Seabeard Game Review
Being stuck during a weekend lockdown I came across this cute life sim mobile game. Created in 2014, Seabeard is an rpg where you play as a sea captain in charge of an island. The funny enough shares some similarities with Animal Crossing, while being its own thing, not only does it predate Pocket Camp, but it´s Island concept predates Horizons.
However, mobile games of this genre tend to be a mixed bag, the same mechanics but with a different coat of paint, having the make you wait for resources and full of microtransactions.
So how does this game fare compared to others? Let´s find out.
Plot
You play as a descendent of the infamous pirate captain, Seabeard, your main objective is to restore the Island of Accordia to its former glory and explore the seven seas. Live life at your own pace, become an adventure, cook foods, get involved in archeology.
You will have to gather a fearless crew and befriend the locals in order to achieve your goals.
Gameplay
1. Manage Your Own Island
Again, at the start of the game, you are given an island to manage. You can customize it, rename it, and redecorate. You can build specific buildings like stores, warehouses etc... Unlocking them will allow you to sell your items and even unlock new gameplay elements.
You can also invite new people to your island to manage said buildings. You will need resources and coins to build them, which you can find during your exploration.
2. Explore The Islands
The Island besides providing resources or where most of the shops and crafting areas are located. Each Island comes with its own theme ( farming, woodcutting, urban, etc...) When you travel you are given the option of playing a minigame, such as a racing game or a shooting game. The higher the score the higher the reward.
However, once you run out of sailing tokens, you will have to wait until it recovers, but you can also travel without playing them, which is useful if you have to quickly travel back and forth. You will be doing this one a lot believe me.
Progressing in the game unlocks new islands over them, motivating the player to stick with the game in long run.
3.Collecting Resources
This is the main focus of the game. You can collect resources by tapping on the items on the floor, shaking bushes and trees, fishing and crafting.
Some items require extra effort, like feeding animals for example. Fishing opens up a minigame where you attract fish and try to reel them in before they escape. You can buy crafting recipes, and wait for the creation to be completed.
There is also a special machine where you can recycle items you don´t want, receive a random reward. The higher rating of the recycled item the better bonus.
If you have stores on the island you can also sell them for extra coins.
4. Quests and Jobs
Quests are another way to get items and serve to guide the player. First, you have the main quests and sidequests. Main quests progress the story and even open up new game mechanics, they can be completed at your own pace.
Sidequests on the other hand have a time limit, but if you fail not to worry, there are always new quests every day, so check the game frequently.
Jobs are basically repeatable quests you can do once a day, they run from the gambit of fetch quests ( collecting trash) or minigames ( the puzzle game from the lighthouse). You get a bonus for each completed day, missing once will reset the reward streak.
5. Shops And Equipment
The stores are where you can buy furniture, clothes and even building plans. It´s where the game shows similarities to Animal Crossing since it sells different items every day.
Some items can affect the stats of your island, clothing, in particular, improves the stats of your character, not just for decorating. Pets can also be bought in this game, a bonus for animal lovers.
6. Gather A Crew
In your journey, you can hire characters to be a part of your ship or to manage the buildings on your island. The three-character types are fisherman, warrior, and miner, acquiring them unlocks skills in the game. The more interesting of these is fighting which allows to venture into caves fight enemies and participate in bounty hunting missions. You can equip and even rename them.
They have a certain set of requirements before then be recruited and can level up the more you use their abilities. You can use the academies to improve their skills.
7. Online Features
You can visit other players' islands and trade items with them through the friend list. You can invite them with a friend code or through a Facebook account. Players can even leave messages on the message board. In a way, this actually predates new horizons, with the visiting another Island concept.
The only downside of this is that the game always requires an online connection, defeating the purpose of it being a mobile game. It´s not just to visit other players, but for the entire game, so, if you have a bad connection or can go on the internet for any reason you´re out of luck.
8. Microtransations
This feature is pretty much a given in most mobile games, the main premium currency is pearls, they can be used to skip waiting times and buy exclusive items. Besides actual money, they can also be acquired through quests and daily gifts.
While you can actually play without so much as spending a dime, the game has some really strict limits, you can only unlock inventory and shop slots with pearls, and those things will get full really quickly. I know to some people this can be a huge deterrent. A tip would be to just focus on unlocking slots and not waste them on skipping waiting times.
Graphics
The game looks pretty good for a mobile game, it has a very cute cartoony look to it. You will notice that the player character design looks a lot like the villager from AC. The only difference is that the world is populated with elf-like people instead of animals.
Conclusion
As far as Animal Crossing "clones" for mobile go this is a surprisingly decent game, there is enough to keep a player entertained for a long time. I actually like this game a lot better than the official Pocket Camp game, due to the adventure aspect and rpg elements. If you´re a fan of the original Nintendo game, or just want a cheaper alternative to buying a switch, I recommend checking it out, since it´s free to play.
And if download the game feel free to add my code: **ZZ36C-HBCQT** my username is ghastly. Feel free to stop by, it might not look much but I just unlocked a trading building and should be able to sell items really soon.
**Game Link:** Google/Apple https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.backflipstudios.seabeard&hl=en&gl=US https://apps.apple.com/us/app/seabeard/id913754563
**Thanks for reading, if you like my content feel free to support me here or you can tip and follow me on other sites through** **Cointree** https://cointr.ee/ghostcat
Anna´s Quest Walkthrough Part 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtZgjpv82H0&t=11s
Video Summary:
Did some more exploring and came across another ghost, and some evil sirens. One of the main items to cure grandpa is a golden orb inside a lake, will Anna figure out how to get it?
