dust

Yeah I think so. Practice practice.... Honestly, I've never referenced off a real koi, and nobody told me to -- the look they go for is less realistic and more stylized. But I guess it could be a help to learn how to draw the real fish and how they move, and then apply the stylized lines and shading of the Asian tattoo style. Instead of pictures, here is the best teaching material I can possibly give you over the internet: a short video of one of my teacher's other students, very talented guy, drawing a koi. Around 3-4 minutes he starts the scales, fitting them perfectly with the flow of the body. If you learn this technique properly it could be very very helpful. (be patient, you will have to sit through a few minutes of ads before the vid starts. If you have adblock it won't let you watch..) http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzk0NDk0MDE2.html Yeah, they take a while to get used to. If you are patient, start soft and slow, light colours first, you can get much more detail in, and much smoother shading. I like them. They are better than 90% of tattoo waves that I've seen by non-Chinese people. My advice is just do more research, look at different styles, especially Chinese and Japanese masters...

When I started learning, I was told that Westerners had no idea about liyu (koi), we make them look floppy and soft and lacking finesse; they said I would have to practice, practice, practice, just fish, for the first few weeks. It is true that my first attempts were terrible. It wasn't until my second teacher that I really grasped all the tricks needed to create an excellent koi. Yours is unexpectedly good. Your waves too. How long have you been practicing? Is it an original or a copy? (no problem if it's a copy -- I've often heard that the best way for any artist to start is to copy, copy, copy) However -- and this is just my perspective based on the Chinese style -- there are a few ways to improve it. -- the barbels ('whiskers') could be a tiny bit longer, with more exaggerated curves, flowing with the water -- the contours of the head could be more defined, more rounded. Maybe even with some details. Some guys like to put a jewel or some other decoration on the forehead -- the scales are really good, nice and even. They maybe could flow a tiny bit more with the curve of the body -- it's hard to see the tailfin, but it could be more 'flowy' -- some flourishes/curves at the end, to show how it's whipping through the water -- you'll get a nicer shading with decent quality colour pencils (looks like you've used pens?) I'm not saying you should add all this to every piece. Just some ideas. I will post some sketches from a couple of Chinese artists. They're too big to upload here so will link them later. Could be very useful.

Yeah, that kind of sucked. But I wasn't stuck on her. I guess they needed a violent and somewhat shocking death for the episode... The last scene was amazing. I think I clapped my hands together in glee! I bend the knee for no man, but I would kneel before Daenerys Targaryen.

These guys in Hong Kong do some amazing neo-traditional stuff. I really love the calligraphy stuff by Joey Pang. http://tattootemple.deviantart.com/gallery/ http://tattootemple.tumblr.com/

If you go to "More Reply Options" (next to "Post") you can upload and attach images. (click "Choose Files", then select image, and then click "Add to Post") Or you can click the greenish square in the reply box to link from on the net. It's below the yellow smiley face and left of the Twitter icon. Can link from Facebook, Wordpress, etc etc. I'm not sure how good my advice would be though...I've always been the one asking for advice You mean Chinese style landscape painting tattoos? Yeah that would be cool. This is along those lines I guess, Chinese painting on the skin (I worked on it a bit, but only on the Chinese characters, when I was apprenticing):

I apprenticed in Beijing with a couple of artists. Qiangzi, who did the sleeve with coloured lotus flowers in my OP, was an excellent teacher. His Chinese/Japanese style stuff is incredible.. To look at, I like a whole variety of styles..all sorts! For myself, I think I just want animals.. birds and maybe some other stuff.. and maybe some Chinese calligraphy mixed in.. What about you?

I'm not in the biz anymore, but still love tattoos. To talk about it with a fellow bum would be cool.

The GD characters are beautiful eh. Those 2 are screenshots from the best copy of the original Guodian Laozi slips I have come across so far. It would be lovely to have them at a higher res but haven't had much luck. I imagine that the slips are about that size, so it wouldn't get much more defined anyway. This is from the GD Taiyi Shengshui, the largest version I have found: I've had a go at writing some of the characters, though not manipulating them digitally. Maybe will have a go You may get back to the philosophical stuff now...

