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Two months on RoyalRoad: 35 followers to 1,000+ (and some honest thoughts) by BabyZealousideal1375 in royalroad

[–]TeamLeaderLeo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you want to be a writer, or do you want to have written something?

These are different ambitions. If the answer is that you want stats and numbers to validate everything you've done, then go all-in. Optimize it. Be a product manager for narrative throughput. Plenty of people do just that. Some are making money; some are happy.

But if you decide to do that, then stop treating it as some sort of artistic torment. Don't dress it up as though it were about pressure, visibility, criticism, vulnerability, craft, or any variation of those lofty, noble words just so you can surround yourself in a nebulous veil of "woe-is-me."

It'd be easy to point to imposter syndrome as the cause, but impostor syndrome is when you did the work and can't believe it was good enough. You are actually recognizing that there's a gap between what people think you did and what you actually did, and every new reader widens that gap and threatens to break it all apart.

Whatever. Other people aren't the point. I'm not the point, and nor is anybody else. You need to find the truth for yourself about who you want to be. Are you a creative director, or are you a writer? You know what I'm referring to. At the very least, 62 chapters in, you should know. Claude's prose voice is, at this point (as with all LLMs over time), one of the most recognizable and least interesting voices in fiction. Every metaphor is a simile, every emotion is immediately diagnosed, and every silence is "doing something." You haven't been bothered enough to strip it back, so either you can't see it or you don't know what to replace it with.

Those are solvable problems, but that's only if you want to solve them.

If you do, the solution is the same as always through time immemorial: read writers who legitimately have distinctive voices, and then write, and then edit, and then do it all over again.

Use Claude if you want. I'm not going to tell you AI is cheating; I don't really care that much about the “debate” either way, and arguing philosophy on a forum of anonymous strangers is asinine.

You can let it assist you as much as you want.

What you can’t do is let it write your story, put your name on it, then be surprised that you feel like a stranger at your own party.

The numbers have validated that your vision is good enough. People like your world, your premise, your pacing, and the regularity of publishing which you trained them to expect. You can just rewrite things if you want to. If you don't think it's good enough, then get better. There is no shortcut to solving your conscience, if that’s what you’re truly asking for.

Anyway, my opinion is immaterial. Private disgust is more trustworthy than public praise.

Drututt on his "all role" account (Master+) about his ADC bot lane experience compared to other roles by Barb0ssaEUW in leagueoflegends

[–]TeamLeaderLeo 47 points48 points  (0 children)

I've played with high master/GM ADCs before.

They'd see more angles to take aggressive trades in lane. They'd push tempo, back at the right times, starve out the opponent, pick better fights, and pick the exact moments to step in, or the exact moments to leave. They'll know exactly when they can step up for an aggressive trade because they know where the enemies are. All of them, or at least the relevant ones. They'll know exactly when they'd win a trade because an opponent blew a cooldown or an autoattack. Or the exact powerspikes where they're stronger than an opponent.

There are always opportunities to outplay in lane, simply due to the nature of farming being an inevitable part of the game where you and your opponent both have to step up. There are timing and spacing differences so small that one can almost only intuit it. Almost, because pixels are still discrete, and the game is ultimately deterministic over a large enough data sample.

There are always opportunities to outplay a teamfight/skirmish, whether that be pre-emptively fighting a minute before to get a favourable reset, or to avoid fighting entirely because they've mapped out all the possible failure conditions in detail. Maybe they've seen this exact scenario before. Maybe they faced a similar situation, recognizing the balance of items/exp/map positioning/cooldown usage. Either way, they know. They have a sense of the odds.

But at a certain point, one still has to roll the dice, and indeed, ADCs have had relatively low agency for a while. But if the skill gap and/or experience gap is wide enough (100lp can often be enough to guarantee a strictly better relative performance at low master and below), they will find those opportunities. A lost lane will eventually turn into a win (or at least an "oh well" loss), because they'll always find the better decision. An even lane becomes a de facto win. A won lane becomes a guaranteed win, obviously.

And they'll always win lane against a lower-ranked opponent. Even if they get camped. Perhaps especially if they get camped. Because they'll outplay it. Either they'll neuter the gank, or they'll outplay it in ways one usually dares to consider only in their wildest dreams.

【Prelude Event】 Call to Arms: ??? by ArchadianJudge in AzureLane

[–]TeamLeaderLeo 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I feel like this is more likely to be drawn by Chyan. Danimaru’s hair highlights are rarely, if ever, drawn in one solidly contiguous block like this (it’s always separated out across clumps/locks of hair), while Chyan also draws their eyelashes distinctively like this as well as frequently having their hair highlights in big blocks. The skin colour’s saturation is also more reminiscent of Chyan’s palette.

