#it works within my limitations of animation (ie: i have like no animation skill)

[woolydemon]

uhhhhh. i'd copy me too

ytube link

[rahimaldemir]

Dying Light 2 - Q&A

In the official Dying Light discord one of the representatives, Uncy, from Techland held a q&a session during E3 2019 and I took the time to copy everything down. There were a lot of questions asked, but I only copied down the ones that were answered.

Uncy said they were going to post a FAQ with all of these questions and I’ll make sure to link it when they do. As of right now, I don’t think it has been released.

A lot of people were typing during the session and unfortunately a lot of questions got repeated. There is also a decent amount of typos in these questions, but it felt important to keep the Q&A session in an honest a form as possible, so I have not corrected any typos or omitted any duplicate questions.

I did add a “Q” and “A” to the beginning of every question and answer for clarity. Uncy used emojis sometimes in their answers, but I did not copy those over if they weren’t text emojis.

I have put my own notes in [italicized brackets].

WARNING: There are huge spoilers for The Following in these questions, they are marked to make them easier to avoid, but please be wary.

@tafferfield I know you got a pretty wicked master list of DL2 stuff, so if any of this helps you feel free to grab it and add it.

Putting under a read more because this is long:

Q: Are all current zombies considered volatiles? A: Not really, there are still regular zombies and volatiles

Q: Zombies only exit the night? A: now that's a hard one, zombies can stay outside for some time during the day but they get weak IN THE SUN

Q: How much diffrent endings are there? A: About endings - more than one, don't want to spoil it

Q: Battle royale mode? A: no BR mode

Q: Are you able to clear the city of zombies? A: Basically human learned how to deal with infection, so the more humans the less zombies

Q: how does Aiden stop from turning? does he use antizin or something else A: antizine is finished but human discovered that strong UV light weakens the infection, that's why you have the biomarker

Q: Is Aiden a foreigner to the land like Crane? A: Aiden doesn't even know Crane exists Q: I meant is Aiden from around there or did he come from somewhere else A: he's not from the city, he's an outsider

Q: What are future plans for multiplayer? A: multiplayer wise - we have some stuff coming apart from co-op, but I can't really share multiplayer details now

Q: Will there be a fallout kind of karma system? A: karma system? nope but your choices and actions will affect how people see you

Q: How long will one playthrough of the game be? A: hard to tell, but i know that dl2 will be a game for a long time

Q: Will dying light 2 feature the same great ragdoll physics as the first. A: upgraded ones

Q: Will the game be translated into Brazilian Portuguese as the first? A: more languages will come, cant really tell for now

Q: Can we expect to see actual time sensitive activities within the game? (IE: Do this now or forever lose the chance) A: Yes, but its more like choice wise, like do one thing and u will never be able to do another

Q: Will you play Dying Light 2 with me on release ;d? A: why not

Q: Will Aiden be customizable (e.g. hair, individual clothing pieces,etc) A: yup there will be customization

Q: Is there a weapon combo system? A: what do you mean by that? Q: Like a combo like last game you could spam attack and hold it for a more powerful attack, I'm asking if you can combo attacks like 2 quick attacks and then a charged attack or stuff like that [This question never actually got fully answered]

Q: Did anything replace the grappling hook. Did it change in anyway? A: there's a grappling hook - and some more options to travel cause the city is huge {you will be able to upgrade them}

[SPOILERS FOR THE FOLLOWING]

Q:if the vial ending from the following is canon (if the following is canon) is crane a Volatile?

A: in some way - both are canon. It's up to the player to choose it Q: will Crane make an appearance or not. If you cant answer then atleast say which ending is canon A: not really

[END SPOILERS]

Q: Will the game launch with any DLC's? A: i dont think it will launch with dlc's but post release support is planned

Q: The last trailer showed working vehicles, will we be able to use some? A: Yes

Q: How many different kinds weapons are there (number) A: too many to mention, we're still adding more weapons

Q: is it sticking with the old crafting system or are y'all switching it up A: crafting system is upgraded a little

Q: are in dying light 2 developer tools having the chance to make custom movements and animations? A: I don't really have info about dev tools right now

Q: Are firearms coming back ? A: No guns, no firearms - but there will be distance weapons like crossbows

Q: do we gain strength or anything when nighs fall? since we are infected A: during the night you need to use UV lights to stop the infection, you wont get stronger

Q: is the choices you make permanant (one save only) or can you save and go back? A: you can save and go back on some difficulties

Q: Czy będzie drzewko umiejetnosci tak jak w 1 ? A: tak

Q: Is the max number in a party still going to be 4 or will more team members be able to join in co-op multiplayer, if there is any. A: 4 player coop

Q: is there a system where our beard can grow out and cut it same with hair like rdr2 asked a few times chat just to fast lol A: hmm, i don't think so

Q: Can you turn into a zombie if you dont pay enough attention to your wristband? A: that's still under discussion, i don't think you will be able to play as a zombier tho

Q: When the game releases, are you able to link your old account from DL1 to get rewards? A: we wont forget about dl1 owners

Q: will you be able to upgrade/modify tools like grappling hook and the UV flashlight? A: yes, tools will be upgradeables

Q: are we going to have trading cards to craft badges on steam with dying light 2? A: Yup

Q: Will the UI be changed completely, both in-game, etc? A: there will be some changes for sure, i dont know how hard tho

Q: How many skill trees are there, and are they any more complex? A: you can upgrade a lot of stuff now

Q: Are ranged weapons going to be as powerful as they were in DL1 or is it a bit more balanced A: there are no guns, so its balanced

Q: I wonder if we will see some more gameplay (apart from the trailer) from E3? A: something will come this month

Q: what are the main factions in dying light 2? A: Peacekeepers and scavengers - those are two main factions, but there are more

Q: Who is the girl in the trailer? A: that's actually one of our employees but for now all I can say that she's singing in one of the bars in the city

Q: Has the infection gone worldwide A: yup

[SPOILERS FOR THE FOLLOWING]

Q: What happened to kyle crane? Will he have anything to do with the game

A: he ded

[END SPOILERS]

Q: will there be an enhanced edition or any other editions or just the normal one? A:there will be different editions - more details coming soon

Q: Will some weapons from Dying Light 2 (before release) be added in Dying Light? A: watch the trailer closely

Q: Are you taking in any alpha testers any time soon? If so I would like to be the first volunteer. A: there are no tests planned for now

Q: Referencing the Trailer, will we have the ability to choose our siding, survivor or what seem to be the "law"? A: its all up to you and your decisions!

Q: during the first game the side quests were some of the most amazing in the whole game, my question is, will those little side quests be present in the second game as well and will they also impact the game A: Yeah! side quests will be there and there wont be just easy fetch quests, but rather a small stories on their own

Q:There's a post. On twitter(?) That mentions something like "as Aiden you can do things no one elese can" Does that mean there will be benefits in having your infected level reach a certain level? A: Aiden is simply well prepared to live in The City - that's all I can tell right now

Q: Will there be new skill trees or the same ones? A: would be weird to put in the same skill trees

Q: can you upgrade parts of the town? and is roger smith coming back for Voice acting A: depends what do you mean, if you help certain people by your actions or choices, they will start to build stuff like bridges, farms etc which will help you, they will also get rid of the zombies from buildings etc

Q: Is it possible, that BTZ will be in Dying Light 2? A: possible but not confirmed

Q: can we get the song from the trailer? its sick A: I think i got the name somewhere, ill add it to faq [Couldn’t find Uncy’s link, but I was able to find two of the three soundtracks featured in trailers on youtube: Help I’m Alive and Crimson Blaze & Battlefields]

Q: Please dont add lootboxes A: Cmon

Q: Why can't we pre-order A: cause we don't have all the editions ready yet

Q: got 2 questions: - Will we have a season pass for a limited time just like in Dying Light so we can get the DLCs for free? - can us console players please get a fov slider A: 1.There will be a season pass 2. I'll let the devs know about fov slider

Q: Will there be a new type of villain like Rais? A: nothing is white or black in The City

Q: Will it be the same loot system or a loot system at all? A: what do you mean by loot system? like those crates etc? Q: I'm referring to weapons and stuff like that. A: then I don't really know, afaik it got changed a little

Q: Can we expect to see a different climbing mechanic, same with the grapple? A: parkour system is upgraded a lot, grapple is coming back ofc

Q: 1. are there gonna be volatiles in dl2? and are the zombies in dl2 more faster, brutal and better in movement to chase u down? A: There are new and old zombies, can't tell more atm

Q:Will some of the old zombie mutations be returning? A: yup

Q: Distance weapons are mentioned, does that mean a weapon smith we can get distanve weapon blueprints from? A: you can created your own weapons

Q: Are there other zombie types than the ones mentioned in the interviews? If so can we know a bit about them? A: there will be more, no info now tho

Q: On the topic of Grapple, is it expected to behave the same as DL1, or will it have a different mechanic, such as a swing? A: grapple is different now and you can upgrade it

Q: an we drop kick zombies and humans from sky scrapers? A: Yup

Q: Will the grappling hook operate the same as in DL1? I think it was overpowered and needed bigger cool down, it took away from parkour element a lot for me. A: as I said later, it's reworked a little - not OP now

Q: Is Brecken alive in Dying Light 2? Or is he maybe related to protagonist? A: no one from DL1 comes back

Q: Does no ranged mean guns or are we also losing the bow/crossbow A: never said no ranged, i said no firearms, ranged weapons will be there

Q: Will the gore be overhauled or different in Dying Light 2? A: it will be upgraded, there are also new finishers coming in

Q: Will quarantine zones come back? A: dark zones will be in the buiuldiings

Q: what happen to the cure A: gone

Q: will there be more weapon upgrades than in the first DL? A: a lot more

Q: can we put miniguns on vehicles or weaponize them like the buggy from The Following? A: I don't think so - nothing for now at least

Q:What happend to the GRE? A: They were there when the infection started - they are the ones that gave away the biomarkers - no sight of them in the city now

Q: If there's a co-op mode, what is the max amount of players in 1 lobby? A: 4 players max

Q: Will there be more end game content then dl1? A: yup, first of all you will have to finish the game multiple times to experience the game fully, end game will also be improved

Q: What do you think will be there an epic crossover mission when we meet kyle but he's turned A: I don't think he will come back

Q: Infected animals? A: animals will be there, you can hunt them, dunno about infected ones tho

Q: Are there children in DL2? If so, can we kill them? A: Brutal

Q: Referencing the ease of combat in DL1, can we expect to see actual struggle when going against enemies? Will we have the feeling of should I fight or run? A: Ups [???] depends on the difficulty for sure, some of the fights will be hard, for example - you fight some guys near to the building and then zombies hear it and come out for few minutes, and you have XvXvX fight to go trough

Q: Kiedy pre order? A: Niedługo

Q: are the voliatile hive quests coming back? A: you will be cleaning some mess for sure, I don't know if those particular quests will go back

Q: Alright. I asked if we'll get skin to customize our weapons as in we keep them forever as blueprints and we can apply them to any weapon? A: customization will be upgraded, that's for sure, I believe we will actually share more details about it in the future

Q: Will there be brutal finishers after stun, like in old Dying Light version where Kyle pulls out smth from the chest? A: yup, we're still adding more and more finishers

Q: Are safezones upgradable in any way? A: you can't upgrade them as in "click a button and its happening" it changes when you do something for the city or you act in some way

Q: is there gonna be a volatile chase mission in the sewer like dl1? "extraction" with more running action? A: that's a really gameplay-detailed question, I don't think i have answer for it now

Q: Will there be weapons rarities? A: some weapons will be stronger than other - don't know about how will we deal with rarities

Q: can we do farming? A: i think that other people are meant for farming, not Aiden

Q: Is dl2 going to have the same docket system like dl1 if not please explain A: dockets are cool, would be good to have them back

