Hollow Forest Creations

-They/them (collectively) -23yo -DID system -Therian

[hollow-forest-creations]

Welcome to the Hollow Forest Creations blog!

About Us

We are a system with Dissociative Identity Disorder

collectively we use They/them pronouns

our body age is 23 years old

pretty much all of us identify as some form of alter human

About This Blog

We will be using this blog to showcase our art related to our alter-humanity. This will commonly include things such as-

Masks

Mask templates

tutorials

various types of tails

claws

paintings

accessories

and more!...

We will also talk about alterhuman related topics, as well as our personal lived experiences as an adult D.I.D. system of alterhumans.

Check out our witchcraft related crafts here!

[hollow-forest-creations]

Label's and Self Perception as an Alter-human:

(posted and written by V)

I wanted to post this drawing I did of my "animalistic looking" from in headspace. For context, I have Dissociative Identity Disorder, and with that as well as being alterhuman, I perceive myself quite differently than how my body physically looks. DID aside I'm sure many alterhumans can relate to that feeling, so I wanted to write a bit about that. (More under the cut for anyone who's interested)

( also please mind the typo's if any, I'm very dyslexic)---

Labels and Their Usefulness:

I feel there can be a tendency for us (not just alterhumans, but many folks nowadays) to want to put our experiences into boxes. Whether we want to explain our personality types, sexual orientation, spiritual beliefs, etc., we want to be able to sum up ourselves to better communicate to others what we believe and how we feel.

In context of alter-humanity, often times we not only want to understand ourselves, but we also want ways to explain ourselves to others who may be having similar experiences. I definitely understand this, and I think labels can be a fantastic way to explain ourselves, not only to others, but to help us better understand ourselves.

Concerns:

My main concern with labels isn't necessary the labels themselves, but that often times they can unintentionally feed into unhealthy habits of trying to shove our experiences into a select few boxes, or feeling like we need to have ourselves all figured out.

I know I'm only 23, but considering many folks who are active in alter-human spaces online are not yet adults (nothing wrong with that btw), I just get worried that young alter-humans of all kinds, and honestly other adults as well, may be feeling like they have to have it all figured out to be "valid" in their experiences. I know I felt that way when I was younger, even without knowing about all the terms and nuances of alter-human Identities at the time.

The thing is, everyone grows and changes. They learn more about themselves, as well as new ways of expressing their alter-humanity. I know, at least in my life, my understanding of my alter-humanity as well as myself in the general sense has changes quite a bit.

My Point In Writing This:

I guess what I'm trying to say with this, is that its ok to not know everything yet. Try your best at any age to enjoy exploring your identity and what it means to be you. Find ways to enjoy your therianthropy, your otherkinity (Idk how to phrase that lol) , your other hearted identity, etc. and embrace who you are. The more I've grown and changed, the more I've learned about myself, and the more I've learned to love my alter-humanity. It just makes me excited to learn more about myself as I grow.

ANYWAYS, sorry for getting all sappy there at the end or whatever. I just wanted to share some positivity since everything so crazy rn! If anyone actually read all my yapping and gotten this far, hi! I hope you have a great day! -V

[hollow-forest-creations]

Witchcraft Blog!

We've made a witchy art blog to go alongside this one! If anyone's interested in that kind of stuff you can check it out here- Hollow Forest Witchery!

We'll still be posting here as well so expect more posts soon! We've just been busy making Christmas presents because of course I put it all off til last minute as usual. I already had a lot of witchy stuff made so I figured I'd start posting that in the mean time. -V8

[donotpercieveme11]

damn i cant believe i actually have to cosplay as a human for the rest of my life. horrific.

[hollow-forest-creations]

Me when I split. -V8

[sunanthrope]

Asshole-proofing yourself: Dogpunk edition

i attach my tails to stretchy/coil hair ties so if it gets pulled, it won't snap, the tie will just stretch. sometimes the tie itself will get too stretched out, but it's easy enough to replace. make sure it's stretchy enough that it won't go slack and break your tail anyway

spiked collars. so serious. if people try and grab your neck/collar they'll get poked. Breakaway collars might not be such a bad idea either, but admittedly i hate how they look so i usually just go with a buckle lol

when i was younger and just getting into the punk scene (maybe 12 or 13) i got a pair of combat boots and had my dad (also a punk) to put holes in the toe and superglue in 4 heavy duty spikes on each boot. then i painted them to look like dog toe boots, the kind that you see on pinterest. They were against my school dress code, but i wore them on walks through my redneck ass town to keep myself safe, and the spikes looked like claws. super cool imo way to go 12 year old me

if you go masking, doing quads, or even gearing in public, please for the love of fuck don't go into sketchy areas alone, and make sure at least one of your friends knows if you're going out. plus faking a phone call has saved my life before

continued >>

if you aren't safe, don't wear it/do it. i promise being safe but looking like a 'normie' is better than getting your ass kicked because you're wearing a tail

find friends! seriously, there are probably others in your area. just sitting in my summer school class, i met a cat therian who was doing over her math class who sat with me at lunch. if you're wearing stuff, people will strike up a conversation. don't be afraid to chat with people! the buddy system has also saved my life!

