Escapism Via Books

You know that idea about a frog in a pot of water getting cooked before realising that the water had been gradually increasing in temperature until it was rapidly boiling? Well last week, I was the frog and my room was that pot of water.

September has been the hottest month in Southern California this year. I can not really complain because I am not dealing with the forest fires of Northern California and I did not even feel a jolt from the earthquake that happened in Baja California over the weekend. I guess my real problem is that heat halts my productivity that I end up searching for the nearest cool zone so I can grab an ice cold drink and sit down in an air conditioned room with a great book for hours.

It was during a marathon book reading session that I began to feel like Bastian from the NeverEnding Story because the adventure would keep unraveling each time I would open the book and I did not want to put it down. I have managed to plow through the first three parts of the book I am reading and I have saved the epilogue for bedtime right before I fall asleep.

I think there are so many things going on in the world to distract our attention. The current news cycle is like a master puppeteer that manipulates and plays with the highs and lows of our emotions. I have found that the best way to negate all anxiety from the media is to distance myself from most forms of technology. Reading for pleasure is one of the best gifts you can give to yourself.

So, what are you currently reading?



QUACKCAST CONTRIBUTIONS

Drawing your world! - world drawing cast

ozoneocean wants to know:

OK, we had a Quackcast about creating your world a while ago, but that was mainly in terms of writing. Some people touched on the visual aspects, fallopiancrusader among them, and Usedbooks showed us her city map…

-For this Quackcast we're going to talk about creating the LOOK of the world your story takes place in. Whether that's just the flat scenes with a few props you get in a comic strip or the whole city you get in Tantz Aerine's Without Moonlight (http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Without_Moonlight/)

Do you do research? Just base it all on imagination? Draw what you know? Do you do designs for buildings, floor plans, interiors, the objects within the room?
What about the colour choices of your environments- Do you go for a unified scheme or just do whatever?

Do you attempt perspective? Base your stuff on a real city? Use photos? 3D design?

Link: http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/177361/


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What's Quacking?
Do you have any original art to contribute to our stock image database, announcements, community projects, ideas, news, or milestones to report? Please leave general comments below or send a PQ to kawaiidaigakusei. Email me at kawaiidaigakusei(at)gmail(dot)com.