My roomba is scared of thunderstorms

I was sitting at my desk just a few minutes ago, drawing, and a really loud crack of thunder went off–no power surges or anything, just thunder–and my roomba fled from its dock and started spinning in circles

I currently now have an active roomba sitting quietly on my lap

Humans will pack bond with anything. 

I had a teenage girl come into my tea shop with her mother the other night. She purposely grabbed a teamaker in the most crunched-up looking box on the shelf (got banged around in shipment) and carried it protectively over to the counter. “If something’s in a damaged box I have to get it because I’m afraid no one else will love it,” she laughed nervously.

Not only will humans pack bond with anything, the empathy level of adolescent girls in particular likely has puppy-saving, world hunger-solving, war-ending powers.

I once saw a really bumpy lime at the grocery store, just a real ugly fruit. Later that night my boyfriend & I were driving home from rehearsal at like 11:30pm & passed the grocery store & I stared crying & he said “is it that lime? Do you want to go back and get it?” And I nodded and pulled the car around and bought the lime.

I saw this post once but IT GOT EVEN BETTER

Basically whats happening with US Net Neutrality at the moment. 

A Reminder To American Users:

Keep fighting for Net Neutrality. Even after April The 23rd, keep fighting for US Net Neutrality Laws. Even after April The 23rd, people will still be fighting for Net Neutrality, including 23 state attorney generals, multiple states, and the states, Washington State, Oregon, and soon-to-be California, that have implemented their own net neutrality laws on a state level!

I repeat, even after the 23rd, keep fighting!

Resources For Describing Emotion

Emotions

Specific Emotions

Emotional Wounds

Motivation

Support Wordsnstuff!

Depression: No do thing. Tired.

Me: Okay well. Maybe if I go to sleep super duper early, I’ll get a decent amount of sleep.

Insomnia: You Fool. You absolute goddamn idiot

Insomnia: You Are Awake.

Me: Okay well. Maybe now I can get some stuff done.

Depression: You fool. You absolute goddamn idiot

i have some more tips but i have to get back to homework!!! i hope this was helpful anon

Do you love Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary? Do you shop on Amazon?

If you enjoy the heartwarming photos of happy, healthy elderly pups at Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, there is a really special way for you to support this non-profit group’s continued care for elderly dogs. And it’s extremely simple.

All you have to do is shop on Amazon through this special link.

That’s it.

By using this link to access Amazon, whenever you make a purchase, eight percent (8%) of your purchase goes toward the Sanctuary at no additional cost to you. The process is completely transparent on the customer’s end–you’ll see no price hikes, additional taxes, or anything different about your experience other than a longer URL in your address bar. Amazon simply takes 8% of the funds they receive from your purchase and gives it to the Sanctuary as a donation.

This is a simple, easy, no-additional-cost way for you to shop Amazon as you normally do, but also give back to the Sanctuary and help keep the old pups healthy, happy, and safe. They are non-profit and run entirely through donations, so they could use our help.

I recommend that you replace any bookmark for Amazon with their special link instead, or make a bookmark with that link, so that you will shop through it by default.

This is easy. Beyond making sure you use the link, it requires no additional action on your end.

Lend a paw and help our Old Friends out!

Amazon donates .5%, not 8%. (And for “eligible purchases” whatever that means.)

Not true! Only the Amazon Smile program donates 0.5%, but this is not Amazon Smile. The Old Friends’s Facebook page notes this in their post  and the comments!

So just to clarify, they do indeed receive 8%! Thank you!

BOOST

More How To Draw Manga - Vol. 4: Mastering Bishoujo Characters

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE COBBLER

Really nice recipes. Every hour.

Show me what you cooked!

I thought I’d upload this here too!! full version

GRILLED HONEY LIME CHICKEN

Really nice recipes. Every hour.

Show me what you cooked!

Writing Traumatic Injuries References

So, pretty frequently writers screw up when they write about injuries. People are clonked over the head, pass out for hours, and wake up with just a headache… Eragon breaks his wrist and it’s just fine within days… Wounds heal with nary a scar, ever…

I’m aiming to fix that.

Here are over 100 links covering just about every facet of traumatic injuries (physical, psychological, long-term), focusing mainly on burns, concussions, fractures, and lacerations. Now you can beat up your characters properly!

