It just occurred to me, as I’m going through the Harry Potter books again, that whenever Harry has visions through Voldemorts eyes that he always, every single time, distinguishes between himself and Voldemort with the mention of “a white hand held a wand which was not his own”, or something to the effect of describing Voldemorts whiteness. While I’ve always taken this as a comment on how Voldemort is inhumanly, disgustingly pale, It occurred to me that a dark-skinned Harry Potter WOULD notice the stark, shocking difference in hands every single time without fail.
Hey kids! If you’re a filmmaker, animator, or storyboard artist and you don’t know what screen direction is, you might want to read this.
For the record, there are always exceptions to the rule in filmmaking, which is why I pointed out 3 examples here.
I’ve also found that comic books tend to NOT take screen direction as seriously as film does, but I’m still on the fence if this is wise or not. My favorite comics pay close attention to screen direction so as to not confuse the reader.
Ahh I learned this during my two month summer course at Capp for storyboarding! It’s very important to be careful with this rule, or else you’ll confuse your audience.
A great addition to your garden or back yard. - Bee watering station.
Bees need water just like we do but often times drown in open water. To make a bee watering station you can either do what is shown in the photo above and fill the bowl of a dog/cat watering jug with stones or you can fill a small dish with marbles and add water to that. That way the bees have something to land on!
yellowjackets, i will set on fire. they eat meat and garbage. technically they help by eating crop pests, but they’re so aggressive towards humans and pets that it’s dangerous NOT to kill them when you find a nest near your house.
bees are absolute darlings and essential to human life as well as the environment. they pollinate fruit and vegetables. they make honey — they make more honey than they need, so beekeepers can harvest it without hurting them, it’s like they WANT to share. they can only sting once, it kills them, so they’re very reluctant to do so, and usually you can let them walk on your hands and when you want them to leave just gently blow on them and they’ll go. bees are nothing to be afraid of unless you’re deathly allergic.
you can tell the difference by the presence or absence of fur. if it’s fuzzy, it’s a friend.
bees are fuzzy and they are our friends, help and protect them.
wasps/hornets/yellowjackets are shiny and they hate us, don’t let them nest near your home.
I was ill informed, too when it came to wasps! But darlings I promise they’re important and here’s why:
Mud Daubers are a sub species of ‘wasp’ that hunt down spiders and feed them to their young. Spiders can range from black windows to a harmless cellar spider, but the point is- you got too many spidders? Start praying for mud daubers.
Wasps carry yeast in their stomachs! You like wine? Then thank wasps- the babies carry yeast back to grape vines and help boost the grape production!
They are natures lil’ cleaners. They eat rotting fruit and veggies which can pose health risks to other animals, attract flies and other scavenger pests, and just simply smell bad.
They’re also pollinators! Just like bees!
Now, this being said- Wasps are very territorial little babies. They want to protect their homes and their life, but wouldn’t you!? Think about it! we’re giant paper-wielding monsters to them that have invisible force fields of death in our giant nest boxes.
By the time we find them they’re already 210% done with every situation, and just wanna be let out!
If you find waspies near your home and you’re allergic, terrified, or have another personal reason they CAN-NOT be there? Then use some all natural repellent, not poison! remember that poison doesn’t just harm the bug you’re directly spraying it at- but birds, other bugs, and sometimes even our neighborhood squirrel, cat, or mouse who comes along to get a tasty (All be it weird) treat!
For example: I’ve heard if you sprinkle cinnamon powder around a nest of bees, wasps or yellow jackets that they DESPISE the smell and will move the nest elsewhere!
Wasps HATE the smell of mint! So get some minty plants going and you’ll be good to go!
I honestly can’t believe this right now. I was complaining to my bf about some Kotex tampons I had used, going on a bit of a rant about how bad they were, and on a whim I decided to go to the website and leave a review so other people who might get them would know better.
I’ve never written a tampon review in my life (it’s not something I ever anticipated doing) so I had a little fun getting very passionate about my thoughts, and then went to submit…. Only to receive the words: ‘Your review text contains inappropriate language.’ I was confused at first, I mean I was pretty emphatic, but I didn’t cuss at all… and then I realized: I had typed the word ‘vagina.’
You can’t type the word ‘vagina’ on a TAMPON review because it’s considered inappropriate.
KOTEX, a company that makes OVER A BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR primarily selling products to people with vaginas, thinks that someone typing the word “VAGINA” in a review of a product that goes IN THEIR VAGINA is being inappropriate and needs to be censored.
