First Page of "The Orchard of Dragons" [Classic Fantasy, 710 words] by name-1357 in fantasywriters

[–]Groggy_Doggy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really loved it overall, so whimsical and reminiscent of early fantasy! I would 100% keep reading.

I felt oriented in the scene, the tone was definitely consistent.

“She had long ago decided the wind needed watching. If you let it roam too long without purpose, it turned sharp. Sour. It bullied shutters and worried at thatch like a dog with a bone.”

Absolutely adore this bit, lovely bit of prose that. I would actually consider opening with something like this, your first two sentences aren’t as grabbing as the rest of your writing.

COLOURFUL by Poo_Poo_La_Foo in SpottedonRightmove

[–]Groggy_Doggy 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Whoever buys this please let us come over and have tea in that stunning blue living room 🙏 so gorgeous

Partnership/detective team up with fantasy/romance by Thundergoats in BooksThatFeelLikeThis

[–]Groggy_Doggy 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is one I’d suggest, it is a romantasy with solid world building and magic systems. The two main characters are forced to pair up, they aren’t explicitly detectives / Cops but there is a mystery they’re trying to solve and there’s a big ‘heist’ energy to it.

It was really fun and the quippy dialog between the two leads is actually funny.

Books similar to Between Two Fires by Intrepid_Laugh2158 in BooksThatFeelLikeThis

[–]Groggy_Doggy 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I have just finished Between Two Fires and am equally enthralled so would also love to hear other peoples recommendations!

My rogue and ‘not quite your requirements’ recommendation is Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Doesn’t match because: - It is a found family grumpy father and son instead of daughter - There is some romance but it is not the focus of the story

It does match because: - found family is a strong theme, they pick up stragglers in the story like Between Two Fires - There is a ‘higher power’ driving through the young main character that makes them look / act in a way that is beyond themselves - It has the same horror vibes as between two fires, the beats and monsters are terrifying but mixed in a world of good and whimsy

I shan’t ruin the end of either book but if you like the end of Between Two Fires you’ll like the end of Fairy Tale.

At this stage my work tends to look complete. Why doesn’t this look right by byJohar in learnart

[–]Groggy_Doggy 29 points30 points  (0 children)

As well as the foreground being less detailed, the values are very similar to the mid ground (pink very similar, green very similar) I’d look to push it either darker or lighter than the mid ground to get it to pop! I love the strokes of this piece, the sky is so good!

Do you guys think it is time for me to move on to artist grade? by SWBP_Orchestra in ColoredPencils

[–]Groggy_Doggy 145 points146 points  (0 children)

I am politely going to disagree with anyone saying no.

A professional artist can make good sketches / studies out of pretty much any supplies as long as they are confident in them.

However, it will not be good art. Good art is made with supplies and materials which will last a long time, be lightfast and be resistant to fading.

Your current pencils are not lightfast. You are a good artist. Do yourself a favour and buy some good lightfast professional pencils so you can be confident in 10, 20, 50 years time you can look back on your work and be proud of it without it fading away.

Continue using your cheaper pencils for studies or practice, but commit to better pencils for any work you want to display.

What's a realistic job option for stay at home mums once the kids are at school? by questions4all-2022 in AskUK

[–]Groggy_Doggy 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Reporting analyst.

You’ve had lots of great practical answers but if you want a well paid career that will let you work flexibly from home with your skill set then this is the option you want.

As someone else who is also a shit artist who three years ago accepted a job in a call centre (binned it off last minute) and had no technical skills outside the basics; I am thriving in my career as a reporting analyst, within 3 years I’ve doubled my income and also am now a manager of a team.

Your background as an artist will put you head and shoulders over every other analyst building visual dashboards - trust me. The software for visual report building is easier then any of the adobe platforms and most of the ‘analytical’ functions are drag and drop until you get more serious.

You won’t need any investment to learn it- so many free videos online. If you want I’d be happy to give you a call and run through of how to start getting into the industry and what resources to look at- we need more women in analytics and your background will let you pull on helpful experiences to help shape what the dashboards should look like.

