[Mad Hatter]

1 hour ago, Jarric said:

I think the movement stuff I do fine with because I have a lot of accountability. I book my Crossfit classes, I plan to meet friends at bouldering. I was doing fine with running on my own thought, but I did have a definite scheduled time for running rather than just trying to fit it in. Maybe I just need a set block of time that I can use automatically every day?

Sorry didn't mean it like you had a problem with movement. I was referring to that we're touching on similar concepts in the floor flow classes I'm taking, where we talk a lot about flow states and how to access them, creativity and non-linear movement and movement quality. I feel like many of the issues with accessing flow in movement are the same as what are preventing us from accessing flow in art. For example expectations on what's attractive versus what feels good, fear of being judged, that we don't belong in a space because we don't have the skills or look a certain way...

[sarakingdom]

7 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Do you need a body double to try the body doubling?  

 

YES. YES I DO.

 

6 hours ago, Jarric said:

I love that - the man can certainly turn a phrase. My favourite line from today was today "The British had made if clear they didn't want to see them again on pain of sarcasm."

 

He does have a nice dryly funny prose style, and a good feel for language.

 

6 hours ago, Jarric said:

On a related note, I finished Winter's Gifts this evening. Very much enjoyed it, and also with the limited amount of reading that I do I thoroughly appreciate novellas (novellae?).

 

Yeah, he's good with the novella length, pretty much the heft of a full novel in half the space.

 

Spoiler

I was glad he did a story about the pacifications of the Virginia Gentleman's Company. That bit of backstory in Lies Sleeping was really enraging.

 

[DarK_RaideR]

On 3/29/2024 at 9:57 PM, Jarric said:

the last time I played it on PC was [ages ago] - I loved Deus Ex and didn't hate DX: Invisible War

Same here. Interested to hear your thoughts, it's on my backlog of games to play as well.

[Jarric]

On 3/29/2024 at 9:09 PM, Mad Hatter said:

Sorry didn't mean it like you had a problem with movement. I was referring to that we're touching on similar concepts in the floor flow classes I'm taking, where we talk a lot about flow states and how to access them, creativity and non-linear movement and movement quality. I feel like many of the issues with accessing flow in movement are the same as what are preventing us from accessing flow in art. For example expectations on what's attractive versus what feels good, fear of being judged, that we don't belong in a space because we don't have the skills or look a certain way...

 

Oh, I see what you mean. That is an interesting parallel between the two, and a lot of those comments ring true for me.

 

I didn't think you thought I had a problem with movement to be fair. I was more approaching it from the perspective of 'I've cracked regular exercise as a habit, why does that work and can I apply the same principles to art?'

 

On 3/30/2024 at 2:22 AM, sarakingdom said:

 

YES. YES I DO.

 

 

He does have a nice dryly funny prose style, and a good feel for language.

 

 

Yeah, he's good with the novella length, pretty much the heft of a full novel in half the space.

 

  Hide contents

I was glad he did a story about the pacifications of the Virginia Gentleman's Company. That bit of backstory in Lies Sleeping was really enraging.

 

 

Yeah, I don't remember that annoying me too much, but I certainly appreciate him filling out that part of the world.

 

4 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

Same here. Interested to hear your thoughts, it's on my backlog of games to play as well.

 

I beat the first boss last night, and so far I'm really enjoying it. It's got a lot of the good stuff I remember from the original - good stealth mechanics, actions feel like they have consequences, the hacking actually works really well (much better than the original), and a nice bunch of conspriacies already in the story.

 

One of the complaints I remember hearing about in reviews, now that I've experienced it to be reminded, is that there's a pacifist achievement for completing the game without killing anyone, but the bosses can only be defeated by killing them. You can still get the achievement, because boss fights don't count towards it, but thematically it's a bit silly. On the other hand, I'm never likely to replay it to try for that achievement anyway.

 

I think the reasons I gave up on it before were a) I was trying to explore every area and talk to every person like I did with the original, but I'm not a teenager any more and I don't have the time or inclination to play the game for 100s of hours to the exclusion of all other activities. b) I turned off object highlighting, because I was being a snobby PC gamer about it feeling like a console-style assist, whereas now I recognise it as a good quality-of-life feature which just makes the game a bit more fun. I feel stupid now - I pre-ordered this game, and never got as far as the first boss. Then I bought it on console and still got no further, and it's taken 13 years for me to come back to it.

 

One minor grumble, the inventory is too small. It doesn't help that the pre-order perks include a sniper rifle, which is fully half the size of the inventory before you unlock upgrades.

 

I got Mankind Divided free on Epic Games a couple of weeks ago, so I'm keen to complete Human Revolution and give that a go.

