#that I can have everything uncompressed

[forgotn1]

My NAS that I use as a media server now has less than a terabyte of space left out of 4TB. I still have a couple hundred movies to put on it so I think it's finally time to get more drives. I think I'm gonna see about getting a couple 6TB drives this time.

[lightbulb-warning]

What are you currently into (or even, who? 👀)? Aside from dr :)

I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED <3 <3 <3

i only first played the gay anguish timeloop game (in stars and time) like a month ago and!!!! its taken over my life!!!!!!!!!!!!

(numbers tangent for reference bc i love stats and im bad with words: i sat and counted them v approximately rlly quick and!! since the 27th of april i have filled 60 a5s with isat scribbles!! which include 13 bonnies, 14 miras, 20 odiles, 29 isas, ...99 siffrins and 102 loops!! ...WHOOPWHOOP!! digital art not included in the counting bc i got bored and didn't wanna recheck everything all over again )

*shoves siffrins in your face as a display of enthusiam*

uncompressed sifs and more rambling below!! spoiler free!! (siffrin going through the horrors is the premise of the game)

im full of earnest enjoyment for isat. i am not normal about it. i will explode at any second. i really like it when the timetravel is key in the narrative and themes and brings emotional devastation and slowly dissolves a character's sense of sanity, will, self, etcetera <3!! i also like it when the FOUND FAMILY is built before your eyes and THEY BOND and have WONDERFUL DIALOGUE that i CRY ABOUT OFTEN...!! isat has both and excels at it!!!! to me!!!!!!!!!!!!

throughout the game siffrin's the one doing the timeloops and keeping his memories, they're the one going through any actual changes (and the lackthereof) yet the rest of his party, despite being reset every time, still have a sense of progression through each act- the others develop too THROUGH their perception of siffrin if that makes sense?? am i using words correctly?? yea the others can get boring and repetitive given the TIME LOOP™ circumstances but they don't get STALE and there is development while doing the same thing over and over again!! and!!! IDK!!!!!! I THINK ITS COOL!!!!!!!!!!

the sparkly cunt's my favourite and i won't be elaborating bc ✨spoilers✨!!

i need to stop rambling bc i have finals to prepare for/pretend to not procrastinate on n shit so!! uh!! pls play isat!! enjoy some siffrins!!! THANKYU FOR STOPPING BY HAVE A NICE DAY BUHBYE---

(spinfrin unleashed!!)

[shadeops21]

MWII Cosplay Guides - Master Post

With the amount of guides I've put up, I think it's about time I create a master post that can serve as the directory for everything. It will be updated as I continue to post the remaining guides, and future guides that may or may not come along.

Single Player Characters: Captain Price Simon 'Ghost' Riley Johnny 'Soap' MacTavish Nightwar Helmets (for Ghost and Soap) Kyle 'Gaz' Garrick Los Vaqueros - Alejandro Rojas & Rudolfo 'Rudy' Parra Cmdr Phillip Graves

Multiplayer Operators (updated 27th Feb): Red Team 141 (Vault Edition Skins) Volume 1 - Reyes, Nova, Gromsko, Konig, Roze & Horangi Volume 2 (SpecGru) - Chuy, Luna Gus Volume 2 (KorTac) - Conor, Stiletto, Hutch Artists Guide - Calisto & Zeus

I have opened tipping up recently, so if you find these resources useful and want to show your appreciation, that's one way you may do so. If you're not comfortable with that, the mere act of reblogging these and sharing them around the community is enough. I want to share my knowledge and point people in the right direction. If you use my references for art or for cosplay, don't hesitate to tag me so I can see!

Additionally, full resolution versions are downloadable from my DeviantArt gallery, as Tumblr has a size limit of which the uncompressed images vastly exceed. The album is here, and is kept mostly updated with whatever I post here. Again, share them, link them, etc etc.

Ever since the first sets of guides went up, I've been seeing people fill in gaps where I couldn't fully identify pieces of equipment or clothing. Additionally, I've also been learning and expanding my research tools, which as granted me greater accuracy with what a given piece of gear is. Witn that, I am planning on updating these guides both visually and with more reliable information. When that will be finished is yet to be seen, but if and when that is done, I plan to release them in a downloadable PDF.

If you made it this far, then thank you for reading through this behemoth, especially when I put the links near the start. I really appreciate everyone's support, the response to these has been humbling and inspiring, and has been the driving factor as to why I've continued this project.

[coochellati]

hi hi! Long time fan of your blog—and It’s really inspired me to write my own Bruno fic, any tips for a first time bruno writer?

HELLO!!! 💕

First of all, I just want to say thank you so much!!! Your kind words have made my day—no, my month. 😭🩷 AHHH I LOVE THIS QUESTION!!!

Okay, so I have a big tip for writing Bruno, (or anyone, really,) and I learned it in Araki’s book, Manga in Theory and Practice. This is a technique he uses to make sure his characters are always acting “in-character.”

Every time Araki creates a new character, he fills out a character history sheet for them. It’s a basic sheet containing all sorts of important stuff such as their personality traits, dreams for the future, forming childhood experiences fears, etc., and he uses that sheet to figure out how his character would react to any given situation. In Manga in Theory and Practice, Araki includes a blank Character Sheet and an example of what a filled-out one may look like.

(this isn’t actually the original Dio character history sheet—Araki lost the OG. This version was made from memory. I don’t know if the original was actually this blank.)

Since Araki hasn’t released one for Bruno, I decided to make my own.

(This image is huge. HUGE. 6232 x 5519px!! Unfortunately, tumblr compressed it so you can’t read all the tiny writing :( can you tell I was an overachiever in school? Here’s a link to the uncompressed photo in Google Drive!!)

You are welcome to use this sheet if you’d like! (Anyone reading this is free to use it.) This sheet contains canon information as well as my assumptions/headcanons since Araki hasn’t given any kind of answer to some of these questions. You don’t have to agree with them. After all, everyone has their own interpretation of Bruno Bucciarati—this is just the way I see him.

Here’s how my process goes: whenever I put Bruno into a situation where I’m not sure how he’s going to react, I consult the character history chart.

For instance: what if Bruno is in a situation where he catches reader smoking weed?

This is something I haven’t always been sure as to what he’d do—I’ve changed my opinion on this multiple times. Weed is legal in many places, after all. However, after looking at my filled-out character sheet, I now have a more solid idea of how he could react.

Canon information: Bruno’s dad (his only immediate family) became injured because he witnessed a drug deal. (Which ultimately led to his death.) The way Bruno sees it, drugs killed his father. He also can get very worked up over matters that are personal to him, such as when Diavolo attempted to kill Trish, or when he caught Passione peddling drugs.

