Current Fav Fandom. TenCount

So earlier today I found the French versions of the TFTDW, which if you don’t know, is a series of 8 small stories pertaining to characters in Heavensward. You can read them all here.

The final is titled Thoughts Unspoken and includes a letter Haurchefant penned but never sent to the Warrior of Light during their journey to the Churning Mists. Bittersweet, of course, but even more so in the French version, which is titled “Intimate Confessions”

You can read it here if you like, which you should if you are a francophone because there are a few gems in it, but for those of you who cannot speak French, here is a translation of Haurchefant’s letter. Read it and weep. 

(Disclaimer: I am not a native French speaker so there may be some mistakes. I did my best.)

I stared at him.

He stared at me, eyes watering.

“Now listen,” he said, forcing himself to remain calm as he held his rapidly-becoming purple thumb. “-That’s a word we say ONLY when we’re Really, Really hurt. Now go get your mother.”

And for an improvised moment of parenting, that was actually brilliant because I was a clumsy, uncoordinated child and was basically constantly falling, running into walls, knocking shit over and generally sounding like I was involved in a fatal accident in the other room, but now my parents knew not to worry unless they heard the reedy voice of a pained elementary schooler shrieking “SHIT!”

A little update <3

I’m so happy to tell you all that I’ve made great progress with my mental health!! To genuinely be able to say that I feel happy is so liberating and free! I know a lot of you are still in that dark place. I’m here to say that it does get better. Much better! I still have some tough days but progress is progress! Be kind and gentle to yourselves. I love you all and thank you to everyone who’s supported me over the years!

Here’s links to my commissions and projects! Commissions Animal Crossing Commissions Animal Crossing Tarot Cards Tarot Readings Seth In Space

Tutorial time: How to sew inset corners! A really useful skill that a lot of people have trouble with. Mastering this technique will enable you to piece together seams with difficult angles, and also help improve your precision and dexterity overall.

There are probably multiple ways to do this, but here is the method I learned from God Save the Queen Fashions​ when I was her intern.

1. Start by marking the seam allowances on the back of your fabric to find the exact point at which your corners intersect. On the piece which will be the outer corner (blue in my sample) I have marked the entire length of the seam allowance for clarity. I sometimes do this when sewing complex shapes. On the piece which will be inset (pink here), you can just mark the corner itself.

2. This is just three different views of how the pieces should be pinned and positioned. With the right sides of the fabric together, push a pin through the exact corner of your outside piece (blue) and then through the exact corner of your inside piece (pink) so that they are brought together face-to-face at this point. Pivot the fabric pieces until edges line up along the first side you will be sewing, then prepare to feed it into your machine. When sewing, it will be easier to keep the outside piece (blue) on top.

3. Stitch along the first side, removing the pin before you reach it. On the final stitch, make sure that your needle lands in the exact corner where the pin was. With the needle still engaged in the fabric, lift the presser foot. This is now a pivot point.

4. Pivot the fabric around so that you are looking at the inside of your corner. With a pair of very sharp, narrow snips, clip through the top layer as close as you can possibly get to the needle itself.

5. Pull the other side of the top piece around until its edges line up with the other side of the bottom piece. This opens up the cut you just made. You should be able to fold down the excess fabric fairly neatly if your corner is clean. Once you are in position to sew the second side, lower the presser foot.

6. Stitch along the second side and tie off your thread. Once you remove it from the machine, you should have something like this. The blue fabric is still folded up in my hand in this image so that you can see both sides of the corner.

7. Unfold your fabric, lay it flat, and enjoy the excellent corner you have sewn. If yours isn’t as crisp as you’d like it to be, press it flat with an iron or consider top-stitching, as shown in the first image.

Practice will make you better at this. When I first learned, Cathy made me sew like ten in a row until they looked better than the one in this sample (sorry, Cathy). If you’re having trouble, be patient and keep trying and you will end up an expert.

Mermay is technically over but I'll keep posting more of this au. I'm making a script for it, which means— yay comics! (Keep in mind that it also means I'll take a little longer to finish post... making a comic takes a lot more time than making normal, singular pieces.)

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensturn 2014 - The Year of the Horse. The one where Haurchefant asks the WoL to be his personal steed–that happens at the end of the chain, at about 33:40 if you wanna skip. The whole quest is kinda weird.

How should I best present my portfolio if I was applying somewhere like Pixar? Animatic or just boards? Also would it be better to include the text with the boards i.e. cuts, trucks, pans, wipes etc.?

