#so many alt panels... more pages

[tojosuggestionbox]

[More under cut. Flashing Gif]

[zmtn]

[Full comic transcript under cut in addition to the alt text.]

So I've been working on a short comic, and here's a preview of the first five pages and the cover. They still need some cleanup and editing, and the rest of the pages of course, but I hope you enjoy them!

Images: First is a cover, in greens, oranges and purples. Title: The Orc and Her Bride, A Comic by Zoe Maxine. The illustration shows a surprised orc woman in a fancy cape and circlet holding an equally surprised dark skinned elf woman in a creamy bridal dress and crown.

Page 1. Full page drawing of the orc woman, looking far more ramshackle, covered in blood on a pile of bodies, and holding a giant axe. She pants with exhaustion.

Page 2. She looks over to see three people murmuring around a nearby building. Orc: "Don't tell me there's more." The three pointy eared people approach, looking frightened. Bearded man with his hands raised: "Mistress - Please, have mercy." The Orc is shocked, before she looks down, muttering, "Not looking forward to this part." Looking at the bearded fellow she says, "I will not harm the unarmed." Sighing, the bearded man says, "Thank you, Mistress." Avoiding his eyes, the orc says, "I don't deserve your thanks. I have killed many of your brethren."

Page 3. Two of the people exchange a look between them, faces neutral. Bearded one: "…Our soldiers, yes." The other, an older woman with short hair, looks at the orc. "Mistress, where do you come from?" Bearded one: "Why have you done this?" A shadow passes over the orc's face. "I am from Eskerfort." The next panel shows her saying "And… because I am from Eskerfort." over a flashback to her kneeling on the ground, defeated, in front of burning houses with soldiers barely visible in the background.

The two people in the present look away, almost ashamed, saying "Ah," with understanding.

Page 4. Looking down at the bodies below her, the orc says, "I am tired of bloodshed. I have avenged my kin. I will darken your doorways no more and leave you in peace." As she turns to leave, however, the beareded one rushes forward. "Wait! Worrier! Stop! Please!" The elfin woman looks up at her, asking, "Do you not know our laws?" Together the two try to point out something to the orc. "Look, please!" "Look!" Among the bodies is a fancily dressed one wearing a circlet. Off-panel, the people say, "That one you killed among the dead - he was our king." One of them reaches down to grab the circlet.

Page 5: Looking concerned, the orc woman says, "Are you asking me to be executed? For Regicide?" As the elfin woman is doing something, the bearded one puts his hands on his hips and looks up sternly. "No, Warrior, we are asking you to take responsibility."

The elfin woman holds the circlet up to the orc. It shines. "Our laws are clear," she says, "Whoever kills the king becomes the new king."

The orc stares ahead, eyes becoming pinpricks. "What?"

The next panel has her dressed in a fur lined cape with the circlet on her head, her hair being brushed. She has the exact same expression on her face. "what?"

The last panel has her sitting at the head of a long table with all the elfin people enjoying themselves around her. "what"

[newtsoda]

When school is torture...

A comic about autism and “school avoidance”.

------------------

Commence Alt Text:

[PAGE 1]

Title: 'It's Not School Avoidance – Trauma, Burnout and PTSD in the Education System'. The first panel shows a woman, her face veiled in shadow and surrounded by a thicket of thorns. She looks alien, with pointed ears and cat-like eyes. The second panel shows her drowning, her hand grasping at the air. The next panel shows ghost-like arms twisting around her. The speech bubbles read: When I was a kid, school was the stuff of nightmares. An intense and overwhelming environment, overstimulating and demanding, and entirely unforgiving. It's where I learned to mask and how to lie about all manner of things. I faked so many illnesses just so I could have the break I couldn't ask for. All so that I could somehow stay afloat in a system that did not recognise my needs. Neurotypicals don't understand just how much school is not designed for people who are not like them. Nor do they understand what it's like when you have to return to the place that is hurting you, day after day after day.

[Page 2]

The woman lies with her head on a pillow, staring wide-eyed at the reader. Thorns creep around the edges of the frame. The text reads: It's nearly twenty years later, and I still have the nightmares. Not the same vague dreams about not doing my homework everyone gets, but vivid night terrors that revolve around school and the things it made me feel. I've been told it's a symptom of CPTSD. The second panel shows a dagger with thorns wrapped around it as it is slowly dragged into their midst. The text reads: Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder develops over a series of prolonged traumatic events. A disturbingly high number of autistic adults go on to develop it and can trace the root of their trauma back to the torturous experiences of their school years. So, I guess it's safe to say I'm not alone. But what's worse: It's still happening today.

[Page 3]

A girl is at the centre of the page, tears streaming down her face as scissors cut through her wings. Blood drips down the page. Thorns creep towards her. Another panel shows the woman's back with the shredded remnants of her own cut wings. The text reads:  Autistic children are being dragged through a grim education system that does not get their needs, quietly suffering. Parents are denied support if their child makes good grades or is quiet in class, because all is well. But the school doesn't see the tears and fights getting to the gates in the morning. Or the meltdowns/shutdowns as soon as the child gets home. It doesn't matter what's happening to their mental health. That a bubbly, happy child who loved to learn has turned into a despondent, empty shell of their former self. Above all else, school emphasises attendance rates. As long as that child is still showing up every day, it's seen as a success, no matter the cost—and the cost, sadly, is often steep for people like us.

[Page 4]

The girl and the woman are wrapped in a towering mass of thorns. Swords jut from the wounded woman's chest while she looks down at the girl who reaches for a hand trying to rescue her from her plight. The text reads: “Your child just needs to develop more resilience.” An infamous line that keeps rearing its ugly head. It comes from a place of ignorance, from people who have no idea how resilient these young people already are from living in a world not designed for their neurotype. But what can parents do? They're witnessing the damage forced classroom time is doing to their children, seeing it destroy them, but feel powerless to help. Keeping them home for recovery results in fines, warnings, and intimidation tactics. Seeing no other way out, some parents are forced to take their child out of school for good, opting for home schooling instead. They report needing years to repair the damage done to their child's mental health.

[Page 5]

The woman is seen healing the girl's back. Tiny wings sprout where hers were cut. The text reads: Homeschooling can allow parents to slowly build their children back up, coaxing them back to their former selves. But not everybody has the means to homeschool, and while it should always be a choice, it should never be one forced by desperation. The next panel shows the woman's own shredded wings. The final one shows her defending her child. Text: This whole thing is excruciating for autistic parents who experienced it all themselves while growing up and know exactly the damage that is being done, yet find themselves unable to protect their child from suffering the same fate. I want to be a parent one day, but the thought of school already fills me with dread. I want my child to benefit from a well-rounded education without paying the steep mental health price I had to pay. It shouldn't be too much to ask! And yet, I've fully prepared myself for the battles I'll have to fight.

[Page 6]

The page shows the woman twirling the girl around while she holds her hands and the girl flies with her new, full-grown wings. The woman's wings are still shredded, but she smiles knowing that she was able to help her daughter. The text reads: I want to raise the next generation of autistic people unburdened by school trauma or CPTSD. We need more autistic-friendly options, and lockdown and the pandemic showed that it's possible!  We need flexible schooling, less classroom time, more opportunities to do schoolwork from home, and low intensity classrooms for children who don't have parents who can support learning from home. Allow for recovery time and stop penalising low attendance rates! We want the education system to recognise the damage it's doing to young people and believe parents when they plead for support. There is more than one way to achieve learning outcomes, and we deserve a system that works for us.

[frameacloud]

Page number 9 of Theri There, originally posted on October 24, 2005. Description in alt text.

First page | Previous page | Next page

Note from 2005: The animal design within the brain in the second-to-last panel is based upon the White Mare of Uffington, a 370-foot design etched on a British hillside in the first century BCE.

Note from 2024: Some parts of this have become dated, and I would write it differently now. For example, I wrote "identify with" when I meant "identify as." I also wrote "spirit," when the more suitable word might be "soul." In the second panel, some words in that list fell out of use. The therian community hasn't tended to say "phenotype" or "were shape" for many years.

The ninth panel didn't get my intent across very well. It's in the punchline position, which I had meant to signify that this one disrupts the pattern of the sequence before it. It's not supposed to mean that some therianthropy or otherkinship is pretend. Therians and otherkin see their therianthropy or otherkinship as a genuine part of themselves. That is essential to being a therian or otherkin. If it's nothing more than a pretend roleplaying character that you can put on or take off at a whim and is not a long-term intrinsic part of you, then it's not therianthropy or otherkinship, it's something else, though it might look similar in some ways.

In that panel, the guy shouting "Impostor!" refers to how regulars in forums for therians and otherkin watch out for a common problem in all those forums. A newcomer mistakes the forum for roleplay, and then starts roleplaying there, not realizing they're doing this in a space where folks discuss their own genuine everyday experiences. When the newcomers come to understand their mistake, it's common for them to either call the regulars crazy, or double down on their roleplay story for mischief. Other times, a newcomer intentionally poses as a parody of therians and otherkin, just for laughs.

In reaction to this problem, later in the 2000s, therian forums started banning all roleplay, and grilling newcomers with a barrage of personal questions and judgments to make sure they understood where they were and that their story checked out. This was a change from how our earlier forums saw it as rude to question others' identities, and welcomed roleplay for nonhuman self-expression.

