The Mercurial Musings of an Animator/Game Develope

Whoever you may be, Welcome and Thank you for dropping by! This Blog was created in order to document my first foray into the worlds of 3D animation and to show what I get out of this new venture! Hopefully it will be interesting! :P I blog about what interest me, and also my own art (and henna). Just started a 1 year Games Design course! I have completed a three year Animation course in Wales. Of mixed heritage I usually call Ireland home :D I have a tendency to walk with my head in the clouds, read a lot, and imagine lots of drawings... which i actually need to get around to drawing soon! ;) My interests are very varied, ranging as they do from myths and legends, languages, ancient civilizations (Egypt and Greece mostly), fashion, Cats of all kinds :) and lots more which I will not list for fear the world will end before I am finished!! :P Leave a comment, say hi or asking any questions!

[wraythrose]

Anyone know where the dress on the left is from? I used to own it and am very curious because I cannot find out anything about it!!!

[bluekomadori]

The tutorial of how I achieve watercolor effect in Sai! :) I highly recommend using real watercolor paintings (your own or ones found on the internet) as reference.

And here you can find a few useful links: 

You can download the Sai file of this picture here: link 

Video process of painting another picture: link

The old watercolor tutorial: link

Sai brushes (none of them is made by me) link + file you need to open them in Sai: link

Awesome watercolor brushes made by Kyle T Webster: link

Here’s the finished painting: link

[whereshadowsthrive]

A batch of Mimikkyu variant commissions! I’m so glad people like these babies and that I get to make more for everyone!

Here’s some info if you wanna commission your own!

Other Variants I’ve made

[biblionation]

Underrated mythological creatures in YA books

I have always loved mythological creatures, but I think too many YA paranormal books focus on four creatures: vampires, werewolves, angels and fairies. So with the help of my followers (really they did all the work, I just wrote down the books into categories), I have compiled a list of books with underrated mythological creatures. Just to clarify, I haven’t read most of these books.

So if you like:

Mermaids:

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

Siren by Tricia Rayburn

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz

Ingo by Helen Dunmore

Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli

Ascension by Kara Dalkey

Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly

Lost Voices by Sarah Porter

Wake by Amanda Hocking  

The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler

Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper

Tempest Rising by Tracey Deebs

Lies Beneath series by Anne Greenwood

The Siren by Kiers Cass

Daughters of the Sea by Kathryn Lasky

Ghosts:

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

A Wounded Name by Dot Hutchison (A retelling of Hamlet)

Shades of London by Maureen Johnson

The Riddles of Epsilon by Christine Morton-Shaw

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

Shade by Jeri Smith Ready

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Ruined by Paula Morris

Necromancers:

The Darkest Powers trilogy by Kelley Armstrong

Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen (a trilogy) by Garth Nix

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride

The Johannes Cabal series by Jonathan L. Howard 

Demons:

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Personal Demonsby Lisa Desrochers

Demon Lexicon series by Sarah Rees Brennan

The Demonata by Darren Shan

Banshee:

My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent

Sidhe’s Call by Christy G. Thomas 

The Banshee Initiate by Kelly Matsuura

Goblins:

Runemarks by Joanne Harris

The Goblin Wood by Hilari Bell

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle

The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynn Jones

Monsters:

The Monstrumologist series by Rick Yancey

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link

Dragons:

Eon by Alison Goodman

The Dragon of Trelian by Michelle Knudsen 

Enchanted Forrest series by Patricia C. Wrede

Dragonkeeper series by Carole Wilkinson

Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn

Centaur: 

Deep Secrets by Diana Wynne

Soul Colector:

The Collector by Victoria Scott

Water horses:

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

 Pooka:

Other by Karen Kincy

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull.