Q: Will zombies give a fight for your life feel, or will it be light DL1 where they are primarily just nuisances? A: try going to dark zone during the day, you wont get out of there alive

Q: do we have a different type of vehicles or just one like dl the following we only had the buggy + we are going to have horses and motorbikes or no ? A: there will be some vehicles - more about that coming soon

Q: is there going to be any refrences from dl1??? A: yup, there will be differences [I’m assuming the question was misread]

Q: you said that there wont be any firearms in DL2, but can you maybe tell what's going on in here, as a game dev? It confuses me quite a lot [pic of peacekeeper with what looks like a gun] A: concept arts are not 1:1 gameplay

Q: Is there gonna be something that can make you even stronger if you maxed out all skill trees? (Like the Legend in DL1.) A: that's a really late-game stuff, i believe something like that will come

Q: will the hostile factions attack you if you go into certain areas (i.e if you take a safe zone for a scavenger will the peackeepers attack you in an office building A: yup

Q: how much is pre order and when will it go live A: we are still taking care of different editions and prices

Q: Are the weapons going to become more modern as you level up ? A: nope, weapons are really "hand made" but they all look cool

Q: Will there be any stational turrets, which you can craft/use in some safezones to clear hordes? A: people are dealing with the infected, turrets are too modern

Q: we can pre-order the game soon ? i mean like next month maybe or after a while ? A: yup, preorders will go live when we will figure out the versions etc

Q: Will multiplayer/coop loot be instance based, or client base? (DL1 uses a client base, as each player gets their own drops/items from chests/zombies) Instance based would be there's only 1 item for all players, first to grab gets. A: We still need to figure that out, I believe we will check which one is better

Q: any cool easter eggs coming? A: a lot of them

Q: Will there be any missions that require 4 players, and can more people join you for the final boss? A: 4 people is max

Q: will there be any more presentations or info about DL2 at e3? A: there will be more + new s this month

Q: Will there be boss fights and if there is at the last story mission do we have to be alone? A: don't ask about last mission when the game is not out

Q: we can play with animals like far cry ? i mean like u send animals to attack zombies or something like that, and will there be infected animals too or no ? A: you will be able to hunt animals for resources, i dont think you will be able to tame them

Q: what your prediction about the pc spec? A: i think you will be fine if you can run modern games, We go for FPS over resolution and we aim for 60 at ps4 and xone, its not confirmed tho

Q: so is there going to be some sick loot if we have dl1 and bad blood?? A: there will be something for DL owners

Q: Are there gonna be hunger and thirst bars, and food and drinks you can loot around the world or get from faction cities and safe zones? A: that's still under discussion, its not confirmed

Q: Will we see random wildlife throughout our explorations? (Not those of zombies.) A: yup and you can hunt them

Q: Will we be able to use the dying light companion app in Dying Light 2 A: probably yes

Q: so is there infected animals or no ? A: I dont think so, it's not really confirmed, so we will see

Q: Can we get a confirmation that the dev tools will be available eventually considering it massively increase the longevity of the game and wasnt a total fuckup of a decision like bad blood was? A: about dev tools - im still waiting for confirmation

Q: sorry for the torture but will there be a PVP gamemode or any special gamemode for DL2? A: we will have multiplayer based discussion, for now there are no details to tell about mp

Q: will DL2 get better mod support ? Something like Fallout 4 so we can add more stuff to the game A: i hope so

Q: asking again, will there be seasons? like winter and summer with weather changes? A: I don't think so

Q: Do i have to side with 1 faction completely? Do certain factions control certain safe zones or are safe zones neutral territory? A: nope, you don't have to side with 1 faction

Q: limitation (character inventory)? Like we can no longer have unlimited or 99x items in stacks - including crafting materials. A: I think there wont be limits to crafting materials, like 99x, i need to confirm that with devs tho

Q: Will there be walking zombie hordes, which will try to destroy safe zone's gates? And will it be like event? (is it really possible)? A: people's safe zones are protected with UV lights, zombies wont cross them

Q: Can I sleep in Dying Light 2 to skip night? A: the whole day-night cycle is changed in DL2, more details coming soon

Q1: will there be xray like in the old game A: what x ray Q2: Survivor sense, he meant I think Q3: the critical blue hit, when u hit a zombie, thats what he means A: oh, survivor sense is coming back

Q: Will duplications be patched frequently? As in DL1 there are still many that can occur. A: well i hope there wont be any dupe glitches

Q: Around how long would it take to playthrough the game once? A: quests etc are still coming so i cant really tell how long it will be right now

Q: Btw every pre-order got a bonus content so ofc dl2 got bonus content so when i buy the game after the release i can get this content even if i buy higher edition or its for pre-orders only ? A: i dont think we will have any preorder exclusives, time will tell tho

Q: How many quests Will there be? A: a lot

Q: how many or which of the zombie types from the first game will we see again in DL2? A: everyone from DL1 is coming back (zombie wise) wise some cool additions and upgrades

Q: How many factions are confirmed so far or at least under disussion? A: 2 main ones are confirmed, and there will be more side ones

Q: will there be any sort of vehicles we can drive in DL2? A: yup there will be vehicles

Q: Will there be shields and (fast?) counterattacks after blocking? A: ripostes will be there, im not sure about the shields but u can block without it

Q: The map takes place in a City, is this city based on a real life counterpart? A: it's a fictional city based on european cities

Q: what happened to the firearms i mean why they are removed from the game ? A: they are very rare commodity 15 years after diseaster

Q: can we drive vehicles? A: yes

Q: When does the Q&A end? A: in around 10 minutes

Q: I don't know if this was asked. But Will we be able to explore more then the city? A: the city alone is 4 times bigger than the first DL, there is a lot to explore, dunno about going outside tho

Q: Will there be some type of pvp in the game? A: more info about multiplayer modes will come very soon

Q: Who is the voice actor for aiden A: dunno to be honest xD not the kyle voice actors and that what matters [This has been released. Aiden’s voice actor is Jonah Scott.]

Q: So there is firearms in the game but they are very rare and hard to find ? i mean u can still find them but its hard right ? A: i mean that they are so rare that you wont find one, but as i said, there are still ranged weapons, and some you can craft on your own

Q: Will it be a new Be The Zomby ? Or Human player invading other world like DS3 ? A: as i said, no details for multiplayer this time, sorry! :x

Q: Will the implemented day/night cycle have any special amendments? (Can we expect to see random encounters/anomalies on random nights/days?) A: would be cool, ill ask devs

Q: In the trailer we saw bracelet and how "charges go down". What will happen if it goes down and will we have "antizin"? Can we buy or trade it? A: there is no antizine, strong UV lights weakens the infection, its still under discussion what will happen when it will go to 0, most possible outcome is simply dying and having to restart the game

Q: Hold up. "No guns" or "very rare guns"? I saw both those answers from Uncy A: its pretty much the same, like, they're all pretty much gone

Q: what about invasions? Be the zombie A: no multiplayer details now

Q: Is the game 4 times bigger then just the slums? Or the WHOLE game A: the whole game without the following

Q: Will there be more interactions within the game? (IE: Fishing, skinning the animals we hunt, cooking, etc) A: yup, there will be a lot to do in the city

Q: Will DL2 be on next gen xbox as it just got announced? A: right now we plan ps4 xone and pc release

Q: Will it be possible to take (offline) single-player saved games online, and if so, what proactive measures will Techland take to prevent game-save mods from disrupting the online multiplayer experience? A: as i said, multiplayer details will come in the future, those things are still under discussion

Q: Can we go and roam outside the city? A: Aiden wants to stay in the city

Q: my final question what is the virus called is it still called the harran virus A: well it's not in harran only anymore

Q: Is there some way to calculate just how many final outcomes you can get out of the game? Like in Detroit Become Human for example A: not really, not right now at least

Q: will screamers have more of a purpose then obstacle you have to get around A: they will be different this time

Q: Legend levels made the first game really easy so are they in dl2 or no ? and if they are there so is it balanced now or it will still make the game so easy ? A: legends levels are still under discussion as well

Q: Still another question about that charges... Will there be some visual and sensitive effects (like in Dying Light where the screens goes green and we dont have stamina)? A: yup, i think so at least

Q: Will there be more detailed animations for each thing we do? (If we activate our flashlight, Aiden would reach to his shoulder to turn it on) A: some things are speed up of course to not be annoying, but there will be more animations, like imagine having to reach the uv light for a 10000 time when volatile is at your face

Q: Will this channel remain so we can review all the previously stated questions? A: it will be closed but it will remain (i need to make QA out of it)

Q: Will it be possible to take (offline) single-player saved games online, and if so, what proactive measures will Techland take to prevent game-save mods from disrupting the online multiplayer experience? A: i responded to that with - no multiplayer details for now, I really don't have any info about it

Q: Can we ride horses ? A: nope

Q: Is korek in dl2? A: i dont think so

Q: anything to mention about Night hunters? A: night runners you mean? actually Aiden is the only man capable of reviving hte nightrunners caste

Q: wingsuit? A: maybe this will be one of the things we will be talking about - i mean, new traversal options

Q: Will we have the ability to pursue affections of NPC? Such as a friend meter, or even a lover? A: you will be able to interact with every single npc in the game - how? you will see

Q: Any building destruction in ds2? Like walls collapsing when you use explosives, would be cool A: just the last one - yes environment is destructible in some cases

[salemsaberhxgen-a]

re; salem’s magical abilities

this covers powers from the original comics, the 1996 sitcom, & the chilling adventures of sabrina

disclaimer: i try to state what is canon & what is my interpretation as well as which canon is being referenced but researching this, i’ve found that the information is relatively jumbled up & there are many different story lines & origin stories so there’s a lot of contradictions as well as overlap. that being said, the information regarding his powers are very limited so please bear that in mind while reading this as these apply only to my own portrayal of salem, do not assume all other salems follow suit.

tl:dr version below:

salem can fly unaided, time travel with seemingly no limitations, shapeshift into any living thing, communicate with & understand animals, can communicate telepathically with the witch for whom he is a familiar, travel in a method similar to apparating in harry potter, & use another witch to complete spells while essentially transferring power for the sake of completing said spell.

one last note, is that i didn’t pull any of this stuff out of thin air. these are things you can find information about, however difficult or limited. the only reason i’m saying salem can do it, is because there’s information on it either from the sitcom or the comics. this isn’t me trying to make salem op, these are facts that i think make total sense for him. also keep in mind, that while he may have all these powers, he is not all powerful & has limitations to his skill or strength, some of which i mention but many of which i don’t. this is kind of just the bare bones of the list

canonically in the sitcom salem has absolutely no powers as a cat but he had some powers in the comics, as well as abilities as a goblin in the chilling adventures of sabrina & i take influence from all of them. today i wanna talk about what powers he had as a regular witch as well as abilities that he may have been able to keep despite his sentence as a cat.

to start, some of the known abilities we have involve the ability to time travel, fly as well as shape-shift. i also think that once he became a cat, he gained the ability to connect & speak with animals either telepathically or just simply understanding the noises an animal makes. this i think he would keep after returning to his regular body again since becoming human would simply mean gaining his full powers back as well as being freed from his confinements as a cat. i also think that he retained the ability to shift into a cat but can do so without the help of incantations where as normally he would require a spell of some kind to facilitate the shift. both of these abilities require concentration & effort to complete & are not snap your fingers fast.

if we’re to go by his powers via the comic books, ( which i also take influence from ), & although this was story line dependent, then salem maintained his powers, although they were very limited. the only catch was that he needed someone else’s fingers to act as a sort of extension of himself. in essence, he could perform magic by siphoning off his power for use of his spell but this is something that required a willing assistant; he couldn’t just use any old witch without permission to do so.

it’s still unclear the extent of his shape shifting abilities so i can’t go into full detail now, though i’ll be making a follow up post about this specifically at some point. anyway, i’m assuming it’s based off typical shifting rules where you need something to imprint off of so if you have something as a reference, you can transform into that. however, i would assume that this only applies to outer appearance & does nothing to affect him physiologically. theoretically he could turn into a chair if he wanted but why would he i guess is the question.

