#inking and coloring only took like 3 hours actually I was impressed with myself

[kbandtrash]

So I uh. I discovered a new brush

[thealphabetmurders]

Irises

Pairing: Prinxiety

Word Count: 2522

Summary: Virgil knows exactly 3 things: 1. He is stressed about finals more than a normal person would 2. Impressionists are the worst 3. The barista at this new coffee shop has the prettiest eyes

Triggers: anxiety, insomnia, implied/referenced drug-use, lack of self care

Authors Note: I wanted to challenge myself and write a fic with a pairing that I don’t normally do. I am definitely more privy to Logince, Analogical, and Moxiety, but I gotta love Prinxiety, how could you not?  

(Read on AO3)

Virgil tugged off his earbuds as he walked into Monet’s, an unfamiliar coffee house and a new experience for Virgil. Virgil hated new experiences. The smell of vanilla filled his senses as he walked in a dream-like state to the counter (standing a little bit away to let the employees know he wasn’t ready), rubbing his eyes from exhaustion, getting his fix here because he did not have the energy to go out and buy more grounds. He knew that it was most likely extremely unhealthy for him to have only consumed Takis, coffee, and Adderall the past couple days, but it was finals week, which meant it was crunch time. 

Virgil tells people he is a bit more anxious than most people, and by a bit, he means a fuckton. So, of course, finals week has him questioning everything in his life, from his study methods to his career path. Virgil is a smart guy, so he doesn’t actually have anything to worry about, as long as he studies, right? Wrong. As a fine arts major, not all of his classes are just knowing that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, you have to apply the skills you learned into a creative piece, and while Virgil is a talented artist, he was always second guessing everything he created. Which is why, in the 11th hour, Virgil decided he hated the medium he was working in, completely scrapped it, and had 48 hours to create 3 completely new “transformative” pieces. Sleep was not an option until it had to be. Which, it seemed it had been, when he fell asleep on the bus after class, missing his apartment by 11 stops. Coffee seemed necessary at this point. 

Pulling his hoodie off his head, smoothing out his hair, he looked at the pretty standard local coffee shop menu with some lunch items as well, and just looking at those made his stomach grumble. 

“Suppose you cannot create on an empty stomach.” Virgil thought. “And while I’m here…”

 As he was reading, he noticed each combo had a quirky name relating to Monet’s works. Berry spring salad with bagel was Luncheon on the Grass, sesame soba was The Japanese Footbridge….

“Give me a break…” Virgil muttered, before finally deciding on what to get. The shop was completely empty, so Virgil didn’t feel too bad about taking his time, though he did feel a bit nervous looking like a mess in front of the handsome barista. 

His olive colored skin tone with black wavy hair made Virgil feel a bit woozy, but he became dazed when he looked into his beautiful emerald eyes, almost forgetting why he was there, until he asked, “What can I do for ya, man?” 

“Uh, yea, can I get the tomato soup and grilled cheese with a medium espresso frappuccino,” He looked around the empty store, “For here, I guess,”

The barista turned around and looked at the two other employees behind him, one on their phone and one inspecting their nails absentmindedly, “Does anyone want to make a frap?” 

They both looked up and looked at each other before turning back to the one taking Virgil’s order. The one with a large scar on the left side of his face put his thumb down while the other one who looked very similar to his cashier blew a raspberry, shaking his head. The handsome cashier turned back to Virgil, and shrugged, “Sorry, gonna have to pick something else, no one want to make it,” 

Virgil sighed, rubbing his eyes, “Okay, whatever, is an iced flat white with some espresso okay?”

The three looked at each other then back at Virgil, before the cashier said, “Dude… It was a joke,” 

“Yea man,” The barista with a scar said, “We can’t just say no to what you order,” 

“What kind of business would that be?” The third one piped up. 

“Are you okay?” The barista, Virgil looked at his nametag, Roman, asked. 

Virgil merely sighed, “I’m kind of going through it,” 

Virgil pulled out his card, but Roman put his hand up. “On the house,” Normally Virgil would protest, despite the cheesy food names it was still a local business,  but being so stressed and depressed he honestly could bring himself to care. He choked out a thanks and sat down by a window, leaning his temple against the it, cool condensation comforting and making him a bit more awake. 

His food and his coffee eventually arrived, Virgil thanked Roman, who then proceeded to sit down across from him, elbows on the table and hands folded. 

“Can I help you?” Virgil asked, probably being harsher than intended, it was just his natural speaking voice. 

“Probably not, I wanna see if I can help you,” Roman shrugged. 

Virgil frowned, “Help me?” 

“I have been told I am good company and good at advice, and you, Brad Pitt-iful, seems like you are falling apart at the seams,” 

Virgil chuckled dryly, “Trust me, I hardly think you are qualified to handle hearing about all my problems,” 

Roman sat up straighter, looking into Virgil’s brown eyes against his gorgeous green, “I work as a barista by day with a bunch of dysfunctional idiots and I am a bartender at night, there is nothing I haven’t seen before, I am probably more qualified than some therapists”  He crossed his arms and cocked his eyebrow, “Try me,” 

Virgil, intrigued, took the bait, and spilled. He talked about his anxiety, the insomnia, the fear of failure, the days where he debates dropping out, his nerves going into overdrive everytime he thinks about what he is going to, how he abandoned his final project, how he has to start on a new one- essentially everything that has been swirling in Virgil’s mind the past semester. 

“Hmm, okay, so you are pulling all nighters to finish all your work, and you only had one piece to do before you were completely finished with your final, and you then decided it looked all wrong and scrapped it?” Roman recapped and Virgil nodded, “Might I give you a suggestion?” 

“You can try,” 

“When you get home, go to sleep. Sleep for at least 9 hours, in a row, look at your old project again, and see how you feel,” Roman shrugged, “Maybe with a clear head you will feel differently about your project, maybe even get some inspiration,” 

Virgil gripped the bridge of his nose, “Roman, I do not have the time to sleep for a full 9 hours, that is ridiculous, I have to do so many projects,” 

“You’ll have one less to start from square one in if you end up actually liking what you did,” 

“It is a nice thought, I appreciate it, but I probably won’t be able anyways, not after the coffee,” Virgil took another sip, as to prove his point, but Roman just smirked. 

“That’s actually just a frozen hot chocolate with coffee flavoring in it,” 

Virgil eyes flew open wide, “Really?” He stared at his drink for a bit before looking at Roman, “They taste exactly the same, I cannot believe I let you fool me like that,” 

“Janus, Remus, and I made an executive decision, you do not look good,” Roman frowned, concerned, most likely looking at his swallowed out skin and circle under his eyes. 

“Well-” Virgil half-chuckled, “Not a lot of people look good compared to you,” Virgil would later wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat because of his flippant flirting that he never engages in, but for now he doesn’t care. 

“Charmed.” Roman said, a fond smile present on his face, “I am sure you are a catch as well, when you don’t look like a skeleton” The door opened and a gaggle of people walked in, dressed in the local high school’s uniform. Roman sighed, “That’s my cue,” 

He stood up and frowned, quickly patting his front and back pockets before pulling out a sharpie. He grabbed Virgil's arm, the other one yelped, blushing slightly at the contact. “I would do the cliche ‘write my number on a napkin’, but now I know if you don’t text me it’s because you don’t want to, which is okay too.” He capped his pen, “Message me about what you decide to do, if you want. Would love to see your art,” And with a flourish of his hand, Roman walked away to the counter to take the many orders of the teenagers. 

Virgil looked down at the 9 numbers on his arm, swallowing thickly, feeling a bit sick, though it is not just from Roman’s number in bold, black ink. God, he was tired. 

His body was not attached to his brain as he walked to the bus station, got off, and walked up to his studio, unlocking the door and banging his head against the wall (not too hard, though, these walls are so thin they might as well be made of rice paper). Virgil looked at the numbers on his arm, remembering what Roman said. 

Virgil shrugged off his jacket and jeans,  throwing them on his ‘stuff’ chair and pulled on a pair of sweats, collapsing on his bed. He looked at his phone, the time reading 3:35pm. 

“9 hours from now… That’s midnight. Is he mental?” Virgil muttered to himself. He attempted to pull himself out of bed to get started to study for his history of art final, but his body would just not cooperate. How long has it been since he has had a proper sleep. 

If you have to think about it, it’s been too long… 

That tomato soup and grilled cheese combination was beginning to make him sleepy. Virgil groaned, face-palming. He went on his phone and set an alarm for 6:00pm. 

“Fine, a short nap,” He said to himself. He hit the lights and it took maybe two minutes before he was sleeping, dreaming of impression paintings and emerald eyes. 

