Category: art

Tiny Tuesday Tinkering…

WiwohkaLeave a comment

With Monday being as busy as it was, what with baby Maisie here, I wasn’t able to do my normal writing, like I’d planned. Things should be a bit more settled by next week, and then I’ll start my new Exploring Babies series.

For now, Wiwohka said that I could help her with the Tuesday Tinkering segment she normally does. I guess she felt bad for leaving me out, yesterday. I totally understood though, just by watching her carry a huge baby around all day. How can something so little, be so heavy? But that’s for my Monday writings, so no spoilers.

Any how, I know Wiwohka’s been really hard a work, writing the story about the baby orc, and all. I thought I would surprise her with a new character creation for the baby’s mom. I know there isn’t one made, as of yet. But if I don’t make it quick, Wiwohka will make one before I get the chance to do it for her.

Let’s see if I can do this. I’ve been watching how it’s done, so I think it might be possible to do, even if I am only a tiny ant. Here we go…

Now, we already have the first image Wiwohka used for last weeks episode, so we’ll start by using her for our template,

There was also one other image that was made, but not utilized yet,

I think her face seems too pinched, or to snooty, if you will. Baby Brugo is adorable, and I can’t imagine his mamma to be so gruff looking, even for an orc.

I used the program feature that allows me to make some images that are either slightly varied, or greatly varied, from the original image. When I tried the slightly varied, I got this,

When I opted for the greatly varied button, I got this one,

I like this second one, much better than the first. She looks softer, and more like what Ollie would be drawn toward. Well, that’s what I want to think, anyway.

So, now comes the hard part. We take the three images, along with a few different poses of each, so that the computer has enough to work with, and we head to the creation board. Wish me luck!

…………………………………… intermission ………………………………………….

Wow! That was much harder than I thought it would be. Wiwohka made it look rather easy to do, but I found it nearly impossible, at first. In the end, I think I did alright. She will either fix it the way she wants it, or simply make one of her own characters, though I hope she’ll be pleasantly surprised, just as I hope you will be…

I like her! She is a warrior, of course, but still a mamma. I know that orc’s are known for their prowess in war, as well as, their fierce angry nature, but she’s still a mother, right?! Mamma’s love their babies, don’t they? I hope Wiwohka will see that in this character, but that’s for her to decide, not me.

Well, I hope I did alright for this mornings tinkering session. Thanks for letting me be a part of it. In the future, however, I think I’ll leave all this technical stuff to the professionals. I’m gonna stick to the writing bits from now on. That’s where this ant excels, don’t you think?

See you next week for my normal Monday Messages… hugs from all of us, here in the barnyard.

Love Lilly

What’s with all the rating?

Wiwohka10 Comments
Woman in yellow sweater looking confused while holding a menu in a café
Daily writing prompt
What’s a classic book that you think is overrated?
View all responses

First we’re asked to give up the goods on who we thought were underrated people, and now we must seek out an overrated classic book. What gives? Maybe WordPress has pilfered my idea from Monday Messages. It was my idea first, just so you know.

For the sake of WordPress’s reputation, and to maintain my own literary standings, instead of answering the prompt, I’m going to explain it.

Exactly what do they want to know, here? How many really understand what is considered to be overrated about a piece of literature?

Help us out, Mr. McGoogle, would ya…

Commonly cited “overrated” classic books often feature slow pacing, archaic language, or excessive repetition that frustrates modern readers, according to discussions on Reddit and Goodreads. Top examples include The Catcher in the Rye (whiny protagonist), Moby Dick (too much whaling data), and The Great Gatsby (overhyped narrative). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Frequently Cited Overrated Classics

  • The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger: Often criticized for having an annoying, whiny, and unrelatable protagonist.
  • Moby Dick by Herman Melville: Criticized for being a “slog” with too many technical, tedious chapters on whale biology and whaling history.
  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Frequently deemed overhyped, with readers finding the characters unsympathetic and the story unengaging.
  • Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë: Described as overly miserable, with a complex, unenjoyable structure.
  • The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Often criticized for slow pacing and an agonizingly detailed, boring start.
  • Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: Cited for being difficult to follow and harboring dated, problematic themes.
  • Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes: While acknowledged for its historical influence, many find it repetitive and far too long.
  • The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway: Criticized for a “boring” plot that feels minimal to some readers. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

