#Reconstructing

[lukaszmichal]

I am doomed to hope and trust; same as I am, with my prehistoric savannah-born physiology, doomed to be prone to addiction to sugar and as I am doomed to crave human contact; as a bird is doomed to flee the winter sothwards and as a catepillar is doomed to weave its cocoon; so am I doomed to humbly yield to the unknown and make a leap of faith that my love will outlive my soul

[vikingsong]

It’s Holy Week, so in lieu of WIP Wednesday, I thought I’d share a poem I wrote on Ash Wednesday (2/22/23). Maybe it’ll be even a little bit as cathartic/encouraging for someone to read as it was for me to write.

Valley of Dry Bones

In this valley of dry bones I lie

Losing faith in the living

Losing faith like decomposition

One small decay at a time.

Deconstructing each breath

from skin

from sinew

from substance

until nothing is left

but a heap of bones,

broken and weary.

Did You really say…?

Are You still just if…?

Why would You…?

My trust is a hollow, dessicated thing.

Speak, Lord,

and tell these bones to live again!

Restore to me the breath of life

Strengthen the shriveled sinews of my trust

Remind me that Your body was broken

to make mine whole again.

[froody]

every prehistoric human reconstruction has me thinking “I want to smoke weed with this bitch”

she looks like she would have been an awesome neighbor, like she would have loved menthols and called me baby

[druid-for-hire]

[image id: a four-page comic. it is titled "immortality” after the poem by clare harner (more popularly known as “do not stand at my grave and weep”). the first page shows paleontologists digging up fossils at a dig. it reads, “do not stand at my grave and weep. i am not there. i do not sleep.” page two features several prehistoric creatures living in the wild. not featured but notable, each have modern descendants: horses, cetaceans, horsetail plants, and crocodilians. it reads, “i am a thousand winds that blow. i am the diamond glints on snow. i am the sunlight on ripened grain. i am the gentle autumn rain.” the third page shows archaeopteryx in the treetops and the skies, then a modern museum-goer reading the placard on a fossil display. it reads, “when you awaken in the morning’s hush, i am the swift uplifting rush, of quiet birds in circled flight. i am the soft stars that shine at night. do not stand at my grave and cry.” the fourth page shows a chicken in a field. it reads, “i am not there. i did not die” / end id]

a comic i made in about 15 hours for my school’s comic anthology. the theme was “evolution”

[chrisshields18]

If they keep reconstructing, your contract, you should probably take, the hint. 🤫🤫🤫

It’s not a secret anymore. 😂😂😂

Patrick Mahomes will be restructuring his contract to create an additional $21.6 million worth of salary-cap space for the Chiefs as they aim to become the first NFL team to three-peat, per league sources. - Adam Schefter

[maked-artyshenanigans]

So, I saw this image on Facebook, and it was supposedly showing what Queen Nefertiti would have looked like in real life:

Now, I thought this AI generated garbage was just truly terrible on a number of levels; first off, she looks wayyyyyy too modern - her makeup is very “Hollywood glamour”, she looks airbrushed and de-aged, and as far as I’m aware, Ancient Egyptians didn’t have mascara, glitter-based eyeshadows and lip gloss. Secondly, her features are exceptionally whitewashed in every sense - this is pretty standard for AI as racial bias is prevalent in feeding AI algorithms, but I genuinely thought a depiction of such a known individual would not exhibit such euro-centric features. Thirdly, the outfit was massively desaturated and didn’t take pigment loss into consideration, and while I *do* like the look of the neck attire, it's not at all accurate (plus, again, AI confusion on the detailing is evident).

So, this inspired me to alter the image on the left to be more accurate based off the sculpture’s features. I looked into Ancient Egyptian makeup and looked at references for kohl eyeliner and clay-based facial pigment (rouge was used on cheeks, charcoal-based powder/paste was used to darken and elongate eyebrows), and I looked at pre-existing images of Nefertiti, both her mummy and other reconstructions. While doing this, I found photos of a 3D scanned sculpture made by scientists at the University of Bristol and chose to collage the neck jewellery over the painting (and edited the lighting and shadows as best as I could).

Something I see a lot of in facial recreations of mummies is maintaining the elongated and skinny facial features as seen on preserved bodies - however, fat, muscle and cartilage shrink/disappear post mortem, regardless of preservation quality; Queen Nefertiti had art created of her in life, and these pieces are invaluable to developing an accurate portrayal of her, whether stylistic or realistic in nature.

And hey, while I don't think my adjustments are perfect (especially the neck area), I *do* believe it is a huge improvement to the original image I chose to work on top of.

