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screentones-webcomicresources · 2 years

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Preparing for Conventions

What events are best to go to?

Whether it’s a huge celebrity-studded multi-day weekend or a small gathering at a local library, in-person events are an exciting way to reach all kinds of comic fans that may not be in any of your circles online. There’s opportunities to be had at almost every type of event, but a few things that might narrow your focus:

Events that don’t cost more than you think you can make. Convention costs can add up extremely quickly. You can expect to pay at least $100/day for an artist table at mid-sized or large conventions. If you’re just starting out, prioritize conventions that are close enough to your home (or friends/family who will host you) that you won’t have to pay for a hotel or spend a lot in transportation costs. Splitting the table with another artist is another option!

Events that other artists in your area/genre recommend. A great way to learn about events in your area is to attend one and ask others what conventions they like in the area. Some regular artists even maintain online groups to discuss application deadlines and share experiences. Depending on the genre of your art or comic, you might also find adjacent things like horror shows, anime shows, or zine fests worth exploring too!

Events that you can actually get into. Conventions can be very competitive to get into, and have very small application windows months in advance. Once you’ve identified which conventions are in your area, follow their Twitter, mailing lists or websites to catch their sign up deadlines. Juried shows may also ask for a link to your portfolio, author bio or store to get an idea of who you are and what you’d be selling, so be sure to put something together and be ready!

What kinds of products should I prepare?

Our Masterlist of Printers is a great place to start for recommendations about places to make your products and inspiration! But to cut down on costs and keep yourself flexible while you figure things out, it’s a good idea to focus on:

Products that suit a specific style and taste. Do you make big intricate illustrations that would look good as 11x17 printed art? Are you good with quippy one-liners that would make fun stickers? Is there a popular fandom that you like that has a similar genre to your other work? Popular products are prints, stickers, charms, pins, and comics. But don’t be afraid to handcraft figures or something else.

Products that work together. Be deliberate about the vibe you’re setting, whether that’s a genre (horror, humor, superheroes, etc.), an age range (all ages, adult), a specific type of product (mostly t-shirts, mostly prints, accessories), a theme (eg, all things coffee!). There’s a lot of approaches to making a cohesive product line and organizing your table to keep like things together, but having cute plushies AND saucy pinups AND anime figurines AND coffee mugs can be confusing to customers who are trying to figure out what your table is all about.

Products with low price points that won’t be too expensive to make. Products priced $15 or lower are generally an easy buy for new customers, and offering a range of small inexpensive things is great for folks who are on a budget but still want to support you. When you’re just starting, look for things that don’t require a high amount of money to produce for you or can print in low quantities with a printer. Printed-at-home or handcrafted things are also possibilities for a more zine-style table presence and can save you a little money.

Products with a low minimum order quantity. Try not to order more than 10 or so copies of any one thing (especially anything that a stranger wouldn’t recognize like OC) until you’re confident it will sell. You can always order more after the show if you run out. If you DO have leftover stock (and 99% of the time you will), you definitely can sell it at a future convention, a crowdfunding campaign, include it as Patreon rewards, or list it in an online store. But being stuck with a closet full of 500 postcard prints that you can’t sell is not a fun time, even if you DID get a bulk discount.

Products that have a general appeal. Even if you have a massive social media following, 99% of your customers will have never heard of your comic or your original characters. Comic enthusiasts will often be open to giving a new story from a local artist a chance if you chat them up a little and tell them about it. But also having general interest products (animals, fanart, nerd humor, mythology) on the table that don’t require as much explanation to enjoy is a very good idea.

What do I need other than merch?

A good convention setup looks clean, organized, and easy to engage with. Once you’re accepted, look carefully at the details of the convention and what’s included with your space. Many conventions will give you a table and chair, but you’ll probably also need:

Backdrop - Backdrops display your best art and help people see it from across a crowded room, and partition your space if you’re very close to other tables. A photo backdrop stand with a bunch of 11x17/A3 prints taped together that you’re selling, a wire cube grid construction you can set on your table and stick smaller merch pieces to, or a professionally-printed banner with your name, URL/social handle, and your best art and are all solid options for this.

Where to get them: Google “photo backdrop” or look for photography supply stores. Google “wire cube grids” or look around hardware stores or Walmart/Target. For banners, you can find printers that can make retractable banners or vinyl banners to hang from a photo backdrop.

8-foot Tablecloth - Many conventions assign you a very weathered 6-foot table, so always plan on having something to cover it (optionally for multi-day shows, a second to cover your setup for security purposes when you leave your table.)

Where to get them: Fabric stores, bedsheets, party stores.

Displays - Flat items on a table are invisible to anyone who isn’t directly in front of you, so look for a way to make your stuff stand up and be seen! Easel stands to highlight featured books or art, cork boards and pins you can prop up, boxes or porfolio books to flip through, wire/wooden racks to hold lots of books are all great ideas to consider, depending on your products.

Where to get them: For heavy-duty stuff, you’ll probably want to Google around order displays online. Art supply stores will often have easels and portfolios. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money yet, dollar stores can be a gold mine of quick solutions too!

Price Signage - Having clear pricing on your table helps people decide what to buy without having to ask you about every product. Print your own signs at home, bring colorful post-its, or some stiff paper, markers, and tape. You can also use a white board or chalk board to make a “menu” style price list.

Where to get them: Office supply stores, Target/Walmart.

The ability to take money from people - A secure place that’s accessible to you to keep money for making change. Cashbox theft can unfortunately be an issue sometimes, so wearable pouches or discreet envelopes that don’t immediately look like money are better in this context. If you have a cellphone or tablet, you can also get an app where you can list your products and connect an attachment to swipe or tap credit cards for a small fee. (Note wi-fi and power are not dependable in many venues, so be sure to have a charger and a good data plan for your phone)

Where to get them: For cash, go to your bank in person and ask for $50-$100 in 1s and 5s. For credit card payments, Square, Paypal, and SumUp all have apps that you can put on a phone or tablet and have attachments to swipe or tap credit cards.

Business cards - Customers will often want to follow you on social media, read your comic, or shop online after the show, so be sure to have lots of business cards! Use your most memorable art so they’ll be able to remember where they got it from! If you’re looking to offer commissions or talk to agents/comic professionals, you might also include your email address, but otherwise leave it off.

Where to get them: Many printers offer business cards for cheap. In a pinch, you can also print your own at home or have one sign with your info and ask people to take a picture.

What to Expect

Lots of talking! You don’t have to have a carnival sideshow “step right up” persona, but be ready to give a friendly hello to folks who look interested in your work, and confidently answer questions about all of your products when asked. If you have a comic, practice a quick elevator pitch to explain it.

Not many breaks! While you can technically step away from your table whenever you want (if you’re alone, you can usually ask a neighboring table to watch your stuff for you), every hour you spend away from your table getting food or going to see cool panels are sales opportunities missed. Keep snacks and water at your table to minimize your time away, look for slow traffic times to step away and explore a bit, or bring a friend who can watch your table and sell things for you if you need longer breaks to recharge.

People who have never read a comic on the internet! For those of us who live and breathe our webcomics, this can come as a shock, but many people are still only readers of printed comics and will want to buy your physical book rather than read it free on the internet or buy a digital copy. Even if it’s just a small chapter book, having a print version is a great idea to get readers!

Fun and profit! This can also be surprising if you only have experience with online stores, but people come to convention floors with very open wallets. Things that don’t sell at all online can do gangbusters at conventions when presented right! Experiment with your setup to highlight your favorite things, take careful records of what attracts peoples’ attention and what sells, and keep notes for the next day and next convention, and have fun learning about this new market!

#conventions #comic conventions #marketing

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meruz · 1 year

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hello! i'm a big fan of your work! i noticed youre a risd alumnus, and i just wanted to ask: as someone currently working in the animation industry, how was your experience with risd? i'm having to choose between risd and a school that's popular specifically for animation, and was wondering if you might have any info that could help.

thank you, i hope this ask isn't any bother!

ooh I actually love this question because theres SO MUCH I wish I knew about the RISD animation program ahead of time and I'd love to give people a better idea than the one I had going in LOL. disclaimer that because I went a while ago (a whole class of college students have come and gone since I've graduated!) some of this info may be outdated. also this is purely my personal experience. BUT hopefully it helps

I want to say upfront that I loved my experience at RISD. I attended from the years 2013-2017. Like all private art colleges it was way too expensive (worth noting I had a significant need-based scholarship) but I worked my ass off and I learned a lot about art and I made friends there that I wouldn't trade for the world. As far as an art school experience goes I would tentatively say it was "worth it". However, I went in as a freshman hoping to major in animation and I came out with a BFA in illustration and this is a large part of why: RISD doesn’t have a good animation program for those looking to go into commercial animation. And I don’t think this is a grand statement like I think most of my fellow alum and teachers would agree. The thing is it’s kind of intentional LOL?? And the keyword here of course is “commercial”. Culturally, RISD is kind of a fine arts school first and I wouldn’t say they’re hostile towards industry work but it’s more often treated as secondary or like something unfortunate/dirty you have to do to make money so you can focus more on your “true art”. I have a tweet about this that went semi-viral a while ago actually…

I’m not gonna say everyone at RISD thinks this but it’s pretty prevalent. I'm honestly not outside the opinion lol. You can call it integrity or pretentiousness or whatever but without going into whether this is good or bad it really orients the curriculum and priorities of the school. It’s hearsay so take it with a grain of salt but I’ve heard that on occasions where RISD has been offered opportunities or partnerships to make the school into a pipeline for big studios (like making work specifically to cater to those places and funnel students through the door right after school) they’ve always stuck to their guns and said no to preserve their independence.

The animation program at RISD is actually called FAV (sometimes stylized as F/A/V) for Film Animation Video and is… as one would guess..a mishmash of animation, film, and experimental video. Multimedia, experimental work is highly encouraged and overall the work and structure is a lot more geared towards submitting independent short films to film and animation festivals than it is towards building a portfolio to secure industry or client work. I didn’t major in FAV but I was on the FAV thesis track for about 3 years and I’d say the amount of help I had making an animation industry portfolio from my experience with FAV classes is close to none. At least for the thesis program we were never required or even asked to do anything such as design character turnarounds, bg designs or paint, even storyboards. And to be fair a lot of that pre-prod work that fills industry portfolios is a necessity of large commercial crews that need to coordinate over disparate departments and studios, not so much for independent single-animator projects.

But as a result, a lot of RISD students with ambitions to go into animation/video games/ entertainment industry art in general actually major in illustration. Myself included. It’s not a perfect 1:1 match and even within the department there’s conflict as to whether there should be more of a focus on traditional editorial illustration or otherwise but it’s one of the broadest majors at RISD because past sophomore year it’s 100% electives and there’s more classes oriented towards technical drawing and painting skill, concept, story, and communication for client work in a very all of which funnel rather neatly into commercial animation. It’s also a good route for exploring your options like if you’re stuck between wanting to do children’s books, TCG paintings, and comic books you can explore all those at more or less the same time. The downside to this is that in order to get what you want you really have to build your own curriculum. I definitely think it rewards the proactive.