this shifting abilities are very much so present in the caos. as a goblin, salem can shift into anything. he does have a default form, link here for description & photo. be warned, it’s creepy af but most things from coas are.

moving on, this is where i really stray from canon, be it the comics, the sitcom, or even the chilling adventures of sabrina. for this i take some influence from harry potter.

already we know that salem & his coven have no use for wands, instead they use their fingers or simply just willing something to happen. the latter required a lot more practice & skill & i think salem’s time as a cat where he couldn’t use his hands to facilitate his spells that once he returned to his original form, he no longer required the use of his hands. i also believe that on top of being able to perform ❝ wandless ❞ magic, he also honed his skills to allow him to simply think of or imagine a spell in his mind rather than having to speak an incantation aloud. i do however thing that if he wanted to use some powerful magic, he had to then return to speaking aloud so really non-verbal magic was restricted to smaller spells that required no ongoing effort.

going back to his powers as a witch before his sentence, i mentioned the ability to time travel, fly, & shapeshift. it’s difficult to get any concrete information about the extent of these powers so from here on out is just my interpretation. with that in mind, let’s continue.

time travel. of course salem has to abide by the rules of time travel. not to risk sounding confusing but i was reading up on time travel & i found a couple lines that sum it up reasonably well ❝ something is whatever it is, & was whatever it was, & will be whatever it will be, once & forever.... [ once something happens ] there is nothing you can do to change it, because it happened. you can no more change events in your past in a space-time with closed timelike curves than you can change events that already happened in ordinary space-time, with no closed timelike curves. ❞

in essence, nothing he does can change the future because any event he thinks he might influence already happened & it will always happen the way it did. knowing this, the stress of time travel & worrying about fucking up a timeline disappeared, not that it was something he was especially worried about anyways. mostly he time travels to experience things, not to attempt to alter reality for one reason or another.

if he has any limits when it comes to time travel, he doesn’t know what they are & doesn’t care to find out. it works for what he wants it to & has yet to run into any issues or limitations pertaining to it.

next up, flying. so typically witches require something to ride in order to fly. originally witches rode brooms but the sitcom implies that modern day witches ride vacuums instead the reason for which is beyond me. but i’ll take a second to mention that there are vacuum riding witch traffic cops in the sky to make sure witches are using their vacuums within the law which is just a really funny visual. later in the sitcom sabrina moves away from her vacuum & we’re left to assume that she likely shifted to using molecular transference as means for travel. the equivalent would probably be something along the lines of floo powder in harry potter without needing the use of a chimney to do so.

for a quick second i’m also going to explain molecular transference as it’s something that salem also has the ability to do, given that you must take a test to prove you know how in order to gain your witches licence. in short this can be used to travel great distances & between realms in a matter of seconds & most witches can transport people with them as we see later in the series. skilled witches can change the way this ability manifests ie. travelling by smoke in place of a witch’s usual magical form. along with this, forms that create a lot of noise upon entrance can also be changed so that the user can use their usual magic to dematerialize, but then quietly flash into the desired location silently, but again, this isn’t the case for all witches & many have no need for this extra step — salem among them. after all, he likes to make an entrance.

in sitcom canon, the first witch to fly on an object other than a broom was irma spellman who rode a large brazil nut. this implies that witches are capable of charming various ( if not any ) objects for air travel. knowing this, i think salem would have played around with both this & molecular transference in order to find a way to fly without the use of a broom or anything else for that matter. the fact that this ability was specifically mentioned leads me to believe that salem may have succeeded in his attempts to fly unaided since there are other abilities ( ie. molecular transference ) which he had but were not mentioned. 

this is all i have atm. might add more or rewrite sections with more detail at some point but yeah !

*slaps* this bad boy can fit so much magic in it

[nuclectide-aaa]

RE: MOIRA’S PERSONALITY AND GENERAL OUTLOOK Moira’s personality and her general methods of interacting with people change drastically between the years of her timeline verses. She’s not a constant malicious, evil, horrible person from birth even though she is 100% capable of being all those things in the present day.

But, honestly the fact that she’s able to hold a highly respected job within a city that uses fucking crime prediction future police bullshit without anyone catching wind of her involvement with Talon is somewhat proof that Moira is at least capable of two facing the hell out of situations.

Anyways, shit’s sorted by verse.

Pre-B.lackwatch

Starting off in her pre-B.lackwatch verse she’s relatively aloof, sarcastic, mildly egotistic and moderately snide, definitely seen as ‘strange’ in her mannerisms but not at all potentially threatening or really all that different from other young scientists who have the idea in their head that they’re going to personally change the world. That is, until the results of her experimentation and her research papers spread through the scientific community and she’s ejected from the research facility that was funding her research and, in being thoroughly condemned by O.verwatch, unable to acquire funding for at least a year before being contacted by B.lackwatch’s commander. At the earliest time allotted within the verse she’s young, age 25 and working towards her PhD and could be described as a pretty normal person outside of her special interests. At the latest she’s on the cusp of discoveries backed by unethical research on test animals and the start of dangerous self experimentation, and her behavior is a bit more erratic and self destructive in the long run.

B.lackwatch

Following the offer extended to her by Reyes to join B.lackwatch on the premise that she will be assisting him with undisclosed genetic issues in exchange for funding for her experiments, Moira in a way almost begrudgingly accepts the offer– truthfully uncomfortable with the idea of working under the organization that in reality attempted to silence her due to fears of her life’s work potential to be used maliciously. Overall, all throughout her involvement in B.lackwatch she has a very poor opinion of O.verwatch as a whole and of the scientists within that only endure the limits mindlessly put on research by the organization who has no idea how true scientific progress works– constantly aware of their hypocrisy in stating that her work was dangerous when they have no issue in allowing B.lackwatch to operate, in co-opting the fruits of her research into weapon development, and in the lengths they’ll go to to procure certain types of weapons / allies ( ie G.enji being turned into a living weapon instructed to assassinate his clan in exchange for his life ). There are few people within O.vewatch and it’s offshoot organizations that she actually holds at high esteem, which include Reyes himself and Dr Ziegler and a handful more that she is tolerable towards including G.enji and, surprisingly enough, Jesse.

In her B.lackwatch verse, Moira is not overtly malicious towards people unless she has a good reason to do so. Her involvement within B.lackwatch is seen as a means to an end for her at first, but she eventually grows to enjoy the work and the opportunities she later receives through it and typically would avoid acting out to ensure her position with in the covert ops group remains a constant. Moira is capable of being a decent person when she so desires, despite her outlook being drastically jaded by her experiences just years prior. She’s sarcastic, sometimes bitingly so and comes off as mean on more than a handful of occasions, persuasive, ambitious, methodological, overall enigmatic, and to just cut things short, her flaws are everything in italics in this post.

The assumption that she’s overtly dangerous and must not be trusted by other people in this specific area of time is typically backed by O.verwatch’s claims regarding the scope of her research and the potential for it to be used for malicious reasons ( and in fanon, the belief that she’s a double agent but until further canon developments I don’t at all subscribe to that in my interpretation of her. l o l ), yet her only documented test subjects ( at this point in time ) are rabbits ( unethically experimented on ), Reyes ( volunteered test subject ) and herself ( self experimentation that ruins her right arm and later gives her the ability to fade across distances ). Obviously other characters are allowed to feel how they want towards her, but she’s not out there ruining ppl’s lives all willy-nilly yet in this verse, unless she was instructed to by Reyes I guess since B.lackwatch has no problem with kidnapping, torturing, and murdering people as a means to an end.

Either way, she typically semi-enjoys? Or at least tolerates the company of a small handful of her teammates while on missions together despite her desire to never really leave the lab,even if they go sour considering the amount of banter and the type of some of it during the Retribution event. Naturally Moira does lean towards liking Reyes, obviously, and G.enji more than Jesse. l o l Obviously B.lackwatch OCs are on a get to know basis, but there’s some that she interacts with that she’s relatively friendly towards.

Talon / Oasis

As the years go by she increasingly grows more callous and destructive towards other people, this mostly starting in the aftermath following the Venice mission and her quick expulsion from B.lackwatch. This verse is where her skills of manipulation and persuasiveness shine, effectively able to secure multiple methods of funding to do whatever horrible stuff she pleases with on one end and on the other to actually achieve the goals she set out to do when she was still just a young adult fresh out of college.

Moira’s behavior is effectively split right down the middle depending on what role she’s acting in, from being a relatively ‘ changed ‘ person while under the public eye of Oasis to indulging in her darkness desires while working under Talon. She has little regard for the safety of others while involved in Talon endeavors and has been known to perform her experimentations on various mercenaries and general Talon outfitted troopers that were either unknowingly hired for such purposes or have outlived their usefulness on the field. While on the other hand, her work within Oasis adheres to all guidelines set out by the Ministers to ensure her position within the scientific community there remains as such.

Moira’s connection to Talon is something that is still only at best a rumor that seems no one has actually been able to prove and thus only a few people actually know of her involvement! These people being R.eaper, S.ombra, D.oomfist, W.idowmaker, and all the other various Talon higher ups and I would say they’re all people she gets along okay-ish with. She found a patron in Akande and she herself highly respects him ( even though she is in a way against his desire to start another war, pls don’t let him know that though l o l ), aaaaand I would say he’s one of two people she would get along relatively best with. The other being Reaper b/c canonically she’s known him at a personal level far longer than anyone else she’s currently working with. As for S.ombra, Moira respects her abilities and her technological know how but doesn’t really know much about her ( as it should be l o l ??? she def doesn’t know S.ombra’s actual name b/c why should she? ). W.idowmaker is a hat toss, I have no real opinion on if Moira helped make Widow or not, but I like to conform to the head canons about it of the Widows I interact with, I guess. Overally, Moira likes Widow’s efficiency and is not above instructing the scientists below her to periodically check the status of Widow’s condition along side occasionally making inquiries towards it herself.

[bizarre-dollhouse]

Animation Direction and Aesthetic Appeal: Why I Didn’t Like Book of the Atlantic

For the record, if you really loved Book of the Atlantic and thought it looked great and/or are sick of people bitching about it, you probably won’t want to read this post.

If you didn’t like the movie, thought the movie looked terrible, are curious about how and why people don’t like it, or, most importantly, want to read about aesthetic techniques and how they relate to anime in general, please continue.

I want to really talk about animation, visual direction, and adaption techniques, and I want to use Kuroshitsuji: Book of the Atlantic as a negative example, because I soooo wanted to love this movie and ended up really disliking it.

For the most part, this post is just me getting something off of my chest, because I feel like there’s this grand misunderstanding held by people who didn’t like the movie about why the movie looked bad.

I just disagree with the consensus so strongly that I...I have to make a post about it. Because every review I’ve seen of this movie mentions how just the cgi is bad, or it just looks like they didn’t have enough money amiright? 

I just think it is so much more interesting complicated than that.

Lots of text under the cut.

I’ll just get the basics out of the way: the cgi does not look well integrated and some of the background faces are derpy.

Moving on.

Part 1: Something to keep in mind:

Anime movies tend to look better than weekly anime tv shows because they are given both more time and a higher budget. This is why so many people thought it was unfair that A Silent Voice was up for Best Animation in the Crunchy Roll awards.

This is kind of unimportant but I would like you to keep it in mind while reading the rest of this post.

Part 2: What does good animation even mean?

I’ve heard a defence for the movie’s lacklustre animation is that it looks like all of the money went towards the fight scenes, or that the fight scenes make up for everything.

I’ve seen the fight scene between Sebastian, the reapers, and Undertaker a few times and I’ll admit, there are a few nice cuts early on with some very dynamic dodges and attacks, but after that it’s a lot of easier techniques, like held poses, slow motion falls, cut aways, frame movement, etc. The fight scene as a whole I would (personally) consider to be pretty “meh.”

