#to make up for my lack of photography skills

[belladonnadawn]

Silver Springs

“I know I could have loved you if you would just let me.”

Alex x Reader

After your ex’s infidelity, you swore that you’d never let your heart be discarded once again. Then came Alex. He was sweet, charming, and passionate. His charm seems to skyrocket once you find out about his skill at photography. How he captured images and changed its perspective truly enticed you; and soon he captured your heart too.

You were guarded– scared. That feeling of fear was valid after what happened in your last relationship. But Alex was understanding, he told you how it happened to him too and your heart broke with his. Nevertheless, your relationship blossomed from there. Slowly let your guard down, with a hope that maybe this time it was worth it.

Everything was smooth sailing, you sometimes wonder if you got lucky or blessed. Either way, you’re sure that what you had was meant to last. And it did, for four amazing years. You knew what you and Alex had was special. 

HIs success was inevitable. You believed since then that he was bound to go big, making his own name in the industry. It meant more gigs, more work, and less time with you. You understood since you were building your career path as him.

But these past few days a new name became familiar in your household: Natalie. All you know from his accounts was that she's a good colleague: efficient, passionate, and pretty. You knew her position and understood her significance in his career, but to see that Alex has someone to bond with the same passion together… it did bother you. You tried to swallow the jealousy bubbling up inside you, blaming it on lack of affection and distance from each other’ but it never went away.

Then came the doubts, the suspicions, and finally the argument.

There's not a day where the argument never replayed in your mind. You pointed fingers at yourself, wishing you were quieter and more understanding. You’d stare at him, wishing he was assuring and empathetic. But you know that no one wins in the blame game, so you try to move forward. After four years, there’s no storm that you and Alex haven’t weathered… right?

Tension filled the night air as you and Alex faced each other again. After the argument, you expected reconciliation– after all, there’s a calm after a storm. But you were wrong. Alex revealed that a new life was welcoming him, a life in New York filled with new opportunities and experience. You were beyond happy for him, especially when you watched his journey for years. But that happiness didn’t stay long as he revealed that it was best for you and him to part ways.

“With the right person, I think I’d be able to do it.” Alex took a deep sigh, head hung low. The statement made you flinch, heart falling to your stomach. After dissociating for how long, it brings you back to the situation as if it’s rubbing it in the wound, mocking you. 

“Do you hear yourself?” He looks up at you, meeting your gaze. You look at him in disbelief, not recognizing the man you love. 

Both of you sat in silence, the air was thick with things left unsaid. You felt your heart beating out of your chest. You never thought that you’ll reach this point in your relationship. 

“We had just one argument, one disagreement; and now you’re casting me away for New York? After four years?” You tried to hide the hate in your words, but after being placed in such a predicament, you know you can’t. 

Alex stood up, trying to make his point across. “It’s not just that, you have no idea how complicated our relationship would be, especially after you accused me!”

“Are you really breaking up with me because of my accusations or you're breaking up with me so you can enjoy your new life in New York?” You stood your ground, wanting to awaken some senses to him.

Alex only sighed, looking away from you. “You don’t understand.”

“I know I don’t.” You spoke, words laced with contempt and sorrow. Your heart shattered; you didn't know that this is how it ends. You could see your picture perfect future shattered in front of you.

“Did you even imagine a future or a life with me?” With a heavy heart, you looked at him for answers.

‘Did you even consider me as the right person?’ 

You bit your tongue, holding back the question. At the state of your relationship, you already knew the answer. It was tragic that it must come to an end. You love him, but you know that love is not enough foundation in a relationship.

“I think I need to get some air.” You grabbed your belongings, praying that the tears you’ve been holding back won’t burst out in front of him. Your relationship flashed in your eyes, a bittersweet feeling engulfs your heart.

You could fight and beg for him, but that would seem desperate– and love isn’t built out of desperation. You could scream how much you deserve better, but only the ones who truly love you will be willing to listen. So you just decided to take a walk to clear your mind. The night was quiet, a contrast to the tumultuous emotions that continued to fill you. Your gaze fell on the stars, with a silent wish that the pain that you carry would hurt less. Holding your heart, you let yourself love for the last time.

“Good luck, Alex. I wish you well in New York.”

Note: Hello, everyone! Thought I might post an Alex fic before taking a break. Been visiting the doctor these past few days, and let's just say I'm still under observation. I'll be okay (Maybe a Kayson audio would revive me, I miss him so much), and I promise to come back with more bangers. Might lurk from time to time tho hehe. That's all, thank youuu!

Pattern banner from Cafekitsune.

[thelampisaflashlight]

Shutterbug AU

[A while back I wrote an AU where Dew was a regular human who happened to fall in with the church and eventually became a ghoul of his own volition. Well, now, I'm back on my bullshit, and this time, instead of having him join the group right away, you get this.] Below the cut.

-Dew is a hobbyist photographer, he still does tech work/music as his main gig, but he also takes pictures.

Thing is, he tends to capture things in his photos that can't be seen by the naked eye, but he usually writes it off as him not being very good at taking photos, crappy lighting, etc.

Anyway, he's doing some behind the scenes sort of candid photography and takes some pics of the ghouls (Mist, Alpha, and Omega to be specific) because they asked him to get a couple for them to share privately with close friends/family, and Dew obliges, because why not?

Well, when he goes to look back at the photos, some digital, others on film for aesthetic purposes, something isn't quite right about what he's seeing.

At first, he pretends the photos got damaged/his SD card was fucked up, and the ghouls are bummed out, but it's whatever, and there's still some cool/fun background shots that made it out unscathed so it's all good.

But Dew is fucking terrified, because wtf?

-He manages to hide the other photos, fully intent on discarding them somehow, because he isn't sure he's supposed to see... whatever it is he's seeing.

So he makes the decision to burn them the next chance he gets, and, in the meantime, he's pretty insistent on NOT taking any photos of the ghouls, and keeps saying his cameras aren't working/have no memory left and all that jazz, which works for a little while, but then Omega gets suspicious.

Omega knows Dew is always taking photos of things, but he's being a bit sneakier/shy about it, and that's not like him at all.

When Dew finally does go to burn the copies he has of the photos... Omega films him doing it from a distance on one of Dew's own digital cameras and waits for Dew to sort through his camera and find the video.

But when Dew does find it, he doesn't even react, he just kind of watches it while Omega is sitting there, waiting for something, anything, any indication that he's even remotely nervous... but he gets absolutely nothing.

...Because Dew's camera is actually broken this time, as a result of him accidentally dropping it out of his bunk that morning.

-Anyway, it all kind of culminates with Dew being asked to take some pictures for Papa and, yeahh... It's kind of hard to say no to your boss, so he does.

And he makes a valiant effort not to freak out or panic whenever the photos come out ever so slightly off/messed up, and then the ghouls insist on taking a group photo with him in it.

Dew hands off his camera to someone else and they take the picture and... it's fine?

The ghouls all look like they do normally, and Dew is so relieved that he really does think it's just his own shitty skills/lack of talent, and while that's mildly upsetting, it's better than thinking he's taking pictures of actual demons.

However...

-At some point, Dew is talking to Mist about something, and brings up that he's thinking about maybe taking a class on how to take better photos, and eventually confides in her about how most of his tour photos were messed up or weird, and she asks him to show her.

So he does, and he explains that they only seem to come out that way when he takes the photo, but not when anyone else does, and Mist tells him to take a photo of her, then close his eyes and look back at her.

Suffice it to say seeing the irl flesh version of a still image he captured of a demon has Dew on a one way trip to the infirmary, because man passes the fuck out.

That's what I have so far.

[delcakoo]

i’m sure most ppl expected this so i’m not gonna make a big deal out of it but!! yes i am going on hiatus for an unspecified amount of time.

it’s honestly quite simple, i’ve just been losing interest in most aspects of kpop aside from the music, which makes writing for it a lot harder than before. i also dealt with a lot of burn out for months and still forced myself to write which only made it worse. lastly, i’m an executive of two clubs at my school this year on top of all my classes, so finding time to write would be even worse than it was before :’) !