***

this is Virgil. 

i didn’t end up sleeping for the 9 hours like you asked

i ended up sleeping for 13.

i hate you. 

And how do you feel, now?

……….…

much better actually. you were right. after my coma i looked back at my final and realised it was a lot better than I remembered. 

i even ended up finishing it. 

That is fantastic! I am soooo glad I could help. What did you end up doing?

Can you send me a picture? 

oh uh

idk if that is a good idea

i don’t want you to think i am weird

Virgil. 

I beta read my twin’s fanfiction. 

I am so desensitized, I do not think I am allowed to be weirded out. 

ok...

img.cm/1029483

Incoming call (Roman- Monet’s)....

****

Virgil yelped when he saw the incoming call. He doesn’t like phone calls at the best of times, but especially not now, not after he showed Roman his final piece. Stupid, stupid, STUPID! He should have just said no, people don’t press about that kind of thing. But Roman is clearly a liar because he said he wouldn’t be weirded out and he is, and Virgil just met this guy and he already messed everything up, why does he have to be such a fucking weirdo all the time, goddamnit, everything is falling apart, Virgil may have gotten sleep but he can’t fix himself. He groaned and snatched up the phone on the last ring, attempting to put on his best, most positive voice. 

“Hey, Roman, wha-what’s up… Bro?” 

“Hello!” Roman answered the phone, not sounding angry or upset, which calmed Virgil a bit, “I apologize, I should have prefaced that I loved the painting. I understand why you might have been worried, but it is absolutely wonderful.” 

“Really?” Virgil let out a breath, “I was really worried that-” 

“Are you kidding?” Roman almost shouted through the phone, Virgil having to pull it away from his ear, “A profile of just my eyes surrounded by roses and irises, in the style of the impressionists, even though I know you hate that style,”

“I don’t hate it,” Virgil muttered. 

“You ranted about Renoir, Degas, and Monet for longer than anyone I have ever met, and one of my closest friends is a curator at the art museum,” 

Virgil sighed, “Yea, you’re right, they suck. Sorry about that…” 

Roman laughed, “Ha, are you joking? That was the highlight of my day. But all that aside, how could you even fathom me not liking the piece? 

“I mean,” Virgil rubbed the back of his neck, “I just met you yesterday, it’s not exactly something people do for someone when they do not even know their last name.” 

“My last name is Perez, my middle name is Thomas, my twin brother is Remus who you met yesterday, I am left handed, my favorite food color is red, and I love attention, it’s why I have done theater for 20 years. Does that help?” 

Virgil grumbled, “I guess it does,” 

Roman laughed, “I love it, Virgil, trust me, it is now my phone background,” 

Virgil’s heart swelled, “Really?” 

“Really. Honestly after us talking for like, 45 minutes yesterday, I would have been more offended if I wasn’t your muse, I mean, what about mean isn’t inspirational?” Both Roman and Virgil laughed at that, “But I could have told you all this over text, I called because I don’t like texting to ask pretty boys out on dates,” 

Virgil’s heart leapt into his throat, he felt as though someone dropped a ton of bricks on his chest. How was he supposed to respond to that? Roman first impression of him was a literal dead man walking and he still wants to go out with him?

“A date?” Virgil responded, still shocked. 

“Unless the pride pin on your jacket was just as an ally, and you just spent hours painting my eyes in a straight way, I would like to, if you want,” Roman said simply. Before Virgil could respond, Roman started speaking again, “And don’t say no just because I saw you at your rock bottom, I can see where this is going,” 

Virgil smacked his lips together, “You got me,”

“What do you say,” 

Virgil smiled, genuinely, for the first time in a while, “Let’s do it,” 

Virgil was only speechless for a full minute when Roman laid out an entire romantic picnic, scheduling it perfectly to watch a matinee Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing, both of them happily munching on the brownies and sandwiches Roman had made that morning. Virgil only complained for 3 minutes when Roman wanted to take him to the art museum, the blushing lasted for 4 times that long when Roman confessed it was because he wanted to hear Virgil about the paintings, his voice being one of the most pleasant he has heard. When Roman grabbed Virgil by the waist, pulling him in for a kiss, Virgil responded with equal passion and emotion that Roman was, not even noticing they were in front of Monet’s Irises. 

[swordarkeereon]

Tech Review for Writers: reMarkable2

I got myself a piece of interesting tech this year in hopes it would get me from out in front of a computer screen more often. Meet the reMarkable2, a distraction free (i.e. it’s not connected to the entirety of the internet) e-ink tablet workhorse that’s easy on the eyes.

The reMarkable2 Tablet

First things first. The reMarkable2 tablet is not for everyone and your average person probably won’t find it the least bit useful. So let’s talk about why you don’t want this tablet first.

reMarkable 2 is not for you if: 

– You want an eReader.  eReaders have a VERY DIFFERENT function than the reMarkable2. Yes, you can read PDFs on a reMarkable, but it’s more for *marking up* a PDF and commenting in the margins of a PDF. Not just reading. eReaders like Kindles and Nooks often have built in dictionaries, ways to bookmark pages or passages of text, etc…  that the reMarkable2 doesn’t have. You can search your documents for specific phrases and words and also highlight things in a light gray, but if you’re just looking for an eReader, I suggest a Kindle.

– You want a full functioning tablet that you can put apps on and surf the web with- If you’re looking for a full functioning tablet, you’ve missed the whole point of the reMarkable2. The main point behind reMarkable2 is so you can go to your creative place (wherever that may be) and brainstorm, free from ALL distractions. You can’t stop to surf FB or your Twitter feed on a reMarkable2, thus making it more likely you’ll stay on task and get more done.

– You want something with color so you can highlight because what you really want is a fully functioning ebook reader or tablet. This tablet is really more of a no frills brainstorming and note-taking tool for entrepreneurs, professionals, academics, and creatives (including engineers, writers, musicians, possibly artists if they like to sketch in black and white) who use a lot of black pens and plain paper.

I bought the tablet for the following reasons (which I wrote down BEFORE I received the device):

– I wanted an electronic notebook (not a tablet). I’m one of those people who goes through 3 packs of sticky notes every month, and countless notebooks every year. I am constantly jotting stuff down to keep myself focused and on track while running my own business and helping out at the family business.  My notes can be anything from putting together presentations, classes, and meetings, to extensive to-do lists for the day. Sometimes it’s just me keeping track of sales figures. As a result, my desk is always filled with papers and notebooks and I’m constantly searching for shit. The electronic notebook cleans up all this clutter and helps me organize my brain. (Have you seen my brain!? It’s a mess in there.)

– I  like to write freehand, especially when I’m plotting the next book or writing a blurb, or even writing a chapter – and it must be distraction free. This is something only fellow authors will understand. The fact that the reMarkable2 can convert handwritten notes to text sent via email has me excited because, if I’m lucky and it works, I won’t have to go through and transcribe all my handwritten notes. It basically saves me time by eliminating a step. I can copy/paste the note from my email into the appropriate file on my laptop. This will also save me the clutter and weight of carrying countless notebooks.

– I am involved with projects that require me to sketch out ideas for marketing and/or artwork. I do have tablets that can do this, but nothing that does it *well*. The closest is my Surface tablet, which can do a lot of things, but it still doesn’t feel like paper or allow me the fine detail paper allows. I’m hoping this tablet is a bit more responsive in this area. – I am forever printing out rough drafts of manuscripts for markup – wasting a ton of paper and toner in the process. All because I can’t edit on a backlit screen. My eyes get tired and I miss too many errors. If I can transfer my PDF drafts to the reMarkable and mark them up there with minimal errors left over, I could save some $$. I am actually estimating that I could easily save the cost of the reMarkable2 in 6 months to 1 year’s time by not having to purchase the paper, pens, and toner I usually go through in that time frame.  Plus, these marked up manuscripts often end up in a stack on my office floor for 6 months to a year after publication. 

– I am forever having to read PDFs of laws and regulations for the family business, and while I usually use them on the computer, I sit in front of a computer 8-13 hours a day. I need a non-backlit screen for reading in the evenings just to give my eyes a break.  Yes, I imagine I could do the same with a Kindle paperwhite, but I may just want to jot some notes in the same way I’d mark up a paper copy. I’m still a pen and paper girl. I’m really hoping the reMarkable is my replacement for that (most of the time anyway).

reMarkable2 test to sample the pen styles.

