her and attempt to take the elixir she has been using to keep people human back to Harran. But here's the thing, the elixir doesn't fix people, aerosolized it can keep the change at bay by pacifying the virus's mutations. When taken orally, it turns the infected into a sentient Volatile. So even IF Kyle took the 3 vials of this elixir back to Harran it wouldn't be much more of a stop gap than the dwindling antizin. But, you don't even get to make that choice, because if you tell the Mother you just want the vials, she grabs you and pours one of them down your throat, which... as stated... turns you into a sentient Volatile. And it ends with the Volatile Kyle in some park where there are no other infected.

None of these things play well with the actual game. At the end of Dying Light, Kyle Crane won. He had the research data needed to make create the cure, was on the way to give it to Dr. Camden, and had let the GRE know that the data for the cure was safe somewhere in Harran. This was a power play. "You will resume Antizin drops, and not bomb us, or you will never get to play the heroes you are trying to pretend to be." It wasn't outright said, but it was heavily implied. Which means there was very little chance that the survivors would have been that low on needed medical supplies to require Kyle having to chase down a story like "virus immunity".

Now on to Dying Light 2: Stay human. Mild spoilers for the opening cinematic and tutorial mission. In the opening cinematic of Dying Light 2 we are told that a cure and vaccine for the Harran Virus was found and administered. Saving the lives of countless people and basically wiping the zombie virus from the face of the world. Or it would have... if the GRE weren't terrible fucking people. See the original Harran virus was created as a biological weapon, and was strategically released into Harran during the World Games so that it could be tested on the most diverse group of people possible. After the cure and vaccine were created and distributed, the GRE took their samples of the original virus, as well as samples of the mutations and started quietly doing MORE weapons research. And like every evil organization playing with the natural order to create the newest biggest weapon on the block, they did exactly what they were hoping to do. Only, just like the Umbrella Corp, they couldn't keep their creation contained and it managed to get out. This new version spread faster, was immune to the vaccine, and basically decimated the world before anyone had a chance to stop it.

When you get introduced to the main character Aiden, he's doing some training with his mentor. Who turns out to be Spike from the first game. Man that guy gets around. Spike briefly talks about the events of the first game, painting Kyle as a hero and insinuating that he died at some point between the end of the first game and the beginning of the second.

Now for the trailer of the third instalment, Dying Light: The Beast. In this trailer you see that you will once again be playing Kyle Crane. That he was experimented on. I can only assume in much the same way Aiden was. And that he has become something more than a normal human, but is not a full zombie. The very first shot of him shows that, while there is something different, he isn't a volatile. Nor does he appear to be one in any of the scenes depicting the experiments he undergoes.

So I suppose, this entire long rant just exists to say: Neither ending in the Following is cannon because the DLC isn't cannon.

Also, I am really looking forward to Dying Light: The Beast

[mimics-dom]

Thoughts on Punk as a genre of fiction

I think that anymore when most people think about Punk they think about the musical and social movement in the late 70's and 80's. Offspring, Green day, The Clash. Spikes and mohawks. ripped pants, t-shirts and leather jackets. An attitude of anti-cooperate, anti-government, anarchy.

Punk as a fictional genre however, has been around a lot longer and is a lot broader. I feel like you could classify all punk genre's as science fiction. Not because they take place in the future, but because most of them deal with concepts that aren't or weren't actually present during a time period Steampunk as an example deals with the concept of creating modern-ish technologies using steam as a power source. Dieselpunk and Decopunk are the same but with oil and gasoline. Solarpunk, cyberpunk, biopunk are all possible alternate futures/presents where our past went a different way with technology.

Every single fiction-punk genre has a undercurrent of struggle, usually against corrupt forces in society, the government, or industry. But it isn't really the same as Punk as a movement. Sometimes it's small, sometimes it's world shattering. Sometimes there is magic and sometimes it's all about the possible tech. -punk is so vast that it's hard to pinpoint and draw lines and I feel that the tendency to just lump it in with punk music, and Punk style, and all that is doing it a grave disservice. Fictionpunk has been part of our literary history for so long that it makes me sad how few people really know anything about its vast complexities.

[mimics-dom]

A normal day in Night City

Fog churned and twisted through the trees, plunging the world into blurry shades of grey that the weak winter sun could not pierce. 

