WELCOME TO PASTEL HELL

I'm an illustrator I think. I like flowers and bugs. side blog I guess @tinnyisvibes

[noelscribbles]

... acronym

[bloodiebees]

Whatever.

Go my selfship.

its name is V-Reel, they have shitty vision, it's mildly based on a VCR I had as a kid, and it works as an editor but sometimes they get pulled to do other stuff in production. ok bye

[pastelhelltinny]

Ive been enjoying dipping my toes back into traditional art

[pastelhelltinny]

Bugz 🐛 🪲 🐞

[beardedmrbean]

[nathanielbuildsatesseract]

This is what having auditory processing issues is like.

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

The Exotic Animal Photo Reference Repository is live!

You can find it at: https://www.animal-photo-references.com!

Here's how this repository works: all photos were taken by me, a human, at zoos, aquariums, sanctuaries, and other facilities with animals in human care. There is no AI involved in the photo editing or creation and there never will be. Right now there's 56 species on the site; my catalog has over 300 and I will be uploading the rest of them as fast as I can.

Artists creating derivative or transformative works (without AI) have blanket permission to use these references. Yes, even for work you're going to sell.

All other usage/reproduction requires permission, but assume I'm friendly and please do ask! That's educators, researchers, the media, people who need images for a school presentation, etc. This is just to retain copyright/control in case they're scraped/reused unethically - it doesn't meant I don't want folk to have access! So please do reach out via the contact form on the repository website, I don't bite and I'm most likely going to say yes.

Please don't repost the repository photos to your own blogs: I've created @animalphotorefs as a dedicated blog to share photos from the site, and of course I'll reblog a lot of it here! That again just helps with retaining copyright and sourcing of the images. If you really want to repost some for a specific purpose, please just ask me first!

Also, folks, this project has no funding. It's just me and my camera.

There will never be a paywall on the site - I believe resources like this absolutely must be free for everyone to access. So please, please, please support the repository if you use it. Want sneak peeks at photos, cute videos I take, or to help choose what I photograph and what gets posted first? You can do that through Patreon (and there's a free trial on the most interactive tier!) If you'd like to just drop a tip, I've also set up a Ko-Fi.

I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of the repository.

To whet your thirst for cute photos, here's an Indian rhinoceros contemplating a goose.

[pastelhelltinny]

Felt like making some random character designs today

[pastelhelltinny]

A regency style furniture set, with some nouveau elements for some extra flare. 

[pastelhelltinny]

pastel explosion 

[pastelhelltinny]

wow

[pastelhelltinny]

Jacky !!!

[pastelhelltinny]

[pastelhelltinny]

Finally finished my series of She Ra fanarts based on the sketch comp I posted a while ago.

[this-is-psychosis]

Therapists aren’t people who you “pay to pretend to care about you”, therapists are people you pay to teach you how to care for yourself

[voce-morti]

Me: I am violently depressed.

Therapist: Oh! Sounds like you need to do YOGA! That will help!

Me: *signs up for yoga*

Me: *is violently depressed in Downward Dog*

[mx-mythical-deactivated20260319]

Me: I hate myself and only see my flaws

Therapist: ok lets refocus on things you like about yourself. This week i want you to try and journal about good things you’ve for yourself and others.

Me: *does the homework* yeah but i still hate myself but feel bad cause i shouldn’t

Therapist: feeling like you shouldn’t hate yourself is a step in the right direction. Mental health is complex and isn’t something that will ~magically~ improve. We have a lot of hard work head of us but I’ll be here to help you.

TL;DR stop perpetuating the idea that therapy is unhelpful because the results are not instantaneous.

[kcsplace]

FUCKING THIS.

As a psychologist the amount of bullshit on this site, the amount of fucking dangerous bullshit on this site about how therapy is neurotypical bullshit and isn’t worth it and how exercise is pointless and good diet is pointless and that therapy homework is pointless DRIVES ME UP THE FUCKING WALL

Exercise is fucking important. good diet is fucking important therapy is fucking important. WHY???

because pills alone don’t help. they improve the hormonal imbalance (as does exercise and good diet which ALSO are a form of very real self care as your physical being is sorta connected to your mental one but go fucking figure right?), but guess what? the suicidal thoughts, the thoughts of harm, the thoughts of hating yourself, they’re still there.  suicides actually increase when medicated.  why? because suddenly you have the energy to fulfill thoughts of harming yourself.  which is why you NEED therapy alongside pills.

it has taken you years, or decades to create your maladaptive thought processes and behaviours.  that shit doesn’t disappear overnight. core beliefs don’t change overnight. these are the very fucking core of your personhood, your being and personality. THAT TAKES TIME TO CHANGE

STOP ACTING LIKE THERAPY IS SHIT IF IT DOESNT WORK IN TWO SESSIONS

[potrix-the-queerschlaeger]

^This!!!!!

[aestheticallypleasingurmom]

The stigma that therapy isn’t worth it if you don’t feel better after the first couple sessions is such bullshit. It took me 8 months to tell my therapist anything personal but I kept going because I wanted to get better. I thought it was bs too when she kept telling me to think about other things and to distract myself when I have intrusive thoughts (not exact words whatsoever). Now it’s 2 and a half years later and I can successfully switch from thinking about all the ways I could kill myself to the song Slippery by Migos and immediately start laughing. You need to let it help you.

[sacrificethemtothesquid]

The whole “just do YOGA” shit is incredibly toxic and my current therapist is the only mental health professional I’ve ever seen to be like “not for you, that’s okay.”

In my experience, finding a good therapist takes persistence and it’s a cruel fact of the universe that we often have to do it when we’re feeling the worst. It’s not fair but it’s so so so worth it. Spite is an excellent motivator. I found my therapist through clenched teeth and a desperate determination not to die.

Recovery is a marathon. It’s not easy.

[riverlight82]

The frustrating thing about the “just do yoga!!!!” narrative is that it WORKS. Sure, it pisses me off: I’m in the depths of depression and someone tells me yoga will fix me? Fuck no, lady, don’t you think I’ve tried it? If it were that easy I’d’ve done it already!

But the thing is: I have the data. I use an app to track my moods, and I also use it to track things like yoga, diet, hydration, time outside. And after enough time tracking, the app has data to tell me that on days I do yoga, my mood is better. This isn’t generalized data, this is MY OWN data. Kind of hard for me to argue with.

So it doesn’t fix me–but it makes me better. Like therapy.

[alex51324]

Yes! And taking a stupid daily walk for your stupid physical and mental health does also help your stupid physical and mental health. So annoying!

[animentality]

[smash-chu]

make a cohost account, make a blue skies account, make a pillow fort account, make a artfol account, share your discord, make a back-up account, make another account, make another account, make another account-

[stratospheric-bebop-deactivated]

— Terry Pratchett (1948-2015), English author, Jingo (1988)