flockofcrowswithwritersblock

where Flockofcrows saves the writing and art tips they found https://ko-fi.com/flockofcrows

[flockofcrowswithwritersblock]

Describing a people/tribe questions

Physical description

Eyes (shape, color)

Skin (color, texture)

Hair (color, texture, style)

Body (shapes, sizes)

Other (wings, tails, anything not on this list)

Culture

Traditions

Rituals

Death

Birth

Marriage

Etc.

Clothing

Color

Material

Style

Food

Celebrations

Clothing

Food

Stories or games

Stories/lore

Games

Religion

Gods

Divine topics

Objects/places of power

The people

How are the different genders treated? How do they act?

Coming of age stuff?

Who's in charge? Why?

Are the people human?

How do they raise their children?describe a family unit.

Pets? Livestock?

Describe some of the people in your tribe. How do they interact with the rest of the tribe?

Taboos/rules/forbidden topics?

Geography

Where do they live?

What do their houses look like?

Have they adapted well to their environment?

Describe the land around them and how they interact with it. Are they using their resources efficiently?

Are they near other tribes? If so, what are the relationships between the tribes? Are they allies?

Trade and economy

Do they trade? With whom?

Do they have a currency? Describe how it works.

Describe the technologies, if any. This includes farming equipment and simple tools!

Transportation

Animals/beasts of labor?

Vehicles?

Paths and roads?

Which locations are the least accessable? The most accessable? Why?

Language

What languages do they speak? How many? What types?

What Earth languages are most similar to their languages, if any?

Are they literate? Describe.

Describe body language, if any.

Describe curses or rude gestures.

What are some phrases? What do they mean?

Law

What are some laws?

Taboos?

How are wrongdoers punished?

Who's in charge of punishment?

Are wrongdoers tried?

How do they fight?

Describe the last war, if any. Who was it with? Who were they fighting against? Who were their allies? What was the cause/reason for the war?

Describe their fighting methods. Are they martial?

Describe their weapons. Melee or range? Both?

How are veterans and soldiers treated?

How successful are they in war?

What are the requirements to fight, if any?

Describe some myths or lore.

What is your favorite myth from this culture?

What are some recurring themes?

Who are some recurring characters?

What is the most famous/well known myth from this culture?

Describe a normal day in the tribe.

Describe a house or building built by/used by the tribe.

Food

Normal meals

What do they eat?

Delicacies, if any?

Mealtime etiquette?

Do they eat alone or together? In big groups or small groups? Who do they eat with?

Crafts? Arts?

Jewelry

Metalworking

Textiles/fabrics

Pottery

Sculpture

Painting

Drawings

Recurring colors or patterns?

Recurring figures or objects?

Recurring characters or themes?

Symbolism

Gods/deities

Do they believe in gods?

What type of gods? Destruction or creation gods? Nature gods?

Is there a ruler of the gods? Who? How did they become ruler?

How does one become a god, if possible? Can anyone become a god?

How do the gods work?

Is there an afterlife? How does it work?

Describe some gods. What are they the gods of? Who are they the patrons of? What are their goals? Do they have many worshippers? Why or why not?

What pantheon are your gods based on, if any? Why?

Where are the places of worship, if any? Why?

Other deities?

Color scheme

Main colors

Accents

Metal color

Glow/magic color, if any

Tone range

Reasoning behind color choices

Clothing

Material

Weave, if any

Colors

Patterns

Styles

Comfort, fashion, or work?

Reasoning behind those choices

(This is a wip and needs to be reorganized.)

[illustromic]

My thoughts on drawing wings (an unofficial tutorial)

Do you want to get better at drawing your favorite winged character? Do you have winged OCs? Just want to learn something new? I can't promise this post will help, but maybe it'll give you some helpful tips.

I know, I knowww, wing tutorials have been done to death. I don't care. This was initially inspired by a conversation on twitter, but actually I've wanted to write down my notes on the topic for a long time lol. Basically wings are one of my special interests so it's very important, for me, to draw them both nicely and also realistically.

On that note, let me first show you my resume *distant sound of floodgates opening*

Like what you see? Read on! (Oh, and I will only be covering feathered/avian wings bc those are the type I know best.)