"Shit!" The word echoed through the silent morning air, and yet was muffled by the fog. Laura continued to curse softly as she shook the hem of her burgundy sweater, attempting to fling the newly acquired wet mark from its surface.

Laughter bubbled from her right, quiet and high pitched the sound was devoured by the mist and yet Laura felt it ring within her ears.

"It's not funny! I can't believe that damn barista didn't get the lid on my coffee all the way." Her hazel gaze narrowed at the offending paper cup as she spoke, its lid perched just at the lip.

"That's what you get for not double checking the lid before taking a drink. But it could have been worse, it could have gone down the inside of your shirt instead of just down the front." Her companion offered.

Laura turned her searing gaze from the offending cup to the dark haired woman next to her. "Cute, do you have a napkin, or a towel or something I can use to clean this up with?"

Michelle quirked an eyebrow at the blond. "Do I look like the kind of woman who carries that kind of stuff?"

Growling another string of curses Laura shoved the half empty coffee cup at Michelle. "Hold this"

Taking the cup the other woman rolled her eyes before pushing the lid down on the cup's lip until she was rewarded with the soft clicking sound that signified the plastic locking into place around the paper. Smiling she brought the cup to her lips and sipped. 

"You're such a smart ass." The blond muttered as she yanked the sodden material up over her head revealing a crimson tank top she was wearing under the thick wool garment. "Let's just get this done before I freeze out here."

"You my dear, have to learn to enjoy the little things in life. The way the cool air tingles in your lungs, how the fog  rises from the ground like smoke, the smell of high explosives in the morning." Michelle offered as she handed back the coffee cup and pulled four detonator from her pocket. Tucking a few loose strands of black hair behind her ear she placed three of the detonators in her mouth, holding them gently between her teeth as she inserted the fourth deep into the light brown ball of semtex.

"The smell of high explosives reminds me of dust." Laura stated as she sipped her coffee. A shiver ran down her spine and she frowned. "Seriously, hurry up. I'm freezing. Stupid coffee jockey."

"Patience my dear. We aren't getting paid to half ass this. The explosion needs to draw a lot of attention. Which means it must be spectacular." Michelle mumbled around the detonators still in her mouth. Pulling one free of her teeth she plunges it deep into another ball of explosives before walking around the side of the newly built courthouse.

"Doesn't change the fact that I'm cold and pissed off." The blond snapped, balling the damp sweater in her hand.

"Then go wait in the car. I have two more detonators to place."

"I'm not leaving you. I just want you to hurry the fuck up."

Michelle rolled her eyes and let out a soft sigh. Continuing along the building she placed the last two charges before glancing over her shoulder at her irritated companion. "Done."

"Finally."

"You know you'd probably be a happier person if you learned to be less angry." The dark haired woman offered as she slipped her hands in her pockets and started walking towards the courthouse parking lot.

"What would make me a happier person is shooting that pretentious dick who fucked up my coffee." Laura snapped as she walked by the other woman's side.

"If that's what you need to find inner peace. We'll hit the drive through and you can put two in his chest."

Laura's scowl softened, becoming contemplative before she nodded. "That would actually make me feel better." Stopping in front of a black prius she pulled the keys from her pocket, tapped the unlock button twice and slipped into the driver's seat.

Michelle laughed softly, the persistent fog swallowing the sound and muffling the sound of two car doors closing in tandem.

The Prius pulled smoothly into traffic, disappearing into the haze of winter mist, and the ground shook as the Semtex detonated; adding smoke and dust to the fog.

[mimics-dom]

