I tried to get photographs of a small wrestling match at Liverpool Comicon. I tried various modes on my Bridge Camera (Panasonic Lumix DNC-FZ72), and the closest I got was scene select > sport mode + flash.
Are there any other settings I could use to get a better shutter speed with indoor lighting?
I have a lore question. As far as I understand, the Warhammer Old World is to AoS what the Horus Heresy is to 40K. It is a complete setting unto itself, but the End Times made it a different part of history that changed the setting into AoS.
Growing up in the mid-2000s, I adored the Vampire Counts, especially the Order of the Blood Dragons. I've been researching into AoS lore and how it connects to the Old World, and there's a gap in my knowledge of how the Vampire Counts became the Soulblight Gravelords.
What I know so far is that, somehow, Nagash returned to the mortal realms, and fought against a massive influx of chaos and the other mortal races as part of the services of Death. By this point, the order of the Blood Dragons had since been destroyed as a formal order during the Siege of the Blood Keep years before, but there was still an Order of Blood Knights loyal to Vlad Von Carstein.
During a siege on Chaos, Walach Harkon gave in and fell to Khorn, resulting in him being slain by Vlad Von Carstein for his betrayal. Now, during AoS, all Vampires are in service to Nagash to a larger or lesser extent, but Blood Knights do tend to keep him at arms length.
What I don't know is to what extent the Vampire Counts of old have gone, and how the Soulblight Gravelords have changed post-end times to what they are in current lore. Any help filling these gaps would be appreciated!
First image is the remake, second is the original.
This is a remake of art I did way back in 2012! I stopped drawing for years because I didn't have the resources to properly learn, but the past 2 and a half years I've committed myself to understanding how the human body is put together.
I'd say this is a magnificent glow up!
Trans people can have whatever anatomy they want and still be their gender.
Coyote vs. ACME is a brilliant reconstruction of classic Looney Tunes slapstick, managing to somehow weave multiple layers of subtext without alienating an accessible narrative for children. This is a family film in the truest sense, leaning into the Sisyphean allegory to frame the seemingly impossible task of taking on a Mega Corp like ACME.
Many of the story beats feel very familiar, but the best art takes old ideas and tells them in a new way, carefully crafting its character development to make everything feel natural. Given the formulaic nature of the Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner cartoons, being able to extrapolate on the relationship between these two icons into a heart-warming story of friendships makes the exploitative Mega Corp all the more compelling as an antagonistic foil.
But what really amazed me is how the whole production balances commentary on class hierarchies with seamless integration with cartoon physics. Every visual gag is perfectly timed, adding to the sense of absolute control ACME every gadget Wile E. has ever used. ACME holds both financial power and authority, allowing them to weaponise the very concept of slapstick comedy in their legal battle!
Ultimately, this is a film that shows why art is worth fighting for. This film is about facing challenges head on, no matter how difficult they seem, because you never know what kind of success you can inspire!
There are a couple of plot points that felt rushed, but these tiny blemishes do nothing to overshadow the film as a whole, all of which can be justified with relative ease. This is an S-Tier movie that needs to be experienced. After everything we fought for to get this film release, it's more than earned its success. Believe the hype!
(CW: References to self-termination, domestic abuse and self harm.)
I have seen far too many people both in and out of the fandom who seem to think that Jax's Abstraction is something to celebrate, since she was a horrible person. However, I strongly contend that we should not be viewed as any form of karmic justice, because to do so misses the entire point of Jax's character arc.
This is not about justifying her horrible actions. This is about understanding the root cause, so we can learn from her story and recognise how art imitates life. Remember: Empathy is about understanding, not excusing.
Jax is someone who has always been trapped in the cycle of abuse. The digital avatar that is Jax is a snapshot of a person at the lowest point in their life, exploiting the cartoon world to become a the trickster archetype as a defence mechanism. She grew up trapped in the double bind of toxic masculinity, being constantly criticised and even physically abused for not being "man" enough, but simultaneously being too much like her abusive father.
She was brought up in an environment where love was weaponised, and the hug from her mother came directly after a round of verbal abuse, so it's little wonder she lashed out. She was deeply afraid of getting close to anyone, for fear of being mocked or belittled if she were honest about her emotions.
That's why she pushed Ribbit away. She was the only one she ever told about her abuse, and getting interrupted by Kaufmo triggered her. If there is one thing everyone is good at, it's pattern recognition, and Jax recognised the pattern of abuse, where expressions of love were merely a trap to be exploited.
Furthermore, the flashbacks in episode 9 back up several scenes we've seen in previous episodes. She is hurting herself just as much as he hurts everyone else. This is why she mocked her reflection after Ribbit abstracted, sarcastically drawling "You gonna cry, huh?!" She is beating herself up for her own emotions, because she pushed herself to do something horrible.
Caine being temporarily deleted was the final straw, since she no longer had the wacky cartoon adventures to act as a front to mask her true emotions.
