mspencerdraws - Tumblr blog

mspencerdraws · 1 month

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I had a ton of fun illustrating the promo postcard for this year's lineup of queer novellas from Neon Hemlock https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davering/neon-hemlocks-2024-novella-series Help us reach some stretch goals before the campaign ends! (Pins! Interior Illustrations! Maybe more oracle cards 👀)

#illustration #queer books #indie press #indie publishing #snake #oracle cards #sci fi #fantasy #sff #queer sff #speculative fiction #mech #skull #drawing #my art #my stuff #neon hemlock #read queer all year #trans artist

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mspencerdraws · 2 months

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I've been thinking a lot lately... I frequently have the honor of working with fantastic indie publishers who are putting out great books, especially from diverse and often historically underrepresented perspectives. In a world increasingly politically hostile towards trans/queer folks, and in an industry increasingly permeated by AI garbage, working w/ these excellent people over the last few years has helped me stay sane, & feeling like the work I'm doing matters. So here we go, Some Really Cool People making some Really Cool Things (that I am vaguely or specifically involved in):

Neon Hemlock is funding their 2024 Novellas! They're super close to funding, and have plenty of time left to possibly discover some stretch goals?👀

Neon Hemlock consistently puts out amazing queer sf/f/h and the lineup this year looks incredible.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davering/neon-hemlocks-2024-novella-series

Atthis Arts' Be the Sea is out now! Climate-conscious Science Fantasy. Queerly Diverse/Diversely Queer. Sea Creatures & Mysterious Dreams.

Also! Author Clara Ward will be donating 100% of their royalties to conservation efforts for our global ocean.

New Edge Sword & Sorcery is funding their 2024 issues of New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine! I got to illustrate a trans revenge story last time. 👀 so I'm very excited to see what the next issues have in store! https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/brackenbooks/new-edge-sword-sorcery-2024?ref=bk-social-project

And finally, If a "contemporary romantic drama about sad archaeologists" sounds up your alley, check out A.M. Weald's novel "Even if We're Broken" (out in April this year)!

#my stuff #book recs #crowdfunding boost #kickstarter promo #support small press #indie publishing #indie books #queer sff

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mspencerdraws · 2 months

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Happy Release Day to Be the Sea and author Clara Ward! Consider checking it out, getting yourself a copy, asking your library to get a copy, telling a friend who might enjoy it, reblogging, etc! Also! An important note: The author will be donating 100% of their royalties to conservation efforts for our global ocean

Here we go! Cover reveal for Be the Sea by Clara Ward.

(Published by @atthisarts)

It was such a a joy to illustrate the cover for this beautiful novel of a marine scientist navigating an ever-shifting future complicated by bioengineered microbes, entangled w/ inexplicable dreams. 🐟🏳️‍🌈

Preorder link!

#illustration #release day #book rec #sci fi book #marine biology #ocean conservation #my art #my stuff #atthis arts

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mspencerdraws · 2 months

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Automattic will sign a contract with OpenAI for Midjourney to learn off of Tumblr and Wordpress

Hello! Automattic, Tumblr's parent company, will sign a contract with OpenAI and Midjourney so Midjourney can learn off of Tumblr's and WordPress' art and other user data. :) (The full text of this article is copy/pasted in the cut below). You can opt out! but I truly cannot imagine a more idiotic or out of touch decision on the part of Tumblr's CEO.

First thing's first: When/if this goes live, opt out of this immediately. Do this even if you're not an artist. The more people opt out, the less valuable this contract is to Midjourney. in an ideal world, literally all of the active users would opt out, but if we can even get to 50% that's pretty delicious.

Second: Contact Tumblr Support. It's vital that you do this politely. Tumblr staff is not responsible for this decision and the point of doing this is to show the userbase's unwillingness to be involved in this, not harangue Tumblr staff. (Seriously, stop haranguing Tumblr staff). Here's a script:

Hi, I'm writing in to express my disappointment in Automattic's pending contract with OpenAI to sell user data. Midjourney is already embroiled in copyright lawsuits, and it is not possible to train it without compromising copyright, including violating the IP of artists on this site. I strongly protest this contract and will opt out if it goes live. Depending on the privacy terms around what user data is sold to OpenAI and why, it is possible I will leave the platform entirely. Thank you for your time.

