Second attempt at drawing on the iPad with color this time. I could try adding more but I know Iâll never fully be satisfied so I decided to stop here
I started Zenless Zone Zero a year ago just for Harumasa <3 (I have 540 tapes so far)
art hint: people always share resources for reference pictures of people, but if you are an artist who draws cats a lot i offer you the CFA - The Cat Fanciers Association website. they are an association dedicated to professional show cats
you just go on the website and select breeds
in there you can select to see all the breeds they have or choose one you want
once you have selected a breed you can click on Breed and National Winners
from there you get a big gallery with pictures of show cats of this specific breed
at the top of every gallery you can sort the cats by pelt color and pattern
they have many different breeds, with lots of pictures of the cats in different poses and with different colors, its a good place to find references for cat pictures (though i think looking for show cats in general is a good way to find them)
So... I technically drew this 3 years ago but forgot to post it. I think I was going to clean up the end and make a nice recap, but I ran out of steam and then just left it as a wip for years. I got reminded of it because I was talking to a friend about how to draw wheelchairs today.
This covers most of what I view as the most common errors when it comes to drawing characters who use manual wheelchairs. I hope it helps you a lot.
Image description is in alt text, but there is a back up image description under the cut in case that does not work for some reason
[image description: a 4 picture long wheelchair tutorial. the background is white and the text, when it appears, is black and in calibri. each step will be labeled with "Step #" and a description of the drawing next to it, and "text" and then the text that is written to explain it to follow.
Step one text: So, you want to draw a character who uses a manual wheelchair? Awesome! I can't approve more. Drawing characters who use wheelchairs is a bit different than drawing standing characters, because of obvious posing differences. But to start, you need to know what parts of a wheelchair you will draw. So, without further ado, here are 3 wheelchairs!
Step one image: a simplified drawing of a chubby woman sitting in a quickie GPV manual wheelchair and resting her hand on the handrim of one of the wheels. this is labeled "the artist"
step two: next there is a lineart drawing of three wheelchairs. one is a tilite TR series 3. this is an ultralight wheelchair with a bucket seat (the back is lower than the front), a big cushion and a short backrest that kind of contours to the back of the person who would sit in it. the caster wheels (front wheels) are very small and the footrest is just two little metal bars. next image is a quickie GPV. this is also an ultralight wheelchair with a low back, but its caster wheels are slightly larger, the back has regular upholstery (it does not look like it was made to conform to the back of the person who sits there) and the frame is boxier -- there is no bar underneath the seat where the wheels would attach, rather each wheel is attached to the side of the chair. the next wheelchair is an invacare tracer. it is how most people imagine wheelchairs when they hear 'wheelchair'. it has no cushion and it has a high backrest with handles. it has high armrests that would be comfortable to rest your elbows on if you were just sitting. the wheels are not bicycle wheels like the previous two but are rather plastic. it has big footrests and big caster wheels.
text: the wheelchairs on the left are the ultralight, sporty kind. I have one of them (the quickie). the one on the right is a more standard one you might find in hospitals or as the public wheelchair in grocery stores or the mall.
step three: first is text to accompany the tilite. "This wheelchair has a really thick cushion - it's pressure relieving, which you need if you use your chair ufll tiem and especially if you have a spinal cord injury. This wc has the smallest caster (front) wheels. They are hte most handy for turning in small circles." next there is text to accompany the quickie gpv: "This one has the one I use -- it isn't pressure relieving, but is still useful." next is text to accompany the invacare: "this wheelchair has no cushion - you do not want to sit on it for long. This one has the biggest caster wheels - they are useful for not 'tripping' when your front wheel gets caught on an obstacle.â
step four text: like with all complex drawings, you want to break it into simple shapes first. I normally have a box underneath the seat, a rectangle for the backrest, and a trapezoidal thing for hte area from the box to the footrest. these are the most important shapes, because your character will rest on them and they will move with your character.