[hollow-forest-creations]

This! I definitely encourage self expression, but remember safety is important! -Aaron

[hollow-forest-creations]

V8: Rain is an alter in our system who identifies as shape-shifter kin, and he made this mask to represent himself!

He had been wanting to make a mask inspired by the idea of therian masks to represent himself in our body. Because of our Dissociative Identity Disorder, he really struggles with seeing our body as "his". Because of this, he really wanted to get creative and express his identity and personality through a mask he can wear to better connect with the body and see it as his own.

[hollow-forest-creations]

V8: We made DIY window decals! All so far (except to top middle one) are symbols each individual alter has made to represent themself. We put them all in paws to represent that we're pack.

These are just the ones we've made so far but we still have a second window we want to decorate.

(I'll make a tutorial soon! I need to finish putting it together, but my period started attacking me and I'm currently in a painful battle with the blood beast that resides within my flesh prison. Please bare with me in the time of great inconvenience. -V8)

[hollow-forest-creations]

V8: We painted our shoes all paw-like! Also the beads we added to the laces change color in the sun! (with cat photo bomb)

~shoes~

[frogs-r-awsome-444]

I live laugh love nonhuman communication. I’m autistic, I don’t like social cues. They’re weird.

But nonhuman communication? LOVE.

There’s no room for miscommunication if someone growls/hisses at you. You just know that it’s time to not bother them. There’s no “oh I’m not sure what that means socially.” With someone lets you pick stuff out of their hair! They’re letting you do something that leaves them in a vulnerable situation! They trust you!

It’s all just so easy. I wish our society functioned like this.

[hollow-forest-creations]

Our system is autistic and most of us identify as some form of alter human. This is how we tend to communicate with each other in headspace lol.

Trying to explain it to humans out side our system is *difficult* to say the least. -V8

[ursidae-arctoidea]

To all of those getting mad at the tiktok therians saying “Therians know we are human”

You are being too harsh.

You can be an animal and be aware of your born biology. They are not inherently negating our animality, physical or otherwise.

All the critters on tiktok are trying to do 9 times out of 10 is say that they can and do acknowledge their born biology because the hate, bullying, and intentional misinformation on tiktok is just as rampant as the accidental misinformation.

There are some malicious tiktok therians, but they are a minority in the grand scheme of things. There are just as many therians that exclude physical therians on any other platform because the exclusion of physical therians ISNT A TIKTOK ONLY THING.

Even physical therians aknowledge their born biology to some capacity. They aknowledge what they can and cant do or eat. This is what they are trying to communicate USUALLY. Not referring to yourself as human is a personal identity that is still 100% valid and should be respected on an individual and community wide scale.

Maybe instead of hoping on another platform to rant and rave about a miscommunication, tell them to say “Therians are aware of our born biology”. Or do anything constructive with it. Or ignore it. Educate, tolerate, or walk away.

And yeah, tiktok takes communities that can have essays written about them into short style video media. It leans heavily on aesthetics and fun audio clips because it is short style video media. Do not go to tiktok for literacy or written accuracy. If watered down communities is something that enrages you, I don’t suggest youtube shorts, pinterest, or instagram either. These are FOR superficial interaction. Tumblr’s essay-like and well spoken posts within the community is not a cross-platform format. It is ok if you do not want interact with the community in other formats.

People who have interacted with the community mainly through superficial media are not likely going to know the PC way to talk to the community. Assuming malice harms everyone involved.

And yes, I say people. You do not have to be human to be a person, that is an anthropocentric belief.

I hate this take being constantly restated. If yall are mad at tiktok, go try and fix stuff on tiktok. The repetitive shitting on tiktok on Tumblr has gotten so agitating.

“Therians know we are human” is only rage bait if you ignore all nuance or if you give misinformation your time.

[hollow-forest-creations]

Yes! I definitely agree with this!

Also, I don't think this a therian exclusive issue! A lot of communities that I'm a part of (whether its witchcraft community, the disability rights movement, etc.) have an issue with Tiktok. I think the big issue with this platform is the difficulty in discussing nuanced topics through short term video content.

I feel also that, since the user base consists primarily of young kids to teens, they are a lot more likely to hop on trends and not know how to properly research more nuanced topics (such at therianthropy).

And NO, I don't think they should be shamed for this! that's just how kids are developmentally. I think its best to just politely correct their misinformation when/if you come across it, direct them to actually good sources, or simply DON'T INTERACT.

(Also, slightly diverging from the topic, I wish there was more long form media talking about therianthropy. I struggle to find it outside of Tumblr.)

-V8

[hollow-forest-creations]

Mini yarn tail keychain we made! The beads change color in sunlight and the white string glows in the dark. -max

[wizardodog]

Genuine question:

How many therian/otherkin/alterhuman artists & writers would be interested in a community zine?