Using this information, I believe that Bruno is probably going to be very angry at reader, even if it is legal nowadays. It wasn’t very legal in 2001, and Passione likely trafficked weed on top of everything else. Sure, weed isn’t cocaine, but it was still a very stigmatized drug at the time.

(so yeah. Bruno would not be very thrilled about my love for Mary Jane… I’d quit for him. Also, this is just my assumption—it’s okay if you don’t agree with me. There are infinite ways to interpret a character, and your opinion is just as valid as mine.)

My advice to you is to fill out your own character sheet! Here’s a version that has no headcanons/assumptions if that helps :) (Unless you want to use mine, lol. But I know my word isn’t gospel, and you likely have differing opinions on him.) If you want to reword it entirely, here’s a full-res blank version!

Another reason I recommend this because you’ll really get to study his character. Being forced to think about his strengths/weaknesses, forming experiences, the relationships he has with others, or hell, even where he was born can really help form an idea of the character you’re writing. Through this exercise, I feel like I’ve gotten closer to Bruno. When it’s a character you love, filling this out feels like you’re spending time with them.

I’d also like to note that this character history chart is ever-evolving. As I continue studying Bruno's character, my opinions and mental images of him become clearer. It feels like I'm a sculptor carving a statue out of marble, gaining a more defined picture with each detail I learn. The sheet above reflects my view of him at this current moment in time, and it will likely change in the future.

Another tip I have for you relates to writing his dialogue. Bruno can be a little weird. For instance, he often speaks quite eloquently:

He’s very self-assured:

But then, there’s moments like this:

I recommend studying his speech patterns. Hell, I’m always learning more about the way he speaks.

I’ll leave you with this: In the end, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to write Bruno. How you write him is up to you, and your interpretation is just as valid as anyone else’s. Don’t worry about what others may think about your version of him—just do what feels right for you. Write Bruno the way you see fit. :)

I hope this helps!!!! Don’t forget to have fun. 💕

thanks for the ask!! <3

[madmanrambler]

“So walk me through everything I missed. It seems like it was a lot.”

“What, Everything? It’s 85 bloody years, there’s a lot to cover. And me without a degree in history.”

“Alright then, summarize. I can research whatever you mention that seems particularly interesting.”

I shifted to better watch Corv as he spoke, listening through ears that still felt chilly from 85 years frozen. Corv, one of my rescuers, shifted in his own spot, his diminutive form finding a comfortable seat. He glanced at me before starting in to the history.

“Let’s see, you went under in the 2020s you said, right? So you at least have an idea that climate change was getting bad. That was most of the 30′s and 40′s, handling that in various ways. Mostly bad ways. Lotta border skirmishes, plenty of fighting and arguing about bits of this and that. Big cold war between Canada and China about shipping lanes that opened up in the Artic, which was a miserable bloody time.” this at least all made sense, and I was nodding along.

“in the 50s things came to a bit of a head. Most of the ice that was going to melt melted, and the weather patterns were stabilizing. the countries and people left were figuring out how to handle the Sahara being able to grow plants and the American Midwest becoming a desert. We got some peace makers out of South America, and you’ll probably find some interestin’ stuff about indonesia and how its government in exile set an example for island nations and how to handle the shift in tides. Always found some of that stuff fascinating, you can look up Melati Hon and her speeches on the new world, great stuff.” Corv seemed excited about that part, really animated and I could see his eyes gleaming. Really might be something worth reading, and seeing what I thought afterwards. He reluctantly plowed on. “the 60s people kinda lost their mind, great art from the period but a lot of folks were recovering from being kids during the greatest ecological disaster. The 70s there’s big move of standardizing everything, making sure that plugs fit all over the world and all the measuring equipment can measure the same. Parts of America still insist on using standard but that’s more a local custom then a nation-wide standard at this point. the 80′s had a lot of discussion about the moon base, I think there was a big scare around a country grabbing it for themselves and a space war or something erupting over that, it was agreed to be a joint venture with every nation able to send people up, averted a lot of problems. The 90s are close enough I can remember ‘em, and there’s a ton you could focus on but overall it’s all about how to handle us living with these new batteries we’ve got, the Phazolyte batteries.”  This wasn’t exactly what I wanted to focus on, but Corv seemed to think it was important so I nodded and tossed in what I knew. “They’re batteries that mix with water to charge right?”

He coughed, shaking his head. “Yeah, I guess that’d be the second grader explanation. They mix phazolyte with water, and phazolyte causes water to be willing to compress as much as you push it, something it doesn’t want to do at all normally. S’why jumping off a bridge into water is like hitting concrete, all the force rebounds back into your body. With Phazolyte we get to store as much energy as we can compress into the water, then you just remove the Phazolyte and the water uncompresses, pushes against something, makes the electricity. And the Phazolyte, once removed, is good to use again, doesn’t lose anything in the process. It’s dead useful, and the last 15 years has been plugging that into everything and getting the supply chain worked out.” Corv coughed again, and glanced around. “That should cover the basics. Sorry we don’t have flying cars or nothing like that, I know you folks were keen on that.”

I stared at Corv for a long while. “Corv, that’s great. I’m glad you covered all the uh. The battery stuff. But.” I hesitated, glancing from him to the window to the chair he was sitting in. “You uh. Skipped the part about you.” Corv shifted in his seat again, glancing away from me. “Well it really isn’t all that important, it’s just part of the world really. I’m a British citizen, we still say god save the queen, we keep playing football-” “That seems like it’d be a bit hard for you to play.” I interrupt, glancing at how small Corv was. “I mean, Corv, you didn’t mention a damn thing about when birds started talking.” Corv looked what I thought was askance. “Well you did ask me to summarize.” He reminded me as his beak preened his feathers. “If I summarize I gotta skip the things that are less important. That’s how summarizing history goes.”

[stardropsandrain]

Lucifer W/ Trans Masc Partner HC

Warnings; mention of slurs, misgendering and scars

Please do enjoy

He loves you no matter what. You're the one and only human he will ever willingly tolerate for so long

If anyone EVER misgenders you, they have one chance to correct themselves before they're not seen again (he probably told Diavolo about it and made him take care of it before he killed the culprit)

If someone were to call you a slur? Oh they better hope Diavolo gets to them first. Diavolo is by no stretch of the imagination any less upset, but what he does would probably be considered angelic compared to what Lucifer would've done to them

Lucifer is all over you that day, whenever he sees you he gives you a kiss on the forehead and mumbles a soft 'you're so handsome' or ' you're perfect my love'

He, for once, will cast aside his work and duties for that night. If you allow him he just holds you while you guys watch a movie or series, kissing your face, neck or any exposed skin he's allowed to kiss

Of course the news will soon travel to the rest of the brothers. They rush to Lucifer, making sure he took care of it properly 'he won't bother anyone again' was his answer. It quited the brothers rather quickly 'now leave me to my work' they would scamper back to their rooms and Lucifer would return to his 'work'