Third: Download Glaze and start poisoning them prompts, my friends

Fourth: Stare into the middle distance for a second with me because holy fucking shit? How stupid can one decision be?

Tumblr and Wordpress are preparing to sell user data to Midjourney and OpenAI, according to a source with internal knowledge about the deals and internal documentation referring to the deals.

The exact types of data from each platform going to each company are not spelled out in documentation we’ve reviewed, but internal communications reviewed by 404 Media make clear that deals between Automattic, the platforms’ parent company, and OpenAI and Midjourney are imminent.

The internal documentation details a messy and controversial process within Tumblr itself. One internal post made by Cyle Gage, a product manager at Tumblr, states that a query made to prepare data for OpenAI and Midjourney compiled a huge number of user posts that it wasn’t supposed to. It is not clear from Gage’s post whether this data has already been sent to OpenAI and Midjourney, or whether Gage was detailing a process for scrubbing the data before it was to be sent.

Gage wrote:

“the way the data was queried for the initial data dump to Midjourney/OpenAI means we compiled a list of all tumblr’s public post content between 2014 and 2023, but also unfortunately it included, and should not have included:

private posts on public blogs

posts on deleted or suspended blogs

unanswered asks (normally these are not public until they’re answered)

private answers (these only show up to the receiver and are not public)

posts that are marked ‘explicit’ / NSFW / ‘mature’ by our more modern standards (this may not be a big deal, I don’t know)

content from premium partner blogs (special brand blogs like Apple’s former music blog, for example, who spent money with us on an ad campaign) that may have creative that doesn’t belong to us, and we don’t have the rights to share with this-parties; this one is kinda unknown to me, what deals are in place historically and what they should prevent us from doing.”

Gage’s post makes clear that engineers are working on compiling a list of post IDs that should not have been included, and that password-protected posts, DMs, and media flagged as CSAM and other community guidelines violations were not included.

Automattic plans to launch a new setting on Wednesday that will allow users to opt-out of data sharing with third parties, including AI companies, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, and internal documents. A new FAQ section we reviewed is titled “What happens when you opt out?” states that “If you opt out from the start, we will block crawlers from accessing your content by adding your site on a disallowed list. If you change your mind later, we also plan to update any partners about people who newly opt-out and ask that their content be removed from past sources and future training.”

404 Media has asked Automattic how it accidentally compiled data that it shouldn’t share, and whether any of that content was shared with OpenAI, but did not immediately hear back from the company. 404 Media asked Automattic about an imminent deal with Midjourney last week but did not hear back then, either.

Another internal document shows that, on February 23, an employee asked in a staff-only thread, “Do we have assurances that if a user opts out of their data being shared with third parties that our existing data partners will be notified of such a change and remove their data?”

Andrew Spittle, Automattic’s head of AI replied: “We will notify existing partners on a regular basis about anyone who's opted out since the last time we provided a list. I want this to be an ongoing process where we regularly advocate for past content to be excluded based on current preferences. We will ask that content be deleted and removed from any future training runs. I believe partners will honor this based on our conversations with them to this point. I don't think they gain much overall by retaining it.” Automattic did not respond to a question from 404 Media about whether it could guarantee that people who opt out will have their data deleted retroactively.

News about a deal between Tumblr and Midjourney has been rumored and speculated about on Tumblr for the last week. Someone claiming to be a former Tumblr employee announced in a Tumblr blog post that the platform was working on a deal with Midjourney, and the rumor made it onto Blind, an app for verified employees of companies to anonymously discuss their jobs. 404 Media has seen the Blind posts, in which what seems like an Automattic employee says, “I'm not sure why some of you are getting worked up or worried about this. It's totally legal, and sharing it publicly is perfectly fine since it's right there in the terms & conditions. So, go ahead and spread the word as much as you can with your friends and tech journalists, it's totally fine.”

