End-of-Splatoon thoughts.
Thinking about finding human-made music discs buried underground for thousands of years, and a grand finale music festival. About those human handprints etched into concrete in Alterna. Did those human artists know it would end like this? First a fiery death and then, eventually, a worldwide celebration of music to represent our shared past, present, and future. Did they know that their songs, insignificant in the face of extinction, would one day become the solution that will save the next dominant life-form from the same fate?
Thinking about how since the very start, Splatoon has had a feature where players can draw and post artwork and spot them as graffiti on walls or billboards. Or how the weapons have always been paint brushes and rollers and ballpoint pens. Since its inception, Splatoon has been dedicated to engaging its players with the act of creation and creative expression, showing them how their art can build communities and (literally) change the world.
Thinking about how art and music and punk culture and rock & roll and friendly competition and petty arguments and water guns aren’t uniquely human concepts, but the fundamental qualities of intelligent life. An inheritable spirit that can cross evolutionary bounds.
Thinking about how eerily similar the Octarian domes are to Alterna. About how close Inklings and Octolings were to repeating the same mistakes as humans. But their doomed fates were undone not by some miracle technology or military power or a rocket, but by music.
Thinking about how humans wiped themselves out with war, and our parting gifts were liquid crystals that somehow paired with the DNA of primeval inklings and somehow infused them with our memories and culture and a Song. And 12,000 years in the future, that same Song will end a war.
Thinking about the theme of Splatoon, that art and music and fun will not die with the human race. That every piece of art we create is a seed we sow for future generations to reap. That our legacy is ingrained into the crust of the earth. That long after we’re gone, the oceans will remember, and they’ll pick up where we left off.
Thinking about how Splatoon says that the essence of humanity –– the thing that will outlive us –– isn't war or prejudice or destruction or greed, it's a song.
I am genuinely infuriated at the amount of people defending the Minecraft movie with "well, its made for kids." That's not an excuse!!! Ever!!! Do you all think kids aren't capable of understanding deeper themes? They can't understand emotions? Do you really want to teach a kid they deserve only garbage media until they're older?
"Well, my kid liked it" ok cool. That's not actually my point. People can like what they want. My point is that kids deserve better. Every time some low effort slop gets released, people dismiss it with "its for kids." Its the inherent idea that kids deserve less that bothers me. Why don't kids deserve more? Why is making garbage for kids ok, but not for adults? Is it because... maybe... you value kids minds less? A stupid little kid could never understand the deeper meanings of Minecraft like creativity, valuing the world around you, and realizing how you have the power to shape yourself.
Because that's what Minecraft is about. Its not some goofy ass Jumanji rip off. You make your experience in Minecraft. You can become a miner, a builder, an explorer, a redstone engineer... its your world. I loved finding new things in Minecraft. The awe of seeing my first pink sheep. The fear of the deep dark. The wonder of a massive ravine. The accomplishment of crossing a whole sea. That's what Minecraft is about.
And it breaks my heart we got this instead. Plenty of adults play Minecraft, too. But in a big company's eyes, video games are for dumb children who don't know garbage from gold. Minecraft deserved better than this. I know the movie isn't out yet, but the trailer said enough.
Another repost of older stuff. I just really enjoy how the colors came out, and I think this was my earliest test of doing an outline.
Page from my doodle book
Newer art with newer OCs, Raine and Skye! They're probably among my favorites to draw just because the colors I associate them with (light blues and purples)
Clearly Unpopular Asexual Opinion but: Trying to rebrand the asexual community as people who enjoy, obsess over, and participate in sex the socially expected amount while calling non-partnering and sex-repulsed aces "stereotypes" is not actually helping aces or the asexual community.
I return with more old art until I get the time to draw again because FINALS TIME WOOOO :(
I am so ready lol. This is gonna be my first Green Day concert!! It's not until August, but I was just too eager to wait
"How do you know that if you haven't had sex? You should try it first."
Reblog if you've ever come out as ace to someone and been told any variation of "it's just a phase"
Art is a process of decisions. Color choices, medium, subject, style, basically everything in art is a choice. And that's what makes it so beautiful. Being able to look at a piece of art and go "I wonder why they chose to use such a bright green here?"
That green could represent so many things. It could be the color of the grass outside that day. The color of their favorite toy. The color of their friend's hair. The color of the trees. Their favorite color. Their most hated color.
Maybe its about a message. Some part of their identity. It could be an injustice they experienced. Something unfair they saw. A victory they claimed. A fight they had. Joy they once felt or still feel. A protest piece. An important act. A source of motivation.
Or maybe there is no reason. Maybe they just felt like using it that day.
Even if art is not made to have a particular meaning, you can still look at it and see every stroke. Every line. Every intention. There was love put into this. A soul was mirrored. A little piece of that artist wound into the picture.
There is nothing there in generative AI images. It is a machine. It does not decide, it does not represent. It makes a collage of images fed to it from a database.
It does not make art. It makes images. Sure, a human prompted it. It told it what to do. But they did not make that art. If I told an artist "draw me a tree" and they did so, would I claim it as my art? I gave the prompt, but the artist created the art. Someone gave the prompt, but the machine generated the image.
There is one benefit: it has made me appreciate art far more. I wonder more when I see art just what the artist was thinking about. I like to think about each choice they made when they created it. I think about what I do in my own art.
I think I'm going to use green today.
They played my favorite songs (St. Jimmy and One Eyed Bastard)! I got merch! A drunk guy fell on me! Billie was super funny! They had the inflatable plane from Dookie!
12/10 experience, would definitely go again!
| Echo or Sk8 | He/they/she || Musician, artist, and aspiring game sound designer |I like to post art of my OCs and various random things! All art will be tagged under "sk8echo art"
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