reference blog

[tisaybitch-remade-deactivated20]

I’m starting College in two months, and I have a lot of bookmarked websites and resources that I know will help me when I move out. 

college in general!

tips for freshmen

a student’s guide to college

best apps for students

the “secret” to doing well in school

develop discipline

get stuff done!

how to be a successful student

tips from successful students

how to create structure in your life

how to choose your college major

should I double major?

11 tips about college they don’t tell you in high school

9 myths about college

how to conquer your freshmen fears

10 mistakes made by college students

4 tips for scheduling classes

food!

broke college kid recipes

college kid cookbook [pdf]

restaurant coupons [ x ] [ x ] [ x ] [ x ]

official ramen website

100 dirt cheap college kid recipes

college recipes website

make food out of what you already have

recipes that take 30 minutes or less

study snacks

study snacks #2

how to save money when buying food

random college stuff!

rate my professors

online class schedule website

cargo collective

cupcake ipsum

final grade calculator

college dorm room stuff!

packing list

packing for college

dorm stuff for cheap

cutesy dorm stuff

how to make your dorm room cool

dorm organization

different ways to hang fairy lights

how to display polaroids/photos

textbooks!

online textbooks; mostly science and math

cookbooks to textbooks

business textbooks

reddit has some good textbook resources

bookboon

online math books

ebookee

freebookspot

free-eBooks

getfreebooks

bookfinder

oerconsortium

project gutenburg 

booksee

bookzz

textbook tips

cheap textbooks l x l x l x l 

research!

Wolfram/Alpha

american fact finder

internet public library

perfect for research site

encyclopedia.com

scholarpedia.com

google books

school stuff!

collaborate with others while studying

film school thesis generator

online whiteboard

inkflow visual notebook 

flashcards study helper

how to get and maintain good grades

Cornell note taking method

homework help

onenote

how to make organized notes

khan academy

organize your folders

group projects!

do group projects online together

public speaking tips

annoying powerpoint mistakes

Prezi

Emaze – similar to Prezi

Rawshorts – video presentation

studying!

get motivated to study

learning how to study

study hacks

manage your time while studying

Apps for Mac Users that help with studying

productivity tips

about power naps

studyblue.com

memorizing dates

make a good study guide

note-taking like a pro

how to pull an all-nighter

how to study like a Harvard student

writing essays!

how to write an essay

how to write an essay #2

writing checker

bibliography help l x l x l x l

essay typer

guide on punctuation

inflated/concise writing

BeeLine reader

ZenWriter

“avoid saying ‘very’”

word definition site

writing guide masterpost

written kitten

what makes a good essay

how to edit yourself

editing checklist

finals!

block distractors while studying

huge amount of resources while studying

finals survival guide

how to survive finals

exam survival guide masterpost

studying for an important exam

how to answer multiple choice tests

how to answer exam questions

how to be an effective test taker

how to win at finals

english!

cliffsnotes

sparknotes

no fear shakespeare

help you read l x l x l x l

how to take care of your books

math!

mathway

square root calculator

cubed root calculator

expression simplifier

help you with math

easy unit converter

any calculator you may need

algebra solver

scientific calculator

science and social studies!

all about space

animals

improve your geography knowledge

historical photos and stuff

symbols and meanings

genetics and evolution

lectures on everything

TED.com

AP Bio masterpost

money and budget!

the ultimate guide to saving for retirement

student loan debt article that’s really helpful

college investor website

budgeting website

scholarships masterpost

student loan calculator

what to buy each month of the year

how to coupon

what to do when you can’t pay your bills

is your cell phone bill too high?

how to save money

how to do taxes

discounts your student id can get you

pay off your student loans

places that give student discounts

7 money tips for college students

how to survive college on a budget

save your money on cords

how to balance a checkbook

travel!

check this website before booking your seat

student travel site

ultimate packing list

traveling for cheap

rate my study abroad

travel accessories

the best way to pack a suitcase

how to read a map

how to apply for a passport

travel budget calculator

should you travel abroad?

house!

what is a mortgage?

first apartment checklist

stuff nobody tells you about your first apartment

how to take care of a cactus

the care and keeping of plants

first apartment tips

moving out masterpost (might overlap some)

how to be an adult and take care of yourself!

how to grow the fuck up masterpost

how to avoid a hangover

8 ways to take care of yourself

how to organize your life

the first gynecologist exam

how to schedule a doctor’s appointment

what you should bring to every doctor’s appointment

how to pick a health insurance plan

a list of stress relievers

how to get free therapy

what to do if you get pulled over

list of crisis hotlines

15 things to keep in your car during the winter

hygiene/beauty masterpost

how to clean things up!

when to wash things

how to clean your bathroom

fabric care language

how to do laundry

organize your closet

how to fix a leaky faucet

how to keep a clean kitchen

how to remove stains from your carpet

career stuff!

resume cheat sheet

job prospects

time management

how to find the right career

how to do an interview

how to write a cover letter

ways to boost your resume without a job

how to boost your resume with stand-alone projects

10 skills to make you more employable

companies that hire felons

how to be a better person!

life tips

life tips for college

life tips for lazy people

read the news

leave your child traumas behind

how to lover yourself

100 life tips

how to boost your self-esteem

how to avoid asking for help

how to stop being a pushover

how to stop procrastinating

safety and well-being!

free online therapy

free condoms

HIV morning after pill

self-defense tips

safetrek app

kitestring app

creepface app

phone number for aggressive guys

easy self-defense tips

check the website security

how to deal with mental illness masterpost

stress analyst

stop paying so much for prescriptions

make your own makeup remover

self-harm recovery masterpost

tips for getting good sleep

tips for waking up better

dealing with the worst-case scenario

free pads and tampons

random things!

every time zone laid out for you

when should I go to bed?

keep your laptop in tip-top shape

makeup under $10

free online courses

free online courses #2

learn languages online for free

workout masterpost

fact check politicians

heimlich maneuver

DIY masterpost

buy a ton of candy in bulk

get your lenses cheap

[ennui-for-me]

Well. Here’s a big’un. I finally had time to work on printables so I decided to make a new version of the exam pack printable. Hopefully this helps with exam season.

