#this was an art style test to try and replicate a style from an artist that isn't online anymore

[kerocola]

Creepy susie

[godbirdart]

I don't know if this is a dumb question or not, but I always wanted to study my favorite artists and their art. However, I don't really know how to do it or where to start? Can you give any tips for that? Thanks for responding heh!

not a dumb question at all!! all artists do studies - it's one of the fundamentals you're taught in school! [most of the time, anyway]

a couple things i want to preface this with: we live in an era where art theft is a super-rampant problem. some artists are gonna be flattered you want to study them, and others are gonna have a kneejerk reaction that someone might be trying to plagiarize their work. it's an unfortunate reality, but it is what it is. if you're doing 1:1 art studies based on an online artist's work, unless you ask permission from that artist, or make it super aggressively painfully clear that it is indeed an art study, keep those studies private.

if an artist is prominent enough online and their fans recognize the work that you're studying, those fans may also accuse you of art theft on the artist's behalf; even if the artist doesn't mind / even if theft is not your intention. again - unfortunate reality, but this is the world we live in.

i don't want to scare you off from doing art studies! i think it's fair to say a large number artists don't mind if people want to do art studies based on their work - it's just a lot of artists are so conditioned from having to deal with people stealing their work and claiming it as their own that they may bite your head off out of habit.

BUT THAT ASIDE, there are a variety of ways to do art studies, such as:

1:1 reference, looking at the Thing and drawing it

Interpretation and application, applying the technique as you draw

Tracing [yeah i SAID IT. we'll talk about this below]

1:1 reference is straightforward. You look at the piece that you want to study, and you eyeball it as you try to replicate it on your own canvas.

this was drawn SUPER fast for this example image so greymon's gonna look wonky as i'm only half paying attention, but you get it.

next up, interpretation / application. if you've got a grasp on the technique, or are following a tutorial, here is where you apply it! depending on What you're trying to emulate, it can take dozens or hundreds of test runs to get the application down. try, try again. keep looking at your reference or following the tutorial. you'll get there!

again hurried sketches for this post, but here is Luger as a style study - specifically taking notes on how the character is Drawn [ie; the nose shape, the way the cheek fluff swoops up to the ear, etc] and applying that to the drawing.

Finally, Tracing. The age-old Forbidden Technique. Now, tracing comes with specific guidelines, and they include but are not limited to the following:

Tracing is a form of practice, but it is for the benefit of your muscle memory learning and should be treated as such.

Pretty obvious, but you should not claim traced work as your own original creation. Don't post traced work anywhere, offline or online, not even if it's labelled as an art study. Once you're done with it, throw it out. Delete it. Do not keep traced work. Deleting traces should be a mental checkpoint of: "okay, you've absorbed that information. now go grab a blank canvas and apply what you've learned".

If practising by tracing, it should be done sparingly. If you rely on tracing for every art study you're not gonna learn to draw it yourself; kind of like using training wheels for a bike. You may gain the muscle memory for how to peddle, but you're not going to learn how to balance unless you try it on your own.

an important note about studying an artist's style:

If you like an artist's work, it can be be beneficial to pinpoint the specific elements you like instead of the whole style. I say this largely because many growing artists try to emulate just one artist's work at a time. There's not really anything wrong with this, we all gotta learn somehow, but it CAN be the difference between developing your own style quicker, or unintentionally looking like you're ripping off your favourite artist. I'm not gonna get into "Style Theft", i really don't care to get into it, but if you're studying just one artist's style it can potentially be a detriment to your identity as an artist online.

While you're studying, pick out what you like about the artist's work. Do you like the way their lineart looks? How they shade? Is it a particular feature or way they draw something? Focus on those key elements if that's what's got you latched onto their work. It also helps if you can find tutorials or brushes that the artist may have used or that look similar to what you're aiming for in your own work.

All artists styles are an amalgamation of what's inspired them over the years; little bits and pieces of what they've learned from watching / studying others. at some point their style may flourish into something completely unrecognizable from their roots, but over the years you can see how they arrived there. Your style should be a celebration of your path of an artist! even if you aren't happy with your art now, it can only grow from here.

btw here are a handful of my study inspos - some of which I'm still studying even today! i take most of my inspo from animation.

i wish you much success in your art studies!!! ;w;

[kiwinatorwaffles]

you know, i used to really hate it when people asked me “why are you so good at art?” because how the hell am i supposed to answer? it’s such a broad question! what part of “good” are you referring to? my anatomy? my colors? my faces my expressions my composition my posing my What?????? and clearly i am not the best artist around; i wouldn’t even consider myself truly good until i’ve gotten to a point where i can draw anything i want without being limited by my skill!

but then i thought about it more when more people asked me that question. clearly they mean no malice by it; they think i’m considered a “good artist” and just want to know how i got there. while the vagueness of that question does hinder some proper responses i can think of, i think i have a pretty solid answer:

practice.

well, it’s not That simple. of course everybody tells you to practice if you want to improve. but How do you practice? the way to do that is pushing past your comfort zone! the first time i tried to draw perspective in 2019, it fucking Sucked Shit. i mean, look at this!

the foreshortening is very lacking, the body is too long from an angle like that, and the background doesn’t match very much. but guess what? i tried something new, and that’s already progress! now the only thing left to do is keep trying. i went through trial and error. i traced reference images (yes, tracing is insanely useful and should be utilized as a tool for references). i tested what worked and what didn’t, and over the course of three years, significantly improved in 2021! if i simply gave up with perspective and left it at that, i wouldn’t have been able to draw these in 2023.

and more about pushing past your comfort zone, i was forced to improve at anatomy when i started watching jojo’s bizarre adventure. before jojo, all of my characters looked like flat pancakes on the screen with noodle arms. but after seeing my blorbos we’re now buff men, i had to adapt! i had to learn how to draw different body types and muscles! i had to find a way to actually draw five fingers! after jojo, my anatomy significantly improved because i had to change how i did things. that did mean significantly altering my style, but i bet if i went back to try and replicate my old style now, i’d have a much better grasp on anatomy and all that good stuff.

here’s a comparison my art directly before jojo and directly after (they’re both very old, but you can see a difference!)

so yes, the short answer is practice. but the longer answer is practice what you’re not good at. it’s gonna suck for a while. it’s gonna look goddamn awful for the first few attempts, but if you trace reference images and try to replicate them time and time, you’re going to get better. art is not something entirely supported by talent; it can take you so far, but the rest needs to be carried by brute forcing practice.

and here is my best example of art improving through the years!

(and tutorials on youtube are a godsend. personally, i recommend winged canvas and moderndayjames for useful tips!)

[nitrosodiumfmp]

A Greater Look at Architecture

When I visit places, I often take pictures of interesting or striking buildings, so I have a good catalog of references to look at when planning the look of Sinister's city.

This image shows a large grey-brown brick building, sporting an almost brutalist clock tower. In the foreground, there is also another building of the same material and style, but with a rounded corner. Without all the colouring of the atmosphere and light objects, Sinister's buildings end up looking very similar to this one. It's an architectural style I think looks very grim and dystopian, while also appearing quite interesting. It's also pretty timeless. A lot of the images I plan to show have a blend of time periods, but this one seems entirely out of time. I want to say it adheres to the style from the 60s and 70s, but it could've been from way earlier too. If it's not apparent as well, I really like towers. A skyline with varying heights of buildings creates a very striking silhouette - you have the multiple light towers from the test map, and the Dock map has the light-tower on the left of spawn, and the gear-covered turret on the right side. It can also create a sense of oppression, which links to the more dystopian trappings of this building style - the sky is crowded by manmade pillars of stone, practically blotting out the sun.

This is a series of walkways between two old red-brick industrial buildings. Once again, it seems very out of time, and makes me think of various TF2 maps (which I did briefly speak about when trying to pin down Sinister's aesthetic). It was built for a purpose, obviously, but there's this strange crookedness to it as well. That window... doesn't look real. Not once have I seen anything through it.

Here's a more metropolitan setting. The skyscrapers in the back are in the more contemporary "slab of glass" style of the 21st century, but the ones in the foreground adhere to an almost Art Deco look. Tiered roofs, curved bits, interesting and blocky silhouettes, they almost resemble something from 1920s New York. I love that look (definitely lifted from my childhood love of Bioshock), and it retains a sort of timelessness about it too. If I had to hazard a guess, these ones here were probably built in the 80s or 90s, but buildings have had that silhouette for up to a century before.

This image, like most showing the docklands, was frantically taken from a coach window. It shows a wide open street, a concrete overpass, and various grey-brown tower blocks in the back. They're grimy and vaguely brutalist, very likely residential buildings. One thing that I don't plan to replicate; this part of the city is very wide open, with ample space for both vehicles on the road and pedestrians on the pavement. If you haven't noticed, I built most of the Dock map without a distinction between road and street. It was built as a game level before a real-life place, and on an immersive level, it wasn't designed around the tenets of modern city planning. The largest things to go through the streets are Equalizers and those big carts, used for moving boats around the Dock area. Otherwise, they are basically labyrinthine and narrow, similar to how Gotham was portrayed in Batman (1989).

This is another image showcasing a blend of architectural styles. On the left, in the foreground, there are some classical buildings; with their jutting turrets and spires, they're a hallmark of any vaguely historic town. Notice that they also curve around the street, a juxtaposition with the buildings on the right. These were probably built in the 70s, and while it's not an amazing look artistically, the way that the perspective makes all the blocks layer onto each other is certainly an interesting look. Then we have the outlier; the tower on the left, in the background. It doesn't seem to adhere to any time period I know of, and it also seems very out of place. It also seems fake or too small, like it's a veneer of an actual building. It's a look that reminds me of Half Life 2 - in that game, all the city skyscrapers are really small, but are projected much larger then they actually are in the skybox. If you play Gmod, you can fly out into the distance and find a tiny city block, and if you stand in it, you'll appear gigantic alongside the buildings on the horizon. The whole blend of slightly depressing tower blocks and assimilated historical buildings does look like Half Life 2, if only slightly.

I took all these images with purpose (apart from 4, which was an impulsive snap), as they appear almost as dioramas of real places; curated snapshots. Maybe it's this way that my brain works that has led me to pursuing game design, but isn't a tiny snapshot of an implied larger location a video game level? In Image 1, the clock tower creates an imposing, distinctive silhouette, leading the player in. In Image 2, the walkway appears fake because it's not an area the player will ever be in. In Image 3, the layering of skyscrapers with the more distinctive ones at the front create the illusion that the block is larger than it actually is. In Image 5, the street level is more detailed, while the skyscrapers imply a larger cityscape, despite the fact that the player will never be able to enter them. I believe the designers of Bioshock once said in an interview or something that they built each part of the game as an area in a theme park. They're a playable area designed to feel like a real place. It's this sort of philosophy that I've taken to heart, although perhaps unintentionally. The Dock, for example, is two warehouses and a waterfront of four shops. But you get the idea of what it's supposed to be. The cityscape beyond the seawall is a hodge-podge of blocks, but you understand that it implies a greater city area that the player can't reach yet.

I'm going to use the same line of thinking in the City level. It's not an actual city, it's a tiny approximation of a city for you to play through.

[pseudepigraphon]

i love your art style so much!!! it brings to mind classical artists and it’s just. ajdjjffjkfkvkf incredible. how did you go about developing such a unique style? i feel like i’m in a rut of my art looking very generic and i’m not sure how to get out of that.

thank you so much !!! i'm not sure if i would call myself qualified to give advice but here goes.

first things first, i wanna say that i totally understand your feelings, at times i've struggled and will likely continue to struggle with the fear that my art is generic and unrecognizable. to that i'd like to say that unrecognizability is a very nebulous concept; there's no hard line between distinct and not so. is renowned art not often a part of movements? also consider that your perspective is likely very skewed by the fact that it's your art -- not necessarily that you may be harsher on yourself than you would be on another person but the fact that no one else is looking at your art as much as you are. however long it takes you to draw you're staring at all your art for the entirety of its drawing, when no one else has. i've noticed it in all kinds of creative stuff i do -- with writing too i'll often go "ugh this is boring and generic and obvious" and then i'll remember that i've typed at and reread this manuscript a bajillion times. it's a matter of perspective! try to remember that when a person sees your artwork it is the work as is, they do not have the familiarity that you do with your own process and the time it took to do so. they have fresher eyes, it’ll be new to them!

if you find you're beginning to get stuck in a rut of self-criticism that feels harsher than usual, the best things you can do (at least in my experience) are: 1 DO STUDIES! or 2 TRY SOMETHING WACKY!