Separately, 404 Media viewed a public, now-deleted post by Gage, the product manager, where he said that he was deleting all of his images off of Tumblr, and would be putting them on his personal website. A still-live post says, “i've deleted my photography from tumblr and will be moving it slowly but surely over to cylegage.com, which i'm building into a photography portfolio that i can control end-to-end.” At one point last week, his personal website had a specific note stating that he did not consent to AI scraping of his images. Gage’s original post has been deleted, and his website is now a blank page that just reads “Cyle.” Gage did not respond to a request for comment from 404 Media.

Several online platforms have made similar deals with AI companies recently, including Reddit, which entered into an AI content licensing deal with Google and said in its SEC filing last week that it’s “in the early stages of monetizing [its] user base” by training AI on users’ posts. Last year, Shutterstock signed a six year deal with OpenAI to provide training data.

OpenAI and Midjourney did not respond to requests for comment.

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mspencerdraws · 2 months

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Winter's Honor Guard The newest member of the Winter Queen’s guard, this young bull is determined to serve with bravery and devotion.

– Inspired by gloomy winter skies, by the beauty of human craftsmanship, and by tales of honorable knights.

Painted in watercolor, gouache, ink and colored pencil on 140lb Arches hot press paper, accented with 23K gold leaf.

The artwork is framed in black and gold. Avaliable for sale on Every Day Original: https://everydayoriginal.com/product/winters-honor-guard/ If you'd like to know as soon as my Every Day Original pieces go up, join the newsletter here.

#illustration #artists on tumblr #my art #queer artist #elk #knight #fantasy art #anthro art #gothic architecture #halberd #elk knight #deer knight #cervine #art for sale #watercolor #gouache #painting #every day original

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mspencerdraws · 4 months

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The Hermit's Return Descending with the dawn from his alpine hut, this reclusive goat’s return to town marks the beginning of solstice celebrations for the court of Winter.

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Inspired by sunlight glistening off snowy boughs, the majesty of dawn in the mountains, and by the jewel-like fruit of evergreens.

Painted in watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil on 140lb Arches hot press paper. Accented with gold ink.

The artwork is framed in cream and gold.

Available for sale here: https://everydayoriginal.com/produc.....ermits-return/

If you'd like to know as soon as my Every Day Original pieces go up, join the newsletter here.

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mspencerdraws · 5 months

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Hey! For once, I've updated my online shop! If you're searching for an art-related holiday gift, or just looking to treat yourself, I've added tiny originals, ink drawings, stickers and some prints!

#my stuff #my art #online shop #support living artists #shop small

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mspencerdraws · 6 months

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Some extra photos of this guy for the occasion.

With drone and melody, the consort of the Emerald King provides the proper atmosphere for those gathered for the Festival of the Final Harvest.

– Inspired by pumpkin patches, by the wind rattling dry cornstalks, and by music that demands a dance around a bonfire.

Painted in watercolor, and gouache on 140lb Arches hot press paper. Accented with metal leaf, and framed in a wooden frame painted to match.

This piece will be on display at my IlluXcon Evening Showcase table 10/20-10/21! Painted for Every Day Original (and sold). If you'd like to know as soon as my Every Day Original pieces go up, join the newsletter here.

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mspencerdraws · 6 months

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With drone and melody, the consort of the Emerald King provides the proper atmosphere for those gathered for the Festival of the Final Harvest.

– Inspired by pumpkin patches, by the wind rattling dry cornstalks, and by music that demands a dance around a bonfire.

Painted in watercolor, and gouache on 140lb Arches hot press paper. Accented with metal leaf, and framed in a wooden frame painted to match.

This piece will be on display at my IlluXcon Evening Showcase table 10/20-10/21! Painted for Every Day Original (and sold). If you'd like to know as soon as my Every Day Original pieces go up, join the newsletter here.

#deer #illustration #antlers #halloween #bard #anthro art #fantasy art #watercolor #ink #samhain #mabon #stag #hurdy gurdy #my art #my stuff #every day original

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mspencerdraws · 9 months

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Never one to back down from a challenge, this blustery defender of the coast is always ready for a battle – of wits, words, or blades.

– Inspired by crashing waves on rocky shores, by stormy skies, and by objects just a bit more beautiful than they are practical.

Painted in watercolor, and gouache on 140lb Arches hot press paper. Accented with metal leaf, and framed in a carved wooden frame.