Some considerations I took into account before purchasing:

A lot of customers complained that it took too long to receive the reMarkable or to get support. From all of the research I did, and in reading their website, it’s clear to me that this company caters to academia and businesses. I ordered my reMarkable2 on January 16, 2021, and had it in my hands by January 25, 2021. 9 days. I also ordered it and paid for it through my business. I don’t know if that’s actually why I got mine so fast, but I wouldn’t be surprised. That said, I do think the company should work a little harder to increase their customer service efficiency. 

With regard to customer support – the website clearly states it can take up to 10 business days for support to get back to you. And a lot of the things people seem to be complaining about have troubleshooting instructions on the website. Clearly people weren’t going to the website to try to look up their issue through the support FAQs, which likely would have helped them out sooner.  They were just contacting support immediately, and angry when they weren’t getting a response after 3 days, when it’s clearly stated on the website that it can take up to 10 days due to the fact that reMarkable is a small company. But like I said earlier – they would be smart to increase their customer service team.

reMarkable’s folios are a custom fit and really pretty, but a bit pricey. I made the tablet more affordable by skipping the upgrade on the pen, because a friend of mine got the eraser feature and she wasn’t digging it initially (she loves it now), and I purchased a relatively nice folio from Amazon for under $30 (with no magnets – research told me magnets can cause dead spots in the screen of the reMarkable2). You can also just buy a 10″-11″ tablet sleeve and it would work much the same. There are also universal tablet folios that will fit 10″-11″ tablets that are free of magnets and will likely work just fine. All for under $20 bucks — even a few in faux leather. Remember that a case should protect your investment, not just make it *look* sharp. 

Right out of the Box.

Right out of the box I set the reMarkable up and started using it for brainstorming. Here were my first impressions:

1. It really is pretty damn close to writing on paper.

2. You can rest your damn hand on the screen and it won’t fuck things up or make it wobble as with traditional tablets.

3. My handwriting actually looks like my handwriting and you have almost the same control with this as you would with real pen and paper.

4. The interface is simple and intuitive and anyone who uses computers and tablets day and in day out will have no issues figuring this out.

Now some thoughts on the features:

Handwriting to Text: As an author who likes to occasionally spend time writing the old fashioned way, one of the things that attracted me to this tablet was its ability to translate handwriting to text. No writer wants to have to transcribe their written notes and waste all of that time. So of course I tested it with my horrific handwriting, vs purposefully trying to be neat, and the reMarkable2 was able to convert my chicken scratch into actual text that I could read. I was able to turn the handwritten notes into a PDF, but I was also able to send the handwriting converted to typed text as the body of an email, where I was able to cut and paste it into any program I wanted. I took it further and wrote 1000 words (about 8.2 pages) longhand. It converted all the pages to text in one swoop and I was able to copy/paste it into my manuscript. While there was a little formatting and editing involved — it was a lot faster than retyping handwritten notes. WIN! 

Handwriting for conversion test.

Conversion successful

PDF Transfer, Markup, and Signature: Transferring PDFs to the reMarkable is easy. You simply download the app on your phone and your desktop, and you can take any pdf from either device and import it onto your reMarkable, which you can then markup. I sent myself a slew of PDFs that I had to read and markup. It’s amazing how much more focused I am on a screen like this. I really got the same experience with editing on a digital PDF as I did with editing on a paper copy. My only caveat is that I don’t have more space to make notes since the margins are a bit small on the screen and there’s no “back of the page” to carry notes over to. I can likely manage. Despite that – what a great experience. Goodbye manuscripts all over my office floor!  Hello being able to drag editing work with me wherever I go!    

You can also transfer your PDFs that don’t have an electronic signature option to the device, sign them, and send them back. Talk about HANDY since I do that a few times a month by default. This just eliminates the print/sign/scan. Now I just have to transfer it to the device, sign the document, and email it straight back to whoever sent it. 

Digital Planners may be something I look into for 2022 because reMarkable actually makes them feasible. I tried a tester digital planner, courtesy a friend, on my reMarkable and I have to say – it offers just as much satisfaction as a paper planner. Plus, you can SEARCH large pdfs. It won’t find search terms in your handwriting, but it will find it in your PDF. That’s definitely a handy feature when you’re working with 500 page PDFs. That said, the tablet saves your place (last page you visited) as you’re navigating a PDF, so no need to search for the place you left off. However, there is no way to bookmark multiple pages.

ePub Reading: suppose I could sideload books as ePubs, but I really have no use for this feature. If I want to read ebooks, I use my kindle or the Kindle App on my tablet or phone. Unless I start doing editing of ePubs or want to check out an ePub format for something?  I didn’t buy this as an eReader, and it is terribly lacking as an eReader. Where the reMarkable excels is as a tool for marking up documents. So my guess is it would be great for that if you have a lot of files in ePub format that you have to go over. You also can’t change font sizes for easier reading. You can zoom in and zoom back out to regular size. That’s it. (And this is another reason this is not an eReader.)

Storage: Storage is a little over 6GB (you do not pay for the reMarkable website cloud-sync). But even with about 15 PDFs (some of them really long) on my reMarkable at any given time, I was only at .38 GB. 

reMarkable2 Storage

File System: Like I said earlier – the system is highly intuitive and easy to use. I made folders for my most common notebook uses, then I moved the appropriate PDFs to those folders, and created any notebooks I needed for those folders.

Exporting: You can export as .PNG, .SVG, and PDF.  Handwriting to text can only be sent as text via the body of an email. This is actually great for writing because then you just have to copy/paste from your email into your Word Doc, Google Doc, or Scrivener.

Importing: Imports PDFs and ePubs.

Templates: The templates are great. I generally only use graph paper, plain, and lined paper myself. But I could see how a lot of these would be useful to people. The to-do list is a crappy template just because it requires you to hide your menu to use it (you can’t tick the the checkboxes until you do this). To hide the menu tap the circle in the upper left top of the menu bar. So if you want a partial page to-do list, you can easily make your own checkbox lists using the graph paper option. There are also dot pages for the folks into bullet journaling.

A small sampling of reMarkable2 Templates

Search Feature: You can search within a PDF, but not through your own handwritten text. You must be in the PDF to search it, otherwise you can only search for file names. You can not search across documents for a phrase or word. So if you’re looking for something with the same search capabilities as a laptop or possibly a tablet, you won’t find it here.

Zooming: You can zoom in on PDF documents and write on them while zoomed. However, you cannot change font sizes to make reading easier.

Battery Life:  On days where I used it heavily (about 4-5 hours), I was using around 15% power in a day because I didn’t put it in airplane mode. Three days of 4-5 hours a day use drained my battery to 50%. So me, as a heavy user, not in airplane mode, will likely get 6-7 days out of a single charge. Possibly more since clearly not every day will be a heavy use day. The device does go to sleep after 10 minutes of inactivity.

Pen:The pens are a bit pricey. I did not buy the expensive pen with the eraser and I’m okay with that. But $60 for a pen is still a bit — ouch. 

Pen Nib: I am expecting I will be one of those poor unfortunate souls who will be replacing pen tips every 3-4 weeks during heavy use. Luckily the pen itself doesn’t use batteries. The pen nibs seem reasonable in price, just be sure to order a new pack with your device and when you start that pack, order another as shipping times on those can take a week or two depending where you are and how efficient your mail service is. You don’t want to accidently run out and find yourself without a pen. Yikes.

Security: You can add a password to your reMarkable to keep prying eyes out. But if you’re like me and self-employed, that’s not really an issue. Your remarkable has Wi-Fi, yes, but you can put it in airplane mode to cut the connection. Plus, it only syncs to your cloud storage. There really aren’t any entry points for viruses or people hacking into your device. But then I’m also not a tech person. Let’s just say I highly doubt security will be a huge issue on this thing. Besides, anyone who wants to take a peek at my tablet would likely find themselves bored stiff, unless they like reading really rough first drafts of speculative fiction.  LOL

Backup/Download: You can easily transfer your files back to your computer by opening the app and simply exporting your finished documents, etc… to your computer, backup drive or cloud drive. You can also just email yourself a copy to make it super easy.

My Wishlist:

1. I wish I could add or append new, handwritten pages to an existing PDF. That would definitely solve the space issue. Now, I just make notes in a different file and jog back and forth between the PDF and the notes, which is a little annoying, but doable. One way to solve this issue would be to save all your PDFs to double spaced. It might make markup a little easier. I’ll try that with the next books to go under the editorial knife.

2. I wish there were cheaper alternative covers. My $17 cover looks great and protects my tablet. reMarkable could easily come up with a few additional low-cost choices here. The ultra professionals are still going to buy nice leather folios. 

(I may add to this list in the coming weeks, but right now these are the two main things jumping out at me.)