Includes:

IFTTT - Write down rewards for accomplishing important tasks! Motivate yourself!

Exam Schedule - Keep track of all the deets for up to 18 exams! (dear lord, I hope you never have to suffer such a fate…but in case you do, I added a couple rows, just for you). Check off your exams as you take them.

Monthly Calendar - Keep track of important exam dates. Plan up to 6 months in advance, like the extremely prepared student you are/aspire to be. Comes w/ legend if you like color coding ‘n stuff . :D

Major Topics - Keep track of topics covered on your exam(s).

Scoreboard + Graph - Keep track of your exam scores as you take your exams. Visualize your progress. There are enough graphs to record exam scores in 6 subjects.

D-Day Calendar - Figure out your study schedule in the context of how many days you have left until your exam. Each page has 36 days.

Weekly Calendar - Keep on top of your study schedule; you can plan out your days or just write about your study plan for the week. Also serves as daily planner.

Self-Evaluation - See how you did on certain topics on an exam. Helpful when you’re reviewing past exams or mock exam results.

Click HERE to download the printable (PDF).

For suggestions on how to use the printable, click HERE.

Good luck on your studies, everyone!!

Postscript: Unfortunately, this printable isn’t available for editing. Because of this, I’m opening up my ask box for feedback regarding some small edits you might like me to make on this printable. This means that at a later date, I will aggregate your feedback and try to make an even newer (possibly better) version of this printable! So all’s well that ends well.

[highschoolering]

stress help

note: i have no degree or qualifications regarding mental health or anything along those lines, these are just tips that i have found helpful and want to share with the community :) i hope this helps someone and if you have any questions//comments, leave a message in my ask!! xx eva

stress

what is stress?

dealing with stress

dealing with school related stress

stress management

beat stress + get on with studying

hotlines

destress

try meditation- i have personally been meaning to start doing this but apps like pacifica & headspace are easy ways to work meditation into a easy day. you can also check out these tips on how to meditate + this website, headspace, which is run by a clinical meditation consultant

yoga- i do yoga on breaks//weekends and even though i’m ridiculously unflexible it’s still really helpful (tips for beginners)

use the four a’s- avoid, alter, accept, adapt

a 90 second relaxation exercise

do nothing for two minutes

listen to music-apps//websites like 8tracks, spotify, apple music, pandora, etc. have dozens of options for chill music!! other soothing stuff to listen to: coffitivity, infinite storm, ambient mixer

stress analyst- guides you through a process of analysing away your stress

sleep- just do it, your body will thank you. (sleep easy, bedtime calculator, healthy sleeping tips)

how i calm myself

lush!!- my!! favorite!! omg!! pls buy their stuff they are fighting animal testing and are totally vegetarian and their products are amazing :)

listening to music- you can find great playlists on spotify and 8tracks that are super chill and always manage to calm me down

if you’re like me & you get super stressed about time management/schedules, keep a bullet journal or a planner and keep track of EVERYTHING

find your happy place :) for me, it’s sitting on my bed with fuzzy socks, a blanket, a super calming playlist, & a candle burning (i get my candles from bath and bodyworks bc they have sales all of the time)

pick one day a week and designate it as your “me” day. it’s usually friday or monday for me, but i use it to do what i want to do, like catching up on my favorite tv shows and taking super long baths and reading :)

nice things to make you feel better

make a galaxy

poptropica!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cute animals !!

tone matrix

it will be okay

into time

the dawn room (this is super calming)

the thoughts room

silk (i lov this website!! so!! much!!)

the quiet place

the comfort spot (anonymous venting)

calm.com

falling falling

simplynoise- chill noise generator

calming manatee

daily odd compliment

make everything okay

liquid particles

useful resources

don’t let it ruin your education

stress reliefs

soothe yourself

how to relax

six reasons why you’re going to be okay

+ my posts

french resources

spanish resources

songs + podcasts for language learning

studying while ill

essay writing

starting the semester off right

[studylou]

hi everyone! since the holidays are over for most of us, i thought i’d make an inspirational and motivational masterpost all about notes! upgrading your notes by changing the layout, adding doodles, banners, using sticky notes, changing your handwriting etc. motivates me personally to study! 

out with the sloppy last minute notes and in with the new!

handwriting

how to write in cursive

some fonts to try out

how to improve your handwriting

note taking systems

study methods summed up

stationery to make it all happen

sticker printables to jazz it up

notes

how to take lecture notes

how to annotate books

taking notes from a textbook - studyign

note taking system - theorganisedstudent

note taking system - emmastudies

another note taking system - academicmind

another note taking system - wonderfullifee

the 2 notebook method

note taking with highlighters and post its

pretty timelines

note taking printables

plot summary with sticky notes

20 uses of sticky notes

colour code your notes

method with columns 

the cornell note taking system

the cornell note taking system using onenote

in class notes

another in class note taking format

what are sketchnotes?

online whiteboard

flashcards

how to make flashcards

another how to make flashcards

an example

another example (with sticky notes)

and another example (biology)