So while nothing at RISD got me to build an animation portfolio I took a lot of classes that I think were fundamental to developing those skills. Ie I did actually take a storyboarding elective, painting classes that focused on color, illustration concepts classes that formed critical thinking and seeing, a sculpting class that trained anatomy and 3d construction skills, Barbara Meier teaches a 3D animation class at Brown that RISD students can cross-enroll at that’s pretty good? None of these are substitutes for a holistic animation curriculum but I think the education I did get was a lot broader and just as personally fulfilling. At the end of the day, I'm glad I wasn't so focused on animation that I was still able to explore illustration, comics, painting and sculpture. I led a student club that coordinated Brown and RISD students to work together and make video games every semester! I take the skills I picked up from these things into my animation career all the time.

Also the nice thing about animation jobs in the U.S. is that you don’t actually need to have animated a whole kickass industry-standard short film to be hireable. The pipeline is so compartmentalized and jobs so specialized that bg designers really just need to be good at environmental perspective and linework, and bg painters don’t even need to worry about that they can just be good at color and light. And almost no one at least in the U.S. animation industry actually needs to know how to animate LOL. Am I being reductive? Am I downing a heavy dose of copium for going to the school that I did? Who knows. Midway through my freshman year I was seriously considering transferring to a school with a better animation curriculum but I never completed those applications because I took a class during the winter semester called Science-Fiction Fantasy Illustration and midway between designing shitty aliens and my new best friends falling asleep on me during a 2001 Space Odyssey screening I was like. This isn’t so bad. Anyways, it turned out ok, we all have jobs now.

All that aside, Providence is a beautiful little city. There’s an arts and alternative culture there that feels completely different from those in places like NYC and LA. Chris Van Allsburg the writer/illustrator of Jumanji and The Polar Express was a RISD illustration alum and he based a lot of the imagery of Santa's Village off of Providence. This drawing I did is literally a view from Benefit st that I would walk from my off-campus housing to campus everyday:

There’s a lot of stuff that goes into whether a school, or any school, is the right fit for you. Sorry for rambling but I tried to answer this quick because ik college decisions can be time sensitive. Good luck with your decision making!

#ask

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gayerthanevertbh · 2 years

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mystery of love.

your teacher has an affair with you, until it grows so much deeper than just doing it for the grades. but sometimes, nothing lasts forever. or does it?

pairings | teacher!natasha x young!fem!reader

warnings | 18+ MINORS DNI! teacher/student relationship, taking reader’s virginity, innocent!naive!reader, fingerfucking, oral sex (r receiving), strap-on used, oral on strap-on (n receiving), sex on the couch, sex in the classroom, pet names, praise kink, and heavy angst.

notes | while i was listening to “mystery of love” i decided to write a short fic. this took hours, but i hope you guys like it! get ready though because... it’s going to get rough.

word count | 7k

navigation.

“It looks like you’re failing Ms. Romanoff’s class.”

I lifted an eyebrow at my principal’s stern and solemn voice, telling me that I was failing Ms. Romanoff’s class when, in fact, I was an ace in that subject. But I can say that Russian is my weakest subject, but I hardly fail at anything. I was aiming for a scholarship, I’m very well gifted–I do sound like I’m bragging, but it’s true.

“How could that be?” I asked. “I don’t know how I’m failing a class like Ms. Romanoff’s–”

“She has a note that you failed her two quizzes and the exam you took today,” she responded, looking up and down at me with a questionable look that made me feel queasy. “All your subjects are 90%, your Russian class is… 70%.”

What?

Could this be a misunderstanding? Has someone raided through my exams and decided: I’m going to make the top student in this school fail, nothing, I just decided to and removed my original score into a fake one. They were clearly doing a fantastic job to convince Ms. Romanoff into thinking I did fail. Unless, oh unless, I’m failing. Maybe I’m not so good at that subject, after all. And what did I do to deserve this malicious act? Perhaps I’m being too vague and noble, perhaps I’m also probably being a bitch as I find that world too vulgar for my own liking. Either way, maybe I’m thinking way too much on this because I have a slight infatuation with my teacher or maybe I find her too intimidating that could easily scare me off the roof.

“I don’t want to inform your parents about this,” please, don’t. They’d be screeching my name and say how I’m deliberating this family. “Just go to her class right now and talk about it, maybe she’ll give you another exam. And then, you could get your scholarship.”

“But Russian isn’t even my major subject.”

“It could be added to your portfolio soon,” she sighs, pressing two of her fingers on her nose bridge to keep the blood flow going. “Ms. Romanoff says you’re her favorite student, she wouldn’t want you to fail her class.”

I nodded and stood up from my chair, walking out of the office with an exhausted look on my face, looking haunted as usual. It was only four o'clock in the afternoon, perhaps I have more time to have a few conversations with Ms. Romanoff about my failing Russian class. Again, I wasn’t the best, but I admit that I can pass at anything. Apparently not, I find myself a failure for that.

When I knocked on the door to push myself in, I saw her grading papers with her coat on the ramp of her chair, her blouse was a bit open and I could see her pale chest that was almost looking like it was panting. She lifts her head and gives me a tight smile, meaningless to say she was disappointed in me. Usually, she would always greet me with a simple good morning or have a nice day today, Y/N and when I didn’t receive any of that–I realize that I may have screwed things up.

“Ms. Romanoff, is there something I need to do?”

“Yes,” she leans on her chair and hikes up her leg, the pleated pants of hers are being crumpled painfully. She motioned her hand to the empty seat and I quickly sat on it, not making her wait. “You do know why you’re here, yes?”

I nodded, biting my inner cheek with a nervous feeling–it’s like prickling against my skin.

“Good,” her voice was huskier than before, not like it’s always been husky, it’s just huskier now. She clears her throat and shows me my exam paper, with a hiss look on her face–as if feeling bad for me. “See that? You’ve failed my class.”

“I understand.” do I, really?

“Do you, sunshine?”

With the sudden nickname, I felt my bottoms squirming a little. Was that intentional? Or it may have just slipped out of her mouth casually? Or maybe, she was flirting with me? Oh, horrendous, why would you think such a thing like that? With all the rumors about a student having an affair with their teacher, it couldn’t be possibly right to assume that way. I gave her a winced face and looked down on my paper, sixty out of one hundred fifteen. God, I was, in fact, failing her class.

“Now I do understand,” I murmured, looking at her eyes with an apologetic look on my face. “I...I’m sorry about this, Ms. Romanoff–I probably didn’t understand a few of your lessons. I was just afraid to say something and I can admit that it was my fault. I don’t–”

“Calm down, sweetheart,” she interrupts me with a deep chuckle as she waves her hand to calm me down. With that pet name, I wouldn’t. If you could call me like that again, I think I’d faint. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s not like you’re always failing in my class, hm?”

“Yes.”

“Good girl,” she says quietly, almost as if she’s saying it in secret, and leans closer to her table that I could see the color of her bra: black, it’s probably her favorite color. “Listen, you’re one of the best students in my class. I can hardly blame you for failing this, knowing that it’s quite hard for your age.”

“I’m eighteen–”

“Maturity then,” she says. “I understand if this lesson was your weakness, but I cannot allow this score to be your passing grade. I’m sure there are plenty of ways to ace my test, right dorogoya?”

That new nickname felt so artificial, I could hardly believe she was calling me that. I knew what it meant, of course, I did. She was calling me darling with that hazy, glazed, Russian gaze that I always find myself being so–immersed if that’s the right term. She looks at me too deeply, almost as if she’s looking at her first love and I know that’s not me. I was far off her age, I looked too young to be her–

Why am I thinking like this?

“R-Right.”

“You’re stuttering,” she says, sounding almost like she’s fond of it. “What are you feeling right now, kotenok?”

“I don’t think this is appropriate.”

“What is?” she furrows her eyebrows with a sly smirk, stop doing wonders to my stomach. She stands up and grabs a chair, placing it next to mine so she could sit on it. Now, we are close. I could see her chest much more, it was close to mine. “We’re just talking about your grades, Y/N.”

“Why are you calling me those nicknames?” I asked curiously. I was, in fact, curious myself. Why was she calling me those undying pet names that would make me dream about it when I go to sleep, how her hands are on my biceps as she leans in to kiss me. No, you can’t think like that.

“Why not?”

“I’m your student,” I said, affirming that word. Student. “And you’re my teacher. Don’t you think it’s way pass over civilization to be called someone… dorogoya?”

“And what if I call you that again?” she says, already taunting me. I felt her breath trickling against my lower lip but we weren’t close yet–at least not to my liking. “You could always say you’re uncomfortable, you could always speak loudly about it. Because you’re entitled to your own opinion, you have the right to say what you want to say it’s because you’re human.”

“Are you giving me a lesson?”

“Am I?”

I need her away far as possible so that I could be able to breathe, to take in everything she is saying. If she’s close, too close, I know myself that I’d let her do whatever she wanted to do with me. She’s mature enough to know that doing something so scandalous as this, would harm her career as well as my school. My parents would never approve of something like this. But I needed her close to me because I know she’s the only person I’d run to if I was in any trouble, and she showed me less in five minutes that I could trust her by that fucking voice that is making my cunt pump with juices. Could she tell? Would she touch me? Would her lips stain all over my lips as well as my skin? Touch me, Ms. Romanoff. You know how badly you want to touch me.

“I know what you want.” I stated, breathing hard. Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me!

She tilts her head, looking confused when she knows what she’s doing. Her face is closer now, we were inches apart.

“I want to kiss you.”

“Then kiss me,” I whimpered quietly, squeezing my legs together. “Kiss me.”

“You’re so innocent, aren’t you? So naive,” she leans so much closer that our lips are meters apart and I wanted her so bad to just close our lips together. I want her to breathe me in, to touch my cheek, and just let her tongue do its work. “I love it.”

“Ms. Romanoff…”

“Kotenok,” she whispers dangerously close to me, placing her hand on my right cheek–slightly squeezing it as if denying that I was real to her. “You don’t know how much I’ve wanted this to happen.”

“Is that why you deliberately failed me? So you could still have this opportunity?”

“Perhaps,” she hums out, her hand now going down to my neck. She felt warm. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

She leans over and kisses me lightly on the lips. It took me some time to process that this was happening to me, that I was having my first kiss with my teacher who I think about constantly, who I want to see whenever I go to my school with my skirt that she likes; I know what she likes. I felt naked as if I was born with nudity. She pulls away with the taste of my lips on hers, and asked: “Did you like that?” I nodded, trying to catch her lips because I wanted her so much, but she gives a tad chuckle and pulls me closer with her other hand on my hip.

“Kiss me again,” I asked politely and quietly. “Please, kiss me again.”

“You’re pretty when you beg.”

I bit my lower lip when her hands cupped my face, slowly leaning in, and pecked my lips twice. Then, once I was desperate enough, she gave me a small smirk and we began to kiss passionately. It was all tongue, all gnarly but felt amazing on my behalf. My hands didn’t know what else to do with them, so I decided to put them in her hair and I clung to it. My mouth was starting to hurt from the kiss, she was giving me a make-out session and I think of it as two human beings being passionate with each other. Not just some professor and a student scandal, just us beings.

“You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever laid eyes on,” she murmurs, still kissing my lips with her two fingers holding my chin up. “If you want to pass my test, you have to let me eat your tiny pussy.”