step four image: the lineart of each wheelchair has been put on reduced opacity, so we can see the square representing the backrest of each seat (the square is the smallest for the tilite and biggest for the invacare), the box for each seat and area underneath it, and the trapezoid for the footrests. the next step labels the images of these simplified shapes as the lineart is removed. "Note the proportions of each set of shapes is not the same - just like how you wouldn't draw all your characters with the same proportions on their faces!"
step 5: we see the same shapes to form the wheelchair, but now with blue circles drawn where the back wheels would be.
text: next shape is the wheels - two circles
step six: next we see the wheels and shapes have been reduced in opacity and the basic structure of everything about each wheelchair: footrests, caster wheels, upholstery details, axles has been drawn on in orange.
text: the next stage is everything else that's structure - front wheels, handlebars, cushions, footrests.
Step seven: we see the lineart on top of the lowered opacity sketch.
text: you can then do detailing like axles, spokes, upholstery, etc and lines
step eight: next we see three drawings of different characters. there is patience, a skinny white woman sitting in a blue invacare wheelchair. kelley, a slightly chubby black woman wearing a stripey dress sitting in a red quickie gpv wheelchair and doing a wheelie while smiling. then luke, a white man with short blond hair wearing khaki pants. he is sitting in a tilite chair.
text: once you get your wheelchair basics, you need to find out which kind your character uses. here are three characters who each use one of the example WCs. patience uses the invacare. she needs one with a better cushion, but circumstance prevents it. Notice the chair is a bit wider than her hips - it's not custom fitted. Also notice she has to turn her elbows out awkwardly to move. the high armrests prevent a smooth push. her wheelchair has big caster wheels and far-back back wheels. it is made for stability and difficult to turn,but also difficult to knock over. Her chair indicates a lack of resources or temporary injury, and is primarily a transport chair
kelley uses a wheelchair like mine - it is fairly sporty, but has a box-y frame underneath. this makes it heaver than if it didn't.she has a mediocre cushion - it protects her, but only some. her back wheels are further underneath her body than Patience's, which makes it possible to do the wheelie (demonstrated here). her wheelchair is supposed to look line one you'd use full time, but it is a little old.
luke has a spinal cord injury. he has a very thick pressure relieving cushion for medical reasons. his chair is also ultralight, with no boxyness under the frame. his chair is the newest and lightest - it indicates his wealth/resources, but also that he needs to use on full time.
step nine: just a drawing of me sitting in my wheelchair holding my hands up to show fingerless wheelchair gloves. we're looking at me from above.
text: when you're choosing what wheelchair to give your character, think of both their disability and their resources and go from there. questions to ask yourself: is it made specifically for them or is it mass-produced or a hand-me-down (if it's custom, the seat will not be too wide or narrow in comparison to their body and their feet will rest on the footplate naturally). do they want more stability (further back back wheels, big caster wheels) or maneuverability (the inverse). do they need a pressure relieving cushion? how long are they using their wheelchair per day? how long have they needed a wheelchair? Do they have health insurance? do they have access to a lot of spending money? How much can they spend on their wheelchair? are they athletic etc etc
posing steps:
step one: a sketch of two people standing up. one just shows the outline of a person's body, with legs that are ind of triangle shaped, the other shows a sketched pelvis and rib cage to go along with the bones of the legs and arm. text: step one: Most people have this sketch anatomy they put before drawing their characters for real. I kind of scribble around like on the left, but some people use skeletons on the right.
step two: there are now too sketched pictures of people in wheelchairs. one shows lightly traced human form (arms articulated, curve for a stomach, legs that are kind of triangle shaped and pointing down) sitting in a wheelchair that is just the sketch of footrests and wheels. the other sketch shows the sketch of a body with a circle for hips and an oval for a rib cage and the person doing a wheelie (lifting the front end of the wheelchair off the ground and leaning back). their wheelchair is also sketched out and defined by a circle for their wheels and 2 lines, 1 of the seat and 1 for the backrest. text: you need one of those for your wheelchair character. important: they should have both the person's main anatomy features (Usually upper body and at least hips) and the wheelchair's. for me, these are the back wheels, footrest, and seat. why simplify to just those features? Take a look at this incredibly quickly drawn wheelchair.