He loves tracing your surgery scars if you'll let him 'pretty' he'll mumble before kissing it

If you haven't had surgery he's always making sure you never over bind. He can't remember to eat but if you don't take off your binder the second eight hours ticks off he's behind you 'my love, time to take off your binder' 'Lu, I'm cooking dinner. It can wait a bit' he huffs but waits for you to finish cooking 'quickly now my love, before the food gets cold, or eaten' a pointed stare at Beelzebub who entered as soon as food was done

If you follow him and change out of the binder he'll let you have one of his shirts if you'd like to wear it and kisses your forehead 'you're so handsome'

If you don't, maybe you're feeling very dysphoric that day. The thought of your uncompressed chest plaguing your thoughts. He'll notice the change in your behaviour and take you to his room to talk 'what's wrong' 'nothing Lu' 'darling do not lie to me, I want to make you feel better' you'll explain to him and he's completely understanding. But your health comes first. He'll gently coax you out of your binder and fit you in what you're most comfortable in. He'll bring dinner back to you and then go to his desk to finish some papers. You're probably almost asleep by the time he slides into bed with you 'you're perfect my love. Absolutely perfect'

If you let him he loves to call you a good boy and watch you melt. He does it with the simplest tasks as well 'My dear, pass me a pen please' you'll pass him a pen and he'll smile 'good boy' he watches you freeze as your face reddens (thats not trans/gender non conforming specific but just had to add it)

Showers and baths can be hard, especially if you haven't fully transitioned or had surgery. Lucifer will do everything he can to make sure you're comfortable. Even if that means just stepping back and leaving you alone for a bit

But he'll offer to stand with you in the shower, washing you so you don't have to. He'll encourage you to do it, but if you dont want to, he won't hesitate to gently wash you off. He'll talk about your day, his day, plans for tomorrow. Keeping your mind busy from your creeping thoughts. When you're done he'll wrap you in a towel and kiss your forehead. He'll dry you off and let you get dressed before continuing the rest of your day/night

A/N; That is all for now. I think I'll maybe do more NSFW ones later.

Good riddance and stay safe 🖤🖤🖤

[spinningbuster98]

Sonic the Hedgehog CD Part 1: Sonic CD is sponsored by Marty McFly

Oh boy, now we’re getting into some spicy territory!

My history with CD is...complicated

Unlike the other Classic titles, while I was exposed to this one at around that same time thanks to the Sonic Gems Collection, I never played it quite as much due to...reasons that will become quite clear in future parts. It’s only with the release of the Whitehead version years ago that I truly dived into this game

So let’s start with the best and most obvious parts

Firstly: the opening and closing cinematics are literally some of my favorite pieces of animation ever. (Well the uncompressed versions anyway, ‘cause the Sega CD was what it was). Not just because they’re animated beautifully but because they feature what is, to me, the gold standard of Sonic’s body language.

This Sonic is quick, adventurous and fun loving when he’s zooming around, but dead serious and determined once he notices Eggman’s effect on Little Planet

But most of all: he’s cool. He’s effortlessly cool in the way he runs around and toys with badniks, while at the same time still retaining a cutesy side to him to remind you that this is still a light hearted and fun loving cartoon character

While I’m not one of those people who thinks that Sonic should never talk (specifically Classic), there is a case to be made on how in just a few minutes’ worth of animation CD is able to tell us literally everything there is to know about Sonic’s character without having him utter a single word while the Storybook games had to devote hours long narratives to get the point across. It also further lampshades just how backwards Sega’s recent handling of Classic as a character has been, focusing completely on his cutesy side while completely neglecting his cooler one, or at least downplaying it, while one of the main reasons for the switch to Modern was because they feared that Classic was being perceived as too cute by fans at the time, but whatever that’s a topic for another time

From a graphical standpoint...yeah this game is above and beyond the best of the classics, both in general spritework (though bosses in Sonic 3 actually look better, but that might just be due to that game having actual bosses that look more imposing in general), color variation, level of detail and artstyle, which is without even mentioning the way that the game manages to tell a simple yet subtle narrative through its backgrounds but I’ll focus on that at a later time

But personally I’ve...actually never been head over heels for these graphics unlike everyone else, mostly due to a personal thing, since Sonic game move so quickly it’s usually hard for me to really focus on background details and whatnot, which isn’t helped by the one thing you’ll be looking at the most, Sonic’s sprite, pretty much being ripped straight from Sonic 1 and looking so out of place compared to the rest of the game. But again: it’s not a knock against the game, it’s just me

Musically I...think it’s good, it’s certainly the most varied and smartly utilised soundtrack in the Classic games (or even in the whole series) due to how each track ties very well to the feel of not only each Zone but also each era, but personally? When it comes to Sonic music I tend to prefer more upbeat, fast paced tracks. CD’s OST is much slower and usually pretty calming and atmospheric, which works very well for what it’s trying to accomplish, it’s just not what I personally prefer to hear in a Sonic game (and yeah I’m talking about the JPN score, it’s been ages since I’ve listened to the US tracks)

On the other hand however I like all of the vocal tracks

Sonic Boom was the first I was introduced to and it still sounds great, but over time I also gained a lot of appreciation for You can do anything. The lyrics are really cheesy and are bordering on nonesense half the time, but I like the energy it has

My absolute favorite however is Cosmic Eternity. I really wish more people would talk about this one because this is, and I’m not kidding here, one of my favorite Sonic songs in general. Right up there with the likes of Open your Heart, Live and Learn and What I’m Made of. It’s just so upbeat and uplifting, it fits both this game’s happier aspects and Sonic’s character like a glove, the latter more in the sense that it sounds like something that Sonic would sing someone to cheer them up

[simlicious]

Hi, I’m loving the advent so far! How do you get your patterns to look so natural? Whenever I make patterns I either get these crusty lines at the edges of some channels where one channel bleeds into the other. Or, I get these super sharp unnatural edges on them that never look any good. Teach me your magic please lol.

Thank you so much for the compliment :) I made a fancy tutorial, because more people might be interested in this topic!

There are a few things you can do to solve color bleed and crusty lines while making the Sims 3 patterns. These tips are for Photoshop and the TSR Workshop pattern tool, though they also work for Delphy's pattern tool. The EA CAP tool compresses its image files automatically, so you have no control over it afaik. Save your textures uncompressed! Most of your problem should be solved by saving your images in an uncompressed DDS file format (depending on what DDS plugin you use, it "8.8.8.8 argb 32bpp unsigned" or, in newer versions, "8.8.8.8 bgra 32bpp unsigned". This is an image of the newer dds plugin export dialog with the settings I use:

This reduces blockiness and color bleed significantly! Note: For maximum visual clarity and the sake of our eyes, starting from now, I will show just the contents of the individual color channels of the image, specifically green and blue. If you click on a single color channel in Photoshop, it will be represented in greyscale. My screenshots therefore also represent a single color channel and do not show how the colors interact with each other. I thought it would be distracting and hard to see if I presented everything in color and this tutorial is not about how to build a pattern, but how to get crisp outlines and the best possible quality.

