She’s Your Favorite Isn’t She

So, I saw this image on Facebook, and it was supposedly showing what Queen Nefertiti would have looked like in real life:

Now, I thought this AI generated garbage was just truly terrible on a number of levels; first off, she looks wayyyyyy too modern - her makeup is very “Hollywood glamour”, she looks airbrushed and de-aged, and as far as I’m aware, Ancient Egyptians didn’t have mascara, glitter-based eyeshadows and lip gloss. Secondly, her features are exceptionally whitewashed in every sense - this is pretty standard for AI as racial bias is prevalent in feeding AI algorithms, but I genuinely thought a depiction of such a known individual would not exhibit such euro-centric features. Thirdly, the outfit was massively desaturated and didn’t take pigment loss into consideration, and while I *do* like the look of the neck attire, it's not at all accurate (plus, again, AI confusion on the detailing is evident).

So, this inspired me to alter the image on the left to be more accurate based off the sculpture’s features. I looked into Ancient Egyptian makeup and looked at references for kohl eyeliner and clay-based facial pigment (rouge was used on cheeks, charcoal-based powder/paste was used to darken and elongate eyebrows), and I looked at pre-existing images of Nefertiti, both her mummy and other reconstructions. While doing this, I found photos of a 3D scanned sculpture made by scientists at the University of Bristol and chose to collage the neck jewellery over the painting (and edited the lighting and shadows as best as I could).

Something I see a lot of in facial recreations of mummies is maintaining the elongated and skinny facial features as seen on preserved bodies - however, fat, muscle and cartilage shrink/disappear post mortem, regardless of preservation quality; Queen Nefertiti had art created of her in life, and these pieces are invaluable to developing an accurate portrayal of her, whether stylistic or realistic in nature.

And hey, while I don't think my adjustments are perfect (especially the neck area), I *do* believe it is a huge improvement to the original image I chose to work on top of.

I really liked working on this project for the last few days, and I think I may continue to work on it further to perfect it. But, until then, I hope you enjoy!

Remember, likes don't help artists but reblogs do!

birthday parties when all your friends are internet friends be like:

mighty nein + textposts

just a straight up very rude thing to do to the sea god tbh

@quiddie

The Game Changer show, and specifically this trio of chaos goblins, constantly delivers some of the most uniquely funny moments on tv shows these days.

Guys I am begging you please read Brennan Lee Mulligan's story about the Insane Christmas Party. He does not even BEGIN to describe it in the Fireside Chat.

Brennan Lee Mulligan

This Christmas Party Was So Fun That Now I’m a Communist -

If you had guessed there would be a fortuneteller at this party you would have been dead wrong. Because there were two fortunetellers at thi

T-T-T-Taking over, TEENAGE REBELLION!

[ reality shatters ]

this episode literally chemically altered my brain i can’t stop thinking about it

These witches be bitches

Some initial thoughts and feelings about the Wizard the Witch and the Wild One (as well as the childrens adventure) now that I've heard all three of the Then & Now sneak peeks.

The Wizard- This was one hell of a first introduction. I sobbed, and I'm not exaggerating. I was gross and snotty and red eyed within the first thirty minutes. Aabria's description's of Suvi's parents and Suvi herself was such a gut punch. And then the time jump happens and my desire to protect this child perfectly morphed into the desire to see this young woman, this young wizard, succeed.

The Witch- I can't say it better then the cast already did, the two genders, Trauma and Joy. I went into this preview bracing myself for more crying. Instead what I got was just so charming and delightful and funny and cute. It really made me so excited for the Witch class as a concept. The birds and the bees moment especially, it really made it feel different from other magic user classes. I can't wait to see what Erika does with it.

The Wild One- The beginning of this preview was wonderful in the most base sense of the word. It inspired wonder. Just the image of countless little spirits running around and weaving between the legs of one giant powerful bear spirit will live with me forever. I want to be there. The tenderness too was overwhelming. Eursulon as a little cub, and the love Lou clearly has for that character, just flowed out through him. It was great to see a snippet of all our main characters interacting in the end. Just getting a sense of what their dynamic might be like was so fun.

Overall I am so extreamly excited for both the main campaign and also (maybe even more so?) the children's story. The sound design was amazing. It really added so much to the experience. It made it more of an auditory theatrical experience more than just a podcast. The world already feels so rich and real and lived it and we haven't even gotten the first real episode. I already feel protective of and in love with these characters and I can't wait to see the epic adventures and journeys they go on. March can't come fast enough.