I would say just boards; although we look at reels occasionally, the lead artists are often pressed for time and don’t have the luxury of watching reels. We need to move at our own pace, so include only your best stuff and make an impact quickly. Camera instructions are ok if they’re simple, but your boards should tell the story visually.

Also, in terms of text, excessive dialogue on boards is not going to help you, as the reviewers simply don’t have time to read it. A few lines are ok, but for longer dialogue scenes, leave it out or choose sequences that highlight more visual storytelling. 

How much focus should I put on backgrounds, I mean do more finished boards make a better impression or does it really not matter and I just should focus on clarity and storytelling?

Backgrounds are important to ground the viewer as to where they are in  physical space and are an important compositional element. Include them but don’t go overboard on detail. Clarity first.

“Finished” boards are a bit of a myth. Although we sometimes take boards to a more finished level, clarity and storytelling are ALWAYS the most important thing. I actually prefer boards that are looser and have good energy.

Nothing will make a better impression than when your boards are clear, well drawn, staged, and composed. A high level of finish doesn’t mean anything unless you have achieved the elements listed above. 

Clean doesn’t necessarily mean clear. 

Also would it be better to make a few samples with different styles or focus on one?

Yes. Working in different styles is a plus because all the directors have different ways in which they work, and many times artists need to mimic others’ styles in order for the production reels to be uniform.

How many pages of storyboards, or panels would be a good amount to include in a portfolio?

Keep it brief. 15-20 pages of boards is good… make sure that the boards read clearly at the size you choose to make them. 6- 9 panels per page preferably.

Again, remember the reviewer’s time is limited and we may have 20-25 other books to look at in an hour (and sometimes as little as 30 minutes). Include only your best work, make an impact quickly, and lead off with something strong.

would it be good to include life drawing as well? (few or 10?)

Life drawing in the academic sense is not required, although we do like to see drawings FROM life (ie: in the airport, coffee shop, etc) especially if they define a character or tell a story. Communicative single image storytelling will put you ahead of the game. 

We also really like to see personal work — something that you created yourself or experienced in your life. It demonstrates your ability and tells us more about you. 

would it be good to include comic pages?

Yes if they demonstrate good storytelling, composition, and draftsmanship. Again keep it brief — they should not be the main part of your portfolio. A couple of pages are ok.

Pixar:

Is there any sort of program in place to train storyboard artists up in house?

There is a story internship program every summer for students, including graduating seniors.

What would you suggest I work on if getting into story at pixar was my goal?

Personally I look for very good drawing skills and examples of boards that show knowledge of cinematic language (composition, cutting, staging, pacing, and visual storytelling) as well as your thought process (ie: roughs, thumbnails and visual “thinking”). I want to know if the artist can tell a story visually (whether it be in a series of boards, or even just one drawing). ie: You should be able to tell a story without words or dialogue.

All story leads look for different things, so while this is not universal, it will certainly help. The storyboards I react most strongly to from a drawing standpoint are ones that are loose but well drawn, clear, and easy to read and have good energy. I would also rather see personal work as opposed to production (TV) boards.

This is the basic list of criteria for story artists. Work on all of these!

• Knowledge of film, including film language, acting, movie craft (cutting, staging, composition), and animation.

• Knowledge of animation storyboarding is strongly preferred

• Draftsmanship - appealing drawings are highly sought after (appeal can be loosely defined as clear, well-drawn, communicative expressions and gesture).

• Composition skills

• Ability to create story ideas and options to story ideas

• Ability to work collaboratively, create and change gears

If you find yourself suddenly needing a TON of money for an emergency vet bill, it can be very stressful! Luckily, there are some things you can do to help your situation. Apply for Care Credit Financial Resources by US State YouCaring Fundraising National organizations that provide financial assistance to pet owners in need Via The Humane Society Website http://www.bigheartsfund.org/ (Heart disease)

http://www.browndogfoundation.org/ (Medications)

http://caninecancerawareness.org/

http://www.catsincrisis.org/

http://www.dccfund.org/  The Dog & Cat Cancer fund

http://www.all-creatures.org/gcm/help-cf.html

http://www.imom.org/

http://www.joshualouis.org/

http://www.themagicbulletfund.org/ (cancer specific)

http://themosbyfoundation.org/ (dog specific)

http://www.onyxandbreezy.org/

http://www.paws4acure.org/

http://www.thepetfund.com/

http://www.petsofthehomeless.org/ (assistance for homeless)

https://www.riedelcody.org/ (cancer specific)

http://www.redrover.org/

http://www.rosesfund.org/

http://www.shakespeareanimalfund.org/

http://www.topdogfoundation.org/ (senior dog specific)