in a dnd game i had to role-play my bard asking the princess to marry him so i word-for-word quoted mr darcy’s proposal to elizabeth from the end of the book and now the half of my group that has never read pride and prejudice thinks im a hopeless romantic
Today we’re joined by Nambroth. Nambroth is a phenomenal visual artist who specializes in painting fantasy and wildlife, with the occasional overlap between the two. While she worked a lot with digital painting, Nambroth recently moved back into traditional mediums. She currently favors oil painting and creates the most extraordinary visuals. Her work shows both a vivid imagination and incredible eye, as you’ll soon see. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.
WORK
Please, tell us about
your art.
I am a fantasy and wildlife visual artist, with some
crossover between the two genres. I started out with traditional materials when
I was a kid/teen, and when Wacom tablets and painting programs became available
to the public, I became primarily a digital painter. Recently, in the last ten
years, I’ve started working more in traditional mediums again, and in 2017 I
started oil painting in earnest for the first time and I’m really in love with
that medium right now.
What inspires you?
The list of what inspires me has blossomed over the years; I
think oil painting has re-wired me a bit and I find myself getting excited to
paint over nearly anything. That said, I am especially fond of nature (which is
pretty general, I know) and birds in particular. I am often inspired by music
and other’s art, and love seeing other artist’s paintings in person.
What got you
interested in your field? Have you
always wanted to be an artist?
I have wanted to be an artist from the age when I realized
that such things were possible. I used to sit for hours with “Wildlife Artist”
magazines in the 80s and early 90s, daydreaming about the career. Dragonheart came out when I was a young teen and starting to decide what I might want to do
with my life; I was very inspired by the thought of making dragons (etc). When
I neared graduation from high school, I was advised art wasn’t a good career
choice, and did consider my other passions (ornithology / avian medicine) very
seriously, but in the end I was stubborn and chased art as a career. I worked
several minimum wage jobs for years after graduating high school before I could
take the scary plunge and go full time with my art.
Do you have any kind
of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work
that you’d be willing to reveal?
I’ve had a few friends tell me that my paintings of
clouds/skies stand out to them, but beyond that I don’t think I have anything
specific! I tend to be drawn to warm, and sometimes dramatic light, so I do
often paint that sort of look.
What advice would you
give young aspiring artists?
I am nervous about offering advice, because it makes it seem
as if I am a purveyor of wisdom; in truth, I have been doing this for about 15
years now and I still have next to no idea what I’m doing. Many people really
don’t know exactly what they’re doing, especially in this field. We’re all
experimenting and making it up as we go, to some extent. I suppose that can be advice
in of itself; don’t be afraid if you don’t know what you’re doing or how to get
there, because we’re all sort of in the same boat, even if we have a few miles
behind us! There is often no destination, even after a lifetime of art, I’m
told.
ASEXUALITY
Where on the spectrum
do you identify?
I identify strongly as asexual, and possibly panromantic.
Have you encountered
any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field? If so, how do you handle it?
I have not been very open about being ace, especially
professionally. I am married, and so carry a lot of privilege that way, as I’m
seen as “typical” I think. To this end I have not faced much prejudice in
regards to my asexuality, specifically.
What’s the most
common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?
Mostly that it’s not real, or that it’s a “cop-out” or
avoidance tactic.
What advice would you
give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their
orientation?
I think it can be useful to see the labels for sexuality as
something to help empower yourself, and not to try to force yourself into it,
especially if you are still questioning. It was a relief to find a term for how
I felt for so long when I discovered the term “asexual” as an orientation in
the early 2000s. That said, it’s okay if you don’t feel that way; a perfect
description doesn’t exist for every person out there and I think that’s just
fine! We are living creatures and one term might feel right for now, and can
change over time, or it might remain static. It’s all good. Be excellent to
each other, and party on, dudes.
Finally, where can
people find out more about your work?
You wake up with two small lumps on your back, just around your shoulder blades. Your friend has a similar dilemma, however, theirs are on their forehead, and look like zits. Small horns protrude from theirs, while feathers come from yours.
Within a month, you have large, white, dove wings, while your friend has long, curly horns. Turns out, you’re an angel, they’re a demon, and you’re supposed to fight. But you both’d rather just go see a movie.
“We just, like, really bonded over growing mysterious additional appendages,” the angel tries to explain to the Heavenly Agent that comes to ask why they are not in the process of thwarting their enemy. “And, like, she’s not really doing anything evil? Besides, you know,” the angel continues, almost under her breath, “being hella cute.”
“What,” the Agent says. “What was that last part?”
“Nothing,” says the angel unconvincingly. She squints up at the sky and then back to the Agent. “Must have been the wind.”
The Agent wishes that they’d just use heaven-born angels, like in the old days. These earthly messengers are…tedious.
