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BREAK THE POST

Y'all, I’m barely 13. I’m barely 13 and my mom kicked me out. My dad can’t come get me till july and I have nowhere to go. I can’t take my cat, or even most of my belongings. Please, somebody donate to my paypal to help the transgender 13 year old so they can survive.

if you’re anything like me, working on a computer is a dangerous thing. i’ll get distracted by everything - that one email i should respond to, all the pictures of my dog, tumblr, and so on. I recently discovered an amazing resource to stop that.

it’s called writer’s block, and is free to download! 

when you open it, it shows this screen, where you can choose either a time limit or word goal

then when you start, it opens a document that fills the entire screen like this

and you cannot quit the app or open anything else until your word/time quota is filled. i just wrote half of my english speech that i’ve been putting off all morning, and it took only 20 minutes!

Clarke doesn’t know Bellamy poisoned his sister to save her.

for all the artist following me

Have two sketchbooks: One for finished and high-quality art (stuff made with Prismacolor or Copic if you use that or art for your portfolio) and the other sketchbook for more messy doodles. This way you have a place to try new things and mess up as much as you need. When I only had one sketchbook I was scared to draw in it because I didn't want to mess it up

Do studies. I cant tell you how much I've improved just by doing studies of shoes, hands, noses, and all that. This works for when you have art block too since you’re not really making stuff up and just learning how real things work.

Learn from others. I’ve never taken a real art class because 1. I can’t afford it and 2. there’s no good art classes/programs at my school. I’ve been following several artists and learning from them over the years and they’ve helped me tremendously. Just please do not steal art because that is never okay.

Break down concepts. If you notice there’s something wrong with your piece then figure out why. You can’t get better if you leave mistakes and don't try to understand whats going on. If the color is weird figure out if the values look right or maybe its the saturation of the color.

Watch youtube tutorials. Here are some youtubers I think are pretty good art teaching all things art: Draw with Jazza |  DrawingWiffWaffles |  Proko |  Baylee Jae

Have an inspiration folder/blog. Sometimes you just need a collection of starry nights or a misty forest or even a French bakery. All of those things can help you get inspired to draw. It could even be completely unrelated to what you plan to draw.

There are no dumb ideas in the creative process. If you want to draw a lizard in a dress go for it! If you want to draw various pastries with faces do it! Don’t let the thought of it being too dumb stop you because if I’ve learned anything in my several years of drawing it’s that an idea can lead to another and another and another and you may get a really good idea just from doodling dumb things.

Here’s a few things that can get you started on drawing better:

Dynamic poses | Dynamic clothes | Dynamic figure drawing

COMPOSITION | PERSPECTIVE | CONSTRUCTION

Anatomy:

Legs

Arms

Hands

Heads

Body (Female) (Male

Color Theory

Improving your sketchbook

omg dont be ashamed at all!! Hands are generally tough to get used to, lots of artists struggle with it! so dont be ashamed i feel you.

and I actually have made a hand anatomy guide before in fact! If you want to get better at drawing hands I def recommend you learn the basic anatomy first. Please check out the ones I made, I try to make it simple and easy to understand:

Artistic Anatomy: Hands Part 1

Artistic Anatomy: Hands Part 2

There’s my guide to the anatomy, but here’s some more tips that I’ve noted to myself that I’d like to include

First off, I’d like to just note on the fingers: if you pay close attention to your own hand, you may notice the fingers are ever ever so slightly curved inward. It’s a very subtle detail, but I noticed that, despite how slight it is, it can make a hand look more lively, and less stiff.

Second, the “M” on the palm! Your hand moves in many ways, and because it does it creates creases in your hand. The most prominent creases appear to make an M shape; this is handy to remember for what I’m going to talk about next. (It also could be a “W” I guess, or to be more specific a “ )X( “; just think of it in whatever way helps you remember!)

SO now that you see the M, draw your hand as a basic blocked shape and add your details. As you do, you can see that the M divides the palm into four basic parts!

When the hand moves, parts A, B, or C of the palm, alone or in different combos, will create the general poses that the hands do normally. These parts are the parts that move, with D being stationary, no matter what!

Here’s a chart of all the possible combos. Once you have down what part of the hand moves for a certain pose, you can change up the fingers and tweak it a bit to do what you need to make it more specific!