I retyped “v*gina” with an asterisk like it was a swear word, submitted and it went to preview mode with no problem. But I’m still kind of in shock… Honestly, what is wrong with Kotex that they think they need to protect tampon users from the word ‘vagina’?
I think it’s very important for artists to vary the types of bodies they draw! Not only does it add visual interest and diversity, but different body types can enhance your characters! (Plus it’s more realistic; when was the last time you walked down the street and everyone had the same body type?) I know I have a hard time drawing different bodies, especially with men, so I’m making this tutorial to teach myself as well (I’ve heard the best way to cement learning something is to teach someone else).
So! Bodies! I’m going to use women for this tutorial because I feel they have more variety in their bodies. One of the most obvious ways bodies differ is in their amount of fat.
[Click here for full size]
On average, people store fat mostly in core areas like the bust, the waist, and the hips. It is important to remember that people gain and lose weight differently, and this is true no matter how fat or skinny one gets. However, these are common places people store fat:
The face and neck can be immediate indicators as to how much fat the rest of the body has; when someone loses or gains weight, it’s initially obvious in the face. This is possibly because the eye is (usually) drawn first to the face.
In addition to differences in the amount of body fat, bodies vary vastly in their proportions. The two main ways they differ is skeletally and in fat distribution. The hip to shoulder ratio is skeletal, and someone with wider shoulders might look more powerful or masculine, and someone with wider hips might look more grounded or feminine.
The torso to legs ratio is also a skeletal ratio. Someone with long legs in comparison with their torso might look taller than someone of the same height with a long torso, and they might also look skinnier.
(I say as I finally get some visual variety all up in here.)
Because the hips are also one of the places with the most weight gain in women, large hips can also be a matter of fat distribution. The three main places where the fat ratio really matters is in the bust, the waist and the hips (making up the core of the body).
While men usually carry weight in the belly area, the fat distribution can really vary with women. Some women carry more weight in the bust, some in the belly, and some in the hips/thighs. Some women carry more weight in two areas, like the bust and the hips, the bust and the belly, or the belly and the hips. Some women show no obvious bias to any area and carry weight equally.
[Click here for full size]
Taking into account skeletal ratios, fat distribution patterns, a vast human weight range, muscle tone and age, there are endless permutations of body types. It would be a shame if you used only one!
Oh, and that first image looks really interesting as a gif.
I’ve been following Tea (@tealeigh) for a while now and am constantly astonished by her attention to detail and creativity when it comes to her stick and pokes. I was lucky enough to ask her a few questions and get some awesome answers back!
1. Who are your top 3 inspirations in regards to your work?
In regards to my work I am influenced & motivated by many people. I think like a lot of hand pokers, Jenna Bouma (@slowerblack) is a huge influence. She has kind of pioneered the professional hand poking world for women. I am pretty excited about that. I also gain a lot of inspiration from Leslie Kneisel (@catxbone). She is a babe of all trades working out of Austin Tx. Lastly, I’d have to say Alice Carrier (@alicerules). Her botanical and air like touch to her work is absolutely breath taking. All in all 3 very rad ladies.
2. In 10 years, where do you hope to be or what do you hope to have achieved?
Ideally I’d like to own my own shop in 10 years. I have so much to learn and I’m so excited to get started in the industry, whether that’s in someone else’s shop, or working out of my own private studio. I think the world of tattoos has come a long way, but I’d like to see more women in shops all around. Maybe I’ll run an all babe shop with rotating artists. Who knows!
3. Any advice for people wanting to start tattooing?
My advice is not just anyone who can draw can tattoo. It takes a lot of work to learn (mostly on your self). If it’s something you’re interested, do research! If you’re learning with a gun, seek out an apprenticeship so they can teach you the proper way to run a machine. If you’re interested in handpoking, never use anything that isn’t sterile or tattoo supplies. I of course have only touched the tip of the iceberg in the tattoo world, so I can’t speak with much weight. Just be smart, excited, and know how to take criticism of your work to become a better artist.
If you are writing for fun, and if you don’t want any help, please write any way that works for you. I am not trying to convert you to writing with a plan. It truly does not matter to me how you write. However, if you are struggling to finish a book that makes sense, I would love you to carry on reading.
Why should you do it?
When I used to teach Writers Write regularly, one of the first things I asked students was: How does your story end? I did this for two reasons. Firstly, as much as some people love the idea of working with meandering storylines, it has been my experience that those writers seldom finish writing a coherent book. Secondly, most people who go to workshops or sign up for courses are truly looking for help, and I’ve learned that the best way to succeed in anything in life is to have a plan. Successful people will tell you that you need to know where you’re going before you begin.