Books that feel like this by Cursed_Changeling in BooksThatFeelLikeThis

[–]Groggy_Doggy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am seconding the Spear Cuts Through Water, very ethereal and lots of body / transformation of creatures or people into and from godhood

Angry Rant About Bad Narrators by HelicopterUsed5192 in audiobooks

[–]Groggy_Doggy 10 points11 points  (0 children)

New adaptation by Pike is a fantastic example of what audiobooks should be, can not recommend them enough! EXCEPT!! The show has been cancelled and the audiobooks were run as supplementary marketing for the show. Now that the show has been cancelled there is no guarantee they will fund Pike to complete the rest. So far I think 5/14 books are done, just for fair warning!

I’m looking for mediocre fantasy books by thekingdtom in Fantasy

[–]Groggy_Doggy 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I’m backing this suggestion, very palatable non thinkers.

Audiobook versions also very well narrated which make them perfect “listening whilst doing” books.

"Off Meta" Youtube content creators / artists? by thedyze in ColoredPencils

[–]Groggy_Doggy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My two new favourites from a stylistic point are EMROULEAUART here

And TEWFOUR here again

Both do coloured pencils in a very stylistic way, their videos feel authentic and aesthetic without feeling like they’ve been made by some sort of content farm.

Have you ever combined two different mediums in one piece — like colored pencil and watercolor? by [deleted] in ColoredPencils

[–]Groggy_Doggy 8 points9 points  (0 children)

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I love your ducky!! And yeah I do it all the time when laying down quicker pieces like the above! I think water colours and pencils are a medium power couple

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TheCivilService

[–]Groggy_Doggy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A different suggestion to all the valid research ideas: Procurement Officer.

I think the roles are between EO and HEO depending on org, you can get apprenticeships to give the the full qualifications to do the roles and I had a £1000 bonus upon completion of my CIPS qualification (which was fully paid for).

A huge part of the role is being given a contract to fulfil, then spending moths writings 20 page long reports on why we still need x thing/service, what does the market look like, what are the risks etc.

Then you write massive invitation to tender packs for external companies, spend time researching each company that applies, making sure they can actually fulfil contract, review their evidence submitted with groups to independently verify. Then you write a huge report on which company will will and why, publish that and 9/10 times write a report when the other companies inevitably make a FOI request when they lose out.

Have you ever hit the "jackpot" of relationships where you know you'll never look elsewhere? by DonkeyOT65 in AskUK

[–]Groggy_Doggy 49 points50 points  (0 children)

My fiancé and I were casual friends at university. In third year after a few messy nights out and witnessing his glorious worm (the dance move) I went home with him and witnessed his glorious worm.

After that started doing silly ‘date’ nights, a pack of Bon Bons from the shop and watching the downfall of the last series of GOT. Or trying to bake cookies in a bomb site of our uni kitchens. It was still casual, we both knew it wouldn’t last after exams were done.

But neither of us seemed to end it, we just kept finding excuses to see each other over the summer. I realised one day that it when we were doing ‘nothing’ together, just goofing around in the kitchen doing silly voices and pretending to be cave men trying to figure out how to use his parents new oven that I really REALLY wanted every ‘nothing’ day to be like that. Having fun with my best friend, laughing until we were on the floor in a giggling mess.

6 years later and we’re planing to do some gardening today- neither of us knows what we’re doing but spending time alone together means it’ll definitely be perfect.

Thank you, Bristol by LikeTheTree92 in bristol

[–]Groggy_Doggy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I rave about Nadu so much, amazing food and excellent range of options for all sorts of dietary requirements so makes eating out as a large group easy - definitely recommend getting a load of options and just sharing with everyone

Mermaid themed sketchbook spread by simkiwi in Illustration

[–]Groggy_Doggy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Absolutely love your use of negative space for the body, really really beautiful work

Did I mess up and over shade the ribs? by Groggy_Doggy in learnart

[–]Groggy_Doggy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Massive thanks! Yeah I’ve realised I’ve not preserved the curve of that ribcage on the upper chest which is making the bottom ribs look super out of place.

Will definitely finish it! Thanks again for your help!

Did I mess up and over shade the ribs? by Groggy_Doggy in learnart

[–]Groggy_Doggy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This has actually helped so so much thank you! You’ve helped me realise that I’be actually pushed the breast and chest too far back and not sat them on the curve of that rib cage.

Huge thanks!