#still a beginner don't take my recommendations too seriously

[genericpuff]

When it comes to a drawing tablet do you recommend a beginner get one with a screen or one without specifically for webcomics?

So what you use the tablet for ultimately doesn't matter. Webcomics, illustration, animation, they're just different expressions of the same overall skillset. I've gone from using desk tablets to screen tablets and then back to desk tablets again. My current setup is a Huion Inspiroy Giano which is a very large desk tablet (no screen) with a Huion Kamvas 22 Plus as my display (screen).

(hi jim lol)

Now this obviously seems INCREDIBLY redundant but the reason why it's like that is because I used to use the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus as my screen tablet... until the pen input stopped working :)""" But it still works perfectly fine as a display! When I was shopping around for new drawing tablets though, I wasn't sure if I wanted to take the financial risk on another screen tablet. The Huions are a lot cheaper than the Wacom models which is great for people looking for inexpensive options, but if it meant I'd have to replace my screen tablets more often than my old Wacom Cintiq, then it wasn't gonna be worth it (but I didn't want to dump $2k on a tablet again LOL)

So I wound up getting a desk tablet instead! I had used Wacom desk tablets a lot prior to screens, and while it had been a few years, I re-adjusted in no time. The Huion Inspiroy Giano is, so far, a very reliable tablet. It just connects with a USB, no crazy 3-in-1 cables like the screen displays. It satisfies my need for a large tablet (seriously, if I can offer any piece of advice in regards to tablets, size does often matter because if a tablet is too small you'll be over-relying on your wrist for motions which isn't good for line integrity or your hand health!!!!) but it didn't break my budget like the Wacom tablets (and didn't feel as risky as buying another Kamvas 22 Plus after what happened the last time).

The only downside to it is that it has a bit of a rough surface to it which I find does a lot of initial wearing down on the nibs. I mean fr look at this thing-

And that will happen after only like, a few hours of use LOL that said, I've been using this nib for like 2 months now and it hasn't worn down more than that, so if you don't mind your nibs having a visible slant to them, it really doesn't cause any other issues.

That said, I've only had this tablet for about half a year now. I also used to sing praises for the Kamvas 22 Plus until it suddenly decided it wasn't going to work anymore without explanation, so... take my review of the Inspiroy Giano with grains of salt. At least though if this thing mysteriously stops working like the Kamvas did, I'll only have to pay $200-$300 to replace it vs. the Kamvas' $700+. It's still not a small amount of money, but it pays itself off quickly (and it's a lot cheaper compared to the equivalent Intuos Pro line from Wacom, which costs upwards of $500+ for a decently sized one).

Screen tablets are definitely helpful to have though, and I wouldn't object to returning to the screen displays once I can justify dropping money on one again. I still use a screen display on the go via my iPad Pro. But I don't think desk tablets should be taken for granted as a perfectly viable tool either, I think the initial learning curve tends to intimidate people a lot, but they're really quite comfortable to use once you adjust to the translation of desk tablet to monitor. You can also adjust the screen settings through the tablet driver anyways, which is what I did for my tablet because it was a little too big in spots where I had to reach really far to get to the color wheel tab on the right... so I just reduced the screen ratio to make up for it :)

I find once you learn how to use both - and learn your foundations in digital art - the desk tablet vs. screen tablet debate just boils down to personal preference rather than any real difference in what they can do for your art. I've drawn stuff like Rekindled on screen displays, desk tablets, iPads, etc. You might try a desk tablet and not like it after a while (though again, with the initial skill ceiling of adjusting to it, give it a few weeks of trying if you can, you will not immediately get used to it overnight!!!) and decide that screen tablets are more up your alley.

It really depends on what you're wanting to pay for a tablet. Though like with any new skillset that you're just getting into, I wouldn't recommend dropping money on the most expensive tool because ultimately the differences between expensive and cheap aren't going to be noticeable to you until you actually learn the skill itself, and it's not uncommon at all for people to pick up a new skill, shell out shitloads to learn it, and then get discouraged when it takes a while and makes the expense feel like a waste. Those higher end tablets are often more suited for professionals, not because they're "only meant for pros", but because pros will be able to fully utilize all their upper-skill features in a way a newbie who's still learning how to use a desk tablet won't.

Thankfully, it's easier than ever to get an affordable tablet that's easy to learn and Wacom is no longer the "only option", so I highly recommend looking into brands like Huion, XP-Pen, and Gaomon, as they offer very inexpensive tablets with a wide array of options from desk tablets to screen displays. Make sure you do your research on them, check out places like reddit for actual human reviews, note that every brand and tablet will come with their pros and cons, so it's really just about weighing out what you feel will work best for you and what you're trying to achieve!

And of course, if you're looking to draw comics specifically, look into Clip Studio Paint! It goes on sale at least twice a year, the PRO version is literally all you need to get started (EX comes with some helpful features like Teamwork, but like those fancy high end tablets, they won't necessarily be useful to someone who's just starting out). The PRO version comes with all the rulers, panel cutters, text tools, etc. that you need to get into making comics, it's a great piece of software !!!

I hope that helps!!! Best of luck!! ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

[putschki1969]

2024/07/10 Blog post by Wakana おしゃべりガーデン第11回目‼️〜とにかくたくさんお喋りしました〜

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗ ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Talk Garden Vol.11‼️〜I Talked a Lot〜

Vol 11 of Wakana' Chat's Talk Garden has been uploaded!! ＼(^o^)／This time, I asked you to submit all sorts of questions for me😊I wanted to read as many of your messages as possible so the episode turned out really long…😅💦I know it's probably a hassle to listen to the entire thing but please bear with me, take your time and listen to the podcast whenever you feel like it🤗✨

Here is the "Silk Nightcap" I mentioned in the podcast (looks surreal doesn't it?😂) I think it fits quite well *laughs* The back looks like this. You can tuck away and protect your long hair😆

And here's some info about my summer skin care! I didn't answer the question properly during the podcast so I thought it would be best to show you everything here😂In summer, I tend to prefer skin care products that are a little lighter than the ones I use in winter, but I don't want to change my routine completely.😊All these items are from Korean brands…🤣Aside from chaging the lotion I use for my facial device, the lineup is pretty much the same as in winter. However, since the UV rays are strong during this time of year, I use a lot more cosmetics with whitening agents. I use the same nighttime serums all year round, one with vitamin C, another one with retinol. I use the one with retinol on days when I've been exposed to too much air conditioning, and the one with vitamin C on days when I've been exposed to UV rays. I have various morning serums…not just the ones you see here, there are about four types that I use depending on my mood. One product that's different in summer is my cream, I use the tube in the back on the right side at night. In the morning, I use the tube in the back on the left side as a good base for my makeup. By the way, my tone-up serum is the tube next to my morning cream. I love the brand "Serendi Beauty", but unfortunately, their products have been sold out for a while and I can't buy them anywhere😭It's not featured here but their lotion in particular is seriously the best…!!

I also use face masks in the morning and at night, the same ones I use in winter 😊Here's my starting lineup for facial masks✨Once again, I've increased my stock of whitening products! And of course I also want something that is very moisturising! I aim to feel well hydrated from the inside. That way, even if I do my makeup with a matte finish, my face won't dry out all day 😊💓

Well, since I have some spare time… I'll briefly try to answer a few of the remaining questions! (^^)

Q. Do you mind spoilers? For shows, movies, novels, manga, games, setlists, anything? A. I don't like spoilers for weekly shows that I look forward to watching. I am very fascinated by anything horror-related but I think it's too scare so I can't really watch it. That's why I always read all the spoilers *laughs* Also, I'm such a beginner at games so I watch a lot of walkthrough videos of good players to help me get past difficult parts.

Q. Do you receive all of our letters and presents? A. Yes! I've received all of them, including every single letter😊 Thank you as always…✨ Speaking of which, I once received some hair oil which made my hair super smooth and silky so I bought some for myself!! !

Q. Are you okay with heights? A. I'm not that bad at heights but I feel like the glass floor of Tokyo Tower is pretty scary😇 Also, I've never been on one but the Ferris wheel carriages with glass floors look pretty scary too😇

Q. What are some recommended spots in Yokohama? A. The sea and the night view around the Red Brick Warehouse are beautiful!! !

