I know this was posted a million tumblr years ago but it's... STILL bothering me so rant forthcoming! This... was just so heartbreaking... like I seriously took the Pini's behavior personally because Elfquest was a HUGE inspiration to me as a kid and Leetah has always had a special place in my heart as a character (because representation IS important don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise) and I've considered cosplaying her many times. I still have trouble understanding why so many white cosplayers are so OBTUSE about brownface seriously. Just don't do the thing. Its like every damn halloween when all the articles go around asking "is your costume racist?" Probably. Wear. Something. Else!
Posting from mobile and won't let me make a cut so tl;dr I guess.
Its offensive to treat brown skin like a costume because poc and especially darker skinned poc everywhere have to deal with BS specific to their skin color that white people don't ever have to, its dehumanising and disrespectful to dress up to look like people who get discriminated against for FUN. I guarantee you many poc have had experiences where they wish they could just wash their skin color off at the end of the day. PLUS it usually looks TERRIBLE :p I've seen some white cosplayers whinge about it cos nobody gets mad about dressing up as blue or green or purple-skinned people COS THATS TOTALLY THE SAME THING? What would you do if a suddenly real purple person came up to you and told you your purpleface was offensive- make up another fucking fictional skin color for your justification??
Cosplayers already rank so low on the "geek hierarchy" for having the NERVE to be SO openly geeky. Black cosplayers get called the "ghetto" version of whatever character they're dressed as, women who dare to show any skin dressing as characters usually designed by MEN get creeped on (and omg don't get me started on the creepy creepy treatment of mlp cosplayers by bronies)... People post photos without permission to point and laugh, women, poc, fat cosplayers, cosplayers who aren't super goodlooking, or technically skilled at making stuff ALL get majorly harassed and god forbid if you're several of those things HOW DARE YOU HAVE FUN IN PUBLIC. USUALLY even at a place where THE ENTIRE PURPOSE is nerds getting together to have fun in public.
It's gross behavior that stifles creativity and that will always be really infuriating to me. Personally it hasnt been something I've experienced much because my cosplay wishlists have always been entirely giant robots and power armor. :P Currently daydreaming about Striker Eureka, Samus, SEVERAL transformers, Bunny/Barnaby Brooks Jr, and the yellow Power Ranger I share a name with (another special place in my heart for her! She came on tv at a super important impressionable time in my nerdy childhood for sure). But cosplayers deserve to oh I dunno, NOT get harassed, whoever they are.
This is an art/creativity blog. So before anyone gets mad that I made some sort of "sjw" post instead of art just know that you can't divorce that stuff from reality. POC are artists and nerds too, OBVIOUSLY. I know people in general have trouble treating each other with respect but just... try? Its worth doing. This specific way of treating people decently is NOT that hard. Dooooon't brownface. THE END. Kinda dreading any attention this might get me but it's just been on my mind so much cos I'm going to get back into cosplay this year and I just wish it was possible to be a huge nerd and have a good time without also risking having to deal with tons of BS over it? Maybe?
....That would be great ffff
Planning to Honeybee at Wild Wild West Con, btw :D STEAMPUNK ROBOT BEE FAIRY BALLERINAAAA
This is something I’ve been putting off writing for at least a month, because it’s been so hard on me. When I say hard, I mean just kind of spirit-breaking to even revisit in my memory. If you care about what I am saying, if you really care about racism in the artistic industries and such, SHARE THIS. Read this, and if you REALLY feel it, SHARE IT. Please.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I adore - sorry - adored ElfQuest. Wendy and Richard Pini were my role models for a long long time. I started reading the series when I was very very young. Sure, there’s questionable content, but to me it was a fantastically constructed world. There was also something about it that stood out to me in bright vivid colours.
There were elves of colour in it. Deep, rich, beautiful brown elves with their own distinct (although vaguely familiar) culture. Elves in a fantasy setting that felt no need to be justified. Elves that I, as a minority individual, could cling to and feel as though I belonged to their world.
Now, if you have already made your mind up on whether or not you want to accept what I’m going to write, don’t click on. If you become offended, if you decide to come after me for writing this, be very very aware that you were warned that the content of this may upset you. You had the choice to move on, and to be ignorant of the following information.
Read More
I'd like to keep this going as often as possible. Especially lately because drawing has been... well. What I've been doing looks like the activity of drawing, but the results look like I shoved my pen up my nose and repeatedly slammed my face against the pages. Ngh. ANYWAY here are past ww posts for perusal, maybe it'll spark some interest.
Discuss?
tyuran answered your question: Are there any beloved stories/series you’ve read/watched that have heavily influenced the feel or content of any of your own ideas?
Definitely Dinotopia... and DEFINITELY everything Myst. Oh dear god Myst, Riven, URU, even the novels (tho I wasn't impressed with the... quality of writing... just the world itself is so so so so so so so wonderful). I replay all the games every few years because they are just so much everything I love. EVERYTHING. I loved it when I learned the D'ni civilization was in a cave in New Mexico, I love all the damn soundtracks, I love that the ten thousand year political history of the entire civilization is plotted out, I love the beautiful language, the base5 number system (which I will admit I did NOT solve in Riven on my own), and of course all the wonderful wonderful art that has gone into creating the cultures and the Ages. Nfffhfhfhhfhahajdfhkas. MYST.
fairy experiment I guess?? jewelry wire, pantyhose egg, continuous rotation micro servo, ornithopter blueprints (not pictured :p). one thing that has been holding me back from playing with animatronics was the fact that there are ZERO!! resources for hobbyists (theres stan winston school but I'm too broke for the courses aaand they dont have a handheld fairy class, lol) So I took my time to research everything orthogonally related (RC planes, hobby robots) and even got a mechanical engineering textbook lol HEY LISTEN we'll just see how it works out xD
I love animated music videos and I love 70's inspired graphic design and I love clever combinations of 2D and 3D animation and I love this!
