Rick-TinyWorlds
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Hi everyone! Kirschpraline tagged me to participate in #TheVoyage.
The idea is to visit a gallery category you usually never would visit - and pick your favorites out of it : )
I think it's a really interesting idea, to "dig a bit deeper" into deviantART.
More info can be found here: Voyage to the unknown: Master Journal
But without further ado, here are my picks!
I tag Tutziputz eegariM and CanelaRose - that said only if you have time amidst that Christmas trouble and want to try it : )
The idea is to visit a gallery category you usually never would visit - and pick your favorites out of it : )
I think it's a really interesting idea, to "dig a bit deeper" into deviantART.
More info can be found here: Voyage to the unknown: Master Journal
But without further ado, here are my picks!
Basketry & Weavery
I chose this category because I didn't even know it existed! Plus I think both crafts are really interesting - it's impressive how much work and mind goes into one piece : )I tag Tutziputz eegariM and CanelaRose - that said only if you have time amidst that Christmas trouble and want to try it : )
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ForestRefuge is frozen for now
7 min read
Hello everybody!
On behalf of the team (300kilohertz, mademoiselle and me) I'd like to announce that ForestRefuge is on ice for now!
We might continue the group at some point, but for now we really don't know.
We all are quite a bit more busy then when we started the group & it feels like there is not enough time and energy on our site to properly handle a group right now.
Still, I want to end this on a more positive note & feature the beautiful art back from our first contest. It really shows to me what I imagined this group to be!
Entries to our first contest
Der Wald und wirAls pure Dorfkinder, gehörte der Wald in unserer Kindheit einfach mit dazu.
Drinnen am Computer oder an der Spielekonsole zu sitzen war für meine beste Freundin und mich damals nahezu undenkbar und viel zu langweilig. Wir waren lieber draußen unterwegs. Auf dem Spielplatz, im Dorf oder aber eben im Wald.
Manchmal haben wir ihren oder meinen Hund auf unsere Streiftouren mitgenommen, manchmal waren wir aber auch nur zu zweit unterwegs.
„Offizielle“ Wege waren uns auf unseren Entdeckungstouren einerlei. Wir sind durch das Unterholz gestiefelt, haben uns durch Dornenbüsche gekämpft und sind einmal sogar durch ein Moor gelaufen.
Ich weiß noch, dass ich damals einen unbedachten Schritt gemacht habe und prompt mein Stiefel im modrigen Boden feststeckte.
Außerdem weiß ich auch heute noch, wie neidisch ich immer auf ihre Kletterkünste war. Egal wie hoch der erste Ast am Baum war, sie ist immer irgendwie dran gekommen und ist problemlos hi
The Comfort of the Willow Tree
From my childhood days on, this willow has been fascinating me:
Cool and smooth.
Your leaves shine from afar.
Bright spot.
Tending upwards,
Near to the sky,
Touching the earth,
You connect both worlds.
I remembered when my head was heavy,
My eyes saw only darkness.
My heart grew silent.
My soul, it cried.
Then I felt it,
This urge.
I ran out.
At first without aim or destination.
I had tears in my eyes,
Anger and rage were in my heart.
Then I saw you, dear willow
And I remained standing.
I only looked at you.
For a long time, I only stood there.
I approached -
Hesitating first of all –
I touched your bark tenderly,
Observed every detail.
I pressed my cheek to your stem.
There I felt it:
You wanted to give me somewhat.
There I heard it:
You wanted to tell me something.
I spread my arms out,
Embraced you,
Closed my eyes,
You took me in -
Unconditionally -
Surrounded me with all your force.
My head became light and clear.
My body was alive
My heart started to talk again.
Our souls be
(plus this contest actually lead to some mammoth trees being planted!)
I wish you all the luck on your future adventures in the world of forest art!
Best wishes,
Rick, Elodie and Jan
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Jarrariums: Tiny Ponds for your Home
6 min read
Learn how to make a beautiful, self-sustaining indoor pond for your home
1. WHAT ARE INDOOR PONDS?
Indoor ponds are tiny self-sustaining worlds in glass containers, that only need a little care, compared to aquariums.
They make use of the natural cycles in nature, such as the exchange of oxygen and nutrients, and therefore are better than "regular aquariums" at balancing themselves without human intervention.
They make use of the natural cycles in nature, such as the exchange of oxygen and nutrients, and therefore are better than "regular aquariums" at balancing themselves without human intervention.