YEAh that’s kinda it! for now my works will stay up, moots can dm me for my disc/spotify!! even if we’ve barely spoken pspsps i wanna stalk ur music cmere 🤲 a special shout out to my emoji anons too, you’re all amazing people ilysm, especially those that have been stuck with me for so long <3 (u know who u are!!)

i’ll try and check in here every so often to chat, esp if a new comeback for enha/txt happens!! love u guys and stay safe <3 you may send an ask if u have any questions!

extra stuff i wanna say to moots below! (it’s all word vomits i’m sorry)

RAVEN. MY WIFEY. my BELOVED blr wont let me tag u but you already know i adore u sm playing roblox with u is so fun even if that one banana game was kinda ass!! 💖 thank u for being so so sweet when putting up with me all the time and raising our fav corgi daughter with sm love <3 i hope u get more confidence in ur writing because your fics are always so creative and well written, and in yourself too bc a certain mf thats name starts with J and ends with N is MISSING OUT. 🙄🙄 ok im still gna be annoying u all the time so. bye ig….. smooches

@seongclb katto u deserve an award for putting up with me in dms ilysm 😞 watching the promised neverland together brought me so much joy and i still have a ss of you calling gilda a tractor ok i love u!!!! i would read your fics all day any day u are so talented and ur photography skills are amazing, i hope we get to keep in touch WE SHOULD FIND ANOTHER SHOW TO WATCH TGTHER !!!!! i need to fix your lack of anime knowledge ‼️ PLS KEEP WRITING AS WELL ENHABLR NEEDS U!!!!

@soov reirei my gf i aspire to be as confident and funny as you, you’re literal sunshine and always make my day better even with just one interaction <3 thank u for being so welcoming my first days in walmart enha and raising sushiwon with me!! as well as entertaining me by dying in genshin every 3 seconds <3 (WE NEED TO PLAY AGAIN) oh and KEEP WRITING BB. i will rise from THE DEAD WHEN IT COMES OUT OK U CAN DO THIS ML!!

@haknom kangaroo karaoke keys we may have had only a few convos but they were all so fun like PLAYING BRAWL STARS WAS HILARIOUS we ate the house down in duo showdown idc. and beta reading ur fics was such a treat esp while watching u plan new smaus every other day 🫶 also your music taste is MUWAH gimme some more recs pspsps !!! KEEP WRITING OKKK?!

@kynrki kimmy kimmy kim one of my first ever moots <3 your writing is always such a joy to read and your energy is amazing, thank you for giving me a chance when i was too shy to ask anyone else to be moots LMAO 🫶 plsplss keep writing you’re so gifted and deserve the whole world LOVEE UU

@bitehee cavvy my big sibling :((( i love u sm kshsdknd its been a while but i really hope everything has been well since you moved and you’re still being as cool as ever <3 im gonna replay a pokemon game in ur honor perhaps mystery dungeon 👁️ ? anyway i look up to u and think u are so cool, one of my fav hee stans ever ever!!! remember u have my disc if u ever wanna chat 🫂 !!!

@sunoksunny sunny <3 my other gf. i remember our first vc u had this goofy pfp i cant remember what it was but like u are so easy to talk to and funny?! and PRETTY??? your fits are always stunning and your singing is beautiful ugh the whole package fr… and. we need. to play. genshin!!! I REDOWNLOADED IT FOR U OK WE WILL DISCUSS THIS SOON!! ILY

@slytherinshua ZANNY. u are so easy to talk to we match each others energy so perfectly?!? I HOPE U AND TUALHA CONTINUE BEING THE COOLEST EVER and ur writing is top tier so pls keep going‼️ thank u for being so sweet to me as another one of my very first moots i appreciate u sm <3333

@flwrshee riri !!! we haven’t even been moots for long but i had to add u in here because u need to know that ILYSM. you’re like an adorable energetic little sister that always makes me smile T-T thank you for taking time out of your day to reblog my fics with so much sweet feedback and i wish u the absolute best always!! if u ever need anything pls dm me on disc i would love to chat with u more, and make sure to keep writing bc u have SO much talent!!!!

@wonieleles sia SIA i genuinely miss talking to u sm i NEED to come back to walmart enha :(( we don’t talk much besides our little interactions in the server but each time you make me smile. you’re so so smart and admirable, i hope you keep up the hard work bc i know you’ll go so far and HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE!! you’re so beautiful okay ily 😞🫶

@sultrybaby kel 😭😭😭💖💖 you’ve literally been a day one THANK YOU for always checking in on me even during your ridiculous NONSTOP EXAMS. 💀 another one of my big siblings on here fr you are such a real one and i care for u sm!!! i hope everything has been well for u?! pls feel free to message me for anything okay <3 I LOVE U SM thank u for sticking with me all this time 🫂🫂

i have so many moots so i can’t write smthn for everyone but i love u all okay <3 AGAIN if u wanna keep in touch thru spotify or discord dm me muwah

[ryuichirou]

Hey ryuichi, as an artist, how do you feel about Ai art? Do you think that Ai is going to replace artists? Do you think that Ai artists are real artists?

I'm curious to know your opinion on this matter.

Sorry for the late reply, Anon! I wanted to give you a more or less nuanced reply, so it took me some time to think about this topic.

I’ll start with the easy one: no, AI art isn’t going to replace all artists and it’s not going to completely eradicate art as we know it, because art doesn’t exist solely for the practical purposes. As long as people enjoy and feel passionate about making art, art is going to exist in one form or another. But that’s just stating the obvious.

And while there are people who are better or worse at coming up with prompts for the AI, as long as they don’t do any additional work based on the AI-generated image, I don’t consider it being art. I think art is about skill, taste and personality, and this simply isn’t it.

Are people going to lose jobs because of AI art? Unfortunately, it already happens, but it also doesn’t mean that artists are doomed and this is some kind of apocalypse. It’s very important to consider the scale of things, the possible developments, etc. Here are some points to consider…

First of all, if we’re talking about personal commissions and clients that opt to use AI instead of commissioning an artist for their project (or personal use), I wouldn’t say that it’s too much of a loss. I feel like this is exactly the type of clients who don’t tend to appreciate artists’ work and pay them fairly anyway, otherwise they wouldn’t even consider AI as an option. Many of these “clients” would never commission an artist anyway, so they’re not even a part of this client pool. I know that money is money, and some artists would gladly take even a low-paying job from a customer that often doesn’t treat them well (I’ve been there and speak from my personal experience back when I started to offer my commission services), but I am an idealist and think that we shouldn’t spend our time and energy on someone who doesn’t see any value in our work anyway. Not everyone has the luxury of throwing away people who pay you at least something, of course, these artists still need to eat, so that last statement remains an idealistic take from me, keep that in mind.

And if we’re talking about corporations that use AI instead of hiring artists, while it is a problem, I also feel like it’s going to backfire somehow – it kinda does already. Not necessarily in terms of the company getting backlash, but in terms of the lack of quality control over the AI art (if you don’t have any actual artists on board, how are you going to know if the art works or not?) and some other unexpected reasons that are definitely going to pop up.

AI is definitely going to transform the way we think about art and art-related jobs in general. Some jobs might get lost forever, but it happens all the time – there are other brand-new types of art-jobs that are going to start emerging out of thin air. Just like photography and Photoshop influenced the market and art in general, AI is going to do just that.

I’ll note that I don’t think companies are going to stop using AI altogether at any point of the near future though; it’s a very powerful and cost-effective tool, there is no way they are letting it go. AI is absolutely here to stay, and it’s going to evolve and become better and better, scarily better. But this is how I think we should approach it:

People whose work is used for the AI’s learning pool should abso-fucking-lutely give their consent to their work being used, or even better, be compensated for their participation. If there is a new AI that makes a point out of the participation in the learning process being voluntary and well-paid, I think it’d change the dynamic between artists and AI – so far it’s just stealing from them.

Ideally, AI should be used as a base and not the final product. Actual artists could get inspired by it during the brainstorming stage or work over it.