[Jarric]

Friday - W1D5

Friday was a good day. Needed to do art after I posted an update here, and a nerd friend on Discord told me to draw dragons and shared a dragon design video on YouTube. Here's some quick sketches which are very much copied from that video:

 

 

Kneehab was done after Crossfit, because Crossfit was a weird bank holiday session. We started out with a load of handstand practice, which was fun, and then a workout of:

 

20 rounds for time:

5 strict press

5 calories

5 ring rows

 

I did the press with 2 15kg dumbbells, most of the calories were on the air bike with a couple of rounds skiing, and finished in 23 something minutes.

 

In the evening WW was out, so I had pizza and cake for dinner on my own, with a beer, caught up here, and then played Deus Ex for the evening.

[Jarric]

Saturday - W1D6

Yesterday was a good day. I did a charcoal pencil drawing of Adam Jensen, the protagonist in the latter Deus Ex games, in the evening:

 

 

Kneehab was done first thing before a bike ride. It was a busy morning - a few miles on the bike, then a short bouldering session, drop off Easter flowers at my Grandma's, then home and get ready to go out to the ballet.

 

The ballet was good, but a bit weird. It was A Midsummer Night's Dream, but they did the entirety of the plot before the interval, and the second half was just dancing in costume but with no plot. It felt like a very odd choice.

[Jarric]

Sunday - W1D7

Yesterday was a good day. Did art in the evening, continuing the theme of charcoal pencils and hot stubbly guys apparently. This was a (not terribly accurate) attempt at Stephen Amell:

 

 

Kneehab was done late evening, after ⅔ of a bottle of wine - it was pretty challenging

 

Went for a bike ride first thing - 10.7 miles in a little over an hour. I pumped up the tyres on Saturday and it's amazing how much easier it makes things - who knew!

 

Are a ton of chocolate for Easter, slightly mitigated by having nothing but chocolate for lunch. Then a roast pheasant dinner with a bottle of Malbec, because we wanted to be fancy. We even used the fancy glasses.

 

 

Despite the chocolate and wine, which put me ~1,500kcal over target for the week, I lost 0.8lbs this week so I'm calling that a win.

 

Week 1 scores:

Art: 6/7

Kneehab: 7/7

 

More of this please.

[ViperN7]

On 3/27/2024 at 11:06 AM, Jarric said:

I've still not cracked a regular drawing habit, so if anyone has any tips on getting to that or any idea where I can get more inspiration/accountability then please let me know. Ultimately I just want to get a pen or pencil in my hand for a few minutes every day.

I don't know if this will work for your drawing, but might I suggest drawing at breakfast (or another fixed point in your day...breakfast is a good fixed point in my day). You have to eat everyday, therefore you will also have to draw *something* every day. This might look like keeping your sketchbook and drawing implement of choice on the table. 

I admit this strategy works better for quantity over quality. It will likely lead to drawing *something*, but might not work towards higher quality, detailed/ in-depth products. 

Alternatively, I suppose you could post your daily art here if you want accountability. Nice Flowery Dragon Parrot, btw 🙂  

Edit: For some reason my phone was not displaying your more recent posts. It seems like you've been getting quite a few drawings in! Nice portraits! 

[Mad Hatter]

On 3/31/2024 at 5:43 PM, Jarric said:

I didn't think you thought I had a problem with movement to be fair. I was more approaching it from the perspective of 'I've cracked regular exercise as a habit, why does that work and can I apply the same principles to art?'

Lol communication fail.  But if we look at the same principles it sounds like social pressure is a big thing for you as you mentioned friends and classes? Have you considered taking IRL art classes or going to life drawing sessions? 

 

On 3/31/2024 at 5:43 PM, Jarric said:

but I'm not a teenager any more and I don't have the time or inclination to play the game for 100s of hours to the exclusion of all other activities

 

 

16 hours ago, Jarric said:

This was a (not terribly accurate) attempt at Stephen Amell:

Hey I recognized the face!

 

16 hours ago, Jarric said:

We even used the fancy glasses.

Such elegance, much wow.

[Artemis Prime]

On 3/31/2024 at 12:03 PM, Jarric said:

Here's some quick sketches which are very much copied from that video:

I did not notice when you posted on discord that one of the dragons has a pouch. I love marsupial dragon!

 

16 hours ago, Jarric said:

Kneehab: 7/7

Excellent!

[Mad Hatter]

Ah missed the derpy dragons, they're super cute!

[sarakingdom]

19 hours ago, Jarric said:

Despite the chocolate and wine, which put me ~1,500kcal over target for the week, I lost 0.8lbs this week

 

I too wish to enjoy the benefits of the all-chocolate-and-wine diet.

[Jarric]

17 hours ago, ViperN7 said:

I don't know if this will work for your drawing, but might I suggest drawing at breakfast (or another fixed point in your day...breakfast is a good fixed point in my day). You have to eat everyday, therefore you will also have to draw *something* every day. This might look like keeping your sketchbook and drawing implement of choice on the table. 