Q. Have you ever had a pet before? A. When I still lived at home with my parents we had a dog🐕 When I started living alone, I had a goldfish🐟 (My little goldfish Buu-chan has passed away and gone to heaven a long time ago (;_;)🐟✨)

Q. Even though my message was read during the last episode, the present hasn't arrived yet. When will it arrive? A. Please forgive me, I'm always so slow at making my postcards for you. I will try my best to have them delivered by the beginning of the next month! I'm sorry for making you all anxious, wondering if the postcard got lost in the mail… 😱 Please wait patiently~ (I'm even more sorry that last month's presents were super late… 💦)

I want to answer even more of your questions but I'm going to stop here before it gets out of hand 😅If you have any other questions, please send them to me~

The next talk theme for the episode on August 10th will be "What kind of pillow do you use?/What is everyone's pillow situation?" Additionally, you can continue to send random questions you'd like to ask me! ＼＼\٩( 'ω' )و //／／The deadline is July 31st!! ! Please send in as many messages as you can!! ! 💌

Well then, everyone! This Saturday I am performing at the summer event “AirTrip presents Everyday’s Omatsuri 2024”! See you at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse~♪＼(^o^)／♪

Until next time~☆( '▽')/

＊＊＊Wakana＊＊＊

Wakana’s Talk Garden #11

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗ ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Episode #11 »»—— CLICK ME 🎁 CLICK ME ——«« ・Anything you’d like to ask Wakana/Anything you’d like Wakana to talk about

One fan asked about Wakana's time as a gospel choir member and whether she remembered liking any particular songs or singers. While she doesn't have a lot of memories, she recalls three specific songs => "This Little Light of Mine", "Seasons of Love" and "It's Raining Men". Loved that we got a few snippets of her singing some lines of each song. I honestly wouldn't mind if she released another cover album with all sorts of Western/American music

For next month’s episode which is scheduled to air on August 10th, the following two topics have been chosen:

・ What kind of pillow do you use?/What's your pillow situation? ・Anything you’d like to ask Wakana/Anything you’d like Wakana to talk about

The submission deadline is 07/31.

Everyday’s Omatsuri Merchandise

Two original items have been revealed as live goods for Wakana's upcoming appearance at the summer event "Everyday's Omatsuri"! One is a t-shirt and the other is a muffler towel. You can order both in Wakana's Official Online Shop! Preorder period ends on July 12! Shipping is scheduled for the end of July. (Source) (Instagram post by Wakana)

Title: “AirTrip presents Everyday’s Omatsuri 2024” Date and time:July 13, 2024 Open 18:30 / Start 19:00 Venue: Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse Performers: RYTHEM・Wakana Official site: http://omatsuridays.jp/

2024/07/11 Instagram post by Wakana

Today I had a rehearsal for the summer event “Everyday’s Omatsuri 2024”which will take place this Saturday 🤗✨ Here I am together with the two members of RYTHEM and Takebe-san! Say Cheese 📸YUI-san and YUKA-san were so cute and dazzling…😍💓I'm excited because I think it's going to be a fantastic peformance✨I hope everyone will come and have a great time~🧚💕(Source)

[squeakygeeky]

600 hours/1 year of Thai

It's just under a year actually and I hit my goal for the year. I've been learning Thai will the 'ALG method' which is all about immersion. I mostly use this channel and I also take 1-2hrs of listening webinars a week. I'm currently on intermediate content. The transition from beginner was okay, but my comprehension levels feel on the lower side and they don't feel like they're improving that noticeably. It could just be that I'm pretty bored of lessons at this point.

I recently tried re-watching Lovely Writer and then He's Coming to Me without subtitles. I'm not sure why, but Lovely Writer felt easier. Maybe because there aren't any voiceovers and the non-romance vocabulary was centered on writing and film, which I'm more familiar with than heart conditions and funerary practices. I guess Lovely Writer also stuck in my head more, even though I had only watched each series one time. There were only a few points where I wished I actually understood, because I couldn't remember exactly what had been said in the scene. With He's Coming to Me I was more lost. Also it had more traffic noise picked up with the dialogue. I do think I will continue re-watching shows for a lot of my input. Even if my comprehension isn't that high, I'm wayyyy more engaged so it's worth it. I do think watching a whole series without subtitles is a ways off and I'd be too confused to get drawn in at all. I do watch a Thai game show with talented kids called Super 10 sometimes and I recommend it to anyone at an intermediate or higher Thai level. It's pretty easy to understand.

I still do watch shows with subtitles and it's with that where I really feel the progress I'm making because sometimes I forget for a minute to put subtitles on until the dialogue gets past basic phrases. However I'm still not logging that as part of my learning hours so the 600 number is really 600+.

I think part of the struggle now is that I don't feel like I'm picking up a lot of new words. Instead I think I'm getting grammar and cadence and the different ways that words I recognized are actually used. The way people talked to each other in terms of pronouns and particles was something I was already interested in and had explicitly learned a bit about, but now it's really obvious and one of my favorite things to pay attention to. The way Gene and Sib talk to each other feels absolutely wild now.

I was going to work on learning the alphabet more, but right now all I can really do is sound something out to see if the word is what I think it is. I may start learning to read more seriously even though it's not recommended by the ALG method to start yet (for accent reasons, which don't really matter given my lack of anyone Thai to talk to lol). I am really curious how I would fare in conversation if I actually tried. I do think I could talk about more than fruit.

There's a part of me that wonders if I should actually just stop, or cut back a lot. I don't need to know Thai, and this was partly an experiment on myself, which I think I can call a success. Meanwhile I actually need and use Spanish and I haven't been making much progress there, and a part of me still wants to learn Vietnamese (or one of about 2-5 other languages depending on my mood). But also, I like Thai and in another year I think I could watch shows without subtitles comfortably, and at that level I could stop trying to learn at all and would probably still improve.

[hotelyamato]

if your taking Munday questions, I'm sort of curious how you got into chess, you're probably the only serious chess player I've ever met

I learned chess when I was young but never really played it until elementary school, when I was old enough to join chess club. Before that, I remember an event one day at school where a bunch of tables with chess boards and sets were set up in the gym and we played chess against students from another school. I don't quite remember the year or the school. Another thing that happened once in a while: the teacher would put on this DVD by First Move, an organization that promotes teaching chess in school, and sure enough, the DVD was about setting up the pieces and how they move. Then we'd set up these small-sized First Move chess sets in the classroom and just play a few games. I remember this happening after I joined chess club and after I bought my first chess book, James Eade's Chess for Dummies (which I still have, and do recommend for beginners).

Yet another fun chess thing: Chess Magnet School, a website with a program that trained you on chess tactics, strategy, checkmate patterns, etc. that we would occasionally devote a day of Technology class too. Naturally I took it the most seriously and had a much higher rank than anyone else in the class. Even so... I wasn't actually good as a kid, it's just that most of my peers just didn't know any chess at all, so I usually had a large advantage over them. Against kids from other schools who knew what they were doing... I hardly had a chance. Anyways, I have to say, despite reading a bunch of chess books and stuff, I never really got... good at chess. Chess club was nothing more than just playing games against each other; we never really learned anything from our coach. Right, we had a coach, but I think that he took coaching kids from another school with stronger chess players in general more seriously, and... he's old and is stuck on a plateau with his rating now. Anyways... that lasted until eighth grade. Sadly, my high school didn't have a chess club, and while my university did, they rarely met—and then the pandemic happened. Apparently they did get back into holding meetings and tournaments, but I never heard anything about them, so I had no idea; and I must have been too occupied with other things to bother looking around.

Of all my chess phases I consider this one the most serious. Now I think that I actually know what I'm doing and that I have a shot at major improvement. I just need to have confidence in myself. Perhaps I'm a bit too old at 22, compared to all the chess prodigies out there nowadays, but we'll see how I get on.