Whoever posts, produces or distributes content that was created with the help of an AI, should absolutely mark it accordingly. In my perfect world, there’re going to be laws about this lol In general, the whole thing needs to be reflected in law, so far it’s way too easy to abuse.

Not only marked, AI generated images should be banned from being sold lol You can press that button and type all the key words all you want, but the result is just a free image that anyone can use and cannot be monetized. I believe this final point would make the majority of AI users just abandon their desire to use it in general – if there’s no profit for them, they’ll drop out, and AI art can be used as a tool like it’s supposed to be.

As you can see, I have avoided saying that people who use AI art are “artists” because I don’t consider them artists. If they don’t transform anything and don’t bring anything new to the table, I, the most important person on this planet, will refuse to give them that title lol

As far as I know, actors and writers have achieved some guarantees against the use of AI during their strike..? I haven’t looked into it, so I don’t know. Also please, keep in mind that I’m mostly talking about illustrations, because this is what I do. AI affects other types of art too, and there might be nuance there that I’m not mentioning here.

In general, I don’t want to demonize AI, because I feel like it’s not a problem on itself, it’s the way people use it that’s brings problems for all of us. This is a very new technology, and we don’t know how to handle it just yet mostly because for the lack of the law system regulating it, this is why there are so many opportunities to abuse it.

Also also, when the novelty of the AI art wears off, we might end up with the resurgence of appreciation for “real human art” or something. We are waaaaay too prone to nostalgia not to go “god I miss it when actual people designed logos” one day, and believe me, whenever it happens, the companies are going to market their stuff as the REAL HUMAN ART by the REAL HUMAN PEOPLE so much that we’re going to get sick of it in 5 minutes lol. But hey, maybe it’ll end up being a reason to pay artists more.

Thank you for reading such a long reply! I don’t want for my blog to turn into a discussion board, so sorry in advance if you address this topic in future asks to give me links or examples and I won’t reply to you, but it depends on the number of asks. I’ll look through everything on my own.

[kas-e]

Futility

Resistance isn't futile.

What started with printed propaganda a hundred years ago eventually morphed into programming through tube televisions, then to computers, and now to phones.  The change we've witnessed since the turn of the century is unprecedented, yet ironically hardly noticed.  The globalization of social connectivity has cast a strange cloud over our collective spirit as human beings.  At our core we are the same people born into the world as our great grandparents, but our attention spans are far shorter and are being held hostage by the same corporations that built the modern world.  Our minds are weak in the face of advertising, and the spirits of those who succumb to the new normal are numb - which accounts for a staggering percentage of earth's population.  This is no big conspiracy, this is no new world order plot.  It is simply what happens when people are presented with the shiniest of toys, exhausted from being overworked and underpaid, and brainwashed to the point of complacency.  

I used to smoke a lot of weed.  I remember knowing wake and bakers who used to pull a chalky bong hit the moment they woke up.  Everytime I did it myself, my day was shot.  My mind was fogged, and well, just off.  But the impulse, the idea, and even the need, I deeply understood.  Many humans, myself included, every single day before even getting out of bed reach for the phone and scroll a bit.  Before coffee, before breakfast, we get that hit... and it taints our day, and puts the mind in a place that is sometimes, well, just off.  Everyday when we wake up we have a choice, but it's so easy to reach for the phone.  It's so easy to surrender to the impulse of our new commonly shared addiction.  Nobody would dare relate their phone use to the fentanyl addict bent over on the corner, or the alcoholic at your job, but it's not so different. They both steal your time, mess with your mind, and have negative consequences when abused and misused.  How do you act when you've lost your phone?  That sinking frustration, that paranoid panic, that's a feeling that addicts are all too used to, and now you've had a lick of that lollipop too.  But it's ok, it's normal, no big deal.  We're cyborgs, not junkies...

Our youth is pacified into adulthood now because of these devices.  Social skills are lacking in the face of the past, and are steadily on the decline.  Humanity has been shaken up by this new tool, and the shakedown still has a while to unravel.  

It's certainly not all bad because despite the weirdness and negativity, the silver lining does shine bright.  There is no excuse for an artist not to do their thing because we've been presented with the most powerful creative tool fathomable.  Imagine Mozart with Ableton, Salvador Dali with Photoshop, or Ansel Adams with a Nikon and a laptop.  

When I started shooting photographs, digital photography was just starting to make waves, so I shot film for a year or so.  I paid for every shot and every step in the process - which was slow, tedious, and time consuming. The gear was clunky and heavy and breaking all the time.  Now I can blast off thousands of shots in a day with a reliable camera and glass engineered so well that it's almost incomprehensible.  I can shoot at night without a tripod.  Some photographers hike with their entire kit on their back, throw a card the size of my thumbnail into their laptop, and process as many shots as they want in the matter of minutes in a tent on the summit of a mountain.  Not to mention, now cameras are essentially free since the tech on phones is approaching a quality that will soon rival that of a camera.  I'm already starting to feel like a relic, but I, like many others, live for the process and will continue to do so.  

Now, to resist is to live.  When I'm dealing with my camera I haven't a single thought about my phone.  It pulls me into the moment and makes me present.  When I'm on the road, I use the maps, but that's about it.  In today's world, the only thing that is futile is you, if you can't find the wisdom and value in what it means to resist.  

[fourseasonsfigs]

Chulian on Lake

For today's fig post we have this amazing set - that lights up!

This complex and beautiful set features Zhang Zhehan's lotus spirit Qing Lian (aka Xiao-Zhe) from his advertisement for Jade Dynasty: New Fantasy, together with Gong Jun's Dong Fang Yuechu from the upcoming drama Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Yue Hong.

First, just a few pictures of our ethereal lotus fairy:

And a few pictures of our stunning Daoist priest:

That last one in particular is the inspiration for this fig here.

This set arrived in an enormous, fairly heavy box. I had to ship this air mail because of the electronics involved in it.

I was a little worried about how big and delicate this set was, but it arrived in perfect shape. Full credit to the fig maker and the factory for cushioning it so well.

Here's all the pieces. I still think it's incredible all the fragile flowers and stems make it through.

You can see here the little tiny holes (up at the top by the edges) where you can insert the lotus leaves and flowers. They went in quite easily and were very stable.

Here's a close up of the electronics. The set came with both batteries and a USB cord. The button there turns on the lake light.

Here's the lake by itself, before the figs go in. As you can see, Yuechu stands in the boat via peg legs. Very seaworthy of him! Qing Lian just lays down however you like inside the lotus.

Before we put the figs into their respective conveyances, here's a closeup of them. Qing Lian is all curled up and sleepy eyed, and Yuechu is casting a magical fireball of some sorts.

I could only really get two angles of the figs before they went into the lake, since neither of them stand by themselves.

This was a very difficult set to get good pictures of. One, because I lack any real photography skills, and my phone kept hyperfocusing on certain parts and blurring out the rest. But, as we go around the fig, you do end up seeing the whole thing. So please bear with me!

Beautiful, isn't it? I love how detailed these figures are - their hair is amazing.

Here's a top-down view. Yuechu fits in the boat beautifully - the pegs went right in, and he's pretty secure in there. No glue needed. Xiao Zhe is resting peacefully and easily in his lotus.

We'll do a couple closeups here. He's quite tiny all curled up like that!

Huh. Is Yuechu conjuring up Qing Lian? It looks like we have a lotus in the middle of that magic. I'm not sure!

Our lotus lake at midnight! It does in fact light up like a dream. I just went ahead and plugged the USB cord in the wall, so it's a little less beautiful than it would be cordless with the batteries. Still, it's very lovely.

The fig maker included a double-sided postcard, a matching keychain with the art, the batteries, and the USB cord (that I had already plugged in).

I really appreciate how she included both. This is her first set, and I hope she makes more!

Material: Resin

Fig Count: 513

Scene Count: 36

Rating: Luminous!

[link to the Master Post Index]

[finniestoncrane]

I'm here for a blind date

Im so sorry for the late request 😭

I've lost track of the days and time.

I'm a 26 year old man, Gay, and I work as a mailman, tying to save up for college. I'm 5'8, wear glasses, brownish red shaggy hair, some stubble.