1 DO STUDIES! look at the work of artists you admire! go look at something in your house, out in your life! find a photo or object you really like! and STUDY THAT THING! When you get an idea for something to draw, STUDY THAT TRAIN OF THOUGHT! EXPLORE IT! explore the world and the visuals you can draw from it in all its nooks and crannies!

obviously studies are pretty broad as like. a Thing, and i mentioned several types above. studies are basically like artistic practice, with you visually following your trail of thought until you're secure enough in your skills that you can then advance onto proper pieces. like taking a practice test !

if you really like an artist and want to figure out what exactly makes their style click, then look at your favorite pieces and use it as a reference, sketch the piece down, try to figure out what you can do, deduce what techniques they did and replicate them. as a note, obviously with these if you want to share them then mention it's a study, though i would recommend you only share if it's a well known and/or artist who has died, due to the fact that it's kind of disrespectful to try and get art clout off of someone's work that they could have gleaned. but also a study doesn't have to be a copy -- there are plenty of artists who try to work in another artist's style but use their favorite characters or pairings instead (me included, lol)

but also i would highly recommend studying how to draw from real references ! go outside and do art out in the environment, or even just from the view from the nearest window, or the objects on your desk. the thing about studies is that they're practice, they flex the muscles that drive your inner skill that can then be projected into pieces with less second guessing.

2 TRY SOMETHING WACKY! i'm a big 'oh my god i need enrichment in my enclosure or i will DIE' kind of guy, so i find that these really help too. sometimes when i'm stuck in a rut it's because i've burrowed myself too much into monotony, i've done too much similar things for too long. if you feel that way, then try something WACKY just completely OUT OF LEFT FIELD something you've NEVER DONE BEFORE (not literally Completely different from what you're used to but y'know ! something new!) whether it be a medium or style or approach or technique or subject matter or what !!! it's basically the aforementioned enrichment -- yeah sure trying something you're not used to can end in frustration or a result not as good as you'd like, but it'll also give that great spark of variety that can make you go "WOAH! I REALLY LIKE THIS!" and boom, you've both rejuvenation and a new idea / method / aspect of style in your arsenal

if i had to think of the main thing that's influenced how i stylize people, i'd probably land it on franco-belgian comics / bandes dessinées, especially les tuniques bleues and corto maltese. i have no idea if my art looks like bd art, or if it ever did, but it's a huge love of mine and likely bled in somehow, hah. but of course that's only a fraction of what you'd call an 'art style'. (in general i'd say the main pillar of my philosophy with approaching stylizing people is to make them unique and to avoid conventional beauty. to bring out imperfection and the subtle traits that blossom out to make a person's face their own. because i love human faces, but also i love human faces when they don't look like white twink / instagram gal #455934384)

i would say i developed my style by just admiring and referencing from things i love !!! those, if it isn't obvious enough, being things like folk art, clothing and textiles across history, manuscripts from all across the world (if you want manuscripts to dig through i have a bunch of links to some stashed here, along with a bunch of other art history resources), aspects of nature like karst formations but also how things in nature are stylized into art by people and how they have over time. i'm a big art history fan so i tend to absorb a lot of information, technical and artistic, about art across history in its many forms, methods, and across peoples. obviously not everyone likes art history so i can't prescribe it as a panacea but a love for how people across time and space have done things is so fascinating to me, from the swirling dots of jōmon figures to the curling leaves of medieval french manuscripts to the movement of haida transformation masks to the shine of byzantine mosaics to the flora of batik to this and that.

i can't tell you to get a special interest in art history, but i can tell you to look at what you love and find out why you love it. and study. and try something wacky. and remember that there is always another branch to grow. godspeed ! :-)

[blueboyluca]

Having now tested papillon as a subject on 50-80 generations (I’ve lost track), these are my DALL·E 2 observations:

it relies on patterning but this makes a good chunk (at least ~1/3) of the generations useless

if I specify a colour for something, it applies that colour liberally throughout the generation

if I ask for two different subjects at once, it melds them together so that they are not distinct (e.g. I asked for a cat and a papillon and it couldn’t make a definite cat, once i asked for a knight fighting a giant papillon but it made a papillon fight a larger dragonlike papillon instead)

I switched to using “papillon dog” specifically because papillon, as a French word, often seemed to confuse it

it will often add a butterfly either in the generation or meld features of the papillon with a butterfly, usually the ears

I asked for an angel once and after that it started combining the papillon’s ears with wings or adding angel wings to the dog’s back – including for prompts that had nothing to do with angels or wings

it is really good at impersonating styles/mediums of art and really bad at replicating specific art movements (e.g. attempts at cubism and impressionism ended up looking like photoshop filters, whereas the oil paintings and pencil drawings are quite believable)

sometimes, apparently randomly, it would add a photorealistic papillon even when I had asked for a specific art style or medium

it’s very fun to do, and I spent real money because both my partner and I wanted to try more generations, but I can’t see it being a replacement for art or even the future of art like the creators claim (and artists are afraid of). it’s more just like a funny game. my partner used it to help visualise concepts and characters for his dnd campaign, which was the most use we got from it. i just kept generating different papillons for the entertainment value. (fyi it doesn’t save all your generations unless you tell it to, so i may have lost the early ones I did at work that I really liked.)

[irlbop]

Welp. I’ve been wanting to post one of these for a while but I guess now’s a good a time as ever:

May I present

A List of Youtube Channels I Would Recommend (Subject to Change Seeing As Ain’t Nobody Loyal Apparently But Whatevs!!!!)

Kennie JD: A reviewer of things from dating shows a la Love is Blind to Tubi movies to Filipino movies, etc. offering some very thoughtful commentary. All while putting her makeup on 😘 Best known for her Bad Movies and a Beat series but really everything she puts out hits. Including her video on the Try Guys Incident.

Athena P: Yet another reviewer with insane makeup, but this one takes the tv shows from childhood and explores the “lore” suggested or outright shown. Absolutely hilarious in her delivery and her fans are called Butt-Lovers! 🍑💥🫲🏻

Studson Studio: A craft-tuber who makes fantastical builds ranging from a recreation of Howl’s Moving Castle from trash to a custom action-figure of Ganondorf from Tears of the Kingdom. Frankly it’s astounding how this guy can just look at a piece of supposed garbage and know exactly what to do with it! (Here’s an idea for a drinking game: Take a sip every time he uses a horseshoe! [You will die💖])

North of the Border: Another craft-tuber but with slightly more…distinct tastes… The mans be making some cursed content is what I’m saying. Creative and bold, but cursed. Beware any uploads that have “realistic” in the title.

OwONekko: An art YouTuber with brutal (and hilarious) thoughts about some of your favorite characters’ designs. She tends to veer towards redesigns like with the fusions from Steven Universe, and designing human forms for non-human characters such as the Heeler family from Bluey

Truegreen7: A popular Pokétuber with a host of playlists and prompts to choose from! Perhaps his most popular being when he invites other artists to a challenge where they are given a prompt and are meant to create a Pokémon from it. However, he also had videos where he has friends randomly pick traits and he makes a Pokémon from them, or he gives himself a prompt such as Pokémon based off his own fears. Always a pleasure when he uploads!!

Microwave Society: Three friends who get together and review…things. Usually it’s movies, especially ones from childhood. Sometimes it’s products from, like, Temu. Either way, they’re going through A Time so you can have a good time.

Razzle: Also a group of friends getting together to review movies. Sometimes they even act out entire scripts to movies. What makes them different from MS, however, is…Well, they drink while doing it. Which lends itself to sone absolute bangers of jokes and quotes.

Pidgin Doll: Admittedly I mostly just watch his Shorts. But in my defense, even those are wonderful to watch. His doll designs and paint marker drawings are gorgeous and unique with their fashions and makeup, and almost every video comes with a little tidbit about either his childhood, his art journey, or just whatever inspired him to create what he did.

Something Wicked: A craft-tuber who makes clay models based off of illustrations from old works and texts. And I mean, like, creatures from alchemical tomes; beasts from 17th century logs; face-butted devils and the sort. He doesn’t have much uploaded so far (admittedly only four at the time of this posting, but that’s because the amount of time, care, and detail he puts into each piece deserves it. Plus you get a nifty lesson in art history or just history in general as he goes into the design choices!

The Harry Gold Show: Welcome to The Harry Gold Show, hosted by the ever forthcoming Harry Gold! He’s…disturbingly good at what he does. And what does he do? Art. Of varying mediums and designs, though mostly digital. Though he has recreated the art style of a dead artist as a gift for his dad. Let me put it this way: There’s a reason some joke that he will give AI a run for its money when it comes to replicating styles (he even did a video putting that to the test!)

Dollightful: This cutesy custom doll-maker has a whole host of “dollightful” designs to observe! From a series based on dragon girls to rainbow girls to a vampire with great taste in art, you’ll always be left cooing over the cuties.

HeXtian: Where Dollightful’s dolls are cute, HeXtian’s dolls are sexy. Complete with snatched waists and (usually) red-bottomed heels, his dolls are ready to to show up and show out and make you wish you could dress like them.

[vancouverkitchenrenovation]

Inspire Creativity: Artistic Elements for a Unique Kitchen Renovation

If you’re the type of cook who spends time dreaming up new recipes or agonizing over how to replicate that restaurant favorite, you can express your culinary artistry in a kitchen redesign. There are a number of ways to incorporate stand-out elements that aren’t expensive, either.

Painting cabinets with bold colors can create a dramatic effect. You can also frame distinctive features, like sinks or range hoods, with windows.

Artwork

While we often imagine a perennial muse hovering over our pen/paintbrush/touch screen, it’s important to find new sources of creative inspiration on your own. That can mean anything from exploring different neighborhoods to attending music events. Try experimenting with contrasting colors or using symbolism in your art work; these elements can make for more interesting, eye-catching pieces.

It may sound like a no-brainer, but a recent study found that people who are more open to aesthetic experiences (such as seeing a painting) perform better on creativity tests. So, when it comes to your kitchen renovation, consider incorporating more artistic elements to keep you inspired. You never know what unexpected ideas might come from it!

Natural Elements

When it comes to kitchen renovations, you tend to focus on cabinets and countertops, but your walls, ceilings, and floors deserve attention, too. Installing wood paneling that coordinates with your cabinetry, or adding a fresh coat of paint can change the look and feel of a room.

Participants also reflected on links between creativity and physical environmental properties, such as green or blue space, weather and seasons, plants and animals, and landscapes. For example, Participant 10 commented that the sea is a place of “psychological escape” and can be inspiring:

The same is true for kitchens, which can be designed to reflect natural elements like sunlight or an open field. This approach can make the home feel more grounded and familiar, making it easier to be creative.

Open Shelving

While many homeowners might think that open shelving in a kitchen is a bad idea, the right design can transform a wall into a beautiful display area. Here, a set of floating wooden shelves pairs perfectly with the butcher block countertop and creates symmetry throughout this kitchen.

Another way to style open shelves is by mixing materials and textures. For instance, a set of reclaimed wood shelves and walls would look fantastic with polished concrete countertops.

If you often struggle to find kitchen tools, a pantry door can easily become a dumping ground. However, installing open shelving in this unused corner can help you put your tools on display and find what you need quickly. To further brighten up a nook, add sconces or a decorative hanging light fixture.

Mixed Materials

A kitchen renovation can be a great time to mix up your design style and add some personality to your home. While it’s generally best to stick with one overall style for permanent elements like floors, cabinetry and structural features, there are many ways to express yourself with a variety of materials.

For example, homeowners are using materials such as reclaimed wood on open shelving to bring warmth and texture to their kitchens. They’re also adding wood ceilings and incorporating salvaged antiques into their designs to create an unexpected touch of elegance.

Look for inspiration in places you might not expect to find it, like ritzy restaurants, cozy speakeasies and luxe hotels. These details can help you make a kitchen renovation feel truly unique and personal.

Lighting

Even a few well-placed lighting fixtures can elevate your kitchen. Consider a creative ceiling treatment that blends function and form, like a wood paneling that matches your cabinets. A fresh coat of paint on the ceiling or walls can also add color and texture to the room.

Choosing a light, neutral color for your cabinetry creates a brighter, more open space. It also provides a clean canvas for you to bring in pops of color and creative patterns through backsplashes, flooring, or open shelving.

Don’t be afraid to look outside the kitchen for inspiration. Design details from ritzy restaurants, cozy speakeasies, and luxe hotels can help you achieve a unique look. Just be sure to balance these influences with a consistent aesthetic throughout your home.

Metro Vancouver’s Premier Kitchen and Bath Renovation Company

The kitchen is often the heart of the home, so it makes sense that it would play such an integral role in your house’s overall look and feel. It’s also a space that people spend a significant amount of time in, so it must look its absolute best. That’s why Vancouver Kitchen Renovation is proud to offer Kitchen Design and Renovations in Vancouver, BC. We believe that a well-designed kitchen can transform the way you live, and we’re committed to helping you create the perfect space for yourself and your family. Whether you’re interested in updating your existing kitchen or building a brand new one, we can help you achieve your dream kitchen. We’ll listen carefully to your ideas and preferences, and together we’ll figure out which options will work best for you. Once we’ve determined what you’d like to see in your new kitchen, we’ll put together a detailed proposal outlining everything we propose, including a breakdown of the estimated budget and timeline. If you decide to move forward with our proposal, we’ll begin working immediately to bring your vision to life.