[ex-textura]

Hiya, Sebastian! ♥ I'm just passing by to say I really admire your art and your talent, and one day I hope to have enough money to share with you and support your beautiful work. :( ♥ I'd like to know a little bit about how you first came into contact with drawing and if you have any cheap/free tools and tutorials you'd recommend to someone who wants to start taking drawing more seriously (and knows 0% about it lmao), if you don't mind. Much love always! - tiefling enthusiast anon

Anon!! I’m so sorry it took me so long to get to this! This is such a kind ask omg thank you 🥺🥺

Don’t ever worry about not being able to buy anything from me, your kind words are honestly enough (and I know what it’s like not to be able to afford to support artists. It’s hard but I promise you messages like this mean so, so much more than money. I’m giddy rn lol)

As for getting into art, tbh I started drawing very young. I used to draw Pokémon and digimon on my desk in elementary school, and then going into junior high I started to branch out a little more though I stopped around high school and didn’t pick up drawing again until more than 10 years later lol….but it’s always been something I loved to do, and coming back to it has really filled a hole in my life I didn’t realize was there for a long time.

For a lot of my early drawings, it was just printer paper and ballpoint pens or plain old pencils until I got my first graphics tablet years later. So if you’re just starting out you don’t really need anything but the will to draw and something to scribble on. If you’re looking to start with digital art though there’s a couple of routes you can take. If you have access to an iPad, or can get one cheap (think used, past model… you don’t need much) there are a number of apps you can get such as ibis paint (which I think may be free or have a free version though I don’t use it myself) or procreate (it’s what I use on my iPad, but it has a one-time fee of I believe $13.99CAD). Or, if you have a computer I got started on a simple graphics tablet and you can get them for fairly cheap these days used (mine was like $80CAD) and I used a free version of Paint Tool SAI which works great.

Still though, if you’re okay not starting with digital art I would recommend just getting a small sketch book for under $10, a mechanical pencil and a gum eraser (those brownish ones). That’s all you really need to get started.

As for tutorials, I mostly watch YouTubers for art advice. I’d recommend Sam Does Arts, Drawfee, and Sinix Design

Sam does a lot of “rating art advice” videos, critiquing his followers pieces, and some goofy things but he has a lot of great tips and he explains things in a very easy to understand way. He also calls out his own flaws easily and teaches you to learn from his own mistakes which I find very encouraging.

Drawfee is four artists with different styles that mostly do art challenges among themselves but they also host art classes for their patrons and those videos get posted to their channel for the general public so you can still follow along for free. I like that they have different styles and different methods, and when they post their speed draws they talk through their process which is very informative.

Sinix is an incredible artist and while some of his videos are definitely more advanced he has beginner videos too that teach the very basics and I still spend a lot of time watching those ones to really drill them into my brain. He’s more informative than entertaining like the other two are, but his stuff is so good.

Other than YouTube videos, I also spend a lot of time on Line of Action which is a great site for practicing form and anatomy.

I’d also recommend the morpho drawing books if you can find a free pdf online (there are definitely sources for them I just can’t seem to find any right now…).

Im sorry this got so long winded xD I don’t even know if it makes any sense anymore lol. But basically…. Get yourself some paper and a mechanical pencil, a decent eraser and start with the basics. There are so many free resources online to get you there. After that… just get yourself a blorbo that you’re just so obsessed with and draw them over and over again until you can do it from memory. Then keep drawing them some more. It takes time and persistence and you might even feel frustrated when you start out, but remember that everyone starts somewhere and even the greatest artists are still learning.

And, please if you do start drawing feel free to share your art with me! I’d love to see it, and hopefully we can grow together ❤️❤️

[hisui-dreamer]

RINNA REQUENSF ARE OPEN WHAT I has,,, ideas rinna,, my boy,,,

so rvery summer my school would have a fun little carnival fun raiser and stuff so what if we took riddle to a cute little carnival I'm justing thinking of that one ferris wheel scene every romance anime has,,, 💕💕💕💕

a textbook guide to an amusement park date

Pairing: Riddle Rosehearts x gn!reader

Synopsis: taking your rule-abiding boyfriend to an amusement park is a surprisingly fun experience to say the least

Tags: fluff, amusement park date, reader rides rollercoasters

Word count: 845

Notes: since i just finished playful land, i decided to take riddle to playful land minus the plot twist evil stuff haha

i hope you like this amari<3

Masterlist

it takes a lot of convincing to get riddle to accept to a full-day date in an amusement park

heck, the moment the words left your mouth, riddle froze and smiled awkwardly, having been ingrained to him that amusement parks were 'a waste of time and money where people go and slack off'

still, he was always ready to try new experiences and get rid of any incorrect prejudices he might have

more so to you, his beloved rose who began pouting when he expressed his concerns about a suspicious place such as playful land

but whaat?? if he won't go with you, you'll go with ace and the others???

how can he even trust them to protect you??? there's no way

is the reasoning he told you, but his inner child undeniably wants to go as well

he studies up on all the available information on amusement parks so he'll have an idea of what to expect

also asks cater for advice as to what couples generally do and what spots are recommended

he wants to give you the best experience possible too of course!

once you're actually in the park, it's time to have fun!!

riddle plans the most efficient route so the two of you can make the most of the day

starting early with the rollercoaster ride! just in case any of you decide to throw up

"I still don't understand the appeal of these... contraptions. It seems rather reckless and disorderly," he says hesitantly, his gaze fixated on the twist and turns of the rollercoaster.

"Hmm... It's really for the thrill and excitement. I guess you can think of it as an experience for non-mages who can't fly on brooms?" You hum.

Riddle nods thoughtfully, though the apprehension in his eyes doesn't quite fade. "I see your point, but I still can't help but question the safety of this entire endeavor."

"Just relax, Riddle. Sometimes it's good to let go and have a little chaos in life." You giggle at his seriousness.

Riddle smiles softly at your enthusiasm, his cheeks tinted pink. "Well, I suppose there's no harm in trying it once. For the sake of this... date."

surprisingly(?), riddle enjoyed the rollercoaster!

his hair is all disheveled, and his clothes are semi-wet, but there's no denying the innocent sparkle in his eyes, akin to a child who discovered a new toy

like the gentleman that he is, he helped you fix your hair and lent you his handkerchief to dry yourself

says he's fine but his face becomes as red as his hair when you wipe him down

after that, you guys grab food, and there are so many strawberry sweets there he's very excited

sharing food and him getting embarrassed about indirect kissing hehehe

then it's back to the other attractions!

if anyone dares cut in line, they'll be in for a scolding from riddle who immediately says that it's against the rules AND illegal because you're jeoparadising other guests' enjoyment of the park :⁠0

riddle feels like the merry go round is a bit too childish, but seeing you enjoy yourself melts all his worries away

you're both beginners at pool, so it's kinda just you two fumbling around while riddle tries to use physics to understand how to play and oh!!! he got one in!!

cater told him that couples always go to the stall minigames and win prizes for their partners as a way of showing off

and riddle would never deny the chance to show he's a capable lover!

he very quickly discovers that these games are incredibly rigged (⁠ノ⁠｀⁠Д⁠´⁠)⁠ノ⁠彡⁠┻⁠━⁠┻

but thanks to Cay Cay's incredible advice, Riddle does manage to win a medium strawberry plushie!

when you comment that the shade of red is the exact shade of his hair and you'd sleep with it every night he died inside

around sunset, riddle leads you to the ferris wheel

the vibrant blue sky started to fade into hues of orange and pink and you sat in the cart admiring the view of the park and sage island

"My Rose," he starts, making you turn your focus to him. "I... I wanted to thank you for inviting me here today," Riddle's words carrying a sincerity that warmed the evening air.

"It's my pleasure, Riddle," you smile. "I'm glad you were able to enjoy yourself,"

He nods, looking out over the landscape as the ferris wheel gently ascends. "It's more than that though..." He continues, his tone a bit more relaxed now, "Ever since I met you, you've always given me a better perspective on so many things. You've given me so many precious memories..."

Your heart swells at his words, and you reach for his hand. "Riddle, I'm glad I met you too. I'm grateful for every moment we've shared."

Riddle blushes at your words. "If it's with you... then I'm sure every day will be exciting," he finishes, locking eyes with you and wearing a heartfelt smile on his face.

Masterlist

if you liked this post, don't forget to reblog!