Common Reasons for Overrating

  • Stylistic Overload: Novels like Ulysses by James Joyce are criticized for “willful obscurity” and being “a dead end in fiction”.
  • Outdated Content: Books like Huckleberry Finn are sometimes viewed as outdated rather than timeless.
  • School Curriculum Fatigue: Many readers forced to read classics like Lord of the Flies or Romeo and Juliet in school often view them negatively.
  • Repetitive Satire: Don Quixote is often considered tedious because the humor is repetitive.
  • Misleading Marketing: The Da Vinci Code is listed because it was marketed as a high-stakes masterpiece, while many saw it as a sensationalized, inaccurate thriller. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Note: The perception of a book as “overrated” is subjective and often debated among readers, with many of these titles remaining enduring staples of literature for good reason. [1]

While I can’t say that there are any particular books I’ve found to be overrated, per say, though there were a few I wish I hadn’t read. But it wasn’t for the reason of being overrated. I just didn’t enjoy the content of the story.

Forming an opinion about a books rating isn’t something I really practice. I don’t read reviews of a book before choosing to read it. I simply read the description on the back of the cover to decide whether I want to dive in, or not. I have read books that friends have suggested for one reason, or another. But not to rate the story. There was something in the content that I sought, based on what that friend may have shared about the story.

Being that I’m a writer, perhaps it gives me more grace and understanding for those that came before. I appreciate all the hard work that went into creating and publishing those books. While I may not enjoy certain writing styles, I can’t judge the content of a story based on that. How would I like it if someone judged my writing, purely based on whether they like the way I told the story. If one doesn’t like it, another will. Everyone is different, and so there will always be opinions from one end of a topic, to the other.

Though I couldn’t give an answer to the prompt this morning, I did learn more about what makes a book good or bad, underrated or overrated, and whether or not I want to read a book til the end.

That was a bit of a read, wasn’t it? Now I’m hungry.

Let’s eat cookies…

Book-shaped cookies in various colors with titles like Stories, Recipes, Mystery, and Magic

Tuesday Tinkering…

Wiwohka2 Comments

You know, it’s been some time since we’ve really worked with Squagon’s images. The OpenArt upgrades arrived, and I got totally sidetracked with all the new bells and whistles.

It’s time we went back and worked on our favorite flying squirrel. The upcoming summer events will be requiring a good many images of our intrepid squirrel/pirate, as he’ll be the focus of our crew’s adventurous expeditions.

While I can’t really tell you what those adventures are, as of yet, you can certainly help me pull up some images that we’ll all love seeing, once we set sail. Don’t worry. I won’t leave anyone at the docks. I give my solemn oath!

Anyway, let’s see what we can come up with for our fun loving, flying furball…

If you hadn’t noticed the problem yet, let me fill you in… his tail looks pitiful! Let me see if I can fix that…

Good grief! All I did was ask the ai to make his tail much fluffier than it was, but things got a bit out of hand. Let’s adjust our request to say make his tail somewhat fluffier…

The reason I’m showing you these images is to reflect the sensitivity of OpenArt’s new chat editing feature. Sometimes Norbert, as I call him, likes to take an idea and run with it, often ending in disastrous results. At other times, if I use the right wording or the image is simple enough to fix, this new feature works out rather well. I’m not saying that I want to use this image, but it gives me a bit more confidence about some of the finer adjustments needed, if I want to perfect certain scenes.

Do you notice how the image feels somewhat photorealistic, while still having a bit of that whimsical softness. I think it brings Squagon more depth of personality vs. an actual image of a squirrel. I’m able to give him an endearing quality that reaches deeper than just a plain old, backyard peanut thief! What do you think?