Anna´s Quest is fun adventure with a fairy tale theme, click here for the review. https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/annas-quest-game-review-7e1e25ea
**Previous Video:** Part 3 https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/annas-quest-walkthrough-part-3-2e8a366b
**Game Link:****GOG**/**Humble Bundle**/**Steam** https://www.gog.com/game/annas_quest https://www.humblebundle.com/store/annas-quest?partner=asgardianviking https://store.steampowered.com/app/327220/Annas_Quest/
**Thanks for reading, if you like my content feel free to support me here or you can tip and follow me on other sites through** **Cointree** https://cointr.ee/ghostcat
Anna´s Quest Walkthrough Part 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai-djBnJaHg&t=175s
Video Summary:
Anna has finally escaped and has arrived in a new town, She finds an opportunity to cure her grandpa but it is easier said than done. She has to find several items and in the process help some of the villagers.
To learn more about Anna´s Quest feel free to read my review about it here https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/annas-quest-game-review-7e1e25ea
**Previous Video:** **Part 2** https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/annas-quest-walktrough-part-2-a457805f
**Game Link:****GOG**/**Humble Bundle**/**Steam** https://www.gog.com/game/annas_quest https://www.humblebundle.com/store/annas-quest?partner=asgardianviking https://store.steampowered.com/app/327220/Annas_Quest/
**Thanks for reading, if you like my content feel free to support me here or you can tip and follow me on other sites through** **Cointree** https://cointr.ee/ghostcat
So, I´m getting random bot tips for articles I posted months ago. Nice. I´m glad since this means that I don´t actually have to post an article everyday. I can just focus in doing a decent article once or twice a week.
This means that bot is actually doing its job and has been improved upon. The point of ths bot was to discourage people form bombarding the site with tons of spammy low efforts articles. However there were some errors in the beginning since a lot of people complained about not having any tips. I myself saw myself several days barely getting any. I hope this streak continues.
Anna´s Quest Walktrough Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BtHUCM1wrE&t=23s
**Video Summary:**
This is part 2 of Anna´s quest walkthrough, still trying to figure out how to leave the house. Some progress has been made, and Anna has found a secret potion room.
Anna´s Quest is a fairy tale adventure about a girl with mind powers, you can read my review in detail here https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/annas-quest-game-review-7e1e25ea
Watch Part 1 https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/annas-quest-walktrough-part-1-3ac733c7
**Game Link:****GOG**/**Humble Bundle**/**Steam** https://www.gog.com/game/annas_quest https://www.humblebundle.com/store/annas-quest?partner=asgardianviking https://store.steampowered.com/app/327220/Annas_Quest/
**Thanks for reading, if you like my content feel free to support me here or you can tip and follow me on other sites through** **Cointree** https://cointr.ee/ghostcat
Anna´s Quest Walktrough Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b6Zr19dusE&t=39s
**Video Summary:**
Part 1 in my Anna´s Quest Walkthrough series, a fairy tail adventure game about a girl with mind powers trying to save her grandpa.
The game starts out with our main character trying to escape from an evil witch and befriending a talking bear. There also some ghosts involved.
Besides making gameplay videos I also wrote a game review about it here https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/annas-quest-game-review-7e1e25ea
**Game Link:****GOG**/**Humble Bundle**/**Steam** https://www.gog.com/game/annas_quest https://www.humblebundle.com/store/annas-quest?partner=asgardianviking https://store.steampowered.com/app/327220/Annas_Quest/
**Thanks for reading, if you like my content feel free to support me here or you can tip and follow me on other sites through** **Cointree** https://cointr.ee/ghostcat
Wow, after several days barely getting paid the bot and only in like cents, I finally started getting several tips from the bot. I heard someone say there was an error on the bot that they have now got around to fix it, after several user complaining about not getting anything. I haven´t confirmed that is true.
But I´m kinda glad, I was getting frustrated that all my hard work wasn´t amounthitng to anything. I dunno if the creator will read this, but being a compensated for my content is a huge motivator on why plenty of users stick around. So, If this keeps up I´m gonna post even more articles in the future
What the hell? One my articles has been unpublished because it detected that it was posted somewhere else.
But I published it here first, with my own writing, I didn´t copy from anywhere else. Is this some kind of error?
4 Ways to Earn Crypto For Beginners
I have started to explore the world of cryptocurrency for a while, and it has been one heck of a journey. It can be really confusing to navigate at first, but once I made my research I succeeded in making a few earnings. So, I decided to curate my personal list of various ways one can earn even if they start out with nothing.
A short disclaimer, I´m no financial expert, I´m only talking about apps I´ve used and sharing what I´ve learned. Always do your research before doing any sort of investment, still, it doesn't hurt to check it out.
1.Crypto Social Media.
This one is very simple, I didn´t have to invest anything. All I needed was to create an account and a drive to write.
There are a lot of blockchain social media projects out there, the basic premise of most of them is that users earn for their content, and there are incentives for simple curating and reading posts.
The projects I´m currently using are Publish0X, Read.Cash, Cent, LBRY, and Hive.
Both **Publish0X** and **Read.Cash** are similar, both reward its users through a common reward pool. The difference is that Publish0X have 3 tokens, and both the reader and the author are rewarded through tips. Meanwhile, Read.Cash relies on the @TheRandomRewarder bot for tips and only pays out in Bitcoin Cash. I´ve crossposted on both for extra earnings and more eyes on my writing.