[lutawolf]

Unforgotten Night (2022) Ep 1

My brat with a British accent wanted to write this together. Her once again covering the sub and me covering the Dom. I told her that she was a sadist and this was supposed to be bad. Iffy "noooooo, no, I'm just a special word for someone who wants you to suffer with me" You will be able to find the lovely iffy's companion post here.

It didn't help that I got so many requests to watch this. I think some of you are sadists. Is there something about doing this to a sadist that turns you on?? I included the Coconuts Mafia in my torture because if I'm going to take one, then the team should too. Thank you so much for the support and commentary! @biochemjess @suga4mycoffee read here @mematryoshkame @minisculecosmos @hereiswhereitbegan28 @akitbeast and their commentary here and Pebee. Also make sure to read @feralpansexual bdsm red flags post here

For those that know nothing about the series and this is your first time hearing about it: Kim (sub), a 25 year old office worker, has been in one sided love with his senior, Day, for a a long time. To forget about him and move on, he decides to have one night stand with a random stranger he met at the bar. What he didn't know was the stranger would start liking him to the point of no return. Kamol (Dom/Sadist), a 30 year old mafia, has some special needs in bed and so he keeps switching partners but no one is able to satisfy him. One night he meets Kim, who perfectly meets his needs. Right at that moment, Kamol decided to make the man his own.

Promo Poster

Seriously guys, what the fuck is that picture above. His FACE. "When you want to be tied up, but the idiot you're fucking doesn't know how to do it properly." I would like to be on the side of the Dom here but I can just hear the sub saying "Gotta do everything my damn self" Also, why are they using a glorified shoelace?? I mean, I haven't even started the episode yet and I'm dead. Where is the chemistry? What is it with these poses? They feel like their about to give a beginner's class in couples yoga with fun accessories.

Episode 1

So begins my drinking habit, I mean watch. No really, this turned into a drinking game. I took a shot every time a sub cries. I was tipsy by the end of the show. There was torture... Of the audience kind. Ellen DeGeneres shoes, constantly running water taps, 80's music and a horrible English breakfast with anemic sausage. On the plus side, I laughed a lot. I highly recommend as a group hate watch.

We meet Kamol as a "business tycoon" and you can tell they are trying to set an air of arrogance and command. The typical portrayal of a Dom. I didn't feel it though. I was deeply underwhelmed, he really wasn't giving strong power vibes. Ohhh, the ominous whisper "Something big is coming up." I'm all a flutter. Also, this might be an American thing but he just gave the weakest hang shake ever. As a Dom, I would be embarrassed. That's the one area where it is completely acceptable to have a pissing contest and you just barely held finger.

The next scene shows a weeping and marked up submissive. I've got no issue with one night stands but you still put the work in. Not only should there have been respect for limits but also aftercare. Instead he leaves him and has his bodyguards take him out. Can we get more Dom low class?

Why, yes we can "They always say they can take it but they never last" Yeah, okay. He wasn't any more satisfied than you buddy, so who is the real problem here? That's just stupid. You don't pick someone off the street and go, lets do a little whip and tickle. It takes a masochist to like pain and every masochist likes a different type of pain. This is like me asking if someone likes ice cream and then making them eat the flavor that's my favorite. Dumbass, I said I like ice cream, doesn't mean I like that ice cream.

We have a lot of weepy sub scenes. Then the girls aka assistants, take their boss to the bar. I don't know how they thought this was a good idea. The music alone would cause me to cry and drink too much. However, it's at the bar that Kamol (aka shoelace Pillsbury Ceo) shows up and notices Kim. Finally we have the moment they meet. In a bathroom, because the mafia apparently really appreciate bathrooms.

Kim is stumbling drunk into the bathroom and Kamol thinks this is a brilliant. Follows him into the bathroom. Where we have the conversation of,

Kim "Are you starting at me"

Pillsbury "I'm staring at you"

Kim "you interested"

Pillsbury "Yes, you caught my eye"

All why the mother fucking water facet is going!!!

Weepy Sub "in that case can you help me forget him"

Pillsbury "As long as you can tolerate it" 🙄🙄 Because yes, I like chocolate chip ice cream and so will you! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Weepy "No problem, you can do whatever you want" that's a good way to get stds kid and then you'll really have something to cry about.

Oh look! We finally have the, you're drunk, who me talk. It went as expected. Weepy sub is now up against the bathroom counter. Managing to avoid the still running water! It's torturing me! This is not my flavor of masochism! Then he calls him Baby. Which fits weepy sub. It's a very accurate pet name.

We show up at Pillsbury's place where they are magically changed into robes.... And they ones again talk about if baby is drunk. Yet they never talk about what kind of kink they are into. We apparently just gonna wing it, cause yeah that works. Guess we can blame it on him getting all hot and bothered at being called Mister. 🤦🏻‍♀️

The most consent talk we get is, you can suck this up right. And then he beaks out the Toys-R-Us cuffs that baby can easily slid right out of. He started him off real light with luke warm wax that's barely dripping. Yet we get this face.

At this point, I'm thinking boy can't handle much. Then Pillsbury breaks out a horse flogger. You guys, I wasn't expecting accuracy and if you want me to give a break down of why the flogging was so fucking God Awful that I took two shots! I can. Needless to say it was grossly inaccurate but even that doesn't match the horror of this.

Meanwhile his flogging is on the level of "I’m going to FLOG YOU……with kindness"

"W-would you like to talk to me about my childhood wounds as I whip you very gently"

On the plus side, there was a very nice, very accurate bite mark. I've got a bitting kink myself and no way THAT was fake, so kudos for that.

Then the true torture again. Dripping faucet. While Pillsbury finally gives some kind of aftercare. A bath with sweet kisses. While whispering sweet nothings of "You are the one".. It's not much but it's finally something so we'll take it.

But then baby wakes up alone to a Best Western breakfast. Is it any wonder he booked it? Maybe start acting like a Dom and taking care of your subs? Hmm.

I can't leave you without mentioning the stick on tattoo.

It shifts. For a second I thought we were going to get a shifter bl but they were just teasing. It's just a bad fake tattoo.

So there you have it. My torture is now our torture. Especially if you made it all the way through, what ever, that was that I wrote. Hope you got a few chuckles 💜💜💜

[drukhari]

I would kill for your biceps - any tips for a newbie butch?

Definitely!

So for myself, I actually have been making a ton of tweaks to my existing training programs based on the content out on Jeff Nippard's youtube channel. He does a really great job of breaking down the science behind a lot of fitness concepts and has got tons of really great content for pretty much any fitness goal - for anyone looking at getting started in lifting I'd highly recommend checking out his Fitness Fundamentals series here. I've watched it, and I can honestly say that I got a lot out of it even as someone who's been strength training for years.

I'll list out some of the core concepts that the fundamentals series covers though just to give you an idea of the sort of info that's important for beginners to know!

1. The best workout is one that you enjoy doing, or at least that doesn't feel like total torture to have to go and do. You're more likely to stick with a training regimen over time if you actually enjoy doing it (I know I personally absolutely love weight lifting so I'm 1000% in my zone whenever I'm at the gym hitting the rack, but I can't stand running so I do HIIT cardio to avoid having to actually go on runs)

2. Safety Safety Safety! You should always be maintaining good form when doing any exercise lest you seriously injure yourself and/or others (depending on the exercise). Select proper weights when you train, don't try to go too heavy or leave things too light, and make sure you have full range of motion for your movements. Always be listening to your body while you're training!

3. Rest and recovery time is actually VERY important for muscle growth - if you aren't giving your muscles enough down time in between your training sessions then you're not gonna see the kind of growth you want. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night actually has a big positive impact on muscle growth and some studies even say you can increase that by pushing to 9 or 10 hours (though I know for myself personally, getting 9 hours of sleep especially on a work night is beyond a pipe dream so don't worry if you can't make that happen - just aim for 7 if you can!).

4. If your goal is muscle growth, you need to make sure you're pushing yourself hard enough during training - you want to be aiming for having anywhere from 1-3 reps still "in the tank" at the end of a set. A lot of body builders will over-emphasize the importance of taking a set "to failure" (basically meaning you couldn't possibly do one more rep in that set, even if you wanted to) but by doing this for every set and exercise you may actually be negatively impacting your workout overall. If you want to take a set to failure, try to only do it with isolation movement based exercises (we're talking your bicep curls, lateral raises, tricep extensions, etc) instead of busting it out with the more engaged compound movements (like squats, bench press or overhead presses just to list some examples).

