How do you write healthy parent-child relationships?
this might be more response than you want, but interesting (and kinda depressing when you think about it) fact: there’ve been a bunch of research studies where parents have been asked what they think makes a healthy parent-child relationship, and they tend to like…not answer the actual question because they think they’re being asked what good parenting is, which is not the same. so they talk about things like helping kids with homework and making sure they eat well. children, on the other hand, usually respond to the same question with stuff that’s literally just the definition of healthy relationships generally. affection, honesty, respect, spending time together, sharing interests. and the real kicker is, objectively, we know that’s the kind of stuff that actually has a much better impact not only on whether or not the relationship is strong and positive but also the kid’s overall happiness and psychological health.
so, if you want to write a character who’s really intent on being a Good Parent you’d have them putting massive effort into making their kid Grow Up Right, worrying about shit like if they have The Right Friends and they’re spending Enough Time Outside. but if you want to write a good relationship, just make parent and kid laugh together and respect boundaries and be emotionally supportive, like you would when writing a solid pair of friends or romantic couple.
No that was actually really helpful and I’m glad you took the time to give a serious response
This was a really good response.
I grew up around toxic people so it took me like 35 years to learn to write a healthy parent/child relationship.
Don’t feel bad if it’s difficult to write, especially if your own background is fraught.
//Absurdly helpful for people writing royal characters and/or characters who interact with royalty and members of the nobility.
[x]
Citizen is simpler and more beautiful~ but just in case anyone needs this.
DUDE BUT THIS IS WHAT I’VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL PEOPLE
in medieval times you ONLY addressed a king/queen with “Your Majesty”, NEVER “Your Highness”. To address a king/queen with “Your Highness” was considered an insult.
… So when Cinderella’s stepsister Anastasia curtsied terribly and addressed Prince Charming as “Your Grace”, it was UNSPEAKABLY RUDE?
This drives me nuts when I read someone addresses a King or Queen as Your Highness. NO! IT’S YOUR MAJESTY!
completely double spaced version on google docs here – this post is more blocky for the sake of people’s dashboards, but still long so people will be less likely to glaze over it. my apologies if that makes it hard to read
things to look for and avoid in an autistic character
• symptoms only manifesting as “nonverbal and rocking”
• super smart / living calculator
• super dumb / doesn’t understand anything
• all the symptoms you can come up with for them are “awkward” and “has special interest(s)” (please do more research)
• trains, technology, and/or math as special interests
• acting like a child
• getting treated like a baby
• unreasonably cruel and uncaring about others’ reactions to them being cruel
• if they’re comparable to sheldon from the big bang theory, start over
• animal comparisons
• a lack of feelings
• please no stories about what it’s like to be autistic told by allisticsthe right way to write an autistic person
• lots of symptoms, including secondary ones not included on a general diagnosis requirement list (here’s a list i rather like that was made by an autistic person – their blog is also a good resource)
• having a good amount of general knowledge and actually talking about it (i cannot believe that i have to say this)
• talking about things outside of special interests (again…. come on……….) (special interests are usually the default things our brains go to when theres no stimulation or we want to entertain ourselves – it isn’t literally all we think or talk about ever. if a conversation has no connections to a special interest, reconsider having your autistic character bring it up in a context that is not an introduction.)
• explicitly expressed to be capable of attraction and romantic feelings – if your character is an adult, add sexual feelings to this point
• capable of general functioning, just with a disability that makes it more difficult – not a walking disability (….sigh)
• a wide amount of feelings and emotional turmoil (but perhaps only being able to express it in limited ways)
• we’re people
• just people whose brains are wired differentlythings to avoid in research for an autistic character
• autism moms / autism blogs and websites not run by autistic people
• any affiliation with autism $peaks means you should walk away and never look back
• a scientist trying to create explanations for what autistic people do without actually asking / not mentioning asking autistic people
• anything about a cure for autism
• a person that “worked with autistic kids” phrased in the same way as “worked with animals”
• talking about autistic people as if they are mysteries, are like animals, or are otherwise othered weirdos instead of peoplethings to look for in research for an autistic character
• actual autistic people talking about their experiences and symptoms
• just stick to that and you’re good but it’s hard to find sometimes ngl. just look for the above red flagsthings i would personally like to see in an autistic character
• less easy to swallow sadness and more destructive anger. i would love to see a canonically autistic character who was frustrated easily by small things and had trouble communicating why
• not a story about being autistic, a story that happens to have a character or characters who are autistic – it isn’t pointed out or questioned, they’re right at home with the rest of the cast and not othered (a la symmetra from overwatch)
• intensive sensory issues / small sounds making large reactions
• clear communications about not liking x sensory thing (for example being touched)
• poor motor skills / clumsiness and not being laughed at for it
• walking funny (body bent downwards, walking very fast, walking slowly, big strides, shuffling, stiffness, etc) – no one treats it as if it’s funny or something totally strange
• a big personality that has a presence so they can’t be cast aside (but feel free to have quiet characters too) – if this was along with being nonverbal they would probably leap to being one of my favorite characters ever
• a fear of asking for clarification on sarcasm or jokes because of past experiences and an arc about the character becoming more comfortable asking questions>> if any fellow autistic people want to add something, feel free <<
allistics are encouraged to rb this
The BASICS: Using References by; Shattered-Earth
Admins Notes// What is said in “What about the rest of the picture” is very accurate, please take it into consideration.