Accounts can be created **here** and **here** respectively. https://www.publish0x.com/?a=pnelG6VdKB https://read.cash/r/Ghostcat
**Cent** is also another site to check out, but its userbase focuses more on creative content, it acts more like a crypto version of Patreon on the Ethereum Blockchain. Users can support their favorite creators through seeding each month. I wrote about it in more detail **here****.** However, I only so far earned 10$ worth of Ether for posting my photography and art, and it seems like support has dried out as I´ve seen many creators with several followers but no seed. Could be gas fees, could be something else, so keep that in mind. https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/cent-dapp-review-earn-ether-for-your-content-239cf4db
**LBRY** is an alternative to Youtube, users can post videos and receive LBRY tokens through tips, watching videos, and other activities. They just launched a project in the blockchain as mentioned **here** https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/odysee-a-new-video-platform-backed-by-lbry-3e8c92aa
Unlike the rest, **Hive** is not a site, but an entire blockchain with its own ecosystem. It´s got blogs, video streaming, and even gaming dapps. It´s supposed to be an alternative to centralized social media, where you have more control over your content without having your personal data being sold to third parties and dealing with censorship. The best part is not only can you earn through posting to your favorite community but also by curating content.
For example in PeakD when a post is voted, the creator receives rewards in the form of HBD (Hive Backed Dollars) and HP (Hive Power). You can then convert it to HIVE or power up your voting power. The more HP you have the higher the voting power, the bigger the curation rewards both for the poster and curator. Users also have a say in which projects they wish to support by voting as witnesses. In a way, it democratizes the entire project. HIVE can also be sold on an exchange and swapped for other crypto.
It´s my favorite project so far, and only time will tell how it succeeds. In order to join you will need to create a Hive account, normally **Hive.io** has a variety of ways to create one. But since PeakD currently has a referral system it´s now easier to **create one free of charge****,** as a way to encourage new people to join. https://hive.io/ https://peakd.com/register?ref=ghastlygames
**2.Blockchain Gaming.**
After accumulating a decent amount of income through blogging, it´s time to put it to good use. Blockchain gaming is a decent way to do so, a lot of gaming apps operate on a play to earn model. Not only do players actually get to own the items they adquire through gameplay but they can sell those to other people for actual currency.
The accessibility of those games can vary, some games are **free to play** and allow players to test the waters before they decide if it´s worth investing. Other games require users to buy items upfront. There are some risks, as with any investment, as it can take some time before it starts paying off, a lot of items value depend on their popularity among the gaming community, and how much players are willing to pay for them, how many people are playing, etc. https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/free-to-play-blockchain-games-to-check-out-bb1c0932
But to make things easier here are some of the ones I use:
**Axie Infinity** is a hot commodity right now, it´s a game similar to pokemon where you collect axies, use them in battle. You can earn a token called SLP that can be used to breed more axies or even sell them on an exchange like Uniswap. Users need to buy at least 3 (Tank, Healer, Damage) to start off. https://axieinfinity.com/axie-lab?r=3r_N1GWBviEEhKsp58KDwN5_Q8g
Blockchain Cuties has a similar concept, with a breeding system and combat. However, new players receive a free but non-breedable cutie to try it out. You only need one or two, I also found that they were much cheaper to buy when compared to axies. It supports a variety of currencies, users to attach different blockchain wallets on to a single account. You can join the site through this **link****.** https://blockchaincuties.com?inviter=208819611
One other game that caught my attention was **Cryptokitties,** this dapp introduced mainstream culture to the concept of blockchain gaming. The gameplay however is a bit simple, only focusing on breeding and selling virtual cats, with new traits being discovered all the time, and no kitty is the same. Despite the existence of new games ever since it was launched, it´s still ongoing. I´m currently treating this one more as a fun side project, slowly collecting and breeding them over time, and with some luck get some really special and valuable ones. https://www.cryptokitties.co/catalogue
When it comes to card games by my dapps of choice are **Splinterlands** and **Rising Star**. **Splinterlands** is an Heartstone type of game, where you collect cards and compete against other players. This game is actually really accessible because not only can you buy cards in different currencies (even Bitcoin Cash and BAT), you can also buy cards with fiat currency. I plan on using some of my HIVE earnings on this one. You can create an **account for free****.** https://splinterlands.com?ref=ghastlygames
**Rising Star,** as mentioned in a **previous article** is a music management game, this one is more casual, but doesn´t require a lot of investment. Other HIVE based dapps that I recommend looking into are **Cryptobrewmaster** ( a game based on making beer) and **dCity** ( a city management game). https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/rising-star-manage-a-band-and-earn-crypto-3d48595a https://www.cryptobrewmaster.io/game/invite?ref=09f42310b09146d2b7b535d563ba9f6e&code=AlphaBonus https://dcity.io/info
And last but not least, the site Grow Yor Base gifts its users free NFTS for completing tasks. The point of this site is to introduce and educate people about crypto assets. You can join the site through **here** https://www.growyourbase.co?mwr=9150e55a
3. Passive Income
Okay, so maybe gaming isn´t everyone´s cup of tea, selling is intimidating, or you have done all of the above but still have a bunch of leftover crypto lying around on wallets. There are couple of ways to multiply it, even in your sleep.
One popular and low-risk method is to save it somewhere let it accumulate interest over time. You can either do it through defi (decentralized finance) or cefi (centralized finance).
There are pros and cons. For example, **Blockfi** offers decent rates and low trading/withdrawal fees. But since it´s centralized you might not be in full control of your deposit. In Defi like **Compound****,** **MakerDAO** and **Aave** the rates are a bit lower and more volatile. Not to mention, having to pay gas fees just to create a contract. But on the plus side, you get be your own bank and not have your crypto hold by a third party. https://compound.finance/ https://makerdao.com/en/ https://aave.com/
Another interesting thing is that some accounts pay with their native token, you can then save those and let accumulate interest or sell it when its value increases. There are incentives for doing so, as native tokens get much higher interest rates. Some of these tokens might even grow up in value over time. But more research is needed before investing.