8 ways to improve your flashcards

make  and test flashcards online

alternative to flashcards - studyign

print onto flashcards

mindmaps

how to mindmap (1)

how to mindmap (2)

some examples

apps

notability

banners

simple banner

more banners

it’s a banner party over here

banners (shown how to draw in gifs)

illustrate your notes

how to illustrate your notes - reviseordie

sketchnote tips (banners, lettering, doodles)

more sketchnote tips

even more sketchnote tips

how to make your notes pretty - theorganisedstudent

how to make your notes pretty - studyspoinspo

how to make your notes pretty - booksflowersandtea

what is visual note taking?

a visual alphabet

note taking printables

dot grid 

note outline printables

lined cornell method printable

grid cornell method printable

hope you all had a good rest and are ready for a new year of studying!

xoxo lou

[proniadev]

Game-Making Resources

Here’s a list of resources, and tips on making sure you’re doing things the right way. Please note that I’m posting my favorite sources. If you have any other resource places you want to suggest, feel free to note me, and I’ll add them to the list. [I’m posting this so other people and I can easily access resources without looking for days] c: This list will be updated every time I find a new good resource, so make sure that you chack back if you’re really interested in resources.  

MUSIC/ SOUND-EFFECTS

If you can’t make your own music, you don’t have someone to make music for you, or if you want sound effects for your game, it’s really nice to know sites that give you free, un-copyrighted sounds for use in non-commercial or commercial products. Here are some sites that offer completely free music. But make sure that you look at the license agreements for each site, or each track before downloading and using them.

http://freepublicmusic.com/

http://www.freesound.org/ [I like this site the best]

http://www.freestockmusic.com

http://www.musicrevolution.com/free_music/ [You can only use these tracks from this page in non-profit projects, fyi. And the rules are a bit stricter, so make sure you read them]

http://www.musicrevolution.com/free_production_music/

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/

http://indiegamemusic.com/index.php

Stock Images/Textures

Again, check the license agreements 

Textures;

http://www.mayang.com/textures/

http://sirius-sdz.deviantart.com/ (I love her the most because 90% of her textures don’t have rules for use, so you can do whatever the heck you want with them)

http://best-textures.deviantart.com/gallery/ (Remember to look at the rules of each individual image you might use)

http://cgtextures.com/

http://squidfingers.com/patterns

http://patterns.ming-ling.net/

Stock images;

http://pulling-stock.deviantart.com/ 

http://tursiart.deviantart.com/gallery/12660741?offset=0 

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/ 

http://www.public-domain-photos.com/ 

http://wyldraven.deviantart.com/gallery/11372260 

http://stock-unrestricted.deviantart.com/gallery/ 

http://www.freestockphotos.biz/

http://www.imageafter.com/

Tiles/Tilesets/Game resourses;

http://opengameart.org/

http://www.pixelprospector.com/indie-resources/

http://www.tekepon.net/fsm/modules/refmap/

Pixel Art/ Spriting Tutorials;

http://www.pixelprospector.com/the-big-list-of-pixel-art-tutorials/

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/468605 [This is only for animating sprites in Flash. But it’s still very useful, and I’m sure you guys can figure out something to do with this. c:]

http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixels/tutorials.asp

http://pixel-zone.rpgdx.net/shtml/tutorials.shtml

http://psd.tutsplus.com/articles/inspiration/20-inspiring-pixel-artists-tutorials-and-resources/

http://petesqbsite.com/sections/tutorials/tuts/tsugumo/

http://garmahis.com/tutorials/pixel-art-tutorials/

http://www.natomic.com/hosted/marks/mpat/

http://kiwinuptuo.deviantart.com/gallery/27054576

Resizing Pixel art

http://foxbane.deviantart.com/art/Pixel-Art-Tips-31340622?q=boost%3Apopular%20pixel%20art%20tutorial&qo=38

http://www.pixelprospector.com/the-big-list-of-pixel-art-tutorials/

RPGmaker tutorials;

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB557786BCAB7F4B6

http://rpgmaker.net/tutorials/rm2k3/

Color Pallets/theory help;

This is helpful if you don’t know color theory, and can help make colors more harmonious. 

http://www.colorcombos.com/

http://www.degraeve.com/color-palette/ (Useful for if you like the color schemes of an image or drawing, but don’t know how to make a pallet from it.)

PurpleKecleon’s color tutorial (Even though this is for painting, it’s still VERY IMPORTANT COLOR INFORMATION.)

Programs;

RPGMaker2003 

RPGMaker2000

RPGMakerVX Demo

TileStudio

Character Maker 1999

Character Maker Pro (Character maker 1999, but in Spanish)

Zorn’s RM2k tutorial

RM Recker

Paint Tool SAI

InkScape

Pencil Animation Software

Creatoon Animation Software

MakeHuman (3D Modeling software)

Fonts:

Silkscreen

Dustismo Roman

Audimat

Cantarell

bienetresocial

Anivers

Other Interesting sites;

http://www.pixelmuseum.com

[lumpbiscuit-deactivated20130327]

my parents aren’t teaching me life lessons.

#i need some adults to TEACH ME SHIT ABOUT LIFE

[flutterjedi-deactivated20140413]

I’m an adult.