The new angel looks at the Agent guiltlessly and stubbornly doesn’t think about how cute her friend’s butt is in case they can read minds.
Judging by the look one the agent’s face, they can.
————–
“Why aren’t you out there tempting humans?” The Demonic Agent demands of the newly minted demon. They feel their rage growing hotter as they watch her spin again in her desk chair.
“Don’t want to tempt humans,” the demon says. She appear to have been using her new horns as receipt spikes. There’s one for fro-yo for two.
“Then attack your nemesis,” the Demonic Agent tries.
The demon gives them a very dry look. “Go fuck yourself.”
The Demonic Agent wants to cry. “You’ve been given awesome powers, respect, a title, and the duty to do what you ALREADY do– fuck with people. Why. Aren’t. You.”
The demon makes another slow rotation. “Got stuff to think about.”
“What. Stuff?” Asks the Demonic Agent through gritted teeth.
“Nunya,” the demon says.
“What?”
“Nunya fuckin business is what,” the demon says. “Now get outta here, I gotta seduce this chick.”
The demonic Agent feels his hopes rose. “You’re going to tempt a human?”
“I’m thinking more along the lines of a long-term committed relationship with an angel,” the demon says, grinning a sharp grin.
The Demonic Agent buries their face in their hands and wishes demons were less obstinate creatures.
Violet Parr, everyone. The true hero of this movie.
I want an Incredibles 2 where Violet suddenly wakes up and realizes, ‘Why did I think wearing pink sweaters and dating some popular kid was AN IMPROVEMENT?!’ Then she goes back to being the quirky, smart girl she was at the start, only now she’s more badass than before because she realizes there was NOTHING WRONG WITH WHO SHE WAS!!!
(Seriously, am I the only one who hates how they ended her story in pt. 1?)
You SEVERELY misunderstand Violet’s entire dang story arc, and her characterization at the beginning of the film.
Like, I think you need to rewatch the film. At the beginning of the film, she was scared, self conscious, etc. Those aren’t “quirks” those were her hiding her quirks because she was afraid.
Her story arc was about gaining confidence. The wearing of brighter colors was symbolic of that. If you look at concept art, she was meant to be huddled, scared, trying not to be seen, etc. Those dark clothes are meant to show her trying to “blend in” and be less noticed.
That’s also why in the beginning, she lets her hair fall in front of her face: She’s trying TO HIDE. Think about it, she wants to be “normal” instead of embracing her powers, she wants to fit in, etc.
Look at her body language during this scene. Notice how she doesn’t want to talk, she mumbles, she won’t even eat. Something is bothering her, but she doesn’t want to admit it. She constantly looks sad. Heck, I’m kind of mad at Helen in this scene for not acknowledging it. Violet’s body language is FREAKING OBVIOUS, any mother should be able to spot it, and ask what the frick is wrong, but Helen’s so preoccupied with trying to be a “normal” family that she completely ignores any signs that something is wrong.
And then we get to the problem: When Violet screams about how no one in the family is “normal”
“We ACT normal, Mom! I wanna BE normal!” and Dash even agrees, because of the pressure to act “normal” that is put on him.
She doesn’t want to “be herself” she wants to “fit in”
She has basically been told her whole life to hide who she is, hide her powers, etc to keep the family safe. She’s barely allowed to express herself, something Helen acknowledges later in the film indirectly by apologizing for putting pressure on Violet. She’s not just talking about the plane crash, she’s talking about what she’s basically done to Violet and Dash THEIR ENTIRE FREAKING LIVES. She basically did the same dang thing Elsa’s parents did in Frozen: “Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let it show” but she never gets called out on it, because she doesn’t die before realizing her mistake and fixing it.
That’s why after the talk with her Mom, it’s SO DANG IMPORTANT that she pulls her hair back: SHE’S DONE HIDING WHO SHE IS. She’s DONE trying to pretend to be normal. She realizes she is someone incredible, and is finally willing to embrace that.
Later, when she’s wearing bright clothes, it symbolizes she’s no longer afraid of being seen. She’s willing to stand out instead of blend into the background. Seriously, this is some basic cinematography symbolism, here, it’s one of the first things you learn in a film-as-literature class. Her outfit change didn’t mark a change in
Violet doesn’t become a different person. She learns to be confident with who she is.
She didn’t change who she was. She gained confidence. Confidence to talk to the boy without turning invisible. Confidence to ask him out. The moral of her story wasn’t “LOL those darn introverts need to be extroverts” the moral was “You can do whatever you set your mind to. If you can stop a literal supervillain, you can freaking ask the dang boy out.”
Note to self: in order to write, you have to actually do more than stare at a Word document rereading what you’ve already written. For example, maybe typing new words would be a good strategy.
