Organized Chaos

psdo:

Recently, SFF author Tansy Rayner Roberts wrote an excellent post debunking the idea that women did nothing interesting or useful throughout history, and that trying to write fictional stories based on this premise of feminine insignificance is therefore both inaccurate and offensive. To quote:

“History is not a long series of centuries in which men did all the interesting/important things and women stayed home and twiddled their thumbs in between pushing out babies, making soup and dying in childbirth.

History is actually a long series of centuries of men writing down what they thought was important and interesting, and FORGETTING TO WRITE ABOUT WOMEN. It’s also a long series of centuries of women’s work and women’s writing being actively denigrated by men. Writings were destroyed, contributions were downplayed, and women were actively oppressed against, absolutely.

But the forgetting part is vitally important. Most historians and other writers of what we now consider “primary sources” simply didn’t think about women and their contribution to society. They took it for granted, except when that contribution or its lack directly affected men.

This does not in any way mean that the female contribution to society was in fact less interesting or important, or complicated, simply that history—the process of writing down and preserving of the facts, not the facts/events themselves—was looking the other way.”

The relevance of this statement to the creation of SFF stories cannot be understated. Time and again, we see fans and creators alike defending the primacy of homogeneous – which is to say, overwhelmingly white, straight and male – stories on the grounds that anything else would be intrinsically unrealistic.

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Another awesome article, full of good references for people who are fighting the Black People Existed In Medieval Europe TYVM fight or similar.

(via rubitrightintomyeyes)

eschergirls:

I often tell people that I’m the biggest self-aware misogynist I know.

I was writing a scene last night between a woman general and the man she helped put on the throne. I started writing in some romantic tension, and realized how lazy that was. There are other kinds of tension.

I made a passing reference to sexual slavery, which I had to cut.  I nearly had him use a gendered slur against her. I growled at the screen. He wanted to help save her child… no. Her brother? Ok.  She was going to betray him. OK. He had some wives who died… ug. No. Close advisors? Friends? Maybe somebody  just… left him?

Even writing about societies where there is very little sexual violence, or no sexual violence against women, I find myself writing in the same tired tropes and motivations. “Well, this is a bad guy, and I need something traumatic to happen to this heroine, so I’ll have him rape her.” That was an actual thing I did in the first draft of my first book, which features a violent society where women outnumber men 25-1.  Because, of course, it’s What You Do.

I actually watched a TV show recently that was supposedly about this traumatic experience a young girl went through, but was, in fact, simply tossed in so that the two male characters in the show could fight over it, and argue about which of them was at fault because of what happened to her. It was the most flagrant erasure of a female character and her experiences that I’d seen in some time. She’s literally in the room with them while they fight about it, revealing all these character things about them while she sort of fades into the background.

We forget what the story’s about. We erase women in our stories who, in our own lives, are powerful, forthright, intelligent, terrifying people. Women stab and maim and kill and lead and manage and own and run. We know that. We experience it every day. We see it.

But this is our narrative: two men fighting loudly in a room, and a woman snuffling in a corner.

This is a really interesting article about the way media, fiction and narratives repeated in society shape the way we see and assume reality to be, specifically (in this case) about how narratives about women being victims, or supporting men, but not being fighters or soldiers create the idea that women never did that, and it’s only a modern new thing that we think they could, when in fact that’s not true at all.

Also, specifically relevant to this blog are the parts about how that affects us when we create stories ourselves, and can end up adding to this narrative consciously and subconsciously.  It’s the same with how women are depicted in illustrated fiction.  I honestly don’t think a lot of the boobs and butt poses, or women in bikini armor, are drawn by people consciously thinking sexist thoughts, I think they’re just doing What You Do.  This is a female character, this is just the pose we’re used to seeing women in.  We don’t think twice about drawing her like that, because it’s just how we’ve become conditioned to seeing women pose in the medium.  Same with stuff like this.  It’s how we’re used to seeing female armor, and when we think “female warrior”, our imagination just instinctively runs in the direction of what we’re used to seeing.  It’s just What You Do with female armor, and female characters, and female poses.