After all this, I need to explain why this is important. The story does not frame this as a win, because to look only at the surface actions is to ignore the pain behind it. Jax is a warning: don't suffer in silence. There are always people who will listen with a genuine heart, not to mock. We can't help people who aren't willing to help themselves, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.
Nobody deserves to feel afraid to be honest with themselves, especially trans people who suffer under the pressure of cisnormative society. Jax deserved to live her real self, but would never trust anyone to do so.
So instead of cheering that Jax abstracted, we should recognise it as the end point of a self-destructive spiral. It was a fate that no one, not even Gangle, wanted for her, because she recognised how oblivious she was to Jax's pain. Like Pomni, we should all be focusing on what we should do to diminish the pain.
It may look like a lie detector test, but I managed to find satisfying meals without breaking into the yellow range at all today!
I feel a lot of discussions around Jax focus exclusively on her being "unlikable", but I don't think that's a helpful criticism, because Jax is an antagonist. You're not supposed to like her, and much of the subtext shows she doesn't want anyone to like her (more on that later).
So I want to pose an open question in the hope I can have a better conversation. What makes Jax a good or bad antagonist, writing wise?
For me, I find her interesting because of how much she layers on her jerkass cartoon trickster persona thick. Whenever she is with the others, she dismisses all emotional struggles as no big deal. She is playing it cool, but this is always following a grumpy expression, as we see at Kaufmo's funeral.
And when she's alone, she's shown having a panic attack on multiple occasions. Her backstory compounds this, someone who has trapped herself in a cycle of toxicity.
To me, the "isn't she lovely" moment is meant to be bittersweet. Pomni shows Jax how much she would've accepted her had she allowed herself to be honest about her emotions, but in the end, she abstracted because she no longer had the environment to keep her mask up.
I find the best villains are those that make you understand why they are so horrible, and often have ideals arguably comparable to the heroes. Jax, to me, fits the first half of that, making it a win in my book, even if it resulted in the chataceted focus balance being a little too stilted in her and Pomni's direction.
But what do you think? What works or does not work about Jax as an antagonist?
(CW: Discussion of suicide and emotional abuse.)
I have seen far too many people both in and out of the fandom who seem to think that Jax's Abstraction is something to celebrate, since she* was a horrible person. We should not be celebrating this as any sort of win or justice, because to do so misses the entire point of Jax's character arc. This is not about justifying her horrible actions.
This is about understanding the root cause. Remember: Empathy is about understanding, not excusing.
Jax is someone who has always been trapped in the cycle of abuse. The digital avatar that is Jax is a snapshot of a person at the lowest point in their life, exploiting the cartoon world to become a the trickster archetype as a defence mechanism. She grew up trapped in the double bind of toxic masculinity, being constantly criticised and even physically abused for not being "man" enough, but simultaneously being too much like her abusive father.
She was brought up in an environment where love was weaponised, and the hug from her mother came directly after more abuse, so it's little wonder she lashed out. She was deeply afraid of getting close to anyone, for fear of being mocked or belittled for being honest about her emotions.
That's why she pushed Ribbit away. She was the only one she ever told about her history of abuse, and getting interrupted by Kaufmo triggered her. She recognised the pattern of expressions of love being a trap.
Furthermore, the flashbacks in episode 9 backs up several scenes we've seen in previous episodes. She is hurting herself just as much as he hurts everyone else. This is why she mocked her reflection after Ribbit abstracted, sarcastically saying "You gonna cry, huh?!" She is beating herself up for her own emotions, because she pushed herself to do something horrible.
Caine being temporarily deleted was the final straw, since she no longer had the wacky cartoon adventures to act as a front to mask her true emotions.
After all this, I need to explain why this is important. The story does not frame this as a win, because to look only at the surface actions is to ignore the pain behind it. Jax is a warning: don't suffer in silence. There are always people who will listen with a genuine heart, not to mock. We can't help people who aren't willing to help themselves, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.
Nobody deserves to feel afraid to be honest with themselves, especially trans people who suffer under the pressure of cisnormative society. Jax deserved to live her real self, but would never trust anyone to do so.
So instead of cheering that Jax abstracted, we should use it as a warning about the path to self-destruction, and what we should do to prevent it.
My take on The Amazing Digital Fight Club AU. This is my first attempt at doing the multi-punch effect, but I think I pulled it off well.
I'm a 37 y/o British NB person and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes back in May of this year. I'm on the autism spectrum, and have been trapped in the cycle of fast food addiction and high-carb consumption for the majority of my adult life. I was working under the misconception that diabetes was due to excess sugar consumption, not excess carbs.
For the majority of the past few months, my mum (who is a nutritionist) has been working with me to find healthy food I like, and I have been trying to balance things out with my GCM through when I take my meds (Metformin and Gliclazide) and portion sizes, in addition to cutting back on unhealthy snacks.