When you're too good for your own good

I run plot camp for a horror mystery LARP in my area. I am one of 5 members of the team, but I head the department This is not the first time I have headed a plot/storytelling team for a LARP. Previously I spent 3 years running stories for a horror fantasy LARP. Back then, despite having on average 3 other people on my team, I pretty much ran everything on my own. It wasn't because I didn't trust the others. I mean, half the time I didn't. There were only 2 people who I felt actually understood the assignment (funny that, they were also the two people who ran ttrpgs. Forever DMs unite) But what this meant was that when I left that LARP there was an extreme downturn in content for the first year or so after because I had been juggling all the plates for years and hadn't really allowed anyone else to help me. I am trying not to make the same mistake again. So the LARP I am currently running has big bad entities, some good, some bad, some neutral, and at first I was in charge of them all because I built them so I had the best mental image of how they worked. But I have been working on my trust issues and have been trying to give those around me more responsibility. So yesterday I was talking to my husband, who is also part of this LARPs plot team and I tell him: "I think moving forward I want to put you and Tron* (Not a real name) in charge of Entity X." He disagreed and told me he thought I should keep it. When I asked why he told me that when he and Tron had taken over Entity X because I was busy doing something else that they did not get the same reaction out of the players that I do. That they can be charming and convincing but they can't honey words they way I do. Well actually originally he just said that I am the better liar which made me laugh because I am a TERRIBLE liar. I have no filter so the truth is much easier for me than a lie. So he had to explain what he meant. And I get what he means. When I play Entity X I dip into the deep well of knowledge I have concerning the personal gaslighting that the narcissist I have had in my life have used to prove to themselves that they were right and I just use that to my advantage since Entity X spends a lot of time quietly convincing people to do bad things because... well... because.

So I am sharing the burden of Entity X with Tron (They are super charismatic which is great for this kind of BS) letting my husband basically fully take Entity W so I have more room on my plate for other things.

Here is a picture of the resin skull I made that represents Entity X I actually really love the coloring of it

[mimics-dom]

The most delicate of flowers

This is a vent post more than anything. I just need to scream in a place where the people I see day in and day out are unlikely to see

I will start by saying that the pandemic has yet to end for my household. We are still in a petty heavy quarantine. We don't go places and when we do we are masked.

Now to back up and explain why. My household consists of myself, my husband, my best friend, and my husband's best friend who is also the husband of my best friend, and one other. I playfully refer to the four of us as a platonic polycule. It's not an untrue statement. Anyway, my best friend is immunocompromised in a big way. The immunosuppressants she's been on completely wiped out her immune system to the point that vaccines don't really stick and she can get sick just from breathing in mold particles. Needless to say, we are VERY careful... or at least... the four of us are.

Our fifth wheel, a roommate that has been in the house longer than my husband and I have, isn't as careful. Before Covid hit, he and his primary GF lived with us in this very large house. After Covid hit, and it was expressed that we needed to take EXTRA care because of the frail state of my best friend's health, said girlfriend moved out and started living with one of her other BFs.

After a year+ of WfH and having no contact with the outside world, a few of us, the other roommate included, were going a little stir crazy. We talked and decided that it would be okay to take back up some of our hobbies, so long as we were careful and always wore masks around others. Another conversation with the 5th roommate about his love life and how it was hurting his mental state not to be able to be physically around his partners led to the house deciding it would be okay if they came over to visit him so long as they were not sick or had not been exposed to Covid. He agreed.

Fast forward to 2024. We are still in quarantine, as I said at the beginning of this post. We probably will be for the rest of my best friend's life. I am completely fine with this. She is my precious and delicate flower that must stay in a terrarium set up very specially for her heath and safety. I know that if I didn't want to "deal" with the stipulations of that terrarium that I could just move out. I would rather be with her and be separate from the world then be with the world and be separate from her. Our fifth wheel on the other hand... he wants the cheap rent of living with us, but doesn't really like the fact that he has to live up to the condition, and in fact has become lax on his end. Yesterday he informed the house that the girlfriend that had been over all weekend had just tested positive for Covid. During that weekend she was in our kitchen while myself, my husband, and my husband's best friend were in the kitchen... Which means that all 3 or us were also exposed to her. So for the rest of the week I will be wearing a mask while in my own house to keep my best friend safe, her own husband can't be close to her until we are sure that our exposure didn't result in us catching it... we have also been in the same room as our roommate after he was exposed and didn't know... and I am just tired. Tired of dealing with people who aren't willing to go to the extremes we need to to keep my best friends safe and then think they can still just walk into our carefully created terrarium, people who think it's unfair that they should have to live by those standards while living in said terrarium. And I know she is tired too. Tired of always being "The bad guy", but she isn't and will never be a bad guy to me. She is my precious delicate flower and I will do everything I can, and everything I must to insure that I get to keep her in my life for many years to come.