Dracons/draki:

Firelightby Sophie Jordan

Talon by Julie Kagawa

Unicorns:

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle 

Greek mythology:

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

Pegasus by Robin McKinley

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

The Devil:

Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

Different creatures:

Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Beautiful Decay by Sylvia Lewis

The Changelings by Elle Casey

The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddel

Barnaby Grimes by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddel

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel by Susanna Clarke

Succubus:

Mesmerized by Julia Crane and Talia Jager

Egyptian mythology:

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

Chimaera:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Djinn:

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

Skin-walkers:

The Darkness Rising trilogy by Kelley Armstrong

Trickster gods and demons:

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (A retelling of Beauty and the Beast)

Original mythology:

Books of Great Alta series by Jane Yolen

Genies:

As You Wish by Jackson Pearce

Selkies:

Seven Tears into the Sea by Terri Farley

Half Human by Bruce Coville

Reapers:

The Madison Avery series by Kim Harrison

Polynesian mythology:

Wildefire by Karsten Knight

Nightmare:

The Nightmare Affair  by Mindee Arnett

[theartgalaxies-blog]

Useful Art Related Websites

Forums/Communities (Many Links Courtesy Of Matt Kohr’s resources page)

Conceptart.org

CG Hub

The Crimson Daggers

Deviantart

Ctrl+ Paint Deviantart Group

Ctrl+ Paint Facebook Page

Wysp

Free Instruction/Tutorials (May at times be NSFW)

Ctrl+ Paint (Highly recommended)

Proko’s Youtube

Sycra’s Youtube 

Mark Crilley’s Youtube

Idrawgirls

Feng Zhu Design Cinema

Enlighten

Reference

Senshistock

(Suggest more of these, maybe? Please make sure they are stock reference, preferably free to use off of deviantart or the posters website.)

Free Figure/Gesture Drawing Tools (May be NSFW) (Many Links courtesy Sycra’s resource page.)

Pixelovely

Quickposes

Sketchdaily

Posemaniacs

Color Scheme Designers & Color Palettes

Adobe Kuler

Color Scheme Designer 3

Colorpod

Chromaa

Color Collective

Color Palettes Generator

Color Hunter

Design Seeds

Colllor

Free digital art programs

Mypaint 

Krita

FireAlpaca

Gimp

[captainevans]

“did chris evans actually jump that high to grab onto that helicopter in civil war?”

friendly reminder that chris vaulted with ease over chris pratt after just telling him less than a minute before that he would be able to clear him if he only put his head down.

[glynnisi]

[byebyeskylark]

I want a Celebrity Obstacle Course show where all the pretty people can show off their hard stunt work for us and also occasionally eat it, because they need to be humbled sometimes. The judges would be career stunt people, to give them visibility, because they work even harder. Shirts optional.

[tygermama]

You wouldn’t even finish the phrase “Celebrity Ninja Warrior” before Chris would start jumping up and doing yelling “Me! Me! Pick me!”

[anotherdayforchaosfay]

Anyone know how to contact Netflix about this?

[musicalninja]

friendly reminder Chris did most of his stunts bc the stunt guys couldn’t move like him.

“One thing we found, too, is Chris can run very fast. He also has a very unique run. It’s almost a dancer’s run. And when we tried to double him for running, there was nobody who could run like him. They just didn’t have the same dynamics or the way he moves. He had to end up doing most of his running.”

“What we also found, is that we had gymnasts come in to do things, and Chris could do the same stuff that they could do, but it would look like Chris Evans. When the body doubles or the gymnasts or the runners did it, it just didn’t look like him. He has such a unique way of moving, and he could pretty much do all of his own physical stuff that wasn’t dangerous. Like this shot right here, we had a gymnast do this, and Chris actually ended up doing it better. That’s Chris here. He hops up on a tank and over a 12-foot wall. It looks effortless but it’s not that easy!”