Now, I'm not here to give you a step-by-step guide on wing anatomy and aerodynamics, because there are plenty of other resources that cover this already, and I'll list my faves at the end of the post. Right now, I'm going to give you some easy guidelines and tricks that I wish more artists knew.

1: Wings do, in fact, have bones (crazy, I know) and are actually very rigid because they have to support the weight of a living creature. There are some positions you cannot physically force a wing into irl.

2: Flight feathers are not placed willy-nilly on the wing, because then they wouldn't catch the air properly. Again, like the bones, they are rigid and strong, so don't draw them like fur or ribbons. All wings have the same pattern of feather placement, with slight variation depending on species. If you learn the feather sections, it will automatically improve your drawings a lot.

2.5: Feathers overlap each other like a handful of playing cards, and this looks different depending on which side of the wing you're drawing. They always do this unless they're extremely untidy.

3: The size of the wingspan is important if you're going for a more realistic design. There is no "scientifically accurate" measurement when it comes to fictional creatures, but my general rule is when in doubt, you probably need to make them bigger. Personally, for my original winged human species, I give them wings that can be up to 12 feet long each (the artistic sacrifice is that it's really hard to fit the wings on the dang page lmao, so make your own call).

4: Get used to drawing folded wings. Most of the time, birds keep their wings folded because it prevents them from getting damaged and it conserves energy. The trick is to get good at visualizing how the joints bend and overlap (look at plenty of photos!) In general, they can fold much tighter than you think.

5: Wings and feathers take a lot of patience to draw, but the results are worth it. I've seen so so many incredibly beautiful and skillful artworks that are---well, maybe not ruined, but still negatively affected by a pair of wings that look like an afterthought, or not even like wings at all. You have no idea how much a little extra time and practice will add to your work until you see for yourself.

Finally, some notes on "stylized" wings: Of course it's perfectly ok to draw more simplified/cartoony wings if that's your preference!! BUT there is a difference between a stylistic choice and a lack of effort/poor understanding of the subject matter. Even cartoonists have to learn the fundamentals of realism so they know how to make their designs logical and appealing. Here are some examples of more stylized wings that I feel retain the core principles of anatomy/aesthetics:

And last but not least: A list of helpful links I use personally for reference and inspiration!

I made this pinterest board for general artsy inspo, and this board to curate my very favorite tutorials/refs/information, focusing on the scientific aspect of wings and flight in general. Feel free to use both! (I also suggest pinterest in general for pose refs and such, but try to only practice using photos at first and not other drawings.)

I highly recommend this blog and this blog if you want examples of artists who draw more realism-based winged creatures!! They are both huge inspirations for me and I think you should totally follow them even if you don't plan to draw wings lol <3

If you're REALLY serious about it, my favorite ref books are: Winged Fantasy, a lovely drawing book by Brenda Lyons; Proctor & Lynch's Manual of Ornithology; and Angelus vincens by R. Spano, which is essentially an artbook by someone who (I believe) designed biologically plausible "angels" for their senior thesis.

Ok, idk how to end this lol but I hope it helped! I know it's not my normal kind of post but I'm super busy with college stuff rn and this was all I had time for. If you guys have any questions or feedback, please let me know!!!

-Aloe <3

[guttedpulsars]

here is a master list of great art tools that can make your workflow easier! 👇 (consistently updating)

posemaniacs.com/en

if you want to learn human anatomy with the benefit of preset poses, this is for you! you can use it standalone, but as a bonus you can also import poses into the clip studio paint 3D models. (File -> Import -> 3D Pose (Posemaniacs)

line-of-action.com

great for gestures and observational sketches!

zvork.fr/vls/

browser based rig for lighting & shadows

MY FAVORITE BRUSHPACKS

truegrit texture supply - https://www.truegrittexturesupply.com

Photoshop & Procreate Textures and Brushes | True Grit Texture Supply

Game-Changing Brushes, Textures and Effects for Procreate, Photoshop, Illustrator, Clip Studio Paint and Affinity. Level up your digital art

thedawner procreate & csp packs - https://ko-fi.com/thedawner/

Buy thedawner a Coffee. ko-fi.com/thedawner

Become a supporter of thedawner today! ❤️ Ko-fi lets you support the creators you love.

ADDITIONAL TOOLS COMING!

[flockofcrowswithwritersblock]

hiraeth

It's in the two second glimpse of the horizon

From the highway to my uncle's house,

When I crane my neck in our silver minivan,

And pretend I'm flying towards that line.