That brings me to another aspect of what I was trying to get at with panel nine. Although therianthropy and otherkinship aren't roleplay, roleplay is often an important part of that experience. Roleplay is useful for exploring what sort of person you are or want to be, so naturally some people discover themselves through it. Some people sincerely are therians or otherkin, but they dislike philosophy debates about it, and their preferred way to share it with friends is through roleplay. Some people use roleplay to achieve some forms of self-expression that they can't otherwise. Some people have roleplaying characters that are deeply meaningful to them, far more than a mere disposable pretend role, something that they say represents their "real me," or who they'd be if they could. The distinction between therianthropes and furries is somewhere in this paragraph. However, it would be just as much of a mistake to say that therians and furries both identify as animals as it would be to say that the concept of the self as an animal is deeply meaningful for therians and not for furries.

Here’s the DreamWidth discussion forum for this page.

[mydetheturk]

ive been trying to come up with a way to talk about my take on The Argument, but honesty i can't get past these pages where Wolfwood shoots Rai-Dei. there are four panels on this two page spread, and no words, but god there's so much said in it. i keep flipping back and forth between it and the next page like "holy shit wolfwood. holy shit wolfwood." like. like we know. we've known since volume two of trigun that wolfwood was one of the GHG. we've known! this is knowledge that we have had for multiple volumes.

i literally cannot get over the expression on wolfwood's face in the pages leading up to their fight (and this expression lingers through their fight, mind you)

like

hellO????

like!!! this is the start of their argument!!! wolfwood cannot let vash die. and if he has to kill to do it he's going to kill to do it. vash is supposed to suffer. he cannot suffer if he's dead.

and this is the lead up to their argument. they have such philosophical differences about life, Vash believing every life is precious and that everyone can change, where Wolfwood's convinced that people won't. he thinks Vash is foolish - is naive for not taking the GHG seriously. Wolfwood wants - Wolfwood needs - to know Vash is taking this seriously, is prepared to kill if Vash wants to keep everyone else alive.

Wolfwood needs to know Vash is prepared for the shit Wolfwood knows - or suspects, if he doesn't know off hand - Legato is going to send.

hence this panel.

(yes i did just straight up copy the alt text from the post i made about being unable to cope with this panel. it ruins me.)

And then Vash reads him for fucking filth.

Vash's heart is breaking for Wolfwood, who cannot see a way out of the grave he's dug. Vash doesn't want to kill but he's broken for the way Wolfwood cannot see any other way to survive.

Like. the whole of page 106 hurts, but the way the Overhaul translated these panels is. Oof.

(the Dark Horse translation differs. Vash's speech reads: You... told me back then... that my face looked better with a real smile. If you could see yourself through my eyes now... You'd see a man forcing himself to play the Devil while his own heart cries out.

It's a little more poetic, but both of the statements cut Wolfwood to the core.)

They're talking past one another! they care so much about one another but their love languages differ so hard. (and i don't even mean this in a shipping way tho you could take it that way)

Augh. They're idiots. We'll see later that Wolfwood knows what Vash is, because of his experiences with Knives. (Wolfwood was there when Knives got reborn, after all) and he's seen Vash fight. He just. Doesn't know if Vash can kill one to save the many. (The start of their first fight in Stampede, their first true fight, is because Wolfwood shoots Rollo/Monev the Gale. Vash asks why. Wolfwood says its out of mercy.)

Anyway, there's some other really good meta about this fight (@needle-noggins has a nice breakdown of it) and if/when I find the posts I'll drop links in the comments/reblog with them.

I'll also upload what i could figure out of the transcript when I read through their argument in order to figure out how i was even going to talk about it to google docs and drop the link to that in the comments as well.

If you're still here, idk, Vash read Wolfwood for filth in front of God and everybody, which in this case was an empty town, Rai-Dei's corpse, and Zazie, who's been watching them for who knows how long at this point.

[anonymouspuzzler]

oh baby it's Foofy Fiday (note: i have absolutely no idea what day this will queue up.) more thanks to @incorrectbugsnaxquotes for many of these prompts as well!

(alt text/image IDs below the cut!)

[Image 1 ID: Doodle page with various drawings of Floofty, including: - A three-panel comic with first, Floofty handing a wax-sealed envelope to Shelda. Second panel is Shelda, looking confused, opening the letter, and third, a POV of the letter reading simply, "bitch. Respectfully, -- Floofty F. Fizzlebean". - A very simplified drawing of Floofty smirking and sitting on the ground, legs out, with an arrow pointing to them reading "la creatura". - A sketch of a silhouetted Floofty, goggles glowing, walking along the beach with their pegleg and a severed leg clearly in one hand. - Floofty gesturing to a closed chemical cabinet with a sign reading "GENDER. CAUTION! HIGHLY TOXIC" - A meme recreation of Floofty holding up a flask with text reading "FINALLY. GENDER FLUID" - Floofty, grimacing and gesturing with one hand, saying, "I've come to make an announcement. Snorpington's a punk-*ss b*tch," - The X-Files "I WANT TO BELIEVE" poster, but the UFO has been replaced with a drawing of a T-posing Floofty floating at a slight angle into the sky.]

[Image 2 ID: A 4-panel comic of Filbo and Floofty. In the first panel, Floofty is sitting at a bar sipping from a cup, looking annoyed as a dancing Filbo backs into them with a smile. Filbo says, "Hey! Can I have a sip of your water?" and Floofty replies, "It isn't water." In the second panel, Filbo has turned around to wink and do finger guns at Floofty, saying, "Snax juice!! I like your style!" Floofty, glaring, responds, "It's vinegar." In the third panel, Filbo, still frozen in finger-guns position, looks on in horror and Floofty, still glaring, takes a slow sip from the cup. In the fourth panel, Filbo, horrified, says "...what?" and Floofty replies simply, "It's vinegar, plebian."]

[Image 3 ID: A 3-panel comic of Triffany and Floofty. In the first, Triffany, grinning and holding a stack of papers with one arm, extends the other to Floofty while saying, "Good job, Floofty!" Floofty, taking the item with one hand, says, "You're giving me a sticker?" In the second panel, Triffany, still grinning and gesturing with one pointer finger, says, "Not just a sticker! It has a kitten saying 'Me-WOW!'" Floofty, staring down at the sticker looking nonplussed, replies, "I'm not a kindergartener." In the third, Triffany, looking disappointed, leans down and reaches out saying, "Okay, I'll take it back." Floofty, glaring and holding the sticker in both hands, whirls away while saying, "I earned this, back off."]

[Image 4 ID: A two-panel comic of Floofty and Shelda. Shelda, sitting on a log, eyes closed and hands clutched over her heart, says, "I never considered you an enemy." Floofty, sitting on a separate log with a book in one hand and leaning their head on the other, doesn't even look up as they respond "I never considered you at all." In the second panel, Floofty continues reading and not acknowledging Shelda, who has placed both hands on her knees and says in disbelief, "Now that's just hurtful".]

[Image 5 ID: A drawing of Floofty recreating a scene from It's Always Sunny. They are grinning wildly, one hand pumping a fist and the other holding a whiteboard marker, moving so quickly they're motion-blurred. Behind them a whiteboard reads in all caps "MURDER".]

[thesweetnessofsalt]

Process Blog #4: How I Make TSOS!

Just in time for Webcomic Day, it's a real actual process blog! We're going to get into the nitty-gritty of how I make pages of The Sweetness of Salt.

Let's go! :D

This blog was originally written for 1$+ TSOS Supporters and can also be read here on Ko-fi - free to everyone!

Chapter 3 Pages 29 - 32 (ALT text for pages here)

Leah's conversation on the balcony with Arlo is a pretty self contained scene in four pages, and will make a good case study for this blog. There is a full video timelapse at the very end, but I will be laying out my process for The Sweetness of Salt in detail here first!

Working From A Script

Since I'm the only person who works on TSOS, I keep my script pretty loose. I have a good idea now of how much of my writing translates into how many pages, and will sometimes mark significant page turns in the script or describe panel layouts if they occur to me while scripting. However, I generally don't know how I'll lay out the panels until I actually sit down with some paper.

My script mostly serves as an outline; dialogue, blocking, or entire segments can change when I put the characters through it on the page. Still, it's important to follow the script in order keep track of pace and continuity.

Here is the original script for this scene:

Script Excerpt - Chapter 3 (ALT text for script image here)

Compare the script to the text on the actual pages, and there are some big differences! That's pretty typical of my workflow for TSOS. There's an ever growing gap between the day I worked on the script and the day I actually make the pages. By the time I sit down and draw, the characters and story have developed even more in my mind, and there's lots of time for me to experiment and be inspired. (This is definitely a luxury particular to a long running webcomic, though.)

In this particular case, I felt like the conversation in the script wasn't familiar enough for their relationship, and I also wanted to start establishing context for Sha's conundrum a bit sooner than originally planned. 

You could apply these to just about all the script changes I make: they're almost always done to re-emphasize character and story beats. And sometimes the changes are so I could add a joke. Or both!

Thumbnailing

You've heard me complaining about it; you've probably heard me express euphoric bliss about it, too. Thumbnailing is when words become comics, and it's hard!! But it's also the most rewarding part for me, and it's when TSOS actually becomes real. 

There are times when I can thumbnail right from my brain, and  times when every single comic I own is out on the floor for inspiration. I need to be in the right headspace to thumbnail - focused enough to take everything I need to into consideration, but loose enough to visualize the story.

Here's a method that's worked for me lately: by setting aside certain number of pages and just writing out what happens per page, I get a good sense of pacing without having to draw anything yet. It's a good way to get the juices flowing!

It's often, though not always, easier to thumbnail on paper, especially for the early stages. I'm much less precious about my drawings on paper, and feel more comfortable trying several iterations of a page than I am with digital drawing. The undo button and zoom button are enemies of thumbnails!

