Are you working on anything creative?
Just curious on what people are up to. c: Is it for school or a side project for fun? And what do you do to help you focus on it?
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I'm working on a book. Usually I listen to music while reading the stuff I've already written and the rest just flows out. It helps that I've already laid everything out, the story and characters and whatnot. All that's left is to actually write it.
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@Orion I used to listen to music on YouTube when I was in school. Like the sort without any words. I'm thinking I may start doing that again, though it can be hard when I feel like I have a lot to do or when I'm distracted.
I'm working on a game, but I'm writing out the story beats and the character information to help myself paint out the scene and make sure its congruent.
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That’s pretty cool that you’re making a game, do you mind if I ask what it’s about/what’s the setting?
@Orion what genre is the book/book concept? My friend did a creative writing course at uni so I was constantly getting their work to read over as drafts. Writing is definitely a difficult passion and writer’s block is tough. Do you do a lot of reading, and what’s your favourite book/author/genre if so?
I guess I’m making a scarecrow costume (Gotham tv show one) if that counts if not I guess I do digital art, trying to practice anatomy and colouring techniques in my spare time. Like Orion music helps while I’m doing art and colouring a piece, helps me focus and back when I used to do a little writing it can help with inspiration/mood setting while writing a specific scene (but as you mentioned it’s easier to focus if it’s instrumental so I used to listen to gaming OSTs or techno).
For the costume and the occasional masks I make I tend to make a list of all the parts and draw concept images and make notes on what materials I could use, then I break it down into parts to make per month, that way I can set out a timeline to have components completed by, for these references are everything and getting a massive compilation is important.
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Superhero-type thing with sci-fi elements thrown in (takes place in the future, has teleporters, alternate universes, that sort of thing). For the sci-fi portions I'm drawing on my knowledge of physics and trying to push beyond the boundaries of this universe to imagine whole new ones.
I don't enjoy reading, in fact. I find most authors would rather spend fifteen paragraphs describing a room than just getting on with the story. I like Chekhov's approach to writing (though not that I've read his work): if something doesn't add to the story, don't waste the reader's time on it.
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@Kiskashi The game's about a community ostracized from the rest of society due to what they can do and their adventures within their hidden bubble. You come in as an outsider and get to know everyone, while trying to find your place in the community. The character doesn't remember much of their past, but it is heavily implied that they were involved with something traumatic and that their past life was taken from them and they were granted with a new one by luck. I would consider it a Choose Your Own Adventure fantasy story with horror elements at times. A lot of the beats are light, but some elements and some characters can be quite scary. I really like horror and fantasy stuff, so including it in what I do just kinda happens lol.
I've actually reworked the game several times. I was going to tell a story from a later time, but decided I wanted to do a little bit of world building first and to tell the story from when the community got their first addition that was heavily involved with what they can do, power-wise. Like when everything started to change and they started seeing some potential in their abilities that their parents never considered too seriously. I believe there's like four major stories. Two of which involves characters that are only introduced in the last story.
I'm currently planning on making two games, though it's a slow process. I was going to make the second one where you can choose between a few dolls to play as, though I'm not sure if I'm gonna go through with that atm or just tell a character story. I really like the Choose Your Own Adventure element of stories. I like when what you choose matters and the world feels real around you, so-to-speak.
Sorry for the long post. xD I'm passionate.
Costume making definitely counts. That's really cool! Digital art is also really fun. I actually have an OST playlist on YouTube just for when I need to focus. I think half of the videos are deleted now, though. It's been a while since I opened it or put anything on it. Do you make costumes for anything specifically?
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@Orion From the creative writing and the literature classes I've taken, it's actually very important to exclude insignificant items. Like if someone is described or is the main focus of the camera (for like games and movies), it has to have some sort of significance to the story. The superhero stuff is fun, though. c: Gl with your craft!
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That sounds really cool, sci fi has so much potential for discovering new things, new creations/inventions and imagining the future and possible changes to society and the worlds in which the stories take place . You sound passionate about it, that was beautifully described.
Ah, I’m not sure where my favourite fits in then 😅, I love Neil gaiman’s work especially “Ocean at the end of the lane” and “Neverwhere” I find I read a lot because I have a long train ride to work every morning and on the way home, I recently read “All the light we cannot see” by Anthony Doerr it was amazing. I was almost hoping you could suggest me something new haha but I understand, not everyone likes to read books or can find the time to read a book. Some prefer shows, games and movies, enjoying stories all the same just in different mediums.
