xenoneal

I know everything I put out doesn't interest all of you. And that's fine with me if it does for you; just the way it works. But I gotta ask: if you could have me draw anything, what would it be?

Another week, another tear. Happy Monday-what's left of it-, or Tuesday, if you happen to be live in that weird future-land of the Eastern Hemisphere.

Just wanted to say thank you to those who wished me a happy birthday. I'd have replied to your messages individually, but as you probably know, it would've taken me the better half of the year. But I really appreciate reading what you all have to say, whatever the context, even if it's not always obvious that I've read them.

Anyway...

Still haven't gotten around to watching the new season. Blame the days having only 24 hours. But I hope to be caught up soon, and maybe do some traces to break up the death march of illustrating/editing my story. I'll try to advertise when I have time for requests, but I really care about finishing this project, and would like to see it through.

Good luck to all you getting ready for exams. Don't forget to sleep.

Night.

Was about to upload next chapter.  Had almost finished the last illustration, a large one, when my computer crashed for no goddamn reason.  The file is now corrupted and won't open, and the only backup I have won't open either.  Probably just going to upload the chapter tomorrow as is.  Too fucking tired to do anything else.

Requests still open for anyone interested.

First order of business: the collab thing I mentioned earlier is done. Designing a background from scratch was a bloody nightmare, but persistence pays off.
# sometimescompetent # talentlesshack

Thanks a ton, . Your images are so much easier to trace than screenshots. Better man than me, drawing those wood textures from screen captures.


is an exceptional example of how you design and color characters right. Anyone who makes or enjoys OCs would do well to peruse her gallery.


Second: Next chapter of Forever Stranger will hopefully be up in a more timely manner. Guess it doesn't really matter though. For those who care to know, I'm following some time-honored advice on writing:

First act—Get your hero up a tree; second act—throw rocks at him; third act—get him down.


Third: Definitely going to regret this, but $&%@ it. Given the holiday season and recent season finale, I'm making the following offer. If you have an OC or canon character you'd like to see wearing one of the various outfits from the S5 finale, send them to me and I will vector them. One character only, no NSFW, and nothing too outlandish. As lazy as I am, I do tire, and I'm not looking for more incentive to smash my own head in.

Erm...

That's it. Happy holidays, etc. Good luck on finals to all you students who aren't done yet ([link])

Quick, clean, and tight.

This is an art community, not a writers guild. Apples and oranges, but for those who care to improve their writing for comics, fiction/prose, or other work, always remember: good words, and the image they create, are worth their weight in paint or pixels.

The opposite holds true as well. Sloppy writing implies a lack of effort. And if your reader thinks you didn't care enough to polish your own work, then you're sure as hell not going to care enough to show them a good time.

For the most part, these rules apply to formal writing, but are nevertheless important to writing clearly and effectively in any setting.

dmorgan.web.wesleyan.edu/mater…

Read it, memorize it, sleep with it, whatever. Even if English is your first language, you or someone you know will break one of these rules at some point. Do what you can to catch yourself. When it comes to prose, it is acceptable to break the rules if you demonstrate your knowledge of them first.

Also, as a matter of personal taste, along with mistakes I've made in the past:

1. Err on the side of saying too little. Sometimes you'll need a nice, long phrase, but it's a fast road to making your dialogue and descriptions bloated. For every word, ask yourself: do I really need this? Is it crucial to my reader's understanding?

2. Leave something for your audience to imagine. Every detail you add is one less for the reader to enjoy in their own head. Do what you need to create a coherent sequence of events, and from there proceed with a critical eye.

3. For heaven's sake, get someone else to look at it and give honest feedback. It's next to impossible to view your work with any large amount of objectivity. You can't be confused by what you've written because you wrote it.


One last thing: learn the rules for commas. As someone smarter than me pointed out, there's an important difference between:

"Let's eat, Grandma!"

and

"Let's eat Grandma!"