General resources

WebMD

Mayo Clinic first aid

Mayo Clinic diseases

First Aid

PubMed: The source for biomedical literature

Diagrams: Veins (towards heart), arteries (away from heart) bones, nervous system, brain

Burns

General overview: Includes degrees

Burn severity: Including how to estimate body area affected

Burn treatment: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degrees

Smoke inhalation

Smoke inhalation treatment

Chemical burns

Hot tar burns

Sunburns

Incisions and Lacerations

Essentials of skin laceration repair (including stitching techniques)

When to stitch (Journal article—Doctors apparently usually go by experience on this)

More about when to stitch (Simple guide for moms)

Basic wound treatment

Incision vs. laceration: Most of the time (including in medical literature) they’re used synonymously, but eh.

Types of lacerations: Page has links to some particularly graphic images—beware!

How to stop bleeding: 1, 2, 3

Puncture wounds: Including a bit about what sort of wounds are most likely to become infected

More about puncture wounds

Wound assessment: A huge amount of information, including what the color of the flesh indicates, different kinds of things that ooze from a wound, and so much more.

Home treatment of gunshot wound, also basics More about gunshot wounds, including medical procedures

Tourniquet use: Controversy around it, latest research

Location pain chart: Originally intended for tattoo pain, but pretty accurate for cuts

General note: Deeper=more serious. Elevate wounded limb so that gravity draws blood towards heart. Scalp wounds also bleed a lot but tend to be superficial. If it’s dirty, risk infection. If it hits the digestive system and you don’t die immediately, infection’ll probably kill you. Don’t forget the possibility of tetanus! If a wound is positioned such that movement would cause the wound to gape open (i.e. horizontally across the knee) it’s harder to keep it closed and may take longer for it to heal.

Broken bones

Types of fractures

Setting a broken bone when no doctor is available

Healing time of common fractures

Broken wrists

Broken ankles/feet

Fractured vertebrae: Neck (1, 2), back

Types of casts

Splints

Fracture complications

Broken noses

Broken digits: Fingers and toes

General notes: If it’s a compound fracture (bone poking through) good luck fixing it on your own. If the bone is in multiple pieces, surgery is necessary to fix it—probably can’t reduce (“set”) it from the outside. Older people heal more slowly. It’s possible for bones to “heal” crooked and cause long-term problems and joint pain. Consider damage to nearby nerves, muscle, and blood vessels.

Concussions

General overview

Types of concussions 1, 2

Concussion complications

Mild Brain Injuries: The next step up from most severe type of concussion, Grade 3

Post-concussion syndrome

Second impact syndrome: When a second blow delivered before recovering from the initial concussion has catastrophic effects. Apparently rare.

Recovering from a concussion

Symptoms: Scroll about halfway down the page for the most severe symptoms

Whiplash

General notes: If you pass out, even for a few seconds, it’s serious. If you have multiple concussions over a lifetime, they will be progressively more serious. Symptoms can linger for a long time.

Character reaction:

Shock (general)

Physical shock: 1, 2

Fight-or-flight response: 1, 2

Long-term emotional trauma: 1 (Includes symptoms), 2

First aid for emotional trauma

Treatment (drugs)

WebMD painkiller guide

Treatment (herbs)

1, 2, 3, 4

Miscellany

Snake bites: No, you don’t suck the venom out or apply tourniquettes

Frostbite

Frostbite treatment

Severe frostbite treatment

When frostbite sets in: A handy chart for how long your characters have outside at various temperatures and wind speeds before they get frostbitten

First aid myths: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Includes the ones about buttering burns and putting snow on frostbite.

Poisons: Why inducing vomiting is a bad idea

Poisonous plants

Dislocations: Symptoms 1, 2; treatment. General notes: Repeated dislocations of same joint may lead to permanent tissue damage and may cause or be symptomatic of weakened ligaments. Docs recommend against trying to reduce (put back) dislocated joint on your own, though information about how to do it is easily found online.

Muscular strains

Joint sprain

Resuscitation after near-drowning: 1, 2

Current CPR practices: We don’t do mouth-to-mouth anymore.

The DSM IV, for all your mental illness needs.

Electrical shock

Human response to electrical shock: Includes handy-dandy voltage chart

Length of contact needed at different voltages to cause injury

Evaluation protocol for electric shock injury

Neurological complications

Electrical and lightning injury

Cardiac complications

Delayed effects and a good general summary

Acquired savant syndrome: Brain injuries (including a lightning strike) triggering development of amazing artistic and other abilities

Please don’t repost! You can find the original document (also created by me) here.

Not technically about Steve, but you know.

this is a fabulous resource for all those who write whumpy fanfiction! (is there another kind??)

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells Recipe

Really nice recipes. Every hour.

