I'm The Kind Of Human Wreckage That You Love

I wanted the birds to look like they were actually in the space so first thing after doing the draft was to do a lighting study

after that I covered the walls in letters in lieu of a projector/vr headset bc i have neither of those :) Then i take a picture of the section of wall and superimpose the lineart over top of it so I can pencil in the lines

et voila

GIVE IT UP FOR BIRD NUMBUH 5, THE CANADIAN GOOSE, Branta canadensis!!!!

bird 5/14, Bluejay, Cyanocitta cristata

birds 6 and 7: American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis, male and female

BIRD NUMBER 8, (yellow shafted) NORTHERN FLICKERRRRR, Colaptes auratus

genuinely made me start questioning my sanity around day 3, it's half the size the of the goose, WHY did it take me 4 days to finish??

Bird number 9: Red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis

my chains are broken i am FREE. although i did have a great deal of fun with this, the barring on the wings itself took me like four days and i am READY to move on

this was a week and a half of continuous work so please excuse me for getting a little emotional in the bg 🙏

BIRD NUMBER 10!!! The Male Mallard Duck, Anas platyrhynchos

the male and female ones are gonna be posted separately bc they're taking a lot longer lol but yea! super happy i was able to capture the iridescent green of the head, i found metallic green and blue paint at a craft store that really made his head POP. it looks better in person i promise

ALSO!! As this is the 10th one, BIG announcement. The end is in sight!!!!! I plan to finish within the next 3 weeks and there will be a small dedication ceremony/ unveiling happening at the library to commemorate its completion on the 16th of May. If you live in the Western New York region and want to check it out for yourself shoot me a dm!

aaaand another one bites the duck,

we're movin right along with bird numero 11!! The lady Mallard!! Anas platyrhyncos

power couple that they are, here's bird number 12 and 13,

the Northern Cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis

and NOW that they are complete, ITS GO TIME, in the next five days (library's closed for mother's day 😭😭) i need to have the GBH fully rendered, the names of the birds vectored, weeded, masked, applied to the wall, and then painted, plus additional cattails throughout. I may be able to get away with just getting the GBH done in time for the unveiling and then just have the names and cattails added later, but i'm gonna really try to get it all done in time. BUT, i have a plan. Part of why i take so long on these is because i really am just figuring it out as I do it lmao. there have been many a time where i am sitting on top of the ladder googling "how to paint birds" but I think if i take the time tomorro to do all that figuring out how to approach it beforehand, this will go a lot faster. I may also recruit some of my artist friends to help with the placing of the names... hrmm we'll see.

Anyways, shout out to the librarian who tracked down exactly the thing i needed so i could figure out where to place the highlights in my birds eyes, ur the real mvp

Bird number 14 out of 14,

The Great blue heron, Ardea herodius

thank you to everyone who reached out or got excited about this project, it genuinely gave me the fuel i needed to keep going. In total, the 480+ total hrs it took me to cover this wall pales in comparison to how long its expected to spend on there, hopefully imparting a sense of beauty and love for the natural world to the next generation and here's hoping i'm only getting started with these.

Wake up babe, new octopus just dropped

Because there is not a single dinosaur that has ever appeared in Jurassic Park.

Not one. Not in the books. Not in the movies. Not ever.

"Now what John Hammond and InGen did at Jurassic Park was to create genetically engineered theme park monsters." ~Alan Grant

Grant says that in a moment of cynicism. It's part of his arc for the film. But it's not inaccurate. What Jurassic Park has, what it's always had since the very first novel, are "Mostly Dinosaurs".

"And since the DNA is so old, it's full of holes! Now, that's where our geneticists take over!" ~Mr. DNA

It's impossible to recover a fully intact gene sequence from an ancient amber mosquito. Cloning a pure dinosaur would have been completely impossible, and so the park filled in the gene sequence with whatever works. Frog. Lizard. Bird. Whatever they need to get the result they are trying to get.

Every single dinosaur is a chimeric beast made up of mostly dinosaur and a bunch of other stuff that some scientists thought would achieve the appropriate dinosaur-like result.

"Nothing in Jurassic World is natural! We have always filled gaps in the genome with the DNA of other animals. And if the genetic code was pure, many of them would look quite different." ~Dr. Henry Wu

Which, from a writing perspective, is fucking genius. Because now you have a preset excuse for each and every plot hole your movie has.

Like. Why don't the raptors have feathers? Because of the chimera DNA.

Why do dilophosaurs spit venom? Because of the chimera DNA.

Why do T-Rexes have movement based vision? Oh, they don't. But Rexy does. Because of her chimera DNA.

Why is the Spinosaurus so fucking big? Because of the chimera DNA.

Why are the velociraptors mislabeled? Because Hammond's a dipshit.

Edit:

However the drunk guys are also drinking, and eventually she can't afford to buy another pitcher for the table so she can't keep up the ever-full beer glass trick. At this point she has to resort to setting up the pool trick shot that she's never seen anyone but her boyfriend pull off, and says she'll leave with whoever manages the shot first.

A noble and historic source of perversion, today we will breakdown hosiery. Hosiery is the broad term for legwear: tights, stockings, and socks. Appealing for their accentuation of the shape of the legs, as well as their feel (for the wearer and/or the non-wearer), hosiery is a well loved object of erotic desire.

Hosiery comes in various lengths, and falls into three categories that we can further tease apart, so let's begin with definitions.

TLDR: Hosiery venn diagram, more detail and examples below.

Please note: In the sections below I will be referencing accessories, such as garters, as they pertain to socks and stockings, but this is not going to cover specifics of those accessories. They will be discussed further in-depth in an eventual accessories post. This is an overview that covers general styles and materials, but there is always more to learn! You can find part one on brassieres here.

