Thinkin'

Attention artists, art theft!

Saw this post by rosebloom-arts and decided to check it out. Turns out she is not the only person suffering from art theft by this website, making profit from printing posters of peoples artwork without any premission whatsoever.

I saw i lot of artworks including my own and from a lot of other people!

This is the website. If you search you name you will find some of your artworks they are using. And here is the petition to end this website. 

This is affecting a lot of people, not just myself and if you are an artist either by photography or drawing they are most likely stealing from you too.

So check it out and sign the petition, please. 

Friendly reminder that the reason you feel so much better is because of your meds, don’t stop taking them unless you talk to your doctor first, you really do need them, I promise. 

PSA: IF YOU LIVE IN ENGLAND PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE

Some of you may have heard about the UK Cat Killer, some sick fuck who has killed and mutilated over 300 cats and other animals such as pet rabbits and wild foxes over the past 3-4 years.

Recently there have been an influx of more killings especially around the South Eastern area, including Surrey, Hampshire, Sussex, Berkshire, etc, where the animals have been mutilated and either returned to their owner or left on footpaths and sidewalks where kids regularly walk to school. School children have been finding theses horribly mutilated animals. Most recently, however, on Monday a lady’s cat was found beheaded and splayed out in a star shape beneath her bedroom window in the morning about 2 minutes away from where I live, my mum works at a vets and was visited by Scotland yard police who advised everyone who lives in the area to keep their pets in at all times if possible. Especially at night.

So, since Tumblr is so American-centric, I thought I’d write a little PSA telling people who live in the UK to please keep your pets in at night, and if possible, during the day. 

Sources of information for those who want to read more about this arsehole:

https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/decapitated-cat-farnham-linked-uk-14770593

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/947716/croydon-cat-killer-targets-young-girls-pet

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5693109/The-Croydon-Cat-Killer-mutilated-400-England-started-butchering-pets.html

SNARL is a good continuous source for those who wish to follow further

This has been a PSA, thank you.

Top 12 alternatives to Photoshop for digital painters and illustrators

Hello there!

Yes, we haven’t done this in a while… but our inbox and chat are swamped with questions on the subject, so this article was very much needed.

it’s a simple list of art apps, but we know you love those :D

Enough with the intro, here it is, a list of twelve art apps you may want to check out.

ArtRage is an art program for beginners and professionals. With its minimal interface, it’s easy to keep the essential tools at hand without stealing space from the canvas. Panels can be moved around and tools can be customised. We all know how important it is for digital artists to be able to modify brushes!

Pros: easy to use; friendly interface; essential tools from professional apps available; available for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac

Cons: it may get sluggish with big files and when using big brushes, but performances also depend on the running machine; limited selection of editing tools if compared to Photoshop - ArtRage is more of a painting program rather than an editing one.

Paid

ArtRage Lite is a different version at a cheaper price, mostly for beginners, but also for professionals if they need the essential.

Now free, Sketchbook is the famous app created by Autodesk for various platforms.

Pros: clean, friendly interface; easy to use; professional features; autosave feature

Cons: lack of official tutorials; doesn’t offer as many tools as other apps (it’s down to the essential); paid subscription in Adobe style for Enterprise License

Free and paid

Black Ink is a powerful little program few actually know, but there’s a reason: this isn’t your classing drawing app. What’s cool about it is the vast selection of special brushes, completely non-realistic, and definitely able to boost your creativity.

Pros: vast selection of customisable brushes; excellent performance

Cons: not very easy to use; non-intuitive interface

Paid

This is probably the most complete software for painting, drawing and animation. It was originally known as Manga Studio, but with its updates and addition of features, it became Clip Studio Paint. 

This doesn’t say much about the quality of the features themselves considering the affordable price (if you haven’t used the app yet, that is), but among graphic apps, this one is the top seller.

Pros: professional features for illustrators; layout tools for comic/manga artists; 3D reference models; customisable tools; various sales with special prices

Cons: the interface may not appear intuitive at first; the program may lag (again, performance also depends on the running machine)

Paid

GIMP is the famous open source image editor originally created for GNU/Linux and available for OS X and Windows. 

Best known as Photoshop’s main competition, this is a manipulation program for both beginners and professionals who love design.

It offers many professional features, making the program a powerful tool.

Pros: professional editing tools; supports different formats; supported by different platforms; active community

Cons: in spite of the simple design, many options are hidden and it takes time to discover all the features; slow startup

Free

Krita is an open source painting app created by artists for artists.

Pros: easy to use; intuitive interface; great brush workflow; brush stabilizer; customisable brushes; general good performance; very enthusiastic, although small, community

Cons: it may be slow or even crash depending on the running computer and the app’s version; very few editing tools compared to Photoshop

Free

MediBang Paint is a free and light app for drawing and painting, perfect for manga and comic creation.

Pros: vast selection of brushes; cloud sharing; friendly, minimal interface (non-desktop app); also available for iPad, iPhone and Android

Cons: requires an account to use all features; non-intuitive interface (desktop version)

Free

Mischief is a sketching app with essential tools, useful for brainstorming and ideation.