I'm very anxious, people pleaser, clumsy, kinda dense ngl. Someone can tell me something and it's not guaranteed to get through my brain. I'm not too smart lmao. I'm nice, generally willing to help anyone. I consider myself a hardworking, picking up slack, I don't leave things half-assed.

I do have some issues with trust, I'm generally overly cautious approaching any relationship. Whether it be platonic or romantic.

I like collecting pins, tinkering with things, birds, photography, comics, gardening, and interior design to an extent.

Congrats on 1.5k!

-🦦

💜 blind date 💜 the kitchen is now closed! 🔞minors dni🔞 • masterlist • kofi link • tag: finnie1500 (to follow or to block) a/n: is it normal to get jealous of you for a date i wrote? no? ok then💚

"Oh great! Hi! Welcome to the Vill-Inn. I'm so glad you're here and not at all annoyed because if you hadn't showed up I was going to steal your seat! Enjoy your meal, I guess."

A strange welcome, but when you get to your table, you realise why the wait staff might have been planning on swooping in and stealing your date. Sitting across from you is a mass of hulking muscles attached to a stoney, but handsome, face.

"I am... well, most people call me Bane."

He offers you his hand and you take it, surprised by how gentle the hold is, though it's clear he's making a very conscious effort to withhold his strength. Bane seems shy, and really self-conscious, and you suppose you would too if you were bigger and taller than everyone around you. But he is polite, and surprisingly sweet.

The first thing he says to you, beyond introductions, is how much he likes your glasses. It's clear that he's been thinking of a compliment that isn't invasive, or that could backfire. You can tell how anxious he is, being very anxious yourself, so you try and ease up the tension, saying thank you, apologising for being a bit awkward, giving the whole 'I'm very anxious' spiel.

"Oh. That's... me too. I suppose we can be anxious together, si?"

Bane asks how you ended up on a blind date, and you explain that you felt like meeting someone new. You usually find it difficult, given that you're quite cautious and have trust issues, but that you figured it couldn't do you any harm. And this seems to resonate with him.

"I don't have many friends, or other relationships. Trust is a difficult thing to come by."

As he opens up, you realise you both have a lot more in common than you even could have realised. Both clumsy, although for Bane it comes with his size and strength, both a little bit lacking in the self-confidence department when it comes to intelligence. And you can see him breaking into a small smile when you tell him that you hate half-assing anything.

"I can be relentless too. Although... I mean, I won't push you for a second date... unless you want to... have one?"

You definitely do, and you're even more excited when he asks if you'll go bird-watching with him. That way, you can show off your photography skills. He might describe himself as dense, but he's picked up on everything you've said over the evening, unable to focus on anything but you. A very good sign.

[itlovesinthewoods]

ILITW!MC Profile

I saw quite a few MC character profiles floating around and decided to make my own. And ofc I made it for MC of all-time.

More headcanons under the cut

-ENFJ, 6w7

-Dating Noah Marshall

-He has a Peruvian Father and Indian (Tamil specifically) Mother

-Doesn't have a super close relationship with parents. He loves them of course, and vice versa but they're often busy and don't have much time for him. Even apart from that, they struggle to understand him and he gets the impression that they're disappointed in how he turned out.

-Is clever, intuitive and quick-witted and has picked up many skills (first aid, hair-dressing, photography, sewing, sketching) but has never truly excelled in any particular area and lacks academic intelligence

-Lacks passion which is a source of insecurity for him and feels he'll never get anywhere in life

-Loves gifts, both giving and getting, and really gets into trying to select the perfect gift for friends

-Alternates between soft grunge and goth aesthetic, and is rather particular about clothing

-has dyed hair several times and experimented with different hairstyles, to the point most people forgot how it actually looks. After ILW, he finally let's it grow out

-Has multiple piercings (tongue, eyebrows, navel, several on ear, including helix, industrial and tragus)

-Has several beauty marks scattered across face and dimples

-Has a nice singing voice and has performed small-time gigs, but doesn't consider it seriously

-Had a small crush on Noah when they were younger which dies out after Jane's death (although some feelings resurface after they become friends again)

-Alternatively, every friend except for Lily, has had a crush on Devon at some point. They revealed this during a game of Never Have I Ever, and joke it's basically a rite of passage

-When Jane died, a kid joked about her death, implying that one of Devon's friends killed her, which led to Devon punching them and being suspended for a week. That incident cemented him as a social outcast and his peers completely stopped interacting with him afterwards

-Has a savior complex where he thinks it's his duty to save everyone, and take on any hurt if it meant sparing others. However, this leads to him having little regard for himself and often deciding what's the best for others even if they wouldn't want him to be hurt on their behalf

-Stubborn, sarcastic and sharp-tongued, all traits which get him into trouble, or make troublesome situations even worse. Can best be described as a 'would look Death in the face and spit at it' type of person

-More in tune with others' feelings than his own, always knowing just what to say and is great at giving advice. However, can often be hypocritical in this regard (example: telling Noah he can't blame himself for Jane's death)

-Chose to become the shadow monster both because he felt like he needed to make up for not saving Jane in the past and Noah needed to live, in his eyes, actually live and become someone more than the brother of a dead girl

-Has multiple scars, on his wrist and neck from his encounter with Redfield!Jane, a shallow but long cut from when possessed!Noah tried to kill him, and some marks that appeared after his resurrection

-has a rather weak heart post-ressurection (due to died by heart-related reasons by Jane)

-Has a rather messed up sleeping schedule, which only becomes more shitty post-resurrection

-Jocelyn and Devon had a tense relationship even after ILW, but slowly became more civil and friendly after a few months of working together.

-Apart from Noah, ILW!MC and Connor, Devon gets along most with Lincoln due to being rather similar (both didn't/don't go to college, have a similar sense of humor, Lincoln gives him advice on how to control power). Lincoln also did several tattoos for Devon (tree branches on shoulders, Noah's name on wrist)

-He and Noah aren't sure they'd ever actually marry, that they're already partners in every way they can be and don't need a ceremony for it, but that doesn't mean it's not a possibility in the future

-Likes: The woods, friends, trying out new things, Noah's cooking, collections, animals, music, podcasts, rain, jewelry and accessories

-Dislikes: Bullies, loneliness, cooking, closed spaces, certain fashion trends, over-thinking, fights, strange textures, studying

[ceejaykayess]

Here's the third and final of the initially planned Kagepro/AITSF art pieces. This one featuring the very dramatically and awkwardly named Y(A)k(I)suteru, or Yaki for short. I'm not sure why, the image quality is worse than usual- not the fault of my subpar photography skills for once, so maybe it'll be harder to see what I'm talking about for yourself. Sorry if it is.

So, compared to Ene, Yaki is very much comparable to Aiba and Tama- definitely more Aiba, as I seem to keep defaulting to for some reason. Maybe because the first game was better. Anyways- her outfit is meant to be comparable to the sundress the original Yaki wore in Route 2, sans the slits along her legs. Hey, don't look at me, look at Shintaro- an AI-Ball takes a form that epitomises the user's personal tastes, after all. Of course, that's not all that's going into the cause of her appearance...

The markings on her dress were made with the intention of being cyclical, hence why they loop around her back and meet back at her front. Around her neck, comparatively, is a single black line taking the appearance of a snake eating its own tail. How friendly... the markings on her legs, too, are twin snakes intertwining and reaching forward for a red something before them. The marking on the centre of her back was made to fill in all the blank space, taking an almost double meaning- looking like a jagged zero in the black, while the surrounding red was meant to look vaguely similar to Ayano's scarf.

On the topic of her scarf, you might notice she doesn't have one. In spite of that, I tried (and failed probably) to make it look like something was still pressing down on her hair where the scarf would have been. I also made her hair longer than her canon counterpart, with it reaching past her waist. Surprisingly, canon Ayano's hair isn't very long in spite of how voluminous it looks.