Overall Review Summary

For writers, reMarkable2 truly is a remarkable distraction free device that can help improve your concentration and organization, give you the freedom to write out longhand and convert it to text without the tedious re-typing, and help you mark up drafts with ease. This would probably serve prolific and professional writers more liberally than the writer who takes a few years to pen a book. Plus, it will probably save you a lot of printer paper, toner, pens and notebooks. For business owners/users – reMarkable will likely save you pounds of sticky notes and legal pads, and hours of time transcribing your notes. Plus, it’s a great on-the-go working tool for content creators and people who review a lot of PDFs. 

Have some thoughts on the reMarkable2? Feel free to leave a comment below!

[oliviawhen]

Artist Interviews (2011) - Jon Klassen

Recently I got a request to repost the student email interviews I did with some established artists back on my blogspot in 2011. They really did help me, and I’m even more amazed now, than I was then that they took the time to reply. This is part 3/3 with illustrator Jon Klassen:

[Jon Klassen] is an illustrator who trained as an animator (and still does animation.) I'm currently thoroughly looking forward reading “I want my hat back” as his other children’s books have been so lovely.

Interview

1) What sort of medium or programs to you use for your work?

It varies on the subject and how complex the final picture might end up being. these days i try and start with a messy media, like ink or charcoal, something that will give me accidents, and i make component parts of the picture with that. i either scan or photograph those pieces, then assemble them digitally. working on them digitally afterwards can get very involved if i wasn't very sure how they were going to be used or if something interesting happened while the pieces were getting made. i like this stage very much. it's kind of like film editing.

2) What are some of your favorite websites/magazines/books/publications for inspiration?

I like to look at photographs a lot instead of other illustrations. for illustrators this is better, i find, because you're not looking at somebody else's solutions to problems. unprofessional photos are best because they usually don't care so much about composition or anything as they do getting what it is they want in the picture, which is great for you because you start to think about how you would stage things in an interesting way. i like older photos mostly, cause the colors are always a little washed out and not so sharp. a good starting place for those kinds of pictures is squareamerica.com

3) What was your favorite professional assignment that you've ever done?

I am working on kids book illustration right now, and i don't know if it's just because it's a switch from what i was doing for many years (i worked at big animation studios before this) but i'm enjoying it the most. i like the simple ones best, even though the illustrations might not be as impressive to do. i wrote my very first one and illustrated it this year, and it's called 'i want my hat back' and it comes out in the fall. i don't know if it's my best work, but i enjoyed making it more than most of the things i've worked on in the past few years.

4) Your style is really distinctive and eye catching, has it always been that way?

Thank you! i don't think i'm in a great position to judge it, really - i still see a lot of inconsistencies when i look at my work altogether, but i'm glad you think it fits together somehow. i think style has to do mainly with what you're choosing to think about and what you don't want to think about (maybe that second one more importantly) - the more i do pictures for myself, the more i start to learn what an idea actually is to me. i think thats a big step - when you're learning all this stuff, it all seems so grandly conceptual and you feel like you're just learning the tools, but once you sort of figure out how a small idea that you like can be pulled apart and extrapolated and made to be a satisfying thing for yourself, you're sort of set free and you stop worrying about technique so much and you just want to make ideas that you like and follow them where they go. the great part about that is that you don't feel like it's ending anywhere - it goes as far as you want to follow it.

5) What sort of process do you have? Do you work on many pieces at once or one at a time?

I try to only work on one thing at a time, but it never seems to work out that way. maybe that's a luxury you work up to - but i'm not sure it's a totally harmful thing to put a project down midway and go do something else. i used to think it was hokey when people said they wanted to let an idea 'percolate' or whatever, but just by the necessity of getting work done, i've found it's actually a very real thing and it can improve your work quite a bit.

6) What do you do when you can't come up with ideas? How do you manage stress?

I'm learning more and more not to hold onto things so tightly - sometimes it's hard because you want to do good work but there isn't enough time or you don't like the subject, and i've certainly done things i don't like now - that still stresses me out. but i think it's important to not see any of your work as a 'legacy' or anything like that - the more you look at it like a local problem with a solution, the more you can focus on that rather than on yourself doing it or how good you might be at it that day. also i take very long showers.

7) How do you advertise yourself/get work? What have you found to work best for you?

i'm still finding out if this is as true in book illustration as it is for animation, but the best thing that's worked for me is to collaborate as much as you can, early on. you'll find out what parts of a project you like best, and the results will always be different than something you've done on your own. more interestingly, though, is that the people you work with, if you choose them for the right reasons, always end up having other things to do that you want to do too, and it becomes this really great organic thing. it sounds luxurious to say 'only work with people you like' because of course you can't always, but when you're starting out and stakes aren't as high as they might be later, if you have the choice between working with someone you like and who excites you or something you know is just to get on the record, go with the more interesting one. an interesting project will travel around and get you more work than a hundred boring ones for big places that you get paid for.

8) Do you have a time that you prefer to work? Night? Morning?

In school i was a night worker, but since then i sort of enjoy having daytime work hours and keeping the same schedule as people with jobs. of course if something needs to get done, all that scheduling falls apart and you just go until it's done, but that gets rarer, i think, as you get better at managing your time.

9) Is your personal work particularly different from your professional work?

No, not really. the work i do for books and commercials and things will vary based on the topic and the tone that's needed, and even though i think i'm switching it up, there always seems to be some common ingredients. i never really had a huge interest in personal work past things that i could only call 'assignments to myself' - i've always liked solving work problems that are brought to me rather than express anything i'm feeling that day. Although, i will say that more i do this work, the more i find that how you're feeling that day or that week or that month comes across in your professional work whether you want it to or not. I don't mind that when i see it happening, but i have a hard time using it as a starting point for making something.

10) What's the best advice you would give a student aspiring to work as an illustrator?

Work on ideas you honestly like, that are valid to you. your responses to things, your way of receiving a problem and turning it over in your head, before you ever put anything down on paper, is the best currency you have. all your style and technique can come out of that, and should be secondary to that. that doesn't mean you can't have things that you use a lot - sometimes things last a very long time in your head before you're done exploring in there. but try always to start with something in the topic you genuinely have a crush on.

If you haven’t, consider reading all of his books! They’re thrilling. You can find him on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr.

[elle-in-hell]

when the day met the night (ch. 3)

yo hey so it's been a while so here's a v long chapter(or at least long compared to the first two) for you guys! due to the fact that I am restricted to posting on mobile for the next few days at least, I am unable to link to the previous chapters as well as ao3, but the chapter will be posted there as well and both previous chapters can also be found on my blog:) enjoy!

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Skip to three hours later and Eddie is counting down the last few minutes until he and Stan can finally close up shop and go home. No one goes shopping for flowers at nine o’clock at night, but apparently they have to keep the shop open until then just in case.

No one had ever come in after seven before.

That is, until that day.

Bev took her best friend by the wrist and practically dragged him out of his own truck. She led him inside, almost jumping at the sound of the bell chiming, and Richie immediately groaned.

“C’mon, hun, you can’t do this forever,” she whisper-scolded as the two approached the front counter where two very surprised boys stood awkwardly.

“H-hello? How can we help you?” Stan asked, nervously looking at the two as Richie immediately straightened up and smiled a little at the familiar small boy.

Bev seemed to have a plan, but none of that stopped Richie from thinking he was going to just make a fool of himself in front of the two.

“Hey boys, well this dipshit over here was supposed to give me a tattoo today, but I was feeling a bit sick and didn’t come into work, so now I had to drag him down here to do it, so could I get your help with this?” She looked right at Eddie as she said it, reading the name on his tag that Richie had told her earlier. He looked terrified, honestly.

Then again, in the middle of the night, two nineteen-year-olds in matching leather jackets and a girl with about five piercings, just that they could see, waltzed into their tiny little shop talking about tattoos, so they couldn’t blame him.

“I need floral advice,” she spoke with an awkward authoritativeness as she folded her arms over her chest. Her sleeves rode up slightly, revealing a slingshot tattooed on her hand mirroring the shape of her thumb and pointer finger.

The two boys looked between each other before Stan nudged Eddie, sending him to the two friends.

“I don’t know shit about tattoos, but if you’re looking for flowers I can at least try,” he said with a shy smile as Beverly beamed.

“Perfect! I’ve been wanting something on the more traditional side for ages now, but maybe if you have any bad-ass looking flowers or maybe something with a cool meaning, then I’ll get it inked.”