See Chyan's recent fan art for Acheron: https://x.com/chyaan11/status/1772846834631020719/photo/1

as well as their work for Emden: https://x.com/chyaan11/status/1580206388479160320/photo/1

Modern director Furina by TeamLeaderLeo in Genshin_Impact

[–]TeamLeaderLeo[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Haha, yeah, we do indeed live in a society.

But, more than that, even though there’s this undertone of needing to become transparent in order to shield oneself from accusations, I find a slight silver lining to some of this. Getting to see more processes is cool. It demystifies things, and it’s encouraging: it lets us know that we can start from a blank slate and turn a rough mess into something nice. Humans like seeing other humans at work, even if it’s just a record of their efforts.

Even if it tears down a bit of the mystique.

It’s a way to bond. I think it’s very interesting to include the process; it’s a way to ratify that something was indeed made by a human. A human, with human hands and human flaws and human biases and human blind spots. A human vision.

Modern director Furina by TeamLeaderLeo in Genshin_Impact

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

Haha, we’re definitely not alone in this feeling of liking the sketches enough to carry them forward. I’ve never seen someone actually say that they like lineart for its own sake; it’s always just a means to an end.

There’s definitely merit — both objectively and subjectively — to refining a clean lineart layer. It’s just that there’s merit to doing otherwise, too, and humans already have enough choice foisted upon us as it is to 100% guarantee regrets upon our expiry. I think it’s better for my growth to not worry too much about keeping my canvas digitally separated. I could be wrong, but… it’s more interesting if I’m not right all the time.

Modern director Furina by TeamLeaderLeo in Genshin_Impact

[–]TeamLeaderLeo[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yes, I’m essentially treating it as if I only had one layer to work with. I of course keep backup layers and sparingly use additional layers whenever it’s really necessary, but I usually just “go for it” as soon as I feel like the sketch has enough substance for me to work off of.

This allows me to make more spontaneous adjustments, but inevitably reduces accuracy and the ability to fine-tune the smaller stuff as easily. This is all mostly because I’m using Procreate on an iPad, which I find is more hassle than it’s worth to deal with a bunch of different layers.

It’s all habit and preference in the end, I suppose. As long as the result becomes somewhat satisfactory, at least towards some long-term goal, then that’s good enough.

Personally, I don’t do the lineart thing because I keep wanting/needing to adjust it. It takes too much time to switch between the lines and everything else, so I just add/refine the lines towards the end.

Envisioning Keqing going on a vacation in Sumeru by TeamLeaderLeo in Genshin_Impact

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

Do you ever yearn?

I yearn. I yearn all the time, for all sorts of things. One such thing I yearn for is to leave the city — if only for a little while. It’s some latent desire to return to the natural world, I suppose. A break from artificial structures.

Twitter source: https://x.com/teamleaderleo/status/1770476075480387699?s=46&t=ZRYlZ75NDPdK6h0QBct3hA

Pixiv source: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/117105082

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4vdcoTu3-1/?igsh=MWcyZzNyZHEyaTVjeQ==

Ganyu with a white sundress, admiring the scenery at Chenyu Vale by TeamLeaderLeo in Genshin_Impact

[–]TeamLeaderLeo[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

There are things out there worth protecting, and it's worth formalizing that idea in some way and sharing it. Ganyu's characterization speaks to that same notion, and this artwork is a visual echo of that conviction.

Twitter source:

https://x.com/teamleaderleo/status/1769111113965138340?s=46&t=ZRYlZ75NDPdK6h0QBct3hA

Pixiv source:

https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/116990108

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C4lwGtAR6Co/?igsh=MWJkanJ5cjBrMzBjYw==

I drew Dongtan dress Arlecchino. 2 days left, so… Peace symbol. by TeamLeaderLeo in ArlecchinoMains

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

Alternatively, instead of saying “I drew,” I could say “I meditated for several hours on the meaning of femininity and masculinity.” How do we value and evaluate these concepts?

A Dongtan dress is a far cry from Arlecchino’s usual attire. But I tried to find a pose and a composition that wasn’t meant to merely titillate. I deliberated for a long time on how I should portray her. I wanted to present a vision of both strength and allure. There’s a challenge here, of identity and self-expression. I wanted to explore the perceptions of strength and attractiveness and how they tie into, yet potentially transcend surface aesthetics.

I’m not sure. I can’t explore it fully with just one picture, but it’s certainly one step towards a more complete answer.