My legs squeezed shut once again when she gave me the offer to pass a test. That is, she is eating me out. I’ve seen them on porn sites, sometimes in movies too. And I always find it very attractive, especially when an older woman goes down on you with her hazed look on her face that screams: I’m eating the best fruit in the world, and no one can stop me. I wanted to tell her and say that I wasn’t experiencing myself, that I’m a virgin. Oh god, it makes my stomach hurt whenever I think about the word virgin. She might even have to stop what we’re doing since I have no experience, who knows? Should I tell her? Go on, tell her.

“I’m a virgin.”

She pauses for a second and looks down at me with her eyebrows scrunched a little, this is it. She’s going to let go of me and kick me out of the classroom and tells me to never speak about this again–as if nothing happened. I’m scared and nervous for that to happen, it can’t happen. We’re already here, I wanted her badly enough for her to slip her tongue inside of me.

“I understand,” Ms. Romanoff responded with a small grin, slowly bringing both of her hands to my waist to pull me much closer to her. “Do you have… a boyfriend? Girlfriend?”

“N…No.”

She smiles and kisses my lips, pulling away with a wet substance lingering on my lower lip. “Good. Wouldn’t have to break a poor boy’s heart.”

I love how she touches me without even thinking about it, the way her body wouldn’t flinch when her skin made contact with mine. It’s like she’s been preparing herself to be in this position, to take me, as if I was born to be hers. And perhaps, I was in fact, born to be really hers. Although we do dream, don’t we? We all hope and manifest for someone in our life to swoop us in, take care of us, and love us as we wanted. And somehow, maybe, she could be that person despite our age difference. And while we kissed more passionately, I felt her hands under my shirt. She pulled away from my mouth and then began to pepper the wet kisses on my jaw, I could tell she was restraining a moan to herself at how warm I was to her.

“You’re so beautiful,” she says; hazed. She touches me again, but this time her hands are now cupping my bra. “And your boobies are perfect, would you take this shirt off for me, princess?”

“What if someone could see?”

“No one would,” she reassures, looking at me intently, almost as if she’s asking me to give in. Give in, dorogoya. I’ll make you pass your grade. “It’s just us, I promise, malyshka.”

Malyshka, little girl. It slips out of her tongue so easily that I could barely catch it, her voice sounded so deep and quiet to the point that you could never understand what she was trying to say. But her hands, her lips, were everywhere like spreading fire. When her other hand slipped under my skirt, I knew what she was looking for. Although I didn’t know how to propose to it, should I say it aloud? Adjoin our hands together once more?

“Can I touch you there?” her voice sounded like a plea with a murmur, and I couldn’t care less. I wanted her to ravish me until I was a bare fruit.

“Y-Yes.”

She grins and gives me a searing kiss while her hand inches closer to my white cotton panties. I never pulled away, and neither did she. We kept kissing and kissing until I was moaning in her mouth like I’m in heat. I don’t ever want you to stop kissing me, Ms. Romanoff. I want your hands all over my body, to my ribs, and to my neck. Take me, take me, take me, take me.

“Can I remove your skirt?”

You don’t even have to ask.

She kneels in between my legs and kisses my chest, her tongue lapping on my cleavage. My other hand was threaded through the back of her silk hair as my head was thrown back with such pleasure that she was giving me. If she goes further, I cannot be the same again. If she fucks me on this chair, going to this classroom would never be the same again. It would fill my head with naughty images of us fucking, of her fucking me. She opens her eyes and watches as I try to arch my hips to get more of that addictive feeling.

“You like that?” she taunts, her breath hovering over my lips.

I nodded furiously, moaning with a higher tone. “Uh-huh.”

“Really?” she asked again, with more teasing. If she would speak to me like this again, I don’t think I could ever function. Her thumb swiped across my covered folds as I jolted my hips back up with the friction that had caused. “Oh, you like that. Do you want me to lick your pussy?”

Say pussy again, say it. You’re turning me on so much, Ms. Romanoff.

“Yes!” I squealed, shutting my eyes tight. It’s getting all too much, especially if she keeps flicking my covered clit with her thumb. “I-I want you–so much…”

“Calm down darling,” Ms. Romanoff whispers sweetly, chuckling to herself at how desperate and needy I was. You can’t blame me, though. You’re too close. She brings my thighs closer until her mouth is on top of my panties, almost in awe when she sees a little ribbon on the cloth. “You’re a good girl, right baby?”

“I try,” I responded, looking down and watching as she pulled down my panties, her eyes glimmering with my swollen clit, begging for it to be touched. “I-I’ll be good for you!”

“I know baby,” she whispers again and kisses my pelvis, trailing her lips down until her mouth was breathing into my folds. “You’re so pretty, pretty, pretty baby…”

Ms. Romanoff’s tongue swiped across my folds, moaning deeply to herself about how delicious I tasted. She even whispers it like a prayer, you fucking taste so good, so pure. And while she was going down on me, I wondered why she wanted to do this. Why would she, in a world, pick a girl like me? Did she have an interest in me for a long time? Impossible, she could never even look at me as much as I look at her. There were glances, but they were brief, and never meant anything. So why on earth was she going down on me?

“M-Ms. Romanoff?”

“Mmph?” she doesn’t pull away from my vagina but opened her eyes, furrowing to look at me. I gulped when her tongue was still lapping on my folds, the tip of it sometimes poking on my virgin hole. If you push that inside of me, I promise you I’d die.

“Why are you doing this?”

She pulls away with a smack of her lips and kisses my clit, responding quietly as if it’s a secret.

“I like you.”

“When?”

“Ever since I’ve become your teacher,” she says, chuckling. “When you flash your legs to me, or even with your hair that is tied up or even sprawled all over your shoulders, I get wet. Sometimes, I think about you when I fuck other women–wondering what you would taste like, thinking about you falling apart beneath me. Does it excite you when you have no idea what I’ll do to your pretty body?”

Yes, yes it does frankly excite me. So do it then, what are you waiting for?

I could never begin to fathom how much she attracts me, how she would touch my shoulder whenever I’d ask for help. Sometimes, I’d do it on purpose to catch her attention. Was I ever a bad person to think about her making love to me in a janitor’s closet? Or even in this classroom, where it’s happening, have I become this bad? I’ve become this unabashed reckless girl who I need to be touched.

“You do turn me on,” I say, somehow reassuring. She smiles, not a flirtatious smile, but a genuine smile. She could see my blushed cheeks, now I’m just ruining the sex. “I’m sorry, you could keep licking me now.”

“It will hurt once I push my fingers inside of you,” she warns while peppering more kisses onto my clit, her tongue flicking its bud. It’s sensitive, which makes my head roll back again. “That’s it, whine for me baby, tell me that no one else would fuck you like this.”

“No one will,” I responded, chanting even. “No one, I promise Ms. Romanoff, I don’t care if it would hurt–I want you to fuck me, now.”

“Easy there, dorogoy,” she brings herself up again and kisses my lips. I could taste myself and I moan because of it. It turns me severely on to think about when she could only fuck me and no other girls would fall apart except me. Except for me. “You’re my pretty little girl, I love you. I love everything about you, baby. I love these tits of yours, those eyes of yours, and your body. I want to get to know my baby, I want to love you.”

When I felt two of her fingers slip inside of me, all I could remember was my face twitching as my breath trembled. It felt irritating, especially on the inside of my walls when she didn’t stop pushing. She asked, “Are you okay? Do you want me to stop?” and she wasn’t some asshole who would keep going, she kept asking for assurance if I was okay. I whimpered with a tiny voice, nodding relentlessly when I felt her fingers curling up.

“Oh god…”

“It’s okay,” she murmurs, smiling faintly. “It feels good, doesn’t it? Do you want me to keep pushing further?”

Push me in, let me feel the tip of your fingers that would rattle my skin, come closer. I need to breathe in you, please let me be your muse.

“Please.”

“I got you, my little girl.”

Her face nuzzled against my neck as her free arm wrapped around my torso. I could feel her panting, and I noticed I was too. We were both in so much heat that my eyes have gone blurry from the feeling of her fingers pumping inside of me. I could almost feel like passing out if that would ever happen. She moans deeply when I start to clench around her thick fingers, wondering to herself if her strap-on would ever fit inside of me. The thought turns her on, especially when an image of me lying on her bed with my legs spread wide open–needing to be fucked. She would slip her dick in no time and fuck out of my mercy, grabbing on my breast and telling me how beautiful I am.

“I bet no one else could make you fall apart, none other than me,” she says; smugly. She pumps into me hard, you could see my breasts bouncing because of it, the chair squeaks under me as she does so. “You’re so beautiful when you’re like this, all submissive and needy. Such a desperate young girl, my good girl.”

When I came around her fingers, all I could remember was her head buried into my shoulder blade as we moan in synchronization. She had her eyes shut tightly, having an orgasm in her panties at how much I was clenching her fingers. She loves it, she lives for it. And her lips wouldn’t stop kissing my skin, whispering endless: you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen when, myself, I try to believe that.

Since after that day, we started a relationship that no one else can relate to.

A few months later, we were staying in her trailer. For some reason, she gives off these vibes to Derek Shepherd. He’s a rich guy that lives inside a trailer, in the middle of a big land. She’s that type of person, Natasha is exactly like Derek. At first, when I saw the trailer, I was giggling loudly. She turned around and quirked, “Something wrong with my house?”

“Have you ever watched this show Grey’s Anatomy?”

She shook her head as she understood what I was trying to say, and began to remove her coat and place it on a hanger that was on the door. She responded, “You’re cute, you know that?”

“You’ve said that plenty of times today.”

“That’s because it’s true, my kotenok,” she turns around and swiftly brings me to her bedroom, pulling me to her mattress until my head was laying on her chest. She hums quietly, like a lullaby, and trails her fingers up and down on my naked arm. We stared at each other for a bit, admiring the presence until I asked about something in a quiet voice.

“Nat?”

“What is it, little girl?”

I hesitated for a bit, should I ask about that? Would it be too condescending of me? The thought of it could not stop rattling in my brain, to the point it was starting to hurt. They say in all relationships, there’s this word called trust. Lying to your individual would break that trust, and I need to trust Natasha. Because, knowing how innocent I can be, I also don’t want to be hurt by an older woman who could possibly manipulate me. But she never did, she was very open-minded with everything as well. So I could ask this, right?

“Are you married?”

She tensed a bit, almost thinking of another option to take away from this conversation. But she looked at me, solemnly but with anxiety. Her hand places on my cheek and squeezes it with care as if she’s apologizing to me. Could this be true? Is she married? Tell me lies instead, Natasha. Because if you tell me now, I don’t think I could bear it. I would rip my heart out and give it to you instead, do whatever you want with it.

“I’m going through a divorce.”

I’m going to be sick. My face says so, and she could see it very clearly. I felt nauseous, the thought of being a homewrecker scares me. Heck, she has never told me her age! She could be in her forties for Christ’s sake, why do I even care? It was sex at first, right? To only pass a grade. And now, I find myself falling in love with her.

This can’t be real.

“Oh god.”