step three: there is a lineart drawing of a manual wheelchair with slightly cambered (angled towards the seat) wheels, a backrest, and a footrest. the frame is light and there are no handlebars. there are labels pointing to different parts of the wheelchair: Backrest, handrims, wheel, axle, seat, footrest, and caster wheels (the ones in front). text: there are a lot of parts, and not all of them are essential to your pose. trying to draw the whole thing straight out of the gate will frustrate you.'
step four text: take a character in heavy armor: if you draw her pose without taking her armor into account, her armor will clip through her body. if you draw a wheelchair using character without keeping her wheelchair in mind from the beginning, the pose won't make sense.
step four image: next we see two lineart drawings of different characters. one is a bulky woman wearing plate armor. her hand is on her hip and she is trying to scratch her back with the other hand. there is the label "shoudlerpad clips through face" and "thumb clips through chestplate." the next drawing shows a woman in a wheelchair with one foot rested on her knee and her arms rested back, such that they would be rested on the back of a regular chair, but the back of her wheelchair is not wide enough for them to actually be resting on anything. the text here reads "elbows not resting on anything" and "foot not on footplate"
step five: there are two images, one is lineart on top of a 3d modelled apartment with sketchup, the other is a colored in version of that lineart with the background also colored in and no longer a 3d modelled screencap two characters, one old woman wearing a green jacket and one younger woman wearing a white shirt and blue undershirt, are sitting on a couch. the old woman is leaning forward and the young woman is resting her arm on the couch. behind the young woman is a bookshelf.
step five text: you may say you'll just draw the chair first and then the person, but while that works for regular furniture, it doesn't work as well for most manual wcs. take this comic panel with characters on a couch for example - I 3d modeled the room and then drew the characters on the furniture. it works because you don't move furniture in most poses - you rest on it. but your wheelchair needs to move with you, especially if it's an ultralight one.
step six image: there is a flat color drawing of barbara gordon in her wheelchair. she is wearing a black sportsbra and black shorts. in the first image we see she is doing tricks in her chair, zooming through the air (as if she has just launched herself off the ground in a skater park or somethign) while her left hand is resting on a structure and her right hand is heading towards the right handrim. the next image shows her right hand planted on the ground and her chair and body above her, such that she is briefly doing a one-handed handstand, but the motion line indicates that she is moving and this will not last. her left arm is near the handrim of her left wheel.
text: take exercise Oracle - she is doing tricks. Her WC is an extension of her body. That is crucial to getting natural looking manual wheelchair users after posing.
step seven: we see a lineart drawing of paula from young justice. she is sitting in a standard manual wheelchair with high armrests (goes up to the bottom of her ribs probably) and a high backrest (goes up to just below her shoulderblades). she is setting her hand on the armrest, leaning forward, and holding her other hand out.
text: of course, there are exceptions - if you have a clunky WC, it is harder to move with your body. Take Paula from young Justice - here, i drew her resting her hand on her armrest, because she has a clunker wheelchair. her pose is already mostly static - she's sitting down - and she poses around that.
I briefly discussed outlining for NaNoWriMo, but this post will help you figure out your plot. I always think the best way is to focus on your characters, so try filling out character sheets first if youâre not sure. Hereâs how you can form your plot for NaNoWriMo:
Know What Your Characters Want
The best way to figure out your plot is to know what your characters want and how theyâre going to attempt to get it. Not all novels need to show a character getting what they want, but they should be active. Inactive characters are boring and wonât move your story forward. Give them a push.
