Hello Readers from the cold, waterlogged bog of recent weather patterns, and still expected to mow the lawn.
First week on the grind of near daily writing. Halloween and the recent Midterm Elections providing reasonable distraction. The first step is to learn to forgive yourself. As I sit at the table I grew up eating from with my notebooks, nice pencils and electric sharpener, it does feel good. I’ve found listening to classical music or piano jazz for ambience.
Current Projects
Finishing up the first drafts of a few new stories, starring some streamers who have inspired them. I’m waiting to get farther along with them before I do some in-depth talk on them, but I can say that it is an experiment in style for me. Taking inspiration from Gothic and Horror literature.
I have been enjoying seeing folks enjoying the illustrations that I’ve been commissioning for my stories from artist friends. I am going to have a time updating things on Archive of Our Own (AO3) as there seems to be maintenance still going on. I hope it gets fixed soon.
Spotlight: Tail-Blazer
A regular of the size community, animator Tail-Blazer completed a big animation project available on their Patreon. I took a look at their other works available and I have been impressed with the quality of their work! I’ve had the pleasure of meeting them during SizeCon Online, and they have a great attitude! Overall great person to hang out with.
They have a specialty in growth both breast and butt/hip expansion. When you see how they accomplish this in their animation style and be so smooth and seamless doing it is astounding!
Check out more of their work on BlueSky
Practice In Pencils
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been experimenting with writing by hand using nicer pencils. I wanted the chance to try something new and this seemed reasonable to what I do. this is no deep cut on the subject, just my general feelings.
Palomino Blackwing 602
The Myth, The Legendary Palomino Blackwing 602. Firm graphite. Said to be similar to a B or 2B style graphite hardness. Going with this after having used Dixon Ticonderoga pencils for everything from writing to early drawing. I will say it feels wonderful. A friend told me “When it comes to pencils, more people would use them if they realized they could take softer leads.” The price tag for this does give pause, but once I got some sharpened up in long-point style, it was a delight. I’ve been wondering about trying other hardnesses of these pencils, but once again, the price tag makes me hesitant.
Might just be better off enjoying this “happy medium” and keep my electric sharpener handy. I even got the little gift of my first actual finished pencil from my own hand.
Mitsubishi Hi-Uni HB Pencils
Ordered these online because I could not find these locally. More expensive than Ticonderogas, but certainly less than Blackwings,
I was recommended to use the HB Strength. While it is certainly nice, these require a little more pressure. Not a bad thing, but might go with a B strength in the future to offer a better comparison with the Palominos. Still, a lot of great use out of these pencils! Highly recommended! Two boxes of these were only slightly more than a box of Blackwing pencils. It even came in a secure box that gives me 1980’s automotive vibes. Useful as a pencil case to hold my unsharpened pencils while working.
MVP: X-acto Pencil Sharpeners
You would not believe how annoying it was to find a good pencil sharpener that is defaulted into long-point (my preference). More than a few pencils’ lives were drastically shortened having sharpeners that changed styles from standard to long point and back again. I have three of these X-acto sharpeners for different work stations. Different styles. If you have a chance to get a sharpener that really does avoid over-sharpening, I would recommend these.
Honorable Mention: Pencil Extenders
Not just for visual artists. These are a good investment when you want to get the most from your pencils. These little pencil nubs after I’m done become badges of honor for me. Warning, though. Palomino Blackwings, due to their ferrule and eraser design don’t work with more standardized options. You have to shell out the extra money to get a proprietary one that fits in the ferrule, which requires you to remove the eraser. I have one and that’s all I plan on getting. Check your local art store to grab a few for your standard pencils, though.