We understand that to be successful is to stay ahead of the curve. That means staying current with the latest technology and design trends. We always want to improve our products or services without breaking the bank. That’s why we stay connected to the latest technologies of NKBA, National Kitchen and Bath Association. In addition, at Vancouver Kitchen renovation, our primary focus is providing sustainable kitchen design and renovation packages, and we believe in sustainable living. Sustainable living is a way of life in harmony with nature. It is a lifestyle which focuses on the preservation of our environment. Sustainable living is a philosophy emphasizing respect for the environment and concern for its well-being. This means we should take care of the planet and treat it as if it were our home. We should try to preserve what we have and protect it from destruction. If we do this, we will enjoy the benefits of the earth’s resources for many generations. Whether you’re planning a major remodel or adding finishing touches to your current kitchen, we’d love to discuss your project. Book your showroom consultation online.

Main Areas of Service in British Columbia:

Vancouver

North Vancouver

West Vancouver

Burnaby

Coquitlam

Squamish

Whistler

Frequently Asked Questions

Are you able to DIY a Kitchen Renovation?

You might wonder if it is possible to do a kitchen remodel yourself. The answer is yes, but there are some things to remember.

A kitchen renovation is a large project. Make sure you have enough time and energy to complete it. It is also important to know basic plumbing and carpentry before you begin. You will also need to determine what parts of the kitchen you wish to modify, including adding storage space, replacing outdated appliances, and improving lighting.

After you have planned your kitchen remodel, it is time to shop for materials. You will need to decide on cabinets and countertops, flooring, as well as appliances.

It is a good idea to plan your kitchen layout before you shop. This will allow you to determine how much space is needed and which layout would be most effective in your kitchen.

You have many options when it comes down to cabinets. There are two options when it comes to cabinets: ready-to-assemble cabinets (RTA) or custom cabinets. RTA cabinets come with a range of colours and styles. They are often less expensive that custom cabinets.

It is important to take all the necessary precautions to ensure safety and security before you embark on a large-scale project. For renovations, it might be a good idea to check the local building codes.

Although you might be tempted to do a major renovation yourself, it is best to hire professionals. Hiring a contractor who is qualified will save you both time and money. Additionally, working with a professional will ensure that the project runs smoothly.

What Do I Really Need to Remodel My Kitchen?

Remodeling a kitchen is a major investment. It’s important to consider the suitability of your home before you make any decisions. Remodeling your kitchen requires you to take into account many factors, such as its age and condition, your family’s requirements and lifestyle, and your finances.

A kitchen remodel is a great option to make your space more functional. If your family grows, a remodel may provide additional storage and counter area. A well-designed kitchen will add value to your home.

On the other hand, a kitchen remodel is not always the best solution. A complete kitchen renovation is unnecessary if your kitchen’s condition is good and you are satisfied with its layout. Instead, you can focus on small changes that will increase the space’s appeal without spending a fortune.

So, how do you know if a kitchen remodel is right for you? Here are some things to think about:

Is your current kitchen functional? If your kitchen is cramped, has insufficient storage, or doesn’t suit your family’s needs, a remodel can provide the solutions you’re looking for.

Are your kitchen cabinets in dire need of repairs? You may need to remodel your kitchen if your cabinets are deteriorating or your appliances are out of date. A complete kitchen remodel will likely be necessary to fix these problems.

Are you looking to increase the value of your home? No matter if you are looking to sell your house in the near future, a kitchen remodel can be a major investment. A well-designed, attractive kitchen can make your house more appealing to potential buyers. It will also increase its resale market value.

What is your budget? A kitchen remodel can be costly so it is important to establish a realistic budget. Be sure to factor in the cost of materials, labour, and permits when estimating the total cost of your project.

If you answered “Yes” to any questions above, a kitchen remodel could be right for. Talk to a qualified contractor about the details of your plans before you start. You can create the kitchen of your dreams with careful planning and execution.

Which is the best layout for a kitchen?

An L-shaped kitchen with an island is the best kitchen layout if there’s enough space.

What layout is most functional for a kitchen?

A functional kitchen layout includes an island that has a sink, stove top, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher and stove. A kitchen with an island in the L-shaped shape is considered to be the best.

Statistics

In large firms, the commission charged by the GC ranges from 15 to 25 percent of the total job cost. (thespruce.com)

Keep 10 to 25 percent of List 2, depending on the budget. (familyhandyman.com)

Experts also recommend setting aside 20 percent of your budget for surprises, including unpleasant demolition discoveries. One is water damage, the electricity that is not up to code, or other budget-spiking gotchas. (hgtv.com)

It’s a fantastic thing about most home improvement projects: no matter the job. It often seems like the last 20% is the most difficult. (familyhandyman.com)

Followed by cabinet cost, labour, and appliance costs consume 20 percent each of your budget. (hgtv.com)

External Links

thespruce.com

Open Floor Plan: History, Pros and Cons

Find Professionals to Estimate Kitchen Remodeling Prices

houzz.com

Houzz

Kitchen Workbook: 8 Essential Elements to a Craftsman Cookbook

hgtv.com

Choosing Kitchen Appliances | HGTV

HGTV – Creating a Kitchen to Serve Entertaining

forbes.com

Amazing Kitchen Remodel Ideas that Will Refresh Your House

How To

How to design a kitchen you’ll love cooking in for years to come

Kitchen design should combine aesthetics with practicality. The space you choose should be thoughtfully planned so your kitchen becomes a place where you feel at home, cook delicious food, entertain friends and family, and relax after a long day.

These are some ideas to help you design your dream kitchen.

Choose the layout that suits your needs best. L-shaped, U shaped, and galley are the most common kitchen layouts. L-shaped Kitchens are perfect for entertaining, and can easily hold multiple cooks. U-shaped cooking areas are great for families with lots of family members. Galley kitchens are ideal for small spaces as they are efficient and easy to navigate.

Compare the various types of cabinetry available and select quality products. There are many options available to you, depending on your budget. High-end cabinets can pay huge dividends. They will last longer, look great, and provide better protection against humidity, heat, and other temperature variations.

Go with a color scheme that makes you happy. It doesn’t matter if you prefer a particular shade of pink or green, choose a color scheme that brings life and color to your kitchen. It could be bright or pastel colors. You should make sure it matches your rest of the room.

You should find a balance between beauty and function. It’s not necessary for your kitchen to be beautiful all of the time. Sometimes it’s more important to put emphasis on function than beauty. You don’t have to eliminate decorative elements. You can create a unique focal point by using a combination of glass, metal, brass, ceramics, stone, wood, and other materials.

Create a comfortable environment. Remember that comfort is the most important thing when designing your kitchen. You’ll spend a lot of time in this space, so it needs to feel inviting and welcoming. Add seating areas, lighting fixtures, or other features that will make you feel relaxed after a long work day.

Storage is important. Storage space is essential in a kitchen. It should have enough storage for all your cooking and utensils. When remodeling your kitchen, you should consider adding more cabinet space.

Include a pantry. A dedicated pantry will make it easier to organize and store food items. You can also store extra supplies in a separate area to prevent clutter building up around your kitchen.

You might consider a new type of flooring. Your kitchen’s overall appearance and feel will be affected by the flooring you choose. There are many materials available. If you have a small space, consider running the same flooring throughout the house to avoid the need for transition pieces.

Expansion plan. Insufficient space for future growth is one of the most common mistakes made when remodeling a kitchen. If you’re considering expanding, add another walk-in closet, install sliding doors, or expand your current countertop space.

Be sure to let plenty of light in your kitchen. A bright, well-lit kitchen will allow you to fully enjoy it. You should ensure that your kitchen is well-lit and has plenty of natural light.

Install energy-efficient appliances. Energy efficiency is one of the most important considerations when remodeling your kitchen. This means replacing old appliances with more efficient models.

Budget smart. Before shopping for new appliances, cabinets, or anything related to your kitchen project, do a detailed analysis of your finances. Knowing how much money you can afford will help you narrow down your options and save you money in the long run.

Create a space to entertain. Designate a space for entertaining, whether you host dinner parties or just enjoy socializing with friends over drinks.

An island can be added to your kitchen. A island is a great addition to your kitchen. It provides additional prep and eating space, as well as serving as a place to store beverages, snacks and other small items.

Helpful Resources:

35 Best Outdoor Kitchen Ideas | Kitchen Design 2023 | Kitchen Cabinet Design | Kitchen Design Ideas

Outdoor kitchen design ideas 2023. #kitchendesign2023 #kitchendesignideas #kitchendesign #kitchendesign #kitchenideas

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❤️ Latest Top 3 KITCHEN TRENDS 2023 // Beautiful Kitchen Interior Design Ideas 2023

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Simple Tips To Improve Your Vector Designing Skills

It's essential to keep practicing vector design if wish to become a skilled graphic designer. There's no better time than now to learn how to create vector designs. This article will help you understand how to enhance your design skills and increase the quality of your work.

What can you do to improve your vector abilities?

It is essential to master new techniques and improve your skills as an artist. The following are some easy ways to improve your skills: To discover additional information on photo retouching, you must visit Watermark Remover site.

Make use of professional Vector Design Software

To create professional designs, you need to make use of professional software. This power comes at costs, but there are plenty of low-cost alternatives available to those on an extremely tight budget. Professional software is an absolute must when you're serious about improving your vector-drawing skills. We love CorelDRAW, Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW and Inkscape.

Take inspiration from other designers

One of the best method to learn is watching other artists. Learn from other designers how they design and color their pictures and then try to replicate their style. Also, regular practice will help you develop muscles memory and improve your skills. Don't be scared to experiment with different methods and tools. You'll discover the best method for you as you try.

Get Some Vector Design Courses

There will be areas where you're not proficient in vector design as you gain knowledge. Perhaps you're struggling to design complex patterns or aren't sure what colors to use effectively. No matter what your case, taking courses is the most effective way to enhance your skills in vector design.

There are a lot of online tutorials available online to teach you the basics but if you really need to upgrade your vector skills then you ought to take a more comprehensive course. These classes will cover everything from basic concepts of vector design, to more advanced topics like drawing complex images and using the theory of color.

Use Reference Images

The skills you have in vector drawing can be improved with the help of reference images. You can enhance the ability of drawing precise lines by studying the images in reference. You can also look up examples of reference images to help you in deciding on the appropriate colors or values to use for your vectors. It is important that you choose high-resolution images and are free of distracting elements when selecting reference images.

Stay informed about the latest trends

It is crucial to stay current with latest trends if you want to enhance your vector skills. One method of doing this is to follow artists on social media and see what they are creating. It is also possible to search for Vector Art groups on Facebook or Instagram. Also, you can attend meet-ups and vector conferences to keep up to date with the most recent trends. These events are a fantastic chance to network with others who are vector artists and keep up-to-date on the current trends.

Request feedback from other users

Designers should seek feedback, particularly in the beginning stages of starting out. Request family or friends to give their honest feedback on your work. It can be difficult to hear , but it's the best way to grow.

Last Thoughts

It is possible to enhance your vector design abilities as time passes. With the help of the suggestions provided in this post, you'll begin to develop your abilities and take your design up to an even higher level. Practice, test new techniques, and ask for feedback from your peers. With a little effort, you can improve your vector abilities.

[felicia-cat-hardy]

Olivia Rodrigo's Music Style: Pop-Punk Rockers Who Influenced Her

Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album Sour comes out on May 21, and by now, you certainly know that the 18-year-old singer-songwriter counts the queen of vulnerable love-lorn melodies, Taylor Swift, as one of her most prominent influences. But after topping the charts for eight weeks with “drivers license,” it looks like Rodrigo is rearing into the rock lane, giving us the teenage angst and pop-punk petulance we deserve with the fiery “good 4 u” and impressive live performances.

Trust us, we know we don’t have to compare and contrast every female singer that’s ever made music that isn’t strictly pop, but why not salute the plaid-wearing, Doc Martens-donning foremothers of pop-punk, because as the Saturday Night Live skit on that very topic clarifies, yes she’s wearing her influences on her sleeve, “but it’s also pure Olivia, man.”

Plus, as Rodrigo shared in an interview with The Face on the sound of her upcoming album, “I feel like music is becoming increasingly genreless. I suppose I’m considered a pop artist, but I’ve never felt like one. This album is full of stuff that I like, which is so diverse. There are elements of alternative rock in there, alt-pop, some country, and definitely a lot of folk. I think anyone can find something they like hidden in one of the songs.”