Focus on Set Up
The beginning of your novel can be hard to get right, but you should try to avoid info-dumping. Focus on whatâs the best way to get information across and to introduce your characters and what will set them off on their journey. What spurs your characters to take action?
Consider Rising Action
This is where the journey really gets going. Develop your characters during this time and deepen their relationships with each other. We need to care about your characters before you pull the rug out from under them. We need to root for them if you want us to be disappointed by the failures or happy about their success. Remember, the rising action will all lead to the climax.
Whatâs Your Climax?
The climax might be very short, but it needs to pack a lot of punch. This is the moment where everything changes and the hero usually needs to make a very important decision. What will make your readers need to know what will happen next?
Get On Board for the Falling Action
The falling action is what happens after the climax. The roller coaster has gone up, so now it must come down. This is usually the high-speed/fast paced portion of your novel, but that doesnât mean it will be over quickly. Figure out how all this action will lead into your resolution. Focus on what will be tied up and how it will all end.
How is Your Story Resolved?
The resolution or conclusion of your novel is pretty self-explanatory, but you should think about how your story will end when youâre outlining/plotting. Your protagonist should change or grow over the course of your novel (or not grow, if thatâs the point of your story), so track that progress. Show how things are different.Â
My friend send me this link, is a series on a profile on Ao3 (tumblr) that has different tutorials to insert things to fanfics via html code, I thought I would share bc itâs really cool
Lists of tutorials:
How to make images fit in mobile browsers
This is a tutorial/live example on how to make large images fit on mobile browsers but remain normal size on desktop browsers.
How to mimic letters, fliers, and stationery without using images
This is a tutorial/live example on how to mimic the look of letters, fliers, and stationery (as well as other forms of written media) without using images. For all your epistolary fic needs.
How to make a âchoose your own adventureâ Fic
This is a tutorial/live example on how to create a "Choose Your Own Adventure" fic. While this has been explained before (see here), this particular tutorial shows you how to use a work skin to hide the next parts from the reader until they click through to get to them.
How to make linked footnotes on Ao3
This is a live example of how an author can create linked footnotes in their work with only a little bit of HTML and no workskins required. This is best viewed by clicking "Entire Work". While I've included the actual coding in bold and italic once you click "Hide Creator's Style", there's a more detailed explanation here.
How to change text on Ao3 when the cursor is hovering over it (or clicked on mobile)
This a tutorial/live example on how to have text change or appear once a cursor is hovering over it. Helpful for pop-up spoilers, language translations, quick author's notes, etc.
How to mimic authorâs notes and Kudos/Comment buttons
Anonymous on tumblr: do you have a skin that would mimic the authorâs notes and review/kudos buttons section from the end of a fic? the desired effect being that the fic could go on after the âendâ of the fic, so after the authorâs notes and review/kudos buttons
Here's a tutorial/live example to do just that, with some of the buttons actually functioning. I'll explain more inside!
How to wrap text around images
This is a tutorial/live example on how to align images to the left or right of the screen and have text wrap around them.
How to mimic email windows
This is a tutorial/live example on how to mimic email windows on AO3 without the need to use images.
How to make ios text messages on Ao3
This is a tutorial/live example on how to mimic iOS text messages on AO3 without the need to use images. There's also a chapter on how to have emojis displayed on AO3 as well.
How to make Customized page deviders
Bored with the default page dividers? This is a tutorial/live example on how customize your page dividers with no images needed (though I do show you how you could use images if you wanted to do such a thing).
How to make invisible text (That can be highlighted)
This is a live example how to make invisible text that can only be seen by highlighting the text. Tutorial is included in text, and you can always leave comments about questions you may have.
MOBILE USERS: Sadly, this probably won't work for you, since highlighting in a mobile browser is different than web. I've tried correcting this, but have yet to find a solution.
How to make a rounded playlist
Original coding and design is from layouttest. I make no claims for it, just tweaked it so it will work on AO3.
How to create notebook lined paper on Ao3
This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of lined notebook paper in their work. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.