Honestly, I think it has more to do with the program understanding my query, than it does about my skills as an artist. I am a writer, not a painter, nor sculptor, nor full-time national geographic photojournalist, though I may have done well as a traveling writer. The only way I can communicate with any of you is through my literary donations, here on WordPress. For that, I need the help of an art platform that can assist me in portraying a thought, memory, or imaginative tale. I want you to see what I see, which can be tricky when using an artificial form of images.

The thing to remember is this… the program only as good as the one using it. It’s an artificial means of creating images from words, nothing more. The ai doesn’t think for itself, nor you, for that matter. It simply responds to a pre-written set of words, and it holds a memory bank of definitions for those words, phrases, and sentence structures.

Normally, I will start with a simple descriptive sentence. I offer the ai a character image, a brief visual descriptor, and an action to perform. On occasion, this first request provides a usable image. However, for most of what I do, the program offers an ai assisted expansion of the original request. I like to use these extra helps because many times its not what you ask, but how you ask it.

For instance, when I ask the ai for Squagon sitting on a bale of hay, this is the first response from the ai:

Now, I’ll ask for the ai to assist with the query. This was the result,

A photorealistic image of @MySquagon perched atop a golden bale of hay in a rustic barn setting, natural afternoon sunlight streaming through weathered wooden slats, casting warm amber highlights across the textured straw and creating soft dappled shadows on the worn plank floor, the hay bale’s compressed wheat stalks visible in detailed layers, dust motes floating lazily in the sunbeams, aged timber walls with peeling paint in the background, the character resting naturally with balanced posture against the organic texture of the dried grass.

These were the images offered from the enhanced prompt:

In this situation, I much prefer the first image over the assisted one. It captures much more of his personality, and looks more realistic. Sometimes the ai assist works out better, and sometimes not. It all depends on what I am asking the ai to do with the character. The action will always play heavily into the image’s final features.

For Squagon, I think we shouldn’t have too many obstacles along the way, but it was better to be safe than sorry. I wanted to do some work with the little guy before summer expeditions get underway. I like to be prepared for any and all perceived hang ups and/or roadblocks to a successful sailing season. You’ll thank me for it later, I can assure you.

Well, that’s all for today’s tinkering session. I think we got a lot of things figured out for now, and big or small, they all will help to get us where we were headed, right?!

May your writing hold true, and your words make a difference to the world…

Hugs

Find your happy place…

Wiwohka2 Comments

It’s Saturday morning, and the sun is shining brightly, here in the great Northwest.

Find your favorite project, your most enjoyable past time, or your favorite binge-worthy Netflix series… it’s Saturday, folks. I hope it’s sunny wherever you are, but either way, it’s still hopefully a play day.

Whether you’re working or playing, may you find joy in your day…

Hugs

Tuesday Tinkering…

WiwohkaLeave a comment

Sometimes, trying to create an idea or image that fits with a story can be tricky. You can have all the right tools, resources, and materials, but still feel clueless. At times, I find myself feeling sort of like the little girl in the above image. She has everything needed for that letter, except the pen to write it!

Now that I’m preparing to work on Volume II of my book series, it’s important that I have a good working image or two, of the main characters within the story. It was rather easy to create our dragon, as I’ve always had a clear picture in my head of what he should look like. Maybe it’s because he was a baby when all this began. Who knows.

All I know is that it’s not been that easy to come up with visuals for our heroin, as I’m always focusing on the dragon in the story. Now that we’re entering the second leg of our characters’ journey, the heroin needs to find herself, in a manner of speaking. For this, I’ll need an image in my head that captures exactly who she is.

First, I set about asking Norbert, my ai assistant, for some images of a cloaked woman with a satchel over her shoulder, walking along a path…

While I like her face, I don’t like the suitcase. Not only is it the wrong style, but it’s also a completely inaccurate depiction of what I consider a satchel. It’s far too modern. Not only was the bag wrong, but since she’s walking in the wrong direction, I can’t really get a working image for creating the avatar.

I corrected the wordage on my prompt to reflect a frontal image, as well as, changing the style and positioning of her satchel…

Much better, but a bit too sultry. We aren’t doing a Victoria Secret photo shoot, here. Plus, she needs to have more of a hooded cloak to reflect a mysterious traveler. I don’t want that image of her face, but I will be able to use it for a pose image when I make the actual character.