So if you, like us, need something to hold you over while you wait for Rodrigo’s debut, here are 7 pop-punk rock purveyors to press play on.

1. Hayley Williams

It’s hard to think of anyone more capable of creating pure unadulterated pop-punk ballads with unparalleled vocals than Hayley Williams of Paramore, or as she was referred to by NPR, “The 21st Century's Pop-Punk Prophet.” However, with her latest single “good 4 u” Rodrigo is giving her a run for her money. In the track, Rodrigo shows off her vocal versatility, oscillating from singing to talking over electric guitars and a staccato bass line, much like Williams in Paramore’s “Misery Business.” In fact, this mashup of both tracks makes the reference and reverence to Paramore clear, plus it’s an absolute banger.

Williams put emotional fragility, powerhouse vocals, and punk rock authenticity front and center at a time when female-fronted bands were few and far between, giving a generation of young women, like Rodrigo not only someone to emulate but something to look up to.

2. Avril Lavigne

The week Olivia Rodrigo was born in 2003, Avril Lavigne was in the Top 10 with “I’m With You,” according to Rolling Stone. Coincidence? We think not. If that doesn’t tie the influenced to the influencer, just look at Lavigne’s legacy as one of the first songwriters of complicated relationship-themed pop-punk hits, like in her chant-along track “Girlfriend,” the formidable “Sk8er Boi,” and of course, the direct embodiment of that sentiment, “Complicated.” Rodrigo has not only been embodying Avril’s angsty sing-along-worthy lyrics but also replicating her wardrobe, recently rocking combat boots and a plaid corset with matching wide-leg pants (pictured above) and a chain belt you’d find at the checkout counter of any Hot Topic in the early aughts during her Saturday Night Live debut.

So, would the lyrics “It’s like we never even happened Baby / what the f*ck is up with that” in Rodrigo’s “good 4 u” exist without Lavigne singing “And hell yeah, I’m the motherf*cking princess” in “Girlfriend” first? Lucky for us, we’ll never have to find out.

3. Fefe Dobson

Fefe Dobson, is rarely mentioned in the pop-punk canon, but the singer made her mark as one of the few Black pop-punk singers of the early aughts, creating space for artists like Rodrigo who don’t fit into the predominately white male makeup of the genre.

Dobson was just 17 when she entered the pop-punk scene with tracks like “Everything” and “Take Me Away” on her debut album, one that saw her leaning into the same teenage love sentiments of falling hard and questioning it all we see in tracks like “drivers license.” Speaking to Nylon, Dobson discussed how much the scene has changed and made space for diverse artists: “I definitely think there’s no such thing as genre these days. When I was coming out in 2003, I remember people saying to my manager, like “Do you really think this Black girl’s going to do this rock-pop stuff and this is going to work?” I don‘t think that would be even said today. I think that’s a big difference.”

4. Gwen Stefani

Is it dramatic to say that without the anthemic, feminist, pop-punk rock track “Just A Girl” released way back in 1995, none of the new school punk-pop girls would be making visceral “girls to the front” vulnerable hits right now? Maybe, but it’s hard to say. With her pension for performance, fashion, candid lyricism, and devil-may-care attitude, Gwen Stefani has not only made space for herself but artists who want to replicate that same energy.

Rodrigo has never shied away from her love of No Doubt’s leading lady. On multiple occasions she’s discussed finding Stefani’s fearless ability to share personal stories and details about her innermost thoughts and desires as inspiring (and if that’s not punk rock, what is?). In an interview with Elle, it was even revealed that Stefani’s portrait was tapped to Rodrigo’s bedroom wall in a sort of shrine, dedicated to songwriters she admires. In a full-circle moment, Stefani wrote about Rodrigo for Time magazine’s 2021 TIME100 Next list, sharing, that “by pouring her heart out with so much courage and total command of her talent, Olivia made magic.” We agree.

5. Lindsay Lohan

There can be a lot said about the ins and outs, ups and downs, of Lindsay Lohan’s career. However, the platinum-certified album Speak was unquestionably a success for the then-Disney-star-turned-pop-singer who was one of the first stars of the channel to make that career pivot. She never toured for the Billboard charting album, but she did make the path from Disney star to pop-punk artists seem viable.

Rodrigo, who currently stars in the meta High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, discussed embracing her Disney start with Interview Magazine, sharing, “It’s been something I’ve given a lot of thought to, that Disney-girl archetype. I feel like there’s such a clear trajectory for what that is, and there’s so many amazing artists who have done it before me. I did grow up on Disney Channel. I am sort of this goody two-shoes. And I think shying away from that would do my art an injustice too. I just try to be as real as I possibly can.”

6. Liz Phair

Liz Phair’s fourth studio album was a masterclass in how to write a pop-punk romantic ballad while adding expletives to the climax of the track, like in her hit single “Why Can’t I?” It’s easy to see that same strategy playing out as Rodrigo sings, “I still f*cking love you, baby” in “drivers license.” Phair’s eponymous album also features the self-love ballad “Extraordinary,” which embraces her light and dark sides, something we’ve seen in Rodrigo’s first few singles and are sure to see in her debut. At the time of the album’s release, Phair was critically panned for selling out with Pitchfork claiming she’d reduced herself to “teen-pop.” But, as well all know nearly two decades on, there’s no truth to teen-pop being reductive, and Phair’s self-titled album has stood the test of time.

7. Ashlee Simpson

Back in 2004, Ashlee Simpson released her debut album Autobiography, an intimate pop-punk telling of her life. She also documented the entire process of creating the album on her series The Ashlee Simpson Show, something that was unprecedented at the time, but something current stars like Rodrigo who are used to being on camera and giving fans behind-the-scene looks at their creative process are now used to doing.

Simpson also deserves credit for pushing the boundaries of what was “allowed” for pop stars at the time, going her own way by dying her blonde hair black, and pushing back on her label who wanted her to make bubblegum pop. She ushered in an era of sad girl teen pop ballads with tracks like “Pieces Of Me” that artists like Rodrigo are still emulating today.

Olivia Rodrigo

We’ve got to end this story with Rodrigo herself, setting a bedroom on fire in “good 4 u,” and subsequently igniting another phase of her ever-evolving career. She’s got a sound all her own, and we can’t wait to see where she takes it to next. We know she’s here to stay.

Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album SOUR is due out May 21 via Geffen Records.

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[same-side]

hiiii! i just wanna say, i adore your art. second, im teaching myself to draw and while i can draw simple basics (mouths and sometimes eyes if im lucky), im still a beginner. ive watched many art videos and im still a bit confused on wtf im doing. so i just came here to ask if you had any words of wisdom for beginners? could be anything from what tablets to buy to simple mistakes to avoid. ive read some of the other posts here and have found it all extremely helpful so far! Thx for all you do!!

Hey there! Thank you so much!

I would put a read more but tumblr is broken. I’m trying to cover a lot of varied thoughts in little points, so if there’s anything you would like me to elaborate on or otherwise have questions on, feel free to shoot me an ask or dm me!

General

I think the biggest thing to remember is not to compare yourself extensively to others. A little bit of comparison is healthy... But too much will destroy your confidence, motivation, and take the fun out of art. Particularly if you are comparing yourself to someone older than you (life experience and coordination come into play here) or that has been drawing much longer (practice). 

Additionally... If you’re not having fun (and you’re not getting paid to do it), don’t force yourself. If you find yourself being frustrated or bored with art, don’t force yourself to do it. That’s how you burn out and get art block! This applies to parts of a peice, too! If you don’t feel like drawing a face or a hand today? don’t force yourself to finish it. Come back to it later when you aren’t as frustrated or are getting better results. Even if its a week or a month from now. Honestly, at any given time I have probably ten headless bodies in my drafts. That’s okay! I just come back to them when I’m ready to do the face. And don’t be afraid to abandon something if it doesn’t feel right!

Something that also doesn’t get said enough.... take care of your body! I never knew when I started art, but artists are supposed to do warmup sketches and stretches and muscle exercises! I didn’t do any of this, and i went through a period of a few months where I was drawing for 5ish hours every single day. I developed carpal tunnel from it! So remember to take care of yourself. Take breaks, stretch, remember to eat.

Practice

Practice!!!! Even if its just for fifteen minutes every day. Or twice a week. But if art is something you really want to get good at, you have to put in the time and effort!! You can’t expect to draw an hour per month and be on the same level as someone who draws an hour a day!

I know I say this a lot but I think the biggest thing is just reference! If you don’t know what something looks like, look at a picture of it when you draw it! To go hand in hand with that, though, don’t just copy what you see! Learn from it and apply it! So take, for example, a shoe! pay attention to the way the heel is shaped, the location of the eyelets for the laces... how large the toe is, how steep the top! While you’re at it, look at other styles of shoes as well, and compare them! See what makes it look like a boot versus a trainer! And then the next time you draw it, hopefully you’ll remember all the things you learned the first time around!

I do lots of studies that serve no purpose other than to teach me things! I use referencing/studies to learn about color theory, shapes, and anatomy in a real environment. For example, hands or fabric folds! Oftentimes I’ll do them timed (20 or 45 minutes) so that I don’t fixate on perfecting things, just on the process itself and what I can learn from it. This also helps with getting better acclimated to your software and more coordinated with what you’re doing. Repetitive learning, like with playing sports. 

I’ve realized a lot of people don’t quite understand what a study is? Basically you just look at a photo and try to replicate it so that you can learn about lighting or color theory or textures or anatomy or whatnot. So here’s an example of a timed study.

Additionally, don’t avoid!! We, as humans, have a tendency to avoid things that make us uncomfortable or are difficult. But it will make you a better artist in then end. When I first started, I absolutely hated doing fabric. I felt like I wasn’t good at it. So instead of avoiding drawing clothing, I sat down and did studies and sketches of different kinds of fabric. By the end of this learning period, I became comfortable with it and grew to enjoy it. These days, I adore sketching clothes, and it’s why my pants and shirts and things tend to be detailed instead of stylized in line art. If you don’t like drawing hands because you feel like you aren’t good at it? Sit down, look at a bunch of pictures of different hands, and practice it. By the end, you’ll be more comfortable, you’ll have learned something. Even if you feel like the drawings you ended up with aren’t good, you’ll still have learned, and that’s what matters!

Style

I worked on basics before I tried to develop a style. I made sure to start with a very realistic method at first, so that I could be sure I understood how fabric folds, anatomy, and realistic expressions worked before I tried to stylize them. I think in the long run this approach really paid off for me. It also allowed me to be conscientious of what elements I was absorbing into my artwork. I hear from so many artists that they started drawing when they were younger and into anime or cartoons or things like that, and tried to emulate it. Because those styles became so ingrained into their artistic skillset, it becomes near impossible to iron out those influences and get rid of them later. So starting with realism is a way to ingrain proper anatomy and other good practice into your artwork.

One way to develop style is to take a look at the artwork of someone you admire, and try to list out the things you like form their style - perhaps the thickness of their lines, or the way they do eyes. Do this with several artists, take all those little details you like and try them out! See if you enjoy using them in your own drawing process! Think of it like a grab bag or a pick-n-mix, sprinkling in the elements you like here and there to create something new and your own - not just copying another artists style word for word.

Don’t worry too much about it though; don’t allow yourself to become anxious or fixated on “achieving a style”. Its a natural ever evolving process that comes with time and practice. I know a lot of people get hung up on style, but just take it one day at a time!

Also try to keep in mind what style you’re going for as you begin drawing. And I don’t mean that like sailor moon vs. ghibli. I mean that as in, is this piece going to be a painting, a lineart, a lined painting, cell shading...? It will help you in the longrun if you narrow down the broad kind of style you use, and refine from there. 

Workflow

My workflow for paintings is very different from my workflow for lineart and cell shading. A full tutorial on how I do paintings can be found here! A process video for how I cell shade can be found here!

Everyone is going to have a different method that works for them! You just have to experiment and find out how you like to draw! For me, personally, I use color blocking for painting (see the tutorial above) and a spine method for lineart. How the spine method works is that I will draw lines that represent the legs, arms, back, etc. so that I can determine the placement, length, and composition. From there, I’ll add a dark outline that actually shows the shapes of the body. Then, I’ll use thinner lines to add details. This is the method I’ve found that works for me. Another commonly used method that I’m sure you’ve seen is representing body parts with cylinders and cubes. There are lots of good tutorials out there on breaking down bodies into shapes like this!

Something that I do is if I’m not quite happy with a part of a drawing, I don’t just erase it. I duplicate the layer so that I always have the original copy, and then I make changes from there. Sometimes I can end up with five or six different versions of the same arm or face that i’ve made minor changes to. And then I compare and pick the one I like best, or condense all the parts I like from each version to make a “best” version.