There are different terms to describe different kind of indoor ponds, here are some:
- Pico tank: term used by aquarists for really small aquariums
- Walstad method: a specific way to make a Pico tank - a nature aquarium with substrate containing a soil underlayer, made popular by Diana Walstad
- Jarrarium: an indoor pond in kitchen jars and similar containers, a term mainly used by this community on Reddit. Probably the easiest and cheapest way to make an indoor pond.
- Zen aquarium/ nature aquarium: Japanese movement to make terrariums that imitate natural ecosystems; Founder: Amano Takashi
2. WHAT IS SO FASCINATING ABOUT INDOOR PONDS?
Throughout those different communities you can find reoccurring themes of what people find fascinating about indoor ponds:
- a tiny piece of nature in your home, an ecosystem
- the decorative value
- it's cheaper than an aquarium and requires less maintenance (you can make an "Jarrarium" for under 10 bucks, or even free)
- the self-sustaining factor, that the pond is in a sort of a "balance"
Personally I really like to observe the little animals in my jar and see how the ecosystem changes over time.
3. HOW DO I MAKE AN INDOOR POND?
Has at least one of the points above interested you? Good.
Making an jarrarium - probably the simplest form of an indoor pond - can be really rewarding. Plus it is something that is relatively easy and cheap to accomplish!
As I have only 2 months of experience with Jarrariums (and some years with terrariums), I think it's better if I let an "expert" do the explaining.
Check out selfsustainingecosystem.com/jarrarium-guides/ for a really well written, comprehensive guide on making your own indoor pond!
What I personally did was buying a nice glass jar and then taking it to a nearby pond. There I collected pebbles (for the bottom layer), tiny snails (to keep algae from spreading) and duckweed plants (to help with the oxygen cycle). I also used water from the pond, as it already contains algae and micro-organisms that are important for the natural cycles of the jar! The result was really fascinating, I had to do little to no maintenance over the last 2 months and I had a lot of fun observing my little snails
Making an jarrarium - probably the simplest form of an indoor pond - can be really rewarding. Plus it is something that is relatively easy and cheap to accomplish!
As I have only 2 months of experience with Jarrariums (and some years with terrariums), I think it's better if I let an "expert" do the explaining.
Check out selfsustainingecosystem.com/jarrarium-guides/ for a really well written, comprehensive guide on making your own indoor pond!
What I personally did was buying a nice glass jar and then taking it to a nearby pond. There I collected pebbles (for the bottom layer), tiny snails (to keep algae from spreading) and duckweed plants (to help with the oxygen cycle). I also used water from the pond, as it already contains algae and micro-organisms that are important for the natural cycles of the jar! The result was really fascinating, I had to do little to no maintenance over the last 2 months and I had a lot of fun observing my little snails
4. CLOSING THOUGHTS & LINKS FOR FURTHER READING
I hope I have inspired you to make your own indoor pond! Definitively check out the selfsustainingecosystem.com/ site for more info on this topic - the author has written a really well researched, good to understand guide.
Other links:
Definitively check out the selfsustainingecosystem.com/ site for more info on this topic - the author has written a really well researched, good to understand guide.Other links:
- /r/Jarrariums/: a Reddit community to share and discuss Indoor ponds in glass jars
- www.amanotakashi.net/: photos of Amano Takashi's beautiful nature aquariums
- Images from my game about indoor ponds: I'm currently making a little game inspired by "Jarrariums", which started the research for this article
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Tips and process from making my game!
7 min read
Hello everyone! I'm currently experimenting with finding a fresh art style for my game about terrariums.
This post is meant to share my learnings with fellow artists and game developers - I hope you find this useful!
Here is a looping GIF of my art experiment in-game.
This post is meant to share my learnings with fellow artists and game developers - I hope you find this useful!
Here is a looping GIF of my art experiment in-game.
In this post I will cover:
- making your own tiny world/terrarium
- why I recorded a video instead of using photos
- why I switched to Krita from GIMP
- how I saved time making the animation for the character
1. BUILDING A TINY, SELF-SUSTAINING WORLD
I started by building a terrarium - that's a tiny world in a glass jar. I collected rocks, plants, water and snails from a nearby river and pond and put them all in jar to bring it back home. A natural circle established - due the sunlight new algae grew, which the snails then ate. Without the snails the terrarium soon would have been covered in algae!
The waterplants where also really important, as they converted CO2 into breathable O2 for the snails.
With those systems in place, the little "ecosystem" was mostly self-sustaining. I didn't really need to do anything for 1 month, just observe if the balance is still ok (enough O2, not too many algae, etc.). A couple of days go I put the snails back in the river so they can dig themselves in for the winter.