For now, I´m sticking with **Blockfi** due to the fees and a recent promotion that offers first-time users up to 275$ in BTC for depositing and leaving it until January 14th. Creating an account **here** should also give about 10$ in BTC for new users if they deposit at least 100$. For the rest, I plan on trying out **Nexo** and **Celsius** https://blockfi.com/?ref=164267f1 https://platform.nexo.io/ https://celsius.network/download-app/?_branch_match_id=772185407524450812
Participating Liquidity pools is also another way to earn income, but at a higher risk. Basically, whenever someone swaps tokens and pays a fee on an exchange, those tokens come from users that have added their assets to a pool. In return for participating, they receive a percentage of the trading fees. They can claim those fees by simply removing their liquid assets at any time.
However, some of the downsides are, paying a fee to participate and remove liquidy, and due to factors like price change or how many people are participating/trading with the pool it can result what it´s called an **impermanent loss****.** https://finematics.com/impermanent-loss-explained/
In order to join the user must create apair, and provide an equal value of both tokens. The dapp I´m using is **Uniswap** for this effect, which is proving to be an interesting project so far. Even if people missed out on the huge UNI airdrop, it´s still possible to acquire them by participating on the UNI liquidy mining. https://app.uniswap.org/#/pool
4. Honourable Mentions
These are the methods that don´t apply to the previous entries. But I figured they deserved a small shoutout
**Brave Browser** pays in BAT (Basic Attention Token) just for browsing, it come with it´s own adblocker, allows to use the same extensions as Chrome, and allow you to tip your favorite creators. Unfortunately, the referral program has been discontinued. But it´s a decent browser so far. https://brave.com/
**Presearch** is a search engine that pays in PRE tokens (a ERC20 token), it´s powered by the community and protects your privacy. You can join through this **link****.** https://presearch.org/signup?rid=1630231
**Pi Network** is a mining app, where you mine Pi simply by securing the network once a day, it is currently still a project in progress, so it will be a while until it launches and becomes profitable. You can invite others users to be a part of your security circle. You can use this **link** or use type my username **ghostcat** to claim Pi.
**Ecoin** is crypto project that is offering an airdrop to anyone who joins and creates an account. It will take a while before it actually has any value, if it even does, but still free crypto is free crypto. Joining **here** gives about 200 coins per user. Just leave it and let it acumulate interest. https://ecoinofficial.org/referral/t7ievx0
Then you got **Banano** and **Horizen faucets** both currencies might gain value over time. https://banano.cc/#social https://getzen.cash/auth/register?ref=246572
And the last very one is **Coinbase Earn**, Coinbase is paying users to learn about new tokens. As of this article publication, you can earn through an invite link, **COMP,** **EOS****,** among others**.** I only these two links because they were only ones I was eligible to earn. I just got about like 10$ of each, and might gain about 50$ if people use my invite. As for the rest, there is a waiting list. Still, it is a great way to make educate people on crypto. And as I mentioned before, COMP is a token earned through interest as I previously mentioned. https://coinbase.com/earn/comp/invite/wyr64sjp https://coinbase.com/earn/eos/invite/7f0trwj5
Conclusion.
So, there you go, an extensive list on how to earn crypto and how to multiply some of those earnings. As for my thoughts, some of these methods might be better earners than others, they also require some patience and willingness to take some risks. If you plan on using them, make sure you don´t spend money that you don´t want to lose, and never put all your eggs in one basket.
I hope this list was useful, and even helped other fellow beginners. If there are any projects you think I should look into that didn´t make it on this list, please let me know so I can write them in a future post.
**Thanks for reading, if you like my content feel free to support me here or you can tip and follow me on other sites through** **Cointree** https://cointr.ee/ghostcat
Drawtober #6: harvest Festival
This is my 6th and final drawtober prompt, and just in time to enjoy Halloween.
This time I decided to do fanart instead of original art. This character is the main protagonist of Night in The Woods game, Mae Boroski. I´ve talked about it in **previous article****.** But the short summary, it´s a cute adventure game with talking animals, a gripping story, and a mystery in the woods. Mae returns to her hometown and tries to reconnect with old friends only to find out things have changed since she left. https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/fun-games-to-play-on-halloween-for-non-horror-fans-part-1-7f7dd436
During a point in the game, she dons a wizard costume to participate in the town´s Harvest Fest during Halloween, which is what I decided to draw.
Another thing I like about the game it´s that Mae has this sketchbook. As you progress in the game by talking to people and trigger certain events, you can unlock drawings. And if add in the cute animal designs that resemble illustrations from a children´s book. This game inspired me.
This time around I wanted to do something really basic and simple,I tried my best to draw in the game's style as if this was one of Mae´s doodles. So here´s how I did it:
This is actually a very easy thing to draw, cuz Mae is just nothing but shapes. I drew one big circle for the face, and three smaller triangles for the hat and ears
Mae has these really big eyes, so I drew two ovals. I also added a couple of details on the hat, like the sword and the star.
Added a couple more details to the face. Drew the pupils, drew a couple of lines for the whiskers and the fur. Her nose and mouth are just basically a semi-cross, and made one on the ears look a bit chewed up.
I drew a bell shape for the robe and added then legs and boots. I drew two lines on the middle as an extra detail.
I then decided to drew a couple of other shapes to give it a more dramatic flair and write the name of Harvest event in the game. Again, I was trying to make it like something Mae would draw in her sketchbook. I then thickened and darken the pencil lines, and clean up the excess with an eraser.
And there it is my final entry in the drawtober series. I´m actually proud of making it this far. This was my first time doing an art challenge, there were times I thought I would not finish it. I only just started to learn how to draw like last year, so there a lot of limitations that I had to workaround.