I admit this strategy works better for quantity over quality. It will likely lead to drawing *something*, but might not work towards higher quality, detailed/ in-depth products. 

Alternatively, I suppose you could post your daily art here if you want accountability. Nice Flowery Dragon Parrot, btw 🙂  

Edit: For some reason my phone was not displaying your more recent posts. It seems like you've been getting quite a few drawings in! Nice portraits! 

 

Thank you! And yes, that's a good idea. Breakfast won't work - I eat breakfast whilst walking to work, so I'm out of spare hands, but if I can link it to another habit that would work well.

 

5 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Lol communication fail.  But if we look at the same principles it sounds like social pressure is a big thing for you as you mentioned friends and classes? Have you considered taking IRL art classes or going to life drawing sessions? 

 

Yeah, that's a good idea. I've had a quick look and there's actually a few different art classes available in my town - will have to investigate further.

 

5 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

 

 

No judgement, I loved getting totally obsessed with games, but now that obsessive tendency puts me off loading up the game at all if I let it.

 

5 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Hey I recognized the face!

 

Thanks! That's very pleasing  

 

5 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Such elegance, much wow.

 

 

5 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

I did not notice when you posted on discord that one of the dragons has a pouch. I love marsupial dragon!

 

Excellent!

 

I know - kangaroo dragon is great! I'll have to remember it if I ever want to flesh out a dragon more fully.

 

5 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Ah missed the derpy dragons, they're super cute!

 

Thanks!

 

2 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

 

I too wish to enjoy the benefits of the all-chocolate-and-wine diet.

 

Ah yes, and I can confirm that there are two main benefits to that diet:

1. Chocolate
2. Wine

[Jarric]

Monday - W2D1

Yesterday was a good day. Art was done in the evening - I started on a character drawing challenge I found online. I doubt I'll do the challenge every day, because it needs a good hour to flesh out a proper character, but it's a nice option to add to my arsenal. Here's day 1:

 

 

I went for a paladin/holy knight of a death god, armed with a sceptre and with a teardrop-shaped shield.

 

Kneehab was done at Crossfit. Crossfit was good, got 3 reps on bench at 75kg (failed my 4th rep), and then 2 x 5 @ 70kg. Then a workout of: 100m row, 10 handstand pushups, 200m row, 20 ring dips, 400m row, 40 pressups. It was supposed to be a running workout, but I can't run and rowing worked out ok.

 

The workout reminded me that I suck at pushups, so I've decided to do a pushup challenge this month. For day 1 I did 1 pressup, and I'll add one to the set every day for April until I'm doing 30 on the 30th (in theory).

 

In the afternoon WW did some gardening and I helped with the heavy lifting, including a trip to the garden centre. Then I roasted a lamb shoulder for dinner and we shilled out in front of the TV whilst I arted.

 

 

[ViperN7]

On 3/31/2024 at 11:43 AM, Jarric said:

I was trying to explore every area and talk to every person like I did with the original, but I'm not a teenager any more and I don't have the time or inclination to play the game for 100s of hours to the exclusion of all other activities. 

 

6 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

 

I'll be joining you in the bushes for this one, Mad Hatter.

...Do you think we can get a signal in here? 

[Jarric]

Tuesday - W2D1

Tuesday was a good day. Art was done in the afternoon. I decided to try my hand at digital art on my drawing tablet for today's character design, which went well but took so long. I'm sure I'll get faster, but still won't be my main mode of daily arting.

 

 

Kneehab was done before my morning bike ride. I'm getting quicker on the bike still, which is encouraging.

 

The rest of the day was pretty chilled - played some Deus Ex, met my parents for lunch, ate a ton of chocolate. WW cooked leftover lamb with squash and chickpeas for dinner (late dinner, thanks to all of the art time), and we chilled on the sofa until bedtime.

[Sovalis]

I have Procreate on my iPad for drawing and have much the same experience - it's very cool, but not fast because I'm still such a newb. Your drawings are great though and I'm glad you're making time for them and sharing the results here. 

[Laghail]

3 hours ago, Jarric said:

Tuesday - W2D1

Tuesday was a good day. Art was done in the afternoon. I decided to try my hand at digital art on my drawing tablet for today's character design, which went well but took so long. I'm sure I'll get faster, but still won't be my main mode of daily arting.

 

 

Kneehab was done before my morning bike ride. I'm getting quicker on the bike still, which is encouraging.

 

The rest of the day was pretty chilled - played some Deus Ex, met my parents for lunch, ate a ton of chocolate. WW cooked leftover lamb with squash and chickpeas for dinner (late dinner, thanks to all of the art time), and we chilled on the sofa until bedtime.

