NetRaptor

DA's algorithm has decided that I like looking at comics, so it's been throwing all kinds of random comic pages at me. Over time, I've gotten slowly sucked into some of these, so I wanted to share them with you, too.

Note: I am a newcomer to some of these and have not read all 100+ pages yet, so I'm not sure of their content ratings.

First off: Legends of Amora by Alex VanArsdale

It's a wonderful story with a very Don Bluth inspired look. I've been blown away just watching it unfold. The first book is finished and available on DA, so you can experience the wonderful!

Next up: Caribbean Odyssey by Zavraan

Zavraan is incredibly productive and their comics Aquantis and Caribbean Odyssey kept popping into my recommended. I liked the story of Odyssey, so I started following it and got more and more hooked. Something about the eyes on the sharks.

Next up: Gaia: The Letter of Jael Bara by aroughcun

Okay, I don't actually know what all is going on with this comic yet, but this page is what made me follow it, so I present it to you. I'm going to read the whole thing over Christmas break. :-D

Last up: Turtle Power by Okida

I resisted following this one for a long time but this page is where I caved. The art is good, the crossing-over characters are kept in character, and certain-cross universe interactions are thought through, like the croc-gator rivalry. Guess I'm reading this whole thing over break, too. :-D

So there's my recommendations! New stuff I'm either following or enjoying, and I present them for your enjoyment, too.

So DA appears to be banning or suspending artists for NSFW stuff. Apparently they are being pressured by payment processors like Mastercard, according to NicheGamer. Anyway, seeing as their censor bot is already so bad at distinguishing NSFW from SFW, I'm kind of expecting my accounts to vanish. If you like my artwork, save it, because one day I may vanish. I don't really have my Sonic art posted anywhere else. Just warning you all in advance!

My old discord link was long expired, so here is a fresh one. If you'd like to pop in and talk about games, writing, art, or other creative projects, come on in! This is a family-friendly server, so you have been warned.

https://discord.gg/fr6BEm94qv

This comment had a really good perspective on the process of art improvement: https://www.deviantart.com/comments/1/938566220/5023390480 Find something that you're passionate about drawing and build from that. Drawing doesn't have to be a chore. If you like a cartoon or a comic you can draw fan art of that. Cartoon/Anime/Cute style is not "Lesser" than a more Realistic style. You can also draw in multiple styles if you want. Don't be afraid to use references and to trace as long as you credit the original artist and don't try to claim it's "yours". Tracing can help you keep a steadier hand and get better at shapes. It's hard to remember all the details from memory, even cartoon characters, so don't shame yourself for needing a reference even if it's your 500th drawing of the character. You don't need to worry about your "signature/original art style" yet either. That will develop naturally over time, as you experiment with different references and different art styles. It's really okay if everyone can tell that it looks like Steven Universe or anime or whatever. We all have to learn from someone/somewhere. Building a love of drawing and having fun is most important because that will be the drive to keep you going. Your hands go through a training stage to get better at drawing, and then your eyes go through a training stage to get better at seeing mistakes you made and what you can fix. When your eyes are adjusting, it will feel like your art got worse or that you're not progressing any more, but it's actually your eyes getting better. The pendulum will swing the other way, and then back again, so this is NOT a sign to quit but a sign that you've made progress! It's also easy to mis-remember your past art as being better than it was, which is a sign that your eyes have gotten better as your skills have improved. It doesn't mean your past art was "bad," just less skilled in comparison to now.

Cross-posted from my blog:

You know, years ago, Kristen Lamb wrote this little book called Rise of the Machines: Human authors in a digital world. It’s all about how to control your content as a content creator, and building your platform on your terms. She points out that social media is transient and always on the way out, holding up MySpace as an example. (Who remembers MySpace, anyway?). She says to have a website or blog where you post your stuff and talk to people, and use social media to point back to it.

Well! Kristen Lamb is being proved right once again. I hopped on Twitter this morning, and my feed is full of people trying to move their art and books off Twitter, but they’re going to Instagram. Instagram is an algorithm-driven black hole where you can’t even see stuff from the accounts you follow.

Facebook is also an algorithm-driven black hole where you can’t see stuff from the accounts you follow, no matter how many times you click ‘like’. Zuckerburg is so hellbent on turning the VR Metaverse into the Matrix that he’s just letting the other social media sites languish, and their userbases along with them.

So people go to Tumblr, which hasn’t fundamentally changed since, what, the late 2000s? You can see posts chronologically, but good luck finding any content older than a month or two, unless some kind soul reblogs something.

And then the great Deviantart exodus began. Oh man, Deviantart, where do I begin? The devs have been implementing a fix to keep AI from scraping art from the site and using it in those AI art programs. But the devs phrased it as they have 5 billion artworks that they sold to an AI company. I’m still not exactly sure where the truth of this actually falls, because they SAID it. Anyway, folks are leaving DA by the truckload over it.

But what’s happening is this giant swirl of people who can’t escape the stuff they’re trying to flee. There’s nowhere else to post art or talk about stuff. Artstation is designed exclusively for the hyper professionals in game and movie design. Artfol is still tiny and app-based. Gab is too conservative. The other social media platforms are too small and don’t have any communities on them, and they’re just as algorithm-driven as the big guys. Twitter is being changed by Elon Musk into something approaching usefulness and therefore is driving away all the smut producers (imagine that, he’s actually going to obey the law, haha).

So unless all these people actually go carve out their own shingle on the internet and start using it, they’re just going to circulate around as social media continues its implosion. I’m sitting over here on this blog I’ve had for years and years and chuckling. It’s still here, guys. No social media has wiped it away. Why don’t you consider picking up Kristen Lamb’s book and taking control of your online life?