The Skills of Skill

This is a collection of links and a bank for my story/worldbuilding ideas.

[mingsonjia-deactivated20170120]

Chinese knotting (TC:中國結; SC:中国结;pinyin: Zhōngguó jié) is a decorative handicraft art that began in the Tang and Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) in China. It is used as a decoration for rooms, fans, folding screens, musical instruments etc. and an accessory for clothing (mostly go with jewelries like jades). 

Chinese knots are usually lanyard type arrangements where two cords enter from the top of the knot and two cords leave from the bottom. The knots are usually double-layered and symmetrical.

Some of the earliest evidence of knotting have been preserved on bronze vessels of the Warring States period (481–221 BCE), Buddhist carvings of the Northern Dynasties period (317–581) and on silk paintings during the Western Han period. Further references to knotting have also been found in literature, poetry and the private letters. In the 18th century, one novel that talked extensively about the art was “Dream of the Red Chamber”. It is mentioned that the knots were used as gifts for relatives and friends, also as a token of love depending on different types of knots.

[the50-person]

do you have any links to good tutorials?

[mingsonjia-deactivated20170120]

I don’t have any video.. But I have these pics showing how to tie 18 types of knots. They might be helpful to you. 

[pheberoni]

yeha

[wewantwow-deactivated20140802]

How to color eggs with onion shells.

This must be the most beautiful DIY tutorial I have ever seen. And it so happens to be in style of this weekend. Found on Ulicam, a very nice blog by Ulrika Kestere, photographer and illustrator. For the whole tutorial and lot’s of inspiration, click here.

[dark-zeblock]

I found some old art books today called ‘Celtic Art: The methods of Construction by George Bain’ Which, I found interesting. I only have 4 out of the 7, they are very old (From 55 years ago). I thought I would just share some scans from them, some people might find them useful. :)

[cupotealeaves]

Ohhhh horror vacui neat to see tutorials on it.

[bluelucied]

KNOTWORK *flips table* I have the rest of this book and it’s amazing and I’m trying to learn how to do it myself. IT’S SO TEDIOUS BUT I LOVE IT

[auroreblackcat]

[fyeahlolita]

This is related to my last post! This is the shapes that brands typically release that I was talking about. Some of these are maybe sort of borderline (most of which would depend on the length of the skirt, which is very hard to tell in stock photos sometimes), and to repeat how these shapes are defined:

The usual- The traditional Lolita shape! Flares out at the natural waist (or just above or below it) to a full shape.

empire waist- The waist is considerably higher than the natural waist, usually between the underbust or the middle of the torso. Skirt still maintains a full shape

Short- Full skirt that ends about mid-thigh

Long- Full skirt that ends about mid-calf (also called tea or maiden length)

Trapezoid- Flares out to full shape from just above bust or about halfway down bust. “Tent” shape.

Trapezoid relaxed- Flares out from above bust to underbust, “flowing” or not-as-full skirt. “Tube” shape, no room for a petticoat.

Drop waist- Skirt flares out at about the hips, as opposed to the waist. May or may not have room for a petticoat.

Drop waist mini- Skirt flares out at the hips, as opposed to the waist, and is very short, usually mid-thigh or even shorter. No room for a petticoat.

Flared- A smooth, non-gathered, flare from the natural waist, considerably less full than “the usual”. May or may not have room for a petticoat.

Flared mini- A smooth, non-gathered, flare from the natural waist that ends about mid-thigh. No room for a petticoat.

Extra long- Ankle to floor length of varying fullness. May or may not require a petticoat.

Pencil- Tight skirt of various lengths between mid thigh and knee. Absolutely no petticoat.

Just like in the last post, I’m curious what people think of these skirt shapes in regards to whether or not they are Lolita. With the examples, are there any that you would say are simply not Lolita, even though they’re released by Lolita brands and have typical Lolita elements? All of these are examples from a range of years, some as far back as 2001, but each example has at least one dress from 2009 or after (except the extra long, even though Meta and JeJ often release things in this length! I just had a hard time finding stock photos for either brand), as none of these are “extinct” silhouettes. I’m not trying to argue that these are all perfectly within the Lolita style or anything like that! I am just asking because I am curious what other people’s opinions on different silhouettes within Lolita are! So what do you think?

[chqngeup]

[pscs5]

forbiddenforest:

COLOR PALETTE MASTERPOST by forbiddenforest

So today I felt like sharing some useful websites that provide pre-made color palettes (left side), as well as sites that allow you to create custom ones (right side). They can be used for graphic design, themes, art, interior design, or just something pretty to look at.

Adobe Kuler (Explore)

Chromaa

Color-Collective

Just Jaimee Daily Color Inspiration

Design Seeds

Adobe Kuler (Create)

Color Scheme Designer

Color Palette Generator (paste the URL of an image and it will automatically generate a pallet that matches the image)

Color Hunter (upload an image and it will automatically generate a pallet that matches the image)

Colllor

I hope you find this useful (and please like or reblog if you did)! Enjoy :)

[ianjq]

Being that you're an industry expert, I was hoping if there were any tips or advice you can give to an aspiring Animation Series creator. Any lessons you've learned from working in the industry from so many years. What advice would you give yourself if you were starting out trying to get you're animation picked up by a major network?