My thumbnails do ultimately get finalized in Clip Studio Paint, though - I have a template for this tailored to my workflow. The page layouts are in the middle, and are paired the same way they are on Webtoon (where pages post in pairs and need to be harmonious). There's also room on each side for the text/notes, though as you can see I don't always write something if I plan to follow the script.

Thumbnails for Pages 28 - 33 (I'm sorry but I'm not ALT texting this chicken scratch)

When I know I need to work on my thumbnails, I try to fill that week with lots of sketching and a healthy reading diet - including my own script and comic! You want a warm hand and a brain full of comics for thumbnailing, but also lots of energy for your own story.

Scott McCloud's books are, as always, indispensable (Understanding Comics for general theory, Making Comics for more specific techniques), but these guides from Hannah Vardit have also been really helpful in getting my brain around thumbnailing.

Page 31 will be our example page moving forward, so here is that thumbnail in full:

Page 31 Thumbnail

LOL - thumbnail Arlo is my favorite Arlo. 

Though not included here on Page 31, I do generally jot down balloons in my thumbnails, too, which you can see in the other thumbnails. It's good to account for your text early!

I keep these drawings super simple - they're just an indication of blocking and expression. I work more on character acting in the pencil stage.

Tools of the Trade

Alright, now we're getting into the nitty gritty!

One note before we proceed: TSOS is NOT print ready, and nothing about my process should be considered print ready or as advice for print readiness. This is just what's worked well for my webcomic, for the sake of consistency and mobile/web versatility. 

Program: Clip Studio Paint EX

Working Canvas Properties: 2407 x 3675px 350 dpi (Sized down to 940px wide for web, Margins approximately 100 px)

Dialogue Font: Soapy Hands by Sara Linsley (15 pt with few exceptions)

Favorite Pencil: Gritty's Pencil from Frenden's mega pack

Favorite Inker: Real G-Pen (CSP Default)

Character Modeler: MagicPoser for iPad

Cottage Model: floorplancreator.net (Browser app - even works on iPad! Free + simple to use)

I also use Windows Sticky Notes keep track of things like line weights, layer properties, or methods for things that get rendered frequently, such as Sha's sweater. 

"Chapter 3 Style Guide" (ALT text here)

Roughing + Penciling

Before I start drawing, I make the panel borders and place all of the text.

I tend to fuss with my text for a long time, getting the line breaks exactly where I want them, and reading it out loud to make sure the page flow works. Balloons usually come later, once the art is done or mostly done and I can place the tails correctly. For now, the text is enough of a placeholder!

Everyone has their own rules when it comes to lettering, but I look to The Essential Guide to Comic Book Lettering as much as possible for general lettering conventions. It's the best resource out there for a reason, and I'm glad I have a physical copy to reference while I work.

Page 31 Rough Blocking + Lettering

If I need to, I will take references from my model of the cottage or MagicPoser. For this scene, the balcony was simple enough to draw from imagination. Still, I studied its one and only appearance here in Chapter 2 Page 29 -

- as well as my model. I use floorplancreator.net - here is the floor plan for the second floor of the cottage:

And here is a 3D view. Neat, right? It took some time to set up, but it was time well spent. Even if I don't screenshot a reference, I'm using it to help visualize backgrounds and blocking.

I also use my own character assets - essentially just a file with various lineart of character faces saved from previous pages.  I like to pencil from scratch if I have the time, but sometimes I just need to get a page out quickly. I'll drop these in and use them as an undersketch to speed things along.

My collection of 3/4 Facial Assets for Leah and Sha

For Arlo, I almost always sketch on top of a reference, and will reuse his lineart, too. I love him, but I'm not an expert frog illustrator.

With my references assembled, I can start sketching and get everything locked in. This was a page I needed to complete quickly, so I structured shots that could use the same background angle and made sure Leah + Arlo's positioning was consistent and easy to follow. 

Big differences between my thumbnails and final layout are often due to continuity adjustments like that. Important stuff!

Page 31 Pencils

I'm afraid I don't have much else to say about this part - if the thumbnails are where the story becomes a comic, this is where the comic becomes art. I get to be my most expressive and make these characters and places come alive. It's the drawing part, you know? Well, except for that other drawing part.

Inking

I tend to be a rough penciller, letting my inks do the heavy lifting drawing-wise. I suppose 'linearting' might be a better descriptor, because I don't ink with a great deal of toning, black shadows, or even line weights. TSOS is fully colored and rendered, so I tend to keep the inks simple. That's kind of just the style I've built for this comic. 

Background inks always come first, though. It's far easier to resize a character to the background than vice versa. This also encourages me to draw the entire background behind the character, so that art can be reused later. (You should also be finishing the art behind your balloons, by the way!)

Page 31 Lineart

Color + Rendering

Backgrounds come first again! I really do try to keep these as simple as possible, so they're easily replicated and don't suck up all my time. UNLESS: the backgrounds are especially important to the page, like an establishing shot. The overhead balcony shot on Page 30 took a lot longer than these, but with the new location established, I could let these pages be more about Leah's conversation and gestures.

This balancing act dictates my entire comic page process. Whichever element is most important to this page - the character acting, the environment, the action, etc - is the element that gets the most of my time, and I'll actively reduce effort in less important areas. It's good for time management, yes, but it also keeps the story focused!

Page 31 Flat Character Color > Rendered Character > Full Color Page

Each character gets filled in with white so their colors can be clipped to the layers above. Again, colors are pretty simple - it's more about the mood lighting here. MagicPoser lets you manipulate lighting, so sometimes I like to go a little ham with the rendering. It's one of my favorite ways to give a scene some 'oomf'.

Typical Layer Hierarchy for Characters (These are normally never labeled. I did that because I love you)

The MVP in all of this is the Erase Along Edge tool. It makes coloring so fast, and when I first adopted it, it cut my process time in half. 

The link will take you to its listing on the CSP asset store, which has detailed instructions for how to use it. Once you figure it out, you can set other brushes to erase along the edge, or even to color within an edge! Neat stuff. I especially like it when I need to color many small background elements.

Finishing and Lettering

A long time ago, TSOS's balloons were very fussy, tedious, hand-drawn squovals. When I made revisions to Chapter 1+2, the bulk of it was just re-lettering it all to something simple and consistent.

I've only just recently started experimenting with the joined balloons you see on this page, so I've got a lot to learn and a lot to try out. There are a couple of things I keep in mind for legibility, like giving the letters lots of room inside the balloon's edge. Clarity is way more important than being fancy.

Curve Balloon tool > place four points only

Manipulate points for symmetry, fit

Add tail

Done!

Since I placed my text early and kept adjusting it along the way, I don't have to worry about my balloons having enough room or looking nice with the art. I can just click my lil points and be on my way!

Page 31 Finished Page

Still a few finishing touches left: the whooshes, the eye shines, and of course, the sparkles. What's left to say? This is objectively the best part.

Wrapping It Up

Whoo, another comic page down! Excluding the time spent thumbnailing, pages take me about 8-10 hours to make. Ideally, I do this across two days, with inking one and coloring the next. 

Here is the full video timelapse of the page! Click through the video to check out the description, where I've timestamped the whole process.

The timestamps on this one definitely made me laugh - I jump around a lot more than the ideal, linear process described in this blog. You can tell I struggled with the lineart on this one, because I keep having to come back to it. But there's always something else to work on - I try not to let myself get stuck in one spot for too long.

There you have it! Those are all my trade secrets. Just over 2k words, and I don't think I can add anything more. But if you want to know anything else or have any questions, you can leave them here and I'll add them to the next blog!

Thanks for reading!

This blog was originally written for 1$+ TSOS Supporters and can also be read here on Ko-fi - free to everyone. Become a 1$+ supporter and you get early access to all of my comic pages and process blogs!

[calling4glaives]

Guard Post: Citadel Steps

The last guard location we’re looking at (Nyx Week is next week, folks!) is the Citadel itself, where Nyx is posted for the signing. We won’t be looking at the whole Citadel (that is far too much for this post) just the exterior portions where Nyx and other guards are posted.

[[Unless otherwise noted, these screenshots were taken by @starjunco. All images have ID in the Alt]]

There are two passageways being guarded here - the gate and the Citadel itself. Nyx starts at the top of the stairs into the formal entrance to the Citadel. These steps are hardly accessible, so perhaps those with difficulty walking them (like, say, Noctis in his wheelchair after the attack) likely use alternative entrances - either around the side or below the courtyard level.

There appears to be two guards at each landing of the stairs, here, and one at the top. The lower four are Guardsmen like Petra, but Nyx seems to be the only Glaive we see on duty here.

A quick look at the area Nyx is directly posted to, showing off some interesting architectural features. There is a mix of modern and ancient - stone and glass, gold lanterns and dark columns. The knotwork and star medallions are quite interesting, as is the glimpse of the middle part of the Lucian Star above the doorway into the building itself. Other than that glimpse, everything here is laid out in strict verticals and horizontals - more greco-roman references, perhaps, especially with the Ionic capital atop the columns.

We’ll follow Nyx as he paces to see glimpses of the inner plaza. From this angle you can see the temporary scaffolding erected for the large black panels on either side of the building's entrance. They resemble the backdrop for a stage, so perhaps speakers or some type of entertainment or media coverage areas are scheduled there, or they could just be blocking off access to some of the other entrances to the building. In front of Nyx you can see the centerpiece of the plaza (we’ll have a better image later, this is just for your orientation).

Nyx completes his pace across and turns, letting us see what is beside the steps. More arches here, but the geometric motifs look somewhat like the lanterns below them. That square area could be for an elevator, but is likely just a buttress for the large building given the lack of places to stop or other support.