But in a way, it was a fun exercise where I had to put into practice what I´ve learned so far, and think beyond the box. Six drawings for six ideas for the entire month of October. This is why I choose to do this one because in other challenges I would have to draw every day, and I don´t always have the time and energy to do. So, I would rather just focus and take my time on a small number of drawings, quality over quantity I guess.
**Thanks for reading, if you like my content feel free to support me here or you can tip and follow me on other sites through** **Cointree** https://cointr.ee/ghostcat
Part 2 of My Games to Play on Halloween has just been uploaded!
You can read it here:
https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/fun-games-to-play-on-halloween-for-non-horror-fans-part-2-9f35b828
Drawtober #5: Ancient Rituals
Here I am again with yet another drawtober art piece. I posted this one a day late, after the deadline. This week has been very chaotic lately, so I barely had the time or the energy to draw much. But I finish it this morning, I decided to draw a demon summoning ritual:
And not just any demon, but Stolas a Prince of Hell. While he is described as a giant Raven, the most popular interpretation is that of an owl.
It is said that when summoned he can teach astronomy, history, and the knowledge of poisonous plants, herbs and precious stones. And I know what you might be thinking, why would an infernal creature go out of their way to teach humans what is essentially science? (geology, astronomy, botany). See according to folklore, that only happens when he is under the control of the summoner, otherwise he is like any other demon in the wild, causing chaos for humans simply for his amusement.
A description of this demon can be found in The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King or Ars Goetia for short and Dictionnaire Infernal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lesser_Key_of_Solomon#Ars_Goetia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictionnaire_Infernal
Funny enough I first heard of this demon thanks to a video game series; Shin Megami Tensei. It´s an rpg series where recruit demons to fight in combat. it´s like Pokemon but darker. The series and taken a lot of inspiration from actual folklore and mythology so it´s not surprising that he can be found there.
So, when I starte on this piece by first drawing the sigil circle. I also lightly draw a bunch of ovals to construct the body. Owls are easy to draw for me, they are after all, nothing but a bunch of circular shapes.
Then I start adding details, like the eyes, the beak, wings and legs.
I also gave his famous crown, added in a couple of candles on the sigil to complete the summoning ritual look.
Finally I worked on the background adding floors, walls and a window. And I gave it a bit of more texture and feather details. All this was done with a mechanical pencil.
So, there you have it, one adorable demon owl. You know I think there might be some kind of pattern. Lately my previous entry was owl based, making this couple of art pieces drawings of birds ( if you include the plague doctor, which is bird like already). Maybe it´s because I like drawing birds, their association with the supernatural, or maybe both.
Next week is my sixth and final drawtober entry: Harvest Feast. As always, stay tune for my next work.
**Here are my previous entries:**
1# Carvings https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/drawtober-prompt-1-carvings-bf62c8ad
2# Wicked Apothecary https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/drawtober-prompt-2-wicked-apothecary-f123eb2a
3# Midnight Feast https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/drawtober-3-midnight-feast-46d982cf
4# Folkore https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/drawtober-4-folkore-92ce0f2c
**Thanks for reading, if you like my content feel free to support me here or you can tip and follow me on other sites through** **Cointree** https://cointr.ee/ghostcat
I already finished my 4th drawtober art prompt check it out: https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/drawtober-4-folkore-92ce0f2c
Previous Art Entries:
1# Carvings: https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/drawtober-prompt-1-carvings-bf62c8ad
2# Wicked Apothecary: https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/drawtober-prompt-2-wicked-apothecary-f123eb2a
3# Midnight Feast: https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/drawtober-3-midnight-feast-46d982cf
Drawtober #4: Folkore
I finished my fourth drawtober prompt. Since the them is folklore ,I decided to base mine on a know cryptic urban legend: the Mothman.
The mothman is a legendary monster popular in West Virgina, US. It was supposedly sighted during the 60s.
It was often described as this huge dark half-man half creature with huge wings and red glowing eyes. Depending on which version you hear, it only shows up during huge disasters either to warn people or it causes them. While the Mothman Diaries has helped jumpstart interest, this legend has grown in popularity ever since. The town where this originated even has a festival dedicated to him.
One of my favorite theories is that people simply mistook a barn owl for a monster. I decided it would be fun to make this version an owl/moth hybrid.
So I first started with the head:
I drew the rest of the body. The hardest part was figuring out what do with the wings. I gave and just posed with it´s wings closed.
I used my fine liner and then painted with colored pencils
I know everyone has their own version what this creature is supposed to look like. But I had fun coming up with my own version, even if it´s radically different from the more popular image.
My next prompt is gonna be ancient rituals, I´ll post it in next week.
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I finished my 4th drawtober prompt. I ´m still currently trying to write about it. I might post it here in a day or two
Drawtober #3: Midnight Feast
My third entry for Drawtober. I´m keeping this article short this time. I decided to draw a Halloween crow.
I had fun making this, decided to give it a witch hat. This was made using a light pencil, a 0.5 fineliner pen and colored pencils. I wasn´t sure what to draw for this prompt, so I kept it pretty simple this time, I probably wanted to make it in the style of a postcard.
Here´s also a black and white version with the pencils:
I decided to use pencils this time because I´m trying to experiment with different materials for color. I also digitalized the colorless drawing just in case I didn´t like how it looked. Maybe I could start my own handmade personal coloring book for this purpose. People do those, right?
The next prompt is gonna be folklore. So, stay tuned for my art next week.
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Drawtober Prompt #2: Wicked Apothecary
I´m now in the second week of the Drawtober Art Challenge. This time it wasn´t easy to come with ideas. I didn´t know if I was gonna go with simply just do a work table, someone creating medicine. Also, I wasn't feeling well this week, almost didn´t finished it on time, so i had to keep it simple.
