#advice stuff

[possessedpasm]

sorry if this question sucks. do you have any wisdom on how to keep going. maybe even specifically as an artist. i cannot keep any hope. dont feel too pressured. im just desperate for answers. and i love your art.

Hey, it's ok :} I'm glad you reached out-- This is definitely not an easy thing to ask, but I'll try my best here

Personally, the things that keep me going aren't gonna be very grand or deep to everyone, but I don't think that there Has to be any deeper meaning or point in the things that help uplift you...

With art, I've come to love and appreciate imperfections in the things I see and do. Like, uh, my art is Super sloppy sometimes, or i don't like my anatomy, or I could go on... but does that make it any less valuable to me? It's part of me. The same goes for other people. However small or seemingly meaningless something they make may be passed off as. They still made something from a part of themself. And with each imperfection they may see, I see something unique and beautiful and human! I love it :} and like... people are still creating art, 10's of thousands of years later. Like. We haven't stopped. Nothing can stop us. It's inherent. Reflecting on it is kinda mind-blowing...

(And as a "Thing I Learned" side note: I feel we're often told we need to have A Big motivating factor behind the things we do in life (for me, the thing I do is make art). Usually, those motivators include but are not limited to: Being A Success, Having A Larger Purpose In Life (tm), Proving Yourself, ect ect... and I've kinda had to let that go, as scary as it may sound. I let go of the notion of Needing to be A Success (tm) because what are the limits of success? Where do they end? Begin? It's arbitrary. And it drove me into a corner. We make those lines ourselves, lest society do it for us (god forbid.) I took the time and found what makes me happy, and do those things instead of focusing so hard on what other people expect of me. It's a slow process, but it's paid off emotionally)

I know you will find something that creates a spark in you, eventually. That goes for anyone else reading this feeling similarly. Hope (for anything) is something that grows, and growth takes time. So be patient and kind to yourself as you grow, or re-grow. Think of yourself as a little plant... would you be mean to a little plant? I hope not

[fatal-rewrites-warriors]

For some reason its not letting me ask this on my warrior cats blog, but how do you plan your rewrites? And backstreets for ocs. Sorry if this isn't clear.

Uhhh well for Into the Wild I kinda read through and was making all these mental notes about parts I didn’t like and that I really wanted to change (such as wanting Redtail to mentor Fire instead of Blue).  I wrote those changes I wanted into a doc and started brainstorm what else would happen differently if I made those changes (Redtail wouldn’t die at the beginning of the book, so how would that affect things), as well as adding in new stuff (the Stone Guardians) and figuring out if/how they contribute to the plot (feeding information at key moments, but only for a price).

Fire and Ice has been a bit different because it departs from the original books a bit further than Into the Wild AND it’s technically a bit of a mashup between Fire and Ice and Forest of Secrets because I’m shortening arc 1 to four books.  So Fire and Ice has more been marking down the stuff i WILL keep (such as GreySilver’s relationship), and then working out the rest of the plot around that stuff.

As for the character backstories I kinda just come up with them on the fly when I go to write down notes for them.  Sometimes I take into account what they’re like in canon as well as their pre-existing family and relationships, but I can’t always do that with the other clans so a lot of that I just skimmed the wiki and/or slapped down the first thing I came to mind.

Fortunately, the side characters don’t really need extensive backstories--just enough to give them a little more personality and maybe a quick view into why they do the shit they do, or to provide some interesting stuff that just happens to be going on the background of the plot.

[autumnpleaves]

I wanna do something-

Anonymously send me advice.

Could be about anything and everything and literally whatever you want.

I’m gonna rate your advice from 1/10 And see how good it is XD

[fatal-rewrites-warriors]

Can you explain how exactly you decide on what accessories to give each cat? I know it’s a cultural thing based on where each one is from, but the more unique accessories are really interesting to me!! I’d like to know more about how you decide which ones to give each character ^^

i rarely have plans going into design re: accessories tbh. i keep basic aesthetics and similarities between clans, but even those aren't hard rules (like! they talk to each other, find each other's stuff interesting, etc) but i do have some stuff that I keep in mind while I design:

materials they might have access to (windclan has wool, thunderclan has antlers, etc)

sometimes I link accessories to mates (yellowfang has the necklace that raggedstar wore in her design, mudfur has greypool's little purple flower)

just smth that can tell a lil bit about their personality (lightcloud and the little stuffed frog, smallear really likes the colour blue)

or i just. give them a quirk i randomly thought of while sketching up the design (piketooth collects weird bird feathers, echomist collects human fishing lures that look like fish)

giving more renowned warriors trophies (one-eye has three bird talons, appledawn has an eagle feather)

or i link them to clan folklore, stories, religion (breezestar's bird ass thing, barkface n mudfur's accessories have historical significance)

but most of all, if i think it'll cause angst in people who are looking for connections, then i do it.

[b1gm4m4]

i’m going to a new school for senior year and i’m scared asf…it’s a public school so if y’all have any tips and advice pls send me some i am terrified

[autumnpleaves]

here's my advice: say hello to crows and blow kisses at ravens because they're pretty and very intelligent, and also might be magic who knows

Anon, I ain’t gonna lie. This is some really great advice! Very metaphorical and mystical feeling and it’s kinda true! 

They could be magical ;) No one knows- 

But it could be just me, but we don’t see a lot of crows and ravens here so I don’t think it’s really applicable in most places. But I like it! I’m pretty sure there’s like a deeper meaning, hold on lemme check... 

Crow symbolizes transformation and change. It can refer to spiritual or emotional change and give valuable insight into situations and help us adapt. They are very observant and have powerful foresight. 

In some cultures, it considered bad luck but also God’s messenger bird in the mortal world. They say that 

The symbolism of the Crow took a brighter turn in mainstream thought when people explored Native American beliefs about the bird. They always believed crows to be cleansers of both land and mind. We can see echoes of this belief in their folklore, where they portray the intelligence of the crow as their main feature.

The Native American crow meaning is different from the rest of the world. While the rest of the world largely saw them as a dark omen, they consider them to be a sign of good fortune. To this day, they hold steadfast to this belief every time a crow crosses their path.

The culture of Native Americans had many crow clans and tribes who used to consult the crow for a word of wisdom in times of need. The crow clan included the following tribes:

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SO Upadate: This ask... was like... a idk months ago. 

It’s 12-01-2021 (12th Jan; for those that do it opposite) 

I have yet to finish this. I might complete it again soon? Keeping it in mind though :D 

[autumnpleaves]

Always keep tabs on grandma. In a nice way but also in a she's tried to commit crimes once she will do it again way

Hmmm... I agree.

Grandmas are up to suspiciously suspicious things XDD

Hmm maybe 9/10

Because my grandma...doesn't have that sus vibes :/