Eddie looked terrified behind his eyes, understandably overwhelmed by the pressure of choosing a stranger’s tattoo. He walked towards a display on the wall and began to look through dozens of colors and types of flowers, his hands shaking slightly.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, seriously, anything you could come up with is about a hundred times better than anything I could, Eds,” Richie said softly, yet still with a hint of comedic tone in his voice as he approached the smaller boy.

Eddie blushed, keeping his eyes on the flowers and refusing to look the boy in the eye.

“Don’t call me Eds,” he grumbled so quietly it was almost inaudible.

Richie smirked, leaning in closer to the boy.

“What was that, Eds?”

Eddie groaned, still blushing to himself.

“Shut up, asshole, just help me look around.”

Richie backed up, his hands raised in mock surrender as he smirked, pleased with himself. He dug through the baskets and displays, not really knowing what he was looking for, before all of a sudden Beverly squealed.

“This one! Holy shit, this one is perfect!” She was practically bouncing up and down ad Eddie walked up beside her and took the single flower from her hands.

“Ah yes, gladiolus. Strength of character, good choice,” Eddie spoke, sounding so sweet Richie thought he could get a cavity just standing next to him. He was too sweet for Richie Tozier.

Beverly, however, was practically ecstatic over this entirely-unplanned and unscheduled tattoo that she literally just came up with as an excuse to meet the boy her best friend was absolutely whipped over.

Stan, from behind the cash register, just waved her off; partly because he was lazy and just wanting to close the shop, but also taking an immediate liking to the girl. She grinned, taking Richie by the wrist and giddily pulling him towards the door. Sure, he was still confused out of his mind at her plan, but slid his arm out of Bev’s grasp and stopped in the doorway. Bev froze, looking up at her much-taller friend with such surprise as she watched the blush spread across his face.

“Rich-“

“I want to try,” he whispered nervously. A small smile crept onto his face.

Beverly Marsh would’ve cried right there if she wasn’t so damn happy. Almost two years later and she had never been more proud of her best friend.

“Go get ‘em, tiger,” she whispered back, stepping outside and climbing into the passenger seat of Richie’s truck to wait.

Richie took a deep breath and spun around on his heels to see two confused boys awkwardly waiting to close their shop. Richie rubbed the back of his neck as he walked up to the small boy restocking the displays.

“Hey there, Eds,” he began, his breath catching in his throat as the other looked up at him with soft brown eyes that he rolled dramatically at the nickname.

“Didn’t think I’d be seeing you back here today,” Eddie joked, immediately heightening Richie's nerves. He was seconds away from running out that door and never coming back. "But I'm glad you did."

Oh. Oh.

"What can I say, Eds. You and your mom have a lot in common; y'always leave me wanting more," he said sarcastically, resorting to his personal favorite mode of feeling-coverups. He knew it was offensive, he knew it was the reason most people he knew all his life hated him, but humor came easily to him and Richie Tozier wasn't one to care what other people thought about him.

Well, that was a lie, but no one else needed to know that.

"Fuck off, trashmouth," Eddie teased, not dropping his smile, to Richie's pleasant surprise.

If there was a way to describe that smile, Richie would tell you it was just 'fucking perfect'.

"Alright, alright," Richie chuckled, trying to convince himself he was okay and that he was making progress. "I just thought I'd test the waters a bit."

Eddie smirked, folding his arms over his chest and leaning up against the wall behind him. He had no clue where this confidence was coming from, but it felt good. He was comfortable.

"Shoot," he provoked as Richie immediately grew more nervous than he had ever anticipated.

It was rough. He hadn't said those words before in his life, but he was Richie Tozier and he was going to try, goddamnit.

"Are you dating anyone right now?" He ripped off the bandage and couldn't even look the boy in the eyes once he words left his mouth. One more second of silence and he'd be sprinting out the door.

Eddie did a double take at the question. No, he hadn't dated anyone before. He hadn't even gone on a date since high school, but this boy just made his stomach fill with butterflies and twist and churn in the best possible way.

"No, I don't have a boyfriend, if that's what you mean."

Richie would tell you it felt like his heart did a fucking backflip. Eddie couldn't even believe what he was doing. It was like he was under a spell and suddenly the small, anxious boy had the confidence of, well, anyone else.

"Perfect. I'll see ya’ around, Eddie Spaghetti!” Richie grinned, spinning around on his heeled boots and heading for the door.

“Wait!” Eddie called out, both boys smiling at the repetition of their meeting that afternoon. “I still never got your name.”

Richie smirked and walked back over to the boy, bending over slightly and extending his hand out to the other.

“Richie Tozier’s my name,” he said in what Eddie could only describe as a shockingly-impressive yet unidentifiable accent. “And, as of recently, embarrassing myself in front of cute boys is my game."

Eddie laughed, like actually whole-heartedly laughed, and felt his heart surge at the compliment. He could already tell the color of his cheeks.

“Well if it makes a difference, I'd say you're doin’ pretty good so far.”

Richie Tozier hadn't smiled that wide in years.

He left the building with happy tears brimming in his eyes as he climbed into the drivers seat of his truck and turned to Beverly waiting beside him.

“Baby steps, Bevvie,” he spoke in barely a whisper as his tears threatened to fall and the smile on his face held strong. She threw her arms around her best friend and they sat there for about ten minutes before Richie finally took her home.

He fell asleep with a smile on his face that night.

---------

Tags:

@im-not-psychotic

[dddddwwwwwwwwww]

Hey I saw your analysis on why John might have been closeted even with loving queer friends and I think your reasoning is the only thing I've seen that actually makes sense!! Everyone else seems to rely on "john obviously has internalized homophobia due to his upbringing or surroundings" but obvs that's not the case... have you thought at all about how meeting and interacting with dad Crocker might affect john?

started out meta then I gave up and ficced it. I hope you get what I’m spinning here. This hasn’t really been proofread, it was a quickie because I just wanted to get the feelings in cyber-ink.

John disappeared shortly after the cake was cut. Jane and Roxy flew their new mutual wife to the top of a ten-foot tiered cake to slice the inaugural piece and he was standing next to me, then as press and party-goers surged forward in a mad rush for sugar he slipped away. I felt the tail end of a cold breeze flit from the crowd and I only barely caught the direction it flew in as it disappeared. John wasn’t a subtle guy, I could tell something was off at the beginning of the ceremony. The biggest surprise was that it took him this long to escape.

This left me with a dilemma. Go chase my date into the hall, or stay out here until he was ready to rejoin the party. I wondered for a half-second if maybe he didn’t want to be followed, but that line of thought was quickly discarded. John was a straightforward guy about everything but his feelings, he wasn’t the type to play passive aggressive games. Or, he was, but not this particular type of passive aggressive game.

I turned in the direction I’d felt the wisp of air fly and I closed my eyes to concentrate. This was a ridiculously huge wedding. I guess 3 creators getting married was kind of a big deal, there were guests of every race, species and blood color in every direction, all churning in a big mosh pit around the cake. The derspitians in particular were getting antsy as they were starting on sugar highs, and most everyone else was half drunk on free wedding booze. It was cacophonous to a ridiculous extent, and I thought I sniffed a whiff of the glittery death-lollipop of Calliope’s. I suppressed a shiver and tried harder to focus. Around me in the peripheral mind of my eye, I could see the souls of the people around me pop up.

Each one flickered like a flame, but held a solid shape that was only mobile at the edges. Each of the few hundred people in this room had one, but they all sort of melded into a pile of nondescript souls I didn’t care about. I reached out further. There was Jane, Roxy, Calliope, all the happy brides, each with a bright, robust flame. I smiled a little, then pushed my radius a little further, past the ballroom. I caught the feeling of John’s soul wandering the south hallway. It was a little dim compared to the firework display of emotion going on in here. I frowned at that, and opened my eyes.

I skirted the edges of the room to find an exit into the hallway. The ballroom was in the very middle of the venue with a long hallway that encircled it and lead to other rooms on the edges of the building. Cool air rushed over me as I stepped into the dark hallway. The AC was cranked to combat the sheer number of bodies in the ballroom, making the hallway freezing. It was welcome, much better than the hot, heavy atmosphere in the other room. Maybe that was why John had left? I rounded a corner and saw him leaning against a wall, picking at a piece of cake on a plate. His expression was melancholy as he pushed the cake around the plate.

It hit me, his dad. That had been his whole fatherly schtick, baking cakes and things like that. Here was Jane getting married, maybe John was just missing his dad? Regretting the experiences they’d never have together? I really didn’t have a lot of my own experience to cross-reference here. I stepped forward, deliberately stepping hard so John heard me coming and looked up.

“Oh, Dirk, hey.” His eyes weren’t wet. His expression was actually just more thoughtful than sad, now that he was looking at me. I walked over and joined him on the wall.