5. So this doesn't get discussed much in the Fundamentals series I linked, but building muscle does require being in what's called a "caloric surplus" - basically you need to be taking in more fuel in a given day than your body is expending. You can't make something out of nothing, and there's no healthy way to cheat science on this - so you're going to want to focus on maximizing lean proteins, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats in your daily diet. Protein shakes are a great way to get a bunch of protein in after a training session or even just as an on-the-go snack, but common protein sources in foods like turkey, fish, chicken, eggs, and peanut butter will be huge in making sure you're getting enough protein in a day to fuel your muscle growth. Complex carbs means stuff like your whole wheat breads, pastas and rice, as an example - and healthy fats can be found in stuff like your cooking oils, some salad dressings and nut butters (peanut butter covering 2 categories like a champ lol).

6. When it comes to volume, 10 sets per body part per week (so 10 back sets per week, just to use that muscle group as an example) is generally the point after which you start to see diminishing returns on your gains. 20 sets per body part per week is the max point after which you are actually more likely to be negatively impacting your gains even for those who would consider themselves intermediate or elite level trainers. For a beginner, 10 sets per body part per week is a good volume goal to shoot for.

And when I say "body parts" in this discussion that's specifically talking about the large groups like chest, back, quads, glutes, hamstrings, abs and calves. For the smaller muscle groups such as triceps, biceps, rear delts and side delts they're gonna get a lot of crossover work from the bigger muscle groups so you may just need an additional 4 or so sets to target triceps, for example, if you already did 10 sets for your chest.

7. When it comes to rep ranges, there is no "perfect" rep range but most training programs will have you aiming somewhere in the 6-15 rep range. Going higher than 15 reps you start to run into issues with muscle fatigue, to the point where you're getting hit with some diminishing returns. Going lower than 6 reps on the other hand and you put yourself in the injury risk zone (since typically, those kinds of rep ranges are only done with heavier weights involved) so you will just want to be careful and watch out for your form and make sure you are taking sufficient rest periods with low rep ranges like that.

8. There are VERY vocal proponents of the low weight/high reps, medium weight/medium reps, and high weight/low reps camps when it comes to the question of which training style really maximizes muscle growth - when according to the science they actually all have relatively similar levels of muscular hypertrophy and growth (provided that volume and effort across all 3 camps is the same). That said, if you want to build STRENGTH on top of promoting muscle growth, that will really only come from lifting heavier weight.

9. For prioritizing bicep growth in particular - curling exercises are gonna be your best friend but don't neglect your back exercises either. Your biceps are engaged with both horizontal and lateral pull movements in back exercises such as lateral pulldowns and barbell rows, albeit they are not the primary focus of those exercises so just don't rely on them solely for your bicep growth. Bicep exercises are typically isolation movements that only engage your elbow joint (hence the name "isolation") while back exercises tend to be compound movements that engage multiple joints.

10. As a last tip for newbies - make sure you are monitoring your progress over time. Are you doing more over time? (more weight or more reps). Are you getting stronger? That's a good sign that you are building muscle. If you reach a point where you feel you're not seeing that increase in strength anymore when you're lifting, then that's an indicator that you need to add more work to your routine by increasing your sets. You can also prioritize improving efficiency by aiming to decrease your rest time between sets or improve your exertion by slowing down the tempo of your movements.

Sorry for the long read! Like I said, weight lifting is one of my all time favorite hobbies so I can just go on about it for awhile lmao. That said, will once again recommend checking out Jeff's channel for more detailed info, and I hope this helps! Best of luck, anon

[chemical-cat]

Something I don't recommend for beginners...

Disclaimer: I do NOT want to gatekeep tarot, this is simply my personal opinion and my advice for beginners who are interested in tarot. Everything stated below is from my personal experience.

I've begun to notice a climbing interest in tarot, not just in getting readings but on people wanting to learn how to practice tarot as well, especially on tiktok. Now I'm so excited to see that there are people interested in something that I personally love and has brought a lot of happiness and just overall comfort to my own life, but it can be overwhelming as a beginner to know where to start especially when there are millions of different decks out there. What deck should you start with? What books should you read? What myths are true about tarot and what rules do you need to follow when practicing?

The biggest thing that I don't recommend for beginners is a deck like what is pictured above. Now yes the artwork is gorgeous and at first it may not seem very obvious why I don't recommend a deck like this, but the main reason I don't recommend a deck like this is that in this deck and others like it, all of the suit names are renamed.

Now at first it may seem like a nit picky type recommendation, but the reason why is that most decks follow the rider-waite closely, using the rider-waite deck as a template. While each deck may have their own unique aspects, and the artwork may be different, ultimately they still follow a very similar pattern as the rider-waite and use it to also template most of their interpretations. Now this doesn't necessarily make this a con to your average deck because of one important aspect.

Most books on tarot, use the rider-waite as its example when describing tarot, the cards within tarot, the suit names, as well as other aspects such as elements, in depth descriptions of artwork, etc. Because most tarot books use rider-waite as their examples, when practicing initially while also researching it may be easier to practice with a deck that also follows the rider-waite template more closely. Yes there may be one suit name renamed - most commonly the suit of pentacles being renamed to the suit of coins, but overall if your initial deck follows the rider-waite template closely then when using books for research or help with practice/interpretation, it will be easier to apply the advice within guides to a deck that follows closely to this template.

But with a deck above, it can be extremely confusing to apply advice from guidebooks to a deck that doesn't follow this template, especially if the guidebook that may come with the deck itself doesn't explain what the original suits have become within this deck. (Which yes it can happen, it is possible to have a guidebook that doesn't explain very concretely and while those experienced may be able to work fine with these types of decks, it can be extremely frustrating for beginners).

Now this just comes as a recommendation from my own personal experience, in my own experience, my first ever deck had all of the suit names renamed, and while the guidebook did address this, when I eventually would roll over to a deck that would follow the rider-waite template more closely, I experienced a lot of frustration and confusion. It was difficult to apply guidebooks to my original deck, as some things contradicted what the original artist of the deck would say about the cards as well, but ultimately it was very confusing trying to adjust to the rider-waite template when I was used to a deck that didn't follow that template closely. It resulted in a lot of frustration and ultimately I ended up taking a very large and long break from tarot because I thought that, because I was having difficulties in working with a deck that followed the template more closely that I wasn't meant to practice tarot, that I was wrong for ever trying it, and that no matter how much I tried I'd never be good enough.

Now I do know that not everyone is going to struggle with it, but there may be someone out there who is in the same place as I was. I did eventually go back to practicing tarot, and I was not bad at tarot, I was meant to practice it. One thing that fueled a lot of my self doubt in my own abilities, were these "rules" or "myths" about tarot that I was constantly seeing, and it was so hard to know truly what was true and what wasn't true because it varied from person to person, one person would tell you if you didn't follow rules a,b,c that you would fail and your readings wouldn't be accurate; while others would say you need to follow x,y,z and not a,b,c and if you didn't then you were following myths and limiting your own abilities.

So where should you stand on these? Well... here's my personal opinion.

You must have your first tarot deck gifted to you

Personally, I don't follow this, and I know many other readers who don't as well. Whether this is a rule, or a myth that became truth for a while is unsure. But a large consensus of readers, have stated they consider this rule to be an attempt to gatekeep tarot. When I first started tarot, I didn't have anyone who would have gifted me a tarot deck, I was surrounded by family who would have viewed tarot at the time and possibly still would even in current day view it as demonic and that I was a Satan worshiper or delving into and practicing witchcraft. At the time, this myth was really floating around and being taken seriously, when I began practicing, I wanted to do everything perfectly and that I should obey any rules possible, including this one. However I ended up coming across my first deck, and instantly knew I couldn't leave without it. No one would buy it for me, that was out of the question, but I realized that there was nothing saying anywhere that you can't gift yourself a deck, and that's exactly what I did, I gifted myself my first deck.

