[lovelive-confessions]

Hey guys, I meant to do this when we hit 10k but– well, that’s beyond passed. So this is in thanks for helping us reach 15,000+ followers!

I, Admin Maki, will be giving something special to 3 lucky followers as a token of our gratitude for helping us get this far! I can’t directly deposit gems into your accounts, but I can give away giftcards* to help you buy gems for your LLSIF account! *Unfortunately this only applies to US residents, due to the way international purchases work for both Apple and Google. Non-US followers can still win though! You’ll just be awarded a little differently.

The prizes are as follows:

1st place: $100 giftcard for either iTunes or Google Play, or LL merch of equal-or-lesser value from Tokyo Otaku Mode!

2nd place: $50 giftcard for either iTunes or Google Play, or LL merch of equal-or-lesser value from Tokyo Otaku Mode!

3rd place: $25 giftcard for either iTunes or Google Play, or LL merch of equal-or-lesser-value from Tokyo Otaku Mode! Note: The giftcard option is only for US residents, and international residents are only able to win merchandise. US residents have the option of merchandise as well, if they have no need for the giftcard!

Rules:

Must be following lovelive-confessions

No giveaway blogs

Must reblog and/or like this post! Only 1 reblog per person, though!

Admins can’t enter, that applies to Admin Honoka and Admin Mari, as well as myself. Sorry guys!

Reblog/Like this post by November 25, 2016 11:59PM CST!

I will select winners on November 26th! If selected, you have 24 hours to respond before you get skipped over!

Since I can’t message people through this blog, you will get a message from @dandeere if you win. That’s my main! You’re not required to follow it, though.

Good luck and thanks for all the support!

-Admin Maki

[tomokothesatori]

I could not agree anymore.

[tomokothesatori]

When your eyes are on point but the rest of you gives no craps...

[tomokothesatori]

Happy birthday to the Rice Goddess, Hanayo Koizumi!  “Thank you for cheering me on!”  (What I imagine her to be saying in this picture).

[tomokothesatori]

2013-2016 Progress

For anyone who happens to visit my dA, they will notice I have mostly old art on there. Much of which is pretty shabby. I just wanna show how much I have imporved over the past 3 years. 

A picture of Mokou from like.... freshman year of highschool? Old tablet, new to Sai. A billion things wrong with this.

A more recent picture of a buddy’s OC. Newer tablet,more experience with sai and art in general. Done Summer 2015.

A WIP of Hanayo Koizumi and an old drawing of Nitori Kawashiro. Both use direct light, but the one on the left is much more effective. I know this is not a very good comparison seeing as these are not the same compositions. But the point of this post is to show artists, aspiring artists, and people who do not draw that learning to draw is possible. You do not need to be born with a special gift to draw. I did not come out of my mom knowing how to render figures on Paint Tool Sai. To say that only “unbelievably talented artists” can draw is outrageously dismissive. The ability to draw takes time and effort, just like anything else. I hope I don’t sound rude or whiny. Just wanna encourage people to pursue their dreams of creating. Thanks to anyone who bothered reading : )  

[tomokothesatori]

Practicing some lighting effects on Paint Tool Sai. Probably the best back-lit picture I have ever done. Any thoughts on this wip?

[tomokothesatori]

Working on a picture of the rice goddess, Hanayo Koizumi. Line work can be a pain X D

[tomokothesatori]

Just for fun, I made a sarcastic info sheet for the previously sketched character. Mostly a joke toward a particular friend.  I’m still happy with how the water looks >___>

[tomokothesatori]

A concept sketch done for a friend. I guess you could say this girl is like a water spirit..? The clothes are sort of like a part of her (because how can water wear clothes? X D )

[tomokothesatori]

A very dumb idea is in the works. The sketches are kind of vague so I do not expect anyone to understand this right away.

[tomokothesatori]

Hey guys, the non-existent blogger is back. 

[soloontherocks-moving-refol-blog]

my favorite side effect warning is for antidepressants

pros: you won’t want to kill yourself

cons: you might want to kill yourself

[notnights]

Back when I was in a psychiatric hospital, and was offered antidepressants, my mother had declined them due to that apparent side effect. So the staff actually explained about this effect antidepressants have, that give reason to that warning. When first taking antidepressants they raise up your energy first. So that you have the energy to do the tasks you might have avoided doing due to your depression. Because of this those who were already suicidal, now have the energy to go do so. Which is the ones this warning is given for. It’s not that a side effect of antidepressants magically makes you want to kill yourself, it’s the energy it gives those who were already struggling with suicidal issues, to actually attempt the act.

[butterscotchwm-deactivated20181]

Very informative…

[staying-happily-high]

Wow. I’m so glad you explained that. Now I understand

[its-thedinosaurman]

My high school choir/psych teacher actually told is about this. She also said if you have a suicidal friend who starts seeming like they might be getting better because they have more energy, that’s the time to be cautious because that’s when they may still be suicidal but they’ll actually have the energy to go through with it

[starlight-and-promises]

THIS. a thousand times THIS. I had it explained to me in my AP psychology class in high school. super fucking important.

[tomokothesatori]

I have always wondered about this O__O Makes sense...