It's in my favorite picture of Mars,

Clean and crisp and rust-red.

And a brief remembrance of Opportunity,

Silent and dark, buried in wind-worn sand.

It's in the stars of Muenster, Texas,

At a family friend's ranch.

Like diamonds suspended in ink,

So clear I can see the space between.

It's in my favorite Spotify playlist.

In lyrics that fill me with longing,

Rhythms that make me mourn.

Putting words to this wordless grief.

It's so small, my place in this world.

Hiraeth, noun

A homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was

[charlataninred]

Love how tumblr has its own folk stories. Yeah the God of Arepo we’ve all heard the story and we all still cry about it. Yeah that one about the woman locked up for centuries finally getting free. That one about the witch who would marry anyone who could get her house key from her cat and it’s revealed she IS the cat after the narrator befriends the cat.

[meraarts]

Might I add:

The defeat of the wizard who made people choose how they’d be to be executed

The woman who raised the changeling alongside her biological child

The human who died of radiation poisoning after repairing the spaceship

[eater-of-hopes-and-dreams]

The adventures of a space roomba

Cinderella finding Araura (and falling in love)

I don’t know a snappy description but the my nemesis cynthia story certainly lives in my head

[blitzlowin]

hilariously, these are almost all in my fic tag. so, a compiled list from the notes (and some extras):

The God of Arepo (graphic novel 1 / 2 / 3) (ebook)

The Monster of Sentan

The Witch’s Cat

Raise Both Children

Stabby the Roomba (honorable mention)

Cinderella Marries the Prince (comic)

My Arch Nemesis Cynthia

Pirates and Mermaid

Eindred and the Witch

The Demon King

The Cornerwitch

Grandmother Beetroot

Apocalypse Daycare Worker

Grandmother Accidentally Summons a Demon

New Year Saga

A Story About Changelings

Ranger in the King’s Forest

The Difference Between a Hare and a Rabbit

Goblin Men (Canines)

[charlataninred]

I am in love with you /p

[inkvoices]

Adding Faceblind Prince Charming and Cinderella

[inkvoices]

21. The human who died of radiation poisoning after repairing the spaceship

22. The defeat of the wizard who made people choose how they’d be to be executed

[lightningladybug]

adding the Doctors Without Borders one

[inkvoices]

I LOVE tumblr storytime, so here’s a bunch more your weekend reading. Enjoy!

24. The Queen with Three Cursed Children

25. Tiny Dragon with one coin hoard

26. Haunted house

27. Shark hero was about to go rogue

28. Grandma lives in the woods comic

29. A Different Aftermath comic

30. Battery (microstory but I love it so much)

31. It’s A Date comic

32. Supervillian kidnaps rival’s kid and they want to stay

33. Narrative Town

34. I have been hired to clean the wizard tower comic

35. Robot Apocalypse

36. The Statues That Do Not Weather

37. Kushiel

38. Tooth Fairy

39. Alien abduction

40. Felonious wish-granting

41. When humans met actual space orcs

42. Space cousins

[dannnnnnnnnnnnex]

WAIT REBLOG THIS VERSION INSTEAD

[crackheadgremlin-deactivated202]

its not a book nor banned but honestly? unknown stories or those cherished by few are also important so here.

Also adding a couple of my favorites! Long Forgotten God and the kindergarten class

Angels and Demons accidental sandwich

[snakebites-and-ink]

May I add:

45. Intergalactic Red Cross

46. Being Villagers

47. The monster under the fridge

48. Humans are the only species with a concept of vengeance

49. The Blue Key

50. Different stories resonate with different people comic

51. Whalefall horror comic

52. The Fox God comic

53. The Stone of Possibility

54. Worthless War

[snakebites-and-ink]

Wait I have more: (including many from the notes)