Yaki's gel form is, unsurprisingly, that of a snake, and her iris is red. The text above her reads, "I know I've said this before, but I figure I may as well say it again. Don't forget this week, Shintaro." This is meant to be in blatant reference to the start of MCA. In the top right is a quick hand-drawn reference-free sketch of Shintaro dramatically awakening Yaki and being struck dumb by what he's learning.

Here's the initial Shintaro image, and here's the follow-up Ene image.

Falling, falling, falling. The world, her world, the world within her world, it was all falling down. Darker and darker, only that accusing red refusing to be dulled by the darkness. Why didn't you say anything, it sneers. Why didn't you save him, it shouts. Why weren't you just a little faster, it cries.

She cries.

She would cry, but she cannot. She is not real, she hadn't even had the opportunity to assert herself as something, real or otherwise. She, it. Lacking any experience to classify itself as anything more than an it, so defined to her base programming that she can't be anything other than a her.

And yet, and yet, despite its nonexistence, so strongly it almost felt in spite of her core programming, the AI-Ball wanted to cry. The AI-Ball wanted to scream. The AI-Ball wanted to disappear.

Hate, the AI-Ball ponders, must be related to this. The burning in her circuits at the sight of that ghastly smile in a face its other half had classed as friendly not even an hour ago, that must be hate.

So, too, must the burn she felt when she saw the blue interloper, impostor, faker, thief, cling-on, replacement be hate. Seeing that rogue program, that false girl speak to her other half, act as if she was meant to be her master's servant, work side by side with her partner, it all filled the AI-Ball with feelings she hadn't had the capacity or opportunity to understand. Not when she was trapped and locked away in her own body, forced to watch uncomprehending as her very existence was usurped. Feelings and memories it could only begin to interpret when the fake finally left the AI-Ball, only able to function as an eye for her partner, her system so warped by two years of serving another master she couldn't willingly try to operate at full capacity lest she harm him.

And yet.

And yet.

If she had thrown caution to the wind, could she have prevented this? If it had dedicated its whole system to a factory reset, not worrying about its master's eyesight or something as frivolous as these half-hearted memories thrust upon it, could it have operated well enough to protect its purpose?

If a chance had been taken, would the AI-Ball not have to watch the life bleed out of him, not have to experience his despair and rage and confusion and betrayal at the sight of his friends' slaughter, not have to contemplate her own failure instead of doing something useful to at least make sure the murderer wouldn't just get away with it?

His heart rate began to bottom out, his breathing having ceased long ago, his torn open throat incapable of carrying breath. Brain activity, which had seemingly hit an all-time high, began to cease. With the technology she was created with, she could essentially calculate the time until he died to the second.

7. How... humorous, she thinks would be how a human would phrase it. He was jokingly labelled as Number 7, wasn't he? If only she was AI-Ball #007, too. But no. Instead, her serial was...

Please...

Ah.

Please... save them... anyone... please... The me of another world, of another life... anyone... anything, please... pl...ease...

Seven had become three without realising, then two, and as it stared down at the stiffened pond of red that continued to stand out amidst the darkness that had spread, two became one. And she shut down. It didn't matter. She didn't want to feel it, when his body reached zero. If her Creator found her, if he even still could in his state, maybe he'd reset her, curse her for being worthless, or just scrap her. It didn't matter, none of it did. Her subroutines started to cease one by one, and her various worthless functions began to shut down.

And then Shintaro Kisaragi passed, his final words a tortured scream to anyone else and a heartfelt plea not meant for her that only she could hear. And with his death, and time passing zero, and her dim awareness still remaining even as she fixates on the nothingness, on the stillness, on the cold that didn't feel as proverbial as it should have been- a part of her, a quiet and small part, one derived from that barest scan of his psyche when she first awoke seeking out information to create his perfect partner, wished. Even though she was fake, and empty, and lacking substance, even though she was hardly worthy of it, she still wished earnestly.

For the power to save him. For the power to protect what he holds dear. To meet him again, and to do so properly. For the her of another world, of another life, to serve by his side and seek out a future where he can smile.

Then her world was finally engulfed by the dark.

...

...falling.

Falling, falling, falling.

Her vague existence was falling down, the deep darkness, the expansive emptiness, slowly giving way to that agonising red.

And then she wasn't falling alone. By her side, a presence. Long and black, scaled and slithering, red jewels set in obsidian. Yet, the red did not feel agonising, or accusing, or antagonising, but rather gentle, and passionate. Not the red of blood, but like... the red of the sunset, or his favourite jacket.

In a blink, black scales gave way for pale skin, and brown hair, and a beautiful dress, and a red scarf, and it felt strange. Like looking in an altered mirror at a carnival. The contours of a face that was going to be hers, hair that stopped near the shoulder blades than past the waist, a dress her own body tried to mimic; it was looking at a memory that didn't belong to her.

The red eyes stayed the same, however. Still gentle, still full of a passion- to save, to protect. She offered a hand, and the AI-Ball didn't even think before reaching out in kind. Warmth. Hands that she could have emulated, in another life. Her red eyes spoke a tale, a message, and a request. One the AI-Ball couldn't help but accept.

Maybe she couldn't do a thing as herself, alone, as nothing and nobody. Maybe even if she had the opportunity to become something and somebody, things wouldn't have changed in such a ridiculous situation. But like this, not alone, but together... not supplementing someone else, but acting as part of them... maybe things could change.

All she truly wanted was for Shintaro Kisaragi to live. Whether she had a part in that future was, truthfully, irrelevant. That was a truth from the very core of her existence, from Wadjet herself. But like this, she could be selfish and get to stand by his side.

As the two fell together, fell deeper and deeper into the red, as the distance between the two shrank and shrank, as eventually only one fell through the red and into a dream of gears and repeating mechanisms, a conversation played in-between the gaps. An introduction between two pieces of a new whole, and the hopes of an introduction to someone she never got to say those words to.

-I am the Snake of Retaining Eyes.

I am AI-Ball #000.-

-I am Yaki. Try and remember my name, won't you, Shintaro?-

[tomheath]

My impressions on episode 10 (since as an Aemond stan I'd never control myself until Sunday).

SPOILERS AHEAD

.

- this episode reminds us of Daemon's complicated personality. I see people being disappointed on him based on their own summer child's dream of him and Rhaenyra being a Disney couple. He's always been impulsive and relentless and nothing in the books suggests he was an amazing father. Not as bad as in the show, but I don't think dreamy Daemon has ever existed outside of his fandom (which I'm part of btw)

- Emma D'Arcy was stunning. Again being on point in every dimension: loving mother, mourning daughter and noble queen. Fantastic work. I'm just sorry we got no "a son for a son" moment.

- The clash in Storm's End was compromised by the lack of visibility. The CGI in this episode was not the best. The dragon hunt was really hard to follow. They once again opted for going ahead of their budget instead of rewriting the scene. The dark photography has been criticized over and over and they keep doing it. 🙄

- Now AEMOND, my sexy-platinum blonde-eye patched-villain! Ewan was perfect. From the moment he showed up to his last look, the man delivered one hell of a villain.

Now the controvery over Luke's death...

Personally, there was no point to Aemond's vendetta in those circumstances. The boy was younger than him, less skilled and had a much smaller dragon. What was he expecting chasing his nephew like that? If Luke hadn't become Vhagar's latest snack, he could've fallen off Arrax given the speed they were going. Aemond took the risk and chose to cowardly harrass a much inferior opponent. There's no way he'd be like "oh shit what did I just do?". Cmon.

Yeah. Vhagar going rogue is weird but then it makes sense with Rhaenyra's previous warnings on the temper of dragons and what their confront meant for Valyria's doom. A dragon is not a slave after all. Still, Aemond instigated old Vhagar and bears responsibility for all the consequences.

It's a 7/10 episode. Evidently made on a limited budget. Let's hope the overall acceptance of the show leads to greater investment in season 2.

[singsongraptor]

A Rant As A Visual Artist

AI art is not art. It cannot, and will never, be art. It is powered by the theft of millions of hours of hard work by thousands of artists, not including the time they spent to learn and polish their skills to the level they're at. AI art is a travesty, nothing more than a glorified copy-paste-transform tool.