“Chris worked his butt off for four months doing gymnastics and stunt training so in a scene like this he could go toe-to-toe with Georges St-Pierre and make it look really credible. Once the helmet comes off, 95% of that is Chris, except obviously for that massive aerial kick that he does. I think he did a fantastic job.”

gifs and commentary (blu-ray) above from @sherloques Rehearsal above from @dailymarvel

The really cool thing about Chris Evans is that he’s a super talented, athletic guy. He retains things amazingly well. I mean, I’m blown away. I can show him a 15-punch fight two times, and he’s got it. - Thomas Harper, Stunt Coordinator, CATWS

gifs & commentary from @bealeeve-me

gifs from @aguaman 

[thorndykes-deactivated20161204]

please stop reblogging sylvia plath poetry 

[thorndykes-deactivated20161204]

For ppl asking why she’s an anti black, anti Semite. She has used the n word and compared her depression to the holocaust

[transwolvie]

Even not counting her poetry her private journals are full of disgusting, overblown antisemitism. She didn’t just use Jewish people for her metaphors, she outright hated them irl and yet decided to use their suffering for her own gain

[foulserpent]

here’s a source with some quotes

[meta-hemeralism-blog]

okay, I’m Jewish and I appreciate this sentiment. and if someone wants to cut out Sylvia Plath, go for it, I get it.

But. by this logic we’d also need to stop reblogging TS Eliot, Oscar Wilde, and Shakespeare quotes. Virginia Woolf wrote anti-semetic things in her private journals, too. If you only want to read classic poets who liked Jews and black people, that’s fine, but like. good luck? Sylvia Plath isn’t an exception.

idk. Tumblr’s attitude of “consume nothing problematic” just doesn’t work if you’re part of a group that most culture-creators over the last few centuries have hated by default. For people actually in those groups, it’s not like the only two choices are 1) worship authors who hate you or 2) completely cut the majority of literature out of your life. You learn to read critically and acknowledge flaws where you find them.

anyway, as a Jewish woman, I would much rather see a version of this post that said “please read Sylvia Plath poetry critically because she’s anti black and antisemetic” than just “stop reblogging Sylvia Plath poetry.”

IMO, reblog Sylvia Plath all you want, just not unthinkingly.

[theroguefeminist]

I’m reblogging this now because I’m seeing anti-Virginia Woolf discourse lately due to the antisemitism in her journals and like… as a Jewish person who loves Virginia Woolf’s writing and an English teacher who knows that pretty much every writer of the classics is Problematic just…chill pls

[benevolent-atrophy]

The point isn’t to never consume media that isn’t ideologically pure. That’s never the point. Were that the goal, we would NEVER be able to consume any media. Nothing is ever ideologically pure, especially as time goes on and our social consciousness expands.

We should be telling people instead, “Be critical as you read this person’s work. They held bigoted views. Understand how that is reflected in their work, and be mindful of it. Be critical, be thoughtful”

Compelling others to not engage with something at ALL on ideological grounds is in the same vein as burning books. We should be compelling others to be critical and mindful, not narrow and willfully ignorant.

[libraryjournal]

[signal-failure]

Person with housemates can study.

Person who has spent all their cash on rent and food still has a place to get out of the house and do something interesting.

Cool community classes and community art shows.

ESL tutoring.

Tax prep and forms.

[talixagain]

tbh fuck anyone who says a single bad thing about libraries

[diplotomodon]

Not content I normally reblog but libraries are super important and our world would be diminished without them.

[smallswingshoes]

The library was how I was able to read so many books as a kid that my parents wouldn’t have been able to afford.

[fuckingconversations]

^ I, too, read thousands of dollars worth of books at the library, completely free. It was my haven.

[rniguelangel]

people without homes staying cool in the summer / getting shelter from the cold or rain & resting

[onceandalwaysenglishmajor]

Vitally important! We need libraries.

[bookofmirth]

I lived at libraries as a kid and need to support them more now as an adult.

[aelin-godkiller]

libraries!!! are the shit!! like people who complain about the cost of books or worse, pirate books, like GET TO A LIBRARY. THEY HAVE FREE BOOKS. Legally free books. And a ton of public libraries have interlibrary loan systems so if they don’t have the book in their library, they will find it for you in another one. And ebooks! Libraries have ebooks. Instant gratification. You can read the next book in the series completely for free without leaving your bed. 