Sticky notes on Ao3 without using images
This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of sticky notes (aka Post-Its) in their fic. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.
How to make deadpoolâs thinking thinking boxes on Ao3
This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of Deadpool's thinking boxes in their fic. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.
How to make newspaper articles on Ao3
This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of a newspaper article in their work. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.
I try not to give out writing advice unless itâs advice I havenât seen anybody give out before. I havenât seen anybody give out this advice before.
1) Figure out your charactersâ point of focus. This is a term that I think I made up, but itâs very useful to me, and something I do with all my dialogue. I think it does much more to differentiate character voices than dialect, catchphrases, et cetera, will ever do. Basically: a characterâs point of focus is the thing they are most focused on. This does not change from scene to scene, rather, itâs a part of their personality.Â
For instance, I approach things focusing mostly on analyzing the emotional, philosophical, or moral element of the thingâeven if thatâs not really the main point of the thing. Itâs something that, if you know me, youâll probably pick up on from meâIâm not the type of person you want to talk finance or investments with, because I donât approach anything at that level. If you tried to talk finance with me, Iâd start talking about the moral issues I have with our financial system.
You see? A point of focus is the lens that your character views the world through, and that means itâs the way they approach situations and subjectsâand itâs going to show in the way they talk to other people. If you know your character well enough, you probably have an idea of what their point of focus is. Let that shine through in their dialogue. Doing this intentionally will really help your characters have unique voices and distinct personalities, and your dialogue will be a lot better for it. (I find that personality tests are very useful in this regard.)
2) Write your characters as if they have a train of thought. I think this is something that some writers avoid because theyâve been told to âtrim the fatâ off of their dialogue and only include the âimportant bits.â This is true, in that you donât want your characters to have a whole scene talking about the weather if the weather doesnât matter to your story. But at the same time, you donât want your characters to sound as if theyâve rehearsed what theyâre going to say ahead of time, unless if they literally have in-universe.
Some writers try to show this through lots of pauses and âuh, um,â which⊠is fine, but isnât the most realistic. I find that the most useful tool for writing characters as if they have a train of thought is to let them backtrack, and often. You can do it in the middle of a sentence:Â
âShe wasnât trying toâI mean, I donât think she wanted to overpower me.â
Or you can do it over the course of the conversation:
âShe wasnât trying to overpower me,â he said.
She gave him a disbelieving look. âWell, she definitely looked like she was.â
âI donât think she was trying to overpower me,â he corrected. âI mean, she didnât seem like she wanted to. She seemed like she was holding back, kind of.â
You can draw it out longer than that, but thereâs a short example for the sake of keeping this post fairly short.
Think of writing a train of thought as an opportunity to show more of your characterâs point of focus/personality. By letting less-edited thoughts of theirs slip out, and showing how your characters edit their words to communicate better with someone else, you let your reader peek behind the curtain just a tiny bit into your characterâs thought processâwhich can tell us quite a lot.
Saying "I love you" without saying "I love you"
â some ways your otp can silently express affection
Forehead kisses, and smiling through the kiss
Resting their forehead on the otherâs after a kiss
Tucking strands of loose hair behind their ears, with a thumb caressing their cheek
Interlacing their fingers with the otherâs when they least expect it
Sleepy back hugs when the other person is busy whipping up breakfast in the kitchen, catching them by surprise
Just doing their own things in the same space; being so comfortable around the other even in their pyjamas
Holding both their hands while holding their gaze gently, just before leaning in for a kiss
Switching positions with the other when walking down a busy sidewalk because your feel the need to keep the other safe
Being playfully clingy in the mornings when one has an off day and the other has to rush to work
Getting them something from the store when they only mentioned it in passing
When one is overseas for a work trip and everything they see reminds them of the other person (bonus: whenever it happens, they take a picture and drop the other person a text.)