For sale on Every Day Original: https://everydayoriginal.com/product/nautilus-knight/

#illustration #anthro art #fantasy art #watercolor #bird #seagull #bird art #art for sale #knight #sword #armor #seashells #artistsontumblr #queer artist

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mspencerdraws · 10 months

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I recently had the honor of creating a 12 character illustration for a large, elaborate, absolutely amazing D&D party!

Many many thanks to dave, the DM and each and every one of the players. This piece was SO much fun to work on. What a delight! Ink lines, Photoshop color. (Check out my Patreon for wips of this piece, and more! )

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mspencerdraws · 10 months

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Here we go! Cover reveal for Be the Sea by Clara Ward.

(Published by @atthisarts)

It was such a a joy to illustrate the cover for this beautiful novel of a marine scientist navigating an ever-shifting future complicated by bioengineered microbes, entangled w/ inexplicable dreams. 🐟🏳️‍🌈

Preorder link!

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mspencerdraws · 10 months

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The Hierophant For my Courtly Beasts Tarot.

It's a bit tongue-in-cheek but you know what, that's just the flavor of my interpretation!

Watercolor, Gouache, Colored Pencils & Ink.

I'm slowly designing this deck between client projects and other personal work. With most of my art, updates and WIPs are shared on my Patreon and as usual, patrons saw this piece first! (Starting at the $5 a month tier, patrons receive biannual mailed prints of my tarot work, but you can also follow my Patreon for public updates!)

(See the rest of my Courtly Beasts Tarot pieces!)

#Tarot #Illustration #Hierophant #the hierophant #elephant #anthro art #my art #queer artist #the courtly beasts tarot #courtly beasts #courtly beasts tarot #watercolor #artists on tumblr #my stuff

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mspencerdraws · 10 months

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Strength

For my Courtly Beasts Tarot.

Watercolor, ink, and a bit of gouache.

I'm slowly designing this deck between client projects and other personal work. As with most of my art, updates and WIPs are shared on my Patreon. (Starting at the $5 a month tier, patrons receive biannual mailed prints of my tarot work!) (See the rest of my Courtly Beasts Tarot pieces!)

#illustration #tarot art #tarot #strength #pronghorn #puma #anthro art #queer artist #queer illustrator #courtly beasts #courtly beasts tarot #my art #my stuff #the courtly beasts tarot

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mspencerdraws · 11 months

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Rallying Cry He’s taken some arrows but this steadfast and colorful paladin will continue to stand up for his flock.

– Inspired by Pride- past present and future: by the ones who came before us and the ones who’ll pick up where we leave off, by community and strength in the face of adversity.

Painted in watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil on 140lb Arches hot press paper. Accented with gold ink and genuine gold leaf. Painted for Every Day Original (and sold!)

#Pride #pride month #peacock #bird #queer #queer art #knight #gay knight #trans knight #watercolor #illustration #artistsontumblr #transmasc artist #queer artist #rainbow #my stuff

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mspencerdraws · 11 months

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12 Hours Left!

Just a head's up! The Kickstarter campaign for this collection of Arthurian art and stories (that I have illustrations in) is in it's final 12 hour stretch! If you were thinking about contributing to get your copy of the book (and any prints, stickers, general merch) now's the time!

kickstarter

#kickstarter #arthurian #zine #queer #illustration #art #writing #fantasy art #knight #knights of the round table #galahad #queer art

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mspencerdraws · 11 months

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A little teaser of my piece for this fantastic zine!! It's nearly funded on Kickstarter, and there's still time to hit some stretch goals!! =D https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gallantandtrue/gallant-and-true-an-arthurian-zine

Exciting news! I have two pieces of art (one standalone full page illustration, and one spot illustration accompanying a fantastic poem) in this gorgeous Arthurian Zine funding May 5 thru June 5 on Kickstarter!

If you love (diverse and queer inclusive) interpretations of medieval literature, stories of the round table, and/or just beautiful art and writing, please check it out! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gallantandtrue/gallant-and-true-an-arthurian-zine Also, keep an eye out on the zine Twitter for teasers!

#my art #arthurian legend #sir galahad #kickstarter #arthurian knights #palomino #horse #knight #illustration

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