I changed a few key words in the prompt, and asked again…

Much better, I thought. Her face is softer, and a bit more moody.

I took this image, along with three others that offered differing angles of our subject, and plugged them into the Character Creation machine…

I like her, though the clothing will need to be altered to fit the story. I was able to add another character to her image, which was helpful. There are two main characters in the story, so I needed some images of them together…

Now that we’ve a real heroin to work with, I just need to get this handsome fellow into his own avatar. But that’s for another day. For now, I will be satisfied with our somewhat successful creation of our first main character. She may change a bit, as time goes on, but I am connecting with both of these two adventurers… hopefully, you are, as well.

Tuesday Tinkering…

Wiwohka5 Comments

While I’m nowhere near finished tweaking things, I’ve come up with what I hope will be a fitting addition to Live Novel Friday’s tale.

While I can’t tell you the story yet, it is coming along rather nicely. I won’t say anything on names, as of yet, but I wanted to give you a chance before Friday to offer up some names and more ideas for this weeks episode of The Wharf.

Let me know what you think so far…

He still needs to become more animated, so as to match up with the visuals I’m using for our story.

Oddly, Norbert offered up a rather realistic looking baby, though he’s a bit too real to work with if I want him to blend into the story properly…

I’m nowhere near done, but once we’ve gotten a good number of images for him, I’ll create his permanent Avatar. I like the second image better than the first, but I want to fix his teeth to match up with the first image. Those teeth should be on the second of the two images, as well as the first. This way, the final Avatar will always have baby orc teeth in his mouth. We want continuity.

Isn’t he just adorable, though…

Hugs

Live Novel Friday…

Wiwohka2 Comments

The Wharf…

Episode II

**As per our conversation last week, I’ve settled on Ollie for our portly Ogre innkeeper. He has a rough and intimidating presence, but for those who know him, there is also a kind heart hidden beneath all that muscle and aggressive demeanor. Our young barmaid has learned to avoid Ollie’s grumpier side, using her quiet and unassuming nature to sooth his rough mannerisms. Though his frightening appearance and frequent angry outbursts keep the customers in line, our young lass has grown to love the grumpy old innkeeper. We’ll call the tavern The Ogre’s Rest, and I think that Maiyah is a fitting name for our young barmaid. Be sure and answer the questions at the end of each episode, so I’ve a story to work up. Enjoy Episode II…

This night, like any other night here on the wharf, Maiyah has been busily serving customers and helping in and around the kitchen. The cook asked that she bring in another fish from the barrel out on the dock in front of the tavern, so she retrieves a container and heads outside for the barrel.

As the young barmaid is pulling a sizeable fish out of the barrel, she spies movement from behind the container. Briefly glancing down, toward the disturbance, she spies what looks like a tiny shoe sticking out from behind the barrel. Rule number three kicks in, warning her not to bring attention to herself, so she continues on about her business, carrying the fish inside to the cook.

As she cleans and serves food to the customers, several pieces of dried meat and fruit cake left on guests’ plates, happens to fall into her apron pocket.

Her sleight of hand skills rewarded her a small water flask, from the pocket of an old tinker, snoring blissfully in the corner.

Since her shift is coming to an end, Maiyah carries her cleaning supplies out to the shed, next to the barrel on the dock. Inside the shed she takes a strip of cloth hanging on the wall, folds the food and water inside, and casually walks back toward the tavern, discreetly dropping the small package behind the barrel as she walks past.

Once inside The Ogres Rest, Maiyah retreats to her room above the bar. Her room is small, but offers a window that looks out over the wharf, to the sea beyond. From here, she can see directly down upon the front of the tavern, where the shed and barrel both sit beside the water’s edge. She dresses in her nightgown and settles in at the window ledge to watch…

There is just enough light cast, from the tavern’s doorway lantern, for the young barmaid to have a clear view of the barrel. She spies movement from behind the container, but only enough to confirm that there is indeed someone there, but whomever it is, hides themselves very well. She falls asleep with her head resting upon the window sill of her tiny room above the bar.

