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Blathering Past Writer's Block

Blathering Past Writer’s Block

26. October 2016 · by Rydain Darkstar · in Advice & Tutorials

Quantity over quality can get you past the trap of rethinking your work before completion. It can also trap you into writing reams of useless material for its own sake. You can’t edit a blank page, but you do need potential for refinement. For that, you can harness the quantity beast by giving it a sense of direction.

Engineering an Organic Clockwork

7. December 2014 · by Rydain Darkstar · in Advice & Tutorials

So you want to write a story with a lot going on under the hood, from characters’ goals and frustrations to greater challenges of society. These varied pressures can create a desirably layered narrative. They can also explode into a scattershot mess – or intimidate you into fearing the rigors of development.

With some thought and planning, you can sort out all these ideas and get them to play well together.

Fiction Brainstorming Basics

23. November 2014 · by Rydain Darkstar · in Advice & Tutorials

So you want to expand your story idea into a road map. Or you’re stalled out on plotting or planning or rewriting. Or you’re mired somewhere in the wilds of Indecision, Overthought, or I Got Nothing. Time to take a high-fiber brain dump.

NaNoWriMo - Adapting the Metrics

NaNoWriMo – Adapting the Metrics

30. October 2014 · by Rydain Darkstar · in Advice & Tutorials

Traditionally, NaNoWriMo focuses on word count. An alternative measure of work time might ultimately be more productive. Which metric best suits your project?

Pattern Overlay Primer

Pattern Overlay Primer

28. September 2010 · by Rydain Darkstar · in Advice & Tutorials

Want to spiff up your digital artwork with fabric prints, metal textures, and so on? Pattern overlays can easily create effects that would be tedious to paint by hand. They are simple to use, surprisingly versatile, and great fun to play around with.

A Few Good Books About Drawing

2. July 2010 · by Rydain Darkstar · in Advice & Tutorials, Reviews

Whether you’re new to drawing or an aspiring pro, you can benefit from some quality reference material. This selection of drawing books will get you past sticking points while refining your knowledge of the fundamentals.

Decoupaging Feathers

30. May 2010 · by Rydain Darkstar · in Advice & Tutorials

I embellished Zhang He’s gauntlets with real peacock eyes. The process is simple, but it requires some trickery that I only learned by messing up the first attempts.

Basic Armor Patterning

Basic Armor Patterning

30. May 2010 · by Rydain Darkstar · in Advice & Tutorials

The art of patterning costume armor is difficult to teach. It requires a good understanding of how a 3-D shape can be formed from 2-D surfaces, which is best learned by experience. That said, I can share some tips to get you started.

Zhang He - In Flowers

Foam Props and Armor – An Overview

29. May 2010 · by Rydain Darkstar · in Advice & Tutorials

Once upon a time, I attempted to make fiberglass armor and claws for a Zhang He costume. With time running out before Otakon, I revisited an idea that I had never thought would work for me – craft foam propmaking.

About

Programmer by trade, mad scientist and cat wrangler by night. Writer, illustrator, bodybuilder, occasional musician and singer. Maker of nifty crap and situationally appropriate mayhem. 8-bit gamer yelling at high resolution clouds.

Read more about my work in general or in-progress novel.

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