2023

1. COMMIT TO THE BIT

2. PARTAKE IN THE DIVINE ACT OF CREATION

3. LET THE SOFT ANIMAL THAT IS YOUR BODY LOVE WHAT IT LOVES

Weird, Swedish class portrait

The joke here is that the Swedish term for “student” is “jagharenklockaförettansikte,” which depending on pronunciation can also mean, “I have a clock for a head.”

Yes… ME!!!

I DIDN’T LEARN ABOUT THIS IN DRIVING SCHOOL

Stop says the red light, go says the green

Wait says the yellow light, twinkling in between. 

KNEEL, SAYS THE DEMON LIGHT WITH ITS EYE OF COAL  SAURON KNOWS YOUR LICENSE PLATE  AND STARES INTO YOUR SOUL

THIS IS ALWAYS FUNNY

@irritatedlifeguard I agree with your tags.

I’m just now finding out Anne Frank was bi??? OMG

Yeah okay, those edits were made by her dad, a cishet person - and also her dad, a Holocaust survivor, who would have been brutally aware that when the diary was first published in freakin’ 1947, had he included anything which people could use to demonize his daughter or tar her as some kind of “pervert”, it would prevent the message he was trying to send about the horrors of the Holocaust and the heroism of his daughter from being properly understood and accepted the way he hoped.

That isn’t fair. It isn’t just. But it is reality. If Otto Frank had let this be included in the published version, there’s a large chance the homophobic backlash would have prevented the book from reaching the audience it did and spreading the message it needed to. It was NINETEEN. FORTY. SEVEN. The Holocaust had ended TWO YEARS AGO. The acceptance of LGBT identities was basically nonexistent. Otto Frank made a decision based on the time and place he was living in, about what the world at that time was and wasn’t ready to accept. 

Let me say this as bluntly as I can - I am a bisexual Jewish girl and I would have made the same decision Otto Frank did. Making sure Anne Frank was unambiguously seen as sympathic and heroic was more important. Making sure people weren’t sidetracked from the main issue of the Holocaust was more important. He shouldn’t have had to make that decision, without doubt. Anne Frank’s sexuality (however she would have identified in modern terms) shouldn’t be considered relevant to her status as a hero or a sympathetic victim. But in 1947, it undoubtedly would have been.

Otto Frank survived Auschwitz and lost his entire family (a wife and two teenage daughters) to the horrors of the Holocaust. He hoped that publishing his daughter’s diary would spread awareness and sympathy for the victims of the Holocaust. If he had to make sacrifices to do that - well frankly, so fucking be it. I don’t know who alive today has the right to judge him. 

Thank you for that addition. We cannot blanket demonize people while ignoring context.

R E D

Favorite genre of post

character customization screens are like “you can alter your character’s body type!” and then it looks like this

video game companies be like “we offer a diverse array of skin tones for a wide array of character types”

“we also offer a wide range of unisex haircuts”

continuation of willel in vegas,, they successfully won (stole) money and got some pretty sick shades 💰😎🎰

Disabled lives are not inherently filled with suffering and when they are it’s usually because someone put it there.

I can’t stop laughing at this.

why don't you look at a black cat's fur turning brown in the sunlight and maybe you'll calm down

my boy's time has come

My girl

shading colour tips

hey yall its me the Art Mom™ to help you shade pretty

rule 1: DO NOT SHADE WITH BLACK. EVER. IT NEVER LOOKS GOOD. 

aaaaand thats all i got lol. let me know if there is anything i should add to this list!!

If you’re a visual learner…

I made some Balls of Colour to go with Art Mom™’s post:

Okay… I’m sorry, but as an illustrator, I think this is terrible advice.  This is my opinion, feel free to believe that I’m wrong.   This is purely based on my experience with color and color theory.

1) The don’t color with black thing is valid to an extent.  Most painters will tell you not to use it or to use it sparingly because black will make things look flat and will heavily desaturate your colors if you’re not careful.  I have a problem with telling new artists “DON’T SHADE WITH BLACK OMG NEVAH NOT EVEN ONCE” because there are valid times to use black in shadows, and when you do that, you are telling them that using black is “wrong”, which means they’re less likely to experiment and try new things.  I prefer to say, “as a beginner, try to shy away from using black to shade anything until you learn more about color theory.  Experiment by all means, but here are some other methods that you might like better.”  

2) Telling an artist, especially a new artist to only use a specific color when shading is terrible.  I equate it to giving a math student a formula to plug in on tests, but never telling them what the formula actually is or why they’re using it or why it works.  It’s an absolutely terrible way to teach someone- especially in art.  