Since starting Escher Girls, I’ve gotten quite a lot of mail from people telling me that they never realized just how often they put their female characters in boobs and butt poses, or gave them bikini armor, just because that’s how they saw women drawn in video games and comics and never thought twice about it.  It’s just what seemed “right” to them, and that they’re now a lot more conscious of it and try to have more variety in the way they depict women, and often in ways that make more sense to the story. :)

I think it’s just important to catch ourselves sometimes and think are we creating something because this fits what we’re doing, and this makes sense, or are we just doing What You Do?  (This applies to all sorts of tropes and stereotypes too.)

abandonedography:

9 of the Most Fascinating Abandoned Mansions from Around the World

(Source: cwnerd12, via omgthatdress)

writeworld:

Anonymous asked: How does one write for a webcomic or a comic in general?

This is a loaded question. Comics combine visual art and the written word to create something unique, and it’s very difficult to give tips on how to make art of this kind without being a comics creator myself.

With those facts firmly in mind, here are my general bits of advice about learning to create comics. 

• Read comics. Read graphic novels and Sunday paper strips and webcomics. Just as reading other writers’ work can improve a writer’s style and understanding of the art, so too can reading other comics improve a comics creator’s style and understanding. 
• Read The Comic Books series by Scott McCloud. The books are Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form, andMaking Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels. 
  Understanding Comics really helped me take a closer look at the way I read comics, their function and method and form. It is an interesting, fun, easy-to-read book that is crammed with great tips for comics creators. 
  
• Study fine art, good writing, and pop culture. Study fine art to get a grounding in the style and composition. Study good writing to find examples of story structure and the importance word choice. Study pop culture to understand what and how people consume the art around them. From music to advertisement to movies, videos, and memes on the internet, tapping in to pop culture will help you find topics to write about and a niche to nestle into.
  My strategy has always been to find the story that needs to be told to your generation and hold yourself responsible to tell it. After all, only you know what that story is and what it can be. Go and share it with the world. 

So, how do you learn to create comics and webcomics? To quote my favorite line in the Bleeding Cool series (see below), “You teach yourself. You find a way to put in however much time and effort is necessary to gain whatever you need to gain.” (x)

Here are a few great resources on creating comics:

• Don’t Write Comics Series:
  • Don’t Write Comics: How To Write Comics Part 1 by Kelly Thompson
  • Don’t Write Comics: How To Write Comics Part 2 by Kelly Thompson
  • Don’t Write Comics: How To Write Comics Part 3 by Kelly Thompson
  • Don’t Write Comics: How To Write Comics Part 4 by Kelly Thompson
• How to Write Comics & Other Stuff by Robert Weinberg
• How To Write A Comic Book Script and Other More Important Things by Chris Oatley
• Writing Comic Books by Barry Lyga
• Comic Book Writing How by Terrance Griep, Jr.
• Bleeding Cool Series:
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #1 – First Class Discipline
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #2 – Recommended Reading
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #3 – Homogenized For Safety
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #4 – Why Don’t You Grow A Spine?
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #5 – Network King
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #6 – Whoever Knows Fear…
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #7 – A Beached Hero
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #8 – Bester Both Worlds
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #9 – Continuity Day
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #10 – End Times
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #11 – A Reading List
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #12 – Creating A Narrative
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #13 – The Rule Of Three
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #14 – Serial Killers
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #15 And #16 – Double Sized Edition
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #17 – Making Pictures
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #18 – Aren’t They All?
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #19 – The End Is Now
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #20
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #21
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #23 – Take Notes
  • How To Write Comics And Graphic Novels by Dennis O’Neil #24 – More Notes From A Lecture Theatre
• Ten Things To Know About the Future of Webcomics by El Santo
• So You Want To Start A Webcomic… by Kitsune64

Thank you for your question! If you have any other writing-related questions or any comments about this post, hit us up!

If anyone is a comics creator and would like to chime in here, we’d love to include your thoughts! Submit  or message us, and we will add your advice to this post!