Libraries host cool programs and contests and I won a pizza gift card at my library so. That’s really all you need to know. 

[amarguerite]

There's a Weird, Sexist Problem in Fantasy That We Need to Talk About

Why are so many books written by women with adult content classified as young adult? Sexism, marketing, all of the above? Let's discuss.

I’ve noticed it in bits and pieces but seeing all the examples listed together like this instead of isolated incidents on its own makes me so annoyed. (Thanks to @kcrabb88 for finding me the article!)

[systlin]

But seriously, I just read Poppy War, which is a fantastic book but seriously ALL OF THE TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR IT FUCK DAMN IT IS NOT A YA BOOK. 

[rheaitis]

Kuang has reportedly resisted her novel being categorised as YA, but well, publishers.

[systlin]

I can see why. It’s brilliant, engrossing, compelling, and absolutely beautifully written. I devoured it in a single sitting and am very eagerly awaiting more of her work.

But it has a lot of dark, violent, and challenging themes…which are part of what drives it and makes it compelling! And for an adult, that’s fine!

But it’s not a YA work, and the only reason it’s considered YA is because Kuang is a woman.

[la-knight]

Sarah J Maas and Erin Morgenstern have the same problem.

[systlin]

Yep.

[wraythrose]

I haven’t read the books mentioned here...but are their protagonists not teens/late teens/under 21? That’s somewhat how I always saw the “YA” genre as.... (& that means some of the “older” fantasy might also be marketed as YA now...?) Or am I mistaken how the categorising works?

[aesthesiamag]

Yuanxing Liang’s Epic Sculptures

Epic sculptures by Yuanxing Liang, graduate of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts (China) 

[wraythrose]

Soul stealing rocks, seafaring business men and things that go BOOM!

A Review of: Bewitched & Betrayed by Lisa Shearin

Well to start off with, this is the fourth in the Raine Benares series by Lisa Shearin. This book starts a few weeks after 'The Trouble with Demons' with Raine hunting down the souls of six evil mages who had the temerity to escape from the Saghred (a soul sucking rock bonded to our Raine), which included her arch-nemesis Sarad Nukpana who's quite pissed off with her! The first line was a hook, that just kept me reading. Any book that starts with: "I was being chased by a pissed-off naked guy with a knife. A really big knife." is a win! The troubles just add up, she has an umi'atsu bond with Dark Mage Tam and Guardian Paladin Mychael, which if found out by the council will result in her execution... or theirs, which an elf council member with a taste for self- righteous retribution, power and a belief in elven superiority knows about (cliff-hanger from last book - whats he gonna do? :P ), Tam is framed and falsely imprisoned, The sagred steps up its 'seduction' trying to tempt Raine into using it, the head of the Goblin secret service drops by (with dimples! I loved her character!), Nukpana goes on an elf killing spree with a high ranking elf official next on his to-kill list... And the Reapers are back. In force. They would love to suck the souls out of the saghred (unfortunately through Raine which could cause her soul to go bye bye too). So.. fun times, Death, False imprisonment, Assassins, Political Intrigue, Sneaking and Breaking and Entering, Undercover shenanigans as hired 'hitmen', (low-key) Romance, very powerful (threatened) teenagers causing havoc... (Talon and Piaras of course, who else?) And Seafaring Businessmen. Wouldnt be complete without the Seafaring Businessmen (i.e. Pirates) Oh and BIG EXPLOSIONS!!! We also finally get the goods from by-the-book Mychael about his past! Very very juicy, intriguing and surprising insights into his character. :) As to continuing subplots that ran through the other books? We finally get a resolution to the love triangle - Raine Benares, "Tamnais Nathrach, a goblin aristocrat, nightclub owner, and quasi- rehabilitated dark mage" and "Guardian Paladin Mychael Eiliesor, Commander of the Conclave Guardians" as well as being "a master spell-singer, healer, and warrior, lethally skilled in battlefield magic". The choice, while it felt natural and not forced, would have been disappointing to me (I was rooting for the other guy), but the character she choose had been more fleshed out in this book, so it wasn't all bad (I wasnt disappointed)! :P There also wasn't much angst or drama made about it, so that was good too! Also to the supporters of the 'losing' team, we are promised that he will be taken care of and that his fans will be pleased! While the last book seemed to just add trouble to Raine (most of which was resolved of course) it didnt really push the story very forward. This one does, and also sets the scene for more Raine Benares related mischief to happen elsewere in this world! (Goblin courts yay!) All in all? This is a book you shouldn't miss out on, the skill with which these characters are written? You feel like you're right there with them, with plenty of action, lots of wry and witty humour (mostly from Raine!), sexy elves and even sexier fanged goblins (and the snarky sexy pirate cousin), well... you get the gist! If you haven't given this amazing series a go, well I'd highly recommend giving it a try. You wont be disappointed. :) And I can't wait for the next story! Wrayth. (had to use this account, cant use mine yet! :( oh well)