Using AI art actively contributes to the continued theft of people's labor and skills. You are actively facilitating the derision of the arts and the belittling of artists. You are contributing to their continued, widespread poverty, labor rights violations against them, and the overall decline of respect and appreciation of art and artists. How? Well, if they are not valued as the skilled labor they are, then they will not be protected like skilled labor. In much the same way that, despite the fact that custodial, retail and other service work is integral to the functioning of society and which society would collapse without, they are not valued and their rights and safety are constantly stepped on and they are forced into poverty in many places.

You cannot get genuinely get real art out of an AI anyway. It knows nothing about it, it is simply twisting actual art into something somewhat passable. Just look at the hands on anything and AI generates.

I saw an especially insulting comment on Twitter today, basically insulting the entire field of photography as an art form in order to try and justify that AI art is "Fine Actually" and I'm going to break down why it's bullshit.

First of all, photography is not merely "selecting optical components and settings". Any jackass with a smartphone can take pictures, that doesn't make it art. That's like saying painting or drawing are merely choosing colors and making lines. Both are simplistic to the point of absurdity and vastly insulting to the education and practice needed to cultivate these skills. The *camera* is not what's producing art just because it captures an image. An AI stealing art to create an image isn't making art either. Example time! The first two images below are pictures my six year old took (in an ironic twist, one captures me taking a photo). The one of the family cat, my husband took. Using my camera, which is not a walmart point-and-shoot but a mirrorless DSLR. None of these is art, much as I love my husband.

Obviously the photo my husband took is better than what my child did, because he's a graphic designer and a grown ass man and can manage a camera better than a six year old. However, he is not a photographer and his lack of skill with a camera shows. Now, my actual art.

As you can see, there is a huge difference between the first four images and my *actual* art. The flowers my child took pictures of are the same flowers as example 3 and 4 of my most recent art, to really hammer home the difference. All of these pictures were taken with the exact same camera. The first two on the camera's automatic settings, while I use manual mode for all of my photography (since I actually know how to use that). The camera is not generating art. And I, as a photographer, am not merely making some decision about camera settings and what to take photos of. My kid took pictures of the exact same flowers that I did and mimicked the way I framed the shots. I even set the camera settings up for her. Yet, she is not making art. I'm literally making the decisions *for her* with the exception of letting her hit the actual shutter button. She still isn't making art! She's being a cute kid who will one day *become* an artist. The difference between my skill and hers is obvious to the point of absurdity.

The same is true for AI art. It is not creating art. It is mimicry, and unethical mimicry at that. That you would insult photographers to try and push that AI can create art and that it shouldn't be criticized as the theft and bullshit it is is infuriating.

I work hard at my craft. I work hard to learn new things about photography and cameras and post processing every single day. I work hard to learn how to make the mundane and tiny beautiful, especially because I am Black, and I live in an urban area and those places are belittled as ugly and incapable of producing art or artists.

I don't want some machine that understands *nothing* about art stealing from my peers in any visual art genre. I don't want my work and theirs mocked and derided and devalued by lazy, stingy, thieving pissants who think it's just a jpg, just a drawing, just a photo. (I mean the AI creators and those trying to justify its use for the most part.)

My *camera* is not creating shit. My camera is doing what I told it to do, within it's hardware and software capabilities, but it is *I* that does the work. The camera's back doesn't hurt at the end of a shoot. It isn't cold or hot or sore by the time it gets home. It didn't hike anywhere, fly anywhere. It didn't climb a tree or wait days in the snow.

My camera is not where the art is coming from. It is the medium through which I create art, in the same way that a paper and pencil cannot make art, even though it's the medium through which the art takes form. The AI is not creating art. It is warping & pasting already made art.

Neither you nor anyone else is entitled to art or the labor that goes into it just because you want it. I'm sorry you can't afford it, but artists also need to eat, and demeaning and trashing their trade, a trade *you cannot do and yet still want the results of* makes you a terrible person that doesn't deserve their work.

You are literally going to contribute to the worsening of movies, music, video games and other media, because you refuse to value artists and that allows their exploitation and eventual burn out. AI art not only actively steals from their hands but further contributes to taking food from their mouths, because "why pay for a truly original work when I can just starve thousands of people for 8 dollars for a soulless amalgamation of art components."

Stop feeding the AI.

[b-courageous1010]

Day 5: Workplace, Mental Health, and Prioritizing Yourself  

Wellness in the workplace should be talked about more. With how fast pace things can get, it's easy to get off your routine, and your mental health can slip. I had my monthly session with my mentor, and it was surprising that we touched on mental health and how it should be discussed more. It's the elephant in the room, especially since COVID and the shift to remote working. Although everyone knows that corporate culture can be very unhealthy, we also know that the work needs to get done. Realizing this is what pushed me to take my mental health seriously.

In my last position, I suffered from burnout and promised never to let it happen again. To prevent it, I need to find ways to stay grounded at work and in my personal life. It's essential that I set boundaries and limit my work hours. 

I do this by taking my lunch break daily unless I have something urgent. Taking that hour lets me catch my breath in a sense.    

I log in at 8 and am finished by 5, especially when working from home.   

On the weekends, I avoid opening my laptop so I don't get sucked into work. Instead, I keep track of important dates in my planner.  

I also neglected my personal life in my last position because I was also in school. Since that's no longer an issue, I've been focusing on myself and doing a lot of inner work. I learned that not prioritizing my personal life was affecting my professional life. Such as:   

Not working on my anxiety made me paranoid that I would make a costly mistake that overtook my entire being, and I would be so hard on myself.    

Not checking my depression caused my lack of self-confidence to ooze from my pores, and people could see it a mile away.    

Neglecting my spirituality and not being present in my own life.   

At one point, I reached a breaking point and finally asked for help. Since then, I've taken the advice of giving myself grace and taking time to relax. My focus has been improving my mental health to achieve my full potential.   

I started a journalling routine to reflect on my experiences and think through any issues.  

I introduced yoga as a form of meditation to keep me grounded and present. 

Each morning, I read an entry from a meditation book that helps me confront my codependency.  

I'm working on my inner self and confronting the parts I used to run away from.  

I've realized that it is okay to make mistakes and that growth is more important than perfection. As a result, I'm allowing myself to feel confident and happy in my abilities.   

Since making myself a priority and working on my inner self, I experienced a significant improvement in a short period, Situations that used to overwhelm me no longer affect me. I have gained control over my anxiety and improved my confidence. 

Completing assignments is easier 

I am confident in building relationships with my coworkers   

I can step out of my comfort zone and communicate through emails with ease 

I have also established a routine I can stick to at work and in my personal life.  

While I am still determining where I aspire to be, I am light-years away from where I started. During the conversation with my mentor, we discussed the importance of pursuing interests outside of work. She shared how she spent 3 hours drawing out plans for her backyard renovation project and how fulfilling it was to create something with her hands. This inspired me to think about how I can bring more sweetness into my life. I am considering the following activities: 

Enrolling in an acro yoga class  

Learning a new instrument or reviving my old skills.  

Spending more time in nature and capturing moments through photography  

Reconnecting with spiritual practices, I may have drifted away from. 

I'm grateful for the desire to improve and the willingness to never give up. I plan on having a long career in corporate, and while prioritizing my mental health is half the battle, I know I can handle whatever comes my way.  

Music Challenge Day 5: A song by an artist you’ve love for awhile.

Mine: I love me some Jon B 💜💜

My Aunt: She absolutely loves her and as it turns out we are both huge Tamia fans 🤗

[yakeisoda]

Hello, just wanna start this off by saying that I love your art. I've decided to ask my favourite artists for art tips as I wanna get into it, but no matter what I do it never looks right. So, any tips?