What is the issue with compressed textures? EA's pattern textures are DDS files that use DXT compression (DXT1 for non-alpha/5 for alpha images, BC1/3 in the newer plugin). If you save your image as a compressed DDS file and reopen it, you will notice that certain areas are blocky/blotchy. That is because lightness and color information is not retained for every pixel, but areas get grouped together in a more or less chessboard-like fashion. In this first example, I increased the contrast to make these compression artifacts more visible so you can see what's going on: Notice the grey blocky areas?

These cause color bleed in the final pattern and the textures look blurry or washed out. EA's textures have this issue too, because they use compression. In some patterns, the effect is less noticeable than in others, but compressed files will always have a reduced image quality compared to the original image. Deciding to go with uncompressed textures was essential for me to achieve the quality I offer. I reasoned that the patterns are only 256px in size and the performance impact should not be very noticeable. I once made a survey in which I asked whether my patterns cause performance issues, and most said they did not, so I stuck with it.

You could test it out for yourself and decide! If you want to continue to use compression, make sure to change the quality of the compression algorithm to get the best possible result. In the screenshot I posted at the beginning of the tutorial, you can see that I set it to "highest" instead of the usual default "fastest", though this is not really needed if you save uncompressed files. The old DDS plugin used on older Photoshop versions also has that setting, it is just a bit more obscure. I do not have that anymore so I cannot say where exactly. Is it a bug? Lines all around the edges of some channels could also be a Photoshop bug*. This was a regular occurring bug in older versions (before CC 2020 or so.) The issue was that when you scaled down or sometimes even just saved an image that was not just the background layer but had stuff on other layers, there would be a faint line around the whole image. Suuuper annoying! *clarification: It's not an official bug, but a lot of people get annoyed by it. I still had this happen to me with the current 2023 Photoshop version when using bicubic (sharper) on an image with layers, but I do feel there are less problems with saving layered images now. Idk, this might be "feature quirk" after all... Anyway, to avoid the faint lines around your image, follow these tips: Using the bilinear mode when reducing an image's size helps, as does flattening the image before image reduction or file export. I like to create a copy of the entire document using the shortcuts ctrl+shift+alt+e to make sure it appears flattened without actually flattening everything. You could also paste the flattened copy into a new document, merge it down and export the dds file from there. Just try what works best for you. Retaining maximum quality on resizing Most images need to be resized to the pattern size, or you might have made a larger pattern and want that in smaller sizes. You may never have paid much attention to the settings in that image size dialogue, but it holds some key elements to make sure your pattern comes out in the best way possible! Per default, the resizing mode that is used by Photoshop to make an image smaller is "bicubic (sharper)". This mode has a sharpening algorithm that causes halos if the pixels are not white or black, which can create unwanted effects such as white outlines around grey pixels, or grey ones around black areas. Note: even if you have the "bicubic (automatic)" setting, it will still use the "bicubic (sharper)" if you reduce the image size! Let me show you an example: Below, you can see a comparison of bicubic (sharper) reduction vs bilinear reduction. The channel with the black and white checkers has some greyish edges after using bicubic (sharper), which can cause the texture to become unwantedly transparent in these areas, making the colors become muddled in these areas. Using bilinear or nearest neighbor modes (the latter is great for very geometric, crisp shapes), the result is very clean.

This is why do not recommend to use the bicubic algorithm on your textures. Go for bilinear and nearest neighbor modes, these are perfect for patterns. I do any sharpening of the channels in a more controlled way later.

The best way to sharpen your texture To make the textures look as crisp as possible, you immediately think about the "unsharp mask" feature, right? This might not be your best option though!

If you have a white shape on a black background with a rim of dark grey pixels around it and you want to make it crisp and want that dark grey outline to disappear, unsharp mask will actually do a pretty good job, because it mainly targets those grey pixels and there is nothing to lighten or darken on pure white or pure black. But if you have a lot of grey tones, the algorithm "attacks" a lot in your image, depending on how you set your radius in the options dialogue. Most of the time, the radius is set to a small number, for sharpening details, but it creates a problem for us in the form of halos/bright or dark rims around shapes.

I like to increase the contrast of the individual channels to make the image appear sharper without those halo effects that the "unsharp mask " feature often creates. I love to use the "levels" tool for adjusting the contrast, I use it all the time! I have grey pixels as a starting point and then applied an aggressive "unsharp mask" (strength 100, radius: 1px) to it so you can see the effect. The results are bright halos around the shapes. This will make the edges of the shapes more opaque on the final pattern and can look strange! On very delicate lines, this might be what you want, but for larger areas, this is less desirable.

Sharpening without actually sharpening

Instead of using "unsharp mask", I like to increase the contrast of the individual channels to make the image appear sharper entirely without those halo effects that the "unsharp mask " feature often creates. I love to use the "levels" tool for adjusting the contrast, I use it all the time!

On this layer, I have some intricate shapes, which should appear fully opaque. The are already bright white, but the edges are a bit too soft right now to get a truly crisp result, so I use the "levels" tool to increase the contrast and make the edges crisper. You can also use the curves tool for this, but I find the levels tool a bit more intuitive for this process! The curves tool gives you even more control over pixel values and lets you adjust them individually, which can be great, but for the purpose of creating controlled contrast, the levels tool will suffice.

By moving the marked sliders towards the middle, the contrast is increased. This also works nicely on grey pixels without creating the halo problem.

Another use for the levels tool in this context is to control the thickness of your shapes by moving the middle slider too, like this:

Final words "Levels" is your friend when adjusting contrast and making things sharper. In some cases, "unsharp mask" or other sharpened options can create a desired effect, such as on more realistic textures such as carpet/fabric textures, wood and stone, where you might want these halos to increase the depth of details. There is always a right time to use any tool, so if levels alone do not give the effect you desire, by all means, give "unsharp mask" a go! Experiment, and find the best way for you. The biggest gain in quality will come from saving in an uncompressed format though. Thanks for reading through the tutorial, I hope it was helpful!

