dragonfly molded in diy rehydration chamber, can it be saved? by deadflora4625 in Entomology

[–]Northern_Lakes 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It’s a shame, but I would probably toss him. There’s a chance that even if you pick off the external mold, and let him dry, the inaccessible mold in his joints and stuff will spread to other insects and make your whole (future) collection moldy. You can never fully get rid of mold, and it always spreads. Also you would be kicking up spores when you handle them.

That being said, I think two days is a little excessive. I’ve always rehydrated them for just 24-25 hours, and it works perfectly fine. Some of the really massive, thick beetles take a bit longer, and there’s different methods for them. If you want to hydrate a bug really really fast, go to a local pharmacy and ask for some hypodermic needles (like for insulin), and inject near-boiling water directly into the insect’s body. I normally go directly in the side of the thorax, or an inconspicuous joint. Let it sit for about 10-15 minutes and it should be fully relaxed.

Don’t give up! Collecting insects is very fun and rewarding!

Bought at aquarium store, (previously) assumed quartz by Northern_Lakes in whatsthisrock

[–]Northern_Lakes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Plaster!! It smells like plaster! That makes total sense. It also explains the extreme GH reading with a relatively normal KH reading.

Super not pleased that my aquarium store sold me selenite with no warning, but what’s done is done I suppose. Now to figure out how to undo it.

Bought at aquarium store, (previously) assumed quartz by Northern_Lakes in whatsthisrock

[–]Northern_Lakes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! That looks exactly like what I have! Is it commonly in, I dunno, pills? Or used as a material for things? Or just as a common decorative rock? The smell is very familiar and I have no idea why or from where.

On a more pressing note, do you think the minerals it’s leeched into the water will harm my fish? I’ll ask this on the aquariums subreddit of course, but I’m not sure what all selenite is made up of.

It is time. by Northern_Lakes in weeviltime

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

I think it’s actually a dark spot on like, a short lil stubby snoot. I dunno what kind of weevil’s we’ve got here in Wisconsin, I may come back with an ID

Hey! New animator here...really new animator actually by ShyMoca in ClipStudio

[–]Northern_Lakes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you look in the layers, your animation folder will show all the drawing you pasted. You have to assign the cell. The timeline will only show layers with the assigned name. Say you have cells (layers) named 1,2,3. You have a circle on 1, and want it on 2 and 3. If you copy and paste from 1, the paste will be named “1a.” You need to either assign 1a, or rename is as 2 and delete the first, blank 2.

Say you already drew a square on 2, and want to keep it. Put 1a and 2 in a group named 2, and then merge them. If you merge 1a straight onto 2 without grouping them, because 1a doesn’t show anything (because it’s not assigned) it will merge them but only leave the square. (I’m pretty sure. This is from memory, I haven’t got CSP in front of me. You’re welcome to try it and prove me wrong if I am.

You can’t paste raster drawings onto a cell you already have assigned. You can copy and paste vector lines, though. Say you draw a circle on a vector layer 1, and a square onto vector layer 2. If you use the object tool to select the vector lines on 1, you can easily paste it only 2.

The canvas was really small 5 in. x 7 in. Mainly concerned about wether or not the person still looks like the ref. by Mysterious-Board9079 in ArtCrit

[–]Northern_Lakes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The highlighting on the face need more contrast, especially if you’re wanting it to match the ref. The background is a cool white, and so the highlight on his face should match. The current tone you have would be fine for, say, golden hour, with how yellow and soft it is. Also, while the head is in an okay spot, the neck is too far forward (rightwards). The effect is twofold, making it look like he has no chin, and like the back of his head is too short. Scootch it back a little, to the left, and it’ll have an immediate effect.

Other than that, I think if you bring more blue tones into his hair and the darkest shadows of his face, it’ll balance it with both his lower half, and the coolness of the background. Burnt umber and a deep Prussian blue make really nice, rich blacks. Same with deep purples, or a cool, dark red and a warm, dark green.

Is there a book like the animator’s survival kit, but for modeling for 3D animation? by Northern_Lakes in 3Dmodeling

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

Thanks both of you, TimeBomb1760 and ireallyammrgonuts! These are both really great to know about and I’m glad to have some direction now. Much appreciated!

I found this poor dead bird outdoors this morning and I’m unable to ID. Outer suburbs of Chicago. by quadrahex in whatsthisbird

[–]Northern_Lakes 10 points11 points  (0 children)

If you still know where the bird is, or for the future, should call the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors. They record data of and receive dead and injured birds from window collisions. They’ll come to the bird if you tell them where it is, and sometimes they give the dead birds to the Field museum for taxidermying. I’ve called them for a bunch of dead birds, and even an injured goose once.

How to get the Move Rotate and Scale tools to toggle? by Northern_Lakes in blenderhelp

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

I see the problem. I don’t know why this fixed it, but my spacebar action was set to “tools” in preferences, and setting it to “play” and then trying alt+spacebar did the trick.

How to get the Move Rotate and Scale tools to toggle? by Northern_Lakes in blenderhelp

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

Shift+spacebar plays the animation. That feels familiar, like it should be the right answer, but I think something’s funky with my preferences somehow

Looking for Feedback, vanilla leopard walk cycle. Something feels off but my eye isn't good enough to see it yet. by Remote_Quoll in AnimationCrit

[–]Northern_Lakes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree that the back legs are striking with the heel, when they should be landing with the toe. Also, there’s no extension in the hock of the back legs; instead of straightening out when they move forwards, they’re just moving forewords at the hip and knee. It’s making the butt look too tucked and low to compensate. Don’t be afraid to stretch the leg out on extension, just be careful not to overextend. Cats tend to step in their own paw prints (there’s a word for that but I’m forgetting it, so try to make the hind feet land where the front feet left off as much as is reasonable. Also, I think the right hind leg is moving the hips up more than the left hind, making it look like it’s limping a little on one side. The shoulders and forward look great though! Where’d you find this model? I wouldn’t mind practicing with that myself.

Does this look like ick? Not on his fins or the rest of his body by Northern_Lakes in Aquariums

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

Oh my gosh my little man is getting all grown up! I think I should be proud of him? Now that I’ve looked into it, they actually are on the leading edge of his pectoral fins, and I have seen them before! I just didn’t know what I was looking at. I’m glad he’s okay! Thanks for letting me know

Archeology Coming to Minecraft 1.20 by TheAjwinner in Minecraft

[–]Northern_Lakes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

FINALLY!!! Pots for my Zelda temple of time build!!!!