It’s also nice to see Lucis uses handrails, though they seem very modern even in comparison to this rather modern-looking building.

Beyond, you can see the curved walls that surround this plaza. Though they seem more defensive, they are slightly reminiscent of the colonnades surrounding St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

[[From the St. Peter's Plaza wikipedia page]]

At this point, Nyx figures out Crowe’s watch and abandons his post to race back home, so we get a glimpse of the outer gate.

This gate here could technically be the “Citadel Gate” from the signs in Nyx’s neighborhood, but there hardly seems to be 3km between them, so likely this is an inner gate of some sort. There are a plethora of banners and symbols to feast your eyes upon, but we’ll point out the greenery and tables - this is likely common space for tourists and perhaps those working within the Citadel itself, so they don’t have to leave the area directly.

Though one might expect this area closest to the center of the city and its capitol to be full of historical buildings, it seems to mainly be open spaces and modern skyscrapers. Perhaps something catastrophic happened here to destroy many of them…

It would be odd how few people are here, but there are two explanations, depending on your inclination. The first is these are all vetted people allowed within this area, and thus there are fewer total and, among them, lower percentages of protesters. The second is they didn’t want to waste money on animating a larger crowd.

Aside from the tragedy of Nyx and Libertus missing each other in the somewhat sparse crowd, this is an interesting view of the rest of the Citadel area. The building in the background is perhaps the same one found in, well, Founder’s Square seen as the Glaives returned to the city at the beginning of the movie:

It is, of course, possible, that this is a common building style in Insomnia, but judging from the proximity of the Citadel behind it, it likely is the same structure. This could be the ever-elusive Citadel Gate, though it's still not quite 3km from the Citadel.

The gate here is simple but lovely. Its main identifying feature is these statues. Matching ones appear on the Citadel itself, visible through the gates. The figures appear to be feminine, and the hood and the golden belt might indicate some sort of formal role. These could be akin to the angelic figures from the hotel roof, messengers, priestesses, or (with the white and gold coloring) could represent the Oracles, though they are not usually depicted with the hood.

The elongated hexagons seem to be somewhat of a motif across this whole area, interestingly enough. A sign of the Astrals or their favor, perhaps?

As delicate and pretty as this gilded gate is, though, the road spikes indicate this is intended to be an actual part of the security, as does the massive thickness of the walls on either side.

Back inside this gate, Petra briefs the guards in the plaza before the Citadel. The citizens appear to be wearing far more white than usual - a sign of formality among non-nobility, or an appeal to the Oracle, perhaps. Or a concession to Niflheim and peace, as Aldercapt often wears white to contrast the Lucian black. Or, honestly, a concession to the heat and the black buildings and glass all around them turning the plaza into an oven.

Two guards appear to have replaced Nyx on the upper landing already, so at least there’s that. Perhaps that’s why Petra got pulled up.

This is just a cool look at his uniform.

Looking back at the now open gate from the inside as the Niffs approach. It appears to have the same design on both sides.

Nyx also missed Pruvia in the crowd, but that’s more understandable. There are also some more blond Insomnians, for your worldbuilding needs.

This lovely aerial view of the plaza shows the layout of the center area, the bridges, the sidewalks the pedestrians are standing on, and the lower level below them.

There are interesting designs visible from this angle, too. Is that red carpet always there, or was it painted/tacked down special for this event? The tiles on the first landing are also lovely, and impossible to see in other shots. Is that rectangular part just before the pyramids some sort of tomb of the unknown soldier, a king’s memorial, or some sort of plaque?

The arrows are also odd, given that Lucians drive on the right inside and outside Insomnia.

Here’s the promised look at the center of the plaza. The glass pyramids are interesting – perhaps they project light for some sort of display or show? Or just help prevent people from driving straight at the Citadel.

Beside the blurry Nyx among the crowd, if you squint you can see Aldercapt and Ardyn getting out of the car, along with their aides.

The main council members appear to have come out to greet them, though they don’t look particularly happy to be here.

Neither does Regis, looking on from the windows above. Of course, we know that to be the proper attitude for what’s to come.

But your doom is not yet set! There are still five days before Nyx Week 2023 starts! Good luck!

[bestworstcase]

seeing a lot of “always morally okay to pirate from shit corporations!” and zero instructions for how to do that besides watching in 270p on miserable ad-infested laggy streaming sites.

it sure would be a shame if there were better ways, wouldn’t it?

windows users everything described below should also work for you, just change filepath syntax as needed [ ~/some_folder -> C:\Users\you\some_folder ].

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

basic internet privacy setup. VPN tracker blocking etc.

firefox [or any browser, but really. switch to firefox.]

ffmpeg

https://ffmpeg.org

homebrew users: brew install ffmpeg

JDownloader

https://jdownloader.org

we’re also going to use the command line interface for the final step, so if you don’t know what that is or have never used the CLI before, you’ll want to do a quick search for “open command prompt” (windows) or “open terminal” (macos/linux) and then practice using the cd command to move around between folders. we’re not doing anything complex or risky with the CLI, so don’t let this part intimidate you—really. it’s super simple.

if ffmpeg isn’t already installed on your machine, the JDownloader installer package should prompt you to install it automatically—say YES if it asks.

NB: this method will not allow you to download first exclusive content, but it’s very simple to work around this limitation using burner accounts and the 7-day free trial to access paywalled content. just be sure to cancel your “subscription” once you’re done

NB2: you’ll need to WHITELIST “Brightcove Player” in your tracker blocking. that’s the service responsible for hosting/streaming videos, we need it to load so that we can yank the links :)

STEP ONE: JDOWNLOADER CONFIG

launch JDownloader and go to Settings. set the directory you want it to send downloaded files to. mine is ~/Downloads/JDownloader/RT.

set “If the file already exists” to “Overwrite.” this will make downloading many videos at a time more streamlined.

set “Remove finished downloads” to “when package is ready.” this will automatically clear finished downloads from the Downloads panel, to keep the UI clean while you work.

leave JDownloader running so the link grabber can do its thing.

STEP TWO: FINDING THE LINKS

log in to your RT account and go to the first video you want to download. open the page inspector by pressing alt+ctrl+i, then enter the “Network” tab. at the top of this tab you’ll see a “Filter URLs” text field; type m3u8 into it.

IF YOU DON’T SEE ANY RESULTS: 1. confirm that Brightcove Player is whitelisted, and 2. refresh the page without closing the Inspector.

we are looking for links from the manifest.prod.dns domain beginning with master.m3u8 and rendition.m3u8. there should be one master link and 2-4 rendition links. copy the urls for ALL of them, allowing JDownloader to grab them from your clipboard. if JDownloader doesn’t grab them automatically, you can manually paste them into the LinkGrabber tab by clicking “Add New Link.”

STEP THREE: DOWNLOADING VID AND AUDIO FILE

back to JDownloader: in the LinkGrabber tab, you should see something like:

NB: the 193kbits audio is only available for first accounts—so if you want the higher quality audio you’ll need a burner account :)

anyway, what we want to do now is select the highest available video and audio folders—1080p and aac 193kbits in this case—right click, and select “Start Downloads.” JDownloader will download them to the default directory specified in step one, like so:

-RT --rendition (1080p) .|....rendition (1080p).mp4 --rendition (aac 193kbits) .|....rendition (aac 193kbits).m4a

STEP FOUR: PUTTING IT TOGETHER

what we’ve just downloaded is a video file with no sound and the audio track that goes with it, so what we need to do now is combine them into a single file. to do that, we’re going to execute an ffmpeg command using our CLI.

open terminal [or command prompt] and cd into your JDownloader default directory. for me, this is:

cd ~/Downloads/JDownloader/RT

if there are any spaces in your file path, enclose them with straight double quotes, like this: ~/Downloads/"Some Folder"/RT

the syntax for the ffmpeg command we need is:

ffmpeg -i <path to video>.mp4 -i <path to audio>.m4a -acodec copy -vcodec copy <outputfilename>.mp4

for example:

ffmpeg -i ./"rendition (1080p)"/"rendition (1080p).mp4" -i ./"rendition (aac 193kbits)"/"rendition (aac 193kbits).m4a" -acodec copy -vcodec copy 1.16_BlackAndWhite.mp4

if you’re on macos or linux, you can just copy that string, change the output filename, and paste directly into your terminal. windows users will need to change the path syntax also. hit enter to execute the command. if there are any errors they will be printed in the CLI—you’ll want to keep an eye on the path and file names for the audio files, they sometimes vary a little from video to video (192kbits vs 193kbits, or 65 vs 63).

the new, combined file will be created in whatever directory you run the command from. play it in your media player of choice to confirm that everything worked / that the audio track is correct, and you’re done.

FURTHER NOTES:

if you want to download a bunch of videos all at once, the most efficient way to do so is to grab the m3u8 links, download [allowing JDownloader to overwrite], run the ffmpeg command to combine, repeat. otherwise you can manually rename each set of files in JDownloader before initiating the download, then batch create all the combined files at once, but this is probably more of a hassle than it’s worth.

when downloading multiple videos, if you navigate from one to the next using the “Up Next” menu, make sure to MANUALLY REFRESH THE PAGE every time you load a new video, to ensure you are only seeing m3u8 links associated with that specific video. [they don’t get unloaded when you move on to the next video, only when the page itself is reloaded.]

[istherewifiinhell]

anyone wanna get emotional about collaborative art with me?