“Sunshine…”

“I think I have to go,” I murmured and stood up quickly, not caring if I left my jacket on the ramp of her chair in her bedroom. I needed to stay away from her before it was all too late before I could let her in me. I needed to run away, never search for her again, and hope for the best. But her arms were linked around my body as she pulled me to her chest, her chin resting on my shoulders. “Ms. Romanoff–”

“I don’t love my wife, okay? I don’t. We don’t live together anymore,” she reasons, an evident crack of her voice in her throat–my heart aches. “I love you. You’re all I could think about, you know that. My wife doesn’t mean anything in our relationship, we are getting a divorce.”

“I can’t let myself be a homewrecker, Natasha.”

“You aren’t,” she responded, I could tell that she was about to cry. I was slipping away in just a minute. “Please don’t go, you have to stay. Please, look at me. You know how much I love you.”

“I don’t even know how old you are,” I say with a turn, my eyes glistening with tears, how badly she wanted to kiss my eyes. She shakes her head and cups my cheeks, slightly pulling me in until my head was on her chest, her hands on the back of my waist as she swayed me slowly, like a dance. “I-I don’t know anything about you…”

“All you know now is this, here,” she says with a point, kissing my head. “If I tell you how old I am, you’d slip away.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“It seems like you were going to leave me the minute I told you I’m still married.”

“It’s because you are in fact married,” I sniffed on her shirt, feeling more vulnerable than I was when I got up from her bed. “What if your wife knows about us? What could happen?”

“You know I’ll protect you, you know that.”

“But what if you can’t?” I asked, not trying to sound a prude but it was a mere question. She hugs me tighter, bringing her lips back to my head. “What if… you can’t?”

“You’re my little sunshine,” she says like a dream, smiling down at me with tears shedding from her eyes. I nodded on her chest, wrapping my arms around her muscular body. She felt nice. “I will always protect you.”

“Tell me how old you are before I could give myself to you.”

Her body stills and this was life and death for Natasha, I could make myself dust away once she confesses. If she lies, it would make no sense. Because she knows I’m smart, how tactical I can be. There was no point in running now, everything had to be laid out; it had to be done, or else when she woke up, none of this existed.

“I’m forty, baby.”

She’s two decades older than me.

She could be my mother at this point.

Did I care? No, not really. At least she was open and honest about it, she wouldn’t hide anything from me. And if she did, sooner or later I’d find out. I know I will, again, be tactical like that. Instead of being upset–which I’m not–I hugged her tighter as well as she did, whimpering under my head as she whispers: “I thought I’d lose you.”

“You could never lose me,” I responded quietly, kissing her chest and her little arrow necklace. “I’m your girl, remember?”

“You’re my girl,” she repeats faintly, looking down at me with loving eyes as if she’s in her teenage years again. “My little girl.”

I was now kneeling on the floor with my mouth wrapped around her thick strap-on, her eyes intently looking at every movement I make. Even the sounds that I made fell into Natasha’s ears, finding it really beautiful. Her hands gripped the back of my hair, pushing me further to her cock. The sight makes her squirm, the sweatiness on my temple gets her hips driving up to my mouth until you can hear me gagging loudly in the middle of her trailer. She gasps for air, her eyes shut tight when the dildo inside of her would hit her spot, it’s almost like she could feel your mouth wrapping around her dick; she was in heaven.

“Go deeper,” she softly demands with a heaving chest. “Get that cock ready for your pussy, Mommy is going to take care of you.”

Once her cock was coated with the spit of my saliva, I was on her couch while she jerks herself off, admiring the way the tip of her cock hits on my clit repeatedly. It makes her insane, oblivious, and very aroused by the sight. She looks back up at me and asked with a croaked voice: “Do you love me? Do you live in me?”

How could she ask such a question like that when she knows that I do love her? That I do live for her?

“I love you.” it almost sounded so faint, so quiet that you could barely hear me. But she heard those three words very clearly, it made her fall apart. Her thrusts became more violent and more passionate, and my nails were scratching her tattooed back with my head thrown back at the edge of the couch. Hers were buried into the crook of my neck, moaning and grunting each time she forced a thrust. I could assume that we’re making love, or maybe this is just some fuck. But it’s more than just a fuck or getting good grades, it’s just two individuals falling in love with each other.

“My dorogoya,” Natasha says with a hushed whisper, almost sounding like she’s telling you a secret. My hips were meeting hers while the couch was creaking from our sex, the air thickening between us. I could feel the sweat on her back and saw how focused she was in order to just come. “I’m gonna cum soon… you have to cum with me. I-I love you too, I love you more.”

Both of you came but she was the first one who initiated it first. She bites into my neck, her back hunching as she twitches above me, I could feel her nipples poking on my chest. I clenched around her dick and came twice, my lips reaching for hers as I tried to find comfort. I could remember saying, please don’t stop loving me, I could never stop loving you.

She said the same, and we both held on to each other.

This has to be the worst thing that is about to happen in my life, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

Neither Natasha can.

I got accepted to Italy, where I could learn more about the historic architecture in Sicily. I didn’t mean to apply, I just kind of “wanted” to, somehow test my intelligence. And a few weeks later, I got accepted. I was only supposed to go to Standford University so that I could be closer to Natasha, but this only made it worse. Why did I have to apply to a university where I’m a thousand miles away from her? What could go wrong? Absolutely everything, she would hate me for it. I knew she would, she’d be heartbroken.

I didn’t get accepted to Stanford.

That was the worst part, I only got to choose one school. And to my hopes and dreams, to my future, Sicily would be the best choice. Sicily is my only hope. If I want a better life, a better future, Sicily is there. My relationship with Natasha was probably temporary, she still hasn't divorced her wife. Somehow, I think she’s lying to my face. She tries to convince me that she will, in fact, get divorced when nothing even happens. I wait for a: I’m finally a free woman and I get to marry you! But that’s such a dream other than being realistic. We all hope and dream sometimes.

When I showed her the acceptance letter; her face fell, just as well as her heart.

“Nat?” I placed my hand on her lap and tried to catch a glance at her, but she never looked back at me. She just stared at the wall for the longest time, which makes my blood cold.

“Natty, say something please.”

“You’re leaving me.”

The way she said it with such a broken voice but nonchalant makes me even want to stay longer, that I don’t have to do college so that I get to be with her. And maybe, just maybe, that would be the plan. I get to be with her other than meeting stupid people who could never see me the way she does. By the time I held her hand, she looked at me with a loud sob as she wrapped her arm around me, kissing the side of my head.

“I love you,” she says, my heart breaking more. She wipes the tears from her eyes and kisses my lips; it feels like a goodbye. “You should do it, go chase your dreams because you still have more time.”

“What do you mean?”

Natasha shakes her head as I don’t understand what she’s saying, but by heart I do. Clearly, I do. I just don’t accept what she’s telling me to do, I can’t do it. I shake my head just as well as she does, and I’ve gone furious. Why is she pushing me away? Why isn’t she fighting for me? Slap me, choke me, tell me that I don’t have to go so that I get to be with you. Go on, do what you want. I want you to hurt me, do it. Please?

“You have to go,” She repeats under her breath and kisses my lips, this time it was longer. I held onto her with my hand cupping her cheeks hard, kissing her much deeper. I don’t know if I could forget her lips, her hands, and her scent. I felt vulnerable, anxious, and eager to stay with her. Just stay, I thought. But I couldn’t, knowing how much I’ll regret it once I do. “I love you, remember that. One day when you get back, I’ll marry you. We’ll have a farmhouse in Ohio and stay there forever, okay? No one will ever understand how much I love you, no one.”

“I love you too, Nat.”

I hate you, Natasha. I hate you to my guts, to my loins, and to my chest. I envy you, I envy you for pushing me away. This is all your fault, you’re going to make me forget you. You know that; you know that well enough.

For the next few weeks, I never saw her again. I decided to lose contact with her so everything–well at least for the both of us–would be a lot easier. She would never have to see me again, think about me again, and reminisce about the times we had again. It’s better to leave her heartbroken than to remember what we shared, how we made love every time I see her, and how much we both cared whenever we would be alone. And now that it’s gone, all I have to do is move on.

Hey, it’s Y/N! Leave me a message if you’re not able to contact me, thanks!

“Y/N? It’s Tasha,” I took a deep breath and played with my fingers instead of saying what I have to say. I know she won’t be able to get this, possibly never, but it’s better to say something than nothing. It’s been approximately two years since the last time I saw her, the last time I touched her face and kissed her lips. And with those two years, I’ve talked to my wife. Perhaps I felt guilty when I slept with her again, when she was the only person I could run to because she was no longer with me. Perhaps I am an asshole for sleeping with someone who I wanted to have a divorce with, and that’s the reason why I’m calling the young girl to let her know that I will never have a divorce, to let her know that I’m trapped.

I love my wife deeply, I do. But with Y/N, it’s a whole different scenario. It’s not because my wife isn’t there when I fell in love with her, it’s because of how she can be so pure with me that nothing else matters other than us, other than our love. And now that she’s gone, there’s no reassurance that she’ll be back. She’s probably out there dreaming, meeting a girl who’s for her age, being happier with her than she was with me.

“I just want to tell you that I’m getting married again,” I say with a regretful whisper, I felt so quiet. I gripped the telephone and let out a small tear, knowing how everything will be over once I say these things that needs to be said. “Yeah, I’m marrying Wanda again. And I know you’ll call me a traitor for this, perhaps I am. But just know that if you were here–” Breathe. “If you were here, you know I’d wait for you. But you left me with no call, with no last goodbye. You left, and I waited for you. And after a year of waiting, I realized how I’m going to feel after a while.”

Say something, please Y/N. Say something.

Were my words coming out of nowhere? Or did it have a purpose? Was I hurting her? I think I was, more than she did to me. I licked my lips twice and played my thumb against the wooden table, trying to hold a sob.

The die is cast.

“Remember that lullaby I made for you?” I asked, smiling to myself with tears flowing down from my eyes freely, wiping them away with a puffed face. Please call me again once you hear this, please tell me how much you still love me. “That lullaby will always be for you, it will never be for Wanda. I love you, okay? I love you so much more, I love you more than her. I loved you until my last breath, I loved you until I could kill myself and die alone. I’d rather be with you than Wanda, you know that. But you’re not here, baby. You left me without a goodbye.”

I knew this feeling wasn’t going to last long and that I’d be with Wanda again, working on our relationship whilst still being married to her. And that my stupidity that thought of marrying her again was like a frozen time, I don’t know how to explain it. But I think I’m lying to myself, I think I’ll love Y/N until my last breath. I know that myself, I just keep denying it.

Come back to me, pretty baby. Come back, be with me.

“Anyway,” I let out a shaky breath and smiled once more, this time it felt too surreal. “I’m proud of you, okay? I’m proud of what you’re about to achieve. I know you’ll be the best history teacher out there. Good luck, my love. I wish I could come and see you, I wish I could kiss you. I love you.”

YA lyublyu vas.

The truth is that Y/N never received that voicemail. She only received it when Natasha had a baby with Wanda and they were living off on a farm together, just as she thought they would do. But in reality, it was never her.

It will never be her.