The waterplants where also really important, as they converted CO2 into breathable O2 for the snails.
With those systems in place, the little "ecosystem" was mostly self-sustaining. I didn't really need to do anything for 1 month, just observe if the balance is still ok (enough O2, not too many algae, etc.). A couple of days go I put the snails back in the river so they can dig themselves in for the winter.
And if you don't want to make it underwater and without animals, I've made a video tutorial for moss terrariumssome time ago, which is really easy to follow. Enjoy!
2. WHY I RECORDED VIDEO INSTEAD OF USING A PHOTO
But before putting them in their habitat again, I recorded some video of the terrarium, which you did see at the beginning of this post.
I recorded a video as it is important to have motion for things to feel alive - a photo simply didn't work in my previous experiments. I then turned my recording into a seamless 5 seconds loop using this tool and imported it into Unity (what my game runs on).
Please note that both video and character are more and less place-holders to use only for this art test. I probably will rebuilt things again!
I recorded a video as it is important to have motion for things to feel alive - a photo simply didn't work in my previous experiments. I then turned my recording into a seamless 5 seconds loop using this tool and imported it into Unity (what my game runs on).
Please note that both video and character are more and less place-holders to use only for this art test. I probably will rebuilt things again!
3. WHY I SWITCHED TO KRITA FROM GIMP
My little character itself was drawn in the free Krita (after lots of character development on paper and digitally). I just recently switched from the (very limited) GIMP to Krita and I really like it. GIMP was always missing a good brush system to me and Krita has that and so much more! Their color selection and overall tools are really well designed (plus it is 100% free). My only complaint so far is that the function to add text to images is still really basic. Other than that, I can really recommend it!
4. HOW I SAVED TIME & WORK MAKING THE ANIMATION IN SPRITER
I then created a really simple animation in Spriter (free tool, 60$ for Pro version), which is a bone-based animation tool. That means I don't need to redraw every frame of the animation, but instead move parts of the model to make things come alive. Which is a great timesaver! The placeholder character animation took about 3 minutes to make as it's one of the simplest animations you can do (simple "squash and stretch"). It also has a community-made Unity integration, which works, but is sometimes a bit buggy judging from the experience I had in a recent project.
There is also the more expensive tool Spine (70$ for Essential, 300$ for Pro version), which basically does the same job, but gives you some more advanced tools and better Unity integration. But for now Spriter is the best "bang for the bucks" and works really nicely for me.
There is also the more expensive tool Spine (70$ for Essential, 300$ for Pro version), which basically does the same job, but gives you some more advanced tools and better Unity integration. But for now Spriter is the best "bang for the bucks" and works really nicely for me.
ADDENDUM
Thank you for reading! Please let me know if this was useful to you
I want to post more posts from now on that are useful to other artists & developers! This post is a re-post from my site www.tinyworlds.org, where I usually post such things. If you're interested in more helpful posts, subscribe to my newsletter.
I want to post more posts from now on that are useful to other artists & developers! This post is a re-post from my site www.tinyworlds.org, where I usually post such things. If you're interested in more helpful posts, subscribe to my newsletter.
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Hi! I'm back : ) As I've been gone for quite some time my deviation inbox was quite full - I just finished looking trough 1500 new deviations (didn't even look at the groups).
So yeah! Thought this might be a nice opportunity to do an art feature. Enjoy!
This image by Lain-AwakeAtNight perfectly captures that sense of adventure and being in the mountains for me. The guide and his dog add another dimension to the already impressive landscape.
I didn't know I liked grouse so much, before I saw this image by Les-Piccolo .
A lovely image by Rona-Keller which I think is about being in the moment and enjoying it.
If you haven't seen dinabelenko 's photography yet, you're in for a treat! She creates super magical, creative still life photos of food or other items.
I mean I already saw so many neat red squirrel photos by JulianRad , but this one stands out from the rest. The duality works great to tell a story without words.
I wanted to put those 2 images (left by Kirschpraline and right by enaruna ) next to each other, because they both share a similar motif. Yet their way to make a little slug seem cute are quite different : )
I faved this photo by Solan7 because I really would like to do this myself too, eheh.
Sorry this sale by UllaThynell is over, but I still wanted to put it here! I found her way of presenting products and promotions really inspiring. This photo almost feels like as if looking into someones art studio.
So yeah! That have been my 9 favorites, I hope you found some inspiration.
So yeah! Thought this might be a nice opportunity to do an art feature. Enjoy!
