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[phoenixyfriend]

Current State of Affairs - Personal

You may have noticed I haven't been posting much fanfic recently. While there have been other projects on my plate, like original fic and an event... I haven't gotten much done for those, either.

A few months back, I posted about having lost my job, and asked for your support. I still have savings, and I am in a safe situation as far as housing and food goes. However, I am unlikely to find another job for an indefinite period of time, as I am currently looking after an elderly relative, due to having more flexibility than other adults in my family.

I'm currently looking into employment options, but there is some difficulty, as the local minimum wage is about $2/hr, and remote to the US would have some timezone issues. I'm also unsure of how scheduling would be negotiated with the responsibilities I have to my family, given how uncertain the relative's health is.

As such, I'm trying to figure out how much of my income I can supplement through my writing. While I am under no illusions as to how low the median income for professional authors is, I'd like to get at least a little through this.

I will still be posting all my fanfiction for free and will not be accepting compensation for them for legal reasons. However, if you would like me to have more time for them, then supporting my original works through Patreon or donating directly to my ko-fi would be great.

For those who have already supported me, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. It's meant a lot to me.

PATREON: I am posting some original works, such as Hôtel des Automates, Wend Your Way to the Willow, or Glass Bones and Eyes Like Stars (available on tumblr). I am also posting a series of tutorials on how to worldbuild for fantasy or science fiction settings, which I call The ASPIRE Method. If either of those interest you, or if you want to vote/suggest other things I could work on, then please drop by and support me on Patreon.

Ko-Fi: While my ko-fi is primarily set up for general donations, I am also currently doing a small project where a $15+ donation means you can prompt an economic topic, and I will explain it on tumblr in 500 words as though to five-year-old, as I did for Macroeconomics and corporate terms.

If you've made it this far, thank you so much.

[oblivionscribbles]

Oooh, I wonder what Scott has to focus on~

[azherwind-art]

[lynndylee]

Join my patreon this month to grab February's print and a bonus print 🔥

patreon | shop | more links

[gabisart]

NEW PATREON POST 🗣️📢

Night time, Patrons' time to enjoy 3 Side-Rewards! Oh, don't forget to check the PSD files with linearts, sketch, and coloring layers 😉

Join us! 💫

[jungle-golf]

FIRST PATREON SKETCH BATCH!! Really happy with the amount of these and with how they turned out!

Thank you to all of my patrons for the support!

twitter post

patreon

[chaobunnyarts]

April's Patreon pins -- Flambé Phoenix and Central Bearded Dragon!

They're available for signup through my Patreon until the end of March, and they'll ship in April! They're also available as stickers as well. :)

[ladyfogg]

Join my Patreon and gain access to my exclusive Discord server, no matter the tier! The lowest tier is only $1 a month.

Anyone who signs up for the $5 or $10 tier will receive access to excerpts and full chapters of my newest, Phoenix's Call, the first book in my lady pirate series.

Also listen to exclusive clips from my upcoming audio drama, Battle Cry.

[wolfiedrawie]

MAR reward for Reiganleaf - On Fiery Wings

This is an illustration for Reiganleaf's story and I am deffinitely not as good with words as they are, so I will include this link to their blog post <3 Thank you for the support again! Another illustration is in making!

I am temporarily open for commissions, check this google form for more info. Or you can become my patron and get a painting as a reward every month <3

Posted using PostyBirb

[ninjamonkeystudios]

STACKED

A recent finished commission. You can learn about my process on my Patreon where you can get monthly sketches or visit my Ko-Fi to tip and order art. 😀PATREON

😎KO-FI

bonus scribbles

[mint-mango]

[phoenixyfriend]

Worldbuilding: The ASPIRE Method

Part 2 - Arts

Now available on Patreon!

I'm including the first third of it here on tumblr for free. The rest is available on Patreon for as low as $1 to access all posts.

A – Arts

When physically visiting a society for the first time, Art will be one of the first things a person encounters, namely in the form of fashion, signage, and architecture. When studying a culture from afar, it is often among the last. In that regard, the order in which your story takes place will have varying degrees of exposure to the culture’s art.

In a visual medium, art provides a subconscious element of worldbuilding that can help set tone without having to take up time in the dialogue. Background characters and so on can inform the world in a colorful manner, suggesting elements of culture to the viewer while the foreground conveys the story itself. In a written narrative, mentions of art and artistry take up time and space by nature, and so you have to pick and choose which elements you talk about. The mention of a single form of art is used to suggest a much deeper background. In both cases, determining which art exists will help you decide which you display to the audience in pursuit of telling your story.

Which forms of art are most common?

Some cultures have very elaborate architecture. Others don’t put much time and effort into architecture, but do a lot with textiles. Paintings are going to be more common in regions where canvas or paper are easier to make. Some regions will have a focus on wooden or stone carvings that are unlikely, or even impossible, in others. Most have music, but frequently different kinds. All of these are forms of art, but not all of them are necessarily going to be common in the world you are building.

Ask yourself which of these forms and mediums of art are ones your culture puts time into, and why:

Architecture: stone, wood, or other

Painting and drawing: on canvas, on stone, on paper, on vellum

Sculpture: stone or wood, clay, metal (wire or mold), rubber, glassblowing, etc. - This includes aesthetic pieces, but also things like functional ceramics and furniture crafting

Textiles: fashion, tapestry, beadwork, interior design

Literature: written or oral, includes prose, poetry, and nonfiction

Film and Theater

Music and Dance

Culinary arts

Cosmetics

And when you decide on them, ask yourself why? What is it that has your culture focusing on one thing at the expense of others? For instance, if your culture is one where inclement weather is a major problem, then architecture may focus primarily on durability, and less so on visual appeal; in turn, the actual focus of artists is more likely to be an indoor activity, like storytelling or music. However, the primary dictator of what art people do is what they have to work with.