And perhaps this was on her behalf, for leaving Natasha without saying anything. If she would just kiss her goodbye or even tell her, they would never depart. Maybe they can still work it out. But this was mostly her fault, she knows that it’s all her fault. She regrets going to the airport, instead of being with Natasha. She also regrets meeting her for the first time, which was bound to never happen, yet it still did. Maybe it was only “Right person, wrong timing” and she hardly believes in that. Maybe this was in another reality where they don’t happen, and in some other universe that they do.

She’s now thirty years old with a husband, alone in a trailer. She never achieved her dreams, she was taken advantage of her money and her power by men who were severely manipulative. If she heard that voicemail sooner, she would’ve come back home into Natasha’s arms. But if she calls her now, she’ll ruin that stupid marriage.

Nothing lasts forever, most certainly to a person who you think would be the one for you.

how are we all feeling? what are your thoughts on this one?

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff x you #natasha angst #natasha romanoff fanfic #black widow x reader #black widow x you #a's oneshots!

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habken · 6 months

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oh my gosh fellow animation student !! I love learning about other people's art school experience, if you'd be willing to share? I think the diversity of assignments and teaching styles and focuses is cool 🩷 love your art as well !!

Yeah I can share a bit ! I’ve really enjoyed the program so far, I think I’ve learned a lot and I’ve gotten the chance to use programs I wouldn’t have access to usually!

First semester I had 9 classes (I’m counting story lab + lecture as two separate ones) and it was honestly pretty difficult to keep up with the workload, especially because I was still finishing up zine work. I had so many assignments, there were many weeks I’d have something due everyday, sometimes multiple things in the same day, so time management was a big struggle and I ended up having to sacrifice the amount of drawing I did for fun and for socmed </3 I think that was the biggest bummer cause it meant I lost both what helped me relieve stress and something that made me happy :/

While the work was intense and time consuming, I really did enjoy what I was making for each class. My favourite classes were character design, storyboarding, and animation. I felt like they were the ones I did best in and I realized loved my animation teacher her classes were really fun and I laughed a lot lol. I also really enjoyed my life drawing class, I have a lot of respect for my teacher, he marked harshly but I learned so much under him and my life drawing skills have improved a lot since september. He also collects bones and brought them in and it was super cool. He told us all the stories of were he’d picked them up, like asking farmers or finding roadkill and cleaning them.

Overall in each class, I really appreciated the critique I’ve gotten and I feel like I’ve really improved! I actually dropped out of art school before and one of the main reasons was because I felt like I wasn’t really getting anything out of the program. My stuff was nowhere near perfect but I was one of the better students so teachers used my stuff as an example rather than see me as a student that also was there to learn. I hated that so I left, and I’m really happy I don’t feel that way in the program I’m in now!

What I will say though is one of the hardest lessons to learn is that you can’t go 100% on every single thing, it’s just straight up impossible unless you don’t take care of yourself and get no sleep. It sucks because you want to do your best and be amazing at everything, but an assignment that’s half assed is better than handing in nothing at all and also better than permanently hurting yourself because you push through the pain and don’t allow yourself any rest.

One of the things that sucked the most assignment wise was my bone portfolio for life drawing, I had so much planned out and I really wanted to do amazing, but I had to cut a lot out to get it done on time, and so the finished project was lacking a lot. I got a decent mark for it, but personally I know it could’ve been so much better, and I just have to live with the sacrifice I made so I could get all my work done on time lol

I don’t want to share too much more about the assignments I did, but I was really proud of my work in my character design class and also my last storyboard assignment, where we took part of a script and made new boards based on it. I got a lot of compliments from the teacher about my attention to detail with subtle and human actions. I’m happy cause that’s the kind of stuff I love portraying and love seeing in films haha.

One other thing is I was so close to failing layout, the last two assignments I left until the very end and almost didn’t get them in one time before teacher’s grades were due, and without them I would’ve failed the class. As it stands, I got over a 90 average so the two assignments made a big difference lmao.

Sorry this was so long lol

#ask

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rgr-pop · 1 month

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we had literally just had a user services meeting where my supervisor said the library decided not to put any high time sensitive stacks project on the agenda for the summer. she was like please use your vacation time!

the next monday at 3pm our director read our meeting notes, became mad, and decided unilaterally to assign us (just me and my supervisor plus my students if i have them) to shift the whole general collection by august starting now. more or less out or nowhere (i spent last summer and fall outliningwhat we’d need to do and getting trained up while i was creating a whole oversize collection from scratch but was told up til a few weeks ago that it wouldn’t go on the calendar—primarily because we don’t have the staff.)

we asked for the plan and he said “shifting ldoesn’t need a plan. just move the books. distribute the evenly across the shelves with each shelf at 60-75% fill capacity.” (WHICH and okay math?)

please if you’ve ever planned or participated in a collection shift chime in. not sure i can possibly explain how deranged this is

fun fact TS isn’t sure how many volumes are in our collection due to not being inventoried in about a decade. the director didn’t have a sense within 10,000 of how many books he was asking us to move even if a shift was just moving books from one location to another (it’s not). we were gonna focus on missing and inventory over the summer (fun fact we have a missing list about SEVEN PERCENT OF THE COLLECTION!!!) it’s good practice to always measure the materials on the shelf for a shift but it’s essential when you don’t have a well maintained collection— the other way we would make the estimation of how to distribute a collection evenly would be to use a formula estimating volumes per linear inch in various collection types. but again we have a 7% missing collection lmao

so over the past two and a half workdays i’ve been working a 10 page project plan all by myself — planning stacks projects is not my job. i’m still a clerk with some extra technical duties on paper. i make about 24k in a year working part time. the people doing this task at msu make 2-3 times what i make. there are two administrators above me, one who is lying about the work itself and being insane (also the worst at his job or anyone alive), the other doesn’t know how to do any of this. and she’s dedicated herself to getting caught up and this makes me feel a million times better but in theory on principle i should not do this (he will make me “move the books” regardless sooo)

we have this thing in my unit called responsibility dollars you can apply for to get a small bonus for a project outside your job description. if i was full time i would be eligible for an extra $3.25 or so, but as part time i can only get $1.20. so onward requesting my $33 per week summer stipend.. my director might block admin from approving it because he doesn’t believe a plan is required. i should just move the books! (google how to plan a library shift if you’re interested in my work)

anyway the problem is that i really enjoy doing this and would love to do a good job at it. it’s not happening in august lol be real. what rows this man want us speed shelving for. TO WHAT END?? WHY?? i will see this through and start applying to archives jobs—the real core of the “thrown into the most chaotic situation imaginable and plan a lil system” field—it’s what i’m good at and i’m putting this stupid shit in my portfolio. all i actually want is to not have my work openly disrespected by a man who wants the library to literally crumble because he hates queer people so much ! he still by the way refuses to speak directly to me or read anything i produce 🤷‍♀️

my supervisor texted me this morning at 11 am asking me if i was at work (i was in the staff kitchen and didn’t see it til hours later bc i was AT WORK not ON MY PHONE and she didn’t use work communication) so now i’m paranoid that they’re watching my time, which is insane bc i’m so much more productive… he tried this last year too around the incident. challenged some hours i worked out of nowhere and said he didn’t remember me being here and i was like ok there’s nothing i can do to demonstrate that?? so i had to take hours i worked off my timecard. to my knowledge no one else but me is required to do time tracking or has had their time challenged —only Me who accused him of homophobic retaliation and got disciplined for it and can now get fired for any reaaaason :’) so anyway i worked til 11 pm monday and i will be here til 8 every night the rest of the week due to paranoia

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leather-blr · 6 months

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i really wish i understood the appeal of milo murphys law but i just can't get into it :-( I've tried watching it but it's just so painfully mid

(i’m very critical about mml here but i end it positively don’t worry. essay under the cut)

i watched milo murphy’s law with my best friend and roommate ( @herbi-cide ) which gave me a more positive experience with the show as a whole but there were so many times were it just felt like a slog. i hesitate to call it “filler” because it’s a pretty episodic show (though theres much more of a plot than pnf) but i don’t particularly find the laid back contained story episodes very engaging or funny most of the time. i’ve seen people (KEYAN *shakes fist*) say this roots from a lack luster premise, but i think that a premise is always as good as it’s execution. and a lot of mml executes like ass. it is straight up disastrous. like milo murphy himself walked through the writers room one day leaving the writers to salvage whatever scraps were left among the wreckage

im really not confident in dwampy’s ability to write a plot-driven show, i think it’s obvious that they’re comfort zone lies in episodic comedies. which is awesome, we all have our skills and comfort zones, phineas and ferb is so great at what it does for a reason. but i think this is very much to mml’s detriment. there is so much set up for great storylines and likable characters, and so many good ideas, but like, either they didn’t have time to do anything with them or just straight up didn’t know how. it is genuinely impressive how boring mml can get given its cast and world

i think people blame pnf too much for the decline of mml in season 2, doofenshmirtz is insufferable throughout most of it and all, but i think the pnf shoehoring hints to a larger problem that mml always had. it feels as if it’s uncomfortable with its own characters and world, like it’s afraid to commit, and i think that is very much dwampy’s sitcom-oriented writing style shining through in an ugly way

i see people praise mml for its story, but because of dwampy’s aversion to writing linear storytelling, it definitely ranges on the plot-light side of television. it’s not quite a sitcom, but there’s really not much story progression happening aside from a few world building episodes and big arcs like the aliens or the pistachions (which phineas and ferb also does better in the meap saga let’s be real, at least for the alien arc)

i don’t like comparing mml to phineas and ferb, but one fails so hard at the things the other achieves in spades that it’s kind of impossible not to compare them. i wouldn’t mind mml’s shitty storytelling as much if the plot-light episodes (which is most of them) were compelling. phineas and ferb has just as good as a premise as murphy’s law, if not less interesting, and does the character-driven sitcom filler infinitely better in every single way. it is rare i’ll ever be bored watching phineas and ferb, and ik comedy is subjective, but i think a lot of us can agree that phineas and ferb is overall just wittier and funnier in general than mml. mml is kind of forgettable! i’ll be real! i love it but it’s forgettable

i want mml to be its own unique thing sooo bad but especially in the second half it feels like there’s no reason i shouldn’t just turn it off and go watch phineas and ferb. it’s also frustrating because i know mml has the capability to be good, because the pistachion arc is gripping and well structured and generally super entertaining (one of the best experiences i’ve had watching a show with a friend), and there’s a lot of fantastic episodes and moments in there. which is why i’m so harsh on it, it’s disappointing!!

there’s dozens and dozens of ultra talented people who worked on milo murphy’s law (i’ve gone through so many storyboards and portfolios to look for more details about the artists who worked on it so can confirm these people are awesome) so i can only wonder if studio conditions / time crunches / other factors (disney bullshitery) had anything to do with how spectacularly mml fails in a lot of regards, but there’s an upside, and this is the biggest appeal of murphy’s law for me:

the milo murphy’s law fandom and by extent the dakavendish fandom is one of the best fandoms i’ve ever seen hands down, some of the most dedicated and passionate writers, artists and general fans continue to be active in the community and create awesome shit that is leagues better than anything in the source material. because mml presents so many good concepts but doesn’t deliver, it leaves a lot of room for fans to expand on them and make their own amazing stuff. and because they’re such a small community, and milo murphy’s law is widely remembered as “that show that came after phineas and ferb” or “that show keyan carlile didn’t like” they are very close knit and very very friendly. nicest ppl you’ll ever meet

if it weren’t for the fandom i would not give a single shit about milo murphy’s law, but the fans make the show and it’s characters so much more than they are in the source material. so no wonder i had such a good time watching it when i had my roommate to talk about it with! community adds context to art in a way that can change it entirely, especially in the age of the internet

so i will always recommend murphy’s law with that in mind. also, think of it this way: at least it’s not hamster and gretel. i’ll stand by my opinion that show sucks LMAO

#milo murphys law #dwampyverse #asks #ask #thank you:#anonymous #keyan carlile fight me in the ring #it’s okay i love his videos #but i’ll still fight him in the ring

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devilbeez · 5 months

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Let me take you through the journey of me speed running my portfolio, smile

Mostly because I need somewhere to write this and word doc wouldn’t give me feed backs

Note that this will be very wonky because I have not thought of anything but the concept— I have 1 out of 6 characters figured out so imma color code them and call them by alphabet

Concept and inspiration:

What I wrote for my portfolio: Artist’s emotion and upbringing always had been reflected in their art. So what would happen if in a world where that part is intensified for the viewer to see

What actually started this: I want sport anime type of story but with Artists. Also this scene from Ouran host club that inspired Aster don’t question why just take it.