Squeezing their hand reassuringly and holding their hand throughout an intense social situation (eg. a large school reunion which the more introverted person is dreading)
Kissing away their tears
^ and letting the other cry on their shoulder even when their t-shirt gets soaked from their tears
Meeting them where they are, mentally and emotionally; never forcing them to do anything they arenât comfortable with
Wholeheartedly supporting their dreams, and putting that into action by making concrete plans for it to happen
Dropping the other person an encouraging text before an important interview/event
Surprising the other with flowers just because; no occasion and no reason needed
Picking the other person up from work when itâs getting late, and walking them right to their doorstep after
Good morning and goodnight texts
Making the other person a Spotify playlist with songs that remind them of their relationship and growth
Remembering the littlest of things â activities they like and dislike, favourite brands of stationery, go-to ice cream flavour, choice of popcorn
Writing little notes on post-its and leaving them in random pages of their textbook, so that they will get a little endorphin boost when studying
Plotting? Pantsing? Why not both! Billy Ovid Boyles, a longtime NaNoWriMo participant is a proud Plontser and has tips on how you can utilize plontsing for your novel!
Well, itâs that time of year. My desk is covered with articles about plotting versus pantsing. Iâve had my own experience with the two approaches and confess that these days, Iâm a hybrid. Iâm a Plontser. I both plot and pants. Sounds absurd? Itâs not. In fact, it seems to me the most straightforward way to proceed with a novel. There are four things I keep in mind when Iâm prepping for NaNo.
Iâve been seeing some writing advice that annoys me lately, and so, hereâs some advice about writing advice from me:
âyour teachers taught you wrongâ, âunlearn the way your teachers taught you xâ, and âyou donât learn in schoolâ kinds of framings are often disingenuous. normally at the middle/high school level you arenât learning creative writing, which is what most writing advice posts on tumblr, by contrast, are about. yes there ARE problems with the five paragraph essay and similar structures, but those are mostly to teach you how to structure an argument, not to teach you how to write a short story or novel. your teachers werenât misleading you; your teachers were teaching you to do something totally different than what youâre trying to do now. cut them some slack and remember that you do have to know the basic principles to know when to break them.
gonna say that again: advice that says âthrow out this basic convention/grammatical rule/formatting standardâ is missing the point of throwing those things out. yes, in creative writing you can throw all of that out if you want to. however, you have to know the basic rules to understand when to break them. basic rules are there because theyâre relatively easy to understand for the reader and largely invisible; breaking those rules becomes noticeable. just make sure youâre breaking them because you want it to be noticed, and in a way that makes it so your point is still legible. (similarly, advice saying ânever throw this thing outâ is probably also missing the point.)
advice suggesting to always structure sentences or paragraphs a certain length is typically wrong. the actual answer is typically that you should vary it. varied sentence structure and paragraph length is easier and more interesting to read than it all being the same, and the more extreme breaks of pattern become more noticeable and impactful if you donât do them the whole time. so like, yeah, keep that in mind.
you do have to still read. sorry there really isnât getting around it, if you want to write good you need to read the kinds of things you want to write.
the lines between âtropeâ, âclicheâ, âbeloved genre conventionâ, and âemotional and impactful twistâ are super thin and depends on circumstance. unless the thing is like, actively racist, there arenât many tropes/cliches/conventions that are universally bad. theyâre tools for the circumstance. this is where knowing what tone youâre going for helps a lot and can help you figure out what tools are most useful.
genres are marketing tools and shouldnât be the driver of what you write. however, genres have fans for a reason, and understanding the conventions of the genre youâre trying to write will help you a lot. yes this is contradictory I know but thatâs just how life is. generally ignore advice about a genre that comes from someone who doesnât like that genre, but also ignore advice that suggests that you can never do something in a specific genre (once again useless itâs actively bigoted or something you know the drill).