Some more about the origin of the character might be noted. It has had a few incarnations.. One, mentioned above, is 'foot' or 'walk' 辶 辵 with 'head' 首, which together form 道 Before this, though: One was 'crossroads' or 'route' 行 and 'head' 首, which together form 衜 Another was 'crossroads' or 'route' 行 and 'person' 人 (there is no modern character like this) We can clearly see the early relationship between 'walk' 辶 and 'route' 行, so 道 and 衜 are pretty close, but the version of 'dao' depicting a person in the middle of the crossroads intrigues me. In the Guodian Laozi, both the 'road/person' and 'walk/head' versions of the character are found: Relative lack of study of the Guodian seems to mean that many are unaware of this other version -- or that they think it's a mistake, or that they don't care, I suppose. I find the character itself, and the use of two different characters for what is now a single 'dao' character, intriguing.

The characters and symbol in order in that text are: 道 首 辶 ☯ ..if that makes things easier

Ah OK. Yeah, society has had decades of trans people firmly in the public eye and only now has bathroom use become a newsworthy issue. Silly. It's the thing people do. It happens around everything. My topic "Tattoos" highlighted how tattooing fades in and out of public acceptance, with people regularly forgetting that it's been going on for centuries. Transvestites, if not completely surgically altered transsexuals, have existed throughout history, and have been alternately accepted and demonized. At least, I suppose, we're in a place and an age of relative acceptance..?

What was never a problem?

Well.. yeah. When it comes to most situations, the cause is not relevant. The important thing is, as Luke said, kindness. At the same time, I think public discussion around the subject is necessary, as with any other contentious issue. For one thing, saying "This is nothing to do with you, it's not your life, shut up," while basically true, doesn't really help. There are still going to be objections. For another, public discussion helping to form opinions may well influence the way certain parents react to their own children. If the general consensus among a segment of the population is that transgenderism is purely psychological, and that therapy can 'fix' it, it might be good to get those people thinking about the notion that it could well be physiological, biologically determined, and not 'fixable'. Stifling conversation, in my opinion, will only lead to the unaccepting becoming even less accepting. Forcing opinions upon others without discussion is rarely useful. I see the same kind of thing with 'race'. The vast majority of scientific research proves that the notion of distinct 'races' is bullshit, yet there are still people who believe in a human class system. Even many people who are accepting of other 'races' and of 'inter-racial' marriage often hold some basic belief that 'race' is a valid concept. People are not fully aware of the scientific literature. Many are not capable of holding open conversations on the subject, and many are prevented from doing so because it's not socially acceptable to talk about it. Conversation should be socially acceptable, even encouraged. Whether the science eventually concludes that most transgender people are biologically fixed or psychologically troubled or whatever, knowing and understanding the causes might help certain people to act with more kindness and compassion, to realize that transgender people aren't demons or perverts.. Yeah. This forum is a weird place.

I'm thinking of becoming a knight-errant. Basically, as I understand it (from my reading thus far of the adventures of el ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha), it's like being a Daoist hermit but with a healthy dose of fighting reprobates, wandering through strange lands, and pledging oneself to beautiful women in corsets. I'll need a horse, shield/buckler, sword or pike, and possibly armour (though I'm given to understand that, as muskets and cannons have evolved somewhat over the years, armour has been rendered less useful than it used to be), and then I'll be all set to go. As far as searching out those in need and besting scoundrels in single combat, I'm pretty sure I can learn on the road. Would anyone like to be my squire?

Exactly

We have varying opinions on what makes transgender people so. Some are clearly more inclined than others to believe that it is not a 'legitimate' state of being. You, I think, believe transgenderism is a psychological issue; others believe transgender people are biologically determined to be so -- that their sex was 'mis-assigned' somewhere along the way. This is all pretty much irrelevant when it comes to such guidelines. Whatever your belief about the causes or legitimacy of transgenderism, there can be no allowance for abuse, bullying, or other mental or physical violence towards transgender people. This is even more important in school. There is no excuse. Young people above all must be protected. It is not the place of individual schools or teachers to decide who is acceptable; every student should be respected as a student. Any issues they have relating to their gender identity should be dealt with outside of school, by people with the experience to handle it. If you can form a coherent argument against this guidance (rather than the usual snide comments of someone with an axe to grind and no logical basis for his opinions), I will pay attention, and others might too. Otherwise, I think you'd do best to leave it alone.