You can't ask the same question twice

I honestly don't know where this one came from, or started but honestly I know a few people who follow this and others who don't and see no issue with it. The only thing with this one that I've seen, that would make sense is that by constantly asking the same question over and over (aka: nagging) you will eventually end up getting the answer you want, which makes sense ultimately, and you can make poor decisions simply because of it (which at that point why even use tarot if you already know the answer you want and your not going to accept any other answer?)

Sleeping with your deck under your pillow will help you bond with the cards

So personally I don't know how true this one is, I know that through personal experience I would hide my first deck under my pillow and I was very close with this deck, now whether that's because it was my first deck or because I slept with it under my pillow could be debated. But I honestly think this may be the same type of thinking as placing crystals or herbs under your pillow at night to inspire better sleeping patterns/get rid of nightmares. Now whether these things actually work or its psychosomatic is up in the air. Personally, if it helps me sleep then I like to believe in it and it isn't ultimately hurting anyone if I believe in it. So if it helps you bond with your cards go ahead! But I will say I do have multiple decks, and other than my first I do not sleep with any of them in my bed and I'm still close with all of my decks.

The death, devil, and similar cards are evil and ultimately mean your life is horrible and falling apart and there's nothing you can do.

This one is always a belief within tarot that has shocked me, ultimately at the end of the day, these cards are not evil. While some cards can signify change and people are afraid of change or aren't prepared for it, most of the time these cards do not mean that you or a loved one is going to die, your life is completely horrible and is going to fall apart, or that you dance with the "devil". These cards all have their own meaning past the entitle title and having fear of these cards will ultimately lead you to being afraid to correctly interpret the messages these cards have to tell you. This belief alone in tarot, helps to inspire fear of tarot and contributes to the belief that it is evil, similar to how there is the belief that ouija boards are evil and downright terrible. At the end of the day, tarot and oujia boards are divination tools, it boils down to how you personally use the tools and your actions from that which make them evil or not evil. A hammer isn't necessarily evil, but if it's someone's choice murder tool we don't consider the hammer the evil influence we consider the person who used that tool to be evil, the same goes for divination tools, including aspects of those tools which are less then favorable.

You need to put all the cards back in the original order (0-22 for major arcana, and all minor arcana in order)

Personally, I've never practiced it and I don't know any other readers who practice this. While some people may find it a very meditating experience to resort all the cards, to me personally this rule doesn't make sense. You're only going to reshuffle the cards again, and if you do this for multiple readings you're ultimately spending a lot of time in between readings to resort. In doing so, one point I'd like to point out is that those who follow this rule more than likely put cards "right side up" back into the deck, which could ultimately end up preventing you from getting the message you need too.

A card reversed is ultimately a bad meaning no matter what card it is.

This is simply not true, a card reversed or its shadow meaning doesn't not inherently mean that something bad is going to happen. What this does mean is that, every card has a meaning, however when it's reversed it means that whatever the cards have to tell you they can't get the message across simply by the card being right side up. Just like with the death, tower, and devil card this belief that reversed cards inherently mean something bad is ultimately another fear tactic implemented upon tarot.

You can't buy a used tarot deck, or you can't use a previously used tarot deck

This alone, goes against the rule/myth that you must be gifted a tarot deck as some people like to gift decks they've personally used that they haven't connected with. There are people who believe this rule simply because of the fact that, there is the large belief that tarot picks up energy from you as the reader or those that you are reading from/anyone who touches your deck, because of this there is a belief that with a previously used deck that it may be "contaminated" with bad energy. However, you can cleanse decks, and it's typically recommended to cleanse new decks as well as decks gifted to you, and to cleanse decks before practicing anyways. With this belief, if cleansed properly then your deck should be freed of any bad or negative energy including your own.

You are not a real reader or you can't read for other people if you use guidebooks.

Personally, I believe this is just another method to gatekeep as well as a method to keep beginning tarot readers from "stealing" clientele from more experienced readers. Not only do I know many experienced readers who use guidebooks, but I personally use my guidebooks as well. Now it is important to note that reading verbatim from the guidebooks for readings, is different then simply using them to reference off of. There are people like myself who have memory issues so using guidebooks is needed because we simply can not remember every little detail about all 78 cards, plus the added in differences that independent artists add in that vary from deck to deck, this doesn't lesson our abilities or our experience level. If you need to use guidebooks don't let that get you down or think less of your own abilities, if you read verbatim off of them try to work on branching past that work on using it as a base for your interpretation. If you don't need to use the guides that's absolutely great, and good job to you! However, remember that not everybody is going to practice the same way you do and some people have external reasons as to why they may need them. It isn't your job to police how every other reader on the planet practices, if someone is doing something wrong or is scamming they will ultimately lead to their own downfall.

You must let other people touch your deck in order to give accurate readings for other people/people need to touch or shuffle the deck in order to give a reading for them, or you can't give online readings without the person being there.

Personally, I believe this is a matter of opinion. There are readers who swear by the rule that people must physically touch your deck in order to give a reading for them because the deck then absorbs/becomes infused with their energy so then the reading will be accurate and if they do not touch the deck then the reading will not be as accurate. Then there are other readers who do not follow this rule, they believe that we as entities put our own energy out into the world consistently, and as the reader if you focus hard enough your own energy will be able to tap into that person's energy and be able to give an accurate reading that way. Within the last couple of years, we've seen a spike in online readings being offered on places like etsy, or social media platforms like tiktok. During the height of the covid-19 pandemic, it would be foolish to have allowed someone else to touch your deck due to the sheer fact alone that sanitizing a deck is fairly difficult as many decks are made of paper, so to sanitize them properly would be very difficult. Not to mention the fact that we would also be looking at a scenario where someone would be within 6ft of someone else and more than likely not practicing social distancing. The ability to practice readings online provides the ability to practice safe social distancing and protect individuals who may have a compromised immune system (the pandemic has taught us that even if someone with a compromised immune system, the elderly, or other individuals who would be at significant risk are present that some individuals simply do not care and would deliberately lie and put others at risk to get whatever it is that they want, and to assume that a reading or other metaphysical aspect would be an exception would be disingenuous not only to practioners but to those who may have compromised immune systems as well). Personally I believe that online readings, present a difficulty level just like doing a reading in person, and that because some individuals may prefer or have an easier time at doing online readings this irritates those who may not have this same type of ease at doing online readings, and they result to trying to tear down someone or gatekeep someone that they believe should be struggling as much as they are.

This is only a fraction of various "rules" that have been told within the tarot community that readers need to abide by. Ultimately, it is up to you as a reader to choose whether you want to follow every rule that is out there, a handful of the rules, or none of them at all. At the end of the day, many beginners may experience what experienced practioners have told were even similar to their own experience and that is that there is so much contradicting information out there that it can be overwhelming, a lot of the time many of these rules seem to come out of no where or have no tracable origin. Some have stated or traced some of these rules back to Romani culture, but whether or not there is truth to this lies with the Romani people themselves as they are the only ones who can speak the truth of their culture and whether there is any authenticity to these rules. As I said on the disclaimer, most of this is my personal opinion and I simply speak on my own personal experience, and I have no intents to gatekeep. This is just my personal advice for beginners.

[bluebellravenbooks]

It's January and winter blues is real, people! I've been trying to do more stuff that I love to keep the spirits up, and this includes studying animation. I've admired it for a long time, but mostly by just staring at concept art and reading on how really advanced stuff is made; however, after catching up on some cartoons during the lockdowns (such as Avatar, Over the Garden Wall, Gravity Falls and Steven Universe) I realized that I'm much more interested in the character animation and storyboard/storytelling part, which very nicely intersects with my other interests in writing and drawing - and I decided to study it all a bit more!

So these are my

complete beginner's notes on learning character animation that no one asked for, by someone who is definitely not qualified to talk about it

Figure drawing. This is the first thing that will hit you like a ton of bricks if you as much as glance in this direction. I'm in two minds about this: on the one hand, some practice in this area is obviously essential (duh!); on the other, this sometimes becomes a genre in itself, a specifically stylized drawing just for the sake of, well, pretty drawing. Which isn't helpful if you're doing it for practice. Also, if you thought that art of naked women in ridiculous poses is about two centuries dead... well, yeah you're wrong. (Seriously, what's up with that? There are some things in the art world that I just don't get.) As for how to learn it, there are plenty of classical books on the subject and apparently a lot of Discourse on which method is The Best; I'm trying not to get too deep into that and currently am just learning by practice and trying out different techniques.