[drawingstuffs-blog]

Kitsch

noun \ˈkich\ : things (such as movies or works of art) that are of low quality and that many people find amusing and enjoyable Full Definition of KITSCH 1:  something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality 2:  a tacky or lowbrow quality or condition <teetering on the brink of kitsch — Ron Miller> — kitsch adjective — kitschy  adjective

So this topic is up for debate, when is Kitsch just poor sourcing of metaphor, and when is it a cultural statement?  Pop art has certainly challenged the notion of what can be art by sourcing the popular finds in our culture, but when is it an act of banality, and when is it banality being utilized as social commentary?  Many of you will hear that anime is not art.  I’ve talked about this in class from time to time.  Yes, true, while anime on its own, is not “fine art” there are definitely artists who utilize it as social commentary, and their artwork sometimes gets the label of being Kitsch.   Artists like Takashi Murakami or Yoshimoto Nara use elements of anime or popular Japanese culture in their art as a social commentary.  They are not alone, here in America, artists such as Jeff Koons or Odd Nerdrum from Sweden embrace the notion of being Kitsch in their artwork. I’ve said many times in class that presently, art is often regarded as the idea, not the object.  The artwork is just a means to manifest the art (the idea) in the consciousness of the viewer.  This consciousness is not shared from viewer to viewer, but rather, is often diverse.  Kitsch, however, touches on elements of our society that most of us can relate to, and often involve popular culture rather than a specific, personally codified source of metaphor.   This idea came from a philosopher, Immanuel Kant.  He is also the reason we now separate the idea of craft from fine art.   One having an idea, the other, only a utilitarian purpose absent of deeper concept. “The word, kitsch, was popularized in the 1930s by the art theorists Theodor Adorno, Hermann Broch, and Clement Greenberg, who each sought to define avant-garde and kitsch as opposites. To the art world of the time, the immense popularity of kitsch was perceived as a threat to culture. The arguments of all three theorists relied on an implicit definition of kitsch as a type of false consciousness, a Marxist term meaning a mindset present within the structures of capitalism that is misguided as to its own desires and wants.  Marxists believe there to be a disjunction between the real state of affairs and the way that they phenomenally appear.” So what do you think?  How does Kitsch fit into present day art?  Do you find it creeping into your own works?  If so, how?  No right or wrong, just share your opinions.

Yoshimoto Nara

Will Cotton

Jeff Koons

Odd Nerdrum

[tomokothesatori]

Kitsch art to me is sarcastic and satirical. As I browse social media, sometimes I come across what seems to be anime art. Rather, it is the artist taking the art style and using it to say “hey, this is over-used and annoying! How can something so repetitive be so popular?” While the picture itself lacks technique and variety, it brings out a different attitude from a well-crafted, serious artwork of the same style. To me, the use of kitsch is interesting because it is almost like I’m seeing two ideas battle, as in the mockery of anime art.

[drawingstuffs-blog]

Aleatoric Art

Aleatoricism is the incorporation of chance into the process of creation, especially the creation of art or media. The word derives from the Latin word alea, the rolling of dice. It should not be confused with either improvisation or indeterminacy.  When an element of uncertainty is intentionally incorporated into the concept and creation of a work of art it is referred to as “aleatoric art.” We’ve had one post dealing with the subconscious guiding the artist, now I’d like to address the idea of the artist incorporating chance into the work.  The two are not the same thing, one is a sub conscious level of understanding and expression, the other is where the artist sets up a means to capture the random.  My only issue with this is that it takes the artist to set up the situation in most cases, for the random to be recorded, and in this case that means there is something purposeful in the overall idea, regardless if the process is random in its application.  How could an artist use this form to express an idea?  What idea is presented if this means is used by the artist in their art?  Think about the types of materials that could be used and how they would be applied.  Each variable changes the expression, the statement being made.  Is there legitimacy behind this method of art making, allowing for pure chance to be the creation? Answer these questions and what you think about it, but also, try doing this in your sketchbook.  Once you’ve tried it in your sketchbook, then comment.  If you think you can do something of value with this method, I’ll give a letter grade up on a 7% or less assignment if you do this for extra credit on an 18x24 in piece of paper or larger and exhibit it to the class. Talk about its expression and meaning.

[tomokothesatori]

I have tried applying aleatory to a composition. From my experience I can say that chance can greatly benefit an artwork. My favorite method to using this technique is creating random swirls of color in a watercolor painting. It is nice to look at and it helps to create a mood. When I employ aleatory into an artwork, I usually use it to evoke a feeling of distress. Typically, misfortunes are unexpected and many people feel as though everything is falling apart. When something falls or breaks, it’s not neat or calculated. If an artwork with such a subject matter was uniformly designed and measured, it would lose the intended feeling behind it. 

[drawingstuffs-blog]

Metaphor in Music

It isn’t visual art, but I was going through some videos and came across one here from some composers I appreciate. In the interview they are asked about their creation for their opera. You’ll find some similarities in how they gather ideas and craft them into musical metaphor and how you could apply this to your own creative endeavors. Listen to the video interview and offer up any thoughtful conversation. Listen to how they talk about translating the sounds of nature to fulfill ideas set forth by Darwin, and turn it into music, then ask yourself how you would accomplish the same to drawing.

[tomokothesatori]

While some thought should be put into an artwork, it is good to shut out all the noise and allow things to happen subconsciously. I often find myself sitting in front of a blank page for days because I let my indecisive conscience do most of the work. This music makes me feel as though I'm witnessing evolution. The smooth transitions and random components remind me that art should be felt, not contemplated over like a math problem.

[tomokothesatori]

Mfw I have a huge art assignment due within a week.

[tomokothesatori]

Appreciation for the best yandere  It has been almost three months since I have drawn any true anime art. After keeping up with the YanSim updates for so long, I have decided to draw another fan art.