Yeah I have a big piece of advice! Stop “aspiring”!!!!! Your aspirations end now!!!!

YES YOU! DON’T WAIT! START NOW! (passionate rambling incoming…)

The freaking coolest thing about living in the year 20XX is that you don’t have to have anyone’s permission to be an Animated Series creator. Grab a trial copy of Flash, or make flipbooks, or your own GIFs, or make some stop motion with your phone. Just start making whatever you want! Don’t save your good ideas for some big-wig executives or networks. Just do them right now! Don’t be precious with your ideas, just put them out there. 

Content that’s on TV or in movies is not “more official” than stuff you make in your home on your spare time to share with friends on the internet. It’s all the same!!!!! As long as you enjoy it, who cares!! And if other people happen to like it also, then BONUS!! 

The experience you get from trying to make something good on your own is so much more important than any future dream of being a big shot. Upload what you do to the internet and get feedback, show it to as many people as you can and listen to critiques. Learn to do stuff all by yourself, and only for your own pleasure.

From what I’ve seen, the people who end up creating a good animated series are the same people who have been creating their own stories, cartoons, comics and music on their own just for fun long before they ever got the shot at the big-time. Read about how your favorite cartoons are made, and try to do the process on your own. You’ll learn what your strengths are and what you’re interested in exploring.

(If you don’t have the facilities to create animation on your own, make something smaller scale- like a script, a comic, or a storyboard!)

OK THEN HERE’S STEP TWO: once you’ve learned to love your work on your own and figured out what you like to draw and what you’re passionate about, you may get a chance to pitch an idea. And thanks to the work you’ve done, you’ll be READY! Instead of some half-finished ideas, you’ll be able to point to all the amazing stuff you’ve created on your own and say “look, I already know what I like, AND I already know how to do it!” —-that’s WAY more impressive than an undeveloped idea with nothing to show for it. PLUS, the bonus of doing good work on your own is that you’ll attract attention and opportunity! I know so many people working in this industry who were discovered from their own silly personal work that was just randomly found online. 

GET TO IT! DON’T WAIT FOR ANYONE’S PERMISSION TO BE THE CREATOR YOU WANT TO BE! START NOW! YOU HAVE TO START NOW! DON’T YOU MAKE ME COME OVER THERE AND FORCE YOU TO DO IT! YOUR “ASPIRATION DAYS” ARE OVER!

[ladycels]

If you liked this tutorial, pleas check out my Facebook page for more of my work!

http://www.facebook.com/LadyCels

Larger Size avaliable on my Deviantart 

[cancerously]

Just an addition: If you don’t have any beeswax around, a dryer sheet does the same job of stopping your thread from tangling so much! :) I have one stashed in my sewing box, you can use it over and over again!

[writingnotebooks]

Ooooh, I LOVE this question!

Lots of people keep journals with systematic diary entries, but I understand that it doesn’t work for everyone.

Here are some cool/interesting/fun/motivational/productive things you can do that don’t necessarily include keeping a diary:

Turn a Moleskine (or other notebook) into a planner/organizer/PDA/productivity system

52 lists

30 Days of Lists

Answer "50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind"

Start a gratitude journal

Create a "life handbook"

Keep morning pages

Start a scrapbook

Use journal prompts to answer questions when you feel like it

Participate in the 7-week Life Cleanse (new link! should work now!)

Keep these 9 lists updated — REALLY useful things to keep track of!

Take notes as you learn something new

Use a notebook to keep track of goal-setting and productivity: 60 Ways to Improve Your Life in 100 Days

Keep a recipe book

Keep a reading journal/movie journal/music journal/fashion journal

Start a quote book

Make a travel journal — use it to plan your trip/vacation, then glue in transportation ticket stubs, itineraries, maps, photographs, dinner receipts at fancy restaurants, and write about your adventures

Doodle in it

Write poetry

Cut out and glue pretty pictures

Create a bucket list journal and record each item as you complete it

Keep a dream journal

Does that give you enough ideas to start with? :)

(Made rebloggable by request.)

[writingnotebooks]

Hello lovelies — I have removed or replaced broken links. Everything should work now.

thathipsterwiththeface pointed out that you can also use notebooks as dream journals (can’t believe I forgot that one), so I have added it to the list!

Right now, this post has over 37,000 notes. I’m a little amazed — and proud — that you all appreciated my humble resource this much.

I have many questions and comments still sitting in my inbox — don’t worry, I’ll get around to answering them all! Though it might take a few days… :)

[violainebriat]

small tutorial for newbies to anatomy :) hopefully this is understandable and helpful ! 

[melgillman]

Color palette tutorial time!

This is by no means the Only Way To Pick Colors—it’s just a relatively-simple method I use sometimes.  I’ve found it works pretty well, almost regardless of what colors you pick—as long as you can keep them organized by those light/dark warm/cool categories, and make sure one category takes up a significantly higher proportion of page space, it usually turns out pretty good!