Amazon link to review: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R1NGNPBYGX10VD/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0441018726

Amazon link to book: https://www.amazon.com/Bewitched-Betrayed-Raine-Benares-Book/dp/0441018726/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DP23CW1FBVYG7SW04B2X

[margothsheart]

by Haenuli Shin

[inspredwood]

Date a skeleton 2K17

[idonutusetumlranymoregoogbye]

[artresourcecollection]

dragonsroar:

Since i know i wouldn’t even have the patience to do this unless i made something fancy like this. I’m in an art slump and it’s time to get over it, and if you want, you can do this thing with me.

The point of this isn’t to make a fantastic piece of art every day, it’s to experiment in areas you are uncomfortable with and try out new things.

======

Art reference masterposts: X X (trust me, that will be more than enough)

Great art reference tumblrs: X X X X X

Inspiration: Animeclay | fyeahmonochromeart  | theartofanimation | conceptartworld | creativeuncut | fuckyeahillustrativeart

Other fun/helpful things for ideas/my favorites: color-palettes | strike a pose | pixel art tutorials | colorshipping | monster boy/girl generator | art reference wiki | links of inspiration and advice

====

Phew! Anyway I hope this little project will help. You don’t have to do it for 30 days or anything, you dont even have to do it at all, I just hope it’ll give you a little inspiration to improve!

Lily, OUT.

[quigonejinn]