I am also including these notes on gestures/references, their proportions aren’t perfect, but the message rings clear-copying what you see in a photo isn’t the best way to reference as you will learn very little, especially when compared to what you will learn following the featured tutorial above.
Reblogging to get this in circulation again, I strongly feel as if this is one of the most important guides out there, beginning artists could find a lot of value in this (I know I could’ve)
This is a really good article about how quickly people actually die from cuts and punctures inflicted by swords and knives. However, it’s really really long and I figured that since I was summarizing for my own benefit I’d share it for anyone else who is writing fiction that involves hacking and slashing your villain(s) to death. If you want the nitty gritty of the hows and whys of this, you can find it at the original source.
…even in the case of mortal wounds, pain may not reach levels of magnitude sufficient to incapacitate a determined swordsman.
Causes of death from stabs and cuts:
- massive bleeding (exsanguination) - most common
- air in the bloodstream (air embolism)
- suffocation (asphyxia)
- air in the chest cavity (pneumothorax)
- infection
Stabbing vs cutting:
- Stabbing someone actually takes very little force if you don’t hit bone or hard cartilage.
- The most important factor in the ease of stabbing is the velocity of the blade at impact with the skin, followed by the sharpness of the blade.
- Stabbing wounds tend to close after the weapon is withdrawn.
- Stabbing wounds to muscles are not typically very damaging. Damage increases with the width of the blade.
- Cutting wounds are typically deepest at the site of initial impact and get shallower as force is transferred from the initial swing to pushing and pressing.
- Cutting wounds have a huge number of factors that dictate how deep they are and how easily they damage someone: skill, radial velocity, mass of the blade, and the size of the initial impact.
- Cutting wounds along the grain of musculature are not typically very damaging but cutting wounds across the grain can incapacitate.
Arteries vs veins:
- Severed veins have almost zero blood pressure and sometimes even negative pressure. They do not spurt but major veins can suck air in causing an air embolism.
- Cutting or puncturing a vein is usually not fatal.
- Severed arteries have high blood pressure. The larger arteries do spurt and can often cause death due to exsanguination.
Body parts as targets:
- Severing a jugular vein in the neck causes an air embolism and will make the victim collapse after one or two gasps for air.
- Severing a carotid artery in the neck cuts off the blood supply to the brain but the victim may be conscious for up to thirty seconds.
- Stabbing or cutting the neck also causes the victim to aspirate blood that causes asphyxiation and death.
- Severing a major abdominal artery or vein would cause immediate collapse, but this takes a fairly heavy blade and a significant amount of effort because they are situated near the spine.
- Abdominal wounds that only impact the organs can cause death but they do not immediately incapacitate.
- Severing an artery in the interior of the upper arm causes exsanguination and death but does not immediately incapacitate.
- Severing an artery in the palm side of the forearm causes exsanguination and death but does not immediately incapacitate.
- Severing the femoral artery at a point just above and behind the knee is the best location. Higher up the leg it is too well protected to easily hit. This disables and will eventually kill the victim but does not immediately incapacitate.
- Cutting across the muscles of the forearm can immediately end the opponent’s ability to hold their weapon.
- Cutting across the palm side of the wrist causes immediate loss of ability to hold a weapon.
- Stab wounds to the arm do not significantly impact the ability to wield a weapon or use it.
- Cuts and stab wounds to the front and back of the legs generally do not do enough muscle damage to cause total loss of use of that leg.
- Bone anywhere in the body can bend or otherwise disfigure a blade.
- The brain can be stabbed fairly easily through the eyes, the temples, and the sinuses.
- Stabs to the brain are more often not incapacitating.
The lungs as targets:
- Slicing into the lung stops that lung from functioning, but the other lung continues to function normally. This also requires either luck to get between the ribs or a great deal of force to penetrate the ribs.
- Stabbing the lung stops that lung from functioning, but the other lung continues to function normally. It is significantly easier to stab between ribs than to slice.