Show me what you cooked!

My husband is doing an amazing thing you guys… He’s in the beginning stages of making an iPhone app for those who struggle with media triggers associated with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), or suspected PTSD (meaning, you haven’t been professionally diagnosed but you suspect you have it - we’re not trying to leave anyone out here). He has written about the app: “Trigger - PTSD Protection Trigger is an application designed to aid people afflicted with PTSD in their recovery. It primarily helps users avoid recreational media that can cause a psychological relapse. Specifically, those who are affected by violence, sexual abuse, or war. The user inputs what specifically affects them and the app will advise them on what movies or TV shows to avoid”.  So far, he’s made a powerpoint presentation of what he wants to include, which starts (at this point anyway) with a summary of what a trigger is and what the symptoms of PTSD are, statistics associated with those who have this disorder, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, an outreach help source with contacts to The Suicide Prevention Hotline, Rape Abuse Incest National Hotline, The National Domestic Violence Hotline, and Veterans’ Crisis Hotline. The app will also play soothing music and/or natural sounds in the event that something triggers you as a means of distraction. Please boost the shit out of this, guys, and get the word out - this could be the start of something that could help many people. Any and all feedback/comments/suggestions are appreciated.

I know a ton of my followers will benefit from this, as will I. spread the word <3

Tony Ward fall 2016 rtw

Garlicky Potato and Spinach Patties

Really nice recipes. Every hour.

Show me what you cooked!

Tips on Likeness: 1. Basics

Today(Jan 4 2016), I’ll be replying to as many questions/messages as I can, and a several of the questions so far, require a tip/tutorial posting for each. Here is one of them.

The biggest factor in capturing the likeness of a face in any given angle is in correctly studying the proportion of the individual’s facial features in relation to one another. If you study different faces in comparison to an evenly proportioned face (using loomis method), most individuals have certain features that stand out. These are the features that create unique/memorable proportion of the individual’s face that you need to capture in order to get the likeness. Sections to look for the unique proportions (simplified): - overall head shape    - T-zone of the face (eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth) - Jaw size  - head size (hairline above and below) - Ear size ** look for width, length, and overall curvatures in proportion

Exaggerating this unique proportion of the face will enhance the likeness to that person as long as you don’t completely disrupt the rest of the relative proportion of the other features. This is also why good caricaturists are able to capture the likeness of the person even when they go for extreme proportions because they focus on exaggerating the unique proportion that’s already in that person’s face.

(art work by Pete Emslie)

Once you figure out the unique proportion of the person’s face, then you need to figure out the detailed characteristics of each features. There are too much for me to cover in this one article, but the main point is that, You need to separately study different types of each features such as: ( eyes- eye brows- nose- mouth- Jaw line- Cheek line)

Practice each types in different angles. If you’re having trouble with figuring out the angles, pick an actor or actress with the type of feature you want to study(e.g. droopy eyes), and find a video clip with them in it. Pause the video on different angles for you to practice off of.

With the individual’s unique proportion and details of the features in mind, now you need to place the features on to a strong base structure of a face. There are different theories and methods for drawing a base structure for a face. I personally recommend studying the “Loomis method” by Andrew Loomis.

Step by Step:

1. Draw the base structure in multiple angles. 2. Rough-in feature locations. FOCUS on the unique proportion.  3. Render in the features. FOCUS on the detailed characteristics of each. 

If you stare at a person long enough, your eyes get accustomed, and what used to look unusual to you get familiarized and no longer stand out. Thus, to capture the likeness of an existing individual, instead of only referring to a single shot image of that person, studying a group shot is a lot more helpful. This is because if you use a group shot, the contrast between different faces will help the individual’s unique features to stand out constantly.

This may seem like a whole a lot of steps and things to keep in mind just to draw one face but eventually with practice, you’ll get to a point where you no longer need to take all the steps or spend as much time in figuring each out.  

To conclude this long-ass post, I would like to say that, while these are all important skills to practice, also keep in mind that capturing the high level of likeness in face and keeping it consistent is not always the number one priority unless that’s the main focus of the type of work (e.g. portraitures). Some professionals have to balance out how much time they spend on likeness of the face and rely more on broader elements like, colour, hairstyle and outfit in order to spend more time on other areas of the work such as composition, character acting and cinematography depending on the type of work.

So ya.. it’s important but don’t beat yourself up to the point of hating your own work ( - v-) 

Art Tip #107

http://artists.pixelovely.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing/ Here is a great site to practice life/figure drawing.