55. A Pool in the Heart of the Forest (comic)

56. I am asking you to endure it anyway

57. You Help Kill Heroes

58. The witch who raised herself

59. My pilot is good

60. Hsthete (comic)

61. Variations on the Frog and the Scorpion

62. The monster under the bed

63. Cleric slamming healing spells (microstory)

64. The Priest of Arepo

65. The Villain Wrangler

66. Old Gods vs Aliens

67. Last Contact

68. Dragon on a farm

69. Antler Guy

70. Bakery with mythical customers

71. ‘Port

72. The king prophesied to defeat evil

73. The Night Gentlemen

74. In love with a sphynx

75. A fae asks for your name

76. Once their home

77. When you die in the ocean (comic)

78. Toad Words

79. Kisses and Curses (comic)

80. And the Heavens Wept

Also “tumblr storytime” is such a cute thing to call it

[snakebites-and-ink]

And replacements for the broken links:

7. My Arch Nemesis Cynthia

20. Faceblind Prince Charming

21. Humans are unstoppable…Until they aren’t

[rub1r3d]

Yes tumblr folk stories! Its funny cause these spread to other platforms and even those without tumblr know of them too

[wildxwired]

How fucking annoying is it when you feel so restless with creative energy but you can’t decide what to do with it and when you finally try to create something it comes out shit so you just give up and sit there being all creatively annoyed and jittery.

[lianabrooks]

1 - Decision Making Fatigue is a thing. --> Make a list of possibilities. --> Use a random number generator to pick something off the list. --> If you hate the idea cross it off and generate a new number. --> Continue until you either find a project or cross off the whole list. --> If you cross off the whole list pick a random short story prompt, write for five minutes, and call it a good work day.

2. Yeah, of course your rough draft sucks. It’s supposed to. --> Let it suck. --> You can fix it in edits. 

3. When you’re stressed you aren’t unbiased about your work. --> Don’t judge your work while your are actively working on it. --> Remember to drink water, take your meds/vitamins, eat something, and get sleep. --> Double-check to make sure the restless creative energy is not displaced emotional worries over something else. If it is, displace with intention and let the worries go into your work. You shouldn’t keep stress in your head, put it on a page, or canvas, or in a carving, or a meal, or something. Get it out and let it go.

4. No work is ever wasted. --> All time spent planning and creating is useful in some way.  --> Failure means you tried, which is good. --> Try again. Fail harder. Fail better. --> Keep going until you like what you’re making.

5. Love yourself enough to allow yourself to not be perfect. --> Seriously.  --> If this is a struggle I highly recommend seeing a doctor or therapist about depression. --> Because you are dang lovable, my friend. You rock. You do great things. I’m proud of you.

[donutsbagels]

Final/Part 4: Messing with straight hair!

Post by @donutsbagels · 8 images

💬 3  🔁 1719  ❤️ 2655 · Post by @donutsbagels · 7 images · Okay I JUST realized I never posted these on here—- BUT BASICALLY, about a year an

[donutsbagels]

Part 3: Combining shapes, braids, and textures! And utilizing parts and fros!

Post by @donutsbagels · 7 images

💬 0  🔁 290  ❤️ 409 · Final/Part 4: Messing with straight hair!

[donutsbagels]

Part 2: shape, style, and length with femme styles!

Post by @donutsbagels · 10 images

💬 7  🔁 779  ❤️ 1177 · Part 3: Combining shapes, braids, and textures! And utilizing parts and fros!

[donutsbagels]

Okay I JUST realized I never posted these on here—- BUT BASICALLY, about a year and a half ago I started doing these experimental black hairstyle posts that were threads long on Twitter, to give artists a source of inspo for their black ocs whose hair they wanted to try something new with! There’s more to black hair than just the selected styles portrayed in media, and I thought it would be fun to show people how much texture, shape, fades, length, and style can be combined when drawing black hair—-cause it’s a kind of manipulation our hair can do irl! The OG thread from when I made these a year ago were lost with the hacking of my original Twitter account (@/bagels_donuts) but I’ve since reuploaded the whole thread to my new Twitter (@/ItsDonutsFR)! I hope artists on tumblr find these useful, sorry it took me so long to post them here😭🙏🏾 I’ll upload them all in parts!

Part 1: Long masc hairstyles + playing with fades

Post by @donutsbagels · 7 images

💬 2  🔁 715  ❤️ 1008 · Part 2: shape, style, and length with femme styles!

[flockofcrowsinatrenchcoat]

I am selling digital art commissions

I am a young neurodivergent adult in Texas looking to move out of her parents' house by the end of the year. My parents are limiting my freedoms, and I need to raise enough money to move into an apartment with amenities such as air conditioning, dishwasher, and laundry. I also need to raise money to buy my first car.