Tools

Currently I use Procreate and the standard Ipad with Apple Pencil. Prior to March I was using a Wacom Bamboo Touch and Photoshop Elements 2008. I find its harder for me to do full paintings in procreate, but its made my life a million times easier for lineart and cell shading. The pen pressure is phenomenal, and I also adore that its wireless / active screen instead of plug in like the wacom. The programme itself is intuitive and easy to get the hang of; it simply lacks a lot of the neat tricks that photoshop has, like rendering (lens flares, for example), gradients, and gradient maps. Try testing out different trials of programmes... firealpaca, photoshop, autodesk, whatever it may be! What works for me may not work for you!

[adazhang-221257]

Week 9

Watch episodes 1 and 2 of the series ‘The Genius of Photography’:

Episodes 1 FIXING THE SHADOWS questions

1. What year was photography ‘invented’?

1839

2. Who were the key people (one English, one French)?

French： Louis Daguerre

English： Henry Fox Talbot

3. What is the main difference between the two systems?

Daguerre fixed the image to a smooth, mirror-like metal plate. He made disposable(one-off) images. When viewing Daguerre's work, the light was reflected through the image. The light ranges from bright white, which is definitely reflected, to deep black. The biggest drawback is the inability to replicate the original photo. Daguerre is trying to open up a huge market, most personally.

Talbot presented the image on paper, and the way to get the image was from up-side-down to normal look after exposure. Talbot wanted to satisfy people their own desires

4. What do they suggest was the unintended consequence of photography?

The photographs were no longer random, because of how they are cropped, they became intentional.

Photographs revealed the details of the world and told us what should be focused on.

The consequence of the born of photography symbolized the coming new era. It changed the world and the way people understood the world. We entered the world of information and images.

5. What is Edward Muybridge famous for doing?

Motion study

The anatomy and the frozen moment which was interested Muybridge once when he was doing an experiment on the horses.

6. What was the first method of popular sharing of photographs?

The introduction of the card. It was small and easy to be posted.

7. What method did photographers first use in order to claim photography as art?

They instinctively turned to oil paintings for inspiration and confidence. Photographers followed the painters' path to create their work.

8. What company did George Eastman start?

The Eastman Kodak Company.

9. What did he invent (three things)?

The film

Kodak camera

Brownie camera 

10. What year was the $1 Brownie camera released?

1900

11. How old was Jacque Henry Lartigue when he was making his family photo albums?

19

12. What were photographic artists doing when snapshots become popular?

They were making differences with vernacular photography.

They tried to make photography as a branch of fine arts, they were doing imitations of drawing and paint makings. The pictorialists were looking at the past, they retreated in terms of the art style and contents. There were no cars or machines or poor people in pictorial pictures.

13. What did Edward Steichen take up during WWII?

Started aerial photograph, precision and sharpness are the main purposes, rather than arty vagaries.

Episodes 2 DOCUMENT FOR ARTISTS questions:

1. What was Karl Blossfeldt’s book from 1925?

Art Forms in Nature

2. What form of recording was he using?

Use the encyclopedic form to record the world typologies. On the shiny commercial paper.

3. Who was the first person to do this?

Anna Atkins

4. What are some of the things Bernd and Hilla Becher photographed?

Blast furnace

Water towers

Some bizarre creatures of industry

5. What did August Sander try to create a typology of in Germany in the 1920s?

Human typology

"The Face of the Times" in 1929

What Sander wanted to speak behind his photos are the chaotic conditions of Germany in the 1920s. 

6. What does Alexander Rodchenko believe about photography?

The camera is the tool of the new man and artist.

He used the camera to serve political reality and serve the people.

7. What did he try to change?

Changed the Belly Button Photography, tried to tell people about a different way of photographing the world. He was photographing the new society.

8. What magazine did he start?

USSR en construction

9. What technique did he use in the magazine?

Photomontage

10. What was Eugene Atget doing in Paris?

Documented the city ancient core from back street to shop front.

In the 1920s, he created the unique typology of the old Paris.

Towards the end of his life, he started to capture the undocumentary possibilities of photography. His photos then became to document the different range of reality.

11. What was Man Ray interested in exploring?

Ray was into the area of unreal. He interested in dreams, desires and the mediums unconscious mind.

12. What process did he discover?

Solarization

13. What is the famous photo Man Ray took of a Marcel Duchamp work?

The Large Glass

14. What famous exhibition happened in Stuttgart in 1929?

Film and Photo Show.

15. How did Stalin ‘remove his enemies from history’?

Using black ink on the faces.

16. Who brought Eugene Atget’s negatives to the USA?

Berenice Abbott

17. What organisation did Walker Evans work for in the 1930s before he was sacked in 1937?

The Farm Security Agency.

18. What did he photograph when working for them? 

To portray the government positively.

The wife of a sharecropper in 1936

19. What did Bill Brandt photograph during WWII?

A new type of social disorderAir-raid shelters and Londoners

=========================================================================

Planning for the second series

Intention

My general intention for this series still focuses on the idea of showing both the tradition and modernity within the food, examining how food can speak about different cultures. 

The tradition of drinking tea is one of the popular cultures of China over the centuries. In terms of showing the traditional side of my work, I think tea itself is already a good medium to speak about its own culture. Tea has a sense of tranquillity, and it indicates the length of history. In order to show the modernity, I decide to use some modern books and flowers as decorations in the backdrops and supported with modern colours of lighting and composition. For me, books are also the representation of the sense of serenity, so I think tea and books will be a great combination. 

Reading while having a cup of tea has already started a long time ago in history, until now, in today's society, people also like to brew a pot of tea and read a few pages of a book in their quiet and leisure time. I think this series of photos can reflect people’s modern lifestyle, like what they would do to relax, as well as portraying the peacefulness of that moment.

Planning and preparation

Research on techniques

1. Christina Leopold

I like the texture and beauty of the food in the foreground. Rather than using the plain backdrops, it is a good idea to include some other relevant objects to construct the photo.

The spoon works as a leading line in this picture. Leopold uses a spoon to lead our eyes to view from the front of the focal point to the rest of the objects.

The colour of the food on the plate corresponds to the colour of the waffle on the background, building up the connection and communication in between.

2. Nikolay Osmachiko 

The dark yellow-toned lighting helps a lot with creating the traditional atmosphere. The lighting comes from the top and leaves the shadows formed on the wooden table. The use of lighting lightens up the foreground and makes the teacups look clearly. It also puts the background into darkness and creates this profound depth for viewers.

The act of pouring the tea adds interesting elements and meanings to the photo as well as generating a sense of tradition. 

3. Suzy Hazelwood

The combination of books and tea creates a sense of serenity and leisure. I think having this combination in the photos is a great choice. 

My thought for the second series is to include some books to build up the atmosphere and meaning of the photos, I think it is a good idea to look at how other commercial photographers have done with the books in their photos. I think having the book opened would generate the feeling that someone is reading it.

Contact sheets

I found that lighting and composition are a bit hard to control due to the limited tools and space, so in the first few shots I was trying to get the good lighting and the right direction of where it should come from. 

I especially like IMG 0175 as the depth of field is created and the patterns on the cup are clearly shown.

In this contact sheet, I have taken most of the photos from the top angle. I think this angle is successful as it highlights the composition and geometric patterns formed by the props. Also, by including the hand within the pictures allows the photos to be more eye-catching.

I was also testing the lighting and background in this contact sheet. I thought it would be good to use some wooden materials to be the backdrop, however, that didn't turn out as I expected. And I also don't think that natural lighting can be helpful neither.

Reflection

While I was doing the second series, I was also thinking about the final presentation of my work. At the moment, I was thinking about making a web layout to promote food culture. So the style of this series would be generally similar to the previous one, such as using the same lighting, composition, colour and so on. For now, I decided to name this series "Culture - Tea".

Continuing with a similar style, this series was also taken against a pure black background. Normally, when photographing the idea of drinking tea or reading a book, the common thought is to include furniture in the backdrops to generate warm feelings. However, I would like to go against the common thoughts and portray them in my own style. I think it magnifies the content of the subject and the beauty of food. Although it may look plain as there is not much information shown, it produces another mysterious atmosphere that makes people wonder. The simplicity allows the audience to feel a more tranquil atmosphere and pay more attention to the relationship drawn between those subjects. 

Geometric shapes appear naturally in black backgrounds. They are made of the vague outline of the flowers, the arrangement of the book and the plate. Taking from the top angle creates an opportunity to portray these geometric lines more directly. The uses of colours and lighting are similar to the previous series. 

Books play a big role in portraying this group of photos, they not only make the picture hierarchical and structured but more importantly, they elevate the meaning of the pictures. From my perspective, tea and books have a lot in common. They can both demonstrate the idea of tradition and modernity as they both contain a long history.

Portraying the movement is the primary goal that I am aiming to achieve in this group of photos, as well as trying to show the combination of stillness and movement. So I photographed the interaction between the hand and the object to find that sense of motion. In my planning, I have thought about photographing the idea of pouring water, however, due to the limited space, I have not found a way to carry it out. So I photographed the steam of the tea instead, which I think also turned out quite well.

I'm not sure if the size of the cup is okay in this photo as it might seem to be a bit big. I chose this one because I like the depth of field and the patterns on the cup, helping the audience see and feel the sense of tradition clearly. The flowers in both the foreground and back are also making connections with the patterns on the cups.

My favourite part is the steam, and it looks more stand-out against a black background. I think it's a good way to show the movement and it makes the picture look more vivid, rather than just a still life. While I was adjusting the photo, I didn't make the steam too obvious as I still wanted the teacup to be the main focal point.

I think this one is a good example of showing the benefits of shooting from the top angle. It highlights the composition of objects, and the geometric lines formed on the background. The angle enhances the coordination of the image, allowing the audience to see the radiated pattern on the plate.

This is a typical picture of the hand interacting with the food. The hand reaches in from the left corner, forming a diagonal line that connects with the edge of the book. The book is placed open on the table with the tea on the top, showing the movement of reading the book. The overall picture shows a sense of tranquillity and leisure, and the gesture of hands enhances the meaning of the photo.

Feedback for moving on

Taking photos of the abstract forms of tea or books. I think I can take some close-ups to show the details of each small part. I'm not sure if I'm going to abstract the item in the next shot, at the moment I prefer a simple close-up shot, but I'm going to try it and see what it looks like.

Rather than looking for something new to take pictures of, I would like to use what I have got already in these two series and develop them. I will mainly focus on showing the details of each element by doing close-ups. I think these new photos can also be used to build up each series.

[mysticsparklewings]