This is simply my method of drawing hands. God knows there are hundreds of tutorials out there by other artists, but personally, this way helps me the best (after learning the anatomy first). 

This way I can divide the hand and combine the parts in any such way I need! 

Hands take a lot of effort to grapple, and you need to practice them a lot, especially foreshortening of the hand; that’s really something you need to learn through your own studies. Look at your own hands, draw hands from life, from magazines, shows, comics; just draw hands! You’ll eventually figure out a method that works best for you. So to get better at drawing hands; draw hands!! And don’t stress over it, have fun with it!

hey hello hi!!! it’s been ages (6 months?!) since my last masterpost, and i’ve been seeing so many great educational apps on the google play store. so here’s a list of some educational smartphone apps that you should check out! 

disclaimer: i have not used most of these applications (i generally don’t use study or even productivity apps), so i’m recommending them based on reviews!

general education

curiosity [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] curiosity is a super cool app that’s all about learning new quirky facts! every 24 hours new content is released, including mind-blowing science, history and technology facts. it’s like having the best museum and the most fascinating library at your disposal.

coursera [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] with coursera, you can access more than 1,000 courses and specializations developed by 140+ of the best colleges and universities in the world, and master subjects from python programming and data science to photography and music.

edx [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] edx provides free online courses from the world’s best universities and institutions. there are so many topics to discover, including computer science, engineering, history, psychology, nutrition, big data, statistics and hundreds more. with edx, you have the flexibility to learn on your schedule. it is free education, when and where you want it.

khan academy [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] khan academy allows you to learn (almost) anything for free. browse over 10,000 videos and explanations at your fingertips in math, science, economics, history, and much, much more. sharpen your skills with over 40,000 interactive practice questions with instant feedback and step-by-step hints. khan academy is a wealth of resources and it’s all free!  note: i really really recommend khan academy! it is super helpful and there’s also the free sat prep (and the upcoming free lsat prep for people interested in law school)!!

udemy [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] udemy is your place to learn real world skills online. with over 32,000 online courses and tutorials, offered in more than 80 languages, you can choose from a wide range of topics to inspire creativity, hone your skills, be your own boss, and more. courses in everything from programming, it & software, business, marketing and entrepreneurship, health, design, languages, music, and much more.

goodwall [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] goodwall is basically a social network for students - you can share your skills and achievements and win scholarships (and even be recognized by colleges and universities!) when you join, you are eligible for a $500 weekly new student award, in addition to the $1000 student of the month scholarship. people seem to think that it’s a great way to connect to other motivated students throughout the world (obviously the studyblr community is The Best ;) but here’s an awesome alternative!)

schoold [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] schoold is a super cool app that allows you to find information on 3000+ colleges and 25k+ scholarships by major and admission chance. It also offers free college counseling (advice on applications, financial aid, majors, and careers) and future planning tools! 

science

phywiz [ play store, free ] need help with your physics homework? phywiz provides step by step solutions for questions in over 30 physics topics, including kinematics, forces, gravity, and quantum physics. ask phywiz a question like "if mass is 6 and velocity is 7, what is momentum?“ and get your answer immediately. many of the positive reviews call it “one of the best apps i’ve ever used”.

little alchemy [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] [ website ] this is such a cute game where you start with four elements and combine them to create interesting, fun and surprising items. it’s definitely addictive!

chemistry quiz [ play store, free ]  500+ quiz questions covering the elements, the periodic table, bonding and interactions, matter and mixtures, chemical reactions, acids and bases, organic chemistry, nuclear chemistry, history of chemistry, and labs.

skyview [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] a beautiful and intuitive stargazing app that uses your camera to precisely spot and identify celestial objects in sky, day or night. it’s a great app for people who love space but don’t want to purchase fancy equipment to enjoy its beauty. you can see what each star and planet is and where it’s going. be sure to calibrate it first!

coding

encode [ play store, free ] encode is packed with bite-sized coding lessons that combine succinct explanations and clear real-code examples. it is a wonderful way for beginners to start programming.

sololearn has a ton of apps that are all about learning to code: java, c#, python, javascript, c++, etc.!

programming hub [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] your one-stop solution to learn all of the top programming languages! you can learn c, c++, java, html, javascript, r, css, vb.net, c#, python 2.7, python 3, linux shell scripting, swift, sql, jquery, and assembly 8086. there are over 1800+ pre-compiled programs with output for practice and learning. a new feature seems to be the programming-related interview questions that can help you prepare for a job interview!