So, I just drew a Plague Doctor managing an Apothecary Shop:
I decided not to color it this time, didn´t really have the energy for it. And sometimes simple is better.
As it is usual whenever I´m trying to get ideas for a drawing I googled to find some art references. I decided to go for a medieval style.
I did take a couple of artistic liberties, obviously, a Doctor wouldn´t be the one to manage a store. But I heard that this was to go place where people would get their medicine before Pharmacies were even a thing hence the association. Also, Plague Doctors make for a nice aesthetic.
I also heard that apothecaries would even offer bloodletting services and even have leech jars over the counter. Which is why I decided to give a small jar based on this design:
This version of the leeches jar was created in the 19th century, but I wanted to make it fancy for my fancy shop owner. People back then used to believe bloodletting could cure a variety of disorders, look how far we have come since then.
After figuring out what I wanted to do, I started with a simple sketch just to get the ideas flowing:
Added the small leech jar:
Start to fin in the selves and even add some details like cloth wrinkles:
I decide to the huge white space at the bottom to create a couple of banners so it wouldn´t look so empty and then proceed to use my 0.5 mm finer liner pen to finish the drawing.
So there you have it. Granted I´m still trying to figure out how to draw characters, so I had to figure out how to work within my own limitations. But I think that´s the point of an art challenge, to make go beyond your comfort zone and try new things.
I also did a previous prompt you can check it here https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/drawtober-prompt-1-carvings-bf62c8ad
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Drawtober Prompt #1: Carvings
So I finally did it, I finished my first drawtober prompt! For those who don´t know there is an art challenge on twitter, where you´re given 6 prompts with a Halloween theme and have several days to post a single prompt instead of everyday. https://twitter.com/drawtober/status/1300659682449727488
First prompt is carvings so this is what I came up with:
I drew a Monstrous Pumpkin King and his minions.
This is how I made it:
I first started with the smaller pumpkins. I used a pencil first. The shapes were simple enough. I started by drawing circles, then the ribs on the pumpkin, the stalk, and the face. I added small lines on the eyes and mouth to give it a more 3d look.
Then I drew what is going to become our pumpkin king here. Note he only has a single stalk instead of multiple tentacle ones. That´s because I was still trying to figure out his design. I only got the idea of making tentacle like vines after watching a video about Medievil that has like a Pumking Boss. I´d figure it would make it more menacing.
I drew some details, like small vines. I decided to put them on a small pumpkin patch match under a full moon. I decided one stalk and decided to give the King a crown.
After I was satisfied with my design, I started to fill the art lining with a 0.5mm fine liner pen. This was the result:
At this point I was hesitant to color it. Part of me wanted to just leave it as it is, just drew a couple of more lines to add some detail. See, I only barely touched color since I started to draw, and feared that I might not like the result. But on the other hand, I was like what do I have to lose? If I never tackle it, then how am I gonna learn? Plus it looks much more interesting if it was colorful. This is a Halloween style drawing after all.
So, I did a bit of research and settle for using markers. I used this helpful tutorial as a guide. https://artbyro.com/how-to-blend-markers-for-beginners/
The type of markers I used was alcohol-based, I picked them because I was told they might blend colors better. I start with a yellow-based color, then light orange, and then a darker orange. I left a bit of yellow showing as a highlight.
Pro-tip: It´s best to use three colors, with the one in the middle as midrange than just a light and dark color, otherwise the blending won´t look as organic.
I also used light and dark browns for the soil and the details. And I used a midrange brown color to create some shadows at the base of the pumpkins.
I finalized it by using a white gel pen to draw the stars and add some highlights. I also went over some of the lines again with a fineliner to make them thicker, so that they can stand out more from the background.
So, there you have it, one Halloween drawing colored by markers. It actually went better than I imagined. Still wished I could blend a bit better, but it was a fun challenge. It took me about three days to finish this, and thank god drawtober doesn´t expect you to make a drawing every day. Hope you guys enjoy reading my drawing process.
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I´m thing about doing the Drawtober, basically it´s inktober but with a halloween theme, with only 6 prompt for artistc to not burn themselves out.
I ´m also thinking about writing a review or a curated list of my favorite games with a spooky theme. If anyone has suggestions for what games I should check out ( they don´t have to be horror, just a spooky theme, think Costume Quest ors something) please write in the comment below.
I´m always open to sugestions.
Limbo Game Review
Hard to believe that there was a time where Indie games were an unknown and niche industry a decade ago. There were a couple of titles that helped it bring into the gaming mainstream, one such title is Limbo, a simplistic but interesting puzzle platformer created by studio Playdead.
It was released in 2010 for the Xbox, but has been ported to other devices since, and has received positive reviews from both players and gamers alike being seen as the example as a game as work of art, and declared one of the best games of the decade if not all time.
I have spent most of my summer playing this game to see if that claim holds up. My experience has been mostly positive with a couple of kinks. but how does it hold up in detail?
Plot
For starters, it´s pretty linear and doesn't have much of a story, to begin with, not that is a bad thing. You play as a young boy who wakes in a dark forest. From there the boy has to travel a dangerous environment full of things that are trying to kill him and obstacles to overcome. The only goal is to find his sister, who is lost in Limbo somewhere.
The story is pretty much ambiguous, I´m still trying to figure out the meaning of the ending. This has led itself to a lot of speculation and fan theories.
However, sometimes less is more, as this game relies more on its atmosphere and level design to cause an impact.
Characters
Throughout the Boy´s journey there is no shortage of enemies that try to kill him, and no ally in sight, making this a lonely and terrifying experience.