I really liked working on this project for the last few days, and I think I may continue to work on it further to perfect it. But, until then, I hope you enjoy!

Remember, likes don't help artists but reblogs do!

[killemwithkillness]

07/25/2023 | Doubt

Doubting myself has always been my biggest roadblock.  I’m trying to think of my book as just a very long song.  I don’t get overwhelmed by writing songs because I trust my instinct on what should go where in the progression.  If I did the same with book pacing I think I’d get pretty far.

[edwordsmyth]

"noticing a lot of the propaganda about alleged atrocities committed by Palestinians in this attack being retracted lately while at the same time I've seen news of Palestinians providing reassurance and safe passage to frightened Israeli women and children it's real funny how that works"

[nonasbirthday]

Clear as mud! But I expect nothing less from a Homestuck 🫡

[gabichanwrites]

I think that way too many people gloss over the reason why exactly those 6 men were such a big deal and a last straw for the crew and Eurylychous. Up to this point Odysseus made mistakes, yes, and people died because of them but never before has Odysseus made such a deliberate sacrifice.

Before this, he was still their Capitan - a bit arrogant, too prone to playing into Gods' Games and with a damnation right on his heels - but still on their side. Not to mention that this saga happens SO soon after Circe Saga, where he CAME BACK for them, put himself in grave danger and risked his return home to save THEM. Since the wind bag fuck up, this crew must have regained so much trust in him, Eurylychous must have felt so indebted and plagued by his own guilt because of his actions in Ocean Saga and Circe Saga. Because despite their doubts and question of How Much Longer Till His Luck Runs Out, their Capitan still came and saved them.

And then the Different Beast happens and it's ruthless and cruel but it's against their enemies, it feels like protection, no doubt. It's their Capitan making sure that they can make it home, that no other monster will follow them and make it impossible.

But then the Scylla happens and it never has been more clearer than there. Eurylychous would not be that furious if he didn't realize and he IS a second-in-command, he is not stupid. Six men who held the torches died and it was by Odysseus' order. This is no longer slaying every foe on the way home, this is Odysseus willing to sacrifice even them. Is it the same capitan who came back for them on Circe's island, is the same who always did everything he could to make sure they all made it back? How Are They Supposed To Trust Him Now?

This situation is so fucked and both sides have their point, I'm so sick of seeing posts putting the full blame on either side. They are all human and stressed and they don't know what to trust, what to do to come back home - and the worst part of it all, they probably never stood a chance.

After all, Zeus has already said they The Blood On Your Hands Is Something You Can't Lose, All You Can Choose Is Whose.

[lukaszmichal]

RIP to all of you Americans who grew up Evangelical and now have religious trauma, but I’ve been raised Evangelical in Eastern/Central Europe and grew up to hear stuff like

“Our church’s doctrine is obviously not perfect”

“There are more things that we don’t know about the Bible than those we do know”

“Conspiracy theories about ‘demonic vaccines’ are an affront to Christ’s power”

[regarding undocumented migrants] “I prefer to be gullible than cruel”

“If you’re gay and came to the conclusion that it’s OK for you to be in a relationship, we cannot force you to think the way we do. You’re still part of the crew anyways”

so yeah, I think being a statistically insignificant minority really helps staying decent.

[intergalacticfop]

My most recent make is this ancient Minoan ensemble! It consists of a tunic (heanos) worn under a flounced wraparound skirt shaped like a double-bladed axe (labrys). Despite how heavy the linen skirt is, the entire outfit is surprisingly easy to move around in. I even waded into the river to rescue a bee!

Hot Girl Activities

[crimson-constellations]

Ok these are a bit old but while I finish the earth kingdom outfits have some more moon spirit sokka au sketches I did while trying to figure out a fic plot for it

Also this extra cuz I love their family

[esprei]

req: more of your future emmet! in france!

oh... how unfortunate... bonus:

don't worry, Emmet! I'm sure you'll have a great time :D

[bloodytittiez]

Benny had been a brilliant theorist, a college professor; now he was little more than a semi-human, semi-simian. He had been handsome, the machine had ruined that. He had been lucid, the machine had driven him mad.(...)

Tried to draw pre-AM Benny with the little facial reconstruction knowledge I have. It's nowhere near perfect, let alone accurate, but I wanted to try to do him justice.

[alivingmel]

I don't know what I was expecting when I looked up manatee anatomy the other day, but it was not that manatees have like. . . Fully-fledged hand bones.

(They're incapable of individual finger movement but still, according to someone on Reddit that had a male manatee fall in love with her, THEY HAVE A VERY STRONG GRIP.)