Story:

I’m still debating on what I want to use as the final story, they both are essentially revolve around the relationship of college kids’ relationships from friends to lovers to found family and they’re all in an art club and have specialized methods and styles; graphite portraits/landscape, Abstract expressionism, animation, graphic design, Dada-esque sculpture and then there’s the one guy that can’t draw cause every art clubs always have that one member that only join to not do anything.

Plot option 1: Anne Certayn is a college kid who doesn’t know themself. They know what they’re good at— well good enough to graduate and make money, but there’s no passion in it. Anne were hoping to float through the rest of their school year so to avoid all invitations to join a club they join an art club, what they assumed to be a club they can just sleep though. Sadly, Anne new clubmates’s energy are too much for them.

Note about this plot:

Each character’s relationship with their art, e.g. Aster’s desire to be perfect and uphold his family’s legacy and all of it being reflect in his art. His art had always be something that lean heavily toward realistic in every way, dull color, proportion, reflecting how his passion and desire are tugged away for something more refined. Meanwhile his boyfriend, Carter is someone who contempt with his life and where he is, he have more abstract and colorful art reflecting how he’s putting his true self out for everyone to see, both perfect and imperfect.

Anne’s journey to find their passion for art again after a lifetime of being discouraged from being interested in art by people who told Anne to dial down any of their passion for things they don’t care for.

This is honestly a very slice of life, fluff, maybe comedy story that doesn’t have heavy lore. It just friends being pals

Plot option 2: A love story between members of a college art club.

The couples:

One of the leader (Carter) x his friend (Aster) since high school. They had been dating since first year of college but Aster had always held himself back because his family’s legacy. Their story is going to be revolving around Aster’s struggling to choose between Carter and his family because Carter’s family is not exactly on the same level as Aster’s family

Shezaraya x D no idea what will be their plot yet but D is an animator and concept art who occasionally fight with Anne because she doesn’t like how they joined without any sort of passion for art. She also sometimes fight with E who keeps riling her up by saying “digital art is not real art” without meaning it. Shezaraya is an graphic designer She’s more chill than D but she will still shit talk with her

Debating on giving E a lover(s) or not because she’s very much the agent of chaos. You ask about her love life and it would be like “oh yeah my ex almost framed me for fraud so I ended it” and if you ask her “isn’t your ex the barista down the street?” She’d go “oh not her, the other one— not the one that crashed my car because I broke up with him, the other other one”

Characters:

I have one character designed but I’m write as much as I have. Note that these are like— barely coherent concepts of the characters

Carter Wassily

- He’s the leader of the art club.

- His specialty is abstract art, specifically abstract expressionism.

- He major in marketing, minor in communications in his 3rd year.

- His design is inspired by abstract art in history; Constructivism and De Stijl

- He’s fun loving, enthusiastic about anything and everything he love. He does not afraid to put himself out there and be his truest self. He do have tendencies to get too invested in his art to the point he forgets all time and necessity he need.

- He’s dating Aster since first year of college but they know each other since high school

- He somehow didn’t know Aster is rich until last year of high school

Aster Richman (edited)

- He’s the vice president of the art club

- He’s majoring in law in his 3rd year.

- He specialized in Realism painting

- His name will be revolved around stars because I want it to come back to Carter’s tattoo

- He also have a red ring, matching Carter’s other tattoo since his family frown on tattoos

- He’s more serious than Carter. He try to be more stoic and calm though he do have his moments where Carter make him flustered or someone make him irritated. He pride himself on being good academically.

- His family is rich. Yes his name is a pun, I’m trying make all of their name a pun

- His designed was inspired by Victorian aesthetic but the palette came from realism period of art where the color is more dull then later he have an Isabella moment where his palette become lighter and less monochrome.

- He also wear glasses after his development because we really need the reverse “took off glasses and become beautiful” trope cause we had that in Cloudy with a chance of meatball and we need more of that

Shezaraya Sunshine

- She major in Music in second year.

- She specializes in Graphic Design with the style similar to Art Nouveau

- She’s dating/going to date D

- She’s the most passionate in her work after Carter

- She dream to make music and create her own album covers

- She’s similar to Carter but she’s a bit of a perfectionist when it come to her work. Other than that she’s one of the most chaotic person in the club

- She’s also very kind and optimistic

Anne Certayn

- They major in Engineer in first year.

- They have 0 artistic skill

- They lost their passion for things they like because when they was younger people tend to dismiss them or make them feel bad for being excited about things they enjoyed

- Weirdly they’re close with E the most

- She major in Communication in second year,

- She also have a few Communication classes with Carter

- She specializes in Animation with soft color and visual, reminiscing of Impressionism movement

- She’s passionate, a bit snarky, very spiteful to the people who deserve it

- She was raised to be more like Aster but she rejected that lifestyle

- Funny enough despite having the same world view of “anything can be art” as E they butt head a lot, mostly because E just like messing with her

- She absolutely hate Anne at first because how they joined the club but they bond after a while and she learn to tolerate them

- She major in Literature in third year

- She specializes in unconventional take on art, aka Dada. She mostly do mixed media and collage

- She is an agent of chaos. Little gremlin that just here to stir the plot and yet somehow she’s one of the chillest people in this club.

- She believes that anything can be art and that art have no rule but will absolutely throw that away for the sake of chaotic debate with D

- She have ex lovers….no one know how many but she have exes

#probably will fill this out later #original story #original character #concept art #concept story #devilg04

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morvantmortuary · 1 year

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(very inconsequential hobby-related vent below, just needed to put it somewhere!)

I’ve resorted to lurking on this one plush artist’s socials bc I paid them in full for a maxi commission back in december, when I had enough money left after xmas shopping, and to this day they still haven’t sent me even a concept sketch.

I wouldn’t say I’ve been ghosted - I’ve checked in with them like once a month, just a general “hey, how’s it going” which even then I wondered was Too Much - and they’ve responded and been friendly, but they’ve pushed the date so many times that I’m genuinely starting to worry a little bit :’D I don’t want to start a case w/ the website or anything, and the last I heard from them I really wasn’t too far back in their queue, but all of a sudden they’ve gone completely dark on everything and I’m like… hmm.

which! they probably have a perfectly legitimate reason! people get sick or have a hard time! that’s okay!

I feel weird complaining bc being an indie artist of any kind taking comms can be a rough gig, and I knew ordering in december meant there’d be a delay just bc who does anything in january anyway honestly, but. they’ve had my cash for almost six months now, and that’s probably the longest I’ve gone ever on a comm without seeing so much as like, a sketchy doodle.

I don’t want to ask for a refund bc a. I hate doing that to small artists, and b. I think if I ever see the final piece I’ll really like it based on their portfolio, but. I’m also at the time of the year where I don’t get paid again until August bc of how my student contract works, so while it’s not *a ton* of money in the grand scheme of things, it is a time where if it’s been this long and I’ve seen nada, I wouldn’t hate having it back, yknow?

idk. statistically, having a plush problem was going to come back to bite me someday, and if this is the most inconvenienced I’ve been so far it really isn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things. I’m just having problems explaining that to the little hyperfixation raccoon in the back of my brain yelling “PLEASE CAN I SEE THE THING IT’S BEEN SO LONG”

alas :’D there doesn’t seem to be a satisfactory conclusion I’ve come up with so far, unless I get a message out of the blue tomorrow ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

you’ve been sweet if you’ve read this far, have a photo of my cat the goblin prince!

#and then rarae says #rae has a plush problem #idk! I genuinely don’t want to write them again bc I don’t want to be a pain but I am also a little concerned

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crazedlunatic · 1 year

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Kurt’s Promotion

“What… did you just say?” Kurt, who was positive Mark just offered him a job directly under him, asked.

“Listen. There are a ton of people here who have worked half their lives if not longer to get a position like this in one of the best designer’s offices in the world. A lot of them work here already.” Mark, who had Kurt’s portfolio from school when he’d applied, made eye contact.

Kurt became confused and didn’t say anything.

“There should be 45 people in line for this before you, Kurt.”

Kurt opened his mouth and closed it a few times.

“Have you gotten other offers?” Marc asked him.

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“All of my professors and a lot of high-profile fashion designers.”

“So a significant amount of professionals.” Mark made eye contact. “Did you accept any offers?”

“No.”

“Because you don’t want to be a designer?”

“Because I don’t want to be better than my future boss.” Kurt said bluntly. “I know a lot but you still know more.”

Marc made eye contact. “I’m going to give you twice what I started at as a graduate. You do good I’ll triple that. I want to say I’ll keep tripling until you quit but honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if you wiped me out of the water… and I kind of hope you do.”

“Just exactly… what will take home salary be?”

Marc handed him a post it with a salary he hadn’t even thought would be possible for another thirty years at least.

Kurt looked up, eyes wide.

“It’ll be well worth it to me.” Marc made eye contact. “We won’t make any announcements until you’re ready to step into the position.”

“What about if Blaine and I have kids?”

“You’ll have so much in the bank you won’t even notice.” Marc shrugged. “And I’ll still hold your position… as long as I get to the meet them. Need to think about it?”

“I’ll sign now.” Kurt blurted.

Marc laughed. “We’ll have to get a lot of paperwork going. I trust you.”

…

“Oh my God, it’s Blaine Anderson. His office is right by Robert Colloway.” Kurt said.

“You have to have clearance to even get to that wing.” The receptionist said.

“Can you call him? I think his phone died. It’s urgent.”

Was it urgent? Well, it depended on who heard the true story. But. Yes.

“Listen, I need to see h—”

“Hey, Kurt.” Bob walked up behind him, having clearly just gotten lunch.

“Blaine’s not with you?”

“Well he picked up a duckling and I’m pretty sure it’s in his office in a box under his desk.”

“Wait… what?”

“I’m responsible for the lawyer part not the child part.”

“Sir, I tried to tell him he couldn’t come in.”

Bob reached behind the front desk and handed Kurt a magnetic key for the back door. “Come with me.”