First, we have the spider that is by far the creepiest monster in the game. You meet him early on in the game and have to spend several levels outrunning him. Fortunately, that doesn´t last for long, as you can defeating him by removing its legs one by one and roll it like a ball to be impaled by spikes.
I did laugh at this one. You can see my gameplay footage here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRwfKLjBXkA
Then you have a tribe of hostile children, they will shoot spears on-site and create traps that will kill you if you aren´t careful. The best way to defeat them is to lure them into a trap.
Then you have the brain parasites, these little guys have a nasty habit in burying inside their host's brain, making you lose any control over your character. Unable to change directions, the only thing you can do is jump and slow down.
They do have one weakness, light. Touching it makes them change directions. They are also a favorite snack of the toothed black worms. The best way to defeat them is by jumping at the right time to avoid obstacles.
Environment
The game has a very dark and eerie atmosphere. There about three types of settings in this game, a forest, urban, and a factory area.
The graphics are in 2d with black and light colors. Some places barely have visibility, making certain puzzles challenging.
This type of design takes a lot of inspiration from noir movies and german expressionism. One of the creators himself has even used his arachnophobia as an idea for the spider enemy.
While the first part of the game is full of scripted and enemy avoiding events, the second part, however, relies more on puzzle-solving and you will spend a lot of time alone.
Gameplay
As previously mentioned this a puzzle platformer. the controls are simple, you can control the character left or right, and jumping. But, you can´t kill anything, forcing the player to use their wits to get around enemies.
Sometimes the running pace is too slow, which can be frustrating at times since a lot of puzzles rely on timing, and if you were to jump a couple of seconds too late if often results in death.
I found the puzzle to be extremely creative and complex but in a fun way. You never what to expect as soon as you progress, and added with the dark setting creates some tension for the player.
A lot of the game is often trial and error, be prepared to die a lot. Death itself is a game mechanic, the creators want players to be discouraged of making the same mistake all while providing entertaining death animations, calling this type of gameplay, trial, and death. However the game avoids punishing the player too much, the game autosave after you solve each one, so feel free to fail as many times it´s needed.
It requires some patience and determination, but the puzzles aren´t that hard to figure out after a couple of tries.
Some of the more creative ones involve pushing buttons to reverse gravity, manage to timely jump to avoid, and sabotage automatic guns.
If you´re playing this game through steam, they are a bunch of collectible eggs spread throughout the level that will give an achievement, and even a secret puzzle level.
The game also allows you to go back and replay any chapter after you solve it, making this game highly replayable and allows you to go back and find anything that you might've missed.
Soundtrack
There isn´t a lot of music in this, instead, this game relies on environmental sounds, like for example the snap of a trap, the buzz of electricity, the mechanical sound of gears moving.
There are also long stretches of silence, giving that sort of sad and creepy feeling.
Conclusion
I can see how the game got its reputation as a creative puzzle game. Not every game requires intense graphics or complex gameplay to be good.
Its dark atmosphere, puzzles that use the enviroment, and the open-ended story gives it an air of mystery and does a good job of catching the player's interest.
I thought some of the deaths were funny, and while some of the puzzles were frustrating at times, I did enjoy how the game forces me to think outside of the box. I think this is a game that should be on everyone´s games to play before I die list. if you haven´t already, you should check it out or revisit it if you have.
**Game Link:** GOG/Humble Bundle/Steam https://www.gog.com/game/limbo https://www.humblebundle.com/store/limbo?partner=asgardianviking https://store.steampowered.com/app/48000/LIMBO/
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So, I woke up this morning to find out that the bot has tipped me 12.98$ on one of my article. Apparently I´m earning more than I did with the old point system. This is great, because I did feel a certain frustration that all that effort I put into into writing them often resulted in just gaining mere cents a day. I pratically felth the pressure to have write articles everyday just to gain a large number of points. This way I can space out more the time between articles, and really focus more on the quality. These things can´t be rushed after all
In light of the new tip bot rules, I decided to remove my affiliate links. The only link I will add is my Contr.ee which I will put at then end of all my articles. While I do try my best to actually review and share information on any site/dapps that I´m referring too, and not just fill an article with nothing but links just for the sake of having people click on them is it unfortunate that spammers that are making life on this site much harder for those who actually put the effort.
i don´t think there is anything wrong with affiliate links of course, tons of bloggers use them, it´s how we make most of our income after all, provided you´re honest about it and they are related with the article subject somehow. I often found the point system confusing, so adding those links in gave me more of motivation to keep writing, since it´s by writing interesting articles is how I get more eyes on my referrals.
While I respect that changes had to be made, I don´t necessarily like it. i also wonder how this will affect Photography Bloggers, since there is a chance they might not be tipped at all.
Drawing a Winged Skull
October has been coming up, and in preparation for the Halloween Spooktober Art challenge, I decided to get a head start and learn how to draw skulls. So, I always struggled with anatomy. Seriously making a realistic skull is hard. Once again, I turned to the internet for my self art education.
This was the end result:
How did I do it? I found this cool video tutorial:
https://youtu.be/NFznXrMIano
Following the steps, I drew the lines that would serve me as a guide to constructing a skull.
Then I started to fill in
I didn´t stop there. I watch more tutorials and started to fill a page with my own designs. Some are great while others not so much. But it was a fun exercise.
Bonus Art: Cool Stylized Skulls
I really loved these. They are a bit smaller and exaggerated, but make for a cool design. This tutorial was very helpful.
https://youtu.be/_fvR99jivgE
So, yeah this was a fun little project that I wanted to share with you guys. Ever since I picked up drawing, and I have been interested in documenting my learning progress and sharing it with other people online. And who knows, maybe I can also help other people learn along the way.
And why not try drawing a skull yourself? It is a fun thing to do for a Halloween art theme.
