I Really Like The Look Of That Naroth Fellow! Why Don't You Tell Us Something About Him?

ww!

cthonicseraph said: Question: Do you find it harder to build a world from scratch, or to build characters and situations in our own world? Like Furies of Calderon vs. Dresden Files (if I can use my extensive Jim Butcher knowledge for anything).

I don't think I've tried anything terribly close to our world to count, Shae's story is just such a distant, distant future that anything goes, and Edie's story is alternate history but I take an... obscene amount of "creative liberties", since steampunk is such an anachronistic mess anyway. Though I would say its still been the most challenging so far, because pulling handy answers out of my butt whenever its convenient won't fly. AU earth stuff is going to usually need SOME basis in our history and geography. Which also means some history or geography nerd is out there ready to point out mistakes and glaring omissions. Scary :|

And totally not the question but I definitely prefer Dresden Files (major bias from living in Chicago for four years, he does it so well!), they're funny and exciting and I enjoy his takes on mythology and magic. I couldn't get into Furies- it's pretty usual srs bsns style of dry high fantasy that bores me to tears. Also its kinda rapey

first attempt at custom highlighter palette, went overboard with the red...

So.

I'm the flakiest artist to ever flake uuuugh. Sitting on a bunch of half-inked or half-colored works-OHNOsomethingelseIwannadrawimmediatelyONTOTHEPILEWITHYOU- will I finish?? Ever?? WE JUST DON'T KNOW.

learning how to make things pretty with laser engraving :D (pewpew)

Worldbuilding Wednesday

I'd like to keep this going as often as possible. Especially lately because drawing has been... well. What I've been doing looks like the activity of drawing, but the results look like I shoved my pen up my nose and repeatedly slammed my face against the pages. Ngh. ANYWAY here are past ww posts for perusal, maybe it'll spark some interest.

Discuss?

What are the naming conventions?

Assuming I have them, lol! Honestly I pull names out of my butt. Sometimes I'll put in a little more effort depending on the story (I have one where I made sure at least most of the characters have names that are marginally clever puns) but for the most part I just go with whatever I think of that feels right at the time... D:

I posted on your deviantart.. I found a company on ETSY using your TEAM TARDIS image to make iPhone covers off of.

Man I know someone was using that pic for iphone cases on redbubble and selling them for FORTY bucks too. Possibly the same asshole. I dont even have time to deal with thieves cos when Im working my shifts are 13+hrs/day, many of the online sales services have convoluted and hassly reporting procedures, and its just a big game of whack-a-mole. I dunno, I'm always resisting putting gigantic hideous watermarks on my work but this is what'll keep happening if I don't. I don't make a living off my art so it hurts me less than it could, but people like this steal from anyone so that doesn't even matter. The irony here is the double-infringement of stealing fan art of all things! I've gotten requests to sell prints of that piece but I won't. And scumbags come in to fill the gap. I'm ranting I guess. I go long periods of time without sharing my work but stuff like this evaporates any regret I might feel. I honestly dont have the energy or time to deal with this stuff so I'm not sure what the solution is :(

vigilante chic - street ninja by quantumQstar DERP well, since I am entirely out of artfuel for a while now (and I feel like I have been running on fumes all year anyway afkjadfksdf no joke! whenever I try my mind goes how can you draw at a time like this and I can't ignore it anymore, seriously, I'm trying seriously so hard not to turn this tumblr into bitching and flailing about artblock but it is so hard you guys, so hard.), posting to an art blog is uh... tricky?

I was one of those people who had heard of polyvore but had no idea what it actually was and so when I found out I was just HOLY SHIT ITS LIKE THIS SITE WAS MADE FOR ME. So I went nuts and made a bunch of outfits cos that's what I do. Godammit I love clothes.

And of course I wanted to post to be like oh hey, worldbuilding wednesday, I really like it so I would uh, encourage some asks, yes.

I didn't realize you were doing worldbuilding Wednesday every week! xD So last week I was the one talking about having a crapload of races in one world. I know there are way too many races for me to focus on anything- there are at least 20. I just love making new ones! So I tried splitting them up but I'm finding it extremely difficult because in my mind they're all connected somehow and it's impossible for me to sever the links. Do you have any advice?

gosh I don't really know other than what I mentioned. You have a few options imo:

1- relocate them to other worlds (not working for you though)

2- combine similar races into one race for each ecological/cultural niche

3- rank/prioritize, even if they all share a world some races will be more dominant than others, figure out which are more populous, which control more land, which are isolated (more likely to have smaller numbers), which are more warlike and industrious etc etc. Then use that info to figure out how that will influence your stories. Giants are a bit of an isolated minority race in my world (they are basically yeti and can only live where it's cold) but they founded the dominant religion and have a broad cultural influence and mystique about them.

4- embrace them! you have too many races, you are simply doomed to write lots and lots and lots of stories :) You'll still have to pick some favorites to start with though, stop telling your children you love them all equally they know it is untrue

Aaaaand of course the designs I finally settled on. It seems to have stuck cos I haven't been interested in changing them much for a few years now (actually I just checked, about eight years holy shit that's not a few at all!). Like I feel it reached some kind of creative maturity because they incorporate everything I learned about actual functional outfits over the years, but of course I still make them as fancy and stylish as possible. Because they are elves.