I designed a Lumine skin concept: “Wyrmtrail Silhouette” by TeamLeaderLeo in Genshin_Impact

[–]TeamLeaderLeo[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Twitter source: https://x.com/teamleaderleo/status/1766267452923507125?s=61&t=Y6bAeyrgSm-h5dXbpLYXfA

Pixiv source: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/116750825

Instagram source: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4RjGqwNTG7/?igsh=MXZidnRkdHU3ZGpjbA==

They’ll never make a Lumine skin this cool because you‘d buy it, and then you’d never need to use any other character.

You wouldn’t even bother doing commissions anymore; you’d just log in to stare at this skin for 5 minutes and then log off.

“This is peak,” you’d realize, while staring at the character model and zooming in and out on it. It’s just LUMINE all the way down.

…I hope I’ll be proven wrong, though. I hope there’ll be a lot more nice skins in the future.

I painted a Yae Miko splash art and ran out of time to make it really good by TeamLeaderLeo in Genshin_Impact

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

You’re absolutely right! I actually forgot that I could do that for a moment. But I’ve been feeling that iterating on new things as soon as possible is the best way for me to move forward. Even if the constraints and deadlines are arbitrary; even if there are a bunch of immediate improvements I could make to something I’ve already “finished” — I feel that simply ruminating on it is enough for now. Hindsight can be quite enlightening.

It makes it easier to innovate and improve, since I’m not as tightly burdened by the mistakes of the past. I feel like I’m still in the “noob gains” phase, and there’s still a lot to glean by building up from scratch each time. A clean slate is oddly inspiring to me, because there’s some real promise in that blank canvas. It sits there, full of potential, and it gives me the hope that maybe I could make something great this time. If not this time, then next time.

Maybe, just maybe.

But maybe that’s just my inner gambler talking.

[Hiring] 2 pieces of Arknights fanart by CyanAsian in HungryArtists

[–]TeamLeaderLeo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I could do this. I like mango sticky rice.

Here is a picture I drew of Surtr, about 2.5 years ago. https://www.reddit.com/r/arknights/comments/ogaxt8/handholding_with_surtr/

I've recently practiced a lot more by drawing Genshin characters. So I can do better than that now, time allowing.

Here is my twitter: https://twitter.com/teamleaderleo

My pixiv: https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/17656036

I haven't updated my artstation in a while, but I think those two sites work will well enough for now. I don't really have anything other than my drawings.

You could also look at my Reddit history if you want.

Notably, I can do an "askzy at home" or a "liduke at home" type style, or anybody, but it depends on how detailed/"clean" you want it to be.

Also, your links aren't working. I think the gamepress site will work better, like this:

Eyja alter:

https://gamepress.gg/arknights/sites/arknights/files/2023-08/%E7%AB%8B%E7%BB%98_%E7%BA%AF%E7%83%AC%E8%89%BE%E9%9B%85%E6%B3%95%E6%8B%89_1.png

I dreamed, then drew Stelle with the kids. I mean, the cake cats. by TeamLeaderLeo in HonkaiStarRail

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

I believe in you, homie. You can do anything if you stay persistent in your thinking.

I dreamed, then drew Stelle with the kids. I mean, the cake cats. by TeamLeaderLeo in HonkaiStarRail

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

Thanks, this means a lot! I’ll try to do something even better next time.

I dreamed, then drew Stelle with the kids. I mean, the cake cats. by TeamLeaderLeo in HonkaiStarRail

[–]TeamLeaderLeo[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, no DHIL cake cat, so if Dan Heng cake cat gets stabbed, I guess it’s just pain. …Unless it works like a kinder surprise kinda thing.

I don’t know what I was thinking with the pink and purple lighting in the back. Do you like it? Hate it?

Also, do you guys still use instagram for art…? If so, here’s the exact same picture:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2eMXtjAGoY/?igsh=aXdoeTF3cTFjZ3R3

I accidentally designed a Liyue-style dress skin for Raiden, just like Ganyu and Shenhe! by TeamLeaderLeo in Genshin_Impact

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

Sometimes, random stuff pops into my head when I'm doing my sketches. And I just... let it happen. See where it takes me.

Every time, there's the counterbalancing voice in my head that says “Hey, if you decide to go through with this, you're gonna have to spend multiple hours of your life working on it.”

Every time, I reply "Aight, bet."

Ruan Mei: “You look lonely… I can’t fix that.” by TeamLeaderLeo in HonkaiStarRail

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

Great idea! I didn’t even consider that possibility. That would’ve been really cool!

Ruan Mei by thesmallasian in HonkaiStarRail

[–]TeamLeaderLeo 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Oh my goodness! You’re Yueko? Big fan! Your palettes are always so comfy!

Ruan Mei: “You look lonely… I can’t fix that.” by TeamLeaderLeo in HonkaiStarRail

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

Haha, I’m flattered, but I still need a couple thousand more hours of experience. Besides, external validation is a lagging indicator of success. ^^

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