four becomes five: what a year, huh?

fiveducks

Four years in, five folks under the bulb. Actually, I’ve been around for longer, haven’t I? What’s up with that?

• Retrospectives

Into the Greater Somnolescent Multiverse

mariteaux

So quietly, I’ve been working on relaunching cammy.somnolescent.net. Working on that site before, there were lots of really good pages that I just didn’t think fit right where they were. This is one of those pages: a goofy, fun bit of group lore that makes a better blog post than it does a random page on one of my sites.

I’ve edited and rewritten parts of it, of course, but you can call this one from the archives. Quite literally. Go check out the new cammy.somnol, by the way! I’m just getting started with it and it’s starting to take shape as possibly the cutest site I’ve made so far.

• Group Posts

behind the scenes

devon

I actually meant to post this around… two months ago? Unfortunately some other factors caused a massive delay, but it’s time to finish this finally. Some pieces from Art Fight I wanted to talk about because I feel they are worth talking about.

• Happenings

working to take a break from work

fiveducks

Went on a vacation, learned HTML and built a site.

• Projects

fun with markers

devon

Turns out that I actually like alcohol markers, after all.

• Projects

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.

• Show-and-Tell

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.

• Essays

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!

• Group Posts