[hayden-christensen]

Hi! I have a question abt files to make gif from. You prev said the bigger (4k) size the better but I was wondering what size are the files you use for your movie and tv shows episodes? And which version cause there's bluray, trueHD, 4k, 2061p, 1080p, webrip, REMUX etc I looked at some of the 4k files and for some reasons they all look like the colors are washed out or something so I find them harder to color so I was wondering which versions you usually get

*same anon* also for the 4k files, there's HDH, SDR and HDR and honestly idk the differences and it's all confusing haha

hi! I use both 1080p and 2160p (which is the same thing as 4k) and the file sizes vary depending on that and the source itself. the difference between 1080p and 2160p are the dimensions and file size of the screencaps - the larger it is, the more pixels it can hold and thus the details and quality is higher. to my understanding, remux is uncompressed 1080p and has huge file sizes - sometimes can be as good as 4k. bluray, webrip etc is just where they come from.

I usually ignore everything else when t*rrenting and just look for the quality I want, if it's 1080p or 2160p, and find the one that has been downloaded (seeded) the most or second most, depending on the file size as I usually go for the larger one especially for 1080p, where there's more options. I also usually get mkv files, which are always better quality than mp4 files, but not all programs can open mkv. for 4k, it is always hdr (washed out). the version of the screencapping program I use, mpv, will colour correct the screencaps but it will still be darker and slightly more muted than 1080p. there are also some 4k files that are pink and green for some reason - look at the screenshot previews and definitely avoid those.

if you're going to use 4k, just be aware that it takes a lot longer to download, screencap, make the gifs and it requires a lot more space so I usually only use them for gifs with large dimensions and when making blended and colourful gifs - otherwise 1080p at a larger file size is enough, especially for new shows and movies.

hope this helped!

[solradguy]

GG2OMC (ENGLISH): DR. PARADIGM - INTRODUCTION TO METAPHYSICS

Word Count: 1478 Warnings: None Chapter Index & Credits Page・ Mobile Friendly Version Archive.org download page (.PDF + uncompressed art scans)

“D-Doctor?!”

“What in the world could have happened that’s got you in such a panic, my dear Keloppa?”

"My head..," a sniffle, "it hurts..."

Dr. Paradigm looked and saw a large bite mark on Keloppa’s head.

“Oh dear, did you get bitten again?”

A huge creature approached them, causing tremors in the earth. It was a familiar sight.

“Now, now, master Bonebiter. Don’t take a bite out of our boy Keloppa. I always have to remind you of this.”

“Boooone…” 

Paradigm sighed as he watched the dragon-shaped Gear roar forlornly in response to being scolded. He understood that it was an instinctive behavior, but he was getting tired of the fact that it could not quit preying on its own people, no matter how many times he warned it.

“Day after day you fellows do this. Should we be delighted by the tranquility of today, or should we be pessimistic because of this critical situation? It’s hard to decide.”

The doctor folded his arms and muttered. Then something abruptly flew by without a sound and spoke in a high-pitched voice into Paradigm’s ear.

“Doctor, doctor! Please, it’s horrible!”

After breakfast, his daily routine was to take a walk around the island. Dr. Paradigm, a Gear, was in a good mood as he felt the pleasant autumn sun and wind. The seagulls flew overhead, the tidal waves... Everything was peaceful.

After the Crusades, Gears were freed from the curse of Justice and moved from place to place to avoid human contact, finally finding somewhere to rest and settle down permanently several years ago. Here they found peace and tranquility. As Paradigm walked along, humming a song of his own composition, "God's in his Heaven, all's right with the world," he saw one of his compatriots running up towards him, sobbing and crying.

“Oh, don’t startle me, Assistant Bonnie. How many times have I told you not to yell in my ear…”

“Ah, come on, please, it’s urgent!” 

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Assistants darted around in a hurry to get back to the laboratory. They were homunculi created by Paradigm through the application of Gear cell technology. 

“What is the matter with you? They say time is money, but I’ve never seen a good result from being in a hurry.”

“You can scold me later… Anyway, please look at this!”

“Ack… Is this..?!”

Paradigm's gaze fell on the monitor of an instrument that observed the Backyard. The cursor that tracked a fluctuation of values moved in a completely different way than usual.

“Is this..?! Is space being minutely distorted? What happened?”

He reached for the console and entered a code.

“The distortion is being caused by… this?! Assistant Bonnie. From your terminal, add up the millionths of the Dirac constant, one by one, in that order."

“Y-yes! Well, um… Eichibar has… this is it! W-wow. The distortion graph just got even bigger!!”

“I knew it! Assistant, continue.”

“Yes! Ah, now it's turned around! It swung out the other way!”

“Good. Secure the state as it is... No, no. This is not a valid operation. Assistant. This time, subtract. Bring it back slowly.”

“Yes… carefully now… What’s this? The cursor is recovering!” 

"All right, that's it! Lock the values, please. Assistant Bennie, lend me a hand. We need the same values over here next."

The other assistant, Bennie, who had been watching the proceedings in a daze from on top of a book, finally got up. Paradigm pointed to another instrument console.

“I see. That’s great, doctor! You can calculate the shape of the object by observing it from different positions on different devices!” 

“It’s nothing but classic trigonometry. I did invent the force of law occurrence rangefinder, after all... No, wait, that doesn’t matter right now. Is this a sphere of about 1.7cm in diameter? The boundary theorem is polarizing… Between this world and the Backyard!!”

“Ah! The cursor is oscillating… Hmm, it’s gone…”

“Assistant Bennie. What’s the record now?”

“Log, all checks are good.”

“All right. I want you to print out all the logs for the instruments after you secure the constants..."

“...Understood.”

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

A few minutes later, Paradigm was in a tank—or, rather, in his private room. This was a room designed specifically for his body, which can only breathe underwater. His assistants sat at desks, listening to him read the data, and his face seemed to be somewhat tense.

“What’s wrong, doctor?”

“Hmm… Well, I’ll explain to you what I’m seeing in the output.”

“Ah… Okay.” 

“The sphere I mentioned a moment ago is a kind of boundary between this world and the Backyard. The normal order lightwave optimized for the observation of the Backyard, which was emitted toward the center of this sphere, returned an unquantifiable value. Conversely, the normal order lightwave in the present world returned real numbers. In other words, the inside of the sphere is this world. The molecules that make up this gate are thought to have been specially processed by the force of law occurrence. The absorption rate of the normal order lightwave is certain.”

"Well, uh, what does that mean?”

“It's very similar to the special code I use to observe the Backyard.”

“Forgive me, doctor, I don't know how you observe the Backyard.”

“Ah, I see. I never taught that to you. Simply put, I am observing the Backyard from this world by “spoofing” the theorems of our world into the theorems on the Backyard’s side. This is the best I can do, and I can never send real numbers to the Backyard – I can never interfere physically… However, that sphere was composed by physical interference with the Backyard from this world. This means that someone other than me succeeded in making physical contact with the Backyard ahead of me."

"Huh… Does that mean there's someone smarter than the doctor, by any chance?"

"I'm terribly sorry to say so, but yes. Well, let's set that aside for now and address the real question..."

"Question..?"

