I know I’ve usually been the one to try and comfort friends who are discouraged by this unfeeling hellsite; I try to remind them that it is indeed the platform’s fault and not their lack of talent that is making it difficult to accrue an audience or meaningful feedback– BUT TODAY, I AM DISCOURAGED. >:
You know what, I think I answered my own question vis a vis compensation for work done in a fandom economy (and… also about the depression HAHAA, GUESS WHOSE ENTIRE PERCEPTION OF REALITY CHANGES WHEN THEY FORGET TO TAKE THEIR PILLS LOL)
–and thank you for the nice comments everyone you are the wind in my sails the sun on my face the lava in my volcano ❤
Basically I think I’ve just been using my Patreon wrong. Like… -I- am the one giving shit away for free here. I set my own prices. I HAVE a place to put work where the viewer is obliged to compensate me for seeing my art; that’s what Patreon is FOR. But I’ve been using it, instead, as a promise-based platform for future works, rather than a place to put all the things that I’d like direct compensation for. I don’t HAVE to put anything on tumblr for free– and in fact, I think I will stop doing that. 🙂
Like– if Tumblr is good for one thing, it’s drumming up views for fandom content. The community is here, the people thirst for entertainment. It’s where the roleplay and communication happen. So this is the perfect place to RP, make Ask-Blog posts, post sketches, doodles; all that fun stuff that generates views, but is forgotten as soon as it leaves the dash. But I don’t have to put literally EVERYTHING here, especially not the stuff where the reward-to-effort ratio doesn’t work out in my favor. I can put THAT art on my Patreon for the people who are invested enough in seeing my shit that they’ll pay me a buck or more a month, and link it back here so people know it exists.
Might as well reblog this here too– I was having some thoughts about I can maintain my motivation and compensation for fandom work over time.
I’ve been doing this Silmarillion Fandom thing for four years now; I’ve produced a LOT of content, and tumblr makes it very difficult to track what people have and have not seen– and on the flipside, it makes it difficult for viewers to leave feedback or even see content that’s not immediately on their dashes! It’s a tough racket all around. :
Fandom has been the focal point of my interactions and creative output for many, many years, and at the moment it is my sole source of income; I need to start managing my resources here more wisely! :U
But have you considered: Thorin might be nearsighted?
Case in point:
Exhibit 2
“It cannot be.”aka Doesn’t actually recognize Azog until he starts talking…
This needs no explanation:
*BOOM*
Exhibit 3:
Not subtitled, but Thorin shouts for Kili when actually Fili is the one who was almost crushed >.<
Exhibit 4
Not pictured because I couldn’t find a gif, but Thorin prompting Balin to lead them out of Rivendell because he “can see knows these paths”
Exhibit 5
Cut off Azog’s arm, was probably aiming for something slightly more fatal, couldn’t tell he was alive when dragged back inside Moria…
Exhibit 6
WHERE’S BILBO?
(”I have no idea because I can’t see for shit.”)
Conclusion:
Since wearing glass in front of your eyes is slightly more of a liability for a fighter than people’s faces being slightly blurry, I’m just gonna throw this out there as a possible explanation for fandom to run with 😉
Ok but I think this is my favorite post of mine that’s done well because
1) it give a humorous explanation for Thorin’s random moments of fail that’s cracky and funny
2) it actually kinda makes sense and it gives Thorin a minor (or not so minor for his life and world) disability that he works around and actually kinda explains said moments of fail realistically and honestly guys the more I think about it and replay the movies in my head the fewer contradictions I can find for this headcanon???
There is a fanfic in here somewhere
Convincing arguments!
Thorin has suddenly become more human and more pleasant (short-sighted person speaking here)
You are not wrong OP, Thorin IS nearsighted. In the book, it was even canon:
“How far away do you think it is?” asked Thorin, for by now they knew Bilbo had the sharpest eyes among them. “Not far at all. I shouldn’t think above twelve yards.” “Twelve yards! I should have thought it was thirty at least, but my eyes don’t see as well as they used a hundred years ago-” (From the chapter, ‘Flies and Spiders’
of The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien
)
Thorin isn’t just slightly nearsighted either, he thought a large object at across-the-street distance was three-quarters of the length of a football field away. By modern standards he would be legally, coke-bottle-glasses-or-we-don’t-let-you-drive, blind.
In the movie Thorin’s nearsightedness is never actually stated, but I love the clever ways in which they worked it into the acting (as avelera highlighted very well), and also into the costume and set design (implying that Dwarves tend to be nearsighted in general): Dwarven ornamentation is always three-dimensional, be it stamped leather, cut runes, thickly-embroidered brocade, or cast-metal beads. There are no purely painted or smooth-inlaid designs anywhere that would require sight, let alone 20/20 vision.
Dwarven cities too, are violently three-dimensional and ornamented with a lot of straight-lined geometry and gigantic statues. Perhaps most telling of all, the terrifyingly high stone bridges found in both Erebor AND Moria are treated as perfectly ordinary sidewalks… which would make sense for a race that couldn’t even SEE the ground below.
It’s that time of year again, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to remind you of all the things I have to celebrate.
Love, ~Melkor
((there’s no audio, don’t worry))
You have enraged the Fëa-plush
Well, hi there little fella! Whatcha doin? Coming to pick on me in my volcano? Don’t singe your snuggle cape! Aaaw, who’s a precious little kinslaying squishy bean? You are!
Jökulsá á Fjöllum (glacial river in the mountains in translation). This caused explosions and chaotic flooding which formed canyons, rock formations of diverse shapes and sizes (even structures similar to a honeycomb), and
basalt columns
twisted and angled in every direction.
I
felt like I was on another planet
while seeing all of this in Hljóðaklettar, rock of echoes. Formed when the Jökulsá River heavily eroded volcanic craters, the rocks left behind have acoustics which can alter the river’s sound, depending on where you’re standing. Hence the name. Hljóðaklettar is in the northernmost part of Vatnajökull National Park. Vatnajökull, located near the subglacial volcano Bárdarbunga, is Europe’s largest glacier outside the arctic and the source of the previously mentioned river.
There are many ways to craft rings (for those of you who can’t shape metal with your mind)!
One simple method is simply to drill a hole in an appropriately sized disc of metal, and mill it out on a lathe until it fits the desired proportions. A bit crude, not much room for artistry, but effective.
Another popular method is to hammer out a strip of metal (yes, for this step and this step only, one might see a smith bent over the anvil with a flatter) and coax it around a die until the ends meet and can be welded together. Welded rings can be very elaborate, set with stones, cut into lovely shapes, but depending on the strength of the bond and the delicacy of the materials, one might sacrifice durability.
And then there is my favorite and arguably the best method: metal casting! First one carves a model of one’s ring out of wax, making sure to leave in spurs as conduits for the wax to flow out of the mold and the metal to flow in. Then one encases the wax ring in molding material, secure within a mother-mold. Heating the mold burns out the wax, leaving a hollow inside mold in the shape of your ring. Then it is only a matter of pouring in the desired metals, letting them cool, and then completing the project by sawing off the spurs, filing down the metal, and adding whatever embellishments the design requires.
Naturally, one finished any fired piece by giving it a good pickling in acid and a high polish! Then you teach your friends the process, adding in a pinch of blood magic and sorcery, and murder them when they use your techniques to thwart your plans!
*cough*
In any case, none of the methods above will look like this:
Or this
Or this
Local Artist Fed Up With Fantasy Art Showing Rings and Silmarils Being Forged On Anvils
MisbehavingMaiar: Tumblr Archive 