“Sup?”

“Nothing much. Cake.” He gestured to the pile of mush on his plate. He scooped a forkful of mostly frosting and stuck it in his mouth casually. “It’s pretty good.”

“Glad you got a piece. You split pretty fast after the girls cut it.” He shrugged.

“It was just getting hot in there. I figured Jane wouldn’t miss me for the moment if I stepped out.” I nodded, he nodded.

Neither of us said anymore, and we both just stood for a few minutes in silence. I grappled with the idea of asking something, I didn’t wanna pry. It’s not like John and I were much more than fuck buddies currently. The moniker was there, relation statuses set to [OCCUPIED] on various facets of social media, but conversations between us always lapsed into this same silence lately. Somewhere between comfortable and awkward, where we both simultaneously wanted to talk and say nothing at all. Right then, however, I wanted to talk. I mean, fuck, that’s what boyfriends did, wasn’t it? I cleared my throat. John looked at me expectantly.

“Is it your dad?” I forced my eyes at his chin, that was close to eye contact right?

“What?” I couldn’t read from his tone whether he was mad or not. But I was already dedicated to this trainwreck I was gonna see it through.

“I just thought, the cake, Jane gettin’ married, maybe it was stirrin’ up…” I struggled for a word and John cut me off.

“Have you tried the cake?”

“What?” Now it was my turn for confusion. John twisted the fork to spear another chunk of cake and held it to me.

“Try it.” I was a grown-ass man and for some reason that made cheeks go hot for a quick second. I hesitated briefly, then leaned forward and took the bite from his fork. It was oddly intimate for something as simple as a bite. The cake honestly was delicious. It was moist and hearty and the frosty was light and creamy.

“It’s really good.” I said honestly. John nodded in agreement. 

“Jane’s dad made it. You know, he helped plan like, ninety percent of the wedding? Jane told me she wanted to hire a team of professional wedding planners with ten years experience each in arranging flowers and hanging drapes, but her dad insisted on taking charge.” I whistled low, John looked about as impressed as I felt. 

“That’s a shit ton to do, there’s basically half the planet here.” 

“Right? He’s so excited and so supportive of her, it’s almost stupid.” He chuckled and shook his head. “It’s weird. He’s my dad, but absolutely not my dad, yanno?” I didn’t, but I nodded anyway. John went on, “The similarities are just uncanny, and so many times I have to remind myself that he’s not the man I grew up with. But he basically is, he’s just got different horrible jokes and likes a different brand of shaving cream.” He looked down at the cake. “And he’s put hours and hours and days of effort into making sure his daughter can marry her wives, and he’s just tickled to death about it.” 

It clicked, suddenly. I’d been close, but I’d been missing a piece. 

“In what universe would your dad, voted thrice to be “Dad of the year” by Gentlemen’s Biweekly, not be tickled pink to make a cake for your gay wedding?” I nudged his ribs and elicited a small smile. 

“I think I always knew that, that’s what everyone told me, assured me. But it’s not like I could ever be sure. I was 13 when he died, I had no clue, and it’s not like it ever came up around the house. We watched Will and Grace together, that was the extent of gay media I had growing up.” His jaw shifted. “I couldn’t ever be sure. I’ve spent, god,” he reached behind his glasses to wipe his eyes with the palm of his hand, “ever since we got out of the game I’ve been trying to emulate that standard of what being a man meant, trying to keep his memory alive in me, live how he would have wanted me to. And It never quite fit, and it took me so long to figure out that I was never going to have the two and a half kids and a dog that I thought he wanted me to have. I was so sure I was letting him down.” He wiped his eyes again and laughed, a raw half-laugh half-sob of relief. 

I took the cake from his other hand and set it on the ground. As I straightened my hands hovered around his shoulders, unsure of what to do. Thankfully that’s all John needed to know the invitation was open, and he grasped me in a hug, holding me tightly as if to anchor himself. He was taller than me so I had to reach up to wrap my arms around his neck, but we fit together, if a little awkwardly. He wasn’t sobbing but I could feel him cry onto my shoulder and I held him even harder. There in that hall, without words, we connected in an intangible way that only two men like us could. 

“He woulda made so many cakes for any weddin’ you had.” I whispered against his neck. 

After a long pregnant pause John collected himself and we pulled away from each other. Caught up in the moment I pulled my glasses off my nose and slipped them into my breast pocket, realizing a half second too late how corny that was. John met my eyes and smiled. Maybe corny wasn’t too bad. 

“We can stay out here, if you want.” I offered. “I think Callie whipped out the sucker, and somehow it just continues to prove a disappointing experience each and every time I try it. I just don’t think I have that knack.” John bent down and took the plate of cake I’d left at our feet.

“I at least want to finish this before we head back in there. Wanna help?” He offered me another bite. 

“Sure.” I took the fork from him this time and put it into my own mouth, chewing as I scooped another bite and offered it to John. John took the bite without taking the fork, and he really seemed to enjoy this bite. He smiled as he swallowed. 

“I think that’s exactly how my dad would have wanted his cake’s to be enjoyed.” 

[davidplusworld]

I finished Inktober 2019!

When I started it this year, I really wasn’t sure if I could finish it. This past month or so was one of the busiest in recent memory. However, I did it. Not sure how I succeeded, but I think that putting all my other blogs on hold was pretty much the only way I could.

Just like last year, I’m going to write some sort of debriefing with some final thoughts about each drawing. You’ll see that time often was a deciding factor for quite a few drawings.

All the drawings can be seen on the same page there:

https://www.davidplusworld.com/portfolio/inktober-2019/

Otherwise, links to each specific post are below, along with

a few thoughts about each drawing

1 – Ring – It was the first drawing, so I didn’t want to draw something difficult, fail and then lose the little confidence I had gained right at the beginning (I’m really at that stage where I have gained some confidence about drawing, but not enough to actually be “confident” about the whole thing). I also didn’t want to draw a ring (the kind you put on a finger), so I chose this simple design of an alarm. In retrospect, the design was maybe a bit too simple, but that’s probably what I needed at that moment. I remember being very afraid to struggle and fail from the beginning.

2 – Mindless – One of my first attempts at doing a caricature of someone alive and famous (well, I did another one in 2018). When I finished it, I was happy that I managed to do it. Now, a little bit than a month later, I think it could have been much better. Does it mean that I improved and gained confidence during this month? Maybe.

3 – Bait – I was still finding my footing I guess. I found this simple – but not too simple – design (really two drawings I merged into one). I wanted to keep things easy because I knew some challenges were coming.

4 – Freeze – First real challenge. I used a video tutorial for most of the drawing. I’m glad that I managed to do it, but I find the final result a bit stiff and lacking life. However, it is fitting due to the topic, so not a huge problem.

5 – Build – Who would have thought that my first big trouble would come with a few geometrical forms? I feel that I’ve drawn blocks many times in the past, but that probably was in high school, about 30 years ago! Or maybe that’s because the paper was not lined paper? I don’t know, but they gave me one hell of a time, and the final result is a much more simplified version than what I originally had in mind. The result is “cute” though.

6 – Husky – The first drawing of this year’s Inktober that I’m actually proud of. Sure, it doesn’t exactly look like the real thing, and there are some parts I wish I had done differently, but overall, I consider it a success.

7 – Enchanted – The previous drawing took quite some time to draw, so I decided for a much quicker design for this one. It actually turned out much better than planned. So, great, I guess.

8 – Frail – What took me a long time was to find what to draw. I’m not even sure this drawing fits the prompt well. When I finished it I was pretty happy with it (but it’s probably because I managed to draw something), but now, I think that it’s a bit too simple, not sure.

9 – Swing – Last year, I drew a smurf quite successfully (with a video tutorial). Could I draw another famous cartoon character? Without a tutorial this time? Well, I guess I can (even if some scaling is a bit messy).

10 – Pattern – When I say that I almost didn’t draw in the past 20 years before last year, it’s not completely true. From time to time I like to doodle some abstract designs. This was the occasion to include one of them to Inktober. Also, I “know” how to draw these and they don’t take too long. I knew I would be needing a lot of time for the next one.

11 – Snow – I just can’t draw people in a realistic fashion. This is probably the drawing I like the least this year, and it’s a shame because I spent a lot of time on it, and I thought the sketch I drew before inking it was kind of OK. Oh well. Still, I need to learn how to draw people, but I will probably need a certain number of tutorials.

12 – Dragon – Two difficult drawings back to back but I’m actually impressed how well I managed to draw this one. It’s probably the drawing I’m the proudest of this year. I never thought it would be a success, especially right after the disappointing previous one.