“He brought a duck… into the office?” Kurt took this. “Wait. Am I supposed to keep this?”

“I know where you live.” Bob led him to Blaine’s office and opened the door. They could hear the duckling quack under the desk. “You in here, Blaine? Duck already gave you away.”

Blaine popped out from under his desk and got a big grin on his face.

“I’m going to leave you alone but you better clean up the duck shit.”

“Yeah yeah.” Blaine said as Bob closed the door. “What’s up?”

“Uhm…” Kurt was practically bouncing on his heels. “I got a really big raise… and a…. really good job offer.”

“With who?”

“Marc.”

“What position…?”

Kurt took a calming deep breath and bounced as he exclaimed, “Directly under him.”

“Oh no, where’d the duck go?” Blaine then grinned at him, still clearly holding the duck. “How much do you get paid?”

Kurt couldn’t say it out loud but handed him a post-it with his new salary.

“WHAT THE—”

“Nobody knows.”

“Yeah, you should get Jake to be over that shit. He can also get you to this Ted guy who gets you bukus back.” Bob called through the wall. “Although if you want to take it out a lot and buy cars, maybe use someone a little less anal. We’re talking down to the penny. Okay. I have to focus.”

“Does that mean I can retire now?” Blaine asked loud enough so Bob could hear.

“I heard that.”

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warchiefeny · 2 years

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I was gonna write up a thread on twitter about how my semi-break from social media was going, but I realized I had a lot more on my mind and I... haven’t done a proper blog post in years so why not. Content warning I guess for mental health/abuse talk.

Since I haven’t mentioned it here, for the last month or two I’ve been on a break from checking my timeline on social media. I can’t afford to not post artwork because I still make a good chunk of money from commissions, but it didn’t need to be a full cut off anyway. Honestly it felt great, and despite breaking it a little and reblogging here and there atm, I think I’m gonna continue for the most part. Maybe it was bad timing with twitter exploding, but I really needed to retreat into myself and engage with content on my own terms. You don’t always realize how much of your day is sucked up by social media, really. The only thing that kinda sucked was missing out on dank memes or cool content from friends, mutuals, and other cool people. The reason why I wanted to write a blog here and not on twitter is because I realized how so much of the things I realized about myself weren’t just about social media, but just my life in general. And also character limits. Definitely character limits. This isn’t my first time recognizing or noticing it, but dealing with commissions all the time and making a portfolio appealing for other jobs, I realized how much I lost myself in the process. And while seeing floods of really cool and good art is great, sometimes I would forget what really made me myself. Or what I even wanted out of anything. You draw so much for other people that you have to step back and ask if you’re making the right decisions or if you’re just doing what you think is profitable, and if it’s only a job then why does it matter what you do? What do you care to do when it’s just you? And to that end, who was I being right now in my own life? I felt like I lost myself in a lot of ways, like I wasn’t free to be who I was anymore. And this isn’t related to art, but when you have a particular belief system or way of doing things it tends to colour the rest of your actions in life. One catalyst to all this was when last summer I learned how to tell people to fuck off again and stopped caring so much about how likeable I had come off to people. In my 20s I had over corrected the dickish behaviour from my teens at the expense of my own personal boundaries and I had just finally snapped over it. It wasn’t that I wanted everyone to love me but I cared more about how other people felt than how I felt. It was this fucked up idea that I had to take everything on the chin or else I was irrational or selfish. I realized a lot of this came from the abuse I got from how I was raised, and it wasn’t until this year actually that I realized that I even had been abused because all the adults around me growing up were apart of the same cult. The amount of relief I felt over taking back my boundaries and not caring if people got mad was cathartic. But that’s not it entirely either, and frankly I’m tired of talking or thinking about that part of my life anymore. For the last couple of years I just felt like I stopped feeling safe to be myself. I’d never been one to think that accolades give you more than a fleeting sense of accomplishment, but there was some small part of me that felt like I needed certain things so I wouldn’t feel so embarrassed. Which is also kind of crazy, because when I had no money, no job, no license, no big-ish follower count, less physical strength, less stable mental health, etc... there were people who loved to be around me and wanted to hear what I had to say. People who wanted to seek me out and thought of me highly enough to admire me, and I didn’t have to hide or change anything about how I was presenting myself. And I wasn’t perfect about that stuff back then either. I still cared about how I came off, and I had hang ups, but I was certainly a little more free than I had been in the last couple of years toward the people closest to me. But there’s this funny thing that happens, at least for me, when you aren’t concerned about how you look or what you have or don’t have. When you’re just talking to someone and they catch you off guard that you’re one of their favourite people to talk to. Or when you’re just vibing and being yourself and they say how good of a person you are when you least expect them to say anything regarding it at all. It’s not something you put effort into or predict, it’s just something that sort of happens. When you put a wall up in order to protect yourself or say you aren’t worthy of something for whatever arbitrary reason, you end up making it impossible for people to actually give you love or affection. It turns into unintentionally pushing people away, even if you don’t want that. You think you’re being more responsible or a better person, but you’re not. In trying to respond perfectly, you become imperfect instead and just make a mess of things. And when you are lucky to get attention, it often just feels so hollow because everything feels fake or superficial when you give yourself standards that are unnecessary or impossible to clear for yourself. And the more you think you aren’t worthy of something, the less likely you are to do things that are good for you and create meaningful rewards. Ordinarily I would keep this post behind a private twitter account, but while I have no interest in oversharing my personal life to strangers, I guess take this is my attempt to be a little more like myself than I have been. Over the last two weeks I’ve had a lot to think and digest, and I’m just trying to let myself be me.

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tortoisebore · 1 year

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hi! i also want to become a designer of some sort and was considering graphic design. i was wondering if you had any tips or school recommendations for it

yesss i have all the tips! ✨✨✨ long post warning

okay so i have a BFA in communication design and illustration. the school i went to was really tiny but had a great program when i was there—feel free to dm me & i can tell u all ab it—but my advisor was the person that made the design department extremely competitive in our area & he’s recently left the school (and is rightfully suing them over it lmfao there’s some crazy tea) so i wouldn’t recommend that specific university anymore for that reason and about a million others. but there are lot of universities that i considered before narrowing to that one that could be interesting to you too, dm me & i’ll give u a list!!

howeverrr, the big thing that made me choose my school was that their design program was more focused on teaching us to be art directors rather than designers/production artists. i didn’t realize what a difference this made until i was applying for internships as an upperclassman and found out that i was beating out applicants from other schools because those students could create great prototypes, but their ideas for their designs were weak. in my experience in my jobs and working with clients on my own, half of good design is having great ideas, so if the art director path sounds more interesting to you, i would say you should consider programs that require less production/design execution type classes (multiple levels of printmaking and typesetting, a million digital design courses, etc.) and more marketing/branding classes (some names of some of these kinds of courses at my school were integrated marketing design, elements of design, graphic design I & II, & advanced graphic design).

the ability to form strong ideas is an invaluable skill in the design world, and one that will allow you to go for art director and creative director positions rather than staying an entry-level graphic designer. those kinds of positions also come with big pay raises once you get there✨but it’s also perfectly fine to want to be the person that does all the actual design work and executes ideas from your creative directors, so if you want to just be a designer, definitely go after schools that give you allllll the production skill courses. my current job is a great mix of creative leading and design execution, so both of those things are super useful to me now

you can find out a lot about a school’s design program from their required course lists for their design degrees (which should be on their website somewhere) and talking with their design dean/advisor, so i would also encourage you to set up a campus tour/meeting with the dean or even just reach out via phone or email if you think a certain school might be a good fit, or if you have questions about what their courses are like

all schools are different in what they require for admission, too. my school didn’t require a portfolio to be admitted, but our entire first year of art and design courses were created to weed out the kids that weren’t serious about design, or just weren’t good enough to be there. we also had a portfolio evaluation at the end of our first year, and if our advisor didn’t pass us, we were required to drop the program and change majors (i kid u not, i started my first year with about 40 other design majors and graduated with four of them). make sure you’re looking at what the schools you’re interested in want to see portfolio-wise before you apply (if they want to see anything—some don’t and that’s great!!)

also if you’re anything like me, i went into design because i grew up loving art (drawing specifically), but didn’t think i could figure out how to make a career out of it. because i had all the fine art skills and zero design skills, graphic design did not come easily to me and there were multiple times in my first year that i debated switching majors (to english—editing/publishing was my backup plan!). so if you do pursue it and find yourself struggling to switch to a design mindset from a more artistic one, don’t be discouraged!! that is super normal, and it was commonplace with me and all the kids in my program. if you work at it, the design mindset will come to you, and any artistic skills you might have will translate into your work as a designer, so you’re not abandoning that original creative part of you. i did a lot of photorealistic graphite portraits before college, things that required a lot of tedious detail and perfection, and that translated into my design career in that i love grids and sorting information into perfect pretty layouts (i’m really a print layout designer at heart).

it is also super super super easy to learn about graphic design online!!! i use youtube tutorials for animation on a weekly basis in my current job. if you have access to adobe creative cloud (photoshop, indesign, illustrator, after effects, etc.) you can get on youtube and find a tutorial for literally anything you could ever want to make. this is a greattttt way to build your familiarity with the programs and make some cool stuff, maybe even things that you can throw in your portfolio

if there’s anything more specific you wanna know or just wanna chat ab it, dm me!!

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rocketorca · 1 year

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hihi I adoreee your tattoos omg I've never seen anything like them advertised at any of the tattoo places near me, did you have to like get a specific type of tattoo artist or smthn for them or are they just not advertised cus they're not as common?? sorry I've never had a tattoo before so I don't know much about like, the process?? but I really love how bright and happy yours feel and now I kinda wanna get a tattoo in a similar style !!

Hello!!! Thank you!!

I follow a TON of tattoo artists on Instagram! That’s were I find most tattoos I love. Tattoo artists are, well, artists and that means they will have their own style of art and techniques. I choose artists based on their portfolio. Some tattoo artists can mimic other styles but as an (digital/traditional) artist myself, I’d much rather people come to me for what my actual style is. Like I wouldn’t ask a traditional tattoo artist who mostly deals in black and gray wash to do a pastel anime tattoo.

I suggest you search on Instagram for tattoo artists whose portfolio speaks to you. However, they may not be close to you. I travelled for mine. I’m in Indiana and I planned a big trip going north to Detroit and then Toronto for my recent tattoos.

As for requesting a tattoo, most artists will advertise if their bookings are open or closed. Some will use a form or others will tell you to email them. They will ask you for your idea, size, placement. They may even ask you for photos of that part of your body and even inspiration for the tattoo you want. It’s good to give them images of tattoos they themselves have done that you like. Plus any other reference you have.

After the request is sent, they will confirm the appointment (hopefully if they don’t fill up so fast) and try to lock in dates and time with you. They will also ask you for a deposit, usually 50-100 dollars to secure that time. It’s typically non-refundable to protect themselves for no shows because they will do work/draw up until the appointment. They should have their policy in their forms somewhere.

You most likely won’t see art from them til the day of the appointment. This is for multiple reasons: they are working and you are not the only client they have so they will prep your tattoo closer to the date of your appointment and because they can make adjustments in person on the fly at the appointment. If you love the artist’s portfolio, trust their art ability. It never hurts to ask tho, so if you’re nervous I would suggest asking “when should I expect to see art for my tattoo? What’s your process for when I will be able to review the art?”