Smell the roses
This does not mean that you can’t take time to smell the roses, or explore hidden paths along the way. It simply means that you always have a lifeline and when you get lost, it will be easier for you to find your way back again. Remember that readers like destinations. They love beginnings, middles, and endings. Why do you think fans are terrified that George R.R. Martin will die before he finishes A Song of Fire and Ice? They want to know how the story ends.
Here are seven reasons why I suggest you write your ending first.
If you know who the characters are at the end of the story, you will know how much you should reveal about them at the beginning.
You will be forced out of the ‘backstory hell’ that beginner writers inhabit and into the story the reader wants to read.
Hindsight is an amazing thing. We all know how different life seems when we’re looking back. We can often tell where a problem began. We think about the ‘what ifs’ with the gift of hindsight. You can use this to your advantage in fiction writing.
You will have something to work towards. Instead of aimlessly writing and hoping for the muse to show you the way, you will be able to pull the characters’ strings and write the words they need to get them from the beginning through the middle to the end.
Plotting from the ending backwards saves you so much time because you will leave out stuff that isn’t meant to be there. You will not have to muddle through an overwritten first draft.
Writing the end forces most of us out of our comfort zones. We have to confront the reality of what we are doing. It might not be as romantic as flailing around like a helpless maiden, but if you want writing to be your profession, it’s good to make the outcome visible. This is a way to show yourself that you are serious. The end gives you a goal to work towards.
The ending is as important as the beginning. Good beginnings get people to read your first book. Great endings get readers to buy your second book.
There are a handful of famous authors, like Stephen King and George R.R. Martin, who say they don’t plot. I think they just don’t realise they are those rare authors – natural born storytellers, and that plotting is instinctive for them. I have interviewed many successfully published authors and I can revel that the majority of them do believe in plotting. They outline, in varying degrees, before they begin. And yes, most of them know what their ending will be. Why don’t you try it? What have you got to lose?
I truly hope this helps you write, and finish, your book.
by Amanda Patterson
If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy 10 (Amazingly Simple) Tips to Get You Back on The Writing Track and The Author’s Promise- two things every writer should do. You could also read The Top 10 Tips for Plotting and Finishing a Book.
A professional script reader read 300 screenplays for five different studios, all the while tracking the many recurring problems. The infographic he made with the collected data offers a glimpse at where screenwriting goes wrong.
not witchcraft: beautiful misty gardens with thorny roses and ivy vines
not witchcraft: tall, thin, white teenage girls wearing velvet hoods holding hands under a beautiful moon
not witchcraft: ancient handmade leather tomes filled with a thousand years of secret spells written with homemade ink and an owl feather quill
not witchcraft: intricate rules about how to build an altar and how to cast spells
not witchcraft: a beautiful and mysterious black cat that appeared at your door the day you chose to be a witch
not witchcraft: $150 of perfectly positioned crystals ringing your real cast iron pentagram cauldron next to the adorable tiny glass vials filled with tiny little potions you simply must have if you're a witch
not witchcraft: finding the right spell and suddenly your life is better
not witchcraft: meditating every day and always having elaborate rituals planned for every holiday, full moon, new moon, solstice, and equinox.
witchcraft: tiny herb garden you've made in your kitchen window that the damn cat keeps eating
witchcraft: stacks of composition books you pick up at wal-mart and herbs you get from the grocery store
witchcraft: spilling wax everywhere
witchcraft: making up spells as you go and forgetting them after, without worrying they won't work, knowing they'll be perfect
witchcraft: forgetting you left a potion base on the stove
witchcraft: trying to burn incense without setting off the fire alarm
witchcraft: having your supplies crammed in every corner of the house because you can never find a place to keep all of it
witchcraft: getting a migraine from intense spellwork and feeling too sick to show up for your shift
witchcraft: running in the park, holding your best friend's hand, filled with the fire of being alive
witchcraft: where did my fucking quartz go I swear to god
witchcraft: did I miss the full moon again are you kidding me
littlefinger haters: hes awful! digusting! this character is literally trash oh my gosh i cant stand him hes so terrible he plunged the kingdoms into war hes the catalyst to most of the shit things happening in westoros hes so terrible 100% bad guy i hate him hes gross hes so so gross so sosososos awful terrible person!!!111!!