[thatsnicebutimmarried]

Some shit about life, from a bonafide adult:

even if you get along great with your family you will get along even better with them after moving out 

generic is almost always just as good as name brand. But there are some things you never buy generic, including: peanut butter, ketchup, liquid NyQuil, Chips-Ahoy chewy chocolate chip cookies

just imagine the person on the other end of the phone hates talking on the phone as much as you do. Even a receptionist. I worked as one and I hate talking on the phone

at least once in your life you will go to Wal-mart to buy something under $20 like an ironing board or something and your debit card will get rejected. No one will judge. Everyone at some point in their lives has had $2.98 in their bank account. 

thrift stores

everyone else is too busy panicking about everyone else noticing every tiny thing that could possibly be wrong about them to notice any tiny thing that could possibly be wrong about you

you will screw up. a lot. you live and you learn. and when you start to think too hard about that embarrassing thing that happened and how you wish you could change it, just tell yourself that what’s done is done. There’s no changing it, so just forget it and move on. It’s the only way to stay sane.

do the dishes before the sink grows its own ecosystem

you can’t put Dawn dishsoap in the dishwasher. 

if you are the only one in the aisle at the grocery store, and you need to get from one end to the other without even looking at anything in that aisle, then you should totally cart-surf down the aisle. Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional. Hold on to the little things. They make all the difference.

never try to make cake from scratch at 3am. You end up with a topographical map of Middle Earth.

15% tip. 

the best way to get money for food is to tell your grandparents about how you basically live on microwaved mac and cheese. Their horror may result in twenty bucks and orders to go out and get yourself “a real dinner”.

sometimes life sucks, and knowing that it might get better doesn’t always make it suck any less, but you’ll never get to the non-sucky days without enduring the suckiness. 

no seriously, NEVER put Dawn in your dishwasher

[250darkstars]

Do not buy generic brand spaghetti sauce either.

Always check the type of light bulb that goes in lamps. A 60w is not interchangeable with a 40w.

Dollar store batteries work just as well as store brand.

[shrineart]

Reward yourself from time to time when you do things that you needed to get done. It’s a good way to remind yourself to do them. Going out to pay a bill? Get Starbucks or something you don’t get often. Rewards don’t have to be huge, they can be small things like that.

Rice, pasta, flour, sugar, cheese, eggs, milk, a pack of chicken, a pack of frozen veggies and a well stocked spice cabinet go a long way food-wise. Splurge and get the biggest container of rice you can. You don’t have to go back and buy it again anytime soon and it makes a TON of meals in the meantime.

Rice can be cooked on the stove. You don’t need a fancy rice cooker. Two parts water to every one part rice (two cups water for one cup of rice for example). Get your water boiling, add rice, put a plate or lid on it, put it on low for 20 minutes. It should be done.

Keep a calendar on your pc of bill due dates. If your bills are set up at inconvenient times, like all of the services started on the first or something, then call up the company and find out if you can get your billing date switched to something more manageable. A lot of places do try to work with you.

There is no shame in calling a company and asking for an extension on a bill. Let them know what you can pay, pay that amount, and they arrange when the rest of the payment is required. This can stop you from having services shut off man. It shows responsibility on your part.

Take time to eat, even when you don’t feel like eating. Your body needs energy to live.

Wash or rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. It prevents gross caked on junk.

“The Works” is an excellent cheap toilet cleaner.

MAGIC. FUCKING. ERASERS. THEY WORK ON EVERYTHING JUST DON’T SCRUB HARD. I took the ring out of our bathtub with one. Also generic ones work just as well.

Keep some bleach around but if you use it for cleaning? Dillute it. There’s rarely ever a case where you need to pout straight bleach on anything. A cap full or two in a bucket of water works just fine.

DO NOT MIX CLEANERS. Chemical reactions are can be very dangerous. Here’s a good list. (Note that vinegar and baking soda can actually be a good combo for removing smells from things but it’s not very good at actually -cleaning-.)

If you drink? Don’t take meds at the same time it’s just not good.

Make sure you check the dosages on your pill bottles. No one wants to accidentally overdose on cough syrup or ibuprofen.

If you have a uterus make sure you have a heating pad and ibuprofen on hand for the pain. Hot baths also generally help and Ginger Tea is excellent for any nausea.

Buy a first aid kit. It’s worth it in the long run.

You can often do your taxes online at places like TurboTax.

Here’s some good sex ed resources because I had to explain what a yeast infection was recently. 

Petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline) is good for chapped lips and you can get a decent sized tube or tub of it (generic brand version) for cheaper/same price as Chapstick.

KEEP TRIPLE ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENT IN YOUR HOUSE FOR CUTS AND SCRAPES AND SORES. 

~~Medications~~

Over the counter medications (stuff you can buy right off the shelf no prescription needed) have a name brand and a generic name. ALWAYS buy generic if it’s available it is literally the same thing and way cheaper usually.

Some names to remember when you’re looking for meds!

Acetaminophen = Tylenol

Used to treat pain and reduce fever. Do not take with Ibuprofen.

Ibuprofen = Advil, Midol, Motrin

Used for pain and fever, is an anti-inflammtory. Is good for period cramps because it is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug).

Naproxen = Aleve, Naprosyn

Treats fever, pain, arthritis pain, gout, period cramps, tendinitis, headache, backache, and toothache. Is also an NSAID.

Acetaminophen + Asprin + Caffeine = Excedrin

Usually marketed as “Migraine Relief” as a generic.

Asprin = Bayer

Use for pain, fever, arthritis, and inflammation. Makes you bleed easily so should not be used for periods. Might reduce risk of heart attacks.\

Triple Antibiotic Ointment = Neosporin

Used on cuts, sores, and scrapes to reduce risk of infection and promote healing.

Also a general mutli-vitamin isn’t a bad idea and if you don’t get a lot of fruits or milk/sunshine in your diet you might want to get vitamins C and D specifically for daily use.