There are also so many different ways to color and shade with digital art, telling someone to do it one way is really limiting and not really giving them the best advantage that they have, which is versatility.  Plus with painting, there are SO many things to take into account besides the color of the shadow that is going to affect what color the shadows should be- you have local color, relative color, reflected light, and so on.

Here’s some quick and dirty tips on what I do to shade in my paintings:

A) Color wheel- decide what color the shadow is.  The most common shade for shadows is ultramarine blue (for those who don’t know, it’s a staple paint color for traditional artists) for natural lighting, but experiment, experiment, experiment!  Once you decide on a shadow color, pretend there’s a line going straight through the color wheel dividing it in half.  If you use Ultra Blue, the opposite color is MOST likely going to be yellow depending on your art program, colors in your painting should move toward Ultra blue equallyish (there’s lots of room for fudging, do what looks best!)  Yellow will be a bit of a toss up depending on your painting and executive decisions as an artist.  But basically orange will be shaded with a darker shade of red, red with purple, green with teal, teal with blue, blue is like yellow, dependent on your painting and executive decision.  You might choose an indigo, or something warmer (more greenish/tealish) might suit your painting.  Experiment!  The same works in reverse for painting things lit by direct light AND reflected lighting.

B) Blending Layers- Sometimes you want your shadows to be consistent across the board and don’t want to have to figure out exactly how each color should be altered.  Using a multiply layer with a color on it (and it can be any kind of color depending on what kind of lighting you’re doing) can help you manage your values and keep things from getting disjointed.  This also allows you to change the color of the shadow if you decide it isn’t working out quite how you wanted it to.

C)  Quicker and Dirtier- Sometimes you just don’t want to do any kind of figuring anything out.  You can take the flat colors of your painting, copy onto a new layer, and then adjust that layer’s hue, saturation, and value to find shadow colors that you like (and you can experiment with other color correction tools, don’t be shy, try new things!).  Once you have a good shadow color, create a blank layer mask on the layer and then erase out bits of the mask to get the lighter colors to shine through.

And remember, if the colors look flat when you’re done, saturation is generally a way to breathe more life into things- Shadows don’t have to be just one layer, you can try doing multiple effects and layer multiple colors to achieve the look you want.  Is the green shadow looking a little flat?  Try putting some yellow down in an Overlay layer and see if that’ll help it pop.  

These are only three of the MANY ways digital programs can help us create art.  Experiment!  Try something new!  Don’t be afraid to mess up, that’s when you find the hidden treasures you didn’t know were there!

Now, all that said, if you have not yet, I strongly encourage you to learn some color theory.  Understanding how light behaves and how colors are affected by that and how they interact with one another is something every artist should (in my opinion) take the time to learn.  There are a lot of great free resources online that cover color theory and lighting.  Google is your best friend!  Take advantage of your access to these resources, please!

Since it’s pride month I thought I would share some tips for passing as Non-binary!!

I do not wish to reveal my sex since it only brings about rude comments! However, I will say that despite my sex, I have more feminine features! Not all non-binary people have to look androgynous!! I prefer to look androgynous! These tips are for people like me as well as genderfluid/gender flux people!!

CLOTHING

Feminine:

The first thing to know is that the typical feminine wardrobe is meant to accent more feminine body features! If you want to look more feminine have clothes that are tighter at the waist but slightly loser everywhere else! In general women’s clothes are made more form fitting than men’s clothes, which means they may be slightly uncomfortable to get used to! Color and pattern also plays a part in whether you are perceived as more feminine or masculine! (Personally I do not wear much color or pattern but I’ve researched) Floral pattern, and paisley type patterns in the pastel variety as often perceived as more feminine...depending on how you wear them! Really most patterns that are less geometric, and more abstract are usually seen as more feminine.

Certain fabrics are also considered more feminine, however, fabrics such as crushed velvet and silk are considered fine for both sex’s!! So don’t fret too much when it comes to fabric choice, worry more about fit, color, and pattern!

Masculine:

Men’s clothes are often heavier as well as full figured! Men’s clothes are usually comfort over style and even dress clothes are made to hang slightly off the body! Men’s clothes are also significantly more modest than women’s clothes...boxers are often longer than most dresses, which says a lot about how society views women (but we won’t go down that road today)

If you want clothes that make you look more masculine I suggest you find clothes that don’t conform to the body or are tight around the hips and shoulders, but loose everywhere else! Find clothes with more geometric patterns! Men’s clothes are filled with straight lines and symmetry!

Traditionally masculine clothes are also less bright in color, and usually dull and often monochrome!