itâs actually perfectly okay to write for other people. you should know what audience youâre writing for. just donât write entirely for other people, and if the numbers make you feel bad, find ways to cut the numbers out of your life. you should write what makes you happiest, after all. for most of us on tumblr this is a hobby and not a job. you just donât have to feel guilty for imagining an imaginary audience while writing or even getting validation from a real audience, because those things are perfectly normal too.
you donât have to write every day unless you want to. practice is important to write good, as is like, actually writing, but burnout will hurt you, so figure out a pace that works for you. as long as that pace makes sure you still write with somewhat regularity, it is between you and no one else how many words that is or how frequent it is.
youâre here to have fun. sometimes it wonât be fun; sometimes itâll be emotional or a grind or frustrating or infuriating. thatâs fine too, you donât have to feel ecstatic glee every moment of the writing process. youâre allowed to have bad writing days. you also shouldnât feel miserable the whole time. if you donât have fun when youâre writing ever, not even the euphoria of having a completed final product, then take a step back.
youâre doing great, I promise. writing advice is bullshit. even this advice is probably bullshit. do what works for you. this is the literal definition of an art and not a science, after all.
Things that People Forget About When Writing Sword Fights
You donât have to dodge by a foot. You only have to dodge by an inch.
Not all swords are made the same way. You wouldnât fight with a katana the same way you would fight with a broadsword.
You donât need to aim for the heart or the head. Get the vein in wrist, and you could incapacitate that hand.
Small cuts matter. If youâre cut up enough, youâre going to start suffering from blood loss, and thatâll put you at a disadvantage.
The blade isnât the only thing that matters. There isnât some set of rules in sword fighting where you can only stick the stabby end into the other person. Hit them in the head with the hilt, and theyâll feel it.
If there are multiple attackers, you want to incapacitate or kill each one as quickly as possible. Endurance matters, especially when youâre not only swinging/stabbing/aiming something that is 2-5 lbs (ceremonial ones were a lot heavier, but wouldnât be generally fought with) but also taking/blocking heavy blows from at least one opponent.
But also, regarding the not-just-the-stabby-end advice: significant sections of the numerous medieval-and-newer swordfighting manuals now available in translation are devoted to the art of clobbering or otherwise messing up people with the hilt of your sword in numerous inventive ways. Many of these are potentially quite lethal, and mean you wonât have to waste time cleaning your blade.
âŠAdditionally, while thinking in this mode, feeling the need to mention a favorite move of my iaido master, back in the day: the one where you spear your (seated-across-from-you) opponent in the gut with the hilt of your katana as youâre drawing it⊠then finish the draw and chop your opponentâs head off. The move is called âMutinyâ (donât ask me what it wouldâve been in Japanese; if he ever told us, I canât remember). But I canât tell you how many times Shihan made us practice that damn move. There was just something about it that appealed to him.
Anyway, generally speaking: if youâre going to write swordfights, you may not have the time, inclination or money to study the sword yourself, but you can at least read the fecking manuals. Theyâre easily found. Hereâs a link to one of the best-known ones, circa 1459.* These will break you quickly of any idea that medieval-period swordfighting was some kind of inelegant boring bash-clash-bash-clash operation.
âŠOh, and re the recommendation about not going for the heart or the head: This is definitely on the money. If I was in a swordfight and was in a rush to get it over with, the femoral artery would be my choice. Wait for your opponent to expose it (or get them to, usually by you stepping back out of range so they have to step forward, exposing any opportunities offered by their leg armor while itâs flexing). When they do, chop deep on the inside of the leg above the knee. Then get out of range again so your opponent doesnât fall over on top of you. Two minutes or so for them to go profoundly shocky: then five to seven minutes for them to bleed out. But regardless of the timings, since youâll likely have bisected one or more of their adductor muscles on that side, they definitely wonât be getting up to run after youâŠ
*Particularly directing your attention to the plates illustrating judicial divorce combat.
*Particularly directing your attention to the plates illustrating judicial divorce combat.