[mimics-dom]

Time

I was a full grown ass adult by the time I was diagnosed as Autistic. I went to get checked for adult ADHD, and they were like... yes... AND... did you know that you are autistic? By this point I wasn't actually surprised. I was a fem presenting child of the 80's I was hyperverbal instead of nonverbal and while I had trouble with simile I understood metaphor and was, and still am, incredibly creative. So i got labeled as "gifted" for a short time and then I was just weird. I never really learned to mask fully, or contain my meltdowns. I never really understood what was "wrong" with me, I was just weird and different and someone that people "Got used to" or "grew on them" and it was always like people were being so kind by not shunning me or making fun of me to my face. I never understood why. And then all of a sudden the pieces just slammed together and I was like... oh. so I've felt different my whole life because I AM different, and my whole thing with time and schedules and organization wasn't "just Virgo things" they are common traits of someone who is Autistic... I don't know if knowing I was autistic as a child would have been much help, the 80's and 90's were not kind to neurodivergent children. But it has helped me as an adult to understand why I break into tears when I get overstimulated and why on my bad days I hide inside oversized hoodies with headphones on while hugging stuffed animals.

[mimics-dom]

Writing for the sake of writing

Amitha was a princess in title only, the only daughter of the second born son of the Emperor, rest his soul, and had less chance of seeing the throne than any of the Ladies of the court did. Which was fine with her, she'd never really liked all the pageantry and formality. When her uncle took the throne he gave her father a generous sum of land that sat between the great river Tidyr and the Perchstop mountains. It was lush and fertile, with deep shadowed woods and rolling hills. It did not come with castles or vassals, but that was part of what her father and mother had found appealing. They built a modest home, perfect for raising children and for her mother to continue her work as an herbalist and apothecary. Amitha grew to hold the same interests as her mother and had long since disregarded the royal part of her lineage in favor of spending her days gathering ingredients and her evenings learning everything her mother would teach her.

Before her 15 birthday things began to change in the Empire, her uncle became paranoid, and began accusing her father of wanting the throne for himself. Her father, who loved his brother dearly, worried about the sudden change and began preparing their lands as if he expected to be invaded. He kept Amitha and her mother close, never letting either venture far from home without an armed escort of at least five men. Her parents would speak in hushed tones after she had turned in for the night, their voices laced with concern, not for themselves, but for her uncle and cousin. Within the year her uncle had died from unknown causes and her cousin, who was not yet old enough to ascend the throne, was placed into the care of Duke Rogress, a man known for his cruelty, and perversions. It was on that day that Amitha on both her role as princess and apothecary, as she would need both to help her father save both her cousin and the empire.

[mimics-dom]

Been working on skulls for a while now. This one pleases me. It's Critical role inspired, Ashton Skull.

[mimics-dom]

It's been a while

It's been a hot minute... and by minute I mean like... two years I think? Since I have put anything into tumblr. I don't even have a good reason. Like, I can't say "Oh I was boycotting the platform because...(insert reason here)" Nope, just kind of half forgot that I had a tumblr account... But it's actually a pretty good place to put some of the stuff I'm working on for the new year. So here it is... my first attempt to returning to tumblr in hopes of filling my page with all sorts of untoward things... Like resin and ttrpg and larp stories and concepts for regarding larp and ttrpgs and stuff I can hide in plane site from all my players because none of them follow me on tumblr. So here is to a more active mimic in 2024

[mimics-dom]

The Merchant and the Soldier

Keeper wanted to raze everything to the ground. She had thought her rage dampened by time. But the idea that any of the murderers were in the Shadow plane, were on the world she called home... her blood boiled once more. Her lord would not permit her to stray too far from her tasks, she did not have the time to hunt down the android and pull his circuits from his body. But she would still hurt him, she would hurt them all. They would suffer for taking her sister from her. But first, she had a job to do. Ozimenth was close to his goal. Soon his endless army would be ready to breach the realms of the gods. Soon they would know fear, as their life’s blood seeped into the ground. Everything she had worked towards for the past millennia would come to be. All he needed was to insure that the other demon lords fell in line, or died. After that she could focus on her revenge.

The city state of Eld was new. Only a month prior it had been two separate city states, until a band of unknown warriors calling themselves “the claws of the elder gods” had come through and decapitated the demon lords who had ruled over them. The group then named a pair of governors, took a navel vessel, a hand full of soldiers, and headed South. Keeper had “spoken” to one of the governors, a dark fey with no love for the Overlord in an attempt to gain information about the group, only for him to to invoke brokerage with the Merchant of the crown.

