Gracious Anthracite @anthracite@dragon.style

Today I was out walking
when I had a brief flash
and saw the people I was passing
as collections of cells gathered together into muscles
pulling against the bones that they grew for some cells to live inside
slithering against each other like a bucket of live eels

And it was kind of beautiful.

Is it #introduction time again? Sorta seems to be. I'd boost the old one but it's a little out of date.

Hi, I'm Peggy, and I run dragon.style. If "maintaining a Patreon to pay the hosting, putting off updating it for a year, and occasionally opening the place up for new users" qualifies as "running" it.

I am a trans lady who spends most of her time drawing complicated sci-fi comics and sort of earning a living doing that via Patreon.

Adobe Illustrator has been my main medium since 2000, it's a pretty unusual choice but it works for me.

I used to do burlesque, then pole dance, as a hobby and a way to stay fit. I miss it and should find something similar again.

You may know me from elsewhere as Egypt Urnash.

@irisjaycomics eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs
.-''-.
.'_ _ \
/ ( ` ) '
. (_ o _) |
| (_,_)___|
' \ .---.
\ `-' /
\ /
`'-..-'
.-_'''-.
'_( )_ \
|(_ o _)| '
. (_,_)/___|
| | .-----.
' \ '- .'
\ `-'` |
\ /
`'-...-'
.-_'''-.
'_( )_ \
|(_ o _)| '
. (_,_)/___|
| | .-----.
' \ '- .'
\ `-'` |
\ /
`'-...-'
.-'''-.
/ _ \
(`' )/`--'
(_ o _).
(_,_). '.
.---. \ :
\ `-' |
\ /
`-...-'
eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs
.----.
| {_
| {__
`----'
.---.
/ __}
\ {_ }
`---'
.---.
/ __}
\ {_ }
`---'
.----.
{ {__
.-._} }
`----'
eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs
,---.
| .-'
| `-.
| .-'
| `--.
/( __.'
(__)
,--,
.' .'
| | __
\ \ ( _)
\ `-) )
)\____/
(__)
,--,
.' .'
| | __
\ \ ( _)
\ `-) )
)\____/
(__)
.---.
( .-._)
(_) \
_ \ \
( `-' )
`----'
eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs

Huh. Turns out my bike light was actually lurking in a pocket of one of my bags. I’d taken it off to charge it inside and forgotten it. Now I have two bike lights.

I am pretty sure I’m not gonna find my bike toolkit turning up around the house though. That never even leaves the underseat bag unless I’m working on the bike.

I spent the morning squinting at a character design tutorial I wasn’t vibing with, and taking what I’ve learnt about Blender so far to try and kludge together a workflow starting with extruding a box, then taking that into sculpting. It didn’t work too well but it’s another step in the process of figuring out which 17 tools in Blender’s giant toolbox are the ones that work for me.

This process took about a decade for Illustrator, hopefully I can do it in more like a couple weeks for this.

Then I went out to the local library and used the card I finally got yesterday while we were downtown trying to get a marriage license. And now I am sitting at a table outside Cafe Du Monde in the park checking internet and reveling in today’s uspol news.

Trumpy dumpy’s been indicted! For the Stormy Daniels hush money! In NYC’s courts, where there is very little love for him!

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-indictment-hush-money-stormy-daniels/index.html

Having done the Donut, I decided to spend a while trying to use my very minimal knowledge of Blender to try a character model. I think I need to go read some guides or watch some tutorials, there are ways of thinking I feel like I don't have here. Experimenting was fun though. And frustrating because fuck I feel so fumble-fingered here.

Really if I can find a way to draw quick splines (preferably with the stylus instead of tediously pulling out control points) and have Blender skin them for me, I think I will be in my happiest place. Is this doable? Maybe? I dunno.

...it's gonna take 3-6 months for the name change to happen, wheeee.

The clerk gave me the number of the DA whose desk it's on. "Should I call every month or so to check on it?" I asked. "I sure would!" she said.

Today’s mission has been a visit to The Place That Drives You Mad in search of a marriage license. I think it will be over for today after delivering this request for a name change to the DA’s office. I have a perfectly good name change but it was from the Massachusetts courts and I need one from Louisiana to get married.

It is almost April and I have realized this photo of my shadow is the only image of myself from this year.

There’s been a few horny drawings of a couple fursonas but I’m not sure those count. There haven’t been as many doodles of that as usual either. I guess I just want to step back from the Internet or something? I dunno.

I am at a financial place where I just signed and stopped at the bike shop on the way home to replace the stuff but I am Annoyed over this petty theft. The bike’s fine otherwise though.

Goddamnit I came out of the cafe today and found my bike tool bag opened up and emptied of everything except the AirTag in a semi hidden pocket I added, and my front light gone too. Shitgibbons.

Damn this book on Blender is nothing but "here's how to accomplish various small tasks" and it feels like just a complete brain dump of someone who's been using this thing as long as I've been using Illustrator and knows the quickest way to do a shit-ton of things.

Many of these ways are also non-destructive modifier stacks, which is really exactly the way I like to work with Illustrator's Appearance stacks. Yay!

https://blendersecrets.gumroad.com/l/IxofeY

Next is probably the Stylized Character Workflow Course from blender.org (https://studio.blender.org/training/stylized-character-workflow/), then digging into non-photorealistic stuff and probably learning entirely too much about the node editor making some super-weird shaders and post-processors.

Or next is deciding I'm bored and putting it down, I dunno, we'll see how I feel in a few days. Sometimes you just gotta pick up new tools and play with them, then sit back a while to decide how you felt about it.

I spent this weekend following the Blender Donut Tutorial. Every time Mr. Donut said "Never do it this way, because that's less realistic", I did it that way, because if I want realism I'll just go outside.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oyrWbRaMG6U

finally, after 27 major versions

why do I use this clunky thing for all my art again

time for attempt number who-knows at learning blender, this time I am actually watching the famous Donut Tutorial

I have spent about 20 minutes learning how to oan the view and rotate stuff, and fussed with my stylus's settings and Blender's settings until I have found the method that feels closest to what twenty years of Illustrator has trained me to do (space to pan, shift-cmd to rotate, cmd-space to drag out a zoom rectangle) and I think my brain feels kinda... full now.

Those sure were some nervous dreams. I am glad to be awake.

Not nightmares but… nightmare-adjacent.

Someone on Hacker News tried to tell me that image AIs transcend worries about "fair use" because they are using the same rights given to all of us by God and/or Mother Nature to look at stuff and store it in our brains, and, like, honey, what religion do you subscribe to that has a single word about machine rights in it.

I feel bad ditching this open pole studio session after only 15min but I just do not have what it takes for an hour of self directed practice after spending a week off due to a cold. Oh well. I’m in the Quarter, might go chill at a cafe and draw, could do some shopping, the afternoon’s young yet.

I HAVE FED

more sketchy experimentation, including an attempt at inking a doodle of @Edelwood, my hands still remember how to do this evidently