“Who it could be. I have an idea, although it's somewhat disconcerting.”

"Eh, who is it?! "

“As I explained earlier, I use a "spoof” code to observe the Backyard from this world. Though, this code is actually not my original. It is a modified decoding of a portion of the source code extracted from the genetic information contained in Gear cells."

“Gear cells?”

"Yes. The molecular bonds that make up the sphere I just mentioned are riddled with code quirks common to Gear cells… In other words, I am… displeased to report that the sphere was probably created by… "That Man."

"That Man... is the Gear Maker?!”

“You know that thing called the Gear Maker. The nefarious man who started the Crusades..."

It was Bunnie, the sister of Bonnie's assistant, who looked up and joined the conversation at last. Compared to her industrious and modest sister, she was somewhat headstrong and lazy.

“Mm. The creator of our parent Gears. He’s a fearsome villain who is said to change his form over and over again and live for hundreds of years. But to interfere directly with the Backyard… is too far out of the realm of humans!!"

The Backyard is a higher-dimensional space that defines all the laws of the world and generates phenomena. Since its existence was hypothesized as a concept at the end of the 21st century, it has been studied by some scientists. However, mankind had yet to prove its existence.

“What do you think you're going to do?”

“I don't know. But if he has reached the Backyard, this is something far worse than the Crusades!”

"Hey, I don't understand, can you explain it to me?"

“The Backyard is a higher-dimensional space formed by a collection of densely compressed information that defines and controls this world.”

“Doctor. I'm sorry, but I don't understand it at all. Explain it to me in plain human language.”

"Mm-hmm?"

“You know, sister. Let me tell you a parable. The Backyard is a place where 1+1 is supposed to become 2. What do you think would happen if a bad person came to that place and played a trick to make 1+1 become 3?

��1+1 is 2. It can’t be three, right?"

“Well, yes, but I can do a trick and make it be three. You cut an apple once, and it becomes three pieces.”

“That's very convenient!”

“Come on! It's not about convenience, it's about the laws of physics! The world will collapse!”

“Sorry, I don't understand your explanation either..."

“Anyway. I thought I would be able to stay away from That Man until now, but I can't say so anymore.”

"Doctor, why don't you contact Mr. Izuna?

"Oh, yes! I should let him know about this unusual situation..."

–

Chapter Index & Credits Page・ Mobile Friendly Version

Special thanks to Volcanic Fighter (@Nincopyjasb) for the Japanese manuscript for this story.

[misterbitches]

this show is beautiful. i have thoughts about the editing but i'm pretty sure it's multicamera. multicamera shows usually look so horrendous/too efficient unless for comedy. since it's quicker and filming is time and money it usu ends up being very uninspired and uncreative. for the show they do a really good job avoiding this. they aren't just filming with no thought like with many dramas and it's a big difference from uwma. for ex if it were a multi-camera typical makjang kdrama it would be so oversaturated and sharp and every repeated cut so in your face and obvious. i realized they were using the same takes from a different angle so belatedly...which i am fine with i think? i have no clue how to feel about the editing, and i'm iffy on a lot of the choices made production wise, but obviously i love these two jokers so.

plus, since they can film outside pretty much all year they really allow thailand to shine. even in 1080p (uncompressed) it's so crisp (not sharpened), switching up the shots, allowing things in the foreground/background, being aware of how to break up the blowout. idk cameras man lol it's minimalist! it holds such character. shout out to the DP, camera and lighting crew

i have hope i will continue to enjoy and love the series but if anything else it is beautiful...also i just saw tar so maybe i'm comparing everything to that and no i am not comparing this (gay) show to that (gay) masterpiece but what i am saying is that it is just as nice to look at for a long time

TO BE FAIR i do like looking at things in log-c LUT (a lut is like a fancy PSD for fancy film colorists to use again idk shit about cameras lmao) and it's like washed out as fuck but i LOOOOVE it lmao no one uses it but im simple

[jaythelay]

Dead Rising: Final Mix (Paradise Twist) has been released

I spent 36 days straight working on this massive texture pack. I got alot, and I mean, alot, to say. This has been by far my biggest project and undertaking. Nothing but The J Show holds the same weight of work. It's been a dream of mine since childhood to make any kind of mod for the game.

At 1,663 files, 1.05gb uncompressed and 375mb compressed, this is, definitively, the Biggest Mod for Dead Rising 1, at least in terms of Texture modifications.

It is also the Biggest Dead Rising Texture Pack for ALL Dead Rising games. (excluding HD packs)

The concept is based on Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix's enemy texture replacements.

Except the whole game, every item, weapon, survivor, stores and the whole mall, psychopath, zombie, UI element, loading screen, god you name it, I've touched it by now with few exceptions.

I truly want this to be a second mall, something people can throw on and forget about. Not an objective improvement to the game, but simply a texture pack. I don't want there to be any dated memes or references. Again, some exceptions.

The pack is currently 50% done, including reworking old textures I did when I first started a month ago. However, from my calculations, it is roughly 40% of the entire game's (BM) textures. BM just means generic texture, they got LM and MM and NM, but you don't need to touch those for the most part nor would practically be able to.

If I were to simplify that, I'd like it to be something streamers can leave on and forget about. Like, so safe and non-memey/driving focus away, no weird politics or bad taste humor. Essentially, a Dead Rising 1 Alternate universe. That's it.

My ground rules are the following:

No memes, if so they have to be diegetic and even then they're on the chopping block immediately if I find something more genuine/in-universe.

Everything changed has to be before 2006, as in, no adverts, no movies, no nothing that's not before 2006. With few exceptions and they're on the chopping block.

If I make references to other creators, I can't just slap their logo in there. For example, I made a poster for Ecdycis to replace another poster that was very simple. I don't think it actually shows up in game, frustratingly, but you would not even notice unless you focused on it. It's also diegetic in that it's advertising in-universe, following the same visuals as the original that it overtook. Just really, make sure, if worst case scenario you do notice it, you no longer do later, sorta thing.

Additional Notes

As much as I tried to, I could not change all posters/advertisements in time. For one thing, finding advertisements is genuinely difficult, especially one's that fit.

So in that instance, I had to make them myself. For the most part, I could get some elements from google, but setting everything up and making it look good is a whole other matter. You can have the ingredients easily accessible, doesn't mean you'll make something good both to you and in-universe. It's all subject to change.

I had a trailer planned but Adobe, fucking, Adobe, their shit ass editing program can't handle the most simple tasks, it had to be cancelled, I'd spend another week editing textures before making any edit in Adobe Premiere. Genuinely? I thought I lost my passion making videos, but no, Adobe just sucks the fucking bursting creative soul of energy from you every god damn second like a mosquito. Fuck Adobe, genuinely? Do not use their products, don't even pirate them, get Davinci, just get it.