Ziggy Crossing

Still not quite sure I'm 100% back into the swing of things (posting regularly and being more present) yet, but time will tell. For now I'm testing the waters. Anyway. In the time I've been away, I ended up talking to some friends about (to the surprise of absolutely no one) Animal Crossing, and in that conversation, the idea of drawing my cat, Ziggy, as an Animal Crossing villager came up. I'd toyed with it before after seeing some other people draw their pets as villagers, and that conversation more or less sealed the deal for me to at least try it, even if my attempt didn't pan out and see the light of day. Obviously, things went pretty well because here I am posting this. The first step, as it is 90% of the time for me, was to come up with a sketch and go from there. I primarily used Olivia and Lolly [pre-existing Animal Crossing cat villagers] as my references--Olivia for the pose and eyes, Lolly for the stripes and some details regarding the ears and face--but I also checked certain things across the various cat villager models so that details could be consistent where they needed to be. I think if I missed the mark anywhere, it's probably in the proportions. Namely the size of the head and length of the body. But I think it's close enough that unless you compare it directly to Olivia's model that I referenced for the pose, the proportions aren't so off that it's distracting or off-putting. I did originally have trouble figuring out what pattern to put on her shirt though because the real Ziggy doesn't really have anything I could pull a pattern from. These days she does wear a white and silver collar, but that's not a whole lot to work with. So I left that alone while I pondered how I wanted to go about coloring the whole thing. My plan at the beginning was to use this sketch as a test piece for some acrylic paint markers I recently acquired (which you will be seeing me talk about in the future), but once the sketch was finished and I went back to check the colors I had (you know me; gotta have a swatch chart for everything), it was pretty obvious that if I want this to be my dear Ziggy and not just a random tabby cat, I needed to figure out a different coloring method. I could have just done regular acrylic paint, but that sounded like a chore and thus I was not interested. Same with gouache. Colored pencils were on the table, but the main problem I have with those is that they can be pretty slow and personally I think their texture really lends them better to replicating the 3DS/Animal Crossing: New Leaf style, as opposed to the look of New Horizons, and that's not what I was going for here. That left me with two main options: Watercolor, which was a hard pass for this kind of art (at least for Ziggy herself), and alcohol markers, which I did use quite a bit on the last Animal Crossing artwork I made, and they had worked out fairly well. Alcohol markers it was! Of course, even after that decision was made, there was the issue of how to handle the lines of the drawing. When I was planning on using the paint pens/acrylic markers/whatever, that seemed a lot simpler because, in theory, I could just use the same pen I wanted to color with to do the outlines and then fill them in. And because that would be using mostly opaque paint, if I needed to I could just cover up any overlap with relative ease. Alcohol markers don't play by the same rules though, so I had to re-think all that. In the end, I pulled out a pale warm gray Polychromos pencil close to the main color of alcohol marker that I had picked out that I figured would also be light enough to blend in everywhere else. That way I could have the defining lines that I needed without having to worry too much about them being visible in the final product. [For clarification: I picked a Polychromos because once sharpened they tend to hold a point longer and better than the other colored pencils at my disposal and I really needed to keep a sharp point as long as possible to do the lines here.] In retrospect, I do think it might have been to my benefit to pick out a pink for doing the inner ear lines, but the end result there isn't so awful that it single-handedly (paw-ed-ly?) ruins the drawing for me. It's just something to take note of for next time if there is a "next time." Once I had my lines (including doing the eyelashes and mouth with one of my usual black fineliners), the next challenge was the actual coloring. Mostly because I had to be very careful around the edges so that the marker ink didn't feather out too far (as alcohol markers do on any paper that isn't marketed as "bleed proof" because that's what bleed proof in paper actually means--not that it won't bleed through to the other side, though that is less common with that kind of paper, but that it won't "bleed" across the page), and I also had to be a little careful and choosy about how I did any blending or shading. Again, my blending and shading plan was going to be different had I used the acrylic markers. The main thing I ended up doing here was trying to find areas that needed to be layered so that the one-color shading could act as a line/barrier between sections. Best example: Where the ears meet the head, I shaded the bottom portion of the ears. You can also see this a little bit where Ziggy's tail meets her body and where the legs intersect at a few different points. By no means did this turn out perfectly, considering that I really wanted to stick to use as few colors as possible (which means pretty much all the shading is just layers of one color to darken it) which means there isn't as much distinction or variation as there could be. And I feel it necessary to note here that I was worried when I first finished the lines that the eyes looked wonky, but after coloring pretty much everything else in that concern dissolved because 1. It's harder to tell and 2. Even if they aren't exactly the same, it makes visual sense because it looks like her head is slightly turned, meaning the eyes wouldn't be identical anyway. Never underestimate the power of coloring your work in! Speaking of which, you might be wondering about her shirt by now. Well, after toying around with some ideas I got it in my head that a good way to tackle that problem might be with washi tape, as I've used it in this manner before and worked out pretty nicely. Even though it wasn't a lot to work with, I did like the idea of the base color for her top being white like the real Ziggy's collar, and that narrowed down my tape options considerably. Of the options I had that I thought would be suitable, I ended up having a choice between one with small rainbow-colored polka dots and the decidedly less vibrant small triangles that you see here. The polka dots seemed a little too peppy for Ziggy, so I went with the triangles. And this, I must say, is one of those artistic decisions that I feel even better about the longer that I see the end product.   The main issue I have with using washi tape, and thus why I don't use it in this way that often, is because cutting the washi tape to fit a specific shape is a process that doesn't get much easier even with practice.  And even if it did, that wouldn't eliminate the very real possibility of cutting or indenting the paper underneath while you're cutting the tape. Of which, I have not yet figured out how to totally avoid short of forming the washi tape on a separate piece of paper, cutting it there, and then moving it to the final piece. But that method comes with its own problems too, so... Still, I made the decision to go through with it here and just accept the rough edges/lack of precision and all that. Before I put the tape down though, I did do a little shading with some light gray markers that I was counting on showing through the tape to give it a little more dimension. Seeing it now, I do think I could've stood to go a little darker, but again this isn't something that totally ruins the end result for me. Just something worth noting. After all of the above, I was left with one lingering problem: The background. Which I've noticed seems to normally be a "problem" area for me in that I don't always have a solid idea for what to do with it. I did consider what exactly I wanted to do earlier on in the process, before I started on Ziggy on the final paper, even. Briefly, I thought I might cut her out and put her on a separate background as is sort of a go-to background method for me. Something just didn't feel right about doing that here though and it feels like I've done that a lot lately (you know, when I've not been drowning in mandalas for NaPoWriMo...). So it was at this early stage that I locked in the idea of adding in the background in later, probably doing something kind of loose to give a general idea that hopefully wouldn't take too much time or effort. We've already established that I wasn't super keen on the idea of using acrylic paints or gouache for this drawing, and that remained true for the background too. Although, I don't really like using alcohol markers for backgrounds either because it can be tricky to keep things smooth and consistent. That left me with colored pencils and watercolor. Colored pencils are usually hard pass for backgrounds for me for a number of reasons. So! Watercolor, hmm... I drew Ziggy here on my darling Strathmore 400 series mixed media paper because I love how it handles markers and it has enough weight and texture to it that it handles a lot of my other go-to options with little fuss. Watercolor is really the only thing I have trouble using on it, the main problem being that sometimes (not always) the paint doesn't like to blend out super smoothly and certain watercolor techniques don't work the same on it. This doesn't mean it's useless for watercolor (at least not for me), that just means I have to be more careful about how I choose to work with watercolor on it. In this case, the blending issues lined up with the idea I had of letting the background have more texture since Ziggy came out a lot smoother by the very nature of alcohol markers. Somewhere in all this, the idea struck me to use my Gelatos to leave behind some crayon-like texture. That idea seemed fitting to me since Animal Crossing is a fairly light-hearted and child-friendly game, themes that crayons go along with. The gelatos are water-soluble but not every color dissolves completely when activated with water. This should be pretty evident here because I didn't try to hide it. I wanted quick and easy, and without a doubt just letting the texture do whatever it wants is the quick n' easiest method to use with the gelatos. Once I'd done a bit of back and forth with two greens and two blues to give me the solid suggestions of a sky and ground, it still felt like it was missing something. Ultimately, it seemed like a good idea to me to try and mimic the triangle pattern/texture that New Horizons features. (In past games you could get squares or circles for a grass pattern at random.) And while I as per usual I had to think on how to go about this, in the end, the best solution I could come up with turned out to be drawing the triangles in with alcohol markers. Truly, I'm surprised to be reporting this because I fully expected the creamy nature of the gelatos to make using alcohol markers on top feel disguising and unproductive. But not so! At least not with the limited gelato use here. The creamier areas do soften the color of the marker, but I think that worked to my advantage. Although, I did end up using a little bit of my yellow Moonlight gel pen because I felt like I needed some yellow triangles for balance and I knew transparent yellow markers wouldn't do what I wanted. But that brings us to the final product. I'm happy with it. And I do really like how the grass ties in with Ziggy's green eyes. It's just a nice little touch of visual cohesion in my book. As I always say, I'm sure it's not perfect and there are some missteps here and there or things that could be improved. Nevertheless, it was a fun experiment and serves as good encouragement for me to continue playing with the lineless look, among other things. I do have to note though that it feels super weird to just leave the eyes like this with no indication of shine on them! I made the choice not to since it's not a common trait with the official character models (at least not for eyes in this same style) but part of me still feels like it's incomplete. As I've said before recently and I'll probably say again, I can't promise I'll be getting back to a regular upload schedule now, but it's on my mind. I want to get to that point soon. I do have the acrylic markers I mentioned to talk about and another supply in the mail, and some other art in my backlog. So if you can be patient with me a while longer, there will be more from me to look forward to. In the meantime, please be kind to yourself and others. ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram 

[dizzymoods]

Like I said last night I’ve been peeved for a while now about the overemphasis on films needing to start  with story. and how if the images take more importance the film is lesser because of it. I want to talk about this first before looking at Queen and Slim. This is a broader problem that informs how lacking the Q&S discourse has been.

Why does a medium which does not exist without images have to start with story. What is so commanding about “First, then, meanwhile, & the end” that dictates primacy over the one element of the medium that it cannot exist without?

the conflation of substance = story and style = cinematography, editing and in addition that substance is a moniker of quality while style unshackled to story is indulgent and lesser is  fucking stupid. 

Movies are visual. You don’t have a motion picture without moving pictures. That’s very rudimentary but its true. To imply that cinematic images and how they are collated are not substantive is just dumb. Worse is saying they only have substance when “serving” the story, which has an inherent substance to it. Most cinematic stories are not substantive.Especially in the CIA propaganda machine known as Hollywood. The shit is supposed to be dumb so you get it. 

The relationship between image and story in film is more crude and elementary than that same relationship in a children’s picture book. What is written is also what is drawn. What is dramatized is also what is dialogued, shot, edited, heard. If that is the blueprint for how filmmakers, critics, and watchers can talk about cinematic images then we’re in trouble.

Eisenstein ~100 years ago laid out a very clear analysis of how images in conversation with other images communicate and how you can manipulate those relationships to particular ends. And this is not counting the broader history of visual art like painting. To dismiss images as just beautiful is a complete disservice to critical discussion of cinema. An image can be racist but if the lighting is good and the movement slick, it’d be looped into the category of good cinematography. 

If images have meaning then it stands to reason that both what the message of the image is and the clarity with which that message is articulated are (at the very least can be) substantive & the only way to figure that out is to critique it. Meaning investigating why such images work beyond just that they were pretty or distracting. Distraction is a tool many artists use so it isn’t necessarily a negative if the cinematography is getting you to notice it and not a particular story detail.

___________________________

So that brings us to the most popular discourse about Queen and Slim. Most of the critique is about how bad the story is and how corny the politics embedded in that story are. But, where people give it credit is in it’s “good” cinematography.

That’s where the general discussion ends. Maybe something about melanin that pops but nothing about the politics of the image. Nor whatever else the images are communicating and how. I haven’t seen Q&S so I can’t speak to that. But I can talk about the general trends of cinematic image making around modern black images.

Even to call the cinematography “beautiful” or “good” without describing what that means is folly. Where does your definition of beauty come from and how is this cinematography achieving it? Is a film’s aesthetic steeped in the tradition of cinema birthed by KKK propaganda? Is your notion of beauty? Or are they embedded in community and tradition?

This was the first lesson at Howard. If your story matters so much then why are you telling it with a language that was largely created by european colonialism and american white nationalism. Can you locate where your art is coming from?

Day 2 they sat us down with Chester Higgins’ Elder Grace and said if you don’t have the same passion and reverence for black ppl, especially our elders, in your cinematography as in this book then you might as well pack it on up and head home. i see little passion and reverence in modern cinematography as it relates to black ppl. most of it looks like a bad vogue photoshoot.

Everyone is biting off Belly. But Hype (dir), Malik (dp), Christian (gaff), and Sharyn (hmua) all did rigorous testing to get that look and had endless debates over the intention and politics of the images they were creating. All these belly-lite shows and movies are just slicking up actors in some oil, throwing up a rosco 74 gel, and calling it a day. all  without cooking in the lab.

Rooney & I had a convo on here before: a lot of this new black cinema has been lensed by white ppl and so much of the culture surrounding these images have their gaze embedded in them. A black director cannot meaningfully have the debates Hype &  company were having when their dp and gaffer are white. white dps can only have a technical know how of how to light and lens black ppl. & most of these images feel very technical in a way that is not so dissimilar to say eric clapton playing robert johnson.

Out of the whole slate of films that have come out shot by white ppl only one (1) single shot has moved beyond just replicating the black visual aesthetic that HU has laid out. And let’s not get it twisted. Daughters of the Dust, Belly, and Mother of George run modern cinematography. all with the dp and gaffer coming from or adjacent to HU. in each case there was the rigorous testing and debate.

This half-assed replicating of the past aesthetic (especially Belly) also points to a stagnation of culture. Brad, AJ, Malik, Christian have all moved on from those seminal films. They thought through and executed their visions and went back in the lab to cook something new. Or at least try again if it didn’t work out the next time. But there still a growth in that because they had to adjust ie do something new.

I saw a director on twitter talking about how important story is and how we are resting too much on good cinematography (Coincidentally they’re also loud about Q&S but their lil sundance film relies on the same performative blackness). When I tell yall that the ending shot of their film, which is held for a while, is the reason why Beyoncé said “you cant put black girls in blue light.” I mean to tell you that this shot is the reason why Beyoncé said “you cant put black girls in blue light.”

Beyoncé was wrong of course. Hype does it all the time. Beyoncé even started doing it. & its fire. But this black director and their nonblack DP didnt go to the lab and cook.

[shireness-says]

Swan’s Seven (2/?)

