- This topic has 21 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 1 month ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Hi, I’m calidris, and I’m new here 🙂
Some of you may have seen me on Kingdom Pen (I’m new there as well). I like birdwatching, art, and reading (when I get the time.) My favorite movies are LotR (I also really like Interstellar and Into the Spiderverse), my favorite show is Haikyu!! and my favorite fiction books are LotR and the Silmarillion. I have lots of nonfiction/history books that I really enjoyed, so feel free to ask me for recommendations!
I don’t really write any more, but I do really like worldbuilding and creating stories. Maybe you guys will inspire me to write again 🙂
I’m going to go ahead and post my art to the art forum 🙂
*laughs as one fey*
Hey @calidris!
I also like birdwatching, art, reading, LoTR, and worldbuilding when I should be writing lol. What is your favorite kind of bird? Mine are hummingbirds and owls.
I’d love any nonfic book recommendations! I started reading the Silmarillion, but never finished it. However, I did enjoy what I read; I just need to keep better track of who’s who when I pick it up next time (which will hopefully be soon). Who’s your favorite LOTR/Middle Earth character? Mine is Sam, but I also really like Gimli and Gandalf.
Hope to “see” you around!
"Can't have dirty garbage."
@sparrowhawke hummingbirds are so cool! I think that owls are my favorite. So far I’ve seen great horned owls, northern pygmy owls, short eared owls, and a barred owl. I would love to see all of the owl species in my area someday, but they’re so hard to find lol. I also really love California condors and turkey vultures (which we also have in our area). What are your favorite species of hummingbirds and owls?
Here’s a list of recommendations 🙂 i have to warn you, it’s all history, so a lot of it can get pretty depressing
Sabotage
Charlatan
Radium Girls (my school actually put on a play based on this book)
Black death at the golden gate
A short history of nuclear folly
Hunting Eichmann
We die alone
Flu – this one was very interesting, but it didn’t really have that much of an ending because it’s an ongoing story
The genius of birds – not history, but a very interesting book about different forms of avian intelligence 🙂
Also, if you’re interested, look up stuff about Denmarks response to the Holocaust. They managed to get over 90% of their Jewish population out of the country on a single night. It’s an incredible story 🙂
I have to say, it’s probably gandalf. I also really like elrond and galadriel – all three characters gain more so much more depth after you’ve read about their history in the Silmarillion. Also, eowyn is super cool lol
What kind of art do you like to do?
*laughs as one fey*
I’ve heard great horned owls and heard and seen barn owls here. I think those are my favorite owl species, but burrowing owls and snowy owls are super adorable too! If you’ve never heard a barn owl, look up its call. It’s very creepy. They’re called ghost owls for good reason.
I think I like the Costa’s hummingbird best, but the ones in Central and South America are really pretty and super colorful and unique. I don’t even know how the ones with beaks or tails longer than their bodies can fly.
Wow, the only book I’ve heard of on that list is Radium Girls. The Genius of Birds sounds really interesting. Have you ever heard of How Should We Then Live by Francis Schaeffer? It’s a book about history from a Christian perspective. I’m still reading it, but it’s very good so far. What’s your favorite time period? I love ancient and classical history.
Also, if you’re interested, look up stuff about Denmarks response to the Holocaust. They managed to get over 90% of their Jewish population out of the country on a single night. It’s an incredible story
I actually heard about that from the book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry! Definitely amazing.
What kind of art do you like to do?
I mostly draw/sketch. I usually do people or faces so I can draw my characters. I find I’m pretty good when I’m copying a photo, but not so good making up faces on my own. I’d love to try digital art in the future too. What about you?
"Can't have dirty garbage."