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Socks:

A comparatively thick woven or knitted form of hosiery. Most often shorter, only covering the foot and/or ankle, but can be taller, ranging from calf to thigh. Opaque and typically made from cotton, wool, synthetic, or a blend thereof. Common styles include ->

Ankle socks: Style of sock that hits just below the ankle. Not pictured.

Bobby socks: A style of ankle socks worn with a single fold. Can be plain ribbed knit, or accented with a lettuce hem, ruffle, etc. Pictured: 1940s plain style cotton with saddle shoes, top left; 2010s poly/cotton ruffled style with mary janes, bottom left.

Dress socks: Style of sock that hits at mid calf. Pictured: 2010s black cotton dress socks with vintage sock garters, top right.

Knee high socks: Style of sock that hits just below the knee. Pictured: 1960s red and white cotton, center front.

Over the knee socks: Style of sock that extends over the knee :) Pictured: 1960s green and mustard cotton, center back.

Thigh high socks: A style of sock that extends to the mid to upper thigh. Pictured: modern cotton/poly maroon with athletic stripe, bottom right.

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Stockings:

A thinner, taller (extending from knee length to thigh height), more delicate hosiery compared to socks. Range from sheer to opaque based on denier (see section below tights for visual guide). Historically made of silk, nylon, and rayon, most often made of nylon and spandex today.

Knee high stockings: Style of stocking that hits just below the knee. Can also be achieved by rolling down over the knee stockings, as was popular in the 1920s. Pictured: 1920s rolled stockings worn as knee highs, second from left.

Thigh high stockings: Style of stocking that extends past the mid thigh. Most popular style of stockings. Pictured: Bettie Page in nylon stockings held up with a garter belt c. 1950s, second from right.

Back-seam stockings: Style of stockings with a seam up the back. Commonly associated with "pin-up" fashion as a result of their popularity in midcentury leg art. Pictured: 1950s pin-up in seamed stockings, far left.

Fishnet stockings: Style of stockings fashioned from an open, diamond shaped knit. Can be woven tighter or more loosely to the effect of smaller or larger diamond shaped pattern. Pictured: 1950s pin-up in seamed fishnet stockings, far right.

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Tights:

Full coverage hosiery extending from toe to waist with an attached panty, also called pantyhose. Commonly made from a similar nylon blend to stockings, but can be woven or knitted from thicker materials (like wool blends) more similar to socks.

Solid tights: Style of tights which can range from sheer to opaque that are a smooth, unbroken and unadorned weave. Can be one solid color, split color, skin tone, or have patterns. Pictured: Modern red and orange tights, bottom center.

Fishnet tights: Style of tights fashioned from an open, diamond shaped knit. Can be woven tighter or more loosely to the effect of smaller or larger diamond shaped pattern. Pictured: Bettie Page in fishnet tights c. 1950s, left.

Back seam tights: Style of tights with a seam up the back. Common modern alternative to back seamed stockings. Pictured: 1980s back seamed stockings photographed by Guy Bourdin, top center.

Faux thigh high tights: Style of tights that are woven in contrasting colors or deniers to give the illusion of a thigh high stocking. Pictured: 1990s Jean-Paul Gaultier tromp l'oeil tights with attached garter belt.

Knit tights: Style of tights including pointelle knit, ribbed, fisherman knit, etc. that are woven to achieve a particular texture and pattern. Can be made from synthetics or thicker materials like cotton or wool. Pictured: Mary Quant 1960s light colored pointelle knit tights, center.

Embroidered tights: Style of tights ornamented with embroidered designs. Common examples include embroidered embellishments on the back of legs, swiss dots, words, or floral designs. Not pictured.

Lace tights: Style of tights made from synthetic stretch lace. Not pictured.

Body stocking: While not explicitly tights, I'm adding it here since it doesn't really fit better anywhere else. A style of hosiery that extends from toe to chest, either held up by straps at the shoulder, a cap sleeve, or long sleeve. Not pictured.

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Denier:

Denier, in broad terms, correlates to opacity. It is a unit of measurement that denotes the density and weight of fiber used to make stockings and tights. 1 denier is the weight and density of a single strand of silk, so something that is 60 denier has the mass of 60 silk strands. Denier is a personal preference and fun to explore! If your perversions lie in the texture of nylons, but you also like feet, you may prefer a lower denier stocking. If you're more interested in them as a barrier, shape wear, or to accentuate the line of the leg, something more medium to opaque may appeal.

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Every now and then a difficult period like this comes along: so it's time to request some assistance.

I've kind of been neglecting my vision for the past year or so, aware that I needed new glasses (and to go have a consult for possible eye-related surgery), but putting it off... and now the situation has, as it were, come home to roost.

The other day, when I was typing something and then (to check it before posting) had to pick up the Mac and hold it up to my nose to see what I'd typed... I realized that if this went on much longer, even with dictation (because after you dictate, you still have to edit...), I wouldn't be able to write.

That would be bad.

I need to go see my Eye Lady, get examined, and get both sets of glasses re-fitted with new prescriptions. This—as usual, each time it needs to be done every year and a half or two years, due to Weird Eyes—is going to run into a low-four-figure-ish kind of money. And due to other recent unexpected medical expenses, right now there's not enough dosh around (or spondoolicks or whatever term you prefer...) to get things sorted.

Therefore: can I get people interested in keeping a writer, you know, writing (as I've got three novels working at once at the moment...), to consider doing one of these things?

(a) Go over to Ebooks Direct and buy a book. (Or a bundle. Or a gift card for somebody else who might like my work.) And if you do: thanks so much!

(b) Stop by my Ko-Fi and drop a little something in the pot. It'll be most appreciated.

And if you can't do either of the above:

(c) Reblog this and let other people see it?