-C

(via gabzilla-z)

kanthara:

maroutian:

Why I Am a Male Feminist

The word turns off a lot of men (insert snarky comment about man-hating feminazis here) — and women. But here’s why black men should …be embracing the “f” word.

Like most guys, I had bought into the stereotype that all feminists were white, lesbian, unattractive male bashers who hated all men. But after reading the work of these black feminists, I realized that this was far from the truth. After digging into their work, I came to really respect the intelligence, courage and honesty of these women.

Feminists did not hate men. In fact, they loved men. But just as my father had silenced my mother during their arguments to avoid hearing her gripes, men silenced feminists by belittling them in order to dodge hearing the truth about who we are.

I learned that feminists offered an important critique about a male-dominated society that routinely, and globally, treated women like second-class citizens. They spoke the truth, and even though I was a man, their truth spoke to me. Through feminism, I developed a language that helped me better articulate things that I had experienced growing up as a male.

Feminist writings about patriarchy, racism, capitalism and structural sexism resonated with me because I had witnessed firsthand the kind of male dominance they challenged. I saw it as a child in my home and perpetuated it as an adult. Their analysis of male culture and male behavior helped me put my father’s patriarchy into a much larger social context, and also helped me understand myself better.

I decided that I loved feminists and embraced feminism. Not only does feminism give woman a voice, but it also clears the way for men to free themselves from the stranglehold of traditional masculinity. When we hurt the women in our lives, we hurt ourselves, and we hurt our community, too.

~ Byron Hurt
Read his entire post: http://www.theroot.com/views/why-i-am-male-feminist?page=0%2C0

Photo by Ellis Binks

Please read the entire article. It’s a good read for EVERYONE regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, whatever. 

giancarlovolpe:

nerdmeister:

unohana-died-anyway:

You cannot begin to understand how ecstatic this makes me!

You and me both, sister!

Check out what fellow Green Lantern producer Jim Krieg has been up to!  :)

(Source: im-over-it-really)

swimmingays:

idk i’ve been struggling finding resources for certain things so i thought i’d pool them in case anyone else needs them too

outfits/clothes
How To Cosplay: Make A Sailor Fuku (School Uniform)! 
How to: Pleated Skirt - YouTube
Simple Tie
Circle Skirt
Ore-Tied Obi
How To Make a Hakama

wigs and wig treatment
Care for a Wig
Wig Styling Walkthrough
Cut Bangs on Wig
Gravity Defying Bangs
Cleaning a Wig
Detangling + Washing
Wash a Wig
Building on a wig - Jessie, Pokemon
Huge Curls
Layering a Wig
Long Hair Under Wig
Straighten a Spikey Wig
Sebastian Michaelis - Kuroshitsuji
Sasuke - Naruto

makeup
How to Apply Eyeliner
How to Apply Blush
How to Apply Liquid Foundation
Flawless Skin With Makeup
Airbrush Makeup
Acne Covering Makeup
Girl / Boy Makeup
6 Secrets I Learned at Makeup Artist School
How to Apply Contour Makeup
Grell Sutcliff Makeup Tutorial
Eyebrow Covering
Bishounen (Pretty Boy) Makeup
Fake Facial Hair

wounds ect
Fake Wounds / Scar
Mello Scar Makeup
Scrapes & Bruises
Lacerations
Gouged Eye Makeup
8 Fake Blood Recipes
No-Cook Edible Fake Blood

tattoos 
Make a Temporary Tattoo
How To Conceal Tattoos
Sebastian Contract Symbol - Black Butler

wow i really hope this helped people like it helped me!

(via ruffleshuffle)

stillalivedoingscience:

syntheticph:

«><>.>Aperture: Shadows comes out THIS Wednesday, April 10th. Subscribe to SyntheticPH on Youtube to see it first! Teaser Trailer (x)

THE PAINTING THOUGH and two days, I cannot wait!

(via raritarous)

alexds1:

All the faces!!

⊙▂⊙