@sparrowhawke I love barn owls! I think I saw a barn owl once in Seattle, but I was very young, so I usually don’t count it lol. I’ve watched videos of them screaming, but I haven’t heard it in real life. It’s amazing how such an awful sound could come from such a cute bird! We very, very rarely get burrowing owls in our general area, but the state parks where they’re seen are too far away to go often 🙁 we occasionally get snowy owls during their irruptions, but it’s extremely rare. Have you seen pictutes of the the giant hummingbird? They’re so big they almost look like a swallow! They’re very dull and brown, though. I find it funny how aggressive they are because they’re so tiny! It seems like it’s usually the little birds that are aggressive, but I suppose that isn’t the case with geese lol
I’ve never heard of it before, but it sounds very interesting! I’ll have to look it up 🙂
I do a lot of character art too! I mainly draw my own characters, but sometimes I do fanart too. I’ll go ahead and show you some! I would love to see some of yours, if it’s alright with you 🙂
*laughs as one fey*
@sparrowhawke here’s some fanart I did recently of Manwë from the Silmarillion 🙂
*laughs as one fey*
My oc Misu 🙂 He’s basically an angel in disguise. I just got started with digital art again (I tried it last summer, but quit early cause I didnt have the right material or skill level) and decided to make him my first project. I don’t know how far it’ll get, but it is practice after all 🙂
*laughs as one fey*
Hi, I’m Rose, nice to meet you!
How long have you been writing? What genres do you like to read and write?
I’m an artist too! I mostly do digital art now, but I still dabble in traditional, mostly pencil. Your art is awesome!
I look forward to seeing you around 🙂
Without darkness, there is no light. If there was no nighttime, would the stars be as bright?
Have you seen pictutes of the the giant hummingbird? They’re so big they almost look like a swallow! They’re very dull and brown, though. I find it funny how aggressive they are because they’re so tiny! It seems like it’s usually the little birds that are aggressive, but I suppose that isn’t the case with geese lol
I have! Yeah, those hummingbirds have quite an attitude. Our hummingbird feeder is right outside the window, and our cat will sit and watch the hummingbirds and the hummingbirds have literally flown in front of the window and danced teasingly in front of the cat! They know the cat can’t get them I guess.
I like your art, especially the coloring in the first one! Those sword designs are really cool too. Have you done any other Silmarillion art?
I haven’t done much good character art. Here are my two best recent drawings though: my hand and a portrait I copied from a picture. (I’m really happy with the eyes and shading)
"Can't have dirty garbage."
@sparrowhawke nice! I’ve been trying to draw from reference, but it never really works out that well. I don’t think I’m good at realism, but I suppose I won’t know if I don’t practice lol</p>
@rose-colored-fancy I’ve been writing since I was a kid, but I haven’t done it in over half a year now. I’m excited to get back into it, though. I’m working on a modern dystopian fantasy project called Spire. It centers around a society locked in a cold war inspired arms race, where the main characters have to stop a corrupt corporation from building a bomb so powerful it could alter the fabric of reality itself. The setting is relatively new (the story is in the weird transition period from a more traditional fantasy), so there’s still a few quirks that need to be ironed out. What about you?I like reading history books tbh. I like lotr and the silmarillion, but that’s about it as far as fantasy goes lol
*laughs as one fey*
I’ve been writing since I was a kid, but I haven’t done it in over half a year now. I’m excited to get back into it, though. I’m working on a modern dystopian fantasy project called Spire. It centers around a society locked in a cold war inspired arms race, where the main characters have to stop a corrupt corporation from building a bomb so powerful it could alter the fabric of reality itself. The setting is relatively new (the story is in the weird transition period from a more traditional fantasy), so there’s still a few quirks that need to be ironed out. What about you?
I like reading history books tbh. I like lotr and the silmarillion, but that’s about it as far as fantasy goes lol
Ooh, that’s cool! That’s an awesome premise! I’ve been writing for about eighteen months and my current project is a fantasy trilogy. I finished the first draft of the first two books, and I’m going to go back and start editing soon. 🙂
Without darkness, there is no light. If there was no nighttime, would the stars be as bright?
Hello, Calidris!
Very nice to meet you!
My favorite movies are LotR (I also really like Interstellar and Into the Spiderverse), my favorite show is Haikyu!! and my favorite fiction books are LotR and the Silmarillion.