I’m the opposite I think, I enjoy the feeling of the world, the description is the gateway to that to picturing it in vivid colour, Neil gaiman does this in the Ocean at the end of the lane beautifully, he doesn’t overdescribe but he often paints a vivid, colourful yet dark and mysterious world. But simple, sharp to the point stories are also interesting they have a point to make and they don’t waste time getting to it, some stories do feel too fleshed out, I get what you mean...
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That sounds really interesting 🤩 I love the choose your own adventure kind of games, that’s why I got really into telltale games before their closure, it gives an opportunity to shape your character and it connects you emotionally. The world sounds really cool too, dark fantasy and horror are some of my favourites for creative works. Best of luck with it, developing games is definitely time intensive so I really respect anyone who puts the time, love and effort into their work be it games, books or just anything that requires creating an entire world and deep characters.
I’ve personally switched over to Spotify but I used to use YouTube too but that was the annoying thing, when things get removed without notice. I’m making the scarecrow one because a friend wants to go to a convention as joker, I’ve also gone to one as Rhys from Tales from the Borderlands, otherwise I’ve made a trapper and a legion mask for fun and a wearable pumpkin/jack-o-lantern head for a Halloween event one year (also painted my arm as exposed muscles) and a forest creature masquerade mask for a friends party (they do a different theme every year)
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@fluffymareep your game sounds fun. :)
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@GrootDude Ty groot <3
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You’re welcome Mareep :D
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I am going to be working on a game, it will be playable on ROBLOX when I am done with it.
I haven’t decided what it’ll be about yet though.
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I've been practicing my drawing skills. I want to get better because I think I'm an awful artist and I actually want to do some cool fanart for once XD
I have an extremely cartoonish artstyle though which makes trying to draw actual people quite the challenge compared to drawing some animals, monsters and other creatures
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@PhantomMask20763 Oooo, that's cool. Drawing is a lot of fun. I really like to doodle. c:
My artstyle is like basically anime, I think. I can't really say for sure, but I've seen a lot of pretty/cute/cool art styles that are super different from each other, so continue to do your best. <3 I always feel awkward when I show my artsy friends stuff I've drawn 'cause like typically it can't compare to what they've done.
I've seen a lot of people use reference to know how a character should be sitting and to make it look a bit more natural, regardless of style. What TV show do you think you'd compare your style to?
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I would definently compare my artstyle to shows like Adventure Time, Fairly Odd parents and Wander Over Yonder (except not as good but it's a similar style) With my characters, they always end up looking goofy/ silly. For example, when I tried to draw my entry for the cosmetic contest, my Plague came out looking like a character from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, it was too cartoonish and not really scary/ cool enough which is how I wanted it to look
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I been working on for a few years a fantasy setting for tabletop roleplaying. I honestly doubt I will ever finish it but it is my zen moment to work on it.
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I working on a Smash Fangame project.
I made 3 movesets. 2 of them didn't make the cut, BUT I did get Dwight in, so I consider that a win.
Here's my moveset I made for him, if curious: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LgtkvLriS_gU-pK8uabZdbzdU8-jRZRLLgrKjLV5rrM/edit?usp=sharing
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Practice makes perfect. c: I've heard that's it's good to get a more "realistic" depiction down and then your own personal artstyle will look better, too.
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I DM for a D&D group so I'm always writing and editing campaign notes, painting figures and crafting props.
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In addition to DbD, I'm also quite fond of building games. I've got some really cool stuff on my YouTube channel.
Right now, I'm mostly focused on a game called Cities: Skylines. My current project is building luxury lakefront mansions. I've basically got two built, and I need to build a third. Once I do that, I'll probably upload the progress to YouTube.
I've also been thinking about doing a custom DbD map. But I haven't made any final decisions.
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@ClogWench I've always wanted to get into D&D. It sounds a lot of fun.
@Mister_Holdout Building games are fun. c: I play quite a bit of Minecraft every once in a while. I really like making structures, etc.
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@fluffymareep it's a lot of fun provided your DM has a good sense of what they're doing. It's a really creative medium in a lot of different ways!
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@fluffymareep From the few books I've read, authors can ######### on those classes and even basic ######### grammar and be considered geniuses.
Have you heard of José Saramago? He's a Portuguese writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Many of his books contain little to no punctuation and ignore grammatical rules, which makes them very difficult to read and would get any student an F (since, y'know, the stuff he writes has no ######### punctuation). However, many people praise him as one of the best Portuguese writers to have ever lived.
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