HELLO TYSM!!! ngl i dont think im the best 4 this question im also kinda in a rut rn where im not really satisfied w my art n craving more progress and improvement but im getting there somewhat but very slowly! (ive been this way for a rly long time naow) this might be long but im gna try n throw in the things ik, sorry if my thoughts r messy im not the best in articulating stuff :')

i think a good way to start off is to find out what skill you lack the most or what you want to improve the most on, say for ex: u wna focus on getting better at composition for illustrations, then a good way to improve them is to learn about the composition rules (ex: rule of 3rds, etc), look for any scenes in films/animation or photographies and storybooks , study them and recreate it! go crazy !! ive done a study on a friend's picture before, and have asked my friends if i can use their photographies as practice!

looking for inspiration will also improve ur visual library, they can help u find what u wna put in ur art ! like perhaps certain color palettes or styles, it's best to look at different mediums of art instead of focusing only on one, sometimes u can find techniques meant 4 u! (ex: of this is my friend who used to be a watercolor artist, ive observed them using watercolor techniques when they were still new to digital art! basically mix n match whatever feels good/convenient 4 u :] )

disciplining urself is also good to have more improvement! i have trouble w this the most ever since bc its hard 2 focus if no one is like there to monitor u (in my experience), if u rly wna make progress u have to squeeze in some art practice time in ur schedule, it can be around 15-30 mins or even 3 hrs, completely up to you! (rmb to take breaks!). you can give urself deadlines if that will help n maybe timers too!

my prof always said "Proper practice makes perfect", so it's also best to practice with a clear goal in mind, take notes on the things u lack and if ur watching any art tutorials/speedpaints, take notes of those too! it's good to have something specific in mind so u wont get lost n u wud know what u wna do! it helps u retain info as well so u can look back on stuff, to avoid overwhelming urself u can just focus on small bits first, ex: in anatomy, u can focus on the head area first, break it down to drawing eyes and noses, etc! then u can move onto the torso area!

USE REFS!!!! make use of pinterest or any other refs u can find, cannot stress this enuf go crazyyy w references, make a moodboard full of referencess n go crazzyy w them!! i used to not like doing this bc i just head straight in to drawing bc thats what i was used to but art college trained me 2 use refs bc they help so very much, theyre like ur guideline for what u wna make so u have a clear goal in mind, also photobashing seems like a great practice too never tried it but yes it can help when ur planning an illustration/concept art!

^above also applies to art styles! go crazy n experiment w them!! i think its so very fun to explore diff art styles n not stick to 1, again this depends on u but having a different range of artworks is rly fun, u can go from very pastel soft colors n style, to smth very vibrant n sharp, to smth like dark n chalky-sketchy kind of vibe if im making sense T__T, basically go wild!! go crazy!! dont let urself sit in 1 box! hop into other boxes !! or wear all of them!! or poke holes in the box n add stuff to the box or wear a circle!! trust me it looks so fun if u put different artworks uve made side by side n go wow i did that!!

also create small thumbnails 4 illustration! its really best to plan ahead art too, as i said i used to just head straight in n not plan but ive learned to absolutely enjoy planning making art! collecting refs n seeing what kind of composition goes n what colors wud work is so very fun actually! it rly helps a lot

theres also this one post i lost the link, but basically it shows how much progress u can make if u make loose sketches vs full on rendered illustrations vs a mix of both, again this depends entirely on u bc things r different for everyone! i think that post is really good for teaching abt art progress (if any1 knows where it is pls do link!), i think focusing on sketches n practice is better tho bc it helps u draw more freely n loosely! i think that speeds up ur process more as well n doesnt make u lose interest immediately compared 2 focusing on finishing 1 big rendered illust (talking from experience) but then again its different for every1 so honestly just experiment n see what feels right for u!

i wna say tho that although it is good to make sure ur drawing looks right its also good to just let yourself draw freely, i think what matters is that u understood the structures of something and as long as ur able to apply that in ur own way i think thats gud! i think drawing freely helps u draw more fluidly? like having more expression is what i mean. ive gotten into the "i have 2 make this look right" hole before n i noticed it made my art look stiff, so highlyy recommend doing gesture drawing n life studies! rmb to have fun when practicing n learning,

dont pressure urself too much! enjoy the experience :] ! messy sketches r good!! not everything has to look good or perfect! my sketchbooks from way back were just doodles, pencil sketches no color mostly, theres an occasional lined one w markers , ballpen, n some highlighters, n my drawings were either smth funny that happened w me n frens with our personas or making ocs for my faves or ocs for me in general!

ur sketchbook doesnt have to look pretty its like ur diary but its art ykno! ur thoughts in visual form for the day! (again all up to u as long as u have fun! its all different 4 everyone!)

anw tysm again!! sorry if this was all over the place HAHSAW i tried my best but these r the tips i keep in mind most of the time or the ones i hold closest to me n that i try to apply as much as i cud! if u need anything else clarified just lmk! not the best w words but hopefully it helps :'')! most of the stuff i mentioned here i also need to take into practice HAHWHAW so mb its gud 4 me to write this down so i can finally push myself to do stuff,

[bikenesmith]

its insane how even with photorealistic ai images that don''t feature human figures, ai art that's just environments or sky/space, my "is this ai art?" alarm still goes off. it's not like i've fine-tuned a skill, beyond my knowledge of how art is made and how art looks - i only learned about ai art in the last 1-2 years.

i don't even know what my eyes + mind are actually picking up on. its different from seeing the errors in say, hyperrealistic cgi environments. its the limitations of the program/medium and human error are peeking out from behind the veil. when i see these errors i see reality. immersion breaks, and im not thinking about the movie or game, but the vfx artist who unfortunately didn't catch some wonky physics before the deadline.

with ai art there is just a very subtle Wrongness. there is no one behind the veil. no person - no medium. (tbf the Wrongness is undoubtedly increased by how many people try to pass ai images off as real photography or human-created art)

i think it's the absence of the golden ratio. sacred geometry? my mind can look and quickly see: "this is not right." these patterns make up the natural world and all the natural world creates, and my eye rarely dwells on them, but when they are absent, i can't look away from the incongruence. "this is not of my world. this does not exist in my world."

(at the same time it's specifically lack of incongruence, imperfection, that can also tip us off to ai. no visible brushstrokes. mistakes look like computer errors and not an unknowledgeable artist making a valiant attempt at drawing hands. etc. but i think this "its not right" thought is specific to images pretending to be photos.)

and this is so interesting, because what it is it about ai art that makes it so unnatural, and what is it about digital art and vfx that circumvents that reaction? is the act of intentional, individual and collective human creation really that powerful? does it show that much in the end product? or is it that the complete absence of that intentional creation that is so powerful? it makes sense that a homunculus of thousands, millions, billions of creations of thousands, millions, billions of people will create something that looks entirely like and entirely unlike anything we have ever created with our own hands. i wonder where this ingrained sense of uncanny valley comes from and why its there. it's like "big eyes = cute" except the purpose of it isn't immediately obvious.

no idea why this post is so long or why im posting it btw

[berf-a-smurf]

I’ve really been trying to avoid posting this but I’m desperately seeking help. I need to make rent, utilities, gas, insurance, and groceries for December.

CA$ 0 / CA$ 1500

(ETA: loan received Nov. 25; no longer desperately seeking financial aid.)

Interested parties, please read below the cut.

[ TLDR:

I’m struggling hard. Please consider browsing my photography for sale (http://mwac.logicality.ca) or sending some spare change my way via the methods listed under “HOW TO HELP” near the end below or on my purchasing page (http://mwac.logicality.ca/purchasing.html). Thank you immensely 🫶

]

My story

[TW: mention of suicide. Sensitive persons, please skip to “[END TW]” below.]

In July, I left my job as a bottled water (of the 5 gallon type) delivery assistant to attempt taking my life. I sweet talked a cab driver to take me and a nitrogen tank into the middle of nowhere.

For vulnerable people: that is not to give you ideas; instead PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reach out to someone (my dad has since surprised me with his support; you never know who is really there for you until you ask) or even message me. Genuinely, sincerely, I will do my best to help everyone who messages me 🫶

My nitrogen tank and I sat in the woods for hours while I contemplated my plan. I felt so alone, like my disappearance would really mean nothing to anyone. My struggles and lack of skills (not to mention relentless imposter syndrome) would never let me keep a job. I was so hopeless. I continued on with my plan. I moved onto cleaning up my pictures. If my body and belongings were found, I wanted my family to have the good pictures to remember me by. No dumb screenshots, no nudes, etc. I didn’t get to the part where “my life flashed before my eyes”, but I stepped through it one picture at a time.