Keeper hated Cya, the fallen angel exuded kind of self righteous arrogance that the ancient Drow Princess found nauseating. But Ozimenth and Cya had a dozen iron clad contracts between them that gave the Merchant more power and sway than Keeper felt she deserved, and any who called for brokerage with her, even those staring down eternal imprisonment for refusing the command of the overlord, were granted an audience with her.

As had always been her way, the Merchant of the Crown kept Keeper waiting. The summons had been sent hours before the winged bitch finally appeared in the room. Keeper couldn’t keep the sneer from her lips. 

The merchant wore a tight dress made of fine ruby silk that wrapped snugly around her neck and fell to her ankles, a single slit up the right side from hem to hip was the only give the fabric allowed. The dress showed nothing, and yet everything. Overly large angelic wings curled against her back, the feathers a mosaic of black, red, gold, and white that stood as a stark contrast from the obsidian of her hair which cascaded elegantly over her silk covered shoulder. Almond eyes with flecks of gold glanced about the room as her lips dipped into a small scowl. “Didn’t we JUST do this Keeper dear?” She asked dryly, her tone somewhere between condescending and bored.

“If I had my way I would only see your face on the day Ozimenth ended you.” Keeper snarled. “But your presence was requested from my prisoner.” She motioned toward the handsome shadow fey that sat against the wall on the far side of room, the left side of his face swollen and bloody from her previous conversation with him.

“Nyx!” The merchant gasped, in a way that almost mimicked concern. “What in the abyss happened to you?”

“Forgive me for not greeting your properly my lady.” Nyx offered in a smooth baritone before running his tongue across the split in his lip. “I seem to be under arrest for some reason.”

Keeper’s temper flared at the nonchalance in his voice. “Tell me who the Lords of this land are!” She demanded, her fingers curling as her Solarian blade formed in her hand.

“I am.” The merchant stated flatly.

Keeper faultered a moment as her head turned to regard the fallen angel. “Lies!” She snarled. “The lords of this land are a group of 5 unknown warriors who ki-”

“Who were hired by me to dispatch the two demon lords that refused to do business with me.” Cya cut her off. “Nyx and Shayda are my proxies here. These city states are places of business and insure that I have control of the market on every continent on this planet.”

Keeper felt the bile rise in her throat. “I have heard rumors of a slave wearing your collar in this area. HE was here, and where HE is, the rest of them are!”

“What I do with my property is my business. We’ve had this chat already. Sometimes I lend his skills to my underlings.” She motioned at to Nyx who had slowly found his feet and had been adjusting his cut and blood stained dress shirt. “I will neither confirm no deny the presence of any other members of his company without being paid for that information.”

“Why are they really here?!” Keeper demanded, her voice raising in both octave and pitch. Her rage pulsed so strongly through her veins that she saw red at the edge of her vision and could taste copper. 

“IF they are here, will cost you 100 expressions of resolve. Why they would be here will cost you 10 expressions of your strength.” The Merchant stated, her tone bored.

“I have no intention of paying you that.”

“Then I have no intention of telling you anything that I know.”

“Because you know NOTHING! You are a liar and a con artist. Even your leash on that Android is a lie. No slave is worth the price you have placed on his head and the only reason you would place such an obscene price tag on one is if you were lying about owning it and hoping no one was willing to call your bluff.”

“It would wound me that you thought me a liar, if your thoughts were worth anything. However we both know that I could buy more knowledge with rotten fruit than you have. It was your sister who was blessed with brains, you’re just the brawn.” The merchant offered with a callus, cold smile.

Keeper Screamed in rage and sorrow, the power that welled inside her exploding outward with enough force to send the fey flying back into the wall he had been leaning against.

The energy washed against the protective barrier that surrounded the merchant and she released a soft sigh of boredom mixed with annoyance. “If you are finished throwing your tantrum, I have things I have to do.”

For all her strength, all her power, all her drive... Keeper always felt small in Cya’s presence. Nothing seemed to shake the fallen angel, nothing scared her, and the only time anyone ever saw her angry was when they cost her a deal. She wasn’t even angry when she found out that Keeper had managed to kidnap Grey-9 and had attempted to torture information out of him. She could still clearly see the bored disappointment in the fallen’s gold flecked eyes as she disabled the ring ships and then charged Ozimenth for the parts they needed to fix them. 

“I will see that android suffer.” Keeper stated through clenched teeth.

“I doubt it will be anything you want.” Cya shrugged.