Summary: After two years behind bars, Emma’s out, and she’s got a plan in mind. Now to put together the perfect team… Let’s stage an art heist. (A CS Ocean’s 8 AU) ~3.9K. Rated T for language. Chapter 1.  Also on AO3.

~~~~~

A/N: And we’re back! With more players, more action, and more razzing on David. It’s a national sport after all. A certain someone shows up this chapter too...

Thanks as always to my wonderful beta, @snidgetsafan. This doesn’t happen without you, babe. 

Tags: @optomisticgirl, @spartanguard, @profdanglaisstuff, @captainsjedi, @thisonesatellite, @thejollyroger-writer, @let-it-raines, @teamhook, @kmomof4, @snowbellewells, @searchingwardrobes, @winterbaby89, @scientificapricot. Shoot me a message if you want to be added/taken off the list.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

~~~~~

Regina has always been good at finding the exact right person for any given job, and it seems that hasn’t changed in the two years that Emma has been away. She somehow knows everybody who’s anybody in this business, like the criminal version of a recruiter or HR lady. She’d probably hate being called that, but it’s an apt comparison. 

Only days after Emma divulges her plan to Regina, she’s presented with a short stack of manila folders - Regina’s top choices for their needs.

“I think you’ll be pleased,” she says as Emma flips through the top folder. It’s just a cursory glance, really; Emma trusts Regina’s judgement implicitly after all their years as a pair. “They’re the best I could find.”

“I’m sure they are,” Emma replies nonchalantly. “You’ve got them scheduled to come in for an interview or whatever?”

“Later today,” Regina agrees, before fixing Emma with a stern look. “You’re going to play nice, right? We need these people, I can’t have you getting all demanding or treating them like they’re idiots.”

“Ok, first of all, it’s an interview, there’s going to be questions so I can’t really help the demanding thing. Second of all, why the hell am I the one we’re worried about getting uppity? That’s kind of your thing, scaring people off with a condescending sniff.” Emma really hadn’t meant to sound quite so demanding with that list, but that’s the result anyways. Maybe Regina has a point - though Emma still thinks her partner is the one who needs the warning to “play nice”. Whatever that means. Fuck it all, they’re career conpersons, the nice line has already kind of been blown to smithereens. 

Regardless, the warning proves unnecessary, since Emma can tell within minutes that Regina’s first candidate is exactly who they’ve been looking for.

“Emma, this is Ruby Lucas. Ruby, Emma Swan.” With the way Regina makes introductions, you’d think they were having some fancy corporate business meeting, not planning an art heist above a nightclub. Emma has the strongest urge to start offering business cards. “Ruby’s a safecracker - the best on the east coast.”

“Well…” Ruby drawls, her red-painted lips twisting into something wry and just shy of wolfish. Emma thinks it kind of suits the brunette, especially paired with her casual sprawl across one of Regina’s stiff backed chairs. 

As much as Emma is amused, however, Regina is not. That eye roll could probably be seen from space. “Fine. The best on the east coast who hasn’t decided to retire to some disgusting fairytale in backwoods Maine like a goddamn schmuck. Better? Satisfied?”

“Better. Satisfied is a whole other thing, sweetcheeks,” Ruby winks salaciously. Not that there seems to be any heat behind it; if Emma had to guess, it’s just a flirtatious habit. There are worse habits to have, really. Her flirting accomplished, Ruby focuses her attention on Emma. “So. I hear you have a plan.”

“I do. Did Regina brief you on the specifics?”

Ruby nods. “Brantley 3900, she said. Digital fingerprint system on top of a trio of combo locks, plus an acid failsafe. I could use some info about the big picture plan, though.”

“We’ll get there,” Emma promises. Ruby isn’t at all what she would have expected of their safecracker in her short skirt and high heels and bright red hair streaks - especially when Emma’s used to dealing with her brother for this kind of thing - but she likes the saucy brunette. That flirtatious energy could really come in handy, if they play their cards right. “You think you can break it?”

“No problem,” Ruby replies with her bubbling confidence. “We’ll just need those prints, and the rest is all tumblers. Nothing I can’t handle.”

Emma looks to Regina, who inclines her head in a subtle nod. Excellent; they’re on the same page, then. “You’re hired.”

Their next candidate - a computer whiz and hacker - might as well be Ruby’s polar opposite. Elsa Frost shows up in a neat skirt suit and heels that only emphasize her pale skin and white blonde hair, dressed for all appearances like she’s interviewing at a law firm. For god’s sake, she even brings resumes in a file folder, the two pages paper clipped for maximum convenience. You can’t make this shit up. Emma wonders idly if their prospective keyboard artist has any idea what she’s walked into.

Surprisingly, reading the resume provided is illuminating. Ms. Frost certainly does know what she’s here for (“And this is an art theft, yes?”), but she cut her teeth, so to speak, in providing network security for major banks. Really, there’s no one better to hack past security systems than someone who made a career trying to prevent exactly that. 

Emma still has questions, however. Namely: “How exactly did you end up on the less legal side of things?” It’s more than a valid question, considering the formal interview attire. It seems that Elsa doesn’t know how these things usually play out. 

“I have a sister,” Elsa explains. “She’s the only family I have in the world, and she just got engaged. To a Central Park carriage driver. Wants the whole big to-do, which of course is very expensive. You know, the big white dress and the massive cake and the three courses and the specialty cocktail. So I’ve been looking into… alternative income streams.”

“Admirable,” Regina drawls, clearly unimpressed. “But there are plenty of other ways to make money. Legal ones. I’m sure you could make a very generous living just off of consulting with your skills. Why this?”

Elsa flushes, the rush of blood especially evident beneath her pale skin. Still, Regina and Emma wait in silence. They don’t need someone on their team who’s a risk, and that kind of motive makes any con with common sense worry their contact will go to the police when all is said and done. So they’ll wait, as long as it takes Elsa to come up with a real answer or prove herself too much of a risk to gamble on.

She cracks, of course. Facing down two such intimidating stares, anyone would. “Maybe I was bored,” Elsa finally says. Her chin lifts with the words like she’s trying to muster all her dignity - not that it works. “I’d done security for Wall Street firms and major banks for years. Eventually, you tire of trying to close all the loopholes that hackers are testing. Your entire career and your entire life becomes reactionary. Working on the other side… I get to exercise a little more creativity and problem solving and thinking outside the box, which is why I fell in love with programming in the first place.”

Emma makes eye contact with Regina and shrugs. “Works for me.”

Elsa stares back, disbelieving. “That’s it? That’s what you needed to hear?”

“We get boredom,” Emma explains.

“And we absolutely understand thinking the criminal side is a little more fun,” Regina adds. Like she knows anything about fun. 

(Ok, that’s not fully true; Emma half remembers a few tequila nights. Regina gets rowdy when she has enough to drink.)

“Where we’re going with this,” Emma finishes, “is that you’re in if you want it. I trust that after all that banking experience, you can work your way around their firewalls and whatnot?”

“Sure can. Check the bar’s accounts if you don’t believe me, I took the liberty of going ahead and transferring my $100 consultation fee.”

Well, that’s one way to prove your point.

“So that’s two down. Who’s next?” Emma asks after Elsa and her business suit depart.

Regina smirks. “Field trip.”

The field trip is to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they watch a young woman paint a replica of one of the portraits - a particularly unflattering source work featuring a distinctly masculine-looking woman. It makes the reproduction their prospective partner is working on all the more impressive, that she’s able to replicate that particular variety of unfortunate realism. 

“Belle French,” Regina explains under her breath. “She should be a rising young artist on the New York scene after graduating from Columbia, but tastes these days run a little more abstract and her style probably leans closest to the romantic or rococo. Instead, she’s stuck teaching intro level courses at a local community college.”

“What a waste.”

“Indeed. She’s absolutely broke and absolutely talented, and absolutely desperate. Teaching shitty freshmen who can’t draw a straight line and want to argue about their grades constantly does things to a person, or so I’d imagine. If we play our cards right, make the right approach…”

“She could be our girl.” Our forger, Emma means, but that’s a stupid thing to say out loud in an art museum.

“She could.”

Emma observes for just a moment longer before nodding decisively and making her move. She’s the one who’s got tact, after all; as good as Regina is about searching people out, she’s a little too blunt for this kind of negotiation.

“That looks beautiful,” Emma comments when she’s standing just behind Belle’s shoulder. “You’re very talented.”

“Thank you!” Where Elsa blushes, Belle beams. Here, it’s a sign of someone who’s been denied warranted validation for too long, and who’s looking to gobble it up even from unusual sources. It’s a good sign for their purpose; even if they’re cons, Emma and Regina can provide the validation she seems to be craving. 

“Is this just a hobby, or do you do this for a living?” Emma knows the answer, of course, but that might as well be rule number one of running a con: never show all your cards.

Belle makes a little wistful, frustrated noise. “Oh, I wish. This is just my free time, unfortunately. Hopefully it will help me hone my skills.”

“I don’t know. From where I’m standing, you look pretty skilled already. If this is your dream, I don’t think the talent issue is what’s keeping you from reaching it.”

“Yes, well, my dreams also feature millions of dollars and a functional love life. Some things, unfortunately, just aren’t going to happen, and I’m afraid this might be one of them.”

“I think I can help with some of that, at least,” Emma smiles. “I’d love to take you to coffee, maybe discuss it a little.”

“Like a job? Painting?” Belle’s skepticism is plastered all over her face. Not that Emma can blame her; it probably sounds just a little too good to be true.

“Something like that.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I absolutely am, if you’re interested in learning more.”

It’s a close thing, Emma thinks, but Belle does show up in the back corner of Regina’s favorite little Italian bakery an hour later.

“Why do I get the feeling this isn’t exactly a legal opportunity that you want to talk about?” Belle asks right away. Still, she seems utterly unfazed by the idea of it as she calmly sips a cappuccino. 

“Probably because it isn’t,” Emma replies, equally calm.

“Hypothetically,” Regina makes sure to add. Maybe that’s what she should have been in another life - a lawyer for the mob. Not that it matters, especially since Emma changes her mind every other time Regina opens her mouth. 

“Hypothetically,” Emma makes sure to emphasize, “we’re planning a job that would require someone with top notch artistic skills.”

“And you think that someone is me.”

“Hypothetically, yes,” Regina agrees. 

“But why me?” Belle argues. “I’m barely good enough to teach a bunch of college students. What makes you think that I’m skilled enough for whatever you have in mind - hypothetically have in mind?”

“Your style, ironically the very thing that’s really kept you from breaking into the art world, is exactly what we need for our purposes.” Somehow, Regina manages to make it all sound completely reasonable, though Emma knows it’s not. They’re talking about forgery and theft, for Christ’s sake. 

“And if I say no?”

“Then this conversation never happened,” Emma replies easily. “Look, my partner may be a little over-enthusiastic with the hypotheticallys, but it means we haven’t actually been planning anything in a way that you could take to the police. Look, I’ll be level with you - we can probably find another artist if need be. They’re out there. But they’re not you, Ms. French, and when we say we want the best, that’s you. For better or worse. The payout - sorry, the hypothetical payout would be more than enough to set you up. No more teaching brats with an attitude. We can help your originals find a way to market - legitimate or otherwise. There’s a lot of doors you can open with the kind of money we’re talking about.”

“Think about it and let us know.” Regina slides a card across the table - blank except for a starkly printed phone number. A burner, obviously, and perfect for what they have in mind. “You’re just the woman we need, and I think we’re just the opportunity you need.”

Emma and Regina barely make it to the end of the next block before the phone buzzes. 

I’m in.

Two pieces to go.

It’s a relatively short cab ride to Battery Park, where Regina says they’ll find their next crew member. “This is the pickpocket?” Emma asks as they stroll past a particularly fragrant food cart. Ah, New York. 

“This is the pickpocket,” Regina echoes back. “Tink Green. Young, but talented. She could easily break into larger jobs if she had the inclination, though I’m not sure that she does.”

“Tink? Seriously?”

“I know.” Regina rolls her eyes. “But yes, seriously. No idea what her real name is, she refuses to tell. If you have to have a stupid nickname, though, might as well make it a bad fairy fingers pun.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” A crowd is gathered up ahead along the railings bordering the river. “So where is she?”

“You see the blonde weaving through the crowd?” Regina asks, nodding in a general direction. “With the bun and the scarf and the headphones?”

“Yeah?” The woman in question looks utterly distracted - just another twenty-something absorbed in her phone.

“Watch.”

It looks like any other passing interaction - a distracted pedestrian not watching where they’re going, despite passerbys’ attempts to step around her. However, Emma’s a thief. She can spot the way that when the blonde bumps into an unsuspecting businessman, only the hand holding her phone comes up to brace on his torso, while the other steals into his coat pocket.

“Smooth,” she mutters. “I wonder if that’s all she’s got.”

Regina smiles  a wicked, amused smile. “Let’s go find out, shall we?”

“Just make sure you don’t have anything valuable in your pockets.”

With the leisurely pace Tink saunters along at - just the right speed to feign distraction and avoid any serious attention - it’s easy for Emma and Regina to catch up along either side. “Impressive show,” Emma comments casually.