Rabbit with *~sparkly~* pink pincurls because I said so. I started doing more with this because I have too many fancy design elements not to, but not the time to complete it right now…which is annoying cos that’s my favorite part :C Yes, clipart and filters are my favorite part, leave me alone
SPG’s new album is SO great, YOU NEED IT, I love albums that tell a whole story, I love rock operas, I love SPACE, SO MUCH!! My favorite songs are SteamJunk, Sky Sharks (with my bb Professor Elemental, squeeee), Oh No, and Necrostar *3* BRING IT INTO YOUR LIFE~
hey sorry I know this is late since u made that post last year but I rEALLY need to know. How did u make your face all skull-like? did you make the skull mask yourself?
Sorry Im so bad about replying to messages! I got the mask from http://www.mostlydead.com/products/skull-makeup-effects-appliance-maskIt was actually kinda small for my face but its really meant to be worn with a hood. I definitely want to sculpt my own someday but this one is great! Theres lots of skull prosthetics out there but that ones my favorite, most of them try to make it look angry/"evil" and I have Opinions about that. ;p
Oh lordy how did I not know you went to CMU?! You've been such a huge influence on me artistically; I think I had every single thing you'd ever posted on DA saved in a folder when I was in high school. I can't believe you went to CFA!Just so you know, nothing's changed (I'm in Drama, but its still a Fine Arts degree). I'm having a huge struggle finishing because I feel like the only thing I'm learning is how to be pretentious. My professor claims everything I draw is anime and unacceptable and I'm banned from using digital. The only medium we're allowed to use for renders is watercolor, which I despise with a passion. I get so caught up in trying not to fail out that I've been in an artistic rut for years. I'm sorry someone as talented as you was treated so terribly. It really seems like CMU can't appreciate anyone who deviates from their narrow worldview.I was in CS before I was in Drama and don't get me started on that....ug.
Well I gotta say I'm not exactly forthcoming on the internets about rough times in my life nor am I keen about turning this blog into incandescent rants about my thoughts on the structure of modern art schools... aha. But. That divide between fine/"high"/contemporary/SERIOUS art and design/commercial/art-as-trade/"low" art is unbridgeable in an academic setting. I certainly didn't know anything about any of this at the time, I'd already been burnt out from attending an extremely competitive high school, and I just didn't have the confidence to turn down such a great opportunity in order to find my own way (and find a school that was a better fit). The irony is still that I do take my art very seriously, just not in the omg-I-am-so-deep-and-challenging kind of way that professors want at critique time where developing any kind of technical skill is an afterthought. I had nothing against the art that goes in contemporary exhibits that make you feel like you're being trolled (if you don't find this pile of broken glass on the floor to be the most deep and mind-blowing work of the year you are a PHILISTINE) if you don't "get it" until I went to art school. Its the environment of insisting that true art is anything and everywhere and all points of view are valid when they clearly aren't just... made me so sour yep I'm ranting
Deep down I've always known what kind of artist I was/am and as a square peg being told I could fit into that round hole if I only tried harder!! well its no huge surprise that didn't work out. I do want to finish college someday but I'm interested in biology/medical illustration due to it being the best way to combine my love of art and science :D Also I just really really really want to take lifedrawing classes where you observe surgery instead of models!
I wouldn't take any of it back since I learned so much from it, I just also hope one day to have learning experiences that are hmmm... more enjoyable lol
Uploaded as many old pics of elfclothes as tumblr would let me. I suppose SOME kind of progression is visible here...
man i draw a lot of clothes
I didn't realize you were doing worldbuilding Wednesday every week! xD So last week I was the one talking about having a crapload of races in one world. I know there are way too many races for me to focus on anything- there are at least 20. I just love making new ones! So I tried splitting them up but I'm finding it extremely difficult because in my mind they're all connected somehow and it's impossible for me to sever the links. Do you have any advice?
gosh I don't really know other than what I mentioned. You have a few options imo:
1- relocate them to other worlds (not working for you though)
2- combine similar races into one race for each ecological/cultural niche
3- rank/prioritize, even if they all share a world some races will be more dominant than others, figure out which are more populous, which control more land, which are isolated (more likely to have smaller numbers), which are more warlike and industrious etc etc. Then use that info to figure out how that will influence your stories. Giants are a bit of an isolated minority race in my world (they are basically yeti and can only live where it's cold) but they founded the dominant religion and have a broad cultural influence and mystique about them.
4- embrace them! you have too many races, you are simply doomed to write lots and lots and lots of stories :) You'll still have to pick some favorites to start with though, stop telling your children you love them all equally they know it is untrue
I'm the flakiest artist to ever flake uuuugh. Sitting on a bunch of half-inked or half-colored works-OHNOsomethingelseIwannadrawimmediatelyONTOTHEPILEWITHYOU- will I finish?? Ever?? WE JUST DON'T KNOW.
questionstar.org & questionstar@deviantart. I like to make art, friends, costumes, trouble, and history this is an art/creativity/rambling blog where I complain about art more often than I actually post it!
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