[Mirage 19 Story: E&L, Layout: Eastman, Pencils: Jim Lawson, Inks: Laird, Letters: Steve Lavigne]

ID from alt: Cropped section of the page annotations by Laird, (relevant) text: Page 18 is also the beginning of what I think of as "Brick hell" - Jim drew so many panels with hundreds of bricks in them, and I felt obliged to ink them all in. That was a LOT of bricks." Left is a panel showing Raph running down a curving brick tunnel, the wall is drawn with individual bricks, uncountable amounts of lines that illustrate the curvature.

If not, enjoy brick hell instead (I'll leave, just a doozy of a brick hell image at the end)

(this issue has beautiful layout paneling, which little snippets of could never replicate. great one to check out. imho)

come one come all to the worst barn party of the decade...

[IDS AND ALTS THE SAME]

ID: Jones family barn interior. Mike and Don speaking to Raph (off panel). Mike, in an open gesture: Life is good here... It's given us time to heal, to accept what's happened. Leo's needed this time, too--. Don, by his work table, no mask, wearing an apron. More neutral: We're not the guardians of society, Raphael... we never were. END

ID: Three panels, Raph pushing Leo around, yelling at him. The background moves from uninked, to midtone, to dark tone, as they both get more angry. Raph: No-- You're hiding out here... scared to face facts... And you're dragging all of us down with you! Fun and games are over, Chump... Look at yourself! END

ID: Two panels, Raph looks down to a wooden sword Leo (off panel) has held up in his way. He looks at it, unimpressed. Then looks up, pissed off and says only "Mistake." END

1. Three panels, Leo in the forground, just his leg seen. Raph on the floor against a wall. He whips his chin, saying "You were always good, Leo...". Close up, spit hangs from his mouth, continues "... One of the best..." He stands and finishes "...Which makes life here even more of a crime."

2. Four panels, Leo has Raph in a choke hold, holding him from behind, they are on the floor. Sweaty and teeth grit with exhertion. Leo says "--Do you hear me?!" Raph starts throwing punches to Leo's head, just above his own. As each one land we close in on Leo's face. END

Well. Thats great. Ill eat my own heart out how abouts.

AND ANYWAY. My favourite favourite effect.

ID: 1. Four panels, Leo, Mike and Don, run along a roof top, grab some fire escapes, and make their way to street level, skirting the edge of a street lamp's glow. The entire set is pen inked normally, and washed completely with the mid tone, save the small circle around the lamp, glowing white.

2. Large panel. Raph, 3 point lands, kicking up dust in the center of a spot lit section of sewer. The tail ends of a hood he wears trail up with the motion. Very little double-tone is used on the page, instead the shadow is communicated by increased hatch lines still following the shapes of every object in shot. END

ID: Raph sits in the tattered remains of the turtles lair, his brothers shadowed in the foreground. Raph, not very warmly says "Welcome Home." END

Okay okay. cry forever and every. please for the love of god. read comics. now. more brick hell

ID: Three panels, showing the entrance of a sewer tunnel into a larger area, closed and open pipes along the wall. The shot holds empty for two panels, then with the inclusion of Raph jumping out the exit in the third. If you are to look carefully. You can tell, though the scenery remains the same, in each, the intricate pen inked brick work and shadows have been done three separate times. END

LIKE. I KNOW ITS TRADITIONAL MEDIUM COMICS. But sir.... SIR? Another annotations from Laird specifically. Have mentioned using the copier to place certain things in backgrounds.... i just.... SIR?

[maiji]

[images: First three pages of a comic drawn in a digital ink-brush style with greyscaleshading.]

fight / flight: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 Alt text, full transcript and commentary continue below the cut.

A YYH North Bound story. This takes place after I Heard A Cicada Cry and Survive.

Content warning: Violence, people fighting with swords. Blood and injuries in future parts.

[images: Remaining five pages of comic.]

[page 1] *Text reads: "fight / flight - a North Bound story by Maiji." Opening panel depicts a moonlit site in a forest. Hokushin is grooming a horse. He detects a new presence. The horse grows nervous.* Hokushin: (It’s not one of the new recruits.) ?: Don��t waste time pretending. I know what you are.

[page 2] *Otake, as he appears at the end of I Heard A Cicada Cry, leans against a tree, arms folded.* Otake: You’ve killed many humans. Devoured many more. *Hokushin turns his head, but says nothing. The horse nervously skitters off.* Otake: Not going to defend yourself? ‘“I did only as my master bid! I must eat humans to survive!”

[page 3] Hokushin: You’re not human either. Why do you care? Otake: Very perceptive. What gave me away? Hokushin: Nothing. Thank you for confirming. *Otake twitches*

[page 4] Otake: Unlike you, I serve a greater power. A power commanding life and death itself, that watches over this sinful, lost human world. A power a pitiful demon like yourself has the rare opportunity to serve, *he holds something up to show Hokushin, causing Hokushin's eyes to widen in shock* if you answer my questions about this Mirror. Hokushin: How did you convince the monks to unseal the Mirror? Otake: Convince? So many are casualties of war these days. Hokushin: …What do you want to know? Otake: Certain conditions must be fulfilled in order to access its powers. I must know what they are so that I can inform my master.

[page 5] Hokushin: And if I tell you, you’ll spare my life or something like that? Otake: It will be considered. Hokushin: Fair enough. I will tell you all I know. *The two of them stare at each other in silence* Otake: I am waiting. Hokushin: *smiling and shrugging* Alas, I have no idea what the conditions are. Why don’t you ask the Mirror yourself? *Multiple veins pulse on Otake’s forehead*

[page 6] Otake: *draws his sword as he speaks; Hokushin’s face reflected in the blade* No matter. The power I serve sees no future for vermin that terrify and corrupt the vulnerable creatures of this realm. Your head will be good enough to show my master.

[page 7] Otake: *raises his sword over his head* I am Otake and I serve Enma Daioh!

[page 8] *The perspective flips to Hokushin also rapidly drawing his sword* Otake: Now stand your ground and fight for your life, demon!!

...

And now we shall enjoy a nice indeterminate break until I figure out how to choreograph the rest of this fight!! Action sequences will be the death of me. At least there’s no suspense in the end result, since we know they both must survive this encounter in order to be able to appear in Yu Yu Hakusho!!

Otake has finally caught up with Hokushin, after picking up the Mirror of Darkness from the temple that Hokushin left it in at the end of Mirror Most Dark. I estimate here they’re both around 100 years in age, and neither of them are anything close to the powerhouses they’ll be by the modern era.

I’ve been plotting fight / flight for a long time because I wanted an opportunity to draw a cool fight sequence for Hokushin. (He has one with Raizen in the first North Bound comic I ever drew, First Meeting, but it wasn't much of a fight. Also, it's been a few years; hopefully I have developed my skills somewhat, so now is the time to try again!) It turned into “well why don’t I have him fight Otake” after I managed to work Otake into the story, then I had to actually make proper narrative connections and give it consequences for the trajectory of North Bound. I kept intimidating myself while trying to work on it, periodically doing some script work and test drawings to try to psych myself up. You might recall the drawing tests I posted a while back here. I mentioned in that post that at one point I debated making this a visual novel (possibly interactive fiction) format, but also felt that was a copout to my shounen manga roots. The title is actually a tide-over from when I was considering that.

Aside from the actual still-to-come fight sequence, I struggled with resolving some pretty big considerations like, uh, where this encounter actually takes place?? And how to end it without one of them dying?? But in early October 2022 I went for a walk and then took a shower and an inkling transformed into a fleshed-out solution. Go walks and showers and subconsciousness magic!!! Then I continued to struggle on and off for months being too scared to deal with the action. Finally over the holidays I figured I might as well just flesh out the first part to light a fire under my own butt and inch along to the next part! This took about three days to thumbnail, sketch, draw and clean up on the computer, but there was a lot of time... months, years of behind-the-scenes work to make these three days possible...

I have some photos of the thumbnails and wip saves of the page sketches, so I’ll make a separate post with those. But one last thing I wanted to note is that I am really really proud of the speed lines on the last page with Hokushin! They’re far from perfect but I think they’re my best radiating speed lines to date! I manually eyeballed and drew them all individually because that’s all I know how to do, hahaha. The vertical/horizontal ones are easier since I know to hit Shift to force them to stay straight, lol.

Update: A post showing the thumbnails and page sketches for part 1 is available here! https://www.tumblr.com/maiji/705344009349005312/fight-flight-part-1-thumbnails-and-page

[wangsheungs]

WANGSHEUNGS’ SUMMER GIF REQUEST GUIDELINES

hello hello! lauren here to say summer gif requests are officially open! i’m glad people were interested in gif requests. down below will be the guidelines regarding requesting!