HAIR

Feminine:

As much as I disagree with the belief that masculine hair is short, and feminine hair is long...it is much easier to pass as feminine with longer hair! Feminine hair doesn’t have to be long! I’ve noticed that feminine hairstyles tend to frame the face and are usually meant to at least partially cover the face! Traditionally feminine women are hardly seen with short slicked back hair, where men are often seen with their hair out of their face. Short hair, depending on how masculine you face is, can be made to look feminine if cut in the right way! Shorter hair on feminine people tends to be cut in a way that isn’t too sharp! A common theme with feminine presentation is rounder, softer lines!

With longer hair you want it to be kept down or in a more feminine updo! Higher buns and ponytails as well as styles that are parted in the middle of the hair tend to make you present more feminine! Another thing that will make your hair look more feminine is a widows peak! Men have widows peaks as well but if you have an exceedingly straight hairline it may make you look more masculine than you would like!

Masculine:

Typically short hair that isn’t in your face is the way to go! Military type haircuts are overtly masculine if you present in such a way! Shorter on the sides and barley longer on the top is an overly common hairstyle for masculine people. If you’re commented to looking the part you can even have your hair shaved to all one length as feminine haircuts typically have a lot of depth! Getting your hair out of your face (depending on how masculine your face is) will help people see you as masculine! Once again! Men’s presentation is more about comfort than style!

If you want to present masculine with longer hair try getting some form of undercut to add a masculine edge to you longer hair! If that’s not for you try hairstyles that are perceived as more masculine such as Viking braids, low ponytails, and low buns! I would also suggest not having straight ends on you hair because typically feminine presenting people do this!

BODY

feminine:

If you don’t have natural curves aim for a smaller waist because nine times out of ten people will associate a smaller waist with a more feminine aesthetic! You can achieve a smaller waist in many ways such as exercise, and waist training using a waist trainer or even a corset! Although if you plan on using a waist trainer or corset do not wear it for more than 8 hours at a time, and take breaks if you need them!! Also, as much as I hate the stigma that women must shave I would suggest shaving if you end to present more feminine! (Personally I think everyone should shave including men! But that’s just my humble opinion!) Another thing you can do is buy a bra that fits you around and stuff it with socks to give the appearof breasts if you’re interested in going the extra mile! I suggest using fuzzy winter socks that are balled up since they are thinker and look more realistic than regular socks, which tend to look lumpy!

Masculine:

You want to minimize curvature when presenting masculine! Wearing loser fitting clothes won’t always do the trick! You need to wear clothes that hide your hips...and if you are binding properly it should be possible! I suggest wearing longer shirts with now hem at the bottom! Hems cling to the hips which makes them look larger and more feminine! You want to look as much like a box as you can! Straighten your legs and hid you waist! Wear shirts with Seams that protrude slightly from the shoulder, make you shoulders look bigger! Larger shoulders are usually perceived as more masculine!

Now a little psa about binding!!

If you have breasts binding is going to make or break your gender presentation! I recommend G2CB binders because I know that they are a very good brand! Even if you have a larger chest these binders can make you flat! Treat a binder like you would a corset...don’t wear it for more than 8 hours at a time and DO NOT SLEEP IN IT!

FACE

Feminine:

I suggest you use makeup either way but if you have a naturally feminine face then this will just enhance those features! You want to focus on widening the eyes and plumping the lips! If you do not own makeup or are not allowed makeup I suggest buying a tinted chapstick! You want to darken the lips and draw attention to you eyes! You can both those things with a tinted chapstick in a dire situation! Apply it like eyeshadow and voila! Instantly attention is drawn to your eyes! To take things a step further you want to make your eyebrows thinner and your eyelashes curly! You can use an eyelash curler or you can put Vaseline on your lashes and hold them to your eyelid for 30-60s to curl them without! Anyone can make their eyebrows thinner if they have a razor or a pair of tweezers! This will help tremendously in presenting more feminine!

Masculine:

You want to contour your face and give yourself a more angular look! Contour the cheekbones, jawline, Adam’s apple, and cleft of chin/lip! You can also contour your nose but it’s up to what you prefer! If you have thinner eyebrows I suggest you fill them in thicker and possibly learn to add stubble or facial hair with makeup!

GESTURES

My only tip for this is...

Feminine gestures are central to the wrist whereas masculine gestures are more central to the elbow or shoulder!

Crossed arms = masculine

Crossed legs = feminine

Slouching = masculine

Proper sitting = feminine

Hip displacement = feminine

Spreading = masculine

If you want more specific tips I will gladly help!