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**Afilliate Links:** https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/bird-watching-at-the-local-park-0afc146f#afilliate-links
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I´m kinda getting tired of getting comments that say please subscribe or I subscribed to you, please follow me back!
I barely get any feedback and comments as it is, so it´s disappointing that when I get a notification and I get someone asking me to follow them instead of what they think of my post.
I know that getting subscribers is hard, but this is not the way to go. I don´t do follow for follow´s sake. I´d rather people follow me because they like my content. Plus if you subscribe for the sake of having subscription, what´s stopping from the other person to quickly unfollow you after they got that follow?
If you want people to follow you, write decent articles, make interesting comments, interact with people like you would normally do and people will come.
Serioulsy the next person who asks me to please subscribe in my articles will be marked as spam, you have been warned.
Trying to figure out what to write for my next article, a game review? More stuff about my photography? I have been practicing my art lately, maybe I could share my sketches.
Man, it´s hard coming with ideas sometimes.
Bird Watching At the Local Park
I love my local park which is in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal, especially when I need to find a safer space to go out and practice social distancing. You can do a lot of things there, like for a picnic or exercise.
But the main attraction is of course the artificial lake:
It´s a home to dozen of dozens of birds making them perfect subjects for my photography. You got Swans
To funky looking ducks
This one is cool I got three of them on a cool pose.
Then you get the geese, who are cute but terrifying at the same time. They always honking around when people bring them food.
Besides being a home for domestic fowl this place also acts as a nature sanctuary for wild birds.
This photo at the top is a bit unfocused but you can clearly see this is a *Gallinula chloropus* or Water Hen. A migratory species. They have this beautiful black color with a red beak and feet.
We´ve also got the Grey Heron (*Ardea cinerea)* you can´t always see it in the park. But they live in Portugal the entire year, and are easy to identify due to their characteristic long neck and grey plumage.
Then I found the park´s tree full of these. I think they might be Cattle Egret (*Bubulcus ibis*) I could be wrong. They were given their name due to spending a lot of their time next to grazing animals, often feeding on ticks and flies attracted by them. They liked living close to bodies of water and make their nests on trees or shrubs.
I wish I could come here more often, because there is always something interesting to find. This entire park used to be an abandoned barren field until the city decided to convert it to a park. By creating a lake they basically create a safe place that is perfect for wild animals. I even found crayfish and tadpoles, I think. I once read about animal conservation method about creating small bodies of water like ponds to help increase the aquatic animal population, These places serve as a place for nidification, reproduction and food source.
So, it´s interesting to see how human activity is capable of helping nature in certain ways and not just destroy it.
These were all taken with a 500 Canon with a Zoom Lens
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Hello, here with news about another sponsorship contest this time by @BRISTY1820. Just click on this link and follow the instructions to participate: https://read.cash/@BRISTY1820/i-will-sponsor-you-060d60b7
Also I´m tagging @Hanzell because I like some of their articles, and I think they could use this.
Catlateral Damage: Unleash Feline Chaos
https://youtu.be/pdBCExj3-t0
In this fun simulator, you get to play as cute cat knocking out objects and make a mess. The main objective is to collect enough points to progress to new levels. You can also find abilities upgrades scattered through the environment.
There are dozens of objects to collect and cat breeds to unlock. The game also has a sandbox mode, where you just focus on destroying things to your heart's content. It might not be much, but it is a fun casual game to keep players entertained for a couple of minutes.
Game Store **Link**
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Hey, a user called @Akashdatta98 is offering a sponsorship, all you gotta do is follow the instructions on this link: https://read.cash/@Akashdatta98/ill-sponsor-you-ba37d259
Watching a Seagull Nest: Part 8
So, this is the last and final chapter of this article series. The seagull chicks have flown the nest. I have been checking on them frequently if they show up, but no luck. So, I´m sharing here some of the last photos that I took.
As usual, if you´re just tuning in here are the previous chapters:
**Part 1** https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/watching-a-new-seagull-nest-my-photos-55e45f05
**Part 2** https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/watching-a-new-seagull-nest-my-photos-55e45f05
**Part 3** https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/watching-a-seagull-nest-part-3-6ff9b5d3
**Part 4** https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/watching-a-seagull-nest-part-4-6c9ec998
**Part 5** https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/watching-a-seagull-nest-part-5-74dd96c9
**Part 6** https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/watching-a-seagull-nest-part-7-bd54ad52#bad-link
Part 7 https://read.cash/@Ghostcat/watching-a-seagull-nest-part-7-bd54ad52
Here´s a couple of them doing a couple of wing stretching exercises, that is always an interesting behavior to watch.
Now, these ones we really interesting. So, someone basically threw food to the seagulls from one of the buildings not so far from the nests. Two of now fully grown chicks flew to investigate and possibly getting some extra grub. They can practically fend for themselves at this point.
I saw them chasing another adult, I don´t know if it´s one of the parents but aren´t gonna get anything this time around.
They also found a tiny plastic clothes hanger and started to play with it. Fortunately, it is too big to be swallowed.
After being there for a while they got bored and decided to fly back into the roof. One at a time.
Somehow they managed to land on the same chimney without any issue.
Meanwhile, on the other side of my building I found three chicks. I suspect they might come from the second nest. They are also doing their own exploring. Also I got another glimpse at a third nest from the previous entry.
I wonder if I will see them again. Probably not, but it was nice seeing them one last time.
So, this concludes my nest observations. It has been an interesting couple of months watching two nests grow. I got to see them go from this:
To This:
Now they are fully grown and ready to live on their own. I sure gonna miss them, but there is always next year.
If you have following my writing thanks for sticking to the end. I´m stopping this series here and moving on to other stuff.
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