I set a deadline for myself, and I had 3 weeks from setting it to now. To be fair, It'd be wrong to call it a 36 day project, it's closer to 35. I wanted this to be specifically 2 weeks from release, and I wanted a trailer to hype it up. It was a good trailer guys, I just can't be fucked to work with child's toys like Adobe's products anymore. It's kind've embarrassing? Anyways, that was a mistake. Because I got so burnt the fuck out man. I don't even count that day anymore because nothing was "done" but making the forum post.

I straight up, woke up, worked on the pack until I straight up, physically could not keep myself up anymore. for 36 days straight. Why? This was my escape from some medical issues. The pack isn't the problem obviously, but I could not make it to the appointment for it, because I genuinely could not handle it in my state. On the ride there just kinda...stopped. Like, the buzzing of the past month only just occured to me then and there. I was not just too tired, my chest was pounding, feeling open and constricted at the same time at random. I was trying to quit vaping, went long periods of time being unable to eat anything, just drinking Ensure-

Basically, this was my escape and you best bet there was some genuine efforts put in by a deeply psychologically troubled but exceptionally driven little loser. I hope you enjoy what I've gotten done so far.

[audio-luddite]

Compression.

Start out by saying compression is bad in audio. It is a reduction in dynamic range of a recording. Dynamic range is a ratio of the quietest sound to the loudest sound. The basic argument for having more bits in a digital signal is more dynamic range. A really good LP can have a dynamic range of almost 60 db. CDs far more and 24 bit digital sources far far far more.

In the old days of AM Radio new songs were compressed to sound better on cheap receivers like in a car or small portable things. Those had limited dynamic range and the producers wanted the new songs to get noticed, fast. In disco days clubs were loud places and everything had to be loud. So it was.

In our new days producers for streaming also want the same thing as the target market is people listening with ear buds and smart phone speakers. So even though high bit-rate or large numbers of bits is bragged about if the produced song is compressed you will only hear the equivalent of 8 bit or even less.

Another term of similar intent is loudness equalization. The purpose is to get noticed. Making something that sells helps the business model.

Maybe I should go back and say why dynamic range compression is bad. Imagine you are having a conversation with a person who is always shouting. There is no quiet with louder for emphasis, it is all loud. In a noisy bar you may have no alternative for a conversation, but at home over dinner not right at all. Music either pop songs or jazz tunes, or symphony orchestras are conversations. You are being told a story. A lovely woman whispering in your ear is quiet. Her screaming is not. Both deliver a message. Always screaming is a message all by itself.

Many classic songs start out quiet and build. It is part of the drama. Quiet draws you in. OK I hope that is clear enough.

There is no point in bragging about how many bits you have if you throw them away with compressed streams.

It is not just digital stuff. Back in the Jurassic era of vinyl much popular music was compressed to sound good on poor systems. I have a Carly Simon Album that is compressed so much I cannot stand to listen to it. Back in the day you could buy devices to uncompress signals made by a company called dBx. I had two of those once. They helped a bit.

Classical music and Jazz were usually not so compressed as they were not popular and were for a different audience. The kind of audience that wanted to hear things clearly.

To be fair many LPs were compressed to fit more stuff on a side. Usually it was not too much and it was the decision of the mastering engineer. I have that A&M audiophile sampler with a track from Gino Vannelli that my wife had the original album of. The original was compressed just a bit compared to the audiophile track.

Compression can be done by mathematical algorithm in the digital realm or electronically using special devices like dBx circuits. It can also be done by limiting and deliberate clipping. Those effects create distortion but if that is the sound people want.....

There are more places that can compress signals. Non linear gain devices in zero feedback circuits can compress signals if the gain curve is one way and expand it if it curves the other way.

Speakers can also compress a signal as there is a force that resists displacement of a cone or diaphragm as it moves. Better speakers do that less. Both of those things are usually very very subtle. One of my arguments for POWER is that a big amp will preserve more dynamic range with a speaker.

Hey if you like a song that is streamed from Spotify good on you.

[teardownit]

HDMI wiring and pinout

Much like USB, HDMI has several different types of plugs and ports.

Type A is the standard one. A trapezoidal port with two rows of pins, top and bottom, totals 19 pins. It can be found anywhere, from gaming consoles to CCTV servers and TVs.

Type B, Dual-Link. The same height, but twice the length of type A, hasn't been used in any products.

Type C, mini HDMI. A scaled-down version of the original port is intended for portable devices like laptops.

Type-D, micro HDMI. Even a smaller version looks like a mini USB plug. It is used in GoPros and ultra-portable computers the size of a Macbook Air at the time (like the Asus eeePC or various Windows 'ultrabooks').

Every single type of HDMI port (except the dual type B one) has a total of 19 pins. The first eight are for data, and the rest are for power, clocks, and additional functions. That means the most basic functions of video transmission can be carried out by just five pins. MHL, or Mobile HD Link, is a way to wire an HDMI plug to a micro USB. This brings the number of wires to the absolute minimum, with one data lane and one bus for everything else.

Not to bore you with another pin assignment diagram, compare this to the sheer number of functional blocks and lanes in a powerful HDMI transmitter chip.

This brings us to understanding HDMI standards, as they differ not just by the resolution of uncompressed video but by all the additional functions. HDMI has the same confusing cable category naming scheme as USB does with 'High-Speed' and all the way to 'Premium High-Speed with Ethernet'. I don't recommend using those, as looking at just the HDMI standard number is much simpler. The second caveat here should be not to buy any equipment or cables with an HDMI version less than 1.4, as it is already too old and limited.

HDMI 1.4 is suitable for FullHD video with essential ARC and CEC (in the post on HDMI functions).

HDMI 2.0 means 4K with some limitations, namely, no 5K or ultra-wide 2160p at 60 fps and no 4K60 with dynamic HDR. HDMI 2.0 has several great functions but are not all available simultaneously.

HDMI 2.1 spares no expense and provides all the quality imaginable because its bandwidth is three times higher than the one in the previous major version of the standard.

So, what's the difference between cables if they all have the same number of conductors and some plastic covering them? Simple: it's all about materials, meeting the specifications, and having some overhead.

First of all, we should be sure that all the pins are connected to wires. This is neither a joke nor an exaggeration. The right thing to do is to check them with a cable tester. But it is usually easier to check all the additional functions that manufacturers list, then go to Wikipedia and check if all the pairs are used for these functions. If the manufacturer cuts costs or makes a thinner 'easier to work with' cable, it can be a red flag and a sign that fewer wires are used. The HDMI standard specifies video transmission and not all the additional functions, meaning some wires can be absent from the cable.