This might sound kind of harsh, but even if you totally disagree with me and think the fight scene looked great, that just means it looks nice.

That fight scene is not especially well animated. 

What takes up the most time and money in animation is the amount and detail of movement (key animation). Look at any important fight scene from FMAB, or BNHA, or the early episodes of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. Those big fight scenes have a lot of key frames and details, and they all have wwwaaaay more key animation than the big fight in BotA despite being weekly tv shows.

One Punch Man is a great example because the animation in that show is fucking stellar and the director straight up said that the budget for One Punch Man is not much higher than a typical tv anime budget. Time and skill are the more important factors.

So, not speaking from the perspective of visual appeal, but from the perspective of animation quality, the big reaper fight scene in BotA isn’t that good.

Even the scene everyone raves about, where Lizzy fight all of the zombies: there’s a nice cut of her steps and a cool shot where she stabs one of the zombies in the head from above, but her sword then turns into a flash and we don’t see many details involving aim or choreography. Her stabbing them through the hallway also doesn’t have any real choreography other than her running and spinning once. After she stops to talk to Ciel, the scene gets a little more dynamic with more complicated moves, but it’s shot from far away and still has few key frames. I’ll admit I think it still looks kind of cool and maybe better than how it looked in the manga, but I don’t even think it’s close to the level of quality that’s in a lot of Bones shows.

Anyways, even if you’re in the majority camp and think these scenes look good, compare them to any of the shows mentioned above and you’ll see that even if they look good, they wouldn’t be especially difficult or expensive to animate, and aren’t impressive from a technical standpoint. 

Part 3: Make a collage with those cut corners

Shifting focus a little bit, let’s talk about Higurashi.

Higurashi is one of my top 10 favourite shows (I highly recommend it if you’re not too squeamish). This show also looks awful. Like, really awful. There’s barely any movement, the characters are off model almost 100% of the time, and it has a very simplistic art style.

Despite being outright ugly, Higurashi still visually impresses me more than BotA because of one very simple, yet very very important fact:

The director and animators are trying their best. 

Check out the scene in this gif set (gore warning). There’s a shadow silhouette, repetitive movement, and not much detail in the eyes, so it’s not technically impressive in terms of animation, but the way that the screen shakes when the bat lands, the lower angle used to put Keiichi in a dominating position of the frame, and the colour blur expressing the fact that this is both very emotionally intense and set at a different time make my brain say “ah yes, thought was put into making this scene look good with limited resources.”

Simpler yet is this scene, where it’s just two characters standing and talking while being atrociously off model. But the way they’re placed on the screen (ie parallel but opposing) is both cool visually and thematically relevant. It’s got a nice colour pallet, too.

Higurashi likes to play around with visual perspectives. This scene (violence warning) has no animation in the first gif and repetitive, fast movements in the second, but it takes the perspective of a man about to be beat to death with a baseball bat, which still makes it feel tense.

There’s another top fucking notch scene where someone is digging their own throat out with their finger nails, and instead of showing what would be a difficult scene to animate, they have a zoom in on the character’s back from the perspective of an impending threat that may or may not exist closing in on him and it’s terrifying despite the fact that nothing is animated.

Directing choices like these are extremely common in Higurashi.

Another slightly less obvious example would be Princess Tutu (which is one of my top 5 favourite shows that I recommend to everyone). Princess Tutu has very very few moments of sakuga and lots of repeated animation and kind of inconsistent movement in some scenes. 

It looks cheaply made and is not well animated, but literally no one gives a fuck because that show has beautiful character designs, beautiful colour design, and interesting/creative set pieces.

The point is it’s 100% possible to make a cheap as fuck, poorly animated show and not have it look terrible. 

I guess this is just my opinion, but when I compare the visual direction in Higurashi and the art of Princess Tutu to the flat, poorly blocked, and underwhelming visuals that make up a lot of BotA, I grow significantly less impressed with it.

The production team stuck pretty damn close to the manga, but the manga looks good because the panels are highly detailed illustrations that are specifically designed to look good when they are standing still and in black and white. They are also placed on a page which controls the visual pacing and lets you fill in movement with your imagination.

Translating this directly into animation but taking out the detail and shading in the illustrations and having the movements look worse than they did in my imagination does...not...look as good.

Part 4: Adapt

Let’s say, hypothetically, that BotA had fewer resources than most anime movies for some reason (money, time, staff, etc.). Sure, I don’t know the behind the scenes details. I doubt this was the case, but it very well might be.

.......Then why did they adapt the source material the way they did?

The manga for Kuroshitusji is fucking gorgeous and has some really iconic panels. For example, check out this post comparing a beautiful panel with the same scene from BotA.

...Why? Why would you make it that way?

Is it because you think it’ll please the fans to keep it the same? Because you wanted to cut a corner and use the manga as a storyboard?

Because it sure as fuck wasn’t because it would look good in the anime adaptation.

If the director and/or animators wanted to do the same scene but with limited resources, they could have maybe cropped it so it focused just on the undertaker’s face and the girl’s face, and then focus on making that look pretty and/or detailed. They wouldn’t have to put extra time and effort into drawing a nice full body shot, but they could still have it look good.

I came up with that time and money saving idea in less than 10 seconds and I’m not even a god damned animation director.

This goes back to my previous point, where it can be possible to make a passible looking show with limited resources, but this movie opted for sticking to the source material even though they really couldn’t do it justice.

Which is fine!!!! Embrace stylism!!! Kill la Kill has some goofy looking fight scenes with cut outs and cheeky techniques, but it does it in a way that builds the environment of the show and works within that universe because it’s clearly a part of the style. 

Heck, studio Shaft practically gets away with murder by embracing weird styles with some of their older, cheaper shows.

Those particular styles almost definitely wouldn’t work with BotA, but find your own! Adapting the source material means exactly that: adapt it. Change it in a way that makes it just as good, if not better, than the original product in this new format.

In fact, I remember 2 scenes I thought looked pretty cool in this movie: one where it’s showing how the bizarre dolls work and the animation goes all Madoka Magica, and one where it shows this shadowy version of Sebastian before he makes his contract.

Both of those scenes have a style that is unique to animation and were not in the original manga.

I mean I guess it’s somewhat admirable that they were trying to stick to the source material, but they just...didn’t do it well.

Part 5: Does anyone here know CPR?! Because we need to breathe some life into this movie!

LITERALLY ALL OF MY PROBLEMS WITH BOOK OF THE ATLANTIC CAN BE EXPLAINED IN ONE SCENE.

IT’S KIND OF INCREDIBLE HOW MUCH THIS SUMS IT UP.

So there’s this scene in the manga where Ciel thinks he’s about to watch Lizzy get eaten by zombies and is, understandably, pretty torn up about it, as seen here:

This is a really great panel: Ciel’s face is expressive, the sea water makes it ambiguous whether or not he’s crying or sweating, and it’s from a unique angle that ensures his face and desperately reaching arm are both in the foreground.

Here’s the same scene in the movie:

Ciel’s face is less expressive, the angle is a lot simpler, and minute visual details are straight up omitted. 

It’s like “yeah, we’re practically using the manga as storyboards*”

*unless the panel is like, hard to draw or expressive to the point where it might look off model.

I feel like the studio was deeply afraid of using animation that was too off model for reasons I don’t understand. Maybe it’s because they were afraid that the characters would look too unattractive but like...

it’s okay to have a character look a little fucked up if they feel a little fucked up.

Returning to Higurashi: that horror series has become famous for its highly emotive facial expressions.

Check out Rena’s furious face in the fourth gif of this set.

Or Rika’s super fucked up expression when suffering intense harm.

Or the sheer intense terror in Keiichi’s eyes in this gif and this gif set.

Like sure, the show looks like garbage and has lots of other derpy, off model faces, but they clearly had an idea of what they were going for and how to use animation as acting.

I feel that maaaybe the production team for BotA confused looking ugly (having faces distorted by emotion) for looking bad, but that’s 100% speculation.

Part of my reasoning for that speculation is in the following scene: 

So, in the manga/BotA, Sebastian and Ciel run into Druitt, and the scene plays out like a well timed joke when Druitt asks them how they know him and they go like this

and it’s funny.

The exact same punchline is in the movie but it looks like this

like, the idea of the joke still comes across, but the expressions aren’t as humorously exaggerated and the joke isn’t as funny as a result.

This is also a scene where I don’t want to hear any “this scene looks bad because of money” arguments because drawing the simplistic expression from the manga would have been easier and less time consuming. 

Again, let’s look at the comedic scenes from Higurashi:

This particular style probably wouldn’t look good in a Kuro adaption but the idea is that you can deform facial expressions for the sake of joke and sometimes it will make the joke funnier.

The point is also that Higurashi is a really well directed show despite being poorly animated. Can you tell I’m pushing Higurashi?

Please do not misunderstand this point: BotA for the most part has fine facial expressions that communicate the desired emotion. It’s fine. My point is that they probably should have been more daring with their creative choices to make certain scenes more emotionally/comedically effective.

In fact, part of the appeal of animation as a medium is the ability to play with reality through drawings.

Or just, you know, just draw a kid looking sad from a nice angle.

Conclusions:

Kuroshitsuji: Book of the Atlantic is obviously not the worst movie ever. In fact, there are quite a few scenes with good animation, good framing and competent direction. 

(Ooh, I should have mentioned this earlier, but there is a legitimately good cut where Sebastian and Ciel are reaching for each other and it shows blood appearing before you see Seb get stabbed. This was a good choice and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it was not in the manga.)

I can totally see someone saying this movie looks good, and that’s a perfectly justified opinion, I just strongly disagree when looking at the overall product and how it compares to the manga and pretty much every other decently made show/movie.

I’m just upset because this arc in the manga is amazing and the most cinematic, and it clearly was not adapted to its full potential. And now it probably never will be.

Please let the impossible happen and let Bones or Madhouse get the rights for the Green Witch arc and make an amazing adaption. Pleeeaaaassseee.

When I die I want A-1 Pictures to lower me into my grave so they can let me down one last time.

That being said, if you have not seen this movie and (for whatever reason) are dead set against ever reading the manga; give this movie a watch. The story’s utterly fantastic and it’s a...watchable...movie.

But here’s the moral of this whole post:

Book of the Atlantic does not look bad just because it looks cheap. .

Book of the Atlantic looks bad because it looks bad.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Tal-- *passes out*

[beatsfortheillperth]

Words with Katie Dutch

“My art is about standing up for what I believe in and I’m very much into respect for women - women being empowered not being used etc. 

I really find any injustice hard to take - when the strong take advantage of those weaker than them, from bullies to terrible abuse. I try to do art that makes others feel good, reminds them of beauty, history, fun etc but also my work has layers of meaning - some pieces touch on darker concerns but I don’t want to dwell on them & offer no hope. 

… basically I’m about standing up for good, protecting others & nature, enjoying things that don’t harm others & offering hope/ a moment of joy”

-Katie Dutch

(All art displayed was created by Katie Dutch)

Katie Dutch has the most insightful imagination when it comes to producing a fine piece of art, worthy of display in any home or business.

What I enjoy most about Katie’s pieces is the way she incorporates that strong sense of feminine energy & compliments woman’s beauty and essence so respectfully and vibrantly in a manner that empowers woman & the classic beauties of our vibrant and ever changing world.

So enjoy a cold drink and the humble words of Katie Dutch the artist, the creative & one of many talented Australian artist on the rise, much love

Hey Katie thanks heaps for taking the time to share words you’re a really inspiring artist . How about we start with a few basics and get to know you a little better,

Favourite Artists: Picasso, Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Joseph Cornell, Arthur Boyd, Jeffrey Smart & Tracey Emin

Favourite Movie: I love so many - I really like action movies like Terminator etc, Fight Club, True Romance, Mad Max, Blade Runner - the list goes on & on and includes Shawshank Redemption. I get a lot of my ideas from movies and love being told a good story paired with great visuals

Favourite place to relax: At home doing art, running with loud music in my ears and the beach when no one else is there.