The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams. This book was quickly pointed out to me as A Classic, and I'm having a lot of fun doing some basics with it in Pencil2D, but oh my God a good portion of this book really did not age well. It's full of reverence towards the Golden Age of animation, blatant misogyny and the ever-present incompetent "in-betweener" (animation assistant), whose problems seem to stem from the fact that he's always "plugged in" listening to music (because I'm sure that's the only reason the lowest link in the famously underpaid industry would not produce a masterpiece in every drawing). Basically, animation basics are covered really well, but there are tons of animation industry (and just life) details that are decades out of date (or at least no longer relevant for most western studios from what I know about their workflow). I didn't know that an animation handbook could be so annoying.

Perspective! For Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea. I picked this one up because of Rebecca Sugar's recommendation and all the interesting stuff she talks about in interviews about perspective. I can't comment on the book much yet since I've barely started it, but it looks fun, and perspective is definitely an important aspect that I hadn't been paying enough attention to; also interesting to try and tanslate some of these concepts to perspective in writing (reminds me about what Philip Pullman said about "camerawork").

Art books (featured here WolfWalkers and Steven Universe). I have a few more back at home - have always enjoyed them, and one can learn much from them as well. However they are heavy and expensive, so that's something to consider - for example if you're a student like me, who doesn't have tons of free cash and will probably have to move a lot. But hey, times are dark, so sometimes I do threat myself...

Software. I like doing doodles digitally, especially when learning - spoiling a lot of paper makes me feel bad, while digital drawing allows me to relax a bit more, since every bad drawing is just one click away from oblivion. The conventional choice for drawing is Photoshop, but there are definitely decent free alternatives out there. For animation tests I'm using Pencil2D - it's free and perfect for a beginner. However, one thing that you'll need if you want to try out digital art is a graphic tablet - I'm afraid computer drawing isn't really feasible without one, unless you're into VERY specific art styles. But in good news, there's not much difference between super advanced and very basic ones, so a simple one will serve you just fine! I'm using my old trusty Wacom, purchased many years ago for saved-up pocket money, and it's working great.

Well, there we are - no idea whether this is useful for anyone, but I hope it is. My take-home message here is that learning art is fun, and there are many different types of "art" that you can learn and do on your own - it's not just oils and pastels :) And of course it's not really feasible to get as good as actual art school students on your own - but there's still plenty of interesting stuff you can do!

If there are any actual art/animation people reading this - I apologize for my amateur dabbling, and would be interested to hear if you have any tips!

[porchbirds]

Hi, Aunt Reyna!! Do you have any tips for a super beginner for eyeshadow, lipstick, foundation, and eyeliner?? I have my colors and everything! I just don't know what to do!!

Uhm well i kinda want 2 open w like makeup is…. a scheme to make money off insecurity but honestly that’s a pretty hypocritical statement coming from me and also it has little practical value in the Real World of like.. life so i’m not gonna do that. 

SO here are some helpful tips? under the cut bc it got long. Hopefully this helps?

Foundation

1. If you can avoid it, don’t use your fingers. I know brushes can be expensive, but foundation already has a decent chance of making u break out. Adding ur finger oils to that shit is gonna be Not Great and application will be kinda uneven.

Instead, use a thick brush, or an application sponge or a blending sponge. You can find pretty cheap brushes at drugstores through elf or on amazon. 

2. Use a setting powder. Ur makeup will move so much if you don’t. DONT set until after you’ve finished your eye makeup tho, bc it’ll be hard to like fix ur foundation once it’s set. 

Use one of those circle foam sponge applicators for under your eyes/ on your cheekbones / the middle of your forehead. (they come with a lot of setting powders. I use elf’s packed setting powder in translucent). 

You don’t have to set your foundation everywhere else, but it tends to sorta wear off during the day if you dont. I find the sponge to be too heavy handed for full face (it makes my makeup Way too light) so i use a fluffy brush to set the rest. 

3. Do your eyemakeup after foundation, but (like i said) before you set the foundation with powder. This will help it naturally (lol) set and make it look less powdery later. Be careful not to move your face too much during this spot or it’ll crease. 

If it creases, that’s fine. Use your brush to smooth it out or buff it out with your power. (Only add more foundation if it’s like moved a lot. DON’T layer foundation on top of powder!)

Eye shadow

1. Prime Your Eyes! You don’t need to spend a bunch of money on expensive primers if you don’t wanna. Just use your regular concealer (assuming you have that). Dab it all over your eyelids and then set it with a light, neutral eyeshadow in a similar color to your concealer. 

2. If you’re going for a more complex, multi color look you’re prob gonna want to follow this formula:

      a. Your lightest shade goes all over the lid, up to the brow bone. This is your base shade.      b. Your transition shade goes NEXT! It doesn’t go over your dark shades!!! It goes under them! This is a shade slightly darker than your base, which is going to help blend everything together. You can do multiple transition shades, depending on the look your doing and how ~complex~ you wanna get with it. One is usually fine though.      c. Your darkest shade goes in the crease. There’s a lot of ways to do the crease shade. General rule is to go in with a VERY light hand. You can always add more, you know? So go in lightly and try to keep it toward the outer corner.     d. NOW you go back and deal with the middle to the inner corner of your lid. This is where you’re going to fix up the lightest shade if it’s sort of disappeared. OR where you’re gonna want to put like a lighter glittery shade if that’s what you’re feeling.    e. Use a lighter shade under your brow, on the brow bone, to frame everything. DON’T use a color that’s too light or too sparkly. You’re going to want something pretty near like the shade you set your concealer with. Think like maybe one or maybe two shades lighter than your skin tone. 

3. BLEND THAT SHIT OH MY GOD! use a fluffy brush and a very light hand. 

Eye liner

1. It’s gonna take practice. That’s just the truth. You’re gonna fuck it up a TON of times. 

2. There’s a billion “right” ways to do eye liner. Here’s the general process for a wing:

      a. start by lining your top lid with a VERY thin line. I personally don’t like to go all the way to the inner corner, but some people do. Do you. I usually start just a little bit inwards of the center of my eye. like ¾ of the way in.       b. Make the bottom line of your wing. Start at the outer corner of your eye and go up and out to about where you want it.       c. connect the wing to the line across your lid. You’re basically just gonna draw a relatively straight line from the wing to like the center of your lid.       e. Go back and fill in until it looks how you want it to. 

3. Your eyes are probably not going to match perfectly. Just get them close, it’s fine. 

I like liquid or gel liners. I think pencil smudges wayy to easily. If you use a gel liner, set it with a thin brush and a dark black eye shadow. 

Lipstick 

1. Finding “your color(s)” is going to take a while

2. You can probably rock just about any color with enough confidence. Whatever it is, it probably looks good. Don’t psych yourself out about it. You can layer colors (i recommend it actually).

I feel like i look best with brown or purple undertones. I have a brown shade i use to layer under a lot of like my reds. Wear whatever though honestly you’re probably fine. A lot of drug stores have decent return policies for makeup, so ask about that when you’re buying.

3. Use Chapstick Under Your Lipsticks! ESPECIALLY if you’re going matte. It’ll help hold things in place, help prevent creasing, and keep ur lips healthy and soft!

4. LINE YOUR LIPS OMG. this sounds like such an old lady thing like grandmas line their lips, but seriously it helps. If you don’t want to buy a ton of liners in a billion colors, just buy a transparent one (yes they sell them). It’s not AS effective, but it’ll still help a LOT trust me.

Removal

Don’t waste your money on rlly expensive makeup removers if you don’t want to. Like not to be That Bitch but (organic extra virgin) olive oil makes for a GREAT makeup remover???? Oil dissolves oil and it’s honestly great. You can buy it in bulk(ish) and you only need to use a little bit so it’ll save you money.                if you do this, there may be a transition period while your skin adjusts to the oil, in which you break out a little. That’s normal and fine. You’ll clear up soon. It’s actually helped my skin a lot over time. (you can also use the oil as a moisturizer if you have dryer skin. I do and it’s great tbh). 