Getting tattoos is fun and exciting but also scary because it’s permanent. I always tell people if at any time during the inquiry process, the art review process, the meeting in person vibes, or if you have any doubts, do not follow through with the appointment! You need to feel good when making a big modification to your body!!!

The tattoo artists I went to were all very nice, considerate, accommodating, and easy to talk with. I had a good time with all 3 of them.

They are: Rosie Cole (Detroit), fruitcough (Toronto) and TinyBaki (Toronto).

Oh! And if you like an artist, check out the studio they are a part of! There may be other artists there who do similar-ish aesthetic tattoos there!

If you have any more questions, please ask away!

#personal #ask #tattoo process #tattoos #bookings #requesting tattoos

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gatelong · 2 years

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Pinbox camera

#Pinbox camera for free

At first the cheapest filament was hot pink. “I wanted to make the cheapest 4×5 and in keeping with that theme I just started buying the cheapest filament that I could find on Amazon,” says Moses. A sample image taken with the Standard Camera. With a $225 pledge on Kickstarter, Cameradactyl backers will get a fully assembled camera with custom colors (it’s a bit like designing your own pair of Vans). Meet Cameradactyl, a 3D printed 4×5 camera created by Ethan Moses, which comes in a customizable bright colors. While Nikonowicz’s camera looks like a standard traditional camera, one of the fun elements of 3D printing is the ability to make things that are anything but traditional. “I’m really hoping to work with those universities to kit them up with as many cameras as they need.” Sample images from the Standard Camera. “A lot of photo programs want to teach large format but they can’t afford to,” he says. Drew NikonowiczĮventually he’d like to make his design open-source and thinks that the Standard could be used by educational institutions and in workshop settings. This image was taken with an early prototype of the Standard Camera. “There are little tweaks to be had everywhere and I’m constantly getting feedback and constantly improving the camera.” Nikonowicz’s studio in 2014. “The entire camera to some degree is in a perpetual state of change,” he says. He says he plans to use the money raised from Kickstarter to buy more 3D printers so he can increase his throughput-right now he can make one camera in two days (“Unless I don’t sleep, in which case I can do it in one day.”) He would like to start being able to print at least two cameras per day. He plans to outsource the ground glass (where you can see the image that the camera is about to capture) for cameras purchased by Kickstarter backers. The bellows, which allow the lens to be moved back and forth for focusing, are made of fabric and crafted in house. The standard forks, which hold the body of the camera, are made of aluminum. The Standard Camera is available via Kickstarter for a $320 pledge. The majority of the elements on the Standard Camera are 3D printed in Nikonowicz’s studio-”If you are looking at the camera all of the parts that are black are 3D printed,” he says. “But I was also thinking ahead to when I graduated and I wouldn’t have access to the school’s equipment anymore.” “The 4×5 was born out of a genuine excitement of photography and making things,” he says. Nikonowicz, an Aperture Portfolio-prize-winning photographer who primarily works in large format, began designing his 3D printed 4×5 camera while he was still in college. It’s available via Kickstarter for $320 (or $350 if the idea of building your own makes your head spin). The Standard Camera, which was created by photographer Drew Nikonowicz, is a 4×5 view camera that you can make yourself. The method makes it cheaper and easier for camera designers to tinker and for more photographers to try their hand at shooting analog formats. This new technology is breathing life into old camera designs for two reasons: (1) 3D printing is much cheaper than injection molding and (2) it allows for quick prototyping. Standard CamerasģD printing is reinvigorating the analog camera community. The Standard Camera is a 3D printed 4×5 view camera that you can make yourself. And of course there are Kickstarter camera projects like the Standard Camera and Cameradactyl, which are are slinging 3D printed 4×5 film cameras that are affordable and lightweight, thereby making the format more accessible.

#Pinbox camera for free

Then there’s the Goodman One, an open-source camera designed by Dora Goodman and offered for freeload via her website. The cardboard PinBox from Hamm Camera Company incorporates 3D printed film spools. There are now several cameras to excite film photographers that use elements of 3D printing. It’s influencing the photography world, too-especially those pockets interested in analog techniques and DIY projects. The technology is being used to make advanced running shoes, to prototype new product designs and to make healthcare cheaper. It seems these days there are few industries unchanged by 3D printing.

#Pinbox camera

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angel-milano · 5 months

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Write your RPer Resolutions for 2024! (What are some goals for yourself as a writer? Improve descriptions? Plot with more members? Etc.)

STOP HOARDING REPLIES!! This is probably my greatest sin as a roleplayer. For some reason there is a worm in my head that is always like “if you can’t do it all at once don’t do it at all.” NO!!! I have to let myself be okay if replies are spaced out or if I only do a handful every day. I don’t know where this bad habit came from but I’m determined to at least try to break it in the new year.

Plot more!! It can be intimidating for me to reach out to others out of nowhere, even if I have ideas. And I have to let the fact that just because not every idea sticks doesn’t mean I shouldn’t continue to reach out in the future. I want to go through everyone’s questionnaire and resolutions and see what plots and connections I can fill in!

Events!! I want to participate more in Discord. It’s really easy for me to say “well, Darius wouldn’t be there”--PUT HIM IN THERE ANYWAY!! No rules, just roleplay!

Kudos!! I admire you all so much and need to express that more openly!

Diversify my portfolio!! We all know I’m picking up Bones, but in general I want to pick up characters that are a) wanted and b) expand who I am able to interact with. Get involved in groups like university, RAS, Muses, natives, etc.

Write at least one resolution, or “goal,” that you have as an RPer for your character(s)

Angel: Get involved, whether through MAFIA or Magick Grand Prix. More likely the former, but maybe her becoming more confident in her magick status will lead to the latter! I’m really enjoying this competitive sporty streak that’s come out and want to lean more into that.

Continue to build relationships! The biggest obstacle for Angel is that she doesn’t have connections, so she’s going to have to make them! It’s already beginning with Tanya and Mim but I want MORE!

Darius: Be Dadrius. He’s already started to wriggle his way into Uncle-ing the Weed Killers and I just think he should continue to do that. And outside of his specific Boiling Isles children, connect with other students as well! Be a mentor! Continue on Caleb’s memory!

But also, make adult friends! Put yourself out there! Be the messy bitch who lives for drama that I know you are!

Luisa: Make friends! Go on dates! Maybe, just MAYBE, be a little introspective and try to improve your life and situation! But probably not that one. She’s got to take the first steps by opening herself up to others, even if that just means making time to go out every once in a while.

Write at least one resolution IN CHARACTER for your characters. What do THEY want to accomplish or change in the New Year?

Angel: Find out more about her Dad so she can get out of this town (no). Raise the Lionesses to Champion status and/or join a winning team.

Darius: Figure out what’s going on with Hunter and Belos. Get a good grade in teaching, which is both normal to want and possible to achieve.

Luisa: Try to prevent a disaster BEFORE it happens! Learn more about Dungeons and Dragons (she has the Dropout subscription, after all)

List one or more characters you have never interacted with that you would like to do so

Sammy’s characters: I’M SORRY SAMMY!! I feel like we’re two ships who just keep passing each other in the night, and that is entirely on me. We WILL interact this year. I will make SURE OF IT!!

Merida: I just think she and Angel would be neat. They’re both looking for a family member (though for very different reasons) and I think would play off each other with their personalities.

San: More wolves! San and Angel on the Lionesses together! They have to know the other is a wolf but haven’t said anything yet. I just think it would be neat.

Wolf: I promise this isn’t going to be a list of just werewolves but Wolf is also a born wolf, which I think would be an interesting dynamic!

Shang: He and Angel are both looking for their Dads maybe they can help each other out with that. Idk I just want to interact with the pretty man.

Emira: Phineas is setting Angel up with Edric but I feel like she and Emira would vibe more.

Blights: By extension, Darius should just run into all the Blights more often.

Majke: We’ve already started discussing this but I just think she and Darius would be messy friends.

Maximus: This is another one of those “idk what to do but your face is so pretty and I love you”

Seamus: See the above. Am I shallow wanting to interact with face claims that I personally love lmao

Zero: I’m sorry I keep doing this but also he was one of my fcs when I first joined Swynlake! I think it would be great to come full circle!

Kim: We also started discussing this, but she and Luisa should be friends! I just think it would be neat for them to solve a crime together. Maybe some action scenes??

The Madrigals: This one might be a bit of a cop-out, but I’d love to explore the familial relationships that don’t get showcased in the movie! I still have many that I haven’t interacted with yet and I want to hit up everyone at least once by the end of the year

Toby: I have nothing for this, he just seems like a funny character and I want to interact with him

Talk a bit about your plotting style – what plots are you most drawn to? Do you prefer to come with a fully-formed idea and plot off that, or throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks?

Alright, I feel like I really dug a hole and exposed myself with the above list. Sometimes my plotting can literally just be vibes alone and throwing anything to the wall to see what sticks.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t like fully thought out plots and planned out dynamics! In fact, they are some of my favorites! While it is fun to just throw characters together and see what happens, it’s also just as fun to jump right into a relationship that’s been deeply established through headcanon alone. Giving characters a history and dynamic ahead of time means you can start getting to the fun stuff right away without having to do the “getting to know you” banter over and over again.

As for plots I’m drawn to, I love a mess. I love when characters feel things strongly, are in the wrong, and generally just mess things up. And I love playing all sides of the mess whether it’s the messy person, the person trying to fix it, the bystander, or whatever else. I just think there should be a healthy amount of conflict to keep a plot moving and to kickstart character growth.

Talk a bit about character relationships – what relationships are you most drawn to? How do you prefer to approach shipping (if at all!)? What, specifically, are you looking for right now for your character relationships?

I love family of all kinds! I love deep friendships. I love rivalries, especially one-sided ones where a character hates another for hardly justifiable reasons. I love messy exes. I love toxic relationships where they bring out the worst in each other. And yes, I do love a good romance.

While chemistry comes first, I am also capable of shipping based on vibes or tropes because generally, if you’re planning it out with someone ahead of time, you’re usually on the same page in terms of what you like/what you want to see/etc. Of course things can and will change! But I’ll admit some of my favorite ships have been ones that were plotted out, and some of my other favorites came completely organically. We have the range.

Plotting Exercise! Pick one of the resolutions/goals in #3 and plan a rough guideline to how you could accomplish it. Here’s an example.

ANGEL wants to get involved with Pride U sports despite not actually being a student.

ANGEL goes to EILONWY to ask about intramural football.

ANGEL finds DOC to get falsified doctor’s notes to play without revealing her Magick status.

TANYA finds out about this and has a fight with ANGEL about how they’re going to blow their cover.

OPEN PLOT CALL to anyone who would be able to suss out what is going on

Perhaps TOBY writes an expose on the werewolf, revealing her to the town

Prejudice and exposure pushes her deeper into MAFIA territory where she connects with KAREN to learn more

Alternatively, approached by CRUZ who offers Magick-friendly sports alternatives

???

Profit (I swear I wrote this before the merm plot dropped lmao)

#swyntask #swynrptask

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