This image by Lain-AwakeAtNight perfectly captures that sense of adventure and being in the mountains for me. The guide and his dog add another dimension to the already impressive landscape.
I didn't know I liked grouse so much, before I saw this image by Les-Piccolo .
A lovely image by Rona-Keller which I think is about being in the moment and enjoying it.
If you haven't seen dinabelenko 's photography yet, you're in for a treat! She creates super magical, creative still life photos of food or other items.
I mean I already saw so many neat red squirrel photos by JulianRad , but this one stands out from the rest. The duality works great to tell a story without words.
I wanted to put those 2 images (left by Kirschpraline and right by enaruna ) next to each other, because they both share a similar motif. Yet their way to make a little slug seem cute are quite different : )
I faved this photo by Solan7 because I really would like to do this myself too, eheh.
Sorry this sale by UllaThynell is over, but I still wanted to put it here! I found her way of presenting products and promotions really inspiring. This photo almost feels like as if looking into someones art studio.
So yeah! That have been my 9 favorites, I hope you found some inspiration.
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Featured
Voyage to the Unknown: Basketry and Weavery by Rick-TinyWorlds, journal
Voyage to the Unknown: Basketry and Weavery
Hi everyone! Kirschpraline (https://www.deviantart.com/kirschpraline) tagged me to participate in #TheVoyage.
The idea is to visit a gallery category you usually never would visit - and pick your favorites out of it : )
I think it's a really interesting idea, to "dig a bit deeper" into deviantART.
More info can be found here: Voyage to the unknown: Master Journal
But without further ado, here are my picks!
Basketry & WeaveryI chose this category because I didn't even know it existed! Plus I think both crafts are really interesting - it's impressive how much work and mind goes into one piece : )
I tag Tutziputz (https://www.deviantart.com/tutziputz) eegariM (https://www.deviantart.com/eegarim) and CanelaRose (https://www.deviantart.com/canelarose) - that said only if you have time amidst
Jarrariums: Tiny Ponds for your Home by Rick-TinyWorlds, journal
Jarrariums: Tiny Ponds for your Home
Learn how to make a beautiful, self-sustaining indoor pond for your home
1. WHAT ARE INDOOR PONDS?
Indoor ponds are tiny self-sustaining worlds in glass containers, that only need a little care, compared to aquariums.
They make use of the natural cycles in nature, such as the exchange of oxygen and nutrients, and therefore are better than "regular aquariums" at balancing themselves without human intervention.
There are different terms to describe different kind of indoor ponds, here are some:
Pico tank: term used by aquarists for really small aquariumsWalstad method: a specific way to make a Pico tank - a nature aquarium with substrate con
Tips and process from making my game! by Rick-TinyWorlds, journal
Tips and process from making my game!
Hello everyone! I'm currently experimenting with finding a fresh art style for my game about terrariums.
This post is meant to share my learnings with fellow artists and game developers - I hope you find this useful!
Here is a looping GIF of my art experiment in-game.
In this post I will cover:making your own tiny world/terrariumwhy I recorded a video instead of using photoswhy I switched to Krita from GIMPhow I saved time making the animation for the character1. BUILDING A TINY, SELF-SUSTAINING WORLD
I started by building a terrarium - that's a tiny world in a glass jar. I collected rocks, plants, water and snails from a nearby river and p
Feature: 9 favorites out of 1500 deviations by Rick-TinyWorlds, journal
Feature: 9 favorites out of 1500 deviations
Hi! I'm back : ) As I've been gone for quite some time my deviation inbox was quite full - I just finished looking trough 1500 new deviations (didn't even look at the groups).
So yeah! Thought this might be a nice opportunity to do an art feature. Enjoy!
This image by Lain-AwakeAtNight (https://www.deviantart.com/lain-awakeatnight) perfectly captures that sense of adventure and being in the mountains for me. The guide and his dog add another dimension to the already impressive landscape.
I didn't know I liked grouse so much, before I saw this image by Les-Piccolo (https://www.deviantart.com/les-piccolo) .
A lovely image by Rona-Keller (https://www.deviantart.com/rona-keller) which I think is about being in the moment and enjoying it.
If you haven't seen dinabe (https://www.deviantart.com/dinabe)
Feature: The Scent of Rain by Rick-TinyWorlds, journal
Feature: The Scent of Rain
"Petrichor": a distinctive scent, usually described as earthy,pleasant, or sweet, produced by rainfall on very dry ground.
Inspired by Shirokibo (https://www.deviantart.com/shirokibo) 's Weekend Visualisation ~ Pura Vida
That's it for my little feature! I hope you found some inspiration