[ianjq]

Being that you're an industry expert, I was hoping if there were any tips or advice you can give to an aspiring Animation Series creator. Any lessons you've learned from working in the industry from so many years. What advice would you give yourself if you were starting out trying to get you're animation picked up by a major network?

Yeah I have a big piece of advice! Stop “aspiring”!!!!! Your aspirations end now!!!!

YES YOU! DON’T WAIT! START NOW! (passionate rambling incoming…)

The freaking coolest thing about living in the year 20XX is that you don’t have to have anyone’s permission to be an Animated Series creator. Grab a trial copy of Flash, or make flipbooks, or your own GIFs, or make some stop motion with your phone. Just start making whatever you want! Don’t save your good ideas for some big-wig executives or networks. Just do them right now! Don’t be precious with your ideas, just put them out there. 

Content that’s on TV or in movies is not “more official” than stuff you make in your home on your spare time to share with friends on the internet. It’s all the same!!!!! As long as you enjoy it, who cares!! And if other people happen to like it also, then BONUS!! 

The experience you get from trying to make something good on your own is so much more important than any future dream of being a big shot. Upload what you do to the internet and get feedback, show it to as many people as you can and listen to critiques. Learn to do stuff all by yourself, and only for your own pleasure.

From what I’ve seen, the people who end up creating a good animated series are the same people who have been creating their own stories, cartoons, comics and music on their own just for fun long before they ever got the shot at the big-time. Read about how your favorite cartoons are made, and try to do the process on your own. You’ll learn what your strengths are and what you’re interested in exploring.

(If you don’t have the facilities to create animation on your own, make something smaller scale- like a script, a comic, or a storyboard!)

OK THEN HERE’S STEP TWO: once you’ve learned to love your work on your own and figured out what you like to draw and what you’re passionate about, you may get a chance to pitch an idea. And thanks to the work you’ve done, you’ll be READY! Instead of some half-finished ideas, you’ll be able to point to all the amazing stuff you’ve created on your own and say “look, I already know what I like, AND I already know how to do it!” —-that’s WAY more impressive than an undeveloped idea with nothing to show for it. PLUS, the bonus of doing good work on your own is that you’ll attract attention and opportunity! I know so many people working in this industry who were discovered from their own silly personal work that was just randomly found online. 

GET TO IT! DON’T WAIT FOR ANYONE’S PERMISSION TO BE THE CREATOR YOU WANT TO BE! START NOW! YOU HAVE TO START NOW! DON’T YOU MAKE ME COME OVER THERE AND FORCE YOU TO DO IT! YOUR “ASPIRATION DAYS” ARE OVER!

[iraffiruse]

[ohkiefer-blog]

STFU

[craftdiscoveries]

(via inspiration and realisation: DIY fashion blog: DIY - how to make a knitting pattern using Excel)

[incidentalcomics]

Conflict in Literature

[cliobablio-deactivated20220912]

Watercolour Skin Tones

Hi there! Thanks for your question. I don’t have these down to an exact science, but there are just a few colours I tend to use for skin tones with different ratios for each. I’ve tried to break it down according to how I think about them - I’ll first figure out whether the person is cool or warm-based. Cooler skintones have more blues in their undertone, and warmer have pink/yellow undertones, and there’s also even the occasional neutral skin tone that almost reads as a green undertone. I always start with a very, VERY light wash of a colour, and this could be either a pale version of their final skintone or the undertone - usually a blue, yellow, or red. Afterwards I’ll start layering colours on top of that, to finally reach the darkness of colour I want. The colours used for the images below are lemon yellow, new gamboge, quinacridone red, quinacridone magenta, phthalo blue, and burnt umber in Daniel Smith watercolours. Sorry for the wonky face drawings, but here we go:

A very, very watered down mix for those who pretty much burn if they go out in the sun, new gamboge & quin. red. These types are very pale and tend to be bright pink-based.

A darker version of above - starting to use more yellows in the mix. New gamboge & quin red. Still pink-based.

Starting to use more yellows here, with lemon yellow coming into the mix alongside new gambogge & quin red.

This is the same exact mix as above, except I layered down lemon yellow first, and then the mix of new gamboge and quin red on top of it later. It’s similar but reads more yellow.

Getting into the more olive-skinned territory with the addition of phthalo blue.

More blue, with new gamboge and quin red, and darker make a tanner skin tone.

Started using burnt umber into the mix for a richer colour, leaning red here with new gamboge and quin red.

A darker almost brick-coloured skin tone, with new gamboge, quin red, phthalo blue, and quin magenta coming into the mix.

Reddish undertone with new gamboge, quin red & magenta, phthalo blue.

Gold-based undertone - this one’s just new gamboge and burnt umber.

More neutral undertone with new gamboge, burnt umber, and phthalo blue.

Dark skin with blue undertones - burnt umber and phthalo blue with the smallest smidge of quin magenta.

I’ll usually put a tiny bit of red into the skin tone mix for blush and lips, and some blue into the shadows. Again, definitely start light and layer layer layer until you find the colours you like. Hope this helps!