Itâs obvious from his tumblog that @petermorwood is well-versed in medieval weaponry but (perhaps because I follow your Star Trek and your Young Wizards but not your Middle Kingdoms) I was unaware that it was your interest as well. Now I shall be envisioning the pair of your gallivanting about your simple artistsâ home in the Irish countryside fencing like Morticia and Gomez.
Donât forget speaking French, which I do with an accent good enough to get complimented by a Paris cabby - who then deflated me by saying, (DD can correct if I misremember): ââŠl'accent n'est rien sans les mots, et vous faut beaucoup plus de motsâŠâ
As for what she describes as âMutinyâ, Iâve pinched it for my Alban books, where itâs called âthe Adderâs Strikeâ and is another of those useful âIf I wanted you dead, youâd be dead" moves - though if landed higher, for instance square against the throat, it can be lethal enough.
Of course like âMutinyâ itâs also the opener to a proper killing sequence: an opponent doubled over by that pommel-punch to the solar plexus is now in just the right position for the owner of the sword to take a quick sidestep while completing their draw, and then deliver a âFalconâs Strikeâ (vertical downward cut) at the back of the offered neckâŠ
Hereâs Fairbairnâs chart instructing WW2 Commandos in what happens after an artery gets opened by one of the fighting daggers he was so fond of. Oddly enough the chart shows the femoral artery (those black lines down the thighs) but doesnât list themâŠ
And if anyone whoâs learned bad habits from watching theatrical swordplay obliges by spinning around without a damn good reason, applying point or edge anywhere from the waist to the back of the knees will show them what a bad idea it can be. Cutting any of the muscles people need to stand up* will definitely reduce their combat effectiveness.
(* That includes the gluteus maximus, site of so many comedy injuries. In real life, a deep swordcut across the arse is as unfunny as an IRL smack in the face with a cast iron frying-pan.)
Thereâs a sound reason why real swordfighters almost always stayed face to face; if you can see the opponentâs blade you can deal with it, but if you deliberately turn your back, what happens next is your own faultâŠ
And how can I resist reblogging him when heâs talking sexy. (In French or not.) :)
âŠAnyway, yeah, the characters in the Middle Kingdoms books are kind of unavoidably sword-savvy. In fact, one of the five primary characters taught himself swordsmithing for reasons that have nothing to do with actually fighting with the sword. (Or, for that matter, using it as a sword at all unless absolutely necessary.) And to teach him what he had to know, I had to learn it first.
(shrug) But when youâve spent a week or three working out the fine detail of building a starship in orbit, whatâs a little small-scale metallurgy? :)
I will say that something that I feel sometimes gets lost if you look exclusively at European swordfighting/martial arts traditions is the huge impact that the type of armor youâre wearing has on how youâre actually going to fight.
During the brief time when I studied Katori ShintĆ-ryĆ«, one of the things that they stressed was operating around the structure of the armor and helmet that we would be wearing if we were actually involved in that sort of combat.
If you take a look at samurai kabuto (helmet), youâll see that thereâs a really tall obstruction in the front that keeps you from raising the sword directly over your head the way you would in HEMA or even in later Japanese martial arts traditions. Thus, you do whatâs called a makiuchi or makiuchi-jodan, where the sword is behind your shoulder instead of over your head. Itâs a position that looks kind of weird if you donât know why itâs being doneâbut it makes a whole lot of sense if you look at it in the context of the armor.
Similarly, thereâs a focus on moving as little as possible and staying groundedâbecause in reality, it would have been done in heavy armor.
On the attacking side, Iâve seen people say that the wrist isnât going to be a good place to targetâbut in yoroi (armor), it was one of the main openings/vulnerabilities.
If the characters are wearing armor, there will be weaknessesâwhether those are openings, the material, and/or the weight. Itâs hard to make things both light and strongâand it used to be a lot harder. A headcovering that covers more of the face might make it harder to see. Something that allows for more flexibility might have more openings. All of those will change how the swordfighting style will evolve.
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