 

Art time and chocolate and lamb???

 

I'm behind on my Jarric worldbuilding, who is WW? Is this the person that you thought would be upset if your French poetry recitations yielded a pile of panties? 

[Jarric]

22 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I have Procreate on my iPad for drawing and have much the same experience - it's very cool, but not fast because I'm still such a newb. Your drawings are great though and I'm glad you're making time for them and sharing the results here. 

 

I've been watching a bit of The Sketching Hour on YouTube/Twitch, and I cannot fathom how they create such amazing digital art inside an hour.

 

And thank you! It's nice to be making time for it.

 

20 hours ago, Laghail said:

 

Art time and chocolate and lamb???

 

I'm behind on my Jarric worldbuilding, who is WW? Is this the person that you thought would be upset if your French poetry recitations yielded a pile of panties? 

 

It was a good day

 

WW, short for Wonder Woman, is my fiancée. We've been together for 17 years, engaged for 14 of those, and one day we'll get round to organising the wedding!

[Jarric]

Wednesday - W2D3

Wednesday was a good day. I forgot to mention that on Tuesday I bought myself a pocket sketchbook (thanks @Sea-to-sky for the idea) and a mechanical pencil that I can carry around with me. Art on Wednesday was a very quick sketch in that book of some holy symbols for the pantheon connected to my character designs so far. I had intended to do another full character in the evening, but ended up without the energy.

 

Kneehab was done at Crossfit. Crossfit was deadlifts, which always makes for a good day - I worked up to 145kg x5, and felt like I had more in the tank. Also practiced some hang power snatches and some lunges.

 

I ended up having a very chilled day, in which I found myself unable to get off the sofa and consequently late to bouldering. I had a good time, but it was a very short session.

 

I was late home in the evening, and well over calories thanks to leftover lamb for lunch and quite a lot of easter egg. WW was feeling really ill though, so in the end we didn't cook and I just had a Belgian bun and some tiny chocolate eggs for dinner. Still over calories, but not by as much as I could have been. Then I vegged on the sofa some more until bedtime.

[Jarric]

Thursday - W2D4

Yesterday was a good day. Art was done late at night, and was just a couple of quick sketches in the pocket book.

 

Kneehab was done at Crossfit. Crossfit was fun - we did a bunch of handstand practice - but my wrists and hands are pretty sore now. We also did a few 75-second intervals of:

 

5 chest to bar

5 toes to bar

Max distance ski

 

The bar stuff went really quickly and I ended up spending almost a whole minute skiing, which was fairly grim

 

Yesterday I was back at work, and spent the day wading through the mountain of e-mails that came in while I was off. I was knackered by the end of the day (though I've been a bit knackered anyway as WW's not been sleeping well with her cold and it's been waking me up too (obviously I'm not as tired as she is, but still (also, who nests brackets in brackets in a sentence?).).).

 

I finished work more-or-less on time, but then spent ages chatting to a colleague and catching up on everything I'd missed. Then home, cooked a quick dinner (pork and pineapple tacos), and straight online to play Baulder's Gate with some friends. We wrapped up at about half 10, and I stayed up to do a quick bit of art and keep my Duolingo streak alive before bed.

 

Calories were a little high again - it's going to be a challenge to hit the calorie goal this week (particularly if I don't stop eating all of the Easter chocolate).

[Laghail]

3 hours ago, Jarric said:

WW, short for Wonder Woman, is my fiancée. We've been together for 17 years, engaged for 14 of those, and one day we'll get round to organising the wedding!

 

Mood. Weddings are a trap, at least in the states. Egregious amounts of money and work for an event you barely get to be present for. I don't have a vote on your life, but if I did, I'd vote you destination wedding somewhere fun and affordable, like Kungsleden. Just don't take any unplanned detours, there was a documentary or something in 2017, it went poorly.

 

2 hours ago, Jarric said:

Yesterday I was back at work, and spent the day wading through the mountain of e-mails that came in while I was off. I was knackered by the end of the day (though I've been a bit knackered anyway as WW's not been sleeping well with her cold and it's been waking me up too (obviously I'm not as tired as she is, but still (also, who nests brackets in brackets in a sentence?).).).

 

Gotta make sure your sentences don't return N/A#

[sylph]

On 4/5/2024 at 8:08 AM, Jarric said:

Yesterday was a good day.

Seems like it!

Hope WW is on the mend.

[Sovalis]

Hope WW is feeling better soon and that you are able to resist enough of the chocolate this week to not derail your goals completely.  

[DarK_RaideR]

On 4/5/2024 at 2:47 PM, Jarric said:

We've been together for 17 years, engaged for 14 of those, and one day we'll get round to organising the wedding!

If you need any help in speeding up this process, I might be able to help 😂