Speaking as a former teacher, people have a way of ignoring the obvious answers, because they're obvious. The mind has a way of going, "a problem this big can't be that simple, there's gotta be more to it."
eventually you realize you donโt want to die. you just donโt want to live the life youโre living. and slowly you try to create a life you want to live. just gotta start there.
An animatic for uni, featuring my very much impulsive lad; Kydd.
My first time trying out Blender for "animating" (my second time trying animating in general omfg)!! The storyboards get a bit choppy at times - but that was mostly from me learning how to drive Blender's Storyboard feature... figuring out the ins and outs of the damn thing.
I still have a long way to go, but this is as good a start as any!
Info about Kydd, and the lore of this lil' animatic below;
Kydd is an orphaned son of an immigrant english father and a finnish mother. Both of his parents lived in America (1880s). After their untimely deaths, Oliver (5 at the time) was sent back to Britain with a family friend aboard a collier - a coal ship.
In Britain, Kydd was then housed with his fatherโs second brother, his wife, and their three children.
His foster family didnโt exactly take him in with loving arms - still harboring resentment toward his dead father for having left the family for the Americasโฆ Kydd was forced to work from a young age until, eventually, he picked up a field of study and the family hesitantly let him pursue that, if not simply for the reason to keep him out of their hair.
During his time in Britain, Kydd got into a lot of troubleโฆ Trying to find his place among his peers was an arduous experience. With a fake accent and learning to charm his way through the social circles, Kydd managed to claw his way to this image of a charming, smart schoolboy. Beneath all that, though, was a bubbling resentment.
This is where the song comes in.
Kydd loses his temper quite easily. Further so if he thinks that his โcharmerโ act has run its course. If he sees no way to weasel himself out of a situation, he isnโt hesitant to throw a punch. This resentment, combined with this desperation to belong in the rough streets of London, got him in a good few scuffles in his early teens. The song casts glimpses into the life of his host family, and how that glorified violence couldโve rubbed off on Kydd, tooโฆ
NOTE: For Kyddโs story - the final scenes of this animatic are dubiously canon.
Another original piece here, inspired partly by my love for Dick Turpin (hehe), and the generic vibe of Highway Men.
Fog choked the winding path of the countryside lane as if it was a living creature, curling around the hooves of the merchantโs horse and seeping over the wheels of his rattling wagon.
It had been a long journey from the city of Newter, and all Edgar craved was the warm comfort of home. Perhaps that is why he pushed it. Travelled that extra distance rather than stopping for the night.
Everyone knew not to ride this country lane when the moon was rising, yet still, he did it anyway.
He tugged nervously at the reigns, glancing over his shoulder with lantern held high as there was a crack from a scurrying woodland creature.
It was then that the highway stepped out front.
The figure was tall, wearing a long cloak that flapped in the wind and with a tricorn hat pulled low, covering their face. A black mask covered the lower half of the their face, but their green eyes โ cold, and steady โ told the merchant all he needed to know. ย
โEvenin Trader,โ said the highway man, his voice low, โTax for the road Iโm afraid.โ
Edgar swallowed, his eyes nervously looking around, hoping someone might come save him.
โI.. I have nothing worth taking, I just sold my stock.โ
The outlaw lowered his head, pulling a flintlock pistol from underneath the torn fabric, tapping the butt of it against his thigh.
โEveryoneโs got something. And less you gave your stock away for free, Iโd wager you got something.โ
Edgar nodded, slowly climbing down from the wagon with shaking hands. โP-please, I have a familyโฆI-I just wanna make it home.โ
โThen play nice and youโll be on your merry way.โย The man said, unblinking.
Edgar moved around to the back of the wagon, the highway man following behind, watching as the merchant opened the back with trembling fingers and shaky breath.
The back was empty, aside from a few sheets of untreated leather, emptied jars and a single small lockbox, hidden under a sheep skin.
โWell. Open it up,โ said the man.
Edgar hesitated for a moment too long. The highway man armed the hammer of his pistol.