1 ⟡ gif requests will be split into two categories: cutscenes and in-game. i don’t have every character in the game and i don’t want this to limit requests so i’ve decided to have them be put into two different categories. please tell me if you want cutscene or in-game or else i cannot take the request.

cutscenes -> any cutscenes from the game, demo trailers, character teasers, trailers etc. you can request any character of your liking! (example of a cutscene gif)

in-game -> as i said before, i don’t have all the characters in the game and so i am limited. here you can find my character page which shows all of the characters i have in the game. the characters are categorized in alphabetical order (example of an in-game gif) 

2 ⟡ do not ask for a combination of cutscenes and in-game. i would prefer the two be separate as asking for both will lead to confusion

3 ⟡ you can ask for more than 1 character in a request! i still need you to be specific if you want in-game or cutscenes

4 ⟡ regarding asking for more than 1 character in-game requests, please do not ask for characters to be standing by each other in the same gifset as i have no alt account. i am willing to have you join me in co-op if you want to help with the making of the gifset! I play on NA server so i only ask fellow NA server players to ask me to join (i can make exceptions to characters i don’t have if you have a character) 

5 ⟡ you can ask for me to replicate a previous in-game gifset i’ve done! all i ask is for you to send me which one you want exactly 

6 ⟡ you can be as specific as to how many panels you want and what width 

7 ⟡ please no anon! i want to be able to communicate with you if i have any questions or if you are a NA player and want to help! if you don’t want your request to be publicized, you can message me instead 

8 ⟡ i don’t have a limit at the moment but i will probably put one when the time comes :3c

you don’t have to follow each of rules in the guidelines but the ones i ask you to follow are rule 1, 2, 4, and 7 as these are here to outline any conflicts i wish to avoid! any questions you have don’t hesitate to ask

you can keep track of requests here and i would greatly appreciate reblogs of this post to reach others! i hope everyone has a great summer~

[arecomicsevengood]

MIASMA MYOPIA 1

Floyd Tangeman, editor of assorted small press anthologies — Tinfoil, Jaywalk, Cowlick, and another title he’s looking for a publisher for — dropped his first comic of solo authorship, having worked on it for a year and a half. I’m familiar with his work from his presence in those anthologies, but most of those anthologies favor a certain opacity in their accreditation, in that a table of contents page will list contributors in the order their work appears but without page numbers or anything, so you just page through looking for stylistic shifts, and many of the artist work such shifts into their approach to pages. Miasma Myopia might not make Tangeman’s work more identifiable, seen in the pages of Tinfoil, but it does further elucidate his approach, in terms of how his work as an editor is about the community he’s a part of, and the reciprocal nature of what it means to be a part of a community: Not only is it easy to imagine the pages of this comic running in Tinfoil, it’s also easy to imagine misreading different pages as the works of different people. The center spread, that a staple binding is inclined to open to, shows a totally different style than the rest of the book.

My favorite pages here tread a line between a scribbly energy and a larger composition, presenting a cartoon world.that feels coherent despite being made out of wild marks. This is arguably the baseline style, or where Tangeman seems most adept, though you also only see it on a few pages. Overall, exploration is favored over sticking to a sure-footed approach. Pages featuring a ton of tiny panels laid out in a grid come off more like a spur of a moment decision of what would be a cool thing to do rather than a measured response to the question of what the story needs to be told. When we see figures with faces, I’m not convinced Tangeman is interested in that kind of cartooning, one that includes an approach to characterization. One of the things people like about Tinfoil is how its cartoonists seem to reject the established alt/literary comics canon in favor of an approach that puts images on a page with text and some idea of sequence and calls it a comic. That’s not to say that Tangeman doesn’t know comics history, or doesn’t love Justin Green, (he does) but he’s trying to operate from a position of freeform exploration rather than closely observed rigor, and to be a person, particularly a person under observation, does not feel particularly free, and so capturing a “well-observed character” would be anathema to the artistic mission. Tinfoil and Cowlick are anthologies absent a sharp or incisive eye. Evocation is favored, or inner questing, but there isn’t the sense you get from vintage underground cartoonists that the author feels like a psychedelic voyages have given them insight into other people and how full of shit they are. They nonetheless delight in the inner voyage, where what is “learned” is ungrounded in reality, but still feels profound. The question of “does this mean anything” is answered with a shrug. This isn’t a bad approach, but how much sympathy you have for it likely depends on how uptight you are. (Imagine a digression here where I pointed out how Uptight was the name of Jordan Crane’s single-artist anthology title for Fantagraphics, and I posited that approach as the opposite of what Tangeman’s up to.) There is a sequence here of single-page images I took as nonnarrative, sketchbook ruminations on a theme. Your enjoyment of Miasma Myopia will likely vary on how willing you are to look at such things and interpret them as sequential art.

[gameguides]

Stormworks Build and Rescue KAP-140 Autopilot Guide

Welcome to our Stormworks Build and Rescue KAP-140 Autopilot Guide. A guide on how to operate and use my autopilot and flight planner: The KAP or SW 140. #StormworksBuildandRescue

Stormworks Build and Rescue KAP-140 Autopilot Guide

A guide on how to operate and use my autopilot and flight planner: The KAP or SW 140. General Layout of the Autopilot and Flight management screens The Auto PilotThe KAP-140 I have created is loosely based off the KAP-140 Autopilot in real life. The Auto Pilot is split into two distinct areas: 1) The Autopilot Mode Panel

This displayed the armed or engaged modes of the Autopilot. To the right it displays the target Altitude (If the Alt mode is engaged) with the selected units of either feet or meters. For the displayed Auto pilot mode annunciation meaning go to the Autopilot mode and indications chapter. 2) The Selection Panel

This is how you select your autopilot modes and engage the autopilot. On the left in its own area is the autopilot engage button. In the middle is the heading modes including arrival engagement and on the far right is the Altitude mode section. The circle represents the dial you would turn and is used to select a target altitude. The Flight Management System The flight management system is a basic way to plan routes and fly them somewhat accurately and integrates directly into the KAP-140. It consists of 4 pages. 1) The Main Screen

On the left from top to bottom we have the selection for the Departure, Enroute and Arrival Pages. The Red button in the top right corner deletes the entire flight plan. In the main section we have a distance read out of the entire route and lastly how many waypoints the flight plan includes. These currently do not update as the distance or number of waypoint decreases. In theory this can be an infinite amount but the text is only so far configured for 99 way points. 2) The Departure screen

The departure screen is a mirror of the arrival screen and consists of 3 main buttons on the bottom. From right to left this is: Commit the value from the keypad as the X co-ordinate, Commit the value from the keypad as the Y co-ordinate and lastly Commit the value from the keypad as the target track. This will be more clearly discussed in How to Program the Flight Management System Chapter. The central white button is the commit to the system button: This takes all the stored values and commits them to the flight plan. The Top right is the BACK button to take you back to the Main Screen. 3)The Enroute Screen

The enroute screen shares similarities between the departure and arrival screens, the X and Y buttons are the same and the commit button is the same. However, you cannot input a target track. The micro controller automatically calculates the target track from the last waypoint to your desired point once the commit button is pressed. 4) The Arrival Screen

This is a direct copy of the departure screen and shares exactly the same functionality. Auto Pilot modes and indications In this chapter we will look at all the available Autopilot annunciations and what they mean for you as the pilot. Boxed A

This is by far one of the most important annunciations to be displayed, without it the entire system will not work. This A shows that the autopilot is engaged in the desired modes. In this image, no modes are selected so the autopilot will do nothing, however you will still retain control of the aircraft. HDG and NAV Buttons The next annunciations are to do with the lateral tracking of your aircraft.

Hitting the H button of the central panel will put you into heading mode: This targets the heading you are on as you select the mode. This can be preloaded without the autopilot on before take off if so desired.

Hitting the N button will load the NAV mode, this is following the target track as inputted from the Flight Management Screen. It is highly recommend that for take off, you have NAV and the Autopilot Selected on for best use. Alt and Baro ButtonsThe next buttons are on the far right by the circle. These are the Alt and Baro modes. Firstly the target altitude can be selected using the disk to the right. Touching to the right of it will raise the target altitude, to the left will lower.

Hitting the A button on the right of the panel engages the Alt mode. This will now target the altitude that is selected. It must be noted it will do this regardless of speed, so if you are throttle idle and selecting a higher altitude, it will pitch to try and reach it and you will enter a stall. It remains the pilots responsibility with this autopilot to manage the speed.

Hitting the B button changes the units from FEET or FT as displayed to Meters or M as displayed, this gives an easy switch if you do not operate using FT as your altitude measurement. The AR ButtonThe AR button is the ARRIVAL button. Selecting this mode will engage NAV mode and put you into the LDG Vertical guidance if appropriate. This is determined by how far off the calculated glide path you are. You can select this using the property on the chip, in this case its 3 degrees. If you are below 2.5 degrees the LDG mode is armed like so:

This will ensure you will keep your target Alt until on a suitable path for the glide down. Once you have passed this threshold, the LDG mode will become engaged like so:

This is designed so that you don't get weird climbs to chase the glide path, but to intercept it. Programming the Flight Management System - Stormworks Build and Rescue KAP-140 Autopilot In this chapter, we will look at how to program the flight management system. We will do this for a 5 waypoint route with a departure, enroute and then finally an arrival. Note: Due to me being slightly lazy, its important you follow the programming from Departure, Enroute then Arrival to ensure nothing out of the ordinary happens. For help there are a few headings for airfields that we need to know that aren't obviously north south (0 or 180 running) this excludes the desert but goes as follows: NameHeadingsDreimor040 or 220Harrison Airbase040 or 220ONiell Airbase130 or 310Military Island030,210,110 or 290Arctic Airfield140 or 320Multiplayer Base040 or 220 Alright now to the programming of the Flight management system: Departure From the main page use the top left button to select the departure page.

This will take you to the following page:

DEP at the top marks that this is the departure page. We now need to work out what our co-ordinates will be for our departure. Using the in game Map, gather your starting departure co-ordinate. Do this by hovering your mouse over the point you will line up on the runway and take off from and making a note of the co-ordinates in the bottom right of the screen. Note: If you are not aware, different seeds will have different co-ordinates so the ones displayed will not work on a different map.

With this information, now go to the keypad below the Screen and key in the X co-ordinate like so Note: The Keypad can sometimes display a weird value, if its within 0.1 its pretty much okay like the following

To assign this to the X you now click the bottom left button.