[canonescapist]

• be careful with magic erasers they can take paint off of things. Like my kitchen walls

[variablejabberwocky]

there is a valve on the pipe connecting the toilet to the rest of your home’s water system. if it starts of overflow for any reason you can turn that valve and shut the water off until you get it flushing properly again.

for stressful or difficult phone calls keep a sheet nearby of questions you want to ask or info you think they’ll need to know so you don't’ forget anything

[jumpingjacktrash]

seconding the vitamin d. also, hate swallowing pills? gummy vitamins are a thing!

naps aren’t just for toddlers and grandparents. every so often, flop down somewhere comfy and cuddle your pet or play phone games, and if your eyes want to close, let ‘em. it’s good for your soul.

NEVER give up the idea of having fun and enjoying life just because you’re a grownup now. i’m 42; tonight, my spouse of 20 years and i ate cocoa krispies on the couch and got excited over our fandom theories about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. it’s not all kale and taxes, i swear. not if you don’t want it to be.

[helpfulharrie]

How to make quick sketches from real life models?

The less time you have to draw something, the less detail you can put down.

So, instead you want to put down as much information about the pose as you can with as few lines as possible!

This is called finding the gesture - the essence of the pose. Forget about form, forget about contour, gesture is about the feeling and the motion!

It’s the first stage to any drawing, it helps to have a general idea of what you want to draw down on the page before you jump into the details.

When working from life, the image of what you want to draw is already in front of you. So before you draw anything, take some time to look at what you are going to draw.

Look for the motion, the lines that travel through the body.

Once you’ve found the motion, you can then draw it.

This is the gesture - it does not yet look like a person because there is no form or contour, but it should still give you a sense of the pose and its motion!

You can then build the forms on top of the gesture.

It’s essentially like drawing stick-men, as you’re drawing lines rather than contours.

Those are gestures I spent a couple minutes on to make them look nicer lmao, but this stage is really quick - this one took about thirty seconds

Also a lil tip: When drawing the gesture, you want to use long continuous strokes.

You’re trying to convey as much as you can in one line, because you’re only spending a couple seconds on it! The more you can draw with one stroke, the quicker it’ll be done.

In a life drawing session, you’ll generally be given a minute to two minutes to spend drawing before the model changes pose.

Most of this time you should spend looking for that motion rather than drawing. If you have a minute to draw the pose, spend thirty seconds studying the model!

If you jump right into the drawing, you’ll actually take longer because you don’t know what you’re drawing.

You can practice this at home using pixelovely’s figure drawing tool - set the timer to 1 minute, and try finding the gesture.

If you struggle to finish the pose before the image changes, set it to 2 minutes and spend more time looking at the photo!

If you find it hard to actually find the motion and the gesture in the pose, I recommend practicing on cats instead.

Cats are a lot simpler than humans, and as they’re so flexible the motion is more obvious. They’re a good way to start if you’re having trouble.

And lastly, Proko has a few good videos on gesture and quick poses!

[fegu]

My first shot at creating a sort of tutorial/guide, telling how I do things. On this initial chapter we’re going over the handy matter of Hands. Not meaning to be an encyclopedic explanation, only showing my own methods and self-taught clues. Hoping somebody finds it useful! :3 I’ll do more if this one is received well. So let me know~

My thanks also to the supporters in my Patreon campaign, who helped me decide which themes to focus on for a start. And are actually allowing this to happen. :D Cheers!

[healthyeyes]

How to Write a University-level Essay

Heyo, so school is fast approaching, and seeing as Tumblr is made up of a lot of younger users who will soon be shipping off to college or university soon, I thought I would take it upon myself to help spread my knowledge of essay-writing. Essay-writing is my thing. I love it. I live for it. It’s how I make up for my shitty test marks, and still get by with an 85 average+ in University classes. I’m a historian by trade, so perhaps this information will seem a bit off from what you’re used to, but hopefully, It’ll help you out. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an ask.

1. Consider your question and find your thesis.

      I know, I know. People always say, no! Never start with your thesis/intro paragraph! Go to the body!! Well i’m here to say forget everything you’ve been told. Forget that, forget the stupid hamburger shit they teach you, forget it all and start reading. 

I ALWAYS start with my thesis. Why? Because you cannot make good paragraphs without knowing what you’re researching. You need direction, and a thesis is your map.

So, the question we’ll use shall be: What is one way in which the Union won the American Civil War?

Now remember, your thesis is your map. It shows you where to go, what to look for. The thesis is the heart and soul of all your work. You want a good, solid thesis. What does that include, you ask?

An idea

A reason for said idea

Evidence to support said reason, and thus validate the        idea.

So, lets do an example. Let’s say I’m writing on the use of media during the American Civil War. I like photography, and wrote a paper on this in my second year, but im gonna be doing this example freehand(idk where I put that essay lol) so lets work with how I got an A+ on that paper. This will be my idea:

                “Photography during the American Civil War influenced the war’s outcome in the Norths favour.”

This is VERY vague. This is an example of a thesis in bloom! Let’s take it further. Look at the above. What questions would you have from this thesis?

-Who was taking photos at that time?

-Why did it influence the outcome?

-How did it influence the outcome?

-Who consumed photography as a media at that time?

This is where you STOP, and start the next step.

2. Research

                Start your basic research with your idea, and the above questions in mind. Look at libraries, ask your professor or TA or librarian, or just do some basic google searches to get to know the subject(but for the love of god if you include a google link in your citation I will personally hunt you down and castrate you.)