13 – Ash – Back to a simpler design from lack of time and ideas. It’s actually not bad at all, don’t you think?

14 – Overgrown – I had no time at all for this drawing, so it’s a simplified version of what I had in mind, which was basically a landscape made of rocks and/or concrete with one single flower surviving and growing no matter what. The idea is there, but I feel that this drawing could have had a stronger impact if I could have spent more time on it.

15 – Legend – Not really a drawing at all, just an idea. I had no time and no idea for a drawing that I could actually do, hence this replacement “map.” You can call it a cop-out, I won’t disagree.

16 – Wild – This is one of the drawings I’m the proudest of this year (except for the tail). I find the technique used by Maurice Sendak very interesting and I tried to reproduce it. And I think we can call it a success. I especially like it, because despite not being the original intent, I found myself using hashing quite often when doing various shadings and this is all the wild things are about in terms of the way they’re drawn.

17 – Ornament – I find this one quite interesting and, in retrospect, much better than my original feeling about it. I just talked about using hashing for shading, but for this one, I wanted to try another technique. I started with a youtube tutorial for drawing a sphere. The tutorial was only using pencils. I tried to figure out how to do something similar but with inks. The result may be a little too dark for a Christmas ornament (or maybe it’s for a gothic Christmas), but the result is actually not bad at all. Ironically, I’m usually not a big fan of drawings with a painting feel like this one.

18 – Misfit – I did have a few ideas for this drawing but no time at all, so I just did this in a few minutes. It’s neither bad no good. Of course, it’d be better if I had spent more time on it. Also, today, I regret not doing the opposite. A “weirdo” among many normal “boring” faces is almost a cliché. One normal boring face surrounded by weirdos would have been more interesting when thinking about it.

19 – Sling – For this one, my time constraint kinda played in my favor. As I didn’t want to spend time looking for an original or interesting idea, I just drew a literal sling. And the result is quite good actually.

20 – Tread – This is pretty much the only idea that came to mind. The drawing could be better, but as there was no model to follow, I had to “design” it myself. In any case, I’ve always felt iffy about this “don’t tread on me” thing even before it was taken over by fascists and white supremacists. Now? Yes, we need to do all we can to tread on them, indeed.

21 – Treasure – Another map. This one was one of my two original ideas for this prompt. I meant to detail it much more (as far as treasure maps go), but I totally failed my first attempt (it was OK until I started adding colors) and – as often – I didn’t have the time for another complex attempt (especially as it could have been a failure too). One small disappointment, no one “got it.” Yes, this map is some sort of easter egg (albeit a quite obscure one, I admit) and no one noticed on social media. 😦 Oh well… (I’m not going to tell what it is, just in case someone finds out one day).

22 – Ghost – After drawing Jon Snow earlier, of course, I had to draw “his” Ghost (he’s not a pet, I know). I used a tutorial to draw a wolf. I’m glad I managed to do it, but it does look stiff and lacks life, like the baby from “freeze”. Oh well. Something to keep in mind with these tutorials.

23 – Ancient – I’m glad I got to draw this. Take it as my homage to some of the most amazing drawings ever. I’ve always been fascinated by Lascaux and other prehistorical caves, and not only because I grew up nearby. Those are some of the first artworks ever, and of course, we’ll never know who did them. If we could meet them, we’d be unable to communicate with them. And yet, their art speaks to us, tens of thousands of years later. Nothing symbolizes the power of art more than this. If I had been a better artist I would have drawn the actual wall and all, but I like the idea of only reproducing the painting itself.

24 – Dizzy – First I had no idea what to draw. Then, the idea of drawing Lucille 2 from Arrested Development came to mind, and I knew she was the right thing to draw. Now, I’m totally incapable to draw Liza Minnelli in a satisfying fashion. I found a caricature of her younger self and tried to age her a little bit. One friend recognized her, so I guess it’s not so bad.

25 – Tasty – Around this time, I knew that if I wanted to not fall behind and still do all the other things I needed to do, I’d have to go the fast and easy route. I could have chosen to just be very late at finishing Inktober, but actually trying to make acceptable drawings fast was an interesting challenge in itself. A useful one too, one reason I didn’t draw as much as I wanted to during this past year was that I rarely had the time to spend a couple of hours or more on a drawing.

26 – Dark – I struggled to find ideas for this one when I remember that my kids are always scared of walking through this corridor at night without turning the lights on because it’s dark, even when the rooms are lit. So, that’s what I draw. I didn’t try to be totally accurate and had fun with the hashing, and it worked out quite well in the end.

27 – Coat – Another difficult prompt. I didn’t want to draw a coat, that’s for sure, so I thought about the other meanings of the word and ended up drawing my hometown’s coat of arms. It looks strange in black and white. I’m not exactly satisfied, but it was the last stretch, I had little time and I wasn’t too interested in this prompt. I should revisit later the idea of drawing coats of arms, though.

28 – Ride – Probably my most “ambitious” drawing this year. Well, I had to drastically simplify it compared to the original, but in the end, I didn’t mess it up, so that’s a win.

29 – Injured – One of these drawings where for a while I simply have no idea what to draw, but when I suddenly found it, it became the only choice. I had to draw the scene from another drawing, not from the actual picture; for some reason, it seems almost impossible to find a good quality picture of that scene on the internet. I think I did alright. Oh, a weird anecdote; on Instagram, a preteen commented “OK boomer” on that drawing? To what I can only answer: “dafuck?”

30 – Catch – Another uninspiring prompt. I drew it in a few minutes, just trying to get it over with. At least I didn’t mess it up with colors this time. I thought that was the end of it when a little surprise awaited me shortly after posting it on Reddit. You’ll see in a few paragraphs.

31 – Ripe – I’m actually very pleased with this drawing. Some friends told me that I have improved a lot since last year. Looking at last year’s drawings, I think they’re right, and this final one is the perfect example. Sure, I still need a model – there is no way I can draw this from scratch – but it is a decent drawing indeed. And even more important, for many drawings, I just try something and hope it works. For this one, I feel like I knew what I was doing the whole time, so yeah! A great ending indeed.

We’re “almost” finished. I told you what drawings I liked or disliked. I’m also curious about what you think. Do not hesitate to tell me in the comments.

Also, as they were posted on various social media, they have been ranked by people.

Let’s check those rankings.

Reddit

I’m not sure “upvotes” on Reddit are an accurate way to rank drawings for a bunch of reasons. Upvotes will depend on many random factors (what time the drawing is posted, what is posted at the same time, and so on). Also, you may have noticed that a lot of my drawings this year are inspired by pop culture. I didn’t plan it this way, it just happened. However, it’s true that it makes it easier to find ideas, as well as visualize them, not mentioning finding decent models. Of course, Reddit being what it is, some drawings will get more upvotes, not because they’re better or more interesting, but because they’ll depict things that are popular on Reddit.

  #1 – 213 upvotes!

I’m very surprised by the success of this drawing, but I really think it comes from the popularity of Pokémon Go on Reddit and not anything else.

#2 – 56 upvotes

#3 – 30 upvotes

#4 – 12 upvotes

#3 – 30

I also think that Ride has been overrated because of its subject. The other ones probably deserve their stop in the top five.

  Instagram

Let’s see what my followers on Instagram think. It may give more “accurate” scores, as people liking the drawings are a mix of my followers (note that my Instagram account is Japan-heavy in terms of content) and people who have found my drawings through hashtags.

#1 – 47 likes

It’s not a surprise at all that Dragon was the winner on Instagram. First, it probably is my best drawing this year, but also – as mentioned a few lines above – most of my followers follow me for my pictures about Japan.

#4

#3 – 30 likes

#3 – 30

#5 – 28

And if my followers follow me mostly for pictures in Japan, they especially follow me for the Setouchi Triennale, so it’s totally normal that Husky arrives in the second position. I am surprised to find Catch again near the top, I guess people really like this drawing after all.

I posted my drawings on Facebook and Twitter too, but they didn’t garner many likes, shares or retweets. One reason can be that I didn’t actually post the drawings but links to the posts here. So what we could check is the traffic for the posts. There is a major caveat. The number of views doesn’t reflect in any way whether people liked the drawing or not. More often than not, it reflects how well ranked in search engines the post is. So, with this in mind, let’s check what my Google Analytics tell me.

And indeed the results are very different from anywhere else:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Indeed, I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that the top five is composed of the first three entries as well as two prompts for which one can easily imagine people googling for ideas. One interesting thing is that my old (and out-of-date for some) “Ask a Frenchman” posts usually hog the top ten for most viewed pages on my site, but in October, all of those five drawings were in the top 10 (with Frail placing number two). Interestingly, some of those posts do rank on Google’s page one when you search “Inktober frail” and so on.