Then, there's conductor thickness. There is no way to indestructively measure it at home, so the advice is the same: pick a thicker one, as it hopefully represents thicker cores, firmer insulation, and proper shielding. Moreover, in terms of meeting the specification requirements, thicker cable gives more slack to the manufacturer. Wires are typically 28, 26, or 24AWG for different lengths of cables, but this number is not always on the box or the website. Please remember that longer cables should be thicker than shorter ones. By the way, this is exactly the case for buying HDMI over twisted pair extenders. As HDMI cables become longer, thicker, and exponentially more expensive to sustain the same video quality, Ethernet cables could solve this problem.

A good practice is to pick shorter cables, 6 to 10 feet since the percentage of faulty cables is higher in the 10 to 20-foot range. The price difference between high-quality branded and generic OEM 15-foot cables makes it harder for a regular consumer to choose the more excellent option.

Canadian PC enthusiasts at LTT did the tests and discovered that no other gimmicks matter. Specifically, they've proven on a large pool of cables that something seemingly important, like gold-plating the jacks or using silver-plated wires, does not affect the results significantly. A few hundred dollars more for extra-finicky wires does not affect the video quality, just the user's perception.

To sum this all up:

All the HDMI ports are equally acceptable.

Thicc and round HDMI cables are more reliable than flat or thin ones. The same goes for the plugs; it's always better to use regular straight connectors than 90-degree-angled ones.

It's a good rule of thumb to treat HDMI version numbers 1.4, 2.0, and 2.1 as corresponding resolutions: 1080p@60, 4K@30, and 4K@60.

The more actual HDMI functions listed, the better.

Try to pick 10-foot cables or shorter from reputable brands.

====== Eugenio S

[theclo4ked1]

Heeyyy, it's been a looong time... *checks date* Again. It's been almost a month since I last put something on this blog. I've been really busy. being dead. And I haven't been playing Portal 2. But I have been playing a lot of the classic Sonic games via the Mega Collection, the absolutely incredible compilation disc. I think it tops Sonic Origins (which I haven't played). I feel like the comics and older illustrations, commercials, and Ristar (pronounced "Rye-star" or "Wrist-ar"? Or "Ree-star"?) win me over. And also, from what I've heard and observed, there wasn't as much love and care put into it, so the overall quality experience is hindered because

Money money money Is all you need

( Did you know ALL models of the PS3 can play PSX discs? I've been playing my newly acquired PaRappa the Rapper, too. I now own the trilogy. Only UmJammer Lammy is digital. I bought PaRappa 2 physically at my first gaming convention back in 2018, only to find out later my wife can't use PS2 discs. Big sad. You might saying "why don'tcha just jailbreak it?" I wouldn't, but even if I wanted to, I don't have the correct model. It's been so many years anyways, I wouldn't have her any other way :3 )

AND. It was with this compilation that--after all these years--that I finally achieved: 1) Beating Sonic 3D Blast (with the emeralds) 2) Beating the first level of Sonic Spinball (I've recommend some guy on YouTube having also done this, so good for him) These may not mean a lot to you, but to me? Man. And y'know what? I actually enjoyed my time with 3D Blast. It was a...unique game. I really like seeing all the sights and how the game progressed after Green Grove. After Rusty Ruin, I noticed Tails' and Knuckles' locations became way less hidden. Rusty Ruin Act 2, I think it was, had THE BEST hidden location, for Tails it might have been. No, scratch that--the whole ZONE has the best locations, you really have to go out of your way for them. What's that? ... Where did I find him? Pssh, I'm not telling you, play the game and use your brain. Just don't spin yourself around too much tryna find him. Anyways, I've been busy doing things. I've been developing a under-HTML-construction digital portfolio of almost all the art I've posted on Tumblr since uuuhm late 2020. You can find it through the link below: > the link < I'm beginning to have second thought about this one, too, so don't expect me to keep it for too long. Parallel to that, I've been trying animation again. Look guys look it is my greatest achievement: wario land 4 for the gameboi advanced. incrredible incrrrEedible- look guys look

Sigh...y'know, getting guud learning basic anatomy and figure drawing can spark an improved journey... This isn't the "true animation". What I mean is each of the original drawings were MUCH larger than my Flash Document canvas (1440x1080), so by compressing everything into a Graphic symbol, I was able to minimize all the frames at once to fit. It took a few tries to work, so I had to be conscientious as to not save over the "uncompressed" drawings. k cya l8r

[superhotsongs]

Unknown artist - Untitled

Released on, Mountain Fuji Record and recorded at Oto No Meruhenya in shibuya city (Which has sadly bin closed now)

There really isn’t much information about this record at all other than the label and the recording studio. We don't know the artist, we don't know the track titles. But we can speculate.

The album is speculated to be released between 1972 & 1975 when Mountain Fuji Record was active.

The album seems to be a collection of demos. recorded by who? You may ask, well no one knows. His voice reminds me of another Japanese folk artist though he’s much more popular. He goes by the name of Morio Agata. I think this one track from his album Chikuon Ban really shows this the most.

Obviously I don’t think they're the same person who made this record. I just think they have a very similar voice. I think the unknown artist's vocal register is a bit higher if it was somehow a Morio Agata demo acetate that would unironically be a historical discovery for folk because of how influential Morio is for the folk scene. But no i don’t think there is the same person there just isn’t enough evidence other than there similar vocals. Not only that I don't speak japanese so i would be the last person to figure that out.

This record is a must have if you want to get into Japanese private folk. It's warm but also cold with emotional raw vocals. The low quality demo feel that the record has makes it so much more personal almost like you are right in front of him while he sings his heart out. There are moments in the album where he has to cough to clear his throat which always made me feel cold while listening to it. My favourite thing about this record is how much I just don’t understand. The lyrics seem so personal yet I can't understand a single word. I tried to get people to help me understand the lyrics but it was no use. Maybe it was for the better though because my imagination goes wild whenever I listen to this record. All the songs in Japanese, except for B1 which is a cover of "El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)" (Robles/Simon). A song about valuing movement. Not being stuck. Not wanting to be tied to one place and to not have the freedom to move around and make changes. I wonder if the other tracks in the album have meanings like that.

My personal favourite tracks are:

A2

B3

A3

I would really like to thank the person who archived this record “banana” (banana420) . He has a youtube video with the full album and not only that, an almost uncompressed download to the full album in Flac. Which is absolutely amazing. I'm so glad there are people who are willing to go all out spending money on rare records and not only do that but make it public is just beautiful!

I would really like to thank the person who archived this record “banana” (banana420). He has a youtube video with the full album and not only that, an almost uncompressed download to the full album in Flac. Which is absolutely amazing. I'm so glad there are people who are willing to go all out spending money on rare records and not only do that but make it public is just beautiful! I think it just shows how obscure this record is that the person who owns the album doesn't even know much about it too.

This is one of my favourite Japanese folk album's and i enjoyed writing everything i know about it.