I like to start with the basics of any inquiry: WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, HOW. Who was taking photos? Where were they displayed that caused influence? ect…These, in relation to your beginner thesis, will help guide you in what form your thesis will take.

Once you’ve finished that, and have a general feel for the time period, go back to your thesis.

3. THESIS 2.0

Go back to your original question: What is one way in which the Union won the American Civil War? Now look at your thesis again. It’s too vague, isn’t it?

As you can see, our original thesis was too vague to be a real thesis. So, we NARROW IT DOWN using our WWWWWH progress we focused on during early research!

                “Photography during the American Civil war influenced the war’s outcome by providing a visual for ordinary citizens about the horrors of war, and thus helping to increase donations and awareness to the cause.”

Great! But once again, too vague! Questions that may arise include:

Who was taking the photos

Evidence for donations?

Evidence for social awareness?

So, we NARROW IT DOWN again. I’m going to use Andrew Gardner’s photography during the Civil war, as he was one of the most famous and influential at the time.

                “Andrew Gardner’s photography during the American Civil war influenced the war’s outcome by providing a visual for ordinary citizens about the horrors of war, and thus helping to increase donations and enlistment in the Union through awareness to the cause…”

The above then gives us the following(why and how are sometimes grouped together):

Who: Andrew Gardner

What: Photography helped the north win the war.

Where: Union-aka northern states

When: American Civil War

Why/How: Because Andrew Gardner’s photography raised social awareness through this new and budding medium

Use this sort of outline to guide you in the next step!

4. Now that we have a thesis, you need to do some more research and evidence gathering.

The way I like to do this is to go check out a few books from the library(look for text books in particular), and leaf through the index for matching terms. Our matching terms would be:

                Photography, civil war, Andrew Gardner, media

From there, you read over the pages, and see if any of the info relates to your subjects. Copy down quotes, page numbers, book title, author, publishing date and publisher. You need these for your bibliography. Pick and choose relevant information. The filter for relevant information relies entirely on your thesis, because it decides what you need to be looking for—this is why I hate when people tell me to start writing paragraphs before I write a thesis! It’s simply impossible and counter productive, and will cost you hours in revision.

So, gather your information from the library, and cross-reference with peer-reviewed articles and data. For our thesis, we would need data on enlistment numbers in an area after a date of Andrew Gardner’s photography exhibit showcases. No matter what type of essay you’re writing, you can always back up your evidence with data, and it won’t hurt one bit. Don’t be afraid of the numbers, kids!

So, if we were to go back to our thesis, we could now expand on it like this:

             “Andrew Gardner’s photography during the American Civil war influenced the war’s outcome by providing a visual for ordinary citizens about the horrors of war, and thus helping to increase donations and enlistment in the Union through awareness to the cause. An increase in  donations and enlistment in relation to exposure to Gardners work is seen in data/evidence point A, as well as in data/evidence point B, which will be fully outlined in the points below.”

This gives you an example of how to lead from a thesis, to your opening paragraph.

5. Data and Evidence Justifications–Paragraph making

This is the section where you can branch your essay into your data and evidence points you gathered in steps 2 and 4. You can have as many paragraphs as you like, just make sure your evidence and data is strong and supported. I personally like to work with my thesis copied and pasted onto the top of every page I write on. This keeps you on track, with your clear goal in mind, and will help you from straying. I will give you an example of how a paragraph might sound.

                Andrew Gardner’s photography during the American Civil War became heavily influential upon the American population at the time, particularly the north, wherein which his work was showcased. The influence of Gardner’s photographic works is seen in the _____, which shows us that without the influence of Gardner’s media influence, war efforts and awareness may not have been as successful as they had been.

This is an alright opener for you to work with. The ___ is where you could put in your data point or evidence piece. The point of the paragraph is to show your support for your thesis by confirming it with evidence.

Your paragraphs should take this form:

Present, Confirm, Conclude, Lead.

You present your evidence, confirm its relation to the thesis and confirm the validity of the thesis, conclude by brief revision of evidence, and then lead into your next paragraph. 

6. Conclusion

        Your conclusionary paragraph should be a look-over of the above paragraphs. Restate your thesis, present a summarized version of your paragraphs(one or two sentences only), and perhaps take the time to look at your own views on the subject. An example might look like this:

        “Taking a moment to step away from the above mentioned evidence, I believe it to be scholarly acceptable and even necessary to state my own views on the subject presented. In drawing conclusions, I felt that the above information was correct in that it presented a reality of the time period, in which photography was becoming a medium to be embraced by popular society. People were not only astounded by Gardner’s photographs on a social level, but also a technical level. The astonishment people held at seeing the war-torn battle fields spurred them into action, and even today can still present feelings of dread, fear and loss when looking at his photos…blah blah blah”

Why is it scholarly acceptable and perhaps necessary to state your views? Oftentimes, it is to reassure the reader of your own personal bias’, which exist whether you like them or not, to the subject at hand. Having a small tidbit on your own thoughts about your research ect, breaking away from the third-person droning of an essay can be refreshing and welcoming for a prof at the end of his stack of essay reading. 

7. In summary

Thesis

WWWWWH

NARROW IT DOWN

Data and Evidence

Present, Confirm, Conclude, Lead

Self opinions/Conclude

All in all, do unique things. Professors love it when they come across something that’s not cookie cutter! Even if they present you with a list of essay topics, take the leap and ask them if you can do your own research topic!! Take risks with your essay writing, talk to your professors about what you want to do, and try to have fun with your research. I’ve written on everything from civil war photography to Disney princesses in american media, to the religious formation of idea of heaven and earth. Remember, so long as there’s credible, documented evidence, it’s possible to write about it.

