art roundup: october! (the fear of being known)

fiveducks

Whoops, I haven’t actually posted anything here since August despite saying I’d be active-ish. I’ve been busy, I promise.

• Happenings

Habby Halloween

caby

Spooky pumpkins for a spooky Halloween!

• Happenings

Plushie Archaeology: Finding a New Old Friend

mariteaux

I’m pretty sure everyone in the group likes plushies. Stuffed animals, whatever you call ’em. There’s a plushie channel in the server, and it’s constantly busy with us linking to plushies we find online, posting pictures of our own, and just generally being obsessed like we’re so good at.

This post is gonna be for a plushie closer to my heart. This is the story of how a snowman boy I’ve had from the day I was born was loved to death, rediscovered online, and rebought without a clue as to a brand or even an origin. I normally have a policy of not posting to the blog twice in a row, but this one’s more important than that. I might get a little personal.

• Happenings

Protecting and Surviving Against the AI Art Menace

mariteaux

It’s a controversial topic. AI-generated art, “this does not exist” sites, and the possibility that robots with the ability to “draw” will make artists obsolete, or at least, ruin the market for gigging artists who need that attention to live and pay bills.

Thankfully, I see it more optimistically than most. It is a menace, and you should take action if it affects you–but don’t let it discourage you. If you’re browsing around DeviantART or suchlike, here’s how to spot it and how to combat it.

Since I’m mostly involved in character design and character art, that’s what I’ll be focusing on. Apply to your medium of landscapes or photography or suchlike as applicable.

• Happenings

The Somnolescent Calendar

bulb

We’re a festive sort here at Somnolescent. We love our Halloweens and Christmases and even our Easters (it’s the cute bunny, but enough about my girlfriend). Holidays are great! It sets the mood for the whole month, it breaks up the monotony.

We devoted the entirety of August 2019 to Pennyverse, and it got me thinking about giving that devotion to the rest of our worlds and building up a Somnolescent calendar for the whole year. Always something to celebrate around here!

• Cult Activity

And A Page Turns

sushi

to reveal a new canvas to doodle on.

• Happenings

surprise caby blog post

caby

I’m sat right now at my laptop, in my bedroom, with the window open. It’s about 11pm, it’s a little cold, and I can smell the last few embers of a barbecue my neighbours had earlier this evening. And I’m feeling… normal. It feels like early-mid September, it makes me think of the upcoming spooky season, makes me think about heading into college in the crisper, cooler air, makes me think of Christmas and New Years. I feel normal.

• Retrospectives

Cammy Revisits the PhotoCam

mariteaux

Longtime blog readers will remember a post I did in July 2019 called “Cammy vs. the PhotoCam”. It was a cute little lark into trying to score some retro tech on eBay and failing miserably. I didn’t have a job or a lot of money to spend on impractical hobby stuff back then, and the entire thing left a sour enough taste in my mouth that I didn’t bother looking for a working unit.

We’re in September 2022 now, I have a job now, and I figured it was time to go hunting again. I got a lot more than I bargained for. On offer today: storytelling! Burning hot batteries! A showdown between three similarly-spec’ed cameras! But first, we start with…

• Happenings

wi(s)p: five years in and one page up

fiveducks

As an average 20-something Canadian, you’ve got enough on your plate—rent’s going up, you can’t afford gas for that van you bought last summer, the ghost in your apartment insists on watching you pee, and you’re not 100% sure what to do now that you’ve dropped out of college. Twice.

• Happenings

both feet in (probably)

fiveducks

Who’s that, a fresh-faced, brand new member of your favourite bulb cult?

Actually, I’ve been in Somnol’s orbit for the past, uh, six years? Maybe longer?

• Happenings