The Forum's Art Museum

[Sevseres]

Yeah, okay, that wasn't the best artistic choice that I made at the time! I ought to keep on working on composition and contrast, but I think I've gotten better since!

Oh, I meant that in a good way though. I think it has its own charm to notice the catch of a painting not at all and then all at once. It cannot be unseen once I first notice it anyway.

There wasn't a story back when I painted it, but it became one over time because I kept using that OC in paintings (except with changed skin tone, clothes, etc...) Unfortunately, the bird snuck its way out of the main cast! It went from a story about a big bird and a tired labourer to one about a dragon-person and a tired mercenary, and who knows what it'll be by the time I put it to paper? But I like the bird, so it'll stay.

Both stories sound like a lot of fun!

[JoB]

Spoiler: quite off topic: show

I tried to be a responsible citizen and download the Covid Alert app (used in Canada) but my phone, which is all of 5 years old, is one model too ancient to run it.

Four cell phones ready to use here, none compatible with the (German) CoViD app. Though I have to admit that, being a technician, devices tend to have a very long life in my hands.

I only hope it doesn't register random passerby outside my house as close encounters :'D

The app not being aware of whether there's nothing, masks, plexiglass, or an outright wall between the "meeting" persons is a problem that doesn't have a technical solution, and provides users with a legitimate reason to want to know when exactly that encounter in question took place, so as to try and remember the exact circumstances. The German CoViD app does not provide that info along with the warnings ...

However, the Bluetooth used to detect nearby phones running another CoViD app is limited to a 10m range (unless you attach directional antennas or somesuch), less if there are obstacles in the way, and the other phone has to stay in range for a couple minutes (IIRC 15) to "count" as a relevant encounter.

[Vulpes]

Spoiler: also quite off topic: show

Oh! Wait, I haven't heard of this app! I should also be a good citizen and download it, especially because I live in an urban area in Canada. I only hope it doesn't register random passerby outside my house as close encounters :'D Thanks for letting me know, haha. And I wish you the best in following all other measures to stay safe, if you can't find a way to get that app working.

Not sure it's in use in all provinces - NL (where I live) and ON (where a friend lives) for sure, but a while back there was some cajoling going on to get provinces to sign up.

However, the Bluetooth used to detect nearby phones running another CoViD app is limited to a 10m range (unless you attach directional antennas or somesuch), less if there are obstacles in the way, and the other phone has to stay in range for a couple minutes (IIRC 15) to "count" as a relevant encounter.

That sounds very similar to the Canadian version. They were fretting recently about whether the 15 minute threshold should be dropped to 10 in light of the higher transmissibility of some variants.

[catbirds]

Oh, I meant that in a good way though. I think it has its own charm to notice the catch of a painting not at all and then all at once. It cannot be unseen once I first notice it anyway.

OH pffffffffffh actually I'm quite happy that you found it charming Looking back on old drawings always brings up that fondness of "haha you pulled off something neat even if you didn't mean it at the time". It's always felt like giggling over baby pictures. Maybe I'll try finding more of them.

Not sure it's in use in all provinces - NL (where I live) and ON (where a friend lives) for sure, but a while back there was some cajoling going on to get provinces to sign up.

Yeah I live in a province with it! Apparently four provinces/territories still don't have it, though. That's pretty rough.

And thanks, JoB, for the technical details!

[Songbird]

Sevseres I love the granny. She has such a gentle face! But she's not that effective at scaring birds, is she? 

catbirds I also took some time to spot the bird, distracted by you sheer commitment to architecture! I take a moment to rave about that bird again too, because why not?! It's beautiful!

moredhel You did fine! Does look like a human for a start, and it was pretty clever of you to do it monochrome. Grappling with a new medium can be hard enough without adding more variables.


A brief and belated swerve off-topic because biology and birds.

The biologist in me can't leave this alone... 

*snip quotes break inside spoilers*
I once found a few northern gannet primaries on a beach. It was immediately clear that they weren't gull primaries, which were also lying around - the barbules had quite broad bases, which made them more rigid, and the whole feather was... incredible. It makes perfect sense, though. Gulls mostly find their food along the shore. You may see them sit on the surface and dunk to grab something, or maybe drop into the water from a couple metres up, but that's it. Gannets on the other hand hunt from the air, and will dive from up to 30 metres, and may hit the water travelling at around 100 km/h. They fold their wings to do this, but those big primaries are still subjected to terrific forces, both in the air, on impact, and while diving through the water. That's why they have the extra reinforcement.

Vulpes I had no idea hunters' feathers are different! I have spent a fair amount of time admiring barbs on barbules because I'm weird... and at the other types of feather too. The inner layer on chests and other heat-sensitive areas are sooo silky to the touch and fluffy!



Back to the topic... are sculptures on-topic? :'D

I'm did a few studies in preparation to tackling a thing that has been bothering me for a very long time: Noses.

I just don't get the angles of a few planes in them, making up for it by glossing over noses in general and never daring to define them in harder views like extreme 3/4 profiles.





There are gifs showing the sculptures progress too, but they're more fun than informative. Not worth the extra MBs.

