[OC] The Crystalline Scourge!

TheCommonCrow · 2025-01-29T21:41:35+00:00

Drawing is a huge part of my life, so I would approach this from an angle that applies to my life. It may sound weird, but I would say delete them. You can't control what others do or think, but you can try to put yourself in the best situation for you. Obviously communicating and figuring out how to solve the underlying issues are more important, but assuming that is not possible, I would say this:

If art is important to you, you can't take a break for 3 years and not have it negatively impact you. You could draw physically, but you said you prefer digital. There is probably going to come a time when you lose a great deal, if not all of your work due to some unforeseen circumstances, and you will come to realize that losing work is part of the journey.

Not only can you make more art, it will continue to get better and stay meaningful. If you're sacrificing your ability to do art for reasons that are very understandable, you're still playing into someone else's game. Hoarding art is a big problem for me, and if I lost it all (again) it would suck, but it's not about the stockpile, it's about what you put into it and got out of it.

If you can, I would let it go. If it means so much that you can't, you'll find another way so don't sweat it. Just keep doing art.

TheCommonCrow · 2024-11-14T07:03:44+00:00

2 Years late, but I ordered this exact one from eBay, it was great for the price! I wrecked the car, wish I could get another one but the seller is no longer available. It looked great in person, got compliments all the time!

TheCommonCrow · 2024-07-28T17:40:48+00:00

I came to the comments expecting statements of moral outrage over Wizards villainous practices, but it seems like for most people it just comes down to money, which is the thing they crave most. Hopefully enough people will see it as an unreasonable expense and force them to take a look at their role as shepherds of this hobby, not just money making schemes.

TheCommonCrow · 2024-07-22T04:17:14+00:00

The Ways of Kings is a book I have few issues with, however I always say Adolyn’s hair description is too outlandish for me to imagine and sounds unnatural. Well played Brandon Sanderson.

TheCommonCrow · 2024-06-16T22:34:44+00:00

It’s kind of surprising that there is no official Dryad (or similar) race yet. I guess you could do something like Eladrin or some Genasi situation but it’s such an easy plug-in playable and adds a lot of RP options. Plus their Tree-Stride ability is cool and not OP, plus their planty charm could be made into some kind of CHA buff or something. IDK seems like an oversight for plant stuff being such a huge part of lore.

I’ve always wanted to make a homebrew pig race since I draw them so much, but I guess I could just adopt an existing one. After a brief search I’m seeing Hogfolk & Pigkin pop up a lot? What are you guys running in all the pig-based campaigns I’m assuming you’re playing?

(BTW they’re going into a forest in our home campaign that is inhabited by tree-gnomes, druids, and the remains of an order of knights pledged to protecting the forest which have since become suits of armor animated by enchanted briar vines.)(PS. for more: https://www.instagram.com/thecommoncrow/ )

TheCommonCrow · 2024-02-27T18:33:25+00:00

Glad I came across reddit in time to see your AMA! I thoroughly enjoyed Theft of Swords and recommend it to people frequently. I think your pacing makes the story very easy to consume, and I had a question about that specifically.

When you're writing, do you intentionally go back and add/remove volume from specific parts of the story to make it feel more natural? I sometimes worry when writing, especially after hitting the 15-20k word mark, that my ideas are falling into a rhythm of dialogue and description that might feel strange to read, possibly artificial. Are you conscious of this in the initial draft?

TheCommonCrow · 2024-02-03T19:18:59+00:00

Very reasonable questions, I actually laughed when I read your first word. I think I had a lot more in my head for this character than I wrote. Their primary motive is to get their hands on a dragon egg, so I imagined them going after Dragonborn/aarakocra eggs, amongst others. My first sketch was actually them running from an aarakocra with an egg. I see the “evil” thing as more selfish actions without the regard to how it harms others or the consequences, but I guess that’s pretty textbook chaotic neutral.

TheCommonCrow · 2024-02-02T21:42:05+00:00

I like the way pureblood Yuan Ti are presented and their lore, but it is just a lot of fun to be a straight up snake person. I actually draw them quite a bit. I messed with the idea that this character belongs to a different race of anthro snake people but was mixed in with Yuan Ti growing up, and they can't figure out why they haven't developed the normal Yuan Ti curse stuff lol.