โPlease donโt make this any harder than it needs to be.โ
The merchant opened the box, taking a step back as the Highway man stepped forward. Its small wooden frame held within pile of silver coins and a single gold ring; a jewel encrusted on top. He pocketed the coins, emptying them into a leather pouch but plucked the ring.
He looked at it closely, thumb rubbing over the engraving that glistened inside.
โVeronicaโฆ from Edgar..โ
Edgar looked down, his lower lip trembling.
The Highway man looked over at him, giving birth to a long silence.
He snapped the lid shut, making the merchant jolt.
โHere,โ said the Highway man, tossing him the ring, โtravel down the left path. Youโll get by safely from here.โ
Edgar stared, his mouth agape, โW-Why?โ
โI got what I need, you keep the rest.โ
Edgar looked back down at the ring, before looking up โ but the highway man had already vanished into the nearby trees, the fog swallowing him whole.
some lovely imagery once again from chocices!! he paints his scenes so vividly, and i love a quick plunge into any genre he's managed to nab for the day ;D
check his writing out for a quick transport to mystical lands โจ
hi guys! discord is doing a survey on how people would like ai to be integrated into discord. take it and say fuck no to every question. when you get to "in general, how do you feel about discord inegrating ai features?", respond that you would actively get everyone you know off of discord and wouldn't pay for nitro or other shop items if they added ai features.
In the Minecraft game, there are default ambiances when players are playing. Can Steve hear the ambiances?
Maybe.... maybe they imagine the sounds and ambiances in their head... maybe the OST is just tunes they make up in their head as they craft and build and explore... they have a big enough imagination.
meanwhile, i just imagine there being a random 'sfx guy' somewhere... (the way i got cave sound ambience to stop being creepy to me :D)
everytime i hear the cave ambience nowadays, i just go
"ah :D good job sfx guy! you really got me this time!"
kinda wanna draw whatever random version of this thing i have in my head... random DJ? maybe an allay somewhere? maybe just a shadow-being in the walls with a built-in speaker system that works as a defense/survival mechanism somehow??
i'll keep at it :]c
(also omg i love @/brightgoat's minecraft au holy crap)
Tsyeymkesrรฌn! My aspiring capitalist na'vi who 'retains' items from the commonplace to ceremonial to then trade to the highest bidder!
Full bio past the cut ;*
โฆ full name: Wonawri te Inmar Awrkain'itan
Called 'Tsyeymkesrรฌn' by na'vi and Jame/Jamie by Sky People :]
โฆ age: early 40s
โฆ gender: male
โฆ sexuality: homosexual
โฆ clan: ex Tlalim
โฆ appearance: very lanky frame, warm blue skin with asymmetrical stripes... boney features, and ends up looking older than he is... messy, short-cropped hair that swoops onto his forehead
โฆ gear: dressed in draped fabrics and trinkets - most scavenged and refitted... carries around a makeshift pack with both na'vi and RDA trophies, gear, and everyday items
- very much believes he'll get out of things unscathed... usually the fuck doesn't :'D
โฆ likes: RDA gear, human 'treasures', novelty, bartering, writing, humans' reactions to him
โฆ dislikes: overly traditional na'vi, judgement, guns, battle, shy folk, having to leave/give up his things
โฆ abilities / skills:
- can write in english!
- scavenging
- quite crap in combat, but can use a bow, blade, and spear if he needs to...
- better at distractions
- learning RDA tech slowly... most folks won't teach him cause 'he'll just use it to help the natives'
โฆ short backstory: Born among the Windtraders, Tsyeymkesrรฌn was banished not long after the Sky People's second return to Pandora... As a young hunter, he was very eager to explore what the humans had brought - sneaking out between travels to stalk along the perimeter of the man-made structures... They fascinated him.
After his exile, Tsyeym began to collect things in earnest - yet noticed the RDA to have an equal fascination to simple na'vi trinkets and items...
Now he 'makes his living' as a black market of sorts between the na'vi and the humans - bartering with a system he's still learning. The better the trinkets, the bigger the favors from the RDA... Tsyeym spends his days stealing and scavenging both sides of the war, and selling the spoils to the highest bidder.