Steve

Once I went for the handshake and you said "I am embracing you" and that was a cool new concept for me

YouTube video by Jeffiot The Story Behind This Perfectly Normal Photo

A bit of creepypasta internet archeology that gradually develops into a gorgeous story about the legacy and ownership of art and how these things evolved in early online spaces. It doesn't matter if you don't care about this specific topic, give it a shot.

INTRODUCTION Get a book-size (or paperback-size)d sketchbook. Write your name and date on an early page and maybe think of a name for it — and if you want, write the book’s name there at the front. Make it into your little painful pal. The pain goes away slowly page by page. Fill it up and do another one. It can be hard to get started. Don’t flunk yourself before you get the ball rolling. You might want to draw more realistically or in perspective or so it looks slick — that’s is possible and there are tricks and procedures for drawing with more realism if you desire it. But drawing very realistically with great finesse can sometimes produce dead uninteresting drawings — relative, that is, to a drawing with heart and charm and effort but no great finesse. You can make all kinds of rules for your art making, but for starting in a sketchbook, you need to jump in and get over the intimidation part — by messing up a few pages, ripping them out if need be. Waste all the pages you want by drawing a tic-tac-toe schematic or something, painting them black, just doodle. Every drawing will make you a little better. Every little attempt is a step in the direction of drawing becoming a part of your life. TIPS 1. Quickly subdivide a page into a bunch of boxes by drawing a set of generally equidistant vertical lines, then a set of horizontal lines so that you have between 6 and 12 boxes or so on the page. In each box, in turn, in the simplest way

possible, name every object you can think of and draw each thing in a box, not repeating. If it is fun, keep doing this on following pages until you get tired or can’t think of more nouns. Now you see that you have some kind of ability to typify the objects in your world and that in some sense you can draw anything. 2. Choose one of the objects that came to mind that you drew and devote one page to drawing that object with your eyes closed, starting at the “nose” of the object (in outline or silhouette might be good) and following the contour you see in your mind’s eye, describing to yourself in minute detail what you know about the object. You can use your free hand to keep track of the edge of the paper and ideally your starting point so that you can work your way back to the designated nose. Don’t worry about proportion or good drawing this is all about memory and moving your hand to find the shapes you are remembering. The drawing will be a mess, but if you take your time, you will see that you know a lot more about the object than you thought. 3. Trace some drawings you like to see better what the artist’s pencil or pen is doing. Tracing helps you observe closer. Copy art you like — it can’t hurt. 4. Most people (even your favorite artists) don’t like their drawings as much as they want to. Why? Because it is easy to imagine something better. This is only ambition, which is not a bad thing — but if you can accept what you are doing, of course you will progress quicker to a more satisfying level and also accidentally make perfectly charming drawings even if they embarrass you.

4. Most people (even your favorite artists) don’t like their drawings as much as they want to. Why? Because it is easy to imagine something better. This is only ambition, which is not a bad thing — but if you can accept what you are doing, of course you will progress quicker to a more satisfying level and also accidentally make perfectly charming drawings even if they embarrass you. 5. Draw a bunch more boxes and walk down a sidewalk or two documenting where the cracks and gum and splotches and leaves and mowed grass bits are on the square. Do a bunch of those. That is how nature arranges and composes stuff. Remember these ideas — they are in your sketchbook. 6. Sit somewhere and draw fast little drawings of people who are far away enough that you can only see the big simple shapes of their coats and bags and arms and hats and feet. Draw a lot of them. People are alike yet not — reduce them to simple and achievable shapes.

7. To get better with figure drawing, get someone to pose — or use photos — and do slow drawing of hands, feet, elbows, knees, and ankles. Drawing all the bones in a skeleton is also good, because it will help you see how the bones in the arms and legs cross each other and affect the arms’ and legs’ exterior shapes. When you draw a head from the side make sure you indicate enough room behind the ears for the brain case. 8. Do line drawings looking for the big shapes, and tonal drawing observing the light situation of your subject — that is, where the light is coming from and where it makes shapes in shade on the form, and where light reflects back onto the dark areas sometimes. 9. To draw the scene in front of you, choose the middle thing in your drawing and put it in the middle of your page — then add on to the drawing from the center of the page out. 10. Don’t worry about a style. It will creep up on you and eventually you will have to undo it in order to go further. Be like a river and accept everything.

Posting GARY PANTER'S SKETCHBOOK TIPS to save a life -- the site that used to host these took em down years ago, and they are as useful a list about this kind of thing as you will ever find.

They are like a favorite dogeared paperback to me.

this is so good. I play @pftompkins.bsky.social's body, "Creature" in this demented gameshow: youtu.be/5VI7qgpQmws
at 1:18 in, you can see a shot of my face that I did not think would be visible in this particular setup

The good thing about it being so hot is we get to talk about the 90s (sign of the cross)

YouTube video by Filter Filter - Hey Man, Nice Shot (Official HD Music Video)

Hey man

any mass media platform where center-right, pro-business politics isn't the dominant paradigm is inevitably going to be maligned in this way by wealthy and powerful people trying to dictate the contours of acceptable discourse

they've been playing this game (quite successfully) for a generation

"The Only Protest They'd Accept," from 2020

Ah chess, two can play at that game.

my most Gen X coded belief is that cities and the culture at large suffer profoundly for the near-complete death of alt-weeklies

Why are these cups so tiny?

Unironically they should buy up the domains for about 60 defunct local newspapers in swing states. Hire two reporters to write almost exclusively about highschool sports and new restaurants opening with every 10th article about how the local GOP is screwing over people.

an anthropomorphic fox character, wearing robes and a cloak that suggest he's a ranger or rogue. he has your classic shifty animated fox disposition but with curly fur around his head that suggests a medieval type of hairstyle and a little tuft of red as a beard. notably he has his ears and tail chopped off, leaving little white tufts on his head and a puffy nubbin for a tail

Red, from Dice Shame
#artpost

'Stop Sending These Stained Clothes': Fast Fashion Is Destroying These Cities— and Lives See fashion's last stop, the places where your used clothing is harming ecosystems, polluting the environment, and driving often-dangerous markets.

This Earth Day, we're looking back at what really happens to your used clothing.

This is fashion's last stop, where your used clothing harms ecosystems, pollutes the environment, and drives often dangerous markets. Read more here ⤵️

eggcredible

no trans woman ever took my nintendo

A pen drawing of John Carpenter with luscious long hair wearing a cobalt blue corduroy suit, a floating gun. To Paul Osborne

@paulmakesmovies.bsky.social

yo

The finished heads look great, but that brush on silicone reminded me of sort of a cronenberg bubblegum and it caught my eye. Fantastic work

I love your art! Could you explain what's the process with that 2nd pic, with the flesh chimp head?

Stuff like this is perfect because it shows how utterly devoid of creativity genAI evangelists are.

Great you recreated a photo that already exists in a drawing style that only has currency because of who you're stealing it from giving the world something with absolutely no value or meaning.

These reviews have been excellent.

RobertJowneyDunior

I know a lot of people are boycotting Amazon, which is great, but it's hurting a lot of trans authors.

Trans authors: Drop links to your NON-AMAZON book listings/storefronts.

Cis people: Repost, boost, and, importantly, buy. Part of boycotting an evil corporation is supporting the alternatives.

If I lost $150 billion dollars without having produced at least 300 personal project films and records and books and the like, I'd never show my face in public again.

Democrats in Congress holding up black signs that say "CUM" in white letters.

He's finished

I triple-dog dare you