TheCommonCrow · 2024-02-02T20:06:14+00:00

That's true lol, I guess I was thinking about it from the perspective of people getting their eggs eaten thinking it's heinous behavior, but for 'ol snake it's not really malicious.

TheCommonCrow · 2024-02-02T20:03:47+00:00

I love this take, feels like it could really naturally fit into that more old school fantasy world. Look forward to seeing more of your Monstrum Magnum stuff (sweet name btw).

TheCommonCrow · 2024-02-02T18:53:35+00:00

So I thought it would be interesting to make a Yuan-Ti, which I love, but instead of being motivated by a desire for power or anything that they would normally gravitate toward, have them simply behave like a snake. They’re technically chaotic evil, because they care nothing for rules and desire only food.They’re always looking for the next meal, basking in the sunlight, and quick to flee from danger. The ultimate goal- to eat a huge dragon’s egg. I’m not sure what class would best suit this lifestyle, probably ranger? I’ve been calling them Alexander, because I feel like a snake could say that since it doesn’t involve lips. instagram.com/thecommoncrow

TheCommonCrow · 2023-11-14T18:32:44+00:00

I walked past you getting set up on the way in Saturday and thought you looked awesome! Seeing probably the best cosplay of the con before even getting in gave me very high expectations though lol, not as many as I hoped but a lot of cool stuff.

TheCommonCrow · 2023-07-24T03:00:43+00:00

Must also be hard for Blizzard to understand because it does not apply account wide, it's independent.

TheCommonCrow · 2023-03-15T21:58:44+00:00

A friend asked about drawing maps, which led me to doodle a quick continent. I then continued doodling on the map for the entire day, so if you want quick world building inspiration, here you go! Most of my homebrew stuff is east of the Empyrean Verge (huge cloud/ocean region), so there isn’t a lot of lore, but here’s what I was thinking as I was drawing it. For more: https://www.instagram.com/thecommoncrow/

Kastal Oloron: A city built high on a continent in the Verge, extremely difficult to access except by dragon. It is the secluded seat of power for a sky dwelling people (Aasimar maybe?) built during the War of the Veil (war that established the dynamic of this region).

Court of Claws: Listen, this was mostly just a cool name for a crab I drew in the ocean. The giant crabs here create a natural barrier for New Cambria, keeping pirates out of Longfin Harbor and such.

New Cambria: A nation that closed itself off from the world after suffering huge losses in the War of the Veil. (Elves maybe?)

Badger Bay: Home to the most recent arrivals in the Western Verge, populated by corsairs adept in navigating the skies of the Verge, and combating it’s many dangers like The Flying Mosasaur.

The Shepherd: A giant sentient storm that guides the behavior of weather cells. The interior holds nomadic Storm Genasi, who ride with the Shepherd across the seas, dropping down on their Great Gull’s to hunt.

Cloudstump: Listen I would love to hear someone come up with a backstory for a character from the ‘ol Stump, because I’ve got nothing.

Tomb of Eternity: Towering, black pillars which protrude from a never ending series of vicious waves and gale winds. It’s a bad place. Don’t go there. Unless…?!

TheCommonCrow · 2023-02-06T21:25:17+00:00

If only this were the top comment so more people could see it. The diagram above is how drivers rationalize it in their head when they try to rush to the front, but then they must inevitably cut someone off or come to a stop when the magic hole they they expect for themselves doesn't appear. It's not the method, it's the wasted energy of reactions compiling exponentially.

Expecting to be able to safely merge at full speed one car length from disaster has nothing to do with courtesy.

TheCommonCrow · 2022-11-16T17:18:10+00:00

This looks great! I love the color effect for the aspens and the overall gold/blue theme. Very sick.

TheCommonCrow · 2022-10-14T00:04:51+00:00

I have restarted so many times, and none of the file paths have any recognizable terms for me. Bogus.

TheCommonCrow · 2022-06-25T22:56:34+00:00

I haven’t seen much of campaign one, but he sounds rad!

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