I got pregnant three years ago. I was 22, it was a brand-new relationship, but I was adamant that I was having a baby. I’ve always taken motherhood very seriously. I was abused — the product of people who shouldn’t have had kids — then adopted. I felt so strongly that this was the most important job of my life. I wasn’t at risk of genetic defects, so during the anatomy scan it didn’t even occur to me that they were looking for abnormalities. Me, my boyfriend, and my parents all went to the appointment, and when they said I was having a girl, my mom jumped up and down hollering as if she were at a football game. My boyfriend cried. I was home alone when I got a call from the genetic specialist who told me that the tests were positive for trisomy 13. I thought that was Down syndrome and thought, Okay, I can do that. But then she started apologizing: “I’m so sorry, these babies usually miscarry. It’s a miracle she’s made it this far.” I said I didn’t understand, and she explained that my baby could pass any day, be still-born, or die soon after. I Googled “trisomy 13” and saw horrific pictures of babies without noses or mouths. I sat there and sobbed while I held my belly apologizing to her over and over and over again. I called my mom and said, “My baby’s going to die. My baby’s going to die.” The doctor cleared her schedule and saw me later that day. She said: “You need to make a decision. You’re already 23 weeks and the state of Ohio has restrictions that impact your options.” She explained I could terminate or carry the pregnancy to its extent. At the time, 24 weeks was the cutoff for abortion in Ohio or else you had to travel to another state. [In December 2016, Republican governor John Kasich signed a law that reduced this cutoff to 20 weeks.] We only had days to decide, and even then there were waiting lists and the expense was horrendous. I had never felt so alone. The counselor said my baby wasn’t in pain and there was no risk to either of our lives if we continued the pregnancy. I thought, Let’s try to make some memories while we can. I really enjoyed being pregnant. I loved having this purpose, and I thought as long as she’s not suffering, I think that her being here with us right now is the best we can do. And so … we tried. At 29 weeks, my ankles and legs got extremely swollen. I was disassociating and became lightheaded, so I left work. I started cramping and ended up in the hospital. There were so many tests, which ultimately concluded that this was an emergency situation. [Jessica was at risk of having a seizure, and potentially dying, if labor wasn’t induced.] I wasn’t thinking, I’m terminating this pregnancy in order to save my life, but that’s what my paperwork said. The doctor was very clear. He said, “You need to decide whether you want to induce now or come back in a week and get your blood pressure checked again — and I will induce you then.” I lived 45 minutes away from any hospital, on a farm without neighbors. It was a bitterly cold January. He was afraid I’d have a seizure and not get to them in time. That worried me, too. But I knew that if I was induced, there was no chance my daughter would survive. Even if I carried her to term, her survival rate was very low, less than 5 percent. Another decision I had to make was telling the doctors that I did not want them to resuscitate the baby. I was in labor for 32 hours. I declined to have her monitored during labor because I didn’t want to sit there listening to her pass away. So they’d periodically come in and quietly listen for a heartbeat. The last time, at 1 a.m., they couldn’t hear it. I made them bring my family back into the room, and about a half an hour later it was time. She was born after three pushes, and at just two and a half pounds. Her heart was still beating, but she didn’t cry or breathe or make any sort of sound. There was mention of oxygen, but I said, “Please, just let her go.” They put her on my chest, and my boyfriend came and cut the cord. She stayed alive for two and a half hours. They called it when her heart stopped. When I made the decision to “voluntarily” induce, I felt like I was picking myself over my child. I wouldn’t wish that on the most evil person on Earth. A funeral director arrived with a huge white cloth. He said, “I have to cover her face so people don’t know when I’m walking down the hall [with such a small body].” I handed her over, and that was the last time that I saw her. I didn’t want a casket on display at the funeral; that tiny box would have been way too much. I collected her ashes a week later. Many people don’t understand why this experience reinforced my pro-choice beliefs. Now more than ever, I firmly believe: No conditions. No restrictions. I can’t imagine being in that situation and being denied the dignity of making a choice. That little bit of control was so empowering. Nobody just wakes up after being pregnant for over 20 weeks and says, “I don’t want to do this anymore.” When Trump said those things about late-term abortion during the debate, I was so angry. What must the rest of the world think of us? I have friends in the U.K. and Canada saying, “What the hell? You can have 30 guns but you can’t have a dignified, comfortable abortion?” And while we’re getting abortions and making painful decisions about our bodies, Trump is fucking tweeting.

Jessica, who had an abortion after 24 weeks, rural Ohio, What Abortion Looks Like In America Right Now (via gorandomshesaid)

[fictograph]

Weapon prop work for Brian McClellan’s POWDER MAGE RPG, which is going to soon be on BackerKit! http://www.brianmcclellan.com/blog/the-powder-mage-rpg-kickstarter-is-live

[haco11old]

Tea Party

https://twitter.com/o10fu/status/817673073356718080

[annalearnslanguages-blog]

Anybody know of any good children’s books in Danish, German, or French?

[languagebow]

Check out this website http://en.childrenslibrary.org/ they have hundreds of children’s books in several languages - and its free!

[norwegian-wool-deactivated20170]

http://www.childrensbooksforever.com/childrenpages/German1.html

[movalentin]

For French- classic children’s stories, easy french poems, short stories

[language-princess]

PERFECT