[moredhel]

Back to the topic... are sculptures on-topic? :'D

They are a form of art, so they are on topic in my opinion.

I'm did a few studies in preparation to tackling a thing that has been bothering me for a very long time: Noses.

Noses are one of the harder things when painting humans.

I just don't get the angles of a few planes in them, making up for it by glossing over noses in general and never daring to define them in harder views like extreme 3/4 profiles.





There are gifs showing the sculptures progress too, but they're more fun than informative. Not worth the extra MBs.

I like them.

[catbirds]

Back to the topic... are sculptures on-topic? :'D

I'm did a few studies in preparation to tackling a thing that has been bothering me for a very long time: Noses.

Waaah! I was lurking on tumblr a day ago and I saw these! The way they're connected is very intimidating, but the sculpture is impressive! The facial profile is very accurate, in my opinion. (Finally got around to following your blog now, I'm looking forward to your comic project! Is that the big project you're currently working towards? Hope I don't misinterpret things )

My high school art teacher told me that noses are, contrary to popular (?) belief, not distinct shapes and instead made up of values, so I understand the urge to not define them mmmmost of the time. I certainly don't, because cartoons or something! BUT they contribute greatly to a person's appearance, so I imagine studying them will benefit you greatly if you want to do realistic character design

catbirds I also took some time to spot the bird, distracted by you sheer commitment to architecture! I take a moment to rave about that bird again too, because why not?! It's beautiful!

Ah, the architecture! I went to town on that one! Thank you for appreciating it, I forgot for a while that it was something that I can do if I find the will to. Maybe I'll try some again once I get space in my room to start another painting.

Side note about birds: when I was learning about them, I was pretty surprised by how specialized their features were! Beak shapes for practically every lifestyle, from generalist to nectar feeding to seed eating to... the list goes on. Feathers... uh, I never got a close look at them because I have no microscope (and bad eyes lol), but wing shapes do vary greatly! And I've heard that barn owls have some kind of adaptation on the fringes of their feathers to fly nearly perfectly silently, but I've never seen it firsthand. Birds were pretty important to me as a younger artist because they got me to pay attention to tiny details. If you're interested, there's somehow always more to learn about them

[Annuil]

Oh, my goodness, Songbird, that is amazing! And very helpful indeed! 
For me noses has become a lesser pain since I’ve learned the general shapes of them and practiced, but sometimes I just can’t get them right!
Especially if the nose has a strange shape (some of my characters have unusual shapes of noses), this is such a good idea! Just make them and use them as a reference...
ok, I’m done rumbling  :'D sorry, I’m just astonished 

[Windfighter]

If the Goddess and Savior Minna Sundberg can draw a Christian comic then So Can I*! It's a short thing called "The Churchgrim's destiny" and is more a cute ghoststory than anything Christian but still. It's not done yet, but I'm so stupidly happy with these three panels I just want to share them everywhere while I work on the rest of the comic:



Translation:
Panel 1: You can not tear down the Lord's house
Panel 2: It's... it's my home...


It takes place in the 1800s when a lot of churches in scania got torn down because villages where being moved due to a difference in how farming worked so that's kind of the setting although I'm mostly ignoring it to focus more on what happens with the churchgrim

*I mean I started it before I knew about Lovely People but details =P

[Vulpes]

Windy, that looks really interesting! I know church grims usually take the form of a dog, is the fellow with the horns the Churchgrim of the title? Now I want to know all about the variants of the church grim lore! *goes off to find Roísín*

[Windfighter]

Windy, that looks really interesting! I know church grims usually take the form of a dog, is the fellow with the horns the Churchgrim of the title? Now I want to know all about the variants of the church grim lore! *goes off to find Roísín*

Churchgrims in Scania at least take all kinds of shape! I read about them in a book, altough it was just a very short paragraph about churchgrims, but a rooster and a calf was mentioned as well as one church that had a man with antlers and as you can tell my brain just "I like you, you're mine now". Don't remember it saying anything specific about dogs, just as mentioned that they take all kinds of shapes. Might be a Scanian quirk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[thegreyarea]

Windy, this seems good! It's good to have you with us more often!
Now I must search to find more about that process of moving whole villages, including their churches. Meanwhile...
Vulpes! Wait for me!

(for those - like me - that didn't know anything about the church grim, there's this read. Not as good as Róisín, I'm sure, but it's a start   )

[Alkia]

aWW Windy it’s adorable!!!! Great idea! I’m a sucker for monsters/ghosts/spooks that actually turn out to be really friendly and soft so this looks like the start to an excellent comic to me

[Róisín]

Grey, that is actually a good article! It also gives some excellent references which are well worth following up. The Kirkegrim is part of a body of lore found across the world in which a spirit, usually but not always an animal, is the protector and defender of a building or other structure such as a bridge, or of an area of land, a farm, or an old sacred site. They also tie into folklore about guardian spirits such as the Manx phynoderee or the northern haltija who also guard structures or areas (like the saunahaltija).

Windy, a good story!

[catbirds]

Windy, your comic is so cute! And, uh, and maybe sad? It seems like it might end up being sad Can the person demolishing the church see the ghosts? I have so many questions, I hope you keep us posted on this story!