To add the Y co-ordinate you input the number in the keypad but instead of hitting the left button, you now hit the middle button on the bottom as shown here:

Lastly we will want to input a heading, in this case the heading I will target is 0 or north. As the X and Y I input this into the keypad then hit the bottom right button. This has now assigned values for the X, Y and Heading for the flight plan, but it is not commited. To do this you hit the central button pictured here:

This will then add the waypoint which is reflected on the map display and total waypoints like so:

By default on this chip, the departure track is set to 5km, this means your plane will fly out 5kms before turning to the next waypoint. For arrival it is set at 12km. Note: While you can change the departure distance, it is recommend that you leave the arrival distance for now, as this helps aid with the arrival function. You will note that the waypoints has gone to two. This is because the system has generated a point on the target track out at 5km away so 2 waypoints exist in the flight plan. Enroute - Stormworks Build and Rescue KAP-140 Autopilot The process for enroute is exactly the same but with the lack of ability to select a target heading. To go back to the main page hit the red button on the DEP screen in the Top Right.

Stormworks Build and Rescue KAP-140 Autopilot Do this only once as the one in the Main page will delete the flight plan and you will have to start again. To add an enroute section go to the second button down on the main page.

Clicking this brings you to this page:

The layout is much the same as the departure and arrival screen but as stated above, you cannot add a target track, this is calculated from your last waypoint automatically. The X and Y button work exactly the same, input your desired X and Y exactly as you did with the Departure X and Y. This can be done by finding the point you want on the map and making a note of the co-ordinates. The Commit and back buttons work exactly the same. Note: It is recommend to make gentle waypoints for large turns beyond 90 degrees, while you can skip this, the autopilot will get a heap of a turn on rather rapidly. Arrival - Stormworks Build and Rescue KAP-140 Autopilot Lastly the Arrival segment. Going back to the main page, select the bottom button on the right side. This will take you to the Arrival Screen as indicated by ARR at the top.

The process is exactly the same as for the Departure. Select the X and Y on the touchdown zone or threshold of the runway you are going to land on. This best helps with the vertical guidance in Arrival mode for the Autopilot. You will note that once this is committed, the Map display will have this last track in Magenta rather than green, this is to indicate its the last track in the flight plan and, more importantly, what the glide path is being calculated along. Deleting the Flight plan Once the flight is completed or you want a new route entering, select the top right red button on the main page

This will delete the flight plan and reset the waypoints to 0. You will now be able to reprogram the flight plan and continue. On next iterations, I will make this so you can select waypoints to delete, for now its rather rudimentary Connecting the logic Well well you've finished building your plane? What a beaut!

I must say that this is the fun part of this autopilot and Flight management, it has been tested on one aircraft so you folks wiring this thing up and flying with it will be interesting. Please feedback your findings and if anything doesn't work then we will work it out together Alright lets begin with Wiring the AutopilotFor this wonderful task you will need the following: - A 1x2 display - An Altimeter - A Compass (Arrow pointing to the FRONT of the aircraft) - A Linear speed sensor(Any Direction) - Some Switch boxes for Rudder, Aileron and Elevator When I get round to it the switch boxes eventually won't be required, this is my first pass on the system so in time it will be refined. Using the logic nodes connect the sensors to the labelled inputs/outputs. Touch screen goes to the Autopilot screen. FMS composite input goes to the Output of the FMGC Mk1 chip made by myself. Ensure everything is powered (Namely screen and compass sensor) and the display has a constant on signal or way to toggle on and off. For the switch boxes, the ON value should come from the autopilot, the off value should be your control inputs. The switch for rudder and aileron is the AP+HDG output and for the Elevator is the AP+Alt output. The Autopilot should now work but without the FMGC Mk1 chip, the Nav and Arrival modes should be considered inoperative. Wiring the FMGC Mk1 Chip

So you finished wiring your Autopilot up, now time for the next chip. For this wiring adventure you need the following: - 2 1x1 displays - A GPS - A Keypad While Compass is listed, it is not required for this version of the FMGC. Wire these up appropriately into the aircraft, again with the displays ensure they are powered, along with the GPS and make sure the displays have an on off value so the screen actually comes on. For Composite input, ensure this is connected to the screen that will house the flight plan and not the map, otherwise the touch screen will not work. Lastly the composite output for AP goes into the KAP-140 chip. This should now be fully integrated together and should work. Known bugs While I am somewhat proud of this autopilot it does have some flaws that I will be working on over time. This is due to some PID tuning and some questionable logic at best but is summarised here: Alt Mode Dive and climb: It is recommend you engage Alt mode while level as if you are pitched too high, the aircraft will snap down before going back up. Low level this is not ideal and is due to the PID value which will be refined. Nav mode: Target track too far: Again this is another PID logic thing, If you stray way too far off track and engage nav mode, it is going to end in an endless loop. The logic behind this at the moment is to target a closure rate to your track, which should not exceed 80% of your current speed in meters per second. However this doesn't work and needs refining. If you are going to operate in Nav Mode it is recommend you stay in it up until autopilot disconnection Arrival mode glide path: This autopilot targets a glide path and it just needs some refinement, the path is a little too steep at the moment but will change with time when I refine it. It must be noted that this autopilot is NOT Autoland capable. If you leave it in Arrival mode it will slap itself into the point you have chosen and then climb away as it tries to target the 3degree glide. Recommendation is down to a pretty standard ILS minima which is 200ft above the aerodrome elevation. For this reason disconnecting at 250-300ft is optimal so you can then guide it down to the runway. Arrival mode tracking: The tracking is good to within around 10 meters or so. While this is a low value, its not exact and can have you slightly displaced from the runway. This is being refined once I have the energy to revisit this section. It remains the pilots responsibility to ensure the correct lateral guidance is followed. If any bugs are found I will add them here over time and try to address them when I am revisiting this little project. Read the full article

[lab-values-cheat-sheet-ia]

lab values cheat sheet trainer UNI#

💾 ►►► DOWNLOAD FILE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Actual count of leukocytes in a volume of blood. - Can help confirm diagnosis. Can NOT diagnose based solely on WBC count! Lab value chart for nursing, NCLEX, USMLE, and students. Cheat sheet to learn and remember normal lab levels of CBC, ABG, chemistry, LFTs. Help with memorization, shows the effects of deficiencies etc. lab values: cheat sheet retrieved from red blood cells (rbc): normal: male actual count. This lab values badge buddy cheat sheet is an amazing tool for the nursing student tired of memorizing lab values, the new grad or travel nurse who hasn't. 9 Easy tricks to remember common lab values! Charts included! Save time by watching the video first, then supplement it with the lecture below! Click below to view the EZmed video library. Subscribe to stay in the loop! A membership gives you exclusive access to a membership page full of study guides, flashcards, and lectures that will help you succeed in medicine! If you enjoyed the memory tricks below, then make sure to get your copy of the study guide so you can review and succeed in medicine! With so many different lab tests available, it can be challenging to learn and memorize the normal values. We have created a list of easy tricks that will help you remember the normal lab levels of common blood tests. A basic metabolic panel BMP measures several electrolytes, renal function, and glucose. Then combine the first 3 odd numbers which are 1, 3, and 5. This will help you remember the normal range for potassium is 3. The basic metabolic panel also assesses renal function, which includes a BUN and creatinine. Bunions are typically located on the toes or digits, and we have 5 digits per extremity which totals 20 digits. Our energy starts to decline during our elderly years, especially when we are years old. This will give you the normal range for calcium of 8. A BMP also measures chloride which is another electrolyte. When you think of chloride, think of chlorine in a hot tub. The average temperature of a hot tub is degrees Fahrenheit. When you think of bicarbonate, think of carbonation and soda. In summary, the word associations to remember for BMP are the following:. Total protein and a few more electrolytes may also be included depending on the lab. Another way to think of AST is to use the 9am start time for school, and then an average school week is about 40 hours when you factor in homework. An average work day is longer than a school day, and it may begin at 7am and finish at 6pm. Another way to think of ALT is to use the 7am start time for work, and then an average work week might be 60 hours. Another enzyme measured in a liver function panel is alkaline phosphatase ALP. ALP may be elevated in hepatobiliary diseases, as well as in some bone diseases. Next we have bilirubin which is typically included in liver function tests. When you order a Reuben at a restaurant, you usually get 1 sandwich. Lastly, we have albumin which is a protein produced by the liver. When you think of albumin, think of protein or a protein shake. There are usually ingredients in a protein shake, especially if making a homemade one. This will help you remember the normal range for albumin is about 3. In summary, the word associations to remember for liver function tests LFTs are the following:. A complete blood count CBC primarily measures white blood cells, red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelets. An adult human body has approximately 4. This correlates perfectly with the normal range for red blood cells of 4. When you think of hemoglobin, think of oxygen as hemoglobin carries and transfers oxygen. The average adult takes breaths per minute at rest. When you think of hematocrit, think of hematocrisis and a midlife crisis which typically occurs between years old. In summary, the word associations to remember for a CBC are the following:. The PaO2 and oxygen saturations are usually provided as well. We know the pH scale ranges from , and we know the body likes to be in homeostasis. As a result, the normal pH of the body is going to be about 7. Now how can we remember that it is specifically 7. This will help you remember a normal pH is 7. Simply use the decimal numbers in the pH normal range This will help you remember the normal range for PaCO2 is mmHg. Bicarbonate was discussed above when reviewing the basic metabolic panel. When you think of bicarbonate, think of carbonation and a 12 pack of soda. We are going to multiply the 12 by 2 since bi means 2, and this will give us In summary, the word associations to remember for an ABG are the following:. This will help you remember the PT is normally seconds. This will give you the normal range of seconds when you add them up. In summary, the word associations to remember for a coagulation study are the following:. Make sure to sign up for FREE to the EZmed newsletter below, and never miss out on future medical and science topics made easy! A weekly notification is sent right to your inbox filled with new lectures, videos, and exam prep! Feedback or suggestions for future topics? Reach out using the contact button! Perform well in class, ace your exams, and keep up with your medical knowledge throughout your career using the following EZmed platforms:. Instagram: ezmedlearning - High yield exam content. Pinterest: ezmedlearning - Easy illustrations and flashcards. Jul 20 Written By EZmed. Save Time with a Video! View EZmed Videos! Become a Member! Learn More! EZmed Membership. Download the Study Guide! Quick View. Add To Cart. Normal Lab Values With so many different lab tests available, it can be challenging to learn and memorize the normal values. That is, until now…. Charts are included that make great cheat sheets! Sodium Sodium is one of several electrolytes measured in a BMP. This will give you which is the lower end of normal. Potassium Potassium is another electrolyte measured in a BMP. The normal range for potassium is 3. The Trick: When you think of potassium, think of bananas. Creatinine Creatinine measures renal function as well. The normal range for creatinine is about 0. Glucose A BMP also measures glucose. The Trick: When you think of glucose, think of energy. Calcium Calcium is another electrolyte measured in a BMP. The normal range for calcium is 8. The Trick: When you think of calcium, think of milk. A gallon of milk weighs about 8. Chloride A BMP also measures chloride which is another electrolyte. The Trick. The Trick: When you think of bicarbonate, think of carbonation and soda. Soda is usually sold in a 12 pack. View fullsize. An average school day is from 9am-4pm. The Trick: When you think of phosphatase, think of phosphate. Bilirubin Next we have bilirubin which is typically included in liver function tests. Albumin Lastly, we have albumin which is a protein produced by the liver. The normal range of albumin is about 3. The Trick: When you think of albumin, think of protein or a protein shake. It may also include additional differential information. The Trick: When you think of red blood cells, think of blood. The Trick: When you think of hemoglobin, think of oxygen as hemoglobin carries and transfers oxygen. The Trick: When you think of hematocrit, think of hematocrisis and a midlife crisis which typically occurs between years old. The Trick: When you think of platelets, think of the word plate. The Trick: We know the pH scale ranges from , and we know the body likes to be in homeostasis. The Trick: Simply use the decimal numbers in the pH normal range The Trick: Bicarbonate was discussed above when reviewing the basic metabolic panel. Before You Go…. Save time studying and reviewing! Did you enjoy this lecture? Leave a comment down below! Thank you for using EZmed! Perform well in class, ace your exams, and keep up with your medical knowledge throughout your career using the following EZmed platforms: YouTube Channel: EZmed - Animations and videos that simplify medicine and science Instagram: ezmedlearning - High yield exam content Pinterest: ezmedlearning - Easy illustrations and flashcards.