I guess that’s all for this year’s Inktober “debriefing”. The blog is going to be quieter in the coming weeks, I do have a lot of catch up to do with Setouchi Explorer. However, sooner or later expect activity here in the form of drawings, pictures or something else.

Cheers.

      Inktober 2019 – The End I finished Inktober 2019! When I started it this year, I really wasn't sure if I could finish it.

[livthelifeblog-blog]

Our Passions

Our Passions.

Date: April 18, 2017 Tuesday, 4:13pm break, end 8:50pm

Notes:

Location + setting: I’m sitting outside, at Margot’s house (or as many of you will learn, my adopted little sister’s house) I’m waiting for them to get back from Washington. They’ve been gone for almost a week and (I almost said kinda but no) I really really miss them!

It’s super nice out, I’m listening to my alt-j and my spotify “new hits” playlist times are good.

Update, I am now inside. After spending around 3 hours on this piece, I feel very proud. I hit the mark stylistically and had a few concise statements. I hope this makes sense and now I’m going to work on some homework enjoy…

Our Passions.

So what inspired me to write today? Well, starting off, I actually have time and second I have energy. Now what really inspired me to write Today? Obviously if I’m asking this question nothing from above. Those reasons just happen to make the experience more enjoyable. I was inspired today in my car and in school during Advanced Placement Government.

I was sitting in my AP government class today. It was 3rd hour so about halfway through the day. As usual, I was listening to my teacher, one of my favorites by a mile long shot explain how political polling works. As he talked and talked his speech became monotonous.  Regardless of the fact I thought his class is especially interesting.

I started looking around at his room, which is, let me just explain to you right now, a palace compared to the average classroom. It includes a wall filled to the brim with a myriad of colorful license plates from all corners of the globe, political memorabilia, and even some movie posters carefully pinned down like a family portrait. Only as I shifted my eyes over to the window framing a overcast cloudy sky, did my thoughts begin to diverge from how many people it took to conduct a valid political poll, (it’s only 1500 I paid my teacher some attention).

As I started looking out of the window, as I usually start to do when I’m tired or lacking caffeine, I slipped into a daydream. Today was not the typical; the dream was not centered on after school plans or a cute boy i’d seen the day before. As turned side to side softly in my vibrant red yellow and blue rolling chair, my mind stepped from my seat. It began looking upon the classroom as if no one there knew anything different, the teachers, the lessons and the furious note taking became foreign. I became an outsider. Similar to a young boy from Africa, never knowing anything about higher education but looking into the classroom on this gloomy, overcast day, I wasn’t a student anymore. I was a non biased third party, transcended into the future. In that instance I thought of college. How everyone in my class would sit through so many more lectures and so many more hours of the black and white. The white paper page outlined with black ink or the white screen illuminated with black text. They’ll see it over and over again. This world I was taken to felt so eerily familiar and dangerously comforting.  

As I realized my current place and time, I snapped back to reality. I had an upcoming quiz in the next few minutes so I shifted my head back to the board. Clearing the memory from my mind. I wrote down on my notes, “out of body experience, not in classroom”.

Throughout the day I pushed my thoughts about that college and the perpetual classroom from my head and as I cruised to my friends house, blasting rap music and skipping my track meet. As I confidently edged closer and closer to my friend’s house, with Beyonce’s Diva playing from my back speakers. The sun and blue sky lit my way and as i tend to do I started my deep thinking about passion, drive, what motivates us.

How come I used to be so motivated to run track and now it was like a chore or work? You can brag and feel good about working hard at a job cleaning dishes by citing your work ethic. You could brag about taking your dog out to a sibling citing you helped your parents. Even though these things are not particularly enjoyable by themselves, we do them to impress other people. Just like I do in track. Sure I like looking good on the track. Sure I like feeling refreshed after a run and scoring a new personal best time. Sure I like the occasional laugh with my friends and the “job well done” from the coach. Sure I do it majorly to impress others.

Sports correlate in impressions and so might school, impressing parents with great grades in challenging classes. The need to impress becomes a sphere, surrounding you like a hamster running on it’s wheel there is seemingly no end in sight.

Think of your life as a walk in the amazon rainforest, not a circle reminiscent of a hamster wheel but a series of overlapping paths and lines. At one point, yes the odyssey through the vivacious but mystical jungle will end. Yet, yes the choice to go anywhere you want on the path always rests with you.

So many people fall victim to the cobra of comfort that coils itself around its victim and swallows it into a deep tomb of ignorance. Basically comfort with something in school or in sports as I have been reflecting to is like the cobra in your path. Cobras can be camofaluged with the most innocent of objects such as a tree. Seemingly harmless unless you fail to look closer. A cobra, a trap, pulling down a veil over opportunity.

What keeps you truly alive is in my mind being able to spot the benefits and disadvantages of a situation and not be afraid to change, or follow your passion.

My father always wished he had the guts to follow his passion in music, reminiscing, “I wish I would have stuck with music”. This starkly contrasts to his reality, working at an auto factory.

If you want to try writing like me, start writing what you feel passionate about, even if the words that flow onto your paper end up sounding like a kindergartener's first written story, it’s a start. No matter how long you’ve been diverging from your path to dreams, hobbies or ambitions, it’s never too late to turn around. Starting can be as simple as picking up a paintbrush. Whether the excuse was money, time or resources, there are more opportunities than ever to animate a passion into a tangible, sustainable way of living. You only know if you try.

Now moving more into depth on passions. My definition of a passion is something that you wake up every morning, looking forward to or wake up thinking about. Honestly some may think of a passion as carefree; an activity only stress inducing in the slightest. This isn’t always true. Take running for example, some people have a passion for it because they genuinely enjoy the steady rhythm of the soles of their feet beating beneath them. Yet, taking that passion to the next level requires diligent training and strong dedication.

Living a life that has purpose is a skill. It’s a fine trade such as a master artisan of architecture or a world class surfer, riding the twisting current of a wave that splashes salt water on sunburnt toes. This skill takes effort to develop and even more effort to develop around modern life. Old age is the most common catalyst.

The catalyst to a passion filled life is old age and mostly the security that allows heads filled with grey hair to live off their hard earned taxpayer money. This increases security and therefore allows this generation to step out of their comfort zone.

The system of a developed nation is the most advanced society has ever embraced. Go to school, and do well, and get into a good college, and get a good degree and get a job to pay off those years of college, and then have enough money to support a family. The system embraces one thing and one thing only. I don’t even need to type it, we all know the green eyed monster is almost as common as the green grass in a suburban neighborhood. Money seems to be the driving factor controlling many lives in a century of glitz, glamour and technology.

Although this system is easily open to the most dazzling spectrum of opportunities, it also holds the heaviest weight of responsibility. This weight is often too cumbersome, limiting those opportunities to the people brave enough to see them. They see them by stepping from their path and observing the jungle; a variety of trees, flowers and animals otherwise hidden in peripheral vision.  The cumbersome weight holding many back in everyday life is the pride of millions of Americans today, equality.

Taxes and housing and electric and water and car insurance and gas and grocery costs and utilities and rent and phone bills and student loans and homeowner loans… the list is almost endless. These responsibilities, some promoting equality flow through the jungle as a everlasting river; gently supplying life but just as abruptly drowning you in rushing rapids.

It’s getting late, it’s only a tuesday and I need to snap back to reality and start my homework.

In a nutshell, a synopsis of my idea here is to never be complacent. Never take the journey of life for granted. Having a passion and having the guts to follow it is one of the most challenging things life can offer. Only, surprise surprise, life is that way. Afterall it is a jungle, oozing with temptations, mysteries and hardship.

In my life, I’m starting to realize, my journey is not going to be repeated. It’s only going to happen once. Not in my 30s or not in my 60s. This moment and it’s opportunities are never going to be presented again. School and sports are important to me, not just to impress everyone but to also better myself as an individual. Yet, even though these things are important, they’re general and nothing exquisit.

I feel like I’m trying to mold myself into a diamond with the pressure of a normal 10 pound weight. I believe Schools and Sports do present incredible opportunities only, the real opportunities lie outside of it, in the real world that’s  mixed with a healthy dose of passion. You just need to learn to turn over the next branch and look.

Btw: this is just a draft of my thoughts on paper & a hobby that I want to grow with and learn more about (aka my writing is not mechanically perfect)

Have an amazing day everyone & Peace out butter scout!

Love liv