I am a LotR fan as well and have the Extended Collection of the DVDs to get the most out of the movies, as well as owning the books by the Lore Master (Mr. Tolkien) himself. I am a big fan of both he and C.S. Lewis and of their predecessor George MacDonald.
It is interesting that you enjoy The Silmarillion since it is densely packed with more collective legends than an average novel might be. I have the three-part CD Audio set collections (read by English Actor Martin Shaw) that comprise The Silmarillion and have both read the book and listened to it several times. But I’ll be honest with you, it is a hard read since it does not follow traditional storytelling structures or follow a specific main character throughout. I believe The Silmarillion was the collected notes that Tolkien used to build the backstory of Middle-Earth and his son Christopher published the work posthumously. For die-hard Tolkien fans, it is a fascinating look behind the scenes of J.R.R.’s world-building acumen, and a treasure of craft and collections sourced in the real-life studies of ancient cultures for which he was so venerated as a Professor.I have lots of nonfiction/history books that I really enjoyed, so feel free to ask me for recommendations!
Oh, yes! I do love history too. Especially historical mysteries and cryptic references that beg for exploration in a…well “fictional” story. 😉 I especially love biblical mysteries, and there are several. The more you look, the more you find that the Divine Author, Creator of Heaven and Earth, (and the unseen worlds in-between), who occupies an eternal existence outside of and transcending time, has hinted at many treasures unrealized in His Word. My current WIP explores a few of these.
It is difficult, in the modern era to be certain which historians to trust have done their due diligence, so I have to corroborate some of the accounts I read from documented evidence. I particularly like William Federer and David Barton and have books by David Ackroyd on ancient England, as well as biblical archeological books, and reference books of historical trends and timelines. I have a large map of world history with biblical chronology that I love to reference as well. I particularly enjoyed William J. Bennett’s two volumes of American History called “America: The Last Best Hope”, and I have read them completely. I also am reading “Earth’s Earliest Ages” by G.H. Pember.
What historical periods do you like to study? If you were to write again, do you know where (geographically, if earth-based) and when (epoch) approximately you might base your story? Have you read any of the Historical mystery novels by the secular author Steve Berry or James Rollins?As for birds, my brother and I actually had two young barn owls that my dad brought home one evening. We raised them and fed them pieces of rabbit until they were able to go off on their own. They eventually stood about 18-20 inches tall, before we released them. Their mom had been killed so we took care of them. I have always been fascinated by birds of prey. I have seen eagles in the wild, and vultures, hawks, falcons, ospreys, and, of course, buzzards, ravens, and crows, (being from Texas). My wife and I traveled, at least we did before the “pandemic”, so we’ve seen many animals and birds indigenous to the areas visited. As a kid, dad raised chickens, ducks, geese, etc. (Pretty much any farm animal you can think of, and some you might not. [We had an opossum, a raccoon, and two baby skunks (before they discovered their “unique ability” 😆), at one time.])
Your artwork is very good! I love the linear and angular structure of it. It exudes power.
I also draw too, but I haven’t in a while. I minored in Art and Design in college with a British & American Literature major in my undergraduate B.A. degree.I have experimented with digital a little but not much. I still enjoy sketching on paper, though I’ve used several different mediums: pencil, pastel chalks, colored pencil, charcoal, oil paint, acrylic, watercolor, ink and quill, woodblock carving, paper mache, puffy-paint (don’t ask 😏), fabric paints, etc. I also did some woodworking and building, but not in a long while. Back in the day, art portfolios used to be easier to capture and preserve in a slide portfolio, so I guess I just need to digitize that. I have some sketchbooks, but most are back at my parent’s house, though I have one here for those times when…well, the mood hits.
I always was fascinated by the artwork of M.C. Escher and his visual illusions. Do you have a favorite artist: historical or contemporary?
So, let me encourage you to try your hand at writing again, and you can encourage me to break out my sketchbook once more and do some visual art. That way we can both encourage each other in the gifts we may have neglected on the shelf for a while. Deal?
Brian Stansell (aka O'Brian of the Surface World)
I was born in war.
Fighting from my first breath.
- The forum ‘Introduce Yourself’ is closed to new topics and replies.