[lab-values-cheat-sheet-fq]

lab values cheat sheet new 413+

💾 ►►► DOWNLOAD FILE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Actual count of leukocytes in a volume of blood. - Can help confirm diagnosis. Can NOT diagnose based solely on WBC count! Lab value chart for nursing, NCLEX, USMLE, and students. Cheat sheet to learn and remember normal lab levels of CBC, ABG, chemistry, LFTs. Help with memorization, shows the effects of deficiencies etc. lab values: cheat sheet retrieved from red blood cells (rbc): normal: male actual count. This lab values badge buddy cheat sheet is an amazing tool for the nursing student tired of memorizing lab values, the new grad or travel nurse who hasn't. 9 Easy tricks to remember common lab values! Charts included! Save time by watching the video first, then supplement it with the lecture below! Click below to view the EZmed video library. Subscribe to stay in the loop! A membership gives you exclusive access to a membership page full of study guides, flashcards, and lectures that will help you succeed in medicine! If you enjoyed the memory tricks below, then make sure to get your copy of the study guide so you can review and succeed in medicine! With so many different lab tests available, it can be challenging to learn and memorize the normal values. We have created a list of easy tricks that will help you remember the normal lab levels of common blood tests. A basic metabolic panel BMP measures several electrolytes, renal function, and glucose. Then combine the first 3 odd numbers which are 1, 3, and 5. This will help you remember the normal range for potassium is 3. The basic metabolic panel also assesses renal function, which includes a BUN and creatinine. Bunions are typically located on the toes or digits, and we have 5 digits per extremity which totals 20 digits. Our energy starts to decline during our elderly years, especially when we are years old. This will give you the normal range for calcium of 8. A BMP also measures chloride which is another electrolyte. When you think of chloride, think of chlorine in a hot tub. The average temperature of a hot tub is degrees Fahrenheit. When you think of bicarbonate, think of carbonation and soda. In summary, the word associations to remember for BMP are the following:. Total protein and a few more electrolytes may also be included depending on the lab. Another way to think of AST is to use the 9am start time for school, and then an average school week is about 40 hours when you factor in homework. An average work day is longer than a school day, and it may begin at 7am and finish at 6pm. Another way to think of ALT is to use the 7am start time for work, and then an average work week might be 60 hours. Another enzyme measured in a liver function panel is alkaline phosphatase ALP. ALP may be elevated in hepatobiliary diseases, as well as in some bone diseases. Next we have bilirubin which is typically included in liver function tests. When you order a Reuben at a restaurant, you usually get 1 sandwich. Lastly, we have albumin which is a protein produced by the liver. When you think of albumin, think of protein or a protein shake. There are usually ingredients in a protein shake, especially if making a homemade one. This will help you remember the normal range for albumin is about 3. In summary, the word associations to remember for liver function tests LFTs are the following:. A complete blood count CBC primarily measures white blood cells, red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelets. An adult human body has approximately 4. This correlates perfectly with the normal range for red blood cells of 4. When you think of hemoglobin, think of oxygen as hemoglobin carries and transfers oxygen. The average adult takes breaths per minute at rest. When you think of hematocrit, think of hematocrisis and a midlife crisis which typically occurs between years old. In summary, the word associations to remember for a CBC are the following:. The PaO2 and oxygen saturations are usually provided as well. We know the pH scale ranges from , and we know the body likes to be in homeostasis. As a result, the normal pH of the body is going to be about 7. Now how can we remember that it is specifically 7. This will help you remember a normal pH is 7. Simply use the decimal numbers in the pH normal range This will help you remember the normal range for PaCO2 is mmHg. Bicarbonate was discussed above when reviewing the basic metabolic panel. When you think of bicarbonate, think of carbonation and a 12 pack of soda. We are going to multiply the 12 by 2 since bi means 2, and this will give us In summary, the word associations to remember for an ABG are the following:. This will help you remember the PT is normally seconds. This will give you the normal range of seconds when you add them up. In summary, the word associations to remember for a coagulation study are the following:. Make sure to sign up for FREE to the EZmed newsletter below, and never miss out on future medical and science topics made easy! A weekly notification is sent right to your inbox filled with new lectures, videos, and exam prep! Feedback or suggestions for future topics? Reach out using the contact button! Perform well in class, ace your exams, and keep up with your medical knowledge throughout your career using the following EZmed platforms:. Instagram: ezmedlearning - High yield exam content. Pinterest: ezmedlearning - Easy illustrations and flashcards. Jul 20 Written By EZmed. Save Time with a Video! View EZmed Videos! Become a Member! Learn More! EZmed Membership. Download the Study Guide! Quick View. Add To Cart. Normal Lab Values With so many different lab tests available, it can be challenging to learn and memorize the normal values. That is, until now…. Charts are included that make great cheat sheets! Sodium Sodium is one of several electrolytes measured in a BMP. This will give you which is the lower end of normal. Potassium Potassium is another electrolyte measured in a BMP. The normal range for potassium is 3. The Trick: When you think of potassium, think of bananas. Creatinine Creatinine measures renal function as well. The normal range for creatinine is about 0. Glucose A BMP also measures glucose. The Trick: When you think of glucose, think of energy. Calcium Calcium is another electrolyte measured in a BMP. The normal range for calcium is 8. The Trick: When you think of calcium, think of milk. A gallon of milk weighs about 8. Chloride A BMP also measures chloride which is another electrolyte. The Trick. The Trick: When you think of bicarbonate, think of carbonation and soda. Soda is usually sold in a 12 pack. View fullsize. An average school day is from 9am-4pm. The Trick: When you think of phosphatase, think of phosphate. Bilirubin Next we have bilirubin which is typically included in liver function tests. Albumin Lastly, we have albumin which is a protein produced by the liver. The normal range of albumin is about 3. The Trick: When you think of albumin, think of protein or a protein shake. It may also include additional differential information. The Trick: When you think of red blood cells, think of blood. The Trick: When you think of hemoglobin, think of oxygen as hemoglobin carries and transfers oxygen. The Trick: When you think of hematocrit, think of hematocrisis and a midlife crisis which typically occurs between years old. The Trick: When you think of platelets, think of the word plate. The Trick: We know the pH scale ranges from , and we know the body likes to be in homeostasis. The Trick: Simply use the decimal numbers in the pH normal range The Trick: Bicarbonate was discussed above when reviewing the basic metabolic panel. Before You Go…. Save time studying and reviewing! Did you enjoy this lecture? Leave a comment down below! Thank you for using EZmed! Perform well in class, ace your exams, and keep up with your medical knowledge throughout your career using the following EZmed platforms: YouTube Channel: EZmed - Animations and videos that simplify medicine and science Instagram: ezmedlearning - High yield exam content Pinterest: ezmedlearning - Easy illustrations and flashcards.