Okay, first? Pay off all your debts. Take out a small loan and pay it off right away.
Buy several hundred vacant houses. Schedule repairs for said houses with reputable contractors and make sizable down payments in advance. Get everything in writing and hang onto those deeds.
Buy a large open parcel of land that is being auctioned for development. And when I say large, I mean LARGE.
Sink millions into paying off people’s Kickstarters / college loans / medical bills / mortgages, and give generously charity organizations. That alone will carry off a lot of money.
Once you’ve got things down to a reasonable level, say $1m, buy yourself a house, furnishings, appliances, and a dependable car. Pay everything off so that you own it free and clear. Purchase about $200k worth of something easy to liquidate (i.e. gold, gems, bonds, stocks). Put the rest onto prepaid credit cards and wait for Monday to roll around.
NOW THE FUN BEGINS.
You now have commendable credit and a shining public reputation.
Fix up and flip those houses, sell them for fair market value or below to families who need them, or create non-profit homeless shelters. (After all, it’s not like you need to “make” money, this is all running on the proceeds from the property sales.)
Sell the parcel of land to developers, or donate it to public works as a park or open space. Have them name it after you.
Retire to your fully furnished home. Liquidate your extra assets, or leave them to appreciate in value for a later date. Make Christmas epic with those gift cards. Keep the extra money in the bank and keep your day job.
And don’t worry about taxes when return time rolls around, because you’ll be able to write off several millions’ worth of charitable donations.
Basically this
This is someone who paid attention in finance class.
more on writing muslim characters from a hijabi muslim girl
– hijabis get really excited over pretty scarves – they also like to collect pins and brooches – we get asked a lot of questions and it can be annoying or it can be amusing, just depends on our mood and personality and how the question is phrased – common questions include: – “not even water?” (referring to fasting) – hijabis hear a lot of “do you sleep in that?” (we don’t) and “where is your hair?” (in a bun or a braid, usually) – “is it mooze-slim or mozzlem?” (the answer is neither, it’s muslim, with a soft s and accent on the first syllable) – “ee-slam or iz-lamb?” (it’s iss-laam, accent on the first syllable) – “hee-job?” (heh-jahb, accent on the second syllable)
– “kor-an?” (no. quran. say it like koor-annn, accent on the second syllable) – people tend to mess up our names really badly and you just get a sigh and a resigned nod or an awkward smile, maybe a nickname instead – long hair is easy to hide, short hair is harder to wrap up – hijab isn’t just covering hair, it’s also showing as little skin as possible with the exception of face, hands, and feet, and not wearing tight/sheer clothing – that applies to men too, people just don’t like to mention it ( i wonder why) – henna/mehendi isn’t just for special occasions, you’ll see people wearing it for fun – henna/mehendi isn’t just for muslims, either, it’s not a religious thing – henna/mehendi is not just for women, men also wear it, especially on their weddings – there are big mehendi parties in the couple of nights before eid where people (usually just women and kids) gather and do each other’s mehendi, usually just hands and feet – five daily prayers – most muslim kids can stutter through a couple verses of quran in the original arabic text by the age of seven or eight, it does not matter where they live or where they’re from or what language they speak natively – muslim families tend to have multiple copies of the quran – there are no “versions” of the quran, there has only ever been one. all muslims follow the exact same book – muslims have no concept of taking God’s name in vain, we call on God at every little inconvenience – don’t use islamic phrases if you don’t know what they mean or how to use them. we use them often, inside and outside of religious settings. in islam, it is encouraged to mention God often and we say these things very casually, but we take them very seriously – Allahu Akbar means “God is Greatest” (often said when something shocks or surprises us, or if we’re scared or daunted, or when something amazing happens, whether it be good or bad; it’s like saying “oh my god”) – Subhan Allah means “Glory be to God” (i say subhan Allah at the sky, at babies, at trees, whatever strikes me as pleasant, especially if it’s in nature) – Bismillah means “in the name of God” and it’s just something you say before you start something like eating or doing your homework – In Shaa Allah means “if God wills” (example: you’ll be famous, in shaa Allah) (it’s a reminder that the future is in God’s hands, so be humble and be hopeful)
– Astaghfirullah means “i seek forgiveness from Allah” and it’s like “god forgive me” – Alhamdulillah means “all thanks and praise belong to God” and it’s just a little bit more serious than saying “thank god” (example: i passed my exams, alhamdulillah; i made it home okay, alhamdulillah) – when i say we use them casually, i really mean it – teacher forgot to assign homework? Alhamdulillah – our version of “amen” is “ameen” – muslims greet each other with “assalamu alaikum” which just means “peace be on you” and it’s like saying hi – the proper response is “walaikum assalam” which means “and on you be peace” and it’s like saying “you too”
C.A. Jacobs
C.A. Jacobs 