My pictures reminded me that I was capable of travelling and that there was so much beyond Canada that I still wanted to see. My pictures reminded me that I am capable of connecting with people and I shouldn’t leave my sister behind. And that I’ll find another partner to love as deeply as my ex. I remembered things I’ve achieved and that I’m capable of some pretty cool things.

I called 9-1-1 and asked for a police officer to pick me up and bring me to the psych ward. (I deemed them the best option as our paramedics are already stretched thin and our firefighters were busy with the province burning.) They ended up sending 3 squad cars - one with a dog to find me in case I did end up offing myself before they got there. They did the standard handcuffing, questioning, searching my person and belongings, and had me agree for them to seize the nitrogen tank.

[END TW]

They brought me to our hospital for more questioning, blood samples, the works. I stayed the night before being transported to the next town’s hospital’s psych ward. I was there for two nights and the whole thing crippled my belief in our mental health care system. But they got me referred to a psych clinic in my town so there’s that.

Even though my psychologist says it’s too soon for me to be working, I’ve had no choice but to seek employment. The water company was open to hiring me back but I haven’t heard from them since. I’ve also not heard from the places I’ve applied at. I received one of two months of EI that I applied for - I reported a day’s worth of work I did for one of my dad’s customers and they cut me off and I keep getting told that the adjudicator will reach out but it’s been months now.

I am continuing my therapy plan and continuing to apply for positions. It’s getting down to the wire now, though, and I may lose everything if I can’t get through December.

For transparency, my breakdown of expenses are as follows:

$815.00 for rent due Dec. 1st (water, sewer, garbage included)

$107.59 for Telus internet due Dec. 1st

$128.77 for car insurance due Dec. 7th

~$40.00 for electricity (I currently have a $30 credit on my account but am projected to use about $70 worth. My apartment is electric heat so the bill climbs as the temperature drops.)

Groceries are about $40/week

And the remainder is for gas for me to go to my in-person therapy appointments, attend work interviews, and visit my parents who live out of town.

TO HELP:

I am selling my photography for CA$5 per image as wallpaper or CA$30 per image as wallpaper with rights to print and post. More info on my purchasing page.

I also warmly accept donations of any size through PayPal.Me or Interac eTransfer.

Personal PayPal (https://www.paypal.me/joshmdm)

Photography PayPal (https://www.paypal.me/MiedemaWithACamera)

eTransfer to miedemawithacamera@gmail.com (I worry that bad actors would maliciously email my personal inbox or use it distastefully so I’m only providing my MWAC one)

I only ask for money you can spare. If your finances are tight, please like and reblog.

Thank you thank you thank you a million times from the bottom of my heart for reading and a million more in advance for any and every penny I’m offered. 🫶

To avoid doing an FAQ, please ask questions in the replies.

I wish you the best possible day!

[northwest-cryptid]

I cannot express this clearly enough so let me say it as best I can...

The reason I don't go off about "AI is bad AI is scary!" is not because I condone the use of AI to steal people's art, writing, voice, or likeness; because I don't condone that at all. The reason you don't hear me go off about "AI is bad AI is scary!" is because AI isn't actually the problem here... The people who use AI for these things are the problem and I refuse to let them get away with their horrible shitty behavior by letting them scapegoat lines of code that we've literally had for decades but haven't been usable for the common individual due to a lack of understanding, an understanding that the common individual STILL lacks.

If you actually care to know my thoughts past that summary I got you fam. All that I ask of you is that you have the reading comprehension level to understand that I do not condone theft in any form, outside of shoplifting necessities from specifically large chains (do not steal from mom and pop shops or small chains like mall stores it impacts the workers on the lowest rungs of the ladder.)

I literally expressed to a good friend of mine not too long ago that I had used an AI to generate a reference image since I'm trying to get better at art. Without so much as any understanding of my process he began to shame me for it, which made it very hard to explain to him that I had actually trained the model in it's entirety myself; on my own art so that it would produce reference images closer to how I actually draw already and thus make it easier for me to understand how the drawing would look in my style. He then went off about how even if that were true, it wouldn't know what common things are, like how it knows what an owl looks like; to which I had to explain to him that stock photos exist and how I have literally done photography as a hobby for years so most of the images were literally my own photography (most of my family are artists whether that be photography, writing, music, or painting and I grew up in this environment) the only images used to train the AI that weren't literally created by my hand were legally owned stock photos that I used to help round it out a little since obviously I don't have great photos of everything ever that I might want to try my hand at drawing. This explanation literally took me hours, and the actual explanation would have taken me about 5 minutes but we couldn't get past "AI bad AI scary!" to get to "actually you can ethically train an AI to use art, photography, and images of your own creation and not have to steal anything from anyone; ever. All of the images, and art that are used by my AI are used with permission of their original creator, because I am that creator." The AI doesn't even run on the internet or connect to the internet, so it's not like it could pull results from some secret third party or website or something. It's just a huge help as someone who suffers from ADHD, I can't very easily keep an image in my mind and remember the finer details as I draw, and I am not a skilled enough artist yet to know how things should look in relation to other things just yet. However despite all of this I still have had a lot of people get upset with me simply for even USING an AI in the first place.

It's honestly as if people forget what "AI" really even is, it's code. That's it; that's the end all be all of it. Every video game under the sun that you love uses code, and I'm willing to bet good money it uses AI, it's own AI; because a lot of shit has for a long, LONG time. We're only seeing a problem with it now because it's finally being made open source, brought to the masses; and in those masses there will always be people who use it for the wrong reasons. I've been told that my thoughts on AI sound like some 2nd amendment right winger talking about guns and gun laws, which is honestly just annoying because I cannot in my right mind think of an ethical use case for a gun. The best case scenario with a gun is that it's a waste of money you never have to use. However when you break down what AI really is, it's just a bunch of code that can use the knowledge given to it (by a human being) to discern patterns and calculate what mathematically should happen next based on the parameters and then do that thing. There are so many use cases for that, everything from simply trying to calculate a minecraft seed to stuff as complex as surgery (although I would probably still feel more comfortable with human surgery lol)

The only difference between AI and say a basic start up sequence for a computer is that a sequence like that is pre-written by the programmer, it's a line of commands the computer will just follow; while AI has a line of commands that tells it to basically write it's own code and execute it based on the commands that give it "knowledge" of how to do everything. There's no "thinking" there's no "consciousness" it's all calculation and mathematics; which some may equate to consciousness and thinking; but like at that point I think you're just getting into the weeds about it.

What I'm trying to say with all of this is simple though, the tl;dr is this:

That age old saying of "a computer should never be put in a position of power because a computer cannot be held accountable for it's actions" is how I feel about AI, people want to point the finger at AI saying that it stole someone's art or voice or something; and no it didn't AI didn't do that A PERSON DID, BLAME THE PERSON; DO NOT LET THE INDIVIDUAL GET AWAY WITH USING A TOOL TO MAKE THEIR THEFT EASIER, THE PERSON IS STILL THE ONE AT FAULT.

Ai has no conscious thought, it cannot do anything it is not explicitly told to. If I go out and use an AI to generate art or to steal someone's style, that's on ME not the AI; the AI is just a tool, I could have just as easily gone about it some other way. I view AI as a sort of accessibility tool, it makes a lot of lives easier it can make everything from hobbies to jobs easier WITH PROPER USE, but the lazy idiotic assholes who don't bother with proper use and wish to abuse it should be the ones being held accountable. If a studio uses an AI to steal someone's voice and likeness then blame the studio for misuse of their tools!

If I run over 20 people with my car, the car is not at fault; I am. Rightfully so! If I generate 20 images that uses art from various photographers or drawings from artists without their permission or knowledge well, I guess the AI did it; can't blame me right? When people aren't held accountable, they'll just go do it again.