She’ll give the pickpocket this - she’s a good faker. Emma only sees the momentary flash of recognition tinged with panic because she’s looking for it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replies. Tink’s accent is unusual; Australian, maybe, or possibly New Zealander. 

“That lift,” Emma continues. “Very well done. Practically seamless.”

“Again, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I think you’ve got the wrong person. Now if you’ll excuse me…” Tink’s eyes flit briefly to either side, looking for an easy escape like any good con.

“Oh relax,” Regina cuts in with that exasperated drawl she’s perfected. “We’re not here to bust you. We’ve actually got a job. Think of this as your interview.”

“You’ve lost me.”

“Regina Mills. This is my partner, Emma Swan.” Tink straightens, almost imperceptibly. “Ah, so you know who we are.”

“Run with a certain crowd, and it’d be hard not to.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Emma replies. “Like Regina said, we’ve got a job. Need someone with light fingers. A little teamwork and big payout.”

“How big?”

“Big enough not to say in such a public place.” Regina produces another card. “If you’d like to know more, come by the Poison Apple the day after tomorrow, around 2pm. We’ll share all the details with the team then. That is, if you’re interested.”

“I might be,” Tink hazards.

“Anything holding you back?” Emma asks. It’s obvious Tink is the woman for the job - talented and just charming enough for a little undercover prep work if need be. If there’s anything they can say to get her on board right now, Emma will gladly do it.

“Who’s the mark?”

Not the question she’d anticipated, but Emma can roll with it. “Zelena West.”

Unexpectedly, the other blonde bursts into a peal of laughter. “That piece of work?”

“The very same,” Regina replies with a wry smile.

“In that case, count me in. About time that bitch got what’s coming to her.”

Who knew it could be so easy - uniting a group of people around hatred of one disgustingly rich woman?

——— 

The last thing Emma expects to see when she and Regina finally make it back to the loft about the nightclub is a man already waiting outside the door, rocking back and forth on his heels with both hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket. As Regina wrangles the lock, the man springs to attention. “Ms. Mills?”

“Yes, yes, come in.” She’s obviously expecting him, as she holds the door wide open for the man to walk through, though her face never changes from mild irritation. Typical Regina. Though Emma can’t imagine why she’s letting him in to start with. 

“This one of your vendors, Regina?” she asks, closing the door. The man has come to stand in the middle of the room, looking around like he’s waiting for something.

Regina scoffs. “Don’t be ridiculous, Emma, the bar’s vendors come on Monday. This is our fence.”

Emma isn’t entirely sure what face she’s making, but it’s certainly not good. “Him?” she asks needlessly, earning herself an eye roll.

“No, the other man standing in the corner. Yes, him. This is Killian Jones.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Emma,” he says - warmly enough, she’ll grant - extending a hand to shake. 

Unfortunately for him, Emma’s not in a mood for warmly enough. “We are not on a first name basis,” she all but snaps before quickly pivoting to address Regina. “Can I talk with you for a moment?”

“What is your problem, Emma?” Regina hisses once they’re a reasonable distance away. Not that they’ve found true privacy; that doesn’t exactly exist in the loft space.

“He’s a he!” she hisses back.

“How didn’t you know that? I gave you the file.”

“It’s not like I read in-depth or anything! You always give me a little rundown anyways. I saw the name and figured they were a her, not a… him.” The last word is practically spat out like a curse. Absolutely melodramatic, not that Emma cares.

“And is that a problem? It’s not like you told me you wanted only women.”

“Yeah, well, I thought I wouldn’t have to when everyone else you offered up was of the female persuasion. Isn’t there anyone else?”

“No. You want the best, I find you the best. That man can find or sell practically anything, like a modern day pirate. Or something less stupid.”

Emma ignores Regina’s denial. “What about Jasmine? She’s great, she’d be good for this.”

Regina shakes her head. “She and Al just had a baby, so she’s out of the game for a while.”

“I guess I can get that. You send something?”

“Gift cards for take out and a card signed with both our names.”

“Oh, thanks for that. What about Kathryn?”

“Went to prison last year. And you hate her anyways after she flirted with your brother.”

“It’s more because she’s a prissy little rich girl who got into the black market because she thought it’d be fun.”

“No, it’s because she was hitting on David. I very narrowly escaped attending a debutante ball, if you remember, so I’m technically one of those prissy little rich girls,” Regina points out.

“Yeah, but I like you,” Emma sighs. “Bet her daddy bribed someone to get her sentence reduced.”

“Oh, undoubtedly. Still doesn’t change the fact that she’s unavailable.”

“What about —” Emma starts, only to be interrupted.

“Look, I’ll go find you someone else if you insist, someone female,” Regina argues, “but they’re not going to be as good as him. There’s no one else out there who’s got the amount of connections in the black market art world that he does, and he’s got strong footholds in advanced tech to boot. Just what we need. So are you going to quit your tantrum and suck it up, or am I going to have to put out feelers again?” She waits for an answer with arms crossed - never an inviting look.

“Fine,” Emma finally grumbles. “But he’s got a lot of ground to make up.”

“Yeah, and I’m sure you won’t let him forget it,” Regina mutters back under her breath.

Jones does them all the favor of pretending he didn’t hear any of that conversation when the women rejoin him. “Swan, is it?” he asks, extending that hand again. Today, Emma really feels like the last human on Earth who doesn’t feel a pressing need to follow that particular societal convention.

“That’s me,” Emma replies with as much enthusiasm as she can muster. It’s not much. “Regina says you’re the best around.”

“In more ways than one,” he winks. Mistake.

“Let’s get something straight right now: this flirting, or whatever you’re hoping to pull off? It’s not going to work on me,” Emma replies with venom hiding just behind her voice. “We’re here to stage a heist, and all I care about are results. This is about the job, and if you can’t keep it professional, then you can walk back out the door right now and we’ll find someone else.” 

They stare at each other for a moment, Emma hoping to establish her dominance right there and then, before Jones finally cracks a closed-mouthed smile and nods. “Won’t be a problem, Swan. I’m at your disposal.”

“Good. We’ll see you in two days for a full overview of the plan and to get this show on the road.”

“As you wish,” he declares, sketching a short bow. After a last nod to Regina, he leaves again, now a problem for another day.

“I still don’t like him,” Emma declares to Regina. The other woman is smiling like the cat who got the canary, and Emma hates it.

“You don’t have to,” the other woman replies, “but he’s going to make this work. You’d be an idiot to fight against that.”

“All I’m saying is he better be as good as you promise.” There’s something about Killian Jones that makes her nervous, something she can’t quite put her finger on. Not his skills; Emma trusts Regina on that front. Something about his attitude, or his confidence. That’s not important right now, though, when there’s plans to make and details to nail down. 

Killian Jones may be an unknown variable, but he’s one she can’t deny they need - and for the moment, that’s more important than any of her concerns. 

[goldenhour-goldenboy]

@detectivegordons So I saw you were looking for new youtube channels to check out and boy, do I have some gems for you. I started writing this as a normal ask but it quickly got waaay too long so we’re doing a classic text post + add where I can comfortably link the channels and also the rest of my peeps can check them out if they’re interested. So. Let’s divide and conquer:

Cooking

Bon Appétit (Test Kitchen) - One kitchen. Various series with their own themes and style by a specific cook. We have Claire who does ‘Pastry Chef attempts to do x/y/z’ of snacks and treats (e.g. ‘Pastry Chef attempts to make Gourmet Twizzlers’, ‘Pastry Chef attempts to make Ferrero Rocher’) and it’s a delight to watch her struggle through the process of replicating it as closely as possible. There’s also Brad doing ‘It’s alive’ featuring everything involving Fermentation, basically. The editing on this one is the best. There’s Carla inviting celebrities and doing follow alongs and back to back cooking. Ugh, and so many more, I love them all! 

House Renovations 

Wabi Sab-E - Follow this couple on their journey to renovate and old barn doing everything by themselves - construction, pluming, painting, tiling. It never gets boring due to the faster pace of the video and the really thought out and lovely edit. They’re a cute, genuine couple with two dogs and a cat as far as I can recall and just in general awesome folks.

Madeleine Olivia - Apparently she does lifestyle as well but I only watch her renovating videos. She and her boyfriend (fiance/husband??) bought a very cute cottage and just started remodeling the whole thing. She’s not as knowledgable or skilled as the other channels but watching her talk throughs and bringing bits and pieces together really calms me down.

Three Birds Renovation - Now, this is a professional channel. The three birds are three ladies from Australia renovating whole properties and really glamming up the lots. This isn’t diy it’s full on money and glam but if you want to watch houses getting remodeled and basically almost built from scratch again, this is your channel. They usually take on a house and then upload each room as a separate video. My favorite (as I guess most people’s fav is) is their forever home series where they each do their own houses and really kick it out of the park. Extravaganza. 

Lifestyle

Liziqi - A fairy queen from another realm. Absolute beauty shots of her doing her daily life, ranging from picking wild mushrooms, building a love seat from scratch with bamboo, making her own tools, cooking in a self made stone stove. No dialogue, mainly just music and her occasionally trying to keep the sheep from eating her cabbage. You NEED to watch at least one of her vids, I cannot describe this to you! 

Claire Marshall - Claire makes beautifully edited lifestyle vlogs featuring fashion, travel, reconnecting with her past, her cat, make up, drafting/doodling or just life and her thoughts on it in general. She has a much more calmer vibe which I personally prefer to a louder and up beat video personality and her flow, aesthetic and visual presentation really drew me in.

Grackle - A cute little every day vlogger from England. Nothing fancy, nothing out of the box, just plain good and old vlogging and following her around. She’s an absolute dork, a gentle soul and I find her family very funny and relating, lol.

Damon & Jo - They used to do a lot of travel vlogs and I mainly followed them because of their older videos, now they’re both kinda doing their own thing but they’re still great, still traveling the world on a low budget. They’re very very talented when it comes to languages and I find them going on adventures in foreign countries highly amusing. 

Eve Cornwell - Eve is a soon to be proper lawyer currently finishing her masters degree (I think?? I need to catch up on her, lol). She drinks too much coffee, is a relatable student who struggles through her workload and shows you what it takes to get that law degree. Also her editing is just *chef kisses* super cute.

Booktube

Paperbackdreams - I just saw a few of her vids bc I’m mainly not that much into booktube but her video about after just had me snorting all the way through so maybe you enjoy that. Also, a very small curly haired bean.

LilyCReads - Lily got famous for her rant videos and I just love how she picks apart shitty plots. Mainly, because she swears a lot. But she also has a series of her reading the Harry Potter books for the first time and I quite enjoyed them. Simple, very entertaining. 

Readwithcindy - Only watched a few of her videos but I love her style and her vibe a lot. Also, she has the same favorite books as I do so ... maybe that’s a reason as well. Oh, yeah. And we share the depression part and I can relate on t h a t.

Movie Commentary

Dylan is in Trouble - Basically a dude watching our favorite chick flicks, guilty pleasure or teenage obsession shows and comments on them. That’s it. That’s the whole content. He started a series where he was watching the cringiest shows and see how much he could take and it basically evolved from that to .. watching movies and commenting/ranting/questioning various parts that we all questioned. 

Alex Meyers - Alex comments on shows and sums up weird stories very well and he does so with the help of animation. Basically, he’s an artist making fun of weird shows but it’s very light hearted and mostly not ill intended. Also, his animations feature his dog so if that doesn’t get you selling idk what does. 

Trin Lovell - She’s like Dylan. But female. And asian. And much more energetic but just as funny (if not even more). Also, way more edited and dramatic but I like it. So, yeah, a movie commentary channel watching everything from Twilight to Riverdale, lol. 

Art

Emily Artiful - I mainly followed her because of her Sketchbook Storytime videos where she draws and chats/rants to her viewers at the same time and it’s not only beautiful but highly amusing as well. Love her presence and her way of telling a story and getting riled up about it. 

Documentary/Personal

Max Joseph - I know, it’s the guy from Catfish but hear me out. He’s got like 2 vids up where he really took the time and effort and met with very interesting peeps. One of the videos is about if you need to be an asshole to make it as a director in the movie industry. The other one is book related, how to read more books and such and I found them highly intriguing and fascinating! He doesn’t have that many videos yet but those two are like an hour long so grab a snack, sit back and enjoy! 

Film Analysis/Video Essays

Now, those are channels focusing on movie analysis and explaining shots and film for you and why we, as the audience, feel a certain way because we’ve been set up. So if you’re interest in that (I LOVE those) that might be your niche. They’re mostly doing the same thing so I’m just gonna link their channels down below! 

Lessons from the Screenplay

Nerdwriter1

Sideways

Tyler Mowery

Let me know if you knew any of those already or if you liked any of them! :)