Keeper let out a choked laugh of disbelief. “And why do you say that?”

“I have seen Grey suffer, felt him suffer. I do not think seeing it will bring you the pleasure you are hoping it will.”

“More lies to protect your precious little mortals.”

Cya tilted her head slightly and seemed to gaze at her with pity. “Would you say that brokering a deal with me is pleasant Keeper? I did not figure you for the kind of person who found pleasure in the process.”

“Brokering deals with you makes my skin crawl.”

“Imagine what it must be like for him, to grant me as much of his strength and resolve as I desire without benefit. As my property it is his place after all.”

The thought conjured images in the back of Keeper’s mind. She hated the android more than any of his fellows, because it was the android Ozimenth wanted to use to replace her dear sister. “And if I wanted to watch his agony at your hands?”

“Two expressions of strength and I will bring him to my home and allow you to watch as I drain him completely of his resolve.”

The price was steep, but Keeper had to admit she was intrigued. “I’ll think about it.”

“You do that. Are we done here?” 

Everything was business for the merchant, it made Keeper sick. “Yeah. We’re done.”

“Good. Get out of my city state. I’ll send the bill for the damages you caused to the Overlord.”

Keeper sneered, dispersed her blade, and cast the instance of teleportation that had been crystalized and held within her Eldricarnum and disappeared. She did not see the way the merchant’s wings and shoulders fell in exhaustion the moment she teleported away, not that she would have cared if she had.

[mimics-dom]

Been working on a lot of hearts. I like the look of the fractal ones better than the smooth hearts. I think the offer more as pieces of resin work. 

These pieces were not placed in a pressure pot. I wanted them to have the microbubbles, because no heart is perfect, but they can be beautiful just the same

[mimics-dom]

The Great Resin Project presents: MicroBubbles

I have recently been branching out as far as resin companies go. I started with Art ‘n Glow as it was the resin used by the youtuber that I was watching when I first got into resin work.  I give this resin a solid 4.7/5 stars. The only complaints that I have are that it is highly prone to excessive bubbling while mixing (Even when warmed) and it’s a 1:1 by volume not weight, which is hard if you are free hand pouring. Note: getting pumps for your resin bottles helps mitigate the last problem.

The new resin I decided to try is called naked fusion. It’s supposed to be a diamond clear finish resin. Which sounded funny to me as a diamond isn’t clear unless it is free of particulates and has been cut and polished. But I thought I would give it a try. This resin gets a 3/5 stars. It’s not a bad resin. But the thing about having a glass like finish... yeah, they can only promise that if you prepare, pour and set the resin exactly as they specify in their online instructions. Well unfortunately for the resin, my work space is not set at 70-74 degrees and probably will only be that warm at the height of summer because uninsulated garage. 

But despite all the little “musts” on their instructions I thought I’d give it a try.

It poured fine, but you can see all the microbubbles in this piece. It’s true I did not put it in the pressure pot like I should have, the mold was too flimsy for me to move after pouring and I didn’t have the foresight to put them on a movable surface before I poured. But still, there are thousands of microbubbles just chilling in this piece.

Now look at this piece. It also cured without the use of the pressure pot, mostly because this is 1 of 6 almost identical pieces and my pot wasn’t big enough to hold them all so I decided it was better to have microbubbles in all of them instead of having half of them be super clear and the other half be murky. This piece also has microbubbles. But not as many, and the ones it does have are smaller than the microbubbles in the other coaster. This one was made with Art ‘n glow resin.

Bubbles are an issue in almost all resin work, unless you are doing some acrylic pour paintings, then you want them because that’s how you get cells in the color.  But in pure resin work you will always have bubbles. There are plenty of ways you can lessen them. Heat and pressure or two of the best. But sometimes you don’t have access to as much heat as you might want, or the project is too big for a pressure pot. And at times like that I have found that I prefer resin with a lower over all viscosity, because it means that more of the bubbles will find their way to the surface and you will have a clearer project over all.

A quick note about the difference between pressure pots and vacuum chambers:

A pressure pot is best for a project that needs to cure. You pressure it up and leave it for all the hours it takes the resin to harden. The pressure will force the bubbles to the top of the project and the air will release. If you are lucky it will get rid of all the bubbles and you will be gold. If you aren’t then you will end up with bubbles at the top of the mold which you will need to sand away. No big deal.