HONEST SECRET TRUTH OF MAKEUP

1. WATCH MAKEUP TUTORIALS! THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE TO HELP YOU THEY WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE. Any look you want, there is probably a step by step video for it, trust me . Girls out there have your back, my friend. 

2. it’s all fake and we’re all just doing our best out here. There’s like ~better~ ways to do things but no specifically wrong way. If you think it looks good, if you like it, whatever, then do it. you probably look great tbh.

[welcomerandumbness]

Good morning folks, this is Charisse ShaVon!! I enjoy her art and admire her work for such a long time. I'm so glad to finally interview her on here. Take the time to get to know her like I do.

I've always been a creative type who liked to dabble in different things: sewing, drawing, jewelry-making. I found my love of painting in high school when I had a really good art teacher who made painting fun and interesting. Thus far I just do acrylic painting, but I want to get into water color also. I also want to become a better acrylic painter, and step out of my comfort zone more. I mostly make abstract pieces. It's the most carefree. But I want to explore realism more too.

1. What is your ideal medium to draw or paint?

Hmmm, that's a tough question. They both have their appeal. I do think I prefer painting more because of the way you can mix colors and create whatever color you want.

2. Any artists you've meet in the past that you look up to or want to collaborate with?

There's no one in particular that I've met thus far that I've wanted to collaborate with. But I do want to collaborate with other artists. I think it would be really cool. It'd be nice to work with someone with a similar style or someone totally different. I'm definitely open.

3. How do you describe you style?

My style is mostly abstract. It's also very vibrant. I'm all about color therapy. Creating and viewing vibrant art gives me a good feeling.

4. What got you into wanting to do art?

I don't even remember a time where I wasn't being creative. Art has always been a part of me. Now I'm at a point where I want to do it more seriously.

5. What plans do you have for the future of your work?

In the future I want to improve my artwork. I want to learn new techniques. I have SO much to learn. I just want to grow and expand. I want to try watercolor, and not just acrylics. I want to fall back in love with chalk and oil pastels.

6. Any ideas on trying out vendor spots near you?

In my city we have an "Art Walk" once a month. You can set up a table and sell for free. I've set up a couple times. I've sold hair bows and jewelry. I've yet to sell paintings at this type of event, but I want to keep trying.

7. What kind of advice would you have for those wanting to start in this industry?

My advice would be to start from whatever point you're at. Just start now, even if you're limited in resources. Take pride in yourself no matter what skill level you're at. This might also be advice to myself lol.

8. How do you explain to someone new in how to pursue their dream professionally?

Honestly, I'm still quite a beginner. I sell on sites like eBay and Etsy. Surprisingly, I've had more success via eBay. You could start there. And if there's places where you can locally sell your art as a vendor, definitely give that a try. Promote yourself on social media. Having more than one social media is good, to reach more people. The more content you put out, the better (again, advice for myself as well).

9. Do you recommend breaks and down time for your work? How so?

Absolutely. Breaks are so important. We don't always have the inspiration to create. Trying to force it can make us fall out of love with what we do. Take a break, experience life, and inspiration will come.

10. Is there a favorite part of your work you enjoy?

My favorite part..hmm. I think it's looking at a finished piece and feeling totally satisfied with what I've done. I also like when I'm creating something and I'm really in the groove of things with my headphones on, listening to music.

Ah, this is super great. I'm so glad yyou took the time out to talk with me.

You can follow Charisse buy her work here:

Instagram: charisseshavon.paintings

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PeaceLoveDragonflies

[rachidvax]

When I was 15, I was introduced to weight training. It transformed my life then, and it keeps doing so now. I really didn't know what I was doing then. I just read a lot of magazines and did exercises that made sense. In an era of college football with most weight rooms either less than one thousand square feet or simply nonexistent, I was one of only a few players to take weight training seriously. As I write this article today in 2015 I can proudly say that as a college player 50 years ago my bench was 405, my squat was 505, and my deadlift was 605. I never took steroids, and my only vice was protein shakes. I have a bachelor's degree and master's degree in kinesiology. My master's thesis was on strength training. I was a head football and swimming coach at the high school level before becoming a clinical and sports psychologist 30 years ago. I never stopped working out. In fact, when we added on to our house, my wife allowed me to turn our old master bedroom into a full weight room complete with bench, squat cage, lat machine, leg extension & curl machine, sit up board, treadmill, 550 pounds of free weights, and dumbbells from 10-70. Our house was the hangout for all our son's teammates. OK, enough background. In my ignorant youth I was working out 3X/week for about 2 ½-3 hours, which included all body parts. Of course, now we know that is overtraining, but no one told me. I just knew I liked the results. Over the years I've tried high reps, super sets, and all the usual workouts. For the most part, they all work if you are consistent. What I can tell you is that at my current age of 68, I can still hold my own in the weight room with men much younger. We all now know that sarcopenia (loss of muscle due to aging) is somewhat inevitable, but it most certainly can be slowed down and delayed by proper workout even in the absence of great amounts of testosterone, as long as protein requirements are met (1.2-1.5 grams/kilo of bodyweight for men and slightly less for women). I stopped doing heavy lifting years ago, but many consider what I lift now to be heavy. Even my teammates from 50 years ago recently made that comment. High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, has been shown to be the most effective and efficient means of achieving good cardio. So after almost a year of experimentation, I combined HIIT with weights. Please understand that Y44 is a method of working out. You can still do whatever exercises you want, split your workouts, etc. The beauty of Y44 is you only have to do one set of the exercise to get excellent results. In fact, doing more is overtraining. I can almost hear the skeptics now, but please be open-minded. I have turned many skeptics into believers. People have been very pleased with the Y44 method. If you are a senior or significantly out of weight training shape, please see your doctor and get her or his approval before you attempt the Y44 (I always emphatically recommend getting a full physical before undertaking any new workout regimen). Yes, it's that intense. This is NOT a beginner's workout. You also need to make sure your kidneys are functioning properly in order to be able to handle the protein. The best results from weight training are when you take a muscle to complete exhaustion. Please keep in mind the protein requirements,otherwise this won't work. Again, keep in mind you can do almost any exercise using the Y44 principle. I say almost because some like flat barbell bench or free bar squats, can not be done this way. If you want to do bench or squats with the Y44 method, a machine is the best choice. For the purpose of explaining the Y44 method I will use dumbbell bench as an example. Again, this is a method. You can continue whatever exercises you want in combination so long as you give at least 72 hours between working out a specific body part. Okay, let's do this. Take whatever weight you can do 8 reps with and cut that in half. As an example, I can comfortably do 8 reps with 100 lbs. dumbbells, so my Y44 set will be with 50's. I set my timer for 4 minutes. I lie down and do as many reps as I can do until I can't move, usually somewhere between 21-25,then I sit up. I take exactly 4 breaths, and go back down and repeat the process. I usually am able to get maybe 7-8 reps. I sit up and take another 4 breaths, and back down, this time maybe getting 3-4 reps. I repeat this process until the timer goes off. 4 minutes, 4 breaths equals Y44. This constitutes one set, and that's all that is needed. It seems far too simple, especially for those who think you need 5-8 sets. Keep in mind, this is weight training, not bodybuilding. This is more on the order of body sculpting. Oh, yes, and if you don't think this involves cardio, track your pulse during the workout. Y44 is a hybrid HIIT. As with all weight training, make sure your form is excellent to avoid injuries. I am not a researcher, so, no, there are no studies versus a control group to point to, and at this point in my career and personal life, I'm just thrilled to get results and share them. I'm happy to let my background speak for itself. I'll let some graduate assistant or doctoral candidate set the whole thing up, record the results, and do all the various statistical analyses. I would be happy to help. Just remember it will take you about a month just to get in shape to really attack the Y44 method. As the old legal disclaimer goes, "Results may vary." By all means email me and tell me I'm crazy. I love to hear all the wonderful results from a fellow crazy. Dr. Yellen is a parent, former educator, and clinical & sports psychologist in private practice. He has appeared nationally television as well as giving commentary on local television and radio stations.

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