Who or what do you think might be hiding behind the barrel?

With the clues given and remembering the three survival rules, what do you think Maiyah will do?

Be sure to leave your answers in the comments…

Hugs

Tuesday Tinkering…

Wiwohka1 Comment

I have to be a bit mysterious this morning, as I don’t really want you to see what I’m working on. I’m creating the avatar for our Live Novel Friday episodes, and I wanted it to be a surprise. Unfortunately, I need you to help decide on the final touches of our heroine in the story.

Without disclosing too much, I will share the final image that I want for her…

Short day, I know, but I’ve several important appointments that are unavoidable. I shall return tomorrow…

Hugs

Tuesday Tinkering…

WiwohkaLeave a comment

Well, I think last weeks tinkering session was a total success!

Not that I’ll be winning any academy awards, or anything. I just mean that I challenged myself to do a thing (creating a new character on Tuesday, and then writing a story about it by Friday), and it worked out.

So, it got me to thinking (I know, dangerous pastime)… what if I sought to write a whole series of children’s character books, only employing my tinkering sessions and a two day rest before kicking out a little story, song, or poem to accompany the images. I don’t see why I couldn’t, what with todays insta book mentality flooding across the web.

While I get my jabs in at all the ai created mumbo jumbo being printed out there, currently, I’m not being snarky when I say that I believe it’s possible to actually write imaginative content without my computer telling me how… or worse, doing the writing for me. Not on my watch!

Anyway, getting back to the tinkering plans I’ve set for us, I plan on making a habit of mixing up writing styles, as well as, continuing to expand my illustration skills. My hands on learning is all that can be afforded, at this present moment, so if I wish to become a better writer, more brain stretching work is involved.

I know your probably saying, “Great, now she’s gonna start wearing even bigger hats on her noggin.” Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, but if I do then that means my cookies will need to be bigger, as well.

Go big or go home, right?!

For today’s next challenge, I went with another water baby, but on an entirely different patch of sand…

This isn’t the finished character, by the way, but it was the first image offered by the ai. All I typed in was “a photorealistic image of an adorable baby walrus”.

While the little guy seems awful cute and chubby, we’re nowhere near satisfied. He’s got no nostrils, for one thing. So, I used the auto-enhance on the prompt…

“a photorealistic image of an adorable baby walrus, trying to learn to swim along the shore of a beautiful sandy beach”

Getting a better shot of his nose, but now his eyebrows look like they were individually stuck into his little forehead. It made him look too much like a plushie toy.

Again, I returned to the auto-enhance feature, asking it to expand the prompt even more…

“Imagine a photorealistic scene at a picturesque sandy beach where gentle waves lap against the shore. The sun casts a warm, golden glow across the landscape, illuminating the fine grains of sand and sparkling blue waters. In the foreground, an adorable baby walrus, with soft, wrinkled gray skin and big, curious eyes, awkwardly paddles in the shallow surf. Its flippers splash playfully, sending droplets gleaming in the sunlight, while a few sea gulls circle overhead, drawn by the joyous scene. The sandy beach is dotted with tufts of sea grass swaying in the light breeze, enhancing the serene atmosphere of this tender moment.”

At least he has more expression with his eyes, even if he lost his eyebrows. His facial expression seems far more realistic, though his fat rolls look rather like sweatshirt material than skin. I kept at it for nearly a half hour before, coming up with numerous images that were similar to this one, but with differing poses and expressions.

Now that we’ve come this far, let’s give the ai our best 10 images. From there, we’ll generate some possibilities for a solid Avatar.

I’ll be right back! Give me about 10 minutes, or so….

Everyone, meet our newest character…

I’ve decided to name him Booker, though I’ve ne earthly idea why! The ai decided to give him tusks, even with him only being a baby, but I think it makes him super cute.

Norbert gave me several differing shots, but I think he looks most realistic in this one…

… minus the grown up tusks, mind you.

I don’t think Booker took nearly as long to create, as it took me last week, during pumpkin’s creation.

Now that he’s here, I’ve only til Friday to create his story, so I best get moving!

See you Friday… hugs