Pros: infinite drawing canvas; friendly interface; easy to use; cheap pro version

Cons: few updates; offers only the essential (but that’s the point); no editing/adjustment tools

Free and paid

Corel’s jewel, Painter is the most famous software that offers digital tools able to give a traditional feel to brushes and canvas.

Pros: different selection of media; many professional features; PS-friendly

Cons: certain brushes may work slow; not easy to use at first; the software may crash (this is the most common report); pricey

Paid

Paintstorm Studio is a professional software for digital painting. It’s focused on the use of brushes and blending, which makes the software a little gem in the digital painting field.

Pros: good brush workflow; brush stabilizer; “close gap” feature; customisable interface and tools; professional features; affordable price

Cons: non-intuitive interface (desktop version)

Paid

Procreate is the powerful drawing app for iOS. 

With the very sensitive Apple Pencil, Procreate is so easy to use that many artists chose the iPad over the most famous graphic tablets.

Pros: friendly interface; makes it easy to organise files; excellent brush workflow; customisable brushes; video recording; affordable price

Cons: hidden features; only available for iPad

Paid

SAI is a simple app for artists who want to focus on painting and drawing. 

It’s well known for its good pressure support and its essential tools for manga artists, but SAI can be used by any kind of artist who wants to paint.

Pros: easy to use; friendly interface; light software; customisable brushes; tons of (non-official) tutorials

Cons: limited selection of tools, even basic ones; limited canvas sizes and uses; it might crash from intensive work, especially with big canvases and brushes; supports only RGB colour mode; lack of support

Paid

HONOURABLE MENTION

Many call this app an advanced PaintTool SAI, and for a reason. FireAlpaca offers almost everything PTS has and more.

Pros: friendly interface; brush stabilizer; lineart selection; customisable brushes

Cons: no colour slider; limited brush control; although more advanced compared to PTS, the features are quite basic.

Free

We hope you’ll find this list useful. 

If you think there are other apps that should have made this list, don’t hesitate to let us know!

Thank you and peace out,

G&M

Other articles:

10 inspiring and helpful YouTube channels for digital artists

6 inspiring Art Podcasts for digital artists

7 amazing Photoshop extensions and tools for digital artists

writing's a lonely hobby but it's interesting to think about how, for some of us, we wouldn't have it any other way.

I really want a science fiction story where aliens come to invade earth and effortlessly wipe out humanity, only to be fought off by the wildlife.

They were expecting military resistance. They weren’t counting on bears.

people treat bisan, motaz and plestia like they're influencers instead of, you know, people who have endured/are enduring war crimes beyond imagining and ethnic cleansing. what I mean is, they never asked to be spokesperson for their people's humanity, or planned to be so visible. they're just people, ordinary people who can never go home, who are surviving colonial violence. what they're doing and what they have done defies any term of admiration or respect I could apply. But I wish that people would stop thinking of these individual Palestinians trying to survive in war zones like celebrities or politicians with actual power because it's just another form of dehumanisation. Ask yourself, what will you do if something happens to Bisan? If she is killed or goes dark or inshallah she escapes? Everyday I see posts like, "if Bisan dies, I'll riot!" riot NOW. speak up, now! Palestinians and Lebanese and Syrian people who aren't going viral on social media are being murdered by the occupation in the 100s everyday. I am begging people to stop hingeing their faith in the free Palestine movement and the movement to end the Zionist occupation on individuals. I love Bisan and Motaz and Plestia with all my heart and pray for them every day, but I'm begging people not to reframe Palestinian liberation through individualism. Support BDS, donate to UNRWA or the Red Crescent Society, listen to Palestinians across Palestine and the diaspora. Your belief in the freedom of Indigenous peoples has to transcend the ones most visible and palatable to you.

AID FOR PALESTINE COMMISSIONS!

To order a piece donate to any of the outlets in the links below, then DM me with a receipt or other proof of your donation.

DONATION OUTLETS UNDER THE CUT

Gaza eSIMs helps keep Palestinians connected to the wider world, essential to keep families and friends connected over long distance and to document the ongoing crisis.

Zakat Foundation of America provides immediate emergency family relief supplies. Medical, hygiene, food, and more.

MedGlobal provides emergency response and health programs across the world. This is their Gaza donor box.

Pious Projects Emergency Relief for Gaza offers a 0% admin fee, meaning 100% of your donation goes to emergency relief.

Asad sisters' Feminine Hygiene for Gaza is run on the same site as the previous option, with a specific focus on increasingly-sparse feminine hygiene - important to address because of the ongoing femicide aspects of the genocide.

Care for Gaza is a nonprofit charity that distributes emergency relief, chiefly food.

Medical Aid for Palestinians is a UK-based org that provides medical relief to Palestine.

Scotland has created an official tartan for Scottish Muslims: blue for the Scottish flag, green for Islam, w/ five white lines representing the five pillars of Islam, six gold lines representing the six articles of faith, and a black square representing the Holy Kabah. 

If you’re not Scottish, you might not know how big of a deal this is. Quoting Attire’s Mind: “This is a signal that they are not only just a full part of Scotland now, but family. Clans, as defined by tartans, are large scale families, and the totality of them encompass the family of the Scottish people. “ 

Distances. #pascalcampion