I’m sort of interested in hosting a digital zine project (a multi-artist project where users draw art & its organized into an art book-like format for viewing); but it’d be sort of hard to do without a lot of critter’s & creatures offering art to help out!

This also obviously wouldn’t be done right now, since I’m focusing on a silly ARPG- but it’s something I’m interested in

[hollow-forest-creations]

Ooh, I love this Idea! I think it'd be a great way for alter human artists to connect and share each others art too! I think art is a great way to express alter humanity as well and having a zine that can showcase different ways others do that would be cool. -Max

[hollow-forest-creations]

Grocery Bag Tail Tutorial!

Buckle up, this is a long one lol! Also please mind any typo's. We're very dyslexic.

(Note: While I feel this craft can be relatively straight forward and repetitive once you get in the rhythm, still be prepared for this to take a several hours to complete)

Step 1:

thread a long piece of thread on a needle to roughly the length you want your tail to be. (A little bit of extra length is always good. This can be trimmed later.)

Step 2:

Measure out a 5"x5" (127mm x 127mm) square template out of paper, (This will roughly end up being the width the tail is around.) then fold it in half.

Step 3:

Cut the bag into a rectangle shape, preferably not including the label for a solid color. (Or leave it, that's up to you!) (Also, I like to save the access trims from the bag for other projects)

(Hint: If you paint a light wash of acrylic paint on the bag at this step you can change the color of the tail ;3 )

Step 4:

Fold the rectangle once vertically, and once horizontally.

Step 5:

Cut along 3 of the folded sides but NOT the side where they are all attached! (This is so it remains one solid piece) Fold It back out and it should have cleaner edges. (Once again I like to keep the trimmings for use in other projects.)

Step 6:

Fold the rectangle towards you and roughly to the size of the folded paper template (see step 2) Trim three edges; the one closest you you, and the side edges. NOT the top!

Step 7:

Hold the bag in the middle of the non-cut side and cut strips into the CUT sides of the bag. (it should end up looking like the second picture)

Congrats! You're over half way! Keep it up, you got this!

Step 8:

GENTLY pull each piece apart and lay them out. if done correctly up to this point, they should look like the image above. Repeat steps 3-8 until you have a decent amount of these. (You should make around 10-15 of these before moving on to the next step.)

Step 9:

Pile each of the squares on top of each other, then thread them through the center once one way and then back close to the center a second time. Make sure to leave some extra thread. (See the second image.) (Don't string it back through the same hole or it wont hold.)

Step 10:

Tie a double knot with the end of the thread and the other part of the thread still attached to the needle.

Step 11:

Trim the access from the side not attached to the needle. (Do NOT cut the thread attached to the needle! (It should look roughly like the second image.)

Step 12:

Tie a piece of string to the thread and double knot it. Trim extra. (this will help bulk it uses so you wont need to make nearly as many squares.)

One more step!

Step 13:

Slide the knot down to the the end where the bags are, then string another square.

Continue this process of alternating tying a knot of string and adding a plastic square until you are satisfied with the length! Simply tie it off at the end when you're done! (trimming at the end for shaping the tail can help too)

-

If anyone makes this and wants to post it, please tag us! we'd love to see! This method can most likely be used with other materials as well so get creative!

Also:

-Let us know if anyone finds a way to improve on how to make these more efficiently.

-If anyone has any questions about the tutorial, please let us know in the comments, and we'll try my best to answer. -Max

[hollow-forest-creations]

Max: We made a racoon tail out of left over plastic grocery bags! This was really fun not gonna lie. It's a bit time consuming but relatively strait forward once I got my method down.

I may end up making some sort of tutorial, so if anyone's interested let me know!

Edit: It also makes a really satisfying swishy sound when you wag it lol.

EDIT 2: I made the tutorial!

Grocery Bag Tail Tutorial!

Buckle up, this is a long one lol! Also please mind any typo's. We're very dyslexic. (Note: While I feel this craft can be relatively strai

[interstellarsystem]

Honestly therian masks are a cool idea regardless of your opinion on tiktok or the tiktok therian community. More undeniably "animal" gear than a tail or ears (since with just those people can assume something along the lines of "catboy"), gives facial shape the correctness it needs for species euphoria, conceals your identity at the same time so that people are forced to recognise you by your mask while keeping your body safe and private online? Sounds like a win to us. We'd like one, one day.

[hollow-forest-creations]

Rain: For us, making gear has been an amazing outlet for us to use our art skill to express our alter-humanity! We have always struggled to show how we feel on the inside, but through art we can express to others who we are.

[processes]

[hollow-forest-creations]

My favorite are actually not listed here. There is a type where they dip the end in silicone! Although I disagree with the use of non-biodegradable material, I would still argue that these are the most practical form of aglet that I have came across. First of all, they are great for winter jackets as they do not get cold in low temperatures like the metal ones do. Secondly, they will not break apart when chewed on like the typical plastic aglets would. -Rain

[hollow-forest-creations]

Mask 2 electric boogaloo!

V8: I finished my mask! (for the most part) I still need to do the lining on the back. I also might do some touch ups on the markings, I'm just lazy lol.