What tools are available to your artists?

The further in the past your story is set, the less likely your culture’s people are to have access to a wide variety of pigments and materials. Natural sources of pigment are limited, especially when there are low levels of trade. The local community is also likely to prioritize certain kinds of crops over others, which has a direct influence on the accessibility of textiles and paper.

A culture with a short growth period will likely prioritize food over any form of creative resources; textiles will likely be livestock-derived (like wool and skins), rather than cotton or linen, and will also have much less availability of plant-based art supplies like canvas, paper, and so on. They may focus on pragmatic art forms, such as teaching tools, or styles that can be built into things that are already being crafted, like weaving patterns. Their themes may also be influenced by having more free time in the winter.

Meanwhile, tattoos are popular across the world due to only requiring pigment and a sharp implement… and the knowledge of how to not get infected.

A more modern artist will have access to a wide variety of tools and options, including things like cameras and recording equipment.

Consider these elements:

Which pigments are available? How are they sourced? Which can be safely used for paint, textiles, construction, and cosmetics? - Pigments can be derived from plants, minerals, animals, or synthetic processes. If your world has low trade, figure out which ones are common in the area. Some pigments can be used in paint but are less functional for dyeing. Some can’t be ingested, and so aren’t safe for culinary arts, but are very good for oil painting. - A paint that is toxic to the skin may be used in cosmetics and textiles (see: lead face paint, which was used even when knowing the toxicity), but is much more likely to be used in painting and construction.

Which plants grow nearby? What can they be used for? - Are the trees suitable to carving, to steam bending, to architecture, to weaving? - Can other plants be processed into textiles, pigments, food? - Is there something unique and interesting, like a bioluminescent algae that can be used for glowing paint?

Which animals are available? Are they domestic or wild? How are they used? - Animals can be used for enabling other arts, such as oxen pulling plows to grow basic crops. - Some can be trained to perform, for dance and theater. - They can also be raw materials. This includes wool, feathers, furs, leather, vellum, horns, bones, silk, and even skins for glue. Some are hunted, and some are cultivated. - Note that antler, certain feathers, and wool can be harvested without harming the animals, and would be useful for a society that tries to abide by pacifist or vegan principles. - Others can also be gathered after a natural death, like bones, horn, and skins. The only ones that require a forced death or harm are vellum and certain kinds of silk, though natural death may impact the quality of other materials, like skins and furs.

Which raw materials are inherent, which need to be gathered, and which need to be cultivated? - A person’s own voice or body does not need to be gathered. A dancer or singer does not, for the most basic forms of art, need tools. - Sand for glassblowing does need to be gathered, but occurs naturally. - Flax for linen needs to be cultivated before processing, with a dedicated growth period in temperate climates (helpfully, it also produces food).

For a few historic examples, consider that Tyrian Purple is an uncommon color in textiles before the introduction of aniline dyes, and so Tyrian purple is often limited solely to royalty in period works. This includes the classic Roman example, but also the use of ‘Royal Purple’ and related shades in England after the introduction of a sumptuary act in 1463.

Since the Iron Age, darker, less saturated shades of purple could be achieved through mixing red (e.g. madder) and blue (e.g. woad, indigo), but are generally less intense, and still expensive due to the need for two forms of dye. Meanwhile, common colors in Medieval English art included, among other things, ochres, woad, madder, and chalk.

How intense is the processing period for materials?

How many people need to be involved in that processing? Can it be done in one day, by one person?

Weaving a basket from reeds is relatively centralized. One person can gather materials, cut them to size, and produce the final product.

Synthetic materials require oil drills and chemical production plants, employing hundreds of workers.

Creating a wool and linen dress requires: - farmers (both for sheep and for flax) - processing to clean and spin the raw materials - weavers to make the base textiles - dyeing vats to add color - a dressmaker to actually put together the final product - The support for this process also includes someone who makes buttons or other ties, someone who crafts looms, someone who makes barrels, and someone who breeds dogs for herding those sheep.

Is it theoretically possible for someone to unilaterally do everything from start to finish with no outside help? Yes. Are some of these elements vertically integrated? Probably! Is it likely, or a good idea, to handle everything from start to finish? Not for most scales of production. While farming and spinning are often done by the same people, it’s more likely to be a family business than a solo one. One farm can include the process from start to finish, but your couture dressmaker isn’t very likely to be your shepherd.

Human history is a patchwork of people specializing their skills in order to maximize productivity so everyone can have more free time at the end of the day. If one person has the loom best suited to making linen bedsheets, and another has a loom better designed for woolen cloak fabric, the individuals will produce more fabric in total if they each specialize on their looms, and then trade the results, rather than swapping looms or buying their own. This subject will be touched on in greater detail in the Economics section.

[knightofarcane]

January's Patreon poll winner

TIMELAPSE

[azherwind-art]

Reminder that Rainy Days pt.28 & 29 are up on patreon! ($3 USD to see them rn)

[woelfin-sheeps-clothing]

Very excited to start the next Jak and Daxter pin-up for Patreon, Phoenix from The Lost Frontier!

[jazzstarrlight]

NEW RACE for the world of Mythicalis, realm of The Phoenix Quil!

Early access to Patreon members. As little as 2$ a month! Also, I've made a little update to the Roll-A-Character to include the new race. Seems fitting for Shroomfae to be put as 42 on the d100 roll. Lol. They came out really cute too.

Let me know what you think!