A childhood memory that impacted the art that you currently create: Travelling with my family in a double decker bus, living in the bush in a mud house with no electricity, hens, animals etc and listening to my dad sing & play guitar - the lyrics painted pictures in my mind.

What inspires you to continue creating: For the above reason it’s great therapy, a way to work through ideas or things that concern me. I get very passionate about things I see as unjust and art is my voice. The drive to have a say and also the enjoyment I get from creating & connecting with others pushes me to keep going. Sometimes doing art can be disheartening as it’s a lots of energy and expense with seemingly little monetary gain but I can’t seem to stop!

Favourite way to connect and calm before putting together your art pieces: Often I do the art to calm myself, I can get a little depressed or manic & either need a pick-me-up or calm-me-down, art is what grounds me and makes me focus. It’s a discipline that brings my mind some balance/ peace.

Favourite city or location: I would dearly love to travel and now that my son is nearly twelve, hopefully I can make this answer more exciting next time you ask. I grew up in Tasmania which is lovely. I’ve been to a few countries but I really want to see Cuba & Venice! (the wish list is long)

Biggest inspirations: My Sculpture & Printmaking teachers at the University of Tasmania. Now it’s music, movies, pop culture, fashion and looking on IG at everything from selfies to high art.

 What you enjoy doing in your down time: I love to run and walk - wander around just looking & thinking. Ideally I would love adventures, jumping out of planes, climbing tall mountains, deep sea diving, big wave surfing etc.

Views on current media news at moment: I watch a lot of current event programs and I’m interested in politics and world issues. I’ll reframe from giving my personal views. Over-all I’m very grateful to live in Australia, our system is far from perfect but compared to most places on earth it’s a great place to be. I could write a six page essay but will stay neutral and let my art talk for me. That said I hate injustice, corruption, cruelty, greed, the environment being ruined…. I’d better stop :)

Thanks for that Katie, so how about we start from the beginning, have you always been a bit of and artist? And has there been any other forms of art you’ve created or worked on before heading towards your current collage works?

When I was little I was always daydreaming, dressing up & making tree houses. I’ve always had a big imagination and loved to draw and make things. I would say art was always my favourite subject at  school and I enjoyed being OK at it, as I found reading and spelling hard. I did a Fine Arts Degree at the University of Tasmania and majored in Sculpture & Printing making. I really enjoy sculpture & etching but collage is a much quicker medium for IG and having a daily say. I often have a point to make, regardless of if others see/ understand it and I can make a collage within three - six hours whereas a sculpture or copper plate etch takes me months for one piece. Collage is a quick way to have a say or respond to a recent thought, event, concern or inspiration.

What inspires you to continue creating:

For the above reason it’s great therapy, a way to work through ideas or things that concern me. I get very passionate about things I see as unjust and art is my voice. The drive to have a say and also the enjoyment I get from creating & connecting with others pushes me to keep going. Sometimes doing art can be disheartening as it’s a lots of energy and expense with seemingly little monetary gain but I can’t seem to stop!

How do you go about creating your pieces? I’ve always wondered how you put your marvels together they’re so beautiful, do you use digital prints at all or is it all usually free hand creations?

My collages are made from real paper & paint. I wish I knew how to use Photoshop etc  but apart from some apps/ filters added to the final scanned image they are hand made. I make them by hand with a number of cut out images, then add some paint & details, then scan the collage for IG.

Where do you draw all your inspiration from when you came up with your particular style per say and how long have you been working on such collage pieces?

I haven’t really stopped working on creative ideas for the last 20 years. My skills & ideas are limited so I have to work hard. At times I’ve needed a break and had a few months off but I always come back to creating. I would love to discover what makes a successful & impacting image. There are so many images now that to come up with a style that stands out & impacts people is hard (maybe impossible for me - but I’ll try). I probably spend about 18 hours a day thinking about art & nine - eighteen hours doing it. This intensity has just been over the last year and a half but in the past I’ve also put in a lot of time.

Aspects of your pieces that I really love are how you incorporate what I like to call "vintage memories” or flashback moments within your art ie in one of your pieces you paint the Emerald City from the classic Wizard of Oz, in another Falcore from The Never Ending Story and also through out your pieces many other elements which just shout 1950s/60s vibes, beautiful really as I’m also a lover of vintage trinkets myself.. What draws you to that particular time and style and on a random note what are some of your favourite places to shop or source your vintage materials or trinkets around Sydney or online?

I have a huge collection of vintage ‘treasure’. I have not bought anything for about two years as I have far too much stuff. However in the past I was always at op shops, markets, looking in council clean-up etc etc Always collecting little vintage bits & pieces to make my sculptures and give me ideas. I also have a huge collection of antique paper & I traded Victorian trade cards & die cuts for a number of years. I love the memories vintage pieces inspire and the feeling you get from seeing an old childhood favourite movie or toy. I want to inspire that feeling or memory when people view my art - that magic time/ of being in the moment.

I discovered your art through Instagram and was blown away the first time I saw one of your posts that incorporated Buddha, I remember running to show my flat mate your art as she is also an artist like yourself, we were so impressed from first glance, really inspiring stuff as I’m sure you hear all the time :) in regards to your online postings, how do you feel Instagram has helped you get your art form out there a viewed and what would you say to other artists striving to get there piecesand heard online or beyond?

IG is a great way to connect with others and give & get encouragement but it’s very hard to make it pay. However it’s a great way to get your art viewed by people all around the world, which is very cool!

It’s hard work to be self motivated which you really need to be as a creative person. You have to have motivation other than fame and fortune as there is a very good chance it will never arrive. My motivation is I enjoy it, it’s therapy, my voice and I believe in helping/ trying to inspire others. Hopefully I can inspire a few people and in return they inspire others - keep the good vibes rolling!

You also have another page dedicated to  more personal posts & your side interest photography called for_ever_free which also expresses your unique & talented ways could you share a little bit about that page and your favourite memories in regards to it? You share family photos too which are also sweet, how do you feel you family impacts the art you create and is your family on the arty side as well?

I wish I could take a decent photo but thanks for calling my humble snaps photography. I started to feel very limited with doing just collage and when I added selfies or personal photos to kitscheart I noticed some people unfollowed or didn’t get it. I felt pressured to do what people wanted and considered leaving IG. Then I realised I could open another account and do what I wanted. It made me love the collage again and gave me a visual space to work through ideas and get feedback from like-minded people & friends. My Dad and sister where at Art School with me. My other sister & my brother are also very creative. My mum is a legend who helps look after me & my son while I create - she encourages.

In your spare time away from your art what do you also enjoy doing? Are there any places on the Northern Beaches or around Sydney that you would recommend we all check out nature wise or treat wise?

Yes this area of Sydney is awesome - Visitors should go to Palm Beach, walk to the lighthouse and have a coffee at the Boathouse. Actually all the beaches around here are great and a ferry ride from Manly to the City is wonderful. Once there it’s a short walk to a number of galleries and the beautiful Botanical Gardens

Do you have a favourite quote or saying that you feel really sticks and motivates you in regards to life in general?

Sometimes when it all seems to hard I say to myself 'Make pain your friend’! Basically be tough and keep going regardless and try to stay young at heart. And I really believe in doing to others what you want done to you.. 'Do unto others…’ And I try very hard to forgive others and no get old and bitter - to understand & see the bigger picture… hard to do but worth a go.

You come across as a rather spiritual and intune lady which is why I feel I’m also so drawn to your art and art style, if so which elements of spirituality to you follow or incorporate into your day to day living?

I’m always thinking about the great beyond and my inspiration and drive certainly comes from a belief in something bigger than myself and the physical. Like politics I’d rather let the art talk - I find talking about politics and religion gets me into trouble and it’s hard to convey in a few sentences. However your observations are correct and the spiritual side of existence is highly important to me & of more value than material wealth (for me).

Back on topic in regards to your photography, your landscape shots really portray a lovely vibe and seem to share a lot in regards to your persona, I sense your very intune with your environment and enjoy the outdoors does your son get involved

On your journeys when you take landscape photos or do you tend to trek it alone? Does your journeys inspire a lot of your art and help trigger your imagination?

Yes I love the outdoors and as a child and teenager was always outdoors and in the water. I love bush walking, rock climbing etc - although since having my son I’ve been less adventurous due to circumstances. My son enjoys the outdoor but he is at the age where he doesn’t really want to go walking with me unless we’re on holiday. So for my IG photos I’m mainly off by myself, walking & thinking. The photos I take certainly inspire my art, the colour of the sky, shape of the clouds etc

We love to embrace culture, arts, spirituality & music here at beatsfortheill as we feel such areas provide such a beautiful ground for growth and expression, would you care to share your favourite topics/musical talents & spiritual leaders in these areas?

I have always struggled to find earthly heros. So often when I look up to someone or the world tells me they are great/ winners/ a guru I find out later they are just a flawed but talented human - and I get disappointed. That said I don’t want to sound negative. Some of the best people are not well know, they go through life quietly helping others or the environment. I like humble, real people who sacrifice a lot, not for recognition or fame but to make a difference. For that reason I don’t have a list but in saying that there are many talented people I respect & try and learn from - I just also know they are human like the rest of us.

In regards to Instagram do you have any other fellow pages or artists you could recommend others check out? What do you enjoy checking out over the inter web?

As above I love following real people, people with heart & soul. I love seeing great art & musicians online too. However I find they’re so popular that they don’t have time to respond or notice others. As an artist I really enjoy feedback & banter with people as it helps with ideas & is fun. I recommend following people on IG who encourage & inspire you, that will be different for everyone. A mix of friends & people who push you forward

In regards to your makeup art & leg art what started it all of for you and how did you get into it?

Good question - I was probably frustrated or having a bad day and got the paint out and started throwing it at myself.

I also look at so many other artists and images, that probably triggered the idea. I’m actually very shy in real life and would never wear a bikini to the beach! So it’s fun to express myself with paint, it’s art therapy!

I know it must be hard to talk about your talent so openly but I just want to say what you’re doing is really inspiring, a lot of Australian and international artists/art appreciators far and wide are really feeling on what you’re creating, what do you have to say to all your followers in regards to your art & what are some inspiring last words you would like to share with our followers here at beatsfortheill?

Truly I’m very humble that you like my art, it means a lot. Doing art can be awesome & disheartening all on the same day. However to succeeded  you have to keep going even when it seems impossible or the world doesn’t seem to care or see. I encourage others to have self belief and work very hard and then work some more. I’m still hoping the lucky part turns up because after the hard work & self belief you still need a little luck (I think). If I never make it I still aim to be kind and encourage others to reach their potential. Art is a vehicle to inspire beauty, thought, hope and maybe change for the better. It’s not really a means to glory and wealth for self if it is I’m doing it wrong (ha ha).

To purchase one of Katie’s pieces check her online store here:

https://society6.com/kitscheart

Check Katie’s Art via instagram here:

@Kitscheart

[twinflameshardcore]

Post Venus and Moon occultation - Fire Dragon unleashed

As I described before, my energy was totally down during Mars & Mercury conjunction on 09/16. The next day was the Moon & Venus occultation accompanied by Mars, Mercury and Regulus. (Astronomical pictures can be seen, for instance, here).

The day of 09/17 started with such a strong and loving connection with the Twin that I finally felt we’re on the same side of the 'heart’, in the same dimension, level, you name it. He was there with me in spirit and we were  glued with open hearts, sharing limitless love, hiding nothing - one of many merges we’ve experienced this year but each one feels better than the previous ;) No text or talk however. There was intense love, passion and sexuality all mixed together in the air thanks to so many celestial bodies lined up.

