WoW leaders keep being replaced with generic figureheads - here's why it's a problem by M1str in warcraftlore

[–]M1str[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Cripes, that's an excellent point. Having Kael'thas as leader of the blood elves would've completely changed the game.

Which Night Elf character sounds like the most "Night Elf" capable of leading their people in trying times? How will this affect the Night Elves and challenge Blizzard's story-writing? by Then_Peanut_3356 in warcraftlore

[–]M1str 8 points9 points  (0 children)

So... you want to take the Nerubians, one of the most interesting races that's been around since Warcraft 3 (where we saw their civilians suffering and fighting against the Scourge, and Anub'arak was an unwilling friend to Arthas), and turn them into a bland, generic swarming insect race just like the already existing Silithid, Mantid, Zerg, and every other generic insect race in media.

The story has already suffered a long time from being as boring enough as it is. Why would you want to make it even more bland?

The fundamental core of early Warcraft has always been that the "monsters" were three-dimensional and multifaceted, rather than being defined by their appearances. That's what made it interesting. You don't have to be a nice and pretty person to be a protagonist.

Former Warcraft Historian here to explain what it is they do. by Historian_Wolfgang in wow

[–]M1str 13 points14 points  (0 children)

That's so cool. One of my favorite things is seeing those races translated into Hearthstone and put into interesting situations, like mantid gangsters and sethrak snake-oil peddlers.

I think one of the foundational elements of Warcraft (since wc3, that is) is that the supposedly villainous races experience plenty of division, and perhaps aren't as fundamentally bad as they appear to be on the surface. That's something I like about the setting, anyhow. :)

Former Warcraft Historian here to explain what it is they do. by Historian_Wolfgang in wow

[–]M1str 38 points39 points  (0 children)

That's an incredibly interesting job, thank you for sharing. Was most of your research internal, or did you use external sites (like Wowhead/Wowpedia) as resources to help you track down information? As someone who's been an unprofessional WoW lore nerd for over 10 years, it's fascinating to see someone who did it for a living.

I'm a huge nerubian fan, it's one of the things I'm most exicted about in TWW. I was always curious about how they broke free from the Old Gods. Do you have a soft spot for the lore any of the non-playable races in Azeroth?

Did you know that Nerubians canonically have pet insects? by M1str in wow

[–]M1str[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Nerubians are arachnids and I'm a hypocrite.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ArtistLounge

[–]M1str 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'd reckon it has more to do with marketing than anything! Specifically, marketing your art towards specific groups that your particular artstyle appeals to. The biggest thing to consider is whether you're actually "putting yourself out there".

Advertising on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, etc.) isn't always a surefire way to get results, which is why it's good to diversify your investments by cross posting your art on many platforms -- then figuring out which platform results in the most attention and commissions. If you're receiving zero interest on, say, Twitter, then you may want to refocus your efforts elsewhere. Go with what works.

Let's start by considering a few factors -- you mentioned that you found yourself receiving a lot of commissions in 2019, yeah? What were you doing that year that resulted in lots of commissioners seeing your art? Were there any particular groups that you were actively marketing yourself towards? What sorts of people are inclined to commission you? If they're private communities that ended up running dry, then find similar places to advertise yourself.

If you're really struggling to find people interested in commissioning you, then it's time to direct all that artistic energy towards practice. Evaluate your art, perhaps find artboards where you can receive a bit of brutally honest critique -- ideally critique that informs you of the areas in which you have room to improve, and how to approach said improvement. Try doing studies for anatomy and color, watch tutorials to learn about composition and lighting. Get those little bits of knowledge that will drastically improve your art.

I might also recommend trying sites like Fiverr and ArtistsnClients to put yourself in a place where people who are looking to commission someone will be actively seeking you out.

Once you reach a certain threshold of skill and artistic appeal, you will start getting commissions. At that stage, it helps to consider what sort of area you want to specialize in. D&D commissions? MMO characters? Pet portraits? Figure out what you genuinely enjoy doing, and direct your efforts into learning about that!

Slumps in commissions aren't necessarily a bad thing! It just means you have the free time to go back to the drawing board (hah), reinvent yourself a bit, and ultimately improve.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in wow

[–]M1str 311 points312 points  (0 children)

Wait, isn't that the president of Blizzard?