Vacuum Chambers are best for resin you have mixed but haven’t poured. Before you add color or get out your mold you can place your resin mixture in a vacuum chamber and let it run for a few minutes to pull all the air out of the resin. This is messy. If you are not using a large enough container to hold your resin the bubbles will come up over the top and resin will spill down the sides. Much like a pot of water left to boil over. It only takes a couple of minutes to pull the bubbles out, but you have to give it the time. 

OR, you can put your mixed resin on a USB cup warmer and let the heat radiate through the resin and force the bubbles to the top that way. Takes a little longer, but it’s not as loud.

[mimics-dom]

Happy little Accidents

When you do anything, failure is always something that will happen at some point. The trick is, not to let it discourage you. They say you learn more from failure than you ever will from success. I don’t know if that’s completely true for me, but I do like Bob Ross’s expression of happy little accidents. 

I had one such failure this week. I was trying my hand at a homemade mold made with plastic sheeting and hot glue. The type that are often used for large projects like tables. I did not use enough glue and the resin ended up leaking everywhere. The finished “Piece” was just a big circle of resin. But despite the failure, the end product is amazing cool to look at.

[mimics-dom]

What I have learned about Resin through working with it, the next part

Things I will be exploring today: Projects that don’t go as planned Homemade molds

My plan for this week was to spend a single day sanding down a project I started back in December. A set of coasters I had planned to give as a Christmas gift until I got side tracked using UV resin to glue resin crystals together in a neat formation. So I decide to spend the first part of my week cleaning up the coasters and finishing the project then moving on to other things. Yeah, that didn’t happen. I got them sanded, noticed the flaws I needed to address and then just reassessed the project. 

The Flaws •several of the bottoms were wavy, slatted, or uneven from the bottom of the mold crinkling while the resin was setting      ○The fix: Fill uneven areas with UV resin •Sanding exposed holes created by micro bubbles.       ○The fix: Clean holes out and fill with UV resin •I suck at sanding in circles, thus creating uneven edges       ○The fix: Hahahaha There is none, I could try to even everything out but I mostly just have to live with the fact that these coasters are not perfect circles. •Sanding them down until they could be more easily worked with made them very thin.       ○The fix: Pour more resin!

This last one is why my resin based plans for the week have been shot. The molds I made for these babies was a one shot. I literally had to peal it apart to get the coasters out. So I had to fashion some new molds to add another half inch of resin (About 40mg worth per coaster). The answer? Painters tape and rubber bands. I wrapped painters tape around the coasters and used rubber bands to insure the tape was not going to come loose and leak resin everywhere. I then added additional embellishments because I decided the original design was kind of plain for my taste, and poured the resin.  This took all of my work time for Tuesday. My work time for Monday was used up sanding, and buffing all the projects that had been sitting in the sanding que on my desk for the past month. 

So Wednesday (today) was suppose to be dedicated to making the holder for the coasters. I use 24 hour cure resin, so the added depth for the coasters was dry, but I want a hard cure, which usually takes about 48-72 hours, before I sanded them. HOWEVER, the power went out at my place due to high winds, so my work space had no light for me to do anything. I’m still going to try and get the mold set up, but I am not hopeful that I will get everything in order before I call it a night. We’ll see.

Throughout this conversation about molds I have brought up that I made the coaster molds myself. They were not the first molds I ever made, but they were the first that I didn’t make out of Silicone. I do have a silicone coaster mold, I have three actually, But I wanted a larger round one than I have in silicone, and also I wanted to be able to pour six at once. So I made my first one shot mold. I don’t know the actual name for them, I just know that such mold types are used often for tables or large art projects. You basically build the mold you are looking to use, pour your resin, and then once dry, you strip the mold away from the resin. YouTube videos make this last part look super easy. Even with mold release I had a hell of a time getting the coasters out of the mold. I do like making my own molds though. Premade ones are wonderful for the quickness of it all, just pull it out, pour your resin, and you’re done. But there is something to be said about building a mold to help you create EXACTLY what you have in your brain.

These pictures were taken right after I took these coasters from their molds. They are still uneven, in desperate need of sanding... and as you can see... not really fully round. I can make them shine as flat usable coasters... I do not think I will be able to make them perfectly round.... But that’s okay. The mistakes are part of their charm.