But then, afternoon when all planets aligned better, I experienced the most furious anger I’ve felt for a long time which was not related to the twin or anything specific, it arose in me out of nowhere. My body wanted to spit it out. It was ancient but so very real and alive. My core life force, the essence, spirit have awakened.

It was some kind of violent transmutation, like in alchemy when you mix two compounds which melt furiously. An incineration of what the true spirit (dragon’s essence for me in this case) couldn’t stand anymore. The dragon wanted to literately burn and destroy all humans who still are not using their minds and hearts, who do not reach out to learn more about who they really are, who are lazy, ignorant, who delay this entire Ascension, who are asleep sheep (consumers), who keep the side of old, forced traditions, customs, male-female marriages only, who disrespect minorities, and who even stand in the rebels’ way who follow the truth of own intuition, higher self and heart (these bad guys are the government, politicians, banks, providers of many crucial things like water, gas, electricity etc.). Dragon desired to burn those who twist and revert simple truths to serve their purposes even when everybody sees they’re lying (police, courts, homeland security etc.), but they don’t do anything to leave the negative energy they’re linked to. Stand the fuck at the side of love and fairness. Love feels comfortable. Leave the old. Leave chaos. Choose harmony, order and own freedom. The overall blindness, wasting of our time, stupidity and idiocy of some people are what old, wise dragons cannot cope with anymore. Maybe it’s the moment which Gaia was waiting for and preparing to unleash the dragons as the final force.

My anger was all merged with some ancient pain towards humans as they were abusing, devaluing the symbol of the dragon. Humans misjudging and misinterpreting Draconians’ intentions (duality & chaos control) once we saw what’s going on here on Earth and what negative Reptilians with their allies cooked. I will soon write another article about who Draconians are and those who were born with the Dragonian Code of Honor in their hearts (related to true celestial, royal Dragons) because I feel it’s time to share and I know many will resonate as the truth must be told from the other side. I often catch those Pleiadans’, Jesus/Mary or archangels’ contactees who know nothing about Draconians other than that what was already written on the Internet and in books by those who didn’t like our true nature. And yet we were always right. I’m sick when I read one more article about how Draconians are cruel and abusive, all this copy/paste propaganda amongst New Age people brought by religious zealots to make more people hate and fear those who are the strongest, the oldest and wisest, who survived more than other species here in the Universe and were wounded on Earth and ‘wired wrong’ the same like others.

(Credit: Sandara)

Anyway, I’m the Fire Dragon and I’ve tasted the full meaning of both ‘fire’ and ‘dragon’s fury’ one more time on 09/17, which as always, left me purified and transmuted within. The fire & anger consumed me. I liked it at some point. It was this true, authentic energy which drives warriors to fight, to engage, hit only once and annihilate the enemy. I really wanted to avoid fighting with people because everybody felt an enemy, so I took garden scissors and started aggressively trimming a hedge in the garden (one of those which needed some good cut) because the dragon, the master warrior literally possessed me and wanted to fight using the fire, sword, stick, anything weapon, against everything what was wrong around. To hit it, smash it, transmute it, to bring order and refreshment to chaos and decay. The position of the Moon also plays a role here - I’ve full Moon in Virgo (funny part, there’s the opposition, the new Moon in Virgo coming on 09/21/17), but if you have different aspects with the Moon and zodiac, things characteristic for the zodiac could trigger you inside - ie. Virgo hates disorder and stupidity, Pisces hates narrow-mindedness, Sag hates animal’s abuse & slavery, Libra hates disharmony etc. I don’t want to sound like a bigot because I repeated many times I’ve little faith in astrology as it is with all its stiff rules and regulations (it always turns out more flexible then given in books) but some vibrational aspects of planets and their connection to us prove themselves as they happen, yet they effect differently each time because all is in a constant motion and a change. The last close conjunction of Mars and Mercury was on 1/1/2017 and I felt nothing like I did a few months later.

So in the bubble of anger, I was living two lives at the same time. One - of a human on Earth aware of its inner conflict, amnesia and limitations but who can’t do much, so she always rebels and stays away of life as she doesn’t like it here, and the other of the most powerful dragon/Draconian who always feel superior to humans but it respects them as long as they respect him. The Dragon who can no more cope with the life inside of the human body, the entire environment, street noise, pollution, disrespect & greed of the local government towards citizens, the stupid human rules and regulations like money, bureaucracy, taxes, trials, all those little things which human were chained with to decrease our worth to zero and which have nothing to do with the vastness and greatness of the Universe as it is, of beings we used to be,  and the true life, peace in the outerspace. Dragons know the Universe very well. We co-created many places and individuals.

I found myself as if in a bubble of a different reality, at a training place, a battle ring of some sort. I was a Draconian war master (always a masculine as I used to be in my past lives) and I was challenged by a ‘volunteer’ who wanted to show his skills to me. I’ve accepted and we began the fight. ‘Hah! Let the fight begin!’ That was a furious fight, I was provoking him with words to hit me, laughing with excitement since the joy of the fight is the best thing to feel by a fearless master warrior, it’s like a vitamin for the entire spirit, fueling the veins with unearthly power. I then hit and we fought for a while, it was a real show of power. I wasn’t using swiftness as some Draconians are not that swift, but the physical strength of the ‘body’, specifically arms and long legs, and I pressured him like a tank, because I knew I’m the strongest. I was roaring. Also as a human I was gnarling and growling, the spirit made me release these, gladly I was alone there ;) They were the original dragonian/Draconian battle sounds. I could have killed him but he didn’t come to the place to die, and I would have no satisfaction either. Positive warriors share a common code of honor - if you fight well, you’ve the fire inside, yet you can control your body, muscles and moves on your wish, you’re highly respected by other warriors, even if you’re in a situation before the last cut is made. During that fight, I could estimate how good he was, see his weaknesses and I wanted to trigger him to show his best, to go beyond himself, to fly with that weapon he had. In the end, when I won because he hadn’t known yet the tricks I had, I was excited and expressed the master’s passionate opinion that he was a great fighter and I saw his potential. He thanked me, and I knew I filled his heart with motivation and satisfaction.

If I had a tail, I would be smashing everything with it, flipping it left and right. My inner strength during all this experience was so immense that in my thoughts/consciousness/the bubble of fury I was even provoking Satan to prove him how weak he is, and that whatever he created through religions, both Catholic and Islam it’s over, to smash him with my fire like a little bug. (Btw. Satan isn’t Lucifer, as Lucifer was indeed a rebel, came down with other Seraphim with an intention to help humans before all that harmful duality was introduced down here - that may be in another post here sometime soon, a truth I’ve received in one of channelings from the Universe during a Lion’s Gates last year).

Then it all calmed down in the evening, I was weak, internally purified, hands were shaky and I slept very well too. I’m feeling dizzy & cold today, the floor seems to be made of ‘rubber’ or ‘sponge’ and it feels like making less resistance than normally, and that regular stiffness felt in feet, knees, neck and spine feels less. In fact muscles supporting the spine feels weirdly loose today (I work out so they’re strong). Wings anybody? Also the gravity sometime feels as if gone and I walk in an out ‘empty spots in the space’ which make me feel like falling into something, that levels of what I step on are on different heights. All these may be exactly one big ascension symptom related to embodying the light body, spirit, our original essence in many dimensions at the same time, that we feel the matter differently or the matter somehow disappears and yet we can see it normally ;). I don’t know the mechanics behind it but it just feels weird, like about to pass out yet they are only milliseconds and everything gets back to normal. But I’ve no body pains which is good. 2013-2014, before and after meeting the twin the 1st time they were the worst years for my solar plexus & root chakras but then I didn’t know much about Ascension symptoms ;). It’s so easy to panic.

The clearing effect of the Leo’s star Regulus and also the aspect you have with the Moon had effected many people in different ways. (I’ve full Moon in Virgo, details, concrete information, simplicity, bringing an order to chaos). Here’s somebody’s else’s latest spiritual experience, and a break through of the spirit through the human’s ‘layer’ of waiting, stagnation, the veil, the limitations, the rotting old life, the routine etc.: “I quit” http://in5d.com/i-quit/

One would say that what we experience it’s a fury of a long suppressed  goddess but I completely do not resonate with ‘feminine only’ component in it. It’s the original, androgynous energy which I spoke of in the last post, which we must retrieve and balance within, 2 dualities which when harmonized and pulled out of chaos, they make the 3rd original energy of union within the self, with the universe and with the twin, if you found one. 33 where 3 is above and 3 is below, original and the copy of you who merge and become one and multidimensional, omnipotent within. It calls for setting boundaries, to stop the famous ‘service to others’ and begin the ‘service to self’, the energy preservation because for some reason the spirit needs us integrated and whole as it doesn’t want to come in then feed others. So these days your masculine or feminine energy may violently demand your attention, to give it what it used to have, yet conditions have changed and we didn’t come here to fight (=warrior). It’ll pass too. If you know what to do, do it, If you don’t know, keep waiting for your timing. I don’t know the next steps, thus I’m still observing and taking notes in my awakening diary.

The more our light body returns to us, the more it learns what this planet had done to us, not just 3D & 4D energies but dualities, other people, environment, genes, rules and regulations. And the spirit rages to take us away from it!

Btw. the old 3D is not just dissolving, it’s rotting! It stinks! If you are in a place where it stinks for no reason, it’s a decay of some 3D vibration which can no more exist in such a place.

Until next time.

[This post is copyrighted by the author of this blog who prefers to remain anonymous. My posts must not be used for commercial purposes of any kind. Respect my work - ask first before you copy, always include a link back to my site when you quote a part of my writing!]

[topicprinter]

Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview.Today's interview is with Christopher Gimmer of Snappa, a graphic design tool.Some stats:Product: Online graphic design tool.Revenue/mo: $55,000Started: July 2015Location: OttawaFounders: 2Employees: 4Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?Hey there! My name is Christopher Gimmer and I’m the co-founder of Snappa - a SaaS app that helps non-designer create online graphics in a snap. We make it super easy to create graphics for social media, ads, blogs, and more!We officially launched on November 23, 2015 and we’re currently doing over $55k USD in monthly recurring revenue (MRR).What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?I started off my career in finance working for the federal government. Then in 2010, I took a trip to southeast Asia that changed my life. Towards the end of the trip, I dreaded the thought of going back to the office and I no longer wanted to do work that I didn’t enjoy. That’s when I first started thinking about starting a business that would give me more freedom and meaning in my life.A few years later I met Marc (now my co-founder) at work. After we became friends, I found out that he knew how to code and he was dabbling in some side projects. We discussed the idea of starting a business together and we were both pumped to do so.The first thing we launched was a student dating website called ClassmateCatch. Although we generated 1,000+ signups (mainly through flyers), we had no idea how to scale the business and we didn’t really know what we were doing. The business ultimately failed. That’s when I started reading everything I could about online marketing and how to grow a business.After learning how to do keyword research, we discovered there was a lot of search volume for Bootstrap themes and Bootstrap templates so we launched a marketplace called BootstrapBay (we’ve since sold it). We managed to grow that site to $10k/month in revenue strictly from SEO and content marketing.While creating content for BootstrapBay, it was always a huge pain to create images for our blog posts. I wasn’t a designer and my Photoshop skills were lacking. When I looked around to see what other tools were out there, I found that all the graphic design tools were either overly complicated or too basic. I felt like there was a need for a simple, yet powerful graphic design tool geared towards marketers and entrepreneurs like myself.Fortunately, around this time, I wrote a blog post about where to find free stock photos that went viral and started ranking on the first page of Google. Because of that, we created our own stock photo site called StockSnap.io (we’ve since sold this as well) which started generating a lot of traffic.Now that we had an audience to market to, we promoted Snappa on StockSnap.io using a simple banner ad and sent this traffic to a landing page where we collected email addresses.Once we got a few hundred people opted-in, I sent out a few surveys and did 15-20 customer interview calls to validate the idea. Once we were convinced that Snappa was something people wanted and were willing to pay for, Marc got to work and started building the prototype.Take us through the process of building the product.When we first started working on Snappa, I had taken a 1-year leave of absence from work.This was kind of risky on my part because I dropped out of the CPA program as well so I would have been demoted if I ever needed my job back (talk about embarrassing). I also went from making $95k/year to paying myself $2,000/month from the profits we were making from BootstrapBay / StockSnap.Marc broke ground on code in March of 2015. At that time, he was still working nights and weekends only. But after a few months into the project, he realized that he needed to go full-time otherwise the release would take too long. So, he joined me full-time (also making $2,000/month) and development really started to pick up.After several months of hard work, we launched our beta on July 1, 2015. Looking back, it was a pretty stupid idea to launch on Canada day but that’s a story for another day…During the open (free) beta period, we collected as much feedback as possible and analyzed the engagement data as best we could. We realized pretty quickly that we had to include pre-designed templates before launching. As you would expect, most non-designers struggle to design without a template to start with.After adding templates, we agreed on a few more features that we needed to add before we felt comfortable charging users. On one hand, we didn’t want to launch with a shitty product. On the other hand, we were bootstrapping this and couldn’t afford to delay launching for too long. We felt like it was better to launch earlier than later.Given the nature of our product, we decided on a freemium model. We felt that this made sense because:1) A free tier allowed people to try the product with very limited friction. This was important since we were dealing with small businesses and solopreneurs.2) We hypothesized that making the product ‘free’ would help it spread and encourage more people to link to us and refer the product to others.3) Our hosting costs were minimal so it wasn’t going to cost a ton of money to support free users.Describe the process of launching the business.Once we fixed all the major bugs from the beta and added what we felt were necessary features, we settled on an official launch date of November 23, 2015.At this point, we had about 15,000 people that had signed up for our beta. Remember that we collected email addresses while building the product and we continued to send traffic to Snappa’s beta page from our free stock photo site with a simple banner ad.On the day of the launch, we added a paywall and a pricing page to our website describing the free and paid tier. Simultaneously, we sent an email to everyone that had signed up for the beta letting them know that they’ve all been placed on the free tier and they’d need to upgrade to the premium Pro plan to get unlimited access and full functionality. That’s basically all we did for our ‘launch’. Since there were still a ton of improvements we needed to make, we didn’t want to promote our product too much in the beginning (we waited seven months before launching on Product Hunt).To encourage upgrades right out of the gate, we offered a 33% lifetime discount for anyone that upgraded within the first week. After the initial launch week was over, we were generating $2,000 in MRR. $500 of that came on day one and another $500 came on the last day of the promotion. By the end of December 2015, we broke $4,000 in MRR and it was clear that Snappa was going to have some legs.At that point, I officially handed in my resignation at work and never looked back :)Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?When we first launched Snappa, we were getting pretty much all of our leads from StockSnap and our free stock photo blog post. I spent the next few months trying to optimize the amount of leads we could get from these two sources.One thing that worked super well was creating an animated gif of our product in action and adding it to a popup whenever someone downloaded an image from StockSnap. This is what it looked like:Once I implemented the popup, we doubled our signups for Snappa overnight.We relied pretty much exclusively on StockSnap and word mouth to drive acquisition for the first year or so. However, we knew that we were going to plateau if we didn’t figure out other marketing channels.Eventually I started focusing on content marketing and SEO. In the beginning, our content marketing efforts weren’t driving any results. I realized after the fact that our content was too generic and we were focusing way too much on top of the funnel content, ie content that targets a large group of people that may or may not ever need your product.I decided to take a step back and look at all of the use cases for our product. For example, you can use Snappa to create Facebook covers, Twitter headers, Pinterest pins, and so on... I then started plugging-in these various keywords into the AHREFs keyword explorer (using phrase match) to get a list of potential keywords. I quickly realized that there was a huge amount of search volume related to the sizes and dimensions of the graphic types we offer.So with that, I put together a guide that walks through the proper Twitter header size. After a few months of promotion, it started ranking #1 in Google and was bringing in a significant amount of traffic.With the success of that post, we created a similar article for the Facebook cover size, the YouTube channel art size, and pretty much every other size that we supported in Snappa.The best part about these blog posts is how relevant they are to our product. Clearly, if someone is searching for which size to use for a Facebook cover, there’s a good chance they need to create a Facebook cover! So in order to drive leads to our product, we added a call-to-action right after the introduction to let them know that we’ve integrated Facebook’s cover dimensions and safe zones into our product and they can create one for free.Since the Twitter header size post worked so well, we decided to focus almost exclusively on getting these posts to rank and spent several months doing outreach and writing guest posts. All the hard work paid off and you can see from the screenshot below that we significantly increased our traffic after implementing this content strategy.Today we’re continuing to double down on content and focusing heavily on topics that are most likely to convert readers into signups.How are you doing today and what does the future look like?Currently, we’re doing $55k in MRR and we’re on pace to break $1M in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by the end of the year. We’re still bootstrapped, profitable, and have no immediate plans to raise funding.As for the future, we’ve begun a massive code refactor in order to better support product initiatives moving forward. Our goal is to continue building the best possible graphic design tool for marketers, entrepreneurs and non-designers.Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?One of the biggest lessons that I’ve learned over the years is the power of the long game. For starters, this applies to business and life in general. As you can tell from my story, it took years of launching random things before it lead to Snappa. Sometimes you just need to play the game and things will happen.Playing the long game is also relevant when it comes to marketing and scaling your business. In the past, we’ve wasted a lot of time pursuing opportunities that gave a one time bump in traffic / sales but didn’t really amount to anything sustainable. On the contrary, some of our content took months (even years) to pay off but it continues to drive meaningful traffic and signups to this day.I’m not saying that you should never do things that don’t scale (you should especially do this in the beginning), I’m simply saying that you should never avoid doing something simply because it will take a long time to payoff. In my experience, those are almost always the best things to focus on!On a related note, I still remember what it was like making $10k MRR after 6 months of launching Snappa. I simply couldn’t imagine ever getting to $1M in ARR. But after continuing to chip away over the past 3 years, we’re now on pace to hit that goal by the end of the year. Sometimes you just need to be patient and continue playing the long game. Your future self will be glad that you did!What platform/tools do you use for your business?As you can imagine, we use a ton of tools to run our SaaS business. This is by no means an exhaustive list but these are some of my favourite and some of the most useful tools that we use:Slack: We mostly work remotely so this is key for collaborating and keeping everyone in the loop.Trello: We use this for our content calendar, development roadmap, and task lists. I also use it as my own personal organization system.Stripe: All our payments go through Stripe. I couldn’t imagine building a SaaS app without it.AHREFs: We use it for all our keyword research and to track our search rankings.Help Scout: Used to run our customer support and knowledge base.Mixpanel: Tracks in-app behaviour and end-to-end conversion funnels.Baremetrics: Tracks our subscription metrics and helps us forecast into the future.What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?One of the best books I read was Traction by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares. This opened my eyes to all of the different marketing channels available and why it’s so important to think about traction before building your product.Another resource that was hugely beneficial was Backlinko. I learned a ton about SEO and how to generate organic traffic thanks to Brian. I would encourage anyone that wants to learn SEO to read every single blog post on that site.Finally, I really enjoyed listening to Mixergy, Startups For The Rest of Us, and TMBA.Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?I hate myself for writing this because it’s so damn cliché and everyone says it but the best advice I can give is to start something. It seriously doesn’t matter if your first idea sucks and you completely bomb. You will learn so much in those first 3 - 6 months and at a certain point you need to apply what you’re learning from blog posts and podcasts.When we started BootstrapBay, there were already other competitors and we certainly weren’t “disrupting” anything. I learned so many valuable skills while working on that business and there’s no way I’d be running Snappa today had I not started it.Just start with something small and easy to get off the ground (services business, eCommerce, affiliate stuff, anything!) and just treat it as a learning opportunity. As you start working on it, you’ll naturally start thinking of better business ideas and you’ll have a much better understanding of how to execute on them.Beyond simply getting started, my next best piece of advice is to focus on one channel at a time. As a startup, you simply cannot be focusing on multiple marketing channels at once. Find the one that works best and double down.Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?We sure are! We’re looking for a graphic designer and a customer success specialist. You can learn more about career opportunities on our website.If you don’t see an opening but you have skills that you can bring to the table, please reach out to me directly. You never know when we might be hiring next :)Where can we go to learn more?https://snappa.comchristopher@snappa.comIf you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!Liked this text interview? Check out the full interview with photos, tools, books, and other data.Interested in sharing your own story? Send me a PM

[toolsnotrules-blog]

Interview: Ryan Daniel Beck

Ryan Daniel Beck is a contemporary dancer, choreographer, and visual artist. I'm not sure if he'd describe himself as a philosopher but, after reading his interview, I'm sure you'll agree he's an active thinker on a whole bunch of levels.

How would you describe you what is it that you do?

I consider myself a visual art teacher, working through the medium of dance. Unlike the static forms of sculpture, photography, or painting, my medium is constantly changing and evolving, but the underlying principles of visual art remain constant.

Have you always done this for a living or did you transition from something else? What triggered your decision to make a change?

Prior to teaching and choreographing, I was a working dancer, performing around the world. I danced for Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, as well as concert work with MOMIX, Danny Ezralow, and Dario Vaccaro.

What is the most challenging thing about practicing your craft? How do you deal with that challenge?

The biggest challenge for choreographers and teachers relates to funding and time management. Fortunately, I have had some serendipitous opportunities that allowed me to pursue choreography and teaching in an unfettered way. I know many teachers and choreographers who simultaneously juggle multiple jobs just to continue practicing their craft. It must be a labor of true love, otherwise it would be too frustrating and unsustainable.

Do you still practice? If so, what do your practice sessions look like?

My personal practice sessions are primarily geared toward conditioning and maintenance of my own instrument (the body). I ask a great deal from my dancers, and I believe in leading by example. I would never ask a dancer to do something that I am not able to physically demonstrate (knock on wood).

Where do you find inspiration?

Inspiration for me comes in the form of a curious mind. I strive to maintain an attitude and environment of saying “yes” when a new experience presents itself.  Whether it is a food I’ve never tried, a location I’ve never seen, a film I’ve never viewed...whatever. As a visual artist, shapes, forms, textures, lines, geometry, symmetry, asymmetry all inspire my movement in different ways.  And all these things give me information when I am developing new processes of creation. The final dance is just a documentation of the process that my dancers and I conducted.

Where are you when you have the most a-ha moments?

Usually in the dance studio. There is a quote that says, “Creativity is making mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to keep.” When I am in the studio with dancers, we intentionally create a playful atmosphere, that allows us to make lots of “mistakes.” My job is to select a handful of these “mistakes” and mold them in a meaningful, mindful way.

What do you do to maintain a creative flow?

One of my personal favorite exercises, involves the Russian Turkish bath on East 10th. It is wonderfully shabby establishment, rich in history and culture. The heat is almost unbearably intense, and will “creatively meditate” in that warm darkness. Something about the tranquility of the flowing water and the visceral sting of the radiant heat, creates a highly sensory mental place that feeds my creativity immensely. My mind goes wild when I am there.

How much do you rely on feedback from others to help shape your ideas?

Feedback is helpful when I am creating an immersive environment for the audience. However, if I am making a statement through my work, I am more concerned with the authentic justification that I use as the foundation for my movement. And since this authenticity originates internally, I tend to disregard outside feedback, since it lacks the perspective that I have in the first person. Its like putting on noise cancelling headphones to create the sensitivity required to hear your inner voice.

What is the greatest obstacle to creativity?

If you work from a process-based approach, you must take into account that the process will yield a final product, but it might take some time. Its like waiting for a seed to germinate. The commercial market demands high productivity and prolific content. But the smart artist knows that each process is different, and sometimes quality takes time. For example, Pina Bausch would create just one show a year, since six months of rehearsal was dedicated to research. For Richard Serra’s first show, his process involved hundreds of experiments with different material combinations, resulting in just few, interesting “mistakes” that made the final cut and were included in the gallery exhibition. But it literally takes hours and hours to drudge through the “process” before the final product reveals itself.   