Examples of my art:

Details and Ko-fi link below

Prices

Line art (base price):

Bust: $20.00

Half: $25.00

Full: $30.00

Flat Color: +$5 base price

Light/shadows: +$10 base price

Extra character (up to 2 total characters per image): +$10 base price

Backgrounds:

Simple (single/multiple colors, patterns, etc.): +$5 base price

Detailed (environment): +$15 base price 

Will and Won't

Will do:

OC art

Characters and character redesigns from ROTTMNT, Ninjago, and Voltron: Legendary Defender

Occasionally sonas

Realistic/semirealistic Minecraft mobs, blocks and items, skins, and scenes

Speculative anatomy designs 

Mild blood

Mild eyestrain

Occasionally book/album covers

Won't do:

NSFW

Major blood

Gore

Ship art

More than 4 characters per image

More than 3 images per commission 

Extreme eyestrain 

Rules

Always check the Will and Won't list before making an order

I will choose the commissions at my own discretion. I am free to refuse a commission for any reason.

Only 3 slots available at the moment

Will need references for any characters 

Only for personal use

No refunds unless I have not started on a commission I have committed to doing within 30 days of the commitment date

Support Flockofcrows on Ko-fi! ❤️. ko-fi.com/flockofcrows

Support Flockofcrows On Ko-fi. Ko-fi lets you support the people and causes you love with small donations

[two-quarters-make-a-half]

CROW ANNOUNCEMENT

Hey yall! I'm planning a Two Quarters Make A Half DTIYS!!! I'll post updates over the next few days while I get it ready, so stay tuned!

I will be using the tag #Crow2023DTIYS for this DTIYS

[thepedanticbohemian]

Don't just look online or read/listen to books. Interview professionals. Call their office, hospital, police station, etc. Tell them you're writing a novel and you need to do a ride-along or interviews.

Deputy Robert Mirabal is the technical advisor for THE OUDERKIRK HOUSE. I did a ride-along and interviewed him as we raced to a break-in, then patrolled all night. Island County Sheriff's Department features heavily in OUDERKIRK. I wanted them to be shown as the small island heroes they are. I'm including him in my acknowledgments and dedication for the novel.

Interviews are easy. Just have your questions in mind, or even written down, then take copious notes of everything they say. You never know what you might need to use in your novel. Enjoy it. Talking to people was the best part of my job as a journalist and foreign correspondent. You'll just be doing your job, after all!

[albaqae]

@ ALL RISE FANS THAT MAKE COMICS & STORIES

So I’ve noticed that in this fandom it’s common to include Deaf/ASL-using-characters into stories, which is honestly AMAZING and makes me SO HAPPY TO SEE, but many of us aren’t deaf we rely on resources, therefore:

Sign Language • ASL Dictionary | Handspeak®

My ASL teacher gave us this website cause it’s updates constantly (ASL evolves lots) and it’s a lot more accurate and reliable than just google :))

To work it- type the word, and a word bank will pull up, click on the term u want and a video/description of the sign and word will appear!!!

It’s rlly simple and has most words and if it doesn’t it’s bc it’s finger spelled probs!!!!

If u want more in-depth good grammar, search up “five parameters ASL”, “glossing in ASL” and watch a few videos to see “how sentence structure differs in ASL”

As always, remember it’s ok to make mistakes/notice a mistake, just be mindful and kind :D most of us aren’t out for malice and if someone is it’ll probs be very obv 😭

Happy Creating!!

[brainsanalysis-deactivated20210]

Hello please reblog this if you’re okay with people sending you random asks to get to know you better

[thepedanticbohemian]

Really informative list about stab wounds. Basically everything you need to know about them. Read away! in 2023 | Writing a book, Book writi

Jul 24, 2023 - Dot TK is the only top level domain name registry that provides free domain names. Get your free domain name today, before it

A helpful post about dying in a sword fight for all my fantasy writing folks.

[rad-roche]

i have a few resources i look to consistently but i'm gonna plug anatomy for sculptors as One Of The Most Useful. great if you're a 3D artist, INVALUABLE if you're a 2D artist. gives you turnarounds of specific limbs/fiddly body parts like ears. great especially if you're referencing a photo and start looking at an individual part like 'wait, what the hell is going on in there'