[mimics-dom]

What I have learned about Resin through working with it

In this, the first instalment of my going over my resin based hobby I will discuss: What I know I should be doing, but usually don’t Things I have learned with my face Screw molds, Their pros and Cons So here’s the thing about resin, it hates to be cold. Basically the first thing that any instructions on any type of resin will say that if you are working in an area below 70 F that you should warm your resin and hardener in a warm water bath before working with it. The reason? Because cold resin is thick resin, and thick resin will build more bubbles as you mix it.  I live in the PNW, it gets chilly out here, not as chilling as when I lived in the norther midwest, but still cold. My work space is not well insulated and it is RARELY at 70 degrees in the fall/winter/spring. So my resin is always cold when I pull it out. What I should be doing is putting the bottle of resin and the bottle of hardener in a warm water bath for about 20 minutes or so before working with it. What I rarely do... is that thing I just said. See, I am not a planner when it comes to my art. I just kind of decide that I want to do a pour cause it sounds fun, so I do the thing. Because of this, I don’t usually plan in a 30 minute bath time for my resin. THUS I end up with a lot of micro-bubbles, which wouldn’t be THAT big of a deal since I have a pressure pot.... BUT... The pot is in my work area which is cold, which means the resin does not stay as warm as it should for preferred air release during curing, which means that even though I use a 24 hour cure resin, I end up with a lot of surface bubbles that never found their way completely out of the piece by the time it cured. Often, it doesn’t much matter if it’s an open bottom mold since I can just sand the bottom of the project smooth and call it good. This does not hold true for screw molds however, as any bubbles inside of those molds spell a ton of extra work for me on the back end.

I started my resin making by making dice. I have made over a dozen different sets trying to learn and have gotten to the point that I can successfully make a full set of dice more often than not. I’ve learned a few things along the way, like the fact that resin gets EVERYWHERE even when you are trying to be careful. Any video you see where everything is nice and neat and contained is LYING. In the background just out of shot there are drips and leaks and things stuck to things on accident... it’s just messy... that’s part of its charm. I usually use 2 part resin, I like what you can do with it. I have some friends who are strictly UV resin users. They like the instant gratification of having a full piece in under 5 minutes rather than waiting hours to day to see the final project. I don’t blame them. When I loose track of time and decide to do a pour after midnight it drives me crazy waiting throughout the day before I can see how it came out. But I also prefer two part over UV. I use UV as a glue, or as filler, but I rarely use it for a full project. Mostly because most of my projects end up being pretty large. I measure my resin in 10′s to 100′s of ml and the two part is better for those kinds of projects I have found. 

Now on to the topic of screw molds, I started with screw molds and honestly... despite the fact that they are very useful... I don’t like them. I need them for creating larger balls and eggs and I have a very nice set of dice molds that are screw molds. But screw molds require both precession and a well of extra resin large enough that said resin can suck down into the space the bubbles create when they move through the resin. If it weren’t for the fact that UV resin is king at filling holes, I would have a lot more useless screw molds than I have open molds and squish molds.

This is a set of dice made with screw molds. They are perfectly usable (though unfinished, I have to buff and wax them still) But the only reason they are is because I used UV resin to fill in the bubble holes. It’s also important to note that alcohol dye can soften your resin and some dies can soften more or less than others. The dye I have tends to soften more if I use the reds than any other color. 

This piece was made with an egg screw mold that I made myself using a plastic Easter egg. I did not leave a large enough well for the amount of bubbles that rose up during it’s time in the pressure pot, so it ended up with a flat bottom. I could have fixed it using UV resin, but instead decided to mount it to a grouping of resin crystals. 

These dice are some of the first successful sets I made using a squish mold. They work just as well as the screw mold dice and took just as much time to clean up. They did not have the same bubble problem. I have had projects that have come out of their squish molds with bubbles, but that is mostly because I had a lot of micro and macro bubbles in the resin when I put it in the pressure pot. 

Remember kids, Bubbles are the devil, they want to ruin your cool stuff.

[mimics-dom]

Is this... art?

Still playing with the line between art and functionality. This is one of my attempts to express images into resin. In this case I sunk an actual image inside of the resin instead of transferring it. Mostly because I would have lost the crisp lines and bright whites had I transferred it. Going to do another coaster using transfer methods. The plan... Orange and Blue with the aperture science logo in the center.

[mimics-dom]

Been spending a lot of time with resin. It's one of the only things that has kept me sane this year.