- It is possible to stab the victim from the side and pass through both lungs with an adequate length blade. It is very unlikely that this will happen with a slicing hit.
- “Death caused solely by pneumothorax is generally a slow process, occurring as much as several hours after the wound is inflicted.”
- Lung punctures also typically involve the lung filling with blood, but this is a slow process.
The heart as a target:
I’m just going to quote this paragraph outright with a few omissions and formatting changes for clarity because it’s chock-full of good info:
…[stabbing] wounds to the heart the location, depth of penetration, blade width, and the presence or absence of cutting edges are important factors influencing a wounded duelist’s ability to continue a combat.
- Large cuts that transect the heart may be expected to result in swift incapacitation…
- …stab wounds, similar to those that might be inflicted by a thrust with a sword with a narrow, pointed blade may leave a mortally wounded victim capable of surprisingly athletic endeavors.
Essentially, the heart can temporarily seal itself well enough to keep pressure up for a little while if it’s a simple stab. The arteries around the heart, while they are smaller and harder to hit, actually cause incapacitation much more quickly.
Petition for orcs and trolls to stand upright
so we can lovingly ogle their pecs all day longbecause posture is super importantDude I love trolls, from what I gather they slouch out of respect for their short little buddies. If they need to be serious, they’ll straighten up enough look you in the eyes. And if they’re standing at full height, you know you’re fucked.
Oh sweet gods above THANK YOU. This is SO FUCKING HELPFUL.
Practice aging your characters with Kibbitzer’s helpful reference sheet!
Aging Reference Sheet by *Kibbitzer
You should try this exercise! Start from the middle-aged man! it’s easier! it’s really interesting and perfect to undertstand your skills!
FACES
- Drawing a face (the circle thing)
- How to draw faces
- Heads in profile
- Drawing heads
- A face tutorial
- Avoid same facing
- Diversify your faces
- Face shapes
- To make your drawing look like the person you’re drawing
- Make your faces look like the person
- Expressions
- More about expressions
- Drawing lips
- Lip tutorial
- Drawing ears
- Drawing eyes
- Realistic eyes
- Drawing a nose
- Drawing kisses
- Drawing glasses
- Drawing hoods
BODIES
- Guide to human types part 1
- Guide to human types part 2
- Guide to human types part 3
- Different kinds of athletic body types
- Ladies tutorial (nudity)
- Fellas tutorial
- Curves on girls tutorial
- How to draw necks
- Drawing shoulders
- Drawing arms
- Drawing hands
- Hand tips
- More hands
- Hands tips and techniques
- Hands, arms, legs and feet
- Legs, torso and expressions
- Drawing boobs
- How to boob
- Boobs and hips
- Drawing abs
- Beer belly tutorial
- Drawing backs
- How to draw back views
- Legs reference
- Drawing knees
- How to draw butts
- Penis tutorial (nsfw)
- Drawing feet and shoes
- Sitting reference
- Realistic woman body shape chart
- Hair
- Drawing hair
- Hair tutorial
- Drawing curls
- Drawing braids
ANIMALS & CREATURES
- Canines vs felines
- Drawing cats
- Drawing cats tips
- How to draw big cats
- Drawing rats
- Basic deer tutorial
- Deer sketching
- Dog anatomy
- Dog anatomy tutorial
- Dog nose tutorial
- Dog paw tutorial
- Basic wolf tutorial
- Horse tutorial
- Sheep vs goats
- Drawing giraffes
- Basic owl tutorial
- Bird wing tutorial
- Drawing bird beaks and faces
- Butterfly tutorial
- Drawing animal legs on humans
- Winged people anatomy
- Dragon tutorial
- Drawing dragons
- Dragon wing tutorial
- Fur tutorial
- Drawing sharp teeth
OTHERS
- Drawing clothes
- Clothing folds tutorial
- Collars, vests and pants reference
- Hats reference
- Drawing jeans
- Drawing bows
- Drawing trees
- Tree tutorial
- Drawing water
- Water tutorial
- Drawing crystals
- Ice
- Clouds
- Creating form
- Perspective tricks
- Character design reference
- How to draw better (video)
- Learn how to draw better
- Art reference & tutorials blog
- Tutorial masterpost
- How to draw anything
And now here are all the body (headcanon) charts I’ve done for the main casts of Persona 1, Persona 2 (IS & EP), Persona 3, and Persona 4
(They might not look like much but by gum, the amount of time it took to do all of these)
Presented without comment.
EXCEPT to say- commonplacecaz.
It’s great to see something like this for writers as well. I feel like we should appreciate them more.
Read: Composers
As requested, a tutorial on how I approach lips. This is just how I see them, but I hope it helps!