Because I'm on the autism spectrum, I have an extreme affinity for comfort foods and repetitive routines. So much of my eating habits have been "I eat this on this day, and eat this other thing this other day". I feel extremely anxious when going to restaurants where I don't know what kind of food they have, and hate feeling like I've wasted money when I try something new, find out I don't like it, and having wasted time cooking.
I am very sensitive to taste and texture, to the point where even coffee is too bitter for me. There are cases where even food I like can be a turn off if the texture is different for some reason. I feel trapped in this cycle because I'm surrounded by high-carb foods wherever I go. It feels like my brain is on rails, and it's always directed back to the same high-carb breaded meat, potato-based or pasta based foods out there.
I want to get better. There have been some success with low-carb or high-fibre foods I like (mostly baked beans, proper sausages and chickpea croquets). But I'm relying so much on my mum to cook for me, I don't have the body of knowledge or the mental spoons to spend an unknown amount of time cooking something I don't know I will even like.
Trying to improve my diet feels like Sideshow Bob trying not to step on a rake. I want to achieve more dietary independence, but I am at a complete loss because every new meal is a gamble, and I hate gambling. Is there anyone else who is neurodivergent and struggle with food avoidance, particularly in the face of diabetes?
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in late may of this year, after finally going to the doctor about excessive urination. I was put on Metformin, and most recently, Gliclazide. However, this is proving to be problematic, since as my mum (who is a nutritionist) explained, it's constantly squeezing my body for insulin to reduce the high inflammation, regardless of if I need it or not.
As a result, high carb meals tame my Glucose levels, but then the level just keeps going down. This past Monday, after going through a brisk walk around a local mall, I ended up dropping to 2.6 mmol/litre (45 mg/dl)! I literally had to eat something with carbs and sugars just to get it up.
After an emergency talk with my doctor, they gave me permission to consume sugar or carbs depending on how I feel. The GCM is under-selling my Glucose levels, but when I'm out and about I can't exactly do a finger prick easily to get an accurate reading.
I'm trying to reduce my carb consumption to keep the line in range. I want to reduce the inflammation and get health again. I already feel trapped by ADHD and addictive tendencies toward familiar, comfortable high-carb food. And now I'm having to eat more just so that the gliclazide doesn't push things too low.
I stopped eating sugary cereal because of diabetes, and now I have to bring it back just to counteract the Gliclazide going too far in the other direction. I don't understand how I'm supposed to get better when the gliclazide forces me to consume MORE carbs. Has anyone else had experience with this particular medication? How did you find working the balance between medication taking and the carbs giving?
Focus on creative writing or put in some effort B).
This is more of a doodle compared to my usual affair, so there are a few more mistakes than usual (mostly in the arm length inconsistency and eye placement), plus the 2 head tall chibis are always hyper exaggerated.
Still, it would be nice to get some advice on keeping things neat for smaller scale characters like this. I'm still learning shading and highlights with light direction, so critiques on that would be helpful, too.
Draw this, then Die! is a new anime this season about a high school girl, Ai Yasumi, who dreams of drawing manga, despite her overly strict teacher trying to dissuade her. Turns out, the teacher herself is the manga-ka of her favourite manga!
Episode 2 sees Ai trying to form a manga club at her school, and to show her dedication, is instructed to create her own manga. What the show doesn't shy away from is how much work this is, taking hours just to draw a few panels!
Ai's manga is, without question, hot garbage. But what it does show, and what ultimately moves Ai's teacher, is the raw passion on display. Because when humans love what we do, we seek ways to learn and improve.
Nobody is born with talent, contrary to what A.I Scroungers would have you believe. So while they only care about surface level neatness, real artists care about the details, making art even when we know it's bad. Because, as a great dog once said, "sucking at something is just the first step to being slightly good at something".
I'm an NB who loved Garratts, but also loves being able to view the cab of Linda running on the Ffestiniog <3. The Snowdonia Single is something I do every year!
Linda at Porthmadog, North Wales, earlier this afternoon. I know the faces are usually on the smoke box, but this looks more wacky!
First image is the remake, second is the original. I'm sharing another art piece I just finished, both to share my progress in learning to draw, but also because of the franchise it's from.
High Guardian Spice is not a popular cartoon. The story of its production is a story of passionate indie creators being exploited and abused by Crunchyroll's studio, given a shoestring budget and a ton of executive meddling.
Yet, in my opinion, it still shines through as a beautiful story and setting. We need more queer positive and inclusive representation in animation, as mainstream studios are rushing to cut them out. But most of all, we can (and should) appreciate flawed art, in a time where A.I is being used as a replacement.
Part of what makes us artists is understanding how art comes together, and HGS is a show that became sacrificial trash for the anti-woke crowd (the same people who want instant results from A.I). HGS is an example of why it's so important to be able to give art a fair critique from people who know what they're talking about, because otherwise, we get the attitude of A.I scroungers where they only care about surface level neatness.
TL:DR - Support human art, even when it's imperfect. Don't let the artistically illiterate dictate quality.
As always, constructive criticism is welcomed!