[ewysoka]

[genicecream]

Genice, can you give me some advice with hands? The hands i draw sometimes end stiff and ugly. Also hands in perspective, because sometimes they end too big or small. Thanks!

i mostly got better at drawing hands by just practicing how to draw them a lot!what i would do is draw a pose or two over and over again (maybe at slightly different angles and stuff) first with reference, and then draw them again without looking at anything to see how much i can draw from my mind, and then go back and forth between the two until i get enough of a “feel” to draw a certain pose decently without relying on reference. i think after a while you kind of develop patterns in the way you draw hands and from there it becomes easier to draw different hand poses and stuff from scratch

to make the hands you draw look less awkward/stiff, i think it helps to focus more on the overall flow of the composition and silhouette of the hand rather than getting all the details in and anatomy right and stuff in the initial stages

when drawing hands in perspective i think it helps to visualize them as 3d shapes

to get the foreshortening right (aside from using perspective guides and whatnot) i like to just draw the hand first, and then eyeball the perspective and adjust its size and position until it looks right

(select with lasso tool > ctrl+t to transform +right click for more transform options)

another thing i do is take reference pictures with my ipod (any camera works tbh. i just find using a mobile device to be more convenient)by holding the camera close to my hand i can get a really exaggerated perspective like this:

it’s nice because i can get the ref for the exact pose and angle i’m looking for without having to do a lot of internet fishing

[lesbianlinkle-moved]

Hands!! y’all ask me abt them all the time and like, i never know where to begin haha. 

Also, you can watch a video of me drawing a hand with some annotated tips over yonder.

–

anyway, last but not least: i draw hands rly stylised!! like super stylised. Wrists dont actually work anything like i draw them lmao but i like the shape.

Make sure you study real hands, don’t just rely on my hand posts !

I recommend reading the posts in my hand tag on my resource blog, and do some studies using the Hand & Feet Tool on Pixelovely.

I used to just open the tool up and draw a big canvasful (like 3kx5k px) just of hands. Put the timer to like two minutes and just practice. Draw big!

The biggest problem i used to have was drawing hands too small and trying to squeeze in all the details.

Good luck! You can send me any more questions you might have if you need, they don’t need to be about hands either! I’m happy to help.

[anatoref]

Clothing Folds & Creases by Louie del Carmen

[bookandslugclub]

Resource Dump: Creating Characters!

Primary Characters

Your Hero: Top Ten Rules

10 Traits of a Great Protagonist

4 Steps to Creating a Truly Active Protagonist

20 Tips for Creating Relatable Protagonists

How to Center your Story

How to Create Unforgettable Protagonists

25 Things You Should Know About Protagonists

Creating Memorable Characters

Creating Strong Female Protagonists

Creating Dynamic Protagonists

How to Create Characters

Inner Dialogue - Writing Inner Character Thoughts

25 Things a Great Character Needs

5 Ways to Create 3D Characters

Secondary Characters

10 Secrets to Creating Unforgettable Supporting Characters

How to Write Effective Supporting Characters

Question to Ask (& Strengthen) Your Minor Characters

5 Tips for Developing Supporting Characters

Techniques for Creating Great Secondary Characters

5 Steps to Dazzling Minor Characters

3 Ways to Create Stupendous Supporting Characters

Creating Memorable Secondary Characters

5 Archetypes for Supporting Characters

Your Map to Creating a Memorable Minor Characters

Names

Top Ten Tips

8 Tips for Naming Characters

7 Rules of Naming Fictional Characters

Name that Character!

6 Creative Ways to Name your Character

Naming your Characters

A Guide to Naming Characters

Female: 1 | 2 | 3

Male: 1 | 2 | 3

Alien: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Surname: 1 | 2 | 3 

Unisex: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Traits

List: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Developing Character Traits

How to Create Good Personalities for your Characters

Develop Memorable Personalities

Give your Character Personality

How to Create a Character’s Personality

How to Make Sure your Character’s Personality Shines

5 Building Blocks of your Character’s Personality

Appearance

Appearance Generator

Your Character’s Physical Appearance

How to Describe a Character’s Looks

Describing a Character’s Appearance

Character Description Resource

Examples of Physical Characteristics

Describing the Physical Attributes of your Characters

How Great Authors Describe Character Appearance

Ultimate Guide to Nailing your Character’s Appearance

Describing Clothing and Appearance

Character Appearance Help

Character Description Resource

Describing People: A Person’s Physical Appearance

Describing the Physical Attributes of Characters

Speech

Talking About your Character: Speech

Variety in Character Voices

All your Characters Talk the Same

How to Create Distinctive Character Voices

How to Create Characters Who Don’t Sound like You

The Art of Voice in Fiction

Create Varying, Yet Realistic, Speech Patterns

The Art and Craft of Dialogue

Writing Character Voice

Creating Differences in the Speech Patterns of your Characters

Style: Person and Speech

Dialects: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Backstory

Building Better Backstories

Basic Tips to Create Better Characters with Tragic Backstories

How to Write a Backstory

Writing Characters Using Conflict and Backstory

Backstory Description Generator

Questions to Create Character Backstory

How to Weave in Backstory to Reveal Character

Nail your Character’s Backstory

How to Write Backstory Without Putting your Reader to Sleep

How to Write a Killer Backstory

Diversity

How to Make Young Adult Fiction More Diverse

Writing People of Color

A Few Tips and Resources for Writing Characters of Colour

Writing Characters of Colour Tastefully

Writing With Colour

7 Offensive Mistakes Well-Intentioned Writers Make

Writing Characters of Colour

Describing Characters of Colour

Gender

Female: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Male: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Transgender: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Non-Binary: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Sexuality

