FACES

look at these little beings

the shiny whistling-thrush is a small passerine bird found exclusively in the barisan mountains of sumatra. they are known for having bright, reflective plumage. they are omnivorous, but prefer insects - they use their slightly hooked bills for specialized feeding on snails.

I hope whoever sees this has a good day!

Goth gf and pigeon gf

this bright yellow cardinal, affectionately known as “tweets”, currently resides on the university of florida campus. typically male cardinals are a distinctive red; this bird’s coloration is due to a genetic mutation called xanthochromism. xanthochromic birds lack an enzyme that properly converts yellow to red, leaving pigments in their body the original yellow.

Hey btw, if you're doing worldbuilding on something, and you're scared of writing ~unrealistic~ things into it out of fear that it'll sound lazy and ripped-out-of-your-ass, but you also don't want to do all the back-breaking research on coming up with depressingly boring, but practical and ~realistic~ solutions, have a rule:

Just give the thing two layers of explanation. One to explain the specific problem, and another one explaining the explanation. Have an example:

Plot hole 1: If the vampires can't stand daylight, why couldn't they just move around underground?

Solution 1: They can't go underground, the sewer system of the city is full of giant alligators who would eat them.

Well, that's a very quick and simple explanation, which sure opens up additional questions.

Plot hole 2: How and why the fuck are there alligators in the sewers? How do they survive, what do they eat down there when there's no vampires?

Solution 2: The nuns of the Underground Monastery feed and take care of them as a part of their sacred duties.

It takes exactly two layers to create an illusion that every question has an answer - that it's just turtles all the way down. And if you're lucky, you might even find that the second question's answer loops right back into the first one, filling up the plot hole entirely:

Plot hole 3: Who the fuck are the sewer nuns and what's their point and purpose?

Solution 3: The sewer nuns live underground in order to feed the alligators, in order to make sure that the vampires don't try to move around via the sewer system.

When you're just making things up, you don't need to have an answer for everything - just two layers is enough to create the illusion of infinite depth. Answer the question that looms behind the answer of the first question, and a normal reader won't bother to dig around for a 3rd question.

Want to learn something new in 2022??

Absolute beginner adult ballet series (fabulous beginning teacher)

40 piano lessons for beginners (some of the best explanations for piano I’ve ever seen)

Excellent basic crochet video series

Basic knitting (probably the best how to knit video out there)

Pre-Free Figure Skate Levels A-D guides and practice activities (each video builds up with exercises to the actual moves!)

How to draw character faces video (very funny, surprisingly instructive?)

Another drawing character faces video

Literally my favorite art pose hack

Tutorial of how to make a whole ass Stardew Valley esque farming game in Gamemaker Studios 2??

Introduction to flying small aircrafts

French/Dutch/Fishtail braiding

Playing the guitar for beginners (well paced and excellent instructor)

Playing the violin for beginners (really good practical tips mixed in)

Color theory in digital art (not of the children’s hospital variety)

Retake classes you hated but now there’s zero stakes:

Calculus 1 (full semester class)

Learn basic statistics (free textbook)

Introduction to college physics (free textbook)

Introduction to accounting (free textbook)

Learn a language:

Ancient Greek

Latin

Spanish

German

Japanese (grammar guide) (for dummies)

French

Russian (pretty good cyrillic guide!)

what are the best wings you’ve seen on a bird

here are some of my favorites :)

sunbittern

lilac breasted roller

bluejay

x

Tumblr users are often so arrogant and it shows. They can draw a full cast of POC characters but when POC say "Hey we want more than just our skin tone" they're suddenly deaf as shit.

Representation on Tumblr has become a way for white people to win brownie points just because they took a Hershey's bar and slapped it onto a person's skin tone.

The most disgusting thing is that they insist on making JUST African-Americans. They insist on making JUST one facial type, one nose type, one lip type, one hair type, one slang type, one skin tone.

And when they make a person Asian, it's Japanese. And when they make a person Hispanic, it's Mexican. And when they make a person indigenous, they never specify on which tribe/nation they came from, but you'll bet they're Native AMERICAN.

But my favorite part is when other POC demand representation and those same fucking white people are like "But but but look at all my black characters!!!!"

POC isn't just confined to America.

POC isn't just black.

POC isn't just Japanese.

POC isn't just Mexican.

POC isn't just Native American.

It's from the Miskitu in Nicaragua, from the highlands of Ethiopia, from the deserts of Saudi Arabia, from the mountains of Indonesia. It's from the arroz con gandules, from the folk music, from the festivals. It's many cultures blending, it's speaking more than just English, it's dealing with racism unique to our countries of origin.

It's more than just one universal experience, and white Tumblr isn't willing to show that.

the unfortunate truth about drawing scales is that they never really get less annoying to do and getting better at them only means you get to draw more complicated ones

the way they generally work for me is i tend to follow a pattern of larger, flatter scales following the tops of arms and leg surrounded by smaller, rounded support scales - i try to use a lighter touch on the pen pressure while filling in the scales so the outlines end up more distinctive

this works basically the same for the head!

for the longer stretches of body i tend to use the interlocking u’s, starting with one row on the widest part of the body and building downwards

copying and pasting isnt a perfect shortcut, especially if you have a lot of curves, but it DOES save a chunk of time

they dont have to be perfect!! honestly the hardest part is getting them to be even, and that just takes a lot of practice. remember that theyll fold in a bit as they get closer to the edge of the body if you can manage it ( which is hard ) - the closer the thinner, which helps give the illusion of curving. uhhh hope this helps