That's OK, I will. http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/12/politics/transgender-bathrooms-obama-administration/ No, not telling schools to make bathrooms "open to any and all genders", but to 'ensure that "transgender students enjoy a supportive and nondiscriminatory school environment"' You have a problem with this?

Mostly just butchers and bakers in recent history, but in theory I am descended from Macbeth. Does that count? edit Also, I don't know about nobles, but I'm pretty sure the current Queen of England confers knighthoods upon mounted warriors less often than businessmen and actors. An honour to make your acquaintance. The map thing I hadn't considered. Certainly a bonus! And.. ah, yes.. my short attention span...

Freedom, of course. But how much more dignity is there in buying an ice cream from someone who hates you? Yeah. I'm not entirely convinced this is a good thing. Honesty usually wins with me. But perhaps the long-term greater good is served by disallowing discrimination.

Again, I find myself agreeing with both sides. Slavery has always existed, as far back as humans have had the capacity to think "What if I could get that guy to do my work for me?" or "What if I chained up these women and forced them to bed every night?", etc. It continues to happen, all over the world, and it has never been, and is not currently, something unique to people with white skin. This is known. Presently, the issue is much worse in many countries other than the USA. So-called 'human rights' are being consistently violated throughout the East, the West, and all in between. Among this abuse, things such as racism, homophobia, and other prejudices are a massive, overwhelming, incredibly troubling problem, and in so many countries to a far greater extent than in the USA. We've gotten way off-topic, but considering the subject matter we've covered in this thread, Karl is not wrong to point all this out. At the same time, none of this excuses the racism and other unfounded prejudices that do exist in America. It is true that, though racism has decreased in the West over time, and the vast majority of Americans (of all 'races') are not consciously racist, a large enough number are. It's a bad thing. My questions: What was responsible for white Americans coming to accept non-whites to the point that a man with the blood of Europe and Africa could be elected president? What has changed in the minds of all Americans to the point that nearly 90% approve of 'inter-racial' marriage? Was it legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing discrimination based on 'race', sex, etc? Was it improved education around these issues? Was it a natural, inevitable change based on the fact that so-called 'races' are actually, objectively, not any different 'where it counts'? Why are some people still racist, still ignorant? The abolition of slavery was necessary. Legislation entitling universal suffrage was necessary. Many important legal changes have been made in the last couple of hundred years, and many more need to be made. Gay marriage should be legally entitled everywhere, and there are surely still disparities in how, for example, black people are treated versus white people in the judicial system. But how far should legislation go? In my opinion, there are always going to be those who cannot accept difference, who base belief on ancient religious nonsense and unexamined tradition, even those who resurrect ancient tradition. Perhaps the best way to deal with them is to make sure we know who and where they are. Maybe it's better not to silence them with anti-discrimination laws, but to make sure that if a person doesn't want blacks or gays or Muslims in his shop, we all know so and can duly deny him business. Maybe. I dunno.

Turns out I'm not very good at riding horses. And most people have cars these days, which are often faster. Maybe a motorbike would do. Need to be able to swing a sword, you see. I also have yet to find a squire.

I'm kind of disappointed we haven't seen Lady Stoneheart..

And well it should. The execs' main concern should be promoting a good business, not basing policy on 'race'; doesn't this stuff from 1994 serve to illustrate that?

Oh boy... Have I turned to the dark side? I don't think so. In all honesty, I stand in the middle on this, and my flip-flopping can be seen in this thread. I don't think either side of the argument is wrong. I like the idea of all people being free to take their business where they want, to not be discriminated against based on outward appearance etc; but I also like the idea of all people being free to run their business how they want, as long as they're not doing active harm.