When you complete a project, how often does it resemble your initial concept or conceived idea? How important is this for you?

It depends on the client and the project. If I am working in a commercial environment, it is more important that the client is satisfied and happy with the result. So in this instance, I play a much more active role in making sure that the result falls within “industry standard.” Its as if a client says, “I want something that tastes like a Caramel Machiatto from Starbucks.” Well, in that instance, I am not going to generate a process that “might” yield a product that tastes like a dirty martini. It must fall within the client’s expectations, but with a “signature twist”. Using the coffee analogy, I would make sure that the product tastes like Starbucks, but was served in far more sophisticated glass, with an unexpected flourish of cinnamon garnish. In this way, the client is satisfied, and I can walk away from the project having improved the original concept. On the other hand, if I have the luxury of time and there are no pre-determined expectations to be met, I love to go on a wild adventure, without any notion of where the final product will take us!

How do you know when you’re done?

In the same way you know that you are done eating...you feel full and satisfied

How do you resolve creative differences with clients or creative partners?

If its a commercial client, the trick is to allow them to think that the idea was their own. This is especially true if I am dealing with a middle manager, who is trying to impress their superior (CEO, director, etc)  I am more than happy to lavish credit on someone for an artistic choice, knowing that the long term dividends are more valuable than short term validation. On the other hand, if I am collaborating with other creatives on project, I am careful to choose like-minded individuals, who understand that no one “owns” any idea, and we are all on the same mission to find the BEST solution for the show, no matter whether it originates from me or someone else. Leave the creative ego at the door.

What keeps you motivated even if you don’t connect personally with the project?

I probably wouldn’t agree to do a project that failed to resonate with me personally….I mean, what’s the point? I suppose I could do it for financial reasons, but to me, art is sacred and I would feel massively uneasy doing something “artistic” just to pay bills. I would rather do something non-artistic or gratis.

What do you do when you are stuck and have some sort of deadline or other pressure?

I am very proactive in making sure I don’t get stuck in the first place. I am constantly creating content and documenting it. I am perpetually writing down ideas for future processes I want to try. I don’t wait for a deadline to present itself and then create. I have a stockhouse and reservoire of ideas and concepts ready and waiting when the opportunities present themselves.

How do you achieve your creative vision with a limited budget?

One of the beauties of process based art, is that you become keenly aware and skilled in the art of “rules.” A creative process is like a game that you play for a specific project.  And like all games, it has “rules.” For example, I might say that today’s dance project has three rules: “all the movement must be related to the color green, it can only involve your elbow and your hips, and it must alternate between stillness and bursts of speed.” Interestingly, people generally associate “rules” with limitations, but in this sense, it gives my dancers a focused and specific area, within which they are able to play and explore. If I give them too many choices, it becomes overwhelming and unfocused. So to answer the question, if budget is an issue, I will simply incorporate it into the “rules” of that project. Humans have been creating works of art for thousands of years, with little to no “resources” at all. For the tenacious artist, a “limited budget” is just an opportunity in disguise.

What are the top 3 tools in your creative tool kit? ie. software, pencil, paper, journal etc.

1. My passport

2. My music editing software

3. My five senses

What are the top 3 creative habits that have proven to be the most useful for you in your career?

1. Constantly replacing self-doubting thoughts, with what I know to be true internally

2. Surrounding myself with non-dancers (designers, musicians, animators, physicists, etc)

3. Living everyday with a deep sense of gratitude and curiosity

If you could offer a single piece of advice to a budding professional, what would it be?

Originality is innate...you were “original” the day that you were born...therefore, since originality comes from within, it is not an external goal to be discovered….the more sensitive you are to your inner voice, your background, your heritage, the smell of your grandmother’s kitchen, the texture of your lover’s skin, the time you got stranded in Albuquerque, the moment you realized that you were no longer a virgin, the earliest memories you had from childhood, your most personal insecurities, your receding hairline, your cellulite, your bad ankle….every single thing that makes you who you are….when you bring all of this into your art, it is DEEPLY original and no one can deny you that….they might be able to critique your execution, but they can never argue your source….PERSONAL IS UNIVERSAL

[bradmack]

Interview: Ryan Daniel Beck

Ryan Daniel Beck is a contemporary dancer, choreographer, and visual artist. I'm not sure if he'd describe himself as a philosopher but, after reading his interview, I'm sure you'll agree he's an active thinker on a whole bunch of levels.

How would you describe you what is it that you do?

I consider myself a visual art teacher, working through the medium of dance. Unlike the static forms of sculpture, photography, or painting, my medium is constantly changing and evolving, but the underlying principles of visual art remain constant.

Have you always done this for a living or did you transition from something else? What triggered your decision to make a change?

Prior to teaching and choreographing, I was a working dancer, performing around the world. I danced for Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, as well as concert work with MOMIX, Danny Ezralow, and Dario Vaccaro.

What is the most challenging thing about practicing your craft? How do you deal with that challenge?

The biggest challenge for choreographers and teachers relates to funding and time management. Fortunately, I have had some serendipitous opportunities that allowed me to pursue choreography and teaching in an unfettered way. I know many teachers and choreographers who simultaneously juggle multiple jobs just to continue practicing their craft. It must be a labor of true love, otherwise it would be too frustrating and unsustainable.

Do you still practice? If so, what do your practice sessions look like?

My personal practice sessions are primarily geared toward conditioning and maintenance of my own instrument (the body). I ask a great deal from my dancers, and I believe in leading by example. I would never ask a dancer to do something that I am not able to physically demonstrate (knock on wood).

Where do you find inspiration?

Inspiration for me comes in the form of a curious mind. I strive to maintain an attitude and environment of saying “yes” when a new experience presents itself.  Whether it is a food I’ve never tried, a location I’ve never seen, a film I’ve never viewed...whatever. As a visual artist, shapes, forms, textures, lines, geometry, symmetry, asymmetry all inspire my movement in different ways.  And all these things give me information when I am developing new processes of creation. The final dance is just a documentation of the process that my dancers and I conducted.

Where are you when you have the most a-ha moments?

Usually in the dance studio. There is a quote that says, “Creativity is making mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to keep.” When I am in the studio with dancers, we intentionally create a playful atmosphere, that allows us to make lots of “mistakes.” My job is to select a handful of these “mistakes” and mold them in a meaningful, mindful way.

What do you do to maintain a creative flow?

One of my personal favorite exercises, involves the Russian Turkish bath on East 10th. It is wonderfully shabby establishment, rich in history and culture. The heat is almost unbearably intense, and will “creatively meditate” in that warm darkness. Something about the tranquility of the flowing water and the visceral sting of the radiant heat, creates a highly sensory mental place that feeds my creativity immensely. My mind goes wild when I am there.

How much do you rely on feedback from others to help shape your ideas?

Feedback is helpful when I am creating an immersive environment for the audience. However, if I am making a statement through my work, I am more concerned with the authentic justification that I use as the foundation for my movement. And since this authenticity originates internally, I tend to disregard outside feedback, since it lacks the perspective that I have in the first person. Its like putting on noise cancelling headphones to create the sensitivity required to hear your inner voice.

What is the greatest obstacle to creativity?

If you work from a process-based approach, you must take into account that the process will yield a final product, but it might take some time. Its like waiting for a seed to germinate. The commercial market demands high productivity and prolific content. But the smart artist knows that each process is different, and sometimes quality takes time. For example, Pina Bausch would create just one show a year, since six months of rehearsal was dedicated to research. For Richard Serra’s first show, his process involved hundreds of experiments with different material combinations, resulting in just few, interesting “mistakes” that made the final cut and were included in the gallery exhibition. But it literally takes hours and hours to drudge through the “process” before the final product reveals itself.   

When you complete a project, how often does it resemble your initial concept or conceived idea? How important is this for you?

It depends on the client and the project. If I am working in a commercial environment, it is more important that the client is satisfied and happy with the result. So in this instance, I play a much more active role in making sure that the result falls within “industry standard.” Its as if a client says, “I want something that tastes like a Caramel Machiatto from Starbucks.” Well, in that instance, I am not going to generate a process that “might” yield a product that tastes like a dirty martini. It must fall within the client’s expectations, but with a “signature twist”. Using the coffee analogy, I would make sure that the product tastes like Starbucks, but was served in far more sophisticated glass, with an unexpected flourish of cinnamon garnish. In this way, the client is satisfied, and I can walk away from the project having improved the original concept. On the other hand, if I have the luxury of time and there are no pre-determined expectations to be met, I love to go on a wild adventure, without any notion of where the final product will take us!

How do you know when you’re done?

In the same way you know that you are done eating...you feel full and satisfied

How do you resolve creative differences with clients or creative partners?

If its a commercial client, the trick is to allow them to think that the idea was their own. This is especially true if I am dealing with a middle manager, who is trying to impress their superior (CEO, director, etc)  I am more than happy to lavish credit on someone for an artistic choice, knowing that the long term dividends are more valuable than short term validation. On the other hand, if I am collaborating with other creatives on project, I am careful to choose like-minded individuals, who understand that no one “owns” any idea, and we are all on the same mission to find the BEST solution for the show, no matter whether it originates from me or someone else. Leave the creative ego at the door.

What keeps you motivated even if you don’t connect personally with the project?

I probably wouldn’t agree to do a project that failed to resonate with me personally….I mean, what’s the point? I suppose I could do it for financial reasons, but to me, art is sacred and I would feel massively uneasy doing something “artistic” just to pay bills. I would rather do something non-artistic or gratis.

What do you do when you are stuck and have some sort of deadline or other pressure?

I am very proactive in making sure I don’t get stuck in the first place. I am constantly creating content and documenting it. I am perpetually writing down ideas for future processes I want to try. I don’t wait for a deadline to present itself and then create. I have a stockhouse and reservoire of ideas and concepts ready and waiting when the opportunities present themselves.

How do you achieve your creative vision with a limited budget?

One of the beauties of process based art, is that you become keenly aware and skilled in the art of “rules.” A creative process is like a game that you play for a specific project.  And like all games, it has “rules.” For example, I might say that today’s dance project has three rules: “all the movement must be related to the color green, it can only involve your elbow and your hips, and it must alternate between stillness and bursts of speed.” Interestingly, people generally associate “rules” with limitations, but in this sense, it gives my dancers a focused and specific area, within which they are able to play and explore. If I give them too many choices, it becomes overwhelming and unfocused. So to answer the question, if budget is an issue, I will simply incorporate it into the “rules” of that project. Humans have been creating works of art for thousands of years, with little to no “resources” at all. For the tenacious artist, a “limited budget” is just an opportunity in disguise.

What are the top 3 tools in your creative tool kit? ie. software, pencil, paper, journal etc.

1. My passport

2. My music editing software

3. My five senses

What are the top 3 creative habits that have proven to be the most useful for you in your career?

1. Constantly replacing self-doubting thoughts, with what I know to be true internally

2. Surrounding myself with non-dancers (designers, musicians, animators, physicists, etc)

3. Living everyday with a deep sense of gratitude and curiosity

If you could offer a single piece of advice to a budding professional, what would it be?

Originality is innate...you were “original” the day that you were born...therefore, since originality comes from within, it is not an external goal to be discovered….the more sensitive you are to your inner voice, your background, your heritage, the smell of your grandmother’s kitchen, the texture of your lover’s skin, the time you got stranded in Albuquerque, the moment you realized that you were no longer a virgin, the earliest memories you had from childhood, your most personal insecurities, your receding hairline, your cellulite, your bad ankle….every single thing that makes you who you are….when you bring all of this into your art, it is DEEPLY original and no one can deny you that….they might be able to critique your execution, but they can never argue your source….PERSONAL IS UNIVERSAL