codenza [ play store, free ] codenza is a dictionary of 3000+ ready-made computer programs: the ultimate coding encyclopedia for university curriculum. codenza covers everything from computer graphs to artificial intelligence! note: codenza does not teach programming. it only provides programs and offers explanations for the more complex programs.

math

cymath [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] [ website ] stuck on a math problem? cymath allows you to enter your problem, and helps you to solve it step-by-step. topics include pre-algebra, algebra (equation solving, factoring, logarithms, exponents, complex numbers, quadratic equations, trigonometry, partial fraction, polynomial division, etc.), and calculus (product rule, quotient rule, chain rule, u-substitution, integration by parts, integration by partial fraction, trigonometric substitution, rationalizing substitution, etc.)

photomath [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] math is full of symbols that we are inconvenient to type, and photomath solves that problem: simply point your camera toward a math problem and photomath will show the result with detailed step-by-step instructions. there is a new feature of handwriting recognition as well!

mathway [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] [ website ] yet another math problem solver! this one allows you to type your problem or scan a picture of your problem. mathway covers basic math, pre-algebra, algebra, trigonometry, precalculus, calculus, statistics, finite math, linear algebra, chemistry, and graphing. one flaw seems to be that you need to be online for it to work, but otherwise, it’s a fantastic tool!

history

history timeline [ play store, free ] okay, woah. this is a detailed timeline of world history with thousands of entries! it includes world history (events, nations, leaders, and wars) AND history of science, art, literature, music, and philosophy.

today in history [ play store, free ] [ similar apple, free ] for the history enthusiast who wants to learn something new every day: today in history tells you what historical events happened on that day! it works offline and you can choose from over 50 languages.

ancient history encyclopedia [ play store, free ] [ website ] thousands of informative and reliable articles on ancient history. articles are written with students in mind and are carefully reviewed to ensure accuracy, and are easy to read. 

languages

duolingo [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] one of the leading language learning apps, duolingo gives you the ability to learn english, spanish, french, german, italian, portuguese, dutch, irish, danish, swedish, russian, ukrainian, esperanto, polish, and turkish for free. you can practice your speaking, reading, listening, and writing skills and improve your vocabulary and grammar.

productivity

forest [ play store, free ] [ apple, $1.99 ] forest is a cute productivity app that keeps you off of your phone! you set a certain amount of time, and during that time a tree ‘grows’, but if you use your phone before the times up, the tree dies. :( 

habitica [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] have you heard of ‘gamification’? habitica is an app that allows you to gamify your tasks! check off tasks to level up your avatar and unlock features such as armor, pets, skills, and even quests! it’s a great way to have fun while being productive! note: habitica is another one of these apps that i’ve actually attempted to use - it is super cute and it’s definitely a great way to stay on track!

timetune [ play store, free ] timetune is a great app for people who have established a daily routine or would like to. you can set up a routine (or multiple routines) and add your daily tasks. it can be used as a daily task reminder, student calendar, timetable planner, routine schedule organizer, routine optimizer, habit creation tool, daily time manager, or daily planner.

ike [ play store, free ]  ike is a to-do list that uses eisenhower’s priority matrix. you can organize your tasks by importance and urgency, and add all sorts of details such as due dates and location reminders.

habithub [ play store, free ] habithub is based on seinfeld’s productivity secret, which involves building long streaks of days that will motivate you to keep moving forward. (snapchat for habits? i think yes!) it includes a full calendar view for every habit, reminders, compatibility with smartwatches, the option to write notes every day, more flexible goals, the ability to categorize your habits, and graphs that show you how you’re doing. the interface looks beautiful and people seem to love the abundance of settings.

pomotodo [ play store, free ] [ apple, free ] there is an abundance of pomodoro timers in the app store, and pomotodo is one of them! pomotodo easily syncs across platforms, has advanced to-do list options, the ability to customize pomo and break times, offers background noise to keep you focused, and sends you weekly email reports to help you track your productivity. i don’t want to list a ton pomodoro apps in this masterpost, but here are the many options on google play store!

alright, that’s all i’ve got for you today !! i hope that this was helpful, and feel free to send me an ask with any questions, suggestions for future masterposts, or your recommendations for other study apps/websites!! :) have a great day!