Main Character Sexuality

On Writing LGBTQ Characters: 1 | 2

Writing Gay Characters

Guide to LGBT YA

Avoiding LGBTQ Stereotypes

Writing Bisexual Characters: 1 | 2

Writing Asexual Characters: 1 | 2

Pansexual & Demisexual Characters

How to Write Gay, Bisexual and Pansexual Characters

Introduction

Introducing a Character

Introducing your Main Character

Do’s and Don’ts for Introducing your Protagonist

First Impressions

How to Introduce a Character

How Not to Introduce a Main Character

Introducing the Protagonist

Development

Character Development

9 Ingredients of Character Development

Characterisation 1 - Character Development

How to Develop a Character for a Story

Character Development

Character Development Drives Conflict

Developing your Characters and Making them Interesting

Relationships

How to Write Strong Character Relationships

Character Relationships

3 Keys to Developing Character Relationships

The Secret Behind Great Character Relationships

3 Tips for Character Relationships

Building Believable Relationships

Sibling: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Platonic: 1 | 2 | 3

Romantic: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Strengths

Identifying your Character’s Strengths

Character Strengths and Weaknesses

Introducing the 24 Character Strengths

Character Strengths and Virtues List

Strengths and Weaknesses

A Balance of Strengths

Flaws

123 Ideas for Character Flaws

DarkWorld RPG Flaws List

Character Flaws

Ten Ugliest Character Flaws

The Four Types of Character Flaws

On Giving Flaws and Weaknesses

Character Flaw Index

Goal

Why your Character’s Goal Needs to be 1 of these 5 Things

Goals Define the Plot

Goal Setting for You and your Character

How to Explore you Character’s Motivation

4 Ways to Motivate Character and Plot

Motivation

By Genre

Fantasy: 1 | 2 | 3

Sci-Fi: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Romance: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Thrillers: 1 | 2 

Horror: 1 | 2 | 3

Heroes

Your Hero: Top Ten Rules

How to Write your Own Hero Story

What Makes a Great Hero?

Creating Heroes and Heroines

Write a Story about a Hero

How to Create an Antihero that Readers Love

Heroes vs. Anti-Heroes

Create a Super Hero

How to Create a Brand New Iconic Hero or Villain

What Makes a Hero

Villains

How to Create a Credible Villain in Fiction

How to Make a Purely Evil Villain Interesting

9 Evil Examples of the Villain Archetype

How Not to Create a Villain

Creating Villains People Love to Hate

3 Techniques for Crafting a Better Villain

Basic Tips to Write Better & More Despicable Villains

Writing Tips for Creating a Complex Villain

How to Create a Great Villain

Do’s & Don’ts

Do’s and Dont’s of Writing a Good Character

How to Create a Character

Characterisation Dos and Dont’s

Female Characters of Do’s and Dont’s

Do’s and Dont’s of Dialect

Helpful Writing Blogs

fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment*

writeworld

referenceforwriters

thewritingcafe

aquestionofcharacter *

writingwithcolor

fuckyeah-char-dev

dailycharacterdevelopment

Clichés

Characters and Cliches

Top 10 Character Cliches

7 Lazy Character Cliches 

10 Most Cliched Characters in Sci-Fi

Four Worst Character Cliches

Female Character Cliches

Character Cliches to Avoid

The Cliche Character Test

How Cliches Can Help You Make Great Characters

Templates

How to Create a Character Profile

Writing Character Bios

Character Sheets and Character Creation

Gender/Sexuality Generator

Extremely Detailed Character Template

Writer’s Resource: Character Template

Character Description

[thefuturethattheybring]

 I’m always a slut for for new characters

[mintgal]

uuu thank u anon!! i hope this can explain it :^o

i use overlay all the time to make colours more vibrant and to make areas warmer or cooler. good for colourful ambient light (like glowy magic stuff).

multiply is really good for establishing a light source very quickly!! play around with the hue to get shadows with cool colours. for more detailed work you can use two or three tones on a multiply layer for more dimension.

screen is something i only recently started using regularly! it’s really great if you have a very bright light source. you can also use screen and paint on the edges of a backlit character to make the lighting more intense. a good thing to know about screen layers is that the darker the colour you use, the less it lightens; using black on a screen layer leaves no effect on the colours underneath (the opposite is true for multiply layers!).

and you can also use these layers for an entire painting instead of just on a character! i don’t have a visual example on hand, but stuff like making the area around a warm light source warmer, making a light source brighter and more vibrant, or using gradients set on multiply or screen are just some of the ways you can apply these to a full painting :)

[foervraengd]

do you have any advise for coloring darker skin tones?

Dark skin have “stronger” highlights, but they’re at the same time not “larger”.

Cooler hues like blue and low-saturated purple works well as a base color and for shadows.

Don’t be afraid to add some red tones on cheeks and lips etc, just don’t use light pink for that.

Read This tumblr post in how to avoid whitewashing the skintone. (it’s mainly about photo-editing but useful for artists as well)

When in doubt, use a reference:

(by Nathan Fowkes. His blog is great source for inspiring colors!)

I threw together a step-by-step in how I sometimes paint dark skin, I hope it’ll help you out: 

^ sketch set to multiply.

[mirshroom]

Click me for the brushes used in the tutorial A few peeps were wondering how I drew attacks in my nuzlocke comic, so I made a quick/kinda sloppy tutorial about it! Tbh it’s just me spamming luminosity and overlay layers haha ;yyy Hope this somewhat helps!